Breaking News: Ted Turner Brings International Pro Wrestling to CBS Saturday Nights
Los Angeles—April 1, 2011: Media mogul and philanthropist Ted Turner announced today that he has reached an agreement with Sean J. McManus, president of CBS Sports, to bring International Pro Wrestling® (IPW®) to the network’s late-night Saturday lineup.
“I have a long-standing affinity for wrestling, dating back to the ’70s, when Georgia Championship Wrestling was the top-rated program on my fledging SuperStation WTBS,” Mr. Turner said. “In the mid-’90s, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was the number-one promotion in the world, and TNT’s WCW Monday Nitro was one of the highest-rated TV shows on cable. I’m excited to bring the stars of the IPW to CBS Saturday nights. I’m confident wrestling fans will appreciate an alternative in professional wrestling programming.”
Beginning April 30, IPW Choke®, an hour-long broadcast, will air Saturdays at 11:30 p.m., as CBS aggressively targets the highly desirable 18–34 male demographic, according to Mr.McManus.
“Produced at our Los Angeles studios, IPW Choke® will feature state-of-the-art production values never before seen on a wrestling show,” Mr. McManus says. “Upon building a late-night audience, CBS and International Pro Wrestling will venture into pay-per-view events, and eventually, prime-time programming featuring the stars of the IPW in situation comedies and made-for-TV movies.”
The IPW Stratosphere® includes such superstars as “Jumping” Jeff Farmer™, Motley Cruz™, Bulldozer™, Tony the Spider™, Richie Rouge™ and “Dynamite” Keith Watkins.™
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UPDATE: Wow. Just wow. The wrestling war just got a lot more interesting.
Clips from the Choke pilot have leaked online. Looks to be incredible…unlike any wrestling show I’ve ever seen. Check it out.
If you think Motley Cruz is going to stand for that…you’ve got another thing coming.
Make no mistake: “Jumping” Jeff is no crybaby.
Beware Tony the Spider…guy reminds me of a young Jake Roberts.
“Dynamite” Keith Watkins is bringing the heat.
Eat your heart out, Austin Idol…the Gorgeous J.R. debuts.
Richie Rouge is nobody’s fool.
Digg
I saw this a mile away….pretty funny,Scott.
Jeff Farmer is gold on the stick, my friend. Gold!
Nice one mate.
The funny thing is, I’d watch this before anything WWE/TNA is doing now…
I liked the wording of Keith Watkins’ promo “I’m small but my fuse is short” I Wonder if Bill Dundee ever said that..
I may actually become a serious fan again!
Man, if only this were true. I’d love to see someone rerun these horrendously hilarious IPW shows.
@John K
Yep…
Gorgeous J.R. struggled mightily, but managed to remember his full promo without cue cards, instantly making him better on the mic than half the current WWE roster.
Is this show on or what, i have never heard about it before until now. ?
Uh, Tex, I would advise you to recheck the date of this press release. (Probably wasn’t a coincidence that I released this on April Fool’s Day.)
THEY’RE TAKING OVER!
So this Jeff Farmer, grew up to be NWO Sting
Jumpin Jeff Farmer Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Let’s make it happen!