Jim Herd
Encyclopedia
Jim Herd is a former professional wrestling
executive. Herd was the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling
from 1988 to 1992, following Turner Broadcasting's acquisition of the NWA
-affiliated Jim Crockett Promotions
in 1988. His tenure however received much criticism from wrestlers and fans alike. Herd was fired by WCW in 1992.
TV station
KPLR-TV
, which broadcast the then-popular wrestling show
Wrestling at the Chase
. Later on, he served as a regional manager for Pizza Hut
.
and the World Wrestling Federation
by introducing the same kind of "gimmicks that were a part of McMahon's WWF at the time, alienating the diehard NWA audience. For example, he once tried to come up with a tag team
called The Hunchbacks (with the gimmick in which they could not be pinned because their humps would prevent their shoulders from touching the mats), and after that idea was rejected by the booking committee, he came up with the bell-wearing Ding Dongs. After that, he came up with Big Josh
, a lumberjack
with dancing bear
s. Stan Hansen
left the organization to return to All Japan Pro Wrestling
after the idea was pitched to him to become a part of the comedic cowboy stable called The Desperados. Jim Cornette
and Stan Lane
also left the organization in October 1990, breaking up the Midnight Express, leaving Bobby Eaton
on his own, after Herd would blame his many failures on Cornette and others. Even the Road Warriors
- as Animal
has stated on WWE Home Video's Road Warriors DVD - had a fallout with Herd as well, and resigned from WCW in June 1990.
and booking committee member Ric Flair. According to Flair, Herd wanted him to drop his entire "Nature Boy" persona, shave his head (even though Flair's bleached blonde hair was one of his most recognizable trademarks) and adopt a Roman
gladiator
gimmick by the name of Spartacus in order to "change with the times". This did not sit well with Flair and the committee (Committee member Kevin Sullivan
was quoted as saying, "While we're doing this, why don't we go to Yankee Stadium
and change Babe Ruth
's number?"). Herd believed Flair's time was over as a main event player and the big money was with Sting
and Lex Luger
. This backstage feud hit its breaking point when, during contract renegotiation, Flair refused to take a pay cut and be moved away from the main event position (despite the fact that he was by far the company's biggest draw). He also refused to drop the title to Lex Luger as Herd wanted, saying that he had promised to drop it to Sting and Herd had previously agreed. Herd didn't care what he had said earlier and accused Flair of holding up the company but Flair said he was simply holding Herd to his word. Flair tried to compromise to Herd and offered to drop the title to fellow Horsemen Barry Windham
, feeling that Windham was long passed over and deserved a run with the title. However as Flair was planning to leave to wrestle Windham so he could lose the title, on July 1, 1991, two weeks before the Great American Bash, Herd fired Flair from WCW and stripped him of the WCW World Heavyweight title
. There was one small problem with that decision: Flair was still the NWA World Heavyweight champion and his title belt represented both promotions.
Upon notification, Flair called Vince McMahon
of the rival World Wrestling Federation
to inform him of the situation; McMahon offered Flair a deal with the WWF in exchange for him sending McMahon the belt and Flair obliged. A couple of weeks later, promos were being shown of Bobby Heenan
with Flair's belt on WWF television, which drew great intrigue to the promotion as many wrestling fans around the world knew full well what that belt represented but more importantly, who that belt truly belonged to. NWA and WCW officials, who were humiliated by the promos being shown by the WWF on national TV with their title belt, were frustrated at Herd's actions and, amidst loud "We Want Flair!" chants at WCW events during this period, made one final, desperate attempt to save face by offering Flair substantially more money to return. Their efforts failed. By his short-sighted actions, Herd inadvertently gave the WWF one of the greatest potential angles in wrestling history, as many fans who had dreamed of a Hulk Hogan
/Ric Flair
matchup were going to finally get their wish (albeit in house shows only because of booking difficulties with Hogan, McMahon, and Flair before WrestleMania VIII
; the main event was changed to two main events with Flair vs. Randy Savage
and Hogan vs. Sid Justice).
Flair was in his legal rights to take the NWA/WCW World title belt with him to the WWF
because Herd refused to give Flair back the $
25,000 deposit that the NWA required of every wrestler upon winning the World title to keep him from appearing in a rival promotion (like the WWF); according to NWA bylaws, the deposit would be paid back upon losing, plus interest. Without Flair, the 1991 Great American Bash became what many fans consider one of the worst wrestling PPVs in history, as the Baltimore audience loudly chanted, "We want Flair!" throughout the entire show. Many fans there and on PPV also saw the title match between the top two contenders for the title, Lex Luger
and Barry Windham
, as a sham because Flair still had the actual title belt (they had to resort to taping 'World Champion' on one of Dusty Rhodes's old belts, due to their new WCW World title belt not being ready in time, and giving that to Luger after winning the match) and was never beaten for it, thus the 'real world champion' angle the WWF created upon Flair's arrival had more legitimacy than the pay-per-view did. The NWA suffered tremendously, losing most of its fanbase and TV audience to the WWF; most of them switched in order to see how Flair would do against the likes of Roddy Piper
and Hulk Hogan
. Many fans switched back to WCW several years later during the Monday Night Wars
with the WWF but the NWA never regained the fame and name recognition it once had previously and dissolved into a smaller, independent-based faction.
Many wrestling insiders look at this incident as the major reason why Vince McMahon
took the WWF Championship title belt off of the soon-to-be departing Bret Hart
at the 1997 Survivor Series
event in the infamous fashion he did (see Montreal Screwjob
) in order to avoid it being shown on rival WCW's Monday Nitro show the following day (a similar incident occurred in December 1995 when Madusa Miceli came out with the WWF Women's title belt on WCW Monday Nitro and threw it in the trash can). Many felt that his company, who was losing the ratings war to WCW at the time, simply could not afford the same PR nightmare that had befallen the NWA back in 1991 and took extreme measures to prevent it by ordering the referee (Earl Hebner
) to call for the bell seconds after Shawn Michaels
put Hart in a sharpshooter
submission hold and awarding the belt to Michaels.
The matter with Flair caused a lawsuit between the two companies but eventually the lawsuit was dropped. In the 2008 WWE DVD Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection, Flair said he kept the "Big Gold Belt" because he was never paid back his $25,000 initial deposit for the NWA title, plus interest, which totaled $38,000. Months after Flair's departure, Jim Herd was fired and replaced by Kip Allen Frey
in January 1992.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
executive. Herd was the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
from 1988 to 1992, following Turner Broadcasting's acquisition of the NWA
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
-affiliated Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
in 1988. His tenure however received much criticism from wrestlers and fans alike. Herd was fired by WCW in 1992.
Early life and career
Before beginning his role in WCW, Herd had been a station manager for the St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
TV station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
KPLR-TV
KPLR-TV
KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri. KPLR is owned by the Tribune Company, and is an affiliate of The CW Television Network. The station's studios are located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, in Northwest St. Louis County KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station...
, which broadcast the then-popular wrestling show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Wrestling at the Chase
Wrestling at the Chase
Wrestling at the Chase was a professional wrestling television series that aired in St. Louis, Missouri, the matches were taped live on Saturday nights as well as televised. It was repeated traditionally on Sunday mornings. It was promoted by the St...
. Later on, he served as a regional manager for Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
.
Criticism
Many wrestling personalities, fans, and workers have openly criticized Herd for his lack of knowledge of the wrestling business. Ric Flair in particular stated that Herd "knew nothing about wrestling, other than the fact that the station he ran had a hot show". During his run in WCW, Herd tried to compete with Vince McMahonVince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
and the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
by introducing the same kind of "gimmicks that were a part of McMahon's WWF at the time, alienating the diehard NWA audience. For example, he once tried to come up with a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
called The Hunchbacks (with the gimmick in which they could not be pinned because their humps would prevent their shoulders from touching the mats), and after that idea was rejected by the booking committee, he came up with the bell-wearing Ding Dongs. After that, he came up with Big Josh
Matt Osborne
Matthew "Matt" Wade Osborne is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. Osborne is a second generation wrestler, being son of "Tough" Tony Borne, but he is best known as the first wrestler to portray the character of Doink the Clown, which he still uses to this day.-Independent...
, a lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
with dancing bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s. Stan Hansen
Stan Hansen
John Stanley Hansen, Jr. is an American former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Stan Hansen. As a wrestler, Hansen was well known for his stiff wrestling style, which he attributes to poor eyesight, as he is nearly blind without glasses...
left the organization to return to All Japan Pro Wrestling
All Japan Pro Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :...
after the idea was pitched to him to become a part of the comedic cowboy stable called The Desperados. Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
and Stan Lane
Stan Lane
Wallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane is an American professional wrestler, trained by Ric Flair, who started wrestling in 1974 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. For a brief time in Florida, he was nicknamed Nature Boy...
also left the organization in October 1990, breaking up the Midnight Express, leaving Bobby Eaton
Bobby Eaton
Robert Lee "Bobby" Eaton is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, who made his debut in 1976. Eaton is most famous for his work in tag teams, especially his days as one-half of the team the Midnight Express. Under the management of Jim Cornette, Eaton originally teamed with Dennis...
on his own, after Herd would blame his many failures on Cornette and others. Even the Road Warriors
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
- as Animal
Road Warrior Animal
Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior...
has stated on WWE Home Video's Road Warriors DVD - had a fallout with Herd as well, and resigned from WCW in June 1990.
Ric Flair
Herd regularly clashed with the then-NWA World ChampionNWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
and booking committee member Ric Flair. According to Flair, Herd wanted him to drop his entire "Nature Boy" persona, shave his head (even though Flair's bleached blonde hair was one of his most recognizable trademarks) and adopt a Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
gimmick by the name of Spartacus in order to "change with the times". This did not sit well with Flair and the committee (Committee member Kevin Sullivan
Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)
Kevin Francis Sullivan is an American professional wrestler and booker, perhaps best known for his role in WCW as "The Taskmaster" and his leading of the "Dungeon of Doom".-Early career:...
was quoted as saying, "While we're doing this, why don't we go to Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
and change Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
's number?"). Herd believed Flair's time was over as a main event player and the big money was with Sting
Sting (wrestler)
Steven James "Steve" Borden , better known by his ring name Sting, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Lex Luger
Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell "Larry" Pfohl , better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy...
. This backstage feud hit its breaking point when, during contract renegotiation, Flair refused to take a pay cut and be moved away from the main event position (despite the fact that he was by far the company's biggest draw). He also refused to drop the title to Lex Luger as Herd wanted, saying that he had promised to drop it to Sting and Herd had previously agreed. Herd didn't care what he had said earlier and accused Flair of holding up the company but Flair said he was simply holding Herd to his word. Flair tried to compromise to Herd and offered to drop the title to fellow Horsemen Barry Windham
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling ....
, feeling that Windham was long passed over and deserved a run with the title. However as Flair was planning to leave to wrestle Windham so he could lose the title, on July 1, 1991, two weeks before the Great American Bash, Herd fired Flair from WCW and stripped him of the WCW World Heavyweight title
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
The World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation . It existed within WCW between 1991 and 2001. Following the acquisition of WCW by World Wrestling...
. There was one small problem with that decision: Flair was still the NWA World Heavyweight champion and his title belt represented both promotions.
Flair brings the belt to WWF's TV programs
Upon notification, Flair called Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
of the rival World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
to inform him of the situation; McMahon offered Flair a deal with the WWF in exchange for him sending McMahon the belt and Flair obliged. A couple of weeks later, promos were being shown of Bobby Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
with Flair's belt on WWF television, which drew great intrigue to the promotion as many wrestling fans around the world knew full well what that belt represented but more importantly, who that belt truly belonged to. NWA and WCW officials, who were humiliated by the promos being shown by the WWF on national TV with their title belt, were frustrated at Herd's actions and, amidst loud "We Want Flair!" chants at WCW events during this period, made one final, desperate attempt to save face by offering Flair substantially more money to return. Their efforts failed. By his short-sighted actions, Herd inadvertently gave the WWF one of the greatest potential angles in wrestling history, as many fans who had dreamed of a Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
/Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
matchup were going to finally get their wish (albeit in house shows only because of booking difficulties with Hogan, McMahon, and Flair before WrestleMania VIII
WrestleMania VIII
WrestleMania VIII was the eighth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 5, 1992 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana...
; the main event was changed to two main events with Flair vs. Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
and Hogan vs. Sid Justice).
Lasting impact on the NWA
Flair was in his legal rights to take the NWA/WCW World title belt with him to the WWF
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
because Herd refused to give Flair back the $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
25,000 deposit that the NWA required of every wrestler upon winning the World title to keep him from appearing in a rival promotion (like the WWF); according to NWA bylaws, the deposit would be paid back upon losing, plus interest. Without Flair, the 1991 Great American Bash became what many fans consider one of the worst wrestling PPVs in history, as the Baltimore audience loudly chanted, "We want Flair!" throughout the entire show. Many fans there and on PPV also saw the title match between the top two contenders for the title, Lex Luger
Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell "Larry" Pfohl , better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy...
and Barry Windham
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling ....
, as a sham because Flair still had the actual title belt (they had to resort to taping 'World Champion' on one of Dusty Rhodes's old belts, due to their new WCW World title belt not being ready in time, and giving that to Luger after winning the match) and was never beaten for it, thus the 'real world champion' angle the WWF created upon Flair's arrival had more legitimacy than the pay-per-view did. The NWA suffered tremendously, losing most of its fanbase and TV audience to the WWF; most of them switched in order to see how Flair would do against the likes of Roddy Piper
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
and Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
. Many fans switched back to WCW several years later during the Monday Night Wars
Monday Night Wars
Monday Night Wars is the common term describing the period of mainstream televised American professional wrestling from September 4, 1995, to March 26, 2001. During this time, the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's Monday Nitro in a...
with the WWF but the NWA never regained the fame and name recognition it once had previously and dissolved into a smaller, independent-based faction.
Legacy and aftermath
Many wrestling insiders look at this incident as the major reason why Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
took the WWF Championship title belt off of the soon-to-be departing Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
at the 1997 Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1997)
Survivor Series was the eleventh annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Quebec....
event in the infamous fashion he did (see Montreal Screwjob
Montreal Screwjob
The Montreal Screwjob was a controversial, purportedly real life professional wrestling event in which the owner of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon, double-crossed the defending WWF Champion, Bret Hart, during the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event...
) in order to avoid it being shown on rival WCW's Monday Nitro show the following day (a similar incident occurred in December 1995 when Madusa Miceli came out with the WWF Women's title belt on WCW Monday Nitro and threw it in the trash can). Many felt that his company, who was losing the ratings war to WCW at the time, simply could not afford the same PR nightmare that had befallen the NWA back in 1991 and took extreme measures to prevent it by ordering the referee (Earl Hebner
Earl Hebner
Earl William Hebner is a professional wrestling referee currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the twin brother of Dave Hebner...
) to call for the bell seconds after Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
put Hart in a sharpshooter
Sharpshooter (professional wrestling)
The Sharpshooter, originally named Sasori-gatame, Scorpion Hold in English, is a professional wrestling submission hold. The move is also known by several other names: cloverleaf leg-lace Boston crab, standing reverse figure-four leglock, and, the most commonly known alternative, Scorpion Deathlock...
submission hold and awarding the belt to Michaels.
The matter with Flair caused a lawsuit between the two companies but eventually the lawsuit was dropped. In the 2008 WWE DVD Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection, Flair said he kept the "Big Gold Belt" because he was never paid back his $25,000 initial deposit for the NWA title, plus interest, which totaled $38,000. Months after Flair's departure, Jim Herd was fired and replaced by Kip Allen Frey
Kip Allen Frey
Kip Allen Frey is a venture capitalist and an adjunct professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy of Duke University. He served as President and CEO of several companies and has presided over company transactions that produced more than $1 billion of value for investors.-Early life and...
in January 1992.