In 1993, WCW began taping in-ring footage for their
syndicated television shows (such as
WCW WorldWide,
WCW Pro, and
WCW Prime) at the Disney/MGM Studios.
Eric Bischoff who had become the executive producer of WCW, wanted to get away from the old school Southern arenas to a more modern arena, with bright lights. The ring in the studios was on top of a rotating platform that expanded the ringside area and increased the distance between the ring and the seats. Because the footage recorded would often be shown on television months later, the tapings often exposed bookings and storylines well in advance. WCW was usually forced to have wrestlers appear with title belts before they had won them in regards to the current storyline. This was regarded as a major breach of
kayfabe at the time, and ultimately led to WCW's departure from the
National Wrestling Alliance in September 1993.
Crowds The crowds present for the tapings were most often tourists that were given free passes to the tapings, handed free souvenirs and merchandise, and coached to cheer and boo on cue. Much of the
Hulk Hogan merchandise seen during the beginning of his tenure in WCW was handed out by WCW staffers, and wearing the merchandise was often a requirement to be allowed to occupy a seat within view of the cameras. Many of the wrestling fans that got in reported what they saw to the
dirt sheets and the burgeoning Internet discussion forums. The results of the tapings laid out most of WCW's booking plans months in advance, effectively removing the suspense in title matches for fans who were aware of the taping results.
1996 Monday Nitro broadcasts In the summer of 1996,
WCW Monday Nitro broadcast a few shows live from Disney/MGM while
WCW Saturday Night was taped at
WCW Pro's set due to all of WCW owner
Turner Broadcasting's mobile production units being used by other broadcasters for the
1996 Summer Olympics in
Atlanta.
Move to Universal Studios, end of era WCW stopped recording its syndicated programming at Disney in 1997 and moved the
Worldwide and
Pro tapings to
Universal Studios Florida, also located in Orlando. In 1998, WCW converted their syndicated programming into highlight shows recapping what had gone on on their other shows but still featured one or two matches as exclusives. These continued to be taped in Orlando as the company continued to lease space at Universal, but these were eventually instead taped alongside
WCW Saturday Night and then became part of the
WCW Thunder tapings. The matches were scrapped altogether as part of companywide budget cuts in 2000. ==Logistical errors==