Creation In 1990, as part of an effort to diversify beyond his flagship
professional wrestling business, the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF),
Vince McMahon's Titan Sports began to make investments in the sport of
bodybuilding. Titan hired bodybuilder
Tom Platz to oversee a new magazine known as
Bodybuilding Lifestyles, and McMahon invested in a new line of
bodybuilding supplements known as ICOPRO (Integrated Conditioning Program). While rumors emerged that McMahon was also planning to establish a competitor to the long-established
International Federation of BodyBuilding (IFBB), the WWF initially denied the reports.
Bodybuilding Lifestyles purchased a booth at the IFBB's
Mr. Olympia competition on September 15, 1990, in
Chicago, where Platz and McMahon made appearances and signed autographs. In a bid to boost mainstream interest in its competitions, the WBF announced in August 1991 that it would sign bodybuilder and
The Incredible Hulk star
Lou Ferrigno. The contract was reported to be valued at $900,000 per-year. Luger was interviewed during
WrestleMania VIII to promote the WBF, and was scheduled to make a guest appearance posing at the 1992 WBF Championship on June 13 in
Long Beach. The
Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote that in a company meeting discussing the changes, "most of the guys freaked out about being told to give up all their drugs just three months before a contest, despite many willingly spouting the drug-free company line." Ferrigno quit the WBF shortly afterward, without ever competing in its events; although he legitimately cited an upcoming
carpal tunnel surgery as reasoning, it was observed that "the idea of competing without drugs, as he was so proudly talking of on
Carson months earlier, apparently wasn't even considered as an option". Ferrigno would later compete at
Mr. Olympia 1992. Luger was injured in a motorcycle accident prior to the event, resulting in him being interviewed from a hospital bed during the PPV rather than making an on-stage appearance. The same year,
McMahon would also be indicted by the
FBI for his role in the WWF steroid scandal. == Legacy ==