Former WCW EVP Jim Herd Passes Away At 87

Jim Herd, the controversial figure who headed up WCW from 1988 to 1992, passed away last month. Conrad Thompson revealed in his latest piece for Yahoo! Uncrowned that the former WCW Executive Vice President passed away in October. Dave Meltzer reports that his passing happened three weeks ago, though a specific date wasn’t given. Details on his passing aren’t yet known; he was 87 years old.

Herd was an oft-criticized figure in professional wrestling circles for his stewardship of WCW during its earliest days. He is remembered for such things as firing Ric Flair in 1991 and his moves to push the nascent WCW into a more family-friendly direction, with characters like the Ding Dongs and the infamous Hunchbacks, who never made it to air and Herd later claimed was a joke he had made. His oversight of the newly-created WCW following Turner Broadcasting’s acquisition of Jim Crockett Promotions saw the company attempt to emulate what the WWF was doing at the time, which moved the company away from the more violent, adult-targeted era that JCP and the NWA was known for.

Herd was famously known as a regional manager for 68 Pizza Huts before he got the WCW gig, though he did have some bit of wrestling experience beforehand as the producer of Wrestling at the Chase for KPLR-TV in St. Louis, Missouri where he was station manager. When Ted Turner — whom he had a friendship dating back years — bought JCP, he put Herd in charge of the promotion as its first EVP. Herd attempted to change the format of the company and modernize how the show looked, moving them into a better studio and adding production elements like pyrotechnics.

It was a move toward challenging the WWF and while it ultimately failed, it did set WCW up for a grander stage and proceeded to corporatize the company more with elements like promotional partnerships. While those partnerships such as Robocop showing up at Capital Comb failed creatively on a spectacular level, they did provide new revenue streams for the company. Herd also tried to lure WWF talent away, but was limited by the budget he was allowed.

Herd’s tenure as WCW EVP lasted just four years and was capped off by his famous decision to let Flair go to WWF. Herd and Flair had heavy creative conflicts, and Herd reportedly wanted Flair to take on a gladiator-type gimmick. When Flair pushed back on Herd’s demand that he take a pay cut and lose the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Herd terminated his contract in July of 1991 and stripped him of the title. However, Flair still had the title in his physical possession and took it with him when he left. Herd ultimately resigned in the face of sinking ratings and revenue in January of 1992, with Eric Bischoff being promoted to the position a year later which would set the stage for the Monday Night Wars.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family and friends of Jim Herd. Like him or not, wrestling would not be what it is today without him.