Jim Herd (born James Herd; March 24, 1939) is an American former television production executive and

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

executive. He served as the Executive Vice President of

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

(WCW) from 1988 to 1992, following

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its ass ...

's acquisition of

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

Early life

Herd held positions in the broadcasting and food service sectors. He served as a station manager for KPLR-TV in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, a channel that aired the then-popular wrestling program Wrestling at the Chase. Subsequently, he worked as a regional manager for

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut, LLC is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. The chain, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 19,866 restaurants worldw ...

Business career

World Championship Wrestling (1988-1992)

Inauguration and initiatives

In 1988, Herd was appointed as the inaugural Executive Vice President of WCW, with his official tenure commencing on January 3, 1989. One of his first initiatives undertaken was to model the success of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)--which embraced a positive family-friendly image.-- This was achieved by introducing various gimmicks and characters with the intention of broadening WCW's appeal, especially to the younger demographic. One such initiative was the creation of "The Ding Dongs," a tag team portrayed by The Rock 'n' Roll Rebels, donning an all-red outfit with a visual representation of a bell. This gimmick did not resonate with many fans and critics. Another concept was "The Hunchbacks," a tag team idea where the wrestlers' physical characteristics (the hump) would ostensibly prevent them from being pinned. This idea was not widely accepted within the company. and was ultimately never implemented. Herd was also known for his promotional partnerships, particularly with the movie '' RoboCop 2''. As part of this collaboration, Herd organised a dedicated

Pay-Per-View Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

event called Capital Combat, where

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...

appeared alongside professional wrestler Sting.

Conflicts and subsequent departure

Herd’s tenure saw several internal conflicts, particularly with prominent wrestler

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

. Disputes arose over proposed changes to Flair's wrestling persona and contractual disagreements. Herd reportedly suggested that Flair adopt a

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 ...

-inspired gimmick named ‘Spartacus,’ which Flair and some within the company reportedly opposed. Herd wanted Flair to lose the

WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...

and undergo a significant change in his physical appearance, which consisted of shaving his head. Flair was also expected to take a pay cut. Flair balked at Herd's proposition. Herd would terminate Flair's contract and invalidate his status as the recognized holder of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on July 1, 1991, however, Flair still retained possession of the physical championship belt, which he took with him upon exiting the company. Herd resigned from his position as Executive Vice President on January 8, 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herd, Jim 1939 births American television producers Living people Businesspeople from St. Louis World Championship Wrestling executives