What Could Have Been: Magnum TA 25 Years Later

What could have been?

Friday was the 25th anniversary of one of the most tragic accidents in wrestling history. Magnum TA, then an up-and-coming star for Jim Crockett Promotions, crashed his Porsche into a telephone pole. South Atlanta Wrestling posted a video of his first interview after the crash on the actual anniversary date just in case there was interest. Anyway, this marked a watershed moment for the NWA and Crockett, as Magnum was poised to become the heir apparent to Dusty Rhodes as a super good guy to play foil against Ric Flair within the promotion and even against Hulk Hogan and the WWF in terms of national competition. That year's Starrcade ostensibly would have been his crowning moment; instead, his former rival Nikita Koloff was called to wrestle Flair. The faux-Russian lost the match, but one can't help but wonder if Magnum were in that position whether the results would have played out differently.

I have to wonder how the landscape would have looked if Magnum hadn't gotten into that accident. For one, it's arguable that Sting and to a lesser extent, Ricky Steamboat, wouldn't have had the prominence they had. Magnum's forced retirement left the NWA without their biggest ace in the hole. They would try several options in the short term, like Koloff and Ronnie Garvin. One could argue that Steamboat's time in the sun was inevitable given his history with Flair over the decade, and that his title win at Chi-Town Rumble was a culmination of a career that certainly earned him the right to win the NWA World Championship. That being said, Sting might have been the biggest beneficiary of Magnum's injury. He entered the promotion about a year after the injury, and within a year of employment in the NWA, he was wrestling Flair to a 45 minute draw at the first Clash of the Champions. This is the moment that ostensibly made him, but would it have happened if the accident didn't? I doubt it would have.

While Sting was made a star provincially, Magnum had the raw charisma to translate to a more national stage. Most people thought that a feud between he and Flair would have boosted JCP to a place where they could have competed with the WWF better than what they had been doing up to 1986. For all the buzz surrounding the surfer dude from California, he never translated into a national star. Now, one could and probably should argue that he came damn close in 1997 but was sabotaged first by Hulk Hogan and then by shitty, illogical booking. The difference between that and Magnum was that the latter was seemingly poised to do it in 1987 not only without needing Hogan's help, but in defiance of Hogan's dominance as a juggernaut for the WWF.

More than just the ramifications for a wrestling company, the saddest thing is that a man's livelihood and health were severely curtailed on that night 25 years ago. Terry Allen, by all accounts, wasn't drunk nor was he speeding when he wrapped his car around that pole. This was just one unfortunate, weather-induced accident that robbed a man of the ability to do what he loved. That's the biggest shame out of all of this. That being said, it still sent major shockwaves through the wrestling world, and it's has caused one of the biggest what-if debates ever. Magnum TA remains one of the most intriguing people in wrestling history, and hopefully, he has found peace over the years.