WCW Disney tapings The WCW Disney tapings were a series of television tapings of professional wrestling matches conducted by World Championship Wrestling at the Disney / MGM Studios in Orlando , Florida . History . 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 . The ring in the studios was on top of a rotating platform which expanded the ringside area and farthered 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 . 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 . WCW officials also did their best to keep actual wrestling fans from attending the tapings . 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 , and discouraging workers from putting in more of an effort to earn title reigns , since most of the title reigns were set in stone due to the shows that were already in the can . Due to budget cuts , WCW discontinued the Disney Tapings in 2000 , when the format of " WCW WorldWide Wrestling " was changed to a highlight show . However , WCW had moved the " WorldWide Wrestling " tapings to Universal Studios Florida before that . They would continue to tape matches for " WorldWide " during the WCW Monday Nitro and WCW Thunder TV tapings . Eventually , it was turned into a recap show for Nitro and Thunder shows , and this was its format up until WorldWide ' s eventual demise . 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 Turner ' s mobile production units being used by other broadcasters for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta . Logistical errors . Brian Pillman and Steve Austin were WCW / NWA World Tag Team Champions for a good portion of 1993 , but were scheduled to drop the tag title sometime before footage of Arn Anderson and Paul Roma with the title belts was due to start appearing on WCW syndicated television . Pillman suffered a legitimate injury shortly before the Clash of the Champions show in August 1993 , and WCW was forced to replace him with Lord Steven Regal so that the scheduled title change could take place . Also in 1993 , several weeks of syndicated programming was taped with Sid Vicious as WCW World Heavyweight Champion . Sid was scheduled to defeat Vader at Starrcade ' 93 , and the material taped would have began airing in early 1994 . However , Sid was fired several weeks before the PPV for engaging in a hotel room brawl with Arn Anderson during a tour of the United Kingdom . In choosing to have Ric Flair win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship instead , WCW was forced to post - produce or scrap the material taped with Sid as champion .