Being a child who grew up in the 1980’s and 90’s, I feel confident in saying that I watched some of the best wrestling of any era. It was during my childhood that professional wrestling went mainstream, Wrestlemania was born and fans were finally able to watch wrestling programs on a weekly basis, from the comfort of their homes, thanks to the sport venturing out into television deals.
I was able to watch Hulk Hogan slam a Giant when I was a small child, and I was also able to witness the birth of the Attitude Era during my senior year of high school. Professional wrestling went through many different changes throughout this era, but one thing was certain, the entertainment value was at an all-time high.
One of my favourite memories was watching the Monday Night Wars. In one corner, we had the already established titan of wrestling, WWF, and their weekly episodes of Monday Night Raw. In the other corner, the underdog stood. It was the surging band of black sheep from Atlanta, World Championship Wrestling. Week-after-week, both brands would attempt to outdo the other, in hopes of simply winning that particular week's rating battle. Sure the action inside the ring was outstanding.
Each and every competitor seemed as if the were trying to outdo the performance they had delivered the week before. It was some of the very best competition a fan could dream of. But, it wasn't just the in-ring action that was spectacular, it was the way that each individual represented their respective brand to the bitter end.
Everyone from the World Champion to the production staff and everyone in-between, they gave fans their very best effort and it showed in the presentation of the program.
The Monday Night Wars would swing back-and-forth. One week WCW would dominate, while Vince and company would bring it the following week and overtake the battle. But, like anything else, all good things in life cannot last forever. Just as fans had grown used to the weekly war of ratings, the day finally came when WCW had to succumb to the overwhelming power of the WWE.
But, what happened? Where did things go wrong? Who was at fault for the demise of the WCW? These are questions that have been brought up time and time again. Who or what is at the center of what was once the equal alternative to Monday night wrestling? That is the very question that we hope to shed some light on with this column.
Here’s a look at 5 things that I believe to be at fault for the WCW fallout.
#5 Goldberg... and then what?
Goldberg blasted onto the scene like a violent storm, destroying everything in his path. From the smallest to the biggest, the worst to the best and the mean to the meanest, Goldberg dropped them all.
As we now know, Goldberg would go on to accumulate a streak of 173 wins before ever taking a loss. Whilst the streak was extremely exciting and the entire world rallied behind this larger than life superhero, WCW officials would eventually drop the ball because of one simple miscue.
No one ever planned for life beyond the streak and because of this simple oversight, the entire build of the mega-star known as Goldberg was all for nothing in the end.
#4 Failure to read star potential
The amount of quality talent that passed through the doors of WCW at one time or another is astounding. With that in mind, it's obvious that a true top-tier, main-eventing star would slip through the cracks.
However, when it’s a star as big as Steve Austin or Chris Jericho, one would have to believe that someone, somewhere throughout the WCW hierarchy would take a look at these guys and realise that there is something special here.
Unfortunately for WCW fans, that didn't happen and two of the all-time greats departed the company without ever being able to truly showcase their optimal talent.
“Stunning” Steve Austin had a decent run with WCW, and Chris Jericho did pretty well also. But, they never even scratched the surface of what they really had to offer, as revealed once they made their way to WWE. One year after leaving WCW, Austin 3:16 was born and he would go on to put millions of butts in seats throughout the Attitude Era.
As far as Jericho, we all remember how fast he rose to superstardom, starting with his millennium busting debut and his complete takeover of “RAW is Jericho.”
WCW missed the mark on a number of stars, such as Dean Malenko and practically the entire cruiserweight division. But Austin and Jericho still sit atop the list of “what were we thinking” in the storied history of WCW.
#3 nWoverload!
On July 7, 1996, roughly 8,500 fans inside of the Daytona Beach Ocean Center Arena, as well as millions of fans watching via pay-per-view, witnessed one of the most pivotal moments in professional wrestling history when Hulk Hogan did the unthinkable and made the heel turn heard around the world.
It was the 1996 WCW Bash at the Beach when Hogan ventured into the dark side and the infamous New World Order of professional wrestling was born.
The nWo would go on to be one of the most, if not the most reckless and dominate faction of all-time. Week after week fans watched as Hollywood Hogan led the black-and-white attack as they destroyed everything in their path. It was truly one of the most exciting and intense times in all of wrestling history.
As the nWo evolved, more and more members jumped ship from team WCW, over to the nWo. At first, it made for fantastic television. However, the angle reached a point when it seemed as if there were more nWo members than there were just average WCW stars. Essentially, the nWo outgrew its limits, so-to-speak. What was once fun, provocative and exciting television had now turned into a circus where everyone and their dog had joined the nWo.
Had they kept things to a minimum, or at least not thrown all the WCW roster into either the original nWo or the Wolfpac, then maybe things wouldn't have burnt out the way they did.
#2 Fingerpoke of doom
If there was ever a single moment in time in which professional wrestling deliberately gave fans the middle finger, it happened during the main event of Monday Nitro, on January 4, 1999.
Kevin Nash was set to defend his WCW World Heavyweight title against Hollywood Hogan at the Georgia Dome for this particular edition of Nitro. As the two competitors stared each other down, the tension was felt all throughout the venue. By this point, fans were bursting at the seams to see which of the two original nWo patriarchs would make the first move.
That first... and only “move” would belong to Hogan as he put his right index finger on the chest of Nash, which was subsequently followed by a ridiculous, theatrical sale. Nash sold the finger poke as if Hogan had decked him with the steel stairs. Hogan followed by pinning Nash for the 1-2-3.
One thing that still sticks out in my mind is how during this contest, WCW lead commentator Tony Shiovane had already told the viewing audience that Mankind was set to win the WWE Championship over on RAW is WAR. WCW did this commonly in hopes that fans would stick with Nitro, considering they would be told the RAW results there.
Unfortunately for WCW, over 600,000 wrestling fans switched from Nitro to RAW, thanks to the infamous Fingerpoke of Doom.
#1 Vince Russo
Vince Russo is one of the most opinionated, vocal, animated personalities in wrestling history. One thing about Russo that has always stood out is that Russo is always right, and he will surely remind you of that very fact.
To be fair, Vince Russo was one of the key components to the success of The Attitude Era. However, once he moved to WCW, he brought many outlandish ideas and hopes for reinventing the wheel along with him. Unfortunately for Russo, the very things that made the Attitude Era a huge success, would not be something that would work with the transitioning era that WCW was going through.
Russo is notoriously associated with some of the most ridiculous storylines and decisions WCW fans would ever witness. It was Russo who thought of the "brilliant" idea of turning Goldberg heel. Russo also brought in the Oklahoma gimmick, which was a distasteful shot at Jim Ross.
There was that time that he turned Dustin Rhodes into “Se7en.” Vince also decided one day that he would throw the coveted WCW World Championship on himself, but that move pales in comparison to the time he made David Arquette the champion. Many fans, including me, feel that Arquette winning the title was the single worst thing to happen to WCW.
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