The things that happened in World Championship Wrestling are often the stuff of legend. This company was known for being home to some insane situations behind the scenes. Some involved money, some involved drugs, some were just completely odd and make no sense when you think about them.
A lot of these tales weren't known when they happened. But with the internet becoming the powerful tool that it has since WCW closed down in 2001, we've become privy to them. Wrestlers have told these stories during shoot interviews, podcasts, and almost any chance they're given to relive the past. We've picked out 10 WCW stories that are still almost too wild to believe.
10 Commentators Had To Change In Public Bathrooms
The late great Bobby Heenan was never one to shy away from his feelings on working in WCW. Going back to those shows, you can listen and tell that he's not giving his all. He wasn't happy while working there. Maybe one of the reasons is because he was forced to change clothes in the public restroom.
According to Heenan, during shoot interviews, the broadcast teams weren't given locker room space. Instead, they were sent to the arena bathrooms to change and get ready for the show. These weren't even closed-off areas, so fans walked in on them several times.
9 The Way Eric Bischoff Dissed Ric Flair
There isn't anything shocking about the feud between WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff and former World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. The two never seemed to get along and had various spats in history. Flair wrote in his book about how Bischoff called him away from a big moment in his son's life at the last minute just to fill a small role on the show.
But the real kicker was something mentioned by several wrestlers. A situation occurred where Bischoff ran down the entire locker room. That may not have been anything new, but on this night Bischoff claimed that only Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper had ever drawn money as a performer. It was insulting for many guys but especially to Flair, who is one of the biggest stars in wrestling history.
8 Kevin Nash's Ratings Idea
WCW has a long history with "giving the book" to active wrestlers. For those unaware, that's a term used for the show's booker, also known as the person who decides who wins and loses each match. At one point, Kevin Nash was put in this position and asked to try and help right the ship for the company.
Nash, always one to have fun with a role, came up with a crazy idea when WCW executives wanted to bump up their slumping ratings. His response was to air an entire hour of old footage with one shot of a live arena. Nash reportedly did this purely to prove that nobody cared what they did, the ratings were going to stay the same.
7 Van Hammer's Demand
Van Hammer was a guy who stuck around with WCW for longer than most. You can spot him on shows from way back in 1991 and other than a short leave, he was with the company until their dying days. However, he never made much of an impact on the business. He had no real reason to demand something relating to his position with the company.
Still, while he was a member of the Misfits in Action, Hammer wasn't pleased with his ranking. His character name during this time was Private Stash, but he complained that the ranking wasn't good enough. Hammer refused to compete and to appease him, WCW changed his name to Major Stash.
6 The Flock Did Drugs In The Front Row
When Raven began randomly appearing in the front row at WCW shows, it was cool for fans who knew him. The former ECW star was gearing up for a run with a bigger promotion. He was joined by other guys in the crowd including Perry Saturn, Billy Kidman, Scotty Riggs, and others including the aforementioned Van Hammer.
They were known as The Flock. The group began missing their cues to interfere and get involved in the show because they were high or drunk. They'd get fans to buy them beers in between matches and they were known to pop pills while there. One night, they nearly got kicked out of the building when Van Hammer refused to put out his cigarette.
5 Hulk Hogan Purposely Whipped On David Flair
Towards the end of the '90s, WCW started using Ric Flair's son David. This was a risky move because David was still in the process of training and not ready for that spot. Regardless, he became a key part of his dad's rivalry with Hulk Hogan. The plan for an episode of Nitro was for David and Ric to win a tag match, followed by Hogan beating up David.
Hogan was scheduled to whip David twice with his weight belt. Instead, Hogan took it upon himself to hand out more than a dozen lashes. David was left with a bruised body and Ric was livid. He admitted to still holding a grudge over it several years later.
4 Scotty Riggs Thinks He Got De-Pushed For A Dumb Reason
Usually, the world of wrestling politics sees something either completely serious or totally petty playing a factor. Guys get pushed for one reason and they get "buried" for others. According to Scotty Riggs, the smallest of things caused his career to be halted by someone in management.
Riggs claims that he was seated next to WCW agent and former wrestler Terry Taylor on a flight. Riggs was suddenly bumped up to first-class by the flight attendant. When Terry asked why he hadn't gotten the perk, she said it was just about who was next on the list. Riggs stated that he was asked to lose on every show that Taylor booked following this incident. What a weird tale.
3 Sid Put A Squirrel In His Pants
Here's one that had nothing to do with the booking or someone's star power. Instead, it was just a case of wrestlers doing wild things backstage. Sid Vicious has a lot of stories like this. For example, he once threatened to fight Brian Pillman with a squeegee. But this story is about a pet he traveled with.
For some reason, Sid began taking a pet squirrel on the road with him. Some of the boys decided to have fun with him and placed a bet that he wouldn't put the squirrel down his pants. Sid took the bet and did the deed, leading to the squirrel biting him in his private area.
2 How The Outsiders Got A Pay Raise
This is a story that you can hear on the WWE Network if you check out The Monday Night Wars. When Kevin Nash and Scott Hall departed WWE for WCW, they used their real names with their new company. WWE still held the rights to their old character names, Diesel and Razor Ramon, and started promoting the return of these two stars.
Even though Hall and Nash were under huge WCW contract, Eric Bischoff and officials were so scared they'd leave that they made them a bigger offer. They were given five-year deals with a huge raise as long as they didn't leave for WWE. Hall and Nash signed and WCW watched as a fake Diesel and Razor Ramon appeared on WWE television. A ton of money was thrown at the Outsiders that never needed to be spent because there was no way they'd be on WWE TV.
1 The Sid Vicious/Arn Anderson Stabbing
Sid Vicious apparently took his ring name very seriously. In 1993, he was poised to turn babyface and become a top challenger for the WCW Championship. However, Sid got into a heated argument with Arn Anderson while on tour in Germany. It all began when Sid criticized Ric Flair for being an overpaid glory hog of an old man.
Ric's close friend Arn Anderson threw a beer at Sid's face in response. He threatened Sid and the two got into an altercation. Sid said Arn brought in scissors and stabbed him first. He left with four stab wounds, but Arn was stabbed twenty times. It was one of the wildest wrestling stories we've ever heard. Neither man pressed charges, but Sid was released from his WCW contract.