"Where the big boys play" used to be the slogan for World Championship Wrestling, and it wasn't a bad one. It built the company up as the place to work and for fans to see the legitimate superstars of professional wrestling. Critics found it difficult to argue against WCW's message, with big names jumping ship to WCW, from Hulk Hogan, to Hall and Nash, to Bret Hart. WCW truly was the premier wrestling company for a time, and old school fans will never forget WCW's amazing roster, solid storylines, entertaining promos, and great wrestling. However, inner turmoil, directionless booking, terrible characters and ignoring much of their great roster in favor of a handful of aging main eventers, led to WCW's demise.
WCW's slogan seemingly went from "Where the big boys play" to "It looks like something a bird left on the hood of my car," (describing their new logo) and that couldn't have been more appropriate for the direction the company was going. WCW became dependent on the overpaid New World Order and "Millionaire's Club," while younger talent left for the edgier WWE. To make matters worse, Vince Russo became head writer of WCW, bringing in nonsensical shock value and aimless booking to the company's already disorganized programming. In this article, we're are going to take a closer look at some key decisions that led to the company's death but remind the fans why WCW, for a time, was the best wrestling company on the planet. Here are 10 photos that sum up why WCW failed, and 10 photos that make us wish they were still around.
20 Failed: Judy Bagwell
The infamous Judy Bagwell on a Pole match will go down as one of the most embarrassing moments ever to be aired.
Despite the "stipulation" having no effect on the match in any way, this single pic of Judy Bagwell encapsulates one of the major reasons WCW went out of business.
Instead of a simple Chris Kanyon vs. Buff Bagwell match, writers Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara had to overbook the match with David Arquette interference and incorporate Buff's mom needlessly into the feud.
Russo and Ferrara were trying to compete with WWE using the same unpredictability and shock TV that helped WWE win the Monday Night Wars, but the attempt blew up in their faces instead. Fans were hoping for some normalcy in WCW, but overbooked nonsense such is the whole Judy Bagwell angle was anything but that.
19 Miss It: The New World Order
When The Outsiders, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, "invaded" WCW, fans wondered if Hall and Nash were harbingers of a WWE takeover. Fans tuned in to see what The Outsiders were going to do, and then Hulk Hogan shook the wrestling world to its core by joining them. Ultimately, the faction dubbed the New World Order would grow out of control, but the original concept of the nWo, and its initial implementation, put WCW well ahead of WWE for a time.
The storyline and the characters involved with the nWo angle were head and shoulders better than anything WWE was doing at the time.
Despite being heels, people tuned in the see the New World Order and who was going to join the faction or side against them. However, like all things in the company, WCW didn't know how to move past the nWo, and the idea that almost won WCW the Monday Night Wars became a self-destructive component instead.
18 Failed: Robocop
As terrible as WCW later became, it can be easy to forget about the old dubya-C-dubya. Long before Russo, WCW still had its moments of stupidity. To help promote the upcoming Robocop 2 film, Robocop himself made an appearance at a NWA/WCW event in 1990. Robocop would make the save for Sting, who was attacked by the Four Horsemen and locked in a cage.
Robocop would show off his super strength and take the cage door right off its hinges and chase the Horsemen away.
Amazingly, this entire segment was allowed to happen. Not only did it expose the business, it's also one of the most embarrassing moments for Sting, who needed Robocop to make the save, the Horsemen, who had to sell being terrified, and Jim Ross, who called the action as if any of this was believable. Even worse is that WCW didn't learn their lesson. In 1998, Rick Steiner would have a back and forth promo with a Chucky doll in what was one of the most cringy interviews ever in wrestling.
17 Miss It: Unscripted Promos
Unlike the micromanaged WWE of today, WCW had completely unscripted promos for their wrestlers. Of course, the wrestlers had to hit a few bullet points during their mic time, but for the most part, wrestlers had free reign to say whatever they wanted. Whether it was a shoot promo from Scott Steiner, Chris Jericho doing whatever he wanted during his promos, or Ric Flair coming completely unglued, this freedom on the mic led to some amazing television that you can't find in today's product.
In WCW, interviews conducted by Mean Gene Okerlund were must-see television.
A Ric Flair or a Roddy Piper promo were events in themselves. With the exception of The Rock and maybe Paul Heyman, no one today can captivate fans via the promo any longer. Those old-school WCW promos are sadly a thing of the past and part of what made WCW great.
16 Failed: David Arquette As World Champion
Much in the way WCW forced their wrestlers to stupidly sell for fiction characters, they also had to sell for celebrities, which we'll get into more a little later. One particular celebrity was David Arquette who starred in Ready to Rumble. Again, to promote this movie, Arquette would appear on WCW Monday Nitro, which was bad enough, but in sheer stupidity, Russo decided to really shock the world by having David Arquette win the company's most prestigious title.
This move not only slapped the company in the face, but it was a slap in the face to every wrestler that ever held the title.
Hell, it was a slap in the face to all those deserving wrestlers that never got the chance to be champion. This was just another example of Russo trying to shock the audience, but the shock came at the cost of the company's heart and soul.
15 Miss It: The Cruiserweight Division
Aside from the stupid celebrity appearances, and the backstage turmoil of WCW, the Cruiserweight Division is one of WCW's biggest bright spots. While the main event scene was getting old, and the matches were disappointing, the cruiserweights, like Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero, were bringing the actual wrestling. For many fans, this was their first look at the lucha libre style, and fans found themselves wildly entertained by what was considered the lower card of the show.
WCW pioneered the Cruiserweight Division in pro wrestling, and WWE, despite a strong attempt to revive it, has yet to capture the same excitement as WCW's Cruiserweight Division.
Sadly, WCW would lose interest in their Cruiserweight Division altogether, despite having future world champions in its ranks.
14 Failed: Fingerpoke of Doom
In a shocking twist where Goldberg was supposed to get his rematch with Kevin Nash for the WCW Title, Goldberg would end up "arrested," and Hogan would replace "Da Man" instead. Rather than wrestle for a match fans were hyped about, Hogan poked Nash in the chest, who sold it like he was shot and allowed Hogan to pin him. Hogan regained the World Heavyweight Title in a ruse no fan wanted.
This picture symbolizes the beginning of the end of WCW. Had the "Fingerpoke of Doom" never happened, the company could have went in a much better direction. Instead, it was a pointless swerve to unite the two nWo factions, put the title back on Hogan and keep the New World Order around long past its expiration date.
13 Miss It: Sting
One of the few things WCW got right during their peak was the year long buildup of Sting. When Hogan turned Hollywood, WCW needed a top babyface to replace him. Sting filled that void and then some. Gone were the "surfer" Sting days, but WCW would replace that version with the much cooler, much darker version of the Sting.
Sure, this new edgier Sting was a blatant ripoff of the comic book character The Crow, but this Sting helped put WCW ahead in the Monday Night War. Wrestling fans remember how crazy over Sting was, and how he was the only one who could take on the entire nWo. This year-long build of Sting vs the nWo, which peaked at Starrcade in a Sting vs Hogan match for the WCW Title, is easily the best of WCW.
12 Failed: Celebrities Galore
WCW's partnership with celebrities isn't exclusive to them. WWE does the same thing today. While sucking up to celebrities may be annoying for the fans, it's understandably best for business. However, WCW might have gone a little overboard with their celebrity lovefests.
WCW bringing in Robocop and Chucky for stupid promotional advertising is one thing, but bringing these celebrities to actually wrestle in the ring is another altogether.
WCW has put Dennis Rodman, Karl Malone (who can hit an amazing Diamond Cutter) and even Jay Leno into actual wrestling matches. While that may be a great way to get national media attention, seeing the face of professional wrestling selling for Jay frickin' Leno is pretty nauseating.
11 Miss It: Nitro Girls
Despite not having a Women's Division, the women of WCW were very successful at attracting eyes to the product. Led by Kimberly Page, the Nitro Girls were an exclusive WCW attraction and very helpful at aiding WCW in selling their magazines. While WWE was all about the sex appeal and "puppies," WCW kept their Nitro Girls classy and away from the storylines. Make no mistake, the Nitro Girls were super hot and their pics, including their own pay-per-view, "The Nitro Girls Swimsuit Calendar Special," helped make WCW some money. Unfortunately, like all good things in the company, WCW ruined them.
Eventually, WCW disbanded the Nitro Girls and started putting them into matches and storylines, despite none of them being wrestlers or ever wanting to be wrestlers. The cool, gorgeous and classy Nitro Girls that separated WCW from WWE completely vanished in favor of putting them into ludicrous storylines.
10 Failed: "Oklahoma"
It's one thing to make fun of Good Ol' J.R., it's another to make fun of his Bell's Palsy. When WCW writer, Ed Ferrara debuted his "Oklahoma" character, he did just that by twisting his mouth in a mocking fashion. That doesn't even cover the storylines that included Oklahoma and Madusa feuding over the Cruiserweight Title which Ferrara (who weighed close to 300 pounds) would inexplicably win.
To be fair, Ferrara isn't the only one to make fun of J.R. Even Vince McMahon disgustingly mocked J.R.'s condition repeatedly. However, this Oklahoma character is a microcosm of everything wrong with WCW during this time. Debuting a pointless character that needlessly makes fun of J.R., and involving the character into a pointless feud with Madusa, leading to a pointless Cruiserweight Title win, thus making the title itself pointless. That's pretty much the latter days of WCW in a nutshell.
9 Miss It: Creating Breakout Stars, Namely Chris Jericho
This title is a little misleading because it's hard to say just how much WCW officials actually helped create these stars. Many stars like Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio all got over on their own with little if any assistance from WCW upper management. Jericho's entertaining promos as well as Guerrero's and Mysterio's success in the Cruiserweight Division helped promote themselves better than anything the WCW writers ever did.
However, let's give WCW some credit as well. Sure, they had their tunnel vision totally focused on their main event scene, but upper management pulled some amazing moments that helped bring Bill Goldberg and Diamond Dallas Page to stardom. If only the geniuses running WCW would have invested in the company's younger talent as well, we'd be watching Monday Nitro instead of Monday Night Raw.
8 Failed: Bash At The Beach 2000
Just when WCW was looking to hit the reset button and bring some normalcy to the dysfunctional company, WCW decides to pull the biggest clusterjam in wrestling history. After fans saw what was supposed to be Jeff Jarrett vs. Hulk Hogan for the WCW Title, head writer Vince Russo chose to bait and switch the fans with a stupid swerve. The angle was supposed to have Hogan "fired" from the company, but then Russo ripped Hogan (who was the babyface, mind you) in an unscripted promo which resulted in Hulk leaving the company for real.
Once again WCW overbooked a solid pay-per-view (on paper anyway) and left fans more confused than entertained.
While Bash at the Beach 2000 actually led to Booker T becoming a World Champion, the confusing, nonsensical booking was taking its toll on the company's few remaining fans.
7 Miss It: WCW Fans Trashing The Ring
There is a high chance that security and the ushers do not miss this at all, but WCW fans trashing the ring is sorely missed. Don't get me wrong, I don't think anyone in the audience should throw anything into the ring or at the wrestlers, but wrestling fans today have no clue how insanely passionate wrestling fans of yesteryear used to be.
There isn't a superstar or faction around today, and probably never will be, that can generate the amount of heat that the New World Order had in the past. Their merciless beatdowns infuriated the fans who showed their displeasure by trashing the arenas and filling the ring with garbage. Again, it's not littering that's missed per se, it's the passion that wrestling fans used to have that is missed and virtually non existent today.
6 Failed: Hollywood Hogan Vs. Warrior
There were several ways in which WCW could have screwed up the long awaited rematch between The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan, and they happened to do all of them. WCW officials bled even more money to bring in Warrior, who didn't get along with Hogan in the first place, for a match no one really cared to see again, just so Hogan could get his win back (according to rumors). This doesn't even cover the stupidity of the promos, backstage interviews or the match itself, which is widely regarded as the worst match in the history of professional wrestling.
There is no redeeming factor to this WCW feud.
Warrior's promos made no sense, and the mirror scene where Hogan (and the cameras, and everyone watching at home) could see Warrior but Eric Bischoff couldn't, is cringeworthy at best. Lest we forget the botched "fireball" spot where Hogan was supposed to throw a fireball into Warrior during their match but mistakenly lit his own face on fire instead. Classic WCW.
5 Miss It: Great Matches
Hulk Hogan notwithstanding, WCW was able to put on some great matches during its existence. While WWE was all about its "Sports Entertainment," WCW was heavy on the rasslin', which largely separated them from WWE. At their peak, WCW was dishing out terrific matches from their mid-card to the Cruiserweights. And while WCW's main event scene was pretty horrific, WWE's in-ring presentation, with a few exceptions, couldn't hold a candle to WCW's wrestling.
WWE definitely had its moments, but WCW had Sting versus Ric Flair, Chris Jericho versus pretty much anybody, and DDP versus Curt Hennig. Not to mention Bret Hart versus Chris Benoit on Nitro will go down as one of the greatest WCW matches of all time and one of the few bright spots of the Hitman in WCW. WWE's wrestling has greatly improved over the years, but WCW has a plethora of absolute classics.
4 Failed: The WCW Announce Team
When WCW Monday Nitro aired, the company had some solid announcers. Tony Schiavone would become the voice of WCW with the best color commentator ever, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and the knowledgeable Mike Tenay. The trio isn't going down as the greatest announce team ever, but they were certainly better than others. Sadly, member changes ruined a solid announce team, and erratic booking made their job nigh impossible.
The announcing job is hard enough on a normal day, but WCW's insanity behind the scenes made their job virtually impossible.
A perfect example would be Schiavone telling fans that the new WCW wouldn't have any DQs, only for the bookers to follow that statement with two straight matches that ended in disqualification, confusing the fans further and making themselves look stupid. WCW also replaced Heenan with the atrocious Mark Madden, who can turn any announce team into the very worst. To their credit, the announcers did their best to sell WCW's poop sandwiches, but judging from this photo, they were all as baffled by the booking as we were.
3 Miss It: WCW's Deep Roster
Did WCW misuse their talent? Absolutely. And that's unfortunately because from top to bottom, WCW had an amazing roster. Just look at their mid-card. At one point, WCW had Sting, DDP, Curt Hennig and Bret Hart. And that was their mid-card! That's doesn't even include Booker T or Jeff Jarrett who would enter the mid-card later. All of those men listed are current WWE Hall of Famers by the way.
A company that had Hogan in the main event, Sting in the mid-card and Chris Jericho in the Cruiserweight Division is a completely stacked roster. How they managed to screw it up is mind-boggling. Unfortunately, Bischoff only cared about the upper card, who wasted large sums of money to keep their aging main eventers around while neglecting their underpaid rising stars. Clearly, that was not best for business. Not one bit.
2 Failed: The Shockmaster
Looking back, it's amazing WCW didn't go down sooner with some of the dumb ideas and characters they conceived. WCW actually benefited from a lull in professional wrestling's popularity because WWE was going through an equally weak period and couldn't capitalize. Thanks to this lull, the most absurd character, The Shockmaster, and the biggest botched debut in history really didn't hurt WCW as much as it should have.
Though WCW would forever be mocked for this travesty, the real damage came from WCW's inability to learn from the past.
WCW was doomed to repeat its stupidity with such ridiculous characters that were just as bad. Some of these ridiculous characters include but are not limited to: Oz, The KISS Demon, every member of The Dungeon of Doom, and most notably, The Yeti and Berlyn.
1 Miss It: The Four Horsemen
While stupid unrealistic characters plagued WCW, the company also had some of the best no-nonsense superstars in wrestling at the time as well. The Four Horsemen was that group of pure wrestlers. The Horsemen were a stable that is synonymous with WCW and is widely considered the greatest professional wrestling stable of all time, with another WCW stable, the New World Order, being the only faction that's even remotely close.
The Four Horsemen dominated wrestling for decades, and their wars with The Dungeon of Doom and The nWo will never be duplicated, despite many attempts to imitate them. There will never be a faction more dominant, more real and more revered in professional wrestling than the WCW exclusive, Four Horsemen, and the absence of such an awesome, consistent stable alone makes WCW sorely missed.