History Wrestling / WCW

** Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling is the true spiritual successor to WCW: its flagship show ''Wednesday Night Dynamite'' ([[Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro remind you of anything?]]) airs on TNT, it's backed by an influential billionaire, and it even employs quite a few people who'd once worked in WCW both in front of and behind the cameras, such as Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/DustinRhodes, Wrestling/ArnAnderson, Tully Blanchard, Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage, Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels, and even Wrestling/JimRoss and Wrestling/TonySchiavone together again on commentary. In late 2020 they even managed to get Wrestling/{{Sting}} on board, despite him having retired 5 years earlier after his botched WWE run ended in a supposedly career-ending injury, and in 2021 the Wrestling/BigShow, who'd debuted in WCW as The Giant in 1995, jumped ship to AEW after his WWE contract expired.

->''"Here we are 15 years later and I can honestly say that it was the worst thing that ever happened in the history of wrestling."''
-->-- '''[[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Dave Meltzer]]''' [[https://soundcloud.com/thelapsedfan/memorial-tour-wcws-starrcade-2000 on]] WCW going out of business

* YouHaveToHaveJews: While many started to get bored with Goldberg, he was still a main eventer at a point when people were sick of the nWo and its factions within. Also, as Heenan pointed out, he was the first high-profile Jewish champion.

''WCW Saturday Night'' was the mothership show before ''[[Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro Nitro]]''. It was two hours long and had more than a few {{squash match}}es, just like every other show at the time. However, there were times where they'd let a young nobody get a shot at Flair and actually give him a run for his money. It also served as a springboard for wrestlers who would go on to achieve fame in later years, with [[Wrestling/{{Goldust}} Dustin Rhodes]], [[Wrestling/TripleH Hunter Hearst Helmsley]], [[Wrestling/MickFoley Cactus Jack]], and The Hollywood Blonds ([[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin "Stunning" Steve Austin]] and Wrestling/BrianPillman) appearing for the first time on national television.

In the aftermath of WCW going under, the void left by it led to the creation of [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] and Wrestling/RingOfHonor, and promoted them to relevance.

* FleetingDemographicRule: After Hulk Hogan arrived to WCW on 1994, the company apparently looked to Hogan's past, as his tenure during his first two years before [[FaceHeelTurn turning heel]] and founding the nWo featured some [[TheEighties 80's]]-era Hulkamania [[CallBack Call-Backs]] such as:
** Hogan and Savage's past history with each other in the WWF, leading them to not only reform the Mega Powers (and bringing back Wrestling/MissElizabeth as well in January 1996), but also to later break up and feud against one another once more. (Keep in mind that TheReveal that Hogan was The Outsiders' "third man" was done via Hogan attacking Savage).

** Bischoff was constantly working the wrestlers. For instance, [[http://www.rspwfaq.net/2014/03/rf-video-shoot-interview-with-sherri.html according]] to Wrestling/SherriMartel, everyone assumed that Nancy Sullivan's affair with Chris Benoit was a work. Some of them even thought that ''WCW's bankruptcy'' was a work!

* FleetingDemographicRule: When Hogan had arrived in WCW on June 11, 1994, the company had routinely looked to Hogan's past which led to a couple of [[TheEighties 80's]]-era Hulkamania [[CallBack Call-Backs]] such as:
** Hogan and Savage's past history with each other in the WWF, leading them to not only reform the Mega Powers (and bringing back Wrestling/MissElizabeth as well in January 1996), but also to later break up and feud against one another once more.
** Creator/MrT had reunited with Hogan during the latter's '94 feud with Flair.
** WCW tapped Wrestling/BrutusBeefcake, Wrestling/RoddyPiper, Ultimate Warrior, Wrestling/JohnTenta, Wrestling/{{Kamala}}, and [[Creator/TinyLister Zeus]], all of whom had a history with Hogan in the WWF.
** [[Wrestling/BigShow The Giant]] was initially portrayed as the [[AvengingTheVillain vengeful son]] of Wrestling/AndreTheGiant in order to help recapture the magic which was ''[=WrestleMania=] III''.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Adding Luchadores and cruiserweights was very refreshing, and they got some of their first nationwide appearances on WCW. Wrestling/LaParka, Psicosis, Chris Jericho, Juventud Guerrera, Wrestling/BillyKidman, Wrestling/DeanMalenko, Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, Eddie Guerrero, Wrestling/UltimoDragon, Wrestling/JushinThunderLiger, and Rey Mysterio Jr. were the cream of a very deep and talented pool of guys.

** Everybody had this problem in the Vince Russo era. Not a surprise, since Russo has infamously said he [[NinetiesAntiHero doesn't believe in "heels" or "faces".]]

''Nitro'' was the superior product for years, until it hit a creative wall. Bischoff's problem was that he measured everything by the ratings. So when ''Raw'' rebounded--and everyone knew it would eventually--he had no plan or faith in his own product. While RingOldies were given most of the screentime, up-and-comers like Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage, Wrestling/{{Raven}}, and Wrestling/BookerT either [-1)-] didn't get elevated like they should have, or [-2)-] it was handled poorly and came about too late. The Cruiserweight Division went from being "the future of wrestling" (as Bischoff touted them as on his show) to being "vanilla midgets" who "couldn't draw", because he was listening to the wrong people; the over-reliance on one storyline, with most of the [[{{Face}} babyfaces]] forming [[AntiHeroSubstitute an nWo offshoot]]; and, most notorious of all, Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} vs. Wrestling/HulkHogan being relegated to an episode of ''Nitro'', rather than pay-per-view, because they wanted to win the ratings war so badly. Those were just some of the decisions that led to huge losses in ratings and revenue, which resulted in the WWF purchasing WCW's assets on March 26, 2001.

* '''WCW World Heavyweight Championship''' - It was defended on WWE programming until it was merged with the WWE Championship to become the Undisputed WWE Championship.

''Nitro'' was the superior product for years, until it hit a creative wall. Bischoff's problem was that he measured everything by the ratings. So when ''Raw'' rebounded--and everyone knew it would eventually--he had no plan or faith in his own product. While RingOldies were given most of the screentime, up-and-comers like Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage, Wrestling/{{Raven}}, and Wrestling/BookerT either [-1)-] didn't get elevated like they should have, or [-2)-] it was handled poorly and came about too late. The Cruiserweight Division went from being "the future of wrestling" (as Bischoff touted them as on his show) to being "vanilla midgets" who "couldn't draw", because he was listening to the wrong people; the over-reliance on one storyline, with most of the [[{{Face}} babyfaces]] forming [[AntiHeroSubstitute an nWo offshoot]]; and, most notorious of all, Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} vs. Wrestling/HulkHogan being relegated to an episode of ''Nitro'', rather than pay-per-view, because they wanted to win the ratings war so badly. Those were just some of the decisions that led to huge losses in ratings and revenue, which resulted in the WWF purchasing WCW's assets in March 2001.

World Championship Wrestling was an American ProfessionalWrestling company which, as Wrestling/EricBischoff famously put it, beat the World Wrestling Federation (now [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} World Wrestling Entertainment]]) at their own game for 84 weeks. Naturally, this success didn't come right away.

** Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling is the true spiritual successor to WCW: its flagship show ''Wednesday Night Dynamite'' ([[Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro remind you of anything?]]) airs on TNT, it's backed by an influential billionaire, and it even employs quite a few people who'd once worked in WCW both in front of and behind the cameras, such as Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/DustinRhodes, Wrestling/ArnAnderson, Tully Blanchard, Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage, Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels, and even Wrestling/JimRoss and Wrestling/TonySchiavone together again on commentary. In late 2020 they even managed to get Wrestling/{{Sting}} on board, despite him having retired 5 years earlier after his botched WWE run ended in a supposedly career-ending injury.

** The infamous clip of Wrestling/TorrieWilson getting slapped by the Macho Man for laughing during a backstage segment. Wilson didn't know Savage was going to smack her, so it wasn't planned. Eric Bischoff in particular got a lot of heat for it since it was at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and a lot of the Time Warner higher-ups were there to see it. Nowadays, it's mostly remembered for being a ''Website/{{Botchamania}}'' meme.

** Scott Hall was arrested a number of times for drunk driving. It got so bad that his wife Dana wrote in to the office and pleaded with them do something, and something they did: WCW Creative made it part of his gimmick. Eric Bischoff did indeed come downstairs to talk man-to-man with Hall — in a promo, mind you — to which Hall replied by vomiting on him. He then disappeared from WCW programming. Later, after Flair went bananas, he was carted off to a mental hospital...where he bumped into Hall.

** Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling is the true spiritual successor to WCW: its flagship show ''Wednesday Night Dynamite'' ([[Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro remind you of anything?]]) airs on TNT, it's backed by an influential billionaire, and it even employs quite a few people who'd once worked in WCW both in front of and behind the cameras, such as Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/DustinRhodes, Wrestling/ArnAnderson, Tully Blanchard, Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage, Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels, and even Wrestling/JimRoss and Wrestling/TonySchiavone together again on commentary.

[[folder:A–C]]

[[folder:S–Z]]

[[folder: A–C]]

** When the Wrestling/UltimateWarrior was brought to WCW (known as simply "The Warrior"), he was built up as a threat to [[Wrestling/HulkHogan Hollywood Hogan]]. Warrior pretty much got beaten all the time before being defeated by Hogan at ''Halloween Havoc'' 1998, even though Hogan was supposed to be super-scared of him.

* DreamTeam: With Turner's money, Bischoff could basically match any offer Vince made and even exceed it. Within a year, he'd assembled the greatest roster in the annals of professional wrestling. Only The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, {{Wrestling/Kane}}, Wrestling/MarkHenry, and a few others remained loyal to the WWF. However, it came with its downside; the fact that some of these contracts, particularly those used to lure away WWF talent, were so exorbitant is often cited as an important reason for why WCW was eventually sold to [=McMahon=] for a paltry $2.5 million. It backfired in another way, though. WCW dedicated so much time to its big stars that WWF assembled their own team out of people who had been buried and/or ignored by WCW.

** Vince [=McMahon=] used to, and kind of still does, struggle with the idea of putting his belt on someone who was a champion in another promotion. Eric Bishoff, on the other hand, pretty much built ''Nitro'' on the backs of WWF World Champions (or just about any wrestler who became big in another promotion). Hogan became the world champ on his first match, the [=nWo=] came after that, and then Wrestling/{{ECW}} talent came over. Bischoff did not have a suspicious nature like Vince, and though it came back to bite him in the end, it helped WCW quite a bit. Their fortunes didn't really pick up until Hall and Nash defected to WCW and formed their own coalition: The Outsiders, who teased at a cross-promotional "invasion" (despite the WWF having nothing to do with the angle). People in the south hated Hall and Nash. The trash thrown at them was real, they were genuinely seen as invaders.

** WCW tried to capitalize on Mancow, a national radio DJ, and his popularity by having him "feud" with Wrestling/JimmyHart. Hogan and Hart did a spot on his radio show where Hart attacked Mancow, and this is what we get. What's interesting is at the end of this match it's pretty clear that Mancow doesn't know the finish and Jimmy has to [[https://gfycat.com/WatchfulRewardingCuscus physically hold him on top of himself.]] Mancow had worked a short program in ECW the previous summer so this is technically another occurrence of WCW poaching talent from ECW.

** Hogan and Bischoff were negotiating the details of the heel turn as late as the afternoon of the show. The plan was kept secret from most people, although in the days before the show, most people in WCW strongly suspected it would be Hogan, but no one knew for sure. Scott Hall claims he didn't know until two hours before the match.

** Wrestling/{{Raven}}, along with The Flock, was a hated heel and a popular face. He was an upper-midcard staple with the US Title for a long time, and arguably also the making of Goldberg. Raven also had a pretty fun, weird, and stupid run with Wrestling/PerrySaturn, Vampiro, and the ICP. But his "Raven's Rules" gimmick was by far the most memorable part of his WCW stint: Just stating ''any match I'm in is no DQ, no countout'' made him a real threat.

[[folder: S–Z]]

** WCW tapped Brutus Beefcake, Wrestling/RoddyPiper, Ultimate Warrior, Wrestling/JohnTenta, Wrestling/{{Kamala}}, and [[Creator/TinyLister Zeus]], all of whom had a history with Hogan in the WWF.

** Brian Knobbs teamed with someone called "The Dog" (a guy who actually behaved like a dog, wore a leash, and chewed on wrestling gear) as the Hardcore Soldiers, who were actually managed by Fit Finlay. The Dog was played by Al Green: he was one half of the Master Blasters with Kevin Nash, and was once involved in a worked shoot with Tank Abbott.

** WCW tried to capitalize on Mancow, a national radio DJ, and his popularity by having him "feud" with Jimmy Hart. Hogan and Hart did a spot on his radio show where Hart attacked Mancow, and this is what we get. What's interesting is at the end of this match it's pretty clear that Mancow doesn't know the finish and Jimmy has to [[https://gfycat.com/WatchfulRewardingCuscus physically hold him on top of himself.]] Mancow had worked a short program in ECW the previous summer so this is technically another occurrence of WCW poaching talent from ECW.

* DreamTeam: With Turner's money, Bischoff could basically match any offer Vince made and even exceed it. Within a year, he'd assembled the greatest roster in the annals of professional wrestling. [[note]](With such big names consisting of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Wrestling/MissElizabeth, Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Wrestling/TedDiBiase, Wrestling/{{Virgil}}, Wrestling/HacksawJimDuggan, Bret Hart, Wrestling/RoddyPiper, Ultimate Warrior, Wrestling/MikeRotunda, Wrestling/BrutusBeefcake, Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors, Wrestling/TheNastyBoys, Wrestling/BobbyHeenan, Wrestling/MeanGeneOkerlund, Wrestling/JimmyHart, Wrestling/{{Madusa}}, and Wrestling/SherriMartel.)[[/note]] Only The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, {{Wrestling/Kane}}, Wrestling/MarkHenry, and a few others remained loyal to the WWF. However, it came with its downside; the fact that some of these contracts, particularly those used to lure away WWF talent, were so exorbitant is often cited as an important reason for why WCW was eventually sold to [=McMahon=] for a paltry $2.5 million. It backfired in another way, though. WCW dedicated so much time to its big stars that WWF assembled their own team out of people who had been buried and/or ignored by WCW.

** Hogan and Savage's past history with each other in the WWF, leading them to not only reform the Mega Powers (and bringing back Miss Elizabeth as well in January 1996), but also to later break up and feud against one another once more.

** WCW tapped Brutus Beefcake, Roddy Piper, Ultimate Warrior, Wrestling/JohnTenta, Wrestling/{{Kamala}}, and [[Creator/TinyLister Zeus]], all of whom had a history with Hogan in the WWF.

** The nWo "B-Team" with Horace Hogan, Vincent (aka Virgil), and a few other jobbers of the squad. If someone from the nWo lost regularly, chances are it'd be one of them.

** Usually the commentary desk is about plugs and selling products. Between Michael Buffer, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay, and Gene Okerlund, they set a tone of importance for "our great sport." Buffer is known for his pomp and circumstance regal announcing. You had Tony selling the drama and wrestlers, Heenan with the history of the business (and jokes), Tenay with stats and data, and Mene Gene with his 'breaking news' interview style. They made the matches seem more real than they were. (The announcers would mention it if someone botched a move.)

** Madusa took one look at the names attached to the new women's division and signed at once. She announced her arrival, dropped the WWF belt in the trash can, and never once held the women's title, which became a complete afterthought the second it was revived, and lasted only a few months anyway.

** Bischoff was constantly working the wrestlers. For instance, [[http://www.rspwfaq.net/2014/03/rf-video-shoot-interview-with-sherri.html according]] to Sherri Martel, everyone assumed that Nancy Sullivan's affair with Chris Benoit was a work. Some of them even thought that ''WCW's bankruptcy'' was a work!

''Nitro'' was the superior product for years, until it hit a creative wall. Bischoff's problem was that he measured everything by the ratings. So when ''Raw'' rebounded--and everyone knew it would eventually--he had no plan or faith in his own product. While RingOldies were given most of the screentime, up-and-comers like Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage, Wrestling/{{Raven}}, and Wrestling/BookerT either [-1)-] didn't get elevated like they should have, or [-2)-] it was handled poorly and came about too late. The Cruiserweight Division went from being "the future of wrestling" (as Bischoff touted them as on his show) to being "vanilla midgets" who "couldn't draw", because he was listening to the wrong people; the over-reliance on one storyline, with most of the [[{{Face}} babyfaces]] forming [[AntiHeroSubstitute an nWo offshoot]]); and, most notorious of all, Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} vs. Wrestling/HulkHogan being relegated to an episode of ''Nitro'', rather than pay-per-view, because they wanted to win the ratings war so badly. Those were just some of the decisions that led to huge losses in ratings and revenue, which resulted in the WWF purchasing WCW's assets in March 2001.

''Nitro'' was a long-shot idea by Bischoff to compete with ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]'' in their own timeslot. He had the perfect blueprint for a three-hour show: Make sure there is variety, showcasing different styles of wrestling (often with interesting stipulations). Live TV in an age when viewers had their attention divided. Have a mega-angle going on with the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder, which was original and, to this day, innovative. Pro wrestling was forever changed by the nWo in some ways, with each show ending on a {{cliffhanger}}. Think ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' hype, but weekly.

''Nitro'' was the superior product for years, until it hit a creative wall. Bischoff's problem was that he measured everything by the ratings. So when ''Raw'' rebounded--and everyone knew it would eventually--he had no plan or faith in his own product. While established stars were given most of the screentime, up-and-comers like Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage, Wrestling/{{Raven}}, and Wrestling/BookerT either [-1)-] didn't get elevated like they should have, or [-2)-] it was handled poorly and came about too late. The Cruiserweight Division went from being "the future of wrestling" (as Bischoff touted them as on his show) to being "vanilla midgets" who "couldn't draw"; the over-reliance on the nWo storyline, complete with most of their [[{{Face}} babyfaces]] joining the Wolfpac ([[AntiHeroSubstitute an nWo offshoot]]); and, most notorious of all, Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} vs. Wrestling/HulkHogan being relegated to an episode of ''Nitro'', rather than pay-per-view, because they wanted to win the ratings war so badly, were just some of the many creative missteps that led to significant losses in ratings and revenue, which resulted in the WWF purchasing WCW's assets in March 2001.

* DreamTeam: With Turner's money, Bischoff could basically match any offer Vince made and even exceed it. Within a year, he'd assembled the greatest roster in the annals of professional wrestling. [[note]](With such big names consisting of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Wrestling/MissElizabeth, Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Wrestling/TedDiBiase, Wrestling/{{Virgil}}, Wrestling/HacksawJimDuggan, Bret Hart, Wrestling/RoddyPiper, Ultimate Warrior, Wrestling/MikeRotunda, Wrestling/BrutusBeefcake, Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors, Wrestling/TheNastyBoys, Wrestling/BobbyHeenan, Wrestling/MeanGeneOkerlund, Wrestling/JimmyHart, Wrestling/{{Madusa}}, and Wrestling/SherriMartel.)[[/note]] Only The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, {{Wrestling/Kane}}, Wrestling/MarkHenry, and a few others remained loyal to the WWF. However, it came with its downside; the fact that some of these contracts, particularly those used to lure away WWF talent, were so exorbitant is often cited as an important reason for why WCW was eventually sold to [=McMahon=] for a paltry $2.5 million. It backfired in another way, though. WCW dedicated so much time to its big stars that WWF assembled their own team out of people who had been buried and/or ignored by WCW.

** When "The Cat" (Ernest Miller) fought The Dog (Al Green), even Tony Schiavone couldn't keep from laughing.

* DreamTeam: With Turner's money, Bischoff could basically match any offer Vince made and even exceed it. Within a year, he'd assembled the greatest roster in the annals of professional wrestling. Big names like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Wrestling/MissElizabeth, Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Wrestling/TedDiBiase, Wrestling/{{Virgil}}, Wrestling/HacksawJimDuggan, Bret Hart, Wrestling/RoddyPiper, Wrestling/MikeRotunda, Wrestling/BrutusBeefcake, Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors, Wrestling/TheNastyBoys, Wrestling/BobbyHeenan, Wrestling/MeanGeneOkerlund, Wrestling/{{Madusa}}, Wrestling/SherriMartel, and others made news with their defection to WCW. Only The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, {{Wrestling/Kane}}, Wrestling/MarkHenry, and a few others remained loyal. However, it came with its downside; the fact that some of these contracts, particularly those used to lure away WWF talent, were so exorbitant is often cited as an important reason for why WCW was eventually sold to [=McMahon=] for a paltry $2.5 million. It backfired in another way, though. WCW dedicated so much time to its big stars that WWF assembled their own team out of people who had been buried and/or ignored by WCW.

** WCW tried to capitalize on Mancow, a national radio DJ, and his popularity by having him "feud" with Wrestling/JimmyHart. Hogan and Hart did a spot on his radio show where Hart attacked Mancow, and this is what we get. What's interesting is at the end of this match it's pretty clear that Mancow doesn't know the finish and Jimmy has to [[https://gfycat.com/WatchfulRewardingCuscus physically hold him on top of himself.]] Mancow had worked a short program in ECW the previous summer so this is technically another occurrence of WCW poaching talent from ECW.

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[[folder: E–M]]

[[folder: A–D]]

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[[folder: N–R]]