20 Years Without World Championship Wrestling

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we look back on World Championship Wrestling.

How much WCW have you watched?

David Gibb: In real time, I was watching sporadically between ‘97 and the end. My friends and I were a WWF crowd at the time. Since the launch of WWE Network, I’ve watched just about every PPV and Clash and have watched long runs of TV from both the late ‘80s/early ‘90s and the Nitro era.

James Konlowski: I watched it pretty religiously from 2000 until it went out of a business. At the time, I didn’t see the big deal about WCW. The production values looked cheap, the ring was too small, the commentary was obnoxious and there was hardly any star power left on the roster. In the years since, I have gone back to watch the company’s most memorable years on the WWE Network, and I can say I’m a lot more impressed. The entire nWo angle was superb, Hulk Hogan turning heel was inspired, Eric Bischoff creating Nitro to go head to head with Vince McMahon was paramount to genius and the cruiserweight division was fantastic. Basically, the late ‘90s were the complete opposite of the dying days of WCW.

Juan Bautista: I’ve watched a decent amount of WCW, mainly the PPVs with a few old Nitros.

Steven Jackson: Loads! Those who have read my first article with The Wrestling Estate will know WCW was my introduction into this crazy thing we call professional wrestling. My favorite years being 1992, 1993 and 1996.

Chad Gelfand: I didn’t watch it as it aired, but one year I went back and watched every WCW PPV in 2000, and it was exhausting how much they would cram into a three-hour PPV. Now I’ve gone back and watched bits and pieces from several different eras in WCW and find myself really enjoying the midcard and cruiserweight scene in WCW, sometimes more than the main event.

John Corrigan: I’ve spent the pandemic watching as much WCW as possible. I’ve binged Nitro and am almost finished watching every PPV. When the WWE Network launched seven years ago, I watched every Clash of the Champions.

What’s your favorite part of World Championship Wrestling?

Gibb: I loved the way 50% of the show presented wrestling for wrestling’s sake to provide context for the characters and angles that were supposed to draw.

Konlowski: Eric Bischoff gets a lot of unfair criticism simply because he ultimately lost the ratings war to Vince McMahon, but before that he completely revolutionized the business. Putting wrestling on prime-time TV and having it go live, making a wrestling show three hours, incorporating reality-based angles and helping the entire business by igniting the biggest boom period ever. My favorite part of WCW would be the unpredictability of it all. You just never knew what you were going to see. Even the latter-day episodes are worth a watch.

Bautista: WCW’s ability to be different. The stage sets were different, the entrance music was different and the style of wrestling varied.

Jackson: The cruiserweights! They’ve always enthralled me, and even today, the matches the likes of Rey Mysterio Jr., Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero put on remain my favorite. So much so that I have dedicated a podcast series to them at BBGWrestling: Where the Cruiserweights Play.

Gelfand: The atmosphere. There’s something about WCW’s presentation that was different than WWE’s that I really like. The different venues and unique sets that they used definitely contributed to that atmosphere.

Corrigan: The sports presentation. Unlike what AEW promised and failed to deliver, WCW always considered pro wrestling a sport, even while Vince Russo was booking.

What was the biggest mistake World Championship Wrestling made?

Gibb: Not understanding it needed to make a wholesale generational transition on top until it was too late.

Konlowski: Easy one to say is guaranteed contracts. That wasn’t the reason the company went out of business, although it didn’t help matters. Creative control, wasting cash on a daily basis, the list can go on and on. But the biggest mistake by far was creating Thunder. Nitro was already struggling creatively at that point and the last thing the company needed was a second weekly show to focus on.

Bautista: Three mistakes led to WCW’s downfall: putting all its eggs in one basket with the NWO, The Finger Poke of Doom and Vince Russo being hired as head of creative. In these three instances, talent was held down. There wasn’t enough shuffling of the roster to keep things fresh.

Jackson: The biggest mistake WCW made was continually trying to compete with the WWF. Instead of carving out an alternative to keep fans engaged, WCW tried to take down the WWF, which cost the company so much money and credibility from its fans.

Gelfand: Not having Sting decisively beat Hulk Hogan at Starrcade 97. This seemed to be the beginning of the end for WCW. Sting vs. NWO was the most important storyline in company history, and they botched the ending to it.

Corrigan: Bending to The Hulkster’s will. As soon as he came into WCW, the company changed forever, and not in a good way. Yes, he was the biggest possible signing at the time and brought mainstream credibility to the company. But he changed WCW’s identity, oversaturating the roster with his buddies and WWE castoffs while sacrificing flag bearers like Vader and Sting and stunting the growth of up-and-comers like Steve Austin. Even when Hogan was the leader of the New World Order, he took up so much TV time cutting rambling promos and stinking up main events with equally old characters. And every time it looked like he was ready to pass the torch (Goldberg, Sting, etc.), he ended up right back where he started – on top.

What’s your favorite World Championship Wrestling match?

Gibb: The Flair-Funk “I Quit” match.

Konlowski: I was never really a fan of WCW’s in-ring work. Yes, the cruiserweight division was spectacular, but every match was kind of similar. For the most part, the main events just resulted in mass run-ins which got less and less enjoyable. I’d have to go with Goldberg defeating Hulk Hogan to capture the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on an episode of Nitro from the Georgia Dome. It was epic. Although I bet Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan still kick themselves for not keeping this as a major PPV attraction.

Bautista: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. at Halloween Havoc 1997.

Jackson: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psychosis from Bash at the Beach 1996. One of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen, the whole contest was a rollercoaster from beginning to end, and kick started one of the hottest feuds in WCW history.

Gelfand: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio at Halloween Havoc 97. That match is a masterpiece and the blueprint for anyone who wrestles that style today.

Corrigan: Steiners destroying Tatsumi Fujinami and Takayuki Lizuka at WrestleWar 1992.

What’s your favorite World Championship Wrestling moment/angle?

Gibb: I mean, the first few weeks of the nWo is pretty hard to beat…

Konlowski: It has to be the debut of the New World Order. Having perennial babyface Hulk Hogan turn his back on the fans and side with Hall & Nash was something no one expected to see. It would’ve been like John Cena becoming Nexus’ leader in an attempt to take down WWE. That could have been epic, but we’ll never know. Thankfully, WCW did pull the trigger on a heel turn for The Hulkster, and it worked a treat, helping to catapult the Atlanta-based promotion to the number-one wrestling company on the planet.

Bautista: Sting hiding in the rafters.

Jackson: Hogan coming down the entrance way at Bash at the Beach 1996, dropping the leg on Macho Man and beginning the most famous faction of all-time – the nWo! Too Sweet!

Gelfand: DDP turning on the NWO and throwing up the diamond in the crowd. The pop was incredible, and that moment made DDP a superstar.

Corrigan: Terry Funk attacking Ric Flair at WrestleWar 1989. He nearly broke the Nature Boy’s neck!

What’s the greatest rivalry in World Championship Wrestling history?

Gibb: Turner Entertainment/Time Warner vs. WCW. The relationship between ownership and wrestling operations was toxic from the beginning, and much of what worked or didn’t work throughout the years came back to the power struggle and cultural divide between the two organizations.

Konlowski: The Monday Night War. The entire premise of Nitro was to take down Vince McMahon’s empire, and Bischoff almost succeeded in doing so. Bischoff has a litany of excuses for why he didn’t topple the juggernaut (with some being valid), but the fact is when the pressure cooker was turned up, he got out of the kitchen and watched as WCW faded away.

Bautista: Ric Flair vs. Eric Bischoff because of the real animosity they had towards each other.

Jackson: WCW had a ton of awesome rivalries, but only one is the greatest: Ric Flair vs. Sting. Wrestling one another through WCW’s entire existence, Sting and Ric Flair were tied together like no other. So many amazing matches and moments from the two which defined World Championship Wrestling.

Gelfand: Sting vs. The NWO. This is the quintessential WCW feud, and it was perfect until they fell on their face at the finish line.

Corrigan: They were selected as the final match on Nitro because nobody embodied WCW more than Ric Flair and Sting. Ever since Turner took over Jim Crockett Promotions, it felt like they were always fighting each other. Even before Turner, Sting and Flair were chosen to headline the first Clash of the Champions, Crockett’s successful attempt at stealing eyeballs and dollar signs from WrestleMania IV. And that’s really what made Sting into a star – he went the distance with the Nature Boy, displaying his strength, stamina and heart on such a grand stage.

Who is the MVP of World Championship Wrestling?

Gibb: Arn Anderson. Great promo. Great wrestler. No BS. Could work on top, in the middle or come out early to get the crowd excited.

Konlowski: Hulk Hogan. Without him, WCW would’ve been a nonstarter. He galvanized it and made the company an immediate mainstay in professional wrestling. WCW wouldn’t have reached the same heights without The Hulkster spearheading everything. His creative control card may have caused a lot of problems through the years, but just look at PPV buyrates, merchandise sales and weekly ratings to see how big of a difference Hogan made to WCW.

Bautista: Sting. He was a staple of WCW throughout the ‘90s up until the shutdown.

Jackson: Sting was to WCW what John Cena is to WWE. The torchbearer. The face of the company. An icon. Sting’s loyalty to WCW and his ability to stay fresh throughout its entire tenure defined World Championship Wrestling.

Gelfand: When I think of WCW, I think of Sting. He was a guy that was fiercely loyal to the company throughout its entire run, and he was the top babyface during its most profitable period.

Corrigan: Sting. He was there from the day Ted Turner took over to the final episode. A multi-time world champion, always over with the fans and responsible for several of the company’s greatest matches, the Stinger was the franchise.