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WRESTLING COLUMNS

WCW... Almost 5 Years On
April 21, 2005 by Karl Dixon


WCW.... What can you say about WCW" How about: It's not dead.

I'm not talking about its spirit living on in our hearts; I'm talking about WWE bringing it back. Why do I think this should happen" Sit back and enjoy the ride:

Recap of WWE-owned WCW:
- "WCW" is not a ruined brand name. The Alliance felt unrealistic for fans because all the 'big WCW names' like Flair, Scott Steiner, Goldberg, Hogan, Hall, Nash (men whom were later hired) weren't brought in.

- Young stars with potential, the likes of: Mike Sanders, E.Z. Money (Jason Jet), Kaz Hayashi, Horace Hogan, Daffney, Crowbar, David Flair... were never brought up from developmental camps HWA and OVW; or only participated in dark matches.

- Other WCW names which showed up after the alliance angle died include: Rey Misterio Jr, Ultimo Dragon, Johnny 'The Bull' Stamboli, Jimmy Yang, Shannon Moore, Jamie Knoble, Nitro Girl Storm (Paisley, Sharmell Sullivan)

- Eric Bischoff was not present during the alliance to match ECW's Paul Heyman for that realism factor.

However... This column isn't about what WWE had, the opportunities they missed, how I think they should have done something; it's about how WCW could lead WWE to a brighter future.

Onto WWE:
Heat and Velocity spend most of their air time recapping RAW and SmackDown!.... Not cool. What made RAW unmissable back in the day was that if you missed it, you, missed it. Let WCW take over Heat and Velocity's shows. Hell, Velocity is already considered the 'Cruiserweight' show. I'm saying give 'WCW' what it had. The Cruiserweight Division with a real push. The 3 man commentary panel. Bischoff, US and 'World Heavyweight' Titles. Make WCW a more 'wrestling' oriented show, with the Benoits, Jerichos, Gurreros, etc all being pushed at main event level.

- Make it as similar to the WCW product (in its prime) as possible. Why, I hear you ask" Ratings. There is no doubt that wrestling's 'cool' time ended when WCW was bought out, fans lost the ability to choose. Regain Turner's viewers and add them to the existing WWE viewers and you have you 2nd (or 3rd counting 80's WWF) golden run for the wrestling business

Sounds Interesting, How could this happen, and be believable":
-Turner's 5 Year no-compete clause with WWF.

-Have Bischoff set up a big on screen meeting with Vince...

-Have Eric quickly run through the sale of WCW, throw in some bull crap stating that McMahon had to promote WCW and make use of it's assets... Give the fans what they want, have Bischoff rip into the Alliance and the nWo angles as proof that WWE did not promote WCW or it's assets, that as quick as possible they disbanded and absorbed them into the WWF....

-Have Bischoff say he has been having meetings with WWE's Board of Directors and because Vince broke his contract by not promoting WCW, WCW was sold back to Eric Bischoff, the one man who could run it properly.

-Do a draft to get the rosters set up correctly; bring some guys up from OVW and viola... A new WCW roster.

The Immediate Positives:
- This could be used as an excuse to start selling old WCW PPVs... Those would sell VERY WELL, I know, I pay through the ass for them as the highest bidder on eBay.

- This would enable WWF to use the Triple Cage match up and the 60 man 3-ring Battle Royal 'World War III' match.

- Divide PPV year between RAW, SmackDown! and WCW, 4 PPVs per brand. This would allow for longer building up of feuds, just like the old days, when feuds meant more. No major changes need to be made to RAW and SmackDown!, but adding the WCW element can bring so many positive things.

And with that 5 year no compete anniversary coming up this year or next, well, if the glove fits....

by Karl Dixon ..


Peter Abonza wrote:
Your WCW theory sounds good but one thing, literally every single WCW Star that went to the WWE have left. Here's a list: Goldberg, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Diamond Dallas Page and so many others. What makes you think it would work. Having WCW Pay Per Views is bad. They barely had a Smackdown! PPV event last year called "The Great American Bash" which is a WCW PPV Title name. One thing that is a problem with your theory, WWE has no money. They literally throw their money at rookie people who don't know how to fight: Christy Hemme, Rochelle Loewen, Lauren Jones, Candace Michelle, Maria and Melina and gives 1 million dollars to a rookie who ain't even wrestling that UFC Daniel Puder. They hand all their money to no talents and fire real talent. They literally fired most of the women's division. In Conclusion dude, there is no funds and no way to do what your are saying. Most people may want it but the WWE is heading the same direction where WCW and ECW went and that is bankrupt and about 100 wrestlers in the WWE will be jobless. It sad really but there may not be chance for this WCW thing, the way things are going.
KMASTERDIXON wrote:
I'm not saying to bring in guys like Goldberg, DDP etc. I'm saying put Heat/Velocity to good use. A basic set re-design, draft a fresh roster, mixing older guys with new guys,,, along with the storyline potential of the WCW being back under Bischoff's control - this is basically just a change from 2 watchable shows to 4. But it's also something that fans want, and it's fresh, which is what WWE needs.
shorttracknews wrote:
I think this is a great idea. The day WCW was sold was pretty much the last time Iwatched wrestling. I stayed around a few months to see what Vince would do with the companies but he dropped the ball big time. Myself and many others walked away. Some will say wrestling is wrestling but I disagree. I was a diehard WCW fan and watching WWE isn't the same.

The main thing I don't like is how they have Raw and Smackdown and try to act like it's different companies. It's all still WWE, just 2 separate shows. As the original post stated there is no choice and no competition. TNA tries their best but can't really compete. I also agree with the statement if you missed Raw or Nitro then you missed it. You would always see some clips at the end of the week but if fans know they can see the highlights in a condensed version then why watch the full two hours"

Sure most of the big names that made WCW are gone but I still think there is a market for this to work. A few key people in place and this will take off. Eric Bischoff for one would be needed. Have some "lawyers" show up on TV looking for Vince with some important "documents" that he needs to see. Eric assures them that Vince will get them which of course he never does. A "loophole" of some sorts can make WCW available if Vince doesn't fix this problem. And with Eric holding these documents, Vince will be clueless which will give Eric power to take over the WCW name and the wasted TV space. Ric Flair would be essential. He still is a fan favorite. Have some of the WWE brass screw him over on something on TV for a few weeks straight. Let it look like he is upset with the treatment he is getting. One by one former WCW guys start aligning themselves secretly with Bischoff. Then Eric drops the bombshell. Vince thinks he is crazy until he sees so many on board. Use lots of developmental talent on the show. Have it be raw and have them cut interviews every week talking trash about Vince, the WWE and the WWE superstars. Real key is to keep them separate from WWE for about a year. Let it keep building and growing stronger. Have some mid-major talent fight with Vince over something about 6 months in. Vince can fire them and just like the WWE/WCW days of the past that new talent can show up on WCW the next week. Then maybe a year in take one of the six or seven WWE stars and have them defect. Make it an us verses them deal. You'll have fresh talent on WCW and a light mix of WWE stars. Bring in the occasional old timer for a pop. Even have some of the WWE guys watching the WCW show on Raw. Vince will get pissed, the fans will have a choice again and it makes things fresh. It's been rumored forever that Sting may show up one day in WWE. Let that be the star power for WCW the first year. Vince can say you have nobody, no stars, no big name talent. And out comes Sting with his bat. I could go on forever.
[Name Removed] wrote:
I've got to say, as a WCW fan since 1995, even though I'm 15 years old, I can't see this working out if it did happen. I don't think it matters how much hype it gets or anything, most WCW fans are gone, and I highly doubt WWE fans would bother taking to the product. Vince ruined WCW's legacy in the Invasion angle just to feed his own ego. He turned WCW into a joke. Name some WCW guys that have really and truly made it in WWE. Yeah, Guerrero and Benoit have both won the world title, but they didn't stay there for too long did they. I think that Jericho is really and truly the only fully over superstar who had a notable run in WCW. All the guys in WCW who had held titles, and those who you say had potential, e.g. Big Vito, Johnny The Bull, Chuck Palumbo, Mike Saunders, were staring at the ceiling on Velocity and Heat, or couldn't even make it that far. They wouldn't be taken seriously by the fans anymore. One more big point, then I'm finished at last! It wouldn't be the same WCW from it's peak. Remember, it would still be under the WWE banner, no matter how much you try and spruce it up on-screen. It will still be owned by Vince, and no way would his ego allow him to allow anyone else to take it over. It's just too impossible for all these things to be proven wrong. Despite how much I would love WCW to return, so much so I'm currently in planning for a WCW tribute site, I can't see it becoming a slightest possibility.
wrote:

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