What if the NWO never existed?

[dlg3000]

I have a rather serious question. What if the NWO never existed? What would become of WCW? Would it have been purchased by Vince McMahon sooner or later anyways?

[vivix]

no boom period, maybe even no wrestling on tv today, certainly none on prime time

[jobber2thestars]

Hogan's career would have ended sometime in the mid-90's with WCW. Turning heel saved his career, as the crowd was tired of the gimmick he'd been using over ten years at that point.

[Jimmy]

Yeah the Attitude Era never would have happened without the nWo first making wrestling big again.

[celticjobber]

Jan 5, 2012 22:30:34 GMT -5 Jimmy said:

Yeah the Attitude Era never would have happened without the nWo first making wrestling big again.

I don't know about that. According to Mick Foley in one of his books, Vince McMahon planned on making the WWF's TV shows "edgier" and more adult-themed in the early 90's, but didn't because of the federal steroids trial.

So it's possible he could've started the Attitude era in the late 90's regardless.

[RareTradU]

I remember all the wrestling magazines in 1996 were debating the big marquee match-up at the time: Hulk Hogan vs. Diesel. WWF's top guy vs. WCW(ex WWF)'s Top guy. I was actually pumped to see the match when I heard he had left WWF. I think WCW would've stayed on top without the nWo as the WWF was pretty kiddy still in the mid-90s. Without the nWo I don't think either company would've reached the heights they did but bet both companies would still be around today.

[molson5]

I think WCW would still be around, it was only the Monday Night Wars that caused them to spend like drunken sailors and become a money incinerator.

[Rolent Tex]

Jan 5, 2012 23:10:42 GMT -5 molson5 said:

I think WCW would still be around, it was only the Monday Night Wars that caused them to spend like drunken sailors and become a money incinerator.

No they wouldn't. The money wasn't the issue. The fact that Nitro and Thunder was being cancelled was. With no time slot on national television, WCW was worthless as a brand.

[BlackoutCreature]

I think the Attitude Era and Austin's rise would've still happened in some fashion. Vince was looking to make the WWF edgier and Austin was starting to get hot before the nWo got completely established, so the building blocks were there. I just don't think that without the pressure the nWo-fueled WCW was putting on them that the WWF would've pushed the new edginess as hard as they did.

On the WCW side, I doubt Nitro would've gone on the dominant ratings streak it had. Eric Bischoff probably would've been replaced by 1997 for overspending, Hogan having faded away due to his stale face act just not bringing in enough money to justify how much he was making. No idea who would've replaced Bischoff, but I imagine whoever it was would've had a stricter leash on him moneywise. I really have no idea how that would've turned out in the long run.

[hughmorris]

There would have been no finger poke of doom....

[DragonMasterP]

WCW wouldn't have lasted anywhere near as long as it did.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Wrestling as we know it would be considerably worse off than it is now.

Hall and Nash would have appeared as new unstoppable heels du jour, who'd be fed to Hogan the moment they gained any sort of momentum then relegated to feuds with sting and Flair while Hogan tries to recreate the 80's with constant feuds with Tenta, The Giant and a heel Goldberg to the delight of no-one. WCW would continue to bleed money and would be killed the moment that the Time Warner merger went through, possibly just after an attempt to become edgier as one final roll of the dice.

The WWF would continue along, getting low ratings, surviving on money made on merchandising and new markets like it had for most of the mid 90s, but without getting completely hammered by WCW, the drive to create new, edgier main eventers to save the company would never arise so we'd have HHH main eventing without DX to get him over, feuding with Shawn Michaels, Mark Mero, a few names from WCW and possibly Bret Hart unless he'd retired by then. When WCW is smothered, there's some hope that their fanbase would transfer over with a few names being signed, Flair, Luger, The Giant but like with the inVasion, pettiness kills any chance of that. The tapes and the trademarks for WCW and associated other feds would remain in the hands of Time Warner as Vince wouldn't have the financial clout to buy them.

The WWF would still be around, though more like the size TNA is today, pulling in similar ratings, with ECW as it's nearest rival. ECW would have changed hands several times since the late 90's, having flirted with bankruptcy more times than news sites claim TNA have, but it would slowly have continued to expand, to Canada, Japan and Europe and would be breaking even, something TNA hasn't managed to do for most of its run.

[Turd Ferguson]

Competition yields better products. WCW was neck in neck with WWF at the time. So when WCW upped the ante, Vince needed to step up his game, too. The Attitude Era would've come, but much later, and possibly too late.

[Malcolm Tucker for PM]

Jan 6, 2012 12:28:59 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

Wrestling as we know it would be considerably worse off than it is now.

Hall and Nash would have appeared as new unstoppable heels du jour, who'd be fed to Hogan the moment they gained any sort of momentum then relegated to feuds with sting and Flair while Hogan tries to recreate the 80's with constant feuds with Tenta, The Giant and a heel Goldberg to the delight of no-one. WCW would continue to bleed money and would be killed the moment that the Time Warner merger went through, possibly just after an attempt to become edgier as one final roll of the dice.

This is how I would imagine it would have went as well; particularly Hall & Nash being reduced to being just old WWF stars making up the numbers in WCW by the end of '96. I've recently watched all the early Nitros from '95 and people aren't exaggerating about how poorly received Hogan was at the time. The hatred towards him was just embarrassing for a guy who was supposed to be their top star. Got to say that Randy Savage didn't get the best of receptions from some of the same crowds neither.

I'm not sure McMahon would have embraced the Attitude Era as much as he did it weren't for the beatings he was taking in the ratings. There were only so many times WCW could offer a Flair vs. Sting or Hogan vs. Giant match before viewers would have likely switched back to the WWF anyway and kept Vince comfortable enough not to do anything too drastic with the product. Most of his early responses to the nWo's popularity in '96 were very lame in comparison to what would come later.

[Feyrhausen]

Jan 5, 2012 23:10:42 GMT -5 molson5 said:

I think WCW would still be around, it was only the Monday Night Wars that caused them to spend like drunken sailors and become a money incinerator.

The Monday Night Wars existed before the NWO. And WCW had been wasting money for a long time, even before Turner bought them. But after they had Turners checkbook and pretty much a guarantee that they would never be shut down they went nuts, Eric Bischoff being the worst (he did try to control some costs, like filming at Universal Studios, but once he got some success he went insane). Bill Watts was the only person who tried to run the company like it was his money he was spending.