Post by Cry Me a Wiggle on Sept 11, 2023 21:41:47 GMT -5
The year 2000 is widely viewed as the worst year of not only WCW's existence (at least its absolute nadir during the Monday Night Wars) but as the year in which we witnessed the stunning collapse of a once hugely popular promotion and television program as their rivals experienced their highest peak. Various moments and storylines have become seared into wrestling fandom's collective consciousness, but what's not often discussed is how WCW 2000 wasn't a monoculture of Vince Russo's writing. While he had his hands on the most spectacular booking "oofs" of the year, some of the most significant damage to the company, like the Radicalz departing, happened when he was away from the helm. In fact, the numerous pivots and reboots, both soft and hard, did as much to confuse the product as THE SWERVES, bro. I believe you can break down WCW 2000 into five distinct eras depending on who had creative control and the storylines and company presentation that resulted. So which was the worst?
1. Russo/Ferrera Era: The tail end of the initial Russo run that began in October 1999 with Ed Ferrera as his right hand. This was when the nWo Silver and Black (nWo 2000) were still a dominant force, when Bret Hart was still active as the heel world champ (albeit sick with post-concussion syndrome), and Terry Funk came into the promotion to form the Old Age Outlaws to oppose Russo and his nWo.
2. Kevin Sullivan Era: After the chaos of Souled Out weekend and the entire show needing to be rebooked following Bret Hart's retirement and Jeff Jarrett's injury, Russo went home and Kevin Sullivan took control of WCW for a little over two months. While he continued some of the storylines Russo had started, the resultant departure of much of WCW's upper midcard (either to the WWF or sitting out their contracts) and injuries to main event talent led to a stale, depressing state of affairs that saw Hogan and Flair return and have the company revolve around them. It was WCW as an old-school wrasslin' show during the height of the Attitude Era, but it did see a few acts like Vampiro generate some heat.
3. Russo/Bischoff Era: The return of Russo and the return of Bischoff to kick off the New Blood vs. Millionaire Club's angle. This was probably the most dramatic stretch of WCW 2000, and while it led to infamy such as David Arquette becoming champion, visuals such as Hogan pummeling Billy Kidman at least felt fresh. As per most Russo and/or WCW storylines, the New Blood began petering out with little explanation by early July.
4. Russo Era: Following the controversy at Bash at the Beach 2000, Bischoff (and Hogan) departed and gave Russo defacto complete creative control. The positives included Booker T. as champion, the rise of Lance Storm, Positively Kanyon, and Johnny Ace laying out matches and improving the quality of the in-ring product. Still, things quickly went haywire, as they were prone to do, with the infamous "Goldberg didn't follow the script!" nonsense. Russo then became an active in-ring character again, was on the receiving end of several concussions, became WCW champion, and went home to rest.
5. Post-Russo Era: Around the Australian tour in the run-up to Halloween Havoc, Russo's impact faded until WCW was being booked by his backstage allies who had remained. A bit more cohesion returned to the product, with the biggest storyline being the rise of Scott Steiner as a dominant main eventer. Still, the writing was on the wall at this point, the budget was slashed, Nitro and Thunder were being taped on the same night, and a cheapness permeated the on-air look of the product. What's more, rumors of an impending purchase of the company made everything feel rather ephemeral.
So... which was the worst era of WCW's worst era?
1. Russo/Ferrera Era: The tail end of the initial Russo run that began in October 1999 with Ed Ferrera as his right hand. This was when the nWo Silver and Black (nWo 2000) were still a dominant force, when Bret Hart was still active as the heel world champ (albeit sick with post-concussion syndrome), and Terry Funk came into the promotion to form the Old Age Outlaws to oppose Russo and his nWo.
2. Kevin Sullivan Era: After the chaos of Souled Out weekend and the entire show needing to be rebooked following Bret Hart's retirement and Jeff Jarrett's injury, Russo went home and Kevin Sullivan took control of WCW for a little over two months. While he continued some of the storylines Russo had started, the resultant departure of much of WCW's upper midcard (either to the WWF or sitting out their contracts) and injuries to main event talent led to a stale, depressing state of affairs that saw Hogan and Flair return and have the company revolve around them. It was WCW as an old-school wrasslin' show during the height of the Attitude Era, but it did see a few acts like Vampiro generate some heat.
3. Russo/Bischoff Era: The return of Russo and the return of Bischoff to kick off the New Blood vs. Millionaire Club's angle. This was probably the most dramatic stretch of WCW 2000, and while it led to infamy such as David Arquette becoming champion, visuals such as Hogan pummeling Billy Kidman at least felt fresh. As per most Russo and/or WCW storylines, the New Blood began petering out with little explanation by early July.
4. Russo Era: Following the controversy at Bash at the Beach 2000, Bischoff (and Hogan) departed and gave Russo defacto complete creative control. The positives included Booker T. as champion, the rise of Lance Storm, Positively Kanyon, and Johnny Ace laying out matches and improving the quality of the in-ring product. Still, things quickly went haywire, as they were prone to do, with the infamous "Goldberg didn't follow the script!" nonsense. Russo then became an active in-ring character again, was on the receiving end of several concussions, became WCW champion, and went home to rest.
5. Post-Russo Era: Around the Australian tour in the run-up to Halloween Havoc, Russo's impact faded until WCW was being booked by his backstage allies who had remained. A bit more cohesion returned to the product, with the biggest storyline being the rise of Scott Steiner as a dominant main eventer. Still, the writing was on the wall at this point, the budget was slashed, Nitro and Thunder were being taped on the same night, and a cheapness permeated the on-air look of the product. What's more, rumors of an impending purchase of the company made everything feel rather ephemeral.
So... which was the worst era of WCW's worst era?
