Oh man, I really hope I don’t regret this….
So…. where to begin. “Hey everyone!” Yeah, that seems fine. Welcome to the prologue of a WCW recap series that might very well be the death of me. Beginning with my next entry, I’m going to recap every WCW Nitro,
Thunder, and PPV from 11-23-98 to 5-9-99. That’s nearly a half year of WCW storylines. So, I’m sure you have some questions.
Question 1: Why WCW?
When I tell you I have only minimal working knowledge of WCW, I mean it. I’ve been watching pro wrestling since around 89/90 but I grew up pretty much exclusively with the WWF product. So no WCW, no NWA, no territories. As far as I knew, pro wrestling started and ended with the WWF. I don’t recall a specific time but
I’m sure I became more aware of the outside wrestling world around the start of the Monday Night War.
Now, as a kid, I LOVED WWF. And, by proxy, I HATED WCW. Much like Nintendo vs Sega in the video game world, when it came to wrestling promotions, you picked a side. If it sounds a bit childish, it might help to know I was 10 in 1995. So, since I hated WCW, I had very little exposure to the product. A friend (and fellow wrestling fan) of mine enjoyed both companies (blasphemy) so my limited viewing of WCW typically came through him. We also logged countless hours playing WCW: World Tour and WCW/NWO: Revenge for the N64. I enjoyed Jericho, Raven (+ the Flock), Buff Bagwell (mainly for his “The Stuff” moniker), and few others. I had no time for the NWO in general and couldn’t stand Hogan (that big, bald sellout).
So, moving on, I hated WCW right up until its death. I didn’t want an invasion, I was happy with WWF just the way it was. In fact, the NWO coming to WWF was one of the major factors that drove me away from wrestling for half a decade. I didn’t watch wrestling for the NWO, how dare the WWF bring those guys in?
But fast forward a little bit and I’d like to think that I’m a little wiser. A little more objective. I realize that, as a fan, I felt compelled to pick a side during the Monday Night War and, in doing so, missed some great wrestling
moments. So, why not go back and check some of them out?
Question 2: Why 11-23-98 to 5-9-99?
I’ve always been fascinated by this (rough) timeframe. Up until the beginning of this stretch, WCW and WWF were neck and neck in the ratings war. It was right around Q2 of 99 that things really began to unravel for WCW. I want to see exactly what led to things falling apart….
[Sidebar. Isn’t it interesting to look back and know that despite how iconic and memorable the Monday Night War was, 1998 was the only calendar year where both companies were competitive AND doing big business? Crazy, right?]
…. As for what these start and end dates precisely represent: 11-23-98 was the first Nitro after World War 3 (a Royal Rumble-esque PPV) as well as the beginning of the road to Starrcade (WCW’s Wrestlemania). As for 5-9-99, that’s the date of WCW’s Slamboree PPV. The PPV itself isn’t as relevant to me as the fact that it’s the first WCW PPV to take place after the initial ratings dip.
Question 3: Will this be a fair dissection of the product?
You bet. As much as I hated WCW as a kid, as an adult I’m pretty excited to go back and check out more of the product.
Question 4: What if someone was willing to do the same review process but for WWF during this time period? Would that be cool?
Yes! That’d be awesome. Someone should totally do that.
Question 5: You know by covering just this stretch you’ll be missing things like: Hogan ruining Starrcade 97, Hogan and Warrior ruining Halloween Havoc, and David Arquette…. In general?
I know…. It is what it is.
So that’s it! I’ve already written my first Nitro review and will be posting it tomorrow.
Cheers.
