And Another Thing: WCW Sucks And Here's Why 

Posted by Hyatte on 04.24.2001 

You know this war between Monday Nitro and Monday Night Raw? The war that is really between the WCW and the WWF? You know that war? Well, it’s over. 

It’s time for some hard truth now. 

Since no one else will admit this, I guess it’s up to me. 

You know this war between Monday Nitro and Monday Night Raw? The war that is really between the WCW and the WWF? You know that war? 

Well, it’s over. 

I’m sorry, but it’s finished. Send up the white flag. Sign the peace treaty. Pack in your army and send them home with their tail and their pride tucked snugly between their legs. This war, which has been raging for the better part of five years, is finished. 

WCW lost… in case you didn’t know. Oh, they fought a great fight--taking Vince McMahon to the lowest point of his entire career. Vince battled the IRS and won, fought with a Steroid scandal and walked away smiling. Absorbed a massive loss of wealth by trying to start a bodybuilding company and emerged relatively unscathed. Every challenge Vince McMahon has ever had he either won, or beat back so viciously that it had little to no effect on is company. 

Then came Bischoff, and with him came Hogan… and with them, came Nitro. 

You know the story. It's a well-dissected topic already. All you need to really know is that Eric Bischoff and Nitro forced Vince McMahon to do something nobody ever even came close to doing before. He forced him to change his product. Without Eric Bischoff, there probably would have never been “WWF Attitude”, “Get It?” “Suck It”, Austin 3:16, or even two middle fingers as the ultimate symbol of rebellion. 

There wouldn’t be a “Mr. McMahon” either. Say what you want about WCW, but everything that’s cool about the WWF today is because of Eric Bischoff and Nitro. To deny that is pure foolishness. He managed to do the one thing nobody else even came lose to accomplishing-he beat McMahon at his own game and had him against the ropes. It’s safe to assume that Vince McMahon has never been so close to toppling than he was a few short years ago. 

But, McMahon DID change his product. He DID rebound. He DID reclaim the ratings crown and held onto it for almost 100 consecutive weeks now, with no signs of relinquishing the title anytime soon. WCW, meanwhile, fell into a creative slump that not even the former top writer of the WWF can seem to get them out of. He’s trying… Lord knows he’s trying, but he’s thinking too large. He is under the impression that this war can be won and WCW is still in the game. 

I’m sorry, but it’s not. The game is over. 

WCW just has too many problems and not enough proper solutions. They are losing unimaginable amounts of money. Many of their big money brand names refuse to think of the company before them, and their young stars are not given time to cultivate and develop a fan base. Vince McMahon understood that the ratings would not return overnight; so, he refused to panic. Instead, he took his time and slowly built up his stars. It took Steve Austin and the Rock two full years to become the mega-superstars they are today. In fact, Rocky Maivia drew zero heat at first, so Vince took him off the air for a while, then brought him back and started fresh. They kept Kurt Angle in training for months and months before finding him the perfect gimmick and getting him into the program at just the right time. The man hasn’t been on camera for a year and he’s already one of the companies biggest Heels. Yes, that’s due to his natural charisma, but it’s also due to the fact the WWF is willing to show patience in it’s talent. 

Patience that WCW does not have, nor is it showing any willingness to display. 

WCW is not bleeding, it’s gushing. This isn't a simple cut on its arm that a roll of gauze can stop… WCW has had its arm chewed off unevenly. Vince Russo can tell slow, natural stories that take weeks, and maybe months to develop. One only has to remember the several month masterpiece that culminated at the ’99 Survivor Series with The Rock becoming the “Corporate World Champion”. That story was so detailed and executed so flawlessly that it took a month for the fans to fully appreciate the depth and planning that went into it. Russo can write complex storylines, there is no doubt about that. They just won’t let him. 

You see, WCW wants their Rock and they want him now. They want they’re sold-out arenas filled with screaming fans who chant “ASSHOLE”, “PUSSY”, and finish everyone’s catchphrases. They want to fill huge buildings instead of needing to position their cameras to make it look as if they sold out a six thousand-seat venue for Nitro. WCW is losing too much money to wait for it, they need results and they need them now. This is why they are throwing all these young guys out there. This is why Big Vito is now being considered a top face. This is why they keep trying to re-spark the NWO gimmick. This is why Goldberg is being tolerated for being the same prima donna that Hulk Hogan was. This is a company under tremendous pressure, and is doing whatever it can just to keep from collapsing. 

Make no mistake; they are in deep trouble here. 

Eric Bischoff saw it. Eric Bischoff, who took WCW to amazing heights and actually had Vince McMahon reeling came back to try to repeat history and save his company. It only took a few weeks for him to see the truth. Bischoff knows they can’t win. Bischoff understood what kind of shape WCW is in. Bischoff was once severely humbled by Vince McMahon in front of millions, so much so the man who returned to Nitro last April was barely recognizable from the arrogant blowhard who once bragged to Bob Ryder that “Vince McMahon had lost the pulse of the Audience.” There was no way Bischoff was going to allow himself to be slapped down so hard again… so he quietly vanished and let his “partner” Vince Russo win or lose on his own. The one man who had total faith in WCW overtaking the WWF has left the ship before it finally sank. 

Oh, Russo will keep blowing his horn and rattling his saber. He’ll swear that WCW has gained a significant foothold in the war. He’ll point to minor rating surges, to the quality of the storylines, to the assumption the McMahon is paying too much attention to other matters instead of his own company. He’ll promise that the next Nitro is the one no fan should miss. He’ll say anything he can, even lie, in order to make WCW seem like it’s still in the fight. 

Don’t believe him. The fight is over. WCW was pummeled. He knows it too; he’s just saying what he says because it’s his job. 

As WCW struggles to build up some stars, the WWF is generating new main event stars almost every week. 

As WCW pays out six figures to old names who refuse to put the young lions over, the WWF offers incentive perks to hard workers and explain them that by losing a match today will mean winning one tomorrow. 

As WCW keeps putting Mark Madden on the stick because the utter disgust he generates from the fans is praised as SOME sort of reaction; the WWF is just learning just how loved Jerry Lawler actually is. 

As WCW can’t get through a Nitro without two or three major production errors, the WWF is rivaling MTV in terms of getting new voters registered. 

As WCW brings out David Arquette, the WWF is offering Smackdown as a debate forum for the Presidential candidates. 

As big WCW stars such as Goldberg and Kevin Nash loudly count the days until their contracts end, WWF stars such as HHH and the Rock are busy working with new talent in hopes of strengthening their company instead of obsessing over how long they can stay on top. 

There is no war. There was one… a while ago. It was a great war, one for the books. Lots of blood, lots of strategizing, lots of betrayal. Everything you could have asked for in a good, juicy bloodbath, this one had it. 

But it’s over now. There is no chance WCW can come back. The WWF barely pays attention to them anymore. They are too busy trying to reach brand new levels of cultural acceptance. WCW is just trying to churn out a half decent Nitro and Thunder each week without some sort of backstage blowout. 

This rivalry is over. 

I just hope WCW realizes this before the General McMahon marches into Atlanta and strips the carcass clean. 

Because that’s what always happens to the loser after a war. 

This is Hyatte too