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| WCWorth The Effort? |
David Hardwick |
Should WWE think about resurrecting WCW as a going concern?
In the eight years since World Championship Wrestling was purchased by Vince McMahon, plenty has been written on the demise of the once-great promotion (be it in FSM, other magazines or all over the internet). Not surprisingly, the tendency is to dwell on the colossal failures and losses that periodically plagued the company – however, it shouldn’t be forgotten that between 1996 and 1998, WCW was attracting in excess of four million viewers week in, week out.
During this time, WCW was considered not only to be the number one mainstream wrestling brand, but the heir apparent to the industry dominance the McMahon family had previously enjoyed. For 84 weeks straight, Nitro trampled all over Raw in the Monday Night Wars, with viewers apparently flocking in droves to its then-fresh blend of genre defining angles and stellar cruiserweight action.
Of course, we’re all aware of how the story eventually ended, but these were heady days indeed. So when voices within the industry recently began whispering about a possible WCW revival, we here at FSM were incredibly intrigued…
Though the concept of a McMahon-owned WCW brand running concurrently with WWE programming isn’t a new one, the idea doesn’t seem to have been discussed seriously since the lacklustre ‘Invasion’ of 2001. And yet when the upcoming Rise And Fall Of WCW DVD boxset was announced back in March, the inevitable rumours of a revival began circulating once again. Unconfirmed snippets such as John Laurinaitis apparently looking into ex-WCW talent availability, the imminent DVD release sparking fan comparisons with ECW (a brand relaunch that was sparked by the popularity of a DVD release) and, most recently, the exciting possibilities the Donald Trump angle seemed to present all amounted to more than a little coincidence.
The latter may have turned out to be just an elaborate angle to gain some column inches, and the WWE is certainly developing a penchant for swerving internet fans. Nevertheless, for one glorious moment it all seemed to make sense. It seemed possible.
Everything may have been shot down a week later on Raw but the episode certainly got us at FSM wondering: would a potential WWE revival of WCW prove to be glorious, good or just another epic failure in the ragged history of World Championship Wrestling?
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 44 of FSM - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders and Barnes & Noble, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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