| 14 May 2008
Why the WWE Sucks!
Why the total victory of the WWF over WCW in the “Monday Night Wars” ruined professional wrestling
By: Matt Fay
As a kid, in the 1980s, I remember watching the Saturday morning cartoon that featured Hulk Hogan, Hillbilly Jim, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Captain Lou Albano, and many others. Later in the morning WWF Superstars would show my other favorites like the Ultimate Warrior, Andre the Giant, the Legion of Doom, and the Hart Foundation. I loved the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). As the 90s began, though, the Warrior disappeared, Andre died, and Hulk Hogan moved on to something called World Championship Wrestling (WCW). By the mid-90s I had lost interest, except for occasionally when I’d be channel surfing – or when Monday Night Football was not on.
The “Monday Night Wars”
In 1995 things began to change, though it didn’t grab my attention until around late 1996/early 1997. At around this time Ted Turner began putting large sums of money into his WCW product, bringing in former WWF stars like Hulk Hogan, “The Macho Man” Randy Savage, Lex Lugor, and others for “big money” contracts and launching WCW Monday Nitro to compete head-to-head with the WWF’s Monday Night Raw. This was the beginning of what would come to be known as the “Monday Night Wars” and wrestling would – at least in the minds of myself and many of my friends – would be the coolest thing on TV.
WCW was the upstart going against the nationally known WWF, but with Ted Turner’s purchase of the company in the late 1980s and his decision to start taking the competition between the world’s two largest wrestling companies to a whole new level, WCW began to outspend and – more importantly – outdraw the WWF. After Hulk Hogan, wrestling’s biggest star and biggest hero, surprisingly became a heel (bad guy), and the New World Order (NWO) was formed, WCW began to take control – going on to beat the WWF in ratings for 84 straight weeks.
Bad Times in the WWF
Meanwhile, the WWF was in bad shape. Much of its top talent had “jumped ship” to cash in on the spending spree in WCW. WWF owner Vince McMahon was stuck with second-rate talent and boring storylines – nothing that could even compare to the havoc being wreaked in WCW by the ever-expanding NWO. This was the first time McMahon had faced competition from another promotion on a national level and it seemed to catch him unprepared. Complicating matters was the fact that McMahon didn’t have nearly the financial resources of Ted Turner. It looked like the lights may have been in danger of going out on the WWF, and it seemed like Turner landed the knockout punch in 1997 when Bret Hart, WWF’s biggest remaining star - and current champion – signed with WCW.
A Comeback Victory
WWF was down but not out as 1997 was coming to an end. McMahon, and his creative team, began to look at better ways to utilize their remaining talent. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was already one of the biggest stars in wrestling, and others, such as the Rock and Triple H – as well as established stars like Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker – began to step up their game. WWF also began to bring more adult-oriented storylines as opposed to the more family-friendly premise that had brought the company success in the 80s. From late 1997 through 1999 many wrestling fans (myself included) began to change the channel to see Degeneration X and the Rock’s one-liners or to see Mick Foley’s Mankind character thrown off the top of a steel cage.
At this same time WCW’s parent company Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), Inc. was purchased by Time Warner, and, although, Ted Turner was still the majority shareholder, WCW was saddled with corporate rules and guidelines that all but destroyed their creative edge. Meanwhile, WCW’s biggest stars – Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and others – began to let their egos get in the way and refused to let younger stars shine, leading many – like Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero – to defect to WWF for better opportunities.
As the new century began WWF was consistently destroying WCW in the ratings – earning some of the highest ratings in cable TV history. AOL eventually merged with Time Warner and the new company had no desire to continue its wrestling programming. In March 2001 Vince McMahon purchased the company that nearly put him out of business for a mere $2.5 million.
Aftermath
In 2002 the WWF was forced to change its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) due to a lawsuit by the World Wildlife Fund. I had, at this point, quit watching wrestling for the most part (Again, I will still occasionally flip to it when channel surfing or when Monday Night Football is not on). Without viable competition (Total Nonstop Action [TNA] Wrestling was formed in 2002 but is in no way a viable competitor to the WWE) there is no way compare the WWE product to anything else. In the early 90s WWF had become stale for the same reasons until WCW came along to offer an alternative. An equal (for some time a superior) competitor offered wrestling fans a change of pace. The emergence of WCW in the early to mid-1990s also forced the WWF to abandon outdated storylines and become innovative in ways never before seen.
The competition during the “Monday Night Wars” brought the entire wrestling industry to a new level. It brought about both innovation in both companies, but also higher levels of revenue than either company had previously seen. While still not a viable competitor, TNA is beginning to make inroads, with ratings moving upward for its Thursday night program – “Impact!” Will more success come to fruition? That is still to be seen, but if the upstart TNA can offer competition to the established WWE, “Monday Night War II” might be worth more than the occasional watch.
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... The Stupid WWE Draft Splitting up some long-standing partnerships and good tag teams then when those wrestler become single wrestler no push?? |
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