The Two Man Power Trip

[IANdrewDiceClay]

They had a date planned. I'll never forget Power Slam keep talking about "the big relaunch" and all that. I remember it being penned in June 2001, straight after Raw on TNN. All it was called was "WCW". Not Nitro or anything. RVD, DDP, Booker T and all those lot were signed for the show. Maybe DDP would have faired better being a big fish on a secondary show. I think the plan was going to be just going to a commercial break and having WCW logos replace the WWF ones, like they did for that Booker T vs Bagwell match. It kept getting put off and put off and then they went "fuck it". People forget though, unlike today where all the internet and smart fans are jaded and full of WWE hate, back then WWF had a hardcore fanbase, and WCW was seen as the "evil Man City/Chelsea" style sugar daddy's who bought their way to the top. The letters in Power Slam every month were basically the 1996 version of Youtube Comments. Fin Martin even used to reply calling the readers idiots when someone would say "The Smoking Guns are more talented than the Steiners" or "Chris Benoit isnt as good as Savio Vega". Where as today its "Thumbs Up if you think Meat was better than Cena". There was a definite devide between the fans. And the WWF fans which were basically all the paying audience werent going to accept the WCW product. The arena was half empty when Booker T and Bagwell wrestled and those who stayed booed them both before they started being shit.

 

Maybe they should have held off the Invasion. Even if WCW was just a second rate brand, they could have built and built and built and added star names when they became available to when they did establish the brand as a seperate TV show, they could then Invade in 2002 or something.

[Dr Reefer]

I like Cornette's idea of the invasion. Have Vince playing up the "I own wrestling now" angle and have him publically tell the WcW workers he was going to bury them just because he could and they couldn't get work anywhere else. Then sign Flair as the leader of WcW and have him say "that's great Vince...but you know son...accidents happen, this is a dangerous business, it would be an awful shame if Austin took another bad piledriver..."

[Statto]

All it was called was "WCW". Not Nitro or anything.

 

I vividly remember wwf.com running a poll to name the planned WCW show in the Saturday night slot that ended up as Excess.

 

WCW Saturday Nitro won by a country mile, but the reason I remember it so well was that I was desperate for it to end up as the wonderfully dreadful "WCW Hot Box".

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I vividly remember wwf.com running a poll to name the planned WCW show in the Saturday night slot that ended up as Excess.

 

WCW Saturday Nitro won by a country mile, but the reason I remember it so well was that I was desperate for it to end up as the wonderfully dreadful "WCW Hot Box".

Those polls seemed rigged as well to make the result what WWF wanted. Here's a sad story, there was a poll on WWE.com around early 2003 entitled "What superstar would you like to see in the WWE?" and we were bored shitless at college, so me and a few lads were pressing the "Lex Luger" option for a good 40 minutes. There was about 4 of us pressing the same option on our individual computers. We got Luger in the lead by a massive margine. We come back off our break and Goldberg was destroying Luger. It was a piss take. All because they were negotiating with him at the time. I went on my break honestly thinking we had gotten the Lex Express back on the road.

 

Wasnt to long after that Miss Elizabeth died and Luger's life fell apart. Coincidence?

[King Pitcos]

I like Cornette's idea of the invasion. Have Vince playing up the "I own wrestling now" angle and have him publically tell the WcW workers he was going to bury them just because he could and they couldn't get work anywhere else. Then sign Flair as the leader of WcW and have him say "that's great Vince...but you know son...accidents happen, this is a dangerous business, it would be an awful shame if Austin took another bad piledriver..."

Cornette's Invasion plans are probably the most retarded fantasy booking ideas I've ever heard. Considering the tantrum he had when Santino laughed at Boogeyman, it's weird that Corny then went and did a DVD of the most stupid, business-exposing storyline plans ever. A WCW invasion predicated on Ric Flair going "lol I'm a jobber now but I can botch moves Vince." It's absolutely mental that he came up with that and still has the cheek to criticise Russo's ability to craft wrestling stories.

[Max Power]

Cornette's Invasion plans are probably the most retarded fantasy booking ideas I've ever heard. Considering the tantrum he had when Santino laughed at Boogeyman, it's weird that Corny then went and did a DVD of the most stupid, business-exposing storyline plans ever. A WCW invasion predicated on Ric Flair going "lol I'm a jobber now but I can botch moves Vince." It's absolutely mental that he came up with that and still has the cheek to criticise Russo's ability to craft wrestling stories.

 

Without coming across as a PITCOS lickarse, I agree. How any angle can be built on the premise that someone could injure Austin "for real" is ridiculous. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in kayfabe terms, if Flair tries to piledrive Austin then he's trying to break his neck anyway surely.

 

Its almost as bad as that stupid WCW match with Steiner and Nash when Goldberg ran in (I think), when our good friend Tone uttered the immortal line "Well what are they gonna do now, improvise"?