WCW

[WWFChilli]

A few mentions of ~WARGAMES '92 in the YouTube topic has got me all nostalgic about WCW. More importantly the banner year of 1992. Recently I finally finished watching the whole calendar year from Jan-Dec and it was just a phenomenal product they were putting on.

 

In the YouTube thread Ian and Butch already mentioned what made War Games so magical but there was fuck loads of other stuff going on that year. Two regime changes, a whole host of political stuff going on but more importantly so excellent in-ring work and storylines. It's almost impossible to fault when the year is book ended by two decent but no prosperous years (1991-1993).

 

The year kicks off massive with SuperBrawl II which is the first PPV held under Kip Frye after Turner told Jim Herd where to go (thank fuck for that too, Herd was one worst ever associated with WCW). Kip Frye was a top dog, shame he could not really handle the pressure cooker that WCW was at times. The workers liked him and he liked them. He established a bonus system for Match of the Night and really motivated the lads so it's a shame he did not really last. SuperBrawl II is a magic show. Top to bottom great action, even the preliminary matches. Looking at the roster, its a thing of beauty. The Dangerous Alliance, Sting, Luger, Steamboat, Windham, Rhodes, Steiners, Liger, Pillman, Terry Taylor, Tom Zenk, Ricky Morton, Nash, Bagwell, Foley, Ron Simmons. ALL on one show. That is an astounding array of talent from a few different era's overlapping. Everything on this show and Wrestle War 1992 absolutely hit the mark.

 

The Bill Watts era as most might agrees is a mix of two halves. You get Watts smashing right out the gate with Beach Blast 1992 (the best show of the year for me) as well as bringing in Gordy & Williams, but then Watts also did some absolutely mindless shit (banning top rope moves, Erik Watts, Ron Simmons as champion) which I guess he had the right idea with where he wanted to go but not with execution. The PPV's suffered as well. Havoc and Starrcade contain some sterling stuff but compared to the first half of the year it pales in comparison.

 

The TV product as well was fantastic. I loved the Saturday Night's Best of three Falls main events they did around March-July. You got some hidden classics in there like Big Josh/Arn Anderson and Koloff/Larry Zbyszko. Yes they were great matches. The characters were so much more importantly emphasized, especially in an angle like Rude/Steamboat which is probably one the finer fueds WCW ever produced.

 

So what was your favorite WCW year.

[Richie Freebird]

I think WCW

[ColinBollocks]

96-98 (but if you want to be shit, 97)

 

The Sting/Hogan build is the finest wrestling has ever seen. You had the weeks of Sting turning up in black and white taking out anybody, with questions of 'which side is he on?'. Then you had him beating up the nWo by himself. All done in front of a hot crowd every week. It also helped I was a big Sting fan, pre-Crow gimmick. Watching my favourite turn into a gothic Superman was a genuine highlight of my childhood.

 

They followed that up with the rise of Goldberg, who very nearly replaced the Stinger as my favourite. Goldberg was something special, back then.

[cutch]

In ring wise the first half of 94 was a blinder for WCW from what I've seen, they were having some incredible shows, Spring Stampede & Slamboree are still two of the best PPVs ever, there was a few cracking Clashes as well, haven't watched much of their TV stuff but if anyone can recommend some stuff from then it would be appreciated.

[Ross]

This is going to be controversial for many reasons but my favourite year was 1999. They had a bloody great roster and it was before Russo wackiness fully kicked in. Probably also because they released most of the PPVs on VHS over here and they were pretty easy to get hold of. They still had a decent cruiserweight division, entertaining hardcore matches and the big lads in the main events. Spring Stampede 1999 is one of my all-time favourite shows with some class matches.

[Richie Freebird]

This is going to be controversial for many reasons but my favourite year was 1999. They had a bloody great roster and it was before Russo wackiness fully kicked in. Probably also because they released most of the PPVs on VHS over here and they were pretty easy to get hold of. They still had a decent cruiserweight division, entertaining hardcore matches and the big lads in the main events. Spring Stampede 1999 is one of my all-time favourite shows with some class matches.

 

 

99 may get a lot of shit, but I liked it too. I was still relying on borrowing tapes off other people who had sky at that point, but it marked the year I really ramped my wrestling fandom up to unforeseen levels.

 

As for Russo, he was still with the WWF for a large portion of 99 wasn

[PowerButchi]

It was The Filthy Animals that buried Ric Flair in the desert and Russo had the pen at that point.

[Richie Freebird]

It was The Filthy Animals that buried Ric Flair in the desert and Russo had the pen at that point.

 

Ah right, cheers. I think I was getting mixed up with something that happened earlier on This night (back in February 99). I

[PowerButchi]

Yeah, the nWo elite in ski masks.

[air_raid]

1997 for me too for episodic telly. The year-long Sting storyline, some stunning Cruiserweight matches (my own personal favourites being some Rey/Juvi Nitro matches which were as good as anything on the PPVs), Steiners brutalizing people, the nWo had a fantastic mix of the cool (Outsiders) the obnoxious (Hogan/Bischoff/Syxx) and the nutty (Savage), the emergence of Dallas Page as a top babyface and future main event star, and just generally a great mix of technical matches, high flying and name value main events.

 

In the ring however, it's got to be 1992 for the reasons Dog has listed above.

[Forrest]

I'll echo the '99 sentiments too. If you look at it from an in-ring perspective, then, yeah, '92 or '96 is probably the winner. But the one thing I look for in my wrestling is to be entertained. It doesn't matter if it's good or it's bad, or if it's in-ring or outside, as long as it's interesting and the 1999-2001 era was definitely the most interesting, for better or worse. I was watching Hardcore title matches recently on youtube and it struck just how much went on throughout a Nitro, as there was a ton backstage segments before the match and about a gazillion after the match in the space of 10/15 minutes.

 

As others have mentioned, they were still putting on amazing Cruiserweight matches for most of 1999 (until the Madusa/Oklahoma ordeal) as well as adding the Hardcore title and having a STACKED TO FUCK roster, so even if you look at it on a purely RASSLIN' level, it was still good fun.

 

I think we also have to take into consideration that 1999/2000 really represented me diving head-deep into wrestling, for both WWE and WCW, so I'll always have a great love for that era as it brings back memories of being desperate for Cartoon Network to finish and watching Worldwide on my small bedroom TV. For people 5/10 years older, then it'll be 1992 or 1996 and they'll despise 1999/2000 for slitting the company's throat, obviously. But for me, while a lot of it is mindboggling or just plain awful, it makes me laugh and making me laugh is just as a valid an emotion as making me excited or making me sad.

 

I love the worst moments of WCW just as much as I love the best moments.

[WWFChilli]

I like WCW 1999 merely for the facade of everyone almost seemingly pretending that everything is OK, and that there is nothing to panic about. Eazy E even appears on a couple of Nitro's as a face with his grey hair and he just sounds really depressed and confused. Like he has no idea how to turn the ship around but he's got mad scientist ideas (Rappers, KISS, Nitro Parties, Rodman)

[Reznor]

This is going to be controversial for many reasons but my favourite year was 1999. They had a bloody great roster and it was before Russo wackiness fully kicked in. Probably also because they released most of the PPVs on VHS over here and they were pretty easy to get hold of. They still had a decent cruiserweight division, entertaining hardcore matches and the big lads in the main events. Spring Stampede 1999 is one of my all-time favourite shows with some class matches.

That was just a random purple patch for a few months from around Feb to May though. After Slamboree, it was all kinds of shite. The rest of the year was gruesome.

 

Apart from 1999, I don't think there's been a year in which I've saw every main WCW show, but from all I have saw, the standouts would have to be 1990, 1992, 1996 and 1997.

 

I don't think 1990 tends to be a huge favourite, but I loved most of what I saw. I think the big pull of this year was how good the tag division was, we were spoiled. Midnights, Rock n Rolls, Doom, Steiners, Freebirds, Southern Boys, Pillman/Zenk, Nasties - even the Road Warriors for a while. It's probably around the earliest I remember seeing the big guns like Sting, Flair, Luger, as well as excting newcomers who would go on to be big favourites like Pillman. Muta was sometimes around and he was just spectacular for the time. Added to all that was an rock solid roster, featuring the likes of Stan Hansen, Windham, Double A, Sid, Orndorff, Eddie Gilbert, Dr Death etc. I'd love to actually go back and watch all the TV from start to end to get more of a feel for all the stories, but in terms of wrestling and watching odd shows, PPV s or COTC's, 1990 is tremendous. On the downside, it would have been an even better year if they'd still had Steamboat and Funk.

 

1992 would be hard to beat. The first half of the year was spectacular, and I can say that as someone who never actually followed it at the time, so it's not with the nostalgia blinkers on. Rick Rude was a star as was Steamboat and their feud was my highlight. The Dangerous Alliance were excellent, and their workhorses like Eaton, Austin and Anderson were great for weekly tv. The light-heavyweight division was exciting, as was the tag team with the Steiners, MVC, Windham/Rhodes, and the various combinations from the Dangerous Alliance. As you say, the first 3 ppvs were brilliant, so much so that i would actually rank Wrestlewar as the 'weakest' of the three.

 

On the downside however, it definitely was a year of two halfs. Relatively speaking, things went to shit after the summer. It shouldn't have because it's not like there was a mass exodus or anything; on the contrary, guys like Jake were coming in and Vader was becoming huge. But for me, it was just seemed to become a whole lot less interesting.

 

I dunno if it was coincidental, or a conscious decision, but even the look and feel of the shows was different when Watts came in. Everything felt duller, arenas looked grim with dimmed lighting and whatnot. It was as though they wanted to take the showbiz aspect away and take things back to the old days. It made things look shite and small-time.

 

1996 in WCW was like a new creation with the formation of the nWo, all these innovative newcomers and cruiserweights coming in from every corner of the world, the roster becoming massive, and WCW finally becoming a bigger deal than the WWF. It was the variety that made Monday Night wars era WCW so great imo. It had a bit of everything, however, it never really got going until half way through the year.

 

1997 continued on with the winning formula found in 1996, and i'd say this was probably their most complete year, despite 1996 being so revolutionary in kicking it all off. Just so much good stuff going on and it made for great weekly tv and great PPV's. The megastars on top brought the entertainment if not the 'workrate'; the nWo were still fresh, modern and exciting with the Outsiders and co; You also had

- the excellent Savage/DDP feud

- the cruiserweight division went from strength to strength, with so many new guys coming in, most of them great.

- the blood runs cold angle was fun

- the US title division/midcard was off the charts with the likes of Eddy, Benoit, Jericho, Hennig, Regal, Disco, Jarrett etc bringing the workrate-intense entertainment

- one of my faves, Raven, debuted, along with Saturn, Stevie, and the creation of the flock.

- the emergence of Goldberg

- Sting/Hogan and it's build

- having the pleasure of seing legends like Steve McMichael and Konnan grace our screens with their presence.

- a half decent tag division with the Steiners, Outsiders, Harlem Heat, Vicious & Delicious, French Canadians, Faces of Fear, Pubic Enemy.

- the traditional WCW still had their traditional mainstays with the horesemen, Luger etc.

 

All things weighed up, it would have to come down to either 1992 or 1997

 

Fuck it, 1997.

[fraserbee]

I'm not sure if 1989 counts? It was sort of WCW but still sort of JCP under Turner management as well (the announcers didn't even seem to know if they were talking about NWA or WCW). 1989 was great though, with Flair vs Steamboat, Flair vs Funk, The Great Muta, Brian Pillman, Midnight Express, Doom, The Steiners, The Sky Scrapers, Buzz Sawyer and all sorts going on.

 

Other than that, it's a toss up between 1992 and 1997 for all the reasons already mentioned.

[air_raid]

Does anyone agree with me that 1995 was a bit of a chore a lot of the time? A lot of the PPVs featured far too many rematches or rehashes (unless they were the Savage/Flair revival which was very spirited) and even though the arrival of Nitro heralded a new beginning and there were some memorable moments and decent matches, there were also a hell of a lot of characters that I really didnt care for - Evad Sullivan, Renegade and others, and a lot of those early episodes felt like you were just watching last week's again and it was boring at times - can Luger really be trusted? Hogan/Savage vs Dungeon of Doom bollocks over and over again.. zzzzzzz.