Money left on the table

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8 hours ago, Pinc said:

A fuckton of money was left on the table by never coming together with WCW in 98/99 to do some real interpromotional stuff. Imagine Austin/Goldberg at the top of a big When Worlds Collide type card with McMahon and Bischoff in the opposing corners. They were both World Champs at the same time in Summer ‘98 as well. Would’ve done unholy business.

Thinking about it - I can’t remember ever hearing of overtures being made in either direction to do interpromotional stuff when both companies were peaking, which just seems insane. Like I understand why it never happened, but I find it hard to believe no one ever raised the possibility? And yet in the thousands of hours of podcasting and shoot interviews we’ve had about that period I’ve never heard a peep along those lines. You’d think there’d be some ‘JJ reached out about having Sting appear at SummerSlam but got told to fuck off’ type stories in the ether.

Grandstanding is as close to it got. I'm sure Goldberg challenged Austin to a match on Leno or something? And obviously Bischoff challenged McMahon.

I don't think it's insane though. Companies don't tend to work together when they are making millions anyway. Why dilute any already successful product by focusing on the "the other guys?" If anything it's normally the exact opposite. Big companies come together when business is down and they both need a boost. Like Pro Wrestling USA in the 80s and all the crossover stuff in Japan in the mid 00s.

Come to think of it, I doubt WCW and the WWF even could've done it from a contractual standpoint. USA signed off on the simulcast for the last Nitro but longer term? Naah. TNT would've been the same if not worse. Would've been dead before it even begun.

Anyway, it's WCW in the UK for me as well. Not just the live events but the whole she-bang. Hardly any merchandise, Nitro in a weird slot after the Cartoon Network and only an hour long at one point. Worst of all, the only way you could see Pay Per Views was months later on the German Channels. You couldn't even buy them on video until well after the boom period was done. Total waste.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

I feel like there's a few matches over the years that never got done, which could have been big box office if done right. Not necessarily just talking "dream matches"- although that's obviously a big part of it- but just matches that would have carried a big intrigue factor due to various elements. One of the major ones is Sting vs. Undertaker. Taker's talked about it not living up to expectations and not being that arsed about it anyway, but there was so much demand for it that actually booking the match surely would have brought over a few lapsed WCW fans to see the fantasy match come to life, particularly as far as the characters and history of both men goes. Triple H- as much as they've tried to push the narrative otherwise- just doesn't have that kind of gravitas as a star.

Funnily enough, a match that might have done big business involving The Game- the teased Rock/Ronda vs. HHH/Steph match. Obviously, movie commitments got in the way and what we still got with Kurt Angle was good, but having mega superstar Rock with MMA crossover Rousey would have been next level.

I suppose it's a different model now with PPV buys being a thing of the past, but making the hotter matches could have led to increased Network subs and renewed fan interest to have that ongoing financial effect.