We continue with TLC week here at the Blog O'Doom and we'll go for something a little different this time.
Before Hogan arrived, 1994 was becoming a pretty special year for WCW in terms of workrate. I don't know if they were making much money (probably not) but the PPVs were pretty solid as guys started being booked to their strengths.
None of that was more evident than the 1994 Spring Stampede when The Nasty Boys took on Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne in a street fight that set the tone for some of the wild brawls you would see over the next several years. Enjoy this one and check out that pop for Cactus Jack!
Before Hogan arrived, 1994 was becoming a pretty special year for WCW in terms of workrate. I don't know if they were making much money (probably not) but the PPVs were pretty solid as guys started being booked to their strengths.
None of that was more evident than the 1994 Spring Stampede when The Nasty Boys took on Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne in a street fight that set the tone for some of the wild brawls you would see over the next several years. Enjoy this one and check out that pop for Cactus Jack!
Fantastic PPV.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best WCW ppvs of all time.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's definitely one of the best shows ever. Crazy that 94 had mania10 and this back to back. Good times!
ReplyDeleteCrack WCW camerawork at 10:03.
ReplyDeleteCactus takes the Nestea Plunge somewhere in the background.
Is interesting to think how WCW might have been if Hogan hadn't signed on. Flair was talked of giving the rub to Austin, they still had guys like Cactus Jack and were starting to build up the cruiserweights, would have seen a rise in work rate. Of course, without Hogan, doubt Bischoff would have had the added clout to convince Turner to give him "Nitro" and such so hard to imagine WCW really taking it to WWF that much then.
ReplyDeleteBut would they still be around as a solid No. 2 and a general alternate?
ReplyDeleteIf they don't get Hogan, do they still get Savage to fill that role?
ReplyDeleteNot if Turner still gets bought.
ReplyDeleteI think they'd be spun off during the Turner buyout and another group or network would own them. They'd be TNA but better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. Assuming WCW still exists with just Saturday Night or, more likely, a non-head to head primetime offering during the week ala Impact, and is not hemorrhaging the cash it was during it's dying days with Turner, I definitely think someone picks up the property.
ReplyDeleteThis might win the obscure honor of being the biggest unacknowledged background bump of all time. Crowd sure as hell saw it, though.
ReplyDeleteOld boys club would never put over anyone new. They put Jim Crockett out of business, same would have happened without Hogan, except WCW would've been an even smaller fish and definitely would never be #1
ReplyDeleteWhy would you buy the name wcw? Just start your own company and name it whatever you want. You'd have the rights to the turner footage but without the 90s boom, who cares?
ReplyDeleteThe AOL/Time Warner merger would still have played a big impact.
ReplyDelete1) Would the new company still have been interested in owning it? If not, they might have found a buyer. Except..
2) Would the new company have been interested in keeping them on TV as programming even under a new owner. That is a lot more complicated. Nowadays cable is very split and often niche-oriented. TBS became a comedy channel. TNT focused more on drama. even if wrestling was still getting decent ratings, the Turner brass may not have felt that it fit the image they wanted for their channels. And without a TV deal WCW would have been in big trouble no matter who owned it.
Only if AOL/Time Warner was still interested in having wrestling on their channels, which is a big 'if'. h
ReplyDeleteBecause in this hypothetical you have a viable, ongoing concern. One that may even be profitable. Most likely scenario is that someone on the inside is able to arrange a purchase (like Bischoff attempted), but now another TV company is willing to take them on. Spike or some other mid-tier cable network.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, what happens to the WWF? 1995 still happens to the WWF with or without WCW getting Hogan.
ReplyDeleteThey lost money before Hogan got there.
ReplyDeleteDon't be so dense, Dougie. I already said we have a hypothetical ongoing concern.
ReplyDeleteIt's unreasonable to think they'd all of a sudden be profitable doing the same crap. Hogan made them viable.
ReplyDeleteA fantastic match.
ReplyDeleteGreat great match.
ReplyDeleteIf Hogan doesn't happen, Nitro doesn't happen. But WCW Saturday Night is still a pretty solid ratings-grabber in a not-really time prime slot, so who's to say it woudl have been cancelled out of it's slot?
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite spots of all time, which for some reason we never see anymore, the "suplex the table onto the fallen wrestler", it actually looked pretty brutal, not sure why nobody rips this off anymore.
ReplyDeleteThat spot looked painful as hell.
ReplyDeleteYeah no kidding! Everytime this match comes up, the first thing I think of is that suplexing table spot. The funny thing about this match, you could just hear the incredulousness (not sure if that's even a word haha) in Tony and Bobby's voices. It's like they're thinking "holy crap, these dudes are frickin crazy", and you can just hear it. One of my favorite matches of all time for sure.
ReplyDeleteFun match. Just watched that show about a month and kind of forgot how good that show was.
ReplyDeleteTony Schiavone put it best. Without Hogan, they probably never make it to #1 but rather remain a solid #2 promotion that likely still exists to this day.
ReplyDeleteFun to think about.
I bought that one on VHS years ago and wore the tape out. It really was a good show.
ReplyDelete