"Just Accept It, We're Number One Now"

[Enigma 0]

Upon searching for computer parts in the attic, I came across a box that contained wrestling magazines from late-1995, early-1996 in them. On the top of the stack was the April 1996 WCW Magazine, so I skimmed through it trying to find some things that are gems now in retrospect, such as Vince "Vic Venom" Russo's column in the December 1995 WWF Magazine yielding this very ironic quote: "Diesel is being held down by politics!" And another WCW magazine with the words on the cover "WCW 2000: THE FUTURE OF WRESTLING". Skimming the April 1996 mag, it was your typical, run-of-the-mill kayfabe except for a two-page article that is a pretty crazy shoot-ish article for that era. I wanted to share it, so here it is:

 

========================================================

 

Just Accept It, We're Number One Now

Bischoff Lets the Ratings Answer the WWF Mocking

 

In the early-1980s, Eric Bischoff worked for Verne Gagne’s now-defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA), a Minnesota-based promotion. Vince McMahon, meanwhile, was organizing a corporate giant, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), that soon depleted Gagne’s wrestling roster and, in the process, changed the way the wrestling world worked (national versus a regional promotion).

 

“I was there when Verne refused to accept the fact that there was someone out there who was smarter, thinking bigger, and with more resources,” Bischoff said in early-1996. “Verne reacted much the same way to Vince McMahon that Vince McMahon is now reacting to World Championship Wrestling. Yes, there’s a real parallel there.”

 

“Vince McMahon is clearly becoming the Verne Gagne of the 1990s.”

 

And Bischoff is now in the position Vince McMahon occupied in the 1980s: a marketing genius. As Senior Vice-President/Executive Producer for WCW, Bischoff has guided WCW to the fore-front of pro wrestling. WCW is, unquestionably, the No. 1 wrestling organization in North America – not the WWF. And the television ratings points are proof.

 

“We’re coming into one of the most critical time periods in the television industry with momentum in our corner, and that’s a big deal. We’re happy about it, we’re excited about it. In fact, that’s an understatement,” Bischoff said in Las Vegas during WCW’s Nitro/Clash of the Champions two-day extravaganza that coincided with the annual NATPE convention.

 

“A lot of people keep asking me how we are going to maintain our momentum. Well, my standard answer is, ‘We’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing because everything seems to be working. We’re giving people exciting, compelling action on TV each and every week. Plus, we’re giving them the very biggest names in the industry. I’m not really too worried about maintaining this level; I think it’ll take care of itself as long as we maintain our commitment to the quality of the product.”

 

WCW’s television ratings have been impressive, to say the least.

 

Consider:

-- The January 15th Nitro from Miami (Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair/Arn Anderson) drew a 3.5 rating and a 5.0 share. The midnight replay drew a 1.4, 4.0.

-- The January 15th WWF Raw (The Undertaker vs. Isaac Yankem) drew a 2.4 rating.

-- Nitro has averaged a 2.5 rating.

-- The January Clash of the Champions drew a 4.5 rating with a 6.6 share. During the main event (Hogan/Savage vs. Flair/The Giant), ratings soared to a 5.3 with a 7.5 share.

-- Nitro on the TNT network airs live nationally at 9 p.m. ET, while the WWF’s Raw has the advantage of always airing at prime time on the USA Network.

-- Nitro is the fourth largest ratings earner for TNT, behind the NFL on TNT, TNT Original Movies, and the NBA Playoffs.

-- The January Clash ratings were the best since August 1994.

 

“I am often asked, ‘Was it a big gamble/risk to put Nitro on the air head-to-head with the WWF’s Raw?’” Bischoff said. “And my answer is always, ‘No, because we knew we had the biggest names in the industry, the ability to produce a show with higher production values (than Raw) and one that was more exciting and compelling. So, from that point of view, it was not that risky.’”

 

“Still, we are experiencing far greater success, faster than I anticipated we would. I thought it would take two years to get to the level we’ve reached in four months.”

 

So, Eric, do you want to run Raw off the air?

 

“No, because I believe in competition,” Bischoff said. “General Motors and Ford battle it out … AT&T and MCI … Domino’s and Little Caesar’s. The wrestling industry is big enough for everyone to be in business. But, my goal is to dominate the market share. The WWF has, for a long time, dominated market share, but I think it’s been too long.”

 

The WWF signed two former WCW competitors in recent months: Goldust and Vader. Here’s Bischoff’s take on both: “Vader couldn’t make it here, at any level: competitively, emotionally, or professionally. He just couldn’t make it at WCW. I’m glad there’s some place to go for guys who can’t make it in WCW because he’s got to feed his family.”

 

“As for Goldust, well, that’s a different story. I feel bad for Dustin Rhodes. He’s a great guy, a good person. Although there’s a fair amount of controversy surrounding his departure from WCW and yours truly, that never really impacted the fact that I liked and respected Dustin Rhodes as a person. But what he’s doing now is very embarrassing, degrading – to him, his family, and all of wrestling. The WWF always used to talk about family values, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore. As the parent of two kids (son Garrett and daughter Montanna), I know I wouldn’t feel comfortable having my kids watch the WWF, where a guy dresses himself up in drag and fondles himself at ringside.”

 

As for his WWF counter-part, Bischoff said, “He’s a guy with an ego as big as a building. He achieved a tremendous amount of success, but forgot that it’s the people around him that helped him achieve that level. It’s unfortunate that a man could miscalculate the industry so badly, make so many mistakes and so many bad moves in such a short amount of time; in fact, it’s sort of a surprise to me. Clearly, the only thing he’s got that anyone is talking about is the ‘Billionaire Ted’ skits. That speaks volumes about his television product, the quality of his talent, and the general lack of confidence he has in his ability to create good, solid programming.”

 

“I think Vince McMahon now has to see that WCW is No. 1; it’s not just rhetoric at this point. I think the pressure we’re putting on him is forcing him into a real reactionary mode; he obviously is not thinking clearly. And it’s unfortunate. Vince McMahon has reached the desperation stage.”

 

That’s why, perhaps, McMahon has sunk to “Billionaire Ted’s Rasslin’ Warroom,” featuring imitations of Hulk Hogan (known as the Huckster), Savage (the Nacho Man), and Mean Gene Okerlund (“Scheme” Gene).

 

“I don’t know the desired impact of him making fun of people in the South, WCW, Hulk Hogan, and/or Randy Savage … I don’t know what motivates him to that, but, clearly, it’s having a backlash effect on him. To that, I’m just sitting back with a big grin on my face.”

 

Is any retaliation planned by WCW?

 

“I’ll tell you how we’re going to retaliate,” Bischoff said. “We will continue doing what we’ve been doing which is putting out the highest quality, most exciting television product possible. We will continue to bring the biggest, most exciting names in the industry to WCW and continue to introduce international talent to WCW.”

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Vader couldn't make it in WCW, hey? Right.

[Guest Loss]

I remember reading this at the time. Not exactly the most unbiased article, to say the least, but there are good points hidden in the ga-ga. Bischoff did this interview before the NWO, and the first half of 1996 actually saw RAW win out in the ratings by a small margin more often than not and both companies were experiencing a house show resurgence -- WCW for the Flair/Savage feud and the WWF had been experiencing a mini-business pick-up ever since they put the belt back on Bret in November.

 

From Meltzer at the time:

"[Vince has] already got a major fight in wrestling, one that inevitably the odds are against him in because he's trying to use brains to combat money, and in wrestling, brains usually win out in the short-run but in the long-run money is hard to beat. McMahon's acknowledgement in a recent interview that he would consider moving Raw to another night to avoid the competition shows he recognizes this himself." And later, "But even doing more things wrong than right, WCW has the money on its side, and it has the wrestling talent on its side, and it has the television exposure on its side. Although PPV figures vary depending upon which organization one talks to, based on independent figures, it appears the sides are fairly even, with WCW, if anything, having an advantage because the In Your House shows are priced less, have less interest and thus draw a lot less money. WCW has the big advantage overall on cable, as its weekend shows kill WWF's and Monday is fairly even. WWF has a slight syndication advantage, but in overall viewership, WCW, because it has more shows and more stations, has won every week but one (the one following the Shawn Michaels angle) this fall season. WWF has a big advantage when it comes to the ability to run house shows, but since that part of the business is in general a money loser (in WWF's case, considered a loss leader while WCW rarely runs them), whatever advantage WWF has of being the stronger house show promotion is offset by the fact they're losing money running them. WCW has stronger talent. Overall WWF has stronger and more organized television and generally better booking. While some would argue the booking advantage may not be the case right now, it is inconceivable that WWF would ever handle or carry-out a scenario as poorly as WCW did building up to the World Cup at Starrcade. But the most important thing is that WWF has to at some point make money. It doesn't appear that is the case with WCW. In a war of attrition, which this wrestling war appears to be, WCW has a very huge tactical advantage."

[Guest LooneyTune]

9 years later, WCW is dead because of the over-the-top amount of money thrown around (having 140+ people under contract didn't help) and generally giving millions of dollars to slugs like Kevin Nash who couldn't draw dick in WWE and really couldn't draw in WCW without the help of the nWo angle.

[Enigma 0]

And let us not forget paying 7 figures to people like Rick Steiner, Stevie Ray, and Scott Norton.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

And let us not forget paying 7 figures to people like Rick Steiner, Stevie Ray, and Scott Norton.

Ray and Norton were not on 7 figures. They were only on $800,000pa.

[Use Your Illusion 0]

9 years later, WCW is dead because of the over-the-top amount of money thrown around (having 140+ people under contract didn't help) and generally giving millions of dollars to slugs like Kevin Nash who couldn't draw dick in WWE and really couldn't draw in WCW without the help of the nWo angle.

But Nash DID have the nWo angle and he DID draw money for WCW. Therefore, money used bringing in Kevin Nash (and his friend) was money well spent for Bischoff.

 

A better example of paying someone an unheard of sum of money and then doing all the wrong things would be Bret Hart.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

It was the nWo angle that drew, not Kevin Nash. While he was part of an angle that drew, he himself didn't. Kevin Nash, on his own. didn't draw a dime.

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Would the nWo angle of been anywhere near as successful without the Outsiders?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Would the nWo angle of been anywhere near as successful without the Outsiders?

You could have had any medium to top level WWF name jump, and it probably would have been booked in the same effective manner. The point is, while Nash was part of a huge money angle, he specifically didn't draw. He never has.

[Guest sek69]

Would the nWo angle of been anywhere near as successful without the Outsiders?

You could have had any medium to top level WWF name jump, and it probably would have been booked in the same effective manner. The point is, while Nash was part of a huge money angle, he specifically didn't draw. He never has.

I have to take issue with that. In the Outsiders you had a recent WWF World Champion and a guy who had one of the most memorable feuds of all time (Razor vs HBK). They had a lot of mark cred at the time, and I doubt any other midcarders of the era would have made the impact those two did.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Would the nWo angle of been anywhere near as successful without the Outsiders?

You could have had any medium to top level WWF name jump, and it probably would have been booked in the same effective manner. The point is, while Nash was part of a huge money angle, he specifically didn't draw. He never has.

I have to take issue with that. In the Outsiders you had a recent WWF World Champion and a guy who had one of the most memorable feuds of all time (Razor vs HBK). They had a lot of mark cred at the time, and I doubt any other midcarders of the era would have made the impact those two did.

Maybe not initially, but Eric would have been so orgasmic over having, to the casual fan, 'stolen' WWF talent, that he'd have booked them just as strong, to show Vince was wrong to let them go, that they'd have still gotten over huge.

[Richard 0]

So if you replaced Hall and Nash with Men on a Mission, you'd do just as well?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

So if you replaced Hall and Nash with Men on a Mission, you'd do just as well?

MOM were jobber fodder at that time, so no, of course not. You missed my point entirely.

[Guest LooneyTune]

Nash did some of the worst buyrates and attendance figures EVER for a WWF Champion. I think it's safe to say he couldn't draw dick with an electrified dick-drawing machine.

[Enigma 0]

Men on a Mission weren't even in the WWF in May 1996, when Hall debuted on Nitro (I was at the event!). Mo had eased into a manager role when Mabel turned heel. Mabel left the WWF after the 1996 Royal Rumble.

 

But I do disagree with the statement that you could have thrown any WWF mid-carders into the angle and have it have the same amount of success. I seriously doubt that Savio Vega and Justin Hawk Bradshaw as The Outsiders would have even made a peep.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

But I do disagree with the statement that you could have thrown any WWF mid-carders into the angle and have it have the same amount of success. I seriously doubt that Savio Vega and Justin Hawk Bradshaw as The Outsiders would have even made a peep.

Ok, so midcarder might have been a stretch. The point is they could have brought in any WWF guy on that upper tier that Nash and Hall were at and it still would have been booked to succeed as it did.

[Precious Roy 0]

Yeah, but who else was on their level at the time? Taker, Bret, HBK, Sid, maybe Bulldog, maybe Owen, we're talking the best of the best at the time, and you can't discredit Hall and Nash in that role.

[CBright7831 0]

Boy did that comeback to bite him in the ass.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Yeah, but who else was on their level at the time? Taker, Bret, HBK, Sid, maybe Bulldog, maybe Owen, we're talking the best of the best at the time, and you can't discredit Hall and Nash in that role.

Any of those names listed, except maybe Sid, would have gotten over better than Nash in the nWo angle.

 

And I'm not discrediting Nash's part in the nWo. I'm just saying you can't point to the nWo angle as proof Nash can draw, simply because he was part of a group, and it's the group as a whole, not individual members, who deserve the credit.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

You're out of your freakin' mind.

 

Half the reason Nash was over was because he was a legit cool dude. The other was because 7 months earlier he had held the WWF World Title for nearly 1 year.

 

Taker would have been over, but the fans didn't want to see his tired boring zombie shtick. Plus, he still didn't talk that much, he had Paul Bearer as his manager at the time Nash & Hall jumped.

 

HBK agreed. But he was...uh...the WORLD CHAMPION and still under a long-term deal.

 

Bulldog and Bulldog? Not a chance. They were Vader's "cronies" and not top-level names.

 

Bret? That'd have worked. Wow...imagine if HBK and Bret jumped. We might be watching a different show today.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

You're out of your freakin' mind.

 

Half the reason Nash was over was because he was a legit cool dude. The other was because 7 months earlier he had held the WWF World Title for nearly 1 year.

 

Taker would have been over, but the fans didn't want to see his tired boring zombie shtick. Plus, he still didn't talk that much, he had Paul Bearer as his manager at the time Nash & Hall jumped.

 

HBK agreed. But he was...uh...the WORLD CHAMPION and still under a long-term deal.

 

Bulldog and Bulldog? Not a chance. They were Vader's "cronies" and not top-level names.

 

Bret? That'd have worked. Wow...imagine if HBK and Bret jumped. We might be watching a different show today.

Hall and Nash weren't top level names. Nash was just under that level, and Hall was barely above midcard status, with his last high profile match being a clean loss to Vader.

 

Nash was over in WCW for one reason; he was an ex-WWF guy. He was an ex-WWF guy who was being booked to look like he was 'invading' WCW. Put any WWF guy of the time who was at that same level in WCW, book him the same way you booked Nash, and that guy would have gotten over just as huge as Nash.

 

Whether Taker would have had the gimmick or not, people would still have seen him as The Undertaker, and that would have made him seem real special in WCW. As for Bulldog and Hart, regardless of whether they were anyones cronies in WWE, or even top level names, they still had enough cache that they would have meant something had they jumped to WCW. And once in WCW, they would have been booked strong enough that any taint of being a crony in the WWF would have quickly been erased.

 

It would have been the same with any WWF guy with high visibility, regardless of how they were being used in the WWF. Eric was so intent on making the WWF guys seem like legit invaders, that he booked them to strong that they were seen as invaders, which was what got Nash and Hall over so big. That fact alone would have ensured that any strong WWF name would have gotten over, because Eric would have pushed and pushed and pushed until they did get over.

[Enigma 0]

Nash wasn't top-level?

 

His last match on television was main-eventing against Shawn Michaels for the WWF Title on PPV.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Nash wasn't top-level?

 

His last match on television was main-eventing against Shawn Michaels for the WWF Title on PPV.

And he was promptly taken off tv for the last two months of his contract, and never seen again until appearing on Nitro. When a guy loses in a PPV main event and is then taken off TV, even when he could still be jobbed out on TV, that doesn't make him look like a top guy to the casual fans.

 

And Mankind main event against HBK at Mind Games later that year, but I doubt anyone saw him as a top level guy.

[what 0]

Nobody, outside of Bret and HBK, would have been better to do the nWo angle than Hall and Nash. Taker would have been worthless without the gimmick. Sid and Bulldog had been with the WCW before. Owen didn't have the personality to do it. Hall and Nash were perfect in their roles.

[Enigma 0]

Would the nWo been even bigger if Bret Hart was the "3rd Man" instead of Hulk Hogan?

[Guest LooneyTune]

I doubt it. Although Bret was leaps and bounds better than Hogan in the ring, Bret really didn't have anything else going for him, and him being the 3rd member just wouldn't feel right (even when he joined the nWo in 1998, it didn't feel right).

 

When it came to promos, Hogan telling the fans off was much different than Bret Hart doing it, and I never felt Hart was great as a heel (even his Anti-American angle had him playing a very weak heel). Also, Hogan rubbing it in the fans faces that he was the reason they were watching wrestling was probably better than anything Bret would come up with.

[Si82 0]

And let us not forget paying 7 figures to people like Rick Steiner, Stevie Ray, and Scott Norton.

Ray and Norton were not on 7 figures. They were only on $800,000pa.

Only on $800,000?

 

That's still way over-paid for those talentless slugs.

[Guest LooneyTune]

Scott Norton... a midcarder for life, was making nearly $1 Mil a YEAR!?! Who negotiated the contract to him? Scooby Doo and Mickey Mouse?

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Y'know, I always used to strongly believe that Norton could've been crafted into something really worthwhile. Maybe not main event material, but a definite upper-midcarder.

 

I think all he needed was a decent manager.

 

That rules you out, Virgil.