Worst decision in pro wrestling history...

Anyone that is a professional wrestling fan and has watched it religiously throughout their lives knows that there have been bad decisions made at times.  Whether that is matches that were put together, or if it was directions for individuals, they were bad decisions nonetheless.  Bad decisions are part of any business, it is how you rebound from these decisions and make sure not to make them again that measure success.

In my opinion, there is one decision in professional wrestling history that absolutely ruined the business over the past decade.  This decision started off as one of the greatest moments in pro wrestling history, but the way that it was handled was awful and ended up leading to disaster.  That decision was Vince McMahon’s decision to buy WCW in 2001.

Now I say that this was one of the greatest moments is wrestling history because it is one that always sticks out in my mind.  I still remember my dad and me watching wrestling when this happened and saying “wtf is going on?”   When Shane McMahon walked out onto WCW and the same show was being broadcasted on both channels, it was crazy.  It was one of those moments that WWE could only wish to have nowadays.  There was so much potential there, but I believe that they did not really have a plan in the first place.

I say that this decision was one of the worst ever for a few reasons:

1.)  Vinnie Mac bought out his competition, therefore giving the fans only one choice for pro wrestling.  I understand why he made the decision to buy WCW, but it did not do what he wanted it to.  Vince wanted to be the end-all-be-all of pro wrestling, but all it did was make fans of pro wrestling in general say “I don’t like this product, therefore I don’t like pro wrestling anymore.”  Nowadays, some of those fans have come back around and become pro wrestling fans again since there are other options, but there are still many out there that have not.  To “normal people” pro wrestling is pro wrestling, no matter what company it is that they are watching.  So if they do not like one place in particular, they do not like pro wrestling overall.

2.)  The way that the purchase of WCW was handled was ridiculous.  Rumor has it that the original plans for WCW were to have a legit second company where WCW would take over the Smackdown TV slot.  WCW was to be run as a completely separate entity, rather than being the bullshit invasion group that it was on WWE TV.  If this would have happened, it would have given fans “another option” to watch and continue to build that “competitive feel” between the two companies.  Even though both companies were “technically” owned by WWE, the everyday wrestling fan would have still seen it as 2 separate companies because they would not know what was going on behind the scenes.

I still think that if WWE would have handled the purchase of WCW a different way, the professional wrestling industry would be completely different today.  WCW would probably still be around to this day and be doing something completely different than what the WWE currently is.  TNA/Impact Wrestling probably would have never even been created, or at least would not have gotten off the ground, therefore not making the stars that came out of there.  Guys who are currently on the independents doing nothing could have been stars because there would have been another company to go to.  Their lives would have been completely different if they would have had another opportunity with a different company.  Maybe even ROH would not have been started at all, or would have been something completely different because there would have been different talent on their first shows.  Who knows?

What I do know is that the business of pro wrestling has been down for the past decade, compared to what it was the decades before.  It is not “cool” to be a fan anymore.  UFC has taken many of those old pro wrestling fans and turned them into MMA fans, for whatever reason.  Hey, if you want to watch two guys lay on the ground with each other for 10 minutes, wear Tapout and Affliction shirts, and not be entertained, then UFC is for you, “bro”.  If you want to see action and entertainment, then turn on pro wrestling and enjoy.

What is in the past is in the past.  WWE did buy WCW.  WWE did drop the ball with how they handled WCW (and ECW).  There is no changing that.  The only thing that the WWE and all of us can do is to move on and try to find ways to make wrestling cool again.

I actually think that the WWE could realistically bring back WCW somehow in a newly re-packaged format.  I have gone on record saying that the guys on FCW and NXT are more entertaining, to me, than the guys currently on WWE TV.  Take those guys, bring back WCW, and make it into a show.  The fans do not know that these guys are all signed by WWE.  Most of them are good enough to hold their own in the ring anyways.  Why keep them stuck in a corner of Florida?  Put them on TV and start making money off of them now.  My suggestion would be to bring in Dave Lagana (former head writer for Smackdown and the re-booted ECW) and have him write for WCW.  The reason that I suggest Lagana is because he has a completely different vision for a wrestling show compared to the rest of the WWE, in my opinion.  He could make a new version of WCW something completely different than the WWE, and use young talent from FCW & NXT to their full advantage.

The possibilities for WCW could have been, and are still, endless.  So many things COULD have happened, but some many things CAN STILL HAPPEN!  I was a WCW fan when I was a kid, and I would be a WCW fan if they brought it back.  #BringBackWCW