WCW or WWF (Monday Night Wars Era)

[Moneyinc]

These were the days. I was in 8th grade in 98 and there was no chance I was missing a Monday Night War. I was always a WWF guy. Stone Cold, the Rock, DX, the Canada stable. WWF did it for me but WCW definitely got me to switch over during commercials and some main events once NWO started hitting.

I've gone back recently and watched Nitro's and Raw's on Youtube and they are pretty equal to me for different reasons. Nitro is appealing in it's prime because you could start a show off with Goldberg smashing some clown out to increase the streak. Then you might have a young Mysterio facing Kidman or something. Then if you get real lucky you will get a Malenko Vs Beniot match or something like that. Then after 45 minutes or so of really good wrestling Hogan and the NWO would strut out and continue their fued with DDP and Sting. I was watching the one Nitro where DDP called out Macho Man and Hogan and the rest of NWO came out with Macho Man. DDP was so electric and was all fired up and then Sting drops down from the rafters and throws a bat to DDP, and then pulls another bat out of his trench coat!

WCW really had a more stacked roster at the time and less goofy crap going on.

I look back on it now and it is tough to call which one I appreciate more in 1998. I definitely appreciate WWF's overall product from 1986-2000 so much more than WCW. In 1998 though, WCW had some great things going on.

[GameOver]

I was a fan of the WCW midcard and WWF overall, the WCW main even scene was ok but i found it a bit stale for the most part, tho it did draw fans to the product which was a bonus as a whole

as far as WWF was concerned i didn't agree with the levels of implied violence and sex they showed on a growing basis each week but the product was solid from top to bottom, which WCW didn't have IMO. As i said for me WCW was it's best in the Cruiserweight, TV and US title scene, the Main Event was overbooked and no consistancy and the nWo just got rediculous once the initial group started expanding and splitting and reforming and splitting again.

[MWRedskins]

Originally Posted by dukes07

To be fair about Sting getting his revenge on Steiner, it never happened because the company went out of business. Goldberg and all the faces were going to return eventually to face down Steiner, probably culminating in Goldberg v. Steiner at Starrcade (plus Goldberg was hurt and his getting "fired" was used to cover that).

As for Hogan, he quit after Bash 2000. Took his smile and went home. Flair ended up coming back after Russo was sent home in early 2000 (or was that during the Reboot?) I do remember some half-assed explanation.

The nWo did indeed get bloated but not wholly out of control. You still had the core guys and then it split and then reformed for the Elite. The WWF in 98/9 had so many damn stables with the most convoluted being the Corporate Ministry, which was nearly the entire roster!

firstly, to the Sting deal...I know the company went out of business before all the returns, but it didn't help that they didn't get their payback and what was worse was Sting was technically number one contender after winning some match....as for Goldberg, if he did return, they would've had some explaining to do there....and Hogan didn't quit as I recall, it was more like a firing by one of the higher ups..Russo (on camera) did it, but it was by some executive who didn't want to have Hogan's ppv appearance fee....as for Flair, he came back true, but the fact that he was "retired" in the first place was an insult in my book and the NWO in my book was out of control....too many lower midcarders and then it split in two and then they had the NWO elite and the NWO b-team...sure WWE had the Ministry and the Corporation then the Corporate Ministry, but it didn't have what seemed to be 30 guys in the group, sure it was a big stable, but NWO was really huge.

[Lariat Barrage]

It's easy to say the WWF because they ended up winning the war and influenced other wrestlers in their generation, but at one time, the WCW had the right idea. The problems were so numerous that listing them individually would end up being TL;DR.

The main problem was the NWO ended up spiraling out of control. It went from the hippest gang since the Four Horsemen to being it's own worst enemy. Many blame Hogan or Bischoff, but the blame was Vince McMahon. He made an edgy product that had a bonafide Superstar in Stone Cold Steve Austin and many more that were just as hungry to grab that top spot. It ended up making the WWF the most watchable wrestling promotion and ended up making WCW desperate to win ratings instead of simply doing business as usual.

[dukes07]

Originally Posted by MWRedskins

firstly, to the Sting deal...I know the company went out of business before all the returns, but it didn't help that they didn't get their payback and what was worse was Sting was technically number one contender after winning some match....as for Goldberg, if he did return, they would've had some explaining to do there....and Hogan didn't quit as I recall, it was more like a firing by one of the higher ups..Russo (on camera) did it, but it was by some executive who didn't want to have Hogan's ppv appearance fee....as for Flair, he came back true, but the fact that he was "retired" in the first place was an insult in my book and the NWO in my book was out of control....too many lower midcarders and then it split in two and then they had the NWO elite and the NWO b-team...sure WWE had the Ministry and the Corporation then the Corporate Ministry, but it didn't have what seemed to be 30 guys in the group, sure it was a big stable, but NWO was really huge.

The storyline for Sting was that he won a number one contender's match to face the winner of the Steiner v. Booker match after Mayhem. But right after he won, Steiner took him out. So no more Sting. Also, Sting was taking off, so they just included that into the angle.

There would be no explanation needed for the return of Goldberg. He was "fired" by Ric Flair who had turned heel. Had the Fusient deal went down he would have been reinstated by Bischoff or someone else. Rumor has it that Bischoff wanted Hogan and Flair to be kind of opposing GM's.....Also, it is wrestling, Goldberg could have just reinstated himself like Savage did back in 97 and again in 99.

As for Hogan at Bash 2000. It was a work in the sense that Russo was going to say some nasty things. But a shoot in the sense that he apparently went overboard. Hogan took his toupee and went home. He even legit sued WCW. The funny thing is: The announcers on that Nitro agreed with what Russo said and gushed that it was long overdue! Ultimately, Hogan just sat home. He was never fired per se.

The nWo was indeed quite large. The "B" Team were just scrubs to fight and see if they would ultimately join the Elite group. The main focus was on the Elite. Bischoff had the right idea in the sense that he wanted to tighten up some angles and pare down the stables. But a lot of pushes got quashed with the return of the nWo, which I think hurt the product in the long run. While ratings were initially big, I think people did tire of the nWo and when it fizzled it had gone nowhere....

The Corporate Ministry is one of my least favorite angles off all time, so I am biased. I still get confused thinking about. Shit, Foley had a stable for a week or two even. But WWF in 99 could have shit in everyone's lunch and people would have tuned in and WCW could have sent 500 bucks in the mail and no one would have cared. It was like 97 but reversed.

[HBsam31]

My friend that I watched wrestling with was a huge WCW guy so we would watch Nitro at his house while Raw was taping at my house. After Nitro I would go and get the Raw tape and we would watch that then compare shows. WCW did draw me in, but I always favored WWF probably because that is what I grew up on. I loved the NWO and the rise of Goldberg, but I alwys went back the the WWF.

[CrucifiedRaven]

Throughout the Monday Wars I've always said that:

WWF had the better main events (Bret, Shawn, Undertaker, Austin, Foley, Rock, Triple H, Kane vs Hogan, Sting, Goldberg, Savage, Nash, Hall, Flair, Giant)

WCW had the better undercard (Jericho, Raven, Benoit, Booker T, Steiner, Mysterio, Malenko, Eddie, all the other cruiserweights vs Goldust, Marc Mero, Blue Meanie, Farooq, Val Venis, Jarrett, Hardcore Holly)

I was a big fan of both. 1997 is probably the best year for pro wrestling because you can literally see WWF evolve into the attitude era. And WCW was killing it with Nitro and Sting vs the NWO.

Overall though, I pick WWF. Especially once 98 kicked off and the Austin/McMahon stuff started. Just more entertaining television.

[wCw/nWo Ireland]

i watched wcw all the way,if it wasnt for nitro and the nwo,wwe fans would still be watching the likes of jim duggan pulling brass knuckle out of his knickers to this day. its a shame vince won as he comes across as a horrible man who didnt deserve it.

why did those aol muppets sell to the wwe,it was the complete destruction of wcw. surely some one could of said "wait lets just sell it to eric" the name wcw alone is probably worth more now than it was in 01!!!

RIP wcw. because you are never coming back.

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Looking back on it the answer is WWE. But when it was happening I was a WCW guy from the middle of 96 up to around the end of 98. I started getting back into the WWE by 98 as well and as 99 came around I became a WWE guy once more. So while it was happening it was really split as WCW had the first few years but than it was all WWE which lead to WCW getting sold.

[King Patrick]

I started out as a WWF guy. Growing up in the North East, I’m pretty sure almost everyone here was. During the Monday Night Wars, it was a 3 way tie for me. I loved WWF since I was a kid, but I also loved WCW as the “new” alternative. I also loved ECW, but that might have to do with the Philadelphia fan in me. I was, without really knowing it, more of a New D-Generation X World Order guy. Instead of picking between the two Brands, I kinda liked the best of both and hated the worst of both and proudly displayed that fact.

So to answer the question “WWF or WCW??” My answer is none of the above / NDXWO. “Suck It – 4 Life”!!