Who was the backbone of the WCW?

[CM Steel]

World Championship Wrestling was at it's peak during the infamous Monday night wars in the mid-to-late 1990's against the then-WWF. They had alot of great talent there after some of the top guys jumped ship from the WWF. I mean you had guys in WCW like Sting, Ric Flair, Lex Luger, and Diamond Dallas Page who were all doing their own thing gunning for the top title belt. Then you had the faction know as the New World Order (nWo), which featured stars like Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and the Giant, ECT. And you have the whole crusierweight division that put on some very epic matches. And we can't forget the brand wrestler that was Bill GOLDBERG! WCW's women's division wasn't that great in that era.

But all in all. Who was the backbone of the WCW? What guy(s) did you tune in to watch and pay money to see?

 

[Agent_of_Anarchy]

For me personally, it was DDP. He was having consistently good matches from 97 right up to his fued with Steiner in 2001. He wasn't always in the title scene, but he had great matches with the likes of Savage, Benoit, Raven, Hart, Hennig, Steiner and was the first wrestler to really get a good matcg out of Goldberg. I definitely both tuned in for and paid money on ppvs to see some Diamond Cutters.

But the more popular answer will most likely be Sting or Flair, both of whom have a legitimate reason to also be considered.

 

[Winds-Of-Change]

For me, it was Sting.

As a kid, I saw Sting as Batman. Hogan and the nWo as The Joker, and criminals from Gotham.

Their rivaly really resembled the whole comic book idea to me, loved it as a kid.

 

[berlinbrawler]

For me, pre-nWo it was Ric Flar, after it was Sting. Those two are the backbone, the identity of the brand. To a lesser degree Goldberg, to a much much lesser degree DDP.
Pretty much everyone else were WWF stars that came there for the money.

WCW made very few new stars. Guys like Benoit, Guerrero or Jericho were there, but they were no stars. The WCW formula in the 90s was to let the WWF make the stars, then buy them. It certainly worked to a degree, but at the cost of the brand itself. WCW always subtly let you know that you needed to be a WWF name first, otherwise you'd only ever be a scrub in WCW. In other words: WWF was better and they knew it. Even at its peak WCW suffered from a big inferiority complex, that's why they always so desperately shouted out how much better they were than the WWF. Rather than being an entitiy of its own they always came across as the brand that constantly compared itself to the real thing, which on the long run was very damaging and one of the (many) reasons they eventually folded.

That's why Ric Flair and Sting are the ones that personify the backbone of WCW. Vince pretty much flushed WCW down the shitter after he bought it, but his very first decision was right on the money: The very last WCW match ever was to be between Ric Flair and Sting. That's what it needed to be.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

The only answers to this are Sting and Ric Flair

When you think of "WCW guys" they are the 2 that immediately spring to mind. Both showed tremendous loyalty to the company throughout their careers, with Sting never leaving WCW and Flair being an NWA/WCW loyalist throughout his career (bar a short WWF run in the early 90s), they are 2 of the most decorated competitors the promotion ever had and will go down as 2 of the greatest of all time.

When the nWo was hellbent on taking over WCW, who was the guy that defended WCW's honour? Sting. He was "their guy" just as much as Flair was, and had consistently high quality matches with whichever ex-WWF star the company brought in. I think it was fitting that the final match on WCW Nitro was Flair vs Sting. They both deserved that honour.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Before the Monday night wars, it was Ric Flair. Afterward, it was the NWO; specifically, the original members: Hall, Nash & Hogan. Even after they added member after member, it was them.

In Flair's long, long era, he was everything. Sometimes it seemed as if all things ran through him, directly or indirectly. His personality resonated over the whole company and when he abruptly left for WWE in the early 90's, it seemed as if the whole organization lost focus. By the time he made it back to WCW, the company had been swallowed by the NWO concept.

The NWO idea was a terrific one, and for a time, it was at the center of everything WCW did. That the WCW organization actually appeared to take second place to NWO represented slick storytelling. I remember riding in New Hampshire during the height of NWO's fame and seeing a race car being shipped to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The car was owned (apparently) by WCW, yet all the writing on the vehicle advertised NWO, as if it represented an actual organization separate from WCW.

NWO was the backbone of WCW's war with WWE. Of course, when Mr. Bischoff and friends took the NWO concept too far, over-expanding and weakening it......meaning, once the company lost it's backbone...... the whole wrestling organization wound up on the shit pile.

 

[justtxyank]

I guess the answer depends on how you define backbone.

If you mean their biggest draw? It was Flair early on, then Sting, the Hollywood Hogan then Goldberg.

If you mean their most consistent worker? At the main event level you'd probably say DDP, but really their entire midcard could get the nod. WCW consistently had mid to upper mid card guys that could go. Arn, DDP, the cruiserweights, Benoit, etc.

This is a really complicated question that hinges on time you are referring to and on definition.

So, for my answer I will refer to WCW's most popular time and for backbone I will use "Guy who didn't get as much credit but was consistently carrying their shows."

Lex Luger. I know this sounds ridiculous to a lot of people, but from his return to WCW in 1995 through his injury problems in 1998, Luger was an inspired worker that carried the house shows at a time when Hogan and Savage didn't work them, Flair was in and out of the company and Sting didn't do house shows either. Luger was a constant force on Nitro, frequently main eventing and was the stalwart for WCW against the nWo when Sting was in the rafters.

So, I'll give a nod to Flexy Lexy.

 

[theuk savior]

sting

from the late 80s to the end. sting was always there he was what Hogan was to wwf. when flair and lugar left sting stayed. to this day when people talk about wcw sting is the first name people think off. you had had the nwo but they where not ture wcw guys so to speak.

in 20 years time people will be asking the the back bone off the e and the first name will more than likely be taker or hbk for there loyalty

 

[AmerikanWolves619]

The First People's Champion DDP...Diamond Dallas Page always brought me to watch WCW on TV every week and ppvs. He made the stronger connection with the fans of that era and when he hit that Diamond Cutter *BAMM!!!!!* the crowd went ape-shit crazy. He knew how to tell a story in the ring, talked the talk damn good, and got the fans in a frenzy. So for me, he is the back bone of WCW.

 

[Pedigree1]

For me it was Ric Flair most definitely easy answer. Flairs Reign in WCW could arguably be the best of all-timez. (Timez had to throw santinos accent in there haha). Flair had some of the most best all-time battles Dusty Rhodes,Stinger,Steamboat,Funk list goes on and on. His whos who stacks up against the best.

Did i forget the Four Horseman the original four? Easily the Backbone of WCW is Flair IMO and its not even close

 

[CeramicDuck]

If this is the definition we are using:

"Guy who didn't get as much credit but was consistently carrying their shows."

I am gonna go with Post Harlem Heat, TV title through WHC title reigns Booker T.

He was really the best worker consistently in the main event scene at the time with DDP right up there with him.

 

[The Eighties]

In the time period mentioned in the opening post it was Hogan. He was pretty much glued to that World title from the moment he got there, all the main events were about him to the point him and Savage actually beat practically the entire heel roster on one of their PPV's in 1996 in a 2 vs 30 handicap tag clusterfuck called the Doomsday cage or something like that.

Then when the NWO kicked off the second boom period he was front and center to everything, he was the complete focus and the only times he wasn't was when he wanted the night off, which was semi regularly when it came to PPV's.

Flair was the backbone of the NWA, supported by the 4 Horseman. Sting is WCW's icon, but if you use business as the measuring stick for backbone it's Hogan in that period.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

World Championship Wrestling existed from 11th October 1988 until 26th March 2001.

To my knowledge the only consistent in the company for that entire span was the Stinger and, as he was always portrayed as a headline character for the history of the program, he has to be regarded as the backbone of the company. From the 4 Horsemen right through to the New Blood, Sting was always front and center defending the company. The company had several 'faces' through the years (Flair, Hogan, Goldberg) but Sting was the constant.

Ric Flair will always be more synonymous with the NWA than WCW because of his time in the WWF and his various sabbaticals.

DDP and Booker T (and possibly he who must not be named and Scott Steiner) would be the guys I'd also give credit too because of their journeys within the organisation from the lower card to the main event. Double A, Steven Regal, Barry Windham, Bobby Eaton, Rey Mysterio Jnr and even my countryman Finlay gave their programs more substance. Luger, Vader, Savage, Nash and Goldberg all had their time in the sun BUT Sting will always be the guy most associated with WCW and rightly so - no matter how hard the company pushed Hogan and others, WCW fans always wanted their Icon!

 

[Redrum]

Hmmmm for me it would of had to be the Nwo as a whole for a good while. But i also tuned in to see Goldberg and the cruiser weights ( the most misused talent pool had they used them like WWE did.......who knows)

But for the REAL backbone of WCW i go with Ted Turner. Had he stayed in charge WCW wouldn't have folded up. Who knows maybe we would of had the 2nd Monday Night wars in the mid 2000s but once he was no longer in charge WCW was doomed to be sold.

 

[Rvdrvd]

The bigger stars like Hogan, Flair, Savage and Sting brought me to WCW but I kept tuning in because of the awesome matches put on by the likes of Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Raven, Perry Saturn, Eddie Guerrero and the cruiser weights.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Pre Hogan era WCW the backbone without question was Rick Rude. He was their top heel, worked matches that sold PPV's and underpinned them and was consistant in excellence. He also was the first 'big steal' from the WWF which opened the door for Hogan himself. Had his injury not happened, we'd prpbably have seen Hogan v Rude before Flair.

For the period slightly after the injury, Brian Pillman was the backbone. Excellent skills, interesting character and again matches that could sell shows without being for the big title.

Once the Hogan era was in effect you're talking Booker and Benoit until he left perhaps sharing it, both guys added credibility to the undercard and when it was time, organically moved up and sold shows. There is an argument for the whole cruiser division, but if you had to pick one of them it'd be Rey or Billy Kidman. Both were able to excite fans into watching Nitro and make organic moves into the main event when they had to.

 

[jameyt2003]

From my experience viewing WCW, I always considered STING! the backbone, or lifeblood of WCW. Now, my viewing time was from '96 until '01 and this is a completely subjective viewpoint. Honestly, Hogan and NWO kinda bored me as did Flair and the Horsemen angles. Aside from Sting, I would place DDP, cruiserweights, and Goldberg as apart of that backbone.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Sting has always been credited, as have DDP, the NWO and Flair... The backbone would be the one who didn't get that credit so he's a misnomer in this debate.

Other guys to consider: Dustin Rhodes pre 95, Ricky Steamboat, Meng and Chris Kanyon.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Sting has always been credited, as have DDP, the NWO and Flair... The backbone would be the one who didn't get that credit so he's a misnomer in this debate.

Other guys to consider: Dustin Rhodes pre 95, Ricky Steamboat, Meng and Chris Kanyon.

Sting has always been credited by the fans but the history of WCW demonstrated that he was rarely regarded as the face of the company by the company. He was treated as the reliable fallback position, the only difference between him and an 80s Piper/ DiBiase/ Hennig is that he was occasionally allowed to hold the big belt (for short periods).

If this thread was asking "Who was WCW's unsung hero?" then your guys are great examples but there was never just one unsung hero. You can add Austin, Jericho, Guerrero, Milenko, Morton, Lance Storm and many many many more.

Sting was rarely the face but, as the ever constant, he could definitely be regarded as the backbone.

 

[Matty~!]

Did WCW have a backbone post 1994? It certainly didn't have many braincells after the biggest angle in wrestling history fell in Bischoff's lap.

Going from the Turner buyout of JCP in late 88 / early 89. Natural answer would be Flair because of how great he is. Correct answer would probably be Sting not matter how much turmoil there was with the constant changing of guys running the place from Herd, Frey, Watts and god knows who else. Sting was one over son of a gun,.

 

[Spiller86]

First thought was Booker T. He defines 'Backbone' - worked his way up the hard way, and when the opportunity was presented to him to put WCW on his shoulders he did the Big Gold Belt justice.

 

[lowandmighty]

The back bone of wcw really was Sting and Ric Flair. However when Hulk Hogan joined wcw it instantly became him with one difference - Hulk Hogan wasn't so much a backbone but rather an injection of steroids (no pun intended on the Hulkster) that was good for the look on the outside but horrible for the insides of the company.

If you look at the time line of wcw from just before he arrived to the time he left WCW for good at bash at the beach 2000 you see just how much draw power that guy had love him, hate him, never heard of him doesn't matter.

1993 - early 1994 (B.HH) Half arena crowds with the audience grouped to one side for the cameras but cool stars like Cactus Jack, Vader, Dustin Rhodes, the Guardian Angel, Johnny B. Bad, the Honky Tonk Man, Arn Anderson, Eddie Guerrero, Ricky the Dragon Steamboat and obviously Sting and Ric Flair.
There was also a couple of good developmental talents like a Swedish guy called Daniel Anderson and of course wonderkind Alex Wright.

They had a great Tag team division in those days with cool teams like Harlem Heat, Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma, Stars and Stripes, Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck, to name just some.

Then Hulk Hogan Arrives mid 1994- Big crowds every week however Hogan doesn't much appear. Other wrestlers largely associated with him from his time in wwf jump ship like Brutus the Barber renamed "the butcher", Earthquake now called "Avalanche" and eventually Macho Man Randy Savage. This is all because of Hogans presence and the original wcw roster is hurt. Lots of talent goes to waste replaced by Hogans buddy's who instantly fill the main events.
WCW is now like a mini WWF people associated with Hogan like Jimmy Hart and The Nasty Boys remind people of his presence.

1996- By now Hogans impact has grown, Vader is gone, Dustin Rhodes, Dragonboat etc More people from WWF have followed like Lex Luger and ultimately Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, and by early 97, Ted Dibiase is even there with IRS. Guardian Angel/Bubba Rogers is now just Ray Trailor and a fringe member of nWo.

WCW continues to grow like this with more and more big stars arriving until about 1999, it plateaus.

2000- Hogan becomes less of the main star, new writers don't want to write story lines for him as they feel he has too much power and he's often side lined for long periods through injury anyway. The proverbial steroids have made WCW sick.

Bash at the beach- Hogan leaves and its ugly. A backstage power struggle is exposed. Vince Russo sees himself as smarter than Hulk Hogan and prevents Hogan from going through with his idea to beat Jarrett for the title that we'll never know. Fans are confused but they know this time Hogan is actually gone and are left without the star that made WCW huge.

2000 (A.H.D after Hogan's departure) Goldberg- WCW's one star has been poorly utilized over the past year and Booker T has to hold the forte on his own.
With Hogan leave most of the fans, money problems due to the "steroid injection" choke the company, the steroids of Hogan are gone and so are the fans, arenas are shrinking back to early 94 sizes and wcw fizzles out and ends up no more than a wwf storyline.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

Oh sweet dear lord in heaven above. There are two answer to this and one is Sting the other is Flair. Sting was with WCW from day one, until the end, literally. Flair, well, other than his stint in the E/F, was the same as Sting. To choose one over the other, I'd say Sting because he never left for the E, he never took his ball and went home and was able to be completely reinvented without missing a beat.

To the snapper heads suggesting the likes of DDP, Booker and Steiner, do me two favors : 1) shake your head; 2) go get yourself neutered immediately so not to water down the world with your messed up genes. Let's be clear:

- Booker got a spot at the top of the card and the title because WCW was going to get sued for supposedly being racists. There was a lack of people at the top of the card, so they threw Booker in. He is/ was a marginal worker with limited mic skills and was the right race in the right place at the right time.
- Steiner, post tag team glory days and steroid discovery, was a joke. He couldn't work and was a parody of himself. The undeserving Booker deserved a more undeserving foil to seem credible, and he got Steiner.
- DDP was buddies with Nash, Hall etc. he got his spot because people bitched that Nash and Hall politicked their way to the top. So, rather than staying at the top, they stuck their buddy in.

Frankly, over those three, you could make a case for Vader, Windham, Arn, or Luger.

 

[relentless1]

^lol can you back any of that up or are you just making stuff up, if you can please post some links to the proof otherwise don't make stuff up. now, onto the OP question, the answer is sting, he never left the company, he always defended wcw and he was a main evener the entire 12 1/2 years wcw was open.

 

[HBsam31]

It has to be Sting for me. Flair carried the company on his back for a long time, but Sting was the loyal go to guy. He was always one of Flair's main challenges, and when the NWO took over it was Sting that was called upon to bring them down. Sting was always there, and I think he has to be the backbone of that company during that time. When I think of WCW Sting is always the first person to come to mind.