Could the Undertaker's streak have existed in WCW

[Dagger Dias]

If Undertaker had been in WCW then I doubt we would have seen a Starrcade counterpart of the streak. First of all, he would have had to remain as dominant over there as he was in WWE as The Undertaker. That would have been much more difficult to do under a different gimmick and with guys like Hogan abusing their creative control. Secondly, WCW would have to last long enough for the streak to reach 20-0.

There are a number of potential matches that could have been great to see. Sting being the obvious one, over in WCW he could have faced both the classic and crow versions of Sting. Nash, Hogan, and Goldberg would all have been interesting as well. We all know how Goldberg's streak ended though, and with Taker I am certain that something similar would likely have happened. He would have been fed to the nWo before the streak could reach its full potential, and none of them would need the rub received from ending it.

 

[IT Factor]

Any long-term wrestling fan would answer this question with an emphatic, NO!!! The Undertaker was in WCW for awhile and management didn't see anything special in him. Wasn't it Ole Anderson who claimed Taker would "never draw a dime"? And every big member of WCW management who was in charge was just as short-sighted and dim-witted as Ole was. They wouldn't know a breakout star if he'd been camped out up their asses.

It took Vince McMahon to notice Taker's potential and matching a great gimmick with that potential to create The Undertaker. It would've been interesting to see what WCW could've done differently to create a streak, but, I think the closest we got to that was with Bill Goldberg. And we saw how that turned out, right?

 

[DarkFlame]

There are a number of potential matches that could have been great to see. Sting being the obvious one, over in WCW he could have faced both the classic and crow versions of Sting. Nash, Hogan, and Goldberg would all have been interesting as well.

Even back in 1998, a Sting v Taker match would have stunk the ring up, in fact, it probably would have been worse than it would now (and IMO it would be the second biggest mistake in wrestling for WWE or TNA to push for that match)

Sting was a sloppy has-been by then, or maybe he always was (gonna get some absue for that I'm sure) and Taker was already at a stage where he was pretty much phoning it in between using his stroke backstage! Multiply those factors by 12-15 years and you've got a formula for the kind of wrestling not seen since the Gimmich Battle Royal at WM X-7!

Anyway, that's a tad off topic I know but hey! As far as Takers streak occurring in WCW, as was mentioned before, anyone with even the slightest inkling of wrestling history knows that just would never have happened! There were too many egos, too many creative changes and too much bullsh*t for something like that to have stood the test of time. No doubt he would have been jobbed out to DDP in 98 or even better, David Arquette could have ended the streak at Starrcade 2000

 

[Equimanthorn]

Simple answer: No. I'm 99% certain his streak wouldn't even last beyond the third Starrcade. He'd probably have been jobbed out in his first Starrcade.

The Streak is one of the biggest pieces of luck the WWE are ever likely to get. It's pure coincedence Taker won all those matches and it wasn't probably until X-7 at the earliest they actively decided to protect it. Until 21, it was just an interesting fact that JR would mention once or twice. If WCW had got even a whiff of the value of a streak, they'd have jobbed him to Nash or Hogan or someone just to try and claw some flagging interest their way.

 

[Ovaltine]

Sting is not undefeated at Starrcade, he lost to Lex Luger at 89 and Ric Flair at 95 but I think if there were gonna be an undefeated streak at Starrcade, it should've gone to none other than 'the man called Sting'. And yes it could've been just as big as Taker's if WCW hyped it up. They could've hyped it up at or a year before Starrcade 98 and had Sting's undefeated Starrcade streak against Goldberg's undefeated streak for the World Title at Starrcade 98, that would've been just as big, if not bigger than Hogan vs. Sting at Starrcade 97.

technically that is correct, but it was one pinfall in a tournament to win the WCW title- which he won. So, he is (in a way) undefeated at Starrcade. People forget that Goldberg wasn't undefeated either. He had on DQ loss to Steve McMichaels early in his career. The Undertaker also has a questionable victory over Giant Gonzales. The Undertaker was knocked out by a towel (yes a towel) stretchered to the back and came back to the ring and the match was thrown out. So, you see win streaks can be spun anyway that the promoter wants them. I'd bet a million dollars that if WCW were still going that they would have pulled the Sting isn't defeated at Starrcade gimmick just to compete with the Undertakers gimmick. I am not bashing WCW- both companies stole from eachother like crazy. Only a mark will say otherwise.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

No, almost certainly not.

WCW was never known for long-term planning. Great ideas were scrapped within weeks of them beginning, angles were dropped for no reason and the company wasted so many possible opportunites over the years for long-term success, instead focusing on short -term gains.

If 'Taker had started to build a streak, planned or not, over a few years, you can almost be certain that he would have been fed to the nWo, to massage the egos of Hogan and/or Nash. That is how it went in WCW, anyone who was over was either added to the nWo, or jobbed out to them.

However, we all know Undertaker is very powerful backstage in WWE and has been for a long time. We also know that while running WCW, Eric Bischoff was a big fan of motorbikes (hence why WCW held a PPV at Sturgis), and was well known for giving his friends preferential treatment in the company (DDP and Rick Steiner got great deals through their friendship with Bischoff)...Undertaker is also a big fan of motorbikes, so there is the chance he and Eric would have been buddies, and 'Taker would have had a similar level of power backstage in WCW as he had in WWE?

However, it is most likely that no-one would have even realised a streak was being built, and Undertaker would have been beaten at Starrcade pretty quickly by a nobody, or been pinned by someone from the nWo in a worthless, typical WCW style angle. The company never had the intelliegence, forward planning or ideas that WWE had, bar a few exceptions.

 

[thebarber]

Yeah it's a good thing he left that company. Otherwise he would have been in the same company as the Red Rooster, The Good, Abe Knuckeball, Adam Bomb, The Gobbledygooker, The Repo Man, Pappa Shongo, Phantasio, Duke The Dumpster, Isaac Yankem, Xanta Clause, Bastion Booger, Mantaur, Max Moon, Battlekat, Techno Team 2000, wrestling convict Nailz, wrestling policeman, etc. etc.



Never heard that an don't believe it to be true. The streak wasn't an 'accident.' WCW intentionally pushed Goldberg, even having him defeat Hugh Morrus in his opening match, which while note a superstar was still an established worker.

I think you might be the mark.



I'm about to blow your mind:

WCW was owned by a television company!

The line about the free tv for Hogan/Goldberg always gets thrown around like some revelation, but it misses the HUGE distinction between WCW and WWF. The WWF was owned by Vince McMahon. His company took a cut of ppv revenue, but if his ratings went up on television that benefited USA much more significantly than it did the WWF. WCW was different. It was owned by the network it broadcast on. Selling advertising space was more important to them than it was to the WWF. Additionally, TBS/TNT relied heavily on wrestling to make their network. Turner bought JCP/WCW specifically to strengthen his network brand.

Mark, read Goldbergs own book, he freely admits to losing his second match. I only post fact taken from the wrestlers themselves. If Bill said he lost hios second match, thats good enough for me kid

 

[HBsam31]

I just don't think WCW was good at patience. I am sure they would let Hall or Nash end the streak via a cattle prod, or a streak on a pole match. Even if they would have been lucky enough to book a streak at Starrcade they would have ruined it when they realized what they had. I was a big fan of WCW don't get me wrong, but they would have not been able to handle something so big.