WCW 2000, did they really had a great moment.

[Psykohurricane55]

I just finish watching The Very best of WCW nitro DVD and i've got to say, boy did the year 2000 sucked for WCW. I'm sorry but when the greatest matches you can get for that year was DDP Vs Jeff JArrett, The triple cages war games match, Sid vs NAsh, One of the worst Jung dragons vs 3 count match that these team had and Yet again the Lance Storm vs Booker T which seem to be on every WCW DVD then you pretty much see how bad WCW was in 2000.

The funny thing is that even DDP pretty hinted that Russo was the bad guy in the dowfall of WCW. Just listen to the text he gave him to talk about the Russo/Bischoff era.

Having said that, i'm really want to know if anybody remember any really great moment from WCW in 2000 or your just like me and think that it was sad time for WCW and nothing really stood out.

 

[MEGATRON2507]

Sorry mate but have to say that this thread is just point less IMO.

Of course 2000 was a bad year for WCW. We could all see that the company was going down, down, down until eventually being bought out and buried by VKM.

The only highlight for them match wise was on their very last show and that was once again Sting V Flair.

 

[UFOcalling]

I know that just about everyone HATED WCW in the Russo-era, but I was still a fan (even though I thought it sucked more, too). My favorite parts of that era were the formation of nWo2000 (yes, I know everyone hated that, too), and the Sting vs. Vampiro feud (my favorite part of the "Millionaire's Club" vs. "New Blood" feud).

Speaking about nWo2000, I think the entire angle was rushed (much like MOST of the booking that happened in that era of WCW). I think Russo was under heavy pressure to deliver high ratings (that never came), and this was an angle that would have worked much better with a slow burn (as opposed to the quick explosion that it ended up being). Unfortunately, Russo was forced to pull the trigger too soon (I'm assuming, but I think I'm right) and Hart got injured shortly after the sliver & black nWo's formation (more on that ahead).

For those that don't remember, the "original" nWo2000 members were Bret Hart, Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall. The payoff (or "formation" of the group) happened on an episode of Nitro...I remember Jarrett won the US Title early in the show, Nash & Hall had either won the Tag Titles that night, or soon before. The main event of Nitro that evening was Bret vs. Goldberg for the World Title. At one point during the main event match, the ref got "knocked out" (lol), and Bret had Goldberg in a figure-four. That's when Hall & Nash came out with black baseball bats, and it was obvious that SOMETHING was going to happen. Everyone thought they were going to attack Bret, but instead went after Goldberg (effectively helping Bret win the World Title). When Bret won the match, Jarret came out with sliver spraypaint and we heard the familiar nWo theme music as Nitro went off the air.

I thought that this was a cool moment, even though nWo2000 fizzled out shortly after this. I loved seeing them with all that gold (they had the World Title, US Title & Tag Belts), they looked a little like the old-school Horsemen when they posed with the belts as Nitro went off the air. If I remember correctly, it was shortly after this (within a month or two) that a mule kick from Goldberg gave Bret the concussion that caused his retirement. I don't think nWo2000 lasted much longer after that, but I can't remember specifically. Obviously this was nowhere NEAR as great as the moment when the original nWo formed with Hogan, but it was better than all the other nWo subgroups (at least in my opinion). I remember that some members of the IWC were outraged; citing that they couldn't believe that Bret would cozy up to members of "The Kliq", even in a kayfabe manner. I dunno, I enjoyed it.

Speaking on the Sting/Vampiro feud: I was a fan of Sting for a long time. I wasn't the biggest fan of Vampiro, but almost (and I stress the word "almost") became a fan of his because of his program with Sting during that era.

These two guys never put on a five-star match during their feud (I blame Vampiro for that), but the time these two got on WCW programming was what I looked forward to every week on Nitro/Thunder. The feud's apex was their infamous "human torch match", which was a clusterfuck of ideas (at best). The meat of the story was there, but the way it was handled (by bookers and performers) was poorly executed.

Sting and Vampiro were going to have the first ever "HUMAN TORCH MATCH" (the most dangerous match ever created!!! LOL) at whatever PPV was going on at the time. The way you won, was by setting your opponent on fire (EXACTLY like an inferno match). Sting added a stipulation, by putting the torch on top of the "Nitrovision" screen (WCW'S equivalent of the TitanTron, whatever it was called). Both men would have to be on top of the screen in order to set their rival on fire. In actuality, this was just a ruse so Sting could be swapped out by a stuntman (who was the one who was actually set on fire).

Vampiro won the match, by setting "Sting" on fire. Vampiro talked shit for a week or two on Nitro, and we didn't see Sting. When Sting finally showed back up, he was wearing a black mask with goggles (the goggles had kind of a steampunk look to them). I thought Sting looked VERY cool like that, even if the story was exactly the same as Kane's (Sting was so badly "burned", that he didn't want to show his "disfigured" face on camera). I also thought this was a good way to breathe some new life into Sting's character. If Sting hadn't been so against it, I feel that it would have done wonders for his career (at the time).

Sting nixed the storyline, and only appeared on two episodes of Nitro with the mask & goggles (the newly masked Sting was also put in Nitro's opening credits, but was removed after two weeks - when Sting removed the mask). The first time Sting appeared on camera with the mask, he told the audience that he was taking the mask off that night. When he was coming down to the ring, he was attacked by the newly-turned heel, Goldberg. It wasn't until the next week that he removed the mask and went back to the black & white facepaint we were all accustomed to. Too bad, I think it would have made him just as mysterious as when he first started dressing like "The Crow".

This story could have been done similarly to Sting's storyline in the mid-90s (original transformation into his "Crow" facepaint), with Sting not talking for months on end...finally hitting it's peak at Starrcade, with a match between Sting and Vampiro. I would have paid to see it, especially if Sting was still wearing the mask. He could have always taken it off after that, saying that he was never burned - but only playing mindgames with Vampiro. As far as I know, that angle was ruined by Steve Borden, not by the bookers. I think this angle really would have helped WCW at the time. I think Sting was being selfish, that storyline could have really helped the business (and also helped Vampiro get over). Sting must have had his reasons for not wanting to do it (maybe the mask was too hot, who knows?), but I think he should have gone along with it.

Sorry to type such a long entry here, but I had a lot of fun doing it. Hopefully you had fun reading. Good thread topic as well, I love talking about WCW in the mid to late 1990s.

 

[Headman]

Having watched the Best of Nitro I'm reminded of how bad WCW was from the moment Hogan got there. The nWo seemed cool at the time, but their promos were corny and the execution of the angle was piss poor. The only thing they had going for them was a cool t-shirt. While WCW who were supposed to be the babyfaces came off as helpless and stupid to boot, so of course the crowd sided with the nWo. Russo is an idiot who isn't fit for any job in the industry, and Bischoff may be good at talking old men out of their money but creatively he's awful. Any decent moments they had were matches between guys who they were so disinterested in that they didn't bother to tell them what to do. And anybody who wasn't part of the main event picture who gained steam got squashed. Just look at the Raven's flock. WCW stopped being good the minute Hogan walked in the door.

 

[harrythem]

Steiner Vs Goldberg...Fall Brawl 2000. Goldbergs best ever match and one of the best WCW PPV Main Events from early 99 till they shut their doors....

The re-set episode of Nitro was pretty interesting, especially with the "scissors" comments from Bischoff to Sid.

Nash actually earning his money against Booker T in the cage...

yeah, they were some of my fave moments!

 

[jaceynightheat]

Having watched the Best of Nitro I'm reminded of how bad WCW was from the moment Hogan got there. The nWo seemed cool at the time, but their promos were corny and the execution of the angle was piss poor. The only thing they had going for them was a cool t-shirt. While WCW who were supposed to be the babyfaces came off as helpless and stupid to boot, so of course the crowd sided with the nWo. Russo is an idiot who isn't fit for any job in the industry, and Bischoff may be good at talking old men out of their money but creatively he's awful. Any decent moments they had were matches between guys who they were so disinterested in that they didn't bother to tell them what to do. And anybody who wasn't part of the main event picture who gained steam got squashed. Just look at the Raven's flock. WCW stopped being good the minute Hogan walked in the door.

WCW stopped being good when Hogan walked in the door? WCW was beating WWF for a good while because of Hogan & the nWo. Along with that storyline, Piper had some good matches. All of the cruiserweight matches involving Eddie, Ultimo Dragon, Jericho, Rey, Malenko & others were great fun!

The IWC's hatred of Hogan is ridiculous.

 

[DanTheMan3:16]

WCW sucked a lot in 2000, however i always liked the Sting vs Vampiro feud.
Booker T always had a good with everyone, including JJ and Lance Storm. Also The Triple Cage at Slamboree 2000 was good.

 

[mrpops]

WCW always sucked and thats why they failed.

They were simply a territorial company that got a television deal and failed to meet the....well.....then current standards. They were so behind and didnt know what the fuck they were doing and died.

And vince russo needs to fucking die. The difference between WCW/TNA and WWE is painfully obviously. WWE builds storylines over a long period of time(or atleast they try to). WCW/TNA has twists and turns every 2 fucking seconds and none of the viewers have a fucking clue as to what the hell is going on.

Watching a WCW episode was sad. Every 2 seconds it was "OMG he turned on him", but next week it "was all part of the plan", then "the real plan" would come next week...but wait! It "was x character all along"....but then "bischoff was the real culprit!"....omg wait.."it was kevin nash and the nwblow!".... WCW = clusterfuck of television.

 

[madrox]

I honestly struggle to think of a moment where I ever thought WCW was bad post 93 other than the Dungeon of Doom group. I'd take WCW during the year 2000 of any of WWE's Attitude era (people hype that up as the best era of the company but when I looked back on the moments and matches from those years when I skipped WWF, I just switch off mentally because the matches are way too slow moving and crappy and the promos and other things going on are just horrible to watch and boring).

Anyway......how about Lance Storm debuting and forming Team Canada in 2000? Holding the US, Cruiserweight and Hardcore titles at the same time and renaming them (the Canadian Heavyweight, 23 Kilos and Under title I think and the Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title or S.H.I.T. for short)?

How about Mike Awesome and his "Career Killer" gimmick?

How about Vampiro vs Sting feud?

Sean O'Haire showcasing why at the time he was one of the hottest young stars in the business and how both himself and WWE wasted that talent and potential down the road?

Screamin' Normal Smiley?

Chris Benoit winning the WCW World Heavyweight title and entering that echelon of World champions 4 years before most fans think his first World title reign happened?

Booker T finally winning the World Heavyweight title?

Jeff Jarrett becoming the biggest heel in the industry at the time with loud boos and hatred within a few seconds of his entrance theme starting?

There were a lot of great moments even in WCW's so-called "worst" years but it's just a shame that WWE has twisted it and the WWE fan base agrees that nothing WCW did was ever good.

Sure, you have former WCW talent who have horror stories but as a fan, what I saw on tv was highly entertaining and memories I'll cherish forever that had me crying with laughter, shocked, amazed, excited and all the other emotions you should feel when watchign a great tv show.

 

[californiachef84]

Having watched the Best of Nitro I'm reminded of how bad WCW was from the moment Hogan got there. The nWo seemed cool at the time, but their promos were corny and the execution of the angle was piss poor. The only thing they had going for them was a cool t-shirt. While WCW who were supposed to be the babyfaces came off as helpless and stupid to boot, so of course the crowd sided with the nWo. Russo is an idiot who isn't fit for any job in the industry, and Bischoff may be good at talking old men out of their money but creatively he's awful. Any decent moments they had were matches between guys who they were so disinterested in that they didn't bother to tell them what to do. And anybody who wasn't part of the main event picture who gained steam got squashed. Just look at the Raven's flock. WCW stopped being good the minute Hogan walked in the door.

A WWE lover huh? WCW & the nWo angle was/is the biggest thing to ever happen in pro wrestling... In fact, if Hogan had never come to WCW at all, then WCW would have been bankrupt and out of business probably by 1996 or 97. That would have depended on how long Ted Turner would have let the company bleed enormous amounts of money every year when people like Jim Ross were running it. Bischoff and Hogan saved WCW. Think about this. Without Hogan & Bischoff your precious little Attitude Era would have never happend in the WWF. You would not know who Stone Cold or the Rock are. Undertaker would have never actually become "cool" & "satanic", and no stunt man Mick Foley. You should thank God everyday that Bischoff & Hogan forced McMahon to change his product.

Everything that Bischoff did revolutionized the business for the Better.

To the question at hand, I thought that the nWo 2000 was very good for the short while that it lasted. Hart got his concussion to early on for that to ever gain any ground. It was a very hot angle at first.

I also really like the "heel" version of Goldberg... I liked how Goldberg was an unstoppable heel and he was just a bad ass. Not your traditional WWE formula of "the bad guy always has to cheat to win and always runs away from the good guy".

 

[UFOcalling]

Originally Posted by mrpops
WCW always sucked and thats why they failed.

They always sucked, huh? I guess that's why WCW kicked WWF/WWE's ass in the ratings for so long in the late 1990s. People must have preferred WCW to WWF during that time because they sucked so much.

Originally Posted by mrpops
They were so behind and didnt know what the fuck they were doing and died.

WCW was "behind" the WWF/WWE (ratings-wise, for sure) toward the end of their run, but they definitely would have remained on television had it not been for the AOL/Time Warner buy-out. These brand new "powers that be" didn't want a wrestling show PERIOD...it probably wouldn't have mattered if WCW "knew what the fuck" they were doing or not. Do your research, you just sound ignorant.

Originally Posted by mrpops
And vince russo needs to fucking die.

Wow, I knew a lot of people didn't like Russo's booking -- but do you really hate his booking enough to wish him dead? Do you hate his booking so much that you'd be willing to murder him? Jesus, some people.

Did you completely forget that Russo was one of the guys responsible for getting the WWF back on top of the ratings? You know that WWF almost got swallowed whole by WCW back then, right? I know that Russo doesn't deserve ALL of the credit, but you can't deny that he had his hand in the Attitude Era's high level of success. I know, I know...you want him dead...I didn't forget.

Originally Posted by mrpops
The difference between WCW/TNA and WWE is painfully obviously.

Wow, "...painfully obviously...". I'm absolutely stunned that you didn't bother to proof-read your post before clicking "Submit Reply".

Yes, their programming is different...it's because WWE & TNA/Impact Wrestling are booked and/or written by different people. That happens because no two human beings think exactly the same way; much like you & I don't (thank God).

Originally Posted by mrpops
WWE builds storylines over a long period of time(or atleast they try to). WCW/TNA has twists and turns every 2 fucking seconds and none of the viewers have a fucking clue as to what the hell is going on.

I don't know why you said that "none of the viewers" know what's going on, since I'm a TNA viewer...and I know EXACTLY what's going on. Oh wait a minute - I know what the problem is! You must not watch Impact every Thursday. I bet someone who didn't watch WWE every week wouldn't know what's going on either. Wouldn't you think? Maybe I'm just insane, since I happen to understand what's happening on TNA programming. I can even explain it to you, if you want.

Near the end of WCW's run, they HAD to rush storylines...because the higher-ups didn't want to wait for a slow-build, they wanted immediate payoffs. That's probably not the best way to run a wrestling company, but WCW was forced to rush the angles anyway. Too bad, because some of those storylines in WCW2000 could have been a lot better with a slower build.

Goldberg mule-kicking Bret Hart (and causing a career-ending concussion) didn't help things either, since a lot of their programming (at least main-event storylines) were probably based around Hart for the better part of a year or so. Too bad, since it seemed that Bret was finally going to get the storyline he deserved in WCW. Oh well, shit happens. Again, WCW changed the main-event storylines at the last minute because their main guy (Bret Hart) could no longer perform. I guess they should have just retired their Heavyweight Championship instead, so that fans like you wouldn't become "confused" by a change in the storyline.

Originally Posted by mrpops
Watching a WCW episode was sad. Every 2 seconds it was "OMG he turned on him", but next week it "was all part of the plan", then "the real plan" would come next week...but wait! It "was x character all along"....but then "bischoff was the real culprit!"....omg wait.."it was kevin nash and the nwblow!".... WCW = clusterfuck of television.

You're right. WCW had a formula that kept the fans guessing. That might have been the reason that they got such high ratings for a time, you think? ...you know, since Raw was pre-taped at the time, and Nitro wasn't? Bischoff was even quoted as saying something like: "...you didn't know what was going to happen on OUR show...but we could tell you what was going to happen on the competition!...". I apologize that this quote isn't verbatim, but I know that it's pretty darn close.

Did that formula work all the time? No, it didn't. Does it work now for TNA? It's "painfully obviously" (LOL) that it doesn't work NEARLY as well as it did in WCW. I think the main reason it doesn't work is because TNA is a taped show. If/when they start having live shows, those twists/turns in the storyline(s) will work much better. I think even Bischoff, Hogan & Russo know that it's "painfully obviously" that running a taped show every week (performed in the same "arena" each week) isn't exactly going to give them that edge they're looking for. There's no way their ratings are going to elevate unless they start running a live show every week, and get out of the Impact Zone/do some traveling (just like WWE does, and WCW used to do).

Yes, I know that TNA tried going live on Mondays last year...and it didn't last. If they had a live show on Thursdays instead (a show that's NOT up against WWE's flagship show), they might produce better ratings. I'm not saying they definitely would, but I think they'd have a better chance at it. IMHO, I thought that Impact was more exciting when it was live...even though it only ran live every other week.

 

[relentless1]

i also thought nWo 2000 was a great idea, hart hall nash jarrett and stiener with all the gold was cool as hell at first ( personally i woulda kicked jarrett out same time period when he came lookin for a world title shot a la batista in evolution, lance storms push (being a canadian myself) was awesome, he was pushed to the mooon, booker t getting the title was good, stiener getting the belt was good and long overdue, i always thought that him vs goldberg wouldve been big money if they built it up properly, golberg as the unstoppable face and stiener as the scary badass unstoppable heel that he was at starrcade wouldve been epic if they couldve just built it up properly

 

[Headman]

A WWE lover huh? WCW & the nWo angle was/is the biggest thing to ever happen in pro wrestling... In fact, if Hogan had never come to WCW at all, then WCW would have been bankrupt and out of business probably by 1996 or 97. That would have depended on how long Ted Turner would have let the company bleed enormous amounts of money every year when people like Jim Ross were running it. Bischoff and Hogan saved WCW. Think about this. Without Hogan & Bischoff your precious little Attitude Era would have never happend in the WWF. You would not know who Stone Cold or the Rock are. Undertaker would have never actually become "cool" & "satanic", and no stunt man Mick Foley. You should thank God everyday that Bischoff & Hogan forced McMahon to change his product.

Everything that Bischoff did revolutionized the business for the Better.

To the question at hand, I thought that the nWo 2000 was very good for the short while that it lasted. Hart got his concussion to early on for that to ever gain any ground. It was a very hot angle at first.

I also really like the "heel" version of Goldberg... I liked how Goldberg was an unstoppable heel and he was just a bad ass. Not your traditional WWE formula of "the bad guy always has to cheat to win and always runs away from the good guy".

No, a pro-wrestling lover my friend. To assume makes an ass out of you, and well... pretty much just you.

Everything I said was correct. Bischoff proved the rule: "It takes money to make money". And yes, Hogan's heel turn was huge. What they did after that on the other hand was awful. Time to stop looking through the rose color goggles and face the facts. WCW was a disorganized mess under Bischoff. This much is fact.

 

[King Patrick Star]

I’m going to try to apply my formula used in ZRise’s Year vs. Year Series.


WWF 2000 – On the WWF World Title scene, we had Big Show, Triple H, The Rock, and Kurt Angle holding Attitude Era Belt.

WCW 2000 – On the WCW World Title scene, we had Bret The Hitman Hart, Chris Benoit, Sid Vicious, Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett, Diamond Dallas Page, David Arquette, Ric Flair, Booker T., Vince Russo, and Scott Steiner holding the Big Gold.

Okay that was pretty damn bad. In 2000, The WCW Title had 11 different Champions, 25 Title changes which include 6 vacancies. That must be a record or something. It has to be. That first sentence alone in this paragraph probably has 3 separate records.

Let’s look at the bright side. It’s the World Title on Smackdown right now. Just kidding. The best storyline to take place in WCW in 2000 was on April 10, the night Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo declared all WCW Titles vacant and rebooted WCW. I thought that was the start of something special. I just didn’t know that the something special was Vince buying the WCW 11 ½ months later.

I think the WWE should one day do what happened at Spring Stampede 2000.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Well, WCW in 2000 really is about two different products - the return to storyline driven, harder matches, old school wrestling in the early part of the year and then the ushering in of Russo & company in April.

There were some good moments, I think Booker T's run as champ and Steiners run as champ were overall good, and something different. Jeff Jarret may not be a huge drawing superstar but he did a lot of good work both in the ring and on the mic, essentially trying to polish a turd so to speak. In the beginning the New Blood vs Establishment looked good, except in Russo's fact paced world he wanted all the Establishment guys vanquished and the feud ended quickly which essentially turned off fans who A.) Cheered for the veterans B) Didnt even know most of the New Blood characters C) Didn't want to see their favorites humiliated by nobodies.

I watched almost every episode back then and remember a lot of "Failing to live up to expectations" - I did enjoy the Thunder Epsiode where the Establishment guys took over the building and ended with the huge battle royal, that was a pretty good episode with alot of wrestling and some really entertaining matches.

Sting vs Vampiro had a lot of potential, again, ended too quickly.

There were some good moments - just not enough to save the product.