The Rise and Fall of WCW 5: (Series Finale) I Don't Want It to End

[Benjamin Button]

Button Up

The Rise and Fall of WCW

V

I never liked good things coming to an end. Breakups saddened me before I ever experienced one. Where did my hard feelings for "good byes" begin? It started when I saw it portrayed in sad music and on TV. I remember one of the first breakups I watched. WCW actually led me to the show that it happened on.


I saw the actor, Jason Hervey, on WCW TV. As a child, I saw him as a good guy. Something about a celebrity being there made the WCW atmosphere feel big. I liked him. So I tuned into Jason Hervey’s show, the Wonder Years. Initially I was disappointed to see that the show wasn’t centered on Hervey’s character, rather it was about Fred Savage’s character, “Kevin Arnold,” but it didn’t take long for me to accept the show for what it was, an exceptional coming of age series.


Throughout the series, viewers had seen the ups and downs of Kevin Arnold and his high school sweetheart, Winnie Cooper. In the series finale, it was a dismal, rainy night. Kevin and Winnie found themselves in a strange barn and breaking up for good. Both were mad and not speaking. Winnie broke the silence with sobs, saying, “I don’t want it to end.”


Little did I know, at such a young age, that, one day, I would live through my own horrid breakup.

***

The pouring rain hitting the shelter above us would for a long time be synomynous with her confession. Breaking up was even harder for me than it had looked on the Wonder Years. We were sixteen. Sitting on the bench, Candice Pittman clenched my coat and buried her tears in it. After I pleaded with her to tell me what had happened to us, she wept, screeching, “I FUCKED JOSHUA, AND YOU DIDN’T KNOW! I FUCKED ANGIE AND KARRIE! I FUCKED EVERYBODY! YOU JUST DIDN’T KNOW!”


I remember nights later, sitting at my computer. The rain came down; the wretched breakup replayed in my mind. I heard her yelling and screeching. I heard her painful cries from the day in the park under the shelter. I saw her clinging to my coat. I didn’t just hear her sickening confession; I saw the vulgar images in my mind! I saw her fucking away at my friend, Josh. I saw her threesome with Angie and Karrie. Angie and Karrie were identical twin sisters for God’s sake! She couldn’t just have one of them? She had to have two who looked exactly alike?


Was this the same Candice I had grown up with? She had changed so much since we were children. She was no longer the big five year old girl, whom I had fought with. No longer did she wear the hideous underwear with the ducks and shit stains. Rather, she danced at me in thongs and sexy lingerie. Apparently the whole town - guys and girls both- knew this apparel all too well.


My childhood grudge with Candice was very telling. As a six year old, I hated her because she laughed when the boys pulled her dress up. I hated her, when we were sixteen, for the same thing. (Except this time, boys were not only pulling up her dress, they were fucking her, too.) When we broke up at the park, she cried tears of repentance in my coat. She wasn’t evil. She just couldn't help but be a whore. I didn’t know if I hated her. I just knew that I couldn’t love a whore.

***

Sitting at my computer, at age sixteen, I decided to get back into the one thing that had always been there for me when women weren’t. That is naked pictures of women. Then, WCW came to mind. Ah, good ol’ WCW. I cherished the company before bad dating-relationships had complicated my life, but it had been years since I last saw it. I still had the dreams: dreams of Pillman’s dropkicks from nowhere, Paul E. hitting Jason Hervey over the head with the phone, Sting turning into the silent crow, who fought for justice.

That night, at my computer, I googled “WCW.com”. And that’s when I found out. The rain, which to me was synonymous with sad endings, poured down. The stormy weather told me I needed to turn my computer off, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of the shocking news in front of me. Vince McMahon had bought WCW. It was dead.


I wasn’t heartbroken. It’s not the same as losing the girl who you loved like no other, but it had its own psychological effect. I didn’t know how much of a toll it had taken, at first. I was too shocked to know, but a couple of years later, I would find myself unable to sleep, trying to figure out where WCW went wrong. Everything seemed right in December 1997, Sting was world champion, Bret Hart was coming in, WCW was winning the ratings war. I had grown up with WCW. Like Winnie Cooper said, I didn’t want it to end.

"I don't want it to end"

The Curious Case of Who killed WCW and Why?

When it’s over, you retrace the steps that led to the end. You wonder when you and the girl started having the problems. In the case of WCW, I wanted to know when the promotion hit its downward spiral.


The year 1998 came to mind. The scope of wrestling flipped upside down that year. WCW was stale, while the WWF made waves with Steve Austin, the Undertaker, Kane, the Rock, DX, and Mankind. In WCW, the nWo had become as out of date as Farrah Fawcett’s death after Michael Jackson’s. In WCW, too many fake Sting’s had tried to fool us, too many baseball bats had been swung, too many “biggest matches ever” had been fought. While WWF's young guys put on physical matches with steel chairs and tables and interviews full of profanity, WCW needed something fresh. WCW needed to think outside the box… This box…

HOGAN

In 1998, I hated Hogan already, but a new variable in the equation caused me to hate Hogan even more. I recently had been informed through IWC experiences that wrestling outcomes were planned. Of course, it hurt. I had contended for my faith in WCW throughout my entire life, and now it was undeniably fake? However, I didn‘t know how not to be a wrestling fan. I did what I had to do. I took a deep breath and regrouped and decided it was ok for wrestling to be planned, but since it was, I felt it should be planned to perfection.


Therefore, Hogan regaining the belt in 1998 offended me in ways I had never been offended before. Prior to this, I would have had to accept that Hogan earned the title. Now I knew the WCW put the belt on him, without a good reason. Sure, down the line, the Hulkster could have his day again, but 1998 shouldn’t be it.


With Sting as champion and Bret coming in, WCW had a chance to shoot for new things, yet they put the belt back on Hulk Hogan. They chose to give out stale bread over fresh bread and expected the eater to be satisfied. When Hogan won the title back, when he beat the transitional champion, Randy Savage, on that regrettable Nitro, I became a RAW fan. After all, some of the former WCW stars, who I chose over Hogan years prior, were on RAW and were hot! While I was watching RAW and Austin going in uncharted territory, who was Hogan wrestling? He was wrestling Roddy Piper, the man he had wrestled 666 times over the previous two years!


During this time, WCW hurt for new stars. Despite not many being established, they had Bill Goldberg built up like a fine machine, and when Goldberg beat Hogan in the Georgia Dome for the WCW Title, this was WCW’s chance. In 1998, wrestling marks talked of Austin, DX, the Rock, and Goldberg. In this list, WCW had one representative, that is Bill Goldberg. Fans were feeling his winning streak; they loved to chant his name. Goldberg, alone, was WCW’s life support, but at the same time, Goldberg, alone, was enough. WCW still won the ratings sometimes, and the company had the golden opportunity to use Goldberg to build up fresh heels, who could be trying to steal away his streak. But WCW had other plans. Bischoff and friends had Nash end Goldberg’s streak. This would have been fair enough if the company had a creative idea for Nash. They didn’t. Bischoff’s head was in his pants, the special place where he kept the box…this fucking box!

HOGAN

The Nitro that Hogan beat Nash with the infamous finger poke of doom, proved to show everything that was wrong with WCW. That night, Bischoff had his lead announcer, Tony Shivioni, give away the results to RAW’s main event and insult WWF for putting the belt on a talented athlete, Mick Foley, who had never before been given that kind of chance. Rather than putting Foley down, they should have been establishing their own fresh talent, like Jericho. The majority of fans tuned into watch RAW to see Mick Foley win his first world title. They chose their lovable new beast over WCW “stars”, Nash and Hogan.

Did Hogan kill WCW?

Hogan regaining the title certainly hurt the quality that WCW put out, but it didn’t kill it. I have a problem with the idea that WCW died just because of their mistakes. The truth is there was no beating the WWF at this time, just as there was no beating the WCW in the heyday of the nWo. WCW just needed to get through the Attitude era. They needed consistancy. However, they found the opposite extreme of staleness; they found Vince Russo and an unwanted kind of newness.

Vinnie-Roo

By late 1999, teenage drama had pulled me away from WCW and wrestling, but a few occasions, my oldest brother came over and updated me on the current product. I cringed when he told me the things Vince Russo did in WCW. In my mind, I’ve gone over it time and time again. I’ve even fantasy booked ways for Russo not to screw up as bad as he did. I’ve done everything possible to undo what Russo did! I’ve done everything to try to rescue WCW, but it was useless!

It happened. Vince Russo was there. David Arquette did win the WCW World title. I’ve watched the horrible nonsense on Youtube.com. Work-shoots, in which the announcers said, “We’re deviating from the script,” did indeed transpire. Imagine watching Dirty Dancing. During a bed scene, Patrick Swayze “deviates” from the script to insult his love interest’s real-life flat chest. Then the movie continues on as if he didn't break script? How the hell could you tap into the movie's emotion after that?

Did Russo kill WCW?

Russo was the opposite extreme of Hogan. He felt he needed to push all young bucks to the top, when some bucks just need to get shot. On top of that, his storylines were outrageous and were often left unfinished. Russo’s era must have been WCW’s most dreadful time, but he didn’t kill WCW. After all, if dreadful times kill promotions, the WWE must have more lives than a cat.

Resting My Case

Where did it go wrong?

Why did WCW die?

The company I loved for so long died because nobody cared to save it. In the end, it still had a couple of million tuning in every week; it was savable. WCW had its own roots; its own fans. Sure it lost Turner some money, but it had more than proven what kind of profit it could bring in when produced well. Do you think AOL/Time Warner would go to the same lengths to help WCW through a troubled time that Vince would for WWE? Hell no! Many on the AOL side didn’t want a wrestling promotion. Wrestling didn’t fit their image. Maybe if Ted Turner had his say, the coin would be flipped. WWF would be shut down, and WCW would still be here today, or WCW would, at least, still be going toe to toe with the WWE. When WCW was sold, nobody gave a damn to buy it. WCW died because, despite how incredible it was, nobody cared. Plain and simple, no company could survive in that kind of a situation. The WWE couldn’t.

What do you do when it's over?

So what do you do when it’s over? WCW taught me how to love and how to hate, and in the end, it taught me not to give a shit. This may sound anti-climatic to this series, but I’ve learned to laugh at the rain. The rain that Candice broke up with me in, the rain that poured down when I found out WCW was done, I mock it. Because when you grow up, you learn that you must adapt. You must live on. Only fools dwell on the past. Love and hate will not bring WCW back.

The Wonder Years' viewers were upset when the series ended with Kevin going on to live his life without Winnie, but there has never been a truer finale. You grow up and you move on. Sure I watch WCW DVD's very often, and in some ways it’s a part of me, but I don’t feel anything for Candice’s cheating or WCW’s demise anymore. There is no use caring about the unchangable.


So what do I do now that it’s over? I write columns, because in columns, I can see Flair’s busted head for the first time; it can make me cry again. I can be six and cheering for Brian Pillman. I can hate the Dangerous Alliance like I did at age 7. In columns, WCW can still be alive. In columns, I can still feel the way I felt back then.


In columns, I can tell the truth: there was once a promotion that had roots deeper than the WWF’s. This company, at times, was counted as more prestigious than Vince’s. Yes, it had its ups and down, but it kept its loyal fans. It was a leader and gave us Starrcade before there was a Wrestle-Mania. It had a bigger vision for Monday night wrestling than WWF did. Even though Nitro came after RAW, its challenge jumpstarted what WWE’s flagship show has become today.


Once upon a time, there was WCW.




"First of all, an interesting piece of math: When WCW was going out of business, they were getting a 2.2 share, and the WWE was getting a 3.5. The last Monday, and it collapses. Come the next Monday, you go look at the WWE ratings, their ratings went up to a 3.7. And then the next week, came back to settle at a 3.5. The point of the matter is you got 2.2 out there that didn't want WWE...not even when WCW was gone.

So WCW had a fan-following of its own. There's a population out there that loved WCW, and when it went away, they went away with it according to the numbers."

-Rowdy Roddy Piper

[Box Car Rocco]

Wow.

This smashed anything you've ever done Benji because one of one key factor, emotion. The stories again added a lot to it and they were essential in setting the mood for this. I wasn't a fan of wrestling when WCW was around, but with this column you have made me wish it was back. That's a testament to you as a writer so kudos.

Can't wait to see where you go from here, this series has been absolutely awesome to read and it has set you a good foundation here in the CF.

[MyLeeCyrus]

This was freaking fantastic. Beautifully written, emotive in all the right places and generally just a joy to read. If I gave ratings, this would earn 5/5, 10/10 and 99/100.

This, coming from somebody who never watched (or gave a shit about) WCW kinda shows just how good this was. Awesome, BB. Truly awesome.

[Andy]

This is what I’m talking about. It was fantastic from start to finish, and if there was one word I could use to describe the way it was written, I would say: “beautiful”. It wasn’t perfect, though, as I thought there were elements of the column that were very messy and gimmicky (?)-- an awful lot of words were in bold; which isn’t a bad thing at times, but for the amount of times you used it, I think italics would have suited better. And whilst sub-headings were very much needed, I believe you overused them a bit.

Your last two columns have been excellent. Well-done on a successful series.

[Phoenix Rising]

I began watching WCW in mid-2000 when Scott Steiner was Champion. So I'm not spot on in the history of WCW, but you have taught me more than I could ever learn on a google search of "The History of WCW". Thank you for teaching me what others couldn't. I loved this entire series, and I would like to be the first to nominate this as Column of the Month.

Once again, thank you.

[Freeman]

Epic Benjy, and not just this column, but the whole series altogether. I share your love and markdom for WCW, and it still saddens me that its not around today. This whole series has been a joy to read, and I can't wait to see how you're going to attempt to top this.

Fantastic stuff.

[Super Chrisss]

Boring, and absolutely garbage. Everything that was said has been said before and you wrote it in every increative way imaginable. The series has been mediocre, and this was even worse.



















HAHAHA! Did I get you?

Basically, take the opposite of what I wrote above and you'll have my 'real' feedback.

Honestly, a superb column Benjie. I do believe this makes you a shoe-in for CotM, so good for you. Can't wait to see what you come up with next!

[Blackwell]

I liked this.

People tend to forget that the reason WCW won the ratings for 83 weeks straight was that the REPLAYS right after the live show, were counted into the ratings. Had that not been so, I don't think WCW would have won for so long. But that's just from my vantage point.

[Uncle Joe]

Congratulations on a stellar series Mr. Button, as this was a blast to read ad the wordings were better than usual. One things though; Wonder Years sucked dick.

[Leonard]

Yeah, I hated the Wonder Years, too...I never understood why it was on Nick at Nite back in the mid-90's with great shows such as I Love Lucy. Kevin Arnold and Ricky Ricardo should never be on the same line-up.

The series was well done, Ben. But I don't believe that WCW was as great as you claim, especially during the end of its run. It wasn't the company that brought Starrcade, featured the awesome WarGames, or pushed new talent like Sting and Lex Luger. The WCW that found its demise in 2001 was merely a shell of its former self. Could WCW have bounced back had it not been for the AOL/Time Warner merger? It's hard to say, but it would have been one hell of an uphill battle. There's no denying, though, that the company's demise was one of the worst things to happen to pro wrestling, simply because there was competition (and, no, I still don't believe that TNA Wrestling has worked its way up to competing with WWE yet).

Great work--I particularly liked the HOGAN-in-the-box analogy. Simple, yet effective. I look forward to seeing what's next.

--Leonard

[FutureDonkey]

I have to say, man, I'm thoroughly impressed. Great to see that you could stick it out long enough and were patient enough to do the whole series. Of course, it's about something you loved, so it's not all that hard.

As has been said already, the bold letters weren't always the best, but I think at the end they were appropriate. Italics would have been better for some, and some didn't need any garnishment at all. The subheadings were many, but I think they didn't hurt the column overall. Ultimately you can only say so much about one subject before having to move on, yet they made your column seem shorter, so I can see why the quantity of subheadings was noticable. Typos were nonexistent so props to you.

When I read this I can not only connect better with WCW, but I can also connect better WWE and I although I feel my fandom waning at times, I've realized that it's something that I love and something that I just won't leave, not until it goes bisexual and has a threesome at least.

You're an incredible writer, my friend, and I hope this site has your services for many years and, much more importantly, I hope we have your columns to read for long, long time.



Now it's time for you to outdo yourself.

[FreekyDeeky]

This series has been a great and compelling read, every issue of it has improved as you've gone along

I can't wait to see what you produce next. Great stuff

[Benjamin Button]

I’m drinking a tall bottle of Bud in celebration of finishing this series. Alright, truthfully I just wanted some beer. I do have some people that I’d like to thank. *Lifts bottle of beer."


The Dangerous Alliance for being awesome heels.


Sting for being WCW's #1 constant.


Hogan for WCW’s rise and the beginning of its fall but certainly not its death.


Plan and Beyond Knight for good feedback advice in my first column that I tried to implement throughout the series.


Dock Monk, Freeman, and others who had their own WCW stories. That’s what showed me people might dig a WCW column and made me want to improve every time.


Joe, because fuck it...He’s just Joe.


Xan, BCR, Mazza, Chrisss and hell this is pretty gay of me, but I really think the feedback made this series…Anyway let me get to the feedback for this last column.


BCR-

I wasn't a fan of wrestling when WCW was around, but with this column you have made me wish it was back.

That makes two of us, my friend.


His best friend Leslie says he’s just being My Lee-

This was freaking fantastic. Beautifully written, emotive in all the right places and generally just a joy to read. If I gave ratings, this would earn 5/5, 10/10 and 99/100.

This, coming from somebody who never watched (or gave a shit about) WCW kinda shows just how good this was. Awesome, BB. Truly awesome.

That means a lot coming from you, buddy. I really respect your work.


Andy-

It wasn’t perfect, though, as I thought there were elements of the column that were very messy and gimmicky (?)-- an awful lot of words were in bold; which isn’t a bad thing at times, but for the amount of times you used it, I think italics would have suited better. And whilst sub-headings were very much needed, I believe you overused them a bit.

Thanks Andy, I always pay close attention to your constructive criticism and I’ll take it to heart. I think combining my Button up format with my Rise of WCW format opened me up to that one. As for the bold, I did a paragraph in it because I was approaching a quote from Piper in italics. I see that I overused it throughout the column though. Thanks for pointing it out and I’m glad you enjoyed the read.

Phoenix-

Thank you for teaching me what others couldn't. I loved this entire series, and I would like to be the first to nominate this as Column of the Month.

Very kind words, Phoenix. Glad your eager to vote for this for COTM. I have my own columns in mind in which I’d like to vote for.


Chriss-

Boring, and absolutely garbage. Everything that was said has been said before and you wrote it in every increative way imaginable. The series has been mediocre, and this was even worse.

HAHAHA! Did I get you?

Basically, take the opposite of what I wrote above and you'll have my 'real' feedback.

Ladies and gentlemen the one and only Chrisss. Best feedback ever!

Blackwell-

I liked this. People tend to forget that the reason WCW won the ratings for 83 weeks straight was that the REPLAYS right after the live show, were counted into the ratings. Had that not been so, I don't think WCW would have won for so long. But that's just from my vantage point.

Very unique observation, Blackwell. I can’t argue with you without looking deeper into it, but I’m confident that if you go back and check out the head to head segments, you’d see that WCW did indeed kick ass for quite some time.

Joe-

Congratulations on a stellar series Mr. Button, as this was a blast to read ad the wordings were better than usual. One things though; Wonder Years sucked dick.

LOL. Had I known that the Wonder Years did such a thing perhaps I wouldn’t have used it for an illustration. I feel kind of betrayed by the hit TV series. Thanks for all the feedback during this series.

Len-

The series was well done, Ben. But I don't believe that WCW was as great as you claim, especially during the end of its run. It wasn't the company that brought Starrcade, featured the awesome WarGames, or pushed new talent like Sting and Lex Luger. The WCW that found its demise in 2001 was merely a shell of its former self. Could WCW have bounced back had it not been for the AOL/Time Warner merger? It's hard to say, but it would have been one hell of an uphill battle. There's no denying, though, that the company's demise was one of the worst things to happen to pro wrestling, simply because there was competition (and, no, I still don't believe that TNA Wrestling has worked its way up to competing with WWE yet).

I think you and this column agree a little more than you give it credit for. We do disagree on one thing. I believe WCW was an outstanding promotion. It was major and at times number one. I didn’t grow up with the NWA (WCW’s roots) in the 1980’s, but I’ve seen many tapes of TV shows and ppv’s and I’m a huge fan of those days, but I believe in 96 and 97, WCW was as hot as ever.

However, in WCW’s last years, I know that the quality suffered and I cited in my column that one of the reasons was their failure to build young talent. Therefore, I agree with you on that.

Lastly, I believe a company with WCW’s following, money, and history could have bounced back if they had had proper management. WWE has proven that it can’t stay hot forever, and eventually the pendulum could have swung back in WCW’s favor.

TNA does have a ways to go.

Very thoughtful feedback, Len. Thank you very much for that and the compliments.

Donkey-

When I read this I can not only connect better with WCW, but I can also connect better WWE and I although I feel my fandom waning at times, I've realized that it's something that I love and something that I just won't leave, not until it goes bisexual and has a threesome at least.

I also enjoyed the WWF as a child. To all those WWE loyalist out there, I know you felt the same way about WWE that I do WCW, and I respect that. WWE has always and will always feel like a great vacation to me. WCW was home. Donkey, if WWE goes bisexual, I trust you will do the right thing and let your feelings go.

Freaky deeky-

I can't wait to see what you produce next. Great stuff

It will be a whole new ball game, but I won't submit anything that I'm not proud of.

[XanMan]

Well, it seems like everyone has given you all the praise one could expect, so I'll just do this:

[Roger Murtaugh]

Tremendous work on this series from start to finish and the personal touch really helped convey your emotions and draw us in. This is going to be very hard to top for September.



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Now playing: Hatebreed - Become the Fuse
via FoxyTunes

[The Maz]

I honestly think this could well be the best series I have read in the CF this year. Absolutely tremendous work here and the four previous. Everything about it worked and it made for a compelling journey. Boy Meets World > The Wonder Years BUT it was the perfect compliment to WCW. Great job Benji. I look forward to seeing where you go from here but be aware you have set a very very high standard to live up to.

[Benjamin Button]

Xan-

lol thanks again, guy.

Doc (please keep Skip on a leash) Monk-

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Trying to dig up the stories and make them fit just came natural. I guess this was sort of a coming of age series.

Mazza-

Boy Meets World > The Wonder Years

Yeah, I liked Wonder Years, but I didn't love it as much as my brother did. I just thought, like you said, it illustrated well WCW's anti-climatic end. I don't always go for the things that I mark for. Thanks for the kind words.

Long live Mr. Feeny