WCW 1998: The Third Johnson

[jstarr187]

Booker’s Journal

February 1998

By Tommy Cornell

 

Mr. Turner suggested I start keeping a journal of my experiences running WCW. “Someday you might write a book and make some money!” I personally don’t think anyone is going to buy a book about wrestling. It’s #3 on my list of things that will never get popular, right under ‘Mormon abstinence parables with vampires’ and white rappers.

 

I am 27 years old and have been handed the keys to an empire. Most of my critics insist that I’m a fanboy with no promotion experience, and they are wrong- I have been running shows on the west coast under the Fog City Pro banner with my good friend Scott Usu since I was 19. Has it been a bit of a jump from FCPW to World Championship Wrestling? Do most people start going gray at 27?

 

My booking philosophy can best be described by the moment where I realized WCW was heading in the wrong direction: when Curt Hennig turned on the 4 Horsemen to join the New World Order. At some point, the villains have to suffer a loss. Eric Bischoff seemed too caught up in hanging out with the cool kids to pay attention to the story structure of his opus.

 

Anybody else read comic books? The Spiderman ‘Clone Saga’ started out awesome. In fact, it was so awesome that they kept stretching it out because it was making tons of money. They kept going and going and going until the fans turned on them, because they were tired of the thing.

 

I’m not a fan of storylines overstaying their welcome. Did the New World Order still have some juice in the tank? Probably, but it can always come back later. But for now it’s time for a breather. It’s time to build some new stars and explore some new directions. Let’s be honest: Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock will destroy us. D-Generation X is somehow edgy despite Hunter’s leather fannypack. How long can Hollywood Hulk Hogan compete with that? I like The Outsiders, but they won’t be the future for long.

 

WCW needs its own Rocks and Austins, and while our programming may only occasionally stray into PG-13 while Vince seems to be feeling up R like it’s his prom date, we can counter the Attitude with Action. At the end of the day, we’re pro wrestling, not MTV, and we’ve got a lineup of guys ready to step up against whatever Vince can throw at us: Jericho, Regal, Booker T, Mysterio, Benoit, Los Guerreros, Ultimo Dragon… We may take a short term hit as we start mixing these guys into the main event, but the long term pay off will be well worth it.

 

I’ve been putting these wheels in motions for a few months now, and for the first time, the pressure is really on to deliver. Ted went to bat for me when Hogan and Nash waved their creative clauses at me because I dared to suggest that Hogan work with Jericho…And while The Outsiders have gotten easier to work with once we got to talking about their direction for the next year or two, let’s just say that snarky internet fans aren’t the only ones waiting to see this fail and for the New World Order to come back swinging.

 

Instead, at Super Brawl, I’ve got to get people hooked into a war between The Outsiders and The Horsemen. I’ve got to build that heat on Booker T so that when DDP hits that diamond cutter, the roof comes off the place at Super Brawl. I’ve got to get people behind Curt Hennig, and finally give the man the push that he deserves. I’ve got to sell fans on a new generation of wrestlers keeping the best of the old school alive. I want this main event to be Randy Savage’s masterpiece. I want people to bookend his career in their minds with Wrestlemania 3 against Steamboat and Super Brawl ’98 against Bret Hart.

 

Bret Hart is the anchor. A lot of people hated my booking of Bret Hart winning the world heavyweight championship at Starrcade, but I had to set the tone for a promotion that’s about larger than life personalities and great wrestling. What better way than to put the best in the world at the top? As much as I love the Intercontinental Championship, I didn’t agree with how it was used. When the IC title was going to be on the line, you knew that you’d get amazing workers on the midcard, so that when the Ultimate Warrior main event stunk up the joint, you’d at least feel like maybe you got your money’s worth.

 

Why put the best in the middle? Put the best there is at the top. Let him set the bar for in ring action and projecting a personality people can’t get enough of. Let the rest of the roster strive to meet the standard. If they can, they’re going to become big stars. If they can’t, let them sign with the WWF.

 

-TC

[slack]

Good God, that's JStarr's music! What the hell is he doing here?!?!