Let There Be War: A WCW Tale

The Final Countdown · May 25, 2014

http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/War.jpg~original

1995:

September, Week 1: Nitro, Hulk Hogan vs. Big Bubba, 5.75 - Raw, 4.40
September, Week 2: Nitro, Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair, 5.85 - Raw, Shawn Michaels vs. Sid, 4.71
September, Week 3: Nitro, Hogan and Luger vs. Shark and Zodiac, 6.06 - Raw, Owen Hart vs. Diesel, 4.75
September, Week 4: Nitro, Savage and Luger vs. Blue Bloods, 7.05 - Raw, King Mabel vs. Bret Hart, 4.85

October, Week 1: Nitro, Ric Flair vs. VK Wallstreet, 7.29 - Raw, Owen Hart vs. Diesel, 4.75
October, Week 2: Nitro, Hulk Hogan vs. The Shark, 7.31 - Raw, Ultimate Warrior vs. Owen Hart, 5.83
October, Week 3: Nitro, Randy Savage vs. Jeff Jarrett, 7.04 - Raw, Diesel vs. Jeff Jarrett, 5.77
October, Week 4: Nitro, Sting vs. Ric Flair, 7.03 - Raw, Sid and Owen Hart vs. Diesel and Shawn Michaels, 5.76

November, Week 1: Nitro, Lex Luger vs. Arn Anderson, 7.02 - Raw, King Mabel vs. Shawn Michaels, 5.77
November, Week 2: Nitro, Sting, Savage and Hawk vs. Jarrett, Wallstreet and Leslie, 7.08 - Raw, Owen Hart and Yokozuna vs. Diesel and Shawn Michaels, 5.97
November, Week 3: Nitro, Giant vs. Hawk, 6.97 - Raw, Undertaker vs. Yokozuna, 5.58
November, Week 4: Nitro, Ric Flair vs. Brian Pillman, 7.23 - Raw, Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels vs. Owen Hart and Yokozuna, 5.38

December, Week 1: Nitro, Hulk Hogan vs. The Taskmaster, 7.36 - Raw, Ultimate Warrior vs. King Mabel, 5.02
December, Week 2: Nitro, Ric Flair vs. Meng, 7.18 - Raw, Diesel and Shawn Michaels vs. Owen Hart and Yokozuna, 5.21
December, Week 3: Nitro, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage vs. The Giant and The Taskmaster, 7.03 - Raw, King Mabel vs. Diesel, 5.03
December, Week 4: Nitro, The Giant and The Taskmaster vs. Sting and Lex Luger, 7.06 - Raw, Jerry Lawler vs. Razor Ramon, 5.00

1996:

January, Week 1: Nitro, Randy Savage and The Giant vs. Jim Duggan and Johnny B. Badd, 7.39 - Raw, Razor Ramon vs. Sid, 5.24
January, Week 2: Nitro, Ric Flair vs. Kurasawa, 6.95 - Raw, Bret Hart vs. Ultimate Warrior, 5.04
January, Week 3: Nitro, Sting vs. The Taskmaster, 7.08 - Raw, Owen Hart and Yokozuna vs. Undertaker and Diesel, 4.98

PPVS:

1995:
Fall Brawl
Halloween Havoc
World War 3
WCW vs. The World
Starrcade

1996:
Revenge

Current Champions

The Final Countdown · May 25, 2014

<div style="text-align:center;">http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Bischoff.jpg~original</div>

Look, Vince McMahon is a creative visionary who revolutionized this business in the 80's. Those old-time promoters can grumble all they want about how Vince screwed them or drove them out of business, but the simple fact is that they were stuck in the past and set in their ways, and Vince saw the wave of the future. Even though I made a living working for one of those doomed companies, I never held any ill will towards Vince personally. I am a huge believer in both capitalism and survival of the fittest. The territories failed because they deserved to fail, and Vince succeeded because he deserved to succeed.

Fast forward to today. It's 1995, and Vince and his WWF have ruled American wrestling with an iron fist for about a decade now. The glory days of the rock 'n wrestling connection, prime time slots on NBC and mainstream media crossovers might be gone, but the WWF is still the unquestioned king of the mountain.

But that ends now. Because we are going to beat him at his own game.

Starting in September, we are running heads-up against WWF Raw on the USA network with WCW Monday Nitro every Monday night on TNT. But if Vince is expecting this to be business as usual, he's got another thing coming. We're pulling out all the stops to make sure that Nitro is the superior product, and WCW the superior brand. Their show is taped; our show will be live. Raw is one hour; Nitro will be two hours. Raw is packed with bland characters and boring matches; Nitro will provide household names and marquee matches each and every week.

Nitro is going to be destination programming. It's going to be the vehicle with which we knock the WWF off of their perch and turn WCW into the #1 wrestling company in the world. It begins this week, with the debut episode. I'm about to steal Lex Luger right out from under his nose and debut him on live TV before Vince even knows he's no longer part of his empire. It'll be the first shot, but certainly not the last.

My name is Eric Bischoff, and to Vince McMahon, I say: let there be war.

<div style="text-align:center;">http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/LTBW2.jpg~original</div>

jeff3xtreme · May 25, 2014

I am interested already. Really enjoy your dynasties. Does this mark the end of the WWF diary?

angeldelayette · May 25, 2014

TFC,

Really looking forward to this one. As a major fan of WCW for my entire life, this was the beginning of a great time for me personally. I think I watched every single Monday Nitro they made. lol. Looking forward to you firing the first bullet in a Monday Night War that hopefully can be rewritten the right way, with WCW being the last promotion standing. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

RKOwnage · May 25, 2014

Yes! TFC is back. I'm in.

franticloser · May 25, 2014

Looking forward to another great diary TFC, quick question does this mean your Golden Age and your other short lived one about Steamboat starting ROH, are dead?

guyver3 · May 25, 2014

TFC returns with WCW please tell me that this is not the end of the golden age. Call me greedy but I want both to keep going

The Final Countdown · May 25, 2014

August 1995

As we prepare ourselves to kick this war off with the premiere of Nitro, WCW Saturday Night will by necessity become a far less important part of WCW. That slot has a long history, but times change, and WCW will change with them. I'm scaling Saturday Night back to one hour, because two hours for a B-level show just doesn't make sense.

If we want to beat Vince, we need as much top tier talent as possible. That includes not just established and proven draws like Hulk, Randy, Flair and Sting, but also promising young talent that we can groom into tomorrow's main event draws. I don't intend to just beat Vince in the short term with big names and then regress because we haven't cultivated the next generation; if we want to win, we need to have an eye on the future even as we ride the Hogans and Flairs of the world in the present. With that in mind, I've sold Mr. Turner on the concept of a minor league company where we can send our young prospects for seasoning and experience, similar to the baseball farm system Ted is familiar with thanks to his Atlanta Braves. He's provided me with a couple of million in order to open up the United States Wrestling League (USWL), and I've sent out feelers to several young wrestlers in an effort to quickly stock this new company with talent for us to develop. I expect this investment to pay dividends down the line, and become one of the key factors in our eventual victory.

I've got my eye on some established names to bolster our current talent as well, but this is how our roster breaks down heading into the first Nitro (faces in blue, heels in red):

Main Eventers:

Hulk Hogan

Lex Luger (yet to debut)

Randy Savage

Road Warrior Hawk

Sting

Big Bubba

Meng

Ric Flair

The Giant

“The Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan

Zodiac

Upper Midcarders:

Jim Duggan

Johnny B. Badd

The Renegade

Arn Anderson

Brian Pillman

Diamond Dallas Page

Kamala

Kurasawa

Stevie Ray

The Shark

V.K. Wallstreet

Midcarders:

Alex Wright

Brian Knobbs

Eddie Guerrero

Jerry Sags

Jushin Thunder Liger

Marcus Bagwell

Scotty Riggs

Booker T

Bunkhouse Buck

Dick Slater

Disco Inferno

Earl Robert Eaton

Hugh Morrus

Lord Steven Regal

Maxx Muscle

Sabu

Scott Norton

Lower Midcarders:

Cobra

Dave Sullivan

Mr. JL

Scott Armstrong

Dean Malenko

Ricky Santana

Rip Rogers

Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker

Sgt. Craig Pittman

Openers:

Chris Kanyon

Joey Maggs

Mark Starr

Tim Horner

Fidel Sierra

Lt. James Earl Wright

Enhancement Talent:

Chuck Williams

Julio Sanchez

Terry Richards

Occasional Wrestlers:

Larry Zbyszko

Col. Robert Parker

The Sheik

Managers:

Jimmy Hart

Lanny Poffo

Teddy Long

Diamond Doll

Sensuous Sherri

Announcers:

Eric Bischoff

Mike Tenay

Tony Schiavone

Color Commentators:

Dusty Rhodes

Bobby Heenan

Steve McMichael

Referees:

Nick Patrick

Randy Anderson

Authority Figures:

Gene Okerlund

Ted Turner

The Master

Road Agent:

Jody Hamilton

Personalities:

Mark Madden

Sony Onoo

Tag Teams:

Men at Work (Chris Kanyon & Mark Starr)

The American Males (Marcus Bagwell & Scotty Riggs)

The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags)

Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater

Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray)

The Barrio Brothers (Fidel Sierra & Ricky Santana)

The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal & Earl Robert Eaton)

The State Patrol (Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker & Lt. James Earl Wright)

Trying something a bit different here, at least for me. Every post in the diary will be written from Bischoff's viewpoint, including the shows, news from elsewhere in the game world, etc. Nitro and Saturday Night will be posted together in one post for each week. Those who followed my previous ROH '91 dynasty may notice some similarities in my Nitro write-ups, except it'll be from Bischoff's viewpoint rather than the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's. Basically: a brief description of whatever information I think needs to be conveyed for each segment, and no fancy formatting/pictures. As a B-show, Saturday Night will be very bare bones. I'll go all out for the PPVs with the pictures and everything like I do for the shows in my Golden Age dynasty. I'm hoping this approach will alleviate the tedium that comes with inserting pictures for every segment on 2-hour, 15+ segment TV shows while still giving the PPVs the spotlight they deserve.

I am interested already. Really enjoy your dynasties. Does this mark the end of the WWF diary?

Thanks a lot! To answer your question, I don't consider The Golden Age and Beyond dead. My partner in crime Ritchardo has had that pesky real world interfere and demand his attention, but at least as of the last time I communicated with him, he hoped to be able to resume work on the NWA side of things eventually. So for now, I would label TGAAB as on hiatus, and I am hopeful it will be back at some point.

TFC,

Really looking forward to this one. As a major fan of WCW for my entire life, this was the beginning of a great time for me personally. I think I watched every single Monday Nitro they made. lol. Looking forward to you firing the first bullet in a Monday Night War that hopefully can be rewritten the right way, with WCW being the last promotion standing.

I hear that! I actually grew up a WWF kid, and didn't really get into WCW until shortly after Nitro debuted. Then Hall and Nash turned up, and I was hooked. The 80's boom period may have been dubbed the “golden age”, but the Monday Night War was MY golden age. I have fond memories of watching every week with my best friend, using the PIP on my TV. So we'd have one show on the bigger picture, the other in a small box in the corner, and flip back and forth between them during commercials or when whatever was happening in the smaller box looked more interesting. With today's technology this wouldn't be necessary; we could've just watched one show and DVR'd the other. I somehow don't feel like that would have been as fun, though!

Yes! TFC is back. I'm in.

I never left, really. I've been around; just not posting as much and focusing on some other things during the downtime.

Looking forward to another great diary TFC, quick question does this mean your Golden Age and your other short lived one about Steamboat starting ROH, are dead?

That ROH diary is dead, yes. I just never really got into it the same way I got into my original ROH diary on TEW2008, or TGAAB.

The Final Countdown · May 26, 2014

Week 1, September 1995 I guess Hulk has taken my comments about nurturing and developing the next generation of stars to heart. About an hour before showtime, he walked up to me and said he saw something special in young prelim wrestler Chris Kanyon and was going to take him on as his protege. Hopefully Kanyon soaks up the Hulkster's knowledge and turns into a big star someday. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Nitro.jpg~original Monday, Week 1, September 1995 From the Manley Field House in Syracuse, New York Attendance: 10,000 (sell-out!) Announce Team: Eric Bischoff, Dusty Rhodes and Bobby Heenan</div> Pre-Show: Jim Duggan defeated Rip Rogers in 05:07 (C-) and The Nasty Boys defeated The Barrio Brothers in 05:14 (D+). <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Dusty, Bobby and I opened the show by hyping this up as the dawn of a new era in wrestling. As the pyro went off, we talked about how WCW had so many great wrestlers that, unlike the “other guys”, we needed two hours each Monday to showcase them. Bobby and I did some great improvising as we promoted the main event of Hulk Hogan defending the WCW Championship against Big Bubba. (Grade: C+) Cruiserweight Championship Tournament, Opening Round--Jushin Liger vs. Alex Wright: We talked up the new cruiserweight division as a huge evolution that would give viewers action like they'd never seen before. Liger and Wright did a good job inside the ring, and even the fans who weren't familiar with the Japanese star came to their feet when he beat Alex with a huge Brainbuster at 09:17. (Grade: C) Mean Gene interviewed Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Sting, who mentioned that Vader had gone MIA and was off their team at Fall Brawl (we certainly weren't going to reveal the REAL story!) Gene asked them if they had any ideas for a replacement, but didn't get a clear answer. Hogan seemed more focused on preparing for his title defense, which didn't sit well with Randy or Sting. Hogan and Gene improvised well here; Sting less so. (Grade: B) Hawk vs. Dick Slater (w/Col. Parker): Hawk sold his kayfabe arm injury throughout the match, but Dusty said it showed his guts and just how much he wanted a piece of not only Kurasawa, but every member of the Stud Stable. Hawk won the match with a Clothesline from the top rope at 07:42. (Grade: C+) Kurasawa jumped Hawk after the match and went after the injured arm, applying the same armbar he'd used to “break” it while over on commentary, we wondered whether Hawk would be in any condition to fight Kurasawa at Fall Brawl. (Grade: C+) World Television Championship--The Renegade © (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Diamond Dallas Page (w/The Diamond Doll and Maxx Muscle): Pretty standard stuff here. The fans are still pretty apathetic towards Renegade, despite some good work by Jimmy Hart here again. On DDP's orders, Diamond Doll distracted the referee so Maxx could lay Renegade out with a cheap shot. Page picked the bones with a Diamond Cutter and won his first championship at 07:43. (Grade: C) We sent it to the lair of the Dungeon of Doom, where the Taskmaster motivated the troops. He claimed that Vader had run off in fear, which would only strengthen their efforts to break the spirit of both Hogan and his allies. He then said that they would exploit their numbers advantage later tonight and show the Hulkamaniacs what was coming to them in the War Games. Sullivan did great and the Giant cut an imposing figure in the background, but Shark and Zodiac dragged things down a bit. (Grade: B-) Cruiserweight Championship Tournament, Opening Round--Eddie Guerrero vs. Disco Inferno: The 2nd match in the Cruiserweight tournament showcased two newcomers who are extremely different. But even with Guerrero's flashy style and Disco's gimmicky character, they put on a solid match. Eddie moved on with a beautiful Frog Splash at 10:15. (Grade: C) The American Males vs. Harlem Heat (w/Sherri): We spent the match discussing Harlem Heat's attempt to regain the tag titles from the Stud Stable at Fall Brawl, as well as the romance between their respective managers. Col. Parker actually came down to the ring and gave Sherri an affectionate hug during the match, which did not make the Heat happy. Still, the Heat won the match at 08:47. Scotty Riggs had a bad night, but Sherri did a nice job, and works especially well with Booker. (Grade: C) Moments before his semi-main with Johnny B. Badd, Ric Flair was interviewed by Mean Gene about his Fall Brawl bout against longtime friend Arn Anderson. Flair said that Arn would always be as close as a brother, win lose or draw, but he didn't know what to make of his strange friendship with Brian Pillman. Ric worked the crowd well, but Gene struggled. (Grade: B-) Johnny B. Badd vs. Ric Flair: Badd and Flair tore the house down! Ric sold Badd's flying and energy perfectly and made him look like a million bucks. The fans totally bought into the match and counted along with the near-falls, but groaned in disappointment when Badd tweaked his leg on an aerial attempt and Flair capitalized with a match-ending Figure Four at 14:23. (Grade: A) Arn and Pillman came out after the match to confront Flair. Arn looked conflicted, but Pillman had plenty to say. He called Flair a jealous old man who'd held Arn down all these years, and said Double A would finally step out of the Nature Boy's shadow at Fall Brawl. Pillman was fantastic on the mic here. (Grade: B-) V.K. Wallstreet cut a generic backstage promo about how he was a savvy businessman, and he could see that WCW's stock was at an all-time high and would only continue to grow. He didn't do a great job at thinking on the fly here. (Grade: C) World Heavyweight Championship--Hulk Hogan © (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Big Bubba: On paper, closing our first Nitro with a world title match sounded like a great idea. Hogan and Bubba did just fine, but there's no way they were going to top that incredible semi main event. They tried, but the lack of selling hurt things, especially in comparison to the masterful job Flair had done. They had a pretty good brawl that never strayed far from the Hogan formula, leading to the Legdrop at 13:06. (Grade: B) The Dungeon of Doom ambushed Hulk after the match, and not even he could overcome the odds. Sting and Savage rushed out to help, but they just couldn't quite turn the tide. And then, just when things were at their bleakest... <div style="text-align:center;">http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Luger.jpg~original</div> Lex Luger came out of the crowd! He caught Meng and the Shark by surprise, and squared up to the Giant—but Sullivan called his monster off. Sting gave his old friend Luger a huge hug, but Hogan and Savage didn't know what to make of the newcomer. Meanwhile, we plugged this as the kind of must-see surprise you can only see on Nitro, and urged fans to tune in again next week to see what would come next. (Grade: B)</div></blockquote> <div style="text-align:center;">Show Overall: B TNT Rating: 5.75 Raw USA Rating: 4.40 http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/SN.jpg~original Saturday, Week 1, September 1995 From the Ice Garden in Rostraver, Pennsylvania Attendance: 1,948 Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>A video of the end of Nitro aired, centering on Lex Luger's return and promising that he would address the world this Monday live on Nitro. (B) Dean Malenko defeated Julio Sanchez at 04:51 in the Opening Round of the Cruiserweight Championship tournament. (D+) DDP was interviewed by Mean Gene about his TV title victory, but partied with Maxx Muscle and the Diamond Doll rather than answer Gene's questions. (B-) Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck (w/Col. Parker) defeated Men at Work at 05:18. (D-) Mean Gene interviewed Dave Sullivan, who offered his services to his idol Hulk Hogan at Fall Brawl. (C+) Hugh Morrus (w/The Taskmaster) defeated Cobra at 05:56. (D+) During an interview with Gene, Harlem Heat complained to Sherri about her infatuation with Col. Parker, calling it a distraction, but Sherri told them to keep their focus on regaining the titles at Fall Brawl and not worry about her personal life. (C+) Gene interviewed Brian Pillman just before his Cruiserweight tournament match, and he again slated Ric Flair and said Double A would pulverize him at Fall Brawl. (B-) Brian Pillman defeated Mr. JL at 10:24 in the Opening Round of the Cruiserweight Championship tournament. (C+) After the match, Pillman's Semifinal opponent Eddie Guerrero came out to the ring, and the two argued over who would win and move on to the Finals at Fall Brawl. (C-)</div></blockquote> <div style="text-align:center;">Show Overall: C+</div>

Beejus · May 26, 2014

Stepping into my realm of early 90s WCW, eh TFC? <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Can't wait to see where you're going in this game, and how far it can go. Best of luck!

Nobby_McDonald · May 26, 2014

This should be worth watching...

Matt · May 26, 2014

I love your Golden Age and Beyond diary and I'm glad it's not over but I finally get to follow one of you diaries from the very beginning. Look forward to see what you do to correct WCW's many mistakes.

CPBHBK · May 26, 2014

Love this Diary, and how it's told by the perspective of Bischoff.

I'm wondering what's going too go down with Arn and Flair, Also can't wait to see who wins the Cruiserweight Title.

And I can't forget about one of my favorite parts. Badda boom. Badda bing. Badda BANG!! DDP Wins the TV Title.

Great diary

The Final Countdown · May 27, 2014

Week 1, September 1995: Hall of Champions <div style="text-align:center;">Hall of Champions: World Heavyweight Champion: http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/World.jpg~original Hulk Hogan http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Hogan.jpg~original Won: Sunday, Week 3, July 1994, from Ric Flair United States Heavyweight Champion: http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/US.jpg~original Sting http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Sting.jpg~original Won: Sunday, Week 3, June 1995, from Meng in a tournament final World Television Champion: http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/TV.jpg~original Diamond Dallas Page http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/DDP.jpg~original Won: Monday, Week 1, September 1995, from The Renegade World Tag Team Champions: http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Tag.jpg~original Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Buck.jpg~originalhttp://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Slater.jpg~original Won: Wednesday, Week 3, June 1995, from Harlem Heat</div> <hr noshade size=3> I've added a weekly ratings tracker for the Monday Night War to the first post in the thread, so you can go and check that out. Not much to see yet, but it should be a useful tool once there's more than one week to compare! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Beejus" data-cite="Beejus" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Stepping into my realm of early 90s WCW, eh TFC? <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Can't wait to see where you're going in this game, and how far it can go. Best of luck!</div></blockquote> Indeed! I know you're only joking, but I honestly almost didn't start this just because you do such a great job with WCW in this era. But with the differences in our rosters (no Vader/Austin/Dustin/Steamboat, for example), the focus on the MNW and the Bischoff POV format I'm going with, I think I'm going to be able to carve out my own niche. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Nobby_McDonald" data-cite="Nobby_McDonald" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>This should be worth watching...</div></blockquote> I sure hope so! I've got some long term storylines in mind that I'm pretty excited for. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Matt" data-cite="Matt" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I love your Golden Age and Beyond diary and I'm glad it's not over but I finally get to follow one of you diaries from the very beginning. Look forward to see what you do to correct WCW's many mistakes.</div></blockquote> Thanks, glad to have you along for the ride! And keep up the excellent work with the tHw diary! Seriously, anyone reading this who hasn't checked it out yet needs to do so, now! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="CPBHBK" data-cite="CPBHBK" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Love this Diary, and how it's told by the perspective of Bischoff. I'm wondering what's going too go down with Arn and Flair, Also can't wait to see who wins the Cruiserweight Title. And I can't forget about one of my favorite parts. Badda boom. Badda bing. Badda BANG!! DDP Wins the TV Title. Great diary</div></blockquote> Thought I'd try something different with the writeups; glad you like it. I'm excited about where this Arn/Flair/Pillman story is heading. I wanted to get the belt off of Renegade as quickly as possible, and having a title change on the first Nitro seemed like a good idea. I considered a couple of different options for the new champ, but I think DDP was the right choice.

angeldelayette · May 27, 2014

Great opening shows, TFC. I can remember being around for this very first Nitro and you did catch a lot of the feelings and emotions of the first show. Love that Flair and JBB got an 'A' quality match while Hogan's match only got a 'B.' Though Hogan was pretty nice in person. I pick Jushin Liger in an upset to win the whole Cruiserweight title tournament. <img alt="

" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

CPBHBK · May 27, 2014

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Final Countdown" data-cite="The Final Countdown" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/War.jpg~original</div> 1995: <a href="http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1988597&postcount=14" rel="external nofollow">Current Champions</a></div></blockquote> This Ratings Tracker is going to be great

taylor22 · May 27, 2014

I liked your other dynasty and will be following this one.

The Final Countdown · May 28, 2014

September 1995, Week 1 The Turner media blitz paid off; we soundly beat Raw in the first week of this war. I'm pleased, but know not to get ahead of myself. This is a marathon, not a sprint. With the WWF's current schedule, there are six days between when Raw is taped and when it actually airs. I'm thinking of exploiting this by giving out the results of their show right when Nitro hits the air. Some of my employees think this idea is too brazen. To me, it feels like exactly the kind of thing Vince would have done to his competitors during his expansion in the 80's. The USWL is open for business! Paul Orndorff previously came to me and expressed a desire to transition to a non-wrestling role, so I elected to appoint him as the head trainer for our new feeder company. My team and I scoured the sheets and any tapes we could get our hands on, and I've signed a half dozen young wrestlers to developmental deals. This is the initial list: -Adam Copeland -Steve Corino -James Maritato -Sean Morley -Chavo Guerrero Jr. -Lance Storm -Terry Richards, who had been working some non-contracted matches for us as a job guy. I signed him to an official, exclusive contract and sent him to the territory. -Referee Jim Molineaux There are quite a few other young wrestlers I have my eye on, but a lot of them seem to be getting booked often enough elsewhere to progress nicely. I'll be keeping a close eye on them, though, and if I get even the slightest hint that Vince or anyone else is looking to lock them up, I'll be quick to swoop in. I've also signed Horace Hogan and Ultimo Dragon, both of whom will be reporting straight to the main roster once any other previous commitments have been met. Hulk will certainly be happy to have his nephew around, and my scouts think Horace has promise anyway. Ultimo is one of the best international junior heavyweights out there, and when I got wind that New Japan was looking to make him an offer, I rushed to bring him to WCW. He'll be a great addition to the new cruiserweight division. Another new cruiserweight is Devon Storm. He's under a PPA deal for now, but some of my scouts absolutely love him. If their analysis is correct, he'll probably be under written contract before long. Of course, the biggest news is that I signed {REDACTED}. Conventional wisdom would suggest hyping the signing of {REDACTED} for weeks, but I'm thinking another surprise appearance live on Nitro is in order. The only question left for me to answer is when exactly to pull the trigger. <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="angeldelayette" data-cite="angeldelayette" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Great opening shows, TFC. I can remember being around for this very first Nitro and you did catch a lot of the feelings and emotions of the first show. Love that Flair and JBB got an 'A' quality match while Hogan's match only got a 'B.' Though Hogan was pretty nice in person. I pick Jushin Liger in an upset to win the whole Cruiserweight title tournament. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote> The Flair/Badd match surprised me. I made sure to put Naitch in the main event in Week 2, though. <img alt=";)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="CPBHBK" data-cite="CPBHBK" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>This Ratings Tracker is going to be great</div></blockquote> Glad you think so! One thing I forgot to mention is that the tracker will also serve as an index for the weekly shows--all of the Nitro ratings will link to the actual post of the corresponding show.

The Final Countdown · May 28, 2014

September 1995, Week 2 <div style="text-align:center;">http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Nitro.jpg~original Monday, Week 2, September 1995 From the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas Attendance: 9,466 Announce Team: Eric Bischoff, Dusty Rhodes and Bobby Heenan</div> Pre-Show: Disco Inferno defeated Chuck Williams in 05:11 (D) and VK Wallstreet defeated Tim Horner in 05:08 (D+). <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Bobby, Dusty and I opened the show by hyping the blockbuster main event of Randy Savage against Ric Flair, as well as Lex Luger speaking about his return. I guaranteed that Nitro would be the only wrestling show worth watching tonight, and to prove it, I gave away the results of the Raw taping: Undertaker plays mind games with Yoko, Bam Bam beats Owen, and in the main event, HBK knocks off WCW reject Sid. I'm sure Vince will decry this as some kind of breach in protocol, but as far as I'm concerned, if he doesn't like it he can just...stand back. Bobby and Dusty did some great unscripted work throughout this segment. (Grade: B-) Cruiserweight Tournament, Semifinal Round--Jushin Liger vs. Dean Malenko: More solid in-ring action from the Cruiserweights, between Liger's flashy moves and Malenko's technical skills. Jushin used the Brainbuster at 06:37 to move on to the Finals at Fall Brawl. (Grade: C+) Mean Gene interviewed Hawk, who said that whether his arm was at 100%, 50% or -1000%, he would still be at Fall Brawl to knock Kurasawa's teeth down his throat. Some great improvising by Gene in putting over both Hawk's tenacity and Kurasawa's ability to inflict pain. (Grade: C+) The Nasty Boys vs. Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater (w/Col. Parker) : Not a technical masterclass by any stretch, but these four know how to put on a brawl. Sherri came out during the match and made out with Parker, which distracted Slater and led to his downfall at 07:14 in this non-title match. Parker was great at playing his conflict between managing his men and kissing his love. (Grade: C) Lex Luger came out to the ramp for his interview with Gene. Lex explained that he was tired of facing second-rate competition, and that's why he came back to WCW, where the big boys play. He also said that even though they'd had their ups and downs, Sting was still his best friend. That's why he had his back last week, and also why he was officially offering his services to Sting's team for War Games. Lex took some great improvised shots at Vince and the WWF during this segment, and Gene did an equally nice job reacting to them. (Grade: B+) Immediately after Lex's interview, we cut to a backstage hallway where Hulk Hogan, Sting and Randy Savage had been watching on a monitor. Sting said he trusted Lex and thought he'd make a great 4th member for their War Games team, but Savage was skeptical about Luger's true colors. Hulk was preoccupied with The Giant, who isn't even on the Dungeon of Doom's team at Fall Brawl. Randy was the high point of this segment, but Sting flubbed a couple of lines. (Grade: B+) World Television Championship--The Renegade (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Diamond Dallas Page {©} (w/Maxx Muscle and the Diamond Doll): Renegade got his rematch one week after losing the title, and the match was more of the same, with the challenger hitting some basic power moves and DDP playing a good coward. He cheated his way to the win thanks to a handful of tights. Jimmy Hart was good once again, but his work might be wasted on someone as limited as Renegade. (Grade: C) As DDP was celebrating after the match, Johnny B. Badd came out to the ring and confronted him about pulling Renegade's trunks. Page ignored Badd's comments and slapped him across the face, which incensed Johnny. He made to attack the arrogant champion, only for Page to pull the Diamond Doll in front of him as a shield. Johnny backed off while we decried Page as a coward on commentary. (Grade: C+) Gene visited Ric Flair's locker room for an interview. Ric was excited to walk that aisle against Macho one more time tonight. As for Arn Anderson, he acknowledged that his best friend was certainly good enough to beat him at Fall Brawl. He was less complimentary about Brian Pillman, calling him a little boy who was trying to stir up trouble. Ric rambled somewhat here, but Gene did a good job covering for him. (Grade: B-) Jim Duggan vs. Meng (w/The Taskmaster): Some pretty by-the-numbers brawling here, but Sullivan was great on the floor, shouting instructions at Meng and telling him to take Hacksaw out. And take him out he did, as Hacksaw fell to the Tongan Death Grip at 13:19. (Grade: B-) The Taskmaster called the rest of the Dungeon of Doom out to the ring, and ordered them to pick Duggan apart as a message to his buddy Hulk Hogan. They did exactly that, with Sullivan cackling and taunting Hogan throughout. He wasn't too sharp on the mic here, and Shark and Zodiac both looked pretty poor in their contributions to the beatdown. The Giant came across great though, so I'll take it. No secret that he's the money player in this group anyway. (Grade: B-) Cruiserweight Tournament, Semifinal Round--Eddie Guerrero vs. Brian Pillman: Eddie and Brian seemed to have a pretty good rapport as opponents, which added to an already solid matchup of skills. Eddie looks like one of the breakout stars of the Cruiserweight division in the future, and got the fans to buy into his offense here. Brian more than kept up with him, and won the match with a sudden roll-up at 09:55 to set up a Fall Brawl match with Liger to crown our first Cruiserweight champion. (Grade: B-) Pillman and Ric Flair crossed paths in the aisle in between matches, and had words with each other. Arn Anderson quickly came out to pull them apart, and he led Brian to the back while Ric walked to the ring for the main event. (Grade: C+) Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair: I expected greatness here, and that's precisely what these two megastars delivered. They had a great match despite their advanced age, and had the crowd eating it up every step of the way. If there was anything that hurt this match, I would honestly say it was my own efforts at the desk. Macho picked up the clean win with his Flying Elbow at 14:28. (Grade: A) The Dungeon of Doom came out to try and injure Savage, and that naturally brought out Hogan and Sting. Once again, it was Lex Luger who was the difference maker, chasing off Sullivan's men with a steel chair. The Shark turned in another poor performance, but both Hogan and Giant looked excellent as they came face-to-face to put more heat on their budding rivalry. (Grade: B) Sting asked for the mic after Lex helped him to his feet, and asked Hulk and Randy whether Lex had proven himself worthy yet. The way Sting saw it, there was no better option for their team than the Total Package. Savage voiced his doubts once again, but Hogan didn't see much other choice, so agreed with Sting's proposal. He warned Lex not to betray him, though, or he'd regret it. A smirking Lex said he would keep that in mind, but assured them that he would fight by their side for Sting's sake. (Grade: B+) </div></blockquote> <div style="text-align:center;">Show Overall: B+ TNT Rating: 5.85 (+.10) Raw Overall: B Raw USA Rating: 4.71 (+.31) </div> Following in Hogan's footsteps, Arn Anderson seems to have taken Joey Maggs on as a pupil. Not the first guy I would've chosen, but at least he's trying to help a younger wrestler out. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/SN.jpg~original Saturday, Week 2, September 1995 From the Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas Attendance: 2,000 (sell-out!) Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> Alex Wright defeated Horace Boulder at 04:48. (D) Cruiserweight tournament Semifinalists Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko were interviewed by Mean Gene, with both men promising to be victorious when they met in the ring in a Cruiserweight showcase at Fall Brawl. (C-) The Blue Bloods defeated Men at Work at 04:37. (D+) In an interview with Mean Gene, Johnny B. Badd explained that he'd confronted Diamond Dallas Page because as a proud former TV Champion, it angered him to see DDP winning and retaining the title in the cheap fashion he had. This brought out DDP, who took exception. They argued, and it ultimately led to Badd goading Page into giving him a title shot at Fall Brawl. (B-) Mr. JL defeated Devon Storm at 06:08. (D) Kurasawa (w. Col. Parker) defeated Joey Maggs at 05:23. (D+) Col. Parker got on the mic after the match and talked about how this time, Kurasawa was going to break BOTH of Hawk's arms. (C+) The Dungeon of Doom came out for an 8-man tag main event, but first, Taskmaster got on the mic and said that this was going to be just a small taste of the carnage they were going to unleash in War Games. (B-) The Dungeon of Doom defeated Cobra, Dave Sullivan, Scott Armstrong and Tim Horner at 05:40. (D+) </div></blockquote> <div style="text-align:center;">Show Overall: C-</div>

CPBHBK · May 29, 2014

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Final Countdown" data-cite="The Final Countdown" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="38016" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/Nitro.jpg~original Monday, Week 2, September 1995 From the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas Attendance: 9,466 Announce Team: Eric Bischoff, Dusty Rhodes and Bobby Heenan</div> Pre-Show: Disco Inferno defeated Chuck Williams in 05:11 (D) and VK Wallstreet defeated Tim Horner in 05:08 (D+). <div style="text-align:center;">Show Overall: B+ TNT Rating: 5.85 (+.10) Raw Overall: B Raw USA Rating: 4.71 (+.31) </div> Following in Hogan's footsteps, Arn Anderson seems to have taken Joey Maggs on as a pupil. Not the first guy I would've chosen, but at least he's trying to help a younger wrestler out. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/SN.jpg~original Saturday, Week 2, September 1995 From the Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas Attendance: 2,000 (sell-out!) Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay Show Overall: C-</div></div></blockquote> Another good Nitro, Really liked seeing the confrontations of Flair and Pillman, also enjoyed DDP's cowardice behavior. Plus the fact that Luger wasn't seen until the end of the show making everyone wait too see him appear again. Looks like Raw may be rising in the ratings battle. I'd watch out if I were you. <img alt=";)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

The Final Countdown · May 29, 2014

Fall Brawl Prediction Key

http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss322/FCDiary/WCW95/FallBrawl.jpg~original

WCW HOTLINE OFFICIAL PREDICTION GAME

War Games: The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger) vs. The Dungeon of Doom (The Taskmaster, Meng, Zodiac and The Shark)
Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson
World Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat vs. Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck {©}
World Television Championship: Johnny B. Badd vs. Diamond Dallas Page {©}
Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Finals: Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman
Hawk vs. Kurasawa
Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
A) What wrestler will get the submission in War Games, and B) who will he force to give up?
What will be the best match?

Another good Nitro, Really liked seeing the confrontations of Flair and Pillman, also enjoyed DDP's cowardice behavior. Plus the fact that Luger wasn't seen until the end of the show making everyone wait too see him appear again.

Looks like Raw may be rising in the ratings battle. I'd watch out if I were you.

...Except Luger had an interview with Mean Gene earler in the show.

Raw did have a pretty nice gain in week 2, honestly. As long as my rating is also going up, I'm not worried. There are some interesting things going on in the WWF that Bischoff will cover soon, though.

RingRider · May 29, 2014

War Games: The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger) vs. The Dungeon of Doom (The Taskmaster, Meng, Zodiac and The Shark)...Too much star power on the face squad

Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson ...Pillman costs Flair this one

World Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat vs. Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck {©}....While I don't know the mod, I'm sure Slater is in time decline and Harlem Heat have a bigger future (although I'm not sure how the Sherri/Parker romance will play into this)

Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Finals: Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman...given his association with the Main Event scene, it's tough to imagine a loss here

Hawk vs. Kurasawa...I feel like Hawk needs to be beat down so Animal can join him

Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko... could go either way but I think Eddie has more up-side

A) What wrestler will get the submission in War Games: Luger (new and exciting, plus has the torture rack)

B) who will he force to give up: Zodiac (weakest link)

What will be the best match: War Games (star power)

angeldelayette · May 29, 2014

Fall Brawl is shaping up to be a great pay-per-view, TFC. Looking forward to seeing the changes you make versus the real life pay-per-view.

War Games: The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger) vs. The Dungeon of Doom (The Taskmaster, Meng, Zodiac and The Shark)

I don't think there's any other choice here. Though I wish Vader didn't leave WCW at this time. But Hogan killed the mystique of his Power Bomb.

Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson

Anderson gets his due by beating the guy that he protected for so many years. But I doubt the victory will be clean.

Harlem Heat has the future in WCW. I can see Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck being phased out here during this time.

The Champion retains. DDP can be something great for the future.

Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Finals: Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman

I picked him in the beginning and am going to stay with him.

Hawk vs. Kurasawa

A definite upset but Kurasawa is more of a singles competitor than Hawk is.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko

The Iceman Cometh... This should be an excellent match. IRL, their matches in ECW were and are the stuff of legends.

A) Torn in this one but I have to go with Lex Luger and B) The Zodiac is the obvious choice.

What will be the best match? Somewhat surprisingly I go with the Ric Flair v. Arn Anderson match.

Looking forward to the Fall Brawl, TFC. Some definite great matches lined up. I hope this leads to something like a Best of 7 Series between Guerrero and Malenko.

CPBHBK · May 29, 2014

War Games: The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger) vs. The Dungeon of Doom (The Taskmaster, Meng, Zodiac and The Shark)

Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson Draw

World Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat vs. Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck

{©}

Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Finals: Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman

Hawk vs. Kurasawa

Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko

A) What wrestler will get the submission in War Games, and B) who will he force to give up? Luger on Shark

What will be the best match? Flair. v.s Arn

guyver3 · May 29, 2014

War Games: The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger) vs. The Dungeon of Doom (The Taskmaster, Meng, Zodiac and The Shark)

Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson

Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Finals: Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman

Hawk vs. Kurasawa

Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko

A) What wrestler will get the submission in War Games,

Sting

B) who will he force to give up?

Zodiac

What will be the best match?

Flair/Arn

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