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“The Very Best of WCW Nitro” came out on DVD this week. The DVD set, which is hosted by Diamond Dallas Page and chronicles what are considered to be the highlights of Nitro harkens back to a time that many refer to as “the golden age of wrestling.” 1995 to 2000 was arguably one of the greatest times in the last fifty years to be a wrestling fan. Ted Turner owned, Eric Bischoff operated WCW burst onto the scene with a running start that left Vince McMahon and the then WWF in the dust for several years.
The overwhelming success of WCW and it’s Nitro programming not only created memorable and exciting moments for WCW and it’s fans but also forced the hand of Vince McMahon to step into what would become the “attitude era” that would transform the WWF from a cartoon character, child targeting product into an edgy, adult, intense show full of action and shock. The weight of the WCW product combined with mismanaged funds, poor talent relations and behind the scenes chaos ultimately contributed heavily to the collapse of the company which was then bought out by Vince McMahon. The great question which now looms is: would the current state of wrestling be better off if WCW had not gone under, or if someone else had purchased it instead of McMahon?
The argument has been made since that fateful Monday Night when McMahon announced his purchase of WCW. The wrestling world was in shock. A massive amount of WCW fans walked away from the product that day, never wanting to turn their attention to WWE. This was a war, and it was a war the fans took seriously. Somewhat like the war between TNA and WWE fans though on a much larger scale. There was fear that the destruction of the main competition would breed a state of lethargy in the creative process and that the hole left from WCW would never be filled. Some would say that is in fact what has happened and the ratings wrestling is pulling in today are nothing compared to the golden times and perhaps we will never see it reach those heights again.
There are always other companies but the two notable organizations would be WWE followed distantly by TNA and then pulling up the rear way in the back would be ROH. The “competition” so to speak is not nearly as rabid as it was in those days and though fans are as angry and hateful toward one another as they’ve ever been there is no sense that the companies themselves are hungering to take the other out. WWE by all appearances doesn’t care at all about any other company other than to take talent from them and TNA, while run by people who seem to want to take out WWE have no ability to construct a product that can truly compete in today’s day and age. Many often recollect upon the end times of WCW and draw similarities in the leadership and creative direction then to what they currently see going on behind the scenes of TNA. Of course this is easy to do when you have the familiar faces of Vince Russo, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan.
Dixie Carter, who for a long period has been the main power behind the TNA product (I’m aware of the “Impact Wrestling” name but choose to refer to TNA as it is still the more familiar title) and though she seems to be an intelligent woman with good intentions her mind is not sharp to the politics and backstage antics involved in the wrestling industry and therefore her attempts to brand this product as true competition continue to fall short. The creative direction of TNA is confused at best, and though there is a roster flush with talent there seems to be a disconnect involved. Whether you are a WWE fan or a TNA fan you should ultimately be a wrestling fan and competition in wrestling can breed new creative directions. Hoping for the failure of one company or the other is really only going to keep us exactly where we are. There should be some semblance of hope for TNA to succeed and at a minimum provide you with an excellent wrestling experience on Thursday nights.
No matter who you are a fan of you must be conscious of the fact that wrestling today is lacing something. That spark, that flame that sets everything on fire and makes you not watch because you’ve always watched, but watch because you need to see what they are going to do next. WWE has turned PG and entered a rather stagnant period of mediocre, repetitious storylines. TNA is fighting to establish itself as a viable, possibly threatening number two company. Suffice it to say it seems rather apparent to any current wrestling fan that the fall of WCW adversely affected wrestling in more ways than one and the loss of true competition has lead to a period of malaise. Perhaps one day in the future a new power will rise up and threaten WWE and bring us back into that golden period, or maybe wrestling will remain as it is we will have highs and lows but we will never get back to where we once were.
