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Top 8 Epic WCW Photos That’ll Make You Wish They Won The Monday Night Wars - Part 1
8 STACY & TORRIE: WCW was bleeding terribly as of 1999, they couldn’t compete with the WWE in just about every aspect, however, they did have a couple of females that had proven drawing power.
Keibler was one of them, she earned a spot during a Nitro Girls competition, not only did she take home the grand prize but her dance routine was a massive hit earning a 4.4 million rating, something that wasn’t the norm for the company at that point.
Wilson would have similar success, she was encouraged by Kevin Nash to debut on-screen and when she did, the crowd instantly took to her in large part, due to her obvious beauty.
Fans would flick on WCW for a glimpse at the two during their final days, the WWE wisely signed both after purchasing the company and they became even bigger stars with the company.
7 UNBELIEVABLE ROSTER: The WCW roster was the most impressive aspect about the company. While most of the storylines lacked long term success, the wrestlers on the show delivered something for all fans.
WCW hired most of the top WWE stars from the 80s like Roddy Piper and Ultimate Warrior. Fans of the time still had fondness for these wrestlers they grew up with. New talent would become major players as shown with Diamond Dallas Page and Goldberg. There were international wrestlers and talents of all sizes on the show to add variety.
This led to an impressive locker room of past, present and future legends. The picture here shows us DDP, Goldberg, Piper and Warrior all posing together backstage. It is easy to forget how many big names were around, but WCW never hesitated on bringing in top legends.
6 HULK HOGAN’S PARADE SIGNING: WCW wasn’t afraid to make bold moves regarding the talent. They tried to often showcase their major moves like sports with press conferences playing up the important of the acquisitions.
One signing saw them take it to the next level with a ticker tape parade. Much like the parades that sports teams get in their cities after winning a championship, Hulk Hogan received one for signing with WCW.
The actual parade showed that they were treating this as a major move in competing with WWE for the top spot in wrestling. Hogan didn’t give them the success they needed until two years later when forming the New World Order. However, the parade gave a great visual to showcase the growth of WCW.
Given the amount of money they have, we are still waiting on WWE to have a parade. It sadly would be about Roman Reigns greatness at this point.
5 SPRING BREAK: One problem with WWE today is how much they stick to their routine. Even when they have good shows or cool surprises, it doesn’t stray too far away from the usual mundane system they have set up.
WCW often took chances on unique ideas with various shows outdoors. A memorable annual show featured WCW having Nitro take place at a beach during Spring Break. The wrestling ring would be surrounded by a pool with fans having the times of their lives watching the show.
Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Ric Flair were just a few of the wrestlers to take a comedic bump into the pool. It always provided fun to showcase the product in such a unique environment. WWE’s mundane process makes you miss WCW’s ability to think outside of the box with concepts like the Nitro episodes during Spring Break.
4 GREAT WRESTLING MOMENTS: WCW delivered some of the greatest wrestling moments when it came to the surprises. They also had some of the best wrestlers in the world in their Cruiserweight division.
Despite not getting the big break, the young wrestlers at the time worked extremely hard to leave their legacy in WCW history. Dean Maleno and Chris Jericho proved this with their amazing feud back in 1998.
Jericho became a hated heel and ran down Malenko after defeating him in a Cruiserweight Championship match. The family of Malenko was insulted for weeks by Jericho while Dean went home after losing the big one.
Malenko returned by winning a battle royal secretly under the mask of luchador Ciclope. The reveal of Malenko taking off the mask to reveal it was him and defeating Jericho after winning the title shot proved WCW could be genius.
3 NATURE BOY: Ric Flair is likely the most popular choice when discussing the greatest WCW star of all time. The early 90s saw Flair carry the company until Hulk Hogan came in and replaced him as the face of the promotion.
Flair remained with WCW until the dying days, but the company rarely pushed him during the Monday Night Wars due to clashing with Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo when each man respectively ran the company.
This showed one of Flair’s most passionate promos when feuding with Bischoff on screen. Many of Flair’s real feelings were expressed in this personal promo demanding to face Bischoff. Flair stripped off all his clothing and handcuffed his hand to the ring rope. The shocking moment perfectly showed the magic of Flair being able to entertain.
2 WAR GAMES: War Games was one of the most memorable concepts created in WCW. The team match featuring members coming into the two cages one at a time helped give a perfect payoff to multiple feuds in one major bout.
Fans loved the annual match as it often left a positive impact each time until the final few years when things spiraled out of control. Triple H recently brought the match back for NXT, but it will never be used on the main roster if Vince McMahon is running the show.
Fans have been longing to see the top WWE stars in the double cage for years. Sadly, it will not happen until Triple H replaces McMahon. This is one reason many wrestling historians wished WCW won the war. The picture here shows Sting anticipating getting his turn to enter War Games.
1 FEEL GOOD MOMENTS; WCW liked to present their moments of face wrestlers winning the title as a huge deal. Lex Luger, Sting, Goldberg and others showed that in the later years when each man defeated the hated Hulk Hogan character. However, this went on for many years going back to the early 90s with one specific title change.
Ron Simmons defeated Vader to win the WCW Championship and made history as the first African-American wrestler to win the title. Fans reacted with joy to witness such a memorable moment.
The picture here shows the face wrestlers holding Simmons on their shoulders. WCW tried their best to add to the big moments and this is arguably one of the biggest in WCW history. We get to see the pride on Simmons’ face while the fans cheered him on.