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View Full Version : What was wrong with the Bill Watts Era in WCW?

Rollermacka
10-04-2012, 11:21 AM
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So watching this DVD, and looking at some matches from 1992, what was soo bad about the "Bill Watts Era" in WCW? It seemed like they still had solid high flyers like Pillman, Liger, Muta and Steamboat. The company seemed to be built around quality matches, not really "sports entertainment" based. 6:50 as a Tuner exectutive, that's all I'd have to hear about to support the head of a product. Outside of the racial issues he was accused of, what was so bad about the Watts Era in WCW?
James Steele
10-04-2012, 12:26 PM
Wrestling was in a "down period" to begin with and "pure wrestling" has never drawn on a national scale. WCW in the early 90s had good wrestling, but the storylines were generally shit. Was he before or after the Robocop and Scorpion incidents?
Jordan
10-04-2012, 12:36 PM
I think that Bill just clashed with the execs at Turner, and in turn, created an out of date product.
DLVH84
10-04-2012, 02:19 PM
Wrestling was in a "down period" to begin with and "pure wrestling" has never drawn on a national scale. WCW in the early 90s had good wrestling, but the storylines were generally shit. Was he before or after the Robocop and Scorpion incidents?

Bill came after those incidents.
Joesgonnakillyou
10-04-2012, 02:39 PM
He made Ron Simmons the champ, love the guy but he's not really a main eventer
Theo Dious
10-04-2012, 08:38 PM
Sports entertainment draws on a world-wide scale, pure wrestling does not. Bill Watts's ideas did not have mass appeal.
KIRA
10-05-2012, 12:18 AM
He made Ron Simmons the champ, love the guy but he's not really a main eventer


I thought that was Dusty's doing
stultiloquy
10-05-2012, 05:06 AM
Didn't he enforce a rule during his tenure by which you would be disqualified for throwing an opponent over the top rope?
Vastardikai
10-05-2012, 07:27 AM
Didn't he enforce a rule during his tenure by which you would be disqualified for throwing an opponent over the top rope?

That rule actually predated Watts. He was anti-Jump off the top rope. A pandora's box that was opened long ago.
Joesgonnakillyou
10-05-2012, 07:43 AM
I thought that was Dusty's doing

I remember reading that Bill Watts did it in Foley's first book and a quick wiki search tells me it was Bill Watts too

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Watts#World_Championship_Wrestling
Shisen Kopf
10-05-2012, 07:54 AM
This

Mick Foley referred to Watts' history of "creating a black babyface and building the company around him", while talking about his match with Simmons.
Big Vic
10-05-2012, 08:29 AM
I want to see an African American win the WWE title.

Unnrelated question: Is there more WWE champions from Mexico than from Canada? Its 3 to 2 right?
Verbose Minch
10-05-2012, 04:39 PM
I want to see an African American win the WWE title.

Unnrelated question: Is there more WWE champions from Mexico than from Canada? Its 3 to 2 right?

Bret Hart, Edge, Jericho, Ben Wah
Rhaps
10-05-2012, 07:07 PM
But that fourth guy you just named never existed :/
DLVH84
10-05-2012, 07:26 PM
Didn't he enforce a rule during his tenure by which you would be disqualified for throwing an opponent over the top rope?

That rule was an NWA rule that WCW kept until 1998, five years after breaking away from the NWA, due to many heel champions using that excessively to retain their titles.
James Steele
10-06-2012, 03:17 AM
That rule was an NWA rule that WCW kept until 1998, five years after breaking away from the NWA, due to many heel champions using that excessively to retain their titles.

Bullshit. They cut that rule way before that.
CSL
10-06-2012, 12:27 PM
heard plenty of times he was just a bit shit to work for, a bit of a bully, liked to throw his weight around etc
DLVH84
10-06-2012, 01:20 PM
heard plenty of times he was just a bit shit to work for, a bit of a bully, liked to throw his weight around etc

Yeah, the only one I recall who stood up to Bill Watts was Brian Pillman.
Tom Guycott
10-07-2012, 10:12 AM
Pillman? You're kidding me, right? I was under the impression he *respected* anyone who was the bookerman!
DLVH84
10-07-2012, 12:17 PM
Pillman? You're kidding me, right? I was under the impression he *respected* anyone who was the bookerman!

Well, Watts wanted Pillman to break his contract or risked being jobbed forever. Brian said something along the lines of "Fine, I'll be the highest-paid jobber in the company."
Savio
10-07-2012, 01:27 PM
But that fourth guy you just named never existed :/
and only held the WHC if he did exist.