IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME: WCW 1999-2000

[thedarkness214]

pyroandballyhoo.com

The 15th year anniversary of the first show that Ed Ferrara and myself wrote and produced for WCW—NITRO. October 18, 1999, is vastly closing in on us. Honestly, not sure really why, but, I’ve been thinking about that moment in time quite a bit as of late. Maybe it’s because these days as I’ve committed to this website and am writing more on a daily basis than I ever have before, I’m having much time to reflect on both what was . . . and, what might have been. There was so much excitement going to WCW with Ed, just so much to do, so much to create. One night that I can vividly remember just days before Ed and I got “the book”, we were in Atlanta working at the time, and we figured we’d go to one of our favorite fine dining spots to grab some dinner—Hooters. This is a shoot–I actually believe that I am the only dude that actually goes to Hooters not to enjoy the scenery, but because I actually love the chicken wings. I can remember of this particular night, Ed and I split FIFTY WINGS, and just sat there eating, and gleefully talking about the task that lie before us.



And, just for the record . . . Fast Eddie ate WAY MORE WINGS than yours truly.

Going into WCW I knew at the time that Ed and I would need three months to get our pieces into place. Our first 90 days on the job would be to undo many of the things that WCW creative was doing before we came in, and install our parts, and get them on track of where they needed to be. That process was going to be the most important, as we needed to build the foundation first, before we could begin to put up the walls and hang the drapes. Thankfully, we never had to worry about putting a ceiling in place, because our vision was based on there not being one. Every player on the roster—both male and female—were going to have the same opportunity. There was going to be no politics involved whatsoever, you were going to climb the ladder of success based on your hard work, merit and dedication—period. All the talent had to do was come to play—and me and Fast Eddie would do the rest.

I never in my wildest dreams thought for a second that 13 shows in, with the 13th being the highest rated of our tenure there, that Bill Bush would be worked by others into believing that a “new direction” was needed. Could you imagine the President of the United States having 13 weeks to turn the country around? And, yes, this task was just as daunting as that one would have been–trust me. When Ed and I came aboard at WCW, the last two weeks of ratings were a 2.9, and a 2.6, when I exited on January 10, 2000, we were up to a 3.4, and just hitting our stride. You can look those numbers up—it seems that nobody else wants to talk about them aside from Ed and myself because it seems not to work within the mainframe of the “Vince Russo Killed WCW” story. At that point, there was no doubt that together Ed and I had built a strong foundation—now it was time to build up.



What could have happened from there is anybody’s guess. When I was called back to work three months later, the rating was right back to where it was before Ed and I started, and I knew that we had lost the audience. My experience told me that we probably wouldn’t be able to get them back. We had them the first three months, lost them when I went away, and to ask them to come back again? That was going to be a challenging task to say the least. As the story goes, with 18 months now left on my contract, I was brought back to work WITH Eric Bischoff. No, I will not take full responsibility for anything that happened beyond that point. I was no longer 100% in charge of creative, nor did I have the ability to freely do what I thought needed to be done. Under that structure, I actually worked six months out of the 18 I had left, and spent the rest of the 12 at home, trying to overcome post-concussion syndrome and depression.

Those are the facts. So as far as me killing a company that had been around for decades? Again, look at your numbers. After the first three months Ed and I had the ratings on the upstream after building our foundation—so there was clearly no murder there, and then while I was back on creative for six months out of the next 18, I was not in control, and didn’t have the ability to do what I did best.

But, to this very day, I still ponder — what if Ed and I were allowed to go beyond the first three months—what truly could have been? The talent that was at our disposal, both veterans and rookies, and of course all those in the middle that were never given a real opportunity. Where could we have taken the company if Bill Bush was committed to our vision, and if AOL really would had taken an interest in the wrestling arm of Time-Warner? It’s just that haunting feeling of that painting that was never finished, or that book that the author stopped writing before he got to THE END.

With that roster, an even playing field, and two of the best at what they did with me and ED, what would have held us back if it wasn’t the politics? That roster, OMG–that roster! The potential. The ideas. The determination to succeed. What would the end result have been? Would WCW still be around even today? And, if it was, might it possibly be doing even better in the ratings than that three-hour snooze-fest that is thrown out there every Monday night.

Sad . . . . but, I guess we’ll just never know.

Or . . . will we? (Stay tuned…)

[Clerk]

Sounds stupid, like you usually do when you post. Stop posting for attention loser, and get a life. Prick.

[thedarkness214]

[Razzamajazz]

[Innovator]

Is Russo ever accountable for anything that happened in his career?

[hb2k]

Of course he isn't.

When Ed and I came aboard at WCW, the last two weeks of ratings were a 2.9, and a 2.6, when I exited on January 10, 2000, we were up to a 3.4, and just hitting our stride. You can look those numbers up—it seems that nobody else wants to talk about them aside from Ed and myself because it seems not to work within the mainframe of the “Vince Russo Killed WCW” story. At that point, there was no doubt that together Ed and I had built a strong foundation—now it was time to build up.

I know it's pointless, but I just have to.

The 2.9 and 2.6 were outlier ratings because the product was being passed to new booker and it was simply content filling with nothing on there even trying to pop a rating. Numbers in isolation mean, big picture:

Average Nitro Rating
August (Pre-Russo): 3.28
September (Pre-Russo): 3.38
October 3.0 (half dead shows, half Russo shows):
November: 3.24
December: 2.9

So even the TV ratings, his big claim to fame, aren't in his favour. Let's look elsewhere for this great foundation.

Live Attendance:
October 99: 4,628
November 99: 4,434
December 99: 3,593
January 2000: 3,590

Well that's odd. Live attendance dropped by 22%. Maybe he was talking about PPV.

PPV Buys:
Halloween Havoc: 0.52
Mayhem: 0.45
Starrcade: 0.32
Souled Out: 0.26

How strange. He cut Pay Per View revenue, the company's biggest source of income, in half. Do one, Vinnie.

[thedarkness214]

hb2k y0ur a m0r0n,,, keep believing the dirt sheets,,,, how ab0ut y0ur look up REAL facts,,,,

[hb2k]

Sure thing, bro.