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I have to disagree.
WWF in 1997 may have had good stars who eventually became major names in the company; Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Rock, Stone Cold... but they also had a bevy of some of the worst gimmicks and wrestlers to fill up a ring in years. We're talking Chainz and 8-Ball, the Headbangers, Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly, Savio Vega, the Godwinns, "Double J" Jesse James. Even if there were highlights in guys like HBK, Hart, Diesel, Razor Ramon and Undertaker, the undercard was still filled with absolute shite. And it was for years. Not until WWF lost Hart, HBK, Hall and Nash did the era of Austin/Rock/DX begin. And by that time, WCW had already long lost it's footing.
On the other hand, WCW had the biggest names in wrestling that fans wanted to see back then: Hulk Hogan, Sting, Lex Luger, The Giant, Macho Man Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, the Steiners, and even Rowdy Roddy Piper. Even if they weren't the most athletically gifted main eventers in the world, they were the names that drew crowds, and they were a hot ticket for any wrestling promotion.
They also had one of the most solid undercards any company has ever had. They had a bevy of cruiserweights from Mexico (Mysterio, Guerrero, Guerrera, Kidman, etc). They had younger guys with tons to offer (the likes of Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Ultimo Dragon, Diamond Dallas Page, Buff Bagwell, Jeff Jarrett, Harlem Heat).
They had the Turner machine behind them, allowing them to produce top of the line videos and live television (something RAW could not offer at that time).
The card was packed from top to bottom with either the biggest stars pro-wrestling had to offer (Rock and Austin not being anywhere NEAR the stardom they would eventually achieve), or the best wrestlers and most entertaining athletes the sport had ever seen in the United States on a national level.
Any given Nitro circa 1997 > any given RAW circa 1997, easily.
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