Even the most casual of pro wrestling fans know the story by now. In March, 2001, Vincent Kennedy McMahon swooped in and purchased World Championship Wrestling. Buying his major competition for a paltry sum (approximately $2.5 million), McMahon had swallowed up the only promotion to have ever threatened his monopoly since the 1980's. In truth, even if McMahon hadn't been interested in acquiring the rights and trademarks to the WCW name, the company was in dire straits. There's been a long-standing argument that Vince Russo's booking killed WCW. Whilst it definitely turned fans away from what the company presented on television and Pay-Per-View, there was something else going on behind the scenes. Ted Turner, who credited pro wrestling as being a cornerstone of his media conglomerate, had less control than ever over the empire he'd built. AOL/Time Warner were calling the shots by 2001, and they were far from happy with the money WCW was wasting. Viewing the wrestling division of the company as nothing special, officials had long since soured on things. Therefore, there's a chance that WCW could have actually been cancelled outright in 2001, which is a sobering thought. This article focuses on what might have saved the ailing giant if McMahon hadn't come on the scene. Assuming Eric Bischoff (or another impartial investor) had won the bidding war, how could they have helped turn WCW around?
