11 Misconceptions About WWE You Probably Believe

11. The Failure Of A WWE-Owned WCW Was The Fault Of WCW

WWE heels Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle effortlessly deck Booker T and Buff Bagwell during the first ever "WCW" match on the maiden voyage for the rebranded Number Two on Raw.

SummerSlam 2001 when The Undertaker and Kane massacre and humiliate the duo of Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon.

Vince McMahon kicking off the build to the Survivor Series showdown between WWE and The Alliance by saying he was "tired of this crap".

The evidence goes beyond those three examples and isn't hard to find, but in terms of a beginning, middle and end to the life of World Championship Wrestling under the WWE umbrella, the case studies are as good as any. WCW - with or without the bloom being off the market leader's rose that summer - was little more than an unwelcome and unwanted interruption to the regularly Feduled broadcast to those in Stamford.

The WWE wrestlers had bought into the "war" narrative too literally and didn't trust their new colleagues nor want to give up their spots. The new arrivals from WCW were too job-scared to fight back politically, while the bigger stars on Turner contracts weren't going to pass up free money knowing that their opportunity would come later anyway. And those with power to affect change at an office level didn't want to do it - the newcomers weren't booked with credibility, and locker room egos were deemed more important than a satisfying creative output.

The call was coming from inside the house - not the old one thad had long burned down by the time Vince McMahon purchased it.