The WCW Conspiracy Iceberg EXPLAINED!

23. Vince McMahon Was Working WITH WCW

This one is outrageous, hence why it appears so early on the list, but somebody pitched it on Twitter and it generated far too many likes for comfort. 

The general thrust of the theory is that Vince McMahon knew that wrestling was in a bad way in the early 1990s. His monopoly was a pyrrhic victory. In buying out every name wrestler and destroying the territory model, he had only served to nuke interest in the sport and drain the talent pool. The only way out was back; Vince, a super-genius, knew that he had to create the illusion of competition so that wrestling felt hostile and alive all over again.

And so, he struck a clandestine arrangement with Turner, negotiating an “everybody wins” deal. Firstly, Vince sent over Hulk Hogan to give WCW a shot in the arm. Hulk was no good to him by 1994. Neither was Randy Savage. They were dispatched down south to further garner interest in WCW. Then, the final pieces of the jigsaw: Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and the Outsiders angle. With WCW overpowered and interest in pro wrestling at its highest since the 1980s, Vince set about his grand plan to inject ‘Attitude’ into his programming. Vince could only reclaim his greatness with his back against the wall. The ploy, to create a true “may the best man win” war, ultimately worked. The WWF posted record profits and enjoyed a second mainstream boom. In football terms, he sold his ageing luxury players as part of a huge squad revamp, placed his trust in kids, and won the league. 

This theory is ridiculous, mostly because it’s an incredibly generous read of Vince’s abilities as a promoter - and that is before one even begins to picture the outrageous scene of Vince and Ted Turner meeting in secret, thrashing out the details of the nWo storyline. 

It’s just funny to imagine Vince insisting that Michael Wallstreet was the man to take the Order to new heights in 1997.