WCW Wanted To Air Wrestling's First DIVORCE
...but Turner executives said no, no, no.
Eric Bischoff revealed on his '83 Weeks' podcast that WCW almost aired wrestling's first advertised in-ring divorce in 1999.
Bisch was seeking ways to stop the bleeding and claw back some momentum in a ratings battle with the WWF, and he viewed specials on NBC as a means to do just that. What's more, Eric had a plan to show Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra getting divorced live on air for the first episode.
The head of ad sales at Turner was the one who kiboshed the operation. He reportedly pointed out that Turner would be sharing assets (WCW programming) with a major network rival (NBC). That stopped Bischoff from planning WCW specials opposite WWF pay-per-views like WrestleMania XV and Backlash '99.
On his pod, Eric reaffirmed his belief that this was a massive mistake from Turner top brass. He thinks it was stupid to put a bullet in the idea rather than explore it when NBC were so willing to work with a company that was obviously struggling to maintain its aura.
Rodman and Electra were married in November 1998, but Electra filed for divorce five months later in March 1999.