10 Greatest Things About WCW’s Final Year

Because WCW's last year was far more than just Judy Bagwell on a Forklift and Viagra on a Pole.

by Andrew Pollard
Scott Steiner
WWE.com

In the years since WCW was officially bought out by Vince McMahon in 2001, it's been so easy to simply look back and laugh at some of the ridiculousness that went on during WCW's final few years. To be honest, there were so many baffling decisions and so many face-palming moments, but that's part and parcel as to why WCW went out of existence.

Yes, there really was Judy Bagwell on a Forklift match. Yes, there really was Viagra on a Pole contest. Yes, 3 Count and the Jung Dragons really did fight over a record contract. And yes, Tank Abbott really did pull out a knife live on PPV.

Despite all of the far too frequent ludicrous antics seen on display as WCW went from industry leader to complete sh*tshow, it actually wasn't all bad for the promotion during their dying days. Sure, mostly bad, but not all bad.

To spotlight the company's final year then - as in, the 12 months building up to the final 26 March 2001 episode of WCW Nitro - here are ten genuinely great things about WCW's last year in existence before being assimilated by McMahon and his World Wrestling Federation.

10. Two Great Rivals Get One More Match

Scott Steiner
wwe.com

Was it Sting vs. Flair from Clash of the Champions '88 or StarrCade '89? No, for both men were very different performers at very different stages in their careers when they tangled for the last time, but that doesn't stop Sting and Flair's battle on the final ever episode of WCW Nitro being a fantastic moment in pro wrestling history.

Flair had been pivotal in getting Sting to that next level and to becoming a true main event talent back at the tail end of the 1980s, and in 2001 we saw the Stinger return the favour by giving Flair what was at the time described as one last hurrah.

Of course, Flair would end up wrestling until 2008 with WWE and then until 2011 with TNA, but that 2001 bout was genuinely special - even more-so due to these long-time rivals having not had a one-on-one match for five years by that point.

Doing the honours, Flair would tap out to Sting's patented Scorpion Deathlock on that final Nitro, and the pair would have an emotional post-match embrace that was the absolute perfect bookend to World Championship Wrestling's run.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.