10 Lessons WWE Shouldn’t Forget From WCW’s History
6. Stop Repeating Storylines
Both the WWE and WCW each had go-to storylines when their creative teams ran out of ideas. Not surprisingly, each promotion would fall back on what worked before when they got desperate instead of trying to come up with a new idea to change their fortunes. For WCW, it was the New World Order. When the nWo was introduced in 1996, it was different, cool, and entertaining. The New World Order took the Establishment and powerbombed them off of a stage. The nWo were the popular kids in the back of the classroom who skipped school, made comments to the teachers, and got all of the girls. They were the bad boys of wrestling and didn't care who they beat up as long as everyone knew they were in charge. It was groundbreaking and turned WCW from a southern wrestling promotion to the number one promotion in all of North America. However, like all good things, the nWo eventually ran its course. People got sick of seeing the nWo beat up everyone over and over again. The segments were no longer groundbreaking, they were boring. But, that didn't stop the WCW from continuing the storyline for years afterwards. They split the nWo into groups like nWo Hollywood, nWo Wolfpac, nWo Japan, and nWo 2000. The more it happened, the less people cared. WWE's go-to storyline is one that is still going on today, nearly 15 years after it should have ended: The Evil Authority Figure. WWE's fortunes changed forever with the Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon feud. Everyone who ever wanted to punch their boss in the face was able to live vicariously through Steve Austin and strike a blow for the working man. It made Steve Austin the most popular wrestler in history and turned Vince McMahon into a billionaire. However, even the greatest storyline in wrestling history gets stale. People got sick of seeing Austin stun McMahon or seeing Vince screw over the latest babyface. Vince continued as the heel owner for years after the Austin feud ended, with the writers simply replacing Austin with another babyface. Once Vince stopped appearing on television, the Evil Authority Figure was played by Eric Bischoff in his Raw General Manager position. After the General Manager thing ran its course, Triple H and Stephanie became the Authority, doing their best Vince McMahon impressions. The Authority storyline is the same thing we've been seeing for the last 15 years: Babyface is popular but the owner hates him and makes his life suck. It's time to move on.
