To say that World Championship Wrestling was in dire straits by the time Booker T and Scott Steiner enjoyed their final runs as champion would be an understatement. The company was on life support and AOL Time Warner was about to pull the plug, no longer wanting the unnecessary burden of supporting the dying promotion. That didn't stop the writers from desperately trying to restore credibility to the once-proud WCW Championship via two talented and determined stars, however. Scott Steiner captured the WCW Title at Mayhem in November 2000, fulfilling his potential as a singles star. He would hold the title for four months, feuding with Kevin Nash, Goldberg, Sid Vicious and Diamond Dallas Page, all the while collecting rare and, importantly, clean victories over those industry giants. As the leader of the Magnificent Seven faction, he became the character that WCW programming was built around. By March, with injuries taking their toll and his championship reign reaching its climax, he was beaten on the final episode of Nitro by Booker T, ending his final run with the gold. Booker would carry the title until July, his reign adversely affected by the layoff that occurred between March and June as WWE finalized the sale of WCW and made plans for the massive flop that was the invasion angle. Still, the five-time WCW Champion enjoyed his longest reign to date before dropping the title to Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle in July on Raw.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
