10 Real Life Stories From The Final WCW Nitro

7. WCW Staff Refused To Cut Production Budget

Long before it was dictated that this would be the final episode of WCW's Monday Nitro show, the company were losing money rapidly, with no clear idea how the ship could be turned around on the horizon. Make no mistake about it, the reasons are varied as to why WCW was shipping cash - reportedly flying all 200+ wrestlers under contract to each Nitro in 1999, yet only using around 30 may have something do with it! Desperately wishing to go out on a high, WCW's staff ignored orders from AOL/Time Warner to make the show a stripped-back affair, and pressed ahead with as much glitz and glamour as the budget could afford. The telecast wouldn't end up being any more expensive than any other Monday Nitro taping, but the fact staff weren't willing to slash their quality of presentation proves that they realised the gravity of the situation. Perhaps these men and women, who had diligently worked to make WCW shows look as good as possible aesthetically, were aware that this would be their final hurrah. If so, they deserve credit for sticking it to the corporate side of the company, and making the last Nitro presentable.
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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood.