10 Reasons WCW Spring Stampede 2000 Was Wrestling’s Most Over-Booked PPV Ever
Vince Russo booking at its finest...
By the year 2000, World Championship Wrestling was in a state of clear disarray. Booking was all over the place, and there didn't seem to be any clear strategy for biting back at Vince McMahon's WWF and reclaiming the top spot in North American pro wrestling. Panicking, management attempted to shake things up once more in the Spring.
The general idea was sound, bring both Vince Russo (who had worked wonders for the WWF during the beginning of the 'Attitude Era') and Eric Bischoff (who had turned WCW around in the first place) together. As a unit, surely they'd be able to improve things and make the promotion a powerhouse again.
Pushing the reset button, Bischoff and Russo decided that they needed a clean slate to work with. Most pre-existing storylines and feuds were pretty much abandoned, and the titles were stripped from each reigning champion. The mantra was clear, Spring Stampede 2000 would mark a new beginning for the directionless organisation.
What followed was a card so stacked full of writing that it deserved a volume of books to accompany it. Spring Stampede featured - amongst other things - 2 title tournaments, interference galore, a 'celebrity' match, a Hardcore Title brawl and even a swerve heel turn in the main event.
It was an overbooked mess, and here's why...
10. The New Blood Vs. The Millionaire's Club Idea Dominated
The beauty of the nWo story was in the simplicity of the idea. Somewhere along the way, that's a style of writing WCW forgot about, everything started to become convoluted and messy. In the lead up to Spring Stampede, messy would be the ideal word to describe things.
Ironically, the whole purpose of booking the build was to eliminate confusion. Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo joined forces to form The New Blood, a renegade group of hungry wrestlers who were tired of being held down by the more established stars. Those veteran names were collectively dubbed The Millionaire's Club, and were originally supposed to be heels.
The problem was, there was still affection for guys like DDP, Sting and Kevin Nash. This made New Blood the villains of the piece, and the whole situation just started to look tired from the get go. There was more than an air of the nWo Hollywood vs. nWo Wolfpac feud from years prior, and WCW fans had grown jaded on major stables warring.