10 Shocking WCW Plans That Almost Happened
1. Relaunching With 'The Big Bang'
It's common knowledge that Eric Bischoff came agonisingly close to purchasing WCW mere weeks before the company was assimilated by the ever-greedy grasp of Vince McMahon and his then-WWF.
What many may not know, though, is that Bischoff had already started to plan a total relaunch of the WCW Brand with an event titled The Big Bang. So certain was Bisch that WCW would be his, he even took out an ad for The Big Band in the pages of what proved to be the penultimate issue of WCW Magazine.
Dubbed "the creation of the new WCW", this PPV extravaganza was set for 6 May 2001 - a date that ultimately ended up being six weeks after WCW Nitro aired for the final time.
A fantastic article on WWE.com details how Bischoff had been in talks with the FX network to air this 'new' WCW, how Joey Styles was lined up as the lead announcer, Jerry Lawler was in the frame to join Styles, extensive creative plans had been put in place for the company's biggest stars, and a CEO and President were in place.
The relaunched WCW also had tentative plans to have its weekly TV tapings emanate from Las Vegas' 3,000 capacity Hard Rock Cafe venue, with Bischoff's Fusient consortium even wanting to put together cross-branded specials with McMahon's WWF.
These plans all fell apart once Jamie Kellner became Chairman and CEO of Turner Broadcasting in early 2001, with Kellner deciding to cancel both Nitro and Thunder as he sought a focus on drama, comedy and sports for TNT and TBS.
Without a TV deal, Fusient saw no value in purchasing WCW - and thus The Big Bang PPV, much like WCW itself, became a non-entity.