In the ultimate example of wrestling-related irony, the WWF were pointing fingers at WCW and laughing whilst doing exactly the same thing they were castigating. 1996 witnessed the birth of the infamous 'Billionaire Ted' skits, which were designed to poke fun at Ted Turner and World Championship Wrestling. In addition, they made light of the advancing age of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Even at the time, many fans felt the segments were a complete waste of valuable air time. The whole thing reeked of jealousy from Vince McMahon, who really should have been focusing on the failing WWF product at the time. Instead, he gave the green light to film skits that were solely to belittle the idea that WCW were only successful because they were using old WWF marquee names. This was supposed to make fans believe that the WWF was a more hip and youthful product. Maybe it would have worked better had McMahon not booked matches like Jerry Lawler vs. Roddy Piper, or the return of Jake 'The Snake' Roberts to the full-time roster. The irony was not lost on fans, who viewed the 'Billionaire Ted' nonsense as completely pretentious and smug.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.