In an attempt to piggyback off the extreme revolution that Paul Heyman's Extreme Championship Wrestling had introduced to the world of professional wrestling in the mid-1990s, Eric Bischoff and WCW created a new March pay-per-view entitled Uncensored. It would be the one night of the year where rules went out the window and the otherwise family-friendly wrestling promotion would get, well, uncensored. Unfortunately, such a concept did not lend itself well to a roster touting Hulk Hogan and his merry band of '80s rejects. All of the special gimmicks in the world could not make up for the fact that Randy Savage vs. Avalanche (Earthquake) and Meng vs. Jim Duggan were no longer appealing matches in the new decade. None of those men were invested in their work the way that Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Sandman and Sabu, all of whom made significantly less money, were in ECW. Hulk Hogan sleepwalked his way through another pay-per-view match, turning in an uninspired performance against the otherwise great Big Van Vader while Dustin Rhodes and Black Top Bully (Barry Darsow) did their best to deliver something watchable while in the back of a big rig. The show set a precedent for every edition of Uncensored that followed. Bad matches, poor hardcore brawls by guys unfamiliar with the style and truly awful booking soiled the show's reputation right out of the gate. While 1996's production would be significantly worse, the original deserves recognition for being the granddaddy of one of the worst wrestling pay-per-view legacies of all-time.
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.
