10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About WCW
1. Its True Spirit Lies Elsewhere
For a promotion that prides itself on its depth of history and regularly uses nostalgia to generate short-term interest in its product, WWE generally do a shoddy job of referencing WCW.
Once Ted Turner's banner event, Starrcade is now no more than a glorified house show. The Great American Bash and Halloween Havoc are throwaway NXT specials completely disconnected from what those brands were originally supposed to mean. WarGames lives on, sure, but in a heavily bastardised form, swapping heat and hatred for high spots and gifs.
On TNT, WWE's new rivals do an infinitely better job of harking back to the glory days.
It's not just that WCW is in Cody Rhodes' blood, given that his father, Dusty, once booked the promotion, or that Tony Khan's fandom for it is well known. It's not even in events like 2019's Bash at the Beach revival or AEW bringing wrestling back to TNT after an 18-year absence. It's in the faithful, respectful use of WCW figures like Arn Anderson, Sting, and Tully Blanchard, the similar booking techniques, and the look, feel and presentation of many ideas that leave Khan's creative room.
Indeed, the spirit of WCW - of good WCW, when the company ruled the wrestling world - lives in on AEW, despite that company's own flaws.