10 Things You Didn't Know About WCW In 1993

5. BattleBowl Was The Least-Watched Pay-Per-View Of 1993

steve austin brian pillman
Wiki

In 1993, WCW presented SuperBrawl, Slamboree, Beach Blast, Fall Brawl, Halloween Havoc, BattleBowl and Starrcade on pay-per-view. 

Most of the events did alright from a buyrate perspective, pulling an average of 0.50. By contrast, BattleBowl didn't come close to that number, proving the grappling world didn't really see the value of the event.

At both Starrcade 1991 and 1992, the BattleBowl concept had been used. A 'Lethal Lottery' system was used to draw tag-teams at random and the winners from each subsequent match would then advance to a big Battle Royal in the main event slot of the show. 

That bout was eventually won by Vader, who lastly eliminated Sting by hurling him over the top rope.

BattleBowl '93 managed to draw a 0.27 buyrate, making it the least-watched wrestling pay-per-view of the entire calendar year. Including WWF events, there was not a broadcast on pay-per-view with less viewers than BattleBowl. 

Due to this, WCW management discarded the idea of running it as a standalone event again.

Contributor

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.