10 Things You Didn't Know About WCW In 1997

Being Eric Bischoff in 1997 must have been incredible. In 1995, Bischoff had helped World Championship Wrestling turn an annual profit for the first time in company history. In 1996, 'Easy E' had the brain wave of forming the New World Order faction, an idea which had transformed the promotion from also-ran to leader of the pack. 1997 would continue that trend, as WCW made more money than it knew what to do with. The very notion that anything could go wrong was preposterous. After all, WCW had the hottest heel group in wrestling (nWo) and a world class locker room that was the envy of every other company. The best was yet to come. Eric Bischoff must have felt like the king of the world, and WCW had an embarrassment of riches. Even so, 1997 would arguably be WCW's peak, at least creatively. Striving to push the brand as much as he could, Bischoff put a lot of faith in the power of the nWo name. Incredibly, this led to a situation where the WCW name was neglected, something which would cost the company in the long run. Yes, 1997 was a banner year, but not all was rosy in the WCW garden. This article explores 10 things wrestling fans may not know about WCW in 1997. From celebrated successes to hints of what was to come just a few short years later, World Championship Wrestling was sure one interesting place.