10 Times WCW Was The Most Insane Company In The World
9. A Lack Of Human Resources
It's a universally accepted axiom: happy colleagues make a happy business. Forgetting people are on the payroll and firing those recuperating from injury at home generally does not accomplish this ideal.
WCW had no such qualms however. Eric Bischoff in particular could not get out of the habit of dismissing his talent whilst they were out of action, and unable to earn money elsewhere due to injury. Marty Jannetty was home nursing a shoulder problem when he was given his marching orders. A FedEx outlined Davey Boy Smith's sacking as he was lying in a hospital bed due to a spinal infection which nearly left him paralysed. Syxx was likewise fired through fax as he recovered from a damaged neck, though in his case it may have been deserved.
Bischoff's methods were callous, but at least they were ruthlessly competent. Paying wrestlers to sit at home for years because their existence has been entirely forgotten is less so. The notoriously fiery Kevin 'Nailz' Wacholz turned up in WCW for a solitary TV match against Sting after his acrimonious departure from the WWF, and was never used again. That didn't stop the company from paying him approximately $200,000 per annum to do nothing for the next six years.
Wacholz isn't even the craziest example: Angelo 'the Genius' Poffo received paycheques for half a decade without a single booking, despite calling his employers and asking for work. His calls were never returned. Why would a genius ring demanding bookings when he was being paid anyway?