10 Times WCW Was The Most Insane Company In The World
7. Questionable Celebrity Involvement
Celebrities and wrestling are not always a bad combination. The inaugural WrestleMania was built on the crossover appeal of in-ring action and stars from outside the business such as Mr. T. and Cyndi Lauper. Done right, celebrity involvement can be a major boon to an industry that often struggles from mainstream legitimacy.
When done wrong, it can be a total embarrassment. And of course, WCW did basically everything wrong.
It's one thing to have legitimate athletes like Lawrence Taylor or Dennis Rodman competing in the ring, but it's something else entirely to see Hulk Hogan selling for Jay Leno, of all people. The very sight of a legendary champion writhing in pain due to a arm-bar from a television presenter half his size was emetic for most wrestling fans, and rightly so.
An even worse idea was devising a gimmick based on the rock band Kiss, but for Eric Bischoff - a huge fan - such a concept was not off limits. Like Hog Wild, the move was mostly designed to indulge one of his fantasies, namely having Kiss perform live on Nitro and then partying with them afterwards.
Part of Bischoff's deal with the band was that they would have a wrestler representing Gene Simmons, one that would get a pay-per-view main event no less. Thankfully for wrestling fans, the main event never happened. Sadly, the Kiss Demon did.
During an insufferable Kiss concert on the 23 August 1999 episode of Nitro (the band inexplicably introduced by Tony Schiavone as "the greatest in the world"), the Kiss Demon made his debut, emerging from an elaborate iron maiden. Not in a wrestling angle, that'd be ridiculous. The stunt cost WCW $500,000 for one gig. As Bischoff lost his job before the character even debuted, the incumbent bookers were determined to bury the Demon in order to embarrass Eric. Of course, the gimmick didn't get over - though it wouldn't have anyway.
Money well spent, then.