10 Times WCW Was The Most Insane Company In The World
4. Promoting The Rival Product
Eric Bischoff had a plethora of novel ideas to make Monday Nitro unlike any primetime wrestling show previously aired in North America.
The long-standing tradition of squash matches designed to put over top talent were replaced with engaging, competitive bouts, and going out live rather than being taped gave Eric the power to shock his audience, creating a must-watch show where anything could happen next.
Nitro viewers may have been totally unable to anticipate what was going to occur on WCW's show, but because Raw was taped, Eric could tell them precisely what would happen on the rival product.
In fact, Bischoff insisted Nitro transmit several minutes before Raw specifically so he could run through the results before the competition began. By the time it started, there was no longer any reason to switch over. It was a low move, and considered downright immoral by those on the receiving end, but it was effective - at first.
Perhaps deservedly, the unscrupulous tactic eventually came to bite WCW in the bottom.
On the 4 January 1999 Nitro, the voice of God whispered in Tony Schiavone's ear ordering him to reveal that former WCW performer Mick Foley was set to claim the WWF Championship. "Ha! That's gonna put bums on seats!", scoffed the commentator.
Turned out he was right. Within minutes, hundreds of thousands of viewers instantly switched over to Raw to witness the title change. Meanwhile, Nitro was presenting the infamous 'fingerpoke of doom' angle. It was a disaster for the company, and one from which they struggled to recover.