10 Times WWE Ripped Off WCW And Nobody Noticed

1. Thursday Raw Thursday

Randy Orton Hulk Hogan nWo
WWE

For reference, this was the regular Monday Night Raw logo in February 1997. That'd change to the timeless 'Raw Is War' variant later in the year, but not before the company dabbled with some distinctly WCW-ish designs for a special Thursday edition of the flagship TV show.

On 13 Feb '97, the WWF presented 'Thursday Raw Thursday'. Look at the logo for the broadcast side-to-side with Monday Nitro's graphic and you'll clearly see what Vinnie Mac was trying here - each word is stacked on top of the other like on WCW's logo, and the WWF proudly displayed the word "Live!" right at the bottom.

Hmm.

Nitro had started regularly kicking Raw's ass in the ratings by early-1997, so this could've been a McMahon ploy to steal back some of the shine from WCW and borrow their 'lively' vibe. Keep in mind that Raw was routinely pre-taped during this era. That's presumably why the WWF made such a huge deal over the "live" thing.

These logos are too samey for that to be coincidental.

When else did WWE rip off WCW but nobody really noticed? For more wrestling, check out 18 Things You Probably Missed From WWE Raw (March 29) and 10 Wrestlers Who Got TERRIBLE Advice From WWE!

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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.