10 Ways AEW Is Dangerously Close To Following In WCW's Footsteps
7. Worked Shoots, Brother
One of the darkest days in WCW history came at the 2000 edition of Bash at the Beach, where Vince Russo and Hulk Hogan worked themselves into a shoot, brother.
There, at Daytona Beach's Ocean Center, the plan was to weave elements of reality into Hogan's challenge for Jeff Jarrett's World Heavyweight Championship. To do that, Jarrett literally lay down for the Hulkster before Russo came out to cut a promo about Hogan playing politics all day.
When Vinny Ru said a few things that Hulk genuinely took umbrage with - "you big bald son of a b*tch" will do it - Hogan legitimately walked out on the company, filed a lawsuit for defamation of character, and never again appeared on WCW television.
In the case of AEW, they have to be extremely careful not to fly too close to the sun when it comes to the content and sheer amount of worked shoot promos they incorporate into their TV. In particular, MJF has a habit of leaning very much towards blurring the lines between reality and kayfabe, and while the Salt of the Earth is exceptional in how he presents himself and his verbiage, the company has to be cautious of not pushing too hard to try and make everything seem real at a time when fans are nowadays smart to the inner workings of the industry.