10 WCW PPV Concepts WWE Should Revive
Instead of burying WCW, WWE could learn a thing or two from their 90s rivals.
They say you can never have too much of a good thing. When it comes to WWE’s PPV model, that really isn’t the case.
WWE has long built their calendar around the “Big Four”: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. However, that all changed when Eric Bischoff decided to expand WCW’s schedule to run a PPV every month. Naturally, WWE countered by running their own mini-PPVs to supplement their “Big Four”, before eventually running full-blown events each month like their rivals.
Since the demise of WCW, WWE has gone a step further; running two PPVs a month during the latter quarter of 2016. Worse still, the decision to theme events around gimmick matches that would traditionally settle a score (e.g. Hell in a Cell and TLC) has watered down the product even more, creating a formula where they need a feud to fit a gimmick match and not gimmick match to fit a feud.
While it can be argued that WCW PPVs like Uncensored paved the way for events like Extreme Rules today, it wasn’t all bad ideas to come out of the booking office in Atlanta. Let’s look back at ten WCW PPV concepts worth reviving.
10. World War 3
When it comes to in-ring carnage, few matches can stand up to the legacy left by WCW’s World War 3.
The concept itself was a mammoth, 60-man battle royal, with virtually the entire roster colliding in a three-ring circus. Simply put, the match was controlled chaos...that lacked control...but made up for it with more chaos.
While the match was riddled with issues - from annually changing rules to an incomprehensible abundance of action - the mass carnage was a staple of the WCW calendar from ‘95 to ‘98. Ironically, the PPV was replaced in 1999 by WCW Mayhem, which aptly described the event that preceded it.
With a roster of over 30 wrestlers on both Raw and Smackdown Live, plus a side roster of Cruiserweights and NXT stars, now would be the perfect time to revive WW3. With the recent introduction of gimmick bouts like the “Stairs Match” the “House of Horrors”, it’s not as if WWE are brimming with golden match innovations in the creative department.
The fact that WWE has resorted to bringing the Punjabi Prison out of retirement says a lot for the lack of originality in the writers’ room. With WWE creative seemingly amid a writer’s block party when it comes to inventing gimmick matches, a declaration of World War 3 could be just what the company needs.