10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Oct 28)
1. Joey Styles Came So Close To Joining WCW In 2001
Putting together an investment package in order to buy World Championship Wrestling outright, Eric Bischoff was beaten to the punch by none other than Vince McMahon. Television wasn't part of the deal, meaning McMahon paid a paltry $2.5 million for 24 talent contracts, the promotion's video library and a whole host of WCW trademarks.
Bischoff's grand idea had been to relaunch the company entirely. A pay-per-view was titled 'Big Bang' and tentatively scheduled for May, 2001. Around that time, the original ECW also went out of business. Speaking to the Bischoff On Wrestling podcast, longtime ECW announcer Joey Styles lifted the lid on talks that almost sent him to WCW.
In touch with Bischoff, Styles was verbally brought on as one of the commentators for the show. According to Joey, he pitched that Don Callis also be involved. To his surprise, another name thrown around was that of Jerry 'The King' Lawler.
At the time, Lawler was not part of the then-WWF. This meant he was free to take other bookings. It's sobering to learn that the voice of ECW and a WWF stalwart could have announced WCW's comeback pay-per-view.
What other big wrestling facts did you learn this week? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments section below!