This was a decision so stupid that it found its way into a collection of anecdotes known as the WCW Epic Fail Files. Basically, in a desperate attempt to gain more viewers, WCW hired KISS to perform their song, God of Thunder on a live edition of Nitro. Of course, that didnt add many viewers to the dying show, but what made this decision even more sinful were the other conditions of the performance. First, WCW had to pay KISS $500,000 for the one-song, one-time performance. That alone is terrible, because thats a lot of money, which couldve been used for many other things, the least of which includes paying the WCW talent. But the other condition of KISSs appearance was a guarantee that a wrestling character called the KISS Demon (portrayed by Dale Torborg) was to be featured in main event matches on WCW programming. You can imagine just how popular that was; the show on which KISS performed is widely believed to have garnered the lowest ratings for Nitro ever. And to think, WCW paid so much money to KISS for a one-time only occurrence. Even though theyre good musicians, neither KISS nor their Demon belonged on a wrestling show or anywhere near a wrestling ring.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
