20 Mind-Blowing Facts About WCW

9. Blazed The 'Creative Control' Trail

WWE.com
WWE.com

When Kevin Nash talked about "changing the business" at the 2015 WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony, he was pretty much referring to the mid-90's, when both he and Scott Hall jumped over to WCW from the WWF. The duo wangled themselves much better financial packages, also making sure to have 'creative control' clauses in their contracts.

Up until that point, only a select few had done this, namely Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. The idea what that these guys would have the power to dictate how their characters were portrayed on television, and wouldn't be duty-bound to do everything the company suggested without question.

Hall and Nash wanted similar deals, which opened up a can of worms for the wrestling industry as a whole. Suddenly, everyone from Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, to Steve Austin and Sean Waltman, wanted this clause in their contracts, putting the power firmly in the hands of the talent and not the promoter. WCW often gave these contracts away willy nilly (now there's a phrase), which would arguably hurt them in the long run and lead to people stating that the inmates were running the asylum.

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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.