20 WTF WCW Moments

2. David Arquette Becomes WCW World Champion

By far one of the most criticised title changes in history was when David Arquette won the WCW World Title. To his credit, the actor had explained to Vince Russo and others why he felt the idea was a bad one. A lifelong wrestling fan, Arquette knew that fans would respond negatively to the angle, but it went ahead anyway. Pinning Eric Bischoff during a tag-team match also involving DDP and Jeff Jarrett, Arquette captured the gold. The bout took place on an episode of Thunder in April, 2000, and remains one of the most cited examples when explaining why WCW went out of business. Arquette would later turn heel at Slamboree 2000, helping Jeff Jarrett win the belt instead of DDP. Again understanding that the wrestling world would be frosty towards his reign, Arquette donated all the money he received from his time in WCW to charity. Heads were definitely turned when David Arquette became World Champion, but not for good reasons. Speaking about booking the title change now, Russo says he'd happily do it again.
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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.