25 Crazy WCW Facts (That Get Progressively More Ridiculous)
21. The Most Insane Quote Ever
Vince Russo’s booking did not make sense. This is the man who booked the New Blood Rising pay-per-view.
At New Blood Rising, Goldberg was written out of a three-way #1 contender’s match via motorcycle accident. This was good news for Kevin Nash, who said that he was “going over” Scott Steiner. As what became an impromptu Nash Vs. Steiner singles match unfolded, the commentary team wondered aloud if it would turn into a shoot. Scott Hudson buried Nash for booking himself to go over Goldberg at Starrcade 1998.
Goldberg eventually hit the ring. It’s important to note here that the match was every worked match you’ve ever seen. That’s because it ended in a worked shoot, which, in addition to making no sense in and of itself, made a pointless mockery of the work.
Goldberg walked out when he refused to “go up” for the powerbomb. The commentators literally pointed this out. That was the story of the match. This summoned an infuriated Vince Russo, who loudly told Goldberg to go along with the script. Goldberg told him to f*ck off. Nash went over Steiner by powerbomb. Once again, it’s impossible to make sense of this, but here goes:
Vince Russo didn’t think wrestling fans enjoyed the wrestling part of wrestling. Instead, wishing to appear smart, Russo wrote for the hardcore fan, who knew how it all worked, under the belief that they preferred the backstage drama of it all. Fake backstage drama thus became the narrative focal point of WCW programming. The problem here - on top of targeting a niche audience and lowering the ceiling for his beloved ratings - is that the hardcore fans thought this meta business was rubbish too, and spent their time mocking it online. WCW, thus, was a product for nobody that made no sense.
Russo still told the New York Times that “There is one word that we start and end every conversation with: logic. Once you lose the logic of the situation, then you lose the realism and you lose the audience”.
What joke can you possibly write about that?