25 Crazy WCW Facts (That Get Progressively More Ridiculous)

17. WCW Was Ass

Vince Russo WCW 2000
WWE

Vince Russo will tell you, until he’s in the goddamn grave, that Standards & Practices ruined what he was trying to do with WCW. That meddling department of Warner kept getting in the way of his ratings-winning ideas, like rampant misogyny and non-stop homophobia.  

In the spring of 2000, Standards & Practices brought the hammer down again, insisting that WCW could not air the word “ass” on its programming. That was a pain in the ass. What was up their ass? It was hardly the C-word, although Russo almost certainly wanted to call a piece of ass that at some point. Standards and Practices could shove their fake morality up their ass, bro. This was ass-backwards, bro. This ain’t the 1950s anymore, come on. Get your head out of your ass and get with the times. Russo was busting his ass trying to kick the WWF’s ass, and this is the thanks he got? Why were they on his ass so much? They could kiss his ass, for all he cared. 

On the June 13 episode of WCW Thunder, the banned word was uttered no less than 11 times after Russo was explicitly told to knock it off. An errant ass is acceptable, because the word was so entrenched in trash-talk slang at that point, and the average pro wrestler was too dumb and jacked up from performing in front of a live crowd to remember the edict, but 11 is taking the piss a bit, no? 

It’s not as if WCW enjoyed a healthy relationship with their paymasters at this point. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!