8 Awesome WCW Ideas That Didn't Last

If WCW is remembered for anything these days, it's a horrendous series of preposterously bad creative decisions that managed to transform what was briefly North America's most popular wrestling promotion into a saleable asset within the space of three years. Indeed, such was the precision of the Atalanta promotion's ineptitude that's hard to believe it wasn't an intentional self-destruct, as some part of some elaborate insurance or pension scheme.

Except it wasn't. WCW creative was a kaleidoscope of chaos with scant disregard for concepts such a logical coherency, long-term outcome and whether or not anyone would really want to see Judy Bagwell as a tag team champion. There were many reasons for this - most of them designed around protecting the interests of an elite cartel, or Vince Russo - but ultimately this lack of clarity helped usher along the company's demise.

That's not to say WCW had any good ideas. In fact, they had one bloody great one - a well which they went back to so many times it became foul. Aside the nWo however - and before that became the promotion's only hat-hook - there were a few corkers. Unfortunately, many of them never had a chance to outstay their welcome like Hogan's crew.

Imagine a Mad Max version of Wheel of Fortune, in which instead of winning fabulous cash prizes or a trip to Italy, you're forced into a barbaric, depraved deathmatch (John Leslie could still host). That was basically the idea behind WCW's Halloween Havoc '92 gimmick, 'Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal', in which Sting and Jake Roberts spun, well, a big wheel, contesting whatever match the needle landed on.

In theory, this was a rad idea, selling the pay-per-view on the strength of the unknown quantity, as opposed to say, promoting tired stipulations for no reason besides the calendar demanding it. Unfortunately, WCW being WCW didn't think to rig this 'unknown quantity', resulting in the worst possible main event: a coal miner's glove match.

What's a coal miner's glove match? Good question. Effectively, it was your standard 'thing-on-a-pole' affair, that thing being, erm, a coal miner's glove. Just a big ol' glove. This sucked in practice - though WCW did at least give the novel wheel concept another spin the next year before binning it off.