9 People Most Responsible For The Death Of WCW

3. Ed Ferrara

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WWE

During his time as a writer in the WWF, Ed Ferrara worked diligently with Vince Russo to overturn WCW's grip on the TV ratings. Writing in a cliffhanger-based episodic format, Ferrara helped make Raw Is War must-see television during the 'Attitude Era'. Sadly, he couldn't replicate that on the other side of the fence.

There are conspiracy theory pieces wondering if Russo and Ferrara were sent from the WWF to ruin WCW, and from their output they're understandable. Watching some of the programming from their time with the pen is enlightening; it's almost like those in charge of writing shows didn't want Nitro or Thunder to succeed.

A classic example of this, Ferrara's distasteful Oklahoma character was a crystal clear shot at the health issues suffered by Jim Ross. Contorting his face to mock JR's woes with Bell's Palsy, Oklahoma was there to do little other than poke fun at someone on another show.

This was hardly going to help WCW, and the situation worsened when Oklahoma became WCW Cruiserweight Champion. Ed Ferrara should be ashamed of himself for publicly making light of Ross's misfortune, but he should also be red-faced for some of the TV he penned.

Contributor

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.