9 Ways WWE Raw Broke GOOD Ratings Records 20 Years Ago
4. The (First) Biggest Gap In The History Of The Monday Night Wars - February 22nd 1999
The 5.9 to 3.9 deficit established on the aforementioned February 22nd edition of the flagship was doubly damning for WCW. Not only were WWE breaking their own records, but they were adding sticks to a growing pile to beat the opposition handily with.
With panic and paranoia setting in, Dave Meltzer revealed the ramifications of the crushing defeat as told to him through inside sources at the time. In a talent meeting later held in infamy against inexperienced and ill-suited booker Kevin Nash (more on the brilliant 'Big Sexy' later), the likes of Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit were characterised as "vanilla midgets" unable to help turn the ratings tumble around.
WWE, meanwhile went from strength to strength, with talent morale the polar opposite ahead of healthy WrestleMania paydays for virtually everybody on the roster. Only since the eminent emergence of AEW in recent months has there been such a comparable surge of vocally and visibly unhappy performers in an organisation. Momentum is everything, and like All Elite Wrestling now, Vince McMahon's product had in spades, almost entirely regardless of what was even happening on screen.