The True Story Behind The WORST Wrestling Show In History

You do not, under absolutely any circumstances, want to play 21.

Heroes Of Wrestling
Heroes of Wrestling

Even in the kindest possible parallel universe, Heroes Of Wrestling was never going to work.

It was a nostalgia show promoted at a time when there was zero appetite for the good old days; better, hotter, more vital days were here as the Monday Night Wars continued to rage. It was all but dead, but just seven days before the show aired, Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara had signed with WCW in what was considered a shrewd - even debilitating - move. If WCW couldn't sink any lower, it was thought that the man whose transformative vision for pro wrestling ushered in the boom was their only hope. They didn't have a Steve Austin, nor a f*cking functioning brain between them, but honest to God, bro, people thought he was the saviour.

The WWF, meanwhile, was on fire, with The Rock primed to take over from an injured Austin as the company's top face. ECW had waned and waned quite badly, but looking back on things, given how the emergence of AEW has thoroughly diminished the old, distant number two promotions, Paul Heyman did a remarkable job of holding on for as long as he did.

All of which is to state that a good Heroes Of Wrestling show - a fun overachiever - stood as much chance of becoming the series it was projected to be as Road Dogg does of successfully deworming his brain.

It wasn't a fun show. It did not over-achieve. It very narrowly beats out "an episode of WWE Monday Night RAW from three weeks ago" as the single-worst professional wrestling show ever promoted.

CONT'D...(1 of 6)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential 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 former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current 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!