The Untold Truth About WCW Champion David Arquette

by Michael Hamflett
David Arquette Ddp
WWE.com

As noted, the actor didn't want to take this part.

He didn't want to sully the legacy created by Ric Flair, Harley Race and even Hulk Hogan. He didn't want to be the mug mark trying to clear competing with his wife Courtney Cox as she questioned his sanity in a largely-forgotten Nitro segment that also featured Kurt Russell. He didn't even want to take the money he was handsomely paid for it.

A wrestling fan to the core, Arquette generously gave his WCW wages to the families of Owen Hart, Brian Pillman and Darren Drozdov. Diamond Dallas Page's ardent defence of him years later remains powerful viewing because of the powerful sentiment. WCW management were making a huge, huge error, against the best advice of the people directly involved with it, but made it all the same.

A brief history of the World Title's journey either side of Arquette's reign can contextualise and conclude this bizarre period in its troubled tenure. Dangerous Dave defeated Eric Bischoff to win his friend DDP's title. DDP had toppled Jeff Jarrett a day before. Jarrett and won the (vacant) title a week earlier. Arquette's one pay-per-view match (a 'Ready To Rumble' Triple Cage encounter that finally, in name only, got to the f*cking point of his participation in the first place) saw him turn heel on Page to gift the title to...Jeff Jarrett. So did it need to even happen in the first place?

In their desperate quest for notoriety and news that month, WCW simply forgot to ask the question. They always did, until the entire wrestling world simply stopped going to them for answers.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett