Vince Russo's 10 Biggest “What If” Moments In WWE History

8. What If There Was No AOL-Time Warner Merger?

Let me make no bones about it€”when Ed Ferrara and I jumped to WCW from the WWE, we were willing, ready and able to battle them HEAD ON! That was one of the reasons we made the jump€”the challenge was quite appealing. As I€™ve stated Ed and I had a plan in effect to totally tear down and re-build our foundation over the next 90 days€”minimum. Once the foundation was built, then we could start putting up the walls, ceils, drapes, etc. At the 13 week mark we had achieved our highest rating. Before we ever got to week 14, I was sitting at home because WCW was already looking for a €œchange in direction€. During that time, literally two weeks into our tenure€”the AOL-Time-Warner merger happened. That date signified the beginning of the end for WCW. The honchos at AOL had no desire to be in the wrestling business, and the ONLY thing that was saving WCW prior to the merge, were their ratings during the time they were drubbing the WWE. My honest opinion, if the merger never happened, and Ed and I were allowed to see our plan come to fruition, there is ZERO doubt in my mind that not only would WCW have gotten back in the game, but they would still be thriving to this very day!