What Really Happened: WCW's Big Bang PPV

26 March 2001 will be etched in wrestling history forever.

That day was also a beautiful one for Vince McMahon. He stood before a simulcast audience on both TNN and TNT with a smug smile; then, the WWF patriarch proudly announced to the watching world that he now owned his own competition. WCW was his - he held wrestling's future in his hands.

People were shocked, including Eric Bischoff. He'd been hoping to purchase that same World Championship Wrestling brand from Ted Turner, AOL and Time Warner as early as the summer of 2000. Not only that, but the man who'd once turned WCW into a Vince-beater was readying a whopping $67m package that'd secure the promotion's future.

The contrast between that deal and the paltry $2.5m McMahon paid for 24 talent contracts, the WCW name and a string of show names and company trademarks is stunning. Bischoff and company's scrapped approach was worth around 27 times more.

So, what the hell happened, and how did WCW go from preparing for a 'Big Bang' relaunch on pay-per-view in May (6 May, to be exact) to becoming part of McMahon's machine over on the WWF side instead? Also, what would that supershow have looked like? More late era WCW fare or a complete shift in direction?

Bischoff had a plan...

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