"WCW" Word Championship Wrestling.

WCW was an American professional wrestling company that officially existed between 1988 and 2001. It was WWE's biggest direct competitor in the 1990s.

🔹 Origins (Before 1988)
WCW was born from Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), a company affiliated with the NWA.
In 1988, tycoon Ted Turner (CNN, TNT, TBS) bought JCP to secure wrestling content on his channels.
That's where World Championship Wrestling was officially created.

🔹 Early Era (1988–1993)
WCW remained closely linked to the NWA.
A more technical and sporting fight.
It was unable to seriously compete with WWF (now WWE).
Issues:
Maladministration
Constant changes in management
Lack of self-identity

🔹 The Big Boom – Monday Night Wars (1995–1999)
This is the best moment in WCW history 💥
In 1995, WCW launched Monday Nitro on TNT, competing directly with WWF's Monday Night Raw.
Eric Bischoff becomes the chief creative officer.
WCW steals big stars from WWF with better contracts.
⭐ The nWo (New World Order)
In 1996, WCW revolutionized professional wrestling:
Hulk Hogan becomes a villain
The nWo is created
WCW dominated the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks. This era changed the history of wrestling forever.

🔹 Decline and fall (1999–2001)
Poorly written stories
Too much power for certain fighters
Extremely expensive contracts
Misuse of young talent
In 2001:
AOL-Time Warner decides to sell WCW
Vince McMahon (WWE) buys WCW
WCW officially closes on March 26, 2001
🪦 End of an era.

🏆 Important Championships
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
WCW United States Championship
WCW World Tag Team Championship
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
WCW Television Championship

📅 WCW Annual PPV Calendar (month by month):

🟣 January
Souled Out (1997–1999)

Without (2001 – WCW's last PPV)
🔵 February
SuperBrawl (1991–2001)
👉 One of WCW's most stable PPVs

🟢 March
Uncensored (1995–2000)
(PPV of extreme fights and no disqualification)

🟡 April
Spring Stampede (1994–2000)

🟠 May
Slamboree (1993–2000)

🔴 June
The Great American Bash (almost always in June)

🟤 Julio
Bash at the Beach (1993–2000)

• August
Road Wild/Hog Wild (1996–1999)
New Blood Rising (2000)

🟣 September
Fall Brawl (1988–2000)
👉 Famous for WarGames

🟢 October
Halloween Havoc (1989–2000)

🔵 November
Mayhem (1999–2000)
World War 3 (1995–1998)

⭐ December
Starrcade (the most important event of the year).

⭐ Legends and main figures
Hulk Hogan
Ric Flair
Sting
Lex Luger
Diamond Dallas Page (DDP)
Goldberg
Randy Savage
Kevin Nash
Scott Hall
Booker T
Scott Steiner
Sid Vicious
The Giant (Big Show)

🔥 The nWo
Hulk Hogan
Kevin Nash
Scott Hall
Syxx (X-Pac)
Scott Steiner
Buff Bagwell
Konnan
Eric Bischoff

💪 Hardcore / Midcard Fighters
Raven
Bam Bam Bigelow
Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect)
Meng
The Barbarian
Fit Finlay
Arn Anderson
Barry Windham

🚀 Cruiserweights (aerial combat – very important in WCW)
WCW pioneered this division:
Rey Mysterio Jr.
Eddie Guerrero
Chris Jericho
Dean Malenko
Warrior Youth
Psychosis
Last Dragon
The Parka
Chavo Guerrero Jr.

📄 What were contracts like in WCW?

🔹 1. Guaranteed contracts 💰
WCW offered something very rare for the time:
👉 Guaranteed salary, whether you fight or not.
In WWF/WWE, most people were paid per appearance.
In WCW they were paid monthly, even if they didn't appear on TV
📌 Result:
The wrestlers preferred WCW
But many didn't make the effort because they were paid the same.

2. Long-term contracts ⏳:
   They lasted between 3 and 5 years
   Some reached 6 or more
   They couldn't be broken easily.
   📌 If WCW didn't use you: 👉 they still had to pay you

🔹 3. Creative control ✍️
The big stars had creative control, meaning:

They could reject defeats
They could refuse to lose championships
They decided how and against whom they fought
💣 This was lethal for WCW.
Famous example:
Hulk Hogan refused to lose cleanly against Sting
Kevin Nash and Scott Hall decided the finals

🔹 4. “Most Favored” (MFN) Clause 📑:

If WCW improved someone's contract…
👉 They automatically improved it for others
This caused wages to skyrocket.

🔹 5. Few work dates 📆:

In WWF: 250–300 shows per year
In WCW: 120–160 shows
💡 More rest, same or more money.
🔹 6. Bonuses and extras 🎁
Some contracts included:
PPV Bonds
For merchandising sales
Based on ratings
But only the biggest stars had them.

💸 Approximate salaries (1990s):

⚠️ These are estimated, unofficial figures.
Hulk Hogan: $2–3 million USD per year
Kevin Nash / Scott Hall: 700k – 1 million
Randy Savage: +1 million
Goldberg: 1 million (at its peak)
Midcard: 150k – 300k
Cruises: 60k – 150k 😔

❌ Problems caused by these contracts:

WCW spent much more than it earned
They couldn't fire anyone
Old stars blocked young talent
Stories without clear endings
Millions in losses every year.

In WCW there were three levels of “bosses”:
Owners / Executives
Presidents and executives
Creative heads (booking and storytelling)
👑 1. Owners and top authorities
🔹 Ted Turner (1988–2001)
Actual founder of WCW
Owner of Turner Broadcasting (TNT, TBS, CNN)
He bought Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988
📌 Important:
I didn't handle the day-to-day
It allowed you to spend a lot of money
He loved wrestling and protected it.
👉 Without Ted Turner, WCW would never have existed.
🔹 AOL – Time Warner (2000–2001)
New owner company after the merger
They didn't want wrestling
They viewed WCW as a useless expense.
⚰️ They were the ones who approved the sale to WWE.
🧑‍💼 2. WCW Presidents and Executives
🔹 Jim Herd (1989–1992)
One of the worst bosses in history
❌ Problems:
I knew nothing about wrestling
He fought with Ric Flair
Absurd ideas (I wanted to change classic characters)
👉 WCW almost died at this stage.

🔹 Bill Watts (1992–1993)
Former wrestler and promoter
He tried to make WCW more “realistic”
✔️ Good things:
Discipline
Clear rules
❌ Bad things:
Too rigid
Conflicts with wrestlers
🔹 Eric Bischoff (1994–2000)
⭐ The most important boss in WCW
Executive Vice President
The public face of WCW's success
Creator of Monday Nitro
Promoter of the nWo
✔️ Achievements:
It beat WWF in the ratings
He modernized the product
He opted for international fighters
❌ Errors:
Too much power to Hogan and the nWo
Impossible contracts
Poor handling of the WCW ending
✍️ 3. Creative managers (bookers)
🔹 Dusty Rhodes
Multi-stage booking
Classic, emotional style
🔹 Kevin Sullivan
Booker, a key player in the 90s
He helped create the nWo (initial idea)
🔹 Vince Russo (1999–2001)
💣 Very controversial
I came from WWF
I wanted shock, chaos, and constant twists.
❌ Problems:
Nonsensical stories
Too many titles
Damage to the prestige of the world championship
👉 For many, it accelerated the fall of WCW.

🧠 4. The “shadow bosses” 😈
Although they were not official leaders, they wielded considerable power:
Hulk Hogan
Kevin Nash
Scott Hall
📌 They had:
Creative control
Influence on decisions
Power to block fighters
This broke WCW's real authority.
🪦 Last boss of WCW
🔹 Jamie Kellner (Time Warner)
Television executive
WCW was cancelled by TNT and TBS
Without TV, WCW was dead.
👉 After that: 💼 Vince McMahon buys WCW (2001).