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dalekofchaos · 4 months ago

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Fantasy Booking:WCW never goes out of business

In March of 2001, AOL TimeWarner sold off WCW and all it's trademarks, championships, many of it's wrestlers and their entire tape library to the World Wrestling Federation. This happened, because on top of WCW's declining ratings in the Monday Night Wars (thank you SO much Vince Russo), AOL had no interest in airing wrestling on TNT anymore.

So now, we explore an alternate timeline of events, where Eric Bischoff and Fusient Media, beat the WWF in purchasing WCW from AOL TimeWarner in spring of 2001.

So now, Bischoff has basically paid out of pocket to keep WCW out of the hands of the uncaring WWF and it's monster of a CEO. So, what now? Well, WCW would most likely be nearly broke at this point, and would have very little money left to spend. Many lower-card wrestlers would likely get benched, and weekly shows would ALL get cancelled. This includes: Nitro and Thunder!

WCW would be forced to do what TNA did initially in our timeline: do PPV's ONLY, until they could find a new channel to air their weekly programming. Now, it just so happens, that later that same year, the WWF's flagship show: Monday Night Raw, would leave it's traditional home: the USA Network, to begin a four year stint on Spike TV. The USA Network experienced a HUGE loss with this change, and that's where WCW would step in. WCW even in it's worst days, were getting higher weekly ratings than TNA did in it's PRIME. So, needless to say, a now wrestling deprived USA Network, would pick up Nitro and the Monday Night Wars would be BACK ON.

Throughout all of this, Scott Steiner and Booker T, would likely remain on top of the mountain in WCW. Due to many wrestlers getting released, the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team titles would likely be retired, as would the Hardcore title. With Nitro's re-airing, WCW bring back the Television championship, which is put on the line in a tournament which is won either by a creatively deprived mid-carder (Billy Kidman), or a promising rookie (AJ Styles).

Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would most likely NOT return to this new WCW. Instead, like many other wrestlers, they would sit at home and let their AOL TimeWarner contracts expire and would most likely join the WWF in early 2002 like they did IRL. Sting on the other hand, I could imagine returning to weekly programming, along with Diamond Dallas Page. DDP was willing to join the WWF IMMEDIATELY after WCW's cancellation IRL, so I think he'd come back to WCW instead of waiting it out. As for Sting, WCW was his home and he refused to join the WWF for many years. I think his loyalty would shine through, and he'd return as well.

Rey Mysterio Jr would wait out his contract like IRL and would get offers from both WWF and WCW. He'd agree to return to WCW, only if they gave him his mask back. Whether Bischoff agrees is up to him and him alone. Hopefully he lets him have it back.

AJ Styles, at least I HOPE, would remain employed by WCW. I think at this point in his career, Styles wouldn't dare leave a company like WCW, that could really help him get a foot in the door. His tag partner, Air Paris, would most likely be released. I think anyone could see Styles potential even this early on, and he'd be worth keeping in the long run. Hopefully, Bischoff would agree with me on that.

WCW's ratings would DEFINTELY increase throughout the 2000's. They'd actually be able to compete with WWE in my opinion, both because fans started losing interest in WWE frequently throughout the decade, and WCW has a LOT more legitimacy as a company than TNA did. TNA lost the second Monday Night War so definitively, because people couldn't take them seriously. WCW with it's rich history, is a very different story.

Now, when considering WCW in the long run, we have to sit back and ask ourselves, what wrestlers would NEVER join WCW? Well, here's a list of wrestlers I think wouldn't be on the table for WCW:

The Undertaker - Similar to Sting with WCW, Taker is a WWF man through and through. There's no WAY he would ever jump ship.

Kane - Same reason as the Undertaker.

Stone Cold Steve Austin - Austin would hold a grudge against Eric Bischoff for his unjust firing in 1995 while he was out with injury. Even when he walked out on the WWF in 2002, Austin wouldn't be caught dead on WCW programming.

The Rock - Rock's loyalty to the WWF would remain intact. The WWF made him a star, and he wouldn't forget that. Plus, WWF would finance his early films like IRL, making him a WWF-lifer.

Eddie Guerrero - Guerrero hated the way he was treated in WCW, hence why he left them in 2000. Would be unlikely to ever return, even when WWF briefly fired him.

Chris Benoit - Benoit also left WCW in a huff in 2000 for the same reasons as Eddie. Even being crowned WCW World champion, wasn't enough to keep Benoit around, so I see no reason why he'd budge.

Randy Orton - Bob Orton Jr never went to WCW during the Monday Night Wars, and I couldn't imagine him doing so in the early 2000's either. So therefore, his son Randy, would only get his wrestling career opportunity in WWE.

Batista - Had previously been rejected from the WCW Powerplant, and was told he would never make it in the business. Batista would NEVER forget that, and wouldn't think twice about joining and staying with the WWE instead.

Daniel Bryan - William Regal and Shawn Michaels trained him to wrestle. He would of course want to join them in WWE.

The Miz - WCW wouldn't even let him in the door, let's be honest.

I'm sure there's plenty of other people I'm missing, but for now let's go with this.

Now, I do believe WCW would operate somewhat like TNA did in its early years. Apart from the PPV-exclusive format WCW would operate with throughout most of 2001, it would also likely feature a lot of the same wrestlers. However, it's also important to note, that TNA would NEVER exist in this timeline. Jeff Jarrett formed it because WCW shut down and he knew WWF wouldn't want him after what he pulled in 1999. So, he formed TNA, so he'd have a non-WWF promotion to call home. In this timeline, WCW never closes, so Jarrett remains in WCW and TNA is never formed.

In 2004, Brock Lesnar would be picked up by WCW. Brock left WWE IRL in 2004, because they're schedule was too much for Brock to handle. WCW prided itself in it's lighter schedule, and Brock would be the biggest free agent in wrestling. Lesnar would agree, on the condition that he be given extended periods of inactivity in order to pursue the NFL (and later UFC), which WCW would agree to do. Anything to get Lesnar. In fact, I'd bet that many UFC fighters would join WCW. Eric Bischoff has a real appreciation for MMA and other contact sports, and we'd likely see a lot of UFC/WCW cross-promotions.

WCW throughout the 2000's, would also likely hire all the big indie stars not signed by the WWE. CM Punk is a definite in my opinion. Although, I could also imagine Punk joining WWE instead, since Paul Heyman was the one who vouched for him, and Heyman was in WWE, NOT WCW. However, if WCW values wrestling (which it normally did), then WCW would come knocking on Punk's door.

Samoa Joe would be a definite yes for WCW. I'm honestly surprised Joe ever went to WWE, considering how rude Jim Ross apparently was to him early in his indie career. With no TNA, Joe would go to WCW and would quickly rise to the main event.

Kurt Angle would likely join WCW in 2006, after leaving the WWE like he did IRL. He'd be a MAJOR signing for WCW, and would definitely help further boost ratings.

Other people I could imagine joining WCW throughout the years include:

Bobby Lashley

Drew McIntyre

Seth Rollins

Jon Moxley

Lance Archer

Big Show

AJ Lee

Charlotte Flair

Gail Kim

Awesome Kong

Cesaro

Jay Lethal

Richie Steamboat

Again, I'm sure I've missed a lot of people, but these ones all stick out to me personally.

Some effects WCW's presence would have on WWE, include the fact that Evolution would never be formed (at least not in the same way). There's a VERY real chance that Triple H and Shawn Michaels could both have joined WCW, if Hall and Nash had decided to stay in WCW. If not, then Ric Flair definitely would've stayed in WCW, and Evolution might not have happened at all.

Another thing is that John Cena might never have become a big deal. WWE came very close to firing Cena, and there's a chance that because of the butterfly effect, Stephanie McMahon never discovers his rapping ability, and Cena is fired. If that's the case, Cena probably wouldn't have gone to WCW, since they wouldn't see much value in a kid who at the time, had no visible charisma and was fairly average in the ring.

Cody Rhodes also never would've joined WWE or formed AEW. Dusty Rhodes and Goldust would've stayed in WCW instead of joining the WWF, and thus Cody would be trained in the WCW Powerplant and debuted on Nitro in 2007. Cody would be treated a LOT better than IRL, and would've become one of WCW's biggest players of the 2010's. No mistreatment by WWE, means no Stardust, no American Nightmare, no AEW, and no run in WWE period. Cody would be WCW-bound for life.

The Hardy Boyz would also be WCW-bound. Jeff was fired from WWE in 2003 after refusing to go to rehab. He'd be a hot free agent that WCW couldn't possibly pass up. Matt would join him in 2005, when WWE fires him for his online post about Edge and Lita's affair.

Ring of Honor would still exist, but probably wouldn't rise to prominence like IRL, since ROH became popular because of WCW's demise. When WCW shut down, people yearned for an alternative to WWE. But now, WCW is still around and thus ROH is a lot more obscure. If WCW got to a point of getting rich again, I could imagine them buying it out like Tony Khan did IRL. The wealth of talent ROH could provide WCW with would be INSANE.

Now, if CM Punk DID join WCW, then he never would've retired in 2014. He would be likely treated a little better, get no staph infection, and would remain active throughout the entirety of the 2010's. He'd probably never marry AJ Lee sadly, although I could imagine Lee going to WCW, since WWE's women's division was AWFUL for a long time. Then again WCW's wasn't that much better honestly, though hopefully that would change in this timeline.

The nWo would absolutely be revived at some point, with new members. CM Punk would be a FANTASTIC nWo leader.

The WWE as a whole, would probably be a better overall product. Vince wouldn't get an inflated ego from purchasing both ECW and WCW, and would still operate like he did in the Attitude Era. WWE would still lose viewers after the deaths of Eddie and Benoit. WWE would still go PG and despite the ongoing Monday Night Wars, Vince McMahon CLEARLY has mental health problems in real life, so it wouldn't stop him from micromanaging. WWE would remain out of touch with it's fans and continue pushing wrestlers that fans don't like. With Edge, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Undertaker and Batista all leaving WWE in 2010 and 11, plus with Cena possibly never becoming a main eventer, WWE suffers a LOT in the early 2010's, helping WCW gain even more fan support with better promos and matches.

WCW would form a working partnership with NJPW, which would really help them even more, since it would get them wrestlers like Kenny Omega, Shinsuke Nakamura, Jushin Liger, Jay White and Kazuchika Okada to perform on Nitro. Just IMAGINE THAT.

By today, WCW would be more popular than WWE and AEW in our timeline. It would get millions of viewers a week, and WWE would likely become a shell of it's former self. The wrestling landscape is a lot healthier, with viewers and performers having a different place to watch/wrestle, that was actually on WWE's level. TNA suffered because it was a lesser promotion, with a short history, and a roster of WWE's leftovers. Plus it was run by Vince Russo and Dixie Carter. Ugh.

WCW surviving would've been the best thing possible for wrestling as a whole. We can blame Vince McMahon, for yet another thing he robbed the world of. Thank you so so much Vince. We REALLY appreciate it.

The current champions for WCW are as follows:

WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Cody Rhodes

WCW United States Champion: Seth Rollins

WCW Women’s Champion: Charlotte Flair

WCW World Television Champion: AJ Styles

WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Adam Cole

WCW World Tag Team Champions: FTR