What if Bret Hart went to WCW in 1991?

The year is 1991, the Hart Foundation loses the WWF World Tag Team Title to the Nasty Boys at Wrestlemania VII. Bret goes on to win the IC Title from Curt Hennig at Summerslam. I wonder, though, what would have happened if he had gone to WCW at this point, right after WMVII? Whereas it was shocking to some that he eventually got the WWF World Title, due to him being considered small, in WCW a man of similar stature was doing just fine; Sting.

Here's my take on how this could have worked out:

August 1991 - defeats Steve Austin in tourney final to win WCW U.S. Heavyweight Title. This establishes him as a singles wrestler and a contender for other belts. Loses it to Rick Rude, a few months later.

Early 1992 - feuds with the Dangerous Alliance. Defeats Steve Austin for the WCW World TV Title in April. Quickly becomes one of the top stars in the company. Classic matches with Arn Anderson.

August 1992 - vacates the TV Title for a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Title. Loses first match, then goes on to defeat Big Van Vader to win the WCW World Title.

December 1992 - loses the title back to Vader, despite an impressive showing.

May 1993 - regains the WCW World Title from Vader. Turns heel shortly thereafter and feuds with Ricky Steamboat and Sting. Forms a stable with Austin and Pillman.

December 1993 - defeats Ric Flair, one-on-one, then loses the World Title to Flair at Starrcade.

March 1994 - wins WCW International Heavyweight Title, from Hiroshi Hase, in Japan and loses it to Flair in a unification match a couple months later.

July 1994 - returns to WWF...

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I think he could have been a big deal, in WCW, in the early 90s. Pure wrestlers were more appreciated in WCW, and size wasn't nearly as important. Add your comments or just book it your own way. I think this would have been very interesting...

Hart almost went to WCW in 1991 when Jim Herd was in charge. In the era that Herd was firing Ric Flair...they tried pretty hard to steal WWF mid-to-upper midcarders like Bret Hart, The Rockers (...and supposedly, Janetty gave Vince his notice that they were leaving for WCW, Shawn Michaels balked last second...and that's one of the main reasons Vince broke them up), Curt Hennig, and Ted DiBiase.

Those were the days when Vince worked essentially on handshake contracts, guaranteed very little money (with huge upside as you moved up the card), but you could jump to WCW and be on their TV in a few weeks...and WCW was paying guys like Luger & Sting $700,000 a year, even though their TV ratings and house show gates were in the crapper.

From 1990 all the way to 1997 or whenever Curt Hennig actually left WWF, he was almost seasonally reported to be close to jumping to WCW when he wasn't injured. And right after Herd fired Flair in 1991, WCW offered Randy Savage a guaranteed contract of like $750,000 or something to jump and be the top star...that was in one of Meltzer's latest archived 1991 Observers.

Bret Hart would've been high on the card in 1991 in WCW. At the time, he & Hennig were two guys who everyone thought would be the stars of the 1990s. If you think Hart wouldn't have been a main eventer during that time in WCW...remember that The British Bulldog was. Davey Boy Smith was good in his prime, but Bret Hart was heads above.

Plus, it would've been neat to see Hart, Hennig, and The Rockers work in WCW with guys like Sting, Vader, Luger, Steamboat, Pillman, Rude, Steve Austin, Windham, Gordy & Dr. Death, and The Steiners during their athletic primes in 1991-93-ish WCW....WCW was SO far behind the WWF juggernaut in those days, but they usually had really cool matches, and Bret Hart obviously would've excelled in that environment.

Credibility

Tonight, I wish to comment on something that seems quite common among internet smarks. It seems to be commonplace to question the validity of certain sources when there is a disagreement. The problem is that when the topic of conversation is wrestling, rarely are the wrestlers, themselves, seen as credible. Somehow, smart marks have gotten it into their heads that they know more about the business, especially behind the scenes, than the people that are actually involved.

Whether it be an outspoken wrestler, such as Shane Douglas, or one of the many wrestlers that have actually written books (Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart, etc.) this evidence is usually treated as completely meaningless when compared to some teenaged fan that, more than likely, just started watching wrestling three or four years ago. Somehow, it's acceptable to completely disregard anything that a wrestler says or writes because, magically, the fans know better than the people that were there and lived it.

For example, if Bret Hart or Raven says something happened a certain way, until someone else can offer proof to the contrary, take it for what it's worth and don't try to second guess these people just because you have these preconceived notions based off of unreliable sources.

Let's call a spade a spade, here. Most are nothing more than internet marks, usually, not as smart as they like to think they are. What it comes down to is that there will never be a time when a pimply-faced fifteen year old mark is more of an authority on the subject of wrestling than the wrestlers, themselves. Period. I've been watching since the early 80s, and I still wouldn't dare to say that "The Franchise" is full of it and that I know his actions and motivations better than he does. It's asinine. So, just as a reminder: it doesn't matter how many newsletters you've read, you will never be an expert when compared to the people living it. That goes for so-called wrestling journalists, as well.

Scott Steiner's Reign of Terror

In the autumn and winter months of 2000/2001, in WCW, there was nothing finer than Scott Steiner. "Big Poppa Pump" steamrolled his way through the competition and earned a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Title. At Halloween Havoc, he brutalized Booker T so badly that he got himself disqualified. However, a few weeks later at Mayhem, he destroyed the paper champ, in a steel cage, to claim his first World Title. Steiner then went on a path of rage that would make Taz proud. He defended his title against all of the top stars in WCW, destroying them in the process. By early 2001, Steiner was joined by a group of hangers-on called the Magnificent 7. After each PPV, following the total destruction of another of his challengers, the stable would have a small in-ring funeral for the fallen adversary. One by one, all of WCW's big names fell to the man with the largest arms in the world. Sting, Goldberg, Sid Vicious, Kevin Nash, Booker T and DDP all felt the wrath of Scott Steiner.

Say what you will about latter-day WCW. During much of 1999 and all of 2000, the company was going down the proverbial tubes. In particular, the World Title was treated like a toy, being passed off every other week or put on people that had no business being near it (Booker T, David Arquette, Jeff Jarrett, etc.). However, they did do something right. Though it was later than it should have been, they finally gave Scott Steiner the chance to run with the ball and they booked him very well. So rarely do we get a dominant heel champion. Usually, even a dominant wrestler has to change his ways upon becoming a heel. Nevertheless, "Big Poppa Pump" conquered everything in his path, during WCW's dying days.

Sadly, he'd never be booked in such a manner again. However, he does have the honour of being the last true WCW World Heavyweight Champion, before the company was purchased by Vince McMahon. He did have to job the belt off on the final Nitro, but this was because his contract wasn't being picked up and they needed the belt on someone that was going to be working for them. He's not nearly the wrestler he once was, back in the days when he and his brother, Rick, dominated the tag team scene from WCW to WWF to Japan. Still, it would be nice to see him get one last World Title run, possibly in TNA. It's not like he's inferior to the majority of TNA's champions...

Wrestling's 'drop the ball' moments

There have been many times, over the years, that various wrestling promotions dropped the ball with an angle or a particular wrestler. Here, I'll mention some of them and give my take (which will likely include some fantasy booking).

The Four Horsemen in 1995/96.

In late 1995, the Horsemen were reformed, once again, with Flair, Anderson, Pillman and Chris Benoit. They did alright, as Flair won the World Title from Randy Savage, a couple times. However, the feud with the Dungeon of Doom just seemed lame and pointless. Once Pillman left WCW, they had a chance to bring in someone that would have fit in, perfectly; Dean Malenko. He'd already been teaming with Benoit in ECW and when they arrived in WCW. He had the mentality and the reputation to blend in (which he did, in 1998). Benoit and Malenko could have been World Tag Team Champions in early 1996, bringing more gold to the Horsemen. They worked very well together and, later on, Malenko's Cruiserweight Title reigns could have meant more success for the Horsemen. Instead, they chose an ex-football player, Steve McMichael. This guy sucked, in every possible way. Malenko was the natural choice. Furthermore, the Horsemen had until Bash at the Beach and the birth of the nWo to be the top heels in the company. Had they been built up more, earlier in the year, they might have seemed like more of a threat when time came to defend WCW. By late 1998, when they brought the Horsemen back (with Malenko), they still didn't get behind them the way that they should have. Flair was in charge of things and had the World Title, yet his own stablemates were treating like garbage so he could align himself with...DDP? WCW dropped the ball with the Four Horsemen, like many times before.

Hogan v. Sting, Starrcade 1997.

This was, possibly, the most highly anticipated match in WCW history. Bischoff did very well with this, as the angle built up for a year and a half. This should have been the moment for WCW to, finally, get a big win against the nWo. However, this was ruined long before Starrcade happened. Hogan's title loss to Lex Luger took a lot of steam out of this, as Luger became the man to draw first blood against the nWo, and he did so in a rather meaningless fashion, dropping the belt back a short time later. As for the Hogan-Sting match, itself, this was the beginning of the end for WCW. Instead of Sting getting the big win over Hogan, he was pinned cleanly. To make matters worse, Bret Hart then demands that the match be restarted, more or less, screwing Hogan out of the title. I think, without the Hart element, they wouldn't have even attempted to claim a fast count for Hogan and things would have gone as they should have. People cite the Fingerpoke of Doom as the moment when the WCW World Title became meaningless, but I think it lost a lot of credibility as a result of Starrcade 1997. This leads into my next issue...

Bret Hart in WCW.

After the infamous Montreal Screwjob, "The Hitman" was hotter than ever. What better way to introduce him to WCW fans than by making him a guest referee. They did practically nothing with him, finally giving him the World Title after he'd been there for two years. Bret Hart should have been exploited as the hot commodity that he was. They were certainly paying enough for him. He should have come in and led the charge against the nWo (knowing that there was no chance he'd be able to just do his own thing on the side). They could have worked an angle, through most of 1998, where "The Hitman" pursued Hogan and then, finally, got his chance and took him out. This would have been the big blow needed to cripple the nWo and pave the way for something new. Instead, he was turned from face to heel and back, way too much. While Goldberg (a rookie) got a massive push and a World Title run, Hart was doing well to even keep the U.S. Title. It's not as if he was washed up or had been gone for a while. He left WWF as the champion, as far as most are concerned. They didn't need to build him up because the whole wrestling world was talking about him, already. Bischoff and Co. truly failed on this one.

After Sting beat Hogan, WCW should've immediately had Bret Hart challenge Sting for the World Title. This would've been (just like with Flair and Hogan back in 1991-1992) a perfect opportunity to promote a WCW Champion v. WWF Champion (since it could be argued that Bret never actually lost the title to Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series) match down the road. However, WCW screwing up Hogan v. Sting was the beginning of the end for WCW. They had the WWF in position to drop the final nail but, they never really recovered after 16 months of building him up as the guy, only to have him not win clean against Hogan. Adding on top of this, Bret should have came in and immediatly been a WCW tradition guy and been the catalyst in the death of the nWo. The money that WCW blew by not only not having Sting beat Hogan clean.....but never even having a Hart/Hogan feud, let alone a match on a PPV is completely ricockulous.

Mike Awesome defects to WCW.

With all the controversy surrounding Awesome, WCW could have capitalized and really pushed him. The WCW World Title was already being tossed around to anyone with a heartbeat, so it's not like they had big plans for it. They wasted so much time pushing Booker T as the poor man's Rock, yet blew a chance to push Awesome to the moon.

Raven in TNA.

In early 2003, Raven left WWE and joined TNA. In many ways, he seemed to really put them on the map. I know several people that only began watching TNA because Raven joined and they were waiting for him to get the NWA World Title. He was red hot and it seemed that, during 2003, his career was resurrected. Things had been winding down for him, since his second stint in ECW, yet it felt as if he'd been 'reborn' upon gaining his freedom from Stamford. He was insanely over with the crowd. I was in the building, one night, as he challenged AJ Styles for the title, and the whole building was ready to explode just as soon as he won the match. The support for Raven was deafening and there was a wave of disappointment as he was screwed over.

In 2005, when TNA no longer even had a TV show, then they put the title on Raven. There was no real build to it, other than the fact that he'd been talking about it for two years. It seemed that TNA did that for the sole purpose of keeping fans interested while they were off the air, since it was common knowledge that Raven had a huge fanbase online and would go the extra mile to keep up with things. Once they got a TV deal again, they screwed him out of the belt and put it back on Jarrett. Due to his deteriorating health, Raven wasn't anywhere near the title after that and has since left TNA. What a waste.

The Lex Express

Lex Luger received a massive face push, in the summer of 1993. He was the first man to bodyslam Yokozuna and secured a WWF Title shot at Summerslam. For some reason, WWF failed to really get behind his push and gave him a lame count out victory, at the PPV. It was from this point on that Luger was considered damaged goods. WWF dropped the ball by not putting the belt on Luger, at Summerslam 1993, and they did a lot of damage to his career as well. Certainly, he was no Hulk Hogan. He'd already come off as a poor man's Hogan, in WCW. But once things got moving, they should have gone with it. It would have been quite easy to turn him heel and have him work a feud with Bret Hart. Anyone that saw Luger's WCW World Title reign, back in 91-92, already knew he'd make a decent heel. He could have even, blatantly, come out and said that the whole red, white and blue thing was just an act to get the title shot. A child could have written a decent storyline for him. After promoting the hell out of him, especially with the Lex Express Tour, they dropped the ball by not capitalizing on it.

Vader in WWF.

Vader dominated WCW, in the early 90s. At one point, he held titles in Europe, Japan and North America. He was the epitome of monster heel. When he arrived in WWF, most people expected big things. He lost a bit of steam, in WCW, since Hogan totally no-sold his devastating powerbomb. Still, WWF could have easily re-established him as an unstoppable monster. Instead, he debuts by attacking Gorilla Monsoon and gets suspended. Then they waste time putting him in matches with Yokozuna, when he should have been taking out people like Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and Bret Hart. HBK should have dropped the WWF Title to Vader, without a doubt. A Vader-Hart feud, after that, would have been epic. He still had several good years left in him, yet they jobbed him out and neutered him. Major 'drop the ball" moment for WWF.

There are many more examples, but this is enough for now.

The brilliance of Sabu

There seems to be a very misinformed consensus, among internet wrestling fans, that Sabu was the king of botches. Somehow, his reputation is that of a sloppy wrestler. This is most unfortunate, as this certainly isn't the legacy that he should leave behind. More importantly, it's completely false.

It seems very obvious to me, so I can't fathom how others can't see this. 90% of his so-called botches were done on purpose. Let me ask you this, dear reader; If Sabu is performing so many reckless moves, what would be the best way for his opponent to turn the tide and get in some offense? It would be for Sabu to 'botch' a move so that his opponent could take advantage of the 'mistake'. Much like a wrestler such as Chris Jericho, for example, might plan a spot where he goes for the Lionsault and misses, thus allowing his opponent to take control, Sabu did the same thing. Except for, in Sabu's case, it worked better to have him 'slip up' and give his opponent an opening. Since so much of his offense was so high-risk and extreme anyway, it was very believable that these were genuine mistakes and it made the match seem more realistic. It was so good that internet smarks are still buying into this illusion, years later.

Athletes like Sabu and RVD have very unorthodox styles that are as unique as they are risky. Yes, while attempting something rather insane (that 95% of other wrestlers could never even dream of pulling off) they might make a mistake; i.e. Sabu overshooting his target and moonsaulting from the ring to the guard rail, ribcage first. But the majority of the time, those 'slips' were planned as a way to allow the opponent the chance to take control. It wasn't incompetence, it was brilliance. You Johnny-come-lately smarks should learn to either respect Sabu (and ECW) a bit more, or refrain from these ignorant discussions altogether.

WWE Divas

This is not going to be a very politically correct article, so if you are easily offended it is best that you cease reading this, now. This is actually less of an article and more of an open letter to women in pro wrestling.

You are all a bunch of worthless whores. No, I'm not a misogynist. Back in the mid-90s, the eye candy was a little more rare and there was, usually, some reason behind its presence. In ECW, we had Beulah McGillicutty, Woman, Francine, Kimona and so on. I'm talking about the classic era, from 94-96. In WWF, there was Sunny and, later on, Sable. All of these women acted as managers, valets or girlfriends to the wrestlers. They served a purpose. They were eye candy, but they also interfered in matches or provided motivation for two men to fight. By 96, the wrestling promotions learned to exploit these women, doing photo shoots in their magazines and so on. This was fine, as the internet hadn't exloded yet and a lot of adolescent males had no other way of seeing photos of hot girls. The important thing was that TV time wasn't wasted on it.

By the late 90s, this had changed. Sadly, things have remained this way for a decade. Over the years, women have been given much more TV time, usually for no purpose. Rarely are they managers, valets or girlfriends. Sometimes, they pretend to wrestle, though 90% are terrible. Often, they have no purpose at all. They perform useless skits or have dance/bikini/nightgown contests that are bereft of any substance. It has nothing to do with pro wrestling. WWE has made the problem worse with the idiotic Diva Search, as if we need to waste more time on choosing among these talentless hookers. These stupid bitches possess little or no knowledge of the business and rarely do any of them have even the slightest bit of passion for it. At best, they're just there to keep the 14 year old, acne-ravaged losers drooling and hoping for a nipple slip. This really isn't necessary, as my next point arises.

I am not a very modern person, but even I have to remind these whores that it's 2009. The internet is overflowing with pornography. Teenage boys (or just loser assholes) don't need to waste time looking at scantily-clad twats on TV when they can see a wide variety of tits and asses with a few keystrokes. Of course, then they'll begin stroking something else. And right there; that's your only use. All of you silly cunts are on TV for one reason and one reason only: you're nothing but eye candy. You're there so sexually frustrated teens can jerk off to your photo shoots or your dumbass bra and panty matches. Every single one of you is the same as the next. All interchangeable, faceless cunts. It's your ass and your titties that these fellows want to see. No one gives a fuck what you have to say or about the lame ass matches you struggle through. Naturally, WWE is not about to stop wasting time on these tramps any time soon. While it would be nice to relegate these sluts to positions as valets and so on, it's not going to happen.

Let's just end the fucking charade. Parade the stupid cunts down there, in between the matches, to flash their tits and bend over and show their asses to all the guys so they can run to the bathroom and blow a wad all over the wallpaper, before the next match. Forego the nonsensical 'wrestling matches', the comedy skits and all the other dumb shit you fucking waste our time with and just expose this for what it is. Or better yet, go ahead and just kill yourselves. No one would fucking notice.