The full experience of wrestling games

[Reprise]

I honestly thought WCW was dreadful as a product when compared to WWF. The wrestlers themselves I respected a lot (which is why I was so annoyed at WWF ruining the Invasion and jobbing stars like Booker T and DDP, who I loved), but they just pushed the oldies way too much. When WCW was on top and beating WWF in the ratings, it was arguably better for a while, but I didn't really like either much in that period.

But as I said, they had great wrestlers. The cruiserweights were awesome in particular (WWF's light-heavyweight division in comparison was a joke).

Anyways, I don't want to get into the old school argument of WCW vs WWF. It was just my honest opinion at the time. Both products had times of being lame and good, I just found WWF overall better.

As for the Revenge game, I loved it as a kid. It had one of the best lineups of wrestlers ever.

[Menegrothx]

WWF had better main events even back when WCW was kicking their ass in ratings in 1997 (Bret Hart, HBK, Undertaker, Austin, Mick Foley), but WCW had the better undercard thanks to the cruiserweights. By 2000 it was no contest though, and it was arguably the best year that WWF/WWE ever had.

[Reprise]

WWF had better main events even back when WCW was kicking their ass in ratings in 1997 (Bret Hart, HBK, Undertaker, Austin, Mick Foley), but WCW had the better undercard thanks to the cruiserweights. By 2000 it was no contest though, and it was arguably the best year that WWF/WWE ever had.

Yeah, pretty much. WWF's undercard was pretty atrocious back in 1997 - early 1999. WWF's PPV events were always superior to WCW's too.

[GazongaJoe]

Goldberg was the man no matter which one was better. Just throwing it out there.

[Menegrothx]

He was good at short one sided squash matches but that's about it. I like watching him but he's nothing special, got pushed to the top with out ever paying dues and has a prima donna attitude as a result of that

[BurningDoom]

From mid-'96 though early '98 WCW was undoubtedly the better product. n.W.o was fresh, exciting, and new to watch. The whole invasion angle was something new to mainstream wrestling fans, back then. And it was awesome to see who WCW acquired next.

As for the lucha-libres and cruiserweight division, they were indeed awesome (where the hell did Kidman disappear to? He was awesome!). But if you were around back then, they weren't getting all the praise that they get now in retrospect. People just didn't appreciate them back then. That wasn't what was pushing WCW's product. It was all those "old foggies" you guys are complaining about that brought WCW's ratings.

If you recall, when all those "old foggies" left WWF in the early-to-mid 90s, WWF's ratings and product quality plummeted. So when they showed up in WCW, it brought those WWF fans over with them. And then WCW homegrown stars like DDP, Sting, and Goldberg; kept them watching.

However, in 1998, WWF started getting really good with the Austin vs. Rock, D-X, Undertaker vs. Kane feud, and Corporation stuff they were doing. And by then the entire n.W.o. thing over at WCW was getting very overplayed and stale, yet they were still relying on it. I'd say that was the year that WWF overtook WCW in terms of wrestling product quality. And thank the gods for The Attitude Era.

[Reprise]

Technically speaking, Goldberg was far from amazing. Menegrothx said it perfectly.

[Menegrothx]

As for the lucha-libres and cruiserweight division, they were indeed awesome (where the hell did Kidman disappear to? He was awesome!). But if you were around back then, they weren't getting all the praise that they get now in retrospect. People just didn't appreciate them back then. That wasn't what was pushing WCW's product. It was all those "old foggies" you guys are complaining about that brought WCW's ratings.

This is nothing new to any one who has read the story of Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko etc. The commentators would hype nWo and talk about Sting while amazing action would take place in the ring. Their mismanagement and underuse of talent would lead into amazing talents leaving the company and joining the competition. And it wasn't just the cruiserweights: Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mick Foley are the most notable examples of wrestlers who were in WCW in the early 1990s and left the company before the monday night wars because they felt they weren't respected in the company and told they would never draw. I'm not sure if Paul Heyman and Undertaker weren't satisfied with WCW, but they are another two notable names who had a huge impact on the attitude era who left WCW. Or if you want an example from the monday night wars era: they signed Bret Hart with 2 million dollars (IIRC) and never used him properly.


The funny thing about the situation is, like you described, WCW signed talent from WWF and as a result WCW's raitings grew and WWF's declined. But that forced WWF into developing new talent, which in result led them into beating WCW in the ratings war in the end.

[Reprise]

I'm not sure if Paul Heyman and Undertaker weren't satisfied with WCW, but they are another two notable names who had a huge impact on the attitude era who left WCW.

No idea about Undertaker, but Paul Heyman HATED WCW and wanted to destroy them. He hated how he and many others were treated in the company.

[TSTR]

Regardless of the product, I sure do miss WCW Saturday Night at 6:05 PM Eastern.