WCW's Best Monday Night War Year?

Probably 1997, though I enjoyed early 90s WCW as well.

Well being the OP asked what Monday Night Year was the best for WCW, I would hope that any 80s or early 90s stuff wouldn't get picked, being Nitro didn't start up until September 1995.


Being that I was a teenager when the Monday Night Wars started, I got to see it all first hand. And I can honestly say that 1997 was the best year for WCW. 1996 didn't get hot until Hall and Nash came over in May and June of 96. The early part of 96 was good, but didn't have the ratings or talk like the last half of 96 had with Nash and Hall coming over, and Hogan going heel. But that all set the way for the 1997 year for WCW.

Kind of funny how 1997 was the best year for WWE, WCW and ECW for story lines, matches and excitement.

1997 for me......it was great stuff end to end with PPVs RAMMED full of quality matches.

in 1996 they were just getting going but it was good stuff too......then in 1998?it was mostly crap when you look back at it.

its just the fact that they were WHITE hot they could do no wrong.but in 99 they paid for the sins & overindulgence of 1998.

Nitro was only around from 95-01. 95 was sept and 01 ended in march.
So now you only got 96-00 as full years. 96 was decent. 99 and 00 was bad. In 98 the wheel fell off. So 97 is really the only "right" answer unless you prefer the rise of 96.

Some of you are saying 98, was the beginning of the end, any reason why that is?

I stickied a thread I started about Stings return and misuse in 98-that was a big part of it but also they had nothing to follow the nWo with......

instead of Stings return heralding the beginning of the end for the New World Order it became completely dominant.....WCW tv became about the nWo civil war....and now half the nWo are faces......they were friggin everywhere.

plus when you look closely at WCW:98 it was the same thing over and over BUT it was white hot so they didn't see the harm in it or the $$$ they wee flushing down the can.heres some symptoms of the rot

1)Rodman and Jay Leno headlined PPVs....Lenos PPV being a free gate at Road Wild(both part timers dominated TV)lucrative in the short run...but there was zero forward thinking here.
2)Sting joined the outfit he hated after being an afterthought during his title run
3)Bret Hart was turned heel & not used in a move that made zero sense to any wrestling fan and most bookers
4)Goldberg beating Hogan was given away on free TV
5)Bischoff spent most of his time talking about Vince on TV.....very counterproductive
6)the wheels fell off Halls wagon
7)Hogans insecurity led to the derailment of the Sting character,original plan for the Wolfpac AND rehiring of the Warrior for the disasterous program they had.
8)Goldberg was beaten too soon.....

I could go on but heading into 99 they were in pretty bad shape creatively.98 hosted a f*ckin MILLION heel turns and swerves.....the "Fingerpoke of Doom" was the straw that broke the camels back.

yup.joined the nWo & had had a great feud with DDP.check those matches out man!!

I was actually a bigger fan of 1996 myself. The beginning of the nWo Storyline (before it got watered down), Sting actually wrestling, great feuds featuring Hogan, Savage, Flair, Giant, Horsemen vs Dungeon of Doom, I think most of Rey vs Malenko better matches happened in 1996 as well.

97 was a great year but no Sting wrestling, constant nWo squash matches, guys (mostly in the nWo) holding on to the titles forever and never defending them...really brought the overall product down to me.

As many have said, 97 in spades. I was 15 and WCW was exactly the promotion I was after at the time, as despite being a fan of the WWE since childhood, the years beforehand had gotten a tad stale to me and seeing Hogan as a heel, The Outsiders, Sting in the rafters, the amazing cruiserweight matches, amazing technical matches with Malenko, Guerrero et al and the rise of Goldberg it was a great time to be a wrestling fan.