WCW/nWo: Reimagined Official Thread

You’ve all heard the story before. Countless times before.

Vince McMahon, Emperor of Titan Sports, was facing the unthinkable: severe financial ruin. The World Wrestling Federation, for over 50 years, the Revolutionary Force in Sports Entertainment...was near extinction.

Billionaire Ted Turner, overseer of a media conglomerate, had McMahon in his crosshairs. Turner would open his checkbooks for iconic superstars such as Hulk Hogan and Randy “Macho Man” Savage - discarded by McMahon after he deemed them too old for his New Generation of Sports Entertainment.

Turner would then go for the jugular.

In an effort to directly counter McMahon’s flagship program, Monday Night Raw, Turner would greenlight a 2-hour Monday Night program of his own: Monday Nitro.

The Monday Night Wars had begun.

And, well, you know the rest.

But...what if?

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What if...we enter a realm where the Titan Sports empire crumbles to a dust?

What if... Eric Bischoff, backed by Billionaire Ted’s checkbook, ruled the entire world of professional wrestling?

What if... the New World Order became so much more than an inflated faction of egos?

What if...I had the answers and you, my dear reader, went along for the ride?

Welcome to WCW/nWo: Reimagined!

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When does WCW/nWo: Reimagined start? The altered timeline officially begins on Monday, July 8, 1996 --- the night after the infamous events of Bash at the Beach.

When does the WWF go out of business? It’ll be a few months before the WWF officially folds --- but you’ll have to read on to find out exactly why and when.

Will you be booking the WWF along with WCW? No. My focus will be entirely on the initial WCW/nWo storyline. You can assume that the creative behind WWF for the rest of 1996 remains unchanged.

How will you format your shows? This might be a mixed bag. I'm going to try and write full blown shows but I may have to resort to "recap style" match writing. We'll see. 

One more important note:

I have decided that Chris Benoit does not exist in this timeline. While I strive to be as historically accurate as possible (i.e. using all of the talent that actually wrestled in WWF/WCW during this time period), I could not use Benoit in good conscience.

Since Benoit was such a significant figure in the real timeline, I have decided to replace him with a fictional character named Ronan Flory. Ironically nicknamed "The Darlin' of Dublin", Flory stands at 6'1 and weighs 195lbs. He has brown hair, clean shaven, and is actually quite handsome - but his attitude rubs everyone the wrong way. He's brash and cocky because he knows he can beat the piss out of anyone. 

Really like this; this is going to change the dynamic of professional wrestling forever bro. I am really excited to see the long term effects; and the delivery of the NWO. I look forward to this.

BASH AT THE BEACH POLL RESULTS

Thumbs up 166 (74.4%)

Thumbs down 28 (12.6%)

In the middle 29 (13.0%)

BEST MATCH POLL

Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis 172

Sting & Savage & Luger vs. Outsiders 10

WORST MATCH POLL

John Tenta vs. Big Bubba 59

Jim Duggan vs. Diamond Dallas Page 42

Steve McMichael vs. Joe Gomez 36

Nasty Boys vs. Public Enemy 11

Based on phone calls, letters and fax messages to the Observer as of Tuesday, 7/9. Statistical margin of error: +-100%

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Note Dave breaks down the events of Bash at the Beach 1996, which I will not copy and paste here; however, I highly recommend you subscribe to F4W and read this issue!

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Monday Nitro on 7/8 from the Disney Studios in Orlando saw Rey Misterio Jr. win the cruiserweight title from Dean Malenko with a spinning huracanrana in 12:48. This was the best of the three matches the two have had and probably the best match since Nitro debuted (****1/4). Afterward, Sting and Lex Luger brought out the entire roster and demanded unity but the Nasty Boys walked out in the middle of his speech. They also challenged the Outsiders to a tag match at Hog Wild in what was a really strong promo. Next saw the Blue Bloods (Steve Regal & Bobby Eaton) beat The Dungeon of Doom duo of Hugh Morris and Big Bubba in 3:08. The match was short (and Morris still looks awfully green) but the angle was that Morris and Jimmy Hart shook hands with the Blue Bloods before the match while a frustrated Big Bubba assaulted them afterward to the objection of the Dungeon, signaling a possible break up (*). Psychosis defeated Eddy Guerrero in 8:33 after Guerrero missed a frog splash attempt in an impressive showing for Psychosis, who's expected to get a decent push. Misterio Jr. was on commentary and did a really good job explaining to the audience his feud with Psychosis, who signaled to Misterio Jr. that he wanted a title shot after his win (***1/2). The Steiner Brothers (Scott & Rick) beat the Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags & Brian Knobbs) by disqualification. The Nasty Boys were about to lose anyways and decided to hurt the Steiners until Harlem Heat, who the Steiners will now face at Hog Wild, made the save. Afterward Mean Gene interviewed the Nasty Boys, who said they respect what Hogan and the Outsiders did at Bash at the Beach. I can't imagine they would be the next additions to the group (**). Ric Flair killed Jim Powers in 5:51 and sent a little message to Hogan afterward (*). Macho Man did an in-ring interview where he challenged Hogan to a match at Hog Wild, which is expected to headline the show. Ronan Flory beat. Sgt. Craig Pitman in under 3 minutes (3/4*). Main event saw Sting and Arn Anderson end in a Double Count Out as the Outsiders showed up with a huge security firm and distracted Sting and Anderson from their match in 12:18. The Outsiders were in the audience and the crowd treated like huge stars, though there were a ton of cheers for them. Afterward, Mean Gene asked them if they accepted Sting & Luger's challenge to a match at Hog Wild but the Outsiders made the point that they didn't think the WCW Board of Directors would allow it but, if they did, they would only do it on one unnamed condition. First house and closing 10 minutes were really strong though they are hurting big time from taping in Orlando. 

Hog Wild is expected to see Hogan/Savage headline in some sort of gimmick match, Steiners challenging Harlem Heat for tag titles, Misterio Jr. defending against Psychosis, Ric Flair vs. Eddy Guerrero for the WCW United States Heavyweight title, and possibly a match involving the Nasty Boys and Dungeon of Doom, plus more. 

Blood Runs Cold is expected to be a group of wrestlers, one of them being Ray Lloyd 

WCW and Titan are in a bidding war for Davey Boy Smith though Titan is expected to lose him. Word is that WCW is offering less years (3) but more guaranteed money over less dates while Titan is offering a 5-year deal with less of a downside guarantee and more dates. 

Ted DiBiase is expected to be coming in during the fall, possibly as an announcer for Hogan's new group though he may have a bigger role.

Crowd for the Paramount on 6/30 according to the New York State athletic commission was 3,587 paid and $85,285.

Lots of discussion of bringing in Chris Jericho.

A correction from last week in the Olympic article. Chip Minton's two-man bobsled team in the 1992 Olympics finished in 14th place, so they didn't medal.

Keiji Muto, Kensuke Sasaki and Masa Saito will be in the U.S. from 8/25 to 8/30 so they may do WCW TV during that period.

Starrcade looks more and more likely to be from a foreign country, most likely Japan, in December.

I am intrigued by the WCW/Titan bidding war. I'd like to see more of that.

I like your news/rumours page it’s done realistically. Quite intrigued by Blood Runs Cold being a group rather than just Glacier. Not entirely sold on Bulldog joining the nWo but I think that could be a red herring, Helmsley would work nicely though long as you erase Terra Ryzing and the Jean Paul Levesque gimmick he had. Again though, I think it’s gonna be more true to life and Sean Waltman joining the nWo.

I like this idea a lot, don't be surprised if something similar pops up.
With credit where it's deserved, of course.

I also love the idea of lawsuits coming in to play that have a very tangible effect on the product. Kind of unique when it's not actually a bitter battle between the parties.

Disclaimer from the booker: I will not be copying and pasting copy from the WON (aside from the poll results). I highly encourage everyone to subscribe to F4W and gain access to the Observer archives. I am using old WONs as reference points for the fictional “news and rumors” you are about to read below. Also, I will only include relevant bits from the WCW and WWF only. Enjoy!
The World Wrestling Federation is in continued crisis following some behind-the-scenes chaos at the International Incident PPV from the General Motors Place in Vancouver, BC. The show was deemed a huge financial success, drawing 14,804 fans (11,955 paying $214,985 Canadian) the largest In Your House show in the company’s history; however, all of the focus was on a trio of WWF stars that may or may not be headed to World Championship Wrestling in the company weeks.



WWF INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT POLL RESULTS

Thumbs up 46 (38.7%)

Thumbs down 35 (29.4%)

In the middle 38 (31.9%)

BEST MATCH POLL

Michaels & Johnson & Sid vs. Vader & Hart & Smith 68

Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero 15

WORST MATCH POLL

Mankind vs. Henry Godwinn 36

Undertaker vs. Mankind 20

Smoking Gunns vs. Bodydonnas 18

Justin Bradshaw vs. Savio Vega 11

UFC X FINAL POLL RESULTS

Thumbs up 136 (96.5%)

Thumbs down 1 (00.7%)

In the middle 4 (02.8%)

BEST MATCH POLL

Mark Coleman vs. Don Frye 131

WORST MATCH POLL

Mark Coleman vs. Moti Horenstein 35

Brian Johnston vs. Scott Fiedler 34

Based on phone calls, letters and fax messages to the Observer as of Tuesday, 7/23. Statistical margin of error: +-100%

Davey Boy Smith has still not agreed to a 5-year contract extension with Titan and is in active negotiations to join WCW. The belief is that Davey Boy was pitched as the 4th member of the New World Order along with making significantly more money over significantly fewer dates compared to the WWF’s schedule. One person close to the situation noted to us that Smith may not want to jump to WCW and is trying to get a bigger money offer from Titan, though those close to Vince McMahon believe the WWF have made their best offer and will not budge on the figure.

Following the main event of International Incident on 7/21 - which saw Smith as part of a winning team over Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, and Psycho Sid - Smith was informed that he was being pulled off television until he signs the 5-year extension, which led to a heated exchange with Vince McMahon where Smith expressed his displeasure with the money being offered. Smith did not appear on the 7/22 RAW and was not backstage. The feeling amongst the locker room was that Smith was likely jumping to WCW.

The future of Hunter Hearst Helmsley is even more uncertain as the young star is at a bit of a crossroads. Those close to Helmsley believe he is facing enormous pressure from Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to jump to WCW with Sean Waltman, who is expected to debut imminently. In fact, members of the WCW roster were openly talking backstage at Nitro that Helmsley and Waltman were coming in as a tag team and likely the next members of the NWO after Smith. Word also has it that Helmsley’s guarantee  offer from WCW was far greater than anything he’d receive from the WWF. Titan believes there is still a chance Helmsley stays, however, as they have promised him a gigantic push this summer and there is a belief that Helmsley wants to succeed in the WWF on his own merits (though he would likely be working with his other best friend Shawn Michaels).

The pushback to that belief is that Helmsley would be a big fish in a small pond that will only get smaller as more defections are expected. While International Incident did a strong gate, house show attendance across the United States has been abysmal, gates for RAW tapings slumping, and PPV buys worryingly low. The talk amongst the WWF roster has been how disappointing the offers to Smith and Helmsley have been, prompting speculation that Titan is hemorrhaging money and is in greater danger than they let on.

Perhaps the most worrisome sign: the third wrestler with one foot out the door is currently not a member of the WWF roster. We received word that Titan was in negotiations with someone - believed to be Barry Windham - about a return to the ring. We’ve since been told that negotiations have stalled and this person - again, believed to be Windham - may find themselves in WCW.

As for International Incident…

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Dave goes into the International Incident rundown, an overview of WAR, UFC success, and…

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WCW Clash of the Champions, a 2-hour primetime special on TBS on 8/15 from the Denver Coliseum, will be headlined by “Hollywood” Hogan against Ric Flair. This is notable as this will be the first meeting between the two with Hogan as a heel and Flair as a face.

Other matches currently scheduled (card subject to change) include a triangle tag team match pitting Sting and Lex Luger vs. The Harlem Heat vs. The Steiner Brothers, The Giant vs. Ronan Flory, Diamond Dallas Page vs. Eddy Guerrero, Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psychosis, Konnan vs. Ultimo Dragon, the debut of Chris Jericho vs. Hugh Morris, and Jim Duggan vs. V.K. Wallstreet. Hopefully the matches will deliver and not be rushed because of the two-hour window They really should cut the Duggan vs. Wallstreet match but we’ll see.

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Dave continues detailing the struggles between New Japan and Weekly Pro Wrestling, various card rundowns, rundown of Japanese Weekly Television/EMLL/AAA/All-Japan/New Japan/Other Japan Notes/USWA/ECW/Here and There and…

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WCW had its biggest show of the week on 7/21 in Greensville, SC, which is the final wrestling show ever at the old Memorial Auditorium (it’s been torn down in favor of a new building next month). They drew just under capacity (4,546) paying $51,465. The crowd was much older than is typical with Ric Flair and Randy Savage working the main event .

John Tenta was scheduled to face Big Bubba all three nights but the WCW booking team didn’t realize Tenta was booked in Japan.

Mark Hildebrand, formerly of SMW, was working these shows

7/22 Nitro from MGM Studios (a necessary evil but they desperately need to leave the venue) was solid if unspectacular. Tony Schiavone revealed that a private investor was funding the NWO’s private security (it’s pretty obvious who that investor is) and they were banned from Disney/MGM property. Dean Malenko def. Chavo Guerrero Jr. in solid Cruiserweight action. Afterward, Malenko said he was going to challenge someone significant to a match at Hog Wild (believed to be Ultimo Dragon). This was Guerrero’s Nitro debut and he looked impressive in some areas, still green in others **. Randy Savage cut an incredible promo with bikers surrounding the ring and challenged Hogan to a Sturgis Chain Match at Hog Wild. They showed Madusa at the end with the idea that Savage took her slotted television time. VK Walstreet def. Konnan in a *¼ match. The most important aspect of this match was Wallstreet talking about a hostile takeover and warning of the “ultimate payoff” after the match. Wallstreet could be the investor if talks with Ted DiBiase fall through. We saw back to back promo packages, first of Blood Runs Cold and the “youngsters” of WCW (neither of them are really young). The Dungeon of Doom foursome of Kevin Sullivan and The Faces of Fear and Hugh Morris beat the team of Alex Wright and The Renegade and Joe Gomez and Jim Powers in a nothing * match. The point of this match was to the Giant to come out and choke slam everyone and issue a warning to the NWO and Big Bubba, who quit the group last week. They did a good job of presenting The Giant as a monster. Psychosis beat Prince Iaukea in what was a *** match. Psychosis brought his ECW style to the Disney audience and I think the tourists in attendance were genuinely taken aback. Scott Norton squashed Dave Taylor (DUD) before Steven Regal beat Ice Train after Norton interfered. Norton was at first apologetic for his actions last week and wanted to reunite with Train but he turned on him minutes afterward, setting up a match at Hog Wild. The Horsemen gave an interview where they said Flair was busy recruiting for possible allies in the war against the NWO (which is why Barry Windham is suddenly in talks for coming in). Bischoff made a counter-offer to the Outsiders where they must never appear on WCW programming if they lose to Sting and Luger with no interference allowed (but will get contracts if they win). Sting and Luger sneak attacked them afterward. Really well done segment. The Nasty Boys beat Harlem Heat after Big Bubba caused a distraction for the cheap win *⅕. It appears the Nasty Boys and Big Bubba are a faction to feud with Dungeon of the Doom. Next was the main event pitting Arn Anderson, Steve McMichael, and Ronan Flory against Sting, Luger, and Savage where Flory took the loss **¾. Afterward, the winning trio cut a pro-WCW promo to close the show.

Psychosis is due for a big push as Terry Taylor believes he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world today.

WCW may cancel some shows next month as the schedule is legitimately tough.

The person in the Blood Runs Cold promos is Ray Lloyd, an indie wrestler from Atlanta. The eyeballs that popped up behind him are supposed to represent the rest of the faction. We’ve been told that Chris Kanyon is definitely locked in as a member and will have a very special character.

Gene Okerlund promised to name the 4th member of the NWO on his hotline but never did. The plan is to have a 4th member in time for a WCW vs. NWO War Games match in September. There are talks that this War Games match have a significant stipulation attached to the outcome.

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Rundown of RAW taping

Iron Sheik is scheduled to return within the next few weeks as a manager

Hunter Hearst Helmsley may be pulled of television or not have his push renewed if he doesn’t agree to terms by next week

Ahmed Johnson suffered a broken nose during the main event of International Incident