The Death of WCW: WrestleCrap and Figure Four Weekly Present . . . [Paperback]

I've been reading Bryan Alvarez' column now for quite some time and he is one of the most respected people covering pro wrestling today. Along with R.D. Reynolds they tell the story of the remarkable Rise & Fall and eventual Death of WCW. Relive some of the classic moments as WCW began its increidble rise from a second rate wrestling company who once gave us Robocop in the ring, to the juggernaut that nearly did the unthinkable: Nearly putting Vince McMahon and the WWF out of business.

Through interviews with many of the stars and other participants we'll see how WCW used the WWFs long-time strategy of raiding its rivals talent rosters as they systematically stole nearly every major star that the WWF had in the 80's and early 90's: Hogan, Savage, Nash, SCott Hall, Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase, Sean Waltman, the Nasty Boys, Ultimate Warrior, and more. The eventual "turning" of Hulk Hogan and the creation of the NWO led to WCW winning the Monday Night ratings war with the WWF for over 80 consecutive weeks.

Riding high, WCW will soon collapse under its own weight. Soon, big, guaranteed contracts given to wrestlers take their toll on WCWs budget as guys like Nash, Hogan, Hall, and Hart would be injured for months at a time. WCW leaked money like a sieve, tossing about millions to bring in celebrities like Dennis Rodman, Jay Leno, and Karl Malone, and trying to make wrestlers out of people like Jerry Only of the Misfits.

Meanwhile egos clashed as the powerbrokers like Bischoff, Hogan, and Nash controlled everything and kept younger wrestlers down. Fights backstage and no advancement would eventually lead many younger stars like Chris jehrico, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero to jump ship to the WWF.

Small cracks became large fissures. WCW brings in Vince Russo to do the booking leading to some of the greatest embarrassments in the history of wrestling with Hogan lying down on the mat to lose and actor DAvid Arquette becoming WCW champion. Add to that, WCW could find no answer to the WWF's two hugely popular stars: Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.

It would all lead to a company that was once worthy tens of millions being bought by Vince McMahon for a fraction of that and opening up the last Nitro show announcing the purchase of WCW.

Many of these details are quite well known but the interviews are great and its amazing the way even years later some of the parties involved still refuse to accept any blame for WCWs downfall. Excellent Read!

This is a tough review to write. On the one hand, I enjoyed this book immensely. It was a fun trip down memory lane reviewing all the twists and turns of the Monday Night Wars in terrific detail. In fact, this is probably the most detailed book you'll find out there about this period. The authors also have a wonderful sense of humor, and the book is a quick and fun read.

What immensely frustrated me, however, was that almost no effort was made to provide sources for the voluminous amounts of information presented. While there is a very short bibliography at the end of the book listing a handful of sources organized by chapter (which probably do not account for most of the information in the book), no indication is given as to which pieces of information came from which source. To me, this is a major issue because the wrestling industry is rife with unfounded internet rumors, and it's important for the reader to be able to distinguish documented facts from unfounded rumors or speculation.

For example, the authors make numerous allegations about WCW's financial status at different points throughout its history with no citations or any other indications as to where this information purportedly came from. In his book, "Controversy Creates Cash," Eric Bischoff lamented the fact that internet writers often made unfounded and inaccurate claims about WCW's profits and losses since the company's information was proprietary and was allegedly unavailable to anybody outside of WCW. Of course, Bischoff could be lying through his teeth, but there's no way to tell (at least from this book) because Alvarez and Reynolds give us no way to determine where their figures came from.

In addition, the book is replete with allegations of conversations and happenings that occurred backstage with, again, no citations provided to allow the reader to verify any of it. This became especially frustrating when the authors wrote about promoters' and wrestlers' INTERNAL motivations for certain actions. The authors write about these internal thought processes as if they were mind-readers. Hulk Hogan got the worst treatment, as he was frequently accused of internally plotting to put his own interests above those of WCW. A notable example occurs on page 139, detailing what allegedly led to the July 6, 1998 match between Hulk Hogan and Bill Goldberg:

"As the date drew near, Hogan, the wily veteran, came up with a plan. Aware that all the Turner bigwigs would be at the show, he offered to take Goldberg on in a non-title, non-televised match in which Goldberg would get the win and and send the folks home happy. All the company execs, seeing the huge house, would obviously assume that Hogan drew it, and his standing as WCW's top dog would be cemented."

How do the authors know this was Hogan's motivation and thought process? Did they interview him? Did they rely on his book or something else that he wrote? Not according to the bibliography. In the bibliography, the only sources listed for the chapter on 1998 were a Prodigy Chat with Eric Bischoff CONDUCTED IN 1997 and a personal interview R.J. Reynolds conducted with Bobby Heenan (which is also listed as a source for the chapter on 2000). Since the Heenan interview is never referred to in the text of the book, it's entirely unclear which pieces of information (if any) actually came from that interview. Even assuming that Heenan provided the authors with information about Hogan's "plan", at best that's hearsay about another individual's internal thought processes from somebody who may or may not have an axe to grind. The reader is left to wonder whether Hogan's "plan" is a documented fact, the result of hearsay from Heenan (or somebody else), or completely unfounded speculation by the authors.

That's just but one example of the unfounded allegations that arise throughout the whole book. In sum, while this book is an immensely enjoyable read, the facts presented in it, other than what we saw on our TV screens, simply are not reliable. And that is a shame.

It's hard to believe that a company could fold the way WCW did several years ago. At one time, WCW stood at the top of the wrestling mountain, and crushed the WWF/E in all ratings on television. It was obvious. WCW had became the number one promotion in the wrestling world. But gradually, something happened. WCW decided to go against the formula that brought them success. And when you do that, something bad is bound to happen.

When Eric Bischoff's idea to bring in Scott Hall and Kevin Nash from the WWF came about, no WCW management was for sure if it would save the ratings. It did just that. WCW became the mainstream wrestling product for most wrestling fans, as the N.W.O. changed wrestling forever. But, just as it was normal for WCW to do, they ran the N.W.O so long that it became stale. But rather than drop them, they continued the run, which eventually led to the likes of Scott Norton, Buff Bagwell, and even Virgil joining the group. Bad idea.

Also, the backstage situation was nothing short of a disaster. No one liked anyone. When you run a successful company, everyone wants to be the number one guy. Which is exactly why in the late 90's, the WCW World Title began to change hands on pretty much a weekly basis. Also, we can't forget one of the most memorable title reigns ever brought about by Vince Russo, and his idea was for........himself to become WCW Champion. Probably not good business there. Neither was the idea to have actor David Arquette win the WCW Title and beat two legitimate contenders, Jeff Jarrett and Diamond Dallas Page.

It becomes obvious in this book that there is more than one person to blame for the death of World Championship Wrestling. Vince Russo, Eric Bischoff, Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and even David Arquette had vital roles in situations that led to the company folding.

For any former WCW wrestling fan, this book is an absolute must-read. This is one of the greatest wrestling books I have ever read, and it shows just how bad things can get in a company in a downward spiral. Some of the things you read in the book will be so completely absurd, that you would think some of these things weren't possible. But, it's true. And that is why WCW is no longer in business.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 81 reviews  4.1 out of 5 stars