The Death of WCW: 10th Anniversary Edition of the Bestselling Classic ??Revised [Paperback]

In 1997, World Championship Wrestling was on top. It was the number-one pro wrestling company in the world, and the highest-rated show on cable television. Each week, fans tuned in to Monday Nitro, flocked to sold-out arenas, and carried home truckloads of WCW merchandise. It seemed the company could do no wrong.

But by 2001, however, everything had bottomed out. The company — having lost a whopping 95% of its audience — was sold for next to nothing to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. WCW was laid to rest.

What went wrong? This expanded and updated version of the bestsellingDeath of WCWtakes readers through a detailed dissection of WCW’s downfall, including even more commentary from the men who were there and serves as an object lesson — and dire warning — as WWE and TNA hurtle toward the 15th anniversary of WCW’s demise.R.D. Reynoldsis the co-author of Wrestlecrap and the co-creator of WrestleCrap.com, one of the wrestling community’s favourite websites. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.Bryan Alvarezis the editor and publisher of Figure Four Weekly. He lives in Woodinville, WA.INTRODUCTION

Here Lies World Championship Wrestling 1988-2003

World Championship Wrestling was not supposed to die.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of its inner workings knew this to be true. As the company began to hit its peak around 1997, all signs indicated that WCW was destined to thrive and prosper. The promotion had so many unfair advantages, it seemed that not only would it continue to expand its profits, but it would also eventually turn every other wrestling promotion in the country into dust.

And why wouldn’t it?

More importantly,howcouldn’t it?

The promotion had the single greatest array of talent the wrestling world had ever known. The two men who defined professional wrestling in the 1980s, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, both ml³(