As a CEO, Vince McMahon made World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) a household name by crafting compelling storylines and bringing in massive wrestling talents with a huge following. However, from the mid to late 1990s, his production company, then called the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) faced fierce competition from World Championship Wrestling (WCW), launched by Turner Sports in 1988.
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In 1996, WCW started to leave WWF in the dust. For 83 consecutive weeks, they garnered better ratings, which cast a dark cloud over the future of WWF. Apart from creating an unfiltered atmosphere through their perpetual live-to-air format, their popularity surged when multiple WWF stars defected to their popular show, Monday Nitro.
To keep up with the WWF’s standards, WCW started to offer massive contracts to the WWF headliners, which resulted in these defections. Initially, WWF stars like Scott Hall and Kevin Nash appeared on WCW as the representatives of WWF, but they gradually shifted their allegiance to WCW.
It was the start of the New World Order(nWo) group, which took flight when “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan also joined the proceedings. Hogan had left the WWF in 1993 to pursue a film career but instead of returning to McMahon’s company, he chose WCW. Losing Hogan to WCW was the singular biggest blow to the WWF as his image as a villain made for top-notch storylines.
Ironically, WWF’s biggest star was aiding WCW to pulverize them in ratings, which enabled the unbeaten streak from 1996 to 1998. The nWo angle had completely taken over the wrestling world and this phenomenon started to attract even more star power.
Dennis Rodman was also driven by the nWo-led wrestling craze and wanted to entertain fans in the WCW ring. Naturally, a charismatic personality like Rodman fit brilliantly with the villainous persona of Hogan. In March 1997, Rodman made his official WCW debut when he teamed with “Hollywood” Hogan to take on The Giant and Lex Luger at the Bast at the Beach event.
While Rodman and Hogan lost the match, WCW benefited immensely from their partnership. They had been edging out WWF in landing big names and the addition of Rodman became a huge boon.
Rodman took his association with nWo seriously. His entry into WCW helped the organization come up with a unique crossover with the NBA, which would come to a head in 1998.
When Rodman left NBA Finals practice for a WCW appearance
On June 8, 1998, a day after the 1998 Finals Game 3 against Utah Jazz, the then Bulls forward left his teammates in Chicago to join the WCW Monday Night Nitro show in Detroit.
When Phil Jackson learned that Rodman wouldn’t be available for the team practice, he panicked and repeatedly called his nWo tag-team partner Hulk Hogan to send him back. Hogan was also worried that his tag teammate was going too far and urged him to leave for Chicago, but he wouldn’t buzz.
Rodman’s dedication to leaving the NBA Finals practice to attend a WCW event was huge in propelling their brand. His appearance in WCW that day would pave the way for a humongous crossover.
In July 1998, a month after locking horns in the NBA Finals, Rodman would square off against Utah Jazz power forward Karl Malone in the WCW ring. The duo of Rodman and Hogan would crush the tag team of Malone and Diamond Dallas Page.
This event was the biggest hit for the WCW in 1998. It became the second-highest pay-per-view event in their history. WCW had once again stamped their authority over WWF.
But that was perhaps one of their last laughs as some bad decision-making arrested their growth. The nWo had broken up by 1999 and WCW’s management was not getting along with Hogan. It forced Rodman to take the solo route.
In 1999, during WCW’s Road Wild tour, he had a single match against Randy Savage. It was a massive failure because both the wrestlers looked slow and stiff, meanwhile; they were unable to generate an eye-catching storyline. Their implosion ran parallel with WCW’s dwindling fortunes.
Rodman didn’t appear on WCW after that match-up which was the beginning of the end. The organization has had its last hurrah in 1998.
McMahon had the last laugh
WCW couldn’t capitalize on the nWo revolution. They divided the group into various subsections, which became a huge reason why many wrestling fans lost interest altogether.
After dominating WWF for a couple of years, they were collapsing quickly. Rodman had already left them in 1999 and he was just one of the many who had started to lose interest in the company.
After suffering humongous losses by 2001, WCW’s future looked bleak. This is when astute businessman Vince McMahon sniffed a massive opportunity. He decided to buy WCW to eliminate any competition against WWF.
The WWF’s purchase of WCW remains one of the most captivating business storylines. McMahon got a steal as the acquisition of WCW would cost just $4.2 million. He would also announce the decision in the most McMahon way possible.
On March 26, 2021, WWF’s Raw is War and WCW’s last Monday Night Raw were aired simultaneously. During Nitro’s main event, WWF’s Sting defeated WCW’s Ric Flair, and Vince McMahon declared that WWF had obliterated WCW.
Then Vince’s son Shane McMahon spearheaded a strong Invasion storyline where WCW stars were seen taking over the WWF from March to November 2001. But in November 2001, WCW as a brand officially ended as WWF remained the biggest wrestling draw in the subsequent years.
While WCW didn’t last long, it gave wrestling fans the nWo, which paved for a rare wrestling x NBA crossover. nWo’s end may have been unceremonious but from 1996 to 1998, they swept the entertainment landscape and helped wrestling find its feet in the industry.
It was the only wrestling brand that gave Vince McMahon hiccups in terms of competition, but since its end, his brand has been on the top without anyone else coming close.
