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Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, even as part of the "new generation" were still much, much cooler than WCW's top tier babyfaces. Also, the WWF was still the established leader in North American pro wrestling so the idea of their top stars defecting to destroy WCW from inside was pretty believable and novel. The WWF emphatically putting WCW out of business and their mid-card talents being bitter about it wasn't quite as compelling. That, and Dallas Page and Booker T were not Steve Austin or The Rock. All that said, the WWF definitely could have booked them to look much, much stronger.

I found WWE pretty much unwatchable in 2004. I think the Paul Bearer buried in concrete angle was what pushed me over the edge. I didn't think the product was that bad in 2002-03. 2005 wasn't awful, what I remember of it.

It had all the makings of a typical WCW angle: The WWF purchases WCW in March and you never hear about it again until the King of the Ring, in June. Meanwhile, the XFL gets plenty of airtime until Vince and NBC decide to pull the plug. During this time, heel Austin aligns with heel Vince and goes on a rampage, then settles into a goofy comedy shtick. Right before the Invasion PPV, Austin is suddenly a face again and his old buddy heel Vince is begging him to come back to fight the Alliance. Austin returns on Raw and mops the floor with all the WCW guys he will join forces with in a week. Vince is now a face. Meanwhile, Dallas Page jumps, admits to being Sara's stalker, and says he did it because every wrestler dreams of being a part of the WWF. He says all this when he's supposed to be a top WCW heel. I'm sure Vince and his writers thought this was complex, episodic television storytelling.

Was it 1998 or 1999 when WCW introduced the backstage angles that only TV viewers could see, not the announcers (and, presumably, the other wrestlers)?

When CM Punk first won the Raw championship, wasn't Hunter quoted as saying, "They'd better program him against Shawn Michaels so he can learn how to work a main event match"?

After Hogan won back the title WCW's storylines reverted back to re-running the same guys on top and nothing interesting at all on the undercards. The WWF really tapped into the testosterone-fueled teenage male demographic and whether it was good or bad they were producing can't-miss TV for them. In 1997 WCW had an interesting undercard. In 1999 it was really, really hard to get excited about anyone feuding with Barry Windham and Curt Hennig before the West Texas Rednecks.

Who lit the fire under his ass during that TNA promo against Mike Tenay? I think they only time he showed energy like that during his WCW run was when he closed the 1996 Bash at the Beach telecast with the line: "Hulk Hogan, you can go to hell! Straight to hell!"

I found a copy of Triple-H's That Damn Good DVD for $5 yesterday. The disc covers the matches that took place between late 1999 and early 2002 including the pre-match video packages. It's interesting to me how he dominated all the pre-match build and then won the matches themselves. For example, prior to Fully Loaded 2000, Jericho costs him a match or two to get heat but when he and Hunter face off on Raw or Smackdown, he beats the hell out of him. Same with McMahon, Foley, Angle...

I think that was it, Bix. And, wasn't the whole idea just Bischoff's panicked reaction to the possibility of the WWF getting a network TV contract, even if it was UPN?

Purchased some WWE DVD collections from my local used video store yesterday and have been watching WWF and WCW matches from their respective boom periods. One thing that struck me was how quiet the crowds seemed during WCW cards. You could tell they were into the matches and could see and hear them reacting yet the WWF crowds were miked better and you could really hear them going bananas. It made the matches seem a little more exciting. What also got me was how passive the WCW announcers were. There were times when Tony Schiavone could get his dander up though for the most part he and the fellow announcers described the action as if they were calling a baseball game on radio. Wasn't that what Tony was doing prior to working for the NWA?

Bischoff's Sturgis rationale underscores my basic belief that wrestling promoters haven't yet seemed to grasp: Wrestling fans watch wrestling for wrestling. Bischoff thought brining his PG-rated kiddie-themed wrestling program to a bike rally with Jay Leno in a main event was edgy? A wrestling promotion were wrestlers couldn't say "ass"? I seem to recall the most edgy thing that took place was Dallas Page doing a blade job, and the camera still pulled wide.

Watching the Rey Mysterio 3-disc set today and I started thinking: Did the Road Wild PPVs actually make money? I don't recall them charging admission and I'm sure the telecast cost more to produce than it could have ever made in PPV buys and video sales. Not to mention the crowd seemed wholly disinterested in the matches and wrestlers outside of Harlem Heat.

Now that you mention it, Slickster, I remember that, too. Another thing that struck me was how WCW booked Starrcade as if it were just another Nitro telecast with "Mean" Gene conducting interviews on the rampway hours before their matches (and thus spoiling the wrestler's crowd reactions later that night). The only thing missing was Gene saying, "In the third hour of tonight's Starrcade..." None of the matches on the cards were treated as special, almost no one got a superstar entrance with any special effects. I only recall WCW treating the 1997 Starrcade as any more important than the other PPV cards that year.

As with most WWE DVDs, Triple-H would likely be interviewed for it. I'm sure there would be plenty of quotable Hunter on a Jericho set.

I believe at that time almost anyone on the roster with a modicum of push was way over.

This thread reminded me of something: WWE has yet to release any Chris Jericho DVD retrospective. I only recall a hastily-produced VHS release in the spring of 2000. Even Chris Benoit got a surprisingly well-done DVD set.

Starrcade 1998 also came at a time when WCW had an annoying habit of only actually promoting 3-4 top matches up to a week before a card. For example, Souled Out 1999 had only four advertised matches, and even the free thirty-minute pre-show didn't announce the full card.

I can't confirm this one but I read that Hunter agreed to put Benoit over at WrestleMania XX because he felt Benoit would never get over because he's too bland and they'd have to put the belt back on Hunter quickly.

On the Raw where Hunter forces Earl Hebner to reverse the decision he refers to Chris Jericho as "that sawed-off midget." WWE left that in the Raw 15th Anniversary DVD set.

Not sure if it counts as "total douchebaggery": Live on Raw during the build to WrestleMania XVI, when Rock is doing his bit by mocking other wrestler's catchphrases, Hunter grumbles, "Yours is no better." The look in Hunter's eyes was pure hatred.

It would have been kind of hard to keep Rock down, too. The guy didn't need the championship and wasn't even involved in the central storyline for most of 2000 and was the most ridiculously over guy on the roster.

The Jim Ross vs. Triple-H match is here. I can't see when exactly Hunter potatoes Ross, though it's partly due to Hunter's carelessness. Watching Hunter throw worked punches and chair shots looks very stiff, as if he's only concerned with making sure his offense looks as believable as possible. Were the shoe on the other foot he'd be complaining that someone "can't work." It also appears Hunter blades Ross at one point, which I find barbaric, outdated, and unnecessary. Watching this clip makes me question being a fan for nearly thirty years. I'm disgusted with WWE for sanctioning this and I'm more disgusted with Triple-H. The guy is a pathetic pussy who must hate that there isn't a single human being who thinks he's a "tough guy." I wish someone who doesn't depend on WWE to live would shoot on the guy and rip his celery-stalk muscles off their bones.

During the Collision in Korea PPV commentary Bischoff mentions going to high school with Norton.

I can't recall where though I do remember reading an interview with MVP where he said WWE's pot fines were too steep.

Not to mention the ridiculous fake tan with the fashion sense that alternates between ghastly and boring and his obsession with IFBB bodybuilding.