The Final WCW PPV - WCW Greed

[@XKTwentyFive]

It's ironic that WCW's last Pay-Per-View was called "Greed" after blowing all their money over the previous years.

[@parkesc7832]

Culminating in a $60M loss in 2000, if I remember correctly

[@pataker7875]

The NWO did exactly what they said they would, destroyed WCW. Haha

[@jknight1984]

The original plan before the end was to have a PPV named after the Seven Deadly Sins

[@CujoKelly]

@@jknight1984 Wish I could of seen them try and pull off Gluttony and Sloth as PPV titles.

[@hooksncrosses3419]

@@CujoKelly and Lust!🤣

[@gfu3630]

I find it amazing that Flair-Dusty’s first WCW PPV match, ever, was on the last ever WCW PPV.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

That might have had something to do with it.

[@velleione]

If you only "Kinda knew" who the Great Dusty Rhodes was, then you're not qualified to do these videos... You should Retire

[@DoncoEntAgain]

@@velleione You're apparently not a very good listener, because Brian said he didn't really know who Dusty Rhodes was way back in 2001.

[@Alsebra]

​@@velleione, pretty sure Brian started watching wrestling in '97 or '98 (based on his "younger self" character) and he was really only limited to WWF...at that time, Dusty was more behind-the-scenes in WCW and then went to ECW in 2000 before returning to WCW until the end (after that, he took to lesser promotions before he popped up in NWA-TNA in '03). Basically, if you weren't watching the territories or the specific runs in the mainstream promotions, you could've easily missed Dusty as a wrestler.

[@SocraticMind89]

And flair was involved with sting with the first nitro and last!

[@p.d.l7023]

That Shawn Stasiac gimmick of signing a photo for your beaten opponent = A reference to Johnny Cage from Mortal Kombat.

[@Mr_Leo_DS]

Yeah that's what I thought as well

[@kidwaryodproduction]

It's funny that Devon Storm (Crowbar) also look like Long hair version of Johnny Cage when he was wrestled in Grandmaster of Wrestling (That featured Mighty Maccabee) before his WCW era.

[@patrickchaney]

Shawn Stasiac could’ve ran the whole gimmick of “Shawny Cage” and feuded with Glacier! Lol

[@kenrickeason]

Damn.. You're right..

[@kingmula2]

Fun Fact:Jason Jett is the only wrestler to wrestle on the last ppv of ECW and WCW.

[@sebastianbruckwilder5720]

So:Never hire that guy if you own a Wrestling promotion ^^

[@tyrone5969]

@@sebastianbruckwilder5720 unless you're a booker who infiltrated the promotion to bankrupt it.

[@salamisumo2]

@@chrisbutler1668 WWE PPVs don’t exist anymore :o

[@kiprandom7208]

So it was his fault

[@matthewlane518]

Very cool

[@jimmysdadgoingcrazy]

Kwee wee looks like if Billy Gunn and Scotty 2 Hotty were one guy

[@Lordeightbane]

So if they used potara

[@mrkipling2201]

I will say one thing that WCW got right in most of their PPV’s is having cruiserweights start the show. 2 very good matches started this show that’s for sure.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

For sure. That's one thing you usually don't have to worry about is a pair of good cruiserweights having slow pacing and a boring match. I mean, sure it CAN happen, but it's extremely rare.

[@chrisbutler1668]

The big problem with that positive was after repeating the same trick endlessly, real wrestling fans would just watch the opening segment of WCW before switching to the WWF, where the mid-card and main events were miles ahead of the geriatric check cashers, their limitless factions and meaningless belt swapping.

[@mrkipling2201]

@@chrisbutler1668 very true, I have to agree with that.

[@johnselwitz5362]

26:25 Nice to see that even on their death bed and at their lowest point financially, WCW was still paying Michael Buffer 5 figures to come in and do a couple minutes of work by announcing the main event. At least they were consistent

[@WOOOPdoctorFROGhere]

I always wondered if they paid him less for the shows in which he didn't say "llllllet's get ready to rummmmmmbllllle". Didn't happen often but there was one show where he changed it to "we are.... rrrrready to rummmmmmbllllle". Totally ruined it, so I'd be pissed if wcw paid him in full for that.

[@johnselwitz5362]

@@WOOOPdoctorFROGhere I know what you’re talking about! And there was another one, I believe it was around this same time period, perhaps Starrcade or the January PPV, where instead of his usual shtick, he announced the two main eventers by saying “LETSSSS… BRING EM’ OUT!!!” I was like what the hell was that? Totally dampened the mood, but maybe I just let that bother me more than it should have.

[@WOOOPdoctorFROGhere]

@@johnselwitz5362 haha I must have missed that one, that's bad. Maybe that's the equivalent of him making a heel turn when he didn't say it, knowing all the fans expect him to say it.

[@pendafen7405]

Where do I get a gig like this, ya girl needs cash money

[@medes5597]

​@@pendafen7405coin a phrase as iconic and pop culturally well known as "leeeeeeeets get reaaady to rummmmmmmmmble!", copyright and trademark it, hire one of the most aggressive copyright and trademark protection firms in the world to protect the phrase from ever being used without you reviving large payments, refuse to license another person to say the phrase and only agree to it's use if you are also employef to say it So yeah just do that. Shouldn't be too hard to create a phrase like that right?

[@jeremyfincham1422]

The fact that this took place in jacksonville makes it feel like we've come full circle ⭕

[@noUGames]

?

[@coolchat18]

@@noUGames AEW reference

[@westnile21]

The place where WCW went to die is the place where AEW is alive and well.

[@kylefunderburk4194]

@ZCS Who hasn't wrestled a match yet, is only hanging around the TNT Championship and is clearly positioned to help Darby Allin go from just an AEW star to one of wrestling's biggest stars. Really, what "AARP cardholder" is wasting space in AEW? Billy Gunn is probably going to wrestle less now that his other son is in AEW as well. Plus, Gunn is one of AEW's coaches. Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Taz and Jake Roberts are managers. That leaves Chris Jericho and Dustin Rhodes as the only full-time wrestlers and they're still over. Not only that, but they're in positions to put other guys over. Jericho has the Inner Circle and Rhodes has QT Marshall.

[@westnile21]

@ZCS - Like WWE doesn’t do the same thing with Goldberg and they’re doing the same thing next week by having an entire “Legends” night to boost ratings.

[@condorZERO94]

Really been enjoying the "Here's what you missed in the midcard" segments of the last few reviews

[@razieltalos]

"While You Were In the Restroom"

[@CheezusChrist1776]

It's the underlying "Revenge" music for me

[@AuroDHikoshi]

Use it for other PPV's or the Modern day stuff?

[@jimllc]

I wouldn't be against that being a recurring segment.

[@SubZero-lh2tj]

H

[@fernandoguajardo2750]

Jeff Jarrett predicting how all gamers are going to dress, talk and weigh when they purchase the KFC Console.

[@w.s.mcgallis7731]

I wonder if the proper weights and measure of the 11 herbs and spices will be on the start up screen... Just a thought. I should also get a free a half gallon of lemonade and tiny little cake.

[@fernandoguajardo2750]

@@w.s.mcgallis7731 🤣👍

[@PapaTaurean]

I miss Sean O'Haire. He had everything to be a main eventer. Athletic prowess, charisma. He had the look. He was the quintessential wrestler and it is sad that he is no longer with us.

[@carn5haun343]

Your not telling us anything we don't already know 😉

[@latterdaydude6125]

I’m just here to give a thumbs up for your use of the word prowess.

[@joshhale9355]

Piper screwed him accidentally. I don’t blame Piper for saying what he said, but it completely derailed O’Haire in WWE. The gimmick he had was great, his look and skill were both very good; he had everything to be a main event guy.

[@latterdaydude6125]

@ZCS Hence his use of “athletic prowess”...just don’t hear it much, that’s all.

[@SpaceGhost92]

Excerpt the guy couldn’t talk whatsoever. All those cool vignettes were edited from hours of takes

[@ddwchamp]

Very Good commentating and analysis. I worked part-time at WCW (asst event coordinator) and was at the show. About midway, David Penzer (ring announcer) told me the WCW was up for sale and this could be our last night. Most of the wrestlers were shocked to hear the news. Well, there was one more show and that is when WWE purchased WCW. There was a scramble by a few influential folks to locate a buyer. So why were we sold? Turner sold control of the company and AOL/Time Warner did not like wrestling and thought it was too violent. There were other factors. Once again, one of the better summaries.

[@red6605]

I’m pretty sure the only reason WCW was sold to WWE so quickly and at such a low price was simply because Time Warner just wanted to dump WCW. They could had gotten so much more money by simply waiting but instead, they just wanted it gone.

[@ddwchamp]

@@red6605 You are 100% correct.

[@txmetalhead82xk]

And look at the fate of AOL. Karma delivered.

[@joxidearmageddonator882]

@@red6605 i believe that due to a clause in the out of court settlement between WWF vs. WCW re: hall's use of the razor gimmick on WCW TV, WWE was granted first dibs on WCW if it ever came up for sale. it's covered in Guy Evans' Nitro book if you ever fancied doing a deep dive into it. super worth it if you're a big fan

[@zdziczaybozek2771]

I also worked part-time there, we found out the day after, at the very beginning, that WCW would be sold and launched in May

[@thecrazedjester13]

"Dusty's burrito filled, shit spraying ass" that made me almost pass out laughing

[@Spacewizzard090]

It's a frighteningly evocative statement, isn't it

[@Tormund_Giantsbrain]

Nothing says 'early 2000s' like those hideous extra baggy vinyl pants 😂

[@jknight1984]

And FUBU.

[@nickpastorino5370]

Don't forget the Wayne Static long spikey hair and hair gel.

[@JGD185]

And those shiny pants lol everyone had them

[@cchisolm92cc]

@Tiger don't forget those humongous goggles

[@bryanfoutsthelunchboxx4008]

Shut up...... 🤣😂🤣😂

[@brandoniswhoiam]

Jason Jett’s weird tights clearly gave Aliyah inspo.

[@chuytristan9717]

Reminds me of Zack Ryders half trunk half tights attire 😂

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

Tony schiavone:welcome everybody to the first greed PPV Me: it’s also the last greed PPV

[@aztecwrrior1997]

He didnt it was gonna be the last one

[@enigmaskull3495]

The one and only Greed PPV.

[@Demiglitch]

They brought back Halloween Havoc, wouldn't be surprised if NXT went through the Seven Deadly Sins.

[@jamesmiller5331]

👏👏👏 You did it!

[@speedwaynutt]

WCW next ppv was set to occur on May 6th, 2001, advertised as WCW Big Bang: The Creation Of The New WCW.

[@carybeweary7209]

In Las Vegas with an appearance by Macho Man too if I remember the Untold:The Failed Relaunch Of WCW episode right

[@Clay3613]

Big Implosion would be more apt.

[@SteRDLK]

Yeah it's literally mentioned in the video, thanks

[@zdziczaybozek2771]

Big Bang next Revolutin next GAB

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

Fun fact Paul London was also the fan that flair attacked during his feud with undertaker

[@enigmaskull3495]

The more you know.

[@zacharythomason7359]

Did not know that 🤔 Thanks

[@allengriggs8894]

That's interesting 🤔

[@edgymcedgelord5297]

Another fun fact: Did you know that at One Night Stand 05, JBL and Blue Meanie got into a shoot fight. On a serious note, RVD first appeared in wwf at late 90s when he was paid 100 bucks to kiss Ted Dibiases feet

[@JeffTullock-yx1hd]

Then came back and jobbed as Matt Burn. (KZbin) He should have stayed Matt Burn if you ask me.

[@theflaggedyoutuberii4311]

4:00 Why does Kwee-wee look like half his hair was burned off, while, the other half was hit by lightning?

[@samuelking7219]

Very bad luck lol

[@LanternSpawn]

He looks like a character you'd create in a video game.

[@paulgibbon5991]

@@LanternSpawn Set every slider to max!

[@lastfewtokes]

That Jason Jett vs Kwee Wee match was one of the greatest openers ever. Brian glossed over it but the handspring back elbow and kip up showed just how athletic he was. And the Blonde Bombshell reversal was absolutely incredible!

[@Mr_Leo_DS]

The reversal was incredible because it was almost a fatal botch, kinda like Lesnar's WrestleMania shooting star press

[@cayhle]

That reversal had been done in ECW before this by Kid Kash. It was featured in the ECW intro vid from the point after it happened until the company's close.

[@dishwasher1632]

and all he had to do was steal tajiris and candidos moves

[@Alsebra]

​@@cayhle, that's as may be...but neither Jason Jett nor Allan Funk (Kwee Wee) is Kid Kash. Not saying either one isn't athletic (they both are), just that Kid Kash knew what he was doing (likely due to his edge in experience...Kwee Wee had 5 years by the time WCW closed, Jett was in the indies for a decade before he popped up in ECW, then WCW; Kash started in '89 under training by Ricky Morton).

[@kirbichu54]

Rick Steiner without anything on his head for once is the weirdest look

[@jknight1984]

Funny thing is he didnt start wearing the headgear until the Varsity Club formed.

[@TheRoberino2001]

"Goes for a flying nothing but Connan gets the leg up." The most devastating move in the world of sports entertainment, "the flying nothing."

[@BmanTheChamp]

Worse than the surprise roll-up?

[@TheRoberino2001]

@@BmanTheChamp Worse than the rope swing school boy ;-p

[@technounionrepresentative4274]

In the unlikely case that i become a wrestler i am going to call my finisher "the flying nothing"

[@madbrowniac7871]

THAT'S the perfect Finisher for "The Invisible Man!" The Flying Nothing no Grenades required.😂🤣🎤🤼‍♂️B.W.

[@Mr_Leo_DS]

The funny part is that Konnan also almost misses him, you could call it a "nothing kick"

[@JustChrisTM]

Me at the beginning: Aw man, this is it. We should've seen if we can get Brian to shoehorn the last Nitro into this review. 30 min later: 👏👏👏👏👏

[@racewiththefalcons1]

The wrestling quality on this show was actually great. Imagine if WCW stuck around.

[@KHayes666]

Ive been saying that since he started the final ppv trilogy. After Russo went home and they shot Mark Madden out of a cannon, never to be seen again, the product actually improved. If Turner Broadcasting wasnt pulling the plug, WCW was prime for a comeback.

[@tghooker5123]

They had the talent. It's really disappointing. We missed out on a lot not potentially great matches. The wwe was not letting guys wrestle like this at the time.

[@KairosObj]

​@@tghooker5123 they still kinda don't let em wrestle like this.

[@119Agent]

If they cleared out the top talent that cost the money and fell back to Saturday night shows in a local studio they could have survived. But nobody at Time Warner AOL was willing to invest any more money into it.

[@namikstudios]

Yep WCW was actually improving during 2001. Heaps of young talent on the up like AJ Styles combined with the legends like Flair and Sting.

[@battlemasker2365]

"People are generally just jerks to Disco Inferno" A tradition Shark Boy continues to this day on Twitter

[@CollectWeMust]

And now Eddie Kingston has followed in his footsteps.

[@funnyjames7255]

Eric Bischoff's hair needs to be in the Hall Of Fame

[@AuroDHikoshi]

It's one of the last things in kayfabe, if you get your head shaved, the hair never grows back.

[@mikebottomlesspitdunham2954]

@@AuroDHikoshi well, his did, same with Vince's

[@timbartschwolfman]

Lol

[@The80sWolf_]

Then what about Kwee Wees?

[@MrRasnowman]

Agreed.

[@philipglover3295]

In Bishoff’s book he points out that Turner/AOL Time Warner wanted rid of WCW so that they could get the Atlanta Thrashers franchise in the NHL which they got . Ironically it was successful for a while before they dropped the ball and the NHL moved the franchise to Winnipeg so everybody lost

[@majortom331]

Lol

[@pauldoodnath8068]

Except Chris Jericho

[@jknight1984]

To that point, the Hawks and Thrashers were sold to a group that not only did not want the hockey team but had to take them both due to both playing at the Phillips Arena, but the owners ended up SUING EACH OTHER after the Joe Johnson signing. It was a mess.

[@DJVexillum]

The Thrashers? They're "in Winnipeg you idiot!" lol

[@harshckuk]

Ted Turner: I am Inevitable Vince : And I am Vincent Kennedy McMahon, Damn It !!!!!!

[@ProfePabloLeiva]

You're so delusional if you think that WCW finished because of Vince McMahon

[@harshckuk]

@@ProfePabloLeiva there is a reason Attitude era was born

[@ProfePabloLeiva]

In fact the actual rival in the "Monday Night Wars" was Eric Bischoff. Ted Turner is a billionaire that has issues more important than fighting another billionaire that invented a war by himself in order to achieve the wrestling monopole.

[@Larper64]

@@ProfePabloLeiva Agreed. I'm actually starting to wonder if Turner becoming less active in his company is actually what caused them to drop WCW. Looking at the timeline, and based on interviews with people in his life, it was likely early 2001 when Turner was diagnosed with the early signs of Lewy body dementia, which he only just recently came forward with publicly. That along with the Aol merger probably made it hard to justify holding onto the wrestling federation he purchased in 88. That mixed with pressure from above to get a more marketable property into those time slots probably didn't help.

[@jasonyoung1542]

Fun Fact : Kid Romeo now owns a Pest Control Company in Florida

[@chrisbreezy3048]

After their awkward back-and-forth a few years ago, hearing Brian actually pay a compliment to Shawn Stasiak's character work during this time period surprised me.

[@jeremyc9593]

Never heard about that. Did Stasiak get upset because Brian stated the obvious that Stasiak was always terrible no matter what gimmick they threw at him?

[@gabepollock1641]

⁠@@jeremyc9593Brian did a side series of videos for WrestleTalk in 2018 where he covered forgotten members of the WCW Invasion. In it, Brian criticized Shawn Stasiak for his role in nearly getting the WCW contingent pulled from Mania X-7, because he went on a radio show and spoiled their angle for the McMahon vs. McMahon street fight. Somehow Stasiak heard about it and called Brian a liar on Twitter, even though it’s been known for years that he was responsible for that angle being cut.

[@MarioUcomics]

If Turner still had WCW, it would be on HBO Max today

[@lordcolinb]

Amazing

[@DaftCowpunk]

We're all living in the wrong timeline

[@remixchild]

Until late 90’s when he sold his company to time Warner (big mistake) which they sold it to wwe (when the aol merger happened)

[@GreatMewtwo]

WCW Classics on HBO Max.

[@GinkgoPete]

That Kwee wee Jason Jett match looks so sick and ahead of its time

[@JoeAriminvm]

21:07 there's a human being unconscious on the floor and instead of helping him they're arguing on who did it 😂

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

And no one thought to check the SECURITY CAMERAS that seem to catch everything else on the show.

[@IntrovertedOreo]

Chris Kanyon was a damn pro, he was one of my favorites in WCW.

[@mmrion0]

Brian, once again, fantastic review and thank you so much for reviewing these final WCW PPVs. Greed, IMO, is an ultimate bittersweet show. WCW seemed to always favor the heels in many of their shows (especially during the nWo years). Yet, Greed seemed like a show that was finally giving the faces wins. Booker T, Shane Helms, and the Natural Born Thrillers winning at the time gave 12 year old me some optimism that "yay the good guys can win!". Only for the company to be gone 2 weeks later. Too little too late for WCW. It always makes me wonder what if the deal between Fusient and AOL/Time Warner didn't fall through like it did? Maybe the industry now would be different? Who knows, but it's still interesting to think about. Anywho, thanks again for doing this Brian. It was a nice month long trip down memory lane :D

[@richardtheconquerer]

It truly was the beginning of the end imo. WWF started to go into autopilot not long after this and hasn't really gotten out of it. TNA, AEW, "fill in the blank" promotions have all just been kinda eh to me. WCW vs WWF was where it was at back then

[@JackieTheBold]

*If it's professional wrestling then it must be greed!* Vince McMahon: "You said it, pal."

[@psychorabbitt]

IT'S GOOD SHIT, PAL.

[@TheChristianNomad]

The weird thing about AOL/Time Warner not wanting to guarantee a time slot was that Fusion literally only wanted 2hrs, no more. For a company with four 24/7 cable channels to not give 2hrs for a package show means there was more to it than just advertisers or it didn't their brand. I mean sure TNT was branding itself as a serious/drama channel, but TBS was branding itself as comedy.

[@EphPhaThaINC]

We need a “Disco Inferno owned Counter” in the lower corner of the tv to show and document all the times he gets owned just like Krillian on DBZA.

[@EphPhaThaINC]

@ZCS yeah, that’s what I said. I had to give a point of reference to my comment.

[@gaelsalerno1842]

Or Raditz

[@Stjurgeon]

Basically, Shawn Stacy-ak is Johnny Cage.

[@madddoggnogood1491]

Exactly what I thought

[@tylerdaviau4069]

I really look forward to the Classic PPV Reviews. It's my favorite part of the channel. Extremely nostalgic

[@Jrh-rp7np]

Man the cruiser weights were born in the wrong era... a lot Those guys would be in the worlds championship picture if they where around now

[@grungyasscinema]

Yeah, but they helped pave the way. So that was nice of them lol

[@hia5235]

Was the right era. Wouldnt be Cruisers without these guys.

[@CollectionCompletion]

I was there live! I was 16 at the time and had a really good time

[@Terrythetroll.]

That’s awesome

[@karlrudd8914]

I may have to see that whole jason jett match cause that looked dope as hell

[@professorBofFPU]

"People are generally just jerks to Disco Inferno" Good.

[@enigmaskull3495]

25:25 - 25:42

[@roodboy606]

It seems deserved. I wonder if he’s treated that way because he is a dick or if he became a huge dick because of how he was treated.

[@sumobo7108]

I don't know if disco had heat back then but from what I remember he did put decent matches

[@comixproviderftw_02]

After what he said about Brodie Lee after he died. Sweet justice.

[@KushClarkKent]

Why do people hate DIsco? Genuinely curious.

[@OH_MY_DOGGG]

They could have cross promoed with Creed and called it WCW Creed.

[@planetschlock]

Jason Jett/EZ Money and Kid Romeo were two guys from the dying days of WCW that I remember wanted to see more of in WWE and/or early TNA.

[@kidwaryodproduction]

I also love Kid Romeo to this day. His Instagram about his Trapper & Pest Extermination business was very entertain and funny to watch. And as I remember he still occasion wrestle.

[@speedwaynutt]

Random fact wwe still has a sign for this event in the wwe warehouse.

[@bargaintuesday812]

Then we have ourselves a plot for National Treasure 3.

[@bradcarver8127]

Nicolas Cage has already agreed to star without seeing a script

[@y4j1981]

To be fair why wouldn't they? Pretty sure they have all WCW's signs/etc in there wesrhouse

[@ericsmusic5927]

@@y4j1981 warehouse*

[@y4j1981]

@@ericsmusic5927 thanks for the contribution to the discussion

[@SNESertainment]

Jason Jett should have been signed to WWE or brought into tna. Such a waste that he didn’t continue on after WCW

[@SyndicateSuperman]

His contract WAS picked up by WWF in the buyout of WCW. He was sent to their developmental territory in Cincinnati and won their Heavyweight title twice before getting the ax a year later.

[@michiel1162]

I agree the guy had lots of potential

[@freddiejohnson6137]

To think WCW's Greed finally killed them

[@AuroDHikoshi]

WCW, Eric, Hogan and relying on NWO and NWO like-Heel Stables

[@freddiejohnson6137]

@@AuroDHikoshi no what killed them was the AOL Time Warner merger and them not wanting a wrestling product anymore and the deal to sell them fell through because they would have had no tv deal. My comment was more a play on words than anything.

[@AuroDHikoshi]

@@freddiejohnson6137 Yeah, although I think even if they had remained I think it was never going to hit another high... and also even more limited money and that deep into ways they'd not write out of

[@stephenrobinson8244]

Probably one of the most clean and consistent wcw ppvs I've ever seen reviewed by anyone. It seems they were finding a footing, just a day late and a dollar short

[@Tormund_Giantsbrain]

Jaime Kellner rolling over his grave now that there's lowbrow programming in TNT again 😂

[@FIXTREME]

Jamie Kellner died?

[@JamalTheTitan]

@@FIXTREME lol nah he's alive

[@ianbyrne465]

@@shawnbaker3245 a man of culture

[@chancefurlong372]

@Shawn Baker It's worth watching to me 🤷‍♂️

[@chancefurlong372]

I'm gonna commit the unforgivable sin and say it...njpw has been kinda trash this year. Evil joining the bullet club was the biggest womp womp of the year, so much potential and went nowhere. Overall product wise I'll pick aew over njpw for the year 2020.

[@duolcoiram3557]

After watching a bunch of these, it seems like late WCW had some quality wrestling despite the madness happening at the top of the card

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Those last couple years it was all about the midcard matches on the first half of the show. You could turn off Nitro half way through and not miss anything.

[@ggn3]

One thing you missed with the WCW closure was that Turner executives had been wanting to axe WCW for a while with its declining TV ratings which Ted Turner was able to hold off since he still had a high-level executive role to influence network programming and was a big pro wrestling fan. But with the Turner/ Time Warner merger's completion in 2001, Ted lost any power he had to block any decisions against WCW and led new Turner Broadcasting head Jamie Kellner to cancel WCW programming on Turner networks in March.

[@andreatastiere]

Back in 2001 WCW was the only wrestling we had in Italy and I also remember that our satellite tv company (Stream TV) couldn’t show the PPV, they wasn’t even purchasable via their own PPV system, so seeing these reviews by Brian is like rediscovering a past I couldn’t had the chance to see back then. I don’t watch wrestling anymore because with the death of WCW I felt something died in me, I learned to love WCW since it first came in September 1999 so when we all shifted to WWE (at the time still WWF) I know that it wasn’t the same product, even though it was clearly a better one. I lasted to something like 2007 with WWE and then I stopped all together. Thank you Brian for covering these shows and I can’t wait to see the review of Night of Champions, for me an unforgettable show!

[@MentalLiberation]

I got to take this time to say how awesome it was to know that M.I. Smooth was Ice Train. I really enjoyed watching Ice Train, seriously. I felt he could have done a lot more in wrestling. But, that's just me. Glad to see he returned to WCW for one last hurrah.

[@ocrbeats]

The scary thing is the brother still looks the same now in 2020 muscled up and everything. Barely aged. He has a KZbin channel I know that much

[@shannonhollister1863]

Old school Big E

[@reallyretro]

And to think WCW was actually turning the corner here, and focusing more on the younger talent and weeding out all the old timers.

[@DBSG1976]

Exactly, a solid bunch of storylines and matches. What a waste.

[@williamerazo3921]

@Jay Harv28 not really. Wwf should have let them produce content on another network

[@an0gr0br]

It’s too bad. Kind of interesting to think about what might have been had the sale to Bischoff gone through

[@tyrrellwilson4557]

@@DBSG1976 y_

[@J-Wall]

@@an0gr0br I'm glad Bischoff went to WWE. I was biased to WWE and did not know Bischoff well because I only watched WCW sometimes. Bischoff made me hate him, then miss him. One of the best if not the best heels to ever do it.

[@theflaggedyoutuberii4311]

15:30 Am I the only one who noticed the sign in the back: that says "Lex Loser," instead of,' Lex Luger.' No respect for the Lex.

[@AuroDHikoshi]

Although at that point did anyone actually want him around still?

[@jknight1984]

Luger: OOF!!

[@brad3042]

I didn't even know Lex and Buff were in a team. I stopped watching WCW regularly in 1998.

[@kennethallen3843]

From now on I will never refer to him as anything else but The Lex

[@AuroDHikoshi]

@@kennethallen3843 That would have been his 2000's name if wcw hadn't fallen off the cliff

[@hopefulhero95]

Wait...someone powerbombed Kidman??!??!?

[@aaronknowles5359]

“Chavo going for the Vertibreaker.” Maybe, or maybe he was going to hit the Gory Special.

[@Alsebra]

The Gory Special is a back-to-back backbreaker submission (basically turning your opponent into a backpack) while the vertebreaker is what we see here...the moves are fairly similar, but the biggest differences are the position of the opponent (upright in the submission, upside-down in the vertebreaker) and the style of move (submission vs. slam...but the Gory Special is easily turned into the Gory Bomb by releasing the opponent's arms (allowing them to fall away from your back), grabbing their legs (originally braced on your thighs), and slamming them face-first into the mat). For Chavo to have attempted the Gory Special, he'd have had to spin Helms 180° (so his head wasn't pointing towards the mat) and lock in the submission.

[@AndersonTenecela]

I know Brian Zane doesn’t review wrestling episodes, but he should do a review on the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro

[@damightybenstein]

Ask and you shall receive. (Spoiler for the end of the video.)

[@TMC1982Part2]

Wrestling With Wregret vids you'd like to see: officialfan.proboards.com/thread/607193/wrestling-wregret-vids Wrestler retrospectives: Lex Luger in WWF Hulk Hogan in TNA Kevin Nash in TNA Steve Austin in ECW Sandman in WCW Raven in WCW Promotion Graveyard: GWF GLOW/POWW LPWA XPW Movie Reviews: Bad Guys Countdown Suburban Commando They Live Any of Austin's movies Woodshop (With Jesse Ventura) Music Reviews: WCW Slam Jam WCW Mayhem: The Music WWF Forceable Entry Terry Funk: Great Texan (that last one may be a bit hard to find) Top 8 Lists: TOP 8 worst announcers Top 8 Best/Worst TNA PPVs Top 8 forgotten New Generation Stars Top 8 forgotten Attitude era stars Top 8 best finishing moves Top 8 best years for RAW

[@cthulhupthagn5771]

maybe you should comment after watching the video. not before

[@Xurts]

“The Vulvarine” Tremendous

[@themedianman9712]

I was just about to ask whether we all were going to ignore the fact that someone called themselves the vulvarine. Thankfully, you were on the case.

[@rayelgatubelo]

That was Val Venis's first choice for a nickname

[@allengriggs8894]

WT literal fuck and who in the blue and white hell is that lol 😂😂

[@foxwolf316]

man hope this main event is better then the sin ppv or revenge superbrawl, we don't want to end it with a wimper, sin got negative 1 star, superbrawl got a half star, hope this show goes higher then a c+

[@jonathanturbide2232]

The only good thing about this PPV is the fact Dusty and Flair had a match on it, pretty cool to think they were a part of the last WCW pay per view.

[@monkeyman5866]

The last PPV of WCW on the last Wednesday of 2020. What a culmination of shitty last things.

[@edalder2000]

There is a great book called "Nitro." It's an oral history of WCW from 1995 to the end in 2001. There is a great deal of detail about The Fusion attempted purchase. Ted Turner had had wrestling on TBS since the 70's and as long as Ted was in charge, WCW had a home. The AOL/Time Warner deal in 2000 meant Turner no longer the final authority. Remember how TNT now talks up how "TNT knows drama?" That got its start here. Get shows and movies that would get ratings and, most importantly, advertising money. WCW had been created in 1988 and never turned a profit until 1995. It also made money in 1996 and 1997 when wrestling was white hot as pop culture. Once that started to fade, WCW did not make profits. As soon as Ted Turner was removed as the final authority over WCW, the guardian angel that kept things safe for WCW was gone.

[@sumobo7108]

Thanks for this.

[@CollectWeMust]

They actually turned a profit in 98 as well according to Big Dave. 99 was the year they lost 40 million.

[@philkessel8162]

I know this has been said thousands of time over but damn there’s a crazy big difference in what wcw was in 95-99 compared to 00-01

[@crooker23]

"Pretty" Sean Stasiak lmao. the 8x10 gimmick works to this day

[@garlicbread853]

I agree. It would be great for a modern day heel to start doing it. MJF for example.

[@LaughNStalk]

"Jarrett & Flair say they refuse to kiss Dusty's burrito-filled shit spraying ass" is a bumper sticker if I've ever heard one

[@bryantrichardson7913]

I miss WCW so much. Even when it sucked

[@HabsMike25]

WCW 1999-2001 is better than Raw & SD is now. Sad but true

[@juanalvitez1054]

Watch Nitro from 2001 is a lot better and interesting than WWE 2021.

[@jayanxiety]

WWE was only good when WCW was around. Most of what WWE was doing back then was first started by WCW!

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

It's easy to forget how, even in its dying days when the booking was earning a place for itself in history as "How To Kill A Wrestling Promotion", WCW still managed to have a lot of really great wrestling when it was able to get away from screwy finishes and nonsensical angles, particularly from the ever-consistent cruiserweights.

[@TrunksEDTW]

Only in pro wrestling will you get two wrestlers upset that they have to put over 2 young wrestlers in an 8 minute match, and they're plan is to, wait for it, put them over in less than a minute and sell super hard for them, good plan guys lmao.

[@stevenmacaulay8807]

Should have pulled an Andre and took a count out loss.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

They must have been reading the Shawn Michaels playbook, and overdid it! I've never even seen HBK oversell to that degree, even when he was in his douche oversell to spoil the match if he didn't like you era.

[@edog4153]

This will begin the trend of "Thr classic weekly show review" Can't wait for BZ's review of the episode of Triple H f*cking a mannequin.

[@mrkipling2201]

Thanks for bringing us reviews for the last few PPV’s WCW ever did. As someone who didn’t really watch WCW, especially towards the end of its run, I knew next to nothing about these shows. Very interesting to see how it ended. Thanks again Brian.

[@sumobo7108]

Me too,I cant afford wcw ppv so I just watch nitros.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

Seeing a solid grade on the last PPV of WCW 2000 is like hearing about the passing of Mr. Brodie Lee. My condolences are with Jon Huber's wife and their kids. :(

[@mjstory1976]

Huber*

[@viperxtj61x78]

Using a death to make a joke isn't funny

[@kenterminateddq5311]

@@viperxtj61x78 It wasn't meant as a joke. I just brought it up because I was so upset that I had to comment on Brodie's death. Plus, I did send a shoutout to Amanda and Brodie's kids.

[@uthertheking]

Signing a picture of yourself to give to the guy you beat. How very Johnny Cage.

[@mcj88]

12:03 - Dustin: "Sure you got enough burritos?" Dusty: "Yeh; I wanted to be safe, so I ordered 270, babeh." Dustin: *_"270?!_* Dad, that's almost two gross!" Dusty: "...Oops."

[@nicktaylor2657]

Somewhere John Nord was laughing when Brian talked about Dusty's muffler

[@vjacheslavdvorc]

I am from Latvia, and in my country the Championship was also shown on the TNT channel. but only to the Russian channel, it coincided so well. Thank you for the nostalgia, whatever it may be. Rest in peace WCW. Soon 20 years to Goodbye.

[@djmankowitz9510]

I was wondering why this was suggested to me today. Then I saw how, on this show, one of the companies top tag teams responded to disagreements with booking. Well done, algorithm. Way to keep things relevant.

[@MysticRhythms87]

I can't be the only one who watches the "People are generally just jerks to Disco Inferno" part and feel the urge to start chanting "You Deserve It! 👏 👏 👏👏👏"

[@robw5741]

Id guess the "burritos smelling" was someone having gas .....

[@robw5741]

They weren't going to shit on them but wanted to have extreme gas for the ass kissing. You should allow viewers to put the lil bells in.

[@rhenmartneildelacruz159]

I got used to the Bearded Brian Zane. HAHA. Happy New Year in advance! :)

[@theflaggedyoutuberii4311]

3:55 This is what Owen Hart's wife said: when she heard Vince McMahon wasn't paying out.😦

[@johnthesportsarchivist2600]

Kid Romeo looks like a cross between Prince Iaukea & Sonny Siaki.

[@GlenGlingo9]

Hearing the story of Luger and Bagwell being unprofessional makes that Lex Loser sign 16:13 very fitting.

[@ssx3000]

These reviews will always get a thumbs up for the theme song for reviews

[@kennethallen3843]

The classic PPV videos have been great to watch this year especially during the lockdowns. Have a happy new year Zane

[@DojoVII]

Been watching these WCW reviews recently. Gotta say this about WCW, they were top notch with their cruiserweights

[@tthomaselli2]

Wrestling With Wregret- Around 20:24-20:27, I was reminded about something as it pertains to Bad News Brown. He used the 'Enziguri' as his finishing move in the WWF & at that time in the late-1980's & the mid-1980's, it was renamed to 'The Ghetto-Blaster', as well.

[@dupeesfashionconsultant4204]

Those first two matches were incredible. I've never seen those before, it was amazing. But even after all this time it is so strange to see rey without a mask

[@pendafen7405]

6:39 it's breathtaking watching Kidman's WCW-era shooting stars. every time idk whether he's gonna kill himself or someone else, but damn in the moment it's the most gorgeous and exciting vision in the world

[@namikstudios]

Check out Juvi's 450 splash for another insane finisher.

[@RoXolid]

I know this is lame but every time I hear "Toe Jam" as your intro audio I smile as that's been my outro audio, but I've mentioned this in the past. I wish we had a successfull WCW through the early 2000s, wrestling was so terrible at that time.

[@TheTrainFan9]

17:13 This is the song written for the grudge match, This is the match, Ernest and Chris! He tried to kill him with a forklift! *WHO BETTA*

[@JustinLeeper]

Well researched, well delivered analysis. Great work, Zane!

[@christophhanke6627]

Wait, so Crash Landing is now the X-Plex by Pete Dunne and the afterburn is the buckshot lariat now. What an Inspiration that man is xD

[@KidGravityBeyond]

Scott Steiner was an underrated Champion.

[@dustman820]

During that time, most people thought Steiner was the lone highlight of the company even though he was a nightmare backstage.

[@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti6854]

It's interesting to note that the Steiner Brothers book ended the WCW pay per views. Rick Steiner was in the very first opening match at WCW's FIRST pay per view _Starrcade'87 Chi-town Heat_ in a six man tag team match teaming with Eddie Gilbert and Larry Zbyszko vs Sting, Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin. Scott Steiner was main eventing in the last match at WCW's LAST pay-per-view _Greed_ defending the World title vs Diamond Dallas Page...

[@victoryusmc]

That intro music always gets me pumped!

[@Cobralalalala]

Great review! For all the problems WCW had toward the end, and they were plentiful, they had one hell of an undercard. It really makes me curious how some people's careers would have gone if they had continued, particularly Helms and Kanyon.

[@lambdalambdalambda257]

This pay-per-view had one of the most talented lineups I've ever seen. Almost every single wrestler is pretty amazing.