The Radicalz Bail On WCW In A Carefully Planned Mutiny | War Stories

War Stories - Episode 3: During the Monday Night Wars, real-life conflict proved to be just as enjoyable as the on-screen melodrama - in fact, oftentimes moreso. And when four of the most gifted in-ring performers simultaneously made tracks from Atlanta to New York at the turn of the millennium, you'd better believe eyebrows were raised...
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Cultaholic provides video coverage of professional wrestling - including WWE (including WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown Live, WWE NXT and 205 Live), AEW, IMPACT Wrestling (formerly TNA), NJPW, ROH, and more with daily news updates, reviews, highlights, predictions, reactions, podcasts and much, much more.

[@1survivor566]

WCW: "I'm gonna steal all of your old established stars" WWE: "Imma take your future"

[@Danyella72]

I never looked at it like that before Nice one!

[@1survivor566]

Ryan Alexander Music I mean, not really. Jericho is 49, Hardy is 45, Lee is 40. Hell Moxley is 34 too which isn't "old" but he's no youngin either

[@prj7894]

@@ryan_alexander .or wwf

[@anilkumar-fk8fc]

@@ryan_alexander AEW is playing both 😂 WWE and WCW

[@davidlewis5312]

very true. Big Show, Jericho, Eddie, Benoit. Those men shaped the 2000's and two of them were mainstays in WWE for over a decade well after WCW's death.

[@lloydrusbatch5382]

Absolutely loving Sam's war stories. His narration skills are superb.

[@gdillonread66]

@@ihaveawhiteguysmustache4077 yeah how strange is it for this guy to leave a positive comment on a video he watched! People should only watch videos they hate and leave shitty comments on strangers posts. Way to go CJ. You big winner!!

[@Bixfigur]

james Nas fuck you pussy

[@justintallman3398]

It really does feel like a documentary

[@-Trauma.]

I thought this was a Sam Roberts video I was about to exit until I heard him start talking.

[@carnivalgenesiscross9055]

They really are.

[@MrGrugsy]

Ending it with Saturn on a good note... nice touch. I still feel bad for that dude to this day after watching his fall from grace. Still think he's one of the most criminally underrated guys from that era.

[@user-ns7tv2li1u]

Don't feel bad for him...actually blame himself to be a non brained, lazy and drugged abuse... He screwed himself... And people had to stop accuse Terri for this... She helped him so much...

[@serendankitymcgee3594]

Him and Bam Bam I believe will forever be two of the most underappreciated acts, perfect for being able to mix strength, good technical, and brawling and even high flying

[@user-ns7tv2li1u]

@@serendankitymcgee3594 Don't compare Bam Bam to anyone... He was a truly Professional hard working wrestler and a very good man...Saturn not an inch of him...

[@MrGrugsy]

@@serendankitymcgee3594 Bam Bam was amazing and I agree.

[@MrGrugsy]

@@user-ns7tv2li1u Why do you have such a hardon for Saturn bro? How did he hurt you?

[@mariolover2222]

I respect y'all got not showing Rey without his mask 👍

[@dennett316]

They did, at 12:16. True, a hat is covering a bit of his face, but it's an unmasked Rey nonetheless.

[@VSMOKE1]

Na it was bullshit that's the first thing I thought Rey took it off people should see it in the video if hes talking about it without having to google it

[@mariolover2222]

@@VSMOKE1 it was respectful my dude, Rey didn't want to take the mask off and as soon as he could he put it back on. If you want be disrespectful and look it up it's on you

[@bspsdad]

@1-800-Wavy grow the fuck up

[@UntitledNerdNetwork]

I've got a story. Met Rey Mysterio at a world of wheels event years back. I had him autograph an 8x10 glossy of him unmasked from wcw. Didn't know til just a year or two ago that was disrespectful to do, but that was 15 years ago. I hope I'm not that asshole fan he might on occasion mention to friends.

[@brynellsidney3983]

The midcard was really holding the WCW down when the main event scene started to fall.

[@brianhall4182]

The midcard was the main reason I watched WCW back in the day. Mysterio, Kidman, Guerrero, Malenko, Saturn, Raven, Juventud, Jericho, Psychosis, pretty much every Lucha Libre wrestler, heck, even Disco Inferno was fun. And the matches and athleticism on display were leagues above what I viewed, as a kid, as the slow plodding 'pick them up and slam them' matches. I still think the Malenko vs. Jericho feud was the best story WCW ever told.

[@herpderp7264]

The main event scene had been garbage in WCW for years because of Hogan's creative control rights and bad booking.

[@ScarfaceFranckRibery]

The midcard is why I watched WCW. When it came to the main events, I switched to Raw

[@T3l3MuNd0]

Guerrero said it best "we were the backbone of that company"

[@ralphhogandogger8929]

@@brianhall4182 Me too, on like everything you just said. And yes Disco wasn't as good as the other guys you brought up, he WAS fun, witty and charismatic. They really made the first 2 hours of a 3 hour show watchable. I literally came here to say the exact same thing. And also the man of 1004 holds was my favorite Jericho until the list happened. Remember his list of his 1004 moves? "Left punch, Right punch..." Also I thought Raven was a very compelling character

[@brianban110]

this is depressing for me because Eddie and Benoit are two of my favorite pro wrestlers ever .

[@smoky3302]

Eddie is mine too but that Benoit is a demon who is now in hell for killing his own child.

[@joeyzapata6786]

@1-800-Wavy O_o

[@SairajRKamath]

Even when he's young, Dean Malenko looks old.

[@TheRealKillingMoon]

When you have the burden of being the man of a thousand holds, it happens to the best of them.

[@CRob172]

he also if I am note mistaken was actually 40 when they moved to the wwf

[@timdurgan]

Similarly, Perry Saturn has always been a 60 year old man

[@tempestfennac9687]

@@CRob172 He was born in August '60 so he was 39 at the time he moved to the WWF.

[@oceanpacific3841]

Ric flair and even Charlotte flair looked old when young

[@TheF5Mafia]

This is what makes me love Cultaholic more than WhatCulture WWE. Keep this up guys these types of videos are incredible!

[@engelskmann2011]

BronzeBrawn exactly my thoughts, instead of going about bashing like WC does on a daily basis, cultaholic looks at both sides and has a non-biased opinion about WWE

[@PrnvP23]

I unsubscribed from WhatCulture very soon after these guys left to form Cultaholic. Gave it a chance for a while but aside from Simon it felt really mediocre.

[@Tony-fq5bn]

Whatculture too mainstream, they inject a lot of unnecessary BS into their product

[@jcngokai-76]

The Radicalz’s debut came on the same day as the Alaskan Airlines flight landed off the San Diego coast upside down, and on a very personal note, I lost my grandfather that morning. Twenty-one years and I still remember that day as if it was yesterday.

[@ahmadridley]

Hands down the best wrestling content going right now. Sam's narration, the music bed in the background, everything about this is awesome. Keep going fellas!

[@codystokes4770]

Ahmad Ridley totally agree

[@ahmadridley]

@@FreshNews247 I saw the Benoit one yesterday it was probably the best doc about Benoit I have seen.

[@ahmadridley]

@@FreshNews247 go to the VICE KZbin channel. The full part 1 episode is up there

[@pramodhify]

This series, "war stories" qualifies to be a proper Studio produced documentary content 😀👏👏👏 well done guys👍

[@jeremyshaw577]

This could be your guys finest work.

[@gdillonread66]

This is the best wrestling content on KZbin. Well done mate and keep these war stories coming.

[@GuitarnoobJulian]

OSW Review Mate

[@DebitAdams]

Wrestlelamia The Final Bell is better

[@RockSmith-rl9qr]

@@DebitAdams I like the Wrestlelamia videos but I get tired of him reading several paragraphs thru the video. Or maybe it's just his voice I got tired of. I like OSW but they seem a bit to distracted

[@RealRandomTM]

Raw vs. Nitro "Reliving The War" is on KZbin.

[@mackisbrocklesnar]

Content and production quality of this series is absolute Gold. Honestly, it is too good to be available for free. Lots of love and respect for you guys.

[@joenintendo]

I wonder, in hindsight, if Malenko and Saturn wish they would have stayed in WCW. WCW may not have been doing much with them up to that point, but with the reboot coming soon and knowing now that WWF did almost nothing with them, maybe it could have been them at the top of the card instead of Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, or Scott Steiner. Just a thought

[@kwizzeh]

Many overlook how many amazing technical matches put on during ECW's hayday that it's depressing that many people don't know or completely overlook it.

[@Akuzastar]

Stood in tesco in a cue watching/listening to this. Waiting to pay. This helps. Many thanks 👌

[@jonathonthezombie]

It's sad to say I spend more time watching KZbin videos of old wwf/wcw content than the current product

[@jad43701]

Try some Mid-South Wrestling. You might be surprised at at who all went through there. It's also from when the shows were actually fun to watch.

[@antelope316]

P Michaud me too... Constantly!

[@bryguysays2948]

Wrestling today just plain and sucks compared to 90's wrestling.

[@paulk6399]

No need to be sad It’s like saying you’re sad that you’re going to the buffet rather than the pile of shit your owners are giving you

[@Beetlejuice2959]

@ P Michaud - Must say that I'm the same really looking at wrestling from 80's, 90's and early 2k's. There was also a good documentary on TV recently about Andrei the Giant that he basically basically bossed the other wrestlers around and no one crossed him lol

[@masterofanything]

This is genuinely my favourite series of videos that you guys are putting out please keep going with these Sam, I love the detail and everything and can tell this is a passion project much love.

[@RMGLUCK]

For what it's worth, I interviewed Benoit a few months before the tragedy and he said that, when the boys first went to ask for their releases, the group was 12 strong. Of these, they only ones he would name were the Radicalz and Shane Douglas. Always wondered who the others might have been - Kanyon? Kidman? Bagwell?

[@kastore9364]

According to Kanyon's RF interview, he definitely would have jumped with these four if he had actually been at the PPV when they all got their releases, but he was on suspension at the time.

[@pauldinzeo3222]

These War Stories are fantastic! The only disappointing moment was when it ended. You guys should do full length documentaries, I would buy every one you made.

[@Matthew-ty5zv]

This was really well made. Took me right back to that exciting time.

[@adamliddy800]

having a war stories marathon didn't know y'all had this. Amazing breakdown and facts giving to wild tales. well done

[@TheWhaller]

I have listened to the War Stories playlist multiple times and I still love them

[@srenolsson1235]

This is absolutely top notch stuff from Sam and the rest of the guys. The narration, music, buildup - everything is immaculately done. Massively entertaining and educating content

[@Gojira_Sama]

1998-2003 was the greatest era of american wrestling hands down.. such a magical time to be a kid

[@t.v.rockwell4504]

This is the content I've been missing in Cultaholic for a long time.

[@walksinthedarkness]

As much as people mention how the smaller guys didn't get a push in WCW, you can't help but notice the change in Eddie and Benoit's physiques once they moved to the WWE.

[@juliusharrell8166]

You Mean WWF ?

[@walksinthedarkness]

Yes, if you want to be specific. That period before the World Wildlife Fund forced the WWF to change their acronym to WWE. Both Guerrero and Benoit both wrestled in both organisations (if you want to call them separate organisations.)

[@Mattitude23]

Again, I just have to say that i love the storytelling and video package in this series. Good job guys

[@outlawrip-offartist4161]

It’s working with what you’ve got and that is for everything in life never forget that.

[@reikwestphilly1599]

I feel like the radicals coming to wwe meant the end for wcw

[@elgringo1058]

I feel it was when Jericho did.... they all saw his build up and entrance and then his rise....

[@nick56677]

It was a big part. First it was Paul "Big Show/Giant" Wight, then Jericho, and the Radicalz all in a years time. Not to mention the oldest one at the time was Malenko at like 37. WCW let their future walk right out the door to their competitor while keeping washed-up has beens with huge egos like Nash, Hall Hogan etc which is the main reason all those guys left. They wanted an opportunity to shine and be paid. Not be held down by the Egos of wcw

[@nicksirmon2278]

The script on this video is incredible this is why you guys are so great I get to laugh while watching the news and Wtf but I also get to watch the best wrestling content on KZbin with great videos like this

[@davidlandry3487]

War Stories is becoming one of the true highlights of my week. Thanks for telling this story. It may be common knowledge by now, but the delivery of this video is captivating.

[@Elkott]

This is my favourite series on Cultaholic

[@MrTheSmurf]

Have to say this is my new favourite series. Sam's vo has such conviction, knowledge and excellence. This series rivals the production of dark side of the ring for me. For someone who didn't watch wrestling and was only a small child during the Monday night wars it's so fascinating and informative. Fantastic content lads.

[@zzanityy2784]

I would recommend for everyone to also watch the recent documentary VICE made on Benoit, unfolding even more on what he had with Kevin Sullivan and whatever happen on WCW. But this video is just as great

[@GerritCoulter]

Absolutely loving this series!

[@TheScottwright]

This is a great video. It's a shame what ended up happening with three of the four guys such massive talents.

[@KatarHero72]

No kidding. Eddie dying before age 40. Benoit needs no explanation. Saturn's decade long battle with intense substance abuse. Malenko managed to escape with his body and his mind, and he is lucky for it.

[@AlarmingBlueThunder]

Hyper10sion Malenko has Parkinson’s

[@giarichards8379]

Saturn: I haven’t had fun in a long time. Me: You ain’t seen nothing yet. 💀😂

[@arizonawrestlinginterviews1040]

Saturn "I haven't had this much fun in a long time." If he only knew what lay ahead...

[@LoftusWatching]

Absolutely incredible quality. The research and information along with the production and narration are just superb. Gonna go and check out the previous two and looking forward to seeing more in the future!

[@llum0121]

My favourite series you guys have done so far

[@YoitsDeMo]

These videos are some of the best wrestling info videos i have ever seen. Please keep this series going for a long time!

[@coreybuck7136]

after reading The Death of WCW and the recent uploads of War Stories, I’d love for Sam and Tom or Maffew to give us a Cornette-style Omnibus type project

[@EnigmaticAnamoly]

Did Dean ever not look like he was in his late 30's??? 😂

[@jacobstallsmith4557]

These are so fantastic making sunday morning better

[@jameswood7614]

I got chills and my scalp started tingling when you were describing how fans viewed and connected with Benoit twards the beginning of the video

[@TrenchReynolds]

I remember hearing that Shane Douglas wanted to go with them but the WWE was like "Nah, we're good."

[@Thor-Orion]

Not the case. It’s quite a bit more complicated than that. Douglas was still mad at Vince for in his words “starving” him when he had worked for WWF previously. But he wanted to stay with his boys. The thing is that they were ready to leave before he was and so they just ghosted on him.

[@Nostalgicguy2242]

@@Thor-Orion they actually were a stable in WCW sans Eddie Guerrero who was with Konan's Filthy Animals group... I don't know the story with them showing up with Eddie instead of Douglas... Douglas being the leader of the group in the WWF would be the icing of the cake since his verbal skills were remarkable compared to the rest of them and adding the fact that he would have it for Vince for wasting him with "The Dean" several years earlier would've been great... Douglas could had been the new Stone Cold but his friends axed him instead leaving him to rot in silly angles with "Buff the Stuff"..

[@Thor-Orion]

@@Nostalgicguy2242 i do know the story. They were called The Revolution in WCW, and you can actually find videos on youtube of Shane talking about how he wanted them all to stick together while negotiating. That obviously didn’t happen. But the wwf didn’t want Franchise Shane Douglas because they already stole his entire gimmick and gave it to “The Game” Triple HGH.

[@fizzyfuzz5878]

Don’t understand why Russo never at least tried giving Goldberg the world title again. Nothing else was moving the needle, yet he made himself and Arquette champion. Then Jarrett like 50 times in one year

[@datrux]

Because Russo was terrible and didn't know what he was doing.

[@samwilliams7243]

The production level on these videos is another level up and Sam’s voice works brilliantly! Great work guys, can’t wait for the next one!

[@hokiebuddy]

It’s amazing how much current wwe is like wow at the end. Minus the money trouble

[@Trentus86]

You guys are smashing it with this series. All three episodes so far have been fantastic to watch. Keep it up!

[@Nazzlover38]

These guys were literally the Backbone of WCW. When they left, the company lost it's main support.

[@eddiebaker40]

Absolutely one of the best things on wrestling KZbin already. Such good shit, pals.

[@rossanderson1892]

dean malenko and lance storm should have been the top heels of WWE at that time. Like beat-them-get-title-shot tag team (singles stable for work horse belt), so under rated.

[@lukeburton2107]

I am so impressed with the upgrade in quality since y'all have rebranded

[@Linusofthedead]

So are we going to forget Benoit was a horseman with Pillman? I mean, that is a HUGE deal.

[@michaeldennistooley4271]

Piper and Hogan was a great you goddamn mark ☮️

[@trentonhainline4424]

I love the war story series guys. Looking forward to hearing more

[@Naruto0s44]

It was executed beautifully my sister marked out when these guys came out she was shocked and I didn't know who they were untill I did my research

[@venkaramon]

Really enjoying this coz i missed the monday night wars.

[@charleebrown7188]

Nice touch. Announcing Bret Hart's career was over with a picture of him standing next to the guy that ended it.

[@Drakeo83]

I really hope that there's an episode about the ROH/CZW Turf War Godammit,I loved that angle was so well done!

[@kathartik]

guys. do more stuff like this. this is great to see. less of that cringey "join us" stuff, more long form video essays.

[@jerrym1218]

I’ll never forget the special night in January of 2000 when watching Monday Night Raw and seeing the usual Attitude Era and McMahon Helmsley Era and enjoying the show, but then as JR and King are talking about the random things they usually talked about on WWF Raw TV, the camera pans to the front row of the crowd by ringside and sitting down in the seats with the many fans was Perry Saturn, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko, and I was in shock, I quickly said, oh shit those are WCW guys what are they doing here? I could have sworn I just seen them last week on WCW, and now they are here in the WWF crowd?? Then JR and King actually acknowledged who they were by their actual names and said themselves what they are doing there sitting at ringside that they were very tough talented young men too. I then said oh shit, they are probably jumping ship and coming here, I hope that is the case because they are awesome wrestlers. Sure enough they got involved with the show and attacked the WWF wrestlers in the ring and then had a conversation with Mick Foley in the back, and welcomed them to the team. It was such an amazing moment in wrestling, I’ll never forget it.

[@jurisfootrag]

I distinctly recall the chunk of Whopper Jr. that fell out of my mouth when I saw The Radicalz on WWF.

[@JWS1985]

Lol

[@FutureOverYou]

These are top notch. Well done, lads.

[@dasdeke]

This just came up in my feed, and I was pleasantly surprised. Nicely done!!

[@evilperp9252]

Seems like everyone is talking about Chris Benoit this year 🙏❤️

[@reikwestphilly1599]

That's so true... Enough time has passed it seems like

[@codystokes4770]

J Lebleu Yes enough time to talk about it?

[@reikwestphilly1599]

@J Lebleu yes we don't have to accept what he did to speak on his legacy and it's been damn near 15 years since it happened

[@coreylineberry8557]

J Lebleu You have to think... Benoit was a broken man.

[@coreylineberry8557]

Big Al I’m not justifying what he did in any way whatsoever. What he did was abhorrent. But you have to look at the facts, mainly that his brain was more a pile of goo than a functional organ.

[@carloshormaza6093]

I truly do love this serie

[@edalder2000]

There is an old saying that Kevin Sullivan booked his own divorce.

[@darthroden]

The biggest mistake WCW made was allowing Bishoff, Hogan and Nash keep guys like Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, and Chris Benoit in mid-card status and call them "vanilla midgets". These guys and others like Rey Mysterio and the other Luchadores were the heart and soul of Monday Nitro. None of them were allowed to be more than mid-carders or curtain jerkers. Meanwhile Hogan and his buddies were getting paid millions for more or less showing up and talking in long-winded promos that even Triple H would have found tiring after awhile.

[@Nbflowers1989]

This was one of my "what's going on" moment. A little weird as a WCW kid seeing some of my fave wrestlers going over to WWE.

[@dylanogg347]

It wasn't just Benoit, Guerrero, Malenko and Saturn who wanted to go out. Shane Douglas, Konnan, Juventud Guerrera and a few others wrestlers were among the dissatisfied group. And Douglas was apparently a hair's breadth away from going as well.

[@dylanogg347]

@Th3Aggr3ssiv3 Cons3rvativ3 Aye, that's probably the reason why. Because of his beef with The Kilq, he was blacklisted. Plus he was on bad terms with some of the folks running it. I don't know exactly who, but Douglas has a knack for making problems on his own.

[@Tony-fq5bn]

The idea its a tragedy, that Benoit didn't win the belt before 99, is so FREAKIN ludicrous, WcW was stacked....STACKED, with so many people WAY ahead of Benoit in popularity, and even when he went to WWF he didn't win the title there till 2004. Chris Jericho too......, like WTF Chirs Jericho was supposed to have a legitimate feud with Goldberg in 98??? Chris Jericho was a popular comedy character at that point, how does that make sense. Guarantee Y2J isn't feuding with Stone Cold in WWF in 98.

[@SteamTitan]

Based on how crazy and out of control WCW was near the end I'm not surprised a knife was pulled or a threat issued

[@maodijong3661]

Benoit was the biggest name of the lot and although Eddie and Malenko were exceptional workers and getting bigger....Saturn though was always just a weirdo lol

[@paulk6399]

I really, really like that the only mention of them actually going to WWF is in the last 10 seconds

[@AMFROMTHEHAHB]

Chris Benoit being held back.... won the WCW world title. 😂

[@Millwall77]

That was just a way to make him stay.

[@saj8]

My first reaction when they came in was "What the hell is Saturn doing wearing a leather Kufi?"

[@rliptak2]

These guys must have seen jericho's debut and thought "why not me?" They were all in the same boat as jericho in wcw.

[@FMecha]

Does this feel a bit coincidential considering this came merely days after DSOR Benoit episode?

[@KCIAN2]

Kind of like Secret Base's rewind series.... I like it.

[@TonyDeSousa]

Fantastic video.

[@johnathanrush4666]

Totally forgot they debuted in Pittsburgh, that had to sting even more for Douglas

[@josephmatthews7698]

It's so freaking weird how young Perry Saturn looks like old Buff Bagwell. Like was Perry the Benjamin button Buff Bagwell or something? My brain has melted. Did Matt Hardy travel in time and cross the streams and timelines or something?

[@macca9282]

Think this is my new favourite show you guys do, give Sam a raise!

[@josephlatourette8329]

I once heard a theory that said Vince McMahon sent Vince Russo into WCW to help bring it down

[@andrewmcgregor7097]

Anyone else loving these war stories videos 👏

[@axzaxz6]

Perry Saturn's the man! Underrated

[@masterxiong7368]

Dude i grew up watching these "new"guys in WWF now WWE. Boy that was the right move n both the guys and WWE.

[@ChurchOfTUPAC]

Grat video, Sam. Excellently written.

[@Kyle-gi2jb]

WCW lost the best in ring workers when Guerrero, Benoit, Malenko, and Saturn left.

[@ThePrynceemo]

What a great concept. Good job.

[@kyledamron]

The whole cruiserweight division was littered with great performers like Benoit, Eddie, Malenko, Jericho, rey jr., and ultimo dragon. They could have all been brought up to the main event, maybe not Ultimo but he could have been us champ or high mid card. Even Billy Kidman was over for a while, his banger theme helped

[@Tw1s7]

If you haven't gotten the chance, go watch *The Dark Side of the Ring* , as the latest episode features the first part of a two parter on the Benoit Tragedy. You will cry, I guarantee it.

[@realtalkrob]

Really love and enjoy this series

[@willjohnboy]

Sean waltman was a wwf wrestler first as 123 kid he left for wcw then came back as xpac and adam edge Copeland was a wcw wrestler first.

[@stillme1065]

So was HHH

[@stillme1065]

Terra Rizin or something like that

[@patrickperalta59]

Undertaker when in WCW was told by Ole Anderson that no one would pay to see him samething was said to Austin and HHH by Bishoff along with being fired by Fax...................both Ole and Eric were wrong. Undertaker, HHH and Austin became famous and many Fans paid to see them. you got to love a person telling a wrestler "No one will pay to see you only to be proven wrong and end up with egg on their face.

[@Jestin612]

I remember when these 4 came from wcw. WWF was on a roll