Alternate Universe: What If WCW Had Survived?

Image Source: Wrestlingfigs.com

Written By: Mark Armstrong

In 2001, the wrestling business changed dramatically. Both ECW and WCW went under, the latter being purchased by the WWF. The short-term fall-out included the Invasion angle by what would become a WCW/ECW Alliance, followed by the Brand Extension split of the WWF/WWE which set the course of history on a new path. But what if WCW had remained in existence?

Although ECW had a loyal following, it simply would not and could not have grown into a mainstream powerhouse, unless it was acquired by a larger parent organisation; and if that had been the case, the vulgar style of the company may have been forced to change. However, WCW was a major mainstream wrestling promotion, even during its final months of life. Therefore, its demise had a much bigger impact. But it's interesting to consider how things might have transpired had the company managed to continue.

Firstly, WCW would not have been on the air in April of 2001, even if the WWF purchase had not happened. Eric Bischoff and his financial backers Fusient Media Ventures had hoped to buy the organisation themselves, and even believed that they had bought the company prior to Jamie Kellner cancelling WCW television on the Turner networks. But Nitro and Thunder were still going off the air whilst Bischoff and co. found a suitable new home for WCW's television output. Their plan was to relaunch the brand at a PPV event called The Big Bang on Sunday May 6 2001 (ironically, exactly one year before the WWF was renamed WWE). There were even magazine advertisements for the show that never took place. Let's assume, though, that the Fusient purchase did happen and that WCW relaunched with Big Bang; what could we have expected?

Looking at the roster, I think the vast majority of WCW's top names in 2000-2001 would have remained with the company, at least to begin with. Goldberg would likely have been remained WCW's top star, although Booker T and Scott Steiner will have carried the workload in main events leading to big World Title showdowns with Da Man a little further down the road. Knowing his loyalty to WCW, Sting will have remained in the camp, as will have Jeff Jarrett, whose TNA venture alongside his father Jerry would not have happened if WCW had survived. Buff Bagwell may have been elevated, as annoying as he was, and with ECW a goner, it has been strongly rumoured that Rob Van Dam was actually set to debut with the company at Big Bang, so his surprise debut will have given the company a jolt. Perhaps Sabu will have been brought in to feud with old rival Van Dam; Sabu had left ECW several months before that company ceased to exist, and he would have made an ideal first opponent in the new WCW for RVD.

Heading up the mid-card scene will have been Lance Storm, Mike Awesome, Kanyon, Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo, and with Rey Mysterio Jr., Billy Kidman and Chavo Guerrero leading the way for the Cruiserweights. A young AJ Styles wrestled on some of WCW's final shows; perhaps he will have been positioned as a future Cruiserweight Champion in the new WCW. Rounding off the cast will have been the rest of WCW's lower-to-mid-card roster from early 2001, as well as some ECW alumni who would ultimately not join the WWF, such as Kid Kash and The Sandman (who had WCW experience as Hardcore Hak). I suspect that Tommy Dreamer's loyalty to Paul Heyman, by this point an announcer on Raw, will have landed him a WWF spot at some point. Speaking of which, Joey Styles is said to have been chosen as the lead commentator for WCW, likely working alongside Scott Hudson or Tony Schiavone.

What about the other big names? Well, I suspect that Kevin Nash will have remained with the company but, upon his contract expiring at the beginning of 2002, he will have chosen that moment to reunite with free agent Scott Hall and return to the WWF. The Outsiders vs. The Rock and Steve Austin may have been a feature attraction for WrestleMania X8. Diamond Dallas Page likely will have stayed with WCW for some time but, given his attempts to leave the company in 2000. DDP may have found a way to join the WWF himself within one year of Big Bang, while he was still young enough to contribute.

Elsewhere, Ric Flair will not have stuck around under another Bischoff regime, likely joining the WWF in a role not dissimilar to his Co-Owner position which he held when he did return to Stamford in November 2001. Hulk Hogan was no longer attached to WCW by this point, but being good friends with Bischoff and with Vince Russo not associated with the new company, Hogan may have appeared for the brand in a special attraction role (he had been discussing what would become the XWF before WCW went down, although the short-lived company may not have happened at all if WCW had lived on). That said, I believe that by 2003, Hulk will have ensured a return to what by then will have been WWE for major showdowns with The Rock and Steve Austin (who may have co-operated to wrestle Hogan at this point) and several others before a possible retirement in the late 2000s, perhaps in a double finale with Flair. I believe Bischoff will not have even brought in Lex Luger, knowing his dislike for Luger's work. This may have spelled the end of Luger's career since a WWF/WWE return would never materialise. Veterans like Randy Savage and Roddy Piper may have been used, but knowing the necessity to promote younger talent, it's more likely that they will have been left behind, resulting in nothing more than special appearances for the WWF/WWE at some point (they may have decided to bring back Savage, despite the unexplained animosity between both parties, for a short-term ratings or buy rate gain).

Something to consider is whether the Monday Night War will have still been over. Would the new WCW have chosen to keep Nitro on Monday nights at a time when defeating Raw will have been extremely unlikely? Or will a new night have been preferred on a new channel, combined with what Bischoff planned to be a new weekly location at Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas? It's very possible, and it likely would have meant better ratings for WCW television, with the opportunity to return to Monday night head-to-head competition with Raw at a later date if it made business sense. Speaking of which, a TV-14 format will likely have been opted for to give WCW a genuine chance to compete with the WWF; the influx of ECW talent will have helped with this direction, although it will not have gone to the extremes (no pun intended) that Paul Heyman's company did, and there will have been a much lesser focus on sexuality than there had been under Russo's watch in 1999-2000. And Eric's plan was to not hold house shows at first; the focus will have solely been on television and Pay-Per-View.

I expect Big Bang to have been a moderate success, due to a combination of the WCW television hiatus, the overhaul of the company and the influx of new talent. From there, if the new creative team had a sense of logic about them and a desire to prepare for the future, television shows will have likely drawn respectable ratings over the summer of 2001 following strong numbers on their new homes (FX was rumoured to be one potential new channel for either Nitro or Thunder in the States). If the main event scene has revolved around Goldberg, Booker, Steiner and RVD, PPV numbers will have been fairly decent too, if nothing to shout about in the big picture. In a nutshell, WCW Version 2 likely will have enjoyed decent commercial success in 2001, but only with a dedicated and creative team writing the shows and catering to what the fans really wanted to see.

Meanwhile, how will the WWF have fared if WCW remained in business? In the short-term, it may have seen a decline in ratings, due to Steve Austin's heel turn coinciding with The Rock filming The Scorpion King; without the carrot of a WCW invasion being dangled to its audience, might Raw and SmackDown have seen a fairly big drop in viewership with its two top players not serving as the headline babyfaces at the same time that WCW was new and improved? That being said, the WWF will have almost certainly remained the number one company in sports entertainment; only an all-time classic WCW storyline will have changed that perception, as we saw with the nWo tale in 1996-1997. And long-term, the WWF might have actually seen its audience grow; it will have still had the opportunity to gain viewers from the competition, especially once Rock returned and Austin went babyface again, as opposed to losing fans who weren't satisfied with the WWF at a time when it was the only game in town.

Heading into 2002-2003, I doubt that much will have changed from a business perspective. I believe the WWF/WWE will have attracted higher ratings due to there being no brand extension (meaning, all the talent on all the shows), a need to remain on the ball creatively since it still had competition and the return of Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam 2002. In addition, the promotion of new talent from its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling will have kept the product fresh, which will have been more important without the brand extension in effect. It's possible that one or two names from WCW might have defected by this point, perhaps Goldberg or Big Poppa Pump, further boosting business.

In contrast, WCW will have soldiered on. Its ratings would remain consistent, with some new stars coming to WCW from a new upstart promotion named Ring Of Honor to bolster its Cruiserweight ranks, like Christopher Daniels and Low Ki. No major acquisitions seem likely during this era, except for maybe Mick Foley in a non-wrestling role during his time away from WWE in 2002 and early 2003. Assuming that the product was still logical and watchable, perhaps house shows and an international tour were feasible; new, young and exciting talent would be the way forward rather than the veterans' parade of 1996-1998.

By 2004-2005, it's anybody's guess as to how things will have transpired. I believe that WWE will have signed Booker and RVD, elevating them to the top in light of Rock going to Hollywood permanently and Austin retiring from injuries. That being said, I feel that the boom period will have truly ended by this point, and with WWE's numbers declining, this could have given WCW an opportunity to once again compete on Monday nights with Raw, bolstered by the continuing signing of hot independent stars such as Samoa Joe and relationships with big companies in Mexico and Japan, a staple of the original WCW. I certainly don't believe that Nitro will have beaten Raw in the ratings again, but the gap will have been a lot closer than in the dying days of WCW in 2000-2001.

From there, assuming that WCW's creative team had their s--t together, it potentially could have continued on as a respectable Number Two to WWE to this day; if the continuing survival of TNA tells us anything, it's that a company with low ratings can last a very long time so long as it has strong financial backing, and I believe that WCW will have been in a much better position than TNA ever has been.

WWE will have remained the clear Number One company, perhaps drawing higher ratings due to the competition it was still receiving. However, it still will not ever have come close to drawing record numbers, partly due to technological advancements eliminating the need to watch Raw at that time of the week only. Incidentally, the WWE Network likely will not have been a reality, or at the very least it will have been introduced on a smaller scale, since the company will not have invested so much in its videotape library without the access to the WCW archives. One last thing to ponder: would WWE have still gone PG if it were still competing with WCW, and might such a decision have allowed WCW to make gains since its product, drawing higher numbers than TNA ever had remember, will have offered more by sticking to TV-14?

In reality, beyond 2001-2003, it's impossible to predict not only what would have happened to WCW, but wrestling as a whole had it survived. Will there have been another boom period? Will the company's relaunch have been a disaster leading to its demise aside from a WWF buy-out? Might a new and improved WCW have actually found a way to defeat a faltering WWE in the ratings? Would future stars like John Cena and Batista have received the same opportunities to headline had there not been a brand extension? And how many potential superstars will we never know about, because these athletic followers lost their interest in wrestling when WCW crumbled in 2001?

The safest bets are to say that WCW will likely have enjoyed a kinder 2001 than 1999 or 2000 due to renewed interest. The WWF probably would have thrived for another year or two longer than it did during its peak, with legitimate competition still in existence. Otherwise, the future of wrestling would have been up in the air. Really, it may have come down to the two things responsible for the death of WCW in the first place: a misguided creative team and poor business decisions. If these two issues were rectified, the new WCW could have remained in business to this very day, and perhaps thrived if everybody was truly on the same page in trying to make the brand a success again.

One thing is for sure: if WCW had remained in business under non-WWF ownership, the wrestling industry over the last 16 years will have been very different. Would it have been better or worse than what we have seen since 2001? I'll let you be the judge of that.

Straight Outta Dudleyville - The Legacy Of The Dudley Boyz

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 430 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: April 11 2016

Straight Outta Dudleyville (a clear take-off from the recent movie Straight Outta Compton) focuses on the careers of Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley, and mostly their time tag teaming together as The Dudley Boyz. It includes a documentary of around 75 minutes, as well as a selection of matches from their illustrious and decorated careers. (Depending where you order this DVD, you could also get special packaging which converts into a mini-table, which is awesome!) Can you believe that it has been just over 20 years now since we were first introduced to The Dudleyz?

After a brief look at the childhoods of the real-life Mark Lomonica and Devon Hughes, the two men discuss their entries into the wrestling business, and their arrivals at ECW in 1995 and 1996 respectively. The original Dudley gimmick was a bit weird to say the least, and it would take too much space to describe it here, but let's just say that the Dudley family (which had nine members at its peak) went in a very different direction once D-Von arrived, and specifically, after some initial battles between the then-Buh Buh Ray and D-Von, once they began teaming in early 1997. The comedy aspect of old was dropped in favour of a violent, offensive and frighteningly insulting style that made them truly loathed heels. Although it isn't shown here, on The Rise & Fall Of ECW DVD this included Buh Buh inciting near-riots and one extremely unnerving incident at ECW Heat Wave 1999, following some offensive remarks that would never make the air today, even in ECW if it were still around. It's easy to forget that during their ECW run, many die-hard fans of the promotion couldn't stand them, either because of how offensive they were or because their matches didn't deliver the action that those involving other acts in the promotion could or would.

During this time, both men picked up plenty of ECW Tag Team Titles, and they honed their in-ring act to the point where, despite their reliance on violence, they could put together a pretty good doubles match. So much so that, in August 1999, they were signed by the WWF, then at its peak during the Attitude Era. Both men provide a fascinating insight on how they were initially welcomed due to the bad taste left behind by previous ECW alumni Public Enemy, but after taking everything that The Acolytes (Faarooq and Bradshaw) had to offer, they earned the respect of the locker room. After an uneventful first few months, their respect levels amongst the fans and their peers shot up when they began feuding with The Hardy Boyz, which brought in Edge and Christian and led to a year-plus saga involving all three teams that remains the greatest tag team feud in WWF/WWE history. Unsurprisingly, and justifiably, this rivalry gets plenty of coverage on the documentary.

We'll go back to the matches that embodied this feud later, but after this rivalry ran its course, the decision was made by the WWF to split up Bubba and D-Von in the initial 2002 Draft. This was a gamble which ultimately did not pay off: Bubba did okay in singles action on Raw, but not well enough to justify being solo, and D-Von in his new Reverend character was simply dull. Both men acknowledged their mixed fortunes when they were apart, and both were relieved when the call was made to reunite The Dudleyz at Survivor Series 2002 to a big pop at Madison Square Garden. But whilst they were better together than on their own, the year 2003 was still not as exciting as their early WWF years were, and 2004 was even worse. The Dudleyz act had gone so stale by late 2004 that they were taken off television, and despite main eventing ECW One Night Stand in June 2005, they were soon released as part of a mass talent cull.

Bubba and D-Von discuss how life in WWE was becoming a struggle in the mid-2000s and that their exit was the right decision for all. That being said, at the time both men were said to be furious over their departure, especially when WWE wouldn't let them (or Spike) use the "Dudley" name on the independent circuit and wherever else they chose to go, since they owned the trademark. Regardless of whether or not WWE was justified in doing so (and I can't blame the three Dudleyz for not being happy about this), this was the source of genuine heat between the two camps at the time, so the fact that this is essentially covered up in the documentary is a bit annoying.

That being said, we do get a surprisingly decent amount of time discussing both men's runs in TNA and Japan, especially what would become Bully Ray and his main event tenure in TNA in the early 2010s. After some discussion about their training academy (The Team 3D Academy Of Professional Wrestling), we come to Bubba's initial surprise return at Royal Rumble 2015, and ultimately their proper WWE comeback on Raw the night after SummerSlam of that year. This is built up throughout the DVD, as we open with both men arriving at the Barclays Center, preparing to go out into the ring in between DVD chapters, and making their return at the end of the documentary. By the way, it was a very well-kept secret that they were returning, meaning that their re-appearance was a major surprise and was one of the top WWE moments of 2015 (and received a suitably loud reaction).

The documentary includes a variety of talking heads, from family members, friends and even school teachers to their colleagues within the industry, some of whom haven't been on a WWE release for a long time. The contributors include Mick Foley, Spike Dudley, Raven, Joey Styles, Rob Van Dam, Edge, Christian, Rhyno, Tommy Dreamer and Tazz, amongst others. Their insights are definitely worthwhile, and besides the alternative take on their WWE exit in 2005, Bubba and D-Von are pretty honest throughout and provide some nuggets of trivia for their longtime fans.

I really enjoyed this documentary; it's the first proper profile that we've had on The Dudleyz, and while it's a little on the short side, it does cover almost every significant aspect of their careers, a wealth of relevant archive footage, and a good amount of worthy comments by many recognisable names, not least the two subjects of the DVD themselves, Bubba and D-Von. But that's not all: as well as the documentary, there are some bonus stories (including some humorous tales about the fearless octogenarian Mae Young, the preparation for TLC II at WrestleMania X-Seven and the Axxess fan fest before WrestleMania X8), and over a dozen matches spanning nearly two decades.

A doubles match against The Pitbulls from 1996 is preceded by some apparently filthy interplay (I say "apparently" because the "key words", if you want to call them that, are bleeped out), and whilst the crowd is really into the action, something is missing to prevent it being a display of, well, reckless and unnecessary violence. Buh Buh vs. D-Von from ECW November To Remember 1996 is alright, but it does feature some brutal chairshots which newer fans will cringe at watching in this era where the true effects of concussions are known. I'm not sure why it took so long for people to realise that full-on steel chairshots to the skull really hurt and can cause permanent damage, but that's wrestling for you. Both Dudleyz reflect on this bout afterwards, as they do for some other matches on the release.

Strangely, whilst it is briefly shown in the documentary, we don't get proper footage of the moment when Buh Buh and D-Von officially formed their proper, regular tag team in ECW, so we jump to a short D-Von vs. Tommy Dreamer match from the night ECW invaded Raw in 1997. The opening match from Barely Legal, ECW's first Pay-Per-View, sees the incredibly-over Eliminators have an amazing amount of control over The Dudleyz (it's almost all-Eliminators in terms of offence), before a brutal but enjoyable six-man match from Heat Wave 1998 as Buh Buh, D-Von and Big Dick (yes, that was his ring name) battle The Sandman, Dreamer and Spike.

We then see The Dudleyz' farewell match in ECW, the details of which I won't spoil here because it includes a surprise outcome, and exclusive footage of what happened afterwards off-air as Buh Buh and D-Von address the crowd and their peers in an extended farewell (which, admittedly, lasts too long and borders on self-indulgent at times). Their WWF PPV debut against The Acolytes from Unforgiven 1999 is watchable but has no heat, which cannot be said for their first WWF Tag Team Title win over The New Age Outlaws at No Way Out 2000 which, in hindsight, marked the passing of the torch.

Before that, we get a superb Tag Team Tables bout between The Dudleyz and The Hardyz from Royal Rumble 2000. This officially marked the arrival of both teams in the company, and from there the three-way tag feud is well-documented and, from a match standpoint, this section is the undoubted highlight of the DVD. Besides the Rumble Tables match, we see the original TLC match - a classic - from SummerSlam 2000 between The Dudleyz, The Hardyz and E&C; this has to be seen to be believed, and retains the power that it had the night it took place. We also see The Dudleyz battle Edge and Christian in a regular doubles bout from Royal Rumble 2001, which is very good in itself, before the incredible TLC II rematch at WrestleMania X-Seven. Is it the best match of that incredible Mania as Bubba implies? That's debatable, but if it wasn't better than Steve Austin vs. The Rock at X7, it was definitely a very close second, because this is phenomenal. The spots are awe-inspiring as they take everything from TLC I to new heights.

It's understandable from a health standpoint that this essentially marked the end of this amazing era of tag team wrestling/violence; there's a real chance that someone might have been killed had the stunts been taken any higher. We don't get the hastily-announced TLC III (nor do we get the Triangle Ladder match from WM 2000, which would have completed the set), but we do see The Dudleyz dethrone The Hardyz for the WCW Tag Team Titles and then unify the WWF and WCW straps in a Cage opposite Matt and Jeff at Survivor Series 2001, which more or less concluded the last remaining traces of the original three-team saga (at least until Edge stole Matt Hardy's girlfriend Lita in real life).

Sandwiched between those Dudleyz/Hardyz/E&C bouts are selected television matches as The Duds meet The Rock on two occasions, with The Undertaker as his partner in one match (a Tables bout, shock horror!) and Kurt Angle on Rock's side in the other. The focus then turns to their solo runs, with brief matches pitting D-Von against Triple H (this marked the on-screen debut of Batista with that awful "Deacon" persona) and Bubba facing Brock Lesnar and HHH himself. Then, we get a relevant but annoying discussion between The Dudleyz about facing HHH. Here's why it is annoying: did they discuss facing The Rock, or The Undertaker, or facing anyone else outside of discussing a major occasion or stipulation. No. So why do so for Triple H? Need I provide the answer? I thought this had ended in the early 2010s once HHH began scaling down his in-ring career, but apparently not; though I may be wrong, this felt like yet another attempt to make Triple H seem like the biggest and greatest wrestling star around. The short chatter about HHH is interesting enough, but presented as it is, it is the most frustrating part of the entire DVD for me.

With the duo reunited, we get their one and only relevant match from their ailing 2004 run on SmackDown, a fun bout against Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam from Judgment Day 2004. After that is the spectacle that was the main event from ECW One Night Stand 2005 as they face Dreamer and Sandman in a violent, at times bizarre, but ultimately entertaining match, which packs in almost everything that fans loved about ECW into one big package and ends with a true "OMG!" moment. Bubba notes afterwards how he enjoyed bobbing his head along to Sandman's theme tune Enter Sandman during his entrance, which is ironic because his Metallica theme is edited off this DVD. The compilation ends with the Dudleyz facing The New Day from last year's Night Of Champions (the contrast between the last two matches on this DVD couldn't be greater, unless it was say a Hulk Hogan match from the 1980s following the ECW near-massacre). The Blu-ray includes a few more matches as well as their 2015 return segment, with the best match probably being the amazingly good eight-man Extreme Rules bout pitting The Dudleyz, Dreamer and Rhyno against The Wyatt Family from Raw the night after TLC 2015.

This is a hard DVD for me to give a rating to. It's definitely good, there's no doubt about that. The documentary is insightful and the action is compelling. But the main feature still feels like there's something missing to make it essential, even if it had discussed their WWE exit with more honesty. And whilst the round-up of matches includes some absolute classics, they are nevertheless bouts which you will find on many other DVDs. The bouts which are more exclusive to this release are mostly worth watching, but had the Dudleyz' bouts with The Hardyz and E&C not been here, it would be hard to recommend this release on the matches alone.

Still, judging the complete package as it is and assuming that you don't currently own the TLC matches (or that you don't mind getting them again), this is a really entertaining compilation. It goes through various eras and tracks the evolution of The Dudleyz, from their days as aggressive and disrespectful young punks to more well-rounded and much-loved tag masters to highly experienced and very well-respected veterans. Whilst it is hard to say if they are the best tag team ever as Joey Styles states (no ECW bias there, I'm sure), they're definitely in the top five combos ever, if not the top three, as the evidence here shows. They can work any style imaginable, and this release certainly has a wide variety of match types. And it's arguable that they were the most important of the three teams in that legendary tag rivalry from 2000-2001. Sure, E&C and The Hardyz had already put on a classic Ladder match at No Mercy 1999, but their stars hadn't really risen that much in spite of their showstealing performance on that PPV. Only when The Dudleyz entered the fray and tables started getting involved did all three teams truly become stars in the WWF.

So, this isn't the best DVD of the year, but it's definitely one of the stronger releases that you will watch in 2016. If you're a Dudleyz fan, you'll love this DVD, and if you're not a fan of Bubba Ray and D-Von, this release might just convert you into an honorary Dudley. Just don't get too excited the next time that it's approaching dinner time and your relative kindly asks you to "get the table".

Overall Rating: 8/10 - Very Good

Ladies And Gentlemen, My Name Is Paul Heyman

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 430 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: August 4 2014

If you are a "Paul Heyman Guy", chances are that you'll have already seen his 2014 DVD/Blu-ray. But even if you haven't, or if you're not a huge Heyman fan, you should still make it an aim to watch it: I will delve into the details shortly but, suffice it to say, this has one of the best documentaries ever produced by WWE and a generous amount of bonus footage.

The main feature, as stated, is a two-hour+ documentary on Paul Heyman, who has had quite the career in pro wrestling. Breaking in at a young age as a photographer, he used his knowledge and his soon-to-be-signature gift of the gab to learn more about the wrestling business by attending production meetings and booking shows. As he built up contacts and increased his understanding of the inner workings of the industry, he found a opening as a manager, first making waves in the AWA and the Memphis territory before progressing to what was about to become WCW in the late 1980s. An eventful run there saw Heyman (as Paul E. Dangerously) gain notoriety as one of the best young managers in wrestling, as well as one of its most detestable on-screen villains, boosted further by his run in the announce booth alongside Jim Ross.

After the WCW journey ended, Heyman almost left wrestling, but was persuaded to assist Eddie Gilbert with booking at an unknown promotion called Eastern Championship Wrestling. In 1993, Heyman stayed when Eddie left and became head booker, and in 1994 he renamed the promotion "Extreme". ECW had officially arrived, and for the rest of the decade, Heyman and his talent pool created an unorthodox, violent, sexual, bloody and unforgettable wrestling product that influenced the WWF's Attitude Era and changed sports entertainment forever.

When ECW met its demise in 2001, Heyman joined the WWF and, over the next six years, he did everything from announcing to booking to managing to heading up the OVW developmental territory. An acrimonious split near the end of 2006 seemingly ended Heyman's wrestling career but, after a few years of enjoying life as a new father and pursuing a variety of projects, some of which he continues to run, everybody (including Paul himself) was shocked when he returned to WWE in 2012, at the side of Brock Lesnar, and has been employed as an on-screen character and a promo master ever since.

All of this makes for an intriguing tale. But what makes this documentary special is its subject. Heyman is someone who uses many words but wastes none of them, and when telling stories (and there are many of them here), he captivates you and holds your attention constantly. And of course he is honest, sometimes to a fault, as we learn the full details of virtually everything being discussed, whether it's his somewhat sneaky methods to become an unofficial WWF photographer; his abrasive nature on commentary with JR; his (pardon the pun) extremely perfectionist nature in coaching ECW stars, especially on promos; his pride in writing SmackDown! and building its creativity to the point where it was beating Raw in the ratings (to the chagrin of many in WWE, Paul notes); his opinions on the best-forgotten second incarnation of ECW; and, well, virtually anything he discusses or is a discussion point of. The extra interview clips are well worth watching for the same reason: the tales behind his heat with Jerry Lawler in Memphis, his methods behind identifying Tod Gordon as the "mole" of ECW, and his alleged attempts to invade an online Raw production meeting are at times breathtakingly honest.

As the last example suggests, we also get many comments, virtually all of them truthful opinions, from a wide variety of talking heads, and it's easy to see who is and who isn't a "Paul Heyman Guy" (or Girl). Accompanied by relevant footage (most notably when discussing ECW, where we get candid unseen footage from behind the scenes and even a famous clip shown in the movie Beyond The Mat filmed before the first ECW PPV Barely Legal), the documentary is one giant gem. To put it into context, I originally watched this when it was first released, but when reviewing it, I wanted to watch it again (and I did), partly to refresh my memory on some parts, but largely because it was that good that I just wanted to see it again. The only gaps are a lack of depth on Heyman leaving WCW (which Paul notes is due to legal reasons) and Heyman leaving WWE in 2006 (we get some discussion but not a lot, perhaps in case it impacted on Paul's current WWE run), and no talking head appearances from Vince McMahon, who could have added much weight to some stories (e.g. Heyman's WWE writer stints, and when Paul discusses the WWF's financial support to ECW). But otherwise, this is a perfect wrestling documentary, one of the best (if not the best) that you will ever see produced by WWE.

The DVD boasts a large number of extras. Along with the aforementioned bonus stories are literally dozens of promos spanning his entire career, from his Paul E. Dangerously days in the AWA and WCW, to the period in which he transformed from manager to promoter in ECW, to his most memorable WWF/WWE segments (a 2001 SmackDown! verbal onslaught of Vince, his incredible shoot-style promo at ECW One Night Stand 2005, and various 2012-2014 "moments" are the highlights of this section). And there are a couple of extra matches which in some way feature Paul, some as an active competitor, although as a non-wrestler with fewer ring skills than Vince McMahon or even Eric Bischoff, it's no surprise that the bouts aren't exactly five-star epics. The Blu-ray has even more bonus chapters to the main feature, and includes Heyman's outstanding "21-1" promo from the night after WrestleMania XXX where, in his words, "my client BRRROCCCKKK LLLESSSNNNARRR conquered The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania!"

In hindsight, while the DVD was a welcome release in mid-2014 and a very big seller amongst fans, it's a shame that it wasn't released this summer instead, because Paul has delivered arguably the greatest promos of his career over the last twelve months. The man has such a captivating blend of harsh reality, hyperbole and at times humour that virtually all of his segments are must-watch. And while Brock Lesnar's on-screen reputation as a human destruction device has never been stronger, it is unquestionable that his persona would not be half as convincing without Paul Heyman to talk him up. His promos are unpredictable at a time when predictability is the norm, and even the encounters which look run-of-the-mill on paper are elevated to become can't-miss due to Heyman's brilliant delivery and masterful hype techniques.

Which is all a testament to the man himself, and what a true legend he is in professional wrestling. By 1992, he had established himself as a top manager and, had his career ended at that point, he would have been fondly remembered as one of the top ten managers. However, he went on to guide ECW and influence a permanent change in the wrestling business, so had he withdrawn from wrestling in 2001, he would always have been remembered as the massively vital force behind the phenomenally influential ECW. But here we are in 2015, and he will now be remembered just as much for his verbal skills - as arguably the greatest microphone man in wrestling history - solely due to the strength of his recent promos, if not more so. And for being the first performer to react (and oh, did he react) when his advocate Lesnar beat Undertaker at Mania 30.

That's even more impressive when you consider that promos aside, Heyman doesn't get involved in Brock's matches whatsoever, but since his return, he has been an integral role in making each one either happen or seem unmissable. Case in point: the Lesnar-CM Punk conflict, which resulted in a classic at SummerSlam 2013, revolved entirely around Paul Heyman. The man is a legend and, with the exception of Vince McMahon, is the greatest non-wrestler ever in the business and a sure-fire future Hall Of Famer. Hell, some might say that he has now surpassed Bobby Heenan as the greatest manager ever. How many people could do that in the manager-stricken times of 2015?

So, just like the matches that he hypes, Paul Heyman's DVD is must-see. I would recommend the Blu-ray due to the worthwhile additional content, but the standard release would also suffice. I was going to give this a perfect 10 but the matches do weaken it, even if they are actually the best examples one could find of Heyman in an actual wrestling capacity. But even so, if you don't own this, buy it today; it's one of the best overall packages that WWE has ever released, and it's not even on a wrestler. In fact, to achieve that may end up being Paul Heyman's greatest accomplishment.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10 – Classic

ECW December To Dismember 2006

Image Source: Wrestling View

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: December 3 2006
Location: James Brown Arena, Augusta, Georgia, USA
Attendance: 4,800

ECW December To Dismember 2006 was a classic show, one that will always be fondly remembered for ... okay, I'm lying.

Normally, I review a vintage show with historic redeeming features. This week, though, I turn it the other way, and look at an event that was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

December To Dismember 2006. This show effectively killed ECW, and was a big reason why the subsequent single-brand PPVs would be the last. It also saw the WWE departure of a notable figure, and the least interesting installment of WWE's most dangerous match. That, in itself, would describe DTD 2006, but I will elaborate.

In 2005, ECW One Night Stand was held. The one-off ECW reunion show was so good, it returned in 2006. By then, though, it marked the rebirth of ECW, as a third WWE brand. From June to November 2006, though, the "new" ECW more resembled WWE than the old ECW, as besides the old ECW names being featured, very little could be described as "extreme", with more being classed as "watered-down".

Nevertheless, the new ECW chugged along to the point that it had its own PPV, December To Dismember 2006. It would be main evented by an Extreme Elimination Chamber match, and would also feature a dream tag team match between MNM and The Hardyz. But nothing else was relaly revealed beforehand. A PPV obviously wouldn't have two matches, so DTD 2006 would need four more bouts. Unfortunately, these four matches would play a key role in DTD being (not) fondly remembered.

Balls Mahoney beat Matt Striker. Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay beat The FBI. Daivari w/ The Great Khali beat Tommy Dreamer. And Kevin Thorn and Ariel beat Mike Knox and Kelly Kelly. They're the results: now let's see why they failed.

None had extreme carnage in the manner of bouts at One Night Stand. Mahoney's win wasn't memorable, although at least an ECW original won. This didn't happen in the next two bouts, although the first tag match pitted no wrestlers whom fans were interested in (at the time, in Elijah's case). And Dreamer losing to Daivari was like DDP or Sting losing to someone like Armando Estrada on a WCW PPV. Had Khali faced and beaten Dreamer, the result would have been more tolerable. And the mixed tag match was so bad, it provoked chants of "I want my money back" and "TNA".

The dream tag match was genuinely good, but it should have been third or fourth, to raise the mood. As an opener, it was very good, but it meant four consecutive dull bouts. The Hardyz were victorious in a bout which featured a lot of great tag team high-flying spots, and this would be more memorable except for what was to follow that meant the card almost being deliberately ignored by WWE in the years to come.

As for the main event . . . well, it seemed okay on paper. And it wasn't that bad a match in practice. But everything about it seemed like a slap in the face to ECW fans.

The participants were ECW Champ Big Show, Test, Bobby Lashley, CM Punk, Sabu and Rob Van Dam. Just as a back-story: Show was the bad guy Champ, and Test was his accomplice. Lashley had just jumped from SmackDown! to ECW. Punk was undefeated. Sabu was an ECW Legend, and in an Extreme Elimination Chamber, he could provide many brutal stunts. And RVD had been robbed out of the Title in July, and only now was getting his rematch. Except, the focus had changed. When it was made, RVD seemed like Show's top challenger. By December 3, 2006, the focus had shifted to Lashley. That was problem number one.

Problem number two was that Sabu was found "injured" midway through the show, so he never competed, and was replaced by  . . . Hardcore Holly. In fairness, Holly's style suited ECW, but to replace a popular ECW name with an unpopular WWE name was an insult. Especially since Sabu wasn't really injured, and would return just two days later on ECW. What a waste. Problem number three: the four wrestlers in the Chamber pods had weapons, but they were barely used. Had the whole structure been filled with objects, including a ladder, a couple of tables and a barbed wire board, it could have been as extreme as an original ECW match. Not the case here.

The next problem (yes, there were a few): Punk was the first eliminated, by RVD. Punk's five-month winning streak wasn't expected to continue beyond this night - but to have him go out first was incredibly short-sighted, and it would be months before Punk regained the momentum he had coming into this event. In more than one interview, Paul Heyman revealed that his original plan was for Punk, then a newcomer to WWE/ECW, to quickly eliminate defending champ Show by submission, thus making him a superstar. Given their size difference and his inexperience in WWE, I can understand why this didn't transpire, although it would have been a lot better than what did happen.

Problem number five: RVD was eliminated by Test, before Show had even entered the match. Despite being the top storyline on ECW for months, RVD never did face Big Show again, or get another shot at the ECW Title. Problem number six: on an ECW show, for the ECW Title, in the main event, the last three were . . . all WWE names. Lashley beat Test, and then pinned Show to win the Title.

So angry were fans that many left, demanded refunds or turned their backs on the new Champ. As a match, it wasn't that bad - there were several dangerous and/or eye-catching stunts - but when you consider the back-story, it's understandable why many were infuriated. One of them was Paul Heyman, who left WWE after this event. Apparently, the show originally had a different layout, from matches to results. This was allegedly changed, and once it was over, Heyman walked.

More bad news: it only attracted 90,000 PPV orders - the lowest since The Wrestling Classic in 1985. That every PPV in WWE history bar the first, held in the infancy of PPV, attracted more orders than this summed up how fans felt about the "new" ECW. The two One Night Stands never had this problem.

All this meant that, from Backlash 2007 onwards, every PPV featured wrestlers from all brands. No more ECW PPVs, and from June 2007 onwards, ECW lagged far behind Raw and SmackDown, to the point that its main prize was no longer considered a World Title. In 2010, the brand finished without much notice, and within weeks, its very existence was practically forgotten.

In retrospect, this show should have been main evented by Show vs. RVD, or at least Show vs. Lashley (or even Show vs. Lashley vs. RVD). Punk and Sabu (and RVD, if it was Show-Lashley) could have paired off with Test, Holly or even Heyman in separate single matches. Sandman could have refereed the mixed tag, to make it mildly interesting. And at least one or two bouts could have had extreme or hardcore stipulations. That way, the show would have had eight or nine matches, some providing ECW-style action, and structured properly, the dull bouts wouldn't have stood out like a sore thumb. The Chamber could have been saved for a bigger stage. The single-brand event may have attracted more orders, and thus the concept could have continued. And Lashley becoming Champ may have been met with cheers rather than jeers. Unfortunately, the actual December To Dismember did not succeed.

There have been much worse shows, events where the top matches were either awful, nonsensical or a combination of the two with a terrible undercard to "support" them. December To Dismember did have a thrilling opener and the main event was watchable if you had it on mute and didn't consider the back-story. But you can't help but acknowledge the fact that this was an ECW show that had RVD, CM Punk, The Hardyz, Lashley, Big Show, MNM, Tommy Dreamer and although they never wrestled, Sabu and Sandman. Plus, an Elimination Chamber - and with weapons. That it bombed with all that for the aforementioned reasons means that, intentionally or not, December To Dismember goes down as one of the worst WWE Pay-Per-Views of all-time. Hopefully, those depths will not be sunk to again (although the fact that Royal Rumble 2015 would have done so had it not been for the awesome 3-way WWE Title match is not an encouraging sign!).

Overall Rating: 3.5/10 - Poor

How the Invasion could have been done

Image Source: Wrestling Punks

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Watching the WWE Network series The Monday Night War rekindles memories of the WWF vs. WCW ratings battle. Yet fewer people remember what should have been the biggest storyline feud in wrestling history - erm, the WWF vs. WCW. Well, WWF vs. WCW/ECW. Although I enjoyed it at the time, I appreciate that it could have been better executed and generally lived up to the anticipation that people had had for years regarding such a rivalry. But how could it have been done? What exactly was the 'right' way to book the Invasion? Here's my take ...

Dateline: March 26, 2001. Vince McMahon announced that he has bought WCW, only for Shane McMahon to announce that in fact he bought WCW. Shane beats Vince in their Street Fight at WrestleMania X-Seven, and makes only brief televised appearances thereafter.

Here's were I change history. During that time, Shane makes a flippant comment that he sold WCW to a mystery investor: since his primary purpose for buying it in the first place was to annoy Vince, he no longer requires the brand.

Over the next few months, nothing happens. However, now and again we hear stories of wrestlers randomly being attacked, which are only slightly acknowledged on TV. The plot thickens when, during a live Raw match in Atlanta, a masked man attacks a popular performer (say, one of the Hardyz). Similar things happen over the next month or two, and after one or two more similar run-in's, the masked man is caught. But before he can be unmasked, another masked man runs in to his aid.

The attacks start becoming more frequent, and the number of masked assailants also increases to an army of around a dozen. They also begin attacking big-name WWF stars. Finally, one is totally caught by a large number of superstars, but they are all stunned when he is unmasked to reveal WCW Champion Booker T! Suddenly, another masked man interferes and shockingly hits several Diamond Cutters; yes, it is Diamond Dallas Page.

It all leads to the first official WWF vs. WCW battle, in the main event of Survivor Series 2001. Team WCW win after a betrayal by so-called WWF star Chris Jericho, who reveals that the WCW invasion has only just begun, and that things will only get worse for the WWF. With that, Stone Cold Steve Austin hits Y2J with a Stunner and stomps a mudhole in him, only to be whacked in the back with a steel chair by another masked man. He immediately unmasks to shockingly reveal Hollywood Hulk Hogan!

Austin's beatdown of Y2J on Raw the next night is so brutal that Stone Cold is suspended from active competition, but he can make appearances, one of which is at Vengeance to call out Hogan. Instead, Y2J returns with his new manager Ric Flair! Austin is taken out and, to make matters worse, to offset the Raw beating and avoid a lawsuit, Jericho is given a WWF Title shot on the PPV, and defeats The Rock for the gold. This leads to Austin vs. Y2J at Royal Rumble 2002, where Flair and Hogan interfere to get Jericho the win. In the meantime, WCW interferes multiple times in the Rumble match, and after the returning Triple H wins, he is beaten down by the WCW crew.

At No Way Out, Austin and HHH face Jericho and Flair, with Hogan again interfering. Austin catches him, only to be shockingly attacked by Kevin Nash and Scott Hall! The nWo reunites and brands Austin, whilst other WWF stars plan to destroy WCW names.

The first truly major card of the war is WrestleMania X8. Here, the night is filled with inter-promotional matches, the standout bouts being Austin vs. Hogan for the first time ever and Y2J vs. HHH for the WWF Title. HHH brings the gold home to the Federation, but Hogan vanquishes Stone Cold with nWo assistance. They then vow to take the prize back from HHH and make it "the nWo title."

On Raw, a bombshell hits: because of the chaos, it's revealed that the WWF has been losing money rapidly for months, and the only solution was to sell 50% of the company. Stephanie McMahon bought the stock but regretfully sold it onto a higher investor. On the same night, the brains behind the WCW invasion will be revealed (Shane sold him the brand, remember). Both are the same, and it is ... Eric Bischoff!

Bischoff reveals that he has bought SmackDown! This is now the WCW show, with its own stars, titles etc. The two companies keep within their own brands, but inter-promotional problems remain. After Hogan uses his nWo influence to dethrone HHH, it all leads to SummerSlam 2002, and a Hogan-Austin rematch for the now-WWE Title. Stone Cold looks like he is about to win, but The Outsiders pummel him. The Rock clears house, and sets up Hogan for a Rock Bottom, only to be attached by WCW/nWo's new secret weapon ... Goldberg! He Spears and Jackhammers Rock so hard that he injures him, and during the run-in, a cheap roll-up gets Hogan the win.

At Survivor Series, Hogan is finally dethroned inside the Elimination Chamber by newcomer Brock Lesnar. Meanwhile, the WCW crown is traded between WCW and WWE stars, eventually leading to a dual-brand Royal Rumble in 2003. But the nWo team of WCW continues causing carnage, leading Vince McMahon to make a big decision: call Paul Heyman, make a deal to bring back ECW and have Team Extreme help WWE to win the war.

But it's a trap! In a major multi-man match at WrestleMania XIX, ECW turns on WWE and forms The Alliance with the other invaders. This is counter-balanced by Hogan rekindling his red and yellow roots after one last match with Austin which he loses, and returns to WWE in the process. Also at that Mania, Shawn Michaels returns to active combat to beat WCW's Chris Jericho, the World Titles return to their respective brands, and Goldberg makes his in-ring debut in WWE to beat The Rock.

As 2003 continues, the war nears its end, and a bout promoted as The Final Battle headlines Survivor Series 2003. Controversially, though, the match has no finish: as The Undertaker prepares to win by being the man to finally pin Goldberg in WWE, he is stopped by the debuting Sting! As the road to WrestleMania XX begins, it is made clear that this show really will end the war, from settling the long-standing grudges to unifying titles to, most importantly of all, holding one last match which will see the winner's company triumph and the loser's company enter extinction.

At WrestleMania XX, Vince McMahon faces and beats Eric Bischoff. Shawn Michaels loses to recent WCW defectee Kurt Angle. Sting faces The Undertaker but, to compete with the Stinger's mind games, it is the original Taker who returns and keeps his Streak alive. The Rock and Hulk Hogan finally face off in a dream match with MSG providing the rabid Toronto-like atmosphere. A fresh up-and-comer in Randy Orton beats the returning Mick Foley in a brutal, star-making No Holds Barred match. One more future headliner, Edge, returns from a neck injury to win the first Money In The Bank Ladder Match. Evolution's Batista and defectee Ric Flair lose to The Outsiders in a Tag Team Title unification match. Booker T wins an Immunity Battle Royal. Christian unifies the Intercontinental and United States Titles. Trish Stratus is the last Diva standing in the war and is Women's Champ. After recent defections, WCW World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar beats WWE Champion Triple H and ECW Champ Rob Van Dam in the unification match, only to lose the Undisputed Title later that night to the winner of the 2004 Royal Rumble, rising star John Cena.

And, in the main event of this historic WM card (which brings some later innovations forward in time, I know), it is the first ever match between WWE's Stone Cold Steve Austin and WCW's Bill Goldberg, with the winner's company surviving. Each trade big moves before a frenzied atmosphere, and nearly everyone you can imagine interferes. The finishers come after this and, with the drama so high, Austin finally gives Goldberg three Stunners to win the match and to finally win the war for WWE! Goldberg leaves WWE after WM XX, but Austin then shockingly announces his retirement due to injury. Nevertheless, Vince McMahon thanks him for everything, especially his performance and victory on this night. Austin and Vince hug and share beers ... only for Austin to Stunner Vince in one last feel-good match to end WrestleMania XX.

Now, think of everything that did happen in the Invasion and in the WWF/WWE in general from 2001 to 2004. Compare it to this version of events, and although some classic matches and moments may not have happened in my alternate reality, can you honestly say that this story would not have been far better?