20 YRS AGO – KELLER’S COVER STORY: WCW prepares for ’98 to be different from ’97 – With Bret Hart entering the picture, two additional live hours, and the return of Sting, everything changes

The following is Wade Keller’s cover story in the Dec. 6, 1997 Pro Wrestling Torch Weekly newsletter looking at WCW’s transition into a pivotal 1998 after a record-breaking 1997, with some poignant analysis of where things were potentially headed for WCW. You can read this entire newsletter and over 1,500 back issues dating back more than 30 years through today when you become a PWTorch VIP member, gaining access to the single-largest online resource of contemporaneous independent journalistic coverage of pro wrestling. SIGN UP INFO

HEADLINE: WCW prepares for ’98 to be different from ’97 – With Bret Hart entering the picture, two additional live hours, and the return of Sting, everything changes

By Wade Keller, Torch editor

WCW and Eric Bischoff could not have imagined 1997 would be as successful as it has been. They shattered their house show revenue records by increasing ticket prices substantially and still seeing attendance rise dramatically. Ratings above 4.0 for Nitro are not uncommon, which is a rating point higher than they had any reason to expect a year ago would be the norm. Pay-per-view buyrates without Hogan have been strong and with Hogan have been even better. For the most part, the locker room situation has been calm. Even with the Kevin Nash-Roddy Piper locker room scuffle and the Four Horsemen-Wolf Pack rivalry, the locker room situation has been better than could be expected given the egos involved. TBS came to WCW and pushed hard for WCW to sell them a two-hour live weekly show. WCW agreed in exchange for a huge programming fee. They accomplished all of the above while one of their top five attractions, Sting, didn’t wrestle one official match or contribute to one house show or PPV line-up.

Despite so much momentum coming off of the Bret Hart signing and the anticipation for the Hulk Hogan vs. Sting main event at Starrcade, 1998 may not be smooth sailing. There are a lot of changes and challenges in store for WCW next year. Even before they enter 1998, the political situation could get heated regarding the finish of the Hogan vs. Sting match. There is concern within WCW that Hogan will play hardball with the finish, fighting the plans for him to do a job to Sting and drop the WCW belt. Hogan has 100 percent creative control of his finishes in black and white in his contract. Unlike Bret Hart’s contract, there is no ambiguity over the wording. If Hogan wanted to pin Sting in 30 seconds, he could demand that and ultimately WCW’s only out would be to pull him from the card entirely (or, I suppose, “double cross him” during the match). Hogan may push for a raise, or demand an extra fee to do the job to Sting. Hogan is signed for four PPVs in 1998, but otherwise doesn’t have a non-compete clause and isn’t committed to even one house show or television appearance after December. If Hogan’s demands, either monetary or creative, were outrageous, WCW might pass on using him at all.

Right now the relationship between Bischoff and Hogan isn’t obviously strained, but sources say both Bischoff and Hogan aren’t nearly as fond of each other or as secure with their relationship as they were one year ago. Odds are that because they can make more money by sticking together than splitting apart, they will work together in 1998 just as they have in ’97, but it’s not as much of a lock as most assume. As is the case when a company reaches the levels of success WCW has, the two top forces begin resenting the other taking credit for the success, or each force wants to show it was he who was the main reason for the success, not the other. Whether or not Hogan sees WCW as being the place he’ll finish his career, he may think jobbing to Sting isn’t in his or WCW’s best interest and refuse or demand a huge payoff.

Bischoff’s signing of Bret wasn’t part of a master plan on Bischoff’s part to snub Hogan or prepare for Hogan’s departure. In fact, with Hogan having signed on for four PPV dates in 1998, Bischoff believed he had Hogan 100 percent locked up. But because events played out the way they did, Bischoff has more leverage by having Bret around than he otherwise would have when it comes to negotiations with Hogan over the next couple of years. It’s fathomable that WCW could continue on a successful hot streak without Hogan by having Bret and Sting added to the mix, keeping Flair in the main event picture, and to begin to better utilize Hall and Nash.

The biggest change for WCW outside of the active roster additions of Sting and Bret is the addition of the new two-hour live weekly show on TBS on Thursdays. WCW set in motion this past Monday on Nitro the angle that will lead to the NWO taking over Monday Nitro. It appears Bischoff will manage to beat Larry Zbyszko somehow at Starrcade and “win” Nitro for the NWO. Right now, the format of NWO Nitro is up in the air. The broadcast team slated to host the new NWO Nitro is Mike Tenay, Eric Bischoff, and Rick Rude. Tenay may turn heel, or he may just be a hesitant captor of the NWO. Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Larry Zbyszko would move over to host the WCW Thunder show beginning Thursday, Jan. 8, a show that from a storyline perspective will be created in response to WCW losing Nitro.

The WWF is anticipating WCW’s product will become oversaturated as a result of the new two hour show and that Nitro on a whole will be weakened by the NWO format. Right now despite the Bret Hart controversy, the attitude among WWF management and the locker room is confidence in their ability to compete closely in the Monday ratings come January. That may seem delusional considering WCW will be introducing Bret Hart in January, but the WWF believes by subtracting Bret from their equation, they can keep the locker room morale stronger (mainly because they’re counting on Michaels “behaving” now that Bret isn’t around for him to antagonize).

The NWO Nitro format is still a mystery. There are not enough wrestlers in the NWO to carry a two hour live weekly show. They are going to either have to use WCW wrestlers, jobbers, or add to the NWO roster and have them fight each other. If they use WCW wrestlers, then NWO Nitro outside of the graphics and announcers won’t be different than the old Nitro, except the product will be competing in a way with WCW Thursday Thunder.

WCW also has to deal with corporate politics between TBS and TNT. There has already been bickering between TBS and TNT executives over which arenas each station’s show will be broadcast from. Nitro is having a series of dome shows early in the year while Thunder is “relegated” to regular arenas. When one show does better than the other in the ratings, there will be bickering over whether WCW is playing favorites with one station in terms of the talent being utilized or the angles being played out.

Bischoff has successfully avoided major blows-ups in the locker room thus far with an esoteric mix of big name talent. In part, that was because everybody knew their place. Flair didn’t fight to be placed above Hogan, but there was heat between Flair’s faction and Nash’s faction because both believed they belonged under Hogan. What happens now when Bret, Sting, and Hogan can all lay claim to being tier one wrestlers when Hogan still demands to be held as being a level above everyone else — and produces numbers to back up his claim. (Hogan rivals could counter by saying that PPVs he appears on do better because the WCW belt that he has hoarded draws buys, or that the PPVs he is on are generally hyped as being much bigger deals than the ones he’s not on. Put any number of other top WCW stars in that featured slot and they, too, would appear to be a bigger draw than anyone else.)

Bret Hart is talking about having a match against Hogan down the line, and he sounds as if he believes in good faith that everyone will be able to get along and work out a finish. But Hogan is the one who refused to job to Bret Hart before leaving the WWF because he believed Bret was “too small” to lose to, and therefore hand picked Yokozuna as the heel who would defeat him. At that time Hogan was leaving the company and thus had less to lose by doing a job then. Now if he does a job, but remains in WCW, he may believe the perception may be he is a notch below the younger, more athletic Bret Hart. Hogan, though, is a heel now and has been willing to do jobs, but his jobs have been to friends or wrestlers who aren’t a threat to him. Bret is not Hogan’s friend, but is a threat.

And Sting is largely disinterested in the day to day politics of WCW, but he has had a strong hand in his storyline the past year. Thus far his storyline hasn’t involved asking others to do jobs for him. It’s been pretty much politics free. Now Sting may have to assert himself, or may choose to more than he has in the past, since he may see a multi-million dollar raise on the horizon if he is able to ride his current momentum throughout 1998.

Hall and Nash have been somewhat content with their positions in WCW thus far, but Nash’s relationship with Bischoff has been up and down lately. They may grow impatient being portrayed a level lower than Hogan and Sting, much less Bret.

The moment ratings begin to slide on Mondays — if they do — finger pointing will immediately begin. Everyone will believe WCW would be better off if they followed their ideas or pushed them instead of someone else.

It’s all of those reasons that made Bischoff so hesitant to accept the second weekly primetime weekday show. TBS made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, but he knew by accepting the offer he was shaking a boat that had become largely profitable. Thus far Bischoff’s gambles have paid off, sometimes in the face of critics saying they were sure to backfire. For Bischoff, the success he’s had in 1997 will be tested by a lot of challenges in 1998. If it pays off, it could pay off big. But the opposite is also very much possible.

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