The End of Competition: 10 Years Gone

During my morning gander at my RSS feeds, I did the usual checkup on some wrestling dirt sheets. One site brought to my attention a huge anniversary. 10 years ago today, it was formally announced that WWE had purchased WCW. Not only that, April 4 will mark the 10 year anniversary of ECW filing for Bankruptcy. WWE would eventually buy all ECW assets. These two events officially marked the end of the Monday Night War era, and the end of competition.

This was a memorable time, to say the least. From 1995 to 2001, fans were spoiled with some of the most exciting wrestling in the history of the business. There were fresh, exciting storylines that were edgy. Big stars emerged, and fans were glued to their TV sets to see which wrestlers would jump ship to a new show. There were great matches that involved big spots and violence. Since both shows aired at the same time (9pm-11pm ET every Monday) on different networks, WWE and WCW were involved in an extremely competitive ratings war. The competition was so heated that during the time when WWE's show, Monday Night Raw, was taped, WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff used to send someone to the Raw TV taping to find out the results of the show, then subsequently gave away these results at the beginning of the live Monday Nitro. Raw eventually became a live show because of this. ECW, the smallest of "The Big Three," did not have a prime time show on Monday nights, and thus, was not apart of the competition directly. However, both WWE and WCW constantly raided ECW's talent roster and copied a lot of their ideas. In spite of these setbacks, the company thrived, offering a violent, athletic alternative to fans, all the while operating on a shoestring budget.

WCW's product eventually deteriorated, and by 2000, there was a significant drop-off in TV ratings. The end came when WCW's parent company, Time Warner, merged with AOL. The new regime wanted to move ahead without pro wrestling, and began listening to purchase offers from interested parties, eventually selling to WWE. ECW's product remained strong throughout it's history, but due to poor business management, the company folded in 2001.

10 years later, the wrestling business is quite different without serious competition. Since WWE no longer needs shock value to attract viewers, the product has gone back to being more family-friendly. Matches involve lesser high risks and move at a slower pace. Blood and hardcore violence have been phased out. WWE features less freakishly muscular wrestlers and more wrestlers with an athletic look. Since monthly Pay-Per-Views came about from competition, these shows now don't hold the same prestige. The product is enjoyable, and there's still some excitement, but WWE is not the same as it was when it was competing with WCW.

I know you're thinking, 'what about Total Nonstop Action?' Yeah. Exactly. What about it? TNA, as a concept, is great. Having a second wrestling company is something fans want. Consumers like to have options. But I wouldn't go say TNA is competition. Outside of some big-names and the X Division, TNA doesn't really offer anything different or exciting to fans. The matches aren't anything special, and the storylines aren't that intriguing or take too many twists and turns. Their weekly show, TNA Impact, is taped in a TV studio at Universal Studios Florida, which gives off a vibe of unimportance. Having the show take place every week from the same venue, there isn't that special feeling when something big happens. Additionally, the audience is made up of people that were either shuffled in from the amusement park who aren't necessarily wrestling fans, or fans who regularly attend the show and are overexposed to the product. This doesn't have the same vibe as an arena crowd in a frenzy. These elements put the company very distant 2nd place, and nowhere close to being on the same level as WWE.

I hope things change soon. I would enjoy seeing TNA give WWE a run for it's money. I think all wrestling fans would enjoy another competition similar to what was seen in the 90's. If I've learned anything from watching wrestling over the years, it's that anything can happen. Maybe in the next 10 years, we will see TNA become really big and start to be a threat. I guess we'll just have to watch.