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Never watched WCW, what year is good to start?

49K views 47 replies 43 participants last post by  ADC 
#1 ·
Like the name of the thread said I didn't have the chance to enjoy WCW, so I want suggestions, tell me what year is good to start watching it :cool2
 
#5 ·
86-90? psshhhh, early 90s were great, all the way up through Hogan debut, nWo take over, Crow Sting, and then finishing off with Goldberg run. After about year 99-2000 you can stop watching. Just make sure you watch the Last Nitro when Shane shows up and buys it in front of his Dad Vince, and the send off of Ric Flair and Sting's last appearance is pretty deep. "The only thing for sure about Sting...is nothing's for sure". Wrestling died for me on that night.
 
#9 ·
86-90? psshhhh, early 90s were great, all the way up through Hogan debut, nWo take over, Crow Sting, and then finishing off with Goldberg run. After about year 99-2000 you can stop watching. Just make sure you watch the Last Nitro when Shane shows up and buys it in front of his Dad Vince, and the send off of Ric Flair and Sting's last appearance is pretty deep. "The only thing for sure about Sting...is nothing's for sure". Wrestling died for me on that night.
Damn it gonna be brutal to watch that..but yes gonna make that my last WCW.

WCW 96 was a pivotal year in wrestling for obvious reasons, Nitro was good until around early 99 imo
For the good and bad infamous reasons I wanna watch Nitro.

1986 all the way up through 1998 was good to great. Early 1999 was somewhat entertaining as well, plus it includes the infamous Fingerpoke of Doom incident. I wouldn't recommend late 1999-2001; watch at your own discretion.
I always heard bad thing aabout thos elate years, gonna experience them a bit :cool2
 
#13 ·
I say start in the year 1996. Spring-time.

I remember watching back in the day as a kid. I watched every Monday night from spring of 1996 to January of 1998. I did flip back and forth between WCW and the WWF through much of late 97 (predominantly still watching Nitro) but that's really here nor there.

Whatever you do, don't watch anything from the year 2000. That year, I dare say, was worse than the cluster fuck that 1999 was.
 
#14 ·
There are some really enjoyable PPVs from the early 1990s; I remember really enjoying the team of Steve Austin & Brian Pilman (The Hollywood Blonds) in 1993. They had some pretty good matches with Arn Anderson & Ric Flair.
 
#20 · (Edited)
1989-1994 is the best run in company history to me, with 1992 not even coming close to being bettered from an in ring standpoint. You have the wonderful Dangerous Alliance vs WCW/Sting's Squadron feud which produced some amazing tags, Steamboat vs Rude Beach Blast 1992 for the US Title is one of the greatest matches in US history, WarGames 1992 is hand's down the best WarGames of all time and an all time classic match. The Flair/Steamboat series of matches in 1989 leading into the Funk/Flair GAB and I Quit classics, Steamboat's return post WWF in the classic Steamboat/Rhodes vs Arn Anderson/Zbyszko tag match. Sting/Flair, Flair/Luger, Flair/Sting vs Slater/Muta, Sting/Vader series, Dustin Rhodes vs Vader feud, Dustin Rhodes vs Bunkhouse Buck feud leading into WarGames 1994 with maniacal Terry Funk etc. Just an incredible consistency of quality wrestling mixed with brilliant feuds and angles.

Tag Team wrestling was at a premium with the Rock n Roll Express vs Midnight Express, and Midnight Express vs Southern Boys tags from 1990 both being all time classics, the Dangerous Alliance was one of the finest stables in wrestling history who's entire run led to some brilliant matches similar to Evolution in 2004.

1995 and afterwards just cannot come close to replicating that period of quality old school wrestling, though the Sting-Hogan build leading into Starrcade 1997 as well as Eddie Guerrero's entire 1997 heel run being one of the best years for a professional wrestler ever did help to produce some quality in WCW's later years.

But aye, 1989-1994 was never topped. Just a shockingly consistent period of wrestling with NWA/WCW having one of the most stacked rosters in history, Flair, Funk, Sting, Vader, Windham, Rude, Steamboat, Arn Anderson, Heyman, Cornette, Bobby Eaton, Midnight Express, Steve Austin, Brian Pillman, Dustin Rhodes, Lord Steven Regal, Larry Zbyszko, Shane Douglas, Rock n Roll Express etc.

To reinforce my point, I took part in a 'Top 100 WCW matches poll' covering 1989-2001, and 68 of my 100 matches came from the 89-94 period. 1992 WCW is up there with 85 Mid South, 1997 CMLL and 2000 WWF as far as greatest years in a promotion go.
 
#29 ·
Damn you for stealing my post!

Yeah what he said pretty much, I took part in said poll too, watched a shit ton of WCW and 89-94 is outstanding. In fact off the top of my head my top 3 matches in 90s America happened there (Steamboat/Rude 30 Minute Ironman match, Vader Vs Flair at Starrcade 1993 and the Eddie/Rey match from Halloween Havoc 97).

The serious depth of quality all the way down the card in early WCW can't be overhyped, your main eventers were your Stings, Flair and Vaders (For god sake watch all the Vader/Sting matches (And actually watch all Vader main events 92-94, Flair too, yes even the two 94 Hogan matches, Halloween Havoc cage match might be the most fun I've had watching wrestling), then you had your Arn Andersons, Steve Austins and Cactus Jacks beneath, hell even a horrid gimmick like Arachnaman was decent thanks to the wrestler under the mask.

People say 94 is bad but 95 was the real bad year, 94 had Dustin Rhodes in awesome matches monthly, Hogan only appearing a few times and bringing his A-game, Vader still dominating bitches, The Big Bossman of all people having good matches and some crazy Terry Funk too.

I mean 96-01 WCW is good but it just can't match the early stuff.
 
#21 ·
There's really two different WCWs : pre-1996 and post.

Where you start really depends on what kind of wrestling you're looking for. The NWA esque Arn Anderson, Ric Flair and surfer Sting stuff, with the Four Horsemen going on in the background, or the cruiserweight/technical flair of Chris Jericho, Juventud Guerrero, Eddie, Benoit, etc, with the soap opera nWo/Flock shenanigans going on in the background.

I was personally always in it for the Ayatollah Of RockNRolla - everyone else was just his supporting cast. Monday Night Jericho 4 Life.
 
#23 ·
Watch from the first Nitro in 1995 up to mid-1999 for good quality stuff.

Drink plenty of booze and watch from mid-1999 until the demise because WCW in that era is absolutely hilarious when hammered. Especially all the stuff when Russo is booking in spring 2000, it gets funnier with each swerve or worked shoot. :russo

Disclaimer: that second one probably works better with some friends. Otherwise it might just get depressing :lol
 
#25 ·
you should start watching from 89 till 1993 and then from 1996 till 1999
 
#27 ·
WCW was the first wrestling I began watching and was a big fan until the end, thru the good and bad.

But, IMO, the best time to start watching is mid 1989, after Flair got the title back from Steamboat. IMO, it sets the tone for WCW for years to come, as it led to the classic Flair/Funk I Quit match and more importantly, the rise of Sting, who became WCW's franchise.

But honestly OP, if you start from mid 1996, you'll be depriving yourself of some classic moments in wrestling. IMO, a year that is rather passable is 1994. For me, that was the deadest year of WCW, as the Hogan debut nearly overshadowed everything else. But to see some early WCW work of the Horsemen, the Dangerous Alliance, some great War Games matches, the rise of Vader and some flat out damn good wrestling from guys like Pillman, Bobby Eaton, Arn Anderson and even some greatness from Luger, start from 1989 and work your way to the finish.
 
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