WWE expanded its social media realm this past week, adding another sister channel to its humongous empire on YouTube. Named after the legendary company that went head to head with Vince McMahon’s WWE (then WWF) itself, the new channel was known as “WCW”.
It is not hard to guess what content this brand-new channel is posting on the platform. WCW on YouTube is your go-to destination for full length WCW matches, complete WCW PPV events, and full episodes of iconic wrestling TV series like Monday Nitro, Thunder, Clash of the Champions, and much more!
As of today, the channel is sitting at around 180,000 subscribers, on pace for a 200K milestone at the end of March.
In honor of this formulation, we decided to give our WCW fans some love by giving you guys a list of hidden gems we dug up and found on this channel. Old-time wrestling followers from the NWA days in the ‘80s or hardcore fans of the “Monday Night War” era may recognize some of the matches shown here.
The Midnight Express vs. The Fantastics – Clash of the Champions I (1988)
In 1988, WCW, as a member of the NWA, debuted a television special to counter WWE’s WrestleMania IV airing on PPV. It was a roaring success for Jim Crockett’s promotion, with ratings that surpassed that year’s “Show of Shows”. Nonetheless, while everyone remembers the epic main event between Ric Flair and Sting, most seem to forget about Clash’s first classic.
The Midnight Express, consisting of the late, great Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane, defended their NWA United States Tag Team Titles against The Fantastics, a duo of Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers (who also sadly passed away in 2015).
It was ten minutes of pure chaos, with high-octane action and lighting-quick pace. Jim Cornette, the Midnight’s manager, assisted in several instances to help his team to a nuclear response from the North Carolina crowd. Rogers and Fulton nearly walked out with the belts, but due to some dusty officiating, the Express retained via disqualification.
The Steiner Brothers vs. Lex Luger & Sting – SuperBrawl I (1991)
WCW hosted their inaugural SuperBrawl PPV event in May of 1991, a concept inspired by NFL’s highly-anticipated annual supershow, “SuperBowl”. If you ask most WCW fans from the ‘90s, they tend to forget about this show. Rightfully so, of course.
It was a strange time for WCW, which was in the midst of breaking off with their mother promotion, the NWA, resulting in complications over their World Title.
Be that as it may, the talents in the company are as stacked as ever, and one tag team encounter would echo that statement. Sting, teaming up with his long-time friend Lex Luger, took on the Steiner Brothers in a matchup between four of the hottest babyfaces in WCW.
These four superheavyweights threw everything but the kitchen sink at each other in what was a show-stealer. Sadly, Nikita Koloff eventually interfered to give the Steiners the unclean victory — a finish that must be done to protect all four men and gave Sting a new rival.
The Nasty Boys vs. Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne – Spring Stampede (1994)
Before ECW was well-known for its revolutionary hardcore approach, these four guys were setting a new bar in North America’s pro-wrestling on how extreme your matches can go.
Cactus Jack, Maxx Payne, and Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags of The Nasty Boys had a feud going back to the beginning of 1994 over the WCW World Tag Team Title. Each time they wrestle, it would keep getting more out of hand, often ending in non-finishes due to how violence these two teams would get.
A Chicago Street Fight was scheduled to finally settle the score, and it was everything as advertised. All four dudes destroyed the living hell out of each other all over the arena, using every weapon they could get their hands on. After almost ten minutes of brutal brawling, the Nasty Boys put the nail in the coffin by nailing a sick shovel shot to Foley’s head.
Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon – Spring Stampede (1997)
When people talk about the cruiserweight division of WCW, we usually hear names such as Eddie Guerrero, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, and Rey Mysterio.
Not a lot of people talk about Ultimo Dragon, but it is a name more fans should be aware of, as he contributed significantly to the growth of the cruiserweights during the height of its popularity. Ultimo won the Cruiserweight Title twice, exciting fans with his high-flying style in his time in the division.
At Spring Stampede 1997, Ultimo opened the show against a future WWE legend, Rey Mysterio Jr. (still going by his old ring name), in a cracker of a showdown. Both men displayed superb chemistry, delighting the Tupelo Coliseum audience with a flurry of picture-perfect, smooth-looking maneuvers. Misterio Jr. picked up the win after a series of beautiful pinfall reversals, kicking off the PPV on a high note.
Bret Hart vs. Booker T – Monday Nitro (1999)
There were plenty of dream opponents for Bret Hart when he jumpshipped to WCW in 1997. Big names like Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, and Sting were obviously on top of most fans’ list. However, there were some folks in WCW’s midcard that were overlooked.
Their skill sets complement Bret’s technical style incredibly well, and on the February 22nd, 1999 edition of Monday Nitro, we would get to see one of those matchups.
In a No. 1 contender’s bout for the United States Title, Booker T got the opportunity to prove to the higher-ups that he belonged in the scene as he tried to take one from the Hitman. It was a very technical-centric contest, the kind not seen in that era of World Championship Wrestling in a long time.
Bret and Booker worked a compelling, high-IQ affair, ending with Booker countering Hart’s sunset flip into a pinning combo to earn a shot at the US Title.
Scott Steiner vs. Diamond Dallas Page – Greed (2001)
Original WCW fans are much better off not remembering this time period of the company. Riddled by horrendous booking, messy management, and even worse product, the Turner-owned franchise met its downfall in 2001.
In March of that same year, WCW broadcasted its last PPV event, Greed, headlined by a WCW World Heavyweight Championship bout between champion Scott Steiner and challenger Diamond Dallas Page.
Despite the company’s horrid fate, Steiner and Page would still go on to put on an extremely entertaining match to close out WCW’s final PPV. The dynamic was scintillating, with Steiners’ heel antics perfectly clashing with DDP’s resilient fire.
In the end, Scott fought off a valiant effort from Page and put him down with the Steiner Recliner to retain the belt.
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