WCW 2001: From the Ashes

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WCW vs WWF

Show Rating: Nitro 90, Raw 79

TV Rating: Raw 2.94, Nitro 2.19

Main Event: Nitro 92, Raw 80

Raw Main Event: Warrior def. Triple H for the Intercontinental title and begins his third reign as champion

Part of Raw’s lower rating can be attributed to it being held in Puerto Rico. Still, a big night for WCW as we try to stay respectable going into the last month of 2001 and heading into 2002 with some new faces on the horizon. With the end of November comes the month in review with the most important show in years in Starrcade 2001 around the corner.

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End of month review, November 2001, Part 1

Finances
Cash at end of Nov 2001…$3,249,891
Cash at end of Oct…$2,632,722
Increase of $617,169

Although we were in the Southeast for most of the month of November, there was still an increase in ticket sales by just over $7,000 to $888,798. Our merchandise sales increased to $1,357,805 in November, a $151,000 increase, which helped offset our PPV revenue decrease of $160,000. In addition, the $120,000 we were paying monthly to show Nitro on ESPN2 through the end of October is now gone.

With our shows back in our home region of the Southwest, I look for December to be our best month financially since the reboot with Starrcade 2001 likely to be the most important WCW PPV in years.


Popularity
Southwest 71…previous 70

Southeast 69…previous 67

Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, Mid South, and Tri-State 61…previous 59

Midwest, New England, Northwest 60…previous 58

Puerto Rico 57…previous 56

Hawaii 55…previous 54


Figurehead
I have named Goldberg as the figurehead of WCW. It will take a few months to fully establish himself in the role. The figurehead is seen as the face of the company. He also has all the essential ingredients that a successful company figurehead would require and isn’t in danger of being overshadowed by anyone else.

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Roster Perceptions
Major Stars
Booker T
Diamond Dallas Page
Goldberg
Kevin Nash
Ric Flair
Rob Van Dam
Scott Steiner
Sting
Movers: None

Stars
Dustin Rhodes
Lance Storm
Mike Awesome
Rey Mysterio Jr
Sean O’Haire
Movers: Jeff Jarrett, The Total Package (out)

Well Known
Buff Bagwell
Chavo Guerrero Jr
Chuck Palumbo
Ernest Miller
Kanyon
Konnan
Rick Steiner
Shane Douglas
The Total Package
Vampiro
Movers: Jeff Jarrett, The Package, Chavo Guerrero (in); Bam Bam Bigelow, Billy Kidman (out)

Recognizable
Alex Wright
Bam Bam Bigelow
Billy Kidman
Hugh Morrus
Kaz Hayashi
Mark Jindrak
Mike Sanders
Norman Smiley
Shane Helms
Shawn Stasiak
Movers: Bam Bam Bigelow, Billy Kidman (in)

Unimportant
Air Paris
Big Vito
Chris Harris
Elix Skipper
Evan Karagias
James Storm
Jamie Knoble
Jason Jett
Johnny Swinger
Johnny the Bull
Kwee Wee
Lash Leroux
Reno
Shannon Moore
The Sandman
Yang
Movers: None



WCW Title Roll Call

WCW World Heavyweight – Sting, 7X champion, held since Week 1, Nov 2001
85 prestige (no change), #41 in world singles prestige (-3 in November)

WCW World Tag Team – Team Canada, 2x champion, held since Week 4, September 2001
69 prestige (no change), #15 in world tag prestige (+3 in November)

WCW United States – Booker T, 2x champion, held since Week 4, October 2001
68 prestige (no change), #99 in world singles (+4 in November)

WCW Cruiserweight – Billy Kidman, 4x champion, won Week 4, September 2001
44 prestige (no change), #134 in world singles prestige (no change in November)

WCW World Television – Vampiro, 1X champion, won Week 1, November 2001
32 prestige (+2 in November), #160 in world singles prestige (+1 in November)

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WCW Nitro
Monday, Week 1, December 2001
Reno, Nevada
Attendance: 8,542

–A backstage camera catches a vicious assault on Goldberg by Scott Steiner as the show begins. Steiner then places Goldberg in the Steiner Recliner as backstage personnel rush to Goldberg’s aid. (75)

–The announcers are shocked by Steiner’s assault as they run through the night’s card with Vampiro defending his TV title and Booker T defending the United States title. They also hype the six-man main event tag match featuring Goldberg, Sting, and RVD facing off against Double J, Scott Steiner, and Ric Flair. (78)

–Rick Steiner def. Dustin Rhodes by pinfall in 11:44 after Shane Douglas distracted Rhodes for most of the match. (76) After the match, Rhodes is livid as Douglas takes a mic and insults the Rhodes family. (73)

WCW World TV Title Match
–Vampiro def. Yang by pinfall in 8:35 following the Nail in the Coffin. (65) After the match, Chuck Palumbo comes to Yang’s rescue as Vampiro landed two more Nail in the Coffins on a steel chair before escaping the ring. (68) Vampiro makes his 5th defence of the World TV Title.

–Backstage, an attack is seen in progress as Scott Steiner is pummeling Sting. Steiner ends the beatdown with a Steiner Recliner on Sting as DDP runs Steiner off with a baseball bat. (78)

–Kevin Nash and Sean O’Haire def. Shane Douglas and The Total Package after O’Haire’s Jackknife Powerbomb on Douglas. (76) During the match, as O’Haire was preparing for a Seanton bomb, Nash stopped him and asked for the Jackknife, with O’Haire reluctantly obliging. After the match, Dustin Rhodes attacked both Shane Douglas and The Total Package with Unnatural Kicks. (79)

–Booker T makes his way to the ring for a promo with the United States title belt over his shoulder. As he is talking to the crowd, Ric Flair steps out and tells Booker that since Sting and Goldberg are fighting for the world title at Starrcade, he is challenging Booker to put up the United States title at ‘his’ event. Flair tells him he may not even make it to Starrcade as champion if he doesn’t beat Kanyon tonight. (82) Booker accepts the challenge and tells Flair that Space Mountain will be shut down at Starrcade as Flair goes ballistic in the ring. (87)

–Diamond Dallas Page def. Shawn Stasiak in 10:07 by pinfall following a Fireman’s Carry into the Diamond Cutter. (78)

–Backstage, Scott Steiner is with Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett in their dressing room. Steiner tells them he will find a way to get into the world title match at Starrcade. Flair smiles and closes the door in front of the camera. (88)

–Chavo Guerrero is backstage with Mean Gene as he taunts Billy Kidman after the fire extinguisher attack last week. Gene tells Chavo that Kidman will return next Monday as Chavo blows him off. (61)

WCW United States Title Match
–Booker T def. Kanyon in 13:28 by pinfall following Ric Flair’s botched interference on Kanyon. (79) After the match, Jeff Jarrett came down with his guitar and accidentally blasted Flair when Booker moved out of the way. (81)

–An irritated Sting and Goldberg are backstage with Rob Van Dam as they talk about the main event six-man tag match versus Steiner, Flair, and Jarrett. Sting tells Goldberg and RVD that Steiner will do what he can to get into the main event at Starrcade and implores them to watch their backs in the coming weeks. (83)

–A video montage hyping past historic Starrcades is shown and concludes with Scott Steiner’s world title defense last year at Starrcade 2000. (70)

–Goldberg, Rob Van Dam, and Sting def. Jeff Jarrett, Ric Flair, and Scott Steiner in 17:18 by pinfall following RVD's Five Star Splash on Flair. (87) After the match, a shoving match ensues between Flair and Jarrett with Scott Steiner frustratingly trying to calm them both down. (88)

Show Rating: 86
TV Rating: 2.13 (1,598,984 viewers)

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WCW vs WWF

Show Rating: Nitro 85, Raw 82

TV Rating: Raw 2.99, Nitro 2.13

Main Event Rating: Nitro 87, Raw 81

Raw Main Event: The Rock def. Billy Gunn in an 81 rated match. The order of matches hurt Raw this week as Eddie Guerrero def. Saturn in the previous match and it was graded at 88.


Weekly News and Notes
–The WWF suffered a setback this week as Smackdown lost its slot on Italia 1 after a string of subpar shows. Vince McMahon is said to be looking at ‘damage limitation’ to avoid his company from appearing weak to the public.

–The dirt sheets are saying that Eric Bischoff is being very aggressive in pursuing one of the WWF’s ‘Superstars’ whose contract is expiring. The WCW hierarchy is staying tight-lipped on the talks but an anonymous source says the talks are progressing very well. In a separate story, many online ‘experts’ are also saying another Superstar has asked out of his contract with the WWF but no reason was given as to why.