The “real life” situation set up a compelling storyline that had never been executed in the business before, not even by the master himself. The use of Hall and Nash was done to absolute perfection, regardless of who you want to award the credit.
With the potential of his signings now paying HUGE dividends for Mr. Turner, Eric used the case to get the funding he needed to keep the flow of “former” WWF superstars coming into WCW. Suddenly, Vince tried to paint the picture of being “the victim” to Billionaire Ted’s wallet. We all remember the pathetic “War Room” skits – especially me, who was in a number of them. He would tell his story of woe to anybody that would listen – the same story that the former owners of the regional territories would tell their staff as they were putting all the belongings from their desk into a cardboard box.
Around that time, I remember Roddy jumping ship and Vince telling us in a meeting: “Well, they got Piper – so I guess nobody’s left”. The once-mighty boss was coming across as weak and beaten. In the meantime, let’s not forget that it was HIS decision to not pay the two who started the movement because, in his mind, business was going to be the exact same without them.
At that time, there was no Vince Russo, and no idea of The Attitude Era. There was only a desperate leader who really had NO idea how to dig his company out of a hole that he in fact dug himself.
This story – the REAL story – you will never read, hear about, or even see on WWE’s Monday Night Wars fairy tale, simply because it’s the truth and it shows Vince McMahon’s flaws. That’s something he would never allow to happen.
That by itself is ridiculous. We all make mistakes, but the key is to learn from them. If TNA offered John Cena millions on top of millions to join their company today, would Vince let him walk? Or would he pay the ante on the lesson learned from the true story of the Monday Night Wars?
The war was started by the man who ultimately won it. And, in the long run, it ultimately made his company better for it. With WWE in its current state, it’s a shame that there isn’t another “Ted” out there to force The Mighty Vince’s hand once more. That would be the only catalyst to once again make things interesting in professional wrestling.
