We are about to start a picfed series that is based in the current day but in an alternate timeline where WCW lives and WWE is gone. Here is the breakdown of the premise with the idea being we will be starting up January 2023 at the first Nitro after Starrcade 2022.
The Alternate Reality:
Where does the timeline diverge?
March 25th, 2001.
Jason Harvey and Eric Bischoff are able to secure a Television deal for two hours on Friday Nights for Nitro on … the USA Network.
Harvey and Bischoff are able to get NBC to agree to a deal out of spite for WWE and Turner. WWF/E had left for Viacom’s TNN and now NBC can get back at Viacom AND Turner by taking WWF’s (and Viacom’s) competitor while taking their former foe in Turner’s wrestling company and putting it on their own network.
Securing the deal brings Fusient Media back into the picture and along with Bischoff, they purchase WCW for $15 Million.
What happens when there is no void?
LOTS happen that change wrestling history.
Television:
In 2005, WWE had no competition and was able to create a bidding war for their television rights leading them to go back to USA Network. If WCW were on the USA Network and had a deal with NBC, WWE would now be stuck for where to get offers. Fox was not offering up money at this point like they did over a decade later in our timeline.
With Competition and Bischoff’s vision, WCW was able to recover and meet ratings expectations enough that their deal gets extended. WWF, with competition but a smarter Bischoff hiring younger talent, WWF product gets stale sooner.
Feeder Promotions and “Competition”:
With WCW gone and only WWF around, there was a massive void in our timeline but in this alternate timeline, there is no void. Jeff Jarrett started TNA with his dad and Bob Ryder because they were out of work and WWF blacklisted Jarrett. Jarrett would still be working with WCW and a major main event player with how he was at the end with Booker T.
Ring of Honor would not exist either as it was also created because of the void left by ECW. It may have came about eventually but with our belief of Heyman eventually starting ECW back up with the parties that bought ECW they would have been eaten up or just closed as they would have appealled to the same demo.
The Invasion:
It would never have happened. ECW would never have been used and likely would never have been rescued by Vince in bankruptcy since he had to still worry financially about his competition not dying. This likely leads to a lot of the ECW talent that Vince had hired along with Heyman himself to eventually be let go.
The Talent:
Eventually, Bischoff slowly brings in the old WCW guys that still had contracts with Turner and not WCW. Scott Steiner, Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, Rey Mysterio, Sting, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and Kevin Nash make up the Main Event for the first couple of years after Fusient Media purchased the company. Goldberg will come in after his contract with Turner is up but is only used as a special attraction like he is in our timeline in WWE.
Many talents that jumped to WWF are blacklisted from WCW when WWE eventually gets sold and is gone.
Eddie Guerrero never returns to WCW and still passes away from his Heart condition in 2005 after debuting in Paul’s new ECW.
The One Who Shall Not Be Named also goes to ECW with Eddie and still sadly does this disgusting act he did in our timeline (WCW will continue to never recognize that one-day reign).
Chris Jericho is in ECW along with a lot of people that Heyman would be drawn to over the years like CM Punk or Kevin Owens.
Steve Austin is mainly retired but appears for ECW on occasion to help Paul out.
But what about the big one… Triple H. In this alternate timeline look at him like Scott Steiner was treated in WWE after coming over. He will get jobbed out to Steiner and Goldberg and most of the main event scene when he comes over. He comes over because Regal is the hired back as head of the Power Plant and has praise for Triple H. Triple H will eat the shit like Miz had to in WWE but eventually rise out of it because of the fact Nash and Hall are both in Bischoff’s ear and now Triple H is able to make it to the top of the game like he did in WWE. He is still married to Stephanie and she does eventually debut in WCW similar to how Bischoff eventually debuted in WWE.
Where does that bring us today?
Things settle down after 2005.
ECW survives like TNA still does today in our world. Heyman is head of the company but it is owned by a company that keeps it financially stable. It would house a lot of the less “traditional” wrestlers like Orange Cassidy, The Young Bucks, Moxley, Ricochet, Kushida, Seth Rollins, and Sami Zayn who are in ECW. Roman Reigns is there too but not with Moxley and Rollins as we are saying they are both Punk’s disciples over there.
Triple H beat Ric Flair in a match to get complete control over the Horsemen Name.
Dusty Rhodes is still alive but manages the Rhodes Family which is Cody, Dustin, Brandi, and Dusty’s protege in AJ Styles. Cody is the current champion on his 6th Reign.
Dark Order exists and is in WCW but is treated similarly to the nWo for the modern era but was the idea of NBC during the launch of SyFy and the return of WCW Saturday Night on the Channel in 2009.
The nWo has been dead since 2005 and has not been mentioned since.
WCW Nitro was moved back to Mondays in 2005 after Raw goes off the air.
Where do we start?
We are going to start at the beginning of January 2023 and lead up to the WCW Sin PPV. As of right now, the plan for who are Champions post-Starrcade 2022 will be:
WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Cody Rhodes
WCW United States Champion: Hangman Adam Page
WCW Women’s World Champion: Charlotte Flair
WCW World Television Champion: Brodie Lee (may change)
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Bobby Fish
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Dark Order
How can you help decide the future?
We are going to hold weekly and/or monthly polls for those who have liked and followed our Facebook page in our Inner Circle Facebook group. They will get to help decide certain events that will happen on each “show.” Be sure to like and follow the Facebook page to receive your official invite to said group.
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