WCW’s The Big Bang: What a card should have looked like

There are some caveats that need to be made. Firstly, if this show happens, a few things have had to happen to get here.

Eric Bischoff acquires WCW.
Turner doesn’t cancel Nitro/Thunder/Saturday Night
Bob Ryder and Jerry Jarrett bring in several wrestlers who we’d see in WWA and NWA-TNA
WCW signs ex- ECW stars to bolster the roster
The “Final Nitro” episode never airs, so title changes on that show never happen.
No PPVs air before The Big Bang, but TV regularly gets produced.

* – Signed
** – Re-signed
***-Power Plant Callups

Singles Wrestlers

Alex Greco***
The Beast (Bob Sapp)***
Big Vito
Booker T (C) United States
Chavo Guerrero
Crowbar
CW Anderson*
Demon
DDP
Dustin Rhodes
Ernest Miller
Fit Finlay
Glacier
Goldberg
Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Hugh Morrus
Jamie Noble
James Maritato*
Jason Jett
Jerry Lynn*
Johnny the Bull
Johnny Swinger
Kevin Nash
Kid Kash
Kid Romeo
Konnan
Kwee Wee
Lance Storm
Lash Leroux
M.I. Smooth
Mark Jindrack
Michael Modest
Mike Awesome
Mike Sanders
Mortis (Kanyon)
Norman Smiley
Reno
Rick Steiner
Rob Van Dam*
Tajiri*
Sandman*
Scott Hall*
Scott Steiner (C) World Heavyweight
Sgt. Awol
Shane Douglas
Shane Helms (C) Cruiserweight
Shark Boy*
Shawn Stasiak
Sonny Siaki**
Steve Corino
Sting
Terry Funk
Tommy Dreamer*
Vampiro

Tag Team

3 Count (Karagias/Moore)
Air Paris
America’s Most Wanted (Storm/Harris)*
Bad Street Boys (York/Mercury)*
Boogie Nights (Alex Wright/Disco)
Filthy Animals (Kidman/Mysterio) (C) Cruiserweight Tag Team
The Harris Brothers (Ron Harris/Don Harris)
Jung Dragons (Kaz/Jimmy Yang)
Kronik (Brian Adams/Bryan Clark) (C) World Tag Team
Palumbo/O’Haire
Road Warriors XL – Animal/Bam Bam
Totally Buff (Buff/Lex)
TripleX – Low Ki, Daniels, Skipper

Stables

Filty Animals (Rey, Kidman, Konnan)
Jung Dragons (Tajiri, Kaz, Jimmy Yang, Leia Meow
The Mamalukes (Vito, Johnny the Bull, James Maritato)
Triple X (Low Kid, Daniels, SkippeR)

Women

Daffney **
Leia Meow**
Major Gunns**
Miss Hancock
Midajah
Paisley
Torrie Wilson**

Managers/Other

Arn Anderson
David Penzer
Dewayne Bruce
Don West*
Dusty Rhodes
Eric Bischoff (Owner)
James Mitchell*
Jeremy Borash
Jimmy Hart
Joey Styles*
Mean Gene Okerlund
Mike Tenay
Pamela Paulshock
Ric Flair
Scott Hudson
Sid Vicious
Stevie Ray
Tony Schiavone

Titles

World
United States
Television
Hardcore
Cruiserweight
World Tag Team
Cruiserweight Tag Team

Major Developments heading into The Big Bang

Kid Romeo and Elix Skipper drop the Cruiserweight Tag Titles to Rey and Kidman
Karagias and Moore reunite
Booker T loses to Scott Steiner.
Sting returns to save Booker T from a post-match beatdown
A week after Sting’s return, Booker T turns heel and attacks Sting
O’Haire and Palumbo lose the tag titles to Kronik
The New Church forms under a debuting James Mitchell
Tajiri joins the Jung Dragons as they re-ignite their feud with Ernest Miller
Lance Storm turns face after saving Major Gunns from an enraged Mike Awesome

The Big Bang – May 6, 2001

Announcers: Joey Styles, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay
Hosts: Pamela Paulshock, Dusty Rhodes, Stevie Ray

Pre-Show on TBS

4 Corner Tag Match – Winner goes to Big Bang
Air Pairs vs. Jung Dragons vs. Bad Street Boys vs. 3 Count

Singles Match
Jason Jett vs. Kid Romeo

6 Man Tag
The Mamalukes vs. The New Church (Mortis, Vampiro, Demon)

The Big Bang

WCW Cruiserweight
{Debut} Jerry Lynn vs. Shane Helms (C)

Karate Match
Tajiri vs. Ernest Miller

Hardcore Title – Scramble
Fit Finlay vs. Johnny Swinger vs. Kid Kash vs. Mike Awesome vs. Mike Sanders vs. Norman Smiley vs. Reno vs. Sandman vs. The Wall vs. Tommy Dreamer

8-Man Tag
Shane Douglas, Road Warriors XL, and Steve Corino vs. DDP, Dustin Rhodes, Sean O’Haire, and Chuck Palumbo

Singles
Jeff Jarrett (w/ Shawn Stasiak) vs. Lance Storm

WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team
Air Paris vs. Filty Animals (C)

WCW United States
Sting vs. Booker T (C)

WCW World Tag Team
The Outsiders vs. Kronik (C)

WCW World Heavyweight
Rob Van Dam vs. Scott Steiner (C)

Results

Pre-Show on TBS

4 Corner Tag Match – Winner goes to Big Bang
Air Pairs vs. Jung Dragons vs. Bad Street Boys vs. 3 Count
Winners: Air Paris
– Getting Air Paris over is a key of the new WCW. AJ Styles, even in 2001, was a stud. There was a reason why NWA-TNA put a rocket to his back and pushed him as hard as they did. Getting the likes of Joey Mercury and Christian York air time will help bolden the Cruiserweight Tag Team division. Jung Dragons and 3 Count’s reformation is necessary for what we’re doing long-term.

Singles Match
Jason Jett vs. Kid Romeo
Winner: Jason Jett
– Jason Jett was one of the few new additions over the last year of the company who impressed out of the gate. His time in ECW was fine but unremarkable, and his name fits in nicely with the Air Raid concept. The idea is to turn the Cruiserweight Tag Titles into a trios divison and Jett would help make Air Raid into the driving force of that division.

6 Man Tag
The Mamalukes vs. The New Church (Mortis, Vampiro, Demon)
Winner: The New Church
– Getting James Mitchell back into the fray and converting Chris Kanyon back to Mortis, but darker, will help get us where we want to go with a more villainous group. We’ll flip Demon’s KISS gimmick to something more haunting. The Mamalukes addition of James Maritato should help give this gimmick some credibility and viability moving forward. Tony Mamaluke’s return to the promotion is also possible.

WCW Television Battle Royal
Alex Wright, Alex Greco, Buff Bagwell, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Harris, Christopher Daniels, Elix Skipper, Glacier, Crowbar, Disco Inferno, James Storm, Jim Duggan, Hugh Morris, {Debut} CW Anderson, Jamie Noble, Lash LeRoux, Low Ki, Konnan, Kwee Wee, Lex Luger, MI Smooth, Mark Jindrack, Rick Steiner, Michael Modest, Shark Boy, {Debut} Sonny Siaki
Winner: Mark Jindrack last eliminates CW Anderson, Konnan, and Rick Steiner
[The Beast debuts and destroys Anderson, Konnan, and Steiner]
– We gotta build up some younger guys. Highlighting everyone we have on the roster is necessary for this return show, but making sure studs like Mark Jindrack get a chance to showcase themselves is paramount. He’s a better athlete than Sean O’Haire, his former running-buddy, and setting him up to work with The Beast (Bob Sapp) could be some interesting televisoin.

The Big Bang

WCW Cruiserweight
{Debut} Jerry Lynn vs. Shane Helms (C)
Winner: Jerry Lynn
– We kinda know that Shane Helms has a ceiling to him. Getting him back with 3 Count could be a lot of fun, but we want to make sure we highlight true, big additions. Enter Jerry Lynn. He brings a hard edge to the Cruiserweight division, one the promotion has never really had.

Karate Match
Tajiri vs. Ernest Miller
Winner: Tajiri
– It may seem hokey to have a Karate Match between Tajiri and The Cat, but considering Ernest Miller was only ever a solid worker, this type of a gimmick match will allow you to highlight Tajiri’s true value as a worker. We want to use The Cat, he’s a truly entertaining character, but in this instance, we have to find a way to make Tajiri look as good as possible. Tajiri gets a relatively quick win, and then locks in the Tarantula post-match.

Hardcore Title – Scramble
Fit Finlay vs. Johnny Swinger vs. Kid Kash vs. Mike Awesome vs. Mike Sanders vs. Norman Smiley vs. Reno vs. The Sandman vs. The Wall vs. Tommy Dreamer
Winner: Tommy Dreamer
– Tommy Dreamer gets a bad rep today because of his age, weight and knees, but few dudes was doing it as well as Dreamer was in 2001. He was a work-horse, who could go out and do whatever match you need him to do. Its unlikely we put him in the main event, but we’re going to strap the mid-card rocket to him initially. This match also helps reset the Hardcore Division and revitalizes guys like Mike Awesome.

8-Man Tag
Shane Douglas, Road Warriors XL, and Steve Corino vs. DDP, Dustin Rhodes, Sean O’Haire, and Chuck Palumbo
Winner: Douglas, Road Warriors XL, and Corino
– I love the idea of Bam Bam and Animal as a new WCW-centric Road Warriors. Imagine his fire attire, but with a Road Warrior flare and fire facepaint. It’d sell. Shane Douglas and Steve Corino have long-term plans together, but this card is stacked. Palumbo and O’Haire are lackluster despite their look and will likely get sent back down for more work. DDP will hang around the midcard for some time, and Dustin Rhodes’ long term future is up in the air.

Singles
Jeff Jarrett (w/ Shawn Stasiak) vs. Lance Storm
Winner: Lance Storm
– Jeff Jarrett is the best overall worker in the company, while Lance Storm is the best in-ring worker they have. Getting them established as top guys is a priority. Storm will become a dry, witty, hero of sorts, and will feud with Jarrett for the summer.

WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team
Air Paris vs. Filty Animals (C)
Winners: Air Pairs
– The pair of Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio will be vocal points over the course of the next few years, but they need teams to face in the new Cruiserweight Tag Team Division, and Air Pairs will be among them to start. So will Triple-X in time. The hope is that those three teams, plus maybe the Jung Dragons, will keep the Cruiserweight Tag Team division on the right path all year.

WCW United States
Sting vs. Booker T (C)
Winner: Booker T
– Booker Ts’ run in WCW proved that he could main event and that he was never the guy you’d call on to have great one on one matches. Making Booker T a heel, and allowing him to develop that side of him is crucial to keeping him relevant with the influx of better athletes. The goal is to get Booker to the main event of Starrcade against Rob Van Dam, where, hopefully, the pair would give a match fo the ages.

WCW World Tag Team
The Outsiders vs. Kronik (C)
Winners: Kronik
– It may seem odd to bring back Scott Hall, but the WWF and NWA-TNA both gave him shots so why not? The Outsiders could still be a draw, especially with newer teams to work with. Kronik though is the team to moving forward, at least for now.

WCW World Heavyweight
Rob Van Dam vs. Scott Steiner (C)
Winner: Rob Van Dam
– Rob Van Dam, in 2001, was the hottest free agent and arguably the biggest bungling of the Invasion storyline. Considering how popular he was after ECW closed, you’d think that he’d be as popular as The Rock after his arrival and while he got very popular, he wasn’t as popular as he should’ve been. In WCW, we’re doign him right. We’re putting the belt on him right out the gate so we can highlight just why he was so good for so long.

Post Big Bang

Focusing on the World Title, Rob Van Dam is getting a god-level push. He’ll face off with Jeff Jarrett, Lance Storm, Rey Mysterio, Tommy Dreamer, Jerry Lynn (eventually a debuting Sabu), Ric Flair, Sting, Shane Douglas and Steve Corino throughout the year. Eventually he’d face off with Booker T in the main event of Starrcade.

Booker will lose the US title to Storm, and Storm and Jarrett will trade it throughout the summer, before Storm wins it back. He’ll eventually face off with Mike Awesome at Starrcade. Awesome willg on a tear, riverting to a darker, more violent version of his Career Killer gimmick. Leading to Awesome’s power and violence style against Storms smooth technician style.

The tag team scene will be built around getting Chris Harris and James Storm over, so that they can get after the likes of Kronik, while the Cruiserweight Tag Titles move to a six-man division. This will allow teams like the Jung Dragons, Triple-X and the Jett-fused Air Raid trios to get some shine.

As for the Cruiserweight division, Lynn will hold the title until it’s time to convert the Cruiserweight title to the X-Division concept. That’s a belt that guys like Jarrett, Bob Ryder, Jeremy Borash and others helped cultivate and since they’re all here, it makes sense the concept would be pitched at some point.

If you’re not a fan of Dreamer, you’re going to hate this. At a point, Dreamer will win the Hardcore and Television title, and will wrestle once if not twice per show, defending both titles for several months. Dreamer will be highlighted as the iron man of WCW, which will help get his every-man gimmick over.

Ideally, we’d like to work Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan back onto the roster, with the idea of putting them together in a tag team. It would be a short-term idea, but one that should get both guys back on the fans good graces, until Flair turns on Hogan again. While there may be one final blowoff match between the two, the idea would be to start looking for a new Four Horsemen for Flair to guide.

Booker T, CW Anderson and a few others will be in consideration, with Flair serving as a manager/wrestler, while Arn Anderson acting as the new JJ Dillon.

Sting will be a more focused character, who will wrestle a lot of house shows but rarely on television, so that his matches feel more heavy. He’ll also work with some of the younger guys more, like Corino, America’s Most Wanted and Triple-X.

As for The New Church, they’ll be a lower card heel faction, and will bounce around the tag divisions, the TV title and the Hardcore title.