Best Single Year In The WCW/ECW/WWF Era

[ShinobiMusashi]

If I were to collect every televised wrestling program, and ppv from January 1st to December 31st of a year from the era when the WWF, WCW, and ECW co existed, which year would be the best one? The ECW ran from 93 to 2000.

 

[willross]

1997 easily, hands down.....WWF had the coming out of Austin and the best storyline in wrestling history which is Hart Foundation vs. America (changed the way fans cheered hometown heroes). WCW had their best feud ever in Hogan vs Sting, the build to that match is probably the best in any wrestling organization ever. Im sure ECW was doing cool shit too lol (didn't watch much of that crap)

 

[relentless1]

im gonna say 1998, the WWF was full fledged into the attitude era, WCW was starting to fall but it wasnt too apparent here, you had the red hot summer of goldberg, the wolfpac, dx, stone cold, the rock, ddp...this was the time when wrestling was at its hottest in terms of storyline, sales and mainstream attention no question

 

[dman1373]

1997 easily, hands down.....WWF had the coming out of Austin and the best storyline in wrestling history which is Hart Foundation vs. America (changed the way fans cheered hometown heroes). WCW had their best feud ever in Hogan vs Sting, the build to that match is probably the best in any wrestling organization ever. Im sure ECW was doing cool shit too lol (didn't watch much of that crap)

yeah i have to completely agree. At that time the wwf was so entertaining with not only the hart foundation vs. stone cold or shawn michaels thing, but everything was blooming.

WCW was hitting their nwo vs sting thing. While not as good as wwf it was still entertaining.

And finally ecw was hitting their stride. They started doing ppv's and sabu vs taz finally happend.

And really in my opinion this was the best year in wrestling period.

 

[James Greiga]

For WCW I say 1998 because of the heavy competition by WWF it made a huge retaliation by WCW. It really got interesting to watch that year as well as getting boring to watch later that year which is very common in pro wrestling. For WWF I say the year 1999 because that was the year many guys broke out. That was the break out year for Rock, HHH's big time start, Y2J's debut, the Undertaker's big transition into a much darker place in pro wrestling which was very interesting, Austin maintained an interesting personality throughout, Big Show was at the top of his game, Kane was at making progressions in his gimmick, and overall WCW was no match for WWF's shows during the attitude era especially during 1999

 

[DexVendetta88]

I felt that 1997 was the single greatest year across the board when WWF, WCW, and ECW were the 3 biggest wrestling organizations at the time. Despite the fact that WCW was winning the Monday Night Wars at this time, the WWF was in a facelift process. They were beginning to push guys like Austin, and The Rock towards stardom, and that factions were a big thing since there were at least 4 different stables at the time. If I recall the Survivor Series of that year was tagged "Gang Rulz" which goes to show how the WWF was taking stables at the time. To top it all off, the Montreal Screwjob took everyone off guard by the end of that year. WCW was riding high with the nWo which in my opinion had the strongest influence during 1997 before they overdid it, first by splitting into 2 factions (nWo Wolfpac and nWo Hollywood), and second by almost letting any wrestler join in either faction. Sting vs. Hogan had one of the best buildups ever done in wrestling at the time, and everyone was glued to it which in turn helped WCW beat the WWF in the ratings on Monday nights throughout the entire year. Where does this leave ECW then? ECW was garnering plenty of attention to the point where both the WWF and WCW started to take notice without acknowledging them. The WWF even did a crossover with ECW during 1997. However, without ECW the WWF and WCW wouldn't have the influence from ECW to try and one-up each other every Monday night, and in the WWF the attitude era would've never happened at all.

 

[rockfresh]

I've said for a long time WWE needs to make a dvd solely about the year between Mania 13-14. From one of the least watched Mania's ever, to the "launch" of the Attitude era. You had imho the greatest wrestler of all time Brett Hart doing the best work of his career with the USA vs. Canada storyline, the rise of Stone Cold, the birth of DX, Kane vs. Taker, the Montreal Screwjob, the birth of The Rock, even smaller storylines like the NAO vs. Foley/Funk made for entertaining moments.

On WCW's side you had Hogan vs. Sting, and even Hogan vs. Luger. Hands down the best year of the Cruiserweight division. Granted by the end of the year things were starting to go off the rails, but it was still a unique time

 

[AnthonyM4]

I would say 1998. Man was that a hot year for wrestling! WWF Attitude was in full force with Austin vs McMahon, DX, Undertaker and Mankind having crazy matches as well as Taker and Kane. WCW had the rise of Goldberg, and ECW while not as good as it was in the mid 90s was still producing great tv.

 

[DanTheMan3:16]

Ratings wise 1998, but just pure entertainment 1997. ECW was now on ppv and was getting national attention, WWF had amazing storylines with Hart Foundation Vs SCSA. You had WCW with nWo dominating and with the whole storyline of Sting and stating that they turned there backs against him.
Every ppv for the 3 were balls to the walls and just awesome.
1996 Was my 2nd choice because ECW was getting so hot they was making the big bucks. However WWF was in desire needs as they lost $6 Million .

1997 No doubt

 

[justtxyank]

1997.

The nWo storyline was golden this year plus the matches in WCW were outstanding. Cruiserweight action was better this year than ever before in the US and better than it would ever be again. You had a lot of international talent working in WCW at various points plus all the legends were still able to entertain you. Flair, Luger, Hogan, Sting, Savage were all still worth watching. DDP and The Giant were really fun plus Hall and Nash were at their peaks in terms of entertainment value. Not to mention the amazing undercard that was white hot.

The WWF has already been covered in this thread pretty extensively, but it was a good year for them too.

97 was the best year. 1998 was the best year in terms of ratings and crowd sizes, but it was largely due to the greatness that had been put together the year prior. I don't think any WCW fan would tell you that the work was better in 98 than 97 (except for Goldberg marks)

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

I was leaning towards 97, much like many of you. 98 started off epic, and got better through the summer in all 3 companies. However, it really started to peter out through the end of the year, especially in the WCW/WWF. Breakdown, Judgement Day, Leno, Rodman, and Hogan vs Warrior come to mind, and the ECW wasn't doing as well as it was earlier in the year either.

What about 96? 96 may have been ECW's best year as far as overall talent level, and performance. The true ECW fans know that most of their best events were not on PPV.

Those Nitros with the introduction of the NWO are pure wrestling gold. Scott Hall talking about his big friend coming in, and then the infamous Hogan heel turn.

In the WWF you had HBK in his prime, and some excellent stuff with the Undertaker vs Mankind. Austins King of the Ring too, and the incredible Survivor Series.

I think as monumental as 98 was, and as epic as the first 6-7 months were, it really comes down to 1996, and 1997 in my opinion.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

Oh yeah, been digging through some info, and WCW was red hot in 96. The amazing tag team division(arguably the greatest of all time). The introduction of, and early days of the NWO were absolutely the best. They kind of got goofy with it in 97, and downright stupid with it in 98, by 99 it was just rape.

Flair, Savage, Mysterio, Benoit, Malenko, Eddie, The Giant, Hogan(as a face, and later as Hollywood in the all time greatest swerve), the Road Warriors, Sting(As the surfer, and the amazing storyline that led to him becoming the crow), Roddy Piper, Jericho, and that all time great tag team division make 96 one of WCW's best years in my opinion. 1997 was indeed epic too. 1998 started off better than ever for the WCW, but they really hit a downward spiral starting with their Jay Lenno stuff. The last 6 months of 98 for the WCW was pretty lackluster compared to the 2, and a half years that preceded them.

Another thing to consider is WCW Saturday Night. I think 96 was the final good year for the show if I remember correctly, before it went completely to the crapper. WCW had a lot of comedic value in 96 too, both intentionally, and unintentionally.

Over in the ECW they were just as hot all the way through 96. The Taz mma gimmick really started to take off, and slowly built through the year, much like the way Goldberg did in the WCW in 97-98. Raven vs Tommy Dreamer was the all time greatest rivalry in the ECW, and it was absolutely in its prime in 1996. Then you have a tag team division that was almost as stacked as the WCW's was, with one of my all time favorite teams, the Eliminators on the rise through the year, and arguably in their prime.

Juvy Guerrerro, Rey Mysterio Jr, Chris Jericho, and Shane Douglas were doing some great matches too. Then you had Sabu, and the Sandman as well as the rise of RVD. 1996 was a hot year for the ECW, arguably their best. 1997 was almost as good, maybe just as good, but those PPV's just didn't deliver like their super cards did. Most of their best stuff was not on PPV believe it or not.

1998 was very similar to the WCW/WWF for ECW, they started off stronger than ever. ECW's syndicated tv show was absolutely in its prime in early 98 with the Taz vs Bam Bam build up for their match, as well as Al Snow as over as a wrestler could possibly ever get with a crowd. The ECW petered out after Heatwave, and some of the storylines were growing stale, not to mention most of their most entertaining performers jumped ship to the WCW, or WWF, where they were not nearly as entertaining.

As for the WWF in 96, it may not be as good of a year as 97, but I think it was better than 98, especially the last 6 months of 98. 96 had the actual rise of Steve Austin, as well as some great stuff at the end of the year. It was interesting to see the WWF actually have the inferior product compared to the WCW's shows of the time, even though the WWf's shows were still actually pretty good in 1996.

From 1993-2000 rankings for each year in my opinion:

WWF

1. 1997
2. 1994
3. 1996
4. 1998
5. 2000
6. 1999
7. 1993
8. 1995

WCW

1. 1996
2. 1997
3. 1998
4. 1995
5. 1994
6. 1993
7. 1999
8. 2000

ECW

1. 1996
2. 1997
3. 1998
4. 1999
5. 1995
6. 1994
7. 2000
8. 1993

I think it is a tie, and that we can all agree that from January of 1996 to Summer Slam 98 was the absolute best period in pro wrestling history. All 3 companies were kicking ass.

 

[justtxyank]

Shinobi:

I agree you with you that 1996 was also a good year. Heck, the end of 1995 had a lot of good stuff in WCW (Flair vs Anderson was great). The problem with 1996 in my opinion is that the production rates in the WWF were still really weak. Takes a way from their product in my mind.

 

[thebarber]

has to be 1997. WCW was in decline 1998 onwards, WWE was commenicng Attitude in 1997, nWo was white hot in 1997, ECW was at its peak in 1997.

1997, the single greatest year for televised wrestling whilst all three companies existed AND MEANT SOMETHING.

 

[I Miss the WWF]

I think 2000 was one of the best years in the WWF days. The Royal Rumble that had Mick Foley v HHH in an epic street fight, The first elimination tag team tables match between The Dudley Boys and The Hardys, The debut of Tazz. At No Way out we had the Hell in a Cell between Mick Foley and HHH. WrestleMania 16 which had a disappointing main event but the reason I love it is because of the Ladder match between The Dudleys, Hardys and Edge and Christian. Judgement day, Shane McMahon v The Big Show - No Holds Barred. SummerSlam where TLC was born. Survivor Series where Stone Cold got his revenge on HHH for almost gettin him killed and Armageddon where we had the 6 man Hell in a Cell.

This was one of the first years I started watching wrestling due to lack of TV channels I had to get by on watching Sunday night heat and see the occasionla ppv. I would love to see the entire years shows to fill in the pieces I've missed, youtube helps and finding dvds on ebay. I would have picked 2001 if possible cause it was my favourite year but other than that 2000 was really good.

 

[Wald]

1997 easily, hands down.....WWF had the coming out of Austin and the best storyline in wrestling history which is Hart Foundation vs. America (changed the way fans cheered hometown heroes). WCW had their best feud ever in Hogan vs Sting, the build to that match is probably the best in any wrestling organization ever. Im sure ECW was doing cool shit too lol (didn't watch much of that crap)

100% agree with this.

In WCW we had the nWo running strong, Sting being the number one face in the industry without lifting a finger, the cruiserweights in full flow and just everything running smoothly.

In the WWF we had Bret's heel turn, the Hart Foundation vs America, the Rock starting to pick up speed, Austin becoming the breakout star of the company, Kane debuting in the epic HBK vs Taker HitC match. Even though the ratings didn't always show it, the WWF was on fire that year.

I honestly was never a fan of ECW so can't comment on it in 1997.

The only negatives in the year came with Pillman dying, the Montreal Screwjob and the beginning of the end for WCW with the Sting vs Hogan pay-off, three very big negatives, but not enough to diminish the year's overall greatness

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

I think the Sting vs Hogan climax was a good thing for 97, one of the main reasons it was such a good year.

Pillman did some great stuff in the ECW on the mic in 1996. 96 was the peak of the ECW. Just look at the talent that passed through there in the year, and the format. Their format in 96 was what made the year such a good one. They couldn't get on ppv, so they did one or two big shows a month. The types of shows that would have normally been their ppvs. Those shows would be cut up for 2-3 weeks of their hour long Hardcore TV syndicated show(with some additional promos, and interviews thrown in). It was a fun show to keep up with on a weekly basis. You could just order the entire events on vhs(or dvd now), but they were much more entertaining to watch in the format of their television show. The events in their entirety would not contain all of the added promos, and "Shoots" that were later sprinkled in with the television broadcast. The only downside was that they would usually refrain from showing some of the better matches from their events on the television program. They would only show clips of the match as a teaser for you to order the event from "ECW Home Video" at 1-900-Run-4-ECW(tapes came on a blank RCA vhs). I remember this because I ordered a tape from RF video back in the day of some Hardcore TV episodes from January of 1998. The RF ad in the magazine advertised the Sabu vs Sandman Stairway to Hell match, but when I got the tape all they would show of the match were a few highlight clips, claiming that it was "Too extreme for tv"(it was), and that in order to see the match you would have to order it from them. ECW would charge like 35$ to 40$ for some of those tapes, House Party 98, and Born to be Wired I can remember were that expensive, and most of the tape consisted of matches that they had already shown on their Hardcore TV show.

Seems like when PPV was introduced into the format, the ECW kind of started to go downhill. I'm not saying the PPV's weren't awesome, and monumental for them, but, it really messed up their style(and then even worse with the Cable tv show on top of that), which was a very distinct one in 1996. Every show was a ppv for the ECW in 1996.

ECW's Hardcore TV show in 1996 was way ahead of everything else that was going on in pro wrestling at the time(except the early NWO invasion stuff, which was indeed brilliant, and highly entertaining, and at the same time revolutionary), and really a precursor to the WWF Attitude era with how bold they were with some of the storylines. What the ECW did in 1996, and some of the performers that they put the spotlight on influenced the industry for the next couple of years, and that is why I think it was their best year.