WCW '91-'92: Good That Came From Flair's Absence, It's Not As Bad As WWE Claim It Was

[Shockage]

Looking up some old WCW footage on youtube after Flair's defection to the WWF, I really liked some of the stuff they put together.

One of the things I liked (while also looking up some old Ron Simmons WCW stuff after learning of his HOF induction), was how WCW attempted to move on without Flair by moving away from the "our champion is a rassler" mindset and leaning towards the All-American athlete image with Luger/Simmons. For years, Luger was the challenger, the athletic blond American chasing after the gold. For 3 years, Luger pursued Flair but never managed to win the World title off the Nature Boy.

Flair ends up leaving in '91 and Luger finally gets the World title. Now the roles switch with the athletically accomplished Luger being the norm. WCW brings in a new underdog, in my opinion the perfect underdog, a black, All-American collegic football star Ron Simmons! After seeing how this feud was put together, I found it to be a smart and natural move and a valiant effort to change the face of the WCW World Title. I thought this was a good way to move away from the Flair era. Although it didn't work, and I couldn't understand why Simmons couldn't win it off Luger instead of waiting a few months to win it (poor execution especially with Luger leaving), I appreciated the way WCW sought for change.

With Flair's absence came the emergence of the Dangerous Alliance, pushing Rick Rude as a main eventer and the cornerstone of the stable, a disadvantage he had in the WWF.

I also liked the Sting/Luger vs. Steiner Bros match, the Junior Heavyweight Division and the Jake Roberts/Sting feud.

[pumpt73]

This was the time that I enjoyed WCW. You had a glimpse of future superstars in Rick Rude, Brian Pillman, and Steve Austin. Austin was the guy you loved to hate. It was easy to do because he played the heel role so well, but you could see how well he could get it done in the ring. The Steiners were beasts and we can't forget about The Pearl of the Orient, The Great Muta. WCW wasn't bad when you stripped away the gimmicky stuff. Then I got to watch all the old codgers that I had watched when I was 7 come in.

[Shockage]

ah yes the codgers Dick Murdoch, Dick Slater, Bill Irwin. I too enjoyed the blend of vets and future stars.

[Shockage]

I hadn't heard of 2 Cold Scorpio until he turned up in WCW in '92. I also liked the addition of Gordy & Williams, Orndorff and Shane Douglas.