“Maybe This Is Cocky and Egoistical”: WWE Legend Recalls What Inspired Them To Successfully Beat WCW in Terms of Ratings After 83 Weeks

Vince McMahon‘s WWE and Eric Bischoff’s WCW were involved in a prolonged rating battle in the late 90s era before the two companies merged as one in March 2001. Both promotions tried their best to offer a better product on the weekly basis to subdue the other.

Initially, it was WCW whose utter dominance prevailed over WWE. Much to Vince’s disappointment, on June 17, 1996, Nitro moved ahead of Raw in terms of weekly ratings. But what was more upsetting is that it marked 83 weeks of continuous dominance of Nitro over the red brand.

Road Dogg revealed why WWE finally won over WCW after 83 weeks

Shortly afterward, WWE bounced back with their first win against Bischoff’s storming strategy. It eventually pushed the prime sports entertainment giant to fold and be sold out to McMahon’s juggernaut for a monetary value worth $3 million. The final win at the rating war was indeed a special moment for all the WWE stars of that era, including Road Dogg.

Speaking to the podcast episode of Oh You Didn’t Know, Dogg recalled that unforgettable moment and revealed what was the exact reason behind clinching the big success at that time.

Reflecting on the main driving force, the former Hall of Famer noted, ‘It’s also like it’s about time. We have been kicking and telling good stories. They were doing everything, but you know… I don’t know when they lost it, but I know when we won it. I was reading it …slow and steady wins the race, but that’s not the truth. Cause we were ball to the wall. You know what I mean?’

‘Like, we’re running hard every week. but it was for me… maybe this is cocky and egoistical but for me, it was like it’s about time. Your people figured out what show to watch. That’s how I felt anyway.’ Dogg added.

Read more: Former WWE Mid Card Wrestler Recalls Being Deprived of an Opportunity to Elevate as WCW Opted for Business With an Already Famous Goldberg

While Dogg highlighted their collective smart effort and time and overall the audience’s wiseness as the secret weapon behind WWE’s iconic rise in the late 90s, WCW’s former president mentioned former WCW star, Sean Waltman, to be a prime factor in making WWE shine.

Eric Bischoff detailed another reason for WWE’s success:

Eric Bischoff believes WCW had to pay for losing Sean Waltman aka Syxx (WCW ring name). He jumped to the Stamford-based company in 1998 with the name X Pack. During a past episode of the 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff firmly stated that the powerful tag team D Generation X would not be able to last long if Waltman would not join forces with them upon his return to the WWE ring. Bischoff also noted that Waltman’s former NWO association earned a lot of mainstream eyes for WWE.

While this is tough and subject to intense debate to pinpoint the exact reason behind WCW’s demise or WWE’s rise, it’s safe to say that Road Dogg rightly highlighted the collective young force and time that played out in favor of McMahon’s company.

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What’s your favorite WCW star? Let us know in the comments.