Happy Wednesday Everyone!
This week’s subject is hardly treading new ground, as many people have made YouTube videos, written articles and even created e-feds online to tackle the idea of what WCW One Night Stand would look like. However, I thought it would be fun to come up with a card for such an event, so I’m giving it a go.
For the sake of the article, let’s assume that WWE, buoyed by the success of the ECW equivalent, decided to hold a WCW One Night Stand event in the summer/autumn of 2005. Unfortunately, holding the event in this timeframe means that I won’t be able to use some guys like Kevin Nash and Raven, as they were contacted to TNA at the time and wouldn’t have been released to do it. Plus, I think Nash had suffered a really gnarly staph infection and wouldn’t have been available anyway.
Aside from that though, WWE had quite a few of the old WCW guard under contract and others were either working for companies that wouldn’t restrict them appearing or were freelance at the time, meaning that I think this card would have actually been able to legally take place had it been booked in July-September of 2005.
So, without further ado, let’s have a bash at WCW One Night Stand
I’m not sure where we’ll hold this event, but I’m guessing somewhere either in Georgia or the Carolinas? Perhaps even Baltimore, as that used to be an NWA/WCW hotbed?
Opening Match
Shane Helms and Shannon Moore Vs Jamie Noble and Chavo Guerrero Jr Vs Jimmy Yang and Kaz Hayashi
12 Minutes
The usual Cruiserweight high-flying spot fest from these six, as most pay per view opening matches from Autum-Winter of 00-01 tended to involve some combination of them going at it. We’ll have Helms and Moore pick up the win after some dives and near falls.
Match Two
Chris Jericho w/ Ralphus Vs Rey Mysterio Jr
12 Minutes
Yes, we bring back Ralphus and have Jericho tap into his “King of Loopholes” character from 1998, complete with Evenflow rip off song. This should be a fun match and we’ll have Rey pick up the win following some miscommunication between Jericho and Ralphus.
Match Three
Mark Jindrak and Chuck Palumbo Vs Johnny Stamboli and Big Vito
8 Minutes
We reunite the Natural Born Thrillers and Mamalukes here, leading to them having a tag match. I don’t expect it to be great or anything, but it should hopefully be solid enough action and it gives some of the younger guys from the dying days of WCW a chance to shine. Mamalukes can go over, leading to Chuck, Stamboli and Vito showing some mutual Italian love whilst Jindrak skulks off.
Match Four
Eddy Guerrero Vs Booker T
12 Miinutes
Eddy and Booker crossed paths a few times in WCW, mostly in 1998, but we’ll pair them up here as Eddy was a good Heel and Booker was a solid babyface, so this should be an enjoyable match between two experienced pros. We’ll have Eddy CHEAT TO WIN, in line with his usual WCW character, but Booker can send him packing and Spinaroonie for the crowd post-match.
Match Five
Lord Steven Regal and Squire David Taylor Vs Road Warrior Animal and Ron Simmons
8 Minutes
We pair up one half of The Road Warriors and one half of DOOM here, in a match that probably won’t be any good but it gets some WCW alumni on the show. I’m not sure if Simmons would be capable to come off the top with a clothesline onto one of the Heels, but if he can then do the DOOMsday Device to pop the crowd and give the babyfaces the three count. If he can’t, then just have him Spine Buster one Heel whilst Animal Power Slams the other one for a double pin.
Match Six
Hugh Morrus Vs Goldberg
5 Minutes
Goldberg’s first WCW match was against Hugh Morrus, so his last WCW match might as well be against him as well. This will be your typical Goldberg outing, as he can dominate the match, sell ever-so-briefly, and then get the Spear and Jack Hammer for the three count. If executed correctly, thus should be a fun destruction that the crowd enjoys.
Semi-Main
Guest Referee: Arn Anderson
Ric Flair Vs Chris Benoit
15 Minutes
This is kind of a Horsemen reunion, as Flair and Benoit wrestle whilst Arn refs it fairly. Flair can tap into the old Heel Flair whilst Benoit works as a babyface, and it should end up being a good match. Both wrestlers were past their respective primes by this stage, but they should be experienced enough to put forth an enjoyable effort here, especially as you’d imagine the crowd would be really jazzed to see them go at it.
Main Event
The New World Order (Hollywood Hogan, The Giant and Scott Hall) Vs World Championship Wrestling (Sting, Lex Luger and Diamond Dallas Page)
13 Minutes
Sting was in-between TNA stints here whilst Hall and DDP had just left, so hopefully there are no contractual issues that could prevent this match taking place. The match itself will probably be bad from a purely in-ring perspective, but it should hopefully have enough crowd heat to carry it. We’ll close the last ever WCW show with WCW finally getting the big win over the nWo, with Sting pinning Hall with the Death Drop. I was almost tempted to have the nWo win just for the sake of comedy, but I don’t think many would see the funny side.
We can close the show with all of the WCW guys celebrating, leading to Eric Bischoff trying to take credit for the whole thing and getting clobbered, because humiliating him is always good fun.
In Conclusion
Choosing to hold this one in the summer/autumn of 2005 did feel kind of arbitrary I suppose, but depending on when you hold it the card would have to change for a variety of reasons. I will admit that part of the reason why I designated it to happen when it did is because that meant I could involve Eddy Guerrero in it, as if I left it till 2006 or later then he sadly wouldn’t be around.
I think the card as it is does a good job of highlighting the different elements that made WCW successful. You’ve got Cruiserweights, the nWo, Goldberg, good wrestling, Sting and, of course, Ric Flair, all present and accounted for. It would have been nice to be able to use someone like Raven and do a wacky hardcore match, as well as having Kevin Nash and maybe even Sean Waltman for the Main Event, but in general I think we’ve got decent representation of the wrestlers and angles that people remember WCW for and the show itself would hopefully be a fun breezy watch.
Please feel free to share your own ideas in the comments. Who would you have included that I missed out and when do you think would have been an optimum time to present the card?
Thanks for reading and take care until next time!