With the onset of the WWFE controlled WCW enterprise, one of the questions that everyone seems to not care about is the upcoming WCW Hardcore division. Now you KNOW that if no one cares about it that it is a top priority on my list to make sure it is on everyone’s mind!
Even though the Turner-owned WCW eliminated the title (and their champion Meng), the WWF has found great success with their own Hardcore division with both entertaining matches and elevating wrestlers who have a different wrestling style. In this article I have taken it upon myself to build the WCW Hardcore division from the ground up…this is going to be fun!
The first thing that comes to this demented mind of mine when thinking about the WCW Hardcore division is three letters…ECW. With Vince McMahon basically controlling all of the big three wrestling promotion right now, the possibility of ECW bringing itself back to life through its wrestlers exists in the new WCW. The WWF is too established of a brand name to just add a ton of wrestlers at one point in time that all wrestle in similar styles and in similar matches. However, now that the WCW is being rebuilt from the ground up, this is the perfect opportunity for Paul Heyman to do a little behind the scenes work and completely dominate the hardcore area of the new WCW.
Here are some of the names that I think would be a great asset to the new division and why:
Tommy Dreamer – Some people call Sabu the icon of hardcore wrestling, some people call the Sandman the icon of hardcore wrestling, but I call Tommy Dreamer the icon. No other man has been with the ECW at the top of the card through good times and bad. Sabu and the Sandman went away to other promotions as well as many of the other talents that the ECW once called their own, but through it all, Tommy Dreamer was there. I say build the entire division around him. Call up Beulah and get her back in the scene if it is possible, but make Tommy Dreamer the Mick Foley of the WCW hardcore division.
The Sandman – No one does hardcore like the Sandman. From breaking cans of beer over his head to caning the hell out of his opponents, the Sandman should be the wrestler that everyone fears in the WCW Hardcore division. ECW fans from years ago remember that whenever there was a problem in the ring that no one in the crowd agreed with, they would chant “9-1-1, 9-1-1”. This is the type of character that the Sandman should be built as – the man who comes down to ringside and regulates with a beer in one hand and a cane in the other!
Sabu – Every great hardcore division should have the crazy high flier who can also tear it up with bats and barbed wire. Putting Sabu in the division would add a great talent to the roster as well as an intelligent hardcore wrestler who knows how to entertain the fans and yet not kill his opponent while doing so.
Vic Grimes – If there was ever a crazy man that needed a place to show his skills, Vic Grimes is it! With everyone touting Grimes as the next Mick Foley as far as his bumping ability is concerned, then I think that this man could be one of the top contenders to come into the division and eventually elevate himself to higher things in the new company.
Road Dogg – Granted that he has some personal issues to deal with at this point in time, I distinctly remember the Road Dogg being a hell of a competitor in the WWF’s Hardcore division when it first launched. If the Dogg can clean himself up and do the right thing, I believe that he can be a great entertainer in this part of the new WCW.
Al Snow – Even though he is a WWF mainstay at this point, he really has not found his niche in the promotion. He has been an extremely funny part of the show, he has played the part of a maniac, he has been a part of the weird combination know as Head Cheese, and he has also played the pissed off employee part of the roster, but none of these roles seem to fit him too well. I believe that putting him in the ring with his ECW brethren would allow for him to get back his old spark and his old touch of greatness that he had in his run in the ECW. He could be a great heel foil to Tommy Dreamer in this division as well.
New Jack – Forget about the lawsuits, forget about the trials, just forget about all of that stuff. This man can do some of the craziest things in the ring and in the arena that I have ever seen! He would be an instant hit with the WCW audience and would allow for them to really create an ECW-ish feel in the arena. I say go for it!
There are some other performers who I think would be good for the division such as Chaz (everyone needs someone to beat up), Saturn (if they got Kronus back it would be awesome to see that tag team wreak havoc on the Hardcore division AND the tag team division), Curtis Hughes (big and mean), and Medusa (the hardcore female of the future). While some of these names may be a long shot, nothing seems impossible anymore. I mean come on…Vince McMahon OWNS the WCW!
Thanks again for reading,
Joe
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