"We are going to have to sabotage him" - Arn Anderson on why a former ECW Champion didn't succeed in WCW
WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson recently discussed Mike Awesome's run in WCW during an episode of his podcast, ARN. Anderson was one of the top figures behind the scenes in WCW. The company signed Mike Awesome in 2000, but his run in the promotion never lived up to the fans' expectations.
Anderson is a legendary wrestler and a long-time agent/producer. He is currently signed with All Elite Wresting. Awesome was a 2-time ECW World Champion, but he didn't win any titles during his time with WCW.
Speaking on his podcast, Anderson spoke about why Awesome's WCW run wasn't more successcul. Anderson said that the former ECW Champion came into an "environment of wolves and sharks." Anderson said some of the top stars in tried to sabotage Awesome.
"I think Mike, who was a nice enough guy, came into an environment of wolves and sharks. I think there was a little bit of sniffing out that, ‘Hey, this guy is a big star in ECW, and he’s gonna be a big star here.’ I think the antenna kind of went up on a lot of the top guys – the more vicious top guys and the smarter top guys – and they figured we are gonna have to get this guy to sabotage himself or we are going to have to sabotage him. It was not too many TV’s you started to see adding layers onto his characters that he didn’t need, putting him in precarious situations instead of just winning for nine weeks. If the guy was big, he was a good performer, the easiest way to get a guy over today, tomorrow, 25 years ago – put him in matches that have enough time, give him an opponent that knows what time it is, and just go out and win every week and have good matches. I don’t think he really had a fair start,” said Anderson. H/T: 411Mania
Awesome's WCW run lasted almost a year. He debuted in 2000, and he wrestled on the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro. Of course, WWE bought WCW, and the rest is history.
Mike Awesome struggled to find success in WCW
Mike Awesome was the ECW Champion when he made his WCW debut on April 10, 2000. In his first appearance, he attacked Kevin Nash. Awesome later dropped the ECW Championship to Taz (who was signed with WWF at the time) at an ECW event.
Awesome's WCW career started off on the right track. But he was soon given some terrible gimmicks, such as "The Fat Chick Thrilla" and "That 70s Guy". By the time Awesome dropped these weird gimmicks in early 2001, it was already too late to rescue his career with the company. He was slightly more successful in WWE, but to this day, ECW fans thought he could have been a main event player.