Series based on a WWE breakaway promotion's history registers record numbers; earns great viewership and rating numbers
WWE faces competition from several pro wrestling companies in the world. It has seldom faced a rival who has outperformed the Stamford-based promotion. However, one promotion had given WWE major problems in the 1990s with its popularity. It had, in fact, even secured its biggest superstar from the company.
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was founded by Ted Turner in 1988 as a fierce competitor to Vince McMahon’s company. Notably, it had also secured Hulk Hogan, the New World Order, and several other prominent WWF names at the time. However, WCW lost its fire over time and was eventually bought by WWE in 2001.
Now, an episodic docu-series of the wrestling promotion’s downfall titled ‘Who Killed WCW?’ is making a lot of headlines. Featuring interviews with its stars and the company’s former Senior Vice President, Eric Bischoff, the show's latest episode has already acquired an IMDb rating of 7.9/10. According to Programming Insider, its third and latest episode has secured the series’ record viewership and rating numbers.
The episode has acquired more than 148,000 views and a rating of 0.06 among viewers aged between 18-49. Previously, the pilot episode of the show was its highest-grossing episode with 138,000+ views and a rating of 0.03. The series will release its fourth and last episode soon.
Former WWE head writer Vince Russo shared his opinion on the question of the hour
Former WWE head writer Vince Russo appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws podcast to give his take on several aspects of the ‘Who Killed WCW?' docu-series. He also shared that, in his opinion, Jamie Kellner was the real killer of World Championship Wrestling.
"Bro, from what I understand, it was some dude by the name of Jamie Kellner. I think Jamie Kellner was an executive that he made the decision to pull the trigger," Vince Russo said. [9:38 – 9:48]
He also noted that Kellner's involvement triggered a chain reaction that handed WCW into the hands of people who were not interested in pro wrestling.
"They didn't wanna be in the wrestling business, bro. It's that simple, especially when that merger was made with AOL and a whole different set of people came in. Wrestling was an embarrassment to them. They looked down their nose at wrestling, bro. They didn't wanna be in the wrestling business." [9:49 – 10:07]
Russo was also asked if Hulk Hogan was behind the dramatic downfall of WCW. However, the 63-year-old said that the former WWE Champion was not responsible for the collapse.