What If WWE Had Gone Out Of Business?

The Monday Night War, when WWE and WCW went head to head marked one of the most exciting periods in pro wrestling history. Both major companies caught fire with fresh storylines and a confluence of veterans like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and Sting at the end of their primes, and up and comers like The Rock, Triple H, and Chris Jericho first rising up to main event levels in the national spotlight.

As much as fans tend to remember this period fondly, there was the potential for some very stark outcomes. There were ways in which it was sad for WCW to go out of business—particularly for how many national level wrestling jobs it eliminated. However, it’s even more troubling to imagine what might have been had WWE gone under—a real potentiality of the time, according to a variety of sources. This article looks at five outcomes that may have resulted from WWE going out of business.

5. The Return Of The Territories

Territory style divisions in wrestling may have sprung up if WWE went under.

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It’s easy for fans to imagine that if WWE had gone under, WCW would have carried forward on a similar path to what WWE has done in the last seventeen years. That probably wouldn’t have been the case, though, given the volatile state of WCW’s business, particularly after the Turner and Time Warner merger. Eric Bischoff claims that most of the corporate leadership didn’t want to be involved with the wrestling business, and it seems as though it was only a matter of time before WCW would have been out on its own, without a guaranteed TV contract even if they had outlasted WWE.

While WCW surely would have remained the biggest wrestling company in the world, without Turner’s money or TV exposure, the playing field would have fundamentally shifted. As a result, we’d more likely see an old school wrestling world take hold with smaller territory style promotions dominating the sports entertainment world.

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