Fans have a tendency to pick scapegoats. When things are not going well, they find someone to blame. This is true in sports and this is true in professional wrestling. With many fans and even wrestling insiders looking at the entirety of 2001 as one of the lowest points in the history of World Championship Wrestling, the three men who were given the brunt of the blame were Vince Russo, Eric Bischoff, and Tony Schiavone. Russo had been released from his contract in March and had been out injured for the six months before that, but many still blamed him and Bischoff for their roles in creating the situation that saw the promotion sold in March of 2001. Bischoff, along with Schiavone, takes heat for happened through the remainder of 2001. As the President of WCW and part of the ownership group, it seemed that Bischoff was not going anywhere anytime soon. The same could not be said of Schiavone. He became the official WCW scapegoat when he was removed from his the Head Booker position prior to the November Nitro tapings.
After what happened with the ECW-heavy September tapings in September, most within the company believed it was only a matter of time before Schiavone was removed. Some were surprised the move was not made sooner. The change actually happened at the Halloween Havoc pay per view. Schiavone was called into a meeting with Eric Bischoff before the event began, and there was told that he would be removed from his position. He could stay on with the company if chose, in a role yet to be determined. The former lead announcer was not willing to take a reduced role, so he left the pay per view and would not return. That was why rearranging the pay per view card fell to John Laurinaitis, aka Johnny Ace. Bischoff officially offered the head booker position to Laurinaitis after the event. Though he had almost no time to prepare, the November tapings would be fully booked by Laurinaitis. Showing a lack of internal communication that seems "typically WCW", the talent were not informed of the official change at any point during the tapings - word just slowly leaked through like a rumor before it was eventually confirmed by management.
Considering that Tony Schiavone was given just five months in the role, it begets the question of why he was even given the booking role in the first place. Laurinaitis had the role from late 2000 up until WCW was sold, and he seemed to be doing a reasonable enough job given the circumstances. According to several WCW insiders, Bischoff chose Schiavone because he wanted someone who was not particularly strong-willed. As President, Bischoff wanted to be able to focus on the business side of running World Championship Wrestling, so he wanted someone who he believed was capable of running the creative side of things. At the same time, the President wanted someone who listen when they were told that things should be done in a certain way. Bischoff did not want someone who might resist being told what to do. Bischoff knew that Schiavone would follow any such orders but he was not as certain on Laurinaitis, which is why Schiavone got the nod. It has come to light that some of the big decisions - such as keeping the world title on Booker T up to the point he lost it to Goldberg and the decision make that title switch - were not decisions made by Schiavone but rather Bischoff. While this has subsequent led some to question just how much Schiavone failed in the role, especially considering how little he had to work with at times, the mess that resulted from the September tapings was enough to doom his tenure.
Laurinaitis' got a bit of a boost for the tapings as he was informed that both Scott Steiner and Jeff Jarrett would be returning. The new head booker had a "clear the air" meeting with both wrestlers and Eric Bischoff at the start of the November tapings. Both wrestlers were told, in direct terms, that future demonstrations of unprofessional behavior would result in termination of their contracts. It was also acknowledged that while their response was not appropriate, they should not have been asked to put over Dreamer and Mahoney at Fall Brawl. Both were allowed to air their grievances. Steiner wanted assurances he would remain near the top of the card and also explained that he was unhappy that his brother had not been retained when the sale was made. While not going so far as to state Rick would be brought back, Bischoff stated that it would definitely be considered when finances allowed for it. Jarrett expressed similar concern over his card position and also the lack of feuds he had been given since June. Bischoff reminded Jarrett that a number of possible feuds had been presented to him during that time but he had rejected all of the suggestions, so Jarrett himself had to take some responsibility there. Regardless, Bischoff assured them both that the were some big plans for early 2002 that both would be involved in.
The tapings for November took place in New Jersey, at the Rothman Center in Hackensack. There were some internal concerns about being in the “WWF's backyard”, but Vince McMahon was enjoying an unprecedented period of success with the World Wrestling Federation and quite likely did not care. The more valid complaint was going from the pay per view in Chicago on October 28th to the first day of tapings in Jersey on October 30th. The proximity to both New York City and Philadelphia provided some options for "local" talent. Bringing in a few of the former ECW guys again from Philly may have been a possibility, except that almost all of them were unavailable at the time. WCW bought in Low Ki, Homicide, Dan Maff, Monsta Mack, Johnny Kashmere, Trent Acid, John Xavier, and Matt Striker. Christopher Daniels was also brought in, though he was not a "local". Rather, he was a indy star who had been close to signing with WCW early in 2001. They had been trying to bring him in for touring tapings since the first ones in August, but it was until November that his schedule and the taping locations worked out.
The two big talking points heading into the tapings were, of course, the return of Sting and Goldberg become WCW World Heavyweight champion for the second time. World Championship Wrestling wasted no time in merging these two. The tapings and the first Nitro kicked off with a promo by Sting. He began by saying he was a man of few words... then proceeded to cut a lengthy promo. He thanked the WCW fans for their loyalty, then apologized to them for not returning sooner. Sting said he never walked away from a fight, and since WCW was in a fight every bit as much as it had been against the New World Order, Sting was ready for it. He talked about the "new generation" of talent that WCW had, putting over the likes of Lance Storm, Sean O'Haire, and Booker T. Then he talked about new world champion Goldberg, saying that he and "Da Man" had a lot in common - pure determination and a love for World Championship Wrestling. Sting then commented he did not want to say too much about Goldberg, since the new champion had something that Sting still coveted. It wasn't an outright challenge, but the roar from the fans made it clear they approved of the statement. The promo made it clear that anyone who thought Sting might be coming back as a heel was mistaken.
Later on the October 31st Nitro, Arn Anderson came out to the ring as a representative of the WCW management. The promotion still did not have an on-screen authority figure. "The Enforcer" read a prepared statement. After thanking the WCW fans around the United States and around the globe, then remembering those who fell on September 11th, the statement celebrated the return of two of WCW's greatest-ever stars in Goldberg and Sting. It then stated in a celebration of the history of WCW, the two men would face each other in the headliner at the nineteenth annual Starrcade event at the end of December. The fans in attendance roared their approval at this as well. After the statement was read, the commentators noted to fans at home that the match would be a title match only if Goldberg still held the WCW World Heavy championship, as Booker T still had a rematch. Announcing the headliner for Starrcade nearly two months out was an interesting decision. It was a match that could generate some significant interest from fans. At the same time, it appeared to be another babyface versus babyface affair, which made it somewhat questionable. It also made for the expected title defense at the November pay per view, Mayhem, a cursory affair with a very predictable outcome.
On the November 7th Nitro, Booker T cut a promo where he showed respect to new champion Goldberg, then talked about getting his belt back. He had a rematch with the new champion, though he had yet to put the request into WCW management for the match to be set. The promo was interrupted by Sean O'Haire and his manager, Stacy Kiebler. "The Bad Boy" did a masterful job of throwing some mock-complimentary verbal jabs at the former champion, who eventually lost his cool. He challenged O'Haire to a match... who declined it. The heel laughed off being called a coward, saying he would be happy to agree to a match if there was something worthwhile on the line. After a bit more back and forth, the inevitable happened and Booker put his world title shot on the line, up against a month of "servitude" by Kiebler, who didn't seem too happy about the situation. On the November 14th Nitro, O'Haire received plenty of help from Kiebler to defeat Booker. He then announced that he would use his newly-won shot at the world title at the Mayhem pay per view. Some loved the way it happened, as it added another layer to the new star heel O'Haire, while others felt it did so at the expense of Booker, who had made an admirable and fine world champion. It also left little time before the pay per view to build toward the new main event.
New world champion Goldberg featured regularly for Nitro, though not much in the ring. One week, they had a rare vignette, showing the champion training hard in his personal gym. They had a couple attempted backstage interviews, where he would stare intensely at the camera for a minute and ignore the questions, then walk away. He finally got into the ring in the main event of the November 21st Nitro, tagging with Sting and Booker T against Sean O'Haire, Scott Steiner, and Jeff Jarrett. The big six-man tag featured plenty of action leading to a non-finish, and they teased some tension between Goldberg and Sting as well.
Conversely, Sting was used quite regularly in the ring. The 42-year old WCW legend had returned in great shape and that was immediately apparent. His first match back was on the November 7th Nitro, tagging with Lance Storm against the young team of James Storm and BJ Whitmer, newly christened as "Pure Southern Class". The two young heels put on a really solid match against the two veterans. Simply put, Sting seemed really motivated. It seemed unlikely that WCW would continue to use him in the ring on every Nitro, but from the re-debut match until the pay per view, he was.
The "broken hand" that Shane Douglas had received from Lance Storm became a centerpiece of their feud. The United States champion came out with a huge plaster cast on his hand and forearm, proclaiming that his scheduled title defense against Storm for the Mayhem pay per view would have to be canceled. Mike Awesome was angry and Francine looked distraught. When the response from management was that if "The Franchise" was unable to defend his title as scheduled, he would be stripped of it, Douglas was suddenly much more capable of defending the belt. Storm requested another cage match but the request was rejected by management this time, with Arn Anderson reading another short statement, to the effect that WCW officials should be capable of controlling any potential outside interference.
Storm's former temporary tag team partner Dustin Rhodes found his new partner, who he knew “would understand". It was another veteran second-generation star and a surprise return to World Championship Wrestling... Curt Hennig. The man dubbed "Mr. Perfect" had ended a five-year run in WCW in the summer of 2000. In the year since, he had apparently gotten himself "clean" and into great shape. He looked more like the Hennig who had done well in the WWF in early 90s than the guy who had been used in every way but properly through the latter half of the 90s. Hennig got a pretty got pop from the Jersey crowd when Rhodes called him down to the ring, but the pair made their intentions clear when they faced local team The Backseat Boyz the next week and not only decisively defeated them but added a post-match beatdown to point an emphasis point on it. Hennig was not in WCW to fool around and Rhodes was not going to be the nice guy anymore. Two veteran workers made a strong tag team and another quality addition to the tag ranks of WCW.
The November 14th Nitro saw Kronik win back the WCW World Tag Team titles that they had lost three weeks before at the Halloween Havoc pay per view. It was a rather confusing title switch. Not that the powerhouse duo made poor champions – with Stacy Kiebler acting as a mouthpiece, they did quite well. It just seemed odd to give Kanyon and Bigelow the tag belts, only to lose them right back a few weeks later. It gave skeptical fans reason to question the new head booker before most of them even realized there was a new head booker.
The promising cruiserweight tandem of AJ Styles and Jamie Noble was given a name – The Shooting Star Express. The name apparently came from Lacey, the sweet and innocent-looking brunette who had caught Noble's eye at the Chicago tapings. She was now at ringside with the team, and Noble introduced her in a short promo as his “new special friend”. She seemed shy when right in front of the camera, but she got plenty animated at ringside, cheering the new Express on in matches. The duo continued to battle the likes The Sweetness and the Jung Dragons. With Kidman and Tajiri randomly teaming up as well, the cruiserweight division suddenly had a strong tag division again. Moreso than perhaps any other “local” brought in thus far, Christopher Daniels looked like he belonged in the cruiserweight division. He had a solid matches with Tajiri and Elix Skipper, and he boasted a dark heel persona that worked. He seemed certain to be offered a full-time contract after the tapings.
None of the other “locals” really hit the mark during the tapings. There was talent, but it was a matter of whether the talent fit in. Low Ki and Homicide were both impressive young talents, but the feeling with WCW was that they just didn't fit at that point. They were the right size for cruiserweight, but their dynamic styles seemed like a mismatch to some. The “Hit Squad” combo of Dan Maff and Mosta Mack were a bit raw yet. Striker could certainly talk but his in-ring work left a lot to be desired, and that seemed to seriously annoy Hugh Morrus in a match. Low Ki managed the same with some of his stiff kicks agained the TV champion, and those in attendance were afraid Morrus and Low Ki might end up brawling. Professionalism won out, but it didn't make for a better match in the way that the Morrus-Cabana pay per view match had.
The lack remaining “Mamaluke” finally returned to the ring. Johnny the Bull had barely been featured on television for WCW since the move to FSN. He had worked a few matches, often with the “local” talents, but they rarely made the actual broadcasts. The ripped 250-pounder had a good look and was passable in the ring but he was in need of a defining character, which is what WCW management felt was holding him back. Near the start of the New Jersey tapings, he was showing some of the other talent a vibrant new forearm tattoo and that tattoo supposedly gave John Laurinaitis an idea. Given the new name Johnny Hate, the wrestler started out with a dominant win over Crowbar. Laurinaitis' idea was to end up teaming Hate with Tommy Dreamer as a pair of badass brawlers. When Dreamer departed prior to the end of the tapings, the idea was dropped. Hate would end up teaming with Crowbar, with that duo becoming WCW resident hardcore brawlers.
The departure of Tommy Dreamer happened for exactly the same reason that saw Justin Credible sneak away. However, Dreamer took the professional approach, speaking to Bischoff directly. The former ECW star admitted he had been approach by both Paul Heyman and Raven about becoming part of that “ECW thing” that the World Wrestling Federation was planning. Admitting that his heart was still in the defunct ECW and always would be, Dreamer directly asked if WCW had any specific plans for him. When he was told they didn't, Dreamer asked for his release. Whether the WCW President was feeling particularly agreeable that day or he saw a way to save a bit of money, he granted Dreamer his release and he would soon become part of that “ECW thing”.
The New Jersey tapings made for a solid month of Nitro, leading toward the WCW Mayhem pay per view. Most regard them as a slight step back from what the promotion produced in October – the excitement of Goldberg as world champion and both Sting and Hennig returning were all offset by a somewhat less impressive set of “locals”. The exception to that was the dynamic Daniels, who was indeed offered a full-time contract after the tapings. He actually turned down the exclusive contract, and ended up signing a non-exclusive deal. The “open” contract allowed him still take independent dates. He had several months worth of commitments already made to independent dates, and since WCW required only a few dates per month, he felt an open deal worked best. Initially resistant to the idea, Bischoff relented and would end up using this type of contract more frequently in the future.
The return of Goldberg, the return of Sting and subsequently of Curt Hennig as well, made some fans believe that World Championship Wrestling was again willing to spend money. This is not really accurate. The claim made by some was that Sting waited until Goldberg returned so he could demand a similar contract. This has been refuted by both Sting and WCW insiders. The timing was more coincidental than anything else. Sting has said in interviews that it was never really about the money. He knew that this version of WCW would never be able to pay him what it could when it was owned by a global media conglomerate. He claims his intent was to return in the summer, after being able to spend some time with his family, but ended up staying out longer than intended. The paperwork to finalize the buyout of the remaining months (roughly six months were left) of his AOL Time Warner contract took longer than expected and pushed his returned further yet. Although the legend refuses to discuss financial details, it is believed that the downside-guarantee contract he was given by WCW was similar in value to what Scott Steiner, Sean O'Haire, and Booker T had been given, all of whom were significantly below the large guaranteed contract of Goldberg. Sting has also stated that while he was contacted by Vince McMahon, moving to the WWF was never a possibility for him due to the product. As for Hennig, he returned for a far smaller contract. At 42 years old, he just wanted to work. Unable to gain the interest of the WWF, Hennig only had WCW, Japan, and perhaps Mexico as options. He came in determined and willing to work hard.
It seems that many World Championship Wrestling insiders are reluctant to say much negative about Tony Schiavone's spell in charge of the promotion, beyond the obvious. Something that has been mentioned by several sources, almost as a casual observation, was Schiavone's apparent reluctance to delegate authority. Even at its reduced size, a promotion the size of WCW was a challenge for one individual to handle in creative terms. Especially when that individual had an overt focus on trying to come up with a “big one”, a major storyline that would really grab the attention of the fans and bring new fans in... or at least old ones back. The lack of attention given to certain areas is why the cruiserweights took matters into their own hands. Laurinaitis recognized the need to focus on certain areas himself while allowing others to assist. He asked Chavo to continue having the group meetings with the cruiserweights and tried to meet with the talent frequently to obtain their input and ideas. It was simply a different approach from that of Schiavone and the talent seemed to appreciate it. The greater question was whether it would work with fans.
With Tony Schiavone gone, World Championship Wrestling was reaching a point where forward progress was a real necessity. With John Laurinaitis in charge and another major star back on board in Sting, a solid set of TV tapings in New Jersey had resulted in almost no change in TV ratings. Mayhem looked to be more a springboard toward Starrcade in December than an attempt for success on its own. The first rumblings of discontent within the WCW ownership group, Fusient Media Ventures, were beginning to bubble to the fore. With one scapegoat gone, how long could the status quo continue before Eric Bischoff became the sacrificial lamb?
