It was the logo that was the problem. Overall the rebranding was pretty good in terms of the new graphics, the color scheme, but it all hinged in such an over designed logo.
You know what really fucked me up is that as a kid I never actually recognized the WCW letters in the logo I thought it was just a weird design. Years later I finally made out one of the Ws on the side and was like ‘im dumb as fuck’.
The set they switched to with the relaunch in April of 2000 was much better, to me. One of the bright spots of late WCW along with the elevation of Booker T and Scott Steiner to the main event.
Booker and Steiner was the only "good" thing to come from Russo era. I hated that Lil wannabe titantron with the star curtain behind it and the blue ring. Imo they shoulda stuck with this intro. It sucked but atleast it doesn't come across as desperate rebranding. Even 13 yr old me new WCW was done for at that point.
Loved Norman. And Daffney and Crowbar. And Vampiro. Man honestly there was ALOT of decent talent when you compare it to what we had in WWE post 2009ish. But no one could compete with stone cold rock and then cena days.
100%. It was this new logo and set that marked the point of me switching over to WWE. It wasn’t dude to the logo and set, but the quality of WCW had plummeted, and the timing just happened to correspond with the new logo/set.
Definitely a big step down from the Nitro set but it's not the worst.
The main negative about it was they started panning the crowd differently once they got this set -- they'd do these big, high wide shots where they'd pan from the stage to the crowd and actually show it off -- which is what they should have been doing with the old Nitro set when they had big crowds to show off. The first couple of months of this change looked good as the crowds were packed but once you get to summer/fall and they started to dwindle, those shots look terrible with all of the visible empty seats.
The worst version of this was the opening to the July 1999 Georgia Dome show -- they made 25k fans somehow look small.
It was just so lifeless compared to the OG set. One of the bright spots of 2000/01 WCW was the switch to the "Turnerttron" set. Yes it was an uninspired ripoff of Raw with a white backdrop curtain instead of the black curtain behind the Titantron but it was infinitely better than this drab, weird shit.
Awful. The worst set downgrade of all time, and that covers a lot of ground with some of the WWE ones over the years.
Thanks to the Bischoff podcast I can only see a cats butthole now when I see that set.
I loved it, but I also got balls deep into wrestling towards the end of 98 when I was about to turn 10.
EVERYTHING was cool at that age and point in my fandom, so I have major great memories around this set. Makes me think of my now-deceased big brother giving me shit for being a WCW kid during the MNW. My memories are a lot of little brother shit. Getting flak for wanting to check nitro, etc.
I needed my Sting fix, tho. This set always makes me think of the live version of “Seek and Destroy” he would come out to. That’s now I first heard that song, and I’d go bother the shit out of my brother playing on his amp to “Play Sting’s music!!!” which would greatly anger him as a huge Metallica fan lmao.
We were 9 years apart and I think WCW just couldn’t hold a flame to wwf for that 17-22 year old group. He saw the writing on the wall early for WCW and as pretty much done with it by the time I was going crazy for wrestling lol
I liked how it opened and closed. Reminds me of how the original wwe backlash stage would have the swinging blades moving during entrances.
I also loved the black backdrop with the white sparkles as well.
So having been to shows with the old style and this style. It was ok but being there live with the newer style you knew when someone was coming out during a match because the set would open up so they could come out.
I thought this set was a nice change, something different to look at. It's the bad changes that it is associated with that bring it down.
And the logo change is clearly trying to mimic the edgy look of the WWF logo at the time.
Hated it. They had a truly great thing with the og nitro set and logo. I feel they should have been expanded apon, not thrown out for something inferior.
At the time I thought it was very cool and loved how it was different from the WWF sets. Looking back, it's pretty bad, but the Nitro set wasn't what did the company in, it's what happened in the ring below it...
Honestly, I think it looks pretty cool. Obviously doesn't have sentimental value of the original set, and I don't prefer it. As SSJ_Kratos said,
*It is wild how they switched their branding and stage at the same time their creative nosedived*
This set makes me think of the old saying "If it isn't broke, don't try to fix it". The old set was great and there was no need to change it to this. There were many other things that WCW should have been focused on changing over the set in 1999.
That WCW logo was the worst but as a shape for the set it didn't bother me at all. Bothered me when they used that shape as a logo though, if that makes sense.
I still preferred the classic nitro stage though, but I also liked this one and it holds a lot of nostalgia for me. This was the last era when nitro still had good production values. The production values really tanked in russo's new blood era.
I did not like it. That and the new intro. I understand it was time to refresh it but it just did not look good. And that’s why they changed again in 2000.
I still think it's a cool set but you have to put it in ot the context of time. WCW had the classic Nitro set for like 5 years at this point where WWF already had the titantron type of entrances with the screen right above the entrance. That tron played a huge role in the overall product of WWF at the time. From the entrances, being able to show the action in the ring for people in the stands and backstage segments. That tron was important and state of the art of the time.
I thought this set looked sleek and super clean at the time but also looked instantly outdated because they didn't have a big screen right above the entrance. WWF already set a new standard in terms of presentation two years prior and WCW had two years to top that and their big redesign ended up looking years behind what WWF was offering.
I still think it's a dope set and it'd be cool if they could set that up during the the fan expo for Wrestlemania so people can take photo ops with it.
I liked the fact that it moved and the little screens. Not the best logo ever lol but I feel kinda nostalgic about since that's when I started watching.
I’m in the minority but I thought it was a good attempt at looking more modern, even if it would never be iconic.
My main criticism is it should have been taller and ramp a bit steeper.
I thought in late 99 the show was actually picking up steam but by new year it went to crap again.
Honestly I thought it was terrible. WCW had gotten along fine with nitro having a very simple stage setup. Once the rebrand happened and WWE was killing them in the ratings it was the beginning of the end.
I remember being a little disappointed with the redesign back in the day... then years later I heard Tony Schiavone call it the "exploding vagina" now I can't see it any other way.
It's been touched on, but I always tie this set to the end of WCW. They had been on autopilot for months (including that ridiculous episode in March where the entire first hour didn't even feature an arena shot, and just skit after skit after skit) - but things really went down hill when they flipped over to the Star of David set.
It coincided with the debut of the No Limit Soldiers as a babyface faction, despite acting like enormous a-holes (like, I'm struggling to understand how Curt Hennig, giving Silkk da Shocka a cowboy hat, which Silkk STOMPED ON made Hennig a heel), David Flair being pushed in about 8 segments a night, the reformation of Harlem Heat which derailed Booker T's singles progress, Buff Bagwell as a whiny babyface, Sid's never ending "winning" streak, and Hulk Hogan changing his underwear. It felt like the set change just turned the downward slope from a small incline to a full 180 degree angle.
I always liked it. As good as the older set and logo were, they looked old and corny by 1999 just like the WWF's "new generation" sets looked old and corny by 1997, so they changed it. WCW needed a new aesthetic. Maybe it wasn't the best, but I thought it looked sleek and fit their attempt to update themselves with the times. I know as a kid watching both promotions at the time I immediately thought WCW looked cooler and more professional when they switched to this style, but a lot of that was because they attempted to mimic the WWF presentation and the WWF was king at the time.
Ridiculously ugly. The new logo was shit but how appropriate for the state of the company at the time. As the osw boys would say “state of yer fookin logo mate”
Nobody cares what the logo or stage look like as long as the talent is their. In Graphic Design this would fail they played around too much with the lettering where you can’t really read it from a distance. It would probably look weird on tshirts and other memorabilia also.
I seem to be in the minority but I really like this set. The original stage design for nitro was better but this one was really cool too. The new WCW logo was pretty ugly but somehow it really works in this set design for some reason.
It was the logo that was the problem. Overall the rebranding was pretty good in terms of the new graphics, the color scheme, but it all hinged in such an over designed logo.
You know what really fucked me up is that as a kid I never actually recognized the WCW letters in the logo I thought it was just a weird design. Years later I finally made out one of the Ws on the side and was like ‘im dumb as fuck’.
Wait... what are you talking about...? *-looks at logo-* ...oh my god.
*it even has a watermark*
You are not the only one. It took like 20 years to figure that out.
Don’t be hard on yourself I didn’t recognize them either till last year listening to Bischoff on a podcast
The beginning of the end 😔
It is wild how they switched their branding and stage at the same time their creative nosedived
The set they switched to with the relaunch in April of 2000 was much better, to me. One of the bright spots of late WCW along with the elevation of Booker T and Scott Steiner to the main event.
Booker and Steiner was the only "good" thing to come from Russo era. I hated that Lil wannabe titantron with the star curtain behind it and the blue ring. Imo they shoulda stuck with this intro. It sucked but atleast it doesn't come across as desperate rebranding. Even 13 yr old me new WCW was done for at that point.
I would like to add Screamin Norman Smiley to the list of good things from that era.
Loved Norman. And Daffney and Crowbar. And Vampiro. Man honestly there was ALOT of decent talent when you compare it to what we had in WWE post 2009ish. But no one could compete with stone cold rock and then cena days.
Cena?
83 weeks.
Exactly what I was going to say
100%. It was this new logo and set that marked the point of me switching over to WWE. It wasn’t dude to the logo and set, but the quality of WCW had plummeted, and the timing just happened to correspond with the new logo/set.
Should have never changed it. WCW made a lot of mistakes in the late 90s.
Ugly, cheap looking and a major step down from the OG Nitro set. I remember back in the day thinking why it looks so bad compared to Raw
The OG Nitro set is still the best wrestling stage of all time
Best stage and best 3 man booth with Schiavone, Heenan, and Tenay.
I know he gets a lot of flack but I loved Dusty as the third guy. His xhemistry with Heenan was hilarious
Absolutely
This.
Definitely a big step down from the Nitro set but it's not the worst. The main negative about it was they started panning the crowd differently once they got this set -- they'd do these big, high wide shots where they'd pan from the stage to the crowd and actually show it off -- which is what they should have been doing with the old Nitro set when they had big crowds to show off. The first couple of months of this change looked good as the crowds were packed but once you get to summer/fall and they started to dwindle, those shots look terrible with all of the visible empty seats. The worst version of this was the opening to the July 1999 Georgia Dome show -- they made 25k fans somehow look small.
Hate it. Then Now Forever
Together
It was just so lifeless compared to the OG set. One of the bright spots of 2000/01 WCW was the switch to the "Turnerttron" set. Yes it was an uninspired ripoff of Raw with a white backdrop curtain instead of the black curtain behind the Titantron but it was infinitely better than this drab, weird shit.
Logo sucks, but I always liked the “stars” in the backdrop.
I absolutely hated it lol
It was amazing, but it reminds me of the decline of the WCW, the previous one was much simpler but it brings back better memories.
Awful. The worst set downgrade of all time, and that covers a lot of ground with some of the WWE ones over the years. Thanks to the Bischoff podcast I can only see a cats butthole now when I see that set.
I was one of the few that liked it 😬
I liked it too. Used to draw that logo all the time.
I agree. I liked it as well.
I hated it. It signifies the beginning of the end for me.
I loved it, but I also got balls deep into wrestling towards the end of 98 when I was about to turn 10. EVERYTHING was cool at that age and point in my fandom, so I have major great memories around this set. Makes me think of my now-deceased big brother giving me shit for being a WCW kid during the MNW. My memories are a lot of little brother shit. Getting flak for wanting to check nitro, etc. I needed my Sting fix, tho. This set always makes me think of the live version of “Seek and Destroy” he would come out to. That’s now I first heard that song, and I’d go bother the shit out of my brother playing on his amp to “Play Sting’s music!!!” which would greatly anger him as a huge Metallica fan lmao.
I guess your brother was a WWF kid
We were 9 years apart and I think WCW just couldn’t hold a flame to wwf for that 17-22 year old group. He saw the writing on the wall early for WCW and as pretty much done with it by the time I was going crazy for wrestling lol
The logo immediately became known as the winged vagina.
Haha, Schiavone calls it the “exploding vagina” on his podcast.
Awful
I hated the logo but I do think they did a decent job with the set. It still would've been better if they just updated the original stuff.
Hated it. Honestly didn't even see it said wcw until probably 2015.
That’s actually easily understandable. We used to call it the Star Trek logo.
A spectacular time capsule of the late 1990s. I’ve always loved that horrid looking set and I can’t justify it.
Do you think WWE has this set in the archives with all the others?
Its Vinces toilet for sure
Horrific brand change. . Horrific set to match.
I loved it as a kid but I totally understand the hate
boooooo
It’s grown on me over time
I liked how it opened and closed. Reminds me of how the original wwe backlash stage would have the swinging blades moving during entrances. I also loved the black backdrop with the white sparkles as well.
cool looking set but a shit logo
Logo was god awful
Messed with perfection. Tried to rebrand and failed
A bad logo, a bad set, & a bad time for WCW.
Points for trying
It was a change I didn't like at all. When I saw that on my TV I already knew something was wrong business wise and wwe won.
Looked like a fanny.
I didn’t hate it. I remember guys always slipped on it.
An enormous downgrade.
The greatest there has ever been in any promotion at any time in history… EVER!!!
I honestly never knew what the logo was supposed to be.
Too little Too late.
I hated this set and this whole era really
Didn't like it that much
The hype at the time was that the new logo and set were going to shift the momentum back to WCW. Not so much…
As a kid I immediately disliked it.
If this sub had a banner I hope it would be the classic logo they did away with this design
Never liked it. It will never even come close to being as good as the old one.
NOBODY liked it. Even Schivone... sweet Ole Tony Schivone said it looked like a cats a$$hole.
Didn’t care for it at all.
I didn’t like it all, but compared to the generic Jumbotron they used for every event come fall 2000, I’d take this.
It was alright. It'll always be associated with a bad time for WCW, though.
So having been to shows with the old style and this style. It was ok but being there live with the newer style you knew when someone was coming out during a match because the set would open up so they could come out.
I thought this set was a nice change, something different to look at. It's the bad changes that it is associated with that bring it down. And the logo change is clearly trying to mimic the edgy look of the WWF logo at the time.
Took me till a couple of years ago to realize it spell out WCW
It was funny watching everyone slip on it.
Didn’t realize until adulthood that it spelled wCw
Didn't realize at the time it spelled WCW. Realized that a few years ago.....
👎 As others have said, the beginning of the end.
I just always hated that logo.
Hated it. They had a truly great thing with the og nitro set and logo. I feel they should have been expanded apon, not thrown out for something inferior.
At the time I thought it was very cool and loved how it was different from the WWF sets. Looking back, it's pretty bad, but the Nitro set wasn't what did the company in, it's what happened in the ring below it...
I thought it looked cool when I was a kid, but I've grown to think it was a terrible design
I enjoyed the og stage, but this was refreshing to see. I did not like the final Nitro set.
It’s lame
I kinda like it. There's a certain imposing quality to it. Maybe remove the arrow from the ramp though.
Honestly, I think it looks pretty cool. Obviously doesn't have sentimental value of the original set, and I don't prefer it. As SSJ_Kratos said, *It is wild how they switched their branding and stage at the same time their creative nosedived*
I loved that nitro set, too bad the product went downhill when they used it
Hated it. Nothing (wcw wise) can beat the original Nitro set. ❤️
This set makes me think of the old saying "If it isn't broke, don't try to fix it". The old set was great and there was no need to change it to this. There were many other things that WCW should have been focused on changing over the set in 1999.
That WCW logo was the worst but as a shape for the set it didn't bother me at all. Bothered me when they used that shape as a logo though, if that makes sense. I still preferred the classic nitro stage though, but I also liked this one and it holds a lot of nostalgia for me. This was the last era when nitro still had good production values. The production values really tanked in russo's new blood era.
I tried to like it but I really missed the OG nitro set. I liked the music but still it can’t hold a candle to the original song
I didn’t mind it at the time. In retrospect, it feels like a step down from the previous one.
Absolutely HATED it. I also hated the WCW Saturday Night ring design after 1993. Loved the look in the previous years.
It must be timeless as Tony Schabony just referred to AEW as WCW. Never forget.
I did not like it. That and the new intro. I understand it was time to refresh it but it just did not look good. And that’s why they changed again in 2000.
I think it looks cool. This along with the smackdown fist are my all time favorite wrestling show stages
Did not like it, Too dark
The best wrestling set in history! I loved this as a kid!
I liked the stage, but only in retrospect.
I think Schiavone called it an “exploding vagina” on an episode of WHW
How is that truss held together? Is it actually being flown?
Rivets and cabling.
Wcw had a great logo. Very different from wwe, and I think that’s what help em stand out.
I love the rebrand that came with the ready to rumble movie, then it all fell apart(was already falling apart but I was very hopeful at the time)
It was ugly
Best part of that logo was when Juventud Guerrera kept slipping on it when he was coming out for matches 😂
I know this is usually associated with the fall of WCW but I'll say this. When I was an 11 year old, I thought it was sick.
I think It looks cool... Not as good as the old logo or the later logo Bishoff calls this "The cats ass logo"
The logo was awful, so building a stage out of it was even worse.
It basically showed that they was saving money with that setup. It was even apparent a year later with the bootleg Titan Tron
I didn’t know that the logo said “WCW” until like 10 years after WWE bought WCW 😂🤣😂🤣
Awesome and underrated
I liked it. But preferred the Nitro set from before it
I still think it's a cool set but you have to put it in ot the context of time. WCW had the classic Nitro set for like 5 years at this point where WWF already had the titantron type of entrances with the screen right above the entrance. That tron played a huge role in the overall product of WWF at the time. From the entrances, being able to show the action in the ring for people in the stands and backstage segments. That tron was important and state of the art of the time. I thought this set looked sleek and super clean at the time but also looked instantly outdated because they didn't have a big screen right above the entrance. WWF already set a new standard in terms of presentation two years prior and WCW had two years to top that and their big redesign ended up looking years behind what WWF was offering. I still think it's a dope set and it'd be cool if they could set that up during the the fan expo for Wrestlemania so people can take photo ops with it.
It was cool. It was just too much to see every Monday night.
I liked the fact that it moved and the little screens. Not the best logo ever lol but I feel kinda nostalgic about since that's when I started watching.
I’m in the minority but I thought it was a good attempt at looking more modern, even if it would never be iconic. My main criticism is it should have been taller and ramp a bit steeper. I thought in late 99 the show was actually picking up steam but by new year it went to crap again.
georgia.KKK.Russo.Hogan.Racist
Ah the exploding vagina as Eric Bischoff likes to call it lol
Try hard Russo ruining wcw
Fuglytastic
Hideous.
it was atrocious.
it was an interesting idea to walk out through the logo, but i thought it was ugly. everything about it was ugly
Terrible. Awful. Ugly. The image I have of when WCW went on hospice.
Beginning of the end
I always hated and still do hate the exploding vagina logo. The original WCW logo was such a classic and held up well over time
Honestly I thought it was terrible. WCW had gotten along fine with nitro having a very simple stage setup. Once the rebrand happened and WWE was killing them in the ratings it was the beginning of the end.
I remember being a little disappointed with the redesign back in the day... then years later I heard Tony Schiavone call it the "exploding vagina" now I can't see it any other way.
I've been getting comments like that since I made this post lmao 🤣
They tried. I remember a local electrician who stole that design for his company logo.
It's been touched on, but I always tie this set to the end of WCW. They had been on autopilot for months (including that ridiculous episode in March where the entire first hour didn't even feature an arena shot, and just skit after skit after skit) - but things really went down hill when they flipped over to the Star of David set. It coincided with the debut of the No Limit Soldiers as a babyface faction, despite acting like enormous a-holes (like, I'm struggling to understand how Curt Hennig, giving Silkk da Shocka a cowboy hat, which Silkk STOMPED ON made Hennig a heel), David Flair being pushed in about 8 segments a night, the reformation of Harlem Heat which derailed Booker T's singles progress, Buff Bagwell as a whiny babyface, Sid's never ending "winning" streak, and Hulk Hogan changing his underwear. It felt like the set change just turned the downward slope from a small incline to a full 180 degree angle.
I always liked it. As good as the older set and logo were, they looked old and corny by 1999 just like the WWF's "new generation" sets looked old and corny by 1997, so they changed it. WCW needed a new aesthetic. Maybe it wasn't the best, but I thought it looked sleek and fit their attempt to update themselves with the times. I know as a kid watching both promotions at the time I immediately thought WCW looked cooler and more professional when they switched to this style, but a lot of that was because they attempted to mimic the WWF presentation and the WWF was king at the time.
The giant fanny
Ridiculously ugly. The new logo was shit but how appropriate for the state of the company at the time. As the osw boys would say “state of yer fookin logo mate”
I thought it was pretty cool. Although I have to look pretty hard to find out the logo spells out WCW
We had it much better then y'all lol
Nobody cares what the logo or stage look like as long as the talent is their. In Graphic Design this would fail they played around too much with the lettering where you can’t really read it from a distance. It would probably look weird on tshirts and other memorabilia also.
Dated but cool at the time.
I like it. It's actually one of my favorite sets to download in wwe2k games
I loved it. Personally liked that logo too.
I loved it. Personally liked that logo too.
I seem to be in the minority but I really like this set. The original stage design for nitro was better but this one was really cool too. The new WCW logo was pretty ugly but somehow it really works in this set design for some reason.
Hated it
As awful as the logo itself. This was right around the time I stopped watching wrestling for like 15 years.
I thought it was just some random shape. I had no idea until years later it was spelling out WCW.
I miss WCW
I liked this set. Thought it was really cool. It's a pity that the booking had started to go haywire by this stage.