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The Monday Night War Review: Episode Fifteen- ‘Foundations of War’

December 3, 2014 | Posted by Robert Leighty Jr.
Monday Night War WWE WCW Raw Nitro

The Monday Night War Review: Episode Fifteen- ‘Foundations of War’

-This should be a great one this week as they focus on the Undertaker and Sting being the backbone of each company during The War. It will also add to speculation of a match happening between the two at WrestleMania XXXI.

-Opening in all its epic awesomeness!

-We start with discussion about how the wrestlers were bouncing back and forth between the two companies during the War (showing Bret, Show, and Rude). Both Ted and Vince had to have someone they could lean on and each had a handful of guys they could count on week in and week out. They show HHH and Shawn for the WWE side and Booker T, Goldberg for WCW’s side.

-Back we go to the 80s and don’t you know the WWF roster was built on colorful characters and that made them #1 in the world. Jericho mentions it was a lot like comic book characters and you needed super villains to match up against your super heroes. By the 1990s those characters were becoming stale as the fans were growing up and wanted something darker.

-That leads to the debut of The Undertaker and Miz mentions that he was intrigued by fact a mystery guy was going to debut at Survivor Series. Dibiase puts over how perfect Taker was in the role from the jump, and Bret does the same as he talks about the presence Taker had that first night.

-Taker was a different kind of animal for the WWF, and Bret says there was nothing like him. He was very silent and dark while they were used to over the top and loud villains. Stock footage from Paul Bearer in 2011 as he puts over the chemistry he had with Taker. Always nice to see Paul!

-Down South, Ted Turner bought a piece of the NWA and turned it into WCW. The roster was headlined by Ric Flair and he pops up to put over the depth of the roster. The young star of the roster was a guy named Sting and they talk about how Flair singled Sting out as he wanted to see what he could do with him. Sting was put on the map at Clash I in his match with Flair and they knew he was going to be the future of WCW. He was different than what the southern crowds in WCW were used too, and Flair puts over the crazy amount of charisma he had. Cena talks about Sting and you can tell he was a huge fan and again it should be noted a ton of people were calling Cena the next Sting when he debuted on the WWE’s main roster.

-In 1991 Ric Flair jumped ship to the WWF and he helped Taker upset Hogan for the WWF Title at the Survivor Series. They talk about how rare it was to see anyone beat Hogan and from there Taker was a superstar.

-By 1993 Vince launched Monday Night RAW and Taker was trusted with being in the Main Event of the very first episode. While that was happening Sting was tearing things up in WCW when Flair defected. Just as he was growing into the main role things turned when Flair jumped back to WCW.

-Flair returned and immediately was pushed back to the top of the card and knocked off Vader for the WCW Title at Starrcade 1993. They show Sting putting over Flair in the celebration after Flair’s win. A talking head calls Sting a company guy and that he would always do what was best for the company. That leads to the talk of Hogan jumping to WCW, and how it put obstacles in the way of WCW homegrown talent. Hogan talks about how southern fans weren’t used to him and what he could bring as closest they had was Sting and Flair.

-Hogan immediately becomes the star attraction and Sting takes a backseat again because it was best for the company. Soon after Randy Savage made the jump to WCW and Sting moved back a little more and soon was being lost in the shuffle. Luger mentions Sting was a loyal guy and he felt that Hogan and Savage being brought in was going to help them pass WWF for the first time. Man had a point!

-In 1995 Bischoff launched WCW Nitro on TNT to go head to head with RAW (though unopposed the first week). They show press conference footage from the Nitro announcement with Bischoff, Hogan, and Sting all present. Sting makes a joke that it is going to be a RAW deal for someone.

-Nitro debuts and Sting gets a match with Flair, but all the talk is about Luger jumping back from the WWF. It is mentioned Sting is the one that pushed for Luger to come back and the deal was brokered in his house. It was just another example of Sting being the greatest company man ever.

-Taker was the backbone of the WWF during the same time and they talk about he would always do the shows no matter his physical condition. HHH talks about how he had cracked and broken ribs but would tape things up and get in the ring. Nash talks about how athletic Taker was and how he was one of the few big men he actually like working matches against.

-We are steaming ahead to 1996 and that leads to Hall and Nash making the jump to kick off the n.W.o. angle. Hall talks about how he had friends and decided he wanted the money thus why he took the leap to WCW. More recycled footage of Nash talking about how the fans perceived 2 WWF guys could beat up all the WCW guys.

-Apparently Hall and Nash wanted to take over the whole company according to Jericho or at least wanted to mess things up. He doesn’t feel they respected WCW and Sting took that personally. Norman Fucking Smiley shows up as a talking head and talks about how they were coming into Sting’s house and screwing with things.

-We discuss the 3rd man for the n.W.o. and Nash mentions that it was originally supposed to be Sting, but he didn’t want to turn heel and alter his character. Hogan finally agreed to it and it probably all worked out better than way anyway. I mean I just can’t see Hogan sitting in the rafters and trying to repel from the ceiling. So Hogan turns heel and WCW rides the wave to become the #1 promotion in the world.

-Poor Vince continued to have his roster plucked as guys like Virgil, Dibiase, and Syxx all made the jump. One man remained loyal and that was The Undertaker. They discuss what it would have been like if Taker had left and JBL says it would have been the nail in their coffin. Heyman knows that Bischoff would have handed a blank check to Taker if it would have worked.

-Bischoff talks about the n.W.o running over the entire WCW roster and how Sting always felt it was wrong. He felt it was killing his character, but Bischoff kept telling him to be patient. The payoff finally came when Sting turned his back on the WCW roster and finally showed a back bone when they didn’t trust him. It was a fucking genius character and Luger says it best in that it was like Sting was in mourning because of what was happening to his company. At first Sting still talked a little too much as they worked out the tweaks on the character, but soon became the mute crow character we all know and loved.

-We are up to early 1997 now and DDP talks about how Sting knew he needed to reinvent himself. Daniel Bryan talks about how Sting went from a loud, energetic guy to a dark, brooding character that led to a lot of mystery around him. Cody puts over the story that was being told and calls it masterful the way things played out. Norman Smiley talks about how over Sting got without ever saying a word, and Heyman says that actions spoke louder at that time as everyone was talking. He was able to emote and tell more with a single raised bat then most guys could with 10 minutes of promo time.

-The WWF was regrouping with the Attitude Era and that meant Taker had to evolve as well. He became darker and more aggressive and thrived in the Attitude Era. They discuss how he went the opposite way from Sting and started to talk more and it raised interest anytime he had something to say. They added layers to Taker’s character and that brings about the introduction of his presumed dead brother Kane. Crazy to think we are less than 3 years away from Kane being a WWF mainstay for 2 decades. Kane puts over their story as the greatest the WWF has ever done. It definitely has the most twists and turns (well mostly turns), and I really wouldn’t be opposed to one final blow off match between the two if Taker could get taped back together.

-Back we go to WCW and Sting made his intentions known finally that he wanted Hollywood Hogan. DDP calls Sting’s push the greatest of all time and he deserved it more than anyone. Bischoff talks about how they built that feud for 18 months and Sting never said a word. Punk calls it the hottest thing and calls Sting the coolest guy ever without having to say a word.

-We get to Starrcade 1997 and the show does the biggest buyrate in the history of WCW. Sting vs. Hogan was built perfectly and Dusty says that Sting was the man to save WCW from the n.W.o. Ryback talks about how huge it was to see Sting beat Hogan for the WCW Title. They kind of bypass the screwy nature of the match and actually put over that it was an awesome night for WCW. I am kind of shocked they didn’t take a chance to discuss how WCW kind of screwed the pooch with that match and all the overbooking.

-We head to early 1998 and WCW was reaching even higher ratings with Sting as their Champion. Heyman says that the top guy being a man of mystery is a hook that people will keep coming back for again and again. They talk about how cool he was because of the way he would drop from the rafters and beat the piss out of people with a bat.

-They discuss Taker and Sting both now and how they would evolve as characters, but never betrayed the core of their character. They just kept adding layers and that is why the fans continued to stick with them.

-Finally in the spring of 1998 the WWF won a battle in the war and they show Taker talking out of character which is kind of shocking. I don’t remember that at all as Taker is in normal clothes on RAW and openly talks about how he stayed loyal to Vince while others took the money and left. They discuss how Taker became the company leader, and wanted to do all he could to make the company better. The Rock talks about how much Taker loved the business and how he was in his corner from day one and told Rock to take the ball and run basically.

-By June of 1998 WCW made the mistake of having Sting join the n.W.o as the group split into two warring factions. The idea was cool that each side was trying to get Sting on their side and while he initially teased joining Hogan he turned on him and went n.W.o Wolfpack. Booker T talks about how it was hard to swallow that Sting turned to the n.W.o because he should have been the guy that stayed the course. They talk about how he got lost in the shuffle of the group and I will say that Red and Black face paint still looks rather silly.

-Now in the WWF, Undertaker was making a transformation of his own as he evolved into the leader of the Ministry of Darkness. He became a cult leader and started hanging people on crosses symbols and bringing Vince to his knees with flaming teddy bears. They put over that everyone realized that if Taker was doing what he could to evolve then they needed to step up their game as well.

-WCW is getting their asses handed to them now, and while Sting went back to his WCW roots the writing was on the wall for the company. They show Sting winning and then losing the WCW Title in the same night to DDP. They cover the stupid shit like Scott and Rick Steiner using attack dogs on Sting, and things were turning with guys jumping to WWF. Sting stayed loyal though and Tommy Dreamer talks about how he asked Sting why he never jumped. Sting told him he was afraid that they wouldn’t let him be Sting and Dreamer says he understood what he meant. Flair wishes Sting had made the jump because Sting was too good not to succeed in the WWE.

-In March of 2001 WCW closes and Sting gets to have the last match on Nitro with Flair as it should have been. Everyone talks about how great Sting was as the franchise of the company. Luger calls him the heart beat of WCW. The only thing that could match his loyalty was Taker’s to the WWF.

-All the talking heads put over both men and how you knew 2 things would always be there: Undertaker in the WWF and Sting in WCW. They talk about how both men are admired by their peers because of the loyalty they showed to each side and that wraps up this week.

-Next week is all about Building an Army and it seems like they will focus on Vince vs. Turner/Bischoff as it comes to how they did business.

Extra Thoughts: A lot of fun with the show this week as it was basically a show celebrating the awesomeness of both men and they showing/telling you why they were awesome. There was very little spin and you can tell Sting is much respected among WWF guys who were part of the war and is a hero to a lot of the guys on the current roster. We already know how much Taker is respected and this only verified the fact he is the conscience of Vince’s company. Show was just a joy to watch and a breeze as it didn’t drag and get monotonous like some of the previous ones had.