Notes
- Both companies had big events during the month's I have chosen for comparison
WWF - WrestleMania VIII
WCW - Bash at the Beach 1994
- Ric Flair was the World Champion of both companies during the era's I have chosen
- There will be some overlap in roster names but there's still enough different names to warrant a comparison
- oth companies were around equal in popularity at the time
WWF - losing popularity thanks to the steroid and sexual harassment allegations
WCW - rising popularity thanks to the signing of Hulk Hogan
WWF - April of 1992
Roster included:
- Hulk Hogan (took a leave of absence after WrestleMania VIII)
- Ric Flair
- Macho Man Randy Savage
- The Undertaker
- Jake "The Snake" Roberts
- Roddy Piper (took a leave of absence after WrestleMania VIII)
- Bret Hart
- Shawn Michaels
- Ted DiBiase
- British Bulldog
- Sid Justice
- Ultimate Warrior (returned at WrestleMania VIII)
Top 3 Announcers: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Vince McMahon
WCW - July 1994
- Hulk Hogan
- Ric Flair
- Dustin Rhodes
- Steve Austin
- Cactus Jack
- Ricky Steamboat
- Big Van Vader
- Guardian Angel (Ray Traylor "The Big Bossman")
- Sting
- Triple H (wrestling still as Jean Paul Leveque)
- Arn Anderson
- Terry Funk
Top 3 Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Jesse "The Body" Ventura (on the brink of leaving during this time period due to heat with Hulk Hogan)
My Opinion
Both of these rosters were filled with Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers but if I had to choose, I would go with WCW in July of 1994. I have always been a diehard WWF fan but in this case, I have to side with the Atlanta-based promotion. The roster WCW had at this time was just a better mixture of young and old.
- They had depth in the main event level (Sting, Hogan, Flair, Vader) that could have offered great matches for the coming years.
- They also had depth in the upper mid card level (Austin, HHH, Regal, Steamboat, Jack) who were ready to step up into main event spots and become the stars they would eventually become in later years *cough* WWF *cough*
- Two great heel commentators that added entertainment value to the product
- A better on-screen authority figure (Nick Bockwinkle > Jack Tunney)
Those are my reasons for why I thought WCW had a better roster in 1994 than WWF in 1992 but I would like to know your opinion, the ones reading my blog! Feel free to start discussion on this blog and I'll try my best to quickly reply.
1994 was certainly a good year for WCW, but when you take Hogan/Flair out of the loop (since they were also in the WWF comparison year) and look at who remains, WCW had nothing to compare to the likes of Piper, Hitman, and Macho Man. Your biggest names, like HHH & Austin, were not the caliber of Superstars at that time that they later became in WWE. For example, while "The Game" could compare to the "Excellence of Execution", I would argue that Jean Paul Levesque was not a great roster bonus in 1994. Therefore, I would have to go with 1992 WWE. While this might get posted as "anonymous", Mr. Hicks will know my identity from the 3 WWF Superstars I chose to highlight ;-)
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