"I don't believe any of that" – JBL dismisses Vince McMahon WWE RAW rumor
Vince McMahon purchased WWE's rivals WCW in 2001 to finally end the lengthy rivalry between the two promotions. John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) recently gave his take on rumors about McMahon's original idea for WCW's flagship show.
In 1995, Nitro began airing head-to-head against WWE RAW every Monday night. Between 1996 and 1998, the WCW show became so popular that it drew more viewers than McMahon's RAW program for 83 consecutive weeks.
JBL wrestled for WWE at the height of the ratings battle, also known as the Monday Night Wars. On the Something to Wrestle podcast, he said McMahon's alleged plan to keep Nitro on Mondays and move RAW to Thursdays was unrealistic.
"I always knew Vince would change his mind," JBL said. "I would have bet everything I had Vince would have changed his mind. I'm not sure if Vince did anything more than give that a little bit of lip service. I don't believe any of that. I believe Vince said it, and I heard him talk about it." [2:03:15 – 2:03:32]
Vince McMahon briefly experimented with the Nitro idea by turning Booker T vs. Buff Bagwell into a WCW-themed match on the July 2, 2001, episode of RAW. The bout received heavy criticism and is viewed by many as one of the worst in WWE history.
JBL on Vince McMahon's WCW vs. WWE booking
After buying WCW, Vince McMahon also obtained several wrestlers' contracts. The former WWE Chairman recruited prominent names like Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page (DDP). However, he was initially unable to bring in top stars Bret Hart, Goldberg, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall.
JBL believes WCW's scripted invasion of WWE in the second half of 2001 failed due to the lack of star power:
"We had Booker and we had Dallas [DDP]. We had a few of the guys that were great hands. Sean O'Haire, [Chuck] Palumbo, those guys were terrific workers, but we didn't get the nWo. We didn't get Bret. We didn't get any of those guys, so I just don't think it would ever work. And if you don't get those guys, then they're not gonna go up against our top guys either." [2:04:08 – 2:04:29]
In the same episode, JBL said a 1998 WWE tag team was destined to fail immediately after being repackaged.
Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
