Defunct Memories: Xcitement Wrestling Federation
On March 23, 2001, the professional wrestling landscape was left with visuals of scorched earth.
The WWF had divided and conquered.
There was no more ECW.
There was no more WCW.
On this day, WWF officially announced the purchase of WCW in a press release:
The purchase of WCW creates a tag team partnership with the World Wrestling Federation brand that is expected to propel the sports entertainment genre to new heights.
In keeping with the company's strategic alliance with Viacom, new WCW programming is anticipated to air on TNN in the near future. The possibility of cross-brand storylines and intrigue, however, may start as early as Monday night during WWF Raw Is War on TNN and the final performance of WCW Monday Nitro Live on Turner Network Television (TNT).
The binding agreement provides World Wrestling Federation Entertainment with the global rights to the WCW brand, tape library, and other intellectual property rights.
"This acquisition is the perfect creative and business catalyst for our company," said Linda McMahon, Chief Executive Officer of World Wrestling Federation Entertainment. "This is a dream combination for fans of sports entertainment. The incendiary mix of World Wrestling Federation and WCW personalities potentially creates intriguing storylines that will attract a larger fan base to the benefit of our advertisers and business partners, and propel sports entertainment to new heights."
"The acquisition of the WCW brand is a strategic move for us," said Stuart Snyder, President and Chief Operating Officer for World Wrestling Federation Entertainment. "We are assuming a brand with global distribution and recognition. We are adding thousands of hours to our tape library that can be repurposed for home videos, television, Internet streaming, and broadband applications. The WCW opens new opportunities for growth in our Pay Per View, live events, and consumer products divisions, as well as the opportunity to develop new television programming using new stars. We also will create additional advertising and sponsorship opportunities. In short, it is a perfect fit."
The news of WWF acquiring WCW sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling industry and created much uncertainty. Without any viable alternatives with national exposure, the talent and fans were left with only one primary option. What promotion could fill the void, and who could fund it?
The XWF and Kevin Harrington
According to Brian Nobbs of the Nasty Boys, he developed the initial concept of a family-friendly wrestling promotion that would employ his friends and those displaced by the major acquisition.
Brian would expand on how the concept came together during an appearance on David Penzer’s Sitting Ringside podcast, as transcribed by WrestleZone:
Well, there was no real place to wrestle anymore. A lot of the guys were actually personal friends of mine. I came up with a Brainiac idea to get everyone in the wrestling business who got along to create a family atmosphere, and go out there and do what we knew how to do best; which is professional wrestling. We’d get all the top talent that Vince let go to start our own league.”
We started out with me (Brian Knobbs) Greg the “Hammer” Valentine, we even had the “Macho Man” involved at the start! There was a guy by the name of Kevin Harrington who was a very intelligent man who had connections. Kevin Harrington ended up hooking us up with Walter Frank; who was very interested in investing in a wrestling company. We then created the name XWF.
We had guys like Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Rowdy Piper, The Road Warriors, Mr. Perfect! I mean you name it, they were there! It was a fantastic atmosphere!
I’ve never done this in my life, I knew the wrestling business, so I figured, lets at least have a place where people can turn the channel if they don’t want to watch the WWF. That was the main premise of getting it done.
Macho Man didn’t like the way the plan was going; so he ended up coming up to me and said “Knobbs, I don’t think this for me”.
I thanked him, wished him the best, and told him “whatever you think, but thank you for your input”. Macho Man said, “I’m just going down a different road, and I (Brian Knobbs) said no problem!” I (Brian Knobbs) said, “If we can get this thing going maybe you can come back again”!
Entrepreneur Kevin Harrington (Net Worth: $450 million) is credited as the creator of the infomercial and a pioneer of As Seen On TV. His work behind the scenes of business ventures has produced over $5 billion in global sales while launching over 500 products. His financial involvement, along with other backers, turned an initial concept into an actual wrestling promotion full of a roster featuring the stars of yesterday and today, along with the superstars of tomorrow. Mind you, the talent was only signed for the initial tapings.
XWF (Xcitement Wrestling Federation)
Slogan: "No more prima donnas, no more politics... In your face!".
“The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart assumed the role of Head of Talent and quickly put together a full roster including:
Wrestlers: Hulk Hogan, Curt Hennig, Konnan, Buff Bagwell, Jim Duggan, Road Warrior Hawk and Animal, Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles, Juventud Guerrera, Kid Cash, Vampiro, Marty Jannetty, Greg Valentine, The Nasty Boys and Psicosis among many others.
Commentators: Jerry Lawler and Tony Schiavone
Interviewer: Mean Gene Okerlund
XWF CEO (on camera only): Rena Mero
XWF Commissioner: Roddy Piper
Taping a Product to Sell
The first XWF taping session took place on November 13, 2001, at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. This was the same soundstage used for WCW Worldwide Wrestling tapings and later the home of TNA Wrestling.
Hulk Hogan defeated Curt Hennig in his only match with Bobby Heenan as his manager.
The second taping session took place the next day.
The XWF reportedly assembled over 10 hours of footage, intending to pitch it to networks for formal national television distribution.
During this timeframe, Kevin Harrington quickly realized that his investment would not yield a return, so he pulled out.
The XWF ran three house shows from December 28 to 30 in Hammond, Indiana; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Green Bay, Wisconsin. Additional house shows were scheduled for early 2002, but they were canceled due to low ticket sales.
Following this, there were rumblings that the XWF was now realigning its focus on the European market, but these never came to fruition.
By the time Jimmy Hart was prepared to approach networks to discuss potential partnerships, Vince McMahon had already acquired most of the key talent, such as Hulk Hogan, Jerry Lawler, Curt Hennig, Roddy Piper, and Rena Mero. This immediately disadvantaged the XWF, as the footage was outdated, and many marquee names were already gone.
As expected, networks didn’t have much interest in purchasing the rights to the XWF.
The only television deal the XWF managed to secure was in Puerto Rico, where they even ran a failed invasion angle of the World Wrestling Council promotion. Another invasion angle was run with Memphis Wrestling but gained no momentum.
Without a national television deal, the XWF had a depleted roster featuring outdated episodes that couldn’t be sold.
Jimmy Hart purchased the rights to the footage in 2004.
In Your Face: The Lost Episodes of the XWF
In 2005, XWF released a three-disc DVD series called In Your Face: The Lost Episodes of the XWF, hosted by Jimmy Hart and Brian Knobbs. The series featured matches from the original tapings at Universal Studios in 2001.
When WWE released the Hulk Hogan Anthology DVD in 2006, it licensed Hulk’s match against Curt Hennig from XWF, likely as a favour to Jimmy Hart.
A mutual friend “gifted” me the XWF DVD series in 2007, but I’m convinced he was anxious to get rid of it from his collection. In full disclosure, I’ve only ever watched Disc One and some bonus features, which was enough to formulate an opinion.
In re-watching Disc One of the series, here are some of the initial thoughts I jotted down:
I’ll never get tired of hearing the voice of Mean Gene, as he added some much-needed legitimacy to the XWF. The same could be said about Tony Schiavone and Jerry Lawler, who also have recognizable voices.
Sadly, the inconsistent graphics and obnoxious branding screamed amateur. The production value was reputable but considerably lower than WWF and WCW's.
The matches were short and straightforward, featuring some very underwhelming finishes. Even the Cruiserweight match involving some incredible talent was oddly disappointing. No sensible booker was leading at the helm.
Like the matches, the backstage vignettes were oddly short and ineffective in properly introducing new talent.
For a pilot episode, this was such a forgettable first impression.
Matches
Buff Bagwell vs Big Vito
Hail vs Marty Jannetty
Ian Harrison vs Horace Hogan
XWF Cruiserweight Championship Battle Royal
The Nasty Boys vs The Shane Twins (Road Warriors appearance)
Vampiro vs Curt Hennig (managed by Bobby Heenan)
You can watch XWF Episode 1 in its entirety on YouTube.
While I’m certainly an advocate for aiming high and entering an endeavour with admirable ambitions, you must step outside the box, take risks, and avoid becoming an imitation. The XWF was simply WCW Saturday Night just before being injected with a dose of attitude that propelled it to compete with the WWF.
The biggest mistake the XWF ever made was not learning from the past and adequately preparing for the future. A good intention with a lousy approach often leads to a poor result, which, in a nutshell, was the XWF.
