Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Sometimes you find a diamond in the rough…for WCW in 1999…they were finding less and less diamonds and more coal. Enter Executive Vice President Eric Bischoff, who had a fool proof plan to reignite WCW and once again make it the talk of the entertainment world. His plan was simple, sign one of the hottest acts in the rap industry at the time…Master P.
The press conference announcing the signing of Master P is worth watching just to hear Mean Gene Okerlund ramble off some of his songs. The entire thought process from Bischoff and the WCW hierarchy, was that Master P’s name recognition would bring in new fans and also get the mainstream media talking about WCW. Master P was reportedly paid six figures per appearance. It all sounded great on paper…at least to Bischoff…the problem was the WCW fan base.
It wasn’t necessarily that WCW fans didn’t like rap music, it was more of who the heck is Master P??? Instead of endearing himself to fans, he seemingly bullied a WCW wrestler in Curt Hennig after Hennig offered him a gift. It portrayed Master P as a bully and a heel rather a hero. Secondly, the faction that he formed…The No Limit Soldiers. Aside from Konnan and Rey Mysterio Jr, it consisted of rookies, unknowns and repacked wrestlers who never caught on with fans…including…Chase Tatum, 4X4, Swoll and Brad “BA” Armstrong.
The third part of this failed experiment came when WCW creative formed a heel group to feud with the No NameLimit Soldiers…The West Texas Outlaws or as they would eventually be known as The West Texas Rednecks. They consisted of the more familiar Curt Hennig, Barry and Kendall Windham and Bobby Duncum Jr. (Later they added Virgil/Vincent/Shane) Curly Bill. The West Texas faction started an anti-rap campaign to rid WCW of Master P and the No Limit Soldiers by performing a song called “Rap is Crap.” With a fan base largely entrenched in the south and Master P’s debut already a flop….The West Texas Rednecks became a hit!
It certainly wasn’t the worst thing in the world that Curt Hennig’s faction got over with the majority of fans. It did anger Master P who decided to distance himself from the storyline. That actually helped WCW save some money…but killed the rest of the No Limit group. Master P went on to blame race as a cause for his less than stellar reception on Nitro. He cited that there weren’t enough of his people in attendance. Regardless, of the reasoning…Master P was a failure in WCW and I Hate Rap became WCW’s unofficial anthem.
Eric horseman 5
That was a great bit, I hate rap. Rap is crap! Too bad the west tx rednecks didn’t get more.
david fullam
Rap and Wrestling. A match made in hell.