Eric Bischoff Looks Back On Original WCW New Year's Evil Event Concept
Throughout wrestling's history, it's not uncommon for top brass to throw many things at the wall to see what sticks. Some gimmicks were so bad they should've never seen the light of day, while others never even got off the ground.
During a recent episode of "83 Weeks," Bischoff reflected on WCW's relationship with KISS, and shared an idea for a pay-per-view that would've utilized the rock band in a significant manner.
"We were going to do a pay-per-view called New Year's Evil," Bischoff remembered. "We were going to be a part of the Fiesta Bowl weekend and have access to the field, so that the field would be split on the 50-yard line. Down on this endzone, you got a WCW ring, on this endzone, you got a KISS stage. And we were gonna open up with KISS music and go right into our first match. And we were gonna go back and forth all night long."
Bischoff said he had a unique idea for how that proposed pay-per-view would come to a climax, although he admitted in retrospect it would've been difficult to execute.
"It would end on a three count at the stroke of midnight, East Coast time," Bischoff said. "Now, whether we would've actually been able to pull that off, timing-wise, eh, it might've gotten a little too tricky... [but] it would've been presented in such a way as not only the last pay-per-view of the old millennium, but 'Will there even BE a new millennium?!' I mean all kinds of stupid s*** we were having fun with."
KISS did perform on "Nitro" in August of that year to help unveil a new KISS-themed wrestler and 1999's last "Nitro" was in fact promoted as "New Year's Evil," but it did not occur on New Year's Eve.