A common mistake about WCW is that no one was bothering to watch by its last few years. The truth is that WCW could still have decent attendance numbers for shows, it just seemed lower because of how bad things were. In fact, it’s remarkable that some of WCW’s shows in the early-1990s could have worse attendance numbers than in the Vince Russo years. It often depended on where a show was as WCW had a stronger fanbase in the Southern United States than in the North or on the West Coast.
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Still, it’s appalling how WCW could barely get enough people for some major PPV events. While several were in their last years, even prime WCW could have some abysmal attendance numbers. These WCW PPVs with shockingly low attendance numbers show just how rough the company was even in the better years.
10 WrestleWar 1989: 5,200
As amazing as it sounds, a show featuring one of the greatest WCW matches ever barely got over five-thousand people attending the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. There was a good undercard which included Michael Hayes winning the United States Championship and some good tag team matches.
What’s best remembered is Ric Flair regaining the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ricky Steamboat in the final chapter of their classic trilogy. That was followed by Terry Funk attacking Flair to set up a new feud. Yet the show had a lower attendance than events WCW would have a decade later to show low crows were always an issue for them.
9 Souled Out 1997: 5,120
The first WCW Souled Out was an attempt to try and make the nWo its own separate show. The backlash against that curtailed those plans. Except for the very good Ladder match between Eddie Guerrero and Syxx, the nWo won pretty much everything while burying WCW in the commentary.
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The 5,120 fans at (of all places) the Five Season Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, didn’t seem to understand what they were watching as the first Souled Out should have been a warning sign that the nWo dominance wasn’t what WCW fans wanted.
8 Greed: 5,030
Perhaps it’s fitting that WCW’s final PPV had awful attendance. It actually wasn’t a bad show as WCW was showing signs of life with younger talent. That included some great Cruiserweight action (including the inaugural Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship) and Booker T winning the United States Championship from Rick Steiner.
Sure, Dusty and Dustin Rhodes vs. Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett was rough, but the rest of the show still held up, even the main event between Scott Steiner and Diamond Dallas Page. No one in the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum could have dreamed this was the last time WCW would be on PPV on its own, or that those in attendance were witnessing sad history.
7 Uncensored 2000: 5,000
Uncensored had a reputation as one of WCW’s worst shows, and the last edition was no different. Despite Miami being a good spot for WCW, only five-thousand showed up for the card.
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Those who arrived were treated to an awful show with too many gimmick battles like Dustin Rhodes and Terry Funk in a Bullrope match and only one match going more than ten minutes. That was the main event as Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair had a horrible Yapapi Strap match. Once more, Uncensored lived up to its reputation as one of WCW’s worst PPVs that barely anyone cared about.
6 Hog Wild 1996: 5,000
Hog/Road Wild was always tricky to figure attendance as it took place at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, so it was hard to tell who were real fans and who were just bikers that had wandered over. For the inaugural edition in 1996, it was estimated the crowd was about five-thousand, with larger ones to follow.
This show had good bouts like Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko and the main event of Hollywood Hogan regaining the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. It was a good show, perhaps wasted on this low crowd.
5 SuperBrawl II: 5,000
In early-1992 WCW had something good going, as then-boss Kip Frye would offer a cash bonus to whoever had the best match on a big show. That instantly improved the work rate and SuperBrawl II was a good example. It had the classic opening match between Brian Pillman and Jushin Liger, and everyone was busting their tails for the cash.
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The main event of Sting beating Lex Luger for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a letdown with Luger not selling, but otherwise, it was a good show. Sadly, holding it in Milwaukee (never a strong city for WCW) contributed to barely five-thousand people attending one of their better shows of the time.
4 Beach Blast 1992: 5,000
The summer of 1992 had WCW showing some fantastic talent, but Bill Watts’ booking style had problems. Yet this show in Mobile, Alabama, was pretty good. The highlight was Ricky Steamboat and Rick Rude having their classic Iron Man match.
Also, Sting faced Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere battle, which Mick Foley called his favorite WCW match. Sadly, the main event ended in a draw when The Steiner Brothers faced Terry Gordy and Steve Williams. WCW’s rough presentation at the time contributed to this show having a low attendance despite a good card.
3 SuperBrawl Revenge: 4,395
Sadly, the final SuperBrawl event was one of the worst for the long-running PPV. Emanating from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, the show featured WCW during a pretty messy period. Ernest Miller and Lance Storm fought over the WCW Commissioner's officer, Brian Adams faced Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell in a handicap match, and Diamond Dallas Page had two matches on the same show.
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The main event had Scott Steiner beating Kevin Nash in a two-out-of-three falls "loser leaves WCW" match, so Nash had to leave the company. It was sad to see the penultimate PPV for WCW happening in front of this bad crowd.
2 Slamboree 1994: 4,000
Slamboree was home to some meetings of older wrestlers amid the younger ones. That’s probably why this event, from the Philadelphia Civic Center, could only muster four-thousand people. It wasn’t a bad show, with Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham and Sting vs. Vader both being good matches.
There were poor matches from Terry Funk vs. Tully Blanchard to Dustin Rhodes vs. Bunkhouse Buck. But the show was one of the better ones WCW was putting on at the time, so perhaps it was just bad marketing in the Philadelphia area that resulted in this meager attendance.
1 Mayhem 2000: 3,800
The dubious honor of the lowest-attended WCW PPV goes to Mayhem 2000. Barely 3,800 people filled the U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, showing the tough times WCW was in during its last months.
The card was packed with crazy gimmick bouts, including hardcore battles, Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page winning the WCW Tag Team Championship, and Goldberg vs. Lex Luger in a match where Goldberg would have to leave WCW if he lost. The main event had Scott Steiner defeating Booker T in a Straightjacket Caged Heat match. All that mayhem and barely anyone watched.
