And that was it. After three entire months and probably over an hour of Raw combined dedicated to the segments it was finally over. It was, in all likelihood the best built match on the entire show – Shawn vs Bret was a mix of good pre-taped packages talking of respect and conditioning and weak in-ring confrontations. The WWF had dedicated so much time to these segments, yet was it all worth it?
It's honestly hard to gauge. Obviously their efforts ultimately made no difference as the TBS/Time-Warner merger happened. Did it create a stronger brand loyalty with fans in the WWF? Ratings seem to say otherwise. Did it remind fans that they could still Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage right now on another channel? Yes. Did it prophesise an industry changing set of transfers when Billionaire Ted said he doesn't develop talent, he buys it? Yes.
If you were the kind of person that read the newsletters and watched WCW also, the jibes were often quite funny (the Geriatric Control Center is on-point), but you got to the end of it and wondered whether it was all worth it. Does you average fan even know the back story surrounding it? Do they even care?
The segments, particularly the first one or two in the boardroom, are typically replayed to show what the WWF was like in the run up to WCW Monday Nitro taking hold later in 1996. I'm not sure whether it's particularly a good reflection of anything – their TV wasn't necessary any better or worse than it had been in the year past. The segments only took up a few minutes each week – although crucially frequented the final slot quite a bit. The shots about steroids were a bit strange, but Vince McMahon's mentality was to try and take Turner and WCW down whatever the cost. Well that worked, didn't it?