which was the dumber WCW storyline

Really, everything WCW did from Starrcade 1997 to the moment it went out of business was dumber than what came before it. So at any given moment of WCW beyond that point, you were effectively watching what was, in real time, the dumbest thing ever.

I'm not even through all of 1998 on my network rewatch, and I already just don't give a shit about anything going on in the promotion now that Warrior's ridiculous run has concluded. I mean, you've got Bret Hart in there being criminally wasted, Scott Hall just flat-out fucking drunk on the air, Hogan and Bischoff cutting interminable twenty-plus minute promos... It's -- oof. And I've miles to go before it's over!

Anyway, my answer is heel Sting if memory serves correctly. Because he's at that point really the only legacy guy left besides Flair (and I guess you could sort of argue Luger is technically an old NWA guy) and has by far he most equity in that role. Goldberg was a different type of character.

Yes. As I said: Starrcade 1997 THROUGH the sale of the company!

All of it, just utterly idiotic.

I agree about that timeline.  Though I will say they did some questionable things in the early 90's but that's not nearly as bad as the timeline you mentioned  

Yeah true.  There was still enough solid talent to where it was worth watching.  Unless you went to one of those house shows and were treated to about 300 headlocks and armbars.  Not that there's anything wrong with grabbing a hold, but man they really tanked it sometimes on some of those handheld shows I watched  lol.  

But I digress.  I just thought it was a really really bad move when they started going the family entertainment route in the early 90's when the wwf was already doing that.  That turned off millions of wrestling fans when both major companies did it.  That's really what gave rise to ECW at the time.  People wanted wrestling they could take more seriously.   I think that's what led to that big wrestling recession also at the time.  Too much family entertainment.  Even the indies were doing it.  

That's an interesting point about the attitude era fans tuning out.  There were also a ton of people that became wrestling fans in that period because they turn on the tv and see the Rock and Austin and all that.  But those fans all left just as fast as they came once that 2001 period came along.  But even when it came to a lot of the diehard fans, they just burned everybody out with all that hotshotting and 2 companies trying to outdo each other for ratings.  You can't keep topping what you did if you're having the best talent in the world having main event matches on tv every week.  

In my view, wrestling was built on the less is more concept.  That concept went out the window in that period and I think it had negative longterm affects to the business as a whole.  It's great at the time to see all that great wrestling on tv every week.  But there's a reason why that wasn't done in years past.  They knew it would kill their business.  But at the same time they didn't have to deal with having to get quarter hour ratings and hourly ratings.  The money came from the house shows.