David Arquette in World Championship Wrestling
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Actor David Arquette worked with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), an American professional wrestling promotion, for a series of appearances in 2000. His involvement was conceived as a promotional crossover to advertise the film Ready to Rumble, as both WCW and Warner Bros., who were distributing the film, were subsidiaries of the same parent company, Time Warner. WCW writer Vince Russo believed that the actor, then enjoying the success of Scream 3 and considered a mainstream star, would bring attention to WCW's programming during its ongoing television ratings war with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE).
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Arquette, a lifelong wrestling fan, was reticent about the extent of the storyline with which he would be involved, which saw him scripted to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, the company's most prestigious championship, and defend it in a pay-per-view main event. Reaction to the storyline was negative, with critics subsequently deriding it as one of professional wrestling's worst moments. Additionally, neither Ready to Rumble nor WCW's viewing figures benefited from the crossover; WCW would eventually fold less than a year after the storyline concluded. In later years, Arquette returned to professional wrestling in search of redemption, a journey chronicled in the documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette (2020).
David Arquette's relationship with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) began with the film Ready to Rumble (2000), a sports comedy film in which Arquette acted alongside several WCW performers, including top stars Randy Savage and Bill Goldberg. In order to promote the film, Arquette was brought into the company as an on-screen performer, with the aim of portraying him as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion.[1][2] Ready to Rumble was distributed by the Warner Bros. studio, a subsidiary of Time Warner, the same parent company as WCW.[3]
Ready to Rumble required Arquette to learn the basics of professional wrestling, and he was taught by WCW performers Chris Kanyon, who worked as a stunt coordinator on the film, and Diamond Dallas Page; his stunt double, Shane Helms, was another WCW wrestler.[3] Arquette, a lifelong wrestling fan, was hesitant towards the idea and did not wish to be given the championship. He later said that the film would not have been promoted on WCW programming if he did not agree to it.[4] As well as promoting the film, the move was also seen as a means to boost the ratings for the promotion's main television program, WCW Monday Nitro, which at that time was competing for viewership with the World Wrestling Federation's Raw is War in a prolonged television ratings war. Arquette was at the height of his success following the release of the film Scream 3 (2000), and WCW script-writer Vince Russo believed the crossover had the potential to bring in new viewers.[3]
Storyline
"He did exactly what a Hollywood actor is supposed to do [...] David was a little timid, a little apprehensive, but never missed a cue".
Arquette made his first appearance for WCW on the April 12, 2000, episode of WCW Thunder, where he was seen sitting in the front row of the audience. His involvement with Ready to Rumble was mentioned on-air and he was described as being close friends with Page. During the broadcast, Arquette climbed over the guardrail at ringside and participated in a brawl between Page and rival wrestler Jeff Jarrett, taking several bumps during the segment.[5]
Arquette's championship win came on the April 26 broadcast of Thunder. He and then-champion Page competed in a tag-team match against Jarrett and Eric Bischoff, with the stipulation that the competitor scoring the winning pinfall would win the championship. Bischoff, like Arquette, was not a trained wrestler, but rather a WCW executive who had previously been the company's president. By pinning Bischoff, Arquette emerged as champion.[3] After the broadcast, Arquette was encouraged by another former champion, Ric Flair, to wear the championship belt to the bar the other wrestlers visited after the show, and buy drinks for his colleagues for the night.[6] Arquette credits Flair with calming tensions backstage amidst fellow wrestlers unhappy with the championship win, vouching for Arquette as "one of us".[3]
Backstage vignettes were filmed on the set of 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) with Arquette wearing the championship belt. Arquette's wife, actress Courteney Cox, was seen pleading with him not to compete at the risk of hurting himself; co-star Kurt Russell was also featured.[2][7] On-air commentators referred to Arquette as a "paper tiger who hides behind his wife" during a championship defense against former mixed martial artist Tank Abbott.[2] As Arquette was not expected to remain with WCW for long—his time as champion ultimately spanned four matches broadcast over two weeks[3]—the story culminated at the May 7 pay-per-view show Slamboree, in a three-man match involving Arquette, Page and Jarrett, which saw Arquette lose the championship to Jarrett.[6] This match took place in a three-tiered metal cage originally seen in Ready to Rumble.[8]
