Executives at USA learned that he was working as an independent wrestler on the weekends, and set up a meeting with him and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE).

[4] Ferrara appeared on an episode of Sunday Night Heat on March 14, 1999 when Tiger Ali Singh called out a fan.

Matches were shorter in length, speaking segments both inside and outside the ring were more prominent, and a far greater emphasis was made on pushing midcard wrestlers to the point that everyone on the card had a gimmick and/or storyline.

Successful products of their initial tenure at WCW included Screamin' Norman Smiley, 3 Count, the re-invention of The Outsiders, The Mamalukes, 'Psycho' David Flair, The Revolution, The Filthy Animals, and Chris Benoit's main event push, among others.

There were some storylines which did not necessarily go over with fans the way they wished including Buzzkill, The Maestro, Buff Bagwell, and Madusa winning the Cruiserweight title.

Their initial stint was epitomized by the reintroduction of the nWo after months of storylines which ultimately saw Bret Hart win the world title at the expense of his nemesis Goldberg.

Russo's and Ferrara's "Crash TV" writing style, which enjoyed immense popularity among the WWF's predominately Northern and Western audiences from urban areas, was openly resented by rural, traditional Southern wrestling fans who made up the majority of WCW's fanbase.

Now known as The Radicalz, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn all walked out of WCW as Sullivan stated he had no plans to use them on subsequent programming.

Within two months the booking committee was disbanded and in a desperate attempt to salvage their ailing product, WCW hired back Russo and Eric Bischoff to help out.

From June to August 2002, Ferrara did color commentary on the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling weekly pay-per-views alongside Mike Tenay and Don West when the company started.

[1] Lazz then hit his finisher, the Britney Spear, and Behrens entered the ring and physically slammed the unconscious hand of Rivers.

In July 2013, Ferrara obtained his Masters of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast program.