In 1995, WCW made the bold decision to start their own prime-time wrestling program on Monday nights, WCW Monday Nitro. This meant airing directly against WWE's flagship program, Monday Night Raw. At first, both shows traded rating victories back and forth. In 1996 though, WCW began taking control.

RELATED: How WWE Raw & WCW Nitro Were The Same (& How They're Different)

After introducing the villainous nWo stable, led by a heel Hollywood Hogan, WCW took off. The nWo's success would propel WCW into pro wrestling's top spot by year's end. However, The nWo wasn't the only good thing WCW had going for them in 1996. That year, there were a handful of WCW stars who impressed, while a few others were disappointing to watch.

10 Best: Ric Flair

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During the 80s, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair was considered the top of the food chain in WCW's predecessors, Jim Crockett Promotions. Flair was the perennial World Heavyweight Champion and traveled from continent to continent defending his crown. In the early 90s, Flair would make a pit stop in WWE but would eventually make his way back to WCW in 1993.

By 1996, despite still being insanely over with the audience, Flair was no longer "The Man" in WCW. Still, Flair competed in some of 1996's biggest matches. Furthermore, he was one of the top performers spearheading WCW's fight against The nWo.

9 Worst: Big Bubba Rogers

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In the late 80s, Big Bubba Rogers left Jim Crockett Promotions and jumped to WWE. The move would prove to be a brilliant decision. In WWE, Rogers was transformed into "Big Boss Man." The character was an imposing former correctional officer who wielded a nightstick and promised to bring "hard times" to anyone who crossed him.

Unfortunately for Rogers, when he returned to WCW in the mid-90s, he wouldn't be able to carry the Boss Man character with him. This resulted in him reverting to his previous gimmick, which was nowhere near as good. By 1996, Rogers was just another face in the crowd in WCW.

8 Best: Kevin Nash

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When Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage jumped from WWE to WCW in the mid-90s, WWE put out the narrative that they left because they were old and could no longer hang with the rest of the roster. While that was a lie, WWE supporters bought into the narrative and continued to dismiss WCW.

In 1996, when younger WWE megastars jumped to WCW, there was no way for WWE to put a positive spin on it. Perhaps WCW's biggest addition in 1996 was former WWE Champion, Kevin Nash. Nash would go on to be a founding father of The nWo and would use 1996 as a nice foundation for what would eventually be a fruitful WCW career.

7 Worst: Vincent

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In 1987, WWE debuted one of their best heel characters ever, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. To help get DiBiase even more over as a heel, WWE decided to give him a manservant in the form of Virgil. Eventually, Virgil would gain fan support and break away from DiBiase. In 1996, both DiBiase and Virgil would jump to WCW.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Forget About Virgil in WCW

In WCW, DiBiase would reintroduce Virgil as "Vincent." They'd both join The nWo and use the faction to stay relevant. In reality, though, Vincent was one of the first chinks in The nWo's armor. The moment he was allowed to join, the group went from all top stars to some top stars and Vincent.

6 Best: Roddy Piper

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In 1996, WWE was doing their best to compete with WCW and the red-hot nWo. At that year's WrestleMania, WWE reached out to one of the company's past megastars to work the show and help them out of a jam. The show was originally supposed to feature a Street Fight between Goldust and Razor Ramon.

When Ramon gave word of his plans to leave WWE, he was replaced by Piper in that spot.

Oddly enough, by the end of 1996, Piper too would end up in WCW. He'd make a surprise appearance at Halloween Havoc 1996 and would end the year main eventing Starrcade 1996 against Hollywood Hogan. He's one of only a handful of performers to have main evented a WrestleMania and Starrcade in his career.

5 Worst: John Tenta

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In late 1989, former sumo wrestling standout, John Tenta joined WWE and would eventually be dubbed "Earthquake." While still in his 20s, Tenta looked much older and was physically imposing enough to present a real threat to WWE's top babyfaces. Earthquake would even go on to have a marquee feud with Hulk Hogan in 1990.

By 1996, Tenta had moved on from WWE to WCW. Despite still being physically imposing, Tenta no longer had the gimmick that made him famous in WWE. Instead, he'd use a rip-off gimmick as "Avalanche," until he and WCW were legally forced to stop. After that, he'd become "The Shark." He'd eventually drop all the gimmicks and be John Tenta but by that point, fans had stopped caring.

4 Best: Scott Hall

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For years, many pro wrestling experts have argued the fact that some performers don't "need" to be World Champions. They argue that some performers are so unique and special that being World Champion wouldn't elevate them much. While most fans disagree with that silly notion, there's a kernel of truth behind that theory.

A performer doesn't need to be a World Champion to leave their mark on the business. In 1996, Scott Hall was a great example of that. That year, Hall left WWE for WCW and kicked off a revolution. Without Hall jumping to WCW, there's no Outsiders, no nWo, no Hollywood Hogan, and probably no Monday Night War.

3 Worst: Jim Duggan

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In the late 80s, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan was gaining a lot of momentum as a top star in Mid-South Wrestling. Eventually, Duggan would make his way up north to WWE. At first, Duggan's future with the promotion seemed extremely bright. His patriotic gimmick got over huge with fans. Unfortunately, an untimely arrest and violation of kayfabe derailed his push.

RELATED: 10 Backstage Stories About Jim Duggan Fans Should Know

By the time Duggan went to WCW in the mid-90s, he was a shell of his former self. Still, the promotion trotted him out there week after week because he still had name recognition. By 1996 though, Duggan was in the middle of a steep decline.

2 Best: Hollywood Hogan

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Some pro-wrestlers spend their careers hoping to catch one big break. Others, get a brief time in the spotlight. Then, there are performers like Hulk Hogan who manage to reach the top and stay there their entire careers. During the 80s and early 90s, Hulk Hogan was the ultimate pro wrestling babyface.

At Bash At The Beach in 1996, Hogan shocked the wrestling world and strapped a rocket to WCW when he turned heel and formed The nWo. The heel turn reinvigorated Hogan's career and set him up as arguably the best heel of the decade. It's hard to imagine any other performer being able to execute that role to perfection the way Hogan did.

1 Worst: The Booty Man

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Pro wrestling fans can be quite cruel at times when they don't care for a particular performer. One specific performer that has been a target of the internet wrestling community for years is Brutus Beefcake. As a close confidant of Hulk Hogan for years, Beefcake often found himself in enviable and undeserving positions.

In 1994, Beefcake even main evented Starrcade against Hogan. By 1996, Beefcake had switched names and now went by "The Bootyman." His gimmick was a guy who was obsessed with his own booty. Luckily, Beefcake, or whatever he was going by at the time, was gone from WCW by the end of 1996.