When one looks at the history of WCW, the question is not how this company went under but how they managed to last as long as they did. The company underwent slews of issues, bad management, horrible egos abounding, terrible booking and there have literally been entire books written about all the stupid stuff they did. That is a shame as it overwhelms the actually great stuff they had with some top-notch workers, the cruiserweights stealing shows and how the Monday Night War took it to WWE to force Vince McMahon to change. Indeed, Vince has admitted he felt the most alive fighting WCW and Bischoff and misses the challenge.

Over the years, WCW had given wrestling some of the absolutely stupidest things ever seen and their history of incompetence is well chronicled. But what’s really amazing is to see the opportunities they passed on. It’s not just angles or performers not given the proper site or executed badly (see how they blew the seemingly surefire Hogan/Sting match). There were several times in their history when WCW was presented with various ideas that could have been terrific but just passed on them. Here are 15 times WCW said no to things that could have been fantastic and marvel once more at how a billion dollar company could make so many mistakes.

15 15. Let DX In The Building

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Many feel WWE has overblown the DX “invasion” of Nitro, going so far as to claim that this was the “kick-off” of the War when it had been going for some time. But it was a big deal as DX decided to go to the Scope when “Nitro” was filming and mess around with them. It was famous with a “firing shot” and fans cheering it on. Triple H and others openly admit that they were fully prepared for some of the WCW guys to come after them for it, if only to run them off.

In fact, Hall and Nash were totally prepared to head out of the arena and confront DX on camera, get in some verbal taunts on “you guys coming to the real show” and how it would make WCW look defiant.

But Bischoff said no, worried about letting WCW guys share the camera with WWE. Too bad as it might have made this moment even more memorable.

14 14. Scott Hall in The Dangerous Alliance

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In 1992, WCW was actually putting together something truly great. The Dangerous Alliance was a heel group created by Paul E. Dangerously that really showed some great stuff. Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Eaton and Rick Rude were over huge as bad-ass heels who could trash anyone in their path en route to victory. They dominated in titles with Austin as TV champ, Rude as US champ and Anderson and Eaton being tag champs. They were a terrific group as proven by one of the best War Games battles ever. But another guy could have joined that would have been major.

Scott Hall had been in WCW for a while and the Diamond Studd had promise with an arrogant attitude and a great finisher. He just needed more polish and hanging around the Alliance would have given him a terrific rub. Hall clearly had stardom in him, he just needed the right chance to get it out. But WCW decided there were enough guys in the Alliance as it was so passed on him. Hall thus signed with WWE to become Razor Ramon and a mega-star in his own right long after the Alliance had faded.

13 13. A Real Bret vs Sting Feud

Throughout the 1990s, this was often mentioned on lists of “dream matches.” Sting, the standard bearer of WCW, the man who helped them through the ‘90s and always loyal to the company.

Bret Hart, the banner hero of WWE, multiple champion and coming off the infamous Screwjob. They were top-notched, skilled and even shared the same finisher.

It just made utter and perfect sense to have them in a feud. And yet it also made sense for WCW to not do it right.

Bret himself had been lost in 1998, nothing really going for him despite the big entrance after Montreal. He was US champion and facing Sting at Halloween Havoc but the “build” was almost non-existent. This clearly affected both men as they would admit being frustrated that what should have been a big program was just thrown together at the last minute.

That probably explains why this “dream” encounter was a total mess with both guys looking bored and a lackluster finish of Bret getting the Sharpshooter on a knocked-out Sting. After that, they drifted apart again and leave it to WCW to say no to having two huge stars have the program fans wanted.

12 12. Benoit As World Champion

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Obviously, talking about Chris Benoit today is difficult as it’s harder looking back at his career knowing how it would all end. But in WCW, Benoit was coming into his own as a stellar athlete, a fantastic worker and a guy many felt could have been a main eventer. But time and again, he kept hitting the glass ceiling under the control of Hogan and others not to mention the terrible booking situation. In late 1999, Vince Russo made noise of giving Benoit a main event run and while some dismissed it given Russo’s habit of changing his mind constantly, there seemed a real push for it.

But Russo was gone and replaced by Kevin Sullivan who hated Pillman in real life for stealing wife Nancy away. So WCW gave Benoit the World title on PPV but Benoit had already given his notice and even this last title switch couldn’t be enough to sway him. He left with the other Radicalz for WWE and costing WCW what could have been a top star and maybe altered Benoit’s life for the better.

11 11. Austin vs Flair

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As 1994 began, WCW was bouncing back from a disastrous 1993. They were doing better with Ric Flair regaining the World title and also booking. Flair was doing his best to keep things going with a feud with Ricky Steamboat but had his eye on Steve Austin. By this point, Austin had held multiple championships and showing he was a star in the making with his charisma, mic skills and great ring work.

Flair thought Austin was perfect for a main event foe and plans were underway to soon elevate him for a good program.

But Eric Bischoff was more into the money side of things and thought the only way for WCW to combat WWE was to hire Hulk Hogan. Hogan came in with creative control, Flair was turned heel and Austin bouncing around before the firing that kicked off his epic WWE run. Had WCW just gone with Flair’s idea for Austin, so much in wrestling could have been different.

10 10. Pillman as Flair’s Protégé

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When Brian Pillman broke out in the late 1980s, he showed fantastic potential. While small in size, he made up for it in personality and skill, a fantastic high flyer and really over with fans. He and Lex Luger had a top feud for the US title and Pillman impressed with his charisma. Ric Flair was among those who saw his future as bright and suggested a program of him and Pillman working together. It would be good, Flair a face at the time and having Pillman as his protégé would give him more of a rub.

It could have been a top story and Pillman was excited to have someone like Flair give him the rub in an eventual match.

But plans changed as the WCW higher-ups just thought Pillman wasn’t “main event” material and pushed him down. Pillman would join Flair in the Horsemen years later but getting a push this early in his career might have done wonders for him down the road.

9 9 The UWF Invasion

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For years, the Mid-South are had been a terrific promotion thanks to Bill Watts’ top-notch booking. It gave slews of stars from the Rock n Roll Express to Ted DiBiase and so many more. In 1986, Watts went national, rebranding it the Universal Wrestling Federation and a big TV deal. It had real promise but in 1987, the oil recession caused the Oklahoma economy to collapse. With his key audience shrinking, Watts was forced to sell to Jim Crockett. He believed it was a great opportunity with the UWF guys going into the NWA, maybe even an “invasion” angle and with guys like a young Sting on board, the promise was huge.

But instead, they were basically ignored, a single TV title “unification” match and that was it. The UWF just faded away and never spoken of. Dusty Rhodes would later admit he and Crockett were so focused on Vince that they totally ignored the potential the UWF had as a possible “farm” system and more and buying it just put Crockett more into the hole to sell to Turner to multiply what a bad mistake this was.

8 8. Signing A Young Dwayne Johnson

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Just imagine WWE without The Rock. Impossible, right? Well, it almost happened. In early 1997, as he was breaking out, Dwayne Johnson was having issues as his Rocky Maivia act wasn’t winning over fans. Yet WCW somehow saw potential or more importantly, Ted Turner did. They were out trying to poach whatever guys they could and saw some promise in Johnson. Now, it’s true that it’s highly unlikely Johnson would have become “The Rock” in WCW. He probably wouldn’t have been given the same opportunities to be himself and likely pushed down although his inner stardom might have still given him a shot. More importantly, it would have robbed WWE of one of their biggest guys at this key time as Rock was the one who took up the mantle of the company’s face when Austin was injured in 1999. Thus, signing on the Rock would have been a blow to WWE that WCW passed on.

7 7. Hogan vs Goldberg on PPV

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Many point to this as one of the single biggest mistakes WCW ever made. In 1998, Goldberg was hot as hell, his undefeated streak and crushing of opponents a huge deal. The U.S. champion, he was the shining star of WCW, the guy who could counter WWE’s success.

Pitting him and Hogan one-on-one was inevitable and anyone with a logical mind could tell a PPV of them headlining could outdo Starrcade ’97 in terms of buy rates.

Instead, it was put on free on Nitro all because Bischoff was obsessed with ratings and wanting to beat the WWE. It was a big deal, with Goldberg over huge as champion but for WCW to ignore the monster payday a PPV encounter of the two would have was astonishing. It hurt them bad in the long run as the obsession with the Monday Night War caused Bischoff to leave millions of dollars on the table.

6 6. The NWO Title Belt

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It was very rare WCW turned down anything Hulk Hogan had in mind. Books are filled with notes on how Hogan’s ego and desire to always be in the spotlight hurt the company a lot. Yet one actually cool idea he had was ignored by WCW. When Hogan regained the title in 1996, he was the leader of the New World Order, hotter than ever before as this heel. It was brilliant as Hogan basically acted as the egomaniac so many accused him of being. So much so that he even had his own custom nWo championship belt created.

It would have been flashy with the nWo icon on it spread across it, complete with image of Hogan on it.

But WCW held back so they just had Hogan spray-paint the logo on the regular World title belt. And while that worked out well, the idea of his own title belt would have been perfect for Hogan’s act and made him even more hated by fans.

5 5. A Women’s Division

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Yes, it’s true that women’s wrestling in the late ‘90s wasn’t a huge thing. Yet WCW still had the opportunity to create a female division but did nothing with it. The big push should have been in 1995 when Alundra Blayze was let go by WWE over budget issues with the entire division phased out. Showing up on “Nitro,” Alundra took back her old name of Madusa and dumped the belt into a garbage can. This was a huge moment, rocking WWE hard and should have been the setup for WCW having their own division to counter WWE.

It wasn’t just Madusa, they could have gotten others WWE let go like Bull Nakano and more. But WCW just didn’t do anything despite how many times Madusa tried to push it. She’s openly said it aggravated her that WCW spent more time with the Nitro Girls than actual female workers and even when WWE was getting their division back on track, WCW did nothing to counter it, a major missed opportunity.

4 4. Bagwell as Heroic Face

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WCW was given a perfect opportunity and they managed to drop it big time. In 1998, Buff Bagwell was in a tag match against the Steiner Brothers with Rick doing his usual off the top rope bulldog. However, Bagwell took it wrong and suffered a severe neck injury. The match was stopped as he was taken out and came within inches of being paralyzed. Never a really popular guy, Bagwell got massive sympathy for his condition and when he returned in a wheelchair, it was a big deal.

It was obvious how WCW could have used the severe injury and comeback to make Bagwell a face, using that audience sympathy to boost him majorly and be a great hero.

They seemed to have it working as he was attacked by Scott Steiner and brother Rick came to defend him. At which point, Bagwell got up from the chair to attack Rick and reveal he was still a heel. It was a stunning inability to see a great idea right in front of them and Bagwell never recovered from that fake turn.

3 3. The Midnight Express as Horsemen

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This truly could have been amazing. In early 1990, the “Four” Horsemen were pretty much just Ric Flair and Arn Anderson with Ole barely doing anything and Sting kicked out. A plan was made to fill in the gaps and a great pair of replacements were suggested: The Midnight Express. Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane were multiple tag team champions, a terrific pair and had worked with the Horsemen a lot so knew how to handle them. All of the men were excited for the prospect as the sheer idea of Jim Cornette, Flair and Anderson uniting for promos is absolutely genius.

Jim Herd signed off on the idea and Cornette took a vacation while planning how this whole joining would happen with the Express helping Flair out and soon teaming up. But when Cornette came back, he was informed that Herd had changed his mind and the Express were still a regular team. It bugged Cornette as he and Lane would leave WCW a few months later and rob fans of might have been one of the best Horsemen combos ever.

2 2. Hart and Flair

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In WWE, Bret Hart and Ric Flair had a short but memorable program where they traded the WWE title. Indeed, Bret called a 60-minute fight with Flair at a house show one of his absolute favorite matches ever and both men still had the goods in 1998. With Bret’s entrance to WCW not as good as hoped, anything to give him a momentum was needed. So Bret and Flair had a few matches on TV that were instantly miles ahead of anything else the company was doing.

They were terrific, with the promise of more coming. But WCW killed it dead as they were too busy on the endless New World Order shenanigans and keeping Hogan happy.

So Bret and Flair were both pushed down the card with Bret never becoming as huge a deal in WCW as he should have been and yet another reason they fell apart.

1 1. Jericho vs Goldberg

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In his first book, Chris Jericho detailed this and held nothing back on how horrible it was for WCW to drop it. In 1998, Jericho was rising with his cocky attitude, winning fans over more as a loud-mouthed heel. He soon began challenging Goldberg, the undefeated champion, mocking his over-the-top entrance and constant shots. He even had a fake show up for a “fight” that he could brag about winning. It was a hot thing, Jericho stealing the show and taking it for granted this would lead to a major match with Goldberg on PPV.

Instead, Bischoff informed Jericho it would be the usual three minute Goldberg squash. Jericho was rocked as he had put all this work into the angle and it was being totally ignored. It was a key push for Jericho to finally leave WCW for WWE to be a major star as this company just cut the legs off a promising guy for no real reason.