In the first half of the year 2000, World Championship Wrestling delivered a failed yet oddly influential storyline as the company vacated all titles and split the roster into two groups. The veterans and star wrestlers were organized as The Millionaire’s Club, while the younger talent were The New Blood. The execution was a bit flawed -- The New Blood were heels for some reason -- but fans have seen the concept resurface every now and again, most famously in the Main Event Mafia vs. Frontline angle in TNA (now known as Impact Wrestling).
Fans are generally aware of what befell much of The Millionaire’s Club, as some of them STILL appear on wrestling TV. But what about the New Blood? Without further ado, let’s take a look at what some members of WCW’s upstart faction are doing today.
10 Vampiro
Canadian-born Vampiro was a staple of Mexico’s CMLL throughout the 1990s before debuting in WCW in 1998. There, he eventually became a part of The New Blood, where he challenged for US and Hardcore Titles and feuded with Sting. In the years since he’s transitioned into a commentary role, most famously on Lucha Underground, but in 2019 he revealed that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s as well as Parkinson’s disease. In 2020, Vampiro was the subject of a documentary film, Nail In The Coffin: The Fall and Rise Of Vampiro.
9 David Flair
The son of Ric Flair, David Flair was awarded the WCW US Championship by his father and won the Tag Titles alongside Crowbar, both of whom he would feud with during his time in The New Blood. After some stints in WWE developmental, TNA, and the indie scene, Flair retired to civilian life in 2009. These days, he lives in Shelby, North Carolina, where he and his wife run a company that manufactures wires and cables.
8 Vince Russo
More than just one of the leaders of the New Blood faction, Vince Russo was also a prominent figure backstage, working as a booker for WCW. In 2000, Russo famously booked himself to win the World Title after being speared by Goldberg through a steel cage wall and onto the floor at ringside.
Russo spent much of the 2000s and half of the 2010s working on camera and backstage with TNA -- including a stint as a “secret consultant.” In recent years, Russo has kept himself on the radar of wrestling fans by streaming, recording podcasts, and running a Patreon.
7 Stacy Keibler
Originally introduced in WCW as a Nitro Girl named Skye, Stacy Keibler eventually became an actual character on the show as the valet Miss Hancock and formed a relationship with David Flair. Keibler would eventually move over to WWE as part of The Invasion and stick with the company until 2006. Since then, Keibler has moved on from wrestling and co-founded with her husband Caldera + Lab, a company that makes luxury skincare for men.
6 Mark Jindrak
The New Blood also counted the entirety of Natural Born Thrillers in its ranks, which of course included Mark Jindrak, who would become a two-time WCW World Tag Team Champion alongside the late Sean O’Haire during their time in the company. Jindrak failed to make much of a splash in WWE and was tapped to be a member of Evolution before he was replaced by Batista. After WWE, he ended up being shockingly successful in CMLL under the ring name Marco Corleone. Having quietly retired in 2018, Mark Jindrak lives in Auburn, New York, and works as a general manager for an upscale Mexican restaurant called Elephant and the Dove.
5 Buff Bagwell
A five-time WCW Tag Team Champion, Buff Bagwell was a member of several stables during his time with WCW, including the nWo, Magnificent Seven, and The New Blood. After WCW folded, Bagwell showed up in WWE as part of The Invasion, where he had a reviled match with Booker T that put the final nail in WCW’s coffin. Bagwell still wrestles on the indies, but most recently was in the news in August of 2020, being hospitalized after a car accident.
4 Chuck Palumbo
Another Natural Born Thriller, Chuck Palumbo was a four-time WCW Tag Team Champion with both Shawn Stasiak and Sean O’Haire at different points. From there, he had a couple of stints with WWE, most significantly as part of an infamous gay panic tag team with Billy Gunn.
Palumbo retired from wrestling in 2012 and currently works as a mechanic, building custom cars and motorcycles.
3 Crowbar
David Flair’s muscle and tag team partner, Crowbar was released a heartbeat before WCW was bought by WWE, but not before winning the Cruiserweight, Hardcore, and Tag Team Titles. Since then, Crowbar has continued to wrestle on the indie scene, alternating between his WCW name of Crowbar and his pre-WCW name of Devon Storm, and has wrestled for Ring of Honor and Game Changer Wrestling. With a degree in Physical Therapy, Crowbar actually owns a physical therapy facility in New Jersey.
2 Mike Sanders
“Above Average” Mike Sanders made his debut in 1998, but really made a splash in 2000 when he and the other Power Plant rookies formed Natural Born Thrillers, with Sanders speaking for the group. Over the course of his WCW career, he’d become WCW Commissioner and also Cruiserweight Champion and would wrestle for WWE developmental territory Heartland Wrestling Association after the company was purchased by WWE. He retired from wrestling in 2005 and now runs a company called Party Paramedic, which provides DJs, photo booths, and various other entertainment necessities for parties and events.
1 Shane Douglas
“The Franchise” of ECW never had as much luck in other promotions. His run as “Dean Douglas” in WWE was infamously derailed by The Kliq And in WCW, he joined The New Blood and feuded with Ric Flair, later becoming United States Champion. Rather than go to WWE along with much of the WCW roster, Douglas worked with Xtreme Pro Wrestling and TNA and continues to wrestle on the independent scene as recently as 2020.