Today, wrestling fans love to talk about WCW. The company has been closed for 17 years, but WCW has grown to mythical proportions. Part of the reason it has gained so much fame is due to a generation of wrestling fans never getting to see the company or its wrestlers while it was still functioning. Another reason fans are so enamored with WCW is due to podcasts like Tony Schiavone's "What Happened When?" as he recounts ridiculous stories that paint the company is a comical light.

WCW existed from 1988 until 2001. Despite having some of the business's biggest stars, WCW only had true success in 1996 and 1997 when the N.W.O. was new and fresh. According to reports that was also the only time the company made a profit. During that time, WCW was white hot and many believed the Atlanta-based promotion could do no wrong. By 1998, WCW proved it could do wrong, and fans began to turn off the product. Many have never returned to watch wrestling. No matter how the company and its executives tried, they couldn't stop the money losses over the next few years.The large, and often, liberally handed out contracts are one of the major reasons WCW went out of business.

Paying wrestlers large amounts of money to turn in sub-par performances or to skip out on work isn't the only reason the company ultimately failed. However, it is one of the biggest reasons. All figures are from the year 2001.

15 Bret Hart ($2.5 million)

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Bret Hart was the hottest wrestler in the world on the back of Survivors Series 1997. "The Hitman" had been robbed of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and now, he was in WCW. To make things even better, Hart and Hulk Hogan were already at odds with one another. Hogan had refused to put Hart over in 1993 and the way in which the Hulkster won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania IX was a slap in the face to Hart. "The Hitman" could have been pushed to the top from the start in a main event angle with Hogan. Instead, Hart unofficially joined the N.W.O. when he helped Hogan win the title on Nitro. It seemed Hogan wanted to be on the same side as Hart and prevent the "The Hitman" from becoming the company's most popular babyface.

Hart would win the WCW Heavyweight Championship in December 1998, but by the time it happened, he had already been chewed up and spit out by WCW creative.

In December 1999, Hart faced Goldberg in a title match at Starrcade. The match infamously saw Goldberg kick Hart in the head which resulted in a severe concussion. There is speculation that Hart's head injury got worse due to Goldberg's stiff work in the match. The head injury would lead to Hart taking time off, and less than a year later, WCW fired Hart via a FedEX letter in an attempt to save some cash.

14 Bill Goldberg ($2.5 million)

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Bill Goldberg was a homegrown star for WCW, which was something the company rarely had been able to create. Despite his great limitations in the ring, Goldberg's persona got him over with the Nitro Party going fans. Goldberg looked like a tough guy and casual fans fell in love with him. It also helped that Goldberg won his matches in short order and had a kayfabe winning streak that stretched to 173-0. Unlike what the WWE believes today, wins and losses in wrestling matter, because fans treat it like a sport.

However, the wheels began coming off of the Goldberg train when WCW head booker Kevin Nash had the big man drop the World Heavyweight Championship. The scenario in which Goldberg lost at Starrcade 1998 thanks to being tasered by Scott Hall was ludicrous; especially after the fans were letdown the year before. The loss to Nash killed Goldberg despite the way in which he lost. As Goldberg floundered, it showed the company had overpaid for a wrestler that was only popular due to being put over by other wrestles. The grappler's agents and lack of wrestling mind didn't help with his locker room politics. Both got in the way of his career and prevented Goldberg from doing more in WCW.

13 Lex Luger ($1.4 million)

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According to Eric Bischoff, he never wanted to re-sign Lex Luger in 1995. However, the WCW executive wanted to please his friend Sting and to make a major splash on the first ever episode of Monday Nitro. Despite giving Luger a low-ball contract offer, Luger gladly accepted to return to Atlanta and leave the WWE. When Luger first returned to WCW, he made a fraction of his 2001 salary of $1.4 million. That first year back in Atlanta, "The Total Package" earned $150,000. However, his work in the ring influenced Bischoff to raise his salary.

Although Luger turned heads in his first night back in the promotion, he quickly became just another WCW guy. His cliched flip flopping from babyface to heel got old quickly, and fans could be forgiven if they had forgotten Luger spent three years up north in between WCW stints. Luger's exorbitant contract and zero marketability by 2001 prevented the WWE from buying out his deal. After Luger's fly-by-night departure from the WWE in 1995, Vince McMahon wasn't interested in working with "The Total Package" again. The grappler was brought back to work with the WWE on its Wellness Policy later, however. Although McMahon won't have forgotten Luger's departure, friend Triple H was most likely more forgiving.

12 Sting ($1.5 million)

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Sting was one of the few homegrown wrestlers WCW had created. In the late 1980s, the face painted, brightly dressed surfer dude from California was a breath of fresh air in WCW. It helped get him over and so did his feuds with the Great Muta, Ric Flair and Nikita Koloff. By the mid-1990s, fans wanted something different from the Stinger. He had grown stale. On the advice of Scott Hall, Sting donned the "Crow" gimmick as he began to distance himself from his previous bleach blond, flattop persona around the time of Bash at the Beach 1996.

By the end of 1996, Sting was collecting money to sit out although he did appear on Monday Nitro to come down from the ceiling of arenas.

In 1997, Sting wrestled just three matches: a house show, the ridiculous Starrcade 1997 main event and the next night on Nitro. Some wrestling historians credit the Starrcade main event debacle between Sting and Hulk Hogan as the reason fans began to turn off WCW programming and focus on the WWE or nothing at all. As the N.W.O. storyline continued to play out in 1998, 1999 and 2000, Sting's schedule was increased. Despite appearing on more shows, he couldn't stop WCW from going out of business.

11 Kevin Nash ($1.45 million)

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Like his N.W.O. partner Scott Hall, Kevin Nash was paid handsomely to join WCW. As The Outsiders, the duo helped turned WCW and professional wrestling around in 1996 after the business had fallen into a deep depression. It was finally cool to be a wrestling fan again thanks to the N.W.O., and more specifically, The Outsiders. Nash was ever-present during his WCW run from 1996 to 2001. "Big Sexy" won tag team gold along with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship five-times during his WCW tenure. But Nash wasn't just a wrestler as the former WWE title holder also worked as WCW's head booker.

After he was given the pencil in November 1998, Nash booked himself to win the World War III three ring battle royal. A lot of the work he did was to get himself over and to bury smaller, younger wrestlers. Chris Jericho expressed much of his anger and disappointment in being held back thanks to Nash and the other big money stars in WCW in his first book "A Lion's Tale". Nash's contract became even more of a problem in WCW when he mailed in his matches and showed a lack of interest in the company. Kevin Nash railed against WCW's problems, but didn't seem to notice he was one of the people killing the company and so was his contract.

10 Scott Hall ($1.45 million)

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Scott Hall had taken a gimmick created in WCW to the WWE in 1992 and refined it. Just over four years later, now more well-known than he had ever been before, Hall "invaded" WCW Monday Nitro. Hall was the third biggest defection from the WWE at the time with Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage being numbers one and two. Hall's arrival was different and the way he was portrayed as an "Outsider" gave his appearance in the company plenty of strength.

It has long been alleged that Hall and Kevin Nash received pay raises every time a new wrestler who made more money joined the company. According to both "Outsiders", that rumour isn't true. The duo has said, Eric Bischoff was so afraid both Hall and Nash would go back to the WWE, he offered them pay raises. The duo made money thanks to Bischoff's willingness to cave in and they both continued to play the former WCW executive for more money. Hall's substance abuse and personal issues caught up with him eventually. By the time he left, Hall was leaching off of WCW and helping to bring it down.

9 Diamond Dallas Page ($1.25 million)

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Diamond Dallas Pages was a WCW homegrown wrestler. He didn't just rise up the promotion's ranks, but he was a friend of Eric Bischoff's dating back to the time when the two were in the AWA. Dusty Rhodes was also a big fan of DDP and allegedly helped the grappler as much as he could to become a star. When DDP initially started in WCW, he was a manager that occasionally got the chance to wrestle. His biggest problem was being 35 when he debuted in the ring. Despite being older than most of his colleagues, DDP showed a willingness to learn and become better. His big break came in January 1997.

On Monday Nitro, DDP gave old friend Scott Hall a Diamond Cutter after rejecting the N.W.O.'s offer to join.

It instantly made DDP a star in the eyes of fans. In the ensuing weeks, DDP feuded with "Macho Man" Randy Savage and the two had the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Year. As WCW went further into the late 1990s, DDP became less of a factor. Injury and his age didn't help. DDP was 56-years old in 2000, and his body had taken a beating. His knees and back were practically shot, which is one reason he created DDP Yoga, and his salary was incredibly high for what he could produce in the ring.

8 Ric Flair ($500,000)

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By the time WCW ended, Ric Flair's best years seemed over. Of course, he would go on to have plenty of  success in the WWE, but WCW and its politics had worn down "The Nature Boy" by the end of the 1990s. Although Flair could still draw, and at one time was biggest star WCW had, the company had changed greatly. Flair was in his 50s when the year 2000 rolled around and asking him to perform at the level as young workers was asking a lot.

When WCW had been born out of Ted Turner's purchase of Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988, Flair had built a fence around the World Heavyweight Championship. Politics and other tactics were used by Flair to keep the belt and remain the company's main event star. A decade later and Flair had become a former great name that was taking a large paycheque with little return. Although Flair would leave WCW when it closed, and wrestle on the final Nitro, he was a shell of the wrestler he had once been. Upon returning to the WWE, Flair rediscovered what had made him great. Perhaps new surroundings had helped him or having co-workers around him that wanted to put on great matches.

7 Berlyn ($395,000)

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After years of WCW fans not caring about cruiserweight wrestler Alex Wright, the company gave him a makeover and a new name. Wright re-debuted in the company in 1999 under the gimmick Berlyn. It not only saw him work as his new persona, but it was a time when WCW was paying him $395,000 to do everything but get over with the fans. Rumours persist that the Berlyn gimmick was nixed shortly after it debuted. At Fall Brawl Buff Bagwell refused to wrestle the German as he didn't want to eat a pin. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan was brought in as a substitute, but the match was awful and fans hated it.

Berlyn remained under contract to WCW until 2001, somehow, he had been with the company since 1994, but his deal wasn't bought up by the WWE. If Berlyn, or Wright, had ever thought the fans didn't care about him, then his assumptions proved true when he retired shortly after WCW's closure. His reasons were due to a lack of interest in promotions wanting to book him. According to a 2017 interview, Wright has stated the WWE attempted to buy out his WCW contract in 2001, but he declined the company's proposal. He also stated he had two other opportunities to join the WWE but didn't due to being burnt out.

6 Disco Inferno ($300,000)

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Disco Inferno has been ridiculed by a number of former wrestlers and managers for his bad wrestling ideas. He has long been a proponent of Vince Russo's WCW booking, and the former WWE writer added the wrestler to his inner circle when he arrived in Atlanta. Disco has stated he came up with a number of ideas and gimmicks while working alongside Russo. The pair worked so well together that Russo took Disco to TNA when it was started. For an example of Disco's booking ideas, just google Bill Ding the evil architect.

During his WCW run, Disco was never a "main guy" or a wrestler that would draw a house, but his friendships meant he wasn’t in danger of losing his job. In fact, his friendships meant Disco received a decent spot in the company and a healthy $300,000 a year paycheque. Disco spent six years with WCW and was with the company until the very end. Although he had a gimmick that was disposable, he somehow gave it enough shelf-life to last the long run. The gimmick and the in-ring performance wasn't exactly worth $300,000 a year, but at least Disco wasn't making as much as some of his colleagues.

5 Booker T ($700,000)

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Booker T became a superstar in wrestling and his name appears on a shortlist of WCW wrestlers that were homegrown talent. He and his brother Stevie Ray joined WCW in 1993 thanks to Sid Vicious' recommendation. The duo was known as Harlem Heat and the team was thrust into main event angles from the start. As time wore on, Booker's in-ring ability and mic skills impressed WCW agents and executives. In 1997, it was decided Booker would became a singles wrestler. The same way Bret Hart stepped out of the shadow of tag team wrestling, so did Booker, and his 1997 best of seven series with Chris Benoît was one of the highlights of WCW's year.

In 2000, after two years of being stagnant, Booker became the second African American WCW World Heavyweight Champion after Ron Simmons. He would lose the title to Scott Steiner in one of Vince Russo's ridiculous and convoluted gimmick matches. Although Booker was performing at a high degree and had fan support, his contract of $700,000 guaranteed was an enormous sum. Although he was worth a good deal of money, and his salary certainly wasn't the highest, it was still a large figure that the company saddled itself with.

4 "Rowdy" Roddy Piper ($750,000)

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When "Rowdy" Roddy Piper joined WCW in 1996, it was a massive coup for the organization. Piper was just another in a long line of former WWE 1980s hits that Eric Bischoff was recycling. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion came into the promotion with an incredible amount of fanfare, but over time, those reactions dwindled while his salary stayed high. Had Piper been booked differently against Hulk Hogan during 1996 and 1997, things may have turned out differently for WCW. However, Piper was 42 at the time, and after having a hip replacement, his best years in the ring were definitely behind him. Piper's matches against Hogan looked like two old-timers who couldn't work anymore despite the great build-up to the matches. The bouts lacked something.

It is easy to forget that Piper remained in WCW until 2000 when the company was forced to terminate his excessive contract.

Following WCW's closure and as Piper appeared on more and more shoot interviews, he had nothing but negative things to say about his time in WCW with Vince Russo. In fact, there wasn't much positive Piper said about his WCW run despite being there for nearly four years. Piper's only real high point following his feud with Hogan was winning the United States Heavyweight Title for the third time (it was the first as a member of WCW).

3 Sid Vicious ($850,000)

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Sid Vicious was slated to be "the man" in the early 1990s. However, WCW seemed unsure whether or not to give him the World Heavyweight Championship at Halloween Havoc 1990 and decided to keep it on Sting at the last minute. It was a move Vicious has put down to Ric Flair's politics over the belt. He was later pegged to be WCW's champion and company face, but in 1993, Flair's old buddy Arn Anderson and Vicious nearly killed each other during a hotel fight in Blackburn, England. Vicious overcame what could have been a career killing incident – no pun intended – by joining the WWE for a successful run between 1995 and 1997. He even won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.

After leaving the WWE, Vicious arrived in ECW, but when Paul Heyman wasn't keeping up with his paycheques, the big man left. He wound up back in WCW as the company attempted to forge a new direction. Known as "The Millennium Man", Vicious won the United States Heavyweight Championship and later the WCW World Title. Unfortunately, as Vicious made a career best $850,000, he suffered a near-career ending injury. Told by WCW road agents to start using more dynamic, off the ropes moves, Vicious broke his leg when he leapt off the second turnbuckle. His injury was a microcosm of WCW falling down around itself.

2 Tank Abbott ($650,000)

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Tank Abbott was signed to WCW in the wake of Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn joining the WWE. His addition was a way to give Bill Goldberg a "legitimate" tough guy opponent. Since Goldberg's debut, the company had portrayed him as a mix martial arts trained fighter, which the former WCW World Champion still proclaims despite never showing any type of MMA fighting style. Abbott was in WCW from December 1999 to August 2000. Apparently, the MMA fighter was loved by head writer Vince Russo, who pitched the idea of Abbott winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Souled Out. The title switch didn't happen in the end and Russo was soon on to his next idea.

Abbott's claim to WCW fame – other than his contract – came in one of the weirdest pay-per-view moments of all-time. Facing Big Al at SuperBrawl X (2000) in a Leatherjacket on a Pole match, Abbott defeated his opponent. The strange and unexplained part happened next when Abbott pulled a knife out of the jacket pocket, held it to Big Al's throat and said he could kill him. WCW commentator Tony Schiavone stated during the broadcast that Abbott was merely trying to shave his opponent's beard – which Big Al didn't have. Giving a barroom brawler with now wrestling knowledge a $650,000 contract was surely a ship sinking WCW idea.

1 Hulk Hogan (Unknown Total Salary)

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When Hulk Hogan joined WCW in 1994, he changed the complexity of the wrestling business. The industry was in its lowest point coming off of the 1980s, WWE scandals and Vince McMahon's performance enhancement related trial. The Hulkster's addition to the WCW roster was a coup, but it was a signing that the wrestling company would live in the shadow of forever more. WCW head Eric Bischoff gave Hogan everything he wanted and more to turn the company into a world power rather than the southern wrestling business it had long been. If Hogan's first WCW contract was enough to take him south, his deal in 1998 was even more impressive.

Hogan's four-year deal saw him get a $2 million signing bonus.

In addition, the Hulkster was only needed for six of the company's 12 pay-per-views each year. For those appearances, he made a cool $675,000 or 15% of all pay-per-view sales, whichever was greater. Hogan made a base pay-per-view salary of $4.05m plus $1.35m more every four months. The wrestling icon also received bonus on top of the money he was making that could reach as high as $1.75m The Hulkster may have turned WCW around, but Bischoff and company were all too willing to give in to Hogan's demands which helped kill the company.