There is just so much to fandom to sink your wrestling fandom teeth in right now. The NXT UK Performance Center has recently opened. New Japan is cruising along, gearing up for April’s sellout at MSG. ROH and Impact are both in their sixteenth year and finding ways to stay afloat. All Elite Wrestling has been announced to thunderous anticipation. Women’s wrestling from all promotions is being heralded as the some of the best work in the industry.

There’s also this little company called WWE that is gearing up for WrestleMania season. There hasn’t been this much excitement in the industry since the fabled Monday Night War. None of these promotions would be ridiculous enough to try and go head to head with WWE, but it is that kind of energy pumping throughout the business. The WWE isn’t going anywhere, and something all of these promotions have learned from the Monday Night War is that competition is great for the industry and gives more job opportunities but trying to put anyone else out of business just wouldn’t be good for the bajillion workers out there.

Even though WCW is long gone and seemingly no one in WWE is pushing for any kind of one night only event (should we argue Starrcade is that?), no one is giving the company praise either for what they got right before the Titanic hit an iceberg. Until now. Here are 20 areas where WCW was better than WWE that aren't quite recognized by fans.

20 Flight Of The Cruiserweights

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Probably the only item on this list that 100% agreed upon, is that WWE had little to no clue how to handle their Light Heavyweight Division. Meanwhile, WCW was dazzling us from the very first Nitro with Brian Pillman vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger, a match so many fans still talk about.

While Cruiserweight referred to a weight class back then, the influence of Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Juventud Guerrera, and a whole host of other superstars cannot be ignored when watching even bigger guys like Roman Reigns fly through the air. 205 Live is an awesome show, but until these guys are on the main show, they’ll never be seen by the mass audience as on the same level of the main roster.

19 The Undercard

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From the Cruiserweights to the guys right on the cusp of breaking through the glass ceiling and all points in between, the WCW roster was filled with so much depth. Chris Jericho has said it time and time again - WCW had better matches underneath and WWE had better main events during this time.

During this time, DDP, Mongo McMichael, Chris Benoit, Buff Bagwell, Raven, Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko, you name the top tier talent of the day, and they were, more likely than not, part of the WCW roster. The WWE roster's undercard was riddled with ridiculous gimmicks, given to average wrestlers.

18 Match Concepts

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While they weren’t always executed perfectly, WCW was always willing to try out brand new match concepts. Battlebowl, the Lethal Lottery, World War 3, and of course WarGames: The March Beyond, and even the ridiculous chamber from before Eric Bischoff took over - the company was always trying to make something exciting besides just the guys in the ring.

WWE, of course, has borrowed some of these concepts from time to time, most recently, completely revamping WarGames for NXT. Perhaps NXT UK can start using Lethal Lottery. What fans don't realize is that to sometimes find gimmick matches that work, you have to take some risks and see what sticks.

17 Realism

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May 27th, 1996 – Scott Hall, previously known as Razor Ramon in the WWE came through the crowd of WCW Monday Nitro. The promo he cut wasn’t just the start of the nWo. It was the start of the new WCW as we’d know it to become.

The realism of the nWo angle created a fervor, as fans legitimately wondered, “are they really coming from up north?” The perfect example of the realism that WCW introduced to the product was the Rey Mysterio javelin toss that saw Nitro viewers calling the real authorities to head to Nitro. WWE couldn't hold a candle to that for quite some time.

16 The nWo

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Sure, it got diluted with 912 guys and 853 different versions of the group. For nearly two years, the New (N-N-Ne-New) World Order was the hottest thing in the entire wrestling business. It was such an angle and such a faction, creating a sense of unpredictability every week. Who was going to betray WCW? Who was going to leave WWE and join the nWo?

Wrestling was so different before May 27th, 1996. Everything was so colorful and cartoon-like, and unlike the previous generation, fans of the mid-90s had grown tired of the cartoonish nature of the business. The world at large was changing, and wrestling needed the nWo to change the way the business looked.

15 Making Hulk A Heel

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Even though he got his start as a bad guy, the thought of Hulkamania as a heel was completely unheard of. In all the backstage stories told, even he didn’t know what to make of it at first. We all know it’s a work, but imagine if for over a decade, across two companies you’ve been seen as a superhero and now you’ve lived long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Making Hulk Hogan a heel was the only way the nWo was going to truly work. It’s something that never worked in WWE - fans were cheering heel Hulk even as he drove a semi into The Rock. But down south, he wasn’t nearly as popular as he was up north, and his hero act had grown tiresome. The fans were waiting for a change and got it in a big way.

14 More Credible Main Eventers

According to some, the reason WCW had some problems building young guys into stars like WWE was able to, is because they had so many ready-made top guys already working on the roster. While there’s always a need for fresh faces at the top of the card (an eventual reason for the decline), who’s going to tell guys like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Sting that they need to step aside?

Eric Bischoff was able to put Turner’s money to good use. He signed some big names and was able to integrate them into the mix with all of WCW’s top guys. Meanwhile, the WWE reached a point where they had trouble drawing money, as they were in a transition period in finding top stars.

13 Diamond Dallas Page

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During the time that WCW reigned supreme, they were successful in getting two guys pushed to the top of the card - Goldberg and DDP, Diamond Dallas Page. Before the nWo, DDP was a decent mid-card talent who was trying any gimmick he could to break through.

By his and Eric Bischoff’s admission, all he really needed to be was himself. He dropped all of it, became more of himself and the People’s Champ was born. DDP giving the Diamond Cutter to Hall and sidestepping Nash to go celebrate in the crowd was, and still is, a pulse-pounding moment in WCW history. Meanwhile, we all remember how badly WWE used a star like DDP once he jumped over.

12 Goldberg And The Streak

The mystique of Goldberg is remarkable. Somehow, WCW managed to book this monster better than WWE did during the legend’s first run 2003. That’s because WWE tried to get him to work conventional, back and forth matches. WCW knew that A. he couldn’t and B. the fans had no interest in seeing big Bill go on 20-minute broadways.

WCW had him dominate just about everyone. With the exception of Regal who tried to teach him, and Bret Hart, who sustained a career-ending injury in his big bout with Goldberg, he did a decent job. For the better part of a year, The Streak was one of the hottest things WCW, and the business in general, had to offer.

11 The Vigilante

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The storyline was so simple – the nWo had convinced all of Sting’s friends and respected foes that he had turned to their side. Feeling hurt and dejected, The Stinger would hang out in the rafters, carry a bat, and every now and again a vulture. He’d eventually come down from the rafters and into the ring in all kinds of exciting ways.

One mark against WCW is that they seldom knew how to effectively end a storyline. But disregarding Starrcade ’97, the storyline of The Icon wanting nothing but to dismantle the nWo had all of the fans talking. For a time, it was Sting’s merchandise over Steve Austin’s or the nWo’s that was the highest selling shirt in the business.

10 WCW Was Cool

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WWE had the hog farmer Godwinn cousins, a garbage man, a plumber, and a whole host of other occupational-type gimmicks being portrayed by mid-card and journeymen talent. By 1996, the company got rid a lot of these strange gimmicks, but the product would still take a few more years before returning to pop culture relevancy.

By 1996, WCW was just cool to watch. Between the wrestlers they had, and some of the event’s presentations - Nitro at exclusive Spring Break spots, the PPVs at Sturgis, there was just a coolness factor to WCW that WWE had yet to tap into.

9 Bischoff's Booking Philosophy

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Say what you will about Eric Bischoff, but the guy knew how to surprise viewers. Kevin Nash heaved Rey Mysterio into the side of the trailer – it looked real and it made jaws drop. Hogan turning heel was probably the most surprising moment in wrestling of the past 30 years.

Even when the moments didn’t do a lot in the long term, they were good for quick ratings grabs - Rick Rude showing up on both Nitro and Raw, for example. Goldberg's first loss and the subsequent Fingerpoke Of Doom were definitely taking Bischoff's booking principles too far, but up until that point, WCW knew how to surprise fans, whereas for a long time, the WWE product felt stale and predictable.

8 Getting The Big Stars

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Hulk Hogan arrived to WCW with a yellow and red ticker tape parade. Then came the Macho Man. Nash and Hall came over. Names like Flair and Sting stuck around. Those are the big names that the world would know. Huge names in Mexico (Konnan) and Japan (Ultimo Dragon) also contributed to the popularity of WCW.

WCW had just about every big-time star from all over the world at this time. What a problem to have. It forced WWE to create new stars and when certain WCW stars felt they by the ceiling they left for WWE and became top stars. But during this time, WCW was must-see TV because they had everyone.

7 Building Up Chris Jericho

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Chris Jericho is probably one of the most underrated legends in the history of the business. He’s beaten the best and worked monumental programs with the likes of Shawn Michaels and most recently, Kenny Omega. But none of that beats his dreaded “armbar.”

Out of everything he’s ever done, the freedom Jericho had in WCW (because no one was paying attention to him), allowed him to become one of their biggest stars. Sadly with so many other bigger stars on top, there was nowhere to place him, except WWE. But as amazing of a career he’s had, some of his best moments came from WCW.

6 The Title Belts

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The huge winged eagle belt, followed by the Attitude Era WWE Championship belt were sights to behold. The rest of the belts were too, but for an entirely different reason - they looked gimmicky and haven't aged well. But WCW had belts that looked like they were worth fighting for.

Even when spray-painted, the WCW Championship looked nicer than plenty of the WWE’s belts. When they switched the classic IC title for the gaudy-looking, oversized trucker belt clip, WCW’s U.S. title instantly became better looking. That’s just one example, but the ten pounds of gold for all of WCW straps always looked better than WWE’s during this time.

5 Matches

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Just because the talent in WCW wasn’t all big names, it doesn’t mean the company Where The Big Boys Play didn’t have amazing matches just about every week. Before Nitro, the wrestling shows were predominantly filled with journeymen matches. Bischoff changed all of that by getting all kinds of talent to put on all kinds of matches.

The combinations of talent were near incalculable. On any given Nitro, you could have matches wrestling journalists and fans go ballistic over. From the very first Nitro with Jushin Liger / Brian Pillman to the Mega Powers vs. the Four Horsemen, X-Pac / Mysterio, Bret Hart / DDP, and all points in between; Nitro seldom had an episode without a memorable match.

4 PPV Stage Set Ups

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While WWE was doing their best to save money, that was an issue WCW didn’t have. WWE had unique sets for some of their PPVs, but WCW had plenty of flashy PPV sets. They had simple elegance but a cool atmosphere for their rigs at the Hog Wild/Road Wild events. Even when inside an area, Bash At The Beach had sand everywhere for ambiance.

But the coup–de–grace for WCW PPVs was Halloween Havoc. In recent years, Bischoff has stated that Havoc, not Starrcade, was WCW’s marquee event. That would explain why no expense was spared with the giant pumpkins, gargoyles, and tombstones.

3 Real Storytelling

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Not to dogpile on the Vince Russo bashing that the internet loves to do these days, but other than the Survivor Series 1998 storyline, much of the WWE at this time was what he coined, “Crash TV" which was just heaving things at the wall and seeing what stuck. It was good for the time, but it hasn’t aged well.

But in WCW, there were many carefully written storylines. Besides the nWo and Sting, which did encompass a lot, there was also Goldberg and The Streak. The Cruisers had their stories too, such as Jericho collecting masks, and Dean Malenko coming back as Ciclope. They might not have always known how to end them, but WCW had a lot of compelling storylines.

2 Celebrity Involvement

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Mike Tyson brought a lot of eyes to the WWE product. When that idea worked out so well for them, WCW would follow suit. They brought in all kinds of celebrities to try and bring eyes to their product. Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman (Rodman even ditched practice with the Bulls during the playoffs to come to Nitro) both came through with big-time appearances for the company.

Then there’s Jay Leno…watching him have Hogan in a wristlock for an hour–and–a–half might not have been the best long-term for the company. But watching Bischoff actually host his version of the Tonight Show as part of the promotion for the event was a stroke of genius for the company.

1 The Dream Matches

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WrestleMania VIII should have been When Worlds Collide…Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan should have headlined the card. No matter what the rest of the card ended up being, no matter the actual event that fans got, that should have been the main event, and WrestleMania VIII seemed like less–than ‘Mania because of it.

When Hogan signed in 1994 with WCW, Bischoff and company did not hesitate the way WWE did. The match was made and set for Hogan’s debut in the company – Bash At The Beach 1994. From there, the floodgates were opened, and any time new guys came into the company, dream matches were signed pretty quickly rather than make the fans wait. Flair was also Bret Hart's WCW debut opponent. Just about every Cruiserweight title match for a time was a must–see dream match (Starrcade '96 alone had Dean Malenko / Ultimo Dragon AND Rey Mysterio / Jushin Liger).