WCW had their fair share of commentators working for the promotion at different points. Any major promotion to have over a decade of time on national television is bound to make changes. WCW hired quite a few names for the commentary side of things with both established broadcasters and former wrestlers getting the chance.
Not every name to have potential works out in the role since a lot of variables come into play. It takes a special skillset to call a live wrestling show on the fly competently. The better names thrived to add to the overall product. Unfortunately, others missed the mark and hurt the overall brand. The following names were the best and worst commentators in WCW history.
10 Best: Scott Hudson
WCW struggled to get anything across well in the final year, but Scott Hudson provided a nice change of pace. Many of the older voices were being phased out with new talents getting their chance to call the action on television.
Hudson did his best to provide a positive change of his commentary adding urgence to the product. WCW saw Hudson selling angles and matches with importance, even if the company was reaching the point of no return. WWE even tried Hudson out as a voice for WCW in the early stages of the Invasion angle.
9 Worst: Eric Bischoff
The commentary style of Eric Bischoff was polarizing for WCW fans watching him calling the action. Bischoff did a solid job selling the show, but he was often tasked with the play-by-play commentary spot in the early Nitro years.
WCW going from Tony Schiavone to Bischoff was a huge decline and showed the weaknesses of having the boss on commentary. Bischoff was much better as a guest commentator on the heel side representing the New World Order since it was more character based.
8 Best: Jim Ross
Jim Ross showed his greatness as a play-by-play commentator in the early years of WCW. The skill set of Ross allowed him to sell the sports-like realness element to make fans invest in the product and did storyline advancement for the entertainment side.
WCW not valuing Ross as the voice of the promotion led to him leaving before they became a bigger success story. WWE signed JR and found massive success of him having arguably the best run of any commentator in wrestling history.
7 Worst: Steve "Mongo" McMichael
WCW took a risk by having Steve "Mongo" McMichael join the Nitro commentary team shortly after signing. The former NFL player was going to be a wrestler for the company, but they felt having him on commentary could introduce him more effectively.
Mongo unfortunately wasn’t ideal for commentary and often took away from the matches with his own character work. WCW benefited immensely from McMichael becoming a wrestler for the Four Horsemen more than a commentator.
6 Best: Mike Tenay
The background of Mike Tenay saw him entering wrestling from a different perspective as a diehard fan and newsletter writer. Tenay studied wrestling from all over the world and was brought in when WCW had a deeper roster.
Other commentators would lay out for Tenay to give fans information about the talents from Mexico and Japan. Tenay found the commentary role suiting him enough to become one of the better WCW broadcasters and the first voice of TNA for many years.
5 Worst: Larry Zbyszko
Many WCW wrestlers were unhappy with the commentary style of former wrestler Larry Zbyszko during their matches. Chris Jericho ranted in his book about Zbyszko often making fun of the wrestlers and hurting their credibility.
The feuds with Scott Hall and Eric Bischoff were Zbyszko’s peak as a commentator when standing up to the New World Order. Larry otherwise didn’t do enough to help get the talents over in the ring and was a victim to his own ego.
4 Best: Bobby Heenan
Eric Bischoff was not playing around when signing commentator Bobby Heenan and interviewer Gene Okerlund to improve WCW’s broadcasting. Heenan managed for a short time in WCW, but his full-time commentary spot was the main job duty.
Even though Heenan wasn’t as flawless as his WWE peak, he still provided that unique form of comedy and entertainment associated with him. WCW benefited from Heenan calling some of the greatest moments and forming chemistry with multiple partners.
3 Worst: Stevie Ray
WCW decided to try wrestler Stevie Ray in the commentary role when changes were going down every other week in 2000. Stevie Ray added a new style of commentary with less broadcasting experience and more instinct as a performer.
The over-the-top personality of Stevie didn’t lead to a great commentary stint. WCW was starting to struggle in every area of the product, including a huge decline on the commentary team. Stevie Ray never had a commentary gig outside of WCW when the company closed.
2 Best: Tony Schiavone
The re-emergence of Tony Schiavone in AEW has fans realizing how much they missed him. Schiavone deserves to be called the voice of WCW more than any other broadcaster due to his importance at different stages of the company.
WCW felt its most natural with Schiavone as the lead play-by-play commentator setting the stage each match. The final few months of his WCW run went poorly, but few names were performing well in that dire situation. Schiavone had strong chemistry with many partners to become a legendary WCW commentator.
1 Worst: Mark Madden
The biggest negative on the commentary side of WCW came when Mark Madden joined the team. WCW decided to change paths by having a shock jock sports radio host bring that style of talk to the commentary team in 2000.
Madden made jokes that were weak at the time and border on offensive now. The horrible schtick took away from the matches and showed how low WCW was falling. Madden remained successful in radio, but he had an all-time bad commentary run for WCW.