When wrestling fans talk about WCW nowadays, they often reduce the conversation to the Monday Night War era. In particular, there is a great deal of positive nostalgia associated with the early stages of the New World Order, as well as Sting’s turn in his Crow persona and Goldberg’s rise to prominence. However, when fans think about WCW, they don’t tend to associate great match quality with the brand.
Many of WCW’s biggest moments in terms of attracting eyeballs to the product revolved around stellar bell-to-bell action. The company featured stars of yesteryear like Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper working matches well past their prime, talents like Sid Vicious and Lex Luger who were awesome physical specimens but not necessarily great workers, and aggressive use of celebrities like Dennis Rodman and Jay Leno.
Just the same, WCW did play host to some truly outstanding matches and this article at ten that have largely been lost to the sands of time.
10 10. Sting Vs. Big Van Vader, Great American Bash 1992
Years before Hulk Hogan signed with WCW, Sting was the standard-bearer as the top face and franchise player for the company. He stood at or around the world title picture for most of the early 1990s, and when he lost it, the circumstances usually involved a heel cheating to gain the advantage.
As such, it was legitimately shocking when Big Van Vader crushed The Stinger.
At Great American Bash 1992, Sting and Vader logged an early chapter in what would become a storied rivalry. It was a sensation valiant face vs. monster heel battle with each man playing his part perfectly. The surprise of Vader winning cleanly planted him as the top heel in the company.
9 9. Rey Mysterio Vs. Eddie Guerrero, Halloween Havoc 1997
WCW tends to get credit for its Cruiserweight division and introducing a number of stars from Japan and Mexico to the US audience. Fans often have a hard time pinpointing specific matches, though, as opposed to the general sense of introducing a more technical and acrobatic style.
There’s a reason why Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero grew into bona fide legends who would ultimately capture world titles in WWE. They were each exceptional in their roles, and at Halloween Havoc 1997, they made the absolute most of limited minutes to put on a non-stop action thrill ride for WCW fans.
8 8. Ricky Steamboat Vs. Ric Flair, Spring Stampede 1994
When fans think about Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair doing battle, their minds justifiably turn to their classic three-match series from 1989, contested over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Five years later, Flair reigned as WCW Champion and was also in the head booker’s chair for the company. In the lull between his rivalry with Big Van Vader and the arrival of Hulk Hogan, The Nature Boy returned to a rival he knew he could create magic with.
The Spring Stampede match between these two may not have been quite as good as their earlier battles, but it was still objectively pretty great. The double pin to end the match in a draw put over how evenly matched these two were.
7 7. Sting’s Squadron Vs. The Dangerous Alliance, WrestleWar 1992
War Games is a pretty legendary institution among hardcore wrestling fans. WCW’s dirty secret from its latter years, however, was that the War Games matches tended not to be all that good. From bloodless battles that undercut the brutality of the concept to oddball rule changes that muddied the concept in WCW’s final years, War Games became a shell of its original self.
There’s an argument to be made that the War Games match at WrestleWar 1992 was the last great iteration of the match under the WCW banner. The battle paid off nearly a year of storylines as Paul Heyman’s Dangerous Alliance faction duked it out with faces led by Sting, before finally crumbling. That the Alliance lost signaled the end of the heel stable and an underrated angle that in many ways bridged the gap between the Four Horsemen’s glory days and the New World Order.
6 6. The Steiner Brothers Vs. Lex Luger & Sting, SuperBrawl 1991
SuperBrawl 1991 saw WCW compile an unusual match. Sting and Lex Luger were arguably the top two face singles wrestlers in the company, while the Steiner Brothers were an incredibly over face tag team. A showdown between them in a tag team bout was a true dream match by the standards of 1991, and the bout delivered.
From the expected face niceties early on to the match evolving into a powerhouse brawl, this contest told a terrific story. Though the schmozz finish protected all of the talent involved, it may be the lone strike against this one as a stand-alone classic match.
5 5. Cactus Jack Vs. Big Van Vader, Halloween Havoc 1993
In 1993, monster heel world champion Big Van Vader came upon a singular rival unlike any other. Cactus Jack wasn’t a traditional hero. He wasn’t a powerhouse or a guy whose speed would allow him to work a stick and move offense against the big man. Instead, he was a wild, unpredictable brawler who just seemed to have Vader’s number.
While their violent feud was undermined by a silly angle of Jack suffering from amnesia after he took a powerbomb to the floor, it eventually led to a blow-off match at Halloween Havoc 1993. The Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal stipulation gave way to brutal Texas Death Match—on the shortlist for both Vader’s best title defenses and Jack’s best work for WCW.
4 4. Bret Hart Vs. Chris Benoit, Nitro 1999
After Bret Hart’s brother Owen tragically fell to his death at a WWE PPV, The Hitman understandably took some time away from the ring. When he came back, he worked a match in the same arena where Owen had fallen, handpicking an opponent with whom to pay tribute to his brother.
It’s sad to remember Owen’s passing, and all the more complicated to celebrate a match that featured Chris Benoit. Nonetheless, Benoit made sense at the time as Hart’s chosen dance partner—one of the very few performers in the world who could legitimately hang with Hart in the ring, not to mention that he’d originally trained in the Hart family Dungeon. For all the baggage this match carries in retrospect, it was an instant classic and quite arguably the best match ever staged on a Nitro.
3 3. The Nasty Boys Vs. Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan, Slamboree 1994
The Nasty Boys are anything but technical wizards but when motivated and booked opposite guys prepared to engage in a stiff brawl with them, they were capable of some very entertaining action. Such was the case at Slamboree 1994 when they spent ten minutes trading punches and using any plunder they get their hands on opposite Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan.
Billed as a Broad Street Bully Match, the Falls Count Anywhere fight was all action and particularly captivating in that era when mainstream wrestling was mostly relatively tame.
2 2. Jushin Liger Vs. Brian Pillman, SuperBrawl 1992
Long before Brian Pillman’s revolutionary Loose Cannon gimmick, he was simply an outstanding athlete with a world of potential. He was a perfect fit for WCW's Light Heavyweight division and an optimal opponent to go head to head with reigning champion Jushin Liger.
The two performed an instant classic. While the match holds up today, it’s important to remember in its context as the fast-paced, high-flying, and technical action was unlike most anything mainstream US audiences had been exposed to at that point.
1 1. Bret Hart Vs. Booker T, Nitro 1999
In early 1999, the writing was on the wall that after years of improving and arguably going under-utilized, Booker T was going to be a big deal for WCW. He worked a Nitro match with Bret Hart that February. True to the Hitman’s supreme in-ring prowess, as well as Booker T’s potential, the match delivered in spades.
In the most unlikely turn of event, Booker won cleanly. While Hart was relatively selfless when it came to being a top guy and putting over others, this was a particularly masterful performance to help push Booker’s stock to the moon.