WCW always tried to push the biggest names to the top of the card, but they often missed the mark on having talented names flying under the radar. An argument can be made that WCW would have won the Monday Night Wars if they invested in creating more new top stars as WWE did with Steve Austin, Triple H, and The Rock.
The ‘90s featured many noteworthy changes for WCW throughout the decade. One constant was various talented stars not getting the spotlight when having to make a change. Each year in the 1990s, WCW missed the boat on pushing some very gifted wrestlers, some of which would become legends. The following wrestlers were underutilized each year in the ‘90s as WCW missed the mark.
10 1990: Mean Mark Callous
The Undertaker had a WCW run before getting his big opportunity in WWE. WCW used him under the name of “Mean” Mark Callous and placed the big man in a few programs. The biggest feud came in a losing effort to Lex Luger for the United States Championship.
Paul Heyman managed Callous for a short while before WCW started to lose faith. WCW personnel Ole Anderson told Undertaker he’d never make money in wrestling before releasing him. Undertaker ended the year debuting for WWE where he’d work for the next three decades.
9 1991: Brian Pillman
The in-ring skills of Brian Pillman made him one of the first successful stories of someone transitioning to wrestling after a stint in the NFL. Pillman loved the athletic side of things and started having great matches for WCW.
Jushin Liger and Pillman had some of the best matches in company history ahead of their time. WCW never truly invested in Pillman and wasted his prime. Pillman had all the tools to become a top star going back to 1991 as a potential breakout year.
8 1992: Cactus Jack
Mick Foley wasn't treated like a top star in WCW before he found greater success in ECW and WWE. The run as Cactus Jack saw Foley having great performances in 1992 when trying to prove his value for a bigger opportunity.
Sting had some of his best performances coming that year in WCW when facing off with Cactus. The push just never came Foley’s way leading to his eventual release. Foley proved WCW wrong by becoming a WWE legend.
7 1993: 2 Cold Scorpio
2 Cold Scorpio was one of the most talented in-ring workers to never find noteworthy success in WWE and WCW. The best work from Scorpio came in ECW and various Japanese promotions during his time in between companies.
Scorpio’s WCW tenure was a miss due to the company placing him in a tag team with fellow young star Buff Bagwell. The two didn’t like working together and WCW had no plans for Scorpio on his own. Fans were the losers here not getting to see Scorpio pushed to his full potential.
6 1994: Steve Austin
Steve Austin was adamant about trying to prove himself in WCW around 1994. The company gave him a small singles push, winning the United States Championship. Austin had stellar matches and was starting to show more personality as a heel.
Hulk Hogan joining the company basically made anything before his arrival irrelevant to management. Austin’s hard work was for nothing as he dropped the title to Jim Duggan in a squash match. WCW released Austin following an injury to end his run in a depressing fashion.
5 1995: William Regal
WCW was always hot and cold on trying to elevate William Regal into an important position. Regal had an intense style between the technical wrestling moves and his ability to make the matches have a realistic feel.
The few opportunities against bigger names like Sting saw Regal always holding his own, especially around 1995. WCW needed new stars to step up, but they just never committed to a legitimate Regal push to move him up the card.
4 1996: Finlay
The roster depth of WCW started to become a huge positive and negative in 1996. Fans loved a dream roster of superb talents, but this also meant many great talents would not even receive consistent television time.
Finlay had a few programs in 1996 that proved his skillset was impressive. WCW had a great spectacle with William Regal and Finlay duking it out in a brutal Parking Lot Brawl. Finlay, unfortunately, was never a priority to WCW causing his sporadic use to prevent a push.
3 1997: Eddie Guerrero
The heel turn for Eddie Guerrero in 1997 completely changed his character for the better in 1997. Guerrero was always known for having stellar matches, but the character shift allowed that side of his persona to shine for the first time.
The rivalry with Rey Mysterio might have been the best in cruiserweight division history in 1997. WCW just didn’t think Eddie could thrive outside of the cruiserweight division at the time. Guerrero had a run in the mid-card title picture, but he should have been a bigger star during this time.
2 1998: Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho started to showcase his conspiracy victim character in 1998, claiming WCW had it out for him. The addition of the comedic elements to his personality made Jericho a great promo-cutter and all-around impressive talent.
Goldberg was called out by Jericho during his undefeated streak as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Jericho just wanted to get squashed by the top star to build his reputation of working with bigger names. Goldberg refused and WCW continued to utilize Jericho in a secondary role.
1 1999: Raven
The success of Raven in ECW saw WCW offering him a bigger contract in 1996. Raven had quite a few good moments in WCW and peaked with an outstanding rivalry against Diamond Dallas Page that could have elevated him.
1999 saw Raven reaching a lower point in WCW having less television time and little detail to his storylines. Raven was not used well at all and took Eric Bischoff up on his word to release anyone unhappy in the locker room. WCW saw Raven walking out instead of making him a bigger name when they desperately needed new stars.