The impressive standing of WCW in the industry made it a great competitor to WWE during the Monday Night Wars. Fans viewed WCW as a legitimate top contender in the wrestling war instead of just relying on WWE as the only top company. WCW’s growth saw it pass WWE for over a year and became a great alternative for wrestlers looking to make a move.
Unfortunately, the fit in WCW wasn’t the best for quite a few wrestlers signing there with plans of a bigger future. Stories ranged from wrestlers being too old, getting booked poorly, or just not having much of an impact in that landscape. Find out which names missed out on a major run. The following wrestlers were amazing until signing with WCW.
10 Curt Hennig
The incredible matches of Mr. Perfect in WWE made him a hot commodity in the industry for many years. Curt Hennig gave up the Perfect character when leaving WWE for WCW in 1997 when WCW was taking over.
Hennig had a relevant role, joining the Four Horsemen and defecting to the New World Order. Hennig had big-name opponents like Bret Hart and Ric Flair, but he had lost a step or two to no longer have that elite worker reputation.
9 The Sandman
ECW was a hot third promotion serving as a great alternative in the ‘90s. The Sandman was one of the standout talents with the main event run as ECW Champion. WCW signed him away with the new name of Hak to add more roster depth.
All the magic was gone with Hak not having the theme song, creative freedom, and fan interaction from ECW. The matches of Hak disappointed and he had little fan value for WCW to completely tank his momentum and name value.
8 Marty Jannetty
The Rockers were arguably the most popular tag team for WWE as the ultimate faces. Shawn Michaels was the bigger priority when the team split up and went their separate ways with singles careers.
Marty Jannetty was always viewed as a great in-ring worker even when he had smaller roles in WWE. Nothing was showcased in WCW when Jannetty had a lackluster run mostly putting over others. The name value for Jannetty dropped and his career was never the same.
7 Brian Adams
Crush was always viewed as an impressive mid-carder for WWE with runs in Demolition, the Nation of Domination, and on his own as a singles star. The intimidating presence of Crush made him a solid addition to WCW when jumping ship under his real name of Brian Adams.
WCW introduced him in a relevant manner by having Adams attack Bret Hart. The lackluster matches saw Adams’ career take a hit and move lower down in the pecking order. Adams hit rock bottom when becoming part of the nWo B-team separated from the top stars.
6 Ted DiBiase
The in-ring career of Ted DiBiase ended faster than expected for WWE due to an injury. DiBiase transitioned into a managing role leading the Million Dollar Corporation faction. WWE saw DiBiase become a great manager until the poor fit with Steve Austin led to a move towards World Championship Wrestling.
WCW signed DiBiase for the huge role of the manager and benefactor in the New World Order. DiBiase showed positive results but it ended within a few months when Eric Bischoff joined the group with a bigger version of this role. The career of DiBiase fell apart in the managing role as he lacked chemistry with the Steiner Brothers and others he worked with.
5 Big Boss Man
The WWE career of the Big Boss Man made him a Hall of Famer with a legendary legacy. Boss Man’s character got over strong and made him the ideal wrestler needed for mid-card spots in WWE at the time.
The move to WCW hurt his career in the long run. Boss Man worked under a few names in WCW with most of his time coming as Big Bubba Rogers. WCW never found the right fit for him and it made fans forget how great he was.
4 Sunny
WWE found immense success with Tammy Sytch playing the Sunny character in the ’90s. The fan interest in Sunny made her one of the top female personalities in WWE history. Sunny utilized her looks and charisma to thrive outside of the ring.
WCW signed Sytch for a run in 2000 when Vince Russo took over. The prior success in WWE and ECW made the duo of Tammy and Chris Candido seem like great additions to the roster. Sytch unfortunately no longer had the same appeal with both professional and personal issues causing her downfall.
3 Jim Duggan
Hulk Hogan signing with WCW and having influence right away led to his friends like Jim Duggan getting signed and pushed. Duggan made his debut by beating Steve Austin for the United States Championship in under a minute.
The WCW run of Duggan was instantly a disappointment with his WWE charm not connecting the same. A gimmick sometimes flops if it was created in one promotion and tried to carry over to another. Duggan’s name value took a huge hit after joining WCW and losing his momentum.
2 Mike Awesome
The signing of Mike Awesome saw one of ECW’s best stars coming over to WCW. Awesome was still the ECW Champion coming off a great reign when making the business decision to join the bigger company. WCW had high hopes of Awesome being part of their rebranding effort.
The creative team failed Awesome with a few horrible concepts ruining him quickly. Gimmicks like That 70s Guy and the Fat Chick Thrilla failed to showcase Awesome at his best. WCW saw Awesome fall from a top world champion to a WCW flop.
1 Bret Hart
Bret Hart was supposed to be one of the biggest signings in WCW history. The WWE departure with the Montreal Screwjob made Hart arguably the hottest commodity in wrestling. Bret instantly fell apart with the booking failing him in WCW.
The first angle of being a special guest referee was foolish itself. Hart then moved into programs with little purpose behind them. WCW did little with Bret in his first year to make the best chapter of his career end the second he arrived.