The Monday night wars saw the two biggest powerhouses in history collide when WCW took on WWE. Even though they were ahead in the ratings for a long time, WCW eventually lost the battle for Monday night supremacy and went out of business. While they were still going strong, the company had some of the biggest names in the wrestling industry competing under their banner. And even though the company has been out of business for many years now, some of the iconic names from the ghost of WCW past still come up in the same conversation.
In some cases it is because wrestlers managed to maintain a close friendship after all of these years. In other cases it's because no matter how much time passes, two guys will just never bury the hatchet and move on. WCW made many lasting friendships, but the rise (and rapid demise) of the once popular wrestling promotion also created bitter enemies. Be it because of feuds that got personal, disagreements between stars or just plain bad blood boiling between two macho men, the heat was not limited to crowd reactions.
With that in mind, in this article will be discussing 10 WCW friendships that remain alive and well today, and 5 pairs of wrestlers who appear destined to remain mortal enemies forever. We've seen some stars bury the hatchet and repair their old bridges, but these men are either good friends or sworn enemies.
15 FRIENDS: STING AND LEX LUGER
Two men who entered the wrestling industry with giant, bodybuilder like physiques, Sting and Lex Luger have a friendship that goes as far back as the 80's. The pair shared a passion for staying in shape and worked out together for years. Sting was also the man behind Luger shocking the world by showing up on the episode of WCW that kickstarted the Monday night wars. In a recent interview Luger said he was delighted to see Sting finish his career in WWE and get inducted into the hall of fame. He went on to say that the pair text frequently and usually meet up every month or so to catch up.
14 FRIENDS: SCOTT STEINER AND BUFF BAGWELL
For all of the enemies Scott Steiner has made during his time in WCW, Buff Bagwell is one man that he remains friends with to this day. The pair became friends while they were both members of the NWO faction, often tagging together during the mid to late 90's. They also traveled together during their tenure with WCW. Bagwell has said in interviews how the pair clicked from day one and how they had a crazy fun time together getting up to all sorts of shenanigans on the road. Bagwell also admitted that the the reason they could get up to the sort of mischief they did was because nobody in their right mind would stand up to Steiner.
13 ENEMIES: SHANE DOUGLAS AND RIC FLAIR
There are many reasons why the now defunct WCW went out of business, but if you ask Shane Douglas, Ric Flair was one of the main people responsible for the company's demise. After an ill fated run as Dean Douglas in WWE, the franchise rebuilt his reputation in ECW before singing for WCW. This was meant to be the point in his career where he finally broke through the glass ceiling in a major company. To this day Douglas remains adamant that the Nature Boy held him back, even going as far as to say that Flair tried to ruin his career. It is no secret that Flair has had quite a problem with his attitude in the past, so there may be something to this story. Don't expect a happy ending though.
12 FRIENDS: HULK HOGAN AND ERIC BISCHOFF
Despite the company going out of business under his leadership, Eric Bischoff made a lot of friends during his time running WCW. Of all of the friendships he made, arguably the man he is closest to is the former prized possession of WWE during the early 90's, none other than Hulk Hogan. Bischoff was the man who convinced Hogan to turn and the pair worked closely together during the days of the NWO. They even reunited years later for a run together in TNA. Bischoff has said that the pair remain in constant contact. He said in some cases they will talk multiple times a week, even referring to Hogan as his best friend. It's clear that their friendship is as strong as ever.
11 FRIENDS: RAVEN AND CHRIS JERICHO
Alongside close friends Konnan and Disco Inferno, Raven and Chris Jericho made up the 3rd and 4th members of an unofficial backstage clique during their time in WCW. With Raven being a member of mensa, both are very intelligent men and bonded in WCW over their mutual interest in useless trivia knowledge. Despite not keeping in touch as much as they would like, when Raven made an appearance on Jericho's podcast a few months back, it really gave off the vibe of two old friends catching up and was nice to hear. Jericho has very few enemies in the business, but Raven can't exactly say the same. The only time we actually hear from him is in interviews as he hasn't been welcomed back to WWE.
10 ENEMIES: BRET HART AND HULK HOGAN
There is no disputing that two of the biggest and most iconic names in the history of the wrestling business are Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart. However, in a lot of cases when wrestlers gain celebrity status, a huge ego isn't far behind. Their animosity began when Hogan refused to drop the WWE title to Hart on his way out of the company. Hogan felt that hart was neither a big enough star nor a physically large enough human to merit the Hulkster jobbing to him. Since then, Hart has blamed Hogan using backstage politics to hold him back during his WCW run. He also said Hogan was responsible for ruining TNA.
9 FRIENDS: KEVIN NASH AND SCOTT HALL
Having first met at Superbrawl 1991, the friendship between Kevin Nash and Scott Hall spans several decades. It is also a friendship that that helped change the business forever. After the duo jumped from WWE to WCW, not only did they form the NWO, but they became the first two wrestlers in the history of the business to receive guaranteed contracts. In the end, the pair ended up teaming together in WCW, WWE and lastly in TNA. Through all of Hall's addiction issues, Kevin Nash has always been there for him trying to help his friend through the dark times. Their bond is so tight that at one point Nash even said that he is closer with Hall than he is with his own wife.
8 FRIENDS: DDP AND ERIC BISCHOFF
From when he took over WCW in 1994 to it's demise in 2001, Eric Bischoff was accused of not giving new talent a chance to shine during his tenure at the helm. However, one wrestler who was made a star during that time frame was his neighbour and close friend DDP. Not to say that the friendship was the reasoning behind this, as DDP's work rate combined with his natural charisma made him a huge hit with the fans. The pair stayed in touch long after WCW was finished, and Bischoff was even given the honour of inducting his close friend DDP into the 2017 WWE hall of fame. It's amazing that DDP got where he did considering his late start, but Bischoff clearly played a huge part in his life.
7 ENEMIES: SCOTT STEINER AND RIC FLAIR
It's no secret that WCW was rife with issues of backstage politics from the mid 90's up until the company closed its doors for good. In one of the longest running examples of hatred on this list, the outspoken Scott Steiner has held a grudge against Ric Flair for years. Steiner feels as though Flair held him back, using his pull backstage to slow down Steiner's career during his time in WCW. He made this perfectly clear to Flair by spending the better part of 2000 cutting shoot promos about the Nature Boy on air. In the most infamous of these promos, he called old and jealous and blamed him for getting Stone Cold Steve Austin fired from WCW.
6 FRIENDS: DISCO INFERNO AND KONNAN
As mentioned earlier, alongside Chris Jericho and Raven, Konnan and Disco Inferno made up an unlikely band of friends. All four were seen as mid-card acts at the time, and they all shared an aforementioned love of random trivia. Not long ago, Disco appeared on Konnan's keeping it 100 podcast, as the pair discussed their friendship and their love of trolling fans online amongst other things. Both men have said in interviews that they feel as though the other should have been pushed more during their time in WCW, and that they feel as though their respective pushes would have come had the company stayed in business longer.
5 FRIENDS: DDP AND SCOTT HALL
Despite breaking into the wrestling business relatively late, DDP worked tirelessly on improving in the ring and went on to become a 3 time WCW champion. Furthermore, Page was instrumental in Kevin Nash and Scott Hall signing for WCW and forming the NWO. Hall, in turn, was one of the people who talked Eric Bischoff into pushing DDP when he started showing real promise in WCW. Years after the end of WCW with Hall struggling with addiction, DDP invited his long time friend to live with him. Page helped Hall battle his addiction demons and get back to sobriety with the help of DDP yoga. Both men are still close friends to this day.
4 ENEMIES: BUFF BAGWELL AND SHANE HELMS
This one is a little strange. Although this pair were in WCW together for many years without incident, as soon as they made the jump to WWE during the 2001 invasion angle tensions between them flared. With a large portion of the locker room present, Helms claims that Bagwell attacked him from behind, and in retaliation Helms threw a bottle at him resulting in Bagwell needing 20 stitches. In the aftermath of the incident and a terrible match with Booker T, Bagwell was released from WWE. Despite most of the dispute revolving around one major incident, neither man has ever made peace with the other, publicly or otherwise.
3 FRIENDS: BRET HART AND RIC FLAIR
The friendship that has blossomed between Ric Flair and Bret Hart in recent years might just be the most surprising addition to this list. That's because during their time in WCW together, the two men hated each other. Hart felt at though flair was a lazy worker who was stuck in the past and Flair claimed that Bret Hart was never a draw. However, years later they made peace as they were in opposite corners for a bout between Ric's daughter Charlotte and Bret's niece Natalya. As they watched both ladies carried on their family legacies, the two legends made peace. Nowadays they have nothing but good will towards one another.
2 FRIENDS: DDP AND KEVIN NASH
In similar fashion to his relationship to Scott Hall, DDP was also responsible for bringing Kevin Nash to WCW. Nash was also one of the people who put in a word with the higher ups so that DDP could receive the push that ended up making his career. Another cornerstone of their friendship is the bond they both share with Scott Hall. Both men stayed in constant contact while Scott was trying to rehabilitate himself, and both men played their part in both helping with Hall's hip replacement and getting him back in WWE's good graces so he could claim his rightful place in the WWE hall of fame.
1 ENEMIES: SCOTT STEINER AND HULK HOGAN
I don't think anyone would be shocked to hear about a mutual dislike between Scott Steiner and Hulk Hogan. Both men have made their fair share of enemies in the wrestling industry. What is surprising is that their falling out came in TNA, and they actually worked together in WCW for years without incident. Steiner blames the introduction of Hogan and Bischoff for the downfall of TNA, citing their touch of death at the final nail in the coffin of TNA. Hulk Hogan actually went as far as to have Steiner banned from the 2015 hall of fame induction ceremony over an alleged airport incident.