The '90s featured most talented wrestlers jumping back and forth between WWE and WCW. A different dynamic of the era allowed wrestlers to use two major companies as a form of leverage whenever their contract expired. If their promotion didn’t want to re-sign them for a contract they desired, the other company was usually willing to make the offer as the WWE and WCW were at war in the wrestling world.
The wrestlers who thrived at a high level in WWE and WCW became legends in both promotions. Meanwhile, others would struggle in both, showing a poor sign of excelling at a high level. Find out which wrestlers had the best runs of the Monday Night Wars, and which had the worst.
10 Legend: Kevin Nash
The success of Kevin Nash in both WWE and WCW allowed him to shine in the main event picture. Nash won the WWE Championship as Diesel, becoming one of the faces of WWE along with Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart in the New Generation Era.
The move to WCW would see Nash become even more popular with the incredible rise of the New World Order. Nash eventually branched out into singles action to become a consistent main eventer and WCW Champion. The time in each company ended in massive success.
9 Flop: Marty Jannetty
Marty Jannetty had a legendary tag team run with Shawn Michaels as The Rockers. Michaels turning on Jannetty would see him become a tremendous top superstar for many decades. Jannetty’s career went the opposite direction, with limited success as a singles star.
WWE tried pushing Jannetty for a short time, but his personal problems always caused issues. Jannetty eventually signed with WCW in the late '90s when Eric Bischoff added all the former WWE names on the free agent market. Unfortunately for Jannetty, he barely even made Nitro or PPV shows in WCW.
8 Legend: Rick Rude
Rick Rude is an underrated wrestler from his era when you realize his overall impact. The heel character of Rude was an upper main eventer for WWE in the '80s. Rude did a great job in feuds with faces like Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage.
WCW signing Rude in the early' 90s just saw his legend grow to new heights as a world champion. Rude had superb matches against Ricky Steamboat, Sting, and Ric Flair, making him one of the most important names in the entire company.
7 Flop: Bryan Clark
Bryan Clark was someone both WWE and WCW expected to find more success from in the '90s. WWE originally signed him as Adam Bomb with a strange gimmick that held him back. The run of Clark in WWE ended quickly with no significant standout moments.
WCW signed Clark with the new name of Wrath, uniting him with fellow peculiar character Mortis. Both gimmicks were inspired by the Mortal Kombat video game franchise. Clark did nothing noteworthy until the end of WCW when he used his real name to team with Brian Adams in Kronik. Even that tag team didn’t make much of an impact in the industry.
6 Legend: Ric Flair
The legacy of Ric Flair is as strong as any retired wrestler given the amount of respect he is treated with today. Flair had his best work in WCW, as the company always had him as the face of the brand until Hulk Hogan joined. Most of Flair's sixteen world title reigns came in the WCW days.
WWE would not use Flair in the same respect as a performer, but he was a main eventer in the early '90s. New fans of Flair would see him have a secondary role when wrestling for WWE in the 2000s. WWE always portrayed him as a legend and still does to this day.
5 Flop: David Flair
The son of Ric Flair had the opposite legacy of his father in both major promotions that gave him a chance. David Flair initially joined WCW with a huge push as the second-generation talent following in the footsteps of his father.
Despite a few high-profile feuds, David failed to get over or impress the fanbase at all, since he wasn’t ready to compete. WWE retained David's contract when buying WCW and placed him in developmental. Aside from getting attacked by The Undertaker during a feud with Ric, David never made it to television as WWE didn’t view him as having star potential.
4 Legend: Booker T
The entire career of Booker T in WCW and WWE always featured him having a relevant role. WCW started him off with the Harlem Heat team, uniting with his brother Stevie Ray for ten Tag Team Championship reigns.
The singles run of Booker would see him blossom into one of the final top main event stars made in WCW. Vince McMahon buying WCW allowed Booker to continue shining in WWE. Thanks to his outstanding run in both promotions, Booker joined the WWE Hall of Fame twice, for both his singles and tag work.
3 Flop: Shawn Stasiak
Shawn Stasiak received attention from both WWE and WCW as a second-generation talent. The son of former WWE Champion Stan Stasiak followed in his father’s footsteps when working for WWE. Shawn unfortunately had multiple weak runs in the company that ended in disappointment.
WCW eventually signed him away from WWE during their youth movement towards the end of the run. Shawn Stasiak had a stronger character, but he still struggled to get over or find a bigger role on the show. His wrestling run just never worked out in the way everyone expected.
2 Legend: Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan was arguably the best face in WWE history and the best heel in WCW history. His WWE run helped expand wrestling with the company breaking out as the first mainstream promotion. Hogan became a household name associated with the rise of the industry.
WCW signed Hulk away when the WWE run was growing stale in the mid-90s. Fans did not appreciate the same act continuing which inspired the heel turn. The new gimmick of Hollywood Hogan leading the New World Order faction helped WCW pass WWE for over a year with record-breaking success.
1 Flop: Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas' success makes it hard to believe just how hard he flopped in both WWE and WCW. He received a solid early push in WCW that unfortunately never progressed in the way the company expected. Ric Flair was blamed by Douglas for burying him backstage.
WWE would have the same result for Douglas with a horrible Dean Douglas character dooming him. Shawn Michaels and the Kliq were the reasons Douglas gave for his lack of success given their backstage power. Douglas enjoyed ECW even more after growing bitter towards both WWE and WCW for how they used him.