Many years ago during a conversation with Kevin Nash, Triple H had laid out his vision for the future of sports entertainment and The Performance Center was etched out of that conversation. Its success can be debated, but the WWE PC isn’t going anywhere and it providing a place for superstars to work and learn to get ready for the main roster. With very few places left to work and learn, the PC is ideal for any up-and-comer. Perhaps he first got the notion of the idea from one of the places he once trained at - the WCW Power Plant.

Related: 10 Power Plant Graduates That Wasted Their Potential 

It certainly wasn’t the kind of facility that the WWE could produce with their coffers. But it did produce or help to hone the skills of some superstars that would go down as legends. Names like William Regal, DDP, Goldberg, and even The Big Show had all put in the work at the Power Plant and even way back when some of these future Hall Of Famers were citing The Game for helping them during these times.

Who Started The WCW Power Plant?

Jody Hamilton And Pretty Wonderful

For years, Jody Hamilton wrestled under a hood as part of The Assassins tag team. He would actually start future WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling before retiring after a career-ending injury. After recovering, he would join his son referee Nick Patrick in WCW and not only ran their version of The Gorilla Position, he also managed the team of Pretty Wonderful - Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma.

But he also started The WCW Power Plant in 1989, a haven for up-and-coming WCW stars to learn and ply their trade. Similar to the Performance Center model, older superstars would come on to be coaches. Names like Mike Graham, DeWayne “Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker” Bruce and Blackjack Mulligan were coaches. Much like Regal does today, Mulligan and Hamilton also traversed the world looking for names to bring into The Power Plant.

Wrestlers Who Came From WCW's Power Plant

Kevin Nash And DDP

While the Power Plant never reached heights that the WWE Performance Center has risen too, several big names came through the training ground runs the list of several former WCW stars and future WWE Hall Of Famers. DDP, Kevin Nash, and Molly Holly just to name a few came through the Power Plant’s doors. Unlike the state-of-the-art facility that houses the WWE PC, many future stars had some less than flattering things to say about training at the Power Plant.

Related: Is The WWE Performance Center Actually A Success?

The ever eloquent Nash once referred to the place as a “Quonset Hut from World War II.” Despite the surroundings, Nash did praise Hamilton’s teaching as far as ring psychology went. Former Marine Craig Pittman had likened it to a boot camp and Molly Holly had noted that the trainers like to yell in your face a lot instead of help train you.

The WCW Power Plant Did Not Have Much Success

Sgt Buddy Lee Parker Training

Yes, the Power Plant churned out some stars, but as Dave Meltzer once noted about graduates like The Giant and Goldberg, they certainly didn’t land on TV thanks to their skill level. Bret Hart’s disdain of The Power Plant is a direct result of trainers not teaching trainees like Goldberg how to care for and protect their opponents. The place seemed more like as Jim Cornette had once said “was another school notorious for their 'conditioning' drills where guys would do calisthenics until they puked and take lots of bumps, and they even had a trainer that had a 'drill sergeant' gimmick, an underneath wrestler named DeWayne Bruce. The Power Plant was also known for turning out very few actual star wrestlers who stood the test of time and ever worked anywhere but WCW.”

The idea of what The Power Plant was a haven for training and learning the business. A place where you could come to learn and that would foster relationships with other nearby promotions to make sure the industry has a future is exactly what The Performance Center is all about.

NEXT: The Most Important PPV In WCW History Is... Bash At The Beach?