Greatest WCW Wrestler Never to Win the WCW Title?

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

My ansewer has to be Jericho, then Scott hall...i mean it takes an idiot to have Hall in your company near the height of his career and not put a title belt on him...

And Henning as well, one of the best tech wrestlers of his time...

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Look as much as you guys want to say it, Jericho just isn't a viable answer, he was great in WCW but was far too low on the card when he was there to merit getting an almighty push up to main event stuff. It has to be somebody who WHEN THEY WERE THERE was hanging around the top of the card and making a name for themselves. So people like rey mysterio, chris jericho, chris benoit, dean malenko can't really be considered, they weren't where they are now in everybody's minds.

P.s. I would have resented dean malenko being anything being bigger than a tag champ, one of the most boring guys to set foot in a wrestling ring, zero charisma. Chris benoit isn't know for his charisma btu he absolutely butchered malenko when they were tag partners. Dean malenko wouldn't be a world champ in ROH.

 

[WrestlingMark84]

Chris Benoit shouldn't count because before he jumped ship to WWF he won the title. due to Bret Hart's injury the title was vacated on January 15, 2000.Chris Benoit defeated Sid Vicious for the title. Title was then vacated on January 17, 2000 due to a dispute with WCW...I considered Piper a good choice..Yes him and Hogan were both old but that was WCW...The Young talent didn't get the proper pushes they deserved. Rey could have been World Champ..expecially around the time they called him the Giant killer with his Feud with NASH...Jericho no...and i was a Jerichoholic..Malenko negative not even close..I liked Kevin Sullivan though as someone above mentioned..But in all fairness Piper should have received the big Gold. And as far as Scott Hall history shows he just wasn't dependable...That is the only reason he didn't receive the World Heavyweight title

 

[Optimist Prime]

"Stunning" Steve Austin was one of the better in-ring performers in WCW during his stint there. His time with the Dangerous Alliance and The Hollywood Blondes was great.

WCW simply wasn't interested in giving him a chance to prove himself worthy of carrying the ball because Bischoff was already predisposed to the idea that "wrestling in black tights" was a path to nowhere.

In all fairness, Steve Austin probably wouldn't have worked in WCW...at least during the time while he was there. Steve Austin's success was not only based on his personality - but a large factor had to do with timing. Quite simply, his "Stone Cold" gimmick wouldn't have worked had it come out 5+ years before it did. The world changed quite significantly through out the 90's...and the wrestling world was forced to change with it.

Steve Austin + the late 1990's was a perfect match made in heaven...but if you tried putting his gimmick in any genre before the late 1990's - it just simply wouldn't have worked. Right place, right time indeed.

 

[RJJ]

Hey Yo! That's right, scott hall, hands down. He was one of the main stars of the company. The title been held by a lot lesser stars than hall, i just don't get it. World title or not hall is a legend IMO. You can also make a case for jericho.

 

[Optimist Prime]

A lot of people are saying Scott Hall. The guy is a good wrestler, and he was much better than Kevin Nash. I personally think Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko and Brian Pillman. These guys were so talented, except WCW only liked the stars they bought, not what they had and could've done. Thank god Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio got the push they deserved in WWE.

I wrote a post on this in some other thread before. Why do guys like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, and Chris Benoit HAVE to get a push for a "Heavyweight" title anyway? Were they all talented? Yes. But at least at the time, wrestling was more about the entertainment, charisma, build-up, and personality and those 3 guys were basically all moves and no mouths.

WCW had an insurmountable amount of talent in the mid-to-late 90's. FILLED with larger-than-life living legends who were still pretty capable of running the show (as they even proved).

And just because you're wrestling the mid-card doesn't mean you're any less respected than anybody else. For example, Curt Hennig was a career mid-carder. He was incredibly gifted but never made it to the main event or won a world title. Regardless of that, he's still a legend in the business and a WWE Hall of Famer. And to be quite honest, I think Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio winning the World Heavyweight Titles actually cheapened their careers a little bit...because they always represented the hard-working blue collar mid-card worker busting their ass but never really quite having the resume (or build, personality, charisma, etc.) to move up with the big wigs. Then once they got there...their image of that blue collar hard-worker wasn't exactly the same it seemed...not to mention that the majority of World Champions were bigger guys who had worse in-ring abilities but far superior personality and charisma.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with some of these guys staying in the mid-card for their entire careers. They shouldn't be forced into the main event World Heavyweight Title spotlight because of a misconception people have.

You can be just as successful and legendary in the mid-cards. Just ask Curt Hennig or anybody else for that matter. Guerrero, Benoit, and Mysterio would have been legendary regardless of their "push". If anything, the push made me think a little less of them.

 

[Post]

My first thought is to go with Scott Hall. Ive talked about him in the "I'm not Angry, i'm Just Disappointed" thread.

But really, Arn Anderson should have been the WCW World Champ at some point. As gifted as Arn was in the ring, he was just as gifted on the mic. Arn Anderson made move like the DDT and the Spinebuster.

It would of made perfect sense at some point for him to beat Ric Flair for the title, or to have beaten someone like Hogan (whom Flair never seemed to get the best of) for the title and hang it over Ric's head.

A wasted opportunity...

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

I know it's easy to look at alot of the guys who prospered in the WWF(yes F, not E) and wonder how none of them wore the belt then guys like Arquette and Russo did. But, to be honest, they lacked the seasoning and charisma to have been considered anything more than transitional champions or to not be looked at on the same level as Russo during their reign. I gotta say that Scott Hall may have been a good champion when he first came into WCW, but after his reign as tag champion ended, it seemed like his charisma, drive, and dependability also went out the window and he was never the same. So I don't think that he would have been a good long term champ.

Now if you want to look at a nice list of guys who should have been champion, I think that you should look to the time shortly before WCW transitioned into the name WCW in order to see a list of guys who could have had worthwhile title reigns.

1. Arn Anderson- You have to love this guy. He had a decent heel look to him, he had mic skills and he could pull off the tough guy enforcer role to a tea. Of the main tiered Horsemen, I have always wondered why he never was given a run with the ball. But then again, you have to remember that he was always Flair's right hand man, unwavering, and loyal to a tee. He played his role well, but he could have had an "injury" run where Flair is out injured and he picks up the slack of the Horsemen and brings the title home.

2. The Great Muta- I know the guy didn't speak, but when he first came into WCW, he was lightening in a bottle. I mean the guy was like watching Jett Lei in Leathal Weapon 4. He was 14 times faster than the other guys and put on great matches. And he even had a decent storied background, where he was allegedly the son of the Great Kabuki. He was excellent and could tell a story in the ring like nobody's business. Unfortunately, then build him up to feed to Sting, who was then being fed to Flair. What a waste.

3. Terry Funk- Now to the best of my knowledge, Terry Funk never held the world title for Turner owned Crockett Promotions. But he damned well should have. I mean, any guy that can come into the company and make Flair and automatic face is a guy who people are paying attention to. He had his own style, his own sadistic drawl, and a very believably devastating finisher in the Piledriver. He was a villain and loved it. And WCW could have pushed into a world title reign and then had Flair win it back in order to help make the whole eventual heel turn of Flair even more memorable and loathing.

4. Old Anderson- To be honest, I'm not sure why he never had a title run. It seemed like he was the leader of the Horsemen at times, even thought Flair was the crown jewel, and yet he never really was pushed to the forefront. Ole could have been one hell of an old school type of brawniness. Sort of like Bruiser Brody without the boots. He didn't need management and was legitimately tough. A shame they never pushed him to the main picture.

5. Stunning Steve Austin- Why acquire world championship caliber talent if you're not going to see if he can run with it. After Steve Austin became the breakaway star of the Blondes, he definitely should have been run to the world title. He was built, could hold a mic, and was always the guy who managers could heel out for. Not sure why he didn't click as he was a nice throwback wrestler with a bad finisher. I mean the stun guy was nice and all but it wasn't a world title winning move like a spinebuster or piledriver or something that didn't look so akward. Still, Austin would have made a nice champion.

6. Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert- Yet another wasted talent. Sure he had his demons and was a little undersized, but he could work the crowd. He had a certain charisma that matched his gimmick of a sneaky pretty boy brawler. To be honest, I'm still scratching my head over this one.

and lad but not least....

7. Michael P.S. Hayes- this guy was a talent everywhere he went and was like the poor man's Ric Flair. That's why I was surprised that they brought him into WCW. But when they did, he had a hell of a feud with Luger over the US title and then was pushed into the tag scene shortly after. I think that he should have gotten a go at it as WCW had a lot of well known young talent at the time and could have really rejuvenated the company having Hayes face off against Luger, Koloff, and even Pillman over the title. But I guess that WCW just wasn't ready for any other feather haired champion than Flair. A shame too as Hayes was the more modern version of the gimmick.

 

[La Parka]

I'd say, either La Parka(HUUUUGE surprise, right?) or Ultimo Dragon. Both were massively popular, great costumes, phenomenal in-ring ability, Parka had this excellent attitude in the ring, I loved his random mean streaks. And as far as Ultimo Dragon, the man was just a damn beast.

But really, any of the Luchadors also deserved that gold. Mysterio, Kidman(Ohhhhh, early Kidman was so amazing!), Psicosis, any of them. Any of the men who were pissed on by WCW, really deserved a lot more than they got.

 

[mrbrownstone]

I have to go with Chris Jericho. He was the one man in Cruiserweight division who had the total package and would have been able to move up to the heavyweight title scene. While guys like Rey, Dean, Liger, Ultimo etc were all great in the ring none of them had mic skills and would have never suceded in the Main Event. Jericho on the other hand did have mic skills to go with his great talent inside the ring and unlike Rey or Dean he wasn't so small that him beating a guy like Hogan would be unbelievable. On top of that he got some great fan reactions (as a heel) and had already proven that he could carry a division as he was the top dog of the Cruiserwweights for a good amount of time in 1998. Basically there was no reason for Jericho not to be pushed other than the fact that the old guys were afriad he would make them look bad.

 

[La Parka]

Ok, I get what you're saying, and believe me, I dig Jericho's work. However...

1) In the case of guys like Ultimo, Liger, Rey, etc, I honestly think they weren't pushed to main even status because the masks were thought to be too "weird", or they were worried that the high-risk style wouldn't be "strong" enough for a world champ(ignoring how technical and all-around awesome these guys can be), and honestly, I think them being "foreign"(ignoring that Rey is in fact American) played a role, even if it wasn't THE deciding factor.

2) Yeah, mic skills are entertaining, but I don't think they should be SOOO important as to keep an otherwise good worker out of the main event. Hell, y'know what, I found the silent guys more entertaining, because they were always telling a real clear story, that was easy to follow, and they told it while actually working the damn match, as opposed to jawin' around the ring and wasting time that could be spent locking in a hammerlock, or grabbing a chair.

3) Y'know, being a Bruce Lee fan, I don't think the whole "size difference is too great" thing should be the end-all factor. Yeah, it might be harder to pull off with some guys, but I think if that character was tough enough to make it INTO the fed(WWF/E, WCW, ECW, TNA, whatever), I think they should be capable of bringing down Goliath, if they play smart.

idk, maybe I'm wrong. My vision's blurry, I need to sleep. But I hope those points I made, were coherent in some fashion. G'night.

 

[PsychoBlack]

My first thought is to pick Curt Hennig. He probably would have made it there if it were not for the nWo debacle which left many deserving superstars out to dry because they were members of the same faction as the champion. My next guy is Rick Steiner. I have always liked him for some reason and he was an excellent worker. Unfortunately his career died the night Scott turned heel. I wont go as far as to say that WCW wasted these talents because they held midcard titles and put on some great matches but they definitely deserved to hold the big gold belt at least one time

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

When he frist arrived in WCW, Scott Hall would have made a credible world champion. He had the look, the size, the charisma and the wrestling ability to have carried the company. However, introducing him as a member of the nWo, and really the 3rd star in the group behind Hogan and Nash meant he was never going to rise above those 2 and be World Champion.

Now, I am not dissing the nWo, as I think that Hall being a founding member of the group was a masterstroke by WCW, and he was perfect in the role he had, which guaranteed him a long-term mid-to-upper card spot on the card, I am just putting the point across that Hall would have never been allowed to outshine Hogan and Nash and enjoy a world title reign. After his personal problems began to take their toll, Hall declined and never managed to rediscover his drive and talent, and sadly we will never see The Bad Guy as a World Champ

 

[Hitman80]

I think Scott Hall is the obvious guy really.

Piper is a decent call but I think it was more sad he never won the WWF title in the 80's when he was the most entertaining and controversial man on the show and should have won the belt from Hogan.... The WWF really dropped the ball and imagine the heat he could have got if he had beat Hogan for the title. Huge buyrates for rematch could have been achieved.

 

[jmt225]

For me, it's easily Raven.

When you go back to the prime of the nWo era, Raven was the ONLY wrestler who was getting as much heat as the nWo. Hell, I could argue he was getting more heat than those fuckers, since some fans actually liked the nWo.

The fact that Raven got pushed aside once the nWo started fading was absolutely ridiculous, and in my opinion a big reason why WCW started dipping in ratings. Had they handed that belt to him, and gave him a real run with it as the biggest heel in the company, there's no doubt in my mind that WCW would have continued their success much longer than they did. People just hated the guy, and the fact was... his matches delivered, so people would not have mind shelling out $40 with him in the main event to watch him get his ass kicked.

Seriously, if Sting wins cleanly as Starrcade 1997, the nWo then dispatches, and Sting goes on to have a long, brutal feud with Raven, WCW never declines. The business would be much different today. I know it.

 

[tb78]

Here's a guy that no one has mentioned yet: Wrath

He was becoming one of the most over workers in WCW in 1998, but Nash ruined it by having Wrath lose to him. If Wrath would not have lost and tore his knee up he would have had a title reign. A good title match would have been between Wrath and Goldberg during both of their undefeated runs, winning here would make wrath a popular champion and might have helped WCW stay alive

 

[The Crock]

Chris Jericho. He was one of the best talents in WCW and the fact that he didn't get the belt is an absolute travesty. Jericho put on great matches with anybody who he'd been put into the ring with. I believe that had WCW given him the belt they might have been able to hold onto him, for a bit longer at least. Instead of giving guys like Hogan the belt repeatedly they could have, and should have, given the title to a guy like Chris Jericho. He busted his ass day in and day out and was probably their best talent potential wise, and one of their best talents with pure skill. Chris Jericho should have held the Big Gold Belt in WCW.

 

[A Mod's Best Friend (aka Bitch)]

Only been through a couple of pages so apologies if im off but i can't believe no one has mention the man of a thousand holds Dean Malenko.

I loved this guy and his steal like resolve in the ring and outside the ring. Thought his in ring style was terrific and was voted the wrestler of the year in 1997, during WCW's hottest period. You never really saw cut many promos until he joined the Horseman but the guy would have made a terrific world champion.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

You gotta look at someone like Malenko, Arn Anderson, Curt Hennig or Rick Rude,

All awesome wrestlers, held back from the world title by the bigger names who dominated the scene and never let anyone else reach their level. Hogan...I am looking at you.

 

[Fling_a_thong]

disco inferno. lol just kidding scott hall for the same reasons he was never wwf champion. although im not sure how wise it would have been given the fact that he had a alchohol problem which led to his releases at the end of his career. but hey, jeff hardy did it, so why couldnt he

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

disco inferno. lol just kidding scott hall for the same reasons he was never wwf champion. although im not sure how wise it would have been given the fact that he had a alchohol problem which led to his releases at the end of his career. but hey, jeff hardy did it, so why couldnt he

Interesting thought, but Hardy was supposed to have been clean during his WWE title reigns. Vince would not put the belt on someone who was turning up late and drugged up in these "wellness policy" times. He did have HBK as champ back in the 90s when he had problems, but I cant see this happening in the WWE now, especially not when the program is targetted at kids. We all saw what happened to RVD when he got caught with drugs- he lost the belt. If Jeff was in no condition to perform as champion, he would have had the belt taken away.

As for Scott Hall...he was great back in the day, but even after so many rehab attempts/hospital admissions, firings from companies etc... Hall still cant control himself. The guy is just reliably unreliable. I would have loved to have seen The Bad Guy with the title round his waist, but WCW simply couldnt rely on him to carry the company. It wasnt that he was held down- obviously his friendship with Nash and Hogan meant he was always in favour, but while HBK managed to kick his problems and go on to become a legend, Hall never managed it, and still drinks himself into a stupor to this day, even with all the help he has been given.

It is simply Halls personal demons that stopped him from becoming world champion, he had every other tool required- a great look, size, the ability to talk, and a great finishing move in the Outsiders Edge. It is a shame that we will never know how Hall would have done as World Champion, but he has noone else to blame but himself, he has wasted his own considerable talent.

It is for this reason I simply can't compare him to the likes of Arn Anderson and Dean Malenko when it comes to wrestlers who deserved the title in WCW but never got the chance, because they were held down and not given the opportunities, Hall prevented himself from getting those opportunities and the chance to main event, through his personal demons and inability to stay sober.

 

[MancMark]

Firstly, as much as I love Jericho, looking back on it he definitely wasn't ready then. Obviously he grew as a wrestler and went on to better things, but at that time, he wasn't ready. The same could really be said for Eddie and Rey.

For me, the answer is Hall. He was good in the ring, great on the mic and above all he had charisma. Anybody of his size who had charisma like him would be able to carry the strap well, regardless of their ability in the ring. It just so happens that he was good in ring as well. Clearly it would have been difficult for him to win the belt and stay with Hogan and Nash, so I would have had him turn face and go against them. Those 2 would be jealous (and rightly so because Hall was better than them both put together) and thus a feud ensues. He could have won the strap by "accident" by Hogan telling him to destroy the current champ in a match, but not pin him and win or whatever. Obviously with Halls problems, he was never going to get a title run. He was his own worst enemy. But I honestly don't think he gave a shit about the belt because he was earning the same (if not more) than the people carrying it anyways.

A lot of suggestions for Piper. I never liked him. He bored me to death and I never saw the appeal. I absolutely hated his feud with Hogan because it seemed like the beginning of the end at the time.

An interesting suggestion is Mike Awesome. He had some momentum when he turned up. I really liked him as a big man. Hernandez seems to use a lot of Awesome's thing these days. He had some credibility initially, so they could have given him the belt then. It probably seems a stupid suggestion because people immediately think of him as "That 70's Guy" or his Fat Chick thing, but that wasn't his fault. If they'd used him properly, he could have been good. Also, seeing as though Benoit's win was void, he's a great shout. He could have held it earlier.

 

[Fling_a_thong]

Interesting thought, but Hardy was supposed to have been clean during his WWE title reigns. Vince would not put the belt on someone who was turning up late and drugged up in these "wellness policy" times. He did have HBK as champ back in the 90s when he had problems, but I cant see this happening in the WWE now, especially not when the program is targetted at kids. We all saw what happened to RVD when he got caught with drugs- he lost the belt. If Jeff was in no condition to perform as champion, he would have had the belt taken away.

As for Scott Hall...he was great back in the day, but even after so many rehab attempts/hospital admissions, firings from companies etc... Hall still cant control himself. The guy is just reliably unreliable. I would have loved to have seen The Bad Guy with the title round his waist, but WCW simply couldnt rely on him to carry the company. It wasnt that he was held down- obviously his friendship with Nash and Hogan meant he was always in favour, but while HBK managed to kick his problems and go on to become a legend, Hall never managed it, and still drinks himself into a stupor to this day, even with all the help he has been given.

It is simply Halls personal demons that stopped him from becoming world champion, he had every other tool required- a great look, size, the ability to talk, and a great finishing move in the Outsiders Edge. It is a shame that we will never know how Hall would have done as World Champion, but he has noone else to blame but himself, he has wasted his own considerable talent.

It is for this reason I simply can't compare him to the likes of Arn Anderson and Dean Malenko when it comes to wrestlers who deserved the title in WCW but never got the chance, because they were held down and not given the opportunities, Hall prevented himself from getting those opportunities and the chance to main event, through his personal demons and inability to stay sober.

very true. but jeff hardy's champion in TNA despite court cases, substance abuses, etc.
i dont really think hes any different than scott hall in terms of deserving to being a champ. except scott hall had the better look, better wrestler (IMO), better charisma, my arguement is if jeff hardy had the strap once, maybe scott hall should have atleast once. but at the end of the day both werent really dependable to represent their companies. so i guess it turns out right,

 

[mr.nobody]

No question about it.... arn Anderson no one was more about wcw than he was the fact he never got the belt is outrageous. .... Him in wcw equals Owen n bulldog in wwf as far guys who deserved the belt... honestly Hall probably would of got the belt if the personal demons didn't get him

 

[CelticCorey]

I'm going with Raven. Good enough wrestler. I think since the NWO started to get stale 1998 would've been a good time as I love cult factions. He had the look, the character, to mess with other people's heads. Since he is in Mensa he could also incorporate some of the evil genius in him as well. Looking back on it, it really makes me mad that Raven was never WCW champ ESPECIALLY when he led Raven's Flock.