The Talent That WCW Wasted

[BigBombB]

We all know the stories of Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and numerous other smaller stars that were treated like second tier workers. However, at least they had a chance to ply their craft to the best of their ability on the show. What I'm talking about here is the slew of big name talent that entered WCW only to end up becoming completely irrelevant in a business they were once bright stars in. Certainly not everyone can be a Hulk Hogan but most struggled to even be a Lex Luger.

When I saw someone mention Bam Bam Bigelow in another thread it made me wonder why I never mentally associate him with the greats of the pro wrestling business. In WWF he was treated like a big deal, in Japan and ECW he was treated like a legend, then when he went to WCW he was treated like just another guy. When I think of Bam Bam I think of wacky hardcore matches and his match with LT that I was too young to understand the significance of. But, mainly, wacky hardcore matches.

So many wrestlers with amazing credentials joined WCW, the number two (and temporary number one) promotion ever to exist, and became less relevant there than they would have been working indy promotions. Who else, in your opinion, fell to the bitter fate of becoming a 'Who Cares' Worker?

 

[The Brain]

I always thought WCW wasted a lot of their "home grown" talent after Hogan and company went down south in 1994. WCW spent years building up guys like Vader, Steve Austin, Ron Simmons, Cactus Jack, Brian Pillman, Dustin Rhodes, and Johnny B. Badd. Shortly after Hogan, Savage, and other former WWF stars showed up these guys were pushed down the card before being let go while still in their prime. It was like the guy that put a lot of time and effort into a relationship but when the prom queen became available he threw away a good thing to up his social status. Just like that guy, WCW enjoyed the benefits for a while but it turned out the new girl was stuck up and high maintenance. She eventually bled him dry while the old girl went on to bigger and better things with someone else.

 

[UFOcalling]

Unfortunately, there are quite a few names that come to mind. Bret Hart is a big one; until Russo got to WCW he was lost in the shuffle. Same goes for Booker T, Sid & Scott Steiner. Russo saw their main event level potential (although it could also be argued that those are the only guys he had left after The Radicalz, Jericho & The Giant defected to WWF - but remember that Jarrett, Nash, Hall, Hogan, Flair, Luger, DDP, Sting & Goldberg were still there as well), and at least he tried to make those guys relevant (and did the best he could). There are others, like Ernest Miller for instance - who got an undeserved push from Russo.

Bam Bam is a good example, and when I think of Bam Bam's WCW tenure I immediately think of Hardcore Hak (previously known in ECW as The Sandman). Yeah, Sandman really wasn't that great of a worker - he just had a great entrance and a Singapore cane...but WCW could have done more with him. The crowd went nuts for Sandman in ECW's "bingo hall", and that could have carried over to WCW as well - if he was booked "correctly". Raven did get somewhat of a midcard push (feuding with DDP for the US Title is what I remember him best for, besides the pure gold we saw him do with Kanyon - and a bit with Saturn as well), but Raven was the kind of talent that could have done a lot more if he had been given a fair shake. There are more from 1998 and forward, but I'll stop there to leave room for others to chime in.

 

[J.J.]

Hugh Morris! Big guy his size doing moonsaults was unforgettable. Really thought WCW dropped the ball with him and Bam Bam. WCW didn't know Bam Bam's strengths and Hugh is remembered as the guy that started Goldberg's streak.

WCW dipped into ECW's talent pool and pulled out Mike Awesome. Remember he was ECW champion at the time of his signing. Instead they stuck him with gimmicks that weren't going to get over like that 70'a gimmick he had.

Sandman was another ECW talent that was extremely over in ECW. When he got to WCW he was packaged as Hak and honestly I couldn't tell you what his gimmick was but he wasn't over.

WCW just didn't know what to do with ECW talent at all. Paul Heyman only knew what to do with ECW talent. Sandman and Mike Awesome were just wasted talent.

Bret Hart for obvious reasons.

WCW had Power Plant which taught the guys how to fit their mold of a WCW star but the inability to protect their opponent which ultimately led to Bret Hart's concussion from Goldberg's kick to the head.

Norman Smiley was another as he was getting extremely over as Screamin' Norman Smiley. Now by no means was he a main eventer but he was over with the fans and I can't recall him winning the Television or US title. THE BIG WIGGLE!

 

[The Dark Warlords]

Konnan: One of Mexico's greatest legends. Held numerous championships in Mexico. Even was a soap opera star and rap star in Mexico. Next to Rey Mysterio Jr., perhaps Mexico's greatest export. Came to WCW, got a mid card push with reigns as U.S. and T.V. Champion, but should have been more. Maybe at least a one time WCW World Heavyweight Champion.


Rey Mysterio Jr.: Should have been WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Should have become to first man to hold the Cruiserweight and Heavyweight championships at the same time when he faced off against Ric Flair on nitro.

Steve Austin: Anyone that who saw the "Stunning" Steve Austin persona knew that was gold. It had the makings of a great World Champion. got held down by the system. Shame.

That is all i will name for now

 

[MWRedskins]

i could make a list of guys WCW failed on from Jericho to Benoit to Mysterio to Steve Austin and Guerrero, but i know those 5 are quite easy to point out. i think though that WCW's biggest mistake in their talent that they wasted was Bret Hart. i know Hart wasnt grown WCW talent, but he was a talent that WCW could've finally put WWF/E out of the way, however, they quickly failed on Hart. in my book, he (Hart) should've came in and immediately been deemed the number one contender for the world title and they should've used the fact that Hart is the unbelted Champion and after Sting's run ended, Hart should've been the champion. so i think he's the biggest wasted WCW talent, but WCW had alot of wasted talent however by either misusing them or pairing them in wrong feuds.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Hart was booked horribly from day one....you try to portray him as a fan fave (which he wanted) and seemingly set him up vs Hogan & NWO at Starrcade 97 only to have him get booed when he immediately faces Flair ???? Then his ridiculous membership in the NWO, teaming with Hogan, teaming with Wolf Pac (that whole NWO split storyline was stupid in general), Hart had some individual good matches, particularly against Sting, Luger, & Flair, but he never had a coherent storyline or long term feud, it was ridiculous. Of course, there is a reason why Hart was let go in WWE, as a character he wasn't nearly as entertaining as HBK or Austin or Rock, his potential for growth or change was zero, he had reached his ceiling, and it was below a lot of other guys. Still, he was marketable and had a solid fan base. Maybe he wasn't Flair or Hogan in terms of legendary status but neither was Ricky Steamboat and WWE made a mint off him when they signed him from WCW, just as WCW made a mint off him when the got him back. Hart could have contributed in a similar way but wasn't given the chance.

I disagree on Steiner - WCW made him a star in The Steiner Bros tag team and made him much bigger with his mega heel "Big Poppa Pump" persona, they milked a lot from him.

How do you waste Sid Justice ? He couldn't talk, his promos were horrible, he was worse as a wrestler, and he had a nasty habit of no showing dates on a regular basis. The fact either WCW or WWE ever found a way in the short term to make money off him is amazing.

Guerrero was clearly wasted. Before the NWO storyline he was getting a major push and continued to do so with his heel turn and his original "Latino Heat" style persona, but Hogan & Nash didn't want heels on the card getting as much heat as them, plus with his relative small size, he was de pushed and wasted. He had legit charisma that Benoit never even came close to having while being exceptional in the ring. Somehow WCW got about as much mileage as they could from Benoit, a mid card talent, but whiffed on the superior Eddie Guerrero. The fact that Benoit was essentially a mid card guy in WWE and Guerrero was much bigger just proves that point.

ECW guys in general were lousy wrestlers, they appealed to a much smaller niche audience that was more interested in the presentation of the matches than they were the wresters in most cases. There were some talented guys who cut their chops there but most of them were 3rd team talent, ESPECIALLY Sandman, a guy who seemingly couldn't execute even the simplest of moves, he wasn't anything special on the mic either. He's lucky he got a job outside ECW, notice WWE never pursued him.

Jericho was a young guy at the time they didn't realize the talent in him. Remember during the Jim Herd days WCW discovered Undertaker, Kevin Nash, & HHH....and let each one leave for nothing. The Bischoff era wasn't quite that bad but Jericho is an example of a guy who got lost in the Hogan/Nash/NWO shuffle.

Steve Austin is different than Jericho, more like Guerrero in the fact that he was in WCW for many years and was established as a top tier talent, yet once Hogan came in he was gone. There were other guys WCW let go post Hogan, such as Marc Mero (short term career as a mid card in WWE just like he was in WCW, just playing a different character) or Mick Foley (was a rising star in WCW but hit his stride in WWE) but no one was as big as Austin when they were dumped and no one reached his heights after he left.

I disagree on Vader, at least in term of being misused. He could have done more but he was quite successful, like Austin he got bounced before the NWO but after Hogan arrived but unlike Austin he was a major player post Hogan for awhile. He chose to leave in a contract dispute (and supposedly heat with Hogan behind the scenes over booking), he wasn't fired or let go.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Bret Hart for obvious reasons.

WCW had Power Plant which taught the guys how to fit their mold of a WCW star but the inability to protect their opponent which ultimately led to Bret Hart's concussion from Goldberg's kick to the head.

To this day that is only incident I have seen documented in which Goldberg missed a move and injured someone. It's blatantly unfair to criticize him for that accident or to blanket criticize Power Plant guys in general as being bad in ring performers.

Compare Goldberg's in ring work to Ultimate Warrior, that guy was a walking menace in the ring and there are multiple stories about guys his lack of skill and poor execution injured and the heat he derived backstage from it.

Even the some of the most skilled wrestlers have had accidents....Konan injuring Lex Luger (when it was estimated Luger had wrestled over 10,000 matches and never been injured), Luger injuring Arn Anderson (although later stories indicated Anderson's arm injury was a pre existing condition from years of in ring bumps and not Luger's fault), Nash messing up a power bomb and injuring Big Show, HBK missing on a Super Kick on Raw and knocking lose Ric Flair's teeth, Flair giving Undertaker a black eye in a miscommunication between them over an exchange of punches, Owen Hart injuring Steve Austin, Randy Savage messing up his off the top rope elbow and injuring Charles Robinson, not too mention the number of guys who have broken or torn various bones and ligaments while performing in the ring including Cena, HHH (both knees), Nash, etc.

 

[FlairFan2003]

We all know the stories of Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and numerous other smaller stars that were treated like second tier workers. However, at least they had a chance to ply their craft to the best of their ability on the show. What I'm talking about here is the slew of big name talent that entered WCW only to end up becoming completely irrelevant in a business they were once bright stars in. Certainly not everyone can be a Hulk Hogan but most struggled to even be a Lex Luger.

There weren't many guys bigger than Luger in wrestling in the 90s, especially at his height. Hart, HBK, Taker, all well known and popular but Luger was as big if not bigger than each of them, bigger over the decade than Scott Hall, Scott Steiner, he wasn't quite at the level of the 80s Mega Stars (Hogan/Savage/Flair) or Austin and Rock at the end of the decade, but there are a lot of guys who would have struggled to even be a Lex Luger. For example, Yokozuna wasn't as big a star as Luger, or Owen Hart, or Curt Henning, to name a few.

 

[thebarber]

Not sure how guys like Jericho, Benoit, Guerrero were treated so poorly in WCW. They were not main event level guys back then,. they were opening act/mid card talents. How can anybody honestly suggest Hogan, Flair, Sting etc drop to the mid card and try and sell ppvs with Benoit vs Guerrerro headlining in 1997-1998. Its idiotic. One needs to remember what the landscape looked like 15-20 years ago beforer making outlandish comments.
Anybody who was regularly on television on Monday nights in 1995-1999 was not buried, they were getting massive exposure and above expected salaries. Jericho would never have been able to come into WWE into a feud with The Rock first up if not for the xposure given on Nitro. Benoit etc would not have been into a feud with DX first week in i not for the exposurer WCW gave them.
Sure Bret Hart was not booked anywhere near smart during his three year run, but being a 2 time Champion multiple US Champ and Tag chmap in his tenure shows he was involved in storylines come 1998. And he missed most of 1999 after Owens death and his knee and groin injuries and most of 2000 with his concussion. Bret could have been used better, but so could 90% of the roster. These threads need to be in accorance with how things were back then, easy to judge in 2014

 

[New Hot Fed]

Bam Bam Bigelow was brought in WCW and they sent him straight to a feud with WCW's biggest star, Goldberg. And Bam Bam was booked like this huge monster. It was WWF and ECW that booked him like just another guy in the last days with them. Remember he was with that freak Luna Vachon in the WWF.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

When I think of talent that WCW wasted, my answer is always the same.

Raven and Mike Awesome

Raven was a success in WCW, but should have achieved more than he did. I know he had his drug issues (which probably contributed to why WCW never pushed him above mid-card) but his talent was unquestionable. A master on the mic, good in the ring and with a character perfectly suited to the time period, I would love to have seen Raven as a main eventer in WCW or WWE.

His storyline with the Flock was good, but when you think the only belt he held in WCW was the US title FOR ONE DAY, it's clear he wasn't utilised enough.

Mike Awesome's WCW career sickens me, as I've said many times on these forums. You bring a guy in from ECW on big money where he breaks his contract and appears on Nitro while still ECW champion (which is a big deal), and then you stick him with a gimmick as a guy who loves the 70s, and as a man who loves fat women. WHT THE FUCK. Mike Awesome was a beast, a huge guy who could fly and move unlike almost anyone his size. He was a main event level talent, and the way WCW treated him was a disgrace. It annoys me even now just typing it.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

The two guys who I always felt could've delivered so much more for WCW, but were never really given the opportunity to shine were Steven Regal and Shane Douglas.

Regal was an incredibly talented wrestler, and gifted on the mic which was something that WCW needed more of. He was also just a perfect heel, which was great for a time when guys like Flair were hovering in that in-between status where fans no longer were really booing Flair even if he was playing the heel role. The best Regal ever got was a TV title, a feud with Larry Zbyszko, and a US Title match against Sting. Regal was a far better fit for WCW than he ever was for the WWF.

Shane Douglas also had some success in the WCW, particularly his tag team with Ricky Steamboat. The guy was obviously talented in the ring, but I know Douglas was also political plutonium. It seemed everywhere he turned, he had heat with pretty much the biggest names in the business. So whether this was WCW's fault, or his own fault, it was still a missed chance for someone who again -- had the gift of gab on the mic, and could be a convincing main event player to offer up something for the company. His "Revolution" stable in the waning days of WCW could've been fantastic, but it was irrelevant in the increasingly crowded roster.

 

[J.J.]

I wanted to throw in Meng. Who could forget that Tongan Death Grip? I remember him leaving a ring full of bodies from executing that move.

Unfortunately for Meng that winning streak he was compiling was mainly against lower to mid card wrestlers like himself. Nothing good came out of this.

Eventually he was awarded a title shot and became victim to Goldberg's streak and that pretty much sizzled his momentum.

I do believe he later became some sort of hitman for Ric Flair before going back to WWE before it was sold.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Wrath.

I think he could've been WCW's next main eventer in 1998/1999 if it wasn't for Kevin Nash. Wrath was receiving a similar push to Goldberg, he was building up an undefeated streak of his own, the commentators always hyped up his Meltdown finisher as if it were just as devastating as the Jackhammer, he looked great and he was getting over with the fans because of his vicousness and attitude. It could've been huge if Wrath had went on to face Goldberg for the WCW Title in a streak vs. streak match. Wrath has mentioned in a shoot interview that it was actually the plan at one time and he wouldn't have cared if he had lost that match so long as it happened. But unfortunately, Kevin Nash decided that he needed to be the guy to end streaks.

 

[BigBombB]

I'll throw a few others out there. Mike Rotundo, aka IRS, was another afterthought in WCW. Sure, he wasn't the level of a Ted DiBiase, but his obnoxious corporate guy persona could have done so much more. He was well known, he was a talented worker, and could have at least been treated like a major player in the tag division.

Curt Hennig was badly squandered as well. I remember seeing him in the ring in WCW but I can't, for the life of me, think of what he was doing. Hennig was consistently just teetering on the main event in WWF, being part of many big angles, then in WCW he was just a guy that got tossed in the ring for random matches.

Big Vito, while some may laugh, was actually a solid talent. At a time where they needed a guy who the fans could get behind, who could get some heel heat, and could be taken as credible, Vito had it. He looked like a legit tough guy, he had a natural charisma, and he didn't have to cut a long promo to get his point across. He was part of the only tag team in the dying days of WCW worth a damn but was buried in the singles arena for no good reason.

 

[daddyJ_t]

wow and nobody mentioned jean paul levesque and robbie v? aka HHH and ROB VAN DAM. i dont remember much about hhh except the same hunter hearst helmsley persona and the whole blue blood gimmick and semi curtsey bow thing. robbie v impressed me when he wrestled barefoot and jumped up on the top rope.... and i mean top rope not via the turn buckles and gripped the rope with his feet and did a moonsult from the top rope. 2 totally wasted talents considering how thier careers turned out. i can see why hhh was let go for his gimmck was too similair to regals.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The reality is no talent was used properly for the majority of WCW's 90's run. From Flair being let go while champ in 1991 to Austin "slipping on Duggan" to Goldberg's streak being ended by Nash a lot of talents just didn't get used right.

The one who stands out for me and to be fair the same happened for Vince so I would imagine attitude played a part is Scott Steiner... in 1992 when he won the TV title it looked like he was in line for a massive push and would be the next Bret Hart in terms of moving from Tags to singles stardom... then came the WWE jump and again, Vince wanted to split the team but it never happened. Perhap's the brothers bond was too strong, perhaps they couldn't quite find the right mix to do it... but even when he became Big Poppa Pump it seemed that WCW didn't use him right... he was a monster but not portrayed as one, more as a joke character at times.

Robbie V is a misnomer, he wasn't the worker he later became and would not have done so in WCW... it took going to ECW, working with Heyman, Sabu and the like for him to become what he did... same for HHH. In many cases WCW not pushing someone or using them right helped rather than hindered them...

 

[J.J.]

Wrath.

I think he could've been WCW's next main eventer in 1998/1999 if it wasn't for Kevin Nash. Wrath was receiving a similar push to Goldberg, he was building up an undefeated streak of his own, the commentators always hyped up his Meltdown finisher as if it were just as devastating as the Jackhammer, he looked great and he was getting over with the fans because of his vicousness and attitude. It could've been huge if Wrath had went on to face Goldberg for the WCW Title in a streak vs. streak match. Wrath has mentioned in a shoot interview that it was actually the plan at one time and he wouldn't have cared if he had lost that match so long as it happened. But unfortunately, Kevin Nash decided that he needed to be the guy to end streaks.

Only thing about Wrath is while he definitely had the look he lacked a personality. I just don't know how long he would've actually lasted had Kevin Nash not buried him.

 

[New Hot Fed]

The two guys who I always felt could've delivered so much more for WCW, but were never really given the opportunity to shine were Steven Regal and Shane Douglas.

Regal was an incredibly talented wrestler, and gifted on the mic which was something that WCW needed more of. He was also just a perfect heel, which was great for a time when guys like Flair were hovering in that in-between status where fans no longer were really booing Flair even if he was playing the heel role. The best Regal ever got was a TV title, a feud with Larry Zbyszko, and a US Title match against Sting. Regal was a far better fit for WCW than he ever was for the WWF.

Regal was good but he would never have worked outside of the early to mid-WCW. He was too much of the long-gone cartoon British character to work in the realistic Monday Night Wars. And his style of wrestling was probably too classic and not hard-hitting enough. He would have been booed out of arenas during the reign of the nWo.

Shane Douglas also had some success in the WCW, particularly his tag team with Ricky Steamboat. The guy was obviously talented in the ring, but I know Douglas was also political plutonium. It seemed everywhere he turned, he had heat with pretty much the biggest names in the business. So whether this was WCW's fault, or his own fault, it was still a missed chance for someone who again -- had the gift of gab on the mic, and could be a convincing main event player to offer up something for the company. His "Revolution" stable in the waning days of WCW could've been fantastic, but it was irrelevant in the increasingly crowded roster.

Douglas' greatest window for success in WCW was probably the early 90s. He was a young star coming into his own, he almost seemed like the heir apparant to guys like Ric Flair. And WCW had nobody else of this age. Well maybe him and Dustin. He really all the tools. But later on, after a visit to ECW, he had become more of a brawler and his style was less refined, I thought, he had taken bad habits of working for ECW.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Regal was good but he would never have worked outside of the early to mid-WCW. He was too much of the long-gone cartoon British character to work in the realistic Monday Night Wars. And his style of wrestling was probably too classic and not hard-hitting enough. He would have been booed out of arenas during the reign of the nWo.

Yes, Regal's snobbish character would likely always be his mainstay persona, but even in the WWE, he managed to make that persona work in a number of different ways. He was there for the Monday Night Wars both in WCW and WWE. In the overcrowded WCW, there's no doubt he would've taken a step backwards, but what if you had spent time building Regal into a stronger title threat in the early 90s, perhaps even given him the World title for a spell and have him feud with Flair and Sting, give him the United States Title around 1996-1997, and match him up with all the other up and coming technical wrestlers at that time: Regal Vs. Benoit, Regal Vs. Jericho, Regal Vs. Malenko, etc...I think they'd have had a stronger character who could deliver on the mic, and who could step into main event roles when needed.

As for him not hitting hard enough, the guy could hang with the best of them. Beneath the facade, Regal was a tough SOB.

Douglas' greatest window for success in WCW was probably the early 90s. He was a young star coming into his own, he almost seemed like the heir apparant to guys like Ric Flair. And WCW had nobody else of this age. Well maybe him and Dustin. He really all the tools. But later on, after a visit to ECW, he had become more of a brawler and his style was less refined, I thought, he had taken bad habits of working for ECW.

Douglas was most likely a self-inflicted wound. I think the brawler style could've worked for him if he had found a way to integrate it with his technical side, much like Steve Austin went from being a technical heel to a brawler. I still think Douglas just pissed in to many people's bowls of Wheaties.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Only thing about Wrath is while he definitely had the look he lacked a personality. I just don't know how long he would've actually lasted had Kevin Nash not buried him.

Neither did Goldberg or a bunch of other guys named in this thread, but it didn't stop the fans from being behind Goldberg. Realistically, by the time Wrath could've been a main eventer, it would've been 1999. If it weren't Kevin Nash, WCW would probably still have found a way to fuck up Wrath as they did anything in 1999.

 

[New Hot Fed]

Yes, Regal's snobbish character would likely always be his mainstay persona, but even in the WWE, he managed to make that persona work in a number of different ways. He was there for the Monday Night Wars both in WCW and WWE. In the overcrowded WCW, there's no doubt he would've taken a step backwards, but what if you had spent time building Regal into a stronger title threat in the early 90s, perhaps even given him the World title for a spell and have him feud with Flair and Sting, give him the United States Title around 1996-1997, and match him up with all the other up and coming technical wrestlers at that time: Regal Vs. Benoit, Regal Vs. Jericho, Regal Vs. Malenko, etc...I think they'd have had a stronger character who could deliver on the mic, and who could step into main event roles when needed.

The thing with all the guys you mentioned is that they had this unique breed of wrestling in a high flying style mixed with a hard-hitting style. And that fitted the high energy style that you had when you would turn on Nitro at the time. Regal wasn't like that, he was more technical, he wasn't that high flying and at the time not that hard-hitting. You see, most of these guys were in the cruserweight division and it had to be high speed. Regal just didn't fit.

Furthermore, something to ponder about the guys mentioned, something I always noticed about him in the days of WCW is that Regal wasn't too good in wrestling small guys because of his frame.

I think Regal is a guy that should have worked with the heavy weights in the Main Event or not at all. But again, the Big guys were not very technical. You can't have him wrestle Hogan or Goldberg or Luger or Sting. That would have been awkward as Hell. Maybe DDP but again DDP was pretty high speed and memorized his stuff blows for blows and it's opposite of Regal who was a pure wrestler. The only guys he could have had feuds with were Hart and Flair.

As for him not hitting hard enough, the guy could hang with the best of them. Beneath the facade, Regal was a tough SOB

I know that Regal is a tough guy but at the time of WCW he was more technical. He became a different guy in the WWE and was more hard-hitting. Plus pro wrestling had changed back then, there were more technical guys in the main event.

 

[New Hot Fed]

When I think of talent that WCW wasted, my answer is always the same.

Raven and Mike Awesome

Raven was a success in WCW, but should have achieved more than he did. I know he had his drug issues (which probably contributed to why WCW never pushed him above mid-card) but his talent was unquestionable. A master on the mic, good in the ring and with a character perfectly suited to the time period, I would love to have seen Raven as a main eventer in WCW or WWE.

His storyline with the Flock was good, but when you think the only belt he held in WCW was the US title FOR ONE DAY, it's clear he wasn't utilised enough.

Mike Awesome's WCW career sickens me, as I've said many times on these forums. You bring a guy in from ECW on big money where he breaks his contract and appears on Nitro while still ECW champion (which is a big deal), and then you stick him with a gimmick as a guy who loves the 70s, and as a man who loves fat women. WHT THE FUCK. Mike Awesome was a beast, a huge guy who could fly and move unlike almost anyone his size. He was a main event level talent, and the way WCW treated him was a disgrace. It annoys me even now just typing it.

Still, Awesome had a lot of spotlight in WCW. Russo kept giving stupid gimmicks but he was still pushed several times:

-He first appeared in WCW by attacking Kevin Nash, one of WCW's biggest stars.

-When JJ was feuding with DDP for the title, he was sort of the unofficial power house of the New Bleed. He was involved in the Triple Cage match and fell in the big ramp.

-Was involved in various feuds for the US title and had several solid matches.

That's more than the WWE ever did with him as they never even used him.

But you're right the guy was freakin talented and should have been a big star. I think if EB had relaunched WCW with the Big Bang, I'm sure MA would have been a big part of it. Mike Awesome and Sean O'Haire would have been the guys I would have pushed in WCW going forward.

 

[Jackknifer]

I'd say Ultimate Warrior was wasted. I think he only had one proper match and that was the horrible match with Hogan. He should of worked a few squash matches to build his steam back up, and then had a showdown with Goldberg.