WCW's best talent, that was never pushed

[Kinsey144]

So one thing that we constantly hear about WcW is that it failed because the older talent held the young guys down....

with that said, which people in WCW do you think had MAJOR potential who were never pushed. You CANT pick anyone - people who prooved to have potential later eg. Jericho/Guerrero/AJ Styles Etc

So, pick from the people who you believed had potential, but were never really pushed to the top, for me its got to be Sean O'Haire. This guy had the look... he looked like someone who would beat you up in a second. he was physically intense and standing at 6ft 6, he was one scary dude. The guy was so athletic for his size, frequently performing top rope back flips; he also had a far better swanton than Jeff Hardy, in my opinion, aswell as with a great crucifix powerbomb.

With that said, who do you think was a great talent, that never got his deserved push?

 

[huegtoad]

shawn ohaire didn't get a wwe push, all sizzle NO STEAK at all

for my money it's a 3 way tie between jericho benoit and guerrero and if i had to pick out of the three it was guerrero. Guerrero received so little push that it was hard to see him ultimatly making the impact he did. Jericho didn't get a shot but had a ton of backing from fans and made the most of his bad situation. Benoit eventually was given a desperation push, so we could see his success coming more immediatly. But Eddie, when they gave alex wright a push and not him, that probably broke the camel's back. the only legit push they gave him was the LWO and that was a dead end.

after that i think it goes to La Parka or El Dandy, totally should have been in line for a WCW WHC title shot.

 

[Foshinzo]

Steve Austin? Lol.
Seriously, the fact that they threw him in an dumb tag team with another all-time great Brian Pillman is a two-fer in the epic fail file. The Hollywood Blondes were a great tag team because of the two men in the stable, not the gimmick. I don't feel like looking it up, but I think Austin may have gotten a US Title in WCW? Even if he did, the only thing WCW did for Austin was to piss him off and help him to establish an edge when he went to ECW, which seemed to just be practice for his SCSA days. In WCW, Austin was a glorified jobber. In ECW, he was a cult legend. In WWF, he became the highest drawing wrestler of all-time. Which one of those three doesn't fit?

Also, how could we forget about Mick Foley? He did okay in WCW. I think he had a Halloween Havoc PPV title match with Vader? Again, I'm too lazy actually look it up so feel free to correct me. Still again, even if he did, that company also helped to give Mick Foley his underground credit. ECW fans hated WCW because Paul Heyman hated WCW, and that translated when Foley came over. In ECW, Foley became possibly the most iconic hardcore wrestler ever. In WWF, he became the most iconic hardcore wrestler ever and one of the most endearing, beloved wrestlers ever and a multi-time world champion. WCW didn't do a lot to help Mick Foley, and they infamously crapped all over him the night he was aired to win the belt off Rock.

Therefore, I think Austin and Foley were the two most, but it never ended with that company. They buried Pillman, any Cruiserweight not named Kidman, Eddie, Benoit...I mean you have a smorgasbord of Hall of Fame wrestlers there that WCW pissed away. Imagine if they had kept all of these people and actually pushed them. I remember watching the replay of the first Nitro (I had honestly never watched WCW before then) because my friend said that he heard Lex Luger was back in WCW, and I thought, "Oh, that's neat! It'd be cooler if it weren't Lex Luger who debuted."
WCW was a terribly mismanaged company. Selfish writing, selfish booking, selfish wrestling; the nWo made WCW relevant, but if it weren't for the nWo the company might still be around, today. People say the AOL/Time Warner merger killed WCW because that company no longer wanted wrestling. I think that WCW lost somewhere in the margin of $62 million their last year? (JUST TOO LAZY) That company would have wanted wrestling if it were still making money, and WCW would have lost less money if the shows were actually bearable. They might have been more bearable if they had the intelligence to push Steve Austin and others...

 

[wrestler36]

Big Vito was getting over in WCW when he broke away from the Mamalukes and was a face. I know he was very generic, but Brad Armstrong was a very good methodical wrestler, and just as technically sound as the Benoits, Malenkos, etc. This is a bit of a wild card, but wasn't Lash Lareaux over with the fans as well?

 

[RatFink84]

billy kidman , alex wright lance storm, 3 count, shawn stasiak buff bagwell i can keep going if you want

I honestly hope you're joking with Kidman, Wright and Storm, especially Storm.

Lance Storm, upon his arrival in WCW, was pushed to the absolute moon. He held three titles simultaneously, even going so far as to rename them, and was the leader of a stable.

Billy Kidman had decent length Cruiser weight title reigns, as well as being in three fairly decent stables in Raven's Flock, the Filthy Animals and the New Blood. Let's not forget a program with HOGAN during his New Blood time. AND he was constantly packaged with a good looking valet/manager.

Alex Wright, again had a great run as a Cruiser weight, and then repackaged as Berlyn, who I thought was going to totally draw, didn't, but I don't think that is totally WCW's fault.

When can it be decided that a wrestler needs to make the most of their push, just as much as a company gives them one. If a wrestler doesn't have the tools indicative of succeeding in a push, than is the company completely to blame? There is a ton of factors that must go in to every push, and each variable can greatly affect the outcome. The crowds, the merchandise, the wrestler's natural talent and abilities, heat, etc.

 

[Zuper-Man]

This one is so easy I don't even have to stimulate my reflexes to even begin to think: WRATH. Not during his "blood runs cold" days. When he returned and went on a winning streak. WCW dropped the ball big time with Wrath. This guy was on a huge roll and was very over with the crowd. And at the drop of a dime, they let Nash go over him, which was fine considering Nash's matchup with Goldberg coming up. But, they never booked him as the same dominant force after that match. They eventually repackaged him under his real name, Bryan Clark, and formed a solid tag team in KroniK, but he missed out on his real big break over shitty booking. Technically, yes he was pushed. But he was never allowed to reach his character's full potential.

 

[nikkamcdraco]

Blitzkreig - Was a straight up amazing cruiserweight to watch

Van Hammer - Sort of got pushed, but within a stable and he was the last dude they put any emphasis on. He coulda went a bit further.

Sick Boy - I thought he was pretty good, might not have went further but wasn't pushed either.

By the way.....I think that the thread is about people from WCW that NEVER got pushed EVER, including if they went to WCW or TNA. Hence the examples Chris Jericho and AJ Styles, who got major pushes after they left. (Jericho got pushed in WCW in fact, and he would have gotten his break if he had stayed)

 

[harrythem]

Mike Awesome. The guy kinda had a push to start with but, really quickly, became that 70s guy and "the fat chick thriller"....He had the look, the talent and a certain level of charisma to do so much more then WCW did with him....a common story

 

[Madeye36]

Cowboy Bill Watts son!! Just kidding! Triple H didn't get much of a push in WCW before leaving for WWE, Mark Callous aka the Undertaker. Put him in a tag team with Dan Spivey & they really didn't push that team. Maybe I'm wrong, correct me if I am!

 

[TREE24K]

Blitzkreig! Hell yeah, glad to see someone else recognize what a phenom that guy was. I also concur with Wrath.

My pick is going to be Johnny the Bull. Great look. Great nick name. Very good wrestling skills. Always thought he was going to be a world champ one day. Even in WWE. Guess the ship has sailed on that one.

 

[burnout4200]

Buff Bagwell was World Championship material. Also Juventud was way better than Mysterio. Blitzkrieg was one of my favorites to watch so i have to partially agree there. Kronik is still one of my favorite tag teams ever. Van Hammer had an awesome look. I was waiting for him to get a push the whole time I was watching and I didn't even know what a push was yet. Scott Steiner got his push in the tag division and eventually even got the world title. But I think he got pushed as a singles wrestler way too late. He could have made big money if pushed sooner. Sting had one of the best pushes of all time and became my all time favorite wrestler out of it. I still think they dropped the ball after his Starrcade match against Hogan.

Now one that noone else will name. Reno. He was like the enforcer of The Natural Born Thrillers. His character reminded me of Saturn a bit for some reason. His roll the dice finisher was awesome and has been stolen a few times since then.

I'll end this off with one people will bitch about. Disco Inferno. Why? Because I truly hated the guy. He was my least favorite wrestler. On WCW Revenge I renamed him Disco Bitch. I was just a teenager at the time. Looking back, maybe I hated him because he was that damn good at making people hate him.

 

[ECW Sandman]

Man this is a tough one there were so many but I would have to say Van Hammer He had 2 runs in WCW one in 91- 95 and then again 97- 2000 he was a big man he never won any title in WCW the only clam to fame in WCW he had in the late 90's early 2000 was he was a member of The MIA Misfits In Action as '' Privet Stash '' and a member of Raven's Flock I think Van Hammer could have been a great WCW World Heavyweight Champion or a great United States Champion he had the look the build of a champion but WCW dropped the ball on Van Hammer and just put him in stupid stables.

 

[fenfool]

I can agree with Blitzkrieg! Amazing Red reminds me of him a lot.

Honestly, Jericho didn't get much of a push, just as more or less a comedy wrestler, certainly not as a world title threat. They should have done much more with him.

 

[RicoLen]

Wrath/Adam Bomb that f**ker was awesome.
I also liked that guy, glacier? I think it was, he reminded me of Sub Zero from Mortal Kombat. I wonder what ever happened to him. I should look him up, he's probably got some name I actually know.
Juvie WAS better than Mysterio.
Hell I liked Konan, he got pushed, but still, he could have done more IMO. I about s**t my pants when I found out he was my childhood favorite, Max Moon. I loved that match he had with Shawn Michaels, I was really hoping he was going to win the IC championship. IMO Konan was better than Mysterio too. Meh, Mysterio will always be the human dart Kevin Nash tossed into the side of the truck.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I don't see how anyone can complain about Sean O'Haire in his WCW days. The guy was a rookie, and before the company folded he was already a tag-team champion with Chuck Palumbo, and they arrived in WWE as the reigning WCW tag-team champions. I certainly think WWE missed the boat with O'Haire when they repackaged him as the "Devil's Advocate" character, but WCW folded before they had the chance to push him in a major way.

WCW didn't mess up on O'Haire, WWE did as he they had the time and the gimmick to make him a superstar. He had all the tools.

My pick would be Mike Awesome. He was a monster, incredibly athletic for his size and absolutely devastating in the ring. He arrived in WCW already notorious within the industry after walking out on ECW while still champion and accepting a big money deal with WCW. Why, then did WCW decide to stick a huge powerhouse wrestler like Awesome with two of the worst gimmicks in wrestling history= The 70's Guy and the Fat Chick Thriller?!

It was a disgusting waste on a man who could have taken over their heavyweight division and been a legitimate and believable threat to the guys who dominated the title scene in WCW. I would love to have seen Goldberg and Awesome square off, but for some reason after paying all that money to get him to WCW, they just wasted Awesome. It still annoys me to this day, as Awesome and Goldberg could have been the 2 guys who make WCW's heavyweight division exciting again and perhaps the company would have folded when it did.

There are very few men in the business who had the gifts, size and athletic ability Mike Awesome did in his prime, and WCW had one and completely blew it with him.

 

[snowblind56]

My pick would have to be Mortis/Kanyon. Awesome look, great set of moves.

 

[relentless1]

k first of all, whoever said buff bagwell was world title material needs to give thier head a shake, i think they missed the boat with big poppa pump, he couldve been that believeable monster to take on goldberg in 1999 i think if they had pushed him to the moon at that point...

 

[Dude_Love87]

WCW had more young jobbers than young stars to be honest. The ones that come to mind made it big in WWE. Rey Jr, Jericho, Eddie G, Steve Austin, Dustin Rhodes, Scott Hall(the first time as Diamond Stud.Even the Patriot had a bigger role in WWE then he did in WCW LOL How about all the big stars they got later in their careers that they completely misused. Piper, Warrior, Bret Hart, British Bulldog, Rick Steiner. I've seen a few posts with people saying Glacier, the reason Glacier never got a push is because he was a dick to everyone in the locker room and thought he was better than all the other stars. Legends of wrestling talk about this on youtube under the title worst characters in wrestling, I do believe that's the one.

 

[two_doinks_or_an_illusion]

The immediate one that comes to mind is Juventud Guerrero. He was every bit as charismatic and as good of an in ring performer as mysterio. I think his problems outside of the ring probably hurt him more than anything.

But the real answer is a guy who never got his due in any of the big 3, 2 COLD EFFIN' SCORPIO. Guy was underutilized everywhere he went.

 

[Kanenite]

I think ECW used Scorpio very well. He was usually involved in upper card feuds with the likes of Shane Douglas, Sabu, Public Enemy, Taz, etc. He usually had some kind of gold around his waist whether it was singles gold or tag gold. And he had plenty of time in the ring to showcase his amazing arsenal of moves. He was put in matches with all sorts of wrestlers from technical wrestlers to high fliers to brawlers, and he showed that he could handle all of those styles well. He could make great use of weapons but he could also put on a great match without them. He also cut some decent promos. I don't think he was underutilized at all over there.

 

[two_doinks_or_an_illusion]

that's fair. he had the TV title over there and I remember his match with Shane Douglas when it was still the NWA title. In WCW though, when he was there in the early 90's, there is absolutely no reason he couldn't have been champion. All they really had was flair, sting, cactus jack, and vader. He could have easily been in the mix.

 

[Mobiusorion]

Jerry Lynn. He wrestled as Mr JL in the really early days of Nitro and had a few tag matches, I think he teamed with Eddie Guerrero against Benoit and Malenko. Lynn and Van Dam's matches in ECW were amazing and I'm sure if he had been used correctly he could've had great matches in WCW.

I was watching a tape I have of the first few Nitros when Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero arrived and WCW actually cut completely away from a Benoit V Guerrero match to show Hogan getting out of his limo and Jimmy Hart warning him that the Giant was on a rampage. It was a really good match too.

Then I found another debacle in September of 1999. There was a tag team battle royal with the Radicalz (Douglas, Saturn, Benoit, Malenko) Vs. The West Texas Rednecks (Curt Hennig, The Windhams, Virgil) Vs. Jerry Flynn, Hugh Morrus, Knobbs and the Barbarian. The last two in the ring fought later for a guaranteed match for the WCW title the next week. Benoit and Malenko were the last two, then while having a really good match Sid Vicious comes out and starts squashing them both and the match is called a draw and neither man got a shot. Usual crap booking for WCW and criminally bad usage of Benoit and Malenko. At least they got to be Horsemen, unfortuantely Mongo McMichael was there too.

WCW had Rob Van Dam in 1993 and had no idea of what to do with him. He was a rookie though and was nothing like he would become in '96-'02. Kane also wrestled for WCW, there's a match of him against Sting on Youtube, I think his name was Bruiser Mastino.