Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, Triple H, Eddie Guerrero, RVD, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, The Undertaker, Sid Vicious, The Road Warriors, Chris Jericho, Big Show and Booker T are just some who came over from WCW and made a big impact in the WWE. I could name a lot more if you would like.
Thanks, you beat me to it. I'm tired of morons posting that VKM buried former WCW talent ... then cites the invasion angle - an angle that lacked EVERY major name on WCW's roster with exception to Booker T. Seriously, who got buried in the invasion angle? Buff Bagwell? Mark Jindrak? Sean Stasiak? The WCW roster during the invasion story line was nothing except WCW mid card guys and curtain jerkers. That angle sucked - not because VKM tried to bury WCW - but because everyone that people associated with WCW - Sting, Flair, Goldberg, Nash, Hall, Hogan, Steiner, etc - chose not to be involved with it. The WWF has long been littered with former WCW guys turned WWE stars.
To add a few more names of former WCW talent that became successful in the WWF:
Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Rey Mysterio ...
Now, it would've been very difficult for the WWF to pull off a similar angle in 1996 since - in my opinion - hostile takeover angles need to involve huge wrestlers in order to be believable. Part of the reason Hall and Nash worked so well at the beginning of the angle was their size - they were bigger than most WCW stars, and it made me believe they could legitimately take over the company if they wanted to.
This would've been tougher in the WWF in 1996 since the WWF was - and historically has been - the land of friggin giants. That said, The Big Show / Giant would have HAD to be involved with the angle.
From there, I struggle to remember any other giants in WCW - I think of guys in the main event, Hogan might have been the next biggest star in terms of size. Someone please correct me if I'm forgetting someone ...
Due to the lack of size on the WCW roster, I don't think the WWF could have successfully run the NWO angle as it was done in WCW. However, I do believe that the WWF had enough former WCW stars on their roster in 1996 to run an NWO/invasion storyline with their own guys. Hell, they could've used Hall and Nash at that point since they were, in fact, former WCW wrestlers.
Perhaps Big Show could have joined the WWF in 1996 and said that he was brought in by two "old friends" with the intention of taking over the company in the name of the "wrestling company down south." The two friends could have been revealed as Hall and Nash. After that reveal, the story could've shifted to "Why would Hall and Nash turn on the WWF?" ... a few weeks later, you get your answer: A returning Hulk Hogan paid them to do so because he wanted to take down the WWF once and for all. At that point, you'd have all the big players involved with the early days of the NWO ... a similar story of one company invading another ... traitors within the invaded company ... and a Hogan heel turn.
I believe this angle would have been even more successful than the NWO in WCW because it would've eliminated WCW completely. The loss of Hogan, Hall, Nash and Big Show would have crippled WCW's main event scene.
In terms of who would be the "Sting" ... I think you start with Steve Austin, but I wouldn't go there completely. Austin's mega-star status was just beginning to hit its stride in the summer of 1996, and he was getting ready to take off. Because of that, Austin makes sense as a guy both sides would have wanted ... but Austin's decision would have needed to come sooner and be more emphatic.
Shawn Michaels would have been another option due to his history with Hall and Nash ...
However - I think the best choice would have been Goldust. Call me crazy, but that could've been the mega-push that shot him to super stardom - and in the end, isn't the point of this all to make "new stars" ? Goldust would have also fit into the angle since he was a former WCW wrestler and because his father still worked at WCW.