10 Superstars WCW Completely Wasted
Just how many Hall of Famers did WCW overlook?
WCW may have ceased to be over eighteen years ago now, but its memory and legacy remains. Thanks in large part to things like WWE-produced retrospectives and the WWE Network, the Atlanta, Georgia-based organisation is alive and well in the minds of wrestling fans all over the world.
Hell, just this past week the WWE Network completed their dump of Nitro episodes and you can now access every episode of WCW's Monday night show - some 288 in total - for the modest cost of 9.99 a month. On Nitro (and WCW pay-per-views, of which they are all there) you will see talented cruiserweights flying high, genuine megastars hamming it up and desperately trying to remain young and, regrettably, many talented performers not being used to the best of their ability.
WCW (quite rightly) get their due for launching the career of Goldberg, revitalising the industry with the red-hot New World Order angle and completely changing Sting's identity but, for all the good the group did, they also did a lot of harm to a lot of guys. Often WCW had a talented performer who was pure box-office or could make a difference but they were left to rot or else fade into obscurity.
Yes, Billionaire Ted's baby has a checkered history when it comes to using talents to the best of their abilities, something ably demonstrated by these 10 stars who were, unfortunately, completely wasted.
10. Sabu
Yup, this is a thing that actually happened.
The Suicidal, Homicidal, Genocidal Sabu was one of the hottest things in wrestling in 1995, having cultivated a strong reputation in Japan, ECW and on the indies for his devil-may-care table-breaking ways. Eric Bischoff, looking to help fill up the newly-launched Nitro, decided to give him a call.
Bischoff originally wanted Sabu for the first ever episode of the Monday night show, but Sabu wasn't available (he had wrestled some matches for WCW before Nitro launched). He was, however, available for episode two, where he lost to Alex Wright by DQ when he blasted the German cruiserweight through a table.
From there he wrestled further Nitro matches against Mr. JL (Jerry Lynn - more on him in a wee while) and Disco Inferno. He also wrestled the masked JL at the 1995 Halloween Havoc pay-per-view. Despite getting the win in just over three minutes, he left the building that night with considerable heat.
Seems WCW suits were not impressed that Sabu's manager, trainer and real-life uncle Ed 'The Original Sheik' Farhat went off-script and blasted Lynn with a fireball, a big no-no in Turner's PG organisation.
According to a shoot interview Sabu gave to RF VIdeo, there were other problems between him and WCW. He signed a deal for $500 per match, but then made an appearance in ECW (where he was paid $3000), which naturally irked Bischoff, who then fired him. Sabu was also told to tone down his style and refrain from using tables, which he was hesitant to do since it was the reason he was so over and marketable in the first place.
Whether he was problematic or not, WCW should have done what they could have to hold on to Sabu in 1995. He was fresh and exciting and would have made a great addition to any cruiserweight/hardcore divisions. Besides, the WWF wanted him as well. Had he remained in WCW for longer, as they went in an edgier nWo-driven direction, he would have been a money-drawing star for the Atlanta outfit.