10 Superstars WCW 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.