10 Wrestlers You Never Realised Were Signed To WCW

From Power Plant to Punjabi Playboy.

By Andrew Pollard /

It’s crazy to think that World Championship Wrestling has been out of business for a whopping 18 years now, but facts are facts. In fact, you could argue that WCW was already dead and buried long before Vince McMahon purchased the company in 2001. It wasn't so much a purchase as covering the funeral costs.

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For all the faults of its later years, WCW undoubtedly had some fantastic moments, rivalries, and characters throughout its run. That said, the company did let several notable stars of tomorrow slip through its fingers. The most famous example of this, of course, is a fired “Stunning” Steve Austin eventually going on to become “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – the hottest star of the hottest period in wrestling history.

While names like Austin, Mick Foley, The Undertaker, Triple H, Chris Jericho, and Eddie Guerrero are all well-known figures who were at one point tied down to a WCW contract, there are other names who you may have zero idea were actually employed by WCW throughout the years.

Some may have gone on to become main event WWE stars.

Others, not so much.

10. Rob Van Dam

Before he was WWE Champion, before he was an icon of Extreme Championship Wrestling, and before he famously asked Taz “which hand?”, Rob Van Dam had a totally forgettable run in WCW.

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Having cut his teeth in places such as the USWA and All Japan Pro Wrestling, 1992 saw Van Dam signed to World Championship Wrestling. Upon arriving in WCW, Bill Watts instantly changed RVD’s name to Robbie V – and the writing was soon on the wall for the future Whole F**kin’ Show.

His official WCW debut came in January 1993, yet Robbie V would be Robbie Gone by the time March ’93 came around. In that brief run, the most notable matches that Van Dam had were a loss to Vinnie Vegas (aka Kevin Nash) in a TV Title tournament, and a hugely entertaining high-flying bout against a young Scotty Flamingo, who himself would go on to become an ECW icon by the name of Raven.

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