8 Amazing Wrestlers That Flopped In WCW
Some of wrestling's biggest superstars failed to make a mark in WCW. Here's why!
WCW's braintrust didn't always make it easy.
Anyone coming over from the WWF side who thought they'd clean up in Atlanta found that out the hard way. Even titans of the industry like Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior struggled to varying degrees. Hogan obviously figured things out, turned heel to form the nWo and was off to the races after that, but Warrior felt like he'd leapt straight out of 1990 when he showed up to drone on and on (and on and on) in 1998.
Being fair, Warrior wouldn't have been a fit for this list anyway. He was never what anyone would consider an "amazing wrestler". The guy had his appeal, but he couldn't really get it done inside the ring and lacked the veteran savvy of others with his tenure in the biz. Others? Well, others who could be considered amazing did their fair share of struggling instead!
There's a lot of variety here despite the "amazing wrestlers" tag. As anyone who follows the medium closely could tell you, that covers an awful lot of ground. Not everyone included was a technical wizard (some definitely were), but they'd been turning heads rather nicely before flopping in WCW.
For more range, consider this: WCW management, as ludicrous as they could be at times, weren't always to blame for these failures. Sometimes, things just didn't work out and there was nothing anybody could really do about it. Or, backstage politics got in the way of things. C'est la vie, as the saying goes.
Some huge names toiled on WCW's watch when they'd ruled elsewhere.
8. 2 Cold Scorpio
How Good He Was: Scorpio had a rare combination of power and speed/agility in his prime. He could match up against most top workers in WCW without it looking odd (or like a lower card guy was about to do a quick, easy job), but Scorp could also fly around the place like he was tearing it up in the Cruiserweight division.
He'd debuted as a partner for Ron Simmons, wrestled Barry Windham in an NWA World Title bout, then teamed with Marcus Alexander (Buff) Bagwell before leaving WCW in 1994.
Why He Flopped: It was a combination of failed drug tests and WCW's usual nonsense on the booking side of things. Firstly, putting 2 Cold Scorpio with Marcus Bagwell held the former down more than helping the latter. It was clear to anyone watching the product that Scorpio could've been a bigger deal on the roster, but management wanted him to develop Buff instead.
Second, opportunities were too thin on the ground for 2 Cold after an initial flurry. That's something he'd suffer from once again when he joined the WWF in 1996. Their 'cartoon pimp' character Flash Funk was never going to ascend above midcard, no matter how fittingly flashy his matches and moves were.
Scorpio had far more potential and skill than he was ever allowed to show on WCW's side of things. He really should've achieved more than one solitary tag title reign with Bagwell. Even that only lasted a day on television by the time their title win aired!