WCW Superstars: Where Are They Now?

What a way to make a living...

By Ross Tweddell /

The lifespan of a professional wrestler is not a long one. After spending anywhere between two and five years training and honing their respective crafts, wrestlers spend years on the independent scene waiting for their big break. Once that break comes, and the potential star has done time in the company's developmental territories, they're hitting the 30 mark which means they have to savour their time at the top. To put that in some sort of perspective, Daniel Bryan made his professional wrestling debut in December 1999 and then his WWE debut just under a decade later. Think about all the milage on his respective clock, before he even stepped in a WWE ring. His injuries are starting to catch up with him at the grand old age of 33. His neck is now considered to be a ticking time bomb that could blow at any minute, which means he'll already be planning his life after his in-ring career ends. Conversely, people like Bill Goldberg benefitted from WCW's PowerPlant, their version of WWE's performance centre today. Those lucky few got fast tracked straight to the top without paying any sort of dues. The average age for a wrestler retiring is around the 38 mark. This is before the much maligned mid life crisis hits which shows how long our favourite superstars have to plan for. Many stay in the business as on screen talent, road agent or trainer while some are forced into other career sectors. When WCW went defunct in 2001, many of its stars jumped ship to WWE while some of them went into the abyss. Here are what some of the biggest names of the 1990s do with their lives now.