10 Short-Lived WCW Runs You Totally Forgot About
The (brief) WCW stop-gaps of Rob Van Dam, Owen Hart, AJ Styles, and more…
![Owen Hart WCW](https://d2thvodm3xyo6j.cloudfront.net/media/2021/03/7a70c36f794f46e7-600x338.jpg)
If WCW was consistent in anything, particularly in its later years, it was keeping things in a constant state of wackiness.
This reached new heights when Vince Russo came over from the competition in 1999, intent on topping WWE’s envelope-pushing content. Unrestrained creativity can be a source of innovation, but just as often it can be disastrous.
The weirdness used to capture the attention of audiences prone to channel-hopping worked well for some talent, while others got lost in the shuffle. There is a list of talent long-forgotten yet we still remember The Shockmaster, The KISS Demon, and The Yeti. Though a wrestler can often build themselves up given time, in a stacked roster time is in short supply. Talent were chewed up and spat out based on the flavour of the week.
Some of the wrestlers that briefly passed through without leaving their mark would go on to greatness in WWE. On the flip side, those whose star shined in the WWE had forgettable runs in WCW.
These wrestling superstars' time in WCW was so forgettable you’d think Tony Schiavone blurted out a channel changing WWE spoiler prior to their every appearance...
10. Kamala
![Owen Hart WCW](https://d2thvodm3xyo6j.cloudfront.net/media/2017/02/384441ebdedc9480-600x338.png)
Period in WCW: 20 June 1995 to 17 September 1995
Kamala is a recognisable gimmick to wrestling fans of the ‘80s and ‘90s, and the character of a Ugandan savage who required a “handler” has aged worse than the jockstrap of one of his squash match victims.
Kamala’s paint job is one of the most iconic aspects of the character, from his signature facepaint, to his crescent moon belly decal. He is best remembered for his multiple but brief WWE runs.
In 1993, when Kamala went into semi-retirement, he returned to his pre-wrestling occupation, truck driving.
It was Hulk Hogan, who Kamala described as a “sweetheart”, who brought him out of retirement. He was hired by WCW on Hogan’s recommendation, though he wasn’t given a contract.
WCW created one of wrestling’s most over stables in (early) nWo, but not every team would be so beloved. Kamala, despite his real-life reverence for Hogan, was a member of Kevin Sullivan's Dungeon of Doom – a group of oddities brought together to end Hulkamania. Kamala did little of note in WCW, other than participating in the disastrous Doomsday Cage match, and was an early out in Sullivan’s clan.