19. Chris Jericho
As a member of Vince McMahon's roster beginning in the summer of 1999, Chris Jericho would go on to achieve tremendous success, winning WWE and World Heavyweight champions in between developing into one of the most complete performers in the industry. His ability to captivate audiences with his mic skills, unique brand of comedy and entertaining insults meshed with his in-ring ability to create a total package that led to his ascension to the top of the industry. He had the rare "it" factor, that special something that sets the great apart from the good. It was that something that WCW failed to see during his time there, even if their fans did. In WCW, Jericho was a workhorse, getting great matches out of opponents such as Alex Wright, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrera but never really having the opportunity to advance past a certain spot on the card. In fact, anytime he or any other talented young star even threatened that spot, they were decisively beaten and left to be rehabilitated by a creative team that, honestly, could give two damns about them. Jericho was no different. Anytime he got over enough to begin advancing up the card to a spot that threatened the security of the lazier stars on top, his push was halted. There is no better example than his program with Goldberg, the last major feud he worked before departing for greener, more rewarding pastures. Jericho had taken the time to develop a character straight out of a Christopher Guest film. He was cocky, arrogant and completely delusional. He believed that he was the biggest star on the planet and that, of anyone else in WCW, had the best shot of dethroning Goldberg. The story advanced for weeks, creating a great buzz among fans and a sense of anticipation for the impending match. The only problem was the megastar Goldberg had not signed off on a feud with Jericho. In fact, he had the pay-per-view off and certainly would not be suiting up to face someone so far beneath him. Despite a great program that featured some incredibly funny, intensely entertaining work from the future Y2J, the program died a hasty-yet-miserable death and Jericho went back to wasting away in the midcard.