5 Forgotten Debuts Of WCW Superstars

When it comes to great wrestling gimmicks, one of the greatest to ever grace the canvas has to be the enigmatic, tortured soul that is Raven. While the character was born in ECW, Raven was perhaps at his most visible during his run in WCW from 1997 to 1999, amid the ratings war between WWF and WCW.

At a time when wrestling was the hottest thing in pop culture, Raven and his Flock were a memorable part of WCW programming. Dark, brooding and tormented, the Raven character was a deep portal into the darkest side of the man who portrayed him, Scott Levy.

However, well before Levy had switched to the dark side, he was far more colourful and animated. Decked out in neon pink, Levy’s original run in WCW came as Scotty Flamingo - a surfer billed from Palm Beach, Florida - and was barely recognisable from the grunge icon he would become years later.

Scotty Flamingo would make his television debut on May 2nd, 1992 by making short work of enhancement talent, John Peterson. The brash newcomer would have a successful early run in WCW, immediately entering into a feud with WCW Light-Heavyweight Champion, Flyin’ Brian Pillman; eventually picking up the gold at Beach Blast ‘92.

After a brief affiliation with DDP and Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash), Levy would spend four months in the USWA, where he would debut the entitled Johnny Polo gimmick, before taking his new persona to the WWF in late ‘93.