5 AEW Wrestlers and Their WCW Counterparts

Not since the Monday Night Wars has a company like AEW managed to directly rival the biggest wrestling promotion in the world, WWE.

Though WCW and WWE's lengthy ratings war was drawn out over the years, AEW's impact on the wrestling community clearly resembles that of WWE's old rival, WCW.

AEW is known for offering a distinct, alternative program to the family-friendly WWE, similar to the kind of programming WCW offered wrestling fans worldwide. Although WWE, then in the midst of their Attitude Era, was far from the family-friendly company it is today.

Ironically enough, some All Elite wrestlers even bear a striking resemblance to former WCW talent.

In terms of wrestling styles, promo skills, or gimmicks, here are five All Elite wrestlers who closely resemble WCW performers.

#5.AEW's FTR and WCW's The Brain Busters

FTR's entire gimmick is essentially a callback to the classic, old-school style of wrestling popularized by 1970s'/80s' era tag teams. A key influence on FTR's style can easily be seen in the form of The Brain Busters, composed of Arn Anderson and FTR's current manager, Tully Blanchard.

Wrestling in the NWA and later in the WWF, The Brain Busters were known for being the founding members of the Four Horsemen.

A tag team that has won gold in several companies, Anderson and Blanchard were praised for pioneering the early wrestling styles of tag team matches.

The inspiration for their simple yet effective mat-based wrestling style influenced virtually every team that followed, none more so than their modern-day equivalent FTR.

Abandoning the high-flying tag team styles of their competitors, FTR's hard-hitting wrestling style harkens back to The Brain Buster's.

Even their roles in MJF's Pinnacle seem to directly parallel The Brain Buster's position in the classic Four Horsemen lineup.

#4. AEW's Darby Allin and Sting

It's no accident that AEW paired Darby Allin with Sting. Even before signing with All Elite, Allin has been seen as a modern day version of Sting mixed with the more high-flying style of Jeff Hardy.

Knowing all that, his mentorship with Sting is an incredibly fitting one.

Like his mentor, Darby Allin is known for being a face wrestler who sports war-like facepaint in matches. However, it's Allin's never-say-die personality that more closely resembles Sting's as well.

As seen in the past, even when Allin is done and out, he still stands and gives it all in his matches. It's a heroic trait we've seen Sting demonstrate time and time again, making Allin the current equivalent of Sting in AEW.

#3. AEW's MJF and WCW's Ric Flair

This may be a controversial one here. As many wrestling fans have argued, MJF's promo skills may be more closely aligned with that of Rowdy Roddy Piper than anyone else.

However, his in-ring ability and career standing so far more directly resemble Ric Flair's at the height of the Nature Boy's success in NWA and WCW.

Like Flair, MJF is a wrestler who is certainly not above using dirty tricks in his matches, regularly cheating to win.

He's also been praised for his ability to draw heat from entrie arenas full of of fans, similar to Flair during his heel years. Not only that, but MJF's current role as the leader of the Pinaccle seems remarkably similar to Flair's position as the founder of the Four Horsemen.

Seeing where MJF's career goes next, it'll be interesting to see whether the parallels between the two continue, especially if MJF ever turns face like Flair.

#2. AEW's Jon Moxley and WCW's Cactus Jack

Mick Foley's time in WCW may have been short (a mere three years), but in that time, he wowed audiences over and over with his risky offensive style.

One of the more extreme wrestlers that ever wrestled for WCW, Cactus Jack's immediate and natural counterpart in AEW is without question Jon Moxley.

Both wrestlers have pioneered an unorthodox, hardcore style of wrestling in companies that aren't very well-known for their violent matches. WCW favored the "classic" wrestling styles of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, while AEW relies on more versatile, high-flying performers like Kenny Omega and PAC.

As stand-out wrestlers on each of their company's rosters, it's an interesting hypothetical to wonder:

If Cactus Jack had stayed in WCW longer, would he have entered the world title picture as Moxley's has managed to do Tony Khan's promotion?

#1. AEW's Kenny Omega and WCW's Hulk Hogan

Upon first glance, it's hard to see many similarities existing between Hulk Hogan and Kenny Omega. The two wrestler's styles and personalities couldn't actually be anymore different.

Hogan, after all, had about two maneuvers in his entire moveset. Plus, Omega never had a Hulkemaniac-style legion of fans he routinely called out to.

However, it's their runs in their respective companies--both as faces and heels--that the similarities between the two become more clear.

Omega's Elite faction and his version of Bullet Club in NJPW, for starters, has been called a more athletic version of Hogan's nWo by Kevin Nash and Jeff Jarrett.

Both wrestlers had a lengthy title run that saw them regularly beat their companies' top stars, usually cheating to win.

As faces, the two wrestlers are also able to win over an unbelievable amount of fan support in their matches.