5 Biggest WCW stars Vince McMahon signed before buying the company, and 5 he signed after

Modified Jun 21, 2020 05:30 GMT

#2 Big Show (before)

Big Show parted ways with WCW in the late 90s

After an impressive stint in WCW, Big Show made an explosive debut at WWE St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House. He interfered in the Steel Cage match between Stone Cold and Vince McMahon, throwing Austin on one side of the cage, This led to the cage breaking and Austin falling to the floor, thus winning the match. Big Show cemented himself as a heel and was a major WWE attraction for the next several years.

Big Show is a 4-time World Champion in WWE and has had memorable rivalries with the likes of Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and The Undertaker. For the past four years or so, he has been making part-time appearances for the company.

Did you know a top WWE Superstar just wrestled outside the company? More details HERE

#2 Hulk Hogan (after)

Hulk Hogan enjoyed success in both WWE and WCW

On the road to WrestleMania 18, Vince McMahon promised that he would kill his own creation, WWE, by injecting it with a dose of lethal poison. This turned out to be nWo, WCW's notorious faction. Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash made their WWE debut as nWo and Hogan went on to have a classic with The Rock at WrestleMania 18.

Hogan's popularity was still soaring high, which prompted WWE to give him another WWE title run. He won the title by defeating Triple H at Backlash 2002, and lost it soon after to The Undertaker, at Judgment Day.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Kaushik Das