World Championship Wrestling was must-see programming during the Monday Night Wars, as for quite some time they would handily defeat WWE in the weekly ratings. They developed some new characters, with the primary focus of the promotion being the success of the New World Order.
However, for all the company's hits, it managed to have some incredible misses. Their misses, in fact, included some of the biggest names in wrestling history. It could be said that their misses were so big that it actually cost the company. While that is debatable, what isn't is the fact that the company produced talent that left only to reign supreme in WWE.
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These men earned notoriety because of their drive, and the opportunity given to them by Vince McMahon. Their careers should be seen as divided into two distinct parts – before WWE and in WWE. Who were these men that went on to become so successful in WWE? They proved that there were greener pastures to be found.
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Here are five wrestlers that wrestled in WCW, but were more successful competing in WWE.
#5 Mick Foley
When he was in WCW, Mick Foley was known as Cactus Jack. In his matches, he would administer as much punishment as he would receive. He was advertised as being from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and anyone that stepped into the ring with him would feel those consequences.
He earned popularity in WCW with his matches against WWE Hall of Famers, Sting and Vader. In fact, one of his brutal matches against Vader saw him lose part of his ear. Foley developed as a character in WCW, with poignant promos and an ability to convey a rather dangerous persona.
However, in 1995, when Foley joined WWE, few expected that he would generate the kind of reaction from fans that he did. Over time, ‘Foley is God' became the battle cry for fans. After multiple championships and a Hall of Fame induction, it's pretty clear to see that Foley's time in WWE was met with much more success than his time in WCW.
#4 Chris Jericho
Even after years in the wrestling business, Jericho still seems timeless, both in the ring and in terms of character direction and creativity. He has achieved so much success in WWE that it is almost impossible to remember his time in WCW. Older wrestling fans will recall that Jericho had to fight to develop his character and did whatever he could to garner attention.
It was clear that he was a talented in-ring performer after coming from Paul Heyman's ECW to World Championship Wrestling.
However, despite earning a Cruiserweight championship, it seemed his attempts to be more of a focal point were all for nought. Eventually, he left WCW and moved to WWE, earning the moniker Y2J. Despite not initially having success with the company, he won over fans as the years went by – it should be noted that a successful career is a marathon, not a sprint.
After multiple world, intercontinental and tag team championships, Jericho still appears to be going strong and is just as relevant today as he was when he was competing for WCW over twenty years ago.
#3 Triple H
It has often been chronicled that during his time in WCW, Triple H was one of the favourite guys for men such as Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to watch as a performer, when he was then known by the name, Tera Ryzing. As time passed, this talented, well-built athlete became known as Jean-Paul Lévesque, a French aristocrat not unlike the character fans came to know as Hunter Hearst Helmsley in WWE.
However, instead of remaining relegated to the undercard in WCW, he chose to take a chance and leave the promotion to join WWE.
He never had the opportunity to capture a title or have any longstanding feuds in World Championship Wrestling, but what he did gain was valuable experience. It was this experience that allowed him to achieve greatness in WWE.
Despite not being in the WWE Hall of Fame (yet), the Head of Talent Relations and fourteen-time WWE/The World champion, who has also been Intercontinental, European and tag team champion, has cemented his place in wrestling history. He became so much more with the biggest company in the world than he ever was in WCW.
#2 The Undertaker
The Undertaker is an athlete that never needed a title to measure his success. Still, in WWE, he has been a multiple-time tag team and WWE champion, and deservedly so. The risks that he took over the years, the quality of matches he put on, clearly showed that he was dedicated to the promotion that gave his career purpose.
One of the most interesting things to note about him is that over 27 years earlier, The Undertaker was simply known as ‘Mean' Mark Callous, when he was part of WCW. It was there where he began to earn some notoriety when he teamed up with Sid Vicious, and later Dan Spivey, as one-half of The Skyscrapers. They competed against the likes of The Road Warriors during the different incarnations of this team.
His agility and mobility were something that would become a major calling card for him, and eventually, he left WCW to join WWE. After a nearly twenty-seven year career in WWE, The Undertaker remains one of the most iconic characters and performers in the company's history.
#1 ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin
It is hard to believe that the former WWE champion was anything but a success in his career. However, there was a time when his light didn't shine as brightly as it did with Vince McMahon's promotion. During Stone Cold Steve Austin's time in WCW, he was known as Stunning Steve Austin and was one-half of the tag team champions, The Hollywood Blondes, alongside Brian Pillman.
Together they were a convincing heel tag team that was quite competitive and took part in a number of rivalries with other top teams. After the duo split, Austin captured the United States championship.
However, while his time in WCW was met with some success when compared to his time in WWE, it doesn't even come close. While in WWE he was a multiple-time WWE champion, a tag team and Intercontinental champion, and was one of the most popular wrestlers of all time. His career was capped with an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
