The history of WCW is filled with some odd pushes over the years. The company seemed to go out of its way to push some awful acts, many of which didn't work out. Surprisingly, some guys were able to make careers out of being lower-level figures. Alex Wright, Ice Train and Prince Iaukea may not have been main eventers but lasted longer than expected with their work. Other guys weren't as lucky.
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Indeed, it's impressive to see the number of people in WCW who got some good early pushes but then faded away fast. Sometimes, it was due to some issues or injury, other times WCW just got bored with them. In at least one case, it's because of one of the most infamous botches in wrestling history. These are ten WCW wrestlers who faded fast to show not everyone was lucky to enjoy a long run in the company.
10 The Renegade
Poor Rick Wilson. He wasn't a bad worker but will always carry the legacy of one of the biggest rip-off acts in wrestling history. After promising an "Ultimate surprise" for Uncensored 1995, WCW delivered a poor man's version of the Warrior. He had the same look, hair, makeup, outfit, and mannerisms but none of the charisma to make up for his bad ring work. WCW kept trying, even making him TV champion, but no one accepted it. After he lost the belt, he was made out as a loser with his makeup wiped off and flopping further as this big push did a lot of damage to the guy.
9 Erik Watts
This may be the ultimate case of nepotism in wrestling history. When Bill Watts took over WCW in 1992, he immediately pushed his son Erik into a would-be star. The problem was Erik was vastly undertrained, looked thin and lacked the charisma to make up for his shortcomings.
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It was blatant he was being pushed just because of his father, which turned fans off on him. As soon as Bill was fired in early 1993, Erik's stock in the company went into freefall and he was gone himself months later. Maybe with more time, Erik would have been a better worker, but his dad's push just marred his run.
8 The Shockmaster
Any list of WCW flops has to include this as the "flop" part was literal. In an attempt to invent a new challenger for Vader, WCW had the former Typhoon wear a glitter-covered Stormtrooper helmet. Cue the now-famous explosion and trip to ruin it all.
It's forgotten WCW still tried to push Shockmaster afterward with an act as a construction worker, but no one could take him seriously after that debut. He was gone in early 1994, yet his legacy of laughter lives on today.
7 PN News
There was an obsession in the early 1990s for wrestlers based on rappers and WCW had one of the worst. P.N. News came out with goofy lyrics and worse dancing, given a push in hopes kids would enjoy him, but it never came to serious fruition.
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As it happened, his push ended quickly as he accidentally injured an opponent in a botched move. That killed a feud with Steve Austin, falling down the card before being released in early 1992. To use music parlance, News never even qualified to be a one-hit-wonder before sinking out of WCW.
6 KISS Demon
WCW made a lot of money-wasting moves over the years, but this is still something. Somehow convinced KISS was still the hottest band in the world in 1999, the company not only got a deal to have them perform some songs but also a wrestler based on their act.
He looked like a lame Gene Simmons impersonator with the makeup and long tongue and his wrestling was pretty bad. WCW tried, but fans didn't take to him as he sunk down the ranks. Believe it or not, Dale Torbog is now a trainer for the Chicago White Sox, who must wonder if he still keeps the outfits.
5 Blitzkrieg
WCW had a lot of talent in the Cruiserweight division, yet Blitzkrieg stood out from the pack. While a bit bulkier than others in the division, he could take off the ropes well and his cool costume stood out.
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Despite all that talent, he was put into a losing streak even though he was often the highlight of his matches. In just a few months, he made a decent mark that could have gone further. But after suffering a concussion, he decided to not only leave WCW but wrestling itself. It's too bad as Blitzkrieg had what it took to be a standout in WCW had he gone longer.
4 Crowbar
Christopher Ford was a pretty gifted indie wrestler with some good high-flying moves. In WCW, he was more of a thug carrying around the ritual weapon yet still able to show some skills in the ring.
He and David Flair briefly held the tag team titles and Crowbar co-held the Cruiserweight title with Daffney. After that, he was pretty much jobber status despite having more talent than some in WCW at the time. He was let go after WCW ended and drifted off yet proved he was much better than his alliance with David Flair would indicate.
3 The Wall
A promising worker in the WCW Power Plant, Jerry Tuite was given a pretty rough character of the Wall. Meant to be an impressive bruiser, he looked lame in the suit and his chokeslam was not as impressive as the company hoped.
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He was famous for a segment where Hulk Hogan called out "it's the Wall" when the man was literally standing a mile away. He later became Sgt AWOL in the Misfits in Action, then back to the Wall, bouncing around before WCW's end. The Wall never got a chance to stand tall in WCW.
2 Tank Abbott
WCW really thought Tank Abbott would be a big deal. That ignored his poor UFC record as WCW kept pushing him as a top star when his ring work was pretty bad. A feud with Goldberg never happened, and he sunk down the card fast.
By accounts, Vince Russo wanting to make Abbott WCW World champion in 2000 led to his first firing from the company. Tank was soon sinking into the bodyguard for Three Count and other poor feuds, more a joker than a tough guy. The Tank just spun his treads in WCW.
1 El Gigante
Jorge Gonzalez was an impressive figure standing over seven feet tall and drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. They soon realized his height didn't make up for being uncoordinated for basketball. So they turned him to wrestling as El Gigante.
Despite some pushes, El Gigante was a giant flop, totally unsuited for wrestling and even Ric Flair couldn't carry him to a decent match. He later became the terrible Giant Gonzales in WWE yet never any height of success in wrestling.
