The theme of wrestling achievers should shine a light on these hard-working talents to achieve their places in the business. Everyone would rather be overperforming than underperforming as they see someone trying to reach their full potential and defying the odds. Quite a few fighters in wcw reached this level doing everything possible to find success.
Not everyone who oversteps and scratches their way into time and television achievements will be remembered as legends. WCW will always be remembered first for names like Ric Flair, Sting, Hulk Hogan, and Goldberg. The following names had to take different paths to achieve a lesser level of success as achievers who deserve more love.
10 billy kidman
There’s some love for Billy Kidman, but he’s not talked about enough as one of WCW’s best local success stories. Names like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, and Eddie Guerrero are getting more recognition for their cruiserweight work since becoming WWE World Champions.
Kidman was just as important as those three when only looking at her cruiserweight work in WCW. No one expected Kidman to do what he did for WCW after starting out as one of the supporting members of The Flock following Raven’s lead.
9 Bobby Eaton
Wrestlers like Bobby Eaton who offered more consistency and longevity are often overlooked in WCW history in favor of top wrestlers. Eaton was the best professional who could fit into any role and he was expected to succeed.
The Midnight Express tag team is the only thing fans really talk about when looking back on Eaton’s career these days. However, he was a strong individual talent in the ring who didn’t get many chances, but he always showed consistency when called upon.
8 hell disco
Most wrestling fans today have a negative opinion of Disco Inferno based on the polarizing and sometimes downright nasty things he says for attention on his podcast. Multiple wrestlers and many fans have mocked Disco’s WCW career as a lower middle heel.
Inferno still managed to excel to stay on the list and get consistent TV time as an intentionally cheap heat heel. WCW put multiple individual titles on him to achieve more than anyone expected. Cody Rhodes targeted Disco by creating connections and using them to stay on television.
7 chris canyon
WCW first used Chris Kanyon in the dead-end Mortis gimmick inspired by the Mortal Kombat video game franchise. Kanyon had good moves in the ring, but he was masked for the entire race. WCW finally allowed Kanyon to unmask and play a more natural side of the character to him going forward.
Fans often overlook just how much Kanyon achieved after overcoming what no one expected. WCW placed Kanyon in some top card angles with his friend and rival Diamond Dallas Page. Kanyon was a groundbreaking in-ring talent that should be appreciated more in WCW history.
6 mike sanders
The last year of WCW featured the participation of young talent from the Power Plant facilities during a rebuilding process. Mike Sanders was called in to be the speaker for the young faction of new talent called the Natural Born Thrillers.
Lead members Shawn Stasiak, Mark Jindrak, Sean O’Haire, and Chuck Palumbo received most of the attention. However, it was Sanders who had to cut all promotions for his fights against legends like Kevin Nash, Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger. Sanders may not have been all that impressive in the ring, but he overachieved in a limited role.
5 William Regal
William Regal’s technical wrestling and general style were considered boring when he joined WCW. Most American fans had never seen someone use the keys or tell the kind of story that Regal made in the ring to make it a great hit or miss idea.
WCW deserves credit for pushing Regal as a credible heel mid-carder for quite a few years. Regal exceeded original expectations. WCW relied on Regal to win the Television Championship four times, and once even had a feud with Sting, the ultimate babyface.
4 johnny b badd
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Many fans know Marc Mero more for his WWE career, but he accomplished a bit more in WCW. The term underachiever was used in WWE and the opposite story emerged for the competition. Johnny B. Badd was the name used by Mero in WCW with a strange gimmick.
WCW wanted to make Badd a character based on the flamboyant singer Little Richard. Badd even had his own confetti gun that he brought to the ring as part of his entrance. WCW fans enjoyed the gimmick for the time being, and even he had stronger matches than anything he’s ever done in WWE.
3 daffney
WCW did not have many women on the roster for most of its run. The Divas’ success in WWE began to change as WCW made its women’s roster a bigger part of the show in recent years.
Daffney was among the most effective women in WCW in understanding her character. Daffney’s wacky side hit home with the audience and helped bring David Flair up close for the first time in his career. WCW witnessed Daffney move ahead of her time as a character and surpass her accomplishments to become a valued part of the team.
2 Lever
Another part of Daffney and David Flair’s act was their other fellow Crowbar. The independent circuit saw him as Devon Storm trying to find his big break after having limited roles in a few different promotions prior to WCW.
Crowbar was the new gimmick he was given when he played a deranged babyface teaming up with David. WCW fans connected with Crowbar more than anyone expected and watched him become an unsung hero of the past few years. Crowbar won the Cruiserweight Championship, the Hardcore Championship, and the Tag Team Championship, all in WCW.
1 psychosis
WCW’s Cruiserweight division stands the test of time and is cherished today for helping shape the future of the world of wrestling. Rey Mysterio was such a tremendous success story that some of the other wrestlers were overlooked.
Psicosis was having killer matches every week and was among the top list of masked talent in the division at the time. WCW placed the Cruiserweight Championship on Psicosis twice, but rarely gets his due for production from him compared to Rey and even Juventud Guerrera.