Many pundits and wrestlers viewed WCW as the wild, wild West in which talent had the most power. WWE wrestlers typically had to do whatever Vince McMahon asked of them, and the landscape had a more traditional work environment. The fighters were able to get away with more wcw as owner Ted Turner was watching from afar, and Eric Bischoff didn’t have to worry about his money on the line.
Unfortunately, it’s become a bit more common for WCW wrestlers to get in trouble for saying the wrong thing. Management or other talent had to step in if a wrestler said something that crossed the line or created a backstage conflict. The following wrestlers got into some kind of trouble in WCW because of their mouths.
10 hulk hogan
It’s hard to say that Hulk Hogan got in “trouble” for anything in WCW given his massive contract. However, Hogan had an unlikely scenario of feuding with Billy Kidman in 2000. WCW placed Hogan on a show with Kidman after radio interviews stating that he did not believe Kidman would draw at a flea market.
The New Blood vs. Millionaire’s Club storyline called for legends to go up against new talent. Kidman scoring a pair of wins over Hogan with outside help still felt impactful. Hogan rarely lost matches and probably had to outpoint Kidman several times due to his comments before finally winning the match.
9 ole anderson
WCW used Ole Anderson in multiple roles both on screen and backstage. Anderson was often criticized backstage for never being shy about expressing his opinion. Time on the creative side saw Ole having power over how the show would be booked.
Anderson botched his big situation by trying to block Ric Flair from returning to WCW after losing his last match to Mr. Perfect in a Loser Leaves Town match. Flair’s return to WCW was a big deal, and WCW fired Ole to avoid losing Flair before he was officially signed.
8 hell disco
Disco Inferno’s lower middle card run saw him have a long tenure in WCW. Disco was one of the few wrestlers to never jump ship into WWE. However, there was a very short time when Inferno was fired from WCW for saying the wrong thing.
WCW placed Disco in a feud with Jacqueline during her first major run for a major promotion. Inferno made it clear that he wasn’t going to lose to a woman, even though his character was mostly known for losing. WCW eventually rehired Disco and ensured that he lost to Jacqueline after her comments.
7 Raven
One of the most fascinating behind-the-scenes stories in WCW featured the firing of Raven when Eric Bischoff offered that option to anyone who wasn’t happy. The story began with Raven taking heavy backstage criticism for criticizing the company in radio interviews.
Raven was not happy with his lack of drive and criticized the company’s management in 1999. Bischoff has since admitted that he was extremely unhappy with this, and it played a role in his ultimatum. Raven realized it was aimed at him and accepted the release. Years to come saw Raven reveal that he wasn’t a smart move, especially since his WWE run was worse.
6 syxx
Sean Waltman became a valuable part of the New World Order as Syxx. WCW’s hiring of Kevin Nash’s real life friends Scott Hall and Syxx together provided some great matches and segments. Unfortunately, Waltman’s time in WCW ended quicker than expected.
Eric Bischoff fired Waltman because his agent spoke for him during contract negotiations. Bischoff’s belief was that Waltman was trying to pressure him into overpaying. WCW didn’t mind overpaying, but Bischoff wanted to put out a statement about the talent trying to force him to do it.
5 ric style
WCW witnessed Ric Flair get into high-profile issues with Eric Bischoff, leading to suspensions, lawsuits, and a worked payoff shoot. Flair upset Bischoff when he didn’t show up for the Thunder to attend his son Reid’s amateur wrestling competition.
Bischoff has stated in recent years that he was most upset by Flair’s explanation that he should be allowed to skip Thunder like the other top stars. This prompted Bischoff to suspend Flair and threaten a lawsuit. Things definitely got too personal when other wrestlers claimed that Bischoff would swear to bankrupt Ric’s family in backstage meetings.
4 russian
Vince Russo became both an on-screen talent and a leading creative mind behind the scenes for WCW. Russo’s selling point was that he was the head writer for WWE during the Attitude Era. However, WCW quickly learned that it was far from a mastermind.
Russo’s most controversial moment for WCW came when he cut that promo shoot that ran over Hulk Hogan. There was an agreement on the promotion, but Russo apparently crossed the line in Hogan’s mind. WCW was sued by Hogan, and he played a role in the company ultimately cutting ties with Russo.
3 Honky Tonk Man
WCW signed the Honky Tonk Man after his successful WWE run in hopes of having more in the tank. HTM was undefeated in his career with the end game of him losing to television champion Johnny B. Badd in Starrcade 1994.
This match never happened as HTM left the promotion just before due to WCW growing tired of their contract demands for more money. Eric Bischoff even claims today that firing HTM was one of the most satisfying moments of his career.
2 watt bill
Controversial WCW booker Bill Watts was respected by Jim Ross and a handful of other old school minds. However, he collided with too many talents and did too many things that crossed the line to ultimately ruin his legacy.
Watts was fired by WCW after making some crazy comments with intense racism and homophobia. Baseball legend Hank Aaron was working with Turner when he learned of the comments. WCW fired Watts and made a lot of WCW wrestlers happy to get rid of him.
1 Bret Hart
There was a lot of confusion as to why Bret Hart was so poorly booked in WCW. Most fans would name Bret the most beloved WWE legend from the time between Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin as the faces of the company. WCW paid Hart enough money to match that reputation, but they rarely used him in a major role.
Bret stated that he felt his insulting comments about Hulk Hogan in previous years probably got him hired badly. Hogan’s WWE departure saw Hart bury him for refusing to leave him. Hogan’s influence in WCW and with Eric Bischoff could easily have been a factor in Bret being used so badly.