WCW was home to some of the greatest feuds of all time between legendary superstars. Icons like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Sting all had career-defining moments in the promotion with tremendous rivals. the hope of wcw it was that each fight would capture the attention of the audience to become something they would pay to see.
Not every idea on paper is going to work when looking back at WCW history. Certain rivalries just fell flat and didn’t meet the expectations of everyone involved. The best ideas will help everyone involved, but the opposite effect can lead to the worst results. Each of the following WCW matches did not help either party involved.
10 Hulk Hogan vs. the butcher
Hulk Hogan’s addition to WCW sparked a huge change in the industry with increased influence after leaving WWE. Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake received a contract offer from WCW as he was Hogan’s best friend. Hogan’s power led to several friends being hired with him at the new company.
Beefcake had to try new tricks when he left WWE and his trademark gimmick behind. WCW pushed him when The Butcher turned rude to betray Hogan. The duo wanted to work together, but the entire show was a disappointment. Hogan looked worse for having a pointless world title feud, and Beefcake proved he wasn’t much of a main event talent.
9 Goldberg vs. fully polished
WCW pushed Buff Bagwell and Lex Luger as the heel tag team of Totally Buffed in 2000. Both wrestlers were in dire need of something new after the promotion hit a deadlock. Goldberg entered into a feud with Luger and Bagwell with the goal of ending his career.
Totally Buffed convinced Goldberg to team up with his Power Plant trainer Serge to take them on with his career on the line.
Sarge was pinned and Goldberg went to rehab with an injury and did not return before WCW ended. Bagwell and Luger joined the Magnificent Seven as supporting members to show they weren’t even walking away from the feud with Goldberg.
8 Glacier Vs Mortis
WCW comes with gimmicks inspired by the Mortal Kombat The franchise hurt every name involved. Glacier and Mortis were pushed with the look and fighting style associated with the video game franchise.
Eric Bischoff’s vision just felt wrong as they had yet to overcome the pro wrestling landscape with the wacky gimmicks. Mortis was meant to be the heel in Glacier’s face, but it seemed like they fought forever over nothing, as titles and character development weren’t taken into account.
7 Shane Douglas vs. Billy Kidman
WCW’s rebuilding process in 2000 saw names like Shane Douglas and Billy Kidman fill larger roles. Torrie Wilson was the main part of their feud when she left Kidman and turned heel to start a new romance with Douglas.
WCW wanted Douglas to have a valet as ECW got with Francine by his side. Unfortunately, the reservation made a fool of everyone. A Viagra match at the Polo between them showed how bad things were going. All three talents were a little worse off than they were going into this story.
6 Buff Bagwell vs. Chris Kanyon
Another WCW rivalry centered around two talented midcarders who wanted to move up the card and featured Buff Bagwell and Chris Kanyon. This one also had a third party involved when Buff’s mother, Judy Bagwell, of all people, got into the feud.
Kanyon kidnapping Judy and placing her on a forklift for the infamous Judy Bagwell in a Pole match made fans lose all interest. WCW hoped that Buff would save his mother and increase his momentum as a babyface, but it was a disaster for everyone.
5 Hulk Hogan vs. the ultimate warrior
WCW contracted Ultimate Warrior to join the company in 1998 for a show with Hulk Hogan. The duo had a strong babyface vs. babyface feud for the WWE and IC championships, but the idea of them adding another chapter in WCW was a flop.
Warrior playing mind games with Hogan through supernatural moments lost most of the audience. A bad game of all time in halloween havoc 1998 it ended the dispute at its worst. Hogan took some time off afterwards to make fans forget about the feud, and Warrior left the company for his last real wrestling stop.
4 dennis rodman vs randy savage
Dennis Rodman’s presence generally did wonders in gaining a lot of attention for WCW. Unfortunately, Randy Savage had the worst of it when Rodman returned to WCW in 1999 and needed a new show after the New World Order ended.
Rodman, working his first singles match against Savage, introduced him by making a pass at Randy’s new manager and love interest, Gorgeous George. WCW had a terrible streak at the time that extended to Rodman’s first big flop against Savage with both guys looking poor in the build and wrestling weakly.
3 goldberg vs vicious sid
WCW instantly planned for Sid Vicious to become Goldberg’s big rival in 1999 when he signed him to a contract. Sid returned after his stint in WWE as a main eventer with a new nickname of Millennium Man. The nickname meant that Sid would end and start the millenniums with an undefeated streak.
Sid’s winning record was further bolstered by attacking several lower card fighters and pinning them all. Goldberg ultimately challenging Sid led to awkward promotional exchanges and even worse matches. Neither of them looked good in the rivalry because the idea was worth more on paper than the actual results.
2 sting vs vampire
The storyline between Sting and Vampiro saw them have a brief team run as the Brothers in Paint at first. WCW progressing with the New Blood vs. Millionaire’s Club feud led them to disagree when Vampiro was a full-fledged heel.
Sting and Vampiro had a long feud with crazy moments like Vampiro setting Sting on fire or introducing the bloodbath site to WCW. The overall angle was a mess that made both of them look weak. Even Vampiro’s wins didn’t help, as both fighters got worse once it was over.
1 Ric Flair vs. David Flair
WCW signed an agreement with David Flair and saw that they wanted him to stop being the son of Ric Flair. Fans didn’t buy it as previous versions of nepotism led to failed attempts. David had a more difficult task trying to fit into the main event angles with minimal experience or credibility.
David’s biggest fight came when he faced off against his father Ric in 2000. Vince Russo’s teaming up with David to harass Ric and the rest of his family was a low-cost story. Ric seemed like a joke as he lost more confidence at the end of WCW. David kept wrestling and never had a successful wrestling career.