Many fans and talents criticized WCW for the creative side of things that derail the efforts of talent in the ring. WCW was in an awkward position when the big roster of established top stars and new younger names emerged. The criticism that WCW has bad story arc endings hasn’t always been true.
There were moments when WCW jumped the shark or created a negative scenario with the culmination of a long story. However, the best cases of things working showed that in the right scenarios, a good angle closure came about. WCW had the following payoffs perfect for interesting WCW storylines.
10 formation of a new world order
WCW created a storyline in which Kevin Nash and Scott Hall had a mysterious partner in the early stages of the creation of the New World Order. At the infamous 1996 Bash at the Beach event, this trio faced off against Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage, who represented WCW.
Hogan being the third man was the only way this story could have worked as effectively as it did. WCW led fans to believe that a big name would join Hall and Nash. Hogan was the only one who could live up to that hype, with instant hit from fans throwing trash in the ring for his first heel promo.
9 Ric Flair betrays Sting to rejoin Four Horsemen
Some WCW fans got tired of Ric Flair manipulating Sting one too many times, but throughout the storyline it usually made sense. Flair appeared to turn around when Four Horsemen members Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman had trouble with him.
Sting finally helped Flair after weeks of his former enemy being on the unfortunate side of an attack. The big reward was that Flair was tagged in by Sting and attacked him to reveal the setup. Flair’s reunion with the Horsemen and feuding with Sting once again put everyone in their ideal roles.
8th Booker T wins best-of-seven series
WCW did a brilliant job building momentum for Chris Benoit and Booker T by putting them in a best-of-seven series with a TV championship at stake. Booker and Benoit were some of WCW’s hardest workers, giving their all to make every match feel important.
The series went the full seven games, with Booker winning in the deciding game to win the title shot. Booker won the series, defeating Finlay to become the next TV Champion. This storyline made fans stand out as a singles star aside from just being a tag team wrestler with Harlem Heat.
7 Juventud Guerrera loses mask to Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho’s turning heel in WCW changed his career for the better as it allowed him to show his personality for the first time. During this new Heel character, various Jericho masked cruiserweights were attacked and insulted.
Juventud Guerrera was one of the more credible luchadores to show a genuine interest in unmasking. Jericho winning a title vs masks match and forcing Juventud to unmask was the perfect ending. Guerrera stepped in without his mask moving forward, but Jericho got heel heat from it to add momentum to his character.
6 Rey Mysterio stands up for LWO
The Latino World Order t-shirt is still a popular seller for WWE today, but it had many overlooked moments in WCW. Rey Mysterio originally tried not to join the group, despite Eddie Guerrero aggressively trying to change his mind.
A loss to Guerrero forced Mysterio to join the LWO as a larger storyline against his will. However, Eddie, suffering an injury, removed him from television. Rey ended up being the only member of the LWO to stand up for Guerrero and refused to stop wearing the shirt against the wishes of nWo elite members. This was the first time Rey showed his huge killer persona.
5 Sting Picking The NWO Wolfpac
The idea of Sting joining any version of the New World Order was a bold move for WCW to actually pull through. Kevin Nash sculpting the Wolfpac as a face version of the nWo against Hulk Hogan caused fans to rally behind them.
Lex Luger and Konnan joined Nash when the main members saw them recruit Sting to join the Red Blacks. Hogan also began recruiting Sting to nWo Hollywood for a great ending. Sting revealed a black and white nWo shirt to trick Hogan before attacking him and revealing the red and black shirt. Fans gave a huge cheer when Sting joined the Wolfpac as the ending everyone wanted.
4 Scott Steiner betrays his brother to join the NWO
The Steiner Brothers were the most respected WCW tag team for most of their run together. Rick and Scott Steiner bonded beyond the sibling relationship as their careers followed one another to continue the team.
WCW and Scott wanted to make a change for him by moving him into a solo role in the New World Order. Scott, who changed his hairstyle and showed more ego, paid dividends when he betrayed his brother Rick in a tag match against The Outsiders. WCW prepared this moment and paid off in crucial ways.
3 Ric Flair jeopardizes his career to dethrone Vader
Ric Flair leaving WCW for WWE was a shocking move that many fans thought at the time could kill the company. However, it only resulted in other stars rising to main eventers like Vader during his absence.
On Flair’s return, he played one face in higher card matches before moving on to the biggest prize. Eager to prove he was still good enough to become champion, Flair risked his career for Vader’s title. WCW booked that emotional moment perfectly as Flair once again won the WCW Championship to avoid being forced to retire.
2 Dean Malenko returns to avenge Chris Jericho
WCW gave the feud between Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko plenty of time to make it feel more important than the average cruiserweight rivalry. Jericho delivered shockingly clean wins over Malenko, causing Dean to lose confidence and leave.
Weeks of heel promos showed Jericho running down the entire Malenko family and calling Dean a coward. WCW set up the perfect moment for Malenko to return under a ciclope mask after winning a battle royal. On the epic night, Malenko got his revenge on Jericho as a brilliant reward for heel trash talk.
1 Ron Simmons makes history
WCW made sure fans knew the story behind Ron Simmons, who was chasing for the WCW Championship in the early ’90s. Simmons was a great athlete, but he entered a wrestling world where no black wrestler held the grand prize for WWE or WCW.
In the hunt for Simmons, he got a title shot against Vader when he was the most dominant heel in WCW. Simmons defeating a respected villain to become the first-ever Black WCW Champion was a great ending to that story and is still revered today.
