Underrated WWF To WCW Career Moves

Underrated WWF To WCW Career Moves
June 3, 2026
By Ryan Porzl

Just recently, I watched a video on YouTube from "Wrestling Bios" who did a video called "The Most Pointless WWF to WCW Career Moves". It was an entertaining video and it inspired me to do something similar. Obviously, many wrestlers made the jump from WWF to WCW throughout the 1990s. As mentioned by Wrestling Bios, you had pointless ones like Honky Tonk Man, Marty Jannetty, Ted Dibiase, etc. Obviously, you also had some game changers in Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, etc. However, there were names that people forget about. Names that maybe came into WCW and actually had an underrated run. In this article, we'll take a look at wrestlers who actually had underrated runs that actually turned out good to great for them.

Credit to Wrestling Bios for the idea. I don't own any pictures. Credit to WWE or whomever owns them.

Curt Hennig- By the time Hennig made his way to WCW in 1997, he was already a legend in the business. He originally achieved big success in the territories in the 1980s including the American Wrestling Association and Pacific Northwest Wrestling including winning the world title in the former. After a cup of coffee run in the early 80s, Hennig would achieve immortality for his 1988-1996 run in the WWF as "Mr. Perfect", a wrestler who supposedly did everything perfectly. Hennig would enjoy two runs with the Intercontinental Championship as well as big matches and feuds with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Bret Hart. Unfortunately, Hennig's WWF run never reach the heights it should've due to recurring back issues which kept him out on and off from 1991-1996 during which time he would work for the promotion as a manager and/or commentator. 

After a falling out with WWF in late 1996, Hennig resumed his in-ring career and signed with WCW in 1997. Ultimately, Hennig would enjoy a three year run in the promotion and while not as talked about as his WWF days, he still had plenty of highlights to look back on. He returned to champion status enjoying a run with the WCW United States Championship and the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Barry Windham. He also received a few WCW World Heavyweight Title shots against Goldberg. However, he easily made his mark with stables first with the Four Horsemen and then The West Texas Rednecks. The Horsemen run was short but memorable with Hennig taking the retiring Arn Anderson's "spot" as the Enforcer of the group only the betray them at Fall Brawl 1997 and join the nWo. The Rednecks saw Hennig unite with fellow second generational wrestlers The Windham Brothers (Barry and Kendall) and Bobby Duncum Jr. with the four later joined by Virgil (as Curly Bill). The Rednecks were certainly a highlight in 1999 WCW which was a time when the promotion was beginning to freefall. The gimmick was also able for Hennig to fulfill a dream as he apparently always wanted to have a cowboy gimmick, according to former manager Bobby Heenan. Again, Hennig's WCW run wasn't as legendary as WWF but it added more memorable moments to a legendary career and was a nice comeback to the ring after missing much of his prime due to injury.

Sensational Sherri- In some ways, Sensational Sherri's run pre-WCW was similar to Hennig's. Both found success in the territories, specifically the AWA as champions before embarking on WWF runs where they wrestled and managed. Sherri got her first major break in wrestling with the AWA which would be a sign of things to come as she held their Women's Championship three times and would be a successful manager, specifically for the AWA World Tag Team Champions Buddy Rose and Doug Somers. Sherri would then achieve her greatest success with her 1987-1993 run in the WWF where she originally enjoyed a year long run with the WWF Women's Championship and then became a successful manager for Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase, and Shawn Michaels where she earned praise and definitely elevated each talent she managed.

After being released in 1993 and working as a journeywoman for about a year, Sherri signed with WCW in 1994. Unlike her WWF and AWA runs, she was largely a manager and didn't wrestle much. Despite this, she still made a mark and got a nice career comeback. She originally would come in as "Sensuous Sherri" and managed Ric Flair during his feud with the recently arrived Hulk Hogan. After Flair briefly "retired", Sherri would perhaps achieve her biggest success as a manager when she became "Sister Sherri" and managed Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray). Sherri would enjoy a successful three year run as their manager, leading the team to the WCW World Tag Team Championship seven times. Sherri's WCW run would also see her achieve arguably more success as a manager as she managed Flair and Harlem Heat to various championships while she never managed a champion in the WWF. Her pairing with Harlem Heat also showed how valuable she was as it no doubt elevated Harlem Heat as bigger stars being managed by a legend. In the end, Sherri never held a championship herself in WCW but she definitely got a nice comeback and showed her worth as a manager probably more than the WWF by helping to elevate a legendary team.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan- Duggan is the latest name on this list who enjoyed success in the territories and then became immortal for a WWF run in The Golden Era. Once again, Duggan enjoyed success in the territories, becoming a star for Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling/Universal Wrestling Federation before having a successful six year run in the WWF from 1987-1993. While Duggan never held a title, he did win the first televised Royal Rumble at the 1988 Royal Rumble while being a popular midcard attraction having memorable feuds with Randy Savage, Dino Bravo, and Yokozuna to name some.

Duggan's WCW run was an interesting run as most of the middle from 1995-1999 was him in the midcard having the occasional appearances on PPVs. However, the meat and potatoes was the years that sandwiched it. Upon his debut in 1994, he found a new lease of his career after largely moving down the card in his later WWF run. He quickly won the United States Championship from Steve Austin thus becoming a champion which he never was in the WWF and had a series of matches with Austin and one of his more underrated matches with his title loss to Vader at Starrcade 1994. From 1999-2001, he then experienced another small comeback as he returned to champion status by becoming the final WCW World Television Champion. While it is true the belt didn't mean as much as it did, he still got to make history with a famous title. He also had stories with Shane Douglas' Revolution and even changed his stripes by joining Lance Storm's Team Canada which was probably one of the more interesting stories he had in years. Duggan was someone who benefited jumping to WCW as the WWF didn't have much left for him while he got a few solid career revivals in WCW and was able to win gold which he was never able to do to in WWF.

Brian Adams and Bryan Clark (Kronik)- The tag team of Kronik are the first tag team to make this list and would be among those to prove that the WWF isn't always the land of milk and honey for a wrestler. Sometimes, going south is the trick.

Adams first worked for the WWF on and off from 1990-1997 under the name "Crush" while Clark worked in WWF from 1993-1995 as "Adam Bomb". Despite both having a lot of potential and seemingly having the look Vince McMahon would want, neither made it to superstardom. Clark's WWF run was largely uneventful with no title wins or any big rivalry or stories. Perhaps his most memorable moment was getting squashed by Earthquake at Wrestlemania X. Adams would fare a little better debuting as a third member of the legendary tag team Demolition with Ax and Smash. Unfortunately, despite this and being a tag team champion, many view Adams' entry to the team as the beginning of the end. Later runs would see Adams have big matches and feuds with Randy Savage, Lex Luger, and The Undertaker while also being a member of The Nation of Domination. However, nothing could get him over the hump. 

Clark (who previously had a cup of coffee run in WCW in the early 90s) would arrive first in 1997 under the name "Wrath" where he showed good potential, especially when he received a brief push in late 1998 but again didn't make it over the hump and would miss nearly a year of action due to injury. Adams jumped to WCW in early 1998 using his real name but despite becoming a member of the nWo, it didn't help his career. By 1999, he was then planned to portray the KISS Demon, a character based off KISS bassist Gene Simmons' demon persona, before the character went to Dale Torborg.

Finally in April 2000, the two would return to WCW TV as a tag team named "Kronik". The move would finally be the shot in the arm both needed. In a time when WCW had one of the worst years of any wrestling company, Kronik were actually a bright spot for WCW as they quickly gained popularity and success winning the WCW World Tag Team Championship twice while showed great chemistry as a "chew em up and spit em out" style and swagger while truly finding their groove after more than a decade of trying. While Kronik wasn't able to take the next step after WCW with a WWF return being short and disastrous while a run in All Japan, while successful, would be short lived due to career ending injuries for both, Kronik was able for a time to finally see Adams and Clark achieve their potential. Kronik were proof that WCW could succeed in making stars when WWF couldn't.

Sean Waltman (Syxx)- Waltman's run in WCW was another underrated jump as Waltman was, perhaps, the guy on this list who really needed a change of scenery in order to grow or evolve. Waltman first achieved national stardom as lovable underdog "The 1-2-3 Kid" in the WWF from 1993-1996. His run has it's moments including famous upset wins over Razor Ramon and Ted Dibiase to two reigns as WWF Tag Team Champion to receiving a WWF Championship shot against Bret Hart. By 1996, The Kid was now a weasel like heel but it felt like he was starting to outgrow "The 1-2-3 Kid" persona and his stock was also hurt after losing the infamous Crybaby match at In Your House VI to Ramon where he was forced to wear a diaper. It was clear, change was needed.

Upon joining WCW in 1996, Waltman would evolve in several ways. He would change his name to Syxx and would alter his look by growing a goatee and perhaps dressing more adult like thus shedding that clean cut kid look he was growing out of. He also would alter his style going from mostly high flying to ground based with martial arts sprinkled in which likely prolonged his career. The move to WCW saw Waltman also get real runs as a champion. Whereas his two WWF Tag Title runs lasted one week and one day, respectively, he was allowed to actually have a good run with the WCW Cruiserweight Championship for a four month reign. Also, as part of "Wolfpac rules" he was allowed to defend the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. While Waltman's WCW run last only a little over a year reportedly due to injury and behavioral issues, the WCW run was still big for his career as it allowed him to evolve that he might not been able to if he stayed in the WWF. Speaking of WWF, the time away would see him return in 1998 with a clean slate as "X-Pac".

Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags (The Nasty Boys)- The Nastys were a team that had their share of WWF moments but found bigger success and longevity in WCW. Like some on this list, The Nastys would work WCW first for a brief period in late 1990 most notably challenging The Steiner Brothers for the NWA United States Tag Team Championships at Halloween Havoc 1990. The performance reportedly got them on the WWF radar and they made the jump.

The Nastys WWF run was successful but didn't have legs. They debuted in December 1990 and were pushed quickly paired with Jimmy Hart and winning the WWF Tag Team Championship at Wrestlemania VII from The Hart Foundation in March 1991. The Nastys would reign as champions for five months but after losing the belts to The Legion of Doom at Summerslam, their stock would drop. For the next year, the team was mostly a midcard team with little direction while taking a back seat to newer heel teams like Money Inc. and The Natural Disasters. A babyface turn in late 1992 seemed to rejuvenate them and they returned to the title hunt. Unfortunately, a possible title win over Money Inc. at Wrestlemania IX was cancelled when the WWF decided to go with the returning Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake instead. Things would get worse when the team would reportedly misbehave on a spring European tour and would be fired as a result shortly after.

After returning to WCW in 1993, The Nastys would perhaps enjoy their biggest success as they quickly shot to the top as one of WCW's top tag teams for the next two years. During this time, they captured the WCW World Tag Team Championship three times and engaged in some of their most memorable matches including street fights with various combination of Cactus Jack, Maxx Payne, Kevin Sullivan, and Dave Sullivan during this time while later having more hardcore matches with The Public Enemy. After the team went on hiatus due to Jerry Sags briefly retiring in 1997, Knobbs would find minor success as a single winning the WCW Hardcore Championship three times in 2000. In the end, The Nastys had a solid WWF run including a tag title run and a Wrestlemania moment but it felt like they had more to offer in WCW, had more success, and had some of their better and most memorable matches.

Paul Roma- Roma is actually a no-brainer on this list if you think about it. Roma originally became known for his WWF run entering the Federation shortly after debuting in 1985. Despite being in the WWF for a six year run, he didn't achieve much success as he spent most of it as a preliminary talent. Even when he got small pushes in the tag team ranks as part of "The Young Stallions" with Jim Powers and the underrated "Power And Glory" with Hercules, he still didn't go too far. Safe to say, when he left in 1991, Roma had nothing to lose.

When Roma jumped to WCW, it was almost night and day. Obviously, Roma's WCW run is most memorable for his controversial addition to the legendary Four Horsemen. While it's true Roma wasn't a good fit and one of the weakest members in the group's history, it's still something he can brag about and still more than he ever did in six years in the WWF. Outside his Horsemen membership, Roma, perhaps to no surprise, would excel as a tag team wrestler first with Arn Anderson in the Horsemen where they captured both the WCW and NWA World Tag Team Titles. After The Horsemen imploded, Roma then teamed with Paul Orndorff in the team "Pretty Wonderful" where Roma racked up two more WCW Tag Titles in 1994. While Roma's WCW run only last two years as he would famously be fired in early 1995 after an unprofessional performance against Alex Wright where he tried to embarrass the young prospect, he still achieved more in WCW than WWF. He became a member of one of wrestling's greatest stables and he won gold which he never did in WWF.

Ricky Steamboat- Steamboat is one of the more interesting names on this list as he already made his name in the National Wrestling Alliance/Jim Crockett Promotion before it was WCW and then had two moments where he left WWF and returned to WCW being the right moves.

Steamboat is someone that's on this list was in WCW before WWF, specifically from 1977-1985 in Jim Crockett Promotions/National Wrestling Alliance as both a successful single competitor and tag competitor with teams including Paul Jones and Jay Youngblood.

Steamboat's first WWF run went from 1985-1988, during which time he took the name of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Steamboat's first WWF started great with big feuds over Don Muraco and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. However, his WWF run peaked with his legendary feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage which culminated in an equally legendary match at Wrestlemania III on March 29, 1987 where he captured the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Unfortunately, things would go south shortly after when Steamboat reportedly requested time off to be with his wife Bonnie who was prepared to give birth to son Ritchie. The result saw Steamboat's planned long reign with the Intercontinental Title cut short as he dropped the title to The Honky Tonk Man in June and upon returning from time off, his WWF run never recovered as it seemed Vince McMahon completely soured on him. Steamboat continued in the midcard until leaving following Wrestlemania IV in March 1988 after participating in the tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. Meanwhile, Steamboat's second WWF run proved short and uneventful as he returned in March 1991 repackaged as "The Dragon" where he would have the gimmick of coming to the ring in a dragon costume and breathing fire. Despite his previous success, Steamboat's past WWF run was rarely mentioned and at times was treated like a new wrestler. In the end, Steamboat's second run proved forgettable aside from wrestling at Summerslam 1991. Perhaps seeing his run going no where, Steamboat requested his release by October, ending his second WWF run after only seven months.

Steamboat made his first WWF to WCW jump in 1989 where he had perhaps his biggest year having his legendary trilogy of matches with Ric Flair over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, a championship Steamboat would win in February 1989. Along with the Flair series, he also had a short feud with Lex Luger over the NWA United States Championship with the two facing each other at the Great American Bash 1989 PPV. While the feud and Steamboat's run was cut short due to a contract dispute in August, the 1989 run saw Steamboat engage in some of his famous matches and become a world champion which he never did before or after this run. His second return in 1991 saw Steamboat enjoy a very good three year run that only ended due to a back injury. Prior to that, Steamboat was a great addition to the mid and upper midcard enjoying runs with the World Television and United States Championship and having great matches with the likes of Rick Rude while having his last series of matches with Flair. Perhaps, the most important thing is Steamboat felt more useful for WCW than his brief WWF return from being a member of Sting's Squadron against The Dangerous Alliance to being a vet who would work with younger talent be it teaming with them like Dustin Rhodes and Shane Douglas to feuding with them like Brian Pillman, Steve Austin, and Lord Steven Regal (William Regal). Overall, Steamboat's jumps back to WCW saw him utilized better and overall, had direction.

Shawn Stasiak- Stasiak didn't have the sexiest career in wrestling but he's kind of in the same category as Paul Roma, a guy who went no where in WWF and found success in WCW.

Stasiak is the son of former WWE Champion Stan Stasiak, so it's probably no surprise he first attempted stardom in the WWF. After doing time in developmental in Power Pro Wrestling, Stasiak's WWF run would stumble immediately when he debuted in the spring of 1999 as "Meat', the sex slave of the Pretty Mean Sisters stable complete with underwear like trunks. The gimmick was up there with Terry Taylor's Red Rooster gimmick in terms of potential career killer and Stasiak had no chance. Sure enough, Stasiak was a prelim talent and even after the WWF dropped the gimmick and made him "Shawn Stasiak", the damage was done. The only highlight of Stasiak's WWF run was being the televised debut opponent of Kurt Angle at Survivor Series 1999. Stasiak's WWF run ended shortly afterwards when he was caught tape recording wrestler's conversations supposedly as a joke.

After his WWF firing, Stasiak jumped to WCW. Stasiak would do some time in the WCW Power Plant school but it didn't take long for WCW to seek something in him. Upon his debut in April 2000, he was given the gimmick of a supposed perfect wrestler named "The Perfect One" or "PerfectShawn Stasiak", a clear ripoff of Curt Hennig's "Mr. Perfect" gimmick from the WWF. Stasiak's WCW run would prove successful as he spent most of it in the tag team ranks where he formed "The Perfect Event" with "The Main Event" Chuck Palumbo with the two enjoying three runs with the WCW World Tag Team Championships. After the team broke up, Stasiak was repackaged as "The Mecca of Manhood" and given Stacy Kiebler as his valet. By all accounts, it looked like Stasiak was in line for a singles push and perhaps taking his career to the next level. Unfortunately, we'll never know as WCW was bought out by WWF shortly after the repackaging. Stasiak is an interesting name as, like Paul Roma, he went from nothing in WWF to success as a tag team wrestler in WCW. Stasiak was perhaps one of the biggest victims of the WCW purchase as it felt like the company had plans for him to go farther only for it to never happen. We'll never know how much farther Stasiak would've went in WCW but what we got was clearly better than anything he did in WWF.

Lex Luger- Luger is an interesting name for many reasons. One is the fact he already had a Hall of Fame run in NWA/WCW before going to the WWF. Second is the fact he seemed tailor made for WWF only for it not to work and jumping back to WCW was a shot in the arm.

Obviously, Luger had a Hall of Fame run in NWA/WCW from 1987-1992 quickly becoming one of their biggest stars including winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, becoming the longest NWA/WCW/WWE United States Champion in history, and was a member of the Four Horsemen.

After his run, Luger would try his luck in the WWF. Long considered by many to be "The Next Hulk Hogan", Vince would famously take that to the next level. After a brief period as "The Narcissist", Luger would become "The Man Made In The USA", a patriotic superhero similar to Hogan. While Luger would get some success including co-winning the 1994 Royal Rumble with Bret Hart as well as getting big championship matches at Summerslam 1993 and Wrestlemania X, Luger's WWF run would be one of the all time most disappointing in company history. Despite being popular, Luger never quite got to the level the WWF wanted in order to go all the way with him. After famously being passed over for the championship at Wrestlemania X in favor of Bret Hart, Luger's WWF run would sputter and never recovered. He would continue to work for the WWF for a year and a half but never returned to the main event and came off like damaged goods. By September 1995, Vince was apparently still high on Luger but his career wasn't really going anywhere and it felt like the ship had sailed as far as him becoming "the guy". Add to the fact, Luger couldn't secure a new contract after six months of negotiating, it's safe to say, he didn't have much to lose.

Luger would return to WCW in September 1995 and immediately hit the ground running debuting unannounced on the first episode of WCW Monday Nitro thus sending shockwaves through the wrestling scene. The legendary incident can easily be considered the first shot fired in the Monday Night Wars while being one of many moments to show Eric Bischoff was willing to do anything and everything to win. While the stunt would kill any potential future WWF run, it did reignite Luger's career. For the first time in a year and a half, Luger actually came off like a big deal and main event player. Luger would be a big part of WCW for their last five and a half years during which time he became a WCW Grand Slam Champion and a massive part of WCW's war with nWo as he led the charge against the invading force. Luger also got some of his biggest wins including ending Goldberg's WCW career at Sin in January 2001 and of course, defeating Hollywood Hogan on August 4, 1997 to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in what is the biggest win of his career. Again, when Luger left WWF, he left behind a disappointing run that didn't reach expectations. Upon return to WCW, he rose to main event status again, had direction, and earned some of the biggest moments of his career.

Rick Rude- The Ravishing One is easily someone who should be thought of as one of the greatest WWF to WCW transitions. Despite achieving legendary status in the WWF, Rude was someone who actually took it to the next level in WCW and could've went even farther if it wasn't for a badly timed injury at the end of 1992 and a career ending one in 1994.

Again, Rude was another who worked in NWA/WCW first having a cup of coffee run from late 1986 to mid 1987 where he became one half of the NWA World Tag Team Champions with "Ragin' Bull" Manny Fernandez.

After this brief run, Rude would go on to have his legendary WWF run from 1987-1990 where he achieved very good success being paired with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, winning the Intercontinental Championship, and having memorable feuds with Paul Orndorff, Jake Roberts, The Ultimate Warrior, and Roddy Piper. However, despite all that and getting great heat, it mostly felt like Rude was rarely allowed to move up beyond the upper midcard and was banging his head on the ceiling.

Upon returning to WCW in 1991, Rude would immediately come off like a main event star and one of the best pick ups in WCW history. From 1991-1994, Rude would enjoy huge success becoming the second longest NWA/WCW/WWE United States Champion in history while becoming a world champion by winning the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship three times. He was the centerpiece of the red hot Dangerous Alliance during it's feud with Sting's Squadron while engaging in big matches with Sting, Dustin Rhodes, Ric Flair, and Ricky Steamboat. It can also be argued Rude perhaps put on some of his best work in WCW with 1992 being his best year. While Rude's WCW run wasn't perfect as a neck injury in December 1992 prevented him from winning the WCW World Championship and a back injury in May 1994 ended his career, there's no doubt Rude came off a bigger deal in WCW and maybe WCW saw more in him than WWF.