During the peak of the Monday Night Wars, both WWE and WCW wanted wrestling dominance.
This resulted in both companies splashing out millions of dollars to entice wrestlers. Ultimately we know WWE ended up being victorious. However, WCW put up some very stiff competition.
Related: 10 Wrestlers Who Signed Too Late With WCW
They had megastars like Golberg, Sting, Booker T and many more to seriously threaten WWE in the rating battle. However, they also brought in some major duds which ultimately played a huge part in its demise. So let's dive into the past and highlight 10 wrestlers who WCW splashed the cash on and ended up doing nothing with.
10 Horace Hogan
A prime example of WCW wasting money. Horace Hogan was simply brought in because he was Hulk Hogan's nephew. Earning a staggering $250,000 a year to be used as a glorified jobber.
Related: WCW: 10 Potential Top Stars They Mishandled
It was a complete waste of time and money. As well as being a huge insult to more deserving wrestlers on the roster who earned much less. It was simply just another power move by The Hulkster.
9 Glacier
Where to even begin with this bizarre decision? Glacier was a mid-card act in WCW never holding a title in the company. So it is strange that the company decided to spend half a million dollars on his entrance alone.
On top of that cost, they also had to pay for his contract and elaborate ring gear which cost them hundreds of thousands also. All in all, it's no wonder they went bust as spending that much money on a mid carder is ridiculous.
8 The Ultimate Warrior
WCW decided to splash $1 Million Dollars to bring in Warrior on a part-time basis. Working only 3 times a month when he was signed in 1998, the writing was already on the wall. Warrior was never the greatest of in-ring performers and was always involved in controversy.
Obviously, WCW had to force him into a feud with Hogan which had become a tired rivalry at this point in time. As well as performing his usual confusing, over-the-top promos and having a conflict with the nWo. Before leaving after a few months, what a waste.
7 The Iron Sheik
Back in 1989 WWE stalwart, The Iron Sheik made a shock move to WCW. He debuted and instantly went into a feud with Sting. Which he ended up on the losing side of and that literally sums up his WCW run.
It was uneventful and he had no impact on the company. Even though it cost them a bucket load of money to pry him away from WWE. Once again, WCW stupidly wasted money on someone they did little to nothing with.
6 Bam Bam Bigelow
In every other promotion, Bam Bam Bigelow was treated as a big deal. However, as per usual in WCW they bring in a top star and they get lost in the shuffle. Things started out great though with Bigelow feuding with Goldberg.
Related: 10 Shocking WCW Contracts That Led To The Company’s Downfall
It was an interesting combo and was a great foil for Goldberg to overcome. However, they just made Bigelow a jobber to Goldberg and after that, he did nothing of note in the company. A complete waste of money and talent.
5 Disco Inferno
It paid well to be friends with Vince Russo during the peak of WCW. Disco Inferno was brought in by Russo and was given a whopping $300,000 a year. So surely he was a main event regular, right?
Nope, not even close. He was in fairness a fun mid-card act but does that justify the money he was getting? WCW massively overpaid on a guy who was never going to draw in a lot of viewers which is becoming a theme here.
4 Roddy Piper
Once again, WCW thought that bringing in former WWE stars would result in instant success. Sure, views will rise for a few weeks but when you sign older wrestlers and waste talent, fans lose interest.
Bringing in Piper towards the end of his career for $750,000 wasn't very wise, to say the least. Just another nonsensical decision which cost the company millions of dollars due to contract fees and sheer desperation to beat WWE.
3 Tank Abbott
Wrestling companies love bringing in a mainstream MMA guy to legitimize the business and draw in a more hardcore audience. Therefore, bringing in Abbott should have resulted in major success for WCW.
However, Vince Russo ended up turning a legit badass into a comedy act. On top of this, wasting his potential and a money-making feud with Goldberg they paid him $650,000 a year. An insane amount of money for someone Russo didn't use.
2 Ernest Miller
The highlight of Ernest Miller's WCW run was dancing around and being the on-screen WCW Commissioner. Surely, that wouldn't earn him much money, right? Actually it resulted in him pocketing a whopping $400,000 a year.
Related: WCW: The 10 Most Absurd Signings Made By Eric Bischoff
For someone who was essentially a comedy act, that is an absurd amount of money to be paying out. It is just one of many examples from WCW, who made some bizarre contract decision during its run.
1 KISS Demon
No wonder WWE beat WCW with stuff like this. Back in 1999, Eric Bischoff brought in KISS on a mega-contract to perform during a PPV. What Bischoff thought would be a rating booster ended up being the worst viewed segment in WCW history.
On top of that, as part of the deal for KISS to perform, a wrestler called KISS Demon was to receive a huge main event push. Which included a feud with Sting. However, Bischoff left WCW shortly after the deal was agreed. Resulting in KISS Demon receiving a main event star tier salary whilst not being used.
Next: 15 Ridiculous Things WCW Blew Millions On During The Monday Night War
