More Wrestlers You Didn’t Know Wrestled in WCW
WCW had many wrestlers on their roster at one time or another. Apart from Nitro, Thunder and pay-per-views, some wrestlers may have only appeared on programmes like Pro or Prime, that were not as widely seen. Or, it was a case of “before they were stars,” wrestlers who worked as enhancement talent, before finding more opportunities down the track. It may even be that while they were a name at one point, they worked under a mask or different gimmick that made them unrecognisable. Or they just didn’t work very many matches. Either way, let’s take a look at more wrestlers in no particular order you may not have realised worked for World Championship Wrestling. And if you did know all of these, you’re smarter than we thought! 😉
Jimmy Del Ray
Before the nWo made it their trademark to spray-paint people and inanimate objects, we got Jimmy Graffiti. Formerly a gigolo, Jimmy Del Ray first made his mark in 1993, when he arrived in SMW to replace Stan Lane in the Heavenly Bodies tag team with Dr. Tom Prichard. The Bodies dominated the SMW tag team scene and also worked matches in the WWF. A lawsuit resulted in Del Ray leaving the Federation, and he worked for the USWA and ECW respectively, before signing with WCW in 1996. Unfortunately, Jimmy Graffiti was not a stand-out in the Cruiserweight division, and he retired after a knee injury in 1997.
The Iron Sheik
While The Iron Sheik worked a range of territories, he will be forever a part of WWF folklore after dropping the WWF title to Hulk Hogan and launching Hulkamania in January 1984. For years a strong, competent wrestler who was unmatched in the mastering of the Persian clubs, Sheik was in the twilight of his career when he signed with WCW in 1989. Apparently, nobody thought to check on his physical condition and they quickly realised he wasn’t capable of having watchable TV matches. So after losing to TV champion Sting in around two minutes at Wrestlewar 1989, he was then made the short-lived manager of Ron Simmons. He was replaced in the role by Woman, and for several months, sat at home.
Not only did the fans forget about him, so too did WCW management. Sheik’s contract rolled over for another year, so in an attempt to get something out of him, they had him return to work some matches on the house show circuit until finally they could let him go in January 1991. Apparently one company’s loss is another’s gain, as with tension bubbling over in the Persian Gulf, Sheik then signed with the WWF, where he changed nationalities and became Colonel Mustafa! The wrestling business can be pretty funny sometimes, eh?
Lanny Poffo
While WCW forgetting about The Iron Sheik and having to pay him for another year was a story, it still doesn’t beat Lanny Poffo being under contract with the company for five years, and never wrestling! While Cagematch lists one or two dark matches, Lanny himself stated he never got booked during the entire time he had a contract.
Randy Savage did his younger brother a solid when he jumped to WCW at the end of 1994, and got Lanny a contract as well. Randy’s idea was for him to be ‘Gorgeous George,’ complete with bleached blonde hair. Lanny changed his hair and embarked on a strenuous training regimen in preparation for a phone call which sadly never came. Eventually, in the final stages of WCW, the name was given to Randy’s then-girlfriend, Stephanie Bellars. Lanny returned to wrestling via the indies in 2000.
Hercules Hernandez
The mighty Hercules had a mixed run in the WWF, at times highlighted as a member of the Heenan Family and feuding with Ted Dibiase, and then as one-half of the middle card tag team Power and Glory with Paul Roma, to being a jobber-to-the-stars. Herc’ left the Federation in February 1991 after losing to Sid Justice in a quick match and no-selling the finish. He signed with WCW and donning a mask, was managed by Harley Race and went under the name ‘Super Invader.’ His time was brief, as by the end of the year, he was gone. Fortunately, his career had a period of revival in New Japan, where he reverted back to being ‘Hercules Hernandez’ and teamed with Scott Norton as the ‘Jurassic Powers.’
Larry O’ Dea
Just to break up the monotony of ex-WWF wrestlers, we list Australian wrestler, Larry O’ Dea. For years, he plied his trade for the Australian version of World Championship Wrestling, eventually becoming co-owner of the promotion from 1974 to 1978 with Ron Miller. Unlike the later ‘World Cup of Wrestling’ tournament in 1995 – which only featured wrestlers from WCW and New Japan – a host of competitors were flown in for Clash of the Champions XIX on June 22, 1992 for an NWA World Tag Team title tournament. A truly international affair, Larry and his son Jeff represented Australia, but were turfed out in the opening round by eventual winners Steve Williams and Terry Gordy (Miracle Violence Connection).
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Before becoming the evil little brother of The Undertaker and mayor of Knox County, Glenn Jacobs worked for the USWA (where he was actually called the Christmas Creature) and made a one-off appearance for WCW, who oddly didn’t see the worth in signing him. But after working the one bout in a losing effort to Sting on WCW Saturday Night as ‘Bruiser Mastino,’ he went off to Florida, and returned to the USWA under the much better gimmick, ‘Doomsday.’ After a good run in SMW as Unabomb, Jacobs suffered through some terrible booking in the WWF which almost killed his career, before finally hitting it big as the demonic Kane.
The Undertaker
And while we’re on the topic of the deadman’s ‘brother,’ we may as well discuss Mark Calaway’s time in WCW, which was another huge missed opportunity for the Atlanta-based promotion. When Sid Vicious got hurt, a replacement was needed to team with Dan Spivey in the Teddy Long managed team, The Skyscrapers. Jim Cornette – who was on the WCW booking committee – placed a call to Dutch Mantel in the USWA, who then recommended Calaway, still a young and green talent, but a man with size, ability and a great attitude. Named Mean Mark Callous – said to have been an idea of Terry Funk’s – the new Skyscrapers debuted on January 3, 1990. After starting a feud with the Road Warriors, Spivey quit and Callous became a singles wrestler, and now managed by Paul E. Dangerously.
Despite arguably showing the qualities promised by Dutch, the man that mattered at the time – booker Ole Anderson – famously told Calaway that nobody would pay to see him perform. Based on that new information, Calaway sent out feelers to the WWF. After a period of time, McMahon agreed to hire him to play a character called ‘The Undertaker,’ and the rest is history…
Honky Tonk Man
Back to somewhat regular programming, and we have a former WWF Intercontinental champion – some say the greatest of all time – who made it to WCW in 1994. Hulk Hogan had not long arrived, and this ushered in a number of ex-WWF wrestlers finding work in WCW, albeit briefly. In a similar deal to Kamala, Honky (Wayne Farris) was paid per appearance, reportedly $1000. This arrangement caused a spat between Farris and Eric Bischoff, and it would only get worse. Honky did not want to do jobs on television, a stance that was taken by many top stars in an earlier era, reserving losses for non-televised house shows or pay-per-views. So the heat went up when Bischoff wanted Honky to lose to Television champion Johnny B. Badd, even though it was a pay-per-view (Halloween Havoc 1994 to be exact).
The finish was negotiated down to a time-limit draw, but Honky’s days in WCW were severely numbered. Accounts vary, as Honky said he walked out when Bischoff turned down signing Farris to a guaranteed contract, while Bischoff claims that he fired Honky, after the two got into an altercation on a loading dock at an arena. The WCW President said that not only did Farris want a guaranteed contract, but also to beat Badd for the TV title. Either way, a wrestler who didn’t want to do jobs on television was already passe, especially when the following year, WCW would launch Nitro and give away pay-per-view quality matches and title changes on television for free.
Kamala
As mentioned in the previous entry, Kamala was another ex-WWF star who had a cup of coffee in WCW. Also like Honky, ‘The Ugandan Giant’ was on a per-appearance deal, arriving in 1995 and becoming a part of Kevin Sullivan’s Dungeon of Doom faction. He lost to Hacksaw Jim Duggan at Bash at the Beach, as well as to Hulk Hogan at Clash of the Champions XXXI. He left shortly after joining his stable-mates in a losing effort in WarGames at Fall Brawl to The Hulkamaniacs. Kamala was scheduled to face Randy Savage at Halloween Havoc but decided to leave the company due to the low pay, and returned to driving a truck for a living.
Christopher Daniels
We end on a fitting note, as recently in January 2025, Christopher Daniels – a long time stand out in ROH, TNA and the independents – announced his retirement. Daniels made a number of appearances for the WWF between 1998-2001 on programmes like Heat and Jakked, and also had a try-out match for WCW on January 14, 2000. He defeated Mikey Henderson and the rumour was he was going to be aligned with Vampiro, but it didn’t come to fruition. ‘The Fallen Angel’ returned to the independents, and then came back to have a couple of matches on WCW Worldwide (June 17 and October 21, respectively) before having a match on Nitro on January 21, 2001 with Mike Modest that earned them both 90-day contracts. Unfortunately, Daniels was injured during that match and was released. (For those wondering, Modest was released after Titan Sports purchased WCW).
