Ripping this off completely from another thread, which ended up being a Steve Austin lovefest. Rules are simple: for each WCW title, pick the best champion of all time.
WCW World: Ric Flair. I don't feel the need to explain myself. Second Choice: Sting
US Title: Lance Storm. I could pick pretty much any title, but I'll use the Canadian Heavyweight Title. Lance had a great run in WCW. Second Choice: Raven
TV Title: Chris Benoit. His matches with Booker T really legitimized this title. Shame it got trashed. Second Choice: Ultimo Dragon
Tag Team: Harlem Heat. They won the title, what, 20 times? I wouldn't have picked them, but Stevie Ray pushed them up with "froot booty". Second Choice: The Outsiders
Cruiserweight Title: Chris Jericho. His run laid down the archetype for the modern cocky heel, and his run as WWF Champion. Second Choice: Dean Malenko
OK, I'll play too. Post-Invasion champions don't count, by the way!!!
World Heavyweight Champion: Definitely gonna go with Flair, with Sting as the runner-up. No question, there.
U.S. Heavyweight Champion: Storm was a good champion, but his reign was tarnished by the offbeat shenanigans during his Canadian Rules match against Mike Awesome. My pick for best U.S. Champion is Diamond Dallas Page. Words can't describe how over he was in 1997. Runner-up: Chris Benoit, for his first reign. He simply ruled as U.S. Champion.
Raven? Not a good pick at all, in my opinion-- he held that title for exactly 24 hours.
World Television: Ultimo Dragon. I remember how much I marked out when he defeated the MUCH LARGER Steven Regal for this belt. My runner-up is Chris Benoit.
A note here though, Lou: Benoit's feud with Booker T didn't result in any official reigns as TV Champion for Benoit-- only two TV Title reigns during house shows that were never recognized on television. It wasn't until Benoit's brief feud with Rick Steiner that he actually started carrying around the TV Title belt on television.
World Tag Team: The Outsiders. So dominant that the other WCW tag-teams eventually quit in frustration. Runners-up are The Steiner Brothers and Harlem Heat, just about tied there.
World Cruiserweight: In retrospect, Chris Jericho was the best Cruiserweight Champion of all-time. My tied runners-up for this award are Rey Mysterio Jr. and Billy Kidman. See, WWF fans? WWF's Cruiserweight Division was so good that their best Cruiserweight Champion went on to become the first-ever Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. While the WWF's Light Heavyweight Division has done nothing to help anybody get to that level.
Hardcore Title: I always thought Norman Smiley was funnier than hell as Hardcore Champion. And since the belt was used primarily for comedic purposes, I'll go with Smiley as best Hardcore Champion. Runner-up is Meng-- just because he's so damn scary with his no-selling and acting insane.
I'll assume we're talking about the NWA/WCW when making my choices:
World title: Ric Flair. The man who carried the NWA/WCW. Runners-up: Harley Race, Vader, Sting
U.S title: Steve Austin. Before he was Stone Cold, he was Stunning. He knew how to play the heel champ role well, getting himself DQ'ed to save the title. He was the perfect foil for Ricky Steamboat in their classic feud. Runners-up: Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Rick Rude
Tag titles: Road Warriors. Back in the day, the LOD were the badasses of all tag-teams. They had the greatest feuds with the Horsemen and the Midnight Express, but really turned it up as monster heels in their tag-team title run. Runners-up: Steiners, Outsiders, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson
TV title: Chris Benoit. Had a great best-of-seven series with Booker T. Runners-up: Booker T, Steven Regal, Steve Austin
CW title: Rey Mysterio, Jr. The best representative of a hot division, one of WCW's bright spots during their tenure. Runners-up: Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, Ultimo Dragon
Hardcore title: Meng. Not many memorable champions in this division. Meng wins this one almost by default. Runners-up: Terry Funk, nobody else worth mentioning.
(edited by Swordsman Yen on 17.2.02 2246)
"Homosaywhat? Homosaywhat? Exactly!" -- Wayne Campbell, Wayne's World (1992)
Just because I should probably include hims somewhere in the list and I remember him beings a good champion.
TV Title: Booker T.
He's the one who really (with Benoit) elevated this division to it's highest high (before WCW destroyed it)
Cruiserweight Title: Rey Misterio
The best Lucha I've ever had the honor of watching compete. He's slowed down quite a bit now a days, but he was one of the best in the first few years of Nitro.
Tag Titles: The Outsiders
Division killers? Yes. Entertaining television: Sometimes. Good Tag Team: Definately.
Hardcore Title: Crowbar
Why not. He was entertaining, a good bumper, and he seemed to genuinely like holding the title. I'll give him the nod.
I didn't watch WCW in it's later years, as a result, these won't have any newer ones, except the hardcore, since it only existed 2 years.
World Title: Ric Flair
Yeah.
US Title: Ricky Steamboat
As much as I wanted to go with Austin, because I used to love his work in WCW, he didn't have any great matches during his reign other than with Mero. So we'll go with one of the other WCW greats.
TV Title: Steven Regal
He owned this division for a few years.
Tag Titles: Harlem Heat
How many reigns did they have? 10? Easy choice.
Hardcore Title: Terry Funk
He's the most hardcore wrestler I have seen, I think.
Cruiserwight Title: Jushin "Thunder" Liger
Before the Light Heavyweight title went AWOL, there were some really good matches, especially Liger vs. Pillman at SuperBrawl II. If we are going with post-1996 title it's Chris Jericho.
"Disillusioned words like bullets bark as human gods aim for their mark Made everything from toy guns that spark to flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark It's easy to see without looking too far That not much is really sacred." - Bob Dylan
Harlem Heat marks, keep in mind that the Heat's last three reigns were clearly designed to get them up to 10 as quickly as possible. Reigns 8, 9 and 10 were ultra-short.
My picks might seem off the wall to some ... but keep in mind, the period of time where I was paying the most attention to the NWA/WCW was from around 1989 to 1993. Being a Randy Savage mark at the time (1989), I got seriously pissed off at the end result of WMV -- and the thought of another Hogan title reign in the WWF made me nauseous. So I tuned into an NWA match in the Chi-Town rumble card that year, featuring Flair vs. Steamboat in the main event. Needless to say, it wasn't hard to see which Fed was more enjoyable. My time with WCW diminished when Hogan was brought into their picture ... and with Hart and Michaels starting to receive big attention in the WWF at the same time, it was an easy decision for me to get back into the WWF.
Best World Champion: Ric Flair. An apparently unanimous pick. Whether you like it, or don't like it; learn to LOVE it. Honorable mention goes to Sting.
Best U.S. Champion: Sting. Honorable mention to Stan Hansen, if for nothing else than for whipping Lex Luger's candy ass for this very title.
Best World Tag Team Champions: Rick and Scott Steiner. This team was PURE GOLD in the late 80's-early 90's. Honorable mention to the Road Warriors, and manager "Precious" Paul Ellering. Ellering was one of my idols, the definition of "cool" to me at that time. I marked out for Paul more than I did the LOD.
Best Television Champion: The Great Muta. Muta and Sting was one of the best and most unique rivalries I've ever seen. Muta's manager, Gary Hart, was a hell of an entertaining guy to watch. Honorable mention to Arn Anderson.
Best Cruiserweight Champion: Rey Misterio, who I enjoyed watching so much more than "The Man of 1000 Ways To Cure Insomnia" Dean Malenko. Honorable mention to Jushin Liger.
I couldn't give half a crap about the Hardcore "Championship", so I'll go with Fat Meng.
"Ohh, do I care? I don't even care. That's OK. It's just a PIECE of what I really wanted from you, Ric Flair. THIS IS WHAT MAKES YOU TICK!! This is what makes you tick ... from the inside out. And, I just took a piece of you. You haven't been beat up properly!! But I'm gonna do that for ya, yeah. This isn't all I want from you, Flair. I want the whoooole Nature Boy. I want the whole Flair package!! You call yourself the Real World Wrestlin' Federation Champion. Well, I guess I am now. And, after what you did to Elizabeth -- I guess you couldn't make me any madder than I was before I went into the ring, but somehow YOU DID IT!!! Made it possible, yeah. Now I'm gonna get the rest of him. Doesn't matter -- in the street, parking lot; doesn't even maaatter to me, yeeah. 'Cause I'll do anything to win. If I didn't PROVE IT, I'll prove it next time ... oooooohhhh yeaaaahhh!!"
- Randy Savage, to Gene Okerlund regarding using the tights to beat Ric Flair for the WWF Title at WMVIII J.T. Dutch
I thought having 1000 ways to cure insomnia was supposed to be a good thing, because that would mean one's wrestling was exciting. LOL... But you seem to be using it as an insult in reference to Malenko.
Originally posted by ekedolphinI thought having 1000 ways to cure insomnia was supposed to be a good thing, because that would mean one's wrestling was exciting. LOL... But you seem to be using it as an insult in reference to Malenko.
... It WAS a good thing. I've always been an insomniac, and Malenko was a proven cure. Whenever he showed up on my TV -- I fell right asleep. It was great for those nights where I knew I couldn't afford to sleep the next day at work (haha). Malenko was a better cure for my insomnia than reading "War and Peace".
"Ohh, do I care? I don't even care. That's OK. It's just a PIECE of what I really wanted from you, Ric Flair. THIS IS WHAT MAKES YOU TICK!! This is what makes you tick ... from the inside out. And, I just took a piece of you. You haven't been beat up properly!! But I'm gonna do that for ya, yeah. This isn't all I want from you, Flair. I want the whoooole Nature Boy. I want the whole Flair package!! You call yourself the Real World Wrestlin' Federation Champion. Well, I guess I am now. And, after what you did to Elizabeth -- I guess you couldn't make me any madder than I was before I went into the ring, but somehow YOU DID IT!!! Made it possible, yeah. Now I'm gonna get the rest of him. Doesn't matter -- in the street, parking lot; doesn't even maaatter to me, yeeah. 'Cause I'll do anything to win. If I didn't PROVE IT, I'll prove it next time ... oooooohhhh yeaaaahhh!!"
- Randy Savage, to Gene Okerlund regarding using the tights to beat Ric Flair for the WWF Title at WMVIII J.T. Dutch
I'm giving separate [in some cases] choices depending on if we're talking about WCW or the NWA.
World Title: Ric Flair, and the choice is the same if you count the NWA years. Not picking Sting because he was always better when he was chasing the belt. With Flair, it's the opposite.
Tag Team titles: Either the Steiners or Tully and Arn. The NWA period is a lot harder to pick than if you're just counting WCW--there were so many great teams. I'm not picking the Road Warriors because ironically they weren't the world champs during their best period. If you went way back and gave an award for the National Tag Team Titles they'd win hands-down. I liked Doom a whole lot for this too.
US Champion: Rick Rude/Mangum T.A. I don't think that WCW ever really managed to succeed with the US title the way the WWF did with the I-C belt, or the way the NWA did with the title way back when. Rude gets the nod because he held the belt for so long. Magnum T.A. was the perfect US champion during the eighties--a face counterpart to Flair.
World Television Title: Arn Anderson. This was his title, in the same way the World title was Flair's. But Steve Austin gets a second place vote.
Cruiserweight: Chris Jericho.
I wasn't watching WCW when they started the Hardcore Championshp, so I'll leave that one blank.
Bill Savage went over to the (Stu Hart) house and one of the Hart kids was running around with his hair wet. Savage asked why his hair was wet. Stu said, "The little bastard broke a vase this morning, so I stuck his head in the toilet. Want me to show you again?" From the Ring Around the Northwest newsletter
World Title: Ric Flair, Runner Up: Tie between Russo and Arquette
U.S. Title: Steve Austin, Runner Up: David Flair
Tag Team: Outsiders, Runner Up: Rick Steiner & Judy Bagwell
TV Title: Booker T, Runner Up: None
CW Title: Chris Jericho, Runner Up: Tie between Oklahoma and Madusa You know, Jericho may have goneo n fron CW champ to WWF world champ, but he had to jump promotions to do it. If he had stayed in WCW, does anyone think he would be anywhere even remotely close to the level he is at today? Remember, once a cruiserweight/light-heavyweight, always one, unless you jump ship to go elsewhere.
Hardcore Title: Norman Smiley, Runner Up: Eric Bischoff
(edited by TheBucsFan on 18.2.02 0827)
Caring is the first step towards disappointment.
I'll spare some of the justifications since most have already been named.
World title- Ronnie Garvin Ha, just kidding. Ric Flair, of course.
U.S. title- Ravishing Rick Rude
TV title- Lord Steven Regal
Tag titles- Steiners
Cruiserweight- Rey Misterio I would have gone with Jericho, but Misterio has more of that CW feel to me
Hardcore- Terry Funk
U.S. tag titles- Midnight Express I can't believe these titles were left out by you guys! They had a better run than the Hardcore title. But honestly, I can't remember any other champs besides Pillman/Z-Man, a short reign by the Strieners and the ...Patriots: Firebreaker Chip and Todd Champion!
Six Man tag title- Ok, so these were the most useless titles ever. I actually remember them trying to revive these in the early 90s, but can't remember any specific champions. I think the York Foundation (Thomas Rich, Terrance Taylor and Richard Morton) may have held them. Besides that I seem to remember hearign that the Road Warriors and Dusty held them in the 80s, so I'll go with them.
(edited by Eradicator on 18.2.02 1043)
(edited by Eradicator on 18.2.02 1044)
"How about the power to kill a yak from a hundred yards...with MIND bullets?!! That's called tele-kenisis, Kyle."
Okay, I can't argue with Ric Flair as best *anything involving wrestling* ever, and I'm not saying he was better (because he wasn't, not by a long shot), by why does Goldberg never really seem to get any respect? It's not like he was INCREDABLY over in 98-99. If they hadn't shat on his booking, he and wCw would probably still be around now. He could carry a promotion. You may not like him, he may only have 3 moves in the ring, but he was still one of the most sellable wrestlers ever, and that's saying something.
I can't believe I will be saying this, since I am a huge mark for Ric Flair, but Ric was a much better NWA champ than WCW champ. By the time WCW made the switch from the NWA, Ric was already heading downhill. If we talk about NWA/WCW champs, then Ric is da man. If it's only WCW, I gotta go with Sting.
US Champ: Barry Windham, nod to Steve Austin and Rick Rude. TV Champ: Steve Austin, nods to Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit. Tag Team Champs: If it's just WCW, I go with Harlem Heat. If it's NWA/WCW, its a toss-up between The Road Warriors and The Steiners. Cruiserweight: Jushin Liger. I loved Chris Jericho's runs with the belts as well. Hardcore Title: Terry Funk Cruiser Tag: Skipper and Kid Romeo.
Are you ready for Mahkan-mania to run wild all over you?