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The Monday Night Wars is regarded by many as possibly the greatest era in the history of professional wrestling. WWE and WCW went head-to-headon a weekly basis with RAW and Nitro (respectively), doing everything in their power to snatch viewers from each other. The mid to late '90s was certainly a great time to be a pro wrestling fan, with both companies producing top-notch content on a regular basis.
With such fierce competition, it wasn't surprising that Superstars jumped ship from WCW to WWE, and vice versa. Wrestlers were getting good money to join the rival promotion, and while some rejected offers, many others accepted them for better money, among other things.
In the following slideshow, we will take a look at 3 WWE Superstars who jumped ship to WCW (during the Attitude Era, or before it came into being), and regretted it soon. We will also discuss 2 WWE Superstars who didn't regret joining WCW.
#5 Ted DiBiase (regretted joining WCW)
Ted DiBiase was one of the greatest villains the WWE had ever seen, and was one of the most hated men in all of professional wrestling in the '80s. His character was that of a millionaire who lived a lavish lifestyle and never shied away from bragging about his riches.
DiBiase made his way to WCW in the mid-90s, and later stated that those were the three most miserable years of his wrestling career. He was set to be the mouthpiece of the nWo, but Eric Bischoff slowly and steadily moved into that role.
"I was supposed to be the mouthpiece and financial backer of the nWo but what really happened as this thing got hotter, Eric Bischoff saw where he could slip himself into the role that he hired me for."
DiBiase confronted Bischoff once and told him that he didn't move to WCW to become Hogan's belt bearer. He left WCW in 1999 when his contract expired. DiBiase was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.
#4 Jeff Jarrett (didn't regret joining WCW)
Jeff Jarrett is one wrestler who can't complain much about his run in WCW. A mid-carder at best during his WWE stint, Jarrett was heavily pushed upon his arrival in WCW, and he went on to become a 4-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
Jarrett was nothing more than a mid-card act during his WCW stint in the mid-90s, and left the company to join WWE, while Nitro was dominating RAW on a weekly basis. In an interview a while ago, Jarrett reflected on his time in WWE and WCW, and stated that when he moved to WCW, he was getting the opportunity to not only be on the majority of the TV shows, but also house shows as well.
Jarrett left WWE for WCW in late 1999, and the timing of his arrival couldn't have been better. In a few months, Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo rebooted the entire company, in an attempt to push new blood. Jarrett was one of the stars that the duo wanted to push to the Moon. He went on to defeat DDP to win the WCW World title.
Over the next year or so, Jarrett won the belt three more times, registering victories against the likes of DDP and Ric Flair in the process. Following WCW's demise, Jarrett went on to form TNA, and the rest is history.
#3 Lex Luger (regretted joining WCW)
Back in 1993, Lex Luger had become the biggest babyface in all of WWE and was pitted against Yokozuna, who was the WWE Champion at the time. Things didn't turn out as planned though, and Luger defeated Yokozuna at SummerSlam 1993 via a countout, thus failing to win the belt. He remained with WWE for a while, before jumping ship to WCW and appearing on the very first episode of WCW Nitro.
Luger stated years later that he had some regrets leaving WWE for WCW, as he felt that he still had a lot to do in WWE.
"I went back with some regret at the time, as I felt I left a lot of things unfinished and had so many great opportunities with WWE that I didn't capitalize on. But with the Monday Night Wars going on, I felt that it brought out the best in both companies. It helped bring out the best of what we're seeing now."
After WCW went down in 2001, Luger refused to go back to WWE, but eventually began working with them in 2011. He had several short-term stints with TNA. He inducted his friend Sting into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012.
#2 Scott Steiner (didn't regret joining WCW)
Scott Steiner worked for a string of promotions in his decades-long pro-wrestling career. He is mostly remembered for his stint with WCW, as well as WWE. Steiner didn't do much of note during his WWE run, and was a mid-card act as best, but it all changed when he made the jump to WCW in the '90s. He dubs his stint in WCW as his favorite times in pro-wrestling. Steiner stated that winning the World title and the Tag Team titles in WCW was a memorable moment for him.
I think the moment sticks out when you win the World Title and World Tag Team Titles. Things like that. The nWo was the greatest time in professional wrestling because we were going into mixed stadiums like the Georgia Dome. That was one of the greatest times in pro wrestling and was the most profitable time in pro wrestling.
It doesn't seem like Scott Steiner has any regrets from his time in WCW. He won the World title during the final few months of WCW, shortly before Vince McMahon bought off the company. Steiner lost the belt to Booker T on the final episode of Nitro. A couple of years later, he made his way in WWE and had a pretty forgettable run.
#1 Bret "The Hitman" Hart (regretted joining WCW)
Bret Hart had an incredible career in WWE and was a part of the main event picture for years on end. He was essentially the face of the company in the mid-90s, and had one of the greatest rivalries in WWE history with Shawn Michaels. Unfortunately, he wasn't a fan of Shawn in a real-life. Hart bagged a contract with WCW in 1997 and made it clear to Vince McMahon that he didn't want to drop the WWE title to Michaels at Survivor Series.
This led to Vince double-crossing Hart in Montreal. In an appearance on WWE Backstage, Hart stated that he regretted his decision to join WCW. When Booker T asked if he would like to change things if he got another chance. here is what Hart had to say in response:
"I think I figure out a way to stay in WWE. Knowing what I know about WCW, I'm sorry I ever went there."
Hart was a 2-time WCW World Champion and won several other titles, but wasn't used by the company to the best of his abilities. Hart also suffered a career-ending injury at the hands of Goldberg in WCW.
