5 WWE Megastars who were rejected by WCW

WCW died in 2001 and was bought by their arch-rivals WWE. A number of terrible decisions led to the sudden demise of WCW. From overpaying established talent to lack of new stars, WCW had a host of issues.

We can add to this, the fact that WCW often missed out on signing good young talent and using them well. Speaking of this, we take a look at 6 WWE Megastars who WCW let slip through their fingers.

#5 Brock Lesnar

Yes, you read that right - WCW had a chance of signing Brock Lesnar in later 1999 and Eric Bischoff let the opportunity slip through his fingers, which was definitely better for Lesnar himself in the long run which Bischoff admitted.

Speaking on his 83 weeks podcast last month, Bischoff recalled how he had a chance to sign Brock Lesnar but did not pursue it. Here’s what Bischoff had to say:

I’ll give you another little-known fact. Did you know that long before Brock Lesnar landed in WWF, that Verne Gagne called me up on a Saturday afternoon and said, ‘Eric, you’ve gotta see this kid. I think you should sign him.’ And I said, ‘Well, thank you Verne! Next time I get to Minnesota, let’s get together and we’ll go take a look.’ [Verne said] ‘You’re gonna miss the boat on this kid. I tell you Eric, you’re gonna miss the boat.’ ‘Thank you Verne, I appreciate the call! Let’s get back together again soon!’ So Verne Gagne actually tried to introduce me to Brock Lesnar prior to his introduction to WWF. H/T: 411Mania

Brock Lesnar went on to sign with WWE in 2000 and made his debut in 2002. He went on to win the WWE Championship later that year, becoming the youngest world champion in company history at the time.

#4 Edge

Before he signed with WWE, Edge was busy making a name for himself in the Canadian independent circuit. During this time, Edge briefly appeared on WCW television in 1996. Edge, wrestling under the name Damian Striker, faced Meng on an episode of WCW Pro.

The young Edge quickly jobbed to his much more experienced opponent, submitting in quick order. WCW passed on signing Edge full time and he went on to sign with WWE where he became one of the best of his era, winning 11 world titles and 14 tag-team titles in the company.

#3 Mick Foley

Mick Foley could have gone on to have a successful career in WCW, but he ended up leaving the company after management kept on rejecting his storyline ideas. The big idea which Bischoff rejected involved Foley losing his ear during a match. Foley wanted to turn this into an angle but it was flatly rejected.

His ideas rejected, Foley made his way to ECW before signing with WWE. Foley quickly became a fan-favourite in WWE and by the time he was done with his career, he had cemented his status as a living legend.

#2 Batista

Batista was a bodybuilder before he tried his hand at pro wrestling at the WCW Power Plant. However, with Batista coming to pro wrestling quite late on, he was told that he would never make it in pro wrestling.

Batista spoke about his rejection by WCW on his Talk Is Jericho appearance:

I went and had this awful tryout with WCW and they ran me out the door and told me to never come back. I went down to the Power Plant…they were having open tryouts; you know, you just show up and pay $300, which at that time was a lot of money for me.

Batista went on to sign with WWE in 2000 and was sent to OVW to train right away. He went on to make his televised debut in 2002, going on to win 6 world titles as well as 2 Royal Rumbles.

#1 The Undertaker

The Undertaker already had a couple of unsuccessful gimmicks in his career when he was wrestling as Mean Mark Callous in WCW. Despite showing promise, he just couldn’t connect with the fans. Taker decided to leave WCW, when he was told by booker Ole Anderson during contract negotiations, that no one would ever pay any money to watch him.

WCW’s loss was WWE’s gain. He signed with WWE and made his on-screen debut as The Undertaker at Survivor Series 1990. Nearly 30 years later, The Undertaker remains one of the most iconic WWE Superstars of all time.