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WWE may be the number one promotion in the world today, but they were not always on top of the food chain.
A few decades ago, this prestigious position belonged to World Championship Wrestling, who competed with the WWF for years before their demise in 2001.
Originally known as Jim Crockett Promotions, WCW helped give plenty of Superstars their big break, including Booker T, Goldberg, and DDP.
But whilst these three Hall of Famers are known for their incredible careers in the Georgia-based promotion, there are plenty of Superstars, both past and present, who fans may not be aware competed in WCW.
Here are five WWE Superstars you (probably) did not know were in WCW, what they accomplished, and how they eventually found their way to the WWE.
#5. Rhyno
The Man Beast from Detriot, Michigan may be best remembered for his time in WWE and ECW, but Rhyno did indeed spend some time in WCW.
Competing as the much less imposing sounding 'Terry Richards', the young man-beast came up short on several occasions, including losing to former WWF stars such Hacksaw Jim Duggan and the Road Warriors.
Leaving WCW in 1995, the final Champion of the original ECW wouldn't head to the lad of Extreme just yet, as he would join the WWF during the New-Generation era, where he wouldn't have much success.
Whilst he may not have been much in his first WWF run, Richards did get the name Rhino as part of the company, and would eventually join ECW in 1999, as one of the extreme promotions most successful stars of all time.
#4. Edge
The Rated-R Superstar has done it all in WWE. World Champion, United States Champ, Tag Team Champ, Intercontinental Champ, Money in the Bank winner, King of the Ring and Royal Rumble winner.
But before any of that success came to the WWE Hall of Famer, young Edge found himself in WCW, in 1995, working under the unique name of Damon Striker.
Competing against the likes of Kevin Sullivan and Meng, Edge would have a small but impressive career, and certainly impressed Carl DeMarco, the business manager of Bret Hart.
It was DeMarco who urged the young Canadian to send an audition tape to the WWF, and whilst he did not receive a callback at the time, DeMarco would later become president of WWF Canada and help introduce the WWE Universe to the Rated-R Superstar.
#3. AJ Styles
At the 2016 Royal Rumble, AJ Styles shocked the world when he appeared as #3 in the Royal Rumble match.
For years, fans had wondered whether the Phenomenal One would join WWE, and in the three years since, Styles has had an epic career, including two reigns as WWE Champion. But in 2001, a much younger Styles appeared briefly in WCW, as part of a new influx of Cruiserweights in the dwindling company.
The Phenomenal One would even compete with Air Paris in a tournament to crown the first ever WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championships. Unfortunately for WCW, and Styles, it would be too little, too late.
The Cruiserweight Tag Team Titles would only last for eight days before the company's closure, and Styles would join the new NWA: TNA promotion the next year.
#2. Vince McMahon
This may sound strange, but there was a time when Vince McMahon, yes the owner of the WWE, promoted WCW.
In 1984, McMahon helped promote WCW as a commentator, and would even promote the opposition on the WWF's own show, All-American Wrestling. Of course, this partnership would not last long, as Vince would cut ties from WCW not long after, and have the very first WrestleMania event the next year.
In 1995, the Monday Night Wars started, as McMahon's Monday Night RAW battled WCW Monday Nitro in a ratings war, which saw Nitro beat RAW, 84 weeks in a row.
Eventually, the tide would turn, and McMahon would purchase WCW for a steal in March 2001, ending the Monday Night Wars and proving their was only room for one top-dog in Sports Entertainment.
#1. Charlotte Flair
The only woman to hold the Diva's, NXT Women's. RAW Women's and SmackDown Women's Championships, Charlotte Flair has had an incredible career in WWE.
The daughter of 'Nature Boy' Ric Flair, Flair is no stranger to the squared circle, joining the WWE in 2013, and has faced some of the top women of this generation, including Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, and Asuka.
But even before she entered the WWE, a young Charlotte appeared in WCW, alongside her father.
Accompanying her Hall of Fame father to the ring during a 1999 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, this was the Queen's first time entering a wrestling ring on national TV.
This episode of Nitro, however, is best remembered for Tony Schiavone spoiling Mick Foley's huge WWF Championship win, in what would become a grave mistake for WCW.
