20 Greatest WCW Stables
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In honor of World Championship Wrestling signing off 20 years ago, here’s a countdown of the 20 greatest stables in WCW. For the purposes of this list, WCW began on Nov. 21, 1988, when Ted Turner purchased Jim Crockett Promotions and launched WCW.
20. Latino World Order
You know the New World Order and you love the Blue World Order, but what about the Latino World Order? This was Eric Bischoff throwing Eddie Guerrero a bone after the latter was frustrated with his role in the company. As the name suggests, all of the luchadors joined the LWO, which was short-lived due to Guerrero’s real-life car accident on New Year’s Day 1999.
19. York Foundation
Terri Runnels entered pro wrestling in the early ‘90s as Alexandra York, a tech geek hired as Michael Wallstreet’s financial consultant who used her trusty computer to analyze his opponents. When Wallstreet left for WWE, she launched the York Foundation, recruiting Terrence Taylor, Richard Morton and Thomas Rich. They have the distinction of being the final WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Champions.
18. New Blood
Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff’s last-ditch effort to turn the tide in the Monday Night War. In the spring of 2000, WCW rebooted into young vs. old. The New Blood consisted of up-and-coming wrestlers who failed to break through the glass ceiling, such as Jeff Jarrett, Billy Kidman, Shane Douglas, Mike Awesome and a bevy of others. In theory, fans were supposed to get behind these talented, disgruntled afterthoughts finally getting the spotlight, but the New Blood were booked as heels and still got beat by…
17. Millionaire’s Club
Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Diamond Dallas Page, Sting. Can’t imagine why fans would cheer for those legends over Russo and Bischoff’s people!
16. Misfits in Action
Has there ever been a more fitting name? Hugh Morrus, Lash LeRoux, Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Van Hammer were fired for not supporting the New Blood, so they resigned with the company under different names: General Hugh G. Rection, Cpl. Cajun, Lt. Loco and Major Stash. Don’t forget their valet Major Gunns! Obviously, they were just a comedy group, but they actually racked up titles: Loco won the Cruiserweight, Rection won the United States twice and Cajun and Loco won the Tag Team.
15. 3 Count
Step aside, NSYNC. A Jimmy Hart creation, 3 Count was the hottest boy band at the dawn of the millennium. Shane Helms, Shannon Moore and Evan Karagias performed in music videos and even live on Nitro before their matches. They often tore the house down with the Jung Dragons and even won the Hardcore Championship as a team. Oh, and Tank Abbott was their biggest fan.
14. West Texas Rednecks
Here’s another music group, except they had a hit song! Curt Hennig, Bobby Duncum Jr., Barry and Kendall Windham joined forces to battle the No Limit Soldiers, personifying the never-ending battle between country and rap. Even though the Windham brothers won the Tag Team Titles, their claim to fame is “Rap Is Crap.”
13. Team Canada
Before Scott D’Amore unleashed his squad in Impact Wrestling, Lance Storm recruited Elix Skipper, Carl Ouellet (the future PCO) and Jacques Rougeau for the original Team Canada in WCW. Storm was at his peak, holding the U.S. Championship, Cruiserweight Championship and Hardcore Championship, renaming them the Canadian Heavyweight Championship, 100 Kilos and Under Championship and Saskatchewan Hardcore International Championship, respectively. At New Blood Rising, his match with Mike Awesome was under Canadian Rules, which changed on the fly and basically meant Storm couldn’t lose. It’s one of the highlights, perhaps the only one, of WCW 2000.
12. Stud Stable
The Stud Stable may be the only stable to have iterations in four different companies: Continental Wrestling Federation, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, MLW and of course, WCW. In 1994, Col. Robert Parker signed Terry Funk, Bunkhouse Buck and Meng. Dustin Rhodes recruited Arn Anderson to fight the group at Bash at the Beach, but Anderson betrayed Rhodes and joined the Stable. Later on, Funk was replaced by equally nuts Dick Slater, who won the Tag Team Titles with Buck. Parker’s love affair with Sherri Martel spelled the end of the group.
11. The Jersey Triad
The summer of ’99 belonged to The Jersey Triad. Diamond Dallas Page, Bam Bam Bigelow and Kanyon dominated WCW TV, delivering in the ring and on the mic. Each brought something different to the table: Bigelow the power, Kanyon the innovation and naturally, DDP brought the trash talk. They won the Tag Team Titles twice and defended them under Freebird Rules until losing to Harlem Heat at Road Wild.
10. Filthy Animals
Bowdy bowdy and rowdy rowdy, the Filthy Animals evolved from the No Limit Soldiers, as Konnan and Rey Mysterio gathered Eddie Guerrero, Billy Kidman and his girlfriend Torrie Wilson. They made a splash right away with Konnan and Kidman winning the Tag Team Titles, feuding with the Revolution and the whole squad burying Ric Flair in the desert. (Don’t ask.) From 1999 until 2001, members came and went and to this day, a version of the Filthy Animals exists through Keepin It 100. BOOM!
9. Natural Born Thrillers
A decade before Nexus, seven developmental talents collectively jumped to the main roster, shaking up WCW’s midcard and tag team divisions. The best that the Power Plant had to offer – Mike Sanders, Reno, Chuck Palumbo, Mark Jindrak, Shawn Stasiak, Johnny The Bull and Sean O’Haire – ran roughshod from the summer of 2000 until just before WWE purchased WCW in March 2001. They racked up the gold, too, claiming the Hardcore, Cruiserweight and Tag Team Championships. (Of course, winning the Tag Team Titles six times in six months is more of an indictment of the booking.) It’s a shame that none of these men became the breakout stars they were seemingly destined to be because if WCW stayed in business, this was a strong foundation for its future.
8. Varsity Club
By the time Turner took over WCW in late 1988, the original Varsity Club was splintering. Former teammates Rick Steiner and Mike Rotundo clashed at Starrcade, and even though Steiner took the TV Title, the Club replaced him with “Dr. Death” Steve Williams. It was an encouraging sign about the stable’s future because it was such a brilliant concept: a group of wrestlers with legitimate amateur backgrounds (aside from the leader Kevin Sullivan, who could pull it off, anyway) decked out in letterman jackets and boasting of their superiority. Unfortunately, the club disbanded after WrestleWar 1989.
7. The Flock
Raven loves surrounding himself with lackies, as evidenced by his runs in ECW, WCW and TNA. The Flock is the most memorable of these stables thanks to such unique characters as the eyepatched Riggs, gigantic Reese and perpetually itchy Billy Kidman. Hanging in the crowd ready to pounce on Raven’s targets, The Flock provided protection for their cult leader and helped him hold the United States Championship albeit for only 24 hours. Eventually, Saturn broke away from The Flock and earned the rest of the members’ freedom.
6. Dungeon of Doom
WrestleCrap? Sure. Entertaining? Absolutely. At Slamboree 1995, The Master (King Curtis Iaukea) summoned Kevin Sullivan “home” to begin plotting the destruction of Hulkamania. Sullivan became The Taskmaster, and in wacky vignettes over the summer, transformed several ex-WWE Superstars into monsters and oddities known as the Dungeon of Doom. Avalanche was rechristened Shark and The Butcher turned into Zodiac. Sullivan also recruited Vader, Kamala, One Man Gang, Hugh Morrus, Meng, Barbarian and Loch Ness. The pride and joy of the Dungeon, though, was The Giant. After all, who would have greater motivation to destroy the Hulkster than Andre’s son? Giant was actually the only successful member of the stable, taking the World Heavyweight Championship from Hogan at Halloween Havoc.
5. The Magnificent Seven
WCW’s last major storyline revolved around yet another stable. Ric Flair was the latest authority figure and he built a supergroup of heels known as the Magnificent Seven to protect his power: Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, Jeff Jarrett, Rick Steiner, Road Warrior Animal and the World Heavyweight Champion, Scott Steiner. For the first quarter of 2001, they held mock funerals for the heroes they either injured or retired. Between February and March, though, members of the group were shown knocked out. We never found out what the story was because WCW was sold before the payoff came.
4. NWO Wolfpac
Sure, the group was a spinoff and only lasted about nine months, but the Wolfpac (and its iconic theme song) were uber popular. Led by Kevin Nash, the red and black attack primarily consisted of Sting, Lex Luger and Konnan. They feuded with NWO Hollywood until the Fingerpoke of Doom reunited the New World Order. In retrospect, the Wolfpac’s main purpose was to position Nash as not only a leader, but also a top babyface, so he could challenge and (wrongly) end Goldberg’s streak.
3. Dangerous Alliance
Here’s some free advice: Never fire Paul Heyman from commentary. When Vince McMahon did it in 2001, Heyman unleashed Brock Lesnar on the world. A decade earlier, he was taken off commentary, but still had his manager’s license, so he formed the Dangerous Alliance to take over WCW. Fuck the Avengers, look at this assembly of talent – Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko and Madusa. Together, they concocted a plan to take the U.S. Championship from Sting while holding the T.V. Title and Tag Team Titles. After a dominant six-month run, the stable dissolved after a hellacious War Games in 1992.
2. Four Horsemen
If we’re talking greatest stables of all time, the Four Horsemen rank No. 1.
However, by the time Turner took over WCW in late 1988, the Horsemen’s glory days had ended. As a matter of fact, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard weren’t even in the company at the time. J.J. Dillon would join them in WWE by early 1989, and the Horsemen name wasn’t resurrected until the end of the year when Arn returned to reunite with Flair, Ole Anderson and newest member Sting.
Of course, Sting didn’t last long. Barry Windham and Sid Vicious joined the Horsemen in 1990, but that iteration ended unceremoniously. When the Nature Boy returned from WWE in 1993, he and Arn promised a Horsemen reunion, but that ended up with Paul Roma being initiated to the sigh of the fans. Anderson and Flair had a brief fall out in 1995, but that was merely a swerve to fuck with Sting yet again! By 1996, the Horsemen were riding strong again with Flair in the world title picture and new members Chris Benoit and Steve “Mongo” McMichael. But then the NWO invaded and steamrolled the old guard.
1. New World Order
The storyline that changed pro wrestling.
Inspired by the rivalry between New Japan and UWF International, Bischoff wanted his latest signees Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, fresh off leaving WWE, to stage a hostile takeover of WCW. It was implied that both men were sent to invade WCW by Vince McMahon, sending the wrestling world into a frenzy. Hall’s arrival was unlike anything ever done in wrestling: he came through the crowd, interrupted a match where the competitors simply stopped wrestling, cut a promo declaring war on WCW and then the show cut to commercial. The next week, Nash showed up, threatening Bischoff and demanding a match with three of WCW’s best.
Bash at the Beach 1996 was the final step, as Hulk Hogan was revealed as the third man. Synonymous with WWE even two years into his WCW run, it made perfect sense for Hogan to be part of this New World Order. Yet, his heel turn shocked the world after all those years of saying your prayers, eating your vitamins and obeying the big man upstairs.
With its innovative vignettes, realistic beatdowns and influx of new members, the NWO ushered in a sense of unpredictability, making pro wrestling must-see TV. Business boomed and WCW jumped in front of WWE as the top wrestling promotion in the world.
Of course, the NWO also contributed to WCW’s downfall because it was oversaturated with scrubs, rarely got its comeuppance and ended seemingly every Nitro with a run-in. The group reinvented itself year after year, diluting the original product until fans grew tired and stopped watching. But who knows if WCW would have ever reached those lofty heights in the first place without the NWO.
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