WCW Wrestlers Who Got Over Because Of Their Promos

The talking aspect of wrestling is arguably the most important path towards success. Most wrestlers learn cool moves along the way or the athletic ability to become great in-ring performers. Talking and cutting good promos requires a more layered skill set on the character side of professional wrestling.

WCW had their fair share of wrestlers getting over solely because of the talking side. Legends like Ric Flair and Diamond Dallas Page cut strong promos, but their in-ring work helped their cause along the way. Each of the following wrestlers from WCW found themselves getting over with fans due to their promos.

WCW Fans Were Excited To See Legend Debuting There

• Had Established Star Power Based On Past WWE Success
• Promos Created Strong Fan Interest In Piper Challenging Hogan
• Fans Overlooked Piper’s Bad Matches At End Of Career In WCW

The success of Hulk Hogan and the New World Order required WCW to have enough top babyfaces to challenge him. Roddy Piper appeared at the end of 1996 after an inconsistent couple of years transitioning outside of the ring.

WWE placing Piper in authority figure and commentary roles led to him leaving for another wrestling run for WCW. Piper lost a few steps in the ring for mostly bad matches, but fans didn’t care since his promos calling out Hogan rallied them behind him.

Paul Heyman Started Legendary Managing Career

Managing Dangerous Alliance Faction Started Legacy

• Managed Multiple Future Hall Of Famers In Dangerous Alliance
• Heyman’s Promos Made Them Top Heel Act On Entire Roster
• WCW Run Gets Overshadowed By Incredible WWE Success

WCW was the first major promotion to book Paul Heyman as a manager. Paul E. Dangerously was the name used to manage the Dangerous Alliance faction. A stacked group featured Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson and Madusa working closely with Heyman.

The promo segments from Heyman as their official talker helped the Dangerous Alliance get over as a heel group. WCW trusted them enough to be the heel side of arguably the greatest War Games match ever against Sting’s Squadron.

Return Promo Made Madusa Feel Extremely Important

• Eric Bischoff Talked Her Into Her Bringing WWE Belt She Never Lost
• Throwing Belt Into Trash Was An Important Moment In Monday Night Wars
• Women’s Division Being Booked Poorly Wasted Her Momentum From Promo

WCW never had a serious women’s division last long, but they did try to give Madusa the best possible return to the promotion in the Monday Night Wars. Madusa was still WWE Women’s Champion from her time as Alundra Blayze when her contract ran out.

Eric Bischoff talked Madusa into bringing the belt to Nitro and throwing it in the trash during a shocking promo. Madusa was over for such a wild and historic segment, but WCW failed to book the women’s division with credibility for that momentum to end quickly.

Chris Jericho Didn’t Get Over Until Finding Personality

Having Great Matches With Dry Character Wasn’t Working

• Struggled To Get Over As Generic Babyface Having Good Matches
• Heel Turn Gave Him New Character To Cut Comedic Promos
• Showed Potential That Played Out With Legendary WWE Run

Chris Jericho would have been over from day one if fans only cared about match quality in WCW. Most matches from Jericho were great in the early months of joining WCW, but his generic babyface act wasn’t getting over with fans.

WCW turning Jericho heel changed everything when he started cutting promos. Jericho claiming there was a conspiracy against him led to many great promos to become a top cruiserweight and mid-carder. This was the time fans realized Jericho had potential for a much higher ceiling that came in WWE.

Had A Second Unexpected Stint In Ring Challenging NWO

• Moved To Commentary When Fans Lost Interest In His Wrestling
• Got Over Again Running Down New World Order As Commentator
• Returned To Ring For Final Noteworthy Feud With Scott Hall

No one would have expected color commentator Larry Zbyszko to become a top rival to the New World Order at their hottest, but it happened by chance. Zbyszko had a legendary career that peaked in the previous decades before moving to commentary.

WCW had him wrestling in the early 1990s, but fans didn’t seem to care about the legend anymore. Zbyszko talking all night on commentary and cutting unexpected promos running down the NWO led to him getting over enough to face Scott Hall in the ring.

Did More On Microphone Than In The Ring For WCW

• Spent A Full Decade In WCW Without Ever Leaving
• NWO Push Got Him More Over As Obnoxious Heel
• In-Ring Matches Never Matched His Promo Time

Buff Bagwell was surprisingly one of the longest tenured wrestlers in WCW history. The angle joining the New World Order led to Bagwell getting more microphone time. Buff playing an obnoxious over the top heel felt like his peak character.

WCW continued to give Buff more consistent talking time, and it led to him reaching his most over stage in wrestling. The matches of Bagwell typically disappointed compared to his promos. Buff becoming a better talker was a huge reason for why he was relevant in WCW’s final years.

Missy Hyatt Was One Of WCW’s First Great Managers

Proved That Non-Wrestlers Could Thrive In WCW Landscape

• Talking Segments Made Her Successful Host & Manager
• Wrestlers Often Benefited From Missy Cutting Their Promos
• Legacy Doesn’t Get Talked About Due To Lack Of WWE Success

Miss Elizabeth was considered the first major valet since she took part in WWE’s main event angles. However, Missy Hyatt was right there with her despite her success mostly coming in promotions outside of WWE.

WCW witnessed Missy getting over as a heel personality with her promos and presentation. Hyatt helped other wrestlers get over with her talking and character work. WWE writing history sees Missy not discussed nearly as much as she should be for her impact in wrestling.

Hollywood Hogan Gave Hulk Another All-Time Run

Became WCW’s Best Heel After Legendary Babyface Stint

• Badly Needed Character Change When Face Run Grew Stale
• Heel Turn Helped Make New World Order Become Hottest Act
• Hogan’s Bad Matches Were Forgiven For His Great Promos

WCW took on one of the biggest risks in wrestling history by turning Hulk Hogan heel. The industry witnessed Hogan becoming the greatest babyface attraction for over a full decade, but WCW fans were growing sick of him.

Hogan had to “get over” again when turning heel and rebranding as Hollywood Hogan. The New World Order became the hottest act in wrestling thanks to Hogan leading the way. Most of Hogan’s matches were awful in WCW, but the talking with a new heel character carried him to more historic success.