The Two Times WCW saw talent that WWE Did Not

WCW gets a lot of crap.  Ever since WWE acquired WCW seventeen years ago, the general consensus is that for the most part WCW turned everything to crap and that nearly every idea they ever had that was worth a hoot, they stole from WWE.  Now there is a bit of credit here and there.  WWE acknowledges the brilliance that was the NWO. They're quick to say how mismanaged it became and how McMahon would've done better with it, but they at least recognize its brilliance.  They recognize the brilliance that was Bill Goldberg.  Every bit the same they talk about how he too was mismanaged, but they still call the initial concept a good one.

Yet when it is discussed as to how WCW was able to defeat WWE in the ratings for such a long period of time, Ted Turner's money & the ability to steal all of the stars that WWE had already built up, are the answers given.  Most of the time we're given an assortment of wrestlers that WCW was too blind to see the potential in.  Superstars like Kevin Nash that WCW made into a joke with gimmicks like Oz & Vinnie Vegas.  WWE took him and made him into Diesel, putting their belt on him and making him a top name.  Sure WCW ended up stealing him back but it wasn't until WWE proved how valuable of an asset he could be.  WCW thought of Jean Paul Levesque as nothing more than a jobber. That's all the more they ever saw in him. WWE turned him into Triple H.  Then of course the most famous example, Steve Austin.  WCW did see a little something in him making him both tag team & United States champion but they didn't realize the gold mine they were sitting on with him.  WWE took him & made him the hottest thing since Hulk Hogan.

And that's What WWE wants professional wrestling fans to think.

That it was always WWE that saw potential in guys. That it was always WCW that overlooked talent.   And for the most part, I would conclude that this statement is both fair and true.   Yet WWE acts like it's 100% of the time and as if there are NO examples at all of guys that WWE saw nothing in that WCW did.  I can think of two.

Now before I reveal the two superstars I'm referring to, let me make something clear.  I'm not referring to the wrestlers who simply had more success in WCW than they did in WWE. I'm not referring to Ric Flair, Lex Luger or Vader.  I'm not referring to guys that were first stars in Atlanta that went up to New York and weren't used as well.  I'm referring to guys that spent time in WWE, weren't seen as anything special and then went to WCW where they were valued as the talent that they are.

It didn't happen often, but in my opinion it did happen twice.

I think it took WWE a long time to recognize the talent that Terry Taylor possessed.  He first came to WWE with seven years of experience throughout the NWA, UWF and World Class in 1988.  During his two and a half years with the company WWE never saw him as anything but lower mid-card talent.  They gave him the ridiculous gimmick of "The Red Rooster" and essentially treated him like a joke.

When he arrived in WCW in 1990, he was immediately taken seriously.  I felt making him the unnamed leader of the York Foundation was brilliant & United States tag team champion with Greg Valentine showcased his skills as a tag team wrestler. 

When he left WCW for WWE in 1992, looking back I consider this a mistake.  I think eventually WCW would have built Taylor into a reputable champion either with the Television title or with the United States championship, because those belts are workers belts and Taylor was a worker.  His Two year WWE run in 92' & 93' was again nothing more that WWE treating him as lower mid-card talent.  I'd say even worse than his two & a half year run from 88' to mid 90'.

He returned to WCW in 93' and once again WCW showed the faith they had in him by giving him victories over Diamond Dallas Page, the future Triple H and the Honky Tonk Man.   It seemed to me that once again had Taylor stayed, WCW might have made him a star.   Yet he took off once again & this time spent a year in the AWF.

When he returned to WCW in 1996, they still pushed him as the talent he is by giving him victories over top talent like Lord Steve Regal & more importantly seeing in him his talents as both a road agent and a writer.   WWE would use him in the same capacity from 1998-1999 & from 2012 to the present but I don't know if they ever would have if it had not been for WCW first displaying his worth.

Overall I think WWE recognizes Taylor's immense talent and worth today, but I think it took WCW recognizing it FIRST.

PAUL ROMA 

I don't think WWE ever recognized the talent they had in Paul Roma.  I can't say that he was completely over looked during his seven years in WWE from 84' to 91' but I can say that WCW treated him better.  It seems to me that WWE teased the idea of making Roma a star on a few different occasions.  They gave him two singles victories over Bret Hart & to me that speaks volumes but it never really went anywhere.  The tag team situation with Jim Powers in the Young Stallions was really unfortunate but it seems to me that Roma suffered the consequences of Powers' decisions.

Now some might point to the fact that Roma has an attitude and can be difficult to deal with.  His fight with Ko Ko B Ware for example but I have to call bullshit on that. If WWE was willing to deal with every stupid, wrong, horrific thing that Shawn Michaels ever did, then the one or two mistakes Roma made could've been overlooked as well.

Why WWE didn't push Roma & Hercules as Power & Glory is beyond me. They could've been the top heel team in the company and had a great run with L.O.D.   I've written about it before and I'm saying it again now.  P&G is one of the top times WWE dropped the ball.

WCW from the get go knew what they had with Paul Roma.   Yes, it was a mistake to put him in the Four Horsemen as he didn't fit with Flair & Anderson.  Yet let's look at why they put him in as a Horseman to begin with. Because he was one Hell of a worker.  That's why.  Cause they guy could do it in the ring and he could cut promos.  Yeah, he wasn't the hardcore heavy party-man you gotta be to be in with Flair. He didn't spend all of his extra time boozing and chasing women.  So yes, his role in the Horsemen was miscast.  Yet he was put there in the first place because WCW recognized the enormous talent that he was.

It took a bit of experimentation but they found Roma's calling in teaming him with Paul Orndorff.  Pretty Wonderful in my opinion is in the top five WCW tag teams of all time.  A tremendous tag team that held the titles on two occasions.

I"m not sure exactly what happened and why eventually WCW wanted Roma to put Alex Wright over, but at least for a while it was apparent that WCW saw something in Roma that WWE never seemed to.