On the heels of the Bullet Club to WWE rumors, PWP Nation’s John Dimiceli looks at some of the most impactful defections in history.
Over the years there have been many jumps in Pro Wrestling that have been both significant, and disappointing. But very few have changed the direction of the business and flipped an industry on its ear. With all the talk about Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson heating up, lets take a look at the top 10 jumps in modern, US-based Wrestling.
10. Scott Hall & Kevin Nash jump from WWF to WCW (1996)
Shortly before WrestleMania XII, both Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, who played Razor Ramon and Diesel, agreed to return to World Championship Wrestling, as part of WCW President Eric Bischoff‘s drive to lure employees from the WWF to WCW with the offer of lucrative contracts. Hall had been suspended by the WWF due to his drug use in 1996.
He returned to WWF television at April’s In Your House 7, where he lost to Vader, and which would be Hall’s last WWF television appearance before leaving the company. Hall and Nash were also involved in “The MSG Curtain Call Incident”.
Because they were departing for WCW, the pair (along with HBK and Triple H) broke “character” by celebrating and embracing in the ring together, though the characters they portrayed were supposed to be enemies. Nash and Hall debuted in WCW as “The Outsiders” in 1996.
In the storyline, Hall led an invasion, appearing on WCW programming and insinuating that he was doing so under orders from his WWF employers, and warning that he would soon be joined by others. He was joined by former WWF Champion Kevin Nash two weeks later.
Without Hall and Nash, there would have been no Hollywood Hogan, and no New World Order.
9. Lex Luger returns to WCW on the first ever Monday Nitro (1995)
In late August 1995, after expressing to Sting that he wanted to leave the WWF, and shortly after SummerSlam 1995, Lex Luger, whose contract had expired, left the WWF without letting McMahon know beforehand.
Luger got a call from World Championship Wrestling Vice-President Eric Bischoff to set up a meeting about a contract and Luger possibly “jumping ship.” Bischoff was initially reluctant to make the offer, as he didn’t care for Luger personally or professionally, but relented due to both Sting’s urging & the idea that his appearance would make a big splash.
Bischoff offered Luger only 20% of what he was making when he left WCW three years earlier in a deliberate attempt to have him turn down the offer, only to be surprised to see that Luger accepted the offer.
Eight days after his appearance at SummerSlam and only one night after competing at a WWF house show in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Luger made his return to WCW on the premiere of Nitro, coming out during the main event for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship featuring Hulk Hogan.
Lex Luger was the first shot fired in the 5 ½ year Monday Night War.
8. “The Radicalz” debut on Monday Night RAW (2000)
Despite having many good moments on the undercard of WCW, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Perry Saturn had been through enough of the company’s political atmosphere backstage. They foursome was never able to break the proverbial ‘glass ceiling.’
One last attempt in January 2000 was made to try to keep Benoit with WCW by putting the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship on him, defeating Sid Vicious at Souled Out in the process.
However, due to disagreements with management, and to protest the promotion of Kevin Sullivan to head booker, all four men, including Benoit who was WCW Champion, left the company the next day.
A few weeks later, they appeared on WWF Monday Night Raw.
7. Kurt Angle leaves WWE to join TNA (2006)
On August 25, 2006, Kurt Angle was granted an early release from his WWE contract because of health reasons. Angle stated that he asked for his release from WWE because he couldn’t take time off and he was working hurt, severely on some occasions.
He also stated that when he quit, WWE lost their very top talent, as he was at the very top of the payroll.
The meeting between Angle, Dixie Carter, Sting and Jeff Jarrett was kept very quiet, and in the closing moments of the September 2006 No Surrender pay-per-view, a promo aired for Angle’s debut.
With all due respect to Christian, this was TNA’s first major steal from WWE. Angle has stayed with TNA now for over 9 years and has been a pillar for the company.
6. Hulk Hogan is signed by World Championship Wrestling (1994)
In 1993, Hulk Hogan left the WWF after refusing to drop the WWF Title to Bret Hart, and making some comments comparing the WWF title negatively to the New Japan Title.
Hogan would drop the title to Yokozuna at the King of the Ring event in June 1993, and wouldn’t be seen on WWF TV again for 9 years.
Hogan was the biggest box office name to ever jump to WCW at that time. Hogan easily put WCW on the map and paved the way for Monday Nitro, making WCW an attractive destination for other superstars to jump over as well.
5. Bret Hart joins WCW (1997)
In September of 1996, Bret Hart signed a 20 year deal to stay with the WWF.
One year later, Vince McMahon told Bret he can’t afford the contract, and suggested Hart should seek out a deal from WCW.
The “Montreal Screwjob” happened, Hart went to WCW and indirectly ruined Starrcade 1997, Mr. McMahon was created, The Attitude Era was born, WCW never knew what to do with Hart & the rest is history.
4. Ric Flair (and the NWA World Title) arrive in WWF (1991)
On of the most surreal clips in wrestling history today is a clip at the end of WWF Wrestling Challenge.
Bobby Heenan, with Gorilla Monsoon and Jim Neidhart were wrapping up the episode when Heenan held the NWA title and started comparing it to the WWF title, comparing it like Prime Rib to Lunch Meat.
Heenan ended the segment by saying the man who held the title was coming to the WWF and said “Let’s compare Hulk Hogan, to Ric Flair.”
Monsoon and Neidhart looked shocked as the episode went off the air.
In the spring of 1991, Flair had a contract dispute with WCW President Jim Herd, who wanted him to take a substantial pay cut. Herd had removed Flair as head booker in February 1990 and wanted to reduce Flair’s role in the promotion even further, despite the fact that Flair was still a top draw.
According to Flair, Herd also proposed changes in his appearance (by shaving his hair, wearing a diamond earring and going by the name “Spartacus”) as well as his in-ring name in order to “change with the times.”
Flair disagreed with the proposals, and two weeks before The Great American Bash, Herd fired him and vacated the WCW Championship. While Flair had left for the WWF, he was still recognized as the NWA World Champion until September 8, when the title was officially vacated.
Flair made several TV appearances with the NWA title on WWF TV.
3. Hulk Hogan leaves the AWA to join the WWF (1983)
In 1983, Hulk Hogan was with the AWA and returned to the WWF, helping Bob Backlund from a 3 on 1 attack.
On January 23rd 1984, Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden & Hulkamania was born. Hogan became a mainstream icon, and it was the first time that pro wrestling was socially acceptable.
Hogan also made media appearances including movies and TV shows, which was unheard of at the time.
2. Steve Austin joins WWF after being fired by WCW (1996)
In 1995, Steve Austin was fired by WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff, after suffering a triceps injury while wrestling on a tour of Japan. Bischoff and WCW did not see Austin as a ‘marketable’ wrestler, and the decision infuriated Austin. Austin described his opinion on being fired over the phone by Eric Bischoff as having taken the coward’s way out.
Eventually, Austin was contacted by Paul Heyman of ECW, who had managed him in WCW. Heyman hired Austin to do in-ring interviews, as he still had not recovered from his injury enough to wrestle. While in ECW, Austin used the platform to develop his future “Stone Cold” persona, as well as a series of vignettes running down WCW and Bischoff in particular. Most memorably, Austin appeared in several promos that mocked his then-status as WCW Monday Nitro host by introducing Monday NyQuil, where he was joined by “Bongo” (a set of drums, meant to represent Steve “Mongo” McMichael), and promoted the show “where the big boys play with each other.”
In late 1995, Austin joined the WWF after Kevin Nash and Jim Ross helped convince WWE’s owner Vince McMahon to hire him.
After several months as The Ringmaster, Austin was repackaged as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and at the King of the Ring 1996, Austin 3:16 was born. Austin feuded with Bret Hart, which led to Austin’s face turn.
As 1997 progressed and with the Montreal Screw Job, the Attitude Era was born and Austin was fully engaged as the leader and there wasn’t a better choice for the job.
1. Vince McMahon signs The Undertaker & Triple H after WCW fails to
utilize them successfully
In 1990, WCW had a character named “Mean” Mark Callous, a large man mostly part of The Skyscrapers tag team with Dan Spivey and manager Teddy Long. The duo broke up and Callous started a singles run of his own.
After being pushed into a US Championship program with Lex Luger, Callous was pinned clean and rather quickly by Luger at the 1990 Great American Bash. Shortly thereafter, WCW decided not to renew Callous’s contract.
In October of 1990, Callous signed with the WWF, and at Survivor Series, debuted as The Undertaker.
All the championships later and, of course the 21-0 streak at WrestleMania, makes it unthinkable that he was with a company other than WWE. I could go on for days about Undertaker’s accomplishments, but we all know about them. It is very easy to say that who knows where wrestling would be today if this jump never happened. Amazingly, this following might be as important.
In 1994, Triple H (Jean Paul Levesque) was starting out in WCW. He was originally known as Terra Ryzing, however shortly after was repackaged as a snobby French competitor Jean-Paul Levesque.
He teamed with Lord Steven Regal (William Regal) since they had similar characters. In early 1995 Levesque left WCW after his 1 year contract expired as WCW did not wish to push him as a singles competitor.
Later in 1995, Levesque singed with the WWF and became known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a play on his WCW character. Helmsley was a solid midcard talent, but no more than that, during the first year of his WWF run.
At Wrestlemania 12, Helmsley was chosen as the returning Ultimate Warrior’s jobber of the day, however, was told he was going to be rewarded with a King of the Ring win and the Intercontinental Championship in return.
Those plans stalled as Helmsley became the whipping boy for the Madison Square Garden “Curtain Call” incident, and his push was stalled until October 1996, when he defeated Marc Mero for the Intercontinental Championship on Raw.
After a small rise up the card through 1997, it was the fall of ’97 that Helmsley’s career started to take off, as he was paired with Shawn Michaels as the original Degeneration-X.
Helmsley’s character also started to evolve from the rich snob to more of a punk with a bad attitude. Helmsley eventually became the leader of DX after HBK’s injury and went on to lead the group, evolving into Triple H.
Triple H skyrocketed into the legend he is today with 13 World championships & 23 championships overall.
He is the heir apparent to the WWE throne as he is married to Stephanie McMahon. Imagine if WCW had thought to push him in 1995…where would the company & wrestling as a whole would be today?