10 Wrestlers Who Thrived In WWE, WCW & ECW Each

WWE, WCW, and ECW were the three top promotions every diehard fan followed in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Each company had a different legacy and atmosphere that allowed wrestlers to thrive in them. However, a few select names were able to find relevant success working for all three companies in their careers.

Those wrestlers won over the powers that be that were typically Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, and Paul Heyman. Each company had a different fan base that also required subtle differences in what the blueprint to getting over was. Find out what made a talent so successful in completely different worlds.

10 Mick Foley

The career of Mick Foley is remembered most fondly for his time in WWE. Foley was able to showcase his full potential getting into the main event picture and winning the WWE Championship to cement his Hall of Fame status.

WCW employed Foley for a few years as Cactus Jack. Foley had memorable feuds in the upper card against Sting and Vader to create a WCW legacy. ECW was the perfect middle ground between the two major companies where he found his character work skills.

9 Raven

Raven’s run was quite underrated in the ‘90s when looking back at all his success. ECW was the place he thrived the most with the ECW Championship runs proving he was a main eventer during the company’s biggest rise.

WCW signed Raven away as one of their top mid-carders. Raven did a great job in his role and even stepped up in feuds against bigger names like Goldberg and Diamond Dallas Page. WWE had solid success with Raven as a heel in 2000 and as the manager Johnny Polo in the early ‘90s.

8 Bam Bam Bigelow

Bam Bam Bigelow had one of the most underrated careers of wrestlers to thrive in the ‘90s. WWE never put Bigelow in the title picture, but he had strong success as a great big man. The biggest accomplishment came when main eventing WrestleMania XI vs. NFL star Lawrence Taylor.

ECW booked Bam Bam after his WWE run ended with great success in the Triple Threat faction. Bigelow won the ECW Championship and had a tremendous feud with Taz. WCW eventually signed Bam Bam with his biggest success there coming in the underrated Jersey Triad faction with DDP and Kanyon.

7 Lance Storm

The great in-ring skills of Lance Storm allowed him to find success in all three major promotions he worked for. ECW helped Storm break out as part of the impressive Impact Players tag team with his partner Justin Credible.

Storm left for WCW when a bigger contract came his way along with the biggest push of his career. WCW made Storm a tremendous heel leading the Team Canada faction and once held three titles at the same time. WWE used Storm effectively a few times after purchasing WCW with the impressive run in the Invasion and later as part of the Un-Americans faction.

6 Terry Funk

The legendary career of Terry Funk doesn’t get enough credit when comparing to other top stars of the time. Funk thrived in WCW during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, specifically feuding against Ric Flair in an iconic rivalry.

ECW benefited the most from having Funk on the roster as a huge name that helped them find new viewers. Funk’s style perfectly represented the ECW spirit to help its growth. WWE even saw Funk thrive there when getting to team up with his close friend Mick Foley.

5 Steve Austin

WWE saw Steve Austin become the biggest star in company history after reinventing his character from the WCW and ECW days. Austin didn’t get to show his full potential in WCW, but he thrived in the Hollywood Blondes tag team with Brian Pillman and had a great United States Championship run.

Paul Heyman’s bond with Austin saw him making his mark in ECW after his WCW release. Austin would get to have more creative freedom to experiment with his character side as a top star. WWE signed him after the ECW momentum, and the rest is history as he accomplished everything possible.

4 Rey Mysterio

The unique skill set of Rey Mysterio made him an asset to all three major promotions he worked for. Paul Heyman was the first to take a chance on Rey in ECW by putting him in great matches against Psychosis and Juventud Guerrera.

WCW signed all three names based on their ECW work and Mysterio had the strongest success as the face of the cruiserweight division. The classic matches of Rey made him an all-time WCW fan favorite. WWE signing Mysterio in 2002 took his career to the next level with a main event push and legacy that’s still strong today.

3 Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho was a breakout star for ECW in the limited time that he spent there. The three-week ECW TV Championship reign of Jericho made diehard fans realize he was a special talent. WCW signed Jericho away from ECW as part of their youth movement.

Jericho was an outstanding heel in the cruiserweight division and thrived with classic matches and great promos. WWE was the place where Jericho finally received a main event run. All three promotions showed the evolution of Jericho thriving in different chapters of his career.

2 Eddie Guerrero

The technical wrestling skills of Eddie Guerrero saw him having superb matches during his time in ECW. Guerrero impressed enough to receive a bigger contract offer in WCW. Eric Bischoff didn’t view Eddie as a top star, but he thrived as a top mid-carder and cruiserweight.

WCW was the place where Guerrero started to show his all-around great work that landed him a WWE contract. Eddie became an icon in WWE climbing the mountain to reach a top main event spot. The legacy of Guerrero was cemented when winning the WWE Championship.

1 Sid Vicious

Sid Vicious was the most surprising name to thrive in WWE, WCW, and ECW each. The size and presence of Sid make him a top priority to all three promotions. Sid is the only name on this list to win the WWE Championship and WCW Championship each, and he’s the only one to main event both WrestleMania and Starrcade.

ECW was the place fans would have assumed he’d do poorly in. However, Paul Heyman saw the potential of Sid as an attraction and booked to his strengths. Sid squashed his opponents and was cheered by fans until he left for a top WCW spot.

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