WCW was full of iconic stars, a number of whom evolved over the history of the company. There were mainstays like Sting who emerged as a main eventer just as the WCW brand took off, became the colorful franchise player, and transformed into his Crow persona. There was Dustin Rhodes, who started out the youngster trying to follow in his father’s footsteps, walked away to work as Goldust in WWE, and came back more like a grizzled veteran.

Related: 10 WCW Wrestlers Who Were Always Better As BabyfacesRey Mysterio went from a lightning-fast but more anonymous cruiserweight, to showing his personality as part of the Filthy Animals, periodically knocking on the door of the upper card. But then there was Ice Train. Across three stints with the company, the powerhouse’s WCW career stretched over five years. Despite the length of his tenure and having an exceptional look, he faded into the background, one of WCW's most noteworthy projects who never quite panned out.

Young Ice Train

From mid-1993 to early 1994, Ice Train turned heads as a babyface in WCW, who went on a noteworthy undefeated streak. His awesome look was enough to capture the imagination of fans, and he picked up a PPV win over Shanghai Pierce (the eventual Henry O. Godwinn in WWE), in addition to winning a six-man tag at Halloween Havoc alongside The Shockmaster and Charlie Norris against Harlem Heat and The Equalizer.

Ice Train’s undefeated streak came to a close at the hands of Ron Simmons. After that, he wound up stepping down to smaller stages for a couple years to hone his craft, and prepare for bigger things the next time he had a national spotlight cast on him.

The Fire And Ice Tag Team With Scott Norton

In one of the most formidable looking tag teams in wrestling history, two of WCW 's most powerful men, Scott Norton and Ice Train, became known as Fire and Ice. The pairing was born out of the two battling to a no contest and developing a mutual respect; they’d go on to team together most of 1996, most notably feuding with The Steiner Brothers in a series of hard hitting matches.

Ice Train took ownership for the limited success the tag team shared. In an interview with The Shining Wizards podcast (h/t eWrestling).he explained, "I believe that I treated Scott Norton bad because, I didn’t respect his knowledge that he had, and at that time I didn’t want to be a tag team partner. I just thought I was ready to be on my own.” In not committing to the team or taking advantage of Norton’s experience, Ice Train suggested “me and Norton never even had an hour of conversation. We were totally different characters.” He seems to hold onto some regret about not making more of this opportunity.

The pairing ended when Norton attacked Ice Train, sending each back to the singles ranks. While Norton enjoyed some minor advancement as part of the New World Order before long, Ice Train struggled in the mid-card, winning some squash matches but rarely picking up a win of any real significance, before being demoted off Nitro to mostly work WCW “B-shows.”

Ice Train In The New Blood

Ice Train had one last run in WCW, rebranded as MI Smooth. In this persona, he became a forgotten piece of the New Blood angle, set up to portray Ernest Miller’s driver. He also became a sidekick and background figure alongside a number of other acts in the faction of younger talents. In the final days of the company, he found himself engaging in brief feud opposite Chris Kanyon that didn’t amount to very much.

Related: WCW's New Blood Angle Was Actually A Great Idea But Executed PoorlySome fans may be surprised that Ice Train never found his way to WWE, given that his impressive look, if nothing else, would make him a natural fit to at least get a try under Vince McMahon’s management. Ice Train discussed the matter in an interview with Sportskeeda suggesting that he actually twice had the opportunity to sign with WWE, but decided against it. “I felt that it was just good to leave it alone because I didn't want to not ever love the business,” Ice Train explained. “Right now, I'm out of the business for 20 years, and I still love it, man. It's a great brotherhood, a great fraternity." Rather than making the jump to WWE, he wound up embracing retirement instead.

In the end, fans can’t fault Ice Train for making money in the pro wrestling world while he could, and by all indications enjoying himself in the process. While he never developed into a great in-ring worker or talker, and never exceeded the mid-card or tag team pictures, he nonetheless had some appreciable longevity in the WCW locker room.