5 ECW Wrestlers Who Were Better In WCW (& 5 Who Were Worse)

The genius of ECW was how Paul Heyman was able to take okay guys and make them look like superstars. Heyman is upfront on how so many ECW acts were frankly terrible workers but got over thanks to his "accentuate the positives, hide the negatives" approach. As ECW grew, WCW was the first to poach their talent, starting with their cruiserweights. While several of them were able to succeed in WCW thanks to their skills, others faltered. Once outside of Heyman's aid and the Philadelphia crowds, those acts didn't work.

It exposed how many guys were far better being big fish in the small pond of ECW. There was also WCW draining their fire with terrible gimmicks that ruined what made them work. But others were able to rise above WCW's incompetence to become bigger stars in the company. Indeed, many used that for further stardom in WWE while Heyman himself would have to admire their success. Here are 5 ECW guys who were much better in WCW and five far worse to showcase how Heyman's touch worked better for some than others.

10 WORSE: Raven

Scott Levy had started in WCW with a laughable surfer gimmick. In ECW, he transformed into Raven, the brooding figure whose feud with Tommy Dreamer is still brilliant storytelling. After leaving ECW, Raven headed to WCW, which sadly failed to give him the same push.

He had his Flock and a one-day reign as U.S. champion, but Raven's sinister character was neutered in the company. He literally walked out after a clash with Eric Bischoff and made an epic return to ECW to aid Dreamer. Raven isn't a fan of WCW, to say the least.

9 BETTER: Lance Storm

As more talent left ECW in the late '90s, Lance Storm was teaming with Justin Credible as the Impact Players and seemed poised for a bigger run. Storm instead chose to leap to WCW and was a highlight of its bad last year. The best moment was Storm being the only person to hold three WCW titles (U.S., Hardcore, and Cruiserweight) at the same time.

Better was Storm having a fun bit renaming each belt as he pushed a Canadian heel gimmick. For a guy known for a serious demeanor, Storm was fun in the role and one worker who was much better in the dying days of WCW.

8 WORSE: Rey Mysterio

This is a bit complex. Rey Mysterio was easily the best of the AAA guys Heyman signed onto ECW, and his high-flying antics quickly made him a favorite. WCW soon wooed Mysterio for runs as Cruiserweight champion, and his bouts with Eddie Guerrero alone should have made it a great stay.

But then WCW forced Mysterio to unmask (which made him look like a teenager), going against his traditions for a cheap angle. Mysterio has always slammed this as the low point of his career, and so has to rank as a bad WCW run.

7 BETTER: Chris Jericho

From the start, Chris Jericho was bursting with future superstardom. In ECW, he was "Lionheart" with his high-flying skills earning him a run as TV champion. When he joined WCW, Jericho was still a babyface but his turn into an obnoxious heel transformed him into a star.

He had multiple runs as Cruiserweight and TV champion, and his promos were soon the best around. Jericho famously walked out when he realized WCW wasn't going to let him main event, but his tenure was what shaped the future Y2J into an icon.

6 WORSE: Sabu

Much was made of WCW signing on Sabu in 1995. The problem was the "homicidal, genocidal, suicidal" madman was hardly the guy to promote in a family-friendly 1995 wrestling company. WCW did allow him to do some of his table-smashing but made that all Sabu did, which exposed his in-ring weaknesses.

From the start, it was a terrible fit, and Sabu only lasted a couple of months before leaving. He returned for his epic ECW feud with Tazz to write off the WCW stay as a mistake.

5 BETTER: Dean Malenko

Dean Malenko may not be a main-event level talent, but he was one of the most skilled in-ring workers of his time. He had some excellent stuff in ECW as tag team champion yet seemed to be ignored. In WCW, Malenko was allowed to shine as a multiple Cruiserweight champion.

He got great showcases on Nitro to push the division, and his feud with Chris Jericho for the belt was a highlight of 1998. Malenko also got a run as U.S. champ and joined the Four Horsemen to boot. It was the best time of his career, which he couldn't have gotten in ECW.

4 WORSE: Sandman

Like many ECW guys, the Sandman's act was so tied into the Philly crowds that making it work in WCW would be bad. But WCW had to make it even worse by saddling him with Hak, the supposed rich preppy boy neighbor to Raven. It was a role Sandman was totally unsuited for, and he never had a chance.

It wasn't helped by WCW's hardcore division being a complete disaster of ugly matches, and Sandman not allowed to do his usual smoking and drinking. It's no wonder he jumped right back to ECW to leave this wretched run behind.

3 BETTER: Eddie Guerrero

True, there were later issues, but Eddie Guerrero was still a guy who benefited from jumping to WCW. He'd already shown his stuff in ECW as a TV champ. In WCW, Eddie came into his own once he took on a heel persona, and his feud with Rey Mysterio for the Cruiserweight title produced some classic matches.

He even got his own Latino World Order faction. It did have an ugly side with Eddie's personal problems, but it showed the star power he'd later use in WWE which wouldn't have happened had he stayed in ECW.

2 WORSE: Mike Awesome

If anything sums up the ineptitude of WCW, it's what they did with Mike Awesome. This was a dominant ECW champion who could fly off the ropes and smash guys through tables with ease. His jumping to WCW as ECW champion had significant heat, and ready to make him a main event star. How could WCW mess this up?

By giving Awesome gimmicks like a 1970s lounge lizard and then chasing overweight women. Awesome was never given a chance to shine as himself to make his signing a colossal waste of money, and his career never recovered from this awesome fall from the top.

1 BETTER: Chris Benoit

Obviously, it's difficult to talk about Chris Benoit in clear terms today. But it can't be denied how Benoit was already a good force in ECW, holding the tag team titles with Dean Malenko. Benoit was one of the first big grabs for WCW in late 1995 and he had a good push from the start. Within weeks, he was part of the Four Horsemen to prove his skills.

Benoit would go on to hold the TV title three times, the U.S. title twice and tag belts too. His final match had him winning the World title but he was already prepared to jump to WWE. Benoit clearly was better in WCW than he'd been in ECW.

Next: 10 Failed ECW Wrestlers (That Should Have Worked)