WCW became a company for the first time in 1988. Formerly Crockett Promotions in the NWA, Ted Turner purchased the company and turned it into a national powerhouse. By 1991, the company had its own world title separate from the NWA, and by 1993, they broke away from the NWA completely.
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From the early days, when Ric Flair ruled the company, to its heyday with the nWo, there were many highs and lows for the promotion. What helped WCW stand out above WWE was that the company was all about the in-ring wrestling action, and that included some of the best matches in American wrestling history based on Cagematch ratings.
10 Juventud Guerrera Vs. Kidman Vs. Rey Mysterio (Starrcade 1998) - 8.66
One of the best things going on in WCW when the nWo invasion took place on the undercard, with the amazing cruiserweight division. With cruiserweights from Mexico and Japan and some great American talent sprinkled in, these matches often stole the show when it came to in-ring action.
In 1998 at Starrcade, people remember the Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash world title match. Still, the cruiserweight title match that opened the show, with Kidman retaining his title against Rey Mysterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrero was by far the best on the card.
9 Big Van Vader Vs. Ric Flair (Starrcade 1993) - 8.69
Big Van Vader had dominated as world champion in WCW. He had beaten Sting for the title twice and won his third title from Ron Simmons. He beat everyone he faced and often did it in dominant fashion.
When Vader put his title on the line against Nature Boy Ric Flair at Starrcade 1993, there was a big stipulation in place. Flair had to retire if he lost. The two went over 20 minutes, and Flair finally picked up the win with a roll-up to save his career and win the title.
8 Bret Hart Vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro, 10.4.99) - 8.83
Owen Hart died on May 23, 1999, when he was 34. He fell from the rafters, hit his head on the turnbuckle, and died in the ring. On October 4, 1999, Owen's brother Bret "The Hitman" Hart wrestled fellow Canadian wrestler Chris Benoit on an episode of Monday Nitro.
The two men called this a tribute match in honor of Owen Hart and ended up turning in the greatest match in Nitro history. The two men went for 25 minutes, with Bret winning a perfect wrestling match.
7 WarGames 1992 (WrestleWar 1992) - 8.90
The one specialty match that defined WCW was WarGames. While WWE has adopted that match for its NXT brand, the matches in WCW stand out as bloody and violent affairs. In WCW, the only way to win a WarGames match was to make someone from the other team submit.
Out of all the WarGames matches, only one ranked in the Top 10 for Cagematch, the 1992 version. Sting's Squadron vs. The Dangerous Alliance, and Sting made Bobby Eaton tap out after 23 minutes.
6 Psychosis Vs. Rey Mysterio (Bash At The Beach 1996) - 8.95
There have been several fantastic cruiserweight matches in WCW history, and it might be surprising to learn that one of the best involved Psychosis and Rey Mysterio Jr. The fact Rey was in it is not a surprise, but Psychosis is not a name people talk about today.
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Bash at the Beach 1996 will always be known for Hulk Hogan turning heel and joining the nWo. However, the best match on the show and one of the best in WCW history came when Rey Mysterio Jr. battled Psychosis, without a title on the line. Mysterio won the match in 15 minutes.
5 Ric Flair Vs. Terry Funk (Clash Of Champions: New York Knock Out) - 9.05
Ric Flair had the greatest series of matches in his career in 1989. He wrestled three of the best matches in history against Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and then after the final one, he celebrated coming out of that war with his title.
He had no chance to rest when Terry Funk attacked him and injured his neck. That resulted in an I Quit Match at Clash of Champions where Flair worked a very different match than his Steamboat trilogy and still turned in one of the best matches of his career, in the title win over Terry Funk.
4 Eddie Guerrero Vs. Rey Mysterio (Halloween Havoc 1997) - 9.40
Halloween Havoc 1997 ended with one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history when Rowdy Roddy Piper battled Hollywood Hogan in a steel cage and actually knocked out Hogan with a sleeper hold. The show also had the great Death Match between Randy Savage and DDP.
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However, the best match on the card saw Eddie Guerrero take on Rey Mysterio Jr. for the Cruiserweight Championship. These two men met many times in their career, but this was their best match against each other. It was a Mask vs. Title match, and Mysterio beat Guerrero in 13 minutes.
3 Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat (WrestleWar 1989) - 9.53
In 1989, Nature Boy Ric Flair and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat fought in the greatest trilogy in professional wrestling history. The last match in the series saw Steamboat defending his WCW world title against Flair and was the lesser match in the series, although Cagematch ranks it as the third-best match in WCW history.
The match went 31 minutes, and Flair finally won the world title back from Steamboat before giving Steamboat respect after the win.
2 Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat (Clash Of Champions - Ragin' Cajun) - 9.57
After Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat beat Ric Flair for the world title at Chi-Town Rumble, the two men had a rematch at Clash of Champions in a two-out-of-three-falls match. This was an incredible match, with the two men going 55 minutes against each other before the end.
Flair pinned Steamboat in the first fall, Steamboat forced Flair to submit in the second fall, and in the third fall, Steamboat pinned Flair, but the Nature Boy had his foot under the ropes, setting up the end of their trilogy the next month.
1 Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat (Chi-Town Rumble 1989) - 9.58
According to Cagematch.net, the best match in WCW history came at the Chi-Town Rumble in 1989. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat returned to WCW after a successful stint in WWE and immediately set his sights on 'Nature Boy' Ric Flair and the WCW Championship.
The title match took place in Chicago, and Steamboat beat Flair for the world title in a 23-minute match with a small package to win his first and only world championship. The match received an incredible rating of 9.58 out of 10.
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