Long before the Monday Night Wars, WCW Saturday Night was the company's flagship program. It had begun under Jim Crockett as a Saturday afternoon slot on TBS that helped put him on the map nationally. As JCP became WCW and sold to Ted Turner, the show was officially renamed WCW Saturday Night in 1992 and for the next few years, the biggest moments in WCW happened on that show. Saturday Night was home to a lot of squash bouts, as well as some title changes and major events.
It lost some power when Nitro premiered in 1995, soon falling to the wayside before being unceremoniously canceled in 1992. Yet, given its prominence, just about anyone in WCW had a lot of matches on Saturday Night, and some of the win-loss records may be surprising. Courtesy of wrestlingdata.com, here are the ten wrestlers with the most WCW Saturday Night wins and remarkable how some wrestlers did better on this one night of the week than elsewhere.
Chris Benoit would've been #8 on this list with 46 wins in 55 matches, but I excluded him from our list due to his horrible actions in the final days of his life.
The Barbarian
He Even Wrestled For The WCW Championship At Halloween Havoc 1992
Believe it or not, The Barbarian can boast more Saturday Night wins than the likes of Lex Luger, Steve Austin, Johnny B. Badd or The Steiners. Much of his wins came in 1992 when WCW (seriously) tried to push him as a World Title contender against Ron Simmons. He kept it up as a midcard force and in tag teams.The Barbarian took a break for a brief WWE run in 1994-95 before returning to WCW. He stuck with the company until 2000, including work with Jimmy Hart and the Dungeon of Doom, which got him some wins. So without that WWE run, The Barbarian's unlikely win total could have been even larger and a strange record for WCW.
William Regal
"Lord Steven" Dominated Saturdays
Before he was William Regal in WWE, "Lord" Steven Regal was on Saturday Night on almost literally a weekly basis. Regal excelled with long reigns as Television Champion throughout his career and so Saturday Night was a great showcase for him. His few losses were deliberate to keep his title with far more wins, albeit often with a bit of chicanery. Regal later moved to tag teams with Bobby Eaton and others while still a few singles run, including more TV Title reigns. It's hard to find a Saturday Night episode from 1993 to 1997 where Regal didn't get a match to be a major mainstay for WCW programming.
Dustin Rhodes
He Might Have Won More Without Moving To WWE
The son of Dusty Rhodes was meant for big things and WCW pushed him from the start. Saturday Night was a good showcase for Dustin as he held the World Tag Team Championship with Ricky Steamboat and, later, Barry Windham. That led to his singles career as United States Champion with Saturday Night his major focus.
Dustin's lower win record is, of course, because he left the company in 1995. Had he stuck around, it's very likely that he'd have racked up far more wins. As it stands, Dustin's Saturday Night record was a great start to a career that made his dad proud.
DDP
This Began His Boost To Stardom
Diamond Dallas Page started a bit late in wrestling and his first year in WCW had him as a manager. DDP finally started as a wrestler in 1992, with Saturday Night as the focus of his early career. It took until 1995 for him to win the TV Title and keep up with the gimmick of losing his money, working as a janitor, and then winning the lottery.DDP got another TV Title run in 1996, yet it wasn't until 1997 that he exploded as a star and thus more on Nitro. Before that, his impressive win record on Saturday Night showed how Page cut his teeth on that show before emerging as one of WCW's best talents.
Arn Anderson
Double A Was A WCW Saturday Night Mainstay
As one of the greatest midcard workers ever, Arn Anderson was one of the best parts of Saturday Night programming. He got his start there with the Four Horsemen, having great matches as either a singles or tag team champion while providing some of the best promos around. As the show evolved, Arn got better and more famous.
His multiple long reigns as Television Champion had Double A on Saturday Night just about every week. Combine that with his runs in the Dangerous Alliance, Stud Stable and Four Horsemen - Anderson's great record on Saturday Night should be no surprise for fans of this WCW mainstay.
Meng
Meng Was A Brutal Force
Often cited as one of the legit toughest guys in wrestling, Haku/Meng had a good run in WCW. He was part of the Stud Stable as a bodyguard/enforcer and then joined the Faces of Fear, Dungeon of Doom and other groups. On Saturday Night, Haku got his best matches, often annihilating jobbers to sell him as this unstoppable brute.
He had a couple of Hardcore title wins to be showcased in the last year of WCW and many of his wins came in tag bouts. While Nitro and Thunder too often ignored Meng, Saturday Night gave him a chance to prove his insane toughness.
Sting
WCW's Biggest Star Won Most Of His Matches On Saturday Night
As WCW's biggest star, it should be no shock Sting had a score of matches on Saturday Night. It went back to the older days in their small studio where Sting won his first Television Championship. Sting remained a top worker on WCW shows and when Saturday Night was their flagship program, Sting was at the forefront.
He had some great stuff in 1994, holding their International World Heavyweight Championship and keeping it up with his amazing work in tag bouts and more titles. His low record is only because as soon as Nitro started, he'd be wrestling more on that show. Sting was the star of WCW on any TV show.
Stevie Ray
He Was One Of The Most Decorated Tag Team Wrestlers In WCW History
Harlem Heat took a bit to get going in WCW. They started as little more than a jobber tag team before getting more wins and mostly stuck on Saturday Night. Things got better in 1994 when they added Sherri Martel as their manager and soon became World Tag Team Champions. The Heat kept up numerous wins over the next few years, and even when they didn't have the belt, they got a lot of TV time.
While Booker became a big singles star, Stevie wasn't as successful there. Yet he kept up a few wins and a strange partnership with the NWO. Thus, like his brother, Stevie Ray can boast a fine record on WCW Saturday Night.
Buff Bagwell
He Even Won A Few Titles On The Show
Buff Bagwell can boast one of the better win-loss records for WCW on Saturday Night shows. Notably, most of the wins come from before Bagwell turned heel to join the NWO. He was a pretty good tag team worker with partnerships with 2 Cold Scorpio, the Patriot and Scotty Riggs.
In fact, Bagwell won tag titles on Saturday Night shows in 1993 and 1994. Bagwell kept up the wins as a solo worker and got more when he turned heel. His record on Saturday Night was better than on Nitro or Thunder, as Bagwell had the "stuff" for stardom.
Booker T
His Big Wins Made Him A Star
Booker T's rise to stardom in WCW was fantastic. He and his brother Stevie Ray won their very first WCW World World Tag Team Championship on Saturday Night and were soon mainstays on the program. They kept it up through other reigns and were always dependable as a team, whether defending or challenging for the belts.
Booker then moved into his singles career in 1998, which included being a multiple Television Champion. That put him on Saturday Night a lot more and would still make appearances for the rest of his run. As one of the biggest breakouts of WCW, Booker T's wide range of wins on Saturday Night should be no surprise.
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