Along with the Monday Night Wars on television, there was a war among wrestling fans over whether to purchase a WCW or WWE branded video game. Not every fan could afford to buy both games, so often time the decision came down to the roster and as a tie-breaker, the extras.
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Although the WWE video games populate the top spots among most arguments for "greatest wrestling games of all time", there are a few from the WCW series of games that have also stood the test of time. Fans of WCW/nWo Revenge alone will argue its place atop any list. One thing that both series had in common was the long list of wild unlockable characters. This list examines ten that used to leave fans shaking their heads, but now leave them in nostalgic bliss.
10 WCW Master (Andre The Giant) - WCW Wrestling
WCW Wrestling is, to this day, the only video game that involved the NWA. At the time of its release, WCW was still a member of the NWA and would be until 1992. The cover of the game features the Road Warriors even though they had left at the time of its release in 1990.
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WCW Master can be unlocked as the "final boss" in the game, the opponent required to be the champion, and is a clear rip-off of Andre the Giant. Although his name or likeness isn't used, it's clearly Andre when he was competing with a mask under the ring name "Giant Machine."
9 Dr. Frank - WCW/NWO Revenge
A ton of fictional characters were added to WCW/NWO Revenge. One of the most memorable unlockable wrestlers was Frankenstein. In the game, his official name is Dr. Frank, a choice made to avoid copyright issues since Frankenstein won't enter the public domain until 2027.
It was a clear addition of humor, but overall, Dr. Frank has a special place in the memory of Revenge fans who remember using his finisher, the Dr. Frank spin (a move similar to Claudio Castagnoli's spin).
8 Joe Bruiser - WCW Vs nWo World Tour
Anyone who played WCW Vs nWo World Tour way more than they should have will remember unlocking Joe Bruiser. He was a clear rip-off of Muhammad Ali and could knock out opponents quickly.
To unlock Joe Bruiser you had to beat the original levels and then win the (Whole World Wrestling) WWW.
7 THQ Staff - WCW/NWO Thunder
Any kid who grew up in the 90s playing video games will remember the letters "THQ." The video game published both WCW and WWE video games. WCW/nWo Thunder was known for its list of insane unlockable characters and the THQ staff were one of those unlockables.
They used a picture of the actual members of the production team, but gave them funny ring names that include: Zoomie, Reanimator, Sleep Dep Ed, and Wrestling Matt.
6 Bruiser Brody - Virtual Pro Wrestling 64
The tragic death of Bruiser Brody will always overshadow his great career as a wrestler. His legacy has grown in the decades since his passing, but he hasn't been featured in many video games over the years.
Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 was basically the Japanese version of WCW Vs nWo World Tour and featured Brody as an unlockable legend.
5 AKI Man - WCW/nWo Revenge
A ton of mystery surrounds the wrestler AKI Man in WCW/nWo Revenge. He's clearly a nod in some way to the AKI Corporation, one of the game's developers, but his appearance is often compared to many of the other Japanese wrestlers on the roster.
A ton of changes were made to many of the Japanese wrestlers to avoid copyright, and it's speculated that AKI Man was one of them that was changed to this character at some point in development.
4 Vince Russo - WCW Backstage Assault
The final WCW game, much like the final years of WCW, was not well received. In a change, right out of the book of Vince Russo, who booked David Arquette as WCW Heavyweight Champion, none of the gameplay takes place in the ring.
Vince Russo is an unlockable character in this game, and it was not uncommon for fans to unlock him just to hit him with a chair during the later days of WCW Nitro when he was on a tirade.
3 Mean Gene - WCW Nitro
"Mean" Gene Okerlund is a WCW icon at the same level as Sting and Ric Flair. He was the voice of the company through the highs and lows of WCW. He was featured as an unlockable character on WCW Nitro.
Beating the tournament mode on normal or hard difficulty with Ric Flair will unlock Okerlund in one of the few games where he is a playable character.
2 Steve Austin - WCW: The Main Event
WCW: The Main Event is sometimes a forgotten WCW release. It was released on the Gameboy, so the gameplay is very limited. One notable thing about this 1994 release: it was the first wrestling game to ever include Steve Austin.
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Austin is an absolute staple in WWE video games and is always included anytime there are legends on the roster. Interestingly enough, Steve Austin debuted on a WCW game first.
1 The Wackies - WCW/nWo Thunder
The WCW/nWo Thunder roster might be the greatest WCW roster of all time. Along with a ton of WCW stars, it included a ton of extra unlockable charters known as "The Wackies".
These strange fictitious charters included everything: an astronaut, a sailor, a pig man, conjoined twins, a horse named Hoof Hearted, a cow, a starfish, multiple insects, a skeleton, and many others.
