10 WCW Wrestlers Who Fell One Title Short Of A Triple Crown
The Triple Crown in professional wrestling usually means winning three major titles. This is accomplished by winning a world title, a mid-card title, and a tag team title. In some companies, the Triple Crown is only for specific titles. In WCW, it only meant three titles — the World Championship, Tag Team Championship, and the United States Championship, but not the TV title.
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While there were many Triple Crown winners in WWE, there were very few who captured this honor in WCW. Part of the reason was what Chris Jericho said that only individual wrestlers rose to the world title level, and those on top rarely bothered with lower titles. With only eight wrestlers winning the Triple Crown in WCW, here is a look at the men who were just one title short.
10 Big Van Vader
Big Van Vader was one of the most dominating wrestlers ever to step foot in WCW. Fans who only saw Vader in WWE missed how amazing he was as a big man champion. Vader went full-time in WCW in 1992 and quickly beat Sting for his first world title.
He won a second world title from Ron Simmons and then his third from Sting again. After this, Vader won the United States Championship from Jim Duggan. The only title he did not win was the tag team belts.
9 Ron Simmons
Most fans know Ron Simmons from WWE as Farooq, the leader of the Nation of Domination, and with JBL as part of the APA. However, his biggest claim to fame was becoming the first African American to win a world championship in a major promotion when he beat Vader for the WCW World Championship.
He was also one-half of the WCW World Tag Team Champions with Butch Reed in Doom. He never held the United States Championship.
8 The Giant
Before he became a legend in WWE as Big Show, Paul Wight got his start in WCW, known only as The Giant. He was initially part of the Dungeon of Doom with Kevin Sullivan and then moved on to be part of the nWo with Hulk Hogan.
The Giant won the WCW World Championship in his rookie year. He ended up winning the world title one more time and had three tag team title reigns with Lex Luger, Sting, and Scott Hall. He never won the United States Championship.
7 Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash showed up in WCW as one-half of The Outsiders with Scott Hall, and the two men formed the nWo with Hulk Hogan a short time later. Nash had been in WCW before but had no success his first time around. His second stint was much more successful thanks to his role in the nWo.
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Kevin Nash and Scott Hall won the WCW World Tag Team Championship six times. Nash added three more title reigns with Sting once and Diamond Dallas Page twice. He was also a five-time WCW World Champion, but he never won the United States Championship.
6 Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett quit WWE and returned to WCW shortly after Vince Russo showed up in WCW as the new head booker. Jarrett, one of Russo's favorites in WWE, was then pushed to the top as one of WCW's biggest stars.
In WWE, he was nothing more than a mid-card champion, but in WCW, he was made into a world champion, winning the WCW World Championship four times. He also won the United States Championship three times but was never a tag team champion.
5 Scott Hall
Just like Kevin Nash, at first, Scott Hall was seen as a tag team wrestler. As mentioned, Nash and Hall won the tag team titles six times as The Outsiders in the nWo. Hall added a seventh tag title with The Giant as a partner.
However, Hall never won the WCW World Championship, keeping him from the Triple Crown by one title. He won the United States Championship twice and added one TV title as well before leaving WCW.
4 Rick Steiner
Scott Steiner is one of the eight men to win the WCW Triple Crown, winning the WCW World Championship, United States Championship, and several tag team titles. His best partner in the tag team title scene was his brother, Rick Steiner. The brothers won seven tag team titles in WCW/NWA.
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Rick Steiner was also a mid-card title contender. He won the Television Title three times and was a one-time United States Champion. The only title Steiner never won was the WCW World Championship, and he was never a real contender for that title.
3 Dean Malenko
Dean Malenko is one of those names that Chris Jericho mentioned when talking about wrestlers that were never allowed to move up to the world title scene. Malenko was one of the best technical wrestlers in the company, but he stood under six-feet tall, and WCW never let him do more than mid-card matches.
Malenko started with four Cruiserweight title reigns before winning the United States Championship and the WCW Tag Team Championships with Chris Benoit.
2 Raven
Raven created his persona as a main event talent when he went to ECW. For his entire tenure in ECW, Raven was a championship contender and a man who won the world title more than once. However, he never got his chances in WCW or WWE.
In WWE, it was worse as Raven was only a Hardcore contender. In WCW, he at least got to hold some real titles. Raven won the United States Championship once, and the tag titles one time with Perry Saturn.
1 Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas was one of the top names in ECW throughout its entire existence. He was the man who held the world title longer than anyone in the company. He was never taken seriously anywhere else, a flash-in-the-pan in WWE, and a mid-card contender in WCW.
While Douglas was one of Vince Russo's projects in WCW, the world title was never in the cards. He did win the United States Championship and won the tag straps with Buff Bagwell. He was also a tag champion early in WCW with Ricky Steamboat.
NEXT: 10 WCW Wrestlers Who Competed In The Most PPV Main Events
