Wrestling has evolved to see move sets expanding more through each passing decade. Top WWE stars like Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes do moves that would have been considered shocking in the 1990s. WCW didn’t care about the move sets of wrestlers if they were able to get over and hold star power.

Cruiserweights like Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero had versatile moves, but the average main eventer just needed enough signature moves that the fans cared about. Many noteworthy names had a small slate of moves that would be exposed today. WCW saw these wrestlers finding success with laughably small move sets.

Goldberg Benefited From Having A Short List Of Moves

Goldberg Got Over Because Of His Explosive Squash Matches

The undefeated streak of Goldberg instantly made him a top star for WCW. Goldberg easily won most of his matches within minutes by hitting a handful of moves. Fans ate it up and proved he didn’t need too much variety to win them over.

Goldberg having devastating moves helped make his quality win out over quantity. The spear and jackhammer combination felt like the most unbeatable finish in wrestling. Goldberg’s limited move set hurt him more in WWE with the lackluster 2000s stint showing his weaknesses.

Big Show Had To Learn New Moves In WWE

Hulk Hogan discovered Big Show and convinced WCW to sign him as The Giant due to his massive size and athletic ability. The Giant had a strange gimmick as Andre the Giant’s son despite having no association to the late Andre.

WCW allowed Giant to show the “less is more” philosophy with a short list of names. Big Show was most athletic during this time and benefited from having a cool dropkick. A few rest holds, transition moves, and the chokeslam finisher made The Giant a main event act with few other options until his WWE tenure.

Raven Stood Out Because Of His Unique Gimmick & Stipulation

Hardcore Matches Allowed Raven To Do More With Weapons Than Move Set

WCW viewed Raven as a credible midcarder and wanted to push him as such after leaving ECW. Raven was a strong in-ring performer at his best, but he had a limited move set that proved the old “less is more” ideology for veteran workers.

The demand of having his own rules saw Raven introducing the Raven’s Rules match of hardcore matches almost every single week. WCW fans didn’t realize Raven had a limited move set since he was so compelling. The TNA tenure saw Raven introducing new moves as wrestling changed.

Stacy Keibler Barely Did Much During Her Rare Wrestling Matches

WCW Fans Loved Stacy Despite Her Limited In-Ring Ability

Stacy Keibler became arguably the most popular woman in WCW with strong presence and charisma. WCW utilized Stacy in a few noteworthy storylines that led to her having in-ring performances with a handful of matches.

Keibler barely did much of note when looking back at the match quality since it was all about eye candy and entertainment value. WCW still pushed Stacy as someone the audience wanted to watch more of in the final years.

Warrior Vs. Hulk Hogan At Halloween Havoc 1998 Was A Horrible Match

WCW signed Ultimate Warrior in 1998 to have a main event feud against Hulk Hogan playing off their previous WWE feud. Warrior using supernatural tricks to get in Hogan’s mind was already bad enough to warrant a great match saving the feud.

Hogan and Warrior had a match so horrific that it still gets mocked over 25 years later. Warrior’s move set saw him doing the same running shoulder blocks and various rest holds. WWE got the best Warrior run and he was known for having a weak move set back then.

Hulk Hogan Became A Megastar With A Limited Move Set

Hogan Got Over Without Having To Do Much In The Ring

WWE and WCW both saw Hulk Hogan becoming their top star with minimal moves in the ring. Hogan’s infamous “Hulking up” comeback saw most of his moves coming in the form of punches and the leg drop finishing move.

WCW gave Hogan even more power than WWE did to see him having repetitive matches with many rest holds. Hogan never liked to go beyond his important handful of moves unless he was performing in Japan in front of a different audience.

Sid Vicious Benefited From Having Size & Power Advantages

Trying A Different Is What Eventually Ended Sid’s Full-Time Wrestling Career

Big men were taught to only do power moves in the 1990s when Sid Vicious become a major star for WWE and WCW. Sid’s WCW tenure in the late 1990s and early 2000s saw him receiving a main event run winning the WCW Championship.

Fans were conditioned to accept Sid’s slower pace since they loved his finishing moves of the big boot and leg drop. Sid tried to do a top rope move in the match that infamously saw him landing on his leg in a scary injury that saw him never the same again.

Lex Luger Having A Great Finisher Helped Mask His Move Set

Fewer Moves Worked For Luger As Fans Loved The Torture Rack

The strength of Lex Luger saw him using that for most of his moves playing into his advantages. Luger was often criticized for not having the in-ring appeal of Ric Flair or Sting when he first became a main event act for WCW.

However, it didn’t stop a larger percentage of fans from enjoying his work through each stage of his career. Luger adding the Torture Rack finisher made him one of the most popular WCW wrestlers in the late 1990s while combating the New World Order.

Kevin Nash Didn’t Need To Do More Moves

Few Wrestlers Represented The “Work Smarter, Not Harder” Mindset Than Nash

Old school wrestling saw Kevin Nash adopting the mindset that most had entered the business of wanting to get as over as possible without doing too much. Nash’s only non-finisher move to provide that flashy appeal was a dive over the top rope that he stopped doing in WCW.

Most of Big Kev’s matches saw him using rest holds and power moves to pass time. Nash having a stellar closing slate of moves ending with the jackknife powerbomb helped him become a major star and multi-time WCW Champion.

Roddy Piper Didn’t Have Many Moves In His Offense

Piper Still Used The Sleeper As His Finishing Move In WCW

The fighting style of Roddy Piper allowed him to get away without adding many moves to his offense. Piper throwing punches and trying to outfight his opponents comprised of his move set having little depth in longer matches.

WCW saw Piper winning matches with the sleeper as arguably the most mundane finishing move in wrestling history. Piper got away with using rest holds due to his immense personality and iconic promos talking fans into caring about him.