The Filthy Animals became a successful underrated faction for wcw in recent years. Two versions of the group existed with them playing the roles of face and heel at different points. WCW fans enjoyed seeing a group of mostly cruiserweights who had already overcome the problem working together as a team.
Quite a few big names spent time in the group showing new sides of themselves with more opportunities. WCW made the Filthy Animals feel authentic by tapping into a real life chemistry as friends. Each fighter’s job to contribute will vary with some standing out more than others. Each Filthy Animals member will be ranked by their time in the group.
8 hell disco
The worst member of the Filthy Animals had to be Disco Inferno for the weird setting. WCW’s second iteration of the Filthy Animals featured Disco joining in when they played a rude act. The running gag of Inferno trying to fit in the cool act as an uncool comedic heel had some charm at times.
However, it would be hard to argue for Disco adding much more to the group, as it felt like an unnecessary addition. Inferno mainly contributed in the deeper six or eight man matches and was a background player in his promotions.
7 tigress
WCW decided to add a female member of the Filthy Animals when Tygress became a love interest for Rey Mysterio. Tygress was originally a member of the Nitro Girls dance team, but Vince Russo wanted to cast them in new character roles beyond dancing.
Dirty Animals adding Tygress felt like a good fit since she had chemistry with Rey. However, things just didn’t work out the way Russo probably expected. Tygress was not a wrestler and she had limited promotional skills so her place would be less relevant than others.
6 Warrior Youth
Juventud Guerrera had a highly underrated run in WCW as one of the most talented cruiserweights. The only problem was that Guerrera rarely had interesting storylines like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, and Dean Malenko to be more successful.
WCW placed Juvie in the Filthy Animals faction when the group needed new members in the second iteration. Guerrera was having his bizarre parody of The Rock by calling himself The Juice and cutting promotions as Rock to make him less convincing as an actor.
5 konnan
Konnan was arguably the coolest wrestler in WCW when the Filthy Animals were formed. Wolfpac’s time in the New World Order brought out the best in Konnan and gave him new star power to move forward in WCW.
All of the original members of the Filthy Animals had some fan interest, but Konnan worked with bigger names than anyone before. The only knock against Konnan was that his matches were nowhere near the level of the original wrestlers at the time.
4 torri wilson
WCW signing Torrie Wilson saw him become an instant hit in the wrestling industry. Torrie never had a solid in-ring career and did not wrestle at all in WCW. This made it easy for him to find success in becoming part of the Filthy Animals faction. WCW allowed him to work under various names in a management role and in backstage segments.
One impetus for Wilson’s time in the group was the story of her leaving David Flair for Billy Kidman and having that as an explanation. Torrie was a pretty good fit for the group and had more chemistry with this group than David and the names she worked with on the shows.
3 eddie guerrero
Eddie Guerrero’s overall talent made him one of the most entertaining performers of all time. WCW had a mix of ups and downs remembering how they used it. The Filthy Animals was Eddie’s chance to get his face on after a great heel run and time out due to injury from a car accident.
Guerrero’s real-life friendship with Konnan and Rey Mysterio allowed them to look great together. Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson even formed a strong chemistry with Eddie, as he was the type of artist to play to each other’s strengths.
2 billy kidman
Billy Kidman became one of WCW’s biggest cruiserweights when he left Raven’s Flock. The facelift and newfound drive helped Kidman show his overall potential. Kidman, who had big games most weeks, led to new opportunities, such as the formation of the Filthy Animals and a relationship with Torrie Wilson.
WCW loved Kidman’s face character as he began having memorable moments with the faction. The team of Rey Mysterio and Kidman started here and continued even after the group ended. Kidman made the most of every opportunity he was given at Filthy Animals to break into new areas of his career.
1 Mystery King
Most WCW fans saw Rey Mysterio as the heart of the cruiserweight division, so it makes perfect sense that he would be the heart of the Filthy Animals. Mysterio was unmasked at this point if anyone wanted to make an argument against him, but he was still performing at a high level in the ring.
The Filthy Animals had strong matches with Rey seen as their MVP from his first run. However, it was the second version to feature Mysterio charging the rest of the group when the act didn’t work as easily. Rey was needed at all times during the run of Filthy Animals for it to work.