thats a great point.. why do things like the gooblty gooper (sp ) and vick seem to be forgotten ,but a missed angle or really good talent is overlooked.  WCW was the product of bad bookin at the time.. but all that was bad there was still alot of good!

To piggyback on RocklandSally's comment to answer the first...Vince has been in the business nearly his entire life...Aside from lately IMHO, he has an uncanny sense about what will draw and how to make the most of his roster. Say what you want about 'Taker's gimmick, but he wouldn't have drawn flies in WCW as Mean Mark. The people running WCW were not 'wrestling' people.  They were from a corporate environment, trying to run the promotion as if they understood the industry. Too many cooks were trying to stir the pot.  
 
Sting's first run was definitely a mess, but the build was great, and Bash '90 was the perfect time to put the belt on him. Sure, he may not have been ready or what have you, but the nature of the angle mandated that he have a run as champion. It was the natural payoff.  Luger might have been something at one time, but he turned so many times that it never had any emotion or impact behind it. From 88-91 Luger turned face/heel at least 3 times I can think of.  Steiners had a great run, but to a degree I think they indeed were held back a bit. That was also a period when most fans wouldn't buy a tag team wrestler as a serious singles World title threat, at least at that time.  Sorry to go off.