WCW/nWo Starrcade 1998 - The "Reliving The War" PPV Review

[@azapro911]

From here, covering WCW on Reliving The War will be like a 2.5 year acid trip.

[@victoryusmc]

Can't wait!

[@atlasblast2082]

You're not wrong. This is the Epoch of disaster

[@Dave0G]

I remember on my own re-watch of the War a few years ago being surprised at how well 99 held up for wCw given the usual story. Now 2000, that was madness made manifest!

[@benjaminmee3751]

And the first trip peaks the Nitro after this show 😂😂😂

[@exilhamburger4802]

Actually, having Kevin Nash as the champ might have worked, give him a decent run, with some fresh opponents, who can work around him, or his big man wrestling style. Nash losing the belt to Hogan with the FpoD was the real problem. Even Hogan beating Goldberg directly might have worked better!

[@shibbywwe]

This series deserves all the praise it gets

[@kenrickkahn]

Homeboy put the work in, in these series.. You can tell he is passionate about Pro Wrestling, video making and accuracy.. Dude is legit as they come..

[@Billy-ot8mk]

That Chokeslam counter into a Diamond Cutter was awesome.

[@Roflcrabs]

I think DDP's reaction to it made it more awsome like "did you see that sh*t!? Damn I'm good! Okay tired now."

[@kenrickkahn]

Yeah! That was fire 🔥🔥 DDP and Paul White was athletic as hell..

[@KegOfMeat]

Probably the second best Diamond Cutter reversal after the Jackhammer counter from Halloween Havoc.

[@pushon10]

I agree

[@panagenesis2695]

Honestly, 1) they should've slowly built up Golberg over 2-3 years, 2) they should've had the nWo Hollywood vs. WolfPac civil war and 3) Goldberg should've entered Starrcade as the Challenger and been crowned with the belt to reign in '99. That storyline booking would've put them over WWF.

[@denniswilliams6519]

Just imagine Vince McMahon pinning Stone Cold in the ring at WrestleMania. The amount of ego Bischoff had to *need* to get this win here over Ric is just disgusting really.

[@chrisbelos2834]

erm... you know that Vince won the 99 rumble by throwing over stone cold, right? they both have big egos. the "vince mcmahon kiss my ass club" comes to mind.

[@tomlehmann306]

@@chrisbelos2834it made sense in storyline for Vince to win the rumble. Stone cold main evented mania anyways. If Eric won at Halloween Havoc or whatever it would have been better. Flair needed to win

[@denniswilliams6519]

@@chrisbelos2834 Was dumb but least that win was to set up the main event of WrestleMania and Vince allowed Austin to hand him his ass the next month in a cage to get to WrestleMania. This was Bischoff just choosing to pin Flair at the biggest show for his own sake with no storyline advancement.

[@chadarcher13]

@@denniswilliams6519 there WAS storyline development though, Flair got his win the next night on Nitro along with being President of the company and when you hear Bischoff talk about how WCW was a TV company first, you start to see why choices like that were made to accentuate the moments on TV instead of PPV

[@exeortegarubio]

@@chadarcher13 No surprise why WCW went out of business if that was their philosophy.

[@UfodexENMD]

This PPV showed how much of a beast Billy Kidman was after going 2 full matches back to back!!

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

Exactly what I said!

[@bnferguson9827]

Billy Kidman was totally underrated!

[@mizer9510]

Yeah but they made him look too strong. I get why they did it though. I was always more of a Juvi fan.

[@ianpilkington2037]

He always reminded me of a younger Bret Hart

[@tobznoobs]

i rated kidman more than rey back then i had hoped better things when vince bought wcw but alas it was rey who flourished.

[@jayclifford9700]

Delayed in Dublin Airport for 2 hrs and suddenly this drops. WB you've saved my sanity my good man.

[@Venemofthe888]

Quite interesting that this is The Giant's last PPV appearance for WCW before he goes to the WWF the next year. He still has a little more to go on WCW Television but yh this is his last WCW PPV

[@alreyes8393]

I was thinking about, Giant makes his final WCW TV apperance just 15 days later

[@jonlester62]

That Konnan/Lex/Bagwell/Steiner backstage segment was such foreshadowing seeing it now in hindsight.

[@PJErvin]

The impromptu match between Kidman and Eddie was so well booked, it almost made me forget the ridiculous scenario of the competitors deciding to have an impromptu match at the beginning of the year’s biggest event, two months after fans missed the main event for going over the allotted time.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

The sad thing is Turners own cable company was 1 of the company's shutting it off early. I watched on Cablevision and saw the whole thing that night.

[@mulldrifterz6469]

I have very fond memories of this PPV as a kid, watching it live. I was 100% a Kevin Nash fan and wanted him to win, at the time. But him winning with Scott Hall's help? It turned me on him.

[@AAVVVAAADDAAAKAAADAVRAAA]

Well you couldn't beat goldberg clean like he did wrath

[@Machete87]

@@AAVVVAAADDAAAKAAADAVRAAA which is y Goldberg shoulda dropped the belt to Page at Havoc after the Diamond Cutter. It woulda seemed more legit n less anticlimatic than Nash's win..

[@Ronfost89]

See I was fine with it, I loved Scott Hall and Nash as a team so seeing them work together made me happier than Nash winning.

[@Hyde_Hill]

Was a fan of both and I was actually kind of glad to see Hall and Nash back together again. Had hoped that with Hall the Wolfpack would finally kill NWO black and white followed by implosion with WCW finally winning. Interesting how different people can react.

[@Blue1479758]

​@Machete87 how does that make any sense? If anything it would have made it seem less legit. Nash was the only babyface at this time that was built up enough to beat him. Hogan likely should have been the one to beat him if you didn't want a clean finish.

[@gregoryhoyle3739]

Even though WCW basically starts bleeding to death on this night, I hope you continue this series until the end.

[@WrestlingCompilations]

Me too

[@eabcool]

yeah can you imagine how mismatched the next couple years of head to heads are going to be

[@WrestlingCompilations]

@@eabcool I wouldn't be surprised if WWE wins all the remaining episodes of Reliving The War

[@gregoryhoyle3739]

@eabcool WCW has good moments going forward. They'll even win a few head to heads from this point. To make things fair, the point system should change again.

[@HabsMike25]

@gregoryhoyle3739 I could be wrong but the night after Halloween Havoc 1998 would be the last time Nitro beat Raw head to head.

[@HarmonySword]

Kidman being the workhorse of the night is very respectable and both matches were great too. I love this series for making me appreciate BK after overlooking him for so many years.

[@TheCrimsonCretin]

I love that Norman Smiley getting some love on this show. I remember back in the day having fun watching Smiley. I always thought him and Ernest Miller were under rated

[@druagamaniac]

i cant wait for hardcore champion norman smiley, always laughed at those segments

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

​@@druagamaniac Screamin Norman 😂 in a suit of armor 🤣

[@michaelsaenz]

Looking back now, I would love to see a Kidman versus HBK match.

[@benespinosa6725]

Awesome Starrcade 1998 review on Reliving the War this PPV Was great Goldberg losing to Kevin Nash was crazy this series is amazing the opening match was fantasic.

[@monarched]

Regarding the nWo B-Team Vs Finlay/Flynn match, Finlay and Flynn had just teamed up in New Japan's World Tag League that year(FYI Finished last with no points) while Norton and Adams teamed on that same tour, but not in the League. So it wasn't completly random to some extent.

[@cabutler1]

The cruiserweights carry the show once again. And Billy Kidman deserves all the credit for going in back-to-back matches. Especially after that triple threat. I can only imagine he collapsed in the back somewhere and the guys just let him sleep it off. As for the main event, we all knew that when Goldberg got the title, that undefeated streak was going to end. And really, the only way it was going to end is something like this, where it wasn't a clean win. But should Nash have been the guy to dethrone Goldberg? I think, if you're going to put the title on someone and beat Goldberg, clean or not, it should be somebody that can really help elevate the company and really draw attention. So, who would be my choice? It'd be fun to say Alex Wright or Normal Smiley, just for the laughs, but in all seriousness, I think it should have been Scott Steiner. Yeah, I know, hindsight and everything, but think about it. If you want to make the nWo relevant again, you should have an nWo guy win it. And I feel like Scott would work, even if he's essentially a transitional champion for a couple of months until they either give it back to Goldberg for the rematch, or put it on another guy, like DDP or Nash. But that's my take on it. Plus, I feel like you could get a serious amount of good story telling of Scott beat Goldberg and ended the streak.

[@madddoggnogood1491]

I agree. Scott stiener would've been a better choice than Nash especially since he waa leading the nwo. And Nash could've feuded with stiener after he won and it would've made more sense seeing how Nash...a babyface at the time won by shenanigans. To me bam bam or stiener would've been better choices than Nash But hey I'm not the booker

[@m.night_schlongislong]

At this time wasn't everyone in wcw terrified of a roided out Scott Steiner? Not sure they'd want to put the belt on a guy they couldn't control. As a fan, I do like the idea though.

[@mitchellwooldridge5118]

Jeez, that opening triple threat was pure fire - what an incredible match! :)

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

Did you expect anything else... from those 3 guys?

[@talkingben5190]

I cannot believe the likes of Jerry Flynn, Fit Finley and bloody Prince Ieukea got PPV time ON STARRCADE and not the likes of Luger, Hitman, Scott Steiner, Booker T, Malenko and Benoit. I simply can never get my head around it

[@DBoy38]

Bret was injured at the time.

[@henry7696]

why would anyone want a luger match at a ppv? like the other old boys, he couldnt wrestle.

[@talkingben5190]

@@henry7696 I'm talking about star power mate. Sure he wasn't over in late 98 like he was in late 96 - mid 97 but he'll get more interest than bloody Jerry flynn

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

​@@henry7696 So what? Nash can't wrestle either, and Goldberg is a rookie. The point was WCW had a legion of talented guys, but didn't use them.

[@PoeticProphetic]

I sure hope WCW have interesting plans for Kevin Nash after this and he doesn’t end up looking like a transitional champion 🏆

[@AMFL3116]

"That doesn't work for me, brother!" 😂

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

Sorry bro, he's going to lose the title to Hogan....twice. 😂

[@michaelbreen7865]

SPOILER: NOPE!

[@RonCorleone]

DDP as a heel or DDP as a face is the only person I feel could've and/or should've ended the streak. I think he's the only person fans could've accepted ending the streak. Even if Sting ended the streak I feel like people would've been like ""Okay...but why?" DDP just seems like the only one that makes sense(to me at least) in terms of believability, being someone the fans could accept, and someone who needed that big accolade.

[@benjaminmee3751]

His finisher was the reason why it would’ve been believable but WCW couldn’t protect anything worthwhile so it got flattened too.

[@SiReTV8929]

But, I counted that scenario with DDP already had his big accolade when he had his legendary 3 match series against the "Macho Man" Randy Savage in 1997 and was a made man afterwards. Ofc, he hasn't won the World Heavyweight Championship but he would have gotten the same amount of flack for winning from the fans.

[@ryankeefe2102]

Well yea the diamond cutter was a move that was established he could hit on anyone from anywhere at any time so goldberg goes for the Spear and jack hammer DDP slips out diamond cutter 123 even have goldberg kick out at 3.5 if you like but that would work

[@MyPisceanNature]

I don't mind how the streak ended. The problem comes in 2 weeks when they make it all meaningless, along with their top championship, which they will continue to do REPEATEDLY until the company dies.

[@Shalashaskaa]

In hindsight that would have been at Halloween Havoc 98. But then you would have him lose clean. I still think Goldberg was still too over to lose the title clean

[@timbartschwolfman]

Can't wait to hear what you think about Ric Flair stripping down to his Boxers on the Fallout from Starrcade 1998 to Challenge Bischoff once again for Control for WCW

[@JosephTSena]

Was that real money he ripped up the following night on Nitro? We all know what the main event was that night.

[@timbartschwolfman]

@@JosephTSena I think Flair actually had real money on him

[@MrSparkles5017]

Wow this is it and there is still gonna be 2 more years of this. It's a ride now

[@MrSparkles5017]

@@michaelsinger4638 WCW is basically done for by the end of January it is astonishing how fast the drop off is.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

​@@MrSparkles5017 Not done... but they reached the top of the mountain and the rest is just falling straight downhill.

[@D4NK1]

About time Goldberg was taken down a peg, so that young and upcoming stars like Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan could finally have their time to shine

[@mikeharless4596]

Always a great day when WrestlingBios uploads 😊

[@chibipoe]

Eddie settles into the very rare crowd of people who CAN powerbomb Kidman.

[@chibipoe]

@@teo_heel This is true! And Eddie does try it a second time and gets properly chastised by Kidman. Even if you manage to powerbomb Kidman once, you definitely can't do it *twice*. :D

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

The way Kidman wrestled back to back was awesome! Dude was so underrated! He doesn't get enough credit. A shame he retired early.

[@HabsMike25]

Kidman was criminally underrated. Should have been pushed further but God forbid someone else gets a push over Hogan & friends

[@mrdude88]

I don't think Kidman was underrated at all. He was on TV every week and had so many pushes. Of course, those pushes weren't supposed to make him the heavyweight champ but as a cruiserweight, he had more than just cruiserweight matches. Surprisingly, Disco Inferno was also in the same boat. Very high mid-card.

[@willkayl8793]

I agree. Kidman was the heart and soul of the Cruiserweight division along with Eddie and Rey. So innovative.

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

​@@HabsMike25, I agree but he just wasn't the right person to go against Hogan. But that wasn't his fault though.

[@TheImapotato]

@@HabsMike25 Kidman was GREAT in the ring, but not good with everything else. He needed to be champ to get heat wherein Eddie and Misterio didn't need a belt to have psychology or storylines. Guys like Kidman have a place in wrestling for sure, but when WWE took over, you could tell it wasn't a good sign for guys like him, shame as he would have been the charismatic one in today's wrestling

[@brianadkins3880]

Wow. What arguably was considered WCW's biggest show of the year and this was the best they did. There was so much talent and so many other matchups they could have went with. Having said that ,I'm glad he didn't completely bury it as he is right about those specific matches.

[@rustykuntz94]

They have Benoit & Malenko amongst others on this roster and they’re not booked on STARRCADE??!!! Insane

[@Takeabottledrinkitdown]

@@rustykuntz94what bret injured ?

[@ds4life886]

The biggest show of the year for WCW under Bischoff was always Halloween Havoc. See all the card from 94 to this one (last HH and Starrcade under Bischoff). It is clear the most important ppv between the two. Starrcade was the second PPV for importance, the classic, the granddaddy of them all, but Halloween Havoc was the PPV number one as importance

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

You realize WCW would rather redo the Montreal screw job (again) than put out a good show.

[@reecepower8906]

*Turns volume up to max when the Norman Smiley bit starts

[@markwebster76]

To quote Count Dooku; "Ive been looking forward to this".

[@brettrossi034]

Prince Iaukea's body stopped mid dive because Norman is too much man for him to move. Norman Smiley is truly an immoveable one and just wants to do his big wiggle finale

[@mizer9510]

How come he didn't beat Goldberg then?

[@Nicksuavemusic]

When you look back at the hard work these 4 cruiserweights put in in the opening match of wcws biggest annual show it’s crazy to think only Eddie and rey went on to be wwe champion years later Kidman and juve were incredible workers back then

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

Rey being a heavyweight champion is almost an oxymoron. 😂 No offense, he does have talent.

[@bigpoppajersh]

Ahhhh yes the fresh smell of wrestling bios on a Sunday. All is right again in the universe. We all know the random tag team match was a Consession stand/bathroom break for those in the building and at home to get the pizza from the delivery man/oven so they can fuel up for the main event

[@KIDTV-qe2dm]

Fun Fact: This was on Goldberg's birthday 🎂

[@ronaldsb3]

I had to watch those cruiserweight matches after watching this….Bobby the brain really put Kidman over during the match on commentary. Fantastic stuff indeed by Kidman

[@Nicksuavemusic]

Crazy to think this was Goldberg’s only run as wcw champion he definitely should of had another title reign

[@mizer9510]

No he didn't. Goldberg sucked.

[@PhenomsServant4]

@@teo_heel Which is why that doesnt count

[@Nicksuavemusic]

@@teo_heel sadly that’s was a dusty finish and Goldberg didn’t regain the big gold belt officially again until 2003

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

One of the blinders WCW did. I can understand the need to give other people the title (especially DDP), but the title should have circled back to Goldberg.

[@illmerica322]

Wcw cruiserweight title was such a fun title back then... im getting all nostalgic from seeing these wrestlers when they were young... December 98 i was 11 about to turn 12...wow i miss those days, used to love nwo

[@rustykuntz94]

Agreed it was terrible to have Easy E go over Flair while at the same time it was so predictable how this one ended. WCW’s continues downward spiral as we go into 99

[@DBoy38]

Not to mention, in the end, Bischoff's win meant nothing as Flair would end up winning the rematch the following night's Nitro.

[@mizer9510]

@@DBoy38Yeah Flair got his revenge

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

​@@mizer9510 It was so awesome.... but just for that 1 night. 😂

[@HabsMike25]

Goldberg's Streak had to end but Kevin Nash didn't need to be the person that ended Goldberg's Streak as he was a made star. DDP should have ended it 2 months earlier at Halloween Havoc. DDP is humble at first but slowly develops an Ego & turns heel. You would have Goldberg chasing a heel DDP which would have been so much better than what actually did happen.

[@coreyhall1150]

Exactly DDP shoulda been the guy........ But............... The clique.

[@undertakernumberone1]

i mean, in all fairness: Nash was over at hte time. Had his reign as a heel champion that, as Nash later suggested, tries to one up Goldberg's streak while dodging him, until Goldberg gets him, happened, we might be talking about it differently. Buuut... Fingerpoke of Doom.

[@HabsMike25]

@coreyhall1150 When DDP countered Jackhammer to Diamond Cutter that is when Goldberg's Streak should have ended. It would have been unexpected & shocking but when they alow active stars to be the Booker, no good comes out of it

[@coreyhall1150]

@@HabsMike25 Exactly right.

[@HabsMike25]

@@coreyhall1150 What is criminal is David Arquette & Vince Russo would become WCW World Champions over Goldberg after this

[@BookslingerMonty]

The night the decline of WCW got carved in stone

[@silver6kraid]

Starcade 1997 was the beginning of the end. This is the point of no return where they could no longer stop the downfall.

[@Dr-Alexander-The-Great]

Just wait, two weeks later, we got the finger poke of doom.

[@stephenrobinson8244]

I think finger poke of doom / Mick Foley's win was the tombstone put in place of the death of wcw coming. But this is a choke out event for sure

[@dougbarrett619part2]

@@Dr-Alexander-The-Great I'm getting WW2 flashbacks now

[@TheFriendlyWeirdo]

@@silver6kraidI personally think it was the Fingerpoke of Doom. That moment solidified that things would probably never change, and they didn’t until Bischoff left.

[@Dr_1212]

WCW.s last good Starrcade & it wasn't that good Starrcade was actually wrestlemanias father for those that know the story RIP WCW Gone but never forgotten

[@jamiewiesner135]

Starrcade was the grand daddy of them all.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

​@@danalong1237 Yeah, but Starcade is also WWF's granddaddy. Starcade came 1st.

[@deandredukes95]

Every Starrcade main event all end in controversy

[@ChrisDarnell001]

Did Starrcade 2000 end in controversy?

[@DBoy38]

@@ChrisDarnell001 Not directly, but it would end up linked to the injury Sid suffered the following month at Sin.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

I don't see what really is the big deal about Starcade 96. It wasn't a title match, but that was already booked for February. Piper won clean. No DQ BS. No restart the match. No new referees. If you mean The Giant stuff, ok, but that doesn't take away from the match.

[@the-trustees]

Watching Smiley wiggle reminds me of Carlton dancing in the "Fresh Prince." 😂

[@robcressey7228]

And in just eight days after this, the War was over. The fact that they just blew it is still mind-boggling. Had the money, the networks and a stacked roster. Had 6 months before this drew 41,000 in Atlanta for a Nitro. And then just killed it dead. The definition of Epic Fail.

[@tomlehmann306]

All because of ego and incompetence.

[@AMFL3116]

"I won the title in front of 400,000 people that night, brother! It was the fingerpoke of doom that was heard around the world!"

[@chadarcher13]

the ratings and attendance numbers tell a different story, the company was still rolling along making good money up until early April which was not only long after the finger poke but also the nWo Elite had run its course by then as well... don't buy into the WWE propaganda machine, WCWs dying moment was losing the Radicals, after that they had zero chance of gaining any sort of lead ever again

[@cachod2211]

So we got here... what a long way the channel has come, still rocking

[@stevenflemons6177]

First off, thank you for what you do. I’ve been watching all episodes from the start of the series. This show holds a special place in my heart cause it was the first live wrestling show I ever attended. I went WILD when Nash pinned Goldberg for the belt!

[@elonmusksellssnakeoil1744]

Man, those first two cruiserweight matches were phenomenal from a storytelling perspective. Imagine in WCW extended that level of care to the rest of the roster...

[@Makoto03]

Very nice! Happy to see Starrcade 1998 covered.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

​@@danalong1237 WWF? Oh yeah, the one where Austin had the match against Undertaker. 😂

[@KingSigy]

I think people dislike the Nash vs Goldberg match more for what it did to WCW. After this point, WCW just tailspins until it dies. It honestly never gets better, even if some moments beyond this point are fun. As for Goldberg, I still love the guy. He's not the most technical wrestler and his gimmick did wear thin, but the dude absolutely looked the part of a powerhouse. In the moment, his streak was legendary.

[@MR.__G]

Looking at this 2 decades later, his streak was overrated. The 2 most memorable moments was winning the world title on nitro & his 1 good match vs ddp.. other than just a bunch of squash matches, no good storylines or promos.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

Well yeah... but on top of it Nash is a no talent hack.

[@ahmadceasar5484]

That triple threat match for the cruiserweight title is my favorite WcW match of all time

[@victoryusmc]

Love watching the PPVs before watching your reviews. Make them more worth while.

[@nakamaswarrior292]

Great Video! I remember watching this ppv live at a friend's house. This was a very nostalgic ppv for me.

[@timhickey80]

I feel like it’s not unfair to say that Kidman was the secret MVP for WCW in 98. He’s put on some bangers since getting off the smack.

[@MR.__G]

I was thinking Jericho was but I’m not mad at your take. Both these guys gave a lot of good matches in the ring in 98.

[@galarthenry1450]

We almost there JAN 4TH IT’S COMING

[@speciale517]

I didn't get to watch much of the Monday Night wars from 1996 to 2000 because I joined the NAVY . Between bootcamp and being deployed and then stationed in Japan I caught everything infrequently and weeks later. I mostly knew who half these guys were because of the N64 games

[@DaveFromVh1]

Seeing this live as a kid was so good, I was freaking out at the ending😂😂

[@xtracheesepls776]

Always appreciate these important timeline ppv reviews . It's so fun for those who started watching since the beginning

[@mattberg5315]

Gonna be a great Review. Shocked to be so Early In the Comments. Brother, You made the greatest Series in KZbin! Thank you So Much.

[@harsha1989able]

The Big Show at his physical peak... Wow...

[@KestrelOmega]

It's so much worse when you consider that Starcade '98 took place on Goldberg's Birthday. Think about that; Goldberg got stunned by a taser, his unbeaten streak was broken and he lost the WCW Championship... on his friggin' Birthday. OUCH!

[@zacharythomason7359]

Thanks for that info.

[@KestrelOmega]

@@zacharythomason7359 Don't thank me. Even I recognize it's kind of useless info in the grand scheme of things.

[@alreyes8393]

Goldberg's streak should've ended at Halloween Havoc vs DDP

[@lexkanyima2195]

This is a insult

[@reeseangle9621]

Man I loved Jericho in 98 WCW had so many great wrestling moments

[@CJeyBlaughwithme]

Thanks for this series, can't say enough great things about it to every wrestling fan I know. Your a real jam up guy, Ryan.

[@Baloothepibble]

This is it! This is when I went from a WCW kid to a WWF man.

[@mizer9510]

For me it was a couple of weeks later, and then when Benoit, Guerrero, Malenko, and Saturn switched I never watched Nitro again.

[@gp.5989]

​@mizer9510 I'm in the same boat. I grew up a WWF fan, but watched Nitro too because of my Dad. He would be in charge of flipping back amd forth. After this, there wasn't much flipping back.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

​@@mizer9510 They lost something great in Saturn. Highly underrated or underused.

[@joshuacampbell289]

Brother you are a beast at covering wrestling.

[@CrazedGinja]

I don't know if this is Norman Smileys entrance music but if it is then it fits him perfectly 7:43

[@ham-mantheman-ham634]

Any day wrestling bios uploads is a good day!

[@xellestar]

for some reason in my mind i remembered a bunch more run ins to get the belt off goldberg like "omg it took 10 guys" but nah it's basically just Hall with the cattleprod

[@kcole3937]

And it’s all downhill from hereeee Wasn’t that a song or commercial ?

[@brianb99]

Paul Wight was so damn impressively athletic in WCW and never got the real push he should have in the WWF.

[@therealspikeflee]

Just wanna say I appreciate all the vids man, all of them.

[@camwatson9172]

WCW cruiserweight division always blew the WWFS light heavyweight division out of the park

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

My friends would always say... if you wanted a good match you watched WCW, if you wanted a good soap opera you watch WWF, and if you wanted violence you watch ECW. 😂

[@philminkeesickquayash8988]

The Cat's failed attempt to attack Saturn from behind, had me laughing... I totally forgot about that... 🤣🤣🤣

[@xandersthoughts]

A few months ago, we were at the peak of WCW. And now, we have hit the beginning of the end. Strap in. The rest of WCW is going to be a wild ride.

[@henry7696]

its interesting how it works. pride comes before the fall, but its amazing how suddenly it flipped around

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

But not a roller coaster. More like an acid trip. 😂

[@joefosh]

Looks like Das Wunderkind made the hot tag to Normal Smiley to hit the Big Wiggle on boredom in the Reliving The War series.

[@alexharvey4345]

Time for some more top quality Bios

[@Roodrolf]

Screaming Norman Smiley. One man, one wiggle, and a dream to fulfill.

[@retepoteil]

I really wasn’t into wcw. But was a huge Goldberg fan. When I found out how he lost never watched wcw again

[@alexloyola6762]

That’s always been an interesting take for me. Not saying you were wrong for choosing to not watch anymore (you ended being right 😅), but I think my favorite stories always came from the chase.

[@retepoteil]

@@alexloyola6762 I didn’t mind him losing but him losing like that I thought was weak.

[@alexloyola6762]

@@retepoteil Yeah, not the best way to end such a monumental streak. Definitely agree with you there.

[@retepoteil]

@@alexloyola6762 to me the true end of wcw was when the radicals came to wwf

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

​@@retepoteil Not really, if anything it was respectful to his character. It allowed him to keep that kayfabe tank status. I know that WCW made a big mistake in 99 by not circling back to Goldberg as champion.

[@exeortegarubio]

Given what happened on the infamous January 4 episode of Nitro, WCW could definitely have benefited more by ending the streak with anybody but Kevin Nash or any other who was part of the disaster that was the Fingerpoke of Doom.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

Most fans look back and say "should have been DDP at Halloween Havoc."

[@furyianz]

This ppv was trip at that time!

[@youngtevvwrld3591]

Found this on vhs at the thrift store when I was 10 years old. I begged my mom to buy it because I wanted anything wrestling related at the time. She bought it for like $5 and as a kid, i thought it was the greatest thing ever. Watching as an 22 year old adult it’s not so great 😅

[@elec8101]

Oh, boy. I'm going to look forward to your analysis of WCW in the 99 year.

[@creamreviews1607]

Look, I know reliving the Wolfpack has been underwhelming in this series, but as a kid, this was the pinnacle for me. I was a huge Kevin Nash fan as a kid and I was very much behind him to take down Goldberg and end the streak to capture the championship.

[@thisisnotachannel]

I was 17 when this aired... and I was all about The Wolf Pack, and Big Kev beating Moldberg for the strap... I never liked him as champion, and his "streak" was always a joke to me.. glorified squash matches. But honestly? At that point in WCW? It wouldn't have mattered to me WHO took the title from him... or how. It could've been Norman Smiley... as long as it wasn't Moldberg.

[@georgemetcalf8763]

First WCW PPV I watched/bought when I had gotten back into wrestling shortly before Goldberg won the title. Also great version of Goldberg's theme.

[@hectic105]

Totally agree with the Goldberg run being poor and the title needing changed at that point (maybe if he actually worked with Jericho that could have changed). The problem was never that Nash won it (he was super over at the time and was a big enough name to justify it), it’s what they did afterwards that made it all worthless. Nash gets the belt only to just give it to Hogan? Nash basically buried himself in that segment. There were so many options they could have gone with, yet they picked what was probably one of the worst that could have possibly been conceived. While I was watching WWE more often than WCW at that point, I remember liking that Nash won it at the time since I wasn’t a big Goldberg fan. But yah, they just butchered it, along with Nash’s character, Goldberg, and the belt itself really.

[@jonathanpeck6112]

Now here’s the one thing I have never understood about this whole situation is Goldberg and Nash are barely have interactions during the Starrcade 98 build. But pretty much of the build of this is Goldberg are having brawls on Bam Bam Bigalow since he joined the company. I think that’s the reason some people are surprised that Nash broke the streak because they barely interact with. I do have a theory some people think with he barely have interact with Nash because I he beat him at Starrcade . Bam Bam would be his next opponent in the next ppv and some people think if that happened. Bam Bam would become World Champion and break the streak. I wish they could have gone that route.

[@MR.__G]

Even earlier in the year where they made sting wait so long to actually win the belt. Once he won he only held it for 2 months, dropped it to savage, just for the belt to end up back in hogans hands the following night.

[@loboneiner1034]

Seems like every Starrcade did something to hurt WCW since Hogan joined

[@matthewdejoy-wm6mr]

I always loved Kidman shooting star press, ik he landed awkwardly on a fewvppl but idk it just was awesome looking

[@raedvalenzuela5085]

Geez, and now is the beginning of the end for WCW. Looking back on all this, it’s starting to become depressing in Reliving the War

[@anthonyclark9441]

What people never seem to want to acknowledge is the fact that Goldberg's Booking is what made the Cattle Prod necessary. How else were you going to be at the damn guy? We all know that he had to lose at some point, and how EXACTLY was he going to believably be beaten? Understand why everyone else has issues with it, but I always understood and got it myself.

[@toptenguy1]

About 4 years later, Bischoff was part of one of my favorite matches ever. When Austin BEAT THE EVER LOVING HELL OUT OF HIM in Montreal at No Way Out 2003. *THAT* was a perfect squash. He just couldn't do it here, though...

[@LongLiveRockAnRoll]

Right, so we know it's only 2 weeks until the "butts in seats" episode of Nitro. The question for the remaining episodes of Reliving the War isn't "Can WCW win?" it's "how many points can they get between now and March 2001?" I'd be surprised if they made it to double digits in 2000.

[@ds4life886]

Well, WWF in 1999 was better, but not so much better... 2000 I think will be a 52-0

[@LongLiveRockAnRoll]

@@ds4life886 agreed, it was probably the worst year of the Attitude era. Strange because 98 and 2000 were so good.

[@tomlehmann306]

Lex wearing fubu is peak 98

[@robattewell6087]

The beginning of the end for WCW

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

lol

[@reylopez8433]

I didn't hate Goldberg losing to Nash, but the Fingerpoke of Doom was when I officially tuned out.

[@JPD2587]

The Normal Smiley song is like nails on a chalk board. 😬

[@jbanks979]

The reputation of this show is entirely characterized by what happens about a week later. Goldberg got six months on top with about one year of heat building up to that. A competent company would have used this to make Goldberg a more interesting character…. I can’t believe we’re here (a trumpet mournfully plays in the background)

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

It's not totally characterized by the next week finger poke fiasco. This PPV ended with another attempt at doing a Montreal screw job copy. WCW should have worked on making Goldberg more interesting as you say. Or at least pushed a new star. Instead WCW pushed 2 old stars.

[@micahhill4786]

Eddie,Rey, Kidman, and Guerrera really stole the show before the people got their chance to get comfortable to watch. Now the whole Goldberg streak ending, if Scott Hall was in better shape mental set wise and hell even physically because you can tell he was slacking a bit. It’s an argument that he should be the one to beat Goldberg. Nothing against Kevin Nash the crowd was into him winning the title but I think really the people would love for Scott to get his crowning achievement.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

Hall was,awesome!

[@mrmica5.0]

The way that intro of this came in with Goldsboro theme was so beautiful..ima attention to detail type of dude 😌..good job fellas!

[@Meow_Deity]

Nice ! Getting closer to being of the end

[@SteelyBud]

What makes the Kidman/Guerrero match even more impressive is Eddie was wearing hiking/construction boots instead of standard wrestling boots.

[@thisWinglessAngel]

There really is some interesting stuff in this ppv. I remember being mad about Nash vs Goldberg but i think i can appreciate it now. This felt BIG and still does seeing them come out and how they take turns making blows with each other.

[@alreyes8393]

The only reason that pisses ppl off about Nash ending Goldberg's streak is that 8 days later the Fingerpoke of doom happened