WCW Starrcade 1997 Review | Wrestling With Wregret

It's considered to be WCW's most successful PPV of all-time ... but that doesn't mean it's the best! I review Starrcade 1997, with the epic main event of Hollywood Hogan vs. Sting! Nominate classic shows by becoming a Patreon backer! / wrestlingwithwregret
02:05 Cruiserweight Championship: Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
03:55 Scott Hall/Giant Segment
05:26 Randy Savage, Scott Norton & Vincent vs. The Steiners & Ray Traylor
08:06 Goldberg vs. Steve McMichael
09:14 Saturn vs. Chris Benoit
11:22 Buff Bagwell vs. Lex Luger
12:53 United States Championship: Curt Hennig vs. Diamond Dallas Page
13:59 Eric Bischoff vs. Larry Zbyszko
16:31 WCW Championship: Hollywood Hogan vs. Sting
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[@007southpaw]

Hogan’s creative control. There’s no doubt in my mind at all that hogan told nick patrick to do a regular count to make him self look sympathetic. His ego has always been out of control.

[@007southpaw]

@DejaVoodooDoll exactly. hogan probably gave him a ridiculous amount of money or something.

[@tempestfennac9687]

@DejaVoodooDoll The three count itself would have been problematic even if it was fast due to the way Hogan hit the Legdrop of Doom and Sting continued to sell for ages after the pin (having something like Hogan dodging a Stinger Splash and rolling up Sting while grabbing the ropes as Nick slaps the mat quickly would have been perfect for that).

[@mikecabral2420]

But it shouldn't even of come to that. For months Sting was beating the hell out of the whole nwo at once. Sting should've beat Hogan in a completely one sided beat down. The only offence from Hogan should have been low blows, interference, and other heel tactics but none of it should of been very effective. After an 18 month build up and the way they made sting look like a one man army that could easily take out everyone, Sting should've kicked Hogan's ass for the whole match to avenge WCW.

[@tempestfennac9687]

@@mikecabral2420 That would have been the most logical match lay-out.

[@revans100591]

Imagine thinking you shouldn't have to lose at any point. That was essentially Hogan mindset from 84-05

[@mjj6682]

It's funny how all these "miscommunications" seem to make hogan look good...

[@michaelrivera8360]

And always involve Hogan

[@jamieoiler5690]

stop it MJ J...Hogan is god,we worship him

[@TheBullet0012]

jamie oiler I don’t.

[@jamieoiler5690]

@@TheBullet0012 you need to,hes our savior

[@lunathenightwolf1276]

jamie oiler shut up

[@ashleynewman3360]

Sting should have squashed Hogan in this match. That's the only thing that made sense in the story.

[@shermansherman3630]

Yes! Especially since Sting was coming down from the rafters to take out the NWO constantly. He could take out a group of a dozen men and leaves Hogan running scared, but Hulk dominates him for nearly the entire match? Why was hulk even afraid of him then?

[@ashleynewman3360]

@@shermansherman3630 difference between wwf and wcw, Vince was in charge!

[@angelus4282]

There was a way to do it with Hogan still getting in the majority of the offense. It would have required a healthy dose of no-selling from Sting (the opposite of what we got). Several pin attempts by Hogan barely manage a two-count. You'd see Hogan getting progressively more frustrated as the match moved along, as he realizes that nothing he throws at this guy can keep him down. Hogan goes for the big boot and the leg drop, but it only gets a quick one-count! Energized, Sting pops up, gets all his stuff in and finishes Hogan off. Sting wins clean, everyone goes home happy!

[@andu1854]

He should have no sold all Of Hogan’s offense...

[@Elcarsh]

@@angelus4282 That would have made a lot of sense. After all, Hogan wasn't some monster heel to be overcome by a smaller guy. This was a story of the avenger finally coming to put the bad guy in his place. Not only would it have been logical for Hogan to simply not be able to put Sting away, until Sting simply turned up the heat at the end, it's what would've played to the crowd the best as well. Just look at pretty much all sports movies; in the final act it looks like the heroes are going to lose, but through sheer will and righteousness they power out of it and layeth the smacketh down in the end. The way it played out, it left the crowd confused, and punctured the joy of the victory for the face by making it look like the face screwed over the heel.

[@americanmale3120]

“That doesn’t work for me brother”

[@jessieb9384]

I still love what hbk did to Hogan after he pulled this shit with him he over sold everything and is to this day one of the best wrestling paybacks I've ever seen

[@arlopear7136]

A Bash at the Beach 2000 call back! Nice!

[@monsieurdubitatif8567]

My character, brother. 🙄

[@RightCenterBack321]

@@jessieb9384 Yes! Hogan totally deserved that. Selfish prick.

[@sagnikmustafi2374]

@@RightCenterBack321 absolutely Hogan is a prick who has a massive ego. Sting should have squashed Hogan and won the title fair. But Hogan had to be a politician.

[@mikecabral2420]

"Could you not put your pride aside" Brian clearly doesn't know Hulk Hogan all that well.

[@619ReyMysterio0]

"you hurt my pride"

[@cjvaye99]

I don't get what "pride" he had. Does Hogan still think it's real? Wrestling has predetermined outcomes, it's scripted, the belts aren't real you aren't the real world champion. Why did Hogan care so much about a fake championship belt was his self esteem really that poor that he needed that fictitious title to feel good about himself? ffs he had it for over a year. Then he eventually got it back in April from macho man and he literally just sits on it. He wasn't even defending it on PPV. So he wanted the belt just so nobody else can have it because he wasn't even defending it on PPVs. What a prick. I mean what else can you say?

[@patrickracer43]

Hulk Hogan, being asked to take a clean pin: "and I took that personally"

[@AscensionOfAuriel]

" That does not work for me, brother." 🤣

[@chrisbutler1668]

@@cjvaye99 To put it simply, the Hulk Hogan in the ring, is the same Hulk Hogan outside of the ring. There is no differences between the character and the man. Time has continued to show that this is true.

[@kevaninthe4135]

Starrcade 97 was the first domino in the eventual demise of WCW.

[@michaelrivera8360]

Agreed this should have been WCW chance at winning the war but WCW was going to WCW and of course Hogan ego🤷‍♂️

[@thekidfromiowa]

Then again the WWF's PPV that month had TAFKA Goldust reading Green Eggs and Ham.

[@enigmaskull3495]

Yup it began the Domino Effect: - Talent leaving for WWE and ECW - The Finger Poke of Doom - WCW in 2000

[@hateUmankind]

yup WCW PPV was at it worst the TV weekly was at it best i wonder why they fail to do better on PPV

[@drunkensailor112]

@Telly Delucca yes it was. People never forgot about this. This was the very beginning of the end.

[@jliller]

"Do the right thing for business and work out your problems later? That doesn't work for me, brother!"

[@fifthdimensionguru]

Lmao

[@speedy932key4]

I still think this is one of the worst cases of Hogan using his creative control to ruin a match

[@enigmaskull3495]

Creative Control was running wild in WCW at the time.

[@PhilLeotardosGhost]

100% ABSOLUTELY. Some say this was the beginning of the end for WCW. When Hogan wouldn't put Sting over clean, the fans started to realize that WCW and the whole nWo ruling everyone angle was repetitive and no end in sight. They knew old guys like Hogan, Nash, etc. would never step out of the spotlight to push the up and comers like Benoit, Eddie, Rey, Jericho.

[@terrancegallemore6864]

Sting should win this match clean the outcome of the match made it bad And speaking of creative controls that’s one of the reasons wcw went down hill

[@michaelrivera8360]

@@terrancegallemore6864 True that's what Meltzer said many times that wayy too much creative control in that company killed it because Hogan,Nash and Hall wanted no one over more than them.

[@PhilLeotardosGhost]

The Finger Poke of Doom in January 1999 was the FINAL NAIL in WCW's Coffin. In only 13 months, the creative control of Hogan and then Nash and then Hogan again helped to BURY TWO WCW Superstars that the fans wanted to see.....Sting and Goldberg.

[@Staceyatkinson4496]

The only time a falcon got close to a superbowl ring

[@enigmaskull3495]

Gotta love the Falcons Legacy of Failure.

[@TheBlackScatPack]

😂😂😂😂

[@murderinc.hunting7686]

Nice

[@kevaninthe4135]

And this was WCW's 28-3 moment.

[@dogmd7]

This comment ages beautifully. Never change, Atlanta.

[@At0micPunk90]

It seemed so simple; just have Sting come in like a conquering hero and kick Hogan's ass. But no, they gave us this instead.

[@EmmaBonn96]

I could even see Hogan beats him up because Sting has ring rust But sting keeps getting up He’s not going to allow the NWO to win this time Preferably I’d have him hit three moves Whole Match Hogan Heat Hogan heat Hogan heat Your hope spot is kick outs One maybe two kick outs Hogan goes for the leg drop Sting sits up and hogan misses Sting’s firing up But he gets a thumb to the eye from Hogan Patrick is doing nothing about it Hogan works sting over some more and then Hogan locks him in the Scorpion Death lock Patrick calls for the bell But Sting didn’t quit Out comes Bret Hart It’s not happenin here Knocks out Patrick Restarts the match Hogan argues with Bret Sting gets up Stinger Splash Hogan wobbles Scorpion Death drop Sting locks in the Scorpion Death Lock and Bret calls for the bell when Hogan quits

[@119Agent]

Just redo the Warrior/Hogan match except with Sting’s moves. Then Hogan hands Sting the belt. Then gets beat up Monday by Hall and Nash. Kill of the NWO before it gets stale and actually write some decent material for Hogan, Sting, Hart, and Goldberg. What a waste of talent.

[@EmmettXIV]

Sting should've just went over clean. After an 18 month build, Sting should've just beat the hell out of Hogan. 123. Sting wins. But no, they had to add stupid controversy, fast count that they didn't even get that right, and then Sting winning cheap to keep Hogan looking strong. The downfall began

[@corvus1970]

Absolutely. After all the times Sting cleaned the nWo's clocks over that 18 month period, the way this storyline should have went was crystal clear. Leave it to WCW to allow Hogan's ego to absolutely ruin pro-wrestling's most compelling storyline over the past 2 years.

[@BigTiger_99]

Hulk Hogan killed WCW. Not Eric Bischoff, Not Vince Russo, Not Vince McMahon, Hulk. Hogan. WANTED: Crime; The Murder of WCW

[@EmmettXIV]

@@BigTiger_99 that's not going to work for me, brother.

[@BigTiger_99]

@@EmmettXIV well he did play a big part in it

[@seantaft3853]

I disagree that Sting should, effectively, squash Hogan. One: Hogan was portrayed as more physically dominant than he has been in his entire WCW run (even if it was with cheating) and 2. Return business. Simply put, Hogan and Sting would need to go do business with each other again, even if it only a return match. Let Hogan beat up Sting for a bit, but Sting should have kicked out of the Leg Drop and let Hogan realize that *HE CANNOT WIN* and have the comeback happen, Death Drop, 3-count, new Champion.

[@rustynail2783]

Useless knowledge: the narration during Sting’s entrance was done by his son.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

Useless knowledge: I hate to correct Zane but during the Guerrero/Malenko match, Tenay did talk about their history. Mike even talked about the the one and only tag team match where they teamed together leading up to Starrcade 97.

[@garlicbread853]

Huh TIL

[@stephenhanft1226]

I totally agree with your review. No ppv was more of a disappointment and failed to live up to the hype like Starrcade 1997. This ppv should've been WCW's crowning triumph equivalent to WWF's Wrestlemania 3 but it didn't happen. They had such a great run from the start of the NWO storyline in the spring of 1996 until December of 1997's Starrcade. I believe Starrcade 1997's failure stopped their incredible momentum and gave Vince and the WWF an opening to catch up which they fully took advantage of. After Starrcade 1997, WCW continued to make more mistakes and began to unravel. If you want to know where the turning point was in the Monday Night Wars that the WWF ultimately wound up winning, it can be traced to the disaster of Starrcade 1997.

[@johnmcnamara8741]

It was for sure the first seed planted in their collapse.

[@burntvirtue]

Starrcade 98 looked at Starrcade 97 and said "hold my beer".

[@burntvirtue]

This show was 100% the irreversible start of WCW'S demise.

[@EVGriffinJr]

Stephen Hanft While Starrcade 1997 wasn’t the bullet that killed WCW, it certainly started a domino effect. You saw the first cracks in that company. Granted you really didn’t see the damage until near the end of 1998 until mid1999 but this certainly started the domino effect.

[@zacharythomason7359]

Starrcade 97 should've been a great WCW PPV

[@joshthefunkdoc]

This PPV could be the closest wrestling equivalent to Styx's "Kilroy Was Here" - financially successful in itself, but led to the demise of the company/band

[@aliesacheatsasteals979]

Domo arigato, Hulkster Roboto.

[@everybodywantstoruletherad279]

Anytime a guy can pull a Styx reference in a rasslin match. Gets a like from me. Bravo friend

[@pepito2847]

I still haven’t gotten over how they did Sting dirty at Wrestlemania 31 and the rest of his wwe run

[@spiceupyourlife7755]

Vince McMahon booking 101

[@tmage23]

VKM kills anything that he didn't create.

[@TeemoQuinton]

@@tmage23 Almost anything*

[@baseupp12]

Did Sting dirty how did they do him dirty just because he didn't win a match he wrestled 1 match in WWE and got a world title match you WWE haters complain about anything

[@thomasjenkins7506]

sting couldn't go anymore. he was already blown up by the time the nonsense started. there is no way they could've made him look better than they did without the interference. at that point, it doesn't matter who wins or loses because 2000 people had already interfered in the match.

[@chrissayeranderson5710]

Bischoff has an interesting take on the conclusion of the main event. He just won’t say anything negative about the Huckster , presumably because he follows HH to which ever companies employ him .

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

Poor sting we went from a ppv where sting fought a drugged Jeff hardy and know facing Hogan with his creative control

[@enigmaskull3495]

Poor Sting couldn’t catch a break.

[@thekidfromiowa]

Creative control is very addictive drug

[@skyebynes612]

Well....it happened in the opposite order but I get what you mean, lol.

[@Slick5150]

This is another one those PPVs where its only known for one match for all the wrong reasons

[@michaelrivera8360]

True like Victory Road 2011 which also involved Sting,poor Sting never could catch a break

[@Cobralalalala]

I still remember arguing with a guy at lunch the next day that it wasn't a fast count. He swore up and down it was. But he was also fully still in a kayfabe mindset, so the idea that the faces would do anything wrong just didn't compute with him.

[@JW-do2wc]

The way it should have ended was when Hogan dropped the leg on Sting and the ref was counting that's when Sting pops up and pounds his chest and flexes and starts beating up on the Hulkster and giving him several Stinger splashes. Then as the ref got knocked out by accident or by whatever, Hogan's NWO would attack Sting but WCW team would come out and attack them and prevent other NWO members from coming through. Then a dirty ref would come in and try to cost Sting the match until Bret shows up and pulls the ref and nails him. Then when Hogan tries to grab Bret from the apron that's when Bret nails Hogan and Sting does the Death Drop and then applies the Scorpion Death Lock on him. Bret revives the original ref and throws him back in the ring for him to ring the bell as Hogan submits.

[@KHayes666]

"That doesn't work for me, brother"

[@hardcoreblaze88]

​@@KHayes666lmao 😂

[@tmage23]

We didn't know it then but this was the beginning of the end for WCW. Who knows how different things might have been for them if the Hogan vs. Sting finish hadn't been botched/sabotaged?

[@EnforcerX71]

I think you mean if Hogan hadn't pulled his creative control BS and started making excuses not to do a clean job to Sting "Oh Sting looks like he hasn't worked out in months, blah blah blah", I honestly believe one of the tough guys in the locker room should have confronted Hogan and said something like: "you know what fuckface, the company has built up this damn match for 18 damn months, go out there and do a fucking clean job like dozens of other guys did for you in the 80s to make you and stop being so fucking selfish."

[@baseupp12]

Nothing would've been different they would still need to book NWO better and actually have them break up and Bischoff wouldn't have done that so NWO still would've been on top and Hogan would get the belt back eventually

[@aic8001]

Eh, I'd say next years starrcade was the beginning of the end

[@michaelrivera8360]

I said it before and I will say it again WCW should have won the war against WWF because they had a better overall roster and had the bigger stars because as much as we love Austin he wasn't a household name yet I would say around 99 when he become a megastar because,Bischoff had at the time the right mentality let's get this NWO thing monster over then we put one of our guys over then we build a young star up but then Hogan an it's ego came and everything's went tits array.

[@tmage23]

@Gene Bone Maybe. I mean you still have the same people in charge so there's every chance they would have still screwed things up. On the other hand, if the match goes off as intended, Bret Hart's debut doesn't get fumbled (he had huge buzz coming into company coming off Montreal), he would have been a strong babyface pushed to main even status and would have been willing and able to work with and elevate guys like Jericho, Benoit and Guerrero who might have been convinced to renew their contracts and would have been there to step up once Hogan, Nash and Hall stopped drawing.

[@venomousnate7263]

Starrcade 1997: the most successful PPV in WCW which led to the downfall of the company. But on a lighter note: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody.

[@michaelrivera8360]

Thanks,you too happy holidays.

[@drewzuhosky6826]

The NWO faction was originally scripted to have dissolved at _Starrcade 1997._ If they had stayed with the originally-intended ending, The Fingerpoke of Doom would never have happened and WCW may still be around.

[@kokotheclown2588]

@@drewzuhosky6826 exactly the NWO should have ended in 97 and book the top guys from the NWO with a new direction or created a new faction without hogan and for the B-Team idk release them

[@nishitgautam5524]

So, WCW did random nitros in 70k seater buildings but never did any Starrcade in any stadium.

[@ucookin]

they can charge more for tickets in a 20k seat arena for a ppv, when they ran in like the georgia dome or superdome it was a nitro and tickets were dirt cheap

[@nishitgautam5524]

@@ucookin Oh

[@davidlinehat4657]

For some reason, whenever they came to DC they always played at the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena)

[@Jason-uw9ex]

Chris Benoit... Nooooooooobody talks like that

[@tempestfennac9687]

But Chris Benoit did, presumably because he was FOR REAAAAAL. :P

[@Eidenhoek]

I thought he was mocking Raven.

[@btipton6899]

Thanks Simon Miller

[@BreadHart]

It sounded like a very slowed Ultimate Warrior promo

[@robertybob]

Give it a down!

[@darnelldarden9429]

WCW didn’t die this night but they definitely suffered a very serious heart attack....

[@luisalbertoarenasaraya4579]

Not even Mary Suderland from Silent Hill 2 suffered as much as wCw.

[@dbone3356]

Last time I was this early, Hogan was refusing to put over Bret at WM 9... The more things change...

[@Zombiekilleryamato]

I think thats more after WM 9

[@dbone3356]

Ok... Wouldn't let him get over at?

[@Zombiekilleryamato]

D Bone i think summerslam Edit no king of the ring at lest thats when he lost the belt to Yokozuna

[@dbone3356]

I was just referring to the fact that he couldn't just let Bret beat Yoko at Mania...

[@Zombiekilleryamato]

D Bone thats more putting himself over at bret expense

[@dougwalker9286]

Just imagine if DDP started to wrestle in his early twenties.

[@MrT571]

All time great. Absolutely undebatable.

[@luisalbertoarenasaraya4579]

Sometimes I use DDP as an examplr that age is not a problem.

[@vincentgood2234]

Maybe the finest example of desire and work ethic prevailing over technical skill and athletic ability in the history of the business. Bare minimum, the finest blah blah blah of 90s wrestling. DDP fucking rules. If only WWE hadn't booked him as a creepy stalker jabroni after WCW folded. Damn it, Vince.

[@martyklestadt6766]

I still remember him as a manager in the AWA back in the late '80s.

[@mattheweubanks6163]

83 weeks with Eric Bischoff. The Starrcade 97 was a very interesting show

[@1krani]

Take note, indie marks: DDP was constantly trying to set up for his finish. Wrestling Psych 101, so sayeth Lord Al Snow.

[@rjbutton2207]

🙄

[@KingKhanate1997]

The Prophet Jake the Snake and his Apostle Raven concur as well

[@1krani]

@@KingKhanate1997 I'm sure they do, but Al Snow is the one who has lectures about this stuff on KZbin. If WWE and AEW had any brains at all, they'd make every single person in the company watch those vids, even the gofers.

[@KingKhanate1997]

@@1krani Oh trust me I know, Jake talks about it on his appearance on the Stone Cold show. Every move he did in the ring was to try and set up the DDT. Raven less so, he was trained by Jake and both still worship old school psychology and rightfully so.

[@CaptainSisqo]

"BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HAVE A TAN?!" Conrad's screaming is all I think about when people mention this PPV.

[@speedwaynutt]

Merry Christmas to Zane and the fans

[@gst013]

*Zane

[@Jamiek101]

merry christmas to you too.

[@LuckyDT]

speedwaynutt Hey I’ve seen you on TripleJump/Vidiots as well no?

[@speedwaynutt]

@@LuckyDT that's me proud fan of Ben and tiny Peter

[@dxrebel]

Time to redeem Nick Patrick. Victim of dual lobbying. One group told him to do a fast count, another group told him to do a normal one. He spent the whole day trying to find someone in authority to make a decision but nobody dared. I don´t blame him for doing a normal count.

[@1stHandTV]

Brian: Can you imagine a 18 month storyline happening today? Its impossible DIY: Uuuhhh. Did you forget about us?

[@dolosavage6295]

Lmao nobody watches nxt

[@bladey_0_10]

@@dolosavage6295 Yeah true lmao

[@outlawrip-offartist4161]

Bound for glory match was better, and this isn’t a joke.

[@TheMWNetwork]

The ENERGY Bound for Glory had me actually marking out for HULK HOGAN despite before feeling like he killed TNA lol. I was so happy and enjoyed it and in that moment I finally realized.... WHAT THE F**K Hulkamania WAS. I was HYPED!!!

[@patjames387]

I think that match is legitimately amazing all things considered and I'm still mad I didn't see it in person.

[@outlawrip-offartist4161]

TheMWNetwork that’s what makes the match fun, and great.

[@paulgarcia8608]

It's a shame Malenko never got a better push always enjoyed his matches in WCW/WWE

[@michaelrivera8360]

That's because in WCW he was thought to be too small to draw dispute the fact fans liked him and in WWF Vince believed he didn't have enough charisma to be at least a upper midcard guy.

[@sirmang9032]

Malenko didn't draw shit. Good wrestler, terrible talker. And boring as all hell.

[@sunshineholmes3487]

Wasn't Dean ranked#1 in the PWI 500 that year?

[@michaelbandada9887]

Dean Malenko may have plenty of technical skills but as far as promo and charisma goes, Deano comes up way short

[@socallawrence]

Did not have any mic skills. Too short

[@GoldenfoxxPrime]

God, I miss watching Malenko wrestle. He didn't always put on great matches, but when he did, they were phenomenal. Especially against Guerrero or Rey.

[@stonecoldku4161]

"Dusty Rhodes using the word 'destiny' like 800 times during the show." So about half as many times as Vince McMahon used the word "Unbelievable!" during a show in the New Generation WWE era.

[@HDerp1701]

WHAT A MANUVER!

[@SteelyDanzig]

AHH HAH HAH!

[@darealgodzilla]

4:50 Nash tore his quad while entering the arena

[@Nazzlover38]

The PPV that started the end for WCW.

[@RestingBeachFace721]

5:00 he probably tore his quad putting on his pants that morning.

[@maxwell285]

ROTFL

[@JulioHernandez-wy8nh]

Or probably got lazy, I mean the guy literally hates wrestling

[@twonemakaveli]

Click, click, click,click- CM Punk

[@munchmahquchi4050]

Brian said somewhere in the middle of the claims. So, he blew his back out after having a heart attack finding out he'll be losing to the Giant

[@tiphanyb1988]

I'm in my 30s and I must say i love your review on old wwf/wcw ppvs. They really bring me back

[@drstevens16]

When are they gonna get Danny Mcbride to star in a movie about Nick Patricks life.

[@bamadave83]

Imagine Kenny Powers in wrestling

[@Francisah]

"He seeks the ruin of one man, Tony Schiavone" lol

[@DeeTheToyHunter]

My grandfather recorded this ppv on VHS and sent it to me a week after it happened...I watched this constantly and I thought it was the greatest thing ever but now as a 33 year old fan going back and watching right after this review...I agree with everything Zane said but it's one of my guilty pleasure PPVs to watch on the network

[@ilikethecokev2]

If Hogan at least held Sting's tights (however he could given it was a jumpsuit) while the count was going it would have been more believable as a screwy finish.

[@omegamark9178]

Then: this storyline got wrecked by one of the worst finishes ever! The fans hate it! Modern day WWE: Just another ppv for us!

[@davidsarton976]

"Luger spits in Buff's face, and BUFF BUMPS FOR IT!" I don't know why, but this cracked me up for a solid five minutes.

[@justincredible7676]

Sting Crow the storyline of my childhood

[@EScoglio]

I always felt that Luger got the title win over Hogan that Sting should have gotten. Everything that went right in Luger's match went wrong in Sting's.

[@jaytaylor944]

Except luger getting jobbed at a shitty ppv

[@christopherstead1203]

Randy Savage and the nWo. Its like water and oil. They don't mix well together. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Also, i think a appropriate name for this ppv would've been 'StarFall' 97, considering after the opening match, everything went crashing down after that

[@Reuter951]

What a fun trip down memory lane. I was 11 years old when this happened. My older brother had all his friends over, and I got to stay up with all of them. A great night from my childhood but man that whole thing was a mess.

[@AlexFyrehartDGAFCave]

"Sit down by the fire" screw that dude it's summer in the southern hemisphere. Hot enough already in Australia without doing that. 😛

[@ChannelNerdgasm]

A new PPV review on Christmas. The perfect gift.

[@williamhowe1]

Hello Nerdgasm!

[@freddy333ful]

It wasn't a fake Sting.... it was the Bogus Sting!

[@erikbrenzen3271]

Stink. Stink. Stink.

[@kevinwooster3003]

It was a picture of Sting.

[@DrZuluGaming]

Stink

[@LucasIsHereYT]

This is the first video I'm watching with my new phone!

[@DFaustJr]

6:52 "Or you can't do this... on concrete" Lol

[@FlukeDogg08]

*(THUD!)* OH, shit!

[@myfinalheaven9590]

That was the thing I really hated about WCW commentary. At times it sounded like they weren't even interested in the match and were talking about things like Salisbury Steak.

[@robertm6590]

Or nonstop about the main events that were more disappointing and hated than any other content they presented. Not all of their main event matches were trash but look at several of Brian's reviews and most of the main events end up in the con column because of politics and constant botched or controversial finishes.

[@angelus4282]

I don't know if anyone who wasn't around for the 18-month build to Sting/Hogan can truly appreciate how massive the hype was. In my household, it came up as a topic of discussion at Christmas dinner among family members who WEREN'T wrestling fans. That's how big this was... or at least how big it should have been.

[@andrewmelville4570]

Merry Christmas to you too Brian

[@jknight1984]

Goldberg was in WCW for only a few months at the time of his match. They were still trying to get his formula right, as the story was more of “Who was the better ex-football player turned wrestler.”

[@Fixxer315]

Watching the announcers talk about anything other than the matches at hand really pissed me off at the time, considering they were essentially trying to sell the main event to people WHO HAD ALREADY BOUGHT THE SHOW!!!! I can understand doing that for Nitro, when they want people to tune in, but it made little sense to do it for a PPV.

[@RuBBaBandBaM]

Yea they had a terrible habit of doing that in WCW around this time

[@natemccollum3731]

Some people say “if I had a time machine, I’d go kill hitler, save Kennedy etc” I would use it to fix Starrcade 97

[@WCWThunderRosa]

This is the show where the wheels officially fell off the WCW wagon.

[@burntvirtue]

The tires were punctured here for sure, but the wheels wouldn't start truly falling off until the following year.

[@WCWThunderRosa]

No. This is the show where the wheels fell off. They had a ball thrown right over the plate with Hogan vs Sting and due to various reasons completely fucked it up. They still won the ratings because it takes awhile for the negative effect to set in. Stone Cold was doing superior stuff in January but Raw didn’t win until April. This was the beginning of the end.

[@lunathenightwolf1276]

6:52 Great audio choice I love that video

[@skizzit]

Long builds do still happen today. Omega's rise to IWGP champ was a nearly two year build from him winning the G1 to his loss to Okada, then the draw with Okada, then beating Okada in the next G1, and finally winning the belt in that amazing 2 outa 3 falls match. But an 18 month build with no matches? Yeah, that will never happen again.

[@retrorambles517]

Merry CHRISTMAS thanks for the surprise CHRISTMAS present

[@venomousnate7263]

Retro Rambles Merry Christmas to you as well.

[@12thLevelSithLord]

It's been a while since somebody's wished me a Merry Christmas so aggressively

[@BasedNozz]

Brian with the fresh fade

[@GetBenched2010]

When you Dusty Finish your main event in the biggest PPV of the year, you aren't long for this world, and they were dead 3 1/2 years later.

[@lknpk15]

If only Sting was tan enough for Bischoff's liking....

[@seancarletonzero]

I popped so hard for the "or you can't do this on concrete" splice. That video is the best thing the internet has produced, to this day.

[@joegoesretro]

I think even my DDP Create-a-Wrestler in Smackdown 2 had taped ribs!

[@louisvalsin9162]

That "you can't do this on concrete" line was perfect because Vincent looks just like that dude. lol

[@LanceVance81]

This looked pretty bad at the time. Then they had Sting relinquish the belt. All those months of them building up the story got flushed down the toilet.

[@michaelrivera8360]

This is to me the biggest misstep in wrestling history because this could have made WCW win the war but it was the start of the WCW downfall

[@revans100591]

And all of this happened because a past his prime wrestler refused to accept that his time had pass and it was time to pass the torch to the next guy.

[@fitness65]

Starrcade 1997 could've been a great ppv to end wcw on a high note but with the exception of the first match the u.s title match along with two other matches I liked. This show fell apart with other matches that didn't belong and the the main event which should've been a squash and helped put wcw on top but we all know how that went.

[@michaelrivera8360]

True I said this many times thia PPV should have been WCW quite possibly winning the war because they had a better roster than WWF at the time and bigger stars but of course they found a way to mess it up.

[@miaouew]

"I was just the right gay guy, at the right gay time..."

[@michaelsinger4638]

Oh boy what a great Christmas present this is. I've been waiting to see you tackle this one for a long time.

[@RightCenterBack321]

Something I just noticed - Sting never kicks out. Not even after the third count. The plan, to my understanding, was that Sting kicks out, but the fast-count invalidated his kick-out.

[@youngma4205]

Marry Christmas everyone. To me this is a hell of a gift. Thank u Brian🤙🏾

[@kevinhorn9100]

Merry Christmas. You're awesome.

[@Thor-Orion]

“Ready for a big push in WCW; let’s see how they fuck it up!” Truer words never spoken

[@randomnerdery6511]

I remember watching this PPV live with a couple of friends. We thought we were such smart marks at the time, and we couldn't believe what a wet fart the main event ended up being. I remember, we recorded the show, and immediately after the show went off, we went back and we literally timed Nick PAtrick's three-count, and I swear, it was like, 3.02 seconds. Not sure if anyone has listened to the episode of 83 Weeks about this show, but Bischoff says something about Sting showing up to the show, pretty unmotivated and "not being tanned," so Bischoff and Hogan flipped out and changed the finish. It's been awhile since I listened to that episode, but I remember Conrad (of course) gives Bischoff shit throughout the whole episode about the "not being tanned" comment. I don't care how "unmotivated" Sting was, the way they did the match was the ABSOLUTE WRONG DECISION. This should have been the easiest booking ever: Sting beats the shit out of Hogan, Stinger Splash, Scorpion Death Drop, three count, END OF MATCH. All the fans wanted to see was Sting kick Hogan's ass, the nonsense with Hart was just extra crap no one asked for or wanted. I STILL do not understand how Bischoff fucked this one up, 22 years later.

[@119Agent]

Guy with white facepaint shows up “not being tanned”?

[@RoyStantz]

Another fun part of the Hogan/Sting buildup was their contract signing was shown during the commercial breaks for Hogan's 1997 film "Assault on Devil's Island" (which is on KZbin, but was mislabeled as "Shadow Warriors 2", while the 1999 sequel "Assault on Death Mountain" was mislabeled on YT as "Shadow Warriors").

[@indigentfeline]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@sheehythebarber]

Fresh haircut zane, looking sharp

[@cameron8675]

This is the highlight of my Christmas Day.

[@LokiSavage1]

This event single-handily destroyed my 13 year old self's love of wrestling for the next twenty years Merry Xmas indeed you sadists

[@thekidfromiowa]

You up and stopped watching!?

[@LokiSavage1]

@@thekidfromiowa I still watched occasionally after this but only WWE. I seriously swore off WCW and stuck to it. My 13 year old self was wise.

[@tysargent9647]

Wow. WCW did horrible that night.

[@IGCproductions2001]

Merry Christmas everyone may your day be filled Jolly and cheer no matter who you are.

[@davidskolnicki1733]

Merry Christmas Brian! Thanks for all the great content!

[@tkthetank]

Ayyy thanks for the christmas vid!

[@bobbobs4851]

Wow thanks! Merry Christmas to all my wrestling fam!!

[@zacharythomason7359]

Same 2 U 2

[@backup368]

"It's Christmas all the time in the world of this particular video." It's also Rusev Day.

[@davidzuniga2810]

But...Everyday is Rusev Day

[@mrkipling2201]

Merry Christmas guys!! Cheers Brian nice treat today!!

[@BrianEBrand]

Merry Christmas wrestling fam! And thank you Brian for this surprise Christmas gift!

[@williamthompson5504]

I’ve always heard Nash didn’t show because his wife went into premature labor

[@adaptivegaming5794]

His son was born the year before tho

[@conc0n]

I’ve been watching a lot of these classic reviews recently, and I feel like there are so many times I’ve heard Brian say during these WCW PPVs that “Kevin Nash isn’t going to be here tonight”

[@TRSega]

Brian I just want to say thank you for all of your content man I have been watching you for about 3 years now every time you provide us with amazing content. I always relax and get out of my daily chores when I watch your videos. I'm a huge wrestling fan and thanks to you my knowledge in wrestling is growing and growing. I really hope that one day you will hit a million subscribers and get invited to the WWE or njpw or aew. And watching this video in the Netherlands eating some good noodles so thank you for your quality entertainment.

[@The31stAli]

What a Christmas day drop. Thanks Brian. Happy Holidays everyone

[@lunarstain7545]

I AINT NO GODDAMN SONUMABITCH

[@dethbot0]

YOU BETTA THINK ABOUT IT BAYBAY

[@ValensBellator]

It’s amazing how one guy forgetting to do a fast 3 count could destroy a story 1 1/2 years in the making lol

[@funkyk]

wow idk how your channel popped up, but I like it. Huge WCW kid growing up. Thanks for the video

[@tweetert.9978]

Merry Christmas Brian!!! Love your channel, been a fan for a few years now. Keep up the content because your channel has kept my interest in WWE.