WCW Starrcade 1997 | WORST Wrestling Shows Ever

[@Slick5150]

The night WCW bungled their biggest Main Event ever, courtesy of ego and nonsense

[@SsnakeBite]

Do you have ANY idea how little that narrows it down?

[@vampirascoffin870]

​@@SsnakeBite YES HOGAN BROTHAAAAA

[@rodolfojimenez2843]

But wcw is cool the new wwe is nerd

[@venomousnate7263]

It’s the biggest, most bought, and most anticipated show in WCW history. You’d think that they would put out all the best they got. But nope, aside from Guerrero/Malenko, not much was good and the main event with Sting and Hogan did not live to expectations. The beginning of WCW’s downfall.

[@MrBeardsley]

One thing I’ve learned from Wrestling Bios’ Reliving the War is that any time you’d think WCW would want to pull out the big guns, they’d barely even show up. So many PPVs and episodes of Nitro provided obviously excellent opportunities to grow the brand even more, and they never failed to squander them.

[@bigblueboyscout1]

For sure. How they couldn't bury their pride and give the fans a clean main event win. If they're going for a dusty finish, maybe don't fail with a clean pinfall win? But almost a year later Goldberg gets the big win over Hogan, but on free TV in the Georgia Dome. Man, a clean main event win at Star Cade would've kept WCW in business. Maybe.

[@panoskakkavas4022]

You mean they had Mysterio , Juventud AND Jericho sitting on the bleachers ? During the night they could've landed a massive blow to the WWF since Austin vs Michaels wasn't due until March ? Oh My God ...

[@handsomestik]

This was Hogan's fault.

[@Henry-i5h]

That egomaniac Hogan could not lose clean for Sting But Sting was still better than him anyways better wrestler and a better human being

[@dhall888]

I have no idea why he thought that would be good for business or make him look better/redeemed… I really don’t understand his logic behind that one..

[@kdizzle901]

And Bischoff cuz he was Hogans Yes Man

[@henrikschmidt3964]

Hulk and Nick Patrick completely destroyed the company's top babyface. Eric was being played like a fiddle and to this day he thinks Hulk is the coolest guy in the world. WCW had a legit chance to really take the lead in the war - but instead Hogan had to heep his heat. He is disgusting.

[@TheRealAhoy]

No they didn't. In a month wwf introduced Mike Tyson to the world. Whatever extra lead WCW would have taken, it wouldn't have been nearly significant enough to draw away from the wwf's new limelight. Mike Tyson was the most controversial celebrity in the world at the time and every media outlet wanted to cover him and the only place you could see him was wwf. Pure genius, and having Austin in a shoving match with him increased Austin's visibility to the world 800%.

[@pleaseshutup7053]

@@TheRealAhoywwe was still dominating the ratings in 98

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@pleaseshutup7053 Not dominating, both companies were even the second half of 98, mostly trading victories. But yeah, once Tyson came in wwf were in the ascendency, and by 99 they were dominant.

[@pleaseshutup7053]

@@TheRealAhoy most of 98 wcw dominated. You are right about the impact of Tyson and wwf that is what started making wwf a threat but it wasn’t until the rock also became a star in late 98 when wwf started taking over

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@pleaseshutup7053 As I said, by 99 they were in control. WWF didn't win every head-to-head in 99, they hadn't quite lifted off yet, but they were close enough. Eventually wcw got stuck on 3. ratings while Wwf kept going up

[@kuramacon]

A frustrating show is worse than a bad show. A bad show can still be ironically entertaining. This show was frustrating.

[@BClarke]

The show was terrible, but the worst part was the back rake. After a year of outsmarting the NWO at every turn and being built up to be invincible, Sting should have squashed Hogan. Instead, right at the beginning, Hogan back raked him, and he had to sell it. All the aura they had built for those 12 months vanished in an instant, and Sting was back to being just another wrestler. Not surprising that Bischoff looked way better than he should have, but that was exceedingly awful too.

[@TonyV-x6k]

What should have been WCW's Wrestlemania 3, ended up being one of the biggest misfires in pro wrestling history thanks to egos, botches, and creative control. I remember the build for Hogan/Sting, which was done masterfully over a one year period. I couldn't wait for this event; but when the bell rang, it was a 10 min slog, which ended up being the biggest popcorn fart WCW ever did aside from the Finger Poke of Doom. To me, this was the true beginning of the end of WCW as although 1998 was still a good year for the promotion, the magic was lost and the product slowly went down the toilet. It then entered into pure garbage territory in 99 through its 2001 demise. Starrcade 97 - the real beginning of the end of WCW.

[@pleaseshutup7053]

The biggest misfire

[@rushguy1]

It should’ve been Mania 3. Instead, it was Mania 9.

[@TonyV-x6k]

@@rushguy1 great way to put it and agreed 👍

[@jasontodd1896]

Starcade 1997 was the downfall of wcw

[@kyngjaquin4632]

Funny how a lot of the worst times have hogan tied to em

[@TheRealAhoy]

More of the best times do by miles, but these are "forensic analysis" channels, they don't look come up with new ideas and revisiting good events would be counterintuitive to many. Much easier to criticize. And much easier for the most prolific worker of all time to have a higher potential ratio for getting it wrong too.

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@BryRobinson Wrestling just grows off trees to these folk. They think that Hogan was just lucky, and life has a twisted sense of humour that someone like him and not Dynamite Kid rose to worldwide fame.

[@LeonaWilson-wp3to]

​@BryRobinson still does not matter he a horrible person and if people don't want to watch him I completely understand them

[@kyngjaquin4632]

@@BryRobinson naw it has nothing to do with being a Trump supporter He was part of these moment on his on merit

[@Xmasta420]

​@@BryRobinsonyap yap your idol turned out to be a miserable old man

[@GTcook15]

"That tan doesn't work for me brother"

[@chrishollister80]

The problem with Starrcade 97 was Hogan, not WCW. He deserves all of the blame on what happened because of his bullshit insecurities and power grab. Everybody had did business for Hogan and when it came time for him to do it, he proved to be a selfish bastard.

[@ShaunHopkinsAVFC]

The Zbyszko slander will not be tolerated. Can’t mess with The Living Legend. That booked mess wasn’t his fault

[@jordancanahai6056]

Since the show has always been desperately in need of rebooking I had a go at it a few years ago and thought I’d repost here. Assuming all the necessary parties don’t decide to turn up injured and are willing to do business (ha right) here’s how I’d rebook this dumpster fire of a show to make it the classic it should’ve been. WCW STARRCADE 97 Cruiserweight Title Triple Threat Match: Eddie Guerrero (c) d. Dean Malenko vs Rey Mysterio (A great, fast paced opener featuring the three best cruiserweights in the division) Tag Team Titles: The Steiner Brothers d. Scott Hall and Syxx (c) (As I recall these two teams had some great Nitro matches back then so just let ‘em work a classic tag match here) Raven’s Rules Match: Chris Benoit d. Raven (Basically the great match they had a month later at Souled Out 98 but here to blow off their feud) Television Title: Lex Luger d. Buff Bagwell (c) (Just a short TV style match to give Luger a crowd pleasing win over the NWO on this show. I’d put the TV Title on Bagwell sometime before this so that all titles can be on the line at the show as well) No Holds Barred: Diamond Dallas Page d. Macho Man Randy Savage (These two had what Pro Wrestling Insider voted the WCW feud of the year in 97 so let them blow it off in a wild grudge match here) United States Title Steel Cage Match: Ric Flair d. Curt Hennig (c) (This was clearly the match they were building towards after Hennig turned on the horsemen and joined NWO until Flair got injured so just keep nature boy off TV and healthy before the show and put it in a steel cage for good measure!) The Giant d. Kevin Nash (This clash of the two biggest men in WCW was pretty much the semi-main event until Nash decided he couldn’t compete (convenient lol) so fuck that noise. Do the job, Big Sexy! Hell, Nash can always get the win back down the line) WCW World Heavyweight Title: Sting d. Hollywood Hulk Hogan (c) (If Sting wins WCW controls Monday Nitro, if Hogan wins the NWO controls Monday Nitro, and all WCW and NWO wrestlers are banned from ringside. This match is booked wildly different with Sting just dominating the chickenshit Hogan for most of the shorter and faster paced bout. In the end Sting hits a Scorpion Death Drop and covers Hogan but due to an inadvertent ref bump earlier there’s no one to make the count! Eric Bischoff and The Outsiders Hall and Nash look to capitalize and interfere, Sting fights back against Hall and Nash but Hogan recovers and hits a low blow! An NWO beat down follows on Sting when a man dressed in black jumps the guardrail and enters the ring, it’s Bret “Hitman” Hart! (His first appearance since the Montreal screwjob!) The crowd goes crazy as Hogan only stares in disbelief, Hall and Nash nervously hold up the Kliq sign in an attempt to have Bret join NWO, but Hart drops both men with right hands! Hogan is shocked! Hart clears the ring of The Outsiders and gets in Bischoff’s face who nervously heads to the back! Sting recovers and mounts the comeback, hits Hogan with a Stinger Splash, then applies the Scorpion Deathlock! Hart revives the ref rolling him back into the ring as Hogan has no choice but to submit! Sting is the new WCW World Heavyweight champion! The Outsiders help a defeated and humiliated Hogan limp to the back in shame! Sting celebrates with the big gold belt and the rest of the WCW locker room while Bret Hart looks on from ringside in approval!)

[@mangrove]

Not bad. The next night on Nitro, open with the nWo in the ring, Hogan blaming everyone but himself. Nash and Hall respond by attacking Hogan, with the rest of the group joining in, and leaving him lying on the mat and out of the nWo. Tell Hogan to take a long vacation, work on his tan, and return in a year as Hulk Hogan, seeking revenge and trying to earn back WCW's trust.

[@TheChrisHype]

“He wasn’t tanned!” Cause, you know, your Crow metaphor should be tomato red tanned, brother!

[@shezziesbaby]

This was the night WCW could've won and ended the war, but thanks to Hogan who thought he was bigger than pro wrestling didn't want to lose the correct way. Hogan's B.S excuse was Sting was out of shape 😂😂. He was in better shape than how many members of the roster

[@jasontodd1896]

Nash didn’t wanna put The Giant over . Eric killed wcw

[@michaelsinger4638]

WCW was OBSESSED with Uber-powerful heels constantly making the faces look like chumps.

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@michaelsinger4638 Because the nWo was the only thing that was really over sadly lol. Sting may have been very popular, but was he over like the nWo were? Absolutely not, and same goes for all the babyfaces lower than him on the totem pole

[@michaelsinger4638]

It wasn’t just the NWO. Before that it was the Four Horseman. And then in 2001 you got the Magnificent Seven as well.

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@michaelsinger4638 Yeah definitely a thing to it, don't forget the dangerous alliance too. No wonder it was such a poisoned chalice, the nWo had image visibility more than anything else, they were finally getting ludicrously rewarded for their "rely on heel stables" schtick, pretty hard to pass up a level of comfort especially when it's so lucrative lol.

[@BAztid]

@@TheRealAhoy Sting was every bit as popular as the nWo. In the second half of '97 he was the company's top merch seller.

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@BAztid Not close. Very popular among wrestling fans yes, but the general public? Sting was slightly more popular than he was to the general public in the early 90s, the nWo branding had huge visibility among the wider public. Worldwide popularity is a different game than niche popularity. Sting never transcended wrestling, if people hear about Sting (now and then) they immediately think of the musician, you have to go "no, the wrestler" for people to think of the Sting we know better. You're really underestimating the power of branding. nWo was a recognisable brand the world over. Sting, not so much.

[@advantagetraining6761]

I watched Starrcade 97 live and was extremely disappointed. This was the start of the downfall of WCW imo

[@HenriettaBiggle]

Ahhhh, i remember "watching" this on PPV...and by watching I mean listening to it while the picture was scrambled on PPV because my family couldnt afford to buy PPVs.

[@jamooree]

Dude this was my existence from 95 to 98. I miss those scrambled ppvs.

[@m8x425]

My brother would get some of these PPV's and a few of us would help pitch in.... we'd bring soda and chips too

[@spade1ace7]

Same here!

[@McMahonHater]

Starcade is what happens when you make the personal political. Bret Hart was the most famous wreatlers in the world at that time, because of the screw job and documentary, but because of a personal issue between Hogan and Hart they dropped the ball on it rather then make a ton of Monday.

[@VenomsJay26]

That match should have been great. But oh no Hogan ego and to be the down fall

[@Gravewhisper]

giving Hogan creative control is as detrimental to Wrestling companies as letting Vince Russo into any kind of writer's room. :D

[@benjaminrosa1418]

So, Starrcade 1997 took place at the 28th of december. That same day, in some spanish speaking countries, they celebrate the Innocent Saints day, which is the equivalent of April's Fools. Coincidende? Maybe, but still funny.

[@MrBeardsley]

There’s a few episodes of Nitro from the year 2000 I thought about suggesting for this series, but then it dawned on me that there’s only maybe five episodes from that year that *wouldn’t* qualify for Worst Shows Ever.

[@PlatinumRoseLady]

Comparing Hulk Hogan to The Joker is incredibly insulting... to The Joker.

[@xzenitramx666]

The joker said so when he meet the red skull back in the day.

[@PlatinumRoseLady]

@xzenitramx666 Well, yeah, he's a psychopath, but he's an AMERICAN psychopath!

[@stevefromyellowstone7911]

Mongo is the greatest bad wrestler of all time. A ton of heart . Love mongo

[@TheRealAhoy]

I'd call him the Tommy Wiseau of wrestling, but I saw somebody give that name to Jeff Hardy once and I couldn't think of a better comparison. Mongo would be more like a good actor who does a role he can't do

[@stevefromyellowstone7911]

@ I’d give that title to the entire AEW roster and management

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@stevefromyellowstone7911 Lol, na Jeff Hardy. He can't cut a good promo and when he "gets creative" he does weird crap like Willow. Aew is way worse than Tommy Wisesu. At least Jeff Hardy/Tommy Wisesu are sort of endearing, aew talents aren't

[@stevefromyellowstone7911]

@ I guess I didn’t stick around long enough lol stopped watching when Eddie died

[@BravesFanLivingInRoyalsCountry]

I will never forget watching this ppv. How could WCW mess this up? The hero has to beat the villain clean. That is the only possible conclusion! Fail.

[@TheRealAhoy]

The nWo was over and Sting wasn't... They definitely should have put him over, but in terms of worldwide promotion, the nWo was the only recognisable image that wcw printed, by far.

[@saj8]

​@@TheRealAhoyOK, Eric.

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@saj8 Ah, you're doing that immature thing again so you can defend the immature stance you have, classic

[@saj8]

@@TheRealAhoy Enough with the excuses, Eric.

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@saj8 Lol, you think Eric Bischoff would have to explain himself to you, cute

[@paulc1553]

WCW Starrcade 1997 was the beginning of the end for WCW.

[@LeeDownOne]

Terry ruined 1997 Starrcade. 💯

[@NightRanger-lz6tp]

I wouldn't say it was the Worst Show ever. That would be Heroes of Wrestling 1999. Plus there are plenty of shows far worse than this. WCW Uncensored 1995, WWF King of the Ring 1995, Wrestlemania 9, almost every WCW PPV of 1999 and 2000, ECW December to Dismember 2006, TNA Victory Road 2009 and 2011, WWE Crown Jewel 2018.

[@oddishhonor]

Fraser’s presentation style seems more appropriate for a WC video. This isn’t a compliment at all.

[@marcus813]

WCW effectively stole a gate that would be nearly US$1.1M in 2024 money with this awful PPV. Sting would eventually be stripped of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the 1st Thunder episode and all this mess was the beginning of the end for the promotion. If not for Goldberg's meteoric rise in 1998, who knows if WCW would've lasted as long as 2001?

[@pleaseshutup7053]

He was stripped on nitro and officially won the title on the first episode of thunder

[@wylde678]

Have you guys ever covered ECW One Night Stand, namely the part where JBL shot on the Blue Meanie?

[@RustyShackleford101]

FRASER BRAH! MAKING STING CRY BRAH!

[@PJErvin]

“Hogan never actually submits.” I’m not sure why this comment is made, but I’m pretty sure “tap outs” were not yet common in wrestling at this point.

[@Commander_Bern]

Correct. They were trying to rip off the screwjob which is why Bret came out

[@PJErvin]

@ Well what I’m saying is that Hogan nods his head, which is a sign that he did submit. I totally agree that they were invoking the screw job, but Bret wasn’t screwing Hogan. He was preventing Sting from getting screwed. At least according to the original plan.

[@Strangegloves]

The beginning of the end.........

[@gotbox163]

That release date *Chefs kiss*

[@evdomos]

I hear the WWF had its most profitable year ever with Nash as champion.

[@Biffo316]

I won't have this Starrcade 97 slander. The only really bad thing was the ending to Hogan v Sting. Bischoff and Hogan told Nick Patrick to do a regular/slow count. Sting told him to do the fast count which was the original plan and because of creative control that doesn't work me brother. Hogan is a massive reason for wcw's success and its inevitable demise.

[@derrickclark4753]

Eric had them circling the toilet when they should of been on top

[@cvela83]

"That doesn't work for me brother"

[@RedRReenster]

I just watched the episode of this where you said that you should make this. I'm so excited to hear about Daddu Sting getting screwed.

[@totz_the_plaid9625]

Simple solution, even after the count speed issue: speed up that part in a replay.

[@TheThird1977]

The main-event was the most easy-to-book match in WCW history; Sting no-sells Hogan punches, smashes Hogan with a few of his own, clothesline, clothesline, whip to the corner, Stinger Splash (x3), Scorpion Death Drop, Scorpion Deathlock, new champion, nWo disbands. That they so completely shit the bed with it is quite impressive in retrospect.

[@DDRPriest]

CULTAHOLIC! You guys are the best!

[@damienhouse7706]

The beginning of the end.

[@FUNKAF1ED]

I was 19 years old in 1997 and I'm still angry that WCW fucked this up. It wasn't the fingerpoke of doom. It wasn't "butts in seats," it was THIS that marked the beginning of the end of WCW.

[@awee5816]

All they had to do to satisfy the audience was to give Sting 🦂 a decent win. But Politics always got in the way of good business 🤝 in WCW. Even Vince McMahon swallowed his pride to give the people what they wanted. That's why he Won 🏆 the WAR ...

[@robbygallipeau6488]

Remember, Hogan never used his creative control like ever!

[@tidunbar7991]

My main memory of this show, the only ppv I ever got my parents to buy, was my 82 yo grandfather walking by and recognizing Hogan.

[@arizonawrestlinginterviews1040]

Am I the only one who sees the irony of Scott Hall replacing someone on a wrestling card due to the worker getting plastered?

[@patrickdare5356]

As bad as this show was on PPV, it was worse live. I was there. The crowd only cared about two matches (Sting v Hogan and DDP v Hennig). The rest of the crap didn't even belong on Nitro. At the end, the crowd didn't even have the benefit of hearing the announcers explain the "fast" count and restart. It was the most disappointing wrestling fan experience of my life.

[@ryanquinn4815]

WCW absolutely clanged a slam dunk. All because Hogan had to piss all over the story. But it works for him, brother.

[@newageoutlaw]

"Including Luger, himself used to celebrating unsatisfactory pay-per-view endings." To use another Simpsons quote: "STOP! STOP! He's already dead!"

[@michaelsinger4638]

WCW’s biggest ever PPV, and they put on a stinker. 🤦‍♂️ The show was just, not good overall. And of course Hogan’s ego had to torpedo the biggest storyline that they had as well.

[@dmnoden]

Joke at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="913">15:13</a> was prefect. Sent from and annual FIFA player. :)

[@jesserobinson399]

The way my jaw dropped at the joke at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="210">3:30</a> 😂😭 now I know how my coworkers feel when I crack a dark humor dead Dad joke 😭🤦🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️😂

[@nighttrain3623]

Guerrero vs Malenko from this show is actually one of my favourite matches of all time

[@CarlosGarcia-ut2th]

Great video, as always 😁!!!! It would be awesome if you complemented this with a series of Best Shows Ever

[@m8x425]

My brother got Starcade 97 on PPV and I think he still has the VHS recording of it. Yeah, this is like courting a hot chick that she spends weeks telling you she going to do it with you on date night. Date night comes around, not everything goes well, and the date is nothing special. A few things happen but its mostly soso. Hogan was way too interested in protecting his character and Bischoff worshipped Hogan like a groupie. While WCW was killed off by a variety of things, Bischoff's unhealthy Hogan worship is a one of the things that killed off WCW. Bischoff's problem is he wanted to be pals with guys like Nash, Hall, Savage and Hogan, instead of being their BOSS. Also, for some reason he held disdain for established WCW talent.

[@deadwafflez9685]

I still don't understand how they thought Sting was out of shape or looked bad.

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

Almost expected to hear "Your Narrative" instead of "The Weather." At the end there. 😄👍

[@orionparish9858]

In some alternate universe, this is where WCW won the Monday Night War and WWF died a few years later 😞.

[@seanhaxer5636]

Starrcade 1997 from my understanding is equivocal to this moment in the sinking of the Titanic: Previous Captain forgetting to give the Key to the Binocular locker, with that revelation only coming once the iceberg on the horizon that was Fall Brawl 1998 came into view. Halloween Havoc 1998 was the realization they are going to hit it, Starrcade 1998 was trying to minimize the damage, and January 4, 1999 Nitro was the impact that doomed the promotion. After that, 1999-2001 was the descent into the cold deep, never to recover.

[@tangerinedream106]

I always hated the bs "he wasn't tanned" excuse. Why tf would a man whose entire gimmick is that he lives in the shadows and lurks in the rafters wearing a trench coat all day have a tan? Undertaker throughout the entire 90s decade never had a tan... you know why? Because it doesn't make sense for his character to have a tan!

[@TheDukeofMadness]

Without fail there is one name through the 80's and 90's that is connected to bad booking and disappointment. He did one good thing in 1998 and dropped the belt to Goldberg.

[@kdizzle901]

This is how NWO shoulda ended with Sting winning against Hogan clean

[@tatecurfman7475]

that was without a doubt the worst starrcade ever

[@rmoore2nd619]

Might wanna watch Starrcade 1999. Believe it or not, there’s at least 1 decent match in this one. Worst? No Most disappointing one and the start of WCW’s downfall? Yes

[@TheRaven_200]

Starrcade 1994 was definitely worse. (Except it has Hulk Hogan's influence all over it).

[@tafua_a]

IDK, 1994 was headlined by the freaking Barber...

[@Walkerman606]

Even if you take the main event farce out the equation, this card didn't feel like WCW's biggest show.

[@ThanksForTheCandy]

This was the first wrestling show I'd ever been to (floor seats off to the left) and no one will ever tell me it's terrible. That being said though, it was also the first time I'd ever seen a pair of boobs (you might be able to tell when it happened because everyone looks off to the right) and I had originally brought a "Quote the Crippler..." sign that I forgot in the car. Thankfully I will not be historically known as supporting Chris Benoit at the most notorious WCW PPV of all time.

[@paulc1553]

That doesn't work for me, brother. Damn Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff.

[@bryanhultgren7215]

This is where the fall of WCW truly started

[@tafua_a]

I will say this: the future Sting vs. Hogan matches were way better in the ring, so I get the "Sting was out of shape" angle. Still, he should have gone over clean to start act 3 of the nWo.

[@dhall888]

If hogan really did do sting like that, the fans, the last 16 months of story line, because he thought it would make him look better or something??!?!, he ruined everything for that company with one extremely selfish act! If maybe took a couple more months/years, but him doing that was the biggest part of wcw’s downfall!

[@thepunkrocker4093]

"The NWO was the Bloodline if the Bloodline had 47 members" wait... Isn't that the case ?

[@killingragethrowback]

Sting and Bret deserved better.

[@isd8894]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="688">11:28</a> -- Love the video, and agree with the premise, but...appealing to dopey Dave Meltzer's clueless "ratings" to prove a point is never advisable.

[@tzvikrasner6073]

The night WCW WCW'd everywhere

[@cedricbrookins4851]

Everyone loved Goldberg back then Even with the just two move he can do.

[@andrewmoore7927]

To sum it all, never give an ego maniac wtedtle full creative control over their character, win/lost/finishes, and storylines

[@jarcuuuble5819]

Your thumbnail is dangerously close to wrestling bios reliving the war…

[@lebutzki]

If you want another one to watch, tune into the 1998 Over The Edge, the one with Dude Love vs Stone Cold in the Main Event. I am watching it right now and felt compelled to pause it and make this comment. This is a rough watch.

[@shmeeeeeep8797]

Even as a 15yo Sting mark, I thought he wrestled like shit on this night. Such a massive bummer.

[@tafua_a]

Given Sting's performance on the night, I get why they changed it to a screwy finish. I wouldn't have done it, but I understand why they did.

[@spade1ace7]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="684">11:24</a> He said that "we're 4 matches into this 'ultimate, babyface revenge show' & do you know how many babyfaces have actually won? 0.." Correct me if I'm wrong here but wasn't Goldberg a face & didn't he beat Mongo? So that would be 1 face win, rignt?

[@mjdf122]

I’ve seen all of wrestling from 1980-Now 1997 was a good year for WCW Starrcade was okay/alright the tolerable matches were Guerrero vs Malenko Saturn vs Benoit and DDP vs Hennig

[@dhall888]

I don’t get if hogan thought he didn’t look good enough/wasn’t in a good state, why would you do a screwy finish? Just do the job, put the title on him, and let him do what he was doing!!!?!?! Not put him immediately in matches (not like hogan worked many matches anyways), but keep him low key until he gets his head and physical states right. Hogan, you messed up🎉

[@bryanbalment7993]

the sheer level of nonsense on display here. if you weren't there YOU DON'T KNOW, MAN

[@TheRealAhoy]

The internet agrees on how wrestling should be seen, and presents it as propaganda

[@DateMike22]

That's pretty bad to get that label of one of the worst shows ever cuz this is wayyyyyy before WCW started their downfall 🤷‍♂️👎🏼.

[@JT-Rebel]

1997 Wrestling Industry = 2024 Liverpool FC 1997 WCW = 2024 Darwin Nunez

[@arleneconverse1238]

Didn't WWE let people down at WM39?

[@savage751]

The big names in wcw were happy playing the heel but wanted to keep winning as if they were the face....kept putting off their comeuppance till it was either too late or they were gone

[@HandOfDoom744]

Few things are less satisfying than seeing a boring midcarder .1 second into a video. Hmph

[@austinevans4538]

Sting wasn't tan enough dude 😅

[@DoctorHorrible-h1o]

68 weeks and counting? you sure about that?

[@luisvillalobos3533]

Goldberg won so wouldn’t be that a face win?

[@Venemofthe888]

You know i dont know why my comments keep getting deleted when i dont even say anything to trigger the system but its so annoying. I leave my comment critiquing the show and then its gone. I dont know whats going on for goodness sake stop doing this My Original Comment: This show was a bad show all around and the main event if it was good and done the right way it could have saved a very weak show. Sting v Hogan had such a long build and the match wasnt even passable. It should have been Sting taking it to Hogan where he struggles to get going. Sting was the savior for WCW yet in the match Hogan hands out most of the offense which feels weird doesnt it? Sting should have won completely clean (which is a huge ask for Hogan) and it should have led to a splinter of the nWo but essentially it didnt matter and just made everyone looked really bad

[@craighermit1110]

You guys really have a hard on for meltzer, 3 recaps of his reviews. It's not like your review would be enough, nope, Meltzer is more important than you it looks like. 😂

[@themaker2149]

I have to disagree I actually really enjoy this ppv. The main event is a lot done but overall it's a good event

[@TheRealAhoy]

I watched it through recently in one go, no breaks. Thought the atmosphere in the arena was great and the flow did it justice.

[@pleaseshutup7053]

This ppv is awful. Nash no shows. Hall doesn’t wrestle Bret does nothing. That is 3 of your 5 biggest stars not wrestling.

[@daviddeppa122]

Your snarky comments are more off-putting, than entertaining... can you just keep to the facts a bit more?

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@daviddeppa122 He's educated by the internet. He hasn't watched this show, or any others from before he was born, without "guidance" from the internet, who don't actually understand wrestling at all. Wrestling is about promotability, the internet think everything is politics. When Hogan was influencing that decision, he was thinking how big the nWo image was compared to Stings image. It was no contest. The nWo had bigger branding than anything in WCW by a massive margin. Wrong decision, but that was the thought process, which is understandable, but we never contemplate empathy here because hate-boner's are the way this works.

[@TheRealAhoy]

I think it's amazingly funny the way people talk about "this" being the way they brought Bret Hart in. Bret broke his hand punching Vince, they couldn't really do a lot with him, so they used him in a non physical role.

[@Venemofthe888]

I know they wanted to capitalize on him being in WCW but having him be a referee twice is such a momentum killer. Why not just wait even a little bit cause his hype would have still been there at the start of 1998

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@Venemofthe888 Yeah, could have just waited, but I guess it's a bit different to the guys living the lifestyle on their feet day to day than it is to us sitting on our couch with the benefit of hindsight. Stage performers (which are what wrestlers basically are, just their stage is a ring) are very insecure people, so are the people who run the shows they may appear on. There is a very real feeling that people who come to watch may just go off people if they haven't seen them long enough, no matter who it is. Bret himself, and WCW, would have been internally worried that they have to do something quick or else everything will die down. And y'know, it very well might have. In January Mike Tyson signed with wwf and his presence DWARFED any news in WCW, and made the screwjob already "yesterday's news". They probably had it on good authority that Vince was planning something genuinely big, and that was the biggest thing either wrestling company had done in some time. Tyson was the most controversial celebrity in the world, and he had shut out every portion of media itching to get an exclusive with him - except wwf. The screwjob was old news by January. Maybe if they held off the debut until the new year it might have worked better, but "TysonMania" was big news for the 3 months he was around and if he lifted a finger it was more important than everything else in wrestling combined (to the worldwide media)