No lie!!!!! Hogan made it look like he gets a clean 3 to make sure he still looked stronger than the biggest babyface since himself 15 yrs earlier??? Ego and nonsense is right!!
I used to think it was all just Hogans ego, and it probably was to an extent. But listening to a podcast with Stevie Richards recently. He asked Hogan , " how are you doing ?" To which Hulk replied " i need 2 million $ a year just to live brother". With his ex wife linda he needed d more than that,and given that whoever holds the championship belt gets the biggest cut from house shows i think Hogans reputation of not putting guys over for the belt was more about the cash.
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.
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.
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.
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 ...
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.
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.
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 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.
@@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
@@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
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.
@@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.
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.
Yea that was bad, but lets not forget the go-home "nWo" Nitro before this, where after months and months of Sting coming in to save the day no matter the odds, the nWo instead easily got the better of him to "build up heat", except what happened with the "payoff" at Starrcade didn't make it worth it and was just a preview of what was to come.
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.
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!)
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.
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
@@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 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 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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 WCW stripped Sting of the WHC on the Thunder premiere. That did not happen on Nitro. The title remained vacant until his rematch with Hollywood Hogan at SuperBrawl VIII over a month later.
@ 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.
As a little reminder: December 1997 was probably one of the lowest points for the WWE (then known as the WWF). Coming off the back of the Montreal Screwjob, McMahon was quite literally on the ropes. He screwed over one of his biggest loyalists due to shenanigans (Bret Hart), a locker room revolt was barely averted, and until recently, McMahon's public image hit an all-time low. With such a negative clout hanging over the Federation, one good show by WCW would have permanently cemented themselves as the #1 wrestling company in North America (not permanently put McMahon out of business, though). This was the golden opportunity to take the win in the Monday Night Wars, but the disaster of Starrcade 97 proved that this war was not over. Using a sports analogy, imagine taking a strong 3-0 series lead in a best of 7 series, but then proceeding to lose the remaining 4 games, and ultimately, the series. San Jose Sharks fans can tell you exactly how painful that felt in their 2014 playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Kings (for added salt in the wound, the Kings would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year).
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
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.
The loaded kick botch is one of my all time favorite wrestling moments. Starrcade 97 was my first PPV buy and it was mostly a total letdown. But, me and my buddies laughed our asses off when that "metal" plate came flying out of Bischoff's foot pad.
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 ...
I became a wrestling fan while the nWo was in its preposterous last phase, but I collected tapes of the stuff I had missed, when it was cool and fresh. Here is something I have never understood - WHY did Eric Bischoff, the Producer and on-camera boss, write himself into the angle? Much as I like Mr Bischoff, part of me wonders if he wanted to be one of them because they were trendy, had stubble, and wore leather jackets. It makes no sense for a heel authority figure to join an anti-establishment rebel faction. Unless of course it was always his fantasy to be one of the tough kids…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
11:24 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?
@@spade1ace7 yeah, he was pushed as just a ruthless killer (one recruited by heel Debra to beat her husband), and was gradually turned face strictly on positive crowd response
dean milenko had EVERY REASON to be pissed!!!!! multiple guys wherent there and one of them had whats prob the worst excuse to bang outta work ive ever heard. and then to have mysterio there and ready to go as well...... its like a big middle finger from the WCW straight in his face!!!
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!
Even if it worked as intended the idea is just not good. This was Stings night. Not Hogans, not Harts. So goddamn just give Sting his win and if you want Hart on the card, have him wrestle his own match and maybe help some babyface out when he is attacked post match by the NWO. There is no need for overcomplicated shenanigans at this point. All they needed was Sting to be put over followed by a convincing championship reign and that would have been a success.
The video didn’t need what Meltzer thought of the show. I don’t know why in 2024 anyone gives a fuck what Meltzer thinks about anything wrestling related
The night WCW bungled their biggest Main Event ever, courtesy of ego and nonsense
Do you have ANY idea how little that narrows it down?
@@SsnakeBite YES HOGAN BROTHAAAAA
But wcw is cool the new wwe is nerd
No lie!!!!! Hogan made it look like he gets a clean 3 to make sure he still looked stronger than the biggest babyface since himself 15 yrs earlier??? Ego and nonsense is right!!
I used to think it was all just Hogans ego, and it probably was to an extent. But listening to a podcast with Stevie Richards recently. He asked Hogan , " how are you doing ?" To which Hulk replied " i need 2 million $ a year just to live brother". With his ex wife linda he needed d more than that,and given that whoever holds the championship belt gets the biggest cut from house shows i think Hogans reputation of not putting guys over for the belt was more about the cash.
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.
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.
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.
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 ...
Hard to believe they had an inability to hold a Cruiserweight banger followed by a horrible main-event
Henning vs DDP was good
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.
This was Hogan's fault.
That egomaniac Hogan could not lose clean for Sting
But Sting was still better than him anyways better wrestler and a better human being
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..
And Bischoff cuz he was Hogans Yes Man
Hogan and Bischoff are the blame.
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.
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%.
@@TheRealAhoywwe was still dominating the ratings in 98
@@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.
@@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
@@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
A frustrating show is worse than a bad show. A bad show can still be ironically entertaining. This show was frustrating.
Well said
"That tan doesn't work for me brother"
Funny how a lot of the worst times have hogan tied to em
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.
@@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.
@BryRobinson still does not matter he a horrible person and if people don't want to watch him I completely understand them
@@BryRobinson naw it has nothing to do with being a Trump supporter He was part of these moment on his on merit
@@BryRobinsonyap yap your idol turned out to be a miserable old man
“He wasn’t tanned!”
Cause, you know, your Crow metaphor should be tomato red tanned, brother!
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.
Yea that was bad, but lets not forget the go-home "nWo" Nitro before this, where after months and months of Sting coming in to save the day no matter the odds, the nWo instead easily got the better of him to "build up heat", except what happened with the "payoff" at Starrcade didn't make it worth it and was just a preview of what was to come.
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.
The biggest misfire
It should’ve been Mania 3. Instead, it was Mania 9.
@@rushguy1 great way to put it and agreed 👍
@@rushguy1no not wrestlemania 9 tatanka who saved that show wasn't wrestling
Starcade 1997 was the downfall of wcw
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!)
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.
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
WCW was OBSESSED with Uber-powerful heels constantly making the faces look like chumps.
@@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
It wasn’t just the NWO. Before that it was the Four Horseman.
And then in 2001 you got the Magnificent Seven as well.
@@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.
@@TheRealAhoy Sting was every bit as popular as the nWo. In the second half of '97 he was the company's top merch seller.
@@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.
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.
Dude this was my existence from 95 to 98. I miss those scrambled ppvs.
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
Same here!
Truth be told, this was me with the Playboy channel...
I watched Starrcade 97 live and was extremely disappointed. This was the start of the downfall of WCW imo
The Zbyszko slander will not be tolerated. Can’t mess with The Living Legend. That booked mess wasn’t his fault
Mongo is the greatest bad wrestler of all time. A ton of heart . Love mongo
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
@ I’d give that title to the entire AEW roster and management
@@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
@ I guess I didn’t stick around long enough lol stopped watching when Eddie died
Wrestling Bios did a great job of properly acquainting me with his work in WCW, as I wasn't too familiar, and that's the impression I got too
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.
"Including Luger, himself used to celebrating unsatisfactory pay-per-view endings." To use another Simpsons quote: "STOP! STOP! He's already dead!"
Nash didn’t wanna put The Giant over . Eric killed wcw
That match should have been great. But oh no Hogan ego and to be the down fall
Have you guys ever covered ECW One Night Stand, namely the part where JBL shot on the Blue Meanie?
Comparing Hulk Hogan to The Joker is incredibly insulting... to The Joker.
The joker said so when he meet the red skull back in the day.
@xzenitramx666 Well, yeah, he's a psychopath, but he's an AMERICAN psychopath!
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.
What's funny is that the vhs that wcw sold for Sting's career featured starcade 97 as his ultimate career achievement up to that point
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.
I still don't understand how they thought Sting was out of shape or looked bad.
Great video, as always 😁!!!! It would be awesome if you complemented this with a series of Best Shows Ever
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.
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.
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.
@@TheRealAhoyOK, Eric.
@@saj8 Ah, you're doing that immature thing again so you can defend the immature stance you have, classic
@@TheRealAhoy Enough with the excuses, Eric.
@@saj8 Lol, you think Eric Bischoff would have to explain himself to you, cute
Terry ruined 1997 Starrcade. 💯
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.
The beginning of the end.........
I hear the WWF had its most profitable year ever with Nash as champion.
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.
The beginning of the end.
giving Hogan creative control is as detrimental to Wrestling companies as letting Vince Russo into any kind of writer's room. :D
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.
CULTAHOLIC! You guys are the best!
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.
WCW Starrcade 1997 was the beginning of the end for WCW.
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!
FRASER BRAH! MAKING STING CRY BRAH!
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?
He was stripped on nitro and officially won the title on the first episode of thunder
@@pleaseshutup7053 WCW stripped Sting of the WHC on the Thunder premiere. That did not happen on Nitro. The title remained vacant until his rematch with Hollywood Hogan at SuperBrawl VIII over a month later.
That release date *Chefs kiss*
“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.
Correct. They were trying to rip off the screwjob which is why Bret came out
@ 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.
Eric had them circling the toilet when they should of been on top
"That doesn't work for me brother"
Simple solution, even after the count speed issue: speed up that part in a replay.
As a little reminder: December 1997 was probably one of the lowest points for the WWE (then known as the WWF). Coming off the back of the Montreal Screwjob, McMahon was quite literally on the ropes. He screwed over one of his biggest loyalists due to shenanigans (Bret Hart), a locker room revolt was barely averted, and until recently, McMahon's public image hit an all-time low. With such a negative clout hanging over the Federation, one good show by WCW would have permanently cemented themselves as the #1 wrestling company in North America (not permanently put McMahon out of business, though).
This was the golden opportunity to take the win in the Monday Night Wars, but the disaster of Starrcade 97 proved that this war was not over. Using a sports analogy, imagine taking a strong 3-0 series lead in a best of 7 series, but then proceeding to lose the remaining 4 games, and ultimately, the series. San Jose Sharks fans can tell you exactly how painful that felt in their 2014 playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Kings (for added salt in the wound, the Kings would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year).
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.
that was without a doubt the worst starrcade ever
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
Starrcade 1994 was definitely worse. (Except it has Hulk Hogan's influence all over it).
IDK, 1994 was headlined by the freaking Barber...
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.
The loaded kick botch is one of my all time favorite wrestling moments. Starrcade 97 was my first PPV buy and it was mostly a total letdown. But, me and my buddies laughed our asses off when that "metal" plate came flying out of Bischoff's foot pad.
Remember, Hogan never used his creative control like ever!
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 ...
Am I the only one who sees the irony of Scott Hall replacing someone on a wrestling card due to the worker getting plastered?
Starrcade '97 wasn't the worst ppv when you were watching it live. It was unbelievable.
Even though it was three days after it, WCW ruined Christmas of 1997
In some alternate universe, this is where WCW won the Monday Night War and WWF died a few years later 😞.
I became a wrestling fan while the nWo was in its preposterous last phase, but I collected tapes of the stuff I had missed, when it was cool and fresh. Here is something I have never understood - WHY did Eric Bischoff, the Producer and on-camera boss, write himself into the angle? Much as I like Mr Bischoff, part of me wonders if he wanted to be one of them because they were trendy, had stubble, and wore leather jackets. It makes no sense for a heel authority figure to join an anti-establishment rebel faction. Unless of course it was always his fantasy to be one of the tough kids…
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.
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.
WCW absolutely clanged a slam dunk. All because Hogan had to piss all over the story. But it works for him, brother.
Guerrero vs Malenko from this show is actually one of my favourite matches of all time
Almost expected to hear "Your Narrative" instead of "The Weather." At the end there.
😄👍
This show is enough proof for me to prefer a hero saves the day ending over unpredictability.
The way my jaw dropped at the joke at 3:30 😂😭 now I know how my coworkers feel when I crack a dark humor dead Dad joke 😭🤦🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️😂
just another "that don't work for me brother" moment in wrestling.
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.
That doesn't work for me, brother. Damn Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff.
Even if you take the main event farce out the equation, this card didn't feel like WCW's biggest show.
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.
the sheer level of nonsense on display here. if you weren't there
YOU DON'T KNOW, MAN
The internet agrees on how wrestling should be seen, and presents it as propaganda
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.
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.
This is where the fall of WCW truly started
This is how NWO shoulda ended with Sting winning against Hogan clean
The main event of this PPV was the being of the end for WCW
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.
Man, I was 3 years old back then
I agree with many of the comments. Hogans narcissism completely ruined the ppv
Joke at 15:13 was prefect. Sent from and annual FIFA player. :)
I think this show started the decline in the Monday night war
"The NWO was the Bloodline if the Bloodline had 47 members" wait... Isn't that the case ?
Thankfully, Starrcade 1998 would be a much better show and would put WCW on the path to win the Monday night wars once and for all......
11:28 -- Love the video, and agree with the premise, but...appealing to dopey Dave Meltzer's clueless "ratings" to prove a point is never advisable.
11:24 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?
Goldberg was a heel from his debut until about February 1998. Mongo was part of the barely-functioning babyface Horsemen at this point.
@Swansonritner Interesting. I watched mostly WWF at this juncture, so I don't remember much of WCW from 98-01.
@@spade1ace7 yeah, he was pushed as just a ruthless killer (one recruited by heel Debra to beat her husband), and was gradually turned face strictly on positive crowd response
Very funny watching kids talk about NWO like they were old enough to enjoy them lmaoooo
Your thumbnail is dangerously close to wrestling bios reliving the war…
We need more Fraser, more frequently!
dean milenko had EVERY REASON to be pissed!!!!! multiple guys wherent there and one of them had whats prob the worst excuse to bang outta work ive ever heard. and then to have mysterio there and ready to go as well...... its like a big middle finger from the WCW straight in his face!!!
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!
Even if it worked as intended the idea is just not good. This was Stings night. Not Hogans, not Harts. So goddamn just give Sting his win and if you want Hart on the card, have him wrestle his own match and maybe help some babyface out when he is attacked post match by the NWO. There is no need for overcomplicated shenanigans at this point. All they needed was Sting to be put over followed by a convincing championship reign and that would have been a success.
Still waiting for that Wrestlemania 4 episode.
The video didn’t need what Meltzer thought of the show. I don’t know why in 2024 anyone gives a fuck what Meltzer thinks about anything wrestling related
Konnan wasn’t even on the show because of visa issues.
Wasn’t Goldberg considered a good guy? That’s 1 win for the faces