7. Goldberg VS Hollywood Hogan On Free Television
This is a weird one, because it was a terrible decision, but at the same time, it was a good decision that has provided strong memories 16 years later. During the entire time that Goldberg and Hulk Hogan were in WCW together, they faced each other in a singles match one time, and that was their match in the Georgia Dome where Goldberg won the WCW Title. Now, maybe Wrestling Business 101 wasn't a class that WCW management was forced to take, but they had their top face (Goldberg) and their top heel (Hogan)... and they never, ever, ever put them in a match on pay-per-view to bring in the big bucks? What sense does that make? Yes, it gave wrestling fans a memorable moment, but what true purpose did it serve? The week before their match, Nitro had a 4.1 rating. That week's episode jumped up to a 4.8 rating, with a large 5.6 third-hour number. The week after their match, Nitro was back to a 4.4 rating. Meanwhile, Raw beat Nitro the following week, and then again for the following month. WCW took the absolute biggest match they could possibly put on, gave it away on free television with little build whatsoever, and then sat back and did nothing to follow up on the momentum they could/should/would have received from the match. Hogan losing the WCW Title, and then immediately going into a feud with... Diamond Dallas Page? Huh? Hogan didn't even step foot in a ring with Goldberg again for seven whole weeks, and even then, it was in a tag team match. What kind of heel champion loses the title and then decides he wants to do other things instead of trying to get his title back? It's just sloppy booking, all around. Had they decided to hold off on having Goldberg VS Hogan, and placed the match on pay-per-view, they could have done some major numbers. Bash At The Beach took place six days after the match, and it was the second most viewed WCW pay-per-view of all-time, headlined by DDP and Karl Malone VS Hogan and Dennis Rodman, so that was booked, but Road Wild could have been a place for it. The actual Road Wild main event was DDP and Jay Leno VS Hogan and Eric Bischoff, which didn't bring in as much mainstream publicity as the company thought it would. After Bash At The Beach and Road Wild came Fall Brawl, which saw a War Games main event pitting three teams of three against each other with pinfalls allowed, in a match that should not have happened in the first place. Goldberg getting his long-awaited WCW Title shot on pay-per-view could have done some major numbers if they built it up properly, and it could have helped to propel WCW forward to the end of 1998 and into 1999.