The Complete History Of The New World Order | Wrestling Timelines
December 28, 1997 - Starrcade
The end is nigh.
Starrcade is WCW’s biggest ever night. The pay-per-view sets an unbroken buy amount of 700,000. It is the peak. The only way is down.
Even before WCW enacts the first critical phase of its self-destruction, the atmosphere is strangely subdued, given the occasion. Isn’t Starrcade meant to be a highly-anticipated, jubilant celebration? There should be tension in the air, no?
The undercard is poor and bereft of heat. In an ominous sign for 1998, the hottest and most discussed free agent in wrestling history, Bret Hart - who is the best wrestler in the world at the time - is rushed into WCW as the special guest referee for a terrible match between Eric Bischoff and Larry Zbysko. Weirdly, it is a comedy match with the highest of stakes: control over Nitro. WCW rep Zbysko wins.
The main event is an infamous, soul-destroying dud.
Sting looks slight and, yes, pale. Hogan dominates a short, one-dimensional match. It’s very far removed from the pulsating, dramatic epic that fans had in mind for this grand moment of retribution.
The finish is amongst the flattest of all-time. Hogan hits the big boot and the leg drop. Heel referee Nick Patrick is meant to do a fast count, in order for Hart to reverse the decision - but it’s nowhere near fast enough. It looks like Hogan has won fair and square, and when Sting beats Hogan in the impromptu rematch, it's lifeless.
In the years to come, Bischoff will deflect accusations that Hogan instructed Patrick to forget the fast count. Patrick will claim that between Bischoff and Hogan, one person told him to do it, while somebody else told him to keep the count “nice and slow”. You can probably work out which person is which. Certainly, Hogan’s legendary reputation as a politician damns him in the eyes of many.
A convergence of factors informs a terrible, deflating night - by his own admission, Sting, battling personal issues, isn’t in great form. Not working for a year was a great promotional tactic, but a flawed one. He isn’t remotely sharp.
One factor that isn’t considered is that Sting’s epic takedown of the nWo doesn’t happen because that would require WCW to actually rid itself of the faction (and the attendant merchandise money). It goes beyond an easy addition to the balance sheet. The nWo encompasses the narrative so thoroughly that WCW would have to completely reimagine itself from the top to the bottom of the card.
The nWo is also too easy to book. So many episodes of Nitro go off the air with heavy heat beat-downs and a babyface lying face-down with the nWo logo spray-painted on his back. The nWo is incredibly repetitive - which is fine, when people are into it. What works works. But when there’s no chance of justice, why bother?
A company almost defined by lazy incompetence isn’t going to put any effort into crafting a new overarching storyline.
The company lacks the nous and the desire to do that, and the top guys are hardly going to play along with the idea. Even if WCW is somehow willing, who’s going to tell Hall and Nash that they’re no longer permitted to play the cool heels in the main event scene?
The power they wield is too vast.
If it works, do more of it. Do more of it, and people grow bored. That is the cause of and solution to the problems inherent to capitalism.
WCW is not an outlier.