10 Amazing Wrestling Feuds With AWFUL Endings

Hogan got screwed.

In perhaps the most cumbersomely booked main event in wrestling history, the Hulkster picked up a clean win on everyone's favourite Crow cosplayer. Nick Patrick counted a standard 1-2-3 and what does he get for his fair, impartial officiating? A right hand courtesy of Bret Hart. Hart then restarts the match and Hogan submits to Sting's Scorpion Deathlock. Patrick was supposed to do a fast count but he counted on the regular with Sting still staying down for the three for some reason. Confusing, inane, disappointing, there's plenty of words for this finish but above all else, it was sad.

An 18-month build led to Starrcade '97. The silent, brooding Sting struck a chord with viewers, a fantastical antihero in the cartoonish world of the nWo. Heel Hogan had ruled the roost as WCW champ for most of that time (bar a foolish 5 day Lex Luger run) and fans were screaming for him to finally be humbled by the Stinger.

Instead of the feel-good clean victory for Sting and WCW, we got an overbooked mess with middling action, poor character work and a botched homage to the Montreal Screwjob. WCW were dominating the ratings war throughout '97 thanks to the Sting and Hogan angle. The catastrophic ending to wrestling's biggest feud was the first sign in the impending demise of Billionaire Ted's promotion. By the start of '98, Steve Austin was a hot commodity and viewers were returning to WWF in droves.

Many rumours have circulated as to why it all went bottoms up that night. Blame has landed on everything from Hogan's dreaded creative control to Sting not being tanned enough for anyone's liking.

Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.