6. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. Hulk Hogan (SuperBrawl 1997)
At Starrcade in December 1996, Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan wrestled their first legitimate main event in pay-per-view history, some ten years after their rivalry in WWE wrapped up. The fact that Vince McMahon never really booked the match for a major show was to the advantage of WCW, who promoted the bout for their biggest spectacular of the year. In a shocking turn of events, Piper trapped Hogan in the sleeper, beating the leader of the New World Order cleanly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grnn_M8GKe0 Of course, it was only a matter of time before the Hulkster decided he needed to get his win back. At SuperBrawl in February 1997, the legendary stars met in an epic rematch of their Starrcade bout. Unlike that match, in which the spectacle masked the limitations of the workers involved, their SuperBrawl bout exposed them. They looked their age, stumbling and fumbling around the ring as WCW continued presenting lackluster main events to go along with their fantastic midcard. The match sucked and if it was not clear that Hulk Hogan was phoning it in before then, it certainly was afterward.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
