10 Fascinating Facts That WWE Fans Always Get Wrong
3. The Fingerpoke of Doom Didn’t Kill WCW Overnight
If you’ve spent any time in wrestling circles, you’ve probably heard the phrase: “The Fingerpoke of Doom killed WCW.” It’s become wrestling gospel that the infamous moment on January 4, 1999, when Hulk Hogan poked Kevin Nash to reclaim the WCW World Title, was the beginning of the end. But here’s the twist—that episode of Nitro was actually one of WCW’s most-watched in months.
Yes, the segment was widely mocked, and yes, it aired the same night as Mick Foley’s WWF Championship win—a moment that famously caused fans to switch channels in droves. But despite that, Nitro still pulled in a massive audience, proving that interest in WCW was still very much alive.
The real damage came later. Fans didn’t immediately abandon ship, but the Fingerpoke symbolised everything wrong with WCW at the time: recycled main events, overbooked nonsense, and a refusal to elevate new stars. It wasn’t the death blow—it was the warning shot. The myth that WCW died that night? Just another oversimplified tale in wrestling lore.