10 Great Wrestling Feuds That Produced Disappointing Matches

Never in the history of professional wrestling has a storyline with so much potential been utterly wasted in the way that Starrcade '97 destroyed Sting's return to the ring. The creative team had spent a year on this storyline, taking a risk by repackaging WCW's light-hearted headliner into a dark avenger who wanted to destroy the toxic nWo. This risk ultimately paid off as more wrestling fans tuned into WCW than WWE during this period, all eagerly awaiting Sting's ascension to the top to overthrow the villainous faction.

The world observed as Sting faced off against Hollywood Hogan at the marquee event for the WCW Championship and we all watched in amazement as the company squandered the single biggest opportunity they ever had. The match was incredibly dull with the feeling out process dragging on for minutes before Hogan dominated the majority of the disappointing contest. Things got worse when Sting was pinned cleanly, despite the "fast-count" controversy, and Bret Hart restarted the match for a short flurry from Sting and an ultimate victory.

Unlike previous entries on this list, the crowd did not hurt this one — they were completely invested. Terrible booking decisions let this one down and, this was only a sign of things to come for WCW. Months of careful planning and intricate storytelling were washed away in this complete failure of a match. After such an iconic rebirth, Sting (and the audience) deserved so much better than this.