10 PPV Main Events That Killed WCW

1. WCW Championship Match: Sting vs. Hulk Hogan - Starrcade 1997

The biggest main event in WCW history was also its greatest disaster, the one moment in which fans realized for the first time that the logjam of political masterminds that had taken up residence at the top of the card may have driven in ratings and helped the company achieve unparalleled success, but they were also going to prevent them from ever enjoying a satisfying product. After a year-long build, the main event of Starrcade 1997 should have seen Sting beat the ever living hell out of Hulk Hogan, capture the WCW Championship and provide fans with the happy ending to the story they had witnessed play out over the preceding 400 days. It also should have spelled the beginning of the end for the nWo and the start of a new direction for WCW programming. Instead, what fans watched was Hogan dominate the early portion of the match, drop the leg on Sting and pin him in the center of the ring as referee Nick Patrick counted to three. It was meant to be a fast count on the official's part but for whatever reason, that was not the case. After a year of investing themselves emotionally in the saga of the Stinger, they had watched their hero pinned unceremoniously one, two, three. Of course, Bret Hart came to the ring, ordered the match restarted under the premise of a screwjob and then called for the bell when Hogan tapped out to the Scorpion Death Lock. The WCW roster poured into the ring and celebrated with Sting but that did not change the fact that, in what was the biggest match in company history, Hogan's ego got in the way of doing business the correct way, killing Sting's heat and lessening what should have been a watershed moment for the wrestling industry.