20 Most Horrifically Stupid Things That Ever Happened In WCW

10. Montreal Comes To Starrcade

Despite his acquisition being one of the biggest wrestling news items in years, Bret Hart's first 19 months in WCW were marred by bad booking and unfortunate - even tragic - circumstances. When he wasn't playing second fiddle to Hollywood Hogan in the nWo, he was out injured. Then, in May 1999, the accidental death of his brother Owen at a WWE event led Bret to contemplate retirement.

When he made his return to WCW in October, it was a catharsis for all wrestling fans. He was also on a tear like he hadn't been in years, wrestling Chris Benoit in a brilliant match dedicated to Owen, then winning the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship in a tournament. At StarrCade, he would come face to face with Bill Goldberg in a match built upon mutual respect - but one which would also decide the true franchise player of World Championship Wrestling.

The match itself was primarily notable, unfortunately, for being the contest that ended Bret Hart's career. An errant kick from Goldberg gave Bret a severe concussion, and he suffered further concussions as the match progressed. At the end of the match, the referee was knocked out, and 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper took his place. Piper had been under pressure from nebulous governing body "The Powers That Be" (actually Vince Russo filmed from behind during his first stint in WCW) to "do the right thing" by them, and he finally caved - as Bret locked Goldberg in the Sharpshooter, Piper called for the bell and awarded the title to Bret in an angle based off of the real-life screwjob that saw Bret leave WWE.

Bret stood confused (making him one of thousands) as WCW's equivalent to WrestleMania ended. Of course, that's a bit misleading - Starrcade never got nearly as big as WrestleMania. With WCW pulling a stunt like this at the show, it's not hard to see why.