Controversy: Hulk Hogan refusing to "do the right thing" and lose cleanly to Sting after one year's worth of amazing build All these years later, many still refer to the Sting VS Hollywood Hogan match at Starrcade 1997 as what could/should have been the biggest match in WCW history. The event got a 1.9 pay-per-view buyrate, which is the biggest number WCW ever had. Fans were completely invested in the 17 month-long feud between Sting and the nWo, and were more than willing to spend their money to watch the match between WCW's silent hero and the nWo's leader. The "right" thing to do would have been to have Sting put an end to Hogan's tyranny, at least temporarily, by beating him for the WCW Title, 1-2-3, in the middle of the ring. What happened was Hogan using his creative control to drastically change things. He would still lose the match, but it would require plenty of nonsensical interference and a nudge, nudge, wink, wink reference to the previous year's Montreal Screwjob to get there. Bret Hart, the man involved in the Montreal Screwjob, was now in WCW, and was there as a referee for the night. He ref'd the night's match between Eric Bischoff and Larry Zbyszko. In the main event, referee Nick Patrick gave a bit of a fast count, causing Bret to come out and basically say he wasn't going to stand for something like this happening again, so he... became the new referee for some reason... and then screwed Hogan by calling for a submission that never actually happened. Overall, an embarrassing night for WCW, and an event that opened a lot of eyes to Hogan's backstage politics and his ability to scam his way into getting what he wants.
Columnist/Podcaster/Director at LordsOfPain.net for nearly seven years, with nearly 2000 total columns written. Interviewed and/or involved in interviewing the likes of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins (twice), Diamond Dallas Page, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, Uhaa Nation and more.
