Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon, Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes and Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels - the list of classic feuds in the history of wrestling is a long one, but it'd feel rather empty if Hulk Hogan vs. 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper wasn't on there someplace. Going together like oil and water, Hogan and Piper were constantly involved with one another throughout the 1890's, and that magic would continue on into the 90's. Looking to book a massive main event for their biggest Pay-Per-View of the year, Starrcade, WCW management settled on trying to recapture the incendiary nature of the Hogan vs. Piper rivalry in late-1996. In a switch from the mid-80's WWF feud, it was Hogan who was the heel in WCW, whilst Piper played the man of the people, and the fan's choice to end the vicious New World Order. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grnn_M8GKe0 Make no mistake about it, the nWo angle was hot in '96, and things would only heat up the following year as Sting challenged their dominance of the company, but at Starrcade 1996 it was Roddy Piper who was the great white hope. Incredibly, even though it was almost taken for granted by the fans, Piper never requested that Hogan put the WCW World Title on the line, which meant that even when he won the bout, he wasn't champion, and the power still stuck with the heel stable. This was a pretty stupid move from WCW's creative team, and was a classic case of bait and switch. It's likely that the promotion knew fans would think the belt was up for grabs, so it was a pretty crappy thing to not include that stipulation. Nonetheless, Piper put Hogan to sleep with his patented Sleeper Hold, and pretty much every person inside the building was surprised - when was the last time that move had actually worked!?
