Why did WCW lose interest in Sting so quickly?

[Wald]

As in Starrcade 97 had been booked with him going over after clean after Hogan tried to screw him out of the title. We all know what happened there and it has been done to death as to what should have happened/how badly it was botched.

We rarely talk about the aftermath though and that's the focus here. For those not in the know here's a timeline.

The Nitro after Starrcade was probably a bigger clusterfuck than the night before. Basically the rematch between Hogan and Sting ended with the ref being knocked out and Nick Patrick, the nWo ref, ran down and counted the pin on Sting for Hogan to win. This started a brawl between the nWo and WCW, during which the original ref woke up, saw Sting on top of Hogan and counted that pin. Oh and most of this happened after Nitro had ended so as to try to hook us for Nitro next week (might have been Thunder by this stage actually).

This lead to Sting beating Hogan for the title at Superbrawl cleanly, so finally the guy who had been built for a year and a half as the saviour of WCW had defeated Hogan and the nWo.

Sadly his title reign lasted for a total of 7 weeks before he lost the belt to the Macho Man, then part of the nWo, who would lose it to Hogan the night after he won it.

This would be Stings last title reign until 1999 when he would defeat DDP on Nitro for the belt but lose it back to him as part of a 4-way the very same night. He would win the WCW title one more time, hold it for 6 weeks and end up being stripped of it for attacking a referee following a fight with Goldberg.

So how come WCW lost faith with Sting as their guy so quickly? Did the Starrcade and Nitro messes really do that much damage to his character? Was Goldberg a factor? Did WCW ever believe in Sting to be their number one face in the first place?

 

[Nate DaMac]

First of all, he didn't beat Hogan clean at SuperBrawl. He had help from Savage.

Second, Sting is just as much to blame for this. Apparently Sting was overweight, out of shape, and dealing with an addiction to painkillers and muscle relaxer.

SCOTT ROSS (reporting): Then in 1988, Sue’s faith in Steve paid off. Steve had changed his name to Sting. In his first big match, Sting wrestled Rick Flair live on television. He became popular on the world championship wrestling circuit, but his career shot through the roof in 1997 when Sting wrestled Hulk Hogan on Pay-Per-View. Although things were great for them financially, Steve’s constant traveling put a strain on the marriage.

STEVE BORDEN: I had made it to the top, but now my marriage was really starting to fail. Sue and I were like two ships passing in the night. She had a life, I had a life. But now we had two boys, two young boys. I was losing control over every part of my life.

SCOTT ROSS (reporting): Steve coped with his struggles by turning to pills and alcohol.

STEVE BORDEN: I told her I was taking prescription drugs. I was taking pain killers, I was taking muscle relaxers, and I was drinking alcohol. She said, 'How long you been doing this?' And I told her, 'It’s been a couple of years now.'

SUE BORDEN: I thought that he should go into rehab, and he just vehemently said, 'No, no. I don’t need that. I don’t need to go into rehab.'

STEVE BORDEN: I begged and pleaded with her. I said, 'Look. I’ll stop. I’ll stop.' And I couldn’t do it. About 30 days went by, and things really started to go downhill.

SUE BORDEN: I thought, I don’t know what else to do. He won’t go to rehab. He’s not stopping. I can’t live like this.

SCOTT ROSS (reporting): Steve was desperate for a change. For years his brother had been telling him about God’s love for him. Steve finally decided it was time to listen. One August evening in 1998, he gave up running and turned to God for help.

STEVE BORDEN: I said, 'I cannot do this on my own. I need You to come save my life, save my marriage, because it’s out of control.' And I invited Him to come and live in me. I told Him, 'I’m going to live my life for You from this day forward.'

If you didn't know any of this, don't feel bad. I just learned it myself a few days ago from a member of this forum.

That's not to say that Sting would have gotten a fair shake had he been cleaned up. This was still Hogan's WCW. But it gives them an easy out when questioned about their horrendous booking at the time.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Well Nate that's some very interesting information I've never heard about till now. My honest opinion is as long as personal problems don't veer off into your work it's unfair to blame work on drugs. Was Sting was affected by his demon's when in front of the camera and in the back? Possibly but I didn't really notice, frankly I felt Sting was sloppy at Starrcade because he wasn't in the ring for a while, I didn't get the impression he was messed up at the time. I mean Hall and Nash were drunk ON camera and they never got punished so if that's the reason in regards to Sting its a really bad one.

I don't think it was WCW lost interest in Sting but I always felt they had no idea how to follow up anything in that company and going from what I was watching I'm guessing that's an accurate assumption. The best way to put it is WCW fell into what I will call AWA syndrome. Hogan got brought in and helped legitimize the company (something in all fairness Sting didn't do), then Hall/Nash comes in, Hogan turns heel and they are now putting the boots to WWF. I think because Hogan was the main component to their success in 94-96 they figured he was the answer, so they kept going back to Hogan.

The problem is it was time for the nWo to die and for WCW to move on but because nWo and Hogan were the biggest reasons for their success (in their eyes at least) they felt that was the answer to stay on top of WWF. They kept going back to nWo and Hogan when it was time to move on and it cost them big time.

When Starrcade '97 came along I think the fans assumed that's where the nWo would lost control and WCW would take charge but I don't think it was WCW's plan, or it was WCW's plan and Hogan convinced them otherwise (although I think it's unfair to blame Hogan).

All in all I don't think Sting was meant to be the top guy after Starrcade '97 for a long period of time, I think they built him to defeat Hogan at Starrcade and that's as far as they went in their thought process, so after Starrcade you're basically throwing shit against the wall hoping it will stick. I don't think WCW lost interest in Sting, I think Sting wasn't intended to be in the top position for a long time in the first place. Like Piper he was meant to fight Hogan at Starrcade and beat him, and that was it. I don't know if it was WCW's plan all along, I don't know if it was their plan to go with Sting and got talked out of it but the fact remains the title just went back to Hogan. Even when Goldberg beat Hogan he only main evented 1 PPV, Hogan main evented the next 3 PPV's after Goldberg beat him (Bash at the Beach, Road Wild and Fall Brawl).

 

[harrythem]

I think WCW had the same problem with Sting as they did with the nWo...they had two of the hottest acts ever in wrestling (impressive considering Sting didn't speak or wrestler for about 14 months) yet, when you got to the big match (Hogan vs Sting) they didn't really seem to know where to go from there.
Sting didn't help himself by not being in the best shape but, with the amount of egos around WCW who were all viable main event talent, it was always gonna be hard for him to be THE man...Hell WCW signed Bret Hart at that time and managed to turn him into "just another guy" within a few weeks of his debut.
Plus Sting, to me, is in the Chris Jericho league. He's a wrestler you can move up to the main event match and people will buy him in that position but, really, his place is just below that. It's no shame to be there, he's still a legend, just not a perennial main eventer.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Plus Sting, to me, is in the Chris Jericho league. He's a wrestler you can move up to the main event match and people will buy him in that position but, really, his place is just below that. It's no shame to be there, he's still a legend, just not a perennial main eventer.

No no no no no no FUCK no. Sting is lightyears ahead of Chris Jericho. He has been and still is a legitimate draw, something Jericho never has been. Sting was THE man in 1997, moreso than Austin or Hogan. Jericho could never make such a claim.

At the very least, Sting is second tier star with the likes of Triple H, Michaels, Hart, and Taker. I'd rank above any of them with the likes of Flair, Cena, Rock, Austin, and Hogan. He was a legit top star. Jericho never was.

 

[savage138]

Sting was the epitome of "perennial main eventer" throughout his entire WCW career. The guy had the look and charisma from day one and fans keyed in on it. I'm old enough to remember WCW's infancy. Sting was always in the conversation when top WCW guys were being talked about. He was a threat to Ric Flair's championship from day one and he was a fan favorite from the minute he debuted on television. In the NWO days, the guy was such a huge star that he needed next to mic time, next to no television time and next to no in-ring time to remain one of WCW's biggest draws....for well over a year. Sting would be shown sitting or standing in the rafters for weeks. Sting would take out two dozen NWO members single handedly. Sting was booked to look weak in comparison to NOBODY. For a period, when Sting's Crow gimmick was "new", I would have been surprised had the whole of the WCW/NWO roster been able to take him out in a handicap match. One could easily make the argument that Sting was the biggest home grown talent WCW had, from the organization's beginnings....all the way through until it's final television program. Hell, the guy is still looked upon as championship material today in TNA, even though his look is far beyond dated and his physique is that of an average middle aged man. To call Sting anything other than a top draw shows a huge lack of understanding for anything professional wrestling related.

Also, while I'm on the subject, I'd like to say I got a good laugh outta hearing HHH and The Undertaker being referred to as "2nd tier stars". I'd say the same for Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, but I'll stick with HHH and Taker for the sake of this post. Would anyone disagree if I said The Undertaker is the single most successful gimmick wrestler of all time? Probably not. ...and let's be honest, the gimmick itself was nothing special in the beginning. In fact, it was sorta bad. Calaway molded himself into a living legend IN SPITE of The Undertaker gimmick, which was beyond corny for many years. Had anyone in a position of authority went on record to say "The Undertaker gimmick will remain relevant forever" while the character was in it's infancy, I'd be completely shocked. There's a reason he can get by with only working 1 match per year. You don't get that kind of treatment if you aren't a special talent. Then there's HHH....which I won't go into too much detail with. Let's just leave it at this; The guy grew from crap gimmicks (Terra Ryzing/The Connecticut Blue Blood) into one of the most decorated pro wrestlers in history. HHH was so damn good at what he did that he'll one day be THE authority figure in the world's largest wrestling promotion. Yep, total "2nd tier" talent. lol

As far as WCW losing interest in Sting, I just don't see it that way. Their booking was questionable even at it's best and they often didn't seem to have a long term plan for anything. If I were to bet money on why there was no humongous payoff for the whole "Sting is the savior of WCW and will carry it's championship for a long period" thing....I'd just blame it on the same things that take all the blame from that time period. Ego, lack of planning for the long term and self preservation. Sting never got to run with the ball long term because WCW had too many cooks in the kitchen....

 

[klunderbunker]

As it did with the entire promotion, Starrcade 1997 crippled Sting.

Now yes, Sting was out of shape and had substance problems at this point, but if you look at the match, he was certainly in good enough condition to work a very basic match. Besides, all he needed to do at this point was to throw punches, chops, maybe a dropkick, hit the Stinger Splash and the Death Drop before making Hogan tap to the Deathlock. He did ALL of that, which makes me think there was no reason to have things turn out the way they did. That match should have been about five minutes long and Hogan shouldn't have landed a single effective shot. it should have been Hogan's execution for the crimes he had committed over the last year and a half.

Now as for the aftermath: it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. WCW had spent a year and a half battling the NWO with guys like Luger, Giant and Piper all trying and failing to keep the title off Hogan. Then we have the black knight in Sting who would FINALLY be the hero that WCW needed to win the war......except he didn't. There's the debacle over the two month stretch from Starrcade to SuperBrawl (which also had Uncensored between them and Sting's lone major title defense, a 9 minute glorified squash of Scott Hall and it didn't even go on last because we needed to see Hogan vs. Savage in a cage match whcih ended in a no contest) and then Sting loses the title back to Savage on April 19 (remember that date as it becomes important later). After all that, Sting looks like just another guy who can't beat Hogan on his own so why should the fans support him as their new hero? By the time he got the belt at SuperBrawl (and remember that show was in February, two months after the initial title match), all of Sting's steam was gone so WCW stopped pushing him so hard.

If I had to come up with one reason as to why this happened, it would be April 13, which is the night Raw FINALLY beat Nitro in the ratings for the first time in 82 weeks. That happened with Sting as champion, and in WCW's warped minds, maybe it was his fault that they lost. It couldn't be Hogan's fault because he's Hogan and it couldn't be the NWO's fault because it was a ratings juggernaut for so long and therefore it would have to be a ratings winner in 1998, so it had to be Sting's fault.

Right?

 

[OutsiderDX]

WCW also had a 2nd weekly show coming out to compete with Smackdown. Thursday Night Thunder. Someone in WcW thought that a "controversy" for the World Title would draw ratings. (which it did). They used Sting to to help launch that show.

It makes sense from a business stand point. But it became another cluster in retrospect.

In Eric Bischoff's authobiograhy, he also mentioned that Hogan was upset that Sting did not stay in shape. And was also mad Sting didn't have a tan... as petty as that sounds.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Also, while I'm on the subject, I'd like to say I got a good laugh outta hearing HHH and The Undertaker being referred to as "2nd tier stars". I'd say the same for Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, but I'll stick with HHH and Taker for the sake of this post. Would anyone disagree if I said The Undertaker is the single most successful gimmick wrestler of all time? Probably not. ...and let's be honest, the gimmick itself was nothing special in the beginning. In fact, it was sorta bad. Calaway molded himself into a living legend IN SPITE of The Undertaker gimmick, which was beyond corny for many years. Had anyone in a position of authority went on record to say "The Undertaker gimmick will remain relevant forever" while the character was in it's infancy, I'd be completely shocked. There's a reason he can get by with only working 1 match per year. You don't get that kind of treatment if you aren't a special talent. Then there's HHH....which I won't go into too much detail with. Let's just leave it at this; The guy grew from crap gimmicks (Terra Ryzing/The Connecticut Blue Blood) into one of the most decorated pro wrestlers in history. HHH was so damn good at what he did that he'll one day be THE authority figure in the world's largest wrestling promotion. Yep, total "2nd tier" talent. lol

You're totally missing the point. All of those guys are great, but they've never been among the great draws in wrestling. At the end of the day, wrestling exists to draw money. There is no artistic value to wrestling, the guys who draw the most money are the best guys. That's not to say that HBK, Hart, Taker, and HHH never drew a dime, they totally did, but nowhere near the level that guys like Austin, Hogan, Flair, and Cena did. Thus, they are 2nd tier stars. There isn't any shame in that. I'm not entirely sure exactly where Sting fits in but I know he's far and away above Chris Jericho.

I do realize that there are international stars and guys from the 70's and prior who fit into these tiers as well but I'm not going to pretend to know them all that well.

As far as WCW losing interest in Sting, I just don't see it that way. Their booking was questionable even at it's best and they often didn't seem to have a long term plan for anything. If I were to bet money on why there was no humongous payoff for the whole "Sting is the savior of WCW and will carry it's championship for a long period" thing....I'd just blame it on the same things that take all the blame from that time period. Ego, lack of planning for the long term and self preservation. Sting never got to run with the ball long term because WCW had too many cooks in the kitchen....

Yeah this a fair point as well. Sting didn't have the pull with management like a lot of the other guys in WCW seemed to have at that time.

 

[klunderbunker]

WCW also had a 2nd weekly show coming out to compete with Smackdown. Thursday Night Thunder. Someone in WcW thought that a "controversy" for the World Title would draw ratings. (which it did). They used Sting to to help launch that show.

It makes sense from a business stand point. But it became another cluster in retrospect.

In Eric Bischoff's authobiograhy, he also mentioned that Hogan was upset that Sting did not stay in shape. And was also mad Sting didn't have a tan... as petty as that sounds.

Smackdown didn't debut until April of 1999 and wasn't a regular series until August of that year. Thunder was over a year before Smackdown.

As for creating a ratings draw for it that's likely true, but it's more of the short term thinking that got WCW in trouble instead of planning for the future. Stuff like not having a tan and not being in shape that night or whatever comes off as petty, as that win should have sent Hogan packing for months. But we can't have that so here's the title back in two months Hulk.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

I don't even think it's a matter of 'losing' interest. It's more like WCW had NO interest in Sting being a long term solution for being their champion. Hogan would not have that. He came to WCW to be the kingpin no matter who's career didn't benefit from it.

Sure Sting had his share of issues during this time, but many wrestlers did. It's not an excuse for Sting to not have a run as champion to establish that even though the NWO was strong, WCW was still the main company.

The biggest problem with WCW wasn't Sting being given a fair shake. It was the entire booking of the nWo as an unstoppable force. In a face/heel showdown, the face has to win in the end or else. Hogan wanted to be the heel AND be the face of the company. And as great as Sting was built, it doesn't matter. Because Hulk Hogan wanted that belt back no matter who dropped it. It's why Sting never dropped the belt to Hogan and had Savage do it instead.

So like pretty much everything else that happened in WCW, blame Hulk Hogan for the WCW losing interest in Sting.

 

[klunderbunker]

Something else that occurs to me to back up the political theory of the disaster at Starrcade.

On the same show, Kevin Nash was scheduled to job to Giant after months of build up. The match never happened because Nash didn't show up, allegedly because he didn't want to job. THis wouldn't be the first time as Nash had ducked out instead of losing the tag titles to the Steiners, causing Syxx to take the fall instead. The match against Giant eventually happened at Souled Out, with Nash winning.

Translation: Sting shows up to do what he's supposed to do and gets punished. Nash DOESN"T show up and screws over the fans (it was probably the second biggest match on the card), then gets the ending of the match changed a month later so that he still doesn't have to job. Sting isn't even wrestling on the next PPV.

Think there might have been some backstage shenanigans going on with the decision to bury Sting?

 

[Swarles Barkley]

At the end of the day, wrestling exists to draw money. There is no artistic value to wrestling, the guys who draw the most money are the best guys.

Sorry, but this is a load of crap. Wrestling, like acting, is art and their is value to be had outside of drawing money. The best movie isn't necessarily the one that makes the most money, the best TV show isn't necessarily the one that draws the most viewers and the best wrestler isn't necessarily the one that draws the most money. In fact, more times than not, money and greatness never mesh. The Avengers was the highest grossing movie last year, but you'd be hardpressed to find someone who would call it the best movie of 2012. NCIS is the top rated TV show, but I doubt anyone would call it the best on TV. Same thing goes with wrestling. Hogan and Austin are the two most successful wrestlers of all time, but they aren't the best. Every form of entertainment exists to draw money, so if you're going to say that Hulk Hogan is the greatest ever because he drew more than anyone else, you better start calling Shia LeBeouf one of the best actors of all time because of how much money the Transformers films made. If one is true, than so is the other. I hope you see now how stupid it is to say money equals greatness.

 

[ilapierre]

As so many posters already said, WCW had 'too many cooks in the kitchen'. It wasn't that Sting was out of shape or that he wasn't over. He was, as one poster said, the most over guy in the organization. Just think about all the main event talent in 1998 in WCW. It was crazy. Then you throw Bret Hart in there. And Goldberg was catching on fire. I read a post about Hogan taking back the belt because they finally lost in the ratings. That didn't have anything to do with WCW's product as Nitro was still raking in big numbers. It was that the Stone Cold/McMahon feud was blowing up.

I think what it boiled down to was that the NWO was the foundation of WCW's success and Bischoff realized that the NWO needed the company's top belt to maintain the pace with WWE and Austin/McMahon. Ratings always indicated that viewership grew when Hogan was on top and the NWO was at full force. The NWO was about to split into two factions and in order to sell this feud perhaps it was felt Hogan needed to have the title. To sell Savage and Nash forming the Wolfpack.

So I don't think they meant to give up on Sting. I think the whole thing at WCW started snowballing out of control after Hogan won the title back from Savage the Nitro after Spring Stampede 98. It was such a great time for the wrestling fan but there were so many things going on that everyone except Hogan, Nash and Goldberg got lost in the shuffle.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Wow Fuckin A of a thread here.

First of all, as Nate said Sting was super red hot. And you know how you can tell, when in 3rd world countries your parents know the name of the wrestlers. Thats how big wrestling became during the Monday Night Wars. And outta those two promotions Sting stood out. The paint, the music, just his name; there was only ONE Sting in the world at that time.

That Starrcade match was pathetic and made Zero sense as KB pointed out. The finish was fucked, no other logical explanation than Hogan's ego being placated as he always had that golden rule: 'If I job to you, you gotta job back brutha'. Starrcade was the one night that disillusioned Sting's aura that had been built for so DAMN long.

 

[HBsam31]

Something else that occurs to me to back up the political theory of the disaster at Starrcade.

On the same show, Kevin Nash was scheduled to job to Giant after months of build up. The match never happened because Nash didn't show up, allegedly because he didn't want to job. THis wouldn't be the first time as Nash had ducked out instead of losing the tag titles to the Steiners, causing Syxx to take the fall instead. The match against Giant eventually happened at Souled Out, with Nash winning.

Translation: Sting shows up to do what he's supposed to do and gets punished. Nash DOESN"T show up and screws over the fans (it was probably the second biggest match on the card), then gets the ending of the match changed a month later so that he still doesn't have to job. Sting isn't even wrestling on the next PPV.

Think there might have been some backstage shenanigans going on with the decision to bury Sting?

I agree with this. Sting was poised to be the savior, and I thought after he won the title he should have had a lengthy run with the title. He was super over and it is what the fans wanted. I had heard about his problems, but I am sure a lot of wrestlers had the same problems. My question to you KB is if indeed there were shenanigans going on which I think there were, then why do you think they put a whole year into building Sting up as the guy that was going to end the NWO? That is a lot of time to put in just to pull the plug because certain people didn't like it.

 

[klunderbunker]

I agree with this. Sting was poised to be the savior, and I thought after he won the title he should have had a lengthy run with the title. He was super over and it is what the fans wanted. I had heard about his problems, but I am sure a lot of wrestlers had the same problems. My question to you KB is if indeed there were shenanigans going on which I think there were, then why do you think they put a whole year into building Sting up as the guy that was going to end the NWO? That is a lot of time to put in just to pull the plug because certain people didn't like it.

In short, I don't think Hogan wanted to give up the spotlight.

I think (emphasis on that word. I don't have any evidence of this or backstage info etc) it was supposed to be Sting taking down the NWO and owning the title for awhile but Hogan backed out of it because he didn't want to do the job. Notice that at SuperBrawl it wasn't the Death Drop that put him down but interference from Savage, meaning again Sting looks weak. It came off to me like Hogan wanting to protect his spot and not wanting to get out of the spotlight. It seems to go "well this guy didn't work out so back to Hogan." It happened with Luger, then Sting then Goldberg until it was too late and no one cared anymore.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Here's a summation from what KB just said about Starrcade:

- Nash no showed refusing to job to Giant.
- Hogan HAS to job to Sting in the main event.

Now did Nash have something to do with the ME being shit? I can bet my bottom dollar that when Hogan got wind that Nash ain't jobbing, he has to make his job as Dusty as possible.

 

[Wald]

Also, while I'm on the subject, I'd like to say I got a good laugh outta hearing HHH and The Undertaker being referred to as "2nd tier stars". I'd say the same for Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, but I'll stick with HHH and Taker for the sake of this post. Would anyone disagree if I said The Undertaker is the single most successful gimmick wrestler of all time? Probably not. ...and let's be honest, the gimmick itself was nothing special in the beginning. In fact, it was sorta bad. Calaway molded himself into a living legend IN SPITE of The Undertaker gimmick, which was beyond corny for many years. Had anyone in a position of authority went on record to say "The Undertaker gimmick will remain relevant forever" while the character was in it's infancy, I'd be completely shocked. There's a reason he can get by with only working 1 match per year. You don't get that kind of treatment if you aren't a special talent. Then there's HHH....which I won't go into too much detail with. Let's just leave it at this; The guy grew from crap gimmicks (Terra Ryzing/The Connecticut Blue Blood) into one of the most decorated pro wrestlers in history. HHH was so damn good at what he did that he'll one day be THE authority figure in the world's largest wrestling promotion. Yep, total "2nd tier" talent. lol

I actually agree with Nate on this one, in that Sting, Taker and Triple H are in the 2nd tier along with guys like HBK and Bret.

The top tier to me are guys who transcended the sport of professional wresting and are pop culture icons. Personally, for that reason, I'd even have Ric Flair in the 2nd tier, as outside of the US he isn't really that well known outside of wrestling circles. Hell WCW was never at the same level of the WWF in Europe, even in 1996-98, so people like the Warrior, Taker, HBK etc. are more well known than him over here.

For me only Rock, Hogan and Austin are in the top tier of modern professional wrestling, with Macho Man being a maybe.

But anyway back to Sting. Some great points being made in here, I'd never heard of him having a meds addiction problem back in 1997 either, I knew he came back out of shape and got some heat for that but the meds info is news to me, makes sense that it could put some extra heat on him.

I actually hadn't thought of the idea that Sting had the title the night Austin vs McMahon ended Nitro's 82 week run in the ratings. Knowing how insane Bischoff could get about the ratings it isn't outside the realms of possibility that as soon as that number came in he lost all faith in Sting as his main guy.

This was in April too and we were only something like 10 weeks away from Goldberg winning the title, so maybe the thinking shifted that night to lets just go all in with Goldberg? In hindsight, if they weren't going with Sting all the way, they should maybe have booked Sting to never take the belt off Hogan so that WCW fans would think that nobody would. It would have made Goldberg's win even bigger (if that's even possible, watching that night is one of my favourite memories as a wrestling fans)

 

[The Man They Call WMD]

In short, I don't think Hogan wanted to give up the spotlight.

I think (emphasis on that word. I don't have any evidence of this or backstage info etc) it was supposed to be Sting taking down the NWO and owning the title for awhile but Hogan backed out of it because he didn't want to do the job. Notice that at SuperBrawl it wasn't the Death Drop that put him down but interference from Savage, meaning again Sting looks weak. It came off to me like Hogan wanting to protect his spot and not wanting to get out of the spotlight. It seems to go "well this guy didn't work out so back to Hogan." It happened with Luger, then Sting then Goldberg until it was too late and no one cared anymore.

If Hogan was so against jobbing at the time. Why lose like he did to Goldberg?

 

[Ovaltine]

If Hogan was so against jobbing at the time. Why lose like he did to Goldberg?

Hogan jobbed to Goldberg with the understanding that he would be the one to end the streak. However a short time later Hogan and Nah were at each others throats because Nash wanted Hogan's spot at the top of the card. Hogan wasn't going to give his spot up for anyone. So, in order to make both parties happy Nash was given booking duties and got to end Goldberg's streak and then laydown for Hogan the next night starting the n.W.o. all over again. I am not sure where I read that it was either The Death Of WCW, Controversy Creates Cash or somewhere else, but it sounds about right to me.

Also, as much as Hogan say's these days that he loves Sting as a person because he is such a great human being back then I think it was different. Sting WAS WCW. More than ANYONE else Sting was and always will be the face of WCW. Not Flair (he's the face of 80s NWA) Not Luger, Not Hogan not ANYONE! And while Sting was willing to give up his spot on top for Hogan when it was time for Hogan to do the same he wasn't willing to do it. I truly think that back then Hogan was jealous of Sting. While fans were booing a pre n.W.o. Hogan out of arenas they were cheering Sting. When Sting was turned heel against Hogan the fans still cheered for Sting. Sting was the one guy in WCW that no matter what happened the fans wouldn't turn on him. Hogan knew this that's why Sting NEVER got a legitimate pinfall victory over Hogan. I think that Hogan truly thought it would diminish him to lose to the face of WCW. As for why Goldberg and Luger were able to get legit wins over Hogan- simple- he didn't perceive them as a threat. Luger (despite being Massively over in 1997) wasn't going to be the face of WCW and Goldberg couldn't cut a promo to save his life. So, once the streak was over he wouldn't have much mileage left in him.

 

[oogieboogie]

I always wondered why Sting never held the title for a decent amount of time after the win over Hogan. I always remember the build up for a year and a bit. I was always excited to watch Nitro to see what would happen. I didn't see the match until years later and finally understood why people were pissed.

The more info i read about Hogan, the more and more he sounds like a diva lol. Ladies like Mariah Carey, J Lo etc, who all have to have it their way or no way.
Just for the record i am still a bit of a Hogan fan. He is partly the reason i started to watch wrestling.

 

[BretHitmanHart92]

There were so many different directions they could have gone in, in 1998. They could have ended the nWo angle for good after that. If they had, it would have gone down as the greatest angle of all time. It still is awesome but it dragged on for far too long. Sting winning could have been a new beginning.

Some directions they could have gone in:

After Starrcade they could have had gotten rid of the nWo. Had them split up. Have Hall and Nash and Syxx and a few others stick together as the Wolfpac. But get rid of the nWo. The night after Starrcade (if the Starrcade main event had a clean finish with Sting beating Hogan) they could have had Hall and Nash and Syxx kick Hogan out of the nWo. Give him a brutal nWo style beat down. This puts Hogan on the shelf for several months. He could come back as a babyface during the late summer/fall.

After beating Hogan at Starrcade they could have had Sting feud with and beat Hall and Nash. Hall had won WWIII in '97 and was getting a title shot anyways.

During this time they could have built Bret Hart up and into a title contender. Have him still feud with Ric Flair like they did. Then build to Sting vs. Bret Hart maybe at Bash At The Beach that year with Hart winning the title.

In the meantime they could have continued to build up Goldberg and have him go undefeated. Lead to Goldberg vs. Bret Hart at Starrcade '98 with Goldberg winning the title.

Around this time have Hogan come back as a babyface. Have him feud with Hall and Nash and beat them and re-establish him as a top wrestler. Build to a babyface Hogan vs. babyface Goldberg sometime in 1999 with Hogan being the one to end the streak.

 

[Toroc102]

Starrcade 97 was pretty much the beginning of the end for WcW. I recently started picking up WcW DVD's and its the same in pretty much every single one. You can't look at a single match or angle in 98that isn't just marred by terrible booking. Goldberg was the only guy capable of bringing WcW back at this point and then they had Nash beat him and that basically ended shit right there.

Basically, as much as I LOVED the now, by 98 they truly were poison to WcW. They didn't want to give up their spot or go away. I don't care about any BS about Sting being out of shape or on drugs. I have one DVD where Nash is actually defending beating Goldberg by saying he was as over as he was. What a bunch of BS and even if he was as over as Goldberg he should not have been the one to defeat him.

Basically, your question is an answer to WcW's problem at the time(and the legacy lives on with TNA today(it actually seems to be creeping into WWE too)). They couldn't hold a vision for more than 3 months. Sting should've dominated the year of 98, instead he was basically irrelevant after 3 months and just to stick it to him they have him join the Wolfpack and start giving fucking crotch chops, I didn't remember that. If you are a Sting fan and want to have your heart broken, watch him acting like a juvenile delinquent in red and black face paint, heart broken.

But yeah, Sting losing at Starrcade was basically the beginning of the end. If you look at 98 that's also when they decided to have Nash destroy the CW division under the same logic that he used to destroy the X-Division year later, "I'll destroy all of them and then the most over guy can beat me and redeem them." NOT.

To me this was the basic problem with WcW. When the nWo was hot they were burying everybody. Normally this would be a bad thing but nWo was SO hot that it had to be allowed, up to a certain point, which was Starrcade 97. When Sting didn't win that buried him, and it allowed the nWo to go on burying others, which the company could no longer sustain. And to make things worse they split the nWo up and put two of WcW's top guys Sting and Luger(they should've NEVER worn nWo), and used it to bury another potential savior in Goldberg. After that there was nothing left. You can tell because at least in 98 WcW was still somewhat watchable. Go back and watch ANYTHING from 99 on, its unwatchable.

 

[Ovaltine]

yeah, like the guy above me said. However, if you watch WCW in 2001 it was starting to get kind of good again. The emphasis was on matches and young talent. Hogan was gone, Flair was pretty much a mouth piece. Things were starting to go in the right direction. Had the show lasted I think that the WWF would have stolen Hall and Nash back because the new WCW under Bischoff wouldn't have been able to afford them. So, along with Hogan being gone there would have been three fewer egos left in the locker room. I really think that with sometime WCW could have been competitive again.