The way I see it, it was worse. The Fingerpoke was just an episode of Nitro that looked horrible on free TV.
Yes, an episode of Nitro that drew a hell of a lot more fans than Starrcade did. Far more people were actually able to witness the debacle known as the Fingerpoke of Doom than did Starrcade 1997.
The Starrcade match was the biggest match in WCW that year and arguably the biggest match in WCW history. I give the Fingerpoke episode credit for being a shit ending and pissing people off about it, but the Starrcade match was the highlight of the year that people had to pay for, not only did the ending rub people the wrong way about WCW but the shift of power started to sway to the WWF.
People were already getting sick of the nWo/WCW thing by this time, and no, the ending of Starrcade did not help. But you are exaggerating just a tad. The real turning point in the Monday Night War came on the night of the Fingerpoke of Doom. It's a fact. WWF never lost a one-on-one ratings battle again.
Had this main event went the other way and Sting had won, the praise for this would have been huge. It was the biggest thing in wrestling and had everyone's attention. If you book Sting to win that match people are going to sway towards WCW and that would have been huge.
It was a crap ending, but it wasn't as bad as you are making it sound. At least this had a
real match that happened before the terrible finish. The Fingerpoke of Doom incident was just that..an incident. First, as I have said before, WCW didn't even promote the main event they ran. Goldberg wasn't even in the match, in Atlanta, which basically served as his and WCW's hometown at the time! Instead, you got Nash and Hogan. Even if that match had gone through, it would have been complete trash. Nash had said some himself.
That match on Nitro was a disgrace. An absolute disgrace. It disgraced both wrestlers involved, and the title that was on the line. There is no defense for what happened that night. Starrcade had a poorly written ending, but it wasn't an intentional sham like The Fingerpoke of Doom incident. At least WCW put forth an honest effort with Sting/Hogan, as opposed to copping out like they did with Nash/Hogan.
You're right it is quite a bold statement, and even if that match would have went the right way and WCW still made the other decisions they made I have no doubt that it would still be dead. Thing is If Starrcade would have ended with Sting on top and the nWo dead that would have only been good for the company and would have saved a few other blunders from happening, like the Fingerpoke. No nWo, no Fingerpoke of Doom.
That's a strong opinion, but it's just that; an opinion. We have no clue how the rest of the angle would have gone had Sting beat Hogan clean.
And how do we know a dead nWo would have been good for WCW? Sure, the angle had been beaten to death. But in all honesty, the nWo was the only successful, mainstream angle WCW ever put together. Who's to say they wouldn't have folded even earlier had they killed the nWo at Starrcade 1997.
I'm not so sure about that, but even if they wouldn't have been winning the war, they wouldn't have been left reeling after that disaster of an ending. Sting and Austin were the two hottest things in wrestling in 1998, had Sting had the momentum of taking out Hogan and the nWo and being the WCW Champion in 98 it sure wouldn't have hurt WCW.
I guess we'll never know, seeing that didn't happen.
All this started before the Fingerpoke though. The booking of the Starrcade match was just as bad, the only thing that makes your finish worse is that there wasn't any actual wrestling. As bullshit as the Fingerpoke was it still made sense, Nash and Hogan showed that the nWo was still intact and that Hogan was still top dog. It wasn;t built for over a year intriguing all the fans cheering for Sting to take down the nWo.
Actually, in the months leading up to this segment, the nWo was split into two different factions; nWo Hollywood, and the Wolfpac. This angle was not only poorly executed, it made no sense at all. They had just battled for months, and now this? It was a shit angle, with an even worse outcome on Nitro. So no, it actually made zero sense.
And as bad as the Starrcade debacle was, Sting won the title two months later (the title wasn't up for grabs the next month at Souled Out). It's not like that was the end of the storyline, they just stretched it out, and Superbrawl 1998 drew a 1.10 buy rate, which was pretty damn good. So Starrcade didn't do nearly as much damage as you would have us believe.
I jsut addressed this, but I'll say it again, the Fingerpoke was the final nail in the coffin, but it wouldn't have even happened had the nWo been disbanded by Sting winning the Starrcade match. For me it's the missed opportunity with the Starrcade match that makes it the worst moment in WCW history.
I can't agree with you, because as I said before, we cannot say with any certainty what would have happened had Sting won the belt. Is it possible what you're saying could have actually taken place had things gone differently at Starrcade? Sure, but I doubt we can know what would have happened. WCW may have reached even greater heights, or they may have fallen flat right then and there without the nWo.
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Closing Argument
WCW did quite well for themselves after the introduction of the nWo in 1996. They were cutting edge, and brought a sense of realism to professional wrestling, something it was definitely lacking. They did the unthinkable by actually competing with WWF on a mainstream level.
But when you have a collective ego that is larger than your intelligence level, you tend to fail. And I believe that is the main reason WCW failed. It sure wasn't for a lack of big-name talent, even if most of them were over the hill.
At Starrcade 1997, WCW was looking to make a name for itself, with mainstream America. It was already on it's way there, but this was needed to give it a major push to that next level. The ending was botched, I think we can all understand that. But it was botched because of uncertainty, not just due to ego.
WCW had rested every hope they had in the nWo. I'm not saying that was wise, but it's true. The nWo is what drew fans. WCW had tried and failed several times with basic wrestling, and knew only mainstream success after the introduction of the New World Order. WCW wanted/needed to drag the storyline with Hogan and Sting out as long as possible. If Sting had destroyed the nWo at Starrcade, there was no way of knowing if fans would have wanted to see anything else they had to offer.
Eventually Sting won the title (and lost it). Did WCW take the nWo too far? Yes, most definitely. But Starrcade 1997 was probably not the time to destroy it.
By January 4th, 1999, the nWo was completely played out. There was nothing left, yet WCW kept beating the absolute shit out of the already dead (and rotting) horse. Fans had stuck around, in great numbers, long after Starrcade 1997. But they were ready for something new.
The feud between Nash and Goldberg was something new. It wasn't nearly as nWo-based as the WCW WHC feuds had been over the last 2 1/2 years, and it included WCW's biggest face (Goldberg). Goldberg was to WCW what Sting was at Starrcade 1997, but bigger.
Leaving him out of that match on Nitro was idiotic. It was advertised, and was probably WCW's biggest match in the history of Nitro. But ego took over. Hogan and Nash didn't want to give up the spotlight, no matter how much it hurt WCW. Goldberg was the closest thing in the world to Steve Austin in terms of popularity. So what did WCW do with that? They basically sunk him in front of millions of people on live television.
WCW then proceeded to make a complete mockery of it's own main event. The two men involved, Hogan having replaced Goldberg, didn't even wrestle! The title changed hands via a freakin' fingerpoke to the chest!
It was worse for the company than Starrcade was, and it was worse for wrestling in general. It was a total disgrace, and anyone involved should be ashamed. Fans never again chose WCW over WWF. WCW had built a strong fan base, who was obviously willing to follow them through the flames. Starrcade was bad, but it didn't hurt WCW as much as my opponent would have you believe.
WCW shot themselves in the foot many, many times. But the Fingerpoke of Doom was more like a shotgun blast to the head. It totally turned off the millions of people watching, and the evidence is there to back it up. Look at the ratings.
The point I'm trying to make here is quite simple. WCW didn't do very well with the Sting/Hogan thing, but it wasn't a disgrace, and fans (as proven by ratings) didn't think so either. The Fingerpoke of Doom, mixed with another huge blunder that night, made fans flip the switch (literally). They turned the channel, and some never looked back. Starrcade didn't come off well, but it was a whole hell of a lot better received than the trash WCW put out on January 4th, 1999.
