Starrcade 1997 Or Starrcade 1998?

[Mitch Henessey]

Starrcade 1997 and 1998 both featured huge main events. Both of these main events took place during boom time in WCW, and both matches had shocking endings. I'll start with Starrcade 1997.

The NWO was riding high with Hulk Hogan as the World Heavyweight Champion, and it seemed as if no one was going to stop one of the most dominant stables in pro wrestling history. Enter Sting. After a hiatus from WCW, Sting would return to stalk the NWO, and he wanted only one man.....Hogan. This match had a long build up, and these two men finally faced off at Starrcade 1997. After controversy from Bret Hart and Nick Patrick, Sting won the title. The title was vacated due to the controversy, but Sting would win the belt back later down the road.

It's always a big deal when a wrestler goes over Hulk Hogan in the main event for a world title. Especially during the glory days of the NWO. Sting's win at Starrcade '97 was something big, and it halted the momentum of the NWO for a little while.

Starrcade 1998 also had a huge main event. Goldberg was as hot as anybody in pro wrestling around this time. He was World Heavyweight Champion, and his winning streak was going strong. Kevin Nash would challenge for the title in a no disqualification match. Nash was able to put an end to Goldberg's streak and title reign with the help of Scott Hall and a stun gun. The Fingerpoke of doom incident took place shortly after this, but I won't get into that.

Nash put an end to Goldberg's streak, and we saw one of the biggest momentum swings ever end. I recently watched this match a few days ago, and you can clearly see how Goldberg received a mix reaction, and Nash got a good amount of cheers when he became the champion. Maybe this was perfect timing to end the streak? Maybe the fans were tired of seeing Goldberg steamroll through everyone at this point?

Which match had a greater impact on WCW history? Hogan VS Sting or Nash VS Goldberg?

I'm going with Hogan VS Sting. The build up to this match was great. As I said earlier, it's very rare to get a win over Hogan in a main event, and for a world title. The NWO was one the biggest stables ever, and Sting's win took place before this stable became one giant clusterfuck. Toppling the NWO was significant moment in WCW history.

I literally hate how the match at Starrcade 1998 ended, but the streak had to die someday. Goldberg was hot, and he was just as popular as anybody around this time, but I think it was time for the Goldberg train to take a break.

What are your thoughts?

 

[klunderbunker]

97 and it's so far ahead you can't even see 98.

Nash vs. Goldberg was just a match. Hogan vs. Sting was THE match. That was all that mattered for the last 18 months as good would finally triumph over evil. It was the only reason to buy the show and it was the final nail in WWF's coffin.

And they messed it up. If they had gotten that right then there was no way that they were going to lose. Goldberg vs. Nash was stupid and showed everything that was wrong with the company, but Hogan vs. Sting was by far bigger and had by far a bigger impact on the company.

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

1997 was better for WCW. Sting beating Hogan was like Hogan beating Andre back in '87.
Though as a huge nWo mark, I wanted Hogan to win. And I loved seeing Hall and Nash on the same team again, and them finally ending Goldberg's streak at 1998. And it's not like they beat Goldberg by making him look weak or whatever.. they had to use a stun gun to beat him.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Both wern't really good...but because the Sting/Hogan was like over a year in the making...they really f*cked it up!! This is when most consider to be the day where WCW started to die..the cance hit them just after this event!!!

The 98 match was also pathetic...yes, the streak was going to end one day..but why like this..it just wasn't clever...Nash 'bookingg himself' I think and the use of the tazer!! that was like the 1 year anniversary of the cancer that hit WCW!! and they marked it very well!!

 

[cbreezy]

everyone is hitting the nail on the head perfectly. neither were really great matches, but sting/hogan was so highly anticipated that it was ok. still dont know why hitman was the special guest enforcer though lol but owell. 97 far and away. plus it had ddp beat curt henning for the US title which was the start of his rise to the top. sorry if that was off subject

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

Neither PPV. I hated the botched ending to the Hollywood Hogan vs. Sting match was it was hyped for well over a year, billed as the Match of the Century and in the end, the Sting botches the kick out which means that in reality Hogan won (which mean that in reality Hogan wasn't supposed to win). Finally, Bret Hart appears outa nowhere knocks out the ref, restarts the match, only for Sting to win in about 30 more seconds----then the title is held up, blah, blah, blah.

Starrcade 1998's main event was perhaps the WORSE ever. We all know the story of how Kevin Nash was insanely jealous of Goldberg and did everything he could to stop the monster & machine and it came down to a tazzer (a fake tazzer at that, with sound effects added to make it more legit). Man, the hype of these matches NEVER, EVER, EVER lived up to what happened in the ring. Garbage PPV main events.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

By a mile and a half, Starrcade 1997 had the biggest impact on WCW's history and future. This is sort of ironic since I was watching "The Best of Starrcade" DVD and the match between Hogan and Sting. KB was right with what he said and the review he posted about this match on the Old School PPV Forum. This was WCW's supposed crowning achievement, and the backstage politics and ego killed the night and helped contribute to WCW's decline. There's no way in hell Sting should have been made as weak as he looked in that match. 18 months of buildup towards this one match. The back and forth struggle between Sting, WCW, and the nWo was all supposed to culminate in Sting vanquishing Hogan without the controversy. Instead, we got the Hogan domination of the match, the "fast" three count that seemed suspiciously normal, and Bret Hart and the announcers acting like the audience didn't hear or see what just happened. It's this kind of crap that explains why WCW isn't in business: politics and screwing the fans just to feed ego.

Ruthless-RKO is right. Goldberg vs. Nash was just the embodiment of the cancer that was already inside WCW for all this time. Nash, Hall, and Hogan wouldn't allow themselves to look weak and would always book themselves to look strong in the end. Nash used his magic pen and booked himself into that world title reign. Goldberg was the hottest thing and last grasp of hope in the Monday Night Wars that WCW had. And yes, while Goldberg's act had gotten old LONG before Starrcade, this and the beat down by the 19th incarnation of the nWo destroyed any credibility Goldberg and WCW had.

But the bigger impact on WCW was the Sting-Hogan match because it destroyed 18 months worth of storyline just to make sure Hulk didn't look bad. By the time Sting got the WCW Championship again in Feb., no one really cared because everyone realized Sting should have had the clean victory in the first place and WCW would always sacrifice fan happiness for feeding the egos of their multi-million dollar talent.

 

[Nada]

Both matches have alot in common:

1. Screwy Finish
Typical WCW to never allow us to get a big payoff win for the face to win.

2. Kill the momentum of the face
All of Goldbergs momentum was sucked out of him in one swell swoop, its amazing how they managed to do that so fast. He spent rest of his time in weird angles, getting arrested and accused of rape, seriously?

Sting was, without a doubt, the biggest wrestling superstar in 1997, his entrance and the mystery about his gimmick added to that effect. nWo were seen as the strongest stable in wrestling history, and only one man, Stinger, could defeat them.

And it ends with Hogan throwing Sting around like a sack of potato, screwjob finish to beat the weak heel?

3. Milestone in downward spiral.

97 SC was the first blip, the first punch that WCW gave to all their fans, it was a really good punch but many still stuck around hoping their abusive partner would not do it again. 98 SC was the knockout punch that killed the last good thing in WCW (Goldberg), the deathblow.

4. Hall and Bret involved
All respects to both these men, but neither did much in terms of wrestling in WCW, Halls best matches were in WWE, at least he was a part of the nWo. Bret didnt do a damn worthwhile thing in WCW, oh he had some decent matches but no real good feuds or anything. Both involved in a lousy screwjob.

5. Lousy matches
Ok so only Sting could really wrestle out of these 4 guys, but even for them, the matches were terrible, you would think they would put more effort on the biggest show, but no.


Conclusion: Both are similar but 1997 is the more painful one, thats when WCW started its downward spiral they would never recover from, its that night that things went from good to bad. The following angle had the WCW title vacated with poorly written storyline to support it and just a huge damn mess, all steam was lost right here.

If Goldberg had retained against Nash, WCW would still struggle with the ratings at least they would have 1 big star people can cheer

If Sting had won cleanly and decisivly, a nWo "imposion" story could have made serious money, alot of people would see Hogan vs Nash, or Hogan vs Hall.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Just real quick, here are quick results courtesy of Online World of Wrestling to jog some memories.

WCW Starrcade 1997
December 28, 1997 - MCI Center - Washington, D.C.

1. CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Eddie Guerrero defeated Dean Malenko to retain the title

2. 6-MAN: The nWo (Randy Savage/Scott Norton/Vincent) defeated The Steiner Brothers & Ray Traylor..

3. GRUDGE MATCH: Bill Goldberg defeated Steve "Mongo" McMichael..

4. NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH: Perry Saturn defeated Chris Benoit by Submission..

5. MATCH: Buff Bagwell defeated Lex Luger..

6. US TITLE MATCH: Diamond Dallas Page defeated Curt Hennig to win the title!

7. CONTROL OF NITRO MATCH: Larry Zbyszko (WCW) defeated Eric Bischoff (nWo) by Disqualification..
* Bret "Hitman" Hart was the special guest referee..

8. WORLD TITLE MATCH: Sting defeated Hulk Hogan by Submission to win the title!
9. FADE TO BLACK....

WCW PAY PER VIEW
WCW Starrcade 1998
December 27, 1998 - MCI Center - Washington, D.C.

1. CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE 3-WAY: Billy Kidman defeated Rey Mysterio Jr & Juventud Guerrera to retain..

2. CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Billy Kidman defeated Eddie Guerrero to retain the title..

3. MATCH: Norman Smiley defeated Prince Iaukea by Submission..

4. MATCH: Perry Saturn defeated Ernest "The Cat" Miller..

5. TAG MATCH: Brian Adams & Scott Norton defeated Fit Finlay & Jerry Flynn..

6. TELEVISION TITLE MATCH: Konnan defeated Chris Jericho by Submission to retain..

7. MATCH: Eric Bischoff defeated Ric Flair..

8. MATCH: Diamond Dallas Page defeated The Giant..

9. WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Nash defeated Bill Goldberg to win the title!
10. FADE TO BLACK....

I am going with Starrcade 98. Having Norman Smiley on your show will improve it by at least 400 percent. And I am the biggest Scott Hall mark ever, so I went that one also because a) His promo in the beginning of the show and b)

Just sucks that on paper, they were pretty good cards. But if wishes were fishes, we all be mermaids.

 

[thesweetness]

The destination, starrcade 1997, was good but the journey to get there was purely epic. The build-up was so great w/ Sting hanging out in the rafters and beating people with a baseball bat for so long, until he finally got his match with Hollywood Hogan. I remember his entrance had a laser show that looked cool. The match was good, not the greatest ever, but it was a great feeling for a youngster to finally see Sting wrestling again.

 

[triple_b2k]

I had my years mixed up. I thought it was the Roddy Piper vs Hogan match and Sting vs Hogan match. I was thinking 1996 and 1997 clearly.
Sting vs Hogan was more important by far! Sting had been gone for so long and everyone wanted him to take down Hogan and the nWo. He seemed like the only one who could do it too.
p.s. I would have said the 96 PPV cause the nwo finally lost a match (luger and the giant) then Piper finally beat Hogan even if it was a non title match.

 

[Jimmy King]

Starrcade '97 was a better card.

However, Starrcade '98 was more influential on WCW's legacy.

First, due to Nash's selfishness, the destroyed Goldberg's character. Then, Nash is champion. Ok, cool, I am a Nash mark. But, subsequently, the "finger poke of doom" followed 24 hours later. Then, the NWO are now Red and White. All inter-NWO feuds now make no sense as everyone is hugging and jumping for joy. Hogan announces his run for presidency? Does a horrible, dated face run. Goldberg does a horrifically backfiring heel turn, as does Sting a lot later. I'll always remember Halloween Havoc '98 being my least favorite WCW PPV (due to Sting being "injured" and the horrible Hogan/Warrior match) followed closely by Starrcade '98.

 

[mulkeymania]

the starrcade 97 was a much much better show but for the biggest impact on WCW history i would say 98 because i feel it was the beginning of the end for WCW as it really seemed to go downhill after that with a few bright spots here and there but never really seemed the same. that being said WCW ruined the potential for making a lot of money from the 97 show with that ignorant finish--how could hogan ever think that it would ruin all he did to build his reputation in the previous 18 to 20 yrs by losing clean to sting? i never understood that thinking that losing one match would ruin your whole career--there has to be a winner and loser in every match.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

KB made a beautiful point about why '97 was better, but I have to go with '98 for the very reason he hated it: It evened out the playing field between WCW/WWF and forced both companies to step up the competition to destroy the other. Let's break down some of the highlights of what they gave us the next two years (1999-2000):

WWF: A deeper run of the Attitude Era, the light-heavyweight division was among its most versatile, a SERIOUS hardcore division, the terror of the Ministry/Corporate Ministry, the meteoric rises of stars like Austin, Rock, HHH, and Y2J.

WCW: Sid Vicious returns as "the Millenium Man", Hogan winning the title TWICE off bullshit (Fingerpoke of doom, JJ laydown), David Arquette and Vince Russo with title reigns, a Goldberg heel turn that was doomed to fail, and who could forget the hardcore invitational (the only time THEIR hardcore title meant anything?)

Pitiful that the things I mentioned were considered HIGHlights of WCW during those two years.

 

[Paradox]

While both events had good cards, there really isn't no comparison. Starrcade 97 is far and away better. Simply for the main event. Sting and Hogan was the best build for a match of the decade, possibly ever. Over a year of build up to Sting taking on Hogan was amazing. Really when you think back the nWo the previous monday night had taken nitro and even made it nWo monday nitro. It was at a time that they (nWo) were unstoppable. This first real battle in the war between WcW and nWo that the nWo could have lost realistically going into it. Everyone was ready for that match. While the match was crap because Hogan went anal and didn't want to look weak. Nothing will compare to that build that was Hogan vs Sting. Thus turning everyone to that ppv.

 

[crimson_mask]

As shows, both Starrcade 97 and 98 sum up what WCW PPVs usually were - strong undercards with weaker matches higher up the card.

Which main event had the most impact? Has to be Sting vs Hogan. It's been said before how much effort had been put into building up to this match, and all credit to Bischoff, he did an amazing job managing to keep the hype strong for all of 18 months.

So then comes Starrcade. Sting vs Hogan. The biggest match in WCW history. The hard part, building the match up, has been done. And THEN they fuck it up. Seriously, all this match needed was 15 minutes of Sting kicking Hogan's ass, scorpion death drop, scorpion death lock, boom. A clean win. That's what everybody wanted to see. But no, instead we get some bizarre bullshit ending that made no sense. Sting's big victory, what should have been WCW's defining moment, was pissed all over so Hogan's ego wasn't bruised.

So I always think of the Starrcade 97 incident as what ultimately led to the downfall of WCW. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, Sting would win the title decisively, but by that point, less and less people cared. By that point, over in WWF the McMahon/Austin feud was hotting up, and while WCW remained popular, as 1998 went on more and more fans tuned into WWF instead.

Starrcade 98 was the final nail in the coffin. Shit like Goldberg/Nash is why I can never buy the idea that Starrcade was WCW's Wrestlemania. Just IMAGINE if something like Tasergate happened at a WM main event nowadays. Just baffling booking.

However, as far as impact goes, I think Starrcade 98 is just another example of WCW being ******ed. And there were a lot of those in 1998/9.

The Sting vs Hogan match was the one that proved that WCW was willing to screw over fans who had invested their time and money in an 18 month storyline. Screwing over fans would be a blueprint for the company in the next few years unfortunately.

 

[Stone_Cold_Stunner]

Starcade 1997 by far over 1998. The build to Starcade 1997 was done well for a WCW build with all the backstage pollitics. The whole Sting one man who is gonna take on Hollywood Hogan who is the business he is the best in the world. It was such a big feel to it and to have Bret come in after the ref did the fast count (which was screwed) and restart the match and Have sting beat the year long reign of the NWO was just a huge moment. Compareing that to a streak coming to a end in a bd finish makes Starcade 98 look lame in comparisson