The FPOD was 'pure shit' is just your opinion. Like the Dibiase/Andre angle, it too was one of my favourite moments watching wrestling. If you were watching Nitro casually and flipping back and forth to RAW then, yeah, I can see why you feel the way you do. You weren't following close enough. You'd think Andre/Dibiase was pure shit too if you were only half paying attention.
Why all the hate on the Finger Poke Of Doom?
- Thread starter Mudlup50
- Start date
The FPOD was 'pure shit' is just your opinion. Like the Dibiase/Andre angle, it too was one of my favourite moments watching wrestling. If you were watching Nitro casually and flipping back and forth to RAW then, yeah, I can see why you feel the way you do. You weren't following close enough. You'd think Andre/Dibiase was pure shit too if you were only half paying attention.
"Why all the hate for one of the biggest swerves in all of wrestling history?"
Lol, this question is kind've like saying we should like swerve's just because they are swerve's. Too many swerve's and people stop caring, example, WCW from this point on, TNA for all of its existence, Vince Russo etc.
Nooo. FPOD wasn't just 'another' swerve. It was perhaps the biggest one since Hogan turned heel at Bash at the Beach 96. It wasn't just another swerve Russo style.
"This appears to be Hogan's return to the Red and Yellow (which many fans were dying to see). Long story short. Nash lays down, Hogan wins. NWO reunited. Joke is on Goldberg. And joke is on the loyal WWE fan who tuned in to make sure the NWO angle had ended."
This is personal opinion at best, you are assuming WWE fans tuned in to make sure nWo was dead? Wow....WcW did not have this shit planned out man, as evidenced by numerous shoot interviews and the fact that the booking changed hands at least once in between all of this.
I would say it's safe to assume fans wanted to see red and yellow Hogan by the reaction he got only 3 years later at Wrestlemania 18. I know, personally, I felt the original NWO was finished and that would lead to the dismantling of the Wolfpack. Perhaps I 'assume' that loyal WWE fans wanted to see the NWO end because at the time there was a war going on between companies. A lot of fans loved two choices. A lot though wanted to see WCW fall. Those same fans loiter this site every day and go on these threads and complain about WCW constantly. As for WCW not having 'their shit planned out', I agree in general but disagree when it comes to FPOD. Injuries and prima donnas made things tough on bookers most of the time. But the FPOD was planned out. Eric Bischoff addressed this same thing the following Nitro and told the audience about their two month plan (after Halloween Havoc) to sucker Goldberg in. It's clear looking back as you can see signs of it in the lacklustre NWO feud. It was friends going through the motions in this 'conspiracy' angle.
ilapierre talks about this whole plan being a ruse to get back at Goldberg, when the seeds for the split of the nWo were being sewn WAY before Goldberg was even a thorn in their side, and the Wolfpack split from the Black and White before Goldberg beat Hogan for the title. Yeah man that makes perfect sense, we're the one's forgetting the details. Not to mention the fact that there was LEGIT heat between Hogan and Nash.
Again buddy, you had to be paying attention full time (not flipping back and forth to RAW) to even notice the ruse. Goldberg WAS a thorn in their side WAY before FPOD. Goldberg went after Hogan in the spring of 98 (after he won the title back from Savage) but had to go through many NWO members first. I remember specifically he had to go through Curt Henning one week, Scott Hall the next..and if he won those contests he could get a title match with Hogan. He would go onto win that match in mid 98. Half a year before the FPOD. And he remained a 'thorn' in their side straight through to his injury in Feb 99. The feud reignited when the NWO reformed later that year. As for the legit heat between Hogan and Nash, nah that was over and done with. The two feuded for 10 months and got their squabbling out of their system. Nash and Hall's feud was mile more illogical and wrapped up after only 7 months. Remember during this period that Hall turned on Nash and he was on a drinking binge? Hall had stayed loyal to Hogan and Nash was trying to power bomb some sense into him. It was LOGICAL when Hall helped Nash beat Goldberg that there might have been a mending of fences. That, in storyline, Nash was willing to let bygones be bygones to see Scott through his personal problems. And that he was also willing to sacrifice his title (Scott won him) for the betterment of the whole and the reunification of the NWO. There is not one thing illogical about this if you were following along.....
"And WCW's ratings went up from low 4s before the FPOD to above 5 for a few weeks in February. They remained in the high 4s until early May (when it was evident the NWO was being phased out completely)."
You look at ratings in a very simple minded way. For one thing ratings were in the high 4's before the FPOD. Besides that, there is so much to gather from a side by side viewing of the ratings war. WcW pretty much ebbed and flowed WITH the WWF from October of 98 until about May/April of 99 when they started losing viewers and WWE stayed consistent. However people were no longer prioritizing WcW. When WcW was winning people would watch Raw during the commercials, or during the garbage time skits, then that turned around. And after April WcW was pretty much down for the count. Thats my main point, its not like there were 5 million viewers watching Raw and 4 million completely separate viewers watching WcW, more like 3.5 million that watched both and then .5 mil watched only Nitro and 1.5 mil watched only Raw.
Obamartins addresses this in perhaps the best post I've ever seen on this site in my 16 years of coming here.
Obviously the FPOD was not the ONLY reason people stopped watching WcW, but it is symbolic of all the reasons that they did stop watching, too many swerve's, the bad guy always winning, illogical storytelling(anyone who says that the FPOD was some master plan is the true revisionist, THAT SHIT MADE NO SENSE, coming from someone watched WCW religiously until 99).[/QUOTE]
The problem with wrestling entertainment today (and yes there is a BIG problem) is this idea that feuds need a balance of victories where both wrestlers get a push by trading victories. I call bullshit on that. There are NO swerves today. Doesn't need to be swerves if the product is good. Doesn't need to be any if it's bad. They just shouldn't be outlawed like they seem to be today. I will give you the illogical storytelling point (although FPOD still is logical to those who paid close attention and were loyal to the WCW product). As for the bad guys winning, I disagree with you. I believe that is the biggest thing missing in wrestling. Look how awesome it is that Lesnar and Heyman DON'T lose. That is how interest is built. By waiting for that moment when the heel finally gets knocked off. Wrestling entertainment needs more heels that hardly lose. It draws heat and interest. Even if the heel is like Hogan and loses 3 times in 2 years.
Toroc102 Asfor me being a 'revisionist' for saying the FPOD made sense, again, I say you couldn't have been paying close enough attention. There are many posters here saying it was one of their favourite angles. From reading their posts against yours, I can tell that their viewing comprehension skills were a little bit more advanced than your own. But you know what let's expand on your illogical storyline point. I'll tell you what didn't make sense to me. Nash beating Goldberg for the belt and streak in the first place. Another thing was Flair beating Hogan for the belt and the double turn. Another thing was when Savage won the belt a few months later only to lose it to Hogan the next night on Nitro. Hitman surrendering the title to Sid made not a lick of sense. And then Benoit beating Sid for the title and walking out of the company. Oh and what about Sting turning heel to face Hogan in the fall of 99. Or how about Billy Kidman getting a pinfall on Hogan? Or Jarrett laying down for Hogan? SO many things in WCW didn't make a lick of sense and were illogical. But, for me, (the guy paying close attention) FPOD was one thing during that period that made sense.
Lol, this question is kind've like saying we should like swerve's just because they are swerve's. Too many swerve's and people stop caring, example, WCW from this point on, TNA for all of its existence, Vince Russo etc.
Nooo. FPOD wasn't just 'another' swerve. It was perhaps the biggest one since Hogan turned heel at Bash at the Beach 96. It wasn't just another swerve Russo style.
"This appears to be Hogan's return to the Red and Yellow (which many fans were dying to see). Long story short. Nash lays down, Hogan wins. NWO reunited. Joke is on Goldberg. And joke is on the loyal WWE fan who tuned in to make sure the NWO angle had ended."
This is personal opinion at best, you are assuming WWE fans tuned in to make sure nWo was dead? Wow....WcW did not have this shit planned out man, as evidenced by numerous shoot interviews and the fact that the booking changed hands at least once in between all of this.
I would say it's safe to assume fans wanted to see red and yellow Hogan by the reaction he got only 3 years later at Wrestlemania 18. I know, personally, I felt the original NWO was finished and that would lead to the dismantling of the Wolfpack. Perhaps I 'assume' that loyal WWE fans wanted to see the NWO end because at the time there was a war going on between companies. A lot of fans loved two choices. A lot though wanted to see WCW fall. Those same fans loiter this site every day and go on these threads and complain about WCW constantly. As for WCW not having 'their shit planned out', I agree in general but disagree when it comes to FPOD. Injuries and prima donnas made things tough on bookers most of the time. But the FPOD was planned out. Eric Bischoff addressed this same thing the following Nitro and told the audience about their two month plan (after Halloween Havoc) to sucker Goldberg in. It's clear looking back as you can see signs of it in the lacklustre NWO feud. It was friends going through the motions in this 'conspiracy' angle.
ilapierre talks about this whole plan being a ruse to get back at Goldberg, when the seeds for the split of the nWo were being sewn WAY before Goldberg was even a thorn in their side, and the Wolfpack split from the Black and White before Goldberg beat Hogan for the title. Yeah man that makes perfect sense, we're the one's forgetting the details. Not to mention the fact that there was LEGIT heat between Hogan and Nash.
Again buddy, you had to be paying attention full time (not flipping back and forth to RAW) to even notice the ruse. Goldberg WAS a thorn in their side WAY before FPOD. Goldberg went after Hogan in the spring of 98 (after he won the title back from Savage) but had to go through many NWO members first. I remember specifically he had to go through Curt Henning one week, Scott Hall the next..and if he won those contests he could get a title match with Hogan. He would go onto win that match in mid 98. Half a year before the FPOD. And he remained a 'thorn' in their side straight through to his injury in Feb 99. The feud reignited when the NWO reformed later that year. As for the legit heat between Hogan and Nash, nah that was over and done with. The two feuded for 10 months and got their squabbling out of their system. Nash and Hall's feud was mile more illogical and wrapped up after only 7 months. Remember during this period that Hall turned on Nash and he was on a drinking binge? Hall had stayed loyal to Hogan and Nash was trying to power bomb some sense into him. It was LOGICAL when Hall helped Nash beat Goldberg that there might have been a mending of fences. That, in storyline, Nash was willing to let bygones be bygones to see Scott through his personal problems. And that he was also willing to sacrifice his title (Scott won him) for the betterment of the whole and the reunification of the NWO. There is not one thing illogical about this if you were following along.....
"And WCW's ratings went up from low 4s before the FPOD to above 5 for a few weeks in February. They remained in the high 4s until early May (when it was evident the NWO was being phased out completely)."
You look at ratings in a very simple minded way. For one thing ratings were in the high 4's before the FPOD. Besides that, there is so much to gather from a side by side viewing of the ratings war. WcW pretty much ebbed and flowed WITH the WWF from October of 98 until about May/April of 99 when they started losing viewers and WWE stayed consistent. However people were no longer prioritizing WcW. When WcW was winning people would watch Raw during the commercials, or during the garbage time skits, then that turned around. And after April WcW was pretty much down for the count. Thats my main point, its not like there were 5 million viewers watching Raw and 4 million completely separate viewers watching WcW, more like 3.5 million that watched both and then .5 mil watched only Nitro and 1.5 mil watched only Raw.
Obamartins addresses this in perhaps the best post I've ever seen on this site in my 16 years of coming here.
Obviously the FPOD was not the ONLY reason people stopped watching WcW, but it is symbolic of all the reasons that they did stop watching, too many swerve's, the bad guy always winning, illogical storytelling(anyone who says that the FPOD was some master plan is the true revisionist, THAT SHIT MADE NO SENSE, coming from someone watched WCW religiously until 99).[/QUOTE]
The problem with wrestling entertainment today (and yes there is a BIG problem) is this idea that feuds need a balance of victories where both wrestlers get a push by trading victories. I call bullshit on that. There are NO swerves today. Doesn't need to be swerves if the product is good. Doesn't need to be any if it's bad. They just shouldn't be outlawed like they seem to be today. I will give you the illogical storytelling point (although FPOD still is logical to those who paid close attention and were loyal to the WCW product). As for the bad guys winning, I disagree with you. I believe that is the biggest thing missing in wrestling. Look how awesome it is that Lesnar and Heyman DON'T lose. That is how interest is built. By waiting for that moment when the heel finally gets knocked off. Wrestling entertainment needs more heels that hardly lose. It draws heat and interest. Even if the heel is like Hogan and loses 3 times in 2 years.
Toroc102 Asfor me being a 'revisionist' for saying the FPOD made sense, again, I say you couldn't have been paying close enough attention. There are many posters here saying it was one of their favourite angles. From reading their posts against yours, I can tell that their viewing comprehension skills were a little bit more advanced than your own. But you know what let's expand on your illogical storyline point. I'll tell you what didn't make sense to me. Nash beating Goldberg for the belt and streak in the first place. Another thing was Flair beating Hogan for the belt and the double turn. Another thing was when Savage won the belt a few months later only to lose it to Hogan the next night on Nitro. Hitman surrendering the title to Sid made not a lick of sense. And then Benoit beating Sid for the title and walking out of the company. Oh and what about Sting turning heel to face Hogan in the fall of 99. Or how about Billy Kidman getting a pinfall on Hogan? Or Jarrett laying down for Hogan? SO many things in WCW didn't make a lick of sense and were illogical. But, for me, (the guy paying close attention) FPOD was one thing during that period that made sense.
I don't think Fingerpoke of Doom on itself was the reason why fans switched. WWE's shows slowly progressed in quality and gave fans new faces, while in WCW there always was the same crop of top guys - that's the real one.
To be honest, WCW had way too many main eventer EGOs on the same show (and with creative control) to be able to do something about it.
In perfect world, they should do 2 brands with completely different rosters when Thunder first aired in january of that very year, making Bret Hart a face of Thunder, while he was still very hot - this way their uppermidcarders could get a push they deserved and WCW could make new storylines and stay fresh. Sting/Hogan Starrcade ending was perfect to make second world title belt.
To be honest, WCW had way too many main eventer EGOs on the same show (and with creative control) to be able to do something about it.
In perfect world, they should do 2 brands with completely different rosters when Thunder first aired in january of that very year, making Bret Hart a face of Thunder, while he was still very hot - this way their uppermidcarders could get a push they deserved and WCW could make new storylines and stay fresh. Sting/Hogan Starrcade ending was perfect to make second world title belt.
JoeyJoeJoe
Championship Contender
Well, I guess that's your opinion too, however I was watching Nitro pretty much every week at that point.
Let's put it this way: Nothing in the writing on Nitro at that time made that moment make any sense.
The reason why people hate on it is because it was a really stupid thing to do at a time when wcw couldn't afford to do something stupid. By that point wwf had overtaken them in the ratings and after that incident they were never able to recover and I don't believe they ever beat wwf after that.
A lot of people forget that the original main event for that Nitro was supposed to be the big rematch between Nash and Goldberg, but they did a lame angle at the start of the show in which Elizabeth called the police on Goldberg for "aggravated stalking" so instead Nash was going to defend against Hogan who a couple of months earlier "retired because he wanted to run for US President". The Fingerpoke of Doom lead to another Hogan title reign which was so trite at that point, so that's another reason people hated it.
Kevn Nash has said that the reason he booked it was so that Goldberg could go through the new nwo one by one and face Hogan again for the title. But at that point Hogan in the main event was so stale and he was 46 years old. It would be like HHH hogging the title now at 46(and you know he has the power to do so). Fingerpoke of Doom was the beginning of the wcw's doom. All there is too it
A lot of people forget that the original main event for that Nitro was supposed to be the big rematch between Nash and Goldberg, but they did a lame angle at the start of the show in which Elizabeth called the police on Goldberg for "aggravated stalking" so instead Nash was going to defend against Hogan who a couple of months earlier "retired because he wanted to run for US President". The Fingerpoke of Doom lead to another Hogan title reign which was so trite at that point, so that's another reason people hated it.
Kevn Nash has said that the reason he booked it was so that Goldberg could go through the new nwo one by one and face Hogan again for the title. But at that point Hogan in the main event was so stale and he was 46 years old. It would be like HHH hogging the title now at 46(and you know he has the power to do so). Fingerpoke of Doom was the beginning of the wcw's doom. All there is too it
Jonyboyuk2
Getting Noticed By Management
The main problems with the FPOD are that 1) WCW was in a mess at the time; completely out of original and entertaining gimmicks and angles and 2) the WCW world title should have been respected. IF the best title you have means so little that people would lie down to let their friend win the belt; then the audience won't pay to watch it being defended because it clearly means nothing and 3) WWF was on FIRE; and it was just a pathetic angle that damaged the WCW brand; probably one of the most significant self wounding angles WCW ever ran (only the Hogan/Jarrett angle in 2000 followed by the David Arquette World Title win are on the same fails).
The most interesting thing about how stupid this angle was is that it was live when it went out; they KNEW on Raw Mick Foley was going to win the WWF title. So they should not tell their audience about someone that most WCW/ECW/WWF fans love they will be able to see them win the big world belt. The Audience switched over; and the worst thing is; they threw away a mega money PPV main event to win the audience back the following week so it cost even more money.
It could be argued that this was the end of Wrestling as we knew it as fans in those days; it was the beginning of the end for WCW, and once WCW crashed and burned WWF/WWE had no more competition and standards dropped. Now we put up with Super Cena every week.
The most interesting thing about how stupid this angle was is that it was live when it went out; they KNEW on Raw Mick Foley was going to win the WWF title. So they should not tell their audience about someone that most WCW/ECW/WWF fans love they will be able to see them win the big world belt. The Audience switched over; and the worst thing is; they threw away a mega money PPV main event to win the audience back the following week so it cost even more money.
It could be argued that this was the end of Wrestling as we knew it as fans in those days; it was the beginning of the end for WCW, and once WCW crashed and burned WWF/WWE had no more competition and standards dropped. Now we put up with Super Cena every week.
yourdamnluck
Pre-Show Stalwart
people hate finger poke of doom coz all of them so desperately wanted to see a match between hogan and nash.......
Yep. Easily could be 5 star classic match... WCW screwed all of us! Or did they?
Bockwinkel's Class
An Entity Of Existence
That's something that people seem to conveniently forget: When you swerve so much so often it waters down the impact of the swerve. It's gets to the point that everyone knows the swerve is coming long before it does and the only REAL "swerve" would be if there were no swerve at all.
That was the biggest problem with Bischoff's programming philosophy: He wasn't concerned with good storylines buttressed by good matches; he was only concerned with "How can we fool them this week?"
RedRegan1005
Leading A Revolution
Because it was just lazy, screwy booking that WCW had become known for. Seeing a match end clean in WCW when Hogan, or any big NWO member was involved was rare. They always had screwy unnecessary swerve finishes. They tried to swerve just for the sake of swerving, and the audience was so sick of it! The Finger Poke of Doom, was just the icing on the cake. It was kind of a smack in the face to the fans in my eyes. And just showed WCW would never change. They didn't, and look what happened. When people ask how WCW booking was a major part in the companies decline, and eventual fall I point right to the finger poke of doom as an example.
CrucifiedRaven
The Evenflow Effect
The spot itself isn't necessarily bad, but under the conditions WCW was in at the time, it wasn't ideal. The reason it gets so much hate is because of the aftermath of it moreso than the actual spot. It wasn't even the dumbest thing WCW did that night.
The original n.W.o. got back together, which was a bit of a groaning moment for most fans, I think. Especially the fact that Hogan was the champion again. I think most fans were just sick of Hogan as champion. Outside of Goldberg's reign, he'd held the title and been doing the same schtick for the better part of 2 years. The n.W.o. "running wild" gang beatdown, spray paint ending had grown tired at this point as well.
I know the ratings were still high until around April, and I still watched WCW until around that same time as well. Honestly, once they put the title on DDP and turned him heel, I stopped watching completely. But I still think there were better options for WCW, primarily a Kevin Nash Wolfpac babyface run with the title and big money feuds with Hogan, Sting and a Goldberg rematch.
The original n.W.o. got back together, which was a bit of a groaning moment for most fans, I think. Especially the fact that Hogan was the champion again. I think most fans were just sick of Hogan as champion. Outside of Goldberg's reign, he'd held the title and been doing the same schtick for the better part of 2 years. The n.W.o. "running wild" gang beatdown, spray paint ending had grown tired at this point as well.
I know the ratings were still high until around April, and I still watched WCW until around that same time as well. Honestly, once they put the title on DDP and turned him heel, I stopped watching completely. But I still think there were better options for WCW, primarily a Kevin Nash Wolfpac babyface run with the title and big money feuds with Hogan, Sting and a Goldberg rematch.
The Boss
'The Boss' Of Pro Wrestling
Oh, you mean like how Andre the Giant GAVE THE WWF WORLD TITLE AWAY in 1988? (yeah I know others have already mentioned it but it is to great of a burn no to mention). Yet you have no problem with it. Or any of the their times WWF had guys just give away titles. Or what about when "Stinko" Steve Austin just threw the Intercontinental title belt into the river? That was the most degrading thing ever don to a championship. Yet I don't hear you complaining. Why? Because if it happened in WWF/E it's okay in your mind. Yup. That's Simple bigotry alright.
And by the way, I've read some of your other posts (or at least I've tried to) and you REALLY need to learn how to use the Quote feature. It will help you to get our point across better.
The Boss
'The Boss' Of Pro Wrestling
Amen to that.
But the finger poke of Doom WASN'T lousy booking. After two ears of dominating the ratings they had fallen into a rut and needed to do something to get the fans to watch. And they were watching. Nitro had bee beating RAW that night no doubt due in part (or maybe entirely) to the return of HOLLWOOD HULK HOGAN. The mistake they DID make was telling everyone that Mick Foley was about to be shown winning his first World title on RAW. Now THAT was stupid. Everything was working the way they had hoped and they mad the classic mistake of giving advertisement to the competition.
Your logic in error. As I stated above, Nitro was winning the ratings up until Tony Schiavone gave the news about Mick Foley's title win. Fans had already turned the channel before the Finger Poke of Doom took place.
Bill GoldTURD's (thank you Curt Hennig for that name lol) streak was burned out by the time he became champion. Much like the Ultimate Warrior, Bill GoldTURD's big moment was inning the championship but then he bombed as champion. He only had two nights where he won the ratings. One was the night that he won the title - and it can easily be argued that HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN drew that rating. The other was the replay of the Halloween Havoc PPV which had shut off the night before. Fans where getting their money back and other fans who hadn't paid were getting a free PPV main event. Other than that WWE kicked Bill GoldTURD'S butt throughout his reign. So WCW decided to put him back on the hunt for the title as he was much more over when he was chasing it. It was actually a smart move by WCW, but then GoldTURD threw a temper tantrum and punched a hole through a car window. What an idiot.
No. He was in the WWF doing shock value. Yet you admittedly watched it. Criticizing WCW for shock value but thinking it's okay as log as it's in WWF/E Hmmm.
By that time Vince Russo (or "Wuss-o" as he calls himself with that Elmer Fudd accent of his) was in WCW screwing everything up. He was more concerned with being a star than producing a quality wrestling show.
Oh sure it is. The challenger covers a downed champion 1-2-3 new champ with no match. But again it's okay if it happens in WWE. Bigotry in the most basic sense of the word.
Actually there is one major difference between the two. FPoD was done to further an angle, it involved the top stars of the day and it was meant to put Bill GoldTURD back on the chase for the title and have him go through all of the now members until the HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN vs Bill GoldTURD match could happen on PPV.
MITB however simply sacrifices the prestige of the championship by handing it over to some mid carder as a cheep way to try to get them over. As Ric Flair used to say, "To be the man, you have to beat the man!" Turning over a briefcase and not wrestling a match does not qualify as "beating the man". No question that MITB has hurt the prestige of the championships far more than the FPoD did. But of course, it's only bad unless WWE did it.
I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time remembering a thread in which I was so disappointed by the replies. I had no idea so many people were capable of being such imbeciles.
Thankfully, there are some people providing a voice of reason, and they addressed some of these issues, but I want to double down:
1) The comparisons to the HBK/Triple H situation are insanely stupid. There's literally no simliities besides the finger poke. Aside from the fact that it was the European Title instead of the World Title, aside from the fact that it was two friends screwing with an authority figure to the enjoyment of the audience as opposed to two supposed enemies screwing with the audience for no apparent reason, and aside from the fact that it was more of a comedy angle than a real match, let's not forget that Nash vs. Hogan was heavily hyped and highly anticipated. It had been built for months and everybody wanted to see it. Comparing that to this particular HBK-Triple H "match" is like comparing Rock vs. Cena to El Torito vs. Hornswoggle.
2) The MTB cash-in arguments are hilariously idiotic. The two have absolutely nothing in common beyond the length of the match. Not only are MITB cash-ins still kayfabe legitimate matches, not only are MITB cash-ins surprises out of the blue with no advance notice, not only are MITB cash-ins justifiably quick due to how worn down the champion is, but MITB cash-ins still have more offense than a finger poke!
3) The mere mention of the Andre/Ted DiBiase angle is absurdly moronic. They are completely different in every way other than a belt changing hands. Not just because Andre got something for the belt, not just because there wasn't actually a match, not just because DiBiase buying people was a huge thing at the time so it fit in with the character, but let's not forget that President Jack Tunney stripped DiBiase of the title! They acknowledged the kayfabe illegitimacy of the exchange. If Hogan was stripped of the title for their stunt, there might not have been quite as much outrage. (Make no mistake, the whole double ref/selling the belt thing wasn't great, I'm not defending that, but it was not on the same level as the finger poke of doom. Not by a long shot.)
The mere fact that the supporters of this nonsense have to chop it up into little parts and compare those parts to other situations, even though those other situations aren't nearly as bad in every other way, tells you all you need to know about how indefensible this is. This strategy is ludicrous and asinine, of course, it'd be like saying "why do people get so upset about somebody getting shot and killed? You're allowed to shoot people with paintballs or laser guns during laser tag, you wouldn't get in trouble if you pointed an empty gun or a gun with blanks in it and shot it at somebody, you can shoot a loaded gun into empty space, and the person getting shot is going to die eventually anyway, we all do. So what's the big deal?"
Even more ludicrous and asinine is the idea that you have to be biased to hate such a horrendously dumb booking decision. That's like saying only a biased Vikings hater would think the Herschel Walker trade was bad for them. That's like saying only a blind Yankee fan would think Derek Jeter is a future Hall Of Famer. Give me a break. It's the exact opposite. Defending this is "bigotry pure and simple." (Note to the person that said that: look up the definition of bigotry. It's not what you think it is.) Only the most biased, blindly loyal WCW slappy would defend this crap.
The finger poke of doom was one of the most horrifically bad calls in the history of professional wrestling, in my and every other intelligent and logical person's opinion. (By the way, props to the guy that dims missed somebody else by saying "that's just your opinion" and then tried to act like their opinion was more important. Good job, good effort, slick. Maybe next time you won't expose yourself as somebody who wasn't alive when the Andre/DiBiase angle took place and hadn't yet reached the age of reason when the finger poke of doom happened. Hey, you might be on to something, it's fun ignorantly making unsubstantiated claims about somebody in an attempt to discredit them. Unfortunately, you only discredit yourself in the process.) I will note that it is *possible* that there is an intelligent and/or logical person out there who disagrees, but in the 15 years since it happens I've yet to encounter one. Including this thread, I've yet to see one remotely intelligent or logical argument in favor of it. In fact, until this thread, I always believed this was a universally held view, with only the most fringe "fans" - those who like to disagree just to be different, because they think it's cool or whatever - thinking otherwise. I still tend to believe that to be true, but this thread has opened my eyes a bit.
Now, there's one thing I haven't seen mentioned, and that's what happened at the beginning of that episode of Nitro. This was the same episode where the announcers spoiled Mick Foley's WWE title victory. This was the same week that Mick Foley won the WWE title. When you're talking about the long term impact the finger poke of doom had, it's magnified exponentially because one of the worst in Nitro history happened head-to-head with one of the best moments in Raw history. It's also inevitably linked to what happened the week before, the way Nash won the title to set up the match, ending Goldberg's streak and doing so with interference in the form of Scott Hall using a taser - which is at least as mind-blowingly foolish as the finger poke of doom. Those three events will be linked forever, inarguably the start of WCW's death spiral.
I know, we have numbers that show WCW didn't die that night, and that's greats. Companies don't die overnight. Wars aren't won or lost in one day or one week. WCW was on top of the world, it took a lot of bad decisions to bring them to the brink of closure. And the three decision here - Nash ending Goldberg's streak thanks to Hall's taser, Bischoff telling the announcers to spoil and in fact mock Mick Foley's pending title victory, and then the finger poke of doom - were the biggest bad decisions WCW made. It's kind of like a married couple where one cheats and the other finds out...they probably had problems before that, and maybe they stay together afterwards, going to therapy or whatever, and some other problems might pop up, but if you see them get a divorce...there's a good chance you can trace it all back to the adultery. Fans lost their trust in WCW on that day. Sure, they still watched, but that doesn't mean they enjoyed it as much. That doesn't mean they felt as passionately about it as they did. That doesn't mean they weren't starting to look around, looking at what the competition was doing, maybe questioning what they really wanted to watch. Those 8 days in December of 1998 and January of 1999 weren't the end, but they were damn sure the beginning of the end.
Thankfully, there are some people providing a voice of reason, and they addressed some of these issues, but I want to double down:
1) The comparisons to the HBK/Triple H situation are insanely stupid. There's literally no simliities besides the finger poke. Aside from the fact that it was the European Title instead of the World Title, aside from the fact that it was two friends screwing with an authority figure to the enjoyment of the audience as opposed to two supposed enemies screwing with the audience for no apparent reason, and aside from the fact that it was more of a comedy angle than a real match, let's not forget that Nash vs. Hogan was heavily hyped and highly anticipated. It had been built for months and everybody wanted to see it. Comparing that to this particular HBK-Triple H "match" is like comparing Rock vs. Cena to El Torito vs. Hornswoggle.
2) The MTB cash-in arguments are hilariously idiotic. The two have absolutely nothing in common beyond the length of the match. Not only are MITB cash-ins still kayfabe legitimate matches, not only are MITB cash-ins surprises out of the blue with no advance notice, not only are MITB cash-ins justifiably quick due to how worn down the champion is, but MITB cash-ins still have more offense than a finger poke!
3) The mere mention of the Andre/Ted DiBiase angle is absurdly moronic. They are completely different in every way other than a belt changing hands. Not just because Andre got something for the belt, not just because there wasn't actually a match, not just because DiBiase buying people was a huge thing at the time so it fit in with the character, but let's not forget that President Jack Tunney stripped DiBiase of the title! They acknowledged the kayfabe illegitimacy of the exchange. If Hogan was stripped of the title for their stunt, there might not have been quite as much outrage. (Make no mistake, the whole double ref/selling the belt thing wasn't great, I'm not defending that, but it was not on the same level as the finger poke of doom. Not by a long shot.)
The mere fact that the supporters of this nonsense have to chop it up into little parts and compare those parts to other situations, even though those other situations aren't nearly as bad in every other way, tells you all you need to know about how indefensible this is. This strategy is ludicrous and asinine, of course, it'd be like saying "why do people get so upset about somebody getting shot and killed? You're allowed to shoot people with paintballs or laser guns during laser tag, you wouldn't get in trouble if you pointed an empty gun or a gun with blanks in it and shot it at somebody, you can shoot a loaded gun into empty space, and the person getting shot is going to die eventually anyway, we all do. So what's the big deal?"
Even more ludicrous and asinine is the idea that you have to be biased to hate such a horrendously dumb booking decision. That's like saying only a biased Vikings hater would think the Herschel Walker trade was bad for them. That's like saying only a blind Yankee fan would think Derek Jeter is a future Hall Of Famer. Give me a break. It's the exact opposite. Defending this is "bigotry pure and simple." (Note to the person that said that: look up the definition of bigotry. It's not what you think it is.) Only the most biased, blindly loyal WCW slappy would defend this crap.
The finger poke of doom was one of the most horrifically bad calls in the history of professional wrestling, in my and every other intelligent and logical person's opinion. (By the way, props to the guy that dims missed somebody else by saying "that's just your opinion" and then tried to act like their opinion was more important. Good job, good effort, slick. Maybe next time you won't expose yourself as somebody who wasn't alive when the Andre/DiBiase angle took place and hadn't yet reached the age of reason when the finger poke of doom happened. Hey, you might be on to something, it's fun ignorantly making unsubstantiated claims about somebody in an attempt to discredit them. Unfortunately, you only discredit yourself in the process.) I will note that it is *possible* that there is an intelligent and/or logical person out there who disagrees, but in the 15 years since it happens I've yet to encounter one. Including this thread, I've yet to see one remotely intelligent or logical argument in favor of it. In fact, until this thread, I always believed this was a universally held view, with only the most fringe "fans" - those who like to disagree just to be different, because they think it's cool or whatever - thinking otherwise. I still tend to believe that to be true, but this thread has opened my eyes a bit.
Now, there's one thing I haven't seen mentioned, and that's what happened at the beginning of that episode of Nitro. This was the same episode where the announcers spoiled Mick Foley's WWE title victory. This was the same week that Mick Foley won the WWE title. When you're talking about the long term impact the finger poke of doom had, it's magnified exponentially because one of the worst in Nitro history happened head-to-head with one of the best moments in Raw history. It's also inevitably linked to what happened the week before, the way Nash won the title to set up the match, ending Goldberg's streak and doing so with interference in the form of Scott Hall using a taser - which is at least as mind-blowingly foolish as the finger poke of doom. Those three events will be linked forever, inarguably the start of WCW's death spiral.
I know, we have numbers that show WCW didn't die that night, and that's greats. Companies don't die overnight. Wars aren't won or lost in one day or one week. WCW was on top of the world, it took a lot of bad decisions to bring them to the brink of closure. And the three decision here - Nash ending Goldberg's streak thanks to Hall's taser, Bischoff telling the announcers to spoil and in fact mock Mick Foley's pending title victory, and then the finger poke of doom - were the biggest bad decisions WCW made. It's kind of like a married couple where one cheats and the other finds out...they probably had problems before that, and maybe they stay together afterwards, going to therapy or whatever, and some other problems might pop up, but if you see them get a divorce...there's a good chance you can trace it all back to the adultery. Fans lost their trust in WCW on that day. Sure, they still watched, but that doesn't mean they enjoyed it as much. That doesn't mean they felt as passionately about it as they did. That doesn't mean they weren't starting to look around, looking at what the competition was doing, maybe questioning what they really wanted to watch. Those 8 days in December of 1998 and January of 1999 weren't the end, but they were damn sure the beginning of the end.
FlairFan2003
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Actually, Nitro did not beat RAW for an entire night after the Sept 1998 episode when Flair returned. However, the relay of the screwed up Havoc match itself drew a monster rating although I believe for the night the win went to RAW.
FlairFan2003
Mid-Card Championship Winner
So in 1988, WWE promises the ultimate re-match, on TV no less, of best friends now turned bitter rivals, Hulk Hogan & Andre The Giant In 1999 WCW Promises The Ultimate Match between best friends turned bitter rivals Hulk Hogan & Kevin Nash.
In 1988 the WWE Title was at stake In 1999 the WCW Title was at stake.
In 1988 WWE infuriated fans with a seemingly non sensical, yet never before seen screw job ending that caused the title to change hands, something so totally unbelievable it is still talked about to this day.
In 1999 WCW infuriated fans with a seemingly non sensical, yet never before seen screw job ending that caused the title to change hands, something so totally unbelievable it is still talked about to this day.
In both instances long term storylines were advanced (DiBiases quest for the title and subsequent feud with Randy Savage The reformation of the NWO as WCWs top heel faction)
Hmmm .so far Im seeing a lot of similarities. Now I will see that while Nitro was on TV it was just a random weekly episode, the second one after Starcade 98 (third if you count a re run special for New Years), in 1988 WWE aired a Prime Time Special on NBC for their Hogan-Andre match, where obviously expectations would be MUCH HIGHER for something special, not a 5 minute match if you can call it that which they gave us. In that sense WWE in 1988 was much worse.
The idea that Andre would cheat to win the title wasnt far fethched he had already joined forces with the evil Bobby Heenan Family a year earlier and headlined W-Mania III as a heel. The idea that Hollywood Hogan would cheat to win the title also wasnt far fetched, Hogan had blatantly cheated in every big match he had had since turning heel in 1996, often requiring almost epic assistance in matches vs Sting, Ric Flair, Lex Luger the one time he tried to go it alone he lost (to Goldberg).
The idea that Ted DiBiase would bribe a ref to impersonate ANOTHER REF and then COUNT A FAKE PINFALL to illegally change the title made almost no sense. If DiBiase was willing to do that why wouldnt he do it WHEN HE WAS WRESTLING HOGAN ???
The idea that Nash, who worked so hard to get the WCW Title, would so quickly give it up to Hogan didnt make sense, however re-uniting the most dominant faction in wrestling with a chance for all the money & power involved could be seen as reason, even though most people would have tried to re-unite the faction AND keep the belt. Nonsensical, yes, but not as far out as DiBiase.
Andre selling the belt to DiBiase was perhaps the most far fetched thing of all. Andre was the most beloved star in wrestling, he had a 20 year undefeated streak, he was so popular with fans that guys like Ricky Steamboat, Magnum TA, The British Bulldogs, The Rock & Roll Express, they couldnt touch him. Only Dusty Rhodes & Hogan were in the same stratosphere as Andre as a beloved iconic good guy. All of that he flushed down the toilet to align himself with his sworn enemy so he could betray his best friend, and for what, a WORLD TITLE SHOT! The idea of Andre so quickly selling the belt for cash was absolutely insane and made no logical sense at all. It certainly made less sense that Nashs Finger Poke, although both were stretches.
In many ways what WWE was far worse in 1988 in terms of insulting (or infuriating) fans and made less sense. The two events are EXTREMELY SIMILAR in almost every way except for one thing, WWE capitalized on the swerve with the W-Mania Title Tournament and year long Savage-DiBiase feud. WCW had a great potential set up with the NWO trying to fend off Flair & Goldberg with the inevitable showdown between GB & Hogan for the belt. Instead the pushed Goldberg into the mid card and took him out of the title picture, buried Flair, turned him heel, and broke up the NWO altogether just two months later.
The massive way WCW botched the aftermath is the only major difference Otherise the two events were eerily similar.
George Steele's Barber
Advertise Here $9.95/month
Hogan didn't cheat to beat Nash, there was no match at all. I think that is one of the points others are making. Both were screwy but at least you got some violence for your attention with Hogan and Andre (I've never seen it so correct me if I am wrong).
The other point is that most fans could justify Andre as a wrestler for hire in 1988 where as Nash and Hogan reforming the NWO out of no where felt like the end of a story with no basis (like the end of that movie Signs).
It is great for you if you can justify it in your head but the fact that others can't supports the argument that it was a mistake.
There is a misconception here. Its not that Nash and thus Wolfpac turning heel was "bad", turns like these were common in that era.
The problem was that it was a reset button, so they could do the nWo vs. WCW Face guy storyline again, with Goldberg going against nWo like Sting did it in 1997.
The fans simply wanted to see something new and original, rather than the same story. Imagine if in 2000, Vince McMahon called out Stone Cold Steve Austin for "swearing" or showing his middle finger and wanted him to be a more model employee, and Austin refused, stunning him, the fans would have gone "meh". Its something they have seen and lived for months if not years.
Fingerpoke of doom was WCW saying "we simply do not know what to do, so we will just do what we did in 1996" and fans lost confidence. The entire nWo vs. Wolfpac faction was dropped, and that feud actually did a lot of good because it made nWo a heel faction while Wolfpac became the "cool bad guys". It should have come to some finality and allowed both factions to cease to exist and the promotion to move on.
The problem was that it was a reset button, so they could do the nWo vs. WCW Face guy storyline again, with Goldberg going against nWo like Sting did it in 1997.
The fans simply wanted to see something new and original, rather than the same story. Imagine if in 2000, Vince McMahon called out Stone Cold Steve Austin for "swearing" or showing his middle finger and wanted him to be a more model employee, and Austin refused, stunning him, the fans would have gone "meh". Its something they have seen and lived for months if not years.
Fingerpoke of doom was WCW saying "we simply do not know what to do, so we will just do what we did in 1996" and fans lost confidence. The entire nWo vs. Wolfpac faction was dropped, and that feud actually did a lot of good because it made nWo a heel faction while Wolfpac became the "cool bad guys". It should have come to some finality and allowed both factions to cease to exist and the promotion to move on.
JJ15776: Only the most biased, blindly loyal WCW slappy would defend this crap.
Only the most biased, blindly loyal WCW slappy would defend this crap. That is YOUR OPINION. Not a fact. It is my opinion (not yours) that only the most biased, blindly loyal WWE slappy would not understand or appreciate a united NWO.
The finger poke of doom was one of the most horrifically bad calls in the history of professional wrestling, in my and every other intelligent and logical person's opinion.
In your blindly loyal WWE slappy opinion it was one of the worst calls in wrestling history. And, in your opinion, only an intelligent and logical person has the same slappy opinion as you. Well, a blind WCW slappy could have the same exact opinion that it wasn't one of the worst calls. What makes them not intelligent and illogical to have an opinion?
(By the way, props to the guy that dims missed somebody else by saying "that's just your opinion" and then tried to act like their opinion was more important. Good job, good effort, slick. Maybe next time you won't expose yourself as somebody who wasn't alive when the Andre/DiBiase angle took place and hadn't yet reached the age of reason when the finger poke of doom happened. Hey, you might be on to something, it's fun ignorantly making unsubstantiated claims about somebody in an attempt to discredit them. Unfortunately, you only discredit yourself in the process.)
I was that poster who said it was just that guy's opinion about Dibiase and Andre. My opinion was his wasn't very informed. Does that expose me as someone who wasn't alive when the angle took place? I'm 33. I was almost 7 when the angle happened. I didn't really get into wrestling until the following year. But I remember that moment from watching the fallout a week later. I was just about 18 when the FPOD went down. I was a hardcore WCW fan and rarely ever watched WWE. Does being a WCW fan make me illogical and unintelligent? Just as much as you being a WWE fan does you. You're making the exact same type of unsubstantiated claims to discredit me as you claim I did to discredit the moron who said WCW just completely sucked.
I will note that it is *possible* that there is an intelligent and/or logical person out there who disagrees, but in the 15 years since it happens I've yet to encounter one.
In 15 years you haven't found anyone as intelligent and/or logical as you who doesn't share the same opinion about the FPOD. Imagine that! You must be some sort of super genius who is always right about everything!!
Including this thread, I've yet to see one remotely intelligent or logical argument in favor of it. In fact, until this thread, I always believed this was a universally held view, with only the most fringe "fans" - those who like to disagree just to be different, because they think it's cool or whatever - thinking otherwise. I still tend to believe that to be true, but this thread has opened my eyes a bit.
As a super genius, I'm shocked that you always believed that it was a universally held view that WCW had fans, enjoyed their product and were happy about the NWO reuniting in perhaps the best swerve in wrestling history. (My opinion - I'm entitled to one even though it's not a super genius opinion like your own lol).
Now, there's one thing I haven't seen mentioned, and that's what happened at the beginning of that episode of Nitro. This was the same episode where the announcers spoiled Mick Foley's WWE title victory. This was the same week that Mick Foley won the WWE title. When you're talking about the long term impact the finger poke of doom had, it's magnified exponentially because one of the worst in Nitro history happened head-to-head with one of the best moments in Raw history.
As a WCW fan who rarely watched (and disliked) WWE programming let me give you my less than super genius opinion on how that Monday night felt in the moment. Mick Foley was, until this night, a professional stunt man. He was a fat, overrated guy who had big time balls and a great character. But he really was a snore to watch in a straight forward match. WCW was STACKED and Foley was one of WWE's top guys. WCW had about 50 guys more worthy to be champion. There's all this revised WWE history that Foley winning the title that night was one of the greatest moments in the history of WWE. That, to me, is sad. Us WCW fans were lucky enough to have fantastic moments like that once or twice each and every Nitro during 1996 to 1998. WWE focused fans were hard up for amazing moments because their best talents had left for WCW. I am biased against Mick Foley's moment and never even watched it until years later after WCW folded. I to this day don't get what made it such a big deal. But I will concede, like the super genius that I'm not, that I wasn't following WWE or Foley or the storyline in WWE very closely. Had I, my opinion today might be completely different. But I wasn't because WCW's roster was far superior. And, up until Halloween Havoc 98, so were the storylines.
Only the most biased, blindly loyal WCW slappy would defend this crap. That is YOUR OPINION. Not a fact. It is my opinion (not yours) that only the most biased, blindly loyal WWE slappy would not understand or appreciate a united NWO.
The finger poke of doom was one of the most horrifically bad calls in the history of professional wrestling, in my and every other intelligent and logical person's opinion.
In your blindly loyal WWE slappy opinion it was one of the worst calls in wrestling history. And, in your opinion, only an intelligent and logical person has the same slappy opinion as you. Well, a blind WCW slappy could have the same exact opinion that it wasn't one of the worst calls. What makes them not intelligent and illogical to have an opinion?
(By the way, props to the guy that dims missed somebody else by saying "that's just your opinion" and then tried to act like their opinion was more important. Good job, good effort, slick. Maybe next time you won't expose yourself as somebody who wasn't alive when the Andre/DiBiase angle took place and hadn't yet reached the age of reason when the finger poke of doom happened. Hey, you might be on to something, it's fun ignorantly making unsubstantiated claims about somebody in an attempt to discredit them. Unfortunately, you only discredit yourself in the process.)
I was that poster who said it was just that guy's opinion about Dibiase and Andre. My opinion was his wasn't very informed. Does that expose me as someone who wasn't alive when the angle took place? I'm 33. I was almost 7 when the angle happened. I didn't really get into wrestling until the following year. But I remember that moment from watching the fallout a week later. I was just about 18 when the FPOD went down. I was a hardcore WCW fan and rarely ever watched WWE. Does being a WCW fan make me illogical and unintelligent? Just as much as you being a WWE fan does you. You're making the exact same type of unsubstantiated claims to discredit me as you claim I did to discredit the moron who said WCW just completely sucked.
I will note that it is *possible* that there is an intelligent and/or logical person out there who disagrees, but in the 15 years since it happens I've yet to encounter one.
In 15 years you haven't found anyone as intelligent and/or logical as you who doesn't share the same opinion about the FPOD. Imagine that! You must be some sort of super genius who is always right about everything!!
Including this thread, I've yet to see one remotely intelligent or logical argument in favor of it. In fact, until this thread, I always believed this was a universally held view, with only the most fringe "fans" - those who like to disagree just to be different, because they think it's cool or whatever - thinking otherwise. I still tend to believe that to be true, but this thread has opened my eyes a bit.
As a super genius, I'm shocked that you always believed that it was a universally held view that WCW had fans, enjoyed their product and were happy about the NWO reuniting in perhaps the best swerve in wrestling history. (My opinion - I'm entitled to one even though it's not a super genius opinion like your own lol).
Now, there's one thing I haven't seen mentioned, and that's what happened at the beginning of that episode of Nitro. This was the same episode where the announcers spoiled Mick Foley's WWE title victory. This was the same week that Mick Foley won the WWE title. When you're talking about the long term impact the finger poke of doom had, it's magnified exponentially because one of the worst in Nitro history happened head-to-head with one of the best moments in Raw history.
As a WCW fan who rarely watched (and disliked) WWE programming let me give you my less than super genius opinion on how that Monday night felt in the moment. Mick Foley was, until this night, a professional stunt man. He was a fat, overrated guy who had big time balls and a great character. But he really was a snore to watch in a straight forward match. WCW was STACKED and Foley was one of WWE's top guys. WCW had about 50 guys more worthy to be champion. There's all this revised WWE history that Foley winning the title that night was one of the greatest moments in the history of WWE. That, to me, is sad. Us WCW fans were lucky enough to have fantastic moments like that once or twice each and every Nitro during 1996 to 1998. WWE focused fans were hard up for amazing moments because their best talents had left for WCW. I am biased against Mick Foley's moment and never even watched it until years later after WCW folded. I to this day don't get what made it such a big deal. But I will concede, like the super genius that I'm not, that I wasn't following WWE or Foley or the storyline in WWE very closely. Had I, my opinion today might be completely different. But I wasn't because WCW's roster was far superior. And, up until Halloween Havoc 98, so were the storylines.
Revenant87
Dark Match Jobber
Its basically revisionist history and people wanting to play up the whole "WCW was incompetent" angle. The timing wasnt perfect but its intention was decent and it actually led to one of Nitros best ever ratings runs.
relentless1
G.O.A.T.
first off, the FPOD was a great move on WCWs part, re unite and strengthen the heel nation so that Goldberg can run through nWo members one by one until he gets to Hogan for the big rematch on PPV which should've been done at BOTB, finally ending the nWo at the same event they were created at. And yes, there was a plan to reunite the nWo at least 6 weeks prior to the Poke, like one guy said, you just had to have been paying attention, Scott Steiner was offering Lex Luger membership into the black n white after WW3.
It's...Baylariat!
Team Finnley Baylor
The Fingerpoke of Doom was basically a big 'fuck you' to any fan who watched WCW over the years. You have nearly 40,000 fans in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA - WCW's homebase, mind you - and you go out there building a PPV caliber main event and it ends with what amounts to simply laying down? It was nothing more than Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff doing whatever the hell they wanted at all costs.
Imagine if HBK and HHH had built up a major title match for Madison Square Garden in NYC, and once the match starts, HBK simply touches HHH, who goes down like being shot, and HBK makes the pin. Tell me that wouldn't piss you off?
The big deal was that the main eventers didn't care about the status of WCW and simply wanted their pockets filled short-term as opposed to having a long-term stable environment to work in.
IMO, that segment was the beginning of the end for WCW.
Imagine if HBK and HHH had built up a major title match for Madison Square Garden in NYC, and once the match starts, HBK simply touches HHH, who goes down like being shot, and HBK makes the pin. Tell me that wouldn't piss you off?
The big deal was that the main eventers didn't care about the status of WCW and simply wanted their pockets filled short-term as opposed to having a long-term stable environment to work in.
IMO, that segment was the beginning of the end for WCW.
I have to disagree with two points here. First off, wasn't Hollywood Hogan being cheered about a month after the Fingerpoke of Doom? I do not believe it established them as terrible heels and if it did, it certainly didn't last long.
Also, with the Andre the Giant situation, the storyline was booked all along so that Andre would "deliver" the belt to Ted DiBiase. They even had an interview on SuperStars where Ted purchased Andre's contract and asked the Giant to deliver to World Heavyweight Championship to him. So I have no problem with Andre handing the title over to DiBiase because it was the deal the entire time and it fits perfectly with the Million Dollar Man character. To add to that, the twin referees angle was not only one of the greatest angles in history because of the execution, the rating (over 33 million watching), but also the aftermath- Macho Man winning the title and the subsequent Mega Powers angle.
The Boss
'The Boss' Of Pro Wrestling
There was more of a match than in a Money in the Bank cash in. The challenge was made and excepted. The match was set for the main event, Michael Buffer announced that the match was for the World title. Both men were introduced and the ref called for the bell to start the match. There was even a collar and elbow tie up to start things off. Unlike MITB where guys just turn in a briefcase and cover an unconscious champion. Now THAT is demeaning to the title.
You are wrong. There was plenty of violence after the fact as Bill Goldberg charged the ring, attacked the nWo but ultimately got overwhelmed by the numbers (and a shock stick).
The Boss
'The Boss' Of Pro Wrestling
Untrue. Tunney stated, "It clearly states in the rule book that the only way a wrestler can obtain the championship is to pin the reigning champion or make him submit. That did not happen, therefore Ted Dibiase is NOT the WWF Heavyweight champion."
Tunney did not strip DiBiase but in fact claimed that the title became vacant at the moment that Andre the Giant publicly surrendered the title. Therefore the title never officially got to DiBiase.
Learn your history or get off of my forum.
