How Sting Managed To Have The Worst WCW World Championship Reign Ever
Quick Links
WCW at the end of its road isn't remembered so fondly. The booking was a joke and nothing made sense anymore. However, the constant state of horror didn't start until about 1999. In 1997, WCW was still beating WWE in the ratings as the NWO was still as hot as ever. The group was the most vile of villains, and fans just couldn't wait to see a hero finally bring them down. That hero came in the form of Sting. After a brilliant form of long term storytelling, Sting was set to face "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan at Starrcade 1997 for the WCW title, which was supposed to be one of the greatest wrestling moments of all time. However, in a sign for things to come, WCW botched the match, story, and Sting's subsequent title reign.
RELATED: WCW: Every Major Sting Feud, Ranked Worst To Best
The Build To Sting Vs Hulk Hogan At Starrcade Lasted For Over A Year
When Hulk Hogan turned heel at Bash At The Beach 1996, the wrestling world was in shock. The ultimate babyface had turned to the dark side. This is one of the reasons why the NWO was so popular, but it also has to do with how mature the NWO felt. WWE's roster was filled with cartoonish characters. The NWO took the WCW roster hostage every week. They would beat guys down for no reason, and there was nothing anyone could do about it because they had the numbers, and the numbers kept growing. That is until a certain face painted individual had enough. On an episode of Nitro in September 1996, Sting cut a promo in which he basically said he was going to change. Suddenly, Sting would show up in the rafters looking completely different. He would fly down to the ring and brutalize the NWO. Finally, the NWO was scared.
RELATED: 5 Ways Sting Has Changed Throughout His Wrestling Career (& 5 Ways He Stayed The Same)
It made perfect sense, though. Sting was face of WCW, and he was watching it get dissected by this group of thugs. He knew he had to do something, and he knew he wasn't going to accomplish anything as the bright-colored babyface who's always smiling. Therefore, Sting changed his look and his attitude, and for over a year, Sting terrorized the NWO and Hulk Hogan.
Sting Vs Hulk Hogan At Starrcade Was Marred By Overbooking, Botches, And Bad Decisions
It was simple. Sting would conquer the leader of the NWO on behalf of the entire WCW roster by beating Hulk Hogan. However, as many fans have become aware, Hogan doesn't like to lose. If he is going to lose, there's going to be a lot of nonsense surrounding it. That's exactly what happened in the main event at Starrcade 1997, because nothing could ever be easy.
The match wasn't very good, but in fairness, Sting hadn't wrestled in the entire build up. However, the audience didn't care about a technical masterclass. This was WCW's biggest pay-per-view ever because the story was that good, and they just wanted to see Sting overcome his rival. Well, there came a surprise when Hogan dominated the entire match while fans waited for a comeback spot that never came. Instead, Hogan beat Sting in the middle of the ring. Nothing dirty or tainted about it. He won. That's because the referee, Nick Patrick, was supposed to do a fast count, but didn't. He counted regularly and the match ended.
That is until Bret Hart, fresh out of WWE, marched down to the ring to beat up the timekeeper, restarted the match, and became the new referee because somehow he had the authority to do all that. Sting quickly applied the Scorpion Death Lock, and Bret called for the bell when Hogan didn't tap out because this was immediately after the Montreal Screwjob, and those ripoffs are just so funny. Members of the roster came out to congratulate Sting for winning the title even though he lost the match.
Sting's WCW Title Reign Was Treated As A Joke And Secondary To NWO's Dissension
This title reign did not last very long at all. The biggest match in WCW, which was supposed to be Sting's big moment, got shortchanged because Hogan, Sting, and Eric Bischoff couldn't decide on a finish. Then Sting couldn't even get a proper title reign out of it which was the entire point of the feud. They had a rematch on Nitro the next night which ended in just as many shenanigans. Therefore, on the first episode of Thunder, the title was vacated. Just like that, Sting looked like a chump.
RELATED: Sting Was Almost The True Leader Of The nWo
Sting would win the title back at Superbrawl in Febraury, but by this point, the aura that engulfed Sting for the entirety of 1997 had dissipated. Even so, Sting wasn't given the chance to have a great title reign as the animosity between members of the NWO, mostly between Hogan and Kevin Nash, took center stage in WCW. Sting would then lose the title less than two months later at Spring Stampede to Randy Savage. Savage immediately continued a feud with Hogan where Hogan won the title back from Savage to make the entire storyline with Sting and Sting's reign feel like it never even happened.
Sting was on top of the world in 1997. He had undergone a major character change, he was immensely over with the crowd, and he was treated as a big deal as he should. However, politics and just straight ineptitude got the better of everyone involved and, unfortunately for Sting, Hogan had complete creative control in his contract, so there was nothing to be done. Thankfully, the disastrous title reign didn't ruin Sting's career as he's still considered one of the greatest of all time.
