Rell84shots
Veteran
True, But people have always made it seem like that moment directly led to the demise of WCW. The truth is that people were willing to go along with it, but Hogan's knee finally caught up with him.
25 years ago.. the biggest botch in wrestling history occurred. “Botched storyline”
- Thread starter Dynamite James
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Cattle Mutilation
Superstar
They lost the ratings war pretty much every single Monday after that, if I remember correctly.
FunkDoc1112
Heavily Armed
They had already been on a 2-month losing streak (Woulda been 3 months if not for the Fall Brawl mishap that had viewers wanting to see what got cut off the next night) prior. But if you look at the ratings, they only drew two more 5.0s after that and started taking more pronounced beatings shortly after...then February is when they really fall off the rails. The Hogan/Flair feud probably.
So yeah, you can ultimately trace the decline to the fingerpoke given how quickly things got out of hand shortly after
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Cattle Mutilation
Superstar
Might not be THE reason, but it was essentially the one that put them over the edge. I don't think it's fair to look at any one thing and be like that is THE reason, there were so many that it was an accumulation of things.
But the Fingerpoke of Doom was the straw that broke the camel's back, if you will.
FunkDoc1112
Heavily Armed
They started getting their ass whooped in the ratings in February, when Hogan was still around. Hogan didn't get hurt till the end of April, by which point WWF had already started beating them by over 2 points on a regular basis
| Date | Raw | Nitro |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 3-7 (Fingerpoke) | 5.76 | 4.96 |
| Jan. 10-14 | 5.50 | 4.99 |
| Jan. 17-21 | 5.55 | 4.87 |
| Jan. 24-28 | 5.46 | 4.99 |
| 1/31 – 2/4 | 5.71 | 4.68 |
| Feb. 7-13 | ** 4.3 (Sat. Edition) | 5.67 |
| Feb. 14-18 | 5.9 | 3.9 |
| Feb. 21-25 | 5.55 | 4.73 |
| 2/28 – 3/4 | 6.32 | 4.32 |
| March 7-11 | 6.46 | 4.40 |
| March 14-18 | 5.81 | 4.29 |
| March 21-25 | 6.44 | 3.95 |
| March 28 – 4/1 | 6.51 | 3.51 |
| April 4-8 | 5.83 | 4.32 |
| April 11-15 (Hogan injury) | 6.25 | 4.36 |
| April 18-22 | 6.11 | 4.08 |
| April 25-29 | 5.99 | 3.89 |
| May 2-6 | 6.38 | 3.4 |
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Metal Face
Superstar
Fumble one of the goat storylines brehs 
That night should have been the beginning of the end for the nWo leading to the ending of the stable by SuperBrawl 
but they had other plans.
but they had other plans.
Rell84shots
Veteran
This is not about the ratings between the companies, it's about what killed WCW. The finger poke didn't kill them, it was just another thing on a long list of things that did them in. Tony's "that'll put butts in the seats" diss at Foley did more damage.
That night should have been the beginning of the end for the nWo leading to the ending of the stable by SuperBrawl
I remember listening to The Lapsed Fan, and JP was talking about how they should have had Sting tear into Hogan. Like legit beat that ass, but lmao Hoegan is so bytch made, it didn't work for him brother.
Imagine this chaotic main event where the NWO comes out in the midst of Sting beating Hogan, only for the WCW boys to make sure shyt pops off the right way. I'm talking about a full fledge war between good and evil. Tradition vs Rebellion. Bodies everywhere outside the ring, while Sting and Hoegan go back and forth.
Out of nowhere, Bret Hart comes into the ring, knocking out Nick Patrick and bringing in Peewee. Hogan loses his shyt and Sting lays him out for the 1, 2, 3.
Starrcade 97 should have been more than just a big event. It should have been a omen to the death of the NWO. It should have been the PPV to put the nail in the coffin for WWF. Furthermore, it should have made Time Warner like "breh, keep this fake shyt on for another few years, but cut down the hour dammit".
We could be right now...watching Starrcade on WCW Universe Streaming Service for 9.99 a month
. Life is so unfukking fair, breh
nWo's ultimate goal of killing WCW ironically came true.I remember listening to The Lapsed Fan, and JP was talking about how they should have had Sting tear into Hogan. Like legit beat that ass, but lmao Hoegan is so bytch made, it didn't work for him brother.
Imagine this chaotic main event where the NWO comes out in the midst of Sting beating Hogan, only for the WCW boys to make sure shyt pops off the right way. I'm talking about a full fledge war between good and evil. Tradition vs Rebellion. Bodies everywhere outside the ring, while Sting and Hoegan go back and forth.
Out of nowhere, Bret Hart comes into the ring, knocking out Nick Patrick and bringing in Peewee. Hogan loses his shyt and Sting lays him out for the 1, 2, 3.
Starrcade 97 should have been more than just a big event. It should have been a omen to the death of the NWO. It should have been the PPV to put the nail in the coffin for WWF. Furthermore, it should have made Time Warner like "breh, keep this fake shyt on for another few years, but cut down the hour dammit".
We could be right now...watching Starrcade on WCW Universe Streaming Service for 9.99 a month
should have been the ultimate blowoff match for a feud...
Cheese McNair
Bought it this morning, drive it like I stole it
To my knowledge, they had no real plans after NWO.
Nero Christ
Sniper out now on all digital platforms brev
This coulda happened to Austin too if Shawn didn't get hurt
