goodhelmet Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy when I made the statement that WWE may do some bad endings but that the bad finish to the cage match on Sunday wasn't WCW level bad. I did want to lay out the finishes from 1997 – 2001 just for comparisons sake. IF I can get around to it, I will probably do WWE PPV finishes from 2011 and 2012 to see if WWE has a pattern that even come close to the pattern shown in WCW for their last 4 years. If interference happened, I tried to make sure it was noted even if it didn't directly lead to the finish. I used the History of WWE website as a reference to refresh my memory when I didn't remember exact details. At the very least, people can comment on the matches and their memories of them. I'll admit, when doing the results, some of the matches I don't even remember happening or ever recall watching them EVEN if they may have appeared on the Death of WCW set. 1997 Souled Out 1997 The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan - Ends in a no contest when Nick Patrick refuses to count the fall for Giant so Patrick gets chokeslammed. NWO beatdown on Giant. NWO celebrates!!! Superbrawl 1997 Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper - Hogan wins after Randy Savage hands him a foreign object after Piper thought he had won with the sleeper. NWO interferes throughout the match. Savage and Hogan lay waste to Piper after the match. Uncensored 1997 Team NWO vs. Team WCW vs. Team Piper - Team NWO wins after outside interference. NWO beatdown until Sting comes down from the rafters and lays Hogan out with the Scorpion Deathdrop. Spring Stampede 1997 Randy Savage vs. DDP - DDP gets the win after a ref bump. NWO lays waste to DDP and Kimberly after the match. Slamboree 1997 Ric Flair, Kevin Greene & Roddy Piper vs. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & Syxx - The face team wins with Nick Patrick making the pin. No interference? Great American Bash 1997 Randy Savage vs. DDP (Lights Out Match) - Good match where Savage wins after DDP gets dropped by a Razor's Edge from Scott Hall. Bash at the Beach 1997 Dennis Rodman & Hulk Hogan vs. Lex Luger & The Giant - Lex Luger puts Hogan in the torture rack and gets the victory after a fake Sting nails Hogan in the back with the baseball bat. Road Wild 1997 Hulk Hogan vs. Lex Luger - After Luger shocked the world and won the title, Hogan gets his title back after multiple run-ins from the NOW and the fake Sting nails him with the baseball bat. NWO celebrates!!! Fall Brawl 1997 Four Horsemen vs. NWO (Wargames) - Curt Hennig turns heel on the Horsemen. Ric Flair's head is slammed in the cage. I think everyone counted on the Hennig turn and I actually enjoyed this match when it happened but I have not watched it in 15 years. Still… what a buzzkill seeing Flair destroyed like that. NWO celebrates!!! Halloween Havoc 1997 Roddy Piper vs. Hulk Hogan (Cage Match) - One of the worst cage matches in history. More of a backdrop to the Sting-Hogan storyline. Piper puts Hogan to sleep after Randy Savage interference but doesn't win the title again. World War III 1997 60-Man Battle Royal - Kevin Nash wears a "Sting" mask and drops from the ceiling. The giant gets attacked by Sting and Scott Hall wins the 60-man battle royal. NWO celebrates!!! Starrcade 1997 Hulk Hogan vs. Sting - We have the slow Nick Patrick count, the Bret Hart restart, interference from Vicious & Delicious and a held up title. One of the worst finishes from one of the most important matches in WCW history. 1998 Souled Out 1998 Lex Luger vs. Randy Savage - Luger defeats Savage with the torture rack after 6 minutes. NWO attacks Luger after the match. Sting makes the save. Superbrawl 1998 Sting vs. Hollywood Hogan - Sting wins the world title after Ransy Savage nails Hogan with a can of paint. NWO interfered throughout the match. Sting celebrates with the title after the match and spray paints Hogan. Uncensored 1998 Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage (Cage Match) - Horrible cage match with The Disciple interfering and Sting coming down from the rafters to even the odds. Savage turns on Sting, gave him 2 piledrivers and walks out of the cage leading to a no contest. Spring Stampede 1998 Randy Savage vs. Sting - Savage pins Sting to become champion after Kevin Nash interference. Miss Elizabeth & Hulk Hogan interfered in the match. Slamboree 1998 Sting & The Giant vs. Scott Hall & Kevin Nash - Scott Hall turns on Kevin Nash and allows Giant to get the pin. Giant and Hall celebrate. Sting looks perplexed. Great American Bash 1998 Sting vs. The Giant - Sting pinned the Giant in 6 minutes to become the Tag Team Champions. This is the match where Giant walked to the ring smoking a cigarette. Bash at the Beach 1998 Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs. DDP & Karl Malone - Hulk Hogan pins DDP after the Disciple's interference. NWO celebrates!!! Road Wild 1998 DDP & Jay Leno vs. Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff - Leno pins Bischoff after Kevin Eubanks interferes and gives Eric a Diamond Cutter. NWO beatdown until Goldberg makes the save and celebrates with Team Late Night. Fall Brawl 1998 - Fuck, man…. The worst Wargames in history. Stevie Ray is the focus with his slapjack. Warrior appears in a cloud of smoke and chases Hogan away. DDP gives Stevie Ray the Diamond Cutter. This was the shits. Halloween Havoc 1998 Goldberg vs. DDP - Probably the best match and finish to end a WCW PPV in the 4 years being discussed here. World War III 1998 DDP vs. Bret Hart - DDP pins Bret Hart in 18 minutes. Throughout the match, there was controversy with an NWO referee and MIckie Hart. Hart had the match won with the sharpshooter but the match was restarted and DDP wins with the Diamond Cutter. I don't think I have ever seen this match. Starrcade 1998 Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash - Interference from Disco Inferno, Bam Bam Bigelow and Scott Hall. Tazer. End of Streak. 1999 Souled Out 1999 Scott Hall vs. Goldberg (Taser Match) - Goldberg defeats Hall in a taser match despite interference from Disco Inferno. Bam Bam Bigelow attacks after the match and lays waste to Goldberg and Hall. Superbrawl 1999 Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair - Hogan pins Flair after interference from David Flair. David celebrates with Nash, Hogan and Torrie after the match. Uncensored 1999 Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (First Blood Cage Match) - Ric Flair pins Hogan to become champion… in a first blood match. Arn Anderson, Torrie Wilson and David Flair were involved at ringside. Spring Stampede 1999 Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan vs. Sting vs. DDP - DDP wins the belt. Randy Savage was guest referee but dropped the elbow on Flair when he had Sting in the Figure-4. Slamboree 1999 Kevin Nash vs. DDP - Nash wins the title. The match included Randy Savage interference and a restart after Nash originally won by DQ. Great American Bash 1999 Kevin Nash vs. Randy Savage - Kevin Nash defeated Randy Savage by DQ after Sid debuts and powerbombs Nash at the end of the match. During the match, Savage's women posse interfered. Bash at the Beach 1999 Randy Savage & Sid vs. Kevin Nash & Sting - Savage pinned Nash with the flying elbow after interference from Gorgeous George. Goerge turned on Savage in the middle of the match only to swerve and turn on Nash leading to the finish. I honestly had no idea this happened. I don't know if it is on the Death of WCW set but I don't remember recording it. Fall Brawl 1999 Sting vs. Hulk Hogan - There was interference from DDP, Bret Hart, Lex Luger and Sid Vicious as well as a ref bump from Nick Patrick. Sting turns heel and attacks Hogan with a baseball bat to win the title. Halloween Havoc 1999 Sting vs. Goldberg - Goldberg wins the title in 3 minutes after Sting defended it earlier in the night when Hogan came out, laid down in the ring and let Sting pin him. This was announced as non-title but they awarded it to Goldberg anyway. Did they do a Dusty finish here? After the match, heel Sting gives Charles Robinson the Scorpion Death Drop. Mayhem 1999 Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit - The finals of the World Title Tournament. Bret Hart wins the title after interference from Dean Malenko, The Outsiders and Goldberg. I think this was Vince Russo's first or second PPV. Starrcade 1999 Goldberg vs. Bret Hart - Attempted Montreal Finish with Roddy Piper screwing over Goldberg and awarding Bret Hart the title. 2000 Souled Out 2000 Chris Benoit vs. Sid - Benoit wins the WCW title while Sid's foot was under the ropes. Arn Anderson reverses his decision the next night. Superbrawl 2000 Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Hall vs. Sid - Sid pins Hall after a chokeslam. Roddy Piper came out, knocked out the original referee and counted the pin. Uncensored 2000 Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair (Strap Match) - Hogan pins Flair after some Lex Luger interference. The winner was supposed to touch all 4 corners but Hogan only touched 3 and then pinned Flair. Spring Stampede 2000 DDP vs. Jeff Jarrett - Jarrett wins the WCW title after Kimberly turns on DDP and joins the New Blood. The New Blood celebrate at the end of the PPV. Slamboree 2000 DDP vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. David Arquette (Triple Cage Match) - Arquette turns heel, allows Jarrett to win the title. Mike Awesome interfered in the match and later tossed Kanyon from the top of the cage through the ramp. Great American Bash 2000 Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash - Jarrett wins the belt from Nash after Goldberg interferes and turns heel. The New Blood celebrate with Goldberg. Bash at the Beach 2000 Booker T vs. Jeff Jarrett - Booker T wins the world title. This is the PPV where Russo cuts the shoot promo on Hulk Hogan. New Blood Rising 2000 Booker T vs. Jeff Jarrett - I don't remember this match. No description at History of WWE so I went to a Scott Keith recap that said there were 2 or 3 ref bumps before Booker wins the match. Fall Brawl 2000 Booker T vs. Kevin Nash (Cage Match) - Booker T wins the match and the World Title with the Rock Bottom. Halloween Havoc 2000 Goldberg vs. Kronik (Handicap Match) - Goldberg wins in three minutes first pinning Clarke after a spear through a table and then pinning Adams with the Jackhammer. Mayhem 2000 Booker T vs. Scott Steiner (Cage Match) - Scott Steiner wins the world title with the Steiner Recliner. What are people's thoughts on this match? Starrcade 2000 Scott Steiner vs. Sid - Steiner wins with the Steiner Recliner after a ref bump and Jeff Jarrett interference. 2001 Sin 2001 Scott Steiner vs. Sid vs. Animal vs. Jeff Jarrett - Sid breaks his leg. Superbrawl Revenge 2001 Scott Hall vs. Kevin Nash - Originally a regular title match with loser leaves town stips but after Nash knocked Steiner out in 18 seconds with a belt, Ric Flair changed the stipulations and made it 2/3 falls, No DQ. DDP, Luger, Bagwell, Midajah and Flair all got involved in the match. Greed 2001 Scott Steiner vs. DDP - Steiner defeats DDP with the Steiner Recliner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Slamboree 1997 Ric Flair, Kevin Greene & Roddy Piper vs. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & Syxx - The face team wins with Nick Patrick making the pin. No interference? No interference and a very good match. Probably the last time a WCW ppv main event had a real "feel good" finish and completely delivered in the way the fans wanted it to deliver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueminister Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Kanyon being thrown off the cage was the best because it was really a sickening memorable spot and then Russo had him swerve heel to help Awesome on his return just because. (On the other hand, Positively Kanyon owned.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 When the nWo was hot it didn't matter, because everybody would tune into Nitro the next night to see the followup, and everybody still bought the PPVs. But they obviously went to the well far too many times, ran the same old shit into the ground, and never delivered finishes people wanted to see. I think I can count on one hand the high note babyface PPV finishes from the nWo formation thru 1998 I've been reading Torch scans from 1990, and one of the running themes is that everybody is sick of Flair holding the belt and sick of the constant non-finishes with Horsemen interference and never delivering on Luger's big win, and we all know how that ended up. History repeated itself with the nWo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 When the nWo was hot it didn't matter, because everybody would tune into Nitro the next night to see the followup, and everybody still bought the PPVs.Not me. After the Wargames with the Horsemen looking like bitches when Hennig turned, I quit and was far more entertained by Vince. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I hated that finish because I was a huge Horsemen and Flair fan at the time, and it was heartbreaking. I was genuinely shocked and pissed off at the Flair beatdown and they sold it like it was the death of the Horsemen. But, it totally worked on me, because I was dying to see the Horsemen get revenge......which of course never happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Halloween Havoc 1998 Goldberg vs. DDP - Probably the best match and finish to end a WCW PPV in the 4 years being discussed here. Didn't the PPV cut off before the finish or something here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted November 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 5518971[/url]'] Halloween Havoc 1998 Goldberg vs. DDP - Probably the best match and finish to end a WCW PPV in the 4 years being discussed here. Didn't the PPV cut off before the finish or something here? In some markets. I watched it live and I caught the entire PPV. Even then, that isn't a booking issue with the match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravJ1979 Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Mayhem 2000 Booker T vs. Scott Steiner (Cage Match) - Scott Steiner wins the world title with the Steiner Recliner. What are people's thoughts on this match? I'm neck deep in my "Best of 2000" list making and this is a contender for Top 10 WCW in 2000. Take that for what it's worth since 2000 WCW is usually regarded as awful. Aside from the silly straight jacket stuff, it's a pretty fun match with Steiner becoming the champ for the first time. As for interference, Midajah is in the cage with them and does interfere a little, but nothing the leads directly to a finish. Starrcade 2000 Scott Steiner vs. Sid - Steiner wins with the Steiner Recliner after a ref bump and Jeff Jarrett interference. Believe it or not, this match is also floating around my Top 10 for WCW for that year. Who would have thought Sid would have served as a bookend for good stuff from 2000? His January PPV match with Benoit is good as is this. The Jarrett interference actually backfires as he hits Steiner with the guitar and he still ends up winning. Also the ref bump was a non factor as it was during Sid's comeback late in the match. Steiner hit the ref with a straight punch as Sid was about to win. Charles Robinson comes in as replacement ref and, when pulled out of the ring by Jarrett, he actually DUCKS A PUNCH and slides back in. Never saw that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Dennis Rodman & Hulk Hogan vs. Lex Luger & The Giant - Lex Luger puts Hogan in the torture rack and gets the victory after a fake Sting nails Hogan in the back with the baseball bat. Accidently hit Hogan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 It would had been fine with all screwy finishes, that is, until Starrcade '97. If Sting went over clean and the new world order fell apart at that time, things would had been fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 One thing I hated about WCW during this time was that the PPVs were forgotten about the next night on Nitro. They never really made a big deal about the finishes and everything went back to status quo. That trend is still continuing in today's WWE. That was Bischoff's tv executive mo shining through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 5518971[/url]'] Halloween Havoc 1998 Goldberg vs. DDP - Probably the best match and finish to end a WCW PPV in the 4 years being discussed here. Didn't the PPV cut off before the finish or something here? In some markets. I watched it live and I caught the entire PPV. Even then, that isn't a booking issue with the match. Yeah, not booking. I just thought it kind of encapsulates the problems with WCW. They finally get a finish to a ppv right, and a good chunk of their audience can't see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Did they do a Dusty finish here? Yep that setup the Mayhem tourney, which Sting was allowed to enter. They did this bit where Sting was given the belt back, but was then stripped of the title for beating up the referee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artDDP Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Was it ever determined if Halloween Havoc 1998 went long purposely or by accident? I recall lots of speculation that WCW purposely loaded that card with bonus matches and Nitro Girl dances just to give the DDP-Goldberg match away for free as a ratings ploy. Additionally, what was the story with Nick Patrick at Starrcade 1997? Did he just screw up the finish? One thing I hated about WCW during this time was that the PPVs were forgotten about the next night on Nitro. They never really made a big deal about the finishes and everything went back to status quo. That trend is still continuing in today's WWE. That was Bischoff's tv executive mo shining through I'm going to sound like Wade Keller here: It conditions the audience to stop paying attention. I remember getting really frustrated during this period because I didn't watch each PPV card and the next night you had no idea what the hell happened. There'd be time devoted to recapping mid-card matches but main event angles were only alluded to here and there. I guess it was to drive people to order PPV replays alongside Bobby Heenan, because he was always watching them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueminister Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 I always thought the problem with the Starrcade finish is that the announcers and production team sold it as a fast count (which didnt happen) when, more specifically, they should have been selling Patrick ignoring Sting kicking out before the three (which did.) There seemed to be two parallel ideas about what the match-rocking shenanigans would be. I think the understanding, at least among the performers in the ring, was that Patrick would ignore Sting's kickout leading to Bretervention and that all the stuff about Hogan paying off Patrick for a fast count is fan hogwash. Its sort of overblown as a world-shattering screw-up, though -- the follow-through was the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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