Many sites have a match of the week but ours is a little different. These matches are the ones that are fun to watch… in the non-traditional way.
This week, we’ve chosen Hulk Hogan vs. Sting from WCW Fall Brawl 1999. @TJHawke411 joins site members @typicalROHfan and @TimWelcomed to give their (lack of) expertise on this classic.
TJ Hawke comes to us from @Free_Wrestling and you can find our thoughts on another Hogan/Sting classic…..12 years later from TNA Bound For Glory over at FreeProWrestling.com
Part 1: The match.
TJ Hawke:
Nothing of note happened in Part 1 of the match. Thus, we’re skipping right to Part 2. Sting and Hogan were still in pretty good shape here. I mention that because both men have had a ton of good-to-great matches over the years (especially Sting). So, you would think that these two WCW legends would pretty much be able to have a fun PPV main event in their sleep. That did not happen here. Instead, they just went through the motions and had a complete nothing match. If this was the type of effort they were putting in during PPV main events, I shudder to think what they would do during a house show.
The highlight of the match was clearly Tony Schiavone referring to Hogan’s “Big Boot as a “Big Butt” or a “Big Foot.” Either way, that was great.
Tim:
I’m going to start off by saying how excited I am that they did Sting vs Hogan here. WCW didn’t have them wrestle near enough. Same with Hogan and Flair. Hogan and Flair probably only wrestled each other under 400 times in WCW.
We start out with a test of strength. A gritty and unpolished test of strength. Sting hits his comeback/no-sell early on. They end up ouside the ring where we get Sting’s standard guardrail fun time. These two are really pacing themselves. The Big Boot is atrocious here and made me shrug.
typicalROHfan:
Basic by the books match for the most part but I enjoy the final time Hulk Hogan in the yellow squares off with Crow music/black and white face paint Sting. Actually, the only time probably due to their various outfit changes through the years. Imagine shopping and having to continuously change your accessories to match all those different colors! Toughest facet of being a pro wrestler?
The match starts to get cray…..
Part 2: Who can you trust?
TJ Hawke:
When executed properly, run-ins can make a match feel more important and just help it be more entertaining. A good recent example of this was the main event of ROH’s Supercard of Honor 2013 show where Jay Briscoe won the world championship from Kevin Steen. These run-ins did not add anything to the match, but they weren’t as bad some run-in finishes over the last fifteen years.
The match was so useless that it’s hard to get annoyed at needless run-ins that don’t make sense. If anything, I was happy to know the match would be almost over when they came out.
The highlight of the run-ins was Hogan missing his “Big Foot” on Sid Vicious by a mile.
Tim:
We have interference. It is Diamond Dallas Page hustling to the ring to take out Hogan. He puts Sting on top of The Hulkster for the pin. Hogan never touched a yoga mat after this. Hogan still manages to stay in the match. The poor referee gets a Diamond Cutter… FROM OUT OF NOWHERE.
Bret Hart comes out and attacks DDP so Hulk looks like a fool for Hulking up for no reason. Now Vicious comes out and takes the second awful Big Boot of this match. Luger comes out with a baseball bat.
typicalROHfan:
The storyline going into this match was about Sting getting “attacked” and not being sure who he could trust. Lex Luger and Hulk Hogan were accusing the other and Sting was unsure of Hulkster given his NWO actions going into this match.
Apparently, the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine gang should have had their suspect list longer than two due to all the run-ins here! DDP wanted his revenge for a year of Hogan beat downs and Sid wants his Wrestlemania 8 payback. Bret Hart sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong and looks for more glory by helping Hulk. I now understand why Owen Hart went after the leg.
Part 3: Not Sting!
TJ Hawke:
You can tell this swerve was a shitty idea because the fans started booing Hogan‘s comeback right before the run-ins. I genuinely had no idea Sting turned heel in his WCW run. I assumed his ill-fated heel turn in TNA was the first time he ever did. Sting just isn’t meant to be a heel. Sure, it may be “shocking” to see him turn, but the general public does not want to boo him.
In the end, I found this whole thing to be fairly forgettable beyond the Sting heel turn (which is only surprising because my apparent lack of historical WCW knowledge). This is a stereotypical WCW PPV main event: stars from the eighties having a completely forgettable match in front of an apathetic crowd.
Tim:
Hogan sends Luger to the corner, grabs the baseball bat, and hands it to Sting. Sting always does the right thing. Right? No! Sting attacks Hogan worse than a boat ever would. Fans are crying. A little kid ran to the bathroom to flush his vitamins down the toilet. Another kid said his last prayer. “God is a lie,” this four year old whispered to himself with a single tear rolling down his cheek.
Sting gets Hogan in The Scorpion Deathlock. A new referee comes out because I guess this match was never thrown out for some reason. Sting wins. I’m still upset about Sting turning here. Why did Sting do this to all of the little Stingers that span across the globe? A whole generation officially jaded and mad at the world because of Sting’s actions.
typicalROHfan:
The nincompoops in the audience think Sting is going to hit his best friend forever Lex Luger with the baseball. Instead, he hits the guy who made his life a living hell and forced him to sit with creepy birds in the rafters for years. As far as I’m concerned, the only thing that would have made this more perfect would be Randy Savage coming out so the Bash At The Beach trio could celebrate over the Devil’s body (in yellow tights).
I do have to admit poor DDP and Sid not being allowed in the celebration was a heart breaker. They hate Hogan too, guys!
Tony Schiavone‘s criticism of Sting’s action is also disappointing. Way to be a jerk, Schiavone! Remember when you boycotted Nitro because Hogan’s group smashed a cage on Ric Flair‘s head? It’s fine. No one else does either. Karma repaid Tony by making his TNA appearance flop and placing him as the Braves AAA announcer. (Sorry, Ben. ILY.)
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