Hey, Scott. I was watching some old Nitro episodes from 1999.
The whole nWo thing was pretty much done after the "fingerpoke of doom," but is there any truth to the rumor that it was all Hogan's attempt to claim more merchandise rights? We had nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood before they reunited, but I had heard a rumor that the red and black merch was selling like crazy, while the black and white merch wasn't. In other words, was this Hogan deciding he could just reunite the group, start calling himself a Wolfpac member the next week, and poof! Now anything with "Wolfpac" or the red nWo logo are magically "Hogan" merch too? I remember he and Steiner instantly started wearing Wolfpac gear, and the black and white stuff was left for the undercard guys. Yes, I believe that was essentially the motivation. The Wolfpac side was getting too popular, so Hogan made sure to associate himself with the side that was winning. Kind of smart if you think about it.
Albertans. I just don't know.
ReplyDeleteSmartest man in wrestling: Hulk Hogan
ReplyDeleteGenius!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am no Hogan defender, but really there wasn't much else for him to do at this point. Wasn't the black-and-white pretty much as skeleton crew by late '98, with only Steiner and Buff being over at all? And the Wolfpac was an awesome super team - Nash, Luger, Sting, Konnan - much closer to the original nWo concept. Really, it wasn't Hogan's fault that the black-and-white was floundering.
ReplyDeleteNow, why Nash let Hogan do it, I have no idea. Nash was the #1.5 babyface in the company and went to number 2 heel in an instant.
Hogan could do whatever he wanted.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I mean, Nash was a good politician, but he never had the sway to "let" Hogan do anything.
ReplyDeleteWell the black and white also had Hennig and Hall (although his appearance at Starcade 98 was the first in a couple months). As for "letting" Hogan do it, Hogan did what he wanted. He did however trade the first win over Goldberg to Nash for the reuniting of the NWO. Or so legend has it because he was absolutely promised the first victory over Goldberg for doing the job at the Georgia Dome show on Nitro. And Hogan doesn't just forget about getting his win back. Heck he was constantly trying to get Yokozuna in WCW and got Warrior in WCW just to get his wins back.
ReplyDeleteFinger poke of doom was awful, but the tipping point for and WCW was Sting joining the nwo and becoming lobster Sting.
ReplyDeleteWolfpack was just a stupid idea to begin with and made no sense.
The Nash win probably blindsided him.
ReplyDeleteWolfpac wasn't a stupid idea, they just put the wrong people in it.
ReplyDeleteThe Wolfpac shirt was a hot seller, I remember seeing it everywhere.
ReplyDeleteScott Hall not being Wolfpac was ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI still have a Wolfpac beach towel.
ReplyDeleteThey should have just mothballed Hogan until his contract was up. He was useless to WCW after jobbing to Goldberg.
ReplyDeleteHe should have been Wolfpac 4 Life, if you will.
ReplyDeleteThat was never gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteDo they still give Eric Bischoff credit for creating the EC, considering he came up with it in story line?
ReplyDeleteThe back stories to some of these matches are far more interesting than the actual matches.
ReplyDeleteThe elimination chamber has done a much better job of surviving the PG era than hell in a cell. At first, it looked like a match that requires blood to be good. However, most of what makes the elimination chamber good is the drama surrounding when people will enter the match or when the will get eliminated, not the blood. Therefore, there have been multiple excellent elimination chambers since the PG era. On the other hand, I can think of a few passable PG era HIACs, but not a single great one without blood. The HIAC simply needs retired, because it simply doesn't work in the PG era at all.
ReplyDeleteOr built to Goldberg defeating Hogan for the title at Starrcade
ReplyDeleteThey had cooler guys, cooler music, they were fresh and new. I had the shirt as did a bunch of my friends.
ReplyDeleteWolfpac doesn't get enough love for being a super over stable and really carrying WCW for a time during the Monday Night Wars. The only thing I would have changed is keeping Hall in the group and adding Mysterio. Konnan doesn't get much love but he was absolutely on fire and anyone that disagrees is a straight up strawberry.
ReplyDeleteNot anymore
ReplyDeleteI like the gimmick a lot but it didn't find its groove until 2008-ish. I know people slurp SVS 02, but I'm not a fan of the original Chamber match; five minute intervals were too long but they were still figuring things out so it got a pass. However, everyone knew it was going to be Shawn and Trips at the end, so you were waiting for a half hour for the cannon fodder to leave, which also sucks because that was a hell of a lineup. The best Chamber matches are the ones where most of the guys have a legit chance of winning.
ReplyDeleteI'll probably watch tonight as everyone seems excited for the card. I have no idea what the feuds going on are, but everyone seems to think we'll get a few four snowflake matches, so I'm curious.
Scott only said that because he knows HBK likes the movie "Maid in Manhattan"
ReplyDeleteThey still do 5 minute intervals.
ReplyDeleteHe was feuding with Mysterio at the time, so it made sense feud wise.
ReplyDeleteIt's almost like they should take out the Cell permanently and replace it with the Chamber in October. Or better yet, just have no PPV's in October and save the Chamber for Survivor Series.
ReplyDeleteHave they gone back to that? They were using three for a long time.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I remember, 03 was the only one to use 3 minutes and then everyone after that had 4-5 minutes as the timed intervals.
ReplyDeleteMatch Predictions for tonight:
ReplyDeleteSheamus (although I hope pretty much anyone else)
Neville
Owens
New Day (although I hope Cesaro and Kidd)
Rollins
Who gives a crap about the rest.
Absolutely. The months he was gone afterward proved WCW didn't need him. Ratings were still great in 98.
ReplyDeleteToo bad that the side that was winning was on the side that was losing
ReplyDeleteTensaitians. I just don't know
ReplyDeleteFor all the guys who compete in the EC, I think it's still one of the most "foregone conclusion" matches in WWE.
ReplyDeleteSnap, son
ReplyDeleteProbably the friends and family members of those performing in the other matches. I don't see why, though.
ReplyDeleteGeez when you remind me that 2002 was 13 years ago, I feel mad old. 😕
ReplyDeleteDisagree completely.
ReplyDeleteObject of the nWo was to take over WCW and become the elite wrestling organization. Then all of a sudden they are fighting each other, they split off and then WCW stars come over, which again makes no sense.
Now you have all of these factions, motivations that are cluttered. Wolfpac and nWo black and white were supposed to feud and it never really happened. The focus of the reason why they exist is gone and nothing went anywhere.
Hogan didn't found shit.
ReplyDeleteThere is no nWo without Hogan.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe Russo didn't come up with a Harvey I. Vick/Adam I.D. Smith tag team.
ReplyDeleteYes, there was.
ReplyDeleteWho's Thompson?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, HIV is very real
I clap so that I *don't* snap
ReplyDelete"I've got three words for you. Suck it, brother!"
ReplyDeleteYeah but why were they feuding in the first place? Wasn't Mysterio still teaming up with CM Punk in random tag team title matches during that period?
ReplyDeleteGroove. That period scared me off of the product for years, though that had been building up in me for years.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Was the first Chamber recap written during Scott's period of detesting HBK? I've never seen the match, so I can't judge for myself.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the other day. Why not bring back the term "supercard"?
ReplyDeleteIt too Orton, what, 4 years to come back from his 2004 burial after winning the title at Summerslam? Terrible.
ReplyDeleteI think the rules and cage structure itself is a little too complicated for my liking. As far as only so many winners? Eh, is it really much different than narrowing down likely Rumble winners every year?
ReplyDelete