AEW Name Reveals The First Nail In WCW’s Coffin

WWE

WCW was bought by WWE in 2001, but its legacy still lasts to this day, including discussions of its best and worst aspects.

For a company that gave us many controversial moments, a name closely associated with the company has now identified the moment that he considers the beginning of the end.

Speaking on What Happened When (subscription required), AEW’s Tony Schiavone, the longtime announcer for WCW, recalled:

“[Starrcade 1997 was] the beginning of the end of WCW.”

Starrcade 1997 featured a main event of Sting vs Hollywood Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

The story leading to this encounter had been building over a year, but it was the final moments that would signal the sour end for the story.

The referee Nick Patrick was supposed to deliver a fast count.

However, the count wasn’t fast, even though Schiavone would try to convince the audience otherwise.

Schiavone would explain:

“It wasn’t a fast-count. Anybody who saw it knew it wasn’t.

“They made me say it was a fast count and I knew it wasn’t.

“We just, we just f**ked all of ourselves and try to lie our way through it and people saw through it.

“Sting should’ve won clean or there should’ve been a fast-count … and it was just brutal.”

Sting would only hold the WCW World Heavyweight Championship for eleven days.

In 2017, WrestleTalk’s Luke Owen would go into detail of the build-up to this moment and just how damaging it was to all involved.

Transcript from Wrestling Inc.

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• nick patrick
• Tony Schiavone
• WCW
• Sting

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