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Wrestling Recap: Sting vs. Triple H (WrestleMania ’15)

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The Date: 29 March 2015
The Venue: Levi’s Stadium; Santa Clara, California
The Commentary: Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and John “Bradshaw” Layfield/JBL
The Referee: Charles Robinson
The Stakes: No disqualification singles match

The Build-Up:
For an unprecedented eighty-four weeks, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) dominated the “Monday Night Wars” thanks to big-name star power, big-money contracts, and ground-breaking storylines involving the New World Order (nWo). During this time, Hulk Hogan, arguably wrestling’s greatest icon, experienced a career revival as the villainous “Hollywood” Hogan and his clash against WCW stalwart-turned-dark avenger Sting became the stuff of wrestling legend on this day in 1997. On 26 March 2001, the wrestling world changed forever when World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) bought WCW and claimed ultimate victory. However, while many WCW wrestlers jumped ship to the WWE for an ill-fated “Invasion” angle, Sting repeatedly turned down offers to join the WWE and instead spent nearly ten years signed with Total Nonstop Action (TNA). Over the years, WWE repeatedly tried to negotiate a contract and fans longed to see the Icon clash with the Undertaker in a dream match. However, it wouldn’t be until 2014, when Sting was shockingly announced to be included in WWE 2K15 (Yuke’s), that the WCW Icon finally decided to sign with the company. At the time, the WWE was in one of its worst ruts as weekly television was dominated by the Authority, a stable of wrestlers and corporate figureheads led by Triple H that routinely interrupted matches and quashed fan favourites. It was in the midst of a multi-man match against the Authority’s representatives that Sting finally made his presence felt. He debuted at the 2014 Survivor Series to help Dolph Ziggler fend off Triple H and pin Seth Rollins to remove the Authority from power. Although this only lasted for a few weeks, Triple H was incensed by Sting’s interference and challenged him to a face-to-face confrontation at Fastlane. Sting accepted and the two brawled, with the Icon besting Triple H’s signature sledgehammer. However, the simple story of Sting being a “vigilante” looking to oust Triple H from power was quickly muddled by the ridiculous decision to reframe the feud into a battle for the honour of the long-dead WCW.

The Match:
As a massive Sting fan, I was super pumped about him finally signing with WWE in 2014. Sure, he was getting on a bit but there were still so many opportunities for dream matches there, especially with a light schedule and a bit of smoke and mirrors. Sadly, things were kind of botched right from the start. After Sting helped remove the Authority from power, he really should have been placed as the replacement authority figure, one who favoured putting on interesting matches and seeing things go down in a fair and just way. Also, they never should have replaced his WCW music with that generic, awful quasi-goth metal track. I didn’t expect the WWE to pay for Metallica’s “Seek & Destroy” but they bought WCW, so they owned the rights to his original Crow music that is so iconic to the character, so they really should’ve used that. Finally, as much as I feel like Triple H vs. Sting was definitely a match to do while he was about, this is not the match people wanted to see. People wanted Sting vs. The Undertaker, even back in 2014, and I’ll never understand the decision to veto that in favour of this except to stroke the egos of a bitter Vince McMahon and the vindictive Triple H. Speaking of whom, the Game came to the ring following a pre-taped introduction by Arnold Schwarzenegger, flanked by T-800 endoskeletons, and decked out in Terminator-themed apparel that might’ve looked cool if the match hadn’t taken place in broad daylight! I get that this was a tie-in to the event’s sponsor, Terminator Genysis (Taylor, 2015), but it actually didn’t make much sense since the last time Schwarzenegger and Triple H interacted, the Austrian Oak slapped the shit out of the Game. Oh, and Triple H looked ridiculous in his cheap cosplay outfit, too. The bell hadn’t even rung before Michael Cole was repeating the ludicrous diatribe that Triple H’s goal was to destroy the last remnant of WCW. As if that wasn’t bad enough, JBL constantly kept ragging on Sting throughout the match, questioning his ability to hang in the WWE, and pretending like he’d been absent from the business for the last ten/fifteen years. Just absolutely pathetic stuff all around from the commentary team, really. WCW was dead and buried and Sting had a whole career after it, so all they succeeded at here was sending mixed messages about the legendary figure.

Sting dominated the early stages of the match until D-Generation X rushed the ring!

After milking a brief outburst of “This is awesome!” (which, to be fair, it kind of was because it was Sting at WrestleMania!), the two locked up. Sting knocked Triple H down with a shoulder block so the Game countered with another lock up to show some off his fundamentals and then hit a shoulder block of his own. Sting bounced back with a hip toss and a dropkick that sent Triple H scurrying into the corner as Sting pandered to the crowd to chants of “You still got it!” Though hesitant, Triple H engaged in another lockup, but this time he turned the match into a brawl. Sting shrugged off Triple H’s patented knee smash and sent him scrambling to the outside to avoid the Scorpion Death Lock. After clearing his head on the outside, Triple H returned to the ring to slug it out with Sting once more only to end up back outside after taking his little flip over the top rope off an Irish whip. This time, Sting followed but crashed and burned into the barricade when the Game dodged a Stinger Splash. Triple H chucked Sting shoulder-first into the ring steps and hefting him back into the ring with a suplex off the apron for a two count. Triple H maintained his dominance with some mounted punches, a whip into the corner, and relished in seeing Sting fall to his knees at his feet. After another near fall, Triple H slapped on a rest hold as, apparently, all this action was just two much for the competitors. When Sting tried to mount a comeback, the Game shut him down with his signature spinebuster for another two count before returning to his rest hold. This time, Sting fought out with the Scorpion Death Lock after countering a top rope attack. However, Triple H’s old D-Generation X buddies, “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn, “Road Dogg” Jesse James, and X-Pac, rushed the ring, forcing Sting to break the hold to fight them off. Sting even countered the Pedigree and launched Triple H from the ring, and then took all of D-X out with a top rope dive! Unfortunately, a momentary distraction from Billy Gunn was all the opportunity Triple H needed to plant Sting with the Pedigree but, incredibly, Sting got the shoulder up before the three count.

While faction warfare broke out at ringside, it was Triple H’s sledgehammer that made a chump of Sting.

Stunned, Triple H retrieved his sledgehammer from under the ring but he was interrupted by, of all people, “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall of the nWo! Yes, Sting’s long-time enemies, who he vehemently opposed during arguably the most memorable moments of his entire career, actually helped him! This led to an admittedly awesome moment as the nWo finally got into it with D-X, it just had no place being in this match as it made no sense for them to defend either him or the “honour” of the long-dead company. Regardless, in the chaos, Sting dropped Triple H with the Scorpion Death Drop for a two count. Sting then reapplied the Scorpion Death Lock and Hogan moved the sledgehammer out of Triple H’s reach, which really should’ve been the finish to the match. Instead, Triple H grabbed the ropes (which shouldn’t have counted as it was a no disqualification match…) and Sting was blasted by a Sweet Chin Music from the ”Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels! Since Triple H was slow to cover, Sting kicked out, so D-X slid Triple H his sledgehammer and Sting’s hated enemy, Scott Hall, passed him his trusty baseball bat. Sting not only nailed Triple H with the bat, he also comically snapped his sledgehammer in two before unleashing a flurry of strikes in the corner. A Stinger Splash followed but, rather than hitting a second and bringing the match to a close in a feel-good moment, Triple H blasted Sting in the head with the tip of his sledgehammer and pinned him for the three count! To make matters worse, the two shook hands in a show of respect after a tense showdown between their factions! This match feels like it was put together by someone who had no idea about anything that happened in WCW and just wanted to see D-X and the nWo have a scuffle while putting the final nail in the coffin of the long-dead company. Sting looked pretty good but it was clear from the rest holds that he was getting a bit gassed by the middle and, honestly, this match should’ve made better use of the no disqualification stipulation to help with this. Instead, it was tonally all over the place, with Sting proving a daunting figure but being buried by JBL, him getting the better of Triple H but being beaten by a sledgehammer to the face, and then him shaking Triple H’s hand afterwards like he was beaten by the better man and not a brute who cheated to win.

The Aftermath:
Since Sting lost this match like a chump, Triple H and the Authority continued to dominate the WWE, especially as their golden boy, Seth Rollins, had captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania ’15. Thanks to having the Authority in his corner, Rollins successfully defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship throughout the year and even toppled John Cena in the main event of that year’s SummerSlam. To honour him and his accomplishments, the Authority presented Rollins with a commemorative statue, but were stunned to find Sting in its place. Despite the fact that he lost his big match, Sting challenged Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions, a decision that would’ve made a lot more sense if Sting had won at WrestleMania ’15 and spent his time afterwards continuously opposing the remnants of the Authority. This also could’ve tied into Rollins’ later rivalry with Triple H as he could’ve claimed to beat the man who beat his mentor. Unfortunately, Night of Champions would spell the end of Sting’s in-ring WWE career as he suffered a debilitating neck injury from Rollin’s trademark Buckle Bomb. Although the remorseful Rollins got some flack for this (and, honestly, he really should’ve stopped using the move from that point), Sting maintained that it was a freak accident. Despite announcing his retirement during his induction to the WWE Hall of Fame, Sting jumped ship to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2020, where he took on a mentor role to youngster Darby Allen and even returned to the ring for a handful of matches.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to Sting’s long-awaited WWE debut? Were you disappointed that he faced Triple H and not the Undertaker? What did you think to the involvement of D-X and the nWo and do you think it made sense for the nWo to help Sting? Were you annoyed by JBL’s commentary during the match and the anti-WCW narrative being told here? Did it annoy you that Sting lost and how do you feel about his time in the WWE? Whatever your thoughts on Sting, and this match in particular, feel free to voice them below and be sure to check out my other wrestling reviews!

Wrestling Recap: The Rock vs. Hollywood Hogan (WrestleMania X8)

Dr. K3 Comments

The Date: 17 March 2002
The Venue: SkyDome; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Mike Chioda
The Stakes: “Icon vs Icon” grudge match

The Build-Up:
On 31st March 1985, Vince McMahon forever changed the face of the wrestling world with the very first WrestleMania, an elaborate pay-per-view event that became the hottest event of the calendar year for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and what better way to celebrate than by looking back at one of the event’s most historic matches! For nearly two years, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) went head-to-head with rival World Championship Wrestling’s (WCW) Monday Nitro but, in 2001, WCW was crippled by bankruptcy and shockingly purchased by McMahon, bringing the “Monday Night Wars” to a surprising end. When McMahon’s attempts to keep WCW alive fell through, the WWF began a storyline where WCW “invaded” the WWF; unfortunately, since WCW’s top names sat out their high-paying contracts, the WWF was forced to rely on lesser names, resulting in one of the biggest missed opportunities in wrestling. Ironically, within months of the Invasion ending, WCW stalwarts debuted in the WWF, including the dreaded New World Order (nWo). First teased when Scott Hall gatecrashed Nitro, the rechristened “Hollywood” Hogan led the nWo in hijacked WCW’s programming, recruiting numerous allies, capturing the top WCW titles, and even to their own ill-fated pay-per-view before ultimately outstaying their welcome and unofficially dissolving when WCW folded. When the original trio came to the WWF, it was as a “lethal dose of poison” McMahon planned to use to kill his company in a bid to push his rival, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, out of the WWF. The nWo soon ran afoul of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the Rock; when Austin quashed a feud with Hogan due to backstage politics, Hogan and the Rock began a rivalry that saw Hogan and the nWo brutalise the Rock and even attempt to kill him by crashing a truck into an ambulance that the People’s Champion was trapped inside, thus setting the stage not just for a clash of icons but also a blood feud that spanned generations.

The Match:
Everyone knew Hulk Hogan back in the day; hell, I’d wager everyone is aware of him now, for better or worse, but even I knew he was a big multimedia star back when I was a kid and barely able to watch wrestling outside of a few choice matches and segments. It was the WCW/nWo videogames that introduced me to the nWo and the despicable “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan but, while I was vaguely aware of the group during my early years as a wrestling fan, I wasn’t able to watch WCW back then, so it was quite the moment when Hogan, Hall, and Nash showed up at No Way Out in 2002. I was a keen watcher of wrestling by then, especially the SmackDown! brand, and was excited to see what these much-hyped interlopers would bring to the table, but even I was immediately disappointed when they downplayed their threat and made it more about their egos than actually taking over the WWF. Still, the hype was real for Hogan vs. The Rock; while, in hindsight, a six-man tag pitting Rock, Austin, and the Undertaker against the nWo might’ve been the bigger, better match for WrestleMania X8, it ultimately worked out all the better for the fans and wrestling history given how rare it was (and still is) to see generational stars clash like this. The first hint that the match wasn’t going to go exactly as planned can be heard the moment that god awful nWo music hits and Hogan saunters down to the ring playing air guitar and pandering, with his usual smug bravado, to a chorus of cheers. Yes, despite Hogan literally trying to murder the Rock in the build up to the match, the Toronto crowd were absolutely unashamed Hulkamaniacs and cheered Hogan all the way down that ridiculously long entrance ramp. It was so obvious that that J.R. had to point out that Hogan’s legacy and star power have almost superseded his more heinous actions and even Hogan seemed confused by the barrage of “Hogan! Hogan! Hogan!” chants coming from the nostalgia-drunk audience. To be fair, it’s not like the Rock was met by anything less than a rapturous reception, but was pretty clear that the fans had altered the execution of the match the moment the two went face-to-face, eye-to-eye in the ring and were met with duelling chants and, after exchanging sly looks with each other and the audience, the two clearly agreed to toss out the plan and give the people what they wanted.

Right as the match started, the crowd insisted on a double turn and both men readily accepted!

The two locked up in a test of strength that Hogan won to the adulation of the crowd; a second lockup saw the Rock caught in a side headlock and then blasted to the canvas by a shoulder tackle. In between each move, the Rock’s facial expressions told the whole story; he was stunned, livid, at Hogan’s power and the crowd’s reaction to his foe’s signature posing, and he flailed like a ragdoll as Hogan chopped at him and cut him down with a clothesline. Although many in the crowd cheered when the Rock floored Hogan with a flying shot of his own and got in his face, these were quickly drowned out by a chorus of boos that the two men milked to the nth degree. A bit of schoolyard shoving led to a flurry of punches from the Rock that caught Hogan off-guard and saw him catching his breath on the outside. The Rock followed, attacking from behind and rolling Hogan into the ring for a few more shots to the face and another explosive clothesline. Dazed, Hogan seemed primed for a Rock Bottom but he fought out of it, much to the delight of the crowd, and regained control with a bionic elbow off an Irish whip. Hogan dropped a few elbows and stamped on the Rock’s face, but the crowd didn’t care (if anything, they encouraged it!), they just kept chanting Hogan’s name as he whipped the Rock from one corner to another and pummelled him with big haymakers and clotheslines. The Rock got himself back in the game with an awkward-looking tackle, however, spitting barbs at the rapturous crowd after they jeered his attempts at a comeback. The audience leapt to their feet when Hogan planted the Rock with a back body drop for the first near fall and they even cheered when Hogan tied the Rock up in an abdominal stretch and attacked his ribs, raked his back a couple of times, went to work smacking him with the old school ten punches, and even biting the Rock’s forehead!

The fans refused to boo Hogan; no matter what he did, they were firmly behind the wrestling icon.

The Rock turned the tables and chopped Hogan, mocking him and the crowd between moves, but found his momentum shut down with a surprising chokeslam-like manoeuvre from Hogan. Even when Hogan blatantly choked the Rock, the crowd wouldn’t be dissuaded from cheering the Hulkster and this only became more apparent as the two exchanged punches and Hogan launched the Rock from the ring to a thunderous ovation! Hogan pressed his advantage by slamming the Rock into the steel steps and the barricade; then they cleared out the announce table, only for the Rock to try to smash his head in with a steel chair. The referee intervened, however, which allowed Hogan to floor the Rock with a stiff clothesline, but poor Mike Chioda got blasted by the Rock after Hogan countered an Irish whip. The Rock got back into it with a spinebuster and his patented sharpshooter; no stranger to the leg lock and operating on pure instinct, Hogan powered to the ropes but the Rock simply dragged him away, giving the Hulkster no choice but to tap out. However, Mike Chioda was still out, robbing the Rock of an early victory, so the People’s Champion roughly tried to bring the referee to his senses (to chants of “Rocky sucks!”), only to walk right into a low blow from Hogan. Hogan followed up with a Rock Bottom but only scored a two count thanks to the referee struggling to make the count. Frustrated, with Mike Chioda still somewhat out of it, Hogan took off his belt and whipped it across the Rock’s back but ended up being planted by the Rock’s super-slick DDT. The Rock then grabbed Hogan’s belt and got a measure of revenge, lashing Hogan over and over and even spitting on it to add insult to injury, but his attempt to finish Hogan off with a Rock Bottom led to the Immortal One powering out of the pin!

Although the Rock won, Hogan won back his fans and embarked on an unexpected nostalgia run.

The crowd leapt to their feet as Hogan “Hulked Up” in the ring; fists clenched, teeth gritted, he shrugged off blow after blow and answered with clubbing blows to the Rock’s face. Hogan whipped the Rock off the ropes and floored him with his signature Big Boot and the crowd were literally frothing as Hogan came crashing down with his patented Atomic Leg Drop. Mike Chioda fell to the mat but the crowd, Hogan, basically everyone lost their damn minds when the Rock kicked out at two! With Toronto at a fever pitch, Hogan went for his finishing combination again, but the Rock rolled out of the way and scored with another Rock Bottom. Rather than go for the cover, the Rock purposely hoisted Hogan up and hit a third Rock Bottom before springing to his feet and earning himself the three count off a People’s Elbow! While the crowd might have been torn, if not against the Rock, throughout the match, they were unanimously elated with this outcome and showered both men with a standing ovation. This only escalated when the clearly exhausted and wounded Hogan sheepishly offered his hand in a show of respect; still milking the electricity of his impromptu heel turn, the Rock hesitated but ultimately shook the Hulkster’s hand and the two briefly embraced before Hogan humbly stepped aside for his better. Unimpressed, Hall and Nash attacked their nWo teammate until the Rock made the save and, together, Hogan and the Rock fought off Hall and Nash to effectively (if unofficially) disband the nWo. Fatigued, Hogan then tried to leave the ring but the Rock couldn’t help himself; he stopped Hogan and all-but begged him to perform one last pose down and, despite his obvious pain and discomfort, Hogan conceded and basked in the unanimous show of respect and adulation from the uproarious Toronto crowd, much to the Rock’s obvious glee!

The Aftermath:
This match has been heralded as one of the best wrestling clashes of all time, and for good reason; both men worked extremely well together and played to each other’s strengths and the Rock did a masterful job of working around Hogan’s limitations. What really makes this match, though, is the crowd; they are as big a part of the proceedings as the in-ring action and, without them causing an impromptu double-turn, I don’t know if this would’ve been as memorable as it was. However, the stars aligned perfectly, allowing Hogan to redeem years of wicked deeds during his time in the nWo with this one match and embark on an unexpected nostalgia tour over the next few years. Indeed, if it wasn’t obvious from the ending to this match, Hollywood Hogan turned face for the first time in years after WrestleMania X8. He would team up with the Rock (and Kane) to battle his former nWo teammates and found himself drafted to the SmackDown! brand, where he donned a new version of his classic red and yellow attire and rode his renewed fame all the way to a title shot, and victory, over Triple H the very next month at Backlash. The Rock was pivotal in securing Hogan this match as he gave up his own championship opportunity to film The Scorpion King (Russell, 2002); by the time he returned to the ring, not only was the WWF now known as WWE but Hogan had lost the Undisputed Championship to the Undertaker and was busy feuding with the likes of Kurt Angle and defending the WWE Tag Team Championship alongside Edge. Hogan and the Rock would, of course, face each other again a little under a year after this match. By this time, the Rock was firmly in the midst of his own “Hollywood” heel turn as an abrasive egomaniac and Hogan was embroiled in a feud with Vince McMahon. Before the two faced off at WrestleMania XIX, however, Hogan was forced to battle the Rock again at the 2003 No Way Out pay-per-view to the same result, but with the caveat that the Rock’s victory came after assistance from McMahon and a crooked referee. While both men would go on to have numerous other matches, their next biggest in-ring encounter came during the opening segment of WrestleMania XXX where Hogan, Rock, and Steve Austin shared the ring in an iconic (and hilarious) WrestleMania moment.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

What did you think to the Icon vs. Icon clash between the Rock and Hollywood Hulk Hogan? Do you think the match would be as memorable without the rampant Toronto crowd? Who was your pick to win this match at the time? Were you a fan of the nWo’s brief stint in the WWF? Would you have preferred to see Hogan face off against Steve Austin? Which generational wrestling icons would you like to see go one-on-one? How are you celebrating WrestleMania’s anniversary this year and what’s your favourite WrestleMania moment? Drop your thoughts below or leave a comment on my social media to let me know what you think about WrestleMania X8 and be sure to check out my other wrestling content across the site.

Wrestling Recap: The Outsiders vs. Sting, Savage, & Luger (Bash at the Beach ’96)

Dr. K8 Comments

The Date: 7 July 1996
The Venue: Ocean Center; Daytona Beach, Florida
The Commentary: “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Mike Tenay, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and Tony Schiavone
The Referee: Randy Anderson
The Stakes: Six-man tag team match to repel the Outsiders’ invasion

The Build-Up:
On 4 September 1995, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) changed the shape of the wrestling industry by airing the first episode of WCW Monday Nitro, a weekly broadcast that included the unexpected WCW debut of Lex Luger and kicked off the start of the “Monday Night Wars” as the show ran in direct competition to the World Wrestling Federation’s (WWF) Raw is War. Over the course of a staggering eighty-four weeks, WCW would dominate this ratings war thanks to signing a number of wrestling’s biggest names to lucrative contracts; two of the most prominent of these were Scott Hall (formerly WWF’s Razor Ramon) and Kevin Nash (formally Diesel), who regularly gatecrashed WCW programming to declare war on the organisation, assumedly as “Outsiders” sent explicitly by the WWF to disrupt WCW. Though this was later downplayed to avoid legal issues, the two constantly hassled WCW Executive Vice President Eric Bischoff and goaded him into forming a three-man team to face the duo and their mysterious “third man” at Bash at the Beach. A random drawing saw Sting, Lex Lugar and “Macho Man” Randy Savage chosen to oppose the Outsiders, but Hall and Nash refused to reveal the identity of their third man until the show; although Sting was initially said to be up for the big turn, the mystery man turned out to be the legendary Hulk Hogan, whose act was becoming a bit stale by that point. Hogan’s turn to the dark side legitimately shocked the wrestling world and reinvigorated his career; rechristened “Hollywood” Hogan, the once colourful wrestling hero led the New World Order (nWo) in hijacking WCW’s programming as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, eventually leading to a year-long storyline where Sting underwent a complete character change to oppose Hogan in their infamous Starrcade match. While the nWo eventually outlived its welcome, there’s no denying the impact this match had on the wrestling industry; it made WCW must-see television and forced the WWF to undergo a dramatic change of attitude to outpace and ultimately dethrone their competition and it all started here with this iconic three-on-two tag team match.

The Match:
I find it interesting looking back at the Outsiders’ arrival in WCW; even Michael Buffer’s introduction hypes up how the duo threatens the sanctity, the very existence, of the company, which I find a little amusing. You’re seriously telling me that two men are really that much of a threat? Admittedly, I haven’t watched the weeks leading up to Bash at the Beach but it seemed all the two did was interfere in matches, attack a few wrestlers, and accost Bischoff while claiming to have a third man in their posse. These days, an invading team would be at least three men to start with, if not six to eight, and would constantly disrupt programming, attacking everyone and destroying the ringside area, but back then all it took was a former bodyguard-turned-disappointing World Champion and an upper mid-carder with a tragic drinking problem to threaten the stability of one of the biggest wrestling companies in the United States at the time. After weeks of speculation and anticipation bout the duo’s third man, Hall and Nash sauntered to the ring by themselves; even I, with little exposure to WCW or even the WWF back in my fledgling wrestling fan days, was aware of the nWo and Hulk Hogan’s turn to the dark side thanks to WCW’s Nintendo 64 videogames, which featured “Hollywood” Hogan and his black-and-white cohorts in prominent roles, but WCW were determined to drag the reveal out for maximum impact. Naturally, the commentary team were more than a little biased towards the WCW competitors and “Mean” Gene Okerlund was less than impressed at their lack of a partner; however, the duo was completely unfazed maintained their arrogance even in the face of the two-on-three disadvantage they would be in throughout the match.

With Luger taken out, the Outsiders worked over Sting’s ribs and cheated for an advantage.

Sting, Luger, and Savage came to the ring together, so united as a team that they even wore matching face paint, and things quickly got tense as Luger and Hall got into a slanging match all while the commentary team bickered distrustfully amongst themselves since the Outsiders had done such a good job of sowing dissension throughout WCW. Hall and Luger started the match; Hall disrespectfully tossed his toothpick in Luger’s face, earning him a good ol’ slap to the jaw and a forearm shot across the forehead despite beating on Luger in the early going. Luger was all fired up, even taking a cheap shot at Nash, but Sting was forced to save him from a Nash headlock with a Stinger Splash in the corner. Unfortunately, Luger bashed his head on the ring post, evening the odds as doctors stretchered him away. Regardless, Sting went after Hall in a flurry, bashing his head off the mat, planting him with an Inverted Atomic Drop and a facebuster, but Hall was able to counter Savage’s top-rope axehandle with a shot to the gut. Rather than tagging out, Hall goaded Sting, distracting the referee and allowing Nash to hit Savage with Snake Eyes, but he immediately recovered to clothesline Hall to the mat for the first near fall of the match. Hall tagged in Nash; Savage (accompanied by Rhodes’ shouts of “Who be bad now?!”) used his quickness at first but the big man shut him down with some slow shots and a big body slam. Thankfully, Savage avoided an elbow drop and tagged in Sting, but he immediately took a beating in the corner from some repeated elbow strikes before being choked by Nash’s long, unstable leg. Sting countered a whip into the opposite corner and floored Nash with a dropkick but couldn’t get him over for a sunset flip pin and ate a lifting choke for his troubles. Hall tagged back in, hitting his trademark Fallaway Slam for a two count, but Nash came back in for a Big Boot and starting working over Sting’s ribs. Sting was able to duck under a clothesline and hit a low dropkick to bring Nash to the mat, but Hall tagged in to cut off both his opponents before dropping a bunch of elbows before wrapping the Stinger up in the Abdominal Stretch (with an assist from Nash) to really milk the crowd. Even when Nash slipped in behind the referee’s back to take over the hold and continue to work over Sting’s ribs and Sting was able to break free, he was too hurt to make the tag and got cut off again by Hall, who scored a two count of a clothesline.

Savage’s comeback was cut short by Hogan’s shocking turn and the infamous formation of the nWo!

After a brief sleeper hold, Hall dumped Sting to the outside, where Savage threatened to attack Nash with a steel chair when the Outsider made a move towards Sting. Back in the ring, Sting continued to play “face-in-peril”, eating a big Sidewalk Slam from Nash but kicking out at two, who was so frustrated that he rammed Sting’s head into the corner. Sting finally started to mount a comeback with a bunch of punches and leapt at the big man with a standing crossbody to tag in Savage. The crowd erupted as the Macho Man took out Hall, smacked his head into Nash’s, and started pounding away on Nash, landing repeated top-rope axehandles on Hall. A shot to the balls shut down Savage’s assault, however, leaving all four men lying; the crowd erupted again as Hulk Hogan came to the ring, presumably to help his fellow WCW teammates out, but instead chose to Hogan hit the Atomic Leg Drop on the prone Savage, twice, before high-fiving Hall and Nash. Hogan tossed the referee from the ring, hit another Atomic Leg Drop on Savage and then pinned the Macho Man as Hall made the three count. The crowd wasn’t really sure how to react at first but, as the smirking trio celebrated, cups and other trash started to fill the ring; one enraged fan even tried to rush them, only to be rightfully beaten down as a result. In the aftermath, Okerlund demanded answers from Hogan, who cut a scathing tirade against WCW, its fans, and heralding the birth of the “New World Organisation”. Finally having had enough to the fans and the businessmen taking his fame and popularity for granted, Hogan vowed to tear WCW down and destroy everything in his path to dominate the industry, with the three men absolutely revelling in the crowd’s disgusted reaction. Honestly, the match wasn’t too much to shout about; it was a fairly standard tag team bout, with the bad guys cheating for an advantage and setting up Savage for a big hot tag, but the ending is what makes it truly memorable. Once Hogan came to the ring, I think you could probably guess that he was going to turn (Heenan screaming “Who’s side is he on?!” didn’t help…) so it might’ve been better if he’d come out alongside, say, Luger to cast a bit more doubt over him and the after match promo was a bit long-winded, but there’s no denying that this marked a significant turning point for all involved.

The Aftermath:
Of course, this event saw the birth of the nWo and Hogan’s transformation into the arrogant, embittered “Hollywood” Hogan. The nWo immediately reinforced their message over the next few weeks by brutally assaulting WCW wrestlers after their matches and backstage, before establishing their dominance when Hogan captured the WCW Championship from the Giant at the next pay-per-view event, Hog Wild. Soon enough, the nWo became the hottest thing not just in WCW but the wrestling world; audience tuned in every week to see what they’d get up to next, who would join the increasingly growing group, and bought their t-shirts and merchandise by the thousands. The nWo proved so popular that Bischoff proposed giving them their own television show, but this fell through and an nWo-centric pay-per-view proved less than successful. As established, during the nWo’s first year, their greatest threat loomed in the rafters as Sting bided his time before challenging Hogan, but Hogan’s revived career wouldn’t be so easily upended. Even as the nWo splintered into other factions and began to wind down, WCW continued to milk the group for all it’s worth; they were such a prominent faction that, when Hogan, Hall, and Nash finally returned to the WWF in 2002, they were brought in as the nWo for a short-lived and poorly-handled revival. Although the group was officially disbanded later in 2002, they continued to make sporadic appearances; generally represented as the original three, sometimes alongside their “sixth member”, X-Pac, the nWo bizarrely defended Sting during his WrestleMania match against Triple H and were inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame in 2020.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to the clash between WCW’s defenders and the invading Outsiders? Were you excited by Hall and Nash’s shocking appearance in WCW at the time? Who did you think the third man was going to be? What was your reaction when it turned out to be Hulk Hogan? Were you a fan of the nWo and, if so, who were your favourite members of the super group? What are some of your favourite matches and moments from WCW’s Bash at the Beach pay-per-views? Whatever your thoughts on the nWo, Bash at the Beach, and WCW, feel free to voice them below.