Added in the fact the Fingerpoke pretty much put WCW in rewind. They had a new champion in Nash. Goldberg had just been defeated. You had two rival nWo factions, etc. Then within a matter of a day, Hogan was again the champ and the nWo was basically reformed aka 1996.
To me, it was like 1998 was completely worthless. Everything that led up to it meant nothing because here we are again with the same crap we've seen a thousand times already.
For a lot of us watching at the time, it was more than just a harmless thing, it was as if we had wasted the past year watching WCW, watching Goldberg, watching the Wolfpac for it all to be exactly as it was before.
I turned it off and was never a hardcore WCW fan again. I casually watched it, but it turned me off from the product for sure.
I agree. In itself, the FOD was not that bad, and actually kind of funny. But it made the last 2 years seem pointless. It also made me throw away my Wolfpac shirt, because I didn't want people to think I liked Hogan.
Post by BlackJackRobby on Aug 29, 2009 4:53:24 GMT -5
The Fingerpoke of Doom in and of itself was not that bad!
Backstage it was a way to kill an angle and fued between Nash and Hogan, and it was a way to get back to a more simple version of the NWO due to it being heavily watered down by C-Rate talent.
Now what happened that turned it into one of the ugliest things in wrestling is this.
It should of been a set-up to Goldberg destroying the NWO once and for all, he would of had a new fued each month with it ending possibly at the 99 Starrcade or earlier.
Instead he got beat up by Luger, got into a fued with Bam Bam or continued it, beat Hall, beat Nash in a nothing match and did not sniff the world title for two years.
They did nothing for any of the non-NWO talent as far as new angles.
Worst of all they moved Hogan into a program with Ric Flair AGAIN, and after two months of normal high ratings people just got sick of this and the Flair heel turn even though he had every right to be the face WCW just force fed the fans that he was the heel now.
The lack of wrestling the show took on became HUGE, in 96,97,98 if you saw any of WCW even if you hated the storylines you loved the work rate.
In early 99 with WCW only losing by a million viewers which in 98 WCW and WWF showed can switch literally week to week they decided to copy and paste the WWF product onto WCW, even though the reason people watched WCW was so they can avoid WWF style wrestling.
Nash booking and his main event storylines that were so weak and unentertaining that they literally killed any potential fans and gave current fans a why in god's name do I watch this feel.
All in all if you look at the Fingerpoke of Doom sure they lost to the WWF in the ratings war, they had not won in two or three months before then anyways. They still made like a 6.0 hit in the ratings which is much more then the WWE does every week today.
WCW even held strong when the show's got weaker and more backwards as the weeks went by, there was one week though I believe it was Either after the March PPV or in early April where the ratings for WCW took a strong dip and dump.
It was the time when long time WCW fans could not take it anymore and new fans found out about SCSA and the ROCK and had no reason to watch WCW.
Heavy on Wrestling, presents Ric Flair May 27th in Duluth MN!
Added in the fact the Fingerpoke pretty much put WCW in rewind. They had a new champion in Nash. Goldberg had just been defeated. You had two rival nWo factions, etc. Then within a matter of a day, Hogan was again the champ and the nWo was basically reformed aka 1996.
To me, it was like 1998 was completely worthless. Everything that led up to it meant nothing because here we are again with the same crap we've seen a thousand times already.
Post by Jay Peas 42 on Aug 29, 2009 22:02:24 GMT -5
Yes, had the Fingerpoke ended with Goldberg driving the entire NWO from the ring, it would have probably worked, as the people's rage would have found an outlet. But as it did not, it just became one more jobber being sacrificed on the Altar of Hulkamania. Brother.
“I don’t need to see the movie to know it’s a stupid film, I saw the commercial. Isn’t that supposed to tell me why I should see this film? I mean, if the studio can’t make a better pitch for two hours of my time and ten dollars of my money, why should give them the benefit of the doubt?”
Yes, had the Fingerpoke ended with Goldberg driving the entire NWO from the ring, it would have probably worked, as the people's rage would have found an outlet. But as it did not, it just became one more jobber being sacrificed on the Altar of Hulkamania. Brother.
I disagree, it took an elaborate plan to get the belt off of Goldberg, the nWo knew they couldn't beat him clean so they had Hall come out with the taser to put him down for Nash to pick up the win. Goldberg was protected there,IMO.
blindgunfighter said:
That something as inherently ridiculous and trashy as wrestling should be analysed in such an obsessive and cynical manner. It's just a bit of fun!
Post by lildude8218 on Aug 31, 2009 13:26:09 GMT -5
I marked. I hated the nWo breaking up. I hated the Wolfpack. I hated the announcers marking over Sting joining them when he was basically turning on WCW in doing so.
They should have mentioned that the only reason there was dissention in the first place was because of Savage. Which is really true. They were completely united until he joined that's when things started to nosedive.
So in kayfabe they could have said that once Savage left with his knee injury, the guys (Nash/Hogan) started talking again and buried the hatchet but by then Goldberg had already won the belt. So they started the wheels turning to get the band back together leaving several people in the dark (Konnan, most of nWo Hollywood, etc) while recruiting others to help make it seem legit (mostly Luger so he can help them use Sting.)
They are then able to feud for months because the majority involved really do think there's a feud going on between the two factions. Hall and Nash in on it the whole time engage in their feud which if you remember, barely even happened. Steiner is left in charge of nWo Hollywood and "kicks Hall out" leading to Starrcade and the Fingerpoke.
That's how you do the angle and not make 1998 seem pointless.
I marked. I hated the nWo breaking up. I hated the Wolfpack. I hated the announcers marking over Sting joining them when he was basically turning on WCW in doing so.
They should have mentioned that the only reason there was dissention in the first place was because of Savage. Which is really true. They were completely united until he joined that's when things started to nosedive.
So in kayfabe they could have said that once Savage left with his knee injury, the guys (Nash/Hogan) started talking again and buried the hatchet but by then Goldberg had already won the belt. So they started the wheels turning to get the band back together leaving several people in the dark (Konnan, most of nWo Hollywood, etc) while recruiting others to help make it seem legit (mostly Luger so he can help them use Sting.)
They are then able to feud for months because the majority involved really do think there's a feud going on between the two factions. Hall and Nash in on it the whole time engage in their feud which if you remember, barely even happened. Steiner is left in charge of nWo Hollywood and "kicks Hall out" leading to Starrcade and the Fingerpoke.
That's how you do the angle and not make 1998 seem pointless.
Yeah, but at the time the nWo had become so popular with the fan and the merchandise and all, that the company felt the need to create a babyface faction of the nWo.
What I find funny is when people say it started the decline in WCW's ratings.
The Fingerpoke episode got a 5.0 rating. The following five weeks were: 5.0, 4.4, 5.0, 4.7, and 5.7. Where was the decline? That seems like standard flucuation for a company going head to head with a red hot WWF at the time.
As far as PPV buys, Superbrawl 1999 (headlined by Hogan and Flair) did a 1.1 buyrate, which was the same as the previous year's Superbrawl, and MUCH better than Souled Out the month before (headlined by Goldberg and Hall).
Why did the Fingerpoke start the decline to WCW? Or better yet, why was it the reason? It was a slap in the face to the fans? Then what was Vince McMahon winning the Royal Rumble that same month? Rewarding the fans?
It was just good storytelling. Austin let his hatred of McMahon override his desire to become the number one contender at Mania. You have to remember, this was the first real substantial physical contact they'd ever had with one another, so Austin was FINALLY getting to kick McMahon's ass in a completely uninterrupted, relentless fashion. But he let his rage blind him and instead of just throwing Vince out and winning the thing, he kept beating on him until The Rock came down and provided the distraction Vince needed to win.
Austin got his win back the next month, went on to Mania and dethroned Rocky despite McMahon's best attempts to rig the outcome. That's what I consider "overcoming the odds," not like today, where HHH or John Cena or Batista win a handicap match booked by a heel GM. Every heel force in the promotion, it seemed, was against Austin, but with help from people like Mankind (the referee for the WM15 main event), he was able to overcome those shoddy odds.
Anyway, the crux of my argument is the fact that Austin wound up giving McMahon the Rumble win because his rage blinded him. Nash wound up giving Hogan the world title because...I dunno. Hogan paid him? He missed being a lackey? I seriously can't fathom, in kayfabe, why someone on as massive a role as Nash was at the time would lay down and basically surrender the world title because, for whatever reason, he found being a lackey/goon/hired muscle preferable to being the WORLD CHAMPION.
That's why the storyline was stupid to me. And I was an emotionally dense 14 year-old at the time, and even then I thought that entire angle was balls.
Of course, I've never been under the impression that it had anything to do with what killed WCW. It was simply representative of some of the problems that eventually would.
but it makes more sense for a guy to over come physical odds to beat his opponents, even with the deck stacked against him by a bad guy, with an unbiased official than for the evil authority figures to allow an ally of his to officiate the match.
Anyway, the crux of my argument is the fact that Austin wound up giving McMahon the Rumble win because his rage blinded him. Nash wound up giving Hogan the world title because...I dunno. Hogan paid him? He missed being a lackey? I seriously can't fathom, in kayfabe, why someone on as massive a role as Nash was at the time would lay down and basically surrender the world title because, for whatever reason, he found being a lackey/goon/hired muscle preferable to being the WORLD CHAMPION.
Precisely it.
Anyone ever read Paradise Lost? Remember Lucifer's famous line: "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven."
By taking the Fingerpoke, Nash basically says to serve in hell is better than reigning in heaven.
Huh?
In terms of kayfabe, Nash did not lack for resources to fight Hogan's nWo, or, shall we say, "run-in insurance." He himself had nothing but advantages over Hogan physically. He had a golden opportunity to defeat Hogan - "the biggest icon in wrestling" - and prove he was a worthy champion.
Instead, he lays down for the guy. He willingly gives away his status as alpha wolf. For what purpose? What benefit? Does he find the appeal of midcard dominance superior to the appeal of main event and thus total dominance? Is he that much of an idiot?
Put aside screwing over Goldberg; this just makes Nash look like an imbecile in kayfabe.
Jay Peas 42
El Dandy Totally flips out ALL the time.
Is looking forward to a Nation of Domination Kwannza Special.
Having been in the Georgia Dome live on the night of the FOD, I can tell you it was craptastic.
See, that's the major problem with the Fingerpoke. I think the booking logic is mostly sound, but you can't screw with your audiance that way. In Atlanta, you need to book a solid match, with a shocker of an ending, like Mick Foley winning the Title, or Stone Cold having the Stunner blocked, but hitting it on the second try. Not, Hogan and Nash are friends again, and they will beatdown your hero for ten minutes.
“I don’t need to see the movie to know it’s a stupid film, I saw the commercial. Isn’t that supposed to tell me why I should see this film? I mean, if the studio can’t make a better pitch for two hours of my time and ten dollars of my money, why should give them the benefit of the doubt?”