Kevin Nash talks about the Fingerpoke of Doom

[Hiroshi Hase]

He addresses that and claims about allegedly booking when Goldberg lost his streak at Starrcade 1998:

www.dailymotion.com/Stinger1981/video/x3fns6_kevin-nash-shoot-re-fingerpoke-of-d_sport

[Lenny: Smooth like Keith Stone]

I respect Nash's opinions usually, but I don't agree with his reasoning that the Fingerpoke worked because it pissed off everyone. He thinks it worked because people got mad, and because they didn't see it coming.

I disagree that simply pissing off the audience is enough to indicate that a heel tactic worked. There is a difference between havinig an audience be angry because of heelish tactics, and having an audience be angry because they feel that the promotion ripped them off. Spending a whole show building and hyping a main event between two of the top guys and then not delivering is bait and switch. But don't just take my word for it... look to the millions of viewers who left WCW at that point and never came back.

[big nasty]

why exactly was this guy a main eventer when he comes right out and say people dont want to see him wrestle? when it comes down to it, people want the payoff to be a match of some sort. nash laying down is what pissed people off, not the fact he "got them".

i cant believe he really thinks people would rather see the "fingerpoke of doom" than a match between him and hogan.

[Dynamite Kid]

I love you Kevin Nash, I can has ur bebbehs?

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

popogijo said:

why exactly was this guy a main eventer when he comes right out and say people dont want to see him wrestle? when it comes down to it, people want the payoff to be a match of some sort. nash laying down is what pissed people off, not the fact he "got them".

i cant believe he really thinks people would rather see the "fingerpoke of doom" than a match between him and hogan.

You gotta remember that the guys that can't wrestle worth a crap are always the first to remind people that wrestling fans aren't really there to see "wrestling". I'll never doubt Nash's charisma, but as a wrestler, he sucked huge.

[big nasty]

chuckymac314 said:

popogijo said:

why exactly was this guy a main eventer when he comes right out and say people dont want to see him wrestle? when it comes down to it, people want the payoff to be a match of some sort. nash laying down is what pissed people off, not the fact he "got them".

i cant believe he really thinks people would rather see the "fingerpoke of doom" than a match between him and hogan.

You gotta remember that the guys that can't wrestle worth a crap are always the first to remind people that wrestling fans aren't really there to see "wrestling". I'll never doubt Nash's charisma, but as a wrestler, he sucked huge.

i know what you mean. i would still have rather seen 2 big guys brawl for 5 minutes than what he claims was good booking. its as if big kevs' ego wont let him realize the part he had in wcw's downward spiral.

[Hiroshi Hase]

chuckymac314 said:

popogijo said:

why exactly was this guy a main eventer when he comes right out and say people dont want to see him wrestle? when it comes down to it, people want the payoff to be a match of some sort. nash laying down is what pissed people off, not the fact he "got them".

i cant believe he really thinks people would rather see the "fingerpoke of doom" than a match between him and hogan.

You gotta remember that the guys that can't wrestle worth a crap are always the first to remind people that wrestling fans aren't really there to see "wrestling". I'll never doubt Nash's charisma, but as a wrestler, he sucked huge.

Perhaps, but it's not like they're wrong. If it was really about the wrestling only, then we'd have more matches that would last 30-40 minutes every week.

It's good to know some, but you can get over and make a lot of money without knowing a million moves. It's not like it's real anyways.

[messiah]

Talks about TNA, ROH, Jay Lethal etc: www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/Kevin+Nash+shoot/video/x3067h_nash-on-tna-roh-black-machismo-and_sport

[thwak is T.hawk]

nash makes some good points, he also makes some horrible points as well.

[OtisMaximus]

Honestly Hogan vs. Nash would have sucked big time and the finger poke was an easy way to satisfy egos and cover up lack of talented main eventers.

[Chuckie Finster]

popogijo said:

chuckymac314 said:

You gotta remember that the guys that can't wrestle worth a crap are always the first to remind people that wrestling fans aren't really there to see "wrestling". I'll never doubt Nash's charisma, but as a wrestler, he sucked huge.

i know what you mean. i would still have rather seen 2 big guys brawl for 5 minutes than what he claims was good booking. its as if big kevs' ego wont let him realize the part he had in wcw's downward spiral.

Kevin Nash admits he is part of the reason WCW went down several times in interviews and shoots. In one he outright said "I killed WCW". He also says "I'm not innocent, I just wasn't the lone gunamn on the grassy knoll.

He also references JFK's assasination alot in his interviews.

[Deleted]

The reason the fingerpoke didn't work. Wasn't that it was a screwjob or that it "hurt the title" as smarks like to say.

It was because by giving the title back to Hogan, you knew that WCW was just going back to the same old crap and refusing to progress at all. They may as well of put reruns on.

If it were the same scenario, but with someone other than Hogan. Lets say Bret Hart or Scott Hall. It would've been shocking and stirred up interest.

But because it was Hogan. It came off as "Looks like Hulk can't handle being without the title for 5 minutes and we're going to have to sit through his crappy matches some more."

[Cry Me a Wiggle]

Uh, Nash was mixing his history up there. Goldberg put his fist through the limo a year later when the black and silver nWo formed. It helped stall that angle out of the gate, not the evil Wolfpack.

[robferatu]

thebigwiggle said:

Uh, Nash was mixing his history up there. Goldberg put his fist through the limo a year later when the black and silver nWo formed. It helped stall that angle out of the gate, not the evil Wolfpack.

Yeah, I was thinking the same.

There is good heat and bad heat from fans, that was bad heat. It's not because fans were upset because they didn't see the "Nash/Hogan" epic, but because it turned out to be just another swerve. You can only "swerve" fans so many times before they become sick of it.

[Cry Me a Wiggle]

I'll actually defend one aspect of the fingerpoke.

It made sense. Goldberg beat Hogan for the title. Hogan would have therefore been racking his brain trying to figure out a way to get "his" title back. As far as well-constructed diabolical plans go, it was one of the better ones.

That being said, there were dozens of reasons why it shouldn't have been done, including the end of the super hot babyface Wolfpack and mother f***ing Hollywood Hogan holding the title yet again.

[TRUTH TELLER]

thebigwiggle said:

I'll actually defend one aspect of the fingerpoke.

It made sense. Goldberg beat Hogan for the title. Hogan would have therefore been racking his brain trying to figure out a way to get "his" title back. As far as well-constructed diabolical plans go, it was one of the better ones.

I respectfully disagree. I don't see, from a storyline point of view why Nash would want to job the title to Hogan. Why would a wrestler with nothing to lose, kayfabe-wise, lay down and forfeit the World title? Unlike Andre/DiBiase, there was no mention of money. It was just like "here, you take it. I don't want it." We knew Hogan's motivations, but what was Nash's? The storyline never made sense to me.

[Hiroshi Hase]

brentreznor said:

The reason the fingerpoke didn't work. Wasn't that it was a screwjob or that it "hurt the title" as smarks like to say.

It was because by giving the title back to Hogan, you knew that WCW was just going back to the same old crap and refusing to progress at all. They may as well of put reruns on.

If it were the same scenario, but with someone other than Hogan. Lets say Bret Hart or Scott Hall. It would've been shocking and stirred up interest.

But because it was Hogan. It came off as "Looks like Hulk can't handle being without the title for 5 minutes and we're going to have to sit through his crappy matches some more."

By that point, Goldberg had the title for approximately 7 months and Hogan never had a rematch with him, so it's not like Hogan was actively chasing it.

It did get heat, but I think it was the wrong type of heat where people just didn't want to watch anymore.

[Ben Wyatt]

tdog231 said:

popogijo said:

i know what you mean. i would still have rather seen 2 big guys brawl for 5 minutes than what he claims was good booking. its as if big kevs' ego wont let him realize the part he had in wcw's downward spiral.

Kevin Nash admits he is part of the reason WCW went down several times in interviews and shoots. In one he outright said "I killed WCW". He also says "I'm not innocent, I just wasn't the lone gunamn on the grassy knoll.

He also references JFK's assasination alot in his interviews.

I respect Nash for at least owning up to screwing the company up

[thestinger]

yjc1019 said:

It did get heat, but I think it was the wrong type of heat where people just didn't want to watch anymore.

See the fingerpoke is one of those things everyone is never going to agree on. My brother and I were SO excited to see the nWo reform. Our phone started ringing immediately afterwards, all our friends were calling to ask "Did you see that?"

We all dug out our nWo shirts and wore them the next day. Since everyone I know loved it, I spent years thinking the 'fingerpoke' was a successful angle. It wasn't until last year that I found out people hated it.

You have to realize at the time, WCW had entered a slump, the first decline in quality since the Monday Night Wars began.

Goldberg had won the title, and had been built up SO much, that nobody in the company could beat him. He wasn't even having feuds. At the start of each Nitro, the announcers would hype, "Tonight the World Champion GOLDBERG is wrestling!" They never bothered to say against who.

That's because every week Goldberg was 'wrestling' Jerry Flynn or Rick Fuller. He would come out, spear, Jackhammer and pin. The World Champion had beaten everyone in company clean so he was wrestling jobbers every week. Who the #@$% did Jerry Flynn beat to earn a world title shot?

Then there was the 'war' between the two nWo factions. Well the Black and White was filled with guys like Stevie Ray and Bryan Adams who were just not A-list material. The Wolfpac HAD A-list material, except Sting and Macho Man got badly injured and were out for a long time. That feud was stalled.

The fingerpoke solved everything. We had single heel nWo with six members and a super over baby face as Goldberg to feud with them.

Nash is right: if Goldberg hadn't gotten hurt and had to take a year off, there would have been a year's worth of good tv in nWo vs. Goldberg. It didn't happen so Hogan turned face and the nWo faded away.

[Hiroshi Hase]

thestinger said:

yjc1019 said:

It did get heat, but I think it was the wrong type of heat where people just didn't want to watch anymore.

See the fingerpoke is one of those things everyone is never going to agree on. My brother and I were SO excited to see the nWo reform. Our phone started ringing immediately afterwards, all our friends were calling to ask "Did you see that?"

We all dug out our nWo shirts and wore them the next day. Since everyone I know loved it, I spent years thinking the 'fingerpoke' was a successful angle. It wasn't until last year that I found out people hated it.

You have to realize at the time, WCW had entered a slump, the first decline in quality since the Monday Night Wars began.

Goldberg had won the title, and had been built up SO much, that nobody in the company could beat him. He wasn't even having feuds. At the start of each Nitro, the announcers would hype, "Tonight the World Champion GOLDBERG is wrestling!" They never bothered to say against who.

That's because every week Goldberg was 'wrestling' Jerry Flynn or Rick Fuller. He would come out, spear, Jackhammer and pin. The World Champion had beaten everyone in company clean so he was wrestling jobbers every week. Who the #@$% did Jerry Flynn beat to earn a world title shot?

Then there was the 'war' between the two nWo factions. Well the Black and White was filled with guys like Stevie Ray and Bryan Adams who were just not A-list material. The Wolfpac HAD A-list material, except Sting and Macho Man got badly injured and were out for a long time. That feud was stalled.

The fingerpoke solved everything. We had single heel nWo with six members and a super over baby face as Goldberg to feud with them.

Nash is right: if Goldberg hadn't gotten hurt and had to take a year off, there would have been a year's worth of good tv in nWo vs. Goldberg. It didn't happen so Hogan turned face and the nWo faded away.

You do raise some points there, maybe I was just pissed at the time that the super over Wolfpac was forming together with Hollywood's faction.

Goldberg going through each of the guys and getting to Hogan would've been a great storyline.