26 Years Ago, Hulk Hogan's Most Controversial WCW Moment Won The Monday Night Wars For WWE
WCW's biggest blunder handed WWE a win.
Hulk Hogan inadvertently handed WWE the win from WCW in the Monday Night Wars. Today, the boos which Hulk Hogan received on Raw suggest most fans carry no love lost for him, but three decades ago, the wrestling world loved him. It's ironic because when he was an onscreen villain, Hollywood Hulk Hogan was at his most beloved in the nWo. Together, they were the hottest act in wrestling.
By 1999, the hottest act in professional wrestling and WCW was suddenly reviled to the point that WWE instantly won the Monday Night Wars by default. In the ratings war between WCW Monday Nitro and WWE Monday Night Raw, Eric Bischoff had one idea after another that helped WCW beat WWE for 83 weeks straight. Then, the Fingerpoke of Doom happened.
To understand how WWE won so unanimously after this, it's important to analyze what the Fingerpoke of Doom was, why it became so infamously hated, and why it convinced many fans to change the channel.
The Fingerpoke of Doom Is One of the Most Controversial Wrestling Moments EverWCW Monday Nitro, January 4, 1999
In the 1990s, the New World Order was WCW's secret weapon in pulling fans away from WWE in the ongoing ratings war. They may not have worked in WWE, but on WCW soil, nWo was the coolest thing in wrestling. Things started to shift in 1998 when a babyface turn from Kevin Nash split the group off into two factions: a red and black nWo Wolfpac led by Kevin Nash and a heel nWo Hollywood. At December's Starrcade, Nash defeated Goldberg for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship following some unwanted help from Scott Hall. Still a babyface, Nash offered his remorse and, thus, granted Goldberg a rematch on the following week's episode of Nitro.
However, on that fateful episode of Nitro, Goldberg would be arrested in-storyline on false claims of stalking Miss Elizabeth, removing him from the arena. In his place, nWo Hollywood's Hulk Hogan returned from hiatus and challenged the Wolfpac leader for his title. Later that night, the bell sounded off for the main event. Almost instantly, Hogan poked the ex-Diesel in the chest with his finger, prompting Nash to pratfall, allowing Hogan to pin him. Upon the title change, the members of both nWo stables hugged it out to reveal for months, their feud had all been a ruse.
One moment that often goes overlooked is that Goldberg returns to the Georgia Dome arena to attack the nWo. It's as if WCW expected a disappointed reaction from fans to see the nWo reform in totality after a Fingerpoke, and to send the fans home happy, they bring out the hometown hero to wreak havoc. Unfortunately, the damage had been done, and the outraged fans were not changing their tune, not even for local Bill Goldberg. It didn't help that the show ended with Goldberg being laid out by the nWo, defeating the purpose of trying to save face.
WWE's Response And Alternative To WCW's Worse NightWhile The nWo Played Hot Potato, Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy Did It
To understand just how much of a shift this created for the WWE vs. WCW war, it's important to understand what alternative WWE was providing. If fans were to change the channel from Monday Nitro to Monday Night Raw, they would see Mankind challenge The Rock for the WWE Championship in the main event. With help from Stone Cold Steve Austin in one of his best moments, Mankind wins the big one. Dating back to his time with WCW as Cactus Jack, Mick Foley was a universally loved figure in the wrestling space.
It wasn't just a case of fan morale for WCW doing poorly that night, but a case of WWE providing an alternative that satisfied fans on a night that WCW could not deliver.
The 90s were a time when tribalism was active in professional wrestling. Pro-WWE fans were anti-WCW, and pro-WCW fans were anti-WWE and everyone in the company. Mick Foley was one of the few figures beloved on both sides, so when WCW fans found out that Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy was about to win his first World Championship, everyone wanted to see it. It wasn't just a case of fan morale for WCW doing poorly that night, but a case of WWE providing an alternative that satisfied fans on a night that WCW could not deliver.
This Moment Highlighted Many Of WCW's Bigger IssuesWhat Did WWE Do Right?
As stated earlier, WCW dissatisfied fans on a night that WWE could satisfy them, but even then, WCW made a few mistakes to sway fans over to their competition. Infamously, during Nitro's broadcast, Tony Schiavone spoiled the results of Raw's main event at a time when episodes were not live, but pre-taped. This was a tactic that Eric Bischoff and WCW regularly did to deter audiences from channel flipping, but this time, WCW spoiled something viewers actually wanted to see. "It's gonna put some butts in the seats," Schiavone bemoaned sarcastically, but little did WCW know how right he was.
It's been largely speculated that the Fingerpoke of Doom was Hulk Hogan's idea, exercising the clause in his contract allowing him creative control over the storylines he was involved in. Though he's criticized the Fingerpoke publicly, Hogan's never outright admitted to pitching or producing the idea.
Even beyond that, even if WCW didn't spoil fans and even if WWE didn't deliver a must-see moment, the fact remains that they paid off months worth of storytelling with a faux finish. One cannot look at the Fingerpoke in isolation, as WWE did something similar with Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H's European Championship Match in 1997.
That wasn't controversial because it was two DX stablemates having a match booked that night that no one asked for, turning it into an entertaining mockery. The Fingerpoke was a match fans wanted to see based on months of storytelling. WCW made their fans feel like they wasting their time investing in a rivalry without a payoff, while WWE did the opposite.
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