What was your reaction to....

[Guest TheJuice31]

I doubt this will go anywhere, but I guess as an idea for a concept thread, why not look back on random events in wrestlings past, and discuss our reactions to them. Things obviously change in regards to how you view certain things that have happened in wrestling, based on when you saw them take place, so I figured this could either be a neat way to compare opinions on some of the controversial events of the past, or it could just stink and go nowhere. I'll just throw out an event to start and then after a while, someone else can throw out a different occurence, just to keep the discussion rolling.

 

What was your reaction to Kevin Nash ending Goldberg's undefeated streak at Starrcade 1998?

 

I had just gotten into wrestling at this point in time and was still pretty young, so naturally, I was drawn in by the big names at the time, like Goldberg and Austin. Having not been aware of the wonders of backstage politics at the time, my reasons for being disappointed with this decision were probably different from those of others. I guess from the view of any 12-year old Goldberg fan, I was disappointed at the time. Even more so after watching the "fingerpoke of doom" a few weeks later. At the time, I didn't understand the significance of what kind of elevation that winning streak could have given somebody, so in hindsight, I guess practically anybody other than Nash would have been a better decision to be the one to end Goldberg's streak. Looking back, I kinda wish they would have had DDP be the one to do it back at Halloween Havoc.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

I actually wanted the streak end. Not like that of course. I didn't think Goldberg losing would spell the end of the company. They actually had a decent match and Kevin Nash breaks out the armbar.

 

It was weird though. I believe Nash was a face till the Nitro after and then Hogan thing happened. It made a joke out of Goldberg's loss.

[Hank Kingsley 0]

I was an 11 year-old mark and a huge Wolfpack fan, so of course I loved it. I was pretty much indifferent to Goldberg until he beat Sting on Nitro after Hogan interference, then it was war.

[hyperchord24 0]

I'm not sure. I thought Nash was undeserving, of course, but I'm not sure if someone who deserved a rub would have made the end that much better. What's the best way to end an undefeated streak angle? Well, even though you could make a major star, never starting one would be the first thing. There are so many bad things that can happen when you do one.

[yankovic fan 0]

I stopped watching WCW regularly.... no really. I stopped flipping between Raw and Nitro after that and only sparingly would watch if Raw was boring on occasion.

 

It annoyed me THAT much.

[Just John 0]

At the time, I was happy because I didn't like Goldberg at all. Once he squashed Raven for the US title after one day, I never wanted him to win a match again. In hindsight, I wish someone else could've done it, but whatever. It wouldn't have helped WCW much at that point. The hidden tragedy was Nash squashing Wrath to "build" the feud, as Wrath was getting over in the midcard and could've moved up.

 

A new question to ponder in addition to this one:

 

What was your reaction to the Radicals showing up on WWF Raw in January of 2000?

[Vampiro69 0]

I was expecting to them to show up on Raw just not as quickly as they did. They played it up the first week with them feuding with the top players right away though. I have wondered what would have happened if Eddie would not have dislocated his elbow.

[Aero 0]

Reaction to the Radicalz debuting on Raw: Headcheese might have a good shot of winning the Tag titles if the Radicalz interfere on their behalf.

[Jericholic82 0]

Goldberg- I was kinda expecting it since I was online at the time (though I still was kinda markish in my choice of who I liked, so I liked the face wolfpack too) and knew Nash was basically taking over the booking, plus they had Nash squash Wrath to end his undefeated (well since his return in 98) streak prior to ww 3 ppv. I thought this was leading to Hall turning face, and maybe goldberg turning heel but I was wrong. I had also just got a red and black nwo shirt so I was pissed when they became heel since it meant it wa sno longer "cool" to wear to school

 

 

Radicalz debut-I was expecting it, since the net had reports of the guys checking into hotel rooms under their real names that day.

I was writing an online column back then (when I was a senior in high school no less) and had just speculated on benoit and possibly other jumping to wwf in a prior column (Though I though Kanyon was leaving too) I was excited to see it though and marked out bigtime,I had always liked Benoit in wcw even before the net brainwashed me into liking him for his "workrate"

[BigDawgCarl 0]

Looking back, I kinda wish they would have had DDP be the one to do it back at Halloween Havoc.

 

I was 11 at that time, and I SERIOUSLY thought the streak was going to be over at Halloween Havoc. Actually, I was kinda disappointed that it didn't happen, because WCW started to stink around this time, with the whole Warrior bullshit. When I found out Nash did it the next day, I was kinda mad.

 

(See how I analyzed that, so un-smarkish right? It seemed so simple back then.)

[cabbageboy 0]

I knew all about the Radicals being on Raw, since the whole falling out with WCW and the WWF signing happened over weeks of time.

 

As far as Nash beating Goldberg, there is a serious revisionist history in regards to this match. I guess hindsight is 20/20 given the fiascos that happened afterwards in WCW. Nash ending Goldberg's streak to me wasn't bad at all. Look, it had to be a really big name guy to end the streak. Someone like Sting, Nash, etc. DDP was the exact guy to take GB to the limit before jobbing, but not actually end the streak.

 

At the time I figured it was just a way to get the streak shit over with since at some point it'd be an albatross on Goldberg's neck. Goldberg losing to Nash the way he did at Starrcade didn't hurt GB much at all...it was what WCW did AFTER Starrcade with GB that killed his heat. Let's say he had actually gotten his rematch at that fateful Jan. 4, 1999 Nitro where the Fingerpoke took place. He'd have beaten Nash and gotten the title back and would again be dominant, but since he lost his matches would have a drama that they lacked when it seemed he couldn't lose.

 

Or....let's say the Fingerpoke still happened and the NWO reunited. You can now have Goldberg go through everyone in the NWO, beat Hall's ass for zapping him, beat Nash's ass, and the finally get to Hogan and regain the title. This could have led to the money drawing Hogan/GB PPV that never happened. Instead we get that whole bizarre Hogan face turn/Flair heel turn that didn't really work and Goldberg drifted away and wasn't anywhere on the show for months. If WCW had done anything at all different from what they did the wrestling world would be a lot different.

[JST 0]

Goldberg drifted away and wasn't anywhere on the show for months.

 

Punching limo windows with your bare fists will do that.

[cabbageboy 0]

Goldberg didn't smash his arm through the car window until Dec. 1999. What the hell did Goldberg do from roughly April of 99 till like Sept. when he faced DDP again? I honestly don't recall anything he did.

[bob_barron 0]

Wasn't he injured?

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I thought it was obvious the only reason Nash won was because he was the booker. Also, it was obvious he was winning since he had also recently ended Wrath's "streak."

 

As far as the Radicalz...I thought it was pretty awesome. How could anyone not love that angle?

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

That whole era of WCW was like an out of control semi-truck. It just kept plowing through everything and it wasn't until it grinded to a halt that you could look back and see all the damage that it has caused.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Kevin Nash ending Goldberg’s streak was beyond terrible. Why should it have to have been a big name to end the streak? The big name is already big, so what does he gain from ending the streak? When it came time for the streak to end, it should have been a guy who was just on the edge of being a main event player because being the first one to beat Goldberg would have made him for life. The way it was ended made Goldberg look like every other incompetent babyface who gets outsmarted by interference he should have seen coming a mile away. What they did at the Georgia Dome Nitro was a new level of brainless insanity, but it does not make what happened at Starrcade any less idiotic than it already was.

[Hawk 34 0]

Kevin Nash ending Goldberg’s streak was beyond terrible. Why should it have to have been a big name to end the streak? The big name is already big, so what does he gain from ending the streak? When it came time for the streak to end, it should have been a guy who was just on the edge of being a main event player because being the first one to beat Goldberg would have made him for life. The way it was ended made Goldberg look like every other incompetent babyface who gets outsmarted by interference he should have seen coming a mile away. What they did at the Georgia Dome Nitro was a new level of brainless insanity, but it does not make what happened at Starrcade any less idiotic than it already was.

 

I always thought Steiner should have ended the streak. Steiner had been an mid-carder for about a year and was getting pretty good heat in his feud with Page and Rick Steiner.

 

Steiner was a credible enough name to beat Goldberg but wasn't a "star" just yet but putting him over Goldberg (I would have done it at SuperBrawl instead of 1998 Starrcade) would have put him there. Steiner was a loose cannon but he was a heat machine that actually worked well with Goldberg when he was older in 2000, so I'd imagine Steiner/Goldberg in 1999 would have just as good if not better.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Kevin Nash ending Goldberg’s streak was beyond terrible. Why should it have to have been a big name to end the streak? The big name is already big, so what does he gain from ending the streak? When it came time for the streak to end, it should have been a guy who was just on the edge of being a main event player because being the first one to beat Goldberg would have made him for life. The way it was ended made Goldberg look like every other incompetent babyface who gets outsmarted by interference he should have seen coming a mile away. What they did at the Georgia Dome Nitro was a new level of brainless insanity, but it does not make what happened at Starrcade any less idiotic than it already was.

 

I always thought Steiner should have ended the streak. Steiner had been an mid-carder for about a year and was getting pretty good heat in his feud with Page and Rick Steiner.

 

Steiner was a credible enough name to beat Goldberg but wasn't a "star" just yet but putting him over Goldberg (I would have done it at SuperBrawl instead of 1998 Starrcade) would have put him there. Steiner was a loose cannon but he was a heat machine that actually worked well with Goldberg when he was older in 2000, so I'd imagine Steiner/Goldberg in 1999 would have just as good if not better.

If they had spent 1999 having Goldberg going through the top heels and Steiner going through the to babyfaces, and I mean all clean wins, then by the time Starrcade 1999 rolled around you would have, with smart booking, been able to have a main event that people would have both wanted to see and not been sure what the result would be, because both men had been pushed so strong for a whole year.

[Jericho2000Mark 0]

Looking back, I think they should've waited until Starrcade '98 to do Goldberg-Hogan, and slowly build to it from the moment they found out Goldberg was such a ratings draw. Then have Goldberg go undefeated until Sid comes in and ends Goldberg's streak, getting Sid over as a monster heel right away. Then have them fued for a couple months and do Goldberg-Sting at Starrcade. Then put the title on Scott Steiner at Spring Stampede instead of Jarrett and slowly build him up as a monster heel throughout the year, leading to Goldberg-Steiner at Starrcade 2000, with Goldberg getting the title back.

[Red Baron 0]

Jericho's debut on Raw

[Hawk 34 0]

Jericho's debut on Raw

 

Jericho will finally be the star he was meant to be. WWF has found another main event superstar to follow in Austin and Rock's footsteps.

 

 

...

 

Well we know what happened here. This is probably one of the greatest(depending on how you look at it) mistakes WWE ever made and it's something they should regret but probably dont.

 

They had a bona-fide superstar in their hands and the paranoia of one man derailed it all.

[BigDawgCarl 0]

Jericho's debut on Raw

 

Even though I knew he was coming, and I knew the Countdown to the Millenium thing was a buildup for him, and I knew the countdown was ending that night, it still ranks in my top-five mark out moments ever. From how his name "Jericho" flipped up on the screen and the crowd erupted and proceeded to have a classic verbal sparring with Rock---I get mark chills thinking about it.

[Vampiro69 0]

Jericho's debut was great, the only bad thing was that the let the Rock have the last word in that segment. What was bad was soon after Jericho was stuck fueding with X-Pac and Road Dogg.

[BigDawgCarl 0]

Jericho's debut was great, the only bad thing was that the let the Rock have the last word in that segment. What was bad was soon after Jericho was stuck fueding with X-Pac and Road Dogg.

 

Y2J putting Road Dogg through the table with a double powerbomb was a good start...but it was shaky until he hit his stride as a face in 2000...speaking of Jericho being a face in 2000:

 

Jericho Winning The WWF Title On RAW, Then Immediately Giving It Back To HHH

[Just John 0]

Jericho's Debut:

 

I didn't read the net at the time, so I was really surprised, and very happy. I marked out pretty hard. When I saw the "millenium countdown" thing show up during a reular Rock promo, I was intrigued, then went crazy when I saw who it was.

 

Jericho's phantom title win:

 

I wanted to be excited, but the way it went down, I never really believed in it. No way the title would change hands clean in the opener. Then, HHH came out and the decision was reversed in predictable and uncreative fashion. As soon as Hebner said his peace, I knew he was getting fired and beat up.

[Jericholic82 0]

Jericho's debut on Raw

Well the net had kinda spoile dit for me, but I wasn't so sure. Then when the name came on the screen I freaked out. Big markout moment for me, then he and Rock get into a verbal war which was great, despite rock getting the last laugh(you were down south, beating some jabroni named Juventud?). Jericho using the "Y2J" name as kind of a throwaway that would go on to be used for years.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I was very excited when Jericho "won" the title, but knew it would get reversed somehow. However, I figured it would lead to a big Jericho-HHH rematch where Jericho would finally win the title. Of course, that never happened, and I think that was kind of the pivotal moment that made Jericho's WWF/WWE run an ultimate failure. When he won the Undisputed Title later on, it just didn't feel the same (and of course his whole reign was basically a joke anyway).

[bob_barron 0]

Jericho's debut on Raw

Well the net had kinda spoile dit for me, but I wasn't so sure. Then when the name came on the screen I freaked out. Big markout moment for me, then he and Rock get into a verbal war which was great, despite rock getting the last laugh(you were down south, beating some jabroni named Juventud?). Jericho using the "Y2J" name as kind of a throwaway that would go on to be used for years.

 

The Juventud line didn't happen the night Jericho debuted

[DMann2003 0]

Bret Hart's Anti-American speech and heel turn the RAW after WrestleMania 13