In pro wrestling, there are a number of ways a match can end. Along with the disqualification, countout, and regular win/loss, there are also variations, like a finish where someone got pinned and had their foot on the ropes or one that was the result of a well-timed use of a foreign object. In World Championship Wrestling, there are several bad endings that fans regularly talk about, one of the biggest being the debacle that was the main event of Starrcade ‘97.
RELATED: Why The Main Event Of WCW Starrcade 1997 Was So Screwy, Explained
But that encounter between Sting and Hollywood Hogan was a match where the finish didn’t go as planned. What about the bouts that weren’t the result of poor fortune, but rather poor booking? Let’s take a look at 10 matches where the finish was a bad idea.
10 David Arquette Wins The World Title (Thunder, 4/26/2000)
One of the most talked-about missteps in WCW history involved putting the World Title on Ready To Rumble star David Arquette, who was such a legitimate fan of wrestling that even he didn’t want to see himself win the belt. It went down in a tag team match where and WCW World Champion took on the team of Jeff Jarrett and WCW boss Eric Bischoff, where whoever got the pinfall won the title. While it was booked in such a way that bizarre circumstances led to the finish — Arquette pinned Bischoff — it was still a non-wrestling actor winning a wrestling championship from his own tag team partner as a cheap publicity stunt.
9 The Doomsday Cage Match
In 1995, Hulk Hogan’s seemingly endless feud with Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom ended in epic fashion, with Hogan and Randy Savage taking on the Dungeon and a horde of heels in a multi-tiered cage match called the Doomsday Cage Match. It’s one of WCW’s infamous pre-nWo nadirs, a confusing main event with unclear rules and hard-to-follow action. This was obviously the big blow-off match for Hulk Hogan’s feud, but for some reason it ended with Savage pinning Ric Flair rather than Hogan getting any victory over Sullivan or one of his monstrous cronies.
8 The Fingerpoke of Doom (Monday Nitro, 1/4/1999)
When it comes to WCW’s downfall, no one moment is responsible for it, but rather a series of poor decisions that allowed WWE to gain advantage over its rival. That said, one of the moments that many fans (and even WWE) point to as the moment was Kevin Nash vs. Hollywood Hogan match that ended with what’s been called “The Fingerpoke of Doom.”
RELATED: Fingerpoke Of Doom: What Began The Fall Of WCW
Basically, Nash was set to defend the World Title against Hogan in the main event of Nitro, but the match saw Hogan poke Nash in the chest, who subsequently flopped to the mat and laid down for the three-count, signaling a heel turn for Nash and an nWo reunion. It was meant to be a huge plot twist, but the swerve left fans fatigued rather than intrigued
7 Vince Russo Accidentally Wins The World Title (Nitro, 9/25/2000)
Working as booker for WCW from late 1999 to 2000, former Attitude Era WWE writer Vince Russo was known to de-emphasize in-ring quality over gimmickry, stunts, and outrageous antics. One such stunt had Vince Russo challenging WCW World Champion Booker T in a Steel Cage Match, an overbooked affair that ended with Goldberg delivering a Spear to Russo that sent him through the cage wall and onto the floor, resulting in Russo winning the World Title by virtue of technically escaping the cage. Like the Arquette match above, it’s booked so that circumstance led to a left-field title win, but that doesn’t mean it was a good finish.
6 Hogan Lies Down (Halloween Havoc, 10/24/1999)
One of Vince Russo’s favorite go-tos — aside from the “On a Pole” match — was the worked shoot, where it was made to appear that wrestlers were going off-script during matches and/or promos. The earliest of these in Russo’s WCW run happened at his first pay-per-view, Halloween Havoc ‘99, as Sting defended his World Title against rival Hollywood Hogan. Rather than a real match, this brief, deeply disappointing “match” had Hogan arrive at the ring in street clothes and lie down on the mat so Sting could get an easy three-count.
5 The Streak Ends (Starrcade, 12/27/1998)
Aside from the New World Order, one of the most popular acts in WCW in the late ‘90s was Goldberg, a homegrown newcomer who racked up one of pro wrestling’s all-time great winning streaks. Having won the World Title five-months earlier, there was a question of just who would be the one to inevitably end Goldberg’s streak. That answer was Kevin Nash, who challenged Goldberg in the main event of Starrcade ‘98. Both men were babyfaces and the match was competitive — that is, until the finish where Nash’s buddy Scott Hall shocked Goldberg with a stun gun, seemingly unbeknownst to Nash.
4 The Washington Screwjob (Starrcade, 12/19/1999)
Ever since Bret Hart was (apparently) legitimately screwed out of the WWE Championship in
November of 1997, wrestling has repeatedly tried to copy the Montreal Screwjob — especially when Hart is involved.
RELATED: 10 Times Wrestling Tried To Copy The Montreal Screwjob
At Starrcade ‘99, Goldberg was once again in the main event, this time challenging Bret Hart for the World Title. The match is infamous for Goldberg inadvertently ending Hart’s career, but the bout also ended in a Montreal Screwjob rehash, with WCW Commissioner Roddy Piper calling for the bell while Hart had Goldberg in the Sharpshooter.
3 Jarrett Lies Down (Bash At The Beach, 7/9/2000)
Out of all of Vince Russo’s worked shoots, the most infamous and damaging was the one at Bash at the Beach 2000. Hulk Hogan was set to challenge Jeff Jarrett for the World Title, but as their match began, Jarrett laid down while Russo ordered Hogan to pin the champion. Hogan obliged with a foot on Jarrett’s chest, and then cut a promo about how Russo’s ideas are ruining WCW. Russo fired Hogan on-screen, but the whole worked shoot somehow managed to turn into a real lawsuit.
2 The First Fake Sting (Halloween Havoc, 10/27/1990)
1990 was a landmark year for Sting, as he captured the first of what would be about 15 world titles over the course of his career, though his initial 188-day run was riddled with misses. One such miss was Sting’s title match against Sid Vicious at Halloween Havoc, which features a somewhat forgotten but questionable finish. After some interference by the Four Horsemen, a fake Sting entered the ring and subsequently got pinned by Sid, with a loads of fanfare for the new champion ensuing — that is, until the real Sting came out to reveal the ruse.
1 Hulk Hogan Wins A Strap Match By Dragging Someone Else (Uncensored, 3/19/1995)
A night of “unsanctioned” gimmick matches, WCW’s Uncensored 1995 main evented with WCW Champion Hulk Hogan taking on Vader in a Leather Strap Match. While the bout was an expectedly overbooked affair, the real kicker was in the finish, as Hulk Hogan (also expectedly) won the match, but in a baffling fashion. The aim of the match was to drag one’s opponent to all four corners of the ring, but Hogan, for some reason, was able to get the win by dragging Vader’s manager, Ric Flair. On top of that, the title wasn’t even on the line.
