10 Times The Main Event Was The Worst Match On A WCW PPV
While WCW had scores of great PPV battles, most sadly tend to remember the worst of the bunch. And WCW had more than its share of awful PPV matches, several among the worst wrestling bouts ever seen. Several main events were terrible but overshadowed by the undercard actually producing even worse matches (think just about any Uncensored show).
Sure, Starrcade 97 is known for its bad main event, but it still wasn't the worst match on that show. It’s worse when the rest of the card was pretty decent, yet the main event is horrible enough to drag it down. When the crowd watches an awful undercard match and then witnesses a main event that makes that look good, it harms the entire show. There are scores of examples, but here are 10 times when the main event was the worst part of a WCW PPV to show how frustrating the company could be.
10 Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper, Starrcade 1996
WCW could have capped off their great 1996 with a top-level show pushing major stars. There were some bad matches like Outsiders vs Faces of Fear but also top Cruiserweight action and Eddie Guerrero winning the US Title from DDP was good.
Yet WCW hyped the “Match of the Decade” of Hogan vs Piper where Piper was clearly out of shape and a rough battle. Piper won by sleeper only to reveal the match was non-title, ruining all that build and another bad closer for WCW.
9 Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Sid Vicious vs. Road Warrior Animal, Sin 2001
One of WCW’s last PPVs had the company trying to rebuild, unaware their end was coming in just months. The show had guys doing their best even as the matches ranked from passable to awful.
Still, it’s the main event remembered for all the wrong reasons as Scott Steiner defended the World title against Sid, Jeff Jarrett, and a masked man who turned out to be Road Warrior Animal. The bout is infamous for Sid suffering one of the most gruesome in-ring injuries of all time, which seems a fitting epitaph for WCW.
8 Hollywood Hogan vs Ric Flair, Superbrawl IX
Here’s a good case of an already bad show, yet the main event makes it even worse. The entire card had poor battles like Roddy Piper vs Scott Hall and an awful Scott Steiner/DDP match.
Yet here it was, 1999 as Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair did battle, each clearly showing their age and a messy fight even if Hogan, for once, sold Flair’s attacks. David Flair turned on his father to help Hogan win the World Title, and this match was a clear sign 1999 would be an awful year for WCW.
7 Team WCW vs Team NWO vs Team Wolfpac Fall Brawl 1998
Once, War Games was one of WCW’s best matches. The 1998 version may well be the worst. It was a complex three-way battle where it was unclear who was fighting who, and for the first time, pinfalls, not submissions, would end it. It became infamous for Davey Boy Smith suffering a serious injury due to landing on a trap door he didn’t know was there.
The door in question was used by the Warrior for a strange vanishing act. It ended with DDP getting the pin, but the fact this is the worst bout on an already bad card showed how far War Games had fallen.
6 Roddy Piper vs Hulk Hogan, Halloween Havoc 1997
For one of WCW’s flagship PPVs, Halloween Havoc had some awful main events. 1997’s is worse because the undercard was probably the best WCW could put on at the time. That includes the classic Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero Cruiserweight Title war and Randy Savage and DDP tearing down the house.
So what does WCW have as the closer? Hogan vs Piper in one of the worst cage matches of all time. Having these two end in “Age in the Cage” signifies WCW turning in the wrong direction.
5 Lex Luger & The Giant Vs Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman, Bash At The Beach 1997
Bash at the Beach 1997 began WCW’s “tradition” of pushing celebrities into main event spots. At the time, Dennis Rodman was hot as part of the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty and brought some great media attention for the company.
As a wrestler, Rodman made a great rebounder. The card itself wasn’t too bad, with bouts ranging from poor (the opening tag match) to good (Jericho vs Ultimo Dragon), yet the terrible tag team main event hurt its standing.
4 Sting vs Jake Roberts, Halloween Havoc 1992
Halloween Havoc 1992 had the ingredients to be decent but ended up awful. Too many matches were slow and boring, and it’s tempting to go with the bad six-man opener. But the main event is truly one of the worst matches in WCW history.
Sting and Jake Roberts had a hot feud leading to “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal.” For some reason, the wheel picked a Coal Miner’s Glove match. It was a terrible battle that ended with Roberts trying to make it look like his own cobra was biting him in a hilarious segment.
3 Jay Leno & DDP vs Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff, Road Wild 1998
It takes a lot to be the worst match on a show where Stevie Ray faces Chavor Guerrero Jr for the TV Title. Airing before a crowd of bikers, this show had some good battles, like Juventud Guerrera winning the Cruiserweight Title from Chris Jericho and Goldberg dominating an nWo battle royale.
But it was all marred by that main event as Jay Leno was given a chance to manhandle Hulk Hogan in a joke of a match that did little to help WCW gain respect.
2 Goldberg vs Kronik, Halloween Havoc 2000
A frustrating thing with late 2000 WCW was that they were showing signs of giving the younger guys more attention, but it was coming too late. That year’s Halloween Havoc wasn’t too awful with duds like Bagwell vs David Flair in a “DNA test” match (don’t ask) but surprisingly good Jeff Jarrett/Sting and Booker T/Scott Steiner bouts.
That’s what made it dumber that the main event was Goldberg facing Kronik in a handicap match that wouldn’t merit a shot on Thunder. It lasted less than four minutes to make it a waste of a main event slot that could have helped a better match.
1 Hulk Hogan vs the Giant, Halloween Havoc 1995
It’s hard to find a better summation of WCW insanity than the Hulk Hogan-Giant encounter at Halloween Havoc 1995. First, the pair did battle in monster sumo trucks parked on top of the Cobo Hall. Hogan won (of course), and he ended up throwing The Giant off the roof. The Giant ended up returning with no signs of injury for a horrible main event.
That included the Yeti (who looked like a mummy) attacking Hogan and both Jimmy Hart and Lex Luger turning on him. Hogan was not only disqualified but also lost the title in an ending that made the entire show look worse.
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