I stumbled upon Sting vs. DDP circa Nitro shortly after Spring Stampede 99 - awesome match right? Link: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRjAsdlwPU4&feature=related> Dub Cee Dub was still doing fine at this point I believe - Spring Stampede 99 was a HOT show. I thought DDP was a great white trash/ cheating/ heel champion and I don't think I'm alone. The Mach (Savage) was still on hiatus and on his way back. DDP should have kept the title until Mach came back and they could have re-ignited their '98 feud and Mach would have came away with the belt - AND THAT would have been the last time anyone over 40 held said belt - because Goldberg was on HIS way back - Macho could of held on to the title until he and Goldberg had it out - and I mean had it out- perfect scenario - WM VII style - they could do a little revamp of the Warrior and Mach battle because Goldberg had that superman aura about him. The point of all this - I declare that end of WCW TRULY started NOT with Hogan/Sting Starcade, NOT with the finger poke of doom, BUT with lazy face world champion Nash.
That is a hell of a match right there. They were also nuts for doing that double switch on the same show, though, and stuff like that killed them just as surely as the Fingerpoke or anything else did. It’s really not fair to just pin it on Nash.
Why not blame Nash? He was the head booker at the time. Personally I think Nash being treated as a babyface is what started the downward spiral and it just snowballed from there.
Suddenly he was being booked like the top babyface, but there was no reason to care about him as a face after all he had been doing as a heel. Suddenly we were supposed to cheer the guy who sold his soul to Hogan when he laid down for the fingerpoke? WHY?
Also, I think its very telling that WCW went out of business, and Goldberg never got the WCW championship back after losing it.
So how many snowflakes would you give the DDP/Sting match Scott?
Personally I think its a ***+ match. Had a pretty good finishing sequence.
***3/4
I remember watching this show live and thinking three things:
1. It was the EXACT same finish to the last match these two had about a year earlier while sting was champion.
2. I LOVED that the title was off DDP. I HATED him as a heel (and not in the good way) and missed his run as the people’s champion.
3. I pretty much gave up on WCW when they put the title back on DDP that night. The set up was retarded as all hell, as Nash came out and randomly challenged Goldberg, DDP, and Sting to a 4 way title match. I mean…why on earth would you do that?
While double switches on shows tend to suck (with the exception of some of the money in the bank angles over the past few years, although these also run the risk of growing stale…) this is not even the worst I can think of, as WWE had the title change three times in one evening a few years ago at No Mercy (Awarded to Orton who immediately lost it to HHH who defended against Umaga and then lost it back to Orton all in the same night).
My head hurts.
Took the words out my mouth.
DDP/Sting had the same match about one year earlier with the same finish.
WCW was getting beyond a joke at this point anyway.
So wait, Sting lost the championship in the same night he beat DDP? No wonder I stopped watching WCW in 1998.
Yeah, DDP was a helluva worker, but he just couldn’t carry a company as champion. Also I’ve always been a fan of Savage, but the Savage that made his comeback in 99 wasn’t the same Savage we knew and loved. He had truly past it at that point and became an embarrassment to watch. Plus he was injuring everyone he faced.
To be honest with you the belt was changing hands so often by this point I don’t think it made any difference if DDP had it or not. The title was almost a non factor. However despite doing the silly thing and turning him heel (which did not work) at least he was a fresh guy in the main event scene…. because outside Goldberg it was the same tired faces we’d seen for years dominating and it will real sad when NASH ended DDP’s short run as world champ.
WCW even 9 years after it’s demise still makes me cringe by how politically driven it was. They had so much potential to be a great company and ego’s and retarded booking killed it. Nash and Hogan can rot and I simply can’t believe TNA has been put in the hands of Hulk and his buddies.
I still say to this day that DDP should of gotten the strap for that week leading up to Road Wild 1997. He was number 2 babyface behind Sting and even though Luger had got the title win and did the job a week later, he really didn’t need it.
DDP was super over and would of been well received when it was his time to really win the title in 99.