It’s hard to believe, but it was on this day 12 years ago that Bill Goldberg defeated Hollywood Hogan on WCW “Monday Nitro” before 38,196 fans (official attendance from the venue’s site) to capture the WCW Heavyweight Title. After beginning to falter under the weight of a resurgent WWF, Nitro won the ratings war that night. The New World Order had seemingly been toppled. All seemed right in Turner Land.
Of course, less than 3 years later, WCW was dead.
We can talk about how foolish it was for Eric Bischoff to give away his biggest pay-per-view main event and flush millions of dollars down the drain, all for the sake of a Nielsen number. We could talk about the ill-advised end to Goldberg’s streak a few months later at the hands of Kevin Nash. We could even talk about the infamous “Fingerpoke of Doom” that kicked off 1999. But it’s already been discussed. Still, it’s hard to fathom how a company that was making millions could spiral downward so quickly, forever changing the wrestling industry.
Today, we remember a key event in wrestling history. Unfortunately, it also makes us wonder … what might have been.
