Kevin Sullivan has explained the logic behind WCW’s decision to feature Goldberg versus Hulk Hogan for free on Monday Nitro. The two faced off on the July 6, 1998, episode of Nitro in a WCW Heavyweight Championship matchup. Goldberg defeated Hogan to claim the gold for the first time.
Speaking on his podcast, Taskmaster Talks, Sullivan stressed how the decision to have Goldberg win the belt on Nitro was “made by the corporate side of the business.”
“They were into merging with AOL and they wanted to have a show and tell so those people from the corporate side were in with AOL and they were looking to see if they would buy,” Sullivan explained. “They brought them to the wrestling and they saw that building full and they knew they had a winner.”
Kevin Sullivan: “They Left A Lot Of Money On The Table”
Sullivan stressed how the match was originally meant to take place on a WCW pay-per-view. He recalled J.J. Dillon informing him of WCW’s decision to have it on Nitro for free instead and how the call came from corporate. According to Sullivan, it left him in a state of disbelief.
“It was a corporate decision. They left a lot of money on the table on that one. It would have been a huge PPV,” Sullivan said. “The people would have paid money and would have seen a clean finish. They would have been salivating for the next one when Bill defended against any of the top NWO members.”
He listed several nWo members that could have subsequently feuded with Goldberg. From a rematch with Hogan, he also mentioned Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and even Scott Steiner as contenders against Goldberg.
Kevin Sullivan highlighted how WCW could have “gone down the line” and delivered an impressive 6-month run without “cute finishes.” As far as he’s concerned, “they blew a big year.”
