When WWE compiled its Starrcade: The Essential Collection DVD set, it included a countdown of the purported top 25 matches of WCW’s signature event. The 1997 main event match in which Sting defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship got the number one spot. On one hand, this was an understandable placement for being the most famous match from one of the most famous rivalries in WCW history. On the other hand, the match also embodied a lot of what was wrong for WCW, as a forgettable bout that culminated in a terribly confusing and frustrating finish. By contrast, when a 58-year-old Hogan and 52-year-old Sting clashed at TNA Bound For Glory 2011, something remarkable happened. The match was a runaway success story that actually exceeded their effort from fourteen years earlier.
The Expectations For TNA In 2011 Were Different From WCW In 1997
The Sting vs. Hollywood Hogan rivalry captured the imagination of wrestling fans in the 1990s. The story pitted two of the biggest names in wrestling against one another. Moreover, it was a key part of the white hot nWo angle that had launched WCW into the stratosphere. In the process, the storyline elevated Sting to new heights across a year and half of neither speaking, nor wrestling, but offering a constant menacing presence that haunted the super faction. Understandably, when the two finally clashed in the main event of the biggest show on WCW’s calendar, expectations were sky high.
To be fair, Hogan vs. Sting was probably never going to meet those expectations, between Sting’s ring rust and not staying in the greatest shape, combined with Hogan not exactly being known for his workrate. More than simply disappointing in terms of match quality, though, a convoluted finish in which Hogan cleanly pinned Sting, only for Bret Hart to demand the match be restarted muddied the whole affair.
Fourteen years later in TNA, when Hogan hadn’t wrestled a singles match in five years, and Sting was well past his prime, there was little reason for optimism. As such, a carefully planned match that worked around limitations—particularly not asking Hogan to bump much, set up these two for a match that would exceed expectations.
The Ric Flair Factor
Ric Flair figured prominently into the build to Hulk Hogan vs. Sting in TNA, allied with Hogan in the Immortal faction. First, Flair wrestled Sting on TV en route to Sting getting this match. From there, The Nature Boy made a dramatic entrance just as the match was getting underway to stand in Hogan’s corner.
A match between two legends in their fifties will generally need some smoke and mirrors to cover for the physical limitations of the performers. Moreover, there’s little denying TNA meant to tap into the nostalgia of the fans in Philadelphia. Adding Flair to the mix gave a sensation like wrestling history coming to life with three of the biggest names of the 1980s and 1990s all together to make magic one more time.
The TNA Bound For Glory Version Of Sting Vs. Hulk Hogan Had A Clean Finish
The Starrcade match between Hollywood Hogan and Sting is all but defined by its messy, indecisive finish at a point when fans craved seeing the hero at last bring the arch-villain to justice. While the drama wasn’t nearly as high in 2011, at least the Bound for Glory version of Hogan vs. Sting did have a clean and decisive finish, with the babyface going over.
Sting made Hogan tap at Bound For Glory, blowing off their issue once and for all. This finish proved there’s nothing wrong with predictability every now and again. Tha'ts particularly the case when it's a matter of giving the fans what they want, in a climactic match at a promotion’s biggest PPV.
Seeing Hogan Hulk Up Was A Delight
The best part of Sting’s victory at Starrcade 1997 was probably the aftermath of the match as the locker room cleared out and fellow WCW celebrated his title victory with him. Likewise the best part of Sting vs. Hulk Hogan at Bound For Glory 2011 may well have been the aftermath of the match, when a number of talents joined them in the ring.
At Bound For Glory, it was Hogan’s Immortal heel allies who flooded the ring, though, led by Scott Steiner, to beat down Sting. The Stinger implored The Hulkster of old to return to form and rescue him from this beating. In a sensational moment, Hogan “Hulked up,” shaking his fists and proceeding to lay out the villains with a series of punches, ultimately teaming up with Sting to clear the ring. While in 1997, the match closed on waves of confusion that equaled, if not outweighed the joy of the babyface going over, in 2011, Hogan’s face turn felt joyous, besides which it paved the way for a new creative direction for him, Sting, and young Garrett Bischoff who’d factored in as the referee.
TNA in 2011 was nowhere near as hot as WCW in 1997. However, in front of a smaller audience, with significantly aged wrestlers, their version of Sting vs. Hulk Hogan exceeded WCW’s, offering up one of the most satisfying moments in Bound For Glory history.