A Collective Review of WCW Superbrawl VIII from February 1998 (Sting vs. Hogan II) by Lance Augustine

Welcome back to the TJRwrestling retro reviews where we are breaking down every WCW Pay-Per-View during the “Monday Night War” era. Fresh off the new year and the first PPV of the year, Souled Out, WCW is knee-deep in some controversy at the top of the card. Hogan vs. Sting took place at Starrcade 1997 for the WCW Heavyweight Title and ended with a terrible finish with no clear-cut champion being crowned. The belt was held up the night after and at Souled Out, a rematch was made official for this show. This was set to be Scott Hall’s main event match after winning World War 3 towards the end of 1997, but obviously was bumped for this. WCW is hitting its stride at this moment and we are starting to see a lot of stars coming that will be around for the long haul. You can read my complete breakdown of those shows and every other WCW PPV here. Are we going to have a clear winner this month? Let’s find out!

WCW Superbrawl VIII
February 22nd, 1998
The Cow Palace in San Fransisco, California

They open with a package going over all the events leading up to the Sting vs. Hogan rematch tonight. This is also when they started adding the NWO logo to the show’s logo as well.

We are joined by the usual suspects at the announce booth of Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. They highlight some of the bigger matches on the night including Hogan vs. Sting, Savage vs. Luger, and The Tag Team Title match.

WCW Television Title Match
Rick Martel (c) vs. Booker T.

The winner of this match will go on to defend the title against Saturn later on in the night. Booker was the champion up until this past week on Nitro. These two have had a couple of matches leading up to this match.

The crowd is really behind Booker as the match gets underway. He shoots Martel into the ropes and takes him down with a back body drop. He sends him flying over the top rope and Martel is down early. Martel gets back in the ring as Raven makes his presence felt at ringside. Booker hits Martel with a clothesline and hits a back elbow to the head. He covers him for a two count before starting to wear him down on the mat. They show Raven and The Flock as ringside as Booker is staying on the offensive in the ring. Martel gets back to his feet and works Booker into the corner. He hits some high knees and kicks to the midsection. He throws Booker into the ropes, but he ducks a clothesline and hits Martel with a sidekick. He covers Martel before continuing to keep him grounded. Martel fights out again and tries to roll Booker up, but gets kicked in the face for his trouble. Martel fights out, but it is short-lived, and he is quickly locked back up. Booker slams his head into the turnbuckle and whips him to the other side. He sends Martel flying with an arm drag and charges in, but Martel sends him flying to the outside. Booker slowly climbs his way to the apron, but Martel sends him back into the guardrail at ringside. Martel is out after him and starts to pound on Booker before sending him back into the ring. Martel hits Booker with some offense and throws him into the corner. He comes in after, but Booker slides out of the way. He kicks Martel and hits a Sidewalk Slam. He comes off the ropes with an elbow, but Martel moves. Booker does the Spinarooni and kicks Martel in the head. He charges at Martel, but is caught by Martel with a Powerslam. He covers Booker for a two count. Booker gets back to his feet and tries to mount a comeback, but Martel sends him into the ropes and hits a Spinebuster. Martel gets him in the Quebec Crab, but Booker gets to the ropes. Martel is back up and continues to try and wear Booker down. He comes off the ropes with a Crossbody, but Booker reverses. Both men exchange near falls before Martel hits a big clothesline. Booker is sent into the ropes and hits a flying forearm that takes Martel down. Booker hits the Scissor Kick and follows that up with a Spinebuster. Booker climbs up top and comes off with a Crossbody of his own, but Martel gets out of the way. Martel comes off the ropes himself, but is caught with a Harlem Side Kick and gets pinned after 10:23.

Winner and NEW WCW Television Champion: Booker T.
Match Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: Having very limited Rick Martel experience before this match, he impressed me here. The crowd was definitely favoring Booker throughout, but I thought Martel did some nice underhanded heel tactics. Was it a classic? No, but by WCW standards, this was above average. Having Booker capture the title back here was the right move and you could tell he was in the plans for the future.

Right after the bell rings, Saturn jumps in and throws Martel to the floor before locking Booker T. in the Rings of Saturn. The referee tries to pull him off and the match gets underway.

WCW Television Title Match
Booker T. (c) vs. Saturn

Saturn continues to work on Booker and tries to keep him grounded. Booker is in a bad way as Saturn starts to work on him in the ropes. He works Booker into the corner and sends him flying across the ring. Booker musters up enough to get a roll-up, but Saturn kicks out and continues to pound on Booker. He sends him to the outside and sends Booker into the guardrail. Saturn crushes his shoulder against the ring post before trying to send him into the rail again. Booker reverses it and sends Saturn flying, but it’s short-lived, and Saturn is back on the attack. He rolls Booker into the ring and stomps away on him some more. Saturn works him into the corner and chops him hard across the chest. Saturn comes in for a clothesline, but Booker catches him and slams him down to the mat. Saturn sends him flying to the outside of the ring again before coming out right behind him with a splash. Saturn hits a Vader Bomb from the second rope to the floor. That was an insane-looking move. He rolls Booker back in the ring and throws him into the ropes, but Booker comes back with a flying forearm. Booker sends him into the corner and tries to come in with a splash, but Saturn gets out of the way. He covers Booker for a two count. Saturn picks him up on the top rope and comes off with a Belly to Back Suplex. Saturn is the first one up and picks Booker back up on the top rope. Saturn tries a Superplex, but Booker sends him down gut first on the mat. Booker comes off the top with a Missile Dropkick and both men are down. Booker gets up and hits a sidekick to the face of Saturn. Saturn catches him coming off the ropes and hits a T-Bone Suplex. Saturn hits a Belly to Belly Suplex and scores another near fall. Saturn hits an Asai Moonsault and both men are down again. Booker jumps up top after being whipped into the corner, but can’t catch his footing, and comes up short with a splash. Both men hit the ropes and both of them come crashing into each other with Crossbodies. Booker comes out of the corner, but Saturn takes him down with a Powerslam. Booker comes back with a Powerslam and a Scissor Kick. He hits a Sidewalk Slam and comes off the top with a Harlem Hangover, but Saturn gets out of the way. Saturn hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two and follows that up with an additional suplex. Booker ducks another clothesline and hits a Harlem Sidekick to pick up the win after 14:23.

Winner and STILL WCW Television Champion: Booker T.
Match Rating: 2.75/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: I thought this match was just as good, if not a little better than the previous one. This one was a little different because it was a little stiffer and had some hard-hitting stuff. Saturn was still a part of The Flock at this point and I am glad this match didn’t have a bunch of interference happening. Both of these guys were good in the ring, but this was a career-making night for Booker T. He had two consecutive matches and held himself well in both. Booker picking up the win was the right move and these matches were a great way to start the show.

They go backstage with Mark Madden and Lee Marshall who are with Chris Jericho. He talks about his match tonight, but it is short-lived. Also, this is the start of the heel Jericho in WCW, which is some of his best work.

La Parka vs. Disco Inferno

This match is being billed as finding out who the better dancer of the two is.

La Parka threatens Disco with a chair before the bell, but as it rings, he hits Disco with an elbow to the head. He sends Disco into the ropes and hits a Powerslam. He kicks him in the side before posing to the crowd. Disco hits a Powerslam of his own and scores a two-count. He sends La Parka into the corner and comes in with a series of clotheslines. La Parka reverses an Irish Whip and takes Disco down with a short-arm clothesline that sends Disco out of the ring. La Parka comes out after him with a Corkscrew Splash and Disco is slow to get up. La Parka hits a chop and sends Disco into the guard rail. He knocks Disco down again with a clothesline before dropping him on the railing chest-first. He sends Disco into the ring and covers him for a two-count. La Parka hits a Scoop Slam and comes off the ropes with a splash, but Disco rolls out of the way. He sends La Parka to the outside and into the guardrail himself. He hits him with a clothesline and drops him on the railing. The EXACT spots we saw a minute ago just reversed. La Parka gets on the apron and drops Disco throat-first on the top rope. He covers him, but Disco gets a boot on the bottom rope. La Parka starts to ground Disco in the ring and stays on the offensive. Disco fights out, but soon finds himself rolled up for two. He chops Disco across the chest and comes in with a dropkick. La Parka sends him into the corner and tries another dropkick, but Disco drops out of the way. Disco hits a move, but he was quickly taken down with a kick to the face. Disco is sent to the outside again, and La Parka comes out with a Suicide Dive, or a Tope Suicida, as Excalibur calls it. La Parka chops Disco again and tries a shoulder block, but Disco moves, and he goes into the railing. Disco takes advantage with some boots to the midsection and an atomic drop. He comes off the ropes with a clothesline and a two-count. Disco hits a Swinging Neckbreaker for a two count. He works on La Parka in the corner and accidentally hits the referee as he is trying to pull him away. That allows La Parka to hit Disco from behind and grab a chair. He slams Disco against it and climbs up top, but Disco knocks him down. With the chair set up in the ring, Disco is teasing a Superplex. He can’t it though and he just sends La Parka flying into the chair. He hits The Chart Buster and picks up the win after 11:41.

Winner: Disco Inferno
Match Rating: 1.5/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: The crowd wasn’t into this match much at all. I liked both men, and they worked hard, but it just didn’t click completely for me. It was a little longer than I thought it should have been and a lot of the spots were repeated. La Parka was a bigger wrestler compared to some of his Lucha counterparts, but he worked a style very reminiscent of American wrestling. The Chart Buster was just a version of the Stone Cold Stunner, but that’s about where the comparison starts and stops for Disco and Austin.

Mean Gene Okerlund is in the aisleway with JJ Dillon. Gene says there have been talks backstage about reinstating Nick Patrick after the Starrcade incident. Dillon asks Nick Patrick to come out and join them. Dillon says after looking at everything they needed to, and that they are reinstating him. Patrick celebrates and even kissed Okerlund. Patrick sucks up to Dillon and says he can’t wait to redeem himself in the main event tonight. Dillon cuts him off and says that he isn’t officiating the main event tonight. Patrick complains about it, but it’s a moot point at this point.

Brad Armstrong vs. Bill Goldberg

Sorry, Brad, you aren’t winning this match. All joking aside, Goldberg was starting to catch on fire here. He is over with the crowd and it’s just the beginning of his wild run in WCW.

Armstrong grabs a waist lock, but is soon powered down to the mat. Goldberg wrestles him down to the mat and locks up the leg. Armstrong comes in with a shot to the head, but it doesn’t register, and he gets absolutely destroyed with a Press Powerslam. He throws, Armstrong into the corner and hits a suplex. Armstrong hits a Side Russian Legsweep, but Goldberg no-sells it and throws him across the ring. Spear, Jackhammer, and pin after 2:23.

Winner: Goldberg
Match Rating: SQUASH

Collective Thoughts: Goldberg was built to be an absolute machine. Armstrong got some offense in, but Goldberg no-sold it, so I guess you could say he didn’t get any. There isn’t much else to say other than it was a mauling.

WCW Cruiserweight Title vs. Mask Match
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Juventud Guerrera

Obviously, if Guerrera loses the match, he loses his mask.

The fans are against Jericho from the start as they lock up with the title still around Jericho’s waist. Jericho gets a kick to the midsection and chops Guerrera across the chest. He throws him into the ropes, but Guerrera kicks him in the gut and forces him to take the title off. Jericho regains the advantage with a dropkick and he keeps Guerrera grounded with some stomps. Guerrera comes back with some head scissors and hits a splash from the ropes. Jericho is on the apron and Guerrera comes off the other side with a Hurricanrana that sends both men crashing to the floor. Jericho is playing possum on the floor in hopes that the referee counts him out and he retains the title. At seven, Guerrera jumps to the outside with an elbow drop before rolling him back in the ring. Guerrera chops Jericho, but he gets cut off with a shot to the head. He works Guerrera into the corner and hits some chops. He drops him throat-first on the top rope and Guerrera slides to the apron. Jericho springboards off the ropes with a dropkick that sends Guerrera to the outside. He follows that up with a scoop slam on the floor and starts to move the stairs. Jericho catapults himself off the stairs, but Guerrera catches him and drops him face-first on the guard rail. That looked vicious. They both get back in the ring and Jericho recovers nicely with a move that drops Guerrera on his head for a two count. He takes him down with another dropkick and puts his foot on his chest for the cover. I always loved that spot. He sends Guerrera into the ropes, but Guerrera reverses it into a pinning combination. Jericho immediately gets up and continues to pound on Guerrera. He picks him up and drops him down with a suplex followed by a running senton.

Jericho hits a backbreaker and continues to bend Guerrera over his knee. Jericho claims that Guerrera gave up, but the referee disagrees. Guerrera fights back up with some shots, but is soon taken down with a clothesline once again. Jericho brings him in the corner and perches him up top. He follows him up, but Guerrera fights him off. Guerrera comes off the ropes, but Jericho catches him and hits an Electric Chair drop. Jericho climbs up top, but Guerrera knocks him to the floor with a dropkick. Guerrera slingshots himself on top of Jericho as he tries to escape to the back. Guerrera catches him and hits the Juvi Driver in the ring before climbing up top for the 450 Splash. The referee counts to three, but Jericho’s hand was on the rope. As Guerrera is arguing with the referee, Jericho dropkicks his knee. Guerrera rolls him up and almost wins the match again, but Jericho takes him down with a clothesline. Jericho picks him up for a Powerbomb, but Guerrera turns it into a facebuster and a near fall. Guerrera puts him on the top before Jericho shoves him off. Guerrera comes up again and hits a Frankensteiner for a two count. Jericho hits a reverse suplex as Guerrera tries to capitalize, but misses a Lionsault right after. Jericho hits a Powerbomb, but Guerrera rolls him up before he can take advantage. Guerrera comes off the ropes and tries another Hurricanrana, but Jericho catches him in the Liontamer. Guerrera gives up and the match is over after 13:29.

Winner and STILL WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Chris Jericho
Match Rating: 3.75/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was a great, back and forth match. Jericho was seriously so smooth and Guerrera was one of the more underrated workers, especially in WCW. Having the luchadors unmask was a way WCW was using to market the stars a little bit more. This match didn’t have a lot of slow spots in it and both men really went into each other the whole time. Jericho was being built up, so having him retain the title here was the smart move.

After the match, Jericho grabs a mic and says he can’t believe he did it. He is still the champion and now Juvi must take his mask off. He slowly starts to untie his mask as Jericho continues to run him down on the microphone. He finally gets the mask off after Jericho walks over and pulls it off.

Steve “Mongo” McMichael vs. The British Bulldog

While I am here, I would be remiss to not send condolences to Mongo, who was recently diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrigs Disease. I have a little fun with him on these reviews, but I do wish him the very best and don’t think anyone should have to suffer through something like that. The Bulldog is making his PPV return here after leaving the WWF following The Montreal Screwjob.

The Bulldog starts the match off quickly with a clothesline that takes McMichael down to the mat. He picks him up, but McMichael was waiting for him and drops him with a side slam. He works Bulldog against the ropes before getting him in the corner for some chest blows. He picks Bulldog up for a scoop slam and comes with an elbow, but Bulldog moves out of the way. He stomps down on McMichael and puts him in a Sharpshooter, which is out of character for him. He lets up and starts hitting McMichael in the head as he gets back up. McMichael comes back with some shots of his own and stands on the back of Bulldog. McMichael continues to pound on him before sending him to the outside. He throws him into the guardrail and kicks him in the midsection. He throws Bulldog into the stairs and goes to punch him against the post, but ends up missing and doing damage to the arm. Bulldog slams his hand against the stairs before rolling him back in the ring for some more damage. McMichael reverses an Irish Whip and Bulldog takes a weird flipping bump. McMichael hits some chops blocks, but he can’t him up for The Mongo Spike. Bulldog takes advantage and puts him in an armbar before McMichael gives up to end the match after 6:10.

Winner: The British Bulldog
Match Rating: DUD

Collective Thoughts: This felt thrown together and rushed throughout the whole thing. Giving these guys 6 minutes wasn’t the issue, it just seemed like the chemistry wasn’t there. Bulldog was fresh to WCW at this point, but I don’t think he showed any rust even though he had been off TV for a bit. McMichael sold the hand injury well, but the match as a whole was below average.

After the match, McMichael is yelling at the referee saying he didn’t give up, and pushes him down before leaving the ring.

WCW United States Championship Match
Diamond Dallas Page (c) vs. Chris Benoit

These two have been teaming up over the last couple of weeks, but will now do battle to prove who the better man is.

Both men lock up in the middle with Benoit gaining an early advantage. Both men exchange counter moves before Benoit pulls him down by the hair. Benoit hits an arm drag as he comes off the ropes. Page hits a high knee and pounds on the back of Benoit. He gets him in the corner and hits some elbows to the head. Page hits him with a gutbuster and tries to capitalize, but Benoit drops him down on the top rope. Benoit works over and stomps away on the head of Page. Benoit tries to get a suplex, but reverses it into a Crippler Crossface attempt which Page fights out of. Page slides to the outside to regroup before coming back in to have a test of strength in the ring. He bends Benoit down before both men exchange near falls. Benoit hits a series of chops, but is quickly hit with a shot to the head that stops him in his tracks. Both men stand face to face again and share some stiff slaps to the face and take each other down to the ring. They exchange shots at each other before the referee gets in the middle of it. Page leapfrogs Benoit and hits a back slam that looked stiff. Page sends him into the ropes, but Benoit slides underneath and kicks the knee out from underneath Page. Benoit picks him up and hits a clothesline that knocks him right back down. He slams Page’s head into the turnbuckle and stomps on his chest before getting him in a rest hold. Page fights his way back to his feet and hits a Jawbreaker to break the hold.

Benoit is the first one to his feet and hits Page with a chop and continues working on him in the corner. Page fires up and throws Benoit into the corner, but it’s short-loved, and Benoit takes him down with a snap suplex. Page gets back to his feet and sends Benoit flying which allows him to catch his breath. Benoit gets back up again and hits a chop and grabs a Sleeper Hold. Page tries to fight out, but it doesn’t work at first. He finally flips him to the outside to break the hold. Benoit climbs up top, but Page knocks him down. Page comes up to the top and they both come off with a Superplex. They both get up to their feet with Page taking him down with a Tornado Clothesline for a two count. Benoit throws him to the apron as Page goes for The Diamond Cutter, but Page comes flying in with a clothesline. Page goes for a suplex, but Benoit reverses it into a Crippled Crossface. Page gets his foot on the rope and both men exchange rollups for near falls. Benoit hits a chop and sends him flying to the other corner. Page reverses and throws him chest-first into the turnbuckle and hits a big suplex for a two-count. Benoit reverses a waist lock and hits three German Suplexes. The last one was a bridge and he gets very close to winning the match. Benoit kicks him and sends him into the ropes, but Page comes back with a DDT that plants him. Page signals for The Diamond Cutter and hits it after some resistance. He covers Benoit to pick up the win after 15:46.

Winner and STILL WCW United States Champion: Diamond Dallas Page
Match Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was a great battle between two guys that deserved all the success that had up to this point. There was a lot of hard-hitting action with Benoit really laying in his shots as usual. Page was on fire here and he would only be shot more to the top of the card. This was just one of those matches that probably fly under the radar a lot of times, but I felt like both men delivered.

The announcers talk about The Giant and go to a package showcasing him. In case you aren’t completely caught up, he had a match with Kevin Nash last month and a botched Jackknife Powerbomb attempt left him with an injured neck. He has been out of action since, but WCW is hyping up his return for the next night.

No Disqualification Match
“Macho Man” Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth) vs. Lex Luger

Savage has been on the outs with The NWO as of late. The announcers are speculating where his loyalty truly lies. Luger is heavily taped around his ribs from an attack from Savage last week.

Savage charges in, but Luger ducks under and takes him down with a clothesline. He tries to press him over his head and his body gives out of him. Savage starts working on the injured ribs and takes full advantage of the injury. He throws Luger to the outside and comes out right after him. He drops Lugers across the railing and continues to stomp on the injured area. He rolls Luger back in the ring and covers him for a two-count. Savage works him into the corner and uses his shoulder to continue working on the ribs. Luger rolls him up, but can’t keep the advantage, and Savage quickly takes him out again. He sends Luger flying out of the ring before slamming him into the railing again. Savage grabs a chair and hits Luger in the ribs before they start to do battle amongst the fans. They exchange some blows before Savage sends him over the railing and continues to slam him against everything at ringside. Luger finally reverses it and slams Savage against the railing. Savage comes right back with a kick and continues to maintain the advantage. Back in the ring, Savage gets some shots to the head before hitting a suplex. Luger no-sells it and is right back to his feet. He sends Savage into the ropes and hits a Powerslam as he comes back off. He racks Savage, but Elizabeth comes into the ring to rake the eyes. The rest of The NWO hits the ring and the match is thrown out after 7:26.

Winner by DQ: Lex Luger
Match Rating: 1/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: It would be hard for me to give a DUD rating to a match featuring these two, but I was pretty close. This was more of an angle than a match, with the friction between Savage and The NWO coming into play for the finish. Savage was on the offensive for almost the entire match and there just wasn’t much to it. I will give it a one because these two have always been favorites of mine.

After the bell, The NWO surrounds the ring and Hogan taunts Savage in the ring. He says he is glad Savage got beat because he is a piece of trash.

WCW Tag Team Title Match
The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) (c) (w/Ted Dibiase) vs. The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) (w/Dusty Rhodes)

Rhodes is now coming out with The Outsiders since his defection to the NWO last month at Souled Out. Hall grabs a mic and does his usual pre-match promo. “Survey says, one more for the good guys”. The crowd was super into The NWO on this show.

Hall and Rick are the first two in for their squads. Hall throws the toothpick, but is soon taken down with a right hand from Rick. He throws Hall into the ropes and the two men have a standoff. Rick hits another clothesline and takes him down with a Belly to Belly Suplex. Rick gets him in the corner and starts pounding on him with the ten punches. Rick hits him with another suplex and that brings Nash into the ring. Rick disposes of him quickly and The Steiners pose in the ring. Scott winks at Nash and attacks Rick from behind with a double-ax. He hits Rick with a Double-Underhook Suplex and knocks Dibiase off the apron. He celebrates with The Outsiders as Hall covers Rick, but Rick kicks out. Hall picks him up and starts to pound on him in the corner. Nash gets in on it as well, but Rick starts to fight back. He punches Hall, but soon finds himself dropped after an Outsiders Edge. Hall covers him and picks up the win after 4:26.

Winner(s) and NEW WCW Tag Team Champions: The Outsiders
Match Rating: 1/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This is the birth of the Scott Steiner that we had come to know in the late-90’s. Big Poppa Pump was born here at Superbrawl and would go on to be one of the most infamous gimmicks of all time. You can’t rate the match because it was so short-lived before Scott turned on his brother. The NWO started to get a little bloated at this point, but Scott turning at the time was a nice shock, which is something that is seemingly missing some wrestling these days. From a wrestling perspective, this match was a dud, but the angle deserves a slight bump.

They show a package for the upcoming PPV, Uncensored 1998. Obviously, that is where we will pick our journey back up at.

WCW Heavyweight Title Match
Sting vs. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan

The title is vacant at this point as I have mentioned and this will settle who the real champion is.

Sting runs straight to the ring and Hogan meets him with the weight belt. Hogan starts to whip Sting and starts choking him as the bell rings. Hogan gets a couple of shots to the head and Sting falls to the mat. Hogan starts to choke him and taunts the camera as he is doing it. Hogan continues to stay on offense by grabbing the trench coat Sting wore to the ring to choke him and send him flying to the floor. Hogan follows him outside and starts to wear Sting down with shots to the head. He slams him against the rail and gets in some chops to the chest. He pushes Sting to the ground and rolls back in the ring to break the count. He comes back out to hit Sting with an Atomic Drop and a kick to the side. He shoves Sting into the post before sending him back into the guard rail. Hogan rolls him back in the ring and starts to taunt Sting to tell the fans who the man is. Sting starts to mount a comeback, but Hogan snuffs it out and stays ahead. He gets some knees to the midsection of Sting in the corner and scores a clothesline as he sends him to the other side. He covers Sting for a two count. Hogan continues the assault and hits a scoop slam followed by a series of elbow drops. Hogan turns to the fans as Sting raises to his feet. He comes up behind Hogan and turns him around to get some shots in. He slams Hogan across the ring and takes him down with an atomic drop. He takes a second belt off Hogan and starts wearing him out with it. Hogan gets out of the ring to escape the whipping, but Sting is right behind him. He throws the belt around the neck of Hogan and he drags him back to the ring. He slams him into the guardrail and sends him flying into the fans as ringside. Hogan tries to fight back, but Sting cuts him off. Sting goes for a Stinger Splash as Hogan is laying against the rail, but Hogan moves and Sting hits all steel.

Hogan grabs a chair on the floor and hits Sting across the back with it. He goes and grabs the belt that Sting used earlier and uses on him this time. He rolls Sting back in the ring and starts to work him into the corner. Hogan climbs up and starts to bite Sting across the forehead. He sends Sting to the other corner, but Sting reverses and hits a Stinger Splash. He locks Hogan in the Scorpion Death Lock, but Hogan gets to the ropes. He goes for another Stinger Splash, but Hogan pulls the referee in between them and Sting wipes both of them out. Hogan hits Sting with a Legdrop as Nick Patrick runs to the ring and counts two before Sting gets a shoulder up. Hogan starts complaining to him and that he thought it was a slow count. A blatant attempt at rehashing the Starrcade finish. Hogan starts to punch Sting in the head, but Patrick pulls him off. Sting gets back to his feet and Hogan slams him in the corner. He picks Sting up and hits a Belly to Back Suplex. Hogan covers him, but Sting kicks out at two again. Hogan continues to try and pin him, but Sting won’t stay down. Sting gets back to his feet and tries to fight back, but Hogan stays in control and stomps on the hands. Hogan starts to pound on Sting and rolls him up for another near fall. Hogan throws Sting back outside and slams him against the railing. Sting comes back and drops Hogan on the railing himself. He rolls Hogan back in the ring and tries to get some more offense in, but Hogan hits a low blow. He continues to pound on Sting until Sting starts to no-sell it and fire up. He hits Hogan and sends him to the corner for a couple of Stinger Splashes. Sting hits The Scorpion Death Drop, but Hogan kicks the referee on the way down. The rest of The NWO comes down to the ring and Savage hits Hogan from behind. Sting covers him to pick up the win after 16:33.

Winner and NEW WCW Heavyweight Champion: Sting
Match Rating: 1.5/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: What an overbooked mess this match had become by the end of it. Obviously, Hogan isn’t losing clean in this stage of WCW, but this match had two referee bumps and a number of guys coming in to interfere. Sting didn’t even win the match clean with Savage hitting Hogan in the back of the head leading to Sting picking up the win. I mean it wasn’t the worst match of the night, I just think every Hogan main event by this time had the same formula. He was on offense for about 75% of the match and even when Sting did hit stuff, it didn’t have much impact and Hogan went back to being on top. This series of matches have just been disappointing and a lot of it has fallen flat which is sad because of how much hype this had going into their Starrcade battle.

https://vimeo.com/380605746

After the match, Sting has some spray paint and writes WCW on the chest of Hogan before celebrating with the title. He takes the title as Hogan is laid out and the show goes off the air.

Overall Show Rating: 7 out of 10

I liked a lot of this show, obviously. It was a real coming-out party for a guy like Booker T., who had two above-average matches to start off the show. The Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera match was also a stand-out that had a lot of fast and furious action as well the hallmarks that made The Cruiserweight division great, and Page vs. Benoit was a good battle back and forth. There was also a surprising angle in the show with Scott Steiner turning on his long-time partner and brother Rick Steiner to join the NWO. This would be the birth of the Scott Steiner we know today as I mentioned and the big turn was on this show. Some low points would be the main event underdelivering again and the main event scene being in limbo in general. WCW had a grip on the ratings over the WWF at this point, but it isn’t because they had a better wrestling product at the main event level. I liked this show a little more than Souled Out, though, so it seems they are on an upswing.

What did you think of Superbrawl VIII? Loved it? Hated it? Confused about why they used Roman Numerals? Either way, keep the conversation going over @collectiveheel on Twitter and let me know your thoughts. Take care of yourselves and each other. I will be back soon enough with some more Collective Thoughts.