Hulk Hogan and Sting had "complete opposite" plans backstage for controversial match, according to 63-year-old WWE veteran
Many fans are aware of the iconic match between WWE legend Hulk Hogan (nWo) and Sting (WCW) for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The clash had a controversial finish, and referee Nick Patrick recently opened up about the different plans the two stars had for the ending.
Patrick was known to favor the nWo during his time in WCW. He helped the members of the faction pick up some big wins during his time in the promotion. The official was picked to officiate the big match between Hulk Hogan and Sting at Starrcade 1997. The two men had a good match, with Hogan hitting Sting with a big boot and a leg drop and pinning him for the win.
However, Bret Hart claimed that Patrick counted the pinfall too fast and restarted the match with the WWE Hall of Famer as the referee. The Icon locked in the Scorpion Deathlock and Hart called for the bell to award the title to Sting.
Nick Patrick opened up about the controversial finish to the match in an appearance on INSIGHT With Chris Van Vliet. The ex-WWE star said that the finish was very clear to him at first, but things got complicated when Hulk Hogan and Sting told him different things.
"Well, he ccme up and met me soon as I got there. I still have my bag on my shoulder, hadn't made it to the locker room yet. And he says, here's what we're doing today, and he gave me a straight finish. And I said, that's, okay, that's, you know, kind of plain, I figured that they'll dress it up during the day. And so, so okay, you know, and he told me to just do a straight 123 count, you know, not a fast count. And that was when Hogan covers Sting,” he said.
After he found out the original plan, Hogan told him to count slowly, while The Icon told him to count fast to end the contest.
"But anyway, Eric told me how he wanted it to go. So, I'm like, okay, so Hulk comes up to me first. A couple hours in, you know, while we're there, he knows Hey, Nick I'm not about that count, man. Nice and slow man. 123. Okay, that's normal. I can't do it slow. That'd be ridiculous as what we're doing, there's heat in that. But also, so about an hour or so later than that, Sting comes up to me and says, Hey, did you know about that count? Rapid Fire baby."
He continued:
"Okay, so now I got one guy that's the franchise, Hulk Hogan, the other guy that's the other franchise Sting Yeah, both telling me the same finish. But the complete opposite. Whether you count faster, whether you count slow completely changes the complexion of the finish, you know," the WWE veteran added.
The match had one of the most controversial finishes in wrestling history. Hogan won at first, but the decision was quickly overruled and Sting took home the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
Nick Patrick once had a match against former WWE star Chris Jericho
The former WWE referee had his fair share of highs and moments of prominence in WCW. Due to his alliance with nWo, he got into a match against Chris Jericho.
The two competed at the World War 3 pay-per-view with Jericho having one arm tied behind his back. They managed to put on a decent contest, with the former WWE Superstar picking up the win.
In his chat with Chris Van Vliet, Patrick revealed that he had a lot of fun competing against Y2J. He added that he always knew that the former AEW World Champion would become a big deal in the world of wrestling.
"Oh man, that was a blast. They came to me and asked me if I wanted to do the match and I said yeah. I got to know Chris and went to a concert with him. And we talked and he constructed the whole thing, man, and I knew from very early on that he was going to be a big star. It's a matter of being in the right place at the right time and giving him a chance. But he come up with all of that man. The only thing I come up with was him slamming me off the top at the end to set up a kick and the rest was him. And it was so fun," the former WWE referee said.
Chris Jericho beats Nick Patrick with one arm tied behind his back
Full interview with Nick Patrick will be up tomorrow! 🙌 https://t.co/j37K46DWtf
The two had a good time in the ring and entertained fans who were excited for the showdown. Chris Jericho went on to become a major star in the world of wrestling and had a lengthy run with WWE before moving on to other promotions and landing in AEW.
Meanwhile, Patrick worked with the company for eight years before leaving the company and retiring soon after. He now works as a promoter for Deep South Wrestling.
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