Starrcade 97’ should’ve ended like the invasion started, but with key WCW members showing up instead to attack like the NWO did at the beginning. It was so surreal to see the NWO originally attacking wrestlers in the back; the fans needed to see an equal reaction from WCW here.
Have Hogan vs Sting, but book it in a steel cage @ Starrcade. Show Hogan the Monday before talking to nwo members about doing “whatever is necessary.” Hogan, nervous about the match, talks about how “there is a time for celebration and a time to cut throats. The NWO has to be a well-oiled machine going into Starrcade...no exceptions brother!” Have them then beat up and throw out Scott Norton at the end of the promo. Have several one-off interviews on Nitro and Thunder with WCW members on their opinions about the upcoming match. Somewhere in those, have Hacksaw Duggan make a cryptic mention about “WCW needs to stick together and follow a plan.”
During the Hogan Vs Sting match, have Nash, Buff, etc come down with bolt cutters to get into the cage. Just as they get mid-way to the ring have Hogan’s smile go to confusion. Camera pans back to Norton standing between them and the ring. Nash winds up to throw a punch and suddenly the Giant’s hand is over his throat. The Giant chokeslams him to the ground with Norton and Rey Mysterio stomping Nash as payback for the “lawn dart” maneuver.
Buff, now turned and walking towards them, is surprised as DDP jumps out of the crowd with a diamond cutter. Scotty Riggs is shown high fiving Page.
Schiavone chimes in with “I’m hearing we need to go to the back!” (Picture in Picture) Camera cuts to the back where Luger has Hall in the torture rack as several WCW wrestlers are cheering him on.
Konnan and Stevie Ray are also laid out on the ground getting stomped by the Four Horsemen. Flair, has the “crazy eyes” going and obviously has been going hard. Larry Zybysko chimes in with “Look at Flair’s eyes Tony! He’s ready for the fight of his life!”
Macho Man, Virgil, and Syxx are all headed out to the ring when they turn the corner to find Piper, Goldberg, Flair and several others blocking the entrance. Macho dives in and is immediately speared by Goldberg.
Syxx and Virgil scamper off past Scott Steiner who also turns the corner...
He finds a destroyed Macho Man and a dozen WCW guys standing over. Camera shows Rick Steiner amongst the WCW crew pointing his finger at the exit sign.
Outnumbered, Scott walks backward out the exit.
As Hogan shows a look of hopelessness, WCW wrestlers flood the entrance and make their way down to surround the ring as Hogan gets Stinger Splashed. Sting puts Hogan in the Scorpion Death Lock and Hogan is positioned towards the big screen at the entrance. As he arches upward in pain, he notices live feed of the backstage area on the screen to see Scott Steiner, Syxx, Virgil, and Jeff Jarrett hastily getting into a limo and leaving the arena.
Hogan closes his eyes in unbelieving defeat as he taps.
The bell rings and WCW wrestlers climb the cage into the ring. Celebration by all involved as Sting is hoisted up.
As the PPV is winding down, Mike Tenay interjects “The NWO may have won a battle but WCW has won the war.”
Tony Schiavone interjects that “This IS the greatest night in the history of our sport!”
. . .
Following Starrcade, a major storyline will be the fallout of the NWO.
The next night on Nitro:
DDP becomes a vigilante after cutting a promo about “flipping the tables.” NWO used to attack us; whenever they wanted and however they wanted. NOW...NOW I see a different story. I see a pack of rats running and I’m gonna take full advantage of the situation.” DDP begins to do random run-ins where he surprises NWO members w/ a Diamond Cutter. Virgil develops “DDP Paranoia” and is cautious at all times. DDP basically becomes Batman.
Scott Steiner decides that Hogan is unfit to lead the NWO and he politics among the remaining members while calling out Hogan during in-ring promos. Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude, Jeff Jarrett, Syxx, Hall, and Nash are the remaining members. Scott Steiner’s attempt to rule is absolute chaos and further splinters the group with infighting.
Hogan disappears after the loss at Starrcade and many are left wondering “Where is Hollywood Hogan?” This is played up for several months. Steiner, to agitate, could wear a shirt showing Hogan’s face on a milk carton. “Have you seen me?” on the back.
Stevie Ray is shown struggling to regain Booker T’s trust. This creates an angle where Stevie acknowledges the difficulty of forgiveness and realizes they probably can’t function as a tag team anymore. “I miss the Heat” Stevie pines in promos.
Sting returns to a more colorful look and having vanquished Hogan’s reign, symbolically burns his black and white gear during a promo. He has his moment on Nitro as the new champ. Goldberg appears to challenge noting that “Where there is smoke, there is fire. How much of you is fire Sting? How much is smoke?”
Macho Man is completely oblivious to the implosion of the NWO and continues to carry on like normal...even to the point of annoying the other members with his optimism. This often finds him mugging in front of others doing the hand gestures and repeating “4-Life” at every opportunity.
Bischoff, after having been put to sleep by Zybysko at Starrcade, is now embarrassed to be with the NWO and gives full effort into being impartial to WCW decisions going foreword. This sees him actively avoiding even talking to NWO members. He is constantly ignoring calls, locking his office door, and opts to drive himself instead of taking an NWO limo. The NWO is now a hindrance to his existence in WCW and is treated as such.
Amidst all the changing storylines, Bret Hart surprise debuts and states how proud he is of Sting. How they both have had their problems with corruption; with slime. Hart admits, it’s going to be hard to trust anyone going forward. But, he guarantees one thing; “I know right from wrong. “
The finish to the main event at Nitro finds Kevin Nash arriving injured with a baseball bat and to intervene in Steiner’s match. Nash is blindsided by Bret Hart before he makes it to the ring. Hart knocks Nash to the ground. Nash, is obviously out of it as Hart grabs the mic. Echoing Nash’s words from the beginning of the invasion, Hart stares a lost Nash down. “The measuring stick just changed around here...and you’re looking at it!” Hart drops the mic and walks out the entrance ramp as the camera cuts back to a stunned Schiavone, Tenay, and Zybysko. Nitro goes off in silence.
