“Rowdy” Roddy Piper showed up to close Halloween Havoc 1996. He went over his history with Hollywood Hogan and they dragged it out, making a PPV segment out of a contract signing between the 2 at the next month’s World War 3 1996 leading into a match at Starrcade 1996. Roddy Piper won that match with a Sleeperhold, and had since The Wrestling Classic 11 years previous to think about the match, however he forgot to read the small-print and didn’t win the championship. This is the return match, and to add to the WCWness of all of this Roddy Piper spent a week in Alcatraz Prison on an island off San Fancisco, close to tonight’s Cow Palace venue. Tony Schiavone hypes up the main event but has the excitement levels of a child receiving socks for Christmas. Hollywood Hogan enters first with Ted DiBiase and Vincent as Brain says Hogan insisted on entering first for this match. Roddy Piper enters looking as you would expect a recent escapee to, he’s a Lone Wolf. He isn’t aligned with WCW or nWo. Hollywood Hogan catches Piper’s kilt, spits on it and throws it on the floor before calling the challenger a chickenshit.
Tony Schiavone, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and
Bobby “The Brain” Heenan are on commentary for this match.
HOLLYWOOD HULK
HOGAN VS. RODDY PIPER
(WCW Championship)
WCW Superbrawl 1997 (23rd February 1997)
Hollywood Hogan stalls as Piper gets hyped in
the corner, the referee eventually rings the bell. Hogan tries to walk away but
is blindsided by Roddy Piper who brings it back to the ring.
Roddy Piper goes for the eyes and rains down
right hands as Hogan gets to his feet. Ted DiBiase gets on the apron to call
bullshit but distracts the referee as Piper chokes Hogan with his shirt. Piper
bites at Hogan’s forehead and Hogan is sent through the ropes, left hanging on
Piper’s shirt around his neck. Roddy Piper follows to the floor, still using
the dirty shirt on Hogan’s throat and sends Hogan into the barricade. Piper
sends Hogan into the ring post and doinks him with a chair before bringing it
back to the ring. Hollywood Hogan cuts him off with a low blow but is booted in
the head, Roddy Piper misses a boot so he gouges at Hogan’s face ignoring the
referee’s count. Piper bites at Hogan’s nose and VK Wallstreet is here!
He’s knocked off the apron by Piper, Vincent jumps on the apron the
other side but isn’t there long.
Hollywood Hogan lunges at Piper’s throat. He
chokes Roddy across the ropes and an irish whip gives Piper a chance to shake
off the cobwebs. He ducks a clothesline and connects with a right hand before
poking the eyes. Roddy Piper with the ear clap, and that doesn’t work too well
in the mid 90’s, Hogan goes back to the floor and there’s a miscommunication as
he tries to send Piper’s knee into the apron. Piper goes back to the eyes and
connects with right hands, measuring up Hogan before each shot. Hollywood Hogan
tries to walk again but Piper grabs his tights and pulls him back into the
ring. Roddy Piper lifts Hogan and drops him crotch-first on the top rope, Hogan
goes for a ride as we see Randy Savage and “Sting” making their
way down to the ring. Brain says they will find out which side Savage and Sting
are on tonight, but The Stinger walks back up the entranceway.
Macho Man stands at ringside as we see Piper and Hogan slugging it out. Hogan gets the last shot in, staggering Piper and poking him in the eyes before doing some crowd work. Piper takes Hogan down and we see Sting standing by the stage, the fans chant for Sting because fuck this match. (I’m actually using that as a genuine reason, for once.) As we go back to the ring Hogan is in control, he covers for a nearfall because apparently there is some kind of structure here. Hogan rakes Piper’s back and goes for the eyes before taking Piper down. Roddy rolls to the floor as we see “Sting” leave. When we get back to the ring Hogan chops Piper and kicks him in the midsection before spitting on him. What a delightful fellow. Another kick to the midsection, Hogan rakes Roddy’s back and lifts him off the floor to drive Roddy’s lower back into the ring post. Hogan wraps Piper’s knee around the post and gets back in the ring to bite at Piper’s head. Hogan and Piper exchange right hands on their knees and Piper gouges Hogan’s eyes, forcing him down.
Hogan and Piper get to their feet and Hollywood Hogan reverses an irish whip, catching Piper in a bearhug as we watch over Savage’s shoulder. Roddy Piper is being worn down to the mat and Hogan forces his shoulders down for 2. Schiavone thinks that was the first attempt at a fall, forgetting the slugfest earlier. Hogan tells he referee to check Piper’s arm and Roddy starts trying to fight out of it with ear claps. A 1970’s move needs a 1970’s counter, so I’m not mad at it this time. Hogan releases the bearhug to choke Roddy Piper, which is a timeless classic for heels. Hollywood Hogan misses the elbow drop and Piper pounces with more right hands. Hogan cuts him off with a low blow, but Roddy Piper slips out of the back and puts on the Sleeperhold! “This is how he won at Starrcade so this must be the finish" – wrestling fan of less than a week. Hogan is reaching for the ropes but Piper brings him down to a seated position and the referee checks the arm. It drops 3 times and Piper has won the championship!
Randy Savage pulls Hogan’s foot under the ropes and the referee second-guesses himself. Randy Savage hands Hogan something. Hogan uses the object to knock Piper down and covers for the win.
WINNER: HOLLYWOOD HOGAN
(STILL WCW Champion)
There were already 2 people out with Hogan and they needed
a third to help screw Piper out of the belt? That’s the least of the matches
problems but it had to be mentioned. It wasn’t a good or really passable match
between the two veterans which relied completely on their storied history. It wasn’t
even a passable brawl and shouldn’t have been a PPV main event. The fans wanted
Sting and got a Dusty Finish, this was the worst part of the nWo in WCW and it was
still only early. [*¼] 2/10
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