[hb2k]

This is a good one (and I have one of my own shortly I'd like your input on). Obviously for the podcast we've been covering 1998 in our Monday Night War Timeline, so having my memory refreshed on this exact period is timely.

WCW peaked in March. Hogan cockblocked the nWo split at the start of the year, which was the plan, and just did the angle with Savage.

Hogan had lost in a shitty way to Sting at Starrcade. He was without a contract and ended up playing that out and teasing he was going to jump for six months in negotiations. After Starrcade, it was clear Hogan was going to hold a gun to the company's head as long as he could, and he undermined anybody else that was champion the entire year.

If it was because Hogan's creative control clause was the difference maker (and it likely was, although his general influence clearly surpassed a clause about his own character in reality), then start of 1998 is the perfect time to negotiate that out. WWF was strapped for cash, they'd paid out the arse for Tyson, and their entire direction was moving towards Austin, Hogan couldn't be top dog there. In essence, it was a great time for WCW to strongarm Hogan, but they didn't.

Take him off TV until he signs, and sign him if he agrees to take out creative control. If he doesn't, so long, Hogan wasn't going to make that money anywhere else, he'd have re-signed, I'm sure of it. Maybe even bump his money, it'd be worth it not to be doomed to his rule in 1998.

The Wolfpac/Hollywood split was good, I'd have done it right after Starrcade if I could. The issue is you risk overshadowing new champion Sting and new signing Bret Hart.

Sting was always more about the chase than the catch, and when the lay of the land was SO much about the nWo and nothing else was prepared, what can you do with him that doesn't feel secondary? Sting has to be positioned as the puppeteer to the nWo demise, not the guy who happens to be in the ring with them as they crumble.

Bret came in with Flair, and they did great stuff together, but it felt out of place after the Starrcade results. Hennig at that point was a shell (though he did have an inspired run in 99), and I thought he iced Bret more than helped him. Honestly, Bret needed to work with Hogan early on. So I'd splinter off the feuds this way post-Starrcade:

*Hogan, pissed at Bret for his role in Starrcade, goes off with him for two months of build to a match at Superbrawl.

*Meanwhile, Kevin Nash assumes a leadership role and goes after Sting for the WCW Title.

Both nWo guys lose, which leads to tensions rising and fingers pointing. Sting Vs. Bret for the WCW Title feels big after that, as the nWo split can take effect with Hogan and Nash battling for members.

Underneath, you've got a few guys bubbling. Goldberg is the obvious one. If you don't change a thing about his ascension, he needs to beat a heel for the belt, meaning he either has to beat Hogan for it, or you build to his big win from someone else.

I'd be tempted to wait for Goldberg's title challenge at Starrcade 1998, but at the same time, he was a supernova, and sometimes it's hard to hold off when a guy is on the cusp, and sometimes waiting is a bad idea. Once they figure out Goldberg is the guy, whoever is holding the title has to lose it, or turn.

Which leads to an interesting point - does Sting, after he slays the nWo and splits them, go heel when he, the saviour of WCW, becomes secondary to Goldberg? Or does Bret beat Sting, go heel in the process, and you ramp Bret up as hot as you can for Goldberg when the time is right?

As an aside, one act I'd be dying to elevate mid-98 is Raven. I think there's a great story to the idea that, with the biggest force in wrestling, the nWo, finally falling to ruins and dividing, and WCW guys like Sting, Flair, Bret and Goldberg always acting as individuals, for the band of outcasts to suddenly be like a group of hyenas to pick up the bones.

Imagine a War Games blowoff to Hollywood Vs. Wolfpac. Hogan, Savage, Steiner and Hennig Vs. Nash, Hall, Konnan & one more (whoever you want in the group) - all eight guys laid out, exhausted from the definitive battle, the war over, when the Flock storms the cage, locks themselves in and picks the bones. Once the two nWo groups have the big fight, there is nowhere left to go in that story, so the Flock introduces a new element. And instead of a faction in the guise of either nWo, it's essentially an army dedicated to one leader - Raven, who you elevate to the top mix.