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Probably splitting hairs here, but the match at Starrcade '96 was not a cage match. It was a regular non-title match because the story was that Piper did not have a WCW contract. I know this because I recently watched the PPV.
Anyway, no one in wrestling has protected their character better than Hogan. Maybe Austin to a certain degree, but Hogan knew that the only way his gimmick would work is if he won more often than not. The reason it didn't work as well in '95 and early '96 was because the fans were in fact just getting tired of it, and Hogan knew it. It wasn't the first time it happened and he knows when to pick his spots. I do think that they could have found a way to make his character work even if he lost clean to Sting. They could have just done something similar to what they did in TNA last year. Hogan could have disappeared for awhile while the nWo would be run by Nash in the meantime, then he could have returned later as a face to huge fanfare I'm sure.
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