On a recent edition of his “Grilling JR” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross made a reference to a historical incident in WCW known as the “Finger Poke of Doom.”
This incident involved two wrestling legends, Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash, where Hogan made a surprise return to challenge Nash for the WCW World Title.
However, instead of engaging in a proper match, Hogan poked Nash, who dramatically flopped to the ground, and allowed Hogan to pin him for the victory.
This event caused much controversy at the time and is still remembered by fans today.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On WCW’s finger poke of doom being a mistake: “I think it was — it didn’t deliver what the people anticipated they would. And anytime any promotion does that, it’s not a good thing. People feel disappointed, they feel let down, they feel like they’ve been betrayed. Whatever route you want to take of verbalizing it. But that was a mistake. And there was a period there where you know, [Eric] Bischoff wasn’t making many mistakes. They were doing good, signing guys with name identity and star power. He was hitting it at a pretty good clip. But that was a mistake. And I don’t want to just point out Eric’s shortcomings. That’s not fair. So anyway, I got some neat things in this book about Eric.”
On WCW spoiling Mankind’s 1999 WWE Title win: “Another mistake, that’s basic fundamental s**t. It’s trying to be too attitudinal. It’s trying to be too defiant, too edgy, in my opinion. Now, I can say that now in hindsight, right? But I don’t know that I wouldn’t make the same decision. I don’t think that I would have. It’s just, I’ve never been one to draw attention to the competitor who’s actually on the air on many of the same cable systems. It’s conflict, it’s a conflict of interest? Where do the fans draw their allegiance, and think that they’re not going to be curious and check it out? It’s ridiculous.”
On Chris Jericho’s WWE debut on Raw being in a segment with The Rock: “I was always very high on Chris. You know, the only thing I had to overcome was the fact to Vince [McMahon] that Jericho was not six feet tall. And that may sound so bulls**t, but it’s a fact. Vince loved big guys. Jericho had a great body and was athletic, he was in shape. He looked good. But he wasn’t 6’2′ or 6’3. He might have been 5’11”. But that was one hurdle to overcome to get Vince to sign off on Chris.
“But when I showed Vince some tape of Jericho and actually like a little highlight reel, he was sold. Because Chris could work with anybody, he still can. You know, it’s good for me as an old-timer when I go to the pay-per-views at AEW — my thanks to Tony Khan for facilitating that — I enjoy seeing everybody there. But seeing guys there with whom I have a long history, Chris and I talk about that all the time.”
