Former WCW Referee Nick Patrick Talks Bret Hart's Role In The Infamous Starrcade Count

Former WCW and WWE referee Nick Patrick has been involved in many classic moments in the history of WCW, but none as important as his role in the ending of Starrcade 1997. Patrick was responsible for the infamous "fast count" that wasn't so fast, which led to Bret Hart restarting the match, leading to Sting winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Hulk Hogan.

"It felt like it didn't flow. It just felt off," Patrick said on "Monday Mailbag" on Ad Free Shows, noting how he felt during the actual match itself. "Watching it back, they got a really good flow and had a decent match." According to Patrick, he thinks it would've been better if everyone was "on the same page."

"The only person that got hurt out of it was Bret Hart because I made the normal count," Patrick said. Awkwardness aside, the former WCW referee felt the picture at the end of the story still worked. Sting had the title, Hogan had heat, and all was right, as told by the reaction from the crowd in Washington, DC.

"When I got the count the crowd went silent," Patrick said, noting that kind of breathless reaction is as important as any cheer or boo. "That's a great reaction to get." 

Eric Bischoff recently spoke about Starrcade 1997 in an A&E documentary, saying that Hogan used his creative control to convolute the ending and its follow-up. Hogan has said that he ultimately felt he had too much momentum to lose the title at Starrcade, despite the year-long build-up to the match.