Welcome once again to Historical Wrestler Wrankings, the semi-regular sports column where we measure and score the paragon of athletic competition that is professional wrestling.

While their initial clash at Starrcade '97 gets all the fanfare, there is an argument to be made that the Hollywood Hogan vs. Sting return bout at SuperBrawl VIII had a more profound effect on the wrestling industry and was, in fact, the most significant wrestling match of all time.

Indulge me as I extrapolate this hypothesis.

By February 1998, WCW had essentially defined the sport of wrestling for nearly two years. This success was predicated largely on the notoriety of the New World Order (nWo) and their takeover of the company. Despite (or perhaps because of) their disruptive tactics, the nWo managed to resonate with wrestling fans at the time while politically and athletically dominating the competition.

So we've established that the nWo faction was integral to the prolonged dominance of WCW, but how did they manage to stay on top of a company that was so incredibly stacked with talent like Raven, Chris Benoit, Ric Flair, Chris Jericho, Lex Luger, and others? As with most things in sports, it's all about championships. The Outsiders had basically dominated the tag team scene for years and Syxx and Curt Hennig had significant reigns with the Cruiserweight and United States Championships, respectively. This was, of course, accompanied by Hollywood Hogan's stranglehold on the WCW World Championship. By SuperBrawl VIII, all these titles had evaporated and the nWo was left only with a disputed claim to the vacant world title, a dispute that would be settled forever by this match.

With the benefit of hindsight we can see that if Hogan had dispatched of his only significant rival in Sting and regained the title at SuperBrawl, it is conceivable that the nWo, and by extension WCW, may still be the focal point of the wrestling industry.

As it stands, Hogan's attempts to retake the title would prove futile and this failure would only embolden Kevin Nash to form the nWo Wolfpac splinter group. This superteam, though popular and successful at first, would serve as a harbinger of a policy of radical and destructive change throughout WCW that would eventually assure the downfall of the entire company and christen the return of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to prominence. But that is, as they say, a story for another day.

For now it's all about Sting/Hogan 2 at SuperBrawl VIII in February of 1998. The two premier athletes on the face of the earth, battling it out for the highest prize in sport.

Enjoy the Wrankings, after the jump.

OFFICIAL WCW 1998 WRESTLER WRANKINGS FORMULA

ANY WIN = 2 POINTS

US, CRUISERWEIGHT, OR TELEVISION TITLE BOUT = 1 POINT

WCW WORLD TITLE BOUT = 3 POINTS

NON "BIG 4" PPV = x1.5 BONUS

SUPERBRAWL, BASH AT THE BEACH, HALLOWEEN HAVOC = x2 BONUS

STARRCADE= x3 BONUS

In case you're not familiar with Wrestler Wrankings, the idea is simple. We score the in-ring wrestling action based on the above formula. Basically, you win to score points with bonuses based on title matches or PPV appearances. These Wrankings are for singles competitors only.Tag teams, diva's matches or any other type of competition is not included. The wrestler with the most points at the conclusion of the season (Starrcade '98) wins the coveted Wrankings championship!

Now without further delay, let's get to the scores:

Nitro 1/26/98

Diamond Dallas Page - 3 (US title bout, win)

Wrath 1 (US title bout, no win)

Booker T - 3 (TV title bout, win)

Perry Saturn - 1 (TV title, no win)

Bill Goldberg - 2 (win)

Raven - 2 (win)

Ultimo Dragon - 2 (win)

British Bulldog - 2 (win)

Konnan - 2 (win)

Lex Luger - 2 (win)

Buff Bagwell - 2 (win)

Psychosis - 2 (win)

Jim Neidhart - 2 (win)

Louie Spocoli - 2 (win)

Ray Traylor - 2 (win)

Thunder 1/30/98

Diamond Dallas Page - 3 (US title, win)

Sick Boy - 1 (US title, no win)

Booker T - 3 (TV Title, win)

Perry Saturn - 1 (TV title, no win)

Bill Goldberg - 2 (win)

Raven - 2 (win)

Scott Hall - 2 (win)

Meng - 2 (win)

Nitro 2/2/98

Chris Jericho - 3 (CW title, win)

Super Calo - 1 (CW title, no win)

Booker T - 3 (TV title, win)

Steven Regal - 1 (TV title, no win)

Bill Goldberg - 2 (win)

Juventud Guerrera - 2 (win)

Sting - 2 (win)

Ultimo Dragon - 2 (win)

Raven - 2 (win)

Konnan - 2 (win)

Scott Hall - 2 (win)

Thunder 2/6/98

Diamond Dallas Page - 1 (US title bout, no contest)

Chris Benoit - 1 (US title bout, no contest)

Bill Goldberg - 2 (win)

Perry Saturn - 2 (win)

Raven - 2 (win)

Billy Kidman - 2 (win)

Hugh Morrus - 2 (win)

Nitro 2/9/98

Booker T - 1 (TV title bout, no contest)

Raven - 1 (TV title bout, no contest)

Juventud Guerrera - 2 (win)

Perry Saturn - 2 (win)

Randy Savage - 2 (win)

Disco Inferno - 2 (win)

Konnan - 2 (win)

Steve McMichael - 2 (win)

Chris Adams - 2 (win)

Thunder 2/13/98

Diamond Dallas Page - 3 (US title, win)

Mortis - 1 (US title, no win)

Bill Goldberg - 2 (win)

Chris Jericho - 2 (win)

Chris Benoit - 2 (win)

British Bulldog - 2 (win)

Buff Bagwell - 2 (win)

Billy Kidman - 2 (win)

Meng - 2 (win)

Ric Flair - 2 (win)

Nitro 2/16/98

Rick Martel - 3 (TV title, win)

Booker T - (TV title, no win)

Bill Goldberg - 2 (win)

Perry Saturn - 2 (win)

Ultimo Dragon - 2 (win)

Curt Hennig - 2 (win)

Sick Boy - 2 (win)

Mike Enos - (win)

Yugi Nagata - 2 (win)

Barbarian - 2 (win)

Thunder 2/20/98

Booker T - 2 (win)

Bill Goldberg - 2 (win)

Chris Jericho - 2 (win)

Juventud Guerrera - 2 (win)

Psichosis - 2 (win)

Super Calo - 2 (win)

SuperBrawl VIII 2/22/98 (2x bonus included in scores)

Sting - 10 (WCW World title bout, win)

Hollywood Hogan - 6 (WCW World title bout, no win)

Chris Jericho - 6 (CW title, win)

Juventud Guerrera - 2 (CW title, no win)

Diamond Dallas Page - 6 (US title, win)

Chris Benoit - 2 (US title , no win)

Booker T - 12 (2 TV title bouts, 2 wins)

Rick Martel - 2 (TV title, no win)

Perry Saturn - 2 (TV title, no win)

Bill Goldberg - 4 (win)

Lex Luger - 4 (win)

British Bulldog - 4 (win)

Disco Inferno - 4 (win)

PART 2 WRANKINGS

1. BOOKER T -- 41.5 Points

2. Bill Goldberg -- 30

3. Chris Jericho -- 22.5

4. Diamond Dallas Page -- 22

5. Chris Benoit -- 16

T6. Sting -- 15

T6. Lex Luger -- 15

8. Juventud Guerrera -- 14

9. Rick Martel -- 12.5

10. Perry Saturn -- 11

T11. Hollywood Hogan -- 9

T11. Ultimo Dragon -- 9

T11. Raven -- 9

14. British Bulldog -- 8

15. Rey Misterio Jr. -- 7.5

Thanks for reading and we'll see you next time.