Nick Patrick Recalls Starrcade 1997 Finish, Says Bret Hart Restarting World Title Match ‘Felt Off’

Starrcade ’97 famously saw Bret Hart restart a match between Sting and Hulk Hogan after Nick Patrick had a supposedly “fast” count, and Patrick recently looked back on the moment. Sting defeated Hogan for the WCW World Championship at the PPV, but only after Hogan had pinned Sting due to a Patrick — then portraying a heel referee who was in the nWo’s pocket — made a “fast count” that wasn’t particularly fast. Hart ordered the match restarted and put himself in as the referee, and Sting ended up winning the match and the championship.

Patrick looked back on the match in a video for AdFreeShows, and you can see a couple of highlights below (per Wrestling Inc:

On Bret Hart coming out to restart the match: “It felt like it didn’t flow. It just felt off. Watching it back, they got a really good flow and had a decent match… The only person that got hurt out of it was Bret Hart because I made the normal count.”

On the reaction to the pinfall before it was restarted: “When I got the count the crowd went silent. That’s a great reaction to get.”