Episode 10 of “The Last Dance” shed some light on the Chicago Bulls' last three-peat season and Dennis Rodman' escapade to be part of a wrestling match after the Bulls had destroyed the Utah Jazz by a still-record 42 points in Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
What many seem to have forgotten is that Rodman actually faced up against Karl Malone, not only in the post, but on the other side of the ring as part of the World Championship Wrestling's 1998 pay-per-view event: Bash at the Beach.
In the opening minutes of Episode 10, Rodman can be seen linking up with the face of the New World Order (nWo), Hulk Hogan, and getting chastised by the media for missing the practice before Game 4.
Then-coach Phil Jackson was met with heavy criticism for not fining him for his daring violation of team rules and locker room conduct, but Rodman noted Jackson knew how much of a free spirit he was and that he'd be there when the ball tips off.
Rodman did just that, scoring six points off the bench and hauling in a team-high 14 rebounds — all while sinking a clutch pair of free throws in the final minutes of regulation of an 86-82 win that put the Bulls up 3-1 in the series.
Following the Bulls' three-peat, Malone had banged against Rodman for two straight years in the NBA Finals and their verbal feuds during those two years were something the WCW was looking to cash in.
Less than a month after securing his third ring in three years with the Bulls, Rodman joined Hogan as a tag-team partner in the main event, facing up against his NBA Finals rival Karl Malone and fan-darling Diamond Dallas Page.
This was another attempt for the wrestling promotion to capitalize on the hoopla of Michael Jordan's Bulls and the NBA Finals, extending it into a pay-per-view event that would draw eyes.
The result was well… disappointing.
While it was interesting to have two giants of the hardwood face up against one another in the ring, the execution of this match shorted fans who spent their well-earned money for some good wrestling action.
Dennis Rodman was suited in his usual outlaw garb while Malone donned the purple leather pants that would have made Prince proud — a chiseled 6-foot-9 giant ready to make his childhood dreams come true. “The Worm” had the acting part down, playing up every bit of the “bad boy” image he worked so hard to portray in the NBA — yet his wrestling abilities and showmanship weren't quite there.
Malone was a surprisingly good opponent, performing several body slams on the 6-foot-7 Hogan and linking up with DDP for several good sequences. But the match lasted an exhausting 23 minutes and 47 seconds.
While that is normative of the main event match, novice wrestlers like Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone shouldn't have been the ones to deliver it.
So… who won?
Well, you'll have to watch these highlights to find out:
It's fun to look at two household-name NBA players taking part in a wrestling event. Something like that wouldn't fly in today's league the way that contract stipulations are structured.
Yet it's a lot more digestible to watch a quick five minutes of action than painstakingly paying money to watch two wrestlers with no experience deliver a show that falls short of expectations.
The Hogan-Rodman vs. DDP-Malone was a gun gag to pull off, but it was this type of gimmicky stunts that eventually saw the WCW meet its end when the company was sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Guess there's nothing like a trip back to memory lane, even if it wasn't the best of wrestling displays.
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