Monday Nitro #165
Date: November 30, 1998
Location: UTC Arena, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone

We close out November here with a fairly big show. The main event for tonight is Page defending the US Title against Bret Hart despite being banged up as usual. Other than that we’re heading towards Starrcade so we’re likely to get more build between Goldberg and Nash, which hasn’t really set the world on fire yet. Let’s get to it.

No Tenay tonight due to illness so Tony and Larry talk run down the card, including a contract signing for Nash vs. Goldberg. This brings us to Hogan on the Tonight Show on Thanksgiving night where he officially announces he’s running for President. He likes a flat tax apparently.

We go to the back and see the NWO limo arriving with Scott Steiner leading the way. They come out to the ring where Bischoff declares Scott Steiner as the new leader of the Black and White. Steiner says Hogan made it official in LA and talks about his physique for a bit. Tonight the first order of business is taking care of Scott Hall, so it’s Hall/a parnter vs. Steiner/Horace.

Nitro Girls.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Konnan

Jericho is defending. Konnan sends him to the apron to start and Jericho immediately complains about a hair pull. Back in and we hit the armbar on the champion before Jericho comes back with a running clothesline. Konnan will have none of this being on defense stuff and hits a seated dropkick, only to be caught in a hot shot. A springboard dropkick puts Konnan on the floor and Chris follows him out with a great looking plancha.

Back in and Jericho dives into Konnan’s boot before a fisherman’s suplex gets two. The Lionsault gets two for the champion but the Liontamer is too close to the ropes. With nothing else working, Jericho tries to cheat by bringing in the belt. Ralphus’ distraction doesn’t work though and an X Factor onto the belt gives Konnan the title.

Rating: D+. Not much here but a title change is always a good way to fire up a crowd. It’s about time the Wolfpack got some gold. That being said, it’s a bad idea overall with the midcard scene picking up and now another title is locked into the NWO stories. Jericho didn’t do much here and unfortunately that’s likely to be a trend for him in the coming months.

The Wolfpack comes out to celebrate and we see Konnan’s music video.

Gene brings out Flair for a chat. Flair is in serious mode tonight and says that he’s talking like a man so Bischoff will hear it. Just because someone gets old doesn’t mean that they’re great. Flair lists off a bunch of names like Hogan, the Andersons, the Road Warriors and Wahoo McDaniel made Bischoff the man he is. Now Flair is mad at Windham for what he did last week, but he hates Bischoff. Flair wants a piece of Bischoff anytime anywhere.

Nitro Party winner.

Here’s Hall in an Outsiders shirt to say that he’ll fight the NWO on his own tonight. Kevin Nash comes out and says if Hall needs a partner, he’ll be Scott’s Huckleberry.

Raven/Kanyon vs. Scott Armstrong/Steve Armstrong

Raven is sitting in the corner to start against Scott and we appear to be in an angle instead of a match. Kanyon and Raven argue about Raven’s mom for some reason but Kanyon gets jumped from behind by Scott to really get things going. The brothers’ advantage is short lived though as Kanyon fights back with a nice faceplant but stops to argue with Raven. A Flatliner lays out Steve but goes to yell even more, allowing Scott to roll Kanyon up for the big upset.

Hour #2 begins.

Here’s Bret Hart for a chat with Gene. Bret says he’s badly hurt tonight and can’t face Page for the US Title tonight even though that’s what Bret wanted to do. This brings Page out through the crowd to say the word SCUM a lot and call Bret a liar because Bret issued the challenge in the first place. Hart doesn’t have his gear so he insists on it being a No DQ match tonight. Page agrees to what sounds like a ruse.

Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Eddie Guerrero

Kidman is defending. Feeling out process to start until Eddie makes the mistake of slapping the champion and gets dropkicked for his efforts. A headscissors puts Eddie down again and a dropkick sends him to the floor. Kidman is sent into the steps to give Guerrero his first advantage and crushes him between the steps and post for good measure. Back in and the slingshot hilo gets two as we take a break.

Back with Eddie cranking on the champ’s arm and wrapping it on the top. He gets crotched loading up the frog splash but blocks a top rope Frankensteiner. Back down and Eddie’s powerbomb is countered into a faceplant (duh) followed by the lifting powerbomb for two. Cruiserweights use a lot of powerbombs the more I think about it.

Guerrero comes back with a tornado DDT but ANOTHER powerbomb is countered into another faceplant. The champ drops Eddie with a superplex but the referee goes down at the same time. This brings out Juvy to help his boss but Mysterio comes out to dropkick Eddie (also his boss) in the back, setting up the Shooting Star to retain the title.

Rating: C. Good stuff as usual from these guys but I’m not sure where this story is going. We get that Mysterio hates being in the LWO and Eddie knows that Mysterio hates being in the LWO and will cost the LWO matches, so why does he insist on Rey being in the LWO and not use the LWO army to destroy Mysterio? At least the matches are good though.

Bam Bam Bigelow is here with a ticket.

Here are Eric Bischoff and Barry Windham with something to say. Eric talks about going to Cody, Wyoming where he heard a lot of people wanting Hogan to be President. We get a little campaign speech before Bischoff calls out Dean Malenko. He gets the Horsemen minus Flair on the stage and Malenko alone in the ring. Tonight it’s going to be Malenko vs. Windham and if Dean wins, Flair gets to face Bischoff. Dean says it’s on but Eric has one more idea: Dusty Rhodes is going to be guest referee. Big Dust comes out but Malenko won’t shake his hand.

Nitro Girls and Heenan at the booth.

Wrath vs. Bobby Blaze

Total squash with Wrath winning in less than a minute but the magic just isn’t there anymore.

Bigelow is still in the crowd.

Here’s Ernest Miller, flanked by Sonny Onoo, to issue his open challenge to the crowd. This brings out Perry Saturn who says that he’ll have a try. Miller says that Saturn is clearly weak due to losing to Sonny on Sunday, so he’ll have to beat Sonny to get a piece of the Cat.

Perry Saturn vs. Sonny Onoo

We get the karate poses from Onoo but Saturn plants him down with a powerbomb, only to have Miller break up the pin. The distraction lets Glacier run in with a Cryonic Kick to Saturn to give Sonny two. Miller throws in a chain to Onoo but Sonny takes the Death Valley Driver. Somehow he slips the chain into Saturn’s tights though and the referee sees it for a DQ, giving Sonny the win. Someone tell me why putting Saturn in this feud is a good idea. I’d love to hear this rationale.

We see Goldberg get out of a limo and come to the ring for the contract signing with Nash. Both guys sign with no issues and Goldberg doesn’t have to defend until Starrcade. Bigelow tries to jump the railing but it doesn’t go anywhere.

Mike Enos vs. Booker T

Booker easily takes him down to start and nails the forearm and a superkick. Enos catches him charging into a hot shot though before knocking Booker out to the floor with a clothesline. Another hot shot onto the barricade has Booker in trouble but he comes back inside with a spinwheel kick, the ax kick and the Harlem Sidekick, followed by a kind of spinebuster for the quick pin.

Bigelow is in the parking lot and wants Goldberg to come fight him.

Brian Adams vs. Lex Luger

Feeling out process to start as Tony talks about the Mark Curtis Benefit Show last night. Luger runs over Adams with ease a few times but gets his neck snapped across the top rope to give not-Crush the advantage. A clothesline puts Luger on the floor so Vincent can earn his paycheck for the night. Back in and Luger makes a quick comeback and nails the forearm but Adams’ feet take the referee down as he’s loaded into the Rack. The NWO nails Luger with a chair and spike piledriver for two before we get Lex’s real comeback. He knocks Adams into the chair despite Adams putting the brakes on, setting up the Rack to win.

Rating: D. Just a dull match here without anything of interest. This is the same as the LWO but slightly less confusing. What exactly are we heading to with this NWO war? They’ve been fighting for over six months now and there’s nothing changing about any of the fights. At least Luger is beating the guys he should be beating though.

Barry Windham vs. Dean Malenko

If Dean wins, Flair gets Bischoff at some point. NWO member Dusty Rhodes is referee, Barry is in jeans and Dean is coming in with a bad knee. Dean wins an early slugout and we head to the floor for a chase but Dusty yells at Dean for a distraction, allowing Barry to take over. A gutwrench suplex and elbow to the jaw drop Malenko and Dusty is right in his face to ask if he wants to give it up.

Dean avoids an elbow drop and heads up, only to be slammed right down onto the bad knee. Some elbows to the knee have Dean in even more trouble and Barry slams the leg down on the apron. Barry stays on the leg with kicks to the thigh as Dean is in the ropes…..AND THAT’S A DQ??? Dusty calls for the bell and raises Dean’s hand as the announcers are in shock.

Rating: D+. The match didn’t have time to go anywhere but was much more about the angle than the action. It’s nice to see someone finally changing over to WCW as at times it seems WCW doesn’t even exist anymore other than as a place for the NWOs to fight each other. Also Dusty being in the NWO just didn’t work.

Post match Bischoff runs out to fire Dusty as the Horsemen come out to beat the tar out of Windham. Eric gets out before Flair can get to him.

Horace Hogan/Scott Steiner vs. Outsiders

The Outsiders do the Rock Paper Scissors to determine who starts against Horace. The NWO referee is in there as well. Hall nails the driving shoulders and puts on an armbar, only to walk into a hard clothesline. A hiptoss is countered into a chokeslam from Hall but it’s off to Scott Steiner. It’s Steiner with a muscle clothesline and a fast count is good for two. A butterfly suplex gets the same for Steiner on the other Scott but Steiner charges into a boot in the corner.

The middle rope bulldog gets two for Hall but the referee counts VERY slowly. Steiner comes back with a low blow but Nash saves Hall from some Horace choking. Back in and Horace stomps away and gets two off a backbreaker and splash. We hit the front facelock for a bit until Hall fights up and makes the tag to Nash. The NWO referee doesn’t count it but Nash comes in anyway and cleans house until Hall hits the Edge on Horace. No count of course so Nash Jackknifes the referee and a WCW referee comes in for the pin. Nash walks out as soon as the pin goes down.

Rating: D+. Another angle instead of a match here and Nash running off was interesting. I’m not sure where Steiner went after the hot tag but it fits the idea of the NWO wanting to run away from a real fight. The fans were really excited about the idea of the Outsiders being back together again, which is why I doubt it’s going to keep happening.

Goldberg barrels through the doors and heads outside to fight Bigelow. They go at it in the parking lot until security breaks it up. That’s not good enough for Goldberg though as he fights away and spears Bigelow down.

US Title: Bret Hart vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Bret is challenging and this is No DQ. Hart is in street clothes and isn’t sure about locking up to start. Page takes him into the corner but lets him go, allowing Bret to get in a low blow to take over. Choking and eye raking ensues until Page sends him into the corner for a hard stomping. Bret gets caught in the Figure Four around the post until the Giant makes the save. A chokeslam puts Page down in the ring and a chokeslam from the top rope (pretty much the same as a regular chokeslam) sets up the Sharpshooter for the knock out win, giving Bret the title back.

Rating: D+. This is a hard one to rate as it was exciting while it lasted but the match isn’t even four and a half minutes long with Giant being out there for about a minute and a half of that. Not much to see here though as this feud just keeps going. Hopefully this wraps things up though.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a show about setting up matches for the future which is what matters as we head into the biggest show of the year. The contract signing was nothing though and it felt more like the Outsiders reunion was bigger than anything with Goldberg. Flair vs. Bischoff looks more like the main event for Starrcade, despite it not even being official yet. It’s not a bad show, but it sets up stuff for the future which is a rare thing in WCW.

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Monday Nitro Extra
Date: November 24, 1998
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan

This is a special one hour episode on a Tuesday. I guess three hours a week isn’t enough for all of the AWESOME action that you get on a Nitro so we get a bonus tonight. Hot dog indeed. Anyway there aren’t any announced matches and Tony just casually mentioned this so I can’t imagine it’s going to be much to see. Let’s get to it.

Nitro Girls.

Scott Norton vs. Kaz Hayashi

Chop, powerbomb, pin on Hayashi.

Disco Inferno vs. Scott Putski

The dancer takes him down with an armdrag but stops to dance, allowing Putski to hit a quick powerbomb for two. Inferno comes back with his usual array of neckbreaker, atomic drop and clothesline followed by the top rope ax handle for another near fall. Two sleepers get Disco nowhere and Putski nails a nice overhead belly to belly. Not that it matters as Disco pops up and hits the piledriver for the pin.

Rating: D+. Disco was a decent in ring worker and actually got something resembling a passable match here against Scott Putski of all people. It’s nothing great or anything like that but at the end of the day, why not try to make something happen here? Unfortunately no one is watching this though so it means nothing at all.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Tokyo Magnum

They trade lockups into a wristlock from Guerrero before some standing switches get us nowhere. Chavo puts on a headlock and gives Tokyo a wet willie to really make me feel stupid for watching this. A nice dropkick puts Tokyo down and it’s time to ride Pepe a bit. Tokyo comes back with some strikes and the Hennig necksnap before taking a dance break.

Magnum gets two off a moonsault but Chavo comes back with right hands and dancing of his own. A springboard bulldog and belly to back get two for Chavo and he hammers away even more. They strike it out again with Tokyo taking over, only to have Chavo block a hurricanrana and hit a good looking tornado DDT for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was an ok match but at the same time it was a lot of comedy that only some people were going to find funny. Tokyo was talented in the ring but the dancing gimmick was going to put a hard ceiling above his head. Chavo is continuing to get better in the ring though and that’s the most important thing of all.

Stevie Ray vs. Van Hammer

They stare each other down and hammer away in the corner as we’re firmly in power brawl mode here. Now they trade clotheslines with Stevie getting the better of it and throwing Hammer to the floor for a beating from Vincent. Hammer comes back in with a powerslam and belly to back but Stevie just kicks him in the face and hits the Slap Jack for a quick pin. Nothing match.

Prince Iaukea vs. Juventud Guerrera

Both guys fire off chops until Juvy takes over with a headscissors takeover. The Prince comes back with an elbow and legdrop as the uninspired wrestling continues tonight. Guerrera fights out of a headlock and quickly gets up top for a springboard missile dropkick to take over again. Back up and the Prince grabs a powerslam and belly to back for two more and they trade rollups. Guerrera blocks a dive with a boot to the face and they trade more rollups. Iaukea gets crotched and taken down by a hurricanrana, but here’s Mysterio to break up the 450 and allow Prince to hit a quick kick to the face for the pin.

Rating: C-. The back and forth stuff was nice here and FINALLY we get some storyline stuff on this show. Not that it’s going to mean anything but it’s better than just sitting there watching uninteresting matches. As you may have seen before, Iaukea does nothing for me at all and I’m getting sick of seeing him.

Horace vs. Wrath

They slug it out again to start until Wrath misses a charge in the corner. The brawl heads outside with Wrath taking over again before heading back inside where he nearly drops Horace on a sidewalk slam attempt. A Vincent distraction lets Horace get in a chair shot but he gets caught with his feet on the ropes. Horace takes too much time going up top and misses a splash, setting up a top rope shoulder and the Meltdown to end things.

Overall Rating: D. What in the world was the point of this? Seriously, there was practically no important storyline development, the biggest start to appear was….Juventud Guerrera maybe? It’s just a nothing show that could have been the C level show on the weekend like Main Event or something. Nothing to see here and I really do want to know why this existed.

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Monday Nitro #164
Date: November 23, 1998
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan

We’re on the road to Starrcade now with a main event of Kevin Nash challenging Goldberg for the World Title. The other main story coming out of last night was Hogan not appearing in the big battle royal for reasons that weren’t explained. Other than that we didn’t get the two big midcard matches we were promised because this is WCW and giving us angles instead of delivering advertised matches is a great idea. Let’s get to it.

The announcers talk about the battle royal last night and tell us to tune in to the Tonight Show on Thursday to see why Hogan wasn’t in the battle royal.

We get some stills of the battle royal as well.

Lex Luger vs. Mike Enos

They circle each other for a bit to start until Luger runs him over with a shoulder block. A headlock sends Enos to the floor as the announcers talk about everything other than the match. Back in and Mike drops him throat first across the top rope and nails a piledriver for two. We hit the chinlock on Luger followed by a nice powerslam for two more. Back up and Mike can’t hit a superplex, allowing Luger to hit a top rope clothesline and a superplex of his own. A powerslam sets up the Rack for the submission from Enos.

Rating: C-. Enos didn’t look all that bad here and Luger was actually doing more than just the usual for a change. It’s still not all that entertaining but it was better than a lot of the dull matches with guys like these two on Nitro. I’d still like the Wolfpack to actually do something of note instead of just having random matches of no consequence.

Goldberg shows up in a limo, followed by the Wolfpack in their limo. Konnan tells Nash that he’s next but Goldberg says that’s not a safe place to be. “Just ask your girlfriend.”

Gene brings out Kidman to talk about the situation last night where Rey Mysterio helped him win back the Cruiserweight Title. Rey comes out and Kidman offers him a title shot tonight due to Mysterio being back to his old style. Wasn’t he only away from his old style for six days and by force? They shake hands and say may the best man win but here are Eddie and his bodyguard to interrupt. Eddie says Rey is still a contracted member of the LWO so he needs to put the shirt back on. Guerrero pulls out a gigantic shirt that Rey is forced to put on, but he promises to make this right later.

Norman Smiley vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit is actually taken down pretty easily and kicked in the back, only to have him pop up and slap Norman in the face. They hit the mat for a bit until Benoit takes him into the corner and stomps away, only to charge into a knee to the ribs in the other corner. Smile does that spinning slam of his but Benoit comes right back with Rolling Germans, the Swan Dive and a Crossface for the fast submission. This was better than expected.

Nitro Party.

Stills of Hall vs. Nash which wasn’t a match.

Here’s the Wolfpack to celebrate their victory. Luger doesn’t like finishing second in anything but at least it was to another Wolfpack guy. Nash takes the mic and says he’s next and will be the 1 in 190-1. So Heyman stole his big promo from Kevin Nash? The Wolfpack leaves but Gene follows to ask about Hall. Nash can’t trust him because of what’s happened already, which makes sense. Goldberg comes by and says he’ll be the truck that runs Nash over. Nash: “Lay off the caffeine Bill.” Nice to see Big Kev so serious before his title shot.

Kanyon vs. Tokyo Magnum

Before the match we see Kanyon trying to get Raven to come out with him but Raven says Kanyon wouldn’t understand. Once in the arena, Kanyon yells at Raven to come out, allowing Tokyo to grab a rollup for two. A bulldog gets the same but Kanyon snaps off a Russian legsweep to take over. Tokyo gets two each off a sunset flip and small package, but a hiptoss is countered into the Flatliner to give Kanyon a fast pin.

Nitro Girls.

Glacier vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.

The cowboy takes him into the corner to start and shrugs off some kicks before nailing a headbutt to the ribs. More power shots such as a clothesline and shoulder drop drop Glacier and we head back outside for even more punishment, including a hard whip into the barricade. Back in and a top rope clothesline is good for two on Ice Dude but he comes back with his usual variety of kicks. A powerslam gets two for Glacier, only to have Duncum come right back with a running DDT. Duncum’s attempt to use his bullrope doesn’t work so he hits a Skull Crushing Finale for the pin. That’s not a good finisher for him.

Rating: D. Duncum is trying, but him going after the cowbell and bullrope shows how stupid WCW could be at the time. I know they’re a southern based promotion, but I got so sick of their OBSESSION with cowboys. Yeah we get it you have a bullrope and a big hat. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

Giant comes out to talk about the battle royal last night. He wanted a piece of Nash but Nash needed an army to take him out since Big Kev won’t fight him one on one. Since that’s out of the question, Giant wants to know if Goldberg has the guts to face him tonight.

Hour #2 begins.

Saturn vs. Silver King

Before the match, Saturn tells Ernest Miller to jump him if he wants to. Why is this feud still a thing? A hard shoulder takes Silver King down to start followed by a drop toehold. Back up and a few kicks drop Saturn, setting up a slingshot splash for two. Saturn is bored by selling and nails a clothesline and superkick to send Silver King outside, only to draw out Sonny Onoo and Ernest Miller. After some lame trash talk, a German suplex and the Death Valley Driver end Silver King.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kidman

Kidman is defending. Feeling out process to start with Rey sending him into the corner for an early Bronco Buster to a bit of a mixed reaction. Maybe the huge shirt is offputting. They trade headscissors takeovers with Rey’s taking both guys over to the floor. Back in and Rey hits a quick dropkick to the knee followed by something like a Fameasser for two.

Kidman is sent to the apron but comes in over the top with a top rope cross body for two of his own. The champion charges at Rey but Mysterio uses what would become the 619, sending Kidman flying out to the floor in a cool spot. A big springboard flip dive takes Kidman down but he’s able to dropkick Mysterio out of the air as they come back in. Kidman powerslams him for two before getting caught in the sitout bulldog for another near fall. That’s FINALLY enough to get the announcers to care about the guys in the ring instead of Nash vs. Goldberg.

Rey comes back again with a sunset bomb out of the corner but Kidman is right back as well with a running bulldog up the corner. The masked dude hits a superplex but West Coast Pop is countered into the short powerbomb in a great counter. Juvy and Eddie come out for a distraction with Kidman going after the latter, allowing Guerrera to hit the Juvy Driver on Rey, setting up the Shooting Star to retain the title.

Rating: C+. This was a nice back and forth match between these two but the LWO continues to go nowhere for the most part. It’s nice of them to have some kind of a story, but there’s only so much that they can do against each other. I’d love to see them get out of the division for a change, but this is WCW so that’s a very rare thing to see.

Here’s Bischoff for his weekly Horsemen address. He understands that Flair isn’t going away and asks for him to come out here right now for a showdown. Flair comes out for the staredown on his own and says he’s humbled by the reaction he’s getting here in Grand Rapids. Bischoff actually says Flair deserves this before saying they have to acknowledge that Bischoff runs the company. Flair will admit that Ted Turner is a great man but made a mistake in hiring Bischoff.

Eric brings up Flair bringing in Barry Windham but Flair has no authority to hire anyone. This brings out Barry who immediately hugs Flair. Bischoff thinks that Barry is going to turn on Windham, which might be an accurate prediction. Bischoff slaps Flair and gets jumped, only to have Barry hit Flair low. The NWO jumps the Horsemen as they try for a save and Horace works over Dean’s leg. Eric makes Bret vs. Malenko tonight.

Stills of Booker saving Stevie Ray from Konnan last night.

Booker T. vs. Konnan

Tony tells us that Horsemen have left the arena other than Dean. Nice teammates they are. Booker takes over to start with a wristlock but walks into the rolling clothesline. A clothesline and back elbow to the jaw drop Konnan and a pair of kicks but Stevie comes out and nails Konnan in the head with a slapjack for a DQ.

Stevie asks Booker where his head is but Booker says he doesn’t need his brother.

Gene brings out Bret Hart for a chat. Bret says that punk DDP stole a cheap win last night and wants a rematch. He’ll destroy Dean’s knee until Page accepts the challenge.

Nitro Girls.

Wrath vs. Kevin Nash

The idea here is simple: Nash is facing the ultimate streak at Starrcade so he’s challenging a smaller streak here. Wrath drives in knees in the corner and nails a bicycle kick to drop Nash with ease. A dropkick sends him over the top and out to the floor as it’s all Wrath to start. Nash comes back in with right hands and elbows in the corner but Wrath easily suplexes him down. Wrath gets two off a top rope clothesline but he charges into a boot in the corner. Side slam is good for two on Wrath and a shoulder gets the same on Nash. Kevin comes right back with a big boot and the Jackknife to end Wrath once and for all.

Rating: C-. The match actually wasn’t all that bad but the booking is pretty questionable. I fully understand the idea of having Nash beat a winning streak, but Wrath was a guy with potential and they just burned through it here. On top of that, Wrath dominated the match and Nash hit like two moves for the win in less than five minutes. This should have been a bigger deal than it was.

Gene brings out Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho’s hair looks like he’s been subjected to static electricity experiments. However Jericho wants to be serious tonight. The Jericholics have disappointed him lately by not cheering loud enough. He’s their role model because he’s better than every single one of them. Gene brings up Bobby Duncum Jr. and Jericho can’t pronounce his last name. As Jericho makes fun of cowboys, Duncum walks out with a hogtied Ralphus. Jericho: “GET AWAY FROM HIM! HE’S A TRAINED KILLER!”

Scott Hall vs. Alex Wright

Jericho is still trying to untie Ralphus during Hall’s entrance. Hall says cut the NWO Black and White music. Tonight is going to be the final survey because the fans are all here to see the…..something I can’t make out. There are two factions in the NWO and Hall doesn’t care for either one of them right now, so send out Alex Wright so Hall can destroy him. After the toothpick throw, Alex flips out of a belly to back suplex but gets punched in the jaw and clotheslined out to the floor.

Alex actually pulls Hall outside for some right hands as the fans chant USA. Back in and a missile dropkick puts Hall down again but it’s time to dance. Heenan is LIVID over this as you can hear the manager in him trying to come back out. They slug it out a bit until Hall levels him with a clothesline and the Edge is good for the pin.

Rating: C. Far better match here than I was expecting as Wright got to show off here in a bit of a surprise. Hall being serious is a good thing though as I really didn’t care for the drunk angle. Hall is talented enough to put on entertaining matches with almost anyone so it was a waste of his talent to use that kind of a gimmick.

Nitro Girls.

Bret Hart vs. Dean Malenko

Dean is favoring his knee after the attack earlier. Bret goes right for the knee to take over and kicks away but Dean gets in a right hand and some stomps to take over. Dean tries a rolling cradle but the knee gives out and they roll to the floor. We take a break and come back with Tony telling us about a special bonus Nitro tomorrow with another hour. Oh freaking JOY.

Dean tries a suplex and the knee holds up for the most part but he can’t follow up. A small package is good for two on Hart as Tony actually gets a fact right: Windham wasn’t an original Horseman. Dean comes back with a sleeper which Heenan points out allows him to rest the leg. Bret fights out of it with a belly to back but Malenko keeps the hold on. They head outside for a few seconds before Dean chokes with the boot in the corner.

Bret goes right back to the knee to take over though and snaps the bad leg down. He grabs the leg again but gets enziguried down to give Dean a breather. Back up and Dean slams him into the buckle while hobbling across the ring. Nice touch. A superplex doesn’t work but Bret goes down to the apron to keep Malenko out of trouble. The leg lariat sets up the Texas Cloverleaf but Bret is right in the ropes.

They fall to the floor with Dean landing on the leg to keep him down. Bret tries to bring in a chair but the referee takes it away, allowing Malenko to nail a missile dropkick for a very close two. Malenko tries a leapfrog but can’t get the elevation and goes down again. Bret wraps the leg around the post a few times and nails a Diamond Cutter, causing the referee to stop it.

Rating: B. I was really liking this one and the ending actually makes it better. Malenko doesn’t have to do a clean or even dirty job here and goes down fighting the whole way. His comeback was great with the knee being sold the whole way through. But of course we couldn’t have Dean move up the card long term or anything like that as a result of a great performance like this.

DDP comes in to save Malenko’s knee but gets beaten down with a chair. Bret misses a chair shot to the knee but gets away from the Diamond Cutter. Page calls him Hitscum Hart as Bret walks away. We get a challenge for a rematch for the US Title next week.

WCW World Title: Giant vs. Goldberg

They fight into the corner to start and Giant kicks him in the side of the head. Chokeslam gets two and Goldberg hammers away with some kicks to the ribs. Spear and a delayed Jackhammer retain the title.

Bam Bam Bigelow runs in post match but Nash comes out for the save. Goldberg goes after Nash and security separates them to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was an entertaining enough show but I’m not interested in Starrcade so far. Goldberg vs. Nash just doesn’t feel like a big showdown main event but it’s what we’re getting no matter what. The Jackhammer to Giant was very impressive and Malenko’s match was good so it’s a watchable show but in a bad time for WCW.

Remember there’s the extra Nitro show Tuesday and no Thunder this week.

Remember there’s the extra Nitro show Tuesday and no Thunder this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Clash of the Champions at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J58H5CY And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

Thunder
Date: November 19, 1998
Location: Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Commentators: Lee Marshall, Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko

It’s the go home show for World War 3 and we really don’t know much about the PPV. They haven’t played up the battle royal all that much and the events on Nitro and Thunder have dominated the discussion rather than the show that’s three days from now. Hopefully Thunder can pick things up a bit……yeah we’re in trouble. Let’s get to it.

We open with Larry Zbyszko on commentary instead of Heenan. As always we hear about all of the goings on at the moment, including Nash, Page and Hart.

We see Bret attacking Malenko and Benoit on Nitro.

Booker T. vs. Norman Smiley

We actually get a handshake to start and Booker breaks clean in the corner. Smiley takes him into the corner and pops Booker with some uppercuts before slapping him in the face. A slam sets up a chinlock on Mr. T. but Booker fights up and hits his running forearm and some kicks to the face. Smiley avoids an elbow drop and dances a bit, only to get nailed with the Harlem Side Kick, setting up the 110^th Street Slam for the pin.

Rating: D+. Booker continues to be a good opening act but there’s only so much he can do in three and a half minutes against a guy not taken very seriously by the fans. The match wasn’t terrible and at the end of the day it’s the opening match on a show that means nothing at all.

We see Page challenging Bret on Monday.

Opening sequence.

We see Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell beating up “Mrs. Steiner” from Nitro.

Disco Inferno vs. Scott Hall

Hall throws the toothpick in his face to start and shoves Disco into the corner for a vicious hair rub. It’s actually enough to fire Disco up though as he nails Hall with a clothesline and the swinging neckbreaker for two. Hall comes back with a discus punch though, setting up the fall away slam and Outsider’s Edge for the pin. Not much here.

We look at Scott Steiner beating up Chris Adams for no apparent reason.

World War 3 ad.

Here’s Jericho to make fun of Bobby Duncum Jr. before their rematch for the TV Title on Sunday. He claims that he was going to be called Cowboy Chris Jericho from Casper, Wyoming so now he hates cowboys. This brings out Duncum to hogtie Jericho because that’s what cowboys do.

Kaz Hayashi is looking for a tag partner for Sunday.

More clips of the TV Title match from Nitro.

Kidman vs. Rey Mysterio

Before the match Kidman says he wants a match with the real Rey Mysterio, not the LWO version. Eddie Guerrero comes in and says Rey is LWO by choice but Mysterio wants to know why he didn’t get his title shot after beating Juventud last week. Eddie says he isn’t thinking straight so tonight it’s Guerrero vs. Kidman.

Kidman vs. Eddie Guerrero

Eddie stomps away in the corner to start but Kidman comes back with a quick dropkick for two. Guerrero bails to the floor before dropping to his knees to ask for some mercy back inside. Another dropkick sends Eddie back to the apron and Kidman stomps away instead of buying into the waiting any longer. Eddie uses a jawbreaker to escape a sleeper but the second attempt works a bit better.

This time Eddie suplexes his way to freedom but gets superplexed off the top when he tries the frog splash. Like many a schmuck before him, Eddie gets faceplanted out of a powerbomb. Kidman loads up the Shooting Star but dives on the bodyguard and Rey Mysterio instead. Larry: “WHY DID HE DO THAT???” A powerbomb gets two on Guerrero but the bodyguard distracts Kidman, allowing Eddie to get a rollup pin with his feet on the ropes.

Rating: C. The match was decent enough but at the same time it was almost all about the story instead of the wrestling. The LWO story isn’t the most interesting thing in the world but it’s the only way Eddie and company are going to get anything more than random cruiserweight matches. If nothing else it’s a nice break from all the dull squashes we usually get on this show.

The announcers mention that Kidman has a return clause and will get the shot on Sunday. We see Kidman losing the title to Juvy on Nitro as a bonus.

Clip of a new game coming soon: Ocarina of Time.

Video on Hall vs. Nash.

Scott Norton vs. Scott Putski

Speaking of dull squashes, we have this by the numbers squash. Vincent interferes to start, Norton destroys him with various power moves including clotheslines and headbutts, setting up the powerbomb for the pin in less than two minutes.

We see Hall vs. Nash from Nitro.

We see the Hogan campaign stuff from Nitro.

Kaz Hayashi tries to get Disco Inferno to be his partner on Sunday when Saturn comes in and offers to do it instead.

The Cat vs. Super Sensei

Sonny Onoo says that Sensei is a two time World Karate Champion so this should be an easy workout for Miller. Before the match starts, Kaz Hayashi runs in and gets beaten down until Saturn makes the save. Who decided this feud needed so much TV time?

We get a quick history of World War 3.

Alex Wright vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Before the match we get a rant from Alex demanding respect from the crowd. The bell rings and Wright quickly armdrags Chavo down before hammering away in the corner. The announcers start talking about Bigelow being a career mercenary as Chavo takes over with an armdrag of his own and a dropkick.

Chavo’s bulldog takeover out of the corner is shoved off and Wright stomps on him a bit. We get outside for a slam to Guerrero and some dancing by the German. A slingshot splash gets two for Alex and the match slows way down. Alex goes up top but dives into a boot to the jaw, allowing Chavo to get two off a clothesline. The neckbreaker is countered but Wright grabs a rollup and flips forward for the pin.

Rating: D. This was a long and very boring match which felt like it went on forever. It was really just two guys doing moves to each other for about seven minutes and then one guy got the pin. That really doesn’t make for an interesting match and the thing just kept going. Both guys are usually better than this.

Prince Iaukea vs. Kanyon

After Kanyon does his usual schtick, Iaukea jumps him on the floor to get things going. They head inside with Kanyon nailing something resembling a reverse powerbomb before stomping away. The middle rope suplex back inside gets two for Kanyon and a bulldog is good for the same. Prince comes back with a sunset flip but Kanyon just plants him with a double leg Fameasser for two. Iaukea grabs a quick Samoan drop but has a suplex countered into the Flatliner for a fast pin.

Rating: C-. It’s not great but at least it had some cool looking offense from Kanyon. Iaukea continues to be one of the least interesting wrestlers I can remember in a long time. It’s not even that he’s bad in the ring or anything like that. He just isn’t interesting in the slightest and it’s a chore to sit through his matches.

Saturn vs. Wrath

This could be interesting. Saturn grabs an armdrag into an armbar to start followed by a nice springboard kick to the face. Wrath heads to the floor for a bit but Saturn is right on top of him with a nice dive. Back in and Wrath just pounds on him before nailing a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Some hard right hands and stomps have Saturn down in the corner and a belly to back suplex gets two.

A flying forearm sends Saturn flying into the ropes and Wrath chokes away. Back up and Wrath misses a charge into the corner and walks into a t-bone suplex. Cue Sonny Onoo and Ernest Miller as Saturn nails the frog splash for a close two. Sonny offers a distraction and Miller kicks Saturn down, setting up the Meltdown for the pin.

Rating: C+. Better match here with Wrath getting arguably the biggest win of his career. That being said, WHY IS SATURN IN A FEUD WITH SONNY ONOO AND KAZ HAYASHI??? He just came off the good feud against Raven to free the Flock and now he’s in a story involving the lowest of the low on the totem pole. Such is WCW.

We look at Bam Bam Bigelow debuting on Nitro.

Bret Hart vs. Konnan

After Konnan hits all of his catchphrases, they slug it out in the corner with Konnan taking over. They quickly head outside with Hart being rammed into the steps and barricade. Back in and Konnan gets beaten down, only to have Stevie Ray get in a shot with the slapjack. A low blow headbutt has Konnan in even more trouble and the Sharpshooter is good for the win for Bret.

Rating: D. Whatever man. Just end this awful show already.

Post match Bret goes to Pillmanize Konnan’s leg but DDP makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. They hyped up some of the stuff for Sunday, but other than that there was NOTHING to talk about here. At the end of the day, I need more than just clips of matches on Monday to get me wanting to see a PPV and that’s about all we got here. This is one of those shows that is absolutely terrible and it’s clear that they didn’t try at all.

One more note: there’s no show on November 26 so the next episode will be December 3.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Clash of the Champions at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Monday Nitro #163
Date: November 16, 1998
Location: Wichita Coliseum, Wichita, Kansas
Attendance: 13,981
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

It’s the go home show for World War 3 and most of the card isn’t known yet. We’ll get the battle royal and Mysterio vs. Guerrera for the Cruiserweight Title…and that’s about it. My guess is we’ll get a bunch of rematches from Halloween Havoc, but thankfully Hogan vs. Warrior III isn’t going to be one of them. Let’s get to it.

The announcers welcome us to the show and run down the card.

We see a motorcade coming up, meaning it’s time for more Hogan For President stuff later on. I’ll give them this: it’s something different.

More from the announcers.

Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera

Apparently Judy Bagwell is in the hospital and has sent in a tape which we’ll look at later. Juvy takes him down with some headscissors to start but Kidman nips up and grabs a headlock. Juvy counters into one of his own before rolling Kidman up for two. The short powerbomb (Sky High) puts Guerrera down for two and he rolls out to the floor for a breather. A suplex back inside sets up a slingshot legdrop to give the champion a near fall.

We hit the chinlock on Juvy for a few moments before Guerrera pops up and grabs a hurricanrana out of the corner. A nice looking headscissors puts Kidman down again and Juvy rains down right hands in the corner. The crowd is WAY behind Juvy here. Kidman sends him to the apron but gets caught with a Stunner across the top rope. A high cross body gets two for Guerrera but Kidman dropkicks him out to the floor to get a breather.

Kidman follows him out with a plancha and we hit the chinlock back inside. Juvy fights up and rolls Kidman to the floor, setting up a dive off the top. Back in and Juvy hits a springboard legdrop but hurts his back, allowing Kidman to kick out at two. A sitout bulldog gets two more for the challenger but he tries a powerbomb like a dolt.

The faceplant gets two for Kidman and he counters another sitout bulldog into a wheelbarrow slam for two more. Juvy nails the Juvy Driver out of nowhere for two and takes him up top but Kidman hits an uncharacteristic low blow. A sitout spinebuster off the top gets a VERY close two but Juvy breaks up the Shooting Star. The 450 (mostly hitting knees) is enough for the pin and the title.

Rating: B+. This was AWESOME with both guys doing everything they could with Kidman even cheating a bit near the end. Juvy has been tearing the house down lately so there’s nothing wrong with him getting the title here. If nothing else it sets up Mysterio vs. Guerrera again on Sunday and that’s never a bad thing.

Kidman teases hitting him with the belt post match but just hands it to Juvy and raises his hand.

Opening sequence.

We look back at Judy Bagwell in the Tag Team Title match last week.

Wrath vs. Raven

Before the match Raven says that WCW isn’t his mother and can’t tell him what to do so he’s not wrestling tonight. Kanyon begs him to change his mind and offers to take his spot. He does the usual stuff with the crowd, only to be laid out by Wrath. The Meltdown destroys Kanyon, whose scheduled match is next.

Kanyon vs. Glacier

Glacier comes out to go after a downed Kanyon but Wrath doesn’t think that’s fair. There’s a Meltdown for Glacier as well and we go to a commercial. Back with both guys down and the referee counting until Kanyon covers Glacier for two. They’re selling the heck out of those Meltdowns.

They head outside with Glacier nailing a suplex but takes too long to follow up, allowing Kanyon to hit a Fameasser onto the steps. Somehow that only gets two so Kanyon goes up, only to jump into the Cryonic Kick for another two count. This time it’s Kanyon kicking Glacier down but coming off the top into a northern lights suplex. Not that it matters as Glacier walks into the Flatliner for the pin. It wasn’t long enough to rate but it was more about Wrath than either guy.

Nitro Party winner.

We look at the Hogan For President stuff from last week.

Hogan, Bischoff and company were on Imus in the Morning for a charity thing.

Sonny Onoo vs. El Gringo

Let’s get this over with. It’s fairly obvious that Gringo is Kaz Hayashi under a mask. Gringo blocks a Sonny kick and Onoo says this isn’t what they planned. Sonny gets shoved down as Gringo unmasks as Kaz Hayashi. Not that it matters as Ernest Miller comes out to kick Hayashi in the head, giving Onoo a pin with his foot on Kaz’s chest. Amazingly enough, NO ONE CARES ABOUT THIS STORY.

Nitro Girls.

Horace/Stevie Ray vs. Dean Malenko/Steve McMichael

Horace takes Dean into the corner to start and chokes for a bit before being dropped by a belly to back suplex. After a bit of leg work it’s off to Mongo who tries to fight both guys at once with the results going as badly as you would expect. Ray comes in but charges into an elbow followed by a kind of suplex from McMichael.

Dean gets the tag but can’t hook the Cloverleaf. The NWO beats Malenko down until a hot tag brings in Mongo and everything breaks down. Vincent breaks up the tombstone on Horace and gets destroyed by Arn as a result. Stevie nails McMichael with the slapjack but Arn pulls out the trusty tire iron and knocks out every NWO member in sight for the DQ.

Rating: D+. Malenko tried but he can’t carry three other guys on his own. Horace wasn’t even terrible but he’s just so uninteresting that there’s nothing to him. McMichael really should be better by this point and Stevie Ray was Stevie Ray. I can always go for some old AA bludgeoning though.

Doug Dillinger comes out to take the tire iron but Arn says no.

Back from a break with Arn being taken away by security and Mongo going to the hospital.

Gene brings out Ric Flair for a chat. It’s true that Arn is going to jail and Mongo is hurt but Flair doesn’t seem too shaken up by these developments. He rants about tradition for a bit before saying he wants Bischoff in the ring, so he can “chop him so hard he’ll be on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not as the man with four nipples.”

As for tonight, Flair has a surprise for us so here’s Barry Windham of all people. Barry and Flair hug before Barry talks about how right it is to have the Horsemen back in WCW. Bischoff comes out to say Barry doesn’t have a job here and Flair has no authority. Flair says that’s true, but Barry can tear up Bischoff’s girlfriend tonight.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Again if Rey loses he has to join the LWO but Eddie will leave him alone if Rey wins. Eddie has an unnamed enforcer with him who has been seen in recent LWO attacks. A headscissors and hurricanrana put Guerrero down and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker send him crawling to the referee. Back up and a nice armdrag takedown puts Eddie on the mat and we hit the armbar. They go to a test of strength but Mysterio climbs the ropes and moonsaults into a DDT in an AWESOME counter.

Rey tries something resembling a Whisper in the Wind but complete misses and comes up favoring his knee. Not that it matters as he’s able to backdrop Eddie to the floor and hit an Asai Moonsault. A dropkick to the back of the head drops Eddie again but the bodyguard trips Rey down. Guerrero nails a powerbomb but Juventud runs out to even things up. His springboard legdrop hits Rey by mistake though and Eddie adds the Frog Splash for the pin.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to reach their usual level but it’s still an entertaining match. Juvy adds a new wrinkle to the story and having Eddie get what he wants through these means is a smarter move than giving him a clean win. These two getting time in the ring together is never a bad thing.

The LWO puts a shirt on the unconscious Rey.

The announcers talk about Judy Bagwell for a bit before taking us to a video of her in the hospital. She can’t believe Buff would let this happen and makes it her mission to bring Marcus back where he belongs. Only in WCW people.

Scott Putski vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

They pose at each other to start until Putski takes over with a nice slam. He throws Chavo into the air and lets him crash down to the mat. Chavo comes back with some forearms in the corner but gets caught in a suplex. Now for something a bit more interesting as we go split screen to see Gene watching a Cadillac arrive. Bam Bam Bigelow of all people gets out and goes through security, screaming for Goldberg to come fight him. Gene tries to talk to him as we’re on a single screen now. Bigelow comes to the arena and destroys both guys with a powerbomb to Putski and a gorilla press to Guerrero.

Bigelow demands that Goldberg get out here right now but Eric Bischoff, JJ Dillion and an army of security come out instead. Bischoff and Dillon say get out of here but Bigelow doesn’t go. Instead here’s Goldberg and A LOT more security to try to keep them apart. Bischoff yells at JJ and wants to see him in the back.

After a break Eric yells at JJ and fires him. JJ says no way because he quits.

We look at the brawl again.

World War 3 ad.

Konnan vs. Saturn

This is due to Konnan coming out last week to save Saturn from an LWO attack. Saturn didn’t want the help and wants revenge. Konnan does his usual stuff but Saturn jumps him in what is becoming a tradition in WCW. Saturn fires off some kicks in the corner and hits a jumping clothesline. A rolling clothesline misses Saturn but he misses the superkick as well, allowing Konnan to nail a clothesline of his own. The LWO comes out as Konnan hits the seated dropkick and puts on a chickenwing.

We cut to the back and see Bischoff saying Bigelow will not be at World War 3. Goldberg comes up to Bischoff, grabs his face and demands Bigelow tonight. Back in the ring with Saturn nailing a superkick but walking into a spinebuster for two. The announcers have given up any pretense of talking about the match to hype Goldberg vs. Bigelow.

Splash Mountain (Razor’s Edge into a sitout powerbomb) gets two on Saturn but he comes back with a northern lights suplex. A double clothesline puts both guys down until La Parka gets up on the apron and holds Saturn. Konnan will have none of that and lays out La Parka instead. The LWO beats up Saturn as a result and that’s a DQ.

Rating: C+. I’m glad the backstage stuff only went on for a few moments as this was an entertaining match for the most part. It was always nice to see two different styles work together out there and the match worked fairly well. The LWO isn’t doing much for me but it’s nice to see them doing something.

Konnan goes to help Saturn but Saturn will have none of that. The LWO leaves them alone to fight.

Hour #3 begins.

Nitro Girls.

We look at Hall vs. Nash.

Here are Scott Steiner, Buff Bagwell and their own referee. By referee, I mean a guy with a whistle and hat running all over the place. Buff talks about how WCW won’t give them a referee right now so the NWO has their own. He has the referee demonstrate how to do a very over the top three count before Scott insults the women here in Kansas. He talks about the NWO being stronger than blood, which is why it’s ok for Scott to go attack Buff’s mother.

Scott says Buff can return the favor, so here’s an old “lady” called Mrs. Steiner. Buff beats her up and the referee counts the pin until Rick Steiner runs in to clear the ring. He rips the wig off to reveal a man and says that’s not his mother. Thanks for that Rick. Scott Norton sneaks up on Rick and lays him out so Buff and Scott can come back in to beat Rick down. The referee counts a pin with all three guys covering Rick.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.

Jericho is defending. Duncum is a tall guy who looks like a cowboy and is making his WCW debut. He’s wrestled for a few years elsewhere though. Jericho grabs something like a surfboard before letting it go for a senton backsplash. Heenan: “A senton?” Tenay: “Yes a senton.” Heenan: “Senton? SENTON? A senton? It’s a senton.” Jericho hits a nice belly to back (Heenan: “THE SUPER SENTON!”) but Duncum grabs the boot to block the Arrogant cover.

A hard clothesline puts Jericho on the floor and another one off the apron sends Chris into the barricade. Back in and Jericho nails a dropkick as Heenan says this match has been going for twenty minutes. I know Heenan can embellish time once in awhile but stretching a four minute match to twenty minute be a new record. Duncum grabs his bullrope and chases Jericho off for the countout.

Rating: C-. Duncum looked good and could move well for a bigger guy but much like Kaos, there’s not much interest there. The annoying thing is Jericho vs. Goldberg was built up for over a month now and it seems like Jericho getting speared last week is the end of their story. As Jericho has mentioned before, I see no reason why Jericho couldn’t get squashed on PPV or even Nitro.

Here comes the Secret Service and it’s time for Hogan. He comes out to Hail to the Chief and the announcers swear that Hogan is serious about this. Hogan is by himself here with the white feather boa around his neck. A huge American flag comes down in front of the entrance as red, white and blue balloons fall.

Hogan gets in the ring as confetti falls as well. He talks about what a great week this has been due to the fans embracing his vision for the country. Tonight he’s introducing his official intern and of course it’s a woman that looks like Monica Lewinsky complete with a blue dress and hat. She congratulates him and makes a cigar joke before giving her a long hug.

Hogan invites the NWO out here because the campaign trail is just as solid as the NWO. Eric comes out and looks ticked off but sucks up to Hogan a bit anyway. Hogan makes light of Eric being worried about Goldberg and the wrestlers’ safety due to Bigelow. Scott Hall comes out and says they’re NWO for life. He wants to know where Bischoff’s head is at though. Eric says that’s ironic coming from Hall and says they’ll take care of this later on. Hall decks Eric so Hogan goes after Hall until Nash makes the save. Scott leaves and Nash says he’ll see him in Detroit. There’s another match for the PPV.

Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit

Non-title. Benoit nails a hard elbow to start before firing off chops in the corner. A snap suplex gets two and Benoit stomps away in the corner. Bret comes back with a shot to the throat before stomping down on Benoit for good measure. The backbreaker and middle rope elbow are good for two and Bret catapults him throat first into the bottom rope.

Chris charges into a boot to the face but comes back with a great looking superplex. The Swan Dive connects for two and Benoit clotheslines him out to the floor. Bret grabs a chair but runs away for some reason, allowing Benoit to punch it into his face back in the ring. Hart hits him low and crushes Benoit’s arm with the chair for the DQ.

Rating: C. This was more about setting up the angle than the match itself and that’s fine. Heenan saying that Hart just didn’t care anymore is very accurate. It’s clear that there’s no fire in him anymore and he’s just out there because his contract says he has to be. Also did we really need another face to be taken out?

Post match Malenko makes the save but Bret sneaks up on him and hammers away. DDP makes the real save and taunts Bret with the US Title. He’ll keep getting back up and will defend the title against Hart at World War 3.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Goldberg

Bigelow jumps Goldberg in the aisle and they fight by the entrance way until security breaks it up to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a better show as it felt like there was an actual effort being put into things this week. As stupid as it sounds, I can actually go with the Hogan For President stuff. Yeah it’s totally stupid, but I’d much rather watch something over the top and goofy than something deadly serious and horrible. The rest of the show was fine and bringing in Bigelow to put over Goldberg isn’t the worst idea in the world. It’s still not a good show but it was a nice change of pace.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Clash of the Champions at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Thunder
Date: November 12, 1998
Location: Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall

It’s another taped edition which means I’m probably about to lose all will to live. The main story is still Bret attacking people and being a loose cannon, which is completely different from Scott Steiner attacking people and being a loose cannon. WCW is in desperate need of some top faces as Goldberg has been nowhere near the top story for months, Flair isn’t wrestling, and all the other faces are being injured by Hart. Let’s get to it.

The announcers run down the card as is their custom.

Glacier vs. Chris Adams

Before the match Glacier says he invented the Cryonic Kick, which I believe he told Saturn a few months back. At least he’s consistent. They lock up a few times with no one getting an advantage until Glacier grabs a wristlock to take over. Glacier takes him down and hammers away with right hands, already making him more interesting than most Ernest Miller matches.

Adams gets back up and nails some right hands of his own after a kick to the face. They head outside for a few seconds before getting back in so Adams can kick Glacier out of the air. A powerbomb sets up the superkick from Adams but here’s Sonny Onoo for the save. When I say save, I mean the referee takes forever to count because Sonny missed his cue. The distraction lets Ernest Miller come off the top with a kick to the head, allowing Glacier to drive his thumb into Adams’ neck for the submission.

Rating: D+. This was actually better than I was expecting. Glacier has gotten a lot easier to sit through by just adding in some moves beyond kicks. He’s still not entertaining or someone I care about now, but I’d rather watch this version of him than the one that got a big push a year or so ago.

We look at the big Hogan Presidential announcement from Nitro.

Kenny Kaos vs. Kendall Windham

Kaos is billed as part of High Voltage despite being half of the Tag Team Champions with Rick Steiner. Or wait are the two of them still champions after the Judy Bagwell thing on Monday? And Kaos is ok here but was too hurt to wrestle Monday? You can see the confusion already setting in for this company. Kaos grabs a hammerlock to start but Kendall goes into the ropes.

Windham slugs away but gets caught in a wristlock and it’s already time to talk about the battle royal in a few weeks. Kendall heads outside to sucker Kaos in and take over with shots to the back. He misses a middle rope knee drop though and Kenny takes over with a clothesline and powerslam. Kendall grabs a quick swinging neckbreaker but runs into an elbow to the jaw. After heading to the apron, Kaos comes back in with a springboard clothesline for the pin.

Rating: C-. As is always the case around this time, the question is the same: why Kenny Kaos? It’s nice to see someone new pushed, but at the same time there are better choices out there than Kaos. To this day it doesn’t make a ton of sense but Kaos didn’t do a horrible job in the role.

Video on Lex Luger.

Stevie Ray vs. Jerry Flynn

Norton, Vincent and Horace are at ringside. Stevie actually needs Vincent to offer a distraction so he can take over to start. He works over Jerry with as basic of a power offense as you can think of, though he still finds time to work in a SUCKA or two. Flynn gets pounded down and sent into the buckle where Norton gets in some choking from the floor. Flynn comes back with some kicks and choking in the corner but gets sent to the floor for a beating from the NWO. Back in and we hit the bearhug from Stevie before he kicks Jerry in the face and hits the Slap Jack for the pin.

Rating: D. This match is a good example of why the NWO stopped mattering. Norton, Vincent and Horace never meant much in WCW, but we have to sit through them being on screen and act like they matter because they’re wearing an NWO shirt. Look at all the people that could use this spot to get a rub, but instead these guys are out there and never getting anything out of it because the top guys in the NWO weren’t going to go anywhere.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera

Winner gets a shot against Kidman at the PPV. They shake hands to start followed by Guerrera grabbing a wristlock to take over. Rey drops to the mat and nips up into a spin move to escape. Mysterio’s wristlock is countered with a slam and Rey bails to the floor for a second. Back in and they trade headlocks before actually slugging it out. A slingshot suplex drops Mysterio but he pops up and takes Juvy into the corner to hammer away. Rey misses a charge into the corner and gets taken down by a headscissors as we go to a break.

Back with Rey hammering Juvy down for the Bronco Buster before slapping on a headlock. Juvy comes out with a nice atomic drop before putting on a surfboard for a bit. He can’t hold Rey up though so it’s off to an armbar instead. Rey fights up again and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker followed by a moonsault for two. Juvy gets back up and nails a quick powerbomb for two of his own but walks into a hurricanrana for the same.

Rey misses a charge into the corner and Juvy tries to go up top for the 450 but Mysterio grabs his feet for the save. Juvy kicks him away, only to miss a top rope legdrop and get caught in a figure four headscissors. That goes nowhere so Rey throws him to the floor. Juvy teases walking out but comes back in and nails a brainbuster as the time limit runs out. We’re going to keep going though because the title shot is on the line. Imagine that: wanting a winner to get a title shot.

We’re in overtime now with Juvy missing a charge into the corner. Rey slams him down but misses a top rope legdrop to give Guerrera a two count. Mysterio rolls to the floor and gets caught by a big old dive over the top. Back in and Juvy hits the Juvy Diver, only to have Rey break it up and nail the top rope hurricanrana for the pin and the title shot.

Rating: B-. This is another match that is really hard to screw up. Rey is the best high flier WCW had and Juvy is probably right behind him. Both guys looked good here despite the lack of high spots. It’s an encouraging sign when they can mix up what they do out there to make the match feel different.

Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Kidman is defending and it’s face vs. face here. They lock up a few times to start until Chavo grabs a headlock. That goes nowhere until Kidman sends him into the ropes and nails a dropkick. The champ grabs an armbar and Chavo can’t even slam his way out of it. Chavo eventually shakes Kidman off and scores with a clothesline and belly to back suplex for two. A powerslam gets the same but Chavo grabs Pepe until we take a break.

Back with Chavo still in control but he stops to talk to Pepe. Kidman can’t capitalize though and has to kick out of a German suplex at two. We hit a camel clutch on the champion before Chavo shifts over to an Indian deathlock with a crossface. The crowd audibly gasps on that one and I can’t blame them. That move always looks awesome.

They get back up and Chavo avoids a dropkick before getting two off an elbow drop. Time for more Pepe, but this time Kidman is able to get up for a high cross body and a two count. Guerrero comes back with a pair of rollups for two each but has his suplex countered into a powerbomb. Back up again and Chavo wins a battle of the forearms before walking the corner for a bulldog. He makes the eternal mistake of trying a powerbomb and gets slammed face first down into the mat. Kidman loads up the Shooting Star but here’s the LWO for the DQ.

Rating: C+. Another good cruiserweight match which got the time to go somewhere. Chavo’s character is starting to come into form by being a very talented guy who keeps getting distracted by the horse. It’s a better gimmick than being completely insane and is a logical evolution for the character as he’s done with Eddie now and has no reason to play as many mind games.

World War 3 ad.

Dean Malenko vs. Kanyon

Malenko doesn’t care to hear Kanyon’s catchphrase so he easily takes Kanyon down and slaps on an armbar. Back up and it’s off to a headlock from Dean before he runs Kanyon down with a shoulder. Kanyon tries to get in a cheap shot off a lockup and Dean is all ticked off now. Dean gets warned by the referee and Kanyon gets in a few cheap shots to take over. He hammers away on Malenko and chokes away before hitting the middle rope Fameasser.

A sleeper is countered by a belly to back from Malenko but he gets rammed into the buckle. Kanyon grabs a suplex of his own and gets two off a slingshot elbow drop. Dean gets taken down with a swinging neckbreaker but is still able to avoid a top rope splash. Kanyon is able to get his boot up in the corner and throws Malenko outside but Raven doesn’t do anything. Raven walks to the back to distract Kanyon, allowing Malenko to break out of the Flatliner. Dean takes him down and loads up the Cloverleaf but Lodi runs in for the DQ.

Rating: C. This wasn’t as good as I was expecting but it wasn’t a bad match. Kanyon was using most of his usual stuff here but he was so different than most of what anyone else was doing so it still looked unique. Malenko didn’t look on his game here but he’s still perfectly fine while being off a step.

Konnan vs. Giant

Much like Dean, Giant doesn’t want to hear what his opponent has to say so he shoves Konnan to the side. Konnan bails to the floor but it doesn’t do him much good as Giant hammers him down again. Giant misses an elbow in the corner but falls on Konnan in a slam attempt. A Russian legsweep drops Konnan and Giant chucks him to the floor. Giant follows Konnan outside and just mauls him like Konnan isn’t even there. A table is set up against the steps (drawing an ECW chant) but Konnan moves to send Giant through it instead. Konnan grabs a chair and blasts Giant, drawing the lame DQ.

Rating: D+. There’s something about Giant throwing large men around that entertains me. Of course it could be that most of Konnan’s talking makes me cring and I enjoy seeing him get beaten up. This was your usual “we’ve got no time left but this show needs some star power so here you go” main event.

Giant shrugs it off and chokeslams the referee for yelling about the table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The C is for cruiserweights here as they carried this show on their backs. I got tired of the disqualifications but at least we got some long entertaining matches leading up to them instead of the garbage we usually get before the DQ. There wasn’t much storyline development, which is going to become a problem as the PPV is in ten days.

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This is one of those things that only makes sense in wrestling’s warped twisted logic.

It’s 1994 at Clash of the Champions XXX.  The main event is Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage vs. Kevin Sullivan/The Butcher, which is yet another in the far too long list of gimmicks in the career of Brutus Beefcake.  Butcher used a sleeper hold as a finisher and knocked Hogan out.  Savage shook Hogan but couldn’t wake him up, so he came up with one of the cleverest ideas I’ve ever seen.

Unfortunately I can’t get the videos to embed so here are links to the match.  Start the first video at 8:00 in if you just want to skip ahead.

Part 1

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/xqfnv_doodoobrown58_wcw-clash-of-champions-xxx/1#video=x75zt4

Part 2

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/xqfnv_doodoobrown58_wcw-clash-of-champions-xxx/1#video=x75zym

And of course the review.

Kevin Sullivan/Butcher vs. Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage

Vader gets in Hogan’s face during the entrances and Flair is back in his seat. Hogan throws Butcher into the corner to start and a running clothesline puts him on the mat. Savage comes in off the top with an ax handle to Butcher’s head before bringing Sullivan in for a beating as well. Back to Hogan as we look over Vader’s shoulder. Hulk runs over Butcher but gets caught in the sleeper. Savage tries to make the save twice in a row but Hogan is out cold.

Butcher lets go so Savage tries to wake Hogan up to no avail. With nothing else to do, Savage goes to the top and drops his signature elbow drop, causing Hogan to Hulk Up as he does every time he gets hit with a finishing move. It makes sense in that twisted wrestling logic. Hogan fights back as everything breaks down with Savage being thrown over the top rope and out to the floor. Sullivan sends Randy into the post and then the barricade as the villains take over.

Savage takes a beating from both guys and is thrown to the floor again. He gets up quickly but can barely stay on his feet. Back in and Savage is tied up in the Tree of Woe (hanging upside down in the corner), drawing in Hogan for a failed save attempt. Butcher puts Savage in the sleeper but Randy breaks out with a jawbreaker. Hogan gets the hot tag and cleans house before Savage drops the elbow on Butcher. The legdrop is enough to get the pin.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much to this one. The match felt like any other Hogan vs. monsters match but the monsters were Kevin Sullivan and the Butcher. At the end of the day, Hogan vs. someone smaller than him very rarely works and these two just weren’t going to cut it. The Reviving Elbow was a stroke of brilliance though.

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Thunder
Date: November 5, 1998
Location: Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall

World War 3 is a few corners away and things aren’t all that interesting at the moment. Monday wasn’t the best show in the world but it was nice to have a breather from the Hogan vs. Warrior nonsense. Bret vs. Luger seems to be building up soon but we still have to deal with all the people Bret has injured recently. Let’s get to it.

Tony and the gang welcome us to the show before congratulating Jesse Ventura for being elected Governor of Minnesota. This of course transitions to Hogan wanting to be President and officially announcing his candidacy on upcoming Nitro.

Kanyon vs. Barry Horowitz

The usual Who Better schtick gets the usual reaction so Kanyon takes out his frustration on Barry with some shots to the head and a choke. Barry’s sunset flip is countered by a right hand to the head but he avoids an elbow drop. We hit the chinlock on Kanyon for a few moments before he fights up and runs Horowitz over with a shoulder.

Barry comes back and rams him into the corner, only to be thrown into the air for a crash down onto the mat. A Rocker Dropper gets three straight two counts but Barry gets a near fall of his own while Kanyon yells at the referee. Horowitz scores with a powerbomb and some clotheslines for two, only to miss a third and get Flatlined for the pin.

Rating: C-. Shockingly decent squash here with Barry putting up a better fight than you usually see in a match like this. Kanyon was a bit lower than his usual standard here but the match was still entertaining anyway. At least the focus wasn’t on Raven being depressed the entire time as usual.

Back from a break with Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell coming to the ring. Scott says the two of them have gone from the penthouse in LA to the outhouse here in Roanoke. The women here are stuck next to their redneck boyfriends and Steiner is the way out, but the crowd doesn’t seem interested in him being their hookup. JJ can fine them all he wants but there’s no stopping Scott Steiner. The Red and Black is nothing but a bunch of copycats and Scott will take all of them out on his own, starting with Lex Luger tonight. There’s your main event.

Wolfpack shirt ad.

Savage/Sting video ads.

Alex Wright vs. Raven

Raven sits in the corner to start so Alex yells at him in German before calling Raven an uneducated American. Alex talks about how great and clean shaven he is for over a minute until Raven hits him low to start. Wright bails outside so Raven sits in the corner again. That’s the opening Wright needs and he stomps away before stopping to dance. Raven fires back with right hands but Wright nails him with a jumping kick to the face. Wright misses a charge into the ropes to put both guys down.

Lodi comes out but Disco Inferno, in bright green, runs out and nails him in the face. Kanyon appears as well to punch Disco but gets suplexed by Wright. Raven heads outside for the brawl but gets rammed into the barricade and apron (Marshall, as Raven’s hands are on the ring apron: “We’re back to two people but they’re nowhere near the ring!”). Back in and Raven goes up top, shoves Wright down…and walks away for the countout.

Rating: D+. This was much more story development than wrestling. Normally that’s fine but this story is getting overly complicated in a hurry. To be fair that’s what happened with Raven and Saturn earlier this year and things worked out pretty well. This was barely a match but a fired up Raven was interesting.

Tony brings out Jericho for another chat. Jericho names his personal security guard as Ralphus and says he’s the most dangerous man alive. Tony has accused him of disrespecting Greenberg, but he’s just a better champion than Goldberg. He’s the TV Champion and a lot of people watch TV, making him the better champion. Jericho claims a 4-0 record against Goldberg and challenges Goldberg to break that streak. Again, this is as easy of a payoff as you can ask for.

Fit Finlay vs. Booker T

They circle each other for a good while before Booker takes over with a headlock. He takes Finlay down with a shoulder block but gets taken down into a reverse chinlock. Some European uppercuts from the European give him control and he hammers on Booker’s chest for a bit. Off to a chinlock until Booker fights up and hits the forearm and kick to the face for two. A spinwheel kick followed by a belly to back suplex set up the Harlem Sidekick but Finlay breaks up the missile dropkick. Fit sends him into the corner but gets caught in a spinning sunset flip for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: D+. Not much here but it keeps Booker back on the screen after his return on Monday. A win over Finlay doesn’t mean all that much but it’s better than beating a jobber. Booker is in a weird place here as he’s too big for the TV Title again but the US Title is firmly in NWO/main event land and there’s no way he’s getting there anytime soon.

The announcers preview the rest of the show and introduce Konnan’s music video.

The Cat comes out for an open challenge and is answered but Kaz Hayashi but Glacier returns to answer it instead. Actually scratch that as Glacier says he’s here because he has Miller’s back. No one in WCW is going to take them seriously because they’re karate guys, but he takes Miller seriously. Oh joy indeed.

Horace vs. Norman Smiley

Smiley doesn’t even get an entrance. Horace pounds on him in the corner to start before nailing a hard shoulder and elbow drop. Another shoulder puts Norman on the floor so Vincent can get in a few shots. Back in and a belly to back suplex sets up a brainbuster to squash Norman.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Before the match Eddie offers Rey a spot in the LWO for a third time but Mysterio still isn’t interested. However Rey is forced to join if he loses tonight for no specified reason. Heenan brings up a good question: what good is it to have a man in your organization if they don’t want to be there? Rey speeds things up to starta nd hits a nice headscissors followed by an armdrag. Eddie backdrops him to the apron but gets sent into the corner by another headscissors.

Mysterio rams him into three buckles but gets caught in an atomic drop, allowing Eddie to dropkick the knee out. He puts on a leg lock as we take a break. Back with the hold still on as it looks like nothing has changed at all. Eddie ties Mysterio in the Tree of Woe but misses a charge to crotch himself against the post Curt Hennig style.

Rey pulls himself to the top and hits a seated senton off the top to the floor. He comes up limping even more but is still able to hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Rey heads to the top again for a top rope hurricanrana, only to injure the knee again. Guerrero takes Rey’s knee brace off and puts on a leg hold as the LWO walks to the ring. Not that it matters though as the time limit expires at about seven minutes.

Rating: C+. It’s not quite Halloween Havoc 1997 but it’s still Guerrero vs. Mysterio. These two had a natural chemistry together and the matches were almost always a success. This worked quite well with Rey trying to fly but the knee just not holding up well enough. Eddie having a hold on before the time limit ran out was a nice touch as well.

The LWO wants to attack Rey but Eddie holds them back.

Ad for World War 3.

TV Title: Prince Iaukea vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending of course. The announcers ignore Iaukea taking over with a clothesline to talk about the Hogan For President stuff, which to be fair is more interesting for a change. They trade quick takedowns until Iaukea nails a palm strike to the chest. The referee isn’t cool with that for some reason and the argument allows Jericho to take over with a hot shot. A suplex sets up the Arrogant two count and we hit the chinlock.

Jericho nails a seated dropkick but charges into a foot in the corner. The announcers actually acknowledge the match for a bit before talking about anything else. A superkick drops Jericho again but Iaukea misses a dropkick. Jericho loads up the Lionsault but hits knees and gives the Prince two. Back up and Iaukea nails a Samoan drop and a slingshot hilo, only to have a victory roll countered into the Liontamer to retain the title.

Rating: C. Better match than I was expecting here with both guys looking good for the most part. Iaukea certainly wasn’t bad in the ring most of the time but he just wasn’t interesting at all. Even when Jericho was going after him with the Prince Makamakey stuff it only worked to a degree. Nice match here though.

Scott Hall vs. Disco Inferno

For once in his life, Disco shows some intelligence by running from the five NWO members around the ring. Giant stops him from running though and Disco panicking is rather amusing. The big man sends Disco back into the ring and Hall just destroys him with his signature stuff. He hooks the abdominal stretch and messes with Disco’s hair, which is actually enough to fire Disco up. Inferno comes back with a running neckbreaker but Norton trips him up, setting up the Outsider’s Edge for the pin.

Tony brings out the Horsemen for a chat to really wake the crowd up. No Mongo in sight however. Anderson sums up the NWO in a nutshell: it just took six of them to beat the Disco Inferno. He lists off some of the NWO members and all of their talents, but it makes him wonder why Bischoff is being silent. Let’s stop the waiting and have the NWO vs. the Horsemen in the fight everyone wants to see.

Dean says he hasn’t been in Roanoke in twenty years but he remembers watching his father wrestle in this building. Right now the Horsemen need to make Chris Benoit healthy again so he can get back in the ring. Benoit says Roanoke is a great Horsemen town and tells Bischoff to quit prolonging reality. He needs to wake up from the dream world of this, meaning the NWO hand signal, when it’s about to wake up to the reality of the four fingers (it looked far cooler when you can see the hand signals).

Flair goes on a rant about Jesse Ventura becoming Governor and how Jesse is all about respect. If Flair has to waltz around the ring with Aretha Franklin, she’ll sing Respect to Bischoff. Flair tells Bischoff to look at his girlfriend and makes some suggestions involving pelvic thrusts. It’s another awesome Horsemen promo, but it needs to lead to something soon.

Scott Steiner vs. Lex Luger

It’s after 10pm so this isn’t going to last long. Before the match, Scott gets in Nick Patrick’s face and yells at Nick for what he did at Halloween Havoc. Patrick says he was just doing his job and gets beaten up for his efforts. Scott wraps Nick’s leg around the post but Luger runs out for the save. They brawl for a bit as the medical staff comes out with a stretcher. Scott sees what’s going on and heads outside to beat on Patrick even more.

Luger gets sent into the barricade and Buff chokes Luger with his own shirt. Steiner stays on Lex with various choking techniques but Lex finally makes a comeback. He hits his usual stuff before Racking Steiner, drawing out Mickey Jay as a replacement referee. Not that it matters as Buff breaks things up, allowing Scott to beat up Mickey as well. Rick Steiner runs out for the save to end this mess as well as the show. It wasn’t really a match if that wasn’t clear.

Overall Rating: C. I’ve seen worse episodes but this didn’t do much for me. We’ll go with right in the middle as this was such a middle of the road show. There were good and bad matches, but nothing was really advanced. Much like most episodes of Thunder, there’s no need to watch this at all.

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Monday Nitro #161
Date: November 2, 1998
Location: National Car Rental Center, Sunrise, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko

Things actually aren’t that bad for WCW right now as we’re heading into World War 3 and then Starrcade. The main stories at the moment are of course more Warrior vs. Hogan and Bret vs. Page for the US Title. The execution of the stories last week wasn’t horrible and the episode was much easier to sit through than usual. Let’s get to it.

We open with a World War 3 ad, which I believe is the first mention of the show.

Alex Wright vs. Norman Smiley

Norman gets caught in a wristlock and something resembling a northern lights suplex for no cover. Smiley pops back up and gets one off a cross body followed by a wind-up slam. Back up and Wright hits a nice running forearm but stops to dance instead of following up. We get a Tree of Woe from Alex so he can stomp at Norman’s chest before missing a charge into another corner. The announcers talk about World War 3 as Norman hits a nice delayed butterfly suplex. A legdrop gets two on Wright and Norman goes up, only to get superplexed down. Wright adds a neckbreaker for the pin.

Rating: D+. It’s the same story we’ve seen multiple times now and it’s still going nowhere. At the end of the day there are only about five European wrestlers on the WCW roster at this point so beating them over and over again doesn’t really do much for Wright. Not a terrible match but it doesn’t mean anything.

Opening sequence.

The Nitro Girls dance with WCW Revenge boxes. That game rocked.

Disco Inferno vs. Kaz Hayashi

Kaz doesn’t care for dancing and hammers away to start, only to have his head taken off by a hard clothesline. Disco misses a charge in the corner and gets taken outside by a nice headscissors followed by a great looking dive. Back in and Kaz gets two off a high cross body, only to walk into a suplex for two.

The dancing elbow gets the same but a second attempt misses, allowing Kaz to nail a dropkick followed by a moonsault for two. Sonny Onoo comes down the aisle. Disco goes up top, only to get caught in a nice superplex. Onoo distracts Kaz and gets chased, only to have Disco catch him coming back in with the piledriver for the pin.

Rating: C-. Far better match than I was expecting here though I’m not sure why we’re supposed to care about Sonny Onoo. He’s left Hayashi and is hanging out with Ernest Miller at the moment, which doesn’t exactly have me on the edge of my seat. Hayashi’s big dives looked good here though.

Gene brings out the returning Booker T to a nice ovation. Booker is glad to be back but needs to talk about Stevie Ray joining the NWO. He loves his brother and respects his decision, but it’s Stevie’s decision alone and Booker won’t be joining. Booker calls out Scott Hall for a match tonight, saying it was Hall that put him out of action a few months ago. Actual continuity. I’m stunned.

Scott Putski vs. Fit Finlay

Basic stuff to start with Putski taking Finlay down with a hiptoss. Finlay avoids an elbow and they head outside with the Irishman dropping Scott with a clothesline. A knee drop keeps him in trouble and they head back inside. Putski scores with some right hands and a powerslam but he misses the Polish Hammer (double ax handle to the chest). Finlay nails the rolling fireman’s carry and the tombstone is good for the pin on Putski.

Raven whines about his losing streak when Kanyon comes in. He asks if Raven is going to jump off a building but Raven sends him away.

We get clips of Jericho beating “Goldberg” over the last few weeks.

Ernest Miller, now with Sonny Onoo, comes out to make an open challenge to anyone in the back.

Ernest Miller vs. Scott Armstrong

Armstrong jumps the Cat two seconds into Miller’s five count and nails him with a dropkick. Not that it matters as Miller whips him into the corner and hits the Feliner for the pin at maybe 35 seconds.

Post match Miller chokes even more until Steve Armstrong comes out for the save, only to get kicked down as well.

Wrath vs. Kendall Windham

I don’t picture this lasting long. Wrath takes him into the corner and hammers away before no selling an elbow to the jaw. A side suplex drops Kendall and Wrath no sells a neckbreaker. Wrath drills Kendall with a shoulder block and the Meltdown is good for the pin.

Video on Bret injuring DDP and Sting recently.

Here’s a limping Bret for a chat with Gene. He’s had fun hurting people lately but he’s suffered a pulled groin and won’t be able to fight Luger tonight. Gene claims to have seen Bret moving around just fine in the back but Bret cuts him off and calls this a blessing for Luger. Lex himself comes out to the ring and calls Bret a liar before clotheslining him out of the ring. Gene gets taken out as well before Luger pulls Bret back in the ring for a Rack.

Tony complains about having to see Flair humiliated last week. However, Eric is making him show clips of Bash at the Beach 1994 with Hogan beating Flair in a title vs. career match.

Here are the Horsemen in the ring. Arn is tired of hearing Bischoff’s garbage and the NWO vs. Horsemen has to happen soon. Bischoff wouldn’t understand any of this because wrestling is a man’s game. Anderson wants to fight right now but first Ric has something to say. Bischoff can play all the tapes he wants but Flair will get every bit of the respect when he walks down that aisle. Malenko is in the back getting ready for a match so Benoit and Mongo get in their own jabs at Bischoff as well.

Hour #2 begins.

Nitro Girls video.

Nitro Girls.

Nitro Party winner.

Scott Norton vs. Van Hammer

Norton chops him into the corner and nails a splash before sending Van Hammer to the floor with a splash. Back in and Van Hammer grabs a quick Cobra Clutch slam, only to walk into a Samoan drop and a powerbomb to give Norton the pin.

We get a clip of JJ Dillon getting beaten up last week.

Bret Hart gets his ribs taped up.

Back in the arena with Saturn calling out Eddie Guerrero so he can prove he can beat Eddie after last week.

Saturn vs. Eddie Guerrero

Guerrero comes out but gets stomped down into the corner. Saturn hits a face first wheelbarrow slam as we have a referee in now. A quick brainbuster drops Saturn but he’s able to run up the ropes and suplex Guerrero down for two. Saturn nails a top rope legdrop and a falcon’s arrow but the LWO runs in for a fast DQ.

Konnan comes in to break up the fight but pulls Saturn back as well. He says Eddie is just like Raven with the Flock and not worth it. Eddie says he’s Raza and calls out Konnan for hanging out with the Anglo Wolfpack.

Scott Steiner vs. Kenny Kaos

No match as JJ comes out and says not so fast. Scott freaks out and shoves him, sending JJ running to the back.

JJ comes back out and says he has something to say…..and we immediately go to a break. What the heck was that?

We come back with a video on the Nitro Girls.

Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

The announcers talk about having to control Scott Steiner and make no mention of what JJ was going to say. They circle each other to start until Rey takes him down with a wristlock. Psychosis comes back with a wrist drag until they slug it out. Rey cartwheels onto Psychosis’ shoulders and sends him outside with a hurricanrana. Back in and Rey hammers on the horned masked man in the corner but gets countered into a sitout powerbomb to change control.

Rey is sent outside and a BIG slingshot legdrop crushes him even more. Back in and we hit the chinlock from Psychosis for a bit before he throws Mysterio in the air for a big crash. Rey avoids a charge in the corner and comes back with a springboard seated senton for two. Psychosis nails a sitout front suplex for two of his own followed by a top rope Frankensteiner for the same.

After avoiding a dropkick, Rey ties Psychosis’ legs into the ropes and bounces off the top rope into a moonsault onto the elevated Psychosis. Cool looking move. Psychosis tries to throw him into the air again but gets pulled down into an X Factor. The LWO is in the aisle for a distraction, allowing Psychosis to counter a middle rope Frankensteiner into a powerbomb for the surprise pin.

Rating: C+. This was your usual take two cruiserweights and let them fly around for a few minutes. Both guys were on their game out there and the match worked very well. It’s also nice to see the LWO get a pin over a big name instead of just running in for a DQ like they’ve been doing for the last few weeks.

Jericho comes out to rant about Goldberg a bit. He respects the champion and has a very successful football career of his own. Gene: “You do?” Jericho: “Details later.” Jericho makes fun of Goldberg’s football career and wishes him the best in the future. Funny as always.

Hour #3 begins.

Raven vs. Dean Malenko

The announcers talk about Raven’s losing streak as he allows Dean to hit him in the face. You don’t have to ask a Horsemen twice so Malenko hammers him down into the corner. A low blow slows Dean down but he drives Raven through the ropes to counter the Even Flow. Lodi comes out to ringside but Mongo runs out to beat him with a belt and chase him off. Back in and Raven hits the drop toehold into the chair for a delayed two.

Raven loads up the chair in the corner but Dean sends him into the corner instead. Dean recovers but Raven doesn’t seem interested in getting up. Some suplexes put Raven down and a spinebuster breaks up another Even Flow attempt. Kanyon comes out but Dean whips Raven into him for two. Benoit comes out to chop Kanyon but the “injured” Bret Hart comes out to beat up Benoit, allowing Kanyon to run in for the DQ……in a Raven’s Rules match where a low blow and chair were legal just a few minutes earlier.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t bad and Raven has some interesting stuff going on with the depression over losing the Flock. Bret running in didn’t help much but heels lying in WCW is what you expect anymore. I’ll give WCW credit for one thing though: they managed to have four people run in during a six minute match.

Bret put Benoit in a hammerlock until Luger comes out for the save. Hart immediately claims injured ribs but the Giant comes out to save Bret. Giant says he’ll fight Luger tonight.

TV Title: Billy Kidman vs. Chris Jericho

Only Jericho’s title is on the line here so I’ll only refer to Jericho as the champion. Jericho takes him into the corner to start and waves to the crowd before the trade wristlocks. That goes nowhere so Kidman dropkicks him out to the apron before cranking on the arm again. Jericho whips him out to the floor and Kidman lands hard on his back. A suplex gets an Arrogant two but Jericho is whipped hard into the corner and a clothesline puts him down.

The champion doesn’t seem to mind as he throws Kidman into the air and slams him face first onto the mat in a big crash. Jericho bends Kidman’s back across his knee before nailing a running dropkick in the corner. Chris goes up but dives onto Kidman’s feet to give Billy control. A lifting powerbomb gets two on Jericho but Chris counters a victory roll into a Liontamer attempt.

That doesn’t work so Jericho catapults Kidman face first into the buckle. Jericho’s powerbomb is countered into a facebuster but the Shooting Star mostly hits mat. Kidman comes right back with a rollup for two before just pounding on Jericho’s back. Chris bails to the floor but gets caught with a plancha to put both guys down. Back in and Kidman hits a high cross body as the time limit runs out at about eight and a half minutes.

Rating: B-. Another good match here as you would expect from these two. Kidman is just awesome right now and Jericho is Jericho. I’m not sure why only the TV Title was on the line here but it let Kidman throw everything he had at Jericho because he had nothing to lose. Fun stuff here but it’s probably just a one off match.

Here are JJ Dillon and Kaos with something to say. JJ has fined Buff $50,000 and Scott $100,000, which brings out an angry Scott. So how can you tell if it affected him or not? Scott goes on a rant about how no one can stop him and demands Kaos get out here right now. Kaos comes down and Buff barely bothers with the sincerity nonsense before the NWO lays him out. More WCW people looking stupid here.

Scott Hall vs. Booker T.

This is Booker’s return after being out with a knee injury. Hall does the survey and attacks Booker as he gets into the ring. Booker shrugs it off and hits a quick forearm followed by a hot shot. A side kick sends Hall to the floor but his eyes are clear this week. Back in and Booker scores with a clothesline followed by a back elbow to the jaw. Booker hits his hook kick out of a wristlock but walks into a fall away slam.

They head outside with Hall in control. He rams Booker back first into the apron and they’re quickly back inside. Booker’s right hands stagger Hall for a bit but he misses a dropkick to put Scott right back in control. A sleeper goes nowhere so Hall clotheslines Booker down, only to duck his head and get caught by an ax kick. Back up and the side kick nails Hall again but he pulls the referee in the way of the missile dropkick. The Outsider’s Edge is countered but another referee runs in to call for the DQ, giving Booker the win.

Rating: C-. Not a horrible match and it’s nice to see Booker win, even if it’s not by pin. The fact that he came back and got a match with a big star like Hall instead of dropping down the card is a really good sign for his future. The match wasn’t great or anything but it gives me hope for the future.

Giant vs. Lex Luger

As mentioned, Giant is substituting for an “injured” Bret Hart. We open with a posedown before Giant takes him into the corner. Luger avoids a chop and hammers away but Giant shoves him down and drops a huge elbow. A Russian legsweep drops Luger, prompting Tony to talk about what wrestlers think of Russian legsweeps. Is that something wrestlers regularly talk about in the back?

Giant stands on Luger’s throat as the fans chant for Goldberg. Luger’s throat is snapped across the top rope as the match is in slow motion. Giant shoves him around but Luger starts getting fired up. The clotheslines stagger Giant and Luger slams him down. There’s the forearm but Bret runs in with a piece of barricade for the DQ.

Rating: D. I didn’t get into this one as it felt like they were just filling in time. Based on everything we’ve seen tonight it was obvious that Bret would be running in and it didn’t make for a good match to sit there waiting on the interference. Luger didn’t get to show off his power either which is the best thing about his matches.

Post match Bret puts Luger in the Sharpshooter but Goldberg comes out. He spears Giant and loads up one on Bret but hits Luger instead to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. There are some good matches on here but the show felt like a filler episode. That’s likely going to be the case for the next few weeks as a battle royal can only have so many stories during the buildup to the show. Hogan and Warrior being gone was a nice break though and one that has been needed for a long time.

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Thunder
Date: October 29, 1998
Location: Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay

Halloween Havoc is over and the main story coming out of Monday is Bret Hart losing the US Title to Diamond Dallas Page. Unfortunately this is one of those taped Thunders so we’re not going to get much of anything as far as high level storyline development. God bless the midcard I guess. Let’s get to it.

The announcers talk about how great Nitro was and tell us of two title matches tonight.

Wrath vs. Van Hammer

It’s strange to see Wrath in there with someone his own size. Wrath shoves him into the corner and hammers away with various strikes. Hammer blocks a whip into the corner by putting his boot up to stop himself. An elbow to the jaw drops Hammer and they head to the floor with Wrath sending him into the barricade. Back in and Wrath hits a top rope forearm but Hammer comes back with chops and punches in the corner. A powerslam gets two on Wrath but he Hulks Up and hits the Meltdown for the pin.

Rating: D. I guess Van Hammer is an upgrade for his size but Wrath is still just squashing jobbers. Why he got one shot at Jericho and never did anything else with him is beyond me but the Meltdown looked good. Wrath is getting stronger and stronger reactions from the crowd so points for WCW for making something work.

Clips of Alex Wright vs. Finlay.

Finlay vs. Alex Wright

Because the world was waiting on the third match in this series. Wright hides in the ropes until Finlay goes over and gives him a clean break. Finlay cranks on the arm but Alex comes back with some uppercuts and a slingshot belly to back suplex. Some dancing allows Finlay to take over with his own European uppercuts before working on the legs as this is already dragging. The announcers pick things up a bit by talking about Finlay breaking Alex’s father’s leg back in the day.

Alex tries to run but Finlay easily catches him and wraps the leg around the post. Back up and Wright falls down so we hit the leg lock again. A knee drop and kick to the leg in the corner have Wright in trouble but he cartwheels away from a whip. Why don’t more people use that instead of getting whipped across the ring? Alex bails outside but snaps Finlay across the top rope and scores with a missile dropkick. Since this match hasn’t gone on long enough, Finlay is knocked into the referee….but he grabs Wright for a tombstone and Nick Patrick counts the pin.

Rating: C-. The leg work was good as the announcers pushed the idea that Finlay was trying to do the same thing to Alex that he did to the father. Unfortunately at the end of the day this is the third match these two have had in two and a half weeks and any interest in that story is long gone.

We look at JJ getting beaten up on Nitro.

Tuff Tom vs. Disciple

Oh yeah they’re not even trying tonight. Disciple throws him to the floor to start but has to deal with Mean Mark. Shame it’s not Mean Mark Callous to make this the slightest bit interesting. Back in and Tom hits a neckbreaker on Disciple for no effect. After a slam it’s the world’s slowest Stunner to pin Tom.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko

Feeling out process to start despite these two knowing each other so well. Eddie grabs the arm before switching to the leg and taking Dean to the mat. We get the always cool lightning fast technical exchange with both guys getting near falls and trading quickly broken holds. That leads us to a stalemate and we take a break.

Back with Eddie escaping a monkey flip but getting slammed down and chinlocked. Guerrero fights up and scores with a headscissors and dropkick to the side of the head. Dean pops back up and suplexes Eddie down and right into the chinlock again. Guerrero fights up just as easily as he did the first time and hits a belly to back suplex of his own. The control doesn’t last long again as Dean just throws Eddie into the air for a big crash down to the mat. A Cloverleaf attempt sends Guerrero running outside and the match takes a breather.

Dean hammers on Eddie in the corner but gets sent into the corner to change control again. A brainbuster puts Dean down but Eddie spends too much time yelling at the crowd and gets superplexed down to put both guys on the mat. Eddie is up first and sends Malenko to the floor. They trade whips into the barricade before heading back inside for a quick surfboard from Eddie. That goes nowhere so we hit the quick rollups again. Dean hammers away in the corner but here’s the LWO for the DQ.

Rating: B. This was getting awesome at the end but the stupid ending hurts it. At least we got a solid match with some length here, even though we had to miss three and a half minutes of it for the commercial. Van Hammer, Finlay and Disciple get full matches, but these two get their cut. Naturally.

The Horsemen come out for the save.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Disco Inferno

Disco is challenging and grabs the mic before the match. He reminds Jericho that he’s a former two time TV Champion and Jericho needs to respect that. Therefore, Jericho should just wrap the title around Disco’s waist right now and be done with this. Jericho pulls the belt back to hit Disco in the face but winds up putting it around his waist instead. He raises Inferno’s hand and then clotheslines him down to get things going.

The referee takes the belt away from Jericho and Disco grabs a neckbreaker and rollup for two each. Jericho comes back with a hot shot and suplex for an Arrogant two. We hit the chinlock on Disco as the announcers talk about Chavo Guerrero challenging Kidman tonight. Disco gets up a boot in the corner but Jericho does the exact same thing a few moments later. The champion goes up but dives into a boot, giving Disco one more chance. A middle rope clothesline gets two on Jericho but he counters the piledriver into the Liontamer to retain.

Rating: C. Both guys looked decent out there and they were able to get the crowd going with their various antics. Disco still isn’t much to see but he was amusing enough. Jericho is still acting a bit more like a face out there and he’s still working as well as you would expect him to.

Cruiserweight Title: Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Chavo is challenging. After Chavo spends a good deal of time talking with Pepe, he asks the referee to check Kidman for foreign objects. Chavo gets checked as well and doesn’t seem to mind before we’re ready to go. Feeling out process to start until Chavo dropkicks Kidman out to the floor and celebrates with the horse. Back in and Kidman takes over with a headscissors and stomps away in the corner. Things are picking up so the announcers start talking about Horace turning on Warrior.

A running clothesline out of the corner gets two for the champion and a springboard legdrop gets the same. We hit the headlock on the challenger for a few moments but Kidman charges into a boot in the corner. Chavo nails a good looking spinwheel kick and gets two off a German suplex, only get caught in the lifting powerbomb. Back up and Chavo dropkicks Kidman into the ropes before hitting a middle rope bulldog for two. They trade forearms to the jaw and Guerrero goes up for a sunset flip but Kidman escapes into a rollup for the pin to retain.

Rating: C+. Another nice match here with both guys looking crisp out there. Chavo was good at balancing the insanity with the in ring work to make for an entertaining match. He would be even better once he dropped the horse nonsense but it wasn’t bad for the most part. Kidman was great as always.

Post match the LWO runs in and destroys Chavo until Eddie says his nephew has to earn his LWO colors. The LWO leaves and Chavo wants to start the PWO.

We look at Warrior talking about the pinfall meaning nothing at Halloween Havoc.

Villano V vs. The Cat

Miller does the five seconds thing and gets dropkicked at the count of five. The control lsts all of a few seconds until Miller superkicks him down. Villano gets choked and sidekicked again but comes back with a knee to the ribs. A quick backsplash gets two on Miller but he comes back with the Feliner for the pin.

Scott Hall vs. Steve Armstrong

No Survey tonight but we do get the toothpick toss. Steve takes him down to the mat with a nice leg trip and grabs a headlock. Armstrong escapes a hammerlock and slaps Hall in the face. Hall takes him into the corner for choking and stomping as the match becomes what you would expect. Two straight Outsider’s Edges are enough for the pin.

Rating: D. Not much for this one here as you would expect. Hall wasn’t playing drunk here so it wasn’t as uncomfortable as usual. I’m not sure how much there is to this, but one report I read on this show says Armstrong actually won the match and then this ending was filmed. I’d assume it was just something special for the live crowd and the editing covered up any changes they made.

Clips of Page taking the US Title from Bret.

Giant vs. Raven

Kanyon doesn’t want Raven to do this but Raven isn’t listening. Giant throws Raven around with ease but misses a charge in the corner. Not that it matters as he kicks Rave out to the floor. The average sized guy gets Giant to chase him and scores with a baseball slide but his plancha is caught in midair. Raven manages to escape and send Giant into the post before blasting him in the back with a chair. Kanyon slides in a table and Raven kicks Giant low as he gets in the ring. Giant shrugs it off and chokeslams Raven through the table for the easy pin.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a much better show than usual as the wrestling easily carried the night. It’s not a great show or anything and there was no storyline advancement but that’s ok for a change. When you get so much stuff on Nitro, it’s nice to have a basic and well done wrestling show instead.

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