Monday Nitro #138
Date: May 25, 1998
Location: Roberts Memorial Stadium, Evansville, Indiana
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko

We’re still getting closer to the Great American Bash and the main story is still which side will Sting pick. In other words, we’re almost in the same place we were at this time last year expect now Sting can talk. We’ve also got Hogan/Hart vs. Savage/Piper for the big showdown tag match which isn’t the most thrilling prospect in the world. Let’s get to it.

It’s Memorial Day, meaning this is the two year anniversary of Hall jumping the guardrail.

We open with the Nitro Girls as Tony brags about this being three hours again. Oh freaking joy.

The main event tonight is Sting/Luger vs. Giant/NWO Sting. This is supposed to beat Austin vs. Vince/Dude Love mind you.

We get clips of the end of last week’s show as well as Thunder, showing that Sting isn’t with the Giant. The NWO Sting came out to fool no one on Thunder and attack Luger. The announcers act like NWO Sting is a new idea for reasons of general incompetence.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Raven to call out Mortis, promising to send him running for his mother’s care. This brings him to Saturn, who has been Raven’s friend since childhood. Raven drove him to school when Saturn was too poor to afford a car and was there when Sheila broke his heart in the eleventh grade. Raven is willing to do anything to keep Saturn’s friendship, including firing the Flock. He fires every one of them and DDTs Lodi when he protests. Raven gets on his knees and begs/demands that Saturn come back.

Glacier says he’s great and wants to fight Saturn over the superkick. He created the kick and can destroy it. This somehow takes almost a minute and a half.

More Nitro Girls.

The announcers talk about Booker vs. Benoit having a best of seven series for the TV Title shot at the Bash. This leads to a video of Stevie Ray returning last week and telling Booker to stand his ground.

TV Title: Fit Finlay vs. Mike Enos

We’re only about half an hour into the show for the first match so at least they’re not wasting time or anything. Finlay forearms him in the chest to start before taking Enos to the mat in a chinlock about thirty seconds into the match. A knee to the face gets two for Fit and he slams Enos’ chest into the apron.

Back in and Finlay pounds away even more but gets clotheslined down to a surprising pop. Enos drops him throat first on the top rope for two but Finlay comes back with the rolling senton. Mike comes back with a fallaway slam for two but they botch the heck out of a powerslam with Finlay landing on Enos’ legs. Enos is grabbing his leg so Finlay hits a quick Tombstone to retain.

Rating: D+. Enos showed some fire out there until the horrible blown spot at the end. I’m not sure why the fans were cheering for him but maybe they’re just sick of Finlay on TV every week? Anyway this was just your typical TV Title match, meaning it was nothing worth seeing but filled in five minutes well enough.

CALL THE HOTLINE!

Glacier vs. Saturn

Glacier kicks away at the ribs and sweeps Saturn’s legs out to give us a standoff. Saturn takes Glacier’s legs out just as easily so Glacier comes back with chops to the ribs. A hook kick to the jaw puts Glacier down and it’s off to a headlock. Glacier comes back with a big boot to the jaw but Saturn sends him into the corner for rapid fire kicks.

The fans are into Saturn here but Glacier kicks him in the face again. A spinwheel kick puts Chilly McBoring down and here’s Raven at ringside, drawing a RAVEN SUCKS chant. Saturn’s top rope splash hits knees and here’s Hammer to beat up Raven. Hammer gets on the apron but gets kicked down by Glacier, allowing Saturn to hit the Death Valley Driver for the pin.

Rating: D. These battles of martial arts are getting less and less interesting every single time. The key difference with Saturn though is he used it as part of his offense while guys like Glacier and Miller used nothing but martial arts, making them one note characters. Saturn on the other hand wound up rubbing elbows with Benoit and Guerrero in the WWF while the other two were barely heard from again.

Raven DDTs Hammer on the floor.

We see Savage accepting Piper’s offer to team up at the Bash.

Here are Vincent, Brian Adams and Vincent with something to say. Giant does Hall’s Hey Yo and asks the fans to shut up so he can make his point. He calls Nash a coward and wants to face him right here tonight, one on one. After being called out about three times, here’s Nash who doesn’t look intimidated at all. He’s alone tonight and says he’d love to take care of Hogan’s three fluff boys.

Nash punches down the lackeys but a stalemate with Giant allows them to get back up for the beatdown. This brings out Lex Luger along with the rest of the Wolfpack. Konnan takes off his shirt and throws it to Luger who puts it on to the biggest pop he’s gotten this year. So who is left as a top WCW guy? Sting and Piper?

Hour #2 begins with the first mention of the NWO turning two tonight.

Chris Jericho vs. El Dandy

Jericho goes right at Dandy as he gets in the ring and drop toeholds him into a side roll for two before getting caught in something resembling a spinebuster. Dandy misses a missile dropkick and gets caught in the Liontamer for the win in about 60 seconds.

Post match Jericho demands that the fat JJ Dillon put down the pizza and come out here to address some concerns. Jericho babbles on for awhile and demands to be reinstated as Cruiserweight Champion. JJ talks about contract terms but doesn’t exactly cover what Jericho was asking about. He’s not going to overrule anything though until Jericho shows him some kind of a precedent. Jericho freaks out as usual.

We look at Luger joining the Wolfpack again.

Konnan vs. La Parka

La Parka does his dance so Konnan chops away, only to get clotheslined down for two. Konnan avoids a dropkick in the corner and drop toeholds La Parka into the middle buckle. Another clothesline puts Konnan down on the floor and a big dive from the top is kind of blocked to put both guys down. Back in and La Parka dives into a pair of boots to the face and Konnan scores with an X Factor. The 187 sets up the Tequila Sunrise and La Parka taps. Short match and nothing special.

More Nitro Girls.

We get a home video from Mortis who says that Mortis is dead and he’s now known as Kanyon. He talks about the imitation of Tommy Dreamer’s chair shot heard round the world at Slamboree and calls it the chair shot heard round the world. Kanyon says he can get to Raven at anytime.

Here’s Roddy Piper for the insane speech of the week. Gene doesn’t think Piper and Savage can get along as a team but Piper calls Savage a Village People throwback and says they have to get along. The one good thing about standing next to Savage: you never look like you’re having a bad hair day. Piper won’t be singing Y-M-C-A at the Bash so here are Savage and Liz to protest. They yell at each other a lot and Savage rants about Piper screwing up at Slamboree, drawing a RuPaul reference from Piper.

They’re about to agree to work together when Bret Hart comes out and says this is a big collusion between himself and Piper. He claims that Roddy came to him before the PPV and wanted to screw Savage over and reverse the decision later. Bret says he owes Piper one and leaves so Savage is ready to fight Piper right now. Piper says let’s fight and then says that Bret is lying through his teeth. He’ll fight Savage after the tag match at the PPV but they have to work together to get through that. Savage seems to agree.

Heenan joins commentary.

Juventud Guerrera vs. Kidman

They slug it out to start and run the ropes with Kidman catching him in a sitout spinebuster to take over. Kidman charges into some boots in the corner and gets taken down with a hard clothesline. Juvy rips off Kidman’s shirt and chops away before snapping off a great looking headscissors. They head to the floor with Guerrera hitting a sweet dive to the floor to put both guys down.

They head back in but Lodi grabs Juvy’s leg, allowing Kidman to hit a quick X Factor for two. Kidman gets more aggressive than he has in months and stomps away in the corner. A great looking (there’s a lot of that going around in this match) dropkick puts Juvy down and we hit a quick chinlock to give the guys a breather. Back up and Kidman hits another wicked clothesline to take Guerrera down.

A slingshot legdrop gets two on Juvy but Kidman yells at the referee, allowing Juvy to hit a clothesline of his own. Kidman comes back with an elbow to the jaw for two and a reverse suplex puts Juvy on the apron but he gets up top for a flying spinwheel kick for a close two. The fans are WAY into this. Kidman comes back with a powerbomb into a faceplant for two more and a release German suplex puts Juvy down again. Kidman goes up but Juvy dropkicks him out of the air, setting up the Juvy Driver and the 450 for the pin.

Rating: B. GREAT match here and the best match Nitro has had in months. These two were beating the tar out of each other and hitting everything they could in a ten minute span. This is the kind of stuff that you can put out there and offer an actual alternative to what Raw was doing at the time. Instead of having old people talk, have two guys in their early 20s and tear the house down. That’s senseless though, right?

More Nitro Girls.

Nitro Party video.

The announcers talk about what’s happened so far tonight, focusing on Luger’s jump.

We recap Brian Adams attacking Rick Steiner, putting him out for several months. Apparently Scott Steiner is looking for acting roles in Hollywood.

Ultimo Dragon vs. Eddie Guerrero

Chavo is now Eddie’s willing lapdog, which is what Eddie had been wanting from the beginning. However now that he has it, Eddie seems almost scared of his nephew. Chavo gets on the mic and says that this is his match because that’s how Eddie works. He tells Eddie to slap him and tries to start an Eddie chant. Eddie finally gives in and lets Chavo have the match.

Ultimo Dragon vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Chavo makes sure to fold up the Eddie shirt before we can get going. A headlock doesn’t get Chavo anywhere so Dragon comes back with the kicks and the corner headstand. Dragon hooks a stump puller and then a modified Koji Clutch to torture Chavo a bit and send him out to the floor.

Back in and Dragon fires off some kicks to the back but Chavo breaks up the top rope hurricanrana. Guerrero tries to suplex Dragon back in but Eddie hooks his nephew’s leg. Dragon can’t get the Dragon Sleeper so Chavo chokes him on the ropes, bragging to Eddie that he’s cheating to win. The tornado DDT ends Dragon, giving Chavo his biggest win ever.

Rating: C-. This was more angle than match but it’s one of the best angles WCW has ging right now. Chavo has grown from a generic cruiserweight guy into an interesting character who is getting some wins. It’s going to be interesting to see how Eddie deals with the monster he created, meaning the story is a good one. It’s very much a Frankenstein story, which has worked for hundreds of years so why not in WCW?

Post match JJ comes out and makes Eddie vs. Chavo at the Bash.

Hour #3 begins.

Cruiserweight Title: Lenny Lane vs. Dean Malenko

Lane makes sure to oil up on the way to the ring. He shoves Dean away and admires his own abs. Very little action in the first minute until Dean takes over with a headlock. That goes nowhere either so Lane takes him to the corner and stomps him down a bit. Dean does the same to Lenny but gets bulldogged down for two. We hit the chinlock on the champion before Dean fights up and elbows Lane in the face. Lane tries a sunset flip and is easily countered into the Cloverleaf to retain the title.

Rating: D+. This didn’t work for me for the most part with Dean sleepwalking through the match and Lane not being able to get them anywhere yet. To be fair though Malenko has had some great performances for months now so he’s allowed to have an off night every now and then.

US Title: Goldberg vs. Johnny Attitude

Attitude imitates Goldberg on the way to the ring for the only interesting part of the match. Goldberg is now standing in the pyro for the entrance to start a trademark. Typical Goldberg match makes him 90-0.

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T

Match #1 in the best of seven series for the TV Title shot. Benoit takes him into the corner but Booker fires off right hands and backdrops Benoit down. A running forearm puts Benoit on the floor but he catches Booker coming out after him. Back in and Booker spins out of a wristlock and kicks Chris in the face for two.

Benoit comes back by dropping Booker ribs first over the top rope before stomping away and elbowing Booker down. The snap suplex gets two and Benoit hits the chinlock. Some knees to the back set up another chinlock on Booker before Benoit throws him down like a heel would. Booker gets thrown into the corner and we hit chinlock #3.

Benoit slams him down but misses the Swan Dive to put both guys down. Cue Finlay to ringside as Booker flapjacks Benoit down. Chris avoids a bunch of kicks but can’t get the German suplex. Booker comes back with the ax kick but misses the Harlem Hangover. Back up and Benoit snaps on the Crossface to go up 1-0.

Rating: B-. This took time to get going but it was rocking by the end. Benoit and Booker trading bombs for five minutes after spending five minutes on dull chinlocks is fine with me and if I have to watch seven matches of them so be it. Really fun match here as Nitro hits an unprecedented two great matches.

We get pyro and music for the main event.

The announcers talk about Luger joining the Wolfpack.

Lex Luger/Sting vs. NWO Sting/Giant

The NWO Sting is knocked to the floor before the bell and it’s Luger/Sting double teaming the Giant. A running clothesline in the corner and a Stinger Splash send the big man to the floor as this is one sided so far. NWO Sting goes in to start against the real version and gets in a single elbow to drop Sting. That’s the extent of NWO Sting’s offense as Sting pops up and destroys the fake before bringing in Luger for some clotheslines.

A cheap shot from Giant lets NWO Sting take over as the fans are all over Giant here. Off to Giant for a loud chop in the corner and a head knocker (picture a powerbomb stance but Giant jumps in the air to crush the back of Luger’s head). Back to NWO Sting who misses a Stinger Splash, allowing for the hot tag off to Sting. A quick Stinger Splash and the Death Drop are enough to pin the fake guy.

Rating: D+. All things considered, this wasn’t horrible. What else are you going to expect with former tag team champions in a glorified handicap match? At this point the match is just a backdrop for the NWO drama with Sting about to pick one of the NWO’s to join because who hasn’t done that yet?

Post match here’s the Wolfpack with an extra shirt. Sting bails for a second before coming back in. He holds up the shirt and looks intrigued but doesn’t put it on as we go off the air.

Overall Rating: C+. This is the kind of show that Nitro needed. We had a nice blend of good wrestling and drama with a cliffhanger to end the show. It still doesn’t need to be three hours long, but the balancing of drama and action has been severely lacking for months now. Granted having two awesome matches helped things out too.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Thunder
Date: May 21, 1998
Location: Cleveland Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

After Monday the major question is will Sting join the Red and Black after Nash saved him from the Giant. I think we can give up on a full explanation for most of the recent turns, but this one at least would have a basic idea: Nash protecting Sting. That’s better than anything else we’ve gotten so I guess we should be thankful. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the end of Nitro and Thunder with Sting being offered a spot in the Black and White before spitting in Giant’s face and being saved by Nash.

The mat is a darker gray than usual

After more fireworks than usual, here’s Giant with something to say. Giant has both tag titles and drapes then on Tony’s shoulders before saying the champions are getting along again. He says that even though Sting isn’t here tonight due to “weather”, Sting is definitely NWO. This draws out Luger to say otherwise, which draws out various cruiserweights to watch what’s going on.

Luger challenges him for a match later tonight but Giant doesn’t answer yet. Instead he offers Luger a spot in the NWO but opts to spit in Giant’s face and walks away. For some reason a bunch of cruiserweights come in and attack the big guy, only to be easily dispatched. El Dandy and a Villno are powerbombed/slammed while the others run off. Giant accepts the challenge.

Ernest Miller vs. Yuji Nagata

The fans are booing this out of the building before it even starts. They trade kicks for a good thirty seconds and the fans still don’t care in the slightest. Nagata finally scores with a nice kick to the head and sends Miller to the floor where Sonny gets in some choking of his own. Back in and Ernest gets two off a powerslam, only to limp around on a bad leg. Not that it matters as Miller hits a quick Feliner (spinning kick to the face) for the pin.

Rating: D-. Why do wrestling companies think that fans want to see martial arts matches on wrestling shows? When has anyone ever gotten a strong push in a major company just by being a guy who throws a lot of kicks? I agree with the fans on this as it was a terribly boring match and not a good sign for the rest of the show.

We see the post match promos from Jericho and Malenko after the title change at Slamboree.

Jericho comes out holding a sign saying Conspiracy Victim with an arrow pointing down. He swears that the whining will ever happen again, but now he needs to talk about a conspiracy theory that dwarfs the 1918 Black Sox scandal (it was 1919), the landing at Roswell and the JFK assassination. He demands that JoJo Dillon get out here right now but gets no one at all. Jericho holds up a list of the people in the battle royal but sees no Dean Malenko. Therefore, how could he lose the title to Malenko? Jericho says he’ll hound Dillon until he’s reinstated as Cruiserweight Champion and yes that is a threat.

Chris Jericho vs. Super Calo

Jericho jumps him to start and pounds Calo down, only to have Super moonsault over him out of the corner. A clothesline gets two on Jericho but Chris comes back with a SCARY looking release German suplex. The Lionsault misses but Jericho hits a kind of spinebuster into the Liontamer for a quick win.

We get the entire recap of Raven vs. Mortis, starting months ago and complete with all of the attacks when Mortis dressed like a fan. They try to play up a fan attacking Raven a few weeks ago as a Mortis attack, even though it’s clearly not a wrestler. Why have we needed to see such long recaps of Raven feuds lately?

Here are Raven with the riot squad with the bird man ranting about Saturn wanting to be US Champion instead of trying to get the belt back to Raven. He talks about getting Saturn his job in ECW as well as his job here, which draws out Saturn. Perry talks about how he’s not a mindless goon and has never been a member of the Flock. If they’re going to be friends, Raven isn’t going to boss him around ever again. Raven actually apologizes and moves on to Mortis.

The Flock has seen Mortis tonight, disguised in the back in a rainbow wig. It’s not fooling anyone though so get out here. Here’s a guy that looks like Mortis coming down the aisle but the riot squad takes him down. The real Mortis runs in through the crowd and lays out Raven before running away from the Flock.

TV Title: Finlay vs. Jim Neidhart

Jim shoves him around to start and shouts YEAH BABY over and over again. The announcers talk about Mortis and Raven of course as Neidhart pounds away on the champ’s back. A slingshot shoulder block puts Finlay down again and there’s a powerslam for three, but Finlay’s leg is in the rope. Neidhart, ever the nitwit, thinks he’s won and celebrates, allowing Finlay to get in a few cheap shots and hit the tombstone to retain the title. At least it was quick.

Tony calls out Booker T, who is apparently #1 contender to the TV Title. Instead he gets Chris Benoit who wants to know why it’s not his title shot. This draws out Booker T in a shirt and tie, only to be decked from behind by the Crippler. Benoit leaves so here’s the returning Stevie Ray to tell Booker to get up and be a man. Ok then.

We see Hogan introducing Hall as the newest member of the Black and White from Monday.

Jim Duggan vs. Brian Adams

Just…..why? Duggan pounds away to start and sends Adams out to the floor, only to have Vincent interfere to give Adams control. Back in and a backbreaker gets two for Brian but he gets caught pulling Duggan’s hair. The referee pulls Adams’ hair, leading to nothing at all. Back up and Vincent tries to hold Duggan, only to get decked by Adams by mistake. Adams picks up Duggan’s board and blasts the referee for the stupid DQ.

Duggan cleans house post match.

WCW Motorsports update. Next.

Here’s the guy from Quest For Camelot again to hand out t-shirts. Gotta love cross promotion.

Hammer vs. Saturn

Hammer pounds him down to start and rains down right hands in the corner for early control. Saturn comes back with a suplex to take Hammer down and there’s a superkick for good measure. Hammer comes back with a powerslam and a shoulder block for two each. A sidewalk slam puts Saturn down but also draws Reese up on the apron. The referee is distracted and Raven comes in to DDT Hammer. Saturn yells that he doesn’t need help and lays out Hammer with the Death Valley Driver for the pin.

Rating: D. This was another match designed to advance angles instead of focusing on the wrestling which is fine. The idea of Saturn and Raven arguing but not quite fighting is interesting, but it doesn’t mean anything good for the future of the Flock which is on weak legs already.

Here’s Rick Rude to introduce the next US Champion, Curt Hennig. Rude says that he’s loyal to Hennig who is loyal to the Red and Black, so Rude is Wolfpack too. Hennig calls Goldberg a mark and challenges him to a fight tonight (Goldie isn’t here) and then to a match at the Great American Bash. Short and sweet here.

Horace vs. Juventud Guerrera

Horace easily takes Juvy into the corner to start as we’re in a power vs. speed match here. Juvy gets kicked into the ropes but backdrops Horace out to the floor. Back in and Juvy’s springboard is pulled out of the air but he gets two out of a rollup. Horace elbows him back down and slaps Guerrera in the back of the head a few times. Juvy tries a sleeper but is easily backed into the corner for the break. Instead it’s a hurricanrana to put Horace on the floor but Reese sneaks in and chokebombs Juvy down. Horace comes back in and clotheslines Juvy’s unconscious body down for the pin.

Rating: D+. I actually liked this a little bit. Horace is a generic big guy, but he’s good at what he does. It’s also cool to see Juvy out there in a feud against someone other than a cruiserweight because those stories can only take people so far. Juvy never giving up and fighting the Flock is a nice idea, especially when the Flock has a lot of big guys for him to bounce off of.

The announcers talk a bit and someone hits the desk with a soda. Tony laughs it off.

Here’s Savage with something to say. He talks about the tag match at the Bash and says that while he and Piper hate each other, they hate Hart and Hogan even more. Simple yet effective way to get around their issues. After the match though, he needs a better apology from Piper.

We see Chavo Guerrero’s mother speaking Spanish when Eddie cuts her off. Apparently she was saying that Eddie the best and her favorite wrestler and Chavo should win more.

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Dean Malenko

Before the match, Chavo cuts Eddie off and starts an Eddie chant. Chavo seems a bit different tonight. Dean gets jumped to start and Guerrero is actually pounding away to start. A suplex gets a quick two but Eddie gets Dean’s foot on the ropes for some reason. Chavo yells at his uncle and Dean grabs a quick suplex for two. Guerrero comes back and tries the tornado DDT but Dean easily counters into the Cloverleaf to retain.

Post match Eddie yells at Chavo so Chavo pulls back his fist. Instead though Chavo kisses Eddie and then hits him before walking away. The story continues.

The Giant vs. Lex Luger

We’re already in overtime so this is going to be quick. Luger pounds away to start but Giant kicks him in the face to slow him down. A Russian legsweep and backbreaker put Luger down as security has to take out an idiot fan. Giant cranks on the neck until the fans are paying attention again and Luger makes the comeback, only to have NWO Sting come in for a quick DQ. Match was barely two minutes long.

Luger fights off the fake Sting but walks into a chokeslam to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This is one of those shows where it doesn’t come off as horrible at the end, but when you look back at it you see how horrid it really was. The lack of Hogan really does make the show go by faster though as we don’t have these seven to ten minute promos dragging the show down. That being said, we had a bunch of incredibly uninteresting matches which makes this a worthless show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Monday Nitro #162
Date: October 12, 1998
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko

This isn’t being done in like with the usual Nitro series so I don’t have full context for this one. We’re closing in on Halloween Havoc with the double main event of Diamond Dallas Page vs. Goldberg for the title and Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior in a battle for our sanity. Looking at the card we don’t have nearly as many matches as usual, which means this might be a talking heavy show. Oh joy. Let’s get to it.

We open with Bischoff yelling at a guard, telling him to not let Ric Flair into the building at any cost. Bischoff goes outside to tell Doug Dillinger the same, giving him some cops for extra security.

We look at a clip from last week with what looked like Bret Hart refusing to be put on a stretcher. Sting however is carted off.

Nitro Girls.

Halloween Havoc ad.

The announcers intro the show.

We see even more of Bret vs. Sting brawling last week. Also Bret wants to fight Sting again at Halloween Havoc.

Video on Bret Hart, who apparently has recently turned heel. Again.

Video on the unveiling of the WCW MasterCard, set to the Hardy Boys’ theme song.

Intro, after ten minutes of promos and videos.

Here’s another video on Meng destroying Chris Adams on Thunder. Wrath came out to stop Meng in a clash of the titans.

Lodi vs. Wrath

Wrath is on a huge winning streak at this point. The fans are all over Lodi as Wrath runs him over with a clothesline. We get a mudhole stomping in the corner followed by a big shoulder tackle. The Meltdown (pumphandle powerslam) destroys Lodi in about 90 seconds.

Meng comes out to brawl with Wrath in the aisle but we immediately cut to another video.

This time it’s Reid Flair taking down Bischoff last week with Arn standing guard. The NWO came down but got taken out by the Horsemen.

Video on DDP vs. Goldberg.

Kendall Windham vs. Dale Torborg

This is when Dale is a member of the pit crew for WCW racing before he became the Demon. Windham takes him to the floor and sends him into the barricade a few times. Back in and Kendall keeps pounding away as this is a huge waste of time so far. Kendall stomps on Dale’s head as the fans want Goldberg. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Kendall misses a few elbows. Dale comes back with a dropkick but gets caught in a swinging neckbreaker. A bulldog is blocked and Torborg hits a bicycle kick out of nowhere for the pin. Dale appears to have hurt his knee.

Rating: D-. This got four and a half minutes. Let that sink in for a minute when we don’t have time for something later on tonight. Windham was a good example of how talent doesn’t always run in the family as he was nothing compared to Barry. Torborg was nothing special at all but he kept getting sent out there with various gimmicks.

More Nitro Girls.

Nitro Party winner.

Video from last week of Goldberg saving Page from Kanyon, Raven and Lodi.

Here’s Sting with something to say. Last week he and Bret Hart had a war in the back, but he’s been counting down the days until tonight so he could call Bret out right now. That’s not all though because he also wants Hogan right here tonight. Instead he gets the Warrior who talks about how far a little dab of paint can take you. WCW is Sting’s battleground but Warrior wants to make a one time request. The fans are really not in the mood for Warrior tonight as he rambles about having the will to win one battle at a time. The short version of this three minute rambling is Warrior wants in on the fight with Hogan and Hart.

We get the third video on Goldberg vs. Page of the first hour.

Hour #2 begins so here’s the Black and White with something to say. They talk about all the business they have to take care of tonight before Hogan reminds us that he’s the god of wrestling. Tonight it’s Giant vs. Goldberg in a No DQ match for the title because Hogan is tired of Goldberg being a thorn in his side. The challenge for the tag match is accepted for later tonight but Hogan has to awkwardly pause after saying ultimate, only to save himself by saying it’ll be the ultimate encounter. Nice catch.

As the NWO leaves a security guard tells Bischoff that the Horsemen are inside the building. Tony: “How did they get in?” Larry: “Through one of the 25 doors?” Bischoff goes outside and sees a limo pulling up with Flair inside. So much for being in the building. Flair is with the owner of the United Center who says the Horsemen will be in a corporate box with him tonight. Benoit tells Bischoff to talk to the hand.

Video on Hogan vs. Warrior. This includes the stupid idea of only Hogan being able to see Warrior in a mirror.

Fit Finlay vs. Alex Wright

This is during a mini angle over who is the best European wrestler in the company. Wright runs down the American audience and lists off some European wrestlers he’s beaten. Alex talks about ending Finlay’s dad’s career, earning him a forearm to the face. The brawl starts on the floor and Wright is sent back first into the apron. Back in and Wright gets two off a sunset flip but Finlay comes back with a short arm clothesline and the rolling senton. Fit misses a charge into the post but pops right up to the top, only to jump into a boot. Wright grabs a hot shot and puts his feet on the ropes for a fast pin.

Post match British Bulldog comes out to pound on Wright and send him running off.

La Parka/Ciclope/Villano V vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr/Psychosis/Super Calo

Chavo is loony by this point, meaning he has his stick horse Pepe with him. Calo and La Parka get us going and it’s an early dance off. They hit the ropes with Villano hitting Calo in the back of the head, allowing La Parka to take his head off with a clothesline. La Parka accidentally hits Villano twice in a row, sending him out to the floor for a running flip dive off the apron from Calo. Everyone unleashes the dives with everybody being taken out at least once.

Back inside and Calo misses a moonsault press on Villano and walks into a powerslam for two. Psychosis breaks it up with a guillotine legdrop and it’s time for Psychosis vs. La Parka. This is going way too fast to keep up with. La Parka gets two off a powerslam but here’s Chavo to suplex La Parka down for the same. Ciclope comes in for a modified Boston crab on Chavo but Psychosis makes a quick save.

Everything breaks down again with Chavo and Calo dropkicking Villano and La Parka to the floor for stereo dives. Psychosis avoids a charge from Ciclope to send him outside where Psychosis can hit a senton backsplash from the top. Cue Eddie and the LWO as Chavo hits the tornado DDT on Ciclope for the pin.

Rating: B. This was almost impossible to keep up with but it was incredibly entertaining. There’s little more fun than taking six fast guys and throwing them out there in a meaningless match where they can fly all around the ring and that’s what WCW let them do. Really fun match here and a nice breath of fresh air after all the lame talking.

Eddie, along with LWO members Damien, El Dandy and Hector Garza, get in the ring and recruit all six guys to join up. They can’t get any respect on their own but united they can’t be stopped. Eddie challenges any NWO member to come out here and wrestle like these guys just did. The only guys from the match in the ring are Chavo and Psychosis but the other four are listening on the floor. Chavo walks away but Psychosis puts on the LWO shirt.

Nitro Girls.

Here’s Scott Steiner for yet another promo. Apparently he’s not getting along with Buff because of…..wait for it…..Judy Bagwell. Heenan jumps in on commentary before Scott gets to the ring. Scott talks about carrying the Steiners like Sammy Sosa is carrying the Chicago Cubs. After bragging about how awesome he is with women, he talks about having problems with Buff and his mom. Judy needs to stay in the kitchen doing the dishes, because he and Buff are just fine.

This brings out Judy and Buff with the later saying they do have a problem. Scott says Buff’s problem is he has a bad neck and Scott could snap it at any time. Buff says he’s been listening to his mom and thinks Scott is the problem. Steiner threatens to take Buff’s NWO shirt off of him right now so Buff challenges him to a fight. Judy plays peacekeeper but Scott calls her an old bag. Scott threatens to slap her and you know it’s on now. Buff goes after him but Scott hits him low and drops the bad neck across the top rope.

The Horsemen and the owner of the building are having a party in the box.

Juventud Guerrera vs. Prince Iaukea

Before the match here’s Disco Inferno who says the people are here to see him dance. Iaukea knocks him off the apron and we’re ready to go. Juvy snaps off a great headscissors as Kidman (Cruiserweight Champion and no longer in the Flock) comes out to chase Disco off. The Prince gets two off a rollup and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Juvy hits a Fameasser for two but misses a dropkick. Here’s Disco again as Prince stops Juvy with a kick to the face. Guerrera comes back with a springboard missile dropkick but Disco breaks up the 450. Prince goes after Disco though, allowing Juvy to hit the Juvy Driver for the pin.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t a very good match but it had its moments. The Disco vs. Kidman stuff was annoying but at least it sets up a title feud down the line. Juvy continues to be entertaining for the most part while the Prince is still the same guy that has bored me for years now.

Here’s Kevin Nash with something to say. He talks about how Hall isn’t around as usual and how Scott is on his last nerve. Before Nash was a wrestler he was a bouncer, so he knows a thing or two about being up drunks, so get out here Scott because it’s last call. Here’s a staggering Hall with a cup in his hand. He says he’ll fight Nash down here while doing the crotch chop, drawing Nash up the aisle. They head into the back with Hall getting into a limo. Nash chases after him in his own car.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Raven

Jericho is defending. Raven takes him into the corner but doesn’t go after him. They head to the floor and again Raven isn’t aggressive at all, allowing the champion to send him into the barricade for early control. Jericho brings in a chair but Raven dropkicks it back into his face before wedging it into the corner. Naturally Raven is the one being sent into the steel, knocking him out to the floor again. Raven avoids a charge into the post and they head back inside for the drop toehold into the chair. Not that it matters as Raven’s Even Flow is countered into the Liontamer for an immediate submission. Short but action packed.

Hour #3 begins.

Here’s Rick Steiner to talk about his upcoming showdown with Scott when he’s interrupted by….oh dear goodness it’s this show……he’s interrupted by Chucky from the Child’s Play movies. The doll pops up on the screen and makes fun of Rick for barking while Chucky is getting to film love scenes with Jennifer Tilly.

Rick Steiner calls Chucky down to the ring while Chucky makes mom jokes about Steiner. Chucky plugs his new movie and praises Scott Steiner as this just keeps going. This is one of those things that is too stupid for words and belongs on every stupidest moments ever list. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Rick Steiner deserves better than this.

So the announcers have spent all night talking about a six man tag match between the NWO factions with Hall and Nash on either side. However, since Hall and Nash are gone, the match is off because the other four guys can’t wrestle for some reason. My guess is the match was cut for time due to a slasher movie villain and a Dale Torborg match.

Or it could be because of ALL THE FREAKING PROMOS, including this one from Bischoff. Tonight this isn’t the United Center because it’s the Bischoff Center. He demands JJ Dillon and Doug Dillinger come to the ring and demands they take him to the private suite. This turns into a four minute walk up to the suite and a two minute argument over whether or not Eric has authority here tonight. Security finally takes him down and cuffs him. Flair comes out and pours champagne on Bischoff. The announcers talk about how awesome this is as Bischoff is taken outside. This somehow took ten minutes in total.

Wait it’s still not done as Flair dances a bit in front of the box and Flair is shown being taken out in a car, ranting and raving about how awesome he is. This just went on WAY too long and really didn’t accomplish anything. This stretched out to nearly fifteen minutes in total.

WCW World Title: Goldberg vs. The Giant

Goldberg is defending and Giant is a tag champion but I’ll only refer to Goldberg as champion here for the sake of simplicity. This is also No DQ. Giant shoves him around to start and actually dropkicks Goldberg down. Goldberg no sells some shots to the back and sends Giant face first into the buckle a few times. A very impressive slam puts Giant down but here’s Stevie Ray with a chair to the back. That’s no sold but Goldberg walks into the chokeslam, only to have DDP make the save. The chokeslam to Page is broken up by a spear and Giant walks out for the countout, making Goldberg 150-0. This was nothing.

The Horsemen are still partying. Benoit is smiling, Flair is dancing, Malenko just calmly raises a beer and nods at the camera.

Nitro Girls again.

Hollywood Hogan/Bret Hart vs. Warrior/Sting

After some LONG intros we’re ready to go. Hogan wants Sting to start and that’s what he gets after Warrior I think blesses the Stinger. As is always the case, Hogan dominates Sting early with right hands but gets taken down by a clothesline and an atomic drop. Hogan tags off to Bret and the stalling commences. Sting pounds him in the corner, drawing in Hogan to allow Bret to low blow Sting to the mat.

Bret goes into his usual offense while Warrior is still in his coat and what looks like jeans on the apron. Hart draws in Warrior to allow a low blow from Hogan followed by some choking. Back to Hart for a DDT for two in one of the only wrestling moves so far. A small package gets Sting a breather but he gets caught in the backbreaker. The middle rope elbow misses though and it’s hot tag Warrior. Three straight clotheslines put Hart down so here’s Hogan to hit him from behind. There’s no effect of course so here’s the NWO for the save and the DQ.

Rating: D-. What else did you really expect here? I like the idea of putting two feuds into one match but it doesn’t mean the match is any good. Warrior was clearly just a vanity project for Hogan and I don’t think anyone believed the match was going to be good. Horrible “wrestling” here.

Post match the NWO throws Warrior to the floor as the smoke fills the ring. Tony: “That way he can’t disappear.” Warrior whips Hogan with the weightlifting belt as the show ends.

Overall Rating: D. And that’s being generous. This show was horrible with WAY too much talking and so much time being wasted on nonsense like the Chucky segment and matches that did nothing of note at all. Goldberg vs. Page disappeared after the first hour until they got another three minutes near the end of the show. You could see the wheels on the verge of falling off, but 1999 was only going to get worse.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Is the Dungeon of Doom.  It’s true.Think about it.  Let’s look at what they accomplished:

1. They won a lot of titles.

2 World Titles

1 US Title

1 Tag Title (Half)

1 TV Title

Not too bad for being around about two years.

2. They stopped face Hulk Hogan’s year plus long title reign.  That means Giant did what Flair, Vader, Luger, Sting and Savage couldn’t do, and he did it in his debut match.

3. Those two world titles came from Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.  One other man has ever done that and his name is Sting.  It took Giant seven months.  It took Sting seven years.

4. Kevin Sullivan had a forgotten classic at Bash at the Beach 1996 against Chris Benoit.  I’ll take that match over the Bret vs. Shawn Iron Man match any day.

5. Yeah they were stupid, but look at the NWO with all of their changes and backstabbing and Hogan destroying a company.  Wrestling was built on being over the top and insane so why was it bad when the Dungeon did it?

Monday Nitro #137
Date: May 18, 1998
Location: Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko

It’s the night after Slamboree and naturally we’ve got more NWO drama and not much else. The main story is that Sting and Giant won the tag titles due to Hall turning on Nash, apparently aligning himself with Hollywood Hogan and the Black and White, despite them keeping him off TV for months and Nash standing up for him. This would be the third (fifth if you include Konnan and Hennig) yet to be explained turn in less than a month if you’re keeping track. Let’s get to it.

This is a one hour show tonight due to the NBA Playoffs. On Thunder it was announced that we would get an hour before the basketball game and a second hour after, but the second hour was just a repeat of the first. I’m not sure if it was a last second change or WCW just making stuff up to get ratings, but at least it’s less nonsense for me this week.

We open with the stills from last night’s main event. I think that was Nash’s official face turn after being a face for at least a month now.

Here’s Eric in the ring wearing a red velvet crown and siting on a motorcycle. He says it’s good to be king and as he ponders his future in this sport, he has to look back at the past. His television record is 98-2 and now his in ring record is 2-0, having defeated Larry Zbyszko and Vince McMahon. He wanted to beat Vince in the ring, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen. Now he has to look to the future which holds a record better than Bill Goldberg’s. He’s going to chase a dream which started last night. What that is isn’t specified but the music plays and he’s done.

Nitro Girls.

We get the video from Thunder with Saturn saying he hasn’t stolen the Cryonic Kick because it’s a basic side kick that has been used for thousands of years.

Saturn vs. Psychosis

Saturn pounds him into the corner to start but Psychosis slams him down for two. A dropkick knocks Saturn out of the air and a second one knocks him out to the floor. Psychosis hits a nice plancha to the floor but gets caught in a release dragon suplex back inside. The superkick and Death Valley Driver set up the Rings of Saturn for the quick submmission.

We get some stills from Bret vs. Savage last night, focusing on Hogan interfering, leading to Savage giving up to the Sharpshooter.

Here’s Piper with something to say. This isn’t likely to go well. He’s ticked off because of how much interference there was and he’d never do that job again. Apparently Liz was swearing a lot and it allowed someone Savage hit him in the back of the head (it was Hart). Piper wants Savage out here right now and here’s Macho himself. For once, Tony is logical here by saying Piper could watch the tape and see that it was Hart attacking him.

Piper says he isn’t a guy to apologize but if he was he’d apologize right now, but since he isn’t a guy to apologize he isn’t apologizing. He’s watched the tape and saw Hart hit him in the back of the head, so as Commissioner he’s naming Savage as the winner of the match via a disqualification. This is treated as the biggest news in the history of WCW but here’s Bret Hart to complain. He wants to fight but doesn’t want to do it two on one. Actually scratch that as he’s ready to go but Hogan and pals come out to stop him. The end result is a tag match at Great American Bash.

Buy the Randy Savage shirt!

Heenan replaces Zbyszko on commentary for the second half of the show.

The announcers talk about the Cruiserweight Title situation for a bit. We get a post match interview with Dean Malenko with Gene saying he can no longer call Malenko a loser. Dean says it’s water under the bridge because tonight was the beginning of his new quest. He isn’t done with Jericho because Jericho insulted his family. This title is for his dad. If Malenko has ever cut a better promo, I haven’t seen it.

Jericho freaked out after losing the belt last night.

Damian vs. Juventud Guerrera

There’s no opening bell but Juvy takes over with a quick spinwheel kick but charges into a boot in the corner for two. A dropkick sends Damian to the floor but he whips Juvy into the steps to take over. Damian dropkicks him from the apron but gets caught in a top rope hurricanrana back inside. Juvy gets crotched on top and Damian gets two off a kneeling Muscle Buster of all things. Juvy almost no sells it and gets two of his own off the Juvy Driver. The 450 totally misses but Juvy gets up and drops a quick elbow for the pin.

Rating: C-. Botched ending aside this was pretty fun. I prefer the elbow drop over pretending the splash worked because it was more or less two feet to Damian’s chest and certainly wouldn’t have kept him down. Also it’s nice that they’re mixing up the matches a bit with new names like Damian, even though he isn’t the biggest star in the world. It’s better than doing the same pairings over and over.

More Nitro Girls.

There seems to be some confusion as to what’s next. Tony says we’re going to Gene but here’s Goldberg for his match.

US Title: Goldberg vs. Glacier

Goldberg blocks a bunch of kicks to start and clotheslines Glacier down. Glacier misses an enziguri and it’s the spear and Jackhammer to make it 89-0.

Here’s DDP for his weekly interview. Gene lauds him for his win last night but Page doesn’t want to think about how he beat Raven. He did it for the fans who always jack him up, but now he has a new target. Page wants to be world champion and hopes he gets to take it off of Hogan because he hasn’t forgotten what Hogan has put him through for the last six months. Not much from DDP this week but it’s a new plot development.

Here’s the Black and White to close the show. Bret is with them but still in street clothes. Dusty is there too, despite ripping into Hogan last week on Nitro. Hogan talks about how great he is and laughs at the idea of anyone following Nash. Everyone is here tonight because of Hogan because he controls the money and the talent.

If there was any doubt to Hogan being great, here’s Scott Hall as the ultimate proof. Hall rubs his fingers together to symbolize money on the way to the ring, which is probably as good of an explanation as we’re going to get. Bischoff calls out Sting for his explanation. Giant comes up to Sting in the aisle and gets spat on, causing Giant to choke Sting down. Nash comes out with a pipe to scare

Overall Rating: C. This show continues to prove that three hours simply aren’t needed at all. This show covered almost every major story and gave us some watchable wrestling at the same time. The ending is all you would come to expect from WCW as we get about two minutes of storyline development which will lead to three hours of talking next week. Bischoff mentioning Goldberg is interesting though as it’s the first mention of him from the NWO. Page going after Hogan might be worth something too.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Monday Nitro #108
Date: October 6, 1997
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 14,357
Commentators: Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay

We’re about three weeks away from Halloween Havoc and the card is starting to take shape. We’re also less than three months away from Starrcade and the biggest match in company history. As for tonight, the main event is Benoit vs. Hennig, presumably for the US Title. Tonight is likely going to be all about building for the PPV, which could stand a bit more work at this point. Let’s get to it.

After the usual banter from the announcers, here’s the NWO A-Team with something to say. Bischoff plugs Hogan’s latest TV movie, Assault on Devil’s Island, which debuts later this month. Hogan challenges Sting for later tonight, but he knows Sting won’t be here because Hogan is here and that no good dirty Sting is a coward. Apparently CNN is going to become the Hogan News Network as Hogan and the NWO are going to take over all of the Turner organization. They’ll be waiting for Piper later tonight and that’s about it.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Booker T

Debra and Jackie are in the respective corners. Things go fast to start with Jeff getting the first offensive move in the form of a hiptoss. Booker comes back with a fast kick to send Jarrett out to the floor. The advantage doesn’t last long though as Jeff suckers him in and pounds away a bit to take over. The fans think Jarrett sucks as he elbows Booker down. Booker spins right back up though and hits the side kick to take Jarrett down. The crowd is hot tonight.

We take a break and come back with Jarrett getting two off a top rope cross body. A clothesline puts Booker down as does a great looking dropkick. Jarrett is in full control but Booker comes back with a forearm to the face. Booker hits a spinwheel kick and a slam to put Jarrett in trouble. The ax kick gets two but the hook of the leg puts Jarrett’s foot on the rope. A clothesline puts Jarrett on the floor and here’s Mongo to yell. Debra slaps him so A Mongo chokes Jeff before sending him back inside. Booker grabs a rollup for the surprise pin.

Rating: C. Not bad here but it didn’t mean anything as Jarrett wouldn’t wrestle again in WCW for years. Thankfully he went over to the WWF and got to bore people on Raw. Booker was still a few months away from his singles push but once it started it kept going and going until WCW went under.

The announcers talk about Hogan vs. Piper at Havoc and say that it’ll change wrestling forever. I’m sure it will.

Billy Kidman vs. Alex Wright

Kidman is still a rookie here and looks very nervous. Billy shoves him into the corner to start and gives a clean break. Alex does the same and slaps Kidman in the face. Nice bit of a story there. Wright sends him to the floor and takes the opportunity to dance. Raven is in the front row and has Perry Saturn with him. Back in and Kidman hits a pair of dropkicks to send Wright out to the floor.

Oh wait we need to cut to the back to see Mongo and Debra arguing. Jeff Jarrett comes up and gets yelled at as well. Mongo says he has an idea and we go back to the match. Wright hits a top rope stomp and dances a bit more. A running corner clothesline hits Kidman and a bridging suplex gets two.

The fans look at presumably a fight off camera as Wright hits a clothesline for no cover. Kidman counters the German suplex into a jawbreaker and hits a middle rope dropkick to send Wright into the corner. A bulldog out of the corner gets two for Billy but he stops to look at Raven. The 450 misses Wright and after some dancing, a German suplex ends Kidman.

Rating: C. Decent match here which apparently was a rematch from Saturday Night where Billy beat Alex. The constant cutting away here got annoying but it actually led to something in this case. Wright continues to be someone that seems like he’s on the verge of a push but would be in the same place for months.

Ernest Miller vs. Mortis

Now here’s a fresh match. Miller takes over with a quick snapmare and a kick to the face for two. Ernest expands his moveset even further by going up top, only to get crotched by James Vanderberg. A top rope Fameasser gets two for the guy in a mask (Mortis) and he even uses the rope for good measure. It’s time for kicks because what would these two be without a lot of kicks?

Mortis keeps being EVIL by throwing Miller over the top rope while the referee is distracted. How EVIL can he get? Apparently Jackie is getting a TV Title shot at Halloween Havoc. A kind of Russian legsweep gets two for the EVIL one before he breaks up a sunset flip with a right hand. Miller rolls away from a top rope splash though and hits two kicks (I’m as shocked as you are), one being from the top, for the pin.

Rating: D. It would take Miller basically going crazy before he got interesting which makes these earlier matches pretty hard to sit through. The guy just wasn’t interesting as you can only take “karate guy” so far as a gimmick. Mortis continues to impress with that wide variety of offense he has. Oh and he’s EVIL so that helps.

Savage says he’ll beat Page at the PPV.

Scott Hall vs. Hector Garza

This is a rematch from two weeks ago when Garza won in a shocking upset. Hall has taped up ribs for reasons that I don’t remember. My guess would be alcohol related. Wait wasn’t he on crutches last week too? I think something is afoot. Oh and hour #2 starts. Hall does the survey and Hall says Nash has a bad knee so he’s not here tonight. Apparently they were watching Larry Zbyszko matches and laughed so hard that Nash fell over and hurt his knee. Points for a funny line if nothing else.

We take a break and come back for the bell. After said bell Hall decks Garza in the head and I think I know where this is going. There’s the fallaway slam but the ribs are hurting a bit. Hall shoves a referee into the corner to allow Syxx to hit a Bronco Buster on Garza. The Outsider’s Edge ends this quick as Hall shoves the referee down for a cover.

Post match Hall puts the referee in the Torture Rack and spray paints a Z on his back.

We get a look at Goldberg’s two wins over the last two weeks.

TV Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Disco Inferno

Tony, being the schmuck that he is, wonders if this match will change the Disco vs. Jackie match because the (arguable) co-main event of the PPV doesn’t change if one guy is a champion or not. Disco grabs a quick armdrag and you would think he just won the world title. They go to a lockup and Page tries an early Diamond Cutter but the champion’s slick hair lets him get to the floor.

Back in and Page grabs a quick headlock but gets shoved into the ropes for a hip toss. Disco is actually hanging in this. Scratch that as Page his a neckbreaker to send Disco to the floor, where he gets hit by a baseballl slide and a plancha from Page. Back in and Disco still won’t die as he gets an elbow up in the corner to stop a charging Dallas. Page comes back by channeling the power of hair metal and slugs Disco down before hitting the Pancake. DDP treats Disco like the glorified jobber that he is and hits a Diamond Cutter out of a fireman’s carry (TKO), only to have Savage run in for the DQ.

Rating: C. Believe it or not, this wasn’t that bad. Disco was much better in the ring than he was given credit for, but when you have an awful (or brilliant depending on how you look at it) gimmick like a disco enthusiast, it’s kind of hard to get your in ring skills noticed. It was pretty clear something was going to be screwy with the ending but that’s weekly TV for you.

Post match Savage sends Page into the post and loads up a piledriver on the floor but Piper comes out for the save. Savage shoves him away so Piper spits in his face. Somehow this spins Savage around and there’s a Diamond Cutter on the concrete. Piper and Page bail into the crowd as the NWO runs out to protect the unconscious Savage. Savage gets taken out on a stretcher as Tony is almost giddy over a man being knocked unconscious.

Post break and here’s Piper in the ring with something to say. Apparently if Hogan had twice the amount of hair he had now he’d still be bald. Also Hall is lying when he says he beat Piper (when did Hall say that?) so we get a clip of Piper beating up Hall at Slamboree. Apparently the Outsiders, injuries or not, are going to defend the belts next week or they’re stripped of the belts. Also Savage vs. Page is Piper’s Rules, which would translate to last man standing.

Cue Bischoff and Hogan with Hogan staring down Piper. The Icon stuff stops now because Hogan is the real icon around here. Apparently everyone is here because of Hogan and at the PPV, Hogan is going to prove to Piper’s family that he (Hogan) is the real man. Bischoff fires off a kick to Piper’s bad leg and Hogan pounds away. He holds Piper for a Bischoff kick but Piper, elite level ninja that he is, ducks out of the way and Bischoff kicks Hogan. Piper beats on both of them until the NWO runs in for the save and Piper skedaddles.

Apparently if Mongo beats Jarrett at Havoc, Debra is gone from WCW.

Cruiserweight Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Ultimo Dragon

Eddie is defending. Apparently the main event of Benoit vs. Savage is canceled and it’s now Benoit vs. Hennig. After a quick armdrag by Eddie it’s off to a test of strength. Dragon goes down, only to bridge his body which won’t break even with Eddie’s full weight on it. That’s so awesome looking. Eddie elbows Dragon down but the challenger pops back up and hits a tilt-a-whirl slam to take over.

Dragon hits a hard kick to the back and puts on a chinlock to kill some time. Eddie fights up and hits a suplex to set up an abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere so Dragon counters a release flapjack into a hurricanrana but Eddie snaps back up. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker puts Dragon down again. That doesn’t get sold long either and here are the rapid fire kicks to stagger the champion. Guerrero heads to the floor where Dragon fakes him out before hitting a suicide dive to take Eddie down. Now it’s picking up a bit.

Back in and Dragon gets two off the dive he hit a second ago before putting on the Dragon Sleeper. Eddie gets his feet into the ropes though and Dragon has to break. Dragon puts the champ on the top rope for the super rana, only to get shoved down off the top. A tornado DDT lays Dragon out before hitting (most of) a long Frog Splash to retain.

Rating: B-. This started slow but once it picked up, it picked up BIG. I knew these two weren’t going to have a sluggish match as there’s just way too much talent out there to not put on an entertaining match. This was also good as Eddie had lost last week and he needed a clean win to keep him looking dominant going into the showdown with Rey at the PPV.

We look back at Hennig vs. Benoit on Saturday Night where Benoit had to fight off an invading NWO. The numbers caught up with him though and Benoit got beaten down.

Chris Benoit vs. Curt Hennig

I’m pretty sure this is non-title. Hennig talks to a fan in the aisle and Benoit jumps him to start. Benoit hits a big hard chop that sends Hennig into one of his usually overdone bumps but he hits his head on the steps. We head inside and the bell rings to start things off. Benoit is in full control and knocks Hennig off the apron and into the barricade. Back inside again and Benoit keeps stomping away before going to the middle rope.

Hennig finally gets in some offense in the form of a dragon screw leg whip to bring Benoit down. The Robinsdale Crunch keeps Benoit down and Hennig wraps the knee around the post. There’s a Flair cannonball but Curt uses the railing instead of the ropes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.

We take a break and come back with Benoit hammering away back in the ring. Hennig goes into a RAGE and beats Chris down before taking off a buckle pad. Benoit reverses a whip to send Hennig into the buckle and rolls some Germans for two. Curt comes right back though by sending Benoit into the same buckle to set up the Perfect Plex for the pin.

Rating: B. Hennig’s intensity here made this a better match than I was expecting. These two beat the TAR out of each other and it made for a very entertaining match. The ending was a bit lame but I get why they wouldn’t want the newly lone wolf in Benoit to lose clean here. Benoit wanting to hurt Hennig more than beat him was the right move too, making this a very solid main event.

Post match the NWO comes out for the big beatdown but here’s Flair to get his revenge and try to destroy Hennig. Flair chases him to the back and into the parking lot but Hennig gets away. Ric comes back into the arena and says this is reality. He says he’s been Racked, Scorpion Deathlocked, leg dropped and put to sleep but he’s still right here. Flair talks about being Minneapolis born and bred before saying he’s the best of all time. He promises to get Hennig at Halloween Havoc if it’s booked or not. Flair rants about Hogan a bit to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was a bit slower tonight than last week, but this built up Halloween Havoc very well. The show has now gone from a show with barely anything I want to see to a show that actually sounds pretty good in theory. Nitro is starting to click again at this point and it’s pretty cool to see.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Thunder
Date: May 14, 1998
Location: Whittemore Center Arena, Durham, New Hampshire
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay

It’s the final show before Slamboree and we have even more drama in the NWO. This time it’s the Giant joining NWO Hollywood to help protect Hogan and get his hands on Kevin Nash at the same time. The latter makes little sense as Giant already has a match with Nash on Sunday but if you try to think too much about this stuff your head will explode. Let’s get to it.

The announcers talk for a bit about the end of Nitro and give us a quick preview of tonight’s show, including Savage vs. Sting.

We get a new version of Bischoff’s challenge, this one themed like an NWO announcement. Basically Bischoff is a martial arts expert and invites Vince to come break Eric’s limbs and choke him to death, so come to Slamboree. Expect to see this about a dozen times tonight.

Mando Guerrero, Eddie’s older brother, is disappointed by Eddie’s recent actions. Chavo has it tough enough due to being a second generation wrestler without having to be Eddie’s nephew.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Reese

Reese is Eddie’s handpicked opponent, selected for how similar he is to Chavo. Reese lumbers at Chavo but the smaller guy speeds around and fires off chops for no effect. Reese throws Chavo around with ease but Guerrero comes back with a springboard kick to the chest to stagger the giant. Chavo goes up but an Eddie distraction allows Reese to catch Chavo in the chokebomb for the fast pin.

Post match Ultimo Dragon, Eddie’s opponent on Sunday, comes out to stop Eddie from berating Chavo. Chavo walks away while Eddie is caught in the Dragon Sleeper.

We recap the “fan” attacks (Kanyon) on Raven over the last few weeks.

The announcers talk about Raven’s challenge for a Bowery Death Match on Sunday.

We also get a clip of Raven beating Page for the US Title at Spring Stampede and the ensuing brawls over the next few weeks. They also air Page’s promos on Raven from Thunder two weeks ago, the fight with the bullrope, JJ giving Raven a riot squad and the challenge for the Bowery Death Match. Are they running REALLY short on time tonight? They aired about seven minutes straight of videos of the feud.

Since that’s not enough on these two, here are Raven and the riot squad. He’s tired of hearing about DDP. What about Raven? This isn’t Dodge City and Page can’t string him up like Josey Wales. If Page wants him, come get him right now. Here’s Page through the crowd because he was just waiting at the top of the arena. Page dives over the squad to get at Raven but the beatdown is on almost immediately. That looks a lot like Austin diving over the cops to get at Vince a few months after this aired. Page gets hung by the bullrope.

Goldberg has to defend the US Title by running a Flock gauntlet on Sunday.

The Outsiders will actually be here tonight.

TV Title: Kenny Kaos vs. Fit Finlay

In case you didn’t think the other High Voltage member getting a title shot was stupid enough. Finlay grabs a nerve hold to start but Kaos comes back with a hiptoss before pulling Finlay away from the ropes. Finlay drags him to the floor by the hair for a quick pounding before taking Kaos back inside, getting two off a splash. Kaos gets the knees up to block a Vader Bomb and gets two off an atomic drop. The champion pounds away but misses a charge into the post, only to take it to the floor where Rage helps out his partner. Back in and Finlay hits the rolling senton and the tombstone to retain.

Rating: D. Nothing match as Finlay didn’t sell anything Kaos did and easily beat him after getting double teamed. This wasn’t really even a squash with Kaos getting in some offense but to no effect. I still don’t get why Finlay was champion anyway as he hadn’t really done anything significant prior to winning the title.

We see Savage calling out Bret from a few weeks ago.

Here’s a live action person dressed as a character from the animated movie Quest For Camelot to hand out t-shirts. This doesn’t seem to be announced to anyone in the arena, but why would they need to know who this big viking looking guy is?

US Title: Sick Boy vs. Goldberg

Sick Boy goes right for the champ and actually takes him down with a snapmare. We get a nerve hold but Goldberg easily fights up. A pair of dropkicks stagger him but Goldberg comes back with a gorilla press, setting up a bad looking spear and the Jackhammer to retain the title.

The Flock swarms Goldberg but he takes down Riggs, scaring everyone else off.

Saturn says he uses a basic side kick like people have been using for thousands of years. He didn’t steal it from Glacier or any other reject from a video game.

Chris Adams vs. Saturn

Before the match Kidman asks Adams if he wants to lose to the Rings of Saturn or the Death Valley Driver. Adams doesn’t say anything so Kidman picks the Death Valley Driver, which will be set up by the Cryonic Kick and there’s nothing Glacier can do about it. Security holds Van Hammer back from getting in the ring. They trade hammerlocks to start as Tony rips apart the Flock for being a bunch of spoiled brats as children.

Saturn catches an incoming boot to the ribs but Adams takes him down with an enziguri for two. Adams misses a top rope knee drop and Kidman hands Saturn a chair. Saturn gets a springboard into the corner for a clothesline before sending Chris out to the floor. Adams comes back with some right hands but gets sent into the ropes, setting up the superkick and Death Valley Driver for Saturn’s pin.

Rating: C. Better match than expected here with Adams at least being game out there. I like the idea of Saturn calling his finish but it would be better if it was in a feud with ANYONE but Glacier. Was there no one else out there you could have use a superkick to set up a feud with Saturn at all? Not a bad match at all though.

This week in WCW Motorsports because all WCW fans care about car racing.

Robbie Rage vs. Chris Benoit

Apparently Nitro will be split in two on Monday with one hour from 7-8 and one hour from 11:30-12:30. Rage no sells some chops to start and gorilla presses Benoit down with ease. An overhead belly to belly has Benoit in even more trouble and it’s off to a half crab from Rage. Kaos is nowhere to be seen for some reason tonight. Rage loads up a powerslam but rams Benoit back first into the corner instead of slamming him down. Benoit avoids a top rope splash and there’s the Swan Dive followed by the Crossface for the submission.

Rating: D+. Nothing special to see here but Rage got in far more offense than he should have. This was out of the 1995 Randy Savage playbook: get destroyed for most of the match and then hit a big move for the win. It doesn’t do much for Benoit but at least he got the win going into his title match on Sunday.

Here’s Eric Bischoff with his fists up and something to say. The announcers talk about the challenge but aren’t sure if they should support Bischoff or not. Bischoff talks about Vince sending guys where Vince knows Eric won’t be, but he’s received a letter from Vince’s lawyers, saying that Vince will NOT be at the PPV and stop promoting him as such. Bischoff says ok but Doug Dillinger will still be there to guard the door and make sure Vince gets to the ring safely. The announcers still aren’t sure what to say.

Buy the Outsiders shirt!

Tag Titles: Outsiders vs. Public Enemy

And there’s no Hall. Nash complains about politics in the back with Bischoff and Hogan keeping Hall off live TV. However, they can’t stop him from being at the PPV for some reason so Hall WILL be at Slamboree. He stops to talk about how sexy he looks tonight and brings out his replacement partner for the night: Dusty Rhodes. Rocco starts for the challengers as Dusty chills on the floor.

Nash throws Rock into the corner and chokes him with the boot before firing in some elbows for two. More corner choking ensues before Public Enemy double suplexes Nash down. Rhodes pulls Grunge to the floor and the Jackknife to Rocco followed by the Bionic Elbow retains the titles. Heenan: “DUSTY IS 1-0!”

Rating: D. This was barely long enough to rate but it was basically a joke match. The fans popped for Dusty so I guess the Wolfpack is officially a face group. They’re definitely faces in the NWO but it wasn’t entirely clear if they were faces overall. It’s nice to see the belts defended at all though as I don’t think they’ve been on the line since February.

Sting vs. Randy Savage

We get a lot of pyro before the entrances. Savage jumps Sting in the aisle and I don’t think there was a bell. They head inside with Sting taking over and backdropping Savage down. Savage rakes the eyes and takes it back to the floor with Sting sending Randy into the barricade and actually hitting the Splash against the steel. That might be the only time I’ve ever seen that connect in WCW. Back in and the Stinger Splash misses but Sting comes back with an elbow to the jaw. Not that it matters as here’s Bret Hart with a chair for the fast DQ. Match was just over two minutes long.

Giant comes in to save Bret from Savage, only to have Nash come in to save Savage with a chair shot. Sting hits Nash with the chair, leaving just Sting and Giant standing. Giant gets a mic and says that once they win the tag titles, Sting has a decision to make. He throws Sting a black and white t-shirt and Sting doesn’t immediately say no. Giant leaves so Luger comes out to try to talk reason into Sting.

The Bischoff challenge to McMahon ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Well let’s see: we get no explanation from Giant, the only major story development is for what happens after the tag title match, we saw two High Voltage matches for some reason, and nothing new was added to the PPV. This show just didn’t need to happen, which is the case with almost all of the Thunder shows anymore.

Here’s Slamboree if you’re interested:

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Monday Nitro #136
Date: May 11, 1998
Location: Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko

It’s the go home show for Slamboree and we’re back to the three hour shows again tonight because I haven’t suffered enough so far. The main story continues to be the NWO civil war since the new world champion is apparently too busy to defend his newly won title on the pay per view. The card is mostly set but we might get a few more minor matches announced tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap from the end of last week’s show when Bret held back Adams, telling him to let the Wolfpack and WCW fight.

Opening sequence.

Tony promises us more on the NWO tonight and shows us the end of last week’s show again.

Gene brings out Bret for the opening interview. Hart is still in street clothes and not NWO gear. He calls Savage a big chicken who has been ducking Bret for years. Bret accuses Savage of coming to WCW to hide from him but now Randy’s worst nightmare has come true because Bret is in WCW. We get a clip from last week with Bret putting Savage in the Sharpshooter, with promises of more to come at Slamboree.

Back from a break with Gene introducing the Nitro Girls who come out one by one.

Barry Horowitz vs. Disco Inferno

Barry hits a quick jawbreaker to take over followed by something resembling a Skull Crushing Finale for no cover. A backbreaker gets two on Disco but Inferno comes back with an atomic drop and a swinging neckbreaker…..for the pin? That came out of nowhere.

Here’s Randy Savage with something to say. He says if Bret thinks he’s running scared, just wait for Slamboree to see how far Savage runs away. Tonight though Savage wants to challenge Hogan for the world title so he can defend it against Bret on Sunday.

Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera

Security takes away a sign before the guys in the ring speed up to start. A pair of headscissors puts Kidman down to the floor. Juvy follows out with a BIG plancha to take Kidman down again before we head back inside. A slingshot legdrop gets two for Kidman but he pops up and tries a powerbomb but instead flips Juvy forward to land on his face. That was odd looking as Juvy appeared to counter into a faceplant but it was Kidman planting Juvy.

Kidman goes up but jumps into a dropkick to the ribs and gets taken down by a spinwheel kick. A springboard cross body gets the same for Guerrera and we get a pinfall reversal sequence with a string of near falls until Juventud hits the Juvy Driver for two. Not that it matters though as Reese sneaks in with the chokebomb, allowing Kidman to hit a quick Seven Year Itch for the pin.

Rating: C-. The flying wasn’t bad but the Flock vs. Juvy isn’t doing much for me. There’s no way Guerrera is going to face the top guys in the group so there’s almost no interest in these matches. Kidman is the best choice for Juvy to fight until he gets to have the big David vs. Goliath match with Reese, who I don’t think has had a match yet.

Reese carries Juvy out while carrying Kidman on his back.

Here’s Eric Bischoff on a motorcycle to prove how awesome he is. After assuring us of his love, he wants to know what Vince McMahon is thinking right now. For a few weeks now, Vince has been sending his cronies around but he knows Bischoff won’t be there. If Sean Waltman wants an apology from Eric Bischoff, he shouldn’t have shown up at WCW offices on a Monday afternoon. As for the apology, Waltman can bite him.

Bischoff talks about coming to Vince’s backyard for the PPV Sunday so why don’t they have a fight live on PPV? Eric guarantees that Vince won’t show up, which in wrestling is how you guarantee that someone WILL be there. If I remember right, this led to a big lawsuit between the two companies with WCW having to pay out a big settlement.

Nitro Girls with Alex Wright. You know the drill by now.

Yuji Nagata vs. Scott Norton

Norton runs him over in the corner and powerslams Nagata down with ease. Nagata comes back with some kicks and is loudly booed so Norton runs him over, drawing more boos. Scott no sells a belly to back suplex as we cut to Sonny Onoo and miss some stuff. Norton’s shoulder breaker ends this quick.

CALL THE HOTLINE!

We recap Hennig joining the Wolfpack.

Hugh Morrus vs. Jim Powers

Morrus hits a quick powerslam and No Laughing Matter ends this in about 20 seconds.

The Wolfpack comes to the ring as we take a break. Actually scratch the break as the NWO is more important. It’s just Nash and Konnan this week but maybe we’ll get a new member tonight. Nash talks about himself and Hall forming the NWO and Hogan jumping on the train as it was pulling away. The real NWO is wearing black and red and they’re scaring Hollywood. Hogan is supposed to be here tonight and he needs to say that Nash is the real big man. Also stop using their hand signals because they’re not using them right. The NWO music plays them off when Nash didn’t seem to be done.

Hour #2 begins.

Ultimo Dragon vs. Johnny Swinger

Dragon easily leg sweeps Swinger down to start and there’s the headstand in the corner as Swinger dances. Johnny slams him down for two and adds a belly to back suplex for the same. Here’s Chavo Guerrero but before he can do anything Dragon hooks the top rope hurricanrana and the Dragon Sleeper ends this.

Chavo shakes Dragon’s hand but here’s Eddie to shove his nephew away. Chavo shoves Eddie down and Eddie says hit him in the jaw so Dragon puts Eddie in the Dragon Sleeper. Eddie goes after Dragon but Chavo pulls him off so Eddie leaves.

Before they’re even out of the ring, here’s Dusty Rhodes with something to say. He says before the night is over and before all the tickets are turned in and all the money has been countered, Kevin Nash is going to be in Hogan’s face. Dusty says that Hogan isn’t doing right by everyone in the NWO by doing stuff like firing Syxx and keeping Hall off TV. A long time ago Hall offered up his innocent to Dusty but Dusty didn’t pay him back in scorn. Instead he gave him shelter from the storm (Dusty said the same thing when Sapphire left him for Ted DiBiase at Summerslam 1990) and made him a cool guy.

Right now Scott Hall has a personal problem but he’ll beat that problem and be at Slamboree this Sunday. Randy Savage needs to stop complaining right now because the Wolfpack has no pecking order. Before tonight is over, Nash is going to be in Hogan’s ugly face and that’s that. I guess this was Dusty joining the Wolfpack?

US Title: Goldberg vs. Len Denton

Denton is more famous as the Grappler, which isn’t a name that most people are going to remember as a lot of his career was in the 70s and 80s. He was however the man that Jake Roberts had in a front facelock when Jake slipped and fell backwards, inventing the DDT. Denton hits a jawbreaker but gets speared and Jackhammered down to make Goldberg 83-0.

We get a clip from MTV over the weekend with Page jumping Raven in a wrestling ring MTV had set up for some reason.

Here’s JJ Dillon with Raven in toe. Apparently Raven has filed a grief against almost everyone in WCW over them causing an unsafe working environment. Therefore, JJ has ordered some riot control officers to take care of Raven while the rest of the company works to make the company safer.

Raven has three main grievances: an unnamed assailant, Diamond Dallas Page wanting another match which he’ll get in a Bowery Death Match (last man standing in a cage) and the strife between Hammer and Saturn. Saturn lost last week but if he has something to say, come out here and say it. Saturn comes out and…..is told to lay out Hammer at Raven’s orders. Jerry Flynn of all people comes out to beat up Saturn and this appears to be a match.

Saturn vs. Jerry Flynn

Saturn suplexes him down and gets a quick pin with the Death Valley Driver.

We see Bischoff’s challenge to Vince again.

We recap the TV Title change last week.

TV Title: Fit Finlay vs. Robbie Rage

Heenan is on commentary at the halfway point of the show. Rage takes over with a quick clothesline in the corner before pulling Finlay away from the ropes, slamming him down the to mat. Finlay grabs the leg to take Rage down and stays on the knee for a bit. They head to the floor with Finlay beating up Kaos as well, but the distraction allows Rage to slam him down in the ring. A top rope splash gets two, sending Rage after the referee. Booker T comes out to break up the interference from Kaos, allowing Finlay to tombstone Rage for the pin.

Rating: D. The match was ok, but it’s almost impossible to care about Finlay defending the title against a tag team jobber. Somehow we went from Benoit vs. Booker to this in the span of a few weeks without ever getting to see Benoit win the title. Much like Denton earlier, it always makes me wonder what the criteria is for a title shot. When was the last time Rage even had a singles match, let alone won it?

Benoit comes out and goes after Booker but security pulls them apart. JJ says their matches are cancelled and they’re fighting tonight for a shot against Finlay on Sunday. This would be more shocking if Tony hadn’t told us this on two different occasions already tonight, including during the TV Title match.

We see the challenge. Again.

More Nitro Girls.

Nitro Party winner.

Lenny Lane vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Feeling out process to start until Page fires off knees to the ribs and puts Lane down with a tilt-a-whirl side slam. Lane comes back with some choking and does the Diamond Cutter sign. He bulldogs Page down for two but Page fights up and puts Lane on the top rope for the Diamond Cutter to end it.

Page wants Raven to come out here right now so he can bang him tonight before he bangs Raven on Sunday.

Bischoff Challenge Part 4.

Hour #3 begins so here are Hogan and Bischoff, flanked by the rest of the B-Team (Adams, Disciple and Vincent) with something to say. First of all Hogan brags about how awesome he is and how we all need to go see 3 Ninjas and the new Assault on Devil’s Island movie. Hogan goes on some tangent about going to wrestling school before accepting Savage’s challenge for tonight. He calls Nash out here for the big showdown as this is somehow over five minutes long now.

After some gay jokes abound, Hogan demands an apology and for Nash to admit that he poached Hennig away from him. Also Nash has to admit that Mr. Hogan is the leader and champion and that Nash has to get back on his good side. Nash says that he won’t apologize and that he’ll go through all of Hogan’s goons to get to Hogan. Hogan promises a big gun that Nash can’t handle, so here’s Giant back in the Black and White. Nash gets destroyed and spray painted. Savage, Konnan and Dusty come out which gets rid of the NWO for some reason.

Tony and his goon squad ask about the tag match with Sting/Giant vs. the Outsiders on Sunday.

We recap Jericho mocking Malenko last week before beating Bore-Us Malenko.

Jericho is in the ring with something under a sheet. He demands to be called the Lionheart, the Man of 1004 Holds and the Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah. Jericho shows off his trophies, including a prosthetic leg to represent Rey’s knee. However, there’s no one left for Jericho to face so he’s going to retire the title. This brings out JJ Dillon to announce a cruiserweight battle royal for Sunday with the winner getting a title shot later in the night.

Jericho isn’t pleased and thinks JJ isn’t being fair to the winner by making him face 14 guys and then get beaten up by the champion. He then pulls the sheet off, revealing a defaced picture of Dean Malenko, holding a bunch of celery and saying he’s a Jericho-hollic. This brings out Dean’s brother Joe to say be nice to Dean, earning a prosthetic leg to the head.

Glacier claims someone has stolen the Cryonic Kick.

Glacier vs. Sick Boy

Sick Boy gets jumped coming back into the ring but Glacier has to stop to pose. A few punches slow Glacier down but Glacier hits a kick to the…..shoulder? Either way it knocks Sick Boy into the referee so the Cryonic Kick (superkick) gets no count. Cue Saturn to kick Glacier in the face, giving Sick Boy two, even though the bell rang. Glacier kicks him in the face again for the pin.

Post match Saturn lays Glacier out again, this time with a Death Valley Driver. They’re really trying to get their money out of Glacier.

We recap Scott Steiner pretending to give up on the NWO before turning on Rick again in a ruse as Adams attacked Rick.

Here’s Lex Luger to say Rick Steiner is out for 3-4 months due to shoulder surgery, so he wants either Adams or Scott Steiner at Slamboree.

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T

The winner gets a TV Title shot against Finlay on Sunday. Benoit jumps Booker as he comes into the ring and the attack is on fast. Booker comes back with a great looking hook kick to the jaw and some forearms to the back. A nice gorilla press puts Benoit down again but he comes back with right hands of his own. They slug it out until Benoit snaps off a German suplex to put both guys down.

A snap suplex gets two on Booker but he grabs a powerslam of his own to get a breather. Benoit ducks the side kick to send Booker into the ropes and a belly to back puts Booker down again. There’s the Swan Dive for two but Booker elbows him in the face and hits the ax kick. The spinebuster puts Benoit down but he ducks the side kick. Benoit grabs the Crossface out of nowhere for the submission and the title shot.

Rating: C+. These two have chemistry together and hopefully this sets up Benoit’s long overdue title win. Booker has been booked so well over the last few months that a win over him actually means something, even though this is his second loss in a row. Good stuff here which is what this show has needed.

WCW World Title: Hollywood Hogan vs. Randy Savage

Unfortunately there’s a lot of time left. Hogan looks a bit tipsy. Savage jumps Hogan from behind and takes over before pounding away in the corner. Hogan comes back with a right hand and chokes away in the corner as well. Savage has his shoulder sent into the post as we enter the garbage brawling period.

Back in and Hogan clotheslines Randy down before choking even more. Right hands have Savage in trouble in the corner again but the champion gets kicked low. Not that it matters as Hogan kicks him in the face but misses the legdrop. Disciple breaks up the elbow and here Hart with a belt shot on Savage, giving Hogan the pin.

Rating: D. Do I really need to explain this one? Really? Hogan was incapable of having a good match at this point if his life depended on it and Savage was basically nothing but punches, ax handles and the big elbow. It’s a bad sign when the best thing you can say about a match is that it was short but that’s all this one has.

Post match here are Nash and Piper for the save with Roddy saying he doesn’t want to fight Nash. Instead he names Savage as the winner by DQ which changes nothing. Piper yells at Hogan and Hart but names himself as referee for Hart vs. Savage. Giant comes to the ring and Sting is in the rafters to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. As usual here there’s some decent stuff but so much of the show is spent on worthless matches. Scott Norton vs. Yuji Nagata? Disco Inferno vs. Barry Horowitz? Glacier vs. Sick Boy? Can you blame people for going over to Raw in droves? On top of that we have Giant joining the NWO again as the story is now at two years old and showing no signs of stopping. Slamboree is in a few days and I can’t think of a single match on it I’m looking forward to. That’s a really bad sign.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Monday Nitro #135
Date: May 4, 1998
Location: Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay

It’s another two hour show this week instead of the usual three hours due to the NBA Playoffs. My response: God bless the NBA. We’re closing in on Slamboree and the main story is the NWO civil war. Nash, Savage and Konnan have officially formed the Wolfpack who will have their own everything very soon. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Konnan joining Nash and Savage.

Opening sequence.

Nitro Girls.

The announcers talk about the NWO’s troubles. Brian Adams has officially sided with Hogan.

Now for a change of pace, we get a recap of the Wolfpack forming and Nash wanting a piece of Hart. We also see Konnan joining the team for the second time in less than six minutes.

Here are Eddie and Chavo for a match. Before the match, Eddie says he’s going to be a good example for Chavo. The announcers go nuts on Eddie as he calls out Scott Norton.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Scott Norton

Surprisingly enough, Eddie doesn’t send Chavo in instead immediately. He actually waits about thirty seconds before “hurting his knee” and sending Chavo in to face Norton. Norton slugs away on Chavo in the corner and press slams him down before going after Eddie. Chavo uses the opening to dropkick Scott’s knee a few times. Norton comes right back with a powerslam and the shoulder breaker for the pin. Squash.

Ultimo Dragon comes in to check on Chavo but Eddie tells him to get away.

Scott Putski vs. Kidman

Tenay talks about how Putski’s dad, Ivan, was more of a power guy. Larry: “Let me put it another way. Ivan was stupid.” Putski slams Kidman down and drops an elbow for two but Kidman hits a running bulldog out of the corner to take over. Scott comes back with a sitout spinebuster as the Wolfpack comes through the crowd, complete with the red and black NWO logo shirts. They storm the ring to take out Putski for the fast DQ.

Nash says this is how things are going to be from now on. The Wolfpack is very hungry, so they’re going to pick Sting and Giant’s bones at Slamboree. Nash refers to the team as the red and black attack and says it’s about to be a war between them and Hogan’s crew. Savage says that Hogan’s new friend Bret Hart won’t get screwed unless that’s something he wants.

Nash brings out the newest member of the Wolfpack: Curt Hennig. Bryan Adams comes out to ask Hennig what he’s doing but Curt blows him off. Hennig takes off the black and white to reveal the Wolfpack colors. Konnan challenges Adams for later and Nash wants a piece of Sting, so why not have Nash vs. Luger to show Sting what he’s in for.

Video on Raven, talking about being alone. He wasn’t allowed to play ball with the other kids but they wouldn’t have let him play anyway.

Here’s Jericho with the picture of Malenko again. We also get a video featuring Malenko talking about his dad passing away. Jericho says Dean’s dad Boris must be rolling in his grave over how much of a failure Dean is. Jericho dedicates his career to someone who is much better than Dean and knows far more holds: Bore-Us Malenko.

Chris Jericho vs. Bore-Us Malenko

Malenko is a tiny guy in Dean’s gear and this is about what you would expect. Jericho pulls Bore-Us on top of him for two before making a comeback and taming the Bore-Us lion for the win.

More Nitro Girls with Alex Wright interrupting them again.

We get Hogan’s comments from last week which didn’t really say anything.

Hugh Morrus/Barbarian vs. Public Enemy

This is a street fight which is probably the best idea all around. Grunge whips Morrus with a big rope as Rocco blasts Barbarian in the head with a trashcan. Morrus comes back with a trashcan lid to Johnny’s head as Barbarian crotches Rocco on the top rope. It’s amazing how often one guy on a team making a comeback triggers the same comeback from his partner. Everyone gets inside for the first time, including Jimmy Hart to get in some stomps of his own. Barbarian misses a dive through a table but Morrus slams Rocco through one to make up for it. Hart hits Morrus by mistake and gets splashed by Grunge for the pin. Ok then.

Bryan Adams suggests that everyone here have a glass of shut up. Are you telling me that Rock was ripping off BRYAN FREAKING ADAMS??? After my mind is blown by that line, Adams tells us all that Hulk Hogan made wrestling and is the reason we’re here tonight. He’ll fight Konnan tonight too.

Video on Chris Benoit vs. Booker T, making it look like a big time rivalry. Benoit swears he made Booker tap out but Booker says he was reaching for the rope. The video isn’t conclusive enough to tell either way. Another match is set for Slamboree.

Heenan joins commentary.

We look at the end of last Tuesday’s show with Hart not explaining his actions.

Hour #2 begins.

Saturn vs. Hammer

Kidman says this is a loser leaves the Flock match. Hammer sends Saturn into the steps to take over and gets two off something like an airplane spin. Saturn comes back with a superkick and some chops in the corner followed by a Cactus Clothesline to take both guys to the outside. We look at Raven’s dressing room to see the Flock watching the match. Saturn dives into a powerslam for no cover and a delayed superplex gets the same lack of cover.

Hammer goes for the legs but gets kicked into the ropes, setting up a top rope legdrop from Saturn. Saturn brings in a chair which is legal here it seems. A springboard dropkick using the chair knocks Hammer into the corner but a second attempt hits the referee. Saturn hits something like a Van Daminator and loads up the Death Valley Driver, only to have Kanyon come in dressed as a beer vendor. One beer case to the head is enough to knock Saturn out of the Flock.

Rating: D+. This was better than I expected and it’s nice to see the Flock have a story outside of whatever Raven is doing at the moment. Saturn leaving the Flock is interesting, but he’s always been the rebel of the group. Nice match here though and it should set the stage for more interesting stuff in the future.

Raven is mad and comes to the ring, only to have Page storm into the locker room with a stop sign and a bullrope around his neck for no apparent reason. Page drags Raven around the back and into the ring. Pyro goes off as Page comes down the ramp and scares everyone to death. The guys are tied by the neck but Raven comes back with a low blow to drop Page. DDP counters the Even Flow and hangs Raven over the ropes, drawing in security as we take a break.

More Nitro Girls as Tony tells us there’s no Thunder again this week. Well if he insists.

Sick Boy vs. Juventud Guerrera

Is this Flock Night or something? Sick Boy jumps Juy in the corner to start and stomps him down in the corner. An elevated Pedigree gets two for Boy but Juvy comes back with a spinwheel kick for two. The ring is soaked from Kanyon’s drinks so they keep slipping out there. Juvy is sent to the apron for a springboard missile dropkick and there’s the Juvy Driver. Horace breaks up the 450 and that’s a quick DQ.

Juvy gets out of the double team but the seven foot Reese is too much for him. He isn’t however too much for Goldberg who makes the save and Jackhammers Reese.

Here’s Rick Steiner for a chat with Gene. Rick wants his brother to come out here right now and tell him whether the Steiner Brothers are getting back together or if one of them will be left laying. If Scott has any guts, he’ll be out here right now. Scott does come out, but on crutches.

Scott says he’s lost friends and their parents aren’t talking to him the same. Sometimes bad things happen like what happened to Bagwell, but Scott doesn’t want something like that to get between the Steiners. Rick says they either fight it out right now or walk to the back together. Scott denounces Hogan and the NWO, saying he wants to reform the tag team.

Rick, somehow the smartest guy in the room, says he can’t trust Scott, even as he appears to be on the verge of tears. The intelligence is short lived though as Rick says he’ll give Scotty another chance, but if Scott stabs him in the back, Rick will hunt him until he dies. They hug and here’s Adams with a ball bat. Scott is of course fine and cheers Adams on, confirming his loyalty to Hogan’s camp.

Bryan Adams vs. Konnan

Konnan goes right at Adams to start and clotheslines him down. Can we please get Konnan some fitted pants? All that tugging must get annoying. Adams comes back with a bad looking piledriver (Tony says it was the jumping variety despite the complete lack of jumping) and sends Konnan to the outside. Cue Bret Hart to get a cheap shot on Konnan and send him back inside. Adams gorilla presses Konnan down but Nash comes in for the DQ.

Adams gets jackknifed.

Nitro Girls again, this time in silver.

We look at the Nitro Party winner of the week.

TV Title: Fit Finlay vs. Booker T

Fit takes him into the corner to start and hits a hard kick to the champion’s back. Finlay cranks on the leg as Tony is thrilled to have Nitro back to three hours next week. Booker fights up with a good looking spin kick to the face before backdropping Finlay to the floor. Back in and Finlay hits a hard clothesline, only to be taken down by a running forearm. The ax kick puts Finlay down and the whip spinebuster does the same. There’s a flapjack from the champion as Benoit saunters down to the ring. The distraction lets Finlay tombstone Booker down for the pin and the title.

Rating: D+. Nothing special here but it furthers the Booker vs. Benoit feud, which has already had developments since the last time we saw them. Over the last week, Booker and Benoit traded the TV Title at some house shows, but neither of Benoit’s two wins were acknowledged tonight. Instead we need Finlay to get the title. That’s not a knock on Finlay, but he hasn’t done anything of note in months and he gets a title?

Kevin Nash vs. Lex Luger

We have less than five minutes of air time left during Luger’s entrance. Luger pounds away in the corner to start but a Konnan distraction allows Nash to kick him in the face. Nash fires off elbows in the corner and does the foot choke to really expand the offense. A running clothesline hits Luger in the corner but a second one runs into Luger’s boot. Savage and Konnan get taken down but Nash gets in a cheap shot to take over again as the Wolfpack comes in for the fast DQ.

Sting and Giant come out to break up the Jackknife and start a fight. Adams comes out but Bret stops him from hitting the ring, wisely saying let them fight to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is an interesting case for Nitro. On one hand, this was a story driven show which did the last thing WCW needed: put even more focus on the NWO. The silver lining for this show though was the length. It’s amazing how much easier it is to sit through Nitro when it loses that third hour. There’s a lot of good stuff in WCW, but the extra time is always given to pad out the bad stuff, dragging the show down in the process. Not a bad show here, but the bad is going to take over in a hurry.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Monday Nitro #54
Date: September 23, 1996
Location: CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 4,308
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone, Eric Bischoff, Mike Tenay

As mentioned on the previous show, this is the one where everyone not named Savage is in Japan. Eric, ever the lunkhead, mentioned this last week and the NWO knows about it. Expect a lot of unusual names on this show and a lot of matches that no one would ever want to see. Oh and a lot of the NWO as well I’m sure. Let’s get to it.

Tony holds up an ad that is allegedly in the USA Today, talking about Nitro being taken over by the NWO tonight. Larry talks about parasites.

We get clips of fans tearing up NWO stuff.

Konnan/Kevin Sullivan vs. Brad Armstrong/Juventud Guerrera

The two Mexicans start us off and Konnan takes it to the mat. Juvy is like “screw that in Spanish” and fires off a plancha and slingshot leg to speed things up. And there’s the 187 to stop that quickly. Sullivan won’t tag in so Konnan has to keep fighting. Armstrong comes in and cleans house a bit but there’s a powerbomb. Sullivan finally makes a tag and here are the NWO sign guys. Sullivan gets a pin. That’s literally all he did in the entire match: walk in and get a pin. Pretty much a squash match.

The Dungeon beats down Konnan for no apparent reason post match. And then they stop and help him up. It was an initiation according to Sullivan.

We get some clips from the end of last week’s show where the NWO said they were coming for Savage this week. Savage says he’s a marked man and if that’s what it takes to get at Hogan, that’s cool with him. He’s the last hope for WCW and says he volunteered to stay here tonight on his own. As for Liz, and I quote, “The only thing we have in common is that in a thousand lifetimes, we might be goldfish swimming in the same water.” Kids, don’t do drugs.

Mike Enos vs. Chris Jericho

We’re told that it’s Harlem Heat vs. Outsiders for the titles at Havoc. They start fast and Jericho gets slapped, as does Enos. Enos channels his inner JYD and gets on all fours to headbutt Jericho. Pretty basic match so far as we talk about Savage and the NWO. Larry says there was something else Savage said that Larry didn’t like. He doesn’t bother saying what that is, but I guess that’s an exercise left up to us.

They go to the floor and it’s all Enos. He loads up the steps and suplexes Jericho onto them, which isn’t a DQ I guess. Three minutes after he initially brought it up, Larry says it was the last hope for WCW line that he didn’t like. Off to a bearhug and then a powerslam for two. All Enos so far. Jericho gets put into a Boston Crab which isn’t ironic yet. Over the shoulder backbreaker now but Jericho counters into a sunset flip for two.

Missile dropkick puts Enos down and up to the corner we go. He sets for a super rana but Enos powerbombs him out of it (not as exciting as it sounds) for two. In a pretty cool ending that I don’t think I’ve seen before, Jericho counters a powerslam into something like a powerslam of his own (better than it sounds) for the pin. That looked pretty sweet actually.

Rating: B-. Much better match here than I was expecting. Enos was fine for what he was supposed to be here: a power guy acting as a foil for Jericho to look good against here. The ending was good too and it’s always fun to see a guy like Jericho getting one of his first big breaks on national TV. Fun match that did things simply but well.

Pat Tanaka vs. Glacier

Tanaka comes out to what would become Goldberg’s music. The guy that got the music became one of the biggest stars ever while Tanaka became the referee for Micro Championship Wrestling. It’s snowing again and we hear about Larry being a black belt also. Think they’ll be kicking a lot? Larry explains what the fist behind the hand for the bow means (wanting violence to be the second choice). They avoid kicks for awhile until Tanaka hooks a sitout powerbomb. Ignore that as a spin kick ends this in about 30 seconds. Glacier won in case you’re really stupid.

Tag Titles: Harlem Heat vs. Public Enemy

Arn vs. Lex is announced for Havoc as well. The champs jump them and double team Rock for a bit. Booker vs. Rock to start but it’s off to Grunge quickly. We take a break and come back with Heat in control now. Booker crotches himself on a kick attempt though and it’s a not hot tag to Grunge. Big clothesline puts Johnny down (it’s Booker T/Stevie Ray vs. Johnny Grunge/Rocco Rock if you’ve been confused so far) and it’s off to Ray.

Time to talk about Savage again and we have a table from nowhere set up on the floor. Grunge is knocked to the floor and hit his back on it on the way down. Well that sucks. A Harlem Side Kick hits Grunge for two and we cut to the back to see the NWO arrive, now in two limos. At least it’s a chinlock that we’re missing which is an old school technique for getting around this kind of stuff. It was usually used when there was a fight in the crowd or something. Whenever you see fans looking elsewhere, you’ll often see a veteran go into a rest hold to make sure the fans don’t miss anything. That’s how a good wrestler thinks.

The hot tag brings in Rocco and he cleans house as well as a dirty man like he can. He fires off a bunch of right hands but runs into the Heat. The Hangover misses for the most part (Booker’s back landed on him instead) and we get a near fall due to Grunge’s foot being on the ropes. There’s a small package on Booker and Rock reverses it for the pin and the shocking title change.

Rating: D+. The match sucked but this was the kind of surprise that was designed to make you think anything could happen. They lost the titles like two weeks later so that Harlem Heat could defend against the Outsiders so it’s not like this lasted a significant amount of time, but it was a good surprise and I was legit shocked when it happened.

Second hour begins.

Greg Valentine vs. Randy Savage

Eric says there’s a new NWO member tonight. I can’t think of who that would be as the next member wasn’t until October and it was nothing of note unless I’m totally overlooking someone. Valentine jumps him and that doesn’t work all that well. They go to the floor with Valentine having his token control period. We hear that Super Calo has injured his elbow in a dark match so he’s out for awhile. Savage clocks Valentine with a chair twice and that’s a DQ. The whole point of this is coming down the aisle though.

Here’s the NWO and it’s beatdown time. A Jackknife puts him down and Savage is in trouble. Giant grabs a mic and introduces Hogan. They beat him down even more and drop a leg on him. They even beat him with a Slim Jim. Hogan talks about Savage being bald and they spraypaint the top of his head.

They storm the announcers’ booth and Bobby runs with Tenay. Eric can’t get away though and the announcers sit down with him. They debut their head of security: Vincent. That would be Virgil from WWF. To be fair, no one cared about him or had heard of him in years so it’s not like this meant anything.

Ok so the NWO will be running the commentary for the rest of the night. Eric keeps trying to leave but can’t get away. They debut the NWO Nascar car which used to be the WCW car. Kyle Petty is the driver.

Jim Powers vs. Michael Wallstreet

Giant is the new announcer. Hall and Nash leave the booth and DiBiase sits down instead. The Outsiders are beating up Powers now so there’s no match.

Randy Anderson walks out so Nick Patrick says he’ll do all the refereeing.

Giant chokeslams Powers again and we cut to Hogan in the back, spraypainting something. He comes down the hall and runs into the Nasty Boys. Hogan gives them his hotel key and says tonight they won’t be fighting the Outsiders because they can talk some business with Hogan later. A defection is implied.

Jim Duggan vs. Syxx

It’s supposed to be Ron Studd but that doesn’t happen as Hogan and Nash beat him down in the aisle. We hear what might be the debut of the NWO theme song. Hogan jumps in on commentary which is something that is very rare to hear. Duggan takes over to start and gets the USA chant going. You know, Syxx is from Minnesota. Wouldn’t a USA chant help him as well? The three point clothesline hits but Giant pulls Duggan out and hits one of the worst chokeslams I’ve ever seen on the concrete so that Syxx can get the pin. He had no other offense.

NWO Sting vs. Bo LaDue

LaDue has never had another televised match as far as I know. Sting does the usual Sting stuff and no one buys it. Splash and Deathlock end this.

Hogan talks about Savage a bit.

High Voltage vs. Outsiders

This is part of the NWO Tag Team Tournament. The French Canadians are supposed to be the opponents but the Outsiders come out next so the French dudes run. I have no idea what there is to say about this. Hall beats on one of them, Nash beats on one of them, we take a break, we come back with more beatings, we get a Brooke/Nick reference, Hall suplexes Rage off the top, a Jackknife pins Kaos. That match lasted about 11 minutes.

Rating: F. Yeah it’s a squash, yeah it’s supposed to be dominant, yeah it was really boring.

The NWO talks for a few minutes to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This is one of the benchmarks where you can see that everything is about TV instead of being for the live audience. Can you imagine how bored they’ve been for the last two hours of this show? Nothing has happened at all. The whole thing was about the NWO and they have no idea that Vincent is the new man either. This was all for the TV show, which is fine but it takes the crowd out of stuff quickly. Not a good show, but a lot of that is due to everyone being in Japan.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at: