Lucha Libre Hidden Gems Collection
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Scott Hudson, Jim Ross, Brian Pillman, Hugo Savinovich, Carlos Cabrera, Jim Cornette, Dio Maddin, Aiden English, Vic Joseph, Larry Zbyszko, Josh Matthews, Santino Marella

So here we have a look at one of the things that WCW really did right. The introduction of the cruiserweights, mainly those from Mexico, gave them a unique feeling and it made for some outstanding matches in the process. That should make for some interesting options here, as there were so many of these things that it’s easy to forget how great some of them were. Let’s get to it.

From WCW Saturday Night, May 8, 1999.

Psychosis vs. Blitzkrieg

Psychosis works on the arm to start as we hear about his Cruiserweight Title reign only lasting a week after being Blitzkrieg in a four way. Blitzkrieg slips out of a wristlock to start and sends Psychosis outside, meaning we get a quick breather. Back in and Blitzkrieg misses some dives, only to get kicked in the mask. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Blitzkrieg’s hurricanrana doesn’t work very well.

The fans get on the crooked referee Charles Robinson as Psychosis hits a quick hiptoss. An elbow sends Blitzkrieg into the ropes but he dropkicks Psychosis to the floor. That means a big running flip dive for the first really big spot, only for Psychosis to dropkick him out of the air back inside. A handspring elbow connects for Blitzkrieg but a top rope superplex is broken up. The guillotine legdrop finishes for Psychosis at 6:13.

Rating: C+. This feels more like a match that was included for the people involved, though I never got much out of Blitzkrieg. The big flip dive looked good, but it’s not like there was anything here that wasn’t done better by others. That being said, I always thought Psychosis was underrated so it was nice to see him get a win here.

From Shotgun Saturday Night, April 5, 1997.

Discovery/Ludxor/Super Nova/Venum vs. Abismo Negro/El Mosco/Histeria/Maniaco

The best known name here in America is Histeria, who would become known as Super Crazy. Nova and Maniaco start things off and of course the fans are chanting for USA. Maniaco faceplants him to start and hits an electric chair as commentary talks about Ken Shamrock. Nova is back up with a fireman’s carry slam into a slingshot elbow before Maniaco misses a charge into the post.

Brian Pillman, on commentary, says he would have no trouble putting these guys in custody if they messed with the school lunch program. I’m going to assume that’s a topical line as Ludxor comes in to take over on Mosco. We get a LENGTHY period of dead air on commentary as Ludxor clotheslines him out to the floor for a twisting dive, meaning it’s Negro coming in to kick Discovery down. Pillman: “Translation: he’s abysmally black.”

We’re clipped for a commercial to Venum knocking Histeria down and hitting a top rope hurricanrana. Histeria is sent outside for a big flipping dive before Nova grabs a spinning armdrag. Venum gets a hurricanrana and Negro hits a big running flip dive as even commentary is impressed with the athletics. Ludxor hits a super armdrag and loads up a Sharpshooter on Maniaco…but leans forward for a pin instead at 7:31 (that’s a new one).

Rating: B-. This was almost fascinating in a way, as commentary clearly had no idea what they were watching and it was just a bunch of people flying around. That being said, it was rather entertaining and WAY out of the norm for this period in the WWF. The fans didn’t have much of a reason to care but they got into it by the end, which is a good sign.

From Super Astros (the WWF’s lucha libre show), May 2, 1999.

Hardy Boyz vs. Papi Chulo/El Merenguero

Chulo is better known as Essa Rios and Mereguero would be Jesus Castillo of Los Boricuas. Jeff and Chulo start things off with Jeff kicking away but getting sent outside, where he pulls Merenguero face first onto the apron. Chulo joins them so Matt hits a big running flip dive to take everyone out. Back in and the Hardys hit their double elbow into the fist drop/flipping backsplash combination. Matt slugs away at Merenquero and gets two off a top rope moonsault.

Jeff’s springboard moonsault gets two but Chulo’s cheap shot from the apron lets the rudos take over. A double suplex drops Jeff and he rolls outside, where Chulo is right there with a big running flip dive. Back in and Merenguero misses a charge into the post, allowing Matt to come in and clean house. Everything breaks down and Chulo hits a pop up dropkick to send Jeff outside, where Mereguero hits a suicide dive. Back in and Chulo hits a spinning faceplant to drop Matt, setting up a shooting star for the pin at 5:13.

Rating: B-. This had a bunch of spots together though they didn’t really reach a point where things got to a different level. You could see the Hardys turning into the kind of team that would quickly get to the top of the division, while Chulo and Mereguero didn’t exactly do much to stand out. This was included due to the Hardys, which is an acceptable enough reason.

From WWC, January 6, 2001.

Mascarita Sagrada/Octagoncito vs. Pierrothito/Piratita Morgan

Sagrada and Octagoncito take it to the floor to start but get sent into each other for the collision. A backbreaker has Sagrada in more trouble and they all get inside with Morgan going after Sagrada’s mask. That doesn’t work so it’s a reverse Beverly Bomb to keep Sagrada in trouble instead. A double dropkick hits Sagrada as well before Pierrothito beats up Octagoncito in the corner.

We settle down to Sagrada on the apron, where he watches Octagoncito get beaten down like a moron. Sagrada comes in and gets double teamed until Pierrothito kicks Morgan by mistake. Octagoncito comes back in with a top rope hurricanrana and then a standing version to send Morgan outside. Pierrothito comes back in with a superkick to Sagrada, who comes back with a quick armdrag.

Sagrada’s hurricanrana gets two on Pierrothito but Morgan is back in to go after Sagrada’s mask again. Sagrada strikes away at Morgan and drops Pierrothito but the rudos are up with a double backdrop to Octagoncito. Back up and Octagoncito grabs the back of the villains’ tights, which makes them accidentally hit the referee. Pierrothito kicks Morgan to the floor by mistake and Octagoncito is there with a running flip dive off the apron. That leaves Sagrada to la majistral Pierrothito for the pin at 7:14.

Rating: C. This is one of those matches that is kind of hard to follow as it’s more of a special feature that only fits for certain kinds of wrestling. The size difference made it easy to get behind Sagrada and Octagoncito, though the match was kind of messy in various parts. They were playing it serious though and I’ll definitely take that over the comedy that you often get with such matches in America.

From Superstars, February 9, 1997.

Hector Garza/Octagon vs. Fuerza Guerrera/Heavy Metal

Metal takes Garza down to start as commentary talks about Metal’s father being the referee. Guerra comes in for a running dropkick to Octagon as Ross tries to tell us what he can about both, which is limited at best. Octagon sends Guerrera outside for a suicide dive into the barricade, leaving Garza and Metal to slingshot in for a showdown. A handspring elbow hits Garza but Metal seems to slip off a springboard moonsault.

It’s back to Guerrera for a slam on Octagon and a Samoan drop lets Guerrera go up. Octagon catches him up on said top and brings him back down as there is a disturbing amount of empty seats opposite the hard camera. A super armdrag brings Guerrera down and Octagon grabs a Black Widow. That’s broken up so Garza hits a top rope moonsault press for two on Metal.

Commentary gets lost on which team is which and we go split screen to Paul Bearer talking about Vader vs. Steve Austin later in the show. Back to full screen and Guerrera dropkicks Garza outside and then clotheslining him back inside. Garza hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two with Metal making the save. Metal sends Garza outside for a big flip dive but Octagon crucifixes Guerrera for the pin at 7:56.

Rating: C+. As usual, the athleticism is rather impressive and you can tell everyone in here knows what they’re doing. The problem is it rarely feels like the matches are building to anything and it comes off more as a collection of moves until the ending. That being said, it’s nice to have something fresh and different on the shows, though the lack of fans in the stand is not a good sign.

From 205 Live, September 24, 2019.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Angel Garza

They’re cousins who don’t like each other, though Aiden English is fairly obsessed with Carrillo. Commentary mentions that it’s Garza’s birthday, sending English into a rant about all the presents he would get Carrillo for his birthday (fruit baskets are discussed). They go to the mat with Garza working on the leg as English is going on about buying WWE2K games and surfboards and Browns tickets and Circuit City gift cards, as the gag is going on so long that it’s becoming funny again.

An exchange of armdrags goes to Carrillo but Garza pops up and it’s a standoff. We pause so Garza can TAKE OFF HIS PANTS, allowing him to dropkick Carrillo outside. A middle rope moonsault takes Carrillo down on the floor and Garza slowly hammers him down back inside. Carrillo gets tied in the Tree Of Woe for a running dropkick to the knee and we’re off to something like a seated abdominal stretch.

Back up and Garza dropkicks a handspring elbow out of the air for two and it’s back to the abdominal cranking. Carrillo fights up and backflips into a moonsault for two, followed by a high angle springboard armdrag. A missile dropkick hits Garza for two but he’s back up with some dropkicks of his own for two of his own.

Carrillo’s top rope back elbow drops Garza right back and it’s off to a rocking horse. Garza reverses into one of his own, which is broken up as well, leaving them to collide for a double down. Back up and Garza misses a charge into the post, allowing Carrillo to hit the Aztec Press for the pin at 13:44. English: “I’ll get him snacks, I’ll get him sodas!” Maddin/Joseph: “IT’S NOT HIS BIRTHDAY!” English: “Well it will be someday!”

Rating: B. Oddly commentary was the big feature part here, which is a nice thing to see as the action was quite good. 205 Live is a show that was never going to be a big deal because the cruiserweights were considered unimportant, but the wrestling itself was usually awesome. That was the case here, with two guys who knew each other rather well getting some time and coming close to tearing the house down.

From WCW Pro, December 21, 1997.

Juventud Guerrera vs. El Dandy

Feeling out process to start before they trade some shots to the face, with Dandy getting the better of things. Guerrera is right back with a springboard hurricanrana to the floor but Dandy fights back and hits a middle rope legdrop. A kick to the mask and a headbutt between the legs have Guerrera in more trouble but he gets two of his own off a sunset flip. Dandy slams him down and goes up, only to miss a dropkick. A springboard…I guess flipping dropkick finishes Dandy at 3:39.

Rating: C. This is one of the weirdest, or at least least accurately named, collections from the WWE Vault as there have not been many “gems” in this set. That was the case again here, with two guys just having a short match that didn’t stand out in any real way. I don’t get why this was included, though there is something to be said about having Dandy anywhere.

From Saturday Morning Slam (I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a match from this show), November 3, 2012.

Sin Cara vs. El Local

Local would be Ricardo Rodriguez under a mask. Cara takes him down to start and Local runs, with Marella saying Cara’s flips remind him of dancing in high school. A hurricanrana sends Local to the floor, where Cara hits a slingshot dive. Back in and Local manages to send him into the corner and grab a waistlock as Marella goes through a rather extensive list of muscles used in jumping. Cara sends him outside without much trouble though and we take a break. We come back with Cara fighting out of another waistlock and hitting the rope walk armdrag. A corkscrew hilo sets up the springboard Swanton to pin Local at 4:52.

Rating: C+. Weird lighting aside, this was perfectly fine, which was the case with most of what Cara did. It was odd to see Local getting in the ring, as he was mainly an NXT house show guy. This isn’t exactly a gem, but it was certainly something hidden, as Saturday Morning Slam is one of the more forgotten shows you’ll see.

From Super Astros, December 20, 1998.

El Hijo del Santo/Negro Casas vs. Apolo Dantes/Jose Estrada

Casas throws Dantes down to start and it’s off to Santo, who gets kneed down by Estrada. That’s enough for Dantes to come in and stomp Hijo down in the corner. The array of downward kicks continue until it’s back to Estrada. Some double teaming keeps Hijo in trouble, only for Dantes to miss a top rope backsplash. The rather needed tag brings in Casas to clean house, including a running clothesline. Everything breaks down and Casas is sent into Hijo. The rudos are sent into each other as well, leaving Hijo to hit a Swanton, immediately followed by a suicide dive. La majistral finishes Estrada at 6:16.

Rating: C+. This was another case of having important names included, as Hijo and Casas are worth including. At the same time, it was nothing more than a generic tag match, with the rudos offering pretty much nothing of note. I still like the Super Astros stuff being included, even if it was light years behind what WCW was doing.

From a Monterrey, Mexico house show, April 3, 2004.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero

Mysterio is challenging and Chavo Classic is with Guerrero. We’re joined in progress with Guerrero stomping away and then faceplanting Mysterio for two. The bodyscissors keeps Mysterio down and Guerrero even goes for the mask, with Chavo Classic offering a distraction. We get some VERY loud spot calling (granted in a handheld camera shot match at a house show) until Mysterio makes the rope.

A rollup gives Mysterio two but he gets elbowed right back down. Classic goes for the mask again, which seems to fire Mysterio up enough to fight back and sent Guerrero outside. The referee cuts off a dive though, only for Mysterio to flip dive onto both Chavos. Back in and Guerrero dropkicks a springboard out of the air for a double down.

Guerrero’s sunset flip doesn’t work as Mysterio gives him a basement dropkick and goes up top. The sunset bomb is blocked so Guerrero gives him an over the shoulder backbreaker for two more. Mysterio slips out of a second attempt though and hits a hurricanrana before taking out Classic. A Code Red gives Mysterio two but the 619…I’m not sure as the camera misses it, but Guerrero is up with a Gory Bomb…for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C+. What in the world? It’s a house show in Mexico and Mysterio LOSES? I get that the title is on the line but make it a non-title match or have it be a countout. Just don’t have Mysterio, who was in Mexican flag themed gear, lose. It’s a guaranteed way to kill the crowd, which was all because the result was wrong. Heck make it a handicap match or something but let Mysterio win at the end.

Overall Rating: C+. I really wasn’t as into this one as previous editions, mainly due to how bizarre some of the choices wound up being. I get the idea of putting on some random matches, but egads there was nothing else that could have ramped up the quality a bit? It’s not like they’re bad matches for the most part, but calling these “Hidden Gems” is a big stretch in most cases. Not their best work, though there is some interesting variety here. Oh and it’s described as “90 minutes” but it only runs 75. What’s up with that?

 

 

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Monday Nitro #185
Date: April 19, 1999
Location: O’Connell Center, Gainsville, Florida
Attendance: 8,567
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

We’re getting closer to Slamboree and the main event is set with Page defending against Nash. Other than that we have the further exploits of the NWO as things fall apart with Hogan nowhere in sight. Savage and Sting are still running around and feuding with Flair so it’s hard to say what’s coming tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with Goldberg arriving and carrying a briefcase. He says it’s him vs. Page for the title tonight.

Ricki Rachman and DJ Ran do their thing.

Nitro Girls.

Scott Armstrong/Steve Armstrong vs. Dean Malenko/Chris Benoit

This should be good. Benoit and Scott get things going and of course Charles Robinson is referee. They speed things up to start with Scott ducking a chop but getting taken down with a very crisp armdrag. A quick tag brings in Steve who cleans house and stomps away on Benoit. The Horsemen get Steve out to the floor though and the triple teaming is on. Back in and Malenko nails a low dropkick to the side of Steve’s head and the stomping continues.

Benoit takes his head off with a clothesline for two as a LOUD Goldberg chant starts up. Malenko comes back in and hammers away in the corner before Anderson helps with even more cheating. Robinson allows the Horsemen to change without a tag to Arn’s approval. Benoit finally charges into a boot but still won’t allow the tag off to Scott. Dean comes back in but walks into a double clothesline, finally setting up the hot tag. Scott comes in and everything breaks down. Dean jumps over Scott in the corner and powerbombs him down into the Cloverleaf for the submission.

Rating: C+. This was the best opening match they’ve had in a good while. The Armstrongs are guys that can wrestle with anyone so if you give them a pair of technicians like Malenko and Benoit it’s bound to be good. More importantly than that though, the brothers kept working the whole time they were getting squashed. It’s so annoying to see someone just laying on the mat instead of trying to get the tag or doing anything other than just laying around.

Georgia, the woman that gave Flair papers that he signed without looking at them on Thunder, gives them to Piper. Roddy looks very pleased.

Opening sequence.

Savage and Gorgeous George arrive but Doug Dillinger won’t let them in. Piper comes up and says he’s the Commissioner so they need to be let in. Dillinger reluctantly agrees.

Gene brings out DDP for a chat. Page starts by wishing Hogan the best with his knee surgery. The fans are already chanting for Goldberg. Page says Goldberg needs to get focused like he’s been. Both guys know what it’s like to grab the brass ring because Page is World Champion right now.

Page sees a lot of Goldberg in himself and there’s nothing he would like more than to put the title on the line tonight….but that’s not going to happen. This brings out Goldberg who gets right in Page’s face. Apparently Page agrees to put the title on the line tonight. Goldberg’s music hit and he was out of the ring in less than a minute. So why did Page say no in the first place if he would agree that fast?

Piper is in the back with David Flair and says Ric needs help. They talk about him being put under observation for 72 hours and David agrees before signing the papers Piper was given earlier.

Page comes up to Gene in the back and confirms the title is on the line. Gene isn’t done yet though and shows us the clip from Spring Stampede of Page injuring Hogan. We don’t actually see Page’s reaction to it or anything, but why would that be interesting?

Cruiserweight Title: Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kidman vs. Blitzkrieg

Mysterio is defending and this is one fall to a finish. The fans really odn’t seem to like Psychosis or Blitzkrieg. We cut to the front row and see a man all in black with a mohawk hair cut and jewelery on his fingers that look like claws. Tony recognizes him as Alex Wright, which is very impressive detective work on his part as Wright looks completely different and is wearing big sunglasses.

It’s a big brawl to start with only Juvy and Psychosis left standing. Blitzkrieg avoids a charge to send Psychosis hard into the post. Juvy loads up a powerbomb on Psychosis for a springboard seated senton from Rey. Guerrera backdrops Mysterio out to the floor and holds up Blitzkrieg for a missile dropkick from Psychosis. Blitzkrieg escapes another powerbomb attempt and causes Juvy to accidentally hit a top rope Fameasser on Psychosis.

Rey is back in with a split legged moonsault to Juvy but Psychosis takes over and throw Guerrera into the air for a big crash. Blitzkrieg and Rey knock the other two to the floor before hitting a pair of Asai moonsaults. Back in and Blitzkrieg hits some standing flips onto Rey for two as Juvy and Psychosis are trying to get back in. Guerrera is back up first with a springboard missile dropkick to Blitzkrieg’s back, leaving him alone with Rey.

A quick hurricanrana puts Guerrera down and a slingshot splash gets two. Psychosis and Rey take turns breaking up pins by hitting each other in the face. Things settle down with Juvy bulldogging Rey for two before calling for the Juvy Driver. Instead it’s a kind of reverse DDT but Psychosis comes in with a top rope splash for two on the champion. Mysterio’s top rope bulldog puts Psychosis down and we have to take a break.

Back with Juvy hitting a huge dive onto Blitzkrieg and Psychosis. Rey goes outside as well but Psychosis pops up and dives onto all three of them. Back in and Rey powerbombs Juvy for two but Psychosis makes a save. Blitzkrieg busts out a very quick Figure Four to Psychosis, only to have Juvy make the save and drop a guillotine legdrop on Psychosis for two. Juvy powerbombs Blitzkrieg but Rey gets the cover for two. Mysterio hurricanranas Juvy off the top and Psychosis steals two of his own.

Blitzkrieg can’t get a jawbreaker on Juvy so Rey dropkicks Guerrera to the floor instead. Rey makes the mistake of posing instead of covering, allowing Juvy to try a powerbomb out of the corner. That’s fine with Rey as he hurricanranas Guerrera again. Juvy pops back up and snaps Mysterio across the top for two more. Psychosis clotheslines Juvy to the floor but Blitzkrieg kicks him in the face.

A slam sets up the Phoenix Splash for two on Psychosis but this time it’s Juvy making the save and Juvy Drivering Blitzkrieg for two. Rey comes back in and hurricanranas Guerrera out to the floor. Psychosis breaks up a Blitzkrieg superplex attempt and drops the guillotine legdrop for the pin and the title in a shocker.

Rating: B+. WHAT A MATCH! I don’t ever remember a cruiserweight match going this long (over twenty one minutes) and there is something going on for the entirety of the time. Usually there’s the period where things cool down but they never reached that point here. Psychosis winning is a big surprise and the match was very entertaining. Great stuff.

Gene brings out Flair for a chat. Ric, in a University of Florida shirt, seems very happy to be in Gainesville. He talks about students thinking they can out drink him and offers to buy each one of them a drink. Before he can get any further he’s interrupted by Roddy Piper. Ric wants to know why Piper always has to ruin his good time but Piper cuts him off and says Flair is becoming the Dennis Rodman of WCW.

He brings up Flair signing papers and offering to buy kids drinks. Somehow this makes him insane and unfit to be President of WCW. Piper is treating this like something serious instead of over the top like it should be. Flair starts dancing and throws his shoes into the crowd. Roddy brings up Flair handcuffing himself to the ropes to fight Bischoff from a few months back so Flair strips off his clothes to reveal Florida boxers.

Ric says his first crazy thing and says he’s President of the United States. Robinson brings out Flair’s robe as Piper has Gene read the papers. Basically they say Flair is nuts and that he’s out of office pending a review of his competence. Flair fires Piper and gives Florida the National Championship from Tennessee.

It’s time for more dancing so Piper says that the paper Flair signed last week made Flair vs. Nash (who went to the University of Tennessee in a nice touch) tonight. So he’s crazy but allowed to wrestle? Anderson faints in the corner for a few seconds but Flair makes himself vs. Piper for the Presidency at Slamboree and if Piper loses he’s fired.

This segment was a mess and really doesn’t make sense. The problem comes down to Flair not being insane until just now, and it’s a stretch even at this point. Anderson and Heenan made it clear that Flair taking off his clothes and spending a fortune is Flair being himself. That’s very true and we’ve seen him do exactly that for well over ten years.

Yeah Flair has been a bit out there with stuff like signing papers without looking, but going from that to having him committed in four days is a really big jump for this story. It makes the whole thing seem stupid and they could have gotten to the Piper vs. Flair match for control without it. The fact that this is setting up Roddy Piper vs. Ric Flair in a major match on PPV makes things even worse as you can almost hear the fans groan when Piper is mentioned anymore.

The Black and White tells Konnan they’re looking for Nash but Konnan says he has nothing to do with Nash anymore. This earns him a beatdown. Konnan was scheduled to fight for the US Title later in the night.

DJ Ran and Nitro Girls.

The announcers hype up the World Title match and they actually have a graphic for it. The shot of the belt on Page’s shoulder looks horrible as he’s not even touching it.

Brian Knobbs vs. Hardcore Hak

This is a garbage can match or something like that. Brian hammers Hak with a can as he comes in but Chastity slides in some extra weapons for them to use. We get a Pit Stop for old times’ sake and Hak is sent out to the floor. Hak sends him into the post and a cameraman goes down. It’s already table time but Knobbs nails him in the back with a chair.

Hak comes back with a ladder as you can barely see the mat at this point. There’s no wrestling in between these spots. Hak bulldogs him onto the ladder and sets up the table in the middle of the ring. He misses a Swanton though and mostly breaks the table to give Brian a two count. We get the Terry Funk spinning ladder spot to put Hak down but Chasitity takes Knobbs’ kendo stick away. Not that it matters as a pair of trashcan shots is enough to pin Hak.

Rating: D-. Remember the good tag match and the really good four way? This was nothing like those matches. As is usually the case with these things, the best part of it was it only ran about seven minutes. On the other hand, I could have spent those seven minutes doing something more constructive, like ripping my fingernails out with rusty pliers.

More DJ Ran because WCW doesn’t understand wrestling fans.

Nitro Girls.

Randy Savage has a present for Gorgeous George: Madusa, who is here to train her for Slamboree.

Nash comes in to see the Black and White and ask about what happened with Konnan. Stevie says they know what Nash has been doing and won’t be taking it anymore. Nash leaves, saying the team doesn’t want this. They’re going to send Norton to take care of Steiner tonight.

Buff Bagwell vs. Disco Inferno

Buff talks about how bad Scott Steiner thinks he is and rips off his catchphrases. Disco stomps him down in the corner to start but gets caught by a clothesline. Bagwell chokes Disco with his own shirt before working on a wristlock. A dropkick puts Inferno on the floor and Buff does his strut.

Disco comes back in and is quickly hiptossed right back to the floor. He tries to get back in again and actually shows some intelligence by snapping Buff’s throat across the top rope. Disco starts going after the neck as we stop to look at Alex Wright again. Bagwell avoids a middle rope elbow and makes his quick comeback, only to get crotched on the top. The Last Dance is countered and Buff tries (and fails) a running Blockbuster for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was another good win for Bagwell as they actually seem to be building up a young guy for a change. I can’t imagine it’s for anything more than feeding him to Steiner but it’s nice while it lasts. Bagwell really needs to stick with the middle rope version of the Blockbuster though as it looks about 8000% better.

Here’s Scott Steiner with a group of women because Godfather was a hot act around this time. After some catchphrases, Steiner gets right to it with talking down Bagwell and mentioning Buff’s history as a male stripper. He goes on about it for awhile and says the NWO made Bagwell. The fans chant steroids and there’s no Norton as promised by the Black and White. Not only are the boring and losers, but they can’t tell the truth about their sneak attacks announced on national TV. What is the world coming to?

Video on Gorgeous George vs. Charles Robinson.

Nitro Girls.

DJ Ran for the third or so time tonight.

Recap of the Flair/Piper stuff from earlier.

Kidman vs. Raven

Raven starts off aggressively but gets taken down by a headscissors. He pops back up and suddenly feels like trying a powerbomb. Kidman is lucky that his opponents always want to use that move even though they never do otherwise. After the faceplant, Raven sends Kidman out to the floor and throws in a chair. The drop toehold sends Kidman face first into the steel and Raven drops a leg onto the chair onto Kidman’s head for good measure. Kidman shoves Raven off the top but the Shooting Star hits the chair. The Horsemen come in for the DQ, even though Raven matches are supposed to be non-title.

Mysterio makes the save for his partner and the Horsemen run. Saturn decks Mysterio but gets sent down with a headscissors. Rey gets superkicked but Kidman powerbombs Saturn down. Raven Evenflows Kidman but the Horsemen run back in for the big beatdown.

More of Piper/Flair.

US Title: Scott Steiner vs. Scott Norton

So apparently the Black and White can just make US Title matches at their whim. Steiner is defending of course. After the champion finishes posing, the battle of clubbing forearms begin. Norton runs the champ down with some shoulders and a big clothesline sends him outside. More stalling ensues until Norton drags him back into the ring for some right hands in the corner. Steiner finally sends him to the floor and then into the barricade.

Back in and Steiner gets his required steroids chant. Steiner charges into a boot in the corner and Norton hammers away before getting two off a side slam. Norton loads up the shoulder breaker but the referee gets bumped. A low blow and belly to belly suplex retain Steiner’s title. Steiner’s feet on the ropes helped too.

Rating: D. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be much of a power brawl. Norton was wrestling like a face here and it worked on a kind of weird level. Steiner’s mega push continues as his in ring ability continues to deteriorate every single week. Granted putting him in there with a one dimensional guy like Norton wasn’t the best idea.

DJ Ran AGAIN. We get it already.

Kevin Nash vs. Ric Flair

Before the match, Nash promises to get revenge on Page for Hogan. Naturally Robinson, with what looks like a Horsemen sticker on his shirt, is refereeing. Nash shoves Flair down before the bell and Flair is ready to go. Flair tries some shoulder blocks to as much success as you would expect. Back up and Nash knees him into the corner and nails the backdrop. Nash even mocks Flair slicking back his hair as Ric bails to the floor.

Naitch slows things down a bit so Nash busts out a headlock of all things. They trade shots in the corner and there’s another backdrop to Flair. A big shot in the corner gives us the Flair Flop and there’s the framed elbow. Anderson finally gets involved by tripping up Nash and helping Flair crotch him against the post. Back in and Anderson just gets in the ring to help Flair double team. We get the old “how much time” bit from Flair and Nash goes down to a low blow.

Flair hammers away in the corner while calling Nash Tennessee. Anderson interferes again but Nash comes back with a right hand and the side slam. Flair heads to the apron and gets clotheslined out to the floor. For some reason he tries to come back in off the top and you know what’s coming. Anderson tries to come in but gets kicked in the face for his efforts. There go the straps and Flair gets powerbombed, sending Robinson to the floor instead of counting. Gorgeous George comes out and takes his referee shirt to count the pin on Flair. Because that’s how WCW works anymore.

Rating: C-. It was Flair vs. Nash so you knew it was going to be at least watchable. The overbooking made sense here and Robinson just walking out was a nice touch. The ending on the other hand was stupid but exactly what you would expect from WCW at this point: someone just deciding they’re a referee and having their pin count. I mean, people can make US Title matches so why not this?

Post match Flair is taken out on a stretcher by people in white coats. Yep, they’re really doing this. Piper shows up to talk some trash as Flair is loaded into the van. Somehow Anderson doesn’t get what’s going on.

Dusty Rhodes joins commentary for no apparent reason.

WCW World Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Goldberg

Page is defending of course. The referee gets shoved down and we’re ready to go. Page charges at Goldberg and gets shoved down as well. Back up and Page is thrown to the floor where he stops to take a breather. He gets back in and tries the Diamond Cutter but is quickly sent back to the floor. A leg trip doesn’t even get one on Goldberg who hits a kind of AA into a cross armbreaker, sending Page into the ropes.

Page’s shoulder block has no effect and the spear connects out of nowhere. He goes to pick Page up for the Jackhammer but the champ sends him face first into the middle buckle instead. A swinging neckbreaker gets two for Page and a belly to belly suplex gets the same. Goldberg gets caught in a front facelock but he powers up into a kind of powerslam for two. Another Diamond Cutter attempt is countered into another powerslam and Goldberg is getting frustrated.

Page neckbreakers him for two but misses the discus lariat. A superkick puts Page into the corner and Goldberg loads up the spear but the champ is smart enough to just stay right where he is. Goldberg tries the spear anyway and hits the buckle. The Diamond Cutter connects but Goldberg kicks him off hard enough to send him onto the referee. Page loads up a foreign object but stops to use the referee as a shield for the spear.

The Jackhammer connects but there’s no referee. Page gets up and nails Goldberg with the foreign object to knock him out to the floor. He loads up the steps next to Goldberg and crushes the ankle with a chair. The referee wakes up and tries to stop Page, earning him a right hand to the face. Page loads up the Figure Four around the post but Nash makes the save for no apparent reason other than the script says so. He helps Goldberg into the ring but Page nails Nash with the belt to end the show.

Rating: C+. This was actually a good match until the screwy ending. These two have some solid chemistry together and can put on a good match with the right amount of time. Goldberg kicking out of the Diamond Cutter as strong as he did was a surprise and the ending was…..well I’ll get back to that. The match was good though.

Overall Rating: C+. You know if you just go by the wrestling, this was one of the best Nitros in a very long time. The Cruiserweight Title match was outstanding and the main event was solid too. You couple that with some other good to watchable stuff in between and write off the non-wrestling that was Hak vs. Knobbs and you have one heck of a show.

Unfortunately this heck of a show has an 800lb gorilla right in the middle of it and a 300lb orangutan at the end. We’ll start with the slightly better one first. Page and Nash’s double turn is acceptable as Nash has basically been a face for months now and Page….yeah it really doesn’t work. Much like the Flair stuff, it was just setting down its roots when they jumped it forward to the end goal.

One of WCW’s biggest problems at the moment is its lack of top faces. There’s Sting, Nash, Piper (oh joy) and in theory Savage, though he’s just a glorified manager right now. Nash becoming the top guy is fine enough, but it brings up the obvious question: if he wins the title, why should I believe he’s going to hang onto it? It may sound like a stupid question but the Fingerpoke was less than four months prior to this. It’s not out of the question.

That leaves us with the big problem with this show: Ric Flair, the fourteen time World Heavyweight Champion and the President of WCW was put in a white van and taken away to a mental hospital after apparently thinking he was President of the United States due to what could easily be written off as a slip of the tongue. Aside from what was just mentioned, the fact that it sets up Piper vs. Flair in 1999, how out of character it is for Flair and how much of a stretch this is, it’s not even a well told story.

From what we can tell, David Flair and Piper decided to have Flair institutionalized because he signed a single contract for a match without looking at it. Yeah it’s stupid but it’s not really grounds for being institutionalized. Just writing that and reading it back makes me realize it’s even worse. Ric Flair is being put in a mental hospital. Let it sink in for a second. This is a really bad idea and unfortunately it’s the first step off a cliff for WCW. Things were getting stupid before, but now they’re flying into the abyss.

Somehow though, the show was actually good for the most part. The Flair/Piper stuff is horrible but it’s only a part of what is otherwise a really good show. That’s what makes WCW so frustrating: they have the tools and ability to have a good product, but they do things like have a DJ in the arena (because I guess a professional wrestling show just isn’t entertaining enough) and the hardcore nonsense drags all the good stuff down.

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