Today is Goldberg. Make your own chants.

Bill Goldberg vs. Hugh Morrus

Tenay has no idea who Goldberg is, shocking the other announcers. Larry: “YOU DON’T KNOW?” They trade hammerlocks to start and seem to miss each other a bit. Goldberg takes him down into a knee bar and pounds away in the corner. Morrus comes out of the corner with a middle rope clothesline and No Laughing Matter hits….for two? Goldberg pops up from a shoulder block and hits a powerslam and a regular slam to follow it up. The yet to be named Jackhammer ends this quick. As Goldberg says after the match: “That’s #1”.

Goldberg’s first real feud was with Steve McMichael, who he faced at Starrcade 1997.

Bill Goldberg vs. Steve McMichael

Steve “Mongo” McMichael is a former Horseman and NFL player, but he’s absolutely terrible in the ring. Goldberg is still undefeated at this point and would become a much bigger deal after this show is over. This is happening because Goldberg stole McMichael’s Super Bowl ring and they’ve attacked each other a few times since. The brawl is on in the aisle to start but Mongo’s offense isn’t having much effect. Goldberg literally picks him up and carries Mongo into the ring like a rag doll.

Goldberg picks up a table at ringside as the bell rings and the actual match begins. Mongo suplexes him down for two but a big shoulder tackle takes Steve down for two. We head to the floor where the table is leaning against the post. They fight around the ring with Mongo taking over before heading back inside, only to have Goldberg punch Mongo as Steve dives off the top. Goldberg hooks a quick leg lock and is toying with Mongo at this point.

The spear (the setup for Goldberg’s finisher) hits for two and Goldberg loads up the table on the floor. He tries to slam Mongo over the top and through the table but the referee breaks it up. A dropkick of all things puts Mongo down and out to the floor and we have to be getting close to done. Mongo gets back up onto the apron, only to be punched through the table. Back in and the Jackhammer (suplex but instead Goldberg turns it over into a powerslam) ends Mongo.

Rating: D. This was terrible but Goldberg’s day was coming. It was clear that Mongo just wasn’t any good as a wrestler and thankfully in 1998 he would be pushed WAY down the card and rarely ever have a big match again. The match itself was slow and plodding, but Goldberg would be pushed to the moon very quickly after this.

Here’s one of the more infamous matches from the earlier days of the streak. From February 8, 1998 on Nitro.

Steven Regal vs. Goldberg

Here’s a somewhat famous match. Regal takes him to the mat with a cravate and kicks Goldberg in the back a few times before grabbing the arm. Goldberg takes him down by the leg but Regal is quickly in the ropes. They trade arm wringers again before Regal kicks him in the face. Regal powers out of a headscissors and fires off knees to the head before Goldberg shoves him into the corner. Goldberg cranks him down by the arm and hits a belly to back suplex for no cover.

Goldberg looks for the spear but Regal headbutts him in the ribs instead and takes out the leg instead. Regal fires off knees and punches to the face but Goldberg comes back with a botched swinging neckbreaker. A shoulder block only kind of hits Regal and he blocks some strikes in the corner to make Goldberg look even more out of it. Goldberg finally hits the spear (more like a double leg takedown here) and a Jackhammer with no delay or snap to it at all finally ends Regal.

Rating: C. This was definitely more interesting than a usual Goldberg match but for all the wrong reasons. Allegedly (Regal has denied this) Regal was shooting on Goldberg here and most of the match wasn’t planned. It resulted in Regal being fired almost immediately and eventually becoming A REAL MAN’S MAN in the WWF. Goldberg looked confused in the match and Regal easily blocking a lot of his stuff made Goldberg look less effective than he ever had before.

The streak took off soon after this and hit one of its high points on April 20, 1998’s Nitro.

US Title: Goldberg vs. Raven

Raven is defending and this is under his rules. He lays the belt out in front of Goldberg and they talk trash, only to have Raven dropkick him down. We head to the floor with Raven being whipped into the barricade to give Goldberg control. Back inside and Goldie puts on a leg lock before superkicking Raven right back to the floor.

Raven grabs a chair and smashes Goldberg in the back to slow him down. There’s the drop toehold onto the chair followed by a reverse chinlock on Goldberg. The big man powers up and no sells a bunch of right hands. There’s the spear but Goldberg has to destroy the Flock. Raven tries to leave but the fans throw him back to ringside. Another spear and a Jackhammer onto a stop sign (brought in by Horace) make Goldberg US Champion.

Rating: C+. Total destruction here by Goldberg which is a good idea, but I don’t know why it had to be at Raven’s expense just one day after he won the title. The guy did some great work with Page and Benoit earlier in the year but now he gets to keep the US Title for a single day? Still though, good, hard hitting match here.

Then July 6, 1998 happened. Goldberg vs. Hogan was announced for the World Title, but Hogan said Goldberg had to win another match earlier in the night to get the shot.

US Title: Goldberg vs. Scott Hall

The bald one has to win to get the REAL bald one for the title. I’m not sure if the chants are piped in here or not. Ok apparently this is a US Title match. They really need to work on making it clear what matches are for titles. Hall hits those shoulders that he’s kind of known for. Naturally they don’t work as it’s all Goldberg. To say this match is sloppy is an understatement.

It never ceases to amaze me how they managed to screw up Goldberg. Hall is clearly not someone that needs to be in the ring at this point as he was really messed up with substance abuse etc. It’s also his first televised match in two months which likely isn’t helping him. Then again I find him incredibly overrated. Goldberg beats him up and Hall calls down NWO guys.

Cue Disciple and Vincent but DDP and Malone pop them with chairs and it’s back to one on one. Hall calls for the Razor’s Edge and is LAUNCHED onto his back. Spear sets up the Jackhammer and the roof is partially gone since it’s on for later tonight. Again, HOW DID THEY MESS HIM UP?

Rating: D+. Bad match but that’s not the point here. This was about setting up Goldberg as the unstoppable force for later tonight which was kind of overkill but it fit Hogan pretty well I guess. This was relative dominance and it worked rather well. Hall just wasn’t worth anything at this point though and it didn’t look pretty.

WCW World Title: Goldberg vs. Hulk Hogan

Immediately you can see why the match with Hall was a bad idea as the pop is solid but nowhere near what it should be. The fans have already seen him once tonight so the excitement is limited. Hogan gets booed out of the building. Naturally we’re 6-7 months removed from Starrcade and Hogan has the belt again. He’s held it since late April so for about two and a half months. Sting’s reign was like two months or so. After the match tonight, Hogan would have it AGAIN in less than 6 months, which we’ll get to later.

The bell gets a pop. This is one of the hottest crowds I can ever remember as the people are salivating over everything. In a funny line, Tenay says WCW is the third biggest wrestling company on the planet. This stuns me, until he says “after the two NWO factions.” So in other words, 6 months after Starrcade, not only does Hogan have the belt again but there are TWO NWOs instead of the original one being gone. And you wonder why they went out of business.

Just basic power stuff here to start as they’re feeling each other out a lot to start. Hogan takes over with some punches and whips Goldberg with his weight belt. Goldberg gets a full nelson but takes a low blow. There’s a great energy here which is making this awesome. Hogan takes a clothesline and the place POPS. The match itself is pretty bad but much like Hogan/Andre, that’s not the point.

We hit the floor and Hogan gets a chair shot in but there’s no DQ called. There’s the chant and the legdrop is treated like any other move. Hogan hits two of them and here’s Curt Hennig. THREE legdrops gets a two count as Malone pops up to hit a Diamond Cutter on Hennig. Goldberg more or less no sells the leg drops and spears the heck out of Hogan. Heenan is LOSING it here. Jackhammer hits and the place goes NUTS. Goldberg is the world champion, and the image of him standing on the stage holding up both his titles is very cool.

Rating: A+. Like I said in the Hogan vs. Andre at Mania 3 review, this wasn’t about the match in the ring and if you think it was you’re an idiot and don’t get wrestling. Goldberg looked awesome here and Hogan put him over 100% clean. That was the key thing here: Goldberg didn’t have to have some screwy way to win the title. He hit his two big moves and pinned Hogan after kicking out of the legdrop.

This is how you put someone over and amazingly enough, Hogan never got this one back, even though this was the plan. Hogan had made a deal that he got to beat Goldberg when the time was right, which is more nonsense but at least they would get this one night. The payback would evolve into the Fingerpoke of Doom, which we’ll get too soon enough.

Here’s Goldberg’s best title defense.

WCW World Title: Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Let’s stop it here for a second because this is where it all fell apart. See, WCW decided that this show should be extra long and asked the PPV companies to give them an extra thirty minutes. Unfortunately this was 1998 and not that simple, so a lot of feeds went off somewhere between the end of the Warrior vs. Hogan match and the start of the title match. Yeah WCW gave them some advance notice, but that doesn’t put WCW in the clear. If you look at this show, they EASILY could have cut nearly an hour out but WCW just couldn’t let that happen.

Overall the show ran roughly three hours and twenty minutes, so cutting out say 25 minutes would have made this fit the time slot. As I mentioned, we had over 22 minutes of segments that weren’t needed or Nitro Girls (certainly not worthless but not necessary). On top of that there was the Juvy vs. Disco match, Wrath vs. Meng, Finlay vs. Wright, Saturn vs. Lodi and the Tag Title match which all could have been on free TV instead of here. WCW never advertised the show as running longer than usual as far as I know so it’s not like the fans would feel ripped off.

It comes off as a combination of stupidity and somewhat arrogance as the company just figured their plan would work and they just HAD to be bigger than WWF. What did most of the stuff they added here help? What does a Saturn vs. Lodi comedy match (probably six minutes with entrances and a post match replay) do to help the card? It ticked off the fans and cost them a lot of money, but at least they got the Buff Bagwell swerve and a Konnan music video on PPV.

And now, the match. Page’s music is edited on the Network. Page charges right at him a few times and is easily shoved away. An armdrag frustrates Goldberg and they lock up before falling to the floor without breaking it up. Back in and Page tries a legsweep but Goldberg does a standing backflip to avoid it. Men his size should not be able to do that. A bad looking cross armbreaker has Page in trouble and Goldberg shoves him out of the ring to block the Diamond Cutter.

Back in and Page takes him down into a hammerlock but a hard shoulder block puts him on the floor. Page is able to snap Goldberg’s throat across the top rope and he follows up with a swinging neckbreaker. A Russian legsweep gets two and we hit a front facelock. Goldberg knees his way out of it and hits a spinning neckbreaker to put Page down. A hard hiptoss puts Page down and a side slam gets two for the champion. Back to the cross armbreaker but Page makes the rope.

A superkick sends Page flying but he sidesteps the spear, sending Goldberg hard into the post. Page gets two off a flying clothesline and the running DDT puts the champion down as well. He calls for the Diamond Cutter but Goldberg nails him with the spear. It injures his arm though and Goldberg can’t get the Jackhammer. Page slips behind him and grabs the Diamond Cutter but both guys are down. The fans are suddenly WAY into this as Page gets a very close two. Page tries a suplex of his own but Goldberg counters into the Jackhammer to retain the title.

Rating: B. It’s not a masterpiece but it’s definitely Goldberg’s best match ever. The fans were buying into Page as a threat at the end of the match and that’s more than can be said about the vast majority of Goldberg’s opponents. To put it simply, this was a good wrestling match. You can’t often say that about a WCW main event but that’s what you had here.

Goldberg would lose the title to Kevin Nash at Starrcade 1998. Here’s their rematch from Spring Stampede 1999.

Kevin Nash vs. Goldberg

Apparently this is the rematch from Starrcade or something. Liz and Luger are here with Nash. Nash says something on the mic but the mic doesn’t seem to work because I didn’t hear a thing. He drives Goldberg to the corner and pounds away knees in the corner. The fans are looking at something to the right of the ring and Nash continues to go as slowly as he can while still being considered alive.

The fans almost immediately chant for Sting as Nash gets a two count. He hits the side slam for another two as this has been completely one sided. The running hip attack to the back of Goldberg while he’s in the 619 position keeps the bald one down. Goldberg snaps off a shoulder block though and something like a hooking superkick to load up the spear. NASH JUMPS OVER GOLDBERG!!! The spear hits the referee so Luger pops Goldberg with the chair. Goldberg blocks the powerbomb with a handful of balls. Spear and Jackhammer end this.

Rating: D+. What in the world was the point of this? Goldberg hit like 5 moves and dominated so he’s back to the point where he used to be, minus the title that is. Still though, was there a point to having this be like seven minutes long? It wasn’t horrible, but I’m sitting here asking if that’s it. Also, was there a point to Luger and Liz being out there? I don’t see it if there was.

Speaking of rematches, here’s Page vs. Goldberg II from Fall Brawl 1999.

Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page

This is more or less a midcard match because Goldberg had his time so it’s time for the REAL draws in the form of old Sting and old Hogan to run things here. So just to be clear here, Goldberg is 32 years old and has one loss against roughly 240 wins in his WCW career. He’s ridiculously popular and here he is in a midcard feud. Seriously, I want to know: how did WCW make money at one point?

The referee checks them for objects and finds a chain on Page. Page shoves the referee away and drops a roll of half dollars. Ok that was funny. Page is knocked to the floor quickly and comes back in for a feeling out process, only to get knocked all over the place for his efforts. Page is knocked to the floor again as it doesn’t seem like they know what their plan is here, which is unheard of for a Page match.

Page gets a shot in as Goldberg comes in again but can’t get the Diamond Cutter. Powerslam gets no cover for Goldberg. Page pulls out a third object which the referee didn’t find to hammer Billy Boy in the head and take over. The fans LOUDLY chant for Goldberg and pop even louder when he gets in some punches. Page drills him with the object again and the referee is cool with it I guess.

Off to the chinlock on the mat as Page cheats even more which this referee somehow still can’t see. I know the joke is that they’re blind but how can you manage to believe this isn’t being seen? Goldberg Goldbergs Up and even hits a big boot to complete the joke. Page gets a horrible jumping tornado DDT to get two and break the momentum though which is kind of surprising actually.

Another weapon shot sets up a spinning Rock Bottom for two. Here’s the rest of the Triad to cheat and that doesn’t work. Spear and Jackhammer end this like three seconds later. Oh and the last weapon shot made Goldberg legit bleed from the neck. Freaking ow man. Well at least it’s over I guess.

Rating: D. Remember when Page was one of the most awesome things in the world and more or less couldn’t be beaten? This is nothing like that. Page as a heel is awful, especially when he’s getting destroyed by someone like Goldberg. This was a weak match all around and no one bought that Page had a chance at all, which he didn’t.

Goldberg would hurt his arm in December of 1999 and be out for several months. He would come back in the summer as a heel and go after the title on Nitro, July 24, 2000.

WCW World Title: Booker T vs. ???

It’s Sting. Apparently the mask is a bunch of bandages from Vampiro burning him. That makes more sense and it only took an hour to tell us that. Sting comes out but Goldberg jumps him. Hehe screw the fans. Goldberg superkicks Sting and Sting has to be taken out on a stretcher. Booker gets in anyway…and is immediately decapitated by a clothesline and a powerslam. Booker heads to the floor and gets in a shot or two, only to be sent into the steps to put him back down again. The champ is busted open so Goldberg gives him an FU and hooks a cross armbreaker.

Booker gets the rope and the hold is broken….but Stevie Ray (Booker’s brother and former tag partner) comes out and throws in the towel. Ernest Miller comes out and declares Goldberg the winner……but he’s not the champion because Booker didn’t quit. He made the rope and didn’t tap, so why is the match over? This didn’t even make it to three minutes, but hey, the world champ looks like a joke now so the point is made.

Booker demanded a rematch later in the show.

WCW World Title: Booker T vs. Goldberg

Booker jumps him in the aisle but Goldberg knocks him right back down. As they head into the ring, Booker hits the ax kick and Goldberg is in trouble. Never mind as he clotheslines Booker down and into a 360. A powerslam puts Booker down and Goldberg pounds on the cut from earlier. Jeff Jarrett comes out for no reason and hits Goldberg with a chair as this is anything goes. SINCE FREAKING WHEN??? That makes Goldie mad so here’s the Cat to kick Goldberg in the face. That gets him nowhere either so Booker kicks him down for a second and the Book End (Rock Bottom) retains the title in less than three minutes.

Goldberg immediately pops up and spears Booker down and hits a Jackhammer to stand tall to end the show.

The heel run wouldn’t last long because he’s Goldberg, so he would be a face again before his showdown with Scott Steiner at Fall Brawl 2000.

Scott Steiner vs. Goldberg

This is just a grudge match and I guess Goldberg is a face here. No DQ here either. Steiner has to wear a mask because Goldberg broke his face or something. We’re told about how even these two are which is odd but makes sense at the same time. Scotty busts out a Diamond Cutter for two. Ok then. Steiner tries to hide and that doesn’t go well at all for him.

They’re doing the clash of the titans build here and for the most part it’s working. And here’s Midajah, which is supposed to be a big deal I guess. Goldberg is bleeding from some chair shots. She’s just standing there for no apparent reason. Oh ok Goldberg accidently put her through a table. Steiner hits a belly to belly where Goldberg lands on his head and nearly breaks his neck. There’s the spear. We have a lead pipe in there too which I’m sure will have something to do with the ending.

And it’s Vince Russo to bash Goldberg with a baseball bat. Sure why not. It only gets two though and Bill goes through a table. Steiner Recliner, which looks awful since Steiner doesn’t know how to hook it right, doesn’t work as Goldberg picks him up. This is the match where they just hammer each other with no real rhyme or reason. That doesn’t mean it’s bad though as that’s what this is supposed to be. Think Awesome vs. Tanaka.

Back to the Recliner which would look a lot better if it wasn’t just Goldberg crawling on his hands and knees (yeah the arms aren’t even pulled back) to the ropes. A chair is brought in and nothing happens with it. Russo comes in AGAIN but Steiner pops Goldberg in the head with a lead pipe and the Recliner gets the win on the unconscious Goldberg. Oh and Russo does the Jericho cover on him to end it. The Bills come in again to help Goldberg. More on Russo in the overall rating.

Rating: B-. This was about being a big old fight and that’s all it was supposed to be. We didn’t need to have real wrestling here and they didn’t try. I could have done without Russo here but at the same time this match oddly worked. This was probably a #1 contenders match of some sort too.

Around this time, Goldberg was told he had to recreate the streak if he ever wanted another title shot. He would build up a good one as he headed into Sin.

Sgt. Dwayne Bruce/Goldberg vs. Totally Buff

Sarge has a broken arm and the entrances take about five minutes. Goldberg vs. Luger get us going here. You know, Russo made the deal about Goldberg having to win 176 in a row. Why doesn’t Flair just overturn that? Goldberg throws Luger around and throws him to Bagwell who says “Who me?” “Yeah you!’ For some reason that was funny for me. Bagwell hammers away and no sells a suplex.

Goldberg beats down Bagwell and brings in the career jobber Sarge. Sarge beats on him for a bit with a middle rope elbow. I forgot that this is no DQ. Sarge runs into some double teaming, so why doesn’t Goldberg just come in and destroy them? He can’t get disqualified. Actually he does that and the referee throwing him out. How does that make sense?

Luger hammers on Sarge for awhile and Bagwell adds a double arm DDT. Off to the chinlock now as the fans are still in this. Luger gets one of the worst forearm smashes you’ll ever see for two. Thankfully they remember the plate that is allegedly in there. So it can knock out Bret Hart but it barely puts Dwayne Bruce down for two? Only in wrestling would that make sense.

Double tag brings in Goldberg and Luger. HUGE pop for Goldberg. Seriously how in the world did they manage to mess him up? Now we get to the stupid part here. Remember the kid from earlier with the autograph? He’s like 17 or so and Luger goes after him. Goldberg makes the save and the kid maces him.

Goldberg pulls him over the railing and security dives on the kid…..then just let him go and stand at ringside. Punk was right. Wrestling security sucks. Back in the ring Goldberg fights blind for awhile until Luger pops him with a chair a few times and a double Blockbuster (think a Doomsday Device) ends the career. For the month at least.

Rating: D. Weak tag match that was hurt even worse by the ending. Yes a fan that he signed an autograph before earlier was the big answer. Why Luger or Bagwell didn’t bring the mace in themselves is anyone’s guess but hey why not just let a young looking guy do it instead? Either way at least it’s over and they can quit ruining Goldberg for now. HHH got to do that in 03 which is the next time he would be seen.

Goldberg wouldn’t appear in WCW again and would head to Japan for a bit the next year. His next American appearance was the night after Wrestlemania XIX on Raw where he speared the Rock. This set up a match at Backlash 2003.

The Rock vs. Goldberg

Goldberg’s music is changed. You know, because Goldberg wasn’t over with what he had. We also get the full on Hollywood Rock entrance which is still awesome. Goldberg’s music is MUCH softer and it doesn’t work at all. Lawler keeps talking about how Goldberg was a big fish in a small pond and makes sure to make people remember that WCW was NOTHING. The fans chant Goldberg as we’re in full stall mode.

We’re going very slowly with Goldberg knocking Rock out to the floor. Rock stalls on the floor but guillotines him on the rope and hits a clothesline for a pop. Goldberg hits a Rock Bottom and sets up for the spear but Goldberg crashes into the buckle which Lawler says “may be the greatest thing he’s ever seen.” Now it’s Sharpshooter time which is broken eventually. For some reason the referee looks away and Rock hits Goldie low.

Rock sets for the Rock Bottom but Goldberg hits a weak spear. Time for more laying around as this match is WAY too boring. Rock tries some clotheslines but Goldberg won’t go down. A spear from Rock puts Goldberg down and King is losing it. Rock Bottom gets two. The Great One punches him so Goldberg clotheslines him down. Another spinebuster sets up the Elbow but it only gets two and the fans are mad. Spear hits, Rock swears, spear again, Jackhammer and we’re done thank goodness.

Rating: F. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? This was GOLDBERG VS. THE ROCK! Goldberg literally did nothing but punches, clotheslines, spears and the Jackhammer. Not close to it, not an expression, literally that’s it. This match was absolutely awful with them spending at least four minutes (out of 13) laying around. It’s one of the worst debuts I can remember in years and it was completely unacceptable.

After that mess, Goldberg needed a different style to work with. From Bad Blood 2003.

Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho

Goldberg is wearing white and black. Words cannot describe how stupid it looks. Jericho had wanted this match in WCW but they decided that it wasn’t a good idea so he just bailed when he could, citing this as one of the major factors. Jericho of course runs like a scared man which I can’t blame him for.

Eventually though, Jericho dodges a spear and Goldberg goes through the security wall. What a coincidence there were no seats in front of it either. Goldberg is bleeding a bit and has a bad shoulder now, so if nothing else they’re trying to give us a reason to think Jericho can win so points for that.

That goes on for a GOOD while which makes sense. Jericho runs the match for the most part which is definitely the best idea here. They botch a moonsault but Goldberg does the smart thing and keeps moving so that it doesn’t look like they botched anything and hits what we would call an FU. There’s a loud Goldberg Sucks chant and the referee goes down.

Dang the fans are behind Jericho here. At least they recognize good wrestling. He gets the Walls of Jericho but leg power gets him out of it. Spear number 2 works a lot better even though it’s a left armed one. After failing to get it once, a jackhammer works the second time for the easy pin.

Rating: C+. Again, this could have been a Raw main event but I can go with this being on PPV. However, another five minutes would have made this WAY better. Jericho was in a rut around this time and he didn’t get out of it until the winter when he turned face to feud with Christian. This was ok but nothing great. Goldberg just didn’t work in the WWE and it showed badly.

It was soon off to the title hunt, with Goldberg getting his shot at Unforgiven 2003.

Raw World Title: Goldberg vs. HHH

Also if HHH loses by countout or disqualification he loses the belt. Ross and Lawler are back for commentary here. Ross of course can’t remember when the stakes were ever higher. I love hyperbole in wrestling. This is nut cutting time apparently. Ok then. Ross says he has to mat wrestle Goldberg to keep the title. I thought he had to win the match to retain. Then again I’m no professional.

Goldberg in the shorts never worked. Also they remixed his music for no apparent reason at all. HHH still had a groin injury here so he’s wearing long shorts which look weird. We even get referee instructions. Lawler says it doesn’t get any bigger than this. Again, yeah it does. It’s a power match to start, which despite his huge muscles, HHH has never been portrayed as one other than the spinebuster. The Pedigree certainly isn’t a power move.

Goldberg of course wins it as we’re told that HHH is 4-0 at Unforgiven. Ross and Lawler are rather chipper for guys that just lost their jobs. This match is of course awkward as their styles just clash completely. WWE just had no idea how to use Goldberg. He was a monster but they had him lose far too much and be hurt far too much. They just didn’t get it and it never really worked. The spear eats knee and HHH takes over.

So despite everything that Goldberg has taken over the years, a knee to the head stops him. Sure why not. There’s a Figure Four. I get that Flair is great, but does he have to get so many freaking tributes to him? In a cool power spot, Goldberg catches the knee of HHH on a kneedrop. He just puts his hands up and blocks the knee of a 270+ pound guy, not even factoring in force, the jump that HHH did to get there, the velocity and momentum and the height he got.

That’s so ridiculously over the top that it’s AWESOME. HHH is busted open after going into the steps. And what would a main event be without a ref bump? HHH gets a sledgehammer shot to the jaw which likely should kill Goldberg but he’s up in like 3 seconds and hits the spear. The Jackhammer gives him the title clean.

Rating: D+. This was just generic. It could have been the main event of any big Raw minus the title change. Also, I know Goldberg was a big star but he just doesn’t fit in here at all. They try to make this a huge thing but it just isn’t. More than anything else they just wanted to get the belt off of HHH who had held it since like January. This just had nothing at all going for it though and just wasn’t interesting at all. Not bad from a technical standpoint, but just not a good match at all.

We’ll wrap it up with his best known match from Wrestlemania XX. This was set up by Brock eliminating Goldberg from the Rumble.

Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg

The catch here is that both guys are leaving and the fans know it, so they boo them both out of the building. Goldie gets his full entrance from the back. The fans IMMEDIATELY start chanting YOU SOLD OUT at Lesnar who is going to the NFL after this match. They circle each other and Austin says get to it. Now the fans sing the GOODBYE song with the guys still making zero contact over a minute in. The fans chant for the referee as Goldberg looks at Austin. Still no contact. After nearly THREE MINUTES of circling each other they lock up.

Amusingly enough, Goldberg is said to have an advantage because he’s a mixed martial arts aficionado. They lock up and shove each other away as it’s almost four minutes in without even a punch being thrown. We get a second lockup with the same result. The crowd is booing loudly now. Literally five minutes in Lesnar grabs a headlock for the first actual move of the match. They trade shoulder blocks with no one going anywhere. They collide again with both guys going down and we’re somehow six minutes into this match.

Now they stare at each other as the fans are about to riot. The fans cheer for HOGAN of all people and that’s FINALLY enough to get something going. Goldberg presses him over his head and drops him into a kind of spinebuster for two. The spear misses though and Goldberg hits the buckle chest first. The fans think Goldberg sucks as he is sent into the post. Back in and Brock gets two off a suplex and then hooks a modified headlock. The fans chant for Hogan again.

Back to the same headlock after a brief break before they collide again. Brock gets two as Austin is still a complete non factor. He seems to be the rodeo clown out there to keep everything from falling apart. Well, falling completely apart because we’re long past falling apart. JR is polite and calls this match pedestrian. Goldberg comes back with some clotheslines and a swinging neckbreaker of all things as the Hogan chant starts again. There’s the spear for two but Goldie spends too much time arguing with Austin and walks into an F5 for two. Brock tries a spear but misses, so a spear and Jackhammer can finish Brock.

Rating: E. As in embarrassing, which is what this was. Have some pride out there people. I know you’re leaving and the fans don’t care, but man alive have some effort out there. If I was an NFL team and Brock gave that kind of a performance I wouldn’t want anything to do with him. No he doesn’t want to be there but that’s his job until his contract expires. This was embarrassing to watch and they deserve the booing they received. Austin added nothing here but he didn’t really need to.

Goldberg is a guy that didn’t have the most talent but WCW was able to maximize everything he had and make the most of it. The matches weren’t long but they didn’t need to be. It was only once he got into the longer matches that things got a lot worse. The fans still chant his name ten years later, despite him only being in the ring like four years total. That says a lot.

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It’s the go home show for Starrcade and the top part of the card is set. Unfortunately even after Thunder, I’m pretty sure only four matches have been announced. The main idea for tonight will probably be just tying up loose ends before we get to Sunday, meaning there isn’t likely to be much of note tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a LONG recap of the NWO forming and Bischoff joining them a few months later. This sets up Flair vs. Bischoff at Starrcade.

The announcers do their thing.

Fit Finlay vs. Scott Putski

Feeling out process to start with neither guy really wanting to do anything. Finlay takes him down to the mat and cranks on a headlock with Larry pointing out how the forearm is right in Putski’s jaw. A hard back elbow is enough to put Putski down again and Finlay cranks on an early chinlock.

The announcers talk about how Flair has Bischoff running scared. The heart attack isn’t mentioned at all, making me think it’s going to be completely wasted and forgotten about in just a few weeks. To be fair that’s probably not the worst thing in the world. Finlay shifts over to a leg lock and we take a break. In this match? Seriously?

Back with Putski fighting back with some forearms but being taken down again with a knee to the ribs. We hit the headlock again as this match has already been going far longer than I would have expected it to. If nothing else the announcers get to ignore the match even longer than they would have in normal circumstances.

Putski fights up again and starts his real comeback. He nails a nice middle rope dropkick and a running clothesline as the announcers actually pay attention here for a few moments. This match has to be ending soon as it’s been going for over ten minutes already. I can’t remember the last time a main event got that long. As I say that, Putski misses the Polish Hammer and walks into the tombstone to give Finlay the pin.

Rating: D. We’re coming up on the biggest show of the yere, there are four matches announced for the show, and the first commercial break is during what is probably the longest match Scott Putski ever had on TV. Who in the world thought this was something we needed to see?

Recap of Flair vs. Bischoff.

Here’s Ernest Miller to run his mouth about the same stuff he always runs his mouth about, but Santa Claus is in the aisle with presents.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Kaz Hayashi

Kaz jumps Chavo at the bell but Chavo easily sends him into the corner and stomps away to take over. Some forearms in the corner sets up an armbar from Guerrero. Hayashi fights back with a quick dropkick but misses a charge into the corner and gets taken down by the tornado DDT for a fast pin.

Video on Goldberg vs. Nash vs. Bigelow from last week.

Nash comes out for the hard sell on Sunday, which isn’t something he’s all that great at but hey, he’s booking the company so it must be the right move. He talks about being World Champion for a year and defending the title 197 times in that span. While Goldberg is out doing movies and TV Guide, Nash has been getting ready. On Sunday, he’ll become the man by beating the man (yes he acknowledges it’s a Flair line).

Kanyon tells Gene that Raven has been in therapy for years. Raven thinks his mom was here last week to get fifteen minutes of fame like Judy Bagwell and hits Kanyon for making fun of him. This brings in Raven’s mom who finally convinces Scotty (Raven) to come home and get some help.

Here’s Bischoff to run his mouth. He says his usual stuff about Ric and Flair’s family, but we cut to the back to see the Horsemen beating down Scott Norton with a pipe. Flair heads to the ring and Bischoff takes off. Ric says he’ll kill Bischoff if he gets his hands on him tonight. The fans were WAY into this.

Video on Page vs. Giant.

Wrath vs. Lizmark Jr.

Wrath shoves the luchador down to start and easily shoves him into the corner for some knees to the ribs. Lizmark’s dropkick has no effect as he gets caught in a side slam for two. A back elbow puts him on the floor and Wrath follows him out to continue the beating. We hit a chinlock for a few seconds before Wrath misses a charge into the corner. Not that it matters as he comes back with a Rock Bottom and the Meltdown for the pin.

Christmas Nitro Girls.

Nitro Party.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero

Eddie rants a bit more about Rey screwing with the rest of the LWO. They start fast with Rey monkey flipping Eddie into the ropes and dropkicking him out to the floor. Rey tries a dive but flies into the barricade to give Eddie control. Eddie whips him hard into the steps before taking it back inside to yell at the fans. We hit the Gory Stretch as Tenay tries to figure out why Eddie keeps Rey in the LWO.

A neckbreaker drops Rey again and Eddie puts on a modified Sharpshooter while also pulling on Rey’s arm. Rey reverses a suplex to take Eddie out to the floor but Eddie comes back with a top rope hurricanrana. The crowd is almost dead here for some reason. We hit a camel clutch with Eddie ripping a hole in Rey’s mask around the eye. The referee makes him break so Eddie nails a great looking release German suplex.

Rey comes back with a springboard headscissors to send Eddie to the floor but a shot to the bad knee puts him right back down. Eddie wisely goes to the knee and cranks on it with a basic hold. We hit an STF from Eddie before taking a break. Back with Rey reversing an inverted Gory Special into a cradle for two but Eddie reverses into one of his own for the same.

The brainbuster looks to set up the Frog Splash but Eddie has to roll through when Rey gets to his feet. Mysterio avoids a charge in the corner to make Eddie crotch himself against the steel. A big dive sends Eddie into the barricade but he’s able to sidestep a springboard missile dropkick back inside. They slug it out in the corner with Rey taking over off a double leg Fameasser. A top rope hurricanrana sends Eddie to the apron and a baseball slide into an ankle scissors drags him to the floor.

The announcers are actually talking about the Cruiserweight Title match on Sunday if you can believe that. Back in and Eddie takes over with a flapjack and a stiff powerbomb for two. A second attempt is countered and another headscissors gets two on Guerrero. The referee is knocked to the floor and here’s the bodyguard to the apron. Rey avoids a dropkick to send the guard to the floor as well but here’s Kidman on the apron. He loads up a forearm on Eddie but hits Mysterio by mistake, giving Guerrero the pin.

Rating: B. This is one of those pairings that is going to work no matter what they’re doing together. It even worked here here where they slowed things down a bit due to Eddie wanting to hurt Rey for all the problems Mysterio has caused and Mysterio having to fight back with whatever leverage move he can. On top of that we get some build for Sunday. Good stuff here.

Here’s Scott Steiner to brag about being in the state of St. Louis, Missouri. He’s here to recruit Mark McGwire to the NWO and brings out….Bagwell dressed as McGwire. I think you can figure out this one for yourselves. Bagwell says he loves the NWO, takes some andro (a then legal substance that McGwire took in the year he broke the single season home run record) and says he’d be nothing without it. Steiner burns the Cardinals hat and jersey while insulting the city. Total filler.

Norman Smiley vs. Prince Iaukea

Oh….joy. Iaukea goes right after Smiley to start and grabs a rollup for two. Norman comes back with an elbow and it’s time to dance! The Prince rakes his eye and hits Norman rather low before getting two off something resembling an Angle Slam. Not that it matters as Norman comes back with the crossface chicken wing for the fast submission. Nothing much here.

Barry Windham vs. Van Hammer

Windham takes over with chops in the corner followed by a suplex but here’s Flair before things go too far.

Ric fires away chops of his own and knees Windham low to put him down. Barry is thrown to the floor and into the barricade before another low blow puts him down again. Ric goes after the eyes and hits Windham low two more times. He fishhooks Barry’s mouth and hits him in the head before taking it back inside. Flair loads up Shattered Dreams but has to deal with Vincent. This brings out Arn Anderson to help out and stomp Vincent to pieces. Benoit and Malenko stop Horace and Adams and they all brawl to the back. Security mace and cuff Benoit and Malenko but leave the NWO guys alone.

Back in the arena Flair is all fired up and has a mic. He rants (would you expect anything else?) about Bischoff trying to break his career and life, but then one day Flair’s son Reid asked why Flair didn’t just beat Bischoff up and wrestle again. This brings out Bischoff who is acting apologetic, causing Anderson to almost have to hold Flair back. Security stops Flair and handcuffs him, but Flair still promises to kill Bischoff on Sunday. The heart attack stuff was barely mentioned at all here.

Booker T. vs. Jerry Flynn

I don’t see this being very competitive. Booker nails a quick forearm to start but eats a spin kick. Flynn hits a knee and elbow, only to walk into the ax kick. That modified spinebuster sets up the Spinarooni and the missile dropkick is enough to pin Jerry in less than two minutes.

Lex Luger vs. Kenny Kaos

Kaos doesn’t have his title belt with him. Seriously, why put it on him in the first place? Luger hiptosses him down to start but walks into a hard slam and some posing from Kenny. Back up and Luger grabs a slam of his own, only to be raked in the eyes. Kenny hammers away with basic offense before a middle rope legdrop gets two. Tony finally mentions that Kaos is half of the Tag Team Champions as Luger makes his comeback with the usual stuff. Rage comes out and distracts Rage, which makes absolutely no difference as Luger was about to Rack him anyway for the submission.

Rating: D. They don’t even remember to bring the title belt out while the jobber champion is getting squashed. There’s so much wrong with that statement that I don’t even know where to start. For the life of me I do not understand the thinking behind putting the title on Kaos. I could probably come up with two dozen people that would make more sense and be a better option than he was and somehow that’s not an exaggeration

High Voltage argues post match. Again, why in the world did Kaos need to be a Tag Team Champion?

TV Title: Konnan vs. Alex Wright

Konnan is defending so we get to see part of his rap video. Before the match we’ve got Disco Inferno coming out and warning Konnan that Wright is crazy. Konnan says get out of his face before being taken down by Wright with an arm wringer. That goes nowhere so they trade some rollups for two each, followed by armdrags from Konnan and a break.

Back with Wright in control and working on the leg. That goes nowhere so Konnan is sent to the floor, only to come back in and throw Wright to the floor. Back up and Konnan hits the rolling clothesline and the low dropkick as the fans are really bored with the match. The X Factor sets up the Tequila Sunrise to retain Konnan’s title.

Rating: D-. This was just bad as the two didn’t connect at all. Wright didn’t do any of the interesting stuff he was capable of doing and Konnan was keeping it in cruise control the entire match here. Also I don’ think the fans bought the idea that the title was going to change this close to Starrcade.

Wright snaps post match and pounds on various things with a chair ala Chris Jericho right before he turned heel a year and a half or so back. Speaking of which, here’s Jericho to blast Konnan in the back of the head with the TV Title. He puts the belt on Konnan’s head for the Lionsault and poses over top of him. “ARRIBA LOS JERICHOS!”

Here’s Disco Inferno in a Wolfpack shirt to call out any member of the Black and White. “Maybe Horace?” That’s not quite who he gets.

Disco Inferno vs. Giant

Giant no sells everything Disco tries to start and knocks him to the mat with a big right hand. Disco keeps trying to fire away to even less effect before Giant headbutts him down with ease. The Chartbuster is thrown away and a chokeslam off the top gives Giant the easy pin.

Post match Giant calls out Page, who will be a dead man at Starrcade. Page is in the crowd, scum is discussed and that’s about it.

Goldberg vs. Scott Hall

Non-title of course. The entrances combine to take nearly four minutes so we barely have any time left. A lockup goes nowhere so Hall grabs the arm for the driving shoulders. Goldberg puts him down with a fireman’s carry and a shove to put Hall on the mat. Nash comes out to the ring as Goldberg counters a slam into a powerslam. Goldberg is distracted by the shine of Nash’s hair, allowing Scott to jump in from behind. The fall away slam has no effect and there’s the spear, but Nash pulls Hall to the floor as Bigelow comes in to jump Goldberg as the show goes off the air.

Overall Rating: D. What in the world was that supposed to be? It wasn’t a go home show and it wasn’t a regular episode of Nitro. Just what was this supposed to be? The show ends with an attack by someone not even on the card on Sunday? There are still four matches announced for Starrcade and one of them should be a five minute squash.

There’s no Thunder on Thursday due to Christmas Eve so this was their final chance (save for Saturday Night) to get people to care. I have no idea what this show accomplished, other than a very good Mysterio vs. Guerrero match. Starrcade has the potential to be an absolute bomb and I don’t expect much more at this point.

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We’re less than two weeks from Starrcade and again you would think Bam Bam Bigelow was involved in the title match and that Flair vs. Bischoff is the real main event. To be fair though that’s a far more interesting story than Nash trying to break the Streak. Other than that it’s time for more NWO civil war and another three way with Nash, Bigelow and Goldberg in the main event. Let’s get to it.

We get clips from the fifteen second main event last week.

Nitro Girls.

Announcers intro.

Nitro Girls calendar ad.

Scott Putski vs. Raven

Before the match, Raven rants about being in a place of pain and the sweet smell of latex. He didn’t get an instruction manual for life and had to rely on his mother’s charity. However, her reality checks were all bouncing and she was never there for him. This brings out Kanyon who tells Putski to leave because there’s not going to be a match here. Kanyon says he’s sick of Raven getting all this airtime without ever wrestling and everyone is sick of it.

Raven says he had a miserable childhood but Kanyon has some history for us. Raven went to an Ivy League school and has a degree in Pre-Med. He had a $3.2 million trust fund and grew up in Palm Beach, Florida. His parents had a Mercedes for him on his 16th birthday. Raven says his mother didn’t love him and walks out as Kanyon says Raven had it too easy. Kanyon asks where Raven is going but Raven walks out.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Villano V

Villano takes over to start and takes Eddie down with a big armdrag and dropkick. Guerrero bails to the floor but gets taken out by a suicide dive. Back in and Eddie elbows him in the jaw to take over before planting him with a suplex. The slingshot hilo (called a slam by Tony) connects and we hit a seated abdominal stretch from Eddie.

Off to a leg lock instead but Villano fights up and snaps off a powerslam. Villano hooks a surfboard to the loudest reaction you’ll ever hear for a Villano match. He goes up top but Eddie’s bodyguard crotches him down, allowing Guerrero to hit a superplex and the Frog Splash for….two, as Eddie pulls him up. Instead Eddie calls out the LWO and the bell rings as they come down the aisle. No contest for some reason I guess.

Rating: D+. I’m wondering why the surfboard got such a big reaction as you would think Villano got a fluke pin. The string of no contests or DQ finishes or whatever this was is getting annoying as you used to be almost guaranteed clean finishes in cruiserweight matches. The match wasn’t much but Villano was game at least.

Post match Villano joins the LWO as Rey shakes his head.

Nitro Party stuff.

Al Green vs. Wrath

Wrath powers him into the corner to start and hammers away until he misses a charge. Al’s offense has about as much effect as you would expect so Wrath knees him to the floor. A hard whip into the barricade has Green in even more trouble before Wrath throws him back inside for a good looking top rope clothesline. Wrath fires off a bunch of elbows to the face, knocks him down again with a shoulder and nails the Meltdown for the pin.

Rating: D+. Still not a good match as neither guy is capable of going more than a few minutes but the fans are still into the Meltdown. I’m sure that’s why Wrath has now been doing the same thing over and over again with his only push towards the top of the roster resulting in Nash easily beating him. But hey, Nash got another push to a match that isn’t thrilling most of the fans and that’s what counts right?

Recap of Bischoff vs. Flair.

Here’s Bischoff to talk about how awesome he is at karate and how his right hand hits hard but the left hand even scares him. I’ve heard some MMA guy say that somewhere before but I can’t remember where. This brings out Flair at a charge but Bischoff bails to the floor. Bischoff tries to sprint up the ramp and gets away around the announcers’ desk as Flair walks back to the ring.

Ric takes some signs from the fans that talk about the Horsemen before dropping elbows and knees on the mat. He rants about how important wrestling is in Tampa and how how awesome Eddie Graham was. After some more insults, Flair does the Flair Flip in the corner, rants some more and then falls down, holding his left arm. Oh I forgot about this episode.

Arn Anderson and a trainer come out with Dusty Rhodes and I believe David Crockett of all people to check on Flair. Eventually a stretcher comes out and he’s taken out as the announcers go into their serious voices. Flair is taken out on the stretcher and the announcers think it’s an arm or shoulder injury. As you may have guessed given that this is being written about a month after Ultimate Warrior’s final appearance on Raw, it wasn’t a shoulder injury.

Bam Bam Bigelow walks past the ambulance and runs into Scott Hall. Scott laughs at him for no apparent reason and gets beaten up. Nash comes in and Bigelow wants to fight him too. Here’s Goldberg to make it a three way fight but Terry Taylor comes in and makes a real three way match for tonight. Like last week right?

Gene wants to talk to Kidman. Now Kidman wants to talk to Mysterio. Rey comes out and takes off the LWO shirt, which is enough for Kidman to give him a Cruiserweight Title match RIGHT NOW. Mysterio of course accepts and promises no LWO interference.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kidman

Feeling out process to start with Mysterio taking over off an armdrag. Rey goes up top but Kidman is right there with him, resulting in Kidman getting crotched on the buckle. Mysterio’s spinebuster is countered into the top rope Sky High and both guys are down. Back up and Rey scores with a hurricanrana to send Kidman outside, followed by a cross body from the apron to send both guys into the crowd.

Back in and Kidman scores with a dropkick to knock Mysterio out of the air. They head up again with Mysterio winning again and scoring a bulldog from the top turnbuckle. The Bronco Buster sets up a split legged moonsault but Kidman avoids a swanton. We get an update on Flair, saying he has chest pains and shortness of breath. A dropkick puts Mysterio on the floor and Kidman hits a nice dive, followed by a slingshot legdrop back inside. Not that it matters as the LWO runs in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. Remember what I said about the cruiserweights getting interfered with too often? It’s really getting annoying as it’s happening nearly every week now with fewer and fewer matches getting to go to a finish. That was one of the few things you could count on from WCW and now we don’t even get that.

We see the triple threat match being set up again.

Here are Jericho and Ralphus with a white board. Jericho says he wants to reenact his match against Konnan so here’s a very skinny guy in Konnan gear. Using the board, Jericho illustrates Konnan hitting him with brass knuckles, a chair and a shovel. After all that, Jericho’s shoulders were counted down while he was in the ropes. Jericho claims to be too legit to quit and beats up the Konnan imposter. It’s much funnier than it sounds due to Jericho making jokes.

Nitro Girls, during which Tony talks about Flair having a heart attack.

Emory Hale vs. Barry Windham

Hale hammers away to start but misses a charge, allowing Barry to take over with a belly to back suplex. They head outside with Windham still in full control and slamming Hale down before dropping an elbow. Back in and Barry nails a big boot followed by a bulldog and the superplex for the easy pin. Squash.

Perry Saturn vs. Norman Smiley

They fight over a top wristlock to start until Saturn grabs a rollup for two. An armdrag puts Saturn down but he comes back with another rollup. Smiley gets tired of these near falls and runs Saturn over with a clothesline followed by some chops against the ropes. Saturn gets all ticked off and hammers away until the referee tries to pull him off. Saturn, in a disturbingly calm voice: “Please keep your hands off of me.”

He calls for the Death Valley Driver but Norman bails to the outside. Back in and the swinging slam sets up the Big Wiggle as Sonny Onoo and Ernest Miller are here. The referee goes down as well but Miller gets up and superkicks Saturn down. Scott Dickinson comes in as a replacement and can see all of it, he counts three as fast as he can in retaliation for Saturn attacking him last week.

Rating: C-. Not a bad match here but the Miller vs. Saturn stuff was old when it started. These are guys that could have a good match if they have the time and a better finish, but instead we get to have a crooked referee dragged into the feud to make it even worse. I’d love to know who thinks this is a good use of TV time.

Here’s Bret Hart with something to say. Gene asks him about Flair’s condition but Hart starts talking about all the people he’s injured recently. Despite being injured, he’s willing to defend the US Title against Page tonight. This brings out DDP and of course the Giant pops up behind him to blast Page with a chair. Giant throws him through the back of the set and chokeslams DDP off the stage in a huge crash.

TV Title: Konnan vs. Stevie Ray

Konnan is defending and has Florida Marlin and a Tampa Bay Buccaneer with him. After the catchphrases from the champion, Stevie Ray calls out to someone from the back. This brings out Booker T. who is told to watch Stevie’s back. Stevie takes over to start but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Konnan to hammer away.

The rolling clothesline and seated clothesline send Ray out to the floor where he yells at baseball superstar Wade Boggs. Back in and Stevie pounds him down to set up the Slapjack but gets sent into the corner. Stevie blasts Konnan in the head and loads up the slapjack (weapon) but Booker shouts at him. The distraction lets Konnan hit a quick X Factor to retain the title.

George Steinbrenner is here.

Here’s a shaken looking Bischoff to say how tonight was something real that happens in wrestling. Bischoff says he’s sorry to Flair’s friends and family and hopes Flair is back soon. No swerve, no punchline, just a commercial.

Booker T. comes out with something to say. After wishing Flair the best, he says he doesn’t know what’s going on with Stevie Ray. This brings out his brother, who takes credit for every bit of success that Booker and Harlem Heat has ever had. It was Booker that made Stevie join the NWO and there’s a place for him there. Stevie hands Booker a shirt and leaves. Booker isn’t sure what to do.

A woman in nice clothes is here to look for her son Scott. Since that gives her about 19 options on the roster, she clarifies that he goes by Raven. Kanyon comes out and says he’ll take her to Raven for $50. That goes nowhere so Kanyon takes her to find Raven.

Scott Hall vs. Horace

The toothpick to the face earns Hall a slap but he calmly grabs the arm and starts in with his driving shoulders. A clothesline has little effect on Hall as he comes back with a quick chokeslam, only to be thrown out to the floor. Back in and Horace hits a string of basic power moves, such as a clothesline, powerslam and splash for two.

A Hogan legdrop sets up a sleeper but Hall quickly hits a belly to back to escape. As you would expect, the announcers spend most of the match talking about Flair. Hall hammers away with his usual stuff and loads up the Edge, but, say it with me, the NWO runs in for the DQ. Were you really expecting anything else?

Rating: D. My kingdom for a finish in more than two matches. Do I even need to talk about this any more? It’s Horace vs. Hall in a match that means absolutely nothing because the NWO war is going on and on with Hall not even being on a side at this point. That’s what so much of this year has been: WCW spinning its wheels and nothing important happening at all because no one has to job.

The NWO beats Hall down until DISCO FREAKING INFERNO runs in for a save. It goes as well as you would expect with Norton destroying him with a powerbomb.

Scott Steiner vs. Van Hammer

Hammer goes after Buff for no apparent reason and gets jumped from behind. Steiner annihilates Hammer and beats him in less than ninety seconds with the Recliner.

Steiner puts his sunglasses back on and calls out an elite athlete, which translates to Lex Luger. Steiner points out all of the times the Wolfpack hasn’t been there for Luger, including Nash eliminating him from World War 3. He offers Lex a Black and White shirt and Luger doesn’t seem to hate the idea. Lex leaves without saying anything though.

Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Non-title of course. The referee just lets them fight as Nash steps into the corner. Goldberg runs Bigelow over and superkicks him down but Nash is right there for a save. Goldberg gets double teamed in the corner and can’t fight out of it this time. That doesn’t last long though as a double clothesline drops Nash and Bigelow with ease.

Nash takes both guys down with clotheslines and gets one on Goldberg. A side slam gets two on the champ but now it’s Bigelow dropping a headbutt on Goldberg for two. Bill fights back with a suplex and spear to Bigelow but Nash breaks up the Jackhammer. Goldberg spears Nash down and kicks Bam Bam to the mat as well but here’s Scott Hall for the DQ.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t horrible but it was just there. It didn’t have anything interesting, it wasn’t particularly hard hitting and the match doesn’t change anything. You knew Goldberg or Nash wasn’t doing the job, so of course the answer was just to have someone run in for a DQ/no contest because that’s only happened FOUR TIMES TONIGHT.

Nash and Goldberg brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was the worst kind of show you can have: a dull one that changes nothing and doesn’t set up anything for Starrcade. The interesting thing is they’re acting like the Starrcade card is set, but there are only three matches announced for the show with one of the being Flair vs. Bischoff. While it’s a selling point, it’s not a very strong one and the show doesn’t feel like it’s soon at all. But hey, at least we got more Miller vs. Saturn stuff.

Then there’s the Flair story. I understand what they’re trying to do and that they’re doing it to give Bischoff a chance in the match, but that brings about the bigger problem: Bischoff shouldn’t have a chance. The match should be a total and complete destruction of Bischoff, lasting about 7 minutes and ending with Flair breaking Eric’s leg in the Figure Four. Instead, WCW is trying to make this a story that no one is interested in, presumably so that Bischoff doesn’t get killed. Because WCW of course.

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We’re less than three weeks away from Starrcade and Nash vs. Goldberg hasn’t really started to heat up yet. If I didn’t know better I would think Goldberg would be squashing Bam Bam Bigelow at the PPV based on what we’ve seen in recent weeks. Other than that we’re getting ready for Flair vs. Bischoff which I’m sure will be a classic. Let’s get to it.

Goldberg vs. Bigelow in a non-title match tonight. The guy isn’t signed but he can wrestle in a match against the champion?

We look at a clip from earlier today of Scott Steiner attacking the Wildcat mascot due to reasons of insanity.

The Hogan retirement video from last week airs again to shot him beating up Ric Flair.

Nitro Girls.

Scott Steiner comes out to say the only things that come out of Texas are steers and something censored that rhymes with steers. He demands that we give Hogan a standing ovation before demanding another match with Scott Hall tonight.

Nitro Party winner.

Nitro Girls.

Kendall Windham vs. Diamond Dallas Page

We’re nearly half an hour into this show counting commercials at this point. Page gets slammed down to start but trips Kendall to the mat just as easily. A swinging neckbreaker does the same but Windham comes back with a low blow. Not that it matters as Page comes back with punches and a big clothesline followed by the Diamond Cutter for the pin. This wasn’t much but the fans are awake now.

Profile on a Nitro Girl.

Goldberg vs. Bigelow package.

Norman Smiley vs. Prince Iaukea

The dancing non-Islander takes over to start with a slap to the face and a nice shoulder block followed by that spinning slam of his. A delayed double underhook suplex gets two on the Prince and it’s time for more dancing. Iaukea’s kick to the ribs is caught but Smiley stops to dance some more, allowing Prince to kick him in the face. A Samoan drop and top rope splash get two for Prince but Norman calmly puts on a cross face chicken wing for the submission. This was a fairly packed match for under three minutes.

We see the interview from Thunder where Mysterio vs. Guerrera was announced for next week’s Thunder for a future shot at the Cruiserweight Title. Eddie Guerrero comes out to and says Silver King will deal with the selfish Mysterio tonight.

Silver King vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Rey takes him down with a headscissors to start and they trade what would evolve into the 619. They wind up on the apron and Rey snaps off a hurricanrana to send him to the floor. Back in and King counters the sitout bulldog before hitting what would become the Eye of the Storm for two. Rey sends him into the corner before going up himself and TOTALLY botching a hurricanrana. It wound up looking more like a spinebuster from Silver King than anything else. Mysterio sends him to the floor and hits a great looking flip dive to make up for it before a top rope bulldog is enough for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was Mysterio bouncing around the ring for about four minutes which is all you need most of the time. The botch in the middle really hurt it though as there was no way to cover up something like that. Thankfully they went home almost immediately after that so it wasn’t a crippling spot in the middle of the match.

Hour #2.

Goldberg and the championship committee arrive but Nash comes up to meet them. Nash says the match against Bigelow isn’t happening tonight because Goldberg isn’t supposed to fight before Starrcade. Goldberg says he dreams of taking Nash apart.

Wrath vs. Renegade

Renegade comes out to what would have been Marvelous Marc Mero’s music around this time. Must be public domain. Wrath takes him into the corner for some knees to the ribs as the announcers talk about Goldberg vs. Bigelow. A side slam puts Renegade down but he comes back with some kicks to the ribs. Wrath easily shrugs them off and drives in some elbows. Renegade’s handspring elbow is just shoved away and a clothesline to the back of his head leads to the Meltdown for the pin.

Rating: D. I hate to say it, but it’s over for Wrath. Yeah the Meltdown still looks cool, but it was clear that there was nothing more for him after he got beat in his one time moving up the ladder. Just a few weeks ago the announcers were making him out to be the hottest thing in the world and now he’s squashing jobbers again. This is Renegade’s final appearance with the company. How in the world did he survive this long?

Roger Clemens of baseball fame is here.

Chavo Guerrero Jr./Disco Inferno vs. Horace/Stevie Ray

Before the match, Disco asks Konnan com come out for a surprise. Apparently Kevin Nash has approved Disco as the newest member of the Wolfpack. Konnan just rolls his eyes and walks away so the squash can begin. Horace pounds on Chavo to start with the usual power brawling style of his, only to walk into a dropkick followed by a rope climbing bulldog for two. Disco and Stevie come in with Ray easily winning a slugout, only to walk into a swinging neckbreaker.

Disco gets two off a top rope ax handle but is easily thrown outside for a beating from Horace. The announcers at least changes things up a bit here by talking about Hogan’s retirement. Horace comes in legally and misses an elbow drop, allowing Chavo to come in and clean house. The tornado DDT gets two on Horace as everything breaks down. A spike piledriver catches Chavo out of nowhere and Stevie gets an easy pin.

Rating: D. Nothing match here for the most part and I’m not seeing a reason why Chavo and Disco were paired together. Disco wanting to join the Red and Black simply can’t end well but that’s the case for a lot of stuff involving the NWO. It’s also not a good sign that the yet to be christened B-Team is now getting squashes on Nitro.

Nash comes out and says that tonight it’s a three way between him, Goldberg and Bigelow.

Nitro Girls again.

Glacier vs. Saturn

This is supposed to be Miller vs. Saturn but he’s claiming an ankle injury. Glacier hits a quick Kryonic Kick to start and stomps away in the corner instead of covering. Another kick stops a Saturn comeback and a tilt-a-whirl slam sets up even more kicks. Aside from all the other reasons, it’s becoming clear why Glacier never went anywhere. Glacier tries to spice things up a bit with a legdrop but misses an ax handle.

Saturn grabs a quick atomic drop followed by a cross body. He hits his VERY high top rope elbow drop but Sonny Onoo distracts the referee because someone has to try and make this horrible angle interesting. The fact that Sonny is one of the reasons it’s awful doesn’t make things much better though. Anyway, Miller hits Glacier by mistake and of course the referee sees that because Saturn needs to lose to another horrible guy.

Rating: F. I think that’s my official rating for every time Saturn jobs to some waste like Glacier or Miller.

Saturn beats up Glacier and the referee.

Lex Luger vs. Emery Hale

Hale is a big muscular guy that ran around WCW forever but never got over due to not being very talented. They circle each other for awhile to start with no one going anywhere off a shoulder. A harder shoulder puts Hale down and he heads outside to yell at some fans. Back in and Hale takes over with a hard lariat and a big legdrop gets two. Hale pounds on Luger’s back for no effect but a suplex puts Lex on the mat. Hale misses a good looking top rope splash and it’s the forearm into the Rack to give Luger the submission.

Rating: D. Hale had a very good look and could have been a solid midcard monster with some more seasoning and a gimmick. The match was nothing terrible but it’s hard to get excited about Luger doing the same match we’ve seen him do with far more talented people. Not much to see here but Hale didn’t embarrass himself.

Ad for Starrcade.

Chris Jericho vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.

Here’s a match we’ve seen far too many times now. Before the match Jericho makes fun of cowboys, causing Duncum to jump him from behind to start. A hard shoulder and clothesline put Jericho down as Bobby is all ticked off about the cowboy stuff. For the life of me I will never understand so many grown men being obsessed with looking and acting like cowboys.

Anyway Jericho comes back with a quick belly to back but is thrown to the floor for his efforts. After a whip into the barricade, Duncum throws Jericho back inside but gets his throat snapped across the top rope. The missile dropkick has little effect as Bobby nails a bulldog and another lariat (as all good cowboys should do). Jericho crotches him on the top and scores with a superplex before grabbing a rollup and the rope for a cheating pin.

Rating: D+. Did I mention I’m not a fan of the generic cowboy characters? Jericho is another talent being wasted in meaningless feuds like this one after dropping the title to Konnan so it can be used in the endless NWO war. Nothing to see here for the most part, even though Duncum is another big guy with a good look that could be something in a better gimmick.

Hour #3 begins.

Giant vs. Scott Putski

Chokeslam, pin.

Post match Giant challenges Page for Starrcade because Page’s fans are all rednecks.

Konnan wants a piece of the NWO Referee.

Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko vs. Kanyon/Raven

And there’s no heel team as Kanyon is looking for Raven in the back. Raven refuses to go wrestle because Kanyon is a geek. Kanyon points out that Raven has driven away everyone that has tried to help him, including Piper, and blames his recent losing streak on Raven. In the arena, Kanyon refuses to wrestle because he has no partner. For some reason he pushes Arn Anderson and has to run away from a crowbar. Benoit dropkicks him to the floor and Kanyon runs off with no match.

Video on Bischoff/Flair.

After a break the Horsemen are still in the ring and here’s their leader. Ric tells Bischoff to get off his girlfriend and listen to what he has to say. He says the dictatorship is about to end and rants about the history of Texas wrestling while dropping his usual names. Flair is going to choke Bischoff and rip his throat out at Starrcade. He’s looking redder than usual here and runs around the ring looking for something to chop. At Starrcade, Flair promises to chop Bischoff until he says he respects Flair before taking his job, his girlfriend and his dignity. Totally insane Flair here but it worked for the most part.

Konnan video.

TV Title: Konnan vs. Booker T.

They shove each other to start with Booker taking over via some forearms and kicks. Konnan comes back with a rolling clothesline and dropkick of his own before they head outside. Back in and Konnan scores with a bulldog but gets caught by an ax kick. Stevie Ray comes strolling down as Booker dances to his feet. The side kick connects but Stevie comes in and jumps Konnan for the DQ.

Booker yells at Stevie post match but Stevie says Booker should be going after Konnan.

Scott Steiner vs. Scott Hall

There’s no referee and Steiner blames Hall for him missing. Hall hammers on Steiner and we see the NWO Referee wrapped up in tape (Konnan threatened to do that earlier). Mickie Jay runs down, shoves the NWO Referee down, and comes in to count two off Hall’s fall away slam. Steiner yells at the referee and Hall gets two off a rollup as the NWO runs in to end the match.

Luger and Konnan run in but Giant comes in to take them out. Page hits the ring and nails Giant with a chair to get rid of the NWO. Well the Black and White that is. In an amusing visual, the NWO Referee is still down at the entrance.

Bret Hart comes out and says Page is a coward. He’s proven himself and that’s about it. Gene says people should go see Wrestling with Shadows.

Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Bigelow comes out with no music. Nash hits the ring to go after him before Goldberg arrives. Here comes the champ and the brawl is on. All three guys slug it out until security comes out to break it up as the fans pelt the ring with garbage to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. This was one of the worst Nitros in a long time as almost nothing happened. We’ve got two episodes before Starrcade and Bigelow is still deeply involved in the main event scene. There are some matches set for the card, but the TV Title, US Title and Tag Team Titles aren’t being mentioned, guys like Luger, Jericho, Saturn, the Horsemen and Raven/Kanyon have no matches yet, and the main story has a third guy added who probably won’t be on the PPV either. Sadly enough, this is going to be their last coherent PPV for a very long time.

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

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

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

Nitro Girls.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Konnan

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

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

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

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

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

Nitro Party winner.

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

Raven/Kanyon vs. Scott Armstrong/Steve Armstrong

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

Hour #2 begins.

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

Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Eddie Guerrero

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

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

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

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

Bam Bam Bigelow is here with a ticket.

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

Nitro Girls and Heenan at the booth.

Wrath vs. Bobby Blaze

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

Bigelow is still in the crowd.

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

Perry Saturn vs. Sonny Onoo

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

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

Mike Enos vs. Booker T

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

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

Brian Adams vs. Lex Luger

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

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

Barry Windham vs. Dean Malenko

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

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

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

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

Horace Hogan/Scott Steiner vs. Outsiders

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

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

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

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

US Title: Bret Hart vs. Diamond Dallas Page

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

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

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

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

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

We get some stills of the battle royal as well.

Lex Luger vs. Mike Enos

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

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

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

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

Norman Smiley vs. Chris Benoit

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

Nitro Party.

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

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

Kanyon vs. Tokyo Magnum

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

Nitro Girls.

Glacier vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.

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

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

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

Hour #2 begins.

Saturn vs. Silver King

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

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kidman

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stills of Booker saving Stevie Ray from Konnan last night.

Booker T. vs. Konnan

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

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

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

Nitro Girls.

Wrath vs. Kevin Nash

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

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

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

Scott Hall vs. Alex Wright

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

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

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

Nitro Girls.

Bret Hart vs. Dean Malenko

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

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

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

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

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

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

WCW World Title: Giant vs. Goldberg

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

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

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

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

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