Maybe this will be a better month. With two Nitros to go until Uncensored, we don’t have anything set for the show. Given how short the time span between the shows, I’m assuming we’ll be getting a lot of rematches at Uncensored. That’s fine in theory and hopefully we get the right endings this time, but the damage has already been done. Let’s get to it.

We open with an In Memory Of graphic for Rick Wilson, more commonly known as the Renegade. The bell tolls in his memory.

David Flair and the Blonde are in a limousine where David plays messages from Ric, asking to see him. They play four or five messages and Ric gets more serious each time as David and the Blonde laugh. David says it’s time Ric retire. The fact that this is over fifteen years old and Ric is still running around makes my head shake.

Tony tells us that Ric has a huge announcement tonight.

Clips of Scott Steiner vs. Goldberg last week and Rick Steiner returning.

Tony thinks we’re going to this week’s Nitro Party at the University of North Carolina but instead Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell come out. After saying Page isn’t here tonight, Steiner talks about his physique as the fans chant for Goldberg. Bagwell says we’re in UNC country, but he and Steiner are Duke fans (UNC’s big rival). Tonight, they’re calling out Rick Steiner and Goldberg.

Off to the party at UNC.

Clips of WCW doing stuff at UNC this week.

Opening sequence, now featuring Booker T.

Here’s the Wolfpack with something to say and Liz is holding a shirt. Luger talks about his arm injury and Larry gets in a good line by saying Luger only suffers from narcissism. Now for the announcement: Nash is offering Rey Mysterio a spot in the Wolfpack. There’s no Mysterio, so Nash calls him on a cell phone but Rey declines the offer.

Video on Booker T. pinning Bret Hart last week. Booker gets a US Title shot at Uncensored.

Cruiserweight Title: Psychosis vs. Kidman

Kidman is defending and takes him down with a hurricanrana. Psychosis nails a clothesline and the fans aren’t pleased. Another hurricanrana sends Kidman outside and a baseball slide knocks him into the barricade. Back in and Kidman backdrops Psychosis over the post and to the floor, followed by a huge dive to take him down again. Psychosis nails a shot to the ribs and we take a break.

Back with Kidman being sent ribs first into the ropes with a drop toehold. The guillotine legdrop to the back sends Kidman to the floor and into a cameraman for a nice crash. Kidman comes back with a clothesline and a springboard off the barricade into a hurricanrana. Back in again with Kidman slipping while trying a superplex and settling with a slam off the top. The BK Bomb gets two and a bulldog out of the corner gets the same. Kidman counters a powerbomb (of course) and the Shooting Star retains the title.

Rating: B. This was REALLY good with Psychosis continuing his roll. I can understand why you don’t give him the title at this point but he had a great performance in trying. Kidman is looking unstoppable at this point and is firmly in the top level of cruiserweights. He still has to deal with Mysterio though.

We look at Benoit/Malenko attacking Windham/Hennig last week.

Arn Anderson comes in to see David Flair and the Blonde. She says Flair and the Horsemen couldn’t get someone like her but Arn says he wouldn’t get down in the gutter with her. Anderson reminds David of the problems he warned David of when he started wrestling and says the NWO is just using David. This is called jealousy and David says the Horsemen are all old.

Hogan gives Vince permission to knock Stevie Ray out if he complains anymore.

More UNC party stuff. They’ll be at Brown University next week.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

They circle each other to start until Bigelow LAUNCHES him across the ring ala Spike Dudley. Bam Bam misses a charge in the corner and Mysterio hammers away, only to get caught in something like a World’s Strongest Slam. Bigelow picks him up and throws Mysterio onto a bunch of security guards. Back in and the slow destruction continues with a big boot putting Rey down.

We hit the chinlock followed by a Dominator and headbutt but Bigelow pulls up at two. Bam Bam misses a top rope headbutt and Rey nails a missile dropkick. A middle rope X-Factor gets two but Bigelow crushes him with a clothesline. We return to a stupid idea of setting off fireworks to start the second hour when a match is going on. Rey gets sent into the buckle and falls head first between Bigelow’s legs. Mysterio goes up and grabs a victory roll for the surprise pin.

Rating: D+. This was a way to continue Mysterio being the giant killer, which is fine for an idea, except for one thing: Mysterio is the greatest cruiserweight in WCW history and it shouldn’t be the biggest upset in the world when he beats a big guy. This theory that cruiserweights are nothing compared to heavyweights doesn’t hold up but WCW kept going with it for years.

Mysterio says he’s standing up for all the small people when Luger comes up for a distraction. Nash sneaks in and jumps him while shouting about Rey wasting the chance of a lifetime earlier.

Bigelow, Raven and Hak have a hardcore brawl in the back.

Ric Flair arrives in a long white limo and we go to a commercial. We just went to a commercial after the brawl!

The Wolfpack tells Stevie Ray to beat up Vince. DOES NO ONE WATCH THE SHOW???

Nitro Girls.

Here’s Jerry Flynn with something to say. Seriously. He’s tired of Ernest Miller issuing all these challenges and wants to challenge Miller to a fight right now. We cut to the back where Scott Norton tells Miller that Flynn is calling him out.

Ernest Miller vs. Jerry Flynn

Miller comes out to James Brown music with Glacier’s lasers. He dives at Flynn but hits the referee’s feet instead, allowing Jerry to hammer away in the corner. A running spin kick staggers Miller but he trips Flynn down and chokes a lot. Miller misses a charge and hits the post before they trade some more kicks. Flynn gets the worse of it and Miller puts on a chinlock. The fans think this is boring and the guys head outside with Miller still in control.

Flynn kicks him into the barricade before they go back inside for a big kick from Ernest. A superkicks puts Flynn down for two but he comes back with kicks and a belly to belly for two. Then they kick each other at the same time and are both down. The referee decides that the first person to his feet is the winner, so Miller distracts the referee while Sonny Onoo kicks Flynn down to give Miller the win.

Rating: F. When the referee is so bored by a match that he’s willing to end a match that quickly, you can tell it’s a failure.

Flynn chases both guys off post match.

Video on Steiner vs. Page at SuperBrawl.

Hugh Morrus vs. Perry Saturn

Saturn hammers away to start but Jimmy Hart trips him up to give Morrus control. Tony announces Hak vs. Raven vs. Bam Bam Bigelow and Windham/Hennig vs. Malenko/Benoit for Uncensored. Morrus charges into a boot in the corner and Saturn suplexes him down. A Fameasser puts Hugh down but another Hart distraction lets Morrus nail a clothesline. Back in and Morrus gorilla presses him down for two before cranking on a chinlock.

A clothesline gets two more for Morrus as the fans are just dead here. Back to the chinlock for a bit before Morrus goes up, only to jump into a northern lights suplex for two. There’s a t-bone suplex to put Morrus down but Chris Jericho comes out with I think a chain to lay Saturn out. No Laughing Matter gives Morrus the pin.

Rating: D. What a dull match. I have no idea why they started doubling the length of TV matches but it’s very annoying when they have boring matches like this filling in all that time. This really didn’t work as about three minutes were spent in a chinlock. The Jericho vs. Saturn feud needs to die already.

Bagwell and Steiner are still trying to make it to Spring Break.

Konnan music video.

More Nitro Party stuff from UNC.

Clip of Meng on Mortal Kombat the series.

We see Hennig/Windham refusing to defend against Malenko/Benoit. This is pointless as the rematch has already been announced.

Chris Benoit vs. Bret Hart

I think this might pick things up a bit. Bret takes over with some forearms to the back and a running clothesline before taking Benoit into the corner for some right hands to the jaw. Benoit elbows him to the floor before taking Bret down with a chinlock. Thankfully it doesn’t last long and Chris gets two off a clothesline. A DDT gets two for Hart and a piledriver gets the same. Bret is definitely in full heel mode here as he’s taking his sweet time between moves.

Benoit reverses a suplex into a small package for two but Bret stomps him down again. A backbreaker gets two for Bret and we hit the chinlock. Benoit fights up with a belly to back suplex but the Swan Dive only hits mat. There’s the Sharpshooter but Benoit counters into the Crossface, only to have Bret make the ropes. Sweet sequence.

We take a break and come back with Benoit making a rope to escape a Figure Four. The middle rope elbow gets two for Hart and he hammers away in the corner. Benoit wakes up and kicks Bret in the ribs before driving a knee into the stomach. A big running elbow drops Hart and the Swan Dive connects but Benoit can’t cover.

He finally gets two before they clothesline each other down. It’s Benoit up first with a sleeper but Bret suplexes both of them out to the floor in a SCARY crash. They both get up and Bret heads inside but Windham and Hennig come out to nail Benoit with a title belt. Bret puts on the Sharpshooter and Benoit makes the rope, but Hart doesn’t let go, drawing a DQ.

Rating: B. Remember people: WCW thought Scott Hall vs. Roddy Piper was a better option on pay per view than this. The match took a little while to get going but eventually started cranking up with about ten minutes to go. There was almost no way this wasn’t going to be an awesome match and it didn’t disappoint.

Windham and Hennig go after Benoit but Malenko makes the save.

Nitro Girls.

Here’s some of the NWO for a chat. Hogan talks about David Flair slicking his hair because he’s got the flair. He heard Ric begging for mercy and asking Hollywood to not do anything else to him. As he’s talking, Stevie Ray and Vincent get in a fight. Nash breaks it up and Hogan keeps talking about how Flair is going to retire tonight.

Gene brings out Ric Flair for his big announcement. Flair says he’s going to let his one build for awhile. He’s been sitting at home for two weeks and hearing everyone ask how David Flair could do this. Ric talks about how everyone is in the NWO before going on about a blonde that he met in Charlotte twenty years ago that changed his life. Now she’s at home waiting on Daddy.

Flair reminds us that we’re LIVE in North Carolina tonight. He’s the President for twenty eight more days and now his target is Hogan. It’s ending at Uncensored with the title on the line inside a fifteen foot high steel cage with no door and barbed wire on top. After Uncensored, people will want to be like the Nature Boy instead of Mike.

Rick Steiner/Goldberg vs. Scott Steiner/Buff Bagwell

Rick and Buff get things going with Bagwell nailing a dropkick. Rick no sells a suplex and powerslams Buff down. It’s off to Goldberg so Bagwell crawls over to tag in Scott. They lock up against the ropes before Goldberg easily runs him down with a shoulder. Scott nails him with a hard elbow to the face before hammering on Goldberg in the corner. That’s fine with Goldberg as he gorilla presses Scott over his head for an insane seven reps before dropping him to the mat.

Rick comes in to face his brother but Buff trips him up, allowing Scott nail a suplex. Buff comes in legally and hammers away as Scott cuts the turnbuckle pad off. Rick is sent into the steel a few times before Scott nails him with a clothesline for two. Choking ensues as you can feel the hot tag to Goldberg coming. A low blow keeps Rick in trouble and it’s back to Buff for a clothesline. Scott cranks on the leg but Buff’s splash hits knees. There’s the hot tag to Goldberg and house is thoroughly cleaned. Everything breaks down and a double Steiner Line drops Buff and Scott. The spear and Steiner Bulldog take care of Bagwell.

Rating: C. This was your standard main event tag match and that’s fine. I like that they let the heroes stand tall for a change as it’s barely happened since the end of last year. Rick Steiner is decent as a power guy and seeing him vs. Scott is always interesting since we couldn’t get a clean match between the two of them. This was a nice way to send the fans home happy.

Overall Rating: C. If not for the Flynn and Morrus matches this would be a lot higher. This had two REALLY good matches on it which goes to show how WCW can do things right when they’re given the chance. Flair’s announcement wasn’t anything mind blowing but it gives WCW a chance to make up for some of its disasters. This show flew by and was really easy to sit through, which is the first such episode in a long time.

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Things are looking up a bit after Monday’s show, though the NWO was up to their old tricks again with a not very funny parody instead of the big Flair interview that was promoted all night long. This is another taped show which usually means nothing good for the fans. Monday focused more on the wrestling for the most part though so maybe this show has a chance. Let’s get to it.

Tony, clearly from a studio and not in the arena, welcomes us to the show and sends us to a video on Page vs. Steiner.

Hak vs. Damien

Hak (what a funny yet mostly accurate jab at ECW) comes to the ring wrapped in barbed wire. Before the match, Hak says that all of his matches will be Hakfests, meaning no rules. Who or what gives him this authority isn’t clear. Damien hammers away to start but he cuts himself on the barbed wire. A dropkick drives Hak into the wire but he takes it off a few seconds later. They head outside with Damien nailing a baseball slide followed by a dive against the barricade.

Back in and Hak drapes Damien over the top rope for something resembling a top rope legdrop to the back. Tony says the FCC is coming after the NWO for hijacking the satellite feed on Monday, because WCW thinks fans want to hear about FCC fines and regulations instead of wrestling matches to get revenge. Not that the fans have any reason to care about this war any longer after SuperBrawl but WCW never was one to think things through like that.

Hak does the same legdrop over the back to the barricade (RVD’s spot minus the spin) before taking it inside for the Tommy Dreamer Tree of Woe dropkick into the chair. Damien comes back with some Singapore cane shots but gets caught in the White Russian legsweep (legsweep with the cane across Damien’s throat) for the pin.

Rating: D. Oh this is going to be a long year. I wasn’t much of an ECW fan at this point and I didn’t care for the hardcore stuff. It was one thing when Raven did it as Raven was about a thousand times better in the ring than Sandman could ever hope to be. The fact that they’ve put Sandman in black dress pants and a black shirt with no music doesn’t help his case.

Stills of Flair vs. Hogan. We still haven’t seen the announcers and I doubt we will.

Psychosis vs. Hector Garza

They start slow until Psychosis drops him with a shoulder. Garza elbows him in the face and moonsaults over Psychosis, only to get clotheslined down. Hector is sent to the floor and taken down with a baseball slide followed by a dropkick. Back in and Psychosis dives off the top and into a powerslam but Hector misses a charge in the corner. A missile dropkick gets two for Psychosis but Hector comes back with what looked like a clothesline to the side of the head.

Psychosis avoids a running dropkick in the corner, setting up a top rope spinwheel kick (not a flying body attack Tony) for two more. Garza gets crotched on the top rope and dropped by another spinwheel kick. Back up and Hector loads up a powerbomb but just drops Psychosis face first onto the mat. Garza goes up but gets crotched again, giving Psychosis a top rope hurricarnana and the guillotine legdrop is enough to pin Hector.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here as Garza wasn’t the most interesting luchador when he wasn’t doing his big dives. Psychosis is a guy that never got much attention in WCW as he was overshadowed by guys like Mysterio/Guerrera/Kidman. That’s a shame too as he was a very talented guy in his own right.

Stills of Windham and Hennig winning the Tag Team Titles.

Ernest Miller vs. ???

Miller still doesn’t like Glacier’s music. He insults some fans and issues another open challenge.

Ernest Miller vs. Stevie Ray

There’s a break before the match. Tony: “Fans we’ll brb!” Much like hearing people say the word hashtag out loud today, this really should be left on a computer. Ray easily shoves him down and hammers away with right hands. A low blow (ignored by the referee) gives Miller a breather and he knocks Stevie down with kicks to the head. Stevie comes back with a slam but the referee is bumped when he tries another slam. Sonny Onoo gets in and gets laid out as well. Vince comes out and intentionally hits Stevie with a slapjack, giving Miller the pin.

Rating: D. This was another angle instead of a match but it’s good to keep these Black and White things short. Having this as a heel vs. heel match made the fans even more uninterested though. Miller with the Glacier music isn’t interesting but hopefully it doesn’t last all that long.

We look at the Horsemen attacking Windham and Hennig on Nitro.

We see Booker’s promo and match from Monday with a clean win over Bret.

Villano V/El Dandy vs. Raven/Kanyon

Raven’s sister is here with them. Before the match, he talks about the jobbers claiming to be hardcore and Hak stealing the Raven’s Rules idea. What about Raven? He’ll stomp Hak and Bigelow like narcs at a biker rally. As for this match, remember that Raven and Kanyon injured Villano IV’s brother.

Dandy gets double teamed in the corner to start but the makeshift team nails Kanyon with a double dropkick. Off to Raven vs. Villano as Tenay talks about Villano V hopefully returning later this year? Heenan: “How do you know which one you were talking to? It might have been VII!” Tony: “HE’S RIGHT!” Raven runs into a boot in the corner as everything breaks down. Villano hot shots Kanyon but Raven nails him with a chair. The drop toehold sends Villano face first into the chair, followed by the Even Flow for the pin. For some reason the referee has to count it twice.

Rating: D. Nothing to the match but it was nice to see Raven back. Unfortunately it sounds like he’s going to have a feud with the hardcore guys now as the “let’s be like ECW” run continues. It’s a shame too as exploring Raven’s mental issues could be a very interesting path for his character.

Raven puts Dandy through a table post match.

This Week In WCW Motorsports! Monster trucks!

Stills of Goldberg vs. Bigelow.

Blitzkreig vs. Juventud Guerrera

Feeling out process to start with Juvy sending him to the floor. That goes nowhere so Blitzkreig comes back in and gets chopped. Now it’s Juvy being sent to the floor for a big flip dive but Juvy takes him back inside for a chinlock. A Stunner over the top rope sets up a springboard from Juvy but Blitzkreig rolls away and Juvy lands on his feet. Blitzkreig dropkicks him out to the floor but brings Guerrera back in for more chops.

Juvy crotches Blitzkreig on the top, setting up a springboard hurricanrana for two. We take a break and come back with Juvy taking Blitzkreig’s head off with a clothesline. Back to the chinlock for a bit before Juvy puts Blitzkrieg on the top for another dropkick, sending Blitzkreig out to the floor.

Juvy throws him back in for a springboard guillotine legdrop but hurts himself in the process. The delayed cover only gets two and a release German suplex gets the same for Guerrera. Blitzkrieg comes back with a spinning victory roll for two and a backbreaker for two more. A Lionsault hits knees but the 450 misses. Instead it’s the Juvy Driver for the pin.

Rating: C. This wasn’t a bad match but Blitzkrieg still isn’t doing it for me. Maybe it’s all the stuff I’ve heard about him over the years but he’s not on the same level as guys like Mysterio or Guerrero. He’s not bad or anything, but I don’t care to see most of his matches and he’s looked out of his league for the most part.

Stills of Rey losing his mask.

Konnan music video.

Here’s the full Mysterio vs. Nash match from Monday. Granted it’s only like three minutes long.

Bret Hart vs. Disco Inferno

Before the match, Disco wants to sing the Canadian national anthem. Tony: “Oh, because of his opponent.” The song is about drinking beer and playing hockey because Canadians have nothing better to do. Not bad. Disco immediately bails to the floor then does it again. Bret turns his back but it’s a trap, allowing him to hammer away on Inferno. They’re quickly back on the floor with Disco in big trouble. The beating heads back inside and Bret rakes Disco’s eyes across the top rope and we take a break.

Back with Bret getting two off a DDT before sending Disco out to the floor. Bret hammers away before taking it back inside for a Russian legsweep. Disco comes back with some choking and a clothesline before stomping Bret down in the corner. Tony hypes up Ric Flair making a huge announcement on Monday. Maybe we’ll even see it this time. Bret starts going after the leg and puts on a Figure Four. Disco hangs on for a good while and finally makes it to the ropes. That’s fine with Bret as it’s the backbreaker, elbow and Sharpshooter for the win.

Rating: D+. How often do you see Bret hit his finishing sequence and get the submission with no resistance? This was just a long Bret squash and it’s nice to see him in back to back featured matches. The loss on Monday was a good thing all around and now he gets to win something else to get some of his (limited) heat back. Nothing wrong with that and Disco losing to Bret Hart isn’t going to hurt his push.

Overall Rating: D. This show tried but it was stuck with low level talent and a lot of replays from SuperBrawl and Nitro. However, they were at least putting in some effort instead of just throwing guys out there to fill in two hours. Unfortunately the matches weren’t very good and you could tell this was taped in advance due to never seeing the announcers. It’s a bad time for WCW and things aren’t looking up.

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It’s three weeks after Starrcade and a lot has changed in that short span of time. However, as much as things have changed, it feels more like we went back in time two years instead of reaching a new place in WCW. The main events tonight are Ric and David Flair vs. Curt Hennig/Barry Windham in David’s in ring debut and Goldberg vs. Scott Hall in a tazer on a pole (it’s hanging above the ring but same idea) match as Goldberg is out for revenge on the people that cost him the World Title. Let’s get to it.

We open with a President Flair press conference, saying they’ll stay the course against the NWO. Nothing to see here other than flashbulbs and media applause.

As we go to the arena, we see that the NWO logo now has a big red X over it anywhere the logo appears. Why Flair didn’t just make it a regular WCW logo is probably some legal issue that WWE thinks we would care about.

Tony says it’s a night of revenge for WCW. The announcers talk for a bit as they always did to open a show.

Call the Hotline! I actually did that once and it took forever to get to anything and the trivia game, the one thing I wanted to do, wasn’t available.

We cut to the back and Goldberg is down holding his knee. He’s conscious though and throws the cameraman out of the room.

Mike Enos vs. Chris Benoit

After main eventing Thunder for two weeks in a row, this is the best Benoit can get? Feeling out process to start with Benoit taking him up against the ropes and chopping away before getting taken down by a running clothesline. The muscular Enos hammers away but gets chopped and clotheslined by the Canadian to take over. Enos gets whipped down into the corner and dragon screw leg whipped for good measure.

More chops have Enos reeling but he counters the Crossface into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a very delayed two. A powerslam gets a much more timely two and we hit the bearhug on Benoit. Off to the chinlock on Benoit which is quickly switched over to another bearhug. Benoit elbows out of it but gets kneed in the ribs to put him down again. Benoit counters a suplex into a cross body for two. The Rolling Germans have Mike in trouble and there’s the Swan Dive but Benoit can’t cover. Back up and Benoit slaps on the Crossface for the submission.

Rating: C. The match was fine but I’m not sure this should have opened a PPV. Benoit looked good, though it’s against Mike Enos so how much does it really mean? This was a good sign that WCW didn’t know what to do with Benoit at the moment, but at least he got a nice win.

Clips of Hall costing Goldberg the title and the announcement of the tazer match.

Norman Smiley vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Norman comes out carrying a small urn with the remains of Pepe. He taunts Chavo with the remains to start before running outside for the opening bell. Back in and a single clothesline sends Smiley out to the floor. Another clothesline sends him outside again and a big dive takes Norman down. A springboard bulldog has Norman in even more trouble and a spinning top rope cross body does the same.

Norman sends him into the buckle and hits the spinning slam followed by the Big Wiggle. Off to a figure four neck lock on Chavo but Guerrero fights up, only to have his moonsault hit knees. Norman drapes him over the top rope as Tenay and Heenan get into an argument over Mrs. Guerrero’s chili. Smiley hooks a modified surfboard followed by a bodyscissors as this is a nice display of submissions.

Back up and a swinging neckbreaker gets two on Chavo before he gets caught in a kind of ankle lock. Chavo counters into a leg hold of his own but Norman easily rolls out and elbows Chavo in the face. Back to the mat with a seated Norman putting his feet on Chavo’s shoulders and pulling on his arms. The fans think this is boring because they don’t understand technical wrestling. A top rope superplex to Chavo appeases them a bit and the Big Wiggle makes them even happier.

Norman starts getting more physical with a back elbow to the jaw getting two. Off to a kind of seated abdominal stretch before Chavo fights up with a belly to back suplex. Smiley fights back up again and puts on a Gory Special for some humiliation. Chavo escapes and tries a rollup but Norman blocks it and spanks Guerrero a bit to the biggest reaction of the night. Chavo spins out of the Norman’s Conquest but can’t hook the tornado DDT. Smiley throws the sawdust in Chavo’s face, setting up the Conquest for the win.

Rating: B-. Good match but the ending brought it down a bit. This is a good example of the difference between someone like Chavo and Iaukea from Thunder. Iaukea was repeating moves late in the match whereas Chavo has a far more entertaining and interesting match that ran five minutes longer. WCW would be smart to listen to those reactions Smiley is getting.

Konnan wants revenge for the NWO turning on him.

Fit Finlay vs. Van Hammer

This is the third straight unannounced match. Van Hammer is a hippie here in a gimmick which never went anywhere. They stall a lot to get going until Van Hammer clotheslines him down. A slam off the ropes gets two on Finlay but he rips at Hammer’s face to take over again. An elbow drop gives Finlay a near fall of his own and a jawbreaker (called a clothesline by Tony) has Hammer in trouble.

They trade some forearms with Hammer getting the better of it until he misses an elbow drop. Finlay rips at the face some more but gets punched in the ribs to put him back down. Hammer cranks on the leg and the fans are just dead for this. Back up and Hammer slams him down and we head outside. That goes nowhere so Finlay punches him in the face and kicks him throat first into the ropes. Hammer escapes a sleeper but charges into a boot in the corner. A powerslam gets two on Finlay but he comes back with the rolling fireman’s carry into the tombstone for the pin.

Rating: D. Unlike the opening match which was watchable but shouldn’t have been on PPV, this was really boring and shouldn’t have been on PPV. Finlay is a talented guy but I have no idea why he’s the go to guy when you need a spot filled in on a pay per view. Why not throw Booker T. out there to keep up his hot streak? Probably because this is WCW and they don’t think in that much detail.

We look at the Flairs vs. Hennig/Windham.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Wrath

This was set up over a few brawls they’ve had over the last few weeks. They shove each other to start until Wrath gets poked in the eyes. He’s still able to nail a big boot though and Bigelow is knocked to the floor. Back in and Bigelow misses a headbutt before getting hammered in the back. A HARD chop in the corner has Bigelow in trouble before it’s off to a wristlock.

Wrath hits a nice middle rope clothesline for two as the fans are only slightly more interested than they were in the previous match. Bigelow comes back with a shoulder and chinlock followed by some choking. Back to the chinlock as Tony promises to give us the results of the coin toss before the four way Cruiserweight Title match tonight. AND THEY’LL TELL US BEFORE THE MATCH! They actually treat this like a big deal.

The hold stays on WAY too long so Heenan starts with tattoo jokes. Back up and Bigelow shrugs off some knees to the ribs so Wrath nails a dropkick to take Bam Bam down. A powerslam puts Wrath down but he’s quickly back up for a double clothesline to drop both guys. Wrath misses a charge and hits the post, setting up Greetings From Asbury Park to kill Wrath’s push once and for all. Tony says that’s just one blemish on his record as he can’t remember something that happened about six weeks ago.

Rating: D. That chinlock killed whatever this match might have had but the fans were already done by the time it went on. Wrath had a nice little run for a few months but at the end of the day he was a guy that had potential to be something interesting and was getting over so the old guard had to beat him in his two biggest matches. We wouldn’t want someone new getting over would we?

Konnan vs. Lex Luger

Konnan has lost that new shirt with the NWO logo on it. Before the match Konnan babbles about dressings and tossing salads. This is fallout from Luger turning on Konnan and throwing him out of the Wolfpack. Luger says Konnan just couldn’t make the A team and offers him a change to leave. Konnan nails him in the jaw and we’re ready to go as the fans are FINALLY awake and actually going nuts for this. Imagine that: you have a match with an interesting story behind it and the fans care.

Luger is easily knocked to the floor to start and things settle down a bit. Konnan brings him back in and stomps away but Luger holds the ropes to avoid a dropkick. Even Luger’s stomps to the back are getting booed here. Luger starts working on the back with knees and forearms to the spine. Konnan comes back by ramming him face first into the buckle until Luger stomps him down again. Off to a bearhug followed by some elbows to the back. Konnan rolls outside as the match slows down again.

Back in and Konnan hits a quick cross body followed by the rolling clothesline to start his comeback. There’s the low dropkick but here comes Liz, clearly fresh off some surgical enhancements, to break up the Tequila Sunrise with hairspray to the face. The referee sees Liz leave and doesn’t question why Konnan let go of the hold and is now holding his eyes. Either way, the Torture Rack gets the easy win.

Rating: D+. This was better than I was expecting with the crowd actually carrying it to a better result than expected. They really liked Konnan here which again should be grounds for a push for the guy. He couldn’t back it up in the ring or anything like that, so WCW should put him in a team with some more skilled guys, which I believe is what they did.

Chris Jericho vs. Perry Saturn

Loser wears a dress. Heenan: “I’d like to see Ralphus in a dress.” Scott Dickinson, the crooked referee, is in charge of this match because Ric Flair or whoever makes these decisions isn’t all that smart. Saturn quickly shoves Jericho to the floor before Jericho hides in the corner a lot to continue the stalling.

Jericho grabs a headlock but gets slammed down for a quick escape. Saturn hammers away in the corner as Ralphus takes the leopard print dress out of a bag to taunt Perry a bit. Jericho takes over with a hot shot and the springboard dropkick to send him into the barricade. A nice plancha takes Saturn down again and a big boot of all things gets two for Jericho.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Saturn comes back with some right hands. The Lionsault hits knees and Saturn nails a t-bone suplex. Chris comes back with a modified butterfly powerbomb but Saturn blocks a dropkick and catapults him to the floor. A baseball slide knocks Jericho down again and a top rope splash gets two for Saturn.

They trade a sloppy looking pinfall reversal sequence until Saturn avoids a charge in the corner to crotch Jericho on the ropes. The Death Valley Driver and Liontamer are both countered and Saturn grabs a small package, but Dickinson blatanly shoves it over and makes the fast count to give Jericho the pin.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t all that great but the ending made it even worse. As stupid as it is, the result makes even less sense when you consider there are two face authority figures. There’s no one watching this in the back that could come out here and say hang on a second? The match wasn’t as good as you would expect from these two.

Jericho smacks Dickinson and tells him to make Saturn put the dress on. Saturn does it anyway and Dickinson zips him up. The interesting thing here is news had leaked out that Jericho was leaving when his contract was up in the fall, so this should have been an obvious result. However, why go with what makes sense when you can humiliate Saturn even more?

David Flair says he isn’t a wrestler but he’ll be in the ring anyway out of respect to his father. Since this is WCW, you can start the countdown until he turns on his dad.

Cruiserweight Title: Psychosis vs. Billy Kidman vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera

TONY LIED TO US ABOUT THE STARTERS! How can I ever survive by having to last a full hour without knowing what’s going to happen? How do I know if I should stay tuned if I don’t know if this will be one of the biggest nights in the history of our sport??? This is one fall to a finish, Kidman is defending and will be starting with Juvy. Psychosis is a substitute for Eddie Guerrero after Eddie had a horrible car wreck at the beginning of the year. Tony apologizes for giving us wrong information then says it doesn’t matter anyway.

Kidman and Mysterio get things going but all four are in within fifteen seconds. Things settle down before they get more interesting and we get the starters alone in the ring. Rey shakes Kidman’s hand before taking him down with a headscissors but Kidman hooks one of his own. Both guys try cross bodies at the same time and everyone is down. Both other guys come in without tags before Kidman and Rey tag them in a few seconds later.

They trade cradles in a nice sequence but the fans still don’t seem to care. A sloppy looking sequence results in some standing switches as the silence here is very strange. The fans usually love these cruiserweight matches. Everything breaks down and the fans pick up a bit as Rey throws Kidman into the BK Bomb for no cover. Rey sidesteps Psychosis so Kidman can hit the top rope cross body for two. Juvy trips up Kidman (Psychosis: “THANK YOU JUVY!”) so Psychosis can hit a nice front suplex to put the champion down.

A running clothesline puts Kidman on the floor with Juvy throwing Rey onto the champion. Psychosis and Juvy get in an argument over who is going to do an Asai Moonsault so Rey and Kidman powerbomb them off the apron to the floor. Back in and a springboard Doomsday Device with Rey playing Hawk gets two on Guerrera. Rey and Psychosis fight on the apron with Mysterio monkey flipping Psychosis over the post and onto the floor in a nice spot.

Kidman hits a nice cannonball off the top onto Psychosis but might have hurt his own shoulder. A great looking Air Juvy takes both guys down and Rey follows him out but only hits Kidman. Juvy clotheslines Psychosis by mistake so he heads back inside for a springboard seated senton from Mysterio. A Juvy Driver gets two on Rey with Psychosis making the save with a springboard missile dropkick. Psychosis hooks a mostly botched middle rope victory roll for two on Guerrera before Kidman counters a powerbomb for two.

Mysterio spins into a bulldog on the champion for another near fall and everyone is sent outside save for Psychosis. Juvy lays the two good guys on the floor next to each other and Psychosis hits a BIG suicide dive to land on both of them. A second attempt hits floor instead of Mysterio but Kidman counters the Juvy driver into a reverse DDT. Rey sees that Kidman is loading up the Shooting Star but hits a springboard hurricanrana on Psychosis anyway. The Shooting Star is good for the pin on Guerrera to retain the title.

Rating: B-. Good but not great match here with some awesome high spots. Unfortunately there wasn’t much besides though and it really brought the match down a few notches. Guerrero would have been better in there but thankfully the division was deep enough that you could just throw in another name like Psychosis to fill in the spot. This would have been better if they cut out about three minutes to tighten things up a little bit.

Booker T. talks about the dress match when Jericho comes in and challenges him to a match on Nitro. That should be awesome.

Barry Windham/Curt Hennig vs. Ric Flair/David Flair

Windham turned on Flair during the Bischoff feud and Hennig cost Flair the Bischoff match. Ric wanted a handicap match but his son offered to have his dad’s back, despite not having any in ring experience. Ric grabs a chair and calls the villains Horsemen rejects. Curt promises to beat up the father and then the son before ordering Anderson to go to the back. The boss (Ric) threatens to send Hennig to the WWF if he doesn’t get in here to fight. We’re still not done talking as Barry wants to start with David.

We finally get going and David drives him against the ropes but gets taken down by a right hand. A headscissors puts Barry down and all four get in the ring for a few seconds. Things settle down with Barry kicking him in the ribs but getting chopped down with ease. Former NWA World Champion Barry Windham of course begs off from a 19 year old guy who looks to weigh 175 soaking wet because he can hit a few chops.

Barry slams him down but misses an elbow drop, allowing for a tag off to Ric. More chops set up a quickly broken chinlock and it’s off to Hennig to slap the boss and talk some trash. They trade more chops and there’s the Hennig neck snap before he knocks David off the apron. The Flair Flip puts Ric on the floor but the evil ones don’t follow up. Ric goes up top and deserves that slam off the top for trying it so many times. Barry’s superplex gets two with no reference to it being his finisher. Windham hammers away in the corner but gets caught in an atomic drop to put both guys down.

More chops give Flair a breather but he swings so hard that he falls back to the mat. Hennig comes back in for a spinning toehold followed by the Figure Four. Barry comes in to try a Figure Four of his own but Ric small packages him for two. The elder Flair is scared to tag so Windham hammers away even more. Ric fires off chops but the double teaming is too much for him to fight off.

Anderson pulls Hennig to the floor and Ric is able to slap the Figure Four on Barry. Curt hits Arn in the bad neck and sends him into the barricade as everything breaks down. Ric falls down from exhaustion as David stays on the apron. David finally comes in with a low blow to Curt to break up a double suplex but Hennig nails him with a right hand. Anderson comes in with a tire iron to break up the PerfectPlex and Curt very clearly pulls David on top of him for the pin.

Rating: D+. Refresh my memory. Aren’t there three other Horsemen that Flair could have picked or that Arn could have suggested? I really don’t get why David was in there when all those other guys were available. Ric wanting his son in there makes sense for a story, but from a creative perspective this was the worst idea they possibly could have gone with. The story was acceptable enough and the match could have been worse, but you have Benoit and Malenko available but we get a glorified handicap match instead.

Post match we’ve immediately got almost all of the NWO to attack the Flairs. Benoit comes out to help but there are like twelve NWO members out there. Ric is handcuffed to the ropes and the big beating is on. David is surrounded as the fans chant for Goldberg to come make a save.

After being tripped to the mat, David actually lunges at Hogan so it’s time for a beating with the weightlifting belt. There’s the EZ E spray painted on David’s back as this just keeps going. A Sting chant has no effect either. The NWO finally leaves after like seven minutes of beating up David. Now we get another two minutes of Hogan talking trash to Ric and the father holding his son and saying he’s sorry.

Long, slow motion, black and white video on Luger turning on Goldberg after the Fingerpoke of Doom.

Scott Hall vs. Goldberg

The tazer is hung above the ring and ladders are provided to pull it down. You have to shock the other guy to win so there are no pins or submissions. Hall talks about taking away the Streak and the title to kill some time before the match. He takes credit for Goldberg’s knee injury because Goldberg slipped in fear. Tony immediately refutes it but here’s Goldberg. Buffer actually apologizes for the “false announcement”. Goldberg’s knee is in a big brace to compensate for earlier but he’s still badly limping.

Hall is knocked to the mat to start but Goldberg isn’t following up due to the injury. They circle each other for a bit until Goldberg finally knocks him down again. Hall gets taken down a third time as we’re somehow five minutes into this. A powerslam drops Hall again but the knee gives out. Hall wraps the knee around the post and goes to get the ladder but Goldberg continues the age old tradition of not letting anyone else bring in the ladder despite it meaning nothing at all.

Goldberg tries to bring the ladder into the ring but Hall baseball slides it into his face to draw some blood. The fans are dead again. Hall goes up but drops a bad looking elbow for no apparent reason. Scott climbs again but gets suplexed down with ease. Goldberg’s climb is quickly stopped with a ladder to the leg and the match stays slow. This time Hall is shoved off the ladder and goes throat first onto the top rope. Tony: “That may have been a break for Goldberg.”

A clothesline puts Hall down and Goldberg whips him into the ladder, sending the ladder falling down onto Scott. Goldberg’s slow climb is countered with a dropkick before Goldberg shoves Hall off the ladder. I’m not skipping anything between most of these saves as there’s no transition between them at all.

Disco Inferno runs out for a save and shoves the ladder over to stop Goldberg and Hall pulls down the tazer. Hall misses his shots though and gets superkicked to knock the tazer outside. Goldberg rolls outside and gets it, shocks Disco, tosses the tazer into the air so he can spear and Jackhammer Hall before the shock gives Goldberg the win.

Rating: D-. They made A LADDER MATCH BORING. Do you have any idea how hard that is to do? The match was really dull and slow because they decided to have Goldberg be injured and take away all of the stuff that got him over in the first place. It didn’t help that you had two power guys out there and no one who could do high spots, leaving us with seventeen minutes of shoving the other guy off the ladder. Goldberg getting a win to stand tall to end the show is the right move, but I don’t see why we needed to have a long and dull match before we got there.

Post match Bam Bam Bigelow runs in to beat up Goldberg. Hall is up thirty seconds after being shocked (and sixty seconds after being speared and Jackhammered) to zap both guys to end the show. Remember at Starrcade when Goldberg got shocked and stayed down for about the last five minutes of the show, including falling out of the ring at one point? Apparently neither does Scott Hall.

Overall Rating: D. The worst part about this show is they were trying at some points. That makes it harder to criticize because it looks like the guys on top are the ones making it such a horrible show. The opening part of this show is good stuff (albeit not the most interesting) before the main event and the long NWO beatdown after an acceptable (all things considered) match really hurt things. The show wasn’t good, but it did have good parts which is more than I can say about a lot of WCW PPVs around this time.

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Apparently this is a three hour show. Oh freaking joy.

Konnan vs. El Dandy

Road Wild ad.

Ultimo Dragon vs. Lizmark Jr.

Public Enemy vs. Alex Wright/Disco Inferno

Post match Meng comes out and destroys everyone in sight. Barbarian comes out to try and stop Meng but gets a Death Grip for his efforts. Meng destroys even more people.

Jim Duggan vs. Roadblock

A quick (work with me here) clothesline put the 400lb+ Roadblock on the floor but he elbows Duggan in the jaw back inside. The big man hits some forearms to the back like any good clubbing monster would before Duggan clotheslines him out again. Back in and the ten right hands in the corner have Roadblock in trouble but he grabs a bearhug to slow Duggan down. Jim breaks free, hits the Three Point Clothesline and drops Old Glory (knee drop) for the pin.

Saturn vs. Kanyon

This should be good. Kanyon grabs two quick rollups for two each but Saturn grabs a quick belly to back suplex. Schiavone of course brags about the basketball match instead of talking about ANYTHING going on during the match. Lee Marshall of all people gets him back on track. Saturn fires off some kicks in the corner but gets caught in a neckbreaker to put both guys down.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Psychosis

Scott Norton vs. Ciclope

Norton, officially in black and white, powerbombs him for the pin in 15 seconds.

Stevie Ray is here to explain why he has the TV Title. Apparently Booker was in his hospital bed and looked up at Stevie (“With those big brown eyes”) and told Stevie how great of a champion he was. Booker gave Stevie power of attorney and Ray has a hand written note to prove it. Booker even picked the opponent tonight.

TV Title: Stevie Ray vs. Damien

Another total squash with Ray just mauling him. A powerslam gets no cover and Damien makes the jobber comeback with chops and a dropkick. Stevie clotheslines him down and the Slap Jack retains the title.

Here are Hennig, Rude and Hall with something to say. Rude thinks Page is nothing more than a flash in the pan. Hennig things DDP stands for Dirtball Dallas Punk and complains that his bird is too sick to relieve himself on a picture of DDP. Konnan comes out for Wolfpack reasons, calls Hall a mark, slaps Hennig, and runs.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera

Both small guys are beaten down with the chair. Juvy gets a Sharpshooter and Mysterio is put in the figure four around the post. This is really the best thing they can come up with for Bret Hart?

Hugh Morrus/Barbarian vs. Marty Jannetty/Chris Adams

Oh you have got to be kidding me. Adams pounds on Morrus to start before bringing Marty in for a superkick. The crowd is clearly heading to the concourse during this. Everything quickly breaks down and Adams is sent to the floor, allowing Morrus to moonsault Jannetty for the pin. Another nothing match.

Curt Hennig vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Diamond Dallas Page/Konnan vs. Curt Hennig/Scott Hall

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We open with a recap of the end of Nitro.

The announcers talk for a LONG time, as in like two minutes straight. The only thing to come out of this is Sting vs. Savage for the title at Spring Stampede.

Cruiserweight Title: Chris Jericho vs. Super Calo

Jericho says he loves Terry Hutt Indiana. Calo jumps him from behind to start but Jericho easily punches him down to get a breather. A clothesline puts Jericho down for two and Calo hits an ax handle to the back to send him to the floor. Jericho is back in a few seconds later and hits a quick vertical suplex for two (arrogantly of course).

Kendall Windham vs. El Dandy

Perry Saturn vs. La Parka

Barry Darsow vs. Ray Traylor

Roddy Piper will be on Nitro to make a challenge. I think we have our topic for the rest of the show.

Yuji Nagata vs. Prince Iaukea

Anyway Iaukea gets to the ropes but a double chop brings him right back down to the mat. Back to the arm followed by some lame ground and pound and more shots into the bad arm from Nagata. Another Prince comeback is stopped by a rake of the eyes and a great looking belly to back from Nagata. Prince comes back again with a dropkick, drawing Sonny Onoo to the apron. He accidentally kicks Yuji in the head, allowing Iaukea to hook a northern lights suplex for the pin.

We get some clips from Nash s. Giant on Sunday.

Brian Adams vs. Marty Jannetty

This sounds like a reject from a Survivor Series Showdown in 1990. Adams quickly blasts him to the floor before throwing him back inside with ease. Marty avoids a charge in the corner but is quickly caught in a bearhug for a few moments. Jannetty keeps trying to run the ropes but gets thrown around the ring with ease. A headbutt puts Marty down again but rolls away from a knee drop. Jannetty makes a quick comeback with an atomic drop and missile dropkick for two before hooking a lame sleeper. Adams shrugs him off and hits a very bad looking tilt-a-whirl powerslam for the pin.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Psychosis

Mike Tenay has replaced Lee Marshall. Eddie grabs the arm to start and clotheslines him down. Psychosis comes back with a quick snapmare as things speed up, only to be stopped with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Guerrero. Eddie is taken down by a quick armdrag as the pace picks up again. Guerrero showboats too much though and gets dropkicked in the back, setting up the guillotine legdrop in the ropes.

Instead of covering though Psychosis kicks him to the floor and hits a Whisper in the Wind off the top. Psychosis slingshots back in with an elbow drop for two and a tilt-a-whirl slam looks to set up another Whisper but Eddie sidesteps him. Eddie shoves Psychosis off the top and lays him out with the frog splash for the pin.

Raven vs. Brad Armstrong

Video on Bret Hart.

Scott Norton vs. Chris Benoit

Norton hits something resembling a Samoan drop for two more as this is one sided so far. Back up and Benoit avoids a charge in the corner and takes Norton down with a German suplex before going up top for the Swan Dive. He hooks on the Crossface but Vincent gets on the apron, making Benoit break the hold after a LONG time. The distraction lets Norton pop up, not sell the hold at all, and lay out Benoit with the shoulder breaker for the pin.

Goldberg vs. Wayne Bloom

Saturn jumps the railing but just stares at Goldberg.

Rick Steiner vs. Curt Hennig

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