Ric Flair/Arn Anderson vs. Kevin Greene/Steve McMichael

This is another attempt at crossing over with football, which just never works for one reason: football players can’t wrestle that well because they get a crash course in wrestling. Now there have been players that have gotten long training and are wrestlers for a long time who become good wrestlers and Mongo got close to doing that, but not when they do it in the off season or after retiring for the most part.

Heenan manages the heels here for no apparent reason. Savage manages the faces because he hates Flair, which is fine as it gives them a lot more credibility. Greene walks like a robot. His wife is hot though so that helps a lot. Rhodes makes a great comment that the football players who have been learning to wrestle shouldn’t try to wrestle. So wait, they wasted their time for the last few months? That’s a great endorsement there Dusty.

Arn and Mongo get down in a three point stance because that’s a brilliant idea where Mongo of course dominates him. Tony says that Mongo left the Bears for money. Remember that line. This really is just getting stupid all around. What’s commonly forgotten about Flair is that he was a college football player as well at the University of Minnesota, so the three point stance isn’t exactly a foreign concept to him.

Very soon we start to see the problem: the football guys know about 5 moves each, two of which are boots and punches. You can see that Flair and Anderson are completely carrying them and calling the whole thing, including hearing Flair call spots to Mongo, which might be due to the extreme close-ups in the corner.

Flair whispered, but with the camera 4 inches from him you can’t really blame him for that. The heel women chase away the face women. The announcers are still trying to make this sound epic and are still failing on every level. Mongo gets beaten on forever until the hot tag to bring in Greene for more punches, tackles and slams. Another five minutes or so of beating on Greene until Flair gets the figure four on.

Debra, Liz and Woman come back but Debra is dressed up now and Liz has a briefcase. You know what’s coming next. The shirt and money are in the case and Mongo hits Greene with it to join the Horsemen and end the match, drawing a huge pop as this is Horsemen country. Post match, there’s a huge beatdown by all four Horsemen. Benoit and Savage fight as I drool over the idea of that feud. You can see Flair say good job to Green after he pins him and the Four Horsemen are back!

Rating: C-. This was just pretty bad to say the least. I’ll give the football guys credit though as they were at least trying very hard. The turn at the end was clearly the most important part and while the match went on too long, it wasn’t terrible for what it was. Could have been better but it also could have been worse.

So Mongo is a Horsement, meaning it’s time for an eight man tag. From Nitro on July 1, 1996.

Rock N Roll Express/Joe Gomez/Renegade vs. Four Horsemen

Anderson vs. Morton to start after a break. Everything breaks down quickly and the Horsemen bail. Flair vs. Morton now. How often do you see all of the Horsemen in one match as a team? Morton gets a rana and there’s the double dropkick by the Express. Were this 1986, the crowd would be in a frenzy. Here it barely gets two. Flair vs. Gibson now and then off to AA.

Enziguri takes Anderson down as the Horsemen aren’t looking all that good here. Off to Benoit and Renegade who hasn’t meant anything in like a year. Benoit hammers away and it’s off to Flair again. No Mongo yet. The card for Bash at the Beach doesn’t sound half bad actually. Gomez beats on Flair and hits a backdrop but Flair cheats and brings in Benoit. Chris was in his element as a Horseman, he really was.

Benoit mauls him and the natural order of the universe is restored. Finally off to Mongo who gets a decent reaction actually. This is his in ring debut as a Horseman I believe. Mongo is in a word, really bad. He does some stuff that looks like a football player doing moves before thankfully bringing Flair back in. Gomez gets a sunset flip on Anderson for two.

There’s a spinebuster which is called a sidewalk slam here. Back off to Benoit who gets caught in a backslide for two. And that more or less ends Gomez’s career as Benoit is all fired up and the punches go flying. Off to Flair who does the same but Gomez manages to escape the Figure Four. Anderson and Flair work the knee and it’s off to Benoit who is all too comfortable with taking apart a body part.

Back to Mongo who is in desperate need of experience for the most part. Powerslam doesn’t look that bad. Neither does an elbow. That was FAR better than his first time in there. Off to Anderson but Gomez gets a shot in and the hot tag to Renegade. He cleans a few rooms and everything breaks down. Mongo totally botches the briefcase shot as he doesn’t actually hit Renegade (he tosses the case and the announcers make fun of him for it) but Renegade goes down anyway, into the Figure Four and we’re done.

Rating: C. Meh pretty basic match here but it was cool to see the Horsemen united like this. Mongo was indeed bad, but it was his second wrestling match ever. How mad can you really get at him for something like that? The powerslam wasn’t bad but he never really got any better at all. Points for trying though.

Now a six man version from Nitro on July 22, 1996.

Sting/Lex Luger/Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair/Steve McMichael/Chris Benoit

No Anderson, not even as a second. Flair isn’t here either but we were told earlier he would be making an entrance. After a break Arn is checking a white limo for whom I’d assume to be Flair. He can’t find him though so Arn, who just happens to be in wrestling gear, is filling in. The announcers speculate about who the next guy in the NWO could be and Heenan says it’s all about money. I guess you could call that foreshadowing.

Sting vs. Anderson to start us off. Mongo takes Sting down and the double beatdown is on. Back inside and here’s Benoit. I’d love to see early 90s Sting vs. Benoit in a 20 minute match or so. Mongo gets a bad neckbreaker for two. A bad dropkick follows and we look at the white limo. Off to the Crippler again and an elbow gets two. Only Sting has been in so far.

Anderson takes a few punches but manages to stop the tag. Back to the football dude who hammers on him in the corner and it’s very clear Mongo isn’t ready to be in there yet. It’s not his fault but he’s just not experienced enough yet. Even a few months in a minor league would have done wonders for him. Lex finally gets the hot tag and cleans house. Everything breaks down and the girls try to slip in the briefcase. Savage manages to steal it back and clocks Benoit with it, allowing Luger to get the easy pin.

Rating: C+. This was fine. It was short but given Mongo, that’s probably a good thing. He was trying but the experience and coordination just didn’t click. He was a great football player but it’s a different thing and I think he learned that quickly. Savage was never legally in the match I don’t think.

We did eight and we did six, so here’s four, from Halloween Havoc 1996.

Faces of Fear vs. Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael

Mongo has barely any experience at all so expect a heavy dose of Benoit here which is hardly a bad thing. If nothing else we get the music again for the Horsemen. This feud went on forever and there was never really a blowoff for it other than it just stopping. Meng and Mongo start and McMichael hides from a kick. Oh that looked bad. It’s always cool seeing Benoit’s mix of wrestling and brawling. Not a lot of people were as good at it as he was.

Mongo loses a sumo match to Meng. Is there a reason this is happening? Mongo wakes up and uses football moves to get Meng down. This works so well that Meng kicks him in the face. I love that. Whenever someone does something stupid, KICK THEM IN THE FACE. McMichael tries some dropkicks. This is a very sad sight. The match is only watchable when Benoit is in there so the tag can’t come fast enough.

In a NICE move, Meng backdrops Benoit into a powerbomb from Barbarian. It’s an awesome move, so Dusty starts talking about the Outsiders. Why you ask? It’s Dusty so this is normal for him. A double headbutt from the top hits Benoit as it’s a good thing that he’s in. Tony talks about an old rule called the One Save Rule, which says that if you save your partner more than once it’s a DQ. This rule isn’t in effect anymore and I’ve never heard of it.

Mongo pops Meng with the briefcase, thereby completely ignoring all stereotypes, and the top rope headbutt ends it. The Dungeon runs in and since the Horsemen are with Anderson at the hospital it’s Benoit vs. everyone. That only works for so long though as the Dungeon stands tall. At least there’s a feud here to explain this. Sullivan goes up to Woman and says let me show you why I’m still the man and does what we would call a punt on Benoit.

Rating: D. I know I gave the previous match the same grade but this is somewhat better. There’s a feud here which makes sense so that’s definitely a good thing. This was really bad when Mongo was in and decent when Benoit was in. Mongo always looked like he was trying, but he just didn’t ever get the hang of it. This is a great example of it.

Mongo would actually main event a PPV in a unique match. From Uncensored 1997.

Team WCW vs. Team NWO vs. Team Piper

WCW: Giant, Lex Luger, Scott Steiner
NWO: Hall, Nash, Hogan, Savage
Piper: Piper, McMichael, Jarrett, Benoit

This is kind of like a cross between WarGames and a battle royal. You have three guys start and go five minutes. Then after two minutes we get another man from each team (Team WCW will miss an entry due to Rick going on and they weren’t smart enough to have Page fill in). It’s elimination style, which means we don’t have to deal with 11 guys in the ring at once. You can put someone out via pin, submission, knockout and over the top.

If Team WCW wins, the NWO is stripped of all titles and can’t wrestle for 3 years. If Team Piper wins, Piper gets Hogan in a cage at a time to be announced. If Team NWO wins, they more or less have carte blanche (Previously they would have gotten a title shot anywhere anytime, kind of like Money in the Bank). They change that back to the MITB thing but it would ultimately be the free reign thing.

Benoit, Hall and Giant start us off. They’re not at ringside which is kind of stupid as you would be able to jump them as they come out in theory no? Benoit jumps Hall before Giant gets there. Not that we can see that as we need to see Giant’s very slow walk to the ring instead. Giant gets in very slowly which is rather smart before taking them both down with a clothesline.

Benoit tries to chop away and it doesn’t work at all. It’s almost hard to believe that Benoit would be world champion before Hall. Basically this is Giant and two other guys in there as he keeps dominating the entire time. Elbow drop on Hall so Benoit tries to jump Giant. No real attempts to throw anyone out but since you can win by pinfall that’s ok.

Sleeper doesn’t work for Hall and Giant gets a huge chokeslam to Benoit for only two. Hall saves, I guess out of fear of fighting Giant one on one. Giant busts out the claw of all things but a corner splash misses and Giant is gone first! That leaves two guys for Team WCW. The clock runs out on the first period and it’s Jarrett, Randy Savage and Luger. That puts five guys in the ring at the moment if you’re keeping score.

It’s more or less a battle royal at this point as Luger can’t gorilla press Savage out. Jeff avoids a Razor’s Edge and here come Mongo, Nash and Scott Steiner. No real effort to put anyone out right now as everyone is really just beating on each other. Belly to belly puts Nash down as we only have Hogan and Piper left. Nash gets a big boot and clothesline to Jarrett and he’s out. Jeff that is. Mongo gets backdropped out so Team Piper has just Benoit and Piper left.

Here are Hogan and Piper so everyone is out there now. Nash gets a big boot to Steiner to knock him out so Luger is all that’s left for WCW, Piper and Benoit for Piper and all of the NWO is left. Wait where’s Hogan? What a shock he’s going to come out last isn’t he? Oh there he is with Dennis Rodman. Piper is on the floor but not out. Scratch that as he’s back now. Seven people in at the moment.

Hogan, Piper and Savage are on the floor with Hogan kind of chilling and Piper choking Savage. The Outsiders beat up Benoit and everyone is finally in there at the same time. Hogan throws Piper through the ropes and they brawl on the floor a bit. After Savage jumps them in the aisle everyone goes back to the ring. In a HORRIBLY stupid looking moment, Piper is sent into the ropes but Rodman pulls it down to put him out. This would have looked passable if Piper didn’t JUMP OVER THE ROPE BEFORE IT WAS PULLED DOWN. And people wonder why they went out of business.

They keep brawling on the floor anyway and Savage helps as it’s the Outsider Edge for Benoit. The tag champs toss him out and Team Piper is gone. Luger is the only one left for WCW and he’s against technically five guys counting Rodman. The NWO literally stands around for a minute and a half posing before Nash sets him up for a powerbomb.

Luger escapes and racks Savage, clotheslines Nash and racks Hall to eliminate all three in under thirty seconds. And never mind as when he goes to rack Hogan, Savage gets the spraypaint from Rodman and pops Luger in the face with it so Hogan can get the winning pin. The NWO won a big match. I’m shocked too.

Rating: B-. The match was actually pretty good as it didn’t really get stupid and for a big multi-man tag, this actually worked. I fail to see why Rick wasn’t out there but still, pretty good stuff. The ending was obvious but it doesn’t ever drag, the stuff they did made perfect sense the entire time and it was kind of interesting. Shockingly good main event.

And now, more football at Slamboree 1997.

Reggie White vs. Steve McMichael

GREAT. This is EXACTLY what this show needs. Why is Reggie White fighting? Who knows? Who cares? My guess is because even though Mongo is a face here, he turned heel on Greene like 11 months ago and this is REVENGE. You would think that Greene would want revenge himself, but he’s in the main event with the guys that Mongo turned on him for. In theory White is a heel here, but naturally he’s treated as the hero against a Horseman in CHARLOTTE. He has his strength coach with him. This is White’s first match ever and they put him with STEVE FREAKING MCMICHAEL. Let’s get this over with.

Feeling out process to start as Mongo is definitely playing heel. They collide and both stumble. They do it again and Mongo stumbles a bit. White hooks a headlock and they ram again with Mongo going down this time. Steve draws the scrimmage line and they go at it with Mongo taking the leg out. They do it again and White jumps over him, then hits him in the side of the ribs which is a “clothesline.”

Mongo tries to leave but one of White’s teammates comes out to throw him back in. It’s a nose tackle from the Packers apparently. White gets some great height on a dropkick for two. The kick sucked but he was UP THERE. The fans cheer for Mongo but he keeps playing heel because that’s what was set before the match and White (not his fault) doesn’t know how to be a heel because HE ISN’T A WRESTLER.

Mongo hooks an armbar and shouts about how Jesus may have White’s soul (White was known as a very religious man) but Mongo has him right now. That gets McMichael sent to the floor and it’s more stalling. White hooks a headlock but Mongo escapes and clips him to take over. Side slam puts Reggie down but he comes back up quickly and puts the headlock on again before hitting a cross body for two.

Off to a nerve hold by White but McMichael hits him low and makes fun of church bells. Off to another leg lock and then a half crab. They ram each other into the corner a few times but Steve kicks the knee out. Figure four is countered and White shoves him down. He actually SELLS THE KNEE….or maybe he’s just tired. They slug it out in the corner and Reggie is all fired up.

There’s an atomic drop and a much better clothesline to put Mongo on the floor. Back in and McMichael takes over, only to have his suplex countered. He hits a splash but there’s no referee because of Debra. Briefcase is stolen by the other football player but Jeff Jarrett comes out and throws in another case and the shot with that gets the pin on White.

Rating: F. As in FIFTEEN MINUTES that this match got. Now before I get into this, I want to emphasize something: Reggie White was TRYING out there. He looked fired up, he was going the entire time, and there have been far worse celebrity performances in the past. That being said, the match was WAY too long and McMichael was the totally wrong person to try to carry him.

Think back to the 96 Great American Bash when it was Mongo/Greene debuting as a team. They faced Arn Anderson and Ric Flair, two of the best ring technicians ever. Flair and Arn walked then through a 20 minute match and it wasn’t that terrible. That being said, this was a HORRIBLE idea. You took basically a rookie and had him work a fifteen minute match with a football player. Horrible match, but more based on the people that put it together rather than the wrestlers.

Another Horsemen match from Nitro, June 30, 1997.

Steve McMichael/Ric Flair/Chris Benoit vs. Buff Bagwell/Masahiro Chono/Scott Norton

Bagwell and Flair start things off and we get a strutting competition. Buff pounds on Flair in the corner and it’s off to Mongo who has a dumb look on his face. Mongo gets caught in the wrong corner but he comes back with right hands to Chono. Back to Flair who pounds away for about five seconds before Benoit comes in to a nice reaction. Chono kicks him down but stops to argue with Flair, allowing Benoit to clothesline Chono down and hit the Swan Dive. Everything breaks down and Vincent comes in for the DQ.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as the whole match wasn’t even four minutes long and had the NWO DQ as required by WCW law. Also I’m not sure what was accomplished here at all, but on a shot this big I can understand the matches being this short. It isn’t fun to sit through but it’s understandable.

For reasons that still aren’t clear, Mongo would be given a shot at some gold at Clash of the Champions XXXV.

US Title: Steve McMichael vs. Jeff Jarrett

Jarrett is a talented wrestler from Tennessee who wanted to be in the Horsemen but never fit. He won a match to become a Horseman which gave the team five members instead of the usual four. Jarrett and McMichael (nicknamed Mongo) argued almost every day and Mongo’s wife Debra got in the middle of things because she liked Jarrett and eventually helped him win the US Title in June. Mongo wants Debra to be in his corner because she’s his wife, but Debra just kept causing trouble which eventually (among other things) led to the downfall of the Horsemen.

Jeff speeds things up to start and keeps moving around Mongo while pointing to his head. Mongo misses again and Jeff ducks down into a three point stance to take out the challenger’s knee. Jeff lays across the ropes and struts as he was known to do but gets clotheslined down to the floor for getting on Mongo’s nerves.

We take a break and come back with Mongo being whipped into the steps. Debra chokes Mongo across the ropes to really rub in how evil she is. The fans don’t seem to care though. Back inside and Jarrett hooks a sleeper but Mongo reverses into one of his own. Debra gets the referee’s attention so Eddie Guerrero, another of Debra’s clients, comes out and accidentally blasts Jarrett in the back with the title belt, giving Mongo the pin and the title.

Rating: D. The wrestling wasn’t very good, the story wasn’t very good and the fans didn’t care. What else can you expect from something with all those things going wrong? Jarrett just didn’t work in WCW at all and the whole thing was bordering on being a disaster. Debra screwed up a lot of things in the Horsemen as well as they went from an elite group to petty arguments like you would see in high school.

Mongo’s wife Debra would turn on him and pick up Alex Wright as her new client. Here’s their showdown at World War III 1997.

Steve McMichael vs. Bill Goldberg

This is over Mongo’s Super Bowl ring that Goldberg stole at the previous PPV. Mongo comes out with a pipe Goldberg’s music hits and there’s no Goldberg. Mongo says this isn’t happening and says he can sneak up on people too. We go to the back and Goldberg is out cold. So no one noticed the big man in his underwear out cold on the concrete just behind the entry way? Mongo more or less gives an open challenge, resulting in this.

Steve McMichael vs. Alex Wright

Wright isn’t here because he wants to be but because Debra, Mongo’s estranged wife, brings him out and more or less makes his fight. Wright whips him with his jacket to start. Wright is from Germany so wouldn’t that be a foreign object? Mongo is like screw this and hammers away, sending Wright to the floor. He tries to leave but Debra more or less makes him come back.

Alex tries to fight and gets slammed down to the mat with ease. Mongo is barely breaking a sweat in this. Was there a reason they didn’t have Goldberg in this that I’m not getting? Debra’s voice is irritating to put it mildly. Wright takes over for a very little bit with chops but McMichael takes out the knee. Side slam sets up the Tombstone to end it. Total and complete squash and no rating here. Heenan asks Who’s Next for Mongo. Nah that’ll never catch on.

Here’s the showdown from 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.

Brace yourselves. Nitro, February 9, 1998.

Glacier vs. Steve McMichael

Louie Spicolli has jumped into the commentary booth and is carrying bags he says belongs to “his friend” Larry. Still no word on where Larry is. Glacier tries to jump the Texan from behind but gets slugged down to the floor with ease. Back in and Glacier pounds away, only to send Mongo right back to the floor. They head back in again for Glacier to fire off his basic karate stuff followed by a snap suplex. Glacier jumps into an elbow, gets forearmed in the head a few times and the Mongo Spike (tombstone) ends this very quick.

The Horsemen would occasionally team up on TV, including on Nitro, June 29, 1998.

Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael vs. Harlem Heat

Benoit and Booker get us going which is the best idea for everyone. Stevie comes in before there’s any contact though and gets stomped down into the corner with ease. A clothesline out of the same corner takes Benoit down and it’s off to Booker who gets caught in a dragon screw leg whip. Tag brings in Mongo to pound on Booker with his generic power offense until he charges into a boot in the corner.

Back to Stevie for his own generic power offense as the crowd audibly dies. Booker comes back in for a spinebuster for two but Benoit has had enough. Everything breaks down without any tags and here’s Bret Hart with a chair to blast Booker in the back, giving Mongo (who didn’t see Bret) a pin.

Rating: D+. Simple explanation for this: Booker and Benoit good, Stevie and Mongo bad. That’s as basic as you can get here and the fans seemed to feel the same. I’m not even sure why Stevie doesn’t like Benoit in the first place. Is it just because Benoit offered to help Booker whenever he needed it? That’s why we’ve in the third week of feuding?

Mongo would even get some squashes. From Nitro on July 20, 1998.

Steve McMichael vs. Sick Boy

Hey look a match. Tony tells us that the wrecked car is a reference to Jay Leno, who always drives a different car to the Tonight Show. Tony: “That’s all it could be.” Lodi and Sick Boy jump Mongo on the floor and a clothesline gets two for Sick Boy. Mongo comes right back with a three point clothesline and the tombstone for the pin in about a minute.

The Horsemen would reunite in the fall, giving us even more pairings, such as this one on December 3, 1998 on Thunder.

Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael vs. Raven/Kanyon

Before the match Raven sits in the corner while Kanyon grabs a mic. Kanyon yells at him for putting his head through a window tonight and talks about Raven’s mother. The fans actually get tricked as Kanyon asks who is NOT better than Kanyon before we go to Arn Anderson leading the Horsemen to the ring. Benoit runs Kanyon over to start but gets caught in a sweet rollup for twp. They trade wristlocks until Kanyon takes him down and chokes away out of anger at Raven.

Kanyon stops to call the depressed Raven an idiot, allowing Mongo to run him over out of a three point stance. Steve misses a boot in the corner though and gets caught in something like a neckbreaker. The Horsemen take over with Benoit chopping the skin off Kanyon’s chest before stomping him down for good measure. Raven doesn’t do much so Benoit goes over to yell at him before Kanyon gets double teamed some more.

A backbreaker gets two for Chris but he charges into a boot in the corner. Not that it really matters as he takes Kanyon down with a dragon screw leg whip, only to miss the Swan Dive. Raven still won’t tag so Kanyon hits a powerbomb into a faceplant for two as Raven walks away after being tagged. That’s a countout as Benoit puts Kanyon in the Crossface.

Rating: C+. The idea here worked pretty well with Raven’s downward spiral into depression continues with him walking away from his only friend. Other than that the Benoit stuff was very good, but Mongo just wasn’t working out there for the most part. Thankfully he won’t be around much anymore.

Here’s a match that should have happened years earlier. Nitro, January 25, 1999.

Hollywood Hogan/Scott Steiner/Kevin Nash vs. Horsemen

This has A LOT of time, as in nearly half an hour. Hogan is still listed as a Presidential candidate. Before the match, Nash gets a cheap pop and Steiner says that Kimberly has been flirting with him out back. If she wants to tease him, she better be ready to please him. Hogan is glad that there aren’t any WCW or Ric Flair fans out here because they stink very badly. He’ll take care of Ric at SuperBrawl because Flair is the first one being hunted by the Pack.

After a break we get the Horsemen’s entrance and the opening bell. It’s a brawl to start of course and Benoit gets to beat up Hogan in one of the only times they ever had contact. Flair goes after Hogan but Nash makes the save. The NWO clears the ring to start as the announcers bring up Sting for the second or third time tonight. It’ll be nice to have him back. This turns into a discussion of Alex Wright no showing the show tonight.

Benoit and Steiner get things going with the power man running him over and kicking Benoit in the head. Scott runs into a boot in the corner though and Benoit fires off more right hands. A dropkick sends Steiner outside and Benoit holds up the fingers to Nash and Hogan. Kevin comes in for a knee to the ribs but Benoit runs him into the corner and chops away.

Off to McMichael for a slam, setting up the Swan Dive but Hogan makes a save. Steiner gets in a shot from the apron and Nash hits the big boot to take over. Hogan comes in and man alive is it strange to see him in there against Benoit. It doesn’t last long though as Hogan clotheslines Benoit down and suckers Flair in before hiding behind Steiner. A non-existent tag brings in Steiner for a belly to belly and two on Chris. Nash comes back in for the side slam and it’s back to Hogan with a belly to back suplex.

We take a break and come back with Hogan still on Benoit. Again he suckers Flair in but tags Scott to get in a few shots on the Canadian. The fans want Flair as Nash slams Benoit and elbows Ric in the face. Everything breaks down and Benoit gets caught in the Tree of Woe for some choking by Nash. Hogan whips Benoit with the weightlifting belt and suplexes him for another two count.

Choking ensues and it’s back to Nash for the foot choke in the corner. Nash misses a big boot in the corner but Steiner breaks up a hot tag attempt. We hit the bearhug on Benoit and he seems to pass out. Hogan wants the pin but can only get two. An elbow gets the same but the legdrop misses, allowing Benoit to FINALLY tag Flair. Everything breaks down and Bischoff comes in with a foam finger wrapped around a 2×4. Flair gets Hogan in the Figure Four but Nash nails him with the board for the DQ.

Rating: B-. This was the six man formula done very well and the match was very good as a result. Benoit is an excellent face in peril and he had the crowd going nuts for the tag to Flair. I’m fine with a messy finish here as you don’t want to have a champion do a job before a pay per view. If WWE could get that through their heads, a lot of my headaches would go away.

Mongo would leave with a whimper. Here’s his last WCW match on February 8, 1999’s Nitro.

Outsiders vs. Ric Flair/Steve McMichael

It’s a brawl to start and the Outsiders are knocked to the floor. Hall and Flair get things going with Flair chopping him into the corner. Scott comes back with some right hands in the corner to no effect but Hall nails a clothesline to put both guys down. Flair elbows him in the jaw and goes up, only to be slammed back down. It’s off to Nash but Ric is able to tag in Mongo, who stomps on Nash’s foot. Both Outsiders are slammed down but Nash kicks McMichael in the face to take over.

Tony brings up Sting again as Mongo gets double teamed in the corner. Hall hits the fall away slam for two before putting on the sleeper. Mongo jawbreaks his way to freedom and the ice cold tag brings in Flair. Ric beats up Hall with ease and a few knee crusher set up the Figure Four. The hold stays on for a good while but we cut to Hogan knocking on the bathroom door. Bischoff hands him the mop bucket that he poured the bleach into earlier and says that this should work.

Hogan leaves with the bucket and all of the backstage workers are out cold on the floor. Back to the arena and Hall is out of the hold without much damage. A shoulder puts both he and Flair down as Hogan comes out with the bucket. He throws the bleach in it at Flair but hits Mongo to blind him and the match is thrown out.

Rating: D. This was Mongo’s final match and thank goodness for that. The guy dragged down a match between three guys that shouldn’t have their stuff dragged down like this. The fans did not care about him when he was in there and after two and a half years, there’s really no excuse for him to not get any better at all.

Mongo just wasn’t very good. He was given all the help they could give him, but there just wasn’t enough there to make him work. I’ll give him this though: to come from a football career into this spot and do even close to decent is impressive. He could have gotten a lot of good out of being in developmental for a few years but instead he was thrust onto the main show and it never worked out. Great theme song though.

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

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

Man this month is flying by. The main story last week was WCW actually having a good episode of Nitro for a change. Things are actually looking interesting going into SuperBrawl, but there are still four episodes of Nitro for them to screw things up. We should be getting more on the latest NWO civil war, despite the last one being dropped for reasons that have yet to be and likely never will be explained. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Vincent changing his name to Vince, which is probably some joke about McMahon that most people don’t care about at all. He’s a member of the Red and Black but is taking over the Black and White. The Red and Black was watching him on a hidden camera and didn’t approve of him for reasons of him being Vince. Why a hidden camera was used when there was a camera filming everything all night and the footage was shown on TV all night isn’t clear either.

The announcers discuss the events of Thunder because someone has to, before throwing us to a local airport earlier today. Hennig and Stevie Ray formed a secret alliance two feet away from the rest of the Black and White. Stevie is ready to revolt when the Red and Black arrives. Vince, in Black and White again, says they’re here.

Flair has Bischoff selling merchandise this week. I guess we’re back to this after a week of serious Ric. Instead of selling at a stand, Bischoff will be out among the people selling.

Nitro Girls.

Opening sequence.

Stevie Ray and his Rock style shirt is ready to meet with the NWO brass.

Disco Inferno vs. Al Green

Al has a bandage over his left eye and gets clotheslined outside in a surprise power display from Disco. A forearm to the back sends Green into the barricade as Disco is in full control. Green comes back with a back elbow as the fans are actually way into this. Disco’s running neckbreaker puts Green down again and the middle rope elbow gets two. The louder these reactions get, the more I think WCW has the really sweet canned stuff going tonight. Green suplexes Disco down but misses a charge into the corner, setting up the Chartbuster to give Disco the pin. Sweetened crowd or not, Disco looked good this time.

The Black and White argue over their cars to get to the arena. The Red and Black are shown watching from the plane and laughing. Now they get off the plane with Hall talking about trimming fat. Hogan is in a Black and White shirt as Stevie runs his mouth about all of the issues. Stevie says it’s a $500 shirt so I guess it’s mocking/parodying Rock somehow? Anyway the Red and Black destroys Curt Hennig as Hogan has his arm around Vince. Hogan never did have the best eye for talent. Stevie still doesn’t get to leave with the Red and Black.

Hogan and Nash (with matching fanny packs) leads the whole NWO into the building and the camera is actually allowed into the dressing room. Stevie is given a Black and White shirt but he’s not happy.

As this continues to go on, we go split screen to see Bigelow bringing a ladder down to the ring. Now it’s Bigelow on the full screen and he’s not happy with what Scott Hall did to him with the tazer. Hall may claim to be the king of the ladder match, but Bigelow has been hardcore and extreme in places that Hall would never dare to go. Bigelow wants another tazer ladder match against Hall. We go split screen again and Hall doesn’t seem to care one way or another.

Bischoff tries to rip off a customer at the stand but Doug Dillinger intervenes. I’ll give them this: yeah these segments are going on too long and are too frequent, but they’re actually making it look like Bischoff is being punished, which is the point of the things.

Here’s Ric Flair to list off all his catchphrases about his match with Hogan. He calls Horace Hollywood’s cousin and nephew and says the Horsemen could have killed him on Thursday but gave him a break instead. As for Bret Hart, he’s defending the World Title (Bret is US Champion) against an opponent to be named. Tonight Bret has Booker T. (already announced earlier in the show). Next, Nash isn’t allowed to interfere in the tournament match later because it’s going to be a lumberjack match. Finally, Hogan can find two partners to face Flair/Mongo/Benoit later tonight.

A very stoic Scott Dickinson is shown in the front row.

We see a clip from Souled Out with Hall shocking Goldberg and Bigelow.

Here are Hall and Disco with a ladder and the tazer. They stand the ladder up in the aisle and pose on top of it for a bit before Hall says the match with Bigelow is on.

Scott Hall vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Bigelow punches him down to start but Hall punches him into the corner for the loudest spot call I can remember in a long time. More slugging out ensues until Disco trips Bigelow, earning him an ejection. Hall sends Bigelow into the ladder but Bam Bam drops it over Hall’s back, only to be sent face first into it again. They get inside for some ladder shots to Bigelow’s ribs but he runs Hall over with some brute force. Hall nails him with the ladder again and stomps it onto Bigelow’s back as we take a break.

Back with Bigelow being whipped into the ladder in the corner before a suplex puts him down again. Hall rides the ladder down onto Bigelow ala Shawn in 1994. The ladder is finally set up and Scott goes for a climb but Bigelow makes an easy save. Now Bigelow climbs to drop a headbutt, knocking both guys out for a few seconds. It’s Hall up first with a legdrop between Bigelow’s legs, setting up an elbow drop off the ladder. Bigelow suplexes Hall off the ladder but Scott gets up and dropkicks the ladder out from under Bam Bam.

Scott crosses himself before going up again but apparently missed a few Hail Marys because Bigelow moves the ladder from underneath him. Bigelow goes up and gets the taser, only to be low blowed immediately. Disco brings Hall another taser and leaves, walking into a spear from Goldberg. Hall and Bigelow circle each other with the tasers until Goldberg nails and shocks them both for the no contest.

Rating: C+. This was about a million times better than the Souled Out match because they mixed things up a bit. Instead of just doing the same spot over and over again, we actually got some different things for a change and it made the match so much easier to sit through. Good stuff here.

Scott Norton, Goldberg’s opponent later tonight, jumps him from behind so Scott Hall can escape.

Chuck Norris is here.

Gene is in the back with Bret Hart and asks him about his title match at SuperBrawl. Bret says Flair just has it out for him and wants to know what Booker T. has done to deserve to be in the ring with the US Champion. Bret wants to ax (his word) Booker a question: does he want the fans to see him get decimated and ripped to pieces?

Gene asks Bret who he should give a title shot to and Bret says he’s had his eye on someone. El Dandy is a heck of a wrestler and deserves a shot at the US Title. Gene doesn’t think much of El Dandy, setting up one of the most quoted lines in wrestling history. Bret: “Who are you to doubt El Dandy?”

Bret was going to give Dean Malenko a title shot but he’s conveniently injured. Gene and Bret argue about injuries until Bret says he’ll deal with Flair and his petty grudge, starting tonight. My favorite part about this whole thing is Gene dismissing the idea of a cruiserweight getting a shot at the US Title like a crazy thought. Little things like that only reenforce a lot of the complaints about WCW.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Faces of Fear vs. Fit Finlay/Dave Taylor

Lumberjack match with a lot of lower card guys plus Rey Mysterio Jr. surrounding the ring. Remember that it’s a double elimination tournament. Finlay and Barbarian start things off with Finlay nailing an uppercut and putting on an early nerve hold. Barbarian presses out of a cover and sends Finlay to the floor. That goes nowhere so Finlay comes back in for some more uppercuts.

Barbarian slams Finlay down and it’s off to Meng for some clubbering. Taylor gets the tag and the Europeans clothesline Meng down. Meng and Taylor chop it out with the monster getting the better of it and bringing Barbarian back in to pick the bones. After a beating from both monsters, Taylor is allowed to tag Finlay back in for a brawl with Meng. Finlay gets in a few shots to the ribs but makes the mistake of going after Meng’s head.

Fit is sent outside again for nothing from the lumberjacks as the crowd still has nothing to care about. The rolling fireman’s carry has Barbarian in trouble but Meng breaks up Taylor’s butterfly suplex. A double headbutt gets two on Taylor as everything breaks down. Meng backdrops Taylor into a sitout powerbomb from Barbarian (not as smooth as it sounds) gives the Faces of Fear the win.

Rating: D+. Not a horrible match but it was really dull stuff. That’s the problem with a lot of tournaments: you have to sit through matches like these with teams that people don’t care about and only limited chemistry to make the match work at all. It was watchable from a technical standpoint but nothing more than that.

Hugh Morrus gets in the ring to celebrate as the newest member of the First Family.

We look at the other tournament match from Thunder.

Nitro Girls.

Norman Smiley vs. Perry Saturn

Saturn, still in a dress, on the way to the ring: “Smiley, you’re not getting jiggy with me.” Heenan: “Once again, he’s braless.” Norman gets headlocked to start before a double arm suplex sends him out to the floor. The announcers get into their usual argument over how to pronounce Smiley’s name as he stomps away at Saturn back inside. It’s not quite Big Wiggle time yet and Tenay says he’s a fan of the dance.

Both guys miss some strikes before Smiley gets two off a powerslam. We hit the chinlock on Perry and take a break. Back with Norman suplexing out of a headlock and hitting the spinning slam. Saturn gets two of his own off a rollup but Norman decks him with a clothesline. Saturn legsweeps him down, only to hit knees off a springboard Vader Bomb.

There’s the Big Wiggle to another good reaction but Norman isn’t done. In what might be a bit too far, Saturn is draped throat first over the middle rope and Norman lifts up the back of the dress for another Big Wiggle. After that disturbing image, Saturn freaks out and kicks Norman in the head, followed by a top knee elbow. Saturn does a dance of his own and hits the Death Valley Driver for the pin.

Rating: C+. Smiley is getting over despite being treated like a goon and losing every bigger match that he has. That’s usually a reason to push someone but given that this is WCW, it’s probably grounds for being off TV very soon. The dress was at least used for some more stuff than it was on Thursday so that’s an improvement……maybe?

Gene goes to talk to Scott Dickinson, who claims the suspension is unfair because he had no due process. JJ Dillon has a double standard and only wants to get over with Ric Flair. Scott storms off because referees are treated badly. They’re really wasting time on this story?

Herschel Walker is here.

We look at Flair’s speech again.

Booker T. vs. Bret Hart

Non-title. Thankfully Tenay brings up Bret injuring Booker’s knee last summer to give us some coninuity. Bret bails to the floor to start, comes in to get nailed in the face, then leaves again. More stalling ensues until Bret comes back in for a test of strength. Hart goes down but pokes Booker in the eyes to take over for the first time. A double arm DDT of all things drops Booker and Bret rakes his eyes across the ropes.

They head outside with Booker being sent into the barricade. Hart gives Booker a long time to recover for some reason before taking him back inside where Booker gets two off a small package. Booker nails the spinning kick to the face for two more but Bret nails the Russian legsweep to take control again. It’s time to go after T.’s knee with a cannonball and a wrap around the ropes. There’s a Figure Four but Booker finally turns it over as we take a break.

Back with Bret holding the Figure Four again but having to go to the ropes when Booker turns it. Bret stays on the leg but Booker nails a forearm out of nowhere. The series of kicks looks to set up the Harlem Hangover but Hart is out of the way. Bret goes outside and gets the title belt for a shot from the middle rope.

Booker is ready for him though and knocks Bret out of the air before superkicking him down. Back to the floor for a hot shot to send Bret into the barricade, followed by some choking with the camera cable. Booker throws him back inside and brings the cable with him. Randy Anderson takes awhile getting it out, allowing Bret to nail Booker with the belt for the pin.

Rating: B. Star making performance by Booker here as he easily hung in there with Bret for nearly fifteen minutes. The ending was a bit cheap but it plays up Bret being a champion that will do whatever he wants to win anymore instead of being the hero that he was for years. It’s nice to see him actually wrestle for a change.

Clips of Scott Steiner harassing the Nitro Girls last week.

Bischoff is selling foam fingers and seems to have a toupee on under his hat.

Scott Norton vs. Goldberg

Norton fires off chops to start but gets caught in something resembling an AA. A cross armbreaker doesn’t do much for Goldberg but a powerslam has some more success. Norton grabs a powerslam of his own and it’s completely no sold. Goldberg kicks Scott out to the floor but gets sent into the apron and barricade.

Norton can’t post him though and is sent face first in instead. They keep brawling on the floor with Norton nailing a hard clothesline to take over. Back in and a shoulder gets one on Goldberg followed by another clothesline. The powerbomb is countered and it’s the spear and Jackhammer to give Goldberg the win.

Rating: C+. Take two monsters and let them beat on each other for five minutes until one hits their finishers for the pin. This is what Norton should have been built up for several months ago and that’s what they did…..with several months of inactivity in between. Fun match even though there was nothing to it.

The NWO runs in and gets beaten up post match. The celebrities mentioned earlier plus Brett Hull of the NHL and Jean-Claude Van Damme get in to celebrate with Goldberg. Not exactly Mike Tyson but that’s a good visual.

Nitro Girls. Scott Steiner takes over the broadcast booth to ogle them during their routine.

Hollywood Hogan/Scott Steiner/Kevin Nash vs. Horsemen

This has A LOT of time, as in nearly half an hour. Hogan is still listed as a Presidential candidate. Before the match, Nash gets a cheap pop and Steiner says that Kimberly has been flirting with him out back. If she wants to tease him, she better be ready to please him. Hogan is glad that there aren’t any WCW or Ric Flair fans out here because they stink very badly. He’ll take care of Ric at SuperBrawl because Flair is the first one being hunted by the Pack.

After a break we get the Horsemen’s entrance and the opening bell. It’s a brawl to start of course and Benoit gets to beat up Hogan in one of the only times they ever had contact. Flair goes after Hogan but Nash makes the save. The NWO clears the ring to start as the announcers bring up Sting for the second or third time tonight. It’ll be nice to have him back. This turns into a discussion of Alex Wright no showing the show tonight.

Benoit and Steiner get things going with the power man running him over and kicking Benoit in the head. Scott runs into a boot in the corner though and Benoit fires off more right hands. A dropkick sends Steiner outside and Benoit holds up the fingers to Nash and Hogan. Kevin comes in for a knee to the ribs but Benoit runs him into the corner and chops away.

Off to McMichael for a slam, setting up the Swan Dive but Hogan makes a save. Steiner gets in a shot from the apron and Nash hits the big boot to take over. Hogan comes in and man alive is it strange to see him in there against Benoit. It doesn’t last long though as Hogan clotheslines Benoit down and suckers Flair in before hiding behind Steiner. A non-existent tag brings in Steiner for a belly to belly and two on Chris. Nash comes back in for the side slam and it’s back to Hogan with a belly to back suplex.

We take a break and come back with Hogan still on Benoit. Again he suckers Flair in but tags Scott to get in a few shots on the Canadian. The fans want Flair as Nash slams Benoit and elbows Ric in the face. Everything breaks down and Benoit gets caught in the Tree of Woe for some choking by Nash. Hogan whips Benoit with the weightlifting belt and suplexes him for another two count.

Choking ensues and it’s back to Nash for the foot choke in the corner. Nash misses a big boot in the corner but Steiner breaks up a hot tag attempt. We hit the bearhug on Benoit and he seems to pass out. Hogan wants the pin but can only get two. An elbow gets the same but the legdrop misses, allowing Benoit to FINALLY tag Flair. Everything breaks down and Bischoff comes in with a foam finger wrapped around a 2×4. Flair gets Hogan in the Figure Four but Nash nails him with the board for the DQ.

Rating: B-. This was the six man formula done very well and the match was very good as a result. Benoit is an excellent face in peril and he had the crowd going nuts for the tag to Flair. I’m fine with a messy finish here as you don’t want to have a champion do a job before a pay per view. If WWE could get that through their heads, a lot of my headaches would go away.

Bischoff pulls out some clippers but the lumberjacks from earlier make the save, for the 459th show of unity that WCW has needed against the NWO. The NWO bails but runs into Goldberg who cleans house to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the best Nitro in probably a year at least. They actually slowed down and took their time for once while delivering some pretty good matches. Flair vs. Hogan has a good story to it and the other feuds aren’t bad at all. Unfortunately this was one of the shows where if you don’t like the main story you’re not going to like the show. Luckily they got it right for once and had a fast moving and entertaining show. Good stuff.

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

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

It’s the go home show for Souled Out and we actually have some matches set for the show now. The main story coming out of Nitro is Giant being beaten down and thrown out of the NWO and the company as well. Other than that there’s Flair torturing Bischoff in comedy bits that are lacking comedy. Let’s get to it.

The announcers talk about recent events as is their custom.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Scott Putski

The monster hammers away to start but misses a charge to give Putski a brief opening. It lasts all of three seconds as he whips Bigelow in and gets taken down by a nice spinwheel kick. Well nice for a guy Bigelow’s size. A hard elbow puts Putski down but Bigelow misses the top rope elbow and gets punched in the jaw. Again it only lasts for a few seconds though as Bam Bam catches him in a powerslam.

We hit the chinlock on Putski as the announcers have barely acknowledged anything outside of Goldberg vs. Hall. You could at least talk about Wrath vs. Bigelow as the commentary was clearly done with knowledge of what happened/was going to happen on Monday. Putski’s next comeback is stopped when he runs into Bigelow’s boot, followed by some elbows and headbutts.

A choke has Putski in trouble and we hit another chinlock. Back up and Bigelow runs into a boot as Putski is getting WAY too much offense. Some clotheslines put Bam Bam down but he comes right back with Greetings From Asbury Park (over the shoulder tombstone) for the long delayed pin.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t terrible but six minutes is way too long for Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Scott Putski. Bigelow looked bored out there for the most part, even though he hit some of his bigger spots. To be fair though, who expected an effort in a match like this? Putski’s pirate style garb continues to be bizarre.

Norman Smiley vs. Prince Iaukea

Oh good grief we have to see this AGAIN? Feeling out process to start with Iauke running Norman over with a shoulder for two. An armbar doesn’t last long on the Prince but this time he gets shouldered down. The spinning slam sets up the Big Wiggle and a chinlock as we take a break. Back with Smiley dropkicking him out to the floor and it’s Wiggle time again.

Prince comes back in with a cross body for two but gets clotheslined down. Say it with me: Big Wiggle time again. Norman nails a European uppercut and puts on a headscissors on the mat. Prince quickly fights up and hits his second cross body for two more. They head outside with Iaukea ramming him into various metal objects but Norman nailing some chops back inside. Norman hammers away a bit more but takes too long on another spinning slam, allowing Iaukea to slip out. Iaukea fires back but gets caught in the Conquest for the submission.

Rating: D. This got TEN MINUTES. Smiley is incredibly charismatic but he needs more than just the Big Wiggle and that spinning slam. On top of that, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND HOLY GET PRINCE IAUKEA OFF THE SHOW ALREADY! The guy is just not interesting at all and can do nothing special in the ring whatsoever. Why we’ve had to sit through this match three or four times in less than six weeks is beyond me.

Jimmy Hart says he’s great and that the Faces of Fear are back together as the First Family and will win the Tag Team Title tournament. This was far more interesting than either match tonight and I almost dozed off during this segment.

Recap of Bischoff being forced to set up the ring, leading him to leave a wrench behind for Nash to knock Giant out with. Because there would never be a wrench near a wrestling ring unless Eric Bischoff was there.

Jericho comes out to talk about how amazing he is and allows the crowd to applaud him. He thinks Saturn will retire on Sunday because he doesn’t have the legs to wear a dress.

Chris Jericho vs. Van Hammer

Van Hammer’s early power stuff has almost no effect so Jericho dropkicks him down and does the long steps. A clothesline from Hammer allows him to do the long steps, but that’s not cool with our Canadian hero. Not that his anger matters though as Hammer easily counters a monkey flip by putting Jericho on the top rope.

Jericho comes back with a spinwheel kick and a suplex as Saturn is standing on the ramp. We hit the chinlock on Hammer for a bit before Jericho misses a dropkick. Hammer pounds away (you might say he even hammers) before crotching Jericho on the top. A superkick and cobra clutch slam get two for Hammer but he misses an enziguri and has his lions tamed into kittens for the submission.

Rating: C-. Match of the night so far by about a mile. It’s amazing what you can do when you have someone with as much charisma as Jericho had out there, especially after seeing Scott Putski and Prince Iaukea earlier in the night. Van Hammer wasn’t anything special but he was fine in a role like this.

We see Goldberg’s sitdown sound bytes from Nitro.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Faces of Fear vs. Mike Enos/Bobby Duncum Jr.

Barbarian hammers on Enos in the corner to start before missing a charge and getting kicked in the ribs for awhile. Off to Meng vs. Duncum with Bobby’s offense having no effect at all. Meng rams his own head into the turnbuckle and hits an atomic drop before bringing Barbarian back in. Duncum gets beaten down by both monsters as this is already dragging. Meng ducks his head but Bobby can’t slam him, instead getting suplexed down.

Back to Barbarian who fights off a sunset flip until Enos shoves him down for two. Barbarian comes right back with a backbreaker and we hit the chinlock. Duncum escapes with a jawbreaker but Meng breaks up a tag attempt. A piledriver gets one on Duncum….and here’s the NWO for the no contest.

Rating: D-. So the Faces of Fear are back together and somehow less interesting than they were before. Jimmy Hart’s career as a manager nosedived after the NWO showed up and it’s rather pathetic to see him toiling down here. Also, Duncum goes from a few TV Title matches to this in less than two months. Such is life in wrestling.

Hogan talks about how Nash is the real giant and no one is going to mess with them. Nash says there will no tournament.

This Week In WCW Motorsports.

Wrath vs. El Dandy

Dandy’s offense has almost no effect to start and a big side slam puts him down. They head outside with Wrath easily hammering away and sending Dandy into the barricade. Back in and Wrath chokes a lot before hitting the Rock Bottom (now called the Death Penalty) and the Meltdown for….no pin as Bigelow runs in for the DQ.

Rating: D. Just let Bigelow beat him like you know he’ll do on Sunday because Bigelow is an older guy and Wrath’s push was stopped dead by Nash last month. There wasn’t anything to this and I don’t see why they didn’t just have Bigelow come in after the match and let Wrath get the pin. Not that it matters anyway.

Wrath clotheslines Bigelow to the floor.

Konnan has a new t-shirt with the NWO logo on it.

Five minute recap of the NWO’s actions on Monday.

Disco Inferno vs. Super Calo

Disco if extra aggressive tonight and stomps Calo to the mat to start. He rams Calo into the barricade and hooks a front facelock as Heenan takes a phone call. Scott Hall comes out with the taser and walks around the ring. Calo hits a bad looking spinwheel kick and a better looking middle rope dropkick for two. Not that it matters as Hall zaps him into the Chartbuster for the pin.

Rating: D. Egads this show feels like it’s about 19 hours long. Disco as the new lackey isn’t interesting and feels more like an idea to amuse the writers more than anything else. It’s like they took the Louie Spicolli idea and put Disco into the exact same angle about a year later. Calo continues to be worthless.

Hall says Nash and Hogan want to talk to Disco in the back right now. Disco leaves and Hall talks about Goldberg winning 174 wrestling matches, but now it’s a gimmick match (his words). Hall says go rent some of his ladder matches and explains the rules of their match on Sunday.

Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael vs. Barry Windham/Curt Hennig

Chris and Curt get things going as the announcers talk about the Flairs’ match on Sunday. Neither guy can take over on the other so they circle each other for a bit. Some chops have Hennig in trouble and it’s off to Mongo (wrestling in a shirt for some reason) for some knees to the ribs. Curt outsmarts Mongo with relative ease and brings in Windham to hammer away. Barry hits a belly to back suplex before it’s back to Curt to stomp away.

The heels take over on McMichael and we take a break. Back with Windham getting two on Mongo off a lariat before putting on a reverse chinlock. Hennig comes back in but a double clothesline puts both guys down. Benoit gets the hot tag to clean house and a suplex gets two on Barry. There’s the Crossface on Windham but Hennig hits the referee with a chair for the DQ.

Rating: D+. It’s so clear that most of these people just don’t care at all and it’s getting harder and harder to watch. Benoit was trying and Hennig was kind of trying, but the other two were just out there because a schedule said they were supposed to be. Thankfully Mongo would be gone soon after this.

Ric Flair tries to come in for the save and gets beaten down. David tries to come cover his dad but gets attacked as well. Hennig picks up the chair and we’re done.

Overall Rating: F. What a depressing show. I’m not sure what the main event is on Sunday, though the Flair match is getting more time than the ladder match. Other than that this was a lot of boring to horrible matches with a quick cameo from the NWO. Things should pick up a bit after Sunday but it can’t get much less interesting at this point.

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

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

It’s the last month of 1998 and things are starting to pick up for Starrcade. The main story coming out of Nitro is kind of hard to pin down. Hall seems to be going to war against the NWO while Goldberg vs. Nash is just kind of happening in the background despite being allegedly the biggest match of the year. Let’s get to it.

Tony recaps some of the NWO stuff from Nitro and calls Dusty a great man for swerving Bischoff. Flair vs. Easy E is set for Starrcade.

Since Hogan has “officially retired”, we get a retrospective on his WCW career. Looking back….Hogan wasn’t all that good around this time.

We see Scott Steiner challenging Scott Hall from Nitro.

Here’s Scott Steiner with something to say. Steiner talks about going to Graceland and says he’s getting more women than Elvis could ever dream of now that he’s the head of the NWO. After insulting the fans, Steiner brags about Hogan passing the torch because they both have big arms. This brings him to Scott Hall because Steiner wants to hurt him. I’m assuming that’s the main event tonight.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Ciclope

Eddie takes out the knee to start and nails the slingshot hilo before sitting on the ropes to yell at the fans. Ciclope slides through the legs to the floor before coming back in with a mostly missing missile dropkick for two. Not that it matters as Eddie hits the brainbuster….and asks for the match to be stopped. The bell rings and we’re done with I think a no contest.

The LWO comes out and Eddie offers Ciclope a shirt, giving us a new member of the LWO.

We see Konnan winning the TV Title on Monday.

We see Page losing the US Title back to Bret Hart.

Renegade vs. Giant

Giant shrugs him off, shrugs him off again and then chokeslams Renegade off the top for the pin in a minute.

Post match Giant talks about beating up two imposters in one week. This brings DDP out through the crowd with a chair to lay out Giant. If the Giant Scum wants some, come get some. I guess that’s another Starrcade match.

Mike Enos vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Chavo has an early chat with Pepe before dodging a charging Enos and nailing him with a dropkick. A gorilla press goes as badly as the charge and Chavo dropkicks Enos to the floor, followed by a baseball slide and plancha. Enos shrugs it off and whips him into the barricade though before yelling at a fan about Goldberg. Back in and Mike works over the arm for a bit but gets caught by yet another dropkick.

Guerrero takes him to top for a hurricanrana, only to have Enos counter into a SWEET top rope powerbomb. That’s not enough for a cover though so Enos takes him up top again for a top rope fall away slam as Chavo is in big trouble. Since Mike isn’t that bright though, he picks Chavo up at two. Enos goes over and grabs Pepe for no apparent reason and lays him on the mat. He sets up a powerbomb onto the horse but Guerrero rolls him up for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: C. Well this was a surprise. Enos was a good choice for a power guy that throws small people all over the place and then gets pinned because he’s not all that bright. Chavo actually looked like the weaker worker in the match which isn’t something you often have to say about him.

Konnan music video.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Villano V

Rey is sent into the corner to start but avoids a charge so Villano slaps him in the mask. A dropkick sends Villano out to the floor, setting up a great looking flip dive to take him down again. It works so well that Rey tries another one, only to be slammed down onto the concrete. Back in and Villano hammers away with a knee to the head and a backbreaker before slapping him in the face again. Rey reverses a whip into the corner but charges into the post. Villano’s top rope splash misses and it’s the Bronco Buster into the West Coast Pop for the pin for Rey.

Rating: C. Take Rey and any other high flier and let them fly around the ring for awhile. It’s one of those ideas that is always going to get a nice reaction and this one worked almost as well as anything else. It’s nice to have a match without the LWO stuff getting in the way too.

Post match Eddie comes out and says he’s tired of Rey wanting the title. It’s Juvy that should be going after the Cruiserweight Title and that’s what the LWO is going to do, but Tony says it’s Rey vs. Juvy next week for a shot at Starrcade. Eddie freaks out of course. I still have no idea what the idea of this story is supposed to be. Eddie forces Rey into the group he formed to keep Eric from controlling them and now Eric (or WCW in general) is giving Rey what Eddie doesn’t want. What does Eddie get out of keeping Rey on the team here?

We look at the contract signing from Nitro.

Chip Minton vs. Wrath

Minton was an Olympic bobsledder and wrestled a bit as well. Wrath easily throws him into the corner and stomps away before throwing Minton out to the floor. A suplex onto the concrete keeps Chip in trouble and a slingshot clothesline gets two. Minton comes back with a weak looking sunset flip for two and that’s about the extent of his offense. Wrath hammers away in the corner even more and the Meltdown (BIG pop) is good for the pin.

Rating: D. This was WAY longer than it needed to be and most of it was spent talking about Minton’s Olympic background (nothing wrong with that) and Wrath bouncing back from his loss. The whole appeal of Wrath was the undefeated streak and that just went away a few days ago. There isn’t much left to him now and going back to the squashes isn’t going to do much good.

We recap the Flair/Bischoff/Malenko stuff from Nitro.

Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael vs. Raven/Kanyon

Before the match Raven sits in the corner while Kanyon grabs a mic. Kanyon yells at him for putting his head through a window tonight and talks about Raven’s mother. The fans actually get tricked as Kanyon asks who is NOT better than Kanyon before we go to Arn Anderson leading the Horsemen to the ring. Benoit runs Kanyon over to start but gets caught in a sweet rollup for twp. They trade wristlocks until Kanyon takes him down and chokes away out of anger at Raven.

Kanyon stops to call the depressed Raven an idiot, allowing Mongo to run him over out of a three point stance. Steve misses a boot in the corner though and gets caught in something like a neckbreaker. The Horsemen take over with Benoit chopping the skin off Kanyon’s chest before stomping him down for good measure. Raven doesn’t do much so Benoit goes over to yell at him before Kanyon gets double teamed some more.

A backbreaker gets two for Chris but he charges into a boot in the corner. Not that it really matters as he takes Kanyon down with a dragon screw leg whip, only to miss the Swan Dive. Raven still won’t tag so Kanyon hits a powerbomb into a faceplant for two as Raven walks away after being tagged. That’s a countout as Benoit puts Kanyon in the Crossface.

Rating: C+. The idea here worked pretty well with Raven’s downward spiral into depression continues with him walking away from his only friend. Other than that the Benoit stuff was very good, but Mongo just wasn’t working out there for the most part. Thankfully he won’t be around much anymore.

We see Konnan winning the title again for some reason.

TV Title: Konnan vs. Disco Inferno

Before Konnan comes out, Disco says tha the and Konnan should hook up to make a music video of their own. Konnan comes out and does his catchphrases in retaliation. Feeling out process to start with neither guy being able to get the advantage. A fsuplex gets two for Konnan and the seated dropkick sets up a pull of the champion’s pants.

Disco gets back up and hammers away before getting knocked out of the air. A DDT sends Disco to the floor but he snaps Konnan’s throat across the top rope. Back in and the piledriver is easily countered with a backdrop, setting up the 1-8-7 for two on Disco. Konnan blocks the Chartbuster and an X-Factor sets up the Tequila Sunrise to retain the title.

Rating: D+. The ending was never in doubt but Disco was his usual decent self. Konnan was there for little more than to give the Wolfpack some popularity but he was only ok at best in the ring. The match wasn’t terrible but it was nothing I’m going to remember in about five minutes.

Scott Steiner vs. Scott Hall

The NWO Referee is calling this one. Hall jumps Steiner during the entrances to send him out to the floor. Back in and Hall stays on offense but the NWO Referee grabs the leg to give Steiner control. A takedown gives Steiner a few fast near falls before he just hammers away on Hall in the corner. Hall takes a pumphandle slam for two and the NWO Referee keeps up with the fast counts.

Steiner plants him with a tiger bomb for two with his foot on Hall’s chest before throwing on a sleeper. As expected Hall fights out of it and grabs a sleeper of his own but gets countered into a belly to back suplex. Both guys are down but it’s Hall up first and hammering away. The top rope bulldog gets a very slow two and it’s Outsider’s Edge time. Not that it matters though as the referee makes the save and takes the Edge in Steiner’s place. Steiner pops up and lays Hall out before putting on the Recliner as we go off the air with no winner.

Rating: D. This was more of a “we’re out of time so here’s something we promised without either guy having to do a televised job” thing than a main event. You knew something was up as soon as you saw the NWO Referee out there so it wasn’t like the ending came as a big shock or anything.

Overall Rating: C-. This was one of the decent episodes but it means next week is probably going to be horrible. The tag match was actually solid as they let the good workers run the match and just had Mongo in there to do basic power stuff and then leave. Not much to see here but it’s a pretty weak time for WCW.

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

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

This is on a Wednesday instead of the usual Thursday.

The announcers talk about Goldberg to open the show with Heenan almost on the verge of standing and applauding.

Public Enemy vs. Shiima Nabunaga/Tokyo Magnum

I hate to admit it, but Public Enemy had one of the catchiest themes I can remember in WCW. The Dragon Gate guys jump Public Enemy to start but are quickly clotheslined down and out to the floor. We start with Tokyo vs. Johnny with Magnum being put down with a pancake. Off to Rocco who misses a springboard moonsault, giving Shiima a two count. Shimma gets crotched on the top and everything breaks down. Tokyo gets caught in a double gutbuster and Shiima is put through the double stack of tables for the academic pin. Basically a squash.

Tokyo tries to dance with Public Enemy and gets punched in the face, drawing in Disco Inferno and Alex Wright to beat Public Enemy up.

Video on the basketball match.

Villano IV vs. The Cat

It sounds better than Ernest Miller if nothing else. Villano gets in a cheap shot to start which fits the whole villain gimmick. He stomps away in the corner but Cat comes back with a quick sunset flip for two and a kick to the head, living up to the whole karate guy gimmick. The other Villano tries to sneak in but gets kicked down as well, allowing Cat to hit his top rope kick to the face for the pin on V.

Juventud Guerrera vs. Judo Suwa

They trade chops to start with Suwa getting the better of it. Juvy gets a boot up to stop a charge in the corner and a headscissors sends Suwa out to the floor. A big dive takes Judo out and fires up the crowd a bit after all that talking put them to sleep. Back in and Suwa stomps on Juvy and hits a Vader Bomb for two. They run the ropes a bit with Juvy being sent out to the apron but he comes back in with a springboard missile dropkick to the back of the head. Kidman strolls out to ringside as Juvy hits two Juvy Drivers in a row for the pin.

Bash at the Beach ad.

The announcers talk about Sunday.

Another Bash at the Beach promo.

Stevie Ray vs. Konnan

The beating with the chair continues until Booker comes out in street clothes to stop his brother.

Video on Bret vs. Booker.

Raven/Horace vs. Saturn/Kanyon

Steve McMichael vs. Rick Fuller

As mentioned almost every time, Fuller is a guy who could have been excellent as a bodyguard for some cowardly heel. Fuller chops away to start but Mongo takes out the leg to put Fuller down. A very early tombstone attempt is broken up with a knee to the face but Mongo keeps pounding away in the corner. Mongo runs into a boot in the corner and Fuller pounds away before a legdrop gets two. McMichael comes back with a kick to the face of his own and the tombstone ends Fuller.

Cruiserweight Title: Chris Jericho vs. Ultimo Dragon

Video on Rodman.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Curt Hennig

Here’s Bash at the Beach if you’re interested:

wait for it……

JOE GOMEZ.

Does that name ring a bell to you?  I’d be surprised if it did, as Gomez was a jobber to the stars at best.  He feuded with Steve McMichael for about a month and then formed a jobbing tag team with Renegade.  If there has ever been a more bizarre pairing I’ve never seen it.