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WCW House Show 6/28/1997

WCW puts on a strong show featuring Flair vs. Piper, Page vs. Savage, Guerrero vs. Malenko and a tag main event.
World Championship Wrestling House Show 
Date: 6/28/1997
From: Inglewood, CA

This was a special internet show from WCW. Mike Tenay, Mark Madden and Gene Okerlund handled commentary for the special. The event was recorded by a fan in the crowd.

Opening Contest: Konnan, La Parka & Villano IV vs. Juventud Guerrera, Damien & Super Calo: Villano and Juventud kick off the contest. Guerrera delivers an arm drag and they have a standoff briefly. Villano takes Juventud over with a suplex but they have a standoff again. Villano has a leg lock on Juventud until Parka tags in and kicks Guerrera on the back. Calo tags in as well and arm drags Parka followed by a catapult. Calo springboards off the ropes with an arm drag. Parka bails to the floor and is knocked into the guard railing. Konnan and Damien enter with Damien arm dragging Konnan and hits a head scissors. Konnan bails on the floor to avoid a dive. Villano shoulder blocks Juventud but Guerrera hits a nice springboard moonsault. Villano stops Guerrera with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Parka hammers away on Damien but misses a splash in the corner. Guerrera leaps off of Damien to splash Parka in the corner! Guerrera leaps off the top looking for a cross body but Parka catches him and plays to the crowd until Juventud hits a top rope hurricanrana! Parka avoids a head scissors but not a spinning heel kick. Konnan power bombs Juventud! Villano drops Calo with a clothesline but Calo fights back with a spinning heel kick and a bulldog. Villano delivers a jaw breaker on Calo and Damien enters to hit a head scissors. Parka sends Damien to the floor but is met with a backdrop from Calo. Guerrera misses a springboard attempt and Konnan misses a leg drop. Everyone starts to miss dives off the top. Konnan power bombs Calo and nearly wins the match. Damien and Calo are sent into each other and have their legs pulled apart by Konnan and Villano. Parka has a surfboard in the middle of it on Guerrera! The faces dive onto the heels on the floor! Juventud slips off the top rope and counters a hurricanrana to pin Villano. (***. The botch at the finish was unfortunate, but it was a good match that excited the fans and produced some fine action from everyone involved. A good start to this show.) 

Second Contest: Ultimo Dragon vs. Psychosis: Psychosis is sent to the floor early on with an arm drag and hits the guard railing. Psychosis punches Dragon as he attempted a leapfrog and gets some heat for doing so. Dragon drops an elbow as Psychosis was looking for Dragon to jump over him. Dragon does a headstand on the top rope and kicks a charging Psychosis and follows up with a series of kicks. Psychosis comes off the ropes and Dragon hits a spinning back breaker. Dragon nails Psychosis off the apron with a spinning heel kick but misses a slingshot dive and hits the floor. Sonny Ono attacks Dragon with the referee distracted. On the floor, Psychosis sends Dragon into the guard railing back first. Dragon runs into an elbow strike as Psychosis maintains control of the match. Psychosis gets a near fall following a clothesline. Dragon is sent to the floor and attacks Ono until Psychosis hits a slingshot dive onto Dragon! Back in the ring, Dragon gets a sleeper hold on Psychosis and hits a back suplex. Dragon dropkicks Psychosis off the middle rope and to the floor where Dragon hits a springboard moonsault onto the aisle way! Psychosis nearly gets a win after rolling through a hurricanrana. Psychosis drops Dragon with a top rope hurricanrana for a near fall. Psychosis counters a back suplex and rolls Dragon up for a near fall. Psychosis goes for a moonsault but Dragon hits a dropkick in midair! Dragon gets the Dragon Sleeper locked in and wins the match. (***1/2. A really good match between these two guys. Psychosis was crisp here and Dragon delivered the goods as he normally did with WCW. An excellent start to the show thus far.) After the match, Sonny Ono attacks Dragon with Psychosis holding Dragon.

Third Contest: Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero: Malenko tries to get after Guerrero but Guerrero runs around ringside before getting in the ring and hammering away on Malenko. Eddie drops Dean with a clothesline and taunts the fans. Guerrero drops Malenko with a back suplex and locks in a Boston Crab. Guerrero continues to work over Malenko with a series of chops. Guerrero misses a slingshot somersault but knocks Dean woozy from the apron only to get crotched on the top rope. Eddie shoves Dean away and goes for a tornado DDT but Malenko shoves Guerrero away. Malenko lifts Eddie and drops him face first across the top turnbuckle. They end up on the floor where Dean hammers away on Guerrero briefly. Guerrero is sent into the guard railing by the Ice Man. Eddie slams Malenko face first into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Guerrero dropkicks Malenko for a two count. Dean powers out of a Boston Crab but Guerrero keeps control of the bout. Dean atomic drops Guerrero out of the corner and follows up with a leg lariat causing Guerrero to bail to the floor. Iceman suplexs Guerrero from the apron back into the ring for a two count. Malenko works over Guerrero in the corner kicking his left leg. Iceman with a nice dragon screw leg sweep and dumps Guerrero to the floor. Dean dropkicks Eddie’s leg into the guard railing. Back in the ring, Guerrero dropkicks Malenko and delivers a dropkick to Malenko’s left knee. Eddie uses the ropes for leverage while having a leg lock on Malenko. Eddie hits a tilt a whirl back breaker for a near fall. Malenko stops Guerrero by dropping him gut first to the mat and follows up with a power bomb! Iceman hits a wheelbarrow suplex and goes for the Texas Cloverleaf but Guerrero reaches the bottom rope. Malenko drops Guerrero with a tombstone and heads to the top where he attempts a frog splash but Guerrero gets his knees up. Eddie hits a power bomb of his own and plants Malenko with a brain buster. Eddie signals for the frog splash and hits it but doesn’t go for the cover. Instead, Guerrero goes for a Texas Cloverleaf but Malenko counters but the referee got hit in the face causing a delay in the pin count. Guerrero slams Malenko in the corner and puts his feet on the ropes for the win. (***1/4. Another good match between these two and was given plenty of time. This has been a really strong start to the show.) 

Fourth Contest: The Steiner Brothers vs. Masahiro Chono & Buff Bagwell: Scott and Bagwell start the match with Bagwell arm dragging Scott and taunting the fans with a pose. Scott hip tosses Bagwell out of the corner and Bagwell complains to the referee. Bagwell nails Scott with a dropkick and Scott rolls to the outside. Scott runs over Bagwell with a clothesline and shows off his muscles to Bagwell and the fans. Bagwell is met with a backdrop, clothesline and a press slam. Scott clotheslines Bagwell over the top to the floor. Rick and Chono are tagged into the contest. We have a test of strength with Chono kicking Rick in the midsection. Rick takes Chono over with a suplex but Chono fights back with an eye rake. Bagwell enters and clotheslines Rick and sends Rick into a big boot from Chono! Scott enters to run both heels over with a clothesline. Bagwell knee lifts Rick from the apron and Chono drops Rick to maintain control of the match. Chono hits a side Russian leg sweep on Rick for a two count. Bagwell works over Rick for several moments but can’t get a three count. Chono prevents Rick from tagging out and sends him to the floor. Rick hits a suplex on Chono for a near fall. Rick comes off the ropes but is stopped with an atomic drop by Chono. Rick stops Chono on the top and hits an overhead belly to belly suplex! Scott finally gets the hot tag and cleans house on the heels. Scott slams both men and hits a double under hook power bomb on Chono for a near fall. Chono kicks Rick in the head but Scott pulls Chono to the floor. Bagwell falls off the top and Rick pins Bagwell with a belly to belly suplex. (**. A decent match though Rick getting beaten down went on for a little too long. The finish was botched as well, but it was a non-offensive match.)

Chris Jericho says that he deserves a title shot. He wants to wrestle the winner directly afterward for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Rey Mysterio agrees to the match and Syxx agrees to one as well but slaps Jericho.

Fifth Contest: WCW Cruiserweight Champion Syxx vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.: Rey snap mares Syxx to the floor early on in the title bout. Mysterio continues his offense with a drop toe hold but is soon tossed away by Syxx. Rey hits a couple of head scissors sending Syxx to the floor. Mysterio hammers away on Syxx in the corner. Syxx nails Mysterio with a spin kick to get control of the contest. Syxx hits the sit down driver but can’t get a three count. Syxx comes off the ropes and delivers a quick leg drop. Syxx kicks Rey in the corner several times. The champ hits the bronco buster in the corner as well! Syxx gets a near fall after a back breaker. Rey misses a springboard cross body as Syxx ducked the move. Rey is dumped over the top to the floor. Syxx drops Rey with a delayed vertical suplex. Syxx leaps off the top but misses a splash! Rey head scissors Syxx and hits a springboard moonsault for a near fall! Rey seemingly won the championship with a top rope springboard hurricanrana but the referee claimed that Syxx had his foot on the rope. The referee prevents Rey from diving to the floor, so Rey somersaults over the referee to take Syxx out with a dive on the floor! Syxx yanks Rey down on the apron causing the challenger to hit face first. Syxx sends Rey shoulder first into the ring post. Rey crotches Syxx on the top rope and hammers away on the champ only for Syxx to crotch him on the top briefly. Syxx locks in the Buzzkill for the clean win. (**3/4. A fine match between these two with Rey really hitting his moves well. This is one of the better WCW shows I’ve ever watched, honestly.) 

Sixth Contest: WCW Cruiserweight Champion Syxx vs. Chris Jericho: Syxx goes right after Jericho with kicks in the corner. Syxx goes for the bronco buster but Jericho moved out of the way. Jericho hits a spinning heel kick and wins the title. (NR. The babyface Jericho did not get a babyface reaction for winning the title in the fashion he did. The fans didn’t seem to like the fella.) 

Seventh Contest: Ric Flair vs. Roddy Piper: Piper backs Flair into a corner and quickly delivers jabs and clotheslines Flair off the apron after flipping in the corner. Piper sends Flair into the railing and back into the ring. Ric chops Piper in the corner to gain the advantage and works over Roddy with fists. Piper fights back with chops of his own but runs into a back elbow. Piper has the figure four on Flair but the hold is broken when Flair reaches the ropes. Piper backslides Flair for a two count. Ric stops Piper with an atomic drop and puts his feet on the ropes for a two count. Piper pulls Flair’s trunks down and gets a two count on a roll up. Flair heads to the top but is slammed by Piper. Flair gets a pair of brass knuckles from his boot and knocks Piper out with them. Piper doesn’t sell some chops from Flair and jabs the Nature Boy down to the mat. Piper has the sleeper hold locked in on Flair! Flair drops down in the middle of the ring. Piper wins clean in the middle with a sleeper hold. (*. Well, that was as good as I expected. The clean finish was surprising but leading up to that it wasn’t anything worthwhile, really.) 

Eighth Contest: Randy Savage vs. Diamond Dallas Page: DDP quickly goes after Savage with right hands and avoids a big boot in the corner so he can ram Savage groin first into the ring post. Savage hits a jaw breaker on DDP sending DDP to the floor. Macho sends DDP into the ring steps and now focuses his offense on DDP’s taped ribs until DDP hammers away on Savage. Macho stops DDP with a boot to the face and a short arm clothesline for a near fall. DDP hits a discus clothesline and both men are down. Savage low blows DDP and follows up with a scoop slam a couple of times. The referee shoves Savage, but Savage leaps off the top only to be met with two boots. DDP hits the Diamond Cutter and pins Savage! (*. That was a really quick match for these two. I was not expecting that and I’m disappointed that it was that quick.) After the match, DDP hits another Diamond Cutter on Savage before Buff Bagwell comes down to the ring to chase DDP away.

Main Event: WCW World Tag Team Champions the Outsiders vs. Lex Luger & the Giant: Hall and Luger kick of the main event. Luger slaps Hall after getting a toothpick to the face. Hall works over Lex with right hands but Lex turns it around and hammers away on Hall. Lex comes off the ropes to hit a leaping forearm shot. Hall spits at Luger and is fired up. Nash has been tagged into the match. Nash knee lifts Luger and continues to deliver knee lifts in the corner. Luger is sent into the corner and Nash hits a clothesline. Nash continues to choke Lex in the corner to maintain control of the match. Lex gets his boot up twice to stop Nash and clotheslines both Nash and Hall. Luger drops Nash with a leaping forearm shot. Hall hits Luger from the apron and Nash delivers a big boot to stop Luger’s momentum. Hall tags in and stomps away on Luger. Nash enters and side slams Lex for a two count. Nash drops across Lex’s back while across the middle rope. Nash drops Lex face first across the top turnbuckle and Hall clotheslines Luger from the apron. Nash punches Giant while standing on the apron. Hall gets a sleeper hold on Lex until the Total Package manages to hit a back suplex. Nash enters but Giant gets the hot tag and cleans house on the tag champs. Giant big boots Nash to the floor while Luger power slams Hall. Hollywood Hogan has come down. Hogan this Luger with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to cause the disqualification. Sting drops down and slowly enters the ring. Sting hammers away on Hogan and delivers a clothesline. Sting puts the Scorpion Death Lock on Hogan and Hogan is tapping. Syxx is on the apron with the baseball bat. Sting lets go and has a baseball bat of his own. Sting hits Nash with the bat. The New World Order backs away to leave the babyfaces standing tall. (*. A rather boring finish to the show. Giant hardly got involved and any time you have Luge working the majority of a match you’re going to be in trouble. The typical DQ finish for WCW main events doesn’t help either.) 

Final Thoughts: As per usual with WCW the undercard shines while the main event scene doesn’t deliver in the ring and is only based off of names involved. I enjoyed the show as most of the matches were quite good, especially early on in the show. A thumbs up for this one.

For more wrestling review and columns head over to WRESTLING RECAPS 

Comments

  1. Retro house show recaps? Ok.

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  2. I was just thinking... "man I hope we get some more obscure WCW reviews on here!"

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  3. I hope we get the next "internet event" from September 1997, "The Battle in Seattle". I was there for that one, it was a pretty fun show too. Also a VERY short Savage/Paige match that took place mostly outside the ring because part of the ring broke during the Steiners match on an Irish whip into the corner.

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  4. Inglewood, always up to no good.

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  5. I loved me some cruisers, but I could never really enjoy Juvy or Dragon. Not sure why exactly, they just didn't interest me. Plus, La Parka really should have been undefeated. That dance kills me.

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  6. Agree on Ultimo, but I loved me some Juvy.

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  7. Juvy was awesome.

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  8. Audio only wrestling shows, because WCW

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  9. I was always down with shitty main events sadly because I was usually captivated by all the main event names involved. WCW had such a sick roster for at times fantasy matchups.....
    I mean, Sting & Warrior vs Hollywood & Bret Hart? Awesome. Even this show Piper/Flair & Page/Savage is a pretty sweet double main event.

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  10. I don't remember this title change at all. Then again, I don't remember how they ever got the belt off Waltman in the first place.

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  11. CruelConnectionNumber2January 15, 2015 at 8:26 PM

    Jericho's challenge makes ZERO sense as a clean cut babyface and Syxx agreeing makes zero sense as a pussy heel nWo member.

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  12. A few of them did huge numbers actually. Plus streaming video in 1997 was pretty putrid, you could get an image about the size of a matchbook -- otherwise just a mess of pixels.

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  13. I was at this show. Wwe had a house show the same night in Anaheim. Huge turnouts for both! They had the full nitro set and everything.

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  14. As I recall, this was dubbed "Saturday Nitro" with either the show itself or play-by-play of the show streamed in the WCW website.

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