Monday
Nitro #122
Date:
January 12, 1998
Location:
Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida
Attendance:
8,718
Commentators:
Larry Zbyszko, Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
A
lot has changed in just a week as Sting is no longer the world
champion. The title was stripped on Thursday and is being held up,
pending action by the WCW board of directors. We'll likely hear more
on that tonight as we move closer to Souled Out. As for the
wrestling on tonight's show, the main event is the Steiner Brothers
defending the tag titles against the Outsiders. Let's get to it.
We
open with a clip from Thunder of Sting throwing the title down and
telling Hogan that he's a dead man.
The
show is still two hours at this point. The three hour episodes begin
after Souled Out.
Larry
talks about history repeating itself and empires crumbling.
We
look at the end of last week's show with the NWO seemingly imploding,
only to be perfectly fine on Thunder.
Gene
is in the parking lot waiting for the NWO to arrive. The limo pulls
up and Nash says that he was putting out a fire last week when he
punched Savage. Nash says that Savage doesn't want a part of them.
Why did Gene have two microphones for that segment?
Goldberg
vs. Jerry Flynn
Flynn
fires off kicks to start but Goldberg easily takes him down into a
leg lock. Jerry tries an armbreaker but is easily lifted up into a
powerbomb to break the hold. Spear and Jackhammer and we're done in
like 80 seconds. BIG pop for Goldberg on the win.
Nitro
Girls time, including a new one named Whisper. She would later be
known as Mrs. Shawn Michaels.
Black
Cat vs. Marty Jannetty
Jannetty
has generic rock music which be used later for Van Hammer during his
singles heel push. Black Cat is a Mexican wrestler apparently most
famous for his time in Japan. Tenay claims he trained Great Muta,
Masahiro Chono and Jushin Thunder Liger. I can't find anything to
back that up but it's very impressive if true. Tony calls this a tag
team match as Jannetty drops Cat with a single right hand.
A
flapjack puts Marty down as Tony claims that Sting is still the world
champion. Jannetty hits a superkick followed by some forearms, only
to have his backdrop countered into an implant DDT for two. Marty
comes right back with a spinebuster and the Rocker Dropper (called
the Showstopper here) is good for the pin.
Rating:
D. This didn't work at all.
There was no chemistry whatsoever and neither guy seemed interested
in selling the others' moves. You could call this a total contrast
of styles for lack of a better term. At the same time though, this
is WCW's strong suit: having such a big roster that they could throw
a random pairing out there like these guys to draw in a few extra
fans. That's smart business.
Hall,
Savage, Liz and Tenzan arrive in another limo. Savage says there are
no problems in the NWO and wants to know what Nash said.
Dean
Malenko vs. Chris Benoit
Dean
cranks on the wrist to start as the Flock is watching in the crowd.
A rollup gets two for Dean and it's a standoff. Benoit runs him over
with a shoulder block and fires off some chops in the corner to take
over. Dean comes back with a clothesline and a chinlock, only to
have Benoit drop him with a jawbreaker. Benoit gets two off a
clothesline and chinlock of his own in a nice mirroring sequence.
Dean fights up and hiptosses Benoit down before hooking a short arm
scissors.
Benoit
fights up with the power counter ala Backlund or Davey Boy Smith
depending on which generation you're from and drops Dean down on his
back for two. They trade reverse suplex attempts until Dean takes
him down with a German suplex. Benoit counters the Cloverleaf into a
small package for two and Dean escapes the Crossface. A sunset flip
gets two for Dean and the counter rollup gets the same for Benoit.
Dean tries a victory roll but gets dropped on his face, allowing
Benoit to hook the Crossface for the tap out.
Rating:
B+. This was one of the better
TV matches WCW had in awhile. You had two guys in there working hard
and moving very smoothly out there with both guys countering
everything the other guy could throw at each other. Malenko was on
Benoit's level here and it's clear that Benoit is ready for a war
with Raven in a few weeks.
The
Flock hits the ring before Malenko is even done tapping and lays out
Benoit. Malenko and Raven have a staredown but Saturn jumps Dean to
protect his leader.
Here's
JJ Dillon to look at Savage jumping Bischoff to end the show last
week. JJ talks about enforcing the fine on Lex Luger on Thunder and
fines Savage $5000 for attacking Bischoff, who is still a WCW
official. Savage runs out and grabs JJ by the shirt. Bischoff comes
out to play peacekeeper and offers to pay the money. Savage says
it's the principal of the thing and still wants to know what Nash
said.
More
Nitro Girls.
Here's
DDP for a chat. Page says he's jacked in Jacksonville because this
Thursday on Thunder, it's Page/Luger vs. Nash/Savage. Apparently the
NWO isn't for life, but neither were Liz and Randy. Page's words,
not mine. Page says on Thursday, Savage and Nash will hear the
crackle from the Rack and then feel the bang.
TV
Title: Perry Saturn vs. Booker T
Tony
screws up again by saying that Raven is challenging here instead of
Saturn. Saturn pounds away on the champion to start but a side kick
sends Perry out to the floor. Back in and Booker hits a forearm to
the head for two followed by a superkick to send Saturn out to the
floor. Booker counters a German suplex into a victory roll for two
but Saturn ducks a spin kick and suplexes Booker down for two.
Booker comes back with some forearms but charges into a boot in the
corner. Saturn trips him down and puts his feet on the ropes for the
pin and the title in a cheap win.
Rating:
D+. Energetic match here but
the ending stopped it cold. Booker is on a pretty good roll at this
point too so I'm not sure why they would put the title on Saturn out
of nowhere like this. You would think if they were going to put the
title in the Flock they would have given it to Raven instead of his
chief lackey. The match was decent but they didn't have time to get
anywhere.
Actually
hang on a second as Rick Martel comes out to tell the referee about
the cheating. The match is restarted and Booker hits a quick ax kick
and the Harlem Hangover to retain the title.
Post
match Booker says he owes Rick one for the help so Martel asks for a
title shot. Booker says anytime.
Here
are WCW executive Nick Lambros and the Giant with something to say.
Nick hasn't heard a good reason as to why Nash didn't show up at
Starrcade, so Nash is going to have to put up a $1.5 million
performance bond for him to show up at Souled Out. If he doesn't put
up the money, Nash is suspended for one year. Also, Eric Bischoff is
cut off from Turner money starting tonight. Giant yells about
getting Nash to show up but here's the NWO looking very smug.
Bischoff,
Hogan and Nash show up with Hollywood attorney Henry Holmes. Holmes
says that he's spoken with his new client Kevin Nash and they'll put
up the $1.5 million for Souled Out. However, WCW has to put up the
same amount and if Giant touches Nash before the PPV, Nash gets the
money. Giant says he accepts and Nash gets right in his face to talk
some trash. I still love that the sales pitch for this match is
“Nash will actually show up this time!”
Video
on Savage vs. Luger for Souled Out.
Hour
#2 begins.
Hugh
Morrus vs. Lex Luger
Tony
talks about the Super Bowl as Hugh hits a spinwheel kick to take Lex
down. Luger comes back with a powerslam while the announcers talk
about Nash vs. Giant. Neither guy can hit a hiptoss and Morrus
misses a charge into the buckle. Luger hits some forearms but Morrus
runs up the corner for a spinning clothesline off the middle rope.
Morrus misses a top rope splash and the Torture Rack ends this quick.
Post
match Liz comes out to distract Luger for a surprise attack by
Savage. DDP comes out to chase Savage off.
Nitro
Girls Part III.
The
announcers talk about the problems between the Steiners with Scott
being selfish lately. We get a clip from Thunder where Scott left
Rick hanging instead of hitting the Steiner Bulldog.
Chris
Jericho vs. Steve McMichael
Jericho
is looking very condescending as he waves to the fans on the way to
the ring. Mongo shoves Jericho into the corner to start. Jericho
fires off some forearms but runs into a shoulder block. Mongo pounds
away in the corner but runs into a kick in the corner. A missile
dropkick puts Mongo down but he pops up for a side slam. Mongo stops
to pose on the ropes and gets caught in a middle rope Frankensteiner
for two. Steve comes back with a chopblock and a belly to back
suplex for no cover again. Jericho is whipped into the corner and
tries to jump over Mongo, only to get caught in the tombstone for the
pin.
Rating:
D. This was angle advancement
instead of a match as Jericho's frustrations continue. Thankfully it
seems that Mongo is officially just a guy now instead of having any
kind of prominent storyline involvement. The match wasn't much at
all but Jericho is already nailing the heel mannerisms that would
make him a bigger star.
Post
break Jericho is ranting against the fans for booing him after a
loss. He loves being a role model and even though he lost to an
inferior opponent, he's proven he can lose with class. There will
never be another outburst like that again. Mysterio's music cuts
Jericho's talking off.
Cruiserweight
Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera
Juvy
won the title on Thursday at Thunder. Rey gets to the ring and
Jericho wants to know why he's here. Jericho yells at Mysterio for
interrupting him but shakes Rey's hand....before laying him out with
a pair of backbreakers and the Liontamer. Juventud comes out to
chase Jericho off but then dropkicks Rey to keep his advantage as the
match starts. Rey gets a quick rana to buy himself some time but
walks into a tombstone. The 450 retains the title in about a minute.
We
get the footage from Thunder of JJ stripping Sting of the title.
Here
are Hogan and Bischoff with something to say. Bischoff quotes
Hogan's theme song and Hogan talks about Henry Holmes being here to
cover the entire NWO. Hollywood brags about being the real champion
because everyone says he is, and Holmes is going to prove that Hogan
is champion in federal court. Well it's better there than a
wrestling ring I suppose.
Video
on Bret Hart arriving in WCW and screwing over the NWO at Starrcade.
He and Flair have a match at Starrcade to decide who the best is.
Gene
brings out Jim Neidhart who can't believe Flair's statements about
Bret Hart. This brings out Flair who respects Neidhart but won't
stand for Neidhart saying that Bret is a better wrestler than he is.
Neidhart says it again and Flair says that he's the Davy Crockett of
this new wild frontier. Both guys take their jackets off but Flair
goes to the back to get his gear while Neidhart goes to the ring.
Flair
comes back and there's a referee in the ring as well. Neidhart
charges into a right hand which appears to have brass knuckles on it.
The referee is decked as well and there's a Figure Four around the
post on Neidhart. Bret runs out for the save and a quick brawl with
Flair. This wasn't a match but the angle advancement is a good idea.
Souled
Out ad.
Nitro
Girls the fourth.
Video
of a fan's Nitro Party.
Tag
Titles: Outsiders vs. Steiner Brothers
This
is billed as a unification match but the NWO Tag Titles were never
official, meaning the Steiners are the only champions coming in. As
a side note: why are there so many people named Scott in this
company? Scott Norton, Scott Steiner, Scott Hall, Scotty Riggs, and
they're always in tag matches against each other around this time.
Hogan comes out with the Outsiders. The fans seem to be on WCW's
side in the survey.
The
Scotts start things off as we hear that Flair has been fined for the
attack on Neidhart a few moments ago. Scott Steiner throws Hall's
toothpick back at him and shoves Hall down with pure power. Hall
drives some shoulders into the other Scott but gets shoved into the
Steiner corner and ping ponged back and forth with right hands. Hall
gets powerbombed down and Nash is caught in a double suplex to send
the challengers retreating. Randy Savage is at ringside as well.
The
fans want Sting but get an an intense talk between Savage and Hogan
instead. Back in and it's Rick vs. Hall with both guys pounding away
in the corner. Off to Nash for the first time to drive knees into
Rick's ribs. Rick gets a boot up in the corner and a middle rope
clothesline gets two. Back to Scott Steiner who gets clotheslined
down before it's back to Hall. A chokeslam puts Scott Steiner down
but he comes back with a quick belly to belly suplex for two on Hall.
Back
to Rick who cranks on a leg lock before shifting to a half crab.
Hall fights up and brings Nash back in, only to have him caught in a
leg crank of his own. Nash comes right back for Snake Eyes (not bad
a mere three weeks after missing the biggest show of the year because
of a knee injury) but Rick slips down his back. Rick loads up the
Steiner Bulldog but Hogan crotches him before Rick can jump. Scott
Steiner goes after Hogan as Hall hits the fallaway slam for two on
Rick.
Things
settle down and Nash gets two off the side slam. Rick fights back
against Hall but Nash knees him in the back. Scott Steiner argues
with the referee and Rick bumps into said referee as everything
breaks down. Nash covers Rick but Savage goes up for the elbow on
Kevin, but the big man moves and the elbow hits Rick, giving the
Outsiders the pin and the titles back.
Rating:
C. The match was decent enough,
likely due to these teams fighting each other so many times over the
years. With all the NWO big shots at ringside it was hard to imagine
the Outsiders not taking the belts back but it's nice to see Hogan
slumming it with the tag titles. The fans make a good point though:
where was Sting? Their big hero and savior can't even come out for a
save here or at least come out an even the odds a bit?
Hogan
and Nash yell at Savage to end the show.
Overall
Rating: C. In an unusual case
for Nitro, the main event stuff was one of the better parts of the
show. Souled Out is looking better and better on paper every week
with Flair vs. Hart having one of the best builds I can remember in a
long time. On top of that you get a very good match from Benoit and
Malenko and you have a solid half of the show.
Unfortunately
the other half had to be here too and it brought things down. The
rest of the show was either too short to mean much or a lot of stupid
talking. Do we really need to bring in some big name lawyer to
decide Giant vs. Nash and spent ten minutes talking about performance
bonds? Wait it's WCW so of course we do, and we have to have real
businessmen and attorneys doing the talking instead of actors/people
that know how to talk. It's a decent show for the most part and it
went by very fast this week.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com
"Larry talks about history repeating itself and empires crumbling."
ReplyDeleteThis pretty much applies to every Nitro.
"As
ReplyDeletea side note: why are there so many people named Scott in this
company? Scott Norton, Scott Steiner, Scott Hall, Scotty Riggs, and
they're always in tag matches against each other around this time."
Vince McMahon: THANK YOU. So quit your complaining, Helms!
If the precedent for correcting a referee is a title shot, man, you'd think after every screwjob finish you'd see half the locker room rush out to rat on the cheater.
ReplyDeleteTo mix it up a bit. What, you want MORE wrestlers named Chris????????????
ReplyDelete"As a side note: why are there so many people named Scott in this company? Scott Norton, Scott Steiner, Scott Hall, Scotty Riggs, and they're always in tag matches against each other around this time."
ReplyDeleteYou sound like Vince McMahon, he never would have allowed that.
Looks like I should have scrolled down a bit before I posted.
ReplyDeleteDid Vince say something about that before and I missed it? I'm not getting the reference.
ReplyDeleteNew fans no. He might have pulled in a few fans who recognized him though.
ReplyDeleteVince doesnt like repeats. Its why we had William Regal instead of Steven (Steve) Regal and Gregory Helms instead of Shane.
ReplyDeleteAnd Garrison Cade instead of Lance.
ReplyDeleteOf course Vince either forgets or didn't realize that around the mid-80's there were about a hundred guys running around the WWF named Jim or Jimmy.
He foreshadowed the future of WCW. He's Nostradamus
ReplyDeleteI actually think this is a more reasonable Vince thing. Never helps to cut down on any chance of confusion.
ReplyDeleteI would agree. It got a bit complicated to review some old WWF matches because of all those names.
ReplyDeleteYeah, WCW had a TON of old WWF wrestlers on the roster, and way too early to get a nostalgia pop out of any of them. Many were just there for the sake of being there- Jannetty & Greg Valentine certainly never got any kind of a push, and were just there to job. But part of me was always happy to see them.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of the early days of TNA, when a commentator, then the reviewer, bitched about the names in one of the tag matches. I think there were two guys with the same first name, and two guys with names ending in Storm. Like Quiet Storm and ____ Storm on opposite sides, and the latter Storm had the same first name as an opponent.
ReplyDeleteHaha, poor Joe Gomez. Too late for an ECW run to mean anything, and too early for a ROH run to mean anything. he totally got caught up in Indie Hell post-WCW.
ReplyDelete