Monday
Nitro #136
Date:
April 20, 1998
Location:
World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Commentators:
Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
It's
the night after Spring Stampede and some things have changed. To
begin with Savage is the new world champion having defeated Sting
with the help of Kevin Nash. This of course turned into yet another
Hogan story as Hogan tried to keep the title on Sting but Nash helped
take it off of him to screw over Hogan who hit Nash with a baseball
bat earlier in the night. Other than that Raven won the US Title
last night and gets Goldberg as a reward tonight. Let's get to it.
We
open with exclusive footage from after the PPV where Hogan and
Disciple jumped Savage and Nash but the NWO B Team came out to
prevent Hogan from taking the belt.
Opening
sequence.
The
announcers talk about the title picture.
Here
are Hogan, Disciple and Bischoff to open the show because it's not
like there's a new world champion who should be opening things up.
Bischoff ensures us that he loves Hogan who loves all of you. Hogan
says the NWO is for life and thinks Nash and Savage are caught in the
river Styx. There's no escape for Savage tonight because the NWO is
watching all the exits.
The
fans are all over Hogan to the point where I can barely understand
him. Hogan wants to call out Savage tonight and he'll take care of
Nash too. The NWO has split and it's time to find out who is going
to follow whom and if Nash tries to get involved, Hogan will take him
apart too.
Goldberg
is getting ready.
The
announcers talk about what Hogan said while adding nothing new at
all.
Here's
Savage for the rebuttal. He's wants to fight instead of gloat
because the only coward here tonight is Hollywood Hogan. The worst
kept secret in the world is that he hates Hogan in life and death.
See, Hogan has everyone snowed. Hogan's main goal was to keep Savage
from taking over but now his world is crashing down around him.
It
was Hogan behind the wheel of the Viper a few weeks ago but now
there's nothing preventing Savage from fighting Hogan tonight. No
one can stop him on live TV, including Bischoff, Turner or the big
Macho Man in the sky. Savage brings out Nash, calling him the new
leader of the NWO. Shouldn't the new WORLD CHAMPION be the leader?
Here's
Nash, not even in an NWO shirt. He says that this is the end of
Hogan's career because the NWO is no longer his, brother. Tonight
Savage is going to be the end of Hogan when he beats him for the
title. Nash is coming for Disciple and Bischoff too, because he's
powerbombed Eric before and he'll do it again.
The
announcers talk even more.
Raven
says he won't be #75 for Goldberg because he's been through pain
before.
Nitro
Girls. We're only half an hour into the show before the first match
so why not have even more filler?
Gene
tells us to call the Hotline for the latest rumors about nothing in
particular.
Konnan
vs. Chris Adams
Yep,
this is what we waited thirty minutes to get to. Adams takes over
with some quick suplexes and armdrags Konnan down to counter Konnan's
technical attempts. Another armdrag sends Konnan to the floor for a
conference with Vincent. Back in and Konnan hits the low dropkick
and a hard clothesline before cranking on the arm. Adams fights up
and tries Kofi Kingston's SOS for two but crashes into the ropes on a
cross body attempt. The Tequila Sunrise gets the submission for
Konnan.
Rating:
D. Nothing to see here as
neither guy is anything of note at this point. Konnan is nothing
more than a lackey with an accent and Adams is a jobber that most of
WCW's fans likely haven't heard of. The announcers didn't help
things either by spending the entire match talking about Goldberg.
If they want to get back on top in the ratings, this is a strange way
of going about it.
Nitro
Party video.
Barbarian
vs. Wayne Bloom
Barbarian
pounds him into the corner to start but Wayne comes back with a
clothesline. Jimmy Hart distracts Bloom, allowing Barbie to get the
pin off a big boot. Match might have lasted a minute.
Raven
says he's next.
Here's
Chris Jericho, wearing Iaukea's skirt thing, with a portrait of Dean
Malenko. Jericho has some good news and bad news. The bad news is
that Malenko is retired, but the good news is he has a job interview
at Harry's Burgers in Tampa. Jericho will give us updates on how the
interview goes.
Cruiserweight
Title: Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera
Juvy
pounds away in the corner and snaps off a top rope hurricanrana. Off
to a quick chinlock but Jericho comes back with a jawbreaker and does
his long strut. Juvy avoids a charge to send Jericho to the floor
and a big plancha takes Chris down again. Back in and a springboard
spinwheel kick gets two. Juvy rolls up Jericho's body into a DDT for
two more as this is incredibly fast paced for the most part. Juvy
tries another hurricanrana but gets caught in the Liontamer,
eventually passing out from the pain, playing up the Never Surrender
idea.
Rating:
C+. They packed a lot of action
into a three and a half minute match. Juvy continues to be one of
the best fliers around and Jericho is more than capable of hanging in
there with him when he tries to. It says a lot when you can have a
crowd going nuts in the first minute and a half of a match which is
exactly what Juvy had them doing here on those near falls.
Jericho:
“MY GOD I KILLED JUVY!”
Goldberg
is still getting ready.
Hour
#2 begins.
US
Title: Goldberg vs. Raven
Raven
is defending and this is under his rules. He lays the belt out in
front of Goldberg and they talk trash, only to have Raven dropkick
him down. We head to the floor with Raven being whipped into the
barricade to give Goldberg control. Back inside and Goldie puts on a
leg lock before superkicking Raven right back to the floor.
Raven
grabs a chair and smashes Goldberg in the back to slow him down.
There's the drop toehold onto the chair followed by a reverse
chinlock on Goldberg. The big man powers up and no sells a bunch of
right hands. There's the spear but Goldberg has to destroy the
Flock. Raven tries to leave but the fans throw him back to ringside.
Another spear and a Jackhammer onto a stop sign (brought in by
Horace) make Goldberg US Champion.
Rating:
C+. Total destruction here by
Goldberg which is a good idea, but I don't know why it had to be at
Raven's expense just one day after he won the title. The guy did
some great work with Page and Benoit earlier in the year but now he
gets to keep the US Title for a single day? Still though, good, hard
hitting match here.
More
Nitro Girls.
La
Parka vs. Ultimo Dragon
La
Parka does his dance to start but Dragon takes him by the arm and
sends him down with a flying mare. Dragon avoids a charge into the
corner but a spinwheel kick sends him to the floor. La Parka hits a
big dive to the floor before throwing on a chinlock back in the ring.
A clothesline gets two on Dragon but La Parka goes up top and dives
into some boots from Dragon. Eddie Guerrero is dragging Chavo to the
ring by the neck as Dragon fires off the kicks. Chavo is forced to
shove Dragon off the top, allowing La Parka to hit a twisting body
attack off the top for the pin.
Rating:
C. This was fine with both guys
looking good for the most part and tying it into the Guerrero story
could be interesting. It's a good sign thing to have so many
talented guys you can throw out there to have solid matches and
giving them a story makes things even better. Nice little match
here.
We
look at some stills from the main event last night.
Chris
Benoit vs. Curt Hennig
Rude
jumps in on commentary as is customary anymore. Benoit jumps Hennig
as he comes to the ring and goes after Curt's banged up knee. Hennig
tries to take it to the mat which goes about as well as you would
expect against Chris Benoit. Rude comes down to ringside as Benoit
kicks Hennig's leg out. Hennig sends Benoit to the floor for a
beating from Rude, leaving Benoit out cold. Back in and Hennig loads
up the HennigPlex, only to have Benoit counter into the Crossface.
Rude comes in for the DQ because the NWO isn't allowed to lose.
Rude
beats up Benoit some more but Booker T makes the save. Benoit yells
at Booker for helping him, triggering a fight on the stage.
Come
to the Power Plant! You can be told you have no future in the
business like Dave Batista!
More
stills from the main event.
Here's
Roddy Piper with something to say. Piper sucks up to the University
of Colorado a bit while talking about something starting at Spring
Stampede tonight. The main event is now No DQ, no one allowed at
ringside and they'll fight until there's a winner.
More
stills from the main event. They've pretty much given up on the
practice of not saying who wins the PPV matches until the replay was
over.
Hammer
vs. Perry Saturn
The
brawl starts in the aisle with Saturn taking over. Hammer is sent
into the steps and we finally head inside. A top rope clothesline
puts Hammer down again but he pops up to catch Saturn in a powerslam.
Saturn suplexes him down a few times but a Thesz Press is countered
into something resembling an Alabama Slam from Hammer. Saturn gets a
breather though as Hammer seems to have hurt his knee so a Cactus
Clothesline puts both guys on the floor. Instead of going after the
knee, Saturn crushes Hammer's arm between the steps and the post.
They fight up the aisle for a countout.
Rating:
D. This was more of an angle
than a match which barely lasted long enough to be rated. Saturn
continues to be awesome with his unique style but he needs something
better than Hammer to make this work. They did the right thing by
keeping it short though as Saturn's rebellion against Raven begins.
More
stills from the main event. Just show the match already if you're
going to show this many shots from the match.
Hour
#3 begins.
The
announcers talk even more.
Public
Enemy vs. Scott Steiner/Buff Bagwell
Bagwell
starts with Grunge and it's already time to pose. A quick armdrag
takes Grunge down and it's time for the posing strut. Grunge comes
back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before it's off to Rocco vs.
Steiner. Scott easily throws Rock around but gets caught in a
sleeper. A belly to belly suplex gets Scott out of trouble as the
slow power offense continues. Rocco comes back with a swinging
neckbreaker before it's back to Buff for some choking.
Back
to Grunge who gets caught in a Tree of Woe for choking by Steiner as
the offense continues to expand. Buff heads to the floor but gets
caught by some double teaming to give Grunge a breather. Everything
breaks down with Grunge hitting a double bulldog on the NWO. Buff is
laid out on the table but gets up before Rocco can drive him through.
Back in and Scott gets up the Recliner but Buff wants the
Blockbuster instead for the pin.
Rating:
D+. This was pretty dull stuff.
At the end of the day Public Enemy wasn't a very interesting team
because they didn't have much to offer in WCW besides the table
stuff. Scott continues to seem tentative at best on offense instead
of being a killing machine like he was in the early days of the
Steiner Brothers which made him a star.
Nitro
Girls.
TV
Title: Psychosis vs. Booker T
Booker
takes him down with a back elbow and it's off to an early armbar. A
clothesline and some chops have Psychosis in trouble but he comes
back with a dropkick to the chest and one to the leg for good
measure. Psychosis gets two off a top rope spinning body attack and
we hit the chinlock. Back up and Booker hits a knee to the ribs to
stop Psychosis cold. Booker's knee drop misses so Psychosis wraps
the knee around the post to keep him down. Not that it matters as
Booker pops up and hits the snap spinebuster. The flapjack sets up a
sidekick and the missile dropkick retains the title.
Rating:
D+. This felt like they were
trying to fill in nine minutes instead of having an entertaining and
competitive match. I didn't leave much out of the match and it
somehow ran over nine minutes. There was nothing to see here and
they didn't even let Psychosis fly around the ring all that much.
Also Booker completely ignored the knee work near the end which made
it even worse.
Bryan
Adams vs. Lex Luger
Feeling
out process to start with Luger ducking right hands and scoring with
an atomic drop. Lex pounds away in the corner and clotheslines Adams
down a few times. A third clothesline puts Bryan on the floor and
Luger suplexes him back in, only to have a splash (from Luger?) hit
knees. Adams gets two off a gorilla press but Luger comes back with
a neckbreaker, expanding his moveset yet again. A powerslam puts
Adams down, drawing in Vincent for a torture rack. Konnan comes in
and gets a rack of his own but there's still no DQ. Luger drops
Konnan and hits a running clothesline on Adams for the pin.
Rating:
D-. This was even less
interesting than the previous match with Adams and Luger doing
nothing of note for the entire match. I have no idea why Adams is
getting this prominent of a role but he's not showing he deserves it.
This show is really dragging before the main event and I doubt Hogan
vs. Savage is going to raise the bar very much.
The
announcers talk about how great the main event will be.
WCW
World Title: Hollywood Hogan vs. Randy Savage
No
DQ. Hogan threatens to use his Viper to make Savage a speed bump
after winning the title. We get the required stalling to start as
Hogan hides behind Disciple, ignoring Piper's statement that no one
would be allowed at ringside. Hogan slowly gets in and is taken down
by an early shoulder block. After even more stalling Hogan comes
back with right hands and some rakes to various body parts. Savage
gets choked in the corner by both Hogan and Disciple and a belly to
back suplex gets two for the challenger.
We
head to the floor for some chair shots to Savage's....knee I think
but it also grazed the shoulder. Hogan pounds away against the
barricade before head head back inside. Savage gets in some right
hands of his own but injures his knee while kicking Hogan in the
ribs. Take notes Booker. Hogan goes after the leg for a few moments
but Savage gets in a low blow. He's too beaten down to follow up so
we head to the floor again.
Nothing
happens there so it's back inside for some choking with the
weightlifting belt. Savage is reeling and there's the slam to set up
the leg drop but the champion rolls away. Now Savage gets the
weightlifting belt and whips Hogan to the biggest reaction of the
last hour and a half. Savage slams him down and drops the elbow but
the knee prevents him from covering.
Off
to a spinning toe hold into a figure four by Hogan to make Savage
scream. The fans immediately turn to the entrance to look for the
interference a funny moment. Savage makes the rope pretty easily as
Dusty Rhodes would have laughed at how badly Hogan had the hold on.
Randy
gets up and throws the referee down so he can choke Hogan even more.
Disciple comes in for the Stunner on Nick Patrick and goes after
Savage's knee. The fans look to the entrance again but no one is
coming yet. Savage's knee is wrapped around the post and there's a
Stunner with the belt on Disciple's shoulder.
Now
we get Kevin Nash but Bischoff follows him and grabs his leg,
allowing Hogan and Disciple to beat Nash down. Hogan's belt shot
hits Nash in the head and Nash jackknifes Hollywood. He drapes
Savage on Hogan but here's Bret Hart to hit Nash with the belt and
put Hogan on top of Savage for the pin and the title.
Rating:
D-. Where do I even start?
We'll go with the obvious: the match wasn't all that good. It went
on longer than it should have, though to be fair Hogan going after
the knee made sense so there was a basic story being told out there.
Other than that though, there wasn't anything good going on.
To
begin with, we had three interferences after Piper guaranteed none.
Obviously Piper was watching the match but he didn't do anything
about his rules being broken, making him look like an inept
figurehead. Granted that might be better than being a crazy rambling
psycho who made no sense whatsoever.
Then
after all that there's the booking. We have two stupid points here.
Bret's turn is the easier one to deal with. No it makes no sense,
but there's still a chance to fix things later on with an
explanation. At the end of the day though, there was no build to the
turn, no teasing of anything, it goes against everything Bret and
Hogan have been saying for weeks and it's not like Bret has been
doing anything of note leading up to the match anyway which takes
away from the turn a bit.
Then
there's the bigger problem: Hogan as champion AGAIN. He's held the
title for nearly last year and a half save for five days. The idea
has been done, but we get to see it yet again for no apparent reason
whatsoever. The fans were going nuts for Savage and then just died
for the title change. WCW's fans were tired of Hogan because it's
the same thing they've seen for nearly four years now. Is it any
wonder why the people changed the channel over to Raw to see
something fresh like Austin on top?
The
show isn't quite over.
Piper
finally comes out to yell at Bret as there are four bodies piled up
on the mat. Bret decks Piper to end the show.
Overall
Rating: D+. Nitro continues on
the same track as always: some decent stuff but the NWO nonsense
drags it down. At the end of the day, people are sick of Hogan and
whatever he has going on at the moment. Nash vs. Hogan could be
interesting, but we're almost two years into the NWO era now and
while they're splitting up, it's just putting even more focus onto
them. Now on the other side we have Goldberg who is finally pushed
up to a higher level and given something of note. There's good stuff
hidden under all the nonsense here but there's way more nonsense than
good.
The
next week of shows are kind of weird. Thunder is on Wednesday this
week and next week Nitro will be split in two. Monday will have an
hour long show and Tuesday will have two hours, I believe due to
basketball. I'll be reviewing both Nitros at once.
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
Man, the heat for Goldberg/Raven was insane, the place going nuts when he took out the Flock and then won the belt. Clearly the moment Goldberg became, you know, GOLDBERG and helped win me back over to WCW a bit more.
ReplyDeleteHighly historic show. And I'm pretty sure savage had a torn knee ligament from the previous night.
ReplyDeleteRaven should have had a job for life after this one. If not in WCW then in the WWF.
ReplyDeleteGod what a hot mess this was. Pretty much the moment when I really started to turn hard from WCW to WWF. The Goldberg stuff was awesome, but even as a kid there was this terrible sense of foreboding awfulness from the belt going back on Hogan for no reason and a completely random Bret turn. Actually, it's kind of amazing their ratings didn't tank even more than they did.
ReplyDeleteIs this the only example of the two biggest titles being changed on the same episode of Nitro? I remember this one well, but no other instance of that happening
ReplyDeleteYeah he did and the announcers mentioned it in passing.
ReplyDeleteSo you wanted a guy with a torn knee ligament to be world champ and the leader of the nwo?
ReplyDeleteI'd take it over Hogan.
ReplyDeleteAs for being world champion, have him do nothing until Slamboree and drop the belt there. You could probably stretch it out to the Great American Bash if you had to.
You acknowledge during this very review that Hogan has so much heat that you can't even hear him.
ReplyDeleteSavage worked at both shows, so it could have been done. On the other hand, Hogan's win sets up a short run that culminates in dropping the belt to Goldberg, and they'd already pissed away what should have been a strong run for Sting, so it probably wasn't the worst thing they could do. The Bret involvement was just dumb though, and of course he went nowhere with it.
ReplyDeleteAnd oh yeah, somehow I'd forgotten about the "I killed Juvi" thing being on this show too. That was some legitimately awesome stuff, and to this day I absolutely can't believe that WCW managed to fuck up an asset like Jericho (or Benoit/Malenko/Raven/etc.)
ReplyDeleteIndeed, and that Savage got one of the biggest pops of the night. Also that Hogan had been done to death and the fans were changing the channel, meaning it was time for something fresh.
ReplyDeleteHe tore his ligament during the first match.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure you understand. Savage
ReplyDeleteHad
A
Torn
Knee
Ligament.
I
ReplyDeleteunderstand
He
wrestled
here
so
why
not
at
a
PPV
instead?
He submitted both times.
ReplyDelete3 times actually. He worked with a torn ACL because either he's insane or WCW didn't believe in modern medicine.
ReplyDeleteAlso in typical WCW weirdness, Hogan didn't defend the title on PPV between winning it and dropping it to Goldberg. So I don't know if it was really a pressing thing that HAD to happen the next night.
ReplyDelete