Monday
Nitro #152
Date:
August 31, 1998
Location:
Miami Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance:
12,481
Commentators:
Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
We're
still getting ready for WarGames and even though Team WCW looked to
be in place last Monday, DDP suggested that Piper wasn't officially a
part of the team this past week on Thunder. Other than that we get
to find out more about the Warrior's Revolution, which is likely to
get very stupid in a hurry. Let's get to it.
Here
are Hogan and Bischoff to get us going. Bischoff thanks the fans for
their money tonight before talking about the pen being powerful.
Because of the pen, Eddie Guerrero has to wrestle tonight and
Ultimate Warrior won't be in the ring. Hogan talks about how
WarGames will be proof of the NWO's power and adds Stevie Ray to the
team along with himself and Bret. You have Giant on your side and
you pick Stevie Ray? The fans chant for Goldberg as Hogan moves on
to Warrior. He'll get his revenge after eight years and then take
the title back from Goldberg.
Actually
Hogan doesn't even want to wait for Warrior so get out here right
now. The lights go out and Warrior appears to some middle of the
road rock music before a song that sounds very similar to Warrior's
WWF theme. Hogan says the fire represents the fear in Warrior's eyes
because the NWO is at ringside. The lights go out again and the ring
fills up with smoke. They come back on and Warrior is gone, leaving
the NWO confused. We get the Warrior Symbol in the sky before going
to the opening sequence.
Hogan/Hart
vs. Sting/Luger tonight.
We
get a video of Goldberg at the Florida Marlins' stadium and hanging
out with Mark McGwire. For those of you unfamiliar, McGwire was
chasing the single season home run record in 1998 and was quite
possibly the biggest thing in America at that point.
Wrath
vs. Jim Powers
Wrath
chops away in the corner and shrugs off forearms from Powers.
Powerful shots to the chest have Jim in trouble and choking ensues.
Jim comes back with some right hands in the corner with the fans
trying to count along but Wrath keeps shoving him off to restart the
count. An atomic drop by Wrath seems to blow out Powers' knee so
it's the Meltdown for the pin.
Rating:
D+. Wrath looked good out there
as he ran over Powers like he wasn't even there. The Meltdown is a
good move for a guy that strong with the snap looking very
impressive. This was Powers' last match in WCW and I don't think
anyone missed him. Shame to go out with a knee injury like that if
it was legit.
Nitro
Girls at the announcers' desk.
Okerlund
and some Nitro Girls are at the Nitro Party grand prize winner in
Ohio.
Norman
Smiley vs. Scott Norton
Norton
immediately headbutts him into the corner. A series of chops set up
a powerslam for two as Norton pulls him up. He does the same off the
shoulder breaker before powerbombing Norman in half for the pin.
The
lights go out after the match and the Warrior is seen in the rafters.
Saturn
carries Lodi's bags into the arena due to losing a match on Thunder.
The servitude lasts until Fall Brawl. Saturn says he has to do this
because he lives by a code of honor as a former Army ranger.
Here's
the Wolfpack, again minus Sting, with something to say. Nash and
Konnan do their catchphrases before Luger, with a goatee, says Sting
is on his way to the arena for their tag match tonight. Nash says
that unlike the Black and White, they have no leader. He announces
the Wolfpack's team for WarGames and to no surprise, it's Sting,
Luger and Nash.
That
brings Nash to last week when DDP and Page got involved in Wolfpack
business. Page has until next week to make a decision and Piper will
be dealt with if he gets involved again. Nash also tells a story
about a warrior sitting under a tree and waking up to see himself
surrounded by wolves. The warrior tried to touch one of them and was
eaten. The moral: if you don't run with the pack, you're being
hunted. Not bad actually.
After
a break, JJ Dillon is in the ring and asks Arn Anderson to come out
for an off the record talk. Arn comes out to a WE WANT FLAIR chant
as JJ talks about having to disassociate himself with the Horsemen
when he joined the executive committee. However the other night he
was watching an old tape and wants us to look at it.
We
see an old promo of Arn Anderson talking about all the talent coming
into the Mid-Atlantic area. Lots of people have wanted to come here
and it's been because of Gene and Ole Anderson. Well now the
greatest Anderson of all time is here. He's looking for guys like
Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat and Magnum TA because he does it better
than anyone else. That was probably from 1984.
Back
live JJ talks about watching that promo many years ago and seeing
something in Anderson. Arn became the heart and soul of the
Horsemen. Over the years, JJ knew that WCW would be ok as long as
the Horsemen were alive. However he's seen the NWO factions take
away a piece of the Horsemen at a time. Then he saw Chris Benoit and
Steve McMichael ask Arn to restart the team, only to be told they
don't get it. Well JJ thinks Arn doesn't get it and here are Mongo
and Benoit to back him up.
They
talk to Arn without microhones but Arn is shaking his head no. The
fans chant WE WANT FLAIR as Arn starts to levae. JJ stops him and
Arn is looking confused. JJ asks where Anderson is going and Arn
asks why they're doing this to him. Dillon never thought he would
say this but he thinks Arn is afraid of all this. Anderson leaves to
end this awesome segment. There's something special here but since
it's WCW I'm just waiting for them to screw it up.
Hour
#2 begins.
The
announcers talk about what we just saw and Tony talks about Bischoff
holding the Horsemen down. This transitions into a discussion of
Eddie Guerrero asking to be released.
We
look at Guerrero saying he wanted out of his contract and throwing
coffee on himself. Bischoff is holding Eddie to his contract though.
Eddie
Guerrero vs. Brian Adams
Before
the match we get the Warrior signal again and Warrior is seen in the
rafters. Eddie lounges on the top rope before the bell and then lays
down on the mat. Adams won't cover so Eddie gets on his knees and
asks Adams to hit him. Brian towers over him even when Eddie is on
his feet. Adams pulls back to hit him a few times but then throws
him into the corner for some right hands. Guerrero isn't fighting
back at all. A hiptoss puts Eddie down and he lays there to be
pinned. Adams puts his foot on Eddie's chest for the easy pin.
Storyline advancement.
Post
match Eddie says Bischoff may have the power but he's not going to be
able to sue Eddie like he has other people.
We
look at Ernest Miller turning heel on Thunder.
The
Cat vs. Riggs
Riggs
takes him into the corner to start and grabs a headlock before
cranking on the arm. A dropkick, the only move Riggs is good at,
sends Cat to the floor followed by a plancha. Back in and Cat pokes
him in the eye and superkicks Riggs down. A big kick to the face
puts Riggs down again and Cat talks a lot of trash. Two straight
running spin kicks are enough to pin Riggs in a short match.
Post
match Miller grabs the mic and says not to hate him because he's
beautiful. He's the best wrestler and a three time world karate
champion. No one can stop him, including all of the fans. Moving
on.
Nitro
Girls and it's back to the Nitro Party.
Konnan
vs. Marty Jannetty
Konnan
takes him down to start and hits the rolling clothesline before
pulling on his pants a lot. The low dropkick sets up a rolling
armbar which isn't broken even when Marty is in the ropes. Back up
and Jannetty superkicks Konnan to take over but doesn't immediately
follow up. A jumping back elbow gets two and Marty stalls some more.
Marty
puts on a chinlock and Russian legsweeps Konnan down for no cover.
Jannetty stomps away and walks around a bit before putting on another
chinlock. After that eats up some time, a clothesline gets two on
Konnan. A neck snap across the top rope and a top rope cross body
get the same and Marty is mad. Back up and Konnan grabs a quick
X-Factor and the Tequila Sunrise is good for the submission out of
nowhere.
Rating:
C. Better match than you would
have expected here, even though it needed to be about a minute
shorter. Marty could still put on a decent match when he had the
time and that's what he got here. Konnan barely had any offense
until the ending which is a WCW tradition that I'm getting tired of.
Here's
the Flock. Lodi makes Saturn carry a sign (“I'm With Lodi”) and
they're flanked by Kanyon and Raven. Before the match, Raven says
Saturn isn't allowed to touch himself or Kanyon tonight before
telling Kanyon to break Saturn. Kanyon makes fun of Saturn's
military background and dares Saturn to hit him but Saturn stands him
ground. Saturn doesn't do it and is disgusted with himself.
Lodi/Saturn
vs. High Voltage
Robbie
starts with Lodi and the sign guy is easily shoved down. Saturn
tells him to do something so Lodi bounces off of Rage. Now it's
Saturn's turn but he's clotheslined down as well. He'll have none of
that though and suplexes Rage down. Lodi immediately wants in but
sees Kaos, sending Lodi right back to the corner for the tag to
Saturn. Kaos gets kicked in the corner but a blind tag brings in
Rage for an overhead belly to belly suplex. Back to Kaos for a hard
clothesline but Saturn fights off both guys in lime green. The Death
Valley Driver puts Rage down and Lodi tags himself in and steals the
pin.
Rating:
D+. This was angle advancement
and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not wild on Kanyon joining
the Flock but it's nice to go somewhere in this story instead of just
doing the same stuff over and over again. Lodi is entertaining too
so having him on TV is another good thing.
Here's
DDP to open the third hour. He brags about Tom's River, New Jersey
winning the Little League World Series as a team. They took
everyone's talent and put them together into a team, just like Piper,
Warrior and himself will do at Fall Brawl. They'll
take care of the NWO and Hollywood Scum Hogan in particular. Page
brings out Piper who goes on a rant about Bret being a rookie and
claiming to be Piper's cousin.
Roddy
says he has no family and rambles about Bret facing some guy named
John in Toronto. Bret followed him around like a little puppy for
years before becoming a Triple Crown Champion in the WWF. Hogan is
conning Bret for everything he's got and Bret is just as scared as he
was before that match in Toronto. This brings out Giant but Page
pounds away on him. Giant knocks both WCW guys down and chokes Page
until security breaks it up. I still don't get why Giant isn't in
WarGames.
Here's
Scott Steiner with his doctor. Steiner
brags about his prowess with the ladies but is annoyed that JJ won't
believe him about the injuries. Apparently Steiner's doctor has
brought in another doctor named Juju Youbangee, which is Buff Bagwell
dressed like a Jamacian. Buff's accent comes and goes before he
throws some powder on Scott. The fans think this is bull as Buff
declares Steiner healed. Scott says he loves the voodoo that he do
and promises to beat Rick up at Fall Brawl. Rick comes in from
behind and clears the ring. Warrior and his signal pop up again to
close the segment. This was so bizarre it was entertaining.
Cruiserweight
Title: Juventud Guerrera vs. Evan Karagias
Juvy
is defending. Feeling out process to start with a shoulder block
sending Evan to the mat. The fans are paying attention to something
off camera as Evan gorilla presses Juvy throat first onto the top
rope. Juvy comes back with a springboard dropkick and some chops but
charges into a powerslam for two. Now the fans are looking at
something else as, Evan dropkicks him to the floor. Back
in and Evan hooks a chinlock as the fans get distracted for the third
time.
Juvy
sends him to the floor to escape and comes back in with a guillotine
legdrop but hurts his own back in the process. Evan
is up at two and avoids a charge in the corner to put Juvy down
again. Karagias goes after the knee as the fans chant Goldberg.
Heenan yells at Evan for letting go of a half crab, allowing Juvy to
put on a chinlock. The fans are AGAIN looking at something else and
chanting what sounds like “take it off!”.
Evan
slams Juvy down and goes up but gets crotched, allowing Juvy to hit a
top rope hurricanrana. Now it's Juvy getting crotched as the fans
are booing something other than the match. Evan hits a top rope
hurricanrana of his own for two but misses a top rope Lionsault.
Guerrera hits the Juvy Driver to finally retain.
Rating:
B-. I feel sorry for these guys
as they were having a very good match and the fans were looking at
about five other things instead. Karagias looked good out there and
hung with Juvy every step of the way. Juvy continues to be as good
of a high flier not named Mysterio as there is in the company.
Nitro
Girls/Nitro Party. Jim Duggan is there too.
TV
Title: Chris Jericho vs. Disco Inferno
Jericho
is defending. Disco now has
a sweatband. Chris runs him over with a shoulder and does a little
shuffle. Disco comes right back with a clothesline and sends Jericho
into the corner for some stomping. Tony calls a slam a tilt-a-whirl
slam for no apparent reason but Jericho avoids a fist drop.
The
Lionsault hits knees and an atomic drop sends Chris face first into
the corner. A clothesline and spinebuster get two each and Heenan is
impressed with Jericho. Jericho comes back with a German suplex but
walks into the Chartbuster for two as Jericho gets his foot on the
ropes. Disco charges again but gets caught in the Liontamer for the
win.
Rating:
C. Much better match than I was
expecting here with Disco using his basic offense very well. Jericho
continues to be one of the most awesome things on the roster but for
whatever political reasons, he's stuck fighting guys in the lower
card and stealing the show every time.
Kevin
Nash sits in on commentary for the next match.
WCW
World Title: Goldberg vs. Al Green
Nash
mentions that Green was his original partner in WCW, which was in a
tag team called the Master Blasters. He also wouldn't mind a shot at
the world title. Green looks like a bald Scott Norton and jumps
Goldberg to start. The choking and forearms have almost no effect as
Goldberg drives him down to the mat. A backdrop and slam put Green
down and he bails to the floor as Goldberg loads up the spear. Smart
guy. Goldberg sends him into the post and back inside it's the two
moves to retain the title.
Hollywood
Hogan/Bret Hart vs. Sting/Lex Luger
Bret
and Luger get things going with the American grabbing a headlock.
Bret comes back with right hands and choking in the corner but Luge
rams him into the buckle to take over. A tag brings in Sting and
Bret immediately runs to Hogan for a tag. Hogan
fires off right hands but Sting shrugs them off and sends Hollywood
into the buckle before tagging Luger back in. Choking puts Lex down
in the corner and it's back to Bret for some Canadian choking. We
even get an eye rake across the ropes for good measure.
Hogan
holds Luger in the corner so Bret can choke even more before choking
from the apron. You may be noticing a pattern in the offense here.
The heels keep switching without tagging like good villains are
supposed to do. Bret hooks a chinlock but gets suplexed down to give
Luger a breath.
No
hot tag yet though as Hart makes a save, only to have a double
clothesline put both guys down again. Now we get the tag to Sting
who cleans house on Hogan, only to have Disciple shove Hogan away
from the Stinger Splash. Hogan starts whipping Sting with the
weightlifting belt but Bret pulls it away. Hart leaves but Hogan
goes after him for an argument in the aisle, leading to a countout.
Rating:
C-. The match was nothing
special but we get yet another twist in the storyline. It's nice for
Bret to FINALLY have something going on, even though it's rather
confusing. I'm not buying into the NWO tension because it's happened
roughly 847 times now in the last two years but never leads anywhere.
Bret
and Hogan shove each other in the ring as some smoke starts. It's
too early apparently as it cuts off, only to start up a few moments
later. The lights go out as more smoke comes into the ring. They
come back on and everyone is out cold with Warrior in the ring. So
it's sleeping gas, which doesn't work on Warrior for some reason? Or
Hogan apparently as he runs to the back to end the show.
Overall
Rating: C. This wasn't the
worst show ever, but Warrior vs. Hogan is shaping up to be the
stupidest feud in a long time. But hey, Hogan's ego can be repaired
so who cares if he stops WCW from being the top company in wrestling
again? I'd love to hear some of the creative meetings. “So you
see, Warrior has this Bat Signal and sleeping gas that doesn't work
on him and Hogan and then Hogan beats him in the blowoff match using
the powers of Hollywood-A-Mania. Great idea right?” As usual the
midcard helps bring the show through, but the main event guys drag it
right back down.
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Haha, Al Green got a title match?
ReplyDeleteHave you sold any of your reviews?
ReplyDeleteQuite a few of the e-books actually.
ReplyDeleteYes, he did. It was a running joke from this show until his final appearance in WCW as "former #1 contender to the WCW World title."
ReplyDeleteHogan/Hart vs. Sting/Luger tonight.
ReplyDeleteRemember this company went out of business 2 and a half years later!
Count me in as another person astonished that Al Green got a World Title match but Chris Jericho didn't. Okay, so maybe that going out of business thing makes more sense now.
Well in their defense, Green was just used as another Giant Jobber to feed The Streak, so it's not like it was the result of a push. Not to defend Goldberg's ass-hattery in refusing the Jericho match (which was all political bullshit and people talking into his ear), of course, but it's a different thing.
ReplyDeleteI don't think even the biggest Chris Jericho mark in the world ever made the case for Jericho to actually win the title! Goldberg was red hot and absolutely should have went over if they ever met. Which could have been at any random Nitro in the fall of 98.
ReplyDeleteI remember a Jericho interview where he said he was lobbying to get squashed by Goldberg. I still don't see why that was such a huge negative in the company's eyes.
ReplyDeleteI'm not buying into the NWO tension because it's happened roughly 847 times now in the last two years but never leads anywhere.
ReplyDeleteUh, the last time it led to the formation of the wolfpac.
Well yeah, nobody was arguing THAT. But Goldberg refusing to even squash/beat Jericho because he felt the angle was embarrassing to him or something was stupid.
ReplyDeleteEgads don't remind me.
ReplyDelete