Monday
Nitro #156
Date:
September 28, 1998
Location:
Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Attendance:
10,523
Commentators:
Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
We're
four weeks away from Halloween Havoc and things aren't exactly
looking up. The big news is Disciple joining Warrior to close out
last week. I'm not exactly sure why that's big news but Tony
Schiavone said it was a huge moment in our sport and Tony would never
lie to me. Let's get to it.
The
opening video talks recaps Warrior vs. Hogan and the One Warrior
Nation revolution, whatever that was supposed to be.
Announcers
and Nitro Girls open things up.
Here's
the NWO for their first interview of the night. Eric thanks the fans
for all the money they've handed to him tonight. Hogan thanks them
for laying on the ground so he wouldn't have to touch the streets
here in Rochester. He brags about making wrestling what it is today
and greatly increasing revenue in towns like this.
Hogan
made all the “good guys” think they were great but they really
couldn't hang with Hollywood. I'm not sure if he was referring to
his friend of the month back in WWF or guys who weren't all that
talented. He'll prove that again at Halloween Havoc when he beats
the Warrior into the ground and moves a step closer to getting the
title back around his waist.
He
went out to “the hood” and all of his friends said he should
slaughter all of the lambs he lead to slaughter (his words) so
tonight he's starting with Sting and Bret Hart. Hogan's voice is
cracking as he talks here and keeps referring to the Black and White
as the Wood. You can even call him Woody because he's just too
sweet. Larry: “Did he say the boys in the hood think he's Ed
Wood?”
Opening
sequence.
La
Parka vs. Super Calo
La
Parka has a sombrero this week. Calo blasts him in the head during
the dance but La Parka comes back with what looked to be a low blow
for two. The dancer is sent face first into the middle buckle and
Calo hits a nice middle rope hurricanrana. A running charge misses
and La Parka's shoulder hits the post, setting up a BIG dive from the
top to the floor by Calo.
Back
in and La Parka quickly puts him in the Tree of Woe for a running
spinwheel kick to the ribs. Calo gets his boots up to catch La Parka
coming off the top but is almost immediately kicked to the floor. He
pops back onto the apron and pulls La Parka off the top and drapes it
on the top rope. Another hurricanrana gets two on La Parka but he
comes back with an Alabama Slam and a corkscrew off the top for the
pin.
Rating:
C-. Not bad here and another
example of the incredibly deep cruiserweight roster the company had.
Super Calo hadn't been seen in months but came back and had a nice
match here. It's nice to be able to hold back on the big names for
once and let the other guys get the spotlight.
Calo
blasts La Parka with the chair.
Here's
Bret Hart with something to say. He
takes up Hogan on his challenge tonight and promises to have people
watching his back to make sure it's one on one. He'll
make Hogan a zero if the fans give him one more chance to be a hero.
The fans really dug the speech.
Disciple
vs. Sick Boy
No
sunglasses for Disciple here and he comes out to the NWO music though
he's wearing an OWN vest. Sick Boy jumps him to start but Disciple
no sells a suplex and chokes away. This time it's Sick Boy no
selling a gutwrench suplex but Disciple immediately no sells a
neckbreaker and hits a big boot “to the face” (clearly missed)
and the Apocalypse is good for the pin. I wonder how many people
knew that was Brutus Beefcake. The only direct reference to it was a
one off line from Warrior calling him a barber and he looked so
different that it might not have been clear.
The
announcers hype Hogan vs. Hart tonight.
We
recap the battle of the Steiners and Scott and Buff faking all those
injuries. Their match at
Halloween Havoc will be No DQ.
Jericho
has challenged Goldberg for a World Title shot tonight.
Nitro
Party.
Nitro
Girls. The song instructs
the fans to say HO.
Lenny
Lane/Nick Dinsmore vs. Scott Steiner
Steiner
talks some trash about his brother before the match. Lane is quickly
sent to the floor and Dinsmore gets tossed around with ease.
Steiner's dinner changes places and Lane is put in the Tree of Woe.
Dinsmore is tossed into the steps and Bagwell gets in some cheap
shots of his own. Scott suplexes Nick onto Lenny and a double
Steiner Recliner is good for the win.
Scott
feigns an injury post match and is walked to the back by a trainer.
Hour
#2 begins.
The
lights go out and we get Warrior Speak over the announce system.
Warrior says he and his fans have a message for Hogan: ever since
Warrior returned, Hogan has only shown him a pittance of what he used
to be. Warrior won't make himself less than what he is until Hogan
becomes what he needs to be. That's the most coherent he's been in
years.
Here's
Buff to talk about Steiner's injury earlier. Scott
is on his way to the ambulance but Gene doesn't buy it. The evil
laughter cuts them off and Buff wants to know where it's coming from.
Back on subject, Buff doesn't know if Scott will be ready for
Halloween Havoc or not.
The
Cat vs. Psychosis
Miller
does his five seconds schtick but Psychosis doesn't understand. This
ticks Miller off so he kicks the masked man in the face. Psychosis
comes back with some kicks of his own and sends Cat to the floor.
Back in and a missile dropkick puts Cat down for two and it's off to
a figure four neck lock. Miller blocks a spinwheel kick into a slam
but walks into a slam of his own. The guillotine legdrop misses
though and Miller's Feliner hits the shoulder for the pin.
Rating:
D. Some of Miller's kicks
looked good and that's about all there was to see. Psychosis wasn't
bad but he needed something better than Miller to work with. At
least it's better than having another battle of the karate guys.
Hopefully the accuracy of the kicks get better as the night goes on.
Alex
Wright insults the crowd and the British Bulldog. Who thought we
needed to build to that match?
Disco
Inferno vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Feeling
out process to start until Disco takes over with a hiptoss but stops
to nearly break Pepe the stick horse in half. Chavo goes NUTS and
takes over with right hands before throwing Inferno to the floor.
Back in and an atomic drop and clothesline get two on Disco but he
slams Chavo down. A dancing middle rope elbow gets a two count and
Chavo makes his comeback, only to have Disco jab him in the throat
with Pepe for the pin.
Rating:
D+. This was more of a story
than a match with Disco proving that he can hang with the
cruiserweights but not being legally allowed to compete in their
division. Chavo has toned down the insanity in recent weeks and is
becoming a more well rounded wrestler as a result.
Juvy
comes out to yell at Disco and gets a piledriver for his efforts.
Cool
Horsemen video.
Here
are the Horsemen for their awesome promo of the week. Before
they can start we've got Bischoff, Stevie Ray and Doug Dillinger to
interrupt. Flair kneels down and bows to “god” but cops snap him
back to seriousness. Apparently Stevie is claiming felonious assault
against the Horsemen for attacking him on Thunder. Dillinger is
getting thrown out as well for allowing it to happen. Bischoff
rips on Flair for missing the taping six months ago for his son's
wrestling tournament and mocks southern people. This would be the
second time that Bischoff has made the Horsemen look weak while he
gets to stand tall.
Video
on Goldberg vs. Page.
WCW
World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Goldberg
Jericho
has a shirt saying “Jericho – 1, Goldberg – 0.” Chris does
the long walk from the back and calls this a match for the WCW World
Television Unified Championship.” Goldberg comes through the
entrance with the Mini-Goldberg on his shoulder. Jericho's security
takes the spear and the one that isn't Ralphus gets the Jackhammer as
Jericho runs.
Here's
DDP for his regular chat. Page says he's an incredibly competitive
wrestler but he isn't getting in the ring with someone he hates.
It's not Savage or HOLLYWOOD SCUM HOGAN but rather about good
competition. He's getting jacked, the Horsemen are back and he'll be
for real at Havoc.
Scott
Hall vs. Billy Kidman
Hall
actually looks sober here. The
toothpick toss cracks him up but Kidman won't back down. Hall takes
Kidman into the corner for some loud chops but goes for a drink,
allowing Kidman to get a quick rollup for two. A sunset flip gets
the same but Hall jacks Kidman's jaw to take over again. Vincent
still won't let him have a drink so Hall stomps away in the corner.
We
hit the abdominal stretch as Kidman is getting crushed. Billy tries
to speed things up but walks into a chokeslam followed by mocking the
Giant. Why Hall would mock his World Tag Team Championship partner
is beyond me. Hall goes to the floor for a drink but Kidman takes
out Vincent and gets in some shots on Scott. A missile dropkick and
high cross body are good for two. Kidman
counters an Outsider's Edge attempt but the second attempt is enough
for the pin.
Rating:
D+. This was a glorified squash
and I'm sure there was no other cruiserweight except for the
champion. Kidman got in a few shots and the fans were into him but
cruiserweights aren't allowed to be competitive outside their weight
class in this company for reasons that I've never been able to
fathom.
Hour
#3.
British
Bulldog vs. Alex Wright
At
least it's not on PPV. Before
the match Bulldog says suck it in German. Bulldog
shoves him against the ropes before they trade hammerlocks.
Apparently Hall has been celebrating a lot in the back and Tony lets
us figure out the details for ourselves. Bulldog puts on a surfboard
and bends him back for a two count but Wright pounds on Smith's chest
to take over. A slingshot splash gets two for Alex but Smith comes
back with right hands in the corner. The powerslam takes Wright down
but the referee got bumped. Another
referee comes down as Alex hits the German suplex and it's the old
double pin ending.
Rating:
D+.......seriously? With
everything WCW has going on right now they pick this to continue? It
wasn't a terrible match or anything and Wright could use more TV time
but I see no reason for them to fight again. Bulldog wasn't long for
the company due to his back injury flaring up but he didn't look bad
here.
Nitro
Girls with the very cute Spice getting a solo.
Video
on Kevin Nash.
Brian
Adams vs. Kevin Nash
Some
kid jumps the rail and runs up the aisle at Nash who seems oblivious
to him. Feeling out process
to start until Adams takes over with a nice middle rope clothesline.
Nash is knocked to the floor but he sends Adams into the steps to
take over again. Back in and Kevin hits the big boot and loads up
the Jackknife but Stevie Ray comes in with the slap jack for the DQ.
Hall
comes down with a cup but pours it out to pound on Nash. Luger and
Konnan make the save.
Lex
Luger/Konnan vs. Hugh Morrus/Barry Darsow
As
we come back we see the exact same section of the crowd for the
fourth time tonight. You can see the same Hulk Hogan Wrestling Buddy
and a few signs that have been on camera multiple times earlier.
Konnan and Luger do a full entrance despite being in the ring just
four minutes ago. The
Wolfpack take turns pounding on Darsow to start but it's quickly off
to Morrus who misses a running splash in the corner. The rolling
lariat sets up Konnan's low dropkick but Barry breaks up the Tequila
Sunrise. A bad looking X Factor puts Darsow down and it's back to
Luger for a quick Rack and the submission.
Nitro
Girls.
Hollywood
Hogan vs. Bret Hart
Bret
comes to the ring with no music and a slight limp. Feeling out
process to start with Hogan actually scoring with a takedown but Bret
easily takes over on the mat. Hollywood takes over again with a
cross armbreaker of all things but Bret is too close to the ropes.
Bret avoids three straight elbow drops and they head to the floor
with Hogan going shoulder first into the post.
Back
in and Bret is pulled to the floor again and the knee is in trouble.
Hogan drapes it over the barricade and bends it around the post
before putting on a spinning toehold. This brings out Sting to pull
Hogan off as the Wolfpack comes out to help Hart. Bret shouts at
Hogan to take on Sting and you can see the swerve from here.
Rating:
D+. This should have headlined
Starrcade and instead it's a five minute match that is pretty clearly
setting up a screwjob to close the show. Nothing to the match of
course but seeing Hogan trying technical stuff is always bizarre.
One thing though: assuming Hart is with Hollywood, why would Hogan do
that much damage to the knee?
Hollywood
Hogan vs. Sting
They
slug it out to start as Bret is being taken out on a stretcher. A
belly to back puts Sting down for two and Bret is nearly in an
ambulance. Two medics jump Konnan and Luger before unhooking Bret.
It's Bagwell and Scott Steiner pounding on the Wolfpack as Bret limps
back to the ring. Back in the arena Sting avoids the legdrop and
hits the Splash but Bret comes in to DDT Sting to block the Deathlock
for the DQ. Tony is of course in shock that someone would pull a
swerve in WCW.
Bret
puts Sting in the Sharpshooter with the knee looking fine. The NWO
does a number on Sting's leg until Konnan comes out and can't do
anything. Luger gets down there and pulls Sting to safety. The
lights go out to end the show.
Overall
Rating: D. This is a difficult
one to grade. For one thing they kept the Warrior stuff confined to
the earlier part of the show and we didn't have any smoke hijinks
tonight. On the other hand though, none of the matches were anything
special and the swerve into a heel turn is just dead anymore.
Actually Hart didn't so much turn here as much as he dropped the
charade with Sting. Either way, there's nothing to see here and I
dread the eventual burial of the Horsemen to make Bischoff look good
more and more every week.
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
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