This Week In The WCW
This Week In The WCW
WCW Monday Night Nitro - Monday, 03/17/97
- Ray Misterio, Jr. pinned Psychosis with a Hurricarana.
- Psychosis took a bad bump on the Hurricarana, hitting his head hard on the mat.
- During the match, they showed the announcing teams doing the Internet simulcast in Spanish and Japanese. Pedro Morales (the first WWF triple crown winner) and another guy were doing Spanish. Sonny Ono and Ultimate Dragon were doing Japanese. Ultimate Dragon was not wearing his mask so he covered his face with his hands when the camera was on him. He was wearing his gloves so presumably he'll be wrestling later.
- "Double A" Arn Anderson was interviewed by Gene Okerlund. Anderson said he was holding off on his neck surgery (5th, 6th, and 7th vertebrae are cracked and need to be fused) until the Horseman house was in order and now he feels it is. He related the story of his grandmother (who raised him) dying of cancer and holding on until Arn was a man and capable of taking care of his own family. On another subject, he said no one should have to go through what Kevin Sullivan is going through with his son Ben. He said if he'd known what Sullivan would be going through these last nine months, he might have handled things differently rather than kicking Sullivan in the ribs. Arn wants to wipe the slate clean with Sullivan and start anew. He also vowed, "You have not seen the last of Arn Anderson, I will be back!"
- "Diamond" Dallas Page pinned Maxx with a, Bang!, diamond cutter in a very quick match.
- In the post-match interview, Page said Savage was "born to be a chalk outline" and Savage was a "dead man walking".
- Savage and Liz appeared in the crowd with a wireless microphone and Savage ragged on Page while Liz stood there looking like a tough bimbo. Savage asked, "Should I fight him now or later?" Page interjected with "Now!" and started climbing the railings to get at Savage (it was actually pretty dangerous). He chased Savage off screen.
- "The Laughing Man" Hugh Morrus and Konan def. Renegade and "Desperado" Joe Gomez when Morrus pinned Gomez following a No Laughing Matter.
- During the match, Bischoff (hey, I thought he was suspended ;-) ), Hall, and Nash came out and Bischoff said Hall and Nash would put the tag titles on the line tonight. Yeah, probably to Robbie Brookside and Doc Dean.
- Zbyszko: "Why don't we take Hall and Nash to Greg Norman's house...maybe they'll fall down the steps".
- What is UP with referee Mark Curtis miming the moves of every match?
- Most of the match was spent with Morrus and Konan laying waste to Gomez' knee. Gomez made a desperation tag to Renegade who cleaned house for about 15 seconds and then tagged a basically unconcious Gomez back in. Morrus and Konan then made short work of Gomez. As a result, Gomez and Renegade had angry words after the match.
- Oh, no! Dissension between Renegade and Gomez!! Please, call your local crisis hotline before you do anything rash!
- "The Man of 1,000 Holds" Dean Malenko pinned Scotty "Glorified Jobber" Riggs with a rollup. Malenko retains the WCW U.S. Heavyweight Title.
- I'm curious about what Riggs did to earn a title shot.
- After the match, Malenko said he wants the Cruiserweight belt back, too.
- "The Total Package" Lex Luger and The Giant def. Knuckles Nelson and Tarantula when Giant pinned Nelson following a chokeslam.
- After the match, Luger racked Tarantula for good measure.
- Ultimate Dragon pinned "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton following a head scissors off the top turnbuckle in a very quick match.
- The nWo came out and did their usual thing. Hall and Nash announced they would fight the Steiners at Spring Stampede. As Scott Hall was delivering his final words, someone nailed him with a full cup of soda in the head and drenched him. He rubbed the soda threw his hair like it was Brylcream. What a hoot!
- Steve "Mongo" McMichael and Jeff Jarrett def. Mark Starr and "Das Blunderpinned" Alex Wright when Jarrett made Starr submit with the Figure-Four.
- Alex Wright must have been overjoyed with this booking.
- There were a few people in the crowd with Rodman nWo shirts. Who on earth would spend money on that?
- Schiavone announced that Page and Savage would be fighting a no-DQ match at Spring Stampede.
- After the match, Public Enemy came out with their trash can full of goodies and attacked McMichael and Jarrett. Debra whacked Johnny Grunge with the Haliburton.
- It was also announced McMichael and Jarrett would be facing Public Enemy at Sprint Stampede.
- You know, Debra isn't one to gossip, but in the post-match interview she said Johnny Grunge's girlfriend should be an artist because she is "so good at drawing flies".
- This was the first show in a long time that no one referred to Steve McMichael as "Steve McMichaels".
- 1-800-COLLECT report. Surprise, Lee Marshall is at another Nitro party! You know, even I would never have a Nitro party, much less invite Lee Marshall.
- Scott "Flash" Norton pinned Chavo Guerrero, Jr. after a powerbomb delivered lifting Guerrero over his head.
- Chavo looked like a little kid next to Norton. Norton tossed him around like a rag doll. It was practically like a Giant/Misterio match.
- Another promo with Hogan and Rodman. Time to get a soda.
- The Outsiders def. "Mean" Mike Enos and Bunkhouse Buck when Hall pinned Enos after an Outsider's Edge.
- "Crippler" Chris Benoit made Billy Kidman submit with the Crippler Crossface in a squash.
- During Benoit's post-match interview, Ric Flair came to the ring.
- Flair referred to Jeff Jarrett as "Double J". Uh oh, there's a WWF trademark infringement!
- Flair said Piper dropped the ball. Flair said maybe he should have just let Piper "go home". Flair said that when Anderson wakes up from surgery, he won't want to "go home", he'll want a Miller Lite!
- Harlem Heat and the (Ein)Steiner Brothers fought to a no contest when the nWo rushed the ring.
- Michael Buffer was there doing his "Let's get ready to rumble!" thing again. Great work, if you can get it.
- The nWo was laying waste to all four wrestlers, laying a specifically hard beating on Rick Steiner when Luger and the Giant came to the ring and cleaned house. Heenan said, "What a St. Patrick's party this is!"
- Then, when all the action was done, Sting dropped out of the sky just like last night and pointed his bat at Hogan. Like a scared little girl, Hogan kept saying "He pointed at me!"
- So, does anybody know what the deal was with Rick Steiner last night? Did the WCW team only agree to job if they were handcapped?
- As for the reason Sting still doesn't really do anything, I got an e-mail from a guy claiming Sting had plastic surgery on his face that got messed up and hasn't healed, thus Sting can't wrestle. Well, it's a goofy theory but the best explanation I've heard thus far!
- As for what you are not seeing, Josh Z. sent this in:
- "This isn't so much a brush with greatness as it is what happened at Nitro tonight and what happened at Uncensored last night. On Nitro, after Sting came down from the rafters and the nWo left the cameras went off. However, everybody stayed in the ring. Then sting pointed his bat at the crowd to get a reaction. After that, he pointed it at Luger. Lex then shakes hands with Sting, they hug, and the place goes "ape sh**". That means nuts. I talked to a guy who was at Uncensored Sunday and he said that Sting revived Luger then raised his hand and gave Luger a hug. I have no idea why they aren't showing this stuff on TV. [Editor's note: Sting and Luger are very good friends and business partners outside the ring. They own a gym together and can be seen together there frequently.]
WCW Uncensored '97 - Sunday, 03/16/97
- "The Man of 1,000 Holds" Dean Malenko pinned Eddie Guerrero after nailing him with Syxx's video camera. Dean Malenko is the new WCW U.S. Heavyweight Champion.
- Lots of people in the crowd tonight wearing Sting makeup, including one guy in the front row in the middle of the main camera angle all night long.
- Eddie got booed early on playing right into the coming heel turn. Malenko was fairly over with the crowd.
- Commotion in the locker room area! Outsiders and Syxx bent over a prone figure. At first, it looked like Buff Bagwell and another sneak attack against the nWo. Then Hall says, "Gee, the Steiners are having bad luck lately." It's Rick Steiner! Oh, the humanity!
- Eddie spent the match effectively working on Malenko's left knee.
- More clips of the locker room area and Rick Steiner is unconcious and is taken away in an ambulance.
- Wow, Eddie's definitely a bad guy now...he took his singlet top off!
- Malenko and Guerrero traded low blows.
- Malenko hit Guerrero with a Frog Splash and picked him up rather than pin him.
- Guerrero had Malenko in the Texas Cloverleaf and Syxx came to ringside to steal the U.S. Heavyweight Belt. That set up the finish.
- Piper was interviewed. He said Rodman wanted to try on his kilt. Only problem was, he wanted to try it on while Piper is in it. He also said Flair and Anderson were no-shows. Mongo, Mrs. Mongo, Jarrett and Benoit joined him. Piper tried to give the Four Horsemen salute and gave everyone watching on pay-per-view the finger.
- Ultimate Dragon pinned Psychosis after a Tiger Suplex after a Tornado DDT off the second rope.
- The match included Dragon moonsaulting off the apron onto the floor.
- Sonny Ono NAILED Psychosis outside the ring. Ono knows some martial arts.
- "Diamond" Dallas Page came out to challenge Savage (after Mean Gene hawking his hotline on the pay-per-view). Savage and Elizabeth came out. They showed Kimberly's centerfold with the good stuff blacked out with "nWo". Savage spilled that Kimberly is Page's wife. Page started going nuts. Then Kimberly comes out of the back crying, already having been spray painted (it was actually a very disturbing scene). Page sees her, runs to her and gets nailed by Savage. Savage starts spray painting Page and then says he's going to piledrive him. Kimberly, weeping, throws herself on top of Page. Savage continues the spray paint job on Kimberly. Elizabeth stops him and says "Let me do it" and continues the painting. Okerlund starts saying, "Somebody stop this! All these people standing around doing nothing!" Yeah, including you, Mean Gene.
- Glacier pinned Mortis following a cryonic kick delivered when Mortis was getting instructions from his manager during the match.
- Mortis had some interesting variations of existing maneuvers that I've never seen before.
- After the match, Mortis sucker kicked Glacier and another huge man wearing a full helmet came to the ring. He removed his helmet and it's...Adam Bomb! Also known as Bryan Clark. The two of them started beating up on Glacier (yay!). Adam Bomb gave Glacier a move that was basically a million dollar dream into a choke slam and knocked him out. Impressive and well deserved!
- Buff Bagwell defeated Scotty Riggs in a four-corners strap match. Bagwell had no trouble tagging the four corners after flipping Riggs out of the ring and Riggs cracking his back on the apron on the way out. Bagwell then choked Riggs out for a while. After that, it was all over.
- At one point, Bagwell gave the crowd an obscene gesture. The fist without the finger.
- In the middle of the match, Bagwell turned to the camera and said, and I quote, "I swear to God, I love myself more than anyone I know. It's amazing."
- A couple more low blows in this match. Who's booking all these low blows?
- Bagwell shoved referee Randy "Pee Wee" Anderson at one point. Pee Wee shoved him back and pushed him into the corner and read him the riot act. Bagwell begged for mercy saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!". As soon as Pee Wee turned away Bagwell turned and looked into the camera and smiled, winked, and said, "I'm not, really".
- Hearlem Heat def. Public Enemy when Booker T. pinned Rocco Rock after a Harlem Hangover in a Texas Tornado Match. The pinfall was set up by Mongo nailing Rocco Rock with the Haliburton.
- Things brought to the ring by Public Enemy that were used to hit opponents on the head were: A metal garbage can, a baking pan, an extension cord, a frying pan, and a toilet seat.
- After someone got hit with a baking pan, Heenan asked, "Who booked this match, Martha Stewart?" Rhodes said "No, Betty White!"
- At one point, the myriad of objects being used in the match had the announcers in legitimate hysterics such that they couldn't call the match.
- After one of the Harlem Heat was laid out, Dusty laughed and said, "They laid his old tired ass out! Oh, excuse me at home, everybody!"
- Johnny Grunge got busted open hardway big time around halfway through the match. Once that happened, Grunge was out of all close ups. Whenever focusing what he was doing, the producers only used the far away camera angle, just like when Steve Regal got busted open hardway on Nitro. The faraway camera angle cut down on the enjoyment.
- As we got close to the end, the crowd started chanting, "Table! Table!" and lo and behold, Public Enemy tabled Booker T.
- This match has my vote for Match of the Year for 1997 thus far.
- My girlfriend's comment after the match was, "It was better than Flair in a dress!" (For you youngsters, that's a reference to a pay-per-view a number of years ago where Flair Pearl Harbored somebody while wearing a dress to sneak up on them.)
- Luger, Giant, and Scott Steiner were interviewed. Luger was not wearing his cast. They did not answer the question of who Rick Steiner's replacement was going to be.
- Prince Iaukea pinned Ray Misterio, Jr. on a roll through of an attempted Hurricarana to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Television Championship.
- Misterio had his Spiderman boots on tonight.
- At one point they tried to dropkick each other and they scissored together. Never seen that before.
- The regulation 15 minutes had expired and Misterio asked for more time. Iaukea granted it and Iaukea wound up cleanly defeating Misterio in the overtime.
- "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan pinned "The Total Package" Lex Luger to win the three-way match for the nWo. The nWo can now challenge for any title, any time, anywhere the WCW has an event.
- When Michael Buffer announced the rules before the match, he added that one of the ways to get eliminated in addition to pinfall, submission, or knockout is to get thrown over the top rope onto the arena floor. That's lame! That was NEVER announced beforehand. For those of you expecting to see eleven pinfalls/submissions, like me, this is a definite rip off.
- I was VERY surprised to see the Giant as the first WCW team member. I expected him to be second-to-last, with the mystery man last.
- Giant, Hall, and Benoit first. Basically, Benoit and Hall took turns fighting the Giant for the first five minutes. Except for the first five seconds, Benoit and Hall didn't fight each other at all.
- Surprisingly enough, Hall broke up the Giant pinning Benoit after a choke slam.
- Toward the end of the first five minutes, the Giant charged Hall in the corner. Hall ducked and the Giant went over the top onto the floor and was the first man to be eliminated. That was a shocker!
- Jarrett, Savage, and Luger came out next.
- Before anyone else was eliminated, Mongo, Nash, and Steiner came out next.
- Kevin Nash clotheslined Jeff Jarrett over the top rope to eliminate Jarrett.
- Scott Hall reversed a piledriver to back body drop Mongo over the top rope to eliminate him.
- Piper came in.
- Scott Steiner was tossed over the top rope to be eliminated. I think Hall did it.
- Hogan and Rodman came out with Rodman carrying the heavyweight belt.
- Hogan took his time coming out and stayed outside the ring and didn't get involved. (Note, no fourth man for WCW ever came out. Mean Gene said he had details on his hotline about a superstar leaving WCW. It might be Rick Steiner.)
- Crowd started chanting "We want Sting!"
- Piper pulled a SECOND chain out of his tights to choke Hogan (he pulled another one out earlier).
- Hogan eliminated Piper over the top rope when Rodman pulled the top rope down such that Piper went over it.
- Hall and Nash tossed Benoit over the top to eliminate him after the Outsider's edge. Piper's team is eliminated! That means WCW or nWo must win. At this point, it's Luger against the entire nWo team.
- Luger mounted a comeback. Luger racked Savage and made him submit. Luger then threw Nash over the top rope on the floor to eliminate Nash. Luger racked Hall and made him submit. With Nash distracting the referee, Rodman handed Savage the can of spray paint. While Luger had Hogan in the rack, Savage ran back in the ring and sprayed paint in Luger's eyes. Hogan fell on top of Luger for the pinfall. The nWo wins!
- The nWo music started playing and they began making their way back to the dressing room. Just when you think the pay-per-view is over, Sting came rapelling down from the ceiling into the center of the ring. The first thing that happened once he landed is that someone in the crowd threw a full cup of soda at him and nailed him square in the side of the head. Much as I don't approve of fans throwing things into the ring, it was incredible aim. From what I've read, getting hit with a full cup of soda with ice really hurts.
- The nWo rushes back to the ring to attack Sting. (I'm not really sure why since, theoretically, at this point he is still with the nWo. Best I can figure is that the pay-per-view was running out of time and they had to move the angle along). Sting cracks Hall with the bat! He cracks Nash with the bat! He cracks Savage with the bat as Savage is coming off the top turnbuckle! He then Scorpion Death Drops all three of them in succession!
- Hogan won't come to the ring until Sting drops the bat. Sting drops the bat and Hogan comes in the ring. After a fifteen second battle, Sting Scorpion Death Drops Hogan! Yes!! With that, the pay-per-view abruptly ended.
- Interestingly enough, Piper's Team o' Jobbers did not even appear. I wonder if his "family" walked out on him due to their reduced role in the pay-per-view or WCW told them not to bother showing up. They weren't even mentioned.
WCW {Pro} Wrestling - Sunday, 03/16/97
- "Das Wunderkid" Alex Wright pinned Pat Tanaka following a missile dropkick off the top turnbuckle.
- Harlem Heat def. "Mean" Mike Enos and Bunkhouse Buck when Booker T. pinned Buck after a Harlem side kick delivered while Buck was being held by Stevie Ray.
- Much to my disappointment, Bunkhouse Buck did not knock down the cameraman on the way to the ring tonight.
- The camera showed eight very cute teenage girls dancing in the stands to Harlem Heat's music. Hey, now!
- Cruise mentioned that a strap match between "Buff" Bagwell and Scotty Riggs is on the card for Uncensored. That's the first I've heard of it.
- Ice Train pinned Maxx with the Train Wreck.
- Cruise claimed that tonight will be the first time that the WCW U.S. Heavyweight Title has been defended in a no-disqualification match. Somehow, I doubt that.
- It occurred to me that Syxx's separated shoulder has really put the fire out on what was a very hot cruiserweight division. Due to his legit injury, no one is even talking about the cruiserweight title, which has been SO hot for the last nine months. You would think that Sean Waltman (Syxx) would realize the damage this is doing and offer to give up the title, even though he was probably promised it in his contract.
- "Hard Work" Bobby Walker and Jim "Juice" Powers def. The Renegade and "Desperado" Joe Gomez when Walker pinned Renegade with a combination flying body press and head butt from the top turnbuckle when Renegade didn't realize Walker had been tagged in.
- Boy, Renegade is doing a great job as "The Man Who Will Take Hulkamania Into The 21st Century", isn't he? Key word being "job", that is.
- The Steiner Brothers and The Faces of Fear wrestled to a double-countout, all the way back to the dressing room.
WCW Saturday Night - Saturday, 03/15/97
- Eddie Guerrero pinned Sgt. Craig "Pit Bull" Pittman with a German suplex and a roll up using the ropes for leverage.
- Eddie is definitely going to make a heel turn at Uncensored (imho). He wrestled as a heel, made a heel pin, and did an angry heel interview after the match. (Of course, it wasn't really after the match, it was at the locker room set in the CNN Tower, but you get the idea.)
- High Voltage def. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and Billy Kidman when Kaos pinned Guerrero after Rage gave Guerrero a sidewalk slam accentuated by an elbow drop from Kaos off the top rope.
- "Lionheart" Chris Jericho pinned Mark Starr following a missile dropkick from the top turnbuckle.
- Dusty noted that Mark Starr needs a nickname. I've got a few ideas, but I don't think Mark would like them. ;-)
- "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton def. "The Man of 1,000 Holds" Dean Malenko via DQ when Malenko wouldn't release a chokehold on Eaton.
- When Malenko dropkicked Eaton in the back, Dusty said Malenko did it as an insult. Schiavone countered by saying it was good strategy because your opponent wouldn't expect it. Dusty said, and I quote, "Of course you don't expect it unless you got an eyeball stickin' in the back of your noggin!" That's Dusty-bonics for you!
- Prince Iaukea pinned Juventud Guerrera rolling through an attempted Hurricarana to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Television Title.
- Dusty commented that Iaukea missed a particular move because "He took too long pulling his drawers up". Boy, I hope they don't start teaching the way Dusty talks in the schools in Oakland.
- Road Block pinned Rick Fuller following a Dead End Drop.
- At one point, Road Block flipped in mid air and splashed Fuller. Yikes!
- Jeff Jarrett made J.L. submit with a figure-four leglock. Or, as Dusty called it, a "figure-four legdrop". Dusty must have shown up drunk.
- Sullivan, Jacqueline, and Jimmy Hart were interviewed by Lee Marshall. But wait! Lee Marshall has another videotape to show Sullivan. Only, this time it's not Benoit and Woman. It's Ben Sullivan, Kevin's son (looks to be about 20 years old). He says that when Grandma died, she said Kevin's being bad was not his own fault. Ben said it was. Oh, the humanity! Kevin, Jacqueline, and Hart stormed off.
- "The Laughing Man" Hugh Morrus pinned Villano IV following the No Laughing Matter.
- Konan pinned Tony Carr following the 187.
- Public Enemy def. Bunkhouse Buck and "Mean" Mike Enos when Rocco Rock pinned Buck after a flip off the top rope onto Buck who was laid out on a table in the center of the ring.
- Just like last week, Buck knocked down the cameraman on the way to the ring.
- Just like last week, Public Enemy used a table in the center of the ring to get the pin and were not disqualified.
- Harlem Heat def. Renegade and "Desperado" Joe Gomez via DQ when Public Enemy jumped into the ring and started wailing on Harlem Heat.