This Week In The WCW
This Week In The WCW
WCW Monday Night Nitro - Monday, 05/12/97
- Michael Buffer asks, "Are you rrrrready to rumble???!!!"
- Savage comes to the ring without crutches. He challenges DDP to come to the ring now that DDP is now crutches.
- Schiavone announces the Bischoff has said that Sting has called him and that Sting and Bischoff will do a one-on-one interview tonight.
- Ultimo Dragon made Juventud Guerrera submit with the Dragon Sleeper to retain the WCW World Television Championship.
- "Lord" Steven Regal comes on in an inset saying he is going to take care of Ultimo Dragon at Slamboree. He's going to go back to his roots when he was beating up men twice his age, Sunshine!
- Ultimo Dragon is getting a pot belly.
- Heenan: "What a great cheap shot that was!"
- Wrestlers "tapping out" to submit is definitely the hot thing in wrestling now. They are trying to become more like the UFC.
- Okerlund interviewed Flair, Piper, and Greene. An interview that wasn't going anywhere (go figure, with Okerlund) was mercifully interrupted by the Outsiders and Syxx on the big screen. End result, the Slamboree main event will be no countout, no DQ. As Kevin Nash said: "someone's gonna get beat, right in the middle of the ring".
- Again, Okerlund referred to Flair as the 13-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. What a buffoon!
- Greene got practically no pop during his monologue.
- WCW is now using a big screen in the arena. Hmmm, just like the WWF.
- "The Man of 1,000 Holds" Dean Malenko pinned Steve "Mongo" McMichael with a rollover after Reggie White gave Mongo a big splash after referee Mark Curtis took a bump.
- Hmm, a master wrestler vs. a guy who couldn't wrestle his way out of a paper bag. Yeah, that's good booking. Too bad that Nitro is furthering storylines for the pay-per-view rather than showing wrestling.
- Okerlund interviewed Reggie White after the match. Add their verbal skills together, and you've got Bobby Eaton.
- If anyone has ever actually been to a Nitro party with Lee Marshall, please write me.
- Wrath (Adam Bomb) pinned Scotty Riggs after his modified sidewalk slam in a quick, but complete, squash.
- Glacier appeared after the match. Thankfully, he just stood there and didn't do anything. My sympathies to the fine people of Baltimore who probably had to suffer through a Glacier dark match later in the evening.
- "The Laughing Man" Hugh Morrus and Konnan def. Ice Train and "Das Blunderheel" Alex Wright when Konnan made Ice Train submit to a combination armlock and half Boston Crab after Alex Wright abandoned his partner.
- Alex Wright tipped his hand too early. The coming heel turn was obvious from the moment Wright came into the arena. He should have left some element of surprise.
- The match was supposed to end with a moonsault from Morrus. Ice Train was 90 degrees the wrong way on the mat. As Morrus went up the turnbuckles, I exclaimed out loud, "Ice Train's in the wrong position!" As if Morrus heard me, he looked, and saw it was set up all wrong and got down. After some confusion about what to do next, Konnan locked Ice Train up for the submission. Another tap out.
- After the match, Alex Wright got in the camera and said, "Everybody knows I'm the greatest."
- Back from commercial, a cameraman was dispatched to the back where Roddy Piper had just been beaten up by Nash and Syxx and had his hip injured. Again.
- It's old, it's unexciting, it's a tease!! It's Sting!!! Bischoff came out to introduce Sting. Sting's music played and the nWo Sting came out. I was waiting for a "Bulls%&t!" chant to start. Bischoff got nWo Sting to nod his head that he could never compare to Hulk Hogan. WCW Sting then came out and gave nWo Sting a Scorpion Death Drop. Bischoff scurried away through the crowd. Oh, well, better than Hogan posing, I guess.
- Wow, Bischoff is clean cut once again.
Brian Bradshaw and Chad Lettau were at the arena live in Baltimore. Many thanks to them for taking the time to type and send in this report:
- When we arrived at the arena there were signs saying that no signs would be permitted in the arena. They took our sign but I did see about four signs that made it in.
- As we entered, some of the wrestlers' theme music was being played over the PA system.
- Sometimes during interviews when the crowd was loud the PA couldn't be heard.
- They actually played Disco Inferno's music
- Every time the nWo music same on it got a loud pop
- Before we went to our seats we hung out on a balcony overlooking the locker room area. We saw lots of wrestlers and we started to mark out but I managed to write down who we saw:
- Debra and Steve "Mongo" McMichael
- Bobby Heenan
- "Lord" Steven Regal
- Mike Tenay
- Chris Benoit and Woman
- Ultimate Dragon and Sonny Ono
- Alex Wright
- We saw Rey Mysterio, Jr. WITHOUT his mask (!) and he yelled hello up to us
- "Diamond" Dallas Page
- Mortis and Bryan Clarke (Wrath)
- I saw James Vandenburg and asked him if Bryan Clarke would get a name soon (this was before the show started) and he said "We'll see"
- Dean Malenko
- Tony Schiavone
- Ric Flair (one of the few to respond to our calls)
- Kevin Greene
- Reggie White
- Konan (with an Outsiders shirt and glasses on)
- Jimmy Hart
- Vincent (the only nWo member we saw)
- I am about 95% sure that I saw Scott Levy (Raven) in the backstage area talking to an offical of some sort
- Terry Taylor
- Paul Orndorff
- About 6:45 David Pinzer came out to give us some final instructions
- People booed when told not to throw things. They were told that if they were caught that they would be prosecuted.
- About 1/2 the crowd was for WCW and the other 1/2 was nWo
- As we went live, Macho and Liz came out to generate heat. Basically a bash DDP and Kim session.
- All the while, he got a "Macho sucks" chant and a "Hogan sucks" chant
- Michael Buffer was there to pump us up.
- As we went on the air there was a "Weasel" chant.
- As Piper and crew came out there was a HUGE pop and we couldn't hear the PA at first. All three seemed to be over. During the commercial, Kevin Greene did that little football stance drill.
- Bryan Clarke and Mortis took FOREVER to get to the ring
- After Wrath (Bryan Clarke) wrestled, Glacier stood in the entrance way and was actually cheered for a moment...then he walked away without doing anything, so we booed him severely.
- After Reggie White ran in during the McMichael match, there was a loud "Reggie, Reggie" chant.
- During the commercial Jeff Jarrett stayed in the ring, did his Four Horsemen thing and got soundly booed.
- Alex Wright was not over at all though several drunks in my section found him funny
- I don't know if this was on TV or not, but after Sting leveled fake Sting he chased Bischoff out and then took the Duster off fake Sting and tossed it into the crowd. That drew a loud pop and it got louder as he pointed the bat at the crowd. I think this was the end of the TV broadcast.
- There were dark matches. The first match was Rick Fuller vs Meng.
- Meng tripped on the ramp on his way out
- The match was kinda slow and a "Boring" chant went around
- It seemed fairly even with each man having a couple of near falls
- Meng eventually won it with a combination pin/submission.
- He put that nerve hold (the Goozle) on as Fuller's shoulders were down.
- Next match: Super Calo vs Mortis
- There were a lot of Mexican wrestlers there tonight
- Mortis takes a long time to get to he ring even when he is not on TV
- This match too was very slow and once again the "Boring" chant was taken up
- At one point Mortis had Calo upside down in a piledriver for a LONG time
- After the piledriver Mortis won with his finisher, the Flatliner
- Next up: Rey Misterio, Jr vs Psychosis
- Before the match, Rey got on the mic and said he had a friend who had something to say. Wildcat Willy brought an attractive girl and she asked her boyfriend to marry her. He accepted.
- Wildcat Willy is the WCW mascot who generates heat...they don't focus on him very much on the TV broadcasts except on Sunday {Pro}.
- When Psychosis came out he flipped off Rey
- Later in the match he flipped off the crowd in the front row (Editor's Note: Psychosis has a habit of doing this at house shows)
- This match was also kind of slow at first then the high flying started
- At one point, Rey went for the hurricarana but Psychosis countered with a drop kick
- There were several possible blown spots
- They both had a lot of high risks moves that are just too tough to describe.
- Rey Mysterio, Jr wins with Hurricarana
- Next up: Villano IV vs Glacier
- Boy, I thought Mortis and Wrath took a long time to get to the ring...
- At one point, Villano IV took a hard bump after going over the top rope
- I thought that throwing someone over the ropes is grounds for DQ...
- Glacier won with the Cryonic Kick
- This match was a total squash
- Final Match: Tag Team Match: DDP and the Giant vs Harlem Heat
- Harlem Heat came out first
- They had their black outfits on
- Boy, Sister Sherri is pretty big
- Once in the ring the Heat got on the mic and trashed Baltimore. They called us a bunch of rednecks and told us to shut the hell up.
- DDP and Giant came out with Kimberly
- Kimberly looked OUTSTANDING. She was wearing a black skirt with a sliver top that had a low cut back.
- DDP and the Giant and Kimberly all got the BIGGEST pops of the night
- DDP had his ribs taped up
- "DDP" chant was loud and clear
- People in the front row kept giving Kimberly roses
- Some people in the front row ticked off the Heat and they got in their faces
- The Giant got on the mic and told the Heat to get in the ring because we paid our money to see an asskickin'. This really got us pumped.
- DDP started out in the ring and the Heat went after the ribs.
- DDP stayed in the ring most of the time and the Heat had control, including a few double and triple teams.
- Sherri even got in the ring at one point to get a few kicks in.
- Finally, the Giant got tagged in and he cleaned house. He had a couple of strong clotheslines and a drop kick.
- The Giant and DDP win with a pin after the Giant chokeslammed Stevie Ray.
- After the match, DDP Kimberly and Giant stayed in the ring and worked the crowd
Note from Bill: Oddly enough, as I'm adding this arena report, there is an old World's Strongest Man competition being shown on TV. One guy is John Cole, who was in the Q&A a long time ago with someone asking if he and Ted DiBiase are the same person. I had never seen John Cole before but they do look alike but are not the same person. Ken Patera, wearing glasses, was also in the contest. No mention of him being a pro wrestler even though his hair was bleach blond. Lou Ferrigno is in the contest as well. At the time, he was 25 years old, which gives you an idea how old the film is.
I never would have guessed that Ken Patera went to Brigham Young University.
WCW {Pro} Wrestling - Sunday, 05/11/97
- Jim "Juice" Powers and "Hardwork" Bobby Walker def. Buddy Lee Parker and Pat Tanaka when Walker pinned Tanaka after a double axehandle on the noggin from the top turnbuckle.
- Parker and Tanaka are an interesting pairing as, within the business, they are very well respected as trainers.
- Scott Hudson referred to Syxx as a "fighting champion". Yeah, right.
- More references to the Madusa title controversy.
- Chavo Guerrero, Jr. pinned Hardbody Harrison with an Oklahoma Roll.
- Jeff Jarrett made Rick Fuller submit with a figure-four leglock.
- "Crippler" Chris Benoit made "Mean" Mike Enos submit with the Crippler Cross Face.
- You know, Mike Enos doesn't look very bright, does he?
- Ultimo Dragon pinned Villano IV with a Tiger Suplex into a bridge.
- At one point, Villano IV was supposed to catch and reverse a savatte kick from Ultimo Dragon. However, Villano IV kept missing his cue. Dragon delivered a weak kick which he thought Villano IV was going to catch. He paused, did it again. This happened three or four times and Villano IV finally remembered the script and grabbed it and reversed it.
- Ultimo Dragon surprisingly took a tremendous beating in this match. He took so many bumps I thought I was watching Rey Misterio, Jr.
WCW Saturday Night - Saturday, 05/10/97
- "Lionheart" Chris Jericho pinned La Parka following a missile dropkick.
- Jericho is wrestling more and more like a heel (i.e. being the first to use an illegal maneuver). It may be a set up for him joining up with Benoit, Malenko, and the mystery fourth member of the "New" Horsemen.
- They showed a clip of Sullivan arguing with Jacqueline, Meng, and Jimmy Hart. They all seem to be turning on Sullivan thinking he has gone way too far in this thing with Benoit. Sullivan mentioned a shoot in a bar with Benoit. Supposedly, Benoit and Sullivan mixed it up in a sushi bar in Osaka, Japan. Yeah, I'm sure it wasn't a work.
- Oh, by the way, now it's being reported that the main event of Slamboree is not changing after all. It will still be Flair/Piper/Greene vs. Hall/Nash/Syxx.
- Rey Misterio, Jr. pinned Billy Kidman after a hurricarana.
- A segment was shown on the nWo race car. Boy, oh, boy, we all love these crossovers, don't we?
- "Crippler" Chris Benoit made Big Al (911) submit with the Crippler Crossface.
- After the match, Sullivan, Meng, Jacqueline, and Jimmy Hart did a run-in. Sullivan attacked Benoit and Jacqueline and Woman mixed it up. Meng got Benoit in the "Goozle". Four jobbers (Rick Fuller, Buddy Lee Parker, the guy with "Lane" on his trunks, and some guy I didn't recognize) unsuccessfully tried to make the save on Benoit. Both Hart and Jacqueline tried to get Meng to release the hold to no avail. Sullivan told Jacqueline to shut her mouth. Woman finally convinced Meng to release the Goozle.
- Jeff Jarrett (escorted by Debra McMichael) made Mark Starr submit with the figure-four leglock.
- During the match, it was mentioned there is some dispute over the ladies championship. Madusa says she is champ, Sonny Ono says no. One of the rumors sheets reported that this was a "faux" title change in that the match in Japan where the title supposedly changed hands never happened.
- Meng made very quick work of Roadblock and made him submit with the Goozle.
- Scotty Riggs pinned Sgt. Craig "Pit Bull" Pittman with a sunset flip from the top turnbuckle. *yawn*