This Week In The WCW
This Week In The WCW
- As you may already know, I am on vacation Sunday, 7/13 through Sunday 7/20. During that time, I won't be logging on at all. I have guest reporters lined up for 7/13 Worldwide and Sunday {Pro}, Bash at the Beach '97, 7/14 Nitro, 7/19 Saturday Night, and 7/20 Worldwide and Sunday {Pro}. However, none of their reports will be posted until Monday, 7/21. On the bright side, I have gotten e-mails from a number of people that will be at Bash at the Beach and/or the 7/14 Nitro and have promised to send me arena reports. So, you can look forward to that when I'm back. I will be back for the Tuesday, 7/22 Nitro and after that I should be back to doing most of the reports with The Cubs Fan doing Worldwide and Ben J. doing Sunday {Pro}.
- Please remember that there will be no Nitro on Monday, 7/21. That one week only it will be on Tuesday, 7/22.
- As a side note, there are no special criteria you need to fulfill to do an arena or house show report other than being there and sending me the results via e-mail. With house shows, especially, it gives everyone a great insight to the booking that's not being shown on TV, so, if you go, send one in.
- If you haven't read it already, please check out my little note about e-mail. I'm very close to my goal of getting e-mail from all 50 states and I'd like to come to closure on that little project. Also, for those of you in foreign countries, I know you're reading this page as my log shows hits from IP addresses from all kinds of cool places. If where you are is not already on the list, please let me know.
- Lex Luger was on Regis and Kathie Lee this week. From the e-mails I got, it sounds like it was really lame. Basically, he really didn't talk about wrestling very much at all, he talked about fitness. The high point, such as it was, was when he took off his shirt and made all the women in the crowd squeal with glee. Lex wouldn't put Regis in the Torture Rack, because Flexy Lexy didn't want to hurt him. Oh, yeah, and according to Lex, you can get a body like his by doing the isometric exercises he does to keep in shape while on the road. Yeah, right, you'll be able to get a body like that with isometric exercise when monkeys fly out of my ass. (Note, I thought long and hard before putting that comment in, but since the WWF is having a "Kiss my ass" match, it must be OK to say.)
WCW Saturday Night - Saturday, 07/12/97
- Public Enemy def. Villanos IV & V when Rocco Rock pinned Villano V after drive-by while Villano V was on a table, right in the center of the ring, right in front of the referee.
- Next week, Public Enemy will bring a car into the ring and the referee will allow them to run over their opponents before pinning them.
- Yep, WCW is turning the Public Enemy into the Bushwhackers. They grabbed some kid out of the crowd again. I felt a little sorry for the kid. When I was a kid, my mother would often take me with her whenever she took the dog to the vet, Dr. Oppenheimer. Whenever she brought me, as a little gag, Dr. Oppenheimer would invariably put me on the examination table. And, every time that happened, when I got home I had to take a bath. I bet that kid had to take a bath after being touched by Public Enemy.
- I got an e-mail from someone saying the Sherri's firing by the Harlem Heat is a set-up for Jacqueline to manage the Heat and Sherri will manage the Public Enemy and they will be getting a push. Great, WCW is going to start a race-based angle. Just what we need. The WWF's race angle wasn't enough, I guess.
- WCW World Television Champion Steven Regal uncled "American Male" Scotty Riggs with the Regal Stretch.
- In a great post-match interview, Regal said that the only reason that he is not on the card at Bash at the Beach is because Americans are a bunch of "xenphobic little toads" that refuse to admit a Brit is better than they are. And, Regal especially hates Piper because Piper is a Scotsman. According to Regal, Piper, like all Scotsmen, is so cheap that when he had his hip replaced, he asked them to save the bone for his dog. At that, the man whose picture is on the Dorito bag, Lee Marshall, started to laugh. Regal goes, "What else makes you laugh, an open grave?" Classic.
- Ultimo Dragon made Hector Guerrero submit to the Dragon Sleeper.
- A match between Ultimo Dragon and "Lionheart" Chris Jericho for the Cruiserweight Title has been added to Bash at the Beach.
- Lee Marshall interviewed Eddie Guerrero after the match about his upcoming matches with Jobber, Jr. Hector confronted Eddie. Harsh words were exchanged but no blows were exchanged.
- A new promo for Bash at the Beach starring Eric Bischoff. That sucked.
- Interview with Nick Patrick. Patrick says he can't referee tonight because Savage burned him with coffee on Nitro. Patrick said he wants to get even. Okay, aside from the fact that now everyone says Kevin Nash is DDP's mystery partner because the Larry Z. thing was way too obvious, add two more dark horse candidates for DDP's partner, Steve Regal or Nick Patrick. While the concept of Nash is intriguing, it is doubtful as WCW makes waaay too much money on Outsider merchandise to split up Hall and Nash.
- Juventud Guerrera and Hector Garza def. Psychosis and La Parka when Garza pinned La Parka after a standing moonsault set up by a splash from the top turnbuckle by Guerrera.
- After the match, La Parka "gave a seat" to Guerrera and Garza.
- Barbarian destroyed and pinned Jerry Lynn following a Mafia Kick in a near squash.
- So much for Jerry Lynn's push.
- Eddie Guerrero pinned Jumpin' Joey Maggs following a frog splash.
- Eddie will be facing Jobber, Jr. on this Monday's Nitro.
- U.S. Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett made "Desperado" Joe Gomez submit to the figure-four leglock.
- This was a title defense. I guess the requirements for getting a shot at the U.S. Title are pretty much just having U.S. citizenship.
- Ernest Miller and Glacier def. The Armstrong Brothers via DQ when Wrath and Mortis interfered.
- In the end, Miller and Glacier were the kings of the hill.
- Boy, you just can't get enough of Wrath and Mortis making run ins on Miller and Glacier, can you? I know I can't.
- WCW World Cruiserweight Champion "Lionheart" Chris Jericho made "Das Blunderpinned" Alex Wright submit to the Boston Crab.
- "Diamond" Dallas Page, along with the lovely Kimberly, was interviewed. He came out in a La Parka mask, smoking a cigar (where's the fire marshal?). He acknowledged the fact that everyone is wondering if Zbyszko is going to be his partner. This, of course, takes Zbyszko out of contention. Man, wouldn't it be great if it were Arn Anderson? Talk about bringing the house down!!
WCW Worldwide - Sunday, 07/13/97
Before I start this week's report, I'd like to make a correction from last week's: Ernest Miller jobbed to Glacier, not the other way around. Sorry for any confusion.
- 1st Match - Dean Malenko over Casey Thompson
- Tony and Bobby spent most of the match (and the show) hyping BATB
- Hennan: Thompson looks like "the world's most dangerous Lifesaver"
- Texas Cloverleaf and a tap out for the win.
- 2nd Match - Super Calo over The Punisher
- First time I've seen the Punisher. For those who also haven't, he's about 3 inches taller and 125 lb bigger than Super Calo. He also wore a mask.
- Tony and Bobby couldn't care less about the match, and just went on talking about BATB for most of it.
- Super Calo wins with a Huricaranna(!)
- Nitro Highlights (Las Vegas)
- Jarrett getting kicked out of the Horsemen
- The nWo attack at the end, Sting, Henning, Raven
- BATB Commercial for the undercards
- What exactly does "Winner take all" mean for McMichael vs Jarrett? Is there more on the line the the US Title?
- Ultimo Dragon vs Chris Jericho is now on the card
- 3rd Match - Harlem Heat (w/Sister Sherri) over Power Company
- Either Sherri had one more match left on her contract with Harlem Heat or this is an old match. I'm beating on choice two.
- Seriously, Sherri may have been fired by WCW in that big group they let go. If so, HH loss is NOD's gain.
- Tony S. tells about the Power Company: Identical twins (you don't say), and from the Power Plant.
- Bobby and Tony talk about Steiners vs Muta/Chono
- While PC are double teaming Booker T on the outside, Sherri walks over and bites on one of the PC on the ear!
- Hot tag to Stevie Ray, and a Big Apple Sidekick for the win
- BATB Commercial for the main event
- I'm writing this report in before the PPV, so I'm picking Raven as the mystery partner.
- If the main even doesn't end with Luger beating Hogan, I'd be mighty surprised.
- 4th Match - Chris Jericho over Rick Fuller
- I don't remember seeing Fuller before either. He's a built a lot like Wrath.
- Tony S. spent a lot of the early match hyping Fuller. Fuller did deserve it, he wasn't that bad for a big man.
- Missle Dropkick for the win
- 5th Match - Prince Iaukea over Pat Tanaka
- Close match, back and forth
- Tanaka is one of many rumored to be gone
- Samoan Drop followed by Flying Body Press for the win
- 6th Match - Glacier vs Sgt. Craig "Pitbull" Pittman
- Pittman may be gone, too. Too bad, he was a great mid card heel when he came in. Having Teddy Long manage him and turning him face ruined him.
- Estimated time of Glacier's Entrance: 3 minutes
- Heenan on The Mortal Kombatans attacking the Masters of the Universe to give High Voltage the win - "2 wrongs don't make a right, 3 do"
- Cryonic Kick for the win
- Estimated time of match: 2.5 minutes
- Next Week, Mortis, Glacier, Public Enemy, and Juventud Guerrea
WCW {Pro} Wrestling - Sunday, 07/13/97
First, some news and information.
Eric Bischoff said that WCW Monday Nitro will not expand to three hours on Aug. 4 even if RAW's time slot is from 9
to 11 p.m. On Aug. 4, USA introduces its Walker Texas Ranger Show from 8 to 9 p.m.
The question of whether RAW will run from 9 to
11 p.m. on Aug. 4, or
be cut back to 9 to 10 p.m. will be decided Monday
(July 14). If the 10 to 11 segment
draws well in the Nielsen ratings, RAW will be
allowed to continue its live
two-hour format from 9 to 11. But if the 10 to 11
slot proves to be a poor
draw, RAW may have to settle for a one-hour show
for the fall lineup.
Bischoff believes RAW will not be successful
from 9 to 11. Even with its
live two-hour format, RAW ratings are down 16
percent from a year ago,
when the show was one hour and usually taped, and
Bischoff said that
RAW's 10 to 11 hour will not draw well because it
will be competing with
Monday Night Football in the fall and early local
newscasts in most major
markets.
- Jim Duggan punched out Super Calo with the taped fist.
- Scott Hudson went on and on and on about how Larry Z. is the
mystery partner for DDP. I guarantee it is NOT Larry Z., which is too
bad, because I loved him since he was in WCCW, continually beating up
the Von Erichs.
- Ultimate Dragon beat Juventud Guerrera with a double underhook
Dragon suplex.
- Great match for the Pro. Well worked, some decent moves,
including a running power bomb by the Dragon.
- Mortis beat La Parka after a Flatliner.
- In the worst match I've seen on {Pro} in a while, M. Wallstreet beat Alex Wright with a standard leg-hook pin out of nowhere.
- There was an acute lack of action, and the pin was welcomed, since it stopped the match. The cheers after the pin must have also been because the pain of watching the match was over.
WCW Bash at the Beach '97 - Sunday, 07/13/97
- Wrath and Mortis def. Glacier and Ernest Miller by pinfall when Mortis hit Glacier with a chain.
- Vandenberg wrapped a chain around the foot of Mortis, then Mortis kicked Glacier out cold.
- Glacier and Miller used a double dropkick on Wrath, something you don’t see much of nowadays.
- You know, it’s depressing that Wrath and Miller are wasting their talents on this angle.
- Wrath and Mortis gave Glacier a combination powerbomb/neckbreaker. Pretty cool.
- Glacier’s undefeated streak is history. Whoopee.
- Chris Jericho def. Ultimo Dragon by pinfall to retain the cruiserweight title.
- Jericho attempted a tiger bomb, Dragon reversed it into a hurricanrana, then Jericho reversed that into a sunset flip to get the pin.
- This, along with the 6-man Lucha Libre match, saved the PPV card, IMO.
- A solid match, with both wrestlers shaking hands afterwards.
- Steiner Brothers def. The Great Muta and Masa Hiro Chono by pinfall when Scott DDT’d Muta off Rick’s shoulders.
- The Steiners now get a tag team title match at Road Wild. Which means the Harlem Heat will get the one after that.
- Chono worked the crowd very well in this match, getting into the fans’ faces at certain points.
- Scott Steiner actually used the frankensteiner in this match.
- Juventud Guerrera, Hector Garza, and Lizmark Jr. def. Villano IV, La Parka, and Psychosis by pinfall when Garza pinned Villano V with a standing moonsault (I’ll explain below).
- As usual, there were high spots and multi-wrestler planchas abound.
- Psychosis did an impressive move on Juventud at one point. Psychosis mounted him on the top rope, flipped him over into a power bomb, then followed through into a sunset flip.
- At another point, Psychosis missed a splash on Garza, then Lizmark Jr. missed, then Villano IV, then Guerrera, then La Parka. Whew!
- Lizmark did a nice handstand moonsault on Villano IV.
- My mother, who was watching this at certain intervals, enjoyed this match.
- After the corkscrew plancha by Hector Garza, Villano V came down, unnoticed by the ref, and tried to pin Garza.
- Chris Benoit def Kevin Sullivan by pinfall in a Career Match with a free-fall headbutt after Jacqueline interfered.
- No surprise here, the Bash at the Beach set was demolished.
- Jacqueline made her presence known in this match. She dished it out, and she took it.
- Sullivan started biting Benoit’s rib area. Benoit countered by biting Sullivan’s face.
- Jacqueline pulled a chair out from under the ring, and when Sullivan demanded the chair, she hit him over the head with it, setting Sullivan up for the pin.
- Benoit didn’t swan dive as usual on his headbutt, he climbed the top turnbuckle and was so close to Sullivan that he just fell forward.
- Jeff Jarrett def. Steve "Mongo" McMichael by pinfall to retain the U.S. title after whacking him on the head with the Haliburton.
- The crowd was pro-Mongo, chanting "Jarrett sucks!" throughout most of the match.
- Mongo looked good in this match, showing much improvement and impressing me somewhat.
- Jarrett was preparing to put McMichael in the figure four, when Debra distracted the ref and slid the Haliburton to Jarrett. After nailing Mongo and getting the pin, Jarrett walked off with her.
- Great, this means this angle is going to continue? Guess they needed something to keep the Horsemen distracted.
- Scott Hall and Randy Savage def. "Diamond" Dallas Page and Curt Hennig by pinfall after an Outsider’s edge and Savage elbowdrop.
- Curt Hennig looked slightly out of shape in this match.
- Page was really over with the crowd.
- For some strange reason, Savage threw a plant into the ring.
- In a blown spot, Hennig was supposed to go over the top rope. Savage, seeing it was blown, stomped Hennig to the floor.
- Henning then blindsided Page, rolling him back in the ring and walking away.
- Roddy Piper def. Ric Flair by submission with the sleeperhold.
- Comment from my mom: "It’s been twenty years and these two are still fighting each other?"
- As usual, the heelish Flair Flop caused him to run into a Piper clothesline.
- Man, there were so many cliches in this match, if this was a drinking game, I’d be passed out on the floor.
- Benoit and McMichael ran in to interfere. Benoit misses the diving headbutt and hits Flair, while Mongo piledrives Piper.
- Lex Luger and The Giant def. "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman by submission when Luger racked Hogan.
- Dennis Rodman didn’t even wear wrestling tights. I was hoping he would take this match seriously.
- Rodman did an armdrag on Luger during the match. The announcing team made it seem like Rodman did a hurricarana.
- After giving Rodman a reverse atomic drop, the Giant turned Rodman over and spanked him!
- Luger actually no-sold Hogan’s Leg Drop O’ Doom.
- "Sting" came out and hit the Giant with a baseball bat. It was obvious that Kevin Nash was playing the fake Sting. The long hair, walking over the top rope, and if you look in the close-ups, you can tell it’s a mask.
- After racking Hogan, "Flexy Lexy" proceeded to rack Rodman, then Savage.
- Okay, Luger holds two non-title victories over Hogan. Now, Luger goes into Road Wild and jobs to Hogan in a title match. Haven’t we seen this before?
Steve Raymond was at Bash at the Beach '97 and sent me this report.
- I stood in line for about 2 hours waiting for the doors to open. It was amazing to see how many people were there when I got there, and there were still people TRYING to buy tickets. Unlike last year, I decided to skip going around back to see the wrestlers hang out back there...too many people there already.
- First match was a bit of a snoozer. I had to put on my sunglasses to watch Jericho in his tights. After the match, both shook hands. I didn't realize that Ultimate/Ultimo Dragon had turned face. I knew he dumped Onoo, but...never mind!
- Raven and Stevie Richards came out right before the first match, and lucky me, I was 3 rows next to them. Immediately they found a gopher to get them beer. Funny thing was that I never saw money exchanged...what a true sack!
- Someone on one of the chats thought that the fake Sting at the end of the night was Richards, citing that he loves impersonating other wrestlers, and he said that he saw him walking somewhere in the crowd. Not true. Richards was there the whole time, and when he was seen walking, he tried to get low enough by ducking low and walking fast. Didn't work, I guess. He even asked the usher something, and walked the opposite direction from the locker room. I assumed he was headed for the bathroom. Raven did the same thing earlier.
- If you ever go to a live show, unless you are dead in the front row, the floor seats really aren't that great. I was four rows out, and had to fight everyone trying to get in front of me, and when everyone stood up, I had to stand on my chair, and of course, I got yelled at by a security guy, though he never made an effort to make anyone else get down. He eventually gave up.
- Loud pop for Bobby "The Brain" Heenan when he came out before the show. Crowd immediately starts the "Weasel" chants.
- "Scheme" Gene came out to advertise his hotline. Not much reaction from the crowd for him. When he was interviewing Raven, I didn't hear anything except for when he mentioned DDP. Next thing I know, Richards gets in, and gets an elbow in the face.
- Some guy a few rows back, Lord knows why he bought a ticket, was the most obnoxious SOB I ever encountered in a wrestling event. Kept trying to taunt Raven (looked legit. pissed, I thought he had no life), and kept going off on every wrestler...except DDP. I thought to myself why would he spend the money, and in turn help WCW, when he is so against them.
- A lot of kids toting trenchcoats and Sting face paint. Some guy in front of me had some lime green hair that was obviously done that day with food coloring or Kool-Aid. It kept running off, and left streaks on his face. He was nWo, and I assume it was for Rodman.
- Who was that guy who teamed with Juventud and Garza? Never saw him before. Juvy gave the crowd a rise when he stepped on the back of ??? and launched into the air over the ropes. Villano IV was replaced by V during the match, and IV layed on the ground as low and close to the ring as he could, and quickly made the exit after the match. Before that match, some lady walked out 2 kids around the ring. I don't know why, but she got a decent pop because half of her cheeks were showing her shorts were so high.
- The sound system at the Ocean Center sucks!
- Benoit got a huge reception when he walked in and when he won. Sullivan was given a decent applause. Someone in the crowd had a poster that said "Get the job done, Booker Man!". There was that funny part when Sullivan started chewing off on Benoit's stomach, and Benoit started chomping on his ear. No blood, and he was there 10 times longer than Tyson on Holyfield. That kind of made us laugh.
- When DDP and (he's not Perfect anymore) Curt Henning came out, there was no reaction to the mystery that had been hyped so much. Kim took a lot of my attention away from the match. Man, she looked hot! And what was even worse, she stood 15 feet from me the whole time!
- Crowd nearly evenly divided for Piper and Flair. Thank goodness there was no striptease here. I gotta wonder why two guys pushing 50 would still wear briefs when wrestling. I'd like to have their bodies when I get that old, but if you don't have to, why do it? Piper wrestled in jeans in the WWF, why not here? Just my opinion. Crowd did erupt when the sleeper was applied by Piper, and when he did those eye pokes, crowd chuckled. Every man felt it in there when Flair did his little low blow thing.
- The nWo comes out and gets a decent pop from the crowd, but I notice more that there are more and more people that are anti-nWo. Luger and the Giant come out, and the fire and their entrance was hot. I could feel it from where I was, which makes me wonder how it feels when they are standing right next to it. Rodman actually looked decent when he was wrestling, but the match was more for show than skills being shown. A lot of crowd working in this one. Before the match, all the local news people jumped the railing in front of me and all positioned themselves in the walkway. That's where you see all the footage come from. Healthy "Rodman sucks!" chants break out twice during the match. He seemed to soak it in, just like when he plays basketball. I kept wondering if he was going to take off the earrings and nosering out...but he never did. I can bet money he had more piercings elswhere on his body...GROSS! Well, I learned one thing that I didn't know that I really could have gone without knowing...during one of the spots, Macho went over to Luger and pulled him out of the ring. Turns out that he accidentally pulled his shorts down a little and revealed a black G-string. When Nash/Sting came out, the first thing that went through my mind was that he was wearing a mask, then his hair was too long to be the fake Sting, then his height kind of gave it away. We knew right away it wasn't the real one, or even the "real" fake Sting.
- All in all, the show had some good points, but was disappointing in being the 2nd PPV to not have an appearance by Sting.
WCW Monday Night Nitro - Monday, 07/14/97
- Michael Buffer introduces the premier of the "Nitro Girls," six
beautiful dancing women, including Kimberly.
- The announcers, as they do throughout the rest of the show, go
ballistic and get super-excited about all of the "mainstream coverage"
of the PPV.
- From what I saw and read, the coverage was mostly degrading
towards wrestling and presented as a humorous side note to sports that
really matter. Like sports really matter.
- Alex Wright and Prince Iaukea fought to a no contest. If there was
a decision, it wasn't clear.
- Flair vs. Jarrett tonight for the U.S. Heavyweight
Championship.
- The Giant came out to a HUGE pop after the match started.
We're talking a pop on the scale of DDP when he came out of the La Parka
outfit.
- Giant proceeded to choke slam the referee, the Prince, then
SIX security people. He pointed to Wright and said "You, Out!". Wright
fled quickly.
- Giant said he's had it up to his neck with the NWO. He called
Nash out to the ring. Nash isn't presently in the building, though he's
on the top of Giant's hit list, since he was the fake Sting at the PPV.
- Giant was escorted out of the building by Doug Dillinger's
crack team.
- Commercial. WWF on.
- Eddie beat Chavo, Jr. after a Frog Splash.
- It would have been a crock if Eddie lost, since he's
consistantly been beating Malenko, and Malenko's a whole lot better than
Chavo.
- Also, I was glad that WCW didn't put this off as a main
event-type match. They usually like to overblow family feuds and
tag-team break-ups.
- After the pin, Eddie gave Chavo another frog splash. Hector
came out for the save.
- DDP and Kim (in a bikini top... hotttt) interviewed by Gene-O.
- DDP said he and Curt Hennig met six months ago and that DDP
realized he and Hennig had a lot in common.
- DDP said his first choice as his partner for last night's PPV
was Sting. However, he said that he's been bailed out so many times by
Sting and he didn't even want to go there.
- Choice number two: Lex Luger or the Giant. They had other
problems last night.
- Choice three: Hennig. He then said that he doesn't get mad,
but gets even.
- Commercial. WWF on.
- Harlem Heat told Gene-O that they were gonna "Turn this into a
old-fashioned ghetto street fight" in their match tonight.
- {Vicious} and {Delicious} with {Vincent} were {DQ'd} after
Chono/Muta came in and started beating on the Steiners.
- Boy this show sure doesn't stand up to the quality of the
{Pro}! Ha!
- After BOTH teams were introduced and in the ring, guess
what... COMMERCIAL! And was there a commercial on USA? OF COURSE NOT.
Sad.
- Bagwell is quite entertaining. As Hogan said to the
"mainstream press" last night, "It's entertainment. That's what this is
about."
- A limo arrived and Konnan came out, then Syxx, Hall and Nash
(with a "bad back.") Konnan had no NWO shirt.
- The Steiners fought off all the NWO people that were in the
ring.
- Another commercial. WWF on. When WCW came back on, the weekly plug
for Saturday Night aired. There will be a JJ Dillon announcement this
Saturday.
- Gene-O plugged the hotline. Call 1-900-EAT-S448 Gene! If you don't
get it, e-mail me.
- Gene-O with Raven and Stevie Richards. There was a lot of rambling,
then Stevie said, "You said if I signed a contract with WCW..." Then
Raven spit in his face and left.
- Boy oh boy! Gene-O sure gets answers, eh! He asks crap
questions and gets crap answers. Whadda ya expect.
- Benoit beat Mike Enos with the Crippler Cross Face.
- In previously recorded comments, Chris said, "It's time to be
a Horseman."
- Enos dominated the match, due to the strenuous match last
night vs. Sullivan, according to the announcers. At least they didn't
say, "Must be fatigue due to the strenuous match on the {Pro} last
night," like they sometimes do.
- Commercial. WWF off.
- Super Calo vs. Someone. La Parka? DDP? Someone else?
- Savage ran in during the match under the assumption that it
was DDP in the La Parka costume again.
- Surprise! DDP runs in behind Savage and nails him. Hennig
runs in and hits DDP with a foreign object that leaves DDP out cold in
the middle of the ring with Savage. DDP gets an elbow drop.
- See the decision for the Iaukea match. I assume Calo was DQ'd
since La Parka was attacked by Savage.
- Gene-O with Curt Hennig. I bet this is going to shed a lot of light
on things. I'm not a "Hotline Fan," so I don't know how much info Gene
supplies. However, I imagine it's little or none. That's what I expect
from this interview.
- Did Gene-O get any info? Nope. Hennig said "DDP's the
biggest mark..." Flair came out and recruited Curt somemore. Hennig
hesitated after Flair left then walked out. Gene-O was left as a prop
once again.
- Commercial. WWF on.
- The NWO came out with Nash in a wheelchair, because of his "bad
back."
- Konnan had on a NWO shirt, and is now known as K-Dog.
- Commercial. WWF on.
- Hall and Syxx beat Harlem Heat after Hall's Outsider Edge on Booker T.
- Scott Hall has a toothpick behind his ear besides the one in his mouth. I would never, ever put anything in my mouth that was behind Hall's ear.
- OF COURSE this wasn't a title shot. A) It's NASH and Hall, NOT
Syxx and Hall. B) It's the Steiner's turn for a shot.
- Booker T. tried a flying cross-body into Hall, but Hall caught
him and dumped him over his head. Impressive.
- To set up the Edge, Nash jumped out of his wheelchair onto the
apron and nailed Booker T. after he was whipped into the ropes.
- This ending was Sad. Booker T. was up in the air for a long
time and the camera looked over Stevie Ray's shoulder, who was outside
the ring after beating up Syxx. He repeatedly stared at his partner
inside the ring, who was way up in the air. Instead of doing something
about it, he kept trying to look away and argue with the ref. Sad.
- Commercial. WWF on.
- Masa Chono and The Great Muta beat Public Enemy after Chono's Mafia
Kick.
- Public Enemy dominated most of the match, but Johnny Grunge
got a faceful of Muta's green mist, sprayed from his mouth.
- Chono then hit the kick. Muta fell to the mat and counted
with the ref.
- Commercial. WWF on.
- WCW sure doesn't care whether the WWF is on or not. It really
doesn't matter, since WCW dominates Monday Nights. However, I really
hate it when they jump to commercial after both teams were announced.
No reason for that whatsoever.
- Jeff Jarrett w/Debra beat "Nature Boy" Ric Flair by DQ.
- Bad ending after a well wrestled match. It probably cost
Flair the title.
- Flair had Jarrett in the figure-four. Mongo marched right in
the ring and pounded on Jarrett, followed by Benoit. It would have been
worth it had Jarrett been laid out in the ring afterwards, but he walked
off without any damage to speak of. Sad.
- Commercial. WWF off.
- At 9:50, Gene-O was in the ring and Luger came out. Not only is
Gene going to get the meaning of life from Luger, there isn't going to
be a run-in by the NWO, either. Sad.
- Luger officially challenged Hogan for the World Championship
at Road Wild, the next PPV.
- Eight members of the NWO come out. Surprise!
- A person who looked like Sting, but with black hair that went
past the shoulder, walked out after the NWO circled the ring.
- This "Sting" walked past the NWO into the ring. He ripped off
the obvious wig, took off the mask, and it WAS Sting.
- The End. That last sequence blew. Sad. At least Hogan
finally has to defend the title.
- Time for another edition of "Do You Really Believe."
- Do you REALLY believe that Luger will beat Hogan, cleanly,
and be WCW Champion? Even if you think you do, do you REALLY believe it?
- Dark Matches:
- Jeff Bradley must really blow, because he lost to Joe Gomez.
- Hector Guerrero is also very overrated, because he lost to Bill Burg.
- Finally, it was good that Piper wasn't there. He is wonderful in
moderate doses, like when he first put Hogan to sleep. However, Piper
week in and week out makes one weary of him very quickly, mainly because
his skills have eroded and he doesn't sell moves very well. Now if he
resurrected the Piper's Pit...
Steve Raymond was at Monday Nitro as well as being at the Bash at the Beach. He sends in this arena report:
- In dark matches, I missed the first one because I was getting food. And speaking of which, I saw the same guy that I mentioned in the Bash report that was the gopher for Raven and Stevie Richards. Small world. Also saw a few people that I saw at the Bash the night before. Daytona is about an hour and 45 minutes northeast of Orlando, so it's not exactly down the street. Also saw a lot of people there I knew from town, and I live an hour from Orlando and Daytona. Back to the matches...Joe Gomez beat some other jobber in a real lame match. Gee, I wonder why this wasn't on TV!
- There was a pretty good sized crowd. I frequently attend Orlando Magic home games, and they seat 17,000+ people, and I estimate that there was
11-12,000 people there. Crowd seemed ready to go. Michael Buffer came out to a huge reception, and he basked in the applause. (Bill is right, what a job!)
- Raven and Stevie are back in the crowd, and start heading for where they sat the night before. Crowd gives good reception. Once they get to their seats, Doug Dillinger walks over there and says something to them, and looks genuinely mad and walks away. My guess was right that they went to the wrong spot. After Dillinger walks away, they decide to go where they are supposed to go. They both must have had 5 beers each that night.
- While waiting for the show to start, even before the dark matches, they always play the themes of a few of the wrestlers. The night before they were playing the theme for Disco Inferno, though he's been out for a while now, and this night they were playing the Nasty Boys....and we all know about them. (Anybody confirm the rumor they are ECW-bound?)
- Kimberly comes out with 5 other women, and do a little routine in the ring with chairs. Kimberly is about 2 beats off the whole time, and they seemed to have difficulty standing on their chairs. Looks like they are taking a page out of the NBA book by using dancer during timeouts/commercials. They came out 3 or 4 times that night. Better than Wildcat Willie!
- I guess this was the project that DDP mentioned in his UDC email. He mentioned someting about Kim working on a project that we would see sometime in July or August.
- Alex Wright gets heavy boos. When the Giant comes out, the crowd goes totally insane.
- When someone is supposed to come out "surprisingly", there is always a camera crew there a few minutes before they come out.
- During the Chavo/Eddy match, one thing I noticed was that Chavo has more crack on his chest chops than Eddy. Ooohs and aahs on the Eddy powerbomb.
- nWo and WCW fans spilt evenly, with a possible slight edge in the favor of WCW.
- Ever wonder what happens when both opponents come out before the commercial break? When the Steiners and Vicious and Delicious came out, they went to commercial. Both teams did a little posing, tried some intimidation poses, then acted like they were going to go after each other until the ref steps in (in this case it was Nick Patrick).
- I am writing this report while watching the re-run. Buff: "They're trying to take my airtime!"
- Also from Buff: "I haven't seen height like that since Tree Rollins." I thought that was neat, and for all of you NBA fans who know he was a premier shot blocker in his day, 3rd all time, but what makes it even more important is that he is an assitant coach for the Orlando Magic, and even played a few years with them while they suffered through some injuries a while back. They are in the O-Rena, so it's a geographical thing, more for the locals, I presume.
- Limo pulls up, but not shown on the TV inside. First we see of Konan was during the nWo interview.
- When Gene O. was talking about Raven and his "stooge" Stevie Richards, I looked towards Richards, and he was smiling, and waving his arms like an excited kid. I kinda' like him already. I have to wonder...why were there three empty seats to Raven's right, and Richards sat BEHIND Raven?
- There was a Virgil poster that someone had made at ringside. Dillinger went over there and must have said that the person could not hold it up. I never saw it after that, but he didn't take it away. Also, I noticed a poster in the crowd that read, "HBK is nWo!"
- Speaking of posters, check out Kim's new poster! Drool, drool!
- DDP gets HUGE pop!
- Curt Henning gets booed BIG TIME on Kimberly insult. He must have drank too much that night because he was having a hard time getting words out.
- After the Macho/Henning attack on DDP, DDP finally staggers to feet, and gets a good round of applause. Meanwhile Macho walks by Henning and Mean
Gene, and you could tell he was trying to stay out of view...but he didn't do a good job of it because I even saw it on the re-run.
- After Benoit beat Mike Enos, Benoit walked back to the dressing room holding his lower back and limping all the way until he got to the curtains, then when he got there he was fine. I thought that it might have looked good if he did it for another 2 seconds longer.
- When Syxx was displaying Nash's Tag Team belt, he handed it to one of the cameramen, who in turned handed it to Nash. If you have ever been to a live show, the cameramen try to incite the crowd by letting the crowd know who to boo and cheer, and here he is helping Nash out. Dumb.
- What does Nash do with the belts? For someone who worships it like he does, he lays it down in the middle of the floor.
- I was in the nosebleed section and could still feel the flames from the Harlem Heat entrance.
- I just realized...where are Booker T's arm gloves? Stevie Ray still wears his.
- When Nash got out of the wheelchair the first time...it was a blown spot. He thought that Booker T was the one to go into the ropes that time.
- After the match, Nash kinda wheeled back to the ramp, then when the cameras went off the air, he got out and hastily tiptoed to the back. This got a rise out of the crowd, we all got a laugh from it.
- The table that Public Enemy brought out was quickly taken back by the floor crew after the loss to Chono and Muta. It also had the initials PE on it in chalk, I guess to symbolize it is a prop table.
- Flair is over HUGE with the crowd. Jarrett is not a popular guy here...or anywhere for that matter.
- Flair took a nasty spill on that little backdive over the turnbuckle he does. Planted his face right into the turnbuckle. He looked to be in legit pain.
- David Penzer at the beginning of the night hyped this match as the first time these two have met. Hmmm, remember how Jarrett keeps saying that there
is "professional jealousy" because he has beaten both? Whatever!
- Luger makes long ring appearance. He nearly clapped every single hand at ringside. Okerlund was not pleased, I could tell that he was trying to get
Luger in the ring (yeah, my watch said 9:56).
- Enormous pop when Sting takes off the Fake Sting wig and mask. When the cameras go off, the nWo charged the ring, and is met by Luger and Sting (that's why he was in his wrestling garments and not in street clothes). Luger would meet the nWo (who only charged the ring one by one), beat on them for a second or two, then hand them to Sting who did his Scorpien Deathdrop to all of them. Syxx was victim #1, then Hall, then Buff, than I lost track after that, but Muta was the last one. Afterwards. when the nWo were all lying in the ring, Sting and Luger hugged each other. (Once again, can anyone confirm if the rumors have Sting going to the WWF in October? I heard he was going to wrestle under his real name which is Steve Borden.)
- On the announcing team...especially Schiavone: When I was taking speech back in high school, one of the first things we learned in a debate was never make a point for your opponent. I always think that whenever Shiavone always says something like "Whatever you say about them, they are great athletes," or whatever. I know he is trying to commentate for both, but if you go off on faction, don't build them back up.