WCW Monday Night Nitro - Monday, 09/08/97
WCW Monday Night Nitro - Monday, 09/08/97
- You're probably noticing a few things different. I took a few pictures off the main page and I'm now separating out the TV reports. I've done this to cut down on your download time and also cut down my bandwidth volume. Now, if you read the Saturday Night report on Sunday or Monday, you won't have to reload it later just to get to the Nitro report.
- A few thoughts of my own on last week's Nitro. Actually, since the replay didn't start until 8:00 p.m. MST due to the three hour length, I caught most of it...
- I was somewhat surprised that my e-mailbox was not flooded with negative opinions on the nWo mockery of Arn Anderson's retirement speech. Although I did get a few, most of the mail was something like, "What did you think of it? I'm really curious. To be honest, I thought it was pretty funny." It was as if people were almost afraid to admit it was funny. Here are my thoughts:
- I originally doubted the skit was done without Arn's and Flair's blessing. I was hoping Arn and Flair were laughing their asses off in the back. Think about it, when sometime retires, you "roast" them, and that's what I thought it was. I was hoping it was a tribute by the nWo guys without breaking kayfabe. If the nWo had never happened, someone like Lex Luger would not have been able to give a tribute. However, the "WCW solidarity" caused by the nWo invasion makes Lex's tribute in character even though Lex is a face (the wind is blowing from the south today, isn't it?) and Arn is a heel. However, if the nWo guys had paid tribute like Lex did, it would have broken kayfabe.
- For those of you still not sure, it was Kevin Nash as Arn. The tattoos gave it away. That's why he and Syxx didn't come out in the earlier nWo spot, they were in costume.
- You know, Ric Flair was wrestling for some 25 years before it occurred to someone to make fun of the size of his schnozz. The nWo did coin the term "Old Banana Nose" for Flair. The big rubber nose on Syxx was pretty funny.
- You may have missed the "tear machine" on Syxx to make it look like he was crying. Whenever he put his hand to his head, water would rush out of a hose on his wrist.
- And, folks, they are in business to make money. Remember the Nitro where three nWo guys said "Bite me!" in one night? What a surprise, "Bite Me" t-shirts then started being sold. Likewise, the nWo's Arn Anderson farce was a big promo for the new nWo shirts with the horses' asses on them. And for those of you who are offended, keep in mind that the sale of shirts like that are the things that keep a guy like Arn employed even though he can't wrestle anymore.
- This reminds me of a story about Brian Bosworth. Back when he was a big deal in the NFL, playing for the Seahawks, fans for opposing teams hated him. When the Seahawks came to Denver to play, shirts with Bosworth on them with a red circle around him and a slash (like a no smoking sign) sold like hotcakes. Come to find out, who was financing and making all the money on those shirts? Brian Bosworth!
Now, all of this "positive spin" is dependent on whether Arn and Flair knew and approved of this skit. Since I originally wrote this, there has been a lot written on the rumors pages about how the Horsemen were supposed to do a run-in and break it up but Bischoff nixed it literally at the last minute. Now, Flair is supposedly extremely pissed since it makes the Horsemen look bad as supposedly "security was holding them back". Security never stopped the nWo. There are rumors that Flair stormed out and refused to do an interview he was scheduled for later, and one page even said Anderson stormed out when his wife called because his son was in tears. It's gone so far as there have been unconfirmed reports that Flair has no-showed at events since then. The truth? Hell if I know, nobody tells me anything. Bottom line is that, as with any joke at someone's expense, if they think it's funny, then it might be funny. If they don't think it is funny, it is definitely not funny. Although, remember, heels are supposed to get us genuinely angry.
As for my personal opinion, it was an interesting idea but it went on way too long. Also, not having the Horsemen run it to break it up was, I think, inappropriate. It would seem that Hall, Nash, and Waltman are making all the decisions for their promotion again, just like in the WWF.
And, if nothing else, it's given us rumors of legit heat to wonder about. Nothing us smarks on the Net love more than rumors of legitimate heat.
- You know, everyone, including me, was so warm and fuzzy about Arn due to his retiring. The funny thing is, watching the clips, you remember what a bad ass m*********r he was. Man, Arn turned on more partners than Ron Jeremy!
- The Ray Traylor (Big Bubba Rogers) thing was poorly timed. It made me think back to Elayne Boosler's quote in one of the "Don't ever let them see you sweat" commercials. One of her rules was: "Never follow a better comedian". In the same way, having Traylor give that speech one week after Arn's speech was pretty dumb. However, I guess they had to do something to fill three hours. It is interesting how he made mention of "getting jumped from behind" as I thought that angle of the sneak attacks on the nWo had long since hit a dead end. For those of you who don't know, Ray Traylor did, in fact, have serious back problems and that's why he was out for so long. On the night of the sneak attack, he did not look well at all. As a guy who is in the midst of back problems that are probably very much like what I think Ray had, I think it's great to see him back and healthy.
- When Stevie Richards gave Damien CPR, Tony Schiavone said that was a first in a wrestling ring. Wrong! I know for a fact that it was given at least once (and, unfortunately, probably many other times), for real, a couple years ago when a wrestler died in the ring in Mexico. However, even as part of an angle, it was not the first time. And, ironically, the person who did it was sitting right next to Schiavone and didn't say a word! It was Bobby Heenan. Back when the heel Andre the Giant was feuding with the face Jake "The Snake" Roberts, the ongoing angle was that Andre was terribly afraid of Jake's snake. At one point, Jake put the snake on Andre, supposedly giving him a heart attack. Bobby Heenan performed CPR on a laid out Andre in the ring. And, even more ironically, the snake that gave Andre the "heart attack" was named Damien.
- Anyway, enough about last week's Nitro. For a good laugh, check this out. It's an issue of the comic Red Meat, which is a real hoot. It can be found in the weekly Phoenix newspaper, New Times.
- As a reminder, I should have the Fall Brawl: War Games results up next week within an hour or so of the end of the broadcast. Next weekend, I will be covering WCW Saturday Night and Ben J. will be covering Monday Nitro. After that, we should be back to our regular schedule for a while. The Saturday Night report will be more or less just match results, as I probably won't get a chance to review the tape until right before Fall Brawl. Doesn't make much sense to write up a big lead in to Fall Brawl and post it at the same time I post my Fall Brawl results.
- Attention, hotline fans! Save your money! If you are going to call the hotline to find out who the "former world champion that has signed with WCW to be with his friends" is, expecting it to be Shawn Michaels (which is the implication), don't. My guess is that it is Perry Saturn, one half of the Eliminators, former ECW tag team champs, who has signed with WCW.
- Totally unrelated to wrestling, the highlight of my week was sitting in the courtroom as seven Guilty felony verdicts were delivered on the Governor of Arizona, Fife Symington, who, as a result of any felony conviction while in office, is now former governor. I guess there are some perks to working in a courthouse.
- I'm doing most of these pre-broadcast comments on the plane back to Dulles on Thursday night. A couple of weeks ago, I was doing some DDT Digest work on the plane going to Phoenix and some kid sitting next to me looked over and saw what I was doing. He tried to talk to me about pro wrestling but, unfortunately, I don't speak French and he didn't speak much English. Other than "WCW" and "Four Horsemen", I didn't understand much of what he said.
- You may notice that on the Arn Anderson Tribute, I have changed things referring specifically to in-ring activity to past tense. That doesn't mean I've given up hope it's all a work. Rather, I'm trying to make it rain by washing the car.
- I got my e-mail from the DDP Diamond Mine mailing list today. He definitely seemed to be turning heel. He even went so far as to say that the nWo Arn Anderson skit was funny and called Luger a klutz. Hmmm, I wonder where this will wind up? I still say Luger is the one who is going to turn heel. DDP is too damn hot right now to turn heel. Hell, he just came out with a new t-shirt.
- We are taped from Milwaukee, WI. Show opens with the Nitro Girls. Even yummier than the tortellini I'm eating sitting here in my hotel room.
- The announcers say you will never see the nWo parody again. To which Bischoff runs out and says he has "way more stroke" and orders it played again. About a minute into it, it gets cut off and the Horsemen are in the booth. (When we cut back to the Horsemen, Hennig is making a "jerk me off" action with his hand. Weird.) The Horsemen go to the ring and challenge the nWo to come out.
- Well, it's pretty obvious that this whole spot was payback for last week.
- I'm still not convinced that the entire thing is not a work to convince everyone that there is (supposedly) legit heat between the Horsemen and the nWo.
- Hennig refers to himself as having been "hired by the Horsemen". Uh, I thought he was a member of the Horsemen.
- Mongo gets booed by all the Packer fans when he tries to talk.
- Flair says that, last week, for the first time in 25 years, he was embarrassed to be a pro wrestler. Flair goes on about how Anderson was to have been honored last week, not desecrated. He gives a shoot interview demanding a piece of the nWo. They're not leaving the ring until the nWo come out.
- Yup, it's a work to fool the smarks. If there was truly this much legit heat, they wouldn't let these guys near each other.
- We go to commercial and come back and Dillinger and the Keystone Cops shoo the Horsemen back to the dressing room.
- Rey Misterio, Jr. pinned Eddie Guerrero with a hurricarana.
- Man, Eddie Guerrero has been working out.
- Misterio came out with a mask over his mask and took off the outer mask on the way to the ring and said something while pointing to the mask. It was never explained what that was about.
- Tenay announces that Dillon is out due to the attack (or lack of usefulness, in my opinion) and WCW is in the market for a new interim commisioner.
- This is the first-ever one-on-one match between Misterio and Guerrero.
- Misterio is definitely rusty. A lot of nearly missed spots, but these guys are really good and recovered on all of them.
- One move had Guerrero flinging Misterio over the top rope onto the floor. Misterio came right back in for the pin.
- Two clean jobs in three weeks for Guerrero. My guess is that he'll be taking the Cruiserwieght Title at War Games as payback.
- Nitro Girls in baggy t-shirts dancing around. They strip off the t-shirts to show halter tops. Yoww!!
- Okerlund interviews "Diamond" Dallas Page. Page says he and Luger may need to settle it in the ring. On cue, Luger comes out and says he'll accept the challenge as long as they both "don't hold nothing back". Maybe, instead of wrestling, Flexy Lexy should get some tutoring in grammar.
- "The Laughing Man" Hugh Morrus pinned Disco Inferno after the No Laughing Matter.
- Alex Wright came out to ringside and danced during the match and was swatted down by Morrus.
- In an odd ending, Alex Wright gave Disco Inferno the belt as Morrus was setting up the finish. Disco Inferno laid it across himself and all that did was make the No Laughing Matter hurt more.
- Wright and Disco Inferno argued after the match.
- You know, Macho Man will get me to buy Slim Jims, but damned if I'm going to buy a Fruit Twist due to one of those stupid commercials.
- Nash, Syxx, Bagwell, and Konan came out. Bagwell and Konan accepted the Horsemen's challenge.
- Wow, nWo cheeseheads. Bet you can only get those in Milwaukee.
- Bagwell came out with a coffee cup. Lord only knows why.
- Nash said he and the boys are too busy. Bagwell corrects him saying he has absolutely nothing to do tonight. Ah, that's why he's sipping coffee.
- More mocking of the Horsemen during the interview.
- WCW Cruiserweight Champion "Lionheart" Chris Jericho defeated "Mushy Lukewarm" (vs. Stone Cold) Brad Armstrong via DQ when Eddie Guerrero interfered.
- Before the match, Eddie Guerrero came out and told Armstrong to step aside. Brad told him to get lost. While this was going on, someone held up a "Deport Eddie" sign. Where? To El Paso, Texas?
- I think the announcers said that Brad Armstrong held the light heavyweight title (correct!) and beat Dean Malenko in the cruiserweight tournament (wrong!). Mr. JL beat Malenko in the tournament, you boneheads!
- After the match, Guerrero and Armstrong stomped a mudhole in Jericho.
- More Nitro Girls. This week, I read an article about the cheerleaders for the Arizona Cardinals. How much do you think they make a game? Howzabout $50? No joke. Only $50, plus a few personal appearance fees. In addition to getting paid only peanuts, they can't talk, can't acknowledge fans, friends, or family while working or on their way in or out of the stadium. And, contrary to what you may think, they may not date a player or anyone else in the Cardinals organization, or a member of their family. It goes so far as that they are told by the cheerleading captain that it is in their best interest to leave bars or parties if any players from the team are there.
- Hogan and Bischoff come out. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Hogan calls Sting out saying he'll put the title on the line right now. "Sting" starts coming down from the ceiling but all of a sudden comes barrelling down to the ground. nWo guys surround "Sting" and start screaming for an ambulance. They put "Sting" in the ring and it's just a mannequin. Hogan beats up the mannequin and gives it two LDODs. Bischoff peels off his shirt to show a referree shirt underneath to count the pinfall.
- You know, a couple weeks ago, I was going to suggest sending a mannequin plummetting down from the ceiling to freak everyone out. I actually had it typed into the report but I removed it because I thought it was in bad taste. So much for that.
- The Sting mannequin looked more like Sting than a number of the fake Stings over the last few months.
- The Faces of Fear and The Steiner Brothers went to a no-contest after Harlem Heat and Wrath and Mortis interfered and an eight-way brawl ensued.
- I can't tell which is wider, Scott Steiner's shoulders or Ted DiBiase's waist? I think it's a toss up.
- Heenan claims there is a double agent in WCW feeding information to the nWo.
- Scott Hall pinned Super Calo after an Outsiders' Edge after an over the head slam from the second turnbuckle.
- For the pin, Super Calo was already rolled up in a plough position. Hall just sat on top of him.
- Too bad the match was so short. Hall and Super Calo actually worked well together.
- After the match, Ray Traylor (Big Bubba Rogers) came out and destroyed Scott Hall. Vincent attempted to make a save and was pitched. Hogan came out to distract Traylor and Hall recovered and whacked him and gave him an Outsiders' Edge. Traylor was then spray-painted.
- "The Iceman" Dean Malenko made Psychosis submit to the Texas Cloverleaf.
- The winner of the Malenko-Jarrett match at Fall Brawl will get a shot at Mongo's U.S. Belt at Halloween Havoc.
- During the match, a fan got into the ring. Referee Mark Curtis gave the guy a sweet kick to the head as he came in and got the goofball in a headlock until arena security dragged him away. I had no idea that Mark Curtis was so tough. He must be an ex-boxer or ex-wrestler.
- Later in the match, the crowd was totally distracted again. Must have been a fight in the stands.
- Malenko powered out after Psychosis hit his guillotine leg drop off the top turnbuckle. And you know the rule, if you successfully hit your big finisher and don't win immediately, you're toast.
- After the match, Jarrett challenged Malenko and Malenko chased Jarrett back to the dressing room. Debra grabbed the microphone and yammered. Like having your ear next to a train whistle.
- Okerlund come to the ring to introduce the new acting Chairman of the WCW Executive Committee. The bagpipes start playing and Piper comes out. I guess Piper was between movies and could spare WCW a little time. Piper said this is like putting Belushi in charge of the frat house. Piper said he used to be in charge of the WWF, to a round of boos, which Piper laughed at (boy, Piper really is burning his bridges with Vince). First, Piper says he is going to get Sting and Hogan together for the title before the end of the year (hmmm, sounds like we will be waiting until Starrcade). Second, Piper and Hogan in a steel cage for Halloween Havoc. Piper will make Mike Tyson look like a vegetarian and Hogan look like he's got e-coli (I think he was referring to the ebola virus). Third, Piper is taking Luger and DDP out of War Games because their heads aren't on straight. He's putting the Horsemen into War Games.
- Wow, putting the Horsemen in War Games is really trying to capitalize on the supposed legit heat between the Horsemen and the nWo. Mark my words, folks, it has to be a work. If the heat was legit, they wouldn't let these guys near each other, much less promote the hell out of it.
- "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Curt Hennig def. Buff Bagwell and Konan when Hennig pinned Konan with a Fisherman's Suplex after Flair tripped up Bagwell and Konan at the same time from outside the ring.
- If you tuned in at 10:00 p.m. EDT for the replay, you tuned in at the beginning of this match. Kind of annoying.
- Flair and Hennig hit the ring with fists of fury.
- Flair took a beating early. Hennig, look a doofus, stood there and watched. Enforcer, my ass.
- "The Enforcer" with the hot tag, comes in house a-fire, and cleans house. (Three cliches in one sentence.)
- Konan and Hennig screwed up a belly-to-back out of the corner. Both of them sold it.
- The other Horsemen came out to congratulate Flair and Hennig after the match.
- "Diamond" Dallas Page and "The Total Package" Lex Luger went to a no-contest due to nWo interference.
- A scientific match early on. Well, as scientific as either of these guys can get.
- "Boring" chants from the crowd.
- nWo in full force comes down to the ring a couple of minutes into the match.
- Page throws Luger to the floor to be beaten by the nWo "before realizing the nWo is out there" and he "doesn't realize Luger took a beating".
- Announcers predicted Page must have turned. Given that, I think that I may actually have a prediction come true. That will be a first.
- Luger takes another beating outside and Page comes to his aid.
- nWo beating on Page and Luger in the ring. Giant comes out to make the save, giving Vincent a vicious chokeslam. Someone throws a cheesehead into the ring. Well, it is Milwaukee.
- Hah! Scott Hall wears the cheesehead back to the dressing room. Macho Man puts one on, too.
- Page and Luger mend fences after the match. They go to shake hands and miss. Doh!
- So, pay-per-view in six days, and we still don't know the nWo side of War Games. That would imply we might have a surprise nWo player.
- Dark Match: Perry Saturn, formerly one half of the Eliminators in ECW, pinned Billy Kidman with a shooting star press.
I received the following arena report after the show:
- My name is Mike P. and I live in Milwaukee, WI but attend the University of Wisconsin. This past Monday I made the trip home for Nitro and thought I'd give you some info about it. You couldn't even hear what Mongo was saying because the fans were all over him and his Bears jacket. I guess he forgot what city he was in. During the commercial break, Doug Dillinger says something to Mean Gene who then says something to Mongo. Next thing you know, Mongo is taking is jacket off and stomping on it and the crowd goes wild. I'm guessing that someone (probably Bischoff) sent a message to McMichael to do whatever it takes to get the crowd to stop booing him. The Horsemen were trying to get crowd support and it probably looked bad on TV that the crowd was booing.
- As for the guy in the ring during the Malenko match. The guy made a sprint down one of the aisles and hopped the railing just like a WCW wrestler would do. I thought this was legit since DDP did the same thing at the Clash in January. I found out it wasn't real when the ref kicked him in the head and then gave him a bulldog to the mat. Not bad for a ref. The commotion in the crowd was caused by the friend of the guy in the ring. This friend also decided to hop the rail and see what they were doing to his buddy. A security guard from the crowd picked this guy (not a small guy either) over the rail by his armpits and dragged him out of the arena. The excitement later in the match came from when the security guard made his reappearance in the arena because he was greeted to a standing ovation.
- Overall, it was a great Nitro show. We got to see the three legends (Hogan, Piper and Flair) and everyone else seemed to be there. I was really surprised that Hogan and Piper were in Milwaukee. The only disappointment came from our $40 seats which were about 25 rows up and behind the cameras. I could not believe that WCW would have their most expensive tickets go back 25 rows at a show where there are only 8,000 people. That really bothered me.