WCW Saturday Night - Saturday, 11/22/97
WCW Saturday Night - Saturday, 11/22/97
- Wrath defeated Hugh Morrus (again) with the Death Penalty.
- Wild - instead of the long, drawn out, explanationless opening sequence, the show starts with the laser-lit entrance of Wrath, accompanied as always by James Vandenburg.
- Apparently, this is a rematch from {Pro} last week, where Wrath won after interference from Vandenburg and Mortis.
- Niiiice enziguiri by Morrus! Not bad for a man his size!
- Knocked out of the ring, Wrath kills some time arguing with fans, one of whom present the Diamond Cutter sign. Um...why?
- Vandenburg grabs the leg of Morris to distract him, and Wrath uses a step kick to put a boot in his mouth.
- Schiavone finally stops the World War 3 discussion to notice there is a match in progress, just as Wrath comes off the top rope with a nice cross-body.
- Morrus makes his big comeback, but when he heads for the top rope for No Laughing Matter, Vandenburg gets his attention so Wrath can use another step-kick as a set up for the Death Penalty.
- Say, does anyone have a more technical term for that move? I've seen Rocky Maivia use it also, but I could really use a better name for the actual technique.
- Dusty and Tony take some time to highlight the matches on the show, as well as talking about World War 3. I don't mind the repetitious dialouge, but watching Dusty's chins shiver every time he shifts his head is deeply disturbing.
- Yuji Nagata made Lizmark, Jr. submit with the Nagatalock.
- Nagata bows to all four sides of the ring. An awfully babyface thing to do, in my humble opinion.
- Yuji kicks, stomps, and chops Lizmark to a pulp, and strikes an "Ain't I great?" heel pose to make up for his entrance.
- Nagata with a nice belly-to-belly and... oh, here comes the Raven's... Flock? Group? Tony, Dusty, the word is *NEST*!
- Lizmark moonsaults over Nagata from the top and lands a nice standing hurricarana, but only gets two. Then Lizmark gets an Asai moonsault, perfectly delivered, followed by a great top rope shoulderblock - with his outfit, he looked like an incoming torpedo!
- Sonny Onoo was on the apron for the distraction, and with no more set up than a kick to the back of the leg, the Nagatalock was locked on, and Lizzie quickly tapped out.
- Suddenly, Ultimo Dragon arrived and chased Onoo around the ring! He turned in time to catch Nagata sneaking up on him and cut loose with a great 5-kick combo, then chased Sonny away from the ring.
- A decent promo for World War 3, with Nitro clips to explain each of the undercard matches. I still like seeing the shot of Scotty Riggs leaping from the top rope to land on Raven's... group?
- Footage of Chris Adams taking a thrashing from his Lordness, Steve Regal, as well as Norman Smiley offering to assist Adams.
- 'Squire' Dave Taylor defeated Norman Smiley after a double-underhook (butterfly) suplex and some Regal interference.
- I'll admit, I haven't been watching WCWSN, I've just come here to DDT Digest to find out what happened, so I haven't seen Smiley before. I like the guy. He's enthusiastic, has good moves, and looks good in yellow. Plus, anyone who can make their pecs jiggle is cool in my book.
- So why does Dave Taylor still wear the robes and call himself Squire, if his mentor, Steve Regal, doesn't even do it anymore?
- Smiley knocks Taylor out of the ring with a nice looking dropkick. Not bad, not bad...
- Taylor fights back with European uppercuts - so why do all the European wrestlers use European uppercuts?
- And when they wrestle in Europe, do Americans have American uppercuts?
- Define Irony: Tony mentions that Smiley is from the West Indies. Almost *on cue*, the audience picks up a "USA" chant.
- As Smiley makes his comeback, he counters Taylor's European uppercuts with ... Indian uppercuts?
- Smiley hooks up a very strange move that looks awfully painless - both his legs are wrapped around one of Taylor's. But Regal shows up to pop Smiley when the ref was checking Taylor.
- After the bell is rung, Regal and Taylor start stomping Smiley, very obviously facing away from the entrance - a blind man could see what's about to happen...
- Wow, holy smokes, ohmigawd, 'Gentlemen' Chris Adams just showed up! No way, really?!
- Sadly, he gets decimated by the (theoretical) number one contenders for the Tag Team belts, Regal and Taylor.
- Okay, I've already admitted that I haven't been actually watching Saturday Night, but have Taylor and Regal actually beaten anyone to *deserve* the title shot?
- Gee, sorry guys, I was fast-forwarding the commercials and I missed what Gene Okerlund had to offer on his hotline. Anyone want me to go back and check? No? Cool.
- Scotty Riggs pinned Disco Inferno after Raven's DDT interference.
- Say what you will about the Disco Inferno's ring talents. Say what you will about the Jacqueline story. But if a man is willing to go out and disco dance before every match, I say he should get all the title shots he can handle...
- 'Pirate' Scotty Riggs arrives. Which eye will the patch be over tonight? Call Mean Gene right now!
- Riggs keep turning to look at Raven's "crew? group?" NEST! NEST!
- I don't think Scotty is trying to make it obvious he's looking at Raven. I think he has to turn more to get his good eye in position.
- Both of these men are excellent workers, and even though the moves they're using are basic (hip toss, dropkick, arm drag) they make them look good.
- Tony, on Raven's...group: "They are bizarre." Dusty: "Bizarre is the word." Tony: "Generation Xers? Is that what you would call them?" Dusty: "No, just bizarre."
- That's funny. Dusty says he heard a 24-hour sports station call themselves the "mothership" of their network.
- Disco and Riggs collide, though Riggs has to find the ropes before he can fall through them. When the ref starts to count him out, Raven slides into the ring and lays out Disco with the sweetest looking DDT!
- Riggs doesn't look a gift horse in the mouth and pins Inferno without question, quickly leaving afterward.
- Billy Kidman arrives in the ring to laugh at, point at, and generally mock Disco. (All while scratching at his face, as if his first stubble is about to arrive.) Disco retaliates with a Stone Cold Stunner! Oh wait, that's a ... Chartbuster?!
- Sick Boy and Saturn hop the rail to come after Disco. The sick one gets dumped out of the ring, but Saturn gets a Chartbuster!
- Hammer arrives next, shaking like an addict going through withdrawals. Disco has had enough and bails out of the ring. I tell you, how bad off are you if you're too weird for the Disco Inferno?
- Okay, I don't mind a T-shirt that says: "Disco Inferno 3:16 says I just stole your move," but as soon as he ends an interview with "...and that's the bottom line, because Disc-o said so" he's got to go.
- Hacksaw Jim Duggan beat Rick Fuller with a walking kneedrop.
- Ew. Ick. It's Duggan. No new gimmick, no new reason to get excited, the same flag-waving, 'hooo' yelling, tounge waggling, two IQ points shy of a pet rock Jim Duggan.
- Does this mean I actually have to root for Rick Fuller? Can I root for Nick Patrick instead? Maybe the nWo or the Raven's Nest, if they come out and punk both men?
- Rick Fuller gets clotheslined out of the ring, and acts frustrated at the amazing technical wrestling wizardy of Duggan. How lousy a wrestler are you...
- After two consecutive elbowdrops, Tony tries to convince us that Duggan has learned some new moves in his absence. Not remotely.
- Following a body slam of Rick Fuller (which is admittedly no easy task) Duggan walks up, drops the knee on the chest of Fuller, and gets the pin. Was that supposed to be his new finishing move?!
- Mean Gene interviews James Vandenberg while Mortis tries to make himself useful.
- Supposedly, Mortis is the 'original' masked sensation of the WCW, not Tenay's "beloved luchadores."
- Vandenberg finally speaks the truth when he calls Okerlund "a poor judge of talent who doesn't know what he's talking about." As Austin would say, "Son, you just hit the nail on the head!"
- Oh no. Starting at World War 3, Mortis is declaring war on the luchadores and won't rest until they've all been unmasked. Just wait, you might see some of their faces and want to slap those masks back on real quick.
- MORTIS SPEAKS! MORTIS SPEAKS! Okerlund: "Do you ever talk?" Mortis: "Yeah..." Okerlund: "What do you think about tomorrow night's World War 3, 60 men in a battle royal?" Mortis: "Expect total elimination." Even someone off-camera laughed at that!
- Okerlund looks like he's caught off-guard, Vandenberg looks like he's just pulled off a prank, and Mortis looks like he wants to eat Okerlund as we go to commercial.
- Another video montage of World War 3. I like this one better, but hearing two voices trying to talk to me at once is distracting. Conflicts with all the voices in my head, you see...
- Harlem Heat took down Disorderly Conduct after the Big Apple.
- Disorderly Conduct looks very lost. I like the cool purple sleeveless trenchcoats, but having their names in huge letters around something that looks like a sheriff's badge just doesn't go well.
- What color outfits will Harlem Heat be wearing this week? Call Mean Gene for the scoop!
- What was that the Heat said on the way to the ring that didn't resemble English? Call Mean Gene!
- The Heat keeps pushing their hands up in the air, as if they are putting a box up on a high shelf - the crowd responds in kind. I wasn't aware the Heat had their own hand signal now.
- Booker T has a great running sequence ending with a flying fist. Then he does the hand lift again, and the fans respond. Maybe it's a local thing.
- Stevie Ray is in for several minutes taking a beating, until a double clothesline takes down both members of Disorderly Conduct.
- Booker T gets the hot tag and rushes in, with a nice spinning kick, and a pair of sweet dropkicks! Quickly the Big Apple arrives, and with it the win.
- I personally think the Harlem Heat are much better athletes than the Steiners. They give better undecipherable interviews. And I'd much rather look at Jacqueline than DiBiase. Get the belts back to the Heat!
- They try to tease me into getting excited about This Week in Motorsports. Let me explain something - I can drive. I can't wrestle. Which one do you think I want to see?
- Nitro footage starring the nWo and featuring special guest star Rick Rude. I get to watch Eric Bischoff hovering over Rude's shoulder, gloating heavily.
- Wait a minute - why bother bleeping out Rude when he says "What's right is watching the nWo beat the living (bleep) out of the Man Called Sting." when he didn't even say the word anyway?
- Hey, wait - my favorite part, watching the Steiners get punked by the nWo!
- Fit Finley defeated Brad Armstrong following a tombstone piledriver.
- Fit Finley, wearing his Road Warrior single-shoulderpad jacket, doesn't look nearly as fearsome as when he was lean and short-haired.
- Does anyone recall Nitro a couple months ago, where they tried to give Brad Armstrong a push by making him look and act like Steve Austin? Did *not* go over well. They were having better luck with the 'Candyman.'
- While this is a good match, again with two solid workers, I must admit I'm having trouble finding something that stands out. Well, other than Finley's gut.
- I just noticed Scott Dickenson is the referee. I heard a rumor he's going to get suspended if he does not lose 25 pounds. I could stand to see a slimmer, trimmer Dickenson. Remember, the referee's are supposed to be in the background, not blocking the view!
- I see the tombstone piledriver done by anyone, and I can't help but cringe. If you read my Nitro report a while back, you've heard me say it before. I don't like the move - it's harder to control, and after what happened to Austin, I really think it should be left alone as much as possible.
- Okerlund interviews Glacier and Ernest Miller in the 'locker room.' They aren't scared of Meng and the Barbarian, and are quite content to have each other watching their respective backs.
- The post-apocalyptic World War 3 promo. Again.
- More promos for WW3. I miss Bill Goldberg, and I certainly hope his groin injury heals up soon. I got used to seeing him very quickly, and I think he has massive potential. Of course, he has yet to do an interview...
- Rey Mysterio, Jr. gets what should be a disqualification over Dean Malenko.
- Dean Malenko vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.? I could watch these two wrestle for hours. They are both so talented, and they work together so well. Plus, they both have extremely cool intro music.
- Heh. The announcers are discussing the nWo mentality. They discuss how if it wasn't for WCW, there wouldn't be a place for the nWo to show up and take over. Tony: "What would they do, show up during the football game on TNT, and take it over?" Now THAT would get everyone and their brother watching Turner wrestling again! "Hogan with the big legdrop on Steve Young!" "Nash is going power bomb the Jerry Rice, right on the goal line!"
- Very quick set of reversal, ending with a Mysterio kip-up to his feet. That takes so much abdominal strength - if you don't believe me, try it yourself sometime. Just don't hurt yourself.
- Malenko knocks Rey off the apron and comes out of the ring to get him. Rey comes back in, rushes the ropes, and does that cool-looking turn around.
- Since that, it's been most rest-holds, submission attempts, reversals, and other slower-paced moves.
- Tony decides they should be the sWo, "the scared World Order."
- Mysterio tries to get out of the corner by launching himself backward over Dean, who catches his feet up by the shoulders. Normally, Mysterio will spin out of this into a hurricarana, but Malenko catches it and drops him into a modified side slam! Great reversal!
- Another good series. Dean goes for the Texas Cloverleaf, but Rey turns him over for a pin attempt. When that fails, he goes to the ropes, flips over, and springboards back into the ring for his move, but Malenko just moves under him. An Asai moonsault onto Malenko, who catches him on the shoulder, but Mysterio slips behind, flipping Dean over, and bridging back for a pin attempt! Wild!
- After another great sequence, Dean slaps on the Texas Cloverleaf. While Mysterio tries to hang on, Eddie arrives to start stomping Rey. The referee calls for the bell, but Dean thinks he won by submission. Until he finally sees Eddie...
- The crowd wastes no time in starting an "Eddie Sucks!" chant, and Eddie himself is quickly backing up and trying to talk it out with Malenko. They both roll out of the ring, and Mysterio springboards to crash down on both of them! All three men are out on the floor as we go to commercial.
- Darn, I missed what Gene had on his hotline today. Still no takers? Oh, good.
- The Giant wins out over Meng by disqualification after the Barbarian runs in.
- They lead into the match with footage of Meng taking down the Giant with the Tongan Death Grip, and the Giant showing up last week on Saturday Night.
- Meng makes his entrance, and we cut to commercial before the Giant shows up.
- Though a ton of smoke, the Giant emerges, without music. I like it.
- Meng attack while the Giant is climbing in the ring, and both men quickly start brawling. Meng actually gets the big man to cover up a bit. But not for long.
- The Giant chops Meng in the corner, but Meng chases him back with wild punches. Dusty, refering to those wild punches: "He don't aim!"
- Giant knocks Meng back, but gets two boots in the mouth for rushing in after him. A nice high kick, and the Giant goes down! Wow!
- Meng goes to the top with a big splash, but only gets two on the pin attempt, with the big man tossing Meng aside.
- As both men get up, Meng reaches for his Death Grip, but the Giant gets the choke, and Meng can't reach! Chokeslam!
- The referee slowly counts to two as the Barbarian comes running in to get the disqualification, but a chokeslam on the Barbarian is a nice touch.
- The Giant chases Jimmy Hart, but Curt Hennig and Virgi... er, Vincent come out to stomp on the Giant! The Villanos arrive, as does Super Calo and Bobby Eaton! Now a steady stream of wrestlers run out in a single file line, starting with Norman Smiley, then Alex Wright, Hardbody Harrison (I think), an Armstrong, Yuji Nagata, a couple more guys I didn't catch, and Silver King! Now the Steiners, Glacier, La Parka, Wrath, Disorderly Conduct... pretty much anyone in the dressing room... arrives - which means we just HAVE to watch World War 3 tomorrow...
- Odd point. Everyone is brawling on the floor. The Giant is in the ring, and anyone who rushes the ring gets tossed out by the Giant. Except Eddie Guerrero, he gets a spanking. One of the Villanos gets a powerbomb.
- Vincent gets thrown against the rail by Scott Steiner. Dusty: "Throw him over here, over by us!"
- Just when I think we're almost done, Ric Flair comes out in street clothes. (Well, as close to street clothes as Flair gets.) He goes right after Curt Hennig and throws him into rails, ringposts, whatever he can, as the show goes off the air.
- You know what? I'm actually going to like covering Saturday Night. The show has become more than just a showcase for everyone who loses on Nitro. Things actually happen here. And while the WWF shows all take place under the exact same set up, it's nice to see some very different looking wrestling shows.
- This was actually a good show - while it didn't have all the shocking events reserved for Monday Night, it still had a good card, full of solid wrestling.