WCW Monday Nitro - Monday, 12/01/97
WCW Monday Nitro - Monday, 12/01/97
- Trivia Question: What wrestler is the father of wrestler/referee Nick Patrick?
- One of my readers, ecw6nwo, let me know that the Giant was a surprise guest on Jay Leno on Friday. He was brought out as a surprise to a young actor who likes WCW. And the end, by accident Jay called the Giant Paul (his real name) and quickly corrected himself.
- The mailbag:
- From James Troupe, commenting on an observation in my Nitro report:
"Another local commercial. Two girls in bikinis for a loan company. Now that's targeted marketing to pro wrestling fans."
It wasn't a local commercial. I noticed this one for some reason because that company was sponsoring the Closed Captioning of the program. I will admit that it did delay my trip to the freezer for some ice cream.
- From Mikey:
Didn't Mongo seem extremely upset by Goldberg's taking of his Super Bowl ring? And didn't he seem only mildly perturbed by Jarrett's winning over his wife? What does this tell us? Mongo's priorities are in the RIGHT place! :-)
- I have a comment on Creed's report. He mentioned that taking bumps is as much a part of a great wrestler as delivering them. I agree 100%. I read on another web page this week (I'd credit it if I could remember where) that contrary to what you might initially think, the heels take worse bumps than the faces. The heels tend to take more "pratfalls" and take more punishment. Makes sense when you think about it.
- The owner of Who's On First in Hayward, CA sent me an e-mail letting me know than Bret Hart will be at his store signing autographs and Polaroids, Saturday, 12/13, at 1:00 p.m. for $10 a pop. I thought I'd pass that along so maybe someone could go and find out from the man himself what the scoop is. ;-)
- Arn Anderson is definitely starting work on his autobiography. More details soon.
- So much for Stevie Richards being out of the business. I read that he appeared at ECW's November to Remember this weekend.
- I don't remember if it was the same way last year, but from Thursday to Sunday, I got almost no e-mail and most of the major wrestling web pages had no updates, even the ones that are usually updated daily. I guess everyone takes a break to reality.
- Related to the previous point, I often mention how wrestling seems to pervade my life. Actually, like the rest of you, for the most part I had a wrestling-free weekend. I was hoping to come back with some great wrestling-related story about something that happened, but I don't have one. However, I did drive over 700 miles this weekend from Virginia to New York and back, and I have to share the winner of my annual Thanksgiving drive bumper-sticker contest. I saw it in Pennsylvania:
Welcome to Milford, PA
Now, go home!Obviously not handed out by the local tourism bureau.
- And, now, on to the show...
- Show starts off with announcers talking about how Zbyszko checkmated Bischoff in the human game of chess in one move.
- Bischoff comes out to be interviewed by Okerlund. Bischoff claims that his verbal agreement to agree to wrestle Zbyszko was only good then and there. Bischoff says that the only way he'll wrestle Zbyszko is if Nitro is the prize. But Zbyszko doesn't have the authority to do that, so Bischoff walks off.
- Okerlund on Bischoff's slow arrival to the ring: "I've never seen anybody milk an intro like this before. It's taking him five minutes to get in here." [Insert your own Glacier joke here.]
- Wow, the direction of this angle is as plain as the nose on Ric Flair's face.
- Rey Misterio, Jr. pinned Juventud Guerrera with a really crisp hurricarana.
- Eddie Guerrero, with his cruiserweight belt, replaces Tenay in the booth for the match.
- Eddie plays the soft-spoken egotistical heel on the mic.
- Rey has either hurt his left knee, or is selling a work injury. Unfortunately, it looks legit as Misterio can't put any weight on the leg for any of his moves.
- If the knee injury is a work, it was really well done.
- In a minor upset, "The Laughing Man" Hugh Morrus pinned Wrath after a No Laughing Matter.
- Raven and his not-so-merry men are at ringside.
- Wrath with a somersault off the apron onto Morrus on the floor. Pretty impressive for such a big guy.
- Wrath has Morrus set up for the Death Penalty, but Mortis convinces Wrath to bring Morrus over to be kicked by Mortis' loaded boot. As you might expect, Wrath winds up eating the loaded boot, setting up the finish.
- First, a breakup by Miller and Glacier. Now this? Take my gun away.
- Hogan comes out to tell everyone how much he hates Sting and Sting fans.
- Hogan spent the entire time saying how much he hates seeing people wearing Sting masks. For all you marks out there, that's WCW's way of getting you to buy Sting masks.
- Sign: "Hogan fears my mom". Must be Chan and Charlie.
- Hogan threatens to beat up an old lady at ringside. She starts messing with him. She must be a plant as all of the heels mess with her during the evening. Oh, no, I hope she's not the next Sapphire.
- In a big upset, Prince Iaukea cleanly pinned Yuji Nagata following a cross-body block from the top turnbuckle.
- Sign: "McMahon fears ratings."
- Three person sign: "Chop Us Flair"
- Ono after beating up Iaukea outside the ring: "Don't we already own Hawaii?" Huh?
- So after making Ultimo Dragon job to Nagata, they have Nagata job to Iaukea? What the?!
- An analogy from the SATs. Car races are to car crashes as Nitro Girls are to halter tops popping off.
- Harlem Heat defeated the Faces Of Fear when Booker T. pinned Barbarian with a rollup.
- I have heard from a number of different sources that Meng is a real deal, legit bad ass.
- Stevie Ray must go to the same orthodontist as David Letterman and Lauren Hutton.
- Meng had the goozle on Stevie Ray at the finish. Booker T. went after Meng with a chair and Meng punched through the chair and put the goozle on Booker T. through the chair. Hah!
- Scott Hall pinned Disco Inferno following an Outsider Edge in a complete squash.
- The Outsiders come out with their fake tag team belts.
- Hall does his schtick.
- Nash gives an out-and-out nasty, probably drunk, monologue. Aside from comparing WCW fans to patsies like Lee Harvey Oswald, he calls out "the dude that got beat by the chick".
- Tenay talks out how Disco Inferno gets no respect from anyone in the locker room since losing to Jacqueline.
- Nitro Girls. The Asian one gets a solo. Tenay: "That's Chae". And, honest to God, just as I'm thinking the same thing Heenan goes: "They named a stadium after her".
- Announcers are talking about how there is no way Zbyszko has the power to put up Nitro as a match stipulation. Okerlund interviews J.J. Dillon. Dillon says he can and will put Nitro on the line so Bischoff will have to face Zbyszko at Starrcade. Bischoff comes out and is absolutely speechless.
- Gadzooks, even the marks must know by now where this is going since they are adding a Thursday Nitro next year.
- Ultimo Dragon made Psychosis submit to the Dragon Sleeper.
- What is up with Psychosis' new mask? I liked the old one a lot better. Must be another victim of the new "one carry on bag rule".
- Tenay mentions that Ultimo Dragon's daughter is recovering from the abdominal surgery well. That would seem to be pandering to the Internet fans, who are the only ones who would know of the rumors of that surgery.
- The crowd was dead silent for this match.
- The announcers spend the entire match talking about the beating Bischoff will be taking at Starrcade. Yeah, right.
- A Nitro Party Pack winner. *yawn*
- "Crippler" Chris Benoit made Kidman submit to the Crippler Crossface.
- Benoit is just plain awesome.
- Schiavone and Tenay still worried about Sting after the beating a couple weeks ago. Spare me.
- Raven is scheduled to wrestle but he spits and says he will only wrestle when he wants, who he wants, yadda, yadda, yadda. He sends Kidman to the slaughter.
- Kidman gets nailed. Schiavone: "Benoit will put your teeth in the front row." Heenan: "I think he just put some in the balcony."
- Benoit is just squashing Kidman. Lets up on a Boston Crab to taunt Raven. Benoit alternates taunting Raven and beating on Kidman. Kidman takes advantage of the distraction and gets a few shots in. But not for long.
- Raven is wearling a t-shirt for a body piercing joint. Not only is Raven's eyebrow pierced, so is his tongue.
- Saturn nails Benoit outside the ring and Kidman hits a shooting star press off the apron onto Benoit on the floor.
- Raven is watching more intently that usual. Riggs has his eye on the match. Billy Idol On Steroids seems to have taken on Stevie Richards' role as the group's cheerleader.
- After the tap out, the Flock rushes the ring. Benoit dispatches most of them, goes face-to-face with Hammer, and gets gut-kicked and DDT'd by Raven. The Rings of Saturn are applied to complete the beating.
- Nitro Girls. Lex Luger's rack ain't got nothin' on Kimberly's.
- "The Total Package" Lex Luger defeated Buff Bagwell via DQ when Soultrain Jones, uh, I mean Vincent, interfered.
- Bagwell and Luger have an impromptu posedown before the match.
- Luger gets the early advantage. Bagwell goes to pull Luger out of the ring and misses and Luger quite obviously pulls himself out of the ring so he can get beaten. Whoops.
- Schiavone points out the animated old lady screaming at ringside. Heenan: "She's famous...I've seen her picture on the dollar bill."
- Heenan talks about how Zbyszko outwrestled Sammartino years ago. Puh-lease.
- Announcers start talking about how the referee needs to be careful. I think this referee deserves to be beaten as he's the one who blew the spot with Mongo and Goldberg at Halloween Havoc.
- As Luger is setting up for the win, Vincent interferes and the referee calls for the bell even though Luger is in control the whole time.
- Vincent gets racked and then Bagwell. Gee, never seen that ending to a Luger match before.
- New black-and-white nWo paid announcement with about 500 different clips of DDP getting punked.
- "Diamond" Dallas Page defeated WCW U.S. Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig via disqualification.
- Hennig came out first. Isn't the champion supposed to come out last?
- Hennig got nailed with a drink on the way to the ring. Then, about ten seconds later, he got hit with a big paperwad in the middle of his forehead.
- Hennig takes his belt and threatens to go back to the dressing room early in the match.
- Tenay refers to Page by his real name.
- Referee Randy Anderson legit gets hit in the eye by something and is really woozy. Hennig gets Page in a rest hold to give Randy Anderson a chance to recover. As much as I don't like Hennig, that is the sign of a true professional.
- Eventually, they get back to action but Anderson is still woozy. As this did not seem to be a work, as it did not come into play during the match, they really should have sent out another ref.
- Hennig hits the Diamond Cutter and Rick Rude appears and pulls Randy Anderson out of the ring before the three count is complete. The nWo comes in for a mudhole stomp on Page. Hogan eventually makes his way to the ring with Bischoff in tow.
- Boy, no one in the world could have pulled out the referee like Rick Rude did. Boy, oh boy, the nWo really got an impact player in Rude. [That's sarcasm in case you are missing it.]
- Hogan gives Page a really lame Diamond Cutter.
- Hogan puts a Sting mask on DDP and Diamond Cutters him again into the heavyweight belt.
- Hogan prattles into the camera. Fade to black.
- Trivia Answer: Jody Hamilton, aka Assassin #2.
- See you for Nitro again next week.
Chan of Chan and Charlie sends in the following arena report:
- Charlie and I got off to a late start. Being the procrastinators that we are, we waited until the last minute to create our DDT Digest sign. Being the prefectionist that I am, I held our entire posse up until it met my standards. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, our seats were strategically located in the best spot in the building to not get on camera. Our sign did make it on television during the middle of the Bagwell-Luger match and with the proper telescope, one could see it.
- Fortunately, Charlie and I have watched enough episodes of the Dukes of Hazzard to make it to the arena by around 7:15. We made like the Boriquas with five people in a small car. We promised to mention our ten-member party: us, Charlie's bro Josh, Matt, Heath, Mitchell, Turner and his girlfriend Stefanie, our pimp friend Sean and and the nonwrestling-oriented Alicia.
- We snuck our signs past security with the patented "I'll create a diversion plan," as Chalrie and I distracted the cops while Josh snuck by with the signs.
- Surprisingly, the dark matches had already begun. The crowd was incredibly loud at first despite the poor dark matches. We could not hear the names of the participants because of the noise. The first match was won by Rick King. The second was won by the Volcano Kid, who appears to be another Samoan.
While the first dark match was a squash, the second was very even. The Kid's opponent was a man from Portland, Oregon, who resembles a puggy Curt Hennig. Josh Wilcox has been receiving a lot of press lately as a rookie from Portland, although I have no idea if this was him.
- There was a long delay between the beginning of Nitro and the end of the last dark match. In the mean time, the Nitro Girls came out. Kim introduced each and each gave a solo performance. Kim definitely thinks her cherry pie tastes sweeter than the rest as she went last and said, "You know who I am." She also fraternized with the fans after each dance routine during the show while the other girls went and changed. Upon seeing Kimberly, Turner informed his girlfriend, "I've seen her naked." To which she calmly replied, "You've seen every girl naked."
- In addition to the Nitro Girls, a local Hooters sponsored the event and had two Hooters ring girls, Sandy and Jewel. I may not remember the names of the wrestlers in the dark matches, but I remember the ring girls. Funny how that works.
- Dave Penzer then came out and riled everyone out talking about the signs and the fact that the fans should wear their Sting masks which everyone had been given out free when enetring the building. The best signs centered around the Nitro Girls. One said "All I want for Christmas is the Nitro Girls." Another said "I left my wife at home to see the Nitro Girls." My personal favorite occurred when the girls first came out and a fan held up a sign that said, "Who's your daddy?" Penzer said that a lot of relatives of the crew must be there since a lot of signs read stuff like "Bill Goldberg is my dad." Peyton Manning signs and jerseys were also present as the local Heisman favorite is a demi-God in these parts. Ironically, we ran into him later while eating after wrestling.
- The announcers came out and as seems to be tradition, the crowd immediately chanted "Larry, Larry!" I think this is more because they are anxious for the matches after waiting and just want to cheer rather than true support for the Living Legend.
- The show then opened with Okerlund interviewing Bischoff. Had Bischoff not acknowledged the fans cheering, he could never have gotten a word in edgewise. It is amazing how fans stop chanting when the heel mentions them, but when he focuses on the appropriate topic, the fans will not let him speak.
- Rey Mysterio then beat Juvy to open the show.
- During the Rey-Juvy match, it became apparent that there were not many moves the Mexicans used in the match that Turner had not attempted on Stefanie.
- Hugh Morrus then beat Wrath. The fans focused on Raven's Nest walking to ringside. Television doesn't do the Sign Guy justice. I apologize, I still don't know his name. Everyone compares him to Billy Idol. He reminds me of Fea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. His signs included 'FEAR US," "MARRY ME COURTENEY COX," "KIDMAN WORLD TOUR 1997," "I KILLED KENNY (a South Park reference), and "WAKE UP SHASKA." I am not sure the origins of the last sign. If anyone knows, e-mail us. Our best guess is since he is from the Power Plant where Pez Whatley trains, it could be a reference to him since he once wrestled as Shaska during a 1986 feud with Jimmy Valiant.
- Prince Iaukea then defeated Yugi Nagata.
- This match featured two men on opposite ends of the spectrum as Nagata lost the night before to Ernest Miller and now to Iaukea. Iaukea won for the second consecutive week on Nitro.
- The Onoo comment that Bill did not understand came from the fans chants of "USA."
- "Rocky Sucks" was also yelled throughout the match. Either WCW's attempt to create their own Maivia is obvious even to the Knoxville fans or they actually thought Iaukea was Maivia. Living here my whole life, the latter is more likely. It's funny how when Maivia won the I-C title, Iaukea won the TV belt. Then Rocky gets hurt and Iaukea is not seen regularly. Now that Maivia is getting a huge push again, the Prince won for the second consecutive week on Nitro. Go figure.
- Harlem Heat then defeated the Faces of Fear. We enjoyed the match but wondered why Meng didn't just let Stevie Ray hit him in the head. The Samoans/Tongans never sell shots to the head anyaway. The Barbarian was obviously the least important man in the match as Harlem Heat got the win, Meng got the great offense at the end to retain credibility, and Barbarian did the job.
- Scott Hall then beat Disco Inferno. There was a commercial break between Hall's entrance and Disco's. In the mean time, Kevin Nash attempted to nap in the ring. A fan threw a beer which landed next to him. He picked it up and drank it. Next time, Steve Regal should fill the cup and throw that puppy into the ring.
- The announcers commented on Nash's career at UT. Nash was wearing a UT hat. His career was not as glamorous they would have you think. We have attached a June 24, 1980 article from the Nashville Banner regarding Nash's leaving the basketball team. It adds unique insight into Nash and you will learn that Latrell Sprewell isn't the first roundball man to hit his coach.
- Imagine, Disco winning on {Pro} one night and losing on Nitro the next...
- Ultimo Dragon made Psychosis submit with the Dragon Sleeper.
- Benoit then made Kidman submit.
- We wondered why the camera would show something as RAW as Kidman's chest on Nitro. When we saw the replay, you could not tell his chest was pink.
In all seriousness, WCW should never allow Kidman's shirt to be taken off in a match. He is very small and puny but the black shirt covers that up well and it would be a good idea to keep him dressed for matches.
- Van Hammer is receiving a push. It appears as he was the member of Raven's Nest who didn't sell on the pay-per-view and tonight he didn't either as Benoit destroyed the other members of the Flock. Maybe they realize that Van Hammer can't sell a move anyways, so why make him try.
- Luger won by DQ over Buff. Same match as we've seen one hundred times before.
- DDP beat Hennig by DQ. After the promo they showed before the match, everybody knew the nWo would punk DDP before it was over. Besides, this was the last match on the show and everybody knows that the nWo does a run-in on the last match.
- Randy Anderson got hit with a golf ball during the match and was knocked out pretty bad. We thought it was one of the balls Wild Cat Willie was throwing into the stands. The person who catches the ball gets a free autographed poster of the Nitro Girls. About as good of an idea as Bat Day at Yankee Stadium.
- Bill spoke of Hennig's professionalism during the incident. Another case of his professionalism occurred at a recent house show in Kansas City when he sold Harley Race (who was there as a local celebrity) as if he was the Giant. Despite this, we still don't like Hennig.
- Hennig appears to be over with the crowd. It reminds me of Jeff Jarrett. I can't decide if people hate him because he's a great heel or if people just hate him.
- Another note, Hogan's painted on beard is much darker in person. The lady he was arguing with in the stands has that same seat at every show in Knoxville. Her head was on camera most of the show. She must know the promoters. Doug Dellenger constantly talked to her during commercial breaks and the Sting mask that was slapped away from her was given back later in the show. Charlie has established a friendship with her as they are two of the craziest fans in Knoxville.
- We went immediately to the Hyatt afterwards. We saw Kevin Sullivan. He was with some woman so we assumed that's his way of getting over Nancy. Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart then came in. Lee Marshall is also much shorter in person. Konnan, Juvy, Rey and Psychosis, all maskless, ate at a restaurant in the Hyatt. Curt Hennig walked past us as well. The only one Charlie talked to was Buff Bagwell. He found out that Buff was rooming with Luger again, as always in Knoxville. Buff's left armed was bandaged just under the tattoo. Despite being out of costume, he still had the shades on top of his head. Charlie is 6' 2" and seemed at least half a foot taller than the Pretty Boy Redneck. We saw Saturn and he is HUGE!!
We left early because I had a Calculus test at 8 the next morning and we hadn't eaten yet. We later found out the crew came in around 2:30 because Savage recently bought a house in the area and invited the crew over. Reportedly, Hennig actually bought everyone in the Hyatt beers when they returned.
- Overall, it was a good show and we had fun. We were satisfied although we're never completely happy without the Nature Boy.