WCW Saturday Night - Saturday, 12/13/97
WCW Saturday Night - Saturday, 12/13/97
- A couple things I have to say right off the bat. First off, I am sorry this week's report is short, but with the holiday season, and having to help out a co-worker with a crisis, it's been a long, sleepless week. But I refuse to let anyone down, so I'll give you the abbreviated version this week only.
- Thanks to everyone for all the letters - I will reply to them all, though I'm about two weeks behind at the moment, looking to get completely caught up by the first of the year.
- We are pretending to be live from Erie, Pennsylvania!
- Mortis beat Ernest Miller following the D.O.A. - and a Cryonic Kick!
- The man in green executes a move that could be described as a reversed Samoan Bulldog (Diamond Cutter) while Miller was sitting backwards on the top turnbuckle.
- A rocker dropper is set up from the top rope by Mortis, but Miller turns it around into a great power bomb! Ernest also landed a great tornado kick, though Tony miscalled it.
- While the referee was distracted with Vandenberg on the apron, Glacier came up on the apron for a Cryonic Kick on Miller, which Mortis followed up with his "new" move, a reverse Russian leg sweep.
- The commercial for the Hogan/Sting Starrcade T-shirt, featuring Sting clips. Am I the only one who liked the thing with the vulture at the Clash of the Champions?
- Steve 'Mongo' McMichael beat Mark Starr with a (cringe) Tombstone piledriver.
- Just when I'm about to complain about Mongo raising the four fingers, he says to the camera: "The Four Horseman is an attitude, and it will never die!" Amen, brother. Raise those hands high.
- Mark Starr is clever enough to fall to the floor when Mongo takes a three-point stance, but later in the match he gets a pair of clipping lunges.
- Louie Spicoli took down Chavo Guerrero, Jr. with the Death Valley Driver.
- This match was all Spicoli, then all Guerrero, then all Spicoli again.
- I'm assuming the final move was the DVD. Spicoli lifted Chavo into a fireman's carry, then slipped him off one shoulder into a brain buster. Feel free to send me mail if I'm wrong - sorry, I don't have ECW coverage where I live.
- The nWo montage of beating up Rowdy Roddy Piper. Which means he'll be back pretty soon, for whatever reason.
- Yuji Nagata won out over Prince Iaukea with the Nagatalock.
- Prince Iaukea, I feel, could be used more effectively by getting him more involved as a Cruiserweight.
- There's that pesky unnamed move of Yuji's again. Dusty gives me an idea of what to call it. It's an inverted fallaway slam. But you can still call it the Nagataplex, I'll let you...
- Several odd spots look like Sonny Onoo was supposed to interfere, but couldn't quite get the timing just right.
- Goldberg is interviewed by Mean Gene. No more first names ("do I *look* like a Billy to you?" interrogates Goldberg.) He says Mongo *was* the man, and *used* to be a legend, but McMichael has been out of the real action; at Starrcade, Goldberg will prove that no man can take him one on one.
- Now this I like, as WCW takes a page from their competitors. As they show footage of Sting trashing the nWo members while Hogan stares in disbelief, the final moments of Nitro, they also show about half a minute of extra footage after they went off the air as Sting and Hogan come still closer to almost wrestling.
- Fit Finley submitted to Chris Benoit and the Crippler Crossface.
- Quick shots of Benoit beating the stuffing out of Lodi from the Raven-less Nest from Nitro. Odd idea, while the cat's away, the mice will stand around helplessly...
- A stiff match that spent quite a bit of time out of the ring, with Raven's (Flock? Group?) Nest conveniently missing.
- Finley was working over the shoulder of Benoit extensively, when out of nowhere, Benoit grabbed his arm, twisted it behind, and slapped on the Crossface. Great move, it looked like a class at my roommate's martial arts studio!
- Diamond Dallas Page in a very cool segment.
- It starts with the lights dim, and he says "The following announcement was paid for by DDP."
- He asks a question we all wonder: When nWo helps out nWo, why doesn't WCW help WCW? (He never really answered it though. Guess he doesn't know either.)
- Page hears the chants of "2 Sweet" and Hall's survey, but he says it's just people wanting to get into the action.
- He says no one in the nWo, not Hall, Nash, Hennig, Savage, or even Hogan can take him one on one. BANG!
- Faces of Fear over Harlem Heat after a Tongan Death Grip.
- I just realized something - the original "Three Faces of Fear" are all gone now. John Tenta (Earthquake/Avalanche), Ed Leslie (Butcher/Barber/Zodiak/gimmick de jour), and Kevin Sullivan. Wow.
- When I see Booker T leapfrog and spin kick, it amazes me that such a big man can have such great agility!
- A nice move where Meng backdrops Booker T right into a power bomb by the Barbarian. It's even more impressive because the spot was nearly blown, and Barbarian had to hang on, pull the Harlem Heat member back up, and THEN drop him!
- After the hot tag, a brawl starts, Booker T clotheslines the Barbarian out of the ring, Meng slaps the TDG on Stevie Ray, and it's over.
- WCW Motorsports: A banquet speech and a car winner. What a waste of airtime.
- A short Nitro clip of Ric Flair putting down Bret Hart - I am looking forward to the three hour Nitro this Monday, where Hart finally shows up. (In case you've just joined us.)
- "Gentleman" Chris Adams beat Rick Fuller with the Superkick.
- I know he doesn't look spectacular, or have a fancy gimmick, but please get Chris Adams on Nitro - he's a great worker, and he is (at least in my book) a solid veteran who has contributed quite a bit to the sport.
- Adams did well dealing with the bigger size of Fuller, but the big man got the advatange until a missed legdrop off the second rope, and got the kick for his troubles.
- "Pirate" Scotty Riggs won with the Flying Forearm over Bobby Eaton.
- Strange - Riggs crawls, lurks around on his knees, and does other Raven-ish things during the match.
- Eaton gets momentum and goes to the top for the Alabama Jam, but Kidman and Lodi get up to jeer and distract him. Riggs quickly moved out of the way of the Jam, and came back with two forearm, one of them the previously mentioned finish.
- Dean Malenko beat Juventud Guerrera with the Texas Cloverleaf.
- Say what you will about the Cruiserweights, but I can watch them all day. Fast paced, quick counters, I know we see Malenko/Mysterio/Eddie a lot, but I think they truly shine in the wrestling spotlight.
- This, unfortunately, is one of those matches where you can type that ending in as soon as you see who wrestling. It doesn't help that Guerrera didn't even get an entrance.
- Mean Gene interviews the much meaner Giant. I wish Giant wouldn't whisper though, it makes it deafening when he starts SCREAMING ABOUT THE CHOKE-SLAAAAAM! (then again, maybe that's the idea...)
- Curt Hennig retains the United States title after being DQed over Ray Traylor.
- Thankfully, Nick Patrick was not the referee for this match. It's the new guy, Billy Silverman I believe his name is.
- Hennig spent at least two minutes at the start of the match just walking around the ring, teasing some action but delivering none.
- This match was a bit short, I thought.
- Right after a Spike Slam by Traylor, Rick Rude arrived to yank the referee out of the ring, and here comes the nWo, Bagwell, Vincent, Norton.
- Steiners rush the ring to make the save. Looks like we're setting up for three members of the nWo "B" Team to face Traylor and the Steiners at Starrcade.
- Good show, I'll have a full report up next week.