WCW Saturday Night - Saturday, 12/20/97
WCW Saturday Night - Saturday, 12/20/97
- Welcome to Saturday Night, the mothership of the WCW! I'm assuming we're still in Erie, PA, last week's location.
- I've always loved multiple show tapings. Seeing the same kid with the same ugly red shirt in the front row three straight weeks.
- Konnan (w/ Vincent) defeats 'Hardwork' Bobby Walker (w/ Teddy Long) with the Tequila Sunrise.
- Teddy Long has an innovative approach to wrestling managing. Most start at the bottom and work to the top. But Teddy Long, former manager of the World Tag Team champions, now manages losers. Truly unique.
- The K-Cat, er, Dawg gets drop-kicked around at the start of this match, ending out on the floor. Okay, so no one calls him K-Dog anymore, but it's still worth a laugh in my book.
- The nWo team to face the Steiner Brothers and Ray Traylor will be Konnan, Scott Norton, and Virgil. Are you serious? What, are we trying to find the worst the nWo has to offer? Or maybe this is meant as an insult to Traylor and the Steiners.
- Is that a "Konnan sucks" chant I hear faintly in the background?
- The old test of strength, but Walker slips out of it, only to receive that cool rolling clothesline of Konnan's, probably the best looking move in his arsenal.
- Fighting back, Walker hits a great powerslam!
- Konnan gets caught trying to jump back over the incoming Hardwork, and just when I think it's another powerslam, Konnan slips back into an inverted DDT! Nice counter!
- The Tequila Sunrise is slapped on and the bell is rung, but in classic nWo fashion, Konnan refuses to give it up. Vincent even steps in front of Teddy Long to prevent him from breaking it up.
- Teddy is calling to the back for Bobby Eaton, but Konnan gives up the hold and we go to commercial before anyone comes out. Damn, now we'll never know who it was...
- Disco Inferno retains the TV Title after the Chartbuster on Johnny Attitude (who?).
- The announcers hype Disco's two-match winning streak. Right before I consider this ludicrous, I remember how long DI's losing streak used to be.
- For some reason, Dusty decides he needs to drag out all his words. Maybe he's covering the fact he really has nothing to say.
- Hmm, as Disco dances, I notice he's been working out, and developing some good muscle definition. But again, it sounds like a 'Disco sucks' chant the audio people are trying to cover up.
- Disco with a low leapfrog, gets caught by Mr. Attitude for a power bomb-ish drop, that looks great.
- After a very solid clothesline, Johnny signals for his finishing move, the... the... Heck, I don't know, I've never seen this guy before today.
- The Disco Inferno surprised Attitude with an excellent inverted atomic drop, then an even better Stone Cold Chartbuster to get the pin and win.
- Eddie Guerrero defeated Bobby Blaze after the Frog splash, retaining his Cruiserweight title.
- Hey, wasn't Blaze booed last week? But suddenly he's a nice guy? Don't you love TV tapings?
- I must say once again how cool Eddie's music is.
- Now this time, I KNOW I heard an 'Eddie sucks' chant! Didn't you hear it too?
- Eddie calls the fans rednecks, and a bit later stands on the second rope trying to backhand all of them. Scott Dickinson has to remind him his match is in the ring.
- Blaze stomps on Eddie's fingers, and he screams like a girl! I love it!
- The slingshot rolling headbutt by Guerrero always looks good.
- Eddie is standing on the throat of Blaze in the corner, until the ref finally provides a count, so Guerrero acts as though his ear is working right. I tell ya, Eddie may suck, but he sure is entertaining...
- Heh - Much like Eric Bischoff will at Starrcade, Dusty squeals. Then he apologizes - "That might have been a donkey, not a pig."
- Eddie hits a great brain buster, then the Froggie for the victory, while the announcers ramble on about the Starrcade matches.
- Does Gene Okerlund really expect us to call and hear his wish list for the new year?
- Diamond Dallas Page beat Roadblock with his patented, often-imitated, never-duplicated (except by Marc Mero) Diamond Cutter!
- I get a kick out of Roadblock carrying out the wooden sawhorse used to redirect traffic.
- It's Diamond Dallas Page - must... stand up... cannot resist... must make ... diamond sign... must... BANG!
- Page's ribs are once again taped up. This is rapidly becoming part of his uniform - jeans, elbowpads, boots, and taped ribs.
- DDP rolls up Roadblock, but only gets two - the camera backs up, presumably so all of Roadblock will fit in the picture. No wait, Rick Rude is here!
- Page looks upset - I have a feeling that cigar Rude is smoking is one of DDP's.
- Heh - Roadblock picks up Page, but the brawler beats on his back and shoulders like a woman! Fortunately, Page moves out of the way on a falling Roadblock, before he *becomes* a DDPancake!
- Speaking of which, Page lands the DDPancake on Roadblock - impressive for such a big man.
- DDP flashes the Diamond sign at Rude. Rude blows cigar smoke back at him.
- Roadblock picks up Page for a bodyslam, but he slips away and gives the Diamond Cutter! BANG!
- After the match, DDP is interviewed by Mean Gene - he slips in the "not my dog spot, not my liver spot" schtick and talks about taking Flair's spot against Hennig. BANG!
- Dave Taylor defeats Mean Mike of Disorderly Conduct after the double-underhook suplex.
- The Raven's Nest is present - strange, since nothing happens in this match.
- No, really - nothing happens in this match. There was almost nothing noteworthy here.
- Why are you still reading this section? I told you - *nothing happened!*
- Heh. Well, okay. Taylor's suplex looked good, and he's a good worker. Happy now?
- While I haven't been mentioning all the nWo run-down clips and the Starrcade promotions, believe me - they are there. However, I will mention the badmouthing of Sting, just because I like the use of the action figures.
- 'Lionheart' Chris Jericho submits to the Rings of Saturn.
- I used to think Jericho's music was similar to Pearl Jam's "Evenflow." Now I'm convinced it's just an instrumental version of the song.
- They show the Benoit footage from Nitro, where he leaped into the Raven-less Nest but found himself wrapped in the Rings of Saturn.
- Saturn gets the early start, with a solid clothesline. I mention those a lot because I feel it really is a major part of any wrestlers gallery of moves, and the ability to throw a good clothesline, as well as a good dropkick, usually are signs of a good worker.
- Jericho uses a baseball slide to escape another clothesline, sliding between Saturn's legs, and mounts a comeback with a sweet Asai Moonsault!
- Some hard punches and chops by Lionheart, and he pulls a Shawn Michaels by hanging on after being thrown out of the ropes, pulling himself back in - but Saturn rushes, and both men go out onto the floor!
- Saturn's turn again - he gives a ... a... a front-facing three-quarter nelson suplex? Okay, it's a Saturnplex now. Very nice Michinoku Driver as well.
- Jericho fights back once more, with a great German suplex, and a good top rope Frankensteiner!
- Now Lodi is up to interfere, but Saturn misses Jericho and collides with Lodi! However, Jericho is tripped by a Nester (looked like Riggs) and gets the Rings of Saturn.
- The rest of the Flock storms the ring as we go to commercial, and I must say I'm impressed by Hammer's leap to the apron and slingshot into the ring - it almost looked like one more from floor to ring.
- I completely fast-forward WCW Motorsports when they said it was another Year in Review. Please forgive me, loyal fans.
- A hideous commercial involving two bimbos screaming at me, provided by a WCW sponsor. After an awful, annoying spot like that, I wouldn't buy from them if they sent me the blonde AND the brunette!
- Public Enemy defeated Steve and Scott Armstrong after using a very large foreign object without being disqualified.
- The Armstrong brothers, Georgians as their jackets proclaim, scowl and snap at the crowd. My first clue that a wildly popular team is on it's way, and since the Steiners are accounted for, that leaves:
- Public Enemy bring their table to the ring - what next, is someone going to drive a vehicle to the ring, and use THAT as a weapon?
- Oh, very sorry Mr. Austin, no offense intended.
- I want to apologize for the WCW - a few weeks ago, Public Enemy was going to splash the Villanos on a table when we suddenly cut to commercial. I accused Bischoff and company of censorship, when later some faithful readers informed me that the spot was blown when the table didn't break, despite several attempts and a slight injury to Villano Pi. (thanks, Jeremy!)
- Life for the Public Enemy must be tough: Dance, dance, dance, get attacked, train wreck your opponents, dance, dance, dance...
- The Armstrong brothers provide a nice double shoulderblock, and I find myself thinking that the Armstrong family might make a good stable if they got the right kind of exposure. Then I wonder if my recent lack of sleep if affecting my judgement.
- Plunder! PE brings the table in the ring, leaned up against a turnbuckle, with an Armstrong in the opposite corner. You know, if it weren't for lawsuits, if I were an Armstrong I'd be considering running up that table and taking my chances with the crowd...
- So let me see if I get this straight - Public Enemy is allowed to bring in a table, but if La Parka brings a chair...
- Grunge gets himself reverse whipped into the table, partially breaking it. He who lives by the table, dies by the table.
- After a brief skirmish on the outside, an Armstrong is nailed with the badly broken table, in full sight of the referee, and Johnny Grunge scores the win. Geez.
- In the name of fair play, I think the Villanos should get revenge on the next Nitro by driving to the ring in a semi and smashing Rocco Rock into the hood ornament.
- Mean Gene is all set to interview Lex Luger, but Buff Bagwell shows up instead. Heh. I like how he steals Luger's spotlight. Buff says the bottom line is he is 2-0 over Luger, he is Buff, he is the stuff, and he sneaks in one last pose before the commercial break.
- (Billy) Kidman scores a huge upset by pinning Glacier! (Please stop clapping, Bill)
- Glacier's long entrance is trimmed by footage from last week when the Ice Man snuck up to give Ernest Miller a Cryonic Kick, enabling Mortis to score a victory.
- The mask is ripped off, and Glacier scream "I Have The Power!" or something like that.
- Conversely, Kidman's entrance is the shortest of the night. He stands up, scratches his fleas, takes two steps, and gets in the ring.
- This is a solid, well-worked match. When Glacier side-kicks Kidman out of the ring, he says: "Let's see Ernest Miller do that!"
- Kidman fights back, and hits a great slingshot legdrop from out of the ring.
- Some good moves, as Glacier provides a palm strike to the chest, a good side kick, and a - wait, what the heck was that?!
- On further review, my roommate and I determine it was a forward twisting wristlock, and a fast back spinning leg sweep. No selling required, this move works in real life! Excellent!
- With Lodi providing a distraction, Ernest Miller arrives, laying out Glacier with a tornado roundhouse! Fantastic!
- Kidman hits the Shooting Star Press, always a good looking move, and gets the surprising win.
- My roommate and I agree - Glacier is much better as a heel.
- The Steiner Brothers defeat the Faces of Fear with a pin on the Barbarian.
- Hmm, no heat vs. no job. Although I don't know for sure who will win this one, as the Steiners jobbed cleanly to FoF a couple months ago.
- Strange, they are introduced as Meng and the Barbarian, not as Faces of Fear.
- Rick babbles something on the way to the ring, but Scott gets wise and simply taps his bicep instead.
- Weird - Scott grabs Meng's leg while the warrior from Tonga leans against the rope, and tries to kick out the other knee. And... what kind of move was this supposed to be...?
- After the standard opening moves from both sides, Rick is tagged in - I tell you, if my younger brother ruffled my hair and tried to shove me into a fight, I think I'd bite him. Treat me like a dog, and well...
- Nice combination, as Meng provides an inverted atomic drop as a setup for a Mafia kick by the Barbarian.
- The finish surprised me - Jimmy Hart grabbed Rick's foot, so Ted DiBiase ran over and slugged him! But Meng hopped out of the ring to slap the Tongan Death Grip on DiBiase. Meanwhile, Barbarian was caught coming off the top rope by a belly-to-belly suplex from Scott Steiner, pinning him for the win.
- Buff Bagwell scores another victory over Lex Luger, though once again not by pinfall.
- Bagwell enters carrying a sign, and he helps us to read: "I'm SeXy" You may have heard me say Scott Hall wants to teach kindgergarden, well I think I just found his substitute teacher.
- Buff talks some smack about Luger on the house mike, and as I look at him and Virgil, the first thing that comes to mind is the ZZ Top song, "Cheap Sunglasses."
- The Total Package arrives, his entrance mixed with the Nitro footage of the last confrontation with Bagwell.
- Buff attacks, and I must be getting trained, because the phrase "stompin' a mudhole" comes to mind just before Dusty says it.
- Shoving Luger in front of the camera, Bagwell tells Lex to "say something!" Heh.
- Lex fights back, issuing his own mudhole stompin'! He takes the nWo member outside of the ring and introduces him to the guardrail.
- Mr. ByTheBook Nick Patrick warns Luger about the kneedrops while Bagwell is draped over the second rope.
- Vincent says something, and Patrick actually listens to him. Now that is a sign a man is untrustworthy - when he listens to what Vincent has to say.
- Lex, now furious with Bagwell, is choking him viciously - Nick Patrick orders the break, finally pulling Lex off. The referee gets shoved, and Lex gets the DQ.
- But wait! Eric Bischoff does an nWo spot!
- Eazy-E says Larry will become infamous for giving Nitro to the nWo by losing his match against Bischoff at Starrcade.
- Eric brags about his kicks and how powerful his fists are. He is *such* a ham...
- Apparently, there is to be some sort of nWo surprise this Monday on Nitro. Look, I was going to watch anyway, so make it worth my time, will ya?
- A good show, which I would appreciate more were I not so tired. See you guys back here next week, and thanks again for all the E-mail!