Starrcade '97 - Sunday, 12/28/97
- Trivia: What three wrestlers that wrestled in the first Starrcade are currently employed by WCW?
- We watched the 30-minute countdown to kill time after watching {Pro}. They continued to instruct fans to call their cable operators and tell them that they wanted the "Grandaddy of them all." Charlie's dream of calling and telling some stranger simply, "I want the Grandaddy," were throttled due to the automated service our area has.
- Matt counted the Sting promo at fourteen times. After viewing this as many times as we did, we concluded that had the portions of the street that Sting walked on lit up, it was comparable to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" video.
- Bobby Heenan appeared on the countdown show and like on yesterday's Main Event, was presented as a WCW commentator. We are uncertain if they taped the segment and did not want to re-do it or if the portion of this week's Nitro was to "trick" the nWo. If it was a taped segment, it is another demonstration of how WCW is booked on the fly. In a Heenan related note, Bob Ryder reported on December 13th that a Heenan Fan Club page has been opened at http://web-park.com/heenan.
- During the countdown, WCW showed many clips of Bret Hart segments and one notable one was from the December 8th Nitro when Hart told Bischoff, "You're on your own, Jack." Was Hart using slang or is he so new to WCW's product that he does not yet know his employer's name?
- Starrcade is in Washington, DC at the new MCI Center there. It had been held the three previous years in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium. WCW selected the announcing combination of Dusty Rhodes, Tony Shiavone and Mike Tenay. They quickly noted that many of WCW's wrestlers were in the stands as spectators. They showed Harlem Heat (wearing their shades indoors), Sonny Onoo, Hugh Morrus, Glacier (without the blue contact lens), Rey Mysterio, Juventud Guerrera and Ultimo Dragon. It was claimed that they all paid for their own airfare and admission. I suppose that is why they did not have them at ringside. After all, those seats are reserved for Raven's Nest.
- After showing all of the wrestlers in the stands, they panned to an nWo-clad man who, even with the wrestlers in attendance might have been the most muscular man in the building. Must be Bill.
- The show opened with Eddy Guerrero retaining his cruiserweight championship against Dean Malenko.
- Prior to the match, a clip of Steve McMichael and Mark Madden responding to fans during WCW's online simulcast was shown. McMichael has added weight since his football days to look more like a wrestler and Madden is still much heavier.
- Starrcade History: Malenko has never won a Starrcade match. For the second consecutive year, he wrestled in the cruiserweight championship match on the show. He lost to the Ultimo Dragon in last year's finale. Those are the only two cruiserweight championship matches in Starrcade history. Guerrero lost to Shinjiro Otani in 1995 and defeated Diamond Dallas Page for the U.S. belt last year.
- WCW is once again rehashing this always entertaining match. Guerrero and Malenko were voted RSPW's 1995 North American feud of the year. When they were brought into WCW in September of 1995, WCW immediately tried to pair the two. Their first Nitro came in the fifth ever edition of the program. Guerrero pinned Dean in Denver, CO. That was the first time either of us had seen Malenko (our area doers not receive ECW coverage) and his facial expression has not changed since. It is our opnion that he should be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest victim of constipation.
- Guerrero and Malenko are notoriously linked. Legends of the Extreme, a site that highlights the careers of ECW competitors, has paired the two in a feature at at http://extreme.hardcorecentral.com/e/eddiedean.html and the Realm of the Iceman (http://www.twc-online.com/custom/malenko), a site that spotlights the career of Malenko, ranks Geurrero as Malenko's greatest opponent.
- WCW has brought in Saved By The Bell's Zack Morris to officiate. Actually, they're showing that Mr. Robinson's neighborhood now extends to the squared circle as the new referee is Charles Robinson. It was the only match he worked.
- Eddy "hulked up" in the match. Malenko looked at him like he was stupid, which was probably the correct response to such behavior. We wish Hogan's opponents would do the same. This is one of the cases where Dean's "Iceman" personality, or lack thereof, benefits him.
- Mike Tenay asked Dusty a question about how he viewed the cruiserweight division. And this is a man who is considered incredibly knowledgeable about wrestling. We feel WCW would probably be better served to turn off his microphone.
- Guerrero attempted to call time out in a match. While this is not yet legal, if he negotiated with J.J. Dillon, I am sure it could be legalized. He allows everything else.
- On a more positive announcing note, Dusty used his classic, "make you back crack and liver quiver" schtick. Unfortunately, we did not get to hear Dusty refer to Eddy's finisher as the "froggy."
- One fan had a sign that read, "Hitman 3:16: I just broke your jaw" sign. Mark Madden wrote a column recently on the WCW web site that claimed fans might bring a sign that read just that. A plant or an unoriginal fan? Our guess is plant seeing his positioning in the crowd and the fact that WCW repeatedly mentions Bret's last months in the WWF and his poor treatment there.
- All factors pointed to Malenko winning. He defeated Guerrero for both championships in ECW and WCW that Eddy has won. He defeated him for ECW's television belt (7/21/95 in Tampa, FL) and WCW's United States heavyweight championship (3/16/97 in Charleston, SC). In addition, the cruiserweight belt has changed hands once in each month since June. Why didn't the Iceman win? Our theory is that Dean still had jet lag and was not completed recovered after returning from his {Pro} match.
- Scott Hall then came out to explain that Nash was not in attendance and then the Giant came out and powerbombed him.
- Starrcade History: The Giant lost his only Starrcade match last year to Lex Luger. Nash's only Starrcade match came when the Outsiders defeated the Faces of Fear.
- We passed out toothpicks during this segment as everyone must have a toothpick when Hall is on camera. For the record, we have never claimed to have lives.
- Hall's comment about spending the Holidays in Washington, DC could have been a shoot since he played college basketball in Maryland.
- Once again, the fans both booed Hall and then spelled out nWo for him. Pick a side! Dusty saved the segment by screaming, "Lets take a survey now, you know what I mean?" If anyone else had said it, it would not have been funny.
- WCW exaggerates so much that they forget their own claims. Hall claimed Nash to be 6' 10." This is probably accurate. WCW has listed him at 7' and 7' 1". It made the Giant look idiotic earlier in the week we he made the comment on Nitro, "You have to be 7-foot to be a giant." Even if Nash wasn't 7-feet, that comment is completely idiotic but when they listed him at 7' 1" later in the broadcast in made it even worse. Also on WCW's countdown show it lists Giant at 454, then Paul came out and said he weighed 480. He must have gained 26 pounds in one night.
- Hall could not get his voice high enough on his "Too Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!" Nash is the innovator and master of that. This would have been a major contrast in voices as Giant screamed chokeslam in one of the deepest basso profundos ever while Nash gets high on his catch phrase.
- Both have come up with cute names of affection for one another. Hall called the Giant "Frankengoof." The Giant called Scott Hall, "Slick."
- It has already been reported on some sites that Kevin Nash simply missed a flight. Such incompetence is maybe why Hall was destroyed on this pay-per-view and the Wolf Pack may be losing some power in WCW.
- Even after the powerbomb, Hall's toothpick was still behind his ear.
- Randy Savage, Scott Norton and Vincent defeated The Steiner Brothers and Ray Traylor when Savage pinned Scott Steiner after an elbow drop.
- Starrcade history: The Steiners have more matches than anyone on the card at Starrcades other than Sting and Luger. Rick was 6-3 and Scott 6-1. It was the first time he had been pinned on Starrcade. Rick was also in the only other six-man tag in Starrcade history as he and Larry Zbyszko and Eddie Gilbert lost to Sting, Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin in 1987. Traylor was in his thrid Starrcade, and under his third ring name (1986-Bubba Rogers, 1993-The Boss, 1997- Ray Traylor). The third time wasn't the charm for Traylor.
- Norton and Vincent came out and then carried Hall back to the dressing room. Then they got Vincent's sunglasses and came out again. Thank God Vincent got those shades. He might not be near the wrestler he is without them. Then came the Steiner Brothers and Ray Traylor. Then, Savage, who was replacing Konnan whose absence was not accounted for. He's nWo, so obviously WCW knows nothing about his whereabouts anymore. They aren't doing anything with him anyway. Savage did not want to be linked to Vincent and Norton so he made sure he came out at a different time and with the nWo A-team music. We don't blame him one bit.
- Ross Foreman's Ross Report concerns Ray Traylor this week. We are not sure which WCW executive is so delusional that they feel people care about Ray Traylor. Maybe the insanity gimmick that Sullivan incorporated during his career was not a work after all. If you are interested, you can obtain the column at http://www.wcwwrestling.com/news/ross_report/971226/index.html. It does detail the back injury which kept him out of action.
- We didn't know WCW had six-man matches without any Mexicans. Is it still a trios match?
- Scott Steiner cut his hair to create the illusion that he has a neck.
- The announcers went on about the Steiners businesslike approach in the ring. Can you imagine going to your boss with mismatched shoes and barking for no apparent reason? After the comment, Rick proceeded to bite his opponents ear.
- "Nobody wants to make a mistake. There's too much at stake." - Snoop Doggy Tenay.
- Scott Steiner picked up Elizabeth in the middle of the match for no apparent reason. We were thinking suplex. It wouldn't be the last time we were disappointed.
- Vincent's offensive game was punches and kicks. He really has no other moves.
- We have commented in the past on Vincent's Guess jeans and the ramifications of his overpaid contract. We have decided that he wrestles so little, that he should not waste his money on wrestling attire. Even when he wrestles, he just loses quickly and doesn't break a sweat, so what's the point?
- At one point, Scott Steiner just started slapping Vincent. We don't blame him either.
- As the Steiners tagged Ray Traylor, the announcers talked about the "Great fluid movement" of their team. Raven wishes he could say the same...
- Vincent's role in the match? Two words: Rodney King. Hey, Ray Traylor was a corrections officer in Cobb County, Georgia...
- Vincent's most effective offensive maneuver came when he and Traylor hit each other while running the ropes. Of course he knocked himself out as well...
- They teased the ending of this match twice as Scott Steiner hit two impressive moves on him. After a frankensteiner from the top rope, Mike Tenay said, "Take that Rey Jr." Are they teasing a Rey-Tenay feud. If Bischoff can wrestle, then why not "Iron" Mike?
- Norton and Savage combined for the pinning combination on Scott. Did you ever think Scott would do the job?
- Gene Okerlund then interviewd J.J. Dillon, who announced Nick Patrick as the referee of the Sting-Hogan match.
- Why are there two r's in Starrcade?
- Bill Goldberg then defeated Steve McMichael.
- Starrcade history: McMichael and Goldberg are both wrestling in their first Starrcade.
- This is a battle of football greats? After Tenay went on about Goldberg as an All-SEC noseguard while at Georgia, Dusty said, "Back in Texas, where we really played football..." Dusty always puts Tenay in his place. God love him.
- Raven's Nest appeared for the first time: Sick Boy, Lodi, Kidman, Riggs, and Hammer.
- Goldberg got a table to use in this match. It took them so long to use it we thought for a moment the prop man screwed up like he did on Nitro this past week.
- Goldberg won with a jackhammer.
- McMichael loses to all of the debuting football players. He lost to Kevin Greene. He lost to Reggie White. Why not Bill Goldberg?
- Perry Saturn, subbing for the nonconformists poster child, defeated Chris Benoit in a Raven's Rules match.
- Starrcade history: Benoit lost for the third consecutive year at Starrcade. He lost to Jushin Liger in 1995 and Jeff Jarrett in 1996.
- Raven and Saturn both came through the ramp which was different. Are they beginning to conform? Heaven forbid.
- Surprise of the Night: Dusty Rhodes' effective use of the word "soliloquy".
- On Nitro, Tenay claimed that no one went against what Raven stood for more than Benoit. We think it's because he is the only one who understands the Raven character.
- Kidman used a shooting star press from the ring apron.
- Saturn showed his aerial work for the first time in WCW with a moonsault springboard from the top rope.
- Mickey Jay refereed the match.
- They showed Mortis, Alex Wright, Barry Darsow and Ernest Miller in the stands. Wright was not wrestling as Starrcade as Alex Wright supposedly had an aneurysm. Bob Ryder claimed earlier this week that Das Wunderkind will be back in four to six weeks. Wright just turned 23 on May 17th and at that age should recover quickly. In 1997 showed promise as a heel attaining both the Cruiserweight (7/28-8/12) and Television (8/21-9/22) championships. He hasn't wrestled since 11/24 Nitro in Saginaw when he beat Prince Iaukea.
- Saturn mimicked Arn Anderson's hand signal across the throat. If he's copying Arn he can't be that bad. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...
- If the Nest could attack at anytime during the match, why didn't they?
- Raven's Nest needed a win. All they have done lately is lose. Yet, it's still a great career move for Scotty Riggs.
- Buff Bagwell pinned Lex Luger after interference from Scott Norton.
- Starrcade history: Luger wrestled in his 12th Starrcade match (6-4-1), second most on the card. Bagwell wrestled his third Starrcade match and first since 1993. The return of the Pretty Boy Redneck is why this is one of the most successful Starrcades in recent memory.
- Buff has a new name for Lex: Lex Loser. Buff is the STUFF! We realize he didn't invent that...we just wanted a reason to say, Buff is the STUFF!
- Vincent came down to the ring with Bagwell. Since he won earlier, he needed to get his mandatory beating in that is crucial to all pay-per-view success.
- Comment of the match: "Buff Bagwell is really riding Lex Luger." They room together...
- Buff winked into the camera in the match. Buff is cool.
- Apparently, Mike Tenay was incredibly shocked by the nWo's cheating tactics. Who would have thought that?
- Harlem Heat was wearing velvet in the stands. You got to love the Heat.
- Bagwell attempted a sleeper hold. Apparently he does not realize that the sleeper only is effective when Roddy Piper applies it. Buff jumped on Lex to gain a leverage advantage. All of that piggy-back experience with Scott Norton has finally paid off.
- Luger did hi usual multiple atomic drops, forearm... But Vincent interfered. What do you think happened to Vincent?
- Randy Savage came down and attempted to interfere. He was punked. This was great only because Liz ran to the ring to help him. Note to WCW bookers: Liz running is a good thing. Liz should be in on all of the nWo run-ins.
- Scott Norton finally did the successful interference. All of this went on when Billy Silverman took a routine ref bump that would not have phased the average fan.
- We thought the best part of the match was going to be Dusty's attempt at "coup de gras."
- There was much speculation heading into the match that Luger would win, join the nWo and Buff would be kicked out. Al Isaacs of Scoops even predicted this. Others said that since Disco Inferno admitted recently that his next program will be against Bagwell, that he would somehow factor into Buff's losing. Both scenarios were incorrect.
- If Bagwell does defeat Disco, the current TV champion, it will be his first stint as a single's champion in WCW.
- They panned to the stands again. They showed Greg Valentine and Sonny Onoo.
- Diamond Dallas Page then became the new United States Champion with a diamond cutter!
- Starrcade history: DDP got his first Starrcade win in three attempts. Hennig's was in his first Starrcade match.
- DDP received Internet wonder this week with his comments about being a Christmas lover. Many claim DDP is a practicing Jew, and his real name is supposedly Page Faulkenburg. We do know that he holds an annual Christmas Party. That is where Steven Regal punked Van Hammer last year.
- Randy Anderson refereed the match. He was the only man to referee two matches on the show.
- The best part of the match was when DDP draped Hennig's legs and ran his crotch into the ringpost. Dusty commented, "Iron Mike what do you call that? Is that one of them hummburcanranas?"
- Larry Zbyszko defeated Eric Bischoff when Bret Hart decided to beat up Scott Hall and award the match to Zbyzsko. No pin was given and no winner was announced. We assume it was by disqualification.
- Starrcade history: Zbyszko's only match was the previously mentioned six-man tag of 1987 and Bischoff was in his first match.
- Zbyszko entered to the Nitro theme.
- There was a Canadian flag scene in the front row. Definitely a plant in DC.
- Bischoff was wearing no shirt. Definitely mistake. At least he didn't wear trunks.
- Bischoff has Billy Kidman's body and Hulk Hogan's skills, or lack thereof.
- This was definitely a Battle of the Ages, as opposed to a Battle for the Ages.
- Larry shaved his legs for this. He even shaved his back for this.
- Bret was about a half foot taller than either man in the match and it made it look like a midget match. The work was not that good, though.
- Highlight of the match was Scott Hall impersonating the Karate Kid in the match. They were copying 80s movies a lot in this match as Zbyszko took everything Bischoff dished out a la Rocky I, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV...
- The great mat technician's first move was grinding Bischoff's face in the mat.
- Bret teased throughout the match that he was nWo as he broke many of Zbyszko's holds. He also teased it in his column in the Calgary Sun yesterday (http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestling/hitman-home.html).
- Zbyszko used a standing reverse figure-four it was not called the Nagata Lock. He also utilized the Tree Of Woe in the match and it was called that.
- Hall tapped out to the sharpshooter in the match.
- Sting defeated Hulk Hogan to become the new World Champion.
- Starrcade history: Sting is in his sixteenth Starrcade match. The only man he has laid down for is Lex Luger (1989). Sting has wrestled Ric Flair on three Starrcades (1989, 1990, 1995). To show the change in direction of the company, in the Hogan era, that is more than all but three other wrestlers on the card had at Starrcade. Hogan is now 1-2 in Starrcade matches and has lost his last two. I'm happy.
- Hulk Hogan came out to Jimi Hendrix's "VooDoo Child." Sting came out to the little kid's monologue that should say, "When you run out of hair bleach and they don't have enough money to buy the rights to the Crow and they give you a vulture instead..."
- Sting no longer blinks. Ever.
- Fans were chanting "Boring!" during portions of the match. Maybe they didn't realize that this is the match of the decade.
- Hogan did his earcup thing and legdrop and got the 1-2-3.
- Bret Hart came out and for no apparent reason restarted the match which Sting quickly won and was announced as the champion. We don't know either.
- Many wrestlers rushed the ring including Alex Wright, Ernest Miller, Lex Luger (who caught him in his Yogi Berra jump), Public Enemy, Wrath, Mortis, Silver King, and yes, Louie Spiccoli.
- La Parka stood next to Sting for most of the celebration. Could it be Bill...
- We then learned that Sting has spent the past year and a half mastering Spanish.
- Trivia Answer: Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, Greg Valentine.
Happy Holidays From Charlie (of Chan and Charlie) and Matt
Bill's arena report:
- Prediction results (just picking overall winner, regardless of the finish) out of eight matches: Chan 5, Charlie 4, Creed 5, Cubs Fan 5, Alex S. 4, Bill 4. Someday, I won't come in last place. We all got the Malenko match wrong, but given he's going to have a new baby and be taking some time off, it makes sense that it would not be a good time for him to be defending a belt.
- We had seats in our company's box on level three. If you saw a "Steve Regal Was Framed" sign on level three, that was me.
- The printed card was as originally announced, so the people in the arena didn't know about Nash nor Konnan no-showing until the people at home did.
- There were no dark matches, but we did get warmed up by Wildcat Willie. Whoopee.
- Before the card started, we saw Disco Inferno being interviewed by Mark Madden and (I think) Jeff Katz.
- There was a lot of yellow-shirted security personnel in the building.
- The Malenko/Guerrero match, although slow, was one of the better ones of the night.
- Generally speaking, the crowd was pretty quiet throughout the night, with the exception of the endings. It was weird. At both Halloween Havoc and this show, the crowd was eerily quiet during the matches. However, at the non-televised house show I went to in Fairfax in September, the crowd was rocking and rolling all night long.
- Friggin' Hacksaw Duggan kept starting "USA" chants during matches where both guys in the match were American. Annoying.
- I found it comical how Savage had a separate entrance to nWo A-Team music after Norton and Vincent came out to the B-team music.
- I don't know if TV picked it up, but when Mongo went through the table, the crowd chanted "ECW!".
- Those fans in the arena that don't follow extremely closely were really confused at the ending of the Benoit/Saturn match. There was no announcement nor nothing on the printed card that said it was a no-DQ match.
- The box had TV screens that had the PPV feed on them. When Luger came out, I predicted by the pissed off look on his face that he was not booked to win.
- We were really getting ticked during the Luger match when Luger fought his way out of the third sleeperhold in a row that Bagwell had put on him.
- Sting's outfit and hair made him look a lot like the Undertaker from the back.
- In the arena, it looked like Nick Patrick's attempted screw job was not a screw job at all, so if you didn't know the Nick Patrick angle, or didn't know the Bret Hart angle, it looked like Hogan got screwed out of his title. Then again, even knowing those angles, it still looked like Hogan got screwed.
- After the broadcast ended, all of the wrestlers stayed in the ring a short time, Sting gave a couple more Stinger Screams, and everyone went back to the dressing room.
- Leaving the arena's underground parking garage, we drove through a gauntlet of people on the street who were hoping to catch a glimpse of some wrestlers. There were hundreds of people lining the streets, and cops with megaphones were telling them to get back on the sidewalk.
- Overall? Let's just say that, unlike Halloween Havoc, the card was no better live than on TV.
Todd A. sends the following arena report:
- Just wanted to send you another arena report for your page. I was in another sky box, and let me tell you, the seats were (pardon my Scott Hall impersonation) Too Sweeeeet! However, I must say that I was completely ripped off by the MCI Arena Concierge service. Everything you order (food and drink-wise) has to be for a minimum of six people. I wish they had told me that before I ordered a hot-dog, chicken wings, popcorn, and a beer. Thirty minutes after I placed my order, a team of three waiters roll in this huge cart with six hot dogs, a gigantic bowl of popcorn, about 50 chicken wings, and a six -pack of Bud. Sheesh, the luchadores couldn't have polished off all that food. [Note from Bill: Everything he is saying about the food service on the executive box level is true...you must ordering six of anything at a time.]
- And before I get to my report, I ran into a good buddy of mine who works security at the Arena, and he told me that Kevin Nash was going to be a no-show. The word backstage was that Nash went to the hospital last night for what Kevin thought might have been a heart attack, but was actually very bad indigestion (maybe he has the same caterers I had). Anyway, Nash missed his flight to DC, and was literally a last-second no-show. (Notice the ring announcer didn't make the announcement at the beginning of the show, and
that they waited until after the first match. Scott Hall didn't have a good idea of what to say when he came out, and they even couldn't throw together a last second match between the Giant and Hall.)
- So anyhow.....
- Pre-game
- Wildcat Willie is a travesty.
- Hacksaw Jim Duggan, complete in a tuxedo, American Flag, and 2 x 4 (with bow-tie) took his seat ringside to a huge pop. He led the fans in "USA" and "HOOOooo" chants throughout the night. Hysterical.
- Malenko v. Guerrero
- What a perfect way to open the card, with the potentially best match of the night. Why they scrapped a Three-Way match including Rey Jr, is beyond me. (Match-Of-The-Year mean anything to you?)
- Eddie is easily the best heel in WCW. He doesn't get pops from *anyone*, but everybody knows he's one of the best workers in the business.
- Great spots with Eddie working over Malenko's leg, especially the one using the ring stairs. I thought this was setting up Eddie to put Malenko in the Cloverleaf, but not to be.
- Malenko teased us with the top-rope over-the-shoulder gut-buster. Damn, than move is cool.
- Pretty disappointing ending. No series of near-pins that build to a climactic finish. Eddie simply went up and hit the froggie-splash for the 1-2-3.
- Steiners/Traylor v. Norton/Vincent/Konnan
- Konnan was a no show? Man, that scares the hell out of me. Not so much that he might leave (let's face it, he sucks in the ring), but that he would take the luchadores with him (more on that at the end).
- Savage as the replacement for Konnan was perfect. How can you have the PPV of the year without the Macho Man? He got one of the biggest pops of the night (or was that pop for Liz? Yowza!)
- Absolutely crappy match. I don't remember who won or how, and I don't really care.
- Bagwell v. Luger
- Poor Bagwell. He's in perhaps the biggest match of his career, and he's got to carry the biggest stiff on the planet. If he can pull that off, he deserves a huge push.
- Poor Luger. He's gone from world champion and main-event status to doing the job to a career mid-carder like Bagwell.
- Poor viewers. They had to sit through this travesty. At least the saving grace was that the right man got the victory and the (deserved!) push in Bagwell. He tried so hard, but Luger is just so damned bad it was hard to watch.
- Mongo v. Goldberg
- I know they've been building this match for a few months, but how risky is it to put a couple of pretty green wrestlers in a match together, with no real veteran for leadership?
- Goldberg looks even more huge in person than on TV.
- The showdown in the aisle before the match was a good touch. It really brought out the intensity and it got the fans into the match (knowing full well the scientific wrestling prowess would not).
- Adding the table was another good idea.
- The Jackhammer. Enough said!
- DDP v. Hennig
- Mega-pop for Page. He is truly the people's champion.
- Hennig, despite the criticism, is really a fantastic wrestler. More so than anyone else except perhaps Savage, you *feel* his pain when he gets beat down.
- Page missed a chance at the diamond cutter, and you could feel the crowd deflate, you could almost hear a pin drop.
- But when he did hit the Cutter, man did that place explode. Page took the belt and went into the crowd as usual, really neat. Some fool took the opportunity and grabbed the belt away from DDP, but Page got it back.
- Hennig threw this classic tantrum in the ring when he came to. Great stuff!
- Bischoff v. Zybyszko
- I was surprised how good Bischoff looked (read: he wasn't a fat slob)
- Wait a minute, Bischoff is accompanied by Hall? Hmmmm, 2 against 1? I wonder how we're going to even those odds.....
- Larry looked every bit as good as he did 5 years ago. I have little doubt that he could still wrestle a good match (albeit a short one) and carry half of the wrestlers in WCW right now.
- Larry came out the Monday Nitro music. Pretty cool.
- Man, Hart was totally railing on Zybyszko the whole match, and I began to doubt exactly how impartial he was going to be. Great set up as it turned out.
- You couldn't tell that Hall slipped something in Bischoff's shoe from where I was, but you sure could tell that it flew out 2 feet before he kicked Larry in the head.
- They played the ending angle perfectly. Hart refused to count the pin, he decked Bischoff, and awarded the match to Larry. Oh, yeah, he also beat up Hall, putting him in the Scorpion - er - Sharpshooter.
- Hogan v. Sting
- At some point early in the show, Mean Gene (after plugging the hotline...is nothing sacred?) interviews JJ Dillon, who announces that Nick Patrick is the referee. Oh, GREAT! The smell of Screwjob filled the arena.
- I was all psyched up for this grandiose entrance by Sting, and he just walks out. Bummer. But the pyrotechnics were cool.
- God, Hogan looked terrible. Historically, and you can look at every single match Hogan has ever wrestled and try and prove me wrong (you won't), whenever Hogan is going to do the job (Ultimate Warrior, Yoko, Arn Anderson x 2) Hogan works his ass off. Whenever Hogan is going to win, he mails it in and looks his usual crappy self. Five minutes into the match I was thinking "Oh jeez, Hogan's gonna win, he looks miserable."
- Sting's outfit, for all it's hype, was pretty boring. The ribbed padding looked kinda dull.
- The crowd was unbelievably hot for the entire match.
- At the end, when Patrick made the "quick" count, you couldn't tell. He signaled for the bell, but it didn't ring. You couldn't really tell what was going on, and I never saw Hart come down to ringside, so his voice on the mic was a total shocker. I was convinced that Sting had just done the Mother of all Jobs to the leg-drop-of-doom, but thankfully the match continued.
- and continued it did, and very well booked, I might add. Hart decked Nick Patrick, chased down Hogan and threw him back in the ring, and Sting finished Hogan off with a few Stinger Splashes and the Sharpshoot- er - the Scorpion Death Lock. Hogan taps out, Hart calls for the bell.
- The Aftermath
- Just like when Luger won the title a couple months ago, all of WCW filled the ring. And I mean ALL of WCW.
- Remember what I said about Konnan? Well, thankfully, all of the luchadores filled the ring, too. They were all in street clothes, but with their masks.
- Bill, you could have easily hopped the rail with your LaParka mask and joined the celebration.
- Sting gave everyone a couple of howls.
- Hacksaw Jim Duggan gave Bret Hart his American flag, and Hart climbed up the corner and waved it to a huge pop.
- Great Show! And for $25 sky-box seats, the price was right. Too bad my dinner cost me $150 (no lie).