Written By: Matt Peddycord
WCW Monday Nitro
September 16, 1996
Asheville, NC
Civic Center
The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: Hollywood Hogan (8/10/1996)
WCW U.S. Champion: Ric Flair (7/7/1996)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat (7/27/1996)
WCW World Television Champion: Lord Steven Regal (8/20/1996)
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Rey Mysterio (7/8/1996)
Hulkamania is still in the show’s intro. Just saying.
HOUR NUMBER ONE! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone and Larry Zbyszko.
Recap of last night’s events at Fall Brawl. WCW got PWND. Of course, Larry Z told us to trust Sting all along. Yeah okay. Tony says that Sting was actually in Japan last week. I gotta say – that’s a terrible explanation considering it took them a WEEK to “realize” this.
Fans of the new World order are shown passing out “propaganda” flyers as the audience gets their tickets checked.
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera
Why not. Juvi counters a modified surfboard with a DDT as Tony says that Ted DiBiase changed his demands in order to compete in Wargames saying if his team won, the nWo would get their own TV program. Anyways, Juventud and Rey go back and forth. Juvi takes a backdrop to the apron and attempts a springboard to get back inside, but he flies into a dropkick! That causes Juventud to roll out as Rey follows him with a springboard into a flying headscissors! Insanity. We go to commercial? AND WE’RE BACK! Juventud is in control with a springboard spinning heel kick. That puts Rey on the floor for an Asai Moonsault. Back inside, Juvi attempts a springboard 450 splash and hits about 30% of it. That gets two. He follows up with the Spinning Hurracanrana off the top for 1-2-NO! Out in the parking lot, the nWo fans are celebrating the Wargames victory. No actual new World order members are out there though. Back in the ring where the real excitement is happening, Juventud attempts a SUPER POWERBOMB, but Rey counters it into a hurracanrana for the easy 1-2-3. (6:54 shown) THE coolest finish seen on Nitro to date. It could have been better had there not been so many distractions – a commercial break and cutting out to the freaking parking lot. ***
Mike Tenay handles the interviews for tonight. Gene’s three year agreement with WCW was up, so evidently the renegotiation process is still ongoing. Anyways, Tenay gets a word with Steve McMichael, Debra, and Chris Benoit. They’re PISSED Sting and Luger didn’t get the job done last night.
I believe this will be our last “Blood Runs Cold” promo. As silly as these are, they let him talk on this one. He sounds like a southern hick, which dooms the character from the start. He seemed so abnormal and inhuman, now he reminds you of your auto mechanic. What does he talk about, you ask? His back story of going to Japan and finding an old karate master who taught him all he knows. He talks about all the symbols on his ring attire. It’s all a bunch of coo-coo talk. Don’t you even ask him about that white tiger tat on his lower back.
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Ice Train (w/Teddy Long)
DDP is REALLY getting over here. You can say all you want about him being Bischoff’s neighbor or whatever, but you can’t deny people are responding to him. Ice Train brings the towel with him to the ring. He should probably just get rid of it. It’s going to cause him more problems than it’s going to help. Train powers Page around to start. Once he gets knocked to the floor, DDP hotshots Ice Train and nails him with a flying clothesline. Swinging neckbreaker gets two, but Train presses Page off him. DDP does the ’spin around into the clothesline’ spot to stay on the Train. They trade finisher attempts, ending with Train taking Page over with a belly to belly suplex. Train starts building momentum with a bunch of power moves and hits that jumping splash. For some reason, HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA Teddy Long gets up on the apron. We don’t get to see what happens because those same nWo fans that were celebrating earlier are standing in front of the WCW merch table with signs that say, “Who wants this crap?” One of the followers wraps police tape around the people to keep anybody who wants to buy something away from the table. Back in the ring, the bell has sounded and ref Nick Patrick is holding that dang towel while Train and Long back him into the corner. Looks like Page won the match. (4:41) Train wants to grab him a chunk out of Nick Patrick (who does a fantastic sell job of looking scared out of his mind), but Teddy Long calms him down. Alright, during the replay we see that while Page is stuck in the FULL NELSON, he grabs the towel off Teddy Long and tosses it into the ring. I guess Nick Patrick has zero peripheral vision. Another day, another screw job in favor of the heels courtesy of Nick Patrick. ¾*
Back at the WCW merch table, those very same nWo followers have changed out the WCW merchandise and added nWo merchandise!
After the break, we see that the man formerly known as the 1-2-3 Kid from the WWF in sitting in the audience. Tony wonders what he’s doing here and Larry Z gives him a classic sarcastic response. Perhaps the new World order, Tony? GAH.
“Mexican Heavyweight Champion” Konnan (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Super Calo
Unlike in last night’s title defense, Konnan actually brings the AAA America’s heavyweight belt with him to the ring. Mike Tenay joins us for this match. Early on, Calo counters the Rolling Lariat into a nice crucifix for two. Lucha armdrag sends Konnan to the floor where Calo follows him out with a nasty tope con hilo. Back in, Konnan stops Super Calo up top and brings him down with a butterfly superplex for 1-2-NO! Doctorbomb gets two. He tries the Splash Mountain, but Calo lands on the top turnbuckle and flips back around into a headscissors. Back on the floor, Calo hits a springboard dive on Konnan. My problem with Konnan in these lucha matches is that he doesn’t sell anything before his opponent sets up for the big high spot move even though he dropkicks him into the railing or would do something to hurt him, so it makes Konnan look retarded because he’s just standing there while this guy jumps down on top of him. Back inside, that gets two for Calo. Konnan comes back with some kicks and a reverse DDT that gets two. Rolling Lariat sets up a crazy armbar submission. That doesn’t get the tapout, so Konnan heads up top. Calo meets him with a dropkick and brings him down with the awesome somersault headscissors. Well it would have been if Konnan had actually flipped farther across the ring than on top of Super Calo. Back on the floor, Calo hits that slingshot somersault senton that we saw at Fall Brawl. That’s not enough – he gives Konnan that missile dropkick to the floor we saw last night as well. They head back in where Calo misses a corner charge and lands on his neck! Konnan hits 187 (cradle DDT) for 1-2-NO! Spinebuster into the jackknife cover gets 1-2-NO! Finally, the Black Tiger Bomb gets the 1-2-3. (6:44) Another good match from the AAA guys, but Konnan’s inability to go with the moves and just not selling hardly anything at all hurt this match for me. Long live Super Calo. **½
Tenay confronts the 1-2-3 Kid about his presence here in a WCW arena. He says he wanted to come to Wargames, but didn’t make it in time. Who won that match anyway? Well obviously the new World order. Oh, darn it. Haha.
WCW Saturday Night! Watch it IF YOU WEEL! 6:05PM eastern! TBS! The Amazing French Canadians and Jim Powers will be in action! Plus, Rey Mysterio will be there. Not to mention Konnan and Kevin Sullivan will team up to take on JL and Joe Gomez! It’s the MUTHASHIP! PAY WINDAHS, CLUBBERIN AND PLUNDAH, BABY!
Hugh Morrus vs. Brad Armstrong
No Jimmy Hart? Morrus handles Armstrong like you see in most of his career of glorified squashes in WCW. He hits the NO LAUGHING MATTER and lays back on Armstrong, who hooks an arm and a leg and rolls Morrus back into the 1-2-3. (3:55) YES. Brad finally wins a match. ½*
HOUR NUMBER TWO! Your hosts are Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay.
Tenay grabs Savage for an interview before his match. He says he feels a million miles below rock bottom right now. He’s down to one marble and if he loses that one, it really doesn’t matter brother. Hogan, can you take what I got for you? I don’t think. OOOOOH YEAH!
The new World order limo pulls up. Everybody’s wearing nWo t-shirts. Hogan says there’s nobody left in the building to beat up. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Randy Savage vs. Scott Norton
Savage runs roughshod over Norton to start until he charges into a Samoan drop for two. Norton hits a powerbomb for another nearfall while Bischoff, Heenan, and Tenay discuss being wrong about Sting. He continues with the power stuff. Savage tries a comeback by slinging Norton into the guardrail, but it goes nowhere as Norton answers back with a DDT. SHOULDERBREAKER connects, but Savage heads to the floor. Norton tries to run Savage’s shoulder into the ringpost, but he gets shoved off. Savage throws ring announcer Dave Penzer out of his chair and WHACKS Norton in the FACE a couple times. Yeah, that’s a DQ. (6:35) Ref Nick Patrick comes down to put a stop to it and gets tossed aside. Awesome. Randy Savage, out. **
Glacier vs. Big Bubba (w/Jimmy Hart)
FINALLY, we get Glacier’s Nitro debut after five months of advertising. He gets the huge strobe light entrance and fake snow falls from the ceiling while Glacier does his KA-RA-TE moves on nothing but air. He even wrestles his match with the arena lights turned off and a blue light shone around the ring. Pretty bizarre. Anyways, Bubba takes a bunch of Glacier’s kicks while Bischoff says things like “spinning front back leg round kick” and various other ridiculous calls. Heenan is amazed. Can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or not. Reverse roundhouse kick gets the 1-2-3. (2:42) So much for all that talking, Bubba. Felt closer to a stunt show than a wrestling match. ¾*
After the break, Sting heads to the ring to explain his actions from last week AND last night. Once he’s in the ring talking about last week, he turns his back on the hard camera in a small gesture of ‘F YOU WCW’. When Sting flew into Atlanta last week and turned on Nitro, he saw everybody doubting the Stinger. All Sting did during the week was avoid his friends to see what would happen next. When he showed up to Fall Brawl and nobody trusted him after all he had done for WCW and specifically Lex Luger over the last year, everybody who doubted him can STICK IT. From now on, he considers himself not a part of WCW or the new World order, he considers himself a *free agent*. That doesn’t mean you won’t see the Stinger – you’ll just see him when you least expect it. And those are the last words you hear Sting say until after Starrcade 1997.
In the back, Liz is scared to come out because she’s afraid the new World order might attack, so AA, Flair, and Woman leave her behind.
Meanwhile, the 1-2-3 Kid stands up in his chair, pulls out a detonator of sorts, and pushes a button to make a TON of the nWo flyers fall from the ceiling. You could NEVER do that nowadays. There’s so much paper falling from the ceiling, they have to take a commercial break. One of the signs says, “We beat you, now you’re paying all the bills.” Another says, “nWo…we’ll do TV our way.” Nice.
Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (w/Woman) vs. Marcus Bagwell & Chris Jericho
Okay, time for the Four Horsemen to make up for last night and kill some cute babyfaces. Jericho and Bagwell as a team though? Their career paths become like a left and right turn by 1999. Arn has a bandage above his eye I’m thinking just for effect from last night because I don’t remember him being busted open. Anyways, Jericho surprises AA with his high-flying moves as he nails Arn with a missile dropkick and a spinning heel kick. Now we get Flair vs. Bagwell. WOO! Flair corners Bagwell for some chops, but Bagwell fires back, so Flair yanks him out to the Enforcer. He tries a piledriver, but we all know the success rate of that actually being pulled off. Bagwell shoots back in with a sunset flip. Arn grabs hold of Flair, but Jericho dropkicks him away, allowing Flair to fall back into the pin for 1-2-NO! Backslide and a small package scores two nearfalls for Bagwell – then he clotheslines Flair out. Flair starts to get a little frustrated and starts throwing the nWo litter around. Back in, Arn whips Jericho into the ropes and as he comes back around, Flair drives an elbow into Jericho to send him stumbling into a SPIIIIIIIINEBUSTER! Tag to Flair, he hits the Rolling Knee Drop and struts around. The Horsemen do a number on Jericho’s knee as we split-screen out to the parking lot where the new World order (including the 1-2-3 Kid) are getting out of a limo! Didn’t they just get out of a limo? Anyways, Giant brings out his boom box and plays the Sting soundbyte from last week that had everybody fooled. Back inside, Flair knees Jericho into the hot tag to Bagwell. It breaks down as AA drops Jericho on the floor with a DDT. In the ring, Bagwell goes CLOTHESLINE CRAZY on the Horsemen and delivers the FISHERMAN’S SUPLEX on Arn who is not the legal man (ref Nick Patrick calls him out on it). Flair breaks it up, but Bagwell gives him an O’Connor roll. While Nick Patrick is with Arn, Woman climbs up on the apron and claws Bagwell’s eyes out. They are OUT! They are completely out on the mat. When Nick Patrick steps over to tell Woman to get down, Arn gets down with a DDT on Bagwell. FIGURE-FOUR from Flair and a little assistance from Woman gets the academic 1-2-3. (11:06) If nothing else, this was cathartic for the Horsemen to regain some heat and pick up where they left off after losing Wargames. **½
Lex Luger vs. Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael (w/Debra)
Sting never said he would show up for this match. He did say he would show up when you least expect and I guess a scheduled match wouldn’t exactly be when you least expect him, so he doesn’t show and Luger battles Benoit and Mongo in a handicap match. He does okay against the B-team Horsemen until Benoit gives him a Snap Suplex. Being outnumbered and always keeping a fresh man in doesn’t hurt either. Throughout the match, Bischoff keeps mentioning that a LOAD of WCW stars will all be in Japan next week, but one of those stars not going on the trip will be Randy Savage. Heenan keeps asking him why he would say that when YOU KNOW the nWo is watching. Like every superman wrestler, Luger gets a sudden burst of energy and starts unloading on the Four Horsemen. Mongo takes a big right hand to the floor, leaving Luger to hoist Benoit up in the TORTURE RACK! Before Benoit gives up, Flair and Arn storm to the ring. (6:00) And folks, because Lex let the Four Horsemen down at Fall Brawl, he receives an old fashioned Horsemen butt kicking. *½
Out in the parking lot, the new World order are all sitting in a limo watching the show on a small TV. Hogan lets his crew know exactly what Bischoff was telling them – everybody who matters will be gone next week except for Randy Savage. It’s pretty much a guarantee that the now will show up next week – in a big way. Who knows, since Hogan’s the champ, maybe he can get the new World order backstage passes?! Haaaa.
Back inside the ring before we fade to black, Lex Luger has been completely laid out.
And just Lex, until next time I am DONE.
Looks like the main event at least is set for Halloween Havoc on October 27.
– WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hollywood Hogan vs. Randy Savage