Written By: Matt Peddycord
WCW Monday Nitro
January 8, 1996
Charleston, SC
North Charleston Coliseum
The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: Ric Flair (12/27/1995)
WCW U.S. Champion: One Man Gang (12/27/1995)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat (10/28/1995)
WCW World Television Champion: Johnny B. Badd (10/29/1995)
Your hosts are Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and that Emmy-award winning Steve “Mongo” McMichael.
Chris Benoit (w/Brian Pillman) vs. Alex Wright
Pillman is here to prevent any more Horsemen losses. Benoit EXPLODES on Wright to start with a clothesline as he takes off his leather jacket. Awesome. He dumps Wright out for Pillman to walk by him for a stomping. Back inside, we see more chops from Benoit. Wright flips over Benoit out of the corner and puts him down with a flying crossbody. He catapults Benoit to the floor, hits him with a baseball slide into the guardrail, and leaps down on him from the top rope. Wright is MOTIVATED~! Pillman distracts Wright a little bit. Back in the ring, Bischoff makes mention of the WWF raising their PPV prices while WCW is sticking with the same price because 1995 was such a successful year. Oh yeah, and Wright has Benoit in a Boston crab. He changes over to an STF and then gives up on the hold. Pillman tries to trip him up, so Wright hits him with a pescado to wipe him out. Wright tries a slingshot splash on Benoit, but that hits knees. Benoit looks to finish him off with the Dragon Suplex. Wright fights him off, but then Benoit knocks him loopy and gets the Dragon Suplex after all for the win. (6:40) Certainly one of Alex Wright’s better matches. ***
Eddie Guerrero vs. Lord Steven Regal (w/Jeeves)
It’s a wonder you never saw these two wrestle over at the E. Nice little mat exchange as Regal keeps Eddie grounded with a wristlock. Guerrero gets to his feet and uses the ropes to flip over Regal, but then he runs right into a knee. Bischoff mentions the Royal “Fumble” and then hypes the upcoming Clash by talking about the Col. Parker/Sherri wedding. Thanks for bringing that up, Mongo. Meanwhile, Eddie escapes a butterfly suplex with a lucha armdrag. He follows up with a headscissors and a couple rollups, but Regal puts him back with a European uppercut. Reverse suplex by Regal gets two. Eddie keeps on fighting, but Regal keeps shutting him down. You know the drill. Then out of nowhere, Guerrero surprises Regal with a backslide for 1-2-3! (8:07) Another good match with Eddie pulling that win out of his butt while still keeping Regal strong. ***¼
Gene Okerlund meets with Sting and Lex Luger. Sting asks Luger why he pulled him back down on the floor at Starrcade when he could have beaten the count and got back in the ring to have possibly beaten Ric Flair and then wrestled Randy Savage for the WCW world title. Luger says he was just reaching out to his friend because Sting has always been there for him. Awwww, what a sweet cover up. It all makes perfect sense now that you consider Jimmy Hart’s sudden alliance with Ric Flair. If the Dungeon of Doom helped Flair win the title, the Four Horsemen would align with them to take out Hulkamania. Perhaps? Anyways, Luger suggests that he and Sting become a legit tag team FOR REALZ and go after the WCW world tag belts.
WCW Saturday Night! Watch it! 6:05PM eastern! TBS! More questions for Mike Ditka! Randy Savage gets a return match with Ric Flair for the WCW world title! Don’t miss it! It’s the MUTHASHIP! PAY WINDAHS AND ALL THAT PLUNDAH, BABY!
Sting vs. Diamond Dallas Page
Mongo tells us that DDP is losing this match before the bell evens rings. Page rubs his cigar in Sting’s face to kick us off. Sting comes back and dropkicks DDP through the ropes to the floor for a pescado. Back in, Sting leapfrogs and gets his crotch destroyed by Page’s giant head. DDP takes advantage and gives Sting a back suplex. Swinging neckbreaker gets two. DDP works the chinlock for a while with his feet on the ropes to show he’s a big jerk. Sting fights out and before you know it, he has Page in the SCORPION DEATHLOCK for the win. (6:19) Who is going to ever PIN Sting? **
Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage
No Pillman or Benoit. I guess they’re just not main event by WCW standards. Savage is sells out to Hulkamania again. He’s wearing the red and yellow and waves HOGAN out the tunnel. It’s just like 1988 all over again! How’d that turn out then, Randy? Flair doesn’t want Savage – he wants Hogan and that is exactly what he gets. Hogan NO-SELLS the chops and puts Flair down on his stomach with a hammerlock. In comes Arn and Hogan sends the Horsemen running after they each take a slam. Back inside, Arn tries to suplex Savage to the floor from the apron. Savage blocks and sends Anderson into Hogan’s boot. From there, Savage flies down on Arn with a double ax handle. In the ring, Savage gives him another double sledge for two. Flair switches with Arn, but gets slammed off the top and put in the figure-four from Savage. Arn runs in and takes the same from Hogan. WHAT. That is not allowed. While the ref gets Hogan out of the ring, Arn walks over and DDTs Savage. The Horsemen continue to work over Savage as we go to break. We come back to see more of the same. Arn is being awesome by clamping on the ab stretch and getting some leverage help from Flair. Savage grabs a desperate sleeper on Arn, but gets backed into the Horsemen corner and sent to the floor to take a ride into the guardrail from Flair. Back in, Arn calls for another DDT. Savage hooks the ropes to block it and makes the HOT TAG TO HOGAN! He fights off a double-team and clotheslines both Arn and Flair over the top rope to the floor. Savage tosses Arn back in for Hulk to finish him off, but Arn reverses a whip and hits the Spinebuster! Just like in Charlotte, Hogan NO-SELLS and puts Arn away with the Big Boot and the LEGDROP. (12:17 shown) Standard Hogan tag formula. **¼
Next thing you know, Pillman and Benoit are shown fighting at ringside with Sullivan and Zodiac. Meanwhile, Giant hops in the ring and dishes out CHOKESLAMS to Savage and Hogan! He wants some more, but Zodiac holds the big guy off. And the transformation into the much better Booty Man gimmick begins? Who knows. WE GOTTA GO!