WCW Nitro 6/10/1996

Written By: Matt Peddycord

WCW Monday Nitro
June 10, 1996
Wheeling, WV
Civic Center

The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: The Giant (4/29/1996)
WCW U.S. Champion: Konnan (1/29/1996)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Sting & Lex Luger (1/22/1996)
WCW World Television Champion: Lex Luger (3/6/1996)
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Dean Malenko (5/18/1996)

HOUR NUMBER ONE!

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Larry Zbyszko.

Recap of last week where Sting slapped the “interruption”.

Scott Steiner vs. Booker T
A hiptoss from Booker gets Steiner all mad. They fight over a backslide. Scott’s flips Booker over in front of him. He catches a kick and spins Booker around for a back suplex, but Booker flips out of that and blocks a Belly-to-Belly Suplex. He elbows out, misses the hook kick, and finally takes a butterfly slam! Crazy reversal sequence for the time. Scott dumps Booker out, but comes back in and runs into a boot in the corner. Axe Kick connects for two. Booker hits a crossbody out of the corner for two. Scott slips out of a suplex into a Scorpion Death Drop. Steiner mounts a comeback and delivers the Spinning Belly-to-Belly Suplex. FRANKENSTEINER? No. Booker puts on the brakes. Jumping Leg Lariat gets two. Booker delivers a side slam and heads up top for a flying splash, but there’s nobody home. Release Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex puts Booker T away to give Scott the win. (5:53) Odd finish. Don’t know why he didn’t just go ahead and get that Frankensteiner after all. Not a bad match though. **

After the break, Gene Okerlund interviews Scott Steiner concerning his match with his brother Rick against Fire & Ice at the Great American Bash. Because of all the non-finishes in their last few matches, in this match there must be a winner. Debra McMichael interrupts Scott’s interview and stumbles through a plea to stop the match this Sunday because her husband gets so crazy when he’s mad. She asks Gene if he could set up a meeting with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Gene’s going to talk to the coach Bobby Heenan to see what he can do. Gene ~ “Lot of nuts involved in this thing.”

Larry Z just thinks Mongo sent his wife out to try and call off the match because he’s a coward. Nice.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Jim Powers
Jim Powers makes his Nitro debut. Think of that what you will. Page spends a lot of time in the ring jawing with the crowd allowing Powers to get in a few schoolboy rollups. DDP hits his gutbuster, but Powers catches him charging at him in the corner with a boot. A plethora of turnbuckle smashes ensue. Knee lift and a dropkick scores a nearfall. Page nails Powers with a back elbow and hits the DIAMOND CUTTER for the win. (4:06) Too long for what it was. Nobody cares about Jim Powers. ½*

Video recap of the Benoit/Sullivan feud. They’re just coming out and letting everybody hear the “I respect you, bookerman” comment now.

Another video montage sets up an interview with the US champ Konnan. He puts over El Gato like he’s a real character. It’s just Pat Tanaka.

Sting vs. Meng
Meng controls the first minute or so with Meng stuff. Sting comes back with a crossbody block and a series of clotheslines. Meng hits a shoulderbreaker and heads up top, but Sting crotches him and slaps on the SCORPION DEATHLOCK with Meng face down for the quick submission. (3:10) Short and sweet. *

In the back, Gene Okerlund holds the mic between Bobby Heenan and Debra. Heenan insinuates that Debra has been with Flair every night this week and now she wants to talk to him? Alright, Heenan welcomes Debra into Flair’s dressing room and then VIOLENTLY SLAMS the door in Gene’s face. We hear screaming and eventually Debra storms out of the room all disheveled and upset. Apparently she got a look at Space Mountain and didn’t like what she saw? Renegade and “Desperado” Joe Gomez (Flair and Arn’s opponents for later tonight) try and console her, so Flair and Arn do a number on them. While Gomez is down and out, Arn stomps Renegade’s knee while he’s in the Figure-Four!

Jim Duggan vs. Squire David Taylor (w/Jeeves)
Pretty much the same thing we saw last week. Duggan gets the crowd going with “U-S-A” chants while Dave Taylor stalls on the floor. Because of Renegade’s roughed up knee, the main event is changed to Flair and Anderson getting a tag title shot. WHAT. They injure a guy and get rewarded? Duggan hits the THREE POINT STANCE, but Taylor gets his foot on the bottom rope during the pin attempt. Duggan tapes up his fist and KO’s Taylor instead for the win. (2:25) Usual stuff. ¼*

We get a video package for the upcoming Malenko/Mysterio match at the Great American Bash. Obviously since he hasn’t debuted in WCW yet, there’s lots of AAA footage for Rey.

Gene Okerlund interviews Big Bubba. He’s going to sweep that beached whale to the trash at the Great American Bash. He’s not a whale, he’s a man! A really, really fat-as-a-whale-like man.

HOUR NUMBER TWO!

Your hosts are Eric Bischoff & Bobby Heenan.

WCW World Heavyweight Champion The Giant (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Scott Norton
Norton tries to pound the Giant and pays for it with a powerslam. Norton fires back again on the Giant and starts splashing him in the corner until Giant raises a boot in his face. On the floor they go, CHOKESLAM! Back inside, Giant covers for the easy three-count. (1:42) Giant wants to give him another Chokeslam until Lex Luger makes the save. ½*

Giant tosses out Luger and goes to Chokeslam him on a ringside VIP table for a second time, but Luger fights him off with a champagne bucket. He gets the heck out of there as other members of the Dungeon of Doom arrive. Giant power walks to the back while Luger grabs a mic over at the announce table. He’s found out that the Giant does feel pain and he’s going to make him feel some more pain at the Great American Bash.

The Nasty Boys showed up on a NBC 5 Chicago talk show and issued Dennis Rodman a Nasty Boys shirt because he is a nasty person.

On other celebrity programs, Kevin Greene appeared on Jay Leno. Because Steve McMichael has a nickname like Mongo, Leno gives Greene a nickname and calls him Kevin “Shallow Grave” Greene. Bobby thinks that’s kind of funny.

Lord Steven Regal vs. Billy Kidman
This is a rematch from Saturday Night where Regal defeated Kidman. Kidman looks like he’s a ten year old boy here. Kidman misses a 450 Splash and wins with a stump puller. (0:57) Regal doesn’t let go of the hold until Sting runs down and PIMP SLAPS Regal. That’s all he really needed to do, so he leaves Regal dumbfounded and insulted in the ring. ½*

The Nasty Boys vs. Public Enemy
Big split-screen fight begins things – and it’s the usual stuff. By the way, Grunge has a broken arm. After a few minutes of that, we get a normal tag match. Grunge takes some CLUBBERIN in the corner. Some more back and forth stuff happens until we go to commercial. GLACIER COMMERCIAL! And we’re back, Knobbs is getting double-teamed. He fights off Grunge and tags in Sags. It breaks down as Rocco Rock leaves and brings a trash can back with him. Meanwhile, Grunge is unwrapping his cast. Sags nails Rocco before he can do any damage with the trashcan. The Nasties look to put him away as Sags delivers the PUMPHANDLE SLAM. Knobbs looks to come off the top, but Grunge hits him with the cast. Apparently, bandages really soften the blow? Rocco covers for 1-2-NO! Now Rocco Rock heads to the top, but Sags knocks him down with the trashcan in plain sight of the ref for the DQ. (9:00 shown) It’s the same garbage wrestling they’ve been doing all year long except even less inspired than usual. *½

Hulk Hogan video clips! Giant’s not going to be happy.

Recap of the recent Mongo/Greene/Savage happenings.

WCW World Tag Team Champions Sting & Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (w/Elizabeth & Woman)
Heenan spends the whole match coaching, but of course Flair and Anderson can’t hear him. Luger NO-SELLS everything Flair throws at him to start and answers back with a press slam and a series of clotheslines. Arn gets in, but he’s wise enough to not get nailed and bails to the floor. Back in, Flair receives the same treatment and Flair Flips into a right hand from Sting. Luger brings Flair back into the ring with a suplex, but he misses a jumping elbow drop. We switch over to Sting and Arn. Bischoff makes the first mention of a Nitro Party and encourages people to send in Polaroids of their parties. Sting face slams Arn and press slams Flair to send them both out again. And we take a break. We come back to see Arn in trouble in between Luger and Sting. Flair tags in and chops Sting in the corner. NO-SELL! Sting whips Flair into the other corner for the Stinger Splash, but Flair moves out of the way. Sting slams Flair off the top and hits him with a flying clothesline for two. Sting delivers a superplex for 1-2-NO! Arn comes in for the save and buys Flair some time. Flair goes to the eyes and tags Arn. Spinebuster gets 1-2-NO! During a knucklelock on the mat, a splash from Arn hits knees. Sting begins to crawl over to Luger, but Anderson hooks Sting’s leg and tags Flair. He can’t suplex Sting though because of all the back damage. While Flair is selling the back, Sting gets his neck snapped on the top rope courtesy of AA. Sting flips out of a back suplex on Flair and O’Connor rolls him up, but Arn makes the save. Heenan says Arn should have DDT’d Sting right there and begs Bischoff to let him go down to ringside. Another commercial break. Now Sting is on the floor getting brutalized by Flair. Sting sunset flips back in for two. Flair makes a backslide invalid by tagging Arn before he falls. Arn tries a pump splash and hits knees. HOT TAG TO LUGER! Press slams all around. Luger fights off a double-team and clotheslines both Flair and Arn out as the Giant heads into the ring. No contest? (13:23 shown) Giant attacks Luger until Sting and Scott Steiner make the save with wooden chairs. That just serves to piss off the Giant, but Jimmy Hart manages to calm the Giant down. Gene Okerlund talks with Giant while the faces celebrate whatever in the ring. At the Great American Bash, Giant is going to make sure Luger leaves on a stretcher. Decent formula tag match as you would expect. **½

Over at the announce position, Heenan goes on a tirade about Randy Savage showing up at the Great American Bash. Surely this Sunday, Savage wouldn’t hit a man with glasses. Heenan spots Scott Hall coming up beside Bischoff and gets the heck out of there. Bischoff wonders where the big surprise is. He’s right behind you and its Kevin Nash.

Nash to Bischoff ~ “You’ve been out here for six months running your mouth. This is where the big boys play, huh? Look at the adjective (verb?): play. We ain’t here to play. Now he (Hall) said last week that he was going to bring somebody out here – I’m here. You still don’t have your three people and you know why? Because nobody wants to face us. This show is about as interesting as Mark Shod (?) reading exerts from Mein Kampf.”

Bischoff ~ “Speak your peace and leave because I don’t want any trouble.”

Nash ~ “Yeah, no trouble because you know I’ll kick your teeth down your throat. Where’s your three guys? What, you couldn’t get a paleontologist to get a couple of these fossils cleared? You ain’t got enough guys off a dialysis machine to get a team? Yeah, where’s Hogan? Where’s Hogan? Out doing another episode of Blunder in Paradise? Where’s the Macho Man, huh? Doing some Slim Jim commercial? Hey, we’re here. You want to say something?”

Bischoff ~ “Look, I don’t have the authority right here right now. You want a fight? The fight isn’t with me. You want three guys? Tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock, I’m going to be in Atlanta, I’ll be at the offices of WCW, I’ll try and get you your fight. And you know what, live this Sunday in Baltimore, Great American Bash, you guys want to show up? You want a fight? You show up and I’ll see if I can get you your fight.”

Nash to Hall ~ “I don’t know about you, but hey they love us in Baltimore.”

Hall ~ ” Hey big mang, I say me and you, we be at the Bash. Maybe these punks want a fight.”

Nash ~ “Bring what you got. The measuring stick just changed around here, buddy. You’re looking at it.”