Written By: Matt Peddycord
WCW Monday Nitro
August 26, 1996
Palmetto, FL
Manatee 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: Lex Luger (3/6/1996)
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Rey Mysterio (7/8/1996)
There was no Raw going up against Nitro this week due to the coverage of the US Open on the USA Network, which means WCW is completely unopposed. YES.
HOUR NUMBER ONE! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone and Larry Zbyszko.
Billy Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera
Ha, they ring the bell like three times before it actually begins. This is Juventud’s WCW debut. It’s quite fitting considering their rivalry that would build throughout the next two years or so. Tony Schiavone goes all out for Juventud’s debut – even going as far as to mention his father Fuerza! See what a little bit of homework can do for your product? Of course, this is the pre-Flock era for Billy Kidman as here he’s just a clean cut kid with a fancy finisher. He catches Juventud with a powerslam for two. They take a bump out to the floor off a crossbody from Kidman. After some slapping on the apron, Juventud climbs up on Kidman’s shoulders and eventually slides down his back for a sunset flip powerbomb on the floor! Tony mentions “a pescado into a legdrop”. Oh SNAP! While he’s close, it’s really just a slingshot legdrop on the floor. Back in, Juvi delivers a springboard corkscrew splash for 1-2-NO! Incredible! Springboard hurracanrana is countered into a powerbomb by Kidman for 1-2-NO! Kidman follows up with a slingshot legdrop for two. Kidman wins a suplex battle for two. Of course the crowd down in Florida doesn’t know who Juventud Guerrera is and that’s he’s in for a push, the SHOOTING STAR PRESS only gets two. Juvi stops Kidman up on top and hurracanranas him down for the 1-2-3. (3:43) No matter what he just did in the ring and their intentions, the crowd turns on Guerrera. If they wanted him to be cheered, why put him in there with Kidman? Gene Okerlund tries to get a word with Juventud after the match, which is a stupid mistake because he can barely speak any English. **
Alright! A special sneak peak of “The Crow: City of Angels” movie starting August 30. I must say – quite the terrible sequel.
Ha, now we get a Glacier promo!
Flashback to last week: Sting and Lex Luger ask the Four Horsemen if Benoit and Mongo will step aside so they can be part of Team WCW against the nWo at Fall Brawl in Wargames.
Big Bubba & Kevin Sullivan (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Marcus Bagwell & Jim Powers (w/Teddy Long)
Scott Riggs is hurt, so Jim Powers takes his place for tonight. After all, Jim Powers is an American male too. Sullivan beats Powers to the floor to start, but Powers brings him back in for a backdrop. Powers dropkicks Sullivan into a tag from Bubba. Bagwell comes in to prevent any shenanigans as they clean house. Back in, Bagwell leaps up on Bubba’s shoulders and punches him down. He tries it again and Bubba powerbombs him down. Uh oh. Bubba puts Bagwell into the tree of woe and whips Sullivan in for the running knee. Back to Bubba, Bagwell flips out of a back suplex and crawls through his legs for a HOT TAG TO POWERS! Turnbuckle smashes abound! Even Jimmy Hart takes a couple of them on the apron. Powers levels Bubba with a crossbody for 1-2-3? Bubba didn’t raise his arm up in time, but ref Nick Patrick says he got it up at two anyway. See, he’s EVIL~! His goatee grows just a little bit more with that decision. Meanwhile, Sullivan knees Bagwell to the floor while Bubba gives Powers the BUBBA SLAM for the 1-2-3. (4:26) Hot little match in Sullivan’s backyard. Teddy Long yells at Nick Patrick after the match. *½
Gene Okerlund interviews Big Bubba, Kevin Sullivan, and Jimmy Hart. Bubba says he’s tired of being overlooked for title matches and main events, but no more. Also, where’s Glacier? If you’re coming, COME ON THEN AND GIT YOU SOME OF BUBBA! Sullivan goes into “told ya so” mode again about Hulk Hogan. He mentions something about Okerlund hanging out with Hogan lately, but Gene denies the whole accusation.
After the break, Gene is in the back with Sting and Lex Luger. What’s up with this “gut check” main event, Horsemen? I thought we were cool.
Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Mike Enos
Chavo gets rid of Enos to start, but then pescados into his arms for a Fallaway Slam on the floor! After that’s over, Enos hoists Chavo up on his shoulder and walks him into the ring. Here comes Dick Slater to the ring with a towel on his head. Also, Konnan is sitting looking all somber in the audience with his Mexican gangsta gear on. Meanwhile, Enos is killing Chavo with backbreakers. Whoa, fisherman’s suplex from Enos gets two. Then he tries a powerbomb and Chavo makes him collapse, which makes Chavo fall on his knee. He applies the figure-four, but Enos pops the ref in the eye by “accident”. That allows Dick Slater to break up the hold unseen. He rolls Enos out of the ring, who puts on the towel over his head. Meanwhile, the ref wipes the finger nail dust out of his eye as Chavo counters a spinning toe hold from Slater with an inside cradle for 1-2-3. (4:38) Haha, ridiculous finish. *
Gene Okerlund grabs an interview with Chavo Jr. He’s getting revenge on DDP for being mean to his family at Fall Brawl!
WCW Saturday Night! Watch it IF YOU WEEL! 6:05PM eastern! TBS! Lex Luger defends his TV Title against Lord Steven Regal. Plus, the Steiners collide with the Nasty Boys! It’s the MUTHASHIP! PAY WINDAHS AND PLUNDAH, BABY!
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio vs. Mr. JL
Larry Z proposes investing in the wrestling mask market. Basic mat stuff to start until we HAVE to go outside where the nWo are spray painting graffiti on the production trailers! Oh man, we have to go to commercial after that. After the break, Tony and Larry spend the rest of the match talking about disgusting the nWo are for doing such a thing. Meanwhile, Mysterio springboard dropkicks JL to the floor for a somersault plancha. Looks like Dean Malenko comes out of the tunnel to get a closer look at the match. Mysterio gets a little distracted and decides to engage in an amateur wrestling contest. JL drops to the mat and lets Rey ride him, but then JL stomps Rey when he drops to the mat in classic heel fashion. A pair of backbreakers sets up a sitout powerbomb for 1-2-NO! JL applies a Boston crab and works off that for a while. Rey gets a couple nearfalls off hope spots, but JL manages to regain control. Boy, lots of distractions in this match as we head into the second hour of the show. Rey flips JL out to the floor and tries a baseball slide, but JL ducks and backs Rey into the guardrail. He tries to whip Rey into the steps, but Rey catches himself and jumps up on the steps and leaps onto JL for a headscissors down the aisle! Back in, the SPRINGBOARD HURRACANRANA gets the 1-2-3. (11:33 shown) Makes me wonder if a Mysterio/Malenko match was planned for Fall Brawl. **½
HOUR NUMBER TWO! Your hosts are Eric Bischoff & Bobby Heenan.
To the back, Gene has the attention of Chris Benoit, Steve McMichael, and the ladies. Woman mentions the same thing Sullivan did a little earlier about Gene’s “good friend Hulk Hogan”. Liz just kind of stands back and wonders why she’s there while Debra spends the whole time staring at the camera and smiling like a four year old child.
Flashback to the last two weeks: Randy Savage gets his clock cleaned by Hogan with a steel chair back on August 12. On August 19, he’s back and talking about getting revenge on Hulk AND getting revenge on the Giant for losing the WCW world title. In last week’s main event, Randy Savage beat up the Dungeon of Doom with a steel chair. He’s CRAZY!
More interviews with Gene Okerlund. Randy Savage says his match with Hollywood Hogan at Halloween Havoc will be SCARY. He doesn’t care if you care about WCW, he’s in the zone buddy. Hey Randy, do you have an extra chair? He’s got 72 extra chairs. Interesting.
The Giant (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Jim Duggan
As if the Giant needed a distraction, Jimmy grabs Duggan’s leg which causes him to be chased. Giant tries to attack from behind, but Duggan tosses Jimmy’s jacket back in the Giant’s face and punches him back. Giant whips Duggan into the ringpost, but avoids a charge. Back in, Giant hotshots Duggan and whips him into the ropes for a bearhug. Duggan goes for a slam and wait a minute – Ted DiBiase is coming down through the crowd and takes his seat. Meanwhile, Duggan winds up with the taped fist. He connects, but Giant NO-SELLS and begs for another one! This time, the Giant is staggered. Jimmy Hart grabs the 2×4 to distract Duggan again. When he turns back around, Giant goozles him for the CHOKESLAM. Cover, 1-2-3. (4:37) The camera points to DiBiase, who lifts up four fingers. Next week, there will be a number five. Could he mean nWo? Bischoff tries to think positive and say that he’s going to be the fifth Horsemen, but that’s the most unrealistic positive thinking if I’ve ever seen it. I mean, FIVE HORSEMEN? There’s no such thing. Besides, isn’t there enough people in that group already? ¾*
Gene Okerlund talks to the Giant and Jimmy Hart. While Gene is in shock over Ted DiBiase showing up, Giant responds to Randy Savage’s accusation over dropping the ball for WCW. He tells the camera that he’s the world heavyweight champion and then says he’s going to beat Hogan for the belt. HUH?
Get your Hog Wild VHS tape for only $20 bucks! Order now and you’ll get this official “Macho Man” bandana absolutely free!
Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (w/Woman & Elizabeth) vs. The Rock N Roll Express
Arn and Morton start us off. Blind tag to Gibson as they schoolboy Arn off a crossbody. DOUBLE DROPKICK to Flair! The RNR Express have cleaned house. Back in, Flair chops away on Gibson. He fights out of the corner, but gets caught with a shot the bread basket and sent to the floor to get his eyes clawed out by Woman! Back in again, the Horsemen manage to keep Gibson on their side of town. Gibson punches out of the corner and makes the tag to Morton. And the action breaks down with all four men in the ring. During the chaos, Arn drops the DDT on Morton, which Flair capitalizes with a cover and a handful of tights for the 1-2-3. (4:29) This was just the Horsemen vs. the RNR Express on auto-pilot. *½
Gene Okerlund gets an interview with the winners. Arn calls the nWo cowards for picking their spots to attack when nobody’s around to hurt them, but there’s no way they can pick their spots when the door on the Wargames cage closes. Flair’s still convinced Hogan gave up at the Clash, but it doesn’t really matter. Nevertheless, get ready now because Wargames isn’t in NYC, Chicago, LA – it’s in Winston-Salem (my hometown!) – home of the by God Horsemen. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!11111111
Another Glacier ad.
Alex Wright vs. Chris Jericho
Another WCW TV debut on the show here in Chris Jericho. He was supposed to debut at the Clash, but it never happened. Early on, they both go for dropkicks. Jericho works a little bit of a hammerlock, but Wright fights up into a spinning heel kick. With Wright on the apron, Jericho knocks him off to the floor with a springboard dropkick. Jericho brings him back in with a suplex for two. He tries something off the top, but Wright catches him with a dropkick. VINTAGE PILLMAN~! Crossbody out of the corner from Wright gets two. Jericho misses a corner charge and spills out to the apron. As Jericho walks around ringside, Wright comes off the top, but Jericho moves and Wright eats the guardrail! Jericho rolls back in and stops the ref’s ten count. He doesn’t want to win that way, so the ref declares the match a no-contest. (4:51) And the crowd boos that decision, but Bischoff praises the man for wanting to win the *right* way. *½
Gene gets in the middle of these two for an interview. Jericho wants to win all fair and square, which is something Hulk Hogan doesn’t do anymore! Alex wants to say something, but Gene decides we’re out of time. Haaa.
Rick & Scott Steiner vs. The Blue Bloods
We must be running short on time as we cut straight to the match with no entrances for anybody. Maybe the Mysterio/JL match went a little too long? Anyways, the Blue Bloods are fixing to split up, so Dave Taylor and Robert Eaton spend much of the match arguing with one another. The Steiners take advantage of the situation by pummeling the crowd out of them. At one point, Taylor buries a knee in Rick and hoists him up on his shoulders for a Doomsday Device, but Rick catches Eaton in mid-air and slams him down to the mat for the 1-2-3. (3:29) Afterwards, Taylor tries to beat up Eaton for the loss, but Eaton fights back and hits the Swinging Neckbreaker. He heads up top, but Taylor gets the heck out of Dodge before he can deliver the Alabama Jam. Anyways, they wind up brawling to the back. *
Gene gets a word with the Steiners. Rick thinks the next PPV is Halloween Havoc, but that’s okay because he’s crazy anyways. Look out, Harlem Heat! The Steiners are coming for you at Fall Brawl!
Sting & Lex Luger vs. Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael (w/The Ladies)
We see Ted DiBiase is still in his seat. Sting and Luger storm the ring and it’s a real barnburner to start. Mongo stops Luger with a hotshot and tags in Benoit. Lex plays face in peril for a little while. Double-KO sets up the HOT TAG TO STING! He goes for the SCORPION DEATHLOCK on Benoit. McMichael tries to save, but Sting releases the hold and dropkicks him to the floor with Luger. Flying Splash from Sting hits knees, but Benoit misses the SWANDIVE HEADBUTT. And what do you know, Hollywood Hogan shows up at ringside with a can of black spray paint. Mongo backs him around ringside, but is it all a trap? You bet it is. (5:42) Here comes Scott Hall and Kevin Nash over the railing to deck Mongo. Once he’s posted, he gets the nWo spray painted on his back. In the ring, Benoit takes the OUTSIDER’S EDGE while Sting takes a JACKKNIFE POWERBOMB from Nash. They get their backs spray painted. Flair and Arn try to save and they do okay until they get sprayed in the eyes! Flair gets the black paint sprayed right across the top of his head. Sort of a reverse skunk if you will. From there, the nWo just bask in the extreme heat of the moment while the crowd throws their garbage into the ring. What else do they NEED to do? Once they’re done with the crowd, they hijack the announce position and make jokes. “Anything less would be too civilized!” Finally, they get their mic cut as we fade to black with the Four Horsemen, Sting, and Luger all down inside the ring.
Now THAT’S how you end a Nitro. Probably the first one done right since Hogan’s heel turn.
Looks like some of Fall Brawl’s matches on September 15 are already set.
– WARGAMES: Sting, Luger, Flair & Arn vs. The nWo
– The Giant vs. Randy Savage
– WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat vs. The Steiners
– Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho
– “Mexican Heavyweight Champ” Konnan vs. Juventud Guerrera
– Scott Norton vs. Ice Train
– Diamond Dallas Page vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.