WCW Nitro 12/2/1996

Written By: Matt Peddycord

WCW Monday Nitro
December 2, 1996
Dayton, OH
Hara Arena

The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: Hollywood Hogan (8/10/1996)
WCW U.S. Champion: Vacant (11/25/1996)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Outsiders (10/27/1996)
WCW World Television Champion: Lord Steven Regal (8/20/1996)
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Dean Malenko (10/27/1996)

Why is Hulkamania STILL running wild in the intro? Come on, WCW.

HOUR NUMBER ONE! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Larry Zbyszko.

Both the Steiners interrupt Tony and Larry Z at the start of the broadcast. Rick Steiner sends out a challenge to Sting. That makes it okay to flashback to last week where Sting cost the DFG a match with Big Bubba by sneaking up behind him and delivering the Scorpion Death Drop.

Glacier vs. Hardbody Harrison
Really? Is GLACIER supposed to keep people from changing over to Raw? Apparently Elijah Burke or whatever he’s called now in TNA gets his look straight from Hardbody Harrison. You can guess how this goes. Spinning Roundhouse Kick gets the quick 1-2-3. (1:00) As long as they only put Glacier on Nitro every two months, I’ll be alright. ¼*

Cincinnati Bengals players LOVE the nWo!

Amazing French Canadians (w/Col. Robert Parker) vs. Renegade & Joe Gomez
Poor Renegade and Gomez don’t realize that a good babyface team would stop the AFC when they’re trying to sing O Canada. Renegade comes in to stop an AFC save and that just leads to Gomez getting tossed over the top rope to get beat up on the floor courtesy of Col. Parker of the French Foreign Legion and Carl Oulette. Back in, Gomez receives a double hotshot. This time Renegade REALLY makes the save for his partner and gets the hot tag. He hits a bunch of clotheslines and the Handspring Elbow, but gets his whip reversed into a clothesline by Oulette. Piledriver from Rougeau sets up the QUEBECER CRASH for 1-2-3. (3:16) Where was Gomez there? No save, pal? Tony admires the AFC for continuing their winning ways. Hey Tony, they just lost at the PPV eight days ago! *½

Gene Okerlund has Arn Anderson for an interview. AA reminds everybody he destroyed the myth that you can’t beat Hulk Hogan – not once, but twice. Better bring a high heel shoe with you to Starrcade, Roddy. Arn goes on to say that because he didn’t take Piper out many years ago, now he’s going to get his receipt. Next week when Nitro comes from Charlotte, Roddy Piper will be on the show. We dare you to show up Hogan. WOO!

The Faces of Fear (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Robert Gibson & Scotty Riggs
Now that Riggs is on his own, he’s going with…Robert Gibson? We flashback to last week where the new World order ended a Faces of Fear/Harlem Heat main event and attacked everybody. Riggs and Gibson work on Barbarian’s arm to start. Gibson ducks low off a whip and in comes Meng. Blind tag to Riggs, he catches Meng with a flying bodypress for 1-2-NO! American Express (Gibson/Riggs! WHADDAYA THINK?) deliver a double clothesline, but Meng chops back and tags in Barbarian for the backdrop into a powerbomb on Riggs. Wow I mark for that. That gets two. What I want to know is why they’re making this match so long and wanting everybody to check for Gibson and Riggs when they’re getting a tag titles shot at Starrcade? The Faces of Fear continue to brutalize Riggs for a while. Put him away! Kick of Fear! Done! Come on. Too bad that doesn’t happen. Riggs avoids some elbow drops and hot tags Gibson. He nails Barbarian with the enziguri, but then Gibson tastes the KICK OF FEAR for real and it tastes pretty bad. (7:41) I don’t understand the booking here. Even if they won’t win the belts at Starrcade, at least make them appear to be a threat. That’s the whole point of wrestling – make your whole show sell, not just your main event. DUH. Just when it couldn’t make any less sense, Riggs cleans house on the Faces of Fear with steel chairshots. Is he PMS’ing over losing his partner to the nWo or something? They didn’t have anything to do with it, Scotty! *

WCW Saturday Night! Watch it IF YOU WEEL! 6:05PM eastern! TBS! Arn Anderson, Lord Steven Regal, the Faces of Fear, Chris Jericho, Rick Steiner, Bunkhouse Buck, Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Sullivan and many others are featured on the show! Don’t miss out! It’s the MUTHASHIP! PAY WINDAHS, CLUBBERIN, AND PLUNDAH, BABY!

Neat! We see some house show footage of Benoit/Sullivan in Baltimore back on 11/23. Pretty much exactly how it went down at the Great American Bash except for the Dungeon of Doom attacking Benoit in the bathroom while he’s trying to put Sullivan in the Crippler Crossface. A BACKBREAKER BY THE URINAL! Back to the ring, Woman jumps on Sullivan’s back to get him to stop beating up Benoit before the Faces of Fear hold her back.

Kevin Sullivan vs. Unnamed Jobber #203
Tony doesn’t even know this jobber’s name. He looks like he doesn’t realize that the ’80s are over with his long blonde hair. HEAVY METALLLLLLLLLLL! Either that, or he’s Randy the Ram. This is the usual crazed lunatic brawl from Sullivan. Tree of Woe and the DOUBLE STOMP gets the win. (2:00) Larry Z thinks Piper should lead the Dungeon of Doom against the new World order. Somebody fire him. ¼*

Kevin Sullivan cuts a confusing promo if you didn’t already know that he and Woman were married.

WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs. Billy Kidman
Kidman surprises Malenko with a headscissors for two. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors puts Malenko on the floor. Kidman wants a pescado, but Malenko moves out of the way and gives Kidman a powerbomb (!!) on the outside. Meanwhile, Sonny Oono makes his way down to ringside with a camera. You know, to scout Malenko. Back in, Malenko delivers a brainbuster for two. Looks like they screw up a boot-to-the-face-out-of-the-corner spot and then they try it again. Kidman hits a missile dropkick, followed by a fisherman suplex for 1-2-NO! Malenko tries a powerbomb, but Kidman slips away and drops down for a backslide for 1-2-NO! They trade inside cradles for two. Kidman gets caught up top for a superplex, so Malenko heads up top and gets blinded by Oono’s camera flashing in his face. Kidman wants the SHOOTING STAR PRESS, but Malenko brings the knees up and applies the TEXAS CLOVERLEAF for the win. (5:50) Way too many noticeable screw-ups from Kidman here, but otherwise a decent glorified squash. *½

HOUR NUMBER TWO! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Big Bubba (w/Jimmy Hart)
Why do these two deserve a rematch? Bubba controls to start. Jarrett puts on the brakes and struts to take control? Ha, swinging neckbreaker connects. Bubba punches him down to allow Jimmy Hart to choke him a little bit. Jarrett slides out to get him a piece of Jimmy, but Bubba makes the save by missing Jarrett and punching Jimmy away. JIMMY’S DOWN. Back in, a flying bodypress gets two. Bubba kicks off the FIGURE-FOUR as Jimmy tosses the megaphone in the ring. While Jimmy has the ref’s attention, Jarrett rolls up Bubba for the delayed nearfall. Bubba grabs the megaphone, but WHAM. Jarrett dropkicks it back in his face for the 1-2-3. (4:08) Same finish as last time they faced on Nitro six weeks ago. ¾*

The Steiner brothers come back out to get an answer to their challenge from Sting. Rick calls him out and from the rafters, Sting gives him the nod. STING vs. RICK STEINER! TONIGHT!

After the break, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Eric Bischoff (Syxx and Vincent appear as well, but they leave right away) come out to take over the announce table. You see, they want their hour of Nitro, but they’re about ten minutes late. Piper doesn’t want none of Hollywood Hogan. Bischoff uses this time to take a stab at the WWF’s The Man They Call Vader by saying that Hogan handled him pretty easily. They show a clip of Slamboree ‘95 where Hogan clotheslines him down. He shows more footage of the time the nWo beat down Ric Flair and took his US belt. Let’s not forget the time Hogan beat the crap out of Randy Savage and painted a chalk line around him while he had him laying face down. You don’t want none, Piper.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Squire David Taylor
Everybody in WCW has three weeks left to convert their WCW contracts into nWo contracts – or else. Hall and Nash talks about wanting to bring an Englishman into the nWo. They show a split screen for a flashback to last week when Eddie beat Konnan in the US title tournament. Taylor works the arm a lot, but Eddie fights back with a headscissors and the FROG SPLASH for the win. (2:13) Eddie looks like he’s going to confront the now, and does so by doing NOTHING. ½*

On the Road with Lee Marshall: He’s in Charlotte and doesn’t sound all that happy to be talking to the nWo. Nash asks him if he’s live from Arn Anderson’s double wide? HA. Marshall says Ric Flair in Charlotte is like the Beatles in Liverpool. Hall ~ “You mean like how Flair’s old and outdated?”

Arn Anderson vs. Jim Powers (w/Teddy Long)
Teddy Long ~ “WESTSIDEEE!” HAHA, what. Anyways, Arn got his butt handed to him last week from Luger – now he’s all pissed off and ready to destroy Jim Powers. He takes him to the floor and rubs his face on the ringside mats before running him into the ringpost. Back in, Arn dominates and works the arm. He stops himself before coming down face-first onto Powers’ foot, but then misses an elbow drop. Powers hits the Knee Lift and the dropkick for two. Screw all that, DDT! (3:08) Hall says Arn can play on his team anytime. *

Chris Benoit vs. Lord Steven Regal – WCW U.S. Title Tournament Match
Hey, where’s Woman? If you read above, Regal’s still the TV champ, but of course the belt isn’t on the line here. Early on during a palm strike-hip toss exchange, Regal gets busted open BIG time and the hard camera has to go wide – REALLY wide. That hurts the match at least how it appears on TV. They light each other with chops. Benoit hits the SWANDIVE HEADBUTT for 1-2-NO! Awesome tombstone exchange sees Benoit getting the better of that. Regal rolls out and baits Benoit into a missed pescado. Back in, Regal hits a Butterfly Superplex for 1-2-NO! Benoit comes back with a German suplex and then finishes Regal off with a Dragon Suplex to advance in the tournament. (6:27) Good match with both guys ripping each other apart. Too bad for the stupid ‘no blood’ policy. On a night filled with squashes, this was match of the night. **½

Gene Okerlund has Arn Anderson, Steve McMichael, Debra, and Chris Benoit for an interview. If WCW is looking for leaders, the Horsemen will be more than happy to take the job. Mongo gets onto Benoit for getting involved with Woman. Debra has to run her mouth about it too. Arn finishes up this segment saying they would all rather be a Horsemen than anything else. WOOO!

Lex Luger vs. Rocco Rock (w/Johnny Grunge)
Wonder why Public Enemy are working singles matches? Rocco Rock takes over to start and hotshots Luger so Grunge can choke him a little bit. Meanwhile, Nash says ECW can be the #4 wrestling company behind the nWo, WCW, and some Japan company. Bischoff asks for three bucks to buy them out. Hall adds in that the sweet part of the deal would be that you can play bingo there too! Oh man good times. Rocco shows off his boxing skills and beats on Luger. To the floor, Grunge gets in some more licks. Back inside, Luger comes back with a press slam. Heel miscommunication ensues and Rocco gets caught in the TORTURE RACK to give Luger the win. (3:56) What a squashtacular show tonight. ¾*

Sting vs. Rick Steiner (w/Scott Steiner)
Bischoff and Nash make fun of Scott being so “big”. Sting enters the ring through the crowd, tosses his ball bat aside, and turns his back on Rick to give him a free shot. Rick nails him out to the floor where Scott throws him back inside. Rick pounds on Sting, but misses a Steinerline that bounces him off the ropes into the SCORPION DEATHDROP! Scott gets in to help his brother out when Sting picks up the ball bat. Sting moves Scott out of the way, pushes Rick back with the bat, and then hands him the bat. Sting turns his back again allowing a free shot, but Scott jumps in the way. He takes the bat out of Rick’s hand and tosses it away. Fine then. Sting takes his bat and leaves while Scott tries to keep his big brother calm. During all this, Bischoff, Hall and Nash are all egging Sting on to destroy these two. Yeah, nothing to rate here. Anyways, Sting walks over to the announce table and points his bat at the nWo. Ha, they are SO confused and kind of scared.

Sting leaves back through the crowd while Hall and Nash shill their new Outsiders T-shirts.

AND WE OUT!

Some matches have already been announced for Starrcade on December 29!

– MAIN EVENT: WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hollywood Hogan vs. Roddy Piper
– WCW World Tag Team Champions The Outsiders vs. The Faces of Fear
– WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs. J-Crown Champion Ultimo Dragon