Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 1/26/98
Fuck this is going to be three hours. Now it will be five hours of WCW each week, and that is fine but if it gets bad I may turn into an alcoholic! Now the PPV was really good. On paper it had all the components but I feared a fuck up. Dusty swerving was unnecessary as there was no build but I am fine with it. The Giant losing was baffling and hopefully he will get revenge but I doubt it. Also, Nash who to be fair has a history of heart attacks in his family may or may not have been faking it but still he was going to job at Starrcade and should have here and it makes me wonder. The first three matches were great and Booker wisely went over and the Steiner drama continues. Also, Flair and Hart was a classic with the right man going over but a draw and then a rematch would have been great. Still it was better than Starrcade and hopefully this momentum continues as Nitro and Thunder have been pretty damn good despite some flaws. Oh and Benoit going over was pretty sweet. The main event was short…too short but the show did deliver. The three hours got a huge 4.7 off of hours of 4.9 and 4.8 and 4.4 while RAW received a 3.5 across the board.
They do some recapping of last night and declare the Giant is injured.
Match 1: El Dandy v. Ultimo Dragon
The Flock comes down and apparently paid for their seats but are milling ringside. Dragon does his handstand kick but then misses a handspring elbow and now Dandy drops him and now the elbow getting two. Dragon strikes with an enzuguri. Dandy is placed up top and shoves him off only to leap into a dropkick and then is hit with a moonsault and finished just like that with the Dragon Sleeper.
Pretty close to a squash.
Gene is at a Nitro party.
Match 2: Goldberg v. Brad Armstrong
Brad throws his shirt at him and pounds him to no effect. He backs off and is picked up and held over Goldberg’s head and powerslammed with authority. He rolls to the floor and is rolled back in and he tries to hit him but it has no effect and he is picked up tossed. Goldberg stops himself from going into the corner and it is spear and Jackhammer time.
Squash. He is clearly over now.
DDP in pre-recorded comments states that what Nash did gave him goose pimples and that what happened was not right.
JJ Dillon is with Mike Tenay and they show the powerbomb in slo-mo. JJ states that after what happened to Arn and how is career was over that it would have been an opportune time for WCW to look at their practices and rules. The Giant is an example of this and how the wrestlers are bigger, faster and stronger and other sports are making their sport safer and he gives examples to the jeers of the crowd. The Giant’s neck has been tested but there have been no results yet and the time has come for some action, so effective immediately the powerbomb or any version of it has been banned and anyone uses it will be DQ’d and fined. If Nash every attempts it again not only will he be fined and then escorted from the building and perhaps prosecuted.
Match 3: Konnan v. Jerry Flynn
Konnan shoves him into the corner but is side kicked and he rolls to the floor. He slowly gets back into the ring and Vincent grabs Flynn and now Konnan unloads and strikes with his rolling clothesline. He snaps him over and low dropkicks him in the head and does his catchphrase. He stomps him and then pulls back on his head before the ref makes him break it. Konnan hiptosses him off the whip and they go off the ropes again but Flynn spinkicks him and then leaps out on top of him out on the floor. Konnan hits the steps and is then rolled back into the ring where he is kicked over and over. Flynn powerslams him and gets a two count. Flynn keeps up the pressure but misses the enzuguri and is put in the Tequila Sunrise and it is over.
Actually not half bad. Hell Konnan needed a win, any win.
Match 4: Buff Bagwell v. Rick Steiner
Buff goes right after him, pounds him in the corner but is whipped and back dropped and then clotheslined twice. Rick suplexes him back and Buff wisely retreats to the floor. Buff gets back in the ring and flexes only to get an inverted atomic drop and then run upside down into the corner and then mounted and pounded. Buff shoves him off and then starts to kick and stomp him. Rick is tossed to the floor but then assaults Vincent. He gets back in and is taken down and put in a rear chinlock. He fights to his feet but is dropped. Now Rick makes a comeback with a clothesline and now a belly to back followed up with a belly to belly from the middle rope. Vincent trips him up and Buff gets two after a swinging neckbreaker. Scotty comes out and plasters Vincent and Rick hits the super Bulldog and then Scotty throws Vincent into the ring and causes the DQ and now Scotty shoves down the ref as Rick looks on in befuddlement. Now he and Scott are arguing. Scotty freaks out about the ref as Ted thinks he deserves the fine and has gone nuts.
Not bad….oh and Nitro is now TV 14 and last week it was not…Thunder is TV 14 too.
Nash and EB are out and the former is sipping coffee. EB declares that what was to be a joyous occasion for the real giant has turned sad. EB feels for Clinton as he to is a target for the media as Nash is a target for WCW. Nash has been sitting in the back and people have claiming that what happened was wrong. Now he wants to tell the truth as the Giant gave him everything he had and Nash was so resilient the Giant looked at him and told him that he had none left. So he wanted to give him some pep so he hit him with the coffee to wake him up, and to give him a jump start he nutted him. He compares it to Old Yeller and someone had to put him out of his misery! He tries to be a good guy and then yells then he stuck him on his skull and thought that was going to leave a mark. For now on he wants to be called Big Sexy the Giant Killer Kevin Nash (damn that was long) and all fan mail can be sent to the Van down by the river……nice Farley quote at the end. Odd but I forgot he just died the month before. I actually like what they are doing with that. It could be worse and by banning it means Nash will break it.
Match 5: Wayne Bloom v. Jim Neidhart
He disappeared for a bit and gets shitty porn music too. Fuck who is in charge of that shit? Bloom shoves him into the ropes but cannot budge him and Jim knocks him down. Bloom trips him up and drops the elbow and has him in a side headlock, Neidhart tries to escape but gets his beard pulled. He finally extricates himself and a hiptoss sends him to the floor. Bloom hits him and suplexes him out there. Back in the ring he tries to take him down and fucks it up but Tony calls it great. Bloom climbs up and gets two after a double axe. The fans are silent and this should be a squash. Bloom misses two elbows and then is hammered in the corner. Bloom leaps from the top and is powerslamemd and finished.
Okay but should have been a squash.
Ad for an Internet only Boston Brawl….need to see if I can find that.
Tenay calls out Ray Traylor. Traylor babbles that the nWo thinks they are better than everyone else but he tries to get crowd support by saying the fans are better….mild cheers. He is upset with Nash. Many are afraid of Nash and he knows that Nash is just a man when it is all said and done and even if he loses Nash will know that he was in a fight.
Match 6: Psychosis v. Chavo Guerrero
Chavo is whipped and taken down and he tries to pick him up but Chavo floats behind and then shoves him into the post and takes him down. Chavo gets two and has him in a headlock. Psychosis hits him in the kidneys but is taken down and Chavo gets two after the springboard bulldog. Chavo chops him sends him into the ropes but Psychosis ducks and then takes him down. Chavo is placed up top, Psychosis goes up and is shoved off and he hits the stairs and Chavo somersaults on top of him. Chavo rolls him back in and goes up top but is hit and Psychosis heads up and tries to toss him off but Chavo lands on him getting two. They exchange holds and Chavo hits him and gets two after the German suplex. Psychosis leapfrogs him and kicks him in the head. Now Psychosis goes up and he is kicked and crotched. Chavo goes for the superplex and is front plexed off and finished with the guillotine legdrop.
Not bad but I thought Chavo was getting a push…..what the fuck do I know?
Here comes Hall with his lackey Spiccoli and it is survey time. WCW gets a huge pop but there are nWo fans too and in fact there is a huge nWo chant too. Now he talks about Dusty Rhodes being a part of the Black and White Express and Louie wants to be a part of it too as being a part of the nWo you are just too sweet.
Match 7: Louie Spiccoli v. Juventud Guerrera
Hall is leaving and wants to shake his hand but Juvie (or is it Juve; it says Juve Juice on his tights….fuck I have been wrong since day one) and he refuses and Hall just shakes his head. Juve goes off on Louie and dropkicks him but celebrates and gets pasted with a blow or three to the head. Louie suplexes him and drops the knee.
Savage has arrived in a separate car as Liz was with Hogan earlier (not shown but discussed) and Savage is pissed and enters the arena.
Spiccoli is dropped to the floor and Savage runs in and knocks out Juve and piledrives him and the fans erupt and calls out Luger. The only reason that Lex won was due to his three stooges his so called friends. Louie spikes Juve and pins him and counts himself. Randy calls out Hogan and EB and Nash and does not want any help. Louie is grinning and taps him on the shoulder and gets absolutely clocked and tossed out and supposedly this proves he does not need help as he claims that afterward. Liz is at ringside and the cop is checking her out! Here comes the nWo and Savage wants Luger out too and he screams at them. Hall is not happy and gets in as does Nash and Hogan and they surround him. Savage calls them clowns and EB tries to calm him down and to get his head on straight and Savage responds that he does not care about his loss and he is tired of them and Hulk makes him sick. EB claims that if they have a problem they need to work it out. Hulk goes on that he and Nash and everyone else have disagreements but they work it out because they love each other. What Hall and Hulk saw last night, or two nights ago, Savage was not doing so well or winning any gold medals and because they love him they hoped that their presence would help him out as he clearly needed help. Hall is giggling as Hogan tells them that if Savage does not want their help because they love him and then he is on his own. Savage agrees that is what he wants and states that number one and someone puts up a finger to mock him! The match was not over and the match was in hand, and number two they were not coordinated when they got there and number three….it is Hall putting up the fingers; Savage is looking at a man who looked much better when he had the gold around his waist. EB tries to intervene and Hogan claims he beat Sting twice and everyone knows that as well as knowing that he made wrestling and next month he will have the belt and now he heads after him and EB tries to hold him back and Savage exits the ring and grabs a chair. Now an oohhh yeahhh from Hogan and he better work it out. Savage responds that he does not need help with Luger and Hogan needs to handle Sting. Hogan states that he is on his own for now to handle his business but he better not make it for life!
This was good but Savage backing off? He usually just attacks but still good stuff.
Gene is at a fucking Frat House for the Nitro party!! CLASSIC.
Match 8: Raven v. Mortis
Mortis is a face? He assaults Raven and runs him into the stairs and then into the railing. He spikes his head off the steps. Back in the ring Mortis punishes him but is kneed in the gut only to return the favor off the whip but Raven does it back to him. They are on the floor and Mortis is driven into the steel steps. He is hammered some more but is able to make a comeback with a dropkick and an AA and he gets a two count. The Flock is watching and staring as Mortis rolls him up for two and a cradle for two more. Mortis levels him with a right and Vandenberg tosses him the chair and Raven ducks and hits his finisher and it is over.
The match was a bit longer but I had to reload my page and it is late and did not want to hit pause…..but not by much. A really fast paced back and forth match.
Match 9: Wrath v. DDP (c) for WCW US Title
DDP has the arm and drives his shoulder into it but is pulled down. DDP rests for a moment and then nails him but is slapped in the face. Page hits him right back and strikes with a Russian leg sweep. Wrath fights him off and connects with a spinning backbreaker. Wrath kicks him over and over in the corner and Vandenberg chokes him out. Wrath steps on his neck. Wrath is on the apron and pulls on the neck while DDP is still in the ring. DDP fights back but runs into a boot and is then clotheslined. Wrath bodyslams him and climbs up and he hits him with a flying clothesline getting two. He goes for the spinning backbreaker again but DDP rolls him over and now they are exchanging blows and DDP drops him with a swinging neckbreaker. Vandenberg runs distraction and Mortis comes out with that fucking staff but Wrath is whipped into him and then finished with the Diamond Cutter.
Short but decent.
Mortis helps up Wrath and the former gets planted with his finisher. Vandenberg yells at Wrath and Wrath runs him off.
Tenay is in the ring and calls out the Hitman. He gets a solid pop and Tenay talks about how impressive the match was. Bret calls it a hard fought match. He does not want to disrespect Flair as it was a great match. He calls Flair a great man but wants to move on. He moves on to Piper and he is cool with it. He came to WCW to prove that he should be the WCW champion. He does not care what happens between Sting and Hogan because he is going to prove to everyone and that sooner or later he will prove to be the best WCW champ and then thanks everyone! Oh how little does he know….
Gene is back at the Frat House and they are more for WCW than the nWo and the Nitro Girls are there.
Match 9: Saturn v. Booker T (c) for WCW TV Title
They exchange shots, Booker is whipped into the ropes and clotheslined. Saturn pops him but off the whip Booker ducks and takes him down with a forearm and after the two count applies an armbar. Saturn escapes but his hiptoss is blocked and is decleated with a clothesline. Back to the armbar. Saturn is up but is backkicked and sent to the floor. Saturn bounces his throat off the top, drops the legs and then whips him into the ropes and now they switch around and Saturn has him in a full nelson and then picks him up and tosses him back. Saturn gets two and chops him in the corner. He has Booker around the waist but Booker rolls him up for two but Saturn clotheslines him and delays the cover and only gets two. Saturn kicks him in the ribs and then steps on his throat. Saturn uses the ropes to choke him out, runs him headfirst into the corner but Booker blocks the suplex and connects with one of his own. Saturn though is able to roll him up for two and another two after a lariat. He whips him front first and then with a running leap out of the corner clotheslines him getting two. Booker is sent into the corner and is powerslammed off the rebound. Saturn gets two and shoves the ref thinking the count was slow. Booker kicks him in the head but misses the elbow; he spins up and hits the Harlem Sidekick and now the axe kick. He side slams him and goes upstairs and Van Hammer clubs the back and the match is tossed out and now the Flock stomps a hole in Booker. Here comes Martel to make the save and he tees off with shot after shot. Booker is up and he takes out one but Saturn is not backing down and then slides under the ropes.
Pretty good match.
Tenay is with Jericho and Tenay wonders what happened post match. Jericho plays dumb and Tenay informs him that he needs surgery. Jericho responds that for all his fans that he hopes that Rey never hurts his knee. Jericho wants to dedicate his belt and then wipes tears from his face to all his fans as without them he would not have it. He is wearing the Rey shirt as a tribute to Rey and all of his Jericho disciples and hopes he gets well soon.
Match 10: Steve McMichael v. British Bulldog
Davey rolls in and is immediately stomped….what a terrible debut. They just put him in a random match? Jesus, WWF does it so much better. Why not debut him with a promo or put him in a feud or something. Mongo is beating on him and he side slams him. He picks him up and slams him again getting a two count. He clips him and wants the Tombstone but Davey comes back and hammers him and cannot get him up in the suplex but is able to on the second attempt and he gets two. Mongo is sent into the corner but gets the elbow up and down goes Davey. Mongo chokes him out. Davey fires back and cannot get him up in the powerslam but does connect and win.
Not a good debut. Busted moves etc.
Match 11: Kevin Nash v. Ray Traylor
Nash has his hand out and tosses coffee in his face, nuts him and now a powerbomb! The fans erupt.
Seriously the coffee thing is old. Also, what is the point of Ray Traylor the guy is a joke….just fodder for the nWo and he gets in a blow every now and again.
Officials run down and Nash is cuffed and escorted to the back. They make it like the powerbomb killed him! Come on now.
Here comes Hall. “Hey Yo” and the fans cannot get enough of his talking and he knows that Fort Wayne is nWo country. Anyone who saw Souled Out say Larry exposed and that Larry must have felt like a pervert in a peep show because of his exposure. Larry claims he beat him once after being told he has not talent and then threatens and walks towards Hall but is held back.
Commercial.
Larry has been escorted out.
Match 12: Scott Hall v. Lex Luger
Hall hits him a few times but Lex reverses it and rocks him with blow after blow. Hall reverses a whip into the corner and clotheslines him and starts to kick the ribs and stomp the chest and rib area. Hall uppercuts him and down goes Luger. Luger fights back and down goes Hall. He mounts and pounds him in the corner and is shoved off at six and mounts him again and gets in five more blows and now gets in all ten. Hall flops to the mat and Luger flexes. Hall rakes the eyes but is powerslammed after the whip. Lex calls for the Rack. He has him up! Here comes Savage and hits Lex and then belts him with the chair. He tosses Hall out and slams Luger. Savage is climbing up top and drops the big elbow. He is up again and points at Luger and waits and Sting is lowered from the ceiling and he kicks Savage…..weakly but he sells it and Sting unhooks himself and hits some Stinger Splashes and puts him in the Deathlock as Hall and Hogan look on. Sting unhooks poor Savage and looks at Hogan and wants a piece. Sting runs at him and then stops as Hall talks to Hogan and we fade…
Not bad. Wow, three hours is long. There were a lot of short matches and I hope it does not stay that way. It is late so I am keeping this short. Savage and Nash had good promos. The wrestling was just okay with some decent matches. Bret still looks uncomfortable and Sting looked strong. Overall a solid follow up to the PPV and they covered nearly everything and DDP got back in the game and Raven rebounded and Saturn had a good match with Booker T. Davey Boy had an underwhelming if not terrible debut and that bodes ill for his future but he and the Anvil did get some big money and Larry was hinting at that….