Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 6/22/98
Not really sure if I buy DDP thrust into the limelight so quickly with this feud. He is more than ready for the big time but it seems hot shotted. DDP was on the sideline for a bit and now, and deservedly so, back into the spotlight but they could have made it a bit more convincing. He was attacked by Hogan and Rodman and Malone is his friend, but I feel something is missing. I have heard Hogan wanted Savage to be Malone’s partner as DDP was not ready but DDP was friends with Malone….not sure how true the Savage thing was and his knee too. Okay, let’s get going. Nitro loses again 4.3 to 4.1.
They show a snippet of the contract signing with DDP and Malone.
Now one from the Tonight Show with Rodman and Hogan taunting Malone.
Gene calls out DDP who is greeted with chants of “DDP” but there are random boos. DDP is jacked to be in Jacksonville and makes faces when he states Rodman’s name and calls Hogan scum. He has not forgotten the past year and a half. He declares that Hogan’s life has made him soft and he does not really want it anymore while he wants it really bad. Malone is one of the hardest workers and he has DDP’s back and wants to be in the ring. The difference between Rodman and Malone is white and black and they are totally different….fuck, that makes no sense. DDP slurs that Rodman is a marketing genius but a deadman in the ring and they are going out with a Bang!
Match 1: Lynn Denton v. Disco Inferno
For some revenge after getting demolished by the Giant, Disco dominates the first two minutes until Lynn catches him with botched neckbreaker and now he is on the offensive and hammers him. Disco comes back with some clotheslines and finishes him with a piledriver.
*1/2 The crowd was hot though.
Gene is in the ring and Tony claims there is a big surprise tonight and Gene concurs. The surprise is Kevin Greene and no one fucking cares….sorry Kevin. He plays the face and hypes up the Jaguars and Mark Brunell. He gets a few cheers but mostly boos and now we get a five minute conversation about the Panthers and football and who fucking cares….the Panthers and Jaguars all suck balls and let’s get to wrestling. Goldberg was his roommate in 1992 and this gives him a brief cheer but it does not last. Oh, because Rude and Hennig come out. They taunt Greene for interfering in their sport. Greene calls it bullcrap and them punks. Giant belts him from behind and they beat him up! Some Goldberg chants but no Goldberg.
Greene is back up and calls the Giant fat and calls them punks and chases after them.
During the break Greene is being held back as he tries to go after the nWo. JJ Dillon is back there and sets up a match between Greene and the Giant.
Match 2: Random v. Yuji Nagata
The random dances and shakes his ass and so he gets hit and bodyslammed. It is Tokyo Magnum and they are going back and forth. Nagata takes him down and works over the leg. I watched the match, but was studying…almost done with a book and so this was a perfect time….Nagata wins.
**1/2
They pan to the back where Stevie Ray pummels Benoit until he is held back.
Match 3: Public Enemy v. Horace and Sick Boy
PE runs them over and the heels retreat to the floor. Sick Boy gets back in the ring and is taken down as Rock works over the arm. Grunge gets the tag and kicks him in the chest and they both pancake him. Sick Boy pokes the eye. Horace gets the tag but Grunge makes it too and they double elbow drop Horace. Rock follows up with forearm shot to the head. Horace reverses a whip and Rock hits Sick Boy but is caught and guillotined off the top rope as Sick Boy clotheslines him from the apron and they both stomp on Rock. Rock is flung into the corner and Sick Boy pulls him up and whips him again into the ropes but Rock gets two after the sunset flip. Rock is kicked in the corner numerous times by both heels, and Horace sends Rock into the corner and off the rebound side slams him. He covers him and Grunge makes the save. Rock is clotheslined to the floor, and Grunge gives him some advice before helping him back into the ring. Jesus Christ Schiavone will not shut the fuck up about the main events and the Tonight Show…..Christ he gets annoying. Meanwhile, Sick Boy is in and he is hammering Rock, but misses the splash in the corner and gets hung up. Grunge runs in but is stomped….Tony is still going. Horace hits everyone with the stop sign as the match has broken down but he is rolled up and nearly pinned. Grunge tries to avoid the stop sign and cannot as he stumbles. Rock leaps off the top and into the sign and Horace, landing on him getting the win.
**1/2 A bit long but decent.
Gene messes up Hart’s phrase as he calls him out. Hart introduces Gene to Mr. “Shhh” and hopes everyone is happy that they turned two Canadians against one another. He has known Benoit since he was a snot nosed punk. He should have trusted Bret Hart but has been brainwashed down here. He is now going to face the best wrestler and he yells at the crowd “Damn straight” and states he should be worried.
More from the Tonight Show. Here comes DDP and Malone and Leno’s acting is awful. Hogan is baffled and now Rodman wants to do it right here and Malone goes for him. Malone is going to do the Diamond Cutter on Rodman and shows Jay what it looks like. Rodman turns the insignia upside down by his crotch and Leno goes to break as they shove each other.
Match 4: Goldberg (c) v. Rick Fuller
No doubt Goldberg gets a huge pop but it is hard to see if some of the chants are piped in as legend has it. Fuller tries to fend him off but is taken down. Goldberg muffs the spear but then picks him up and spikes him and then finishes him with the Jackhammer.
*1/2 Squash. Crowd loved it. It was kind of a muff….
Tenay is out with crowd and they are screaming fucking nonsense. Jesus the announcers are getting on my nerves, I am hoping they do not start masturbating to Nitro as they will not shut the fuck up about how it keeps getting bigger and better…..
Wolfpac time! The fans just explode. Nash and Konnan do their thing and then Nash declares that Goldberg just killed Kenny. Sting screams and talks to a blow up doll for a moment. And that the crowd is all Red and Black. He calls Nash the Giant Killer and he is a medium sized one and the Giant is dead! He is challenging anyone and anywhere for the tag belts. Nash declares that being in the Wolfpac is too sweet!
Match 5: Alex Wright v. Eddie Guerrero
Eddie locks up and shoves him off and reacts to the jeers of the crowd and Wright stomps a hole in him. But Eddie comes back, snaps him over and pounds him for a bit before being poked in the eye and Wright keeps dancing as he stomps away. Eddie chops away but Wright returns the favor and gets two after a bridged suplex. Wright goes up and misses and is spiked with a vicious brainbuster. Chavo comes out and mocks Eddie and this allows Wright to finish him off as Chavo calls that not the Guerrero way (him losing)!
**1/2 Angle advancement.
Chavo calls him little trooper and tells him a story about playing Monopoly. Eddie calls him a wacko and Chavo states his name is Chavo and sings it to BINGO and keeps talking as Eddie backs away! Classic.
More crowd talking about the Rodman match….
Match 6: Riggs v. Konnan
Konnan works him over. He pulls him over his back as he has the leg hooked. Konnan is knocked off and Riggs hammers him getting a two count. Konnan is dumped to the floor. Konnan gets back into the ring and Riggs keeps up the pressure. He pounds him in the corner and then muffs as he hits Konnan’s knee on the slide under. Konnan faceplants him and then trips him up and puts him in a clutch and leans forward but Lodi gets on the apron and so Konnan releases the hold and decks him but gets up and turns into a clothesline and powerslam. Riggs gets two and heads up top and is brushed aside on the leap and the Sunrise finishes him.
**1/2 At least Konnan is getting a couple of wins.
Karl Malone is calling Hogan a sissy and coward at the press conference. Rodman is talking about nonsense. Well, does say Malone is used to being on the bottom.
Match 7: Stevie Ray v. Steve McMichael
Mongo comes out to Horsemen music. Ray rocks him with a series of forearms finally dropping him but Mongo hops right back up and lays into him. He keeps battering him….
Commercial.
Ray back kicks him in the head, or a heel kick and then strikes with a legdrop getting a two count. Ray bodyslams him getting two and puts him in a rear chinlock. Mongo gets vertical and starts clubbing Ray and a knee lift sends him down. Mongo drops the elbow, and stomps on him for good measure. The brawl heads to the floor with Ray’s face getting planted into the railing but he reverses a whip and Mongo’s head bounces off the steel steps. Mongo is rolled back into the ring and Ray pulls Penzer off the chair and has his chair. Here comes Benoit and he grabs the chair and holds it all the while eyeing Ray. Booker now grabs the chair from Benoit. Ray wants Booker to hit him as Benoit checks on Mongo and Booker tells Ray that he did not need the chair as the fans chant for Flair.
*1/2 Good God this was a long, dull match. But it had some angle advancement and it is always nice to see Benoit and Booker.
Here comes Hogan and Company! EB asks Liz how life is without Savage and she loves it. He know blows Hogan and makes breaking a leg jokes at Savage’s expense. Hogan with his Bret Hart shirt on mocks Savage and he knew that Liz only wanted the money and ran to Hogan as everyone falls to the feet of Hogan and everyone knows he made wrestling. Now he turns to Page and the only reason he is famous for is his wife being in Playboy and head of the Nitro girls and then calls him pee-pee….fuck. Malone is famous for getting his butt kicked in the Playoffs. Hogan and Rodzilla are going to feed them to his pet whales….he really said that. EB makes one last crack at Savage and his leg.
They show Savage getting his leg broken by EB.
Match 8: Chris Benoit v. Bret Hart
Benoit takes him down and is warned about using the hair. They size each other up and finally lock up and Bret pushes him into the corner and the ref breaks it. On the test of strength tease Benoit kicks him and takes him down via a wristlock. Hart is up and slams him but misses the elbow drop and he jumps right back up right into an armdrag and Benoit goes to work on the arm. Bret gets to his feet, has him and just spikes him with a DDT. He pulls up Benoit and rubs his face across the ropes and Benoit kicks him but Bret hits him and then bites him in the corner. Bret headbutts him and takes his time with measured punches but this allows Benoit to chop him and drop him. Hart backs up and lures him in and strikes with a series of uppercuts. Bret’s whip is reversed into the corner but Benoit runs into a boot and then an inverted atomic drop. Hart goes up to the middle rope and misses and now Benoit chops him down to size only to be grabbed and bounced off the top rope throat first. Hart stomps on him, kicks him to the floor and then picks him up and drives him into the post. He tells a fan to fuck off and then rabbit punches Benoit in the skull. He gets back into the ring and showboats. He heads back out and rolls Benoit back into the ring and gets two after a piledriver. Hart is flustered and headbutts Benoit after arguing with the ref.
Fucking commercial…save that for the next match.
Hart gets a two count. He gets another two after a Russian leg sweep. Hart paces and yells at the fans and then goes back to work with some stomps, after the whip Benoit floats over off the slam attempt but Hart shrugs him off and gets two. He yells at the ref and is grabbed and hit with two German suplexes, and Hart kicks him to escape but is grabbed and nailed with the third one but he too is winded and both men are down. Benoit is up first and snap suplexes him. He motions for the diving headbutt and leaps across the ring and misses! Hart rolled to safety and he drills him with a falling headbutt and slowly goes up top and Benoit is right there and superplexes him off! Benoit covers him for two. Now Benoit is frustrated. Benoit gets two more after a short armed clothesline. Benoit takes him down and hooks him in the Crossface! But Hart is able to grab the ropes. Ray is down and Hart recovers quickly and belts Benoit and throws him on top of himself and the ref turns and makes the count. Bret kicks out and then puts him in the Sharpshooter….Bret used a foreign object.
**** Fuck yeah! This is what WCW needs. The cheating? But then again Benoit needs to be strong, it is not a PPV and Hart is a heel. Great shit. WCW take note please.
Match 9: Giant v. Kevin Greene
Not sure why this is getting the Buffer treatment….oh well. Not much time left. Greene runs into the ring and charges into the Giant. Runs into him a few times and bounces around the ring like a spaz and gets his head torn off by the Giant. Giant hits the big elbow and fakes that he is smoking. Greene drives his head into his nuts and then jumps into him from the three point stance and now Hennig and Rude run in and assault him. Now the Goldberg chants start. The rest of the nWo crew come out and hammer him. Here comes Goldberg and Vincent gets speared and then Adams and another dude get the double spear! Giant waltzes out of the ring and the fans are loving it as Goldbeg challenges them. I though Goldberg and Greene were going to make out. Greene and Goldberg are going to partner up against the Giant and Hennig.
DUD but the aftermath was badass and it makes sense having this as the main event to get Goldberg over. Also, Greene should not be wrestling long matches.
*** The best part was the Hart and Benoit match. That saved the show. The ending was classic as the fans shat themselves. WCW is smart in giving Goldberg more exposure. However, they do not want overkill. You can tell when Nitro is going to be average. They have some dull matches but also focus on non-wrestlers like Malone and Rodman and Greene. The show focused way too much on them. What happened to the Wolfpac challenge? Where were the Cruiserweights? Why have Disco Inferno and other useless shit when the could focus on the Flock and Jericho. Also, Tony needs to calm the fuck down. He screams that every Nitro is better and it is basically going to be life altering. Shit gets old fast. There were positives to the show but some of the promos like Hogan’s were disjointed and that is how I felt about the entire show. It seemed phoned in except for a couple of the matches. The crowd was fairly hot and that was a bonus. Unfortunately, we will have to deal with this Leno crap for a couple of months and that is not a good thing. Finally, I like DDP but his promos and overacting get irritating. And Savage went out like a chump and that is never good….it is time to bring back Flair.