Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 7/20/98
Okay it has been a bit. They have handled Goldberg’s win quite well. The follow up was decent as was Thunder. They are building towards something as Hall and Nash are finally getting their feud going thanks to Hall being out of rehab. They need to use the Wolfpac more. DDP has not been pushed back down after the PPV like many other’s have been. Let’s get this bitch rolling as Nitro got a fairly low 4.4 off of hours of a solid start with a 4.7 but it dipped to two 4.2’s while RAW started strong with their go home show with a 4.6 and a 5.4 for a 5.0.
Tenay and Schiavone have an orgasm as they act like they do not know how show is going to start (probably really did not know) and it is Scott Hall. He tries for a survey but is booed lustily. He then starts to make fun of Nash as he was always on his back in the ring getting saved by Hall. Nash is not the leader of the Wolfpac because he is not a man. He is an embarrasment to Hall and not half the man that Hogan is and the boo’s get louder. Love him or hate him at least Hollywood is a man. In closing everyone knows that the nWo Black and White is just too sweet and he gets some support there.
Match 1: Stevie Ray v. Jobber
Ray states as he comes down to the ring that he does not have the belt and left it with his attorney. He assures that what he is doing is in the best interests of his brother.
He is shaking the opponents hand and making clean breaks. Ray has had enough and tears into the kid. Here comes Chavo and he has the belt who is yelling that Ray forgot it. He waves it at Ray but it does not stop him from finishing off Johnny Bull, I think that is who it is.
*Squash.
Chavo drops it and then runs while riding his horse. Ray is leaving trying to hide it behind his back.
Rick Steiner wants a piece of his brother at Sturgis as he talks about Buff and his brother as well as his surgery. Good God is Rick terrible on the stick. He is just rambling. Here comes Buff in the wheelchair and Rick states that what happened last week was a tragedy. He feels bad about what he did to Buff those months ago and apologizes. Buff received thousands of letters and was initially mad about it. But he has come to peace about it. He is a changed man and forgives Rick. tells him he loves him and then gives him a hug. Scotty runs down and belts Rick with the chair. Buff is staggered and briefly tries to protect Rick but takes the chair and blasts Rick and then takes off his neckbrace and his shirt to show off an nWo shirt.
Gene calls out Jericho who is bragging about being champ and the terrible anguish that he has been going through due to Dean Malenko. The man has interfered in all his matches. He is even conspiring with Arn to beat him. It is because he wants a shot at the belt and he can never a be champion, a paragon of virtue like he is. Jericho is a fair champion, and next week he is going to give Dean a chance to feed his starving ego and this is his last chance and if he loses he needs to go back to cooking burgers as he will never get a chance at this belt ever again. Gene reluctantly asks what will happen if Dean wins and Jericho laughs it off and will give him a good old Canadian fight and then shows off the belt.
Hall heads to the broadcast table and asks if Larry missed him and then throws the toothpick at him. He has something to say; he has been learning a lot about movies since hanging out with Hogan and that is action. He warns about not replaying the Nash interview where he cried. hall pats Tenay and offers Schiavone his hand and then pulls it and crotch chops at Larry.
Tenay and Tony have no idea when they are going to show that video!
They pan to the outside and there is a sign that states: Star of the Show and a car is crashed against the wall.
Match 2: Steve McMichael v. Sick Boy
It is supposed to be a play on Leno, the Star thing. Lodi tries to attack him and fails, Sick joins in and gets pummeled for a bit. They go back and forth for a bit but Sick Boy is finished via the Mongo Spike.
*Squash.
FUCK ME! Bischoff comes out doing the Leno thing. He is doing some stand up. Oh Lord. Hey he did a Sheen joke! I forgot he was a fuck up then too. Now he has some Lewinsky jokes and how Clinton has slept everywhere except at Hillary’s and Reno’s place. Schiavone screeches that these are the same jokes that Leno used on Friday. At least use some original jokes. The fans are booing. There is a Viagra joke. Now he makes fun of Leno and his chin. Now Leno and his love for bikes and compares it to Monica and swimsuit calendars. Hogan is there too and coming out.
Technical difficulties for the Nash interview and it is Hall messing with the truck. Nash is right there and they start brawling, well Nash is beating his ass and now Rude and Hennig and the rest of the nWo comes out of a trailer and they hammer him. Here comes the rest of the Wolfpac and Hall is sent into the garage door and but he fires back.
Here comes Bret Hart and he wants DDP right here and now and wants the US belt right now as they are the two top contenders for it. They pan to the back and DDP is laid out and Konnan is screaming for help. Hart declares he is fine and tells DDP he needs to get his ass out here. Now he and Larry jaw at each other. DDP is getting checked out. Bret heads to the ring. He waits there and here comes Jo Jo! Bret wants DDP out here right now. They argue and fans chant for DDP as Jo Jo heads to the back.
Match 3: Yuji Nagata v. Saturn
Okay I guess the Hart match is later….and I thought Hogan was a guest on EB’s show? I may have not been paying attention.
Saturn takes him down and puts him in a cross armbreaker. Yuji gets to the ropes and Saturn kicks him in the head a few times. Nagata reverses a whip and gives him a belly to back. He grabs the leg and goes to work on it. Saturn comes back with a belly to belly, but Nagata counters with a stiff kick to the head. Yuji stomps away.
Schiavone informs us that they just broke up the nWo melee and that Nash and Sting will face Hall and the Giant next to maintain order. Or EB notices what is going on on RAW and booked on the fly or it is a way to make the show seem more spontaneous.
Saturn is back in command and has him right where he wants him. But Raven runs down and connects with the Evenflow. Nagata finishes him and the Flock attacks Saturn. But Kanyon comes down and goes off. He gets an eruption after piledriving Kidman from the middle rope. He grabs Saturn and not sure what he is doing as he holds him and Saturn gives him the Death Valley Driver.
** Angle advancement.
Match 4: Sting and Nash (c) v. Scott Hall and the Giant for WCW Tag Titles
The nWo music starts but Nash stops it so he can do his thing. The fans explode. Now they come out.
There is a bunch of posing. Hall and Nash start off with a dancing Hall who tosses his toothpick at Nash. Nash starts towards him and so Hall tags in the Giant. Giant whips into the corner and squashes him. Nash reverses the next whip and sandwiches him and then hits the big boot. Hall comes in and Sting destroys him and the heels scatter to the floor. The fans are on fire. Hall and Sting are in the ring. Hall mocks Sting’s yell, and they lock up and Hall goes to work on the arm driving his shoulder into Sting.
Commercial.
Giant is yelling and wants the tag. Hall spits on Sting and tags in the Giant. The fans want Nash and they are going fucking nuts. Sting slaps the Giant. Maybe they were chanting something else. Giant misses and is hung up on the top rope and is nailed with a Stinger Splash but on the second attempt gets the boot. Giant knocks him around and then bounces off of him after the flying crossbody. Giant glares at Nash. He stomps on Sting and tags in Hall. Hall paintbrushes him, pulls him up and Sting ducks but is caught and tossed in a fall away fan and he gets two. Hall puts him in an ab stretch and gets some leverage help from the Giant. Sting tosses Hall and now Nash and the Giant are in and the fans are loving it. Nash hammers the big man who staggers into Hall, tagging him in. Now Nash tees off on Hall, scoops him up but Hall goes behind and tries to shove him into the corner but Nash stops and gives him the boot. He goes for the powerbomb and the Giant stops it. Sting comes in and nuts the Giant and then bulldogs him. Three are down in the ring and Nash reaches over and makes the tag. Stinger Splash time! Now to the back as Hall turned himself around. He goes for the Deathlock and Nash stops the Giant. Here comes Bret Hart who talks to Sting and he is shoved to the floor but this allows Hall to hit the Edge from the middle rope and it is over.
*** For the crowd!
Bret looks displeased, not sure where they are going with this.
Match 5: Disco and Wright v. Great Muta and Tenzan
Muta and Tenzan attack the dancing fools from behind. Wright heel kicks Tenzan and now Disco is in and he stomps away. Now there is some back and forth, Muta kicks Disco and then after the tag he finishes off Disco.
** Nice to see Muta get a win.
Norton comes in and powerbombs Disco for the Hell of it.
Match 6: Tokyo Magnum v. Ultimo Dragon
This should be short. Dragon is tearing into him. Oh boy, headstand kick time and now some stiff kicks to the chest. Magnum comes back and Frankensteins him from the top. He hammers him and goes up top where he leaps right into a dropkick, well he is grazed. Dragon crushes him with brainbuster and it is Dragon Sleeper time.
** Almost a squash, fast paced too.
Match 7: Scott Norton v. Jobber
I think it is….fuck it is escaping me. Hall hinted he was on roids a year or so ago when they took over the mic. Norton is destroying him. Norton runs into a boot and is barely budged nor do the lariats budge him and it is Jim Powers! I am excited for some reason…..powerbomb and over.
** Hard to dislike Norton.
Now Hollywood is coming out with the rest of the crew. Hogan is getting his flex on in the ring. EB apologizes that Malone could not make it (they are in Utah) and Hogan starts talking about….himself. How he is a God etc. He does love his nWoites though. There is nothing but love for Hall. He stood toe to toe with Hulk and now got the titles they deserved and asks for a round of applause. Hogan needs some new phrases as he continues about being a God. It is Chono and not Tenzan, oops. He calls Goldberg a paper champion and now to Leno, and EB is funnier. God Damn, he is all over the place. Now Bret Hart is going to be the new US Champ. Now to Karl and DDP and now he is the true champion.
Match 8: Eddie Guerrero v. Konnan
Antoine Carr, plays for the Jazz, comes out with Konnan and stares him down. Konnan does his thing but it is short and Carr tries to get the crowd ramped but with the music playing it is hard if does so.
Eddie starts strong with a clothesline. The fans chant that he sucks. Konnan launches Eddie and then press slams him and Eddie wisely rolls to the floor. Carr stares him down. Eddie gets back into the ring and is monkeyflipped and then back suplexes him. Konnan gets two and Eddie lures him into the corner where he pokes him in the eye. He works him over in the corner but the whip is reversed, Eddie is back kicked after a leapfrog and then clotheslined for two. Konnan bulldogs him for two more. Here comes Chavo dressed as Konnan and he has Pepe and mocks Konnan. Konnan is still killing Eddie, gets two more after a suplex. Now Konnan is distracted and Eddie nails him from behind and suplexes him. Eddie’s turn to be baffled and he takes Pepe. Konnan takes it and smacks Eddie with it and launches him over the top rope.
**1/2 It was a DQ. Would have been nice had Eddie gotten in some offense but it was fast paced.
Match 9: Curt Hennig v. Lex Luger
Luger has not done much as of late. They lock up and neither get the advantage. The second lock up Curt is shoved down and he pops right back up. Curt knees him and now chops away in the corner. Luger reverses a whip into the corner and off the rebound hiptosses Curt who promptly retreats to the floor. Luger heads over and gets his throat bounced off the tope rope. Back in the ring he kicks the ribs a couple of times and strikes with the high knee. He chokes out Luger on the ropes and Rude does so too after Curt distracts the ref. Curt snaps the neck and gets two. The fans chant something at Curt, not sure what. He chokes Luger out on the ropes again. Curt has him in a sleeper. Lex counters with a back suplex. Both slowly get to their feet and Luger connects with an atomic drop and now an inverted one. Lex runs him over with a clothesline and now the ref is down. He motions for the Rack. Rude runs in and he gets the Rack and the fans love it. Hennig nails him from behind and Plexes him and while the ref is slow to count Rude holds Luger’s leg.
*1/2 Luger really cannot wrestle. I guess they are not done with Perfect after all. The ending blew as Luger is barely touched and then finished, makes him look weak.
Match 10: Bret Hart v. DDP
DDP limps out. There is not much time left and these two deserve a lot of time. He gets in the ring and Bret is merciless and he unloads on the oft injured DDP. He stomps away and does his usual offense. He hits him in the head a few times. The crowd chants DDP but after he getse up he is immediately dropped and now struck with a side Russian leg sweep. DDP is turned over into the Sharpshooter but he manages to get to the ropes. Bret jump stomps on him and turns him over again. DDP has not tapped yet. It is over. Bret is taunting the fans and finally lets go.
** Wow, that was an epic squash. DDP still does not get the proper push. Yes, he was injured but at the same time he could have gotten in one move. It does make Bret look strong and they need to push the shit out of him but will not.
They gurney out DDP and the rest of the nWo comes down to celebrate with Bret and Hall punches DDP as he is wheeled away. DDP is placed in an ambulance and wheeled off as Bret celebrates with the nWo.
**** If the wrestling was a bit stronger I would have ranked this show even higher. The Leno part was not that long and they had a fun tag title match. Bret Hart got a lot of air time too. The Wolfpac and nWo brawl was fun too. No Goldberg hurts the show. Another lame main event did not help. Bret Hart needed to win and DDP had to remain strong so the injury angle could work. The nWo Black and White was booked really strong and needed to be because they have been weak for some time. Hart should not be a part of it but that is life. I know WCW was hugely criticized for the Bagwell move. I think if anything he should have turned to the Wolfpac. He was over and could have gotten a push, with WCW never more than TV title but he could have received the US title and they could have milked it as he was over and could have been a new star. But I will take a wait and see attitude.