WCW Nitro 8/24/1998

Written by: Kevin Kindelberger

WCW Monday Nitro 8/24/98
Nitro again won with a 5.3 while RAW got a near 4.7. It is the power of myth v. reality. I remember hearing how the Warrior bored the crowd and his promo was long and dull. I am no fan of the Warrior, but I love the spectacle of wrestling and the sheer drama of it. I would say WCW did it right in how they handled bringing in the Warrior. He had a great entrance and now we will see how they follow up. I may think the Warrior cannot wrestle and he rambles and he abuses steroids but then again he is over and he has charisma. I wonder how it will go from here. I still argue they handled Bret fairly well at the beginning but then dropped the ball and are only now slowly putting it back together.

Hogan and Bischoff with Liz and the Disciple get out of a Limo and head to the ring. They are in Chicago so Hogan name drops Rodzilla. EB has a pen and states that he has a lot of power with that as he used it to get rid of Vader and Johnny B. Badd and will do so to whomever gets in Hollywood’s way and then adds do you hear that Eddie (Eddie had been unhappy with his role in WCW and who can blame him, and of course EB was being a douche about it but at least he listened and I am sure this will lead to a work-shoot. I should say he may have listened as we will see if this goes anywhere and Eddie gets a much deserved push or if EB just plays favorites.). EB continues that Hogan is the best and now Hogan discusses his nWoites and when he got to O’Hare he told his fans that he is going to beat someone up on Nitro real bad. He just wonders who is going first. DDP is a puke and Warrior will not be at War Games as he saw the fear in his eyes and how the Warrior hid from him for eight years and besides EB has the stroke with the pen. He cannot wait for War Games as he will run through the Red and Black and then he will tear through DDP. He will get his belt back and make Goldberg beg for forgiveness. EB asks the crowd to rise and worship the ground Hogan walks on.

Match 1: Mike Enos v. Wrath

Wrath? Whatever happened to him. The fans though are riled there are some Flair chants but Wrath gets a pop after tossing Enos to the floor and then whipping him into the steps. He slingshots into him and after a big boot he suplexes him. Wrath gets two after a back splash. Enos makes a comeback with a powerslam. Enos slams him but misses the elbow drop and Wrath ties him up and picks him up slamming him for the win.

** I am sure we will not see much of Wrath but he does have some skill.

Match 2: Dean Malenko v. Kaz Hayashi

They exchange dragon twists but Kaz is taken down and put in a clutch. Dean snaps him over and drills him with his knee. The announcers are talking about Flair so his return must be imminent. Kaz connects with a blow but is back suplexed and Dean gets a two count. Dean puts him in a headscissors.

Commercial.

Malenko has him in chinlock and breaks it with an elbow to the top of the head. Kaz is up and is able to knock Malenko to the floor, and Kaz corkscrews out on top of him. Back into the ring Dean short clotheslines him twice but he goes to the well one too many times and is nearly pinned after a bridged German suplex. Kaz lands on knees after a moonsault attempt. They go back and forth until he runs into a dropkick, and he follows up with a powerbomb and finishes him with the Cloverleaf.

**1/2 Nice back and forth match.

Crowd is hot tonight. Here comes the Wolfpac minus Sting. Luger starts off and Konnan confuses the crowd briefly but gets them riled with his Spanglish. Nash gets down to brass tacks and Hogan can continue to run his mouth and while the Wolfpac may be few they are proud. If Hogan wants a war he has one while he mocks Hogan’s voice. Nash came in to WCW to declare war and will do so again. He will take them out and even become champ. Now he has to address Goldberg, after the first spear they had a beer and all was good. But last week the only beer he had was with the guys in the ring with him. Nash does not have a match and Hogan and the Giant are ready to go tonight so if he wants to make things right then Goldberg needs to team up with him. Here comes Goldberg, well going through the back first with his security detail. Goldberg is power walking to the ring and he is getting the full treatment as he comes out of the back and the fans are going nuts. He gets right in Nash’s face and says something and just leaves and the fans boo but Nash tells us what he said and that Goldberg’s answer was an affirmative and Nash bellows that Hogan and the Giant are next!

Match 3: Konnan v. Jim Neidhart

Larry is upset by Konnan’s language and does not understand it. Tenay informs him what Arriba La Raza means and basically tells him to shut up.

Konnan clotheslines Neidhart who retreats to the floor to regroup. Jim gets back into the ring and he clotheslines Konnan and works him over. He rakes the eyes and bodyslams him. He goes up to the middle rope and misses. Konnan wastes little time and bulldogs him and he hooks him in the Sunrise and it is over.

* Yes Konnan needs a win. But why is Jim a jobber? Oh, EB does not know what to do with him.

Stevie Ray is with Schiavone and is not happy about being slapped around. Ray is coming for his TV title and warns Jericho. Here comes Booker T. Ray is a tad taken aback. Booker had been running himself ragged and so left the country in order to heal. Booker has been back for a couple of days and people have been asking him why Ray has been descrating the TV title and Booker wants to know what the hell is going on. Ray admits taking the title and that is because Jo Jo has been pimping him and the belt has become between the two. Booker reminds him that Ray was out for months. Schiavone informs us that Booker is the number one contender for the US belt and Ray is upset and they argue. Booker just wants him to watch his back and they bicker as they head to the back.

Schiavone is in the ring and he calls out DDP who hangs out in the crowd for a bit. Last week DDP talked about the surprise, and Hogan has told us that EB is the man in charge, the man with the pen and that has painted DDP in the corner. DDP calls EB a fool. He holds up a pen and he would like to squish that pen into his right ear and out his left. Now to Hollywood Scum Hogan….he admits to being painted into the corner. Hogan cannot steal his heart and he will be at the PPV. DDP is not good for asking for help but he is asking for it and wants them to step up to the plate and out comes Piper! He congratulates DDP for doing a great job. He name drops Burt Reynolds and doing a film with him. He was with Time Warner Execs and the only person EB cannot fire is Piper. He makes fun of EB and compares him to Eddy Munster and Keith Richards, and then he and Hogan to Clinton and Hilary and also brings up a dress and then Sammy Sosa. I have no fucking clue as he repeats war over and over and turns it into warrior. I really have no idea what power EB has as it changes on Nitro a lot and I think they hope the fans forget as what does Jo Jo do now that he is back and I though Piper was just an interim Commish and I am confused and what happened to Schiller and this is a run on sentence. Anyway, he is going to form the Dream Team tonight.

Match 4: Riggs v. Steve McMichael

More Flair chants. My guess is that the former Horseman and Malenko will get token victories. Mongo runs him over in the corner and bulldogs him. Riggs makes a comeback and stomps Mongo….This is kind of off topic but please wrestling Gods do not put Mongo back in the Horsemen…..thank you for listening. Mongo is getting worked over. Riggs stomps on him and snaps him over and then applies a reverse chinlock. Mongo attempts a comeback but misses the elbow drop. It is late and so I must be getting tired because I am thinking of drinking Drano instead of watching this God awful match. Mongo clips him a couple of times and gets his eyes raked after going for the Spike but finally hits it for the win.

DUD Mongo sucks.

The Flock beats up Mongo. Here comes Malenko and he just stumbles into the ring but is able to kick Horace to the floor. Sick Boy misses the dropkick and is put in the Cloverleaf. Saturn shoves Malenko off and Saturn dives towards Horace and grazes the stop sign. Not sure what is up there. The Flock gets tossed to the floor leaving Mongo and Dean standing tall. Mongo raises up the sign of the Horsemen but Malenko just shakes his hand and leaves.

Match 5: Scott Norton v. Rick Fuller

Over in less than a minute.

*1/2 Squash for Norton.

Scotty Steiner comes out with his doctor and tells Chicago that they suck. Now that Jordan has retired again they are going to suck again. Scotty is a man amongst boys. Last week his brother went back to Detroit to train in order to beat him up at Fall Brawl. He saw Rick in the abck and does not want to wait until the PPV as he is the bigger and stronger brother. The doctor stops him and reminds him he is hurt and Scotty tells him that he is going against his orders and demands Rick’s music and wants him out righ tnow. Here comes Buff. Buff is acting like Rick and Scotty pins him and makes the ref count. He tells everyone that is what is going to happen at the PPV and flexes. Buff tells the crowd he is the stuff and that they are stupid.

Match 6: Brian Adams v. Lex Luger

Luger takes his time coming down and poses for the crowd as Adams leaves and walks away. Vincent gives him a pep talk and so Adams heads back towards the ring. The bell rings and they circle one another. Lex backs off the lock up and takes off his shirt and flexes his pecs for the world. They still have not locked up and finally do with Lex pushing him into the corner. After another lock up the Brian retreats to the floor, gets some advice from Vincent. Back in the ring, Vincent runs distraction and this allows Brian to hammer him. Outside he flings him into the steps and now back in the ring he gets two and puts him in a headscissors. Adams breaks the hold and gets two. He whips him hard into the corner and down goes Luger and now hoists him over his shoulders and gives him an inverted atomic drop that is no sold. Luger unloads a series of rights but his flurry is short lived and he is suplexed. Brian gets two. Luger is put in a nerve hold and Brian picks him up after a while and turns a press slam into a gutbuster and gets two. Luger time! He does his usual, Vincent intervenes and fails. Adams is racked.

** Not a good much but nice to see Luger. Yes, it is hard to dislike the guy….like Sid he is over for some reason.

Here comes Warrior! His crowd support is fairly solid. Hard to tell with the loud music but those down front are acknowledging him. He asks twice for his Warriors to talk to him. Last week after years of absence and a sporadic career he stood face to face with a man he looked upon as his mentor. He is talking about studying those preeminent in their field and Warrior tried to emulate him. Last week he saw none of the virtues that he remembered. They lay under deceit and infamy if they exist. These issues need to be brought to a close under the world’s number one program. Hulk traded being one in a million to one of the million. Warrior stops and paces and tells his Warriors to have patience. He will go after Hulk and tonight he unleashes the oWn the One Warrior Nation revolution. A hero with an unlimited but undisciplined mind is a danger and the Warriors plan on eradicating that and Hogan will be destroyed. This revolution will not be based on cowardice etc. The revolution will continue next week, same Warrior time, place and channel.

Match 7: Curt Hennig v. Chris Jericho (c) for WCW TV Title

They are slow to lock up and Jericho complains that his hair is being pulled when they do. They finally lock up and circle around the ring with neither getting the advantage. Hennig grabs him and headbutts him a few times but Jericho comes back with some kicks. Now Hennig comes back and knocks him down with a flurry of kicks and he gets a two count. Curt snaps him over and then snaps the neck. Jericho counters with some kicks and now kicks him some more in the corner. Curt grabs the leg and does a poor dragon screw legwhip. They are on the floor exchanging chops and now they are in the ring and Jericho kicks out his knee and works it over. He springboard dropkicks Hennig down to the floor. Jericho rolls him back into the ring but is whipped into the corner, however he gets his foot and then missile kicks Hennig. He suplexes him and gets a two count. Curt fires back but is sent for the ride and Jericho swats away a dropkick and goes for the Liontamer but he turns him right against the ropes and celebrates anyway and now Hennig kicks him and goes for the Plex but it is blocked and he is rolled up for two. They start slugging away at one another and the bell rings. They are still slugging away and the ref is tossed down. Now Hennig stomps on Jericho and here comes the Giant. Giant grabs Hennig by the neck and shoves him down and Jericho leaves.

**1/2 Nice to see Jericho not get stomped, did not seem to be 10 minutes but it worked.

Hennig is jawing at the Giant but backs off and leaves after the Giant gives him a bit of the what for.

Booker and Ray are bickering about Jo Jo in the back.

Match 8: Bret Hart (c) v. Booker T for WCW US Title

Bret wants Booker’s music cut and demands some respect. People wonder what has happened to him and how he used to be so nice. He claims he has never changed but there is only one person he can trust and so he went to Hogan the greatest wrestler ever. But he is caught in a dilemma and that is Sting: They act and think alike and kind of look alike. So he is caught between the two. The fans are what is wrong with wrestling. He goes over who has wiped out since being in WCW, and tells Booker to get his ass out here and prepare for one more ass kicking. Damn, heel Bret is awesome!

No Booker yet. Booker is laid out in the back and Ray is yelling for him to get up as Booker holds his knee. Stevie just leaves. He heads out to the ring and confronts Bret who states he has no issues with him. He did nothing to Booker and it is not his fault he got beat up. He is not involved in his issues with Booker. Now the Giant and Curt come down with an nWo shirt and Bret declares himself the head recruiter of the nWo and do it the easy way and join them….the rest is there sans Hogan. Ray immediately joins. Bret calls this peace and justice.

Match 9: Giant and Hollywood v. Kevin Nash and Goldberg (c)

Giant and Nash start off. They lock up and Giant pushes him into the corner but misses the over hand blow. Nash shadow boxes a bit. Now Giant wants a test of strength and Nash walks right into a headbutt and some knees. Nash is whipped into the corner and sandwiched. A big boot sends him down but he misses the big elbow drop. Fans chant Goldberg and now Nash makes comeback and jumps on the Giant as he is hung up in the ropes. Both try to clothesline one another and are staggered and now they connect with the big boot. Now Goldberg and Hogan get the tag and the crowd is buzzing. They finally lock up and Hogan is shoved down and it happens again. Hogan complains that his hair was pulled. Hogan rakes the eyes and pounds on Goldberg. Hogan rams his head into the turnbuckle but Goldberg shakes it off and goes after a backpedaling Hogan and kicks him. Hogan strikes back and sends Goldberg for the ride but is knocked down three times. Disciple hits him in the back with the title belt and Nash chases him as Hogan takes advantage and chokes out Goldberg in the corner. Now Hennig is out and he and the Giant hammer Nash. Goldberg is back suplexed but is up and now the nWo is getting in the ring and they are stomping on Goldberg. Nash comes into the ring and it has broken down. Luger is out now. Konnan is out too as everyone is beating one another. Hennig chokes out Goldberg who has had enough and drops him. Giant and Hogan tossed someone to the floor and leaves. Hennig is sent for the ride and speared. Hennig is Jackhammered and pinned and they just give him the victory for the hell of it I guess! Hogan blindsides Goldberg and Nash gives Goldberg the big boot on accident and is then sent to the floor. Goldberg shakes it off as Hogan goes after him. Giant slugs Goldberg to the floor! Now team WCW runs down and clears the ring. Warrior even connected with a couple of blows sending Hulk to the floor and they stand tall.

**1/2 For sheer drama purposes it worked. Overbooked and not sure why Hennig was pinned but it was still classic.

Goldberg is upset by the big boot and lets Nash know and we fade.

**** Another really solid show. I am a bit disappointed that there was no Booker and Hart match but as long as they have one down the line then it is fine. The ending was sheer chaos and they just gave Goldberg the win for the hell of it apparently. Still, it was nice to see the Giant look strong as he needs too. Overall there was some decent wrestling and the Warrior so far has not gotten old. His promo was fairly short and to the point and they are not saturating the show with him. As I stated earlier I am not sure where EB stands with his authority, as it does not make much sense, and never really has as he has a lot of bosses and then has no bosses and whatever…..So far the PPV looks to be good.