WCW Nitro 10/26/1998

Written by: Kevin Kindelberger

WCW Monday Nitro 10/26/98

Well this is the last Nitro win ever, head to head. Sad. The PPV was good and nearly lived up to the hype. DDP is underrated and gets a lot of flack but he is a solid worker and Goldberg impressed too. Warrior and Hogan was bad but not as bad as I thought as I had low expectations. Jericho looked good and seems to be getting a minor push. Not sure what will happen with Raven and Saturn or Wrath for that matter. There is a lot of good going on but not sure if they can follow up. Sting was laid out and I am not sure what will happen for them or with Hall and Nash but hopefully they can follow up. Nitro had a sizzling start with a 5.7 then fell to a 5.2 and then 4.7 for a 5.1. It beat RAW head to head as it scored a 4.4 and 4.6 for a 4.5.

The PPV did cut off and they will show it as the lead in to RAW. Smart move on both counts.

Match 1: Kenny Kaos v. Stevie Ray

Ray controls from the outset. But when Kaos gets control Buff comes down and tosses him the slapjack which he uses to knock him out and get the win. Buff and he beat him up and Rick make the save. He offers Kaos a chance to get revenge on them tonight in a tag match and he agrees.

*1/2 Angle advancement.

Match 2: Prince Iaukea v. Kanyon

Kanyon does his thing at the beginning. He attacks Iaukea amidst the boos. He goes off for a bit but Prince gets in some shots. Uses the ropes to slingshot into him and get two. Kanyon fires back and then they exchange holds and Kanyon is knocked to the floor but Prince eats floor off the leap. Kanyon sets up the steel steps. Kanyon misses too and Prince somersaults into the ring and into Kanyon nearly pinning him. Prince powerslams him, pulls him up but his armdrag is blocked and Kanyon turns him around into the Flatliner and gets the win.

**1/2 Not bad.

Raven is there and wallows in the corner.

Here come the Horsemen! No Mongo and Flair declares he will be here. There is no Hogan or EB and Flair responds that EB has run into some hard times and the Horsemen are here to stay and here comes EB slowly strolling out. EB is acting humble and has an announcement. He is a big enough man to admit when he is wrong. He has underestimated Flair and he did not realize how much Flair meant to all these people. He wants to give the fans what they want and allow him to wrestle. Flair wants Hogan and it will be soon and EB thanks everyone and leaves. Flair is happy despite not trusting Bischoff.

Match 3: Alex Wright v. Barry Horowitz

Wright is dominating. But he leaps into a boot. Barry goes up but is dropkicked off and finished with the neckbreaker.

*1/2 Squash.

Match 4: Wrath v. Renegade

Wrath is hit with a spinkick but he unloads on him. I think this is the Renegade but I get it wrong a lot….damn it is Sick Boy! Wrath dominates for a bit but is struck with a big neckbreaker. He pops up though and he gets the win with the Meltdown.

** Squash. Crowd is hot for him.

They just replayed the Goldberg/DDP match.

Gene is in the back and he wants to talk to Nash so he knocks on his door. Gene asks why he did what he did. Hall is back there too and they are starting to make up and Hall needs to get his act together. Nash just wanted to beat some sense into him and they shake hands. Giant runs in and boots Nash into the couch and he then he and Hall toss him through the wall!

Here comes Hogan and friends. EB is blowing him….well, not quite. Horace is welcomed in. Hogan calls himself the God of wrestling and you would die for the Black and White of the nWo. In long winded terms he is welcoming Horace and gives him an nWo shirt.

Match 5: Saturn v. Eddie Guerrero

They are gushing about the Goldberg match. I notice the Warrior has not been mentioned yet….They lock up and Eddie is tossed with a belly to belly. Eddie goes after the leg and knee and works it over for a bit. He tosses him around but he is spiked with a belly to belly but Eddie is up and low kicks the knee. Eddie now gets two after a backbreaker and they continue going back and forth. Eddie is nearly pinned after a bridged German suplex. Eddie rolls over and gets two. He muffs the kicks and is picked up and T-Boned. He has Eddie up and gives him a brainbuster. He calls for his finisher and here come the lWo and they unload on him. But Saturn backdrops Eddie to the floor and then destroys the lWo.

**1/2 Fun but short.

Now more members run down and the numbers game takes over and Eddie hits the Frog Splash and there is a new member too.

Gene is with Judy Bagwell and she is an atrocious actor. Gene recaps events with Buff and she is not happy about his listening skills. She does not like how Scotty treated her and Buff did nothing about it. She is on a mission and is tired of being nice.

Match 6: Giant and Stevie Ray v. Rick Steiner and Kaos (c)

Not sure if this is a title shot. Kaos and Ray start off and the former works him over for a bit but then he is thrust kicked in the jaw. Ray works him over and the Giant goes off when he gets the tag. Rick hits a clothesline from the top and the Giant clearly did not kick out in time but oh well. The match has broken down as the Giant goes after Kaos and Ray is bulldogged and finished.

** Not much here but nice win for Rick. Ray was the legal man.

EB is at the announce table and Flair will wrestle tonight. They show video footage as Bischoff claims that he cannot pass a physical and that is his match for tonight. It is Bash 94. Shit I had forgotten how much I hate Red and Yellow Hogan. But the fans seemed hot for him and Flair sold like a God for him. Shit it is Hulk up time and we know what that means. He gets a decent reaction for the win but not explosive…..poor Flair. EB grins and leaves.

Match 7: Juventud Guerrera v. Kidman (c) for WCW Cruiserweight Title

I guess the loser gets a match tonight. Should it not be a rematch between Juve and Disco? Oh well, Kidman works over the arm. Juve scissors him over, bashes his head into the top buckle. He goes up top but Kidman is right there but gets shoved off. Juve leaps and strikes with a headscissors and he gets a two count. Juve gives him a stiff chop and then a brainbuster. He gets two more. They are going back and forth and Kidman gets two after a bridged German. Juve floats behind and bulldogs him right into the mat. He gets a near fall and takes an hour going up top and strikes with the flying crossbody and he gets another near fall. Juve goes up again and leaps right into a dropkick. Kidman slowly goes up top and is crotched, and here comes Juve, and he is on his shoulder and hurracarana’s him right off the top just planting him into the canvas. Juve gets two and he goes for a powerbomb but it is reversed. Kidman is back on top and hits the Press for the win.

***1/2 Solid back and forth match.

Buff and Scotty come down. Scotty brags about his body and ways with the ladies. He and Buff are together for life. Buff agrees and that women do belong in the house, cooking, cleaning and taking care of the man. He tells his dad to set her straight. Scotty again and he is riled and wants Jo Jo down here as he wants a rematch against his brother tonight! Here comes JJ. He wants to know what is going on and Scotty declares that he likes Rick better and that he was better than him too. JJ begs off. Scotty is upset that a different ref counted the pin and is basically calling it favoritism and that JJ had something to do with it. JJ says he would have as it would have been the right thing to do. Steiner kicks him and then puts him in the Recliner and they are pulled off of Rick.

Now the arena goes dark and rock music hits and it is the Warrior. He is not dead after all! He gets quite the pop here. He tells Hogan that he failed as he did not take the challenge like a man. This match will haunt him forever. Everyone knows that he beat the Hell out of him and the bullshit pinfall does not change it. Hogan has opened the door to the Warrior’s Hell and he is the Gatekeeper and the time is near….and the same blah blah blah channel. Here comes Hogan. Hogan is ready to fight as is the Warrior. Horace does not want him to go in and neither does Bischoff. Horace does for him and gets taken care of quickly and the Giant is in and he gets clotheslined to the floor. Hogan attacks him from behind and Hogan is dropped by a flying shoulderblock and Bischoff is knocked off the apron. Hogan points and yells as the Warrior bellows and pounds his chest.

Match 8: Scott Steiner and Scott Hall v. Lex Luger and Konnan

This breaks down quickly and is a brawl. Hall is knocked around and Konnan is put in the Recliner as Luger dismantles Hall. Steiner is destroying Konnan. They are in the ring as Luger beats on him in the aisle. Konnan clotheslines Steiner and dumps him to the floor. Now all four are brawling out there and Konnan is slammed on the concrete. The other two are back in the rng and Luger continues to hammer him; bionic forearm and he calls for the Rack! Scotty gets in and he too is pounded. Hall is up and Scotty gets hit in the nuts and now he is stomped on. Konnan has a chair and blasts Scott in the head. Halls stands there and gets punched and now Luger has the chair and he uses it on the back. The ref is gone….no one knows where. Hall is Racked as Konnan tries to hold him back but he cannot and Scotty spears Luger and they all tumble in a heap.

Commercial.

It is over? WTF?

Match 9: DDP v. Bret Hart (c) for WCW US Title

They lock up and DDP shoves him down twice. Bret jaws with fans. DDP goes to pick him up but is rolled up and nearly pinned. DDP has the arm and works it over, hammerlock but Bret reverses it, has the leg and takes him down while keeping the arm locked up. DDP is up and puts him in a headlock and then runs him over. DDP wants the Cutter but is pushed off and then knocked into the corner. Bret goes to work. Bret stomps away and then continues the assault and chokes him out on the ropes. Bret drops him with a Russian sweep and has him in a chinlock while using the ropes for leverage. Bret gets a near fall after a DDT but Page fires back and pancakes him. DDP goes up top but Bret lunges and crotches him and then superplexes him! Bret rolls over and gets two. Damn that had some hang time. Bret pulls him up and he is wrapped up and nearly pinned. Bret is up and kicks him in the gut and continues pounding him in the corner but after the whip into the other corner misses and is rolled up again and nearly pinned. Bret drops the elbow onto the back of the head. Bret pulls him up and gives him a backbreaker and he goes up to the middle rope drills him with the elbow and gets a 2.7 count and Bret yells at the ref for the apparent slow count. Page is crawling at Bret as he gets stomped. DDP blocks the suplex and he faceplants Bret, rolls him over as the arm slipped out from the armbar and he gets two. Bret is up first but is nailed with a jawbreaker. DDP runs his head into the corner and Bret back kicks him in the nuts and the ref eats it too and down they go. Bret has a foreign object and he wakes up the ref and then swings at DDP and misses and is given the Cutter and it is all over for rover!

***1/2 These two can work. A bit hotshotted as it could be saved for later but we will see where it goes as Sting is clearly done.

Bret takes out a celebrating DDP and the ref too and now he has a chair and demolishes DDP with it. He is takes out the knee and will not allow DDP to escape and he turns him over into the Sharpshooter! He breaks it and hits him with the chair again on the knee and then drives it into him again. He goes up to the middle rope and leaps and Page may be dead and here comes Goldberg and we are outta time!

**** It was the final hour that added the extra star. Some solid brawls despite the odd ending for the Wolfpac/nWo brawl. Hart and DDP had a great brawl. Goldberg ran down and hopefully it goes somewhere. Hell I even enjoyed the Warrior promo. It was not the greatest follow up show but it the EB v. Flair program is working and overall it was solid but where was the follow up when Flair could not wrestle…. Still, the lWo looked weak and I swear I thought they were supposed to be faces but I guess not. At least Eddie got to fight a midcarder.