Written by: Kevin Kildenberger
WCW has regained some of its footing after a disastrous end of August leading into Fall Brawl. Now all it takes is to execute it. Eddie is getting great heel heat, Rey is over and Jericho has had some good matches as of late so the midcard needs to get some sort of push. The build to Havoc has been solid as they have built around the two main events quite well along with Hall and Luger. Not sure about the Giant or the Steiners or Nash but they will probably get involved in some way. Flair should either be back tonight or next week. Hopefully this means that Havoc will be good and not filled with stupid political bullshit but 1997 has been replete with it, so I am wary. The first hour received a 4.2 while the second a 3.7 for around a 4.0 while RAW did quite well with a 3.0 and 3.1 total.
EB and Hogan have come down to the ring. EB rips into Sting for coming down when Hogan was not there. Hulk hypes up Minnesota and the nWo. He has been out every week putting the title on the line and Sting is too afraid to show up. He hypes up Assault on Devil’s Island and that when he was filming Sting came down and now EB hypes it up some more and the show a trailer and Hulk calls it “Too Sweet.”
Match 1: Jeff Jarrett v. Booker T
Booker dances around and is arm dragged, JJ struts. They lock up and JJ puts him in a side headlock, they leapfrog each other and Booker is hip tossed. JJ lounges in the ropes and this angers Booker who hammers him. JJ misses a dropkick but Booker does not and out goes JJ. JJ wraps the leg against the side of the ring as he lures Booker over. He jumps on the back of the head and now stomps it. Booker rolls him up, getting a two count and then kicks him. Booker is bodyslammed but they each miss elbow drops. Booker knocks him to the floor with the Harlem Sidekick and he goes out after him.
Commercial.
JJ gets two after a flying crossbody, he clotheslines Booker and follows up with a dropkick. Booker is whipped into the ropes but on the back drop attempt he rolls him up for two. JJ uppercuts him, clotheslines him and off the whip Booker drops him with a forearm smash and another Harlem Kick. He bodyslams him, kicks him in the gut and it is axe kick time. He covers him and JJ getes his foot on the ropes. He clotheslines him to the floor with his face bouncing off the apron. Mongo comes down, and yells at Debra who slaps him. He goozles JJ and and decks him; he rolls him back into the ring, rolls him up and gets the win.
Not a bad match. Angle advancement as JJ and Mongo should have their blow out match soon.
Match 2: Alex Wright v. Kidman
They lock up, and Kidman pushes him into the corner. Wright shoves him and Kidman tries to get a piece of him but he ducks into the ropes. Now Wright pushes him into the corner and he pops him. Kidman is irked and runs at him only to get pounded some more. Kidman knocks him to the floor and jaws at Raven and there is another guy there. Back in the ring Kidman dropkicks him a couple of times, sending him to the floor and he nails him with a flying crossbody.
They pan to the back and show Mongo and Debra arguing and JJ is there too. Debra slaps him and Mongo is bellowing about something.
Wright bodyslams Kidman, goes up top and does the jump-stomp to the gut. Kidman is whipped into the corner and he is run over and Wright gets a near fall. Kidman rolls him up for two but is clotheslined right when he gets back up. Wright stomps him….it is Perry Saturn who was at ringside. Kidman blocks a couple of blows and fires back; he is whipped into the corner but jumps up and missile dropkicks him. Wright is whipped into the corner and clotheslined. Wright reverses and his chest is dropped down on the knee of Kidman. Kidman gets a near fall. Kidman goes up top and misses a somersault splash. Wright finally finishes him off with a German Suplex.
Really not a bad match, pretty fun.
Match 2: Mortis v. Ernest Miller
Miller snaps him over, Miller slams him and gets a quick two count. He bodyslams him, goes up top and Vandenberg shakes the rope, crotching him. Mortis is pounding the head, goes up top and messes up the leg bulldog from the top and uses the ropes to make the pin and the ref catches him. Mortis kicks him in the corner over and over. Mortis hammers him into the mat. He fireman’s carry slams him getting another two count and Vandenberg is on the apron to yell at the ref. Mortis dumps Miller to the floor, Mortis is still in command, hammering Miller who finally strikes back with a punch and a leg sweep. However he is choked out in the corner and dropped with a side Russian leg sweep. Mortis bodyslams him and climbs up top but misses the big splash. Miller kicks him in the back of the head and climbs up top and finishes him off with a springboard kick….the fans liked that one.
The match was not bad, the fans were dead until the end.
Syxx and Hall come down to the ring. He and Syxx were talking and he heard a rumor and just wants to know if they came to see WCW or the nWo and the nWo get the bigger pop. Big Kev is missing and he hurt his knee and is resting at home. Hall is injured too and the average man would be in the hospital but he is not the average man. It may seem convenient that he and Nash were injured at the same time but they were at Nash’s house and watching old wrestling tapes with Larry wrestling and they were laughing so hard that he hurt his back and Nash fell off his stool. The fans chant Larry and Hall tells them he is not coming out here. He tells Luger that he will crawl to Vegas if need be to take him out.
Match 3: Hector Garza v. Scott Hall
The ref is intimidated by Hall and lets him check him out for any untoward issues with attire. Hall blindsides Garza and sends him back with a fall away slam. Hall acts like his ribs are hurting, he pushes the ref back and then chokes out Garza. Hall backs up the ref again and Syxx gives him the Bronco Buster as the ref acts scared. He gives Garza the Edge and shoves the ref down in order for him to make the count.
Poor Garza.
The ref is scared but raises his arm in victory and Syxx kicks him in the back of the head and Hall Racks him. Hall tags nWo on him, nope a Z for Zybyszko.
They are talking about Goldberg and wonder what he has to hide. Now they take a look at him so far in WCW as well as in football.
Match 4: Disco Inferno (c) v. DDP for WCW TV Title
DDP is arm dragged and Disco dances. It happens again but DDP nearly Diamond Cuts him and Disco escapes to the floor. Back in the ring they go back and forth, DDP bodyslams him and follows up with a swinging neckbreaker. Disco rolls to the floor and DDP baseball slides him into the railing. DDP strikes with a flying crossbody, back in the ring, Disco ducks a blow and clotheslines him in the back of the head and stomps him but DDP counters with a backslide for a near fall. Disco comes right back with a swinging neckbreaker and he gets two. DDP knocks him down, boots him and he pancakes him and calls for the Cutter and he nails him with it. Savage runs down and assaults him, tosses him to the floor and whips him into the steel steps. He exposes the concrete and goes for a piledriver and Piper stops him and Savage shoves him and gets spit on. Savage turns around and is Diamond Cutted.
Fans were hot for this. Angle advancement and it would have been great to have Benoit, who Savage is facing later tonight come out….or was to help as that would have made him right there.
Hogan and the rest of the nWo come down after Piper and DDP depart through the crowd and they scream for an ambulance and the gurney is wheeled out. Liz is distraught and nearly in tears. The fans sing “Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye.”
Gene is in the ring and he welcomes Piper. Piper shouts out to the Twin Cities and if Hogan was a twin and he would nearly have a full head of hair. Piper calls Hall a liar for claiming he beat him and they show a clip from Slamboree that shows Piper pummeling him. Next week he tells the Outsiders they will defend their titles next week and if they do not, no matter their injuries will wrestle or be stripped of the titles. The Savage and DDP match will have no rules. Here comes Hogan and Bischoff and they look displeased. Gene leaves. Piper and Hogan stare each other down and EB tells Piper he better pay attention. Hogan wants the Icon crap to stop right here. He wants to know who he is barking orders and calls him a little man. He tells him the crap stops here and that Piper could never be an icon because Hogan still exists. Their careers did parallel for fifteen years and Piper stood in his shadow. The reason everyone is here is because of Hollywood and the same with the nWo. Piper will not be able to run or hide in the steel cage. Hogan will prove that Piper is not a liar because he is going to end his career and that he can tell his family that he is coming home. He threatens to kick his ass and shoves Piper who shoves him back but EB clips the knee and Hogan attacks. Piper tries to fight back but is taken down and hammered. Hulk holds Piper for EB to kick and he ducks and Hogan gets it. Hogan goes after Bischoff and Hulk tears him off but Piper now beats him. The troops come down and pull Hogan clear as Piper waves the title around.
Tenay gives us a Lucha Libre lesson.
Match 5: Ultimo Dragon v. Eddie Guerrero
They lock up, Eddie has him and takes him down. Test of strength and Eddie is ripped and he takes down Dragon and tries to jump on him but Dragon flips free but is dropped with a back elbow. Eddie back suplexes him and he misses but rolls through on the slingshot splash. Dragon nails him with a spinning backbreaker and Dragon connects with some stiff kicks. He applies a rear chinlock but Eddiie gets up and kicks him in the back and suplexes him, getting a two count. Eddie puts him in an ab stretch. Eddie chops him, but is nearly finished off after a Frankensteiner. Dragon is whipped into the ropes but spins free, and he takes down Eddie who gets up first but the back drop fails as Dragon lands on his feet and he drops Eddie after a flurry of kicks. He knocks him down and Eddie rolls out but is struck with a suicide dive and both men are down. They get back in the ring and Eddie is destroyed after a release German suplex but Eddie kicks out. He goes for a powerbomb but Eddie flips free only to be put in the Dragon Sleeper. Eddie gets to the ropes, placed up top and Dragon goes up but is shoved off. He goes back up there but is annihilated by a rolling DDT and it is over after the Frogsplash.
Good match and I forgot he was Cruiserweight champ.
Match 6: Chris Benoit v. Curt Hennig (c)
Curt is talking to a fan and Benoit runs up and clips him. He hammers him but Curt fires back until a chop sends him crashing down. He is rolled into the ring, Benoit chops and pounds away at him. Benoit takes him down with a knee lift, he throws him front first into the top rope and he crashes down. Hennig is on the apron and is shoved off and into the railing and now gets his head bashed off the steel steps. Benoit continues to unload on him. Benoit is whipped into the corner but gets the boot up. Benoit goes up top and they battle but Curt pulls him off by the leg and now he starts to work over the knee. Benoit gets his knee wrapped around the post and it happens again. Now he has it up against the rail and continues to stomp on it. Benoit fires off a chop but is dropped.
Commercial.
Benoit is kicking and hitting him and they are just beating on each other but Curt takes him down. he goes back to work on the leg. Benoit pushes him off but is shoved down. Hennig pulls down the turnbuckle and he is whipped into the turnbuckle front first. He is nailed with a German suplex but he fights back so quickly but is chopped. Now Benoit is run into the corner and he finishes him off with the Perfect Plex. He continues to attack Benoit and the B squad runs down to hammer him. Flair charges down and clears the ring, chasing Hennig off and he chases him out into the streets. Flair reenters the arena and Gene is waiting for him. Gene wants an update as the fans go off. Flair heads back into the ring as we are going to talk reality. Every one on earth should have a moment like this and he tells Nash, Hall and Hogan that this the moment and it is reality. Flair reminds everyone what has happened to him over the years and yet he is still here tonight. He is Minneapolis born and bred and will be Minneapolis dead. Hogan et all are his target. It is not about politics as they have wanted him out for ten years and not about who is better as arguable no one is better. Now to Hennig who was giddy about beating up Flair and now he is nWo not for life but for three weeks because whether or not they book it he is coming for him at Havoc. He is coming to hurt him for real and for a long time, and then oh Hollywood and if there is anything left him after Piper and they have traveled at the same level and he brings up all sorts of legends and tells Hogan he is not Ric Flair as he is. He is the man and dances and prances in the ring and the fans utterly love it.
Now if the can follow up on this and not fuck it up then Havoc should be great and Nitro should keep getting better. Having Benoit lose cleanly when they had a shot to make him big and had a shot so often to do so was just asinine. Have it end in cheating. Hennig and company destroyed the Horsemen and then pinned the other two cleanly and now they are dismantled. The idiocy continues and I fear that it may diminish from time to time but will never end. This is a shame as so many wrestlers are over that they could be building stars every year and keep them coming for years and keep WCW fresh and healthy. Despite this the show was solid and the ending was classic with Flair coming out and calling out Hogan. Now if they just follow up on it and that seems where we will hit a snag.