Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 5/24/99
It will be interesting to see what WCW does tonight. I do not know if Bret does his speech tonight or next week, my hunch is next week but I could be wrong. Now I think I have the Leno thing straight. I believe he was on his way to the Tonight Show to either set up or film the brawl with Nash but then Owen died. Now that would have been a fun angle. Not a game changer but it would have brought more heat on Bret and hopefully they would have included Goldberg. Not a game changer but still pretty cool. However, one cannot blame WCW for not following through, also he almost has to come back as a face. Anyway enough rambling, RAW wins handily with a 7.2 but Nitro rose to a 3.8. The first hour was a solid 4.4.
Owen gets the ten bell salute.
Recap of some events from Slamboree and Nitro.
Bigelow told Raven and Saturn that if it was not for Kanyon they would not be tag champs. DDP runs in and throws Raven into the garage door and he and Bigelow lay waste to them.
Tony talks about the tragedy of Owen Hart and everyone’s thoughts and prayers are towards his family….back to business Piper will confront Savage.
Match 1: Van Hammer v. Chavo Guerrero
Guerrero is dropped and then bodyslammed. Hammer gets a two count and strikes with a couple of chops. Chavo slides beneath and gets in some offense only to be picked up in a gorilla slam. Chavo slides behind him and rolls him up for two. Hammer places him up top and throws him off the top rope. He chokes him out and then vertically suplexes him. Hammer just annihilates him.
* Why is Hammer getting this win?
Gene calls out Disco Inferno. Disco comes out with shades. He takes them off and he has two shiners. Gene asks about what happened to him, Rey and Konnan. Disco calls Savage’s girls’ the type you pick up at 4 in the morning at a bowling alley! He does not like Rey but he does not deserve it. Disco would have given him his number. Nash is easily accessible but Savage made a statement. He had to attack the new talent and maybe he feels threatened. They will not lie down. Cue the Cat’s music. Cat tells Disco to be a man and who cares if he got beat up a little bit. They are all a bunch of punks. Disco tells him to get out of here. The fans want to see the Cat dance but Disco disagrees and is told to get the hell out of there. Cat shoves Gene and then Disco. Disco decks him and unloads on him in the corner. Sonny grabs the leg of Disco and he gets chopped in the throat and Cat pummels him. He uses his show to hit his bruised face. After Disco is carried off Cat is talking about how he is the greatest and the nWo is in the back giggling. They call in Norton and declare that the Cat is calling him out again. He is not happy and heads to the ring. He knocks Cat around who then leaves. He will whip him later as he is not ready!
Flair is talking to El Dandy. He is the future of the Cruiserweights. Dandy can act mean but he goes down when given the signal. Buddy Lee Parker comes up and he is not happy because he did not get what he was promised. Flair tells him that he is Mr. President. Flair says he has not enough time. He did get him a gym membership. Flair is not happy but then apologizes and wants the misunderstanding put behind them. He gets really busy. AA has an idea and tonight is his shot and he will face Benoit.
Tenay comes out and Gene asks him what is happening as the WCW Committee has met. They have discussed how outta control Savage is and Nash has demanded a title match and it will happen at the next PPV.
Now he calls out Flair. Flair tells a woman that her mother rode Space Mountain 20 years ago. He knows Nash will roll him up like a ball. He does not like being told what camera to look into as he is president and knows. He tells EB and Piper that he is the only president of WCW. No one in blue jeans and Nikes will ever take his place. Gene asks him about the goings on in the back and Flair plays dumb.
Match 3: El Dandy v. David Flair
Tony discusses the aborted Tonight Show fight and that Nash is on his way while Bret is in Canada.
Dandy knocks him around but AA hits the spinebuster and Flair finishes him with the Figure Four.
*1/2 Angle advancement.
Gene calls out Buff Bagwell. He is wearing overalls. Not sure why I said that. But they are silly. Disco is right and the old guard feels threatened. He is willing to take on Savage but he has bigger fish to fry. Rick Steiner. He goes off on him and his brother. Before he leaves he is going to show him that he is Buff and the Stuff.
They are showing a video package of what Bischoff has done for WCW since 1993. This is a lovefest for Bischoff. They are talking about N. Korea and Hogan and Savage coming in. Also, the nWo. All the way up until he lost the presidency and his return.
Match 4: Cruiserweight Battle Royal
They are all going at it. The winner gets a Cruiserweight Shot. Villano V is laid out and Blitzkrieg is bodyslammed. No one has been eliminated in the first three minutes that I know off. Juve drops Psychosis and briefly goes for a pin. Damien headscissors Ciclope over. Juve is on the apron and Kidman is trying to suplex him into the ring and he ends up on the apron with him. They end up in the ring. Blitzkrieg and Lash Leroux are gone. Iaukea is gone too. Kidman is put in a surfboard. Hugh Morrus is coming down and he clobbers Iaukea in the back and he gets in the ring but instead they all swarm but he then starts tossing people. Damian and Swinger are tossed. Psychosis is press slammed over the top rope. Ciclope is tossed now as is Kaz. Evan, Juve and Kidman are left. Bye for Evan and Juve runs. Kidman attacks Hugh but is launched and then clotheslined. Kidman is powerbombed. Jimmy is holding the legs of Kidman and Morrus hits No Laughing Matter. Jimmy tells him to do it again. Rey runs down and hits Jimmy. He then kicks Hugh off the top rope and to the floor.
* Um….nice way to throttle the Cruiserweight Division. So they have one or two strong guys. They cannot feud forever! Move them up the chain and make the Cruiserweight’s strong again.
Here comes Piper! Piper hypes up the hometeam: Greenville Growlers. He has had fifty fights in this town and two or three in the ring. This town likes a fight and that is why they are getting a reality check. He recaps last week and Bischoff apologizing….He makes fun of him for apologizing. His problem lies with Randy Savage. He wants to pick up where they left off last week. He lays down and calls out Savage. Here comes Macho Man. Well the ladies come down. Piper makes fun of Miss Madness and wants to know what she did to get that title. He asks George where her man is. She calls Savage the greatest wrestler in the world and he is someplace that Piper is not. He responds by making fun of her voice and tells her to date young men like from Baywatch and not Addam’s Family members. He would like to hit her but will not….here comes Flair and Piper lays waste to him. DDP and Bigelow run down and stomp on Piper. Bigelow goes up top and they hold him down for the flying headbutt. DDP tells Flair that he owes him now. Flair has the mic and he responds whatever he desires. DDP wants a tag title match at the PPV….what about Benoit and Malenko. It is a done deal. Flair fires two dudes trying to help Piper and he yells at him. He wants Piper again at the PPV.
Benoit and Malenko. Dean is fed up. They have been here for three years and all they have done is wrestle and buried. Bischoff never dangled the golden carrot or whatever….Flair promised that things would change but he is only out for himself. They need to go their own way because you have to have a Driver’s License that shows you are older than 45 to get a push! He tells Benoit to take his time on his match tonight because what will they do fire them!
Nitro Grill opening vignette.
Curt Hennig is talking at the announce table that he can sing and do everything. Wrestling and Music will be merging. Oh shit…..
Match 6: Buddy Lee Parker v. Chris Benoit
Parker takes him down and stomps on him in the corner. Buddy chops away. He sends him into the corner but runs into a boot. It is rolling German suplex time. He hits all three. Benoit gets a two count. He methodically works him over and back suplexes him. He drops the elbow and then whips him into the corner with some velocity behind it. He keeps punishing him with kicks and when Parker grabs his leg he is killed with an enzuguri. Diving headbutt time and he puts him in the Crossface. Match is over.
** Benoit gets a win on Nitro!
Hennig is talking about how rap is crap….
Match 7: Rick Steiner (c) v. Buff Bagwell for WCW TV Title
Scotty does his thing. He is making fun of the crowd. They need to bow down to the best tag team in history. WCW sucks too! He makes fun of Piper and Flair. He name drops the nWo Black and Red! They are still around. Rick has the mic and the first thing he is going for is Buff’s neck. He looks silly with his headband. If anyone wants some they can come get some…..
Buff sprints down and assaults Rick. Scotty attacks him from behind and is finally forced to leave. Rick hammers him in the corner but Buff reverses the whip and connects with a flying crossbody and then a dropkick. But Rick tosses him and then clubs him in the head a few times. He shoves him over to the ropes and continues to work him over but Buff reverses the whip and kicks him and the strikes with a swinging neckbreaker and dropkick. Scotty grabs his leg and Rick clobbers him. He hangs him upside down in the corner and wails away. He has him over the apron and is still mauling him. The fans chant steroids at Scotty and Rick does not look happy and Scotty looks peeved too. Back in the ring Rick works over the neck with a clothesline and he pulls back on it. He tosses him to the floor and kicks his ass some more. Scotty is holding Buff’s neck over the apron and Rick is going to leap on his neck with a guillotine legdrop. A monster truck comes in and Sting is driving it….well a Sting mask. It is Lex Luger and the Steiners are baffled and turn around and Sting is in the ring with a ball bat. He is egging them on and Buff is still laid out……commercial.
Okay we are back and what happened? How did the Steiners escape? Jesus.
Konnan comes down for a match. Hennig is knocking rap again. Konnan walks right over to him and the fight is on! He pulls him into the ring and beats his ass. He bulldogs him and Curt falls to the floor. He goes out after him. He kicks his ass up the ramp and another break….
Tenay is with Jimmy Hart and Hugh Morrus. Tenay wants to know what is going on and both men want Rey. He obliges and runs down. He is caught and picked up but he slides underneath and Rey rips into him with guillotine legdrops and springboards. Jimmy Hart grabs his leg and trips him up and Morrus pounces. He squashes him in the corner. Morrus powerbombs him and heads up top for his finisher. Konnan is out and warns him not to do it. Kidman runs down and powerbombs him from the top rope! Konnan clotheslines Jimmy Hart and Hart eats a Bronco Buster. Morrus is stomped and Kidman strikes with a Shooting Star Press!
Here comes Hogan on crutches. He assures Gene his wheel is getting better. He did not come here to discuss his movie career. He congratulates Nash for getting the belt back for the nWo. Hogan has a lot to think about such as XXX wrestling on the other station and stuff that has gone on here. He is the master at politics and he has the stroke and no one plays the game better. You see Goldberg and Piper out here but not back there. He does not like it one bit. When he comes back he is going to change this business and he is in it for life.
Here comes Nash. But Hogan is already gone. He gets the crowd all riled up. Now on a serious note he turns to Macho Man who is a tad out of control. When he was growing up you went to people’s houses to deal with problems and not beat everyone else up therefore at the PPV it is on for the title. Cue Macho Man. It is just the ladies again. Nash does not know why they are down here not that he does not mind. He kind of makes fun of them. He enjoyed watching Madusa wrestle but would rather see her box and she takes a swing and he blocks it. George hits him with the crutch and that angers him. Madusa nuts him and then leaps on his back. Macho runs down and waffles him. Lipstick time.
Match 8: Ric Flair and DDP and Bam Bam Bigelow v. Roddy Piper and
He does not have a partner yet and here comes Malenko and Benoit and neither are very happy. Benoit has an Owen armband and now they stand with Piper! He is wearing one too. Benoit is in Flair’s face. Malenko does not get involved. Still no lock up and finally Benoit chops away at Flair who runs away and is chopped some more out on the floor and he sprints back to the ring. Flair pokes the eyes and Bigelow decks Benoit who fires back only to get decked by Flair. DDP runs in and pounds on Benoit. Bigelow leaps on top of him and they are making quick tags as DDP and now Flair is in….Flair uppercuts him in the nuts but Benoit gets two after a backslide. Flair back suplexes him. DDP gets the tag and he strikes with a discus lariat. Bigelow is tagged and heads up top only to miss the flying headbutt. Benoit dropkicks him and makes the tag and Piper comes in and goes off. Raven and Saturn run down unload on DDP and Bigelow. The match has been tossed and everyone is going at it. Piper has Flair in the Figure Four and Benoit stomps on Flair.
** Angle advancement.
DDP is laid out and Hogan is standing over him. He tells him that paybacks are hell and this is only the beginning.
*** Not a great Nitro. Obviously they had to book a bit on the fly due to what happened with Owen and the Bret Hart angle. However, the wrestling was not very good. The Monster Truck Angle was a mess too. Bagwell looked weak again. I see where they are going with this. They want some of the young guys to challenge the old guard but they are losing and doing a lot of talking instead. Hogan is back…..at least briefly. I know Savage and Nash wanted to be a part of the younger group, so it was aborted. The precursor to the Millionaire’s Club and New Blood. We will see where this goes. Probably nowhere but it has potential. They need to stay focused though because a lot happened on the show and it seemed disjointed. No one really brought up Owen but that is not suprising as WCW has a habit of not mentioning deaths on TV but still I thought Flair or Hogan or Nash or Piper would have mentioned something.