Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 6/7/99
I have said a lot about the current direction. One thing, the ratings fell into the 2’s for the head to head. The first hour was fairly strong with a 3.9 but dropped to a 2.7 and 2.9 for about a 3.2 total. Jesus. RAW got a 6.65 off of a 6.4 and 6.9. This is a go home show too, not good!
Savage and his entourage have shown up in a limo. He makes a worker take the lid off a bucket of shit. He carries it into the arena and shoves around crewmen wondering where Nash is. He tells everyone that this is his show and now it is personal and not just about the belt.
Here comes Hak. He is smoking and Bischoff is stinking up the announce table again. He wants the cigarette put out and he knows WCW will not start the match until he puts it out. He is smoking and chilling. JJ Dillon comes down and tells him to put it out and so Hak blows smoke at him. EB gets in the ring and he demands the same thing with the same result. Hak shoves him and here comes Dillinger. EB tells them to back off and he slaps Hak. Hak is swarmed by security and he is pissed. EB takes the cigarette and wants Hak to wrestle…um, I swear the Giant smoked….oh well.
Match 1: Hak v. Prince Iaukea
Iaukea hammers him but Hak fights back. Chastity sprays both with the extinguisher. Hak goes off on him and puts him on a table. He goes up top and flips onto him but the table does not break! Ouch. He leans it into the corner after catching his breath and flings him into it and Iaukea bounces off of it and he is pinned.
** Brutal.
Fuck, here comes Knobbs. He is followed by Morrus and they beat up Hak. Kidman flies into the ring and he knocks out Hart but Morrus blindsides him and now Knobbs goes off on both Hak and Kidman with the cane. Hak grabs one and returns the favor. and they fight up the ramp. Knobbs gets some help and leaves Hak lying.
Fucking classic. Bischoff just gave away who the man in the hood was for the WWF. The higher power. He says it is VM and they recycle the same old crap. He also mentions a 100 million dollar lawsuit and how that is not power….Sable. I will talk about that. I did not think it happened that quickly. Um, Bischoff you got sued many times. Flair. Of course due to the ratings tonight people wanted to see VM as the higher power. Let it go EB, let it go. Oh and the same old stuff: Hulk Hogan in one month.
Match 2: Lenny Lane v. Scotty Riggs
Lodi has come out. Riggs has taken command of the match after some initial back and forth. Riggs is almost as ugly as Val Venis. Lenny tries to fight back but he is knocked down and nearly pinned. Riggs beats him up some more and sways his hips getting two after an elbow drop. Riggs finally finishes it after about six or seven minutes.
*1/2 Lane looked weak. This was boring and Riggs is going nowhere=unnecessary match.
Flair is with Benoit and he wants to regain his confidence. Flair wants him to stay on the team. But after their match Benoit’s confidence in him is questionable. Flair assures him that they tore it up on Thunder. He promises to make it right. He reminds Benoit of when he and AA had to fight it out and that was a hard moment. He is begging Benoit for his trust and wants the Horsemen to remain a team and he wants that chance. Benoit will consider it. Saturn has come in and Flair wants to know what he wants. Saturn wants a rematch for the tag titles. Kanyon had a concussion and is cleared this week. Flair declares that Saturn does not make matches as he is the president. Flair wants to team with Benoit for the tag titles. This upsets Saturn but he has respect for Benoit, however he wants to face the winners of the match. Flair wonders why he does not have Saturn’s respect as he is president! Flair is convincing Benoit to team up with him and Benoit is upset by being jumped on by DDP and Bigelow last week. Flair talks him into it and they will team up….um DDP was working for Flair. Oh well.
Here comes Macho with his bucket of feces. Savage has looked all over for Nash. He has checked every crevice and cleavage and he cannot find him. It is no surprise that Nash is not here, so he knows that he has to wait for the PPV to get the title. This is personal now and Nash is playing kids game. Nash is not off the hook despite Savage being off the hook….nice play on words. Savage points at the bucket and tells Nash that the shit is fully fermented from last week. He knows that if Nash had balls he would be here. He tells the crowd to shut up. He holds everyone in the building, and WCW responsible. If anybody wants to take on the Macho Man because Nash does not have the guts then come on out. He does not care if it is one, five, ten or thirty. The bucket will be dumped on the head of the man who is stupid enough to come out. He calls out EB, Schiavone and Heenan and claims it may be one of them. Sting comes out and declares it is showtime. Since it is Nitro, and the Stinger is back and he is back in black and seeing as Savage is pretty in pink. Savage does not appreciate that and Sting calls him sensitive. Sting challenges him tonight. Savage responds that he did not think Sting was that stupid, but he is willing and Sting will be a tune up job for the PPV. Also, he will be getting a shampoo job. Sting tells everyone that Macho is on Viagra and that angers Macho and he sputters that Sting will get it.
I guess Nash is here….He comes down with a duffel bag. Jesus, the next segment? At least have him come out later or during the Macho segment and have a brawl. He makes stupid jokes about Macho smelling. Nash claims he just got here and the bag has his gear in it. Macho does not like looking ridiculous but all he has to do is look in the mirror and then tells him that he is right here waiting. He asks again if Savage is coming out. Savage does and tells Nash that he is not in his league. He calls him a stupid person. No one has ever done that to him before. Therefore this is the day he pays and he says something else. Savage gets in the ring and Nash leaves and tells Savage that he only brought one bag and he brought three. Nash is smiling as he leaves. He is willing to fight him if he gets rid of the bucket. He wants the ladies to leave and then for Savage to get on his knees and beg. Savage does and demands that Nash get in the ring. A woman is inside Nash’s bag and gets out and then dumps the shit on top of Savage who is utterly stunned and pissed and he chases after Nash.
Match 3: DDP and Bam Bam Bigelow (c) v. Ric Flair and Chris Benoit for WCW Title
Benoit takes out both DDP and Bigelow. Bam Bam is knocked to the floor. DDP fires back but he shoves him off and he dives out to the floor crashing into Bigelow. DDP goes after him and brings him into the ring. But Benoit takes out both again and hits the flying headbutt. Bigelow makes the save and Flair comes in and knocks him back. DDP is put into the Crossface but he is at the ropes. Benoit suplexes him and tags in Flair who gets mauled.
EB is talking about Hogan and the sequel to Devil’s Island. Also, that Hogan may not come back (too bad) but Bischoff he was in the ring two weeks ago saying he was coming back. Jesus.
Flair comes back and puts DDP in the Figure Four. Bigelow runs in but Flair pounds on DDP. Benoit gets the tag and hammers DDP. He goes off the ropes but Bigelow kicks him. He turns around and DDP clocks him. Now Bigelow is in and he stomps away. After a vertical suplex he gets a two count. Here comes DDP and he drops the elbow into lower belly region. He turns and decks Flair. He and Bigelow doubleteam Benoit. Bigelow runs him over and poses for the crowd and gets booed for it. He holds him for DDP who slingshots over the top rope and elbows him into the groin area. He yells at the fans and he stomps away on Benoit. Now all four go at it. Flair gets in some blows but he is kicked in the nuts and dropped. Bigelow just left Benoit alone. Now he chokes him out on the ropes and Flair runs over and decks Bigelow. DDP powerbombs Benoit and he gets two. DDP rubs his face into the canvas and flicks his sweat on him. He keeps him grounded with a front facelock. Benoit fights to his feet and tries to get to Flair but cannot. DDP pushes him back and bodyslams him. Bigelow goes up but misses the flying headbutt. Flair backs away and leaves Benoit alone in the ring!
He walks away and Arn is befuddled and yelling at him. Arn takes off his shirt and wants the tag as Benoit is getting dismantled. Benoit is laid out as AA is screaming for the tag but Bigelow is sitting on Benoit pulling back on his neck. Now Saturn runs down and wants the tag and AA is bit baffled. Bigelow leaps but hits all knees. Saturn gets the hot tag and he he unloads on both heels. Bigelow is clotheslined to the floor and then Page is DVD’d and finished!
*** A bit odd that so many people can come down and offer to help. Still it was a strong match. Benoit still cannot make a cover…..oh well.
Kanyon comes in to celebrate and he gives Saturn the Flatliner. Now he and DDP and Bigelow destroy Saturn and Benoit. They take the belts.
Match 4: La Parka and Silver King v. Ciclope and Damian
This is a Hardcore match. Chair and trash cans have been used so far. Park dives into a garbage can. Ciclope puts it over his head and Damian leaps off of him and kicks La Parka in the head. Ciclope dives over the top rope and right into a chair. Now Silver King flies and Damian tosses a chair and hits him in the head with it. There are bodies strewn everywhere. Damian is held on a chair and Parka suicide dives into him and then Ciclope dives into La Parka. King dumps a can on his head and then moonsaults on top of it! Damn. Back in the ring La Parka kicks a chair into the head of Damian and bashes him in the head with the lid. He sets up the chair and wants to superplex him on top of it! But Parka is shoved off, however he holds onto Damian and he faceplants into the chair and La Parka gets a two count. Parka goes back up top but is blasted by Ciclope and he topples. King tosses the can at Ciclope but he is backdropped. Ciclope is tossed to the floor and a table is set up. Ciclope tries to suplex him on top of it but King blocks it and they end up both toppling into it. Damian is chopping Parka and places him up top and he goes after him. Parka powerbombs him through the table! But Damian gets his shoulder up! Damian is now powerbombed on top of two chairs! They did not budge. Ouch.
***1/2 Fucking painful but classic. There were a few boring chants but not many. Dumbass fans.
Norton is with the nWo crew and he is not happy about them leaving him alone. They thought he had it under control. They are arguing about where they went and if they caught a cab or a ride….Norton is still not happy and they finally calm him down.
Cat comes down and dances. If Nash did not think he could draw and started to job him then why is he still getting a lot of air time? Cat brags that he knocked out Norton with one kick and he shook up the world. He is the greatest etc. It is payback. He makes a challenge.
Match 4: Cat v. Horace
Horace runs out and decks him. Sonny gets clocked too. But he turns right into a kick to the skull. Cat stomps on him and misses a forearm smash and Horace works him over in the corner. They tussle and Cat wins by hitting him with a crowbar.
*1/2 How is this a push?
The nWo is not too happy and they decide to go after the Cat who is shucking and jiving in the ring. He finally sees them running down and Cat books to the back.
Gene calls out Piper. Piper hypes up the only good thing going on in Ohio in the 90s: Cleveland Indians. Now Piper is making fun of Flair and his nose. He is going to stir up some stuff. There are some young studs. They want to be in the main event and whine that Piper is in the main event. He is tired of it and so it is reality check time. He acts like Buffer and calls out Buff Bagwell. Piper asks if he wants to be a main eventer or if he is going to sell popcorn (he was flexing). He asks Buff how long he has wrestled and he responds with eight years. And then Piper asks if he ever wrestled in the Garden and Buff finally admits he has not. They jaw back and forth. Buff tells him that it is not 1975 anymore. He is Buff and the Stuff. Now Piper reminds him about all his neck injuries and how he will do anything to get to the top. When Piper wins at the PPV then he will give Buff the ball and he better not fumble it. Buff states he will take the ball and run with it.
The Macho girls call over Nash and they giggle. Nash is not falling for it but they assure him Savage is not there and it is girl’s night out. They want him to open the champagne. He makes sure Savage is not in the limo. He puts his bag in the trunk and gets in. The girls shut the door and call him a sucker. Savage is the driver and he pulls up and a White Hummer drives into the limo over and over. Finally Nash pops out the window and tries to open the door but cannot…..Um, why did he not ask who the driver was and why would he fall for it in the first place? Well he joked about a three-way. I guess I would have gone for it!
Match 6: Bobby Duncum Jr. v. Rey Mysterio
Curt is at the announce table and Konnan is with DJ Ran. They are jawing back and forth. Duncum is choking him out on the ropes and then yanks him off of them. Duncum clotheslines him in the back after the front first whip. Bobby gives him a gutbuster and tosses him to the floor. Rey scrambles back in to the ring but Bobby is right there and he tries to toss him back out but Rey spins back into the ring and kicks Bobby. He springboards into a legdrop and then leaps on top of him getting two. Rey kicks him to the floor and Bobby gets into the ring and he takes it Rey and puts him in a facelock. Rey comes back with the Bronco Buster and finally Curt has had enough and assaults him and here comes Konnan.
**1/2 Not too bad. They will all face off at the PPV.
Steiner comes out and informs us that he is our hook up. Rick is there too. Scotty discusses Sting getting his ass kicked last week. He was in the back and he realized that Sting had no friends. Sting needs to find a partner as he is going to find out that the Steiners are the best tag team ever. Rick states that they are at the top of the food chain. If he catches Sting anywhere near the dog pound he is going to take him out. They bleeped out “Bite Me!”
Disco comes down and goes off on Buff Bagwell. He has not stuff and he got kicked out of the Woflpac. He challenges him and wants Buff to show him if he is the man.
Match 7: Disco Inferno v. Buff Bagwell
Buff has the mic and he was almost in his car when he heard his big trap. He may have gotten kicked out of the Wolfpac but Disco was never in it. Disco decks him. Buff does not appreciate that and takes him down. Disco fights back but is hiptossed and then bodyslammed. But Disco fights back and slams him. He leaps form the middle rope driving his forearm into his throat. He dumps him to the floor and then runs him into the post.
Commercial.
Disco has him in a rear chinlock. Buff rises to his feet and elbows free and goes for a sunset flip and finally gets him over. He only gets two but Disco counters back and down goes Buff. He goes back up to the middle rope but misses this time. Buff unloads on him and backdrops him and follows up with a clothesline and a swinging neckbreaker and he gets two. Disco tries to make a comeback but is bodyslammed. Blockbuster and over.
** Decent back and forth match.
Match 8: Randy Savage v. Sting
Sting runs down and Savage retreats. But as the bell rings George jumps on his back. Savage does not waste anytime and punches away. He tosses him to the floor and hammers him. The ladies lend a hand with some kicks of their own. Back in the ring he uppercuts Sting and then chokes him out. He rubs Sting’s face across the ropes and kicks him in the gut as he methodically works him over. Sting is getting worked over and choked out. The fans wants to see Puppies as the girls choke him out. Savage beats him up on the floor and back in the ring. Some powder is thrown. Miss Madness goes up top after Sting but is shoved off. Sting is still selling being blinded and Savage takes out the ref with a piledriver and another one too. He goes after Sting but he fights back. Stinger Splash! But Savage pulls Ms. Madness in front and then Madusa and they did it willingly! George begs Sting not to leap and he leaps over her and Savage gets nailed. Here comes Rick Steiner and then Scotty Steiner and they pound on Sting. Luger runs down to make the save and keeps the heels at bay.
** Angle advancement.
*** I think I am rating this a bit high but they had two solid matches. It seems they are trying to go the WWF route with less wrestling….but they still have long matches at times. They just are not as good as they were a month or two ago. The promos are too damn long. Savage is doing a great job but they should have combined his and then Nash’s promo into one. Piper’s promo was horrible. Sometimes he is on and more often than not he is off. He just rambles. The focus is not on the young guys. They cannot get clean wins. Bischoff will panic and try something new if this does not work within a month instead of slowly building up new talent for the long haul. Also, what about the elbow being banned? He did it last week and no response. There is a great opportunity with all these injuries to build up new guys and they are dropping the ball. Oh and Nash as champ has been fucking dull. He stands there and mumbles terrible jokes. Bischoff giving away RAW results fails everytime…..at least the Hak segment was cool!