Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 7/12/99
Seeing as I know what happens at the end of tonight, as I was HUGE Savage mark. I got back into wrestling right at Fall Brawl 99 and so missed the Madness era. Savage left right before as he was fed up with Hogan and his BS. Savage was also really paranoid at this time supposedly bringing a gun to the Road Wild PPV. For some reason Savage allows Hogan to dictate terms that he never reciprocates. Now Savage has main evented a lot of PPV’s with Hogan but there is no doubt that Savage has been overshadowed by Hogan. Going back to WM IV Hogan helped him win and celebrated and on into WCW. Savage has never beaten Hogan….Never. It is a fucking travesty. This is where Hogan haters get a lot of ammo and rightfully so. He has buried so many people and then denied doing it. Some of it is true and some not. Look, Hogan has been great for wrestling but also terrible for it. I would argue he helped run WCW down. In 94 he brought in his cronies and older more established guys are ousted like Austin and Vader….WCW rehashes all the old Hogan/WWF feuds. He did a great heel turn and had his moments. He had some good matches before his knee surgery. Ultimately, he cares about one person: Hulk Hogan. He is still a draw in 99 but not so much. Savage fell for it and was apparently going to get the win back. It obviously was never going to happen and Savage snapped and left. Bischoff has claimed that this ruined the Hart/Hogan feud that was to go on. Who knows if that is true as Hart returned at Fall Brawl and that Hogan may not have turned face….it was a ploy etc. One thing, the newer Macho Man was pretty awesome. I liked this current iteration. Yes, he buried some talent but not overly so and it made him that more hated. I said after the PPV that he does not need the belt, and this character certainly does not. Once he has it, he could face Nash and Sting again. There is Goldberg and Hogan too and later Hart. I would have set up the Sting heel turn at Fall Brawl allowing Savage to retain and then Hart winning at Havoc. Goldberg winning WWIII and then Hogan and Bret at Starrcade with Bret winning and thus setting up SuperBrawl with Goldberg and Hart with the former winning….Now enough fantasy booking but I would not have hotshot the title so damn quickly. Savage could have run with it for a bit, save it for a few weeks and it is obvious Hogan would use his clout to get it back but they could have built it for a month or two. Now, poor Goldberg, he is better without the title but gets the shaft continually. He should have won it and set up a Hart or Hogan showdown down the road. Now that Hogan will turn face that saves him from Goldberg…..There are a lot of dynamics at play and Hogan is not liked by the locker room but he keeps himself at the forefront. No doubt he plays the game better than anyone else but it harms not just others and their morale but hurts in the long run as others cannot rise above. I could go on forever but will not…..We will see what happens. The PPV was decent so hopefully the follow up will be too. Nitro got a 3.5 with a 3.7 final hour so people tuned in to see Hogan, justifying his claim that he draws but the numbers will stay about the same, so there goes that. RAW will have about a 5.8 off of a 5.4 and 6.2.
Here comes Savage. Gene is in the ring. Savage told everyone that he would win the title. He is a self-made the man. He is the boss. The fans boo quite loudly. Goldberg chants. Last night Sid Vicious was very vicious and all he had to do was look across at Nash who was hypnotized as he could not handle the madness. He will continue to do what he said he would do and will continue to do so. Tonight he will challenge anybody and he repeats it, anybody but Nash that is because he does not deserve a chance at the title. He is a zero in life and Savage has his number. Savage puts out his hand Gene shakes it. Cue Hogan’s music. Fans wanted Goldberg. Well, there goes Nitro and WCW…..here comes Hogan. Okay I will calm down and go along with it. The fans erupt and Savage is on the floor wanting Hogan out of here. Some are booing though. Hogan is essentially accepting his challenge. Savage admits he made a mistake, Hogan is in the category of Nash and he needs to get the hell out of Dodge as Savage owns it. Hogan saw what happened and Nash should be champ. Hogan declares the deed is done and it is on. Savage is fine with it and today is a brand new day and he is willing to take him on. Savage tells Hogan that he is through. Hogan does some Wolfpac shit and it is for life.
Hogan putting himself over. Goldberg waits…..I have heard that executives wanted face Hogan back and there is a positve. This is the last time Hogan will hold the belt in WCW!
Match 1: Vampiro v. Konnan
Konnan is doing his thing on the mic and Vampiro wipes him out. He spinkicks him in the head. Vampiro hammers him but misses the splash and Konnan counters right away with the rolling lariat. Konnan gets two after a powerbomb or Vampiro connected….sorry, as Vampiro was on the offensive but he is DDT’d, now a back kick and bulldog. Vampiro wisely rolls to the floor. He lures Konnan out and rakes the eyes and throws the chair into his head….the bell is rung?
Vamp rolls him back into the ring and Vamp kicks Konnan in the head and then Juve Drives him.
**1/2 Fun opener. Nice to see Vampiro get a push. But Vampiro two weeks ago was DEMOLISHED by Rick Steiner. Oh well. Not sure why he was DQ’d….the chair I guess.
Cat is in the ring. He hates Jacksonville and calls out people. Here comes Buff who tells him to shut up and he loves Jacksonville (Fuck the Jaguars) and he is the Stuff etc. He challenges the Cat but is blindsided. The Cat wails on him. Buff fires back and here comes Sonny Onoo who is slammed but the Cat kicks Buff in the head with the loaded shoe and Sonny counts the three.
So, Buff goes from challenging for the US belt and beating Flair and Piper and he has been demoted? The Cat is classic but come on….
Match 2: Ric Flair v. Dean Malenko
Christ, Bischoff is at the announce table and he is slobbering over Hogan….
Flair’s entire crew is down. He has the mic and tells Dean’s entourage of Saturn and Benoit to leave. Here we go…
Dean runs him over and pounds away on Flair. He kicks him over and over in the corner. Jesus, EB is now talking about Savage and the title. Shut up and focus on the match. Flair is getting pummeled and Malenko stomps a hole in him. Flair is whipped into the corner where he flips over the top rope. He lures out Dean and AA clotheslines Malenko and now Flair goes to work. Dean is run into the post and now Flair and AA are in the ring stomping the shit out of Malenko. Charles Robinson turns the other way! Flair hammers him but Dean comes back only to get suplexed. Dean has him though but the ref turns his back and Flair chops away. Dean though is able to knock him down and he recovers quickly after falling down too. He strikes with a vertical suplex and then a missile kick and gets a near fall. He mounts and pounds Flair in the corner and AA is knocked off the apron and Flair is clotheslined. Flair though pokes the eyes and goes up and he is grabbed but Flair is not tossed and leaps down nailing Malenko. Charles though is crushed behind Flair. Another ref has come down and Flair has the Figure Four applied. Dean reverses it! But Asya comes in and belts the other ref. Charles calls for the bell and Flair was giving up but Charles raises Flair’s in victory. Dean is pissed and goes off but AA and Asya attack him and Dean is stomped. Sting clears the ring….
*** Good stuff. Angle advancement. Sorry I was distracted some of it….so it may be a bit disjointed.
Flair wants Sting out of the ring. Sting responds that his presidency means nothing and that Flair’s diamonds have lost their luster. Space Mountain is on Viagra. Flair calls him a dead man. Sting responds that ten years ago Flair has held people down and ten years later he is essentially doing the same thing. Sting is here to tell us that the Stinger is back, and he is back in black. He is embarrassed that he has allowed Dean to do the talking. Sting is the Franchise and wants control and challenges Flair. Flair yells that his wife would like control and yells nonsense. Sting is relentless and wants control and challenges him. Flair counters that Sting cannot make that match. If Sting can beat David then Sting can wrestle Flair….AA is worried but Flair whispers in his ear and AA is fine. Sting is willing to hurt David Flair to get to him. Flair repeats the stipulation and reminds Sting that he is the boss all night long!
Match 3: Steven Regal v. Kidman
Kidman is working over the arm and he is pushed off into the ropes but he scissors Regal over. After a dropkick he takes him over and gets two.
Sorry I was writing my diatribe at the top. But I watched. It was a solid match. Dave Taylor and Fit Finlay interfered. EB had enough and interfered, after Kidman was shoved off the top while going for the Press but EB is running around the ring and Regal is rolled up and Bischoff makes the count….Dave, Regal and Fit are pissed and yell at Bischoff as Tony screeches EB did the right thing.
*** Another solid match. However, what power does he have? I thought he was fired but he keeps coming back, and now acts as a referee? Oh and he has been in press conferences….oh well. Who said consistency was WCW’s strong point?
Match 4: Kaos v. Sid Vicious
Sid is killing him. This is a complete squash. Cobra Clutch slam and now an epic powerbomb.
*1/2 Squash.
Sadly, Sid’s best match since returning…..he has the mic and asks Kaos if he can hear him and if he felt the power. Goldberg chants. He calls out Sting and feels no remorse for the things he does. He babbles some more….
Match 5: David Flair (c) v. Sting
Ric tells him that he can leave now before he gets hurt, and no one will think less of him!
David chops him and they have zero effect the Stinger Splash from Sting does. He turns him over into the Deathlock. He taps. Charles ignores it and he eats a Deathdrop and now AA and Ric get dismantled. Out goes Arn and Flair’s chops have no effect. Flair is gorilla slammed and Arn is nailed again. Stinger Splash on Ric. Flair puts Asya in front of him and Sting hits another Stinger Splash! The fans love it!
NR Angle advancement. Not sure if Sting won…..
There is a Hardcore Trophy in the middle of the ring. Gene calls out Fit. Fit rambles about the match and how tough he is. He and Regal and Taylor had a plan. He makes fun of Americans because they know nothing about respect and toughness. Gene does not appreciate it…..Fit does not care as he is tougher than titanium etc. The First Family runs into the ring and kicks his ass! More from the match last night get into the ring and the donnybrooks is on! Jimmy Hart takes the trophy and runs! The First Family departs with him and Fit gives chase. Meanwhile the melee continues.
Triad comes down. DDP brags about winning last night. They are the greatest trifecta off all time. He calls out Booker T.
Match 6: DDP v. Booker T
Booker back DDP into the corner. They take their time, testing each other for a minute or so. Booker runs him over and knocks him to the floor. Back in the ring DDP gets in some offense but a running double axe takes him down. After a two count DDP is kicked into the corner and then sandwiched in the opposite one. Booker mounts and pounds him. Booker misses the Harlem Kick, he is hung up on the ropes and is knocked to the floor. DDP flies from the apron, crashing into Booker. DDP rolls him back into the ring and stomps on the groin area. He strikes with a back suplex….
Commercial.
Booker is rolled back into the ring and missile kicked…..
Bischoff went to the back to see if Flair is facing Sting. According to Brad Siegel and Harvey Schiller Bischoff is fired! Kidding….that is in two months. Next week it will be Flair v. Sting.
Okay, DDP strikes with a gutbuster and DDP drops an elbow. After some stomps DDP gets two. Booker lands on his feet on the back suplex attempt but is knocked down. DDP gets two and then applies an abstretch and uses the ropes for leverage. Nick Patrick tries to kick his hand off but fails, however Booker tosses him over. But DDP clocks Booker and gets a near fall. Sleeper time. Booker fights to his feet and escapes with a jawbreaker and after some back and forth follows up with an inverted atomic drop. DDP gets his head run into the top buckle ten times and a heel kick drops him. DDP reverses the whip but misses the lariat and is run over. Booker sideslams him but both are down. DDP lays his arm over Booker and gets two. Booker goes for the sunset flip but DDP sits on him, however Booker rolls him up for two. They are up and DDP snags him and powerbombs Booker getting yet another near fall. He goes for the Diamond Cutter but Booker shoves him off and DDP runs into the ref who is down. Booker kicks DDP and it is axe kick time. Here comes Kanyon and he hits the Flatliner on Booker. Kanyon wakes up the ref and Booker just gets the shoulder up! DDP is not happy and yells at the ref and turns inot the sidekick. Kanyon has some fucking powder and he is kicked and it flies everywhere. DDP goes for the cover but here comes Bigelow. The ref eats a DC and so does Booker….the double DC.
**** Great match. Both had to remain strong though a clean win for Booker would have been great….but DDP needs to be strong.
The remnants of the nWo are giggling at Booker getting his tail kicked. Stevie decides to do something about that and runs down brandishing a chair and chases them off. The fans chant Harlem Heat over and over!
Match 7: Randy Savage (c) v. Hulk Hogan for WCW Title
Jesus, Hogan can barely move. Savage batters him with a series punches knocking Hogan around the ring. He measures him with fists to the head and then chokes him out. Savage is knocked to the floor and Madusa and Ms. Madness are in the ring and get their heads knocked together. Now Madusa and Ms. Madness brawl on the floor! Security peel them off one another and haul them to the back. Finally Savage gets back into the ring and Hogan punches away; he rakes the back and runs him into the corner. Hogan mounts and pounds him in the corner and then runs him over with a lariat. Hogan keeps after him and drops him with a hard right and chokes him out.
Bischoff is seriously ruining the night. His announcing is ATROCIOUS. He is basically sucking Hogan off as he gushes about how great he is. We get it, you change storylines and directions anytime Hogan asks.
Hogan lowers the head and is kicked but Hogan comes back and Savage is knocked to the floor. Savage walks up the ramp and Hogan goes after him and beats his ass some more. He posts Savage and then hits him with a chair a few times. Savage is placed on the table and pummeled in the head. Bischoff keeps screaming yes, over and over…..Savage eats the post and he stumbles around the ring and Hogan has his belt off. He waves it around and calls to the crowd. Savage shoves George into Hogan and goes on the attack. Hogan is knocked onto the announce table and Savage drives the chair into his back. Hogan is rolled back into the ring and he has the leather belt and whips away. The fans get behind Hogan as Savage chokes him out with the belt and Savage keeps whipping the shit out of him. He chokes him out some more. Savage has been whipping him for about three minutes. He paces, whips him, rinse/repeat. Oh and he chokes him out too. Hogan is up and pushes Savage in the corner, awkwardly moving, but his brief flurry is stopped with a knee shot to the gut or groin. Savage whips him and gets another two count. Savage calls for the elbow drop but pulls up Hogan first and kicks him in the head and then bodyslams him. Savage makes his way upstairs and he stands up for an hour and misses it! Fuck Bischoff is really annoying. It is indescribable, you need to watch. Hulk up time and Hogan hits him a few times and hits the big boot. He calls to the crowd but Sid blindsides Hogan. No DQ I guess. Sid sets him up for the powerbomb. Sting has run down and he goes off on Sid and knocks him to the floor. Savage has a chain and he knocks out Hogan with a shot to the head. He covers Hogan and thinks he won but Nash pulled the ref out! Savage is powerbombed! Hogan crawls over to make the cover and Hogan wins. Many cheer and many are silent.
**1/2 The match was not really good. But Savage got the lion’s share of the offense in and Hogan acts shocked he won…..he needed help so the Hulk up shit did not ruin anything. I still disagree with this call, giving Hogan the title so quickly. Savage could have had a nice run.
Nash has the mic and reminds Hulk he has given him the title twice. Nash is a shark or something and he wants a title shot. There will be no laying down and they will find out who the man is. All Hogan has to do is name the time and place. Hogan agrees…..
**** I think the decision is asinine. They had a good thing going with Savage and it could have continued. They could have set up a three way at the PPV…..Then again, where does that leave Goldberg. This is what irks me about WCW. They have Goldberg declare he is back….then nothing. He could have run in and attacked Sid or someone. My guess is that they are trying to find something for him to do. Another issue, Konnan has been demoted to facing Vampiro, not that I mind them giving the latter a push, despite getting plowed by Rick Steiner. Also, Buff gets over and now he is demoted to face the Cat. Then Dean Malenko has been pushed aside for Sting, which makes some sense as he is the Franchise and can right the wrongs going on in WCW….Hogan comes back and things go back to where they were in April before he left and that is the same people at the top. I could be wrong and we will see…..I thought the show was decent. Savage has been pushed aside and three months is potentially down the drain, but there was some good wrestling and all the matches were really fun. Hogan is working hard I will give him that. There was not a lot of talking and so what held it back from the extra half star were the above macro issues about WCW in general, Hogan winning the title again and of course Bischoff at the announce table….Really the announcers on Nitro have officially become jump the shark terrible. Schiavone kissing Bischoff’s ass and saying good call to him on the most obvious things and then bitching at Heenan who has kind of checked out. It really takes away from the show. They seem to be focusing better on the match at hand. However, Bischoff kept talking about Hogan and bad mouthing Flair (he did take his spot as president, but then why is EB there). I just hope they do not throw away all the hard work they have done the past three months. Slowly building up new guys. Even it most of it was window dressing there was some potential there and it was getting fun….