Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 7/26/99
I have said a lot as of late about WCW and some of the ups and more of the downs as of late. Savage was in the top feud for three months and for some reason has been knocked out of it…..he may be able to get something out of Rodman. But Nash has not done much in the top spot and is rather dull, at least lately. Nice to see Goldberg back and that Sting is still in the title hunt. Not sure what they will do with Benoit, Malenko, Saturn and Buff. Probably not much but it would be nice to be wrong. Nitro had its best start in months with a 4.0 but it fell to a 2.9 but rose up to a 3.4 for a near 3.5. RAW got an epic 7.1 off a 6.9 and 7.3!
Hey, Hudson is still announcing! Thank you Jesus!
Montage of Goldberg with the Megadeth song.
Hogan comes down and does his thing. He thanks the fans after talking about the airport and pythons. He calls Nash Kevina and Kevette. Hogan says bullcrap on Nash taking his spot. He does not think Nash has the guts and here he comes with Sid and Rick and the fans erupt. Hogan warily backs up and Nash gets in the ring and Hogan wonders why he needs his friends and Nash grins and acts like he does not know why they are there. Hogan declares that he does not need a partner and Nash begs to differ. Hogan challenges him right now and Nash is game. Of course Hogan knocks him down and then Rick but Sid handles him and Nash takes him down. Sting runs them off. Nash again begs to differ that Hogan needs a partner and so Hogan looks towards Sting who just up and leaves!!
I guess Sid is with Nash now, and no longer a part of Team Madness, will it be explained? I know he booted Mona and Madusa.
Match 1: Juventud Guerrera and Psychosis v. Bobby Duncum Jr. and Kendall Windham
Bobby takes down Juve and hammers the shit out of him with kicks and stomps. Juve fends him off and Kendall is in and Psychosis is too and he takes down Kendall, or KW with a series of kicks and springs into a kick. Juve and BD fight on the floor and Curt lends a hand. KW takes out Psychosis and Bobby gets the tag and continues to punish him. Bobby is in and suplexes Psychosis and now Kendal is in and he places him up top and back superplexes him off. He drops the elbow and Juve makes the save. Psychosis fights and makes the hot tag and Juve missile kicks Kendall but the ref did not see it and now Psychosis is doubleteamed and bulldogged by both and it is over.
** Juve remained strong but this should have been a bit longer….with more Lucha offense.
Chad Brock, whoever the fuck he is performing on Nitro in two weeks.
Madusa is going to kick Mona’s and then Gorgeous George’s butt who liked being kidnapped by Nash.
Match 2: Vampiro (with ICP) v. Rey Mysterio
Vamp fucking crushes him with two vicious lariats and a release over the top suplex! Vamp clubs him but Rey takes out his knee and then knocks him around. Vampiro retreats to the floor. He gets back and one handed slams him and then chops the chest. Rey counters by knocking him back to the floor and then strikes with a guillotine legdrop on the back of the head. It is Bronco Buster time! ICP is on the top rope and gets knocked off but he turns right into the Nail of the Coffin! Vampiro delays the follow up, goes up top but is crotched and met by Rey but ICP get involved and Rey is powerbombed off the top rope and stomped by all three. Eddie runs down and makes the save!
*** Great, short but awesome.
ICP has the mic and they did not come here to dance but to kick some ass!
Match 3: Vincent v. Stevie Ray
Vincent attacks him as he gets in the ring but he is run over and plastered with blow after blow. Horace gets on the apron only to be knocked off. Vincent is getting treated like Stevie’s bitch. He gets a two count. Vincent gets pummeled. He runs into Horace and Vincent is hit with a slapjack and then finished off. Booker T cut off Brian Adams and Stevie gets the win.
*1/2 Time to euthanize what is left of the nWo. It sucks.
Horace is yelling at Ray.
Gene is front of Hogan’s dressing room door and wants to know who Hogan’s partner will be. Sting brushes past Gene and enters the locker room.
Here comes Sting! Sting introduces himself as president of WCW. He knew there would be lots of decisions and sure enough he has a big one right now. There is somebody in the back who needs a tag partner. He asks the crowd if he should be partners with Sting. Here comes Hogan. Hogan came here with the title and Nash in his sights. There has been a lot of changes. Hogan is not the same Hollywood and Sting can trust him. Sting glares, and some fans boo Hogan. There is a lot of history between the two and he assures Sting and the fans that he will not stab him in the back. Just for old time sakes, Sting will agree with him but if Hogan screw him then Sting will get ya! Hogan agrees with that.
Jason Hervey is at the announce table…..Jesus. Bischoff still talks about how great he is. Jason loves Nitro and all the stars want to come on.
Match 3: Prince Iaukea v. Lash Leroux
The match goes on for maybe a minute and Savage comes down and beats the shit out of them! He screams at Nash and Hogan and Rodman; he is taking over the world and running for president. He reminds Nash it is not over and neither Hogan or Rodman wants a piece of Savage. Madusa and Mona come down. Savage tells them to leave reminding them they are fired. Madusa asks him to listen and want to be on his team. It is all George who is causing the issues. Savage screams he is the man and they are the women and he is boss. They keep reminding Savage that GG is the problem. Savage screams at them. GG backs away and tries to slink away and Madusa walks after her. GG backs into Rodman and he takes her away. Savage gives chase.
Promo for Kiss in a month.
Savage is looking for Rodman in the bowels of the arena.
Gene is in the ring. Here comes Goldberg! He assures Hennig that he is in the building tonight and that Curt is next!
Match 4: Evan Karagias v. the Cat
Holy fucking shit, Jason Hervey is fucking annoying. Dude you were relevant in the Wonder Years and had a bit role in Back to the Future, otherwise you are terrible. He is just cackling and cheerleading like Shane does on RAW when he announces.
Cat cannot believe that Evan is challenging him and he is willing to shake his hand. He does and decrapitates Evan with a short-armed clothesline. He runs his head into the corner and follows up with another vicious lariat. Cat is dismantling him and then tosses him over the top rope and Sonny puts the boots to him and rolls him back into the ring. Cat kicks his head off but Evan fires back and hits a crossbody and then springs into another one. Sonny is on the apron and the Cat grabs for his shoe but they are rabbit slippers! Buff shows up and waves the red shoes at him and taunts the Cat! Evan rolls him up for the win. Cat is pissed and decleats him with a clotheslines and then tosses the ref and chases after Buff.
** Not bad. Angle advancement.
Match 5: Mikey Whipwreck v. Steven Regal
Fit was injured at a House Show last night….Hardcore match against Knobs. Wow, he was tossed into a table and the wooden shards lacerated some veins and nerves and he nearly lost his leg! He will be back in a few months, hopefully they give him a push again.
Mikey starts strong and knocks Regal around and scissors him over and then hiptosses him. They go back and forth and Hart comes out and taunts him, he is with the First Family. Mikey rolls him up a couple of times and gets two. Regal wallops him. Knobs challenges him at Sturgis. Fans chant boring. Fuck off. Regal snaps him over and applies a half-nelson. Whipwreck gets to his feet and fights free but is blasted with the British Flag but he kicks out. Now Dave Taylor drives it into his gut. Regal pulls him up and pounds him as Mikey wallows in the corner. Regal lowers his head and is rolled up and nearly pinned. Regal counters right back with a clothesline and he gets two. Regal is whipped into the ropes, hurracarana and Mikey gets two. Now rRegal shoots him into the ropes and Mikey is hit with the Flag and he is double underhook suplexed and the Stretch finishes him off.
**1/2 Not bad. Mikey deserves better.
Goldberg is working out in the back…..
Here comes David Flair with Torrie. DAMN she is smoking hot. Gene tells David that he has his hands full tonight with the Crippler. David channels his dad and calls himself the man. Gene reminds him that he is not Ric Flair. Torrie calls David a ten! It will be as easy as 1-2-3! Gene thinks he is being overconfident and David does not respond and so Gene moves the mic back.
Back to the back of the arena. GG hugs Savage and squeals that Rodman was so strong! Savage tosses something and he goes back on the hunt calling Rodman an SOB. He opens a trailer door and Rodman is in there but Dillinger holds him at bay as Savage freaks out.
Shane in a pre-recorded interview wants to stand side by side with his friends: Malenko, Benoit and Saturn. He has stood aside for two long. He wants to cut the cancer that is Ric Flair. Everyone knows the genuine hatred between the two. Ric thought Shane would never come and he chuckles at that.
Match 6: Curt Hennig v. Goldberg
Goldberg takes him down and then flips him with a pump-handle slam. Damn that was impressive. Curt retreats to the floor and Goldberg grabs him by the head but gets his throat bounced off it. The ref is distracted and Curt levels him with the cowbell and kicks him in the ribs over and over and stomps on him too. Goldberg is up and screams at him. He kicks him and puts him over his shoulders and plants him with a powerslam. He gives him a backsuplex and Kendal is in and he turns a press slam into a powerslam. BD is done and BW too and now everyone is fucking speared. Curt has a chair and then stares at Goldberg and books for his life!!
**1/2 It makes the Rednecks look weak but it was a decent return for Goldberg as it was fun to see him destroy them!
Curt throws the chair at him and Goldberg pulls him into the ring and tosses him over the top rope! Goldberg is on the apron and Hennig promptly retreats.
Match 7: Random Female v. Madusa
Back and forth and Madusa gets the win….
**
Match 8: Scott Putski v. Shane Douglas
ECW chants. They lock up and Shane runs him over after being shoved off. Putski powerslams him and then strikes with two clotheslines. After a snap suplex he gets two. Shane is whipped into the corner but Scott runs into an elbow and Shane chops away. Scott shoves him into the corner and chops him right back and then whips him into the opposing corner and backdrops him off the rebound. But after the whip into the corner he lowers his head and eats a neckbreaker and now Shane measures him and snaps the neck. He holds him up for an hour in a vertical suplex and drops him down. He gets two. Shane has him in a clutch but Putski is up and fights him off and clotheslines him but Shane snags him and finishes him with a cradle suplex: Pittsburgh Plunge.
**1/2 Not bad.
Match 9: David Flair (c) v. Chris Benoit for WCW US Title
Benoit is annihilating him. David retreats and Charles Robinson exhorts him to get back into the ring. Benoit kicks him and a chop sends David across the ring and now he unloads some more chops on poor David. He back suplexes him. David is turned over and put in a crab. He taps but Charles refuses to call for the bell. Charles is decked. Now the flying headbutt and the Crossface and he taps….nope, no bell. Here comes DDP and he blasts Benoit with the tag belt and David gets the win. Here comes Malenko and he flips DDP back into the ring. The rest of the Triad runs down and the fight is on. Here comes Saturn and the heels flee as Shane Douglas arrives belatedly.
** Angle advancement. Closest Benoit has ever come to winning a singles title!
Rick challenges someone and tells him to bite him….
Match 10: Rick Steiner (c) v. Chase Tatum for WCW TV Title
Rick clobbers him and then rakes the face. Chase gets in a little offense but he is squashed….
*1/2 Does not make the Soldiers look strong at all….
Match 11: Hulk Hogan (c) and Sting v. Kevin Nash and Mystery Partner
Nash slowly gets in the ring and wants Sting and Hogan to stay back. Here comes Sid as his mystery partner. Um, he walked out with him earlier and helped him out earlier in the night. Not sure why this is such a shock. They made it a bit obvious.
Sid and Hogan start off and circle around each other. They lock up and Hogan is backed into the corner. Sid misses a blow and Hogan unloads on him. He places his bandanna in his mouth and mounts and pounds him. Not sure what I saw…..Sid gives him some sort of atomic drop. He and Hogan are confused so Hogan works the arm and then he and Sting ping-pong Sid back and forth with blows to the head. Sid fires back and bodyslams him but misses the elbow. Hogan hits Nash and he gets in the ring but Sting cuts him off and Sid is clotheslined over the top and Sting runs Nash over the top rope. Nash and Sting are in and Sting hammers him but he is picked up and given Snake Eyes on the top buckle. Sid is in. Sid opens up on Sting. Sting fights back but gets his eyes raked and Nash gets the tag and he pounds Sting as Sid holds him. Nash drops him with a short-armed clothesline. Sid is in and he works over the neck of Sting. Sting powers out with a back suplex but he is slow to get up. Nash is in and he hammers Sting but he fights back but Nash knocks Hogan off the apron and Sting cannot get the tag and Nash whips Sting into the corner after a couple of knee shots. He springs out of the corner, started as a float over but then runs back into Nash and both are down. Hogan gets the hot tag and unloads on Nash and now all four are in the ring. The ref is squashed by a Stinger Splash as Sid pulls him in front. Hogan is beating on Nash. Rick Steiner comes out and knocks out Sting with a chair shot. Hogan hits the big boot and Rick trips him up and now Nash has the chair and Hogan gets hit in the head and he is out cold. Hogan is pinned. Here comes Goldberg but Rick hits him over and over with the chair.
*1/2 Damn that was a cluster. Hogan can barely move. Of course he dominates most of the match and loses via a chair shot. To be fair Hogan is not Hulking up as much and he is actually making people look better. He has been nearly losing or even lost as of late. That will not last I am sure….
**1/2 I just did not really get into the show. There was some decent wrestling. But I am not really into many of the storylines right now. The uppercard is a fucking mess. They have clearly mixed things up since Hogan’s return. Macho has been pushed aside and Team Madness dismantled. Sid is with Nash now and that mystery partner shit when they are clearly trying to get people to tune in by thinking it is Hall…..it was just bogus. Rick Steiner is decent but no Scott Steiner. Nash is randomly heel again. Sting and Hogan together as a team just seems odd and rather lame. Goldberg getting the random run in here and there does nothing for me either. Benoit and company are getting more air time but seem to be spinning their wheels as is Eddie. Vampiro was a bright spot….Now with more music BS and more Hogan BS….Well, fuck they started to make things interesting with Buff in the US/TV title hunt and why not finish off his feud with Rick and get him on the side of Hogan giving him the rub and winning that belt. Benoit deserves the US belt. And what about the Hummer? It is really becoming a mess.