Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 7/5/99
In the Georgia Dome. The attendance still remains strong, while the ratings have slipped. Megadeth will be here. They hyped up the music video on Thunder. No I do not care, Megadeth? Jesus. But they are singing a song for Goldberg’s new movie: Universal Soldier 2. Van Damme baby! I decided to do some reading up on WCW from April to after Bash. I tried to avoid as many spoilers as possible. Jesus, everyone is down on WCW. Now they did state that there were some good shows, especially in June as they had more wrestling. Alex Marvez wants Nash gone from booking, and that Harvey Schiller needs to make changes. Nash has been putting himself over etc. True. But Nash is over despite what he says. He and others also say WCW needs a youth movement. True. They are slowly pushing others but not fast enough and like I said now is the time to do so with all the injuries. Bischoff keeps saying it takes time to build but knowing him he will panic. Many think Flair and Hogan and others should be midcard to elevate others. Um, you do not pay someone millions to elevate talent. Now they should job here and there and not hog the spotlight. Also, if ratings do not increase they will go back to the established stars, hence the Catch 22. Flair has supposedly been jobbed…..I disagree. He just elevated Buff. WCW was accused of making the title belt meaningless with the double switch. Again I disagree. Or that DDP has been shunted down to the midcard after winning the belt. He is playing his role to perfection. He is elevating others like the pundits want, and he is on TV all the time. Mankind was pushed back down after his feud with the Rock. Jesus, WCW cannot win. They try more adult themes and get bashed for poor taste. I do agree the Lenny/Lodi vignettes are HORRIBLE. They have done away with the horrible first hours and put on meaningful matches and higher quality segments. There feuds just randomly end. At times, yes. Buff and the Steiners as well as Sting needs a conclusion. However, I would like to point to the WWF: JR and Dr. Death, Legion of Doom, Corporate Ministry shuffling around on a weekly basis, DX breaking up has not been really concluded, and so many more. Yet the WWF was being praised for having non-confusing angles and storylines. I do not consider myself stupid but if what the WWF is doing right now not confusing then I must be high. WCW has serious issues but their angles make more sense, and while they are often not as compelling they can hide the fact by having great matches. Honestly, it seems to me that people wanted WCW to fail. No matter what they did they got shit on. I have discussed this before about reasons why because of the more likeable stars in the WWF, while WCW has Hogan and Nash and the perceived burying of Flair. Also, Bret Hart returns tonight and makes a speech, at the top of the hour, and WCW was accused of exploitation. Of course they are going to do that…..it is not exploitation, it is business and Bischoff gave Bret the opportunity to come and speak whenever he was ready. There were some positives as some of the June and July shows got thumbs up for being entertaining but for the most part it was really negative. Nothing much was said about Master P but then again I have covered that. No matter what WCW does they get shit on, oh well. They stayed strong for them with a 3.4 but the final hour fell to a 2.7 and RAW got a near 6.0. Let’s get going!
Recap of Nitro and Thunder. Nash was not lying; he had Torrie for 72 hours. I forgot that part. Nice crowd!
Match 1: Juventud Guerrera v. Chavo Guerrero
Chavo tripped and fell. He laughs it off. Well, the crowd is about half the size of last years but still around 20000. 30000 for the Fingerpoke show….ah, the decline! Or was it 40? Who cares.
Chavo shoves Juve who acts like he is riding Pepe. They exchange holds and Juve runs him over and then nails him with a heel kick. They exchange chops and Chago is sent into the ropes but dumps Juve over to the apron and Chavo turns only to get his throat bounced off the top rope and then nailed with a missile kick. Chavo retreats to the floor and he is nailed with a baseball slide. Juve goes after him but is hammered. Back in the ring he is run over and nearly pinned. Bow and Arrow time! Chavo breaks the hold and they go back and forth until Chavo puts and end to that with a dropkick and bodyslam. Chavo goes up top and leaps right into two boots! Juve is up and chops away, and he runs him over getting two….kind of a tackle. They exchange holds and counter moves and Chavo rolls him up but Juve does it right back for two. Juve is thrown back and he lands on his feet and he bulldogs Chavo! He gets two. Chavo is caught on the float over and it is Juve Driver and Juve goes up top but is crotched! Chavo kills him with a front suplex type of move after some back and forth. Here comes Sid and Macho and there goes the Cruiserweights. Sid powerbombs Chavo and Savage takes out Juve. Juve is laid out and the fans love it! Elbow drop. Sid is wearing Nash’s belt.
*** Fun match….too bad but at least it was not someone they were pushing like Kidman, Rey or Buff who will never get revenge…which is stupid.
Fans chant Sid and Sid tells Nash that what he saw was an example. Nash has a lot of suffering to go through. Thank God Sid gave up the mic. Sid tells the crowd to shut up and Macho is booed and he glares, not happy with the crowd. Sid tells them that Savage is really pissed off. Nash is on the screen and Savage screams wondering here George is. Nash is chilling in the back and wondering why they are so high strung. Nash wants a match because Sid is wearing the belt. Savage tells him that he is a dead man. Nash tells him that he is looking pretty good right now and Savage calls him a smart ass. Nash makes fun of him for swearing all the time. Savage tells him no more Big Sexy and it is just Nash and he is the end for Nash. Savage wants to know where George is and Nash tells him that she is getting dressed. She comes out and is wearing a Nash shirt! Savage calls him a dead man. Sid is going to finish him off and they will get George back.
Gene calls out David and Ric! He lost his Mojo being stuck in Atlanta. Flair is the president of the largest and strongest wrestling company in the world. Seeing as Steiner is traveling the world with his hooches because he has no time to wrestle and so Flair is going to give the title to his son. David had Nash beaten last week and Gene is aghast. Steiner is actually injured….too bad as he was getting a great and well deserved push. He has Charles bring the belt down.
Yes people bitched about this….Who cares. It is about the storyline and Flair being power mad. Fucking idiots.
The girls swarm David that were brought down and Ric dances. Cue Buff’s music! Gene freaks out that it is Buff and he dances like a fool. Buff does. He gets in the ring and he is enjoying all the triple D’s everywhere and he points at David for Dumb, Charles for Dumber and Ric as Dumbest. Rick does not like that. Buff is going Wooo over and over and reminds everyone this is his hometown. Ric does not want him to ruin the party and Buff likes to party. If David has any guts, and then a tangent as Buff thinks that he should be US champ. Buff wants to show David that he is not the stuff. Flair calls his son Elway and the everyone else are the Broncos. Buff continues to mock the Flair’s.
Rick Steiner comes out and does his thing on the mic. He has improved.
Match 2: Vampiro v. Rick Steiner (c) for WCW TV Title
Rick takes it to him and hammers the shit out of him. Rick keeps after him and goes up top and it is already over…Really?
* I guess Vampiro is just a jobber at this point still. He got murdered.
They show a montage of Bret Hart and how much he means to WCW and the wrestling world. Tenay admits that WCW has been frustrating to Bret keeping to the storylines and reality….it all went away when Owen died. He was on Larry King and everyone was proud how he handled it. They show a portion of his column and his ode to Owen. Depressing. Bret has had to face tough decisions and Tenay basically admits that Bret thought about leaving WCW….um it was for angle purposes but whatever he chooses he will always have the respect of WCW.
Here comes Bret and he gets a standing ovation! Jesus this is depressing. Bret is looking around and then looks up. The fans chant “Bret” over and over. He has been told that he has all the time he wants, so he will not rush himself. On behalf of his family he wants to thank all the wrestling fans who sent their condolences and love. It has meant a lot. WCW has been really kind to him the last few weeks and have allowed him to take all the time he needs. He is really struggling. Poor guy. He talks about Owen and he was not just the average wrestler. There is some fucker waving behind Bret trying to get on TV. No one can say anything bad about Owen, they never had an argument and he was his closest brother. He takes pride in how Owen turned out. Bischoff spoke to him and asked Bret if he would comeback on this date and at least talk about what is going on. To be honest Bret is having issues and is not sure if he will come back. He has lived for wrestling and his family has too as well as died for wrestling. He is at a funny crossroads and there is nothing left for him to do anymore. Maybe he should move on and do something else and he thinks of Gretzky and Elway and all this guys who have retired in 1999. They hung it up and they were happy. He looks at himself and it sucks. It is not fair for him to end his career on a tragedy and a bad note….some fucker screamed hurry up. I hope his kids get beat up in school. Bret pauses and is cheered and now the “Bret” chants start anew. Bret continues that he has given his whole life to wrestling but he swears to God he does not know. Despite what has happened he is happy how he has turned out. He is going to take time and think things through. He is thanking all the fans everywhere and he would be nothing without them and this is the last time he gets to talk to them then thank you very much. He wants to thank the wrestlers in the dressing rooms, and everywhere in the world. He hopes he was not too stiff. That is about it and thank you very much and he gets another standing ovation and leaves.
Ric Flair has said that Bret used Owen’s death for his purposes. Bret’s first love is himself etc. See, I do not agree. He came back to give an update. He talked about Owen and not just himself. Jesus, his brother is dead and he probably did not want to keep talking about him as it was still painful. Why would he go into detail about Owen this close to his death….I disagree with Flair. I know he is loved by everyone but he too like Hogan and Bret and HBK is an arrogant prick. He did get a raw deal at WCW at times but Flair pushed his weight around too….I am getting off topic.
Match 3: Cat v. Jerry Flynn
Oh shit….Kickboxing match! This has bad new written all over it.
Round 1: They are going at it. They cinch up and now test each other with wary blows. Like the brawl for all the fans are turning against it. Not wholly so yet but as the first round ends….three minute rounds, nothing has happened.
Round 2: Two minute rounds, just seemed forever. Now a little action but not much. Wrestling fans do not wat to see this! Cat caught him right in the forehead. Okay Cat kicks him and then a lowblow, so this is obviously fixed.
After the DQ Jerry tackles him and unloads on him….at least it was short.
*1/2
Match 4: Van Hammer v. Lodi
Hammer is destroying him. Lane helps him out and has Lodi drink water. Here comes Hammer who kicks Lodi and flings him into the railing. Lenny helps out Lodi and beats on Hammer. Lodi strikes with a hurracarana. He is busy celebrating and gets dumped headfirst into the corner. Lane was going up top and he is caught and superplexed. Lodi clubs him from behind and he is hooked and slammed.
*1/2 The new Wrath….Why didn’t Wrath get a title shot when was getting over?
Here comes Piper. He starts off with a face promo by hyping up the Braves. He goes off on how he is a legend and eats lightening and craps thunder. He keeps saying crap is rap and rap is crap etc. Now he calls out Sting and it clearly is not Sting. Not even close he is really short! Piper says he smells a rat. There have been a lot questions about his loyalty or if he is with Team Madness. Sting shakes his head. Piper rambles some more and I think wants him as a part of Team Flair but he smells a rat. He wants the mask off. He says it over and over. Sting shakes his head. Piper punches him and then gives him a swinging neckbreaker. He takes off the mask and kicks him to the floor. He says the crowd wants the real Sting. Now Buffy Bagwell has been talking the talk but he has not walked the walk. For the PPV, it will be Buffy v. Piper. They will tape their hands and it will be a boxing match. Oh shit….this will be awful. JJ Dillon comes out and wants an impartial referee and it is Mills Lane. Mills has had enough of Piper and his trash talking. Piper tells him that he will be worse than Tyson….
Um, this segment was awful….
Konnan did not get that much of a pop. Rey wants hear the call of the Soldiers. Does not really get it.
Match 5: Steven Regal v. Fit Finlay v. Rey Mysterio and Konnan
Regal is dismantling Rey. He ties him up and tags in Fit who decleats him with a lariat. After some punishment Regal is tagged back in and he continues the mauling of Rey. They both tie him up. Rey escapes and gets the hot tag and Konnan tees off on the heels and the fans erupt….Damn sometimes they are hard to read. Bronco Buster in the corner and now the Rednecks have joined the fray and everyone is brawling.
** Not a bad match. Too short though.
Rednecks leave bodies lying when they depart.
Match 6: David Flair (c) v. Buff Bagwell for WCW US Title
David circles around but Buff flexes and tells David he can too. I predict shenanigans. Buff is hammering him. Charles Robinson is the ref. David is suplexed. He is able to back kick Buff in the nuts. Blockbuster! He wants to make sure the ref counts and he stops at two! Buff shoves Charles and he starts cleaning house and puts him in the Figure Four and then rolls up his dad. Arn stomps on him and Ric joins in. Dean has come in and he unloads on Ric and Arn. Buff bodyslams Asya and the fans are HOT. Piper lays out Buff and Charles tells Dean to leave and he does so and Charles makes the count and David wins.
*1/2 Angle advancement. I hope. Faces need to get revenge….
Doug Dillinger is lining up all the Lucha’s against the wall. Eddie needs to come in and get to the bottom of it. Eddie can’t tell who it is with the masks on. Doug wants them off. Eddie wants his wallet and money. Damian lifts his and Eddie yells that he is hideous and was in a fire. He tells Psychosis that he is good looking and does not need the mask. He makes fun of Villano. The last is Prince Iaukea! They hug! Blitz is speaking English and Eddie responds you are not Mexican? He laughs at Blitz and giggles about it and he thought this was all of them. He apologizes and is told to fuck off in Spanish!
This was said to be racist because of Mexicans and a police lineup. Yes, racial profiling exists. But this was harmless.
Hak supposedly hijacks the feed. He gives his life story. He is screaming about fighting. He wants to get paid for fighting otherwise he would be in jail. He is hurting people like it going out of style. He is pissed that Flair is taking food off his table. He is taking the fight outside the building and having it at a Junkyard at the PPV. He is calling out every tough guy on the planet. He hits himself in the head with the stick and leaves.
West Texas Rednecks are doing their song. Clearly lip syncing…catchy though.
Match 6: Triad v. Benoit and Saturn and Malenko
A commercial right when it starts….
DDP misses Saturn in the corner and Kanyon accidentally hits his man. Benoit and Bigelow are in and Benoit barely budges him and does get him down with a dropkick and an enzuguri. He goes up top and DDP shoves him down. DDP stomps a hole in him. DDP kills him with a spinning sideslams and he gets two. He steps on Benoit and Kanyon goes for the cover but is dropkicked by Saturn. Kanyon recovers and suplexes Benoit and drops the elbow. Bigelow kicks Benoit and puts him in a chinlock….he was tagged in. Bearhug time. Benoit slides over and crashes. Bigelow is dropped. Saturn and Kanyon are in and Kanyon begs off but is T-Boned. DDP runs in and he is kicked in the head as is Bigelow. Bridged suplex and now all six are in the ring. Two are rolled up and both kick out. Three go out off the lariat. Malenko reverses the Tombstone and covers him and Bigelow flies from the top and misses and Saturn hits the Frog Splash and Benoit hits the headbutt and they get the win!
*** Damn the crowd got hot. Great ending. This means they will lose at the PPV….
Megadeth? While the final hour got a 2.7. You take this out and you may have a 3 or so and a total of a 3.6. I bet this cost WCW at least 2-300000 viewers but not necessarily money. Well they paid Megadeth. I was wrong Goldberg is out with knee surgery….I thought of this because of I think this is for his new movie. He is also having a contract dispute.
Fans do not care. But they do now! Goldberg screams I am back after the song and the stage explodes with pyro and the crowd explodes!!
Match 7: Sid Vicious v. Kevin Nash (c) for WCW Title
Savage tries to get at Nash but he is told to take a hike. Fans do not care they want Goldberg! Nash and Sid get in each other’s faces. Nash does his usual in the corner and sandwiches him one corner and then the other. Sid is clotheslined to the floor but lands on his feet. Savage attacks but Nash fights back and sandwiches him in the corner. Savage pulls the ref in and down he goes but Nash sideslams Savage but eats a boog from Sid. Nash nuts Sid. Here comes Sting….we think. He hammers Nash. Sid pulls up Nash who tries to fight but he is hit by Savage with the belt. Here comes the real Sting and he unloads on Sid and Savage clearing them out. A fan I think was tackled. The bogus Sting is ousted and the fans are going apeshit! Nash did not know that was Sting and powerbombed him. Nash takes the belt and has the mic. Nash tells Macho that his old lady is in Nash’s dressing room, what is left of her. Savage sprints to the back.
*1/2 angle advancement. Shitty match.
Sting is leaving and is a fan getting arrested? Not sure.
Savage is running in the back and finds her and smacks Torrie and rips off her shirt and throws her into the shower screaming at her as she screeches she did not do anything.
*** I do not like the ending. There is no defending Savage hitting a girl, stupid. It was not hard and I thought it was going to be worse from what I had read. A full on slap. The shoving and her yells really made me nervous for some reason. I know it is wrestling and it is to portray Savage on edge but it was uncalled for. A stupid way to push the envelope. Domestic violence is never called for no matter what….okay now that the PSA is out of the way. This show had its moments: Benoit and crew winning. Sting and Goldberg. The opening match was fun but they got destroyed. Eddie was classic. Buff got time but I wonder if he will ever get a belt. Then again, I have read he is a pain in the ass….of course what wrestler is not! I am giving this show the extra half star or star due to the Bret promo and the hot crowd. Megadeth was lame but not as bad as I thought. Of course people are going to turn the channel! The Redneck song is fine because it is wrestlers doing it. Most of the matches were too short but decent and the main event was a typical snoozefest….Thunder was far superior and I hope it is again. Overall not enough wrestling and too much talking, especially Piper!