Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 9/13/99
Severe bafflement by some parts of the PPV. I am not sure if the new team at WCW is trying to see what works and what does not. Did the veterans get to the bookers? Do they just have preference for guys who barely work and rarely win? Did they just decide to end the Revolution’s push for the hell of it, or will they get revenge in the coming weeks. Who knows. The heels dominated most of the show like the faces did at Road Wild. Buff refusing to job, I have gone over that, but I still do not think Duggan made him look terrible. I am sure he was stiffer than normal though. Sting’s heel turn is a big gamble. We will see how it plays out: Sting is so over that I am not sure how he will play as a heel. Austin and Rock have natural heel tendencies but will be cheered anyway, hence Austin not playing a badass when he turns. Maybe he will be a Tweener but it will be interesting to see if it works, but we did need some new heels. Nice to see Bret Hart back, now I will be curious to see if he is overshadowed by Hogan and where Goldberg and DDP will stand. Bischoff has stated that Savage leaving fucked up his Hart/Hogan feud that would have happened. Not sure why it still could not have, and I wonder how long it would have lasted, because I am sure Goldberg would have entered the equation by Starrcade. Besides Bischoff was canned….Not sure how everything is going to play out but so far the new direction is iffy at best. The first hour was solid with a 4.1 but then fell to a 2.8 and 2.9, for a 3.3 total. RAW received a near 6.0 off of a 5.7 and 6.2.
Match 1: Chris Benoit v. Dean Malenko
Winner faces Sting tonight. Maybe this is why they were buried last night! Anyway, they lock up and go back and forth for a minute with neither getting the upperhand. Benoit has him in a hammerlock and Malenko is up but is put in a headlock and now they block blows and Dean is shoved back and they leapfrog each other. Finally Benoit drops him like a rock with an enzuguri! They circle around exchanging holds as Malenko recovered quickly. Dean elbows him a couple of times and they crash into each other tumbling over the top rope and crash to the floor. They hammer the shit out of each other. Shane and Saturn pull them apart and tell them to take it back into the ring. They do so and the crowd is fired up but attendance is looking grim…..Dean takes him down and puts him in a headscissors. Benoit tries to roll free but cannot. Benoit powers up and has Dean up and spikes him. He is up and runs him down with an epic elbow and gets two.
Jesus, all they are talking about is Sting and Hogan….FUCK OFF!
Benoit misses the dropkick and is put in a Figure Four but he grabs the ropes. Dean works over the leg and knee. He has the knee tied up. Benoit is up and places him up top and superplexes him off! They double clothesline each other and both have shoulders down but they kick out. Now they exchange holds. Benoit holds him down for two and Malenko rolls him up for two. Rolling German time but he only hits one and is rolled up and nearly pinned. Malenko is thrust front first into the corner and back suplexed. Benoit heads up top but Malenko runs over and clobbers him. He goes up after him and now Benoit is superplexed but Benoit ties him up for the win!
***1/2 Great opener. Best wrestling on Nitro in some time. The fans were hot…and they had to end it without either getting destroyed so it worked out great.
Flair is back! Gene calls him out. Flair is ecstatic to be back home and in Tarheel country. Gene wants to know where he has been and how happy he is to have him back….Um, he was the crazy and power hungry president. Flair has no idea where he has been for six months, as he has had a heart attack and institutionalized and he brings up all his family members. Flair, for the first time in five years is free and is all excited, and Gene warns him not to go there (Bischoff)! Flair dances around and tells Hogan they have some business to take care of and then mentions that Sting is the new champion. Flair admits that he may have been a bit jealous of Sting but Flair has always been the man while Sting is the Franchise. He comes to the home of Jordan and Dean Smith and he finds out that Sting hit Hogan over the head with a ball bat, and that just does not work. Some boos for Sting. Here comes Sting with Lex and there are still cheers for Sting. He holds up the belt. Gene does not want to be rude but reminds Sting and Lex that this time is allocating to Flair and then asks them a question! Flair tells them to leave as it is his turn and they can come back later. He will teach them to read the format too. Sting ignores that and yells “Nature Boy” and talks about how they far back they go. How many times Naitch has lured him in and stabbed him in the back. Tonight is unique. Sting has great respect for Flair and he made Sting and made him what he is today. Sting calls him Slick Ric and he is truly a jet setting, limo riding and kiss stealing son of a gun. Sting learned from the dirtiest player in the game. Deep down Sting loves him and respects him. He is going to give him the chance to leave peacefully and gracefully. Flair responds that it is a tribute Sting for admitting that Flair made him a millionaire etc. Flair will not leave as he will always be the jet setting, kiss stealing and then just decides to leave and comes back and laughs! Sting has been waiting for the last ten years, and a lot of people have been in power and Lex and Sting have wondered when it will be their turn and they are ready to run with the ball. Lex has the mic and he too has a lot of respect for Flair and he needs to leave because diamonds are forever but Flair is not. The fans chant that Luger sucks! He continues that it has been the year of graceful exits like Jordan and Sanders and Elway and it is time for Flair to take a walk. Sting assures the crowd that they will be better off without Flair. Flair was ready to retire but he saw last week and realized that they cannot do it without the Nature Boy and that is why he is back. Sting is not walking over him in order to get any more notoriety. He respects Sting but he has to earn it…..Lex blindsides him and now Flair is dismantled. Luger Racks Flair! Deathlock time. Hogan and Hart run down and corner Sting. Sting and Luger back out. Hogan has the mic and he does not know what planet they are from. He and Flair have been through the wars but he respects him and will not allow him to get hit with a ball bat. Hogan talks about kicking some ass. Bret wants to right some wrongs and excellently execute them. Hogan will do this for the fans and for Flair because they respect him. He starts chanting about kicking some ass…
Sting and Luger are in the back amused by Hogan’s language. Luger does not have his gear so they declare there is no match….What about Benoit?
A series of limos pull up and an army of people in suits get out….two cars. Berlyn departs followed by his interpreter and the Wall.
Riki Rachtmann comes out and rambles about the Nitro Girl search. They pan on some hot chick who is bored….they quickly pan away. They show two girls. The blonde is hot. I guess Zuli won last week.
JJ Dillon is on the phone and wonders about the status of Luger and he has been cleared for three weeks.
Match 2: Erik Watts v. Disco Inferno
Erik starts strong but Disco takes him down with Russian sweep. He goes up for an hour and misses the shot from the middle rope. Sid is watching the match and after Disco comes out he powerbombs him and then does it to Erik!
*1/2 Nothing great but Sid does get two more wins!
Sid goes off. He only got one win I guess. He mentions Heenan for some reason. He goes off on Goldberg, Hogan and Hart. The US belt is untarnished for the first time and trash like Goldberg will not touch it. He chants Sid….
Match 3: Silver King v. Norman Smiley
They go back and forth. King hammers him but he is tossed and it is Wiggle time! He is blindsided though. King moonsaults into him and here comes Sid again. King shoves him but gets chokeslammed. Smiley too and they are pinned….
*1/2 Poor Norman. The guy slightly gets over and is buried.
Sid screams at Heenan who keeps repeating that Sid is 84-0!
Match 4: Regal and Taylor v. the Windhams
Kendall and Taylor go back and forth. Dave tries to tie him up but is run into the corner and hammered. Here comes BW. BW works him over but Regal lends his partner a hand. He briefly comes in and tags back in Taylor who backdrops BW and ties him up using Regal for leverage. The match starts to breakdown and Regal is knocked out by the cowbell.
** Okay.
Match 5: Jerry Flynn v.
Goldberg comes out in his street clothes. He walks by a baffled Iaukea who was supposed to wrestle but Goldberg goes right past him and heads out. He heads to the ring and apologizes to Flynn but has something to say. He has always been told that good things are worth waiting for. He has run out of patience. Every week he has been watching Sid wreak havoc. He admires his skill, size and strength but he will not stand for his mouth! He is tired of Sid interfering in matches and so tonight he draws the line and he will stomp a hole in his ass. Sid needs to show that he has a backbone and come out and face him one on one. The fans know who the man is and it is not Sid and he is next! Sid is just sitting there in back mumbling that talk is cheap and he is not ready because this is his show and his belt. Goldberg is still waiting and calling him out. Sid has gotten up to leave but Goldberg assures him that he will find him and that his ass is next.
Flynn kicks him in the head but is speared and Jackhammered!
Match 5: Brian Knobs and Hugh Morrus v. Harlem Heat (c) for WCW Tag Titles
Morrus and Ray go at it. Ray is doubleteamed but he and Booker clear the ring.
Commercial.
Knobs kicks Stevie to the floor and Morrus pounds him with some help from Jimmy out there. Booker runs over and scatters them. Back in the ring Morrus drops Ray and gets two. He bodyslams him and then heads up top and hits the elbow drop getting another near fall. Morrus whips him into the corner and both he and Knobs smash him there but running into him. Knobs drops the elbow but Ray ducks off the whip and runs over both heels. Booker is in and he tees off. Now the Rednecks come in and cause the DQ.
** At least the Family was not jobbed making the Revolution look weaker.
Match 6: ICP v. Lenny and Lodi or the West Hollywood Blondes
The same kid that tried to get at Lenny last week runs into the ring and grabs their shirt and is chased off and into the back by security.
Lenny prances around and is hiptossed twice by Violent J. Lenny poses after escaping a move and he is clotheslined and then bodyslammed. Blondes mount a comeback and double up ICP. The fans chant for ICP as Shaggy is nearly pinned after a legdrop. Lodi runs into Lenny as Shaggy ducks. All four are in the ring and ICP squashes them in the corner and Lenny is knocked onto Lodi’s crotch! Both are mounted and pounded in the opposing corners! But they fight back and Shaggy is double DDT’d and nearly pinned and they fuck up the suplex. Lodi goes up top and hits his own partner and Shaggy pins him.
**1/2 Not bad.
Benoit has come down. Last night was one of the worst nights of his life. All the demons came out. Sid beat him from pillar to post. What bothered him was that he swore Sid tapped out and so he went to the production truck and watched the match and Sid tapped out! He repeats that but will not whine and congrats Sid for winning the the title. Now to Sting who needs to get his rear end out here and prove what a great champ he is.
Match 7: Chris Benoit v. Rick Steiner (c) for WCW TV Title
Instead of Sting we get Rick Steiner. Rick mutters that this is not Benoit’s night. Steiner tells him that Sting has better things to do and he has belt right here and challenges him.
Benoit is game and they go at it. Rick though spikes him and stomps on him. Benoit is knocked to the floor and hammered some more. Steiner rolls him back into the ring and gets two. He nails him with a belly to belly and Benoit barely gets the shoulder up and Steiner is getting flustered. He keeps after him and Benoit is able to roll him up for the win!
** Man this should have been a lot better….
Steiner destroys the ref in anger.
Match 8: Eddie Guerrero v. Saturn
Before they lock up here comes the rest of the Filthy Animals! Eddie takes him down via a headlock and is shoved off. Eddie runs him over and then slides under but is caught and tossed in a suplex. Saturn puts him in a headlock and Eddie struggles to get free and Saturn punches him twice and shoots him into the ropes and Eddie leaps on him applying a sleeper. Saturn escapes but is dropped…..
Commercial.
Eddie slams him and Saturn is up and runs at him but is planted with another slam. Eddie pulls him up but the suplex is blocked and Saturn counters with one of his own. Now Eddie blocks the suplex and puts him back into the sleeper but it is reversed. Eddie runs him into the corner and heads up top but Saturn is right there and tosses him off, a T-Bone! Both are down, and Saturn recovers first and gets two. Eddie is up though and gets a surge of energy and hammers him and stops him with a back elbow after being whipped into the corner. Now Saturn counters with a T Bone and he gets two and then kicks him in the head calling for the DVD. He goes for it but he is nailed with a hurracarana! Eddie follows up with a brainbuster. Eddie goes up top but Saturn moves and Eddie rolls through but he now he is rolled up and sat on and then pinned!
*** Good match…..Saturn I guess gets a win back.
There is a stand off in the ring….
Match 9: Berlyn v. Buff Bagwell
Berlyn goes after him but after a couple of blows runs into a powerslam. Buff runs him down again and goes up top but he is crotched. Berlyn heads up after him and superplexes him! The Wall looks as to nail him but the ref warns him (Wall has not been named yet). Berlyn strikes with a back suplex and after a couple of stomps gets two. He keeps him down with a chinlock. Buff escapes but is knocked back down and kicked to the floor. The ref warns the Wall again. Buff is on the apron and drives his shoulder into Berlyn who tries to run his head into the top buckle but it is blocked. Buff goes up and flies into Berlyn and now a dropkick and bodyslam and a swinging neckbreaker! Buff mounts and pounds him in the corner and Berlyn topples. Berlyn is whipped into the ropes and he hooks them, Buff is lured in and walloped by the Wall and then finished with the neckbreaker.
**1/2 Not a bad match. Still not sure about Berlyn and if they will do anything with him.
Match 10: Sting and Lex Luger v. Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan
Bret goes right after Lex and hammers him on the floor. Hogan attacks Sting and they head into the ring with Hogan rocking him with numerous blows. Hogan mounts and pounds him in the corner. Bret gets the tag and he unloads on Sting with a flurry and gives him a backbreaker. He grabs the legs and headbutts the gut. Sting rakes the eyes and shoots Bret into the ropes clotheslining him. He drops the elbow and pulls him up and slugs him in the head but they double clothesline each other and both are down. Sting tags in Luger who misses the elbow drop. Hogan gets the hot tag and of course he tears in Luger, sandwiching him in the corner and connects with the big boot and Sting comes in and once punch drops him. Hogan is run over by Luger with a forearm to the head. Luger stomps a hole in him. Luger picks him up and slams him. Sting is in and he positions Hogan, and goes up top crushing him with a splash getting two. Sting is going to work on the knee and Lex helps out by jumping on the knee and stomping on it. He got the tag. Bret tries to run in but the ref stopped him. Schiavone gushes that the fans are chanting Hogan……Hogan fights to his feet and hammers Sting who is back in but Sting rakes the eyes and Luger comes in and sledges him down to the canvas. Hogan blocks getting his head run into the buckle and Luger eats it a few times and as he goes down he kicks Hogan in the knee and makes the tag. Sting suplexes Hogan and Hogan leaps right up and clotheslines Sting but Sting takes him down and goes after the knee again. Lex is tagged in. Lex continues punishing the knee and Hogan is hobbling more than usual and Hogan rakes the eyes and fights back but Luger kicks the knee and Lex goes down to and so does Sting but finally Bret gets the hot tag and he unloads on both heels! Bret gets two on Sting with a Russian sweep and follows up with a backbreaker and then drives the elbow into him from the middle rope. Lex runs in and here comes Hogan. All four are going at it. Sting is in the Deathlock and here comes DDP but Hogan stops him however DDP drags him to the floor, and Lex has the bat and cracks it against Bret’s skull, and Sting rolls on top getting the pin.
**1/2 Not a bad main event. Hogan was not invincible and did not dominate the match. He seems to understand that Sting and Lex need to be strong. Should Bret have jobbed? Well, it should have been Hogan but Hart got the hot tag and had the win. Also, Sting and Lex need to be strong and hated heels and this is the best way to do it, by working the knee and lambasting Bret…..Therefore I will say it worked well, not as well as though but still well enough.
***1/2 I am ambivalent about the show. Nitro is starting to feel lifeless, and it had some serious filler. However, the opening match was hot, and I enjoyed Eddie and Saturn but this means one team has to turn heel and that is not good. They followed through on Buff and Berlyn. Right when Bischoff leaves, Flair comes out and does a long but good promo. Goldberg got more airtime and the build between him and Sid is really good. Why not show Sid tapping? Also, the swerve for the world title was really lame and typical bait and switch. Sure he got the TV title while getting squashed. WCW seems to be manic right now. Benoit and Sting could have had a great 15 minute main event, and then saved the tag match or had both. That I do not agree with, or Eddie losing or facing the Revolution with no build. Like RAW earlier in the year Nitro is getting bland and while I am giving this show an extra half-star because of the wrestling, the storytelling was not great.