Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Monday Nitro 12/7/98
Nitro again got pasted by nearly a full point as RAW got around a 5.2 and Nitro a 4.2. Heading into Starrcade and we will see what happens. WCW will surely panic and hit the reset button hence the events in five weeks but we will see how it plays out.
In the Astrodome with over 30000 fans. Goldberg demanded and got Bigelow tonight in a non-title match.
Before the show started Scott Steiner beat up Wildcat Willy who was prancing around the ring!
They have the tribute for Hogan again and now nearly 11 minutes in Scott Steiner finally gets in the ring and flexes. Only steers and queers come from Texas! He makes fun of Rednecks too! He tells the ladies that they want to be hustled by some real muscle and for him to ask them who is their daddy. He wants an ovation for Hogan and talks about him before challenging Hall again.
Here comes DDP!
Match 1: DDP v. Barry Darsow
DDP goes to work. Barry gets in some offense but is clotheslined and it is Diamond Cutter time.
** Extra half star for the hot ass crowd.
Match 2: Prince Iaukea v. Norman Smiley
They have gone back and forth. Prince spikes him and then goes up top and crashes into him getting a near fall. Norman goes for some sort of chickenwing and hooks him and actually gets the win.
** Longer than what I wrote and not too bad.
Gene calls out Eddie who calls Rey a selfish little turd for signing a contract to face Kidman. He speaks Spanish and he will discipline Rey like he does his own children. He calls out Silver King and they speak Espanol and giggle at one another.
Match 3: Silver King v. Rey Mysterio
King plasters him with a lariat. But Rey leaps off him and kicks him back, now they run off the ropes and Rey leaps at him and falls off of him but Rey is able to knock him to the floor. Now they fight on the apron and Rey scissors him right off! Back in the ring Silver King runs him down, and sets him up for an Edge type manuever and spins him around then drops him getting a two count. King is up top but shoved off, however he whips Rey into the corner misses and falls to the floor. Rey leaps over the top and crashes into him. Rey brings him back in and slingshots into him getting the win.
**1/2 All action.
Goldberg has arrived and he is carrying the belt with security, police and of course Terry Taylor. Kevin Nash is there and he is not happy about the match with Bigelow. Nash states that match is not happening and he better stay focused. Goldberg responds that not a moment goes by that he does not dream about driving his ass into the mat.
Match 4: Wrath v. Jobber
Wrath is killing him. Oops it is Renegade. Wrath gets two after a side slam. Now Renegade kicks him a couple of times but is shoved front first into the corner and back suplexed. Wrath drops the elbow a few times and then chokes him out. Wrath clubs him with shots to the chest as Renegade hangs over the apron. He sends him for the ride but Renegade fights back and does a cartwheel but is shoved and clotheslines in the back of the head. He follows up with a big shoulder block. Meltdown time and over.
*1/2 Fans were hot for this.
Match 5: Chavo Guerrero and Disco Inferno v. Stevie Ray and Horace
Disco is all happy claiming he is a part of the Wolfpac and he has nWo music too. Konnan comes out looking baffled and Disco hugs him. Oops, nWo music for Stevie Ray and Horace and this is a tag match. Horace and Chavo start off. Horace decides to pose for the crowd instead; now they lock up and Chavo is pummeled with a series of shots and run over in the corner. Horace tosses him as fans tell Disco he sucks. Chavo springs off the ropes and kicks him and then strikes with a bulldog. Ray and Disco are in and Disco is squashed in the corner. Ray tosses him to the floor and Horace uses the belt to clothesline him, whips him once with it and rolls him back into the ring. Chavo comes in and dropkicks both until they topple. He hammers Horace but is placed up top only for Chavo to hit the Tornado DDT. Stevie makes the save and Disco gets the tag and now all four are in with the nWo getting the worst of it. Chavo decks Stevie but is held back by the ref and Ray is able to run over and help Horace and Ray and he finish off Disco with the spike piledriver.
*1/2 Pretty dull. Of course the nWo wins but at least Chavo was not pinned.
Nash has come down. He is going to make this short and sweet; Goldberg is not running the show and therefore the only match he will have is with Kevin Nash. He tells Bigelow the same thing. Nash is going to the back and he is putting on his gear as those two will not be entering the ring without him. Now it is a three way dance and I guess Nash is allowing Goldberg to wrestle!
Match 6: Glacier v. Saturn
Cat is on the mic and tells Saturn he came to beat him up tonight but he hurt his ankle, so will not be able to finish him. The fans love him too. Cat is still talking as Saturn turns into a Cryonic Kick and is kicked in the head some more. Glacier stomps a hole in him in the corner. Saturn is up and fires back but a front kick to the head takes him back down and Glacier chokes him out and then strikes with a spinning slam. Saturn ducks and rolls him up for two, but is run right over with a clothesline. Glacier scoop slams him but misses the rolling legdrop. Saturn is up but is sent into the corner, Glacier misses and Saturn sweeps the legs and now springs off the ropes into Glacier getting a two count. Saturn takes him down again and gets two from an elbow off the top. Onoo distracts the ref and the Cat hooks Saturn. Cat is in the ring and he goes to kick Saturn but hits Glacier. Saturn takes him down as the ref turns around and Glacier wins via a DQ! Saturn after taking out Glacier is pissed and the announcers are baffled too so Saturn DVD’s the ref and the fans love it!
** I think it is a play off of the NFL ref issues, as they and the WWF have brought that up. On Thanksgiving the Steelers got hosed in the coin flip as the ref got it wrong! Detroit took the ball and won.
Match 7: Emery Hale v. Lex Luger
Um, Emery Hale? Poor Luger, way to kill momentum. Emery is destroyed and knocked to the floor. I think this is going to be an extended squash. Emery jaws with the fans and is told in no uncertain terms that he sucks. Hale pulls out Luger and hits him once before rolling him back in. He gets two after a big clothesline. Yup, it is a long squash…..Hale has gotten in some offense and I am bored. So Luger’s job now is to make guys who will never wrestle on Monday’s again look good. Terrible. Fans still love the Rack.
* Poor Luger.
Here comes Jericho and Ralphus. Awesome fat dudes now have Jericho Personal Security shirts. Jericho claims he destroyed Duncam and hates cowboys so that means his faithful Jerichoholics they do too. He is the true hometown hero “ya, all.”
Match 8: Chris Jericho v. Bobby Duncum Jr.
Bobby takes him down. Bobby works him for a bit until Jericho back suplexes him. He kicks him in the head and then slams him. He slowly climbs up top and is dropkicked off. Bobby leaps over the ropes crashing into Jericho. He flings him into the railing. He has him by the throat up on the apron but Jericho ducks down and hotshots him off the top rope and gets one after a missile dropkick. Bobby hammers him for a bit but Jericho leaps off the top nailing him getting two. Now Jericho hammers him with his knees and then hooks him, using his feet to pin him.
**1/2 Had some fun moments.
Match 9: Giant v. Scott Putski
Chokeslam and over.
* Squash.
Giant makes fun of the fans, calling them Rednecks too. He wants DDP. He will feel the chokeslam.
Konnan is going to help tape up the nWo ref for his match tonight, Wolfpac style.
Match 10: Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko v. Kanyon and Raven
This Kanyon shit with Raven has gotten really old. More whining. Kanyon talks about his friends and how he is Raven’s only friend and he wants his help. Kanyon comes out with a mic and he does not care because Raven is the cause of his loss last week thus ending the Armstrong Curse! Now to Thunder where he lost. Kanyon will not wrestle tonight due to the odds. He counts AA as a half person so they are 2.5-1. He will face any of these idiots on Thursday and calls AA an old man and AA has a crowbar and forces him into the ring where he is doubleteamed. Arn has comes in with a crowbar and Kanyon runs for the hills.
NR Um….Okay.
Gene is in the ring with the Horsemen and calls out Flair. Flair tells EB to get off his treadmill and girlfriend. He hypes up Texas and all the stars from there. Even Mongo. At Starrcade he is going to choke him and gouge his eyes. He is going to chop him and squeeze that skinny neck until the blood rolls down his nostrils until EB says he respects him! It will be a funeral for him: Take his paycheck, job, and dignity and take back this company. WCW is bigger than Bischoff will ever be.
Match 10: Konnan (c) v. Booker T for WCW TV Title
Konnan pushes him into the corner and Booker shoves him back, but he is run over and now they go back and forth off the ropes until a heel kick drops Konnan. Booker takes him down again, and now a back kick drops him once again and he gets a two count. Konnan comes back and strikes with his rolling clothesline, snaps him over and then kills him with a seated dropkick. Booker rolls to the floor. Konnan goes after him but Booker is waiting for him and he hits him but his whip is reversed and he nails the railing. Konnan works over his back and rolls him back into the ring. He brings Booker back into the ring putting him in an STF. Booker is up and it is axe kick time, Konnan hits the bulldog but again Booker comes back and it is Harlem Kick time and he goes up top but Stevie Ray comes down and ends the match with a slapjack. Booker is pissed and he and Ray argue and Stevie wants him to join the nWo.
**1/2 Could have been better.
Match 11: Scott Hall v. Scott Steiner
Steiner is pissed that the nWo ref is not there and blames Hall after he does his Hey Yo stuff. He finally comes out all taped up and he is shoved down by Mickie Jay. Hall attacks from behind and beats him for a bit but Steiner scares off the ref and the troops run down. Now the Wolfpac comes down minus Nash and the brawl is on. Steiner has Hall in the Recliner, Giant is in and he beats up Luger as Konnan is laid out. DDP runs down and swings a chair at Steiner who ducks and runs. He nails the Giant who leaves and now the nWo flees.
NR-angle advancement.
Here comes Bret Hart! Bret puts his arm around Gene who tells him not to get too friendly. Bret is fine with DDP facing the Giant calling it a coward’s way out. Bret is the US champ and it is about perseverance and guts and how he is the best etc. Bret informs the trash being thrown is for Gene! His cat leaped into his arms all happy for him as he is his only fan. He will execute DDP if he ever crosses his path. Bret whines again about his injuries, and he sucked it up. He has just started and holds up the belt claiming he has proven he is the best. Gene plugs Wrestling with Shadows.
Match 12: Goldberg v. Bam Bam Bigelow v. Kevin Nash
Nash runs down as Bigelow is in the ring, now Goldberg jogs down and he high fives Roger Clemens. Nash and Bigelow are going at it. Nash beats him up in the corner. Goldberg goes after Nash and now the bell rings. Now Bigelow goes after him and all three are slugging it out. The bell keeps ringing and now security is in there and the fans are pissed littering the ring with debris. Goldberg tries to get at them but we are outta time!
NR
**1/2 Disappointing show. The crowd was hot, they are heading into Starrcade and falter. Not one match stood out. Most ended in DQ’s, the four big one’s at the end had little to no wrestling. The fans were irate about the ending for the main event and rightly so. They need to deliver, eventually, or at least start the brawl in the back and carry it to the ring. I may even be overrating the show a bit as the last hour did suck and that is usually when Nitro shines but not tonight. They really need to step up their game going into Starrcade, and with RAW hotter than ever….hence the change looming.