WCW Nitro 10/27/1997

Written by: Kevin Kildenberger

Surprisingly Havoc was far better than expected. The first three matches set the tone and the Flair as well as the Savage match did not disappoint. The main event was also better than expected. They have a great heel in Eddie who generates a butt load of heat but is rarely given enough time. Rey is a hot face, same thing. Jericho has yet to break out. Booker has singles potential too. Leave it to WCW to take a hot commodity like Benoit, job him twice and then take him off TV….downright stupid. Goldberg is showing more and more potential. He gets a bad rep for not being able to wrestle (Uh many top stars cannot) but I have been impressed thus far. Now he will get a big head but 1998 and 99 are political nightmares for WCW, so it is clear that he will be pushed in multiple directions. Another three hour show: It received a 4.5 off of hours of 4.9, 4.1 and 4.0 while RAW as it gets closer to Survivor Series received a 2.3.

EB and Hogan are in the ring and Hogan wants to know who the man is. Now that Piper is gone and in the hospital. The term icon will not be used so loosely anymore and that he is God, meaning Hogan. Hogan is challenging any coward in the back, the rafters and the crowd. Fans are responding in favor of Hogan tonight. Hogan tells EB that no one came out and that he and EB will rule the nWo. EB advertises that damn Devil’s Island again and how he was Exec Producer. Hogan continues bragging about the movie and that the entire nWo is here for life. Holy shit….they are showing a preview of the movie and it is FUCKING AWFUL. I mean words cannot describe how horrific Hogan’s acting is….it is like he is talking into a mirror.

Match 1: Rey Mysterio Jr. (c) v. Dean Malenko for WCW Cruiserweight Title

They lock up and Dean takes him over; they get up and Dean trips him up but is caught in a hammerlock. Dean is up but Rey spins around, taking him down with an arm drag. Rey whirls around again and rolls him up for two. Dean wins the test of strength and has him down as Raven and the Flock comes down. They exchange roll ups for near falls, both are up and Dean runs into a boot but is able to grab him and hold him down and get two. Dean is whipped into the corner and he sends Rey to the apron who hits him and goes up top. Dean is up top with him and crushes him with a gutbuster from up top. Rey grabs the rope at two. Rey goes for the hurracarana but is powerbombed and Dean goes for the Cloverleaf but Rey turns it and rolls him up for the win.

Nice opening match.

Match 2: La Parka v. Glacier

La Parka gets the majority of cheers as he knocks Glacier around only to be kicked a few times, sending him to the floor. Glacier strikes with a flying crossbody and then gets back into the ring. Parka knocks him down as he gets back into the ring and gets two after a spinkick. La Parka buries his head with a piledriver and then dances around. Glacier is whipped into the ropes and a heel kick sends him to the floor and Parka flies over the top with a corkscrew plancha. Parka sets up a chair and plants Glacier’s head into it; he goes up top but Glacier crotches him but Parka keeps fighting him off only to be pulled off the top and face first into the chair. Back in the ring it is over after the Cryonic Kick.

La Parka is classic….Glacier is not.

DDP comes out and Gene enters the ring. Gene runs down a litany of injuries that plagued DDP last night. DDP knows it was Hogan dressed up as Sting and Savage knows that he gets banged when it is just the two of them. DDP is getting sick of Hogan; he admits he is an icon but not God. DDP is accepting Hogan’s challenge and he reminds everyone how many times he has been whacked by Hogan and now it is DDP’s turn to whack him with something and BANG!

Gene is still in the ring and calls out Larry. Larry went out and did what he said he would do and Hall could not handle it. He is sick of Hall and he whips out a piece of paper and it is a one way ticket to Larry Land and if he wants him he has him and tells Hall to get his gutless, spineless….etc. and out comes Hall and Syxx. Hall hypes up the crowd and tells Larry that everyone has seen what he has to offer in the ring and it is not much. He is not in the caliber of the Wolfpac. He shouts out to Nash….he tells Zybszko that he could come out now and I bet Syxx is high….Hall taunts Larry that he could not beat Easy E and they show EB stomping on Larry and Hall pasting him from behind and then Bischoff kicking him. Larry screams for Hall to get in the ring and keeps calling him gutless. Gene giggles at the down where joke and now the fans chant Larry and Hall stops mid-sentence. Hall backs off and tells the crowd they will see Hogan later tonight as Larry screams that he needs to sign the contract. He is going to haunt Hall….

Match 3: Stevie Ray v. Lex Luger

They lock up and Ray pushes him into the ropes. Ray has him in a headlock and is pushed off and the collide with no one budging but on the second attempt Luger knocks him down. Ray goes back to the headlock, Luger misses a clothesline and this time Ray knocks him down. They lock up again and Ray kicks him and punches him a couple of times. Lex is whipped into the corner but Ray runs into a boot and Lex misses the elbow drop. Ray stomps on him a few times before the ref forces the break. He whips Lex into the ropes and drops him in a kind of powerslam and he gets two. Ray socks him in the corner, whips him into the other and then does it again and does goes Lex. He pushes him into the ropes and then punches him in the ribs and it is bearhug time. Luger reverses it but gets the ears boxed but Ray runs into a boot after the whip. Luger hits the clotheslines and now the Bionic forearm and he wants the Rack but Ray is on the ropes, and he kicks Luger in the head only to miss a clothesline and is powerslammed. Now the Rack is applied and it is over.

Ray got in quite a bit of offense but this was not a good wrestling match by any stretch of the imagination.

Raven is sitting in a tree and talking about darkness.

Match 4: Eddie Guerrero v. Chris Jericho

They exchange holds for about a minute and Jericho chops him down. Jericho has a bandage on the shoulder and Eddie goes after that arm and takes him down. Jericho connects with some spinkicks. Jericho is pushed into the corner and he is dropped on his shoulder and now Eddie squeezes it. Eddie nails him with a drop toe hold and then dropkicks him in the back of the head and shoulder. He has the arm and wraps it around the top rope and he yanks it. He goes for a back suplex and Jericho was supposed to land on his feet but crashed and burned. He hops right back up and demolishes Eddie with a great looking release German suplex and he gets two. Jericho powerbombs him but misses the Lionsault. Eddie slowly goes up top and is crotched and then superplexed off. Jericho cannot get his finisher on and Jericho goes for a suplex but stumbles into the ropes, sending Eddie to the floor. Jericho sells the shoulder and falls down and Eddie gets right back up and finishes him off with the Frog Splash for the win.

Nice back and forth match.

Match 5: Chris Benoit v. Fit Finlay

Fit runs him over but gets caught in a backbreaker and then pulled of the ropes by the legs. Benoit unloads on him with some stiff chops but gets his eyes gouged. Benoit comes right back with a back suplex but is tripped up only to knock Fit to the floor with an enzuguri. Benoit misses the baseball slide and is picked up and dropped throat first onto the railing. He is shoved into the post and back in the ring Fit gets two after an elbow drop. Benoit gets his head bashed into the top buckle but he fires off some chops but is taken down with via a leg scissors. Finlay pulls the arms back with the knee driving into it. Benoit is up and gets hit and the dropped. He gets two after a splash from the middle rope. He grabs him and rams his head into the apron, pulls him out of the ring and goes to hit him but punches all post. Benoit takes the offensive only to be whipped into the safety rail. Fit kicks him in the gut, gets back into the ring and postures for the crowd who boo. Finlay nails him but runs into the post as Benoit dodges. Benoit strikes with the German and connects with the diving headbutt and it is over.

Great match for Nitro. Sudden ending but good stuff and Benoit needed the win.

Gene has Flair out and tells him that he has been missed on Nitro. Flair tells him how bad it was to watch Hennig march around in Flair’s robe. Flair tells him that if he sees him that he is a dead man. Flair hopes Hogan takes the Diamond Cutter and then he has the privilege to walk that aisle with the Macho Man. Macho made a mistake and tonight it is a TNT special, violence and sex tonight with him and Savage and Liz….odd. He is going to end his reign as Slim Jim in one minute and give Liz a ride on Space Mountain!

Match 6: Scotty Riggs v. Raven

Raven sits in the corner and Stevie Richards has the mic and tells everyone that he has not signed a contract with WCW and the only way he will wrestle is if the match is no DQ. Raven tells Riggs that there is no reason to fight tonight and that Riggs has not won a match tonight and he needs to join him in order to set him free. Riggs refuses and Raven gives him one more chance but gets the flipped off and now Raven takes action and hammers him in the corner and then holds out his hand to him. Riggs does not take it. They lock up again and Raven slams him over and continues to bash his head. Saturn gives Raven a chair but Riggs clips the knee but Riggs is tripped headfirst right into the chair. Kidman comes in to try and stop Raven but gets tossed out and Riggs is screaming as Nick calls for the medics and Raven heads back to his seat.

Squash….wonder if it will go anywhere.

Match 7: DDP v. Hulk Hogan (c)

They lock up and Hogan shoves him back and flexes. DDP and Hogan jaw at each other and then shove one another. Hogan has the arm, turns him over, and takes him down with a hammerlock. DDP tries to get to his feet and finally does and slugs Hulk in the gut only to be dropped again. DDP is knocked against the ropes and it happens again. Hogan paintbrushes him and yells at him. DDP is whipped into the ropes; he ducks but is clotheslined and Hogan gets two. Hogan knees him in the face, steps on the head and goes after the arm only to have DDP reverse it and DDP goes for the Cutter and Hogan ducks and leaves the ring. DDP kicks him but is caught only to clothesline Hogan on the spin and Hogan immediately bails out to the floor. Back in the ring and Hogan gives him the fist in the throat and bodyslams DDP. He drops the elbow, another one and stomps on the forehead again. He chokes him out breaking it at four and then tosses DDP to the floor where he crashes into the railing. Hogan measures him for chop after chop and then he suplexes him. DDP tries to fight back but gets hammered. DDP is rolled back into the ring, DDP is whipped into the ropes and he knees Hogan and connects with a swinging neckbreaker but Hogan gets his foot on the ropes at two. DDP drops the elbow but takes way too long and gets his eyes raked. Hogan holds him up and drops him down with an inverted atomic drop and Hulk gets two but proclaims that it is over. Hogan pounds the face some more and runs him over with a lariat. He kicks him in the ribs. He stomps on the head and the body. DDP is whipped into the corner and sandwiched with a clothesline. Hogan stops to flex, pulls him to the center of the ring and he gets a two count. The fans get behind DDP only to see him get suplexed and yet another two count after an elbow drop and Hogan keeps trying to pin him. DDP slugs him in the gut and they exchange shots but DDP staggers Hogan and sends him to the floor. DDP goes after him and shoves him into the railing and then rolls him back into the ring. Hogan reverses a whip and takes off his head with the big boot. Hogan takes too long and misses the legdrop. DDP picks him up and a Sting runs in and gets punched and Diamond Cutted. The bell rings and now Hogan whips DDP with the nWo leather belt and the troops run down and assault DDP and Tenay wonders where the WCW wrestlers are…..good question.

Not bad but DDP was dominated for most of the match and while this was a chance for him to get a rub from Hogan, he could have gotten in more offense.

Sting comes down out of the crowd….Hennig was there and Flair claimed he was dead so where is he. Sting takes out Vincent and now he unloads on the entire nWo. Hall and Norton and Konan and Hennig are all getting assaulted and dumped over the top rope. Hogan points at Sting and then heads back up as Hall is left behind and given the Deathdrop. Hennig eats one too.

Match 8: Disco Inferno (c) v. Goldberg for WCW TV Title

Here comes Goldberg and the crowd is starting to pop. Wright hits him from behind and gets hit and then taken into the ring and murdered with a Jackhammer. Disco laughs but he too is murdered with a Spear and he awkwardly Jackhammers him and he kicks him to the floor. Mongo comes down and he gets tackled and they go at it and security pulls them apart.

Angle advancement….the bell never rang. Poor Wright and Inferno but they are booking Goldberg correctly.

EB and Hulk come back down and EB tells everyone that Hulk has had it with Sting. Hogan calls himself the man. He and Macho are on a roll and DDP is a chump and not in Hulk’ s league. Sting is nothing but a coward and a cheap shot artist. He will beat him up in the back if necessary. Just like he bodyslammed DDP and now some more Devil’s Island garbage. But during that movie if Sting wants Hogan he will be in Vegas and tells him to show up. EB agrees and tells Sting to come and get the contract signed and Hulk finishes that he will sign it in blood and it is for life.

Gene is with Ted and the Steiners. Gene tells Scotty they have been on a roll. Scotty claims this has been a tough year. Scotty wants to thank the WCW fans as well as the nWo fans the nWo themselves, especially Hall and Nash for coming up with the Wolfpac rules and Rick bellows that it is too sweet. Ted is really happy for them. The Steiners have overcome tremendous adversity and they beat the nWo at their own game.

Match 9: Steiner Brothers (c) v. Public Enemy

Rock is placed in a hammerlock from Scotty but he elbows him in the gut but is gorilla slammed and PE is cleared from the ring. Grunge finally gets back into the ring only to be run over by Rick and powerslammed so he promptly retreats to the floor. Grunge gets back into the ring and he ducks between the ropes. He backs off again, and he goes to lock up with Rick and ducks in the ropes again.

Commercial.

Rock uppercuts Scotty and sends him to the floor. Grunge goes over and drops him on the rail throat first. Scotty is whipped into the steel steps. Grunge chokes him out with his boot as the ref is still distracted….back in the ring Rock kicks him in the gut a couple of times. They double elbow drop him and Grunge puts him in a rear chinlock. Scotty is up and elbows free only to run into a knee. Rock gets the tag and they double kick him and then give him a swinging neckbreaker. Scotty ducks a double clothesline and gives one of his own. Rick gets the hot tag and unloads on PE but gets knocked down only to be double bulldogged by Scotty. Scotty puts Rock on his shoulders and Rick wins with the super bulldog.

PE came out and gave an interview about being back in the title hunt a few months ago and then disappeared….now they are heels I guess? Terrible match too.

Match 10: Booker T v. Curt Hennig (c) for WCW US Title

Booker has him in a headlock and is pushed into the ropes but he knocks Curt down. Curt puts him in a headlock but he Booker shoves off and hip tosses him. Curt heads to the floor. Curt gets back into the ring and Booker gets his eyes gouged and Curt chops him a couple of times. Booker reverses the whip only to eat a swinging neckbreaker and Curt has him in a chinlock. Booker escapes and rolls him up for two. Now they are on the floor with Curt getting the upperhand. Booker is rolled back in and he almost messes up the roll up but does and gets two. His eyes are gouged and Booker kicks him in the head but Liz is coming down as Booker destroys Curt. Booker kicks him in the head and Liz runs distraction as Savage drops the elbow on the back and Flair runs down and chases off Hennig as the match is thrown out.

Decent match as Booker continues to be tested as a singles wrestler.

After the break Savage is tackled from behind by Flair and thrown over the rail and into the crowd where Flair pounds him. Savage is run into the railing and Flair pops him and then he elbows the ref too! Savage is getting mauled as Flair beats him. Savage is pushed into and over the railing, Flair rips off Savage’s shirt and chops him and follows up with some rabbit punches. Savage pops up and chokes him out with his shirt, shoving him into the railing. He stomps on Flair’s head, Flair no sells and gets right up and just unloads on Savage and kicks him in the nuts. Savage attacks Penzer and grabs his mic and drives it right into the throat of Flair. Flair though rams his head into the railing, Flair chops him some more and down goes Savage. He gives him another one. Savage hides behind Liz and Flair dances and then kisses her. Savage tries to hit him but gets popped. Now they finally enter the ring, Savage is dropped with a back elbow and Flair dances around and chokes him out only to have his eyes raked by Liz. Savage now takes the offensive and tosses him over the top rope. Flair is run into the steel steps and choked out by Savage. Flair is knocked down and choked out some more. Flair is pushed into the railing and hit a few times and choked out with the rail. Now they go back and forth and Flair takes him down but Savage is back up and goes up top as Flair sags against the rail and Savage leaps and eats all rail. They are back in the ring, Savage is back suplexed and here comes Hennig and he gets pummeled and choked out and the ref calls for the bell but Savage nails him from behind with the US belt and now they both hammer him and after the elbow drop it fades….

Great show. They had plenty of wrestling and are clearly planting the seeds for Starrcade. For almost the final hour all Tony fucking discussed was the Sting/Hogan contract signing that would take place during Assault at Devil’s Island. It is one way to get people to watch the movie, so it is not a bad move. Still it got old really fast. I like the new Flair and being WCW I always worry how long it will last. I understand why no one helped DDP but Sting because it sets up Sting as the savior. Hogan was fine if a bit dominant in his match and they drug out Luger and the Steiners as well as Booker and Benoit. Eddie and Jericho had a good match as did Rey. The Goldberg angle is decent and he is starting to get quite the following. Overall one of the better shows as WCW seems to be pulling out all the stops as they head into Starrcade and hopefully that continues.