WCW Nitro 11/3/1997

Written by: Kevin Kildenberger

I have been impressed with WCW the past six weeks or so. They have been bringing wrestling back and I like Eddie as a heel and the nWo while too dominant has at least some challengers in Sting and Luger and Larry and the Giant. Goldberg is more fun to watch than I thought and they are doing a great job of leading into Starrcade and hopefully they can keep up this momentum. WCW received a 4.0 off of hours of 4.3 and 3.7 while RAW in its go home show only got a 2.6 off of hours of 2.5 and 2.7.

They show highlights of the Sting/Hogan signing in a clear fake press room. Hulk calls Sting a coward as he tells the “press” to shut up. Sting shows up and points the bat at him and then slams it on the contract as Hogan looks on in fear.

Match 1: Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko v. Rey Mysterio and Steven Regal

Dean and Rey start of and they exchange holds. Rey has him in a hammerlock but is pushed off and they cannot get a hold in as Rey flips around the ring. Eddie gets the tag and Rey tags in Regal and Eddie goes in slowly, so Regal decks him from behind. He hammers Eddie who tries to fire back but is dropped but Eddie clips the leg and then dropkicks it and kicks at it over and over. Regal is able to hit him with a crossbody and Rey gets the tag and he flies over Eddie and gets a near pin after the hurracarana. Malenko is in and he is back dropped and then sent to the floor with a headscissors. Rey accidentally hits Regal and then he turns into a powerbomb from Eddie and he goes up top and Malenko tags himself in and puts Rey in the Cloverleaf and it is over.

A sudden ending but some good drama and decent action.

Regal pushes Rey with his boot.

Match 2: Fit Finley v. Dave Taylor

I have seen it spelled Finlay too….Fit takes him down with an armbar and both are back up. Raven and his Flock come down and the crowd chants his name. They exchange some holds and Fit takes him down with an armdrag again and applies a nerve hold and pulls on the mouth finally elbowing him in the face. Taylor fires off some forearms and snaps him over and then with a headscissors. Fit is whipped into the corner and then press slammed into a gutbuster. Dave is whipped into the corner and then misses the reverse crossbody and Fit nails him and then crushes him with a Tombstone and it is all over.

Short but decent.

Bischoff is on the phone with the announce crew and Tony brags about Devil’s Island first but EB tells him to shut up. EB is upset that they think Hogan has been hiding from Sting. Hulk has offered title shots and Sting never showed up. EB makes fun of Piper about some sort of nerve damage that was caused from the cage match. Now to the movie and he claims Tony and Vince mocked the movie of Hulk’s and Vince tried to air a Survivor Series montage with Hogan in his prime and failed miserably against Devil’s Island and it has been optioned as a series. Also, next week they will bring out all the nWo for a surprise (perhaps this actually worried Vince….then there is Rick Rude).

Match 3: Psychosis v. Yuji Nagata

Nagata whips him into the corner and then kicks away at him. Nagata misses twice off the whip and is then dropkicked. He retreats to to the floor to confer with Onoo. Psychosis leaps out of the ring and nails him. He strikes with a guillotine leg drop off the apron and rolls him back into the ring. Psychosis gets a two count, whips him into the corner and then runs him over. He places him up top and tries to scissor him off but is knocked off instead. Nagata kicks him on top of the head and continues with some stiff kicks and applies a rear chinlock. Psychosis is powerbombed and tossed back but he lands on his feet and then kicks Yuji and for some reason runs right at Onoo who was on the apron and is kicked. Nagata kicks him in the head and finishes him off with the Nagata Lock.

Fun match. Short.

Raven’s sixth grade classroom. He is discovering alienation as well as the taunting and badgering. He never obeyed the rules and something about the pursuit of destruction.

Match 4: Disco Inferno (c) v. Saturn for WCW TV Title

Saturn comes out of the crowd and as he gets in the ring Disco hammers him but is then tossed in a belly to back. Saturn hammers him in the back and nails him with a belly to belly. Saturn goes after the fingers and twists them. He whips him over and puts him in a sort of armbreaker but by going after the fingers. Disco gets to the ropes and Saturn pounds the back of the head. He goes after the arm. Disco is up and whips him into the corner, Disco grabs the kick and nails him with a quasi-enzuguri and pushes him into the corner. Saturn whips him into the corner, trips him up and puts him in another submission hold but Disco gets to the ropes but right when he gets up is clotheslined. Saturn suplexes him and goes after the wrist and arm again….it had been more of wrist than fingers as I stated earlier. He knees the shoulder and then drops him with a forearm. Saturn continues to manhandle him and is back to work on the arm. Disco is up and whipped into the corner and Saturn runs into an elbow and then knocked down again. Disco gets a two count and Saturn reverses a whip into the same corner and then kills him with a release German. Disco is able to kick him in the gut but is grabbed and double hooked powerbomb. Saturn calls for a finisher and it is over!

Wow! That was domination and the fans loved it and Saturn looked pretty damn good.

The Flock gets in the ring and Stevie is tossed by Raven as he then sits in the corner in full on EMO mode.

Mean Gene is up on the ramp and here comes Flair. Philly gives Flair a huge pop and Flair tells them that he loves them too. Gene asks about Hennig and Flair states that he is the real star and will catch up to Hennig. He tells Hogan that he is the Nature Boy and then taunts the nWo. He is facing Hennig again at WWIII and he has a chance to become the 14 time champ. He yells about that and the fans love it.

Hall is out in the ring. Hall tells the crowd that the Spectrum looks too sweet. It is survey time and he gets some boos and who is with us and who is against us. He has talked to Nash and Syxx who are both kicked back. He asks about who came to see WCW and it is mixed but some Larry chants but the nWo gets a loud response before some boos. He has some business to take care of before he beats up Jericho. He talks about Nash and Syxx being hurt and if they are a doctor then he can meet them down there…..you know where. Now to Larry and he mocks him for being good ten years and that he does not want any of Hall as he cannot beat Easy E and the footage pops up again. Fans had been erupting for Larry. Larry tells him to sign the contract and Hall tells him to put himself over and wants Jericho to come out.

Match 5: Scott Hall v. Chris Jericho

Hall tosses the toothpick. They lock up and Jericho armdrags him over. Hall gets up and they lock up again and Hall goes after the arm….of course. He tosses Jericho over and paintbrushes him in the head. Jericho fights back with a knee to the chest and then a kick to the face and Hall is down. Jericho taunts him and waits for him to get up. Jericho puts him in a headlock but is clotheslined. Jericho ducks off the whip and leaps right into his arms and is tossed back in the fall away. Hall says it is over. This is it? Holy shit…..Jericho kicked him and rolled him over for the win and the fans erupt but it is short lived and he is attacked and demolished with the Edge.

Well at least he got some offense in. It did not make him look strong but he did get the win. It is also angle advancement obviously.

The fans chant Larry as another Edge is struck upon Jericho. Hall points that it is the ref’s turn and the ref wisely leaves. Larry has had it and heads to the ring. Hall goes to leave and Larry makes fun of that and tells him to sign the dotted line. Larry finally tells him that they do not want him here and continues to mock him as Hall leaves and all he has to do is sign an X. He calls him a disgrace to himself and to the nWo. He calls him a coward for being afraid of a broadcaster.

Some Luchador history.

Match 6: Lucha Six Man Tag

It is a Battle Royal….my bad. They are all going at it and it is the Villanos and Hector Garza and Juvie and some more. A Villano is powerbombed but Silver King is knocked off the top and Damien attacks him. The fans erupt and here comes the Giant as the melee in the ring continues. Giant goes on a chokeslam rampage and starts annihilating everyone. He tosses King onto Garza. Giant gives a boot and now powerslams King and the Lucha’s run for the hills!

He grabs the mic and states that is how you train for a Battle Royal and then hypes up WWIII. He turns to Nash now and tells him that he is not the big man and will call him the little big man. It is going to be those two and Nash is going to be tossed into the crowd.

Great segment.

Match 7: Ric Flair v. Alex Wright

Wright dances as the bell rings and Flair Woooos. Wright backs off and they lock up with Wright pushing him in the corner and chops at Flair and Wright floats over after the whip and gets chopped away over and over and out he rolls to the floor. Wright goes to get back in, hesitates and finally does get back in. Flair goes right back to work on the chest with chop after chop. Flair is whipped into the corner and then kicked and stomped. Flair is worked over in the corner but he fires back as they exchange chops. Wright gets the upperhand and down goes Flair who is stomped. Wright dances for the crowd and walks right into a kick, Flair chops and punches away again. Flair is whipped into the ropes and dropkicked. Wright drops the elbow a couple of times and tries to use the rope to get the pin but Nick Patrick sees it. He gets another two count after a back suplex and now a suplex for yet another near fall. Flair pops him, snaps him over and drops the big knee. Wright is caught in the ropes as Flair bends him back then tosses him to the floor. Flair chops at him on the outside and then back suplexes him. Flair rolls in and Debra helps Alex up and Bobby asks about Debra two timing guys!! I keep thinking dirty thoughts. Wright guillotines the throat off the top rop and then beats him for a bit until nailed and crotched and ridden on the ropes. Flair holds him up for the big vertical suplex and it is Figure Four time and all over.

Good match and of course Flair makes the opponents look good….poor Debra!

Match 8: Ray Traylor v. Steve McMichael

They lock up and Mongo pushes him into the corner and they jaw at each other, then move to shoving each other. They exchange arm holds and Mongo kicks him in the back of the leg and then clips him. Ray goes to the floor and throws the steps in anger. He gets back in the ring and Mongo catches the kick and gives him an atomic drop. Ray reverses a whip into the corner and Ray slides under and wraps the leg around the post a couple of times. He bends it around a bit and back in the ring continues to hammer it. I missed the move but both men are down. The crowd gets up and here comes Goldberg! Lame ass angle with the ring but it gets him involved. Mongo side slams Ray and points at Goldberg yelling at him. Ray nails him from behind and gets the win.

The booking of Ray Traylor is all that is wrong with WCW. He comes back and wants revenge against the nWo and gets his ass kicked and is used as a jobber. Hyped once and then buried….

Gene is in the ring and here comes Kimberly. Looking nice. And now DDP. DDP is living the dream and doing exactly what he wants to do no matter if he is injured or not. He claims Havoc had the biggest audience of all time and he had a great match and then the next night fought the greatest wrestler in Hogan. Gene screams he beat him but DDP clarifies it was DQ (well you were dominated) DDP though claims that he stood toe to toe and Hogan gave is all and could not beat him. As to WWIII he may not be the biggest or strongest but he has the most heart. If he was Hogan he would be worried especially if he is still the champ.

Match 9: Public Enemy v. Steiner Brothers (c) for WCW Tag Titles

They go at it and PE retreats to the floor and look under the ring. All four go at it again and Rick tosses Grunge and he gets flung into the steps. Rock is working over Scotty in the ring. Rock works over the arm as Rick grabs the steps but is kicked and thrust into them. Rick is rolled back into the ring as Scotty and Rock go at it in the crowd. They are back at ringside and Scotty is taking it to him and throws him up on the announce area and Rock kicks him off and climbs up the set and leaps and nails him with a forearm smash as Grunge has control in the ring. Rock hits him but is bodyslammed and belted with a chair. Rick and Grunge are on the floor and Grunge is getting choked out with a cord but he turns the tide as Scotty is bodyslammed. Rock leaps off the stage but is caught and spiked. Scotty beats him on down towards the ring. PE doubleteams Rick and he gets tossed to the floor. Rock goes out and hits him with a padded chair. The stacked tables are up and Rick is placed there and Ted tries to pull him out but it is not in time as he is scraped badly but Scotty gets the pin and the win.

Great match. A lot of fun despite the botched ending.

Highlights of last years WWIII.

Match 10: Lex Luger v. Curt Hennig (c) for WCW US Title

They lock up and neither get the advantage. Hennig grabs him around the waist and Luger belts him with an elbow. Hennig slowly gets up and is put in a side headlock. He elbows free but is run over off the whip. They lock up and Hennig takes him down and kicks him but is run over with a clothesline after the no sell by Luger.

Commercial.

Hennig is on the floor jawing with fans. Luger grabs him by the hair, pulls him up but gets his throat bounced off the top rope. Hennig stomps away and kicks him a few times. Luger hangs over the apron and gets elbowed in the throat. Luger gets his throat catapulted into the bottom rope. Hennig chops him in the corner,snaps him over and then snaps it all the way over. He gets a two count. Curt pounds the back and runs him head first into the corner and stands on the throat. Another guillotine off the top rope and he gets another two count. Luger is elbowed in the head and then chopped and chopped again. Luger is fired up and reverses a whip and it is atomic drop time and now an inverted one and another one. Time for the bionic forearms. He calls for the Rack and Hennig is at the ropes and both men with the ref go over. Ref is on the apron and Hennig goes over and grabs his belt and Flair is there and assaults him and the match is thrown out and Hennig pokes the eyes. Hennig gets in the ring and is Racked and the bell ring again as Flair hits him and Hennig runs off and Flair chases him as does Luger who grabs Flair and claims he had him in the Rack and they argue and it fades…..

Okay main event but it promotes Flair and his match with Hennig was solid at the PPV. Sure the fuck up was there but it was not egregious. Another great Nitro. Some okay to decent wrestling but nothing bad. Great promotion of Hogan and Sting and the Giant tearing it up. Luger and DDP got some play and PE and the Steiners had a fun one. Flair looked good in his match and Jericho got a cheap win but it was a win. Saturn looked great. I hope WCW uses this two months to build into Starrcade and makes it great. The potential is there and while WCW fouls up often it has been far less than usual.