Written by: Tom Hopkins
We look at clips from the 10/09/95 Nitro with Flair looking for a partner, Sting agreeing on WCW Pro and Sting not showing up as his partner on the 10/16/95 Nitro.
We are here with Tony Schiavone and Dusty Rhodes and Tony (wearing a Mickey Mouse tie) mentions that Sting did show to tag with Flair and Dusty says that no one can trust Flair. We see more of the 10/16/95 tag-team match. Arn hits a spinebuster on Flair and that’s when Stinger runs out. Sting tells Flair after the match that he went out to tag with him because he had guts and so at Halloween Havoc he will tag with him.
–State Patrol vs. American Males(c) for the WCW Tag Team Titles–
This would rank quite high on the list of tag team matches I would NEVER want to see. State Patrol Pearl Harbors the Males. The Males are dressed like Chippendale Dancers and I can’t believe people would cheer for them. Granted it sounds like 12-year-old girls cheering but in an arena this small it must be canned. The Males are somehow the tag team champions here – which I think is ridiculous – and as a result both Sherri and Col. Parker are scouting the Males. The camera-man focuses more on the two outside managers exchanging notes than the actual match. State Patrol controls early which is a terrible way to have this match booked. State Patrol are glorified jobbers and you need to have your tag champs look strong. We look again to the outside as Parker and Sherri smooch (hide the chillun – sez Dusty) and Parker carries her off. The Males whip State Patrol into each other and we end with a high cross body by Bagwell (while Riggs is kneeling behind the heel) to get the pinfall at 3:28. This was a terrible match but thankfully we had more of the thrilling Sherri/Parker feud so we didn’t really need the match.
VK Wallstreet (IRS) cuts a promo on Hacksaw Jim Duggan.
–Lex Luger vs. Rip Rogers–
Rip has no shot here and the announcers completely ignore the match. It’s all Halloween Havoc and the Monster Truck match. Schiavone notes that Luger has had his work intensify since being back since he realized that WCW is #1 and “where the big boys play.” Luger makes short work of Rogers and ends with a powerslam before putting him in the Torture Rack to end this at 2:13.
Mean Gene is with the Total Package after the match Lex tells Savage to take care of his business and not worry about anything else. He’s ready for Savage anyway.
Mean Gene goes from interviewing wrestlers to the Havoc Control Center (in a new suit, no less!). Gene runs down the card. At the top of the card we have Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant for the WCW title but not before their Monster Trucks fight it out. We also have Sting & Lex Luger vs. Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman. Savage will battle Kamala, Luger takes on Meng and should both Savage and Luger win they will wrestle later that night. Kurasawa will take on Hawk and we get comments from Kurasawa and his manager Parker as well as Hawk. DDP will also defend his WCW TV Title against Johnny B. Badd. Sabu will also battle Mr. JL.
–VK Wallstreet vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan–
The name VK came from Vincent Kennedy so it was cheap shot at Vinnie Mac. VK had stolen the 2×4 and Hacksaw couldn’t find a local Home Depot to just buy a new one. What a cheap bastard. Hacksaw attacks VK from behind to start (great example you’re setting there, Jim) and they brawl on the floor before heading to the ring. VK gets in no offense at all but gets the cheap win thanks to Bubba. Hacksaw tried to bodyslam VK from the apron but Bubba tripped Duggan, and held his foot down so VK got the pinfall at 3:29. Just imagine Hacksaw controlling a match for 3-minutes and that’s how bad this was.
We’re in the Taskmaster’s cave where some fat bald guy is talking prophetically. He’s going to bring the Yeti!!! THE YETI!!!!!
–Taskmaster & Shark vs. Larry Santo & Julio Sanchez–
The Shark was really Earthquake. To show how ridiculous WCW was at times – the Shark had teeth painted alongside his face. The Shark eats up the competition (sorry, had to say it) and ends with the Shark Attack (a clothesline where he slams the guy down) at 1:23.
We take a look back at the Alex Wright/Eddie Guerrero Match from The Main Event on September 17th, 1995. I feel like I’ve seen that match before but I can’t be sure. Wright and Eddie fell over the top rope and Eddie hurt his knee on the way down. Eddie is about to be counted out but Wright didn’t want to win that way so a return match was booked.
–Eddie Guerrero vs. Alex Wright–
Tony mentions that these two will be tag partners on Monday as well. The two fight over the arm to start and they do some decent mat-wrestling. There’s a cool spot where Wright flips off of Eddie in the corner and Eddie just lays him out with a clothesline. Wright comes back with a spinning heel kick for two. Eddie bodyslams Wright and hits a nice slingshot senton from the apron for two. Wright fights back with a back drop and a head-scissors take-down for two. A suplex for two follows for Wright. Eddie does a variation of the crossbow with both feet pushing against Wright’s back as his arms are pulled back. Eddie hits a high-knee for two and wears down the neck area of Wright. Wright breaks free and both men are out thanks to a double clothesline. Eddie is up first and nails a brainbuster. The Frog Splash finds the knees of Wright and Wright hits a Northern Lights suplex as the timekeeper announces there’s only a minute left in the time-limit. I don’t remember them announcing a time-limit. The two throw European Uppercuts at each other as time expires at 8:45. That’s an odd time-limit for a match. The two shake hands after the match and they should – they put on a good show. I thought the last minute would’ve been better suited with more pinfalls but I get what they were going for with this. I thought this was an excellent TV match. ***.
–Randy Savage vs. Question–
Schiavone tells us that the only live Monday Night television show will be on TNT. Savage armdrags “?” but he just laughs it off. Savage schoolboys him for two after sending him to the corner. The Dungeon of Doom make their way to ringside (Taskmaster, Shark and Meng). Savage is adequately distracted enough for “?” to hit an axehandle off the apron. “?” controls and tries a moonsault but he misses. I guess you could say that was, “no laughing matter.” Macho slams him down and hits the flying elbow drop to end this at 3:54. Well, Question did his one big move and Savage made quick work of him shortly afterwards. This was a better than average jobber match. *.
Gene interviews Macho after the match and asks if Question had any connection to the DOD. Savage calls Gene a rocket scientist and then calls out Luger. I love Savage promo’s and this is another excellent, over the top one.
–Road Warrior Hawk vs. Mark Kyle–
Kyle attacks from behind and piledrives Hawk but Hawk no-sells and kills Kyle with a clothesline. I don’t give Kyle too much time here. This match goes on way too long and there’s only so much of Hawk one can take. He mercifully ends this with a top clothesline at 2:14. This felt like 45 minutes, not two. As a comparison the Wright/Guerrero match felt like 2-minutes because I had fun watching it.
Either there weren’t many recaps this week or they’ve been cut by the WWE Classics.com team because we’ve had a string of matches in a row.
–Meng vs. Evad Sullivan–
I wasn’t a WCW fan so I don’t know why Dave is spelled backwards. I’m thinking he’s either slow or dyslexic and we all know that wrestling make no qualms about making fun of learning disabilities. Tony calls this a semi-final bout. What tournament is this from? Did I miss something? Evad throws a terrible clothesline that Meng rightly no-sells. Meng hits a sit down powerbomb before ending with the Asiatic Spike (Vulcan Nerve Grip) at 1:17.
Hulk, decked in black, talks about the bad Hulk running around. Hogan has a surprise for Nitro this Monday. I’m sorry I didn’t recap the rest I accidentally tuned out.
–Scott Norton vs. Eddie Jackie–
People don’t like Scott Norton. I guess he’s the heel. I’ve heard his name but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wrestle, nor do I know anything about him or what he’s done. Was he always just a third or fourth-tier guy who wouldn’t even compete for the secondary title? Norton sends Jackie to the corner and avalanches him. He hits a reverse shoulderbreaker for the pinfall at 1:27 (instead of the wrestler’s being to belly to belly as he cracks the shoulder over the knee the wrestler was facing outwards. This was nothing special, and neither was Norton.
We have a video highlight reel of what happened on last week’s Nitro. Okerlund then talks about the WCW Hotline and mentions two WWE stars being sidelined and an update on the Monday Night Wars.
–Mr. Wonderful vs. Johnny B. Badd–
This is the 10th match of the night. 10 matches in only 77 minutes – that’s unheard of. Wonderful spends the early part of the match looking at his mirror but Johnny charges from behind and clotheslines him to the outside. Now I have to say, why didn’t Orndorff see that coming in the mirror’s reflection? Orndorff’s mirror breaks and he complains about 7-years bad luck. He runs to backstage and calls Spivey’s Psychic Hotline Network. This is a count-out victory for Johnny B. Badd at 2:32.
–Dean Malenko vs. Jumpin’ Joey Maggs–
This is their “standby” match. I’d take Malenko over Orndorff any day of the week. Malenko is distracted early and school-boyed for two. Malenko is so offended by this that he dropkicks the leg of Malenko, boots at it and the Texas Cloverleaf ends this one quickly ay 0:48. At less than a minute this was better than every other jobber match on here (besides the Savage one).
We end with Okerlund talking Arn Anderson about the Sting/Flair team. Arn and Pillman talk about needing two more pieces for the Four Horsemen to be complete. Next week we have the Saturday Night debut of Mr. JL, Harlem Hear will take on American Males and Lex Luger takes on the Shark. That actually doesn’t look too bad.
–The Bottom Line–
Like I mentioned above – you get 11 matches here. I’ll admit that most of them are jobber matches and most of those jobber matches wouldn’t even get a quarter-star but it’s still nice to see 11 matches in a 77-minute program. The highlight was the Wright/Guerrero match which was a really good TV match for a secondary show. Plus you see Malenko just destroy a jobber, Macho and Hugh Morrus having a decent jobber match and a nice run-down of the Halloween Havoc card. If you want wrestling (even if it isn’t good wrestling) then this is your show. Hell, I’d say you should watch it for the Guerrero/Wright match.