WCW Nitro 11/24/1997

It has to get better than the PPV or WCW is in trouble. The problem with having a huge Battle Royal is that it takes away from the other matches. This happened, but it did not have to be so bad as they could have axed two matches off (Glacier match and Mongo match) and then give more time to the other one’s and hopefully that would equate to more and better wrestling. The booking of the show was asinine and was saved by Eddie and Rey and they will never rise above where they are. I mean, no Goldberg and Flair loses and I will not go into the quasi dipsht of an ending of the Battle Royal with Hogan not getting hit once….Hall winning, way to appease EB. Hopefully it improves but it is clear that WCW and EB is going to ride it all the way to bankruptcy; at least Bret Hart is coming and surely they cannot fuck that up…..can they? I guess the upside is the heels are strong and more hated and this should lead to WCW getting the ultimate revenge…..it should. Nitro got a 4.1 and 3.7 for a 3.9 total while RAW received a 2.8 and 3.3 for a near 3.1.The nWo are celebrating in the back and EB is smoking a stogy. They slowly waltz out of the back and head to the ring. Well, really slowly. Hogan holds a sign that states Bischoff owns Vince. EB asks the crowd if they created a monster or what. EB congratulates Curt and then Hall who shakes hands with Hogan. Hall hypes up the nWo. Hogan talks about how great the nWo is and the crowd is loving it. He is calling himself everyone’s champion; he is willing for the millionth time to put the title on the line tonight. EB repeats what he said and they look up at the ceiling but then at the entrance. Giant comes out with JJ Dilllon and he wants the shot; JJ Dillon claims that he cannot allow the Giant to wrestle due to his hand and needs a doctor’s clearance. Hogan is willing and the Giant is willing to sign a waver clearing WCW of any responsibility and it looks like the match is on….for now.

The fans chant Larry as the three announcers start the show.

Match 1: Disorderly Conduct v. Steiners (c) for WCW Tag Titles

Conduct attacks before the bell but get back body dropped and they retreat to the floor. Scotty grabs one as he gets in the ring and tosses him back. Scotty gives him another belly to belly. Rick gets the tag, but gets hit a few times and then side slammed. He drops a forearm and gets two. Off the whip Rick tosses him andtags in Scotty who pounds on DC. Scotty is whipped into the ropes and into a knee, he is hammered on the floor and rolled back in but he gives another belly to belly. Rick comes in and cleans house, and now all four are in and it is double underhook powerbomb time. Scotty struggles to get him up but does for the Steiner Bulldog and it is over.

Semi-squash.

Match 2: Meng v. Booker T

They lock up and Meng back elbows him. They criss cross off the ropes and Booker takes him down and then dumps him over the top. He pounds him out on the floor, rolls him back into the ring but Meng kicks him and then back body drops him. Booker spins up and gets two after a sidekick, only to be picked up and spiked into the mat and then powerbombed. Meng goes for the cover and gets two. Booker is shoved into the corner and punched over and over. Meng bodyslams him, misses the elbow but is able to sledge him in the back. Booker is whipped into the corner and dodges a charging  Meng and he is caught in a powerbomb only to float behind and roll him up for the win. Meng puts him in the Deathgrip and Ray runs down with a wooden chair and breaks it over him only to be put in the Deathgrip and Barbarian runs down and attacks Booker while Ray gets hammered.

Nice put over for Booker and Meng who has been strong got him in the aftermath…..still a quick match.

They are the official spokespeople for Alien Resurrection….Why?

Highlights of Raven beating up Riggs and then Larry shows off his contract for Hall. Tony goes back to Raven….

Out comes Gene and JJ Dillon and they go up to the Flock. Riggs waltzes by and climbs the rail and joins the Flock. Raven admits he signed the contract. He will not conform to the rules; he will sit where he wants, wrestle when and where and how he wants as well as get paid what he wants. JJ does not like the stipulations but is glad to have him under contract. JJ starts to ask about Riggs but decides otherwise and leaves.

Match 3: Chris Benoit v. Sick Boy

Sick Boy runs in only to get mauled. He is pounded but springs off the middle rope and connects with a back elbow. Benoit though chops him and plexes him onto the top rope. Benoit goes after him but is dropped with a springboard missile kick. Sick gets a one count but is pushed into the corner and chopped with alacrity as well as kicked and stomped. Benoit calls out Raven and Sick Boy tries to get in some offense but gets pummeled some more, they head to the floor where Sick gets the upperhand. Back in the ring he starts to kick Benoit. He goes up and misses the guillotine legdrop, Benoit drops him and crashes into him with the diving headbutt. Kidman runs in and gets ousted as does the others and Benoit puts Sick Boy in the Crossface and he taps immediately. Now the rest run in and beat him and Benoit is put in the Rings of Saturn as Raven watches.

Good match and while Raven has been relegated to the midcard at least it is against Benoit.

Here comes Zybszko and he calls out Hall. He calls him names and leaflets drop down from the ceiling as the nWo music blares. They are a photo of EB standing over Larry. Larry refuses to leave the ring and out comes Bischoff. He declares that Hall made history last night and Larry responds that he chickened out. EB counters that Hall is busy defending the tag titles and busy and Larry is just an announcer, not a good one and he did not do too much in his career. Also, EB has defeated him twice and Larry is all for another shot and EB proclaims that Larry wants to make it three and zero and then calls him old, fat and slow. He accepts it and Larry wants some right now and heads after him but there are a slew of security guards out there as EB acts like he wants a piece. Larry rambles about a verbal agreement and EB tells him to bite him….

Match 4: Prince Iaukea v. Alex Wright

Wright takes him down and dances around the ring, he stomps on Iaukea, whips him into the corner and misses. Prince back drops him and kicks him down getting two. He puts him in a rear chinlock. Alex tears him up for a bit and back drops him all the while arguing with Debra. He takes down Prince again and argues some more with her. The ref argues too but she claims her dress is stuck on the turnbuckle and Prince strikes with a crossbody block from the top and gets the win.

She was stuck but now is fine as some fans litter the ring with trash. Alex grabs the mic and he fires her. She tries to exhort him to take her back but he is not listening.

High quality promo of Sting taking down Hogan…..

Match 5: Disco Inferno v. Randy Savage

Disco goes off the ropes after some back and forth, Liz grabs his leg and he goes for her and Savage comes right after him. Liz shoves him into the post and Savage clotheslines him. Back in the ring he bodyslams him and goes up top, slowly but he is up and it is over.

Nope, he pulls up his head, and does it again.

Poor Disco. Poor Saturn, but at least it is Savage. He did pin him and then decides to hit him with the elbow again. He goes back up but the ref stops him so he is knocked out of the ring and Savage sprays Disco and counts the pin as Liz has her boot on him. He goes up again for the elbow….Disco may be dead.

Match 6: Brad Armstrong v. Dean Malenko

Dean drives him into the corner and after they break they both go down and go back at it after getting to their feet. Brad ties up the legs. They continue to go back and forth and Brad takes him down and then back suplexes him. Tony and Tenay discuss his attitude and think it is great…he has not been on Nitro for months, so no one really cares for poor Brad. He hammers him some more and gets a two count. Deans comes back with a dropkick and he gets two and goes to the chinlock and then pulls back on the arms. Brad rolls him up and gets two, and they block moves and Dean gets two after a backslide only to be bodyslammed and now Brad gets two. Dean whips him into the corner and runs into a boot but he is able to grab and then turn him into the Cloverleaf for the win.

Okay, but the crowd was fired up at the end and that made it better.

Mongo is bragging about beating up Goldberg. Here comes Debra. She wants to work with him again and is willing to do anything. He tells her to walk up the ramp and get the Hell out of here and then he brags about it.

Match 7: Buff Bagwell v. Chris Jericho

Bagwell takes him down twice with armdrags and flexes. Buff pounces on him and then dropkicks him. Jericho reverses a whip and spinkicks and kicks him again before clotheslining him to the floor. Jericho measures him and leaps out on top of him. Jericho mounts him and pounds, runs him into the steel steps and then rolls him back into the ring. He kicks and stomps away. Jericho has him up for a big vertical suplex and gets two after a Lionsault. He charges at Buff but gets dropped forward off the top rope and Buff punches and stomps away. Jericho is whipped into the ropes and run over with a forearm, Buff flexes with his knee on top of Jericho and this riles up Chris who fights back only to run into a boot and then a clothesline. He puts him in a reverse chinlock. Jericho gets to his feet and gets punished some more, Buff argues with the ref and is rolled up for a near fall. Buff bodyslams him and goes up for the Blockbuster, but he is dropkicked up there and Frankensteined off and nearly pinned. Jericho slams him and kicks away and then spinkicks him and sandwiches him from corner to corner but finally runs into a boot and is Blockbusted or a shoulderbreaker as he fucked up.

Made Jericho look good and the match was really good actually.

Match 8: Curt Hennig (c) v. Ray Traylor for WCW US Title

Tenay is putting together a film about Pillman and the proceeds go to the family. I would like to see that and that is cool if it went anywhere.

Poor Traylor….he runs to the ring and Hennig bails. Ray goes after him and beats him up on the floor, rams him into the steps. Back in the ring he mounts him in the corner and hammers and sandwiches him in the other before sending him out with a clothesline. He chokes him out in the corner, gut punches him and whips him into the corner but misses the charge. Hennig knees him in the back and chops him. Some sort of foul up as Curt falls as does Ray and now Curt starts to pound the back and he puts him in a reverse chinlock. Curt slaps him but Ray fires back, takes him down and works over the knee. Curt uses his leg to just tear into the face of Ray and then chokes him out on the middle rope. Ray is able to pop him with a right cross and then chokes him out with his boot. Ray misses an elbow and it is back to the chinlock. Ray is able to strike with an enzuguri and pounds Curt’s head into the corner and all the turnbuckles and this gets the crowd to respond. Curt is flung across the ring and crotched into the post. Ray is able to spike him and goes for the win but Hall runs out and now Norton does too and he fights them but is overwhelmed.

Wow, they made him big here but it will not last. The fans do love Savage hitting him with the elbow. At least Ray looked decent, better than Flair though….

Match 9: Giant v. Hulk Hogan (c) for WCW Title

Vince worries about the cast so the Giant clocks him and Hogan uses that to his advantage and goes after him to work over the casted arm. Hogan is shoved off and Rude and EB head to the announce table and EB paintbrushes Schiavone (yes!) and they take over. Meanwhile, Hogan clotheslines the Giant to the floor and goes after the arm but the Giant blocks a blow and hits him and then rolls him back into the ring only to miss an elbow drop and Hogan does not. Hogan goes back to work on the arm. He gets two after an elbow drop….wow Hogan has gotten stronger as earlier in the year he was destroyed by the Giant. Wait, Giant is  firing back and gut punching him and then pops him in the head. Giant calls for the chokeslam and is able to do it but sells that his casted hand is injured. Here comes “Sting” and EB and Rude are bitter. Nash uses the bat on the hand of the Giant and lifts the mask and grins and the match is tossed and does it some more. The rest of the nWo comes down as the fans want Sting. Hogan finally gets to his feet and acts like he won. Here comes a slowly rappelling Sting….dummy and it falls through the ring and Nash takes the bat and bashes it. Hogan uses it for golf. And some more taunting and we fade….

This was not too bad. Not great but better. Giant got some revenge. I guess you can take the Bret Hart argument (from his book, pertaining to the Screwjob) that more will see it on TV. Well, the Giant did get in some offense. I was pissed at first but it did pan out with the Giant chokeslamming him. Of course this led to the typical interference but at least Hogan did get hit a few times. If anything it continued the Nash and Giant feud. Buff and Jericho had a good match and surprisingly Ray and Curt did too. I hope Flair comes back and gets some revenge but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. It was a by the numbers show with some random matches to keep people hot or noticed but then again at least there is some wrestling as WWF while running a slightly tighter ship is going away from wrestling….well, contrary to popular belief it is not much tighter and I will get into that down the road.