Written by: Bob Colling
World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 1/10/1998
From: Rome, GA
Matches:
1.) WCW Cruiserweight Champion Juventud Guerrera defeated El Dandy
2.) Rick Martel defeated the Australian
3.) Jim Duggan defeated Mark Starr
4.) Meng defeated Fit Finley
5.) WCW Television Champion Booker T defeated Disco Inferno
6.) Brad Armstrong defeated Joey Maggs
7.) Curt Hennig defeated The Renegade
8.) Bill Goldberg defeated Barry Horowitz
9.) WCW United States Champion Diamond Dallas Page defeated Chris Jericho
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Hey, looks like we have four matches on the show this week that would be considered to be “feature matches.” I’ll take it!
2.) Guerrera opens up with an arm drag in the opening moment of the match. Juventud continues with a head scissors takedown. Dandy comes off the ropes but runs into a spinning heel kick from the champ. Dandy kicks Juventud to the mat to get some momentum. Guerrera hits a top rope hurricanrana sending Dandy to the floor. Guerrera heads to the top and takes Dandy out with a cross body on the floor! Dandy avoids a dropkick on the apron to cause Guerrera to crash to the mat. On the apron, Juventud backdrops Dandy over the ring post to the floor! Dandy stops Juventud with a kick to the face. Dandy plants Guerrera with a spine buster. Juventud battles back with a hurricanrana and a near fall with a rollup. Dandy misses a splash and Guerrera heads to the top to hit the 450 splash for the win. (**1/2. Some fine action for a six minute match that had good energy and pace. A good start to the show.)
3.) Mean Gene interviewed Rick Martel. Martel has just arrived to World Championship Wrestling. Martel says he has held major championships in every company he has gone to. He is proud to be part of WCW. Gene asks Martel where he starts for the championships. Martel is aiming for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and anyone he steps in the ring with better expect a fight.
4.) Ernest Miller comes out for a match that is to be against Glacier. Sadly, we miss out on this sure to be classic match because Glacier was attacked backstage by Mortis and Wrath. Glacier came out stumbling. Glacier tells Miller what happened and begs him to not take advantage. Miller stays off from Glacier.
5.) Meng works over Finley in the corner with a few strikes but Fit backs Meng into the corner and delivers a couple of strikes. Meng hits a dropkick but can’t put Finley away. Meng runs into a big boot and Finley clubs away on Meng with a few strikes. Meng regains control with a back breaker briefly but Finley strikes Meng a few times again. Fit gets distracted by Jimmy Hart and Meng has the Tongan Death Grip locked in to win the match. (**. A quick match but I liked the idea of having two hard hitting guys going at it. In that sense, it was enjoyable. It felt like a fight more than a match.)
6.) Mean Gene interviews WCW Television Champion Booker T. Booker thanks the fans because without them there wouldn’t be a Booker T. His mother and father surely love that comment. Tonight, Booker defends against former champion, Disco Inferno. Booker says that he will be at his best tonight and looks to retain the gold against the Disco Inferno.
7.) We hear from WCW United States Champion Diamond Dallas Page who says he doesn’t need a title to be called a champion. Page talks about how and Kevin Nash came up the same way and nobody believed in them. He understood why Nash went NWO while Nash never understood why Page didn’t sellout. He doesn’t think Nash is half the man he is. He cuts a promo on Chris Jericho whom he will wrestle tonight. Tonight, Jericho will feel the BANG!
8.) Booker shoves Inferno for grabbing the belt before the bell. Disco knocks Booker off his feet with a back elbow. Disco comes out of the corner with a clothesline for a two count. Booker ducks a clothesline to hit a spin kick. Booker follows up with a leaping forearm smash. Booker brings Disco back into the ring from the apron with a vertical suplex. Booker manages to hit Disco with a forearm smash again. Disco fakes a knee injury after a monkey flip. Booker turns his back and Disco goes on the attack with a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Disco kicks out of a school boy and nails Booker with a clothesline and a falling fist drop. Inferno scoop slams Booker and heads to the middle rope where he misses a forearm drop. Booker fights back with a scissors kick! Booker misses a splash in the corner and Inferno nearly wins with a rollup. Booker drops Inferno with an arm trapped suplex and comes off the top with the Harlem Hangover for the win. (**1/2. I enjoyed the match these two put together. The Harlem Hangover is an awesome finish and it is cool to see it on Saturday Night. A good competitive match.)
9.) Page shoulder blocks and clotheslines Jericho early on in the match. Jericho stops Page with a jaw breaker to gain control of the contest. Jericho follows up with a spinning heel kick. Jericho heads to the top and hits a missile dropkick but Page kicks out at two. Page drops Jericho after a few strikes. DDP counters a tornado DDT off the middle rope with the Diamond Cutter and pins Jericho right in the middle of the ring. (*1/2. A rather quick match but the finish was entertaining.)
Final Thoughts:
I thought it was a really good show with most of the featured matches delivering some quality matches. Booker/Inferno was the highlight of all the matches if I had to choose with the opener being a great way to kickoff the program.
Thanks for reading.