WCW House Show 11/1/1996

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 11/1/1996
From: Hammond, IN

Opening Contest: Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Syxx: Syxx starts the match trying some kind of karate stuff to intimidate Chavo but that’s not working out so well for him. Chavo arm drags Syxx but Syxx kips right back up. Chavo gets out of a hammerlock with a snap mare to send Syxx to the floor. Chavo shoulder blocks Syxx and hits a head scissors to send Syxx to the floor. Syxx comes back in and they trade hammerlocks. Syxx breaks free with an elbow strike but misses an elbow drop. Chavo backs Syxx into the corner to chop him. Chavo misses a top rope cross body. Syxx chokes Chavo on the apron. Syxx comes off the middle rope to elbow drop Chavo across the apron. Syxx chops Chavo in the corner followed by several kicks and taunts the fans. Syxx keeps Chavo on the canvas with a headlock. Chavo elbows his way out of the hold after a minute and a half to hit a cross body coming off the ropes for a near fall. Syxx cuts Chavo off with a clothesline followed by a leg drop and stomps. Syxx sends Chavo into the corner and misses a splash and is stuck on the middle rope. Chavo hammers away on Syxx before hitting a backdrop and a leaping forearm smash. Chavo knee lifts Syxx in the corner and delivers ten punches in the corner. Chavo clotheslines Syxx after flipping off the top rope. Chavo nearly wins with rollup. Chavo goes to the top rope but gets kicked off by Syxx. Syxx puts Chavo on the top rope and taunts the fans. Syxx tries for a back suplex but Chavo elbows him off and hits a top rope moonsault for a near fall. Nick Patrick is the referee and is helping Syxx here. Syxx hits a spinning heel kick and pins Chavo. (**1/2. Probably one of the better opening matches I’ve seen since covering house show events. They had some good action throughout and the headlock spot really slowed the match but led into the fast pace ending sequence. Chavo looked pretty solid in there, too.)

Second Contest: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Eddie Guerrero: DDP misses a running attack and flies over the top to the floor. Guerrero quickly hammers away on DDP ramming him onto the announcers table. The fans really liked the hot start to the match. Guerrero rams DDP back first into the guard railing. Guerrero is stopped by an axe handle from DDP. Guerrero comes off the top to hit a springboard cross body and controls the left arm of DDP. DDP tries to get out of the hold but Guerrero manages to keep it on for a few moments. Guerrero hip tosses DDP and dropkicks him to the floor. Guerrero stomps DDP’s hand as he tries to get into the ring. DDP hammers away on Guerrero and delivers a few short arm shoulder blocks. Guerrero counters with a few of his own but DDP stops him with a shot to the ribs and sends Guerrero chest first into the corner to knock him down to the canvas. DDP chokes Guerrero over the middle rope. DDP drops Guerrero gut first to the canvas. DDP steps on the lower back of Guerrero to keep control of the match. DDP drops Guerrero with a strike to the lower back. DDP kicks Guerrero down to avoid a backdrop and gets a two count. DDP plants Guerrero with a backbreaker for a near fall. DDP puts an abdominal stretch on Guerrero and uses the ropes for leverage. The referee sees it and kicks DDP off. Guerrero arm drags DDP but DDP quickly came back with a clothesline and stomps on Guerrero for a two count. Guerrero gets a two count on DDP but can’t follow up as DDP argues wight eh referee who stands on the middle rope and yells at DDP. DDP quickly begs off from the referee and goes back on Guerrero.

Guerrero counters a backdrop attempt by kicking DDP. Guerrero hammers away on DDP with strikes and an uppercut. Guerrero hammers away on DDP on the middle rope. Guerrero uppercuts DDP followed by a heel kick. Guerrero plants DDP with a back suplex. Guerrero heads to the top rope but misses a frog splash. DDP drops Guerrero chest first across the top rope. DDP face plants Guerrero in the middle of the ring for a two count. Guerrero head scissors DDP and they are both down on the canvas. DDP goes to the top but Eddie crotches him on the turnbuckle. DDP begs on the top rope but Guerrero delivers a few shots. Guerrero gets shoved off but catches DDP with an atomic drop in midair. Guerrero nearly wins with an inside cradle and backslide. Guerrero counters the diamond cutter with a backslide for a two count. DDP low blows Guerrero and puts him on the top turnbuckle. DDP gets low blowed off the middle rope and Guerrero hits a top rope frog splash for the win! After the match, DDP plants Guerrero with a diamond cutter. (***. I really enjoyed this match. The action was really good and the crowd was into the action. They just worked really well together.)

Third Contest: WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs. Chris Jericho: Malenko takes Jericho down to the mat but Jericho quickly counters with a head scissors but they pop right back up. Jericho arm drags Malenko but doesn’t followup on it. Malenko drop toe holds Jericho but Jericho gets a hammerlock on Malenko. They trade some mat wrestling holds with Malenko getting control of the left arm. Jericho backs Malenko agains the ropes but has to let go of his hold. Malenko knee lifts Jericho and eventually gets a near fall on a rollup. Jericho kicks Malenko on the side of the head and spin kicks the champ to the floor. Malenko dropkicks the left knee of Jericho and focuses his attack on the leg. Malenko keeps Jericho on the canvas and tries to get a submission but isn’t able to get one. Malenko drives Jericho down with a knee breaker and drags Jericho to the corner to wrap his leg around the ring post. Malenko rolls Jericho up in the ring but only gets a two count. Malenko works over the left knee of Jericho in the corner but Jericho punches him away. Jericho counters a suplex attempt with a snap suplex. Malenko takes Jericho back down and continues to control the leg. Malenko scoop slams Jericho and attempts to put the Texas Cloverleaf and has it locked in until Jericho reaches the ropes. Malenko is rammed head first into the corner several times. Jericho gets stopped with a low blow. Malenko keeps Jericho on the mat working over his left leg. Jericho gets a sunset flip cover but Malenko kicks out and sends Jericho to the floor.

Malenko rams Jericho into the ring post shoulder first before returning to the ring. Malenko clotheslines Jericho in the corner but is met with a double boot. Jericho comes off the middle rope to dropkick Malenko. Jericho drops Malenko with an elbow strike. Jericho nearly wins with a fisherman suplex. Jericho misses a dropkick attempt and Malenko tries for the Cloverleaf but Jericho counters with a rollup for a near fall. Jericho is met with a boot to the gut but counters a suplex and rolls Malenko up for a near fall. Malenko rolls through and manages to pin Jericho with a handful of tights. (**. Their stuff in ’98 was really good compared to this match. It was okay, for sure, but they didn’t do much outside of the basic offense it felt like. Plus, Jericho didn’t really sell the knee that Malenko focused on throughout the match. It was a solid enough undercard match, though.)

Fourth Contest: Nasty Boys vs. Juventud Guerrera & Psychosis: Psychosis slides into the ring and gets double teamed with a double shoulder block while Guerrera just stayed on the apron. Knobbs tosses Psychosis to the floor and grabs a microphone to get the crowd riled up. Guerrera flips into the ring but bails to the floor with Psychosis. They decide to walk up the aisle way. Guerrera eye rakes Knobbs and chops him in the corner followed by strikes. Psychosis headbutts Knobbs from the apron and Guerrera hit a dropkick in the corner. Sags enters and shoulder blocks Guererra. Nasty Boys clobber Guerrera in the corner and Psychosis gets sent to the floor. Sags plants Guerrera with a slam for a two count. Psychosis comes off the middle rope to headbutt Sags. Guerrera hits a springboard leg drop on Sags causing Sags to bail to the floor. Knobbs tries to get his hands on Psychosis but is stopped by the referee. Sags whacks Guerrera over the back with a steel chair and sends him into the guard railing. Sags rams Guerrera into the ring post back first. Psychosis boots Sags and delivers a few chops to keep control of the match for his team. Guerrea whacks Sags over the back with a chair from the floor. Sags is getting double teamed in the corner as the referee is distracted by Knobbs in the other corner. Psychosis controls Sags on the mat with a headlock and tags in Guerrera who hit a springboard dropkick for a two count on Sags. Guerrera attempts a slam on Sags but he’s just too big to pickup. Sags power slams Guerrera and sells his lower back. Psychosis gets tagged in and keeps Sags on the canvas with a head scissors. Sags drives Psychosis down to the canvas with a face buster. Sags tags in Knobbs and here comes Guerrera but Knobbs cleans house with elbow strikes. Sas sends Psychosis over the top to the floor. Sags knee lifts Guerrera and slams him down. Knobbs comes off the middle rope to splash Guerrera and wins the match. (**. I thought this was a bizarre pairing to have. Just two completely different styles. Plus, Guerrera was being presented as a face on TV but for a random show in Indiana he plays a heel with Psychosis. The action was okay and the Nasty Boys actually took some highspots from their opponents which was good to see. It was a fine undercard tag match.)

Fifth Contest: Chris Benoit vs. Lex Luger: Benoit’s left shoulder is taped up but he starts the match working over Luger with strikes and rams him head first into the corner. Benoit kicks Luger down to the canvas and rams Luger into the top turnbuckle. Benoit chokes Luger on the canvas for a few moments. Benoit chokes Luger over the top rope and decks Luger with a forearm shot. Benoit continues to hammer away on Luger and sends him into the corner but misses a splash. Luger takes control and works over Benoit’s left shoulder that is taped up. Luger works over the left arm of Benoit by wrapping it over the top rope and drops down off the apron to the floor. Luger stomps away on Benoit to keep control of the match. Benoit dumps Luger to the outside and follows to stomp away on Lex. Benoit rams Luger face first into the ring post. Benoit rams Luger back first into the corner and continues to work over Lex sending him into the guard railing back first. Benoit delivers a strike to the lower back focusing his attack to that part of his body back in the ring. Benoit sends Luger back first into the corner and Lex crashes to the canvas. Luger comes off the ropes and is met with a knee lift from Benoit. Benoit keeps Luger on the mat with a sleeper hold. Benoit blocks a backdrop with a snap suplex for a near fall. Benoit stomps away on Luger and snap mares him down to control with a sleeper hold once again. Benoit uses the ropes for extra leverage but doesn’t get a submission out of Luger. Luger comes off the ropes and shoulder blocks Benoit. Luger runs over Benoit with a clothesline several times. Luger nails Benoit with a forearm shot and nearly wins the match. Luger runs into a big boot and Benoit connects with a forearm strike of his own. Benoit goes to the top rope and misses a diving headbutt. Luger takes advantage with a rollup for the win. (*1/2. It’s not too bad, but I knew that Luger would be very limited here taking on Benoit. It was rather surprising that Luger didn’t work over Benoit’s shoulder or anything for a long period of time. Benoit didn’t come across like a serious deal to Luger and that was unfortunate. There wasn’t any German suplexs and there was no Torture Rack. Those were two things I was hoping to see. I don’t even know if these two had another singles match.)

Sixth Contest: The Giant vs. Randy Savage vs. Sting in an elimination match: Savage wants to shake hands with Sting, but he’s not interested in that. This is interesting because Sting had been off WCW TV since walking out on Nitro in September. Giant shoves Savage and Sting knocking both men to the floor. Giant goes after Sting on the floor and clubs away on Sting before doing the same to Savage. Giant rolls Savage into the ring but goes back over to Sting and rolls him back into the ring as well. Giant drives Savage down with an elbow strike and elbow drops Sting. Giant kicks Savage and delivers a shoulder ram in the corner. Giant has both men but they kick Giant and take him over with a double snap suplex, which gets a good pop. Sting hits a Stinger Splash in the corner and works over Giant with strikes. Giant sends Sting into the corner and misses a splash. Sting kicks Giant on the top rope and hits a splash in the corner. Sting hits another splash to the back of Giant. Giant manages to get his boot up to block a splash and Sting crashes to the canvas. Giant elbow drops Sting. Savage is standing on the apron as Giant slams Sting. Savage enters the ring but the referee prevents him from doing anything. Giant kicks Sting against the ropes delivers an overhand chop. Sting ducks a clothesline and attempts a cross body, but Giant doesn’t budge. Giant elbow drops the leg of Sting and dumps Sting to the floor. Sting rolls back into the ring but Giant grabs Sting and tosses him into the guard railing. Giant rolls Sting back into the ring. Giant returns to the ring and puts Sting in a bear hug. Sting tries to fight out of the hold and bites Giant’s forehead to break free. Sting ducks a dropkick and Giant bounces off the ropes. Savage comes in and decks Giant from behind. Giant misses a running attack in the corner and Sting scoop slams Giant! Sting puts the Scorpion Death Lock on Giant but Giant powers out quickly. Giant catches a charging Sting but Sting comes in with a chair to whack Giant over the back and over the head a few times to save Sting. The referee has disqualified Savage in the match it looks like. Sting backdrops Giant over the top to the floor and the referee starts to count. Giant has been counted out and Sting wins the match! (*1/2. Well, the whole match was basically just Giant taking on Sting and the wrestling wasn’t too bad. I forgot that Savage was off TV after his Halloween Havoc match with Hogan, so this has two guys off TV competing in this match. Not much of a triple threat match, though and all the finishes protected the guys involved.)

Main Event: WCW Tag Team Champions Kevin Nash & Scott Hall vs. Harlem Heat: Hall and Booker start the main event after a few minutes of stalling. Booker controls Hall with a hammerlock but Hall hammers away on Booker followed by a shoulder block. Booker messes up a leapfrog and hammers away on Hall to cover it up. Booker kicks Hall on the left leg and Stevie Ray tags in to keep control of Hall by working over his left leg. Ray puts a half Boston Crab on Hall but isn’t going to get a submission. Hall manages to reach the ropes to break the hold. Ray stomps on Hall and Booker tags in. Nash knees Booker from the apron and Hall nails Booker with a quick clothesline before tagging in Nash. Nash drives Booker down with a side slam and works over Booker with an elbow strike and drops Booker down face first across the top turnbuckle. Hall nails Booker from the apron to cheap shot him. Nash works over Booker in the corner with a few more strikes. Nash chokes Booker in the corner and Hall clotheslines Booker. Hall tags in and works over Booker with a kick. Hall catches booker on a cross body attempt and hits a fallaway slam. Booker rolls to the floor to regroup. Nash follows and nails Booker with a short arm clothesline. Booker has an inside cradle on Hall for a two count. Booker gets double teamed in the corner getting punched by the Outsiders. Nash sends Booker into the corner and Booker falls to the mat. Nash misses a splash in the corner but big boots Booker followed by a running clothesline and tags in Hall. Hall goes for the cover but Booker kicks out at two. Hall stops Booker with a sleeper hold. Booker gets out and reverses with a sleeper hold of his own. Hall drives Booker down with a back suplex to get out of the hold. Hall goes for the cover but Booker kicks out at two. Hall comes off the ropes and collides heads with Booker.

Ray gets the hot tag and cleans house sending Hall into Nash and clotheslines Hall. Ray power slams Hall for a two count as Nash breaks up the pin. Booker clotheslines Nash over the top to the floor. Ray ducks a foreign object shot and rolls Hall up and the referee counts a three! Nash comes in and tells the referee, Nick Patrick, that Ray used an illegal object. For whatever reason Ray has the evidence and the match must continue. Wait, it doesn’t continue. Outsiders win by reverse decision. Booker and Ray lay out the champs to end the match. (*. Well, this was basically an extended squash match for the Outsiders as Harlem Heat was not presented to be on the same level as the champions. The finish is just ridiculous and made zero sense. I seem to remember thinking these two teams would have good matches when I was a kid, but they just failed to deliver. Not a great effort to close the show.)

Final Thoughts:
As per usual with WCW shows the undercard was really good and the main events just didn’t deliver much for entertainment. I thought it was an enjoyable house show and the same flew by, but the last few matches just weren’t very good. Mild thumbs up for this one.

Thanks for reading.