WCW Saturday Night 1/13/1996

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 1/13/1996
From: Atlanta, GA

Matches:
1.) Alex Wright defeated Steve Armstrong
2.) Eddie Guerrero defeated Scott Armstrong
3.) Kevin Sullivan defeated Butch Long
4.) Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Scotty Riggs defeated Men At Work
5.) VK Wallstreet defeated Mr. JL
6.) Meng defeated Dusty Wolfe
7.) Randy Savage defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair by disqualification

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Wright takes Armstrong down to the mat to start the match, but Armstrong counters quickly into a hammerlock. Wright keeps an arm bar on Armstrong for a few moments. Wright takes Armstrong over with a snap suplex for a two count. Armstrong puts a head scissors on Wright, but doesn’t get a submission. Wright tackles Armstrong to the mat, but Armstrong comes back with a suplex for a two count. Armstrong decks Wright in the corner with a right hand. Wright uppercuts Armstrong followed by a head scissors. Wright dropkicks Armstrong to the floor. Wright tries to fight out of a top wrist lock and takes Armstrong down to the mat. Wright leg drops Armstrong’s arm to maintain control of the contest. Armstrong clubs Wright over the back a few times and drives Wright down with a shoulder breaker for a near fall. Armstrong plants Wright with a front suplex for another two count. Armstrong connects with a sit down powerbomb for a two count. Armstrong shoulder blocks Wright to the floor and pulls Wright to the apron. Wright rams Armstrong into the top turnbuckle and tries for a splash, but Armstrong got his knees up. Wright manages to get an inside cradle and pins Armstrong for the win. (**. Armstrong carried the match rather well and provided some decent offense to hold my attention. Wright really didn’t shine here all that much and relied on a surprise pin to overcome Armstrong. That doesn’t make him look very strong heading into a Clash showdown in a few weeks.)

2.) Armstrong and Guerrero shake hands to show mutual respect to start the contest. Guerrero takes Armstrong down to the mat and keeps leg control. Armstrong rolls through and gets a leg lock on Guerrero, but fails to get a submission. Armstrong switches to a surfboard, but Guerrero doesn’t give in. Armstrong backdrops Guerrero for a near fall followed by several strikes to the back. Armstrong sends Guerrero hard into the corner back first and locks in a chin lock. Armstrong splashes down onto Guerrero’s back before switching to a rollup for a near fall. Armstrong delivers several knee strikes to Guerrero’s upper back. Armstrong scoop slams Guerrero for a near fall. Guerrero nails Armstrong with a dropkick and a scoop slam. Guerrero hits a slingshot senton from the apron for a two count. Guerrero dropkicks Armstrong on the knee. Guerrero keeps a leg lock in the middle of the ring. Armstrong gets control with his knee pressed into Guerrero’s lower back. Armstrong delivers a backbreaker for a near fall. Armstrong knee drops Guerrero several times. Armstrong continues with a snap suplex for another two count. Guerrero knee lifts Armstrong and plants Armstrong with a brainbuster. Guerrero heads to the top rope hitting the frog splash for the clean win. (**. Another decent match with another Armstrong getting quite a bit of offense but losing in the end. Guerrero gets a more decisive win compared to Wright, which I like.)

3.) Mean Gene interviews Randy savage and Hulk Hogan regarding the Clash of the Champions tag match against the Giant and WCW World Champion Ric Flair. Hogan cuts a promo about getting chokeslammed and says that it gets easier to get up each time. Hogan predicts that Savage will win the championship tonight. Savage chimes in and promises to win the WCW World Championship tonight. Hogan talks about the secret weapon and says they will strike down anyone that gets in their way. Savage doesn’t care about the Dungeon of Doom because he’s winning the gold tonight. Hogan finishes off with his catchphrase.

4.) Footage of One Man Gang winning the WCW United States Championship from Kensuke Sasaki is shown. This match was taped at Starrcade 1995.

5.) Mean Gene interviews The Giant, Jimmy Hart and WCW World Champion Ric Flair. Hart puts over Flair as being a winner and a champion. Hart thinks they are a unbeatable duo. Giant wants Hogan and Savage to bring any secret weapon they want, but it’s not going to help them. Flair chimes in and says that it’s not enough to be champion. Flair says they have home field advantage. Flair puts over Giant as being the man and he’s not someone he has to wrestle. Flair is confident they will destroy Savage.

6.) Mike Ditka is interviewed again by Eric Bischoff. Ditka mostly talks about old football stories and compares Mongo to Dick Butkis. They are teasing Ditka as being Mongo’s manager at some point. It’s a pointless segment.

7.) Mean Gene is with Col. Robert Parker and Sister Sherri. They are getting married at the Clash of the Champions. Parker offers Gene a cigar. Parker hits on Sherri during the promo. They kiss a few times as Parker says once you get the cigar lit you never let the fire go out. Sherri knew that Parker was going to propose to her. Sherri can’t think of anyone else to enjoy pleasure with than Parker. Parker promises they will be together forever.

8.) The Giant is in Flair’s corner and Hogan is in Macho Man’s corner. However, the Zodiac comes out and tells Giant to go backstage. Hogan goes backstage, as well.

9.) Savage takes Flair down to the mat with a side headlock. Flair breaks free with an eye rake and delivers a few chops in the corner. Savage nearly wins with a backslide. The referee shoved Flair down and Savage almost won following that. Savage hammers away on Flair in the corner. Savage backdrops Flair out of the corner and the champ bails to the floor. Savage shoulder blocks Flair and begins to trade strikes with Flair. Savage drops Flair with a few jabs for a two count. Savage knee lifts Flair in the corner, but Flair delivers an elbow strike to gain control of the contest. Flair delivers a knee drop to send Savage rolling to the floor. Jimmy Hart gets several cheap shots in on Savage outside the ring. Flair maintains control with strikes and chops on the floor. Savage tried to bring a cane into the ring, but the referee stopped him. Flair sends Savage into the corner back first and delivers a back suplex for a two count.

Flair drops Savage with a chop and a blow over the back. Flair hits a vertical suplex for a near fall. Flair splashes down onto Savage’s knee and delivers a knee breaker. Flair locks on the figure four in the middle of the ring. Flair uses the ropes for leverage as the fans chant for Savage. Savage manages to rollover, but Flair lets go. Savage drops Flair over the top rope throat first. Flair flips in the corner onto the apron. Flair eye rakes Savage and goes to the top, but Savage slams Flair to the mat. Savage clotheslines Flair a few times. Savage leaps off the top to hit the elbow drop. Savage decks Jimmy Hart off the apron. Hulk Hogan has Jimmy Hart, but Arn Anderson nails Savage with an illegal object. Flair covers Savage to win the match while Hogan decked Anderson. Hogan shows the referee the illegal object and tries to hit Flair, but the champ bails. The Giant is trying to get in the ring, but is held back. The referee has reversed the decision and gives the match to Savage by disqualification. (**1/2. They worked a slower match and didn’t pull out all their signature moves, but I enjoyed the actions. The finish allows these two to wrestle some more and adds some hype for the Clash tag match.)

10.) Tony Schiavone interviews Hogan and Savage to end the program. Hogan says that the brass knuckles are the reason that Flair had the advantage over Savage. Hogan believes that Savage should be the champion right now. Hogan is tired of the Dungeon and the Horsemen. Hogan says that Savage has to tear apart Luger on Nitro. Savage says the secret weapon is unbelievable, but Hogan doesn’t want that to be revealed until the Clash. Savage says the world has seen nothing yet. Hogan says that brass knuckles are nothing to their secret weapon. Savage proclaims the secret weapon will make them look weak.

Final Thoughts:
A couple of fun undercard matches and a decent main event makes this an enjoyable overall show. Flair vs. Savage is always a strong TV main event.

Thanks for reading.