WCW Saturday Night 8/21/1999

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 8/21/1999
From: Casper, WY

Matches:
1.) WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat defeated Barry Darsow & Bobby Eaton
2.) Ernest Miller defeated Al Greene
3.) Brian Knobbs defeated La Parka
4.) Perry Saturn defeated Mikey Whipwreck
5.) Scott Norton defeated Dave Burkhead
6.) Rey Mistero Jr. defeated Silver King
7.) Barry Windham, Kendall Windham & Bobby Duncum Jr. defeated Scotty Riggs, Kenny Kaos & Scott Putski
8.) Billy Kidman defeated Kaz Hayashi
9.) WCW United States Champion Chris Benoit defeated Psicosis

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Ray and Darsow start the match with Darsow choking Ray over the top rope. Ray blocks a boot and atomic drops Darsow. Darsow backs Booker into the corner and along with Eaton get the advantage. Eaton back elbows Booker but Booker delivers a knee lift. Booker comes off the ropes and nails Eaton with a scissors kick. Darsow enters and runs into a boot by Booker. Darsow cuts Booker off with a clothesline and soon afterward a scoop slam. Booker counters a Rocket Launcher with a leaping heel kick on Eaton. Ray cleans house with right hands and a big boot. Ray spikes Darsow with a spinebuster. Booker comes off the top to hit a missile dropkick for the win. (*. Darsow and Eaton tried to do some things that were well out of their skill set to this point.) After the match, Eaton tries to use the tag belts, but the champs counter and knock Darsow out in the middle of the ring.

2.) A vignette promoting the debut of Berlyn was shown. Of course, Berlyn was previously known as Alex Wright who had last been seen on television in 1998.

3.) Parka dropkicks Knobbs from behind to send Knobbs to the floor and plays to the crowd. Knobbs runs in from behind to deck Parka and stomps away. Knobbs hammers away on Parka along with more boots. Knobbs clotheslines Parka in the corner. Knobbs puts is armpit into Parka’s face but Parka wears a mask and hits a spinning heel kick off the middle rope. Parka goes to the top rope and hits a corkscrew dive. Parka dances and gets a two count. Parka nails Knobbs with a kick to the head. Knobbs crotches Parka on the top rope and knocks Parka to the floor where the First Family cheap shots him several times. Knobbs sends Parka into the ring steps. Knobbs plants Parka with a pumphandle slam. Knobbs hits a middle rope splash for the win. (*1/2. I was hopeful that La Parka would maybe steal a win here, but that was just wishful thinking. This wasn’t too bad, really.)

4.) Saturn shoves Whipwreck to the mat and delivers a shoulder block. Whipwreck takes Saturn over with a fireman’s carry. Saturn tosses Whipwreck with an overhead belly to belly suplex. The First Family is seen on the aisle and Whipwreck knocks Saturn off the apron into the railing. Whipwreck hits a slingshot somersault dive to the floor. Whipwreck sends Saturn into the guard railing to keep control. Whipwreck rams Saturn into the railing with a side Russian leg sweep. Saturn fights back with right hands, but Whipwreck drops Saturn over the top rope. Whipwreck leg drops Saturn over the bottom rope for a near fall. Whipwreck heads to the top rope but Saturn hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Saturn yanks Whipwreck down to the mat by his arm. Saturn hits a belly to belly suplex. Saturn takes Whipwreck down to the mat and locks in the Rings of Saturn to win the match. (***. Give these guys five more minutes and put it on Nitro and it’s probably going to be a helluva great match. I enjoyed it here and I might be overrating it, but it’s not very often that a good match to this level is on Saturday Night.)

5.) King backs Mistero into a corner and argues with the refereeing before delivering a superkick to Mistero. King drives Mistero down with a tilt a whirl backbreaker. Mistero arm drags King to the floor and fakes a dive to the outside. King nails Mistero with a clothesline to regain control. King drops Mistero gut first over the top rope and nearly wins the match. King crotches Mistero on the top rope and delivers a right hand. Mistero fights off and knocks King to the mat. Mistero hits a middle rope crossbody for a two count. King decks Mistero to stop Rey’s momentum. King drives Mistero chest first over the apron. King tries to use a chair, but Mistero gets into the ring instead. King is biting the side of Mistero, I think. Mistero plants King with a spinebuster. King chops Mistero agains the ropes. Mistero nearly wins with a victory roll. King drops Mistero with a quick clothesline. King misses a splash and stays on the middle rope allowing Mistero to hit a leg drop out of the corner. Mistero tries for a split legged moonsault, but King got his kneed up to the block it. King misses a springboard moonsault. Mistero hits a bronco buster in the corner. Mistero hits a top rope hurricanrana for the win. (***. Well, that was really competitive and I enjoyed how they presented the match. King came across like a serious challenger and worked well with Mistero. Constant action and good spots throughout. We’ve been spoiled on this episode.)

6.) Scotty Riggs accidentally knocked out Scott Putski in the six-man tag match costing his team the victory.

7.) Hayashi eye rakes Kidman followed by a chop and strikes. Hayashi dropkicks a seated Kidman after a snapmare. Kidman misses a clothesline and Hayashi tries for a back suplex, but Kidman comes off the ropes to deliver a clothesline. Kidman forearms Hayashi and delivers a backbreaker for a two count. Hayashi drops Kidman over the rope and plants Kidman with a DDT. Hayashi stomps on Kidman before connecting with a clothesline for a near fall. Hayashi hammers away on Kidman in the corner with right hands. Kidman drops Hayashi with a kick to the head. Kidman misses a splash in the corner and Hayashi plants Kidman with a back suplex. Hayashi connects with a backbreaker and goes to the top rope. Hayashi leaps off the top and misses a swanton bomb. Kidman backdrops Hayashi followed by a bulldog for a two count. Hayashi nearly wins with a standing hurricanrana. Kidman plants Hayashi with a sit out powerbomb got a near fall. Hayashi boots Kidman in the corner and hits a top rope crossbody for a near fall. Hayashi tries for a powerbomb, but Kidman hits a facebuster. Kidman goes to the top rope and hits the Shooting Star Press for the win. (**1/2. I don’t know what is going on for this show but that was another really solid match. I shouldn’t be overly surprised since these matches have all involved the better in-ring guys in the company, which is mostly Cruiserweight level guys.)

8.) Benoit shoulder blocks Psicosis early on and follows up with an arm drag and dropkick. Benoit baseball slides Psicosis into the guard railing. Benoit rolls Psicosis into the ring and is met with a dropkick. Psicosis works over Benoit in the corner with strikes and runs into a boot. Benoit chops Psicosis to the mat. Psicosis stops Benoit with axe handle shots a front suplex for a near fall. Psicosis sends Benoit to the floor and sends Benoit into the guard railing. Psicosis crotches Benoit on the top rope and leaps off top to dropkick Benoit into the ring. Benoit fights back with a snap suplex several times. Benoit drops Psicosis over the top rope gut first. Benoit knee lifts Psicosis in the midsection for a two count. Benoit takes Psicosis over with a full nelson suplex for a near fall. Benoit continues with a series of German suplexs. Benoit signals for the diving headbutt and heads to the top rope. Benoit leaps off and hits the diving headbutt for the win. (**. A rather quick main event, but Psicosis got a few moments to shine before it turned into a Benoit showcase. I felt satisfied with what they did here.)

Final Thoughts:
I’m going to say this was the best episode of Saturday Night for 1999 thus far. If Saturday Night was like this every week it would be the best wrestling show WCW has to offer. In fact, it could possibly be that way anyway.

Thanks for reading.