WCW Saturday Night 3/16/1996

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 3/16/1996
From: Dalton, GA

Matches:
1.) Road Warriors vs. Mark Starr & Chris Kanyon never officially started
2.) The Belfast Bruiser defeated Dave Taylor
3.) Brad Armstrong defeated Disco Inferno
4.) Public Enemy defeated Pez Whatley & Larry Santo
5.) WCW Tag Team/TV Champion Lex Luger, Kevin Sullivan & Arn Anderson defeated The Gambler, Pat Tanaka & Cobra
6.) Diamond Dallas Page defeated Dave Sullivan
7.) Jim Duggan defeated The Giant by count out
8.) WCW Tag Team Champion Sting defeated Kurasawa
9.) The Barbarian & Shark defeated Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage by disqualification

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) The Steiner Brothers come out and attack the Road Warriors leading to a brawl around ringside. The official match never started with Men At Work and the Road Warriors. Hawk and Scott Steiner brawl backstage while Animal and Rick continue to go at it at ringside and they eventually brawl backstage, as well.

2.) Mean Gene interviews the Steiner Brothers. Scott Steiner says every time he sees a Road Warrior he’s coming after them no matter where they are. Scott promises they will pay for putting the spike in Rick’s head on Nitro.

3.) Bruiser backs Taylor against the ropes and delivers a forearm shot to the chest. Bruiser continues with an uppercut and a few strikes to the chest on the apron. Bruiser elbow drops Taylor for a two count. Taylor comes back with an uppercut and rams Bruiser into the corner face first. Taylor rams Bruiser chest first onto the apron. Bruiser gains control with a nerve hold and follows up with several strikes to the back. Bruiser drives his knee into the back of Taylor’s head for a near fall. Bruiser leg trips Taylor to the mat and keeps leg control. Bruiser is kicked over the top to the floor by Taylor. Taylor tosses Bruiser back into the ring from the apron. Taylor uppercuts Bruiser but misses a splash in the corner. Bruiser nails Taylor with a clothesline and wins the match. After the match, Bruiser fights off Eaton and Regal before departing to the floor. Bruiser knocks them down on the floor, too. (*1/4. It’s not offensive action or anything, but I didn’t find myself enjoying it all that much.)

4.) Disco Inferno purchased DDP’s rings and is flaunting them on his hands during his entrance.

5.) Inferno attacks Armstrong before the bell and keeps the advantage. Armstrong arm drags and hip tosses Inferno. Armstrong connects with a standing dropkick and Inferno bails to the floor to regroup. Armstrong keeps wrist control on Inferno, but Inferno breaks free for a moment. Armstrong switches to a hammerlock and keeps Inferno on the canvas. Inferno misses a right in the corner and Armstrong is met with an elbow. Inferno bulldogs Armstrong out of the corner. Inferno elbows Armstrong to the mat followed by a scoop slam and a standing fist drop. Inferno taunts the crowd on the middle rope before going back to elbow strikes. Armstrong nearly wins with a backslide. Armstrong gets another backslide for a two count. Armstrong tries for a third backslide and again almost wins the match. Inferno nails Armstrong with a clothesline to gain control of the match. Armstrong counters a slam to hit a side Russian leg sweep and pins Inferno in the middle of the ring. After the match, Inferno is more concerned about his hair. (*. I’m glad that Armstrong is getting some kind of push here in WCW and winning against Inferno is a solid win for him.)

6.) Lee Marshall interviews Col. Robert Parker and Dick Slater. Parker is having a hard time hearing because Madusa slapped him. Parker is blaming Madusa for him not being married right now. Slater says it has been difficult to train Parker, but he’s going to be ready to wrestle Madusa. Slater notes they didn’t have a woman to practice on as they’ve been using a mannequin and Parker has been doing a good job with it.

7.) Backstage, Mean Gene interviews Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. Hogan says they are on a roll as of late. Hogan hypes up the Texas Tornado match taking place on Nitro. Savage thinks that Nitro is going to blow up with the tag match. Hogan says that Doomsday means nothing to them. Gene gets a copy of the contract. Hogan signed the contract, but wrote down the Mega Powers. Hogan believes he’s the dirtiest player in the game and outsmarted them. Savage tells Gene that this UnCensored is going to make the other look censored.

8.) Mean Gene interviews Kevin Sullivan, Arn Anderson and Jimmy Hart. Sullivan says that the issues between the Dungeon and the Horsemen is over. Sullivan says that Hogan has put Savage on death row. Sullivan notes that they signed it with their team name, too. So, that means they could add anyone to their group for the match. Hart chimes in and says that Lex Luger is tighter than ever with the Dungeon of Doom. Hart claims that when he left Hogan that Hogan’s career went down the tubes. Anderson brags about beating Hulk Hogan two times in a row and he’s going to take his anger out on Booty Man.

9.) Lee Marshall interviews Diamond Dallas Page. Page thinks he’s on a roll now. Page talks about ramming Johnny B. Badd face onto the mat with a cutter and now his good friend Lex Luger is the WCW TV Champion. Page says that Badd called officials crying about a hurt neck. Page has heard that Badd has hit the road and left WCW. Page is going to be at UnCensored and he’s going to get his money and girl back. Marshall doesn’t know what Page is talking about. Kimberly had the flowers for Booty Man as revealed by Marshall. Page can’t believe this. So, now it will be Page vs. Booty at UnCensored.

10.) Duggan attacks Giant as Giant tried to step over the top rope to enter the ring. Duggan blocks a strike and continues to hammer away on Giant in the corner. Duggan plays to the crowd and runs into a big boot in the corner. Giant splashes down onto Duggan’s back. Giant elbows Duggan in the corner and delivers a few back splashes. Duggan ducks under and Giant hits the corner back first. Duggan tries for a slam, but Giant blocks it with a strike to the back. Giant locks in a bearhug before dropping Duggan to the mat. Duggan kicks Giant a few times, but Giant sends Duggan into the corner and misses a splash. Duggan goes into his tights to get tape and Loch Ness comes down to the ring. Duggan punches Giant several times and knocks Giant to the floor. Ness attacks Giant on the floor and they brawl while the referee counts Giant out to give Duggan the win. After the match, Duggan chases Hart from the ring. (*. I’m glad they also did this match on Saturday Night along with their match on Nitro last week. The action was okay for what it was and I think this allows for another match for Giant to eventually pin Duggan.)

11.) Mean Gene interviews Jimmy Hart and Giant. Gene asks if a match has been signed between Giant and Loch Ness. Hart is pissed about people putting their hands on him. Hart is tired of everyone trying to attack Giant. Hart still has a contract on Loch Ness. Hart announces that Loch Ness will wrestle Giant at UnCensored. Giant says that Ness made the biggest mistake of his life. Giant says Ness will find out who the real giant is.

12.) Kurasawa works over Sting with a knee lift and several kicks to the chest to back Sting into the corner. Kurasawa continues with chops and strikes in the corner. Kurasawa kicks Sting on the knee a few times and delivers a stomp to the head. Kurasawa slams Sting to the mat for a near fall. Kurasawa tosses Sting overhead with a suplex followed by an elbow drop for a near fall. Kurasawa keeps a nerve hold on Sting, but Sting quickly powers out of it. Sting elbows free and hammers away on Kurasawa. Sting ducks a clothesline and decks Kurasawa with a clothesline of his own. Sting hits a splash in the corner and locks in the Scorpion Death Lock to win the match in the middle of the ring. (*. Kurasawa displayed some solid offense for the brief time he had control, but it was just a matter of time before Sting put this away easily.)

13.) Mean Gene interviews Sting. Sting has no partner for UnCensored to wrestle the Road Warriors in a street fight. Sting would love to knock Jimmy Hart’s teeth down his throat. Sting holds nothing against the Warriors just as they don’t hold anything against Sting. Lex Luger enters the scene to talk with Sting. Luger is getting sick and tired of everyone, except Sting, pointing their fingers at him. Sting wants to know why Hart was saying he’s tight with Luger. Luger has told Sting he’s aligned with Sting and tells Sting they are trying to drive them apart. Luger would be there for Sting, but he can’t be there due to his contract with Hart. Sting would knock Hart out if it was him, but Luger doesn’t know what that would prove.

14.) Backstage, Lee Marshall is trying to talk with Sting, who is hitting a towel against a locker. Sting doesn’t know who Marshall is. Marshall says that since Sting’s partner dumped, but Sting corrects him and says that Luger can’t legally do the match. Booker T enters the scene and says he may be the answer to Sting’s problem. Booker is offering to team with Sting to take on the Road Warriors. Booker knows that if the Road Warriors win the tag titles it would be a pain for the Harlem Heat to get a tag title shot. Booker just wants a tag title shot for himself and Stevie. Sting agrees to this offer.

15.) Hogan and Savage waste no time going after Barbarian and Shark. Hogan bites Shark’s forehead in the corner and Savage chokes Barbarian on the mat. Shark gets a few strikes in on Savage while Hogan sends Barbarian to the floor. Hogan rams Barbarian face first onto the apron. The show goes to commercial. Hogan clotheslines Barbarian and continues with right hands on the mat. Hogan tosses the referee down and the referee calls for the bell to disqualify Hogan and Savage. (NR. This isn’t even a match and really just a brawling segment.) After the match, Hogan pulls Barbarian to the floor and sends Barbarian into the ring post shoulder first. Hogan big boots Shark, but Shark doesn’t go down and stumbles into the corner. Hogan gets his hands on Kevin Sullivan, but Arn Anderson comes out and they continue to brawl as the show comes to an end.

Final Thoughts:
There’s a lot going on here with a lot of brawling and angle advancements. It’s a breeze to watch these shows when every segment seems to serve a purpose. A lot of big names on the program and I’m glad that Saturday Night is still a priority.

Thanks for reading.