WCW Saturday Night 8/17/1996

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 8/17/1996
From:

Matches:
1.) Mike Enos & Dick Slater defeated Bobby Eaton & Dave Taylor
2.) WCW United States Champion Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael defeated High Voltage, Renegade & Joe Gomez
3.) Nasty Boys defeated Bobby Walker & Mark Starr
4.) WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat fought Steiner Brothers to a no contest
5.) The Giant defeated Jim Powers

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Enos and Taylor kickoff the tag match. Enos backs Taylor into a corner and cleanly backs off after a shove. Enos backs Taylor into another corner, but Taylor gets headlock control and slaps Enos. Enos fires back with a headbutt after a few strikes. Taylor gets a rollup for a tow count, and Slater decks Taylor from behind. Enos delivers a neckbreaker on Taylor, but misses an elbow drop. Eaton hammers away on Enos in the corner and elbows Enos to the mat. Eaton leaps off the top hitting a leg drop. Slater decks Eaton leading to a brawl with Taylor. Enos accidentally decks Slater with a left hand, but Slater pulls down the ropes to send Eaton to the floor. Eaton is brought into the ring with a suplex and Enos wins the match. (1/2*. Well, that was a little flat of a finish. I’ve been wanting a push for Enos and Slater, so this is fine with me.)

2.) Mean Gene interviews Lord Steven Regal. Regal is no longer ashamed to say he’s a dirty rotten scoundrel. Regal says everyone is worried about the NWO. Regal thinks that Hogan should be worried about him. Regal wants to be a champion and doesn’t care who he has to defeat to make that a reality.

3.) Backstage, Mean Gene interviews the Four Horsemen following their easy victory. Benoit says the Outsiders haven’t met adversity until they meet one on one. Mongo says that Hall and Nash aren’t enough to overtake WCW. Anderson chimes in and says that at some point real soon they’d have to wrestle a match in the ring where it will finish. Flair closes out the promo saying that Anderson is the enforcer and he’ll take care of the Outsiders. Flair wants to finish his business with Hogan, and he’ll stalk Hogan until the gold is back around his waist.

4.) Mean Gene interviews Col. Robert Parker and Sherri. Parker thinks it is hot in there because of Sherri. Parker says it is easy for him to go to the ring with Harlem Heat because he is able to promote the best tag team going today. Sherri dismisses the notion that they are working with the Outsiders, which is not the case. Sherri promises Harlem Heat will continue to be successful as long as they are at ringside with them.

5.) Rick and Ray kickoff the tag title match with Rick backing Ray into a corner. Rick hammers away on Ray several times in the corner. Rick decks Ray with a clothesline and manages a two count. Rick continues with right hands, but Ray delivers a knee lift and a clothesline. Ray scoop slams Rick to the mat and misses an elbow drop. Scott tags in and stomps on Ray several times, but an eye rake stops Scott. Booker tags in and kicks Scott followed by an overhand strike. Scott hip tosses Booker and connects with an overhead suplex. Booker nails Scott with a standing heel kick and stomps on Scott. Scott boots Booker in the corner and hits a full nelson suplex. Scott tries for a cover, but Ray breaks the cover. Booker boots Scott in the corner followed by a leaping side kick. Booker heads to the top rope and tries for an axe handle, but Scott hits an overhead suplex. The Nasty Boys rundown to the ring and attack Rick Steiner. Rick is sent into the ring post and they toss Scott over the top to the floor. Sherri tries to get involved, but she’s tossed away. (*1/2. It looks like a three-team feud is likely going to be happening. The match was going fine, but I was never expecting a clean finish at any moment.)

6.) Mean Gene interviews The Giant and Jimmy Hart. Hart says that Giant just showed what Giant will do to anyone that gets in his way. Giant sent a message at the Clash of the Champions. Giant says that all big men are not the same. Giant wants Hogan to look over his shoulder and run for the hills. Giant wasn’t angry before compared to how angry he is now. Giant is coming for Hogan.

Final Thoughts:
A skippable week for Saturday Night since the feature match was mostly just a bait-and-switch kind of situation. The matches this week weren’t all that entertaining or interesting.

Thanks for reading.