WCW Saturday Night 8/24/1996

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 8/24/1996
From:

Matches:
1.) Mike Enos & Dick Slater defeated Renegade & Mike Winner
2.) Lord Steven Regal defeated Bobby Walker
3.) WCW Television Champion Lex Luger defeated Dave Taylor
4.) Bull Nakano defeated Madusa
5.) Ultimo Dragon defeated JL
6.) Kevin Sullivan, Big Bubba, Meng & Barbarian defeated High Voltage, Jim Powers & Joe Gomez
7.) Konnan defeated Mark Starr
8.) WCW United States Champion Ric Flair defeated Dean Malenko to retain the title

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Mean Gene interviews Mike Enos and Dick Slater following their victory. Enos says that they are at the point where they want to break body parts. Enos says this is Parker and Sherri’s fault. Slater asks if Gene has ever seen him knock people around. Slater says he will get his hands on Parker and when he does Parker will be in a lot of trouble.

2.) Tony Schiavone interviews senior referee Nick Patrick. Schiavone asks if Patricks is part of the NWO, but Patrick assures Schiavone that he is not part of NWO. Patrick has been part of WCW for eight years. Patrick asks if Schiavone heard Hogan submit at Clash of the Champions. Patrick pivots the blame to Randy Anderson for the main event match. Patrick says mostly Mean Gene has slandered his name. Patrick dismisses Gene for only being here for a few years and suggests people look at Gene instead.

3.) Luger comes off the ropes to shoulder block Taylor and plays to the crowd. Luger blocks a hip toss with one of his own and Taylor bails to the floor. Taylor wants to shake hands, but Luger isn’t interested. Taylor uppercuts Luger followed by forearms in the corner. Luger backdrops Taylor out of the corner. Luger clotheslines Taylor in the corner, but runs into a boot. Taylor misses a top rope headbutt attempt. Luger signals for the Torture Rack and locks in the move to earn a clean submission victory. (1/2*. It’s a short match, but I tend to enjoy Luger in squashes.)

4.) Nakano works over Madusa with nunchucks to the midsection while the referee is distracted by Ono. Nakano tosses Madusa by her hair across the ring. Nakano clotheslines Madusa for a two count. Nakano yells at the crowd and chokes Madusa over the ropes. Nakano takes Madusa over with a snap suplex for a two count. Nakano stomps on Madusa’s knee and locks in a standing bow and arrow, but Madusa doesn’t give in and is dropped to the mat face first. Madusa goes to the apron and dumps Nakano over the top to the floor. Madusa leaps off the top to hit a crossbody. Ono holds Madusa allowing Nakano to deliver a strike and sends Madusa into the ring steps. Madusa tries for an arm bar, but Nakano reaches the ropes. Madusa tries for a sunset flip, but Nakano sits down for a near fall. Madusa misses a middle rope crossbody. Madusa takes Nakano off the middle rope with a hurricanrana. Nakano powerbombs Madusa and has her feet on the ropes to win the match. (**. Man, what are they doing with Madusa? I feel like she’s been up to nothing and seemingly loses all the matches I’ve seen her in thus far in WCW. For a short match, they did enough to hold my interest and put on a solid enough TV match.)

5.) Mean Gene interviews Sonny Ono and Bull Nakano. Ono wonders if NWO means Napalm World Order. Ono wonders if they will buy California. Gene has heard that Ono wants the Women’s Championship in WCW. Ono doesn’t think Madusa should even be wrestling. Nakano speaks Japanese and Ono says that Nakano believes Madusa should be at home cooking. Gene cracks a joke that Madusa isn’t a good cook to end the segment.

6.) Dragon does a headstand in the corner to head scissors JL. JL responds with a head scissors to send Dragon to the floor to regroup with Ono. JL holds onto the ropes to avoid a rollup and is tripped by Ono. Dragon nails JL with a kick to the chest and keeps control with a sleeper before delivering a strike. Dragon chokes JL over the top rope. Dragon scoop slams JL and goes to the top rope, but is met with a boot to the chest. JL kicks Dragon a few times in the corner. JL misses a splash in the corner and Dragon sends JL to the floor with a spinning heel kick. Dragon fakes a dive and kicks JL into the railing. Dragon hits a slingshot crossbody to the floor. JL slams Dragon and goes to the top rope, but Dragon gets up and stops JL with a top rope hurricanrana for a two count. JL takes Dragon over with a German suplex for a two count. JL heads to the middle rope missing a headbutt and Dragon almost wins with a rollup. Dragon hits a bridging German suplex for the win. (**. I liked the match and enjoyed that JL was able to get some shine. Dragon comes across like a star and it’s probably just a matter of time before he’s Cruiserweight champion.)

7.) Dungeon of Doom continue their introduction segments where this week Hugh Morrus is introduced and laughs after every statement. The final two guys are Meng and Barbarian. I’m not sure if the Dungeon of Doom being presented as a foil to the NWO or Four Horsemen is really going to be effective.

8.) Malenko controls Flair with a headlock, but Flair breaks free in the corner and taunts Malenko. Malenko takes Flair down to the mat and keeps control with a hammerlock and a few knee drops to the back. Malenko drop toe holds Flair to the mat and keeps control with a chin lock. Flair backs off in the corner to have a standoff. Flair shoulder blocks Malenko, but walks into a dropkick. Malenko shoves Flair to the mat and Flair bails to the floor to regroup. Flair gets a hammerlock on Malenko, but Malenko is able to counter with a drop toe hold to the mat. Flair is sent into the corner and backdropped by Malenko. Malenko walks into an eye rake and Flair keeps control with a few strikes. Flair jabs Malenko into the corner and taunts the crowd before chopping Malenko. Malenko pummels Flair with forearms and Flair drops to the mat. Malenko tries for a dropkick, but Flair holds onto the ropes. Malenko counters a figure four with an inside cradle for a two count. Flair regains control and tries for a hip toss, but Malenko counters with an abdominal stretch and then a backslide for a two count.

Flair dumps Malenko through the ropes to the floor and follows to maintain the advantage. Flair tries for a piledriver, but Malenko counters with a backdrop on the floor. Flair rolls Malenko back into the ring and goes to the top, but is cutoff by Malenko with a slam. Malenko barely hits a springboard dropkick out of the corner. Malenko slams Flair and goes to the top hitting a missile dropkick. Malenko plants Flair with a back suplex and signals for the Texas Cloverleaf. Malenko locks in the hold, but Woman eye rakes Malenko and Flair kicks Malenko to the floor. Benoit runs out and hits a snap suplex on the floor before running off. Flair has a cover with his feet on the ropes to pin Malenko to retain the title. (**. A decent main event and I liked the tease that Malenko could win the title. There were a few clunky spots, but I enjoyed the main event. Benoit getting involved didn’t bother me because it didn’t end in a DQ finish. I don’t think Malenko works well with the main event guys and should stick to working Cruiserweights or midcard acts.)

Final Thoughts:
A much better week for in-ring action, as I enjoyed a few matches this time. There wasn’t a heavy focus on promos, so the show flowed rather well with the action. I’ll give this week a thumbs up.

Thanks for reading.