The feud between the NWO Wolfpac and the Horsemen continues to surge along, although it certainly has a weaker level of interest compared to the feud that happened several years ago. The direct feud between WCW World Champion Hollywood Hogan and WCW President Ric Flair has been a strong source of entertainment thanks to Flair’s promo work. They are scheduled to square off at Superbrawl IX in four weeks.
Coming out of Thunder from last week, the NWO Black & White stable showed a level of entertainment that I had not expected. In fact, for the first half hour of the show I didn’t enjoy it whatsoever. Then, Vincent began to act delusional and thinks he’s not only the leader of the Black & White, but is also a member of the Wolfpac. However, that is not the case. The Wolfpac are clearly using the Black & White for their own agenda while noticeably distancing themselves.
The Wolfpac are also targeting Rey Mysterio Jr. and Konnan. Kevin Nash and Lex Luger are determined to remove Mysterio’s mask. Konnan had been kicked out of the Wolfpac and is now helping his longtime friend and previous rival, Mysterio. Mysterio is one of the few WCW performers that comes across as must-watch. The same can be said about Booker T, who has been fantastic in 1999 for WCW.
Lastly, Diamond Dallas Page needs to distance himself from Kimberly. This feud with Scott Steiner could be good, but Steiner harassing Kimberly and DDP’s rather horrible acting on Thunder certainly isn’t making the build for the match all that good.
Lets head into the latest Nitro, shall we?
JANUARY 25TH —DALLAS, TX — REUNION ARENA
NEW WORLD ORDER AT THE AIRPORT
CONTEXT: Stevie Ray and Curt Hennig are there talking. Hennig is telling Ray he hasn’t been wearing the NWO colors for the past three months because he knows that Hogan, Hall and Nash are going to take them out. He’s seen the writing on the wall. Ray agrees and is going to tell the guys what’s going on. Ray declares in front of the whole team that he’s going to tell Hogan what is on his mind. Vincent enters the scene saying the Wolfpac has arrived. Vincent insists they are family. Ray is going to standup for all of them against the Wolfpac.
Bob’s Take: By the looks of it, Stevie and Hennig are going to get the Konnan treatment for questioning the Wolfpac. Stevie getting kicked out would make sense and potentially allow a reunion with Booker T, but ideally they’d allow Booker to continue his rise in singles competition. If Hennig gets kicked out, well, I suppose it would make sense for being pinned by David Flair at Souled Out. However, Hennig is partners with Windham and likely still going to be a heel anyway. 1 for 1
RIC FLAIR & ERIC BISCHOFF AT THE MERCHANDISE TABLE
CONTEXT: Flair is forcing Bischoff to work concessions tonight. Flair wants Bischoff to sell shirts for all the babyfaces. Bischoff is wearing a wig under his hat to cover his bald head, which is kind of funny. Flair is going to have Bischoff walking in the crowd selling stuff, too. Bischoff isn’t happy about it.
Bob’s Take: Bischoff wearing a wig is a nice touch. It’s fun to see Bischoff be embarrassed after years of dominating TV. 2 for 2
NWO BLACK & WHITE WAITING FOR WOLFPAC
CONTEXT: Stevie Ray is telling the other members that he’s not going to drop the ball like the other guys. Ray is going to talk to Hollywood Hogan and tells them to meet him in the car. Brian Adams tells Ray that he can still wear his shirt and change his mind. Ray declines.
Bob’s Take: Stevie is going to be kicked out, if I have to guess. I don’t trust Hennig, at all. 3 for 3
MATCH #1: DISCO INFERNO VS. AL GREENE
FINISH: Inferno picks up the win following the Chartbuster.
Bob’s Take: I understand using Greene on even shows like Thunder, but there’s probably no reason for Greene to be on Nitro considering all the talent that WCW has at this point. This could be an example of Kevin Nash helping a pal out and getting some exposure on TV. For whatever reason, Inferno is getting over with the crowd and appears to be doing so with the help of the Wolfpac association. I wish he’d drop the dancing aspect, but the fans love it. Disco still doesn’t fit as a cool member in the Wolfpac to me, though. 3 for 4
BACK TO THE AIRPORT WITH THE NWO BLACK & WHITE, HENNIG KICKED OUT
CONTEXT: Hennig continues to tell the members that the Wolfpac are going to jack them up. Hennig tells Adams why he hasn’t been wearing the colors. The plane arrives and inside the plane the Wolpac are talking about Vincent and not believing he’d “do that.” Stevie Ray talks with Hollywood and says that Hennig wouldn’t accept a shirt. Ray explains he’s not wearing the NWO shirt because Hennig declined his shirt. Hennig has grabbed Vincent in the car thinking that the Wolpac was going to attack Vincent. Instead, Hennig gets pulled out of the car and is beaten down by the Wolfpac. Hogan is proud of Vincent. Adams is pissed because Hennig is like a brother, but Nash says it is just business. Adams gets in on the beating. Hogan nails Hennig with a kick to the ribs and they say Hennig is “nothing.” Wolfpac depart in the limo while the NWO Black & White follow behind in a Ford Taurus. Ray noted that he thought he’d ride with the Wolfpac.
Bob’s Take: Stevie Ray is a snake! He’s a liar! Damn it. I don’t feel bad for Hennig at all, so I don’t think this is going to lead to a babyface turn for him. I think Hennig is going to remain a heel, but not be associated with the NWO, which may be a little odd. Hennig being kicked out has to be because of his loss to David Flair, but why wouldn’t they have done this last week? Anyway, it was an enjoyable segment. Black & White are providing some shockingly good comedy. 4 for 5
NWO WOLFPAC ARRIVE TO THE ARENA
CONTEXT: Wolfpac are seen walking backstage and they arrive to their locker room. At the locker room, they offer Stevie Ray the black & white shirt, which Ray accepts, but seemingly didn’t want to. Hogan continues to say he’s proud of Vincent.
Bob’s Take: Stevie Ray clearly thinks he’s better than the B-Team. It’s an interesting story to keep an eye on because Stevie may be the one guy of the group who wouldn’t do whatever he’s told to do. 5 for 6
BAM-BAM BIGELOW HEADS TO THE RING AND HAS A LADDER
CONTEXT: Bigelow is clearly pissed about something, but of all things to bring to the ring he chooses a ladder? Bigelow says his main mission upon coming to WCW was to defeat Goldberg and take him out, which he’s not going to stop doing until the mission has been accomplished. Bigelow notes that there’s been a little static to stop that, and it’s been Scott Hall. Bigelow says that Hall may think he’s hardcore, but Bigelow has been hardcore and extreme. Bigelow introduces the ladder and challenges Hall to a stun gun ladder match tonight. Bigelow will prove why he’s the Beast From The East.
Bob’s Take: What a random direction to go here. Why on earth would Bigelow want to do a ladder match of all stipulations? This feels like a random match even though they have had interactions. I’m not all that interested in a ladder match between these two. 5 for 7
ERIC BISCHOFF SCAMMING FANS AT THE MERCH TABLE
CONTEXT: Bischoff is being accused of short changing a female fan on a purchase. Bischoff denies the claim and says she can’t count because she has purple hair. Bischoff is annoyed by the fans.
Bob’s Take: Of course Bischoff would scam the fans. 6 for 8
WCW PRESIDENT RIC FLAIR CHATS WITH MEAN GENE
CONTEXT: Flair talks about his upcoming match with WCW World Champion at Superbrawl on February 21st. Flair tells Hogan to be the man, he’s got to beat the man. Flair sent a message at Thunder saying they could have killed Horace, but they sent him back as a message. Flair says it’s a message that they are kicking ass and taking names. Flair brings up the WCW United States Champion, Bret Hart. Flair thinks that Hart has the same attitude as the NWO to show up whenever he wants and wrestles whomever he wants. Flair announces that Bret Hart will defend the title at Superbrawl against someone WCW picks. Flair also announces that Hart will wrestle Booker T tonight on Nitro. Flair brings up the Outsiders and says they don’t tell WCW or himself what to do. Flair insists the tag title tournament is happening tonight and says there will be lumberjacks to prevent the Outsiders from getting involved. Flair finishes off by saying that Hogan better get his wrestling boots on and pick two guys to wrestle Flair, Benoit and Mongo tonight. Flair is going to kick his ass. To close the segment, we see referee Scott Dickinson sitting in the front row awkwardly staring straight ahead.
Bob’s Take: Honestly, the idea of Bret vs. Booker is awesome, but I have a feeling that we’re not going to see Booker winning. It would explain his recent success to be used as a way to job out to a bigger name. The six man tag main event has my interest. I thought they’d keep Hogan and Flair apart in the ring until Superbrawl, but whatever. 7 for 9
SCOTT HALL RESPONDS TO BAM-BAM BIGELOW’S CHALLENGE
CONTEXT: Hall says they are all about giving people what they want, and if they want a ladder match then they’ll get one. Hall notes that Bigelow will wrestle him and not Disco Inferno in the ladder match. Hall tells Bam-Bam if he wants the taser to not sing it, but bring it.
Bob’s Take: A ladder match that doesn’t have much heat to it at all. The feud that anyone would care about would be Bigelow vs. Goldberg, but even that isn’t the strongest. 7 for 10
MATCH #2: SCOTT HALL VS. BAM-BAM BIGELOW — STUN GUN LADDER MATCH
FINISH: Late in the match, Goldberg comes out and spears Disco Inferno before spearing Hall and Bigelow at the same time. The match is a no contest. Goldberg uses the tasers on both Hall and Bigelow. After the match, Scott Norton decked Goldberg. Hall snuck a taser shot on Goldberg, too. Goldberg didn’t sell it all that much.
Bob’s Take: They did a lot more big spots than I ever expected them to do for a Nitro match. I actually enjoyed this quite a bit because of the car crash style of approach they went with. They used the ladder a lot for the offense and the crowd seemed interested in the action, too. The finish doesn’t bug me since there’s no reason to job Bigelow out again. This was a far better match than I expected and I liked the aftermath, too. 8 for 11
BRET HART INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Mean Gene interviewed WCW United States Champion Bret Hart backstage. Hart doesn’t understand what Flair’s issue is and says he’s never ducked anyone. Hart thinks that Flair holds a grudge against him since he’s been in WCW. Hart questions who Booker T even is and calls Booker a loser. Hart asks if Booker has what it takes to wrestle him tonight. Bret knows someone who deserves a title match and thinks it’s El Dandy. WHO ARE YOU DOUBT EL DANDY?! Hart suggests Psychosis being worthy of a title match. Hart offers to give a title match to Dean Malenko who injured him. Bret isn’t impressed by a sprained ankle. Bret insists that Booker doesn’t deserve a title match. Bret knows that Flair is jealous because he’s beaten him every time they wrestled and knows that Flair holds a grudge because of it.
Bob’s Take: The infamous El Dandy promo. Hart did a fine job here and provided some comedy while also achieving a goal of promoting his match with Booker and also justifying a potential showdown with Flair in the future. 9 for 12
MATCH #3: FACES OF FEAR VS. DAVE TAYLOR & FIT FINLAY — WCW TAG TITLE TOURNAMENT
FINISH: Meng backdrops Taylor into a sit down powerbomb by Barbarian to give the Faces of Fear the victory.
Bob’s Take: A rather lifeless match, but the finish is awesome. The wrestlers acting as lumberjacks weren’t there for the actual wrestlers, but just to make sure the Outsiders didn’t get involved. So, there wasn’t much of a purpose impacting the action or match at all. 9 for 13
MATCH #4: PERRY SATURN VS. NORMAN SMILEY
FINISH: Saturn picks up the clean win following the Death Valley Driver
Bob’s Take: The crowd is whistling and cat calling Saturn during the match. I’m not sure if that’s the point of the angle is for the fans to actively make fun of him. Well, by the end of the match the fans were cheering for Saturn. It’s a fine match, maybe a little long as there were moments were I was bored by it. However, the closing sequence was good and the crowd had a good energy towards the end. 10 for 14
SCOTT DICKINSON INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Dickinson tells Mean Gene that he has a ticket and he’s allowed to be there. Dickinson says his suspension is bogus and thinks there’s a double standard in WCW. Dickinson thinks that Dillon wants to be friends with the wrestlers. If a wrestler does something to a referee nothing happens, but if a referee does something to a wrestler he gets suspended for a month. Dickinson storms off.
Bob’s Take: Dickinson isn’t a good talker and probably isn’t comfortable doing much of anything outside of being a referee. He’s not going to wrestle, so what’s the point here? 10 for 15
MATCH #5: WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION BRET HART VS. BOOKER T — NON-TITLE
FINISH: Hart nails Booker with the WCW United States Championship as the referee was out of position to win the match.
Bob’s Take: It was a decent match, but I was hoping for a bit more. It certainly wasn’t boring and there is chemistry between the two to have a great match, in my opinion. At the start it felt like the crowd didn’t buy into Booker as being a contender to Bret, but as the match progressed his offense got over. The finish is a bit cheap, but as long as there is a pin or submission instead of a DQ finish I’m okay with it. 11 for 16
ERIC BISCHOFF WORKING IN THE CROWD
CONTEXT: Bischoff’s embarrassment continues as he’s selling merchandise in the crowd. Fun fact, a young Mark Jindrak is working as security. Also, a fan wearing an Undertaker shirt is right next to Bischoff the entire time.
Bob’s Take: There’s not much to it, but the fans are enjoying it as they are audibly laughing at Bischoff. 12 for 17
MATCH #6: GOLDBERG VS. SCOTT NORTON
FINISH: Goldberg countered a powerbomb attempt to hit the spear and jackhammer to cleanly win the match. After the match, the NWO Black & White attempted to attack Goldberg, but they fail. Brett Hull of the Stars, Jean Claude Van Damme, Herschel Walker and Chuck Norris celebrate Goldberg’s victory.
Bob’s Take: I thought this was a good hoss fight. I tend to enjoy Norton’s style and he actually got plenty of offense on Goldberg. It was believable offense, too. 13 for 18
SCOTT STEINER CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THE NITRO GIRLS
CONTEXT: Steiner interrupted the announcers while the Nitro Girls are dancing. Steiner ends up watching the women in a rather creepy manner. DDP isn’t at the arena, according to Schiavone. Steiner heads to the backstage area after their done dancing.
Bob’s Take: I don’t know, I’m not liking this presentation of Steiner. It makes him look like a creepy loser. 13 for 19
NWO WOFLPAC PROMO
CONTEXT: Scott Steiner cuts a promo before the main event saying that if Kimberly wants to tease him, she better be ready to please him. Steiner knows that DDP can’t please his woman and he’s the man who can get the job done. Hollywood Hogan chimes in and says he’s glad that he doesn’t see any WCW or Ric Flair fans in the crowd because they stink real bad. Hogan says that Flair better hope he has nine lives at Superbrawl. Hogan is going to beat Ric worse than David and send Ric out of the wrestling business. Hogan promises that Flair will be the first man hunted down and taken out by the Wolfpac.
Bob’s Take: The promo work was fine for Hogan and Steiner to promote their respective feuds. If Steiner kept to just using his words instead of having creepy actions, I’d probably enjoy the feud a bit more. 14 for 20
MAIN EVENT: RIC FLAIR, CHRIS BENOIT, & STEVE ‘MONGO’ MCMICHAEL VS. WCW WORLD CHAMPION HOLLYWOOD HOGAN, KEVIN NASH & WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION SCOTT STEINER
FINISH: Late in the match, Kevin Nash has a 2×4 covered in a foam finger given to him by Eric Bischoff and whacks Flair while Flair had the figure four on Hogan. That causes a disqualification. After the match, the locker room empties to make the save for the Horsemen to prevent Bischoff from cutting Flair’s hair. Goldberg appears at the top of the ramp and fights off the Wolfpac to close the show.
Bob’s Take: The energy to this match is off the charts. it’s obvious that the Horsemen feuding with the main guys in the Wolfpac is an interest and draw for the company. It will be frustrating if the Horsemen can’t prevail this time around since they failed to overthrow the NWO in ’97 several times. Watching Benoit in the ring with the top names is a fresh sight and considering his hard hitting style there is a level of satisfaction to see guys like Nash and Hogan getting beaten up. There was a hot tag to Flair after Benoit was beaten up for a while and the place went nuts for when Flair got his hands on Hogan. While the DQ finish was a bit disappointing, the action was good throughout and the aftermath was nuts. WCW reverting back to the Horsemen & WCW vs. NWO Wolfpac could be great idea if they execute it better where WCW actually overcomes NWO and officially disband the group at some point. 15 for 21
This is easily the best Nitro of 1999, thus far. The show focused a lot on in-ring wrestling especially after the first hour. WCW tends to be the best in-ring wrestling promotion and if they focused on that aspect instead of trying to beat WWF in storylines/angles then maybe they can keep things competitive in the ratings.
I can get behind the Horsemen feuding with the Wolfpac, but not as a long-term angle. As of now, I’d settle for things to wrap up in the spring, but the Horsemen have to prevail this time. It’s fine to repeat angles, but having the same result years apart seems to be a counterproductive approach. Flair vs. Hogan is connecting with the fans and it may be the las time the feud is a major money draw for WCW. Is it too soon to have Hogan drop the title and have it go to someone other than Goldberg? It’s a potentially tough booking decision, but Flair is on fire right now.
It’s a strong show and they didn’t have DDP, Mysterio, Jericho, Kidman, or any of the major Cruiserweight wrestlers involved. Plus, lets not forget, Sting is still out of action, too. So, this proves that WCW can put together a strong program without having to overexpose their roster.
Bret Hart being back on TV is a welcomed addition as he’s not been seen prior to this since November when he won the title from Diamond Dallas Page on Nitro. I’m surprised they didn’t vacate the title after a month of inactivity. Flair promising Hart he’s defending at Superbrawl, but not announcing the challenger is an interesting choice. I’d love to see Hart vs. Benoit at Superbrawl. Flair should use his power to help out his Horsemen members and that would be a great PPV match, I’m sure.
Nitro 1/25 TV Rating: 5.0
Thanks for reading.