It’s the final Nitro before Superbrawl IX, and the build for the pay per view has gone decently well. Initially, the feud between Hogan and Flair for the title had been carrying the build for the PPV, but that steam seems to be teetering a little bit as their approach has been a bit hokey with the usage of stalking David Flair and the bucket of bleach attempted attack in recent weeks. Despite those blunders it is still Hogan vs. Flair and at this point it’s still a draw for WCW. Flair has been a good choice to stall before Goldberg become a direct focus to go after Hogan.
Speaking of Goldberg, his match with Bigelow at Superbrawl finally got some heat last week when Bigelow managed to get decent heat for insulting Goldberg’s wife and Goldberg’s dedication to abused animals.
Coming out of Thunder, which was taped, we’ve learned that Chavo Guerrero Jr. turned on WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman following their loss in the tag tournament. Plus, Barbarian turned on Meng on the same show. These could potentially be matches added to Superbrawl IX.
Bret Hart lost the WCW United States Championship to Roddy Piper last week on Nitro because his feud with actor/comedian Will Sasso certainly doesn’t need to have the title attached to it.
Ric Flair can still embarrass Eric Bischoff, and I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before it blows up in Flair’s face this week, again. At some point, Flair’s reign with power has to be seen as a massive failure when Bischoff constantly one-ups him.
Lets get into the final Nitro before Superbrawl IX. Get me excited for the PPV!
FEBRUARY 15TH — TAMPA, FL — FLORIDA STATE FAIRGROUNDS
KIMBERLY UPDATE:
CONTEXT: Tony Schiavone has good news regarding Kimberly saying she suffered a few facial lacerations, a concussion, but not a major neck injury. However, DDP has not revealed where Kimberly is healing her injuries, which is a good decision to protect her.
Bob’s Take: Admittedly, I chuckled when Schiavone mentioned the facial lacerations because Meltzer noted that Kimberly was getting some plastic surgery done in the newsletter. 1 for 1
ARN ANDERSON ATTACKS DISCO INFERNO
CONTEXT: Outside, Arn Anderson catches Disco Inferno running away and briefly attacks Inferno before being arrested by police and security. Inferno yells that he’s been assaulted. Anderson is being taken to jail.
Bob’s Take: I’m just glad there was a level of revenge for Anderson considering he was beaten down by Inferno last week. However, with Anderson not being at the arena that leaved Flair vulnerable for potential NWO nonsense, yet again. 2 for 2
ERIC BISCHOFF PERSONAL DRIVER
CONTEXT: Bischoff is loading up a car as Flair arrives out of plane. Flair jokes that he likes Bischoff’s outfit as his personal driver. Bischoff opens the door for Flair and is happy to assist Flair. Flair tells Bischoff to not leave the immediate area because Bischoff is stuck with him all night. Bischoff doesn’t want to breach his contract.
Bob’s Take: There’s no doubt something up once again with Bischoff. How does Flair not realize this every week? 2 for 3
MATCH #1: JERRY FLYNN VS. PERRY SATURN
FINISH: Late in the match, Scot Dickinson got on the apron to distract the referee. This allowed Chris Jericho to attempt and interfere, but was tossed with a suplex. Flynn nailed Saturn with a standing spin kick and pinned Saturn for the win.
Bob’s Take: Flynn’s offense came across rather well in this outing. The kicks came across stiff and his strikes connected well, too. Flynn displayed good heel mannerisms and got the crowd to respond to him more than I’ve noticed before. Saturn playing into the dress gimmick got a good crowd reaction. I was totally expecting Saturn to overcome the interference, but Flynn picking up the win isn’t an awful idea especially since Flynn came across well throughout the match leading into it. A better match than I expected it to be. 3 for 4
BACK TO THE LIMO
CONTEXT: Inside the limo, Flair is talking to his friends about how great Tampa is and talks about celebrities always being around. Flair says that Bischoff keeps him amused and they actually promote the Bret Hart vs. Will Sasso match as being a big event. Flair gets a phone call from Jim and hears about Arn getting his hands on Disco despite telling Arn to stay away from him. Flair asks to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand and insists they get Arn out of jail.
Bob’s Take: It’s infuriating as a viewer how obvious Bischoff is that something is up and Flair is unaware of what is going on. It’s not the worst approach to storytelling, but I wish Flair would be a little smarter. 4 for 5
MATCH #2: JUVENTUD GUERRERA, BLITZKRIEG & PSYCHOSIS VS. EL DANDY, HECTOR GARZA & SUPER CALO
FINISH: Blitzkrieg pinned Super Calo following a top rope corkscrew splash.
Bob’s Take: This is a mostly mindless filler six man tag match where they are all flying around the ring, and to a extent it’s an enjoyable bout. However, did it need to go nearly twenty minutes? Probably not. Am I going to complain about getting wrestling instead of silly angles or interviews that aren’t very good? I will not. These are six guys that you can now use on TV to fill time as challengers to Kidman or whomever the champion shall be after Superbrawl to avoid repeat matches every week. There were a few sloppy moments throughout the match, but in this style of match that’s almost expected and shows how dangerous the action can be. The crowd popped big time for Blitzkrieg picking up the win, too. I’ve read reviews that absolutely trash the match, and I’m not sure that’s fair. It’s a sloppy match, but it’s not awful for what it is. 5 for 6
TORRIE WILSON POV
CONTEXT: Wilson asks the cameraman to ask for more towels since the one she’s wearing is wet. Wilson requests a salad and more whip cream.
Bob’s Take: Just do what the woman asks, fella. 6 for 7
THE NEW WORLD ORDER LIMO ATTACK ON RIC FLAIR
CONTEXT: There’s a helicopter following Flair’s limo with several cars trailing behind as they are apparently in an empty field. Bischoff gets out of the car and runs away. The New World Order gets out of the cars and are masked. Flair remains in the limo assuring his friends they are fine. Hogan threatens the guys to get out of the car. Flair gets out of the limo and confronts Hogan. Flair decks Hogan with a right hand. Flair backs off, but several more cars pull up. Flair is circled by several cars and masked guys until Flair is jumped from behind by Hogan. Flair is pummeled on the ground by New World Order. Flair is screaming in pain as Hogan whips Flair with his weight belt. The NWO have a bonding moment by putting their fists in the middle and Hogan tells Flair that he’s not going to make it to Superbrawl. Flair is held by Brian Adams (I think) to allow Hogan to deliver more strikes. It looks like the B-Team is helping out with this mugging. Nash kicks Flair in the groin to add insult to injury. Hogan taunts a laid out Flair and says that he can’t wait for David to see Ric like this. Hogan continues to insist that Flair will never see Superbrawl.
Bob’s Take: This is an extended beat down to the point that you’d think Flair had been murdered in the field. Honestly, it got to a point that it was rather uncomfortable to watch. I’m not entirely sure why they wore ski masks when literally every single one of them removed the mask during the beating. We are six days away from Superbrawl and now the audience is left to believe that Flair is dead in a field. Does this increase interest in Superbrawl? I’d take the messy six man tag prior to this instead of an uncomfortable attempted murder segment. 6 for 8
MATCH #3: CHRIS BENOIT & DEAN MALENKO VS. DAVE TAYLOR & FIT FINLAY — WCW TAG TITLE TOURNAMENT
FINISH: Malenko forced Taylor submit to the Texas Cloverleaf after a top rope diving headbutt by Benoit.
Bob’s Take: Here me out on this. Benoit & Malenko are allies of Flair, right? Why wouldn’t they not wrestle in this match and take the forfeit? I feel like it would make much more sense for them to bail on this and try to find Flair. Of course, that would likely ruin their PPV plans, but to me makes a bit of sense. This was a bit of a disappointing match as they didn’t do a whole lot. The finish was nice, but that’s about all. 6 for 9
SPICE GIRLS TALK ABOUT SCOTT STEINER
CONTEXT: The Nitro Girls joined the commentary table and Spice says they felt fear and shock for Kimberly. Spice says it has a been a rough week and thanks the fans for their support. Whisper chimes in and says they miss her and they hope she comes back soon. Whisper gets emotional about Kimberly noting that she called them earlier because of her leadership. Heenan quips if they are going to dance.
Bob’s Take: Heenan knows how to get some entertainment out of a dull segment, which this was. Whisper attempting to act sad didn’t come across very well. 6 for 10
MATCH #4: BRET HART VS. WILL SASSO
FINISH: Hart forced Sasso to submit to the Sharpshooter
Bob’s Take: Debra Wilson, another MadTV comedian, joined Sasso and was quite the distraction as she looked like she may fall out of her top a few times. Wilson ended up turning on Sasso by hitting Sasso over the back with the chair. Only in WCW would they have a heel turn in this match. Sasso literally got zero offense in. This was not a good segment. 6 for 11
NWO ARRIVE TO THE ARENA
CONTEXT: The New World Order arrives to the arena happy with themselves laughing at the expense of a fallen Flair who was left in the field. They head to the ring where Hogan says he’s not worried about Superbrawl and wants the NWO to have a party on his behalf in the back. Hogan’s calling himself “Hollyhood.” Hogan says he goes from the East Coast to the West Coast and everywhere else in between. Hogan thought he should beat Flair in his own hometown. Hogan is going to give Flair one chance at the championship and it’s going to be here on Nitro. Hogan decides to give Flair a ten count to get into the ring for a match. Eventually, WCW United States Champion Roddy Piper comes out to wrestle Hogan. Piper saw what Hogan did and it made him sick. Piper is tired of Hogan calling the shots and says he’s Hogan’s reality check. Piper says he’s still acting commissioner and Hogan is wrestling him tonight for the WCW World Championship.
Bob’s Take: Why on earth are we doing this? Piper bringing up being commissioner when he hadn’t even been on television in six months? This is not a match I have any interest in seeing. 6 for 12
MATCH #5: WCW WORLD CHAMPION HOLLYWOOD HOGAN VS. WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION RODDY PIPER
FINISH: Scott Hall came into the ring and zapped Piper with a taser to cause the disqualification. Hall and the rest of the New World Order came out and helped Hogan. Hall continues to zap Piper several times. Hall gets Piper’s kilt and wears it to mock Piper.
Bob’s Take: The match itself is exactly what you’d expect it to be. There isn’t a whole lot to the match, but the crowd seemed to eat it up. Take away the crowd heat, this is on the same level of Hart/Sasso, but Sasso actually took a decent bump in that match. 6 for 13
RIC FLAIR SAVED BY A TRUCK DRIVER
CONTEXT: A truck driver happens to come up to a lifeless Flair in the field. Flair is pulled up to his feet and helped to the truck. Flair tells the trucker to go to the fairgrounds.
Bob’s Take: This is just silly. It feels like they are trying way too hard. 6 for 14
SCOTT STEINER PRESSES CHARGES AGAINST DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE
CONTEXT: Steiner’s lawyer reveals that Steiner is filing charges against Diamond Dallas Page for his attack last week. Steiner is claiming damages in excess of $1 million dollars. DDP is likely going to be indicted and face a 15 year sentence.
Bob’s Take: How in the world would they be able to have a match at Superbrawl? Am I missing something? Wouldn’t DDP be legally obligated to keep away from Steiner? Are we ignoring logic? 6 for 15
MAIN EVENT: CHRIS BENOIT & DEAN MALENKO VS. MIKE ENOS & SCOTTY RIGGS — WCW TAG TITLE TOURNAMENT
FINISH: Benoit forces Riggs to submit to the Crosface.
Bob’s Take: Riggs is replacing Bobby Duncum Jr. because Duncum couldn’t be there for a personal matter. At one point in the match, the referee is counting a pin despite Enos not being anywhere near Malenko and Malenko kicks out of an invisible pin. This match is in a tough spot. There’s no reason they should be put in the main event spot and considering the challenge that they have on WWF RAW I can’t believe this ended well for the ratings. The action wasn’t all that bad, but it’s not in the right spot on the show and it felt like it dragged on forever as a result. 6 for 16
TORRIE WILSON CONTINUES TO BE A FLIRT
CONTEXT: Wilson is hanging out in bed and suggests they meet back in the hotel room for some more fun.
Bob’s Take: My life would be destroyed. 7 for 17
THE MIRACULOUS RETURN OF RIC FLAIR
CONTEXT: Michael Buffer announced it was time for the main event, but the Wolfpac came out to kick him out of the ring. Hollywood Hogan cuts a promo saying they saw Ric Flair lock himself up in the locker room. Hogan knows that Flair is hiding from the Wolfpac. Hogan is going to give Flair a twenty count to get into the ring and face him like a man. Hogan declares this will be the last time they fight. The pickup truck arrives to the venue and Flair falls out of the truck. Flair grabs an axe handle from the back and heads towards the ring. Flair staggers around and falls to the floor several times. Hogan is laughing in the ring as Flair slowly makes his way through the crowd. Flair eventually makes it to the ringside area with the axe handle. Flair crawls into the ring and Stevie Ray is the only one stepping up to Flair. This leads to the Horsemen coming out and there’s a brawl between the NWO and Horsemen. Hogan and Bagwell double team Flair on the floor. Flair is held on the floor and beaten down with the axe handle with several strikes to the midsection. Scott Hall hands something to the cameraman backstage and says “now that you see how it’s done, don’t mess it up.”
Bob’s Take: You’re telling me that Flair makes this ridiculous return to Nitro and proceeds to get his ass kicked… again? Where’s the feel good moment on this show? The Wolfpac can’t be made to look weak for any period of time can they? It makes Flair come across as a major underdog, but this is kind of infuriating. Flair has zero momentum heading into Superbrawl. 7 for 18
This was a brutal go-home show for Nitro. Goldberg isn’t on the show nor is Bigelow to even continue the build for that showdown this Sunday. There’s no Booker T. Bret Hart is wasted with a comedian in a throwaway match. Rey Mysterio is nowhere to be seen. I actually rather puzzled by what I just watched, honestly.
Sure, it’s cool that Benoit and Malenko won two matches, but the matches weren’t good and their competition is generously mid. This show actually made me less interested in Superbrawl. Steiner/DDP is all about Kimberly and there’s nothing from DDP on the show. What are we doing by having almost zero top names on the show?
I’m not sure how many people are truly tuning into Thunder so the names not on Nitro could very well get the proper attention on the secondary show, but this is the final Nitro before the PPV. There was far too much time dedicated to the Flair beatdown and the lucha six man tag didn’t need to go nearly the amount of time that it did.
This episode has left me quite frustrated with how much talent they have on the roster and to be nowhere near using a good portion of them correctly is baffling me. Superbrawl IX has a good card on paper, but the buildup for a lot of those matches has left a lot to be desired.
2/15 Nitro TV Rating: 3.9
Thanks for reading.