MAY 24TH — GREENVILLE, SC — BI-LO CENTER
OWEN HART 1965-1999
NOTE: WWF Wrestler Owen Hart tragically passed away the previous night on WWF Over The Edge pay per view.
RAVEN & SATURN ATTACKED BY THEIR NEXT CHALLENGERS?
CONTEXT: Bigelow is sitting backstage and tells the WCW Tag Team Champions Saturn and Raven that he told them that if it wasn’t for Kanyon they wouldn’t be champions. DDP enters the scene and attacks the champions with a 2×4 to reveal he’s Bigelow’s partner. Bigelow and DDP beat on the champions for a few moments to leave them laying.
Bob’s Take: I like the idea of DDP teaming with Bigelow as that is a far more reasonable spot on the card than being the WCW World Champion had been. I think these two teams are capable of good matches, too. It’s a fresh tag match, too. 1 for 1
MATCH #1: VAN HAMMER VS. CHAVO GUERRERO JR.
NOTE: I can’t remember the last time this has happened, but neither man got an entrance and are in the ring ready to compete after the announcers talked a bit at the commentary table. Hammer no longer spots the peace and love vibe, and is dressing more of a biker.
FINISH: Hammer wins the match following a double leg slam. After the match, Hammer tells the camera the fans don’t want peace and they want violence. Which, he will give them.
Bob’s Take: Just what we need… a Van Hammer push in 1999. Remember when Bischoff said he was going to right the wrongs? Why on Earth are we having Chavo do the clean job to Hammer when there’s dozens of other wrestlers that can fill that void. There’s no need to insert Cruiserweight wrestlers into the jobber role to attempt to established lower midcard talents that will not get over with the crowd. It’s a lose/lose situation. 1 for 2
DISCO INFERNO INTERVIEW; ERNEST MILLER CONFRONTATION
CONTEXT: Mean Gene asks Inferno to take off the sunglasses. Inferno reveals a bruised face due to Randy Savage attacking Inferno on Thunder. Inferno thinks it is a bit pathetic what Savage did and insults his lady friends. Inferno thinks it is a traveling show of “pimps and hoes.” Inferno claims to have blurred vision and wonders if Savage is doing this only to get to Nash. Inferno could have given Savage any of Nash’s contact info if he wanted to fight him. Inferno wonders why Savage picked on the younger talent and thinks that Savage is scared of the young talent. Inferno warns that Savage has caused more problems than solutions with this.
Ernest “The Cat” Miller makes his way out with Sonny Ono. Miller calls Inferno a punk for crying about getting beaten up a little bit. Miller is sick of hearing Inferno whine. Inferno tells Miller to leave. Miller believes the fans want to see him dance, but Inferno insists Miller leave. Miller shoves Inferno and that leads to Inferno stomping Miller in the corner. Ono holds Inferno allowing Miller to cheap shot Inferno. Miller punches Inferno on his bruised face. Miller tosses the referee over the top to the floor. Several more officials come out to stop the beating. Miller continues to berate the crowd. The NWO Black & White are watching and just like they did a few months ago, Stevie Ray tells Scott Norton that The Cat is calling Norton out. Norton heads to the ring with shaving cream on his face.
Norton clotheslines Miller several times followed by a chop to send Miller to the floor. Miller gets a microphone and says his hands are registered weapons and can’t whip Norton’s ass tonight. Miller and Ono runaway as Norton soon follows.
Bob’s Take: I must say, I like Inferno presenting himself in a more serious manner. It will likely take some time to program viewers to take Inferno seriously, but the presentation is a bit better. I’m not saying ditch the dancing aspect, but his promo came across far better with a serious tone. They seem to be implying a young vs. old angle if Savage is threatened by the young workers. If they united together to combat the older workers, it would make for good TV and a ton more fresh matchups, which is something WCW needs badly. Miller’s involvement can likely lead to a match with Inferno and with some proper build could be a match at GAB. The Norton callback was humorous, as well. 2 for 3
RIC FLAIR TALKS TO EL DANDY
CONTEXT: Flair tells Dandy that he may be the most gifted Mexican warrior and is tired of hearing about Eddie, Rey and Juventud. Ric wants to make Dandy a huge star, but he needs to wrestle David tonight and lose. Dandy agrees to do the job. Flair says Anderson will give the signal for when Dandy needs to lose. Buddy Lee Parker enters and reminds Flair about the promises that were made to him. Parker reminds Flair that he never took a dive before and how he was promised certain things. Flair can’t do these things after one week. Flair notes he got Parker a Golds Gym membership, but Parker isn’t impressed with that. Flair offers Parker to rub shoulders with a Horsemen tonight. Anderson tells Parker tonight is his shot at the brass ring wrestling Chris Benoit tonight. Parker promises to never take a dive ever again.
Bob’s Take: Imagine having segments dedicated to Van Hammer and Buddy Lee Parker when you’re actively trying to compete with the WWF and your ratings continue to slip. I can’t imagine anyone is actively wanting to tune into a match between Parker and Benoit on Nitro. I can’t justify Parker getting any kind of exposure when considering WCW’s massive roster and boatload of talent. 2 for 4
MIKE TENAY HAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT
CONTEXT: Gene talks to Mike Tenay on the aisle. Tenay has some news coming out of a meeting. Tenay announces that WCW World Champion requested a match from the committee. Kevin Nash demanded a match with Randy Savage to take place at Great American Bash on June 13th.
Bob’s Take: Okay. So, let me get this right. We have WCW President Ric Flair. Commissioner Roddy Piper. “High ranking executive” Eric Bischoff, and Nash skipped all those guys to go to the freaking championship committee who signed off on the match. At this point it feels as if anyone can make a match and there’s is not one singular person with complete control. Savage vs. Nash is the obvious match for Bash, so this isn’t surprising. 3 for 5
RIC FLAIR IN-RING INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Flair joins Gene on the aisle for an interview. Flair tells a girl in the crowd that her mother took a ride on Space Mountain twenty years ago. Flair is pissed about Tenay disclosing Presidential information. Flair awards the match to Nash and he’s livid about Savage injuring Charles Robinson. Flair declares the elbow drop to be illegal. Flair tuns his attention to Eric Bischoff and wants Bischoff to tell his story walking alongside Piper. Flair declares himself to be the only President and insults Bischoff as not being capable to take his job because he wears jeans. Flair is making it possible for future stars to climb the ladder and reach stardom quicker. Flair randomly lost his voice during the promo.
Bob’s Take: It was kind of a babyface promo by Flair to award Nash the match anyway, but it also showed his hunger for power to come across as the man who awarded the match. I kind of like that Flair still has issues with heels such as Savage and he isn’t necessarily playing favorites. 4 for 6
MATCH #2: DAVID FLAIR VS. EL DANDY
FINISH: Arn Anderson hit the spinebuster on Dandy allowing David to lock in the figure four to win by submission. Ric had distracted the referee.
Bob’s Take: This is brutal to watch. Ric Flair must die a little inside every time he sees his son compete in the ring. How can anyone approve of this? The action is less than a minute long and Anderson is the reason he won, but there’s no reason for this. 4 for 7
BUFF BAGWELL INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Gene talks to Bagwell about what happened on Thunder with Savage. Bagwell thought it was a big deal to step in the ring with Savage, but realized Savage isn’t tough. Bagwell thinks the older guys are feeling a bit threatened. Bagwell says there are bigger and better things to talk about tonight. Bagwell will be wrestling WCW Television Champion Rick Steiner tonight. Bagwell recalls Steiner breaking his neck last year. Bagwell thinks that Rick is trying to follow in the footsteps of Scott Steiner. Bagwell is going to show why he’s Buff and the Stuff.
Bob’s Take: Are trying to act as if Rick Steiner purposely broke Bagwell’s neck last year when it was obviously an accident? Rewriting history in that manner is a bit disappointing and insulting our intelligence. Bagwell doesn’t have the best moral compass. The promo work is fine and continues to suggest a young vs. old angle, which I’m totally in favor of. 5 for 8
ERIC BISCHOFF SPECIAL LOOK
CONTEXT: Bischoff talks about getting a tremendous break to be in his executive position thanks to Bill Shaw. The video package highlights Bischoff’s success since taking over WCW. It is actually far longer than I figured it would be as it covers a decent amount of time. They show some footage from his previous interview explaining his actions from Slamboree. Should we give Bischoff another chance?
Bob’s Take: I’m not sure if giving this several minutes was the best decision. I’m interested to see the direction, but I have doubts that Bischoff should be trusted. Which, probably makes it a good story. 6 for 9
MATCH #3: #1 CONTENDER WCW CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE BATTLE ROYAL
NOTE: This is the match where Juventud Guerrera infamously fell on the stage. Juventud, Psychosis, Kidman, Prince Iaukea, Lash LeRoux, Evan Karagias, Blitzkrieg, Kaz Hayashi, Johnny Swinger, Damien, Ciclope, and Villano V are competing for a title match next week against Rey Mysterio Jr.
FINISH: During the match, Hugh Morrus comes out and attacks the wrestlers. Morrus bullies the Cruiserweight wrestlers and eliminates several competitors despite not being a Cruiserweight. Kidman ends up getting some offense and the crowd pops well, but Morrus slams Kidman followed by a clothesline. Morrus successfully powerbombs Kidman. Morrus also hits the No Laughing Matter. Rey Mysterio Jr. runs out and dropkicks Morrus off the middle rope to the floor. The crowd responded very well to that.
Bob’s Take: I tend to enjoy Morrus and he would fit very well in the role of a bully towards the Cruiserweight wrestlers. Judging by the crowd response, they enjoyed the segment. So, I’m giving this a positive response, but not for the match. 7 for 10
RODDY PIPER INTERVIEW; INTERRUPTED AND ATTACKED
CONTEXT: Piper joins Mean Gene in the ring for an interview. Piper recalls having fifty fights in this town, and two or three of them happening in the ring. Piper declares they are having their reality check tonight. Piper talks about Bischoff apologizing for his past actions. Piper turns his attention to Savage and the attack from last week. Piper wants to pickup where they left off last week. Piper lays down on the mat and calls out Randy Savage. Savage’s music hits.
Miss Madness, Gorgeous George and Madusa make their way down to the ring. Piper makes a joke about Silicon Valley towards the women. Piper isn’t messing with Madusa and knows she’s a good talent. Piper doesn’t want to know what Miss Madness had to do to get that title. Piper isn’t looking for George and asks where Savage is at. George says Savage is being honored at some place and Piper isn’t. Piper mocks George. Piper thinks that George should be dating someone from Baywatch and not the Addams Family. Piper isn’t going to do something to a woman because he was raised right. Ric Flair runs into the ring and tries to attack, but Piper fights Flair off with right hands and a backdrop out of the corner. Diamond Dallas Page and Bam-Bam Bigelow slide into the ring and attack Piper from behind to help Flair. Bigelow leaps off the top to hit a diving headbutt on Piper. DDP wants something from Flair and wants a tag title match at the Great American Bash. Flair awards DDP the match for helping him. Flair goes to the floor and stomps Piper on the floor some more. Flair fires an official and continues to stomp Piper. Flair tells Piper they’re wrestling at Great American Bash.
Bob’s Take: The alliance between Flair, DDP and Bigelow is growing on me. It comes across as a good heel trio, and I’m glad Bigelow is seemingly out of the hardcore nonsense. Bigelow lost substantial steam during that run, but an association with DDP can help build him up again. We’ve got a couple more matches for GAB, and while I’m not overly excited for another Piper/Flair match it’s the only direction they could probably go for them. It should be the blowoff, though. I was entertained by the segment. 8 for 11
ARN ANDERSON TALKS WITH CHRIS BENOIT & DEAN MALENKO
CONTEXT: Malenko tells Anderson that he’s fed up with what is going on. Malenko is tired about being misused. Malenko says it’s several of them getting screwed over. Benoit notes they get nothing and Bischoff never dangled the carrot in front of them. Benoit believes Flair is only looking out for himself. Malenko thinks that you need a drivers license saying you’re 45 years old in order to get a push. Anderson wants to try and smooth everything out, but they aren’t interested. Malenko says they need to take care of themselves. Malenko tells Benoit to take his time with Buddy Lee Parker.
Bob’s Take: It’s not often that Malenko is given much time to speak, but I thought he did a great job here and the driver license line was pretty damn good. If Benoit and Malenko lead the charge of the young core, this could get quite interesting. As it shaping up it looks like Benoit, Malenko, Bagwell and Inferno would be the main focus. 9 for 12
MEAN GENE TALKS WITH RODDY — AGAIN
CONTEXT: Piper is getting his ribs taped up and says he never goes to work and not expect to get beat up. However, the night is not over and it has just started for Piper. Piper wants Flair to keep DDP and Bigelow. Piper will get two partners for tonight. There will be a a six man tag match. Piper accepts the match for Great American Bash, as well.
Bob’s Take: A fine promo by Piper and the mystery of two partners to combat Flair suggests people should check it out. I’d think they potentially foreshadowed Benoit and Malenko being in that spot, which would be refreshing. I prefer Benoit and Malenko as a babyface duo anyway. However, there’s always the chance it could be a swerve against Piper. 10 for 13
CURT HENNIG DOESN’T LIKE RAP
CONTEXT: Hennig joins commentary as commentary mention that Tommy Boy Records has formed a partnership with WCW. Hennig talks about beating up Konnan and says that rap music makes him sick. Hennig wonders what happened to country music. Hennig does a brief rhyme and believes that makes him a rapper. Hennig claims he can sing and dance. Hennig can do anything the wrestling world has to offer.
Bob’s Take: Is Hennig about to do a Jarrett gimmick where he pretends to be a singer? The Southern audience is likely going to side with the country music argument and not favor rap music. Hennig was a bit funny here and I enjoyed the segment. 11 for 14
SPECIAL LOOK AT TOMMY BOY RECORDS
CONTEXT: We hear from several wrestlers and Bischoff hyping up the partnership.
Bob’s Take: It screams WCW trying to be hip and cool and it’s not connecting with me. 11 for 15
MATCH #4: CHRIS BENOIT VS. BUDDY LEE PARKER
NOTE: Benoit is wearing a black armband to show respect to the Hart family.
FINISH: Benoit locks in the Crossface and forces a submission to win the match
Bob’s Take: I had no interest in this match and I’m stunned they’d put Parker in a match close to the third hour of programming. Benoit is great, but he’s not going to make this worthwhile. 11 for 16
STEINER BROTHERS PROMO:
CONTEXT: WCW United States Champion Scott Steiner apologizes to all his female fans because he didn’t come Greenville to wrestle, but rather to find a freak. Steiner does his usual sexual references. Scott tells the fans to bow down to the Steiner Brothers. Steiner insults Piper for wearing a dress (kilt) and Flair being in the psych ward. Steiner announces Rick is with him in the NWO Black & Red. Rick chimes in and talks about Buff crying about hurting his neck last year. Rick promises that he’ll focus on the neck first thing tonight. Rick does his catchphrase.
Bob’s Take: So… Rick Steiner is officially a member of the NWO Black & Red? There wasn’t anything new said here, so it kind of dragged along. 11 for 17
MATCH #5: WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION RICK STEINER VS. BUFF BAGWELL
NOTE: Rick Steiner piledrives Bagwell on the concrete floor attempting to break Bagwell’s neck.
FINISH: Steiner stands on the top rope, but the Sting monster truck arrives into the arena and blocks the Steiner Brothers from leaving the ring. It’s obviously not Sting driving it, but rather it is Lex Luger wearing a Sting mask. Sting appears in the ring having arrived through the crowd. Sting stands next to a fallen Bagwell with his baseball bat.
Bob’s Take: Bagwell is over with the crowd and they seem to care about him. That prompted a better crowd reaction to Steiner beating Bagwell up throughout the match. Obviously Sting is no longer coming from the rafters considering the tragedy that occurred last night. The match is actually not nearly as bad as I feared and the segment in general was enjoyable. 12 for 18
CURT HENNIG & KONNAN BRAWL OVER MUSICAL TASTE
CONTEXT: Hennig complains some more about rap music at the commentary table. Konnan makes his way out and goes directly to the commentary table. Konnan grabs Hennig and proceeds to attack Hennig. Konnan sends Hennig into the railing and they get into the ring where Hennig gains the upper hand. Konnan nails Hennig with a rolling clothesline. Konnan follows up with a facebuster. Hennig bails to the floor and retreats backstage where Konnan continues to pummel Hennig.
Bob’s Take: Hennig is entertaining in this role and it feels like something that he actually enjoys doing. It’s simple and effective storytelling. 13 for 19
HUGH MORRUS CALLS OUT REY MYSTERIO JR.
CONTEXT: Morrus is in the ring and is interviewed by Mike Tenay. Jimmy Hart wants Rey Mysterio Jr. in the ring right now. Morrus says for four years it is the same matches over and over. Morrus wanted to stir things up a little bit and it starts with Mysterio. Mysterio comes out and is caught on a moonsault attempt. Mysterio sends Morrus into the corner and hits a head scissors. Mysterio hits a springboard leg drop to the back of Morrus’s head. Hart trips Mysterio allowing Morrus to gain the advantage with an elbow drop. Morrus splashes Mysterio in the corner a couple of times. Morrus plants Mysterio with a powerbomb. Hart puts a chair around Mysterio’s head. Morrus heads to the top rope, but Konnan has returned to ringside. Konnan is warning Morrus not to do it. Kidman slides into the ring and powerbombs Morrus off the middle rope. Konnan decks Jimmy Hart with a rolling clothesline. Mysterio delivers the bronco buster to Morrus. Kidman hits the Shooting Star Press on Morrus. Kidman, Mysterio and Konnan stand tall.
Bob’s Take: This is another segment I enjoyed quite a bit. Morrus speaking about his frustrations with the old guard is a good addition, too. I wouldn’t mind Morrus getting a shot to be elevated. The trio of Kidman, Konnan and Mysterio got a great reaction from the crowd. Sign me up for a Morrus vs. Kidman or Mysterio match down the line. 14 for 20
HOLLYWOOD HOGAN RETURNS — TO TALK!
CONTEXT: Mean Gene is in the ring to interview Hollywood Hogan, who arrives using crutches. Hogan says his knee is feeling better each day. Hogan is here to give his props to Kevin Nash on winning the WCW World Championship. Hogan has had a lot of time to watch wrestling since he’s been out. Hogan warns DDP that losing the title is going to look good compared to the beating coming his way. Hogan doesn’t like the porno wrestling on the other stations and doesn’t like what’s happening in his own company. Hogan claims to be the master behind the curtain and puts over his skills involving politics. Hogan talks about how the fans don’t see Goldberg and Piper backstage like he does. Hogan doesn’t like what he’s been seeing. Hogan is going to make a statement and change the business when he returns 100%.
Bob’s Take: This didn’t accomplish much other than reminding us that Hogan wants revenge on DDP. There was probably unnecessary insider talk about politics. 14 for 21
WCW WORLD CHAMPION KEVIN NASH PROMO
CONTEXT: Nash comes down to the ring to cut a promo. Nash puts over the Greenville crowd. Nash talks about Savage being a tad out of control. Nash says where he grew up you’d settle your issues like men and not attack from behind. Nash repeats they are wrestling at Great American Bash. Nash is going to polish the championship for a long time. Randy Savage’s music hits.
Madusa, Miss Madness and Gorgeous George (using crutches) come out to confront Nash. Nash doesn’t know why the ladies are out here because he doesn’t have an issue with any of them. Nash says he enjoyed watching George wrestle, but he’d rather see her box. Nash proceeds to be hit by the crutch and met with a low blow by Madusa. Randy Savage runs into the ring and decks Nash with the championship. Savage has lipstick and again applies the lipstick to Nash’s face to end the segment.
Bob’s Take: Kind of a repetitive segment as they didn’t do anything new to promote the match on PPV. It’s kind of ironic that Hogan hates the pornographic material on WWF TV and then in the next segment Nash makes a reference to George’s vagina. 14 for 22
MAIN EVENT: RODDY PIPER, CHRIS BENOIT & DEAN MALENKO VS. BAM-BAM BIGELOW, DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE & RIC FLAIR
NOTE: As expected, Benoit & Malenko are revealed to have sided with Piper and no longer support Flair. Malenko wrestles the match in his street clothing having never put his ring gear on.
FINISH: Late in the match, Raven and Saturn come out to attack Bigelow and DDP to gain revenge for the attack earlier in the show. After the match, Piper put a sleeper on Flair, but Flair’s bodyguard helped break him free. Piper puts the figure four on Flair while Benoit taunts Flair and delivers stomps to Flair. Piper raises Benoit’s arm.
Bob’s Take: A decent match, but a lame ending. I understand the finish to protect the new heel group and not have the newly turned Benoit or Malenko do the job, but the constant lame finishes to the main events are not going to build trust and hope with your audience. It’s one of the weaker main events thus far in 1999, though. 14 for 23
HOLLYWOOD HOGAN LEAVES DDP LAYING
CONTEXT: At the end of the show, Hogan is seen standing over a laid out DDP saying “paybacks are hell” and this is only the beginning.
Bob’s Take: Gotta love a cripple Hogan trying to knock down DDP’s heat to end the show, and they don’t even show the attack. 14 for 24
Honestly, I thought this show was going to be a chore to get through upon seeing the card. The in-ring action didn’t deliver much entertainment value. It’s shocking to say that I most enjoyed Steiner/Bagwell tonight, but there wasn’t a lot of competition for that honor. The major positive from this show is that a lot of the segments were actually entertaining.
There’s a ton of potential in young vs. old storyline and with how much talent they have on the roster it is a no brainer to go that route. Of course, Hogan noting his political power in his promo is a bit alarming.
Nitro 5/24 TV Rating: 3.8
Thanks for reading.