Historically in the Nitro era when WCW holds a show at the Georgia Dome there’s something big brewing. Their first show at the Georgia Dome was on January 5th, 1998 and featured a main event between Savage and Luger. Plus, WCW was at it peak of popularity. Back on July 6th, 1998 we witnessed Goldberg defeat Hollywood Hogan to win his first WCW World Championship in front of an electric crowd. On January 4th, 1999 there was suppose to be a rematch between Kevin Nash and Goldberg from their Starrcade 1998 match, but instead we witnessed the Fingerpoke of Doom where the NWO Elite formed.
However, since January 4th WCW has been mostly in disarray. The NWO Elite hasn’t existed since the revamped stage and logo, for the most part. WCW has been losing its audience rapidly and the WWF continues to soar.
The only segments revealed for the show on TV has ben that Bret Hart will be here and Megadeath will perform. Obviously, Bret’s return is notable because it’s his first televised appearance in WCW since the tragic passing of his brother Owen in May.
If WCW were to rely on a major match to draw a crowd or attempt to achieve a decent rating, I think the match would be WCW World Champion Kevin Nash defending against Sting. TV has been heavy on the potential that Sting is screwing with Nash even though it is clearly a fake Sting. Yes, we’re still doing the fake Sting angle and yes commentary is still buying into it. Sting is obviously the most popular wrestler actively competing and a showdown with Nash six days before the PPV is likely the biggest match they could pull off at this point.
Here are the attendance figures for the previous Georgia Dome shows and the attendance for July 5th to give a rough idea of where WCW is headed.
January 5th, 1998 — 26,773
July 6th, 1998 — 41,412
January 4th, 1999 — 38,809
July 5th, 1999 — 25,388
So, despite their free falling ratings, they were still able to get over 25k fans in the Georgia Dome.
JULY 5TH — ATLANTA, GA — GEORGIA DOME
MATCH #1: JUVENTUD GUERRERA VS. CHAVO GUERRERO JR.
FINISH: Late in the match, Sid Vicious (wearing the WCW World Championship) and Randy Savage come down to the ring and attack Juventud and Chavo. Sid powerbombs Chavo and Savage hit a top rope elbow drop on Juventud. The match is thrown out, of course.
Bob’s Take: I tend to not like run-ins but there wasn’t much interest or heat in this match. Juventud is a guy that should be a focus of the Cruiserweight division. I liked Chavo more when he was going nuts with a mop. Chavo lacks charisma and doesn’t translate well in the ring when there’s nothing about him that is interesting or entertaining. 0 for 1
SID PROMO
CONTEXT: Sid knows that Kevin Nash can hear him and the world saw what they did. Sid says their examples are what people can follow. Sid says his father always said suffering builds character and Nash has a lot of suffering to go through. Savage doesn’t speak due to the fans booing. Sid claims nobody cares about Nash, but we then see Nash on the big screen. Savage is pissed and wants to know where Gorgeous George is at. Nash is casually sitting backstage with Torrie Wilson. Nash suggests that he has a match with Sid since Sid is wearing the title. Savage promises Nash is a dead man. Savage declares that he’s the end for Nash and wants to know where Gorgeous George is at. Nash says George is getting dressed right now. Nash calls George into the room and she aimlessly looks around since she heard Savage’s voice. Sid accepts a singles match with Nash.
Bob’s Take: I don’t know why, but hearing Sid say “excuse me” when he flubbed a line in the promo cracks me up. Sid is a loud, angry man and he’s showing manners in his promo. As I said before, the match I’d be more interested in seeing is Nash vs. Sting, but it looks like either WCW is having patience to do that, or they’re not aware that it’s a more compelling match. I don’t think they are pivoting to Sid as a focus instead of Savage, but they probably should. 1 for 2
RIC FLAIR INTERVIEW, A NEW WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION IS REVEALED
CONTEXT: Mean Gene is in the ring to conduct an interview with WCW President Ric Flair, who has David Flair with him. Ric says when he’s in town things happen. Ric puts over WCW as being the strongest company going. Ric notes that Scott Steiner doesn’t have time for wrestling and Ric is stripping Scott of the WCW United States Championship. So, Ric is awarding the WCW United States Championship to David Flair. Ric calls for Charles Robinson to come down to the ring. Ric says that David won last week by count-out against Nash and is thus the number one contender. Ric says he can make David the youngest world champion ever. Charles Robinson comes down to the ring with several women and the championship. Ric gives the championship to David and the women swarm David now that he’s a champion. Ric says they are going downtown.
Buff Bagwell makes his way out to interrupt the celebration. Ric tells Bagwell that he can’t have himself, David or the girls. Bagwell calls them the triple Ds. Dumb, dumber and dumbest. Bagwell gets some cheap heat for mentioning Atlanta. Bagwell says it isn’t Charlotte and it isn’t the Four Horsemen anymore. Ric warns Bagwell to not kill the action. Bagwell says he likes to party and wants to keep the party going. Bagwell insults David’s lack of body. Bagwell thinks he should be WCW United States Champion and wants a shot at it. Ric gives Bagwell the match, but Charles Robinson will be the referee. Bagwell finishes off with his dancing taunt.
Bob’s Take: This has to be considered the death of the WCW United States Championship and the prestige attached to it, right? Part of me completely understands the approach. Do you want to do another tournament for the title? Probably not. So, for a storyline perspective, it makes all the sense in the world that Ric would simply give the title to his son to continue the nepotism aspect. It sucks because David is one of the worst wrestlers to ever compete at this point and attaching the highly regarded WCW US Championship onto him seems to do more bad than good. It feels like the show will need a memorable moment, and Bagwell winning the WCW US Championship to make David a short-lived champion would probably be a good move. 2 for 3
MATCH #2: WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION RICK STEINER VS. VAMPIRO
NOTE: Rick Steiner cut a pre-match promo, which consisted of Rick saying his catchphrase.
FINISH: Steiner hit a top rope bulldog and put lazy arm bar on Vampiro to win by submission.
Bob’s Take: Well, this is basically a complete squash, and I’m not sure why they’s put Vampiro in this spot to get totally demolished. The lazy arm bar finish by Steiner looks dumb and he should just keep the top rope bulldog as his finishing move. Steiner had better intensity, but this wasn’t good. 2 for 4
LENNY LANE & LODI BACKSTAGE COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET… REALLY
CONTEXT: Lenny and Lodi enter a room. Lenny loves the outfit that Lodi made him. Lodi knows every inch of Lenny and Lenny knows he doesn’t need to try it on. Lodi knows that Lenny is worried, but WCW is open minded and they aren’t going to care. Lenny trusts Lodi. It is revealed they had walked out of the closet.
Bob’s Take: It’s silly, but it’s an entertaining silly. They are opening themselves up for the crowd to say horrible things, which they’ve already done. I’m glad they’re doing something with Lenny, though. 3 for 5
BRET HART RETURNS AND ADDRESSES THE AUDIENCE
CONTEXT: Hart is greeted with a warm reception from the Atlanta crowd. Hart mentions that he was told he had as much time that he needed. Hart says his family thanks the fans for their well wishes and how it has meant a lot to the family. Hart says WCW has been kind to him the past few weeks and they’ve given him as much time as he needs to collect himself. Bret wants to share a few words about Owen and talks about how Owen was a wonderful human being. Bret doesn’t think anyone could say a bad word about Owen. Bret says that Owen was his closest brother and they never got in an argument. They were best friends. Bret takes a lot of pride in how well Owen turned out. Bret says Eric Bischoff asked him to come back on July 5th and talk about how he feels about things. However, Bret is having a tough time figuring out what he wants to do with not only his career, but his life. Bret has lived for wrestling and his family has lived for wrestling. They’ve also died for wrestling. Bret doesn’t know what else is left for him to do in wrestling and move on to a different field and accomplish something else. Bret talks about Gretzky and Elway retiring in 1999, and how they are happy retiring. Bret looks at himself and thinks it sucks. Bret tells himself that it’s not fair to end his career on a tragedy. Bret says nobody wants to prove more in wrestling than him. Bret doesn’t know what he’s going to do. Bret says he’s happy with his career despite everything that has happened. Bret thanks the fans and thanks all the wrestlers all over the world. It was a pleasure to work with them and hopes he wasn’t too stiff.
Bob’s Take: You can feel the sorrow and uncertainty in Bret’s mind throughout the entire time he’s speaking. There’s nothing much to say here other than it’s a horrible tragedy and you’ve got to feel for Bret and the family. I’m glad that Bret returned and provided some kind of update for the fans, because no matter what he’s beloved. 4 for 6
EDDIE GUERRERO HAS HAD HIS WALLET STOLEN
CONTEXT: Eddie walks up to Doug Dillinger and a couple of police officers complaining that someone stole his wallet that had a lot of money. Eddie wants Doug to round up all the masked wrestlers and he can identify the person who stole from him. Doug walks with Eddie along with the officers to grab the potential suspects.
Bob’s Take: I’m guessing Eddie is doing this to simply embarrass all the former LWO wrestlers that bailed on him when he was hurt. I’d rather watch Eddie compete on Nitro rather than being in a comedy segment, but at least it’s something for Eddie. 5 for 7
MATCH #3: JERRY FLYNN VS. THE CAT — KICKBOXING MATCH
NOTE: There are two minute rounds for the this bout.
FINISH: Cat dropped Flynn with a body shot and then decked Flynn while on his knees. The referee quickly called for the bell and awards the match to Flynn. After the match, Flynn tackles Cat and they brawl for a bit. Eventually, the referee is able to pull both men apart and restores order. All by himself. Nick Patrick deserves a raise.
Bob’s Take: I think there’s a large portion of the crowd that would rather watch a pro wrestling match on a pro wrestling show instead of a kickboxing bout. The Georgia Dome crowd quickly crapped all over this, and I don’t blame them. I had a feeling of almost dread when the match started, because I have virtually no interest in these guys in a wrestling match let alone a kickboxing match. Plus, they are both heels. There’s nobody in this match to support. The Cat has had moments in recent weeks where he’s getting a lot better as a heel, but this was a bad followup to any of his momentum. I’d say this was one of the worst matches of the year. 5 for 8
MATCH #4: VAN HAMMER VS. LODI
FINISH: Hammer finishes Lodi off with the cobra clutch slam to win the match
Bob’s Take: At one point in the match, Lodi seemingly shocked the crowd by hitting a hurricanrana, which was not something I was expecting to see. Hammer doesn’t have heat to justify this kind of match. It kind of feels like WCW is trying to give Hammer a similar push to what Wrath had gotten in late 1998 until they completely fumbled that. However, Hammer doesn’t connect with the audience and Hammer is known too much as a poor in-ring worker to make it work. 5 for 9
DOUG DILLINGER ATTEMPTS TO FIND THE WALLET
CONTEXT: Doug talks with several masked wrestlers saying they need to chat about the missing wallet. The luchadores are not pleased about this, but they walk with Doug and the officers.
Bob’s Take: I don’t care about this angle. Just give me good in-ring wrestling on a three hour show instead of childish backstage segments that aren’t funny. 5 for 10
RODDY PIPER INTERVIEW, INTERROGATES ‘STING’, JUDGE MILLS LANE DEBUTS
CONTEXT: Mean Gene is in the ring to interview Roddy Piper. Piper gets some cheap pops for mentioning the Braves. Piper talks about taking money for throwing punches and not throwing fights. Piper gives points to Curt Hennig and Bobby Duncum Jr. for saving the youth because rap is crap. Piper mentions Sting and the fans cheer, which annoys Piper. Piper claims to have never met Sting despite being in the company for three years. Piper calls out Sting to join him in the ring.
Sting’s music hits, but it’s clearly a fake Sting and some of the fans didn’t realize it, but they do fairly quickly. Piper asks if Sting is aligned with Savage, but ‘Sting’ shakes his head no. Piper asks ‘Sting’ about the hummer and shakes his head no about being in the hummer. Piper thinks there’s a coalition, but ‘Sting’ denies it. Piper smells a rat. Piper wants ‘Sting’ to take his mask off and prove himself, but ‘Sting’ doesn’t do it. Piper insists the mask be taken off, but ‘Sting’ refuses. Piper ends up hitting a swinging neckbreaker and kicks ‘Sting’ to the floor. Piper says the fans want Sting and they want the real thing.
Piper turns his attention to Buff Bagwell and how Bagwell talks about being tough. Piper has never seen Bagwell walk the walk. Piper announces at the PPV this Sunday they are going to have boxing match with ten three minute rounds. Piper thinks they will prove if Bagwell can walk the walk. JJ Dillon joins the segment on the aisle and has Judge Mills Lane with him. Dillon says the committee has no issue with the match, but they want an impartial referee and introduces Judge Mills Lane. Lane says he’s heard a lot of crap from Piper. Lane says they can get it on Sunday. Piper warns Lane if he thought he had an issue with Tyson he hasn’t seen anything yet.
Bob’s Take: WCW continues to bring celebrities to attempt and draw a rating. It feels like they are trying to get a fifteen second spot on Entertainment Tonight instead of putting forth the best wrestling show they can think of. Who is going to order the PPV because of Mills Lane? Does a boxing match on PPV interest anyone? I’m not looking forward to Bash at the Beach and this did not help. 5 for 11
MATCH #5: KONNAN & WCW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION REY MYSTERIO JR. VS. FIT FINLAY & STEVEN REGAL
FINISH: Late in the match, the West Texas Rednecks come out and attack Mysterio and Konnan causing the referee to throw out the match. Mysterio and Konnan win by disqualification.
Bob’s Take: The match was going decently until the cheap finish. I doubt this means that Finlay and Regal are going to be getting any kind of substantial push, but I’d be in favor of some kind of push for them. This is just an easy way to keep some momentum going for their showdown this Sunday on PPV. 6 for 12
MATCH #6: WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION DAVID FLAIR VS. BUFF BAGWELL
FINISH: Late in the match, Dean Malenko and Roddy Piper get involved. Piper nails Bagwell with a handful of something to knockout Bagwell. David covers and pins Bagwell to win the match.
Bob’s Take: At one point, Bagwell hit the Blockbuster and the crowd erupted the most they have all night with the thought of Bagwell winning the title, but Robinson acted like he hurt his shoulder. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the match turned into a crapshoot with a ton of interference. I was hoping that David’s run with the title wouldn’t be anything of substance. The crowd wanted a title change and I’m assuming they wanted Bagwell to be the guy to do it. It doesn’t get much bigger than the Georgia Dome to do what would have been a memorable moment for Bagwell. Maybe they are hoping for an even bigger moment after running with this angle for a bit longer. Anyway, not a good match, but David Flair matches aren’t expected to be good. 6 for 13
EDDIE GUERRERO CONFRONTS ALL THE LUCHADORES TO FIND HIS WALLET
CONTEXT: Backstage, Doug Dillinger lines up all the luchadores and Eddie Guerrero enters to identify the man who stole his wallet. Eddie tells Doug that he needs them to unmask so that he can properly identify the man who stole from hm. Eddie acts disgusted upon seeing their faces. Eddie compliments Psychosis for being a good looking guy and wonders why he’s wearing a mask. Cheetah Kid unmasks and it’s actually Prince Iaukea and they embrace. Eddie says none of them are the culprit and apologizes for being wrong.
Bob’s Take: Sure, it’s a bit funny, but it dragged on a little bit. I was digging Eddie being a ruthless guy upon his return and getting his revenge in that manner. I’m not digging the comedy aspect and think Eddie is better off being presented in a serious manner. 6 for 14
A MESSAGE FROM HARDCORE HAK
CONTEXT: The screen goes static and eventually we see Chasity and Hak backstage, Hak talks about his beginnings and how he beat up the doctor who delivered him. He’s been fighting his whole life, and WCW was stupid enough to hire him. He’s been hurting people like it’s going out of style, and he’s pissed that Flair isn’t sanctioning hardcore matches. Hak issues a challenge for all the hardcore wrestlers to fight him in a Junkyard match at the PPV.
Bob’s Take: They could simply not have a hardcore division at this point. The junkyard aspect is not something I care about. 6 for 15
WEST TEXAS REDNECKS ADDRESS THE CROWD
CONTEXT: The West Texas Rednecks perform their song on the stage after they acknowledge some country music acts. Hennig gets a decent size pop for asking how many rednecks are in the arena. There’s a large reaction to people hating rap music. Hennig performs Rap Is Crap for the Georgia Dome.
Bob’s Take: It should be kind of obvious that the Rednecks are kind of turning into a babyface act. This shouldn’t be too surprising since they are a southern based promotion and their audience is typically going to enjoy their music. Hennig is a good enough heel to still get some level of heel heat, but they’re getting a strong mixed reaction at this point. 6 for 16
MATCH #7: WCW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE TRIAD (DDP, BIGELOW & KANYON) VS. CHRIS BENOIT, DEAN MALENKO & PERRY SATURN — NON-TITLE
FINISH: Benoit pins Bigelow following a top rope diving headbutt to win the match
Bob’s Take: It’s getting to the point where it is expected that these guys in whatever match they are in on WCW programming will produce entertaining action. This was a good match with consistent action and holding interest. The crowd seemed to be invested in the action and managing to get a clean decision is always going to get positive points from me. Easily match of the night and a continued bright spot on the shows. 7 for 17
MEGADEATH PERFORMS, GOLDBERG RETURNS
CONTEXT: Megadeath performs “Crush ‘Em”. At the end of the performance, Goldberg appears and says “I’m back!”. It appears that the crowd responded favorably to the music, and they went nuts for Goldberg’s return.
Bob’s Take: I feel like this would have been better suited for the first hour, but I guess having Goldberg’s return saved for the third hour is more ideal in an attempt to keep ratings. I didn’t hate myself after watching this, so that’s a good thing. 8 for 18
MAIN EVENT: WCW WORLD CHAMPION KEVIN NASH VS. SID VICIOUS
NOTE: Nash tells Savage if he ever wants to see Gorgeous George again he’s got to leave with Madusa and Miss Madness. The trio does leave the ringside area.
FINISH: Late in the match, the referee is knocked down in the corner allowing Savage and Sid to work over Nash. However, ‘Sting’ comes down to the ring and attacks Nash. The crowd is believing it’s the real Sting, though. Savage hits Nash with the WCW World Championship. The real Sting runs into the ring and attacks Sid with strikes. Sting decks Savage before turning his attention to the fake Sting. Sting decks ‘Sting’ to the floor. The crowd is cheering big time for the real Sting. Sting helps Nash up, but Nash knee lifts Sting and delivers a Jackknife Powerbomb! Nash gets up and leaves the ring. Nash gets a microphone and tells Savage that Gorgeous George is in his locker room what is left of her.
Bob’s Take: Savage left the match for about twenty-seconds before getting involved, but the referee let it go. The money is absolutely a Nash vs. Sting match and it’s even more obvious with how they went about doing this. I think there is significant interest in a match between Nash and Sting at this point. Once again, a Nitro main event that is hardly a match and is mostly a segment or promote the PPV. 8 for 19
THE INFAMOUS SLAP
CONTEXT: Savage runs backstage in a fit of rage looking for George. Savage runs towards the locker room and spots Torrie Wilson with George. Savage slaps Torrie Wilson for laughing. Savage throws George into the hallway and the show quickly goes off the air.
Bob’s Take: I mean, it’s a tough segment to watch as Savage appears to slap Torrie across the face and throws George into a hallway. It’s not the best thing that Savage has done. Sure, it gets Savage even more over as an absolute mad man, but judging by how quickly the show went off the air WCW certainly didn’t approve of such antics. 8 for 20
It’s a bit depressing to see the effort put into the show at the Georgia Dome and how bad the show was this week. I don’t understand the constant decision to not produce an actual main event match. It feels like every week there’s a lack of a main event and I can’t wrap my head around it. Not having a main event is going to drive your audience away and breaking that trust with the audience to stick through a three hour program is difficult to regain.
Bash at the Beach is shaping up to be a rather uninteresting pay per view. Do I care about a boxing match? Of course not. I actually want to see Nash vs. Sting, but they are teaming up in the main event against Sid and Savage.
Goldberg returning is a positive and brings star power back to the program, but star power isn’t something that is lacking for WCW anyway. They simply need clean finishes and actually produce a main event with a finish. They’ve got to stop essentially baiting the viewer and switching what is being advertised.
I’m not looking forward to Bash at the Beach and it wouldn’t have even crossed my mind to purchase the event.
7/5 Nitro TV Rating: 3.3
Thanks for reading.