Coming out of Bash at the Beach there’s not a whole lot to be excited about for WCW. Randy Savage is the new WCW World Champion and I never envisioned myself saying that it is a dreadful direction to go in. Savage can’t work the style that made him so great and his muscle mass makes him move slower than just a year ago. Savage probably moved better with a torn ACL than he did currently.
Buff Bagwell earned a pin fall victory in a boxing match against Roddy Piper and appears primed for the biggest singles push of his career. I’d have to think he’s a prime candidate to take the WCW US Championship off of David Flair, which is something I would have done last week at the Georgia Dome.
Sting should have either won the WCW World Championship, or been challenging Nash for the title moving forward. I’m not sure what direction they could go with Sting if they completely drop the aspect of Nash being able to trust Sting now that he’s not the champion.
Triad retaining the tag titles is the right call from last night, but Benoit & Saturn are probably a played out challenge despite good matches. I think the obvious direction would be Konnan & Mysterio now challenging the Triad for the tag titles.
Goldberg appeared during the Megadeath concert last week and I would have to believe he’d be part of this weeks Nitro to get him back into the mix. Judging the chants in recent weeks, WCW is likely going to match Goldberg with Sid sooner rather than later.
One last thing, and I actually looked it up to make sure I wasn’t incorrect. Torrie Wilson was absolutely with David Flair last night at the PPV despite her recent turn to align with Kevin Nash. I understand aspects of the show could be forgotten or an oversight, but it was a turn in a main event angle that was completely forgotten about. I doubt they address any of that, though.
Lets get into WCW Nitro from Jacksonville.
JULY 12TH — JACKSONVILLE, FL — JACKSONVILLE COLISEUM
NEW WCW WORLD CHAMPION RANDY SAVAGE ISSUES AN OPEN CHALLENGE, HOLLYWOOD HOGAN RETURNS
CONTEXT: Mean Gene is in the ring to conduct an interview with the new WCW World Champion Randy Savage, who comes out by himself. Gene says the reaction from the crowd shows they are not in love with the idea of Savage as the champion. Savage brags about having told everyone that he’d win the title. Savage says he’s the baddest dude on the planet and he’s the WCW World Champion. Savage thanks everyone for honoring him tonight, which gets more jeers from the crowd. Gene asks about where the entourage is right now since they were with him last night. Savage tells Gene he had to do this by himself because he’s the boss and a self made man. Savage puts over Sid for being very vicious and and notes that Nash couldn’t handle the madness last night. Savage is going to continue to do what he said he can do. Savage issues a challenge to anyone in the arena to a title match. Well, he challenges he anyone BUT Kevin Nash. Savage declares that Nash doesn’t deserve a shot at the title because he’s a zero at life and he’s got his number. Wait a minute..
Hollywood Hogan’s music hits and Hogan makes his return to Nitro! Hogan is wearing his gear, by the way. Savage is pissed that Hogan has arrived. Hogan asks if he’s hearing things or did Savage say anybody. Savage admits he’s made a mistake and says Hogan is in the same category as Nash. Hogan thinks Nash should be the champion right now after what he saw last night. Hogan announces he’s going for the title tonight. Savage says he overreacted and gave Hogan an out, but Hogan didn’t bite. Savage would love to give Hogan a challenge tonight. Savage accepts the challenge for tonight.
Bob’s Take: Well, Hogan’s back and it looks like we’re going to a big title match tonight. Now, in April 1998 Savage had a one day title reign losing to Hogan on Nitro. It’s entirely possible that happens again here. It seems like a played out match at this point and Savage being incredibly restrictive isn’t going to make for a good match. I think I would have put either Goldberg or one of the younger guys in this spot. With one of the younger guys not answering the challenge, that angle may have been scrapped especially since Hogan is back. Hogan isn’t going to lay down for the young kids, brother. Anyway, it’s a fine segment and sets up the main event well enough. 1 for 1
MATCH #1: KONNAN VS. VAMPIRO
FINISH: Vampiro smashes Konnan with a chair on the floor and the referee calls for the bell. Konnan wins the match by disqualification. After the match, Vampiro plants Konnan with the Nail in the Coffin to leave Konnan laying.
Bob’s Take: The action was actually fairly decent, but there wasn’t enough time for the match to mean anything. Vampiro not doing the job and laying Konnan out may be the start of something of a push for Vampiro after previously losing in quick fashion to Rick Steiner, which was last week on Nitro. I like Vampiro and his style of wrestling is something I can get behind. As a whole, this was fine. 2 for 2
THE CAT & BUFF BAGWELL CONFRONTATION
CONTEXT: Cat tells the redneck fans and Nitro Girls that he’s going to show them all how to dance. Cat proceeds to dance a bit with his red slippers on. The crowd is actually cheering Cat a bit more than usual. Cat tells the crowd that he’s a great dancer and has a beautiful face. Cat claims he’s a bad man. Cat wants the rednecks to sit down and listen to what he’s got to say. Cat hates Jacksonville and suggests he’s going to kick everyone’s ass. Cat insults the boxing match he saw last night and calls them chumps. Cat says Buff Bagwell needed his mother to help him. Cat says he’d kick Buff and Judy’s butts, but Judy is out of his weight class as she’s a super heavyweight.
Buff Bagwell makes his way out to join the segment. Bagwell poses to the crowd to get a pop. Cat does the same, but they boo him. Bagwell reminds Cat that he’s buff and Cat isn’t the stuff. Bagwell gets a cheap pop for saying he loves Jacksonville, but Cat says they can all kiss his ass. Bagwell thinks the fans may want him to kick Cat’s ass. Bagwell tells Cat to not sing, but to bring it. That prompts Cat to attack Bagwell from behind. Bagwell fights back and scoop slams Sonny Ono, but Cat lays Bagwell out with a kick wearing a red shoe. Ono counts the mock pin and Cat acts like he just won a match.
Bob’s Take: Last night Bagwell picked up the biggest win of his singles career when he defeated Roddy Piper in a boxing match. You’d think that Bagwell would be getting elevated into a bigger role in the company. Instead, Bagwell appears to be settling right back into the midcard ranks feuding with The Cat. Cat is absolutely on the rise as a heel and has been entertaining in recent months, but it’s a bad way to followup on Bagwell’s PPV victory. I could potentially see the argument that this helps Cat become more relevant, but I think WCW is more in need of establishing a main event babyface and Bagwell could have been in that discussion following the PPV victory. It’s not a bad segment, and it’s enjoyable. The booking direction is questionable. 3 for 3
MATCH #2: RIC FLAIR VS. DEAN MALENKO
NOTE: Flair bans Benoit & Saturn from ringside because he’s the President and can do that. Charles Robinson is the referee for the match.
FINISH: Malenko countered the figure four leg lock, but Robinson DQ’s Malenko for an earlier accidental ref bump in the corner. Thus, Flair wins by disqualification. After the match, Sting runs down to the ring to scare the heels to the floor.
Bob’s Take: There was a lot more crowd energy and seemingly interest in this match than I had been expecting. It’s a decent match with some good wrestling and brawling. There wasn’t much in terms of big spots to jolt the crowd, but the crowd remained interested and had a much bigger reaction to Malenko than I’ve seen in previous weeks. The finish doesn’t bother me as it continues the trend of the Flair administration using their power to avoid defeat. It fits for the angle and the overall match and segment was fine. 4 for 4
STING CONFRONTS RIC FLAIR, WANTS CONTROL OF WCW
CONTEXT: Sting plays to the crowd and helps Malenko to his feet. Malenko yells for Sting to leave the arena. Sting says Flair as President means nothing to him. Sting says Flair’s diamonds have lost their luster. Sting thinks Space Mountain is on Viagra, which causes Flair to freak out and says Sting is a dead man. Sting recalls ten years ago Flair holding down Sting, Luger and the Steiner Brothers. Sting reminds us that he’s back in black. Sting is embarrassed that he let Malenko do the talking for the last several weeks. Sting wants control of WCW. Flair says Sting does what he’s told just like Flair’s wife. Sting wants to wrestle Flair tonight for control of WCW. Flair says Sting can’t make that match and the fans are cheering for nothing. Ric decides to let WCW United States Champion David Flair wrestle Sting tonight. If Sting wins that match then Sting can wrestle Ric. Sting says he’s not above hurting David to get to Ric. Sting promises to wrestle Ric for control of WCW.
Bob’s Take: I don’t like this direction, at all. Wrestlers trading control of the company is a bit lame and uninteresting. I’d rather Flair keep doing the power hungry gimmick. I don’t want Sting to be coming out and making matches. I want Sting to wrestle and be the champion. I’m sure they will have a fine match potentially next week, but I didn’t care for this. Though, Sting’s viagra line was funny. 4 for 5
MATCH #3: BILLY KIDMAN VS. STEVEN REGAL
FINISH: Late in the match, the referee is knocked down. Finlay and Dave Taylor try to get involved, but Kidman fights them off. Kidman attempts the shooting star press, but completely botches it and lands onto the ropes. Bischoff rolls into the ring and checks on Kidman. Kidman recovers to get an inside cradle and pins Regal for the win. Bischoff shoves Taylor and Finlay while they argue.
Bob’s Take: It’s a little cringe to hear Bischoff talking about Kidman is able to land all the hot women. I mean, he is dating Torrie Wilson at this point, but that aspect of his career hasn’t been touched upon. I want to say this was some kind exciting match, but it’s not. It’s actually kind of boring considering the standards they have both set in the past. This match is infamous for Kidman’s dangerous botch as it may be the worst botch attempt of the move by Kidman I can ever remember seeing. I was hoping for something better and the botch had no impact on the entertainment level. 4 for 6
MATCH #4: SID VICIOUS VS. KENNY KAOS
FINISH: Sid wins the match following a powerbomb. After the match, Sid grabs a microphone and asks a knocked out Kaos if he felt the power. Sid is calling out Sting saying he doesn’t feel remorse for the things he does. Sid says Sting must be his next victim to realize his destiny. Sid is going to give Sting something to think about. Sid screams that he’s the ruler of the world.
Bob’s Take: Sid destroying guys is never going to get old. It kind of reminded me of the squash match Sid would have in the WWF back in 1992. Now, it’s a different era and he’s already had matches with big names on TV, but they should settle for Sid beating up undercard guys each week. As for a match with Sting.. okay? An enjoyable squash, but the direction for Sid with Sting is underwhelming. 5 for 7
MATCH #5: WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION DAVID FLAIR VS. STING — NON-TITLE
NOTE: Torrie Wilson is still with David Flair. They have completely dropped or ignored her turn to Kevin Nash.
FINISH: Charles Robinson refuses to acknowledge David submitting to the Scorpion Death Lock. Sting plants Robinson with the Scorpion Death Drop and fights off by Ric and Anderson. Sting press slams Ric followed by a Stinger Splash. Asya gets in the ring, but Ric holds Asya in front of him, but Sting still hits the splash onto both of them. Ric freaks out at ringside.
Bob’s Take: The championship isn’t on the line and they still refuse to have David do a job to even a guy at Sting’s level. What harm is there in Sting beating David in less than twenty-seconds? Nothing. The aftermath is the enjoyable aspect of this, but the match itself is obviously nothing. Realistically, Ric still has no reason to accept the match next week since Sting should be disqualified, but WCW lacks logic at this point. 5 for 8
FIT FINLAY INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Mean Gene is standing in the ring to introduce the new WCW Hardcore Champion Fit Finlay. Finlay says he represents Northern Ireland and puts over last night as being one of the toughest matches he’s ever been in. Finlay doesn’t care about the fans and puts down Americans for not knowing the tough life. Finlay ends up being attacked by the First Family. Other men from the junkyard match also run into the ring to have a massive brawl. Jimmy Hart steals the trophy.
Bob’s Take: I’m assuming the hardcore division is officially a thing now? It shouldn’t a be a surprise since the WWF has one. I didn’t care for this, though. I don’t know if I knew or realized that Finlay was addressed as the first hardcore champion in WCW history, though he doesn’t have an actual championship to signify such thing. 5 for 9
MATCH #6: WCW TAG TEAM CHAMPION DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE VS. BOOKER T
NOTE: The Triad cut a promo before the match with DDP saying that he delivers the goods. DDP thinks the Triad is the greatest trio ever. DDP tells Booker T to bring his A-game tonight.
NOTE #2: Eric Bischoff officially announces Ric Flair will wrestle Sting next week for control of WCW.
FINISH: Late in the match, Booker avoids the diamond cutter and sends DDP into the referee before hitting the scissors kick. Kanyon comes out to hit the Flatliner on Booker. Bigelow slides into the ring and causes an official disqualification. After the match, DDP and Bigelow hit the Greetings/Diamond Cutter combo on Booker. Booker is taped to the ropes in the corner and triple teamed. We see the NWO Black & White watching the beating backstage. Eventually, Stevie Ray leaves the locker room and runs out to the ring to make the save. Stevie scares the Triad out of the ring with a steel chair. The crowd starts a loud Harlem Heat chant.
Bob’s Take: A rather disappointing match between these two. There was a brief moment where I thought the match was going to turnaround and become a good one, but at best it was a painfully average match. I’ve been enjoying DDP and Booker lately, but they didn’t put forth the strongest match from an entertainment aspect. Harlem Heat being the next team to potentially challenge the Triad is a fantastic turn of events. Sure, I’d like Booker to continue singles success, but if there’s a benefit in a short-term Harlem Heat reunion they might as well take advantage of it. 5 for 10
MAIN EVENT: WCW WORLD CHAMPION RANDY SAVAGE VS. HOLLYWOOD HOGAN
NOTE: During the match, Madusa and Miss Madness brawl at ringside.
FINISH: Late in the match, Sid comes out and attacks Hogan, but the referee doesn’t call for the bell. Bischoff notes that Hogan asked for No DQ, which is news to me. Sting brawls with Sid. Savage decks Hogan with a chain around his fist. Kevin Nash comes out and ends up hitting the Jackknife Powerbomb on Savage. Hogan covers and wins the match to become the new champion.
Bob’s Take: The definition of a match using smoke and mirrors. They did a few chair shots and using the weight belt throughout the bout. While it’s a played out match and Savage is nowhere near the quality of wrestler he once was, there’s still something about these two competing against each other that continues to hold my interest. Sure, Hogan as champion is another played out direction to go in, but he’s a significantly better champion than Savage at this point in time. There’s no denying that the fans react well to Hogan. 6 for 11
KEVIN NASH HAS A CHALLENGE
CONTEXT: Nash stands at ringside and welcomes Hogan back to WCW. Nash notes he’s handed the belt to Hogan two times now. Nash realized the shark returned to the tank. Nash wants a shot at the title. Nash wants it to be a legit match and no joke. Nash promises the result will go his way. Nash is tired of being screwed around. Hogan accepts the challenge.
Bob’s Take: The history between Hogan and Nash makes a ton of sense to go in this direction. They’ve had issues dating back to the spring of ’98, which then led to the ruse back in January and their brief alignment again until Hogan left due to injury at Spring Stampede. I think there’s interest in a match between the two. Having it be the first feud for Hogan since winning the title may be a little rushed. They probably could have played up their history a lot longer and lead to a bigger match in a few months. I think I’d have Hogan feud with DDP for the title at first and blowoff that feud. Regardless, Hogan winning the title is not a bad direction and is an improvement from Savage being in the main event. 7 for 12
It’s a better episode than the last few weeks despite a couple of disappointing matches (Kidman/Regal, Booker/DDP). There are some interesting directions they are visiting, though they are rehashing the angles to some extent. Harlem Heat reunion going after the tag titles is a good short-term direction. Hogan as champion is fine and a drastic improvement from Savage.
Next week we’ve got Sting vs. Ric Flair for control of WCW. I hate the stipulation, but Sting and Flair tend to have a formula match that they’ve bee working for a decade at this point. No matter how many times they compete the fans respond well to the battles.
Nitro 7/12 TV Rating: 3.4
Thanks for reading.