In the last month there has been an influx of talent, both returning and new. Obviously, the returns of WCW World Champion Hollywood Hogan (knee injury), Goldberg (knee injury) and Sid Vicious (stabbing Arn Anderson in ’93) bring some major star power back to the program. WCW hadn’t suffered too much with their departures, but we’re back to being quite loaded in the main event picture.
This week also features the first week of Sting being WCW President and seemingly having total control that had previously belonged to Ric Flair. It’s a direction for Sting that I’m not too crazy about because he simply doesn’t need the addition of WCW President to his character. It almost feels as if WCW doesn’t have much of a plan for Sting other than a feud with Sid right now that doesn’t have much personal beef and is rather two stars wrestling for the sake of wrestling at Road Wild.
The influx of talent has also beefed up the midcard ranks with the recent returns of Steven Regal, Shane Douglas, Raven and Eddie Guerrero to help fill out the midcard and perhaps help with less repetitive matches. Douglas appears to be leading the youth movement and has had a history of hatred with Ric Flair, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the end game is a match between them after all these years.
Insane Clown Posse making their debuts in WCW isn’t some kind of earth shattering development, but they have pop culture popularity and can actually work in-ring. To me that makes them more valuable than any other musician they’ve brought in to perform. I also like the potential of what a group consisting of the ICP, Vampiro and Raven can produce if given the chance.
Our main program promoting Road Wild is between WCW World Champion Hollywood Hogan and Kevin Nash. Obviously, there’s notable history between these two dating back to January 4th where Nash laid down for Hogan after the finger poke controversy. Well, Nash is out to show his true skill and wants to take out Hogan. It’s a simple and effective story. However, I feel like I would have dragged out the heel turn by Nash a little bit. They easily could have done Hogan vs. DDP at Road Wild since DDP was the reason Hogan was off TV in kayfabe. Besides, DDP and Hogan had a celebrity tag team match last year Road Wild. It kind of ties in together fairly well. DDP has been entertaining in the Triad and the trio as a whole has been one of the best acts WCW has going at the moment. DDP taking a main event on an arguably B-level PPV wouldn’t be the worst thing WCW could do.
We do have a mystery tag team match tonight where Kevin Nash will have a tag partner that we know well to battle Hogan and Sting. It feels like Nash is teasing Scott Hall and an Outsiders return. Also, Goldberg in singles action against Curt Hennig.
Lets get into Nitro.
JULY 26TH — MEMPHIS, TN — MID-SOUTH COLISEUM
NOTE: Scott Hudson is filling in on commentary for Tony Schiavone for the second straight week. Hudson tries to play it up as if we don’t know Sting is teaming with Hogan, but Nash issued that direct challenge on Thunder. He’s also calling Goldberg the Phenom, which seems to be a bit of a shot at the Undertaker.
MEAN GENE CHATS WITH WCW WORLD CHAMPION HOLLYWOOD HOGAN
CONTEXT: They are promoting Hogan’s partner as a mystery when Nash directly challenged Hogan and Sting on Thunder last week. I’m assuming nobody in WCW bothers to either watch or remember what they do on Thunder. Hogan talks about all the fans welcoming him coming off the plane earlier today. Hogan came to Memphis simply for this tag match. Hogan claims to have watched Thunder and heard what Nash said. Hogan is calling Nash Kevina. Hogan thinks it’s bullcrap regarding Nash claiming to be the future. Hogan doesn’t have a partner, but does have the title. Hogan also calls Nash Kevette. Hogan calls out Nash if he wants a piece of him.
Nash makes his way out with Rick Steiner and Sid Vicious. The new trio corner Hogan with Nash in the ring and the other two on the floor. Hogan tells Nash it is between them and nobody else. Nash noticed Hogan was out there by himself and Hogan claims he doesn’t need a tag partner. Hogan tells Nash to put the microphone down and get some. Hogan punches the heels, but the numbers are too much and Hogan is beaten down to the mat. Sting runs down to the ring with a baseball bat to make the save. Nash says he has his partner and tells Hogan to make sure he has his. The fans chant for Sting, but Sting departs the ring leaving Hogan confused.
Bob’s Take: It is a bit annoying to promote the tag match on Thunder, and then on Nitro act as if they hadn’t promoted the tag match as Hogan and Sting tagging. There’s more of a draw to cast doubt on whether or not Sting would tag with Hogan considering their history, so I understand that. This is an effective segment and enjoyable one at that. Nash stated he had his tag partner, but didn’t reveal which one. I like the approach of added mystery. 1 for 1
MATCH #1: THE WEST TEXAS REDNECKS (BOBBY DUNCUM JR. & KENDALL WINDHAM) VS. JUVENTUD GUERRERA & PSYCHOSIS
FINISH: Windham pins Psychosis following a double bulldog out of the corner.
Bob’s Take: I thought this was a good opening tag team match, and maybe one of the best opening matches for Nitro this year. The styles meshed well with the smaller wrestlers highlighting their skills with aerial attacks. The Rednecks looked tough with their brawling focused and the Cruiserweights sold well to make them look vicious. Guerrera didn’t get much shine here as there wasn’t a hot tag by Psychosis, which may have been on purpose to highlight the unit of Windham and Duncum Jr. as a strong tag team. This is a good match and potentially a bigger push for the Rednecks to keep an eye on. 2 for 2
CHAD BROCK COMING TO NITRO
CONTEXT: Country music singer and former WCW enhancement wrestler Chad Brock will be performing on Nitro in two weeks. Brock had a hit called Ordinary Life that was released in late ’98, and that’s the song they air to promote his appearance.
Bob’s Take: This can’t be to promote his album, since that was released in October ’98 nor his second album as that was released in May 2000. It looks as if this could be a manner to promote his singles coming off the album. Lightning Does The Work appears to be his most popular song in ’99. Brock coming to WCW makes an obvious interaction with the West Texas Rednecks a likely occurrence. I doubt Brock wrestles since he retired due to an injury. If there is a reason for Brock to be here from an angle perspective, I won’t shoot this down completely. 3 for 3
MISS MADNESS & MADUSA HAVE A CHAT BACKSTAGE
CONTEXT: Madness is upset about being someone and now she’s just Mona. Madusa confronts Madness saying they’re going to wrestle at Road Wild and she’s going to kick her butt. Madusa blames Gorgeous George for all this and blames George for their breakup. Madness thinks George is jealous of them and Madusa agrees with that. Madusa thinks George setup her own kidnapping by Nash a few weeks ago. Madusa says their going to kick George’s butt tonight and she’ll do the same to Mona.
Bob’s Take: This came across as a disorganized segment. Apparently we’re getting Madusa vs. Mona at Road Wild, which could be a good match if Madusa has her head on straight. 3 for 4
MATCH #2: WCW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION REY MYSTERIO JR. VS. VAMPIRO — NON-TITLE
NOTE: Raven is not at ringside with Vampiro and the ICP.
FINISH: Vampiro hits a middle rope powerbomb, but the ICP attack Mysterio causing the DQ. After the match, Eddie Guerrero runs into the ring with a steel chair to make the save. Violent J cuts a promo saying Vampiro has friends and they are here to kick ass.
Bob’s Take: The finish is a bit dumb since Vampiro likely would have pinned Mysterio and given himself a major victory. I’m not sure what the big deal would have been to give Vampiro some major momentum and the heel group a big victory. I thought this was a good match regardless of the poor finish, though. I’m digging Vampiro the more he gets to wrestle longer form matches than what he had been doing previously in WCW. 4 for 5
MATCH #3: STEVIE RAY VS. VINCENT
NOTE: Vincent cut a promo before the match saying Stevie Ray is a coward and has no backbone. It sounds like Stevie is being kicked out of the NWO officially.
FINISH: Late in the match, Stevie whacks Vincent with a slapjack. Booker T is holding off Brian Adams on the aisle with a steel chair. Ray hits the Slapjack (pedigree) and pins Vincent.
Bob’s Take: It’s a bit sad because this should mark the official end to the NWO group and considering how successful the whole group had been in years past, it’s a bit sad to see the group falter and essentially die in this manner. However, it is time to move on and it’s likely been three months since they had been truly relevant. Lets get a brief Harlem Heat reunion and move along. 4 for 6
STING ENTERS HOLLYWOOD HOGAN’S LOCKER ROOM
CONTEXT: Mean Gene is trying to find out who Hogan’s partner will be. Sting enters the scene and enters the room with his baseball bat at the show went to commercial.
Bob’s Take: This would mean something if it wasn’t advertised on Thunder as Hogan and Sting teaming already, guys. 4 for 7
STING PROMO, HOLLYWOOD HOGAN WANTS TO MAKE AMENDS
CONTEXT: Sting makes his way out to cut a promo in the ring. Sting reminds us that he’s the President of WCW, which there is a few boos in there. Sting has a big decision to make on his first Nitro as President. Sting notes that Hogan wants him to be his partner. Sting wonders if he should be Hogan’s partner. The crowd seems to want him to do it. Sting asks if it’s showtime and they cheer.
WCW World Champion Hollywood Hogan marches down to the ring to join the segment. Hogan says he came here tonight with the title and Nash in his sights. Hogan tells Sting that he’s not the same Hollywood as he was before and promises Sting can trust him if he’ll be his partner. Hogan knows there’s a lot of history between them and wants one chance to prove himself. Hogan assures Sting he will not cross him tonight and think everyone will accept him. Sting says he’ll be his partner tonight, but if Hogan screws him, he’ll get Hogan. Hogan says ‘fair enough’ and that’s it.
Bob’s Take: As I’ve said before, we always knew that Sting was going to be Hogan’s partner. It’s a fine segment and it touched on their history fairly well. I’m thinking Hogan accidentally does something during the match to prompt Sting to not trust him. 5 for 8
JASON HERVEY IS BACK IN WCW
CONTEXT: Hervey is at the announcers table marking his return to WCW, which he hadn’t been seen in quite a while. Hervey puts over his success in Hollywood and talks about Arli$$ and thought he was terrible. Hervey puts over Nitro as the hottest wrestling program going.
Bob’s Take: It sounds as if there’s going to be a beef between Arli$$ and Hervey, which I could not care any less about. Hervey absolutely gives off a heel vibe, and I think he’d be successful as a heel manager of some kind. 5 for 9
MATCH #4: PRINCE IAUKEA VS. LASH LEROUX
FINISH: Within about ten seconds of the match starting, Randy Savage makes his way out and attacks LeRoux and Iaukea causing the match to be thrown out. Savage hits a top rope elbow drop on LeRoux.
Bob’s Take: I guess I’m thankful for Savage coming out and ending this match as it should never have been on Nitro let alone be on in the second hour of the show. 5 for 10
RANDY SAVAGE IS PISSED; CONFRONTED BY MADUSA & MONA
CONTEXT: Savage focuses on Nash, Hogan and Rodman saying he’s taking over the wrestling world. Savage continues to mention he’s running to become President of the United States. Savage promises it’s not over with Nash and it’s just started. Savage declares that Hogan and Rodman don’t want any of him. Madusa and Mona make their way out to the aisle. Madusa has something to tell Savage and wanted to be a team with Savage. Madusa believes the conspiracy involves Gorgeous George getting them fired. Security has come out to control Savage a little bit. Madusa insults George calling her a slime bag. Dennis Rodman appears on the aisle as George walks up the ramp and didn’t see Rodman. Rodman grabs George and kidnaps George. Savage darts out of the ring and chases after Rodman to get his woman back.
Bob’s Take: Well, that was kind of dumb. WCW is obsessed with a kidnapping angle as George as this marks the second month in a row that George has been kidnapped by a wrestler. I’m not a fan of this. 5 for 11
NOTE: KISS will be performing live on Nitro on August 23rd in Las Vegas.
RANDY SAVAGE SEARCHES FOR RODMAN
CONTEXT: Savage is kicking doors open as police officers stand behind him. Savage is on a manhunt for Rodman, but isn’t able to find him.
Bob’s Take: Savage is a lunatic, and this adds to that but of course he’s going to want to find his woman after she got abducted a second time in two months. 5 for 12
GOLDBERG IS HERE!
CONTEXT: Goldberg comes down to the ring without any music and crowd erupts for him. Goldberg grabs the microphone from Gene and focuses on Hennig. Goldberg notes that he was 2,000 miles away on Thursday when Hennig was running his mouth. Goldberg says he’s here and Hennig is next!
Bob’s Take: Simple and to the point by Goldberg, which should always be the approach. 6 for 13
MATCH #5: THE CAT VS. EVAN KARAGIAS
FINISH: Cat tries to use his red shoe, but he pulls out bunny slippers. Buff Bagwell comes out and reveals he has the slippers. The distraction allows Karagias to rollup Cat and pickup the win! After the match, Cat attacks Karagias for the embarrassment. Cat runs after Bagwell, who is long gone.
Bob’s Take: I didn’t hate this as a segment. I doubt they’ll followup on Karagias picking up the biggest win of his career, though. It was a good segment to advance the feud between Cat and Bagwell. The match isn’t anything special, though. I’ll give this a passable reaction for the entertainment of the angle advancement. 7 for 14
MATCH #6: STEVEN REGAL VS. MIKEY WHIPWRECK
NOTE: The First Family comes out during the match to taunt Regal and Taylor about getting the hardcore trophy back and tells them to show up at Road Wild.
FINISH: Late in the match, Taylor hits Whipwreck with a flag. Regal forces Whipwreck to submit to the Regal Stretch to win the match.
Bob’s Take: The crowd couldn’t care any less about this hardcore angle especially since the First Family are heels and the guys who want the trophy back are heels, too. As much as I tend to enjoy both Regal and Whipwreck, this was painfully boring and dull. I think the First Family getting involved killed the crowd quite a bit, but these two also have almost zero heat as of right now. It would have been better suited to be on earlier in the show. 7 for 15
MEAN GENE TALKS WITH WCW US CHAMPION DAVID FLAIR & TORRIE
CONTEXT: David cuts a promo saying that in order to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man and says he’s the man. Torrie puts over David’s looks. David says his father is the greatest wrestler to ever walk the face of the earth and he’s on the verge of being the second best wrestler to ever walk the face of the earth. Torrie suggests they have better things to do, but isn’t allowed to reveal those plans. David believes tonight will be easy against Benoit.
Bob’s Take: David seems to be getting more comfortable, but this is dreadful. 7 for 16
RANDY SAVAGE FINDS GORGEOUS GEORGE AND WANTS DENNIS RODMAN NOW
CONTEXT: Savage finds a crying Gorgeous George and Savage runs off into the direction that George tells him. Savage goes outside looking for Rodman. Savage whips open Rodman’s trailer. Rodman throws something at Savage and closes the door.
Bob’s Take: That was a bit anti-climatic. 7 for 17
SHANE DOUGLAS INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: This is recorder earlier and it’s a sit down interview. Douglas has watched his good friends and best athletes in WCW. Douglas wants to help them and trusts them. Douglas knows they will not stab him in the back. Douglas wants to cut the cancer known as Ric Flair out of WCW. Douglas says people know the genuine hatred he has for Flair. Douglas looks at the camera as he notes he’s in Flair’s backyard.
Bob’s Take: I think a match between Douglas and Flair is an interesting since Douglas has long teased it with his promos on Flair while in ECW. I’m not sure how well this will translate for the WCW audience. It’s not a bad start to Douglas being associated with Saturn, Malenko, and Benoit. 8 for 18
MATCH #7: GOLDBERG VS. CURT HENNIG
FINISH: Goldberg runs through all of the West Texas Rednecks with spears. Hennig bails after teasing a chair shot and Goldberg seemingly wins by disqualification. After the match, Hennig brawls with Goldberg briefly and is tossed to the floor.
Bob’s Take: I’m a bit surprised that Goldberg didn’t simply pickup a win over Hennig. Hennig being protected here may mean there’s more plans for the West Texas Rednecks and they didn’t want to derail that with Hennig jobbing to Goldberg in dominate fashion. Goldberg kicking ass is always an enjoyable time. 9 for 19
MATCH #8: MADUSA VS. PATTY STONE GRINDER
FINISH: Madusa wins the the match following a German suplex.
Bob’s Take: It’s an interesting choice to suddenly bring back women’s wrestling to WCW TV. It’s a tough task to get the crowd invested in any of this since Madusa is kind of a cold act in a wrestling since and nobody knows who Patty Stone Grinder is to begin with. It’s not too bad of a match, really. 10 for 20
MATCH #9: SHANE DOUGLAS VS. SCOTT PUTSKI
NOTE: This is Douglas’ first WCW TV match since May 1st, 1993 episode of WCW Worldwide.
FINISH: Douglas picks up the win following the Pittsburgh Plunge.
Bob’s Take: It’s not a bad showcase for Douglas as it was a bit competitive, but it didn’t drag along at any point. The Pittsburgh Plunge is a good finishing move and looked devastating. I’ll consider this a good match/segment. 11 for 21
MATCH #10: WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION DAVID FLAIR VS. CHRIS BENOIT
NOTE: Charles Robinson is the referee. Oddly, Robinson encourages David to not quit and get in the ring because he’s a Flair.
FINISH: At one point, David submitted to a Boston Crab, but Robinson refused to ring the bell. Late in the match, Diamond Dallas Page comes out and hits Benoit with a championship belt. Robinson acts like he didn’t see it and David pins Benoit to win the match. After the match, Dean Malenko and the Triad enter the ring to brawl. Saturn runs down to the ring and help out, but is beaten down by the Triad. Hudson dubs them The Revolution, by the way. Shane Douglas runs into the ring to stand tall with his pals.
Bob’s Take: Obviously in no realistic fight would David ever stand a chance against Benoit. David has largely wrestled against meaningless wrestlers that don’t serve much of a purpose on WCW TV. It’s a bit disappointing to see WCW not put the title on Benoit here and end the David Flair nepotism angle. It was fun to see Benoit beat up David for a bit, but it’s a disappointing match result anyway. 11 for 22
MATCH #11: WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION RICK STEINER VS. CHASE TATUM
FINISH: Steiner wins the match following a top rope bulldog
Bob’s Take: It’s a complete squash. It wasn’t good. 11 for 23
MAIN EVENT: WCW WORLD CHAMPION HULK HOGAN & STING VS. KEVIN NASH & SID VICIOUS
FINISH: Late in the match, Sting accidentally splashes the referee in the corner allowing Rick Steiner to get involved with a steel chair. Nash whacks Hogan over the head with a steel chair and manages to pin Hogan for the win. After the match, Goldberg runs into the ring, but Steiner uses the chair on Goldberg to lay him out. The heels walk off as the faces are left laying.
Bob’s Take: Considering the Sting/Sid connection in terms of feuding it wasn’t a shock that Sid would be the mystery tag partner tonight. If it had been Scott Hall it would have been a lot more interesting and entertaining, though. It would have played into the history of the NWO/Sting far more, as well. Sid appears to be distancing himself from Savage since Savage isn’t done with Nash, but Sid is now aligned with him. It’s kind of confusing, but I suppose it’s because they have a common enemy. There were several sloppy moments throughout the match. I’m glad there was a finish to the match as Nash needs to have a win over Hogan to cast doubt on whether or not Hogan can win at the PPV. I feel like a six man War Games match at Fall Brawl between these six guys could potentially happen, and I don’t hate the idea. The action here was not very good. 11 for 24
A bit of an underwhelming episode of Nitro. They went heavy on in-ring action, which made for the show to go by quicker compared to being angle heavy. However, there wasn’t a lot of good wrestling. A lot of it was just there and didn’t provide much entertainment throughout.
The undercard doesn’t have much going on for itself as a lot of the focus is on the main event scene involving Hogan, Nash, Sid, Goldberg, Sting and Steiner. I find myself interested in the feud and I hope there’s a War Games style showdown at Fall Brawl to lock them all inside a cage and go to war against each other. It feels like that is what they could be building towards.
7/26 WCW Nitro TV Rating: 3.4
Thanks for reading.