We are two weeks away from Road Wild and WCW has shifted back to Hulk Hogan as their World Champion. Kevin Nash is now the top heel chasing Hogan for the title and appears to be associated with Rick Steiner and Sid Vicious. It is a little confusing for Sid to be associated with Nash after his partnership with Savage, but that partnership hasn’t even officially be closed off. Savage has made it clear he’s not done with Nash.
The feud between Hogan and Nash makes a lot sense considering Nash handing over the title to Hogan back on January 4th, and the tease of some issues between them prior to Hogan’s knee injury. I feel like DDP would have been a better first opponent for Hogan and ease into the Nash heel turn, but that happened rather abruptly. DDP is the guy who injured Hogan and they have some history at Road Wild. Nash vs. Hogan should probably be taking place in front of an audience that paid to be there. I don’t necessarily hate the direction, but I think a slower build to Hogan vs. Nash would have been more ideal.
Dennis Rodman is back in WCW and has taken a liking to Gorgeous George, who has been abducted by two wrestlers in the span of a month and a half. I have virtually zero interest in Rodman at this point and feuding with Savage is not creating any kind of buzz for WCW.
Shane Douglas has arrived in WCW and he’s leading the Revolution with Benoit, Saturn and Malenko. The group needed a strong promo as Malenko wasn’t cutting it as a promo talker. Speaking of the Revolution, Buff Bagwell hasn’t followed up with his Piper feud with a meaningful angle and is instead feuding with The Cat. Cat is a quality heel, but Bagwell isn’t being presented as a top guy. Which, could play a part in the whole feud anyway, but Sting is in power now and there’s nothing holding him back from pushing Bagwell in kayfabe, right?
The only other major happening going on right now is the reunion of Harlem Heat. They instantly become the top face team, and I don’t mind the reunion, at all. I do hope Booker returns to singles action before the end of the year. Booker tends to be a forgotten piece in WCW at this time because he’s one of the better in-ring workers that WCW has to offer and he is usually getting strong crowd reactions.
Lets get into Nitro.
AUGUST 2ND — SIOUX FALLS, SD — SIOUX FALLS ARENA
NOTE: Scott Hudson is on commentary again due to Tony Schiavone being out still.
THE TRIAD DON’T CARE ABOUT HARLEM HEAT AND THE FANS SHOULDN’T EITHER
CONTEXT: Kanyon does his usual who better than Kanyon and the crowd says everyone. DDP thinks the crowd is dumb and proceeds to do his catchphrase. DDP says he delivers the goods and is the greatest two-time heavyweight champion. Kanyon delivers a newsflash that nobody cares about Harlem Heat reuniting. They are going to prove it tonight by beating the fruit booties tonight. DDP turns his attention to Benoit and delivers a few mommas jokes. DDP says that David Flair defends the WCW United States Championship better than Benoit and Benoit doesn’t “have it.” DDP may not like it, but he’s gotta love it and live with it.
Bob’s Take: The Triad are continuing to get some great heel reactions, and they’re not doing anything all that unique. They’re are simply excelling at being annoying with the dumb momma jokes and their overall corny vibe. It’s simple, and I’m enjoying their work. 1 for 1
MATCH #1: WCW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE TRIAD (BIGELOW & KANYON) VS. HARLEM HEAT — NON-TITLE
FINISH: Late in the match, DDP tries to get involved by Benoit stops him. Booker nails Kanyon with a missile dropkick to win the match.
Bob’s Take: The crowd loves Harlem Heat and having them chase the hot heels in the Triad for the tag titles should lead to some fun TV. For what it is worth, Harlem Heat are not wearing the same gear despite having two weeks to get on the same page. This is a stronger match than expected for the first hour, but it’s exactly what WCW needs to be doing. Their first hour is completely unopposed and they need to put something on in the first hour to try and attract and also keep viewers from tuning into RAW. The fact that Harlem Heat won a non-title match would make me think the Triad will retain the titles in an eventual title match to add to their heat more and more. If they continue at this rate, the Triad could easily be elevated up the card as a trio. This was an enjoyable match with a hot crowd to kickoff the show. It’s an ideal way to start the show and not needing the Cruiserweights to accomplish a hot start is good for WCW. 2 for 2
CHRIS BENOIT WARNS DDP
CONTEXT: Benoit cuts a promo telling DDP that he had once cared about DDP’s thoughts, but DDP showed what he’s all about. Benoit tells DDP that he’s going to show it is his time and turn. He’s going to show the world on TNT that he has more than DDP. Benoit warns DDP to not bring his mother into this.
Bob’s Take: Benoit kept it simple and effective. Benoit is the kind of guy that fans would love to see beat up the Triad and I like the direct focus there. 3 for 3
LENNY & LODI CHAT BACKSTAGE
CONTEXT: Lenny and Lodi talk backstage. They talk about Cat’s bunny slippers. Lenny wants to know where Cat got them and they need to find out where he shops.
Bob’s Take: Remember, they have pivoted to these guys being brothers and not lovers. It’s such a clear attempt to trick standards and practices. It’s humorous that the undertones are clear that they are not just brothers. 4 for 4
STING ISSUES A CHALLENGE FOR TONIGHT
CONTEXT: Sting has two wrestlers that he wants to see tonight in the ring. Sting wants a piece of Sid and Rick Steiner in a tag match. Sting asks the fans who they want for him to have as a partner and they chant for Goldberg. Sting says he’ll be back at 9pm for Goldberg’s answer.
Bob’s Take: Now with Goldberg back they’re able to do tag match main events that can still be quite entertaining. I’d imagine Steiner would be eating any kind of pin, but I’m also doubtful there’d be a clean finish. Regardless, they have been building up Sid, Steiner and Nash fairly well against Sting, Goldberg and Hogan. So, I’m not dreading a potential tag match. 5 for 5
THE CAT PROMO; CONFRONTS LENNY & LODI
CONTEXT: Cat says Buff Bagwell can come out painting his face black, but it’s not funny. It may have been funny in 1920, but it’s not funny now. Cat thinks Bagwell is a coward for taking his red shoes. Cat knows he can beat anyone without his red shoes. Cat says it wasn’t funny to him and he’s going to whoop Bagwell in two weeks. Cat notes the two girly guys talking about his slippers and calls them out to talk about where he got his slippers. Lenny and Lodi come out to the ring. They don’t talk and instead the match starts with Cat attacking both men with clotheslines.
Bob’s Take: Lenny and Lodi are apparently babyfaces is what I’m gathering here, or attempting to be babyfaces? I don’t know what the point is to have Lenny and Lodi used as pawns to get Cat over more heading into Road Wild. I’m not digging that direction for Lenny and Lodi. 5 for 6
MATCH #2: THE CAT VS. LENNY
FINISH: Cat nails Lenny with a standing kick to the chest for the win.
Bob’s Take: There wasn’t much to this, but a dominate victory for Cat. 5 for 7
WCW WORLD CHAMPION HOLLYWOOD HOGAN INTERVIEW
NOTE: This is the infamous promo where Hogan is wearing a paperclip necklace.
CONTEXT: Gene interviews Hogan about Road Wild taking place on August 14th where Hogan is defending the title against Kevin Nash. Hogan has a date with the devil at Road Wild. Hogan calls Nash “Mrs. Kevina.” Hogan doesn’t blame TNT for pulling away from the bloody beating he suffered last week. Hogan talks about going to a protein shop and wasn’t sure if the guys were intimidated by him or if the women were fainting because of his freshly shaven face. Hogan says it is no secret they don’t like each other and they’ve been talking about each other. Hogan knows Nash has been coming for his spot, but Nash is no different than the other guys who tried to knock him down. Hogan promises to kick Nash’s butt at Road Wild. Hogan says he has nothing to do tonight and calls out Nash for a match tonight if Nash has the guts. Hogan will beat up Nash for everyone tonight while putting the belt on the line.
Bob’s Take: Hogan has shaven off the Hollywood style facial hair and is looking more like he’s babyface Hogan. I thought the promo was solid and Hogan added some layers to their feud about Nash aiming for his spot. I really hope there isn’t an attempt for Nash to lead the youth movement or anything because that simply wouldn’t make much sense. Anyway, the crowd enjoyed the segment and it was a good promo. 6 for 8
STING SEEKS AN ANSWER FROM GOLDBERG; GOLDBERG & STING ATTACKED
CONTEXT: Sting comes out and asks if it is showtime tonight for Goldberg to be his partner tonight. We see Goldberg standing backstage waiting in a production error. Rick Steiner taunts Goldberg leading to Sid whacking Goldberg with a shovel. Sting runs backstage as the heels lock a door. Sting is attacked by Sid and Steiner backstage. Sid whacks Sting over the back with a chair shot. Steiner brings Sting back to the ring. Sting fights back with a series of strikes. Sting splashes Sid in the corner and does the same to Rick. Sid grabs Sting to deliver a chokeslam out of the corner. Goldberg kicks the door down and runs to the ring to make the save causing the heels to bail. Goldberg grabs a microphone and says they’re next, essentially agreeing to be Sting’s partner.
Bob’s Take: The crowd is absolutely on fire tonight and I love it. This is a fine segment to add some heat to the tag match. Simple and effective. 7 for 9
MATCH #3: DISCO INFERNO VS. EVAN KARAGIAS
FINISH: Inferno wins with the Chartbuster.
Bob’s Take: Karagias seems to have been getting a lot of TV time in recent months. WCW must have some high hopes for Karagias with how much they have been putting him on the main programs. The crowd seemed to be interested in the match a little bit, but then the match went on a little too long and they got a tad restless. Luckily. they went home quickly when the crowd seemed to get tired of the action. It’s a decent match, but the booking of Disco has been a little baffling. Disco seemed to be part of the youth movement in some way, but then feuded with Bagwell, couldn’t beat Hammer and now has competitive matches with rookies. It’s a little confusing the direction for Inferno in WCW. 8 for 10
TORRIE AND DAVID FLAIR CHAT BACKSTAGE
CONTEXT: Torrie tells David that he’s the hardest working champion of all time. David thinks he is the greatest of all time. David isn’t sure why he’s been defending so much, but he talked to Ric saying he only needs to defend once every thirty days and Charles Robinson is his referee. David is going to rest up before his next defense.
Bob’s Take: Okay? I don’t know what the point of that was. Is the heat on David going to be because he only needs to defend once a month and that’s how they’ll drag out his title run? 8 for 11
SID PROMO
CONTEXT: Sid cuts a rambling promo saying that Sting and Goldberg will be forgotten.
Bob’s Take: The production for this was horrendous. The sound was too loud for the crowd noise and Sid went from being loud to very soft, so it was hard to hear what he was rambling about. 8 for 12
MATCH #4: HUGH MORRUS & JERRY FLYNN VS. DEAN MALENKO & SHANE DOUGLAS
FINISH: Late in the match, Jimmy Hart is knocked off the apron. Douglas hits the Pittsburgh Plunge on Flynn for the clean win. After the match, Malenko has taken the hardcore trophy saying it is going right back where it belongs.
Bob’s Take: They got plenty of time to showcase their skills, and I think they put forth a good effort. This is an example of perfectly acceptable tag team wrestling. Flynn and Morrus are a solid heel tag team. WCW may be trying to build up their tag team division, which is important because at one point WCW had a deep division. 9 for 13
WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION RICK STEINER ATTACKS THE COMMENTARY TEAM
CONTEXT: Hudson says he’s disgusted by the violence seen by Rick Steiner and Sid tonight. Steiner makes his way out as Hudson is talking. Hudson notes that Steiner isn’t on his format. Steiner goes to the commentary table and grabs Hudson. Steiner tosses Hudson into the ring and hits a belly to belly suplex! Steiner pummels Hudson on the mat until security intervenes. Hudson ends up doing a stretcher job and Bischoff is on commentary now.
Bob’s Take: Of course this is a way for Bischoff to get on commentary to make the show feel like it is 1996. I tend to enjoy Hudson on commentary. I don’t hate the segment as Steiner is being made to look like a lunatic. I don’t think Hudson had developed a level of love with the WCW fanbase for them to care about this, though. 10 for 14
CURT HENNIG HAS SOMETHING TO SAY
CONTEXT: Hennig thinks what he has to say is going to impact everyone. Hennig says for the past ten years there’s been a lot of wrestlers trying to be like him. Hennig knows the fans know who he’s talking about. Hennig thinks Chad Brock is trying to steal his spotlight. Hennig is calling him Chad Flop. Hennig says Brock is wrong to think he can use TNT to sell his CDs. Hennig has heard Brock got a record deal from Warner Brothers. Hennig wants to know who signed him, Dumb or Dumber. Hennig turns his attention to Saturn and makes a Uranus joke. Saturn drops Duncum Jr. with a Death Valley Driver, which had a bell, but there wasn’t a pin. Saturn wants Hennig to come down to the ring. Hennig says he’s better than Saturn in his regular clothes and enters the ring for a match.
Bob’s Take: Hennig is doing very well in this gimmick and I thought the promo was done well. Hennig had some good insults towards Saturn, which is a fresh opponent for Hennig. I’m sure Hennig will have some interaction for Brock next week. 11 for 15
MATCH #5: PERRY SATURN VS. CURT HENNIG
FINISH: Saturn hits the Death Valley Driver, but is attacked by the West Texas Rednecks causing a disqualification. After the match, Saturn is hogtied. Eventually, the Revolution come out to make the save.
Bob’s Take: Hennig did some of his classic flopping selling early in the match, which I feel I haven’t seen him do in quite a bit. Hennig may have been wanting to put over Saturn’s offense, which I can appreciate. Hennig seemed to be putting in an extra effort for Saturn. I think the segment before helped the crowd interest and I enjoyed the match. 12 for 16
MATCH #6: DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE VS. CHRIS BENOIT
NOTE: Benoit came out to his singles theme song that was used in ’98 and not Malenko’s.
FINISH: Late in the match, David Flair gets decked off the apron. Benoit counter a rollup and pins DDP for the clean win! After the match, The Triad distract Benoit allowing DDP to hit two Diamond Cutters on Benoit. DDP delivers a third Diamond Cutter off the top rope. DDP whips Benoit over the back with a belt.
Bob’s Take: As expected, they put on a quality match. Their segment earlier in the show added some purpose to this bout, and that shows some good booking. They made good use of the time they had to put on a quality bout and it held my interest. They had some fun matches in ’98 and it’s a bit surprising it took them over a year to lockup again. I was shocked that Benoit won the match cleanly, but the aftermath is fine with me as it means they will likely battle again. Benoit gets a meaningful win for a top heel, and DDP gets his heat back to justify another match. I can get behind it. 13 for 17
SID RAMBLES AGAIN
CONTEXT: Sid claims that he’ll have a record streak and that he’ll be the millennium man.
Bob’s Take: This must be the beginning of the millennium man gimmick. At this time I could hear the promo. 14 for 18
RANDY SAVAGE INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Mean Gene is in the ring to interview Randy Savage. Gene tells Savage that he’s only the messenger. Gene notes that Gorgeous George is not out there and the fans don’t like that. Savage tells Gene that his eyes don’t deceive him. Savage talks about his campaign to become President is on hold. Savage wants to prove he can take out the trash. Savage tells Gene that George is on lock and key. Savage warns that Hogan, Nash and Rodman are all dead. Savage has a date with destiny at Road Wild with Rodman. Savage calls out Rodman to the ring right now. Mona comes out to join the segment instead, though. Mona asks Savage to reconsidered firing her and asks to be on Savage’s team again. Savage says it would show a kind side if he took her back. Gene notes that Mona is a loyal person. Mona assures Savage she is loyal, but Savage grabs her chin and forces Mona onto her knees to beg for her job. Savage tells Mona that she’s still fired. Savage wants Rodman to come out now. Rodman makes his way out, but Swoll and 4×4 are trying to calm down Rodman. Rodman asks if Savage is mad that he had sex with his woman. Rodman heads towards the ring and tells Savage “once you go black, you never go back.” Mona sneaks up from behind and low blows Savage. Rodman decks Savage from behind with a clothesline. Rodman elbow drops Savage and plays to the crowd.
Bob’s Take: It was a bit edgy for WCW standards, but this is the kind of stuff you’d see on WWF TV on a regular basis. They had to bleep a lot of the insults. I guess this was entertaining, but I don’t want to see Rodman wrestling in a singles match against Savage in 1999. This is going to be a spectacle when it happens at Road Wild. 15 for 19
MATCH #7: EDDIE GUERRERO VS. VAMPIRO
FINISH: Late in the match, Raven shoves Guerrero off the top allowing Vampiro to hit the Nail In The Coffin for the win. After the match, Rey Mysterio and Konnan run into the ring to make the save.
Bob’s Take: I’m enjoying the Deadpool group consisting of Vampiro, Raven and ICP. They make a ton of sense from a visual aspect, at the very least. They had a decent match. Deadpool against Guerrero, Mysterio & Konnan is an interesting six man match. 16 for 20
BERLYN VIGNETTE
CONTEXT: There’s not much to this as Berlyn’s name appears on the screen with various footage from Germany being shown.
Bob’s Take: Berlyn is the new character for Alex Wright, and I feel like this is not going to be good. 16 for 21
MAIN EVENT: WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION RICK STEINER & SID VICIOUS VS. GOLDBERG & STING
NOTE: Bischoff brings out Hollywood Hogan to do color commentary for the main event. Heenan leaves commentary. Also, this is the first show where Sid has theme music.
FINISH: Late in the match, Hogan prevents Steiner from using a chair and whacks Steiner and does the same to Sid causing a disqualification. After the match, Nash came through the crowd and powerbombs Hogan through the announcers table as the show goes off the air!
Bob’s Take: Okay. The action is average and what you’d expect from these four. The crowd seemed to be interested in it, so at least the main event feuds are drawing crowd interest. I love the closing segment of Nash powerbombing Hogan through the table. That felt completely unexpected and going right off the air makes it a great shocking closure to the program. Putting it all together, I’d say that was an enjoyable segment. 17 for 22
This was a good episode of Nitro. There was quality wrestling throughout the show and they promoted the Road Wild matches well. The closing segment between Nash and Hogan was enjoyable and Hogan doing a table spot in ’99 was not something I expected. The crowd was hot for the entire show and it helped the viewing experience. I think the build for Road Wild is going far better than the previous two pay per views.
8/2 WCW Nitro TV Rating: 3.1
Thanks for reading.