|
|
A new era for WCW Monday NITRO...
The new face of ultimate Evil. Sheeyeah RIGHT!
The NITRO report will now be brought to you by Steve Schroeder of The Shooters website (excellent site by the way!). His thoughts pretty much echo mine most of the time. Read away...
Before we get started, I'd like to take one last opportunity to pat myself on the back for actually being the first person on the Internet last week to break the story that Eric Bischoff's job was in serious trouble. I'd like to thank my sources and the Academy...
Okay, I promise that's the last self-congratulation you'll see from me about that. News tidbits for this week: don't expect Flair back in the ring soon, even if he resumes an on-screen role, because his back is in bad shape. Also, it sounds like Bill Busch (the guy who replaced Bischoff, for those three of you who hadn't heard already) will be relying on input from a group of vice presidents with experience in wrestling. Let's see if that translates to improved product, shall we?
Nitro is live from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Opening recap: Bret Hart challenges Hulk Hogan, Hulk responds to Lex Luger and Sting, and Sting trips and falls down when the lights go off in Hogan's dressing room. Oh, and Lex and Sting swerve us and fight. Personally, I like the Sting turn, if they actually do something to make it a heel turn, since attacking "Not as Over as Sting" Hulk Hogan isn't going to cut it. Sting can be the #1 heel this company so desperately needs. Sting/Goldberg at Starrcade is the money match the company NEEDS to build to. Besides, imagine the pop when Sting turns face again sometime early in 2000.
Nitro intro.
Can someone PLEASE tell Tony that if his voice is at 110% for the damn SHOW OPENING, it's next to impossible for him to convey when something is REALLY IMPORTANT. Oh, I guess the opening pyro is REALLY IMPORTANT. Schiavone and Heenan discuss the pay-per-view results, most of which were the booking equivalent of drinking bong water, that is something that's truly awful and only seems like a remotely interesting idea if you're stoned or desperate.
We see some footage of the Benoit/Malenko match from last Monday, which was broken up by Sid "Please Don't Chop Me, Chris" Vicious.
Match #1: Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko in a Whoops, We Should Have Done This Last Week Match
Shane Douglas watches at ringside, as does Saturn. Some actual mat wrestling to start. Lots of counters and go-behinds. The first big move is Benoit hiptossing Dean over the top rope, but Dean holding on and dragging Benoit behind him. Malenko and Benoit brawl outside but get separated by Douglas and Saturn. Good way to get across the idea that they're not letting the fact that they're stablemates keep them from giving this match their all. Benoit gets out of a Malenko armbreaker-type submission move by picking Malenko up and doing essentially a backdrop suplex. Sweet sequence, and the crowd liked it. SHARP shoulderblock and chops by Benoit. Don't even TRY to tell me that the crowd isn't interested here. Malenko works Benoit's leg as Tony talks about the Berlyn/Bagwell/Duggan debacle from Fall Brawl. Benoit comes back with a somewhat sloppy superplex. Double clothesline leads to a double near-fall. Malenko tries a victory roll, but Benoit rolls him up instead, and Malenko reverses into his own pinfall attempt. Benoit hits a German suplex, but as he tries for the second, Malenko pulls out a GREAT reversal into a roll-up. Backdrop suplex by Benoit. Benoit runs his thumb across his throat, but Malenko attacks him on the turnbuckle. Malenko superplexes Benoit, but Benoit holds onto him and rolls on top for the pin. Great match, and yes, that is one for the permanent tape. It still cries out for five to ten more minutes, but everything that happened here was good to fabulous. And the crowd WAS into it. Benoit and Malenko are like men among boys (or men among really old men).
Rating: *** 3/4
Spleen Gene hints at the changes at the top of WCW, then turns Ric Flair face by introducing him in North Carolina.
Yes, Flair is back, giving one of his ranting, rambling face interviews. He says he has a real job for the first time in five years and he's free. More ranting. Flair mentions Sting, who gets a mixed reaction. You gotta see the Sting-administered beatdown coming here if they really want him to be a heel. Sting and Luger make their way down to
ringside, still getting a somewhat mixed reaction, although the boos seem heavier now. Flair says he isn't done talking yet, so they can just wait. Sting asks how many times Flair stabbed him in the back. Hey, that's a good theme for him, since EVERYONE has done it. Sting says he learned from the dirtiest player in the game. Sting says he's giving Flair a chance to live in peace. Flair pretends to leave, but he comes back with a massive shit-eating grin on his face. Luger gets on the mike and at least isn't as bad as usual. Flair tells Sting he has to earn respect, and Luger jumps him (Flair) from behind. Beatdown ensues. Luger clotheslines and Racks Flair, and Sting puts the Scorpion
Death Lock on. Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart jog out to make the save. Luger and Sting make tracks. Hogan gets on the mike rants about how he respects Flair (uh, yeah), and how he and Hart are challenging Sting and Luger to another meaningless main event. Hogan thinks he's hardcore because he says "ass" about eighty times. He also threatens "Luger and Flair" at one point. In back, Sting and Luger laugh because Luger supposedly has a medical release preventing him from wrestling. Suuuuure. Anyway, a great segment up until Hogan showed up, and okay after that. 'Twas a patented WCW Too Long Segment, though. I need a better name for that.
Tony really seems interested in "what went down" at Fall Brawl. See DDT Digest for possible joke fill-ins. They show us still photos of the Sting/Hogan match, which seems sort of redundant after that last segment.
In back, Berlyn's Mercedes arrives with a massive escort. Blood Runs Cold! Crowd Runs Cold! Why the overkill? Aside from the stock answer, please.
DJ Also Ran is back. Keep this guy on the commercial breaks, please. Riki Rachtman is back, getting cheap heat by praising North Carolina women. He disses the women from Miami. Hey, next week he'll say North Carolina women aren't as good as wherever the hell they'll be. Riki apparently doesn't realize "yeah, right" is usually intended sarcastically, since that's what he gets the crowd to say if they're interested in pretty women. Kim and Spice show up. Then we see the winner from Miami and the finalists from North Carolina. The second one has a heavy accent I haven't heard much since I left Vanderbilt.
J.J. Dillon finds out that Lex Luger actually is cleared to wrestle. Wow, that mini-angle was a total waste of our time.
Various minor sports celebrities are in the audience. This would be another good thing not to spend Nitro time on. When Eric Montross is your #1 celebrity, something's wrong.
Still photos of the PPV match between Benoit and "No Chops! No Chops!" Sid Not-So-Vicious.
Sid Special #1: "Please Get Rid Of" Erik Watts vs. Disco Inferno
I have a new policy, one that I've been moving toward in recent weeks anyway: no play-by-play at all for matches where it's obvious Sid will be showing up, because they aren't really matches. So Sid shows up here after Disco wins, puts himself over at the expense of the entire undercard, and rants at great length about the Sledgehammer of Plot. Then he disappears into a cloud of smoke, only to appear up in the rafters. Whoa, sorry, bad flashback.
Rating: -8 sideways, if you get my drift
Sid Special #2: "Why am I here?" Silver King vs. "Why are you here? I'm over! Why the hell am I here?" Nor-MAN Smi-LAY
I will mention that Smiley actually does the Big Wiggle while he has Silver King in a wheelbarrow position, which goes in the Too Much Information department. Sid shows up and wreaks havoc. Please end Goldberg/Sid at Halloween Havoc. Please. That's my new ultimatum for me continuing to write these reports. Goldberg/Sting is the match for Starrcade. NOT Goldberg/Sid for the US Title.
Rating: negative infinity, minus one
We see video of the Berlyn/Duggan/Bagwell atrocity. Bagwell and Duggan should both be let go NOW for their parts in it. (Duggan should be let go in any case, because he's a jobber who doesn't job. All he gets is sentimentality heat anyway. People who cheer for Duggan are like the kids at my high school who elected a special education student to student council as a joke.)
Match #2: Steve Regal and Dave Taylor vs. The Windhams (with Curt Hennig and Vincent)
Fat or not, Regal deserves way better than playing job-boy to the even fatter Windham. And WHO THE HELL KEEPS PUTTING HEEL/HEEL MATCHUPS OUT THERE? There's no one to cheer for. Heenan asks if Vincent was in Blazing Saddles. Windhams dominate, then the other heels come back, and Barry plays Fat Heel in Peril for a bit, and then Hennig clocks Regal with the cowbell. Windham (no, it doesn't matter which) with the pin A dull match. Taylor and Regal sell like champs, though, and really need to be in with better workers.
Rating: * 1/4
Jerry Flynn comes out, ostensibly for a Sid Special with Prince Iaukea, but it's not to be (thank you!). Goldberg heads out from the back. Goldberg delivers a patented Little Too Long Interview aimed at Sid. He's actually turned into a competent little mike-worker. Goldberg challenges Sid, who sits in the locker room and declines. The best way to book this is to have Goldberg totally dominate their match, win the US Title, then segue into going after Sting's World Title. You can even have Goldberg vacate the US Title, saying it's not the one he wants, then have a kick-ass tournament of upper midcarders for the US Title, or just give it to someone who won't kill it, or do anything besides have it on Sid. Anyway, after the interview, Flynn decides suicide is better than membership in the First Family of Fat, so he attacks Goldberg. Spear. Jackhammer. Splut.
Match #3: Hugh Morrus and Brian Knobs of The First Family of Fat (with Jimmy Hart) vs. Harlem Heat in a Fruit Booty Match for the Tag Team Titles
Hey, my two least favorite wrestlers in one ring. Good start! Knobs inexplicably gets mike time. I love the way he desperately tacks "YOU IDIOTS!" onto the end of his spiel so the crowd will boo. Stevie cleans house, and Booker hits a nice double dropkick. Morrus tries to walk out, but Hart gets him to come back. Commercial. Back from that, my VCR starts acting up. No joke; it keeps flipping tape speeds for no reason. Stevie Ray is playing Fat Whipping Boy, it looks like. The Windhams run in for the DQ, as WCW once again doesn't know when something should be OVER WITH. Match itself didn't look very good. Free Booker T!
Rating: about 1/2 *
I like how the card on the Fall Brawl replay is still subject to change.
Match #4: The Insane Clown Posse (with Vampiro [with mashed face courtesy of the Shooting Star Press]) vs. The West Hollywood Blondes
Best Lodi sign: "UNC fears ECU!" Lenny and the fat clown (Ebullient J--hey, this was my idea first) start out, but not before the plant Lodi fan runs around in the ring for a few seconds. Hey, WCW! FAKE FAN RUN-INS ARE BAD! Especially when they're going nowhere, like this one probably is. I mean, that kid isn't a wrestler. The skinny clown (Scraggly 2 Dope) works Lodi over some. Some domination by the WHB. Lodi makes a comeback on Skinny Clown but accidentally runs into Lenny. Lukewarm tag. Fat clown with a Worse-Than-Lugeresque clothesline on Lodi as he cleans house. A couple of the standard not-gay spots. Double DDT on Skinny Clown. Lodi runs into Lenny trying a doubleteam move off the top, and Skinny Clown rolls Lodi up for the pin. Well, this was acceptable wrestling, but the ICP sure do stink when they're controlling the offense rather than bumping and doing the three or so highspots they know. Hey, Evan Karagias will fit right in!
Rating: * 1/2
Chris Benoit is back out (again to Saturn's music; I guess they've scrapped his again, which is fine with me). It's not bad enough that Benoit had to put Sid over in the ring, now he has to put him over on the mike. He does mention, however, that Sid tapped out to the Crippler Crossface. And that's all he has to say about that. He now calls Sting out. Rick Steiner is out instead to say that Sting has better things to do, but he'll take up the challenge.
Match #5: Chris Benoit vs. Rick Steiner for the Television Title
Steiner and Benoit pound each other to start. Steiner hits sort of a belly-to-belly as Benoit tries a leapfrog, then works Benoit over in the corner, around the ring, and outside it. Belly-to-belly by Steiner. Released German suplex. Steiner argues with Mickey Jay and throws him from the ring, allowing Benoit to catch him (Steiner) from behind with a rollup for the pin and the belt. Well, Steiner kicked out at 2 1/2, but no one mentioned it, so I bet it was just a screw-up by Retard Rick. Nothing match, but getting the belt off Rick Steiner is a great idea. Too bad that it took them so long to figure out, and that Benoit got no offense in.
Rating: 3/4 *
A promo for The "Buried" Revolution.
Match #6: Eddie Guerrero vs. Saturn (with the rest of the aforementioned buried stable)
Yes! Could it be two permanent tape matches? Of course, I thought that last week, and look what happened. As Saturn and Eddie circle, one of Konnan's songs start up, and the Filthy Animals are out. Konnan is now apparently a member. Rey is walking well for a guy whose knee is supposed to be kaput. I don't doubt it was hurt, but it doesn't look like a total blowout either. Some mat wrestling to start, followed by a nice T-Bone suplex by Saturn. Eddie with a sort of mounted sleeper hold off a whip to the ropes. We go to a commercial as soon as Saturn is out of the sleeper. Briiiiight. Back, we learn that Eddie put it back on during commercial. Saturn hits a backdrop suplex. Guerrero with a uranage. He tries to suplex Saturn, but Saturn reverses to a snap suplex. Trade of sleeperholds spot. Saturn runs into the turnbuckle. Saturn with a nice superplex, which Tony says was a T-Bone superplex. Dammit, I hate trying to call suplexes, but I don't think Tony's right. Big "Eddie" chant. Saturn with what I think actually is a T-Bone, which Tony calls a T-Bone, but which is clearly different from what he called a Super T-Bone. Saturn with the springboard crossbody. DVD sign. Eddie escapes the DVD with a rana and a sort of brainbuster. He misses the frog splash, though. Saturn goes for another DVD, which Eddie slides out of. Saturn sits down on him for the three count, however. The Filthy Animals and the Revolution have a staredown as we go to commercial. This was a very nice match, though we only saw about six minutes of it, so it's borderline for the permanent tape. GIVE THE GOOD MATCHES A LITTLE LONGER!
Rating: ** 3/4
Match #7: "Not Alex Wright" Berlyn (with translator and bodyguard) vs. Buff Bagwell (with "USA" chant)
Uta sadly sits in with the announcers. Please let Alex speak English again, and let this woman be the next WWF ring announcer. Geez, Alex looks like a twit. Buff with an armdrag, Berlyn with chops and kicks, Buff with clotheslines, Berlyn with a superplex. Berlyn's bodyguard slowly menaces Bagwell. Bagwell with his usual basic offense. Interference by the bodyguard leads to Alex's ugly reverse neckbreaker for the pin. Uta says that losing is unacceptable in her country. Uh huh. Berlyn is on the road to nowhere. But hey, once he gets there, he can say hello to Glacier.
Rating: 3/4 *
Mr. Exposition narrates a history of Sting. It's amusing that the promo asks whether Sting's ENTIRE CAREER has been a swerve leading up to this heel turn. And they still haven't determined the hummer driver for sure. Ha ha ha ha ha!
Match #8: Lex Luger and Sting vs. Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart
Bichael Muffer with the intros. He does manage to say "Hart" this time. Brawl outside to start. Hogan beats on Sting in the ring. Hart gets tagged in and works on Sting. Sting comes back with heel offense. Double KO spot. Luger comes in so Hogan can beat the crap out of him. Big, Gentle Boot. Sting in to get pounded some more. Luger hits a Non-Contact Forearm Shot and stomps on Hogan. Sting with a splash off the top on Hogan. Sting works the knee, which Tony calls. There must be some way to convince Tony that every match is the main event so he'll actually call it. Hogan continues to play Old, Slow Whipping Boy. Hogan with aborted comebacks. He's actually trying to sell the knee, though he does that much like he does everything (goofily). Hogan with a double clothesline and hot tag. Hart cleans house. Moves of Doom on Sting. Brawl breaks out. DDP runs in with a bat, but Hogan takes him out. Luger picks up the bat and nails Hart, who had Sting in the Sharpshooter. Sting covers for the pin. Hart continues to hold his face as a trainer checks on him, and we're out of time. The match itself was not bad for a main event, as Sting and Lex worked Hogan's knee and the Big Oaf made an effort to sell and didn't actually Hulk Up. That's about as much as you can expect out of any Hogan match now.
Rating: * 1/4
Summation: Well, dump the Sid Specials and this is an excellent show. Even with them, it was quite good. Two very good matches, most matches in the acceptable range, a hot segment to ensure Sting's heel turn (and a segment that didn't rely on crowd-baiting, either), and some better booking ideas. Still a share of crap, of course; Harlem Heat needs to break up, Sid needs to stop, and Berlyn is a waste. Bill Busch would do well to put out what the crowd wants to see (and what WCW has enough good people to do): over (or could-be-over) workers in good matches that mean something. You think I'm stating the obvious, right? Just watch the last few months to see otherwise. And trust me when I say that no matter whether some people cheer for him, Hulk Hogan CANNOT be champion if WCW wants to make a comeback.
Steve Schroeder
BagHead@concentric.net
The Shooters
Rantsylvania
Well...I'm glad Steve got some good out of NITRO, because I sure didn't. I missed the good stuff, and got the bad shoved in my face.
I couldn't get past Benoit getting totally pummelled by that has-been, Rick Steiner. Oh sure...he won the belt...the TV belt. I tought that was a step down for someone who had been promised a world-title shot. Alex Wright looks to have a coating of ring-rust about an inch thick, and his finisher sucks...not to mention his horribly annoying translator. Then we get to see Mighty Hogan shrug off most of Sting's offense, save the stuff with the knee.
A couple more 'WTF?' moments NITRO provided. First of all...the segment with Flair was evidently well-done, but why in the hell would Hogan EVER come to Flair's defense. What's more, why would he ever say he respected him? Yeah right! And what the heck was the deal with that Sting career restrospective where the voice-over fool hinted that his entire career was a sham? That was the biggest pile of unlikely BS I have ever heard. They could have tied it back as far as Sting joining the wolfpac... but no, WCW had to go off the deep end as per usual.
So I'm glad you got some enjoyment out of NITRO Steve...I really am. Me? I got a huge headache for my trouble.
From September 14th, 1999
The NITRO Report of Doom!
Okay, I have my ultimatum for what WCW has to do to keep my viewership:
they have to give me one permanent tape match on Nitro by the end of
September. Easy? Sure, but they haven't given me one for over a month
now. Also, Sid has to stop his run-ins by the next PPV, or I walk.
On another note, thanks to some prodding from Luke and my own ego, I'll
be starting to build my web site again. I swear on the soul of my
father, Diego Montoya. You will reach the top alive.
Nitro is live from Long Island, New York.
Match #1: "Already in the Ring" Disorderly Conduct vs. "Already in the
Ring" Steve Regal and Dave Taylor
We jump right into things with this match. Of course, that means that
Tony is REALLY hyping over this match. Hey, why is WCW so in love with
heel/heel matchups. Never mind, here comes Sid to screw up one of my
ultimatums for this week (he's getting a face pop now). "Millennium" is
spelled wrong on Charles Robinson's sign. Now WCW even copies the WWF's
dumb errors. Sid rants about how there's no end, and I agree with him.
Blah blah blah from Sid. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah BLAH blah
blah blah BLAH!
Rating: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Lenny and Lodi pull up in back to a group of screaming fans. There's
some sort of confusion, and they finally get in. Whatever.
Last week on Nitro: a bunch of really lousy stuff happened. Read last
week's report!
Nitro intro, no longer at the beginning of the show (again).
The Nitro Grills in the ring.
Tonight: Goldberg vs. DDP. Will this be a match for their Halloween
Havoc match, or will it be another 10-second squash.
Bobby Heenan thinks the KISS Demon is actually Gene Okerlund.
After they fuck up a sponsorship announcement, Mean Gene interviews Lex
Luger. Luger yammers as per usual, then says he has proof that Hogan
isn't such a good guy. You can sense the return of the dread words
"humvee driver," can't you?
We see shots of "Not Alex Wright," AKA Berlyn, arriving in the arena.
Recap: the KISS "Brian Adams" Demon premieres.
Match #2: Lash LeRoux vs. Scotty Riggs in a WCWSN Match
A tolerable paint-by-numbers match from these two. The crowd amuses
itself by chanting "We Want Sid." Instead, we get a run-in by Vampiro
and the Insane Clown Posse. Vampiro tells Riggs that he (Riggs) owes
him (Vampiro). Riggs hits a Rocker Dropper and gets the win. Um, okay.
Rating: *
The Revolution is out for an interview. Gawd, no! Sorry, but I have to
give this short shrift. I can only take any of these guys in small
doses on the mike. They didn't say much anyway.
The Nitro Grills with some chair action.
Match #3: Kaz Hayashi vs. Lodi (with Lenny)
Ooh, the stars are out tonight! Not that I should object, since at
least these guys can wrestle. We see a split screen showing a countdown
to the release of WCW Mayhem. Ugly, ugly sequence to start, and I can't
even tell whose fault it is as they flub two different pickups of Kaz by
Lodi. On the other hand, that was a sweet slingshot DDT by Kaz. Kaz
with a DAMMIT WHAT IS THAT DIVE? out of the ring onto Lenny. Lodi hits
a plancha from the top onto both Kaz and Lenny. A top-rope rana by Kaz.
Brainbuster. Kaz goes up top, but Lenny crotches him on the top rope.
Lodi with a super bulldog. Ref bump. Lenny comes in, but Kaz rolls him
up and the ref sees it and counts the pin. Despite the fact that Lodi
was the actual opponent, the ref decides to give Kaz the win anyway.
That's it, Kaz is now Hulk Hogan. Doubleteam suplex/something off the
top by the heels. Not a bad match, but awfully sloppy.
Rating: * 3/4
Mean Gene claims that Hulk Hogan has always been there us. Really?
What about 1996-last month? And that's assuming that being a face is
the same as being there for us. Someone does my heart good by nailing
Hogan with a wad of garbage. God, look at the saggy skin on the bottoms
of his arms when he cups his ears. Yuck. Some random piano music plays
for no reason as the interview starts. There are noticeable boos
mingling with the cheers. Woo-hoo! My opinion of those fans goes up!
Hogan says he won't stab Sting in the back and wants to see Luger's
evidence. Blah blah hype for the title match at Fall Brawl. The camera
lingers on Hogan doing nothing for about a minute before going to
commercial.
Ooh, next week the WCW Superstar Series videos for Hogan and Flair!
There's a big blank section in the middle of Flair's tape, and the end
sequence features him jobbing over and over.
Match #4: La Parka and Blitzkrieg vs. Rey Misterio Jr. and Eddie
Guerrero (The "Where's Our Friend Kidman?" Filthy Animals)
Hmm, this is more or less against the Raw opening. Please please give
it ten minutes or more. And don't let Sid the Squid run in; sorry, just
general principle there. Lots of posturing to start. La Parka gets a
good reaction by spitting at Eddie, then falls off the apron. Rube
Goldberg baseball slide tornado DDT to the outside by Rey on La Parka.
Some high flying by Blitzkrieg on Eddie, then by Rey on Blitz, then Rey
playing whipping boy for the heels, and too much stuff in a short amount
of time for me to write. A great ropewalk into a headscissors by Eddie
on La Parka. Vampiro and the ICP come out to watch on the ramp. Eddie
boosts Rey into the top-rope rana on Blitz, then into a plancha (yes?
no?) on La Parka. Eddie hits the frog splash and makes the pin. Damn,
just five minutes. Sweet spotfest while it lasted.
Rating: ** 1/2
Another Berlyn promo. Hmm, is there really a point any more? Oh, I
guess they're leading into Mean Gene interviewing Berlyn. Berlyn has a
bunch of people with him who look like either high class vampires or
extras from Sprockets (incidentally, can you believe they're trying to
stretch THAT concept into a movie?). Some annoying lighting effects go
one throughout the interview. Yup, it's Alex, all right: he licks his
lips and rants in German, and his interpreter (a blond lady who sounds
pretty American) translates his basic heel shtick. Pretty funny that
the crowd booed just because he was talking in German. Good reaction
from the crowd for this, actually (and surprisingly). Alex, er, Berlyn
challenges Buff Bagwell. The translator flubs a line at the end of the
interview.
Mean Gene is talking about nothing in particular (actually, he's getting
boos by talking about the Islanders, and I mean the New York Islanders,
not the tag team Islanders) when Lex Luger shows up, looking a little
mussed, to say he got jumped by Hulk Hogan. Lex says he'll expose the
truth. Back to commercial. Productive Segment.
Match #5: Kenny Kaos and Prince Iaukea vs. The Windhams (with Curt
Hennig)
Geez, how long has it been since I've seen Kenny? Remember when the tag
team division wasn't dead? Hey, that was last week. Kaos looks eerily
like Val Venis here, though more thickset and less balding. Kendall
beats on Iaukea forever (or what seems like it), then pins him. That's
it. The WTR get on the mike and threaten Harlem Heat. Harlem Heat runs
in and has the advantage, but Bobby Duncum, Jr. turns the tables.
Booker gets hogtied and Stevie gets stomped. Why even bother with the
match part?
Rating: DUD
Mean Gene yet again. Luger yet again, this time with his proof. Sting
is out to hear from Luger. Luger, it turns out, has a picture of Hogan
next to a white humvee. Wait, I think that means he's NOT the driver.
MY BRAIN HURTS! Anyway, Hogan comes out to dispute the charges, Sting
won't look him in the eye, DDP runs in and punks Hogan to make this
whole thing even weirder, and then Hogan and Sting have a pull-apart as
Sting finally wises up to the fact that Hogan has shown no qualms in the
past about backstabbing him. I thing Sting and/or Goldberg could turn
on Hogan without turning heel. Whoo!
AC Jazz does a little solo action.
Match #6: "Van" Hammer vs. Buff "Don't touch the neck!" Bagwell
According to Schiavone, Van Hamster is "one of the red-hot young stars
in WCW." Wow, not one word of that description actually fits Hammy.
This is apparently "Observe from the Ramp" night, as Berlyn's entourage
is watching this match. Whoa, Buff actually shows a little adroitness
in this match! He also lets Hammer basically biel him by the neck, so I
may have to change my nickname for him. Hammer with a resthold that
Bagwell helpfully adjusts for him. Hammer can't get crap reaction from
the crowd (which is just dead) no matter what he does. Painfully
contrived setup for the Blockbuster pretty much out of nowhere. Buff
gets the pin. The "Lugz Kick of the Week" is inexplicably the
Blockbuster. Not much of a match.
Rating: 3/4 *
Match #7: Mike Enos vs. Evan Karagias in a Confirmation that Nitro is
Running Unopposed Match
Enos is no longer using the Tonight Show theme as his entrance music.
Nice bump by both guys over the top rope. Top-rope plancha by Evan, but
Enos just catches him. Back in the ring, powerbomb setup into a
powerslam by Enos. Crowd again wants Sid. Sort of a crucifix powerbomb
by Enos as Karagias tries the mounted punches. The crowd pays attention
to what's probably either a fight or a female flasher off in the stands.
Enos continues to dominate with powermoves and pull Evan up. Piledriver
by Enos. Vampiro and the ICP come to ringside. The ICP distracts
Charles Robinson, and Vampiro hits a flying spinwheel kick and Nail in
the Coffin on Enos, meaning Evan now owes him. Before much else
happens, Brian "KISS Demon" Adams shows up. Nice entrance, but it's
Brian Adams. Adams (it sound silly to call him "KISS Demon") threatens
Vampiro, and that's all. The match was kind of fun as a squash until
the repeat run-in, and Evan appears to have at least improved to
carryable.
Rating: * 1/4
Match #8: The First Flabbily (Hugh Morrus and Brian Knobs) (with Jimmy
Hart) vs. Shane Douglas and Dean Malenko in a Continue to Bury the
Revolution Match
I know a guy who looks a lot like Hugh Morrus. Better hair, though.
Crappy promo cut by Knobs. Douglas plays Whipping Boy and takes the Pit
Stop. So, is there a technical difference between the Pit Stop and
Pitty City? Malenko comes in and plays disinterested house afire.
Malenko puts on the Texas Cloverleaf but drops it to go after Hart.
Knobs tries to clothesline Malenko but gets Hart instead. Morrus takes
Malenko out from behind. Knobs and Malenko fight outside as Morrus goes
for the No Laughing Matter on Douglas, but Douglas moves. Outside the
ring, the whole First Family stands together so Douglas can hit a
plancha off the turnbuckle (WHOA!). Sure, it was in slow motion, but it
was impressive just the same. The ref declares a double countout as the
two teams brawl back up the aisle. Nothing too objectionable here
(well, Morrus and Knobs were present).
Rating: * 1/2
Mean Gene ONCE AGAIN interviews Hogan. Tony wonders who will get the
last word as I wonder if there ever will be a last word. Some more boos
as Hogan thanks the fans for sticking with him. Hogan randomly goes off
on DDP, saying Page calls him out every week. Uh, no. Hogan calls
Goldberg out to ask him a favor. Fuck, there goes the chance for a
Goldberg/Page singles match. Hogan says DDP has crawled so far up
inside him that he can't get Page out. Hogan asks to have Goldberg's
shot at Page. Goldberg instead suggests a handicap match against the
Triad. DDP comes out to accept. Hogan and Goldberg suppress laughter.
Tony tells us that the match will be "literally" 3 on 2. How could it
be figuratively 3 on 2?
Match #9: Disco Inferno (with a new, fuzzy outfit) vs. Rick Steiner for
the Television Title (right!)
Disco with some heel mikework before the match, which is odd given that
he should be playing de facto face. Steiner punks him from behind and
dominates him. Suplexes. Bulldog. Pin. Skoosh. Steiner dumps the
referee and puts his Evil Arm Drape maneuver on Disco. Saturn runs in
to makes the save and superkicks Steiner out of the ring. C'mon, give
Saturn the title. Steiner ain't over, and he ain't s'posed to be at TV
Title level anyway. Match was, uh, short.
Rating: 1/2 *
Match #10: Jerry Flynn vs. Chris Benoit for the US Title
(riiiiiiiiight!)
Sad, sad, sad way to kill Benoit's title reign. Next up: El Dandy, Erik
Watts, or Ernest Miller. Flynn kicks Benoit a whole bunch to start.
Then he chops him. Then he kicks him again. Dragon screw leg whip,
superchop off the apron, and baseball slide by Benoit. Hart distracts
Benoit, leading to more Flynn kicking. Benoit makes a comeback, but not
for long. Tony uses the phrase "more angrier" in reference to Hogan.
Some nice, if unspectacular, wrestling goes on. Benoit back with chops
and a snap suplex. Rolling German suplexes. Thumb across the throat.
Swandive headbutt, but the First Family of Fat is in for the DQ. What,
Flynn needed protection? The Revolution makes the save. Benoit
threatens the First Family. Knobs: "First Family in your FACE." Benoit
then threatens Sid. Shit, they aren't going to give HIM the US Title,
are they? Creationist Catchphrase, and that's it. Match was there.
Rating: * 3/4
Match #11: Diamond Dallas Page, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Kanyon (with yo
mama) vs. Hulk Hogan and Goldberg
Bichael Muffer is out to intro the "feature match." I do something else
during the three hour intro and heel shtick from the Triad. Hogan
clears the ring single-handedly, then tags in Goldberg to a bigger pop.
Huge pumphandle suplex by Goldberg on Kanyon. Press powerslam and
superkick. Page comes off the top and clotheslines Goldberg. Bigelow
with the diving headbutt. Page with a swinging neckbreaker and a
foreign object shot. The Triad beats down Goldberg with some nice combo
stuff. BIG "Goldberg" chant. Goldberg breaks through a double
clothesline and hits one of his own, then tags in Hogan to a noticeable
loss of enthusiasm. Hogan Hulks Up and the faces clean house. Goldberg
spears Kanyon, and Hogan prepares to put the little legdrop on Bigelow.
DDP hits a chairshot on Goldberg, then hits the Diamond Cutter as Hogan
makes the legdrop and pins Bigelow. Page flees the area. Not a bad
match, but I await the Goldberg/Page singles match.
Rating: * 3/4
In back, Sting barges into Hogan's dressing room and finds Gorgeous
George and Randy Savage. Okey doke. Then, we cut back to the ring for
a couple seconds to see nothing happening in the standoff there before
we leave.
Summation: Mediocre shows deserve mediocre summations. All work and no
play make Steve a dull boy. I'm going to go play Jagged Alliance 2.
Thanks for your patience! You've been a great audience! 4 weeks to go
on the permanent tape match ultimatum.
--
Steve Schroeder
The Shooters
Rantsylvania
...And there ya have it. A rather bad show...and on a night when RAW wasn't on till the 11:00 overrun. WCW had a great opportunity to put on a strong show and really help their future ratings...and they pretty much blew it IMHO. No Kidman or Rey Jr. (I hear they are in the Doghouse from their threat to leave WCW last week.) ... we ended up with the likes of Mike Enos, Disorderly Conduct, Prince Ieukea, and the first Family.
With Nash on sabbatical, Hall still unsure about his return, Hart in the same boat, Raven gone, Hak and Wrath recovering, WCW's star-power is flagging. We needed more out of what WCW has left, not less. Sting didn't have a match...which would have helped. No match for Harlem Heat either, which would also have helped.
Oh well...lets see what happens next week, as we build towards Sting vs. Hogan at Fall Brawl for the Belt. Hmmmm...can you feel the coming of more Hogan Tripe? I can...
From August 31st, 1999
Sting and Hogan collide on NITRO...
As promised last week, the main event at last night;s Monday NITRO from Las Vegas, Nevada was indeed a matchup between Sting and Hogan.
During NITRO's first hour, Sting emerged and talked about Hogan's offer the previous week. He mentioned Hogan saying that he would be ready to kick Sting's a$$ come Vegas. In response, Sting said:
"...Hulkster, with all due respect, don't let your mouth override your butt."
Suddenly, music blared, hearalding the emergence of Lex Luger. Luger went to the ring, with Sting keeping a questioning eye on his old friend. However, when Lex offered his hand, Sting embraced him.
Luger took the mic and went on to say that he was out for 2 reasons. One... to support Sting, the man who had always stood behind him when all was said and done. Secondly ... he minced no words in stating that he didn't trust Hogan one iota...and warned Sting to be careful around Hogan.
Sting went on to say that Hogan had put the title on the line, offering him a shot at it, and that Hogan couldn't get "more straight-up then that."
Luger nodded, and wished Sting the best.
A little later, Hogan came out to talk with Mean Gene, and repeated his previous statement, saying again that he would "say one prayer, and kick Sting's a$$!"
In the last hour...the match finally arrived, and the overpaid Michael Buffer did the intros. Sting emerged, then Hogan followed. Since I agree with the way he called the match, I'm going to use a portion of Steve Schroeder's Nitro Report of Doom...
Trade of armbars. They trade no-sells in
an amusing spot. Hogan gets a rollup for two. Ah, it's the annual
"Hulk wants to show he knows how to wrestle" match. Rollup for two by
Sting. Tony calls a Sting clothesline "his first big offensive maneuver
of the night." Sting with slow offense as Heenan gives him tips on
beating Hogan. Sting misses an elbowdrop, so it's time for Hulk's weak
offense. Hogan dumps Sting, and they fight outside, with Sting
regaining the advantage. Sting dumps Hogan on the announce table and
drops some elbows. Hulk switches spots with him and delivers some weak
punches (yeah, shock of shocks there). Back inside, Hogan drops an
elbow for two. Sting on offense again. He hits a backward splash off
the second turnbuckle. Remember my lack of history knowledge here:
isn't that a Vader Bomb? Anyway, Hulk fights out of a resthold and sort
of Hulks Up. Hogan with the Big, Gentle Boot, but Sting dodges the
legdrop. Stinger Splash. Second splash try hits a big boot. Third try
eats turnbuckle. Tony goes into overdrive mode. Sid and Steiner hit
the ring for the DQ in most nonsensical fashion. So much for that
match, eh? Goldberg makes the save. Lex Luger comes out for some
uninteresting angle development, but even that doesn't really happen.
Hogan tells the camera he's going to give Sting another shot at the
belt. The faces celebrate in the ring. Oh my God, it didn't even occur
to me until Tony mentioned it that KISS was getting the main event slot.
HOW F'ING STUPID CAN WCW GET? Match was possibly Hogan's best this
year until the idiotic ending.
And that about does it. As Steve said...KISS went on after the main event match. Pathetic.
So, Hogan is giving Sting another shot at the belt, with Goldberg and Lex acting as lumberjacks. Anyone smell a heel turn here? Either by Hogan, or by Lex Luger. Surprise, surprise.
From August 24th, 1999
Underhandedness at the G.A.B leads to payback on NITRO...
As most of you know, Sting took on Ric Steiner at the Great American Bash in Baltimore this past Sunday night (June 11th) in a "anything goes" matchup, with the falls counting anywhere.
And most of you likely now know what happened as well.
Sting and Steiner went head to head, and the match swung back and forth between the two combatants. Eventually,
Sting wore Steiner down and delivered some Stinger Splashes. To follow that up, he applied the Scorpion Deathlock. However, Steiner managed to break the hold by grabbing the ropes.
That done, he scrambled out of the ring. The pair brawled outside the ring for a time, until the match spilled back into the arena hallways. There, Tank Abbott was waiting. As he and Rick Steiner attacked Sting, Scott Steiner released a pair of Dobermans and one Rottweiler. As the dogs attacked Sting, the trio hightailed it back to ringside and claimed that Sting had been pinned.
However, nobody witnessed this. So we'll call the Steiners liars, and call the match a "no contest".
The next night on NITRO at the MCI center in Washington D.C. saw the Dog-Faced Gremlin take on Hardcore Hak. This match eventually spilled into the back as well. It culminated in the DFG slamming Hak through the roof of a Humvee.
And that's where Sting was a waitin'!
With bat in hand, Sting burst from the top of the Humvee and nailed Rick Steiner, who tumbled to the ground. With his black trenchcoat billowing behind him, Sting grabbed the scrambling DFG and promptly tossed him through the side of an RV.
Then, Sting hauled Steiner out of the RV rubble and dragged him all the way to the NITRO entrance ramp. There, Sting floored him with a shot from his bat, and walked to the ring.
Microphone in hand, Sting addressed the roaring crowd.
"Riddle me this, riddle me that...who's afraid of the big, black bat?" that said, he pointed in Steiner's direction.
"And by the way...what's black and brown, and looks good on Sting?" he queried. "A Doberman Pinscer! HA HA HA HA HA! What's black and white and looks good on Steiner? Sting, that's who!" He then screamed "It's showtime folks!"
That said, he dropped the mic and headed back to the DFG's position on the ramp. There, he gave Steiner a second, crushing blow from the bat, knocking the DFG down.
"Don't bring a dog when the big black bat's around." Sneered Sting. With that, he hauled Steiner over his shoulder and carried him like a sack of potatoes into the back.
We didn't find out what happened to Steiner, but Sting wasn't done yet.
The main event was to be between World Champ Kevin Nash, and the newly returned Sid Viscious.
However, that's not what happened. Nash was introduced, and when Sid was intro'd, Randy Savage emerged instead. He and his trio of gals hit the ring, mouthing off the whole way.
Macho clambered into the ring, claiming that he had pinned Nash at the Great American Bash. Nash told Savage that he was "delusional", and challenged Macho to come and get the belt.
Nash then promptly held up the belt for Macho, and as Savage approached, dropped the belt to the mat. Savage reflexively went for the belt, and Nash opened up a can on the Macho Man, not allowing him an opening at all, climaxing in the big boot to Savage's face, breaking Macho's sunglasses in half. Then, Savage's beauties hit the ring, but Nash fended them off.
Suddenly, Sid Vicious ran in and Nash attacked the big man. Savage used the distraction and attacked. Nash fought them both off until Vicious managed to connect with a huge clothesline on Nash from behind. Macho and Sid proceeded to kick and punch Nash senseless. Nash, however, groggily rose to his knees and grabbed Sid, but he was sent to the mat again. Macho and Sid raised their arms, and Macho floored the ref with a punch.
That's when Sting hit the ring!
Sting dove through the ropes, and floored Macho Man with a brutal right hand. When he turned, Sid grabbed Sting by the throat. However, Sting was unfazed, and doubled the big man over with a blow to the ribs from his black bat. He then used the bat to clothesline Sid out of the ring.
Macho attacked the now-standing Nash, and Sting kicked and punched Savage to the mat, where he stomped a mudhole into the "Macho Man". Macho rolled from the ring to escape, and he and Sid retreated in the face of an enraged Sting, and the now-alert Kevin Nash.
And that ended the June 12th Edition of NITRO.
Can Sting trust Nash? Probably not... but things should get really interesting really quick.
Sting vs Goldberg...the beginning...and the end?
By now, most of you know about the Sting vs Goldberg match that was fought last Sunday during WCW Slamboree...and most of you likely know what went down. We'll get to that...but for now lets have a little retrospective shall we.
The seeds for this confrontation had been sown quite a while back.
When Goldberg began his rise to prominence, he was called a phenom, a sensation, and the future franchise player in WCW. However...Sting had been the fanchise for years...and Sting was still around. Everyone knew that they would have to match up sooner or later. They nearly came to blows on the August 8th, 1998 edition of Nitro, when Goldberg began mouthing off about the Giant...saying that he didn't care if he had to "destroy Hall, Nash, Disciple, or even the franchise called 'Sting'." in order to get to the Giant.
This immediately brought out the Stinger...who went nose to nose with Goldberg. Before the pair could go at it, the situation turned into an nWo beatdown on Goldberg for a few seconds, allowing the Giant to bail...with Goldberg right behind.
But...it obviously didn't end there.
The big matchup between WCW's two franchise players arrived on September the 14th of 1998. On Nitro...Sting and Goldberg went head-to-head in a memorable match. The match was in Goldberg's favor early on, but Sting rebounded, and eventually locked on the Scorpion Deathlock. Just when it looked like Sting would beat Goldberg and regain the World Title...Hollywood Hogan interfered, and cost Sting a victory.
When it was over Goldberg helped Sting to his feet, and many of us believed it was over between them.
Wrong.
Months later, Goldberg and Sting locked horns on the April 26th edition of NITRO. Earlier in the evening, Sting had battled DDP, and had won the WCW World Title with a hard-fought victory. To top off the program, a 4-corners match was announced,...one that featured DDP, Kevin Nash, Goldberg and the new-champ Sting. The WCW World Title was once again on the line, and the winner would claim the belt.
The match went on, with none of the 4 men able to gain a real advantage for any appreciable length of time. Finally, as the match began to wind down, Goldberg managed to catch Sting with a spear. Then, while Sting was still woozy, Goldberg executed his jackhamer finisher, and waited for the 3-count. However, that didn't come.
Instead, the Macho Man came to ringside and intervened, clotheslining Goldberg out of the ring, and tossing DDP a foriegn object. DDP used the "knucks" to lay out Kevin Nash, and gave him a Diamond Cutter for good measure...pinning him for the count of three, thus regaining the belt he had lost earlier in the evening.
A week passed, and Ric Flair reignited old rivalries on the May 2nd edition of Monday Nitro. In the midst of a memorable tirade, Ric Flair addressed both Sting and Goldberg...saying neither one was the franchise of WCW. This, of course, promptly brough Sting out to the squared-circle. As Flair continued to mouth-off, Sting decided he'd had enough and promptly decked the WCW president. As Flair scrambled to his feet, Arn Anderson and Flair's new female bodyguard 'Asia' looked on, unwilling to intervene.
A livid Flair promptly yelled for Goldberg to come to ringside. As Goldberg's music blared through the loudspeakers, the former champ answered the request and joined the crowd in the ring. Flair, suddenly switching gears, dubbed Goldberg 'the man' and pointedly told the Stinger that he wasn't the man, Goldberg was.
A smug Flair looked at Sting, saying "Let's see how tough you are now!"
Then, Flair found himself leveled again, hitting the mat after a punch from Goldberg.
Then, all hell broke loose. Sting shoved Goldberg, who shoved back. The pair promptly began to brawl, exchanging punches and kicks. Security hit the ring in an attempt to stop the chaos, and found themselves roughly ejected from ringside by the two raging men. Once more, the pair locked horns...Goldberg forced Sting into the corner and unleashed a flurry of punches, and Sting quickly fired back with punches, chops and kicks of his own.
Then, Security hit the ring again, this time en masse', with the cops in tow to boot. The two men were finally seperated and moved outside the ring. As the mass of security started to lead Sting away, they relaxed a bit and Sting promptly broke away from them and dove across the ring to Goldberg's position. The pair locked up once more, but were soon separated once more.
At least until Slamboree on May the 9th...this past Sunday evening.
The anticipated match began normally enough, with Goldberg gaining an early advantage. He topped of his intial offense with a clothesline, sending Sting sprawling to the floor.
Sting took a few moments to recover, and seemed to favor his right shoulder a bit. However, after hitting the ring, he didn't seem to be affected much. He promptly took control, nailing Goldberg with a dropkick, and then sent Goldberg ringside with a clothesline of his own.
Goldberg then attempted to regain control once more, but Sting retained the momentum. He hit Goldberg with a bulldog, and then dropkicked the braced left knee of the former champ. Sting worked over the knee some more and then locked Goldberg into a Boston crab. However, Goldberg managed to power out of the move, but further aggrivates his knee injury in the process. After a few rest holds, Sting executed a superplex on Goldberg and then Goldberg returned the favor. He promptly made an attempt to pin Sting, but only got a two count for his trouble.
Goldberg then attempted the spear but Sting moved aside and Goldberg speared the turnbuckle instead. The staggered Goldberg then got nailed by a top-rope clothesline, and Sting then hit two Stinger splashes. When he attempted a third, Goldberg spears him in mid air!
Both men fell heavily to the mat...both spent from their battle, and unable to move.
Its at precisely that moment, the unexpected happened. Bret Hart hit the ring...folding chair in hand. He tossed out the ref and nailed Goldberg on the head with the chair.
Hart began to relentlessly pound Goldberg's injured leg and ankle, attempting to cripple the former champ. The match was thrown out and Hart finally leaves. However, it doesn't end there. As Sting started to clamber to his feet, the Steiner brothers hit the ring. Scott and Rick, who had reunited earlier in the evening, began to beat down Sting, then they turn
their attentions to Goldberg. Then the pair split off, With Scott pounding Sting, while Rick worked on Goldberg's knee. After a time, they finally left the ring.
Sting left under his own power, but Goldberg had to be helped from ringside.
Weird ending...but the Steiners could regret it more than they realize...especially if Goldberg and Sting decide to join forces.
Either way...'Big Poppa Pump' and The 'Dogfaced Gremlin' better watch out...as they never know when Sting might drop in, bat in hand, to deliver a little payback. And...he might have Goldberg right beside him.
From May 13th
Pictures courtesy of WCW.com, WCW HQ, and Wrestlingarena.Com
Sting wins and looses at NITRO
After the events of Sunday's PPV, Spring Stampede, you could bet that Sting would have something to say on tonight's edition of NITRO from Yakima, Washington.
It was a safe bet...and Sting fans weren't dissapointed.
Not long after the opening, Sting appeared and walked down to the ring. With mic in hand, he howls a couple of times to get the fans riled. In short, it works...and the Stinger gets big pops.
"It is good to be back. It is good to be back in black." he shouts, and the fans roar. Sting goes on to say that many have tried to put him out of wrestling, but he's got "cat's eyes and nine lives!"
Sting starts talking about so-called champions, and how they don't compare to the Stinger, and how many have claimed to build the house called WCW.
Sting says that he was the only one "who's been here through thick and thin!" The crowd continues to roar its approval as he claims that WCW is his backyard and his turf, and if anyone built WCW, it was him.
Sting says DDP didn't build the house called WCW. The crowd boos. Sting calls DDP out tonight. And as the crowd pops, Sting says "If you've got anything hanging between those legs, I'll be waiting."
However, Sting's title shot would have to wait...as DDP would later declare during his segment that he was taking on Scott Steiner in a title match.
Things got better though, as the power-mad President of WCW, Ric Flair, came out and declared the title vacant. This promptly brought out Randy Savage and his valet', Gorgeous George. Savage comes out with a document signed by the WCW executive commitee, and Ric Flair himself, stating that the match at Spring Stampede was a legitimate match, and that its results were final.
Flair was not pleased, and took his anger out on Savage...stating that Savage would never wrestle in WCW again. Referee Charles Robinson, who had accomanied Flair along with Arn Anderson, tells Savage that he's not qualified to referee any match, much less a Horseman match. Robinson would say too much, however, by wondering aloud... "Besides, why'd you have your bimbo out there last night?"
With that, Gorgeous George slapped Robinson to the mat.
Flair was livid, and threatened Savage, saying "move down the aisle while you can still walk."
Savage wasn't going for that, and said that he wants to wrestle in WCW more than life itself, but he recognizes Flair as the President, and the power in WCW. Savage went on to propose a match at Slamboree, the next PPV, between Charles Robinson and Gorgeous George! The stipulations state that if George wins, Savage can wrestle again. An angry Robinson accepts the match.
A confident Flair promises that Robinsion will win with the figure four. Savage grins and promises George will win with the big elbow.
The mix gets even more volatile when Sting emerges once more. He heads to the ring, and Mean Gene declares that Flair has even more troubles.
Trouble was right, as Sting was rather angered over the fact that DDP had refused to face him tonight, and the Stinger had decided to target his frustration towards Ric Flair. He gets in Flair's face and begins his rant...
"Since Diamond Dallas Trash is duckin' the Stinger tonight, and since you won't reinstate Macho Man, and since you're standin' right in front of me, for good ol' times sakes how about you an' me tonight ... on NITRO?"
Flair is shocked, but arrogance drips from his every word as he says "You wanna wrestle me?"
Sting says "Oh yeah...oh yeah."
Arn steps in saying "Listen scary man...nobody afraid of you out here! He'll take the match, but I'm gonna be with him. And you know what that means."
Sting simply says he's "got enough to go around for both of ya...you and you." pointing to Flair and Anderson respectively.
A livid Flair begins to shout "You're talkin' to the world's greatest athlete Sting!"
Sting: "I'm talkin' to a punk!"
Flair: "You're talkin' to the President!"
Sting: "Yeah...we'll find out what kind of President you are tonight."
Flair: "You ain't the man, I'm the MAN!"
Sting laughs menacingly..."Look at ya. Look at ya Ric!" he says grinning "You an' me for good old times sake...you an' me, we're gonna tear it up tonight ain't we Ric? Right? You're gonna go down tonight!"
Flair counters "You're in over it now!" and with that he delivers a loud trademark "WHOOOO!"
Arn says that Flair will take the match, and with that Sting howls and drives Flair back.
The match was on...
Later that night...Flair was introduced and made his way to the ring with Anderson in tow.
Then, Sting was brought out to massive cheers.
Flair vs Sting...a battle of old foes. Technical mastery vs Energy and Power.
The match begins, and Sting is the agressor...he pushes Flair then press slams him, not once, but twice, bringing flashbacks from the broadcast crew of the1988 Clash of the Champions.
Sting loudly taunts Flair, saying "That's for old times sake Ric."
Flair hits the floor, and decides to bail...he walks down the walkway towards the back. However, Sting darts after him, and hauls the WCW President over his shoulder and carries him bodily back to the ring.
Flair sticks a thumb in Sting's eye and pushes him to the corner. There he delivers knife-edged chops to Sting's chest...but Sting shrugs them off. Sting hits a hiptoss on the reeling Flair, takes him to the corner for a series of punches, delivers another hiptoss, and then throws in a dropkick for good measure.
However, the "dirtiest player in the game" delivers a blow to the groin, and his pet ref Robinson plays blind. This only staggers Sting for a few moments, and the match quickly falls back under Sting's control. After the match spills out onto the floor, Sting gets clipped in the knee by Flair, and becomes the recipient of a kneedrop, Flair attempts a second one, but Sting blocks it...he grabs Flair's leg, and applies the nature boy's own move, the Figure-four leglock!
Flair finally manages to move to the ropes, and the hold is broken up. Arn manages to interefere in the match and gets a blow from the Stinger for his troubles. Flair gets tossed into AA's corner, and as Sting attempts a Stinger Splash, Flair is pulled out of the way by AA and Sting hits the floor. Arn sees his chance and lands a few blows on the prone Stinger to soften him up. He rolls Sting back into the ring, and Flair gains the advantage. Flair goes to the top rope, but Sting pops up and tosses the nature boy to the center of the ring. He tries for a backslide pin, but gets only a 2 count.
Flair then manages to whip Sting into a corner, but Sting is unfazed by the maneuver. He charges from the corner and flattens Flair with a clothesline. Flair manages to get up and hits another low-blow, softening Sting up for a vertical
suplex. Sting stands, however, and Flair delivers some more chops which Sting again shrugs off. Sting then takes control, once more press-slamming the Prez, he whips him into the corner and nails the Stinger Splash.
Flair is helpless as Sting takes him to the top and superplexes him to the mat! As Sting attempts the deathlock, AA climbs to the ring to interfere, but Sting knows he's coming and chases him away. However, the distraction works and Flair takes control, applying the figure 4. Arn helps Flair apply more leverage to the move, and Robinson again plays blind.
However...Sting has backup.
Randy Savage suddenly charges to the ring, and lays AA out flat onto the floor.
Sting begins to pump up, and reverses the figure 4. Flair crawls to the ropes to break the hold, and his follow-up chops to Sting's chest merely annoy the dark avenger. A desperate Flair attempts another vertical suplex, and Sting reverses the move into the Scorpion deathdrop! The Stinger goes for the pin, but Robinson doesn't want to make the count. Sting applies some intimidation, and Robinson reluctantly makes the count for 3!
AA, now shirtless, runs in, but Sting knocks the wind from Arn, and the enforcer gets the Scorpion Deathlock for his troubles. Sting applies the hold for a few moments and then releases AA. He celebrates to huge pops from the crowd.
Sting is victorious once again!
Great match...great show!
oh yeah...DDP went on to retain the belt in his match against Big Poppa Pump. Thought ya might wanna know :)
From April 17th.
Update! DDP wins the title!
Diamond Dallas Page, who has never held the WCW World Heavyweight Belt can now be called champ.
Page won after a hard fought match that saw several interesting developments.
Sting was the last man to enter the ring, and he came out to a large pop. The match began and the 4 men went at it. The advantages swung back and forth for quite awhile, with several pin and submission attempts being made without success.
About halfway through the match, DDP locked a ringpost figure 4 on Hogan, and after being seperated by Sting, Hogan appeared to be hurt. He had to be helped from the ring, and was propped up by two men on the way back to the locker-room. In fact, Eric Bischoff emerged from behind the scenes to accompany Hogan into the back. His status remains unknown.
After a brief pause in the action, Sting and Flair locked up while DDP took a breather. After a time, both Flair and DDP ganged up on Sting, who soon became pumped and shrugged off their combined blows, and then took both men out with a double clothesline.
Sting's attempt at a deathlock on Flair was unsuccessful due to the interference of DDP. Afterwards, DDP attempted a diamond cutter on the Stinger, but the dark avenger reversed it into a scorpion deathdrop! Flair broke up the pin attempt, and soon locked on the figure 4 leglock. DDP was too looped to break up the move, but Sting refused to submit. He pumped up and moved into the ropes, but Flair refused to break the hold.
That's when the special ref, Randy Savage stepped in. He pulled Flair to the center of the ring and gave him the diving elbow from the top rope. Afterwards, DDP attacked a weakened Sting and then managed to execute the diamond cutter on Flair and made the pin.
A very interesting, and exciting match. Could the outcome result in us seeing a DDP vs Sting match at Slamboree? We'll just have to wait and see!
From April 11th
Sting's return to WCW now complete
True to his word, Sting delivered a message to the world on the new Monday Nitro
It was a message fans would have to wait the entire show to hear.
The April 5th edition of Nitro was a new start of sorts. A new set, new logo, new music, and a new announcing philosophy that saw the return of the two-man ringside team format.
Despite the new look, many things were still familiar.
Big Poppa Pump was still a huge jerk, Chris Jericho was still looking for shortcuts, the Horsemen were still in revenge mode, the Black and White nWo members were still feuding....
And Ric Flair was still WCW President and Champion, and still abusing the position.
Many things happened on the new Nitro....one of which being a match set for this Sunday at Spring Stampede between Goldberg and Kevin Nash. Falir evidently liked the way Nash went out and challenged Goldberg before the fan-favorite could use a lottery system to determine his opponent for the PPV, and ended up calling Nash into his office.
After discovering this, Hollywood Hogan was not amused...and seemed to suspect treachery.
Wise move.
Shortly thereafter, Flair entered the arena. He started things off by pulling the Match between himself and Hogan from the PPV and moving it to the conclusion of Nitro. Hogan emerged and expressed his joy by saying he had no problem with beating Flair in Las Vegas, and even agreed not to touch Flair until the match. Hogan also went on to say that when he won the belt he'd never give Flair another title shot.
This brought out Diamond Dallas Page, who stated that he has "no love lost" between either of the two men, and challenged them to a 3-way match. Flair began shaking his head and saying no, rejecting the offer...while Hogan thought it would be a great idea, saying he'd beat both men.
And then Goldberg charged down the isle.
Goldberg says if there's a heavyweight match, he's "in the dance!". An indignant Flair goes on to say that he's the boss, and he says what goes on around here, and Goldberg's not in on the match. Angered, Goldberg tosses Flair by the lapels cauing the President scurry away, saying Goldberg is "in trouble now!" Flair says he'll see all of them... and the 4-way dance is on!
Towards the end of the show, the 4-way match begins. Any pinfall will result in the victor gaining the WCW Heavyweight belt...and all the combatants fight one another...every man for himself. Kevin Nash moves down to the broadcast table along with Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan to help call the action.
The match seesaws back and fourth, spilling out onto the floor and back into the ring. The crowd begins to chant "We want Sting!" for the second time on this night. Finally...things work out for Goldberg, who manages to spear the other
three combatants. Hogan manages to woozily kick out of the pinfall attempt by Goldberg, but then promptly eats the jackhammer.
And this brings Nash to the ring, who attacks Goldberg. The match is thrown out, and as chaos begins to ensue, the crowd roars as their requests are answered by a familiar, black-clad figure dropping from the rafters.
Sting has arrived!
He hits the floor, quickly disconnects the rapelling line, and stalks to the ring, bat in hand. Flair spots Sting and quickly hightails it. As Sting clibs into the ring, Hogan and Nash also bail out, fearing the wrath of the dark avenger. The ring is cleared of combatants save for Goldberg and a woozy DDP.
As the crowd roars, Sting takes his bat and points to the huge TV monitors. The message is about to be heard.
The jumbotrons flare to life and a fiery promo begins, announcing that the Main Event for Spring Stampede this Sunday will be for the WCW World Heavyweight Title and will feature Ric Flair vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Hollywood Hogan vs. STING and the Special Guest Official will be the "Macho Man" Randy Savage!
As the crowd roars its approval...the show ends and fades to black.
Great show! The new Nitro was aided by the new look, some strong matches, some great angle advancement, and the true return of the man they call Sting!
See you on Sunday for Spring Stampede!
From April 6th
Sting has returned!
Sting was true to his word, and did indeed make his return to WCW proper on Monday NITRO (March 29th).
It all began with the increasingly harsh attitudes of Ric Flair and DDP.
Flair had come out at Gene Okerlund's behest, flaunting his power as WCW president and as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Flair purposely antagonized the Toronto crowd with his comments...and then went on to bring out DDP, claiming that the recently returned Page had been pressing him for airtime.
Page emerged from the back, and needled Flair, wondering aloud "... ( Eric ) Bischoff beam into your body or what?", and went on to ask "Did it kill you to have to introduce me as the superstar or what?"
In reply, Flair grinned and answered "I must admit, you have escalated to great heights...much to my personal dismay."
Page went on to discuss a rematch against Scott Steiner with Flair, and also derided the Canadian crowd, causing a chorus of boos. Flair went on to make a "corporate descision" and claimed that Steiner would come later...and that DDP would have to face off against Hogan instead for the night's feature bout. Page went on to accuse Flair of cowardace regarding Hogan.
Then, the ante' was raised as Hogan himself emerged.
Hogan went on to say that Flair was in a "lot of trouble...because I'm gonna get my belt back, Jack!". and that he still had a problem with Page.
Page could care less, saying that if going through Hogan and Flair is what it took to get to Steiner, that was fine with him. Hogan made a similar statement saying that if he had to go through Page first to get "his" belt back, that all of Canada would witness it.
As Hogan departed, Flair made a stipulation to the match, saying he would "guarantee" Page a victory by becoming Page's special manager. This angered Page, and as the pair faced off in argument, the camera crew noticed a familiar dark figure watching from high above in the rafters.
At long last...Sting had returned.
The cameras were trained upon the white-and-black faced Sting, causing Okerland and Tony Schiavone to scream with excitement. The crowd roared upon seeing Sting, who silently watched Page and Flair wander about the ring in confusion.
Flair went on to scream "Whats he doin' here?" turned his face towards the roof, and ordered Sting to come down. Sting merely watched Flair for a few moments before turning away in apparent disgust and dissapearing into the darkness.
He was not seen again for the remainder of the broadcast, and Hogan went on to defeat Page despite Flair's interference.
So what's next? Who knows. Sting is as unpredictable as ever. However...you can bet that he'll turn up again next week... and a lot of people, including Ric Flair, may not be pleased with what he does next.
from March 29th
|
|---|
