Monday
Nitro #121
Date:
January 5, 1998
Location:
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance:
26,773
Commentators:
Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
It's
been a week since the mess with Hogan and Sting to end the last
episode and from what I understand, nothing has been announced yet.
Odds are that's going to be saved for the first episode of Thunder
which airs three days after this show. We're in a new year here
though so things should be pretty big tonight to give them a good
start. Let's get to it.
We
open with two limos pulling up, bringing the NWO in full force. They
don't seem to be too pleased with each other so Tony is in a frenzy.
The
announcers talk about the cameras rolling after the show went off the
air last week, but there's a court injunction keeping them from
showing us the tape. That's all the explanation we're given, but
that sounds so appropriate for WCW. I'm not even going to bother to
ask the variety of questions that statement brings up.
JJ
says he thinks Sting is champion (Tony already told us that) and he's
sorry for the near riot that took place in Baltimore last week.
Apparently lawyers from both sides have wanted the tape but it's in a
judge's chambers. YOUR tax dollars at work people! Apparently the
tape will be released in 24 hours and we can see it on the debut
episode of Thunder. Boy that's convenient. We'll also see video
from Starrcade on Thursday about the fast count and all that jazz.
Here's
Jericho with a chair and a suit jacket in his hands. He wants to
apologize for his actions last week because that's not the real Chris
Jericho. The real Jericho is the one standing here right now. He
understands that a lot of people look up to him and that wasn't the
right reaction. Jericho gives Penzer a new chair to sit in and a new
suit jacket to wear. That will NEVER happen again.
Diamond
Dallas Page vs. Chris Jericho
Non-title
here. Feeling out process to start with Page taking over via a
swinging neckbreaker. They get back up and slap hands before Jericho
is run over with a shoulder block. Tony is still shocked by the
fifteen members of the NWO showing up in two limos. We get another
standoff and Jericho offers a handshake, only to sucker Page in with
a right hand. Not that it matters as the Diamond Cutter hits for the
pin a few seconds later.
Jericho
has another fit post match.
Gene
talks to some WCW lawyer who reads a prepared statement, basically
saying any WCW wrestlers violating WCW policies will be fined or
suspended. Also if the NWO violates a policy on Nitro, they're fined
or suspended too. That's certainly riveting information.
Bill
Goldberg vs. Stevie Ray
Goldberg
pounds him down to start but Stevie escapes a powerslam and hits a
belly to back suplex for no cover. A clothesline gets two for Stevie
but Goldberg's second powerslam attempt works fine. Off to a quick
chinlock but Stevie comes back with a superkick. Not that it matters
as it's the spear and Jackhammer to keep Goldie undefeated.
Nitro
Girls.
John
Nord vs. Barbarian
You
might remember Nord as the Berzerker from the early 90s. He's part
of a new wave of talent coming in apparently, which will also include
a former WWF Tag Team Champion debuting later tonight. Nord is just
a guy in white trunks and furry boots here. They clothesline each
other and no one goes anywhere but another clothesline puts Barbarian
on the floor. Nord, a big guy in his own right, hits a dive over the
top to crush Barbarian but he stops to go after Jimmy Hart. Barbie
rams him into the barricade but Nord sends him head first into the
steps.
They
whip each other into the barricade as this is way more energetic than
you would expect it to be. Back in and Nord hits a Samoan drop for
no cover followed by a series of elbow drops. Jimmy gets choked a
bit but Barbarian hits a big boot to the jaw, sending Nord out to the
floor. Back in and a pumphandle slam gets two for Barbarian before
he chops Nord in the corner. Nord misses a charge into the corner
and falls outside again, only to come back in with a middle rope
elbow. A modified camel clutch by Nord (Nord was sitting almost on
the mat while pulling back on the chin) is good for the submission.
Rating:
C+. This was WAY better than I
ever could have expected it to be as Nord looked pretty solid out
there. Barbarian was his usual self but a bit more physical than he
usually was, making for a pretty solid surprise here. I barely
remember Nord at all around this time which is one of the fun parts
of rewatching these shows. Good stuff here.
Here's
Bischoff for a chat. He says there are no problems in the NWO so the
announcers can forget about it. The fans boo him and Eric loses his
cool. He goes on a rant about how Hogan beat Sting twice in a row
and how there's no tape or anything and WCW is just scared of the
people seeing it. Eric says Nitro should belong to the NWO after the
kick to the head, but we'll see that on Thunder as well. Eric is
still ticked off and walks out.
We
look at Ultimo Dragon winning the Cruiserweight Title last week from
Eddie.
Psychosis
vs. Juventud Guerrera
The
winner gets the first shot at Dragon. Apparently we're going to see
Bischoff vs. Zbyszko in its entirety on Thunder. Good to know I paid
to see it live because I can now see it again less than two weeks
later. Psychosis takes him down twice in a row to start but misses a
splash in the corner to let Juvy fire off some chops. Juvy sends him
to the floor and there's a big dive to take Psychosis out.
Back
in and Psychosis crotches him on the top rope as Tony starts bragging
about the NWO not holding any titles. A facejam gets two for
Psychosis but the guillotine legdrop misses. Juvy hits a springboard
missile dropkick to take out Psychosis' knee before pounding away at
the masked head. Juvy goes up but dives into a dropkick to the ribs
to shift momentum again. Psychosis has a powerbomb reversed into a
DDT and the 450 sends Juvy to Thunder (where else?) for the title
shot.
Rating:
C. This was fine. Both guys
got to do their thing and it was a nice change of pace from the match
we saw just before it. As stupid as some of the main event stuff
would get, the lower card stuff on Nitro was almost always an
excellent mix of different styles, which is what we got right here.
We
get a clip from last April with the NWO having problems to show that
this has happened before. What this has to do with anything that's
happened lately is beyond me but it's hard to keep up with WCW logic
at times.
Hour
#2 begins.
More
Nitro Girls.
Here's
TV Champion Booker T to say it's awesome that he's TV Champion. It
was for his son apparently.
TV
Title: Booker T vs. Prince Iaukea
Feeling
out process to start with Booker's wristlock going nowhere. Instead
Booker kicks him in the head and pounds away before getting two off
the ax kick. A side kick misses Iaukea though and Booker falls to
the floor. Back in and another kick to Iaukea's head sets up the
Harlem Hangover for the pin to retain the title. Total squash.
We
get proof of the fast count: stills of Patrick counting it. Tony:
“You can see the fast count.” How does this man remember to tie
his shoes every morning?
Buff
Bagwell/Scott Norton/Konnan vs. Ray Traylor/Steiner Brothers
Traylor
and Konnan get things going with Ray missing a charge into the corner
and getting clotheslined down. Konnan loads up a DDT but Scott
Steiner takes his head off with a clothesline to break it up.
Bagwell gets slapped to the floor as Scott Steiner stomps on Konnan's
head. Everything breaks down and the NWO is sent to the floor.
Bagwell gets the tag but wants Rick instead of Scott.
Rick
poses a bit in a funny spot, causing Buff to go off with right hands.
That lasts all of four seconds as Rick suplexes him down and gets
two off a Steiner Line. Back to Ray to face Norton with Traylor
being taken down like he's nothing. Ray comes back with an uppercut
and it's back to Rick for a top rope clothesline.
The
NWO finally starts cheating to let Buff take over and Rick gets
beaten down by all three NWO guys. Rick finally clotheslines Buff
down and tags in his brother as everything breaks down. Everything
breaks down and the Steiners set up the Steiner Bulldog, only to have
Scott drop Buff down in an electric chair. Rick is distracted but
his brother hits the awesome Steiner Screwdriver on Konnan for the
pin. DiBiase gets in some kicks to Vincent for old times' sake.
Rating:
C+. This match goes up a letter
or so because of the Steiner Screwdriver. If there has ever been a
more devastating looking move I can't think of it off the top of my
head. If you've never seen it, picture a delayed vertical suplex but
instead of falling back, Scott drops the other guy straight down on
his head like a fast piledriver. It's incredibly dangerous but so
sweet to watch. That lack of the Steiner Bulldog at the end isn't a
good sign for the Brothers though.
Here
are the Nitro Girls again in case you forgot what they look like.
We
look at a fan's Nitro Party.
Brad
Armstrong vs. Rick Martel
This
is Martel's debut and his first national match in years. A quick
rollup gets two for Martel as I think Armstrong is the heel here.
Brad grabs a headlock as Tony is SURE there are problems in the NWO.
Armstrong charges into a knee in the corner and gets caught by a
middle rope clothesline for no cover. Brad gets in a forearm out of
the corner and chokes away, only to get caught in the Quebec Crab for
the win for Martel. Another short match.
More
Nitro Girls.
Chris
Benoit/Steve McMichael vs. Perry Saturn/Riggs
Benoit
and Saturn get things going and the chops start flying fast. Off to
Mongo who gets pounded into the corner, only to come out with a hip
toss. A powerslam puts Saturn down but Riggs comes in for a double
team. Benoit is fine with letting his partner get beaten down by
both guys in an odd bit. Riggs trips Mongo up for a clothesline from
Saturn before drawing in Benoit to allow more cheating.
The
Flock cuts the ring off to keep Mongo in with Saturn putting on a
Fujiwara Armbar. A double shoulder puts McMichael down but he hooks
a double suplex and makes the hot tag to Benoit. Everything breaks
down and there's the Crossface to Saturn but a Kidman distraction
lets Raven hit the DDT on Benoit, giving Saturn the pin.
Rating:
C-. They're taking their sweet
time to get to Raven vs. Benoit but that has the potential to be a
classic when we get there. The tag match was a fine idea to keep the
story going now that Benoit has gone through every individual member
of the Flock but hopefully Mongo isn't a fixture in these matches.
Here's
Ric Flair with something to say. He's glad WCW is taking over again
and is glad that Sting is world champion, but everyone wants the
belt. One of the people that wants it is someone that has rubbed him
the wrong way: Bret Hart. How can someone like Bret call himself the
best when Flair is around? This brings out Hart who says that he'll
say the catchphrase and then say WOO at the end of it.
Flair
talks about how Bret is a big time columnist in Canada, but we're
here in Atlanta tonight and Flair is prime USA man. He tells Bret to
say it again and Bret does just that. If Flair has a problem with
it, too bad. Flair lists off some legendary names and says Hart can
believe he's better than them, but Race and Kiniski and Funk and
Brisco aren't Ric Flair. Bret takes off his jacket and says to be
the man you gotta beat the man, which he's done before. Flair says
if you think you're better than me, let's see you do it again.
AWESOME segment here that makes me want to watch them fight right
now.
Lex
Luger vs. Randy Savage
Nick
Patrick is the referee here to tick off the announcers. Actually
scratch that as JJ comes out to suspend him, drawing out Bischoff to
protest. Bagwell and Norton are here with Savage and Luger gets
jumped before the bell. An elbow to the face puts Luger down for two
and a belly to back suplex gets the same as this is one sided so far.
A
slam puts Luger down but Savage jumps into a right hand to the ribs.
Luger starts firing off his wide array of clotheslines and the
powerslam looks to set up the Rack, only to have Savage bail to the
floor. Savage bails to the floor to avoid the Rack and after hiding
behind Liz he's able to send Luger into the barricade to take over.
Back in and Luger gets a small package out of nowhere for the pin.
Rating:
D+. These two spent like three
years fighting each other and this wasn't one of their better
matches. The match was almost too short to rate and the ending came
out of nowhere, making it hard to get into the match at all. Luger
was rapidly becoming a shell of himself which would only continue in
the coming years.
Post
match Savage goes after Luger with a chair but Bischoff pulls the
chair away (remember the threat of suspensions earlier tonight).
Savage doesn't know who it was and decks Bischoff, drawing out Hogan
to calm things down. Nash comes out and decks Savage as Hogan tries
to calm things down. The NWO surrounds Luger but Sting runs in for
the save to end things.
Overall
Rating: B-. This was actually a
pretty solid show with the NWO showing real signs of problems and
Sting clearly being the lead soldier in WCW's war. Add that in with
some excellent talking between Bret and Flair and you have a pretty
good TV show here. You can see a lot of Souled Out coming together,
but right now we're getting ready for Thunder on Thursday which
should be interesting. Good show this week and one of the best in a
very long time.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D2UKOG0
Oh no, they put the main event of Souled Out 98 on free tv. Now fans won't have a reason to buy the show.
ReplyDeleteThough seriously, was there a story on why Bret/Flair didn't close the PPV?
I heard it was because Hogan couldn't be involved in the next to last match. He had a run in during Savage vs. Luger.
ReplyDeleteMore devastating looking than the Screwdriver; how about the Ganso Bomb?
ReplyDeleteI was one of the fortunate souls to attend this GA dome show. Let's just say the place looked PACKED. The merch was selling like hot cakes at IHOP. The crowd was very lively and enjoyed the show. Unfortunately those good times wouldn't last.
ReplyDelete