Monday
Nitro #157
Date:
October 5, 1998
Location:
Carolina Coliseum, Charleston, South Carolina
Attendance:
8,782
Commentators:
Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
We're
very slowly making our way towards Halloween Havoc and the stories
are already dragging. Thunder was actually a nice break from the
Hogan vs. Warrior stuff as Goldberg and Page got the spotlight.
We're also in Horsemen country tonight meaning an appearance from
Flair and the boys is a solid possibility. Let's get to it.
We
open with a recap of Hart turning on Sting and revealing his
allegiance to Hogan, shocking very few people.
Nitro
Girls in pink.
Halloween
Havoc promo.
Tony
wants to know about the maniacal laugh. I have a very bad feeling
about where this is going.
Bret
vs. Sting for the US Title tonight.
We
look at Piper telling Bret Hart to be a man a few months back as the
fans want Flair.
We
look back at Bret saving Sting from a whipping by Hogan back in
August.
WCW
Mastercard ad. Those looked awesome when I was ten and didn't quite
know what they were.
Normal
opening about ten minutes into the show, complete with hearing Penzer
counting the crowd down to cheer.
Lizmark
Jr. vs. Saturn
Saturn
grabs a hammerlock to start before pounding away in the corner with
kicks to the head. A superkick drops Lizmark but he comes back with
a hot shot and chops in the corner. Saturn clotheslines him down and
hits a nice falcon's arrow followed by the Death Valley Driver for
the pin. Not much to see here.
Videos
on the main events at the PPV.
Nitro
Girls in black.
Kaz
Hayashi vs. The Cat
Miller
does the five seconds thing and calls Hayashi Jackie Chan like the
jerk that he is. Tenay lists off Miller's athletic background
including some time in the NFL. Hayashi tries to come back but a
stiff kick to the head drops him again. We get an old school stomach
claw as the fans aren't thrilled with this one. Hayashi throws him
down and goes up top, only to jump into a side kick. A big kick to
the chest is enough to give Miller the pin.
Post
match Miller grabs a mic and runs his mouth as Sonny Onoo comes in
wearing a purple suit. Sonny offers his services and Miller seems to
accept but it's not clear. Hayashi, a former client of Onoo, isn't
thrilled.
A
bunch of eight year olds win the Nitro Party contest this week.
Another
Page vs. Goldberg video.
Jerry
Flynn vs. Juventud Guerrera
Disco
Inferno takes Tenay's place on commentary and we stay on them for a
few moments. Flynn pounds away to start as Disco complains about
Juvy messing with his weight. Juvy slides through Flynn's legs but
gets kicked in the face to put him right back down. Guerrera finally
gets in some offense with a springboard missile dropkick followed by
some chops in the corner. A sitout bulldog ala Rey Mysterio gets two
on Jerry and Juvy sends him outside for a big dive. Back in and a
quick Juvy Driver gets the pin.
Rating:
D+. Why did Juvy get that much
offense in this one? It was looking bad for Juvy to start but at
least he got the clean win at the end. Disco vs. Juvy in a non-title
feud could be interesting, especially if Disco gets to show off some
comedy skills by trying to make weight. I'm not sure why Guerrera
didn't win with the 450 here but it was a nice change of pace.
Third
Page vs. Goldberg video.
Tenay
asks some fans who will win the title match. The people are split.
Heenan
joins commentary while Tenay is taking a phone call. The announcers
talk about how great Hogan vs. Warrior will be.
Long
Hogan vs. Warrior video.
Villano
V vs. Wrath
Wrath
throws him into the corner and slams him down with ease. Villano is
tossed outside and sent into the steps before a slingshot back elbow
to the jaw drops him again. The Meltdown is enough for the fast pin.
Wrath looked like a monster here.
We
get our third video on Hogan vs. Warrior as the night of the video
packages continues.
Tenay
asks more fans about the World Title match and again it's split.
A
Hummer limo arrives in the back with the Wolfpack. They appear to be
hunting for someone as they walk through the back. Konnan is holding
a broom and head into the wrestlers' dressing room. They run behind
a wall and a brawl can be heard. The camera shows that it's against
the Black and White until security pulls them apart after
a few minutes. They break away from security and the brawl continues
until Sting goes into another room and finds Bret Hart. Cops finally
come in and break the two of them up.
Back
from a break with the Wolfpack walking outside and finding a forklift
to flip over the Black and White limousine. Nash
and Luger bash it with hammers and Sting slashes the tires for good
measure. Cool segment
actually.
Hour
#2 begins. It's nice to see the first hour end with something
interesting for a change.
Hector
Garza vs. Damien
Hector
pounds away in the corner to start and takes Damien down with a
hiptoss. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker drops Damien again but here's
Eddie Guerrero maybe a minute into the match.
The referee calls for the bell before Eddie does anything.
Eddie
wants to talk about what Eric Bischoff has ever done for either of
them. Damien and Hector can't answer and that's Eddie's point:
they're just wrestling each other week in and week out without ever
getting anywhere. Why can't they ever climb the ladder of success?
They can't even afford their own rental car or hotel room because the
NWO is taking all of the money. Eddie says La Raza has to unite as
the LWO and he has shirts for everybody. Both guys accept them and
leave with Guerrero.
Mike
Tenay is in the back with the Wolfpack. Nash says Hall isn't here
but he's going to go from bar to bar until he finds him. Cameras
are going with them.
Another
video on Sting vs. Hart.
David
Flair is in the front row and acknowledged by the announcers.
Nitro
Girls in white.
Cruiserweight
Title: Juventud Guerrera vs. Kidman
Kidman
is defending. Psychosis
works on the arm to start and wraps it around the top rope, only to
get taken down by a hiptoss. A quick northern lights suplex gets two
for the champion and Psychosis is sent outside for a nice plancha
from the champ. Back in and
Psychosis busts out a gordbuster of all things for a delayed two
count. A top rope spinwheel kick to the back of Kidman's head
(called a body attack by Tony) puts the champ down again but
Psychosis takes forever to cover a second time.
We
hit the chinlock on the champion but Kidman is quickly up with a
dropkick. That's the extent of his offense at the moment though as
Psychosis hiptosses him out to the floor and follows up with a nice
plancha. Billy gets sent into the steps and dropkicked down again as
this has been one sided for awhile now. Back in and Kidman scores
with a hard clothesline for two but walks into a suplex for the same
for Psychosis.
Back
to the chinlock from the masked man before he just stomps the heck
out of Kidman. The third chinlock doesn't last as long as Psychosis
tries a powerbomb, only to be countered into a faceplant for two. A
standing hurricanrana gets two on Kidman and a tilt-a-whirl slam gets
the same. Kidman comes right back with a sitout spinebuster for two
but walks into a moonsault press off the top. Psychosis
puts the champ on top for a hurricanrana but Kidman shoves him off
and drops the Shooting Star on Psychosis' face to retain.
Rating:
C+. Nice match here but the
ending was looked nasty. Kidman's knees landed on Psychosis' face so
it's lucky that Psychosis is even getting up. It's nice to see a
match get some time tonight instead of having them all fly by like
the earlier matches have. Kidman is getting better and better every
week.
Warrior
talks about the Wrestlemania VI main event and rambles about power.
The point is he beat Hogan before and can do it again.
Scott
Steiner takes credit for the Steiner Brothers' success.
Tenay
is chasing the Wolfpack limo as they hunt Scott Hall.
Here
are Buff Bagwell and Scott Steiner to the ring when it's supposed to
be Rick Steiner vs. Brian Adams. Scott promises to prove how great
he is at Halloween Havoc and Buff starts to bark. This brings out
Rick who reminds Bagwell that this is the building where he hurt his
neck. Buff might want to make a joke about it, but Rick has someone
who takes this seriously: Buff's MOM, Judy Bagwell.
She
gets on the apron and rips Buff apart, talking about sitting with him
in the hospital and reading the fans' letters. Buff says he made a
decision and that she and his dad couldn't eat without his support.
Judy slaps Buff in the face so Scott gets in her face. Rick takes
out Scott and Judy drags Buff out by the ear. This was so
hilariously stupid that it was awesome.
Back
from a break and we get a clip of Scott and Brian Adams double
teaming Rick.
Rick
Steiner vs. Brian Adams
This
is joined in progress with Rick in big trouble. JJ comes out and
ejects Scott as Brian hooks a chinlock. Adams walks around for
awhile before getting two off a piledriver. Slow choking ensues and
a backbreaker gets two for Adams. Rick comes back with a powerslam
and Steiner Line but walks into a boot. Luckily for him it's to the
head, meaning Steiner can easily come back with a DDT and the top
rope bulldog for the pin.
Rating:
D. Slow match here though the
high impact spots weren't bad. Rick going through the Black and
White on the way to his showdown with Scott is fine for an idea, but
they need to actually have a complete match at some point. Adams was
good in this role but he shouldn't go much higher.
Hour
#3 begins.
Tenay
and the Wolfpack go into a bar to look for Scott. No luck so the
search continues.
Time
for Hogan and Bischoff who we somehow haven't seen so far. Bischoff
brags about Hogan's physique. Hogan talks about how the Warrior has
been looking for him but it's clear that Warrior is terrified.
Warrior can come out here right now if he wants a fight but no one
appears. Hogan runs his mouth even more before they leave.
Video
on the Horsemen.
Nitro
Girls in black.
Kanyon
vs. Diamond Dallas Page
Page
gets a very quick two off a rollup before shoving Kanyon across the
ring. A belly to belly suplex gets another near fall and a forearm
puts Kanyond outside. Cue Lodi with signs begging Raven to reform
the Flock but he gets a dive from Page instead. The distraction lets
Raven come in with a Diamond Cutter to Page for two. Page fights up
and throws Kanyon into the corner for some rights and lefts but walks
into a Fameasser for two.
We
hit the chinlock on Page before he comes back with a sunset flip. A
clothesline drops Kanyon but Page can't follow up. Page hammers away
and gets two more off the Pancake but a Raven distraction lets Kanyon
grab a rollup for a near fall. Page calls for the Cutter but Lodi
and Raven run in for the DQ.
Rating:
C. Better match that I was
expecting given the first few seconds. I was worried they were going
to squash Kanyon but he got to look good at the end. I'm not sure
why they didn't let Page get a pin but it' snot the worst result in
the world. The Goldberg vs. Page match should be awesome.
Page
gets double teamed post match but Goldberg makes the save.
Hall
isn't at the second bar either.
Lenny
Lane vs. Disciple
Lane
dances around like Warrior to start and gets his head knocked off as
a result. Lenny tries snapmares and some kicks but Disciple no sells
everything, clotheslines him down and wins with the Apocalypse.
Disciple
says he's done carrying Hogan's bags because he's his own man now.
Hogan and Bischoff come out but Disciple storms past them. The two
of them head into the back and the storyline takes a sharp turn into
a nose dive. Hogan stands in front of a mirror and says everything
is falling apart. He looks up and sees Warrior standing behind him
but there's no one behind him. Hogan sees Warrior in the mirror
again (we can see him too) and begs him to come to a truce. Bischoff
can't see the Warrior and asks Hogan what he's talking about. Hogan
ignores Bischoff and keeps talking to Warrior until Bischoff tells
the cameraman to get out of here.
So
yeah, apparently Bischoff is the crazy one as only he couldn't see
Warrior. I could live with the storyline being stupid and only
existing to stroke Hogan's ego. The segments were really stupid to
start with the smoke and everything, but you could REALLY stretch and
say Warrior was attacking them under the cover of the smoke. They
had toned it down in the last few weeks and just used regular (as
regular as Warrior can get) promos to build the match but this takes
it to a level where it's stupid and bordering on insulting rather
that just eye rolling. Why do I have a feeling it's only going to
get worse too?
Tenay
follows the Wolfpac to a bar that looks a lot nicer on the inside
than on the outside. Hall is inside and Nash goes right after him.
Nash sends Hall into the mens' room. The Wolfpack follows him in a
few moments later and invite the camera in. Hall is out cold just
like you would expect him to be.
Here's
a distressed looking Bischoff with something to say. He assures us
that Hogan is just fine but has a story to tell us about a man named
Flair. Bischoff makes fun of country fans that go to Waffle Houses,
drawing a huge WE WANT FLAIR chant. Flair isn't here tonight and
Bischoff has made sure of that because Ric is a coward. This brings
out Double A who says this is a Horseman job. He's officially in
charge of head games, so let's just bring out the champ right now.
This
brings out Reid Flair in a singlet with a medal around his neck.
Eric is annoyed and says there are Flairs everywhere. Reid:
“Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeean WOO! Gene!” He's here to handle his
father's light work and steps up to Bischoff before easily taking him
down twice in a row. Bischoff goes after him but Arn gives him a
look to scare Eric off. Reid holds up the four fingers and Bischoff
doesn't know what to do.
Back
from a break with Bischoff alone in the ring, ranting about wanting
Ric Flair out here right now. Liz comes to the ring with a phone and
is told to call Ric right now. Someone answers but it's Ric's wife
Beth who yells at Eric until Ric's music comes on. He hits the ring
and takes off the jacket but here's the Black and White. Benoit,
Malenko, Mongo, Anderson and Reid hit the ring to protect Ric and the
NWO bails. David Flair gets in the ring as well to complete the
showdown. Awesome segment as the Flair vs. Bischoff showdown is
another week closer.
US
Title: Sting vs. Bret Hart
Pay
per view? What's that? The challenger Sting is alone here as the
Wolfpack is still gone from chasing Hall. Bret comes down the aisle
but turns around and heads back through the entrance. Sting gives
chase and the fight is on in the back. No match of course. Sting
sends him into a steel door and then hits him with a dry erase board.
Bret gets his jacket off and they head to the cafeteria area where
thankfully there isn't any food left.
Hart
takes over with some right hands and suplexes him through a table to
put Sting down. He goes after the leg and ankle with a chair and
pounds away with fists until Sting throws him down. Sting limps
after him and crotches Bret against the side of a door. Bret gets
away and tries to commandeer a golf card but there's no key. Sting
chokes him with a pole and puts on a Scorpion. Bret: “CHEATER!”
Security breaks it up to end the show.
Overall
Rating: C+. This was a very
angle heavy show and they worked for the most part. That being said,
the Hogan mirror stuff is just so stupid and sticks out like a sore
thumb. The NWO stuff still doesn't have an end game but at least
they're building up to a card of matches at Halloween Havoc. There
are still a lot of problems plaguing the show though.
As
has been the problem since he first turned, we really don't know why
Bret turned in the first place or why he turned again last week. The
closest we've gotten is he respects Hogan and wants to support him
but it's still a problem in the whole story. We know they're
feuding, but there's really no backstory other than one guy turned on
the other after being together for no apparent reason. It's
not confusing and you can figure it out well enough now, but it was a
confusing few months leading up without an actual reason for any of
it happening.
The
wrestling wasn't the focus here and that's fine. Kidman vs.
Psychosis was a decent enough match but it was just there to have a
longer match. This show still needs to be back at two hours as
there's too much meaningless filler. There was only one really bad
part tonight and the pure awesomeness of Judy Bagwell brings this one
home.
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
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