Monday Night War week 49

Hosted by Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, Eric Bischoff, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

According to Tony, it is a dark day in WCW because Hollywood Hogan became the WCW World Champion once again and desecrated the belt by spray-painting “NWO” on it. Zbyszko calls out the WCW wrestlers for allowing this to happen. We then see still photos from the PPV. Tony questions referee Nick Patrick’s intentions after getting accidentally nailed by Hall when he was in Luger’s Torture Rack.

INTERESTING TIDBIT: Meltzer noted that due to power issues around the country, the buyrate for Hog Wild may suffer. How does WCW respond? RETURN MATCHES! There will be three tonight. I fear for RAW’s rating.

Match 1 (eight-man): The Taskmaster, Hugh Morrus, Meng, & the Barbarian (w/ Jimmy Hart & Big Bubba Rogers) versus High Voltage & Rough’n’Ready

To begin the match, Rogers tossed his beverage at Kaos so that Morrus could clothesline him out of his boots.
After a cross-corner whip by Morrus, he came up empty on his follow-through.
Rage then tagged in, and High Voltage delivered a double shoulder block to Morrus.
The Faces of Fear then came in and gave Rage a double back drop.
Following that, Slater came in and gave Barbarian a back elbow.
After a flying clothesline by Enos, Barbarian reversed an Irish whip and gave him a Mafia kick for only 2 thanks to a save by Slater.
Rage tagged back in, but Barbarian picked him up and tied him to the Tree of Woe.
Cue the Taskmaster who’s not even dressed to wrestle.
All eight men were in the ring.
Meng then whipped Rage to the corner, but Rage leaped to the top turnbuckle only to miss a flying body press.
A subsequent Mafia kick by Meng got the pin.

After the match, Rough’n’Ready toss Kaos outside the ring then deliver a double belly-to-back suplex to Rage. So much for that partnership.

This Thursday, Clash of the Champions XXXIII will air on TBS. Suddenly, Luger and Sting interrupt the promo and want to challenge the Outsiders to a rematch RIGHT NOW. But RAW hasn’t even started yet!

Glacier is still coming. What’s taking this guy so long? His dinner must be ICE COLD by now.

This was a rematch from Fall Brawl ’95 back when Renegade was TV champion.
Tony shills COTC with the main event being Hogan versus Flair for the World title. Now I understand why Hogan was running down Flair at Hog Wild.
Shoulder block off the ropes by DDP didn’t faze the Renegade.
After missing one clothesline, DDP successfully clotheslined him a second time immediately afterward.
Upon giving Renegade a swinging neckbreaker, DDP got 2.
Like a good heel, DDP put his feet on the ropes while applying a reverse chin lock.
After Renegade escaped, DDP whipped him into the corner but came up empty on his follow-through.
Quickly, Renegade rolled him up and got 2.
He then gave DDP a pair of clotheslines.
However, when he attempted a vertical suplex, DDP escaped, hit the Diamond Cutter, and got the pin.

Summary: Another showcase match for DDP who will face Eddie Guerrero on Thursday.

Meanwhile, back in the nWo dressing room, Hogan joins Nash and Hall on the sofa. In the meantime, Hall is wearing an anti-WCW t-shirt. Nash then dismisses Sting & Luger’s challenge saying that they’ll do things when they want to do them rather than being called out. Nest, they hint at their fourth member but don’t show him.

On WCW Saturday Night, the Four Horsemen compete in an eight-man tag match against High Voltage, Renegade, and Joe Gomez. Also, former WCW World champion Giant faces Jim Powers (aired 8/17, taped 8/13).

Speaking of Powers, he gets a shot at Konnan here.
At the onset, Powers took down Konnan with a clothesline.
Upon giving Konnan a hip toss, Powers followed with a slam.
A subsequent clothesline forced Konnan to exit the ring to regroup.
However, when Konnan got up on the apron, Powers brought him in the hard way.
Konnan then came back by bouncing Power’s head off the mat.
Next, he followed with a seated dropkick.
In support of Powers, the Casper faithful chanted “USA.”
Konnan then gave Powers a cross-corner whip but ate boot on his follow-through.
Powers capitalized by giving Konnan the top-turnbuckle count-along.
Upon giving Konnan a shot to the midsection, Powers delivered a knee lift.
Afterward, he gave Konnan a dropkick.
He then gave Konnan a cross-corner whip but ate a mule kick on his follow-through.
Konnan then pinned Powers with his feet on the ropes.

Summary: Tony mentioned during the match that Konnan was basically turning heel, and this match proved it.

After the match, “Mean” Gene Okerlund interviews Konnan. Despite being a heel, Konnan still supports WCW.

Match 4: The “Crippler” Chris Benoit (w/ Woman & Elizabeth) versus Ron Studd

Elizabeth was wearing that leather dress from Saturday again. Slurp!
Benoit is facing Studd in preparation for his match against Giant on Thursday. The discrepancy in size between these two is quite substantial as Studd is 7’2” while Benoit is somewhere between 5’8” and 5’11”.
After giving Benoit a cross-corner whip, Studd ate boot on his follow-through.
Upon giving Studd a dropkick to the knee, Benoit worked on his left leg.
He then dragged Studd to the corner and wrapped his left leg around the ring post twice.
As Benoit attempted a knee crusher, Studd hammered him then followed with a slam.
He then mounted the top turnbuckle, but Benoit caught him with a dropkick.
Benoit then followed him then gave him a superplex. Wow!
1-2-3.

After the match, Okerlund interviews Benoit with Woman and Elizabeth. He then narrates highlights of the Malenko-Benoit match from Hog Wild and compliments Benoit on it. Afterward, Benoit cuts a promo on Giant.

We then revisit stills from the World tag team title match at Hog Wild. No mention of the hostile crowd reaction was made.

The second hour begins as Bischoff returns to the broadcast table. A sober Heenan asks about his disappearance last week, but Bischoff responds that he was “taking care of some business.” Hmmm…

Match 5 for the WCW World tag team titles: Harlem Heat (champions w/ Sister Sherri & Colonel Parker) versus the Steiners

As the bell rang, Scott gave Booker T a back drop.
After giving Booker T some knees to the midsection, Scott delivered a powerslam.
Following that, he gave Booker T an overhead belly-to-belly suplex.
Booker T then left the ring to regroup.
Shortly after, Rick reversed an Irish whip from Stevie Ray, gave him a back drop, and got 2.
Just prior to the commercial break, Scott tagged back in and gave Stevie Ray a dropkick.
When we returned, Rick blocked a vertical suplex attempt by Booker T then gave him one of his own.
Again, Booker T left the ring to regroup. Rick followed him but got ambushed by Stevie Ray.
While Scott distracted referee Nick Patrick, Stevie Ray slammed Rick on the floor.
Back in the ring, Booker T attempted a leap frog, but Rick countered with a powerslam for 2.
Scott tagged back in and gave Booker T a butterfly bomb, but Stevie Ray made the save.
All four men were in the ring.
After giving Booker T an inverted atomic drop, Scott clotheslined him over the top rope to the floor.
When Patrick was placing Rick back into his corner, Scott attempted to suplex Booker T back into the ring. Sherri tripped Scott to assist her team.
As she held Scott’s foot, Rick chased Parker into the ring as Parker tripped over Scott causing the DQ.

We then revisit the aftermath of the motorcycle destruction match as Madusa destroys Nakano’s Honda then pushes it down.

After that, more stills from Hog Wild are shown as we revisit the Cruiserweight title match.

Match 6 for the WCW Cruiserweight title: Rey Mysterio Jr. (champion) versus Ultimo Dragon (w/ Sonny Onoo)

Series of kicks by Dragon sent Mysterio down to the mat.
He followed with a spinning over-the-shoulder backbreaker then dropped down for 2. OUCH!
Next, Dragon gave Mysterio a cross-corner whip followed by a handspring back elbow.
Afterward, he delivered a running powerbomb.
He then mounted the top turnbuckle but ate boot on the way down.
Mysterio then gave him a springboard flying headscissors that caused Dragon to fall out of the ring.
Following that, Mysterio hit a somersault plancha. Sweet!
Back in the ring, Mysterio gave Dragon a cross-corner whip, but Dragon floated over him.
Mysterio then attempted a springboard cross body block, but Dragon countered with a dropkick.
With Mysterio outside the ring, Dragon gave him a mule kick then followed with a tope suicida. Wow!
Back in the ring, Dragon delivered a tiger suplex with a bridge for almost 3.
After a slam, Dragon mounted the top turnbuckle again and hit a moonsault for another 2.
He then hit Mysterio with an Asai moonsault then attempted a powerbomb.
Mysterio countered with a sunset flip and got the pin.
Mysterio retained.

Summary: For a short match, these guys put everything and a jar of mustard into it. Seek this one out STAT.

As Heenan described the replay, he was disgusted that they named this town after a ghost. HA!

We then revisit stills of the match between Flair and Guerrero from Saturday night.

Match 7 for the WCW US title: “Nature Boy” Ric Flair (champion w/ Woman & Elizabeth) versus “Macho Man” Randy Savage

After an initial brawl, Savage gave Flair a cross-corner whip followed by a back drop.
Upon receiving a series of right hands, a Flair flop resulted.
Flair then exited the ring to regroup, but Savage followed him. Flair tried to use Elizabeth as a shield, but, luckily for her, she moved out of the way before Savage nailed Flair with a double axe handle.
Savage then made Flair taste the steel railing. It must have tasted like the Whiskey Piggy at J’s Pub & Grill.
Immediately, Flair retaliated with a shot down SOUTH.
After a commercial break, Savage leaned over the second rope, and Elizabeth slapped the TASTE out of his mouth. Oh my!
After another cross-corner whip by Savage resulted in back drop #2, Savage mounted the top turnbuckle.
He then hit Flair with a double axe handle.
Again, Savage mounted the top turnbuckle but received a shot to the midsection on the way down.
Flair then gave Savage a chop block then tossed Savage outside the ring.
While Flair distracted referee Randy Anderson, Woman put the high heels to Savage.
Back in the ring, Flair gave Savage a knee crusher then followed with a rope-assisted figure-four leg lock.
Savage reversed it so Flair released the hold.
Following that, a belly-to-back suplex by Flair got 2.
After a double axe handle, Flair mounted the top turnbuckle.
Of course, (sing it with me) ♬...he came down the haaaaaaaaaaaard waaaaaaaay!...♬
Savage then gave him a cross-corner whip that resulted in a Flair flip.
Flair caught his balance on the apron, but Savage clotheslined him.
When Anderson separated Savage from Flair, Flair tried to clothesline Savage; however, he nailed Anderson instead.
Afterward, Savage clotheslined Flair over the top rope to the floor.
He then mounted the top turnbuckle and delivered a double axe handle to Flair on the floor.
After giving Flair a back drop on the floor, Savage removed a section of the padding exposing the concrete.
Nevertheless, when he attempted to piledrive Flair on the concrete, Hogan came to the ring and WALLOPED him in the back with a chair.
Next, Hogan gave him an unprotected chair shot to the head.
After Nick Patrick signaled for the trainer for Anderson, Hogan tossed Savage back into the ring.
Flair re-entered the ring, made the lateral press, and got the pin with his feet on the ropes and assistance from Woman.

Summary: I hate to rate this so low, but obviously, this was more angle than match.

After the match, Bischoff speculates that Flair may have joined the nWo because Hogan never touched him. We then revisit stills from the Hog Wild main event followed by the birthday celebration.

At the entrance, Okerlund interviews the NEW WCW World champion Hollywood Hogan. When Okerlund asks Hogan about Flair, he wants Flair primed and ready for the Clash on Thursday. He then refers to Flair as the “stupid little man.”

When we return from commercial, we revisit the attack on WCW from 2 weeks ago in Florida. What happened to the proposed Giant versus Arn Anderson match?

After Bischoff questioned their whereabouts, the Outsiders entered through the crowd.
Upon his entrance, Luger came to the ring without Sting.
The Outsiders tried to nail him, but Luger ducked and retaliated with a double clothesline.
He then gave Hall a cross-corner whip straight into Nash.
Luger followed with the ten-punch count-along to Nash, but only got to 5.
That’s because he leaped at Hall and gave him a flying forearm.
Sting then came through the crowd, mounted the top turnbuckle, and hit Nash with a flying clothesline.
Following that, he clotheslined Nash over the top rope to the floor.
While Hall tried to enter the ring on one side, Nash tried the other only to eat a dropkick from Sting.
Luger then leaped from the apron at Hall on the floor but ate a shot to the midsection.
Next, Sting gave Nash a plancha.
He then made Nash taste the steel railing. It must have tasted like the Chic-a-Doodle-Doo at the Cottage Café.
All four men were in the ring as Nash gave Sting the big boot.
Afterward, Nash tossed Sting over the top rope to the floor.
Will referee Nick Patrick disqualify them? No, because supposedly Hall distracted him.
Nash then gave Luger a sidewalk slam.
Afterward, Sting delivered a double clothesline to the Outsiders.
Upon giving Nash a dropkick, Sting gave Hall a face plant.
He then gave Nash a Stinger splash, but when he tried to give one to Hall, Patrick pulled Hall out of the way. SNEAKY!
The Four Horsemen then ran to the ring to chase the Outsiders from the ring.

At the entrance, Okerlund interviews the Four Horsemen. Flair says he doesn’t like Luger and Sting, but he’ll “play ball” with them since they’re WCW. He then cuts a promo on the nWo.

Conclusion: Skip the first hour, and this is a great show. Great storytelling with the Patrick turn combined with an excellent Dragon-Mysterio match make this a must-see Nitro. What’s on RAW?

Vince notifies us that Ahmed Johnson had emergency surgery to repair his kidney. He then wishes Johnson a complete and rapid recovery.

Speaking of Sunny, Lawler promised us a “peek at her figure.”
After manhandling Skip, Faarooq tossed him over the top rope to the floor.
He then joined Skip outside the ring and delivered a clothesline.
Back in the ring, Skip tried a cross body block, but Faarooq caught him and delivered a fallaway slam.
After a body slam, Faarooq gave Skip a diving head butt. To make matters worse, Faarooq was wearing a gladiator’s helmet. OUCH!
According to Vince, Roberts will face Lawler at Summerslam.
Faarooq attempted slam #2, but Skip hooked an inside cradle for the pin.
UPSET CITY!
Oh, wait, he only got 2. Hey! Vince does it all the time. Why shouldn’t I?
After a powerslam by Faarooq, he reversed a cross-corner whip and delivered powerslam #2.
He then gave Skip a Dominator for the pin.

We then revisit last week’s episode when Lawler beat then humiliated Montoya. Roberts is on the phone and is ready to “crush” Lawler.

As opposed to the vibrant color-wearing, mullet-wearing Crush, we saw over a year ago, Crush had braided long hair and wore dark denim.
Mason joined the broadcast team for this match.
After guillotining Vega while using the top rope, he draped Vega across the apron, leaped from it, and nailed him.
Outside the ring, Crush rammed Vega shoulder-first into the ring post.
Back in the ring, Crush slammed Vega, mounted the second turnbuckle, but missed a fist drop.
Vega then ducked a clothesline and gave Crush a face plant.
Upon giving Vega a leg drop, Crush gave Vega a cross-corner whip.
Unfortunately, he came up empty on his follow through then fell victim to a rollup for 2.
After a commercial break, Crush held Vega in a camel clutch.
Vega came back with a cross body block for 2.
Crush then retaliated with a big boot for 2.
Shortly afterward, a standing crescent kick by Vega sent Crush down to the mat.
After Vega missed a spinning heel kick, Crush rammed him shoulder-first into the ring post.
He then applied the full nelson and got the submission.

Summary: Showcase match for the returning Crush. Mason’s commentary didn’t help this dog either. To save the segment, Vince finished with a federal prosecutor joke.

We then revisit last week where Undertaker and Mankind fought both inside and outside the ring. Afterward, we get a promo for the boiler room brawl at Summerslam this Sunday.

Shot in silhouette behind a screen, Sunny removes her clothes while advertising the Bikini Beach Blast-Off on the Free for All prior to Summerslam.

We then revisit RAW from two weeks ago when Johnson suffered a ruptured kidney. “Against doctor’s orders,” according to McMahon, Johnson won a battle royal last week. We then see Johnson in the hospital in Houston, TX. Afterward, Kevin Kelly interviews Johnson. In kayfabe, Johnson describes how the injury occurred. Ultimately, he’s unsure about his future.

For those unaware, Who was portrayed by Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. True to form, he wasn’t on first.
Mr. Bob Backlund joined the broadcast team for this match and blathered on throughout it.
Henry blocked a hip toss by Who then gave him one of his own.
Hopper tagged in but received a slam from Phineas.
Fittingly, a woman in the second row yawned. I feel her pain.
After ringing Hopper’s bell, Phineas gave Hopper an elbow smash.
Who tagged in and along with Hopper gave Phineas a back drop.
Afterward, Who gave Phineas a HARD cross-corner whip hurting Phineas’ back.
While Backlund yells on commentary, Hopper gave Phineas a backbreaker.
Thank goodness, Backlund left. According to Vince, Backlund will introduce a new wrestler in the WWF soon. Oh goody.
Meanwhile, Phineas reversed a vertical suplex and gave Hopper one of his own.
WWF President Gorilla Monsoon was shown in split-screen and vacated the Intercontinental title due to Johnson’s injury. Interestingly, that left Faarooq off the PPV.
Meanwhile, after a big boot, Henry delivered an elbow drop to Who for 1 as Hopper made the save.
Who and Hopper each gave a Godwinn a cross-corner whip, but the Godwinns performed a do-si-do and nailed their counterparts.
All four men were in the ring.
After Phineas sent Hopper outside the ring, Henry gave Who the Slop Drop and got the pin.

Summary: Nice to know Neidhart had not only a job but to job. Match was worthless otherwise.

After the match, Monsoon declares a tournament for the Intercontinental title starting next week on RAW.

On the Wrestle Vessel, Mr. Perfect interviews Bret who wants to speak his mind about his return with an open microphone as he has a LOT to get off his chest.

Backstage, Cornette and Vader are encouraging Owen in his quest to beat Michaels tonight. In fact, both Cornette and Owen walk through the gorilla position to the ring.

Prior to the next match, we see scenes from last Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 1996 Summer Olympian Mark Henry participated much to Hunter Hearst Helmsley’s chagrin.

Match 4 (non-title): WWF Champion the “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels (w/ Jose Lothario) versus the “Rocket” Owen Hart (w/ Jim Cornette)

As Michaels made his entrance, in split-screen, he was shown on the set of Baywatch. He appeared on the episode subtitled “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” which aired 11/4/96.
After each man kipped up, Owen slapped the taste out of Michaels’ mouth.
Michaels then countered an impending enziguri with a double leg sweep.
Next, Owen tried to toss Michaels over the top rope to the floor, but Michaels held on.
When Owen noticed this, Michaels gave him a headscissors sending him down to the floor.
Subsequently, Michaels celebrated by skinning the cat back into the ring.
Quickly, he followed with a plancha. Sweet!
When Owen flipped over Michaels to re-enter the ring, he missed a spinning heel kick.
A subsequent cross body block by Michaels got 2.
In split-screen, the video of Owen’s enziguri that took Michaels out of action at the end of ’95 was shown.
Nonetheless, Michaels blocked a hip toss then gave Owen one of his own.
After a slam, Owen missed a forearm smash. If you recall, Owen was still sporting a cast on his left arm.
Michaels then reversed a cross-corner whip sending Owen sternum-first into the top turnbuckle followed by a clothesline for 2.
Owen came back with a belly-to-belly suplex followed by a backbreaker.
After a commercial break, Owen delivered backbreaker #2 then applied a camel clutch.
Michaels escaped but ate a spinning heel kick for 2.
In case you’ve been under a rock for the last three weeks, we get a split-screen shot of the Vader bomb from the last PPV.
To show how comatose this crowd was, another woman yawned like it past her bedtime.
Meanwhile, Michaels hooked a somersault rollup and got 2.
Owen came back with a clothesline and leg drop.
After a swinging neckbreaker, Owen mounted the top turnbuckle and hit a missile dropkick.
During the commercial break, the Stridex Biggest Slam of the Week was Sid powerbombing Marty Jannetty on Superstars (aired 8/10, taped 7/23).
After the commercials, Owen mocked Michaels but missed an enziguri.
Michaels then leveled him with a flying forearm.
Upon giving Owen a powerslam, Michaels mounted the top turnbuckle and hit the big elbow.
He then signaled for Sweet Chin Music.
Vader came to the ring and got up on the apron, but Michaels dropkicked him to the floor.
He then grazed Owen with Sweet Chin Music but nailed Owen with Sweet Chin Music #2.
1-2-3.

Summary: A NON-title match during the Monday Night War? Seriously? While they paid a tiny bit of homage to their previous encounter back in February, they should have at least made this a title match.

Afterward, Vader grabs a chair and enters the ring. To counteract that, Michaels pulls Owen’s cast off. Upon Cornette’s tossing Owen his tennis racquet, Michaels kicks Owen causing him to lose the racquet. Michaels grabs it and nails Owen in the head. Vader then levels Michaels with a clothesline. After giving Michaels a short-arm clothesline, Vader slams him in preparation for the Vader bomb. He then hits it then tosses referee Mike Chioda between the ropes to the floor. To prove he’s the man, Vader delivers Vader bomb #2. Before Vader could give Michaels a moonsault, we’re outta time!

Conclusion: This whole set of tapings was three shows each containing fifty-five minutes of junk to get to something good. RAW deserves to get its butt kicked this week for this drivel.

Who won? Nitro won by a LANDSLIDE! Thanks in part to the aforementioned West Coast power outage knocking out the availability of the PPV on Saturday and to a stacked show against RAW, Nitro demolished RAW this week. The WWF has to start programming their content better before WCW begins to devastate RAW in the ratings. The Intercontinental tournament is a good idea, but does it help to right the ship?