WCW Monday Nitro 02-12-96

Attendance: 6,000 (1,000 paid) Tickets were compliments of Dr. Harvey Schiller, George Steinbrenner, and the Florida State Fair.

Hosted by Eric Bischoff, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and Steve “Mongo” McMichael

Since RAW is pre-empted for the Westminster Dog Show I don’t like the chances that this show will deliver.

Stills from SuperBrawl are shown beginning with the Respect match. According to Eric, Brian Pillman is “history.” Following that are stills of the World title match then the Hogan-Giant match. If you’re wondering why stills are inserted here rather than footage is because in 1996 PPV wasn’t available 24/7 with numerous channels on every system. If my math is correct only DirecTV had that capability. Anyways, the object was to see the stills and buy the replay if it appealed to you.

My Spidey sense was tingling, and rightfully so. Eric noted that NEXT WEEK Savage will get his return match for the WCW World title against Flair rather than THIS WEEK.
Clothesline in the corner by Morrus.
Double axe handle by Savage.
Remember back in my Bash at the Beach review I mentioned that WCW wrestlers participated in an episode of Baywatch? Well, it aired on 2/19 in syndication.
Outside the ring Savage rammed Morrus head-first into the ring post.
Vertical suplex by Morrus.
Back elbow by Savage.
After a slam Morrus mounted the top turnbuckle but missed the No Laughing Matter.
After a slam Savage mounted the top turnbuckle and hit the big elbow.
Make that twice.
1-2-3.

Summary: Showcase match for Savage as he prepares for his rematch next week.

After the match Savage mounts the top turnbuckle, but Morrus escapes. Savage gets on the mic and calls out Flair.

At the entrance “Mean” Gene Okerlund interviews Steve Grissom of WCW Motorsports. Footage of the WCW car is shown.

For those unaware Loch Ness was a British wrestler named Martin Ruane who was better known as Giant Haystacks. He stood 6’11” and weighed 685 pounds. Unfortunately for Ruane he would die from cancer in 1998.
Dropkick by Riggs.
He then mounted the top turnbuckle and hit a missile dropkick.
Riggs mounted the top turnbuckle again, tried to hit a cross-body, but Loch Ness forgot to catch him. Oops.
MASSIVE elbow drop by Loch Ness.
Make that 2.
1-2-3.

Gene interviews Ric Flair who lies in a hospital bed alongside Woman and Elizabeth. The former Mrs. Poffo subtly hints that she wore Flair out last night. As frenetic as a hummingbird Flair pops out of the bed, struts with a woman on each arm, and thencuts a promo on Savage. Elizabeth runs down Savage for her treatment during her seven years in the business but she left with half of everything. According to her last night she took it all. Woo!

Be sure to catch the encore presentation of WCW SuperBrawl tomorrow night only on PPV.

Dropkick by Storm.
Baseball slide.
Storm took a page out of Sabu’s playbook by setting up a steel chair in the ring and hitting a springboard somersault plancha. Wow!
Dropkick from the apron to the floor by Storm.
He then placed Konnan on the steel chair, moved the steel steps into position, and flew at Konnan. The US champion caught him and gave him a powerbomb on the concrete floor. OUCH!
Clothesline by Konnan.
He then flipped over the top rope from the apron back into the ring. Following that he gave Storm a flying head scissors.
Make that 2.
Splash mountain.
George Steinbrenner was shown sitting in the front row.
Springboard leg lariat by Storm.
As Eric issued a public apology to the WWF for implying that they sabotaged the show last week Storm tried a sunset flip from the apron to the floor, but Konnan reversed it into another head scissors.
Top rope huracanrana by Storm countered into a tremendous powerbomb.
1-2-3.

Summary: Excellent work by both men to chain the spots together. Better days were ahead for Storm.

Unlike SuperBrawl, Arn’s actually wearing his wrestling gear tonight.
Ten-punch count-along by Hogan.
Running clothesline in the corner by Arn…no-sold by Hogan. Sigh.
Pair of clotheslines by Hogan.
Axe bomber.
Out on the floor Arn attempted a piledriver. Hogan countered that into a catapult sending Arn into the ring post.
He then rammed Arn shoulder-first into the ring post.
Next he rammed the arm twice into the ring post.
After asking referee Nick Patrick to check with the timekeeper Hogan choked Arn with his wrist tape.
Atomic drop.
Belly-to-back suplex.
Pair of elbow drops.
Axe bomber #2.
After nailing Hogan with a back elbow Arn slowly mounted the top turnbuckle. Hogan caught him causing Arn to temporarily straddle the top rope then land on the apron.
As Arn worked on Hogan’s eye Flair and Elizabeth came to the ring.
Spinebuster!
Huge kick-out by Hogan.
Hulk-up time.
Big boot.
Hogan strutted to mess with Flair.
Figure-four leg lock by Hogan.
Flair ran in but got hooked in an inside cradle.
With Patrick trying to remove Flair from the ring Woman got up on the apron and tossed powder in Hogan’s eyes.
Meanwhile Elizabeth handed Arn her high-heeled boot.
Arn walloped Hogan with it and…got the pin!
UPSET CITY! TAKE THE COURT!

Summary: Two out of the last three weeks Hogan has lost on Nitro. Wow! Along with beating Flair at Fall Brawl I believe this was one of Arn’s greatest victories.

The party doesn’t last long as Hogan gets up and rams both Flair and Arn’s heads together. He then gives each a big boot as Savage runs in to assist Hogan. When Savage spots Flair he hits him with a steel chair. He keeps tossing Flair and Arn back into the ring for more punishment from Hogan. He and Hogan then double-team Flair with a chair.

Flair invades the broadcast table and trashes Hogan and Savage using the word “ass.” Arn savors his victory until Hogan and Savage chase them away. Gene follows them and interviews them there. Hogan accepts Arn’s challenge for another match next week and gives the no more Mr. Nice Guy speech.

Conclusion: Being unopposed I thought Nitro would stink on Melba toast, but I was wrong. This was another hot program with a huge upset at the end. If you’ve never seen Arn beat Hogan then do yourself a favor and check this out. When RAW returns next week, Nitro ought to be very interesting.

In other news during this week in wrestling history Sherri Martel was fired from WCW back on 2/5; hence, this explained why she wasn’t at SuperBrawl. I don’t think her days in WCW are over however.

Also Vince McMahon filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding Turner (TBS/TNT) not just WCW. Details of the complaint include:

Putting Nitro in the same time slot as RAW.
Beginning the show early and letting it run long which was unprecedented at this time.
Alleged contract tampering (Lex Luger, Diesel, Bushwhackers, and Carl Oulette).
Gaining syndicated timeslots by dangling CNN.
Charging less for advertising causing the WWF to do so as well.
Name-calling on Nitro.
Fabricated stories on the 900 line.
He also claimed that the Billionaire Ted skits were aimed at Time-Warner shareholders in order to make them aware of the predatory business practices of Turner. An immediate consequence of Vince’s complaint was Eric’s apology during the show. Although blood appeared at WWF In Your House V (and the replay of its main event on RAW) Vince also wrote to WCW asking them to stop blading/self-mutilation. As you are aware the next time blood appeared on a WWF PPV would be at WrestleMania XIII in 1997 during the Austin-Bret match.

Lastly the “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith was acquitted in his trial for aggravated assault in Calgary, Alberta.