Monday Night War week 1

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

In spite of being in the proverbial doghouse Vader is still in the introduction.

The “match of the century” according to Bischoff will take place tonight—Hulk Hogan versus Lex Luger! Mongo makes an ‘80s Wendy’s reference, and we thought Vince McMahon was out of touch. They show the end of last week’s episode where Luger asks for a title shot and Hogan agrees.

Bischoff announces that Vader is AWOL and won’t be part of WarGames at Fall Brawl.

Sabu made his debut in WCW! I bet Paul Heyman was none too thrilled about that.
Springboard elbow from Sabu.
Headscissors from Sabu took both men over the top rope to the floor.
Baseball slide by Sabu.
Plancha by Sabu.
Sabu rammed Wright into the steel railing. Tasted like the Prime Tomahawk rib eye at Toro Toro.
He then set up a chair, used it as a springboard, but ate the steel railing himself as Wright evaded him. He’ll take the Colorado lamb chops to accompany Wright’s meal.
Standing dropkick by Wright on the floor.
Missile dropkick by Wright.
Baseball slide by Wright.
Plancha by Wright.
Sabu mounted the top turnbuckle but got caught.
Top rope superplex by Wright. Wow!
Springboard leg lariat by Sabu.
Backflip from the top turnbuckle by Wright immediately transitioned to a German suplex.
Wright mounted the top turnbuckle only to get caught.
What the hell was that? Sabu took Wright down from the top turnbuckle awkwardly.
Whatever it was (victory roll, huracanrana, whatever) got the pin.

Summary: Fast-paced match to warm up the crowd. That botch at the end looked bad though.

After the match Sabu kicks Wright out of the ring, makes him eat the apron, and sets up a table on the floor. He then mounts the top turnbuckle and drives Wright through the table. E-C-W! E-C-W! Referee Nick Patrick reverses the decision.

“Mean” Gene Okerlund is in the ring and interviews “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Flair cuts a great promo on Arn Anderson. Suddenly Lex Luger interrupts. Flair sells him like a used car. What was the point of Luger being there? Supposedly to join the Horsemen?

VK? What happened to Michael? Obviously he was named after Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
Eric disses WWF Monday Night RAW by giving away the finish to its main event, but I won’t.
Wallstreet has dollar signs on his singlet.
Hip toss and a pair of dropkicks by Sting.
Mongo referred to the WWF as “the bush leagues.”
Springboard shoulder block by Sting.
Running clothesline by Sting.
Stinger splash.
Sting mounted the top turnbuckle and hits the flying cross-body block for the pin.

Disco Inferno debuts on WCW Saturday Night. Have your disco ball and leisure suit ready.

Norton converted a sunset flip attempt by Savage into a choke takedown.
Savage clotheslined Norton over the top rope to the floor.
He then mounted the top turnbuckle and delivered the double axe handle.
He mounted it again and got caught in a bear hug.
Powerbomb by Norton.
A pair of backbreakers and a gorilla press slam by Norton.
Powerslam by Norton.
Flying shoulder block by Norton sent Savage to the floor.
Norton gave Savage a DDT from the apron into the ring.
He then mounted the top rope but came down face-first thanks to Savage.
Savage rallied while members of the Dungeon of Doom Shark and Kamala came to the ring.
Norton ran into them putting Shark atop his legs.
Savage then mounted the top turnbuckle and dropped the big elbow.
1-2-3 Savage won.

Summary: You were not going to see two wrestlers debut and lose in the same show without some protection; therefore, a screwy finish was necessary here.

Sullivan, Meng, and Zodiac join the rest of the Dungeon of Doom to chase Savage from the ring.

Match 4 for the WCW World title: Hulk Hogan (champion w/ Jimmy Hart) versus Lex Luger

Key lock by Hogan.
Vertical suplex by Hogan…no-sold by Luger.
Vertical suplex by Luger…no-sold by Hogan.
Mongo made an NFL comment that didn’t come off well.
As Hogan delivered a clothesline to Luger in the corner Eric referred to Luger as a WWF midcarder.
Powerslam by Luger.
Torture Rack by Luger.
Will Hogan submit!
NO! Luger dropped him prematurely.
Hulk-up time!
Big boot.
Leg drop.
The members of the Dungeon of Doom run in to cheat Hogan out of a pinfall victory.

Summary: Originally Vader was supposed to wrestle Hogan here and win the title; however, with Vader out of the picture and Luger having just returned to WCW the trigger could not be pulled. At least Luger had a fighter’s chance. I hope these two have another encounter in the future.

After the match Sting and Savage run in to assist Hogan with fending off the Dungeon of Doom attack. Interestingly the members of the Dungeon of Doom do not attack Luger.

After a commercial break Gene interviews Hogan about the 4-3 disadvantage for his WarGames team. Hogan and Savage call Luger out, but Sting sides with the former Narcissist. Even Jimmy Hart has to stand up for himself. While Sting votes yes for Luger, Savage votes no. Hogan makes the offer to Luger and he accepts with the promise of another title shot down the line.

Next week “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff will face Johnny B. Badd. Also the Blue Bloods will face the winner of the Nasty Boys/American Males match on the Main Event.

Conclusion: The concept of four matches in an hour sounds good on paper, but the last three matches definitely seemed rushed. Once again Nitro provides a solid show. Since they only promised some midcard matches for next week I wonder if the audience will watch it or switch the channel.

Highlights from Summerslam ’95 and the ladder match between HBK and Razor Ramon are shown. If you’ve never seen this match, check it out. It’s incredibly solid.

Excellent opener featuring wrestlers going at it on the roof of Titan Towers. Overheard were shouts of “Hey, that’s my spot! No, that’s mine! Long live the Clique!”

Match 1: “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith (w/ Jim Cornette) versus Razor Ramon

Freshly heel-turned Bulldog got his mane cut. After all heels don’t wear dreadlocks.
Ramon clotheslined Bulldog over the top rope to the floor.
Delayed vertical suplex by Bulldog.
Military press slam by Bulldog.
Ramon blocked a powerslam attempt.
Bulldog mounted the top turnbuckle, got caught, and came down the hard way.
Fallaway slam by Ramon.
Referee Tim White got bumped.
Razor’s Edge.
Dean Douglas ran in, mounted the top turnbuckle, and delivered a knee to the back of Ramon.
The 1-2-3 Kid tried to assist Ramon, but Douglas demolished him.
Powerslam by Bulldog.
The 1-2-3 Kid mounted the top turnbuckle but landed on Ramon.
What’s the decision?
Apparently since the 1-2-3 Kid accidentally hit Ramon, Bulldog got the victory.

Summary: I’m not exactly sure why Ramon didn’t do the job here as Bulldog was getting the big push.

After the match Bulldog military presses the 1-2-3 Kid and gives him a stungun. After a commercial break Vince interviews both the 1-2-3 Kid and Ramon. The 1-2-3 Kid challenges Ramon to a match next week. Ramon states that he made the 1-2-3 Kid “famous.”

Also next week WWF tag team champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna will face Men on a Mission.

For those who are unaware Rad Radford was the late Louie Spicolli.
After Radford and Brawler missed a double clothesline on Bart, Billy delivered a slingshot double clothesline thanks to Bart.
Each Gunn delivered a dropkick.
Billy executed a swinging neckbreaker to Brawler.
After Radford put a knee to the back of Bart the Brawler clotheslined Bart.
Hangman’s neckbreaker from Radford to Bart.
Brawler mounted the top turnbuckle but got caught and came down the hard way.
Sidewinder by the Gunns.

Summary: Good match to showcase the Gunns, but Nitro had a more competitive match going on.

Highlights of Summerslam are shown where Lawler assisted Yankem in his feud with Bret “Hitman” Hart.

While Isaac would redefine himself in 1997 as Kane Scott Taylor would transform into Scotty Too Hotty in 1999. Unfortunately for Scott he was just enhancement talent in 1995.
Scott obviously stole his singlet from Rob Van Dam’s locker.
Chokeslam by Yankem.
Hangman choke by Yankem.
Stungun by Yankem.
DDT (nicknamed the DDS) by Yankem secured the pin.

Summary: You could hear a pin drop in the arena while this match took place. Better things were on the horizon for Glenn Jacobs.

Todd Pettengill shills WWF In Your House 3 on September 24. Triple Header match will be the main event. WWF Champion Diesel teams with Intercontinental champion Shawn Michaels against WWF tag team champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna. All titles will be on the line. Additionally Razor Ramon will face Dean Douglas. Bret “Hitman” Hart will face Jean-Pierre Lafitte. Bam Bam Bigelow will face the British Bulldog. Lastly Savio Vega will face Waylon Mercy.

Match 4 for the Intercontinental title: “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels versus Psycho Sid (w/ Ted DiBiase)

Dropkick by Michaels.
Flying clothesline by Michaels.
As Michaels came off the ropes Sid shoved him in order to send him over the top rope, but Michaels skinned the cat back in.
Michaels then gave Sid a dropkick sending him through the ropes to the floor.
Dominator by Sid.
A cross-corner whip by Sid placed Michaels atop the top rope. Sid punted him to the apron then clotheslined him to the floor.
Sid vaulted Michaels only to drop him chin-first to the apron.
While Sid distracted referee Earl Hebner DiBiase put the boots to Michaels.
After a commercial break Sid had Michaels in a bear hug.
Chokeslam by Sid.
Sid set up for the powerbomb, but Michael backdropped him instead.
Flying forearm by Michaels.
Michaels mounted the top turnbuckle and delivered a high cross body block.
Superkick to the midsection by Michaels.
Another superkick to the temple.
A third one was right on the button.
1-2-3 Michaels won.

Summary: This match was all over the place and didn’t tell a great story. If these two were to have matches in the future they should try to tell a better story. And yes, Eric Bischoff told the Nitro audience about the three superkicks that helped Michaels to win the match.

After the match Michaels performs a strip routine but doesn’t pull down his tights.

Back in the locker room Michaels meets up with Diesel. Dok Hendrix joins them in hopes of getting an interview. Diesel coins the phrase “two chaps with all the straps.”

Next week WWF tag team champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna face Men on a Mission. Highlights of said match are actually shown in order to truly tell the audience their show is taped. Also the 1-2-3 Kid will face Razor Ramon. While it sounds like a great selling technique if the show had zero wrestling competition it could possibly backfire against a live WCW Monday Nitro.

Conclusion: While this wasn’t a bad show for the WWF there was a 20-30 minute window that contained a promo for the upcoming PPV and two enhancement matches. That gap gave the TV audience every opportunity to check out what was happening on Nitro. Add to that if people paid attention to Bischoff and ignored the RAW main event the ratings war could fall out of favor for the WWF.

Amazingly WCW won the ratings war for this week by a score of 2.5-2.2. While Nitro was exciting and fresh, the recycled (and taped) format of Monday Night RAW felt a bit stale. Both shows promoted matches scheduled for next week, so we’ll see how the war fared going forward.

WCW Fall Brawl is next on the calendar, so stay tuned for that PPV reflection.