Live from Miami, Florida
Your announcing team are Steve McMichael, Eric Bischoff, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
Your WCW Champions at the time are:
World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan [July 17th, 1994]
United States Champion: Sting [June 18th, 1995]
TV Champion: The Renegade [June 18th, 1995]
Tag-Team Champions: Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater [June 21st, 1995]
Pretty land-mark moment in wrestling history, as it’s the debut of the WCW Monday Nitro set. I personally think it’s the greatest set in wrestling TV history. It’s perfect, and I don’t blame them for sticking with it for three years.
We get a flash-back from last week with Hogan & Luger agreeing to go at it tonight.
Sabu vs Alex Wright
Sabu comes out to honestly one of the WORST pieces of music I’ve ever heard. Sounds like someone playing a keyboard with their face. Just saying “Sabu in WCW” is probably the greatest way to describe how WCW management worked. He tries get the ball rolling quick with a second rope leg-drop, head-scissors to the outside, and a missed Air-Sabu into the guard-rail. Alex picks up the momentum then, and is able to keep it as Sabu prefers to perform taunts than block a missile drop-kick. Hey, I don’t blame him, using your taunt is the quickest way to build up your special. Being that Sabu can’t do the Arabian-Face-Buster, he instead opts for a Hurricarana off the top rope to get the win. Afterwards he of course heads for the table, and tries to set Alex on top of it, only for Alex to just sort of sit there. Sabu dives into him, sending them both through the table, only for the ref to reverse the decision.
Sabu grabs the pin after a Hurricana rana at 3:58, but then the ref reverses it | ** A nice TV match that really helped display what the Crusierweight Division was soon to bring
Mean Gene’s in the ring for one hell of an odd segment. Ric Flair comes out, and begins to talk about his match with Arn at Fall Brawl, except he doesn’t say much, other than how they use to be good friends. Luger then comes out, at which point Flair says Hulk is in trouble, because Luger has 22 inch arms, and a 60 inch chest. Considering in his prime, Arnold Schwarzenegger only had a 58 inch chest, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Flair is a fibber. Luger says Ric is too much, then leaves. Then Flair leaves. What the hell was that? Did they expect me to get amped for Flair’s PPV match because Arn was a good friend who’d drive you to the airport and help you move? As well as get excited for the main event because Lex Luger has to buy a bigger suit than most?
VK Wallstreet vs Sting [C] – WCW United States Championship
You know, I think this Wallstreet cat is rich, because he has a golden dollar sign on his lapel, and you only do that if you have money. Otherwise it’d look really, REALLY stupid. I was gonna flip over to Raw, but Bischoff just told me Shawn Michaels beats the big-guy with a kick that wouldn’t earn you a green-belt at the local YMCA. It’s pretty standard fair. Stinger controls, VK gets his licks in, Stinger yells, does the splash, and then hits an off-the-top-rope cross-body-block. I don’t understand why they’d bring in someone like Mike, only to have him lose in his debut, but then again, WCW brought in Sabu.
Sting wins with a cross-body block at 4:07 | ** No problems at all, very standard
We get a promo for Saturday Night, in which we’ll see the debut of the Disco Inferno, The Renegade vs Maxx Muscle, Big Bubba vs Dave Sullivan, and Brian Pillman vs Alex Wright.
Scott Norton vs “Macho Man” Randy Savage
I dig the hell out of Norton, and feel he was wasted in WCW. Especially when he was the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and still relegated to the nWo B-Team. He jumps Mach’ just as he gets into the ring. Hits with a few clotheslines, and holds his momentum until Macho snaps into it with a clothesline to the outside, followed by a double-axe-handle off the top. He tries again once back in the ring, but Norton catches him, and starts to work the back with a bear-hug, followed by a powerbomb, multiple back-breakers and a gorilla-press slam. They’re making him look like one hell of a beast. Too bad he’ll get stuck in lame-ass tag-team in no time. He nails Macho with a sick Orton-style DDT, but from the top-rope. Macho starts his comeback, but the Dungeon of Doom run out. The Shark accidentally gets knocked out, landing on Norton, Macho takes advantage and drops the elbow for the three count. Quickly, the rest of the Dungeon file in as Macho bails. I tell you, if I were Macho, and this scenario were pitched to me, I’d be backstage throwing a fit “Wait, I have to run from a guy in a silk jogging suit, and another guy with TEETH painted on his BEARD?! C’mon, can’t we just get Robocop again?”
Macho gets the 3 count after Snappin’ Into It at 5:39 | **1/4 Another decent TV match, with Norton looking like an absolute beast
Promotional consideration is brought to you by Hot Pockets, Pierre Cardin cologne, and Tootsie Rolls. No, that isn’t suppose to be a joke.
Lex Luger vs Hulk Hogan [C} – WCW Heavyweight Championship
Hulk starts it off with a drop-toe hold and a half-nelson arm-bar, you know, typical mat-wrestling & submission work from Hogan. They both do a spot where someone gets suplexed, then stands right up. Bischoff says Luger isn’t use to this kind of competition, as the WWE Champion is a guy who never made it past mid-level in WCW. That’s true. I mean, if you can’t make it to the top of a company slathered in brown make-up, or wrestling as the Wizard of Oz, you’re a joke. Luger attempts the Rack, but Hogan won’t tap. A big-boot & leg-drop later, and we’ve got the Dungeon to come out and spoil the fun.
No-Contest due to the Dungeon at 5:29 | ** I have to give it to them for not pulling a bait & switch, and actually giving us the match. Nothing ground-breaking, but wasn’t horrible by any means.
Afterwards, the Dungeon start laying it into Hogan, causing Stinger & Macho to run out and make the save. They clean house, and Hogan confronts Luger, wanting to know where his allegiance lies. See, the reason the Dungeon keep attacking is because there’s the Fall Brawl: War Games PPV coming up this Sunday. It’s the Dungeon vs The Hulkamaniacs, which was Hogan, Sting, Macho, and Vader. How the hell Vader was ever part of their team, I’ll never know. He got into a real-life locker room brawl with Paul Orndorff, so he was fired. Kayfabe, he’s apparently gone “AWOL”, so Stinger votes for Luger to take his place. Macho votes no, saying he doesn’t trust him, and believes he’s hiding something. Hogan votes him in, because he trusts Stinger’s judgment.
Next week we’ll see Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff vs Johnny B Badd, as well as The Blue Bloods vs either The Nasty Boys, or The American Males. Would you rather be shot, or stabbed and then the bullet inserted?
With that, we’re out…
Dig It!: Man, these hour long shows are fantastic. They’re quick, no filler, and everything gets right to the point. After watching 2 hours+ long wrestling shows for almost 20 years, I’ve forgotten just how great it use to be. No GMs, no one needing to piece things together, no filler. You got your angles laid out in an orderly fashion, you got your matches, and you were happy. I really dug this show, great stuff. Now, I was only going to do the shows, but if you guys would like me to cover the PPVs as well, let me know at either @CaliberWinfield, or caliberw@hotmail.com.