[RESULTS/OPINION] WCW Monday Nitro/WWF Monday Night RAW (7/15)

WCW Monday Nitro: Live.

HOUR ONE: Hosted by Tony Schiavone & Larry Zbyszko.

 - Recap of Hogan's heel turn.

 - THE STEINER BROTHERS vs. FIRE & ICE
   Haven't we seen this matchup before? Anyway, the usual power moves that
   we see when these two teams go at it (though with no where near the usual
   enthusiasm.) Suplexes and clotheslines and tell you what... tet's just
   cut to the much anticipated screw up by the Icetrain. Teddy Long comes
   out to scout Fire & Ice. Scott Norton is holding down Rick Steiner and
   Icetrain tries a splash, but Steiner moves and "Flash" Norton gets
   squashed. Steiners win.

 - Mean Gene interviews the Dungeon of Doom. About this time we learn that
   Sting, Savage, Flair and The Giant are all in Japan. We see Fire & Ice
   go by arguing. Following a commercial break, Okerlund interviews the two.
   They argue, Teddy Long shows up - pleading for them to not break up.
   Norton pushes Long down and says "we started this by ourselves, we'll end
   it by ourselves!" (Or something like that.) Oh boy, Long is going to
   manage Icetrain when he and Norton feud. Hope he can do for his career
   what he's done for Sgt. Craig Pittman's.

 - DEAN MALENKO vs. BILLY KIDMAN
   Jimmy Hart is seen talking to Malenko as he enters. Malenko wins with a
   Texas Cloverleaf. Highlight of the match (and maybe the night) was the
   1-2-3 Kidman's attempt at a Shooting Star Press (which missed.) Kidman's
   okay, he's got skills and all that, but he's about as exciting as drying
   paint. An okay cruiserweight match that I just had a hard time getting
   fired up about.

 - Mean Gene interviews Kevin Greene. Greene doesn't want to wait until next
   year... he want's Mongo McMichael right then and there! McMichael doesn't
   show.

 - ROUGH AND READY (w/ Col. Parker) vs. HARLEM HEAT (w/ Sister Sherri)
   Rough and Ready are Dick Slater and Mike Enos. The whole point of this
   match was to point out the absurd fact that not only is col. Parker the
   manager of R & R, but also the "promoter" of the Harlem Heat. Match got
   interesting at points, but for the most part was a cup fulla nothing.
   Sister Sheri kisses Slater, who is so incapacitated by this that he is
   easily pinned. Col. Parker leaves with the Heat, who argue with him on
   the way out.

 - Kevin Greene again. He's so mad that he's shaking. Pretty good imitation
   of a "'roids rage" if you ask me. (Uh-oh... this is how rumors get
   started.)

 - MADUSA vs. MALEA HOSAKA (?)
   Schiavone mentions that Hosaka has been in the FMW. Other than that, this
   is supposed to be a tune-up for Madusa's match vs. Bull Nakano at Hog
   Wild. The loser of that match gets their motorcycle demolished by the
   winner (Madusa's Harley - Nakano's rice rocket. Oh yeah... like they're
   really going to trash a Harley in front of all those bikers in Sturgis.)
   Madusa wins... somehow... c'mon -  it's women's wrestling... you didn't
   really expect me to pay attention, did you?

HOUR TWO: Hosted by Eric Bischoff and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

 - Nash and Hall appear and drape bed sheets that spell out "N" "W" and
   "O" over the WCW letters. They then look on - the badass Outsiders that
   they are.

 - ARN ANDERSON vs. MENG (w/ Jimmy Hart)
   Damn, what an annoying match. Meng has nearly recovered that invincible
   air that he had a year or so ago. Arn gains the upper hand, but out comes
   the Barbarian, who nails Arn with a clothesline that almost connects. 
   Meng gets the pin and the upset win.

 - Mean Gene interviews Steve McMichael and his darling wife Debbie. Deb
   gets in a bit over her head, but does an okay interview running Kevin
   Greene down (calling the Carolina Panthers a "farm team" and Greene a
   "farm boy.") McMichael is still just a big goof.

 - EDDY GUERRERO vs. CHRIS BENOIT
   Good, but not great match. Benoit dominates, but Guerrero struggles back
   to keep the match going and hinting at a possible upset. They spill out of
   the ring. Suddenly Dean Malenko runs in and shoots Benoit into the post,
   eliciting a sickening "thud!" Guerrero crawls back in, while Benoit stays
   down (I half expected to see his forehead gushing blood.) Guerrero wins
   by countout. This adds fuel to the fire for the Benoit/Malenko match at
   Hog Wild, as most Triple Threat fans shed a single tear for what might
   have been.

 - BIG BUBBA (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. LEX LUGER
   He's got a steel plate in his arm, rage in his heart, and rocks in his
   head: Lex Luger is BACK, Bay-bee! Anyway, Luger spends most of the match
   either nailing clotheslines or on his back on the mat, basically killing
   time until the New World Order can show up. Hart throws "something" to
   Beeg Bubber, but Luger gets it and nails him. The ref, sensing something
   is up, calls for the bell as Nash and Hall storm the ring and stomp on
   Luger. Next we see Hollywood Hogan, dressed in black, sauntering towards
   the ring. (A child holds up a sign that says "Evil Hulk Rules!") Hogan
   oversees the waste removal of Luger's carcass. he then extends a hand
   to a confused Bubba. Bubba shakes it, then is blindsided by Hall. The
   Outsiders dump him over the top rope as Evil Hogan looks on. Mean Gene
   then shows up and Hogan pretty much says the exact same thing as he said
   at Bash at the Beach. The crowd, in a massive gesture towrds recycling,
   throw plastic bottles into the ring.

 - Next week's main event: None mentioned.

Comments: Solid, middle-of-the-road offering. Benoit/Guerrero was okay.
Malenko/Kidman, Arn/Meng and the tag matches were watchable. The women's
match was a waste of time, and the main event stank. The Deborah McMichael
interview was pretty funny if you could get over feeling embarrased for her.
Overall, an okay show that won the night, but only by a slim margin IMO.


WWF Monday Night RAW: Taped 6/24.

 - Ahmed Johnson and Shawn Michaels enter the arena and are confronted by
   Camp Cornette.

 - AHMED JOHNSON vs. BART GUNN (w/ Sunny)
   Bart tries his speed and arguably better mat skills to finesse a win
   (*snort*) but Ahmed will have none of that. Ahmed treats him to the
   Pearl River Plunge and the win. Sunny is distraught over not winning
   another title belt.

 - Shawn Michaels delivers comments. Is it just me, or is it hard to tell
   what Shawn is saying sometimes because he talks out of the side of his
   face - kinda like Popeye?

 - WILDMAN MARC MERO (w/ Sable) vs. T. L. HOPPER
   They show us Hopper's "plumber's butt." Hopper (AKA The Dirty White Boy,
   AKA Tony Anthony) isn't all that bad of a wrestler and shows some of that
   here. It reminded me of the earlly days of Doink, who also wasn't too bad
   a wrestler... but he was a clown, damnit! Same here with Hopper. Hopper
   carries a plunger named "Betsy." Mero wins. Steve Austin comments on his
   rematch with Mero at Intenational Incident.

 - The Universal Pictures Pay-Per-View Entertainment Sudden Death Slam of
   the Week is: Ahmed's win over Bart Gunn.

 - Camp Cornette (Owen Hart, Vader and the Bulldog) are show in the back
   thinking up bad things that they can do to Ahmed and shawn.

 - Undertaker video. A soft guitar filled remix of the Undertaker's theme
   music, played to numerous clips of the Undertaker over the years.

 - SHAWN MICHAELS (w/ Jose Lethario) vs. BILLY GUNN (w/ Sunny)
   Clips of Shawn at a charity tennis match this past weekend are shown.
   An okay match, though disappointingly devoid of high spots or bumps.
   Shawn steals a smootch from Sunny, then goes on to win with the Superkick.
   Camp Cornette is shown politely exiting the arena during the match. Post
   match we see Shawn leaving the ring area, greeted by Ahmed. They then head
   to the parking lot, but are jumped by those scalawags, Camp Cornette.
   Much shouting is heard (but little can be seen.) From out of nowhere a
   car roars in, slamming into some debris. Out jumps Psycho Sid, who scares
   off Camp Cornette. A nice ending (and plug for IYH) but it was really
   rushed.

 - Next week's main event: ?

Comments: A decent show that I almost gave the nod to for the night. It's
only real problem was a kind of "packaged" non-live feel. That and the fact
that we've seen so much of Ahmed and Shawn lately that I'm kinda sick of
seeing them. The line-up for "In Your House: International Incident" looks
like this:

 * Michaels/Ahmed/Sid vs. Bulldog/Vader/Owen Hart.
 * Goldust vs. The Undertaker.
 * Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero.
 * World Tag team Title match. I've heard that it will be a 4-way match
   with the Smoking Gunns vs. The Bodydonnas vs. The Godwins vs. The New
   Rockers. I've also heard it will be a straight out match between the
   Gunns and Bodydonnas (I think the 4-way match happened at a house show,
   or on Superstars - which I don't get - and Action Zone - which I rarely
   watch.)
 * Jim Cornette vs. Jose Lethario on the Free For All.

The scary thing about this is that in four matches they are able to use up
just about actively pushed wrestler in the fed! The WWF really needs to get
some new storylines started, focus on some more wrestlers, and cut back on
overexposure of some of the others.


Bottom line: I liked both shows, and found little to complain about either.
WCW has finally given direction to the Outsiders/New World Order Invasion,
but it seems to be at the expense of Hall and Nash, who are now simply
lackeys of Hogan. I'm a little dismayed at the Benoit/Malenko match - I'd
hate to see Malenko tied up into the Dungeon of Doom. The Cruiserweight
division has taken an odd turn with Rey Misterio getting the top push,
and Psicosis, Billy Kidman, and Bobby Walker following close behind. Eddy
Guerrero seems almost forgotten (I believe they said he's getting a U.S. 
title shot against Ric Flair at Hog Wild. I think it'd be fine if he wins,
but a damn shame if he loses, especially when you consider how far that he's
been pulled from the regular cruiserweight mix.)

The WWF just needs to set the stage for a kick-ass SummerSlam.

On a final note, Vince McMahon mentioned that Bret Hart's 13 year old
nephew Matt died this past week. My sympathies to the Hart family.

This week's winner: Nitro.


JRP