[RESULTS/OPINION] WCW Monday Nitro/WWF RAW is WAR (08/04/97) [Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #90] (08/04/97) WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Three Hours+. Location: Detroit, Michigan. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Larry Zbyszko. - Michael Buffer "rumbles" us, then they announce right off the bat that this is not only the 100th edition of Nitro, but will also be three hours long to celebrate. (Yeah, that's sounds believable). The Nitro Girls then come out to ruin the mood, followed closely by "Hollywood" Hogan and Eric Bischoff. Hogan does his usual interview where he talks but doesn't say anything. He then starts to leave, then asks the music to be stopped and adds something VERY interesting. Hogan says that after he beats Luger, the title shot at Road Wild will be "kept in the family" and go to the number one contender: Scott Hall. Remember the last time Hogan talked like this? It was when the NWO was competing in the 60 man battle royal at World War 3 last year. The Giant (NWO at the time) won it, and we all know what happened to him, don't we? Bear this in mind when you reach the end of the Nitro portion of the Recap. I've no doubt that a lot of wrestling fans out there missed this because the announcers didn't even talk about it. They were too busy hyping Hogan/Luger, as well as rumored blockbuster announcement regarding the Steiners. - MORTIS (w/ James Vandenberg) vs. CURT HENNIG Hennig gets his best crowd reaction yet, probably due to it being Detroit and not all those southern cities where they all ask "who does this guy think he is anyway, Mr. Perfect?" Hennig wins in a near-squash with the Hennigplex. - They show a video package of Sting, reliving his transformation from much beloved wrestler to moody, mute bungee jockey. - HECTOR GUERRERO/CHAVO GUERRERO JR. vs. JEFF JARRETT/DEAN MALENKO (w/ Deb) Dean and Chavo start off with a nice series of maneuvers, then Jeff and Hector are tagged in and it all goes downhill. Hector not only LOOKS like an old Eddy Guerrero, he WRESTLES like an old Eddy Guerrero. Schiavone talks about everything BUT the match while these two are in. Dean tags in and, then Jarrett again, then Dean to finish Hector off with the Texas Cloverleaf. Overall, not a bad match, I just have little interest in the angle thus far. Hopefully Dean will turn on Jarrett, but Eddy Guerrero fits in all this somehow. - Mean Gene Okerlund tries to interview Raven again, but Stevie Richards interrupts. Stevie says he's spent the last two weeks negotiating a new contract for Raven with WCW. Raven actually looks the contract over, then spits on and shoves Richards down. If you take off your shoes, you can count the total number of people in the crowd that was interested in this (and they were all behind Raven chanting his name-which is probably the exact opposite of the reaction WCW was hoping for). Raven takes another swing, but Stevie catches the fist and tells Raven he's not going to abuse him anymore. - THE GIANT vs. JOEY MAGGS/LENNY LANE/SCOTT DEMORE The Giant squashes the three jobbers, chokeslamming each. The Giant doesn't even have any entrance music, though they do set of some fireworks when he gets in the ring. After the match Randy Savage taunts the Giant from the entryway. The Giant chases him off. - As if he wasn't over enough, they show a video package of Lex Luger. - THE PUBLIC ENEMY vs. HIGH VOLTAGE Terrible match! The P.E. bring out a table, which sort-of figures in the finish. One of the steroid swelled jobbers is set on the table, but is pulled off by his partner before Rocco Rock goes through. Anabolic Chaos and Roids Rage then spend so much time playing to the crowd that they are unable to capitalize on the two-on-one advantage. Johnny Grunge ducks a clothesline, which sends Chaos to the floor. Grunge then gets Rage with a weak roll-up. I have this sick feeling that Teddy Long is going to start managing High Voltage any day now. - The Nitro Girls come out and are joined by Alex Wright. WCW, sensing that the WWF has a good thing going by playing the patriotic card, has Wright doing an anti-American schtick. Wright uncorks his boldest epithet yet, calling all us Americans "stupid". Ooh ... he's hardcore! Wright also taunts Chris Jericho, who he won the Cruiserweight Title from. Wright and Jericho will go at it again at the PPV. I'm guessing that Wright will LIGHTLY taunt the crowd (they don't want to get him killed), then will lose the belt back to Jericho, which should go over well with the biker crowd. - ALEX WRIGHT vs. SCOTTY RIGGS Riggs no longer uses the "American Males" music (thank Gawd), and is apparently now a cruiserweight. Wright was really over with the crowd as a heel, but I'll make no further comment since I promised not to call anyone "sheep" this week. Riggs shows how much better a wrestler he is in this one, but Wright wins with the only move of his that looked good: a drop-kick off the top turnbuckle. Wright gets the pin. This was the end of the first hour and, all things considered, wasn't all that bad. One good match, two blah matches, one really bad match. A little dull, but that was understandable with two hours yet to go. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Mean Gene interviews Lex Luger, who pretty much promises to win the belt tonight. - CHRIS BENOIT vs. SYXX A decent match, but Syxx is just too big a prick for me to enjoy watching. Benoit gets a nice pop after a tope to the floor on Syxx. Syxx stops a climb to the top by Benoit, which results in him being hung up by his feet in the corner. Syxx hits his porno donkey ride. Then, stealing another move which has shown to be over in a different fed, Syxx nails Benoit with a Michinoku Driver. Benoit stages a comeback and starts beating Syxx from pillar to post, tossing him around like a rag doll (which is just plain nice to see. Gawd, what I wouldn't give to see Benoit do the same to Hunter Hearst Helmsley). Benoit is just about to belly-to-back suplex Syxx off the top, when that c**ks**king sonnavab*tch Jeff Jarrett runs in and attacks him, which gives the match to Benoit by DQ. Steve "Mongo" McMichael runs in to save Benoit, followed shortly thereafter by Dean Malenko, who attacks Benoit. I have no idea where any of this is going, but it was fun to watch. I'm actually starting to warm up to Mongo (but don't tell him that). - Nitro Girls. - VINCENT vs. BOOKER T. (w/ Stevie Ray) Uh oh ... you can tell they have to fill three hours when they make Vincent wrestle. Booker T. murders him, squashing him in under a minute with the Harlem Sidekick. - Mean Gene interviews Diamond Dallas Page. Page remarks on his upcoming match tonight with Ric Flair. He says he respects Flair, and that the two think alike, but his involvement with Curt Hennig has made tonight's match a reality. "You may have my respect, but I have your number-BANG!" - THE BARBARIAN vs. WRATH (w/ James Vandenberg) Typical big man match, which about sums it up. Wrath wins with his version of the Sidewalk Slam. Meng then waddles out to keep him from beating on the Barbarian while he's down. Wrath and Meng stare each other down. You know ... if Wrath can beat the Barbarian, and soon do the same to Meng (presumably), how is it that Glacier and Ernest Miller even stand a chance against him? - Mean Gene interviews the Steiner Brother, who come out with their new manager: Ted DiBiase! Ted says he's seen the error of his ways and no longer wishes to live by the adage "every man has his price". He says he's going to help the Steiners tear down what he helped build: the New World Order. He mentions his father, who died in the ring in 1969, and almost accidentally says the Steiners are going to win the "World Wrestling F-(ederation)" titles. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash then come out to the entry ramp and tell DiBiase that when you are in the NWO for life, they mean for LIFE. If DiBiase has joined the Steiners, then he's a dead man. DiBiase says he knows more about them than anybody else. Of course Schiavone, Heenan and Tenay love this. - The Nitro Girls again. This time they don't even bother to TRY dancing in unison. Each is facing a different direction and doing a different dance. I don't even know why they bothered to wear the same outfits. Lee Marshall then phones in. - KONAN vs. PSYCHOSIS Psychosis blows a springboard splash. K-Dog puts him away quickly with the Tequila Sunrise. Rey Mysterio Jr. then comes hobbling out on a pair of crutches. The announcers lament over Mysterio's odds against Konan in their upcoming Road Wild match. Konan knocks one crutch away, then stoops over to pick it up. Mysterio stops limping and nails him across the back with the other crutch. No longer limping, Mysterio helps Psychosis up, then tells the camera that Konan isn't "la rasa", or whatever. Mi espanol es muy mal. Donde esta la biblioteca? Una cerveza, por favor. Ay carumba! - GLACIER/ERNEST MILLER vs. SILVER KING/DAMIEN Miller wrestles like a football player, except all he does is kick. This match was a mess, with a few blown moves and a lot of chaos in general. Miller knocks out Damien with a spinning slop kick off the top rope. - Eric Bischoff takes FOREVER to walk to the ring. He then calls out J.J. Dillon. Dillon comes out. Bischoff then goes into a long winded rant in which he tells Dillon to tell the Giant and Larry Zbyszko that if they ever touch him again, he will sue the Giant, and kick Larry "right between his eyes!" Dillon just smirks and says he's sure Zbyszko heard him "loud and clear". Dillon walks off. Even Schiavone calls this pointless segment "weird". One good match, two bad matches, two squashes, four interviews. This was, at best, typical of what would normally be the usual Nitro hour one. Compared to what was going on over on RAW, this was not my viewing material of choice this hour. HOUR THREE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby Heenan. - Not "Nitro Plus", just "hour three". The Nitro Girls have surrounded the announcer's desk. Hilarity ensues. - RIC FLAIR vs. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE (w/ Kimberly) This one started off good, with Flair landing some stiff chops and Page responding with some big ol' potato shots to the chin. Page reverses a backflip into a Tigerbomb (or Tiger Driver-whichever one the Pearl River Plunge is). Then Curt Hennig comes to ringside and they take a break. Flair is in control, working on Page's leg. Heenan shows he is still the master of color commentary by pointing out that the Diamond Cutter is more dangerous than the Figure Four since there are so many ways to do the Cutter, while there's only one way to apply the Figure Four. Flair slaps on the Figure four, but Page reaches the ropes. Page then reverses a suplex with Flair on the apron. Flair teases sending him into the crowd, but Page brings Flair back into the ring. He then applies a Figure Four of his own. Flair pokes the ref in the eye. Hennig slides in, but Page rolls him up in a small package (which is really irritating. Hogan used to do this all the time). The ref, suffering greatly because of his eye, misses this. Flair makes the ropes. Flair is then whipped into the corner and does his flop, running on the apron to the next corner. Off he comes, but Page catches him with a flying clothesline which was done very well. Hennig then runs in with a pair of paper knuckles, which draws the DQ. Page whacks Hennig and gets the international object, but tosses it to the ref and tells Flair and Hennig to bring it on. He holds off the two for a bit, gets roughed up a little, and eventually sends the two packing with a double clothesline. - VILLANO IV/VILLANO V vs. LIZMARK JR./HECTOR GARZA This match has no business being this late on the card. It was fast paced, high impact and devoid of any blown moves. I daresay it was the best lucha match yet on Nitro ... I and could have cared less. Don't promise me Sting, and Hogan vs. Luger, then stick this crap in my face. I don't care if it was a five star match, what did it matter if I was watching the other show? Fortunately for Nitro, the WWF was responding with the Godwinns about this time, so I was actually stuck watching much of this mindless spot-fest. Garza hits his Corkscrew Plancha off the top, which is the only reason WCW hired him. The match ends with a totally stupid finish where one of the Villano's is down and switches with his partner (while the ref is herding Garza out of the ring). Garza sees the switch, points it out to the ref, but apparently never actually says anything to him or his partner. Lizmark strolls over and gets small packaged up for the pin. Garza, seeing what is going to happen, doesn't even try to make the save (though he has about five seconds to do so). - Mean Gene brings out J.J. Dillon. Dillon says he has a contract for Sting to wrestle Curt Hennig. Dillon pleads for Sting to appear. Sting drops down from the ceiling. Dillon does (what I felt was) a nice job of saying how he wasn't around when mistrust built between Sting and WCW, but he would do his best to try and build that trust back up. Sting grabs the contract and tears it in half without even reading it. He starts to leave. Dillon lays a hand on his shoulder and Sting threatens to whack him with his baseball bat. Sting leaves, while Dillon says he's going to keep working on figuring out what Sting wants. Well ... that was a bust. How many more contracts is Sting going to rip up before they offer him Hogan and he accepts? - "HOLLYWOOD" HULK HOGAN vs. "THE TOTAL PACKAGE" LEX LUGER Michael Buffer does the ring intro's. Schiavone mentions Luger's last title reign in 1992. They take a commercial. Hogan takes his sweet-ass time getting to the ring, then stalls even more after the bell rings. Precious time ticks away. Hogan slaps on an armbar (and r.s.p-w's collective jaw drops to the floor). Luger reverses it. They break, then lock up again. Luger shoves Hogan to the mat. Hogan cowers in the corner. They lock up and Hogan backs Luger into the corner. The ref breaks them up, Hogan delivering a slap as he pulls away. A thunderous "Hogan sucks!" chant breaks out. (Remember the days when they would have tried to cover over that on the audio?) Hogan kicks Luger in the stomach and backs him into the corner, laying in blow after blow, then a series of kicks. He drops to the floor and drags Lex's throat out onto the apron, laying in some shots with his elbow. Back in the ring Hogan whips him into the ropes and catches him with a clothesline. Hogan drops two elbows, stops on the third, and steps on Lex's head. He picks him up and kicks him in the gut. A whip to the corner and trailing clothesline follows. Hogan scoopslams him in the center of the ring, then chokes him down on the mat. Hogan then slams his head twice into the turnbuckle, but Lex blocks the third and slams Hogan's head into it ten times. He lays in numerous punches and kicks. The ref tries to break it up and shoves Luger off. Hogan takes advantage by poking Lex in the eye. Hogan plays to the crowd as they go to commercial. I half expected to see two minutes of "Robin Hood" during the break. Hogan is firmly in control. A belly-to-back suplex pretty much depletes Hogan's complete arsenal of wrestling moves. He starts covering for the pin, but only gets a few two counts. Hogan gives Luger a few stiff chops in the corner. Hogan whips him into the ropes and hits the big boot, but can only cover for two. Hogan slams him, then drops the leg. Covering, Andre the Giant can be heard rolling over in his grave as Luger kicks out. Hogan starts to realize he's in trouble and tries another legdrop, but Luger moves ... and starts to "Hulk up". (Isn't it ironic ... don'tcha think?) Luger catches him with a clothesline. Suddenly Scott Hall slides in the ring. Luger knocks him down. The ref lets it go. Luger tosses Hall into Nash, who tumbles through the ropes. Randy Savage comes off the top, but Luger catches him with a punch to the midsection. Luger catches Hogan in the forehead with his once loaded forearm, then tosses Savage out of the ring over the top rope. He knocks Hall off the apron. The ref continues to let it all go since no one has actually connected with a shot to Luger. Luger signals for the Torture Rack. Everyone in Detroit is on their feet. Luger hoists him up. Hogan flails ... and flails ... and flails ... and submits! New World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion! The crowd explodes. Tony, Larry and Mike explode. The ref hands Luger the belt. The ring fills with the Giant, DDP, the Steiners, Ted DiBiase, Glacier, Ernest Miller, Rey Mysterio, Alex Wright, Dean Malenko, Prince Iaukea, Chavo Guerrero, Nick Patrick, the Barbarian, High Voltage, Joey Maggs, some fat guy ... and Stevie Richards. The buzz wears off pretty quick as Schiavone soberly explains how strong WCW is right now. They cut to the lockerroom where the champagne has started to fly. The Giant pours some benzene or something on the belt and starts to rub the "NWO" off the front. Chris Benoit can be seen in the background swilling down some of the bubbly. They cut over to the NWO lockerroom. Hogan is reading his troops the riot act. Savage is pacing, yelling "it's a fluke!" Hall looks at the floor. Nash looks like he's not too happy at being blamed for Hogan's loss. Syxx and Vincent stand around looking dumb. Hogan almost cusses a blue streak as he tosses over tables. Once the cameraman is spotted Hogan pushes him to the ground. They then replay the finish, as well as the shot of Luger celebrating (and again the shot of Benoit making his personal decision not to waste any of the good stuff). - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: I'd be lying if I said this was the greatest Nitro ever, but it was probably the most memorable. The main event, while far from good, was among the biggest and most memorable ever on "free" TV. It's certainly a huge moment in the history of pro-wrestling. Luger wrestled his standard match, but Hogan actually turned it up a slight notch and worked his hardest match in a year. Luger now joins that select group-which includes Andre the Giant, the Ultimate Warrior, the Undertaker, Yokozuna and the Giant-that have beaten Hogan for a World Title. This Saturday, Luger will most likely join that other select group-which includes the Iron Sheik, Randy Savage, Sgt. Slaughter, the Undertaker, Yokozuna, Ric Flair and the Giant-that have BEEN beaten by Hogan for a World Title. Just hours before the UPS strike, this was one "Total Package" that delivered! *Ba-dump-bump!* (Ooh ... bad pun). Speaking of the PPV, why would anyone want to get it? Either Luger will retain the belt-(hah!)-or he'll lose it back. Neither is really worth $30 to see. The Tag Team Titles, which were already nearly guaranteed to go to the Steiners, would now seem to be a lock to change, with Hogan regaining the belt to "balance" that loss out. This should also be the start of tensions between Hogan and the Wolfpack, as he'll have regained his belt, but they'll have lost theirs in the process. As for the rest of Nitro, it was really quite dull. It did have three or four okay matches, but they mostly had run-in DQ finishes. There was also an abundance of squashes, outright bad matches, and lots of time killing interviews. WCW really had no problem filling the three hours as they have so many jobbers, mid-carders and Mexicans on the roster. (Those all may be the same thing). Instead of "showcasing some of their younger talent" (as many had hoped they would-though the Garza/Lizmark/Villano's match may count as such), or expanding on good matches, they just did what they always did- except that they did it for three hours instead of two. I had a hard time watching the first hour, and the second was just plain awful compared to RAW. The third, however, picked back up and I, like most of the rest of the wrestling fans on the planet, watched; fully knowing that Hogan would almost certainly lose the match. Schiavone mentioned a couple of times that parents should take warning, as the Road Wild PPV attracts a more mature crowd, and thus the card itself may be a bit more adult oriented than the average WCW PPV. Sounds like someone is slated to do a blade job. There were a tremendous number of signs in the crowd tonight. It looked like WCW only confiscated those that were anti-WCW. If anyone doesn't understand why I didn't like the Garza/Lizmark match, let me just point out that it's possible (and common) for a match to be good, but not everyone would like it-just as it's common for a match NOT to be any good, but some would like it (which pretty much describes ECW in a nutshell). Anyone else out there realize that what they are doing with Hennig is almost EXACTLY the same thing they did with Jeff Jarrett last year? Jarrett came in to little fan reaction, got an endorsement by Ric Flair, then embarked on a lengthy angle as to whether or not he was a Horseman. Sound familiar? They also teased Jarrett being NWO, just as they are now doing with Hennig. The only difference is that instead of feuding with Steve McMichael, he's feuding with DDP. Wouldn't it be funny if Kimberly left Page and joined Hennig? No, I didn't think so either. My final thoughts on this history making show: The Good? Seeing Hogan get beat. The Bad? It taking three hours to do it. The Ugly? With the replay, six hours of Monday Nitro. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Quick WWF SummerSlam 1997 Results (08/03/97): * Free For All Countdown Show: - The "Free For All" just featured some interviews and a look at the WWF workmen setting up the steel cage. * WWF SummerSlam 1997: - Mankind defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley in the Steel Cage Match. Helmsley had a chance to win the match early by leaving the cage, but chose to stay in to deliver some more punishment. Despite frequent interference from Chyna, Mankind was able to put Helmsley away with an elbowdrop off the top of the cage (a la Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka). Mankind climbed over the cage and dropped to the floor moments before Chyna could pull Helmsley out the cage door. After the match, Mankind "transformed" into his "Dude Love" persona. - Goldust defeated Brian Pillman with the help of Marlena. Goldust tried a Sunset Flip, but Pillman held onto the ring ropes. Marlena then hit Pillman with her purse, allowing Goldust to roll up Pillman for the pin. Pillman will now have to wrestle on the 8/4 edition of "RAW is WAR" wearing one of Marlena's dresses. - The Legion of Doom defeated the Godwinns. - The British Bulldog defeated Ken Shamrock via disqualification. After several instances of cheating and taking the match to the floor, the Bulldog smeared dog food on Shamrock's head. Enraged, Shamrock smashed the dog food can against the Bulldog's head, earning the DQ. Shamrock then slapped a chokehold on the Bulldog, rendering him unconscious. The ring filled with officials who were unable to get Shamrock to relinquish the hold. Shamrock then cleared the ring by suplexing everyone in sight, including WWF Hall of Fame'er Pat Patterson. The Bulldog retained his European Title, and will not have to eat a can of dog food, as was the stipulation of the match. - Los Boricuas defeated the Disciples of Apocalypse. The Nation of Domination came to ringside, and Ahmed Johnson eventually Pearl River Plunged a DOA member on the floor, which allowed him to be pinned by Miguel Perez. - "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeated Owen Hart to win the Intercontinental Title. Austin was injured during a Piledriver delivered by Owen. This made for a bizarre finish, with Austin-who could barely move-rolling up Owen for an uncontested pin. Austin had to be helped from the ring, and was reportedly taken to a local hospital later. Due to winning the title, Austin will not have to kiss Owen's ass as was stipulated. - Bret "Hitman" Hart pinned the Undertaker to become the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion for the fifth time. Paul Bearer, Brian Pillman and Owen Hart all appeared at ringside, but had no impact on the outcome of the match. After using a steel chair on the Undertaker, Hart and the special referee (Shawn Michaels) began to argue. Hart spit on Michaels, prompting Shawn to try and hit Hart with the steel chair. Hart ducked, and the Undertaker was hit instead. Hart covered for the pin and Michaels had no choice but to make the three count. Shawn left the ring to numerous boo's, and the Undertaker followed shortly thereafter in search of him. Hart celebrated in the ring with the belt and the Canadian flag, along with his fellow Hart Foundation members, as the PPV ended. - [Notes: New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman put in an appearance and was named honorary WWF Champion. Two more contestants were called for the Million Dollar Contest. Both chose a number from 1 to 100 and had a shot at the coffin filled with money. A board had 100 numbered packets with a key in each. Neither of the two won, nor did the two contestants who had been phoned on the 7/28 "RAW is WAR" and flown in for the show. The key which unlocked the coffin was in a packet not chosen by the four contestants. The attendance for the event was reported to be 20,213.] WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - The Hart Foundation comes out (with Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart noticeably absent). They show stills of Bret spitting on Shawn, then Shawn accidentally waffling the Undertaker with the chair. (The show suffers from an audio glitch for the first few minutes. It's garbled, and you can hear the Spanish announcers). Bret says he stuck to his word and won the title for the fifth time, but accuses the WWF of not sticking to their word. Bret accuses Shawn of favoring the Undertaker, and thus he should be barred from wrestling in America again. Jim Ross then announces that the Patriot will get a title shot at the next PPV, Ground Zero. Hart says that's more screwed up American justice, since the Patriot only beat him on RAW with the help of Shawn Michaels. He goes on to say Ken Shamrock crossed the line, and that the Bulldog will never have to defend his European Title against him ever again. Bret calls himself the "new sheriff in town", and says that real men don't wear dresses. Bret declares Pillman won't have to wear a dress. He then turns it over to Owen Hart, who claims his own compassion caused him to lose the match to Steve Austin. Owen says he left him a cripple, and that Austin should give him the belt back. Jim Ross says he's sure the WWF's Commissioner has been listening, and brings him out: Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter tells Bret that HE'S the new sheriff in town, not Bret. He tells Bret that he WILL face the Patriot at the next PPV. "Who did he ever beat?" "You!" replies Slaughter. Slaughter goes on to lay down the law, telling the Bulldog that he WILL face Shamrock again eventually. Pillman WILL wear a dress tonight, or face suspension. And Owen WILL get a rematch with Steve Austin ... "when 'Stone Cold' says so!" *Kee-rash!* "'Stone Cold' say NOW!" Austin appears, accompanied by a thunderous roar from the crowd. McMahon goes nuts, saying Austin walked out of the hospital and shouldn't even be there. He throws down a neckbrace and tells Owen that he's going to open up a can of whoop-ass on him, "'cuz 'Stone Cold' said so!" Owen has a disgusted look on his face as Austin leaves. - They show comments from fans after the SummerSlam card ended, most of which criticize Michaels' job of refereeing. - The Nation of Domination delivers comments. - KEN SHAMROCK vs. KAMA MUSTAFA (w/ the NOD) Sgt. Slaughter comes out and makes the other Nation members return to the lockerroom. Just a few minutes in a couple members of Los Boricuas come out and attack Kama while he is down on the floor. The ref misses it, as well as them rolling Kama into the ring. Shamrock covers for the easy pin. Coulda been worse ... I suppose ... - More comments from Brakus. All I could make out was "Brakus", "Germany", and "Hunter Hearst Helmsley". - Sunny comes out to introduce the next two competitors. Sunny's dress was too short, but I'm not complaining. - TAKA MICHINOKU vs. "TOO SEXY" BRIAN CHRISTOPHER Jerry Lawler denies there's any resemblance between he and Christopher. Christopher starts out pounding Taka to the mat. A whip into the ropes and Taka sort of muffs an armdrag, as he was supposed to land on his feet, but stumbled. Christopher catches him with a clothesline. Christopher then hits a belly-to-belly-over-the-top-head-in-armpit suplex. (Whew!) Taka's head meets the turnbuckle, then is whipped back- and-forth from post to post. Christopher does a belly-to-back suplex, but Taka lands on his feet, ducks a clothesline, and catches Brian with a belly-to-belly suplex of his own. He then lands a spinning heel kick as Christopher gets up. Taka leaps up and looks to be trying a spinning head scissors/huracanrana type move, but Christopher turns it into a power- bomb. Vince mentions the Great Sasuke. Christopher does a standing leg- drop, similar to the "Rocker Dropper" (as Ross points out). Brian hauls him up and sets him against the ropes. He then charges, intending to crossbody block him over the top rope, but Taka moves. Christopher tumbles to the floor. Taka does his running springboard plancha (which only barely connects, making it look even more insane a move than it already is). Christopher makes it up on the apron. Taka tries to suplex him in, but Brian reverses it, dropping Taka across the top rope, bruising his eggrolls. Brian whips him into the ropes. Taka tries a crossbody, but Christopher catches him and drops him across his knee. He then climbs to the top and nails him with a drop-kick to the back (much like Taka usually does to his opponents). Christopher then does a regular vertical suplex, holds on to the tight, rolls to his feet, and does another. Before he can let go, however, Taka hooks Brian's feet with his own and cradles him for the surprise pin. Christopher, the good sport that he is, stomps on Taka after the match. I liked this one. Both guys looked good and showed they can work together. If anything, it proved that there could be good things to come from these two. - Sgt. Slaughter gives Pillman a dress back in the lockerroom. Pillman refuses to wear it. Slaughter says not only will Pillman wear it, but he'll do so until he beats an opponent on RAW. If Jim Cornette isn't booking this, I'll shave my head while kissing my own foot and wearing a diaper. - HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY (w/ Chyna) vs. VADER (w/ Paul Bearer) Yes! Vader gets another chance to kill him! Paul Bearer says he's more of a man than she'll ever be. HHH jumps Vader as he enters the ring. He whips him, but Vader reverses it and smashes Helmsley to the mat. (Yes!) He pummels him in the corner, dropping him to the mat with a short forearm clothesline. A whip into the opposite corner and Helmsley comes out, catching Vader with a clothesline of his own. (No!) Helmsley works Vader over in the corner, driving him to the mat with punches and kicks. (No! No!) A whip, a reversal, and Paul Bearer trips Helmsley as he hits the ropes. (Yes!) Bearer mugs for the camera, then turns to greet a flying drop-kick from Chyna! Vader and Helmsley drop to the floor. Helmsley charges and hits the post head- first. (Yes!) Helmsley recovers and whips Vader into the ring steps. (No! Get up you fat SOB!). The bell suddenly rings as the two have been counted out. *Aarrgh!* Helmsley and Chyna exit, stage left. (Next time, Helmsley, next time). Vader tosses around the ring steps in anger. - THE SULTAN (w/ the Iron Sheik) vs. THE PATRIOT The Patriot delivers comments about Bret Hart. Pretty much a squash, as the Patriot puts him away in less than two minutes with a full nelson powerbomb. The Hart Foundation then comes out. As they approach the ring, Sgt. Slaughter comes up from behind and directs Owen and the Bulldog to return to the back. Bret, unaware of this, continues on alone. He lays the badmouth on the Patriot, then turns to confer with his family members. Puzzled to not see them there, he is left wide open for a double axehandle shot by the Patriot off the apron. WWF officials hurriedly separate the two. You know, it's funny to see Bret fall for all those gags that heels usually fall for. What's even funnier is that his feud with the Patriot has already gotten more of a build-up than his match with the Undertaker did. I fairly good first hour. A good interview segment to kick it off, one pretty good match. Too many squashes, but they were kept short. Things really flew by. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - Vince McMahon brings out Shawn Michaels. Mostly positive reaction, with a lot of the fans seeming unsure whether they should cheer him or not. Jim Ross, playing a real cabbage head, wonders why Shawn lost his composure and why he counted the pin against the Undertaker. If I have to explain it to him, we both better give up on this business. Shawn says that McMahon, Bret and all the fans, are "dumping all this" in his lap. Shawn says that it's just like all of them not to take any responsibility and dump it on him. Shawn makes McMahon admit he was impartial in the match, which Vince admits. Vince then asks if Shawn is in "cahoots" with Bret Hart. Shawn calls Vince the "dumbest son-of-a- bitch I've ever met!" McMahon says he doesn't appreciate that. Shawn says he's shaking. Vince says Shawn WILL be shaking when he faces the Undertaker at Ground Zero. Shawn grabs the mic and kicks McMahon out of the ring. He says he's not with Hart, and that Hart needs him because he's the only guy in the WWF that can beat him. He then says he and the Undertaker have never faced each other ... "until now!" Shawn wraps up by saying he's given ten good years to these ungrateful fans, and that they can all go to HELL! The lights go out and the Undertaker's theme starts. By the time he hits the ring Shawn has disappeared. The Undertaker says he's been doing too much talking, and it's time to take souls and make people "Rest in Peace!" He says he'll make Shawn pay for his crimes. Paul Bearer then appears on the jumbo screen and again accuses Undertaker of being a murderer. He says that he's talked to Cain, and that he's coming very soon. The Undertaker starts to leave, but pauses when his usual purple lights are replaced with a sinister red glow. For two-and-a-half years people have been crying for Shawn to turn heel again. They may have just gotten what they wished for. - AHMED JOHNSON (w/ the NOD) vs. CHAINZ (w/ the DOA) Ahmed's new music is a mix of his old and the Nation's theme. they cut to a clip of Sgt. Slaughter asking a doctor what Steve Austin's condition is. The doctor says Austin has suffered "Spinal Shock Syndrome", and should under no condition wrestle. The DOA ride their bikes to the ring, but Slaughter is quick to come out and kick everyone (NOD & DOA) out of the ringside area. Chainz has the early control, working on Ahmed's injured leg. The match has barely started, however, when Savio Vega and another Los Boricua member comes out and starts messing with Chainz's bike. This gives Ahmed the opening he needs to Pearl River Plunge Chainz for the win. The other Disciples come out, as does the rest of the Nation. Before the usual melee can break out, Faarooq, D-Lo and Kama suddenly attack Ahmed! They stomp him to the mat. Faarooq yells that he is the "boss around here!" Ross surmises that something must have happened behind the scenes that we weren't aware of. My guess is that with Shawn as a heel (if he is) then the WWF was short on babyfaces. Look for Ahmed to deliver mea culpas, then stomp out the Nation. Again. - THE GODWINNS vs. THE HEADBANGERS Way to go WWF! Why not just show a test pattern, or Todd Pettengill taking a shower? The Godwinns win. Phineas pins the 'Banger with the squished head after Henry Slop Drops him. - Goldust and Marlena come to ringside to watch Pillman wrestle. - BRIAN PILLMAN vs. BOB "SPARK PLUG" HOLLY Now I know he had to wear a dress, but I fear the little blue panties may actually have been Pillman's idea! Have you ever had to laugh and hold down your lunch at the same time? Pillman wrestles as best he can, what with his dress wafting up and all. Holly, at one point, lifts the dress up and spanks him. We get too good a look at his package, while the arena crowd gets to see his ass. I mean it, that underwear was TIGHT! Tight and THIN! *Bleeeaaaauuuughhhhh!* *Hrrrraaaaaalllllffffpphh!!* Marlena starts waving a big bra around. Pillman comes out to stare her and Goldust down, and winds up getting counted out! Pillman will have to wear the dress again next week. (Yup ... Jim Cornette). Ross suggests that the WWF may be best off getting rid of Pillman, as he's liable to snap any time now. - OWEN HART vs. DUDE LOVE Bret invites himself out for color commentary. Slaughter comes out as well to keep an eye on him. A couple of "groupies" in the front row have "Dude Love" written on their bosoms. Okay match, but I'm running short on time so I'll cut to the chase: The British Bulldog comes to the ring. Sgt. Slaughter heads over to chase him off. This allows Bret to take Dude, who had been tossed to the floor, and slam him into the post. Bret tosses him into the ring and Owen slaps on a Sharpshooter. Steve Austin then comes out and grabs one of Owen's Slammy awards. Slaughter tries to get rid of him, but can only keep him and Bret apart. In all the confusion Austin whacks Owen (who had spotted his Slammy being heisted) in the head. Dude Love covers for the pin. The show ends with Dude Love being mobbed by the groupies, one of them jumping up on him and showing a lot more than she or the WWF ever expected. Woo woo! - Next week: Pillman in a dress. Comments: A good RAW, but there was just no way it could compete with Hogan vs. Luger. One really good match, one okay one, and several squashes. With Michaels doing what may be a full blown heel turn, as well as the Nation's puzzling dumping of Ahmed, and Hart vs. Patriot-which should be at least a very solid match-Ground Zero has quickly become more than the usual In Your House. Michaels/Undertaker will most likely be the main event and biggest selling point of the card. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: The ratings are in and Nitro more or less killed RAW. Hundreds of thousands (or millions) of fans bought the hype and tuned in for all three of Nitro's mostly boring hours. With most fans fully expecting the title change, even RAW lost many fans during the final quarter hour of the evening. Here are the numbers: WCW Monday Nitro: Hour One = 4.1 Hour Two = 4.3 Hour Three = 4.7 Final 15 minutes = 5.2 Average = 4.3 NITRO Replay = 2.3 WWF RAW is WAR: Hour One = 2.6 Hour Two = 2.7 Final 15 minutes = 2.4 Average = 2.7 (Credit: Bob Ryder of Prodigy, and ML Curley by way of "Wrestlingnews.com" and "The Stunner". There is something of a discrepancy, though, as "Wrestlesite.com"-by way of "The Ringside Chronicle"-lists RAW's scores as 2.6/2.9 for a 2.75 average, and Nitro's as 4.2/4.4/4.5 for a 4.33 average. It's all pretty close, though). I'm sure these ratings add up to a record of some kind. It's now a virtual lock that "Nitro Plus" will be done on a monthly basis. WCW is now able to crow about this show, which not only was the 100th installment of Nitro, but was also the 52nd week straight head-to-head that has beaten RAW (i.e. a full year's worth of shows). Hogan/Luger may have been the most watched match in nationwide cable TV history. The replay's relatively "poor" rating- which was among one of it's highest ever I believe-shows that most wrestling fans opted to watch the live show instead. As was expected, instead of putting on a good show, WCW succeeded in hurting RAW, which was their main objective. I doubt even WCW expected to pull in such spectacular numbers. If you don't count Nitro's first hour, they actually beat RAW with a 4.5 average for the second and third hours. Not that RAW's numbers were terrible. Both hour's numbers, as well as the average, were up from what they regularly pull in. Had Nitro not ran a third hour, RAW's second hour may have been quite impressive. It looks like the time change may not hurt RAW all that much, if at all. The combined rating for the two shows would be a 7.4, which has to be close to, if not itself, a record. The last 15 minute total is even higher at a combined 7.6 rating. The "Monday Night Football" pre-season game seems to have had little or no affect. With a combined 7.4 rating, pro-wrestling drew in approximately 7.2 million viewers. Remember, these are just the overnight numbers. They should all go down in the days to come as the final figures are tabulated. Expect WCW to receive some mainstream press over the ratings, as well as the Hogan/Luger match itself. What has yet to be seen is how this affects Road Wild's PPV buyrate. Nitro's exposure may boost it, or fans may be hesitant to pay for something they already got for free. WCW's real problem now is that it took them a year to build to this Nitro. It's hard to see them doing this well again without another similar length of buildup time. Who said the "Monday Night Wars" were over? Looks like they're just getting warmed up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Week's Winner: Nitro. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 1997 by John Petrie, and all opinions expressed therein are his own, and not those of Internet Access, Inc. Volume One, Number 90 of the "Monday Night Recap", August 4th, 1997.