RETRO EXPRESS: WCW NITRO #17 (DECEMBER 25TH 1995) – RANDY SAVAGE AND RIC FLAIR BATTLE ON CHRISTMAS DAY

Welcome to the Retro Express. This is where we’re taking a stroll down memory lane at wrestling history. This post is part of an ongoing series where we’re reviewing every episode of WCW Nitro from start to finish. Links to the previous posts are at the bottom of this post. We hope you enjoy.

We had a rather excitable edition of Nitro featuring a great, old-school Eddie Guerrero vs Ric Flair match, Sting and Lex Luger picking up victories going into Starrcade and Randy Savage retaining the World title against The Giant following interference from a wild Hulk Hogan. The show ended with Savage agreeing to give Hogan a title shot after Starrcade 1995.

Now we’ve got the go-home edition of Nitro as Starrcade is just a couple of days away… literally. This episode of Nitro, taped beforehand, aired on Christmas Day of 1995. Then on the Wednesday, WCW were taking on NJPW at Starrcade. A Wednesday PPV of all things which seems really peculiar. I mean WWE did do Taboo Tuesday on a Tuesday but it just really surreal to have a PPV two days after an episode of their flagship show.

 

Date: December 25th, 1995 (Taped the week before)

Brand: WCW

City: Augusta, Georgia

Rating: 2.5 (WCW was unopposed for this week’s Nitro as there was no Monday Night RAW on this week)

Commentators: Eric Bischoff, Steve “Mongo” McMichael and Bobby Heenan

 

Lex Luger w/Jimmy Hart vs Scotty Riggs

Last week, Luger squashed Marcus Bagwell from the American Males in a rather bad match. This week, he had a match with Bagwell’s partner Scotty Riggs…. this was slightly better and more competitive.

Luger hammered away at Riggs. We got a repeat of Luger’s horrible dropkick selling from last week as he tumbled to the ground with each bump while his arms were in the air. Scotty did an arm drag and actually worked on the arm, demonstrating ring psychology at the very least.

Scotty draped Luger’s arm over the top rope. Scotty did an arm drag and Luger immediately hit his hand on the match 3 times… shouldn’t that have counted as a submission?

Scotty got some offense in before Luger sent him crashing into the barrier. Riggs fired back and hit a backbody drop. Riggs got a small package. Riggs missed a top rope dropkick. Luger did a horrible powerslam and locked on the torture rack to a big pop and to win the match.

 

Mean Gene Okerlund did an interview Sting and you’ll never guess what Mean Gene asked? You’ll never guess….

…he asked about Sting’s friendship with Lex Luger.

Sting flips out and says that “enough is enough” as he’s tired of being asked about it. He said Luger was a friend of his and he’s doing everything he can to straighten him out. Sting does actually say that maybe Luger snapped for a reason. Sting does talk about Ric Flair and NJPW but then Mean Gene can’t help but ask right after the interview.. “so what’s up with you and Luger?” He asks this question and Sting is not happy… that part I loved.

 

 

Sting vs Big Bubba Rogers

I loved the touch added to Sting’s entrance as they had light up scorpions on the ramp as he came down to the ring. That I liked.

Big Bubba actually whipped out an enziguri on Sting. Big Bubba got the heat and locked on a chin-lock. The announcers bantered about this and that but then it’s revealed that Hulk Hogan has been suspended… UNTIL THE END OF 1995!

Now let’s all remember that this episode is being shown on CHRISTMAS DAY. So Hulk Hogan has been suspended FOR A WEEK! In case anyone is wondering why he got suspended for a week, it’s because he ran wild last week with chair shots towards The Giant, Taskmaster, the referees etc. And after all of this, he’s suspended for a week? Hogan seemed more than willing to do the time for the crime!

At the very least, Heenan did say that the suspension was under review so it could be longer. With that being said though, spoiler alert, but Hulk Hogan is wrestling on next week’s episode of Nitro! I cannot wait for the explanation!

The finish to this match was Sting actually did a small package from the top rope for the win as Big Bubba looked stunned. That was actually a creative finish from Sting and the thing I like about Sting was that he had more than one way to beat somebody. It wasn’t just locking on the Scorpion Death Lock. I believe he beat IRS with a top rope crossbody before, he probably beat somebody with a Stinger Splash, he had the Scorpion Death Drop and now he’s got the small package from the top rope.

I liked that as it makes you believe that the match can end at any time and not just to zone out until the guys start hitting their finishers. This was a basic match but effective in getting Sting over. Sting and Luger both getting wins two weeks in a row is effective in building them both up for Starrcade so I was happy with this.

 

Speaking of Luger, Mean Gene interviewed him and Jimmy Hart. It turns out Luger’s got another match against NJPW as well at his Starrcade triangle match for a shot at World Champ “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Luger said there’s no deal between him and Sting. He said they’d been friends for 10 years. He said we couldn’t ask for a more premier match in the triangle match with himself, Sting and Ric Flair. Luger said he’s the uncrowned world champion and that’s the way its gonna remain until he becomes the champion… no shit? By that logic, I was also the uncrowned WCW Champion when I was one year old at the time! You’re the uncrowned champion until you win the title… what a concept.

Sgt. Pittman comes down, interrupts the interview and says he’s got no problem with Luger. Pittman wants Jimmy Hart to be his manager. Jimmy makes Pittman take off his shirt. Then he tells Pittman to now look at Luger and ask himself why Jimmy should wanna manage Pittman? He told Pittman to look for a different manager.

 

Dean Malenko vs Mr JL

This was a very unfortunate match for Mr JL, better known as Jerry Lynn. He came in as part of the cruiserweight push from WCW. He got in the ring with Dean Malenko and his arm got broken during the match.

Now I watched this match again during this review to try and pinpoint where he actually broke his arm. At what point did he do it? There’s a few spots which I figured he might have done it in.

The match goes along fine. Dean hits a beautiful t-bone suplex. We got some great stuff. Then Mr JL tries a monkey flip but falls right on his back. I wrote in my notes that he fell on his head but after a rewatch, that doesn’t look like it was the case. I thought if he hurt himself, it would have been at this point. I say that because after JL drops to the mat. Dean went over for the bridge pin. Referee Nick Patrick counts one and then just stops despite JL’s shoulders still being on the mat. Patrick is frozen like he just doesn’t know what to do. JL seems to be trying to push Dean to the air to the air to reverse it into a backslide. Its like a 10 second struggle until he somehow pushes him up and finishes the spot.

I thought it was that spot because that spot looked so screwed up that the only thing I can conclude was that JL was hurt then because he landed HARD on the mat. However, JL keeps on going. He even hits a beautiful sit-out powerbomb for a near fall. They keep going and then Dean hit JL with an Alley-Oop which launches JL into the top rope. He kinda looked like he smashed his arm on the top rope but he still kept on going.

Then I read from somewhere that he broke his arm during the finish. Dean goes the top rope with JL on his shoulders. He presses him up and drops him down onto his knee for the gutbuster. Mr JL SCREAMS and grabs his arm as Dean quickly goes for the “Malenko Leg Lock” for the win. It seems more likely that this was actually when it happened and that when JL landed, his arm got trapped in between his body and Dean’s knee. I assume that’s when it actually happened and Dean rushed to the finish.

It’s a shame because JL is gonna be out of the picture for a while because of this.

 

Mean Gene is doing an interview with Ric Flair. Ric says Savage is about to wrestle Ric Flair on this show and that the great one cannot be denied. Jimmy Hart then walks up to him. Jimmy apologises for what Taskmaster did last week for interrupting the Horsemen as Kevin Sullivan has a short fuse. Jimmy says he owes Ric one after Savage grabbed Jimmy by the tie a few weeks ago. Jimmy asks to go down to ringside tonight with Flair as Flair becomes champion. Ric says if Jimmy wanted to be ringside when he beat Savage, he told him to knock himself out brother.

 

Randy Savage (c) vs Ric Flair w/Jimmy Hart for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

This was easily Savage’s best match since this Nitro series started. EASILY. He and Flair went in there and had a good old scrap for the strap. An old-school fight to be the world champion and then of course… the finish happened which we’ll get to.

Savage actually spat at Flair at the start of the match which only fired up Flair. Flair missed a knee and then Savage worked on Flair’s legs with assistance of the ring post. Savage locked on a Figure Four Leg Lock of his own. Then Flair got his hands on the ropes but the referee kicked the hands away. I think possibly this was because Flair had somehow turned the tide in the Figure Four which was not really obvious during the match or even pointed out on commentary.

Jimmy kept getting shots in at Savage. He stomped away at Savage on the floor and even choked him with his tie or something during the match. Flair got the heat and Irish-Whipped Savage into a metal barricade. There was one moment I loved where Savage is laying on the barricade gasping for breath and like 5 kids in the crowd that happen to be behind the barricade all can’t help but try to touch him from a distance! It was tremendous!

Savage hit a big clothesline for a near fall. I always love how whenever anyone does like a basic move to Flair but Flair can’t help but scream at the top of his lungs! Savage goes for a backslide but Flair simply goes “AAAAAAAAAA!” It was the best. Ric Flair was and always will be the best seller of all-time, by a country mile. This backslide seemed like torture for him and that’s what wrestlers should be doing. It was great.

Flair does a low blow when the referee wasn’t looking. Bobby Heenan’s brilliant explanation is that it was accidental as it was a reaction move for his leg. Heenan explains that when Flair gets his leg in that kind of nerve position, his leg goes up in a north angle! Bobby Heenan was the man.

Savage fires back and does a backdrop. Savage locks on a sleeper hold but Flair counters it with a knee breaker. Flair locked on his own Figure Four Leg Lock and THIS TIME grabbed the ropes for leverage blatantly. Bischoff said: “We’re running out of time but I really don’t care.” I’m sure TNT executives were thrilled with that….

…they actually probably were if these over-runs were doing great and their ratings were going up every week. So who knows…

Savage runs wild and goes to work when LEX LUGER runs down for the DQ.

OK… I know WCW had this reputation for DQ finishes on Nitro main-events but this was one which really grinded my gears. We had a great match as a main-event for the World Title.  This was the best match Savage has had in months. This was the best Nitro main-event we’ve had in months. Savage could have gotten a big clean title victory right before his big title defense at Starrcade and Luger runs down for the DQ.

EVERY ONE OF SAVAGE’S TITLE DEFENCES HAS ENDED IN A DQ. Now granted, this was at least an improvement on the Luger and Giant matches as at least Savage was about to win this time when Luger ran down. However, why did Lex Luger run down to attack Savage?  What does it matter to him if Flair gets beat? My only explanation is that possibly Jimmy Hart came up with a plan with Luger, to make peace with the Horsemen, that if Flair was in trouble Luger should run down to help him. That’s the best explanation I have for it.

I was also literally kidding when I joke for the Episode #16 review that this match would end in a DQ. I fully expected Flair to win but it really was for the best that Savage defended his title clean at least one time. If Savage drops the title at Starrcade, this must go down as one of the worst world title reigns in history. Right?

Sting runs down for the save as he beats up Flair with Savage beating up Luger. Sting clocks Savage. Sting and Savage slap each other to fire themselves up and they stare each other down as we close Nitro.

I have to admit. With the exception of the WCW vs NJPW element of it, I’ve not really been that enamoured by this Starrcade push. Luger and Sting have both been booked strong going in, Savage has been booked weak going in and Flair just seems an outsider in this whole thing with Luger and the babyfaces. Hulk Hogan’s not even there and I’m not even sure if The Giant will be there. Both men weren’t even on this episode of Nitro. So lord knows what the WCW title picture is gonna look like after Starrcade.

Oh yeah, and no follow-up to the infamous Madusa angle from last week when Alundra Blayze put the WWF Women’s title in the trash can. What a waste of an angle…

We’ll be doing a full review of WCW Starrcade next time. WCW vs NJPW is going down, Sting, Lex Luger and Ric Flair in a triangle match. The likes of Sting, Savage and Luger all in the multiple matches. Despite the lacklustre build to Starrcade, I’m very much looking forward to certain aspects of it. Not gonna lie. We will see you with the Armbar Express review of WCW Starrcade 1995.

 

WCW Nitro Reading Order

• #1 – September 4th 1995
• #2 – September 11th 1995
• WCW War Games 1995 – September 17th 1995
• #3 – September 18th 1995
• #4 – September 25th 1995
• #5 – October 2nd 1995
• #6 – October 9th 1995
• #7 – October 16th 1995
• #8 – October 23rd 1995
• WCW Halloween Havoc 1995 – October 29th 1995
• #9 – October 30th 1995
• #10 – November 6th 1995
• #11 – November 13th 1995
• #12 – November 20th 1995
• WCW World War III 1995 – November 26th 1995
• #13 – November 27th 1995
• #14 – December 4th 1995
• #15 – December 11th 1995
• #16 – December 18th 1995

 

 

RETRO EXPRESS: WCW NITRO #16 (DECEMBER 18TH 1995) – WWF WOMEN’S CHAMPION ALUNDRA BLAYZE DEBUTS ON WCW NITRO

Welcome to the Retro Express. This is where we’re taking a stroll down memory lane at wrestling history. This post is part of an ongoing series where we’re reviewing every episode of WCW Nitro from start to finish. Links to the previous posts are at the bottom of this post. We hope you enjoy.

The ever confusing WCW World title picture has gotten even more confusing in WCW as of late. WCW announced a triangle match between Sting, Ric Flair and Lex Luger at Starrcade with the winner facing Randy Savage at the end of the night for the WCW title. 2 weeks ago, Savage defended the title against Luger but ended in a disqualification when Hulk Hogan ran down and broke up the pin. Last week, Savage vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan was also booked for Starrcade while Luger claimed himself to be the uncrowned WCW Champion. Then, they randomly announce that Randy Savage is also set to defend the WCW title the next week against The Giant. If that’s not confusing enough….

…the on-going drama with Sting, Lex Luger, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage just kept GOING AND GOING. Sting and Hogan tagged against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in the main-event of last week’s show. Hogan and Sting bickered, Lex Luger ran down and attacked Hogan, Savage made the save, Sting punched Savage and then they all kissed and made up. The same old storyline with Lex Luger with seemingly no end in sight.

 

Date: December 18th, 1995

Brand: WCW

City: Augusta, Georgia

Rating: 2.7

Commentators: Eric Bischoff, Steve “Mongo” McMichael and Bobby Heenan

We kick things off with an infamous WCW angle which was one of the bigger shots fired by WCW at the very start of the Monday Night Wars. The commentators are talking about the show and who should come out but WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze…

….yup, this is THAT segment…

Alundra grabs the mic and cuts a promo. I almost got this down word for word on my notes but this was pretty much her promo for her WCW debut.

“I am Madusa. Always have been Madusa, always will be Madusa. This is the WWF Women’s Championship belt,” says the formerly known as Alundra while Bischoff goes “woah”.

Alundra grabs a trash can conveniently right next to the announce table and drops the title into the trash can.

She proceeds: “And that is what I think of the WWF women’s belt. I am WCW. I used to be called Alundra Blayze but now I’m Madusa. They call this the place where the big boys play. Now it’s the place the big girls play.”

Alundra, now going by Madusa, leaves the booth. Eric Bischoff grabs the title, shows it off… and put its back in the trash can. Then William “The Refrigerator” Perry, NFL star, makes his way to the announce booth to squeeze the hand of Bobby Heenan.

My notes after all of this reads…

“That was it?”

In hindsight, this was an absolutely atrocious segment. Madusa comes out randomly on the start of Nitro. She cuts a god awful promo. The verbiage was just so wooden but not nearly as wooden as her delivery. She drops the title and she mentions that “that’s what I think of the WWF women’s belt” like the WWF is beneath her. She says that at a time where WCW doesn’t even have a women’s division. I’ve seen exactly two women’s matches since this Nitro series began. It was the same tag team match with the same four people and they both came over from Japanese wrestling promotions. If the WWF women’s division is so bad, what does that say about WCW?

The one thing she had coming in that would have made her like a truly big star in WCW, similar to how Ric Flair showed up on WWF TV with the WCW title, is her parading around with the women’s title. She proclaims herself as the one true champion and tells WCW to make it official, it could lead to a tournament to fight Madusa to see who is the true champion. But no, she doesn’t even have the title and she disregarded the title as meaningless… in a nothing 2 minute segment which was shortly sidetracked by William Perry.

Now maybe I’ll be wrong and this may end up into a great angle similar to what I suggested. Spoiler but we do get a women’s title in WCW and that title is retired in 1997. So my gut is that it wasn’t very successful at all… call it a hunch.

I would also call this unsuccessful on the grounds that the WWF actually filed a lawsuit as a result of this angle!

 

Ric Flair vs Eddie Guerrero

Remember a month ago or so when they were building Ric Flair vs Eddie Guerrero on Nitro? Eddie was set to face Flair in a match but Flair pulled out and he was replaced with Brian Pillman? All of this time later, we finally get the match… and Eddie Guerrero gets no entrance as Flair makes his way down to the ring.

The fans loved Flair in this one as he played around at the start of the match. In the middle of all of this, they announce RIC FLAIR is getting a WCW title match next week?

OK….

Brief Intermission from the review of this match

So to recap, Lex Luger and The Giant both received WCW title shots in the last couple of weeks. Luger got his title shot a few weeks ago and Giant got his title shot on this episode of Nitro. Luger got a title shot because he beat Savage at World War III right before Savage won the title. The Giant got a title shot because he was the champion but got stripped off the title and never got a one on one singles rematch. FINE. Both those explanations make sense as to why they both got title shots.

Ric Flair?

Obviously, I understand that he is Ric Flair. However, based on his win/loss record since he turned heel again at Halloween Havoc, what on Earth has Ric Flair done to earn a title shot? I don’t even remember the last time he won a match on Nitro. He may have won matches on Saturday Night. However, Flair was in the Starrcade triangle match anyway and now HE’S getting a title shot?

Him and The Giant are both on probation and they’re getting title shots. If you think about it, the one person that has the greatest claim to a title shot nowadays is Hulk Hogan who is also on probation. Hogan has not been mentioned once, at least up until this point. Hulk Hogan unfairly lost the WCW title and he wasn’t even beaten for it. He was never eliminated from the World War III battle royal and Flair and Giant are both getting title shots before him.

I know I’ve made fun of Hogan’s character as just a whiner on this show but if you look at what’s happened, he has every right to be pissed!

…back to the match

In singing Flair’s praises, Bobby Heenan brings up Flair’s a 11 time champion at this point and asks the question of “how many of you humanoids did anything 11 times well?” Eddie dropkicked Ric in the back of the head and Ric did an amazing flop for the sell. Eddie slapped Ric in the face and then styled and profiled himself, to which Flair got proper bugged eyed with fury! The fans actually booed when Eddie did this.

Eddie missed a dropkick and Flair goes a Figure Four Leg Lock but Eddie reverses this into a small package for a near fall. This was turning into a very well paced match that suited Ric’s old school style and Eddie’s ability to adapt to just about any pace of a match. Flair got the heat as he chopped away at Eddie and did some knee drops. Eddie fired back as Eric Bischoff referenced some Mike Tyson fight.

Eddie hit a tornado DDT. Eddie actually managed to pull off a hurricanrana spot with RIC FLAIR of all people. It actually also looked very well executed too. Ric was dizzy and hit the ropes to send Eddie crashing onto the floor. Eddie grabbed his knee and Ric went immediately for the knee. Solid use of ring psychology which shouldn’t come as a surprise when Ric Flair and Eddie Guerrero are both involved.

Ric stomped on Eddie’s leg. Ric locked on the Figure Four as Ric grabbed the ropes for leverage but Eddie refused to give up. Ric slapped at him but Eddie yelled “Noooooo!” Eddie fought and fought and fought and fought but Eddie eventually passed out and Ric PINNED him with a Figure Four.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Flair pin somebody with the Figure Four before! I actually thought this was a clever finish. They got Eddie over as a babyface who refused to give up, even against a 11 time world champion. This was a solid match that told a good story and had an excellent finish and it definitely would have helped Eddie. Whether they follow up on this the right way remains to be seen…

 

Arn joined Ric in the ring as Mean Gene came down as well. Ric went to attack Eddie and Mean Gene yelled him “HEY KNOCK IT OFF, or I’ll cut this interview!” Arn said he respected Paul Orndorff but for every reaction, there’s an opposite or equal reaction. In case you don’t remember what happened last week, the Four Horsemen took out Paul Orndorff with a spike piledriver. Arn said the Horsemen does not put personal achievements above the group and you don’t jump the Horsemen.

Taskmaster ran down and put Arn and Ric over. Mean Gene pointed Ric towards the hard cam like a true professional! Taskmaster was upset that Brian Pillman knocked the Dungeon of Doom during his promo last week. I don’t remember Pillman knocking the Dungeon of Doom unless he’s referring to Pillman taking a shot at the Zodiac. Taskmster said they better put Brian Pillman on a short leash. Ric said no problem but Arn grabbed the mic sand said that if you come looking for Pillman, you mess with the Horsemen. Taskmaster said there are no allegiances in WCW and left.

 

Sgt. Pittman interrupted the announcers now. So that’s THREE times that the announcers have had somebody interrupt them at the booth in one episode. Pittman said he’s been doing a lot of sneaking and peaking and found that Bobby Heenan was one of the best managers of all time. He wanted Bobby to manage him. Bobby said he didn’t manage anymore as he’s a broadcast journalist but Bobby will help him find a manager. Pittman said if he doesn’t get help, he won’t be taking any prisoners.

 

Lex Luger w/Jimmy Hart vs Marcus Alexander Bagwell

I’m gonna get the positives out of the way regarding this match… at least Lex Luger is getting some wins under his belt all of a sudden and is looking more of a threat. Remember when Luger kept getting beat on Nitro and Hogan made him look weak and the time he lost to Meng? Now he’s on a winning streak…

…that’s about where the positivity ends…

This was a typical Luger match where he gets blown up and does a horrible job with selling. Bagwell got some offense including a monkey flip. Luger got the heat. Bagwell ran wild. Bagwell went for a splash but Lex got the knees up and then hit the powerslam. Luger locked on the torture rack for the win.

That’s pretty much all you need to know.

Mean Gene does an interview with Luger and Jimmy Hart. Jimmy said Luger is the uncrowned champion. Luger said he’s breathless with anticipation… nothing to do with him completely blown up of course. Luger said he’d take the title and said Savage should give up.

 

Pittman and Cobra are set to wrestle each other for what seems like the 100^th time as of late and this match is plugged for Saturday Night. How exciting…

 

Sting vs Earl Robert Eaton w/Jeeves

So right before this match, these announcers have the temerity to plug that Sting was going to be on WCW Saturday Night to do an interview about his friendship with Lex Luger. After MONTHS and MONTHS of this storyline, they wanted you the fans to tune into WCW Saturday Night to watch Sting TALK more about this never-ending storyline.

Eaton started off with a headlock and Sting pushed him off, doing a leapfrog and then pushing Eaton high in the air with his feet.

This was a basic but rather boring match. The fans were bored and did the wave. Sting did a hip-toss which led to Eaton delivering a backbreaker. Eaton missed a top rope knee drop. This led to Sting hitting the Stinger Splash and locking on the Scorpion Deathlock for the win.

Bischoff said Sting is “on a roll like a freight town going down hill”… very much the entire story of WCW’s existence.

So after plugging that we’ve got an interview with Sting on Saturday Night, Mean Gene comes out to do an interview with Sting… ON NITRO. Again, why would I wanna watch WCW Saturday Night on TBS or whatever channel they were on.

Mean Gene said: “Sting, we’ve got to discuss what’s going down at the triangle match at Starrcade.” Sting said he’ll not forget what Flair did to him and “what he did to all of those kids,” referencing the angle where Flair got all of the fans in the ring to get Sting to team with him. Sting said he was upset by Luger not mentioning his name when talking about going through the roster during his earlier promo. Sting says he’s been a five time WCW Champion and he wants to be the six time champion.

 

Randy Savage (c) vs The Giant w/Taskmaster and Jimmy Hart for the WCW Championship

Bischoff reminds us that Randy Savage has an injured arm which, if you’ll recall, Hogan basically claimed was fake news during World War III. So I guess, in WCW storyline, Savage is ACTUALLY injured… well he’s actually injured in real life in 1995 but now they’re properly acknowledging it.

Savage starts with the ill-advised tactic of jumping onto The Giant’s back to choke him out. Giant stumbles around the ring to fight it but Giant slams him down. Giant goes to work and locks on a bearhug. Giant tries a chokeslam but Savage rakes him in the eyes. Savage tries multiple clotheslines to take the challenge down but Giant catches him, carries him around “like a child” according to Bischoff and delivers a backbreaker. It was actually a well done spot.

The Giant misses a splash and Savage counters with an elbow drop but The Giant flings Savage in the air as a kick out. The Giant actually unleashes a dropkick during this match. The Giant tries a suplex on the floor but Savage somehow grabs the rope to avoid being slammed onto the floor. How they pulled off this spot so well is beyond me. I’ve never seen a spot like this.

Here is the Armbar Express’ Geek Of The Week sponsored by the Filthy Four Daily show from Figure Four Online! Bryan Alvarez would be proud of this one. The Giant hits a chokeslam and wastes his god damn time posing. Nobody, to my knowledge, has kicked out of this chokeslam yet. He poses and poses during a World Heayvweight Championship match. Giant does a leg drop and then Hogan runs in to hit Giant with a chair for the DQ. The Giant came off like a complete idiot.

I probably should have awarded “Geek of the Week” if you will to Randy Savage since, yet again, Savage is saved from losing the title because of Hulk Hogan running down to cause a DQ. He’s never been able to defend the title by himself yet.

So Hogan goes crazy. He whacks the referees with a chair, attacks some kinda official as well. I have no idea who he was but Hogan laid him out too. Hogan attacks Giant, attacks Taskmaster. Fans are going CRAZY FOR THIS by the way as this is going on. Mongo and William Perry try to calm Hogan down. Hogan then goes into the ring to check on Savage. The fans chant Hogan, Hogan, Hogan. This was actually a very well done segment, other than burying Savage as the champion, that got a lot of positive reaction from the crowd. They loved Hogan going crazy. A complete 180 from last week’s show where Charlotte, North Carolina booed Hogan out of the building!

Mean Gene interviewed Hogan and Savage. Mean Gene said Hogan risked the chance of being suspended. The Giant tries to get down of the ring again as Taskmaster and two security guard are able to pull The Giant away. Hogan takes a massive swing at the head of Giant, Taskmasker and a security guard. The heels flee. Hogan said he’s sick of this probation. Hogan says Savage owes Hogan a title shot. Hogan says he knows Savage can beat Ric. Savage says he has to get past Starrcade. Savage says right after we’ll get that match the world has been waiting for in Hogan vs Savage. Hogan I think said he has respect for the NFL players in the football field. He says don’t try to step onto their turf, they will get laid out. Savage and Hogan celebrate with Hogan’s music.

So I’m not sure what to make of this. So right after all of these matches, title shots and Starrcade main-events are set up, then Hogan gets a title shot after Starrcade, This does not help with the build to Starrcade at all. This makes Hogan’s title shot seem way more important than the triangle match and the title shot at Starrcade. If that’s the case, why should I care about Starrcade? They’re just starting too many fires or potential storylines and not focusing on the PPV in front of them. And on top of all of this, Flair is getting a title shot next week?

Now, I haven’t looked at the results for next week’s show. I don’t know who wins and loses this match but it did seem weird to me that Flair of all people is getting a title shot. Luger and Giant had legitimate claims to a title shot. Flair does not. So either Flair is being fed to Savage in order for Savage to get a legitimate title defence under his belt or… they’re putting the belt on Flair next week because Savage is injured.

Or maybe it’ll end in a disqualificaiton…

 

That was my Nitro review. Bland in part but one of the more excitable Nitros as of late. Eddie vs Flair was good and the closing segment with Hogan going crazy was good. I still think the Starrcade build is pretty poor but they do have one more week before Starrcade so maybe next week will turn things around.

Stay tuned for our review of next week’s show where Ric Flair is the next man to challenge Randy Savage for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship!

 

WCW Nitro Reading Order

• #1 – September 4th 1995
• #2 – September 11th 1995
• WCW War Games 1995 – September 17th 1995
• #3 – September 18th 1995
• #4 – September 25th 1995
• #5 – October 2nd 1995
• #6 – October 9th 1995
• #7 – October 16th 1995
• #8 – October 23rd 1995
• WCW Halloween Havoc 1995 – October 29th 1995
• #9 – October 30th 1995
• #10 – November 6th 1995
• #11 – November 13th 1995
• #12 – November 20th 1995
• WCW World War III 1995 – November 26th 1995
• #13 – November 27th 1995
• #14 – December 4th 1995
• #15 – December 11th 1995

 

RETRO EXPRESS: WCW NITRO #15 (DECEMBER 11TH 1995) – HULK HOGAN BOOED IN FLAIR COUNTRY AS HE TEAMS WITH STING

Welcome to the Retro Express. This is where we’re taking a stroll down memory lane at wrestling history. This post is part of an ongoing series where we’re reviewing every episode of WCW Nitro from start to finish. Links to the previous posts are at the bottom of this post. We hope you enjoy.

We’ve got a much clearer idea of what the WCW Starrcade 1995 PPV would look like. It’s America’s best in WCW against Japan’s best in NJPW. However, the world title picture is where things get a little bit more complicated. Sting vs Lex Luger vs Ric Flair was booked for Starrcade in a triangle match, with the winner facing Randy Savage for the WCW World title later on in the same show.

The strangest thing about this Starrcade show is that Hulk Hogan is not yet scheduled for Starrcade or not featured at all in the title picture. He was never officially eliminated in the World War III battle royal to crown a new champion and then he was put on “probation” along with Flair and The Giant after a brawl from a few weeks ago. And yet, Flair could possibly earn himself a title shot if he wins the triangle match but Hogan couldn’t?

It’s also strange that Hogan is not in the title picture as Nitro is still all about the Hulkster. Last week’s show was headlined by Lex Luger challenging Randy Savage for the WCW title. Hogan broke up the pin for the DQ. A brawl broke out where Hogan accidentally clocked Sting. Savage tried to play peacemaker, and now we’ve gotten Episode #15 where Hogan and Sting must team up to face Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in the main-event.

 

Date: December 11th, 1995

Brand: WCW

City: Charlotte, North Carolina

Rating: 2.6 (Went up this week with an advertised Hulk Hogan main-event as opposed to a Randy Savage World title defence… make of that what you will)

Commentators: Eric Bischoff, Steve “Mongo” McMichael and Bobby Heenan

 

Mr JL vs Eddie Guerrero

This was your typical lucha libre WCW cruiserweight match and there was nothing wrong with that. They worked well at a… fast, but not too fast pace. Eddie is one of those reserved cruiserweights where he’s fast but he’s not too fast where the audience can’t appreciate everything he does and can’t keep track of it. He’s tremendous when it comes to controlling the pace of a match.

Speaking of Eddie, the announcers plugged that Eddie would be wrestling at Starrcade against Shinjiro Otani. Bobby Heenan actually did a great job on commentary in putting Eddie over but also explaining that the Japanese were already training in the Rocky Mountains, not suffering jet lag and ready to go.

There was one botched spot where it was a tilt-a-whirl that was screwed up a little and ended up in a backbreaker. Eddie eventually rolled up Mr JL and secured the win. I did like that the fact that Eddie all so excited and joyous to have gotten the win and Mr JL was on his knees devastated and dejected to have been beaten in this match. Even if this was just an opening match on Nitro, the result of this match mattered to Eddie and Mr JL.

 

Mean Gene Okerlund did a promo with Jimmy Hart and Lex Luger. Jimmy told Mean Gene to shut up and he said Luger was the uncrowned WCW Champion. They recapped Luger going heel, beating Savage and then a clip from last week. Luger said if it wasn’t for Hogan stopping the count last week, Luger would be the world champion right now. He said he owns Macho Man and everyone knows it so Savage is no problem. He talked about Flair. He talked about Sting and that he and Sting talked about how it will come down to those two at Starrcade and if it does, may the best man win.

 

“Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs Disco Inferno

To put this match and pretty much this episode of Nitro into perspective, I wanna actually mention that I watched my WrestleMania 21 DVD on the weekend before I watched this episode of Nitro. On Disc 3 of the boxset, it showed the 2005 WWE Hall Of Fame induction. I watched it… it was FABULOUS. The Iron Sheik had an absolutely incredible acceptance speech. Ric Flair and Roddy Piper told some great stories. Bobby Heenan was on form that night. And inducted among many memorable names during this ceremony, including Hulk Hogan, was “Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff.

He didn’t particularly stand-out in this Hall of Fame, especially when the Iron Sheik of all people is inducted! However, he did talk about his love for the business. It’s the usual Hall of Fame speech. However, the WWE’s video package before Orndorff came out for his induction really didn’t do Mr Wonderful much justice. It mostly focused on his feud with Hulk Hogan and WrestleMania I where he teamed with Piper against Hogan and Mr T. It was a shame because this episode of Nitro demonstrated a lot more to what made Mr Wonderful so…. wonderful.

Mr Wonderful got this gimmick and this excellent Mr Wonderful theme song and he comes down to the ring with a mirror to look at himself, because he thinks he’s so wonderful. Bobby explains that the mirror got bigger with every show, because he wants to see more and more of himself in this mirror. Paul Orndorff really did believe, in storyline, that he really was Mr Wonderful and he lived the gimmick.

This match really was the battle of the fantastic theme songs. We had the Mr Wonderful theme song, which Bobby claimed Mean Gene sang the female part of the lyrics! We also had the Disco Fever theme song which, pretty much speaks for itself. Right in the 1990s cringe but cool category.

Disco jumped Mr Wonderful to get things underway. Disco actually beat up Orndorff while his arms were stuck in his jacket. Orndorff fired back with an atomic drop and then bonked Disco on the head with an elbow. Orndorff hit an ugly facebuster and then performed an even uglier disco dance right in front of Disco’s prone body! It was so ugly, it was beautiful! Orndorff looked all goofy as someone who was not meant to look like Disco Inferno. Orndorff hit a back suplex for the win and I actually loved this. Orndorff has the man beaten as clean as a sheet with a pinfall but because he’s a heel, he can’t help but put his feet on the ropes!

Orndorff looked kinda knackered after a 3 minute match but otherwise, this was a basic and simple match to wrestle which suited the old school Orndorff and the very green Disco Inferno. It wasn’t that bad.

Mean Gene did an interview with the Four Horsemen, in Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman. Mean Gene asked Brian what it’s like to be a part of the Four Horsemen. God bless Brian Pillman, but he was completely outta his mind when he cut this promo. He claimed Hogan wanted to be a member of the Four Horsemen and even donned the black because he wanted to be a bad guy. Brian claimed Hogan could never keep up with Flair’s lifestyle. Pillman then decides to bury a bunch of random guys on the roster. He cuts a promo on Steve “Mongo” McMichael, The Zodiac, Mr Wonderful and the American Males.

Mr Wonderful comes out after Pillman targets him. Mr Wonderful cuts a promo where he says he could be a Horsemen if he wanted to and that’s the only reason why Pillman IS a horsemen. He called Pillman a punk. Arn gets in between them. Orndorff says if Pillman thinks carrying around everybody’s bags makes him a Horsemen then he is a Horsemen, because that’s what Pillman’s doing. Wonderful and Pillman then got into a brawl. Flair and Arn helped Pillman and turned it into a 3 on 1 beatdown. Arn and Ric delivered a spike piledriver on the floor. At this point, Mongo said “I’VE SEEN THIS ON A FOOTBALL FIELD”…. WHEN DID THREE NFL PLAYERS EVER DO A SPOT LIKE THIS?

As a segment this was really well executed. As a means to write Orndorff off of TV, which is what I assume this is all about, Orndorff came off as worthy star worthy of a Horsemen beatdown. I don’t even think I’ve seen Orndorff lose a match on Nitro since THIS Mr Wonderful gimmick started. He beat Disco Inferno, he cut a great promo on Pillman and then he got taken out by Flair and Arn who were in the main-event of this episode of Nitro.

Bobby was shown going to see Orndorff who was being seen too by the medics. Not getting up real close to Orndorff but still showing concern.

 

Lex Luger w/Jimmy Hart vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan

I think this is the moment when writing my Nitro review where I’ve just realised just how much Lex Luger was on this show. He showed up to do a promo with Mean Gene and Jimmy Hart and now he’s got a match with another Jim in Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Spoiler alert, but he shows up later on in the show and all of the babyfaces talk about Luger at the end of the show. It’s just astonishing to think about. It’s astonishing because according to a number of stories, Bischoff was not high on Luger. And yet here is Luger all over this show so I’m not sure what changed. Maybe it was that dreaded Luger vs Meng match from Nitro a few months ago.

In a twist of fate, the babyface Duggan jumped Luger before the match. Duggan smashed Luger’s head into the turnbuckle. Hacksaw ran wild with a hip toss, a clothesline and a few elbows. They cut away to show Orndorff loaded into the ambulance. Bobby was back on commentary by the way. Jimmy Hart got on the apron and as he does, Hacksaw grabs tape to hit Luger with it. Then Hacksaw got distracted by Hart. Supposedly Duggan ran into Hart’s megaphone and Luger took advantage and locked on the torture rack for the win.

Bad finish to a well below average match. This really did not make Luger come off as a main-event star. Duggan got the heat for a long time and it took a megaphone and a distraction for Luger to get the win. So really, nobody got over after this match was over. Really, you could make the argument that the Torture Rack got over as Duggan tapped right away and Luger did hardly anything leading up to it. But that’s about it.

Mean Gene was with Macho Man. They revealed on commentary that Randy Savage is set to face Hiroyoshi Tenzan at Starrcade along with defending the WCW World title later on in the show. And then, it was revealed that he will defend the title against The Giant next week on Nitro.

So this WCW World title picture… Hogan started off this series as the champion. He loses the title to The Giant via disqualfication but then The Giant is stripped off the title. Savage wins the title in a battle royal where Hulk Hogan was never even eliminated. Now all of a sudden, The Giant is getting a WCW title match next week. If hypothetically, The Giant regains the title next week, does that mean Savage is out of the title picture all together? Why is Hogan not in the title picture at all? He didn’t even get beat properly to lose the title. He was never eliminated in the World War III battle royal. Along with all of this, Savage is wrestling Hiroyoshi Tenzan at Starrcade on the same night he may or may not be defending the title? What is going on?

Savage said he’s not even thinking of Starrcade or Tenzan or Luger, the whiner, and he’s not thinking about Flair or Sting. He’s thinking about Nitro against The Giant. He compared him to Andre The Giant. Savage said he would be like dynamite, blowing up in your face as he would do whatever it took to win.

 

Hulk Hogan and Sting vs Ric Flair and Arn Anderson

Sting and Hogan came out to separate entrances. Hogan came down to boos and then complained that Sting went out to the ring without him… right at the moment Sting’s song has a lyric that goes “And all the old people start to act like a child.” I mean Hogan did file a lawsuit against Vince Russo for defamation in 2000 so Hogan, if you’re reading this, no disrespect intended dude! I just think it’s hilarious that Hogan’s character whines like a child that Sting is not coming out with him right when that lyric kicks in.

At the very least, I am being more respectful of Hulk Hogan than this Charlotte crowd. Holy crap, they hated the Hulkster in Charlotte. Ric Flair was always gonna be loved in Charlotte but this was a clear defiance against Hulkamania in 1995. This made Hulk Hogan’s eventually change in character in 1996 all the more appropriate but at least up until this point, it’d been a bit more split 70/30 across the Nitro audience. Not on this night. Everyone loved Ric, they liked Arn, they respected Sting and they hated Hogan.

This was sort of like the WrestleMania 22 show where the Chicago completely booed John Cena and cheered Triple H. Up until that point, the negativity towards Cena was slightly less obvious than it was in WrestleMania 22 and then everybody turned against Cena at ECW One Night Stand. To give WCW credit, at least they turned their John Cena at a perfect time for them.

We got a Hogan sucks chant. Mongo drops the line of: “I played with guys that I didn’t particular care for.” Arn delivered a sweet looking fireman’s carry arm drag. Sting Gorilla Pressed Arn which is still a crazy feat of strength as Arn wasn’t exactly a slim guy here. Arn tried to cause issues with Hogan and Sting by goading Hogan to make the tag… to thunderous boos. I honestly kept forgetting this was Flair country and then as I finally thought of it when watching this match, Flair got tagged in.

Flair chopped away at Hogan to no affect. Hogan backdropped Flair and ran wild. As Flair was bundled over the apron, Sting gave him a Mongolian Chop.

Arn jumped Hogan as Sting and Flair brawled outside. Flair did an eye poke and the fans wooed away. The Horsemen got the heat on Hogan. We got every Sting vs Ric Flair mini-match you ever saw and I think I’ll be writing that at least a few hundred more times before this Nitro review series is over!

Sting locked on the Scorpion Death lock on Arn when Ric got involved, Hogan distracted the ref, Sting locked on the Death Lock but then Arn hit a DDT. Luger came out a brawled with Hogan and locked on the Torture Rack. The referee supposedly didn’t see ANY of this.

The heels got the heat. Mongo then blamed Hogan and Sting for not being able to work together. Oh yeah? Well what about Lex Luger running down and attacking Hogan? Mongo had a horrid night on this Nitro.

Flair locked on the Figure Four with Arn with the assistance by holding onto Flair. Sting pulled Flair to his corner with sheer leg power and made the tag to Hogan but the referee didn’t see it as the ref was distracted with Arn. Sting eventually fires up and no-sells the chop, throws Flair off the top and goes for the tag but Flair stops him. Bischoff talks about “wanting to reach out and touch somebody.” Arn got spiked by a Sting facebuster. Hogan And Sting kayfabed screwed up the tag and Arn hit the spinebuster. Hulk hulked up anyway and hit a leg drop as Sting hit a Stinger Splash for the win. A weird miscommunication spot which usually would lead to the heels getting the win in this kind of story. But no… Hogan and Sting just overcame the heels and won. It was one of the better Nitro main-events as of late. I’m not gonna lie.

Brian Pillman ran down after the match. 3 on 2 as Lex Luger stopped Pillman from attacking Sting and then instructed Pillman to beat up on Hogan instead.

Sting fought to help Hogan and by the time Savage ran down, Sting had already cleaned house. Sting punched Savage WHICH LOOKED rather intentionally but supposedly it wasn’t. Savage slapped Sting. HOGAN tried to be peacemaker as the fans chanted Hogan sucks. I got super confused as to why Sting punched Savage, I guess it’s because Sting is in the triangle match at Starrcade but perhaps there was something I missed. However, this did not look like Sting punching Savage was an accident.

Mean Gene got involved and in between Hogan, Sting and Savage. Hogan ASKED AGAIN for about the 700th time about Luger and Sting. My notes here just read “FUCK OFF”. Savage said he hated Luger. Savage wanted to know about Luger too. Mean Gene said let’s talk about it on national television Sting! Sting said it was an accident when he punched Savage. Hogan does testify for him as Sting did save him from the 3 on 1 beatdown by the Horsemen. Hogan blamed Flair and had his arms wide out to elaborate on this point! Savage said we needed to take a chill pill. Savage wants them to work together. Hogan told Savage to get his act together as he may end up losing to The Giant if he doesn’t get it together. Savage said we’ve all got giant problems to end an OK episode of Nitro but by no means exhilarating show that I should wanna watch every week. Really, these last two episodes really did seem like filler if you look at the story.

The story has mostly been about Lex Luger causing division between Sting, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage but that’s been the storyline since the very first episode of Nitro. We do not need to see this scene every week of Savage, Sting and Hogan questioning each others intentions. Their characters make sense but we don’t need to see Sting being put on the spot every week because of his friendship with Luger. Jesus.

Speaking of Lex Luger. So Lex Luger ran down in the main-even to attack Hogan. He was all over this episode of Nitro. My prediction is that Lex Luger will win the triangle match at Starrcade. Seriously, why would Lex Luger be getting pushed this much if this didn’t lead to Luger winning and facing Savage again? If you look at what happened last week, Hogan ran down and caused a DQ when Luger was fighting for the World title. He got screwed out of the title. If we want to be greedy about this convoluted WCW title storyline, Luger has a claim to a title shot himself. Savage never properly beat him to retain the title. The only problem is that I don’t wanna see Lex Luger vs Randy Savage again. They have yet to deliver since Luger arrived either on TV or on PPV. I don’t know what the appeal would be if they were to do Luger and Savage again and Savage beat him as a blow-off to that feud.

…or The Giant may end up winning the title again next week and this entire conversation may become null and void.

My analysis is that thi was an OK Nitro. Felt a lot like a filler Nitro. We got Luger winning a match, we got Orndorff getting taken out, we got your usual cruiserweight match on Nitro and we got pretty much the finish to almost every Nitro show in the last few months. However, there was nothing really wrong with it either other than just repeating angles with Sting, Hogan and Savage.

Next week, we’ve got Savage’s bit title defence against The Giant but WCW really have to put in the work to build up anticipation towards Starrcade. In the meantime, we’ll see you at Episode #16 of this review series.

 

WCW Nitro Reading Order

• #1 – September 4th 1995
• #2 – September 11th 1995
• WCW War Games 1995 – September 17th 1995
• #3 – September 18th 1995
• #4 – September 25th 1995
• #5 – October 2nd 1995
• #6 – October 9th 1995
• #7 – October 16th 1995
• #8 – October 23rd 1995
• WCW Halloween Havoc 1995 – October 29th 1995
• #9 – October 30th 1995
• #10 – November 6th 1995
• #11 – November 13th 1995
• #12 – November 20th 1995
• WCW World War III 1995 – November 26th 1995
• #13 – November 27th 1995
• #14 – December 4th 1995

 

RETRO EXPRESS: WCW NITRO #14 (DECEMBER 4TH 1995) – RANDY SAVAGE VS LEX LUGER FOR THE WCW TITLE

Welcome to the Retro Express. This is where we’re taking a stroll down memory lane at wrestling history. This post is part of an ongoing series where we’re reviewing every episode of WCW Nitro from start to finish. Links to the previous posts are at the bottom of this post. We hope you enjoy.

The controversy continued to run wild following World War III. Randy Savage had won the WCW World title in the 60 man battle royal, despite Hulk Hogan never being truly eliminated. Hogan vowed to show the tape on Nitro and Savage agreed to give Hogan a title shot should the tape show what happened with Hogan and The Giant. Nitro had the footage on deck but the video footage got cut at the moment Hogan got pulled under the bottom rope by The Giant.

The Giant came down to brawl with Hogan which led to chair shot after chair shot delivered by the Hulkster. There were more issues for Hulk Hogan as his mistrust of the relationship between Lex Luger and Sting emerged once again. Even after fight by Luger and Sting’s side at the end of the show, Hogan still saw Luger as the enemy.

 

 

Date: December 4th, 1995

Brand: WCW

City: Phoenix, Arizona

Rating: 2.4

Commentators: Eric Bischoff, Steve “Mongo” McMichael and Bobby Heenan

NOTE: This show was actually an overrun. Usually the episodes of the WWE Network are 40-48 minutes long but this one was in the mid 50s if I recall.

 

It was revealed at the start of the show that Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and The Giant were all on probation for their actions last week. I was wondering if they were gonna even mention Hogan and Flair attacking referees last week and they ended up mentioning it.

 

“Harlem Heat” Booker T (c) and Stevie Ray (c) w/Sister Sherri vs “American Males” Marcus Bagwell and Scotty Riggs for the WCW Tag Team Championship

Many, many moons ago, the American Males beat Harlem Heat for the WCW Tag Team titles. That was way back in Episode #3. Here we are, 11 episodes later, and Harlem Heat are once again defending the tag team titles against the American Males.

Things started off with Stevie and Scotty, with Stevie supposedly having a bad ankle. The one noticeable thing in the first couple of minutes was that American Males did a double back drop on Booker and he didn’t land on his back. He did a complete flip and seemed to land on HIS ANKLE.

So Col. Robert Parker comes out with a present. This was delivered to Sister Sherri and revealed to be a coat. Harlem Heat are kicking American Males’ ass by the way as this is going on. It was revealed that Sensational Sherri had a ring as she left ringside. Then Booker gets upset that she left during a match they were dominating anyway with no problems… weird.

A.C. Green, NBA basketball player, was at ringside having words with an already irate Booker. Harlem Heat did an ugly looking double Gordbuster on Scotty. Harlem Heat… future 2019 WWE Hall Of Famers by the way.

Fans start chanting for AC. Booker screws up a backbreaker by just dropping Riggs on the mat. Bagwell makes the hot tag and runs wild on Harlem Heat. He turned Booker inside out and hit Stevie with a Northern Lights Suplex. Bagwell goes for a dropkick but Stevie catches him, elevates him in the air for 5 seconds like he’s gonna do a Cesaro Swing, then just drops him…

Booker hit the Houston Hangover for the pin. As my notes read… WHAT AN UGLY MATCH. This tag title scene is really in need for a shake-up.

Sting and Lex Luger do an interview with Mean Gene. It’s been announce that Sting, Luger and Flair are set to do a triple threat match at Starrcade. Mean Gene said Sting got Flair to say uncle. Sting said he doesn’t agree with Jimmy Hart being Luger’s business partner but gives Luger credit and that he could get the job done. At this point, I got proper confused. They explain that the winner will get a title shot later on in the night against the WCW Champion. Lex Luger is challenging for the world title in the main-event… so Luger is gonna be in the triple threat and then challenge himself for the title if he wins on Nitro?

…it took them until an interview later to explain all of this.

Sting said momentum is going his way and that he’s gonna win.  He’s gonna come at Lex like he would with the Nature Boy. Luger said he’d win the title and that Sting’s right but as far as the triangle match is concerned, Luger said there’s no holds barred for him too. A perplexing interview!

 

Sting vs Kurasawa

This was no good in its own right either. My initial question was why Kurasawa wasn’t with his manager Col. Robert Parker but then the commentary team asked the same question moments later! The explanation was that he was with Sherri.

My notes for this aren’t stacked at all. Sting sent Kurasawa to the outside with a clothesline. There was one great spot where Kurasawa hit a kitchen sink on Sting, put on a big smile and said “HA HA HA!” That was awesome. I enjoy the small things of wrestling!

My notes finish with Kurasawa working on the arm and then Sting hitting a Sting Splash. He tapped out Kurasawa with the Scorpion Death Lock for the win. NOTHING to this match.

 

Starrcade was plugged as NJPW battling WCW. That actually sounds kinda sick.

 

Scott Norton vs The Giant w/Jimmy Hart and Taskmaster

You remember when Scott Norton was aligned with the Dungeon of Doom a couple of months ago and he had the storyline with The Shark? Fast forward to this episode of Nitro and he’s just another dude in a match with the top heel in the group! I therefore assume Norton got kicked out of the group.

They plugged Hogan and Sting against Arn and Flair for next week. Giant hit a big shoulder tackle and ROARED. Giant beat on Norton and hit him with a scoop slam. Then we had an incredible feat of strength. Scott Norton LIFTED THE GIANT up for an Atomic Drop. He has The Giant up in the air for close to 10 seconds as the fans go NUTS. Incredible from Norton.

Now as I saw this spot, I couldn’t help but notice that Norton was thicker than The Giant of all people. I’m not saying that in an negative way but if you watch The Big Show later on in the Giant’s career, Giant always had a thick waist. The Giant here was proper slim.

Norton batters away at Giant. Norton tries to clothesline him twice and as Bobby Heenan declares that these two could go on all night, Giant catches Norton off the top rope with a chokeslam for the win. A quick but fine mean guy match.

 

Mean Gene is with Ric Flair along with NBA star Charles Barkley. This major big time NBA star makes his way down to the ring and he had his jeans pulled WAY UP. Charles said he could never measure up to the Nature Boy and he’s his man no matter what people say. Flair said they’re gonna tear the town down and the greatest basketball player alive is standing with the Nature Boy. Charles said we have the best basketball fans in Phoenix and we’ve got the best wrestling fans in Phoenix and you better appreciate the Nature Boy. Flair said Hogan, Sting and Savage better not jump on him anymore as Charles may just become a full-time Horsemen.

 

Randy Savage (c) vs Lex Luger w/Jimmy Hart for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

This was an absolutely nothing match supposedly for the WCW title. Eric revealed that they would reveal the team from Japan that would take on America at Starrcade. This match however starts with Lex Luger backing away from Randy Savage. Now, I understand Luger is the heel in the situation. However, Luger tapped out Savage clean at World War III… why the hell would he feel the need to back down from Savage?

Luger looked blown up 30 seconds into the action. We got all kinds of stalling. I don’t think they told us this on commentary but I don’t think they mentioned the reason for why Luger has this title shot. The very reason why was that he beat Savage at World War III right before Savage became the champion. But nobody on the announce team mentioned this.

Luger tried an elbow drop which did not look like an elbow drop at all. He leaped high in the air, stuck his hands to the sky and just to a flat back bump on the mat as Savage evaded. It actually did look like he stuck one his arms out a little bit so it’s possible it was just a bad camera angle.

Savage started working on Luger’s arm in a twist of fate, as he locked on the arm lock that Luger used to beat him at World War III. At the very least, they explained that Savage would go into the Starrcade triangle match should Luger win the title in this match.

Savage went for a double axe handle but crashed into the steel rail. They both clobbered each other. Savage and Luger fucked up clothesline spot where Luger didn’t seem to be in place for it. Savage smashed Luger into the exposed turnbuckle but Luger fell into the ref and knocked him down. Savage got a hold of Jimmy. Flair ran down at hit Savage with the Brass Knuckles.

Jimmy pulled Luger for the cover when Hogan ran down to go after Flair. He got his hands on Flair. The referee went to make the count but Hogan broke it up for the DQ. Hogan went to punch Luger but Sting ran down and Hogan accidentally punched Sting. Hogan and Sting pushed away at each other while Savage separated them.

Mean Gene came down to interview the babyfaces. Hogan said he didn’t give a shit about probation. Hogan asked about Sting and Luger again. Sting says straight up that he is on Hogan’s side. Sting insists that Luger is still his friend and he’s trying to straighten him out. Sting says sometimes he questions Savage’s motives but he’s not gonna doubt the Macho Man. Sting asks why Hogan questions Luger. Hogan pointed out Macho Man said that he warned us about Luger in the first place. Sting says maybe they didn’t just give Luger the opportunity he needed. Sting said if they don’t get it sorted out, they may lose next week’s match with the heels. Hogan told Sting not to have Luger get in his face. Sting makes one last statement and he’d keep Luger out of Savage and Hogan’s face.

This was not a particular strong edition of Nitro but we do have a big Sting and Hogan vs Ric and Arn main-event next week. They’re starting to build towards Starrcade and if it’s WCW vs NJPW for Starrcade, then they’ll need to do a stronger job at building that angle to the PPV.

I will see you all in Episode #14 of this WCW Nitro series!

WCW Nitro Reading Order

• #1 – September 4th 1995
• #2 – September 11th 1995
• WCW War Games 1995 – September 17th 1995
• #3 – September 18th 1995
• #4 – September 25th 1995
• #5 – October 2nd 1995
• #6 – October 9th 1995
• #7 – October 16th 1995
• #8 – October 23rd 1995
• WCW Halloween Havoc 1995 – October 29th 1995
• #9 – October 30th 1995
• #10 – November 6th 1995
• #11 – November 13th 1995
• #12 – November 20th 1995
• WCW World War III 1995 – November 26th 1995
• #13 – November 27th 1995