WCW Souled Out 1998

From Dayton, Ohio; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan.


Opening Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Juventud Guerrera, Super Calo, Lizmark Jr, and Chavo Guerrero Jr v Psychosis, La Parka, Silver King, and El Dandy: Calo starts with Psychosis, and Psychosis ends up on the floor after an armdrag. Back in, Psychosis tries chops, but gets powerslammed, and Calo hits a sidewalk slam for two. Tags to Lizmark and Silver King to trade chops, and Lizmark hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Tags to Chavo and El Dandy, and Chavo sends him flying with a monkeyflip and a headscissors - only to miss a dropkick and get chopped. A hiptoss spot leaves both guys on the floor, so Juventud and La Parka come in (sans tags) and do a sloppy sequence that ends in Parka taking a ten-punch count. Everyone runs in to lay guys out with clotheslines, and the dust settles on Lizmark and Psychosis - Lizmark catching him with a well timed springboard moonsault. King comes back in to give Calo a helicopter powerbomb for two, but ends up taking a 450 splash from Guerrera for two. Parka responds by blasting Guerrera with a sit-out powerbomb for two, and another trade off ends in Psychosis creaming Chavo with a forward-falling suplex and a flying legdrop for two. Everyone starts diving and springboarding out to the floor for a dog pile, while Chavo catches Psychosis with a tornado DDT for the win at 9:30. Like the other interchangeable multi-man cruiserweight bouts, this was spot-spot-spot at a breakneck pace, but very little flow or psychology. Still, some neat spots, good efforts, and the crowd was way into it, so it certainly worked as an opener. * ¼

Raven's Rules Match: Raven v Chris Benoit: Once again, 'Raven's Rules' is just fancy talk for 'no DQ.' Anyway, Mr. Fancy attacks Benoit before he makes it into the ring, and whips him into the rail a few times before rolling him in for a pair of snapmares. Benoit manages to block a third with a backslide for two, but he can't turn the tide, and Raven rams his face into the mat. Raven with a kneelift, but a second try gets him cradled for two. Still, Chris can't sway the momentum, and Raven tosses him to the floor for a shot with a chair. He brings the chair back inside with him, and unfolds it for a bulldog onto the seat - getting two. Raven tries his droptoe-hold onto the chair spot, but Benoit reverses, and both guys are down for the count. Both stagger to their feet at 'seven,' but Benoit is first to strike with a series of chops. Chris with a clothesline, and a snap suplex onto the chair gets two. Pissed, Benoit rips Raven's shirt off for a few chops directly to the exposed skin, so Raven tries to bail - only to take a baseball slide into the rail. Benoit tosses him into the steps for good measure, and adds more chops as they brawl up the aisle. Benoit with a snap suplex on the ramp, and back inside, Chris gives him another snap suplex onto the chair (though they end up missing the chair). He makes up for it by brutally stomping the chair onto Raven's head, and then leaving it there as he drops a flying headbutt. Unfortunately, no one wins with a headbutt (and even less so when you add a chair into the mix), so Chris only gets two by the time he manages to cover. Benoit with a Northern lights suplex, but Raven counters into a DDT, and both guys are staring at the lights again. Benoit manages to recover first and cover for two, then blocks Raven's last ditch attempt at another DDT with the Crippler Crossface for the submission at 10:36. Fun match here with good selling from both guys, and well worked - I especially liked how Raven's tendency to repeat moves backfired on him throughout the match, and then ultimately cost him the bout when he went for the second DDT at the end. * ¾

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Rey Mysterio Jr v Chris Jericho: For the first (only?) time in his career, Jericho gets to tower over an opponent, and uses his size advantage to push Mysterio around. Rey fires back with a shot to the jaw, but a shoulderblock backfires, and Rey's head bounces off the mat. Jericho with a pair of chops, but Mysterio slides through his legs, and sends him to the floor with a headscissors. Unfortunately, Rey bangs up his knee as he tries to follow-up, and Jericho goes for the kill. Mysterio tries to hold him off with a chinlock and a standing victory roll for two, but the knee is slowing him down too much, and he gets stungunned as he tries a rana. To the outside, Jericho gives him a butterfly backbreaker, and springboards off the steps with a clothesline in a spot that looked too backyard wrestling-ish. Inside, Jericho rams the knee into the turnbuckles, but Rey manages a tomikaze and he Flair flips Jericho onto the floor for a baseball slide. Mysterio with a springboard somersault plancha and a stungun onto the steps, but an attempt to springboard back in gets blocked when Jericho dives into the ropes - Mysterio landing badly on his knee. Rey makes a last ditch effort with a rana off the top, but Jericho counters into the Liontamer on the way down (great spot there), and Mysterio quickly submits at 8:22. Mysterio was legitimately hurt going in (this was his last match until Bash at the Beach six months later), and it certainly slowed him down, but both guys made a solid effort to work around it, and the results were good - if disappointing. **

WCW Television Title Match: Booker T v Rick Martel: The initial lockup goes to stalemate and a clean break to establish that both guys are babyfaces, and another ends in Booker hooking a standing side-headlock, and hitting a shoulderblock as Martel tries to escape. Martel tries to do the exact same thing, but Booker dodges to shoulderblock - only to get cradled for two as they criss cross. They trade hammerlocks, but another attempt at a cradle is blocked by Booker, and he clotheslines his challenger for two. Booker with an armbar and a suplex, but an elbowdrop misses, so he spinarooni's up into the Harlem Sidekick for two. Martel with a 2^nd rope clothesline, but Booker blasts him with another sidekick for two, and accidentally hits a low blow - stopping to check on Martel and getting stomped in the corner. Guy should have checked with Tito Santana before trusting Rick Martel - serves him right. Martel with a gutwrench suplex for two, and a spinebuster gets two. A charge into the corner misses when Booker fires off a sunset flip for two, but Martel is quick to slap on a reverse chinlock before Booker can sway the momentum. Booker powers up, so Martel shifts into an abdominal stretch - only to get hiptossed. Martel desperately tries to retain the momentum, but a criss cross goes Booker's way with a diving forearm. Martel manages to dodge a dropkick to set up the Quebec Crab (a Boston crab), but Booker is in the ropes, and hits an axekick. Booker with a sidewalk slam, and the Harlem Hangover to retain at 10:48. I remember really liking Rick Martel during this period, and this was one of the rare cases of WCW doing a much better job with a guy then the WWF was. Unfortunately, his career revival wouldn't last as he'd suffer an injury, and be retired by the years end - but it was good while it lasted. *

Scott Hall v Larry Zbyszko: Larry has Dusty Rhodes as his surprise corner man - which becomes important later. Hall tries to intimidate him, but Zbyszko easily controls by outwrestling him with takedowns and an armbar. Larry with an abdominal stretch, but Hall hiptosses free, and knocks Zbyszko down with a hard right hand for two. Hall with a cross corner clothesline and an armbar, as the crowd loudly lets them know they think this sucks. Zbyszko tries an anklelock to pump the crowd up, but Hall counters with a short-clothesline, and the crowd still thinks they suck. Hall with a blockbuster, but Larry blocks the Outsider's Edge with a backdrop, and he whips Scott into the corner for a series of shots to the body. The referee gets bumped when Larry tries a kick, so Louie Spicolli runs in, but Dusty Rhodes is there to stop him with a series of elbowsmashes. And then he turns on Larry to join the nWo, of course - Larry getting the official victory by disqualification at 9:16. Just like the crowd told you, this sucked. It was also supposed to lead to a match between Zbyszko and Spicolli the next month at SuperBrawl, but it never happened due to Louie's death a few weeks after this. DUD

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Ray Traylor and The Steiner Brothers v Konnan and Vicious and Delicious: After much debate, Rick Steiner starts with Buff Bagwell, and Buff plays mind games with him as he wins a couple of lockups. Rick fires back with a nice powerslam, and he tags Traylor in for an avalanche. Ray with a bodyslam, and apparently that's exhausted his move set, as he passes back to Rick. Unfortunately, Rick doesn't have much left either, so it's chinlock time, until he tags Traylor back in. Bagwell manages to get to Scott Norton before Ray can do much, but Norton misses a cross corner charge, and gets slammed. The nWo cut the ring in half on Traylor while mugging for the cameras, but he manages to dodge Norton again, and gets back to Rick Steiner. Rick tries lighting the doghouse on fire, but takes a DDT from Bagwell, and the nWo get back to cutting the ring in half with their new victim - though 'cutting the ring in half' is more 'hoping Steiner doesn't notice just how close he is to his own corner and tags' in this case. Bagwell fucks it up, of course, and there's the tag to brother Scott. Traylor comes in with him to immediately start a six-way brawl, and Scott finishes Konnan with a Fire Thunder Driver  at 12:21. This is the kind of match where I've liked all six guys at one time or another - but none in early 1998. Pretty long match for the story being told, too, especially when they were all just going through the motions here. DUD

Kevin Nash v The Giant: Big (ahem) staredown to start, and a hard fought collar-and-elbow ends in Nash hooking a standing side-headlock. Giant breaks with a side suplex and uses his ass to ram Nash into the corner a few times as Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff protest from the floor. Nash rolls to the outside to check in with Hogan, and back in, Giant hits a cross corner clothesline and a big boot. Giant uses said boot to choke Nash in the corner, but the histories slowest criss cross ends in Nash hitting a big boot. Nash with a sloppy plancha into Giant's arms, but Hogan is there with a chair to help Big Kev out, and Nash chokes Giant on the ropes as they head back in. Nash plods around with some elbowsmashes, but a big boot is countered with a big boot for a neat double-knockout spot. Nash recovers first to get a two count off of it, but a ten-punch count is interrupted with an inverted atomic drop, and Giant fires off a series of clotheslines. Another big boot and a bodyslam set up the Chokeslam, so Hogan passes Nash a pot of hot coffee to throw in Giant's face, and Nash finishes with a botched Powerbomb (nearly breaking Giant's neck in the process) at 10:48. There were botches, both guys were moving as if they were covered in molasses, and it was just generally dull stuff. DUD

Ric Flair v Bret Hart: Though Bret had made appearances before (very notably in the main event of Starrcade the month before), this serves as Hart's WCW in-ring debut. And Bret is ready to go, quickly winning the initial lockup with a side-headlock. Flair tries to counter with a kneebreaker, but Hart holds firm, and takes the hold to the mat. Flair powers into the corner to break, and tries a headlock of his own, but Hart catches him with a droptoe-hold, and slaps on the figure four to be a dick. Flair quickly grabs the ropes to break, so Hart gives him a headbutt and a vertical suplex for two. Hart with an armbar, but Flair grabs the ropes, so Bret unloads a pair of rights to send Ric through the ropes. Flair regroups on the outside, and back in, Ric fires off a kneelift as Bret calls for a test-of-strength - only to walk into a backdrop during a cross corner charge, and end up back in a mat-based side-headlock. Unable to wrestle free, Flair uses the hair and a thumb to the eye to free himself, and Flair unloads some chops. Bret tries a sleeper to retain the momentum, but Flair drops him with a side suplex and adds a shindrop for two. Chinlock and a cross corner whip leave Hart in a heap, but an attempt at more chops triggers a series of fists from the Hitman. Hart adds a swinging neckbreaker and a bulldog for two, then starts working the knee - dropping his weight onto it. That sets up the ringpost figure four, but Flair shoves him off before he can lock it, and Bret flies into the rail - hard. Flair capitalizes with an elbowdrop on the way back in for two, and hits a kneebreaker to set up some shots of his own to the leg. Another kneebreaker, but a third try gets him caught with an enzuigiri. Flair tries to retain the momentum with the Figure Four, but Hart cradles him for two. Hart with a backslide for two, but Flair clips the knee in desperation, and manages to lock the Figure Four. Bret is nowhere near the ropes, but manages to reverse the hold (his facial expressions of pain just phenomenal here), but Flair gets the best of it, and goes to the top rope - only to get slammed off. Hart still takes his chest-first cross corner bump, but blocks another kneebreaker with a Russian legsweep. Flair with chops, but Hart pulls down the straps (!!), and shoves Ric into the corner for a ten-punch count. Flair tries an inverted atomic drop, but Hart quickly returns fire with a headbutt and a backbreaker for two. Pointed elbowdrop and a 2^nd rope version for two. Hart with a super-duperplex, and it's Sharpshooter time at 18:04. Bret was just so far ahead of everybody else in terms of pacing, psychology, and realism at this point that it's almost jarring to see him work on the same show as Zbyszko/Hall or Nash/Giant. Sadly, the motivation wouldn't last as he waded deeper into the mire that was WCW, but he still had something to prove here, and coupling him with a grossly misused Flair made for a fun match. ***

Main Event: Randy Savage v Lex Luger: Savage insists they start on the floor, and suckers Luger into the rail, then rolls him in for a two count. Savage with a hangman’s clothesline for two, and a side suplex gets two. Randy with a cross corner backelbow for two, but another cross corner charge misses, and Luger unloads rights - only to get tripped up by Elizabeth as he runs the ropes. That distraction allows Savage to knock him through the ropes, and Macho adds a flying axehandle followed by a shot into the rail. They do a quick and pointless brawl into the crowd, then back inside for Luger to unload a series of clotheslines. That draws the nWo out, as Luger hits a powerslam - only for the interference to backfire, and Lex to finish Randy with the Torture Rack at 7:07. This would have been a classic if these two crossed paths in their primes, but this wasn't the time or the place - both guys just cruising by on their name values by this point. ½*

BUExperience: Historically, this one is interesting as the first WCW show promoted under a ‘joint’ WCW/nWo banner, as well as moving focus on Souled Out away from an nWo promoted show to a standard show – which was one of the reasons (if the only reason) the first one worked to begin with.

Wrestling wise, it started off well enough with four solid matches on the undercard, and there’s a good Hart/Flair match (the longest of the night), but the middle section is just painfully – brutally – slow, and the main event was disappointing Nitro filler more than pay per view worthy. *