WCW Uncensored 1998

From Mobile, Alabama; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan.


Opening WCW Television Title Match: Booker T v Eddie Guerrero: Eddie is in full heel mode here, and stalls Booker on the floor as the bell sounds - frustrating the champion as Eddie draws it out. Though, really, Booker should be thrilled, because Guerrero has to beat him - not the other way around. If Booker can run the clock down to a time limit draw, he retains. Booker finally gets hold of him with a sidewalk slam and a clothesline puts Guerrero on the floor. Eddie tries to offer the champ a handshake on the way back in, but Booker cracks his hand, and then his jaw with a sidekick. A powerslam sends Eddie running again, but Booker follows with a slam on the floor this time, and he brings him in for a backelbow - getting two. Press slam hits, but Eddie crotches him on the top turnbuckle with a dropkick, and super-duperplexes him down. Guerrero's too battered to capitalize, however, and walks into a superkick for two. He manages to block the axekick with a dropkick to the knee, and Eddie goes to work on the leg - stomping it and ramming it against the ring apron. Guerrero with an anklelock, but even a rope-assist can't draw a submission, so he hits a slingshot somersault senton onto the knee for two. Booker rolls to the floor, but Eddie follows with a flying shoulderblock - into the knee. Think about the physics involved in that spot, and get back to me. Inside, Eddie side suplexes him for two, but he walks into a flapjack, and Booker manages the axekick followed by a spinebuster. To the top, Booker misses a missile dropkick, but Eddie's attempt at another superplex gets blocked with a successful missile dropkick, and Booker retains at 11:07. Fun and psychologically sound - Booker was getting better and better by the minute during this period, and luckily WCW was taking note. **

Juventud Guerrera v Konnan: Konnan makes the mistake of turning his back to jaw with the fans at the bell, and gets nailed with a spinheel kick in the corner. Guerrera keeps after him with forearm shots and a headscissors to knock Konnan to the floor. He mistimes a dive (intentionally, not a botch) to allows Konnan to whip him into the steps out there, but reverses a second shot into the steps, and uses them as a springboard for a leg lariat. Guerrera with a springboard dropkick for two, but another headscissors is blocked when Konnan dumps him across the ropes. Konnan with a modified leglock, and Guerrera takes a nice reverse somersault bump off of a release German suplex. Konnan with a slingshot and a rocking horse, but he can't hook it on properly (because it was done poorly, not within the storyline), and drops Juvi hard on his head as his hands slip. Guerrera takes a breather on the floor, and back inside, Konnan gives him a weird (and sloppy) fireman’s carry for two. Konnan with a German superplex, but Guerrera knocks him into a tree of woe to counter, and stomps. Guerrera tries to slide between Konnan's legs, but gets countered with an ocean cyclone suplex for two. Powerbomb, but Guerrera counters with a sitout facebuster - only to miss a 450 splash. Konnan capitalizes with the 187 (a cradle DDT), but it only gets two. Konnan tries a Samoan drop for two, but in his frustration, gets cradled by Guerrera and pinned at 10:21. Guerrera looked good; Konnan looked fat - not a good pairing by this point in Konnan's career (he kept trying eye popping spots that he couldn't physically deliver), but Guerrera's bumping made it watchable. *

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Chris Jericho v Dean Malenko: Malenko outwrestles him out of the initial lockup, and into a front-facelock on the mat. Chris tries to counter, but ends up in an armbar, so he give up, and grabs the ropes. Jericho tries a hammerlock, but gets swept to the mat with a fireman’s carry, and into a hammerlock. Jericho forces it to a vertical base, but a criss cross ends in Malenko shoulderblocking him. Another criss cross goes Jericho's way with an enzuigiri, but a springboard dive to the floor misses, and Chris decides to walk out and lose without losing. His machismo acts up though, and he decides to march back in - only to get stomped by Malenko. Jericho manages a spinebuster out of another criss cross for two, and a hanging vertical suplex gets two. Chinlock, but Dean isn't close to ready to submit, so Jericho gives him a snap suplex and the Lionsault for two. Backbreaker submission doesn't do it, and Jericho's attempts at chops only serve to piss Dean off - giving Chris a side suplex for two. Jericho fires back with a senton splash for two, and he starts punting field goals in the challengers ribs. Snap suplex, but Dean reverses, so Chris counters into an inverted suplex - only for Malenko to dive for the ropes when he tries the Liontamer. German suplex, but Malenko counters with a standing victory roll for two, and follows with a backslide for two. Jericho with a springboard... punch... to put Malenko on the floor, and Jericho tries a side super-duperplex on the way back in - only to get countered into a bodyblock for two. Malenko with a suplex, but Jericho slips free, and tries the Liontamer, but Dean's in the ropes. Dean blocks a rana from the top with a gutbuster from the top for two, but a dropkick is countered into the Liontamer, and this time Malenko can't reach the ropes - Jericho retaining at 14:42. It fell apart a little during Jericho's dull offense period in the middle, but the beginning was a great bit of chain wrestling, and they finished strong. **

Lex Luger v Scott Steiner: Steiner (fresh off his heel turn the month before at SuperBrawl) jumps Luger before the bell, and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Scott with a series of chokes to put Lex on the floor (oh, the irony), and Steiner whips him into the guardrail out there. Suplex, but Luger reverses, and gives him an axehandle off of the apron before returning the favor with a whip to the rail. Inside, Lex with an inverted atomic drop and a pair of clotheslines to set up a powerslam. Torture Rack, but Steiner blows him low to block, and tries the Steiner Recliner - though he stupidly applies it when Luger's already in the ropes. I guess that blond hair dye fucks with your brain, yo. Scott decides to go for a chair instead, but brother Rick Steiner comes out to distract him, and Lex capitalizes for the pin at 3:55. As is often the case with 1998 WCW, this could have been a lot of fun a few years earlier, but not by this point. Total TV match too, down to the ending. DUD

WCW United States Title Triple Threat Match: Diamond Dallas Page v Chris Benoit v Raven: They start with a neat three-way collar-and-elbow tie-up spot, but it ends in a stalemate. They try again, but this time their little huddle knocks everyone out to the floor in a heap, and Page gets whipped into the stairs. That allows Benoit to go with Raven back inside the ring, and Chris hits a pair of clotheslines for two. He stomps a mud hole in the corner, but Page sneaks up from behind with a clothesline - Raven diving onto Benoit for two. Benoit with a baseball slide on Raven, but Page follows them both out with a plancha, then rolls Raven in with a swinging neckbreaker for two. Benoit gives Raven a Northern lights suplex, but Page prevents him from covering, and gives Raven a forward-falling piledriver for two - broken up by Chris. Benoit gives Raven a flying headbutt for two (saved by Page), and sadly that's the end of the kill Raven game, as Page and Benoit get into a slugfest on the floor. That allows Raven to recover with a plancha of his own, and he covers Page for two on the floor - this match apparently now Falls Count Anywhere. Benoit takes advantage of the random stipulation by whipping Raven into the rail for two, and all three start brawling up the aisle - trading near falls along the way. Raven finds a trashcan, but gets kicked in the gut before he can use it, and then double-teamed when the others find a pair of crutches. They can't agree who gets to pin the fallen Raven, however, and Benoit whips Page into the rail before blasting him with the trashcan, and suplexing him on the ramp. Page gets thrown through part of the set, and Benoit gets back to Raven - blasting him with everything and (literally) the kitchen sink. Raven responds by suplexing a table at him, and choking him with a rope. Yeah, but, no sink? Benoit reverses a whip through a table, and he wraps the rope around Raven's neck to drag him back into the ring - only to get blown low as he tries to finish him off. Raven grabs a chair for a droptoe-hold onto the unfolded seat, but Benoit reverses, then props the chair up in the corner for a hard whip. Meanwhile, Page is crawling back towards the ring, and Benoit hustles to try and put Raven away before he has to fight a two front war again. Sleeper, but Page locks Benoit in a sleeper of his own (setting up the crowd pleasing triple-sleeper spot), but both Raven and Benoit counter with chincrushers leaving all three men down for the count. Benoit's up first with three-alarm rolling German suplexes for Raven, but Page interrupts the third by German suplexing Benoit - who brings Raven along for the ride, in a great spot. Benoit and Raven decide to team up to get rid of Page before dealing with each other, and grab a stop sign to beat him with. They set up a table, but Benoit turns on Raven with the stop sign, and decides to finish the limp Page himself - by superplexing Raven ONTO Page, and through a table. Unfortunately, Page manages to recover while Benoit is setting it up, and Diamond Cuts Raven onto (but not through, since WCW sucks) the table for the pin at 17:12. Really wild, really fun three-way match - all three guys working hard to keep a good pace, working in great three-way spots, and having a generally exciting match. *** ¼

Kevin Nash v The Giant: Giant is sporting a neck brace here - the result of Nash's botched Powerbomb spot back at Souled Out. The initial lockup goes to a stalemate, so Nash decides to try chain wrestling with a side-headlock into a hammerlock, but Giant has trouble not laughing as he clotheslines him. Another one knocks Nash to the outside, but Big Kev reverses a shot into the post, and they go back inside for a Nash sleeper. That doesn't work, so Nash rips off the neck brace, but takes a boot to the balls as he tries to work the neck. Giant with a headbutt, a pair of clotheslines, and a bodyslam but Brian Adams runs in with a baseball bat before he can finish, and Giant wins by disqualification at 6:35. Crap. Complete and total crap. But short, at least, because these two going over ten minutes would have certainly fallen into negative stars. DUD

Bret Hart v Curt Hennig: The first few lockups go to stalemates, but Hart manages to take control with a mat-based side-headlock. Hennig uses the hair to force it back up to a vertical base, but Hart reverses a whip into the corner, and takes him back down with another headlock. Hennig ends up on the floor after taking a hiptoss (trying to do his usual oversell, but messing it up a bit), and Bret goes right into the Sharpshooter on the way back in, but Rick Rude (in Hennig's corner) breaks it up. That allows Hennig to go for the knee, and he pounds on it - Rude adding a few shots whenever possible. Hennig with a hairpull slam, and he locks the Figure Four on - using Rude for leverage. Bret won't give (and unfortunately, Vince McMahon isn't there to ring the bell anyway), so Curt lets off an kicks at the leg some more to set up a spinning toe-hold. A bodyslam sets up something from the top, but we never get to find out exactly what, 'cause Hart knocks him down, and hairwhips him into the post. Bret with a clothesline and an inside cradle for two. Russian legsweep for two, and a bulldog gets two. Backbreaker sets up a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two, but Hennig reverses a cross corner whip, and Hart takes his chest-first bump. That sets up the Hennig-Plex, but Bret kicks out at two in a reference to SummerSlam '91. Cradle, but Hennig reverses, so Hart counters into the Sharpshooter (King of the Ring '93 reference), and that's that at 13:50. You'd think this would be a guaranteed three star match (at least), but unfortunately Hart's motivation was lessening by the day as WCW failed to properly utilize him, and 1998 Curt Hennig wasn't the guy to bring the best out of him - Hennig's timing especially bad here. Shame, too, because I'm a big fan of both guys, and their WWF matches were absolute classics. ¼*

WCW World Title Match: Sting v Scott Hall: This was setup when Hall won the World War 3 battle royal four months earlier. Sting doesn't seem to worried, though, and destroys him at the bell. Hall tries a wristlock, but gets knocked on his ass, so he tries a chokeslam instead. Unfortunately, he wastes time mocking the Giant instead of capitalizing, and Sting bulldogs him then dropkicks him to the floor. That's enough to get Dusty Rhodes (in Hall's corner) involved, and he trips Sting up to allow Scott a clothesline for a rope-assisted two count. Hall with a blockbuster for two, but a criss cross leads to a double-knockout spot. Rhodes uses the opportunity to sneak in with an elbowdrop ('sneak' maybe not exactly the right word, as he takes forever to do it), which the referee somehow misses (Seriously? During a double-knockout spot?), and Hall covers for two. Hall hammers, but Sting decides to no-sell, and hits an inverted atomic drop to set up the Stinger Splash. Scorpion Deathlock, but Dusty's back, and Sting lets off to deal with him. That triggers a referee bump, and Hall gets hold of a pair of knux to knock Sting out with. That’s only worth two, so he tries the Outsider's Edge - only to get countered into the Deathdrop at 8:29. Hall wasn't even really a contender here - this was just going through the motions, both in the booking and in the performances. DUD

Main Event: Cage Match: Hollywood Hulk Hogan v Randy Savage: Hogan controls with kneelifts and chokes in the corner - though it's hard to tell, since the ring crew forgot to bring the lights back up after the entrances. No one complains, however. Hogan keeps punching and choking as the lights come back up (groan), and hits a big boot for two. Hogan with a cross corner clothesline, but an elbowdrop misses, and Savage unloads a series of jabs in the corner. Randy with a backelbow, and he adds some chokeholds of his own. Hogan takes his weightlifting belt off for a few licks, and adds a bodyslam - only to miss the Legdrop. That allows Savage to get the belt, and Hogan blades as Randy unloads. Savage with a pair of running elbowsmashes, but a third is blocked with a backdrop into the cage, and Hogan gets the belt yet again. Jesus, we get it. You guys are into S&M. Move along. Hulk with a side suplex for two, and a ram into the cage has Savage joining in with a bladejob of his own - and a good one. They run out of stuff to do (seriously, it's literally minutes between spots here) and decide to go to the floor, but unfortunately it's a cage match, so they can't. Oh, wait, apparently they can, since the referee just casually unlocks the door for them. Not that they do anything out there, mind you - Hogan ramming Savage into the rail once, and then they head back in. Savage takes control with a flying axehandle off the top of the cage for two, and he adds a bodyslam to set up a crazy Flying Elbowdrop off the top of the cage, but the Disciple runs in and moves Hogan out of the way. Hogan and Disciple gang up, but Sting rappels down from the rafters, and stands side-to-side with Savage. Unfortunately, someone missed their cue, and nothing happens as everyone just stares at each other for a good two minutes until Savage turns on Sting and piledrives him to end the show. The official decision? A no contest at  around 15:00, since the closing bell never sounded. Just ridiculous. I mean, wrestling a bad match is one thing, but this was just silly with all goofy booking, not to mention the ending (A no contest? In a cage match? At UNCENSORED?!?). This came off like two kids left alone for the day, and trying to see how much trouble they can get in without getting into trouble (the WCW outlawed blading, the cage escapes, the non-action). It's almost hard to believe these two actually headlined a WrestleMania less than ten years earlier. Just brutal - and not in the good way. -**

BUExperience: If the main event weren’t such a train wreck (awful in literally every way), then the Triple Threat match might (and I stress might) have been enough to save this show, but pretty much everything else sucks too (save for a couple token undercard matches), and bad booking abounds. A no contest at Uncensored? A DQ at Uncensored? Why I am I watching this, then?

Meanwhile, on the other channel, the WWF was a mere two weeks away from putting their World Title on ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin for the first time, and less than a month from defeating WCW in the Monday Night Wars after some two years of losses. WCW would be out of business three years later.

DUD