WCW World War 3 1997

From Auburn Hills, Michigan; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan.


Opening Match: Glacier and Ernest Miller v The Faces of Fear: All four men brawl at the bell, and the dust settles on Glacier taking on Meng. Glacier tries a series of kicks, but Meng shrugs him off, so Glacier sweeps him into a quick two count. Tag to Miller with a bodypress for two, so Meng passes out to Barbarian. Miller takes it to him with his exaggerated martial arts chops, but Glacier's attempt at an armbar gets him swatted, and Meng's back in. Glacier with another series of kicks and a dropkick to knock Meng into the corner (knocking Barbarian to the floor), and Miller capitalizes with a neat spot that sees him springboard OFF OF MENG, and onto Barbarian on the floor. Glacier adds a plancha for good measure, but a distraction from Faces manager Jimmy Hart gets Glacier caught in a cool backdrop/powerbomb double-team combo for two. The Faces cut the ring in half on Glacier, but he manages to side suplex Meng to allow the tag to Miller - and he's a house of arson! He unloads everything in his goofy karate arsenal, but gets overwhelmed in a double-team, and Meng slaps on the Tongan Deathgrip for the submission at 9:09. I wasn't expecting much, but this was well paced, featured some neat and innovative spots, and made good use of the standard tag formula. * ¼

WCW Television Title Match: Saturn v Disco Inferno: Saturn controls with power in the early going, but Disco knocks him to the floor with a series of right hands, and a stunned Saturn regroups. Inside, Disco manages a hip toss, but Saturn slides out to the floor to break the momentum and catch another breather. Disco brings him in the hard way with a slingshot, but telegraphs a backdrop, and gets nailed. Saturn takes too long to capitalize, however, and gets hit with an inverted atomic drop and a fistdrop for two. An elbowdrop misses though, so Saturn drops him with a t-bone suplex for two. A springboard moonsault misses, but he still manages to cradle his challenger for two. Saturn with a backslide for two, and a springboard forearm spot ends with both men tumbling out to the floor. Raven's Flock goes after Disco on the floor, and the distraction allows Saturn to nail him from behind, and bring him inside for a tiger suplex - only for Disco to counter into a swinging neckbreaker for two. Disco with a flying bodypress, but Saturn catches him in the Rings of Saturn on the way down, and retains via submission at 8:18. These two didn't click at all, and the result was a dull match with almost no flow - which the crowd had trouble getting into. Not for lack of effort, thems just the breaks sometimes. ½*

Ultimo Dragon v Yuji Nagata: If Dragon wins, he gets five minutes alone with former manager Sonny Onoo. Both guys try to intimidate the other with a display of kicks, and Nagata plants one in the Dragon as they go for a test-of-strength. Dragon tries firing back with a handspring elbow, but Nagata catches him coming in, and takes him down with a reverse armbreaker. Dragon counters into a dropkick to put Nagata on the floor, but makes the mistake of wasting time attacking Onoo, and Nagata jumps him. Inside, Nagata misses a dropkick and ends up in a mat-based side-headlock, so he powers into a side suplex to break the hold, and then unloads a series of kicks to Dragon's head. Nagata with a piledriver for two, and he slaps on a chinlock. Dragon also uses a side suplex to break, but Nagata pops up first, and drops an elbow to retain control. Nagata with another piledriver for two, and he tries a reverse chinlock, but Dragon won't give. Nagata with another reverse armbreaker that goes nowhere, so he tries a headvise and a release belly-to-belly suplex for two. Dragon returns fire with lightning kicks, and knocks Yuji to the floor for a plancha - only for Nagata to kick at him on the way down, but Dragon to catch the foot, and legwhip him on the floor! Great sequence there. Dragon keeps on him with a flying bodypress to the floor, and hits a powerbomb on the way back in for two. Bodyslam sets up a flying moonsault for two, and he locks Yuji in the Dragon Sleeper to finish, but Onoo is on the apron distracting the referee. Dragon stupidly lets off the hold to deal with Onoo, and tries to regroup with a rana off the top rope, but Onoo puts Nagata's foot on the ropes at two. Undeterred, Dragon tries a side suplex, but Onoo bops him from the apron, and Nagata falls on top for the pinfall at 12:46. Like the TV Title bout, these two made a solid effort, but just didn't click. They still managed to have decent match (especially towards the end), but it just wasn't a good pairing overall, and they had to resort to repeating moves to fill the runtime. *

WCW World Tag Team Title Match: The Steiner Brothers v The Blue Bloods: Scott Steiner starts with David Taylor, and overpowers him in the early going. Taylor manages to shove him into the Blue Blood corner for a little double-teaming, but telegraphs a backdrop, and gets blasted with a butterfly powerbomb. That draws Steven Regal in, but Rick Steiner is waiting with a clothesline, and the Steiner's clean house. The dust settles on Rick and Regal (wearing a singlet, which just looks odd), and Steiner controls with a wristlock. Regal blasts him with a few European uppercuts to shut his face, but gets too cocky, and slapped in a reverse armbreaker as he struts. Tag back to Scott with a belly-to-belly suplex for two, and he hooks an STF. Rick tags back in with another reverse armbreaker, but Regal reaches Taylor, and he hits an inverted atomic drop - only to get powerslammed for two. A cheap shot from Regal allows the challengers to take over, and they work to cut the ring in half on Scott. Tag to Rick to trigger a four-way brawl (sorry, nothing notable happened during the heat segment), and the champs finish Regal with an elevated flying bulldog double-team at 9:48. Pretty dull stuff here, all four just going through the motions. DUD

Raven's Rules Match: Raven v Scotty Riggs: 'Raven's Rules' is fancy talk for a No Disqualification Match. Riggs jumps him on the floor before the bell, and drags him in for a long series of right hands ahead of a swinging neckbreaker. Riggs with a splash for two, and a schoolboy gets two, but Raven rams him into the turnbuckle and chokes him with his shirt to turn the tide. To the outside, Raven takes him on a tour of ringside, but a whip into the steps gets reversed, and Riggs chokes him with an electrical cable. Inside, Raven manages a chincrusher to keep Scotty at bay, and the Flock passes him a chair - the sight of which finally wakes the crowd up. Raven blasts him with it, then unfolds it for a droptoe-hold across the seat - only to get reversed. Both men are left looking up at the lights, and Riggs manages to crawl over and get an arm across the chest for two. Back up, Riggs dropkicks the chair into his face for two, and then sets it back up for a pretty brutal bulldog across the seat for two. Riggs with a suplex, but Raven slips free, and pulls him in for the DDT. Not satisfied, Raven gives him two more, and then refuses to even cover - forcing the referee to count a knockout at 8:46. Slow and heatless here - I'm not sure what they were going for, but I'm positive that wasn't it. ¼*

Steve McMichael v Alex Wright: This was scheduled as McMichael/Goldberg, but Steve took Goldberg out before the match, and Wright acts as his replacement. And McMichael is good and cocky about it - allowing Wright to jump him as he plays to the fans, and whip Mongo with his ring jacket. McMichael fires back with a bodyslam and a series of stomps to put Alex out on the floor, and Wright is ready to go home. He eventually decides to head back in, but gets clobbered again, and Steve hits a sidewalk slam for two. Wright tries to mount a comeback with a leg lariat, but walks into a pair of 3-point stances, and McMichael finishes him with a tombstone at 3:37. Aaannnnnnnndd DUD

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Eddie Guerrero v Rey Mysterio Jr: They trade wristlocks and armdrags to a stalemate at the bell, and Eddie ends up on the floor after Rey snaps him to the mat with a headlock takedown - Eddie complaining of a hairpull, of course. Rey with a gorgeous headscissors takedown, but Eddie blocks a baseball slide with a brutal German suplex - Rey back flipping into it. Eddie with an equally brutal side suplex, and an abdominal stretch, but Rey takes him down with a springboard headscissors. Eddie tries to retain the momentum with a slingshot somersault senton, but Rey dodges and tries a slingshot somersault powerbomb to the outside - only for Eddie to hold the ropes to block, and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on the floor. They fight up to the top rope for a Guerrero super-duperplex, but a swanton bomb misses, and Rey rana's him for two. Eddie with a flapjack to slow him down, but Mysterio blocks a powerbomb, and uses another headscissors to take him down for two. Eddie desperately hangs on to the momentum with a dropkick, and adds a couple European uppercuts to set Rey up for a suplex - Eddie changing his mind mid-move, and instead dropping poor Mysterio across the ropes. Eddie tries his own slingshot somersault powerbomb to the floor, but Rey counters with a headscissors, and dives out after him with a somersault plancha. Mysterio with a slingshot moonsault on the way back in for two, but a rana gets countered with a firm powerbomb. The champs hooks on a Gory Special at center ring, but Mysterio bridges into a sunset flip for two. Rey with a spinheel kick and a bodyslam, but a trip to the top rope is countered with a powerbomb - only for them to botch Rey's headscissors counter. They make up for it when Mysterio follows up with a rope running flying moonsault and a springboard legdrop to set up a springboard rana into a cradle for two. Mysterio tries another springboard, but Eddie blocks with a stungun, and finishes with the Frog Splash at 12:44. Obviously expectations were high after their match at Halloween Havoc the month before, and both guys worked hard to follow their own act, though the nerves may have gotten to them a little, as they botched quite a few spots. While the Havoc match was certainly superior, this was another hard (HARD - some of the spots were just brutal) hitting match, loaded with fun counters on top of counters, and well paced. *** ¼

WCW United States Title No Disqualification Match: Curt Hennig v Ric Flair: Curt Hennig turned on the Horsemen back at Fall Brawl to set this up. Hennig tries to stall a furious Flair at the bell, but Ric chases him to the floor, and chops him into the crowd. They brawl around the arena for a while, and back to ringside for Hennig to use a microphone cable to choke the challenger. Curt likes it so much that he brings it into the ring for more choking fun, but ends up getting his neck snapped across the ropes when he gets uppity. Flair tosses him back to the floor for a shot into the rail, and actually tries a flying axehandle to the outside - hitting it. He proves why he never tries that by twisting his ankle on the way down, however, but manages to keep control with a series of chops against the rail. The ankle slows him down though, and Hennig manages to backdrop him out there to turn the tide, then rolls him back in to get a two count off of it. Hennig goes after the ankle, and hooks Flair in a spinning-toehold. Flair jams a thumb into his eye to break, and clips Curt's knee to keep him from allowing Ric to recover. Flair with a shindrop, but a trip to the top gets him slammed off. Guess he was feeling cocky after finally hitting something off the top for, like, the first time in his career earlier. A chopfest goes Hennig's way for two, but Flair whips him into the ropes for a double-knockout spot. Hennig tries to roll into another ring to put some distance between him and his challenger, but Flair follows with a kneebreaker for two. Hennig manages a necksnap, and they go to the floor for more brawling at ringside. Hennig ends up getting rammed into the guardrail, and Flair brings him back in with a hanging vertical suplex for two. Flair grabs a chair for a kneebreaker onto the seat, and he wraps it around Curt's knee for a few kicks. Not satisfied, Flair grabs the US Title belt, but just kinda tosses it next to Hennig instead of actually doing anything with it. He hooks the Figure Four on instead, but Curt grabs the title belt that Flair so helpfully set down next to him, and whacks Ric for the pin at 18:46. Yeah. Not exactly their Monday Night RAW match from 1993 here. Ridiculous ending aside, both guys sold well, but it lacked intensity, and was quite disjointed - not to mention overlong. I mean, twenty minutes is fine if they work the right type of match, but they could have shaved six or seven minutes off of this and not lost anything in translation. ¾*

Main Event: #1 Contender's World War 3 Battle Royal: Same as last year, it's three 20-man battle royals going on simultaneously, until each ring is down to ten guys, and they migrate into one ring for a final battle royal. New rule for 1997: if anybody ends up on the floor in any way (over the top, or not) they're eliminated. Participants:  Chris Adams, Brad Armstrong, Buff Bagwell, The Barbarian, Chris Benoit, Bobby Blaze, Booker T, Ciclope, Damien, El Dandy, Barry Darsow, Disco Inferno, Jim Duggan, Fit Finlay, Hector Garza, The Giant, Glacier, Johnny Grunge, Juventud Guerrera, Chavo Guerrero Jr, Eddie Guerrero, Scott Hall, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Curt Hennig, Prince Iaukea, Chris Jericho, Lizmark Jr, Lex Luger, Dean Malenko, Steve McMichael, Meng, Ernest Miller, Rey Mysterio Jr, Hugh Morrus, Mortis, Yuji Nagata, John Nord, Diamond Dallas Page, La Parka, Stevie Ray, Lord Steven Regal, The Renegade, Rocco Rock, Randy Savage, Silver King, Norman Smiley, Louie Spicolli, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, Super Calo, David Taylor, Ray Traylor, Ultimo Dragon, Greg Valentine, Villano IV, Villano V, Vincent, Kendall Windham, Wrath, and Alex Wright. And once again, WCW decides to split the action into three screens so we don't miss a thing - but which makes the action impossible to see. Not that you're missing much, since it's all punch-kick battle royal fare, until the nWo gang up to eliminate everyone from their ring, Giant manages to dropkick Meng out to win his ring. We've still got Dallas Page, Lex Luger, Rick Steiner, and Booker T in the third ring, but the nWo guys get bored, and stupidly invite everyone over to their ring instead of waiting until they kill each other off. That leaves Luger, Page, Steiner, Booker, Giant, Savage, Hall, Hennig, Bagwell, and Vincent as the final ten. More kick-punch as the nWo gang up, but Giant uses his size to balance things out, and we're down to Giant, Page, Hall, and Savage. Naturally, Page goes for Savage, and Randy ends up on the floor after taking a Diamond Cutter and a Chokeslam. Not over the top, mind you, just kinda shoved out to the floor like he got caught in a street sweeper. Geez, how do you manage to fuck up literally the only entertaining part of these things (seeing guys fly over the top rope)? That leaves Hall alone, but he's less than eager, so he points to the entrance area, and Hollywood Hogan struts out to ringside. Never mind that Hogan has yet to so much as show his face before this, it's no problem - he's in the match too. Sure, that goes against literally every battle royal precedent, ever, but if we've gotten rid of over-the-top eliminations there's no point in slipping on a condom in the middle of this rape. And Hogan's feeling minty, too, slamming Giant the second he gets into the ring. The nWo control to get rid of Page, but Sting shoots down from the rafters (looking noticeably taller than usual), but it's Kevin Nash under a mask, and Giant takes a bat to the back, and Hall ends up winning the thing at 29:53. Ridiculous match type, ridiculous rules, ridiculous booking, and a horrible ending to boot. DUD 

BUExperience:  Eddie/Rey is good, everything else sucks. Nothing more to add to this one, really, especially since this whole show was designed nothing more than filler before they got around to Starrcade the next month. DUD