Original
Airdate: December 29, 1996
From
Nashville, Tennessee; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone,
Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan
Opening WCW Cruiserweight Title
v NJPW J-Crown Title Unification Match: Dean Malenko v Ultimo Dragon: Mike Tenay joins us for guest
commentary. Feeling out process to start, dominated by Dragon. He starts
getting cute with kicks, so Malenko drops him with a side suplex to buy
recovery time, and a snapmare grounds Dragon in a chinlock. Dean shifts it into
a mat-based headscissors, but Dragon escapes, and puts the boots to the WCW
champion. Dragon with a snap suplex for two, and he works a chinlock of his own.
Dean starts to escape, so Dragon puts him back down with a series of kicks, and
he works a half-crab into an STF. Criss cross ends in Dragon kicking him in the
stomach (what an anticlimactic way to end a criss cross), but Dean dumps him to
the outside. Baseball slide, but Dragon dodges, and he bodyslams Malenko on the
floor, then dives with a tope. Inside, Dragon uses an elbowdrop for two, but
Malenko reverses a vertical suplex - Dragon still getting a two count out of it
anyway. That must have been one hell of an elbowdrop. Dean tries a sunset flip,
but Dragon fights him off, and a neckbreaker gets him two. He grounds Malenko
in a bow-and-arrow, then up for an abdominal stretch, then a sleeper. Malenko
shakes him off with another side suplex, and there's one dude in the front row
that pops up and cheers whenever Dean busts that move out. Nothing quite like
side suplex marks! Malenko with a German suplex for two, so he goes to the mat
with a grapevine, but Dragon makes the ropes. Dean drags him away to work the
hold a second time, but Dragon makes the ropes again. They really need to pick
it up a little here. Dean stays on the part with a kneebreaker and a dropkick
to the leg, and it's back to the mat with another grapevine. Dragon makes the
ropes, so Dean tries a cross corner whip, but gets reversed. Dragon tries a
handspring elbow, but Dean dodges, and catches a rebounding Dragon with a snap
powerslam. German suplex, but Dragon blocks, and comes off the ropes with a
spinheel kick. Powerbomb gets two, but Dean reverses a tombstone for two. Texas
Cloverleaf, but Dragon hides in the ropes, so Dean gives him a butterfly
powerbomb into a somersault cradle for two. Bodypress ends with both guys on
the outside (though they failed to execute the tumble properly, and Dragon just
had to follow), and Dean sulks about the botch. Dragon with a spinkick as they
fight up to the apron, and he dives with a springboard moonsault press into the
aisle. Back in for a flying version, but Dean chases him to the top for a side
superplex - only for Dragon to block. Good thing too, side suplex mark might
have whipped it out right there in the arena. Dragon dives with a flying
moonsault, but Dean dodges, and he slaps on the Cloverleaf at center ring. Cue
a distraction from Sonny Onoo, and Dragon cradles for two. Malenko blasts him
with a clothesline to cut off any comeback, and a brainbuster gets two. Again,
but Dragon escapes this time, and a reversal sequence ends in Dragon hooking a
bridging tiger suplex at 18:30. I thought this had way too many holds and not
enough of the high flying/fast moving stuff people wanted to see, especially for
an opener. This theoretically unified the titles, though not really, as they
continued to be defended separately going forward. ** ½ (Original rating: ** ¾)
WCW Women's Title Match: Madusa
v Akira Hokuto:
This is the final of a weird tournament to crown the first champion (in which
they didn't even have enough participants to fill the bracket), with Lee
Marshall doing guest commentary. I guess with all that time he spent on the
road it makes him an expert on women, or something. Hokuto attacks before the
bell, and pounds Madusa in the corner, before chucking her across the ring by
the hair a few times. Corner whip, but Madusa grabs a handful of hair to block,
so Sonny Onoo trips her up, and Hokuto chokes her in the corner. And then on
the ropes. Lots of choking going on here. Hokuto slaps on a sharpshooter, then
shifts it down into an STF, then into a toehold - complete with biting of the
foot. Even Nick Patrick objects to that one. Bodyslam gets two, and Madusa
comes back with a pair of matslams. Bodyslam gets two, so Hokuto goes back to
the choking to take control back. Northern lights suplex gets two, so Hokuto
tries a cross-armbreaker, but Madusa escapes with a botched floatover DDT. That
looked horrible, but at least they didn't do a pin attempt after it. Hokuto
with a bridging German suplex for two, but Madusa fights her off in the corner,
and hits a sloppy tornado DDT. Here's a thought... maybe layoff the DDTs? She
does a much better job of hitting a powerbomb for two, but Hokuto topples her
on a second one for two. Hokuto tries some kicks, but Madusa grabs her own
bridging German suplex for two. The crowd is just gone here. Madusa goes up to
the middle for a dive, but Hokuto follows with a nicely executed vertical
superplex for two, but a trip to the top ends badly when Madusa dropkicks her
to the outside. As the referee counts, Onoo is able to sneak in and whack
Madusa with the flagpole, and Hokuto puts her away at 7:06 to become the first
champion in the title's illustrious lineage. Madusa actually beat Hokuto in the
quarterfinal round, albeit under a mask as Reina Jubuki. Also, despite creating
this title for what you'd think was the express purpose of putting it on
Madusa, Madusa never won the title. Ever. Of course. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)
Rey Mysterio Jr v Jushin
Thunder Liger:
Tenay is back for more guest commentary, and Liger doesn't even get an entrance
here, but still obliges Rey a handshake. Rey fights for a takedown into a
surfboard, but Liger quickly gets back to a vertical base, and counters to a
standing bow-and-arrow. Rey mulekicks him away to break, and both guys square
off again. Liger grabs a headlock, but Rey wants to criss cross, so Liger
shoulderblocks him down, then adds a standing dropkick when Rey kips up.
Bodyslam and a hanging vertical suplex connect, and Liger just WRECKS him with
a turnbuckle smash. That one needed a speedometer on it. Liger with a pop-up
flapjack, and a vicious powerbomb follows - he's just letting Rey really have
it here. Another pop-up, but Rey counters with a rana, and a reversal sequence
ends in another rana over the top. Rey teases a dive, but Liger hides out to
avoid it, and he milks the count for a bit. Rey is ready as soon as he's on the
apron, but Liger reverses a suplex attempt, and Rey takes a bump to the
outside. Liger adds a powerbomb on the floor for good measure, but Rey beats
the count back in, so Liger takes him up for a superplex. Rey manages to block,
but an attempt at a flying dropkick misses, and Liger delivers a tilt-a-whirl
backbreaker to set up a surfboard. Vertical suplex, but Rey counters with a
German version, and adds a standing moonsault for two. DDT sets up a slingshot
moonsault for two, and a springboard flying dropkick leads to a camel clutch.
Rey tries another springboard, but Liger knocks him out of the air with a
dropkick this time, and he covers for two. German suplex gets two, so Liger
tries a half-crab, but Rey has the ropes. Liger with a corkscrew legwhip, and
he uses a cross corner whip to set up a koppou kick. Rey recovers with a
monkeyflip and a spinheel kick, and a victory roll leaves Liger dizzy. Reversal
sequence ends in Liger on the outside, and Rey dives with a springboard
moonsault press on the floor! Rey with a springboard flying guillotine legdrop
for two on the way back inside, but a springboard flying legdrop misses. That
allows Liger to hustle to the top with a flying headbutt drop, but it only gets
two! Cross corner whip, but Rey reverses. He goes up, but Liger knocks him to
the floor to block a dive, and Liger goes up - only to have Rey springboard
after him for a rana off the middle, which Liger then counters by landing on
his feet, and hitting Rey with another koppou kick! That sets Rey up for the
Ligerbomb, and that's the pin at 14:17. Great match, which probably should have
been the opener because it was fast paced and filled with all the flashy moves
people wanted to see. **** (Original rating: ** ¼)
No Disqualification Match: Jeff
Jarrett v Chris Benoit: All the build on Nitro has been for Benoit/Kevin Sullivan, so of
course he's fighting Jeff Jarrett at the pay per view. They measure each other
some to start, with Benoit showing a lot of aggression, and generally
dominating. A knife-edge chop gets him two, and a drop-toehold puts Jeff down
for some blows to the back of the head. That riles Jarrett up, and he unloads
on the ropes, and uses his own drop-toehold to get some shots back in on
Benoit. He wastes time gloating, allowing Benoit to sneak up with a German
suplex attempt, but Jeff blocks. They leads to a reversal sequence that ends in
Jarrett hitting a monkeyflip, but Chris turns the takes on him in the corner,
so Jeff spears him down, and they scuffle on the mat. The action spills to the
outside, where Woman distracts Jeff for Chris to nail, and Benoit is in control
as they head back inside. Chris with a cross corner whip and a catapult into
the corner, followed by a matslam. Benoit unloads in the corner next, but Jeff
blocks a superplex attempt. He tries a straddling ropechoke, but Woman moves
Benoit out of harms way, and the Crippler levels Jeff with a lariat for two. He
chucks Jarrett over the top, and follows to the outside to send him into the
guardrail, but Jeff fights off another attack with a hotshot onto the rail.
Back in, Benoit manages a side suplex for two, though unfortunately the camera
wasn't positioned so I could see if side suplex mark got off on it. Kevin Dunn
would have been on that shit. Benoit with a sleeper, complete with the ropes
for leverage, but Jeff finds a side suplex to escape. And again the damn camera
is out of position! Jarrett uses a small package for two, but a 2nd rope
fistdrop gets blocked with Benoit's boot for two. Chris takes him into the
corner for chops, but Jarrett turns the tables on him, and whips Chris into the
ropes for a dropkick for two. Jeff with a release overhead suplex, so Benoit
bails to the apron, but Jeff drops him across the top rope to force it back
inside. Figure Four, so Woman rakes the eyes to block, and Chris rolls to the
outside to regroup. Cue Arn Anderson, but instead of helping Benoit, he stands
in Jarrett's corner. That distracts Chris enough for Jeff to successfully
attack, and we have a brawl on the floor. While that's going on, the Dungeon of
Doom show up to kidnap Woman, and Sullivan shows up to hit Benoit with a chair
- just as Arn turns on Jarrett with a DDT on the floor! Arn rolls Jeff in, but
Jarrett ends up on top of Benoit for the pin at 13:50. This was a surprisingly
good match before all the overbooking kicked in. *** (Original rating: ¼*)
WCW World Tag Team Title Match:
The Outsiders v The Faces of Fear: Nick Patrick is the referee here, and he gives the
challengers a hard time during the pat down. Scott Hall starts with Meng, and
they trade wristlocks, with Meng dominating. Into the corner, Meng unloads
(along with some very obvious spot calling), but a charge misses, and Hall
dives with a 2nd rope bulldog for one. Meng quickly fights him off
and tags to Barbarian, but Hall makes the mistake of spitting in his face, and
has to bail to Kevin Nash before he gets clobbered. Wise move. Nash gets
control in the corner, but misses a charge, and Barbarian turns the tables.
Meng comes in for some double teaming, so Nash tries bashing their heads
together, but that goes nowhere. You'd think he'd know better, he won a tag
title from the Headshrinkers once. Barbarian hits Nash with a sidewalk slam for
two, complete with a slow count from Patrick. Barbarian tries a 2nd rope
elbowdrop, but Kevin moves, and he delivers a snake-eyes. Bootchoke in the
corner follows, complete with cheap shots from Scott. Hall tags in to
officially pound on Barbarian some, but Meng lends a hand to put a stop to it,
and Barbarian big boots Scott down. I'm loving how openly the Faces are
cheating here. Not that they're babyfaces normally anyway, but I dig the whole
'fight fire with fire' mentality. Meng with a piledriver for two, and Barbarian
with a powerbomb for two. The Faces continue to work Hall over, but Patrick's
officiating trips them up all along the way. Hall manages to escape a hold from
Barbarian with a side suplex to get the tag to Nash, and Roseanne Barr the
door! Barbarian tries a big boot on Kevin, but Nash ducks, and hits the
powerbomb to retain at 11:54. Another one that ended up being better than I
expected, though I don't really get having the heel/face dynamic reversed. **
(Original rating: ¼*)
WCW United
States Title Match: Eddie Guerrero v Diamond Dallas Page: This is another tournament
final, in this case for the vacant title. Page uses his size to try and power
Eddie around to start, but Guerrero is quick on his feet. Eddie manages to
knock him to the outside with a dropkick, and he quickly follows to whip DDP
into the rail, so Dallas
goes to the eyes to shake him off, and Guerrero eats steps. He tries bringing
Eddie back in, but Guerrero snapmares him over the top, then rolls him in on
his own terms for a slingshot somersault senton splash for two. Eddie grounds
him in an armbar, so Page tries a big charge upon escaping, but Eddie
sidesteps, and DDP takes a spill over the top. Guerrero dives after him with a
plancha, and he corners Page for a ten-punch, but Dallas counters with a hotshot across the top
turnbuckle. Page with a piledriver, and the crowd is surprisingly dead here.
Maybe someone should try a side suplex? DDP with a vertical suplex for two, and
he grabs an abdominal stretch, using the ropes for leverage. Eddie tries a sunset
flip, but Page blocks, so Guerrero regroups with a small package for two
instead. Page cuts him off with a swinging neckbreaker for two, and he goes
back to the abdominal stretch, but this time gets busted using the ropes, and
this referee is just such a goof that I can't take him seriously. Guerrero
reverses the hold and uses a schoolboy for two, but Page cuts him off again
with a short-clothesline. Page with a pair of cross corner whips, but a charge
misses, and Eddie starts making a comeback. Vertical suplex gets him two, and a
side suplex (no pop) sets up the Flying Frogsplash, but Dallas dodges. Page
gets a two count out of the wipeout, and a powerslam is worth two. Gutwrench
stomachbreaker sets up a dive, but Eddie catches him in an inverted atomic drop
for two. Backslide gets two, so Page tries the Diamond Cutter, but Eddie
counters with another backslide for two. Slugfest goes Guerrero's way, so he
tries a headscissors, but Page counters with a sitout powerbomb for two. Eddie
ends up on the outside, and here come the Outsiders and Syxx. With the referee
distracted, Scott Hall gives Page the Outsider's Edge, and Eddie capitalizes
with the Frogsplash at 15:20. This was surprisingly dull, and had a cheap
finish to boot. I mean, the finish made sense given the storyline they've been
developing, but it just felt really beneath a high level PPV match finish. * ½ (Original
rating: *)
Giant v Lex Luger: They fight to a stalemate
over the initial lockup, so Giant tries pushing him around, but Luger fights
him off with right hands into the corner. Giant takes him down for an
elbowdrop, and he kicks a field goal in Luger's ribs that knocks Lex all the
way to the outside. Giant uses a vertical suplex to bring him back inside, and
he works Lex over in dull fashion. Lex fires up a quick comeback, but goes for
the bodyslam too early, and Giant topples him to keep control. Giant goes back
to work, but misses a charge in the corner, and Luger unloads - only for a
charge to hit boot. This thing is dragging on for too long. The crowd is ready
to invest in Luger making the big comeback, but Giant just keeps cutting him
off, and going back to the boring offense. Giant misses a dropkick, and Lex
finally starts making the comeback. Neckbreaker gets two (complete with a pop
from side suplex guy), but the referee gets bumped during the kickout. That
draws Nick Patrick out to replace him, just as Luger delivers a bodyslam.
Torture Rack is applied, but Patrick kicks Luger's leg out to stop it. Cue Syxx
to spinkick Luger, but here's Sting. He chases Patrick away, but then just
drops his bat at center ring, and whispers something unknown to both Giant and
Luger. Lex gets hold of the bat first, and goes to town on Giant with it,
before hooking the leg for the pin from the recovering original referee at
13:24. The crowd was crazy hot for the finish and all the run-ins, but the
match was dreadfully boring. DUD (Original rating: ¼*)
Main Event: Hollywood
Hulk Hogan v Roddy Piper: Hogan's WCW World Title is not on the line here. And though they
never promoted it as a title match, they certainly never didn't promote it as a
title match, either. And despite being champion, Hogan's schedule was something
else at this point, with this being his first televised match since Halloween
Havoc. And he only worked one other match in between, a dark match against
Luger in mid-November. Hulk stalls to start, and once he comes inside, Piper
dominates him with a flurry of right hands that send the champion back to the
outside. Back in, Hulk goes to the eyes to take control, and he unloads on
Piper with his own set of rights. Cross corner whip sets up a corner
clothesline, but Hogan dodges, and Roddy hits his own corner clothesline. He
goes to the eyes to pay Hogan back for earlier, and a clothesline puts Hogan
down, with the champ bailing before Piper can capitalize. Back in, Roddy works
a side-headlock, but Hulk gets into the ropes, and takes a cheap shot to dump
Piper to the outside. Hulk follows for a backrake out there, but misses a
clothesline on the way back in, and Piper starts kicking at him. Dropkick
knocks Hogan back to the outside, and he decides to bail up the aisle, but
Roddy chases, and feeds Hulk some rail. Piper grabs a belt and unloads on Hogan
with it as they head back inside, and he uses a bodyslam, so Ted DiBiase
provides a distraction to give Hulk some recovery time. Piper takes the bait,
allowing Hulk to jump him on the outside, and he gives Roddy some rail and some
steps. Inside, Hulk goes to work on the bad hip, but Piper fights out of an abdominal
stretch, and he chokes Hogan down. Small package gets two, and a vertical
suplex is worth two. Kneedrop misses, so Hulk goes for the Legdrop, but Piper
dodges. Roddy makes the fired up comeback, so Giant shows up, and blatantly
comes into the ring to attack Piper. Like, so blatant that I wouldn't blame
anyone who thought Randy Anderson was also an nWo referee for 'missing' it. And
then a fan jumps the rail and hits DiBiase before getting his ass kicked by
Hogan, as Piper fights off Giant. Sleeper on Hogan, and Hulk fades down for the
three arm drops at 15:36. I love how even the referee is stunned that Hulk's
arm dropped the third time, great reaction. This wasn't some great workrate
exhibition, but it's not like anyone was expecting it to be. Bottom line is it
wasn't boring, and delivered exactly what it needed to. Though the announcers
claiming this will be front page news in the morning is just laughable. ¾*
(Original rating: ¼*)
**
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