WCW Monday Nitro (February 3, 1997)

Original Airdate: February 3, 1997

From Memphis, Tennessee; Your Host is Tony Schiavone with Larry Zbyszko (hour one) and with Mike Tenay and Bobby Heenan (hour two)

WCW World Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the nWo are out to talk Roddy Piper. I'm not really sure what he's trying to say here. Like, is he offering to put the title up if Piper first admits that Hogan is the better man? Or is he putting the title on the line regardless? Tonight, or at SuperBrawl? Because, I'm pretty sure they already signed and announced that match last week. So... huh? This aired opposite the opening moments of the Austin/Vader match on RAW, so call it a win for Nitro, I guess

Ultimo Dragon v Rey Mendoza Jr: Um. Okay, so Mendoza is Villano IV without the mask, which seems like a weird choice for a variety of reasons. First, because the name is so fucking close to Rey Mysterio Jr. Second, he's still wearing his Villano gear, down to the 'IV' printed on the tights. Feeling out process to start, and Dragon knocks him to the outside during a criss cross, then dives with a tope. Inside, Dragon hits a legdrop for two, and an elbowdrop leads to a somersault senton splash for two. Weird execution on that one, as he landed right on his neck. Rey fights him off with a clothesline, and a whip into the ropes allows him a backelbow on Dragon. Criss cross ends in Rey hooking a cradle for two, but another one goes Dragon's way with a rana. Dragon takes him upstairs for a rana off the middle, and the bridging tiger suplex finishes at 3:13. Too short, but fun while it lasted. This aired against the rest of Austin/Vader, and I'd again give the edge to Nitro. While the WWF side had more star power, the match itself was really boring, and poorly produced. * ¾

Glacier v Billy Kidman: Glacier is 'immensely popular and multi-talented,' according to Tony. If you say so, boss. Glacier dominates with legsweeps early on, but Kidman manages a schoolboy for two, so Glacier tilt-a-whirl slams him to cut that off, then takes him into the corner for abuse. Rolling backelbow sends Billy to the outside, but Kidman comes back in with a slingshot headscissors, and he goes up for a dive - only to land in a superkick at 2:07. Another one that was too quick to really go anywhere. This aired opposite Vega/Funk on RAW, and that's another win for Nitro. ¾*

nWo denim jacket ad. They tried so many different things, but nothing ever caught on like the original t-shirt

Ice Train v La Parka: Train tries pushing him around, so Parka comes at him with chops, but can't hold a headlock, and Train hiptosses him a couple of times. Train with a bodyblock, and a snapmare sets up a chinlock. Really? You need a resthold less than two minutes into the match? Train tries a clothesline, but Parka ducks, and hits a spinheel kick. Dropkick follows, allowing Parka to go upstairs with a flying spinheel kick. Train bails, so Parka dives with a corkscrew plancha, and they head back in for chops in the corner, but Train blocks a charge. That allows him to destroy Parka with a lariat, and a slam follows. Train with a hanging vertical suplex, and he goes back to the mat with a headscissors. Why is this thing getting so much time? Train wants a test-of-strength, as we cut to the back where the Outsiders have beat down Lex Luger. Meanwhile, Train turns a bearhug into a belly-to-belly suplex for two, and he goes to another chinlock. Slam sets up a splash, and that's enough at 5:15. This aired opposite a nothing Sid interview, and some backstage stuff with Owen and Bulldog, so call it a win for Nitro. ½*

Gene Okerlund brings the Four Horsemen, and apparently they're all friends again now. Okay, good to know. The Horsemen were like a soap opera during this period, stretching out nothing storylines for months at a time with a lot of circular talk. Debra McMichael's bitchy Southern girl act is great, though. This was opposite the Bulldog/Owen v Furnas/LaFon tag match, so give RAW the edge

Harlem Heat v The Steiner Brothers: Booker T starts with Scott Steiner, and Scott gets control with an overhead wristlock, so Booker pokes him in the eyes to escape, and superkicks him down. Irish whip, but Scott reverses, and hits a press-slam, so Booker bails. That draws Stevie Ray in, but Rick Steiner cuts him off with a clothesline, as the Brothers clean house. Dust settles on Stevie and Rick, and Stevie pounds his ass so hard that Rick's headgear breaks clean off. Rick responds with a slam for two, and he passes back to Scott to hold an armbar. Scott shifts to a reverse chinlock, then back to Rick, who promptly runs into a cheap shot from Booker. The Heat go to work, but Rick catches Booker with a powerslam during a criss cross, and gets the hot tag off to Scott - Roseanne Barr the door. Scott hits Booker with a butterfly suplex, but Stevie breaks the count at two, and then the Faces of Fear just run in for a no-contest at 4:57. And then Public Enemy run in as well, since why not? Weird finish to a paint-by-numbers match. This was opposite Goldust/Crush on RAW, which sucked. Call it a win for Nitro since at least their presentation looked like it belonged on TV. ¼*

Dean Malenko v Mike Enos: Dean's WCW Cruiserweight title is not on the line here. Duh. Enos with a go-behind into a schoolboy for two right away, so Malenko sweeps him down, and grabs a front-facelock to one-up. Mike needs the ropes to escape, but grabs a side-headlock after the break, cranking it on. Dean has the opportunity to grab the ropes several times, but makes a point of wrestling free, so Mike bodyslams him during the resulting criss cross. Elbowdrop, but Dean dodges, so Mike tries a hiptoss, but Malenko counters to a backslide. Mike's too big, so Dean armdrags him down for a wristlock instead, and he sinks his teeth into that one for a while. Enos tries a bodyslam to escape, but Malenko holds on through it, armbarring him. Into the corner, Dean dropkicks the arm, and starts putting the boots to it. Back to the wristlock, but Enos starts to power out, so Malenko shifts to a fujiwara armbar instead, then to a hammerlock. Cross corner whip works, but Enos blocks the charge in, and hits a powerslam for two, as Syxx shows up at ringside. He steals the Cruiserweight belt, since apparently booking unique angles is too much for WCW. Meanwhile, Enos continues to pound Malenko, and a running powerslam sets up a splash, but Dean dodges. Malenko snapmares him over to work the leg, but Enos dodges that, and throws a clothesline. Backdrop, but Malenko blocks. Suplex, but Enos reverses, so Malenko counters to a cradle at 7:08. Pretty good story being told in the ring here, though I'm not into them running literally the exact same storyline with the Cruiserweight belt as they just did with the US belt. And with the same worker, no less! Plus, if you're going to book a guy as some sort of title belt pirate, why not use Carl Ouellet? He's got experience! This aired opposite the solo portion of the Shawn Michaels interview on RAW, so we'll give WCW the edge. **

Lee Marshall is in Jacksonville Florida with the 1-800-COLLECT Road Report

Okerlund brings out the remnants of the Dungeon of Doom to talk about... S&M? I think? This aired opposite the hot part of the main eventers interview on RAW, so advantage WWF

Diamond Dallas Page v Renegade: Renegade knocks him around a bit to start, but Page shakes him off with a cheap shot in the corner. Cross corner whip, but Renegade reverses, and follows in with a clothesline. Another cross corner whip sets up a handspring backelbow, but a trip to the top ends badly when Dallas crotches him up there, then brings him off with a Diamond Cutter at 2:01. That was a pretty epic finish, though. Afterwards, The Outsiders show up in the aisle with weapons, advancing on Page, but Sting and Randy Savage appear in the crowd to back him up, and the nWo leave without incident. This wasn't a huge segment, but it felt like one. Better than the millionth HHH/Mero match on RAW. ½*

Alex Wright v Super Calo: Calo with an armdrag for two right away, which is actually pretty funny. Wright responds with a single-leg takedown for two, and at his rate we'll be at bodyslams by the five minute mark, hopefully. Reversal sequence goes Wright's way with a wristlock, and a criss cross goes his way with a leg lariat. Alex with uppercuts and a side suplex, so Calo tries a springboard, but botches it, and lands on his ass. Wright stays on him with elbowdrops to cover up as best they can, and they stop for a chat via side-headlock. Calo with a side suplex to get out of the headlock, and he tries the springboard again, this time successfully. Wright returns fire with a spinheel kick, and a belly-to-belly suplex gets him two. Why did they even bother redoing that spot? Not like it was so consequential. Calo knocks him to the outside for a flying bodypress on the floor, but another one on the way back in is countered with a dropkick. Alex hits a cross corner whip and a corner backelbow, and he sends Calo flying around with headscissor takedowns. Dropkick sends Calo to the outside for a suicida, and Wright tries another dive on the way back in, but Calo superplexes him off the top for two. Back up with a headscissors takedown off, but a flying somersault senton splash misses, and Alex goes up with a missile dropkick at 6:38. This actually turned into a hell of a match by the end, and I'll give them a slight edge over the rest of HHH/Mero on RAW, though the WWF side wins on star power and stakes. ** ¼

Konnan v Chris Benoit: Konnan blitzes him with a running dropkick at the bell, and he puts the boots to Benoit on the mat, then leans him up against the ropes for chops. Rolling clothesline follows, and a snapmare sets up a seated dropkick. Konnan's constant boasting between spots is getting really annoying. Dropkick into the corner allows him to unload, and he works a headvice into a stump puller. Cross corner whip, but Benoit blocks, and comes back to life with chops. He muscles Konnan up to the top rope for a vertical superplex (and I mean MUSCLED, Konnan was no help there), but a clothesline misses, and Konnan crucifix powerbombs him for two. Again, but this time Chris counters with a German suplex, and he's ready to finish Konnan off, when he spots Jacqueline coming down the aisle with a strap. He responds by tossing Konnan over the top, getting himself disqualified at 4:17. That frees him up to save Woman from Jacqueline, and we get this weird bit where Jacqueline desperately searches underneath the ring for a weapon, and turns up... nothing. This aired opposite a bunch of highlights on RAW, so call it a win for Nitro. * ½

Jeff Jarrett v Steve McMichael: Steve is a replacement for Lex Luger, who is unable to compete due to the nWo attack earlier. Debra protests the match, but Steve ignores her, and attacks as Jeff struts. He levels him with a clothesline, and then whips him into the ropes for a backelbow, as Jeff just bounces around to sell for him like crazy. Running powerslam gets two, and a bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop, but Jeff dodges. He comes back with an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline to set up a flying bodypress for two, and a standing dropkick sends Mongo over the top. Debra grabs him out there to prevent him from getting back in, however, causing a countout at 2:20. Steve still looking really green out there, but Jarrett managed to make it work. For the two minutes it lasted. This aired opposite the tag main event on RAW, and we'll give the WWF the edge. ½*

SuperBrawl VII ad

Okerlund brings Roddy Piper out to see if Piper will accept the match for the title with Hogan at SuperBrawl. Oh, okay, so it's signed, but he hasn't accepted it. So, then what the hell was Hogan talking about with offering to put the belt up tonight, then? It still makes no sense. So, Piper comes out with his young son, and even he doesn't really understand what's up. Anyway, he doesn't really want the title shot, since he already beat Hogan at Starrcade, and that's all he wanted anyway, and now he can focus on just being a dad. That draws Hogan and Eric Bischoff out, hopefully so Hulk can give some parenting tips. Hulk browbeats Piper in front of his kid, and threatens a real beating if Roddy doesn't admit that Hogan beat him 'like a drum' at Starrcade. So, while shielding his young son, Piper admits as much in a flat monotone, but that's not enough for Hulk. Now he wants him to say that Hogan is the true icon. Okay, so Piper gives him that one, too. But that's still not enough for Hogan, who keeps running him down, and calls him a coward. Roddy doesn't take the bait, and decides to walk away with his kid, so Hulk starts slapping him upside the head, and that's a bridge too far. Piper, of course, goes crazy, and kicks the shit out of Hogan, and steals the WCW World Title belt, hoisting it up over his head, and accepting the match for SuperBrawl. This was a great segment, and much better than the RAW tag main event.

BUExperience: This wasn’t a really great episode aside from the last segment, but it was definitely a better watch than that flat out depressing episode of RAW.

Monday Night Wars Rating Chart

	2/3/97
Show	RAW	Nitro
Rating	2.6	3.1
Total Wins	17	49
Win Streak		32
Better Show (as of 2/3)	22	42