WCW Monday Nitro (March 17, 1997)

Original Airdate: March 17, 1997  

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

Rey Mysterio Jr v Psychosis: Feeling out process to start, dominated by Mysterio. He uses a springboard headscissors to send Psychosis to the outside, then dives from the apron with another headscissors to send him into the aisle. Back in, Psychosis fights him off with an inverted powerslam into the buckles, but a charge misses, and Psychosis takes a bump to the outside. Rey is on him with a somersault plancha, and a springboard flying rana into a cradle finishes at 3:47. Ouch, dropped him right on his neck with that one. This was way too short. ½*

Gene Okerlund brings Arn Anderson out to announce that he needs to have surgery, and it's possibly career ending, but he's a man's man, and will do everything possible to come back. Kind of hard to believe he was only 38 at this point. I know a big part of it is his wardrobe and glasses, but everything about his screams late forties. It's also such a completely different promo than Shawn Michaels' version from the month before, and this actually WAS a career ending injury. Great promo too, as usual... Anderson is one of the underrated talkers of his era

Last night at Uncensored, Randy Savage looked at porn

Diamond Dallas Page v Maxx: Page comes at him with right hands at the bell, but Maxx gets into the ropes to escape a hammerlock, and drops a pair of elbows for two. Page slugs back and dives with a flying splash, so Maxx tries a full-nelson, but Dallas quickly escapes with the Diamond Cutter to put his former bodyguard away at 1:34. Afterwards, Page full on threatens to murder Randy Savage, so Randy appears in the crowd to respond, and he's pretty low-key about the whole death threat thing. Page is pretty serious about it, though, and chases Macho through the crowd. Nothing match, but a hot segment, building what would be one of the promotion's more memorable feuds of the year. DUD

Eric Bischoff and WCW World Tag Team Champions The Outsiders show up to act like they're in Pulp Fiction

Konnan and Hugh Morrus v Renegade and Joe Gomez: Hugh attacks Joe, and blitzes him in the corner, targeting the leg. Over to Konnan to work the part, and they get right to cutting the ring in half on Gomez. Joe's selling is off the charts goofy here, until Morrus puts him away with the No Laughing Matter to the leg at 5:01. That's a long time for a match with so little going on. ¼*

WCW United States Title Match: Dean Malenko v Scotty Riggs: Dean wants to take it to the mat to start, but Riggs forces a criss cross, and lands a dropkick for two. Backdrop, but Malenko counters with a swinging neckbreaker, and a baseball slide sends Scott to the outside. Dean hustles after him for a drop across the guardrail, and he takes the challenger back inside for a corner clothesline. Backslide, but Riggs blocks. Sunset flip, but Riggs reverses the cradle for two, and throws a right hand to buy time. Scotty uses it with a backdrop and a dropkick for two, but runs into a hotshot, and Dean puts it away with a victory cradle at 2:29. Riggs got completely exposed here. *

Giant and Lex Luger v Knuckles Nelson and Tarantula: Where are they finding these jobbers tonight? Giant avalanches Tarantula right away, and forces him to tag out to Nelson so he can have some fresh meat. Giant wrecks him in the corner as well, and he seems to be done with it, but is trying to stretch the match out. Chokeslam finishes Nelson at 2:49. Giant and Luger as a team felt like it had potential, actually. Kind of a weird dynamic though, as Luger is positioned as the hot tag guy (since the fans go nuts for the Rack), but Giant is obviously not the right guy to get beat up for extended periods. Afterwards, Gene comes out to get their thoughts on Sting taking WCW's side at Uncensored, and, shockingly, they're pretty excited about that. I know, mind blowing. DUD

Ultimo Dragon v Bobby Eaton: Dragon stalls on the outside to start, and then tries using some speed to rattle Bobby, but gets drilled with a clothesline. Eaton goes up to the middle, but Dragon brings him off with a rana to end it at 1:19. Would it kill them to give the interesting matches a few minutes? DUD

The entire nWo is out to celebrate their big win at Uncensored, which means they can now challenge for any WCW title at any time. Poor Dean Malenko must be shaking in his boots. These lengthy, rambling nWo segments were definitely hot at the time, but boy, do they not at all hold up for rewatches. It just feels so unbelievably self-serving and pointless. And, sadly, this became the style that would become the norm for the next, oh, twenty years, or so

nWo Hotline ad

Jeff Jarrett and Steve McMichael v Alex Wright and Mark Starr: Okay, who did Alex Wright piss off? Wright dominates Jarrett in the early going, so McMichael throws a cheap shot from the apron, and Jeff capitalizes with a straddling ropechoke. Over to Steve for a drop-toehold/elbowdrop combo, and he adds a sidewalk slam. Back to Jeff for a cross corner whip, but he misses a charge in, and Mark gets the tag. He comes in hot, but stupidly engages McMichael while Steve is just hanging on the apron, and that ends very badly at 1:49. At least this was energetic. Afterwards, Public Enemy come out to brawl with the Horsemen, and it's so intense that Okerlund showing up to interview Jarrett and McMichael is enough to break it up. ¼*

Lee Marshall is in Duluth Minnesota with the 1-800-COLLECT Road Report

Scott Norton v Chavo Guerrero Jr: Norton powers him around in the early going, all while no-selling anything Guerrero tries. Chavo tries a plancha, but Scott catches him with a press-slam back inside, so Chavo starts going after the leg like a fucking torpedo. Norton, of course, no-sells it all, but Guerrero stays on him until he gives him a little bit. Chavo with a missile dropkick, and he unloads in the corner, but Scott reverses a cross corner whip. Powerbomb, but Guerrero counters with a sunset flip, so Scott just headbutts him, and kills the guy with the powerbomb at 2:28. Brutal, though Norton's constant no-selling is getting old, fast. * ¼

WCW World Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan tells Dennis Rodman that he 'passed the initiation' last night

WCW World Tag Team Title Match: The Outsiders v Bunkhouse Buck and Mike Enos: Bunkhouse Buck? The fuck? Scott Hall starts with Buck, and quickly drops him with a sloppy 2^nd rope bulldog for two. Buck wants to tag out, but Enos refuses, so Scott passes to Kevin Nash to keep the hurt on Bunkhouse. Nash wants Enos, and a reluctant Mike finally tags in, but Nash doesn't even bother, letting Scott give him a fallaway slam instead. Cheap shot from Buck helps turn the tide, and it's sad how little the crowd cares about Buck or Enos. Well, almost sad. I really can't blame them. Enos with a powerslam on Hall for two, and he grabs a sleeper, but it goes nowhere, and Nash gets the tag. Powerbomb finishes Buck, but Nash doesn't want the pin, instead letting Hall give Enos the Edge for the finish at 4:59. Why are they booking the Outsiders like full-on babyfaces? ½*

Chris Benoit v Billy Kidman: Benoit blitzes him, and uses a backdrop, before going to town in the corner. Irish whip sets up a knee, and Chris smacks him with a big chop, then pop-up flapjacks him. Crippler Crossface ends it at 0:52. Afterwards, Ric Flair joins him to steal all of his promo thunder while talking about nothing. ½*

Harlem Heat v The Steiner Brothers: They brought Michael Buffer in for this? Booker T starts with Scott Steiner, and uses a savate kick to put him down right away. Scott responds with a press-slam, and it's over to Rick Steiner to throws some clotheslines. Booker goes to the eyes to allow a tag out to Stevie Ray, and the Heat pound Rick down. They cut the ring in half for a bit, but Booker misses an elbowdrop, and Scott gets the tag - Roseanne Barr the door. But then the entire nWo (including Hogan, wow) run in for the no-contest at 3:16. The Steiner's are challenging for the tag titles at the next pay per view, would it have killed them to book a win for them here? I'm honestly mostly shocked that Hulk Hogan actually bothered to run-in on four guys this far down the card. So the nWo go to work, but Giant and Luger run in to make the save, and WCW actually stands tall to end a Nitro for once. And then Sting flies down from the ceiling to stand with them, you know, after all the actual fighting is already over and done with. ½*

BUExperience: This was a bunch of quickie nothing matches and little going on, compared to a very exciting, bustling episode of RAW. Easy win for the WWF this week, though Nitro continues to annihilate them in the ratings.

Monday Night Wars Rating Chart

	3/10/97
Show	RAW	Nitro
Rating	2.4	3.6
Total Wins	17	54
Win Streak		37
Better Show (as of 3/17)	27	42