WCW Monday Nitro (June 23, 1997)

Original Airdate: June 23, 1997

 

From Macon, Georgia; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay, with Larry Zbyszko (hour one) and Bobby Heenan (hour two)

 

Gene Okerlund opens the show by bringing Diamond Dallas Page and Kimberly out, and it's all about feeling the bang. Gene wants to know about the mystery partner he promised for Bash at the Beach, but he won't give anything up. Last week he strongly hinted that it would be Sting, but this week they've dropped that aspect completely

 

Public Enemy v La Parka and Damien: Johnny Grunge and Park start, and literally nothing happens. Finally Damien comes in to double team, but that draws Rocco Rock in to help, but he runs into a cheap shot, and the heels work him over with double teams. Damien misses a flying moonsault to allow the tag back to Grunge, and Roseanne Barr the door. The Enemy put Damien through a table (in a nasty bump), but Grunge eats a chair from Parka, and gets pinned at 2:54. This was kind of a mess. ¼*

 

Gene brings Eddie Guerrero out, and Eddie wants to clarify that he wasn't ducking Dean Malenko last week, it's just that Chavo Guerrero Jr OFFERED to wrestle him, and who's he to say no? And as a reward, he's giving Chavo his shot at Syxx's Cruiserweight title tonight

 

Alex Wright v Chris Jericho: I really wish the Network would upload episodes of Saturday Night from this era, because the promos each week have some really intriguing combos, and the show was usually more wrestling heavy than angle heavy. And speaking of angles, Wright is basically doing the Hart Foundation's angle word for word, only with more dancing. Wright attacks before the bell, and he shoulderblocks Chris down. He grabs a headlock, but a criss cross goes Jericho's way with a spinheel kick, and Chris clotheslines him over the top. Wright stalls on the outside, but still ends up in an armbar once he comes back inside. Wright uses a handful of hair to escape, but Chris keeps control, and a springboard shoulderblock puts Alex on the outside. Jericho sends him into the guardrail out there, but a dive on the way back in gets blocked when Wright throws a dropkick. Corner whip and a headscissor takedown follows, and Wright throws a leg lariat. Snap suplex sets up a flying stomp, but he wastes time gloating, and eats a Lionsault. Chris makes a comeback, and a whiplash sets up the Liontamer at 4:41. * ½

 

#1 Contender's Match: Harlem Heat v The Steiner Brothers: Booker T and Scott Steiner start, and it doesn't take long for Stevie Ray to take a cheap shot, but Rick Steiner is right on his ass. Damage is done, however, allowing Booker a turnbuckle smash, but he misses a charge. That allows Scott a press-slam, and Booker bails. Dust settles on Stevie and Rick, and Stevie throws a big boot, but a corner whip gets reversed, and Rick suplexes him for two. Backdrop, but Stevie blocks, and Booker tags in to try a suplex of his own, and Rick reverses. Powerslam follows for two, and he makes the tag to Scott to deliver a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Back to Rick, who quickly falls prey to a double team, and the Heat work him over. Rick counters the Harlem Sidekick with a slam to allow the hot tag to Scott, and Roseanne Barr the door! Sister Sherri tries getting involved, but it ends up backfiring, and Rick dives with a flying bulldog on Booker at 8:10. This was pretty boring. ¾*

 

Buff Bagwell and Scott Norton come out to introduce themselves as Vicious & Delicious, as well as get in a pretty funny jab at Scott Steiner's weird ass arms. The Steiner's then come over, and they want their title shot next week

 

Confused who this Ernest Miller guy who keeps hanging out with Glacier is? Well, here's a video look at him

 

Hector Garza v Villano IV: Villano blitzes him at the bell, and hits a cutter early on. Oooh, I'll bet that earned him in earful in the back after the match. Backdrop puts Garza on the outside, and Villano dives after him with a tope. Notice how he DOESN'T nearly kill a fan while doing that? Take note, Super Calo. Inside, Villano corner clotheslines him, so Garza tries a bodypress, but misses. Villano sends him back to the outside with a clothesline, so Hector tries confusing him with a bunch of springboards on the way back in, but eats a clothesline. Garza finally manages to string a couple of moves together with a backdrop and a rana into a cradle for two, but a second try at the rana ends in him getting powerbombed for two. Villano with a powerslam for two, and a shoulderbreaker sets up a flying moonsault, but Hector dodges. Dropkick knocks Villano to the outside, and Garza follows with a baseball slide. Hector adds a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on the floor, and a flying corkscrew kinda hits. Both guys beat the count in, and Garza uses a vertical suplex to set up a standing moonsault at 4:47. Garza looked really bad here, but the match was decent. * ½

 

Giant and Lex Luger join us to hype the tag main event for Bash at the Beach. Who looks stupider: Lex in a dress shirt with the sleeves cut off for maximum flexing, or Giant in a Lex Luger t-shirt?

 

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Syxx v Chavo Guerrero Jr: Chavo dumps him to the outside with a headscissors during the initial change, and Syxx regroups for a bit out there. Back in, Syxx uses some martial arts to put his challenger down, but a criss cross ends badly when Chavo uses a jumping axehandle. Chavo tries a springboard, but Syxx ducks him, and throws a spinkick. Syxx takes him into the corner for some more martial arts strikes, and the bronco buster follows. Syxx works a chinlock, but Chavo fights free, so the champ uses a sitout brainbuster to set up a pair of lightning legdrops. Corner whip sets up another bronco buster, but Guerrero dodges him this time, and starts making a comeback. Victory cradle gets two, and he takes Syxx into the corner for a ten-punch, as Eddie shows up to observe. Chavo with a clothesline for two, and Syxx gets dumped to the outside for a flying bodypress on the floor. That draws Scott Hall over to attack Chavo, and of course, the referee misses it completely. Again. And, worse, Eddie just stands around. Syxx capitalizes with the Buzz Killer at 6:00 to retain. I'm getting pretty tired with Syxx's gimmick as the Honky Tonk Man of the Cruiserweight division. * ¼

 

Konnan v Steve McMichael: The announcers note that WCW United States Champion Jeff Jarrett is now on 'Horsemen probation,' which seems like a pretty weird decision on their part, considering he's the only guy in the stable that has a title. Konnan challenges him to a football showdown to start, and gets wrecked. Yeah, maybe don't try that against a guy with a Super Bowl ring? Back in, Konnan manages to pound him into the corner, and a snapmare sets up a headvice. Konnan with a rolling clothesline, as Hugh Morrus shows up, but gets cut off by security. The distraction is enough to allow Mongo to recover, however, and the tombstone ends it at 3:14. This sucked. DUD

 

Chris Benoit video package that makes him look like a murderer. Well, that was uncomfortable

 

Lee Marshall is in Las Vegas Nevada with the 1-800-COLLECT Road Report

 

Gene brings Roddy Piper out, and apparently he and Ric Flair are not friends this week. Didn't they just profess their love for each other on last week's show? WCW was hot during this period, but their angles were all over the place from week to week. So this draws Flair out, and the Horsemen are with him (though not Jeff Jarrett), and you can guess how this ends for Piper

 

High Voltage v Glacier and Ernest Miller: Voltage attack before the bell, but get cleared out of the ring in short order. The snow settles on Kenny Kaos and Glacier to start, but Robbie Rage quickly comes in with a springboard flying bulldog out of nowhere. Voltage double up on Glacier for a bit, as Wrath and Mortis show up to observe from the entrance. Rage misses a flying somersault senton splash to allow the tag to Miller, and Roseanne Barr the door! Miller with a flying roundhouse kick on Rage at 2:14. Wrath and Mortis charge down as soon as the fall is counted, but stop short when Glacier and Miller... yell at them. Wow, real monsters, those guys. This wasn't much, but Rage seemed to be trying really hard, which you can't fault. ½*

 

Dennis Rodman video package. It's limited to only WCW appearances, but they really get a lot of mileage out of those few that they had to work with

 

Outsiders pin set ad. A pin set? They fell ass backwards into the hottest angle they'd ever have, and they're pushing lapel pin sets?

 

Scott Hall v Diamond Dallas Page: Page still has the taped up ribs here. Just get used to it. He sends Kimberly to the back before the bell, since Randy Savage is out at ringside with Scott. Hall pounds him with short-shoulderblocks to start, as the announcers hype up an 'impact player' who will debut next week. Wait, time travel was a thing in 1997? I believe that ended up being either Raven or Curt Hennig, though I'm not sure what the repeated 'impact player' verbiage really had to do with either. Page fights him off in the corner and manages an inverted atomic drop, but Hall backdrops him over the top, and you'd better believe the Macho Man is ready and waiting out there. Inside, Hall keeps pounding him, and a facebuster connects. Hall tries a suplex, but Page counters with an armbar takedown, and even the announcers are confused as to why he didn't hit the Diamond Cutter there. It was a perfect set up, really. Page with a clothesline to buy more recovery time, but Savage just runs in on him for the DQ at 5:29. This was pretty bad, as these two had surprisingly little chemistry. Afterwards, Hall and Savage go to work, until Sting comes in to make the save. –¼*

 

BUExperience: This wasn’t an actively bad episode by any means, but RAW was a much better watch this week.

 

The fact that both shows were neck and neck in terms of quality on a weekly basis made the fans the true winners of the Monday Night Wars, though.

 

Monday Night Wars Rating Chart

	6/23/97
Show	RAW	Nitro
Rating	2.4	3.3
Total Wins	17	68
Win Streak		51
Better Show (as of 6/23)	35	47