WCW Tuesday Nitro (April 28, 1998)

Original Airdate: April 28, 1998 (taped April 27)

From Norfolk, Virginia; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay, with Larry Zbyszko (first half) and Bobby Heenan (second half)

Bret Hart heel turn video package

Disco Inferno v Chris Benoit: Benoit beats him into the corner right away, throwing chop after chop. Chris with a side suplex, and a backelbow connects for two. Benoit with a rolling snap suplex, but Disco counters the third alarm with an inverted atomic drop. That allows Disco to take some revenge in the corner, and a swinging neckbreaker gets him two. A bodyslam leads to a 2nd rope forearm to the head for two, and Disco works a chinlock from there. Chris escapes, but a schoolboy lands them in the ropes, and Disco uses a chincrusher for two. A snapmare sets up an elbowdrop, but Benoit dodges, and throws chops. A German suplex follows, and Chris goes upstairs for a flying headbutt drop that gets two. But that’s the last ditch for Disco, as the crippler crossface immediately finishes him at 5:27. *

Chris Jericho video package

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Chris Jericho v Psychosis: Jericho comes out to Dean Malenko’s music, doing an impression of him as a gag. Psychosis wins a criss cross with a spinheel kick, and another one with a clothesline to dominate the early going. Victory roll, so Jericho counters to the Liontamer, but Psychosis counters back to the victory roll for two. Clothesline, but Jericho has it spotted this time, and reverses. Chris with a hanging vertical suplex for two, and he uses a backbreaker into a backbreaker submission hold. Cross corner whip works, but the charge in misses, and Psychosis throws chops. Dropkick, but Jericho dodges, and delivers a senton splash for two. Jericho tries a corner splash, but that misses too, and he ends up on the outside - where Psychosis is on him with a dive. Psychosis tries a suplex back in, but Chris counters with a German suplex, but Psychosis blocks the Lionsault. That allows Psychosis to go up with a flying guillotine legdrop for two, but a rana off the top gets countered to the Liontamer at 5:08. The finish might sound good on paper, but it looked really awkward. * ¼ 

Nitro Girls

Rocco Rock v Barbarian: Barbarian unloads in the corner, and cross corner whips him. A powerslam follows, so Rock starts kicking at his leg, and delivers a 2nd rope axehandle. Another one still fails to take Barbarian down, so Rock dropkicks the leg to get better results. He hammers away in the corner, so Hugh Morrus runs in, attacking behind the referee’s back. That draws Johnny Grunge out to return fire on Barbarian, and the referee responds by turning it into a tag match. Was he moving to Philadelphia, or something? Hugh gets put through a table on the floor, but Johnny walks into a big boot from Barbarian at 4:34. ¼*

Juventud Guerrera music video

Juventud Guerrera v Kidman: Criss cross to start, won by Guerrera with a headscissors. A dropkick follows for two, but Kidman blocks a ten-punch count with a low blow, and uses a sitout powerbomb off the middle rope for two. A bodyslam sets up a slingshot legdrop, but Guerrera rolls out of the way. Guerrera tries a vertical suplex, but Kidman blocks, and a reversal sequence ends in Guerrera hitting a springboard flying bodypress for two. Kidman comes back with a pop-up flapjack and a clothesline, but Guerrera blocks a superplex, and uses a rana off the top for two. Guerrera with a scoop sitout brainbuster, and the flying 450 splash finishes at 3:50. This was okay, but felt like it never got out of the middle gears. Afterwards, the Flock come in to beat Guerrera down, * ¼ 

Lee Marshall presents the Starburst Road Report

Gene Okerlund brings Alex Wright out to explain why he interrupted the Nitro Girls’ dancing last night, which Alex responds to with… more dancing! Stupid answers for stupid questions, I approve

WCW Television Title Match: Booker T v Eddie Guerrero: Eddie out moves him early on, but a reversal sequence ends in Booker delivering a savate kick. Clothesline, but Guerrero ducks, and takes him down with a drop-toehold. Eddie with a vertical suplex for two, and he grounds the champion in a chinlock. Booker fights free, but Guerrero cuts him off with a clothesline, and works a camel clutch. Booker fights him off again, but a spinkick misses, allowing Guerrero a rana. A pinfall reversal sequence ends in Guerrero hooking a leveraged cradle, but Chavo Guerrero Jr shoves his feet off. That allows Booker to hit his challenger with the Harlem sidekick, and a missile dropkick retains at 4:28. *

Saturn v Marty Jannetty: Saturn pounds him into the corner right away, and goes to work, but hits an elbow on a charge. Marty capitalizes with a clothesline, but he gets dumped to the outside. Inside, Saturn delivers a suplex, but Marty blocks a rollup, and throws a superkick. That allows Marty a 2nd rope fistdrop, but Saturn quickly fights him off with a death valley driver at 2:13. Not much going on here. ¼*

Okerlund brings Diamond Dallas Page to the ring, and he calls Raven out. Unfortunately, Raven isn’t in the house, but he’s sent a video instead, in which he rambles about Page’s childhood. Kidman and Sick Boy come down to represent, but Page drops Boy with a Diamond Cutter, and Kidman bails to end the (weak) segment

WCW United States Champion Bill Goldberg video

WCW United States Title Match: Bill Goldberg v Jerry Flynn: Jerry comes at him with strikes right away, but Goldberg shrugs him off with a suplex, and adds a spear. It’s Jackhammer time from there, and he retains at 0:45. DUD

Nitro Girls

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Sting, Lex Luger, and Giant v Scott Steiner, Konnan, and Brian Adams: Sting and Adams start, and Brian grabs a standing side-headlock, but Sting forces a criss cross. Adams wins it with an inverted atomic drop and a backbreaker for two, but Sting blocks a suplex, and delivers a one-handed bulldog. He goes for the Scorpion deathlock early, but Adams has the ropes before he can get it locked on, and Brian wisely bails. Tags to Giant and Konnan, and Konnan gets in his face, but that ends badly for him. Giant with a bodyslam, so Konnan tries going upstairs, but gets caught in a bearhug. Tags to Lex and Scott, and the crowd comes alive for that. Scott wins a power exchange and dances around, then unloads mounted punches. Tag to Konnan, so Scott cross corner whips Lex for a combo, but Luger rebounds with clotheslines for both of them. Adams responds by walking out on the match, and Sting comes in with a Stinger Splash on a distracted Scott and Konnan. They bail from there, and the babyfaces win by countout at 6:09. The usual bullshit Nitro main event. ¼*

Okerlund brings Bret Hart out to have his big confrontation with WCW World Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Hogan comes out, and Bret wants to tell him face to face why he helped him pick up the title from Randy Savage, but before Hart can say so, Savage himself is in the ring, and decks the Hitman. That triggers backup from Hogan and Disciple, and they beat Macho down as the show goes off the air

BUExperience: This was an odd episode in that it was a shorter two hour version, yet still felt like the full three.