WCW Road Wild 1998 (Version II)

 

Original Airdate: August 8, 1998

From Sturgis, South Dakota; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan

Opening Match: Meng v Barbarian: They slug it out right away, and Meng gets the better of things with a corner clotheslines. Irish whip, but Barbarian stops short, and suplexes him. Barbarian tries a piledriver from there, but Meng counters with a backdrop, and delivers a piledriver of his own. Meng misses a 2nd rope headbutt, but still gets up first, and pops Barbarian with a superkick. Meng goes to the top, but Barbarian overhead superplexes him off before he can dive, and covers for two. Meng fires back with a powerslam for two, so Jimmy Hart distracts him, and Barbarian attacks. That leads to another slugfest, and they spill to the outside, where Barbarian manages a smash into the steps. Back in, Barbarian delivers a backdrop, but Meng pops back up with the Tongan death grip at 4:50. This was pretty terrible. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Public Enemy v Disco Inferno and Alex Wright: Rocco Rock and Wright start, and it’s just lots of posturing. Tags to Johnny Grunge and Disco, and Grunge pounds him down. The heels use some double teams to put Grunge down, but Alex gets into trouble, and Rock tags in for some combos. Wright responds by grabbing a trash can and beating Grunge down with it, and why the hell is it filled with ice trays? Rock bails up the aisle, and reappears toting a ladder, as the announcers wonder why the hell none of this is a disqualification. Apparently this has been made a ‘street fight,’ despite that never being announced. The Enemy clean house with weapons, so the heels bail, and end up in the dressing rooms. The referee doesn’t bother counting them out, and they eventually return with a table. Despite there being a loose table sitting at ringside this entire time. Disco grabs a microphone and asks to make this a street fight, and the referee officially makes it one. So… he was just not enforcing the rules earlier? This is some weird shit. The Enemy respond by bringing more weapons in, and they beat on the heels for a while. Wright gets hold of a kitchen sink to turn the tide, and he unloads on Grunge with it, as Tony gets overly excited about the ‘noise it makes when it hits his back.’ Yeah, because it’s light, and almost hollow. Tokyo Magnum comes in to assist the heels, as everyone just trades weapon shots, with no real direction. “He got him good with that toilet seat to the ankle,” Heenan calls with a straight face. Tokyo ends up hitting Alex by accident, so Wright decides to walk out on the match, and Disco is left alone against both guys. “Boy, this thing’s a mess,” notes Tony. Yes. Yes it is. The Enemy keep beating on Disco for a while, before putting him on a triple stack of tables for Rock to dive off a lighting rig to drive him through. That was a visually impressive spot, especially for the time. Inside, Grunge covers, so Magnum tries to save, but misses. And then Grunge just pins Disco anyway at 15:25. Man, it’s already something of an uphill battle getting this crowd of casuals invested in the show, and these first two matches are making sure they take the path of greatest resistance. I guess I get the idea of having a weapons filled garbage match as something the casuals might enjoy, but this was far too long, on top of just not being very good. I’m being generous by giving this a quarter-star (mostly for the final spot), when I could easily spill into negative-stars for the intelligence insulting booking or intelligence insulting selling. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Raven's Rules Triangle Match: Raven v Saturn v Kanyon: First fall wins it here. I’m not sure if Raven is debuting a new theme here, or if I just never properly heard it before, but it’s pretty good! Despite being opponents, Raven and Kanyon have something of an alliance here, and Raven sets him after Saturn at the bell. Kanyon dominates, and Raven comes in to hit Saturn with a chair, but after he passes it to Kanyon, Saturn sends it back in Kanyon’s face. Raven responds by sending Kanyon into the post for screwing up, and Raven adds a baseball slide, before whipping Saturn into the steps. Raven leaves them both on the outside to die (despite there being no countouts), and then just lets them slug it out while he sits back and watches. Eventually, they realize what he’s doing, and decide to team up on Raven. They take turns dropkicking him before delivering a few combos, but things break down when they can’t decide who is going to get the pin. Raven capitalizes by hitting both with a chair as they slug it out (a ‘bank shot’ notes Heenan), and everyone spills to the outside. They brawl up the aisle for some spots on the stage, and then back to the ring, where we get a triple sleeper spot. Those were still fairly novel at this point, and not the cliche they would become. And speaking of which, we get a tower of doom spot next. Raven drops Saturn with a DDT, but Kanyon breaks the pin at two, and pulls Raven to the outside for a suplex on the floor. Kanyon climbs the lighting rig for a splash on the floor, but Lodi pulls Raven out of the way. Raven goes in to finish Saturn, but Saturn has recovered with a death valley driver. Lodi saves at two again, so Saturn suplexes him. That draws Horace out, but his effort at a double team with Lodi backfires, and Raven ends up eating a stop sign shot. That allows Saturn another DVD on Raven at 12:26. Where was the rest of the Flock? Another garbage brawl, but at least this one was more entertaining and psychologically sound than the tag match that preceded it. * ½ (Original rating: *)

#1 Contender's Match: Rey Mysterio Jr v Psychosis: Winner gets a WCW Cruiserweight title match. Psychosis gets a takedown into a LeBell lock almost right away, but Rey fights to a vertical base, so Psychosis uses an armdrag into an armbar. Rey escapes, and throws a dropkick to send Psychosis to the outside, where Psychosis stalls to break the momentum. Back in, a reversal sequence ends in Psychosis throwing a clothesline for two, and a sitout gourdbuster gets another two. Psychosis stretches him in the corner a bit, and a pop-up flapjack follows. Psychosis uses a vertical suplex, and this one is kind of dying, both with the crowd, and in general. Psychosis with a flying splash, but Rey lifts a boot to block, and Rey unloads a series of turnbuckle smashes. Rey uses a rana to send Psychosis back to the outside, and he rolls him back in to hit with a flying bodypress for two. Another rana, but this time Psychosis counters with a sitout powerbomb for two. Psychosis goes to a nervehold, but Rey powers up, so Psychosis uses a bridging electric chair for two. Rey bails to avoid a follow up, and Psychosis is on him with a dropkick out there. Inside, Psychosis gets a half-crab on, but it goes nowhere, but a rana off the top gets him two. Psychosis keeps on the knee, but Rey manages to dump him, and he hits a dive this time. Rey with a sunset flip for two on the way back in, and he uses a modified rocker dropper to set up a slingshot moonsault for two. Psychosis fires back with a spinebuster for two, but a dropkick misses, and Rey uses a springboard flying rana into a cradle at 13:24. He dropped him right on his head with that one, luckily it didn’t end in tragedy. This match was a disappointment. Two great workers, but it felt like they were kind of stumbling through this one, and the disinterested crowd didn’t help. It was always going to be an uphill battle with this audience, but they weren’t doing themselves any favors with that performance. * ¾ (Original rating: * ¼)

WCW Television Title Match: Stevie Ray v Chavo Guerrero Jr: I don’t even understand how this is a sanctioned title match, considering neither guy is the champion. I get the angle, but it was being played for comedy, sanctioning an actual title match is just stupid. At least the announcers openly acknowledge it. Chavo refuses to wrestle unless Stevie shakes his hand, but Ray wants nothing to do with this nutter. Chavo responds by dropkicking the leg, but Stevie no sells, so Chavo tries slugging, but Stevie no sells that as well. Chavo takes off running, and suckers Stevie into a chase, then clobbers him from the high ground. Which Stevie no sells anyway. Stevie tries a backdrop, but Chavo counters with a sunset flip, which Stevie blocks. More punches from Chavo get no sold, so he forces Stevie into another chase, and he just keeps going and going, trying to blow him up. It doesn’t really work, however, and Ray kills him with a butterfly piledriver at 2:38 to… retain? Afterwards, Stevie continues the beating, but Eddie Guerrero makes the save. This whole segment was more appropriate for TV than pay per view. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Rick Steiner v Scott Steiner: Buff Bagwell wheels Scott out on a stretcher (on oxygen, in a nice touch), and JJ Dillon notes that the doctor hasn’t cleared him, so there’s no match. Bagwell also suddenly needing a neckbrace again is another nice touch. Bagwell and Scott were a great pairing. So Dillon announces that, okay, the match is off… but it will take place at Fall Brawl instead. The crowd shits all over that, and rightly so. This was another segment that belonged on TV.

Steve McMichael v Brian Adams: Posturing to start, and man, Mongo is looking bad tonight. Super awkward in everything he’s doing. Adams ends up bailing after Steve nearly cripples him with an awkward takedown, and Mongo throws a bunch of forearms when Adams gets back in. Corner big boot, but Adams counters with a slam, and adds a pair of legdrops for two. Adams with a snapmare into a nervehold, as Tony compares the match to the Mysterio/Psychosis match. That one may have been disappointing, but let’s not insult the guys. Adams clotheslines him over the top for Vincent to abuse, and Brian uses a backbreaker for two on the way back in. Adams misses a 2nd rope kneedrop, allowing McMichael a side slam, and a three-point stance follows. Mongo adds a second one, but a whip into the ropes backfires when Adams punches him in the throat. Piledriver, but the referee gets bumped in the process. That allows Vincent to grab a chair, but he accidentally drills Adams with it, and Steve spikes him with a tombstone at 6:28. This was embarrassing. -½* (Original rating: DUD)

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Chris Jericho v Juventud Guerrera: So, I guess that makes Rey the #2 contender. Dean Malenko is the special guest referee for this one. Jericho dominates to start, unloading on Guerrera, but Malenko stops him from doing anything illegal. Guerrera tries a corner dropkick, but misses. Jericho gloats, allowing Guerrera a matslam, and a missile dropkick. To the outside, where Guerrera uses a series of chops to knock Jericho off of the platform, and Juvi dives after him. Guerrera with a slingshot legdrop for two on the way back in, and a springboard flying bodypress gets two. Guerrera with a flying bodypress, but Chris catches him in a press-powerslam for two. Chris with a vertical suplex for two, and a bodyslam sets up a senton splash for two. Chris goes to a chinlock from there, but Guerrera escapes, so Jericho throws a knee. Another suplex, but Guerrera reverses, though Jericho cuts off a potential comeback. Jericho with a bodyslam to set up the Lionsault, but Guerrera gets his knees up to block. Guerrera throws chops, and a headscissor takedown leads to a flying spinheel kick for two. A reversal sequence ends in Jericho countering a rana with a nice powerbomb, and a springboard shoulderblock ends in both men on the outside. Chris tries a suplex back in, but Guerrera blocks, only to run into a clothesline for two. Chris with some chops, but another powerbomb gets countered into a DDT for two. Guerrera with a scoop sitout brainbuster for two, and Juvi goes upstairs, but Jericho crotches him. Chris with a vertical superplex, but it leaves both men looking up at the lights. Or, clouds, in this case. Guerrera actually rolls over first to make a cover for two, but a reversal sequence ends in Chris getting the Liontamer on. Guerrera is in the ropes right away, and gets up in a fury, beating Jericho into the corner. Dean tries to intervene, but ends up getting inadvertently poked in the eye, and Jericho capitalizes by waffling Guerrera with the title belt for two. A frustrated Jericho ends up slapping Malenko to try triggering a DQ, but instead, Dean assists Guerrera through an alleyoop into a rana at 16:22. This got a lot better in the final third, and though it was fine throughout, it was a little slow at points. The pay off for the Jericho/Malenko angle was great, though. ** ½ (Original rating: * ¾)

9-Man Battle Royal: We've got Bill Goldberg, Lex Luger, Giant, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Curt Hennig, Sting, Konnan, and Scott Norton, with the idea being that it’s four guys from nWo Hollywood, four guys from the nWo Wolfpac, and Goldberg. Eliminations can occur via pinfall or over the top rope. Kind of a weird thing to book, given that it occupies a ton of top talent, but there are no stakes, and not much build. Just kind of a throwaway battle royal like they used to stick on at the end of long TV tapings in the 80s. But on pay per view! It gets down to Goldberg and Giant, and Bill gives him a Jackhammer for the pin at 7:54. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Main Event: Diamond Dallas Page and Jay Leno v Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff: I think there was some build on the Tonight Show, which obviously was great exposure, but I’m surprised Leno didn’t do one thing on the weekly WCW shows to sell this show. Rodman, Malone, Greene, etc all showed up and did a Nitro or a Thunder. Page and Hogan start, and there’s lots of posturing. They trade wristlocks, then right hands, and Hulk ends up in the wrong corner, where Leno pops him with a shot! That allows Page a swinging neckbreaker, so Hulk bails, but Kevin Eubanks is on him, sending Hollywood into the post. Back in, Hulk manages to pound Page into the heel corner for a choke, and he tags Bischoff in for a double team. Bischoff unloads with kicks in the neutral corner, but a charge hits a boot, and Jay tags in. Eric runs in fear for a tag to Hulk, but Leno isn’t backing down. Jay uses some speed to frustrate Hollywood, and he passes to Page to hammer Hulk with right hands. Page works a wristlock, and with Hogan prone in it, he passes to Leno, who takes over on the hold. Hulk powers out of it, though, and that’s it for Jay when Hogan gets him in the corner. Leno manages to dodge a charge long enough to tag out, and Page pounds Hogan back down. Tag back to Jay for a tandem clothesline for two, so Hogan bails to grabs a chair. Eubanks steals it away, so Bischoff distracts an incoming Page, and that allows Hogan to clothesline him. That turns the tide, and the heels work Page over, cutting the ring in half. Hulk hits the big boot, but wastes time gloating, and Leno gets the tag. Bischoff is legal, and Jay advances, but Bischoff goes to the eyes to shake him off. Leno responds with a low blow, and a few clotheslines follow. Hogan comes in, but ends up hitting Bischoff with a punch, and Roseanne Barr the door! Eubanks sneaks in to hit Eric with a cutter, and Leno hooks the leg at 13:44. As expected, not a workrate classic, but as a sports entertainment style match, this wasn’t bad. It was much better than the basketball one from the month before, too. Everyone kind of shits on this one because Hogan sold for Leno (in particular, people call out the wristlock spot), but he didn’t, really. Page put the ‘offending’ wristlock on, Leno just took it over, and then Hogan quickly escaped. And he didn’t particularly sell a ton outside of that. This was fine. * (Original rating: DUD)

BUExperience: Not that a lot of this card looked especially strong on paper, but I’m going to venture a guess that the outdoor setting impacted the workrate here a lot. You could see the guys totally drenched in sweat before they even reached the ring, it was probably a punishingly hot day, and that weather probably didn’t do them any favors. 

That potential excuse aside, this still just isn’t a good show though, and definitely not one worth revisiting. 

DUD