Original Airdate: August 10, 1998
From Rapid City, South Dakota; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay, with Larry Zbyszko (first half) and Bobby Heenan (second half)
Nitro Girls
Jim Duggan v Barbarian: I believe this is the debut of the massive Nitro logo on the ring mat. Barbarian tries sneak attacking, but Duggan fights him off, and a clothesline sends Barbarian over the top. Cue interference from Jimmy Hart to allow Barbarian to recover, and Barbarian pounds Duggan into the corner. Duggan tries throwing a headbutt, but that goes nowhere on Barbarian, and Barbarian chokes Jim down. Barbarian with a chinlock, but Jim escapes, and makes a comeback in the corner. Duggan with a schoolboy at 3:41. The crowd was into it, but this was junk. Afterwards, Hugh Morrus runs in to attack Duggan, but Meng makes the save. That draws a bunch of security out, but Meng wrecks everyone. DUD
Gene Okerlund brings Lex Luger out to discuss him getting knocked out last week, and Lex accuses Bret Hart in having a hand in the attack. Lex challenges Bret, and Hart comes out. He denies having a part in it, and thinks it’s funny that Lex keeps finding new people to blame. Bret thinks he’s just jealous because he’s best friends with Sting now. Hart cuts a great promo here, one of his best in a long while. The final point: Bret will defend his WCW United States title (which I forgot he even still had, if I’m being honest) against Lex tonight
Eddie Guerrero v Tokyo Magnum: Disco Inferno and Alex Wright kick Tokyo out of their group before the match, and he’s distracted as the bell rings. Eddie chops him around, but Tokyo recovers with a spinkick during a criss cross. Eddie tries a corner splash, but misses, and Tokyo delivers a bulldog. Eddie comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, and a brainbuster follows. Eddie with a flying frogsplash to put it away at 1:10. This had energy, but was too short to be anything. ¼*
Saturn v Kanyon: Slugfest to start, won by Saturn with an overhead suplex. Saturn with a series of knees and a slam, before taking Kanyon into the corner to pound on. A cross corner whip runs into a boot, allowing Kanyon to hammer him back, and he uses a modified rocker dropper for two. Kanyon with a modified facebuster for two, and an electric facebuster gets two. Saturn manages a small package for two, but Kanyon catches him with an elbow to cut off a comeback. Sleeper, but Saturn quickly escapes, and gets a sleeper of his own on. Kanyon tries a side suplex to escape, but Saturn topples him for two, so Kanyon goes back to a sleeper. Saturn manages a jawbreaker to escape, and a suplex gets him two. Backdrop, but Kanyon counters with a Russian legsweep, and uses a modified neckbreaker for two. Kanyon goes up, but Saturn crotches him, and manages a superplex down. That draws Lodi out to distract the referee, and Raven pops in to drill Saturn with a DDT. That allows Kanyon to cover for three at 6:12. This started as a parade of flashy moves from Kanyon, but settled into an actual match, with some nice back and forth action. * ¼
Backstage, Meng is ‘roid raging, and choking down security staff
Nitro Girls
Nitro Party video at a school somewhere, and it’s insane how over the product was in those days. It felt like the whole school was there, and into it
Steve McMichael v Sick Boy: McMichael charges right in, but Lodi attacks him, and Boy is able to get control. Boy unloads in the corner, and a bodyslam sets up a springboard flying kneesmash for two. A springboard backelbow gets another two, and a snapmare sets up a fistdrop. Mongo fires back with a clothesline, and a tilt-a-whirl slam follows. McMichael with a pair of three-point stances, but he collides with the bottom turnbuckle while delivering the second one. That allows Boy to try a butterfly facebuster, but McMichael blocks, and delivers a tombstone at 3:06. This had the potential to be a real trainwreck, but luckily was not. Not that it was good, but at least it wasn’t a total embarrassment. DUD
nWo Hollywood are out, and Hollywood Hulk Hogan does what he always does best: gets his heat back immediately after doing a job. The guy was a complete master at that. He’d just shrug off the losses, and go on to the next thing, and wasn’t hurt by them at all
WCW Television Title Match: Stevie Ray v Chris Jericho: This is scheduled as Stevie against Chavo Guerrero Jr, but Jericho steals Pepe, and uses that as a distraction to allow him to take Chavo out, and steal his spot. Ray knocks him around early on, but Chris ducks a clothesline, and throws a dropkick at the leg. Jericho with some chops, and a crucifix gets him two, but he runs into a big boot. Ray dumps him front-first across the top rope, but a charge goes sideways when Jericho dumps him over the top. Jericho adds a flying clothesline on the floor, but a flying bodypress on the way in gets countered when Ray catches him in a powerslam. Ray adds a backdrop, but a pop-up gets countered with a dropkick. Chris adds a corner dropkick, and he unloads in the corner, which results in the referee getting bumped. Ray capitalizes by clotheslining Jericho, but Giant runs in, and knocks Stevie silly. He adds a chokeslam, and Jericho wakes the referee up before putting Ray in the Liontamer at 4:54. So, Jericho wins the title, despite Stevie not really having any right to defend it in the first place. Are we sure Vince Russo didn’t jump a year early? ¾*
Eric Bischoff is out, and after hearing for the whole night that the nWo is blocking us from seeing (and blocking the announcers from discussing) what happened in the main event of Road Wild, Eric is ready to dig into it. And so we get ‘Eric’s version,’ where apparently the nWo won everything. Just stupid bullshit
Triangle Match: Rey Mysterio Jr v Psychosis v Lizmark Jr: First fall wins it. Everyone slugs it out to start, and Psychosis gets control. He drops Rey with a sitout brainbuster, and a criss cross with Lizmark ends in Psychosis landing a clothesline. Psychosis bodyslams Lizmark to set up a dive, but Rey is up, so Psychosis dives at him with a flying dropkick instead. AND manages to land on Lizmark with a senton splash in the process! Psychosis with a spinebuster on Rey, but a dropkick at Lizmark misses, and Lizmark unloads a ten-punch count. Lizmark with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, and he clotheslines Psychosis over the top, where Rey is waiting to hammer him. Lizmark dives at Psychosis on the floor, but as he’s getting up, Rey dives at him out there. Inside, Rey and Lizmark hit Psychosis with a combo, and Lizmark adds a springboard moonsault for two. They keep doubling up on Psychosis, but things break down when they can’t decide who gets to score the fall. Lizmark cools him out, and they try another combo, but Psychosis manages to counter the electric chair from Lizmark into a victory roll for two. Lizmark cuts off a comeback, and bodyslams him for one - count broken by Mysterio. That officially ends their alliance, and Rey hits Lizmark with a spinheel kick to set up a slingshot moonsault for two. Psychosis grabs Rey for an avalanche, but a second one misses, and Rey uses a modified rocker dropper. Lizmark goes up with a flying splash, but Psychosis blocks, so Rey charges Psychosis - only for Psychosis to catch him with a monkey flip that sends Rey into a rana on Lizmark at 7:03. More of this! ***
Nitro Girls
WCW United States Title Match: Bret Hart v Lex Luger: Lex powers him around out of the initial lockup, and Hart oversells it nicely, ending up on the outside. Back in, they do a test-of-strength, and obviously Luger controls, but Hart throws punches. That allows Bret to get a hammerlock on, but Lex throws an elbow, and clotheslines Bret to the outside. Hart grabs the title belt and decides to walk, but Lex chases him. Inside, Luger cross corner whips him, and uses a hiptoss on the rebound. Luger with an armdrag into an armbar, but Bret gets into the ropes, and he hammers Luger down for a bootchoke. They spill to the outside, where Bret bodyslams his challenger on the floor, and he leaves him out there to take the count. Lex beats it in, so Bret delivers a backbreaker for two, and a Russian legsweep follows. Hart with a legdrop, followed by a DDT for two. The Hitman continues to go to town on Luger, but the challenger kicks out of a snap suplex at two. Hart pounds on the lower back, and a cross corner whip rattles the ring. Hart with a backbreaker to set up a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop, but Luger gets a leg up to block, and the challenger makes a comeback. Luger with a running forearm smash for two, and a sleeper looks to finish, but the champ drops into the corner to shake him off. Bret pulls out a weapon, but Luger ducks the shot, and slaps on the torture rack at 15:33. Wow, they gave this some decent time, and let them tell a story. Plus, a clean finish. This was really something of an anomaly for this period. * ½
WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Juventud Guerrera v Kidman: Guerrera uses a headscissor takedown right away, and he wins a criss cross with a spinheel kick. Guerrera chops him into the corner, and wins an exchange there by snapping his throat across the top rope. Guerrera with a springboard missile dropkick to send Kidman to the outside, but a baseball slide misses. That allows Kidman to send him into the guardrail, and a slingshot legdrop gets the challenger two on the way back in. Kidman goes to a chinlock, but Guerrera escapes, and lands a clothesline. A reversal sequence ends in Kidman powerslamming him for two, but Guerrera blocks a German suplex, and hooks a victory cradle for two. Kidman fires back with a sitout spinebuster for two, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Guerrera uses a springboard rana off the top. That allows the champion a flying 450 splash to retain at 3:45. There was nothing really ‘wrong’ with it, it was just too short to get out of first gear. * ½
Raven’s Rules Match: Raven v Horace: Raven forces Horace into this match as punishment for screwing up at Road Wild the night before. Raven dominates him at the bell, and he takes it to the outside for a Russian legsweep into the rail. Horace manages to pop him with a stop sign, and the big man dives with a tope. Inside, Horace whips him into the sign (giving Tony a funny line about ‘running through a stop sign’), and Horace uses a bodyslam to set up a flying splash, but Raven moves. Raven brings a chair in for a drop-toehold onto the seat, as Kanyon shows up. The Flock block his path, but that allows Saturn to bolt in from the crowd. He takes Raven out with a death valley driver, and puts Horace on top for the pin at 3:55. ¼*
Nitro Girls
Curt Hennig v Konnan: Konnan knocks him around early, and Curt ends up on the outside. Curt manages to nail him on the way back in, and he takes Konnan into the corner to hammer on. Curt with an earringer, followed by a side suplex for two. Suplex, but Konnan counters with a cradle for two, and wins a criss cross with a sitout facebuster. Clothesline, but Hennig reverses, and grabs a chain. He tries to punch Konnan with it, but the referee intervenes, and Hennig drops it. That allows Konnan to pick it up, and he chokes Hennig down for the DQ at 3:31. DUD
WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Giant and Scott Hall v Sting and Kevin Nash: Hall and Nash start, and Nash tees off. Powerbomb, but Scott hits the deck, and bails to break the momentum. Tag to Giant, and he powers Nash into the corner, but Kevin fights him off with a cross corner whip. Back to Hall, but Nash bootchokes him in the corner, so Hall goes low. That allows a tag to Giant for a clothesline, and a headbutt drop to the groin follows. The heels work Kevin over, but he fights Giant off long enough for a hot tag to Sting - Roseanne Barr the door! A trio of Stinger splashes on Hall set up the Scorpion Deathlock, so Giant attacks the referee to draw an intentional DQ at 5:20. ¼*
WCW World Title Match: Bill Goldberg v Meng: Faces of Fear bookending the card, no wonder they won the ratings this week. Both faction of the nWo are out in full force to ‘secure’ the area. Meng goes to the eyes at the bell, and the hammers Bill into the corner. A cross corner whip works, but Goldberg rebounds with a shoulderblock, which Meng basically no-sells. Meng decides to bail to regroup, and Goldberg goes at him once he’s back in. Goldberg with a takedown into a grapevine, but a charge gets blocked with a spinkick that knocks Goldberg to the outside. nWo Hollywood attack, but the Wolfpac saves. The damage is done, however, and Meng gets the death grip on. He lets off prematurely, and Goldberg pops up with a spear, followed by the jackhammer at 2:06. Not much of a match, but I appreciate all the effort to make Meng look like a threat throughout the evening. Afterwards, Hogan hits Goldberg with a chair, but Nash saves. Goldberg recovers and sees Nash holding the chair, and blames him - drilling Kevin with a spear as we go off the air. ¼*
BUExperience: WCW wasn’t perfect during this period (far from it), but this was a much better, and more matter-of-fact, episode than the opposing RAW. And a really stacked card, too. It wasn’t even close this week, honestly.
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