Original Airdate: October 19, 1998
From Minneapolis, Minnesota; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay, with Larry Zbyszko (first half) and Bobby Heenan (second half)
Nitro Girls
Saturn v Kenny Kaos: They feel each other out a bit to start, and Saturn manages a kneeling facebuster, ahead of a swinging neckbreaker. Another one, and he works a cravat, but Kenny slugs free. That leads to a criss cross, and Saturn lands a springboard forearm for two. Kaos dumps him over the top to buy a little time, and Kenny follows to smash Saturn’s arm into the guardrail. Inside for a corner clothesline, and Kaos adds a gutwrench powerbomb for two. Kaos with a backdrop, followed by a press-slam, but Saturn starts slugging at him. Kaos cuts off the potential comeback, but Saturn reverses him into the corner, and catches him with a superkick for two. Kaos tries cutting him off again, but Saturn overhead suplexes him, then adds a brainbuster. That leads to the death valley driver at 4:13. *
Earlier today, Mike Tenay caught up with fans to get their thoughts on Eric Bischoff’s long night in Chicago last week
Nitro Party video
Nitro Girls
Scott Steiner thinks Rick Steiner is all bark and no bite
Bill Goldberg hype video
Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Chavo Guerrero Jr, La Parka, Lizmark Jr, and Ciclope v Psychosis, Hector Garza, Damien, and El Dandy: I have a feeling this is going to be hard to call. Just a hunch. And, it is. Psychosis scores the pin at 5:37. Afterwards, Eddie Guerrero is out to talk to his LWO guys, and he offers La Parka a spot in the group. ¼*
Bret Hart/Sting feud review video
Kanyon v Scott Putski: Scott wins a criss cross to start, and he tries grabbing a headlock, but Kanyon counters to a hammerlock. Scott forces another criss cross to allow him a hiptoss, and he adds a bodyslam. Kanyon tries a headlock, but Scott side suplexes him, and adds a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two, as Larry puts himself over on commentary. He was so obnoxious. Kanyon with a neckbreaker, and a bulldog gets him two, so Scott wisely bails. Kanyon stays on him with a baseball slide, and he adds a bodyslam on the floor. Kanyon drops Scott on the apron next, but Putski manages to turn it around as they get into the ring. Kanyon dodges the running axehandle, allowing him a fireman facebuster, and a reverse STO at 4:10. ¾*
Halloween Havoc ad
Scott Steiner is out, so Rick Steiner comes out to challenge him to go right now. Rick doesn’t wait for Scott to accept, however, instead just attacking him, and unloading
Rick Steiner v Scott Steiner: This is an impromptu match, after Scott comes out to talk shit, and Rick challenges him to back it up. Rick unloads on him, so Scott grabs a chair, and hits him in the leg for the DQ at 1:24. Afterwards, Scott wants to keep going with the chair, but Buff Bagwell makes the save for Rick. DUD
Nitro Girls hype video
Nitro Girls
Backstage, Goldberg signs autographs
Fit Finlay v Davey Boy Smith: Posturing to start, with Finlay in control. A criss cross allows Smith a hiptoss for two, and he grounds Finlay in a chinlock from there. Davey with a corner whip, and a powerslam gets him two. Back to the chinlock, but Finlay fights to a vertical base, and short-clotheslines the Bulldog. That allows Finlay a headvice, and a pair of uppercuts drop Davey. Finlay adds an elbowdrop for two, but a charge in the corner misses, and Smith tags him with a backelbow. Smith adds a backdrop, and he goes to town in the corner. The referee gets caught in the crossfire, allowing Alex Wright to come in with a missile dropkick on Bulldog. That allows Finlay a tombstone for the pin at 3:28. ½*
Gene Okerlund brings WCW Television Champion Chris Jericho out, and he lays out a challenge to Diamond Dallas Page for tonight, since Jericho is a bigger star and champion than that Goldberg clown. That draws DDP out, and he’s happy to accept for a match tonight
Scott Hall hangs out at a local bar
Wrath v Tokyo Magnum: Good reaction for Wrath here. He destroys Tokyo with a clothesline, so Magnum tries chopping him down, but Wrath no-sells. Wrath pounds him down in the corner, and the pumphandle front-powerslam finishes at 1:16. Wrath gobbled him up here. ¼*
Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit v Disco Inferno and Alex Wright: This is scheduled as Disco and Alex against Silver King and Super Calo, but King and Calo decide to give their spot to the Horsemen instead. No reason given. It draws Eric Bischoff out to rant on commentary, however. Dean and Alex start, and Malenko dominates. Cross corner whip, but the charge in hits a boot, and Wright pounds him down. Alex tries a somersault cradle, but Dean rolls through to block. Backdrop, but Alex blocks, and tags. Dean hits Disco with a leg lariat, and a vertical suplex follows. A cheap shot from Alex allows Disco a swinging neckbreaker, and he passes back to Wright for a spinheel kick. The heels work over Malenko, until Benoit gets the tag, and immediately puts things away with the crippler crossface on Disco at 2:54. This was very short, but well worked for what it was. *
Hall is still at the bar, and looking good and tipsy now
Chris Jericho v Diamond Dallas Page: The WCW Television title is not on the line. Page knocks him around early on, and Jericho ends up regrouping on the outside. Jericho gets a standing headlock on, but DDP quickly escapes, and wins a reversal sequence with a clothesline. Page adds a pancake piledriver for two, and he tries a ten-punch count from there, but Jericho drops him on the top turnbuckle with a hotshot. Chris with a springboard dropkick to send Dallas to the outside, and Chris is on him with a whip into the guardrail. Back in, that gets Jericho a one count with an arrogant cover, so he hooks the leg for a proper two count. Page throws right hands to comeback, and a corner whip leads to a side suplex for two. Chris shakes him off with a chincrusher, and the Lionsault gets him two. Suplex, but Page blocks, and hooks him for two. Diamond Cutter, but Jericho blocks, and lands a mulekick. That allows Chris to go for the Liontamer, but DDP manages to block. Jericho throws a wild clothesline, but Page ducks, and delivers a tilt-a-whirl slam. He looks to finish, but a furious Goldberg runs in on Jericho for the DQ at 5:29. What a dick! He could have come in five seconds later. *
Over at the bar, Hall is getting flirty
WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Billy Kidman v Rey Mysterio Jr: This is Rey’s first match since August. Feeling out process to start, and Rey uses a headscissor takedown to get the better of the champion. Kidman charges, so Rey backdrops him over the top, but Billy lands on the apron, and comes back with a slingshot headscissor takedown. A criss cross allows Kidman to try a suplex, but Rey blocks. Rey tries a rollup, but Kidman blocks, and blasts him with a dropkick for two. Kidman with a snapmare to set up an elbowdrop, and he slaps on a chinlock. Kidman with a corner whip, but Rey fights back with a spinheel kick. Rey goes up with a flying bodypress for two, but a victory cradle gets countered into a wheelbarrow suplex from the champion for two. Kidman tries a suplex, but Rey reverses him over the top, and Billy lands on his knee. Rey takes him in for a legdrop that gets two, so Kidman plants him with a sitout powerbomb for two. Chinlock, but Rey fights to a vertical base, so Kidman corner whip him. Rey blocks the charge in, but Billy reverses a corner whip, and hits Rey with a rebound clothesline for two. Kidman with a vertical suplex, so Rey dumps him over the top with a headscissors to win a reversal sequence. Rey is on him with a somersault plancha, and he goes to the top for another dive, but Kidman meets him up there. They slug it out, and Rey manages to drape him across the top rope for a flying guillotine legdrop. That allows Mysterio a somersault cradle for two, but Kidman wins a slugfest, and bodyslams the challenger. Kidman goes up with a flying splash, but Rey rolls out of the way. Rey goes up with a flying seated senton for two, and a modified rocker dropper gets him two. Kidman fires back with a sitout spinebuster for two, as the crowd loses interest in the match. Billy uses a bulldog to set up a flying shooting star press, but Rey crotches him on the top before the champ can dive. Rey follows with a rana off the top for two, and a bow-and-arrow facebuster is worth two. Rey goes up with a flying bodypress, but Billy throws a dropkick to block, as time expires at 13:19. This wasn’t bad by any means, but was disappointing considering the workers involved. Rey looked like he was working through some ring rust, and the crowd couldn’t get invested in things. * ¾
Gene brings the mayor out (to massive boos, and a loud ‘Jesse’ chant), but she turns things around by bringing two Vikings football players down. Even Gene has to note that the crowd hates her. But then she welcomes Ric Flair, and ain’t no one booing that. The mayor declares it Ric Flair Day, but before Ric can properly bask in it, Bischoff is out. He wants Flair removed, but the mayor overrules him. And, in fact, Eric has some unpaid fines in the city, and they remove him from the building. Much like the United Center segment last week, this was good, though redundant
Nitro Girls
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Scott Hall, Stevie Ray, and Scott Norton v Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, and Konnan: Nash isn’t there as the bell sounds, and the cameras find him stumbling around in the back, apparently drunkenly looking for the arena. He manages to stagger to the ring, as the match just doesn’t get started, as everyone watches. Bonus points for the production guy who got Nash a red solo cup, and a white one for Hall. Things finally get started with Stevie and Konnan, and they slug it out. Ray gets the better of it, and he cross corner whips Konnan, but Konnan rebounds with a rolling clothesline. Tag to Lex, but Ray quickly shakes him off, and passes to Norton. Lex fights him off, and delivers a hiptoss, then a series of three clotheslines. Lex calls for the torture rack, so Ray distracts him, and Norton recovers. Back to Stevie for a snapmare to set up a seated big boot, and the heels work Luger over. A double knockout spot with Norton allows the tag to Nash, and both he and Hall stumble around. Nash toasts with him, but quickly reveals that he isn’t drunk at all, and blasts Hall with a big boot! Nash unloads, so everyone comes in to brawl, and the referee throws it out at 6:01. A shitty match, but the angle was fun, and Nash did a phenomenal job of playing it drunk. ¼*
Halloween Havoc ad
Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the nWo are out, and Hulk summons his nephew, Horace. It’s funny hearing Hulk call his nephew ‘brother.’ So Hulk wants to induct Horace into the group, but instead beats him up, as a message to Warrior (‘if I’d do this to someone I love, imagine what I’ll do to you’). Warrior comes out to make the save, and the crowd barely even reacts. They should have known they were in trouble right then and there. Warrior does some damage with a baseball bat, but gets overwhelmed fighting an entire gang, and takes a beatdown. I think that’s the first time Warrior has ended up on his ass thus far in this run
Bret Hart v Sting: The WCW United States title is not at stake. Sting goes to town on him for an extended period, until Hart manages a low blow, and it’s his turn to unload. Sting turns it around, and gets the Scorpion Deathlock on, but Hart has the ropes. Sting refuses to release the hold, so the referee disqualifies him at 4:08. But Sting doesn’t care, as he wants to soften Bret up for Havoc. The nWo come out to make the save, but Sting fights them off, as Hart escapes. DUD
BUExperience: Nitro is increasingly becoming a chore to watch. It’s not a bad show (in fact, there were bits that were great), but it’s just so long, and it doesn’t have the insane energy that RAW usually does.
Monday Night Wars Rating Chart
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