Original Airdate: November 23, 1998
From Grand Rapids, Michigan; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay, with Larry Zbyszko (first half) and Bobby Heenan (second half)
Nitro Girls
Lex Luger v Mike Enos: I like how, whenever a guy has been off TV for a while, you can count on Mike Tenay telling you that they’ve been on a ‘tour of the Orient.’ Could actually be true, doesn’t matter, you’ll hear it. Posturing to start, dominated by Luger. Enos ends up bailing, but manages to nail Lex on the way back in, and he drops him throat-first across the top rope. Enos with a clothesline for two, and a piledriver is worth two. Enos works a chinlock, but Lex starts to escape, so Mike powerslams him for two. Back to the hold, but Lex fights free again, and corner whips him. Lex follows in, but runs into an elbow. That allows Mike to try for a superplex, but Luger blocks, and dives with a flying clothesline! Lex makes the comeback, and a superplex of his own gets two. Gosh, that was his finisher for a short time in 1994, and I don’t think he’s used it since. Mike fights back with a chincrusher, but runs into a powerslam while trying to follow up, and Lex gets the torture rack on at 6:04. This was surprisingly competitive and energetic for what it was. *
Outside, WCW World Champion Bill Goldberg arrives at the building, where Kevin Nash is waiting to remind him that he’s got a title shot at Starrcade
Gene Okerlund brings WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman out, and he wants to give Rey Mysterio Jr a shot at the title tonight, just out of good sportsmanship. Rey comes out to happily accept, but here’s Eddie Guerrero to remind him that he’s still in the LWO - like it, or not
Chris Benoit v Norman Smiley: Benoit knocks him around early on, but gets caught with a knee, as Larry makes a series of ‘smile’ related puns. He’s in all his glory here. Or, at least, he thinks he is. You can almost hear the smirk through the headset. Smiley with a bodyslam, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Benoit delivers a three-alarm rolling German suplex. That allows Chris to go up for the flying headbutt drop, and the crippler crossface finishes at 3:08. Too short to really go anywhere. ¼*
Nitro Party video
The Wolfpac are out to celebrate Kevin Nash’s big win at World War 3. We can second guess the decision to put Nash over Goldberg all day long, but one thing you can’t debate is how incredibly over he (and the group) were at this point
Backstage, Okerlund catches up with Nash, demanding info on what happened between Kevin and Scott Hall at World War 3, since Nash didn’t address it in the previous segment. But, before Nash can expound much, Goldberg walks by, and promises to run Kevin over like a truck. A diesel truck?
Kanyon v Tokyo Magnum: Kanyon’s entrance is delayed, as Raven is literally sitting and crying in gorilla, and Kanyon can’t get him to come out. Tokyo capitalizes by schoolboying him for two right away, and he throws a dropkick, and a bulldog from there. Ten-punch count, but Kanyon fights him off, and uses a Russian legsweep off the middle rope for two. Kanyon with a cradle for two, but Magnum counters a backdrop with a sunset flip for two. Magnum with a small package for two, but Kanyon hits the reverse STO at 2:02. ¼*
Nitro Girls
Glacier v Bobby Duncum Jr: Posturing to start, dominated by Duncum. To the outside, where Bobby dives with a clothesline from the apron, and he whips Glacier into the guardrail for good measure. Bobby with a flying clothesline for two on the way back in, and a corner whip follows, but the charge in gets blocked with a superkick. Glacier adds a facebuster for two, but gets reversed into the ropes, and fed a big boot. Bobby adds a clothesline, and a slam sets up a pump-elbowdrop for two. Cross corner whip, but Glacier reverses, and delivers a powerslam for two. Backdrop, but Bobby blocks, and delivers a DDT for two. Glacier tries to come back, but Bobby drills him with a Russian facebuster at 4:14. They were trying, but this felt like a stuttering effort. ½*
Gene brings Giant out, and he thinks Nash is too afraid to face him. So, he’s going to find a way to get together: beat Goldberg for the world title tonight, so then he gets to face Nash at Starrcade. That feels very backwards. It’s almost like a ‘the real world title was the friends we made along the way,’ situation
Saturn v Silver King: Saturn dominates early, but King catches him with a chop in the corner, and a somersault legdrop gets him two. King misses a dive, allowing Saturn a bodyslam, and a springboard legdrop. He dumps King to the outside, as Ernest Miller shows up at the entrance, responding to Saturn calling him out before the match. Miller refuses the challenge. Maybe Saturn should go win the TV title to make it happen, or some bullshit. So, despite this promo happening in the middle of the damn match, King still blows his sneak attack attempt, and Saturn hits him with the death valley driver at 3:41. DUD
WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Billy Kidman v Rey Mysterio Jr: They criss cross to start, with Rey getting control. He lands a bronco buster, but Kidman catches him with a slingshot headscissors. A reversal sequence sees both guys go tumbling over the top, and Rey manages a headscissors of his own on the floor. He whips Billy into the apron, but an attempt at a rana on the floor gets countered when Kidman drops him on the apron. Billy with a slingshot legdrop for two on the way back in, and he holds a chinlock, but Rey escapes. He delivers a dropkick to the knee, and then a springboard rocker dropper for two. A reversal sequence in the corner ends in Kidman diving with a flying bodypress for two, but a charge misses, and Kidman takes a spill to the outside. Rey is on him with a somersault plancha, but an attempt at a springboard flying bodypress on the way in gets blocked with a dropkick for two. Kidman grounds him in a mat-based abdominal stretch, but Rey escapes, so Kidman powerslams him for two. Rey tries a 2nd rope moonsault press, but Kidman catches him - leading to a reversal sequence that ends in Mysterio hitting a DDT for two. A cool, modified version. Kidman with a rebound clothesline for two, but a pop-up gets countered with a sitout facebuster for two. Rey goes up, but Kidman crotches him ahead of the dive. Kidman goes up for a superplex, but Rey counters with a sunset bomb for two. Rey tries a side suplex, but Kidman counters to a tornado bulldog, and he goes up for the shooting star press, but Rey follows. Rey manages a vertical superplex, but a springboard flying rana gets caught in a sitout spinebuster. That draws the LWO out, so Kidman takes Eddie Guerrero out with a dropkick and a plancha. But, while he’s busy doing that, Juventud Guerrera comes in to hit Rey with a scoop sitout brainbuster. That allows an oblivious Kidman to go to the top with a flying shooting star press, and he retains at 9:45. While I wish it had a clean finish, at least the interference advanced a story, and wasn’t just a cop out. ***
Gene brings Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair out for their hyped face-to-face confrontation. Eric’s still upset that Flair tried to ‘hire’ Barry Windham last week, and Bischoff summons Windham out. Flair just keeps trying to act like he has the power to hire dudes, but then Barry attacks Flair, since I guess money talks and horseshit walks. They do a beatdown, so the Horsemen look to make the save, but nWo Hollywood jump them before they can reach the ring
Booker T v Konnan: They feel each other out to start, and Konnan manages a rolling clothesline to win a criss cross. Booker calls for a test-of-strength, and throws a clothesline when Konnan escapes the lock. Booker with a backelbow for two, and he grounds Konnan in an armbar from there. Booker with a cross corner whip, but the charge in gets blocked, and Konnan delivers a facebuster for two. Konnan with a sitout facebuster next, but Booker fights back with a spinkick, then an axekick, as Stevie Ray wanders down. Booker misses an elbowdrop, so Stevie attacks Konnan for the DQ at 3:45. This was messy. DUD
Gene brings Bret Hart out, and he wants a rematch with WCW United States Champion Diamond Dallas Page. He’s also got Dean Malenko tonight, and it’s a shame poor Dean got banged up when the nWo attacked him earlier. A crying shame
Nitro Girls
Kevin Nash v Wrath: Wrath wins the initial lockup, getting Nash into the corner, and pounding. Wrath with a cross corner whip, but the charge in gets blocked. Wrath keeps coming with a bicycle kick, and a dropkick sends Kevin over the top! Nash throws a knee on the way back in, and he gets Wrath into the corner to hammer on. Snake-eyes, but Wrath blocks, and delivers a side suplex. Wrath goes up with a flying clothesline for two, and a trio of elbowdrops get him two. Wrath with a corner whip, but the charge in gets blocked again, and Nash delivers a sidewalk slam for two. Clothesline, but Wrath ducks, and rebounds with a jumping shoulderblock for two. Cross corner whip, but Nash reverses, and lands a corner clothesline. That allows Kevin to hit a big boot, and the powerbomb finishes at 4:42. This is another one that’s been debated for years, but I get putting Nash over here. He’s main eventing a pay per view against a guy with a massive winning streak. He beats this guy with a winning streak. It’s kind of Booking 101. The only thing I’d do differently is wait another week or two so you can promote it better. ½*
Gene brings WCW Television Champion Chris Jericho out, but Raplhus is nowhere to be seen tonight. No matter, Jericho cuts a promo, but before he can get too far, Bobby Duncum Jr is out with a hogtied Ralphus to send a message to Jericho. That he likes rope? The highlight of this was Okerlund continually referring to Ralphus by the wrong name
Alex Wright v Scott Hall: Posturing to start, dominated by Hall, and leaving Alex on the outside. Wright pulls him to the outside with him, and he grinds Scott’s face across the apron, then rams him into it. Wright with a missile dropkick on the way back in, and a leg lariat gets him a two count. Wright with a series of uppercuts, but Hall slugs back, and delivers a fallaway slam. That allows Scott the crucifix powerbomb at 3:21. Nothing going on here. DUD
Nitro Girls
Bret Hart v Dean Malenko: Bret pounds him down in the corner right away, targeting the bad leg. Hey, even a diminished Bret Hart is still Bret Hart. Dean manages to slug back, and he rattles Hart with a turnbuckle smash, before going to town in the corner himself. Dean gets a waistlock, but Hart counters to a wristlock - reversed by Malenko. Malenko shifts it into a cradle, but Bret is in the ropes, and he bails to break any momentum. Malenko with a corner clothesline, and a vertical suplex follows, but it messes up Dean’s knee as well. Malenko still covers for two, and an Oklahoma roll gets two, but is in the ropes. Bret pops him with a punch, and he tries a bodyslam, but Malenko topples him for two. Hart tries a suplex, but Malenko counters to a cradle for two. A somersault cradle gets another two, but Hart fights back with a backbreaker. A 2nd rope elbowdrop misses for him, allowing Malenko to grabs a sleeper. Bret fights to a vertical base, and uses a side suplex, but Dean hangs on to the hold anyway! Bret gets out, and bails, but Malenko is on his tail this time. Bret begs off, but Dean hammers him back into the ring, and bootchokes him in the corner. Hart swipes at the leg to shake him off, and he goes back to work on the part. Malenko manages a leg-feed enzuigiri, and man, you’d think Bret would have that move scouted. Malenko with a turnbuckle smash and he tries for a superplex, but Bret falls out of the ring. I believe that’s the spot that Bret talks about in his book, where Dean legitimately hurt him while setting him down on the top turnbuckle, and yep, Hart looks messed up. He gets back in, where Dean delivers a kneedrop, and a leg lariat. Texas cloverleaf time, but Hart has the ropes. Malenko pulls him back to center ring for another go, but Bret goes to the eyes. Both guys end up spilling to the outside, where Hart grabs a chair, but Malenko knocks it away from him. Inside, Dean dives with a missile dropkick for two, but a criss cross sees Malenko tweak his knee. That allows Hart to bash the leg into the post a few times, and he hits a cutter on a chair for the DQ at 15:37. In all fairness, Malenko threw that chair into the ring, and it was just sitting there for several minutes. Why didn’t the idiot referee push it out of the ring? This was okay, but not at the level of what you’d expect for a sixteen minute match between these two guys. Afterwards, Bret continues the attack, but DDP makes the save, and accepts Hart’s challenge for next week. * ¼
WCW World Title Match: Bill Goldberg v Giant: Goldberg avoids getting cornered, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Giant follows in with a clothesline. Giant hits the chokeslam right away, but it only gets two, and this crowd is nuts right now. Giant is shocked, but keeps hammering the champion, only he’s in no-sell mode now. Bill with a cross corner whip, and he throws a spear on the rebound. That allows him to hit the jackhammer at 1:34 - to easily the biggest pop of the night, on either show. Afterwards, Bam Bam Bigelow attacks Goldberg, but security runs in before too much happens. And then Nash shows up, and tries to get at Goldberg too, but there’s too much security. ¼*
BUExperience: RAW felt like shock for shock's sake, while Nitro - while still too long - felt a lot better, and had some good direction as they pivot to Starrcade.
Monday Night Wars Rating Chart
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