WCW: The Doctor is In

Sunday, Week 4 December, 1997

24,000 fans in attendance at a sold out MCI Center in Washington DC.

Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby Heenan

We open with a killer promo video for Sting vs Hogan and hyping up the showdown to come in the main event. We then get shots on the jam-packed arena as our announce team hypes up the event and the numerous WCW vs NWO matches on the card tonight. (90)

WCW Cruiserweight Title: Eddie Guerrero (c) vs Dean Malenko

We start the evening with Cruiserweight action as Guerrero takes on a stalwart in the division in Malenko. The match was the typical excellence we've come to expect from the division as Guerrero's fast paced offense collided with Malenko's more mat-based style. It was a perfect clash of styles that saw both men gain the upper hand at various points in the contest. Malenko looked to finish it by putting Eddie in the Texas Cloverleaf but the, ever crafty, Guerrero was able to roll Malenko up for the three count and retain his title at 14:22. (73)

Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth are backstage with Buff Bagwell, Scott Norton and Vincent. In a few short minutes they will battle Ted Dibiase's WCW squad and Savage is less than impressed with team he's put together. "You got your Steiners out there waiting for a shot at the Macho Man, well you won't be getting it tonight boys. The New World Order is unbeatable and so am I brothers. Ray Traylor? He couldn't cut the muster with us and now he thinks he can stand on his own? He'll learn, just like everyone else tonight. We are for life, DIG IT!" (87)

nWo (Randy Savage, Buff Bagwell & Scott Norton) w/ Miss Elizabeth & Vincent vs Ray Traylor & The Steiner Brothers w/ Ted DiBiase

With only 12 minutes to get their spots in this quickly becomes a "play the hits" match. Traylor and Rick get their licks in but this is mainly Scott's chance to shine. He manhandles Buff and even manages to life Norton up for a few suplexes. Things change once Savage comes in however as the crowd goes nuts for the showdown between these two. Savage takes control early but it isn't long before Scott is getting the better of him too. Savage bails only coming back in to take advantage of interference from Vincent. Eventually, The Steiners fight back from the numbers game and Scott is able to put Norton away with a slightly neutered looking Frankensteiner in 11:32. The selling wasn't great but what do you expect from Norton and the Steiners. (83)

Goldberg vs Steve McMichael

Goldberg has been extremely impressive since making his debut a few months back and this was a chance for him to look dominate against an established star. Nobody will claim Mongo is a great worker but he did an admirable job here of making Goldberg look absolutely unstoppable. Mongo has to resort to a rake of the eyes just to get some offense in, but even that wouldn't last long before the former NFL star ate a Spear at 7:09. (51)

We cut to black and white as the original nWo trio of Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall hang out and talk trash on their opponents tonight. "Sting wants to hang in the rafter and cheap shot me, brother? Well, there won't be any cheap shots tonight. Sting, it is just you, me and the entire nWo and I think you can tell how that one is gonna go, dudes."
"Hey yo, Luger and Giant," Hall chimes in, "you guys think you're a real team, huh? You think you can really hang with the Outsiders? You'll learn tonight that we don't win by playing fair, we win by being smarter."
"Tough man Lex still thinks he can take out the New World Order," Nash adds, "and poor doofus Giant thinks he can lift me up for that chokeslam. Face the facts, the only reason you two are teaming up is because you couldn't get it done against Hollywood. You won't get it done tonight either because the nWo...is for for for life!" (100)

We head back to the ring as Larry Zbyszko makes his way down for his match with Eric Bischoff. We wait for over a minute before Eric finally makes appears on the ramp, accompanied by Konnan, in street clothes. "Oh Larry, you sweet imbecile. I know you were looking forward to getting your hands on me but you should really take a better look at a contract before you sign it." Eric smiles before pulling out a copy of the contract and reading from it. "In the event that Mr. Bischoff is unable to compete a competitor of his choosing may compete in his place." The crowd boos as he continues. "Now you might have noticed I'm not looking too hot tonight, looks like I've come down with the flu. I'm in no shape to wrestle, it wouldn't be fair to the fans." Eric continues mugging before revealing he has someone ready to face Larry. "The guy I found is someone you already know, he's someone who hates WCW just as much as we do and was more than happy to come here tonight to kick your ass."

Mr Wallstreet comes out to a middling reaction from the crowd, they were clearly expecting someone bigger but that's fine because bigger things are coming during the match. (67)

Larry Zbyszko vs Mr. Wallstreet w/ Eric Bischoff & Konnan

While this match was far from the most entertaining encounter of the night it was far better than the initial plan of having Eric actually wrestle. Commentary made a note of Konnan not being chosen by Bischoff to replace him in this match. Nevertheless, the duo made sure to ruin any foothold Zbyszko got over Wallstreet. Eventually, Larry went out to confront Bischoff only to be blindsided by Konnan as Wallstreet kept the ref busy. It seemed like the nWo were going to get their first win of the night when all of a sudden...

The Hitman is here! Bret makes his down to the ring and Bischoff seems under the impression that he is coming to help. The grin on his face quickly turns to terror as Hart immediately lays out Konnan and points finger at Bischoff. As Hart shouts at Eric, Wallstreet goes to intervene only to run right into Zbyszko who knocks him on his ass and rolls him back into the ring. Hart decks Bischoff as Zbyszko puts on the Guillotine Chokehold on Wallstreet winning the match in 10:10. (55)

Post-match, the crowd roars as Hitman rolls Bischoff into the ring and gestures for Larry to have a go at him. Konnan attempts to break it up only to be decked again and placed into the Sharpshooter to a huge reaction from the crowd. Bischoff gets to his feet just in time to eat a Shoulderbreaker from Zbyszko, which he sold like a champ. Larry goes to thank Bret but the Hitman has already made his way up the ramp, leaving us all to wonder what exactly his plans are in WCW. (88)

Raven and his Flock are out next as Raven grabs a mic and sits in one of the ring corners, his group of misfits surrounding the ring. "Throughout our life we are told that any obstacle we encounter can be overcome by a combination of strength and perseverance. I was never someone who was lucky enough to possess those strengths. Now, Chris Benoit? He believes himself to have a wealth of both. I admire that, so much so that I'm willing to give him a rare opportunity. Defeat three of my Flock tonight and you can get the match you crave. All you have to do is come out to accept." Benoit wastes no time coming to the ring as Raven exits and instructs Kidman to enter. (71)

Gauntlet Match: Chris Benoit vs Kidman

Raven and the rest of his flock head into the crowd to watch this battle. Benoit is clearly the more experienced of the two and while he mostly controls this match Kidman manages to get a few licks in thanks to his fast offense. Chris rallies and locks Kidman into the Crippler Crossface to finish this in 6:53. Raven shakes his head and instructs Hammer to head to the ring. (69)

Gauntlet Match: Chris Benoit vs Hammer

Hammer is less flashy but is able to take advantage of the power difference and gain an early upper hand against Benoit. Benoit manages to turn it around when he surprises Hammer with a suplex and it isn't long before he too is tapping to the Crossface in 4:50. Raven looks visibly upset at how quick that went before tapping the shoulder of Saturn and sending him out last.(64)

Gauntlet Match: Chris Benoit vs Saturn

Saturn is looking for revenge after Benoit cost him the TV title and quickly gains the advantage after avoiding a suplex attempt. Saturn works hard on the knees and uses his surprising speed to further wear out the winded Benoit. Chris would not be deterred however as he reversed a Death Valley Driver and managed to battle back. Benoit is able to land the Wild Peagus Bomb to a shocked murmur to the crowd for the power on display and win in 10:10. This was the standout match of the gauntlet as expected. (79)

Post match, Raven stands up and claps as Benoit beckons him to the ring. Raven smirks as the rest of his Flock storm the ring and begin to beat down the Crippler. Lodi, Reese and Riggs take him down after some effort as Raven comes in and lands an Evenflow DDT, posing over his new victim. (74)

The Outsiders vs The Giant & Lex Luger

These two teams are no strangers to one another, Nash and Hall are out to secure another shot at the Tag Team titles and prove they are the greatest team in WCW. The main story of this bout was Nash avoiding The Giant at all costs possible, immediately tagging out whenever the big man entered. Late in the match, Luger gets Hall up into the Torture Rack to a huge reaction before Nash comes in and breaks it up. The Giant comes in and goes for the Chokeslam only to eat a Big Boot, sending him out of the ring. Nash and Hall take advantage and double team on Luger. Eventually, Hall takes a Back Body Drop to the floor when attempting to keep The Giant off the apron and the big man gets the hot tag from Luger. Nash puts up a valiant fight, lasting longer than expected and almost managing to get The Giant up for the Jackknife before succumbing to a Chokeslam in 15:40. (83)