WCW From the Beginning

MONDAY NITRO (Aug. 12, 1996)

Interview with Lex Luger and Randy Savage

Nitro opened up with Lex Luger and Randy Savage storming the ring. They said they weren't making excuses for the way their Hog Wild loss to the Outsiders, but they wanted another fight tonight. 

They then called out the WCW locker room, saying the only way WCW is going to survive this attack is to unite together and watch each other's backs.

This brought out former world champion Vader who asked Savage and Luger if their actions were going to back up their words. Because when Vader was fighting Hogan for the title, Nash, Hall and Rude were all there for Hogan, but there was no one from WCW there for him. 

Savage and Luger both admitted they should've been there, but tonight is the night WCW comes together and they promised to stand alongside whoever is fighting the nWo. 

The segement ended with all three shaking hands.

Eddie Guerrero pinned Marcus Bagwell with the Frog Splash in 13:31.
Rating: ** 1/2

Eddie Guerrero got a big win over Bagwell, putting him away with his frog splash. After, he called out his good friend Konnan saying he's ready for gold, asking for a shot at the TV title. 

Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated Billy Kidman and Scotty Riggs when S. Ray defeated Kidman by countout in 10:36.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Alex Wright no-showed.)

With the top contender spot for the world tag titles open, Harlem Heat wanted to make a statement they wanted that spot.

However, they didn't get to beat the former champ Ultimate Males like they hoped. As Alex Wright was nowhere to be found, so Scotty Riggs picked up Rookie Billy Kidman to fill in. 

Kidman showed that he has some ability, but was in a bit over his head against a team like Harlem Heat.

Interview with the nWo

The nWo are shown in their dressing room, Hogan with the spraypainted title belt over his shoulder. They question how many times they gotta beat down WCW. Hogan mentions he was already being forced to defend his title against Ric Flair next week, but said he wouldn’t mind getting a sparring session in tonight. 

Nash and Hall agreed that they had a lot of fun beating up Luger and Savage in Sturgis and wouldn’t mind doing it again. 

Chris Candido pinned Ice Train with the Blonde Bombshell in 7:59.
Rating: * 3/4

Candido looked unconcerned about his loss to Diamond Dallas Page, looked as cocky as ever with Tammy Lynn by his side as he scored a win over the bigger Ice Train. 

Glacier pinned M. Wallstreet after a Cryonic Kick in 9:25.
Rating: **

This was Glacier’s first match since agreeing to take on Ricky Steamboat as a mentor. Steamboat watched from ringside, giving instructions when needed as saw his man pick up a win. 

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Ric Flair with the Stun Gun in 12:38.
Rating: ** 1/4
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

Austin and Flair put on a great match, but late, while Austin had momentum, Flair kicked him low then slid out of the ring. But while Austin was down and the ref was checking on him, Hogan came out with a steel chair and smacked Flair with it before rolling him back into the ring. 

Austin recovered, never seeing what happened was a bit confused, but hit a Stunner on Flair and got the pin. 

Lex Luger, Big Van Vader and Randy Savage and The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) and Hollywood Hogan battled to a double countout in 8:37.
Rating: -3/4*

Luger, Savage and Vader united under the WCW banner to fight the nWo. For a few minutes, Team WCW was getting the upperhand until the nWo turned to low blows and chair shots. But before they could do extra damage, WCW roster members Diamond Dallas Page, The Faces of Fear and members of the Horsemen ran down and the nWo retreted through the crowd.

Card rating: * 1/4

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MONDAY NITRO (Aug. 19, 1996)

Mr. J.L. pinned Silver King with the Moonsault in 7:01.
Rating: * ¾

(Mr. J.L. retained the WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE.)

JL opened the show with a successful defense of his Cruiserweight title against the debuting Silver King. 

After the match, however, Dean Malenko ran in and attacked the champion, locking him in the Texas Cloverleaf, demanding a title shot.
Rey Mysterio Jr. ran down to break Malenko off. 

Carl Ouellet pinned Ice Train with the Cannonball in 9:52.
Rating: * ¾

New on the scene in WCW, Carl Ouellet is a tough, physical competitor and he showed that in his debut match, beating Ice Train.

Lex Luger made Greg Valentine submit to the Torture Rack in 11:06.
Rating: * 1/2

Luger got a victory, after his match, he was approached by Diamond Dallas Page. DDP said last week Luger called out the WCW locker room, and DDP was answering the call. 

Luger said he admires that, but that he looks at DDP and sees someone who used to manage Scott Hall, someone who was Kevin Nash's tag team partner. 

DDP said that was a lifetime ago. In the modern day, he's ready to defend WCW against anyone. Luger simply replied, "Then show me."

Interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin was interviewed about what happend last week in his match with Ric Flair, and the ending has many questioning if he's the next member of the nWo. Austin said he didn't see Hogan come down and sure as heck didn't invite him. 

Austin went on to say he's run with gangs before and he's doing much better for himself on his own. So that's how he's going to stay on his own. But he'll open up a can of whoopass on anyone in front of him, nWo or WCW.

Glacier pinned Van Hammer after a Cryonic Kick in 7:49.
Rating: *

While Glacier was on his way to another win with Ricky Steamboat in his corner, Johnny B. Badd shocked the announcers by joining them in the broadcast booth. He kept criticizing his former partner in Steamboat and making fun of Glacier who he kept calling a “Mortal Kombat” wannabe.

Interview with The Ultimate Males

The Ultimate Males, both of them this time, did an interview. Riggs asked Wright where he was last week. Wright said he needed some time to think things over. They had a good run, reached the top together, but lately it doesn't seem to be working anymore and he's wondering if it’s still worth it. 

Riggs pleaded with Wright and made a case that they became champions once and they can do it again. Wright seemed reluctant, but ended up shaking Riggs hand.

The Unforgiven (Barry Windham and Justin Bradshaw defeated The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) when Bradshaw pinned Meng with the Lariat in 14:37.
Rating: ***
(The Unforgiven retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

Speaking of the WCW tag team scene, the world champions, The Unforgiven scored yet another victory over the team they took the titles from. 

Meng was in and dominating Barry Windham, but he took his eye off Justin Bradshaw who came hit and hit a vicious lariat that led to a pin.

Hollywood Hogan pinned Ric Flair with the Big Leg Drop in 17:08.

Rating: * 1/2
(Hollywood Hogan retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

Ric Flair had Hogan in the figure four and it looked like Hogan was getting ready to submit. But Hogan grabbed hold of the ref, keeping him from calling for the bell. Meanwhile, Rick Rude grabbed a can of spraypaint and sprayed Flair in the eyes. 

A blinded Flair let go of the hold and Hogan regrouped, dropped his leg and got the pin.

This brought out the other members of the Horsemen into the ring, but Nash and Hall also jumped in and used spray cans to blind the Horsemen and attack them. 

Luger, Savage and Vader all ran down but all met the same fate. Diamond Dallas Page ran down but was quickly dispatched.

The nWo took many of the downed WCW stars and spraypainted “nWo” on their backs, leaving them lying in a sea of carnage.

Card rating: * 3/4

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MONDAY NITRO (Aug. 26, 1996)

Diamond Dallas Page pinned M. Wallstreet with the Diamond Cutter in 3:50.
Rating: * ½

DDP made quick work of M. Wallsreet then made a plea. He said he knows Lex Luger questioned his past and he couldn’t hide who he teammed with before. But he is 100% WCW. He knows War Games is coming up, and he wants in.

The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) defeated The Ultimate Males (Alex Wright and Scotty Riggs) when Enos defeated Riggs when Riggs passed out in the Double Hammerlock Submission in 11:33.
Rating: ** ½

The Ultimate Males were back together tonight after Alex Wright admitting questioning the team last week. Wright started off the match hot, but eventually, things turned when the Destruction Crew isolated Scotty Riggs. 

After taking a beating for a while, Riggs finally broke free and went to make his way to make the tag, but Wright, instead of tagging in, jumped down off the apron and walked to the back.

Riggs was no match alone for the Destruction Crew.

No-Time-Limit-Match:
Konnan made Greg Valentine submit to the Tequila Sunrise in 9:28.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Konnan retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)

After a successful TV title defense, Konnan was asked about Eddie Guerrero's challenge from a few weeks ago. Konnan said Eddie was like a little brother to him. He helped train Eddie and was a mentor to Eddie. He was responsible for Eddie's rise in the Mexican leagues and coming to the United States. But if the little brother thinks they can take down the big brother, lets see what he has. 

Chris Candido pinned Van Hammer with the Blonde Bombshell in 0:09:37.
Rating: ** 1/2

Eddie Guerrero getting a TV title shot did not sit well with Chris Candido. After his win, Candido spoke saying it was a travesty Eddie gets a shot before he gets a rematch for his belt. Eddie can have his match, but Candido said he's gonna keep a real close eye on it.

The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated David Taylor and Steve Regal when R. Steiner pinned D. Taylor with the Steiner Bulldog in 12:53.
Rating: *** ¼

The Steiners want to work their way back up the tag team ladder, but so did Regal and Taylor. But the Steiners had a little too much for the two British stars on this night.

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Davey Boy Smith with the Stone Cold Stunner in 11:18.
Rating: * 1/2
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

Davey Boy Smith was upset with what happened last week, and he demanded another shot at Steve Austin. However, the former US Champion didn’t far much better than the night he lost the title to Austin. 

Randy Savage confronts Ric Flair

Randy Savage was scheduled to have a match against Ric Flair, but Savage instead had another idea. Savage came with Luger and Vader to the ring and made an offer to the Horsemen. They wanted Ric Flair to join with them to fight the nWo at Fall Brawl in War Games.

The two sides went back and forth professing their allegiance to WCW and what they have given to the company and what they're willing to do to stop the nWo. 

Flair was a little skeptical that he'd be better off with the three of them rather than the Horsemen. But they convinced him that a show of unity was the best option and all cards being put on the table, these were the four best WCW had to fight against the nWo. 

It took a while, including Flair getting his fellow Horsemen's approval, but he accepted the offer.


Card rating: ** 1/4

FALL BRAWL '96 (Sept. 15, 1996)

The announcers welcomed everybody to Fall Brawl and plugged the night’s main event, War Games. WCW vs. The nWo. 

Video went to the parking area where WCW’s Randy Savage was arriving in his car, but before he could get out of the car, a monster truck raced in and smashed into the drivers side door. It went back and rammed it yet again. After about four or five times the monster truck finally drove away. 

Rey Misterio Jr. pinned Mr. J.L. with the Top-Rope Frankensteiner in 15:11.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Rey Misterio Jr. won the WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE.)

Fall Brawl officially opened with a new Cruiserweight champion being crowned. JL had been on a hot streak and has knocked off top competition since winning the title, but Rey Misterio Jr. was a different beast. 

JL tried to position Rey for a superplex, but Rey spun around, reversed it into a frankensteiner which held JL down for a pin. 

Backstage in the parking lot

EMTs were tending to Randy Savage as the rest of Team WCW was there in support. But Savage was removed from his car and loaded onto a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance. 

The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Meng pinned Enos with the Tongan Death Grip in 11:36.
Rating: * 1/4

The Destruction Crew has had some success recently against Harlem Heat and was trying to use that to catapult up the tag rankings. But their road was blocked by The Faces of Fear. 

In a hard hitting contest, The Faces of Fear prevailed, Meng putting Mike Enos away with his Tongan Death Grip.

Scotty Riggs pinned Alex Wright after a side step in 8:18.
Rating: ***

Alex Wright suffered a broken ankle and will be out for 3 months.

It’s safe to say that the partnership that took these two to the top of the tag team mountain is over. Scotty Riggs had hope Wright would come around and reform their team, but Wright rathered blow the whole thing up. 

The two had quite a fight while the match was lasted, but it was unfortunately cut short. With Scotty Riggs on the floor, Wright tried coming off the top rope down on him, but Riggs moved and Wright crashed. 

Wright was clearly hurting from the fall, he tried to walk it off but couldn’t really put weight on his leg. He insisted on resuming the match, fighting off ringside doctors, but once he got into the ring, Riggs caught him in a roll up and got the pin. 

Eddie Guerrero pinned Konnan with the Frog Splash in 12:38.
Rating: ***
(Eddie Guerrero won the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)

Konnan put his TV title on the line against someone who’s he claimed was like a little brother to him. But that big brother mentality seemed to also give Konnan a false sense of security and an overconfidence, as he seemed legitimately shocked when Guerrero put together an early string of offense that drove Konnan out of the ring. 

Konnan, though, weathered the storm and even had Guerrero locked in his Tequila Sunrise hold. But when Guerrero got to the ropes and the ref called for the break, Konnan thought he won the match. 

While the referee tried to tell Konnan what happened, Guerrero came from behind to catch Konnan. He hit him with a brainbuster suplex and then went up top to hit his Frog Splash. Guerrero got the win, and the TV title. 

Glacier pinned Johnny B. Badd after a Cryonic Kick in 4:46.
Rating: ** 1/2

The beginning of this match was mostly Johnny B. Badd mocking Glacier’s martial arts style. Badd was having fun doing his own imitation. He even took time out to yell at Ricky Steamboat at ringside and make fun of Steamboat’s arm being in a sling. But as soon as he turned back around, he walked right into Glacier’s Cryonic Kick. 

The Unforgiven (Barry Windham and Justin Bradshaw) defeated Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) when B. Windham pinned Booker with the Superplex in 15:42.
Rating: *** 3/4
(The Unforgiven retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

One early interesting aspect of this match, was, perhaps for the first time in their WCW careers, Harlem Heat was getting the support of the fans. They even seemed to be caught off guard by it, but looked to be enjoying the support. 

The Unforgiven though didn’t care if they were cheered or booed, they just wanted to inflict pain and hold on to their titles by any means necessary. 

With Windham down on the mat, Booker T went to the top rope for his Harlem Hangover. But Windham crawled over and grabbed the ref’s leg holding on to him. 

Meanwhile, Bradshaw and Stevie Ray were fighting on the floor. Bradshaw got enough of a break, he was able to grab a pipe from under the ring, and smack Booker in the knee. Booker dropped to where he was sitting on the top turnbuckle. Windham got up in the ring, went over and hit him with a superplex that got his team the win. 

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Arn Anderson with the Stone Cold Stunner in 13:11.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

Arn Anderson wanted this match after questioning where Steve Austin’s loyalties lie, with WCW or the nWo. We’re not sure if any of those questions got answered, just that Steve Austin’s loyalties lie with himself. 

The possibility of Austin joining the nWo may have been a concern to Anderson, but mainly, he wanted to bring the US title back to the Horsemen. 

Anderson put everything he had into going after the belt, but Austin has been at another level since returning to WCW with his “Stone Cold” moniker. When Anderson went for a DDT, Austin ran Anderson back into the corner. When Anderson bounced out, Austin hit his Stunner and got the pin. 

War Games No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
The nWo beat WCW after Scott Hall made Big Van Vader submit to an armbreaker 41:21.
Rating: *** 1/2

The nWo brought their assault against WCW to one of WCW’s flagship events, War Games. WCW was facing an uphill battle after the assault on Savage earlier in the night. 

The match opened up with Lex Luger and Scott Hall the first two men in the ring for their respective teams. For most of the period, Luger was getting the upper hand on Hall until Hall caught Luger with a low blow. 

The time ran out and it was announced that WCW won the backstage coin toss, and Ric Flair ran down to give WCW the advantage. Hall spent most of the period trying to run away and keep his distance, but Luger and Flair caught up with him and started to beat him down with Flair working on his knee. 

That all changed with Kevin Nash came in the match and evened things up. The match got pretty even for a bit with the two sides going back and forth with strikes and counters.  

It looked like WCW would get back on the advantage when the time ran out and Big Van Vader began his walk to the ring, but he was blindsided by the nWo’s Hulk Hogan with a chair. Hogan repeatedly attacked Vader’s arm with the chair until pretty much the clock ran back out and it was time for Hogan to enter the cage. 

The nWo now had the numbers edge and used it to their advantage. It came time for the next WCW entry, but with Savage taken to the hospital, there was no one to jump in the cage. That was until Diamond Dallas Page came running down, with his own chair in hand. On his way down the ramp he helped Vader up and came with him into the cage. 

Luger saw DDP came in and shook his hand they stood side by side as the clock began to tick down for the final nWo entrant. But when the clock hit all zeroes, no one came out of the back. But instead, Page took his chair and blasted Luger across the head with it. Diamond Dallas Page was the fourth nWo man in War Games. 

It was four strong nWo members against Luger, Flair and an injured Vader. From there it was only a matter of time. Scott Hall locked in an armbreaker on Vader until he officially called for the bell to end the match. 

After it was over, the cage began to raise, Rick Rude came down to join his nWo buddies in celebration. They continued the attack. The remaining Horsemen tried to come help Flair but were all taken out. 

However, video showed in the back an ambulance arriving and Randy Savage jumping out. Savage raced to the ring to try and help WCW, but the same fate befelled him. Savage was beaten and spraypainted as the nWo reigned supreme. 

Card rating: ** 3/4