WCW From the Beginning

STARRCADE '96 (Dec. 29, 1996)

Four Corners Match:
Rey Misterio Jr. defeated Mr. J.L., Ultimo Dragon and Dean Malenko when Misterio Jr. pinned J.L. with the Top-Rope Frankensteiner in 15:06.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Rey Misterio Jr. retained the WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE.)

The four best cruiserweights in the world produced an electrifying opener to The Granddaddy of them All. The action was all over the place with everyone taking turns doing high impact moves.

Rey went for a top-rope hurracanranna on Malenko, but Malenko reversed it into a powerbomb. Malenko then locked in his Texas Cloverleaf, only to have Ultimo Dragon come from behind and lock him in the Dragon Sleeper. JL then took everyone out with a flying spinning heel kick. 

But later in the match, Dragon and Malenko took each other out on the floor, and Rey this time hit JL with his top rope hurrancanrana to get the win.

Justin Bradshaw pinned Barry Windham with the Lariat in 12:45.
Rating: *** 3/4

This was a hard-hitting affair between the former partners. There was a lot of brawling and the referee gave them leeway as they brawled around ringside. 

Windham looked like he was going to gain his revenge, but out of nowhere, Bradshaw hit a vicious lariat which knocked out Windham. 

Glacier pinned Wrath with the Cryonic Kick in 8:31.
Rating: ** ¼

Two high-level martial artists gave an early exhibition of their skills, but Wrath took control early when he switched to a power, brawling attack. 

But Glacier weathered the storm and was able to get back to his typical martial arts style, finally delivering his big kick.

Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated Arn Anderson and Marcus Bagwell when Booker pinned Bagwell with the Harlem Hangover in 14:44.
Rating: *** ¼

Harlem Heat made their case to be next in line for a shot at the World Tag Titles by beating the Horsemen. Harlem Heat was ready for any dirty trick the Horsemen could bring to the table.

Carl Ouellet pinned Meng with the Cannonball in 9:39.
Carl Ouellet suffered a concussion. He will be out for approximately 2 weeks.
Rating: -1/4*

Another hard-hitting affair with two guys that just love to fight. The fight began early and the two took very few pauses from trading shots with each other until Ouellet got Meng down in the corner then hit him with his Cannonball. Though after the match, Ouellet did look a bit woozy when getting his hand raised. 

Triangle Match:
Eddie Guerrero defeated Chris Candido and Konnan when E. Guerrero pinned Candido with the Frog Splash in 13:29.
Rating: ***
(Eddie Guerrero retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)

In the ring there was fantastic action from these three, but some noise was made outside the ring during the match, as right in the middle of things, Syxx of the nWo came down to ringside, took the TV Title belt off the announcers table and left with it. 

After Guerrero picked up the win, he was looking for his belt when the official had to tell him what happened. Meanwhile, Konnan came up from behind and attacked Guerrero, leaving him laid out. 

Disco Inferno Dance Break

As has been custom recently on Nitro, Disco Inferno provided us with a break in the action. He came out with a number of beautiful dancing girls to entertain the crowd. 

However, the joyous nature of their performance was interrupted when Scott Norton ran out from behind and started brutally attacking Disco. 

Big Van Vader pinned Ric Flair with the Vader Bomb in 9:54.
Rating: ** 3/4

Davey Boy Smith was at ringside to help give Flair some aid, but Vader was too much. He dominated Flair earlier, but even after Davey helped Flair turn things around, Vader soon got back at it, first taking out Davey on the outside, then getting back in the ring and finishing off Flair. 

Curt Hennig pinned Randy Savage with the Hennig Plex in 13:39.
Rating: *** 1/4

In a greater sense, this match was between Eric Bischoff and Rick Rude. Bischoff had Randy Savage serve as his WCW representative in a match with his EVP job on the line. Rick Rude’s mystery wrestler turned out to be his long time friend Curt Hennig, making his debut as the newest nWo member. 

The match in the ring was a dream match for many, but the ending was a nightmare for WCW faithful. Things got chaotic at ringside when Bischoff and Rude began getting physical. As the ref tried to interject, Savage hit his flying elbow and would’ve had Hennig pinned if the ref was watching. 

However, Syxx came down with his stolen TV title belt and nailed Savage with it. By the time the ref turned back around, Hennig picked up the unconscious Savage and hit his Hennig Plex and got the pin. Rick Rude is now in control of WCW. 

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Diamond Dallas Page with the Stone Cold Stunner in 15:47.
Rating: ***
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

In the WCW/nWo war, WCW managed to hold on to the US title as Steve Austin fought off a host of nWo interference to beat DDP. 

The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) when Nash pinned S. Steiner with the Jackknife Power Bomb in 17:41.
Rating: ** 1/4
(The Outsiders retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

In a world full of justice, the Steiner Brothers would be world tag team champions now. But instead, the gold still belongs to the nWo’s Outsiders, thanks to the new WCW Executive Vice President Rick Rude. 

The Steiners hit Hall with their Top Rope Bulldog and the referee was about to count to three, but Rude pulled the ref out of the ring by his legs. While the Referee protested, Rude was saying “I am your boss now. You do what I say.” And then he punched out the ref and waved for another one to come down from the back. 

nWo head of security Vincent was shoving another referee down the aisle. The Steiners meanwhile were confronting Rude, they didn’t see Kevin Nash come in with a belt and knock Scott unconscious. Hall held down Rick as the new ref reluctantly came in and counted the 1-2-3. 

Hollywood Hogan pinned Lex Luger with the Big Leg Drop in 13:25.
Rating: -* 3/4
(Hollywood Hogan retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

There has been no greater soldier for WCW than Lex Luger, but tonight, he couldn’t overcome the nWo numbers game. 

He had a number of his WCW faithful friends, such as Vader, giving him a hand and watching his back, but the nWo just had too many on the attack, and Rick Rude forced the referees to let things go. 

Vader was trying to fight off Scott Hall and new nWo member Curt Hennig, Harlem Heat was out lending a hand, but no one stopped Kevin Nash from getting in the ring and powerbombing Luger, leaving him prone for Hogan. 

Card rating: * 1/2

MONDAY NITRO (Jan. 13, 1997)

Rey Misterio Jr. pinned Ultimo Dragon with the Top-Rope Frankensteiner in 10:41.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Rey Misterio Jr. retained the WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE.)

Ultimo Dragon was given a one-on-one match with Rey Misterio for the Cruiserweight title but couldn’t get the job done. It was a fantastic match, but Rey again proved why he’s the best cruiserweight in the world.

Curt Hennig pinned Barry Windham with the Hennig Plex in 11:36.
Barry Windham suffered a torn groin. He will be out for approximately 2 months.
Rating: *** ¼

The latest nWo acquisition was tasked with taking out one of its top enemies and it looks like he got the job done. It took a while for Hennig to get control, but he weathered a Windham rally and caught him with his Hennig Plex for the pin. 

After the match, Windham had to be helped to the back by officials. 

Backstage with the nWo

Backstage, M. Wallstreet and The Boss went to the nWo and asked for a second chance. Rude said he's in a giving mood. He's generous. So he's giving them their second chance, they can fight the Faces of Fear tonight to earn their nWo spots.

Glacier and Dean Malenko battled to a draw in 12:02.
Rating: ** ¼

Glacier and Dean Malenko were putting on a pretty good back and forth match before Wrath came down and attacked Glacier. Malenko didn't take kindly to not being able to win the match himself and started going after the much bigger Wrath until referees had to separate everyone.

The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) defeated The Boss and M. Wallstreet when Barbarian pinned Wallstreet with the Flying Clothesline in 9:24.
Rating: 1/4*

The Faces of Fear were a finely-tuned machine and overcame the desperate attempts of Wallstreet and Boss to show off to the nWo. Faces of Fear won the match and the nWo came to ring to confront Wallstreet and Boss. 

Before anything could be said, The Destruction Crew, the team who beat Wallstreet and Boss, ran in and attacked the two from behind. The rest of the nWo just looked on, some seemingly impressed. 

Interview with Disco Inferno

The music hit and a string of beautiful dancing girls came out, followed by Disco Inferno as the all danced to ringside. He said he's definitely a lover, but he's also a fighter. And Scott Norton will find out all about that. He said he will go in to the nWo's house at Souled Out and take Scott Norton's head off.

Diamond Dallas Page pinned Johnny B. Badd with the Diamond Cutter in 13:42.
Rating: *** ¾

Diamond Dallas Page scored a win for the nWo over one of their new enemies in Johnny B. Badd, but Curt Hennig came down to help DDP beat down Badd after the match. However, Marcus Bagwell ran down to make the save and help Badd fight the two off. 

Gene Okerlund caught up with Bagwell and Badd after and said, if there was any question, he is all WCW and he will gladly fight alongside any WCW wrestler. He offered to team with Badd to fight against Page and Hennig.

Rick Steiner pinned Justin Bradshaw with the Steiner Bulldog in 14:01.
Rating: *** 3/4

Rick Steiner picked up momentum going into his match with Hogan with a win over Justin Bradshaw. But Hogan came down after his match and asks what gives him the idea that he can beat a wrestling God like Hollywood Hogan? 

Hogan showed him a video of his brother Scott laid out in the back. When Steiner got angry, other nWo members jumped him and they attacked and spraypainted Steiner.

Card rating: ***

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MONDAY NITRO (Jan. 20, 1997)

Dean Malenko pinned Hugh Morrus after a sunset flip in 9:48.
Rating: *** 3/4

Dean Malenko was trying to prove a point to Wrath that he can take down bigger men. A decisive win over Hugh Morrus and making him submit will go a long way into proving that point. 

Carl Ouellet pinned Chris Candido with the Cannonball in 10:49.
Rating: ***
[Tammy Lynn Sytch interfered against Carl Ouellet.]

The nWo laid out an open invitation to anybody who can take the US title from Steve Austin and bring it to the nWo. They recruited Carl Ouellet to try and get the job done after he beat Chris Candido.

Big Van Vader and Lex Luger defeated The Headbangers (Headbanger Mosh and Headbanger Thrasher) when Vader pinned Thrasher with the Vader Bomb in 18:23.
Rating: ** 1/4

The Outsiders' plan for an easy title defense against the young team the Hardy Boys got derailed. They were scheduled to have a match tonight but Lex Luger and Big Van Vader, who Rick Rude has had banned from the buildings since took over, came out through the crowd and attacked the Hardys and took their match. 

They then said, it doesn't look like the Hardys will make it to Souled Out. Instead, Luger and Vader will take their place and challenge The Outsiders for the World Tag titles. 

Backstage with the nWo

The nWo members were all shown in a suite backstage sipping champagne. Hall and Nash brought up Luger and Vader throwing themselves into a tag title shot, Nash said it's OK, beating up Luger is fun and Vader is just a big blob of goo.

Hall followed by saying "You know who we haven't beat up in a while? Flair. I miss that."

Rick Rude then threw out the idea, what we should do at Souled Out, have the nWo Invitational Battle Royal. "We get all of us, vs. Flair. Maybe we throw a No. 1 contender stipulation in there to make sure he shows up."

Nash: "Get some Luchadores in there as well. I wanna see how far I can throw Juventud Guerrera."

Eddie Guerrero pinned La Parka with the Frog Splash in 8:58.
Rating: ****
(Eddie Guerrero retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)

After Eddie Guerrero beat La Parka, Syxx appeared on the jumbotron and told Guerrero he's a little too loco to approach face to face so He's safely in the back. But if Guerrero wants the belt back, the deal is he has to fight Syxx in a ladder match at Souled out.


Johnny B. Badd and Marcus Bagwell defeated Lord Steven Regal and David Taylor when Badd pinned D. Taylor with the Tutti Frutti in 9:23.
Rating: *** 1/4

Bagwell said if his regular running mates weren’t willing to go outside their bubble to fight the nWo, he’ll find someone who’s willing to fight for WCW. 

He and Badd had a tune-up match tonight before facing the nWo at Souled Out and worked well together to beat Regal and Taylor. 

Rick Steiner defeated Kevin Nash by disqualification in 14:03.
Rating: 3/4*
[Hollywood Hogan interfered against Rick Steiner.]

Rick Rude booked Rick Steiner in a “warm-up” match against Kevin Nash, though it was more of a chance for Nash and the nWo to soften Steiner up before he challenges Hollywood Hogan. 

Nash’s partner Scott Hall patrolled ringside, as did Hogan. They took every chance they could to get a cheap shot. 

They were content to let the rest of the match unfold when Nash had the upperhand and was beating Steiner around the ring, but as soon as Steiner started making a comeback, Hogan ran into the ring and ambushed Steiner. 

The rest of the nWo ran in and started to jump Steiner but WCW guys such as Luger, Vader, Bagwell, Badd and Guerrero ran down and brawled with the nWo. The camera faded out on the massive riot. 

Card rating: ** 1/2