Post by anthonymm13 on Aug 16, 2023 16:39:24 GMT 1
MONDAY NITRO (Aug. 11, 1997)
nWo in-ring promo
The dissension in the nWo carried over from Road Wild into Nitro. The nWo opened the show all in the ring except for Randy Savage. Hogan took the mic and made fun of Savage from their match last night. Nash, however, pleaded with Savage to "see the light" and fight with the good guys, saying they're stronger together than they are apart.
Savage appeared in the crowd with a mic and told every nWo member that Hogan is poison and he's using them all to protect him since he can't do it himself. Hogan said he was gonna let Nash beat some sense into Savage tonight, to which Savage replied maybe he'll do the same to Nash.
Chris Candido pinned Lord Steven Regal after a sitout power bomb in 13:50.
Rating: ****
Tammy Lynn made her first appearance in nearly a month, coming down in the middle of Chris Candido's match. Seemingly unbeknownst to Candido, Tammy sprayed Mace in Regal's eyes while no one else was looking. Candido looked confused but followed through and got the win.
After, Regal, still partially blinded, tried confronting Tammy about it. Candido got in the middle of things, telling Regal to leave her alone. But from behind, Tammy lowblowed Candido and left the ring. Disco Inferno came out stopping Tammy as she was walking to the back and asked what was going on. Tammy pulled her Mace back out and sprayed Disco with it.
Marcus Bagwell and Ric Flair defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Bagwell pinned Enos after a tiger suplex in 6:55.
Rating: ** 1/4
Flair and Bagwell had a successful foray into tag team ranks, working as a well-oiled machine in their win.
In-ring interview with Sting
Sting talked about how nice Road Wild felt. A WCW guy fighting another WCW guy for the title. It’s the way it should be. He gave props to DDP for taking him to his limit. He address the nWo infighting saying they can tear each other apart for all he cares. He’s ready to continue bringing honor and prestige back to the World Title and keep it home in WCW. He has a list of people he wants to defend against mentioning guys like Lex Luger, Vader and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
This brought out WCW EVP Eric Bischoff who congratulated Sting on putting WCW back on top. He said as much as he respects Sting, he can’t let a champion keep naming his own challengers. There has to be a process. Bischoff said next week on Nitro, there will be an 8-man tournament all in one night to determine the new No. 1 contender. It’s another opportunity for WCW to rise up and put another nail in the coffin of the nWo.
Sting didn’t seem to fully buy Bischoff’s words, but accepted the challenge of waiting to see who his next opponent would be.
Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Rick Steiner with the Stone Cold Stunner in 13:17.
Rating: *** ¾
Steve Austin got a 1 on 1 match against Rick Steiner after he cost him the US title at Road Wild. Austin got the win but Scott Steiner came down to jump Austin after and both Steiner brothers stomped away on Austin. Diamond Dallas Page ran in to make the save for Austin, chasing the Steiners to the back.
The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) defeated The Headbangers (Headbanger Mosh and Headbanger Thrasher) when Barbarian pinned Thrasher with the Flying Clothesline in 8:53.
Rating: DUD
The Faces of Fear had no comments about their attack on Harlem Heat after their Road Wild match but looked a lot more agressive than usual in their win.
Stevie Richards pinned Johnny B. Badd with the Stevie Kick in 11:05.
Rating: *** ½
New WCW arrival Stevie Richards made his in-ring debut, while his old friend Raven sat ringside along with Kidman and JL. JL and Kidman jumped the guardrail and gave Stevie a hand, distracting Badd so Stevie could hit him with a Stevie Kick.
The two came in the ring and stomped away on Badd after the match, but Richards instead just left the ring instead of joining in.
Kevin Nash pinned Randy Savage with the Jackknife Power Bomb in 13:33.
Rating: **
The nWo was fully behind Nash in the match, as Hogan played a key role in helping Nash get the win, after which, the entire nWo ran in and attacked Savage, leaving him unconscious. Hogan took his spraypaint and painted "HH" on Savage's body.
Card rating: ** 1/4
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MONDAY NITRO (Aug. 18, 1997)
Tonight on Monday Nitro we will determine a new No. 1 contender for Sting’s world heavyweight championship. We will hold a 1 night, 8-man tournament to determine who will challenge Sting at Fall Brawl.
First Round
Diamond Dallas Page pinned Scott Steiner with the Diamond Cutter in 9:06.
Rating: *** ¼
Scott Steiner had his brother, Rick, ringside with him after the two reunited at Road Wild. However, their plans backfired as Rick tried to throw Scott a pair of brass knuckles, but Steve Austin came down to interrupt the exchange, hitting Rick causing him to throw the knucks over Scott’s head and as he turned around to go get them, he walked right into a Diamond Cutter.
Lex Luger made Scott Hall submit to the Torture Rack in 11:19.
Rating: *
Luger advanced with a win over the nWo’s Scott Hall. The nWo again attempted to interfere with Kevin Nash trying to give a hand to his partner, but of all people, Randy Savage came down to stop it and Luger had little resistance to putting Hall in the torture rack.
Curt Hennig pinned Stone Cold Steve Austin after a gutwrench suplex in 10:07.
Rating: *** ½
Austin looked like he was going to advance, hitting the Stunner on Hennig, but as Hennig flailed around he collided with the ref. With the ref down, Scott Steiner ran out and brutally attacked Austin. He revived the ref as Hennig pinned Austin.
Randy Savage pinned Hollywood Hogan after a Victory Roll in 6:53.
Rating: DUD
Randy Savage showed up to the match still with the spraypaint on him from last week, saying he wanted a reminder of everything to use to beat Hogan tonight. But early in the match, Hogan took control but took too much time to brag to the camera, as during one of these instances, Savage came from behind and rolled up Hogan to get a pin. He scattered away before the nWo reserves could hit the ring to attack him.
Semifinals
Lex Luger pinned Diamond Dallas Page after a forearm smash in 11:05.
Rating: *
Luger and Page showed a lot of mutual respect to each other, but on this night, Luger was the better man.
Curt Hennig pinned Randy Savage with the Hennig Plex in 10:47.
Rating: ** 1/4
While Savage avoided a beating after his match with Hogan, the nWo came out in full force to make sure Savage wouldn't beat Curt Hennig. They pulled every dirty trick in the book to make sure Hennig got the win and advanced to the finals.
Finals
Curt Hennig pinned Lex Luger after a side suplex in 0:12:19.
Rating: * 1/2
In the finals, Savage showed up racing to the ring and chasing Hennig, but as Hennig circled the ring and headed back down the ramp, Savage followed but was met with a nWo blockade as they attacked. It got the point, even Luger ran down to try to help Savage. But the ref ushered both Luger and Hennig back to the ring. But the chaos surrounding everything gave Hennig an opportunity to hit a low blow the ref didn't see, which led to the Hennig Plex that earned him the pin and the No. 1 contender spot.
Card rating: * 1/2
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MONDAY NITRO (Aug. 25, 1997)
Four Corners Match:
Eddie Guerrero defeated Juventud Guerrera, Prince Iaukea and Psicosis when E. Guerrero pinned J. Guerrera with the Frog Splash in 0:16:57.
Rating: *** ¾
Eddie Guerrero is clearly the No. 1 contender for the World Cruiserweight title. He spoke to Gene Okerlund after the match and asked Dean Malenko to come out, which he did. Eddie said it's time to leave all the BS behind and see one on one who is the better man. Dean agreed to a match with Eddie at Fall Brawl.
The U.S. Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda) defeated Kidman and JL when Rotunda pinned Kidman with the Airplane Spin in 13:06.
Rating: **
The US Express beat the two members of Raven's flock, to which after Raven jumped the guardrail, slid into the ring and DDTed both of his followers.
Tammy Lynn Sytch interview
Tammy Lynn came out for an interview and was asked what the heck was she thinking two weeks ago. Tammy said about a month ago she had to run out of the arena crying while the two men she's been with over the last three years were getting destroyed. She realized she shouldn't have to feel that way. She's tired of putting herself out there for weak men. She's the one in charge and she won't ever let a man make her feel that helpless again.
Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Too Cold Scorpio with the Greetings from Asbury Park in 7:00.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Bam Bam Bigelow retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)
Bam Bam had a successful first defense of his TV title, though Scorpio gave him quite a challenge. The ending came when Scorpio was picking up momentum and tried to do a flying cross body off the top rope, but Bam Bam caught him.
nWo in-ring promo
Hollywood Hogan again came out with the nWo saying they need to do something about Randy Savage. Hogan said Savage isn't nWo material and he's showing his true colors where he's only about himself.
Once again, Savage interrupted Hogan from the crowd saying Hogan a pot calling the kettle black. He said the nWo is dying by Hogan's leadership and a change needs to be made. Savage said he'll even prove he's a better leader than Hogan could ever hope to be by challenging Hogan to War Games.
Hogan asked him where he's gonna get a team from since the nWo is all behind Hollywood. Hogan went as far to say as if Savage can actually get anybody, they can face him and The Outsiders tonight in a 6 man tag.
Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) when Booker pinned R. Steiner after a scissor kick 15:32.
Rating: ***
(Harlem Heat retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)
The reunited Steiner Brothers went after Harlem Heat's World tag titles but came up short. After the match, Stone Cold Steve Austin came down and attacked both Steiner brothers with a chair, chasing them to the back.
Meanwhile, Harlem Heat called out the Faces of Fear, calling them punks for their cheap shots at Road Wild and saying if they want to be men, they can take another trip to 112th street.
Bryan Clark and Carl Ouellet battled to a double countout in 10:49.
Rating: * ½
Clark and Ouellet, two of WCW's biggest and strongest, brawled each other into a double countout. Their fight spilled outside to which they just kept on fighting, ignoring the 10 count to get back in the ring.
Lex Luger, Randy Savage and Sting defeated The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) and Hollywood Hogan when Sting defeated Hall by disqualification in 13:05.
Rating: 1/4*
Randy Savage came out for the 6-man main event, said he just happened to find two people who hate Hulk Hogan just as much as he does. Then by his side came Sting and Lex Luger!
Sting, Luger and Savage surprisingly worked very well together. They were getting in position to win the match when Scott Steiner came down to jump Savage. This however, brought out Austin again who went dead set on attacking Steiner.
In the chaos though, Curt Hennig appeared and attacked Sting with a steel chair. The show ended with the nWo assaulting Sting, Luger and Savage.
Card rating: * 1/2
