wcw1998.tumblr.com
WCW Monday Nitro 4/20/98
Randy Savage is the new WCW Champion, and Goldberg will face Raven for the WCW US Championship. Also, it is 4/20, brah. I imagine Nash will be the first one to make a weed reference.
Hogan, Bischoff, and Beefcake come to the ring. Not a great way to start the show. Savage is the champion, Sting should get a rematch, shouldn't one of them come out to address the WCW Universe before Hogan? Lol, Savage is the scum floating in the river of hell. Seems a bit extreme. He also claims that Nash and Savage SWERVED and SWERVED everyone. 2 gay jokes already. Hogan wants Savage and the belt tonight.
TO THE BACK. Goldberg gets ready for his first title match.
After the break, new WCW Champion Randy Savage comes to the ring. To a huge pop. Because Randy Savage is awesome. He came here to fight! I wish he'd fight with Finlay. His main objective was never to run the nWo, but he doesn't ever get around to saying what the main objective actually was. Hogan can run him over with a Viper or Apollo 13, he don't give a fuck. He introduces the new leader of the nWo....KEVIN NASH! He comes out in a track suit with coffee. Pretty lax. He talks, but doesn't really say much. 20 minutes in and no matches yet.
TO THE BACK. Raven sits in a shower in the dark saying he won't be win 75 for Goldberg.
Konnan vs Chris Adams
It takes them 25 minutes to get to a match, and it is a Konnan match? Who the fuck wants to see these two trying to do WoS/Lucha hybrid bullshit in slow motion and terribly? The only Konnan match I want to see is with Finlay, so I can see him literally knock the shit out of him.
TO THE BACK. Goldberg is still getting ready.
Barbarian vs Wayne Bloom
God, give me a boot the face. Over a half hour in with no gifs is terrible. I lol every time I see Beverly Bro 1 out there. He's so out of place and his bird legs are hilarious. Barb wins in a quick match that didn't even have a very good kick.
TO THE BACK. Raven is still hanging out in a dark shower. I swear there is a glory hole in the wall.
Chris Jericho vs Juventud Guerrera WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Jericho now has Prince's sarong and brings in a framed poster of Dean Malenko. It's a shrine. He claims Dean has retired from wrestling, but has an interview at a burger place in Tampa! It starts off fast with Juvi flying all around and hitting a flying rana. Jericho misses his springboard dropkick and goes all the way to the floor. Juvi follows it up with a kind of twisting dive. He hits the powerbomb into DDT reversal back in the ring. He gets caught in the Liontamer seconds later. Juvi holds on for a very long time. Never surrender. The ref calls for the end as Juvi loses consciousness.
TO THE BACK. Goldberg is still getting ready.
Goldberg vs Raven WCW US Championship
This got the main event pyro and Buffer entrance. They did more in a week to make this feel like a huge deal than they have for nearly 5 months of the nWo break up. Goldberg has basically been as over as Daniel Bryan for the past 2 months. Not the top guy, but the most over guy on a huge roll with the crowd 100% behind him. Also, lol at Buffer announcing a guy like Raven. Raven tries to tackle Goldberg to start the match. And then he hits a dropkick. We're out to the floor already. Raven uses a chair. Drop toe hold on the chair actually breaks the chair. Raven is controlling this, but Goldberg gets pissed. The Flock get involved and are all demolished. Reese is jackhammered. Raven tries to run away, but the crowd throws him back in. Jackhammer on a stop sign. New champion! IT IS PANDEMONIUM HERE TONIGHT! THIS PLACE HAS LITERALLY COME UNGLUED!
La Parka vs Ultimo Dragon
Sweet follow up. They trade chops and slaps and kicks and stuff. Parka hits a plancha. Dragon can't get any sustained offense. Not enough dancing here. DANCE FOR ME. Just as the match is picking up, Eddie drags Chavo out and makes him shove Dragon off the ropes. La Parka then hits a twisting body press for the win.
Curt Hennig vs Chris Benoit
Benoit goes after the bad knee right away. Benoit needs a win. He's had draws and losses to Book, and DQ wins over nWo guys. He needs a real win. I doubt it will happen in this match. He's even inviting Rude to the ring. Rude does get involved on the floor with a snake eyes on the railing. Crossface! Rude jumps in and causes a DQ. Of course. Booker comes out to make a save. He should be careful. Benoit is pretty racist, especially against black folk, but also to Mexicans and the Japanese. Should the b in black be capitalized? Benoit seems unhappy that Booker saved him. He chases back down the ramp, I believe calls him the "n word", and they start brawling. He's so racist.
TO THE MEAN GENE. Oh no, it's Piper time. He makes Hogan/Savage no DQ with no interference. And no time limit.
Saturn vs Hammer
They start out on the aisle. Neither man was around for Raven's loss. Saturn really hates Hammer for some reason. It hasn't really been explained. It's been assumed it was due to Hammer losing, but Kidman, Lodi, and Sick Boy lose all the time and he doesn't beat them up. T-bone. Hammer hits a side walk slam. They go out to the floor. Drop toe hold into the steps. Saturn is trying to break an arm. Double count out. It should have been that a while ago since they've been on the floor for 2 minutes.
Public Enemy vs Buff Bagwell/Scott Steiner
Buff and Scott try to out pose each other on the ramp. Grunge hits a tiltawhirl back breaker. Scott hits a press slam on Rocco, but PE get some offense for a bit. It goes to the floor where Buff holds Grunge's head on the table so Scott can smash it with a chair. Rocco shoves Scott into the ring post, chair first. Hot tag in the ring. PE might win this! Lol. PE go for their move through the table, but Buff moves. And it looks super shitty. Scott wants the Recliner, but Buff wants the Blockbuster. Scott actually lets up and lets Buff hit his move to win.
Hypnosis vs Booker T WCW TV Championship
Booker dominates for the first few minutes. Hypno then goes after the knees. Spin wheel kick from the top. Chris Benoit hates both of these guys. Because he's racist. A Mexican and a Black? Yikes. I always thought Canada was a very tolerant nation. I was wrong. Book hits his 5 moves of doom for the win.
Brian Adams vs Lex Luger
Nope.
Hollywood Hogan vs Randy Savage WCW Championship No DQ No Interference
Beefcake comes out with Hogan, so I don't know about the no interference rule. Nick Patrick is still giving counts to break holds in the corner and ropes, despite the no DQ rule. I've never understood why there haven't been no DQ matches where a guy just tries to choke the other out right at the start of the match. Disciple gets involved, so both stipulations are already not being followed. Hogan dominates, of course, because he's Hulk Hogan and that's what he does. Lol, Hogan even distracts the ref so he can hit a low blow. THERE ARE NO DISQUALIFICATIONS. I don't know if that was made clear. Piper announced it, Buffer announced it. Tony said "He might get disqualified!" before remembering the rules. Hulk misses the leg drop. Savage hits the elbow, but lands on his bad knee and can't make the cover. Beefcake bumps the ref, because even in a no DQ match between two heels, you need a ref bump. Beefcake and Hogan then tear Macho's leg apart on the ring post. Why was Beefcake even allowed to come out with Hogan if there is no interference? He's not a manager. Stunner with the belt around his shoulder. Nash runs to the ring. Bischoff sneaks behind him and holds his leg. This leads to Hogan accidentally hitting Beefcake with the belt. Nash gets rid of Bischoff and powerbombs Hogan. He puts Savage on Hogan, but the ref is down. Bret Hart runs in, hits Nash with the belt, and puts Hogan on top of Savage. New champion! Lol wat. Piper comes out and argues with Bret. Where the fuck was he when Beefcake, Bischoff, and Nash came out? Bret decks Piper.
What a terrible finish. And match. And booking in general. A no DQ, no interference match that features a ref bump and excessive interference, Hogan getting the belt back, Savage losing it after one night, and a Bret Hart SWERVE. I'm watching WCW, that's for sure. This nWo thing doesn't make sense to me. All the problems actually started with Savage and Nash. Most of the feud was Nash against Savage, then it turned to Savage vs Hogan, then Hogan vs Nash, then Nash/Savage vs Hogan, but there hasn't been an explanation as to why Nash and Savage are back to being buddy buddy. On top of all of that, Bret's been feuding with the nWo since day one, with his expressed purpose being to end the nWo and prevent other people from getting screwed like he did. So, naturally, he comes out and fucks someone over so Hulk Hogan can get the title back.
Hogan beating Savage for the title the night after winning it will happen again in 1999.