But first! A quick recap of Survivor Series, which happened the night before this episode of RAW.
- On the pre-show, the team of Aldo Montoya, Bart Gunn, Bob Holly, and Jesse James beat the team of Billy Gunn, Justin Bradshaw, Salvatore Sincere, and the Sultan in a Survivor Series elimination match. Bart Gunn was the sole survivor, last eliminating his brother Billy.
- The team of the Godwinns, Doug Furnas, and Phil LaFon beat the team of Owen Hart, the British Bulldog, and the New Rockers in a Survivor Series elimination match. The debuting Furnas & LaFon were the survivors, with Furnas last eliminating Hart off a German suplex.
- The Undertaker defeated Mankind in a match where Paul Bearer was suspended above the ring in a shark cage. Taker got the win after hitting the Tombstone Piledriver. After the match, Bearer was lowered down into the ring, only for the Executioner to run down and attack the Undertaker. Bearer escaped without harm as the Executioner took a flying clothesline from Taker before rolling out of the ring.
- The team of Jake Roberts (who was replacing Mark Henry), Marc Mero, Rocky Maivia, and the Stalker beat the team of Crush, Goldust, Jerry Lawler, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a Survivor Series elimination match. The debuting Maivia was the sole survivor, last eliminating Goldust with a shoulder breaker.
- In his first televised match since WrestleMania XII, Bret Hart faced Stone Cold Steve Austin in a #1 contendership match for a shot at the WWF Championship. The finish saw Austin lock in his old finisher, the Million Dollar Dream, only for Hart to walk up the turnbuckles and flip over into a cover for the three and the win.
- The team of "Razor Ramon", "Diesel", Faarooq, and Vader took on the team of the debuting Flash Funk, Savio Vega, Yokozuna, and a mystery partner. That mystery partner? Jimmy Snuka. The match ended in a brawl, with the remaining six men in the match getting DQ'd, but not before Savio Vega had to do the job for Kane cosplaying as Kevin Nash. Poor Savio Vega.
- In the main event, Shawn Michaels defended the WWF Championship against Sycho Sid. The finish saw Sid grab a camera before Jose Lothario hopped up on the apron. Sid hit him with it, only to get hit with Sweet Chin Music from HBK. Rather than make the cover, Michaels left the ring to attend to Lothario. Sid wastes no time getting Michaels back in the ring, only for the referee to be taken out after Sid dodges a crossbody by Michaels. Michaels goes back out to check on Lothario, allowing Sid to hit him in the back with the camera. Sid throws HBK back in the ring and hits the powerbomb for the three and the win. Sycho Sid is the new WWF Champion.
RAW
Steve Austin vs Mankind
RAW kicks off right away with Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Mankind, no intro or anything. This was supposed to be Austin taking on Vader, but after landing right on his shoulder off a Uranage by Yokozuna, he's on the disabled list for this show. And just like RAW, Mankind wastes no time getting into the action, jumping Austin during his entrance. This is dubbed a "Toughman Contest." but that doesn't really seem to mean anything. The two brawl up and down the entranceway before Mankind throws Austin into the ring steps. Even when the match actually gets underway, it's still an all-out brawl, with both men repeatedly taking the fight to the outside. At one point, Mankind gets knocked out of the ring, prompting him to shove Kevin Kelly out of his chair and try to use it on Austin. Eventually, however, the match ends in a pretty disappointing fashion. As Austin takes control of the match, the Executioner runs down to cause a DQ. Mankind & the Executioner double team Austin until the Undertaker runs down to even the odds. Taker sends the heels out of the ring, only for Austin to clothesline him out of the ring. Taker lands on his feet and stares down Austin, sending him running as Taker gets back in the ring. Even with the bullsh*t finish, this match is still a great brawl and a lot of fun to watch.
Faarooq with PG-13 and Clarence Mason vs Savio Vega
Faarooq is no longer...whatever his gimmick was supposed to be with the blue helmet. Instead, he's now the leader of the Nation of Domination. They made their official debut last night at Survivor Series, with the founding members being Faarooq, his manager Clarence Mason, and a couple of terrible white rappers named PG-13. They mostly wrestled in the USWA with occasional appearances in WCW and ECW after this run with the Nation. Also present for this match is Ahmed Johnson, who's in the crowd watching. Because of that, Faarooq has brought a 2x4 to the ring with him, so you already know how this match is going to end. The match itself isn't very eventful, it's a pretty standard match. At one point, the two are fighting on the top rope, only for both of them to fall to the outside in a really nasty way. Faarooq pretty much squashes Vega for the entirety of the match, but the match still has a screwy finish. Vega flies out of the ring off a missed crossbody attempt, which prompts PG-13 to get involved and hit Vega with the 2x4. They roll him back in the ring, allowing Faarooq to get the win. This brings Johnson running from the crowd, who tosses one of the members of PG-13 (JC Ice?) to the ground and grabs the 2x4. The Nation scrambles as Johnson grabs the mic. He says that Faarooq put him on the shelf for five months and that it's payback time. He leads the crowd in a "You're Going Down" chant as Faarooq tells him to bring it on. Like I said, the match is pretty uninteresting. It goes on longer than it needs too and the interference felt really unnecessary, but the post-match stuff is pretty good. I'm a lot more invested in an Ahmed Johnson-Faarooq feud than I ever thought I'd be.
In the final first-round match-up of the Karate Fighters tournament, Sunny takes on Bob Backlund. Sunny wins...that's it.
Following that, Vince McMahon recaps the ending of the main event. He then gushes over Shawn Michaels, calling him the most charismatic and the greatest showman in the history of the WWF. He says that helping Jose Lothario instead of retaining the WWF Championship proves that Michaels is a real man and that he deserves a rematch for the title.
Leif Cassidy & Bob Holly vs Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon
So...a couple of things. First, I have no idea where Marty Jannetty is. He wrestled at Survivor Series and he's still with the company until December from what I can find, so I'm not sure why he's not tagging with Leif Cassidy here. Second, why are Cassidy & Holly tagging? Bob Holly is still a face and Cassidy is, while a goofy heel, still a heel. I'm not sure why this team is a thing. Anyway, you could probably just call Cassidy "Al Snow" at this point, because he's definitely dropped look he had the when the New Rockers first started.
Also, Captain Lou Albano randomly pops up and takes a seat at the Spanish commentary table and goes back and forth with Hugo Savinovich.
Midway through the match, we get a picture-in-picture interview with the British Bulldog, Owen Hart, and Clarence Mason. They contradict themselves, with Bulldog saying Furnas & LaFon impressed them last night, only for Hart to say they got lucky and aren't as good as the result shows. Hart says that the next time they face off they'll put the belts on the line, only for Mason (who chimes in too early at first) to say that Furnas & LaFon have to earn their title shot. What a weird, clunky promo. The match is pretty back and forth for the most part, with Furnas and LaFon getting more of a chance to showcase themselves. The match ends when Furnas counters an attempt at a Dragon suplex from Cassidy and hits a cobra clutch suplex for the three and the win. It's an alright match. Furnas & LaFon are good in the ring, it's a shame they never really go anywhere in the WWF.
That's it for RAW. Onto Nitro...
Nitro
That's the first shot of Nitro this week. The Outsiders stand tall, chairs in hand, with the Nasty Boys, High Voltage, Ciclope, and Galaxy laid out. They quickly leave the ring and make their way to the announce table. Nash intimidates and threatens Tony Schiavone, saying they can do what they just did anytime they want. Hall turns the focus to the Faces of Fear, telling them to come down to ringside so they can "slap the coconut breath out of them." Yikes. When they get no answer, the Outsiders decide to the back to find Meng & the Barbarian themselves. When they get backstage, they get jumped by the Faces of Fear. The two teams brawl, with Nash and the Barbarian having a trashcan fight.
All four men brawl out of the arena as the show goes to commercial break. When the show comes back, Schiavone gets into it with Larry Zbyszko, calling him out for stepping aside and not doing anything when Nash threatened him. Schiavone then walks out on him, leaving Zbyszko to do commentary by himself.
La Parka vs Juventud Guerrera
The first real match of Nitro is Juventud Guerrera taking on the debuting La Parka. He doesn't have his chair guitar just yet, so he's just a skeleton man who's very good at wrestling right now. Juvi decides to start this match on the top rope so he can dive over a charging La Parka.
Eventually, Mike Tenay comes down to do commentary with Zbyszko. This match is great. It's full of back and forth offense and even when it slows down, it's still very exciting and full of big spots. Ther, but they make up for it with an exciting finish. Juvi tries for a "spinning top Frankensteiner" as Tenay calls it on the top rope, but La Parka blocks it and holds the top rope before hitting a corkscrew moonsault for the three and the win. This is definitely a match worth watching for anyone going back through these old Nitros.
Dean Malenko (c) vs Ultimo Dragon with Sonny Onoo-WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Sticking with the cruiserweight division, we've got the WCW Cruiserweight Champion taking on literally every other company's Cruiserweight Champion. Ultimo Dragon's already got eight championships to his name, but now he's looking to make it nine with Malenko's belt. As soon as the match starts, Rey Mysterio Jr. gets a picture-in-picture promo, saying he wants another shot at Malenko's championship before Tenay adds that he'll be facing Ultimo Dragon at World War 3. Much like the opener, this match is very fast-paced and very evenly matched. Unfortunately, this one ends in a DQ after Malenko throws Dragon over the top rope following a distraction from Sonny Onoo. Yes, that's still a rule, unfortunately. It's another good match, but the finish is very disappointing. I know they didn't want to put one man over the other because they both have matches at World War 3, but it's still an underwhelming way to end a good match.
The Amazing French Canadians with Col. Rob Parker vs The American Males
Now that Parker's started managing the Amazing French Canadians, Parker has ditched his normal Southern get-up for a full-on Legionnaire outfit.
The match really is nothing more than a way to keep causing problems between Marcus Bagwell and Scotty Riggs, and it shows. There's one point where Riggs leapfrogs over Jacques Rougeau, only to collide with Bagwell on the landing.
Bagwell literally only came in the ring because that was the spot. On top of that, the match ends when Riggs knees Rougeau in the back, causing him to knock heads with Bagwell. Carl Ouellet took the opportunity to get Rougeau into a cover for the three and the win. Poor.
Hugh Morrus vs Lex Luger
I got nothing. The match is really uneventful and unmemorable. The finish sees Luger put Morrus in the Torture Rack and get the submission win, even though Luger doesn't really get locked in it properly.
After the match, Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Luger. He says he's been on a tear lately and starts talking about World War 3 before Sting comes down from the crowd with a baseball bat in hand. He goes face to face with Luger before shoving him away with the bat...only to then hand him the bat and walk away without saying a word. Luger also leaves without saying a word.
Hour 2 of Nitro kicks off with a clip from Saturday Night where Tony Schiavone, Teddy Long, and Chris Jericho confront Nick Patrick and his lawyer about the DQ finish from Jericho's match last week. This leads to Long saying Jericho could beat Patrick in a match with one arm tied behind his back, which Patrick's lawyer takes as a "verbal-binding agreement."
Johnny Grunge vs Chris Jericho
Thankfully, Jericho has dropped his original awful entrance music. Unfortunately, his new one is a Jimmy Hart specialty, which is a not even remotely disguised rip-off, so on the Network, he's got the more commonly known "Break the Walls Down" instead of his imitation "Even Flow." Jericho debuts this new theme against one half of Public Enemy, Johnny Grunge. These two end up having a fairly decent match together, a better one than I thought Johnny Grunge was capable of. Eventually, however, some nonsense pops up. Grunge grabs a table from the entranceway and a chair before setting Jericho on the table. Grunge tries to dive onto Jericho with the chair, but Jericho dodges it and before going to the top rope himself and hitting a missile dropkick (or a double dropkick as Eric Bischoff calls it) and gets the three and the win. After the match, Mean Gene interviews Jericho on the entrance ramp. Before that can actually start, Teddy Long shows up and tries to apologize, but Jericho says having his arm tied behind his back for his match with Nick Patrick is a favor because that's the only way Patrick would ever wrestle him. He ends by saying he's going to get revenge on Patrick.
Up at the commentary booth, Bischoff starts running down what can happen on the rest of the show before the nWo's music hits. Hulk Hogan, Ted DiBiase, Vincent, and Miss Elizabeth all come down the ramp and up to the commentary table. Hogan takes a mic and tries to intimidate Bischoff into calling him a bigger icon than Roddy Piper, that Piper is afraid to face him, and that he's 100 times richer than Piper. After Bischoff meekly obliges, Hogan and company leave the booth as Bischoff sends it down to Mean Gene Okerlund.
Diamond Dallas Page comes down the ramp for an interview with Mean Gene. He says he's not getting involved in the nWo's business before Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Syxx, and the Giant come out from backstage. They all say that DDP doesn't get it before Giant says they should just take out Page like they've done with everyone else. They say that Giant doesn't get it either before Nash ends by quoting 2001: A Space Oddysey(?), saying that something beautiful is going to happen tonight.
Jeff Jarrett vs Bobby Eaton
This match is pretty brief and for the most part, is pretty solid. At the end of the match, Ric Flair comes out in a sling just as Jarrett locks in the figure four leglock for the submission win. After that, Mean Gene comes down to the ring and interviews Jarrett and Flair. Jarrett says that WCW needs to unite against the nWo before Mean Gene brings up last week's attack at the hands of Sting. Jarrett calls Sting a clown before completely changing the subject and saying he'll chop the Giant down to size at World War 3. Flair says that he'll be back soon before him and Jarrett have a little back and forth. Flair says that Jarrett is in the Four Horsemen while Sting watches from the crowd. The two strut to end the interview
Big Bubba with Jimmy Hart vs Jim Powers
Forgive me for not being able to get excited about a Jim Powers/Big Bubba match or being able to write too much about it. The match isn't horrible but it's just bland and means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Bubba wins after hitting a side slam for the three.
Chris Benoit with Woman vs Eddie Guerrero
Every time you put Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit in the ring together, they absolutely kill it. This match is no exception. In terms of in-ring work, I don't think there are pairs of wrestlers in this era who can put on better matches than Benoit and Guerrero do together. Early in the match, Kevin Sullivan cuts a picture-in-picture promo on Benoit. It's not as cryptic as the last few have been, mostly talking about his history with Benoit. As I said, the match is hard-hitting and has tons of crisp offense until the finish comes. Guerrero hits a Frankensteiner on Benoit, but Benoit is able to roll through and pin Guerrero for the three and the win. It's a great match, just like every other match they ever had.
Nitro closes with Eric Bischoff in the ring. He apologizes for what he said earlier in the show when the nWo invaded the commentary table. He says he's going to continue trying to get Piper vs Hogan signed until he is interrupted by Roddy Piper himself. He says he's tired of the lies and that he's here to tell the truth. He then turns his attention to Bischoff calling him a liar before questioning him on details like if the road up to Piper's house is crooked or straight, which he said he visited to try to get the match made with Hogan. This brings out the nWo, who rush Piper as he very clearly calls Bischoff a piece of sh*t, officially letting the cat out of the bag in the process. Eric Bischoff is part of the nWo, and he has been the whole time.
nWo members: 10
The entire nWo beats down Piper as Hogan and Bischoff hug. Hogan takes the mic and calls Piper a loser fighting a losing battle before saying Piper was only relevant because of him. He calls Piper a coward for refusing to wrestle him before Piper tries to charge at Hogan. The nWo, security, and even police stop him before the nWo leave the ring. Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay on commentary convey their disgust before they are before trying to sign off. Piper, however, grabs the mic and says he'll have a contract next week, ending the show officially by saying Hogan is his now.
And that's it. Overall, I think Nitro had the better show. Even if there are a couple of matches that drag and aren't very good, the stuff that matters is great. The nWo segments this week were actually really good and all the cruiserweight matches were all worth watching. RAW's opener was a lot of fun and the Faarooq-Ahmed Johnson segment was good, but the match that proceeded that was bland and tag match was just OK. Sid's promo wasn't the worst, but he's really just shouting all his lines and messing up occasionally. Point to Nitro.
RAW: 22
Nitro: 35
Thanks for reading! Be sure to share if you enjoy and come back next work for the next edition of RAW vs Nitro.
Comments
Post a Comment