The Nitro Review 5/25 - 5/31

[Bored 0]

This week it's the seven year anniversary of Scott Hall's debut in WCW (during the Enos/Doll match). I as a mark at the time, having no clue about internet wrestling sites, just about creamed my pants thinking it was an invasion by the WWF. Ah those were the days. Also this week in '98 the Booker T/Chris Benoit Best of Seven series kicked off.

 

May 27, 1996

Ric Flair & Arn Anderson def. The American Males

Mike Enos NC Steve Doll

Diamond Dallas Page def. Sgt. Craig Pittman

The Giant def. The Shark; WCW Title Match

Lex Luger def. Maxx Muscle; TV Title Match

Bobby Walker def. Brad Armstrong

Steven Regal def. Alex Wright

Sting NC Scott Steiner

 

May 26, 1997

Super Calo, Juvetud Guerrera, & Hector Garza def. La Parka, Ciclope, & Damien

Psicosis def. Alex Wright

Wrath def. Mark Starr

Konnan def. Villano IV

The Great Muta NC Masahiro Chono

The Barbarian def. Jim Powers

The Giant def. Jerry Flynn, Johnny Swinger, & Rick Fuller in a handicap match

Harlem Heat def. Jeff Jarrett & Steve McMichael

 

May 25, 1998

Fit Finlay def. Mike Enos; TV Title Match

Saturn def. Glacier

Chris Jericho def. El Dandy

Konnan def. La Parka

Juventud Guerrera def. Kidman

Chavo Guerrero Jr. def. Ultimo Dragon

Dean Malenko def. Lenny Lane; CW Title Match

Goldberg def. Johnny Attitude; U.S. Title Match

Chris Benoit def. Booker T

Sting & Lex Luger def. The Giant & n.W.o. Sting

 

May 31, 1999

Kidman def. Hak by DQ

Van Hammer def. Evan Karagis

Konnan & Rey Mysterio Jr. def. Curt Hennig & Bobby Duncum Jr. by DQ

David Flair def. Erik Watts

The Cat def. Scott Norton

Randy Savage def. A Fake Kevin Nash

Buff Bagwell def. Bobby Eaton

Diamond Dallas Page & Bam Bam Bigelow def. Saturn in handicap match to win the Tag Team Titles

Rick Steiner NC Sting; TV Title Match; Special Referee, Tank Abbott

 

May 29, 2000

Lt. Loco def. Disco Inferno

G.I. Bro def. Mike Awesome in an Ambulance Match

Kevin Nash NC Rick Steiner & Tank Abbott in a handicap match

Terry Funk NC Vampiro; Hardcore Title Match

Scott Steiner def. Shane Douglas in an Asylum Match for the U.S. Title

Billy Kidman def. Sting

Jeff Jarrett def. Ric Flair to win the WCW World Heavyweight Title

[Bored 0]

New feature for this week for all my Review topics, I'll post old recaps of the main event or a featured match or a major angle development from each show. Of course recaps for some shows are a pain in the ass to find even on Google so sometimes the recap isn't going to be very good.

 

1996 - John Petrie, www.otherarena.com

 

Out of the audience comes Razor Ramon. Ramon grabs the mic and asks where

Billionaire Ted, The Nacho Man, and Scheme Gene are. He calls Eric Bischoff

a Ken doll. The audience was either too stunned to react (unlikely) or

most of them simply didn't know who he was (incredibly enough.) I'm opting

for the latter. The match never ends, as both wrestlers disappear during

Ramon's tirade. Ramon strolls of, never once attracting any security (they're

all too busy keeping Randy Savage out of the building apparently.)

 

*recap snip to end of show*

 

Out comes Razor Ramon to the broadcast booth. Ramon says "we're sick of

your big mouth." "Who's we?" "You know!" Ramon challenges WCW to bring

out their three best wrestlers, because "we're taking over!" Bischoff,

doing his best to maintain the illusion of a shoot, tells Ramon he's gone

too far. Ramon says "you want a war... you got it!"

 

 

1997 - G.P. Ryan, RSPW message boards

 

Back come Hollywood & Eric. Eric & HH natter on when a hole is opened

in the ring, and an arm holding a baseball bat shoots out and NWO

Sting pops up. Hey, Cobra finally got his hair made up a bit more like

Steve's. Way to go! He nods in response to Eric's question of doesn't

he know that he'll never be the man Hollywood is. All of a sudden,

the camera pans upward and we know who's coming. Eric gets dropped

again. HH falls backwards over NWO Sting on his way out. Sting takes

some batting practice and drops Sting-bra, in the process showing

the ersatz Sting has a mask on instead of makeup, and the "increased

resemblance of hair" was indeed a hairpiece. HH calls out the Wolfpack

& Chono & Muta & Virg-ent. The rope is re-lowered and Sting returns

to the ceiling as the show ends.

 

1998 - CRZ, slashwrestling.com

 

BOOKER T. v. CHRIS "GOD OF RSPW" BENOIT in Match #1 of a Best-of-7 Series To Determine the #1 Contender to the TV Title - Staredown to start. T pushes Benoit. Staredown continues. Lockup, to the corner, reverse, clean break, no. Benoit with chop (woooo!) T turns it around and pummels Benoit and shouts. Whip into the ropes, out with a back body drop. Big forearm from T and Benoit is on the outside. Tony continues to talk about Sting. Benoit comes back in. Lockup, no, Benoit with a big kick. He stays on him with rights. Whip, reverse, ducks a clothesline. Benoit tries a suplex but Booker rolls for 2. Booker T follows up and Benoit is again on the outside. Commentators ignore Benoit's reigns. Booker T with knees to the guts and a big chop. Whip into the corner, but Benoit puts the feet up. Benoit tries for the armbar, but T counters and takes him down with a kick. Big bodyslam for 2 by T. Shout. Whip, T ducks, eats a kick. Benoit with another kick, and a front suplex lands Booker T on the top rope. T falls to the outside. Benoit back to the stompin', whip, and down with an elbow for 2. Benoit with a kick to the head. Snap suplex for 2. Benoit to the chinlock - he also pins back his right arm with his leg. T. gets up and fights out. Sunset flip for 2. Big chop by Benoit, cover for 2. Benoit with a whip, and a clothesline. 1, 2, no. Benoit to the chinlock again, again holding back the right arm. Fans bring T back to life again, but Benoit trips T. Benoit urges T to get up, but stomps on him before he can. Picking him up, it's chop (woooo!) time. T crumples. Benoit stays on him with deliberate knife-edge chops. Benoit puts a boot between the shoulderblades. Into the corner, Benoit snaps him over and returns to the chinlock. It looks like Booker T taps out to me, but I guess not. Into the corner, T comes back, but Benoit hits a backbreaker for 2. Benoit makes the thumb across the throat signal and climbs to the top. Here comes the lying headbutt - nobody home! Fit Finley, in street clothes and with title, comes out to watch. Booker T has come back with the spinebuster (or as Tony would say, the "sidewalk slam"), whip, pancake, breakdance, oh oh...Benoit ducks the kick, T ducks the clothesline, Benoit ducks the kick - reverse, reverse, axe kick by T! Sidewalk slam ("side sauto") by T - T climbs the ropes and tries the Harlem hangover, but misses! Both men is down. Benoit up at 9, covers for 2. T attempts a clothesline - Benoit catches it and puts on the Crippler Crossface! It's over! (11:44) Finley says something in Irish. Damn, THIS - this is what watching wrestling is all about. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

1999 - CRZ, slashwrestling.com

 

RICK WOOF WOOF v. (THIS IS) STING for the World television championship in a steel cage - Sting with the gutshot and two rights, kicking away now, into the cage. Sting grabs the cage ceiling, and kicks Steiner. Head to the cage agin. Still on him. Stomping on the hands. Rick to the groin to gain control. RIght hands from Steiner, right, Sting goes down, kick, kick, rights to the kidney. Dropping the elbow. Repeated rights, head ground into the mat. Picking him up, Steiner whips, but Sting reverses and hits a dropkick. Steiner's head rubbed into the cage, right hand, Sting off the ropes, SPLASH into the cage wall on Steiner - going to the well one too many times - Steiner ducks and Sting splashes the cage wall without anybody between 'em. Steiner with rights. Now STING taken into the cage wall, boot to the head. Sting's head meets the cyclone fence - elbowdrop. Steiner looking for the pin but Abbott refuses. Abbott could be the next Jim Neidhart! Steiner clamps on a chinlock - Sting gets up and elbows out - Golotta and Abbott applauds the low blow. Sting with a standing dropkick, nicely done. Call to the crowd, who responds in kind. Another standing dropkick and Rick stays down. Sting stands on the neck. Sting off the ropes with a lariat. Stands him up, repeat. Splash attempt meets with the knees. Steiner has him up - Sting goes down - dueling backslide attempts - Sting has him across his back - is this a submission hold? Steiner grabs the rope - Sting breaks and Steiner tries to throw an elbow. Sting is in control - they trade punches. Now Steiner on top with clubbin' blows. Whip into the opposite corner but the followup elbowdrop misses - Sting goes for a Stinger splash but IT misses because Abbott PULLS STEINER OUT OF THE CORNER! Abbott with a shot to the back of Sting's head and he's OUT. Steiner stomps on Sting, then pulls out a roll of tape. While Steiner tapes Sting's wrists to the top rope, Abbott walks out of the ring. Stiner lays into Sting with punches and kicks - Sting kicks back but Steiner's got too much of an advantage. As Abbott walks away - so are they friends or WHAT? - ahhhh, who cares - closing credits. (No contest, under 6 minutes)

 

2000 - CRZ, slashwrestling.com

 

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: JEDOUBLEF JADOUBLEREDOUBLET v. THE MAN - Jarrett comes out with a special guest referee - DAVID FLAIR. Flair's in blue trunks and boots. Jarrett tries a sneak attack, Flair elbows, chops, chops, chops, right, chop, right, chop, right, into the corner, back elbow, a few steps in David's direction, and Jarrett comes back with an upperct to the throat. Right, right, right, right, Flair turns it around, but now we look to the entryway where VIC VENOM and R&B SECURITY bring out BETH & REID FLEIHR. Ric spots this and runs up the aisle, meeting Russo and taking him down just off camera - punching away on him but Jarrett is over from behind with rights. Jarrett tosses him to the floor - head to the barricade. We look back to the aisle as Russo and entourage continue where they left off. Jarrett putting a chair to Flair. Crowd chants "Russo sux." Chair to Flair's head - is he blading there? Jarrett puts the edge of the chair on Flair's head. Flair rolled back in the ring - fistdrop, another, and another. Yeah, whoosh that logo out one more time - 13 days - gotcha. Choke on the second rope. We look at Beth instead of the action. Jarrett punching away on the bleeding forehead of Flair. Flair chops back. Right, chop, chop, snapmare, fifteen quick punches, gutshot for David (who was bringing in the Statue of Liberty), grabs the statue and whacks David with it. Jarrett from behind - Flair into the corner - FLAIR FLIP! And he falls out on the floor. Russo stands over him...but does nothing. Oh, THERE'S a bat to the back. Flair rolled back in. Figure four coming up. Of course, there's no ref, so I don't know how well this'll work. CHARLES ROBINSON is out as Flair's shoulders are down - 1....2....NO! Flair starts to fight it - but Russo is up on the apron - takes a right from Flair as Flair is on his way to grabbing the ropes. Jarrett breaks the hold, right, into the ropes, Flair with an inside cradle - 1, 2, no! Right by Jarrett, right, in the corner for a Ten Punch Count Along - Flair stops it at eight, atomic drop, Golota, "Iblockyourpunchyoudon'tblockmine", again, chop, right, chop, right, into the opposite corner is reversed - FLAIR FLIP! Flair runs the apron, ducks a clothesline, hits one of his own - to the top rope - DOUBLE AXEHANDLE!!!!!! Russo on the apron, right hand for Russo! Tony: "Down goes Russo! Down goes Russo! Down goes Russo!" And the thing that I LOVED about this was that Tony was NOT going to let Madden get his smartass crack about Flair's move hitting for the first time since the first Starrcade out...and he was JUST DYING to say it to let everybody know how smart he was. Flair with a bit of a Fargo strut of his own. Knee to the upper thigh...but Jarrett kicks out of the figure four attempt, unfortunately sending Flair into Robinson. The various members of R&B Security get on the apron, but because they attack black ninja style, it's no problem for Flair to punch, chop, and punch them to the floor. Duck, chop, chop, Russo is getting the zebra shirt on the outside, snapmare, running kneedrop, woooo!, Russo in - face rake, chop, going for the figure four but David Flair hands Jarrett the gee-tar - KABONG. Jarrett covers - 1, 2, 3. Ladies and gentlemen, for the second time tonight, we have a new World Heavyweight Champion. (7:44) The ring quickly fills with litter - the R&B Security guys forve Reid to watch what's going on in the ring. Commentators all but okay the throwing of debris in the ring, sheesh. Jarrett, Russo and David Flair hightail it up the ring to avoid the flying garbage. We look back in the ring to see a shirtless Charles Robinson and bleeding Ric Flair - and now the Security folk bring back Beth & Reid to the ring...Ric manages to get up and chase after them - but this show's over.