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WCW Monday Nitro - October 2, 1995

by Scrooge McSuck

- Last week on Monday Nitro, Lex Luger and Randy Savage agreed to a match that probably could've made money on PPV, but will do it for free. Both were in action as well, with them pulling a combined quarter-star rating out of their matches with Kevin Sullivan and Meng. Hulk Hogan promises to be here to adress that "stinky, nasty" Giant, and lakes of Hell froze over when Kurasawa and Craig Pittman had a good match with each other.

- Over on Monday Night Raw, Bret Hart and Jean-Pierre Laffitte had a pretty good rematch to their 4-star performance at the 3rd In Your House. Razor Ramon defeated the 1-2-3 Kid not once, not twice, but thrice. Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Barry Horowitz, and some tag team known as PG-13 were borrowed from USWA and put over a couple of Jobbers. This sounds like a quality show for workrate, but workrate doesn't equal ratings, unfortunately.

- We're LIVE in Denver, CO! Eric Bischoff, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and Steve "Mongo" McMichael are at ringside to call all the action and make jokes about the WWF, unless otherwise noted. Ric Flair invades the broadcast booth during the opening to cut a quick promo on his opponent for later in the night, Arn Anderson.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. "The Total Package" Lex Luger:

Hell of a match to open the show with. I guess this is WCW's response to Raw opening the night with the big encounter between "best friends" Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid. Did Savage's theme (Pomp and Circumstance) really need a rock remix? I didn't hear anyone complain about it before, so why change what works? Next they'll remix Bret Hart's theme into a pile of dog shit. Lockup into the ropes, and three weeks later, they take a fall to the floor, still holding onto each other. COMMERCIAL BREAK! Back from break, and I'm still waiting for something to happen. Luger shoves Savage to the corner and poses. Savage with a shove, Luger with a slap. Whip to the corner, and Savage sends Luger to the floor with an elbow. Savage tries to suplex him on the floor, but Luger counters with a Rude Awakening. Back in the ring, Savage surprises Luger with a small package for two. Luger regains control with a press slam. Savage blocks a hip toss and fights for a back slide, but Luger hooks the rope with his foot to block and takes Savage over instead for a two count. Criss-cross, and they bang heads. Savage to the top, but he meets a fist to the midsection. The action spills to the floor, and Savage connects on the second double axehandle attempt. Savage rams Luger into the security rail, and Luger responds by ramming Savage into the post. Back in the ring, Savage sends Luger to the corner with a running high knee. REF BUMP! Savage with a slam and the flying elbow, but there's no count. The Giant makes his way to ringside and plants Savage with the Chokeslam. Luger wakes up from his nap and puts Savage in the Torture Rack, and the referee calls for it after the arm drops three times at 8:08 (excluding one break). ** Solid work from both men, and they did a decent job getting over that they really wanted to kick each other's ass. The lame finish was expected, especially with the stipulation that Luger would leave WCW if he lost.

- This Saturday Night at 6:05 on TBS, Flyin' Brian and Arn Anderson takes on Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck (Heel vs. Heel?), we'll find out why Johnny B. Badd missed his U.S. Title Match (Spoiler: DDP had all his tires slashed), and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan takes on Big Bubba Rogers.

- The Disco Inferno shows up to dance. DISCO FEVER! DISCO FEVER! DISCO FEVER! YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!

Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko:

And all the ECW mutants were probably crying about WCW signing these two at the time. We see a clip from "last night's" Main Event where Eddy Guerrero fought Jushin Liger, and Tony Schiavone LAUGHABLY calls the Frog Splash A JACKNIFE. As in Diesel's Powerbomb. Wow. Guerrero has been hanging around WCW TV for a couple of weeks, but I'm pretty sure this is Malenko's debut. Lockup into the corner, Guerrero shoves Malenko on his ass. They lock knuckles and Eddy shows off his athleticism. Malenko with chain wrestling, followed by some arm work. Criss-cross, and a series of counters lends with Malenko connecting with a dropkick. They do a hot sequence of pin fall attempts... and we go split-screen for the arrival of the Hulkster. Jimmy Hart warns him about not going into the arena... foreshadowing! Back in the ring, it's back-and-forth action. Eddie slams Malenko on the floor and comes off the top with a plancha that lands somewhere in the entrance aisle. Back in the ring, Eddy with a brain buster. He goes to the top rope, but the Frog Splash meets knees. They fight over a waistlock until Eddy sits down on a victory roll attempt for the three count at 5:28. Post-match, Malenko wants a rematch and they shake hands. **1/4 They definitely flashed some great wrestling ability and chemistry, but the crowd, for the most part, wasn't too into it, and ignoring a good portion of the match for Hulk Hogan's arrival shows how insignificant this was to the higher ups.

- "Mean" Gene Okerlund brings out the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hulk Hogan, still sporting a neck brace from the Giant's brutal attack at Fall Brawl. Hulk Hogan talks about a fan waiting for a DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT that gave him some of the worst inspiration words of wisdom you will ever hear. Hogan continues to call him "that big, stinky, Giant." Hogan leaves the ring to high five fans, BECAUSE HULK HOGAN NEVER DOES THAT, and gets powder thrown in his face by a short, old Woman... oh wait, it's Kevin Sullivan in drag. I guess someone thought Ric Flair in drag at Uncensored was a great idea. The Giant and Zodiac come to the ring, the Hogan beatdown continues... and then they shave the mustache of the Hulkster. THEY ARE RAPING HIM OF HIS DIGNITY! The Nasty Boys try to save, but het laid out. That was... something.

Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson:

The final half of tonight's Double Main Event. These two had a spectacular match at Fall Brawl, but we've only got about 10-minutes of television time remaining. No entrance for Anderson, probably to save time. Lockup, Arn shoves Flair down, and Flair pops back up with a big chop. Whip to the corner and Arn takes him over with a back drop for two. Arn puts the boots to the arm and grabs a hammerlock. Flair fights back to his feet and dishes out punishment in the corner. Flair gets sent to the apron, but he ducks the clothesline and pulls the ropes down, causing Anderson to spill to the floor. They brawl on the floor for way longer than 10-seconds. I never understood why Flair would do his "beg off" spot when working as a babyface. Flair thumbs to the eyes while Bischoff pimps the Atlanta Braves undeniable march to the World Series... oh wait, it's 1995. Nevermind. Anderson regains control and goes back to work on the arm. Flair grabs a Sleeper, but Anderson quickly counters until Flair takes him over with a back suplex. Whip to the corner, Anderson gets an elbow up on a charge. Flair regains control and slaps on the Figure-Four, but Arn is too close to the ropes. BREAKING NEWS... The O.J. Simpson Verdict is in, so check out CNN for all that information. Flair hooks the ropes to avoid taking the DDT and pounds away. Whip to the ropes, and Arn surprises Flair with an elbow across the back of the head. He comes off the second rope, right into a big chop. Flair applies the Figure-Four in the center of the ring, so Flyin' Brian runs in and splashes Flair to draw the Disqualification at 8:15. Flair fights Pillman off until Anderson recovers and clips the legs. Beatdown followed. ** Decent work, but they looked rushed as hell, and never really had a middle portion. It went from back and forth fighting and chain wrestling straight to the finish. It was still "good", but incredibly disappointing compared to their PPV match three weeks earlier.

- Speaking of the O.J. Verdict, Vince McMahon ran a fairly tasteless bit on Monday Night Raw asking fans to call a 1-900 number to give their opinion, with the proceeds going to abused children foundations, without the consent of any of the Foundations the money was intended for. That just seems like more of a stupid concept to me, but I'm sure nobody wants money that comes from the opinion of marks over a brutal Double Murder.

- BREAKING NEWS! Ric Flair will take on Arn Anderson, next week, inside of a Steel Cage! Also featured will be Sting taking on the Shark, Sabu faces newcomer Mr. JL, and Road Warrior Hawk goes up against Big Bubba Rogers. All this from the Rosemont in Chicago, IL!

Final Thoughts: The build up to the Giant and Hogan Championship Match at Halloween Havoc continues to be a mixed bag. Kudos to putting so much effort into getting an unknown over for such a match, but a heel dressed as an old woman to ambush the Champion? That was lame. Shaving off his mustache is whatever to me, as I've never been a fan of cutting hair as a tool to get heat, especially a mustache that can grow back in about a week, compared to a total head shaving. The ring work was fairly average, for different reasons, spanning from mediocre workers, to rushed for time, to complete irrelevance to what the production crew wanted to get over. Head to Head with Raw, both shows put on decent wrestling and a lot of top names, so it's a pick 'em kind of week.

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