WCW Monday Nitro - November 27, 1995
by Scrooge McSuck
- It seems like forever ago where I was regularly viewing and recapping the library episodes of WCW Nitro featured on the WWE Network. With my tendencies to fall out of interest with a certain subject, I got about two and a half months into the history of the show before moving on to the next flavor of the month. With my weekly recaps of Smackdown Live and NXT, and losing interest in Main Event due to it being 43 minutes of Raw recaps and 10 minutes of fresh content, I figured this would be the perfect time to return to Nitro for at least a once-per-week recap (until the show gets moved to a 3-hour slot, then to hell with that. Maybe bi-weekly).
- We’re 24-hours removed from World War 3 ’95, and we have a NEW WCW World Heavyweight Champion... the seriously injured Randy Savage (a torn triceps is probably not the worst in the world, but that’s a significant injury to work through). Yes, there was a screw-job finish, and yes, Hulk Hogan acted like a baby who just made stool in his diaper when it happened. Sound familiar? Elsewhere on the card, the standard battle between Ric Flair and Sting, and a decent, if forgettable, under-card. Probably the most bizarre moment on the whole PPV was an opening interview from Hulk Hogan where he basically ran down "insider" newsletters (like Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer), discrediting the rumors of Randy Savage's injury, and coming across as a crazy person going off on a subject that only 1% of the paying audience probably understood.
- Featured on Monday Night Raw, The Undertaker defeated Sir Mo, subbing for Kama, selling a bogus knee injury. Ahmed Johnson squashed Rad Radford. Aja Kong and Tomoko Watanabe defeated Alundra Blayze and Kyoko Inoue in Alundra’s final WWF appearance. For reasons that nobody could explain, we got the return of BROTHER LOVE. Other than the Women’s Tag, which no doubt was probably ignored since only Jim Ross would care enough to call it fairly, this sounds like a dreadful episode. There’s no way Nitro could lose the battle when it comes to overall quality.
- LIVE from Salem, VA, with Eric Bischoff, Bobby “The Brain" Heenan, and Steve "Mongo" McMichael calling the action, unless they're making smart-ass remarks about the competition or how this is where the BIG BOYS PLAY.
WCW Television Championship Match:
Johnny B. Badd © (w/ Diamond Doll) vs. Diamond Dallas Page:
Rematch from World War 3, where Badd won the services of the Diamond Doll. DDP comes to the ring with a bouquet of roses and sucker punches Badd. DDP dominates as I see some goofy looking mascot (Wildcat Willie, who some fans thought was Lanny Poffo for reasons that make zero sense). Whip to the ropes and DDP with a powerslam for two. The Diamond Doll rustles through the flowers and finds a short chain. Okay? Her acting ability lands somewhere around earlier years Stephanie McMahon. DDP continues to dominate, but the Doll tosses the chain to Badd, and he KO's DDP for the three count at 2:09. Badd isn't too sure if it were intended for him or DDP. 1/2* Nothing more than angle.
- "Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews Jimmy Hart and the Taskmaster. Sullivan is up in arms about why Lex Luger allowed himself to be talked out of further injuring Randy Savage. Speaking of Lex Luger and Sting, they're going to be teaming up tonight. Yes, a major babyface and a major heel are a team. Shades of Grey before it was mandatory.
Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Bull Nakano & Akira Hokuto (w/ Sonny Onoo):
This is going to die a slow death with Bischoff and McMichael calling things. This is another rematch from the previous night's PPV. Bischoff claims the women are representing JWP. Suzuki and Ozaki with a double clothesline to Hokuto to kick things off. Nakano pulls Suzuki out of the ring, allowing Hokuto to work over Ozaki with choking. Nakano tags in and throws Ozaki around by her hair. Nakano drops down with a splash for two. Hokuto tosses Ozaki into her own corner, allowing her to tag in Suzuki. She takes Hokuto over with a Dragon Suplex, but it only gets two. Hokuto catches a body press attempt and throws her over with a fall-away slam. Nakano misses a guillotine leg drop. Suzuki and Ozaki double team Nakano, but it's still only good for a two count. Nakano blocks a double suplex and counters with her own. Hokuto tags in with a double splash, then plants Ozaki with a Powerbomb for a two count. Ozaki ducks under a clothesline and takes Hokuto over with a hurricanrana for two. Hokuto with a Northern Lights Suplex on Suzuki for two. Nakano sits down on a sunset flip attempt for two. They set up a contrived spot with Hokuto accidentally hitting Nakano with a somersault plancha. Back in the ring, Hokuto hits a double missile dropkick, and the Fisherman Buster finishes Suzuki at 5:25. *** The work was pretty good and flawless, but damn if the crowd didn't give a damn for most of it. The style is something completely different from what casual American fans are used to, and even now, it's hard to get into the style with no prior knowledge.Hulk Hogan vs. Hugh Morrus:
Are we really wasting an in-ring appearance from Hulk Hogan on a Dungeon of Doom scrub? Lockup, Morrus grabs a side headlock. Whip to the ropes, and Hogan puts him down with a shoulder tackle. Hogan grabs a hammerlock and takes Morrus down with a "drop toe hold." Morrus rakes the eyes to escape and pounds away. Morrus misses an elbow drop. Hogan with rights and a running clothesline. Whip to the corner, and he follows in with another clothesline. Morrus launches himself off the second turnbuckle and counters another attempt with his own clothesline. Bischoff claims the crowd is chanting for Hogan, but I hear indifference. Morrus with a slam and the moonsault, but it's Hulk Up Time. The crowd actually boos it. He wags the finger, throws a few rights, hits the big boot, and drops the leg for an easy three count at 3:40. 3/4* Pointless filler. HULK HOGAN. IN POINTLESS FILLER.- "Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews the NEW WCW World Heavyweight Champion, "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Hulk Hogan quickly interrupts, because he's Hulk Hogan. The Giant interrupts because he's big, stinky, and wart infested, and lays out Savage. Sting comes out to help Hogan, who then chased the Giant off with some of the most pathetic chair shots you will ever see. Remember the Billionaire Ted vignette with "Larry Fling" and Hogan weakly bopped people with a chair? That's this, and it was a trend that would continue.
Sting & Lex Luger vs. Flyin' Brian & Arn Anderson:
I know it doesn't seem right, but the idea of super-babyface Sting teaming with super-heel Luger wasn't the worst in the world, and it actually worked, but we'll get into it as the weeks unravel. If you compiled all the Main Event quality matches given away for free, you'd be in heaven. Sting makes his entrance, and Luger takes his sweet time to follow, showing off and soaking up the spotlight. Sting and Anderson start. Lockup, Anderson with a knee to the midsection. Whip to the ropes, Pillman gets a knee to the back, and Anderson plants him with the Spine Buster, but Luger breaks up a cover attempt. Whip is reversed, with Arn taking Luger out in a spot that was completely ignored by the PBP team. Sting with bulldogs to both men, and then it's synchronized press slams to clear the Horsemen from the ring. Anderson with some trash talking, bringing Luger in, legally, for the first time. Luger ducks under a double clothesline and noggin' knockers Pillman to the floor. Luger hits the diving forearm that Heenan still insists is loaded with a metal plate. Sting with the Stinger Splash and the Scorpion Death Lock. Luger shoves Pillman off the top rope, and he accidentally (or maybe purposely) throws him right into Sting, breaking the hold. Sting fights out of the corner, only to jump into an inverted atomic drop. Pillman does his best to troll Luger, leaving Sting without someone to tag. Luger breaks up some double-teaming, putting the boots to Pillman. He sends Arn to the corner and follows in with a clothesline. Sting with a roll up on Pillman for the three count at 5:37. Here comes Ric Flair, and it's a 3-on-2 beat-down on Luger and Sting until Hulk Almighty makes the save. Why would he help Lex Luger?! Or maybe he was just helping Sting. Hogan has issues with the Dungeon of Doom, and now he all of a sudden has to make FLAIR look like a chump? AGAIN? Hogan goes for Luger, but Sting holds him back. ** Match was fairly average, but the storyline of Sting and Luger is interesting enough to carry the rush-job it turned out to be. Remember all of this, and more, about 9-months later.Final Thoughts: It would've been nearly impossible for Nitro to be as bad as Monday Night Raw, and thankfully, this was far from that. It wasn't the best episode of Nitro, but there was a solid Main Event with an interesting dilemma in the form of an unlikely tag team, a pretty good Joshi Puro style match that almost pulled off a miracle and got a mostly mark audience excited. Hogan squashing Hugh Morrus did nothing for me, and the live crowd booed him out of the building, and I'm not in love with the Johnny B. Badd/DDP/Diamond Doll triangle, but everything I didn't care for served a purpose, so it wasn't exactly worthless filler.
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