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Posts posted by Henderson
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Hello everyone! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund bringing you this week's WCW Hotline Report! WCW is heading into the final week before the huge World War 3 Pay Per View where a new WCW World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned! As such, you can bet Monday Nitro will be full of action, so don't miss out! Lets get to this past Monday Night's ratings battle!
WCW Monday Nitro: 2.98
WWF Raw: 1.61
As you can see, both shows were up this week, Nitro more significantly, and wrestling fans still prefer what WCW has to offer!
WCW has announced the contract signings of several talents, including young talent Lance Storm, Perry Saturn, and ring veteran Dave Taylor. There were some other recent signings, however, that seems more to coincide with the upcoming Pay Per View and these other talents are not expected to stick around. I'm told that Storm and Saturn will play a role in WCW, though it will not be immediate.
Rick Steiner is finishing up previous commitments in ECW and NJPW and should be done by the end of the month.
Diamond Dallas Page has agreed to a contract extension with WCW, so we will continue to see DDP in WCW for quite some time!
On the WWF side of things, Diesel defeated Psycho Sid at Survivor Series to retain the WWF Heavyweight title. Shawn Michaels defeated the British Bulldog to retain the Intercontinental title.
WCW Saturday Night saw quite a bit of action. Lord Steven Regal introduced "Squire" David Taylor to his Blue Blood group. The WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat also issued an open challenge to any team this Monday night on Nitro! Here are the results from this weekend;
WCW Saturday Night
The Giant def. Randy Savage by DQ
The Faces of Fear def. The Nasty Boys
David Taylor def. Mr. JL
Diamond Dallas Page def. Brad Armstrong
American Males def. The James Boys
Steve Austin def. Johnny B. Badd
Here is the lineup for this week's Monday Nitro, remember, it's the final Nitro before the Pay Per View at the end of the week!
WCW Monday Nitro
Brian Pillman vs Ricky Steamboat
WCW Tag Team Titles:
??? vs Harlem Heat (c)
Brad Armstrong vs Dean Malenko
Johnny B. Badd vs Earl Robert Eaton
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Monday, Week 3, November 1995
WCW Monday Nitro
Attendance: 9,799
This week's broadcast kicks off with the typical large pyro and firework display, followed by the introduction by Eric Bischoff. He gives us a brief recap of WCW Saturday Night where it was announced that Harlem Heat will defend the tag team titles against the Steiner Brothers at World War 3. He also discussed how Ric Flair and the 4 Horsemen taunted Ricky Steamboat and his ability to still "go" in the ring. This was of course followed up with Steve Austin making a shocking return to WCW last week and the revelation that he is the 4th member of the Horsemen. Bischoff tells everyone that Tony Schiavone is standing by backstage with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.
Tony: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, you made your surprise return to the world of wrestling at Halloween Havoc to take on the Horsemen, and it seems that you struck quite the nerve with the group, as they've relentlessly calling you out, even questioning if you're able to "go" in the ring any more.
That's right, Tony, they've been questioning my ability. You know, I think it's kind of funny that they're questioning if I can still go in the ring. I think I proved that at Halloween Havoc and I think I proved it again last week against Brian Pillman. I've been called many things in my long time in wrestling, Tony, and bad in the ring isn't one of them. I knew coming back to the wrestling ring was going to be a test for me. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but Tony, if I didn't believe in my abilities, if I didn't think I had "it" anymore, then I never would have come back. Well now Ric Flair wants to question that. I suppose if I'm going to come back to the ring, Tony, then I might as well prove to everyone right away that I have what it takes still. I should prove to Ric Flair that I can go the distance and Tony, I think Ric Flair is just a little bit concerned. Ric Flair is concerned that maybe he doesn't have it anymore, so he wants to project that on to me! So Ric Flair, for that, I issue you a challenge! I challenge you to a match at World War 3! But I don't just challenge you to any match, Ric Flair. I challenge you to a 60 minute match! I know back in the day you would have 60 minute matches every day, but looking back, I haven't seen you in one of those in a long time! You brag about being the 60 minute man??? Well how about YOU prove it at World War 3?!
Rating: 84
WCW TV Title:
Sabu vs Eddie Guerrero (c)
vs Nitro head to the ring for the first match of the night, which happens to be a TV title defense by Eddie Guerrero. While Eddie heads to the ring, the announce team talk about how Lord Steven Regal called out Guerrero this past weekend on Saturday Night, claiming he would show Eddie how to win a match. The problem, they noted, was that it was against the Macho Man Randy Savage. So, Regal was not successful in that claim. The week prior, Regal had challenged Eddie to a match, which the new champion readily accepted. Now was Eddie's turn to show how to win a match, which he did in convincing form. Eddie picked up the win at 6:17 after hitting the Frog Splash.
Winner: Eddie Guerrero
Rating: 70
Following the match, we're brought to a pre-recorded promo with the Giant, who is standing in a dimly lit room surrounded by fog
The Immortal Hulk Hogan...He tried to put an end to me at Halloween Havoc, but failed. He failed miserably! Hulk Hogan, I'm still standing! You might have tried to put me down, but as the saying goes, you can't stop a monster. You can't stop a giant. Hulk Hogan, you might have gotten away at Halloween Havoc, but you won't get away at World War 3. The end is still near, and still coming for Hulkamania and the only thing you've done is prolong your own destruction! At World War 3, I'm going to get my hands on you, Hulk Hogan, and I'm going to finish you once and for all. And when I'm done doing that, I'm going to walk out of World War 3 the new World Heavyweight Champion!
Rating: 71
Scott Norton vs Disco Inferno
vs Nitro comes back from commercial and the introductions of the next competitors is made. Disco seems to really be getting the crowd behind him, probably with a lot of help with a catchy entry theme. He began the match more focused on his dancing rather than his opponent, and in this case, that was a huge mistake. Norton basically steamrolled Disco and made him pay for his theatrics. Norton picked up the win at 6:04 after hitting a shoulder breaker.
Winner: Scott Norton
Rating: 47
Nitro continues to run along when after the match, cameras go once again backstage, but it isn't for an interview or a promo. There is once again a huge amount of chaos in the backstage area and once it can be sorted out, Harlem Heat is in the process of delivering a vicious backstage attack on the Steiner's. The Heat continue to deliver a beat-down and although the Steiner's manage to hold them off at first, they eventually come out on the losing end. Once Harlem Heat appear to be satisfied with their work, they walk off as officials rush in and check on the fallen Steiner Brothers.
Rating: 64
We stay backstage for another interview segment, once again with Tony Schiavone, who seems to be getting more of the share of interviewing responsibilities this week. His guest now is standing beside him, Lex Luger. Tony asks Lex about recent events, Halloween Havoc, Sting, and how the Horsemen, namely Brian Pillman, have set a target on his best friend.
Lex Luger: I've known Sting a long time, Tony. He and I have traveled up and down the roads, all across the United States and to other countries. He's been there for me at all times when I've needed him and he's been there for me even when I wasn't the greatest friend to him! If there's one thing the Stinger is, it's resilient! Now, I'm not sure what Brian Pillman's issue is with Sting, but he's nowhere near the champion that the Stinger is! I've got no problem standing up for my best friend and if Pillman wants to keep it up, he's going to find out he's barking up the wrong tree!
Rating: 64
The Shark vs Lex Luger
vs Luger headed to the ring following his interview for this next match. Despite being a big guy, The Shark is quite capable in the ring and showed it here against the Total Package. Shark spent the majority of the match in control and went for his finisher, the Shark Attack, but Luger got out of the way. This allowed Luger to hit a flurry of offense, capping it off by impressively lifting Shark up for the Torture Rack, sealing the win at 7:04.
Winner: Lex Luger
The match ends and Nitro takes another commercial. When Nitro resumes, Mean Gene Okerlund is standing in the ring, not one to miss a Monday Nitro, and introduces his guest, the former heavyweight champion of the world, Hulk Hogan. American Made plays over the arena speakers and Hulk Hogan makes his way out to much fan fare. Once in the ring, Mean Gene gets down to his interview.
Gene: Hulk Hogan, you have created quite the stir in the last couple of weeks since being stripped of the world title. Many weren't pleased with your actions at Halloween Havoc and many more are displeased with your behavior afterwards, mainly how you've conducted yourself since being stripped of the World Title.
Hogan: Well ya know something Mean Gene, I've just laid the facts out all on the table, brother! They say that the truth often hurts, and I'm not going to ever shy away from telling the truth, man! If people have a problem with it, then that's just too bad, Mean Gene. I can't sit around and worry about making people happy! My main goal, brother, is getting my world title back and if I have to run through 59 other wrestlers at World War 3, brother, then that's what I'm gonna do!
Hulk Hogan, we just heard from the Giant earlier, and there's been several other wrestlers over the past couple of weeks claiming their win at the Pay Per View. Who do you think will be your toughest challenge in the battle royal??
If you ask me, Mean Gene, the biggest competitor, the person I'm going to have to overcome the most, will me myself, brother! I'm not taking away from the other competitors, but when you get into a match with that many other opponents, it becomes a battle in your mind, Mean Gene! I'm going to have to not think about all the other wrestlers and focus on myself and what I need to do! Now, as far as-----
- Hogan is suddenly cut off by the sound of neighing horses followed by a slow guitar riff. Fans all know the music belongs to the 4 Horsemen, but they did not expect this man to walk out -
- Austin walks out onto the set, dripping with confidence. Rather than going to the ring, though, Austin stays atop the stage and begins to address Hogan in the ring -
Austin: So let me get this straight....You couldn't cheat your way out of defending your title at Halloween Havoc against the Giant, ended up getting stripped of the title, and now you're crying and complaining that it's everyone else's fault??? The problem you have, Hogan, is that you've gone your entire career having people kiss your rear end. Every time you've gotten challenged by someone you're afraid of, you go back to the same old routine of wrestling all your old buddies! You ducked people your entire career! You ducked Rick Rude and Jake Roberts in the WWF, and you ducked me in WCW when you first came here! As a matter of fact, I got fired because of you and because you were afraid of me threatening your position!
Now hold it right here, Austin! The fact of the matter, brother, isn't that I ducked you or was afraid of you threatening my position, because you weren't even in my shadow, brother! Your problem is that you think you're someone bigger than what you are! So you just see your opportunity to come out here and go for the head honcho, brother! Well let me spoil the party for you right now, because you're not even on the same level as Hulk Hogan, dude!
I'm not on the same level because you make sure to keep your finger down on anyone better than you! I can run rings around you Hogan, and you can try as hard as you want, but eventually, you're not going to be able to hide from me forever, and at World War 3, you put a bullseye on your back, and Steve Austin's entering hunting season!
Rating: 78
Austin exits the stage and heads to the back. Cameras return to the ring where Hogan plays to the crowd a bit before exiting. The cameras stay on Mean Gene inside the ring as he faces the hard camera and gives some hype for World War 3 and the battle royal. Gene hypes the announced tag team title matchup with Harlem Heat taking on the Steiner's and also hypes up the TV title match with Eddie Guerrero defending the title against Lord Steven Regal. Gene sends Nitro to its last commercial break and says the main event will take place following the break.
Rating: 66
Hulk Hogan & Sting vs Arn Anderson & Ric Flair
vs The crowd were on their feet for this star-studded main event. Hogan actually began the match against Arn Anderson. The Enforcer and Flair took turns, isolating Hogan from his corner. Sting ended up being the hot tag of the match and came in, cleaning house and taking charge with a burst of energy. Following a pair of Stinger Splashes to Anderson, Hulk Hogan hit a big boot on Flair, which caused him to fall out of the ring. Sting locked in the Scorpion Deathlock on Double A to secure the submission victory at 11:36.
Winners: Hulk Hogan & Sting
Rating: 75
Overall Show Grade: 77
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I'm currently in May 1997 in my game and I hope that you and everyone else will be quite pleased/interested in what has taken place so far. I went into the database to look at Austin's default popularity and it's 55 in North America and Canada, so I don't think you're going to see Austin get thrown into the title picture immediately. Like I've said before, I like to keep my games pretty realistic and keep to things that I think would be applicable to real life, so you won't see me going out and signing up every major name there is. HOWEVER, if there is someone available and I think it would make sense to my game and plans, I keep an open possibility. I prefer to give the AI as much as possible to keep the game competitive and just as a minor spoiler, CMLL, USWA, WWC, NJPW, and SMW are all currently doing quite well because they've all picked up some big names. Obviously the WWF is doing well also, but that goes without saying.
I plan on doing a big end of the year review to give an update on everything, and to be honest, getting through 1995 was very tough for me and it didn't seem to really pick up steam for me until 1996. Luckily, I documented my shows well enough to be able to go back and remember what the story was and where I was wanting to head. Some may roll their eyes at me bringing Steamboat back, but I needed a solid, well-known wrestler to bring in for my Halloween Havoc storyline and I was surprised when I was able to talk Steamboat out of retirement. There were also a few other guys that were locked down to long-term exclusive contracts at the beginning of the game that I'm not going to be able to use for quite awhile. I can't wait to get to present day because I think it's all really exciting and I'm not playing it until I get caught up. I also plan on incorporating prizes into predictions once I get caught up to where I'm currently in the game. Hopefully people can forgive me in the mean time but it makes it tough to come up with prizes when I can't change anything for the foreseeable future. I should, though, hopefully get caught up pretty fast because the 1 hour Nitro makes it easy to get the shows out fairly regularly. Anyway, sorry for the long post and here's this week's Hotline!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the WCW Hotline Report! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund here to present you with the latest news from the wrestling world! As usual, we start off with this Monday's rating numbers!
WCW Monday Nitro: 2.68
WWF Raw: 1.54
WCW's rating was significantly down from last week, though they once again beat out Raw. The WWF's show was headlined by Shawn Michaels defeating Owen Hart to retain the Intercontinental title. The match was very well received with the critics calling it a "99 out of 100" match.
Fans were shocked this past week on Nitro when Steve Austin made his return to WCW. Fans last saw Austin in early 1995 and had been out with an injured triceps. He had since recovered from his injury, but there was quite a bit of tension between he and WCW President Eric Bischoff following his release. My sources tell me that Bischoff had noticed Austin being unused and did not appear to have any interest from any promotions. As such, Eric Bischoff had personally reached out to Austin to try and mend the relationship. The effort seems to have been a success, though I'm told there is still some "simmering tension" but they are on cordial terms. Austin was reportedly very pleased to have signed a deal and get back into the wrestling scene.
The story is also similar for Ricky Steamboat and his surprising return to action. I know I'm a couple weeks late on this information but I have also received word from a confidential source that Eric Bischoff personally sat down with Steamboat to discuss interest in coming back to the ring. Ricky Steamboat had been training for a few months and there was positive feedback from doctors in regards to a return to the ring. The belief is that this will more than likely be Steamboat's final run as an in-ring competitor.
The WWF will be heading into Survivor Series Pay Per View later this week. It is to be headlined by Diesel defending the WWF World title against Psycho Sid and the British Bulldog challenging Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental title. It does not appear that they will be having any survivor tag team matches on the show. In other matches confirmed, The Undertaker will take on Yokozuna in a cage match and Marty Jannetty will face Razor Ramon.
WCW and CMLL, the Mexican promotion, have signed a talent trading agreement.
The Barbarian has signed an exclusive written contract with WCW.
And here's this weekend's WCW Saturday Night results:
Steve Austin def. Johnny B. Badd
Diamond Dallas Page def. Alex Wright
Hugh Morrus def. Joey Maggs
Marcus Bagwell def. Zodiac
The Faces of Fear def. Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater
Randy Savage def. Lord Steven Regal
In other events on Saturday Night, Lex Luger was paying close attention to Brian Pillman's promo in which he taunted Sting. I'm told to expect a feud soon between Luger and Pillman.
In our first confirmed match for World War 3, other than the battle royal, it was announced that Harlem Heat will defend their tag team titles against the Steiner Brothers.
Expect to see numerous wrestlers make claim to how they plan on walking out of WW3 as the new World Heavyweight champion as we get closer to the Pay Per View!
Here's the announced lineup for this week's Monday Nitro:
Main Event:
Hulk Hogan & Sting vs Arn Anderson & Ric Flair
The Shark vs Lex Luger
Disco Inferno vs Scott Norton
WCW Television Title:
Sabu vs Eddie Guerrero (c)
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Monday, Week 2, November 1995
WCW Monday Nitro
Attendance: 6,705
- Following the Nitro opening full of pyro and crowd shots, Eric Bischoff and Co. welcome everyone to tuning in for this week's Monday Nitro. The introduction doesn't last long though as Bischoff sends it over to Mean Gene Okerlund, who's waiting at the bottom of the stage. Gene welcomes everyone before introducing his guest -
- American Made hits the speakers and red and yellow lights flash on the stage. Hulk Hogan comes strutting out, cupping his ear and playing to the crowd. The crowd is all on their feet, excited as Hulk Hogan is now back in full red and yellow gear. He makes the short trip down the ramp to where Mean Gene is standing and waiting before beginning the interview -
Mean Gene: Hulk Hogan!!! It's great to see you finally back where you belong, sporting the red and yellow colors!! There's been a ton of developments within the last week, Hulk Hogan, and they all surround you, the WCW World Heavyweight title, and the Dungeon of Doom! For those who missed this past weekend's WCW Saturday Night, the WCW Board of Directors had unanimously voted to strip you, Hulk Hogan, of the WCW World title effective immediately, as a result of your actions toward the Giant at Halloween Havoc. What do you have to say about it?!?
Well ya know something, Mean Gene.....Let me just start off by saying, it was long over due for a return to the Red and Yellow, brother! I did what I had to do, Mean Gene, and in order to accomplish what I needed, I had to dig deep down into a dark place and do things that I knew I wouldn't be able to do in the red and yellow, brother! As a matter of fact, Mean Gene, I can't even remember all of the things I did because it....It was like I was under some kind of spell, man. I went back and watched videos of the last few weeks, and it was like being a spectator! I don't even remember doing the things I did! I don't remember 90% of the actions I did at Halloween Havoc, and if the WCW Board of Directors see's fit to strip me of the World Title because of it, then if you ask me, Mean Gene, they're just cowards, brother! The Board of Directors punish Hulk Hogan for doing what was necessary, but let the Dungeon of Doom run amuck without so much as a warning, brother! They allowed the Dungeon of Doom and that big sweaty, stinky Giant to snap the neck's of me and the Macho Man, brother! If you ask me, Mean Gene, it seems like the WCW Board of Directors just wanted an excuse to screw with Hulk Hogan, man! They wanted to stack the odds up against Hulk Hogan and all the little Hulkamaniacs by making the battle royal at World War 3 for the championship! They stacked the deck against Hulk Hogan and is going to make me go up against 59 other competitors in order to get my title back, brother! I see a whole lot of people going up against Hulk Hogan, man, and I don't like it one teenie bit!
Well, Hulk Hogan, I ----
- Mean Gene is then interrupted when something out of the corner of his eye catches his attention. More lights flash on the stage and the crowd, who isn't quite sure what to make of Hulk Hogan's speech, now begin to get into a load roar as two figures emerge from the entrance -
- Sting and Randy Savage come out and approach Hulk Hogan and Mean Gene at the bottom of the ramp. Hogan backs off a bit as Sting motions to Gene that he has something to say -
Mean Gene, Hulk, the Macho Man and I were in the back and we just couldn't help but over hear some of the things the Hulkster had to say! Hulk, you think you were screwed out of the world title??? Maybe you were, maybe you weren't, but the fact is, you're not the WCW World Heavyweight Champion anymore! So no amount of complaining to Mean Gene, no amount of complaining to the fans, no amount of complaining to the Stinger will change that fact! So, Hulkster, if you have something to prove, you'll have your opportunity to do that at World War 3 just like myself and just like the Macho Man!
Macho Man: Hulkster!!!! Brother, you and you alone are responsible for your behavior - YEAH! There ain't nothing to do but get to it and PROVE IT at World War 3, cause someoneeeeee will walk out of World War 3 as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion and you can bet that the Macho Man is gonna give it hell! OHH YEAAHH!!
Rating: 100
- Hulk Hogan seems to concede what Sting and Savage had to say to him as they all walk up the ramp together and exit. Mean Gene kicks it back to the announce booth. They spend time talking about Hulk Hogan being stripped of the title and then talk about the return of Ricky Steamboat, who will be in action on Nitro tonight! Bischoff is then interrupted as he's told of a disturbance in the back -
- A loud commotion is heard and the screen is filled with referees and officials who appear to be trying to hold back Harlem Heat and the Steiner Brothers from coming to blows. All four men are shouting and pointing at one another as the chaos continues to be on display. Booker T throws the first thing within arm reach in the direction of the Steiners, but it's harmlessly dodged by both men. A few more officials flood into the scene to separate the teams as Nitro prepares for it's first match, which happens to involve the Steiners. It seems that Harlem Heat had attempted to confront them as they were headed toward the entrance for their match. The Blue Bloods are already in the ring as "Steinerized" begins to play in the arena -
Rating: 64
The Blue Bloods vs Steiner Brothers
vs This was mostly an evenly-matched bout, though Bobby Eaton's age seems to be catching up with him. While he wasn't bad in the match, he clearly couldn't keep up with the three other involved men. This was a good match to allow the Steiner Brothers to get back into the swing of things and re-introduce themselves to the WCW audience. The Steiner's picked up the pin fall win in 10:16 with the Steiner Bulldog.
Winners: Steiner Brothers
Rating: 64
- DDP is backstage by himself for a promo. He says that he's also in the WW3 battle royal and plans on walking out the WCW Heavyweight champion, no matter what Sting, Hogan, Savage, or anyone else has to say about it -
Rating: 72
Main Event
WCW United States Title:
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs Brian Pillman (c)
vs This exciting match didn't have much build to it, though the announce team made a huge deal over this being Steamboat's first televised match in quite some time. They also said that his Halloween Havoc match displayed little rust and expected him to be just as crisp, if not more so, tonight. This ended up being pretty accurate, as Steamboat kept right up with the pace of Brian Pillman and critics would say both had an equal, very good, performance. Pillman became frustrated after his fast-paced offense, and high flying ability, seemed to be matched by Steamboat at every turn. Pillman's frustration became even more apparent after being suckered in to taking 3 of Steamboat's classic arm drag's in a row. The crowd were on their feet and heavily cheering The Dragon on and it looked like Pillman was going to be a short-lived United States Champion. Steamboat had knocked Pillman to the mat and began to climb the ropes. All the fans in attendance knew that Steamboat was waiting to hit the flying cross body, sensing the end of the match was near and hoping to see a new champion. As Steamboat waited perched on the top rope, Pillman began to stir on the mat, slowly getting to his feet. Just when Steamboat was about to launch, timing it perfectly as Pillman began to turn, Steamboat was partially seen on camera getting knocked off the top rope by a chair. The crowd could be heard audibly gasping. The referee had seen the attack and immediately called for the bell at 12:28. The announcers still aren't able to see on screen who the attacker is, but immediately call out that the Horsemen had interfered in the match, only they're in shock when the camera finally reveals the attacker......
Bischoff: That's........That's Steve Austin!!!
The bell rings repeatedly as Steve Austin climbs in the ring and begins to continue the attack on Ricky Steamboat, who lays on the mat. Brian Pillman begins to laugh and taunt into the ringside camera before he joins in on the attack. Mike Tenay gives a history lesson to those watching at home, explaining that Pillman and Austin used to be a tag team in WCW and that must be the connection here. When Ric Flair and Arn Anderson also make their way into the ring, the announcers finally begin to speculate what's really going on. The match itself was considered a DQ win for Ricky Steamboat, though Brian Pillman keeps his US title.
Winner by DQ: Ricky Steamboat
Rating: 81
The show isn't over though as all 4 men now attack the downed Steamboat. After seeing their work is over, Austin and Pillman grab the Dragon and toss him outside. Austin gets a microphone and now the crowd is roaring with boos.
Just in case anyone is confused by what they just saw, that was yet another dinosaur being put out to pasture! I'm not interested in stupid gimmicks, I'm not interested in cartoon characters, and I'm not interested in playing second fiddle to no one! Steve Austin is back here in WCW to do one thing and one thing only, and that's beat people up! I ain't "Stunning" anymore, I'm just flat out Steve Austin and I'll run through anyone who has a problem with it!
Flair: For weeks....WEEKS now, people have been coming up to the Nature Boy saying "Slick Ric, PLEASE tell me who the 4th Horsemen is!!!" "Nature Boy, is there a 4th Horsemen?!?!" "Nature Boy, is it just the three Horsemen?!?!" Well ask no longer!!!! There's always been 4 Horsemen and there always will be! There's no longer the question because right here, tonight, the 4th Horsemen is revealed and it's STEVE AUSTIN! WHHHOOOOOOOOOO!!
Rating: 74
Final Show Grade: 71
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Hello everyone, and welcome to the WCW Hotline Report! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund, and boy do we have a lot to cover in this week's report!! Let's start with the numbers from Monday!
WCW Monday Nitro: 2.98
WWF Monday Night Raw: 1.54
Halloween Havoc buy rate: 6.69 (worldwide)
I'm sure WCW was hoping for a higher number coming off of the big Halloween Havoc Pay Per View, but I'm sure they're happy to still have beaten Raw.
First with news from the WWF; Sir Mo, Alundra Blayze, King Kong Bundy, Earl Hebner, and Bam Bam Bigelow have all extended their contracts. The WWF has also signed Road Warrior Hawk to a written contract for an estimated 1.5 year. The resigning of Blayze indicates the WWF will continue their heavy push of a women's division as it continues to be heavily featured on their programming.
On to WCW news! Fans are already very familiar with the contract signings of the Steiner Brothers and Ricky Steamboat. I can also report to you that WCW has signed The Barbarian to a written contract as well. Fans, there still remains one more major contract signing for WCW that I am forbidden from releasing to you. I can promise you this, this person will be the talk of the wrestling world as it is a completely unexpected signing! I can also promise you that this person will be showing up in WCW very, very soon!
Ladies and gentlemen, there is quite a bit of news to cover from Halloween Havoc! First though, let me congratulate two new champions in WCW; Eddie Guerrero became the new Television Champion by defeating Diamond Dallas Page at Halloween Havoc and Brian Pillman became the new United States champion by defeating Sting the next night on Monday Nitro.
Folks, exclusive news to you now, I can confirm that Diamond Dallas Page was a hopeful long-term TV champion but due to his recent issue of showing up to Monday Nitro in no shape to perform, it appears that his loss at Halloween Havoc was a direct result of that. Whether that is the end of his "punishment" or not, will probably be evident in the coming weeks.
Brian Pillman's victory over Sting this week on Monday Nitro to become the new US Champion has many people thinking he is set to be the next big thing in WCW.
There were huge events that took place this past weekend on WCW Saturday Night, which stemmed from the ending of the main event at Halloween Havoc. Eric Bischoff announced on Saturday Night that due to the actions of Hulk Hogan at Halloween Havoc and the questionable nature of winning the main event, that the WCW board of directors decided to strip Hulk Hogan of the championship and vacate the WCW world heavyweight title effective immediately! It was further stated that the huge 60 man battle royal at WCW's next Pay Per View, World War 3, will determine the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. This is a major announcement and you can be sure that there will be 60 men gunning to win that match.
In more minor events at Saturday Night, The Enforcer, Arn Anderson took issue with Hulk Hogan during an interview, stating that Anderson takes wrestling seriously, whereas Hulk Hogan is living in a fantasy world.
Here are the WCW Saturday Night results!
Main Event:
Arn Anderson def. Johnny B. Badd
American Males def. Bunkhouse Buck/Dick Slater
Meng def. Cobra
Brad Armstrong def. Paul Orndorff
Dean Malenko def. Alex Wright
Fans, there are only two matches this week on Monday Nitro, but I can promise you there will be tons of action! The Steiner Brother's will make their official return this week and compete in a match!
Monday Nitro:
Brian Pillman vs Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
The Steiner Brothers vs The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal & Earl Robert Eaton)
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WCW Monday Nitro
Week 1, November 1995
LIVE from the Ryan Center in Kingston, RI
Attendance: 7,110
The crowd are on their feet as Monday Nitro's broadcast fires up. In the packed arena, we can see the ring is all ready to go with the cage secured around it. Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone and give quick recaps of last night's Halloween Havoc, from Eddie Guerrero becoming the new Television champion, to the unexpected and shocking return of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, to Hulk Hogan defeating the Giant, albeit by questionable means via count out. Still photos are shown and Bischoff lets everyone know they can order an encore presentation of Halloween Havoc all week long! Bischoff then says that Mean Gene is standing by backstage with the World Champion!
Gene: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to WCW Monday Nitro and standing by with me right now is none other than the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hulk Hogan! Hulk, last night you defeated the Giant, though it was by way of some....questionable means. Your victory last night ensured that you, as you claim, get Kevin Sullivan one-on-one right here tonight in a cage match! Hulk Hogan, what is your plan going in to the match which is set to take place here very shortly? I see you're still all decked out in your black gear.
Mean Gene, brother, one thing you have to realize is the fact that last night didn't end with the Hulkster touring the land of the Dungeon of Doom, man! Last night was just the beginning! I'm using the power of the darkness to fight against the Doom! Sometimes, Mean Gene, you have to fight fire with fire! Last night I did what I had to do to put the Giant out to pasture, brother! I can look at myself in the mirror and have not an ounce of regret for the things I did! The Giant found out, and the Dungeon of Doom found out that you don't mess with Hulkamania, brother!
I can completely understand that, Hulk Hogan, but it almost seems like you're enjoying this, darkness, just a little too much! I've known you for a long time, and to be honest with you, I don't like what I'm seeing!
Well the fact of the matter is, Mean Gene, it doesn't concern me whether you like it, or you don't like it, brother, because Hulk Hogan is the one in the viper pit, my man, and not you!! As for tonight goes and what's in store for Kevin Sullivan, brother, there's only one thing I can say. PAIN!
Rating: 99
WCW World Heavyweight Title:
Kevin Sullivan vs Hulk Hogan (c)
The cage match starts off Nitro to the surprise of many. Hogan took his time taunting Kevin Sullivan, who stood waiting in the ring for the World Champion. As soon as Hogan entered, the fight was on. Hogan took no mercy on the Taskmaster, sending him from side to side into the steel cage. Hogan used a multitude of dirty attacks such as eye gouging, biting, scratching his back, and taking off his weight belt and whipping Sullivan repeatedly. The match ended in 11:04 by pin fall after Hogan hit a big boot followed by a Leg Drop, defending his title and, hopefully, putting an end to the Dungeon of Doom feud.
Winner: Hulk Hogan
Rating: 81
Following the match, we're sent backstage to the interview position where Tony Schiavone is standing with newly crowned Television champion Eddie Guerrero. The title is proudly displayed over the shoulder of Guerrero who says he's fought for this opportunity and plans to make the best out of it. Eddie says he hasn't had the easiest time proving himself and now says there's no turning back and no limit for him.
Rating: 55
Macho Man Randy Savage vs Disco Inferno
vs Fans were quite shocked to hear the music of the Macho Man play through the speakers and even more shocked to see that it was for a match on Nitro after the vicious beating he received at the hands of the Horsemen the night prior. Disco was in the ring first and Savage's entrance didn't involve the usual fanfare. Savage came out of the Nitro stage with a fury, sprinting to the ring. Disco did what he could only do, see the sprinting Savage and nearly leapt out of his boots. Disco bailed out of the ring only for Savage to be shortly behind in pursuit. After chasing him around ringside, Savage got ahold of Disco and took his pent up rage out on the dancing fool. The Macho Man utilized many items around the ring to his advantage such as chairs, guard rails, and ring posts. Savage even hit a piledriver on Disco to the floor, but thankfully at least the mats were still down. Savage rolled Disco in the ring and entered, continuing an attack. After hitting a body slam, Savage climbed to the top rope and hit his patented Flying Elbow for the pin fall win in 6:48
Winner: Macho Man Randy Savage
Rating: 60
- Immediately after the bell rings, Savage gets a microphone from the ringside announcer, David Penzer -
I'm gonna put on notice, right now, to the 4 Horsemen, 3 Horsemen, whatever you wanna call yourselves....YEAH! You think the beating you gave me last night at Halloween Havoc was bad?!? YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET! NUH UH! Nature Boy Ric Flair, I've battled you more times than I can count and you're like a cockroach that just won't go away!!! Double A, Arn Anderson....You just picked a fight that you can't win!! And that little pissant named Brian Pillman.....Oh I got news for ya, Flyin' Brian, you're gonna be flyin' through the air after I get done with ya!!! Who get's done with ya?!?! The Macho Man gets done with ya!!! I don't care if I go through all of you one at a time or all at once! The Macho Man's gonna get revenge and I'm gonna get it in a BIG WAY! OOOOHHHH YEAAHHHHH!!!
Rating: 73
- Cameras switch to a backstage locker room where Ric Flair and Arn Anderson just happen to be watching the monitor and saw the Macho Man's comments. They clearly are not happy with the prior night's events -
Flair: Savage wants a piece of the Horsemen??? He might as well put a target on his back!
Anderson: He's barking up the wrong tree, and it last night wasn't enough for him, I'll be more than happy to give him some more.
Forget about Savage, Arn....Steamboat stuck his nose where it didn't belong and signed his own death warrant when he teamed up with Sting and Luger. Steamboat!!!! You should've stayed retired pal, because after the Horsemen get through with you, you're gonna wish you stayed sitting on your couch at home! You're gonna find out why you don't cross the Horsemen's path!
Rating: 81
WCW United States Championship:
Brian Pillman vs Sting(c)
vs The crowd was on their feet for this unannounced main event. The two continued their fast-paced style from Halloween Havoc the night before, and this time it didn't have to get interrupted by tagging out. Sting kept having to constantly look over his shoulder for an appearance by Arn Anderson or Ric Flair, but shockingly, it never came. The bout ended, much to everyone's surprise at 15:51 when Pillman connected with the Air Pillman to get the pinfall victory and become the new US Champion!
Winner and NEW United States Champion: Brian Pillman
Rating: 82
Final Show Grade: 77
Stay tuned for the WCW Hotline Report by Mean Gene Okerlund! There's going to be tons of news to cover as well as all the fallout from Halloween Havoc and Nitro. In addition, there will be the WCW Saturday Night recap and the card for next week's Nitro!
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WCW Presents:
Halloween Havoc
LIVE from Norfolk, VA
Attendance: 41,000
- We've finally made it to the moment everyone's been looking forward to; Halloween Havoc. In typical WCW fashion, the cameras open with a panoramic view of the arena, however, it's noticeably more filled. The crowd in attendance is rowdy and looking forward to all the hyped action they've been promised. It's clear, not only from WCW's typical unique stage setup, that Halloween Havoc is a major pay per view event and many would say it was intended to be their version of Wrestlemania. Rather than kick things off at the announce booth, we hear music in the arena and the first participant for the first match of the evening makes his way out -
Lord Steven Regal vs Dean Malenko
vs The opening bout was announced as being a singles match with a 15:00 time limit. Both competitors were about as evenly matched all-around as you can get. Both Dean Malenko and the Lordship are working hard to prove themselves among the upper rank of the WCW roster, and they both did a great job at demonstrating that. This could be considered to be a technical masterclass, as both tried to one-up the other with their skill, though neither ever coming out ahead. This was proved even more when at 15:00, the bell rang to signal a time-limit draw, which neither man was pleased with.
Winner: None - Time Limit Draw
Rating: 74
The Macho Man Randy Savage is seen walking from his car in toward the arena with his bag in hand. As Savage is walking down the cement path, three men jump into the scene out of nowhere. The three men are revealed as none other than the Horsemen themselves, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Brian Pillman. All three give clubbing blows, punches, and kicks. After Savage drops to the ground, they continue in with the vicious assault, picking him back up and throwing him into a nearby garage door. Pillman picks a chair up which just happened to be conveniently placed and begins to use that weapon on the Macho Man. Arn Anderson continues to reign down blows and the Nature Boy repeatedly kicks Savage as he lay on the floor. The announcers are heard screaming protests and for someone to come to Savage's aid, admonishing the Horsemen as being cowards. Finally after what seems like an eternity, two men are seen running in to end the beat down, which also happen to be the partners of Savage tonight; Lex Luger and Sting. Luger and Sting are still in street clothes, Luger wearing a white, open collard shirt and blue jeans and Sting, in a t-shirt and blue jeans and dark sunglasses. Luger and Sting don't get into blows with the Horsemen, who quickly ran off as soon as Lex and Sting ran in with weapons of their own. After making sure the attackers had ran off, Luger and Sting turned their attention to Savage, who was writhing in pain on the floor, not looking good.
Rating: 80
WCW Television Title:
Eddie Guerrero vs Diamond Dallas Page (c)
vs The capacity crowd was pumped for the first title match of the night. Guerrero was looking to bounce back from last month's Pay Per View loss to the current TV champion Diamond Dallas Page and you could tell here that he was putting forth great effort. Both competitors were given a decent amount of time to showcase their skills and they did a great job of keeping the crowd engaged but not burning them out. The crowd jumped to their feet when Guerrero picked up the shocking win at 11:34 after hitting a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.
Winner and New TV Champion: Eddie Guerrero
Rating: 66
For the first time on main WCW programming, we're given a promo package by the newly named Wrath. He uses the time to discuss his dislike for Hacksaw Jim Duggan.
Rating: 38
- Following the promo, we're sent to the backstage area where we see an ambulance and chaos. The Macho Man Randy Savage is laying on a stretcher as he is being loaded into the rear of the ambulance by medical personnel. Lex Luger and Sting are also standing by the Macho Man and they're discussing the plans for tonight. Neither Luger or Sting know what they're going to do as the Macho Man is clearly not going to compete in tonight's 3 on 3 match against the Horsemen. Both Luger and Sting are visibly stressed as the scene fades out. -
Rating: 70
We then flip to an entirely different scene backstage. Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with three men who are extremely happy with themselves;
The Horsemen. Mean Gene attempts to admonish the Horsemen for their reprehensible act, but is quickly cut off by Brian Pillman.
Can it, Gene!!! You see, we did what was necessary for everyone! We did what was the right thing!
Gene: There was nothing right about that!!!
Oh ya see, that's where you're sadly mistaken, my friend. Gene, what do you do with the weakest link of a chain? What do you do with the weakest cattle?? What do you do with the employee who just isn't holding up their end of the weight??? You get rid of it! If anything, we did Lex Luger and Sting a favor! We cut the fat off their team that was holding them down! Randy Savage wasn't 100% going into tonight, that was plain for everyone to see! After what the Giant did to him, we actually saved the Macho Man from further injury by participating in tonight's match. See, Gene, you don't go into a wrestling match with the Horsemen, you go to war.....And in war, Gene....Hahaha....There are casualties!
Gene: You can try and justify your actions all you want, Brian Pillman, Ric Flair, and Arn Anderson, but nothing is going to ever excuse you for what you all three did! And speaking of the Horsemen, just who the hell is the 4th member of the group! If I know anything, Ric Flair, I know that you're always scheming something!
As for who the 4th member of the Horsemen is concerned, Gene, that's none of your business! As a matter of fact, Horsemen business, in general, is none of your business! So how about you just stand there with the microphone, pal, and just ask questions that are relevant, such as tonight, WHOOO! It's gonna be the Horsemen - Double A, Myself, and Brian Pillman, taking on Sting and Lex Luger!!!! You can bet, without a doubt, that it's gonna be a looooong night for those two, my man, because now it's 2 on 3!
You know what they say, Gene, this ain't the end.....This is just the beginning.
The Horsemen walk off, leaving Gene Okerlund totally flabbergasted and appalled.
Rating: 78
WCW Tag Team Titles:
Bunkhouse Buck & Dirty Dick Slater vs Harlem Heat (c)
vs The crowd were loud, but not for excitement for the match, mostly just for Harlem Heat. Booker T again shone in this matchup while both he and Stevie Ray were quite limited by the lack of skill from their opponents. Everyone watching, as well as Harlem Heat, were mercifully saved from having to endure any longer than necessary. The match came to an end at 9:29 after Booker T hit an impressive Harlem Hangover for the pinfall victory, establishing themselves at the top of the WCW tag team division.
Winners and STILL Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat
Rating: 52
We are now treated - yes, treated, to a backstage promo by Kevin Sullivan. The Taskmaster is right at home in his dungeon area, flanked by all his pals, Meng, Zodiac, Shark, and now, apparently, Hugh Morrus. The Giant and the Master are also in the background. Sullivan gloats about how tonight Hulkamania will finally end and the night will cap off with Hulk Hogan dropping to his knees and accepting the Dungeon of Doom as his true place in life. Sullivan says that Hogan is already almost fully converted to the darkness and that the Dungeon of Doom will help him complete his journey tonight.
Rating: 72
- Following a quick promotional segment, we're sent backstage yet again. Already, Halloween Havoc has had significantly more backstage events take place than at Fall Brawl, however, the crowd still remains fully engaged with the evenings events. It also helps that Sting and Lex Luger, now fully in their ring gear, are the ones who appear on screen. Sting says it's been a difficult night, but their priorities are on taking out the Horsemen, and now it'll be in honor of the Macho Man. Sting says that the Horsemen are wrong about not having a 3rd partner tonight to replace Savage and that he has plenty of tricks up his sleeve because, after all, it is Halloween! Luger agrees and says he will love to see the look on the faces of the three Horsemen when their new partner walks out, because it's not anyone they would expect in a million years -
Rating: 78
Paul Orndorff vs Brad Armstrong
vs This match could be seen more as a way to get the pace of the night to slow down a bit and allow the crowd to collect themselves. Surprisingly though, they were given a fair amount of time in the ring and despite being the older veteran, Paul Orndorff had a pretty good performance. It was enough in the end though, as Armstrong hit a Russian Legsweep in 10:19 for the pinfall victory.
Winner: Brad Armstrong
Rating: 69
Following the match, the screen goes dark, and we hear and eerie rumbling that first starts off low and faint, but then grows into a loud growl. The picture comes in with the noise and then we can see who's behind it;
The WCW World Heavyweight Champion, again shrouded in black and wearing a mask.
AAHHHHH, my Immortalites!!!!!!! These last several weeks, I've studied, I've become, I've lived what the Dungeon of Doom is, brothers!!! I've felt the power like never before!! I feel the darkness coursing through my veins like lighting, brothers!!! I have experienced all I need to in order to defeat the Giant and then cut the head of the snake off, that is The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan! Tonight, my brothers, is truly the beginning of the end for the Dungeon of Doom, and afterwards I shall resort back to the red and the yellow and the prayers, the training, and the vitamins!!! OOHHH YESSSS my brothers!!! Do not be afraid of the darkness and do not weep at the tortured soul that is Hulkamania, as it will return back better than ever, as Hulkamania is truly immortal!!! Tonight, my brothers, will be the end of the Giant!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 82
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Big Bubba Rogers
vs In what can only be described as "the calm before the storm", this match's only purpose was to get the crowd to come down from their high to prepare them for the exciting end to the night. The match didn't last long, thankfully, but Duggan did do pretty well at keeping the crowd engaged but not overly rowdy. The match ended in 6:58 when Bubba hit the Bubba Slam on Duggan for the pinfall win.
Winner: Big Bubba Rogers
Rating: 64
- Back out to ringside, tension can be cut with a knife as a horse neighs and the guitar riff plays. The Horsemen make their way out to the ring for the next matchup. The Horsemen all appear extremely confident, thinking this matchup just got a whole lot easier and doing their part to ensure a handicap match. The climb in the ring and all taunt the crowd in their own classic ways. The music fades out and "The Man Called Sting" starts to play. All the fans in the arena get to their feet and turn their attention to the stage, excited to see just who The Macho Man's replacement is. Sting and Lex Luger walk out in unison, but there is no one to follow them. The Horsemen all laugh in the ring and Pillman points toward the stage making fun of the duo, as they clearly think it was all a ruse and they actually have no partner. Luger and Sting get about halfway down the aisle when they stop, look at one another, and then back to the stage entrance. Sting's music fades out is replaced with an unfamiliar theme, filled with symbols and dramatic bass sounds. The crowd all cheer wildly when a man not seen in quite some time emerges from the fog...
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat!!! The announce booth lose their minds as Bobby Heenan reflects that the though Steamboat retired. Mike Tenay agrees and reminds fans that Steamboat was thought to have retired in 1994 due to a back injury. Injury or not, Steamboat is in full ring gear as he makes his way toward Sting and Luger, before they all exchange high-fives. The Horsemen, meanwhile, all lose their collective shit in the ring while the babyfaces now sprint to the ring. They all slide in and quickly get to their feet as a wild brawl erupts between the competitors; Luger pairing off with Anderson, Sting pairing off with Pillman, and re-igniting an old feud, Steamboat pairs with Flair. The faces all connect with a flurry of punches and chops to their opponents as the bell rings -
Rating: 74
Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, & Brian Pillman) vs Sting, Lex Luger, & Ricky Steamboat
vs The crowd was completely fired up for this match and some would say it should've been the main event. About the only negative to advertise it as the main event, would have been the replacement of one of the competitors. Despite the time away from the ring, Steamboat really did well and kept up with the competitors in the match, with many saying his performance was just as good as Sting's. Steamboat started of the match once some order was restored following the crazy start. Steamboat got all of his offense in to the delight of the crowd before things quickly slowed down to the Horsemen's pace following a blatant poke to the eye by Ric Flair. From there on, the Horsemen mostly maintained control, making it difficult for Steamboat to make the tag. He, of course was finally able to tag Luger, who quickly cleaned house. Both teams then traded control pretty evenly throughout the duration of the match. The match ended in 24:04 when Ricky Steamboat hit a beautiful flying cross body off the top rope onto Brian Pillman. Sting and Lex Luger took care of preventing Anderson or Flair from running in to break up the pin.
Winners: Ricky Steamboat, Lex Luger, & Sting
Rating: 80
WCW World Heavyweight Title:
The Giant vs Hulk Hogan (c)
vs Despite just ending the previous match, we go straight into the next and final match as Hulk Hogan defends the WCW World Heavyweight title against his biggest challenge yet, The Giant. Hogan initially comes out still wearing a neck brace, but once he climbs in the ring, to the shock of the entire Dungeon of Doom, Hogan rips it off and throws it in the Giant's face. Using the opportunity, Hogan then starts throwing punches and rocking the Giant. After attempting a couple of clotheslines, which fail to bring the Giant down, Hogan tries again only to be completely stopped in his tracks and knocked down hard to the mat. Hogan struggled the rest of the way through the match but the fight eventually went to the outside. Once there, Hogan showed his dirty side, using camera cables, ring steps, guard rails, and even chairs as weapons. Hogan then turned his attention to Kevin Sullivan, who was at ringside, first throwing him into the ring post and then using the chair on Sullivan as well. In a shocking moment, Hogan removed the padding around the ringside area and in a true show of strength, he picked up and body slammed the Giant on the unforgiving concrete! The referee, while being lenient, was getting close to counting both men out. Hogan had rolled back in the ring after the referee counted 8. Sullivan, who was now back up on his own feet, tried to get the Giant up, but he was too heavy. The referee counted to 10 and called for the bell, awarding the win to Hulk Hogan by countout at 15:55, retaining his championship.
Winner by Countout: Hulk Hogan
Rating: 79
- Following the match, as the Taskmaster tries to get the Giant to his feet, Hulk Hogan grabs a microphone. He tells Sullivan that he now gets the Taskmaster one-on-one in a cage on Monday Nitro!!! -
Rating: 99
Final Show Grade: 84
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Hello again everyone, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund and this is the WCW Hotline, here to give you all the latest news and reports! First things first, here are the numbers for this week's Monday wrestling programs for Week 4, October 1995!
WCW Monday Nitro: 2.96
WWF Monday Night Raw: 1.51
Fans, I announced on Monday Nitro that there was a huge signing WCW had made and I can exclusively confirm that WCW has signed to an exclusive contract none other than Scott Steiner. Steiner was on open deals with both ECW and New Japan and I'm told it is a lengthy deal. It is also confirmed that Rick Steiner will also be joining his brother in WCW, though his contract negotiations took about one week longer. Scott Steiner had already made an appearance this weekend on WCW Saturday Night following a title defense by Harlem Heat to let them and everyone else know they plan on coming for the WCW Tag Team Titles. Speaking of Saturday Night, here are the results;
WCW Saturday Night
The Giant/Kevin Sullivan def. The Nasty Boys
Big Bubba Rogers def. Scott Armstrong
WCW Tag Team Titles:
Harlem Heat def. American Males
WCW United States Title:
Sting def. Dean Malenko
The Shark def. Disco Inferno
Eddie Guerrero def. Lord Steven Regal
I suppose this means that Dean Malenko can no longer claim to be undefeated in WCW.
In addition to the matches, we also saw Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom on Saturday Night. They claimed their mission is to end Hulkamania and then add the WCW World Heavyweight Champion to their ranks. After the odd behavior from Hulk Hogan in recent weeks, who knows what will happen.
Folks, I can announce that WCW is also in contract negotiations with two very big names in wrestling. I cannot reveal what their names are at this time, but WCW fans are very familiar with both workers. I can also say that neither worker is currently employed.
The Renegade has suffered a partially ruptured supraspinatus, which is part of the rotator cuff. He will reportedly miss about the next month of action.
Folks, Halloween Havoc is later this weekend, so if you haven't already, make sure to call your local cable provider and order this monumentous Pay Per View!
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WCW Monday Nitro
LIVE from the Cameroon Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina
Attendance: 8,113
Those watching at home are given the usual Monday Nitro intro - Lots of pyro and fireworks and a panoramic view of the packed stadium as Eric Bischoff, along with Mike Tenay and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan welcomes those tuning in. Rather than go to the announce booth though, the sound of horses neighing and a guitar intro causes the fans to remain on their feet but just get louder as three of the 4 Horsemen walk out. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Brian Pillman emerge from the fog with smiles on their faces. Flair has his hands up, giving the 4 fingers for the Horsemen symbol as they make their way toward the ring. Eric Bischoff questions who the 4th member of the Horsemen is, as there's been no news or discussion from the trio. The three are in the ring and Flair pauses a minute to look out at the fans before beginning.
Flair: As I arrived in Durham earlier today, I had all kinds of fans walking up to me and saying "Nature Boy, you're the man!" "Nature Boy, you're an icon of this industry!" "Nature Boy, show Sting, Savage, and Luger who the boss is!!"
Well the fact is, just like here tonight on the campus of Duke University, when we're in Norfolk, VA for Halloween Havoc, it's without a doubt Four Horsemen territory and Nature Boy territory! Now for the last few weeks, I've been begging.....Pleading for Sting to find two partners to take on myself, The Enforcer, and Brian Pillman in a match. What's he go do?!?! He goes and gets the Macho Man Randy Savage and Lex Luger! I've seen Savage the last couple of weeks and after he was attacked by the Giant, I can tell you that he's in no shape to compete! Sure, he may have had a match this last Saturday Night, but he was barely even involved in that match! Savage, I'm going to say right here and now that you aren't going to make it in that match at Halloween Havoc, pal!
As for Luger?!?! Lex has been traveling the road for years now and what have you made of yourself? Nothing but a follower who still hasn't established what you want to be! You're lost! Rather than being the freight train you should be, you're too busy following around your best friend's shadow, too afraid to make it on your own! You couldn't make it as a Horsemen, you couldn't make it as a singles competitor, so you left for a few years!!! You couldn't make it on your own up North, either, so now you're back here trying to do it all over again! Luger, you might look like a million bucks, but pal, you have no business stepping into the same ring as the Horsemen, and tonight, Double A and the Loose Cannon are gonna give you just a small preview of what Halloween Havoc is gonna look like!
WHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Rating: 82
Bunkhouse Buck & Dirty Dick Slater vs The American Males
vs The tag team wars have mainly been playing out on WCW Saturday Night. Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater have been trying to re-establish themselves as the former champions and enacted their rematch clause for Halloween Havoc. The American Males have been claiming the past few weeks to be the #1 contenders, though they've lost several matches along the way. The Males hoped that this match would flip them into the championship match at Halloween Havoc, should they win. It wasn't to be though, as Dick Slater got a pinfall win in 8:19 while Col. Robert Parker (their manager) held onto Slater's legs, cementing their rematch for the belts against Harlem Heat at Halloween Havoc.
Winners: Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater
Rating: 55
Next we're sent to the backstage interview area where Gene Okerlund is standing by. Prior to introducing his guest, Gene tells everyone that he has exclusive news on a huge signing WCW has made recently. If they want to hear ahead of time who this person is, call in to the WCW Hotline to hear all the news! It's 1-900-909-9900. Remember kids, get your parents permission before calling! This is huge news you don't want to miss, as this star could possibly be showing up as soon as next week on Monday Nitro!
Rating: 64
With that out of the way, Gene introduces his guest,
Dean Malenko. He steps into view and Gene gets down to business.
Remember fans, get your parents permission before calling in to the hotline. Joining me now is great technical wrestler, Dean Malenko! There are a ton of people who may not be aware, Mr. Malenko, that you've been on quite a tear as of late. Up until your match this past weekend on Saturday Night, you've been on a winning streak, and since your match against Eddie Guerrero on Saturday Night was a time limit draw, you are still technically undefeated.
Gene, I'm extremely aware of my abilities and what I bring to that ring each time I step through the ropes. The fact is, like you just said, I've been undefeated, I'm still considered undefeated, and I'm yet to get any kind of title opportunity! I've beaten the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger twice, I took Eddie Guerrero to a time draw this past weekend. Now, Eddie Guerrero's a great talent, but he lost a title match against Dallas Page at Fall Brawl, he lost to Chris Benoit, yet he gets another title opportunity at Halloween Havoc? Gene, if there's anyone who should be in that title match against Diamond Dallas Page, it's me. Instead, I'm facing Steven Regal. You know what though? It's fine. Regal is another great talent that WCW has, and after I beat him at Halloween Havoc, I will go on to get a title shot, and I will be the next champion!
Rating: 57
The Zodiac vs Brad Armstrong
vs No one can really be quite sure why Zodiac is being featured in a match on Monday Nitro other than to showcase the talent he is facing, but when that talent is Brad Armstrong, people just submit by throwing their hands in the air without an answer. Logic would say that one of these guys are getting a push and the answer would most likely be who the winner is. Brad Armstrong picked up the pinfall win in 7:01 following a Russian Legsweep. Could that possibly give you your answer?
Winner: Brad Armstrong
Rating: 60
Following the match and after a commercial break, the announcers briefly go over some events this past weekend on Saturday Night, where Gene Okerlund attempted to interview Hulk Hogan "in black", though he refused to answer any questions - quite uncharacteristic of Hulk Hogan when it comes to Mean Gene. After the re-cap, screens fade out and when they fade back in, Hulk Hogan is seen, this time shrouded in a hood and a mask, and he looks to be inside the Dungeon of Doom's lair!
AARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
You know something, brothers?!!?! For the last week, Hulk Hogan has been wondering around the lair of the Dungeon of Doom, seeing what it's all about, trying to find out where they harness their power, and learning, brother.....I've been learning what makes the Dungeon of Doom tick! I've cast aside the red and the yellow for the time being to shroud myself among the darnkess! Indeed, my Hulkamaniacs, it is a true test for the prayers, the vitamins, and the training, but I feel it's a test that is necessary to achieve the goal!! And that goal, my brothers, is the ultimate destruction of the Dungeon of Doom!
In my preparation to go into battle with the Giant at Halloween Havoc, I said I was going to have to do things that are brutal. I've said I would have to do things I wouldn't be proud of, and there's only one way to deal with a giant, there's only one way to deal with a serpent, brother;
And the only way is to cut it's head off!! While true that it will be bloody, while true it will make a mess, it's something that is necessary, my brothers!!! After I take out the Giant at Halloween Havoc, I'm going to go after the head of the serpent, brother, and that's Kevin Sullivan!!! After Kevin Sullivan is finished, taking the rest of the Dungeon of Doom out will be simple, my Hulkamaniacs!!! There will be no direction, no path for them to go, and I'll slowly take one out at a time!!! It will truly be death's end for the Dungeon of Doom, and it all starts at Halloween Havoc, and ends with the Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan!!!
I've felt the power of the darkness coursing through my veins and I can tell you, Hulkamaniacs, that it is electrifying!!!! But not as electrifying as the training, as the prayers, as the vitamins!!! There is no true path outside of the red and yellow, brothers!!! While that is the only true path, Hulkamania is forced to take a slight detour among the darkness in order to fight that very darkness!!! I vow to all of you Hulkamaniacs, that Hulk Hogan will, without a doubt, become victorious at Halloween Havoc!!! Then, and only then, can Hulkamania truly go face to face with the head of the serpent, Kevin Sullivan and take him out, to ensure that Hulkamania will live foreverrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Rating: 97
Brian Pillman/Arn Anderson vs Sting/Lex Luger
vs Quite easily, this was the match of the night as the two prior matches didn't bring much to the table. This just meant that the crowd was really eager for some action. All participants took their time in the ring and were able to tell quite the story. Sting matched up perfectly with both Anderson and Pillman being versatile enough to go into brute brawling with Anderson and then utilize his speed and quickness against Pillman. For those watching, Sting just barely edged out everyone else by being the best performer in the match. The Horsemen were eventually successful in isolating Sting and taking control of the match, keeping him from being able to tag in the Total Package. Sting was able to fight back briefly enough to get the hot tag into Luger, which caused a loud cheer from the fans. Luger proceeded to clean house, but sadly, the match ended in disqualification in 15:18 after Ric Flair ran in and hit Luger with a chair. This allowed the Horsemen to brutally beat down Sting and Luger to close Nitro.
Winners by DQ: Sting/Lex Luger
Rating: 83
Final Show Grade: 86
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Hello and welcome everyone to the WCW Hotline! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund here to give you all of the latest news, rumors, and innuendo in the wrestling world! First, lets get the official viewing numbers for this past Monday Night with Nitro on TNT and RAW on the USA Network:
WCW Monday Nitro: 2.49
WWF Monday Night Raw: 1.53
Nitro was significantly down this week from last week's highest rating, though it was still big enough to once again beat out the WWF. It's clear that the fans are preferring the WCW product.
The WWF held In Your House this weekend. This week's RAW, though taped, will feature some large matchups in a attempt to take away from WCW as they head into Halloween Havoc. Here are the takeaways from In Your House;
Diesel def. Razor Ramon in a cage match in the main event to retain the WWF Championship
Shawn Michaels def. The British Bulldog by DQ to retain the Intercontinental Title
The Undertaker & Bret Hart def. Psycho Sid & The Ultimate Warrior by DQ
Owen Hart & Yokozuna def. The Devil Machines to retain the WWF Tag Team Titles
The 123 Kid def. Tatanka
Ahmed Johnson def. Billy Gunn
Bob Backlund & Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Bart Gunn & Marty Jannetty
Bam Bam Bigelow & The Wild Riders (Savio Vega & Sgt. Slaughter) def. Jeff Jarrett & The Power Connection (Carl Oulette & Glenn Jacobs)
King Kong Bundy def. Duke Droese
Chaparita Asari def. Mariko Yoshida by DQ in a match for the WWF Women's Title
Ron Simmons has defeated Jerry "The King" Lawler during this weekend's USWA pay per view event to become the USWA World Heavyweight Champion. Simmons is a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion and congratulations to him on the accomplishment.
As we inch closer to Halloween Havoc, WCW Saturday Night is getting quite a bit more action. Here are the results from this weekend;
Main Event
Randy Savage/Lex Luger/Sting def. Big Bubba Rogers/V.K. Wallstreet/Scott Norton
Alex Wright def. Sabu
Harlem Heat def. The Nasty Boys to retain the WCW Tag Team Titles
Johnny B. Badd def. Lord Steven Regal
Brian Pillman def. Chris Kanyon
Eddie Guerrero & Dean Malenko went to a time limit draw
Arn Anderson & Ric Flair def. The American Males
I also attempted to interview the WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan, who was still dressed in all black, though he refused to answer anything.
WCW superstar Bryan Clark will now be known as Wrath, so look for him to show up in the coming weeks.
Fans, I have exclusive news to report that WCW has signed a major name to an exclusive WCW contract for multiple years. Due to the possibility that this person could show up this week on Monday Nitro, I'm not at liberty to announce just who this is yet. I can say that this worker is no stranger to WCW and has had a previous very high profile position.
WCW and New Japan Pro Wrestling have signed an agreement where both companies promise to not steal the others workers. They still have a very close relationship where they will trade talent.
Here is the lineup for this week's Monday Nitro as we head into the final week before Halloween Havoc!
Main Event:
Brian Pillman & Arn Anderson vs Lex Luger & Sting
Brad Armstrong vs Zodiac
The American Males vs Bunkhouse Buck & Dirty Dick Slater
In addition, I can give to you exclusively the card for Halloween Havoc!
Main Event:
WCW World Heavyweight Title
The Giant vs Hulk Hogan (c)
3 vs 3
The Horsemen (Ric Flair/Arn Anderson/Brian Pillman) vs Sting/Lex Luger/Macho Man Randy Savage
Big Bubba Rogers vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Brad Armstrong vs Paul Orndorff
WCW Tag Team Titles:
Bunkhouse Buck & Dirty Dick Slater vs Harlem Heat (c)
WCW Television Title:
Eddie Guerrero vs Diamond Dallas Page (c)
Lord Steven Regal vs Dean Malenko
It's going to be a very exciting next couple of weeks, so make sure to tune in!!!
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WCW Monday Nitro
Week 3, October 1995
LIVE from the Hirsh Memorial Coliseum - Shreveport, LA
Attendance: 7,871
WCW kicks off with all of the usual fanfare, lots of fireworks and pyro and panoramic shots of the filled, but not quite sold out, stadium. The crowd in Louisiana is fired up and excited for this week's edition of WCW Monday Nitro. We're sent to the announce booth where Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay are standing by.
Bischoff: Oh my goodness, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to WCW Monday Nitro! Fans, we are now less than 2 weeks away from WCW's Halloween Havoc, and Bobby, what a Halloween it's shaping up to be!
Heenan: Well I can't say that there's going to be too many treats for Halloween this year, Bischoff, but I can tell you that there are already tons of tricks going on, and that's by way of the Dungeon of Doom!
Bischoff: How so, Bobby??
Heenan: Didn't you pay attention last week, Eric? The Giant already made two people disappear and that's Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage!
Bischoff: That's totally disgusting, Bobby! Fans, if you missed it or if you're just living under a rock, last week the Giant brutally attacked the Macho Man Randy Savage and the WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan.
Tenay: Indeed he did, Eric. The Giant attacked both men causing them to be stretchered out in the arena in neck braces. The only hope we have, Eric, is that both men are able to recover quickly, and I'm told that the Macho Man is already back, though he'll be kept out of action for a week or two just to be safe.
Bischoff: It for sure was a vicious assault, Mike. I just hope that the World Champion is going to be ok, as he's not expected to be here tonight. Folks, we also had a lot of action take place over the weekend on WCW Saturday Night. Bobby, it seems the Horsemen are back together.
Heenan: The Horsemen are back together, and they have their sights set straight on the United States Champion, Sting. I definitely wouldn't want to be in his shoes.
Bischoff: Well the Horsemen challenged the Stinger to a match at Halloween Havoc, telling him to find two more partners to make it a 3 vs 3 match, which Sting promptly accepted.
Tenay: It makes me curious, Eric and Bobby, to see what other two partners Sting plans on getting. I wouldn't expect it to be very difficult for the United States champion to find two willing partners, it's just a matter of who it will be. Additionally, I'm also very curious in regards to the 4 Horsemen......There's still no word yet on a 4th member of the 4 Horsemen.
Bischoff: That's a great point, Mike. In addition to all that, Eddie Guerrero wants another shot at Diamond Dallas Page and the Television title, and Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater want their rematch for the tag team titles against Harlem Heat at Halloween Havoc.
Tenay: Right, Eric. Halloween Havoc is already shaping up to be one of WCW's biggest pay per view shows of the year, it definitely is must-see!
Bischoff: Fans, we're going straight to the ring to open up Monday Nitro! That's right, we're not going to spend the majority of the opening segment for some backstage fight between Bret Hart and the Ultimate Warrior and THEN have to sit through a video about the Undertaker and Razor Ramon's rivalry like the WWF does this week! That's ok though, because you didn't really miss much for RAW this week;
123 Kid and the Devil Machines beat Bob Backlund and Men on a Mission - Wow, there's a barn burner...
the Ultimate Warrior beat Big Matty Smalls
Owen Hart and Yokozuna beat Bam Bam Bigelow and Savio Vega to retain the tag belts
and in the main event, probably their only saving grace, The Undertaker and Bret Hart beat Psycho Sid and Razor Ramon.
So fans, over on Raw, it's all taped but right here on TNT and Monday Nitro, we're LIVE! We have no playbacks, no re-do's, we're live all night long, so let's go to the ring!!!
Alex Wright vs Lord Steven Regal
While the opening match was far from a classic, it was a solid opener that got the crowd into it. Regal was leaps and bounds the better performer of the match and used is overexaggerated mannerisms to annoy the Southern crowd. Alex Wright showed great potential but Regal ended the match in 10:25 by submission with a Regal Stretch.
Winner: Lord Steven Regal
Rating: 62
Bryan Clark vs Mr. JL
Nitro goes straight to the next matchup, Bryan Clark vs Mr. JL. This was definitely not a mat and high-flying based match like the opener, though Mr. JL tried. Whatever high-risk move JL attempted, it was quickly thwarted by Clark, who manhandled the smaller wrestler with ease. Clark ended the match at 7:13 with a pinfall after hitting the Meltdown - an impressive finisher that got the crowd to their feet.
Winner: Bryan Clark
Rating: 43
Following a quick commercial break, we return to Nitro and Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by inside the ring. He introduces Eddie Guerrero and the Television Champion Diamond Dallas Page to the ring, respectively. Inside after giving a brief rundown of the feud between the two, mainly for the TV title, Gene stands in as the moderator.
Mean Gene: Gentlemen, in less than two weeks time, you will go up against one another and whoever comes out victorious, will be crowned the WCW Television Champion. Eddie Guerrero, you've been on quite a tear lately through the ranks of World Championship Wrestling, but you came up just short of winning that very title at last month's Fall Brawl Pay Per View. How do you see this playing out differently at Halloween Havoc??
Eddie: Well Gene, you see, I did lose that match at Fall Brawl, but it wasn't because Diamond Dallas Page was the better wrestler! I lost because Diamond Dallas Page cheated to win! It will be different this time Gene because I've been studying every match he has, I know all his moves, I can predict what he's going to do, and I'm much, much faster, Gene. I can promise you that at Halloween Havoc, I'm going to be leaving with that title belt around my waist!!
Gene: Very confident words from the challenger, but you, Diamond Dallas Page, are the champion, and I would say you have your own version of how Halloween Havoc will play out!
DDP: That's right, Gene-o! It ain't about how you win, it's whether or not you win!!! So Eddie can cry and complain all he wants about how I won that match but either way it goes into the record books as a loss for him, and a win for ME! It's sad sad news for Eddie Guerrero and the rest of the locker room, but DDP is gonna stay the TV champion for a long, long time!
See, that's the difference between us, DDP. You talk and talk, but I let my actions speak in the ring! So I guess we're going to find out at Halloween Havoc!
Rating: 65
- DDP taunts Guerrero as Gene brings the segment to a close. After all the men clear the ring, we're treated to our next match of the night -
WCW Tag Team Championship:
Chris Kanyon & The Renegade vs Harlem Heat (c)
This was little more than straight up domination by the WCW Tag Team Champions. While the crowd knew who the Renegade was, they really didn't know much of anything about who his partner named Chris Kanyon is. Perhaps we'll see this guy more later on in WCW, perhaps not. Regardless, after having enough of toying around, Booker T got the pinfall win in 7:26 after hitting an impressive Harlem Hangover.
Winners: Harlem Heat
- Following the match, screens fade to a backstage segment where they are shocked to see not only Hulk Hogan in a neck brace, but also Hulk Hogan in something other than the classic red and yellow combination -
Hulk Hogan: Jimmy Hart, brother!!! Just one week ago today, that rotten, no good, stinky dude known as the Giant tried to end it all, brother! He tried to single handedly not only put an end to Hulk Hogan, brother, but he tried to end Hulkamania as we all know it! But what the Giant and Kevin Sullivan, and the rest of the Dungeon of Doom fail to realize, brother, is that Hulkamania is an unstoppable force that can never be ended!!! So many have tried, my man, to put an end to it and you'll be joining the long line of those who have tried! But ya know something, Jimmy Hart?!?!? In this past week I've realized something. When I was laid up in the hospital and the doctors thought I might never walk again, brother, I reached down deep into the soul of Hulkamania and I got right up out of that bed and I shocked them, brother!!! I realized something in my path out that hospital room door and out on the street, brother! I realized that Hulkamania itself may just not be enough to put away the Dungeon of Doom! I realized that I'm going to have to dive deep into the darkness and pull something out that I didn't even know was there, dude! That's what this black represents! The red and yellow are sacred and pure colors, man! When I'm wearing those colors, I'm not going to be able to participate in the activity that I'm going to have to need to take on the Giant and the Dungeon of Doom! As soon as I put on the black, I could feel a different sense of power than what the red and yellow provides me. I could feel myself already beginning to go deep where I know I need to go!! As soon as I felt that, brother, I knew that there's no turning back, that I'm going to have to do things I may not be proud of, but just that it's the way of life, brother! So Giant, I'm not running from you, dude!!! As a matter of fact, I'm offering up myself to you at Halloween Havoc, brother!!! So what ya gonna do, Giant, when the darkness surrounding Hulkamania takes no pity on you?!?!?!?
Rating: 97
Johnny B. Badd & Disco Inferno vs Kevin Sullivan & The Giant
The Main event of this week's Monday Nitro wasn't too spectacular and mostly consisted of The Giant completely manhandling Johnny B Badd and the Disco Inferno. Kevin Sullivan had a few shots in here and there but it was mostly centered around the Giant's domination. The Giant threatened to snap both necks of Badd and Disco, however, the Taskmaster called him off. Instead, the Giant hit a double chokeslam on both Badd and the Inferno before stacking their bodies for a pinfall victory at 9:32.
Winners: Kevin Sullivan and The Giant
Rating: 55
- Thankfully for the crowd in attendance as well as those watching at home, cameras cut to the announce booth as the announcers begin to wrap up the show. The lackluster main event wasn't the last thing before sending the crowd home and the arena becomes extremely lively as the unmistaken theme of "The Man Called Sting" plays and belts out a cowbell. The Stinger comes out full of energy which again reignites the crowd. He climbs in the ring and perches on the middle ropes before yelling out to the crowd who all happily yell back. The music fades out and the Stinger has something to say -
What a night it's been on Monday Nitro!!!! Not only that, but what a month it's been for the Stinger!! First I have some weird group known as the Dungeon of Doom I have to deal with and just when I finally think that's over, I have the Nature Boy Ric Flair out here the past couple of weeks saying my name! Now there's never been any love lost between the Stinger and the Nature Boy, but things just kinda topped off this past weekend on Saturday Night!
So this past Saturday Night, the Nature Boy Ric Flair, the Enforcer Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman challenge the Stinger to a match at Halloween Havoc! Well the Stinger's never backed down from a fight or a challenge and this time's no exception! As a matter of fact ----
- Sting doesn't get to finish that thought before some other music begins to play in the arena. All the fans recognize the music immediately as it's one of the most iconic themes in all of wrestling, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The trumpets just start to crescendo as Ric Flair walks out in an expensive looking suit, flanked by none other than Double A Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman. Rather than stop at the top of the ramp, the trio make their way, very confident, up to the ring and climb inside. Sting maintains his position in the ring, not backing up an inch and still keeping a very close eye on where Anderson and Pillman go while Flair squares up to him. -
Flair: Well, well, well....Everyone knows there couldn't be a Monday Nitro in Louisiana without the Nature Boy and everyone knows you don't utter the words of the three men standing in front of you now without getting some kind of rebuttal! Sting, you and I go way back, almost too far back! For some reason or another, we've just never been able to get along. This isn't about who's better than who, this isn't about the title, this isn't about money, hell, I've got enough money for three lifetimes, pal! At this point in both of our careers, it's just about me putting you in your place! In case you haven't realized, Stinger, the 4 Horsemen are back and we're not taking a backseat to anyone! And since the Horsemen are now back we figured we might as well go after the biggest target, and that's you, first!
On Saturday Night, we told you to get two partners for Halloween Havoc. Yet here you are Sting, standing in the middle of this ring and you're all by yourself! What's the matter?!?!? You couldn't find anyone who wanted to go up against the Horsemen, or you just have run out of friends?!? You've got Hulk Hogan running scared from the Dungeon of Doom, so who could you possibly get to help you out?!? Nobody! The answer's nobody!!! So rather than wait for Halloween Havoc, how about the Horsemen just take you out right here and now so then we can move on to better things?!?
- Things are starting to look very dicey for the United States Champion. Sting takes a half step back in preparation for the incoming assault - not something he hasn't had to deal with before from the Horsemen - until a loud scream comes from the crowd. Cameras don't pan out to catch what it is as it stays fixed on the ring, but those at home don't have to wait long before they find out why.
Randy Savage and Lex Luger slide into the ring, catching the attention of the Horsemen which causes them to waste little time ducking out of the ring. The Macho Man and Luger join the side of Sting as they all now motion for Flair, Anderson, and Pillman to join them once more in the ring now that the odds are even. They refuse their request, naturally, as they back their way up the aisle -
Somewhere I think the Horsemen got lost because last I heard it's FOUR horsemen, but I only see THREE of you!! Not to worry though because I'm sure you can count better than that and see I have two other partners now, so the 3 vs 3 match at Halloween Havoc, IS ON!!!
- The crowd roars at the announcement from Sting. As Flair's backing up with his two partners, Flair tells the camera not to worry about their 4th Horsemen, as he'll show up in due time. Flair also tells the camera that Sting's his at Halloween Havoc as Nitro rolls their credits and comes to a close. -
Rating: 82
Final Show Grade: 68
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Hello everyone, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund, and welcome to the WCW Hotline! Let me get right down to it with this week's TV ratings for Monday Nitro on TNT and Monday Night Raw on the USA Network;
WCW Monday Nitro: 3.01
WWF Monday Night Raw: 1.53
Nitro continues to increase in the ratings!
I have it on good authority that Jerry Lawler has left the World Wrestling Federation. His contract, I'm told, was not exclusive and he decided to leave.
There was a bit of drama this week for World Championship Wrestling. This past Monday on Nitro, current Television Champion Diamond Dallas Page showed up extremely intoxicated. It was reported that he received a significant fine as a result, as WCW was initially planning on using DDP for the show.
To make matters worse, John Tenta, also known as The Shark, showed up to this week's TV tapings also heavily intoxicated. I am told that because this is extremely out of character for Tena, he was given a very strong warning to not let it happen again.
Here is the results from this week's WCW Saturday Night broadcast;
The Giant def. Jim Duggan
The Nasty Boys def. American Males
Bryan Clark def. The Shark
Brad Armstrong def. Sabu
Eddie Guerrero def. Earl Robert Eaton
Dean Malenko def. Alex Wright
Sting def. Lord Steven Regal to retain the US title
Other happenings at Saturday Night;
The American Males continue their woes as claiming to be #1 contenders to the Tag Team titles as they lost yet again, this time to the Nasty Boys.
Eddie Guerrero challenged DDP to a TV title match at Halloween Havoc
Bunkhouse Buck and Dirty Dick Slater are invoking their rematch clause for the Tag Team Titles against Harlem Heat at Halloween Havoc
Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Brian Pillman have officially joined forces and have challenged Sting to find two more partners for a 3 vs 3 match at Halloween Havoc. Sting has indeed stated that he will find two other partners.
Here is the card for the next Monday Nitro - Week 3, October 1995:
Main Event:
The Giant & The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan vs Johnny B. Badd & Disco Inferno
WCW Tag Team Titles:
Chris Kanyon & The Renegade vs Harlem Heat (c)
Bryan Clark vs Mr. JL
Alex Wright vs Lord Steven Regal
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WCW Monday Nitro
LIVE from the Macon Coliseum in Macon, GA
Attendance: 7,900
Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone to this week's Monday Nitro broadcast. The usual firework display and panned shots of the arena preclude taking the fans watching at home to the announce booth. Bischoff and Co. are all excited for this week's Monday Nitro as they run down the night, though it's short with only two matches, they say it's sure to create chaos tonight as WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan defends his title in a cage match against The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan. A quick shot of the steel cage hanging high above the ring is shown while they hype up the main event. They briefly discuss how the American Males claim to be the #1 contenders to the WCW Tag Team titles but a loss this past Saturday Night to the Blue Bloods might complicate matters. They're cut off though when a guitar riff screeches through the speakers which brings the crowd on their feet. "Pomp and Circumstance" then is heard that generates a loud cheer from the crowd. The Macho Man comes walking out as Bischoff wonders what brings out the Macho Man. They remind fans last week that Savage came up short against the Giant, but gave a noble effort in standing up to the Dungeon of Doom.
Savage gets halfway down the aisle before two men are seen running out of the stage area. It doesn't take long before fans recognize the two as The Taskmaster and The Giant. They catch up to Savage and Sullivan floors the Macho Man, hitting a nasty clothesline to the back of his neck. Sullivan begins putting in the boots to the downed Macho Man as the Giant catches up and begins his own assault. Sullivan tells Giant to put Savage in the ring and after picking him up like he weighs nothing, Giant carries Savage the rest of the way to the ring. Giant presses Savage over his head and tosses him into the ring - over the top rope from the floor, to the amazement of the announce team. The Taskmaster and Giant climb in and stalk Savage, who's rolling on the mat and giving his best effort to get to his feet. It's no hope though as Giant leans down and grasps the Macho Man by his two giant paws. He holds Savage up by both hands around his neck as Sullivan and Giant both berate him repeatedly with insults and taunts. Savage is then hoisted high into the air by Giant with one arm and is crashed down hard to the mat with a chokeslam. The announcers speculate that the Giant and Sullivan look to finish the job from last week as the Taskmaster tells the Giant to hit Savage again with another chokeslam. The Giant gladly accepts with a sinister smile on his face and picks Savage up again, who by now is totally lifeless. The Giant again picks Savage up high in the air and drops down with another ring-shaking chokeslam. The duo don't appear to be finished yet though as Sullivan tells Giant it's time to completely finish the Macho Man. Sullivan motions for the Giant to snap his neck. The Giant leans down and again grabs Savage with both hands, this time with them on either side of his head. In one disgusting twist, the Giant does it - he snaps the neck of the Macho Man Randy Savage!!!
The announce team are beside themselves in disgust. They can no longer describe what is going on in the ring. Mike Tenay verbally protests and gets up and leaves the announce position. Bobby Heenan for once is nearly speechless. Eric Bischoff cries out that the Macho Man needs immediate medical attention. Kevin Sullivan and the Giant look extremely proud of their work as they stalk toward the nearest camera and Sullivan states that this is just the beginning. A closeup is then given on Savage who is lifeless with blood now beginning to trickle out of his mouth and down his chin. WCW is forced to break to commercial as it fades with the Macho Man's image.
Rating: 97
Nitro returns from break and the focus is on the backstage area for a brief moment. Randy Savage is shown being loaded up into an ambulance, surrounded by officials and medical personnel. Cameras then switch back out to the arena where Eric Bischoff welcomes us all back, giving a short rundown of what just happened prior to break - no pun intended. Tenay is still missing from his spot and it just remains Heenan and Bischoff. Bischoff tells everyone that they all need to attempt to switch gears as we head for our first match as Brian Pillman takes on United States Champion Sting.
vs Brian Pillman Sting
- The crowd were definitely ready for this matchup, even if it was a non-title bout. The energy that both Brian Pillman and Sting brought to the crowd was much needed following the emotional opener that Nitro had. Pillman spent a significant amount of time taunting and toying with the Stinger. Just when it seemed like they would finally tie up, Pillman retreated out to the floor. After bailing outside one too many times though, the Stinger's quickness allowed him to catch up with the loose cannon and it was on from there. When it looked like Sting was finally going to put Pillman away after a pair of Stinger Splashes, the Nature Boy Ric Flair made a quick appearance, attacking Sting from behind. The end result was a DQ win by the Stinger in 12:20. -
Winner by Disqualification: Sting
Rating: 76
Following the match, Pillman and Flair remain outside the ring as they yell at Sting, who's remaining inside. Sting walks to the ropes and yells for Flair to come in the ring and attack him from the front. Flair and Pillman embrace as they back up the aisle and toward the entrance, yelling at Sting the entire way. After ignoring his offer, Sting grabs a microphone and tells the crowd that he wants the Nature Boy inside the ring tonight! The crowd loudly agree with the Stinger who motions for them to get more fired up. Flair and Pillman continue to head backward toward the stage as Flair tells the camera that tonight isn't Sting's night and he's going to have to wait to get his hands on the Nature Boy.
Rating: 90
Once things settled down at ringside, the lights inside the arena dim and spotlights focus on the steel cage that's suspended high above the ring. The cage begins to descend as Bischoff tells fans at home that Nitro is going to take a quick commercial break and not to change the channel, because when Nitro returns, we're going to see the WCW World Heavyweight Title defended in a steel cage!
WCW World Heavyweight Title:
Steel Cage
Kevin Sullivan vs. Hulk Hogan (c)
- Nitro returns from break and the cage is lowered and the music for the Dungeon of Doom hits. Out walks the Taskmaster - alone. The Hulkster comes out next to some fan fare and he makes his way out, shaking the cage before climbing in to further intimidate Kevin Sullivan. The match was a typical Hulk Hogan cage match, though maybe a bit more physical than usual. Hogan went at Sullivan hard and to no one's surprise, the Taskmaster got little offense in. There was a brief period of offensive flurry from Sullivan, but it was mostly all Hogan. As the World Champion was preparing a leg drop, the Giant made his way out to ringside. This was effective at getting Hogan's attention as the Giant stood, wide eyed, on the floor and looking like he wanted a piece of Hogan. Inside the ring, Hogan yelled and motioned for the Giant to come in and join. This allowed Sullivan to get to his feet and come from behind toward the Hulkster, but Hogan was ready for the distraction. He turned and dodged a Sullivan attack, firing off fists to rock the Taskmaster. A Big Boot and Leg Drop later, Hogan scored the pinfall victory in 12:41, successfully defending his title. -
Winner: Hulk Hogan
Rating: 80
After the match, the Giant continues to stand outside the cage door. Hogan still motions for him to come in after briefly celebrating his win. Hogan is paying no attention to Kevin Sullivan, who is now beginning to make his way to his feet. The Giant grabs the locked cage door and shakes it, trying to break it off its hinges. As Hogan's focused on the Giant, Sullivan hits Hogan with a low blow from behind. Hogan crumples to the mat just as the Giant shocks everyone in the arena and tears the cage door off! Sullivan has a sickening grin on his face as the Giant makes his way into the ring. Bobby Heenan comments that this entire thing was an elaborate set-up by the Dungeon of Doom, just to get their hands on Hogan. The Giant grabs Hogan and brings him to his feet before grasping his huge hand around Hogan's neck. The Giant delivers a chokeslam to the World Champion that results in Hogan convulsing on the mat. The cage is now slowly beginning to rise as Sullivan directs traffic in the ring. Sullivan yells to finish Hogan and Hulkamania off for good. The announcers can sense what's coming next as Bischoff yells for someone - anyone - to come out to help the Hulkster. The Giant locks his hands around Hogan's head and with a quick twist, snaps Hogan's neck just as he did Randy Savage earlier in the night. Bischoff yells "NO!" repeatedly into the microphone and screams for someone to come help, but the damage is already done. Sullivan, not finished with the annihilation of Hulkamania, yells for the Giant to do it again. With a smile and nod of his head, the Giant again grasps Hogan and gives another sickening twist. Hogan convulses again as Sullivan now has a bag and is grabbing something out of it. Everyone wonders what Sullivan is now getting but the answer is given when his hand comes out, and in his hand is ----electric clippers???
Sullivan proceeds to shave off the iconic mustache of Hulk Hogan, much to the horror of the crowd watching. With Hogan unconscious, he is unable to resist and stave off this dastardly attack. After an underwhelming barber job - Sullivan should have employed the services of a familiar barber in his ranks - Hogan's mustache had sufficiently been removed, though there are some remnants still behind. WCW officials finally begin to flood the ring and separate the two members of the Dungeon of Doom and Hulk Hogan. Bischoff screams what will happen to Hulk Hogan now and how will this impact Nitro next week as Monday Nitro fades to a close.
Rating: 87
Final Show Grade: 87
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Hello everyone and thank you for tuning into the WCW Hotline, where all of the top news and rumors of the wrestling world can be found!!!
Apologies for this past week and not giving the Monday Nitro card as I was sworn to secrecy over the unannounced main event with the Giant taking on the Macho Man Randy Savage.
As I revealed the immediate release of Road Warrior Hawk from his WCW contract a couple of week ago, I can add some additional information. I have it confirmed from very senior officials within World Championship Wrestling that the release was due to Hawk showing up to a taping extremely high on some kind of narcotic. I was told when it was discovered, Hawk was fired on the spot and escorted out of the arena.
WCW's Fall Brawl is viewed as a major success, scoring a 6.10 rating world wide.
Here's the ratings for Monday Night this week in Week 1, October 1995:
WCW Monday Nitro on TNT: 3.00
WWF Monday Night Raw on USA: 1.47
This is to-date, WCW's highest rating for Monday Nitro. Eric Bischoff is said to be clearly pleased.
On the injury front, following WCW's Fall Brawl, Steve Armstrong suffered a partial Achilles tendon rupture and will be out of action for approximately 45 days. Officials are not concerned with this injury as Armstrong is not a key member of the roster.
Despite being featured in the Main Event of Fall Brawl and War Games, and being a prominent member of the Dungeon of Doom, I can report exclusively to you that the Ugandan Giant, Kamala, has left WCW due to his contract expiring. WCW officials were concerned with Kamala's physical capabilities in the ring and did not want to spend the money on another contract. As it was, Kamala had to be severely limited in the War Games match due to his (lack of) ability to keep up.
The unexpected appearance of Jushin Thunder Liger was also a one-off, as he was on a short loan from New Japan Pro Wrestling. WCW and New Japan have a working relationship to trade talent, so don't be surprised to see other wrestlers show up from time to time.
I've been told that the WWF and Smoky Mountain Wrestling have made a deal where the WWF will send SMW developmental workers.
It can also now be reported that WCW wrestler Chris Benoit has left WCW after signing an exclusive contract with All Japan Pro Wrestling. Benoit reportedly signed the contract last month in September, but officials in both WCW and AJPW agreed to keep it quiet. AJPW is the rival of NJPW and they see this as a major pickup. While WCW saw value in Benoit's talent, I'm told that their opinion was that Benoit would benefit from a change of scenery and starting a fresh life over in Japan, where he is expected to stay for a very long time.
WCW and Turner executives are extremely happy with the success of Monday Nitro. They do see that there is quite a bit of restriction with the 1-hour broadcast, however, there are currently no plans to extend the show. They feel that they want to give Nitro a chance to build up and gain consistent momentum before attempting to extend the time. There are, however, definite plans in the future to extend the shows length if the success continues. Saturday Night remains an important piece of showcasing WCW talent and is a 2-hour broadcast. The feeling right now is that there is only room for one 2 hour show during the week.
Speaking of Saturday Night, there was a ton of action that took place this week!
Sting found himself being taunted backstage by Brian Pillman. It's not really known what his goal was during this encounter.
The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan made light of the destruction of the Macho Man Randy Savage this week on Monday Nitro by way of the Giant. Sullivan vowed that Hulk Hogan is next.
Later in the evening, Hulk Hogan stated that he gets Kevin Sullivan one-on-one in a cage match this coming week on Monday Nitro!
Here is a rundown of the matches on Saturday Night this week:
Main Event:
The Blue Bloods (Regal & Eaton) def. The American Males
Lex Luger def. Sgt. Craig Pittman
Eddie Guerrero def. Chris Benoit
Brad Armstrong def. V.K. Wallstreet
Johnny B. Badd def. Scott Norton
Big Bubba Rogers def. Disco Inferno
Arn Anderson def. Alex Wright
As for Monday Nitro this week, there are only two confirmed matches, but you can guarantee the night will be full of action!
WCW Monday Nitro:
Main Event Cage Match:
WCW World Heavyweight Title
The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan vs. Hulk Hogan (c)
Non- Title:
Brian Pillman vs. Sting
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Week 1, October 1995
LIVE from the Tucson Convention Center - Tucson, AZ
Attendance: 7,977
- The crowd is lively tonight in Tucson and the fans are excited for what's in store following last nights Fall Brawl PPV. After making the long trek from North Carolina just 24 hours before, WCW looks to continue their momentum now that we're in the month of October. After the typical Nitro introduction of panoramic crowd shots and a huge pyro display, we're taken straight to the announce position where Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome us all for joining in. Bischoff gives a rundown of Fall Brawl and War Games while still pictures are shown on camera -
Eric Bischoff: Ladies and gentlemen, we're fresh off the heels of WCW's Fall Brawl, and Bobby, I can't believe what kind of night it was!
Bobby: Eric, last night will go down as one of the most brutal War Games matches in WCW's history. On top of that, we have new tag team champions in the way of Harlem Heat, and you can bet it won't take long before they have all kinds of teams coming after them and those titles!
Bischoff: Indeed that's got to be true, Brain. Mike Tenay, what's your take on Fall Brawl and War Games??
Tenay: Eric, Bobby, last night was certainly an exciting time to be a wrestling fan. We saw Diamond Dallas Page successfully defend his Television title against Eddie Guerrero, a new #1 contender to the TV title by way of Brian Pillman, as you already said Bobby, new tag team champions, and then to top it all off, in War Games; We had the Hulkamaniacs come out victorious as they battled the Dungeon of Doom. It certainly was a war between both teams, but if you had to ask me, I'd say this was a battle won by the Hulkamaniacs, but it seems the war itself is far from over.
Bischoff: It was a wild night, for sure, and Mike, I think you're right. It seems like last night was just a small battle that was fought but the war elsewhere seems to still be waging on. Wait a minute ---
- A guitar riff can be heard as it plays through the arena speakers and the crowd get on their feet. Pomp and Circumstance belts from the speakers and the lights at the stage flash a multitude of colors. The crowd cheers loudly again as the Macho Man Randy Savage walks out. He plays up to the crowd a bit before heading straight to the ring. Eric Bischoff and Co. speculate on what exactly the Macho Man has in store, but none of us has to wait very long before he climbs in, taunts the crowd, and grabs a microphone from David Penzer -
OHHH YEAAAHHHH!!!!! Last night, the Hulkamaniacs went to battle with the Dungeon of Doom and came out victorious - YEAH!
But there's one--------Giant---Omission.....And that's THE GIANT!!!
See, I'm gonna cut right to the chase! I've never backed down from a fight in my entire life, NOPE! And tonight isn't about to be any different!! So tonight, the Macho Man's calling out the Giant for a fight!! He may have ducked us all last night, but he's eventually gonna have to pay, and it starts right here TONIGHT against the Macho Man!!!
- Macho paces around the ring as the Dungeon of Doom's music plays. Out strolls The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan, but he's all alone. The rest of the Dungeon isn't with him right now. Sullivan is sporting some visible results of last nights battle as a bandage is on his forehead. Sullivan has a sinister look on his face as he laughs into the microphone as Savage is now all focused at the stage -
Randy Macho Man Savage....Just when I thought you took a big enough beating at the hands of the Dungeon of Doom last night, now you come out here tonight and basically wish death and destruction upon yourself, is that right??? Well Mr. Savage, I can assure you that the Giant is not afraid of anything such as yourself. You see, you're nothing but a gnat to the Giant; flying around and being nothing but a nuisance as he casually swats you away. Well, Mr. Savage, what happens to the gnat eventually?? It ends up as a black smear on the palm of the Giant! You don't get it, Savage. Last night at War Games, we spared you....We spared you from further pain and agony. Well, don't look to any more good will from the Dungeon of Doom, Savage....Because you've used up all of our good will! Tonight, you will go straight into the Dungeon to fight the monster, and I can assure you, you will not come out in one piece....Your challenge against the Giant is officially accepted.
Rating: 82
Hugh Morrus VS. Brad Armstrong
After collectively losing their minds over the accepted challenge and impromptu main event for tonight, the announce team let the fans know what the first matchup of the night is; Hugh Morrus taking on Brad Armstrong. After discussing the fallout from Fall Brawl and the opening segment, this match came off as a little flat not only to the fans watching at home, but also in the arena. Both men were actually pretty evenly matched and Brad Armstrong actually picked up the surprising win in 6:03 with a pinfall victory following a Russian Leg Sweep.
Winner: Brad Armstrong
Rating: 48
Dean Malenko vs Jushin Thunder Liger
vs The appearance of Jushin Liger was unexpected to the crowd in the arena and they gave him a pretty positive reaction. As he made his entrance, this allowed Mike Tenay to discuss a recent working relationship between WCW and NJPW. Tenay also says that Gene Okerlund will have more detail regarding that exclusively on his WCW Hotline. Dean Malenko makes his way out next and the announcers discuss Malenko and his desire to attain some WCW gold. This was a good, high-flying, fast-paced match that got the crowd warmer following the opening bout. The ending of the match came at 14:52 when Malenko countered a spring board attack from Liger with a powerbomb and then locking in the Texas Cloverleaf for the submission victory.
Winner: Dean Malenko
Rating: 63
- Following the match we're sent backstage where a pre-taped segment is shown with the American Males. They hype themselves up as one of the top teams in WCW and state their victory last night over the Nasty Boys prove it. In addition, they also claim to be the #1 contenders to Harlem Heat and the WCW Tag Team titles. No one is really quite sure what makes them #1 contenders, but it's a unchallenged promo by the American Males. They claim that they have the utmost respect for Harlem Heat, but they are coming after them and the belts -
Rating: 47
Straight from the American Males and after a short commercial break, we're sent to the backstage area again where Randy Savage is seen preparing for his match. Hulk Hogan is also in the room with Savage, desperately trying to talk some sense into the Madness.
Brother, you've got nothing to prove and you don't need to do this tonight!
Macho!?
C'mon brother, you have no idea what you're doing!!! This is suicide, brother! You can't go out there and take on the Giant! Macho, please!!! Listen to me!!
Savage basically isn't even hearing Hogan's pleas. He clearly is in the zone and focused as he continues his warm-ups. Finally, he stops after a few moments and looks at Hogan square in the eye
Tonight, the Giant is gonna find out what the Madness is all about.....
DIG IT!!!
Savage storms out of his dressing room and a frustrated Hogan stays for just a brief second before following Savage out. Hogan can be heard off camera yelling for Savage and pleading again for him not to participate in the match.
Rating: 99
Main Event:
The Giant vs Randy Savage
Savage makes his entrance first followed by the Giant, who is joined by Kevin Sullivan. The Giant stalks his way to the ring as the arena is lighted with an ominous green glow. Savage paces around the ring, waiting for the Giant to enter. After some taunting by both men, the Giant finally steps onto the apron and climbs over the top rope. The Macho Man immediately goes into attack mode, using his quickness to his advantage. The comparison of a gnat being swatted at earlier from Kevin Sullivan can definitely be seen in this situation as Savage rushes in with an attack and then quickly runs back off. Savage at one point grabs a steel chair from the outside and tries to use it in the ring, only to be stopped by the referee. This was a costly mistake as the Giant used the opportunity to attack. Aside from a few brief attempts, the Macho Man didn't get much other offense in as the wounds from the previous nights War Games were apparent, as well as the drastic size difference in this matchup. Savage fought valiantly, however, and never backed down. Even when the Macho Man could barely stand on his own and was being toyed with by the Giant, Savage still attempted and took some swings, though they didn't connect. The match went surprisingly long and kept the crowd's interest and it all came to an end in 16:03 when the Giant hit not one, not two, but 3 chokeslams. On the final one, the Giant held a limp Savage high in the air as the Taskmaster gave the order from the outside for final destruction of the Macho Man. The Giant covered the Macho Man with a single boot as the referee counted the three, and the announce team questioned where the rest of the Hulkamaniacs were. Nitro faded out to black as it focused on the beaten and unconscious Macho Man.
Winner: The Giant
Rating: 85
Overall Show Grade: 87
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WCW Presents:
Fall Brawl
Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC
Attendance: 30,000 (Sellout!)
Cameras pan the jam-packed sold out Greensboro Coliseum to open up the September WCW Pay Per View known as Fall Brawl. The camera shot is then shown from an extended view of the arena, with the iconic image of the double ring in the center of it all. The crowd is a typical Southern crowd, exited and loud, for a highly anticipated night. Cameras then cut to the announce table where Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay are. Bischoff welcomes everyone tuning into the show and says they're going straight to the first matchup of the night.
VS. Mr. JL vs Dean Malenko is the opening bout for Fall Brawl. Both men maintained a fast pace throughout the match that served to heighten the fans interest but not burn them out already. A highlight of the match saw Mr. JL leap from one ring to the other for a cross-body, starting off what's sure to be a night full of wrestlers utilizing both rings to highlight their offense. Equally impressive was that the competitors were given quite a bit of time to get the crowd into it, and allowing plenty of time to showcase their technical skills. Dean Malenko picked up the win via submission after locking in the Texas Cloverleaf in 15:41.
Winner: Dean Malenko
Rating: 62
VS. Without missing a beat, the next match goes on straight after a quick promotional break, mostly to get things reset after the first bout. In quite the contrast to the first match of the night, there was no technical skill being displayed back and forth by these two teams. While the American Males definitely showed their athletic ability, it was derailed at every chance by the brawlers known as the Nasty Boys. The American Males showed off great team skills, at one point hitting an impressive double dropkick on Brian Knobbs. The commentary team mentioned that the Males had been working on resetting themselves in recent weeks in order to get back into the tag team title picture (mostly through Saturday Night), and it seems to be paying off as the American Males picked up an unexpected win in 7:34 after Scotty Riggs pinned Jerry Sags following an Ameri-Plex.
Winners: American Males
Rating: 47
Next we're treated to the first backstage segment of the night as Tony Schiavone is standing by. Tony gives a brief rundown of the next match; a Television Title opportunity as Diamond Dallas Page defends his title against Eddie Guerrero. Tony mentions how DDP has proven to be a defending champion, not backing down from any challenge. Eddie Guerrero has been having some issues in recent weeks establishing his record, but looks to rebound here tonight by winning the TV title for the first time. Tension between the two boiled over this past Saturday Night when the two men had a brawl in the backstage area. We won't have to wonder who will win the matchup any longer though, because that match is right now!
Rating: 62
WCW Television Title:
VS. w/This match is probably the first match on the card that the crowd was really looking forward to. Eddie Guerrero showed off his skills as best he could, and DDP proved that he wasn't far behind. The pace of the match continued to be fast and just as the first match, both men utilized both rings. DDP tried to avoid Guerrero multiple times throughout the match, seeking refuge in the unused ring and begging for a "timeout." It wasn't to be had though as the action just shifted into the unused ring as Eddie continued his assault. The finish saw Eddie hitting a superplex on DDP, only for DDP to roll through and go for a pin. After putting his feet on the ropes for extra leverage, DDP got the pinfall victory at 9:31 to retain his title by the skin of his teeth.
Winner: Diamond Dallas Page (retains title)
Rating: 61
Following the title defense, WCW presents a short video package hyping the main event, and War Games, where the Dungeon of Doom will take on the Hulkamaniacs. The video package highlights actions from both teams in the last few weeks, mainly focusing on the unexpected return of Lex Luger and Hulk Hogan questioning if he and his team can trust Luger. The video has Sting voicing in the background from various promos how he vouches for Lex and how the team can trust Lex. On the other end, Kevin Sullivan's voice can be heard as the video shows various Hogan matches and promos. Sullivan says how there's more to Hogan than meets the eye and he's going to be the one to expose the true Hulk Hogan.
Rating: 76
#1 Contender's Match for TV Title:
VS. While there wasn't much hype for this match on Monday Nitro, the announcers talk about how this match has been leading up to this night, mostly taking place on WCW Saturday Night. Various highlight packages are shown just prior to the match, They also discuss how Ric Flair was suspiciously shown this past Saturday Night having a secret meeting with Pillman. It can only be speculated what the two were discussing, but Pillman shoved the camera out of the room as soon as he discovered the interruption. Both men used their high-flying ability to their advantage, however, Brian Pillman's performance stood out, by far, as the better of the two. Pillman also had one of the best performances of the night, some had suggested. This match was also only second to the main event as far as length went, giving both competitors a very long time in the ring, though both were able to finish the match just fine. Brian Pillman picked up the pinfall victory in 19:01 after hitting an Air Pillman, and becoming the #1 contender to DDP's Television title.
Winner: Brian Pillman
Rating: 60
VS. The next match immediately followed as WCW is clearly more match-focused for PPV's rather than Monday Nitro's mix of promotional time and matches. This match was not a long one though, as it seemed the crowd needed a "cool down" opportunity following the long matchup from the prior competitors. There never was much in the way of competition as the veteran Paul Orndorff picked up the win in 3:45 following his patented piledriver.
Winner: Paul Orndorff
Rating: 54
WCW Tag Team Championship:
w/VS. The crowd were hyped for this matchup as the tag champions Bunkhouse Buck and Dirty Dick Slater defend their titles against Harlem Heat. Buck and Slater did a great job as the villains, doing their best to avoid the clearly more athletic team. Booker T shone as the best performer in this match, hitting moves smoothly and flawlessly. The match stuck to a single ring and ended at 11:21, which was probably 8 minutes longer than it should've gone. Harlem Heat picked up the win to become new tag team champions after Stevie Ray hit the Heat Seeker on Bunkhouse Buck for the pinfall.
Winners and NEW Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat
Rating: 55
After the match and Harlem Heat celebrating the win with their new titles, we're sent backstage for the first actual interview of the night. Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Gene does his usual introduction and Flair and Double A look to be all business. Both men are dressed in street clothes, so they're obviously not going to be in any physical confrontation here tonight. Gene asks Flair what he and Anderson have been up to the last couple of weeks and why all the secret meetings and Flair abruptly remarks that it's not of any concern to him. Flair says that he knows Sting has his plate full here tonight in War Games and that if anyone knows what it's like to be locked inside that double ringed steel cage, it's himself and the Enforcer. Flair further gives Sting warning that following tonight's match, he better clear his calendar because he's going to have to answer to the Nature Boy, because this feud between the two clearly isn't over.
Rating: 83
VS. Our next matchup shouldn't even really be considered a match. Joey Maggs offered up little competition to Big Bubba Rogers and this match should just be considered an opportunity to cool a crowd before the next big matchup. Bubba picked up the pinfall victory in 3:24 following a Bubba Slam.
Winner: Big Bubba Rogers
Rating: 47
Prior to the final match of the night, we go backstage where Mean Gene is standing by with the Hulkamaniacs, who all appear fired up and ready to go into battle. Gene can barely contain all four men in the same picture as Randy Savage is pacing everywhere, Sting is screaming, Luger is pumping his fists, and Hulk Hogan is ready to go. All 4 men are decked out in their camouflage fatigues and covered in war paint.
Hogan: Mean Gene, tonight brother, the Hulkamaniacs go into battle against the Dungeon of Doom, and a battle it will be, brother!
Macho Man: OH YEEAHHH!!!
Gene, when I woke up this morning at 3:30 in the morning brother, the very first thing I did after I rolled out of bed was pick up the phone, and you know who I called brother?!?! I called the Stinger, man! The Stinger picked up the phone and said - "What took you so long, Hulkster?!?! I've been up since 3am!" I said, Sting man, are you ready for battle?!? What'd you say, Stinger?!?
I said I was born ready for battle, Hulkster!!!!
That's right, brother!!!! I got off the phone with the Stinger and then I immediately called Lex Luger....Luger picks up the phone, and you know what he said, Gene?!? He said "Hulkster!!!! Where ya been, dude!?!? I've been up since 2:30 in the morning, hitting the weights and training!" What else did you tell em, dude?!?!
I said I'm ready to put an end to the Dungeon of Doom!!!!
That's right, brother!!!! So I get off the phone with Luger and I call the Macho Man. The phone rings and rings and rings, Mean Gene, and no one answers. I'm a little confused by this, but then I hear my doorbell ring, brother. I go downstairs and answer the door, and it's none other than the Macho Man, dude! Mach says "Hogan!!! I've been up all night long going over our battle plan and haven't even been to sleep!" The Macho Man's been on a steady diet of Napalm and Agent Orange throughout the night, just to give him an advantage in tonight's battle!!! I looked at Macho Man and I asked him; Mach, you've been up all night, you've been eating Napalm and Agent Orange, are you still hungry for battle, my man??! What'd you say Mach?!?!
I said, OHHHH YEAAAAAAHHHH I'm hungry for more!!!
That's right, dude!!! So he did what any teammate would do and he shared some with me! Gene, we've all come together today, we picked up our fatigues, we've painted ourselves up ready for battle! We all arrived at the arena today in our Humvee and when I stepped out and onto this field of battle Gene, I could smell gunpowder in the air! The first strike is just about ready to take place, and it's centered right on the forehead of the Dungeon of Doom, man! There is no question about the Hulkamaniacs! There's no question about Lex Luger! I looked Luger in the eye earlier today and I saw nothing but a veteran ready to get in the trenches, brother! He looked at me and saw the same thing and right then an there, we knew we were on the same page, dude! Luger's got my back, and I've got Lugers, just like the Stinger's and the Macho Man's! The Hulkamaniacs are one in solidarity, brother, and that's the one thing that terrifies the Dungeon of Doom!!! So Dungeon of Doom, WHATCHA GONNA DO BROTHER'S, WHEN THE HULKAMANIACS DESTROY YOUUUUUUUUUUU!!
All 4 men storm off from camera view as Gene can barely collect himself. He pushes his glasses back up, gives a slight nod to the camera, and sends it back out into the arena for the introduction of War Games.
Back in the arena, it's clear that the cage was being lowered during the promo because the ring crew are now securing the cage to the ring posts. The rules are given by the announce team as each team will start off with one participant. A new participant will enter every 5 minutes. The team captains had already flipped a coin backstage, we're told, and that the Dungeon of Doom won the toss. As such, the Dungeon of Doom will have the first entry, causing a brief handicap. Just as the rules are finishing up, the first competitors make their way out;
vs. The Shark and the Macho Man start things off. Shark made his way out first followed by Randy Savage. Savage wasted little time rushing to the ring and going right after the Shark. The battle raged as the referees rushed to secure the cage. Bischoff reminded those watching at home that the match could not come to an end until all men had entered the match and it can only end when one member of a team submits or can no longer continue. Savage continues his assault, now going after the legs of the Shark. Bobby Heenan calls this a brilliant strategy as he doesn't let up and give Shark an opportunity to utilize his massive size advantage. The 5 minutes quickly go by though and soon Savage is neutralized as the Dungeon of Doom take the 2 on 1 advantage with the next entry;
The Ugandan Giant stumbles his way down the aisle and to the ring where he climbs in. Savage seems locked in with tunnel vision as he continues his assault on the Shark which allows Kamala to come up to Savage from behind. From here on, it's total 2 on 1 and Savage is----savagely beaten down by both big men. The minutes seem to go by as slow as possible as Savage is helpless, the fans eager for the buzzer to go off so fans can see who will come to the rescue from the Hulkamaniacs. When the timer finally does go off, a huge roar erupts from the sold out crowd as the next man rushes out;
The Stinger quickly rushes to the ring and waits at the cage door for the referees to open it. As soon as it opens, Sting rushes in to the aid of the Macho Man. Sting takes turns attacking both the Shark and Kamala. With the odds finally evened, Sting continues his attack while Savage tries desperately to collect himself and pull himself up in the corner. Nursing his ribs, the Macho Man gets to his feet and takes a few breaths before rushing Kamala as Sting pairs off with the Shark. Sting uses the cage to his advantage, and being the only man in the ring right now with experience in War Games, clearly shows he knows what to do. Sting jumps and hangs from the cage roof and gives two stiff boots to the chest of Shark, who crashes down. Sting releases from the cage and then goes to Kamala, hitting him with a few shots before yelling to Savage. The two men grab hold of Kamala and rush him to the opposite side of the ring, crashing him into the unforgiving steel. Soon after, as it always seems to go too fast for the good-guys, the buzzer goes off and the fans look to the entrance to see who will emerge next for the Dungeon of Doom;
The Zodiac stumbles out next, and while no one really knows what the Zodiac is supposed to be, he's not quite seen as a threat within the Dungeon of Doom. He makes his way into the ring but doesn't really cause much more of a disturbance. He tries to take advantage of the 3 on 2 situation, but Sting and the Macho Man are able to hold their own. Eventually though, the numbers finally catch up to the two Hulkamaniacs, and the members of the Dungeon of Doom are able to get an advantage. Mostly the Zodiac and Kamala team up on the Macho Man while the Shark and Sting go at it. With Savage being the weaker one due to taking more punishment, they are able to inflict more damage, though Savage finds himself on the offensive a few times. The handicap advantage doesn't last very long though, 5 minutes, to be exact, as the buzzer sounds and out walks the 3rd man for the Hulkamaniacs;
Luger walks out and makes his way to the cage door. As it opens, Lex is confronted by Zodiac, who immediately kicks the Total Package in the stomach as he is stepping through the ropes. Zodiac continues the assault as Lex climbs through but Luger is able to withstand it and stands up straight, looking at Zodiac who has now stopped the attack. Luger flexes and yells in Zodiac's direction, which again fires up the crowd. Seeing his mistake, Zodiac tries to beg off Luger with no luck as it's his turn to take punishment. Luger focuses his attack on Zodiac, Sting remains paired off with Shark, and Macho Man and Kamala brawl. It stays this way with all 6 men trading the advantage, though mostly Luger remains on offense with Zodiac. Finally, the buzzer sounds for the final member of the Dungeon of Doom to emerge;
Sullivan comes out in his yellow robe with his hood up. He's not really in any rush to get to the ring and appears confident not only in himself, but in his team. Sullivan climbs in and directs his team members wherever he thinks they need to go. With the addition of the final member of the Dungeon of Doom now in, the numbers take a toll on the Hulkamaniacs. Little by little, Sullivan and his group take control and each member of the Hulkamanics in the ring get beaten down. Savage was dispatched first, followed by Lex Luger, and then finally they all turn their attention to Sting, who seems to be the biggest threat. As the Stinger is beaten down, the fans in the arena beg for the buzzer to sound so the world heavyweight champion can run to rescue his team.
After what seems an eternity, the buzzer finally goes off and Hulk Hogan rushes out from behind the stage and down to the ring. The Hulkster seems to have something in his hand, though it can't be determined exactly what it is. Once the cage door open and Hogan gets in, he's met by Kamala. Hogan quickly throws something in the face of the Ugandan Giant and a cloud fills the air. Hogan takes something out of one of his pants pockets and throws it in the face of The Shark, creating more "smoke" in the air. Finally, he does the same thing to Zodiac and Kevin Sullivan. Bobby Heenan goes on about "that smell!!!" and swears Hogan just napalmed the entire Dungeon of Doom. Hogan is vicious in his attack on each member before finally setting the sights on the Taskmaster and settling in. One by one, each member of the Hulkamaniacs begin to make their comeback. Luger manages to regain the offensive attack on Shark. Sting gets to his feet and attacks Zodiac, and eventually the Macho Man, who has taken the most punishment in this match, gets back up to his feet and takes out Kamala. Hogan and Savage then double team the Taskmaster.
While that attack takes place, Luger and the Shark are brawling. While Luger fights the Shark and Hogan and Savage double team Sullivan, Luger and Hogan eventually back into one another. Both men spin around and rear back to deliver an assault. Seeing what's about to take place, Sting and the Macho Man rush in to hold off each man. Hogan and Luger look at each other and realize they were a split second away from attacking the other. A brief conversation occurs between Luger and Hogan, though it can't be made out what they say. After a moment, both Luger and Hogan offer up a high-five which generates another loud cheer from the crowd. The announcers go on about how the Hulkamaniacs are indeed on the same page as they continue their assault on the Dungeon of Doom. With the Dungeon beaten down, Hogan puts the Zodiac in a camel clutch. Hogan wrenches back to apply pressure as the Zodiac wildly flails his arms and submits, giving the submission victory to the Hulkamaniacs in 27:38 to the delight of the crowd.
Winners of War Games: The Hulkamaniacs
Rating: 68
Overall Show Grade: 70
QuoteAs a side note; I'm really sorry guys, I meant to have this put up days ago, however, when I got halfway through typing it up, something happened with the formatting erasing nearly everything. Seeing that I was going to have to start all over, I walked away, so I apologize it took much longer to get this put up than it should have. As a side note, I'm very happy with the amount of people responding to this and I hope you guys are enjoying it so far! I'm pleasantly surprised that no one was able to guess all the matches outcomes correctly, so at least I was successful in this show not being totally predictable. As you can probably tell, most things have been pretty true to life. I didn't want to delve too far from how things actually happened on my first PPV. From this point moving forward, it will be more unique, though I always try to keep my games fairly realistic. Hopefully you all enjoy!
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Mean Gene Okerlund's
WCW Hotline Report:
Hello everyone, and welcome to the WCW Hotline report! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund, giving you all of the top wrestling news, rumors, and innuendo!
WCW continues to be the preferred wrestling program on Monday Nights!
WCW Monday Nitro scored a 2.86. WWF Monday Night Raw scored a 1.48.
The World Wrestling Federation held their In Your House PPV for the month of September and if you ask me, it paled in comparison to what World Championship Wrestling has in store coming up in just a few days time! Eric Bischoff refrained from announcing the results this past Monday on Nitro. Their final three matches of the night saw Bret the Hitman Hart team with The Undertaker as they defeated an odd pairing of Razor Ramon and Billy Gunn. Many saw this as the match of the evening. The semi-main event saw Shawn Michaels successfully defend his Intercontinental title against Goldust. Finally, in the main event, Diesel shocked everyone as he came away victorious against the Ultimate Warrior. The successful title defense keeps Diesel at the top of the World Wrestling Federation as their long-time champion, holding the belt since November 1994.
Following the WWF's PPV, many have stated they've seen a rise in the company's size with experts claiming them now to be a "big" company.
Fans, keep an eye out for Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. They've been scheming about something the last few weeks and it seems to be centered around WCW United States Champion Sting. The Nature Boy has lead to hints about a re-formation of the Four Horsemen lately and this past Saturday on WCW Saturday Night, Ric Flair was seen having a meeting with Brian Pillman.
I have been given the final card for the upcoming Fall Brawl PPV, which is as follows;
Main Event:
War Games:
The Dungeon of Doom
- The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan, Meng, The Shark, Kamala, & Zodiak
VS.
The Hulkamaniacs
- Hulk Hogan, Sting, Macho Man Randy Savage, & Lex Luger
Joey Maggs vs. Big Bubba Rogers
WCW Tag Team Championship:
Harlem Heat vs. Bunkhouse Buck & Dirty Dick Slater (c)
Paul Orndorff vs. Alex Wright
#1 Contender For TV Title:
Johnny B Badd vs. Brian Pillman
TV Title:
Eddie Guerrero vs. Diamond Dallas Page (c)
American Males vs. The Nasty Boys
Dean Malenko vs. Mr. JL
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LIVE from the Dallas Convention Center: Dallas, TX
Attendance: 8,595
- Nitro kicks off with all of the fan fare that those who tune in have come to expect. A huge fireworks display turns into panoramic views of a rowdy crowd as they all do their best to get the attention of the camera. Eric Bischoff is heard welcoming fans who are tuning in to this week's edition of Monday Nitro but rather than bring us to the announce position, cameras fade into a backstage area where the WCW World Champion and Sting are standing by;
Ya know something, Sting man?!? As we approach Fall Brawl and War Games, as we prepare to head into battle with the scum that is the Dungeon of Doom, I've felt the power of Hulkamania begin to charge up through my veins like lighting, brother! Hulkamania itself has turned itself into the most powerful force in nature and when you compare that to the likes of the Taskmaster, to the likes of Kamala, The Shark, Zodiak, and Meng, brother, the Dungeon of Doom just has no chance!! Can you feel it, Stinger?!?!?
Oh I can feel it, Hulkster!
Yesssss!!!! And it's not just the power of Hulkamania or the power of the Stinger, no way man!!! You get the complete instability of the Macho Madness, brother!!! You get the incomparable power of the Total Package!!! When you combine all of of those together, you get a force of Hulkamania multiplied by 1,000, brother!!!! The Dungeon of Doom knows they're on borrowed time and when they're forced to stand across the ring, when they're locked in the cage, brother, they'll know they have nowhere to turn, nowhere to run!!! They will know their ultimate mistake, my man, and that's taking on the Hulkamaniacs and thinking they can overcome all the power within it! Stinger, I just gotta ask; Are you ready for War Games?!?!?
I'm ready, Hulkster!
Are you ready to dig down deep, to go to places you don't want to go! Are you willing to inflict unbelievable amounts of pain to another human being?!?! Are you willing to do what it takes, Sting man?!?!?
I'm willing, Hulkster!!!
Kevin Sullivan, Dungeon of Doom, you all will be doomed when you're trapped inside the cold hard steel this Sunday, brothers! You'll all know the pain and agony! You'll understand complete destruction, not of Hulkamania, but of your own selves! The Stinger's fought in War Games before and is no stranger to the brutality that awaits! The Total Package is a well seasoned veteran of the battle!! The Macho Man has fought and clawed through endless trenches!!! And the Hulkster, with the power of the Hulkamaniacs, will summon all the power from within and unleash it through the 24 inch pythons!!! Dungeon of Doom, I hope each one of you have your wills prepared, because this Sunday at Fall Brawl and inside War Games, you'll all meet your end!!!! So Whatcha Gonna Do, Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom, when the Hulkamaniacs DESTROY YOU?!?!?!?!?
Rating: 83
vs - Fans were treated to a fast-paced match between these two for the opening bout on Nitro. Eddie showcased great in-ring ability, but Benoit was too much for Guerrero in 9:55.
Winner by submission: Chris Benoit
Rating: 66
- Cameras move once again to the backstage area where Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by, once again by Harlem Heat and their manager, Sensuous Sherri. This is yet another interview segment where Harlem Heat hypes up their WCW Tag Team title match at Fall Brawl against current champions Bunkhouse Buck and "Dirty" Dick Slater. There have been so many of these segments, presumably because WCW officials are not confident in the ability of the tag team champions to build up this match. Nothing noteworthy took place in this segment.
Rating: 69
- Cameras remain backstage following the interview and Kevin Sullivan has caught Randy Savage backstage. Sullivan taunts Savage but then he is completely blindsided by The Giant! Sullivan laughs and continues to taunt the downed Macho Man while The Giant continues his assault. They appear satisfied with their work as Savage lay a crumpled mess on the concrete floor. The announcers ponder if this will effect War Games as WCW fades to commercial break.
Rating: 74
- Following a commercial, the speakers in the arena come alive as a theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey slowly fades in. The crowd all get to their feet in anticipation as Ric Flair walks out, followed by the Enforcer, Arn Anderson. Both men are dressed in street clothes; Flair as always decked out in an expensive suit. The Enforcer is in blue jeans, a t-shirt, and a cutoff denim jacket. They both climb in the ring and Flair is given a microphone;
By God, Double A, looking around this arena and going through town, you'd think we're over on the East coast somewhere around Charlotte, North Carolina!!!! Dallas, Texas without a doubt, has always been Horsemen and Ric Flair country, and everyone here knows it tonight!!!
Now then, the last couple of weeks, I've been minding my own business, doing my own thing, but for some reason or another, Sting just can't get his mind off the Nature Boy! We had the first Main Event on Monday Nitro and I thought that was the end of it! Sting, you've been a thorn in my side for years, pal, and just as you don't mess with Texas, you don't mess with the Nature Boy!! The fact is, Stinger, you've currently got your hands full with Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom. Well it looks to me like your calendar is pretty empty after this Sunday! US title or no US title, after this Sunday Sting, you're gonna belong to the Nature Boy! If you thought things were over between the two of us, you're sadly mistaken!!!
Rating: 90
vs - Lex Luger defeated Paul Orndorff in 8:26 via submission with a Torture Rack
Rating: 69
- Following the match, fans are treated; Treated to a Dungeon of Doom segment. All members are back in their - Dungeon. Kevin Sullivan takes the lead while the other members maintain their....interesting demeanor.
Hulk Hogan......Every opportunity you get, you talk about the Hulkamaniacs....You talk about the power running through your veins...You talk about Hulkamania being immortal. Mr. Hogan, you don't really expect people to believe that, do you?? You don't really think people believe that you're this perfect figure who trains, says their prayers and takes their vitamins, do you?? Mr. Hogan, no prayer can save you from fate!!! That's really why you pray, isn't it, Hulkster?!?!? You pray that you don't become what's inevitable! You pray that you have the power to fight against it. But let me give you some advice, Hogan. Don't fight it. Accept it! Embrace. It! Fighting it only makes it grow stronger, Hogan. It only causes it to swell up with more fury and more strength until it's too late and then it overcomes you!! All you're going to do Hogan, is drag all those others down with you! You're going to make those other men become something they don't want to do! You're like the lead ant, Hogan, leading all your troops behind you....Leading them straight to the next of an awaiting spider. Pretty soon they're all stuck with you and their lives fade out one by one. Hogan, I know deep within you, there are secrets that you don't want exposed. I'm going to expose the real Hulk Hogan to the entire world, and once I do that, maybe then you will finally understand your true place within the world, Hulkster.......War Games...................Well that's just the very beginning.
Rating: 77
Main Event
vs The United States Champion and the World Heavyweight Champion worked solidly together, completely decimating the Blue Bloods. It wasn't a dominating effort by half of the Hulkamaniacs, but it definitely was a decisive victory. Sting and Hogan handily defeated the Blue Bloods in 15:43 by pinfall. The ending of the match brought the crowd to their feet as Sting hit a Stinger Splash on Regal as he stumbled out of the corner, falling to the mat. Just as he fell, Hogan hit a picture perfect leg drop to score the pinfall win.
Rating: 75
Overall Show Rating: 79
Don't miss out on this week's edition of the WCW Hotline with Mean Gene as he will run down the entire WCW Fall Brawl card, provide recaps from Saturday Night, and give the head to head numbers from Nitro and WWF Raw!
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Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's edition of the WCW Hotline!!! First things first, as WCW heads into the final week before Fall Brawl, so let me provide you with this week's card for WCW Monday Nitro;
Main Event:
The Blue Bloods vs Hulk Hogan & Sting
Paul Orndorff vs Lex Luger
Chris Benoit vs Eddie Guerrero
This is a blockbuster main event as the world champion and the Stinger team up! Tension continues to build around the team of the Hulkamaniacs, mainly Lex Luger as Hulk Hogan has repeatedly questioned Luger's motives. It's continued to get worse as the weeks progress, as members of the Hulkamaniacs continue to be brutally attacked by members of the Dungeon of Doom, however, Lex Luger never seems to help out. Could this tension carry over into the War Games match itself??
In completely shocking news coming from the World Wrestling Federation, it seems they have replaced world champion Diesel with The Ultimate Warrior, who just returned to the company. They apparently think the Warrior will be more effective at bringing in revenue over their champion, which doesn't say much for them.
Speaking of all of the above, the WWF is holding In Your House this coming weekend and headlining that show is Diesel defending the title against the Warrior. With his new position, one would be lead to believe that the Warrior will be walking out of that show the new WWF Champion.
That's all the news this week as it's a pretty light news week in the world of professional wrestling but be sure to call in next week for the full WCW Fall Brawl lineup! Also, be sure to tune into this week's WCW Saturday Night and the final Monday Nitro before the PPV!
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LIVE on TNT from the Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, FL
Attendance: 7,499
Pyro goes off and we're treated to panoramic shots of the crowd who are going wild this week from Dayton Beach! Flames shoot from each corner ring post, adding even more heat to this fired up crowd. Cameras switch views then to the announce booth, where Eric Bischoff is joined again by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Mike Tenay, as Bischoff gives this weeks greetings.
Bischoff: Good evening, everyone and welcome to WCW Monday Nitro, where you're given the hottest wrestling action in the entire world! I'm joined, as always, by Bobby The Brain Heenan and Mike Tenay and fellas, we've got a great show planned for you here tonight! In the main event is the in-ring return of Lex Luger as he takes on Brian Pillman!
Tenay: You know Eric, it will be interesting to see if Lex Luger has any ring rust, because as far as I'm aware, he's not had a wrestling match in quite some time!
Heenan: Well Lex Luger's a professional athlete who's been in the wrestling business a long time! It's more like riding a bike at this point. I don't think Luger's going to have any ring rust, but he for sure is going to have a hard time dealing with those crazy guys in the Dungeon of Doom!
Bischoff: That's right, Bobby! Before we get too far into it, let me give you the rundown of what you're not missing if you keep the channel right here, LIVE on TNT; Owen Hart defeated Jeff Hardy, 123 Kid and the Devin Machines (Mark Canterbury & Bob Holly) defeated Jeff Jarrett and Men On A Mission by DQ; how original, The Ultimate Warrior beat Big Matty Smalls (Kimo) - Also by DQ in a complete barn-burner, and in the main event, Bret Hart and the Undertaker beat Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon.
Ok, with that out of the way, Bobby, you're correct! The Dungeon of Doom is definitely on the war path ahead of Fall Brawl and their participation in War Games! Over the weekend on Saturday Night, The Giant and Kevin Sullivan made an example out of the American Males as the Giant decimated the duo to send a chilling warning to the World Heavyweight Champion, and Mike, Sting and the Macho Man Randy Savage saved Hulk Hogan from a vicious beat down at the hands of the Taskmaster and Kamala.
Tenay: That's right, Eric. The Dungeon of Doom have been increasing the message that they're sending to Hulk Hogan and the Hulkamaniacs as we get closer to Fall Brawl. As Saturday Night came to a close and Hulk Hogan collected himself after the save from Sting and Savage, the World Champion made it clear who was on his team, and Lex Luger was one of them.
Heenan: Yeah sure, Hogan said Luger was part of the team, but guess who's not been showing up as part of the team when they need him? Lex Luger! There's an old saying that when the water doesn't smell quite right, you don't drink it! Well, the water doesn't smell right and Lex Luger doesn't fit into this entire scenario, if you ask me!
Tenay: There's no such saying, Bobby!
Heenan: Oh, I forgot! The living encyclopedia is sitting here with us, Bischoff!
Bischoff: I've got to agree that I've never heard that saying. Fans, we've got a great lineup for you this week, and speaking of The Taskmaster and the Dungeon of Doom, Kevin Sullivan is taking on Eddie Guerrero in our opening bout, where we're going right now!
Kevin Sullivan def. Eddie Guerrero in 9:31 by pinfall
- The match, while not spectacular, did it's job while hyping up the rest of the evening and had the crowd interested. Neither performed to expectations in this match, however, it still generated a decent outcome.
Rating: 71
Following the match and after a brief commercial break, cameras return to the bottom of the ramp where Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by.
Ladies and gentlemen, what a night so far!!! At this time, please join me in welcoming one of the top tag teams, not only in WCW, but in the world; Harlem Heat!!!
Harlem Heat's music plays in the arena and the crowd get to their feet. Flames shoot up from the stage and shortly afterwards Booker T and Stevie Ray emerge with their manager, Sensuous Sherri. They all take their place by Mean Gene and he starts the interview:
Gentlemen, you've made it clear, you've made no mistake in your claims, you're both gunning for Bunkhouse Buck and "Dirty" Dick Slater and the WCW tag team titles, and you're looking to take them at WCW's Fall Brawl here in just a couple of short weeks.
Booker T: See Gene, it's like this! We're the best tag team in WCW right now! We're the hottest tag team in WCW right now! We're on top, and we're gonna prove that there ain't none better than us! Buck and Slater are just a couple of dude's who are skating by! They've had no challenge since stealing those belts from us, and we're gonna take them back where they belong!
Stevie Ray: Gene, if you ask me, they're scared of facing us again because they know what the outcome will be! Those two old men are gonna be put out to pasture by the Heat!
Booker T: And you know, Gene, if you can't stand the heat, get out the kitchen!
Gene: Indeed gentlemen, but one thing to consider; you aren't the only team here in WCW going after the tag team belts, as up next, the American Males get a title opportunity.
Stevie Ray: Gene, it really makes no difference to us; The American Males or Buck and Slater, one thing will remain true, and Harlem Heat will get our titles back at Fall Brawl, and you can believe that!
Booker T: The American Males are a good team with some great talent, Gene, but ain't no team gonna stop Harlem Heat, now can you dig that?!
Rating: 70
Mean Gene can truly dig that as Nitro moves forward to the next matchup, the Tag Team title match;
WCW Tag Team Title:
The American Males vs Bunkhouse Buck & Dirty Dick Slater (c)
The tag team champions managed to hold onto their titles despite a tough challenge from the youngsters. In the surprise of the night, Dick Slater actually stood out as the best worker of them all as he scored the pinfall win over Bagwell in 10:16.
Rating: 54
Cameras go backstage where Double A; Arn Anderson and Ric Flair are conversing in their locker room. It can't specifically be heard what they're discussing, but as they're both leaning in close, it's clear they're working up some sort of plan. A highlight video was then played from this past weekends WCW Saturday Night promo. Ric Flair is standing in a locker room backdrop with the Enforcer flanking him. Flair discusses his on-again, off-again feud with Sting and how he perpetually remains a thorn in the side of the Nature Boy. Flair reminds Sting to not press him into a corner, as Flair and Anderson can always find two other men to make Sting's life complete hell.
Rating: 97
Main Event:
vs.Lex Luger def. Brian Pillman in 15:54 via Submission (Torture Rack)
Rating: 73
Both men remained competitive in this matchup and actually complimented each other well. Luger's in-ring performance was extremely solid and Pillman got a fantastic ability to showcase his skills. Luger was just a bit more on top of his game though to pull out the win. Luger celebrated in the ring as the crowd roared with approval.
Bischoff: Fans, what a match! That's all for this week's Nitro, be sure to tune in nex----
Hold on....We're going to keep with it for just a minute longer. I'm told there's some commotion going on in the backstage area, let's go back there and see what's going on!
Nitro remains must-see TV right up until fading out to black. This week's demonstration shows us, as cameras are moved to the backstage area, darkness at first. Yelling from several subjects can be heard and when some lighting is finally added, Sting can be seen laying on the cold concrete. Above him is the Taskmaster, Kevin Sullivan and Meng. Both men are laying the boots into the Stinger. After a few moments, another commotion can be heard off camera but the crowd quickly roars to life as they see Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan rush in. The two Dungeon of Doom members are run off as Savage checks on the Stinger and Hogan yells at Sullivan and Meng as they depart. Hogan also leans down to check on Sting as he's starting to pull himself up, clearly dazed. Nitro goes into a split screen showing Lex Luger, who's still in the ring and apparently oblivious to the scene going on in the back. Luger remains in the ring, celebrating his victory as Savage and Hogan check on the beaten-down Sting. Nitro fades out with the two contrasting images on the screen.
Rating: 80
Final Show Rating: 75
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I'm really hoping to stick with this because my game gets quite good later on, so you might just be pretty happy with the results. I'll admit though that it did take awhile to get it rolling.
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Hello everyone, Mean Gene Okerlund here again with your weekly WCW Hotline report, where I bring you all of the latest news, rumor, and innuendo in the entire wrestling world!
The news this week is few and far between, with little action.
WCW Monday Nitro scored a 2.93 rating live on TNT
WWF Monday Night Raw scored a 1.47 with their taped show on the USA Network
Raw featured the return of the Ultimate Warrior, as many were surprised to see him back in the World Wrestling Federation. He teamed with Ahmed Johnson in a losing effort against Bret Hart and the Undertaker.
WCW has released Road Warrior Hawk, effective immediately. I'm told WCW officials had no plans for a singles run for Hawk and, without Animal, he is seen to have little value. Animal remains out injured with a severe back injury.
WCW has also released Kurasawa, effective immediately. He was feuding with Road Warrior Hawk.
WCW Monday Nitro will be live again this week from the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL. Here is the lineup;
Main Event:
Brian Pillman vs Lex Luger
WCW Tag Team Titles:
American Males vs Bunkhouse Buck & "Dirty" Dick Slater (c)
Kevin Sullivan vs Eddie Guerrero
I also have exclusive news regarding the main event at WCW's Fall Brawl, featuring War Games.
War Games will feature the Hulkamaniacs, consisting of WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan, Sting, Macho Man Randy Savage and Lex Luger against the Dungeon of Doom; The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan, Kamala, The Shark, & The Zodiac!
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LIVE from the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
Attendance: 7,000
Eric Bischoff: Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the place that gives you the hottest wrestling action anywhere, WCW Monday Nitro!! My goodness, Bobby, Mike, we have a ton of action to catch up on over the weekend from Saturday Night, Main Event, and not to mention, the huge news that's carried over since last week when "The Total Package" Lex Luger unexpectedly showed up here on Nitro last week!
Heenan: Well Luger had a lot to say this week on WCW Saturday Night and he's going to have a lot more to say tonight on Nitro, I guarantee it!
Tenay: Eric, as you said, it's been an extremely eventful weekend and I believe it all started with the return of Lex Luger. We have a new WCW Television champion by the way of Diamond Dallas Page, who defeated the former champion the Renegade on this week's edition of WCW Main Event. This gives Dallas Page some much needed momentum to prove himself as a worthy competitor here in WCW.
Bischoff: Bobby, Lex Luger said on Saturday Night that he's back in WCW to right some wrongs, though we're not really sure what exactly he's referring to in that.
Heenan: Hogan wants to know where Luger's allegiance lies, Sting says he can be trusted, if you ask me, this is going to cause a whole lot of problems within the upper echelon of WCW. Sting and Luger have been friends for years, so if Sting's saying Luger can be trusted, that means that Luger can't be trusted!
Bischoff: You mean, he can be trusted?
Heenan: No. He can't be trusted. It's the oldest trick in the book, Bischoff!
Just as Heenan and Bischoff are wrapping it up, a guitar riff can be heard playing over the arena speakers which is shortly followed up with the familiar theme "Pomp and Circumstance" as multicolored lights begin to flash and fans turn their attention to the stage. "The Macho Man" Randy Savage comes out, hands raised in the air and he makes a slow turn as fire works explode behind him. Savage makes his way to the ring for the first matchup of the night on Nitro, and the crowd seems rabid for it.
Randy Savage vs. Chris Benoit
The first match of the night proves to be a hard-hitting affair. Not much is known about the young Chris Benoit, other than his in-ring intensity is nearly on par with the Macho Man's. Savage is able to withstand some vicious chest chops that would make Ric Flair smile with envy. Savage remained in control for the majority of the match, but it was also surprising to see Benoit get a large part of some offense in on the veteran. In the end, though, it was too much as Savage hit the Flying Elbow Drop for the three count and win.
Winner: Randy Savage
Rating: 71
Following the first match, Nitro switches gears to the backstage interview position where Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with Booker T and Stevie Ray, better known as Harlem Heat!
Mean Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, joining me right now, Harlem Heat along with their manager Sensuous Sherri! Booker T and Stevie Ray, the two of you look to make a big impact in the tag team division here in WCW and become 3-time WCW Tag Team champions, but first, you have to take the titles off of reigning champions Bunkhouse Buck and "Dirty" Dick Slater!
Booker T: You know Mean Gene, my brother and I know all about hard times! We've had to fight for everything we have our entire life! This ain't no different here in WCW. You see, we've proven to be the top team here in WCW by winning the tag titles twice! We look to be the elite team in WCW when we win it for the third time! It's gonna go down like this; Dirty Dick, Bunkhouse, you two sucka's are gonna know when the heat's on, it's time to get out!
Stevie Ray: It's like this, Gene. Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater are just a couple of guys keeping those belts warm for us for whenever we choose to take them back....And my brother, I think Fall Brawl looks like a perfect time to take them back!
Booker T: We want those belts and we getting those belts, now dig that!
Rating: 62
Rather than going back to the ring for action, as expected, cameras slowly fade into a scene full of a dimly lit room and fog slowly rolling into the picture. As the scene is brought out into view, Kevin Sullivan is seen standing with a sinister look on his face. He's not alone though. As the picture now comes into full view, he is flanked by Meng and the Zodiak on his left, Kamala on his right, and the 7'4" Giant stands menacingly behind him.
Sullivan: Hullllllk Hogan. Take a good, long, hard look at the weapons I have beside me. Do you know what I've done, Hogan?? I've stacked the deck. I've loaded it to my complete advantage! I am what you fear, Hulk Hogan! War Games won't be a walk in the park for you and your so called - Hulkamaniacs. There is no escape inside War Games. Not for you, Hogan. Inside War Games, the Dungeon of Doom will take your very soul and turn you into something no one ever thought possible!! Sure, there's a stipulation, but that stipulation will be worthless. The Dungeon of Doom will not lose War Games! The Giant will get his hands on you Hogan, and you will then belong to the Dungeon of Doom! The Zodiac will take the Macho Man and render him completely useless!!! Meng will take Sting and chop his Stinger off to nothing but a dull nub. You see Hogan, you are outnumbered to the Dungeon of Doom! There isn't one other person within WCW who wants to stand by your side and go against us! War Games......Hahaha.....Will, I promise you, be the end of Hulkamania!
Rating: 72
Bischoff: Fans, we're back at ringside and I gotta say, Kevin Sullivan has lost his mind!
Heenan: You think so? I'd say he see's things crystal clear. He's said Hogan's bad news, I've said for years Hogan's bad news. You and all these humanoids have been duped for years! You just wait and see!
Tenay: The two of you seem to have a lot in common, Bobby. Perhaps you'd fit in quite well with the Dungeon of Doom.
Heenan: Are you kidding?? There's no way I'm hanging out with a group of misfits in a dark, damp dungeon! It probably stinks in there too!
Bischoff: Folks, we're going to some in-ring action right now with our next matchup, The Blue Bloods take on the Nasty Boys! Don't even think about changing that channel, either! Over on the WWF, not only are they taped, but all they're giving you is a series tag team matches, where this one is the only one on our show...123 Kid, Razor Ramon, and Shawn Michaels beat Bob Backlund and Men on a Mission; Owen Hart and Yokozuna defeated Bob Holly and Mark Canterbury, and their spectacular main event was The Undertaker and Bret Hart beating a returning Ultimate Warrior and Ahmed Johnson. So not missing a thing over there. Keep it right here where you have LIVE action every single week!
The Blue Bloods (William Regal & Earl Robert Eaton) vs The Nasty Boys
Despite both teams having very contrasting styles and mannerisms, they played off each other well. Every time Regal and Eaton would attempt to show their superior attitudes, the Nasty's would knock it down a few pegs with some unappealing action of their own, much to the disgust of the Blue Bloods. While their attitudes played off each other well, their in-ring ability did not. Regal and Eaton would attempt to slow the match down to fit their technical pace, and the Nasty Boys appeared clumsy. Regal's performance was leaps and bounds the best of the competitors as he picked up the win for his team following a Regal Stretch.
Winners: The Blue Bloods
Rating: 68
Following the match, a brief highlight video is shown from this past weekends WCW Main Event broadcast. The video shows the end of the TV Title match between the champion Renegade and Diamond Dallas Page. Page picks up the win, and the championship, following a Diamond Cutter. We're then brought backstage where new Television Champion and his manager, the Diamond Doll, are waiting.
DDP: Yo Doll, what's better than being with Diamond Dallas Page??
Diamond Doll: What's that, Page?
DDP: Being with the WCW Television champion Diamond Dallas Page! I got news for all of WCW right now. I'm at the top of my game and there ain't no limit! There's not one person who can beat me and take my title! Anyone who's gonna try, is gonna feel the BANG!
Rating: 36
Mean Gene: Ladies and Gentlemen, as we wind down this Monday Nitro, there's still tons of action left, including the WCW World Heavyweight champion Hulk Hogan defending the championship against "Double A" Arn Anderson coming up very shortly! But at this time, I'd like to officially welcome to the ring right now, a man who's had people talking for the last week after shocking the world by returning to WCW, none other than the "Total Package" Lex Luger!!!
Music hits the speakers and attention goes toward the stage. Lex Luger walks out with a smile on his face and raises one arm up to the crowd. Most of the crowd is giving a favorable response, as they've been given no other reason not to. Luger steps foot once again in a WCW ring and joins Mean Gene Okerlund.
Mean Gene: Mr. Luger, you have caused quite the stir. You've had people asking for a week straight what your intentions are in World Championship Wrestling. If I were a betting man, I would bet that we're going to hear exactly what you have to say about that right here and right now! Though you touched on it a bit this past weekend on WCW Saturday Night, I'm sure all these fans here tonight and watching at home would like to hear it again!
Luger: Gene, if I may, I want to set the record straight and leave no questions! So to hear it from the proverbial horse's mouth, I'm going to take a few minutes to do just that. Like you mentioned Gene, I told everyone on Saturday Night what my intentions are, but I guess there's still left some confusion for some reason, namely from Hulk Hogan. Now, I don't know Hulk Hogan and I'm not really sure why he would take issue with me right away, but Gene, I'm going to say that's a problem with him and not me. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not going to stand out here and bash Hulk Hogan. In fact, I'm here to say that I'm on Hogan's side, I'm on Sting's side, and I'm on Randy Savage's side! I heard Kevin Sullivan talking a little bit ago with the Dungeon of Doom and they're under the impression that Hogan's team is one short for War Games......Well I'm here to say that if they want me on their team to even it up, I'd be more than happy to join them!
Gene: Now hold on, Lex Luger. Hulk Hogan said on Saturday Night that you can't be trusted!
Luger: He said that Gene, but Hulk Hogan doesn't know me and Hulk Hogan's never met me before last week. Like I said, I'm not sure what made him form that opinion, but he's flat out wrong! Sting and I go way back, we've known each other for 10 years. The Stinger says I can be trusted, so that should speak for itself! Hogan wants me to earn his trust, well then there's no better way than to prove that at War Games!
Rating: 85
Mean Gene and the crowd are ecstatic about the offer that Luger just presented to Hogan. Nitro switches gears toward the main event and though the crowd would love to hear an answer right away from Hulk Hogan, they aren't going to get it this week. The challenger for the night, Arn Anderson makes his way out and into the ring with little showmanship. It would appear that the Enforcer is all business tonight, wanting to make the most out of his opportunity with a world title shot. Hogan's music hits the arena shortly after and the crowd again work their way to their feet. Hogan comes out, all celebration and ear taunts to the crowd. He gets in the ring and rips his shirt off in the traditional Hulk Hogan way, which causes Anderson to bail out of the ring. The ring announcer gives the introductions and the bell rings.
Main Event
WCW World Heavyweight Championship:
Arn Anderson vs Hulk Hogan (c)
Despite a typical beginning to a Hogan match, the crowd remains excited. It also appears that Hogan has an extra pep in his step, quite possibly from just hearing Luger's interview. It also could be because it's the second episode of Monday Nitro and he's been asked to put on a good show. Either way, the two men start out getting a feel for one another. Anderson stalls a bit, slowing the pace down to his cerebral method. Once climbing back in the ring, Hogan and Anderson tie up. Neither man is able to gain ground after some struggles. Anderson backs Hogan into the corner eventually and the referee calls for a break. Anderson shocks everyone, even Hogan, when he actually gives a clean break. Hogan moves back in, though only to be stopped in his tracks by a poke to the eye. This allows Anderson to gain the advantage.
Anderson takes his time wearing down the champion, being in no rush to go for the win. Anderson knows the longer the match goes, the better off he is. Anderson whips Hogan into the ropes and catches him in a sleeper hold. Hogan slowly fades down to the canvas and appears to be out. The referee checks his arm, but after two drops, Hogan manages to rise up. With the encouragement of the fans, Hogan is able to hit a few elbows and break free. He rushes the ropes and comes back, but Anderson catches him with his signature Spinebuster! Hogan twitches a bit on the mat as Anderson claims that's it for the World Champion! He goes for the pin but Hogan kicks out at 2. Anderson then brings the fight to the outside, taking his opportunity to get a few underhanded tactics. Anderson goes for a piledriver out on the floor, but Hogan reverses the attempt, sweeping Double A's legs out. Hogan then catapults Anderson into the ring post. Anderson's dazes as Hogan grabs him and tosses him back inside. Hogan then bites Anderson's forehead before laying in some more punches. Hogan continues to get a bit dirty as he undoes his wrist tape and begins to choke Anderson with it. Amazingly, the referee is letting this one go and warns Hogan with a finger in his face. Hogan then decides to choke Anderson with his hand this time, which again generates a stern warning from the referee.
Hogan picks up Double A and backs him into the corner. He tosses him to the opposite and rushes in for a clothesline, but Anderson gets a boot up. Hogan staggers back and turns, getting floored by a clothesline from Anderson. Seeing an opportunity, Anderson ascends the corner and up to the top rope. Hogan though, gets a second wind and hops up to his feet. He catches Anderson still perched on the top and crotches him on the top rope. Hogan brings Anderson back to his feet and hits a few punches. He whips him in the ropes Double A reverses. On the rebound, Anderson again hits a huge Spinebuster!!! Seeing his opportunity, he doesn't go for the pin. Anderson motions that it's all over and grabs Hogan, putting him in position for a DDT! Anderson hits the DDT and goes for the pin
1......
2........
3!!!!!
No!!! Hogan kicks out at the very last second!!!!!! The fans are all on their feet as Hogan now is feeling no pain! Anderson hits Hogan with a couple of rights...Hogan shakes it off and gets to his feet, now fully Hulking up! Anderson goes for another punch but Hogan blocks it, rocking Anderson back with 3 punches to the head. Hogan whips him into the ropes and on the return hits his Big Boot. Rushing the ropes, Hogan leaps into the air and crashes down with a massive Leg Drop. The referee counts the pin and Hogan has successfully defended his title in a superb match!
Winner: Hulk Hogan
Rating: 79
As Hogan celebrates his win, holding the world title up in the air, Nitro's credits appear on the screen and the show fades out, centering on Hogan as he celebrates.
Overall Show Rating: 77
TNT Ratings: 2.93
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WCW Hotline
Hello everyone! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund bringing all of the top wrestling news, rumors, and innuendo straight to you in this week's WCW Hotline Report!
News was released earlier this week that Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat is coming out of retirement and looking to get back into the squared circle as soon as possible! Steamboat retired in 1994 after a back injury but word has it that after extensive rehabilitation, he is feeling like he can go in the ring once more. It will remain to be seen if he can return to his former self, of if he will have to change his in-ring style to be more accommodating. I've also got it on good authority that a top wrestling promoter was able to convince Steamboat to give it one more run. I would expect Ricky Steamboat to show up at one of the top two wrestling organizations very very soon!
The World Wrestling Federation and the USWA have been very busy this week expanding their broadcasting coverage and signing on new TV deals. Lesser known (to American audiences) Mexican company CMLL has also expanded their coverage. This should affect all of their viewing numbers.
In a shocking move by WWF management, I've been told that they have dropped WWF Champion Diesel as their company figurehead. Diesel was informed of this decision toward the end of the week when he was off traveling. I assume this was so he could not cause a scene in a locker room and have a few days to cool off. A close contact to the situation told me that Diesel was furious at the decision. I've not been able to get any word on who is expected to take his place as the new figurehead, but you can bet it will cause some more tension in the locker room.
Additional WWF news, they have gone on quite the hiring spree of female wrestling talent, leading many, and myself, to believe that they plan on reviving the women's championship.
WCW President Eric Bischoff announced the signing of two new talents, Bill Demott and Brad Armstrong. Armstrong has long since been a part of the WCW locker room but this week he was locked into an exclusive deal. Bryan Clarke, formally Adam Bomb in the WWF, was also signed to a WCW deal, though I'm told that is not a written contract.
Don't expect to see Chris Benoit on WCW programming for much longer as he has signed an exclusive contract with AJPW.
The Ultimate Warrior is making a comeback to wrestling once again. I have exclusive information that he has signed a deal with the World Wrestling Federation.
The WWC has also gone on quite the hiring spree, signing huge names such as Jesse Ventura (commentary), Honky Tonk Man, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, The Rock N Roll Express, Mick Foley, and young talent Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Though none of these are exclusive deals, no one is quite sure how they can afford all of this.
The wrestling world was shocked to see "The Total Package" Lex Luger show up unannounced on the first ever Monday Nitro broadcast. I'm told he has signed a multi-year deal with WCW.
In an unexpected event, Diamond Dallas Page became the new Television champion after he defeated the Renegade on WCW Main Event over the weekend.
This week's WCW Saturday Night broadcast saw Sting successfully defend the United States title against Bobby Eaton in the match of the night. Lex Luger also made his first official appearance as a part of WCW, explaining his intentions to right some wrongs, and later on in the broadcast, Hulk Hogan questioned Luger's intentions! Don't miss out on Monday Nitro this week where there is sure to be spillover from the two! Here is this week's Monday Nitro lineup!
Main Event
WCW World Championship Match:
Arn Anderson vs Hulk Hogan (c)
The Nasty Boys vs The Blue Bloods (Earl Robert Eaton & Lord Steven Regal)
Randy Savage vs Chris Benoit
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WCW 1995
in Total Extreme Wrestling 2020 Dynasties
Posted
WCW Monday Nitro
LIVE from the Desert Sun Stadium
Attendance: 9,824
Fan are excited for this week's edition of WCW Monday Nitro! Eric Bischoff welcomes us and reminds us all that we are less than one week away from WCW World War 3 and the crowning of a new WCW World Heavyweight champion! Who could it be? Will it be the Giant? Randy Savage? Sting? Ric Flair? Will Hulk Hogan reclaim his title? Or will someone have a Cinderella night and become the new champion? The possibilities are endless! Bischoff also gives a brief recap from WCW Saturday Night this past weekend. He says just last week, Ricky Steamboat issued a challenge to Ric Flair for World War 3, and that challenge was to a 60 minute match. Bischoff signals for the production crew to replay the footage from Ric Flair's response this past weekend;
WCW Saturday Night Recap:
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat wants a 60 minute match with Ric Flair?? With the Nature Boy?? Steamboat, pal, you haven't had a 60 minute match since the mid 80's. You wouldn't know what 60 minutes is today if it was staring you straight in the face, my man. I'll tell you what, Steamboat....I'll give you your match at World War 3, but I'm going to do you a favor. It's not going to be 60 minutes, because not only would you not be able to handle it, but because then I'm going to go into the battle royal and outlast every single other wrestler and win the WCW World Heavyweight title! So we're going to do this, Steamboat..We'll start you off small and then maybe build it up, ok? We'll have a 20 minute time limit match and see how you do, and 20 minutes will barely be enough time for the Nature Boy to break a sweat!
WWWHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Johnny B. Badd vs Earl Robert Eaton
Following the Saturday Night recap, WCW presents its first match of the night. Johnny B. Badd kept the crowd excited and Earl Robert Eaton was joined to the ring by Lord Steven Regal and newest member of the Blue Bloods, Esquire David Taylor, who was just introduced this past weekend on Saturday Night. Badd got the pin fall win at 7:18 after hitting a moonsault.
Winner: Johnny B. Badd
Rating: 54
Following the match, the Blue Bloods are in the ring and Regal has a microphone.
While everyone's all up in arms about this Sunday's Pay Per View and the battle royal, let me fill you in on what my priority is....I'm going to take Eddie Guerrero and show him what a real wrestler is capable of, and then I'm going to stretch him from one end of the ring to the other, and then I'll take his TV title! After I'm finished with him to be come the new champion, I'm going to go into the battle royal and beat everyone else to not just be the Television champion, but then I'm going to be the World Heavyweight champion as well, and my two partners are going to ensure nothing but victory!
Rating: 61
Brad Armstrong vs Dean Malenko
A pretty good technical match between two very capable workers, though it didn't get the crowd very excited. Dean Malenko showed off some pretty great skill in the ring and came away with the submission victory at 8:28 via a Texas Cloverleaf.
Winner: Dean Malenko
Rating: 68
After a commercial, we're backstage at the interview position where Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with the American Males. There's not much to discuss in this interview, it was just an opportunity for the Males to hype their participation in the WW3 battle royal and also claim that they should be getting more title opportunities.
Rating: 53
Harlem Heat's music hits the speakers which brings the crowd to their feet. After making their entrance and going to the ring, the announcers hype events from WCW Saturday Night where the tag team champions issued an open title opportunity for any team in WCW. Eric Bischoff announces that there has indeed been a team that accepted the challenge, though it hasn't yet been revealed. Harlem Heat gets in the ring and the music fades out. Booker T has a microphone and say that they gave an open challenge and that Harlem Heat doesn't back down from a fight and aren't afraid of anyone. Booker says the time for mystery is over and their opponents now need to make an appearance.
There's no immediate response, auditory or visually, which starts to annoy Harlem Heat as they look to the stage. Sensational Sherri is heard yelling at some officials who are around ringside. Booker T says that whoever accepted the challenge must have had second thoughts, and that they don't have all day to stand around and wait.
Finally, music hits, which results in the crowd roaring with excitement and two figures emerge from the fog and lights at the entrance, which causes Harlem Heat inside the ring to collectively lose their minds. The music?
"A Man Called Sting........."
Sting and Lex Luger come out and high-five fans all down the aisle. They climb in the ring and walk straight up to the tag team champions as both teams take the opportunity to talk trash. The announce team say that it appears we now have a title match!
WCW Tag Team Titles:
Sting & Lex Luger vs Harlem Heat (c)
Harlem Heat found themselves in quite the predicament in this one, which is their toughest test yet for the champions. Harlem Heat are also booked to defend the titles against the Steiner's at World War 3, should they make it out of this one. Sting and Lex Luger were clearly fired up in this one and ready to capture the tag team belts. It wasn't meant to be though, because after one flurry of offense from Sting, Harlem Heat retreated out to the floor to regroup. At the direction of Sensational Sherri, and to thunderous boos from the crowd, Harlem Heat saw it as a great opportunity to leave the match and were counted out at 7:47. Sting and Luger won the match, but Harlem Heat retained their titles.
Winners by count out: Sting & Lex Luger
Rating: 73
Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, what an exciting night! I'm sure Sting and Lex Luger would have much preferred to be leaving here tonight with the tag team titles, but perhaps another time! Joining me backstage right now is the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion, a man who was stripped of the title at Halloween Havoc due to his actions and who will try to reclaim the title this Sunday, Hulk Hogan!
Hulk Hogan, in the last couple of weeks, you've gained the attention from the 4 Horsemen, most notably the Enforcer, Arn Anderson. Last week on Monday Nitro, Steve Austin also interrupted you, but this past weekend on WCW Saturday Night, the Enforcer called you out by name, saying that the Pay Per View would be all about winning the battle royal, but then he's coming for you, Hulk Hogan.
Well ya know something, Mean Gene?!?! I've spent an entire career chopping down every man to come face to face and challenge me, brother! I've taken down Giants, I've taken down kings, I've taken down millionaires, and I've taken down snakes! So if a couple'a yahoo's like Arn Anderson or Steve Austin wanna step up to the plate, brother, and challenge Hulkamania, then so be it! Ya know, the last few weeks has given me plenty of time to reflect, and it's made me realize that there indeed does need to be a change, brother. Hulk Hogan has gone through a type of genesis. Hulkamania will, in fact, never die, and though I may need to get more aggressive, Gene, there's one thing that will never change, and that's the training, saying your prayers, and taking your vitamins, brother! The fact of the matter is, Mean Gene, Hulk Hogan fears no man and if Steve Austin claims it's hunting season, and Arn Anderson wants a piece of me, then brother, I'll just take the fight right to him! So WHATCHA GONNA DO, ARN ANDERSON, STEVE AUSTIN, AND THE REST OF THE 4 HORSEMEN, WHEN HULK HOGAN BRINGS HELL STRAIGHT TO YOU!!!!!!
Rating: 99
Ricky Steamboat vs Brian Pillman
This is billed as a return match from two weeks ago where Ricky Steamboat was brutally attacked by the Horsemen, resulting in a disqualification. While that match was for the United States title, this one is not. As such, you may be able to predict the outcome. Both competitors were given quite a long main event time and used it to their advantage. Steamboat was notably not as smooth in the ring as their first encounter, which could have been due to the match length. Pillman spent a large amount of time dodging attacks from Steamboat, who tried to continue a fast pace. Steamboat was able to pick up the surprising pin fall at 15:23 after hitting a flying cross body off the top rope.
Winner: Ricky Steamboat
Rating: 78
Final Show Grade: 81