wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Monday Nitro 1.08.96
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-We continue on with Nitro in 1996. As mentioned, I have already done reviews of every Clash and PPV (by both companies), so I will just tag then when they are mentioned. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Eric Bischoff, Steve McMichael, Bobby Heenan
-Charleston, SC
Chris Benoit (w/ Brian Pillman) vs. Alex Wright
-Benoit attacks before the bell and hits a snap suplex. Both men are coming off losses at Starrcade and Benoit had his Horsemen credentials questioned by Pillman last week after he lost to Regal. Overhead Suplex into a bridge gets two. He sends Wright to the floor and Pillman gets in some shots to pop the crowd. This is Horsemen Country! Back in the ring Benoit fires off chops in the corner. Wright back flips off the top rope and leads to him hitting a heel kick. Cross-body off the top rope and then he sends Benoit to the floor with a catapult which Heenan questions if it should be a DQ. Wright off the top onto Benoit on the floor. Cool! Bischoff goes off about how nobody can imitate their success as I assume The Billionaire Ted skits have started on RAW. Wright with a slam as Bischoff rants about Titanic Sports raising the prices of their PPVs and that’s something they won’t do in 1996. STF by Wright as they are rolling right now. They trade chops and punches, and Benoit wins the exchange. Wright with a back elbow and a suplex into a pin for two. Wright gets his leg grabbed by Pillman, so he dives over the ropes on him. Again, cool! Wright tries to sling shot in with a splash but Benoit gets the knees up. They trade standing switches and then strikes. Dragon Suplex gets the win for Benoit at 6:38.
Winner: Chris Benoit via pin at 6:38
-This was a fantastic little match as Wright showed great aggression and did his best to keep up with Benoit. Of the two, Benoit needed the win a little more here after the loss to Regal last week and Pillman questioning him. Good stuff! ***1/4
Eddie Guerrero vs. Lord Steven Regal
-Quite the one-two punch to start this show. Never dawned onto to me until now how much bigger Regal is than Eddie. Regal with a drop toe-hold, but Eddie reverses into a hammerlock. Another go and Regal starts to work on the arm. Eddie rolls to escape and ends up getting arm control. Regal rolls to escape as Eric tells us to forget about “The Royal Fumble.” I reviewed that show! Regal continues with wrist control as the crowd starts to chant for Eddie. Eddie picks up the pace, but gets caught with a knee to the gut. Double under hook, but Eddie turns that into an arm-drag. Regal backs away from a dropkick and gets a roll-up which Eddie counters into his own for two. Regal goes to the eyes to slow things down again, which draws solid heat from the crowd. Eddie gets Regal off his feet and gets a wacky pin attempt as Eric and Mongo are openly cheering for Eddie on commentary. Regal lands a strike to the face and hits an inverted suplex for two. Regal starts grinding Eddie down with forearms and knees. We get another reversal sequence and Regal hits a hard elbow and then drops another one for two. Two again and then two again as he keeps going for the pin. Regal starts stretching Eddie and throws palm strikes for good measure. Geez! Eddie fights back and ends up eating another palm strike. Eddie with a dropkick but can’t follow up as Regal fires off another forearm. Whip to the corner and another back elbow. Forearms and a slap to the face. Eddie fights back which annoys Regal and he goes crazy with forearms. He throws one too many as Eddie ducks and gets a flash pin off a backslide at 8:07.
Winner: Eddie Guerrero via pin at 8:07
-Started slow which is normal for a Regal match, but man did he put a beating on Eddie. It got really good once Regal started throwing strikes and Eddie stood up to it. I ended before it got really, really good but I like the ending as Eddie was getting smoked and found a way to get the win and get out of there. ***1/2
-Gene is in the aisle and has Sting and Lex Luger with him. Gene takes a shot at the WWF as that is a theme tonight. Sting wants to know what happened at The Triangle Match and Luger claims he was injured and was just reaching out for Sting to help him up. Gene continues to stir the drama, but Lex blows him off and pitches the idea to Sting to become a tag team.
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Sting
-Who would have guessed back then that these two would end up having one of the greatest matches in Nitro history a few years later? Fun start as Page wants the ref to check Sting and then rubs his cigar in Sting’s face over the ref’s back. Cool! Makes sense for Sting to fall for that as well. Sting side steps a whip and sends Page into the ropes, where he gets tangled. Dropkick from Sting sends Page to the floor and Sting hits a sling shot dive. Back in the ring Sting goes for a leap frog and gets caught in the balls. Belly to back suplex from Page and he lays in “devastating boots,” according to Eric. Nice to prop up our friends! Page hooks a chinlock and gets his feet on the ropes for leverage to tick off the crowd. Always a plus when someone cheats to get the crowd into it. Sting fights to his feet, but Page goes to the hair to pull him back down. Sting fights up a second time and escapes. He makes the comeback with right hands and then a standing dropkick. Stinger Splash! Sting kicks Page in the legs and goes for The Scorpion, but Page is too close to the ropes. He drops Sting throat first on the ropes and hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. Small package from Sting gets two. Page goes to the eyes and hits an elbow in the corner for another two count. Sting flips out of a belly to belly and this time The Scorpion is in the middle of the ring and Dallas gives it up at 6:19.
Winner: Sting via submission at 6:19
-Another solid match as DDP got in more than you would think but they obviously had some plans for him. Sting gets another coming out of the Triangle Match loss at Starrcade which helps him. **1/2
-Clash of the Champions: Jan 23! I already did that show and you can find my review here!
Ric Flair and Arn Anderson vs. Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage
-Savage, still with the arm bandaged, is starting and so is Anderson but Flair wants some. He then tells Savage, he wants Hogan so we get another tag. Flair charges and bounces off Hogan. Lock-up and Flair with a hammerlock, that Hogan reverses. Flair takes him down by the leg and gets a facelock, but Hogan counters. Flair tries to win a strength battle and yeah, that’s not happening. Chop in the corner and Hogan just stalks Flair, so he goes to the eyes. Hogan back with a boot and that brings Anderson into the ring and Hogan hits slams on each and the Horsemen bail to the floor. Anderson back in and Hogan goes to the arm and bring Savage in who comes off the top with a double ax. As you would expect the crowd is into this one. Anderson tries a suplex to the floor, but Savage blocks and sends Arn into a Hogan big boot. Savage off the top to the floor with the double axe and then another one back in the ring, but Flair makes the save. Hogan chases and Flair’s ass pops out, but it lets Arn land a shot to take Savage down. Flair in and he heads up top but Savage slams him down and hooks a figure-four. Hogan and Arn in and Hogan puts Arn in the figure-four as the crowd pops. In the chaos, Arn snaps off a DDT on Savage and then Flair pitches him over the top to the floor. Heck of a bump by Savage on that as he slides under the railing. We take a commercial break at 6:57.
-60 seconds of Peacock commercials!
-Back at 8:00 with Arn holding Savage with an abdominal stretch and making sure to use extra leverage from Flair. Naturally! Flair back in and he fires away with chops in the corner and then a heavy whip to the corner. Belly-to-back suplex gets two as Hogan makes the save. Arn back in and Savage catches him with a sleeper, but Arn quickly gets to his corner and Flair rakes the eyes. Just simple stuff here as Savage is great at getting his ass beat and selling and Hogan is a great hot tag guy. The Horsemen are just great at being dicks who cheat. Flair back in and Savage fights to get a backslide for two. Flair with a knee-breaker and he looks for the figure-four, but Savage counters with a small package for two and then another. Flair with a right hand and then a chop. Savage continues to fight back but Arn cuts off the tag attempt. DDT is blocked as Savage holds the ropes and he makes the tag as Flair hits him in the back. Hogan is in and he no sells a chop as Flair flexes. Ha! Backdrop and clotheslines for everyone. Mongo notes the plan was for Savage to wear them down and Hogan clean house. Sounds like an awful plan for Savage. Arn hits Hogan with a spinebuster, but Hulk-Up! Right hand x 3, big boot, and leg drop and Hogan gets the pin at 13:20.
Winners:
-Just a basic tag match with good heat and star power. As mentioned, Savage is great as taking a beat and Hogan got to run wild after the tag. It looked like The Horsemen may run in for the DQ, but perhaps they just came out too soon. This was solid. **1/2
-Pillman and Benoit hit the ring, but the Dungeon of Doom is here as well. The Giant wrecks shop on Hogan and Savage while Sullivan fights Benoit and Pillman. Zodiak forces Hogan out of the ring as we are out of time.
-Thanks for reading!
