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Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Monday Nitro 2.24.97
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Written: 6.29.26
-Run Time: 1:37:12
-Plug: SuperBrawl VII
-We are a day removed from SuperBrawl VII and Hulk Hogan is still WCW Champion. Randy Savage is nWo and we are about to kick start the feud of the year in WCW.
-Announce Team: Hour One: Tony Schiavone and Larry Zbyszko
-Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA
Public Enemy vs. Mongo (w/Debra) and Jeff Jarrett
-PE won a Triangle Match last night and are the #1 contender’s for the Tag Titles. Jarrett beat Mongo last night and I guess is a Horsemen now. Sure! Rock, with a shaved head, starts with Mongo. Lockup and Mongo sends Rock back into the corner. They trade shoves and Rock lands on his ass. Mongo plays to the crowd as they are rather up for this match. Mongo misses a charge in the corner. JJ and Grunge both in and Grunge dominates early. He blocks a leap frog with a punch and hits a reverse neckbreaker. Grunge does The Cabbage Patch and brings in Rock. Jarrett misses an elbow in the corner, but Rock gets to close to Mongo and eats a clothesline. Jarrett takes Rock down and Mongo in with a leg drop to the back of the head. Oh man, I just realized I have Dark Side coverage next week and we have 3 hours of TNA shows. I get to listen to Jarrett explain how Hogan was only out for himself in TNA without any sense of irony. Jarrett blocks a Rock leap frog and hits a powerbomb. That gets two as Grunge makes the save. Mongo get the briefcase and WALLOPS JJ to a big pop. Rock gets the cover for the pin at 4:35. That was great!
Winner: The Public Enemy via pin at 4:35
-Not much as a match, but the ending was great. Made me smile! **
-Arn Anderson, and Ric Flair are out to sort things. Mongo is a tad fired up and says it was payback and notes that brothers fight at times. Flair says he told the World on Saturday that if JJ won, he was in The Horsemen. Flair wants The Horsemen to show why they have been the symbol of excellence. Arn lays down the law as he tells them the Dungeon and nWo are stronger while the Horsemen are weaker. In a creepy bit he says “Benoit may never be back.” Mongo offers a handshake and says he may mess with Jeff, but nobody else can. They shake and JJ gets to put up the four fingers. Funny how Jarrett was a much better fit with nWo2K than he was with The Horsemen.
Galaxy vs. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
-Galaxy is Damian 666 in a different gimmick. Tony says this is classic USA vs. Mexico. Loud USA chant which happens when Duggan is out there. He pounds Galaxy down in the corner and sends him flying with a backdrop. Running clothesline and another and another. Galaxy rolls to the floor to catch his breath, but Duggan follows. Galaxy gets tossed into the post ad then slammed on the concrete as Duggan pulled the mat back. The gold boots (for WCW) look weird on Duggan. Galaxy lands one shot, but Duggan shakes it off and beats him back down. He lays Galaxy across the top rope in the corner and starts laying in forearms. Galaxy falls to the floor. Duggan sends him back in and Galaxy goes to the eyes. Galaxy goes for a moonsault, but Duggan moves. Running clothesline and taped fist punch finishes at 3:19.
Winner: Jim Duggan via pin at 3:19
-Duggan showed some aggression and fire here because he is apparently pissed off at Hogan and the nWo. Just a total SQUASH here. SQUASH
-Gene is with Duggan and he calls out Savage and Hogan for having black hearts. He isn’t going to run and hide like others in WCW. He will stand and fight. He challenges Hogan and for some reason, they never gave us that. I checked and they had matches in the early 80s. This promo made he want to see it and even if Hogan just SQUASHED Duggan to get heat it would have be fine.
-Look at that Netscape browser showing off wcwwrestling.com. Takes me back! Apparently, tonight is the first international audio simulcast of Nitro (in Japanese and Spanish) from audio com. Sonny and Dragon handle Japanese and Morales and Miguel Alonso with the Spanish feed. We got a desktop with internet in late 97 and Netscape Navigator was what I used. My desktop photo for a while was a photo the Nash powerbomb of The Giant from SuperBrawl.
Joe Gomez vs. Hugh Morrus
-Tony notes that Sullivan, Benoit, and Jackie are all currently in the hospital following the match they had last night. Gomez offers a clean break in the corner. Morrus doesn’t as he starts pouring down with forearms and stomps. Gomez floats over in the opposite corner and gets a roll-up for a one count. Gomez counters a knee with another roll-up for two and gets an arm-drag into an arm-bar. Morrus lands a clothesline out of the corner, but I don’t know if that’s what was supposed to happen. Gomez just kind of fell and tripped over his feet. Gomez ducks another clothesline and gets a dropkick. Back to the arm-bar. Gomez gets caught with a modified spinebuster and No Laughing Matter gets the pin at 3:17.
Winner: Hugh Morrus via pin at 3:17
-Little rough at times and just a way to get Morrus (and The Dungeon) a win. Just a step above a SQUASH. *
-Ted Dibiase and Syxx want you to buy the nWo black denim jacket for $50. Wonder how much that is worth today? Someone is trying to sell one on Ebay for $165.00.
-This Saturday: 6:05 PM: Faces of Fear vs. High Voltage, Public Enemy vs. Amazing French Canadians, Plus Jericho, Calo, and Riggs.
-We get still photos from the Benoit/Sullivan double strap match that featured Jackie and Woman strapped to each other. Benoit puts Sullivan and Jackie through a table with the diving headbutt off the top. All three were taken away in an ambulance. This feud still has five more months before the final blow off (on TV at least).
LA Parka vs. Ice Train (w/ Teddy Long)
-Parka attacks at the bell as we get a Teddy Long inset promo. He tells Jackie to get out before it’s too late. Train with a powerslam and a leaping shoulder tackle. Parka heads up top and hits a spinning heel kick. That looked like it was in slow motion, but it connected. Train kicks out with ease. Parka gets caught and Train hits a rather sweet looking World’s Strongest Slam. Headbutt followed by a running splash in the corner. Parka hits a jawbreaker to turn the tide and lands another spinning heel kick. Another one! Train rolls to the floor, so Parka dives out with a corkscrew plancha. Nice! Back in the ring he hits a clothesline, but Train stays on his feet. He reverses a whip and delivers a heavy clothesline. Slam by Train! Parka off the top, but gets caught and another World’s Strongest Slam. Train Wreck (splash) finishes at 3:56.
Winner: Ice Train via pin at 3:56
-They actually had solid chemistry here. It was Parka’s lucha vs. Train’s power and it worked. **1/2
Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho vs. The Faces of Fear (w/ Jimmy Hart)
-Jericho lost to Eddie last night and now they are partners. Same as Jarrett/Mongo earlier. This match could be fun! You know and Jericho and Eddie will have no problem getting bounced all over the ring by Meng and Barbarian. We start with Barbarian and Jericho. Barbarian starts strong, but Jericho lands a dropkick to the knee. He gets a boot up in the corner and hits a missile dropkick. Eddie in with a sling shot plancha, but Barbarian tosses him in the air so that he lands on his face. Good pop for that! Meng in and he fires away with chops. Eddie fights back from his knees, but gets dropped with a head-butt. Nasty powerbomb! Eddie ducks a clothesline and gets a head scissors. Tag to Jericho and we get a double backdrop. Meng reverses a whip, which lets Barbarian land a kick. That sends Jericho into a belly-to-back suplex. Barbarian back in and he throws Jericho across the ring with a release overhead belly-to-belly suplex from the top rope. Always loved when Barbarian would do that. Jericho tries a roll-up, but doesn’t do much. Meng back in and he fires off chops. Jericho comes off the ropes in the corner with a cross-body for two. He can’t follow up though and Meng chokes him on the mat. Meng pulls Eddie into the ring and that lets Barbarian stomp away behind the ref’s back. Backdrop into the powerbomb gets two as Eddie jumps over for the save. Meng with a kick and we get a double head-butt from the middle ropes for two as Eddie makes the save once again. Barbarian with a front face lock to slow things down a little. Meng back in and Jericho hits a lionsault, and then an enziguiri. That lets him get the hot tag to Eddie. He throws kicks and clotheslines and finally drops Meng with a.dropkick. Double dropkick sends Meng into a tag. Barbarian in with a clothesline to Jericho, but misses on Eddie. He catches Barbarian with a dropkick and double suplex. Jericho goes to spring, but Meng pulls him to the floor. The ref checks on that as Eddie heads up top. Here’s Dean to show Malenko off into a big boot from The Barbarian and that gets the pin at 7:40.
Winners: The Faces of Fear at 7:40
-Fun match as they meshed well. Jericho and Eddie had no issue getting tossed around the ring. Meng and Barbarian were a fun time around this time. Malenko costing Eddie makes sense as Eddie cost Dean the previous night against Syxx. ***
-Hour Two Pyro!
-Announce Team: Hour Two: Tony Schiaove, Mike Tenay, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera
-Both are going with a red, white, and blue color scheme. Juvie lands a chop in the corner rand tells Rey to bring it. Rey with a backbreaker, but gets caught with a DDT. Juvie springs in with a dropkick and goes after the knee with a grapevine. Rey kicks his way out and gets knuckle control. Juvie flips Rey over his back and we get a tumbling sequence. Rey flips off, but lands on his feed. They start trading chops and Juvie slows things down with a forearm smash to the face. That gets two! Rey gets sen to the apron, but punches Juvie and flips off the top. Juvie with a moonsault press for two and then hooks a reverse chinlock. Rey ducks a clothesline and gets a head scissors that sends Juvie to the floor. Baseball slide into a head scissors. Cool! Rey back up top, but Juvie springs off and brings him down with the sunset flip powerbomb for two. SWEET! Juvie with a basement dropkick to send Rey to the floor and then follows with a suicide dive. Springboard somersault, but Rey backs up and catches Juvie on the way down with a powerbomb. West Coast Pop finishes at 5:33.
Winner: Rey Mysterio Jr. via pin at 5:33
-Sweet little match even if the crowd seemed a little distracted. Little sloppy at times, but it’s a WCW CW Match, so all good. **3/4
-1-800-Collect has Lee Marshall on The Road in Atlanta. He makes a weasel reference along with a Gone with The Wind reference.
WCW World Television Title: Prince Iaukea vs. Pat Tanaka (w/ Goldberg’s music)
-Prince defeated Rey last night thanks to Regal. Prince controls early with arm-drags, but Pat gets a thumb to the eyes. Prince back with a double chop and doesn’t follow up. Mistake as Tanaka drops him with a dragon screw leg whip. He fires off chops in the corner, but Prince rebounds out of the corner with a clothesline. They then circle each other and we have another go. Weird! Tanaka with a sit-out powerbomb for two. Rolling Samoan Drop from Prince followed by a springboard butt splash. The crowd is checked out and we get a faint boring chant. Prince with a top rope cross-body for the pin at 2:55.
Winner and Still WCW World Television Champion: Prince Iaukea via pin at 2:55
-Better match than Morrus/Gomez, but the crowd was gone. *
Dean Maleko vs. Ultimo Dragon (w/ Sonny Onoo)
-Wait, they had Sonny and Dragon listed as doing the Japanese audio for those online. Who is calling the show now? Dean is a little annoyed as he lost the WCW CW Title to Syxx last night. Syxx in a WCW ring still looks weird to me. Dragon with a side headlock, but Dean backs him into a corner and we get a clean break. Dragon grabs a leg, but Dean counters with a head scissors. Dragon out of that with a hammerlock, but Dean counters and Dragon gets to the ropes to force a break. We go again and Dragon gets arm control. Dean shoves off, but gets run over with a shoulder block. Dragon lands on his feet off a backdrop and gets a leg sweep. It’s a stalemate and Dean offers a handshake. Dragon accepts and Dean drops him with a clothesline. Dean drops an elbow for a two count. Dragon lands a series of kicks and then a heavy punt to the back. Dropkick from Dragon is on point and that gets two. Dean gets a double leg and pitches Dragon to the floor. He follows and Dean sends him into the railing. I am digging the story as Dragon isn’t used to a ticked off Dean and is caught off guard. Back in the ring, Dean gets a brain buster for two. Reverse chinlock and he buries a knee in the back for good measure. He switches to a camel clutch, but Dragon escapes and ends up getting a modified surfboard. He transitions to a Death Lock and adds a bridge. Ouch! Dean won’t quit, so Dragon releases and stomps the knee. Backdrop, but Dean flips over into a pin for two. Dragon up first and lands another kick. Dean blocks a powerbomb and backdrops out. Butterfly Powerbomb gets two! Dean goes for an abdominal stretch, but gets dumped on the floor. Dragon sends him into the post and then WHIFFS on a springboard dropkick and Dean sells it. Dragon with a dropkick through the ropes and comes off the top with a crossbody. The crowd has checked out of this one as well. Dragon with a rana, but Dean rolls back to get a two count. Dragon with La Majistral for two. Handspring elbow, but Dean catches and dumps him with a release German Suplex. Dean goes to a choke and that brings Sonny yp, so Dean decks him. Dean back to the choke and gets disqualified at 8:55.
Winner: Ultimo Dragon via DQ at 8:55
-Different type of match between these two as Dean was showing off his anger following the loss the previous night. The springboard dropkick was kind of rough and the crowd checked out, but I dug what they were doing and the story they were telling. ***
-Gene is with Dean and he has words for Syxx and tells Eddie he’s not afraid of him. Dean: “I just don’t care anymore.”
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Squire David Taylor
-Taylor beats on Page in the corner and throws some Euro uppercuts. Suplex from Taylor as the crowd chants for DDP. He responds with strikes and gets a reverse atomic drop. The Outsiders are making their way down to the ring. DDP hits the Diamond Cutter, but no cover as he sees Hall and Nash. That would have been the finish at around 50 seconds for those keeping track. Hall: “Here comes the bad guys.” Nash takes off his watch and the match is over I guess.
No Contest at 1:10
-It was setting up as a SQUASH.
-Randy Savage sneaks out and decks Page in the back of the head with a can of spray paint. A fan rushes the ring and these are always fun. He runs at Hall and EATS a right hand to the face. Savage rushes over as he would love to punch a fan, but Nash pushes him to the floor before Savage can hurt the guy. Nash showed some mercy there.
-Savage tags DDP and he does a pretty crappy job actually. The letters are way too big and kind of faded. We aren’t done as Savage heads up top and drops the Flying Elbow. Savage was a natural fit in the nWo and he would have been a better backup option in place of Hogan than Sting. Thus starts the Savage/Page feud that turned DDP into a star for good.
-After a commercial with are back with The Outsiders and Savage in the ring. Hall welcomes us to another edition of nWo Nitro as we hear the porno music. The bring Hulk Hogan out and he says The Outsiders have a gift for Savage: Miss Elizabeth and she looks so happy. Good for her! Liz smiling makes me smile! We will bypass the idea that Liz was being treated as a present for someone. I mean, TK gave Ric Flair as a present to Sting. We have police surrounding the ring now as I assume they don’t want any other fans trying to rush the ring. It’s funny watching Savage interact with Liz as it looked like he went for a double high five and she gave a half hug so Savage rubbed her on the head. That had to be a little awkward, but it made me smile.
-WCW Uncensored commercial with Hugh Morrus.
WCW World Tag Team Titles: The Giant (c) and Lex Luger (c) vs. Harlem Heat (w/ Sister Sherri)
-These four ended up in a 4 Way a few months down the line and well, we know what Booker had to say in a promo before the match. No match as the nWo is back out again. It’s the entire group and Eric tells Lex that have a problem, but they can fix it easily. He says the Tag belts belong to Hall and Nash because Luger did not have a release and was not authorized to wrestle. Nash removes his watch again to show he means business. Luger tells Bischoff he will hand the belt over if the nWo accepts every belt being on the line at Uncensored in a battle of WCW and the nWo. Eric agrees and Lex hands his belt to Nash. Giant reluctantly agrees and Hall says they are easy to find because they are packing all the gold. That line always stuck with me. Sting is out and stands in the middle, and then stares at Hogan. Luger wants him to make a decision. Hogan hugs Sting and Sting seemingly falls in line with the rest of the nWo. It should be noted he didn’t hug Hogan back, but he clearly stood with them. Tony and Bobby are sick as we are backing to not trusting Sting again. The man’s whole deal is he wants people to trust him and they just keep turning on him at every small decision he makes.
-Thanks for reading!
