wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Monday Nitro 4.29.96
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-This is a taped episode as they did a double shot the previous week and I believe the start time was an hour earlier thanks to the NBA playoffs (Hawks beat Pacers in Game 3 of their first round series). I hope they have something historic planned. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Eric Bischoff, Mongo, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
-Taped: Albany Civic Center, Albany, NY
WCW World Tag Team Championship: Sting (c) and Lex Luger (c) vs. Harlem Heat
-The crowd sounds good for a taped show as they are into this one. Sting and Booker start as Bischoff continues to plug the NBA playoffs following tonight’s show. Sting works the arm to start, but Booker escaped and hits a hook kick. Sting ducks a series of clotheslines and gets a shoulder tackle followed by a slam. He drops an elbow for a two count. Tag to Luger, which draws a mix of boos and cheers, for a double back elbow which gets two. Booker goes to the eyes and brings in Stevie Ray. He pounds Luger down in to the corner and then stomps him once he’s down there. He misses a charge in the corner and now Luger gets to pound him down in the corner. That’s pretty cool actually! Sting back in as the champs hit a double clothesline. Stevie goes back to the eyes and runs Sting into the top buckle. Eric starts defending Luger as a stand up guy as they continue to soften his character for what’s to come. Dropkick by Sting to Booker T and back to Luger. He comes off the middle ropes with a double ax to the back. We take a break at 4:51.
-60 seconds of Peacock commercials!
-Back at 5:55 with with Booker hitting a sidewalk slam on Luger. Spin-a-roni and he hits a Harlem Sidekick which has Bischoff losing it. He delays in making the cover and it costs him as Sting is out at two. Stevie back in and he hits a Pump Kick. Reverse chinlock as the crowd starts chanting for Sting. He fires up but Stevie goes to the eyes for a third time. Booker in and they clothesline each other, so the race is on to make a tag. Luger gets the tag and runs wild on both members of Harlem Heat. Powerslam to Booker, but Stevie Ray breaks up the pin attempt. Sting gets pitched to the floor. Harlem Heat a powerbomb top rope elbow combo as Jimmy Hart comes out and throws a towel in the ring. Stevie Ray presses Hart into the ring and the distraction lets Sting roll-up Booker for the pin at 9:19. Sting wasn’t even legal, so that was all kinds of wrong. Harlem Heat were kind of screwed there.
Winners and Still WCW World Tag Team Champions: Sting and Lex Luger via pin at 9:19
-Solid tag match with a super hot crowd, but I wasn’t a fan of the ending. **1/4
Fire and Ice vs. The Steiner Brothers
-I could see Big E being a fan of a match between these teams. Rick knocks Ice Train down with a shoulder, but he gets caught with a powerslam. Running splash in the corner provides a great visual as it looked like Train was coming through our screen. Another splash misses and Rick dumps Train with a suplex. Scott and Norton in and Steiner throws him around the ring. He comes off the top, but Norton catches him and gets a Gorilla Press Slam. He hits a series of clotheslines, but runs into a stun-gun. Rick back in and he jumps at Norton and bounces off of him. Ice Train back in with a a clothesline to Rick and one to Scott. Big Boot to Scott follows by a Gorilla Press Slam! Train sets too early on a backdrop but Norton breaks up a suplex attempt. He sends Scott to the floor with a clothesline. Rick hits a clothesline in the chaos and gets the pin at 3:22. I don’t think he was the legal man either.
Winners: The Steiner Brothers via pin 3:22
-Fun while it lasted as they just hit each other hard with clotheslines and slams. **
-Gene Okerlund brings out World Champion, Ric Flair, and he has Woman and Miss Elizabeth with him. Liz is back in the short leather which is always appreciated. Woman flirts with Gene which was always a great running gag. Savage kisses Liz’s arm and hand to twist the knife a bit more in Savage’s heart. He then clarifies that Giant and Savage are small compared to him.
-Glacier is coming! Not sure if the nWo is what delayed that or if they just got cold feet, Yep!
-WCW Magazine commercial!
Parking Lot Brawl: Lord Steven Regal vs. The Belfast Bruiser
-Yes, they are having this match outside with fans behind security railings and four cars surrounding the wrestlers. Bruiser gets sent through a car window, but doesn’t slow down. He goes to use a slab of concrete, but Regal goes to the eyes. Bruiser beats him with a spare tire and then sends him into the front end of a truck. He takes the bumper off and beats Regal with it. Cool! Slam on the hood a truck. Regal back with a kick to the shoulder and he runs Brusier into a car hood. He drops an elbow up there and delivers some right hands. Brusier chokes with a seatbelt strap and slaps Regal in the face. Finlay misses a punch and hits a window that doesn’t break. He drops Regal throat first on the railing, but Regal clotheslines him into the bed of a truck. Someone is bleeding as Regal’s shirt is turning red on the back. Bischoff wants wide shots because we can’t show blood on TNT. Boy, how times have changed! Regal gets run into another window, but it doesn’t break. Bischoff sounds like someone is in his ear as he keeps saying this is getting out of hand and he will keep telling the cameras to pull back. A window gets shattered as they just keep punching each other in the face. Bischoff never wants to see a match like this again. Boo! Bruiser drops an elbow on the hood of a truck. Regal takes a backdrop on the roof of a car and Bruiser slams him face first on it as well. Regal just sucks it up and hits a piledriver on the roof for the pin at 6:15.
Winner: Lord Steven Regal via pin at 6:15
-This was awesome and one of the more memorable things on Nitro in the early days. Eric’s commentary was getting annoying though. ***1/2
-Heenan then realizes his rental car was one of the vehicles destroyed.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair (c) (w/ Woman and Miss Elizabeth) vs. The Giant (w/ Jimmy Hart)
-Flair stops to flirt with Debra as usual and we still have some time before that pays off. Flair had been teaming with Giant and it hasn’t been going well. He angered The Giant one time too many and Flair can’t help himself, so he told Giant he would kick his ass last week. Imm a cool touch, the Belt still has Randy Savage’s name on it because Flair likes to remind him he took his ex-wife and his belt. Giant is just calm as he waits for Flair to quit stalling on the floor. Flair tries a shoulder tackle and yeah, that goes as expected. Giant gets a Gorilla Press Slam and Flair immediately sells the back like death. Whip to the corner and Flair flips to the apron and falls to the floor. Ginat follows and Flair hides behind the women. Back in the ring and Flair jumps to get a thumb to the eye. Chops and they have no effect. Giant misses a splash in the corner. Flair heads up and Giant slams him down. Suplex as Eric again mentions The NBA Playoffs coming up next. Flair grabs on the ropes to block a chokeslam and then hits a ball shot as the women have the refs. Heenan notes it was just a muscle spasm. Giant shoves Flair on his ass from his knees. Flair drops Giant with a foreign object and even the ref can’t believe it, so he questions what Flair did to him. Giant is out cold, so Flair struts and goes for the Figure-Four. Heenan notes he should have gone for the pin. He does hook the hold, but Giant sits up, goozles Flair and we have a new World Champion after a chokeslam and pin at 5:48.
Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: The Giant via pin at 5:48
-I assume this was the shortest match Flair ever had where he lost a World Title. The story was Flair trying to find a way to solve The Giant and nothing really worked, so he got smoked. *1/2
-Gene heads to the ring and Giant gives his victory speech and mentions Hulk Hogan. I assume we all thought Hogan would be the one to dethrone him. We just didn’t expect the way it would go down.
-Eric notes Sting now gets a World Title Match against The Giant at Slamboree.
-Thanks for reading!
