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Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Monday Nitro 5.5.97
Image Credit: WWE
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Leighty’s Retro Wrestling PPV Reviews: 1996 WWF and WCW
-Written: 9.8.26
-Run Time: 44:42
-Plugs: Last week on Nitro
-This is the second week of having a shortened show thanks to the NBA Playoffs. For those wanting to know what happens after Nitro: Houston wins in Seattle 112-102 in Game One of their 2nd Round Series.
-Announce Team: Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, and Bobby “The Brain” Henan
-Lakeland, Florida
-Cold open as we see The nWo beating up Flair last week while Piper just stood in the ring reading nWo propaganda that was falling from the sky.
-Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, and Kevin Greene are at the announce table and an nWo banner drops behind letting us know Tradition Bites. They tear it down and another drops down in front. That’s pretty funny! They storm off as we go to the proper show opening.
-Show opening!
-Piper, Flair, and Greene are in the ring as nWo fliers fall from the sky. Piper doesn’t care about the nWo wanting 75% of the purse as he doesn’t wear purses. JJ Dillon is out and says the nWo is getting 75% because of the deals they signed with Bischoff. He tells Piper they need him and he has to show up on May 18. Flair says Syxx is his come the PPV and talks about giving 120% his whole career. The Public Enemy’s music plays to get Flair and company to exit stage left.
Public Enemy vs. Konan and Hugh Morrus (w/ Jimmy Hart)
-Last week Morrus and Konan got involved in a Steiners/PE Match and thus we have this match. Each team brings out their own table. Bell sounds and they all start brawling which usually makes for the best PE match. Morrus gets throw into the railing on the floor. Jimy Hart gets put on a table, but Konan saves by cutting Rock off with a clothesline. Morrus misses a charge and runs into the post. We actually have three tables out there as the PE stack two with Konnan on the lower table. Grunge off the top, but Hart pulls Konan out and Grunge takes a nasty bump where he kind of slides off the table and into the railing. That had to suck! The DOD Table get set up in the ring with the legs facing the wrong direction and that could be bad. Rock with a lion-sault onto both members of PE. DOD goes for a lariat sandwich, but Rock avoids and sets the table up proper like. Konan is on a table again as Rock heads up top. Morrus meets him up top and hits a superplex that puts Rock through Konan and the table. That gets the pin at 3:36.
Winners: Hugh Morrus and Konan via pin at 3:36
-This was chaotic fun for as short as it was. Again, just let PE do these matches as the crowd enjoys them and it’s better than a standard tag match. **
-We get the opening pyro we missed at the start.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Syxx (c) vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
-This is a rematch from a few weeks ago where Syxx got the win thanks to help from Nash. Syxx is out and is in jeans and doesn’t have the Championship Belt with him. Hall and Nash are out with Syxx as well. Rey is sporting his Spider-Man gear this week. Syxx lands a spin kick before the bell and then stomps Rey down in the corner. Bronco Buster, but Rey blocks with a boot to the balls. Hall and Nash on the apron and Rey decks each of them. The numbers are too great though as Hall hits The Outsider’s Edge. Buzz Killer and Rey is out at 54 seconds.
Winner and Still WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Syxx via submission at 54 seconds
-So not really a match but I guess I have to rate it. We will go * for the Syxx ball shot on the Bronco Buster.
-JJ Dillon powers down to the ring with Nick Patrick behind. The nWo stomps Patrick out and here’s Bischoff and more members of the nWo. JJ threatens to reverse the decision and Eric tells him he has no power. This is chaos and it’s great. Syxx yells at JJ about not being to pull the stuff now that he did with McMahon and Nash notes he was sick of JJ in New York and he has one coming to him. THEY ARE SHOOTING! This made JJ look really weak.
-Lee Marshall in On The Road with 1-800-Collect in Baltimore. I appreciate the Edgar Allen Poe mention and then we get our normal weasel jokes.
-Hey it’s the nWo music again and this time Hollywood makes his return and Bischoff is by his side. The nWo is dominating this show as I assume they are throwing out all the star power they can as the lead in to the NBA playoffs. They discuss Sting and throw around the idea of that matching happening. SEVEN MONTHS AWAY STILL! The crowd chants for Sting! Hogan yells for them to shut up as garbage continues to pelt the ring. Hogan challenges Sting but he’s not here and that’s it as Hogan wraps by referring to himself as a God. Heenan notes Hogan called out various names but didn’t mention Lex Luger. FORESHADOWING!
Lord Steven Regal vs. Meng
-Two tough dudes here so I assume they are going to hit each other really hard. They start trading heavy shots at the bell and within 15 seconds Kevin Sullivan is out with Jimmy and Jackie. Regal dives on Sullivan and this one is over at 29 seconds.
Winner: Steven Regal via DQ at 29 seconds
-Yep! DUD
-Meng hooks the Tongan Death Grip. Regal gets free and starts punching everyone around him, but gets locked back in the Death Grip. I know we have less than an hour due to commercials but geez.
-Recap of the DDP/Macho Man feud. It’s been great and was the feud of the year in WCW.
-Gene is near the entrance ramp and brings out DDP, and Kimberly is with him. Kim nearly falls on her ass walking down the ramp in heels. That could have been nasty. DDP notes he had been in many bar fights and none of them matched the fight he had with Savage at Spring Stampede. Kimberly gets in a dig about Savage being dumb.
-Randy Savage pops up in the crowd and Liz is with him. He notes that Kim fantasizes about him and everyone fantasizes about The Macho Man. He wants Kim to quit calling him and quit writing him. I wonder how this feud would have gone in the social media age
Alex Wright vs. Jeff Jarrett (w/ Debra)
-Lets see how long these two get. Jarrett can usually stall and strut to at least make it longer than the last two matches. JJ with a take down and he struts. Wright sets too early and JJ hits a swinging neckbreaker. More strutting! Wright flips away from a backdrop and hits a dropkick. He stomps JJ down in the corner and then dances for Debra. JJ clips the knee and the figure four gets the win at 1:25.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett via submission at 1:25
-We broke a minute for the first time in three matches. Wright was showing heel tendencies here which I don’t think led anywhere, but we will see. *
Lizmark Jr. vs. Glacier
-This won’t last long! Lizmark throws punches in the corner and then flips over in the opposite corner. He gets caught with The Cryonic Kick as he lands and that’s a pin at 19 seconds.
Winner: Glacier via pin at 19 seconds
-Yep again! SQUASH
-Mortis is out with Vandenberg and Glacier beats the tar out of him but doesn’t know Wrath is waiting. He turns around and Wrath drops him with a Rock Bottom. Mortis hits The Flatliner, which was a Samoan Drop off the ropes at this point and not the move we would later know as The Flatliner. Wrath hangs Mortis on the ropes and Wrath beats on him with the skull staff. Effective hell beat down here and it wasn’t the nWo doing it. Glacier was in his own world at this point so his enemies got to look strong.
Harlem Heat (w/ Sister Sherri) vs. Lex Luger and The Giant
-Heat are sporting their sweet white gear this week. No Luger as Tony had been noting all night that Luger was injured in Japan. We have less than five minutes in the show as Giant grabs the mic. He brings DDP out as his partner.
Harlem Heat (w/ Sister Sherri) vs. The Giant and DDP
-Kimberly smartly takes off her heels before walking down the ramp. Savage and Liz are waiting there and DDP grabs a crutch, but Savage puts Liz in front. Hogan sneaks up from behind and CRACKS DDP in the ribs with a crutch. Yes, this would lead to the infamous taped ribs that DDP would have for MONTHS. Savage has Liz by the hair as it is just chaos. He makes her watch Savage wear DDP out with the crutch. This is a heel heavy show this week. The entire nWo hits the ring and attack Harlem Heat and The Giant. Garbage flies into the ring as Giant gets destroyed with a crutch. Ric Flair, Kevin Greene are out but they are still outnumbered. The crowd is having a ball with this. Piper is also out and gets beaten up by Hall and Nash.
-Hogan and Savage take over the announce table and close the show as the crowd chants for Sting. Nash has Piper in a sleeper as he yells “thug life.” Always makes me laugh when he does that. Hogan and Savage are having a blast on commentary being heels. Just chaos as we close this one.
-Thanks for reading!
