wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW World War 3 1997
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-We continue on as we are getting close to finishing out 1997 in PPV. I still have an ECW show to do for November and I still have Uncensored 97 hanging over my head before we finish with the two December shows. Then I will rank all the PPV matches in order because I have nothing better else to do. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Tony Schiavone, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Mike Tenay
-Location: Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
-Date: Nov 23, 1997
-Attendance: 17,128
-PPV Buys:
205,000
Glacier and Ernest Miller vs. The Faces of Fear (w/ Jimmy Hart)
-Meng and Barbarian attack at the bell and everyone hits everyone. It settles down to Glacier and Meng and that kind of sucks for Glacier. He gets a trip and gets a two count before going to work on the arm. He tags out to Miller as the crowd lets Glacier know he sucks. Miller tries a crossbody, but gets caught so Glacier comes in and hits a dropkick which lets Miller get a two count. Barbarian in and Miller fires off some kicks. Tag to Glacier who leaps over Miller to land on Barbarian’s arm which would be kind of cool, but Barbarian’s arm wasn’t there so it ended up just being a leapfrog. Meng back in and Glacier catches him with a dropkick that knocks him into the Barbarian, who spills to the floor. Miller in and he uses Meng as a springboard to hit a dive on The Barbarian. Glacier sling shots out with a dive, but makes the mistake of going after Jimmy Hart. Barbarian attacks from behind and back in the ring the crowd explodes as The Faces of Fear hit their sweet double team move of a backdrop into a powerbomb. Faces of Fear were awesome when they could just unload on people and look like tough bastards without being out there too long. Meng gets the tag and hits a dropkick for two. Backbreaker gets another two. Barbarian back in and we get double clubbering in the corner as the crowd really likes The FOF. Speaking of Clubbering, where is Dusty? I need him here more than I need Tenay! Nasty shoulder breaker from Meng gets two. He chops away and goes to a Tongan Nerve Hold! Barbarian back in and he lays in the boots. Glacier fights back, but gets caught in the wrong corner and Meng gets the tag back in the match. Slam connects, but an elbow misses. Meng still gets up first but Glacier is able to land some strikes. He slips behind Meng and gets a belly to back suplex to leave both men down. The tag is made to Miller and he fires off kicks and then a lariat. Barbarian in and he gets the same. Miller hits each man with a roundhouse kick and then decks Jimmy Hart, but walks into a Tongan Death Grip for the pin at 9:09.
Winners: The Faces of Fear via pin at 9:09
-This was rather decent though I freely admit to liking The FOF more than most. Miller looked good as well and easily outshined Glacier. **1/2
-DDP is backstage with Mark Madden chatting on wcwwrestling.com.
WCW World Television Championship: Saturn (c) (w/ Raven) vs. Disco Inferno -
Raven: “Let the stretchings begun.” Lockup and Saturn immediately takes Disco down and slaps him around a bit. Another go and another takedown followed by another slap to the head. Side headlock from Saturn and he gets a shoulder block after being pushed to the ropes. We go again and Saturn control with a side headlock, but Disco escapes and gets a hip-toss followed by a slam that sends Saturn to the floor. Saturn uses the ref as he is in the ropes and catches Disco with a punch. Disco regroups and lands a right hand which causes Saturn to bail to the floor. He kicks at the rails and looks annoyed that Disco is hanging with him. Back in the ring Disco sets too early on a backdrop and gets kicked in the chest followed by a lariat. Saturn charges and gets dropped with an atomic drop. Disco stomps away in the corner and is able to land a back elbow. He drops a fist for a two count. Disco heads up and catches Saturn’s foot on the way down. He misses an elbow which lets Saturn dump him with an overhead suplex for two. Then another and another as he is trying to get this one over. Moonsault from the middle rope misses and Disco gets a lariat for two. Disco lands an elbow for a one count. Backslide gets two for Saturn. He drops Disco on his disco balls on the top rope and hits a springboard dive to send both men to the floor. Disco goes after The Flock at ringside and hits Kidman and Lodi with a Chartbuster (Stunner). He can’t hit one on Hammer though and Saturn decks him from behind. They head back to Ring 2 where Disco gets a swinging neck breaker, but Saturn is out at two. Disco heads up and gets a crossbody, but Saturn rolls through and hooks The Rings of Saturn for the submission at 8:19.
Winner and Still WCW World TV Champion: Saturn via submission at 8:19
-Meh match if a little sloppy. Saturn not taking Disco seriously and then getting flustered was a solid story. Disco going after The Flock for no reason was kind of dumb and he deserved what he got. *1/2
-Gene Okerlund plugs The Hotline backstage and brings in The Giant. He is sporting a cast as it seems he has a broken bone in his thumb. We go back to Nitro and see where Hall destroyed the hand off the post and stairs. The story is now Giant can’t grab people for the choke slam. He is coming out wide open and someone will pay the price tonight for what happened to his hand.
Yuji Nagata (w/ Sonny Onoo) vs. The Ultimo Dragon
-If Dragon wins he gets 5 minutes with Sonny as their feud continues. This is a rematch from Halloween Havoc as Nagata got the win. Dragon comes in with his elbow bandaged as he had bone chips. Dragon gets a leg sweep and drops an elbow. Handspring elbow in the corner is blocked as Nagata goes right from the arm. Dragon rolls over into a pin, but Nagata is out at two and as he stands he gets caught with a dropkick. Tenay mentions Nagata is working The Dome Show on Jan 4 against Tenzan. Dragon goes after Sonny and Nagata decks him from behind. Back in the ring Dragon grabs the ropes to avoid a dropkick and gets a side headlock on the mat. Nagata rolls over to get a two count, but Dragon rolls back and maintains the hold. Nagata breaks with a sweet belly to back suplex and then hits a nasty kick to the chest. More kicks from Nagata and then he gouges the eyes. Swank piledriver gets two! Nagata goes to a chinlock and Dragon breaks, but charges into a sleeper. Dragon breaks with his own belly to back suplex and it didn’t look as good as Nagata’s but the weight difference would explain that. Nagata up first and throws more kicks and gets another piledriver for two. If this was Memphis, Nagata would be getting carried out in a body bag. Enziguiri from Nagata and he follows with a Camel Clutch. Backdrop is blocked, but Nagata drops Dragon with an armbar. Dragon gets his foot on the ropes to break and Nagata goes back to the sleeper. Nagata tries to get the crowd into the match with some trash talk, but they aren’t biting. They wake up a bit as Dragon snaps off his series of kicks and lights up Nagata’s chest with more kicks. He boot washes Nagata in the corner. Nagata bails to the floor so Dragon springs out and Nagata tries to land a kick, but Dragon catches and gets a leg-whip. Dragon back up and comes off the top with a plancha. They head back in the ring and Dragon decides to go back up top. Nagata meets him up there and Dragon hits the sunset flip powerbomb for two. Moonsault from the top gets two. Suplex is blocked, but Dragon escapes a Nagata suplex and turns it into a Dragon Sleeper. Sonny distracts the ref which causes Dragon to release the hold as he feels Nagata gave up. They head back up again and Nagata gets the top rope rana, but Sonny puts Nagata’s foot on the rope with the ref staring right at it. Dragon goes after Sonny, but gets a super kick on Nagata. Dragon tries a suplex and ends up hitting Sonny as well which lets Nagata fall over on top for the pin at 12:44.
Winner: Yuji Nagata via pin at 12:44
-That ending was a mess as the ref stared at Sonny putting the foot on the rope and then the suplex into Sonny just looked weird. It looked like the idea was for Yuki to kick off Sonny to turn into the pin, but it looked rough. Match was lacking any heat and the crowd only got into it when Dragon started his comeback. **3/4
WCW World Tag Team Championship: The Steiner Brothers (c) (w/ Ted Dibiase) vs. Steve Regal and Dave Taylor
-The Steiners finally got the Tag Title away from The Outsiders, though Hall and Nash are still walking around with their own set of belts. I think this is the first Tag Title match not involving The Outsiders since Aug of 96. Taylor and Scott start and Scott immediately gets a suplex. He mows Taylor down with a shoulder as Tenay goes over the decorated history of The Steiners. Scott gets caught in the wrong corner and Regal hammers away. Dave tries a backdrop, but Scott catches him and gets a butterfly suplex. Regal in, but Rick catches him with a clothesline to clear the ring. The Steiners hit their pose as Regal tries to get into a fight with Dibiase on the floor. Regal in and he stalls as he plays off the crowd’s “USA” chant. Rick gets an arm drag, but Regal breaks away and gets a single leg. Rick gets a knuckle lock and tries to force Regal down, but he bridges and rises back up. Steiner just tosses him across the ring, but gets caught with a forearm to the face. Effective! He lands a knee and throws a European Uppercut. Regal struts a bit too much as Rick catches him with an armbar. Tag to Scott and he hits a nice belly to belly suplex for two. Rick back and Regal goes to the eyes as Taylor had the ref distracted. Taylor gets the tag and gets nothing as Rick catches him with a power slam. Scott back in and Regal gets in a knee from the apron which lets Taylor hit a clothesline that sends Scott to the floor. Uppercut from Taylor and he goes to work on the arm for a bit. Tag to Regal and he throws another European Uppercut and drops an elbow for two. Steiner kicks in a kick to block a backdrop, but hooks the leg to stop Scott from making the tag. Taylor in and another European Uppercut. Regal back, but he gets tossed across the ring with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Tag to Rick and he runs wild on Taylor and Regal with slams and clotheslines. Elbow gets two as Taylor makes the save. The Steiners each get a backdrop and Regal gets finished off with the top rope bulldog at 9:46.
Winners and Still WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Steiner Brothers via pin at 9:46
-This was sold though Regal and Taylor were no real threat to win. The Steiners threw duplexes and Regal and Taylor threw uppercuts. It was fine. **1/4
-Gene is in the aisle with JJ Dillon, who tells us that Raven has a match tonight and it may be his last as he has not signed a contract with WCW. He gives Raven 24 hours to sign a contract or he will be gone from WCW.
Scotty Riggs vs. Raven (w/ Saturn and Kidman)
-Riggs is rocking the eye patch due to Raven catching him with a chair. Kidman grabs the mic and tells us this match is only happening under no DQ rules. Riggs dives on the pile to accept and unloads with right hands. Riggs sends Raven into the stairs and they end up in Ring 3, so the match is going to take place there I guess. Riggs gets a swinging neck breaker and follows with a splash for two. He avoids a Raven charge in the corner and gets a roll-up for two. Heenan goes on a great rant about how he would move the patch over the good eye if he was Raven. Schiavone points out that Riggs could just move it back, but Heenan mentions you knock the guy out, then move it over and he has no clue where he is when he wakes up. He also thinks Raven should pull the patch back as far as he can and let is snap back. I miss The Brain! They brawl on the stairs where Raven gets tossed into the stairs. They end up in Ring 2 as Raven gets a jawbreaker. Saturn slides a chair into the ring and that wakes the crowd up. Raven delivers a blow to the back and sets the chair up. Riggs reverses a whip and gets the drop toehold into the chair. Riggs dives for a cover, but Raven is out at two. Riggs throws the chair at Raven and follows up with a dropkick for another two. There is way too much Riggs offense in this one. Riggs gets a bulldog onto the chair for two. Raven floats over on a suplex and drops Riggs with a DDT. Raven gets a mic and tells Riggs he didn’t want to hurt him. “Why didn’t you join me. Come on Riggs, I feel your pain” and another DDT. He then tells Riggs this is hurting him more than it is Riggs and Hennan quickly responds “I don’t think so.” That always makes me laugh. Raven gets a third DDT and Riggs is 10 counted out at 9:43.
Winner: Raven via 10 count at 9:43
-As mentioned Riggs controlled too much of this as Raven was the one being treated as a big star. The ending worked because I remember it so well twenty-five years later. I am a sucker for Raven and enjoyed this more than most I would assume. **
-The Flock gets in the ring and they carry Riggs off and he would be a member of the group right after this.
Steve McMichael vs. Bill Goldberg
-Mongo is out with a pipe and tells us that Goldberg won’t be here. They throw to the back where Goldberg is out cold. Mongo also has his Super Bowl ring back as he apparently took it back from Goldberg after decking him with the pipe.
Steve McMichael vs. Alex Wright (w/ Debra)
-Debra pulls Wright down to the ring as he is taking Goldberg’s place. The crowd is not happy as even this early in his run, the crowd was getting into him. Wright attacks from behind and whips Mongo with his leather jacket. He throws some chops, but Mongo reverses a whip and gets a back elbow. Clothesline followed by a slam and he stomps away. Wright bails to the floor and he has had enough as he tries to walk away. Debra talks him into staying and he probably should have left as Mongo tosses around some more. He lands a few kicks and gets a sidewalk slam for two. Wright waits for Mongo to get in position and gets a reverse of whip and lands a jumping kick. Mongo tosses Wright into the corner and hits a few running tackles to the knee. Clothesline from Mongo and he gets another sidewalk slam. Mongo Spike (Tombstone) finishes at 3:36.
Winner: Steve McMichael via pin at 3:36
-Total SQUASH as they found a way to get Goldberg out of this match without having to take a loss and also got him out of World War 3 without taking a loss. SQUASH
-Mark Madden is backstage at the Internet area with Saturn.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Rey Mysterio Jr
-Last month they put on an all time classic at Halloween Havoc and now have that pressure on their shoulders here. The crowd is immediately all over Eddie as they let him know that he sucks. Eddie grabs the arm and takes Rey down, but he kips up and flips out of the hold. Rey sends Eddie to the floor and he bitches to the ref about a hair pull. I mean he does have a lot of hair and really, would he lie? Rey gets a side headlock, but Eddie shoves off and gets run over with a tackle. Rey picks up the pace with a head scissors that sends Eddie across the ring, but he makes the mistake of taking Eddie to the mat and he reverses easily. To their feet and Eddie catches Rey with a nasty looking release German Suplex. Hard belly to back suplex follows. Eddie hooks an abdominal stretch to continue the work on the back. He drops some elbows for added effect and then releases. He sets too early on a backdrop and they try something that goes a little wonky, but cover with Rey springing off the ropes into a head scissors. He looks for a dive to the floor, but Eddie blocks. They battle on the apron and Rey tries to flip over and take Eddie to the floor with a powerbomb, but Eddie grabs the ropes to block. He takes Rey to the floor and lets him splat out there. Back in the ring Eddie heads up top and Rey meets him up there. Eddie is able to move Rey around and get a superplex. He tries to come off top and Rey moves so Eddie rolls through but gets caught with a rana for two as Rey could only hook one leg. Eddie beats Rey to his feet and flapjacks him on the mat. Powerbomb is escaped and Rey gets another head scissors for two. Eddie back with a dropkick to the back of the head and starts laying in some chops and European Uppercuts. Eddie takes in the chants from the crowd and drops Rey with a front suplex on the top rope. Eddie springs over and tries a powerbomb to the floor, but Rey blocks and knocks Eddie up the aisle. Rey dives over the top with a modified Denton and then hits a springboard moonsault for two. Eddie reverses a charge in the corner, but misses a charge and nearly hits the top of the ring post. Rey charges and Eddie powerbombs the piss out of him. Eddie goes to The Gory Special and drops it into a pin attempt. Rey bridges out and gets a roll-up for two. He connects with a spinwheel kick and follows with a slam. They try something else and Rey slips off Eddie’s back so they have to regroup. Rey comes off the top with a moonsault press for two and hits a springboard legdrop. He heads to the apron and comes off with the somersault into the rana, but Eddie is able to grab the bottom rope to break the count. The fans are annoyed by that one. Rey tries to spring in the corner, but gets dropped face first on the top buckle and Eddie hits the Frog Splash to retain at 12:43.
Winner and Still WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Eddie Guerrero via pin at 12:43
-They had insane expectations to live up to after their last match and it was kind of unfair. This was a very good match that had a sloppy moments. The crowd seemed to be waiting for them to kick into another gear. This was like their series of matches in WWF where they were doing all they could to match Halloween Havoc, but that is asking a lot. ***3/4
-Starrcade 97 commercial! Hogan vs. Sting! That will be the final show I review to close out my look back at 1997.
WCW United States Championship: No DQ: Curt Hennig (c) vs. Ric Flair
-Another rematch from Halloween Havoc as Flair was disqualified last month in his quest for revenge. Now it’s about taking the title away from Hennig and getting revenge since this is no DQ. Hennig stalls on the floor so Flair goes out after him and they start fighting through the crowd. Flair gets rammed head first into the scaffolding for the camera rigs. They fight back to the ring and Flair gets tossed back to ringside. Hennig talks some trash as he pounds away and sends Flair into the security railing. He uses the camera cord to choke and takes it in the ring to choke Flair some more. Old habits die hard for Heenan as he cheers on Hennig which Tony and Tenay don’t pick up on. Flair catches Hennig and drops him throat first over the top rope and then throws him back to the floor. Flair thinks he is Randy Savage as he comes off the top with a double axe to Hennig as he is on the security rail. Damn! DIdn’t expect to see that from Flair. He sells the landing as he starts hobbling around on one leg, but that doesn’t stop him from lighting Curt’s chest up with some chops. Hennig gets in a thumb to the eye and catches Flair staggering in with a backdrop on the floor. A clothesline follows and Curt gets a two count back in the ring. Anderson gets poked in the eye by Curt which is kind of a weird spot in a no DQ match. Curt drops an elbow which gets two. Hennig goes after the injured shin and then drops a leg on the lower abdomen. Hennig hooks a spinning toe hold and gets an Indian Death Lock. He slaps Flair around so Flair grabs Hennig by the throat. More slaps from Hennig as Heenan thinks that is a mistake as it may slap Flair awake. Flair gets in a poke to the eye to break the hold. He gets in a chop block and then kicks Hennig in the back of the knee which lets him sell it with a flip. Flair heads up top and Hennig slams him down for two. The start trading chops and Hennig wins this exchange as Flair flops down on his face. Hennig falls over as well and gets a two count. More chops from Hennig in the corner which fires Flair up and he starts firing off rights and lefts. He fires Curt across the ring where he usually slides balls first into the post, but he kind of sticks in place and doesn’t really make it to the post. Hennig gets in another thumb to the eye and they collide in the middle of the ring. Curt rolls to Ring 1 to escape but Flair follows. Belly to back suplex gets two for Flair. More chops in the corner from Flair, but Hennig reverses and throws some of his own chops. He neck snaps Flair and sends him to the corner where Flair flips over the top and falls to the floor. Nice touch as he usually runs the apron, but the leg gave out so he fell to the floor and Heenan rightly points it out. They fight back on the floor as Hennig tells Flair that he hates his guts. Flair uses a leverage move to pull Hennig face first into the guard rail. Back in the ring Flair gets a suplex for two, but Curt gets his foot on the bottom rope. Flair brings a chair into the ring and drops Curt balls first on it and then kicks the chair shut on the leg. Cool! He does it again and the crowd finally wakes up. I am shocked someone hasn’t lifted that! Flair brings in another chair and The US Title. He hits a weak chair shot on the knee and throws the title at Curt. That is kind of dumb though as it is within Curt’s reach and sure enough he counters the figure four by blasting Flair in the head with the US Title to get the pin at 17:57.
Winner and Still WCW United States Champion: Curt Hennig via pin at 17:57
-Great selling from both men, but this was kind of boring at times. The dead crowd didn’t help. It was a solid grudge match, but I wanted more hatred. The stuff with the chair was fun, but the ending was kind of weak. Had Flair hit Hennig with the belt earlier in the match to explain why it was there instead of him just bringing it in and leaving it by Hennig would have helped. **1/2
World War 3 60 Man Battle Royal
-Winner gets a WCW World Title Match at Super Brawl in February. The rules are 20 men in each ring and eliminations can now occur by just being thrown to the floor (over, through or under the ropes). Wrestlers are also now free to move from ring to ring as long as they don’t touch the floor. When it gets down to 15 wrestlers everyone goes to Ring 2.
- Competitors: DDP, Ray Taylor, Alex Wright, Disco Inferno, Meng, Villano IV, Villano V, Chris Benoit, Fit Finlay, La Parka, Steven Regal, Johnny Grunge, Rocco Rock, Dave Taylor, Ultimo Dragon, Norman Smiley, Louie Spicolli, Chris Adams, Brad Armstrong, Buff Bagwell, The Barbarian, Bobby Blaze, Booker T, Ciclope, Damien, Barry Darsow, Jim Duggan, Hector Garza, Glacier, Juventud Guerrera, Chavo Guerrero Jr, Eddie Guerrero, Curt Hennig, Prince Iaukea, Chris Jericho, Lizmark Jr, Lex Luger, Dean Malenko, Scott Hall, Steve McMichael, Ernest Miller, Rey Mysterio Jr, Hugh Morrus, Mortis, Yuji Nagata, John Nord, The Renegade, Randy Savage, Silver King, Norman Smiley, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, Stevie Ray, Super Calo, Greg Valentine, Vincent, Kendall Windham, Wrath, and The Giant.
-The nWo get their own entrance as a group and we only have 59 men accounted as Kevin Nash is supposed to be the final man and he isn’t here. -The bell sounds and we get triple split screen. Lizmark Jr is the first one tossed and then goes Disco Inferno. The Giant is just tossing person after person in Ring 3 as we have about 6 people out in the first 40 seconds of the match. La Parka is gone and Normal Smiley follows a few seconds later. Meng gets worked over by both members of Public Enemy and I don’t give them much of a chance. Sure enough Meng tosses both men. There isn’t much to cover here in the early parts as there are just so many men and the camera just cuts to whatever ring they can. The wide camera shot makes for an impressive visual. Ring 2 has the most men by far as Giant has cleared some dead wood in his ring. The nWo is all piled in Ring 1 where Jim Duggan is and he makes sure to keep the crowd invested. I liked the more chaotic nature of previous versions of this match when they had an announce team at each ring. Harlem Heat send Brad Armstrong out as Chris Adams and Greg Valentin are somehow still in this thing. Damian is gone as the camera has been focused on Ring 2 now. I just realized they have refs in the ring which is weird. Malenko and Guerrero do battle which makes sense that they would seek each other out. DDP dumps Yuji as we got back to the three way split screen. Wrath and Renegade are gone so they fight back up the aisle. We hit the 10 minute mark and go back to focusing on Ring 1. Jericho gets tossed from Ring 2. Now Benoit and Guerrero find each other for fun. Hall nearly gets tossed to pop the crowd by Rey which gets the nWo attacking him. Valentine is tossed at 11:30 which is a quick night for him. John Nord no sells the offense of Meng and The Barbarian which can’t be smart. The Giant has just been parked in a corner and lets any action come to him. Smart! Booker T and Chris Adams do battle as I assume they may have faced off in Dallas. Rings 1 and 3 are starting to thin while we have a decent amount still in the middle ring. Wait, if Goldberg was supposed to be in this thing, who took his spot? Finally gets bounced as Benoit and DDP beat the piss out of each other in the corner. Somewhere off camera Benoit gets tossed and Malenko is out as well. Ring 3 is down to five men so Nick Patrick has then stop until the other rings get down to five. Duggan is gone which angers the crowd. Miller is gone. The Barbarian is out. Ring 2 is down to their five men which leaves all the action down to Ring 1 for the time being. Rey eliminates Eddie before the nWo gang up and send him to the floor. Actually Rey isn’t gone as he has held in to skirt of the ring. For whatever reason they start going at it in Ring 3 and it comes down to Meng and The Giant. In Ring 1 the five members of the nWo are left. The Giant gets rids of Meng as he is the last man in his ring. Everyone is told to head to ring two at the 19:10 mark. So we have Savage, Bagwell, Vincent, Hall, Hennig, The Giant, Luger, DDP, Rick Steiner, and Booker T. The nWo won’t budge so WCW head to Ring 1 and the brawl is on which pops the crowd. Vincent eats Diamond Cutter, but Savage decks him from behind to continue their year long feud. Vincent gets kicked under the rope to the floor to send him packing. I mean, you had to know he was going to end up being the first of the nWo to get tossed. Booker T and Rick Steiner get sent packing as well as it seems they are forgetting that you don’t have to go over the top rope to be eliminated this year. We are down to 7 men as the nWo gang up on Luger, but The Giant makes the save and tosses Bagwell. He also knocks Hennig and Luger out as well. We are down to Hall, Savage, DDP, and The Giant. Tenay points out that Savage and The Giant are the two men that have won this match in the past. Giant drops Hall with a power slam and cuts off Savage from dropping an elbow on DDP. Savage spits on him and jump away because well, it’s Randy Savage. Page catches Savage with a Diamond Cutter and Giant plants him with a Choke Slam just to make sure Savage is a pile of goo. Now he gets rolled out and Hall is left against Page and The Giant. Hall realizes, but bails to Ring 2 and points to the entrance ramp. The nWo music hits and the announcers thing it’s Nash, but instead it’s Hollywood Hulk Hogan. The crowd starts a massive “We Want Sting” chant. Hogan and Hall head back to Ring 1 and they pair off with Hogan/Giant and Hall/DDP. Hogan hits a quick slam to pop the crowd as Heenan points out that Hogan is fresh. Work smart, no hard! I mean, Hogan is going to work about 2 minutes here and get paid more than anyone on the card. They switch off as Hogan drops DDP balls first on the top rope. Giant gets a double bearhug and the place loses it as “Sting” comes down from the rafters. He steps over the top rope which even the announcers pick up on. Hogan eliminates himself and somewhere DDP was eliminated. “Sting” blasts Giant with the baseball bat and sends him to the floor which gives Hall the win at 29:55.
Winner: Scott Hall via Giant Elimination at 29:55
-This match was a kind of a mess which is normal for this type of match. I hated the change in rules to being thrown through or under the ropes to the floor counted. They also had a weird deal where it was supposed to be 5 left in each ring, so you had two rings stop fighting only to start again as I assume they realized the merge would have left 10 WCW vs 5 nWo. Hall winning was a good choice as I assume the plan was to give Sting a strong first challenger that could take a loss and not be affected. Of course Hall had to wait until March for his Title shot due to the Hogan/Sting Starrcade issues, but we will get to that next month. This match is a spectacle and makes for some cool visuals but is hard to follow and only means something when it’s down to the last 10 or so. The previous year had the better story with WCW vs. nWo and DDP in the middle plus the cooler eliminations. The first had the intrigue of someone becoming World Champion and the intrigue of it being the first one. As I said last year, it’s a solid spectacle but won’t ever be confused with a good match. I liked last year better. *
-Sting unmasks and of course it is Kevin Nash. Hogan hits DDP with a Diamond Cutter on the floor. The entire nWo head down and the celebration is on. DDP gets pulled back in the ring so Hogan can get in another Diamond Cutter.
-Thanks for reading!
