Raw History: Episode 240 and Reliving Nitro: Episode 121

Raw History
Episode #241
January 5th, 1998 | New Haven Coliseum, in New Haven, Connecticut | Attendance: N/A

WWF Champion: Shawn Michaels (3) since 11/9/97
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Rocky Maivia (2) since 12/8/97
WWF European Champion: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (1) since 12/22/97
WWF Tag Team Champions: Billy Gunn (4) and Road Dogg (1) since 11/24/97
WWF Light Heavyweight Champion: TAKA Michinoku (1) since 12/7/97

1998 opened with Steve Austin arriving and cutting a promo that he’s striking first since everyone is gunning for him at the Royal Rumble.

Jim Ross, Michael Cole, and Kevin Kelly hosted our first hour.

Faarooq w/ The NOD vs. Ken Shamrock
In a show of continuity, Faarooq injuring Shamrock back in September and causing internal injuries was brought up. Rock basically made this match last week, but was not at ringside. Faarooq attacked early and held serve. The crowd picked up when Roc appeared atop the stage heading into a commercial break. Returning, Rock talked strategy with D-Lo and Kama at ringside. Shamrock began a comeback and Rock choreographed interference. Kama brought a chair over, but it was Faarooq who got sent into it. Shamrock slapped on the Ankle Lock and won in 5:01. About as good as I expected. Faarooq dominated more than I thought he would though. [*½]

Faarooq argued with his fellow NOD members outside. Shamrock and Rock came face to face in the ring until Steve Austin came in through the crowd. He dropped both men with Stunners and bailed before the rest of the NOD jumped in the ring.

TONIGHT ~ We’ll hear from Paul Bearer. Plus, Owen Hart vs. Savio Vega.

Before a commercial, Jim Cornette came to the ring with two unknown men in suits. One of them carried a title. After a break, he introduced them as the President and VP of the National Wrestling Alliance. This is Cornette’s attempt at bringing tradition back to wrestling. The winner of this match will be awarded the NWA North American Championship.

NWA North American Championship: Barry Windham vs. Jeff Jarrett
Cornette joined commentary for this. It’s noted that he’s Barry and not Blackjack anymore. Jarrett took the lead early and stopped to strut. Cornette spent the match spewing off all sorts of random facts. He found a way to connect the NWA to Abraham Lincoln and I’m not lying. When Windham seemed to turn things around, one of the NWA guys distracted the referee. Cornette hopped in the ring and cracked Windham with his racket on his way into a superplex. Jarrett rolled over and stole the title in 3:36. Not a good start for this title. The action was dull and the finish was cheap. [*¼]

Jeff Jarrett was happy to have something to do again. However, his celebration was cut by the arrival of Steve Austin. He dropped him with a Stunner and strutted for good measure.

TONIGHT ~ Don King fills us in on Mike Tyson’s WrestleMania status.

Backstage, Ken Shamrock cut a pretty bad promo about wanting it to come down to him and Austin at the Royal Rumble.

8-Ball and Skull w/ Chainz vs. Recon and Sniper w/ The Jackyl
Sunny performed ring announcer duties, dressed like a school girl for no real reason. It was hot, though. Jackyl joined commentary for this. The fans didn’t seem to care at all about the in-ring stuff. The Harris Brothers hit tandem big boots. It’s hard to buy into the hot tag they attempt to build to because the twins are so interchangeable. They nabbed the win with a DDT on Sniper in 3:40. Yea, this wasn’t any good. [¼*]

Post-match, Kurrgan hit the ring to help Jackyl’s boys jump the DOA guys. He’s so big, none of them stand a chance. He only stopped when Jackyl came in and slapped him.

WWF REWIND ~ Kane and the Undertaker beat up seven guys last week.

To wrap up hour one, D-Generation X came out. Triple H was rolled out in a wheelchair after his knee injury. As expected, Triple H’s promo was littered with references to his own dick and Chyna’s boob job. He called out Owen, who was wise enough to only appear via Titantron. He said he’d wait for HHH’s leg to heal so he could break the other one. He called himself a black heart and those feel no pain. Strange line. HHH ended the promo by no selling his threats.

SLAM OF THE WEEK ~ Vader won with the Vader Bomb on Shotgun.

WAR ZONE! Jerry Lawler replaced Cole and Kelly.

Owen Hart vs. Savio Vega w/ Los Boricuas
Strange to do the DX promo involving Owen right before Owen’s match. As this got going, Owen was clearly the superior wrestler. DX showed up at the top of the ramp for a closer look. A distraction from Los Boricuas led to them jumping him and giving Savio the upper hand. A second referee ran down to the ring and proceeded to eject Los Boricuas. Why doesn’t that happen more often? Owen hit the spinning heel kick and put on the Sharpshooter, while pointing at HHH. Jesus hopped on the apron but took a dropkick. Owen then pulled Savio into a rollup to win in 4:09. Decent enough. Some of it was boring, but the work was fluid. [**]

Owen went after DX, but Los Boricuas jumped him from behind. They carried him up to DX, who got in cheap shots. DX then paid Los Boricuas and officials came to break things up.

Paul Bearer walked out looking very sad. He said he hoped Shawn Michaels destroyed the Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. Paul couldn’t find Kane and blamed the Undertaker for it. He pleaded for Kane to return home. This storyline was textbook long term booking.

Backstage, Stone Cold came out of a locker room. Inside, Mark Henry was out cold under a table while the Headbangers wondered what happened.

SABLE AND MERO ~ The history of jealous Mero was shown.

Marc Mero w/ Sable vs. Tom Brandi
This one has some real build to it. Mero used Sable as a shield before the bell to get the upper hand. He taunted while punching Brandi around. The generic face came back with a bulldog and fired off a series of chops. Mero got knocked off the apron and onto Sable. He didn’t care, but good guy Brandi stopped to check on her. Before he could save her, Mero clocked him from behind. He added the TKO inside. Mero wanted a second, but out came Steve Austin to nail him with a Stunner for the DQ in 3:41. It had some heat to it, but the action wasn’t very good. [*]

Austin pondered giving Sable a Stunner, but decided against it. Such a gentleman.

The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust w/ Luna Vachon vs. Flash Funk
This week, Goldust was dressed in blackface, with a giant afro and a boom box. Yikes. Funk kicked his ass like he was offended by this. Luna ran in for a DQ at 2:33. Lame. [NR]

TAFKA hit a Curtain Call after the match. Vader ran in to attack Goldust, but he mostly slipped free and escaped.

VIGNETTE ~ Steve Blackman, who randomly debuted in November, will be in the Royal Rumble.

LAST WEEK ~ Chainsaw Charlie’s debut was recapped.

Non-Title Match: WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws vs. The Headbangers
JR mentioned the boom box that was busted over Thrasher’s head at the hands of the champions a few weeks ago. The Headbangers hit a double front suplex on Road Dogg just as the Godwinns came to the stage. Mosh eventually got the hot tag spot, but the Stage Dive was interrupted. Gunn fell on top and they won in a boring 4:59. [¾*]

Chainsaw Charlie and Cactus Jack showed up to prevent the champions from a post-match attack.

DON KING ~ From his home office, Don King hyped Mike Tyson’s appearance at WrestleMania. He said the word, “excited” about ten times. He literally said nothing but his name, Vince’s name, Tyson, WrestleMania and the date.

HELL IN A CELL ~ Graphic footage aired from the last Michaels/Taker match.

Our main event segment saw Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker have a face to face. Shawn spoke before Undertaker showed up, acting like he wasn’t scared of the upcoming Casket Match because he beat him several times already. He called out Taker’s “dead carcass” so he could get smacked around in front of the world. When his music hit, a casket was brought out by druids. Shawn laughed because it was the same casket he used last week. He thought it was HHH and Chyna, but then they appeared on the stage to signal that it wasn’t their doing. That led to Shawn doing the cheesy, “BUT IF YOU’RE UP THERE, THEN WHO’S IN HERE?” line. Undertaker popped out and pulled him into the casket by his throat. They threw to a camera in the casket as the show ended, but it was pitch black and pointless.

Reliving Nitro
Episode #121
January 5th, 1998 | Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia | Attendance: 26,773

WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Sting (3) since 12/28/97
WCW United States Champion: Diamond Dallas Page (1) since 12/28/97
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Steiner Brothers (6) since 10/13/97
WCW Television Champion: Booker T (1) since 12/29/97
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Ultimo Dragon (2) since 12/29/97

This is the biggest Nitro crowd to date. The show opened with several limousines pulling up. The nWo exited, and Schiavone noted how there seemed to be tension as they traveled separately.

HOUR ONE! Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Larry Zbyszko hosted. They went over the ending of last week’s episode. Sting is still the WCW Champion, but due to a court injunction, they apparently can’t show the footage.

TONIGHT ~ Lex Luger vs. Randy Savage! Plus, we’ll hear from Bret Hart.

Mean Gene was by the stage with JJ Dillon. He informed us that a judge held the tape from last week’s finish under lock and key since the ending of Nitro got “out of hand.” It will be released within 24 hours, so if you want to see it, tune into TBS this Thursday for the debut episode of Thunder! (I’m not going to review Thunder, as these are meant to be Monday Night War style reviews. However, I may watch them and post some ratings or important things that happen). As for Nick Patrick’s “fast count” at Starrcade, that will also be shown on Thunder. Why not show that tonight? There’s no court order for that.

Non-Title Match: WCW United States Champion Diamond Dallas Page vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho’s meltdown last week was recapped. He got on the mic and apologized for it, because he released he’s a role model. He provided Dave Penzer with a new chair to sit in and a new tuxedo. The fans were hot for DDP. Also, DDP no longer had the rib tape. He won exchanges over Jericho, who offered handshakes. On the second, he pulled DDP to the mat. DDP fought back and won with the Diamond Cutter in 1:58. A squash, but one with fun character moments. [NR]

Post-match, Jericho threw another tantrum.

Mean Gene was back, this time with a WCW legal executive. He had a prepared statement to read that said anyone, whether in WCW or nWo, will be fined or suspended if they engage in the near-riot like atmosphere from last week. But, you don’t have control over the nWo, dude. That’s been established over and over.

Bill Goldberg vs. Stevie Ray
Stevie looks to try and replicate his brother’s singles success. Though he’s strong, Goldberg is clearly more powerful. He used a powerslam and a knee drop for two. Goldberg fought out of the corner with the Spear and Jackhammer to win in 2:49. The streak lives on. [NR]

NITRO GIRLS!

The Barbarian w/ Jimmy Hart vs. John Nord
Nord sported a shirt that said, “IF YOU DON’T LIKE ME, THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU.” The front was cool, but the back simply saying there’s something wrong with you was lackluster. This went way longer than I expected, with Nord being competitive. Barbarian got to throw him around a bit. They traded suplexes and brawled outside a bit. Nord hit a middle rope elbow and then applied a deeply pulled back camel clutch for the surprising submission victory in 5:08. That was quite decent. I don’t remember Nord at all, but I kind of hope he sticks around. [**¼]

Mean Gene brought out Eric Bischoff for an in-ring interview. He denied any problems within the nWo, denied that Hogan lost to Sting last week, denied that Hogan lost at Starrcade, and even claimed he truly beat Zbyszko at Starrcade. He said he knocked Larry out with a kick. Zbyszko stood up, but nothing came of it as Bischoff left.

Chief Jay Strongbow was shown in the crowd. They put him over as a Hall of Famer, but Zbyszko just pointed out how fat he was. Good job, Larry.

Number One Contender’s Match: Juventud Guerrera vs. Psychosis
The winner faces new Cruiserweight Champion Ultimo Dragon on Thunder. Commentary just talked about the nWo during this one. There was fast paced action and some trading of high flying offense. Juvi had a highlight with a somersault plancha. Psychosis countered a powerbomb into a Facebuster, but missed his big leg drop. Juvi got aggressive with some mounted punches. A cool spot came when Psychosis cut off a top rope move with a mid-air dropkick. However, Juvi countered a powerbomb into a DDT and got the win with the 450 splash in 5:49. Another solid match. The crowd was kind of dead for it, but the action was strong. [**¾]

4/7/97 ~ We went back to the issues the nWo was having that night.

HOUR TWO! Bobby Heenan replaced Zbyszko

Mean Gene interviewed the new Television Champion, Booker T. Booker spoke about winning the title for his son and turning the show up by 100,000 degrees.

WCW Television Championship: Booker T [c] vs. Prince Iaukea
Again, commentary focused on other things besides the match. It was mostly Thunder this time. Booker pretty much dominated and won with the Harlem Hangover in 2:59. [NR]

Buff Bagwell, Konnan and Scott Norton w/ Vincent vs. Ray Traylor and the Steiner Brother w/ Ted Dibiase
When was the last time the Steiners defended their titles? Konnan went to shout his catchphrase, but got shut up by a STEINERLINE. The faces cleaned house early, causing the nWo B Team to regroup outside. Eventually, Rick got stuck taking the heat segment. He avoided the Blockbuster with a powerslam and made the hot tag to Scott. He beat up everyone, including hitting a butterfly bomb on Konnan. Things broke down, leaving Konnan alone with the Tag Champions. They seemed to set up for the Steiner Bulldog, but Scott dropped Konnan on his neck instead. Rick was confused and Scott hit the Screwdriver to win in 7:36. Dissension perhaps? Anyway, this was better than expected and actually filled with energy. [**½]

NITRO GIRLS! Also, some little kid who was dancing next to them in the crowd.

Brad Armstrong vs. Rick Martel
Wow. I haven’t seen Martel in a while. Armstrong and his old school style is the perfect first opponent. They went through several basic exchanges. Martel hit a spinebuster and won with the Quebec Crab in 2:56. [NR]

NITRO GIRLS!

Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael vs. Riggs and Saturn w/ Lodi
The Flock guys came out through the entrance and that kind of takes away from what makes them stand out. During this match, Schiavone kept calling the Flock “Raven’s Nest.” Dummy. Benoit was in control to start, but Mongo got outsmarted and took the heat. That’s a different route for he and Benoit. Benoit’s hot tag saw him turn the tide. He put Saturn in the Crossface, while Lodi and Kidman distracted the referee. Raven slid in and hit Benoit with the Evenflow, allowing Saturn to steal the win in 6:13. The heat segment lasted too long and was boring. The Benoit stuff was good, though.[*¾]

It was time for Mean “WOO” Gene to get a word with Ric Flair. After putting over Atlanta and Sting, he turned his focus to Bret Hart. Wait. Imagine bringing in Bret Hart, the HOTTEST star in wrestling following a wild 1997 and the Montreal incident, and putting him in a feud with Flair. Did the nWo just forget what Bret did at Starrcade? How could you botch this? Anyway, Bret came out and added “Woo” to his usual “Best there is” saying. That pissed off Flair, who said Bret couldn’t logically think he was better than himself, Harley Race, and guys like that. Ric basically said Bret needed to prove it to him. Sounding like a Yankees fan, his argument was about the number of titles he held. Bret left without getting into anything physical.

Lex Luger vs. Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth
Another expensive check for Michael Buffer. And he was never needed. Nick Patrick was set to be the referee, but JJ Dillon threw him out because of the controversy from Starrcade. WCW looked so dumb here. He seriously didn’t do a quick count. Random nWo guys came out and attacked Luger while Savage distracted the referee. Good job switching officials, JJ. Savage used that to hold serve. However, Luger responded with SCREAMING CLOTHESLINES. It’s glorious. Savage bailed and hid behind Liz. From out of nowhere, Luger won with an inside cradle in 4:16. Your basic Nitro main eventer style match. Not much effort. [*¼]

Savage freaked out, claiming there was a fast count. He went to use a chair on Luger, but Bischoff came out and accidentally got hit. Hulk Hogan arrived and got in his face. Kevin Nash proceeded to knock Savage out, with Hogan trying to keep the peace. Nash left and Hogan turned the focus to Luger in the ring, saying it was 4-on-1. However, Sting sprinted to the ring, shooting past the nWo. He stood side by side with Luger as they began taking out the nWo to close the show.

Raw MVP: Steve Austin
Raw LVP: The DOA
Nitro MVP: Scott Steiner
Nitro LVP: Larry Zbyszko

Raw Rating: 3.3
Nitro Rating: 4.3

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

Raw: I wasn’t feeling a lot of the first hour, outside of Austin’s segments, but the second hour was an improvement. There weren’t any great matches, however, they built their existing angles well. Kane/Undertaker, HBK/Taker, Outlaws/Cactus & Chainsaw, Goldust/Vader, Rock/Shamrock, and more Austin stuff all got hype. Good start to the new year. 6.5

Nitro: Nitro gets a slight victory to start 1998. There were a handful of solid matches (Barbarian/Nord, six man tag, Juvi/Psychosis) and some serious angle advancement, with a hot ending segment. My biggest issue was for the storylines I don’t care for, like the Flair/Bret stuff, though even that was an okay promo. 7.0