Raw History: Episode 252 and Reliving Nitro: Episode 132

Raw History
Episode #252
March 23rd, 1998 | Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona | Attendance: 6,839

WWF Champion: Shawn Michaels (3) since 11/9/97
WWF Intercontinental Champion: The Rock (2) since 12/8/97
WWF European Champion: Triple H (2) since 3/17/98
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

VIDEO PACKAGE ~ Does Vince McMahon want to see Steve Austin as WWF Champion? OH HELL NO! Austin has a rebuttal for Vince tonight!

Jim Ross, Kevin Kelly and Michael Cole hosted.

Right into the action as Stone Cold Steve Austin made his way out for an interview with Kevin Kelly. Austin debuted his “DTA Rattlesnake” shirt. Austin said he couldn’t be molded and that he does what he wants, when he wants. His focus is on Shawn Michaels, who he respects in between the ropes. It’ll be the toughest match of his life and he’ll walk through all the shit Vince and company throw at him to be WWF Champion. When Austin was informed that DX, in full force, was on their way, he said he had the night off, so he’d sit back with some beers and watch. Commissioner Slaughter waddled down to tell Austin that, by orders of Vince McMahon, he doesn’t have the night off. He must face Rocky Maivia. Slaughter told Austin that his WrestleMania XIV match would be non-title if he didn’t face Rocky. That came despite Austin saying he’d face Rocky with no problem. That pissed off Austin, who dropped Slaughter with a Stunner. Good start to the show.

Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie vs. The Quebecers
This happened back on the 9th. Not a lot went down in this one as they just killed time until the New Age Outlaws appeared on the stage in tuxedos. They brought out a dumpster and set up a card table with some champagne and blow up dolls. What a sentence that was. The distraction put Cactus in trouble. As he fought back, the Outlaws hit the ring for the attack and DQ at 3:51. Barely a match. It just felt like filler. [½*]

The Outlaws continued the assault, wailing on their WrestleMania opponents. They broke the card table on Charlie’s hear and brought in a chair for Cactus. He got planted with a spike piledriver on the chair. Ouch. Commentary hyped it as if Cactus and Chainsaw wouldn’t make it to Mania.

SLAM OF THE WEEK ~ Shawn Michaels hit Austin with Sweet Chin Music two weeks ago.

Jeff Jarrett w/ Tennessee Lee vs. Steve Blackman
JR hyped Jarrett being in the tag team battle royal at Mania. Wow, he’s doing so much since leaving WCW. Meanwhile, Steve Blackman has yet to be pinned. Jarrett was confident throughout, but it took help from Lee to win as he held down Blackman’s feet on a pin at 2:30. Not much here. [½*]

Two referees discussed what happened, but nothing came of it. Blackman got revenge on Jarrett and chased Lee to the back.

DX, Mike Tyson included, arrived in a limo and talked smack to Austin.

VIDEO PACKAGE ~ Everything involving Kane last week.

Undertaker cut a promo at his mom and dad’s gravestones. He asked for forgiveness for what he was going to do to his brother at WrestleMania. He ended the promo by telling his parents that he loved them.

To respond, Kane and Paul Bearer came to the ring. Bearer said he was sick of hearing about Undertaker and his parents. He wanted to show Kane’s powers. Kane began throwing lightning bolts around the arena. I’m not lying. It set a part of the Titantron, the announce table, and nearly a lighting operator on fire. Before they left for good, Kane literally set a cameraman on fire. Wow. It was cheesy, but kind of cool.

The DOA vs. The New Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette
Michael Cole shouted something about the DOA being on an incredible roll lately. Excuse me? Are they on a Shotgun Saturday Night winning streak I’m unaware of? Though they’re notable and constantly on TV, they were basically just here as squash fodder. The Rock n’ Roll Express, as well as the Headbangers and Sniper and Recon all came out for a closer look to build the battle royal. More teams showed up and a big brawl broke out to result in a no contest at 3:36. This was just to build the battle royal. [NR]

WAR ZONE! Jerry Lawler replaced Cole and Kelly.

Time for a DX promo. HHH started with his, “KIDS, PUT YOUR PARENTS TO BED!” thing. He threw to footage of his European Title win last week and told Owen to stay home on Sunday or he’ll be stuck in a wheelchair for good. HHH ended with, you guessed it, a dick joke. DX pointed out a woman in the crowd with DX written on her chest. She was so into DX, security had to stop her from hopping the guardrail. They called her a skank. Shawn took over, saying he’s been wrestling longer than Austin and is the top guy. He’s the last star left in the WWF. He’ll give Austin the shot he’s wanted for nearly a decade and beat him. Shawn asked Tyson who would win at Mania and who would be the baddest man on the planet after Mania. Tyson answered Shawn and himself, but called Shawn, “Heartbreak,” each time. Odd.

Another Gennifer Flowers vignette for Mania.

LAST WEEK ~ We got clips of Ken Shamrock taking the wild chair shot. JR announced that if Rock gets disqualified at WrestleMania, Shamrock wins the title.

Chainz vs. Faarooq
Faarooq told the Nation of stay back and wanted to do this alone. Faarooq did quite well, but out came the Rock with a steel chair. Rock ended up entering the ring to hit Chainz, even though Faarooq was in control. He stopped mid-swing, then whacked Faarooq by “mistake” for a DQ at 3:36. More of an angle than a match. The focus was on Rock and not the match. [NR]

Post-match, Rock acted like he felt bad as the rest of the NOD helped Faarooq out.

Barry Windham w/ Jim Cornette vs. Bradshaw
This got an actual video package beforehand. The Rock n’ Roll Express, looking older than dirt, took front row seats. Bradshaw beat the hell out of Windham. He dominated and kicked his ass in and around the ring. Windham got an opening with a DDT. Cornette argued with the RNR Express and it distracted Windham. Bradshaw won via rollup in 3:05. Lame with a cheap finish. [¼*]

The New Midnight Express hit the ring to help Windham jump Bradshaw after the match.

WRESTLEMANIA MILLENNIUM MOMENT ~ Muhammad Ali as the referee at WrestleMania I.

Kevin Kelly and Vince Russo (!) were in the ring to present awards to Sable and Sunny for gracing the covers of the highest selling Raw Magazine ever. Sunny couldn’t be there due to sickness. Marc Mero came out with Sable, but then said he would let Sable have her moment and left. While Sable accepted, out came Luna and Goldust. Luna took the plaque from Sable and beat her down with it. She also ripped off part of Sable’s gown. Mero returned to check on Sable with officials.

Non-Title Match: WWF Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia w/ The NOD vs. Steve Austin
I’m glad we got a match and not just some kind of brawl to advance an angle. These two always worked masterfully together. The arrogant IC Champion was in control for the early portions. Austin got a small rally going and nearly hit the Stunner, but Rocky escaped and headed outside. Austin took that opportunity to take out Mark Henry with a clothesline off the apron. DX watched on a tiny monitor backstage. Rocky took control again and got help from the NOD heading into commercial. Surprisingly, Austin’s next comeback sequence saw him survive the People’s Elbow and hit the Stunner to win in 8:26. I didn’t expect a clean finish. Good main event. Their chemistry was off the charts. [***]

D-Lo Brown entered with a chair and ate a Stunner. DX’s music hit as they came to the stage and Shawn Michaels said he’d turn out Austin’s lights for the last time on Sunday. Austin flipped him off, causing Shawn to walk towards the ring for a fight. Triple H held him back to close the show.

Reliving Nitro
Episode #132
March 23rd, 1998 | Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky | Attendance: N/A

WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Sting (4) since 2/22/98
WCW United States Champion: Diamond Dallas Page (1) since 12/28/97
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Outsiders (5) since 2/22/98
WCW Television Champion: Booker T (2) since 2/22/98
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Chris Jericho (3) since 1/24/98

In a bit of a surprise, the show opened straight with Roddy Piper coming down to the ring. Hugely positive response for him. Mean Gene interviewed him and mentioned something about him spending his time pontificating, causing Piper to quip, “Yes I was a bit constipated.” Piper turned the cheers to boos by saying he was born a “wildcat.” Due to college sports, he should’ve said Cardinal, as they’re in Louisville and not Lexington, where the Wildcats play. Anyway, he was brought in as a consultant for WCW. After bringing up Louisville Sluggers, he announced that all bats would now be banned from WCW. Sting is screwed. That is, until Spring Stampede, when a bat will be placed above the ring and he teams with Giant to face Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. What? That just seems random. Piper wants to show Giant how to be “nasty.” To settle the Giant debate, Piper booked Nash against Giant tonight. As for Randy Savage, Piper didn’t care about the nWo leader nonsense, but wanted revenge for Halloween Havoc and will face Savage tonight.

HOUR NUMBER ONE! Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Larry Zbyszko hosted.

NITRO GIRLS!

TONIGHT ~ Sting will defend the WCW World Title against United States Champion Diamond Dallas Page!

Chavo Guerrero Jr. w/ Eddie Guerrero vs. Ultimo Dragon
Loud “Eddie sucks” chants, showing you who was truly over in all of this. At the very least, this issue with Eddie led to a more aggressive Chavo in this match. Still, Dragon picked up a win with a Dragon Sleeper in 2:11. Mostly a squash to get the Guerrero angle over. [NR]

Post-match, Mean Gene interviewed Eddie. Eddie called Chavo the family embarrassment and chastised him for not winning. He apologized to the Guerrero family, saying he’s trying with Chavo, who is embarrassing them. Eddie forced Chavo to apologize to their grandmother and said he was going to face a better Japanese wrestler later and show Chavo how it was done.

The nWo theme hit as it was time for Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff to respond to the Hot Rod. Hogan tried to do a “Riddle me this, riddle me that” rhyme about the Giant, Piper, and a baseball bat, but he fumbled it badly. He also made a lot of references to Piper’s “miniskirt” and hitting home runs with the bat. He threw some threats to the Giant and Piper and said nothing of note. He spouted off nWo catchphrases at a rapid fire pace, though.

Scott Steiner w/ Buff Bagwell vs. Wayne Bloom
Buff measured Scott’s bicep, saying it was up to 28 inches. Hogan just said he had the largest arms in the previous promo. Oh, nWo. Anyway, Steiner had BIG POPPA PUMP written on the ass part of his singlet. You know how this went. Steiner with several suplexes and taunting before winning with the Steiner Recliner in 3:05. [NR]

NITRO GIRLS! As they danced in the crowd, some little girls joined them. That prompted Zbyszko to say, “They don’t look quite as good,” and Tony responded with, “Give them some time, Larry.” Creepy.

Lodi vs. Psicosis
You can’t hate on Lodi for bringing out signs saying, “I” “AM” “LUCHADOR LODI.” Classic. Despite his quirky signs, Lodi stood no chance. Psicosis won with ease using the guillotine leg drop in 2:56. [NR]

HOUR NUMBER TWO!

WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Sting [c] vs. WCW United States Champion Diamond Dallas Page
This is the biggest Nitro match in a long time. I liked how commentary pointed out that Sting came straight down the aisle, face to face, with DDP. No nWo, so no need for shenanigans. We saw how evenly matched they were when a simple collar and elbow tie up took them outside, with neither wanting to give up. They both went for their finishers early, yet both had them scouted. That was kind of the story throughout this. Neither could gain a true upper hand and they were almost equals. Things picked up and the match got better as it went on. Sting found something that worked, a running Facebuster, and went to it several times. He made the mistake of going aerial, since not much else was having success, and DDP got the knees up. Sting blocked the Diamond Cutter by holding onto the ropes, and then transitioned it into the Scorpion Death Drop to retain in 11:01. That was awesome. WCW needed much more of that. Two great babyfaces having an evenly matched championship bout. The crowd was hot for everything, they told a great story, and DDP came out looking tremendous in defeat. Probably the best match in Nitro history to this point. [****]

Post-match, Sting helped DDP up and did the Diamond Cutter sign out of respect.

NITRO GIRLS!

Lex Luger vs. Rick Fuller
This was more competitive than I expected. Fuller is a big dude and got some offense in. But, I know why you all come here. Yes, Luger rallied with SCREAMING CLOTHESLINES! He better still have these when I get into the later years of Nitro. Torture Rack ended this in 3:15. [NR]

Bobby Heenan joined the booth to replace Zbyszko.

Eddie Guerrero w/ Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Kaz Hayashi
Chavo sported his, “My favorite wrestler is Eddie Guerrero” shirt. This was better than that Chavo/Dragon outing. It was competitive and saw some aerial stuff by both men. The coolest spot saw Kaz leap off the top and get caught right into a backbreaker by Eddie. From there, the back became the main focus. That included a superplex that set up the Frog Splash for the finish in 5:07. That was a good little match. I liked the back work and the stuff they did looked crisp. [**½]

Ultimo Dragon hit the ring to check on Kaz Hayashi, who is apparently his protégé. Eddie shouted at Chavo for letting Dragon bump into him.

VIGNETTE ~ Bret Hart highlights.

Konnan vs. Prince Iaukea
Even though they just ran a Bret Hart vignette, Konnan got a short one during his entrance. There wasn’t much to this match. Konnan dominated and did a lot of BOWDYBOWDY ROWDYROWDY taunting. It took forever and then Iaukea hit a Northern Lights Suplex from out of nowhere to steal it in 5:44. Who thought this should go this long? And while I’m no Konnan fan, why does Iaukea keep getting pushes? [¾*]

WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Chris Jericho [c] vs. Lenny Lane
Jericho sported a Monday Night Jericho shirt. Lenny Lane interrupted his pre-match promo to say that Jericho owed him $1000. On a recent Thunder, Lane dressed as Jericho and tricked Dean Malenko. Jericho was supposedly going to pay him because it worked, though Jericho turned it around on Lane to say that he stole his gear. Once the match began, Lane found ways to get some near falls, including a Liontamer counter into a rollup. Jericho eventually applied the submission and retained at 2:48. Decent enough, but too short to get going. [*]

HOUR NUMBER THREE!

Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash w/ Eric Bischoff vs. The Giant
Hogan’s promo earlier included a note that he would join Nash in this match. Why is that legal? Shouldn’t Piper have just said he couldn’t do that? Or at least have a segment where the Giant told Piper to allow it so he could get his hands on both? This defeats the purpose of “finding out who the true giant is.” Schiavone made a poor attempt to say the nWo could change the match because of the stipulations they won way back at Fall Brawl 1996. Anyway, this was a long match that saw a lot of Hogan doing little things to get Giant over as a scary giant. It was a lot of Giant overpowering both men, but their cunningness and tandem work would get them going. As Giant set up Nash for a chokeslam, the Disciple ran in for a DQ at 6:23. Mostly crowd work and not a lot of action. [*½]

While the Disciple saved Hogan, he couldn’t do the same for Bischoff. Giant chokeslammed him to a huge pop and stood stall.

NITRO GIRLS!

WCW Television Championship: Booker T [c] vs. Chris Benoit
I feel like the Best of Seven should be coming up. This started with a slow pace as they used the time to feel each other out. When things picked up, Benoit brought the suplexes and Booker was worn out. The champion dug deep and busted out the flapjack, SPINAROONIE, and some of his other signature stuff. They played this as if they were exhausted, though the match hadn’t gone long yet. Benoit hit the rolling Germans and Booker came back with the 110th Street Slam. I’ve been to 110th street in New York, by the way. They traded blows as the bell rang because the ten minute time limit expired…AT 7:34! How was WCW so bad at this? Just book them for ten minutes. Ending it early is stupid. Good stuff until that crap ending. [**¾]

Curt Hennig w/ Rick Rude vs. Davey Boy Smith
This was here to kind of continue the Hennig/Hart feud, since Smith is related to Bret. Rude joined commentary and stole Tenay’s headset. The match went through a commercial break and wasn’t any good. Hennig looked to be a step slow and Smith seemed to be moving in quicksand. Rude came down and got involved, handcuffing Smith to the ropes for a DQ at 5:36. Terrible match and they’d go on to have a shit one at the PPV. [½*]

Smith got beat down until Bret Hart made the save. He beat up both Hennig and Rude, with Hennig taking a Sharpshooter. Other nWo B-Team guys ran in and also got taken out by Bret. With the nWo heading to the back, Bret and security helped Bulldog get free. Bret got on a mic and said he knew what it was like to get screwed over, so he would fix injustice in WCW.

LAST THURSDAY ~ Goldberg wrecked the nWo B-Team on his own.

Goldberg vs. The Renegade
According to Tenay, we’re at 59-0. Although, he was 56-0 after Thunder. Renegade told the camera he knew how to get a quick win over Goldberg. He didn’t. Spear and Jackhammer and that’s it at 0:42.[NR]

Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth vs. Roddy Piper
If you’re expecting much of a match, you must not know how Nitro works. Lots of punches, kicks, and cheap brawling. Piper whipped Savage with his belt before they brawled more outside. Elizabeth got involved with a back rake, so Piper planted a kiss on her. Inside, Piper put on the Sleeper Hold. They struggled to the ropes, where they knocked Liz off the apron. She’s not a good bump taker. Savage broke the Sleeper and both men were down. Out came Nash and Hogan, who hit the referee, to give us another DQ at 3:55. At least the crowd was hot. [¾*]

Savage ducked a shot from Hogan and escaped. Sting showed up with a bat (Hogan had one too), but Savage returned to knee Sting to the outside. They fought while Hogan and Nash worked over Piper. The Giant, Piper’s partner at the PPV, showed up to make the big save. It ended up with Sting, Piper, and Giant standing tall in the ring, while the nWo retreated and continued with their in-fighting problems.

Raw MVP: Rocky Maivia
Raw LVP: Sable
Nitro MVP: Sting and DDP
Nitro LVP: Davey Boy Smith

Raw Rating: 3.6
Nitro Rating: 4.6

7.3

The final score: review Good

The 411

Raw: Again, from a match standpoint, this wasn’t the strongest episode of Raw. However, it mostly succeeded as a go home show. Many of the angles were touched upon, yet it was done without giving anything away. Austin and HBK didn’t touch, while Shamrock and Undertaker were both absent, yet their stories were advanced. I appreciate that. The main event was good, too. 7.0

Nitro: A lot of this episode didn’t work. But, there’s no way I can’t put it above Raw with some of the matches. DDP and Sting tore the house down with the best match we’ve seen on Nitro so far. Eddie/Kaz and Benoit/Booker were also solid matches to help build existing storylines. Jericho continued to be entertaining and Bischoff got what was coming to him. There’s a lot to pass, but what worked succeeded in a strong way. 7.5