WCW Monday Nitro 2/26/1996

WCW Monday Nitro 2/26/1996

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/02/wcw-monday-nitro-2191996.html

NOTE - The next Nitro is in two weeks on 3/11/1996.

We are in Knoxville, Tennessee. Steve McMichael, Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan are on commentary.

Heenan says Uncensored is coming up but we could see that here tonight. Mongo says Hulk has a spy in the Dungeon of Doom. We also have Hulk, Macho and Booty Man vs Sullivan, Flair and Arn.

Big Bubba vs Sting

Bischoff gives out Raw spoilers. They lock up. Bubba backs him up on the ropes and offers a handshake. Sting slaps Bubba then trips him. Sting facebusters Bubba. Bubba atomic drops him and uppercuts him. Bubba slides out and punches Sting while Sting is on the ropes. Bubba side headlocks him. Sting hits shots to the gut and face. Bubba spinebusters him.

Bubba chinlocks him. Sting bangs Bubba's head off the buckles. Bubba corner splashes him and hits a punch. Bubba lariats him. Bubba throws him out. Sting's head is banged off the apron. Bubba knees Sting in the head then headbutts him. Sting piledrivers Bubba.

They trade punches. Sting goes for a vader bomb but Bubba gets his knees up. Sting is thrown out again. Bubba poses on the ropes and is pulled down. Sting then top rope crossbodies Bubba and wins.

Thoughts: It wasn't that great. They didn't get the flow of this right and the finish was a bit weak. Sting's piledriver on Bubba looked super dangerous.

Mean Gene goes to interview Sting and Lex Luger on the ramp but The Roadwarriors walk in. Animal says Sting has been a brought in paint to them for a long time. He says Lex is a cheapshot. Animal asks where Sting's head is. Lex says they are the champs.

Lex says they will wrestle them anytime. Animal says Lex says he's from Chicago but he's never been downtown in the hood. Sting says Lex is from the white collar section of it and The LOD are from the streets. Lex says they are the champs and don't forget it. Hawk says Lex reminds them of a washing machine and really agitates them. Hawk says if they want to go to the Atlanta Zoo and knock out the gorilla, they will do it. Hawk says Lex is a real tough guy (sarcastically) and tries to get him to do a Chicago Street Fight. Lex agrees and Sting looks stressed about this. Lex asks Gene what a Chicago Street Fight is. Sting asks him what he said.

Thoughts: This was a weird segment here. Hawk says washing machines agitate him then he talked about going to the zoo and punching a gorilla. Lex acted like an airhead here. It felt like multiple people in this one were on drugs.

Lex Luger vs The Renegade

Ren runs down to the ring like a maniac and doesn't have facepaint on. Lex put his title down to pose for the fireworks which you don't see a lot.

Lex side headlocks Ren. Lex boots him in the gut then Ren shoulders him over. Ren hits more shoulders and Lex goes out. Ren lariats Lex over then hits corner punches. Ren takes an atomic drop and lariats him for 2.

Ren back body drops Lex. Ren tries to crossbody him but hits the ropes instead. Lex headlocks Ren on the ropes. Lex elbow drops him then backdrops him. Ren sunset flips Lex for 2. Lex then lariats him.

Eric says Lex was a member of The New Generation before coming to WCW. Ren's head is banged off the buckles then he bangs Lex's head off the buckles. Ren bends over and gets hit then Lex suplexes him. Ren no sells it then running lariats Lex twice. Ren powerslams Lex for 2.

Ren corner lariats Lex then does a handspring backsplash on him. Ren bulldogs Lex. Ren goes up top and Jimmy Hart pushes Ren off the top. Lex throws Ren back in then torture racks him. Ren is out and Lex gets the win.

Thoughts: This was a weird one with Renegade giving Lex a beating and Lex needing help from Jimmy Hart to win. It does fit in with Lex's currently sleazy persona but I figured this would be a squash.

Lex celebrates with Jimmy Hart after. Sting comes down and Hart runs. Sting asks Lex why Hart is out here and Lex says he doesn't know why he's out there. Lex then holds up Ren's arm. Sting says Lex is pathetic and asks him what is going on with him. Sting gets in Lex's face on the ropes.  

#1 Contender's Match - The Roadwarriors (Hawk and Animal) vs Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T)

Book shoves Hawk as the face off before the bout. Book knees Hawk in the gut and clubs his back. Book slams Hawk and forearms him. Book knees him in the gut then Hawk lariats him. Hawk dropkicks Book and then both go out. Book clubs Hawk as he gets back in.

Hawk neckbreakers Book then first drops him. Ray and Animal get in. Ray hits punches on Animal then slams him. Animla hits 2 lariats on Ray and knocks him over. Ray powerbombs Hawk. Hawk takes shots to the gut and Book scissors kicks him for 2.

Ray hits a nice punch to the side of Hawk's face. Ray lariats Hawk for 2. Ray front facelocks Hawk. Hawk spears the buckle when Ray moves. Book jumping side kicks Hawk. Hawk takes a double suplex. Hawk back elbows Book. Animal comes in and dropkicks Ray. Animal gets out of a double backdrop and hits a double clothesline. Book side slams Hawk. Book hits a harlem hangover on Hawk but the ref isn't there. Animal facekicks Book from the side and Hawk gets the pin.

Thoughts: It was a bit of a cheap ending but I did like it. Hawk looked like he got popped for real at one point by Ray. Booker had a good performance here and stuck out athletically.

Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and The Booty Man vs Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and The Taskmaster

 

The faces get in and beat up on the heels. Arn calls for timeout outside but is thrown in. Booty hits punches on Arn. Kimberly comes out with flowers. Arn side headlocks Booty then Booty atomic drops Arn. Hulk and Macho get shots in and Booty hits a jumping knee on Arn.

Arn hits corner spears on Booty. Booty knees him out of the corner. Mongo quotes Sun Tzu and says you need to have spies in the enemies camp. Booty sleepers Task then Flair gets in, despite Arn being the legal man. Booty trips Flair and messes with his hair.

Booty double knuckle locks Flair. Macho gets in. Macho is sent into the corner and triple teamed. Flair chops Macho then Macho back body drops him. Flair back elbows him. Flair goes up top and is thrown down by Macho. Macho comes off the top and takes a shot to the gut from Flair. Flair poses but Hulk shows up behind him.

Flair chops Hulk. Hulk hits lariats then back body drops him. Hulk lariats Flair on the apron then is double teamed. Hulk ducks a double clothesline and hits his own on Task and Arn.

Hulk hits corner punches on Flair and bites him. Flair takes a double big boot. Macho side headlocks Flair. Liz and Woman trip Macho and Macho grabs both. Flair then hits Macho. Macho's neck is pulled down over the top rope.

Task hits punches on Macho and hits chops. Arn stomps on Maco then catapults his neck into the bottom rope. Macho's head is banged off the rail then Flair chops Macho outside. Flair stomps him. Task boots Macho out of the corner.

Arn and Macho trade some shots. Task shoulders Macho over and both go down. Booty is tagged in and drops the heels with punches. The heels are then sent into Hulk's big boot. Hulk legdrops Arn and pins him.

Thoughts: It was a really average main here with no one putting that much effort into it. It was mostly all punching and wasn't that interesting.

Flair knees Hulk from behind after. Liz handcuffs Hulk after and Flair whips Hulk. Hulk clearly has to help Liz handcuff him as she just can't get it figured out. Macho then goes after Task and Liz. 

Overall thoughts: It wasn't one of Nitro's better episodes here. Sting/Bubba wasn't as good as it should have been. There was a weird segment with The Roadwarriors and Sting/Lex. Lex got his butt kicked by Renegade but still pulled out the win. Heat/Roadwarriors wasn't perfect but I liked it. The main was just average with no one doing much but punches. I'd only give this one a 4 out of 10 as it had a lot of issues and I wouldn't recommend it.

WCW Monday Nitro 2/19/1996

WCW Monday Nitro 2/19/1996

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/02/wcw-monday-nitro-2121996.html

Mongo McMichael, Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan are on commentary. They welcome us to the show and talk about tonight's show.

Hulk Hogan vs Arn Anderson

Hulk pulls Arn's jacket off and hits punches. Hulk rakes Arn's back and bangs his head off the buckles. Hulk chokes Arn with Arn's jacket then sends him into the post. Hulk running lariats Arn and hits punches to the head. 

Arn rakes Hulk's eyes and bangs his head off the buckles. Arn comes off the 2nd rope and is lariated. Hulk then chokes and bites Arn. Hulk rakes Arn's face on the ropes. Eric Bischoff said Vader left WCW with his tail tucked between his legs after a confrontation with Paul Orndorff.

Hulk hits punches on Arn then corner lariats him. Arn is then thrown out. Hulk chokes Arn with a towel and rakes his face with his boot. Hulk chops Arn outside. Hulk bangs Arn's head off the mat and then rubs his face into the mat.

Hulk foot chokes Arn. Arn back elbows Hulk then knee drops him. Hulk punches Arn and sends him over the top. Hulk knees Arn out of the corner. Arn teases a punch and goes for the ddt, but Hulk slips out and Arn goes down. Hulk big boots Arn. Hulk then figure fours Arn. Kevin Sullivan tries to get in then Macho Man comes down and nails Sullivan. Arn Anderson then somehow wins this won by DQ over that.

Thoughts: The ending was bad here just like it was last week. Hulk got almost all the offense in here and did little but rough house heel tactics like raking the back, choking Arn and rubbing his face into the mat.

Alex Wright vs The Loch Ness Monster

Alex avoids a Loch to start and is wearing a red elbow pad. Loch throws him off the wristlock attempt. Alex hits dropkicks and Loch no sells them. Alex tries to sleeper him from behind. Loch throws him off then bearhugs him.

Alex hits more dropkicks then hits boots to the gut. Alex flying back elbows him then he runs into a boot to the gut. Loch hits a big elbow drop and wins.

Thoughts: Loch didn't do much at all here and is clearly pretty limited. His elbow did look good though but not much else did.

Loch says he wants Hogan after and I can't imagine how bad that match would be.

Brad Armstrong vs The Belfast Bruiser

This should be good but it's random. The Bruiser is Fit Finlay. Brad is clean shaven here.

They lock up. Bruiser wristlocks him. Bruiser takes him down by the arm and elbows him in the face. Bruiser snapmares him and Brad backs him up in the corner. Bruiser side headlocks him.

Bruiser side headlock takeovers him and pulls the arms back. Bruiser does an unusual low running shoulder. Brad bangs Bruiser's head off the buckles. Bruiser shoulders Brad over and Brad hits a botched hiptoss for 2.

Brad side headlock takeovers Bruiser. Bruiser bangs Brad's face off the apron and clubs his chest. Bruiser bangs Brad's face off the buckles and Brad throws Bruiser over the top. Bruiser bangs Brad's leg off the apron and post.

Bruiser calf crushers Brad. Brad hits back elbows to the head and back body drops Bruiser. Brad then crossbodies Bruiser over the top. Bruiser backslides him. Brad boots him out of the corner then slingblade facebusters him. Brad backdrops him. Bruiser then wins with a tilt-a-whirl slam.

Thoughts: It was a random one. The work was good but it was a tough match to get over as both were cold coming in and the crowd didn't have a lot of reason to care. Bruiser was so good at the basics here and really maximized some of the little things. Heenan even put over that he could really wrestle. I don't think it was the best way to debut him and you wouldn't really think he would get over that well in WCW at this time, but he was obviously very talented.

Bruiser calls for William Regal after.

WCW World Title - Ric Flair (c) vs "Macho Man" Randy Savage

Flair has Woman and Miss Elizabeth with him. Macho hits punches on Flair and bangs his head off the buckles. Macho back body drops him then hits corner punches. Flair atomic drops him out of it. Flair boots Macho as he tries to get in the ring then sends him over the rail.

Flair hits chops and punches on the rails. Macho gets distracted by Woman outside then Flair drops him with a forearm. Woman then eye rakes Macho. Flair chops down Macho in the ring. The two trade shots. Flair back elbows him then does a random Flair flop for no reason.

Flair goes up top and Macho throws him down. Macho then figure fours him. Macho roughs up Flair in the corner and Flair knees him low. Macho sleepers him then Flair backdrops him out of it. Macho shoulders him over then Flair back elbows him. Flair suplexes Macho.

Flair stomps on Macho's head. They trade shots. Flair kneebreakers him and goes for the figure four. Macho backslides him. flairs chops Macho down. Macho pops up each time and hits punches. They trade chops for punches. Macho spits at Flair.

Macho hits corner punches then back body drops him. Macho knocks Flair down on the apron. Macho then top rope double axe handles him. Miss Elizabeth gets on the apron. Woman throws her shoe in and Macho nails Flair with it. Kevin Sullivan comes down and grabs the shoe. Hulk Hogan and Arn Anderson come down. Arn ddt's Macho as Hulk punches Sullivan then Flair pins Macho.

Thoughts: This one was mostly all punches and chops here with Macho rightfully looking for revenge and payback on Flair. It worked but I didn't think it was one of their best matches. The finish was also messy here and wasn't done as well as it could have been done. I was okay with this but I didn't love it.

Hulk hits shots on Arn after then is triple teamed by Sullivan, Arn and Flair. Brutus Beefcake comes out as The Booty Man. The announcers pretend to not know him despite him being with the company for 3 years. Booty knocks the heels away then chases them to the back.

Thoughts: This was a bad re-introduction for Brutus/The Booty Man. It was an insult for them to pretend like they didn't know who he was.

 

Ric Flair goes up to the commentators after. He threatens them. He says nothing then The Booty Man and Hulk come up.  Hulk says The Booty Man can get it done and says he wants a 6-man tag. He says if "The Booty Booty Booty Man can't get it done, no one can". Mean Gene then comes up. Macho threatens Eric. Hulk says Booty Man is back on track and says if he can't kick your can, no one can. Gene confirms if Hulk wants a 6-man and Hulk confirms it. Macho says it'll be the real war to the settle the score.

Thoughts: I can't believe they thought The Booty Man was a good gimmick idea. It was really one of the worst wrestling names ever and it sounds silly when Hulk is threatening the heels with a guy named The Booty Man.

Eric and Mongo close the show as Heenan had already run off. Mongo says he's been saying Hulk needed more troops and says he's got them now.

Overall thoughts: This was one of my least favorite Nitro's since the show started. We had random debuts and matches, we had another Hulk/Arn match with a bad finish and a Macho/Flair match with a bad finish. We then had the debut of The Booty Man, with the announcers pretending they had no idea who he was despite him wrestling with the company for years. Hulk then tried to get him over in a ridiculous moment. They also hadn't followed up on Sting, Lex, The Road Warriors, Harlem Heat, The Giant, various cruiserweights or other people who had been around over the last few weeks and hurt all of the stories involving those people. I'd give this one a 3 out of 10 and really wouldn't recommend it. It just felt like Hulk's hands were all over this show.

WCW Monday Nitro 2/12/1996

WCW Monday Nitro 2/12/1996

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wcw-superbrawl-vi-2111996.html

Last night's Superbrawl VI is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wcw-superbrawl-vi-2111996.html 

Eric Bischoff, Mongo McMichael and Bobby Heenan are on commentary. They talk about Miss Elizabeth turning on Macho Man. Heenan says Macho has a busted up body and a broken heart. They then talk about the results from Superbrawl. Mongo says he saw Macho and he's a man possessed. Heenan says The Loch Ness Monster (who debuted on Main Event last night) is 600lbs and someone he doesn't want to mess with.

Randy Savage vs. Hugh Morrus

Macho doesn't come out with his usual attire, just a shirt and bandana.

Hugh pounds on Macho as he enters and Macho goes for the eyes. Hugh hits a corner lariat and they trade punches. Macho flings Hugh off the ropes. Hugh hits a double throat thrust. Hugh hits corner spears. Macho boots him out of the corner then chokes him. 

Hugh hits punches on Macho then Macho throws him out. Hugh is sent into the post. Hugh suplexes him then chokes him. Macho back elbows him then double axe handles him. Macho back elbows him. Hugh misses a 2nd rope moonsault then Macho slams him. Macho hits a top rope elbow drop then hits a second one for the win.

Thoughts: I liked it. It was a fight here with both sticking to strikes and working each others throats. It wasn't great but I bought that Macho had an issue here to solve with Hugh.

Macho goes for another top rope elbow drop after. The ref gets in the way. Macho says he doesn't want Hugh, he wants Ric Flair.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Steve Grissom, who is a WCW Motorsports driver. Steve says the car is looking good and running good. Steve says tomorrow is the big day for them.

The Loch Ness Monster vs Scotty Riggs

Loch debuted on the pre-show for Superbawl VI on Main Event. He had a quick match that wasn't much.

Riggs hits punches on Loch and dropkicks him. Loch doesn't budge much. Riggs 2nd rope dropkicks him. Riggs does a top rope crossbody and Loch is supposed to catch him but just falls on him. Loch then hits a heavy elbow drop. He then hits a second and wins.

Thoughts: It was a quick one. Like in his debut, Loch did little here with elbows and botched the big spot of the match. This wasn't much.

Mean Gene has Miss Elizabeth, Woman and someone in a hospital bed on the ramp. Liz says Macho promised that someone was leaving the ring on a gurney. Liz says Flair's a man on his word. Flair then pops out of the bed. He says he was just taking a cat nap. He says it's not easy being Flair. Flair says he has Woman on his right and Elizabeth on his left. He says he's the world champ as well for the 13th time. Flair starts dancing and struts with the girls. He says he can't wait for his match with Macho next week. Flair says sometimes only a woman can say things as eloquently as they need to be heard and tells Liz to talk.

Liz says she had to walk behind Macho for 7 years and sit in the corner and never open her mouth. She says she left Macho and took everything. She said she took it all last night. Liz says she knows the belt was the more important thing to Macho. She says Macho lives on the edge but he's now over the edge as the belt belongs to Flair.

Thoughts: Liz tried but you could tell she was kind of uncomfortable here and nervous.

WCW United States Heavyweight Title Match - Konnan (c) vs. Devon Storm

Storm has orange hair and tassles on. Storm dropkicks Kon from behind then dropkicks him through the ropes. Storm then sets up a chair in the ring and tope con hilos off of it. Storm then dropkicks Kon off the apron. Storm jumps off the steps onto Kon, gets caught and is powerbombed on the floor.

Kon hits punches on Storm. He goes up and over and hits a nice lariat. Kon flips in with a headscissors. Kon backrolls and headscissors Storm then armdrags him off the casadora. Kon then wheelbarrow germans Storm.

Kon hits a drop on Storm for 2. Kon does a reverse figure four on Storm. Storm then twists Kon's ankle. Storm back elbows him and hits a springboard leg lariat. Storm goes for a sunset bomb to the floor but Kon hurricanrana's him.

Kon is put up top and kicked. Storm goes for a top rope hurricanrana but is powerbombed and then pinned.

Thoughts: I liked this one. Storm got a big break here and impressed with some nice flying. Konnan worked well against him and they had Konnan's best match so far on Nitro. This worked and stuff like this is what made Nitro so fun.

Hulk Hogan vs Arn Anderson

Hulk's eye is bandaged up. Arn hammerlocks Hulk and hits him from behind. Hulk eye rakes Arn then hits punches. Hulk bites Arn's head and hits corner punches. Arn corner lariats Hulk then Hulk lariats him over twice. Hulk corner lariats Arn.

Hulk back racks Arn then throws him out. Hulk catapults Arn into the post outside. Hulk then rams Arn's shoulder into the post. Hulk bangs Arn's arm off the post. Hulk hits a punch flurry on Arn.

Hulk chokes Arn with tape then does a regular choke. Hulk atomic drops Arn. Arn goes into the buckles then takes a back drop. Hulk elbow drops Arn. George Steinbrenner is in attendance and is enjoying this. Hulk lariats Arn then hits punches. Arn back elbows him out of the corner. Hulk tries to throw Arn off the top but Arn slips and crotches himself. Arn headbutts Hulk in the gut and punches him. Arn rakes Hulk's injured eye. Ric Flair and Miss Elizabeth come down. Arn spinebusters Hulk for 2.

Hulk hulks up and no sells Arn's punches. Hulk hits punches and then a big boot. Hulk does Flair's strut. Hulk then puts the figure four on Arn in front of Flair. Flair then gets in the ring and tries to break it up. Hulk cradles Flair while keeping the hold on. Flair and Hulk fight. Woman throws powder in Hulk's face. Arn gets Liz's shoe and hit Hulk in the eye with the heel to win.

Thoughts: This finish was bogus. The ref saw Flair get in the ring and knew Hulk got hit with powder yet let things continue. That was awful. The match was just average otherwise and Arn had a rare botch here.

Hulk grabs the heels after and bangs their heads together. Hulk big boots Arn and Flair. Macho Man comes down and helps beat up Flair and Arn. Flair is then whipped into a chair in the head.

Ric Flair comes to the commentary booth and takes Eric's headset. Flair says Hogan got his @ss kicked again. Flair says they got the belts, the girls and the wrestling world where they want it. Arn says the sky isn't falling and it's not the end of time. He says yes, he did just beat Hulk Hogan. He said he did it once and can do it again. Hulk and Macho go chasing after the heels. Hulk then takes Heenan's headset and Heenan runs for his life.

Mean Gene joins them. Hulk says Arn lived by the sword and will die by it. Hulk says when Macho beats Flair and gets his WCW Title back, Hulk accepts another match with Arn. Macho says he accepts the challenge next week. He says helter skelter for Flair next week.

Hulk says Liz made the wrong choice in Pee Wee Herman. Hulk says to tear Flair apart and says he will be the new enforcer here. Macho says they will take Flair's crew to school next week. Hulk says no more Mr. Nice Guy.

Overall thoughts: It was a fun show. I liked Macho vs Hugh. Storm impressed against Konnan. The Loch Ness Monster did not impress and botched his only big spot in the match. Arn vs Flair was average with a bad finish. The ending was fun though and it felt out of control with Heenan definitely looking scared for his life. I'd give it a 6 out of 10 and I'd mildly recommend it.

WCW Monday Nitro 2/5/1996

WCW Monday Nitro 2/5/1996

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/wcw-monday-nitro-1291996.html

Eric Bischoff, Steve McMichael and Bobby Heenan are on commentary.

They talk about tonight's card.   

WCW World Title - "Macho Man" Randy Savage (c) vs Chris Benoit

Woman and Miss Elizabeth are with Macho. They roll on the ropes. CB drops Macho with shots and throws him out. Macho is sent into into the rails then thrown in. CB pulls down Macho inside. CB tries to catapult him and fails. CB hits chops. CB knee chokes Macho then chinlocks him.

CB snap suplexes him. CB slams him then hits a nice top rope diving headbutt. CB chops him in the corner then backdrops him. CB elbows him over then legdrops him. CB backbreakers him and Macho eye rakes him.

Macho hits some shots to the gut and CB headbutts him. CB foot chokes him. Macho pulls CB out by the arm. Macho is sent into the post. Macho lariats him. Woman gets on the apron. CB back body drops Macho over the top. CB tries to tope Macho but Macho moves and CB bangs his head right off the concrete. Macho hits a top rope elbow drop.

Ric Flair comes out and grabs Liz. Macho goes after Ric as he hides behind Liz. Woman than chokes Macho from behind, turning on him for the DQ.

Thoughts: I never really got why Macho was coming out with all the girls and it didn't make sense for him to come with out with Woman since in kayfabe, he was still with Liz (I suppose anyway). CB did a nasty tope where he missed and banged his head off the concrete. Macho took a nice back body drop out too. I wasn't a fan of this though as it was really one-sided and not super exciting.

Macho is beaten up by Flair and Arn. Hulk Hogan then comes out with a chair and nails Arn and CB with it.

Mean Gene Okerlund tries to talk to Hulk after. Staff come out to walk Macho to the back. Gene says this doesn't bode well for Superbrawl. Gene says he doesn't know what's going on. Hulk says they gotta put a stop to Flair and says he wants a match with Flair.

Ric Flair then comes in and nails Hulk from behind. Gene and Liz don't tell Hulk even though they see Ric. Ric pounds on Hulk and eye rakes him. Liz doesn't try to help at all. The Giant and The Zodiac come out. Giant chairs hulk in the back. Zodiac tries to stop Giant from doing more. Macho then comes back out and takes the chair from Giant. Giant, Zod and Ric leave.

Macho asks why Liz didn't warn Hulk about the blindside and says what he will do to Ric can't be said on TV. Hulk holds his taped up eye and Macho says to get some help.

Thoughts: I'm glad Macho brought up Gene and Liz standing there and not saying anything while Hulk got blindsided. That was hard to understand.

The Dungeon of Doom (Hugh Morrus and The Taskmaster) vs The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman)

This came about due to The DoD attacking Arn and BP from behind during a discussion in the ring last week.

Hugh backs up BP in the corner. BP hits Hugh and chops him. Hugh gorilla press slams BP then does the same to Arn. They say a respect match has been signed between BP and Task.

BP messes with a camera. BP lariats Task. Task no sells it then chops on BP. Task forearms BP. BP kicks Hugh from the apron. Hugh lifts him by the throat and is hit from behind. Arn spinebusters Hugh. 

BP works on Hugh in the corner and slaps him. Arm snapmares Hugh and chinlocks him. Hugh top wristlocks Arn and BP clips Hugh in the legs. Hugh is 2v1'd in the corner then thrown out. BP sends Hugh into the rail. Arn knee drops Hugh.

Hugh clubs on BP then BP and Task go at it hard. They trade some legit looking shots. BP is put in tree of woe and Task running knees him. BP no sells it and chops him. Task takes him down and bites his face. BP and Task go at it hard and Task rakes BP's face. Arn takes Task out of the ring and they go to the back. Arn tries to piledriver Task near the stage and someone from backstage hits Arn with a broom.

Hugh back body drops BP on the floor. Hugh slams him and Task grabs a belt. The DoD are DQ'd.

Thoughts: The Task/BP part of this looked legit. I believe it was part shoot. And if it wasn't, it was well worked. It was a heel vs heel match otherwise though. The crowd didn't really know how to react. We didn't get much wrestling here and the finish wasn't clean. Props to the ref though for disqualifying the heels just for bringing a weapon in.

Hugh holds BP down and Task whips BP with a belt after. Arn comes back down to ringside and BP walks off in anger.

Ric Flair vs Marcus Bagwell

MB = Marcus Bagwell

Woman comes out with Ric. Paul Orndorff comes up to the commentators. He says the funny thing about payback is that you never know when it'll happen. Heenan calls him "the broom man", saying he was the one who attacked Arn with the broom.

MB headlock takeovers Ric. We are told Macho has taken Hulk to the hospital. Ric chops up MB then stomps him in the corner. MB back body drops him and lariats him over. MB lariats him over the top. MB lariats him on the floor.

Ric and MB trade chops for punches. MB hits a punch flurry and staggers Ric. MB then drops him with a punch for 2. MB back body drops Ric then dropkicks him for 2. MB misses a dropkick. MB cradles him for 2.

They collide in the middle and somehow MB falls over the top off of it. Woman gets on the apron and Ric boots MB outside. Ric knee drops him. They trade inside. MB hits back hands and punches. Ric boots him out of the corner for 2. MB throws Ric off the top then lariats him. 

MB superplexes Ric for 2. MB goes for a slingshot splash but Ric gets his knees up. Ric figure fours him and taps him out.

Thoughts: Bagwell was really good here some nice fiery comebacks and lots of decent shots. He put up a good fight against Ric and Ric did his job. The figure four finish was not built up to well at all though. I liked this one but I'm not sure why it got so much time or why they chose Bagwell.

Macho comes out and chases down Flair. Flair runs to the back. Doug Dillinger and security try to stop Macho but he pulls a guard down hard and chases.

WCW World Tag Team Title Match - Lex Luger & Sting (c) vs. The Road Warriors

Animal throws Sting down off the lock-up. Animal throws Sting. Animal misses an elbow drop and Sting facebusters him. Sting top rope diving lariats Animal for 2.

Lex and Hawk go at it. Lex piledrivers Hawk. Hawk no sells it and lariats Lex. Hawk flying shoulders him then fist drops him. Hawk hits a corner lariat. Sting hits a corner splash and Animal breaks up the scorpion deathlock attempt. 

Animal hits spears to the gut of Sting and knocks him over. Animal runs the ropes and Lex pulls the top rope down on Animal. Sting doesn't seem happy. Lex stomps Animal in the ring. Animal boots Lex out of the corner. Lex slams Animal then elbow drops him. We apparently lost power for a bit but this version of the show corrects the issue.

Sting front facelocks Animal. Lex hits shots on Animal then powerslams him. Animal backdrops Lex for 2. Sting breaks the pin up. Hawk throws Sting out. Lex suplexes Animal. Animal no sells it. Animal powerslams Lex. Jimmy Hart gets in the ring and drops some kind of weapon he has. Animal grabs Jimmy and Lex hits Animal in the back with the weapon. Lex then pins Animal.

Thoughts: The match was just a match for the most part. It had a dirty finish and wasn't that great. All the guys were on the back halfs of their careers and they didn't get the time or the spot to have the dream match this really should have been.

Mean Gene interviews Hawk and Animal after. Hawk says they are demanding a rematch. Gene brings up Animal's back problems and says it looks like Lex went after it. Animal says nobody can beat them fair and squash. Animal says they want a match between the winners of Harlem Heat vs Sting and Luger. Hawk says you don't wanna do this to them but they did and now they pay the price.

The commentators close the show. Heenan says the faces will be on their own in Superbrawl in the cage match.

Overall thoughts: It was an easy to watch show as usual. Nothing was great but the matches are all going somewhere and they kept this one moving. I don't think they put over Superbrawl as well as they could have though and the undercard wasn't built up that well. I'd give this one a 6 out of 10 and I thought it was good.

WCW Monday Nitro 1/29/1996

WCW Monday Nitro 1/29/1996

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/10/wcw-monday-nitro-1221996.html

We are in Canton, Ohio. Eric Bischoff, Steve "Mongo" McMichael and Bobby Heenan are on commentary.

The Giant faces Macho Man for the WCW Title tonight. Mongo says we got Flair vs Hogan as well. They talk about The Road Warriors returning at Clash of the Champions. Heenan says whoever their opponents are have a long evening ahead of them.

Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair

Hulk has Woman, Debra, Miss Elizabeth and supposedly his wife Linda with him.

Ric stalls outside before it starts. They lock up and Ric is pushed over. Hulk poses. Ric is shoved over a few more times. Ric hits chops in the corner. Hulk hits punches and back body drops him. Ric is lariated over the top. Ric sends Hulk into the rails and is knocked over on the floor.

Hulk hits punches inside and corner lariats him. Hulk hits more punches, the ref pulls Hulk off and Ric clips Hulk. We go to break and return. Ric hits punches and chops. Ric goes up top and is thrown down. Hulk hits some punches.

Hulk shoulders Ric over and Ric back elbows him. Ric chokes Hulk. Jimmy Hart tries to get a shot in but is pushed into the rails. Ric knee drops Hulk. Hulk no sells it and pops up. Ric takes a lariat then corner punches. Hulk lariats Ric on the apron and sends him down to the floor. 

Hulk rakes Ric's back outside. Ric eye pokes him. Ric kicks Hulk in the ribs then throws him out. Hart chokes Hulk with something outside. Ric stomps on Hulk and Hart stomps Hulk outside. Ric boots Hulk in the knee and kneebreakers him. Ric figure fours Hulk. Hulk reverses it to escape. Hulk suplexes him. Ric hits chops then Hulk hits punches back.

Ric backdrops him for 2. Hulk starts to hulk up as Rich hits punches. Ric hits chops and gets punched. Hulk legdrops him. Hart gets on the apron. Arn Anderson gets in the ring. Hulk punches him and sends him out. Arn and Hart grab Miss Elizabeth. They grab Liz's heel and Ric hits Hulk in the eye with it. Ric then gets the pin.

Thoughts: Ric got most of the offense in. Hulk would sell then just no sell and hulk up before Ric got control again. The finish was not that good either. Ric tried as he really bumped around but this wasn't Hulk's finest hour.

Liz checks on Hulk after then Macho Man comes down to check on Hulk. 

The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Animal & Road Warrior Hawk) vs. The Faces Of Fear (Meng & The Barbarian)

The FoF have some robes and headbands on that are new. The RW's theme has Hawk saying "oh what a rush". The RW have blue shoulderpads on today.

Barb pushes Animal back on the lock up. Animal clubs on Barb then Barb facekicks him. Barb hits some chops then Animal powerslams him. Animal elbow drops him. Meng elbows Hawk's head and hits a stiff piledriver. Hawk no sells it and goes face to face with him. Hawk hits a lariat and a powerslam. Hawk fist drops him.

Animal and Meng trade wristlocks. Animal yanks on the arm. Barb knees Animal in the back from the apron. Meng lariats Animal over. The FoF hit stereo headbutt drops to Animal's back. Heenan says The FoF might not be able to do your taxes, but they know what to do in the ring.

Barb sends Animal hard into the corner, working Animal's injured back. Barb clubs on Animal's back then backbreakers him. Meng camel clutches Animal then stomps on his back. Animal is sent into the rails then Barb rams his back into the post. Meng hits a great dropkick on Animal. Meng chokes Animal and pulls on his mouth.

Barb hits a great powerbomb on Animal for 2. Barb 2nd rope diving lariats Animal. Barb comes off the 2nd rope and takes a lariat from Animal. Hawk gets in and hits punches on Barb. Hawk lariats both FoF's then facekicks both. Hawk hits a double lariat. Meng is sent over the top by Animal. Barb is caught by Animal on the 2nd rope but Meng saves Barb from a doomsday device. Meng is sent into the post then Barb piledrivers Animal. Hawk flying lariats Barb over Animal and pins him.

Thoughts: The heels worked Animal's back here but forgot about it after he tagged out. The heels hit some nice offense on Animal's back. I didn't like the piledriver no sell but I liked this one otherwise. Meng and Barb were moving well and bumping big and The RW's had some nice offense. This got a lot of time and I'd like to see a rematch.

Mean Gene interviews Kevin Sullivan in the ring. Kevin says they made a pact with The Horsemen and he thought Arn was a man of his word. He implies Arn didn't keep his word last week. Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman come out.

Kevin says he wants Arn to keep his word and said he needs to discipline Brian or suffer the consequences. Arn says he will take care of this. Arn says Flair just beat Hogan by himself and Brian was nowhere ot be found. He said that immaturity is running through Brian right now. He says he's not an individual, he's part of a team. Arn says he talked to him and tried to slap him. He says if he's gonna act like a child, all that's left is tough love. He says it'll hurt him more than it'll hurt arn. Arn gets the belt out. Hugh Morrus nails Arn from the behind. Arn takes a 2v1 from Kevin and Hugh. Kevin then whips Brian with the belt. Arn ddt's Hugh and shoves Kevin away.

Arn gets on the mic after. He says they police within their own and if they have a problem, they take care of it. Arn says he knows someone in the executive committee is in the building. He says to get him a match Sullivan and Hugh unless they want blood. Brian says he got Arn in this mess and will get him out.

Thoughts: Well, we knew that alliance wasn't going to last long. It's odd that The Dungeon would attack when Arn was going to punish Brian.

Mean Gene interviews Sister Sherri in the ring. We see clips of Medusa messing up her wedding with Col. Rob Parker and we see Medusa fighting Sherri. Medusa then appears off the top and crossbodies Sherri.

Medusa vs Sister Sherri

Medusa hits kicks. They go out and Sherri bangs Med's leg off the buckles. Sherri is sent into the steps. Med suplexes Sherri. Sherri hits a palm strike to the throat. Sherri hits kicks on Med.

Med drops Sherri with a big punch in the ring and hits kicks to the body. Sherri leg drops Med in the gut then walks on her. Med pulls Sherri off the top and Sherri rolls her up off of it to win.

Med germans Sherri after and hits paintbrush slaps and bad punches. Med bangs Sherri's head off the mat. Another ref comes out to stop this.

Thoughts: I liked what we got of this. It wasn't pretty but these two are feuding and it shouldn't have been pretty. They hit some stiff shots here and showed some fire.

WCW World Title - "Macho Man" Randy Savage (c) vs The Giant

Macho comes out with Woman, Debra, Miss Elizabeth and Hulk's wife. I don't know why all these girls with him or Hulk and I don't think it was explained.

Macho comes out off camera and hits Giant with the WCW Title from behind. The ref watches, takes the title away but doesn't DQ Macho. Macho gets on Giant's back with a sleeper. Ric Flair comes out. The ref DQ's Macho. Ric throws Macho into the rails outside then chairs him.

Thoughts: We didn't get much of a match here before the screwy finish. I'm surprised Giant and The Dungeon of Doom were helping Ric out here when they had just turned on Arm and Brian. I hope that's explained as that made little sense. This match was a bait and switch but hopefully it is leading to something.

Macho is sent into the post. Flair hits chops and punches. Ric nails the ref and Giant suplexes Macho. Ric hits punches on Macho and Giant elbow drops Macho's leg. Giant backbreakers Macho several times. Giant chokeslams Macho once. Hulk Hogan makes the save by hitting Giant with a chair. Hulk chairs Giant out of the ring. He then nails The Dungeon of Doom with a chair.

Ric Flair goes up to commentary. He says he beat Hulk twice. He says he wants a 2 ring cage match at Superbrawl. Giant says talks about Hulk's bones and says his soul will be his forever. Ric says he wants 2 cages again and says he will take Macho's belt and Elizabeth one more time. Jimmy Hart says this is Ric Flair country and says he's together forever with Giant. Ric puts on the commentary headphones. Heenan says the heels cleaned the set here and will take care of the rest in the cage.

Overall thoughts: It was an easy show to watch and it kept my interest throughout. The Roadwarriors vs The Faces of Fear was the best thing on here and Sherri/Medusa was kept short and sweet. We didn't really get the main we were promised but at least we did get Flair vs Hulk. I liked this show and thought it was a good hour of wrestling. I'd give it a 6 out of 10.