Monday Nitro – October 11, 1999

Date: October 11, 1999

Location: Mississippi
Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi

Attendance: 9,000

Commentators: Bobby
Heenan, Tony Schiavone

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

We’ve coming off a
genuinely great wrestling match last week and something tells me that
it’s going to go downhill from here. The main event is Benoit/Hart
teaming up against a team to be announced. Other than that, we might
get to see more car hijinks between Sid and Goldberg in the parking
lot. Let’s get to it.

We open with an In
Memory Of graphic for Gorilla Monsoon. That’s quite the tribute
considering he never wrestled there. Monsoon is still one of the
fondest remembered names ever in wrestling and it’s nice of them to
do this.

Benoit and Hart arrive
and are met by Luger and Elizabeth. The latter thinks we need
immigration and it seems Luger will be one of their opponents
tonight.

Sid gets out of a cab.
Continuity!

We
go to Tony and Bobby, who have some kind words about Monsoon. Heenan
gives a very heartfelt tribute to his friend, saying that the pearly
gates of Heaven will now be known as the Gorilla Position. He has to
look down to hide his tears. That’s a very touching tribute.

Malenko asks Saturn
what happened last week. Saturn was there to stop Shane and attacked
Mysterio in self defense but Malenko doesn’t seem convinced.

Saturn
apologizes to Mysterio but again, Rey doesn’t buy it. He armdrags
Saturn down off a handshake and we start fast. A headscissors and
dropkick send Saturn to the floor and Rey follows him out with a big
flip dive. He does that as well as anyone not named Guerrera that
I’ve ever seen. Back in and a hurricanrana is countered into a Liger
Bomb from Saturn, another move that never gets old. We hit an armbar
on Mysterio and go to a break. Saturn hits the springboard spinning
legdrop and a release belly to belly suplex to send Rey flying.

Mysterio avoids a
charge in the corner and hits the Bronco Buster but walks into a
reverse powerbomb to put him back down again. A legdrop misses
though and Mysterio springboards right onto Saturn’s shoulders but he
gets out of the Death Valley Driver. Back up again and they crotch
each other trying simultaneous dropkicks. That’s quite a painful
looking spot actually. Saturn gets up first and goes all the way to
the top but Rey pops up and hits a huge super hurricanrana. Cue
Douglas to attempt some interference but Malenko cuts him off. This
brings out Kidman for protection but he hits Saturn, drawing the DQ.

Rating:
C.
This wasn’t bad but and I could have gone for more of it. Saturn may
not have been a top star or anything, but he was capable of having an
entertaining match with the right opponent. Mysterio certainly fits
the bill too as he was busting out the high flying stuff.
Unfortunately, none of these guys have anything to fight over because
Benoit is suddenly in the main event scene (and it’s about time) but
the US Title is way out of reach, Disco Inferno is Cruiserweight
Champion, and the Tag Team Titles, which would fit this feud well,
are still being defended against the First Family. The action is
there, but the priorities aren’t.

Kidman
wants a tag match later tonight, because setting it up for next week
would just be lunacy.

Video
on Meng. He’s a monster you know.

Arn
Anderson and Ric Flair are watching the video with cans of Surge next
to them and Anderson brushing his teeth. They declare Meng the real
deal and that’s it. As usual, this was random and served no bearing
on the show otherwise.

Disco,
now wanting to be known as D.I., is defending. Kaz takes him down
with a flying headscissors so Disco comes back with right hands.
Those just earn him another headscissors and a dropkick as they’re
actually setting up a simple premise already. The champ bails to the
floor but takes a suicide dive. Somehow, his hair is still
immaculate.

Back
in and Disco hits a good running clothesline (wow he can still his
arm out AND has perfect hair) followed by the middle rope forearm and
neckbreaker for two. Four moves of gloom maybe? A sunset flip
doesn’t get Kaz anywhere as Disco rakes the eyes and plants him with
a DDT. They head outside for nothing so Disco misses another
clothesline and gets caught in a hurricanrana. Kaz counters a
powerbomb into a sunset flip but walks into the Chartbuster to retain
the title.

Rating:
D+.
This is similar to the old days of the NWA World Junior Heavyweight
Championship. Back at Starrcade 1984, the title was defended between
two guys very similar to Disco: people who may have been under the
weight limit but who wrestled like any average heavyweight. There’s
no reason to have a Cruiserweight division if the wrestlers aren’t
doing anything out of the ordinary. Kaz did some high flying but
it’s nowhere near enough to save a match like this.

Konnan
does his catchphrases and even a monster knows how stupid they sound.
He kicks Konnan down and no sells a faceplant (good stereotype)
before trying an early Death Grip. Instead he nails Konnan in the
back of the head and chokes away in the corner as this is full squash
mode. Meng no sells some clotheslines but actually does sell a
bulldog. That earns him another superkick and a lot of yelling.
Konnan tries a sunset flip out of the corner and gets caught in the
Death Grip for the win.

Rating:
D.
I dig Meng doing his monster stuff but it’s similar to Scott Norton:
you can only set this stuff up so many times before the effect wears
off, especially if Goldberg is going to be the one beating him later
on. Total squash here though and it’s nice to see Konnan getting
shut up for a change.

Berlyn and the
bodyguard jump Brad Armstrong but Brad steals Berlyn’s cane and
fights back. My goodness just let them fight tonight and get it over
with already.

Hall
and Nash come to their seats again and say they’re not coming back.
After wishing Dusty Rhodes a happy birthday, they’ll be back in July
2012 when he’s the right age for a WCW main event. Nash co-main
evented a WWE show in December 2011 and was in the 2014 Royal Rumble,
so somehow this isn’t too far off from the truth.

Sid
stares Goldberg down during the entrance but Goldberg doesn’t do
anything. Did anyone check the parking lot though??? One thing I’ve
always wondered: why did someone as tough as Goldberg need a police
escort? Shouldn’t that be a heel thing? Horace actually comes out
second here for some reason. Heenan criticizes the term “uncrowned
champion”, despite referring to Andre as that back in the day.
Goldberg shoves Horace down with ease and hits the gorilla press
powerslam.

An
AA into a cross armbreaker has Horace in trouble but he makes the
ropes. Did Goldberg ever win a match with that hold? They head
outside with Goldberg being sent into the steps. Tony: “That could
have knocked him out!” Heenan: “It could have broke the steps!”
Horace gets two off a top rope splash but it’s spear and Jackhammer
for the fast pin to complete the squash.

Gene
brings out Hogan for a talk. Apparently the internet isn’t happy
with Hogan getting another title shot but the internet makes Hogan
sick. Red and Yellow will be running wild at Halloween Havoc. Yes
and the ratings will be running through the floor.

Sting vs. Hogan video.

Nitro Girls.

Torrie wipes lipstick
off Kidman’s face right in front of David Flair. Torrie: “Go talk
to your dad or something.”

Everyone,
including the seconds, have weapons here. Knobbs kicks Stevie in the
ribs to start but misses an early middle rope trashcan splash. A big
chair shot to the head knocks Knobbs silly but Stevie would rather
kick a trashcan on his head than cover him. Another kick to the head
puts Brian outside but Morrus gets in some shots to take over.
Thanks a lot Booker.

Back
in and Knobbs hits his splash for two but Stevie hits him low to
block the Pit Stop. Then Stevie and Knobbs do the Charleston and
debate French literature. For all I know that’s what happens as the
camera stays on Hall and Nash for a good bit. Booker and Morrus get
in a fight at ringside as Stevie kicks a trashcan into Knobbs’ face
for two. Jimmy Hart sneaks in a trashcan shot of his own (with as
much impact as you would expect) to give Knobbs the pin.

Rating:
D-.
Jimmy Hart just knocked a Tag Team Champion silly to give Brian
Knobbs a pin, furthering the feud before Knobbs and Morrus get a pay
per view title shot in less than two weeks. There comes a point
where there’s nothing left to do and WCW is reaching that point.
What are you supposed to do when this is the kind of nonsense you
have to deal with?

We
look at the Revolution’s issues from last week.

Here’s
Shane Douglas to address his issues with the team. Shane calls out
the rest of the group to air their dirty laundry. He blames Malenko
for Saturn not getting a pin earlier tonight and wants to know why
Benoit is teaming with Hart tonight. Benoit: “If there was no Hart
Family, there would be no Crippler, and if there were no Crippler,
there would be no Revolution.” PREACH IT BROTHER!

He throws his
Revolution shirt at Douglas and leaves. Saturn goes off on Douglas
for setting up a tag match when Shane isn’t cleared to wrestle.
Malenko steps in and agrees to team with him tonight and says they’ll
get the Revolution back where it should be. Shane is left alone and
hopefully is thrown off the team for good, as he never should have
been a part of it in the first place.

La
Parka does the Thinking Man pose on his chair. The mileage he’s
gotten out of that one simple idea is incredible. He spends too much
time dancing though and eats a clothesline as Armstrong starts fast.
The referee stops Brad in the corner though and La Parka gets in some
cheap shots to take over.

A
powerslam gets two on Brad and the masked man mostly hits a top rope
flip dive for two. Armstrong comes back with right hands but here’s
Berlyn. The referee gets bumped and the bodyguard lays out La Parka
with a chair. The distraction lets Berlyn hit his bad neckbreaker on
Armstrong, but Brad on top of La Parka for the pin.

Rating:
D.
STOP PUSHING THIS STUPID FEUD! Good freaking grief this thing is
getting more time than Goldberg vs. Sid and no one cares. It’s such
a lame feud between a lame character and a guy who really doesn’t
deserve a push like this at this point. You couldn’t have Eddie or
someone like that beat up Berlyn, just to give him something
interesting to do?

Curt
Hennig is talking to Torrie when David comes up. Hennig beats him
down for fun. Again, more stuff that could be used on more important
people.

Norman
promises to get jiggy with it. Somehow that line works. Berlyn
throws him down with a hiptoss to start as the USA chants begin,
presumably in support of the British wrestler. Eh no one ever said
Mississippi was brilliant. Norman speeds things up with a hiptoss of
his own and some clotheslines, sending Berlyn to the ropes to hide.
Unfortunately it doesn’t send him to the unemployment line where he
belongs, but it’s almost impossible to get fired from this company.

A
belly to back suplex plants Smiley but Berlyn does the “I’m diving
into your boot on purpose and there’s nothing else I could possibly
be doing up here” spot. The wind up slam plants Berlyn twice in a
row and it’s time to dance. You would think Berlyn would like that
spot but instead he hits a running knee to the chest and a
neckbreaker for the pin.

Rating:
D.
Berlyn isn’t very good and it’s becoming more and more obvious every
single week. I have no idea why they couldn’t just leave him as the
dancing heel, but I’d assume it’s because WCW doesn’t know how to do
something as simple as not screw up a simple character. Smiley
continues to be WAY too good for the role he’s in.

Here’s
Ric Flair with something to say. He’ll be facing DDP at Halloween
Havoc but he wants to talk about “Mr. Perfect…..Curt Hennig.”
A challenge is issued for tonight, but as for Page, maybe Kimberly
would rather try the FOURTEEN TIME FOURTEEN TIME FOURTEEN TIME champ.
Another week, another big enough match set up before it has the time
to build properly.

Unfortunately
Shane is at ringside. Malenko and Kidman get things going and head
to the mat with Malenko taking over. Dean throws him down and nails
a nice dropkick, followed by a leg lariat to send him outside. Now
the drama begins as Douglas goes after Kidman but Malenko makes the
save. Instead Dean tags Saturn in for a belly to belly, sending
Kidman right back to the floor. Douglas and Malenko argue over
attacking Kidman again, but Saturn uses the distraction to send
Kidman into the steps as we take a break.

Rey
comes in but charges into a powerbomb with Saturn adding a top rope
cross body for something like a Doomsday Device. Malenko isn’t cool
with Saturn coming in off the blind tag though and breaks up the
cover.. Mysterio moonsaults onto Saturn’s shoulder and sends him
into the buckle, setting up the Bronco Buster but Saturn raises his
boot for the stop. Incredibly fast pace so far. A belly to belly
gets two for Saturn and it’s back to Malenko.

Rey’s
sunset flip goes nowhere and Dean takes his head off with a
clothesline. Saturn tags himself back in and Dean isn’t cool with
that, allowing Rey to grab a rollup for two. Dean yells so Saturn
tags him back in on the chest. A big belly to back gets two for
Malenko and it’s back to Saturn for some arrogant walking around in
between offense. Saturn hits a spinning springboard forearm to the
head for two more before nailing Kidman on the apron.

The
always awesome gutbuster from Malenko sets up the Cloverleaf but
Saturn tags himself in while the hold is on. Saturn’s top rope elbow
scores but Malenko tags himself back in just like Saturn did. A
superplex plants Rey but Dean is so shaken up that he has to tag out.
Kidman comes back in and cleans house, including throwing Rey into
the air for a hurricanrana on Saturn. Everything breaks down and
Shane breaks up the Shooting Star, throwing Saturn the chain in the
process. A big knockout shot is enough to pin Kidman.

Rating:
B-.
Fun match with a lot of story development in it, but that doesn’t
mean the story development is interesting. I’m really not a fan of
having the Revolution implode and fight each other, because it’s
going right back to the same idea that we’ve done for years now
without anyone getting up the ladder. Benoit is to an extent, but
everyone else is just stuck in the midcard while Sid powerbombs
people and Rick Steiner exists for reasons that aren’t exactly clear.

Malenko
puts the Revolution shirt on, sees the replay of the ending, and
takes the shirt back off. He promises to be his own revolution from
now on.

Sid
is defending if that wasn’t really clear. He stomps Hammer in the
corner and stares at the fans for chanting Goldberg. Granted he
stares blankly most of the time so you can’t really tell if he’s
upset or not. Hammer trips him down and hits what looked like a low
blow. That goes nowhere so Sid chokes away in the corner and slowly
kicks again. We get a ref bump so Rick Steiner can come down for a
cheap shot on Hammer, setting up a double powerbomb for the pin.

Rating:
F.
Van Hammer vs. Sid needs a ref bump??? I’m not the biggest Goldberg
fan in the world but suggesting he and Sid are the same level is
ridiculous. Sid is a fun character but as soon as that bell rings,
all the fun goes away and it becomes clear that he should have
retired about seven years ago.

Mike Tenay joins the
commentary booth to talk about Bret vs. Benoit from last week.

Phantom of the Opera
Dustin Rhodes puts his hand on the kid’s window and the kid’s eyes
turn black. Of course they do.

Remember
when these two had a great match on Raw six and a half years ago?
Well now Virgil is in Hennig’s corner and is named Curly Bill.
Hennig dances around to start, earning him a slap in the face and a
loud WOO. That’s very violent behavior reminiscent of a father
wanting to avenge his son, who tried to destroy his life earlier in
the year but that’s beside the point. More chops have Curt in
trouble and they head outside. Hennig gets in some shots of his own
and scores with a suplex back inside as we take a break.

Back
with Flair chopping Curly on the floor. Jack Brisco, Harley Race,
Dusty Rhodes, Sting, and CURLY! Hennig chops to take over and slams
Flair off the top, but Ric casually takes out the knee and puts on
the Figure Four. Hennig is right next to the ropes though so Flair
pokes him in the eye and nails a belly to back suplex. Both guys are
dazed but it’s Hennig up first and going after Flair’s knee. That
goes nowhere though and they trade chops in the corner again with
Hennig on the losing end.

Ric snaps Hennig’s neck
across the top rope and goes after CURLY again, allowing Hennig to
roll him up for two. That doesn’t work so Hennig puts his feet on
the ropes for two more. Curly even holds Hennig’s feet for some more
near falls. Somehow the referee, who is two feet away from Curly,
sees NONE OF THIS. David Flair comes out to take out Curly (for the
love of all things good and holy, do not let them have a match),
allowing Ric to roll Hennig up for the pin with his feet on the
ropes.

Rating:
C-.
Not a terrible match but you expect more out of these two.
Thankfully the Rednecks are becoming Curt and Pals instead of a
normal stable, which makes their matches a lot easier to sit through.
The Flairs being back together is a bit annoying but I’m much
happier with the regular Ric instead of the insane boss.

Remember
when Luger came back to save Sting from the Steiners and a big tag
match was teased? Even better, remember their classic at the first
SuperBrawl? It’s a brawl to start as I’m assuming Benoit vs. Steiner
for the TV Title is happening at the pay per view. Hart beats up
Luger on the floor and chases Liz off before sending Lex into the
post. Rick has Benoit in trouble back in the ring and cranks on an
armbar.

Bret
rams Luger into the apron as Benoit grabs the Crossface on Rick, only
to have Lex dive in for the save. Naturally Steiner no sells the
pain from the hold and suplexes Benoit, but Bret clotheslines both
Americans down to take over. Luger puts Bret in a full nelson so
Steiner can hammer away but Benoit makes a save. The Swan Dive
connects on Steiner but Sid comes in for the DQ.

Rating:
D.
Oh yeah Russo is starting to take over. This was your standard big
brawl main event disguised as a match that didn’t even get four
minutes from bell to bell. This match also exposes a major problem
in WCW: the main event heels are horrible. You have Steiner and Sid
who can’t do anything and Luger who can only do really basic power
stuff, combined with Sting who doesn’t act like a heel whatsoever.
Who am I supposed to boo without falling asleep?

Luger
racks Bret but Goldberg comes out for the save. Sid tells Goldberg
he can’t touch him or the match is off, so Goldberg spears him anyway
to end the show.

Overall
Rating: D+.
You can really taste the Russo effect, but it’s not in full force
yet. This is that weird transition stage where he’s trying to
breathe life into the stale angles WCW had going before he arrived
and it makes for a very awkward mix. There’s some fresh blood in the
stories, but the stories themselves are still pretty uninteresting.
The wrestling is also getting worse, which is another sign of the age
of Vinny Roo. Things will at least get more interesting once we hit
the full Russo effect, but until then we’re in for some dull stuff.

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