And we’re back!
Sorry for the long wait everyone who enjoyed part 1 in this series. Issues on the home front/Halloween/The World Series have taken up a good chunk of my free time. But here it is at last: part 2.
I know I noted back in my series prologue that I planned on reviewing every Nitro, Thunder, and PPV during this 5 month stretch (11-23-98 to 5-9-99), but unfortunately Thunder’s have been harder to come across than I had originally anticipated. Not only are there 0 (zero) episodes on the WWE network, but there are just a scant few floating around on streaming sites like Youtube, Daily Motion, etc. As I’m not the most tech savvy guy in the world, this series will in all likelihood consist of only Nitro’s and PPV’s going forward.
That being said, there wasn’t a Thunder on 11-26-98 (Thanksgiving day) so by going from Nitro to Nitro in this instance, I’m not actually missing out on anything.
With all that aside, here we go.
Nitro 168 – 11/30/1998. Chattanooga, TN.
Running time (sans commercials) 2 hours 9 minutes.
Initial announcers: Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko (Mike Tenay was out with an illness)
Number of Nitro girl dance routines: 3
Intro: Announcers inform us that Hogan announced his retirement on the Jay Leno show. He’s leaving wrestling in order to focus on his upcoming Presidential run. He “can’t run the NWO and the country at the same time.” We learn there will be a Nash/Goldberg contract signing and DDP vs Bret for the US Title later tonight.
Seg 1: NWO Black and White (Bischoff, Horace Hogan, The Giant, Vincent, etc) arrive at the arena and walk straight to the ring. Steiner, leading the pack, flexes the whole time (he’s great). The show is at the 6 minute mark when they finally reach the ring.
In ring promo where Bischoff announces, with Hulk gone, Steiner is the new head honcho for the Black and White.
Steiner’s turn on the mic as he puts over Hogan and asks for a moment of silence. Says Hogan is the biggest star in pro wrestling today and that he (Steiner) is Hogan’s rightful successor. Says the NWO is 4-Life and Scott Hall (who turned his back on the Black and White) is the first order of business. Tonight will see Steiner and Horace Hogan vs Scott Hall and a partner of his (Hall’s) choosing. Decent enough segment. Love Steiner.
Seg 2: Konnan vs Jericho (TV champ) for the TV title
I still hate Konnan’s pre-match promo but I can’t deny that it is over. Ralphus, Jericho’s personal security, walks Jericho to the ring but sadly doesn’t hang around for the match.
Early on Konnan take’s Jericho down and simulates jizzing in his face (for real). The first couple minutes of the match are really wonky and they have some of the worst “lock ups” I’ve ever seen. The match finally gets into gear when Jericho hits a stun gun and a spring board drop kick. Jericho does a good job getting over his character with a cocky pin and sassy heel stalling. Jericho’s top rope nothing is countered and both men trade offense.
Jericho locks in the Lion Tamer but Konnan manages to reach the ropes. Jericho grabs the TV title (thinking he’s won) but gets admonished by the ref. With the ref distracted, he swings the title at Konnan, but misses, and eats an X-Factor onto the the title. Konnan is your winner, and new TV champ, in 8 minutes.
It was a rough 90 seconds to start the match but it smoothed out after that. Good stuff. Post match, Lex and Nash join Konnan in his celebration.
Then…. no joke…. They air a Konnan music video. Some rap song. A lot of “club/street” stuff. It’s legitimately at least 3 minutes long.
Seg 3: Mean Gene invites out Ric Flair.
Flair says he can’t go mental. He has to focus his attention on Bischoff. “Getting old is one thing, getting great is another.” Puts over wrestlers of his era and prior. Says they (as opposed to Bischoff) made the wrestling business. Notes he’s disappointed in Windham but mad at Bischoff. Calls Bischoff an “asshole” (which went uncensored) and then proceeds to go mental. He wants to wrestle Bischoff tonight. This was an excellent promo.
Seg 4: Scott Hall promo
Hall, still with no allegiance, walks to the ring sans music. Says he’s fine with getting beatin up (by the Black and White). Notes he doesn’t have many friends left. Say’s he’ll fight 1 on 1 but then says he’ll fight Horace and Steiner…. ??? Nash comes out and says he’ll team with Hall for tonight. Eh, it was fine.
Seg 5: Raven and Kanyon vs Scott and Steve Armstrong
Playing off last week, Raven comes out lethargic. He mopes around, sits in the corner, takes a naps. Both of the Armstrong’s look like total jobbers.
Bell rings but Raven continues to nap in the corner. Takes the mic and starts to cut a “what about me, what about Raven?” promo. Kanyon takes the mic and basically tells him to snap out of it. The Armstrong’s jump Kanyon and the match is underway. Kanyon takes control with cool offense but Raven shuffles away and heads to the back. Distracted, Kanyon gets rolled up by Scott Armstrong (who was not the legal man) in 3 minutes 30. Storyline drama match that was ok at best. We’ll see if we get a payoff anytime soon.
Seg 6: Mean Gene interviews Bret Hart
Bret continues to look like Mongo. He says DDP has bribed people to take him (Bret) out. Says he suffered a groin injury thanks to Dean Malenko during their match last week.
– Side Note: Remember how I noted last week the match between Dean and Bret fell apart and it wasn’t that good overall? Apparently Bret did suffer a shoot groin injury early on in the match. It all makes sense now. –
Bret mentions that he can’t take part in his scheduled match with DDP tonight. DDP comes out (through the crowd). He says Bret is making excuses, that he’s dodging the fight (which is weird since it’s for DDP’s US title). Bret notes that Drs. have informed him he shouldn’t wrestle and he didn’t bring his gear to the arena. BUT, he will agree to fight if DDP makes it a no DQ match. DDP agrees and the match is set. This was…. fine. Bret looked sleepy.
Seg 7: Eddie Guerrero vs Kidman (Cruiserweight champ) for the Cruiserweight title
Eddie looks like the biggest scumbag.
Amazing, fast action to start. Eddie takes control, works over Kidman’s leg with the ring steps. He slows the pace and switches to now working over Kidman’s arm. Kidman tries a come back but crashes and burns on a countered top rope Frankensteiner. Eddie goes to the top again but this time gets caught with a superplex.
Ref bump. Juve interference is cut off by Kidman. Rey jumps in and nails Eddie with a missile drop kick to the back. Kidman hits the Shooting Star Press for the win in 7 minutes 30 (tv time). Excellent match. Post match the LWO hit the ring and chase off Rey/Kidman. Oh look, it’s La Parka.
The WCW replay is brought to us by Glover…. GLOVER!!!
Pre seg 8: Bam Bam is shown in the crowd. He still has no allegiance. Wants Goldberg.
Seg 8: Bischoff promo with Windham.
Windham wears a leather jacket over his denim jacket. HHH would be proud.
Bischoff puts over “needing another hero.” That hero is…. Dean Malenko.
The Horsemen walk to the top of the ramp but Dean heads to the ring solo (for some reason). Arn to Dean re: Bischoff, “You get a chance, smack him in the mouth.” Bischoff says Dean (on a bad leg) vs Windham. If Dean wins, Flair gets Bischoff. Dean accepts. Bischoff (swerve) then invites out and announces NWO Dusty Rhodes as the special guest ref. So many leather jackets in the ring at this point. Announcers put it over as a “no win situation” for Dean. Another decent segment. Did it’s job.
Seg 9: Wrath vs Crush?…. Nope, just some jobber.
Wrath wins with “The Meltdown” in 30 seconds. This was perfect. Wrath continues to be great.
Seg 10: The Earnest “The Cat” Miller and Sonny Onoo
The Cat cuts a bleh promo. Makes an open challenge. Here comes slutty attire Perry Saturn. Cat says he’ll protect Saturn by not fighting him (cause he would beat Saturn too badly if they did fight). Saturn calls his bluff. Cat says that if he (Saturn) can beat Sonny Onoo, he’ll give him a match.
Seg 10B: Saturn vs Sonny Ohno
Instant interference by The Cat and…. Glacier? WTF? Doesn’t matter, Saturn still wins with the DVD in 1 minute…. But the ref sees a chain by Saturn (planted by The Cat ) and the result is reversed. Everything about this was shit.
Seg 11: Goldberg’s limo pulls up…. 2 hours into the show. He heads straight to the ring.
In the ring, we have Mean Gene, Terry Taylor, and a contract signing table (imagine if Goldberg’s limo didn’t pull up just now…. would they just wait for him?). Bam Bam continues to talk trash from the crowd.
Gene introduces “Bill Goldberg Goldberg.” Next we have Nash and his Red and Black partners (Lex and Konnan). Nash acts like a child during this whole segment. Both men sign the contract. Bam Bam attempts to jump the ring but is immediately swarmed by security. He’s ejected…. And that’s it. That’s the whole segment.
Seg 12: Booker T vs Mike Enos
Battle of the large, athletic men. An even match to start. Solid pro wrestling. Offensive flurry from Booker for the finish. Scissor kick. Back suplex. Spin-up. Side kick. Alabama Slam. And that’ll do it in 3 minutes 30. Fine stuff.
Seg 12B: Bam Bam calls out Goldberg from outside the arena.
Seg 13: Brian Adams w/ Vincent vs Lex Luger
Basic big man action. Punches, kicks, axe-handles. Vincent sneaks in some shots on Lex on the outside.
Forearm shot from Lex to Adams who backs into the ref. The ref bumps and Vincent hits the ring…. But Lex disposes of him. Adams nails Lex with a chair from behind. Spike piledriver onto the chair! The ref recovers but Lex kicks out at 2! That fuck? Lex and Adams exchange offense. This match is still going….
Miscommunication from the heels leads to Lex getting Adams in the Rack for the submission win in 5 minutes 15. Poor match. It was fine to start but quickly broke down.
Seg 14: Dean Malenko vs Barry Windham w/ special guest ref Dusty Rhodes
Fast, smooth Dean offense to start. Windham, with the assist from Dusty, takes control. He works over Dean’s injured leg. Dusty, playing the heel, doesn’t call rope or corner breaks….
…. But then out of nowhere, Dusty calls for the bell. It’s a swerve! Dean wins by DQ.
Bischoff immediately hits the ring. He attempts to scold Dusty and then fires him!
Chaos ensues. Windham attempts to attack Dusty but he’s jumped by Dean and the rest of the Horsemen. Flair goes for Bischoff but he bails. Flair wants the match with Bischoff “Now! Now! Now!.” Chaotic non-sense…. But fun. Thumbs up.
Seg 15: Scott Steiner and Horace Hogan w/ some geek NWO ref with a whistle vs Hall and Nash
Apparently there’s a ref strike where they won’t officiate Scott Steiner matches. I’m assuming he’s been abusing them. And apparently that means the NWO can use their clearly biased ref. IDK.
Announcers inform us WCW legal has booked Flair vs Bischoff for Starrcade.
One of these 4 men is taking the pin fall. Guess who?
Heels work over Hall. Despite quick counts by the NWO ref, they can’t put him away. Not much of note until Nash comes in and cleans house to a HUGE pop. Outsiders Edge to Horace but the NWO ref refuses to count. He eats a Jack Knife. A WCW ref hits the ring and counts the 3 in 8 minutes 30. A whatever match with a hot finish. Nash leaves the ring quickly instead of staying to celebrate, implying there’s still tension between him and Hall.
Seg 15B: Bam Bam continues to call out Goldberg from outside the arena.
Seg 16: Goldberg sprints to the outside.
He and Bam Bam brawl. It’s a weird mixture of amazing and awkward. Security eventually breaks it up…. For about a minute before Goldberg hits a spear.
Seg 17: Bret Hart vs DDP (US champ) vs the US title
Bret comes out in black jorts and a black tee. Looks a big silly.
Bret takes control early with a low blow. DDP recovers and mounts some offense but here comes the Giant. Chokeslam to DDP. Bret asks for another and Giant hits a maximum height Chokeslam. It looked great.
Sharpshooter to an unconscious DDP. The ref administers the 3 arm-drops and that’s it in 4 minutes. Bret is your new US champ. Shameful.
Concussion:
Oh what a difference a week makes. This was a marked step down from the previous Nitro. And it was long. So long. On the bright side, I am really enjoying the Flair/Bischoff angle. It’s a bit silly but both guys are just so good at what they do.
Pros: Jericho, Wrath, Flair/Bischoff, Flair calling Bischoff an “Asshole,” Eddie/Kidman, Glover, Konnan’s music video (it was horrible, I never want to see it again, but I enjoy that it exists).
Cons: Nash (minus he hot tag offense), The Cat, Saturn/Sonny, Lex/Adams, leather jackets, the contract signing segment, The 4 minute main event where Bret won the US title despite being “shoot” injured, Vincent.
Well that’s it for now, see you next time!
