WCW in the 90s

[cardsflyinhigh]

FALL BRAWL '96 (Sept. 15, 1996)

The announcers welcomed everybody to Fall Brawl and plugged the night’s main event, War Games. WCW vs. The nWo.
Video went to the parking area where WCW’s Randy Savage was arriving in his car, but before he could get out of the car, a monster truck raced in and smashed into the drivers side door. It went back and rammed it yet again. After about four or five times the monster truck finally drove away.

Rey Misterio Jr. pinned Mr. J.L. with the Top-Rope Frankensteiner in 15:11.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Rey Misterio Jr. won the WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE.)

Fall Brawl officially opened with a new Cruiserweight champion being crowned. JL had been on a hot streak and has knocked off top competition since winning the title, but Rey Misterio Jr. was a different beast.

JL tried to position Rey for a superplex, but Rey spun around, reversed it into a frankensteiner which held JL down for a pin.

Backstage in the parking lot

EMTs were tending to Randy Savage as the rest of Team WCW was there in support. But Savage was removed from his car and loaded onto a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance.

The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Meng pinned Enos with the Tongan Death Grip in 11:36.
Rating: * 1/4

The Destruction Crew has had some success recently against Harlem Heat and was trying to use that to catapult up the tag rankings. But their road was blocked by The Faces of Fear.

In a hard hitting contest, The Faces of Fear prevailed, Meng putting Mike Enos away with his Tongan Death Grip.

Scotty Riggs pinned Alex Wright after a side step in 8:18.
Rating: ***
Alex Wright suffered a broken ankle and will be out for 3 months.

It’s safe to say that the partnership that took these two to the top of the tag team mountain is over. Scotty Riggs had hope Wright would come around and reform their team, but Wright rathered blow the whole thing up.

The two had quite a fight while the match was lasted, but it was unfortunately cut short. With Scotty Riggs on the floor, Wright tried coming off the top rope down on him, but Riggs moved and Wright crashed.

Wright was clearly hurting from the fall, he tried to walk it off but couldn’t really put weight on his leg. He insisted on resuming the match, fighting off ringside doctors, but once he got into the ring, Riggs caught him in a roll up and got the pin.

Eddie Guerrero pinned Konnan with the Frog Splash in 12:38.
Rating: ***
(Eddie Guerrero won the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)

Konnan put his TV title on the line against someone who’s he claimed was like a little brother to him. But that big brother mentality seemed to also give Konnan a false sense of security and an overconfidence, as he seemed legitimately shocked when Guerrero put together an early string of offense that drove Konnan out of the ring.

Konnan, though, weathered the storm and even had Guerrero locked in his Tequila Sunrise hold. But when Guerrero got to the ropes and the ref called for the break, Konnan thought he won the match.

While the referee tried to tell Konnan what happened, Guerrero came from behind to catch Konnan. He hit him with a brainbuster suplex and then went up top to hit his Frog Splash. Guerrero got the win, and the TV title.

Glacier pinned Johnny B. Badd after a Cryonic Kick in 4:46.
Rating: ** 1/2

The beginning of this match was mostly Johnny B. Badd mocking Glacier’s martial arts style. Badd was having fun doing his own imitation. He even took time out to yell at Ricky Steamboat at ringside and make fun of Steamboat’s arm being in a sling. But as soon as he turned back around, he walked right into Glacier’s Cryonic Kick.

The Unforgiven (Barry Windham and Justin Bradshaw) defeated Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) when B. Windham pinned Booker with the Superplex in 15:42.
Rating: *** 3/4
(The Unforgiven retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

One early interesting aspect of this match, was, perhaps for the first time in their WCW careers, Harlem Heat was getting the support of the fans. They even seemed to be caught off guard by it, but looked to be enjoying the support.

The Unforgiven though didn’t care if they were cheered or booed, they just wanted to inflict pain and hold on to their titles by any means necessary.

With Windham down on the mat, Booker T went to the top rope for his Harlem Hangover. But Windham crawled over and grabbed the ref’s leg holding on to him.

Meanwhile, Bradshaw and Stevie Ray were fighting on the floor. Bradshaw got enough of a break, he was able to grab a pipe from under the ring, and smack Booker in the knee. Booker dropped to where he was sitting on the top turnbuckle. Windham got up in the ring, went over and hit him with a superplex that got his team the win.

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Arn Anderson with the Stone Cold Stunner in 13:11.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

Arn Anderson wanted this match after questioning where Steve Austin’s loyalties lie, with WCW or the nWo. We’re not sure if any of those questions got answered, just that Steve Austin’s loyalties lie with himself.

The possibility of Austin joining the nWo may have been a concern to Anderson, but mainly, he wanted to bring the US title back to the Horsemen.

Anderson put everything he had into going after the belt, but Austin has been at another level since returning to WCW with his “Stone Cold” moniker. When Anderson went for a DDT, Austin ran Anderson back into the corner. When Anderson bounced out, Austin hit his Stunner and got the pin.

War Games No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
The nWo beat WCW after Scott Hall made Big Van Vader submit to an armbreaker in 41:21.
Rating: *** 1/2

The nWo brought their assault against WCW to one of WCW’s flagship events, War Games. WCW was facing an uphill battle after the assault on Savage earlier in the night.

The match opened up with Lex Luger and Scott Hall the first two men in the ring for their respective teams. For most of the period, Luger was getting the upper hand on Hall until Hall caught Luger with a low blow.

The time ran out and it was announced that WCW won the backstage coin toss, and Ric Flair ran down to give WCW the advantage. Hall spent most of the period trying to run away and keep his distance, but Luger and Flair caught up with him and started to beat him down with Flair working on his knee.

That all changed with Kevin Nash came in the match and evened things up. The match got pretty even for a bit with the two sides going back and forth with strikes and counters.

It looked like WCW would get back on the advantage when the time ran out and Big Van Vader began his walk to the ring, but he was blindsided by the nWo’s Hulk Hogan with a chair. Hogan repeatedly attacked Vader’s arm with the chair until pretty much the clock ran back out and it was time for Hogan to enter the cage.

The nWo now had the numbers edge and used it to their advantage. It came time for the next WCW entry, but with Savage taken to the hospital, there was no one to jump in the cage. That was until Diamond Dallas Page came running down, with his own chair in hand. On his way down the ramp he helped Vader up and came with him into the cage.

Luger saw DDP came in and shook his hand they stood side by side as the clock began to tick down for the final nWo entrant. But when the clock hit all zeroes, no one came out of the back. But instead, Page took his chair and blasted Luger across the head with it. Diamond Dallas Page was the fourth nWo man in War Games.

It was four strong nWo members against Luger, Flair and an injured Vader. From there it was only a matter of time. Scott Hall locked in an armbreaker on Vader until he officially called for the bell to end the match.

After it was over, the cage began to raise, Rick Rude came down to join his nWo buddies in celebration. They continued the attack. The remaining Horsemen tried to come help Flair but were all taken out.

However, video showed in the back an ambulance arriving and Randy Savage jumping out. Savage raced to the ring to try and help WCW, but the same fate befelled him. Savage was beaten and spraypainted as the nWo reigned supreme.

Card rating: ** 3/4

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MONDAY NITRO (Sept. 16, 1996)

Nitro opened up with shots of fans arriving to the arena where in the concourse, people wearing nWo shirts were passing out flyers promoting the group. The announcers explained that the nWo negotiated some stipulations to War Games, where since they won, they received open access to WCW arenas, the ability to set matches involving nWo members and free TV time whenever they wanted it.

Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Booker pinned W. Bloom with the Harlem Hangover in 9:50.
Rating: * ½

Harlem Heat has had issues with the Destruction Crew and aimed to settle them tonight getting a decisive win.

Interview with Chris Candido

Chris Candido, with Tammy Lynn along side, talked about how he previously said he was gonna keep an eye on the Fall Brawl TV title match and wanted to get his title back he said he was cheated out of. He said he did keep an eye on Fall Brawl, he watched the entire event and knows now what he's gotta do.

Marcus Bagwell pinned Konnan with the Fisherman Suplex in 14:34.
Rating: *** ¾

The Horsemen have decided they and they alone need to be the protectors of WCW, and that includes holding titles. Marcus Bagwell has set his sites on Eddie Guerrero’s TV title. To get in line, he had to get through former champion Konnan, but it was a task Bagwell was up to.

During the match, cameras caught in the crowd a wrestler announcers identified as former WWF wrestler the 1-2-3 Kid. It was unclear what he was doing there.

The nWo sits outside in a limo

Fresh off their victory at War Games, the nWo, with their newest member Diamond Dallas Page, were outside the arena in a limo. The group bragged about getting yet another victory over WCW. DDP commented that they might as well start calling this nWo Nitro, to which Hogan said that has a nice ring to it.

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Lord Steven Regal with the Stone Cold Stunner in 12:03.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

We thought we might see Candido in the previous match between Bagwell and former TV champion Konnan, but instead he showed up, sneaking behind Austin who was celebrating his win, attacking him with a chair.

Candido laid out Austin with a chair until Austin was out cold. Candido set up the chair and sat down to talk. He said he once thought he needed to get the TV title back, but he realized, he was graduating up. While he'll always hold dear the accomplishments he had as TV champion, there are bigger things in his career. Bigger things like the US title.

Interview with the former 1-2-3 Kid

Gene Okerlund went over to where the Kid was sitting and asked him what he was doing here. The Kid answered that he’s heard this is the place to be, where the big boys play. But then he asked Gene who won War Games since he was on a plane and couldn’t see the end. Okerlund told him the nWo won. To which the Kid replied “Shucks.”

Carl Ouellet pinned Villano IV with the Cannonball in 5:08.
Rating: * ½

Carl Ouellet had another impressive performance and is turning heads with the WCW front office. But he's also catching the eye of others. During his match, a mysterious man in a black trench coat was spotted watching Ouellet in the corner of the arena. Announcers identified him as former Independent star 911.

Dance Break

Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan were talking about the remainder of the card, plugging the main event top contenders match, when all of a sudden dance music began to play and a number of scantily clad dancing girls came out from the back and began to dance on the stage. Following them out was Disco Inferno who danced with all the girls for a few minutes before they all left and went to the back.

The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated Greg Valentine and Honkey Tonk Man when S. Steiner pinned Honky after a top rope bulldog in 13:04.
Rating: ** ¾

Early in the match, the former 1-2-3 Kid stood up from his seat and revealed some sort of remote control. He pushed a button and a bunch of nWo propaganda, flyers promoting the group and making fun of WCW fell from the sky and littered the ringside area.

In the match, the Steiners were clearly upset by the flyers in and around the ring and it threw them off their game for a bit. However, they were able to come back and pick up the win.

Randy Savage pinned Ric Flair after a small package in 17:42.
Rating: ** ¾

Flair and Savage were fighting to decide who gets a world title shot against Hulk Hogan at Halloween Havoc. Flair and the rest of the Horsemen, however, were upset at Savage for not making it to the cage for War Games, blaming him for WCW’s loss. Before the match, Davey Boy, Arn and Bagwell spoke saying they warned Savage and everyone to hold up their end of the deal and they failed.

The Horsemen, though, couldn’t help Flair get the win over Savage, as the Macho Man turned a Figure Four into a small package to earn the title shot. But after the match, all four Horsemen got in the ring and kept attacking Savage after the match.

Vader came down to the ring apparently trying to bring peace. Vader, arm still bandaged up from War Games was saying they were all WCW and can't afford to be finger pointing. Davey Boy, though, got in his face saying WCW doesn't need failures like him. They need a group like the Horsemen. Vader shoved Davey out of his face, but then got his leg clipped out by Anderson. The Horsemen then continued to beat down both Vader and Savage.

Video showed the nWo, their newest member who they called Syxx, all sitting in a limo watching the match and laughing at WCW’s infighting. They brought up a comment the announcers made earlier about most of WCW’s top stars being in Japan next week and missing Nitro and commented that they might need to fill the void at Nitro.

Card rating: ** 1/2

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MONDAY NITRO (Sept. 23, 1996)

The nWo arrives

On a night where many of WCW’s top stars were overseas doing an event in Japan, the entire nWo arrived as one unit. And thanks to a stipulation of their win at War Games, they were able to walk right in.

They commented about how fun tonight was going to be with Randy Savage one of the few top stars in the building.

Rey Misterio Jr. pinned Psychosis with the Top-Rope Frankensteiner in 9:49.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Rey Misterio Jr. retained the WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE.)

Rey Misterio successfully defended his Cruiserweight title against Psychosis. The two had a great back-and-forth match that Misterio won after his hurracanranna.

The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) defeated Headbanger Mosh and Headbanger Thrasher when Barbarian pinned Thrasher with a flying clothesline in 8:10.
Rating: *

The Faces of Fear took on the newest team to arrive in WCW, the Headbangers. The unorthodox pairing caught the former champions off guard early, but their experience edge, combined with their power and athleticism allowed Faces of Fear to score the win.

Johnny B. Badd pinned Scotty Riggs with the Tutti Frutti in 11:38.
Rating: *** 1/4

It was announced that the winner of this match would face Stone Cold Steve Austin for the United States title. The match went back-and-forth for a while until Riggs’ former partner, Alex Wright came down to the ring on crutches.

When Riggs tumbled to the outside and the ref was admonishing Badd, Wright broke a crutch over Riggs’ head. Badd came and pushed Riggs back into the ring and quickly put him away.

Randy Savage defeated Pat Tanaka by disqualification in 5:52.
Rating: **
[Scott Hall and Kevin Nash interfered against Randy Savage.]

Savage was won of the few top WCW stars not overseas but that left him vulnerable to the nWo. In the middle of his match, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall ran in and attacked. Savage tried to fight them off, but more nWo members piled into the ring and demolished the top contender to Hollywood Hogan’s world title.

Savage was knocked unconscious as all the nWo members turns hitting him with powerbombs, diamond cutters, Outsider Edge’s and leg drops. They gave him a spray painted “nWo” tag as Nash and Hall carried him to the back.

After demolishing Savage, the nWo members went to the broadcast booth and took over the show, scaring away the WCW announcers and taking over the show. They also introduced the newest nWo member, their head of security, Vincent.

With that, they welcomed us into nWo Nitro!

Diamond Dallas Page defeated Chris Kanyon by countout in 4:28.
Rating: * 1/4

Rick Rude, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were on commentary as DDP made his nWo debut with Chris Kanyon as his opponent. Page executed a few offensive moves then tossed Kanyon outside where Vincent made his presence felt pounding away.

Scott Hall said that looked like fun and left the booth to go down to ringside. He hit Kanyon with an Outsider Edge on the floor and Kanyon was in no shape to beat a count back into the ring.

Syxx pinned Lizmark Jr. with the Top Rope Legdrop in 5:05.
Rating: ** 1/4

Syxx made his first in-ring appearance. Lizmark Jr. was his sacrificial lamb. DDP stopped by the booth saying this nWo life “is just too sweet.” But he felt a bit guilty for having Hall and Vincent led a hand, he should go return the favor.

He went to the ring and hit Lizmark with a Diamond Cutter before Syxx hit a flying leg drop to get the pin. While the referee was wanting to disqualify Syxx, Hall was sitting ringside and told the ref, no, he needs to count the 1-2-3.

The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) when Nash pinned Meng with the Jackknife Power Bomb in 9:25.
Rating: -1/4*

Rude and DDP were joined by Hogan in the announce booth as Hall and Nash came to the ring for a match. Two youngsters were set to be their challengers, but the Faces of Fear attacked them during their walk to the ring and took their place in the match.

Hall and Nash were a bit taken back, but let it go and had their match against Meng and The Barbarian. Rude even mentioned being impressed by the guts of the two, saying they would make pretty good nWo members if they were able to see the light and came over to “fight on the side of good.”

Faces of Fear started to take control of the match, but the nWo rushed the ring and took them out. Hall held the referee’s face in his chest saying if he can’t see it, he can’t call for a DQ. Once the damage was done, Hall released the ref as Nash jackknifed Meng for the win.

Card rating: * 1/2

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MONDAY NITRO (Sept. 30, 1996)

WCW stars meet in the ring

Nitro opened with Lex Luger, Big Van Vader and Randy Savage in the ring. They were soon joined by several others such as Eddie Guerrero, The Steiner Brothers and the Faces of Fear.

Luger spoke saying many of them were over in Japan last week and as a result, the nWo took things over. Watching the tape of the show made him sick. It made everyone in this ring sick. And they are not letting it slide. WCW is putting up a united front.

But as they were talking about unity, they were doing so without any of the Horsemen present. That soon changed as all four, led by Ric Flair made their way to the ring. Flair said he thought WCW needed to unite, but when he joined with them, they let him down. Luger, Savage and Vader were failures.

The groups went back and forth until Luger finally laid it out, there's a bunch in the ring that don't have anything to do tonight, so let’s have an 8-man tag to see who is the best for WCW.

Mr. J.L. defeated Dean Malenko by disqualification in 15:49.
Rating: *** 1/2

In a match that would have huge implications in the Cruiserweight division, former champ JL faced the man he won the belt from, Dean Malenko. Each were looking to get a shot at new champ Rey Misterio Jr.

After a great match, Malenko actually made JL submit to his Texas Cloverleaf, but Malenko refused to break the hold. He kept it on long enough for the referee to reverse his decision.

Chris Candido pinned Bobby Eaton with the Blonde Bombshell in 0:13:31.
Rating: *** ½

Last time we saw Chris Candido, he was laying out Steve Austin with a chair, challenging Stone Cold for his US title. Stone Cold tried to pay him back after his match, but Candido took Tammy Lynn and snuck out through the crowd. Austin was in the ring with no one to beat up, so he just went ahead and Stunned Bobby Eaton for the fun of it.

Disco Inferno dance break

Disco Inferno came out again with several gorgeous ladies for a dance party in the ring. Disco spoke briefly, saying he's realized there are people in WCW who take this sport way too seriously. Wrestling should be fun and good times, and that's what he's all about, doing this all with a smile on his face.

Scotty Riggs pinned David Taylor after a short clothesline in 6:00.
Rating: **

Scotty Riggs was upset over what happened last week. He called out Alex Wright to face him. Wright showed up on the video board saying of course Riggs would want to challenge a handicap. That showed his severe lack of class. Wright said he’s hurt and it will be months before he can get back in the ring. But if Riggs wanted a fight, he can find someone to fight him.

At that point, David Taylor came to the ring to face Riggs in a match. He took an initial edge, but it wasn’t long before Riggs seized control of the match and won it fairly easily.

911 pinned Van Hammer with the Choke Slam in 6:09.
Rating: 1/4*

911 has been hanging around WCW arena’s for a few weeks, standing back watching Carl Ouellet's matches. Tonight he made his official WCW debut and made quick work of Van Hammer, almost making a point to showcase he was a tougher man.

The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) when S. Steiner pinned Meng with the Frankensteiner in 13:23.
Rating: *

While there seems to be quite a bit of dissension within WCW, and the night’s main event is evidence of that, this match was between two teams firmly together in backing WCW.

There was quite a bit of mutual respect between the two teams, as they even shook hands before the match. And even after the Steiners prevailed, the Faces of Fear again extended their hands to congratulate the Steiners.

Arn Anderson, Davey Boy Smith, Marcus Bagwell and Ric Flair defeated Lex Luger, Big Van Vader, Eddie Guerrero and Randy Savage when M. Bagwell pinned E. Guerrero after a vertical facebuster in 15:18.
Rating: ** 3/4

The Horsemen have said they need to be the ones leading WCW and everyone should fall in line behind them. But the group across the ring from them are highly capable as well.

Eric Bischoff and the announce crew kept mentioning while it’s great to have a match of this caliber, it’s sad to see WCW’s best fighting each other instead of the nWo.

After things all broke down and everyone began fighting all around the ring, Anderson tossed Bagwell some brass knucks that he knocked Eddie Guerrero out with setting up the end.

The Horsemen celebrated their win as they left, all the while still calling the WCW group recovering in the ring, failures.

Meanwhile, the nWo was shown sitting in a hotel room watching Nitro. They were laughing at the fact WCW was too worried about fighting each other. Hogan said taking over is going to be so much easier than they thought.

Card rating: **

[cardsflyinhigh]

MONDAY NITRO (Oct. 7, 1996)

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Johnny B. Badd with the Stone Cold Stunner in 9:09.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

Stone Cold successfully defended his US title against Johnny B. Badd, but after, Chris Candido once again attempted to blindside Austin. Only Austin was wise this time around. He caught Candido trying to sneak up and delivered a Stunner to him.

Meanwhile, Badd refused to leave the ring, throwing a tantrum and blaming everyone else for his loss, but himself. He was interrupted by dance music and the appearance of several beautiful women coming out from the back, followed by Disco Inferno.

Disco danced down to the ring and told Badd he needs to stop getting so down on himself. Badd was a much better wrestler when he was having fun and living the life. He needs to put a smile back on his face and the success will follow. Badd apparently didn't like this idea, attempting to swing at Disco, who ducked then countered by hitting Badd with a swinging neckbreaker. Disco and his girls then went back to dancing, and danced all the way to the back.

Lex Luger made M. Wallstreet submit to the Torture Rack in 6:59.
Rating: *

Lex Luger was interviewed after his match, but he was interrupted by Diamond Dallas Page. Well, at least his voice. DDP was over the loudspeaker having taken over the arena's sound system. Page said he's gotta actually give Luger credit for being smarter than he thought he was, cause Luger was right about DDP the whole time.

A video than began to play of the night the nWo attacked WCW in the back lot of Universal Studios at Nitro. Page was talking to Rick Rude around the corner from the main assault. They saw, and laughed at, Kevin Nash throwing Rey Misterio javelin style into a trailer.
Page then spotted The Barbarian walking toward the assault and ran over and stopped him by attacking him from behind where he couldn’t see who it was.

Rude is then heard telling Page, "Quick, they're coming," to which DDP then dropped to the ground, rolling around holding his arm moaning in pain.

The Unforgiven (Barry Windham and Justin Bradshaw) defeated Villano IV and Villano V when B. Windham pinned Villano V with the Superplex in 7:54.
Rating: ** 3/4
(The Unforgiven retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

The World Tag Team Champions were impressive in a dominant win over Los Villanos. After the match, The Outsiders began to approach the ring. The Unforgiven was ready to fight but Nash said none of that would be necessary.

He said they were simply extending a courtesy. Due to the nWo’s win at War Games, they earned the right to challenge for whatever titles they want whenever they want, so they’ll see them at Halloween Havoc.

Rey Misterio Jr. pinned Mr. J.L. with the Top-Rope Frankensteiner in 10:14.
Rating: *** 1/4
(Rey Misterio Jr. retained the WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE.)

Rey Misterio defended his Cruiserweight title over the man he won it from. Rey was successful again, but after the match, Rey has his leg clipped out from under him by Dean Malenko.

Malenko rushed in to attack and then locked Rey in the Texas Cloverleaf. JL took some time to recover from the match, then helped break up the hold and helped fight off Malenko.

Big Van Vader pinned Hugh Morrus with the Vader Bomb in 10:44.
Rating: *** ¼

Vader picked up a win over Hugh Morrus. But on his way to the back, he was blindsided by Davey Boy Smith and Arn Anderson. The two Horsemen beat down Vader, calling him a failure and a letdown.

The Steiner Brothers came by to stop it, asking the Horsemen what was wrong with them. Davey told them to mind their own business or they'd be next. The Steiners tried to say we're all WCW, but the Horsemen were having none of it.

The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated Lord Steven Regal and David Taylor when S. Steiner defeated D. Taylor by disqualification in 14:16.
Rating: ** 1/4
[Arn Anderson interfered against Scott Steiner.]

The Horsemen, still holding a grudge over the Steiners stepping in their business earlier in the night, reappeared in the middle of the Steiners' match. Arn, Bagwell and Davey Boy ran in and attacked the brothers causing the disqualification, once again leaving them laying after a vicious assault.

Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair

Tonight's scheduled main event between Randy Savage and Ric Flair never got going. Savage went to the ring, but when Flair's music hit, there was no Nature Boy.

Cameras were in the back as the entire nWo was beating down Ric Flair in the hallway. Well, the entire nWo except Hulk Hogan. Hogan, came up behind Savage with a chair and attacked the Macho Man. DDP even drug out Miss Elizabeth to watch Hogan beat down her ex-husband. Hogan delivered many leg drops to an already unconscious Savage, then spraypainted him with the nWo label.

All the while, Eric Bischoff announced that he was receiving word nWo members were guarding the back entrance to the ringside area, cutting off any potential reenforcements.


Card rating: ** 3/4

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MONDAY NITRO (Oct. 14, 1996)

Dean Malenko defeated Lizmark Jr. when Lizmark Jr. passed out in the Texas Cloverleaf in 11:34.
Rating: **** ¼

Malenko has been ruthless lately. He continued that with a victory over Lizmark Jr., but as he has done in the past, he refused to let go of the hold after the bell rang.

It wasn’t until Rey Misterio Jr. ran down that Malenko let down so he could meet Rey and start brawling.

It was later announced the two will face each other at Halloween Havoc for the Cruiserweight title.

No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Booker pinned W. Bloom with the Axe Kick in 14:01.
Rating: ** 1/2

Harlem Heat and The Destruction Crew have had many issues of late that only a no-DQ fight could solve. The two teams brought a variety of weapons into play, and in the end, Harlem Heath showed to be the tougher team, scoring the win.

Big Van Vader defeated Davey Boy Smith by countout in 8:46.
Rating: ** 1/4

The Horsemen attacked Vader last week, calling him a failure for losing War Games. Vader aimed to get some revenge and send a message at the same time.

The match spilled to the floor where Vader took control and hit Davey with a powerbomb on the floor. Vader got back in the ring but Davey couldn’t and got counted out. It seemed as if Vader wanted to go do more damage, but the other Horsemen came down and tended to Davey, at the same time sending a warning to Vader.

Carl Ouellet pinned Bobby Eaton with the Cannonball in 6:46.
Rating: * ¾

Another week, another impressive showing for Carl Ouellet as he dominated veteran Bobby Eaton. But he still had his hand raised in the air by the ref when 911’s music hit and he came out for his next match.

911 entered the ring, gave Carl what seemed to be a mock applause clap, then readied for his match.

911 pinned Chris Kanyon with the Choke Slam in 4:06.
Rating: ** 1/4

Chris Kanyon was 911’s sacrificial lamb as 911 was just as impressive and dominant in posting his win.

Disco Inferno pinned Silver King with the Last Dance in 6:49.
Rating: ***

Music hit and a stream of dancing girls came out of the back, followed by Disco Inferno. They danced Disco all the way down to the ring. Once inside, Disco turned all business in destroying Silver King.

Post match, it was back to dance fever as the girls joined him in a celebration dance.

Arn Anderson and Ric Flair defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) when A. Anderson pinned S. Steiner with the DDT in 13:51.
Rating: *** 1/4

In addition to Vader, the Horsemen have growing tensions with the Steiners. This fight turned out a bit better for the Horsemen.

It was quite a match but Marcus Bagwell proved to be the difference, coming down to give his fellow Horsemen a hand.

After the match, all three continued to stomp away at the Steiners until Vader came back down to chase everyone away.

Card rating: ** 3/4

-----------------------------

MONDAY NITRO (Oct. 21, 1996)

At the opening of the show, the announcers made mention of a steel cage hanging above the ring that they had no idea what it was there for. They were hoping they’d get answers when Rick Rude of the nWo came to the ring by himself at the start of the show.

Rude said the nWo earned the right to schedule matches they want, when they want, part of the conditions of them winning War Games. So less than a week before he challenges Hollywood Hogan for the nWo world title, they are scheduling Randy Savage to go 1 on 1 with Scott Hall tonight.

The Unforgiven (Barry Windham and Justin Bradshaw) defeated Hugh Morrus and Shark when Bradshaw pinned Morrus with the Lariat in 9:21.
Rating: **
(The Unforgiven retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

Shortly after the match began, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall came out from the back with lawn chairs and popcorn and they sat on the ramp watching the team they’ll challenge for the belts at Halloween Havoc.

The Unforgiven was definitely aware of their presence and seemed to try to send a message to their future challengers. Though the Outsiders seemed to just laugh it off, once couldn’t help but be impressed with how well The Unforgiven handled the two big men.

Diamond Dallas Page defeated The Barbarian by disqualification in 7:48.
Rating: **
[Lex Luger interfered against Diamond Dallas Page.]

The nWo wanted to demonstrate the nWo's superiority over WCW, so they were giving Diamond Dallas Page a match. This turned out to be a trap, drawing Lex Luger to the ring. Luger rushed to attack Page and was about to get him in the torture rack when Hall and Nash ran down to attack Luger.

They were ready for a 3-on-1 assault but the Barbarian came back into the ring, his partner Meng ran down, the Steiners ran down, all chasing off the nWo before too much damage could be inflicted as WCW stood tall in the ring.

Glacier pinned M. Wallstreet after the Cryonic Kick in 10:27.
Rating: * 1/4

The rookie martial artist matched up with the veteran mat technician. Wallstreet succeeded in grounding Glacier for a portion of the match but Glacier put him away with his Cryonic kick.

After the match however, Glacier’s celebration was cut short when his trademark blue lighting turned red as a monster of a man emerged and stood posed by the entrance.

The Headbangers (Headbanger Mosh and Headbanger Thrasher) defeated David Taylor and Lord Steven Regal when Thrasher pinned Regal with the Top Rope Legdrop in 12:21.
Rating: ***

One of the newest arrivals in WCW picked up their biggest win to date as the Headbangers upset Regal and Taylor.

Chris Kanyon pinned Johnny B. Badd after a Victory Roll in 8:59.
Rating: ** ¾

Johnny B. Badd was wrestling Chris Kanyon and getting the best of the young rookie to the point where he felt comfortable showboating instead of putting him away. But then the disco music hit and a number of dancing girls poured out of the back, followed by Disco Inferno.

Disco just danced with the girls on the stage, drawing Badd's attention to the point where Kanyon rolled him up from behind for a pin.

Randy Savage defeated Scott Hall by disqualification in 12:31.
Rating: **
[Kevin Nash interfered against Randy Savage.]

Despite the natural assumption the main event would turn into chaos, it was kept a 1-on-1 match with no interference. For the most part.
Savage started to pick up momentum until Hall hit a low blow and both men were down. Then, out of nowhere, the cage that was hanging above the ring all night began to lower.

Nobody knew what was going on, but Hogan and Nash came down, with a key to get into the padlocked door.

WCW members tried to run down but the cage kept them out while Savage was getting destroyed inside the cage. Finally, Vader was able to rip the door off its hinges and WCW members rushed into the cage. The rest of the nWo came in as well and a brawl commenced until the show ran out of time in the middle of the mess.


Card rating: ** 1/4

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HALLOWEEN HAVOC '96 (Oct. 27, 1996)

Rey Misterio Jr. pinned Dean Malenko with the Top-Rope Frankensteiner in 17:09.
Rating: ****
(Rey Misterio Jr. retained the WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE.)

After weeks of vicious attacks, Malenko finally got what he wanted, a shot at the Rey Misterio and the Cruiserweight title.

Their match was a classic. The two went back and forth until Malenko tried to hit Misterio with a top-rope powerbomb. Instead, Misterio reversed it into a hurracanrana and scored the pin.

Disco Inferno pinned Johnny B. Badd with the Last Dance in 13:55.
Rating: *** ¼

Disco Inferno came to the ring first flanked by a number of dancing girls. But before he was even able to get into the ring, Johnny B. Badd raced down and attacked Disco from behind.

But Disco recovered and got back into the match. He ended up putting Badd away with The Last Dance. The dance party then recommenced.

Eddie Guerrero pinned Marcus Bagwell after a Frog Splash in 12:05.
Rating: ***
(Eddie Guerrero retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)

Perhaps thanks to the rest of the Horsemen getting ready for their 6-man match, Bagwell was alone in the ring which led to a pretty great, clean, match.

The two traded control back-and-forth until Bagwell, sitting on the top turnbuckle, tried to hit Guerrero with a top rope move he’s been calling the Blockbuster, but Guerrero instead backdropped him to the mat.

Guerrero then followed it up with a frog splash to get the win.

Big Van Vader, Meng and Rick Steiner defeated Arn Anderson, Davey Boy Smith and Ric Flair when Vader pinned A. Anderson with the Vader Bomb in 18:27.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Scott Steiner no-showed)

Before the match, it was announced that Scott Steiner was attacked in the locker room before the match. The Horsemen thought they had a handicap match, but instead, Meng stepped up and filled Scott’s place.

It was actually pretty amazing how well three wrestlers with no history of working together did against an established group like the Horsemen.

If the Horsemen are aiming to portray themselves as the only group that can save WCW, that argument took a big hit as they couldn’t conquer this unique trio of Vader, Meng and Rick Steiner.

Lex Luger made Diamond Dallas Page submit to the Torture Rack in 15:41.
Rating: * 1/4

A lot of hatred have built up between these two, leading to a great brawl for the match’s first few minutes.

Rick Rude was at ringside with DDP and gave him a hand at several points during the match. But Luger was able to overcome and kept fighting back.

But with Rude distracting the ref, Page hit a low blow then tried for a Diamond Cutter, but Luger countered, throwing Page off into Rude who was standing on the ring apron. Page was staggered and Luger was able to get him in the torture rack to which there was no escape.

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Chris Candido with the Stone Cold Stunner in 11:17.
Rating: *** 1/4
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

Austin immediately ran to the ring and attacked Candido, who for a moment tried to find cover behind Tammy Lynn. Though Austin was more than willing to run through her to get to Candido, Tammy ran away and left the ring, allowing Austin to chase Candido.

Things settled down and Candido had the advantage for a good portion of the match, but Austin was always able to follow with a counter to get back into it.

Late, Tammy tried to slip Chris her purse that Candido tried to swing at Austin. Fortunately for the champ, he ducked and then hit Candido with a Stunner.

The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated The Unforgiven (Barry Windham and Justin Bradshaw) when Nash pinned B. Windham with the Jackknife Power Bomb in 21:48.
Justin Bradshaw sprained his left ankle. He will be out for approximately 1 month.
Rating: ** 1/4
(The Outsiders won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

Hall and Nash weren’t alone. Rick Rude and Syxx were there supporting their nWo mates. The Unforgiven, though WCW members, haven’t made many friends since they came together and didn’t have any backup during the match.

It played out as you’d expect, Syxx and Rude taking cheap shots when given the opportunity. Though at one point, Bradshaw caught him and hit Syxx with a wicked lariat that knocked him out on the floor.

This caused a bit of chaos on the floor that allowed Nash to grab a title belt and hit Barry Windham with it while no one was looking. Nash followed it up with a jackknife as Hall held Bradshaw on the floor.

Hollywood Hogan pinned Randy Savage with the Big Leg Drop in 12:45.
Rating: * 1/4
(Hollywood Hogan retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

The main event turned into an nWo vs. WCW brawl. While Savage was fighting Hogan in the ring, the nWo tried to make sure Savage wouldn’t get the win. But WCW had his back, with people like Lex Luger, Vader, Rick Steiner and the Faces of Fear running down to even the odds.

But with so much chaos all around the arena, it’s easy to lose track of things in the ring. Savage was on the top rope ready to put away Hogan with his elbow drop, when a man in a hood came out of the crowd to push Savage off the top rope. Lex Luger ran down to the ring and punched the man in the hood, as it flew back, it revealed it was Sting under the hood. Luger was frozen for a second in shock, but Sting kicked Luger in the stomach then hit him with a reverse DDT on the floor. He put the hood back over his head and ran back out through the crowd.

Hogan took advantage, got a referee in the ring, hit his leg drop on Savage and got the pin to retain his title.

Card rating: **

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MONDAY NITRO (Oct. 28, 1996)

nWo comes to the ring

Nitro opened with the nWo coming to the ring, Hogan with his world title belt and The Outsiders with their newly won world tag titles. Rick Rude took a mic and said the nWo has shown they are already the most powerful group in professional wrestling, and it’s time for a global expansion.

He said the nWo is starting a recruitment drive, aiming to find the very best to bring into the organization. They will be watching everyone very closely to see who is nWo material.

Disco Inferno pinned Billy Kidman with the Last Dance in 5:29.
Rating: ** ½

The arena lit up when the dance music hit and a stream of gorgeous dancing girls poured out of the back followed by Disco Inferno who let the girls escort him to the ring.

Once the bell rang, Disco turned to all business and quickly put away the young rookie.

Barry Windham defeated Mike Enos by disqualification in 10:57.
Rating: ** 1/4
[Kevin Nash and Scott Hall interfered against Barry Windham.]

One half of the former World Tag Champions, The Unforgiven, Barry Windham will be without his partner for a month who was injured in their match at Halloween Havoc.

Windham fought Mike Enos in a tough match, but before it could come to a conclusion, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash rushed the ring and attacked Windham. Hall hit him with an Outsider Edge and Nash gave him a jack knife powerbomb as Rude looked on from the entrance.

Backstage interview with The Steiner Brothers

The Steiner Brothers were talking to Gene Okerlund, Scott said he didn’t know who attacked him last night but he has a pretty good idea. He said he and his brother want to bring the World Tag Titles back home to WCW.

But they were interrupted by Ric Flair and Arn Anderson who said if anyone is going to restore WCW's dignity, it's going to be The Horsemen. The two sides went back and forth before agreeing to a match in tonight's main event.

Chris Candido pinned Scotty Riggs with the Blonde Bombshell in 13:30.
Rating: **** 1/4
[Tammy Lynn Sytch interfered against Scotty Riggs.]

Chris Candido said he's not going to let a loss last night to Austin get him down. He's still after gold and he will go through anybody he has to whether it's Austin or Eddie Guerrero. He wrestled another rising contender in Scotty Riggs and scored an impressive victory to back up his claims.

Interview with Lex Luger

Luger came to the ring to address Sting’s actions at the end of Halloween Havoc. Luger said there was once a time that he lost a bit of trust in Sting. But he said that was the biggest mistake of his life.

He knows what’s really in Sting’s heart. And when it comes to the end of Halloween Havoc, he looked Sting in the eyes for a moment and everything was crystal clear. That wasn’t the real Sting!!

Glacier pinned Bobby Eaton with the Cryonic Kick in 8:04.
Rating: ** 1/4

Martial Artist Glacier picked up another big win over Bobby Eaton, and as like his match a few weeks ago, his blue-lighted postmatch session was switched to a reddish glow as a figure walked out and performed his own series of martial arts moves on the aisle way.

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Konnan with the Stone Cold Stunner in 13:26.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

Konnan made his return to WCW after a brief absence and challenged Austin for the US title. Austin got the win, but after the match, Rude, Nash and Hall and came to the ring. Austin was on guard ready to fight, but instead, Rude took a mic.

He brought up when he and Austin were members of the Dangerous Alliance and said even back then, he knew Steve Austin was the future of professional wrestling. But WCW has passed him over time after time and if he really wants to rise to that next level, he needs to join the nWo. Rude brought up their friendship and the success they had once being together.

Austin made no moves but backed up and slid out of the ring and left. Rude said, that's OK, he knows this was a sudden offer. But take some time to think about it and then he'll make the right decision.

Arn Anderson and Ric Flair defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) when A. Anderson pinned S. Steiner with the DDT in 20:58.
Rating: *** ½

The two sides fought for the right to challenge the new tag champions, The Outsiders. Scott was clearly still banged up from the attack that kept him out of Halloween Havoc.

The Horsemen seemed to target Scott’s back, which the announcers questioned how the Horsemen could know that would be Steiner’s weakpoint if no one was around to see the attack.

In the end, that proved to be the difference, well that and some interference from the other Horsemen, Bagwell and Davey Boy, as the Horsemen picked up the win.


Card rating: *** 1/4

-------------------------------------

MONDAY NITRO (Nov. 4, 1996)

The announcers shared a big announcement, that the next WCW Pay-Per-View will be in three weeks, and it will be Battlebowl!! The event will included 40 of the top stars who will start in The Lethal Lottery. They’ll be randomly paired into 20 Tag Teams for 10 matches. The members of each winning team advance to Battlebowl, a 20-man over-the-top-rope battle royal, with the winner getting a shot at Hollywood Hogan and the world title at Starrcade.

Also, on WCW Saturday Night during one of the nWo's paid segments, they announced that their recruitment drive has landed them a top name and they would announce their newest member on Nitro. That led to speculation about who that may be.

Psicosis, La Parka and Villano V defeated Juventud Guerrera, Lizmark Jr. and Silver King when Villano V pinned Lizmark Jr. after a powerslam in 12:26.
Rating: *** 1/4

Six of Mexico’s top Luchadores fought in a very fast paced match. There was a lot of high flying, a lot of innovative offense and bodies everywhere.

But for all the athleticism on display, the match ended with a power move. Villano V caught Lizmark flying off the top rope with a vicious powerslam that got the pin.

Johnny B. Badd pinned Chris Kanyon with the Tutti Frutti in 7:08.
Rating: ***

Johnny B. Badd became the first one to offer themselves to join the nWo. This brought out Rick Rude who was intrigued by the offer and made a deal with Badd. They need someone to take care of Barry Windham. If Badd does that, he's in.

Interview with Randy Savage

Randy Savage said things are getting to be crystal clear. A line in the sand is being drawn. On one side is WCW, on the other is the nWo. Everyone knows which side he's on. Whether or not that was the real Sting that cost him the world title, Sting needs to pick a side once and for all. And what about Steve Austin? Where does he stand? He didn’t say yes to the nWo last week, but he didn’t say no.

Eddie Guerrero pinned M. Wallstreet with the Frog Splash in 7:18.
Rating: * 3/4
(Eddie Guerrero retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)

Eddie Guerrero defended his TV title against M. Wallstreet, and after the match, former champion Konnan approached Guerrero. He said he never properly congratulated Guerrero on beating him, and wanted to give him his due. But also wanted it to be known that he was due a shot to get it back. And when he gets that shot, Konnan will show why he’s the master and Eddie is the student.

Chris Candido defeated Glacier via pinfall in 11:34.
Rating: ***

Konnan isn’t the only former champion after Guerrero’s TV Title. Chris Candido has let it be known he wants a shot as well.

Tonight he became the first one to beat Glacier, though he did take advantage of a distraction. The lights flickered red and it took Glacier off his game and Candido took advantage and picked up the win.

Carl Ouellet pinned The Boss with the Cannonball in 8:37.
Rating: * 1/2

Ouellet had one of his biggest wins to date beating the Boss. After the win, 911 appeared at the top of the ramp, gave Ouellet a mock applause, then did an exaggerated yawn and left.

The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated Davey Boy Smith and Marcus Bagwell when R. Steiner pinned M. Bagwell with the Steiner Bulldog in 14:40.
Rating: *** 1/4

One week after falling to two of the Horsemen, the Steiners faced off with the other two. Scott still was favoring his back and it was again the target of the Horsemen, but this time he and his brother were able to overcome.

Scott had enough left in his back to lift up Bagwell for the Steiner Bulldog.

Interview with the nWo

The entire nWo came out to the ring, all in a good mood. Nash had a T-shirt draped over his shoulder. They piled into the ring and Rick Rude took the mic who called this a glorious day for the nWo. With the newest member of the nWo signed on the dotted line, there is no stopping the nWo as the top wrestling organization in the world.

He passed the mic to Hulk Hogan who did the introductions of the newest member of the nWo … Sting!!!

Sting, or at least someone who looks like Sting if you ask Lex Luger, came down to the ring doing the trademark Sting howl and pounded his chest repeatedly. He entered the ring, Nash gave him the shirt, he put it on and continued to yell all while getting hugs from the nWo.


Card rating: ** 1/2

[cardsflyinhigh]

MONDAY NITRO (Nov. 11, 1996)

Eddie Guerrero defeated Konnan by countout in 13:30.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Eddie Guerrero retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)

Eddie Guerrero gave former TV champ and a man he thought was his friend, Konnan a rematch for the TV championship. But after Guerrero scored another win, Konnan snapped and attacked his former friend. While this was going on, Chris Candido, who's made his intentions clear of also winning back the TV title, sat back and watched.

Barry Windham pinned Johnny B. Badd with the Superplex in 11:15.
Rating: *** 1/4

Johnny B. Badd got his nWo tryout in a match against Barry Windham. Windham won the match, but after, was brutally attacked by nWo member Diamond Dallas Page. Badd also took the chance to stomp away. But after Windham was rolled out of the ring, Page and Syxx turned on Badd and started beating him down, saying he failed your test.

Interview with The Horsemen

Ric Flair and Arn Anderson called out World Tag Champions, the Outsiders. They said they and they alone can restore WCW's pride and win back the tag titles. Hall and Nash came out and said if they want a fight, they can have one tonight, but they get one shot and one shot only.

Ice Train defeated 911 when the referee stopped the match in 7:31.
911 tore his right achilles tendon. He will be out for approximately 6 months
Rating: 3/4*

911 was in the middle of a tough match against Ice Train when disaster struck. 911 ran into the corner to hit a running clothesline on Ice Train, but something seemed to happen after the hit.

911 hobbled back and soon collapsed to the mat holding his right foot. The ref came over to check on him and soon threw his arms up in an X and called off the match.

Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) when Booker made Meng submit to an abdominal stretch in 14:43.
Rating: *

Harlem Heat and the Faces of Fear faced off, no strangers to one another. Harlem Heat won a hard fought match, as has been the custom between the two teams.

After the match, all four men sat in the ring, but after an intense staredown, Meng and the Barbarian reached their hands out and shook hands with Harlem Heat.

Dean Malenko made Mr. J.L. submit to the Texas Cloverleaf in 14:22.
Rating: *** ½

Malenko called his loss to Rey Misterio at Halloween Havoc a fluke and is campaigning for another shot. A clean win over former champion JL will go a long way in helping him get that shot, but after the match as Malenko was making his declaration of his desire for a rematch, old rival Ultimo Dragon came out and instead signaled that he wanted the belt.

Backstage interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin

Steve Austin gave an interview in response to Randy Savage's accusations. Austin said he never told anybody he was joining anything. The only loyalties he has is to himself. But if Savage wants a fight, he has no problem stomping a mudhole in him next week.

The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated Arn Anderson and Ric Flair when Nash pinned A. Anderson with the Jackknife Power Bomb in 14:49.
Rating: ** 1/4
(The Outsiders retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

During the tag title match, Davey Boy Smith and Marcus Bagwell stood guard at ringside. This worked for a while until DDP and Syxx emerged and started a fight in the aisle way. With the other Horsemen distracted, Hogan came down looking to give his friends a hand.

However, Vader also used this opportunity to try and stop Hogan. Hogan took a few good shots from Vader, but as the referee was trying to break up the chaos outside, Hall hit Anderson with one of the title belts, and Nash hit a powerbomb to get the win.

Lex Luger in-ring promo

Lex Luger came to the ring and demanded Sting come out and face him. After a while, "Sting" came out wearing an nWo shirt and got in the ring with Luger, but Luger wasn't buying it saying that wasn't Sting.

He went to attack Sting but the whole nWo rushed in and jumped Luger. However, he had backup. Savage, Vader, the Steiners, Eddie Guerrero, Harlem Heat, the Faces of Fear, all ran down to try to rally for WCW. And for the first time in months, it seemed WCW had the nWo on its heels as they retreated.

Card rating: ** 1/4

------------------------------

MONDAY NITRO (Nov. 18, 1996)

WCW in-ring promo

Nitro opened with a group of WCW wrestlers in the ring including Lex Luger, Vader, Randy Savage and the Steiner Brothers. Luger said last week showed that WCW can unite and fight off the nWo which means their days of running wild are over.

This Sunday, Luger said whether it's him, Vader, one of the Steiners or someone else, someone from WCW will win Battlebowl and they will win the world title back from Hollywood Hogan.

Bobby Eaton pinned Ricky Steamboat with the Alabama Jam in 7:13.
Rating: **

Ricky Steamboat was fighting Bobby Eaton, when the same Monster known as Wrath that has been stalking Glacier came into the ring and began to attack Steamboat.

This drew Glacier's attention as he ran down to try to help Steamboat, but instead caught a vicious kick to his head for his troubles.

Konnan defeated Juventud Guerrera by disqualification in 7:46.
Rating: **
[Eddie Guerrero interfered against Konnan.]

Konnan was trying to prove a point to Eddie Guerrero by destroying Juventud Guerrera, but Eddie jumped in and stopped the match by attacking Konnan. But while Eddie was focused on Konnan, Chris Candido ran in behind Eddie and laid him out with a chair.

Disco Inferno pinned Greg Valentine with the Last Dance in 10:12.
Rating: ** 1/2

As usual, a series of gorgeous dancing girls led Disco Inferno to the ring for his match. Disco had a hard time matching up with the strength of the grizzled veteran Valentine, but was able to come up with some good counters, then hit is Last Dance for the pin.

nWo Sting made Pat Tanaka submit to the Scorpion Death Lock in 8:43
Rating: * ¼

The imposter Sting the nWo rolled out last week easily beat Pat Tanaka using Sting’s trademarked moves. Lex Luger ran in after the match and began attacking “Sting” until “Sting” hit him low and turned the tables. He even put Luger in the Scorpion Death Lock.

Out of the crowd, however, came the real Sting, dressed in black with basically plain white face paint. He jumped in the ring, grabbed the fake Sting off Luger and hit him with a reverse DDT.

nWo members Hall, Nash, DDP and Syxx slowly walked into the ring and surrounded Sting but didn’t attack.

Sting called out their fake version of Sting, saying, they wanted Sting in the nWo so bad, they hired a cheap imitation. Well you get what you pay for. The real Sting, may or may not be in their price range. But the only thing for sure about Sting, is nothing’s for sure.

And then the nWo let him leave, then they helped the imposter up.

Syxx pinned Johnny B. Badd after a top-rope leg drop in 12:02.
Rating: *** 1/4
[Rick Rude interfered against Johnny B. Badd.]

Johnny B. Badd failed his nWo initiation test last week and tried to get some revenge on Syxx. Badd gave Syxx a good match, but the interference of other nWo members helped Syxx get the win.

DDP and nWo head of security Vincent ran into the ring and stomped away on Badd. Though he hasn’t made many friends over the past few months and tried to leave WCW for the nWo, he still had some backup as the Faces of Fear ran down and chased off the nWo.

Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Randy Savage with the Stone Cold Stunner in 15:56.
Rating: *** ¾
(Stone Cold Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

Unsure of where Austin’s allegiance lies, Savage wanted to get the US title off of him to ensure it stayed in WCW.

The two had a phenomenal match. Savage went for his top rope double ax-handle smash on the floor, but Austin caught him with a punch to the stomach on his way down then hit a Stunner on the floor. Austin tried to roll him back into the ring, but the extra time was enough to give Savage the power to kick out.

Savage later took control back and tried for his elbow drop, but Austin rolled out of the way and Savage crashed to the mat. Both men staggered back to their feet, Austin along the ropes as Savage charged him, but Austin caught him and hit a Stun Gun, then followed it up with a kick to the stomach and a Stone Cold Stunner for the win.

After the match, Rick Rude, Hall, Nash, DDP and Syxx of the nWo came to the ring to applaud Austin’s win. Rude again made a pitch to Austin to join the nWo, citing their past history. This time, he brought beer. He gave Austin a beer and held his up ready for a toast.

Austin waited a second then toasted Rude and drank the beer as the rest of the nWo celebrated the gesture. Austin even called for more beers and got thrown a couple. He gave Rude one, toasted him, but this time kicked him in the gut and gave him a Stunner.

The rest of the nWo looked shocked, and Austin stunned Scott Hall as well. The group tried to pounce, but Austin quickly slid out of the ring, grabbed his belt and backed up the ramp with both middle fingers high in the air.

Card rating: *** 1/2

[cardsflyinhigh]

BATTLEBOWL '96 (Nov. 24, 1996)

Tonight 40 WCW and nWo superstars will compete in the Lethal Lottery and Battlebowl. The 40 men will be split into 20 tag teams by random draw, who will then compete in 10 tag team matches. The members of the winning teams will compete in a 20-man battle royal with the winner getting a shot at Hollywood Hogan’s world title.

Greg Valentine and Rick Steiner defeated Scott Steiner and Scotty Riggs when R. Steiner pinned S. Steiner after a power bomb in 10:30.
Rating: ** 1/2

The night’s first match split up the Steiner Brothers. They avoided being in the ring against each other as long as they could but they couldn’t escape each other forever. Not only did they fight each other, Rick pinned Scott to advance his team on. Scott did hug his apologetic brother after the match.

Arn Anderson and Lex Luger defeated The Barbarian and Johnny B. Badd when Luger made Badd submit to the Torture Rack in 8:02.
Rating: **

There was a lot of friction between Luger and Anderson but that didn’t stop them from actually working well. They simply demanded more out of each other. Luger put Badd in the Torture Rack while Arn DDTed the Barbarian on the floor to keep him from breaking it up.

The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated Juventud Guerrera and Bobby Eaton when Nash pinned J. Guerrera with the Jackknife Power Bomb in 5:42.
Rating: ** 3/4

Before the next match was announced, the World Tag Champions The Outsiders marched themselves to the broadcast area. Nash announced that no lottery is breaking up The Outsiders. nWo rules say they’re going to the ring as a team and WCW can send whoever they want to face them.

That turned out to be Juventud and Bobby Eaton who were no match for the champs.

Disco Inferno and Booker T defeated Chris Candido and Eddie Guerrero when Booker pinned E. Guerrero after a small package in 8:57.
Rating: *** ½

While some teams like Anderson and Luger got past their differences, the same couldn’t be said for Candido and Guerrero. The two argued non-stop until Candido finally smacked Guerrero in the back with a steel chair. Booker looked a little unsure of what to do but then just rolled him up for an easy pin.

Ultimo Dragon and Mr. J.L. defeated Dean Malenko and Rey Misterio Jr. when U. Dragon pinned D. Malenko after a jawbreaker in 9:01.
Rating: *** ¾

Out of all the tag matches, this was probably the best, as would be expected from the top four Cruiserweights in the world all in the ring together.

Unlike some other rivals teaming together, Malenko and Misterio put their differences aside for the greater good. At least until they lost the match, then Malenko turned on Rey with a blindside attack.

Dragon and JL kept Malenko from getting too much of an attack.

Konnan and Carl Ouellet defeated Big Van Vader and Ric Flair when Konnan pinned R. Flair after a Victory Roll in 10:14.
Rating: ** ¾

Speaking of teams not being able to get along, that was Flair and Vader. Flair tried telling Vader to just let him handle things. And there was no way Vader was gonna do that. The two actually came to blows at one point leading to Flair lowblowing Vader and knocking him out of the ring. But as Flair admired his handiwork, Konnan rolled him up for a pin.

Marcus Bagwell and Psicosis defeated David Taylor and Glacier when Bagwell pinned D. Taylor with the Blockbuster in 7:43.
Rating: ** 1/4

A second Horsemen did advance to Battlebowl. Bagwell led his team to win in what was a relatively calm match compared to some of the others. It was clean and Bagwell and Psicosis came out on top.

Stone Cold Steve Austin and nWo Sting defeated The Boss and M. Wallstreet when S. Austin pinned Wallstreet with the Stone Cold Stunner in 7:02.
Rating: **
(Stevie Ray no-showed)

Stevie Ray was supposed to be Stone Cold Steve Austin’s partner, but Stevie was laid out in the back. nWo Sting of all people emerged to be Austin’s new partner, but Austin ran down and attacked him on the ramp.

He went back and tried to do the match 2-on-1 and it worked for a bit, but soon the tide turned. “Sting” even came back down and made it a 3 on 1, and he was actually tagging in and out with Boss and Wallstreet which confused everybody.

But Austin wouldn’t be held back, he mounted a rally, knocked Sting and Boss out of the ring then stunned Wallstreet for the pin.

Honky Tonk Man and Meng defeated Billy Kidman and Davey Boy Smith when Meng pinned Kidman after a thrust kick to the head in 8:12.
Rating: ** ¼

Davey Boy was not a fan of getting Billy Kidman as his partner. He tried telling the rookie to sit back and let him do all the work. But when Davey Boy started to struggle, Kidman blind tagged himself in, and nearly immediately got kicked in the head by Meng and pinned.

Davey was not happy. He brutally attacked Kidman after the match, first just knocking him around but then going to bring in a steel chair and repeatedly smacking him with it. He took Kidman out to the floor, pulled back the protective mat and hit multiple running powerslams on the part.

Security finally got Davey to leave, but the damage was done and Kidman needed to be taken out on a stretcher.

Diamond Dallas Page and Syxx defeated Randy Savage and Barry Windham when Page pinned B. Windham with the Diamond Cutter in 11:00.
Rating: ** 3/4

The final tag match was an nWo vs. WCW brawl. Savage and Windham, never really friends, were united in their hatred of the nWo. But the nWo team had Rick Rude with them who snuck a clean shot on Windham with a steel briefcase that led to a Diamond Cutter.

Battlebowl

Strictly by the numbers, it was 15 WCW vs. 5 nWo, and at the start, the WCW members rushed the nWo to try to get them out first. The nWo tried to fight them off but perhaps knowing they were outnumbered, all five slid out under the ropes, keeping them in the match.

As a standoff ensued, the two Horsemen in Battlebowl, Anderson and Bagwell broke the ice by coming up behind Booker T and dumping him to the floor. It seemed at that moment everyone forgot the nWo vs. WCW dynamic and the all-out fight commenced.

The two Horsemen tried to work together, but their old rival and former stablemate Steve Austin managed to get each one out.

Two tough guys Meng and Carl Ouellet dueled for a good portion of the match before they eliminated each other, Meng clothesline Ouellet against the ropes but the momentum took them both out. They continued their fight on the floor and all the way to the back.

Kevin Nash and Scott Hall worked together as expected as they combined to eliminate Konnan. Disco Inferno tried to go at them but he got tosses as well.

All five nWo members were in the final eight with Austin, Lex Luger and Rick Steiner. Luger got some revenge on “Sting” getting him in the rack and then dumping him over the top rope. Steiner caught Syxx trying for a flying kick and dumped him out. But DDP came from behind almost immediately after to eliminate Steiner.

Down to a 3 on 2, Austin and DDP faced off while the Outsiders worked on Luger. Austin blocked a Diamond Cutter, caught DDP with a stunner and clotheslined him over the top rope. Upset at his ouster, DDP reached back over the ropes, grabbed Austin and pulled him out and eliminated him from the outside.

Luger was still left on the wrong side of a 2 on 1 against the Outsiders and it looked like the end was near. Nash set Luger up to apparently powerbomb him to the floor, but Luger slipped out down his back and clotheslined Nash to the floor. Hall charged, but Luger ducked and backdropped Hall over the top rope. Nash actually held his partner on the apron, but Luger ran with a running forearm that sent Hall flying into Nash and to the floor, giving Lex Luger the win.

20-Person Battle Royal:
Lex Luger won a 20-person Battle Royal:
x M. Bagwell and A. Anderson threw out Booker T
X S. Austin threw out Honky
X Meng threw out Psicosis
X S. Austin threw out M. Bagwell
X K. Nash threw out JL
X Ouellet threw out Dragon
x R. Steiner threw out G. Valentine
X S. Austin threw out A. Anderson
X Meng threw out Ouellet
X Ouellet threw out Meng
x K. Nash and S. Hall threw out Konnan
X K. Nash and S. Hall threw out Disco
x Luger threw out nWo Sting
x R. Steiner threw out Syxx
X DDP threw out R. Steiner
X S. Austin threw out DDP
X DDP threw out S. Austin
x Luger threw out K. Nash
x Luger threw out S. Hall
Rating: ** 1/2


Card rating: ** 1/2