-Rick Steiner VS Stevie Ray-
Top rope bulldog and a cover gets only two for Rick. Stevie catches Rick with a powerslam. He goes for a forearm off the second buckle, but Rick avoids, and catches him with a clothesline. Cover gets the three, but before Rick can celebrate, Booker T enters the ring and attacks Rick with a kick. Stevie lays him out with a powerbomb. Scott comes in and protects Rick, but gets taken out as well. As for the match, super quick, but honestly, I think that's for the best.
-Joe Gomez VS Disco Inferno-
Pre-match, Disco grabs the mic and says that he knows everyone came to see him dance, so he proceeds to do so, only to get interrupted by "The Desperado" Joe Gomez. A couple early hiptosses by Disco who then starts to dance. Gomez gets in an atomic drop, then some arm drags, hip tosses and a dropkick. Disco argues with the ring announcer David Penzer, but Gomez brings him back in. Gomez hits a rough dropkick and tries for a cross body, but Disco avoids. Disco lands a clothesline and dances some more. He chokes Gomez on the ropes while making sure his hair is fine. Boots out of the corner from Gomez followed by some punches. Hard whips to the buckles and another punch. Disco catches Gomez with a neckbreaker, then starts dancing some more. Cocky cover, but Gomez rolls him over for the three in a mediocre match. Not all that impressed by Gomez. At least Disco's schtick was fun.
Mean Gene is with Ric Flair, Woman, Elizabeth, and the newest member of the stable, Debra McMichaels. She says that she joined for the money, obviously. Ric says that it looks like a Vogue cover over here, and Mongo with the Horsemen are reunited and it feels so good. Kevin Greene lays in a hospital bed and tonight, with Savage reinstated, but he's going to find out why Ric is on top of the world. Savage is mad and sick, but tonight he's going to be hurt bad.
-Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit VS The American Males-
First thing I notice is the massive bruise on the right side of Benoit's face. Must have come from getting his head smashed in with the washroom door. Arn knocks Bagwell off the apron, and avoids contact from Riggs. However, Bagwell comes back with a right of his own. Roll up by Riggs only gets a two. Headlock from Arn is turned into a bunch of leapfrogs by Riggs. Arn catches him with a piledriver, but Riggs back drops him and lays some dropkicks. Cover only gets a two. Tag to Bagwell who works the arm, but Arn breaks free and tags in Benoit. Bagwell gets in an enziguri, and counters plenty of momentum from Benoit. He tries a splash, but Benoit gets the knees up.
Tag to Arn who grinds his knee pad into the face of Bagwell. Bagwell tries a backslide, with an assist from a Riggs dropkick, he gets the slide in for two. Fisherman suplex from Bagwell, but Benoit breaks it. Tag to Benoit who lays in super stiff chops, headbutts and stomps. Back suplex follows. Benoit goes up and hits a diving headbutt, smashing his face right into Bagwell's head. I say it every time, no wonder the man had brain damage. Bagwell tags in Riggs as the Males double team with dropkicks. Cover, but Arn breaks it. Elbow from Arn and a suplex into the ropes by Benoit. Cover and the three for the Horsemen in a decent match. Super rushed feeling, but the works was all quality an it wasn't bogged with lengthy "face in peril" work. All good.
Mean Gene is in the ring with Arn and Benoit. Arn says that everybody is in shock for what happened last night. McMichael made the right choice. Sullivan and Arn had a deal, but it went south. There's only room for four horsemen. On to Benoit who says that every action has a reaction. Sullivan's desire to nullify the horsemen failed. The horsemen are about guts, glamor and glory.
-Big Bubba VS John Tenta-
Sporting a shorter beard after his shearing last night, it's Big Bubba Boss Man in the ring to take on the former Sharkquake, who still has no theme music. Both men brawl to start with Tenta succeeding with a back body drop and a clothesline. Big dropkick from Tenta sends Big Bubba to the outside. Bubba comes back in, only to take a ram into the buckle. Bubba reverses a whip and grabs the legs of Tenta, dragging him groin-first into the steel post. Slow cover attempts only get a two count. Bubba drops his weight on the back, then follows with a punch to the face. Bubba locks in a front facelock.
Tenta recovers with a few more strikes and a pair of corner splashes. Jimmy Hart smashes the megaphone over Tenta's back, but it does nothing. He hits an atomic drop on Hart, then slams Bubba. He covers, but then breaks it, hitting one more. Cover with his feet on the ropes gets the win for John Tenta in a much better match than at the Bash. Post-match, Tenta chases off Jimmy, who hands a loaded sock full of quarters to Bubba, who smashes it over Tenta repeatedly.
Gene talks with Bubba and Hart. Bubba says that the quarters are chump change, but look at the damage it does to the big fat beast in the ring. Every time he steps in the ring with that fat piece of trash, he kicks his butt to kingdom come. Bubba shills the PPV replay and makes his leave.
Mean Gene is with Randy Savage who has a plan tonight. He's going to take his time and be calculated. Flair is distracted by the women, but Savage isn't going away. There is no man that can take him down. Gene asks if Savage got any mental help. Savage says he saw a lady psychiatrist who said he was good to go.
-"Macho Man" Randy Savage VS Ric Flair-
Pre-match, Savage chases Bobby Heenan from the announce position and chases him to the ring. Eventually Heenan escapes and makes his way back to the commentary table. Flair comes to the ring with a "Mean Greene Sack Machine In The Ring" shirt. He then grabs a mic saying that every man eventually must feel the agony of defeat. In Savage's case he's feeling the pain of agony, defeat and divorce. And look who's in Richmond tonight with all the girls. He also tells some fan in the crowd to shut up. Savage says he's going to kick his ass.
Savage grabs Flair and rams him into the guardrail, then puts him in a headlock. Ric gets into the ring and begs him off, but Savage goes on the attack. Flair gets a thumb to the eye, but Savage comes back with a back drop and a clothesline. Both men brawl as we go to break. When we return, Flair is in control and throws Savage over the ropes. He brings Savage over to Liz who slaps the Macho Man. Savage tackles Flair and attacks him at the buffet table. He then grabs some champagne and pours it over the head of Flair. He smacks Flair with the bottle.
Savage gets an atomic drop on Flair and a clothesline sending Flair to the outside. He goes up for an ax handle, but hits throat-first into the guardrail as we go to another break. When we return, Flair is still in control with some chops, but Savage continues to no-sell. Savage lays fists in the corner, but Flair recovers with a back elbow. Flair goes up top, but Savage knocks him down (spot felt a bit delayed). Both men exchange blows with Savage geting the better. Big back body drop and an ax handle from Savage to noticeable boos. Flair grabs an illegal object and punches Savage with it.
Elbow by Flair and a cover for two. Flair argues with the ref as Savage knees Flair into the ref. He then gets a low blow in. Savage heads up for the elbow drop and connects. Liz, Debra and Woman try to block him, but Savage nails another. Benoit comes in and eats a piledriver. Arn comes in and gets thrown out. Mongo comes in and nails him with the briefcase. He drags Flair on Savage as Arn throws the ref in. Flair gets the win in a great brawl. Post-match, the Horsemen stomp down Savage as we go to replays.
Overall, a good match, not exactly a technical affair, but that's the point. Savage wants to kill Ric Flair and came close to getting his revenge, but as is always the case with the horsemen, the numbers game caught up to him. It's amazing that this feud that's gone on for months hasn't felt tired yet. A credit to everyone involved, even Mongo.
Mean Gene is with Giant, Jimmy Hart, and Taskmaster. He mentions that there are "cliques" in WCW, even outsiders coming in. Jimmy Hart says that ever since they got rid of Pillman, everyone's been after them. Sullivan brings up that there are wars all over the place. Legal wars, a war with Hogan when he comes back, and war has been declared with the Horsemen after Arn turned on him last night. Giant says that if they're so elite, then why isn't any of the horsemen a champion. They're incompetent in taking the belt from him. He dares them to take him on and they'll all fall down.
Blood still runs cold as we are in week 8 of the Great Glacier Hype. We get glimpses of Glacier as our new vignette promises his debut in July of 1996. Nope.
Mean Gene is with Rey Mysterio Jr and praises his abilities last night, only for Malenko to cheat. Rey says he respects Malenko, but he's going to beat him tonight.
-Rey Mysterio Jr. VS Dean Malenko For the WCW Cruiserweight Championship-
Another rematch from The Great American Bash. Rey tries to work the leg of Malenko, but Dean gets to the ropes quickly. Monkey flip from Dean, but Rey lands on his feet. Fast counters from Rey, who then hits a nice moonsault off the ropes. Malenko tries a cross body, but Rey avoids and rolls him up for two. Malenko hits a stiff clothesline that leaves Rey in a heap. He follows with a backbreaker, driving his knee to the spine. He hits a back suplex, then transitions into a half crab.
Brainbuster from Malenko who covers for two. Malenko tries another hold, but Rey gets to the ropes. Slam by Malenko who goes up top, only for Rey to counter, flipping off the buckle, but Malenko counters his momentum with an electric chair drop. Cover only gets a two. Abdominal stretch from Malenko into a roll up for two, then transitions right into an STF, then transitions into driving a knee into the back. Super stiff powerbomb by Malenko who covers, but Rey kicks out.
Malenko keeps the transitioning going as he slams Rey, then goes into a camel clutch, then into a chinlock. He throws Rey outside and whips him into the Guardrail, only for Rey to counter. Rey goes off the ropes and hits a nice hurricanrana. Rey throws Malenko back in and goes up top, catching Malenko with a sunset flip off the top. Cover only gets a two. Another fast roll up only gets a two count. Malenko goes for a slam, but Rey drops his weight, covering for two. Malenko counters Rey's momentum with a reverse DDT, covering for the three in a great cruiserweight title match. A better match than the Bash in my opinion as it showcased both men's amazing abilities a lot better. Definitely could see these guys work over and over.
-Scott Steiner VS The Giant For The WCW World Championship-
Scott tries to lift the GIant, but to no avail. He manages to get him up, but the Giant's weight crashes on him. Giant, now pissed, drops an elbow and stands on him. He follows that up with a knee to the injured ribs. Giant rolls Scott to the outside, then smashes him in the back with an ax handle and follows that with a throw to the steel post as we go to break. When we return, Giant is still in control, stomping down on Scott and hitting some more clubbing blows.
He locks in a camel clutch, but Scott Steiner breaks free, only to get swatted right back down. Giant then follows that up with a leg drop. More work on the injured ribs from Giant, including a big suplex. He clotheslines Steiner over the ropes and smashes him into the guardrail. Giant then grabs a wooden chair, indicative of last week, but Scott groins him on the ropes, then goes for a sleeper. Giant throws him into the corner, and pounds him down. He throws Scott into the corner, but Scott manages to counter.
Managing to hit a massive gutwrench suplex on the Giant! Cover, but Giant throws him off at two. Steiner continues to pummel, then goes for clotheslines. He grabs the wooden chair, but Jimmy Hart grabs it, only to be thrown off. Steiner smashes it over Giant, who no-sells it and chokeslams Steiner. Cover gets the three in a fun main event. Mostly a squash, but Scott Steiner got some great moments throughout.
After a replay of the Glacier promo, we go to Mean Gene with the announcement of who will take on the invaders at Bash at the Beach. Six names were considered, Hogan, Flair, Lex Luger, Giant, Sting and Randy Savage. The final three names that were drawn to take on Hall, Nash and the mystery man are Luger, Sting and Savage.
Overall, a really good episode of Nitro coming off a really good pay per view in the Great American Bash. Most of the in-ring this week as solid, with the highlights being Rey vs Malenko and Savage vs Flair. I like how much focus there is on storylines and angles right now. How the Horsemen are involved with multiple feuds at the moment, not just with Savage, but with the Dungeon of Doom. I would have liked to see more of Hall and Nash, but considering their attack on Bischoff the previous night, it makes sense to hold them off for another week. Overall, the build for the Bash at the Beach PPV is strong. Let's hope it keeps up. Nitro gets a B+ this week.
WHO WON THE WAR WEEK #37: NITRO
Raw had its moments with Austin vs Savio and Mero vs Owen, but other than that, it was another forgettable hour. Meanwhile, Nitro yet again used its two hours quite well, building what was a rather fun edition that keeps the momentum from The Great American Bash going strong. The easy win this week goes to Nitro, giving them their 22nd win.
RAW:
September 25th, 1995
October 2nd, 1995
October 23rd, 1995
November 13th, 1995
November 20th, 1995
December 4th, 1995
December 11th, 1995
January 1st, 1996
January 22nd, 1996
February 19th, 1996
February 26th, 1996
March 11th, 1996
April 1st, 1996
April 15th, 1996
May 27th, 1996
April 1st, 1996
April 15th, 1996
May 27th, 1996
NITRO:
September 11th, 1995
September 18th-21st, 1995
October 9th, 1995
October 16th, 1995
October 30th, 1995
November 6th, 1995
November 27th, 1995
December 18th, 1995
January 8th, 1996
January 15th, 1996
January 29th, 1996
February 5th, 1996
March 18th, 1996
March 25th, 1996
April 22nd, 1996
April 29th, 1996
May 6th, 1996
May 13th, 1996
May 20th, 1996
April 22nd, 1996
April 29th, 1996
May 6th, 1996
May 13th, 1996
May 20th, 1996
June 3rd, 1996
June 10th, 1996
June 17th, 1996
June 17th, 1996
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