-Eric Bischoff, Steve “Mongo†McMichael, and Bobby “the Brain†Heenan are in the booth and are coming to us live from Denver, Colorado!
-“The Nature Boy†Ric Flair interrupts Bischoff and says he’s ready to face Arn Anderson. Wooo! At least that saved us from the ridiculous hype Bischoff and McMichael typically give at the beginning of the broadcast.
-Luger and Savage’s confrontation on last week’s Nitro is replayed. Somehow a commercial break kept both men from beating each other up because you can only fight when it’s televised. The Giant’s awesome destruction of Savage, Luger, two jobbers, and Alex Wright is also replayed.
-Opening Contest & If Luger Loses He Leaves WCW Match: Lex Luger vs. “Macho Man†Randy Savage:
I guess Luger’s future title shot against Hogan isn’t on the line after all, but I guess both guys reasoned Hogan would never grant it so why fight for it anyway. A lockup starts us off and both men go all over the ring with it and then spill to the floor and keep the lockup going. We go to a commercial break as the referee tries to separate them
When we return, both men toy with each other and the action spills onto the floorand Luger fights off a Savage suplex and gives him a neckbreaker. Back in, Savage small packages Luger for two. Luger comes back with a gorilla press slam and poses. Savage kicks Luger when he puts his head down too early and Savage goes for a backslide, but in a great counter Luger hooks his foot on the second rope and blocks it. Luger gets his own backslide for two. Both men smash into each other off the ropes and we have a double KO. Savage gets up first and goes for a top rope axe handle, but Luger gives him a fist to the gut. When Luger tries to follow up, Savage hurls him out of the ring and gives him a top rope axe handle on the floor. Savage hot shots Luger on the guardrail, but Luger reverses a take to the ring post. Back in, Savage gives Luger a high knee in the back, but then accidentally whips Luger into the referee. Savage slams Luger and hits his top rope elbow smash but there’s no referee. Savage goes to revive the ref and the Giant comes down to the ring. The crowd senses that that is trouble and sure enough, the Giant comes in, chokeslams Savage, and leaves. Luger recovers and puts Savage in the Torture Rack and Savage’s hand falls three times to give Luger the win at 8:04 shown. The finish was predictable after Savage tossed Luger into the referee. Grade: C
-The Disco Inferno dances for the crowd. Eddie Guerrero, who comes out to what would later become Juventud Guerrera’s theme music, interrupts that and yells at Disco.
-Highlights of Guerrero’s match with Jushin “Thunder†Liger on the Main Event are shown.
-Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko:
Both men show off their technical acumen at the beginning of the match and the crowd is receptive to that. Malenko takes Guerrero to the buckle and both men exchange covers after a Guerrero blind charge. As the match unfolds, WE CUT AWAY COMPLETELY to see that Hulk Hogan has arrived at the arena in his limo and he tells Jimmy Hart that he wants to mess the Giant up. When we get back to the match Malenko gets two off of a snapmare and both men falls to the floor. Outside, Guerrero slams Malenko and then hits a top rope body press. Back in, Guerrero hits a brainbuster, but the frog splash eats knees. Both men tussle over a waistlock and when Malenko tries to get a victory roll Guerrero sits down on him and gets the pin at 5:25 (although we missed about a minute and a half of the match because of the Hogan segment). After the match, Malenko asks for a rematch and Guerrero says that he can have one at any time and then both guys shake hands. The crowd was dead because they didn’t have a reason to care for either guy yet. The chain wrestling was good, but it didn’t mean much because of the limited amount of time they were given. Grade: C-
-“Mean†Gene Okerlund interviews WCW Champion Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart. Hogan says that he was with a kid named Jason Pittman who is getting a double lung transplant and that he wants Hogan to take out the Giant so that’s why Hogan is here. Hogan goes out to slap hands with the fans and when he comes up to an old woman “she†throws powder in his face. Bischoff starts laughing and has to restrain himself so he can call the segment. The woman reveals herself as Kevin Sullivan and he beats on Hogan and Hart with his cane. Man, it’s a shame Dusty Rhodes wasn’t commentating tonight. The Giant and the Zodiac come into the ring and the Giant takes off Hogan’s neck brace and snaps his neck. Sullivan takes out a pair of clippers and shaves off Hogan’s mustache as the Giant destroys the American Males and the Nasty Boys. The interview wasn’t great, but the beat down make up for it.
-“The Enforcer†Arn Anderson vs. “The Nature Boy†Ric Flair:
Anderson gets the jobber treatment as he’s already in the ring after we get back from the commercial break. After taking some chops, Anderson whips Flair into the corner with authority and gets a backdrop for two. Anderson works the arm and Flair flips in the corner, but he pulls down the top rope when Anderson charges him and Anderson falls to the floor. I guess when you’re no longer a heel your peripheral vision magically improves. Outside, Flair whips Anderson into the guardrail and chops away. However, Anderson backdrops Flair and then takes Flair to the guardrail. Back in, Anderson catches Flair with a spinebuster for a double KO spot and Anderson covers for two. Anderson applies an armbar, but Flair hits a side suplex out of a sleeper spot. A blind charge eats elbow, but Flair comes back and applies a figure-four, but Anderson is too close to the ropes and gets the break. Anderson goes to the floor and Flair acts like he’s Randy Savage, but only gets a fist to the gut for his efforts. Anderson goes for a piledriver, but Flair backdrops out of that. Back in, Anderson unloads, but Flair grabs the ropes when Anderson goes for the DDT and Anderson crashes to the mat. Flair hammers away but puts his head down too early and Anderson drops an elbow. Anderson tries a second rope axe handle, but Flair chops him on the way down and applies the figure-four again. Brian Pillman comes down to the ring, but before he can splash onto Flair, Anderson submits at 8:16. Flair makes the comeback and chops away on Pillman, but he’s quickly overwhelmed when Anderson gets involved. The heels beat on Flair for a while and then leave the ring. Considering the buildup for this match, it lacked a lot of intensity after the first minute and got very boring in the middle. The beat down at the end was pretty weak too because as Anderson and Pillman left Flair was easily getting to his feet. Grade: D+
-Tune in next week to see Ric Flair face Arn Anderson in a cage match. Also, Sting faces the Shark, Sabu faces Mr. JL and Road Warrior Hawk collides with Big Bubba Rogers!
The Final Report Card: If you hate Hogan this is definitely a show that you’d enjoy because of the Dungeon of Doom beat down. Aside from that, the show starts strong with Luger-Savage, but ends with a disappointing match between Anderson and Flair. Hopefully their cage match next week will be much better.
Monday Night War Rating: 2.5 (vs. 2.5 for Raw)
Show Grade: C-
