Hello everyone. I’m back with another look into wrestling PPVs past. This time, I take a look at the PPV that changed not only the course of WCW but wrestling history as we know it.
-Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes and Bobby Heenan are on commentary. They are all speculating on who could be the third man.
Psychosis vs Rey Mysterio Jr.
-Lots of quick submission reversals early on.
-Psychosis hits two leg drops, one off the top rope. He was foreshadowing the night ahead!
-Rey springboards off the top rope and perfectly transitions into a hurricanrana for a two count.
-Psychosis drops Mysterio on the guard rail, then hits a seated senton on Mysterio off the top rope. Ouch.
-Rey starts his comeback with a spinning head scissors, followed by a dropkick on the apron and a hurricanrana off the apron on to the outside.
-After a moonsault to the outside, Rey goes for a springboard dropkick in the ring but Psychosis hits a powerbomb for two.
-Psychosis goes for a Razor’s Edge off the top rope, but Mysterio counters into a hurricanrana mid-air and picks up the win. Very good opener.
-Mean Gene interviews Konnan. He tells Ric Flair if any of his entourage gets involved in the match, he will take them out.
Silver Dollars in a Sack on a Pole Match: Big Bubba vs John Tenta
-No backstory from WCW as why this is a Silver Dollars in a Sack on a Pole Match. I don’t even know if I want to know.
-John Tenta looks to be on his last legs here.
-I love how Dusty Rhodes can’t say Bubba. He says “Bubbrrr.”
-Bubba ties one hand of Tenta in the ropes. He works him over with a belt and starts cutting Tenta’s hair. But Tenta low blows him and cuts himself out.
-The announcers say, “This is just two big men brawling, nothing pretty about it.” Amen.
-Jimmy Hart climbs the pole, but doesn’t realize Tenta took out Big Bubba. Tenta takes the sack from Bubba and takes him out, then pins Bubba for the win.
-Everyone is still worried about Eric Bischoff, who is missing. Macho Man, Lex Luger and Sting are interviewed backstage. They are all ready for the match tonight and don’t care who the third man is.
Taped Fist Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan
-Early on, DDP tapes Hacksaw’s legs together around the post and works him over.
-Duggan has lost the tape on his wrist. And this somehow becomes a disadvantage for Duggan.
-DDP wins with a Diamond Cutter. Hacksaw, always the sore loser, cheap shots DDP after the match.
-Mean Gene interviews Kevin Sullivan, The Giant and Jimmy Hart. Sullivan says he isn’t the weak link of the Dungeon of Doom. So Kevin Sullivan=Daniel Bryan?
-Mean Gene interviews Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit about the match.
Four Man Dog Collar Match: Public Enemy vs The Nasty Boys
-Is this a gimmick PPV?
-Everything quickly escalates into a brawl on the outside.
-Knobbs beats Johnny Grunge with a rubber shark.
-They brawl towards the set and use surfboards, lifeguard decks and chairs as weapons.
-Rocco Rock goes to the top, but Sags pulls the chain. Rock bounces right off the table, which doesn’t break.
-The Nasty Boys win after an ugly match. Public Enemy attacks them after the match.
-Backstage, Mean Gene is outside the Outsiders locker room, which is flanked by security.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Dean Malenko (c) vs Disco Inferno
-It is all Malenko early, who hits a devastating spike suplex.
-About six minutes in Inferno finally gets some offense in.
-The crowd is getting behind Disco Inferno. I thought he was a heel? Or are they both heels?
-Malenko wins with the Texas Clover Leaf. Match picked up in the final few minutes.
Joe Gomez vs Steve McMichael (w/Debra)
-Never mind that shit, here comes Mongo! I’m smelling a five star classic here.
-Mongo sells a jawbreaker like he’s been shot.
-Gomez hits three REALLY ugly jumping chops to the back of the head.
-Mongo wins after a Tombstone Piledriver. If the Undertaker saw that at the time, he probably threw the urn at his TV screen.
-Mean Gene interviews Ric Flair along with Elizabeth and Woman. Who would have thought, with his lifestyle, that Flair would out-live these two women?
WCW United States Championship: Konnan (c) vs Ric Flair (w/Elizabeth and Woman)
-It’s two minutes into this match and I already can’t stand Woman’s yelling at ringside.
-Konnan lands some chops and the crowd doesn’t care. Flair lands one and we get a big “WOOO!”
-Konnan hits a dive off the apron, knocking down Elizabeth. He goes to the top, but Woman shakes the bottom rope, which somehow causes him to lose his balance on the TOP rope and fall off.
-Flair pokes Konnan in the eye, then distracts the ref. This allows Woman to come in the ring and kick Konnan in the groin. Elizabeth then distracts the ref. Flair tosses Konnan to the outside and scratches his eyes.
-Konnan applies a Figure Four that would rival Miz’s bad looking Figure Four. Flair gets to the ropes.
-Elizabeth distracts the ref and Woman is on the apron for what seems like forever. Woman finally hits Konnan with the heel of her shoe. Flair pins Konnan and wins the U.S. Title.
-Mean Gene is eavesdropping on the Outsiders locker room. He said a third man walked in, and he could hear the man’s voice but it sounds muffled. It does sound like someone he knows, however.
Chris Benoit and Arn Anderson vs The Giant and Kevin Sullivan (w/Jimmy Hart)
-If the Horsemen win, any member of the group gets a shot at the Giant’s World Title on Nitro.
-The Giant and Kevin Sullivan attack Benoit and Anderson coming to the ring. Steve McMichael hits the Giant with his briefcase and the Giant chases him to the back.
-Benoit and Anderson isolate Sullivan early, keeping him away from the Giant.
-Anderson and Benoit go for a spike piledriver. But Sullivan reverses Anderson into a catapult, but they screw it up. Anderson still goes into Benoit. Sullivan makes the tag to The Giant.
-Sullivan and Benoit brawl towards the broadcast booth. In the ring, The Giant chokeslams Anderson and picks up the win.
-Benoit continues to attack Sullivan after the match. Woman comes out and asks him to stop and says he is going to hurt him. The Giant comes back out and scares them off.
The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) vs Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger
-Mean Gene comes to the ring and asks where the third man is. The Outsiders say he is here and ready.
-Nash holds down Luger’s head on the turnbuckle. Sting breaks it with a Stinger Splash. Luger gets knocked out cold and lays on the outside. Luger gets taken away on a stretcher. When I watched this as a kid, I thought Luger was going to come back and be the third man.
-Everybody is doing a great job to give this a big fight feel. Michael Buffer, the announcers, the wrestlers, even the crowd.
-The Outsiders have been dominating the match since Luger’s injury.
-Sting starts a comeback and makes the hot tag to Randy Savage who goes nuts on the Outsiders as the crowd goes crazy.
-After a Nash low blow on Savage, everyone is down. Here comes HULK HOGAN!!! The Outsiders bail as Bobby Heenan wonders what side he is on. Hogan pushes the ref away and leg drops Randy Savage. They take out Sting and do a mock pin on Savage.
-Mean Gene comes out to interview Hogan. He says they are the New World Order of wrestling. He said that he made that organization up North a monster and become bigger than the organization itself.
-Hogan says they will destroy everything in their path. Hogan says all the crap represents the fans. He told the fans to stick it because of the reception he’s gotten from the last two years.
-The show ends with Tony Schiavone telling Hogan to go to hell as the crowd continues to throw trash in the ring. A small but vocal Hogan chant also breaks out at the end.
-From a wrestling standpoint, there wasn’t a lot to like on this show. The opener was great, as was the end of Malenko/Inferno. Ric Flair and Konnan had too much shenanigans going on the outside.
-From a storyline perspective, this is obviously one of the best ever. The nWo would go on to dominate WCW and help them win the ratings battle over the WWE. I’ve always maintained that if it wasn’t for Hogan joining the nWo, WCW would never have become the force it was. This was the one time Hogan’s backstage politics absolutely paid off. The rumors were that Sting was going to be the third man, but because the Outsiders angle was so hot, Hogan decided he wanted to be the third guy. Sting wouldn’t have had as big of an impact as Hogan did. Sting was a house hold name, but he didn’t have the global recognition that Hogan did. It was a bold move for WCW to make, but it was one that was needed to shake up the wrestling business. Many fans of WCW saw through Hogan’s politics and didn’t welcome him with open arms as WCW officials thought they would. It was a great move by WCW. Big angles like this get people talking. These are the risks WWE today doesn’t like to take.
This event triggered a whole lot in the world of pro wrestling. If this doesn’t happen, WCW doesn’t take over as the #1 Wrestling Company in the World. The WWE doesn’t respond with the Attitude Era. And maybe WCW doesn’t hand out a lot of bad contracts and they stay in business for a little while longer. I know some of this stuff may have happened, but it wouldn’t have had as big of an impact without this. Hogan joining the nWo kick started a great era in pro wrestling,one fans long for to this day. This is often considered one of the most shocking and greatest moments in wrestling history, and it is hard to argue that.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
