WCW Monday Nitro
October 7, 1996
Savannah, GA
Civic Center

The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: Hollywood Hogan (8/10/1996)
WCW U.S. Champion: Ric Flair (7/7/1996)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat (10/5/1996)
WCW World Television Champion: Lord Steven Regal (8/20/1996)
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Rey Mysterio (7/8/1996)

HOUR NUMBER ONE! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Larry Zbyszko.

Flashback to last week: Randy Savage heads to the nWo’s hotel suite and finds Elizabeth there with a contract in her hand. Needless to say, he goes ballistic.

They also show the finish of the Harlem Heat/Public Enemy title match from Saturday Night. You can check that match out in last week’s Nitro recap.

• WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat (w/Sister Sherri & Col. Robert Parker) vs. Public Enemy

The Heat don’t get an entrance? What’s that about. Both teams trade control of the CLUBBERIN until Sherri gets involved. Rocco grabs her and looks to teach her a lesson, but Booker makes the save as we go to commercial. When we return, we don’t go straight to the ring – we look backstage to see Elizabeth unsuccessfully looking for Randy Savage in his locker room. Back to the match, the Heat are still working over Rocco Rock. They do a false tag spot when Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Ted DiBiase, and Vincent show up in the crowd to taunt Harlem Heat. They disappear as Grunge gets the lukewarm tag. PE hits Heat with the DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER-double bulldog spot. Grunge gets rid of Stevie Ray and slams Booker as Rocco goes up top. Sherri hops up on the apron to distract ref Nick Patrick while Col. Parker shakes the ropes to make Rocco lose his balance and send him falling through the very table at ringside he set up! OH THE IRONY! Grunge grabs Parker, which allows Stevie Ray to clip him in the bad knee. He’s still not done – Stevie Ray WHACKS the knee with a chair and then Booker hits Grunge with the knee drops the chair ON the knee. Out goes the chair, Booker covers for the 1-2-3. (10:14) That’s quite an overbooked finish. Why all that just to beat up Johnny Grunge? *½

In the back, a limo pulls up…and out of the limo comes JEFF JARRETT!

Two days ago on Saturday Night, Nick Patrick says he’s fining Randy Savage $1 million for his completely unmitigated attack that leaves him having to work injured. Really? A MILLION BUCKS?

• Diamond Dallas Page vs. Jim Powers (w/Teddy Long)

Once the feeling-out stuff is done, DDP hits the DIAMOND CUTTER out of a full nelson. (2:35) The man can hit it from virtually ANYWHERE. ¾*

Mike Tenay brings out Randy Savage, who then brings out the driver for the Slim Jim car in the Busch series to brag about finishing and placing at #10 in a race over the weekend while the nWo car did not even finish and ended their day early by slamming into the wall. Apparently this is some sort of victory for the Macho Man. Elizabeth confronts Randy, but he just walks off with the Slim Jim driver.

• The Faces of Fear (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. High Voltage

While the Faces of Fear are murdering these two, Benoit, Mongo, and Debra watch on from the entrance way. They will be meeting the Faces of Fear at Halloween Havoc in some more Four Horsemen/Dungeon of Doom wars that we thought was over about a month ago. Evidently it’s not. Back in the ring, High Voltage screw up a double springboard spot on Meng. To be fair, it does seem quite complicated. Barbarian gets a tag and starts slamming Rage around. Now the Faces of Fear take turns dishing out powerbombs. It’s pretty brutal. Onto the finish, Meng catapults Rage into a KICK OF FEAR from Barbarian for the 1-2-3. (3:44) I am SUCH a Faces of Fear mark. *

WCW Saturday Night! Watch it IF YOU WEEL! 6:05PM eastern! TBS! Eddie Guerrero meets the Disco Inferno! Plus, WCW world tag team champs Harlem Heat battles Rough N Ready! You’ll also see Chris Jericho, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Lex Luger, and much more! Don’t miss out! It’s the MUTHASHIP! PAY WINDAHS, CLUBBERIN AND PLUNDAH, BABY!

• Glacier vs. Mike Wenner

Glacier actually tries to wrestle this time and when he does, this match feels about twice as long and half as interesting. They’re still wrestling under the blue light. The highlight is a pescado from Glacier. Back in, he nails Wenner with a Reverse Roundhouse Kick for the win. (2:26) Is that his Cryonic Kick? I thought that was a superkick. Still nothing to care about with this Glacier character, unless you’re REALLY into Sub-Zero from MK. ½*

HOUR NUMBER TWO! Your hosts are Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay.

• Jeff Jarrett vs. Hugh Morrus

Since Jeff’s a former WWF’er and this was before he bounced back and forth between the two companies, Bischoff thinks he’s here to join up with the nWo right off the bat. Looking at him now with his long curly blonde hair and big smile – I can’t imagine how disappointed people would have been (specifically me!) if he had turned out to be the third guy back at Bash at the Beach. Now post-SummerSlam ’98 Jeff Jarrett – that may have worked a little better. Jarrett struts around in between hiptosses and then gets nailed with a clothesline. Hugh Morrus gets serious! Jarrett comes back with an atomic drop and a clothesline before delivering the Bossman straddle. Odd swinging neckbreaker gets two. Morrus hits a powerslam and misses a guillotine legdrop (?), which makes him easy pickings for the FIGURE-FOUR. (4:07) Afterwards, Tony gets a word with Jeff Jarrett. Because he pulled in a black limo, IMMEDIATELY accusations are made that he’s part of the new World order. It couldn’t farther from the truth. Jarrett says he hates Hogan for saying he made wrestling and specifically Memphis wrestling wouldn’t have existed without him – as if he’s forgotten Jerry Jarrett gave Hogan his first big start. You know what Hulk, just like Sting said – you and the rest of the nWo can STICK it. *

Bischoff – “I’m feeling a little bit better about life right now.”

• Arn Anderson (w/Woman) vs. Renegade

Since Arn is blaming Luger for being a wuss and losing at Fall Brawl in Wargames, he’s warming up with guys that Luger just wrestled like the Renegade here from this past Saturday Night so he’ll be ready to dish out some cold revenge at Halloween Havoc. Tenay just has to remind us all that Renegade beat Arn at the Great American Bash in 1995 for the TV title. I understand putting a guy over, but ouch. Early on, AA goes for a piledriver. Has Arn Anderson ever delivered a piledriver? Renegade backdrops out and Arn heads to the floor so he can make Renegade give chase and nail him when he heads back into the ring. Nice. AA takes over and starts working the arm like an Anderson should. Pump splash hits knees and Renegade begins his weak comeback. One too many Handspring Elbows in the corner gets his knocked in the back of the head. DDT! It’s over. (7:07) After the match, Arn sets Renegade up in the tree of woe and kicks away to bring Luger out of the back. All I have to say here is, at least Arn didn’t job. Stupid 1995. *

• Lex Luger vs. Squire David Taylor (w/Jeeves)

Taylor gets a little rough with Jeeves on his way to the ring – even as far as to give him a swift European uppercut! What has happened to mother England? Very short match as Luger puts Taylor away with the TORTURE RACK. (2:35) Luger high-fives one too many fans as Arn Anderson blindsides him with a chairshot! He unloads a couple chairshots to the back before referees get rid of him. ½*

• Chris Benoit (w/Steve McMichael & Debra) vs. Rick Steiner (w/Scott Steiner)

This is our first look at Scott since he’s been out due to a back/hip/arm injury. He’s just here to make sure nothing bad goes down. Benoit unloads on Rick early, but then leapfrogs into a powerslam. They trade blows with Steiner ending that with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. He follows up with a release German suplex as we go to a commercial. AND WE’RE BACK! These two are STILL trading hard blows. Scott grabs Nick Patrick from the floor and lets him know not to screw over the Steiners again. Snap Suplex from Benoit gets two. Benoit misses a corner charge, but let’s look backstage and watch a black nWo limo back up instead. Out comes Hollywood Hogan and the Giant from the limo. Hollywood’s got some business to take care of, brother. In the ring, Rick comes out of a chinlock and hits a Steinerline. Benoit CHOPS Steiner so hard, his headgear comes off! SWANDIVE HEADBUTT gets 1-2-NO! Benoit takes flight again, but falls right into a release overhead suplex! Awesome. DDT gets two. Rick heads up and delivers the STEINER BULLDOG for 1-2-NO! Debra gets up on the apron and distracts ref Nick Patrick while Mongo wants to give Benoit the briefcase. Scott won’t let that happen and when Mongo lifts the briefcase back over his head to nail Scott, Rick grabs the case and hits Mongo on the top of the head with it. Debra, you NEED to get down now! Rick waffles Benoit with the briefcase and slides it out of the ring right in front of Nick Patrick who counts the 1-2-3. (12:58) Hard hitting match and one of the best we’ve seen on Nitro in a while. ***

• WCW U.S. Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage

I didn’t think there would be a match with Flair’s injury. After Randy Savage makes his entrance, we cut backstage to see the Nasty Boys telling Hogan and DiBiase that they have their backs. Flair never shows and we see why as the new World order and beating the crap out of him. Vincent tries to get the camera out of here. He’s saying something, but it’s not English. Nash – “THUG LIFE!” The whole time this is happening, Elizabeth is standing in the background scared to death. Giant takes Flair’s U.S. belt and backs Liz towards the ring. What Giant doesn’t see is Randy Savage coming around the corner of the Nitro set with a steel chair to save his ex-wife. But what Savage doesn’t see is Hollywood Hogan coming up behind HIM with a shot to the back. Giant carries Savage to the ring over his back while Hogan drags Liz with him. Holy crap, Giant gets half way up the stairs, falls, and then drops Savage onto the steps all by accident. OUCH. Oh, now Giant’s mad. He just pitches Savage into the ring instead. STAIRS ARE DIFFICULT. Just shows how light those steps really are. Hogan doesn’t want a CHOKESLAM, he just wants to beat the crap out of Savage after he’s already got the crap beat out of him while Giant holds Liz and makes her watch. Once Hogan delivers a couple LEGDROPS, he makes a black spray paint outline around Savage’s body – as if a crime had just been committed.

Hall and Nash join the two men while Hogan yells at Liz saying that he owns her body, heart, soul, and mind. As usual for the nWo, plenty of trash into the ring as Hogan talks down to Savage. Now Hogan wants to destroy the broadcast set. Everybody leaves but Bischoff, who refuses to leave. Well, until he sees Syxx drive up in an nWo MONSTER TRUCK. WHAAAAT.

And that’s where they leave us.

Looks like some of Halloween Havoc’s matches on October 27 are already set.

MAIN EVENT: WCW World Champion Hollywood Hogan vs. Randy Savage
WCW U.S. Champion Ric Flair vs. The Giant (can you smell the bait and switch?)
WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat vs. The Outsiders
Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael vs. The Faces of Fear
Lex Luger vs. Arn Anderson
Eddie Guerrero vs. Diamond Dallas Page – Battle for the Ring!
WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko