WCW Monday Nitro
October 27, 1997
San Diego, CA
Cox Arena

The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: Hollywood Hogan (8/9/1997)
WCW U.S. Champion: Curt Hennig (9/15/1997)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Rick & Scott Steiner (10/13/1997)
WCW World Television Champion: Disco Inferno (9/22/1997)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Rey Mysterio (10/26/1997)

HOUR NUMBER ONE! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay.

VIDEO FOOTAGE: From last night at Halloween Havoc, we get the aftermath of Hogan vs. Piper where Piper would be handcuffed to the cage and have the ever living crap beaten out of him to end the PPV.

Onto the ring, Hollywood Hogan (with his belt back) and Eric Bischoff start the show. He’s out to gloat about winning the war despite Roddy Piper winning the battle last night. Now that Roddy Piper is out of the picture, Hogan declares him the only true ICON of professional wrestling and even goes as far as to give us all permission to bow at his feet because HE IS GOD. Hogan challenges any cowards in the back, any cowards up in the rafters, and even any of the cowards in the audience. He’ll take us all on! Nobody has the balls to answer the challenge. He and Bischoff will rule the wrestling world because they are just too sweet. Bischoff hypes “Assault on Devil’s Island” one last time before the TNT premiere tomorrow night. They show us a scene where the Hulkster with a full head of hair, Shannon Tweed, and Carl Weathers bury a couple thousand rounds into some guerrilla fighters.

Clips of the aftermath of the Lex Luger versus Scott Hall match from last night is shown to explain Larry Zbyszko’s absence.

• WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio vs. Dean Malenko
  

Another staple of the first two years of Nitro. Considering Malenko was the last one with a win over Mysterio prior to Halloween Havoc, he gets the first title shot. Since they know each other so well, it takes a while for either man to get an advantage over the other. Raven and his Flock head down during this match. The first big moment of the match comes in the final minute as Malenko delivers a NASTY gutbuster off the second rope. VINTAGE MALENKO! That only gets two. Mysterio flips out of a suplex and avoids an O’Connor roll. He tries to surprise Malenko with the SPRINGBOARD HURRACANRANA, but Malenko sees it coming and drops him with a powerbomb. Time to go to Texas, but Mysterio flips it around and shocks Malenko with an inside cradle for the three-count. (4:37) Everything but that final minute made you feel pretty empty inside. **¼

LUCHA LIBRE AND THE MEXICAN LUCHADORES: Mike Tenay discusses the importance of family in the Mexican culture and how the 1980s saw the children of former stars come to the forefront of lucha libre. Los Villanos, Hector Garza, Negro Casas, Lizmark Jr., Juventud Guerrera, El Hijo del Santo are all featured. Next time, Tenay will talk about the high risk moves and how they have revolutionized pro wrestling. This would have made a good one hour special.

NITRO GIRLS! Seems like half of them missed their cue. They are all dressed up in cliché Halloween costumes. What – no sexy nurses?

• Glacier vs. La Parka
  

A match TWO MONTHS in the making. Back on 8/25, La Parka nailed Glacier with a chair to cost Glacier and Ernest Miller a tag match. Being so close to the Mexican border and because his opponent is Glacier, La Parka gets huge cheers from the crowd. La Parka tries to have a wrestling match with shoulder tackle and run the ropes, but Glacier decides to bust out the kicks and sends La Parka to the floor. Plancha by Glacier takes out La Parka. Back inside, La Parka runs Glacier down with a clothesline and dishes out a PILEDRIVER. Oh yeah, LA PARKA STRUT~! Spinning heel kick takes Glacier to the floor as La Parka unloads with a corkscrew plancha. He sits Glacier in the chair and wants to come off the top, but Glacier crotches the man instead and yanks him down on the plastic. Back inside, the CRYONIC KICK gets the win. (3:55) So Glacier got his revenge, but the crowd doesn’t seem happy. Fun, harmless stuff. *

Gene Okerlund is joined by Diamond Dallas Page. He’s heard the rumor that it was Hollywood Hogan who whacked him in the ribs with a baseball bat last night at Halloween Havoc. In fact, he knows it was Hogan because DDP felt he had Randy Savage right where he wanted him. Any time it was DDP and Savage one-on-one, it was Savage who got BANGED. He’s sick and tired of hearing Hogan run his mouth. Hogan may be an icon, but GOD? DDP doesn’t think so. He accepts the open challenge Hogan laid out earlier. Hogan has whacked DDP several times this past year, but now it’s time for DDP to whack Hogan with the Diamond Cutter. BANG!

When we return, Gene Okerlund does a double-shot and brings out Larry Zbyszko. He comes out to the Monday Nitro theme song wearing a Monday Nitro polo shirt. What a company guy! Larry Z has had had it with Scott Hall and pulls out a contract, which he calls a one-way ticket to Larryland. Well, here comes Scott Hall and Syxx to presumably answer the challenge. Hall says Zbyszko isn’t in the caliber of the Wolfpac. They say hey to Kevin Nash who is at home in Phoenix – stay in touch, they’ll see you real soon. Hall goes on and says that Larry couldn’t even beat his pal Eazy-E Eric Bischoff. Why does Hall think that? They replay only clips of Bischoff kicking Larry Z around from the night before. Nobody is impressed. The crowd flips on Hall and Syxx and starts cheering for Zbyszko. Before they leave, Hall tries to turn things around by telling them that Hollywood Hogan is going to come out in a little bit and take care of business. It doesn’t seem to work.

NITRO GIRLS! Tony discusses a Nitro Party that was happening in a Marietta bowling alley. Heenan has a good laugh.

• Lex Luger vs. Stevie Ray (w/Jacqueline)
  

Last week, Luger defeated Booker T. Let’s see if he can overcome the bigger of the two brothers. Can I just say that Stevie Ray does not know how to raise the roof? Instead of raising the roof, he stands there and holds it up. Tony announces at the bell that Raven will wrestle tonight. Plus, tons of other matches on this three-hour edition of Nitro. They take turns running each other down with shoulder tackles. Luger misses a jumping elbow (as he is prone to do) and the tide turns into Stevie Ray’s favor. He works over the back culminating in a bearhug. Luger comes back with a series of clotheslines and the Bionic Elbow. Torture Rack fails the first time as Stevie Ray catches him with a Bicycle Kick. He misses a charge though and gets caught in a powerslam by Luger. Even though his back is hurting, Lex rises to his feet and puts away Stevie Ray with the TORTURE RACK. (5:44) Well, not as good as last week, but Stevie Ray was never the superior worker from Harlem Heat anyways, ya fruit booty. ¾*

Elsewhere, Raven is shown sitting up in a tree talking about his horrible childhood, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes his childhood with a baby carriage! Sorry.

HOUR NUMBER TWO! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan.

• Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho
  

Chris Jericho – clearly hurting bad from that Jericho Spike flub from last night – has his right shoulder taped. Eddie Guerrero doesn’t give a crap though. Jericho has a good start, but it’s just a matter of time. Guerrero takes over with a shoulderbreaker and goes to town on the shoulder. Jericho tries to psyche himself up with a very awesome release German suplex. Tiger driver connects, but Eddie avoids the Lionsault. Jericho, regardless of how hurt he is, brings Guerrero down with a superplex, and hurts himself in the process. He flips out of a powerbomb and goes for a suplex, but the momentum takes Jericho backwards and causes his back to bend on the top rope as Eddie falls to the floor. Eddie manages to avoid the blow of the move though and jumps up on the top rope to DRILL Jericho with the FROG SPLASH on the hurt shoulder for the three-count. (4:56) Whether partly legitimate or not, great psychology and selling for a short TV match. **½

NITRO GIRLS! Dial up your internet and load up your Netscape Navigator because the girls now have their own website! You can spend all night looking at their photo gallery. Not because there’s so many pictures to look at, but the internet was very slow back in those days, kids.

• Chris Benoit vs. Fit Finley
  

This is the first we’ve seen of Fit Finley on Nitro since the parking lot brawl at the end of April last year. Good to see him back. With Finley’s precision and Benoit’s selling abilities, this should be a good one. Finley runs Benoit down with a shoulderblock, but Benoit comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Benoit continues with chops, a back suplex, and an enziguri to take us to the floor. Finley sidesteps a baseball slide and forearm shivers Benoit down. More ringside violence controlled by Finley. Back in, a targeted elbow drop gets two on Benoit. Finley pulls back on the arms and then jabs Benoit in the ribs when he tries to recover. Full body slam and a pump splash scores another nearfall for Finley. Back to the floor, Finley misses a punch and hits the ringpost. However, he sends Benoit in the guardrail and kicks Benoit in the ribs. Back in the ring, Benoit avoids a corner charge and hits the release German suplex to set up the FLYING HEADBUTT for the win. (5:20) Well, that was a hard-hitting fight just as I expected. Benoit really made Finley look legit, but I would have liked to have seen a little more offense from Benoit because now Finley looks easily beatable with virtually three moves. **¾

Stills are shown of Flair/Hennig from Halloween Havoc.

That sets up Gene Okerlund’s interview with Ric Flair. He’s wearing his blue and gray robe. Last night, Flair made Curt Hennig bleed, forced him to get stitches, but he didn’t end his career. If Flair sees Hennig tonight, he’s a dead man. WOO! Flair predicts Hollywood Hogan takes the Diamond Cutter. When he brings up his match for tonight with Randy Savage, Flair says, “DRUGS? NO! VIOLENCE? YES! SEX? YES! But with Miss Elizabeth. It’s going to be crazy!” Yeah Ric, you might want to clarify sex with whom exactly. Are you sure drugs aren’t involved too, by the way? Flair wants to end Savage’s run with Slim Jim one minute and give Elizabeth a ride on Space Mountain the next minute. WOO! He’s lost it.

• No-DQ Match: Raven (w/the Flock) vs. Scotty Riggs
  

Speaking on Raven’s behalf, Stevie Richards tells ref Nick Patrick that Raven still does not have a WCW contract and will only wrestle under no disqualification rules. Nobody has a problem with that. Next thing we know, Raven gets on the mic and says there’s no reason for them to wrestle tonight because Riggs hasn’t won a match in six months. Raven says Riggs has demons and joining the Flock will set him free. When Riggs refuses, the match begins. After some preliminary stuff, Saturn hands Raven a chair. If you know ECW, you would know where this is heading. Riggs fires back on Raven, but still takes a drop toehold EYE FIRST onto the chair. Riggs sells it like bloody murder. I think Kidman comes in and lets Raven know that the man is hurt, so he gets tossed aside. Patrick stops the match and calls for some medical help at 1:20. Instead of covering the man, Raven leaves the ring and goes back to sit down in the front row. No match, just an angle.

NITRO GIRLS!

• Hollywood Hogan vs. Diamond Dallas Page
  

They pull out Michael Buffer for this one. This is non-title, obvs. When Hogan tires of armbars, he starts punching away on DDP. The AXE BOMBER connects for two. Hogan hits a running knee strike (!), but Page counters a wristlock and starts jamming Hogan’s shoulder. He tries to hit the Diamond Cutter out of nowhere, but Hogan shoves him off and throws a tantrum out on the floor. Back inside, Hogan catches a kick and spins DDP around only to get met with a clothesline. Hogan bails again and comes back inside to use a closed fist on DDP. The slam, a few elbow drops, and a boot rake leads to some choking. Typical Hogan heel offense. We go to the floor for some ringside violence and guardrail fun. Did I mention that DDP’s ribs are still taped? I figured it was just implied by this point. Back inside, Page blocks a hiptoss and delivers the swinging neckbreaker. Hogan goes to the eyes and delivers an atomic drop for two. Some running clotheslines and kicks to the ribs gets two. Hogan is working hard here to make up for the suckfest from last night, I suppose. He hits a suplex and delivers another elbow drop. Hogan starts arguing with the ref, which allows DDP to wake up and punch Hogan out to the floor. Back in though, Hogan hits the Big Boot. DDP moves away from the LEGDROP and calls for the Diamond Cutter. Just as things are looking up, a fake Sting runs down to the ring and climbs up on the top buckle. He leaps down to get nailed in the gut and receives the DIAMOND CUTTER intended for Hogan. Ref Randy Anderson calls for the bell as DDP wins by DQ. (11:30) Hogan starts whipping and choking Page with his weightlifting belt until the rest of the nWo arrive to do the rest of his dirty work. This continues until the real Sting comes down through the crowd and clears the ring passing out Scorpion Deathdrops for whoever wants one. Seems like a no-brainer this would have been on a WWE DVD release. I don’t recall ever seeing this before though. Anyways, Hogan seemed to work pretty hard here throwing DDP a bone. Yes, DDP did very little, so it feels self-serving to Hogan, but the man has total creative control. What can you do? **

If the show had just ended here, it would have been a pretty decent two-hour Nitro. We’ve got one more hour to go, folks.

HOUR NUMBER THREE! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan.

• WCW World Television Champion Disco Inferno vs. Bill Goldberg
  

Tony mentions how great an ovation Goldberg is already receiving. Alex Wright runs up behind Goldberg and pays for it with a back hand and a JACKHAMMER inside the ring. When Disco laughs about what just happened, Goldberg runs him down with a SPEAR and JACKHAMMER as well. Bell never rang though. Next thing you know, Steve McMichael is out for a pull-apart brawl.

Out comes Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff again. Hogan, Bischoff, and Randy Savage no longer have to worry about DDP and they certainly don’t have to worry about Sting because there was fear in his eyes. The man is nothing but a coward and a cheapshot artist. On a more positive note, Assault on Devil’s Island debuts tomorrow night on TNT. If Sting wants some of Hollywood Hogan, show up tomorrow night in Las Vegas and Hogan’ll have a contract waiting there for him. Show up and sign the contract, Sting. Bischoff and Hogan don’t think he will. After ducking Sting for over six months, now they want a match. WHAT.

• WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner (w/Ted DiBiase) vs. Public Enemy
  

Before the match, the Steiners and DiBiase thank the fans for all their support in their quest at regaining the WCW tag belts over the nWo. DiBiase announces there’s an open contract against the Steiners. This is the first we’ve seen of Public Enemy since the last three-hour Nitro back on August 4. The Steiners clean house on the PE to start so they can do their dog show. Rick throws Grunge around, but then Grunge tries to draw Rick back into the PE corner. Commercials! When we come back, Scott plays face in peril for a while. Naturally, there’s nothing but Sting and Hogan talk. After Rick gets the hot tag, the match breaks down. Rocco gets the STEINER BULLDOG as Rick covers for the win. (7:10 shown) Pretty typical stuff we’ve seen before from these two. *½

• WCW U.S. Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig vs. Booker T
  

Hennig looks PISSED and has his head bandaged thanks to the stomp last night from Flair. More Sting and Hogan contract signing talk. Headlocks and shoulderblocks stuff to start. Hennig takes over with a neckbreaker, but Booker flips out of a suplex and O’Connor rolls Hennig for two. As Booker continues with the offense, out comes Elizabeth looking so fine. Meanwhile, Booker is delivering atomic drops and Harlem Side Kicks. As he covers Hennig, Elizabeth hops up on the apron as Randy Savage appears and drops a MACHO ELBOW on Booker to break up the pin. Savage and Liz clear out, but here comes Ric Flair to chop and chase Curt Hennig out of the arena for the DQ. (4:16) You could see the finish coming a MILE away. ¾*

• Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth)
  

When we come back, Savage and Flair are fighting in the aisle and then in and out of the crowd. No bell yet, so Flair kicks Savage square in the balls. Savage steals Dave Penzer’s mic and jabs Flair in the throat. It doesn’t do any good because Flair is still all over Savage. Liz tries to stop Flair only to be kissed to the side. When Flair and Savage make it inside the ring, Elizabeth pokes Flair in the eyes and steps aside to continue looking all innocent like she always does. Savage throws Flair to the floor for some more ringside violence. He goes for the Flying Double Sledge to the guardrail, but Flair moves! Back inside, Flair looks for the Rolling Knee Drop when Curt Hennig comes in for the DQ. HUH? (at least 7:30 shown) This turns into a 2-on-1 beatdown of Ric Flair to close out the show. Where is Benoit? Mongo? Anyways, just an entertaining old school brawl as it should be with these two. ***

In case you’re concerned, Sting does show up in Las Vegas and signs the contract.