WCW: Monday Nitro
November 17, 1997
Cincinnati, OH
The Crown

The current WCW champs are as follows:
WCW World Champion: Hollywood Hogan (8/4/1997)
WCW U.S. Champion: Curt Hennig (9/15/1997)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Rick & Scott Steiner (10/13/1997)
WCW World Television Champion: Perry Saturn (11/3/1997)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Eddie Guerrero (11/10/1997)

LAST WEEK: Sting actually got destroyed by the entire new World order instead of the usual happening where he destroys them all single-handedly!

HOUR NUMBER ONE! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, and Mike Tenay.

Oddly enough, there’s a huge amount of boos for the nWo to start the program. Everybody is here but Hollywood Hogan. Tenay points out Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are still holding onto some fake WCW tag belts. Hall opens up with a survey and WCW seems to win the survey despite the crowd chanting N-W-O – because if there’s one thing we’ve learned about 1990s wrestling is that people will chant literally anything. Hall sends a shout out to Syxx who may never be seen again on WCW TV. Now Hall calls out Larry Zbyszko. He says he, Nash, and Eazy-E were watching old tapes of Larry Z. They watched his matches on FUHFUHWID and Zbyszko still didn’t move. HA. Hall feels like Eazy-E could even take him. Nash turns the attention over to the Steiners – the rightful tag champs. Well, Hall AND Nash were never beaten, so there. In their eyes, the Outsiders are still the champs. As for the Giant, Nash doesn’t care about being the biggest man in professional wrestling because he’s doing just fine at six foot ten and being TOO SWEET. Over to Eric Bischoff, he promises us another surprise for this week. No, it’s not Bret Hart. It’s Hollywood Hogan. Tony doesn’t find his presence to be all that surprising – you know, since he’s the champ. Hogan gets halfway down the ramp and points to the entrance to reveal that now RICK RUDE is here. Oh, THAT’S the surprise. Since Raw is pre-taped and he appeared on the 11/17 taping, Rick Rude becomes the first guy to be on BOTH Raw and Nitro in the same night. Rude makes his reason for abandoning the sinking ship known as the WWF all about the Montreal Screwjob and supporting Bret Hart. The reason he is joining up with the nWo is because he wants to be a part of the destruction of the Man Called Sting. Hogan gets on the mic and talks about how great it is to be him. Sting has been stung. Yada yada yada. The more he talks, the more the crowd chants that Hogan sucks. The nWo is 4-LIFE, brother.

NITRO GIRLS!

Gene Okerlund brings out Ray Traylor for a word. He immediately starts challenging the nWo and gets ganged up on by the ENTIRE NWO. Even Hogan! Traylor gets his shirt ripped and his back whipped and spraypainted. No help from WCW whatsoever. This scene reminds Tony of what happened to Roddy Piper at Halloween Havoc and how strong the nWo have been ever since.

• Glacier vs. Meng (w/Jimmy Hart)
  

Last week, Glacier met Barbarian. Now he gets Meng? Just go ahead and QUIT, dude. Meng controls to start with body blows and chops. Our esteemed commentators put Meng over huge saying how he is incapable of being hurt in a match, which is great for battle royals. Nah, it’s just great PERIOD. He tries a running somersault senton on Glacier and misses, which triggers the quick comeback for Glacier. Jimmy Hart gets on the apron and calls down presumably Barbarian, but then Glacier kicks him down to the floor. Meng ducks a roundhouse kick and applies the TONGAN DEATH GRIP as Barbarian enters the ring. After the pinfall, Barb starts stomping Glacier while Meng still has the hold applied. (2:56) Next thing we know, Ernest Miller hits the ring and does his kicks. Meng won’t sell his crappy kicks though and TONGAN DEATH GRIPS him to the mat. YES! ½*

DDP sends a shoutout to Bret Hart. Why would a guy with his respect want to be in the new World order? Page doesn’t get it. Well, neither does anybody else, dude.

WCW Saturday Night! Watch it IF YOU WEEL! 6:05PM eastern! TBS! Disco Inferno, Harlem Heat (with Jacqueline), The Giant, Rey Mysterio will all be in action! It’s the MUTHASHIP! PAY WINDAHS AND PLUNDAH, BABY!

• Alex Wright (w/Debra) vs. Steve McMichael
  

I’m telling you. Say what you will about him, but Mongo is OVER in 1997. Tony announces that McMichael will meet Bill Goldberg at World War 3. Tenay calls this Goldberg’s biggest challenge to date. Mongo starts off hot, but gets distracted by Debra and nailed from behind. Wright delivers some European uppercuts and a spinning heel kick for two. They fight a little bit on the floor. Back inside, Mongo sidesteps a flying body press and just will not stop beating up Wright in the corner despite Debra and ref Nick Patrick’s best efforts. When he tosses Patrick to the other side of the ring, the bell gets rang for the DQ. (2:57) Debra leaves Wright behind and heads up the ramp as Mongo throws him out to the floor. That man is ANGRY. ¾*

NITRO GIRLS!

• Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
  

Gotta love Jericho’s short pyromaniac Beavis impression on the way to the ring. Here’s another match that follows Rey just losing the Cruiserweight belt. Feeling-out process to start. Rey hits a monkey flip and then nails Jericho with a springboard dropkick. Jericho stops a headscissors and clotheslines Rey down. They head up top where Jericho delivers a SUPER GUERRILLA PRESS SLAM! As Rey rolls to the floor for a breather, Jericho drags him back inside by his mask. Great stalling suplex by Jericho gets two. Double-underhook backbreaker, but no cover. A series of side backbreakers gets two. Rey tries to block a charging Jericho in the corner with boots and maybe a headscissors, but Jericho pulls him out of the corner into a powerbomb. Lionsault hits knees and Rey gives Jericho a sunset flip for two. Handspring into a hurracanrana, but Jericho counters into a DOUBLE POWERBOMB. He goes for a third, but Rey slips out and springs off the top rope for a hurracanrana on Jericho for the 1-2-3. (6:31) Good match, but I like what they do at Souled Out much better. All the same, good TV match. **¾

Chris Benoit has a message for Bret Hart. He recognizes Bret Hart as a great role model and can’t imagine Bret as a part of the nWo.

When we return, Eric Bischoff comes out and antagonizes Larry Zbyszko. Tony and Mike run away like scared little children. Once Bischoff is able to make Zbyszko chase after him, the nWo B-Team attack Zbyszko from behind and beat him up real good. A fan tries to jump Bischoff and gets stomped by Scott Norton. Hilarious.

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

• Diamond Dallas Page vs. Villano V (w/Villano IV)
  

Tenay keeps saying that this is Villano IV, but Villano V is in the ring according to the tights. Los Villanos cheat like crazy until DDP tires of it. He clotheslines V out to to the floor and pescados onto both of them. Back inside, DDP lands the Pancake Slam and nails the DIAMOND CUTTER for the win. (3:23) After the bell, Villano IV is crotched up top and brought down from the second rope with a DIAMOND CUTTER. Fun stuff seeing the Villanos being total dicks against a guy they wouldn’t have a chance against in the WCW universe. This will be known as the night DDP banged Los Villanos. A ménage a BANG, if you WILL. I feel like I’ve used that joke before. Hmm. *½

• WCW Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
  

Crowd goes nuts chanting that Eddie sucks. He shows how much he sucks by nailing Malenko with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Guerrero baits Malenko out to the floor and back inside to stomp him on the head. He lands the jumping hip attack and tries a suplex, but Malenko counters into one of his own. Malenko never follows up though as Eddie starts pounding him in the corner and hits the vertical suplex after all. We see that Rey Mysterio has sneaked down the aisle to get a closer look at this one, yet probably doesn’t get close enough to really see anything. Commercials! When we come back, Mysterio is gone and Tony doesn’t know why. Malenko is showing some intensity, which is always the first time Tony has EVER seen that out of him. Guerrero cuts off the comeback with dropkicks, but Malenko fires back with a slippery Butterfly Powerbomb. Before the Texas Cloverleaf is applied, Eddie reaches the ropes. Guerrero applies the Gory Special and drops Malenko down into a pin, but that triggers a rollup sequence. That whole thing ends with a wheelbarrow suplex. Guerrero counters the Texas Cloverleaf again, but receives a fallaway slam. Over in the corner, Guerrero stops Malenko up top and brings him down with a superplex. Now Eddie goes to the top rope only to be brought down with a back superplex. Due to the impact of both moves back to back, they are both counted out on the mat. (11:39) Certainly not on par with their ECW classics, but I think the commercial break hurt the momentum of this one a little bit. I liked the finish though. ***¼

Lex Luger calls Bret Hart a friend and if the nWo rumors are true, he’ll be very disappointed in him.

NITRO PARTY VIDEO~! WOOOOOOOOOOO!

• WCW World Television Champion Perry Saturn (w/the Flock) vs. Scotty Riggs
  

Feels like WCW seemed to lose Cincinnati around this point. Maybe it’s just me. Riggs and his eye patch send Saturn on the run to start, but then Saturn stops him on the apron and brings him over with a suplex to the floor. If that’s not bad enough, Saturn slams him hard on the floor. Back inside, Saturn throws Riggs around and the patch comes off. Now all he does is hold the bad eye shut. Riggs makes a comeback with a suplex and a splash. He wants a superplex and they fight over one up top, but Riggs punches Saturn to the floor and leaps down OVER THE GUARDRAIL ONTO THE FLOCK. Probably the coolest thing Riggs ever did. Saturn then crotches Riggs on the guardrail and throws him into the steps. Back in, Saturn connects with a Guillotine Legdrop and the RINGS OF SATURN gets the submission. (5:37) Afterwards, the Flock surround Riggs while Raven appears to be praying over the man. WHAT. *½

NITRO GIRLS! For some reason, Spice gets a dance solo. I’m using the word very loosely here. When is Fyre gonna get a solo?!

The Steiner Brothers and Ted DiBiase come out to face Vicious N Delicious when they are jumped from behind in the aisle by most of the nWo. Hollywood Hogan appears and whips both of them with his weightlifting belt before they get tagged. Rinse, wash, repeat.

• WCW U.S. Champion Curt Hennig vs. Lex Luger
  

I guess there’s no need to jump Lex, huh? Okay then. Hennig wears Ric Flair’s red robe with the sleeves ripped out to the ring that I’m pretty sure Flair is still pissed about to this day. Their US title match scheduled for World War 3 is now a no-DQ match. Lex is all over Hennig to start with standard Lex stuff. Hennig goes to the eyes – the ONE WEAK PART OF HIS BODY – and takes over. Rolling neck snap and chops in the corner ensue. Luger runs him over with a clothesline and delivers a suplex. Hennig snaps Luger’s neck on the top rope to build some momentum. A couple knee lifts gets two. The crowd seems pretty quiet for this stuff. Hennig applies a sleeperhold and Luger eventually escapes with a back suplex. An inverted atomic drop takes Hennig all the way over the top rope to the floor. Some fighting on the floor leads to ref Nick Patrick getting thrown into Luger. Hennig slams the US title at Luger’s face and brings him back inside for the HENNIGPLEX. Patrick isn’t taking any of this crap and calls for the bell as Lex wins via DQ. (6:45) As Hennig continues to beat down Luger, the Giant comes out for the save. WHAT. No Flair? *

• The Giant vs. Scott Hall
  

Kevin Nash scares away Bobby Heenan (by just walking near him) and joins us for commentary. He wants Schiavone and Tenay to stay. Tony says he doesn’t need to beat up, ya know? Oddly enough, Nash is never really funny here or says anything of note. Hall wrestles a decent big man match, for sure. I can see him fitting right in with Andre back in the day. Giant dominates until he’s baited out to the floor. He reaches over the bottom turnbuckle and GOOZLES Hall. Nobody said Giant was the smartest man alive. Hall of course pulls Giant’s hand down across the turnbuckle connector and starts slamming Giant’s hand on the steps. Back inside, Hall stomps the hand one or nine times. Nevertheless, Giant starts to get a surge of energy. He headbutts Hall and kicks him down. He punches Hall with his bad hand, but winces in pain. HAND PSYCHOLOGY~! Giant’s hand is even bleeding. Hall knocks away one more goozle, but Giant grabs another one and the nWo come running out to attack the big guy for another DQ. (5:12) Finally, WCW has enough and various mid-carders start to come out and brawl with the nWo to end the show and give us a sampling of what World War 3 will be like. I liked that they at least tried to have a story going on here even though the typical run-in ended up being the greater story. *½

You guys see how this was a weird go-home show, right? Here’s the card for World War 3.

The Faces of Fear versus Glacier & Ernest Miller – (Meng beat both these guys BY HIMSELF tonight)
WCW TV Champion Perry Saturn versus Disco Inferno – (No Disco tonight)
Yuji Nagata versus Ultimo Dragon (Neither guy on the show)
WCW World Tag Champs the Steiners versus Blue Bloods (Steiners beaten down; neither Regal nor Taylor featured)
Raven’s Rules: Raven versus Scotty Riggs (The only feud marginally furthered)
Steve McMichael versus Bill Goldberg (no Goldberg; Mongo is supposedly angrier tonight than normal?)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero versus Rey Mysterio (other than a mention, not much done to further this feud)
No DQ: WCW U.S. Champ Curt Hennig versus Ric Flair (no Flair tonight)
World War 3 Battle Royal (lots of talk, but basically just billed like a WCW/nWo battle royal and nothing more)

Maybe they are thinking ahead to Starrcade?