WCW: Monday Nitro
December 1, 1997
Knoxville, TN
Civic Coliseum

The current WCW champs are 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: Perry Saturn (11/3/1997)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Eddie Guerrero (11/10/1997)

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

Gene Okerlund welcomes Eric Bischoff to the ring. Tony is surprised how smiley Bischoff is tonight since last week he agreed to wrestle Larry Zbyszko coming up at Starrcade. Bischoff now says the match will not happen because there is no written contract that says he has to wrestle Zbyszko. When Bischoff agreed to fight Zbyszko, he only meant then and there last week. The only way he would wrestle Zbyszko at Starrcade is if Larry Z would put Monday Nitro on the line for the nWo to control (as if they don’t already) the show, but Zbyszko doesn’t have the power to do that, so that’s that. No match, ladies and gents. Larry Z doesn’t feel this deal is over just yet.

• Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera
  

The cruiserweight champ Eddie Guerrero removes Mike Tenay from the announce table and joins Tony and Larry for commentary. These two do some mat work that leads to a stalemate. Once again, they tie up and Rey snaps off a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Eddie makes the comments like Rey could NEVER do that to him. Juventud cuts off another headscissors as he falls back to give Rey a hotshot. As Guerrera whips Rey into the ropes, Mysterio’s head get caught under the top rope to slow the action down a bit, so Juventud goes after the knee. Juventud stops a comeback as he crotches Rey up top and delivers a springboard into a headscissors, which came off looking REALLY well. Cover, 1-2-NO! After a few back and forth counters, Guerrera catches Rey and drills him with the JUVI DRIVER for 1-2-NO! Juventud charges into the corner and misses the running dropkick. Ugh, always the difference maker for Guerrera and Psychosis. Mysterio lays him out with an odd electric chair drop and puts away Juvi with the SPRINGBOARD HURRACANRANA for the win. (5:41) I think Juventud should have got the win here to shake things up a little bit. Has Rey EVER lost on Nitro to this point excluding his stuff with the nWo? Somebody knows the answer, I’m sure. Eddie essentially issues an open challenge to any cruiserweight, but they are clearly leaning towards a match with Dean Malenko for Starrcade. **½

• Wrath (w/James Vandenberg & Mortis) vs. Hugh Morrus
  

No Jimmy Hart at Hugh’s side, so I guess Hart just manages the Faces of Fear at this point. Raven and his Flock take their place in the front row. Apparently, Morrus and Wrath have been having quite the rivalry on the B and C shows, says Tenay. Of course he would know. At one point, Vandenberg gets grabbed by Morrus when he hops up on the apron. Wrath badly bicycle kicks Morrus to the floor and then gives Morrus a cannonball splash off the apron. Back in, Wrath has the thing won as he channels the spirit of Adam Bomb with a NICE flying clothesline. As he goes for the Uranage, Mortis slips a chain over his foot and tells Wrath he wants to kick Morrus. Well, that backfires and Wrath gets nailed. Hugh knocks Mortis and Vandenberg down to the floor and hits Wrath with NO LAUGHING MATTER for the win. (2:49) Huge pop for Morrus here. Tenay remarks that there are serious communication problems between Vandenberg and his men. And how! ¾*

Time for Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff to make their way down to the ring. They do this bit where they stick a Sting mask over the camera lens to give us the impression that this is what Nitro looks behind the mask, but you can probably imagine it’s a TERRIBLE choice. Luckily it only lasts for about ten seconds, but it’s a LONG ten seconds. Hulk is irate seeing all the Sting masks at ringside. Once he gets to the ring though, it’s business as usual. Besides the usual nWo heretic, Hogan says he’ll take on everybody in the Knoxville Civic Center wearing a Sting mask. One fan in particular really sets off Hogan as there’s an OLD lady in the front row ready to throw a few punches at Hulk and vowing to bend him over her knee, I’m sure. Hogan gets up in her face and threatens to sue her if she touches him. Only in WCW!

• Yuji Nagata (w/Sonny Oono) vs. Prince Iaukea
  

Something odd is going on with the fans off-camera. Possibly some fan is being carted off for jumping the rail or something. Who knows. Headlocks and wristlocks to start with these two. Iaukea surprises Nagata with a double arm suplex. Nagata dumps out Iaukea for Sonny to get in some kicks. Back in, Nagata goes for the leg and hooks a half crab. Tenay talks about Nagata’s upcoming match at the Tokyo Dome against Tenzan. Iaukea mounts a comeback, but Nagata takes him down with a nice belly to belly overhead suplex. Nagata wants to try something up top, but Iaukea knocks him down and delivers a FLYING BODY PRESS for the upset win. (4:48) Oh great, another push for Iaukea. It worked out so well the first time. *

NITRO GIRLS!

• Harlem Heat (w/Jacqueline) vs. The Faces of Fear (w/Jimmy Hart)
  

This match has been brewing on Nitro for the last couple weeks with singles matches. Stevie Ray beats Barbarian back into a corner, which is a gutsy move. He levels Barb with a back suplex as well. Booker tags in and takes Meng down with a spinning heel kick. Back to Stevie Ray, he gets a double-team atomic drop and KICK OF FEAR combination. That should be enough, but Booker breaks up the pin. STEREO DIVING HEADBUTTS to Stevie Ray. Desperation powerslam leads to a hot tag to Booker. Jimmy Hart is on the apron to distract, but Jacqueline yanks him down to the floor. She keeps Jimmy down while Booker tries to put away the FOF. Harlem Side Kick to Barbarian! The match breaks down as all four men are in the ring. Booker makes a huge mistake showboating and finds himself on Barbarian’s shoulders. Stevie Ray runs over to kick Barb in the belly to set up a victory roll from Booker for the 1-2-3. (4:29) Meanwhile, Stevie Ray is caught in the TONGAN DEATH GRIP. Booker finds a wooden chair to blast Meng, but Meng lets go of Stevie Ray and puts the TONGAN DEATH GRIP on Booker THROUGH THE CHAIR. Meng is awesome. Jacqueline still has Jimmy Hart down on the floor, but even the commentators know that he’s the only man who can get Meng to release the hold. Barb scares Jacqueline away and the hold gets broken. Some fan must have said something to piss off Meng because he jumps the fan. Wow, that guy is not very intelligent if he wants to mess with Meng. Anywho, I feel this feud is far from over. Jimmy takes the FOF to the back. Tony wonders what else are we going to see here tonight. **

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

• Scott Hall (w/Kevin Nash) vs. Disco Inferno
  

Survey time. The nWo wins again. Hall wears a Syxx t-shirt. The Outsiders are wearing fake tag belts. Nash calls the WCW guys patsies like Lee Harvey Oswald and the nWo is Jack Ruby with a gunshot to the stomach. He refers to Disco Inferno as the dude who lost to the chick. Dang. Disco gets a few shots in on Hall, but that’s about it. Hall turns things around and chops the crap out of him. He does the hiptoss block and chokeslam spot. Nash nails him with a short-arm clothesline on the floor. Back in, the Fallaway Slam sets up the OUTSIDERS EDGE for the win. (2:51) Hall and Nash mockingly react like they just won the super bowl. The commentators don’t respond to their actions. ½*

NITRO GIRLS!

Gene Okerlund brings out WCW executive JJ Dillon for an announcement. He knows Larry Z can’t put Nitro on the line in a match against Eric Bischoff, but JJ Dillon can make that happen. He can do it. He will do it. He has done it. Therefore, the match is officially signed. Eric Bischoff will wrestle Larry Zbyszko at Starrcade. Tony is pretty much orgasmic after hearing the news. Bischoff comes out and throws a rather quiet tantrum, but a tantrum nonetheless.

• Ultimo Dragon vs. Psychosis
  

Psychosis misses one running kick and lands another. Dragon fires back with his signature Kick Combo and face washes Psychosis down in the corner. To the floor, Psychosis delivers a slingshot legdrop to Dragon. Go ahead and bruise your tailbone. Back inside, Dragon catches Psychosis after a charge with a headscissors. Couple of rollups by Psychosis earn nearfalls. However, he’s stopped up top for the Frankensteiner followed by the DRAGON SLEEPER for the win. (3:57) Quick little win for Ultimo Dragon. *½

NITRO PARTY VIDEO! WOOOOOOO!

• Chris Benoit vs. Billy Kidman (w/Yet Unnamed Lodi)
  

This is supposed to be Raven facing Benoit instead, but of course he only wrestles when and where he wants. Benoit rips Kidman a new one to start with knockdowns and backdrops. He chops away and delivers an Alabama slam to set up a NASTY version of the LIONTAMER. He releases the hold to call out to Raven to get his butt in the ring. Raven stands up and that’s all he does. Kidman gets in a few moves like the slingshot headscissors and the tornado bulldog. VINTAGE KIDMAN. Out on the floor, Kidman yanks Benoit into a forearm shot from Perry Saturn. With Benoit down, Kidman busts out a nice SHOOTING STAR PRESS off the apron. Back inside, Kidman delivers a slingshot legdrop and hits the corner clothesline. Benoit escapes a chinlock with a back suplex. He gives Kidman a backbreaker from a reverse suplex position. CRAZY. Next thing we know, Kidman is pulled down into the CRIPPLER CROSSFACE for the tapout. (5:54) The Flock hit the ring, but Benoit disposes of them. Hammer provides some distraction while Raven comes in at the last moment and lays Benoit out with the EVENFLOW DDT. With Benoit prone, the RINGS OF SATURN provides more punishment for him. Pretty good hard-hitting, testosterone-filled match. Easily the best we’ve seen out of Kidman to date. ***

NITRO GIRLS!

• Lex Luger vs. Buff Bagwell (w/Vincent)
  

We get a pose down to start. You can take away from that what you will. Luger cleans house on Bagwell, but Bagwell pulls Luger out and tosses him around. Back in, Bagwell puts the boots to Lex and then poses. Wash rinse repeat. Luger escapes a chinlock, but doesn’t really capitalize. Bagwell beats Luger down in the corner and then poses. He walks over to the camera proclaiming himself to be the total package. Luger stops Bagwell from charging at him with boots to the face. Back suplex stuns Bagwell. Luger delivers an inverted atomic drop and Bionic Forearm Smashes down Bagwell. The powerslam should lead to the TORTURE RACK, but Vincent gets involved. For some reason, he thought going to the top rope was a good idea, but Luger slams him off onto Bagwell as the ref calls for the DQ. (7:30) Afterwards, Luger takes a moment to TORTURE RACK both guys and walks out of the ring victorious. CAN YOU FEEL THE MOMENTUM FOR WCW? *½

WCW vs. nWo World Tour on N64! Buy it today!

• WCW U.S. Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig vs. Diamond Dallas Page
  

This is DDP’s once-a-month US title match on Nitro. DDP frustrates Hennig to start with slams and swinging neckbreakers. All it takes is a mule kick from Hennig to slow things down. Hennig twists on the neck culminating with the Rolling Neck Snap. Something happens to ref Randy Anderson off camera and he can’t count the pinfall on DDP. Hennig cheats with a chinlock and has to go to the sleeperhold to keep DDP down. DDP starts to come back with a series of punches until he eventually knocks down Hennig. He hits the Pancake Slam and calls for the DIAMOND CUTTER. Here comes Rick Rude to the ring. As DDP lands the DIAMOND CUTTER, Rude yanks the ref out and throws him into the stairs to prevent the title change. (7:00) The nWo B-team hit the ring, but DDP fights them off. However, he can’t fight off Randy Savage as he blindsides DDP with the US title belt. The beatings continue as Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff head to the ring. He gives DDP a Diamond Cutter of his own. To send a message to the wrestling world, Hogan puts a Sting mask on DDP and then gives him a Diamond Cutter on the world title belt. WHERE IS STING? Hogan talks junk to the camera and has to held back from the little old lady at ringside as we close out the show. *½

Good night everybody!

TOTAL BELL TO BELL TIME: 44:59

WCW presents Starrcade LIVE ON PPV on December 28 from Washington, DC.

MAIN EVENT: WCW World Title – Hollywood Hogan (c) vs. Sting
NITRO ON THE LINE: Larry Zbyszko vs. Eric Bischoff