WCW: Monday Nitro
October 5, 1998
Columbia, SC
Carolina Coliseum

The current WCW champs are as follows:
WCW World Champion: Bill Goldberg (7/6/1998)
WCW U.S. Champion: Bret Hart (8/13/1998)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Giant & Scott Hall (7/20/1998)
WCW World Television Champion: Chris Jericho (8/10/1998)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Billy Kidman (9/14/1998)

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

NITRO GIRLS! A little different than usual introduction to the show tonight. Schiavone welcomes us to the “leader in professional wrestling” and that “you can see the venue is sold out” and that we’re going to see some great action tonight before setting up a Halloween Havoc commercial.

After we see the fireworks go off to officially start the show, Tony still wants to know what the Chucky laugh is all about because not even the WCW production staff has any idea where it’s coming from. Knowing how little it seemed everyone in WCW cared by this point, that doesn’t surprise me. Tonight’s main event will be Bret Hart defending the U.S. title against STING. Tenay thinks last week’s Nitro was a dark day for the nWo Wolfpac when Bret Hart betrayed Sting. Bret fooled us all!

• Saturn vs. Lizmark Jr.

Talk about a guy WCW dropped the ball with since Fall Brawl, but that shouldn’t surprise you. Our esteemed commentators just talk about Sting vs. Bret during this bout. Lizmark gets in a few moves, but Saturn destroys him with the DEATH VALLEY DRIVER for the win in 2:29.

ON THE ROAD REPORT (brought to you by Snickers): Lee Marshall tells us Nitro will be in Chicago next week. What happened to the Starburst promotion?

NITRO GIRLS! They advertise the Nitro Party deal.

• Ernest Miller vs. Kaz Hayashi (w/Sonny Oono)

When did Oono start representing Hayashi? Must have been a “Saturday Night” thing. Miller refers to Hayashi as “Jackie Chan” and gives him five seconds to leave like always. Hayashi takes a thrust kick to the chest to get us moving.  Someone in the crowd has a sign that says “Matt is Fruity”. That’s not what your mom said last night when I was giving her the old heave ho. Giggity. Miller gives Hayashi a judo toss and knees him right in the ribs. Hayashi comes back with a springboard body press, but Miller kicks him in mid-air when Hayashi comes off the top rope. The FELINER ends Hayashi in 2:36. Sonny Oono seems to be convinced that Miller just might be the greatest. Next thing we know, Oono leaves with the Cat, already dumping Hayashi’s ass in the process.

Some kid from North Carolina gets a Nitro Party pack this week.

• Juventud Guerrera vs. Jerry Flynn

Disco Inferno comes out and steals Tenay’s headset to talk about Juven-STOOGE Guerrera. All he’s done lately is get involved in Disco’s matches and that’s not cool. He’s not wrong. This is like the first time we’ve seen him wrestle on Nitro or Thunder since he lost the CW title to Kidman. Flynn actually takes over on Juvi with some kicks, but Juventud fires back with a springboard dropkick. The wheelbarrow bulldog on Flynn gets two, but Flynn takes down Guerrera with a hook kick. However, he misses a spinning heel kick in the corner and falls to the floor so Juventud can do a dive. Back inside, Juventud hits the JUVI DRIVER and gets the win in 3:08.

Another ad for Halloween Havoc. My copy of this episode of Nitro cuts out most of the commercials, so I’m wondering how many HH commercials got cut. This is at least the third ad I’m seeing.

Mike Tenay walks amongst the people of Columbia which is a city FULL of rednecks. Most of them figure Goldberg will beat Page because reasons – except for one lady who was most definitely a rat of some sort for Jay Youngblood in the ’80s.

Bobby Heenan takes over for Tenay since he’s either on a phone call or he’s been kidnapped by said rednecks who live in a different reality. Tony, Bobby, and Larry discuss Hogan and Warrior. The whole time the crowd wants Flair.

That conversation sets up another Halloween Havoc promo – of course now involving Hogan and Warrior.

• Wrath vs. Villano V

Lots of impressive power moves from Wrath. He gives Villano V a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and sends him to the floor for a ride into the steps. Back in, Wrath hits a slingshot spinning back elbow. A jumping shoulderblock sets up the MELTDOWN for the win in 2:15.

Hey, Mike Tenay is still talking to people! That’s not a phone call! Anyways, the fans give their opinions on who will win.

Outside the arena, we see a hummer limousine pull up. Tony is expecting this to be the nWo Wolfpac for some reason. Turns out Tony is right. Lex Luger, Konnan, and Sting get out. No Kevin Nash. Oh wait, there he is. They are looking for somebody and the camera follows them into the nWo Black and White locker room! A huge brawl ensues as Columbia’s Finest show up, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference. At least Doug Dellinger is there! He’ll make a difference. SCOTT NORTON (the IWGP champ) can’t even stop them. The fight continues all over the building until Sting finds Bret Hart! Once he finds Bret, Columbia’s Finest appear again and get them separated.

After the break, the nWo Wolfpac leave the building. Sting commandeers a forklift despite the police’s instruction, picks up the nWo Black & White limo (that was super close by) high into the air, and drops the limo onto it’s back! Nash and Luger start beating the limo with sledgehammers. Where did they get those? Sting is asking Nash for a knife. Apparently, somebody finds him one because he starts slashing the tires. Konnan is taking the hub caps! Of course he is. STING IS OUT OF CONTROL. Was this WCW’s Zamboni moment?

HOUR NUMBER TWO! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Larry Zbyszko.

• Hector Garza vs. Damien

Garza and Damien do some lucha stuff, but it doesn’t last long because EDDIE GUERRERO shows up with a microphone. I guess he’s back from New Japan. Since Eddie gets in the ring, ref Nick Patrick calls for the bell at 1:12.

Eddie Guerrero calms them down and asks them what Eric Bischoff has done for them. All the luchadores do is wrestle each other instead of allowing them to climb the ladder of success. He reminds them that the luchadores have to pay for their own rental cars and share hotel rooms. He also points out that Bischoff has all the money and they do all the work. Hmm, sounds like commie talk to me, pal. Eddie continues to say that if you’re not part of Hollywood Hogan’s clique, you’ll never be in the main event. To be fair, Eddie convinces them that Hogan couldn’t tie Damien or Garza’s wrestling boots. With that said, Guerrero wants the Latinos to unite and join what he dubs the LWO – LATINO WORLD ORDER! Eddie then offers them LWO t-shirts and tells them to follow him. He says they will do what it takes to get their piece of the cake (or whatever your dessert of choice is) and Bischoff can kiss his ass. Well, Damien and Garza put on the shirts and leave with Guerrero. Weird first recruitments in my honest opinion, but sometimes you have to start with the most vulnerable. THIS IS THE BIRTH OF THE LATINO WORLD ORDER! Get excited, folks.

Backstage, Mike Tenay confronts the nWo Wolfpac who probably should be heading to jail right now after all the crimes they just committed in the last fifteen minutes. Tenay decides to ask Kevin Nash where Scott Hall is. Nash thinks Hall is in Columbia apparently, so Luger and Konnan joins Nash to go find him. Looks like Tenay is taking a cameraman with him, too.

NITRO GIRLS!

• WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Kidman (c) vs. Psychosis

Now Psychosis would be a fine addition to the LWO. Also, I’m not a fan of Kidman’s music here. I’m not talking about the Peacock version, I’m watching the live Nitro. Feeling out process to start. Kidman shows off with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors to send out Psychosis for a pescado. Kidman goes back inside with a slingshot legdrop for two. He then telegraphs a backdrop and takes a sitout gourdbuster from Psychosis for a nearfall. As Kidman staggers up, Psychosis lands a flying spinning heel kick to the back of the head for two. Man, these guys are really upset with the count. Meanwhile, Heenan and Zbyszko agree on how much they hate referees. Kidman comes back with a standing dropkick, but then runs into a hiptoss that takes him to the floor. Psychosis punishes Kidman with a slingshot legdrop to the outside. OUCH, that’ll hurt your tailbone. He then tosses Kidman into the steps. How often do you see the steps used in a cruiserweight title match? Psychosis continues to abuse Kidman on the floor with a running dropkick. Back inside, Psychosis stalls a little bit. Not sure if Kidman got the wind knocked out of him or what. Kidman explodes with a rebound clothesline as Psychosis bounces out of the corner off a whip. Psychosis avoids a corner splash and delivers a back suplex for two. Sunset flip by Kidman, but Psychosis is there again to run him down. Heenan and Zbyszko give Psychosis an F- for not following up and instead yelling at fans. Back to the chinlock. Once he’s done with that, Psychosis finds out that YOU CAN’T POWERBOMB KIDMAN. That gets two. Psychosis slips away from a slam and delivers a hurracanrana for a nearfall. A tornado bulldog from Kidman scores another two-count. Tilt-a-whirl sideslam by Psychosis gets another two. No one is quite believing these nearfalls. Too many of them to mean anything. BK Bomb by Kidman gets two as well. Psychosis finds a moonsault press and only gets two. Psychosis tries a super headscissors, but Kidman holds onto the top rope to cause him to crash and burn. SHOOTING STAR PRESS! Kidman gets the three-count. (10:40) Good TV match. While Psychosis is certainly a good wrestler, Kidman will soon find an even better opponent to get into a groove with to really get himself over and he’ll find that here in the coming months. ***

Hey, Ric Flair’s son David is in the audience wearing a “Goldberg” t-shirt. What a mark.

We get a taped Warrior interview. Guess it’s better than having him get booed at by Columbia, SC. He’s still talking about what happened eight years ago while really offering nothing new. FEEL THE POWER OF THE WARRIOR!

They do one of the “old school” black and white nWo promos with Scott Steiner talking about how his brother Rick was “riding on the biggest back” all these years. He says the reason the Steiner brothers were successful is because Scott overcame Rick’s weaknesses. Scott shows us all the trophies both he and Rick won. The only trophies Rick has is when his brother Scott was his partner. Scott says Rick’s success ends at Halloween Havoc and his brother will be his next trophy. NICE.

Mike Tenay is now shown DRIVING and he’s in close pursuit of the nWo Wolfpac Hummer limo. Remember when it was said that Kevin Nash drove the Steiner brothers off the road that one time? Yeah, it can happen Mike. Anyways, Tenay continues to follow this breaking story. Hilarious.

Next thing we know, Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell head down to the ring. Schiavone explains the Carolina Coliseum is the same building where Buff suffered his neck injury. Scott runs down his brother saying he’ll run him out of wrestling at Halloween Havoc. Out comes Rick to call Scott and Buff a couple of sissies. He reminds Buff this is the same building where he got hurt and doesn’t like that Bagwell makes a big joke of his own injury, so Rick brings out his mom JUDY BAGWELL to confront him. We’ve entered the Judy Bagwell era of WCW, folks. She climbs up to the apron and starts yelling at Buff on the mic. The crowd seems into this one. WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU, MARCUS? She keeps screaming at him until Buff rips the mic out of her hand. Oh boy, now Buff is getting booed. He tells his mom he chose nWo Hollywood over her and without him, his own mom and dad couldn’t even eat. Now she’s in the ring which gets almost a “Ric Flair taking off his jacket” reaction. She basically tells Buff that he’s not too big to get whooped, so she slaps him across the face and takes a bump. She then gets in Scott’s face, but she ain’t Scott’s mother. Scott screams at her, but then turns around into a right hand from Rick. Judy then takes Buff by the ear and takes him back to the dressing room for further slappings, I’m sure. Tony is loving this.

During the break, we find out Scott Steiner and Brian Adams assaulted Rick over by the announce table.

• Rick Steiner vs. Brian Adams (w/Scott Steiner)

The match is on and Rick is in bad shape. JJ Dillon comes out with Columbia’s Finest and sends Scott Steiner back to the dressing room. Rick fights out of a chinlock into a big boot. Adams delivers his ugly piledriver for a two-count. Our esteemed commentators continue to put over Judy Bagwell. Sometimes WCW is so redneck. Adams grabs the pectoral muscle and then acts like he’s working up to his old finish: the dreaded Heart Punch. Rick rolls away from a knee drop and dumps Adams on his head with a powerslam. Steinerline! A running elbow drop gets two. Adams sneaks in an inverted atomic drop, but Rick counters a suplex and hits a DDT to stagger Adams for the STEINER BULLDOG to get the win. (5:36) Bleh. ½*

HOUR NUMBER THREE! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Larry Zbyszko.

We check in with Mike Tenay who has followed Kevin Nash, Lex Luger, and Konnan to the Columbus Brewing Company looking for Scott Hall. They act like Tenay isn’t even there. Looks like Hall isn’t there. On their way out, Konnan LITERALLY sticks his head in a door and calls for “Scott” as if he’s just looking for a family member or something. I don’t get it.

Back to the show, Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff come out for their weekly promo. Bischoff mocks David Flair on his way to the ring. David looks ready to knock him out. Hollywood Hogan makes fun of Warrior not being here in Carolina Coliseum. If Warrior has any guts, COME GET HIM SOME. Nope, no Warrior. Hogan tells the people to put all their change together and buy the Halloween Havoc PPV because then the Warrior is contractually obligated to show up. On that day, Hogan says he’ll “bury the Warrior” one more time. After he’s done breaking down that skinny Warrior, he’ll show everybody why he’s the God of wrestling and will end the stupid legacy of the so-called One Warrior Nation. Warrior is a stepping stone to once again reclaiming his world title. He’s 4-LIFE, 2-SWEET, and we should all give it up for the man. All he cares about right now is the Warrior. He doesn’t seem to mind too terribly that his limo was destroyed tonight. Did Hogan seriously just call himself “Wood”?

Four Horsemen vignette. WOO!

NITRO GIRLS!

• Diamond Dallas Page vs. Kanyon (w/Raven)

Kanyon goes up to the middle rope to mock the fans and gets powerbombed to the mat and rolled up for 1-2-NO! DDP schoolboys him again and gets another two count. He throws down Kanyon out of a tie-up as our esteemed commentators talk about how much of a hard worker DDP is to get to where he’s at. Belly to belly suplex gets two. DDP elbows Kanyon to the floor as Lodi comes out with a sign that reads “RAVEN – TAKE LODI BACK”. This guy is desperate. Kanyon puts his hands on Lodi’s throat while DDP wipes them out with a pescado. While the ref handles Lodi, Raven sneaks in and gives DDP a Diamond Cutter. Kanyon covers, but Raven’s not the EXPERT, so Kanyon only gets two. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BEAT DDP? The Super Rocker Dropper from Kanyon connects. DDP pops up out of the corner and starts pounding away Kanyon, but Kanyon kicks at the ribs and face slams DDP out of the corner for two. Chinlock time. DDP wakes up into a fireman’s carry, but then sunset flips Kanyon. They go back and forth for nearfalls. DDP catches Kanyon with a desperation lariat. Both men are down! DDP mounts a comeback with punches and TEN-COUNT TURNBUCKLE SMASHES! Kanyon walks back into a back suplex as DDP gets a nearfall. DDP finds the Pancake Slam for two. Raven is on the apron again. Kanyon shoves DDP into Raven and rolls him up with a handful of tights for 1-2-NO! DDP wants a hiptoss, but Kanyon blocks into a swinging neckbreaker. DDP jawbreakers his way up and hits a tilt-a-whirl sideslam. It’s Diamond Cutter time. Lodi appears and gets walloped by DDP, but then Raven jumps DDP with the microphone for the DQ. (7:19) GOLDBERG runs down for the save. He runs through Kanyon with a Spear. Lodi jumps Goldberg, but then Goldberg knocks him down with one slap and picks him up for a JACKHAMMER. DIAMOND CUTTER to Raven! As Goldberg and DDP stand face to face, JJ Dillon stands in between them so they can save it for the PPV. Not a fan of DDP not being able to put away Kanyon, but it step up the cool staredown. **½

Back over to Mike Tenay, he’s now at the New Brookland Tavern in Columbia, SC still following the nWo Wolfpac Hummer limo. Kevin Nash, Konnan, and Lex Luger head inside looking for Scott Hall. Konnan REALLY wants to check the strip joints – in Columbia SC – on a Monday night. Again, no luck finding Scott Hall. Sounded like Nash drops an F bomb here.

• The Disciple vs. Lenny Lane

Lenny mocks the Warrior to piss off the Disciple. He’s now referred to as “The New Disciple”. Heenan with a straight face says there’s more anticipation for the Hollywood Hogan versus Warrior match now than there was eight years ago. This match gets over like poop flavored lollipops. Real bad looking APOCALYPSE ends Lane in 2:08. Disciple gets on the mic and lets Hogan know he’s done carrying his bags and he’s his own man – now and forever. Nobody cares.

As Disciple heads to the back, Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff appear and go after him. Disciple leads Hogan and Bischoff into a dressing room, but there’s no Disciple in the room. Totally confused and frustrated, Hogan pounds on the makeup table and looks into the mirror to see THE WARRIOR in the reflection. Only Hogan can apparently see him because Bischoff acts like Hollywood has lost his mind. When Warrior goes away, Hogan is still talking to himself as Bischoff gets the cameraman to leave. WRESTLE CRAP, folks.

What the hell was that fart noise? Mike Tenay has stalked Luger, Nash, and Konnan to “Les’ Private Club” where they find out that indeed, Scott Hall is most definitely in the house. Nash and Hall brawl for a while, tussle on a pool table, then grapple in a bathroom. Make your own joke. Also, there are a bunch of idiots there. Nash invites the camera into the bathroom, where Hall is draped over the commode. I feel like I’ve heard Tony Schiavone say “commode” more than I should in my lifetime.

Back in the arena, a concerned Eric Bischoff heads down to the ring to let everybody know that Hollywood Hogan is fine. However, he’s here to discuss Ric Flair and how much he needs everybody’s support. Arn Anderson shows up and claims Columbia as a “Horsemen town”. Anderson says Flair is here, but it’s actually Ric’s ten year-old son Reid Flair. Crowd seems confused, but interested in what’s going to happen next. Reid comes out in a singlet and a medal around his neck. He tries to imitate his dad doing the “Mean WOO Gene” thing except Arn Anderson is holding the mic, so I don’t think anybody thought that one through. Anyways, Reid is here to handle his dad’s “light work” meaning Bischoff. When Bischoff starts threatening to fire Arn, Reid takes down Bischoff – not once but twice. The camera looks at David, but he doesn’t even react. Arn says Bischoff better call the “juvenile authorities” because he just got taken down twice by a ten year-old. Leaving Bischoff in the ring embarrassed, Arn and Reid head for the locker room.

After a break, we see Elizabeth has joined Eric Bischoff in the ring. He has her dial Ric Flair’s number. I bet she does have his number. Apparently, Beth Flair answered the phone. What is happening right now? Next thing we know, Ric Flair’s entrance theme starts playing. Bischoff does the slow turn and realizes Ric is indeed in the building. Elizabeth hits the floor. Flair takes off his jacket and he’s ready to roll. Uh oh, the nWo B-team surround the ring. However, Chris Benoit, Steve McMichael, and Dean Malenko scare them off. Arn Anderson and Reid Flair even join in on the fun. David Flair jumps in the ring as well and stands by his father. WOO!

• WCW U.S. Championship: Bret Hart (c) vs. Sting

No real bell-to-bell match. Bret Hart comes out second, walks halfway down the aisle, and then heads back through the tunnel. Sting isn’t going to let that stop him and goes after Bret. This turns into a backstage brawl like these two are fighting over the WWF Hardcore title. As the fight ensues, Bret suplexes Sting through a table and drops a big trashcan over his head. He PILLMANIZES Sting’s leg as the brawl continues. Sting wheels – something on wheels – into Bret to turn the tide. He then throws Bret into a door and then pulls his nuts into the door. OUCH. Bret jabs him with a lead pipe and gets on a transfer cart, but it won’t start. Sting jabs Bret with the lead pipe and beats on him before applying the SCORPION DEATHLOCK. Bret calls Sting a “cheater” and wants Hogan, but no Hogan. Sting lets go of the hold and limps away. Doug Dellinger is just now handling the situation and offers Sting a chair. The live crowd is booing the crap out of this because they got cheated out of a match they paid to see – in person. N/R

The credits roll for the people at home, but at least Columbia got to see Goldberg destroy Disco Inferno in a minute or two to send them home happy.

Until next time, so long for now.

World Championship Wrestling presents “Halloween Havoc”
LIVE on October 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
ONLY ON PAY-PER-VIEW

DOUBLE MAIN EVENT: WCW World Heavyweight Championship:
Goldberg (c) vs. Diamond Dallas Page
DOUBLE MAIN EVENT:
The Warrior vs. Hollywood Hogan
Kevin Nash vs. Scott Hall
No-DQ Match: Rick Steiner vs. Scott Steiner