WCW: Monday Nitro
January 25, 1999
Dallas, TX
Reunion Arena

The current WCW champs are as follows:
WCW World Champion: Hollywood Hogan (1/4/1999)
WCW U.S. Champion: Bret Hart (11/30/1998)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Vacant (1/7/1999)
WCW World Television Champion: Scott Steiner (12/28/1998)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Billy Kidman (11/22/1998)

They start the show with a flashback to last week’s Thunder when Vincent (or Vince as he wants to be called now) proclaimed he was the new leader of the nWo B&W (while wearing an nWo Wolfpac t-shirt) and realized he was being filmed. As it turns out, the people watching him were the nWo Wolfpac dudes (Hogan, Nash, etc.) hanging out in their limo. They did not look happy and let the crew know what time it is.

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

We cut to “Earlier Today” when cameras caught CURT HENNIG talking to STEVIE RAY. Hennig tells Stevie Ray he hasn’t been wearing the nWo B&W colors for the last three months because he’s seen this coming. Five feet behind him, Stevie Ray turns to his nWo B&W brethren (sans Vince) to say he’s going to give Hollywood Hogan and the nWo Wolfpac a piece of his mind when they get here. They are more concerned with the fact that Stevie Ray is wearing a $500 shirt instead of the nWo B&W t-shirt (which is only $20 bucks plus shipping and handling!). VINCE then appears and he too is concerned with Stevie Ray’s $500 shirt. Stevie Ray leaves to go talk to the nWo Wolfpac crew, but the nWo B&W boys still seem only concerned about his lack of a t-shirt.

Elsewhere, RIC FLAIR is shown embarrassing ERIC BISCHOFF as he’s now got Eric working the merchandise table. Funny how merch tables at major arenas haven’t changed after all this time – just the merch itself. Flair says tonight we’ll see Bischoff walk amongst the people selling merch. EXCITING STUFF~!

NITRO GIRLS!

We check in with the nWo B&W. Stevie Ray asks everybody to get in the car and he’ll talk to Hogan. He and Hennig exchange knowing glances.

• Disco Inferno vs. Al Greene

Disco avoids the power of Greene to start and clotheslines him to the floor. Greene gets knocked off the apron onto the guardrail. Back in, Greene lands a short-arm clothesline for two. He telegraphs a backdrop and gets nailed. Disco delivers a swinging neckbreaker and comes off the middle rope with the elbow drop for two. Greene reverses a corner whip and avalanches Disco. He follows up with back elbows in the corner and delivers a butterfly suplex for a two-count. Front powerslam on Disco connects, but Greene can’t follow up. Disco avoids a corner charge and ducks a clothesline to land the CHARTBUSTER for the win. (2:55) Disco is so confident now! It doesn’t hurt to have the nWo Wolfpac howl in your entrance music to help with that confidence. ½*

We return to the airport where the nWo B&W brethren await the nWo Wolfpac. The nWo B&W get Ford sedans while the black limo is here for the nWo Wolfpac. We go inside the leer jet to see the nWo Wolfpac preparing for this confrontation. On their way out, SCOTT HALL mentions it’s time to trim some more fat. Stevie Ray talks with HOLLYWOOD HOGAN and stabs both Vince(nt) and Curt Hennig in the back. As far as Hennig goes, he won’t wear either nWo t-shirt, so the nWo Wolfpac pull Hennig out of a car and beat the crap out of him Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas style. BRIAN ADAMS admits Hennig is like a brother to him, but KEVIN NASH tells him it’s just business. Adams then bounces Hennig’s face off the trunk of the car anyways. This looks rather tame compared to what was done recently to Shawn Michaels on the other show, no? While all of this is happening, Hogan takes Vince(nt) aside and tells him how proud he is of him. WHAT? Once the damage is done, the nWo Wolfpac hop in their limo while the nWo B&W divide up in the two Ford sedans.

WCW Bruise Cruise ad airs. Join the Nitro Girls on May 17-21. They make it sound like you’re going to get to have sex with them.

Hollywood Hogan and KEVIN NASH lead the nWo boys through the arena. Jokes are made about SCOTT STEINER smelling like the Nitro Girls. Do they have a specific smell? They make it to the nWo dressing room where Stevie Ray is handed an nWo B&W t-shirt and encouraged to change out of his fancy $500 shirt.

On the split-screen, we catch BAM BAM BIGELOW heading to the ring carrying a ladder. Larry Z thinks Bigelow is looking to “climb the rungs to success”, but somehow I doubt it. Bam Bam Bigelow now becomes the main screen and he’s got a mic. He came to WCW to defeat Goldberg and take him out. He won’t stop until that mission is accomplished, but right now he’s more concerned with Scott Hall. If Hall thinks he can zap Bigelow and get away with it, he’s DEAD wrong. Hall may claim to be the king of the ladder match, but Bigelow is MUCH more hardcore and extreme than Scott Hall. Bigelow proposes a stun gun ladder match to put their issue to rest. He says he will show Hall exactly why they call him the Beast of the East. Back to the split-screen with the nWo dressing room, they just make fun of Bigelow with everybody just mouthing off.

We check in with Eric Bischoff at the merch table. Some chick with purple hair argues with Eric over how much change she should be getting – and this is somehow Doug Dellinger’s problem now, too. When Dellinger tries to make the chick happy, Bischoff shouts at Dellinger that he’s going to get investigated for giving away WCW’s money. Whoa, is somebody at WCW going through an internal audit right about now?

Gene Okerlund brings out RIC FLAIR to the ring. He is excited to be in the “Big D” tonight. Do people really call Dallas the “Big D”? Flair can’t wait for SuperBrawl when he gets his hands on Hollywood Hogan. The Four Horsemen sent Hollywood Hogan a message last Thursday night on Thunder when they sent Hulk’s nephew Horace back to him in one piece. In other news, Flair brings up Bret Hart, who we haven’t seen since Starrcade, thinks he can wrestle whenever and whoever he wants to wrestle. Flair says Bret will be defending the World title (he meant U.S. title) at SuperBrawl against an unnamed opponent that WCW picks. On top of that, Bret will wrestle here tonight – against Booker T. Flair then brings up Kevin Nash. The nWo doesn’t tell him and WCW what to do. To make sure the nWo doesn’t bother the WCW world tag team tournament, Flair says there will be a wall of wrestlers around the ring to make sure there’s no interference. To top it all off, Flair tells Hogan to pick two nWo boys to wrestle him, Benoit, and Mongo. THEY’RE GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS, PAL. WOO! WOO! WOO! He’s like Zack Ryder these days!

Before we go to break, they cut to SCOTT DICKINSON who managed to get a front row ticket to the hottest show in Dallas. Whose feet is he staring at?

They take us back to Souled Out where Scott Hall put the taser to both Hall and Bigelow, in case you forgot why Bigelow might want to issue that challenge earlier.

• Stun Gun Ladder Match: Scott Hall (w/Disco Inferno) vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Hall comes out and accepts the challenge. Don’t sing it, bring it. Luckily for all of us, there’s a cable suspended from the ceiling that will hold the taser. IT’S A GOOD THING IS WHAT I’M SAYING, since we have an *impromptu* ladder match here. Bigelow is in charge to start. Disco takes it upon himself to trip up Bigelow from the floor, which gets him ejected. As Bigelow goes after Disco, Hall attacks him from behind over by the ladder. Bigelow gets his head bounced off the ladder, but he stops Hall, and slams the ladder on him. Back to ringside where the ladder is leaned up against the apron, Hall reverses a whip on Bigelow to send him into the ladder. Back in, Bigelow takes back control as the ladder gets put in between the ropes. Hall falls off the apron and gets a piece of the ladder, which causes the other end to see-saw into Bigelow’s face. BOTH MEN ARE DOWN! Hall is up first, and slams the ladder on Bigelow. He even goes as far as to pillmanize Bigelow’s leg. That’s right, it’s a verb. Let’s go to some commercials.

With the ladder leaning in the corner, Bigelow whips in Hall and tries a butt splash, but Hall moves at the last second. Hall then *slams* Bigelow and rides the ladder down on top of Bigelow ala Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 10. They are using some of the same spots from that match, ya know. Hall sets the ladder over Bigelow (because its bad luck for somebody) and makes the climb, but Bigelow just stands up and turns the ladder over. Bigelow then proceeds to give Hall a Flying Headbutt off the ladder. Not any higher than the top turnbuckle like Tony wants you to believe, but somewhat of a cool visual nonetheless. Hall makes it up first though and legdrops the balls. He climbs the ladder, and comes off with an elbow drop. He climbs up again, but Bigelow grabs him and brings down Hall with a back suplex! Hall – “You alright, brother?” As the cameraman backs away, you can clearly see Hall is wearing one of his purple and yellow Razor Ramon elbow pads under his red and black Scott Hall oozing blood pad. Both guys make one more failed climb before they go to the finish. Bigelow grabs the taser, but Hall gives him a low blow just as he does so. Bigelow falls to the mat and still has hold of the taser. Meanwhile, Disco runs back down and hands Hall another taser! So we’ve got a taser standoff here. As Disco retreats to the back, he runs into a SPEAR from GOLDBERG! Now Goldberg charges the ring, and both men decide they want to tase him instead. As they rush him, Goldberg ducks and comes back around to SPEAR them both! (11:41 shown) No contest, I guess. The crowd is losing their minds right now. Goldberg grabs both tasers and starts zapping Hall and Bigelow. That brings out SCOTT NORTON to save the day. Not a classic or anything, but certainly a ladder match is something different that you just didn’t ever see on Nitro. And what do you know, three weeks later, RAW has themselves a ladder match. Copying WCW much? GEEZ. **

Hey look, CHUCK NORRIS is in the audience.

We go to the locker room where Gene Okerlund talks with BRET HART about his non-title match with Booker T tonight. This looks like it was pre-taped at a Saturday Night taping with the out-of-place green backdrop. Bret complains that Ric Flair may have a grudge against him. He calls Booker T a “loser” and wants to “axe” Booker a question – does he really want to step in the ring with the Excellence of Execution, the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be? Bret thinks the guy who really deserves a U.S. title shot is El Dandy. Yes, El Dandy. Gene reminds Bret that El Dandy is a fine wrestler, but he’s a cruiserweight. Same goes for Hypnosis, which Bret pretends to confuse with Psychosis. Gene adds is also another cruiserweight. That punk Dean Malenko is another potential challenger for Bret, but Dean’s home injured with a sprained ankle. Bret’s groin injury is MUCH, MUCH worse. However, Bret can wrestle through the pain. Bret brings up Flair again saying the only reason Flair holds a grudge against him is because Bret has beaten him every time they have wrestled each other. Hmm, he’s got a point there. He tries to get Gene to admit that he’s right, but he won’t.

• “Human Wall” Match / WCW World Tag Team Titles Tournament Match: The Faces of Fear (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Fit Finlay & Dave Taylor

A bunch of WCW wrestlers come out to work as a “human wall” as Tenay keeps saying to keep the nWo away: Van Hammer, Rey Mysterio Jr. (who did he piss off?), Kenny Kaos, Hugh Morrus, Jerry Flynn, Al Greene, Glacier, Kaz Hayashi, Damien, Ciclope, Hector Garza, Villano V, La Parka, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Super Calo, Norman Smiley, Silver King, Bobby Duncum Jr., and Chris Adams. It’s like a REVERSE lumberjack match.

This is like the THIRD chance the Faces of Fear have gotten in the first round of this tournament. Finlay actually forces Barbarian to the mat to get elbow dropped a few times. Barb throws Finlay off a pin attempt into the “human wall”. Back in, Finlay delivers some European uppercuts until Barb stops selling and gives him an inverted atomic drop and stomps Finlay on the belly. Tag to Meng, he goes right to the throat. Big standing dropkick from Meng gets two. Meng telegraphs a backdrop and Finlay knocks him back enough to tag Taylor. He gives Meng an old school flying headscissors (!!), but then gets into a chop battle with Meng and loses. Barb tags as he and Meng make-a-wish on Taylor. He forces Taylor into the corner, but Taylor comes fighting out with European uppercuts. Barb NO-SELLS and slams Taylor down. Back over to Meng, he chops Taylor and nearly goes down to a sunset flip, but Meng maintains his balance and double chops Taylor. Tag to Finlay, he absorbs some shots from Meng and snapmares him down for a senton for two. Meng slugs Finlay down and tags in Barb again for more chops. Finlay gets dumped, but the wrestlers keep their hands to themselves. Morrus, however, does help Finlay back in the ring. Finlay manages to get Barbarian up on his shoulders for the Finlay Roll. Taylor tags in for more European uppercuts. A butterfly suplex attempt gets broken up by Meng. The FOF deliver STEREO FLYING HEADBUTTS to Taylor, but Finlay immediately breaks up the pin. Finlay grabs Jimmy Hart on the ring apron and slugs him. Meanwhile, The FOF give Taylor the BACKDROP/POWERBOMB combo for the win. (7:29) With all the strong monsters wrestling has now, somebody needs to bring that back. Whether Dallas liked it or not is debatable, but I liked it. **½

NITRO GIRLS! No Fyre, so FFWD.

• Perry Saturn vs. Norman Smiley

Bobby Heenan replaces Larry Z on commentary. We see that WCW’s crack security team is watching over the Nitro Girls locker room thinking they can stop Scott Steiner from getting his hands on Kimberly. One of the guys is definitely Elix Skipper which means he’s finally made it to prime time – and another guy looks like Mark Jindrak. Either way, these are Power Plant boys working security here for sure. Schiavone tells us to listen in on what the head security guard is saying and he’s not mic’d. Yikes. Tony also has a hard time saying Nor-MON Smi-LAY. Saturn shoves Smiley down at the bell – because he’s a tough guy in a dress. Headlocks and shoulderblocks ensue. Smiley stops Saturn in his tracks with a back suplex to take control. He teases the big wiggle dance. Let’s see how many times he does that tonight. Powerslam gets two. Smiley continues to control as we go to break. He delivers that big Smiley Slam and the butterfly slam for two. Saturn finds a rollup, but then gets knocked down with a lariat. Double-KO ensues, I think. Pump splash off the ropes lands on Smiley’s feet. It’s BIG WIGGLE TIME! Okay, he only teased it once. Forgive me. Smiley gets a backdrop for two. Nice stalling suplex connects, but again Saturn kicks out at two. As Smiley gets Saturn doubled over onto the second rope, Smiley lifts Saturn’s up dress and taps dat ass a little bit. That’s all the incentive Saturn needs to lay into Smiley. Saturn’s offense continues as he mocks the Big Wiggle and hits the DEATH VALLEY DRIVER for the three-count. (8:15 shown) Word of advice, Norman: don’t try and rape Perry Saturn. **

Now known only to me as THAT COMMUNIST SCOTT DICKINSON is once again shown sitting in the crowd. Gene Okerlund walks over to him to see what the heck Dickinson is doing. Even though JJ Dillon suspended him (which nobody gives a shit about), Dickinson says it’s fine he’s here because he bought a ticket. He’s mad because wrestlers can do whatever they want and not get suspended, but he gets suspended for doing basically nothing as he didn’t get an appeal. He claims Dillon just wants to “get over” with President Flair and the other wrestlers. Gene points out that Dickinson normally wears glasses. It’s a BOGUS suspension, according to Dickinson. Okerlund claims he’s going to do something about it, but then Dickinson storms off like an angry child. WHAT A WEIRD GUY.

Former NFL running back Herschel Walker is shown in the crowd all by himself. He’s either throwing up the illuminati Jay-Z hand signal – or really loves DDP!

• Bret Hart vs. Booker T

Bret stalls a little bit to start, but Booker can’t wait to his paws on him. Bret takes a clothesline and decides to head out to the floor. Back in, they get into a test of strength, and Booker works him down so he can stomp on his hands. You know the deal. Bret makes him pay by catching with a boot out of the corner. Inverted atomic drop is followed by a DDT. Speaking of groin injuries, Bret headbutts Booker between the legs. Bret goes heel by running Booker’s eye over the top rope and choking him in the corner. To the floor, Bret sends Booker into the guardrail. Back in again, Booker small packages Bret for two and then begins a comeback. Harlem Sidekick gets two. After that, Bret’s trick knee acts up all into Booker’s groin. Bret delivers a Russian legsweep before taking Booker to school working the left leg. He wraps up Booker in the Figure-Four as a message to Flair. WOO! Booker fades and gets his shoulders counted a few times, but ultimately reverses the hold. Commercial break? Okay then. When we return, Bret reapplies the figure-four. Again, Booker turns over the hold this time into the ropes. Backbreaker gets two. Now Booker ducks a clothesline and hits a Flying Forearm. Axe Kick! That break dance move that doesn’t have a name for it yet! Harlem Sidekick! Side Slam leads to the Harlem Hangover, but Bret moves out of the way. Bret heads out and retrieves his US title belt. He looks to come off the middle rope onto Booker, but gets the belt kicked back in his face. Booker T lands a superkick on Bret to send him outside. Booker follows him out and really wants to choke Bret with a camera cable. While ref Randy Anderson takes the cable away, Bret finds his US title again, and nails Booker in the face for the 1-2-3. (12:32 shown) This was pretty good, but Booker’s big comeback at the end really came out of nowhere. ***

We see Eric Bischoff trying to sell foam fingers in the crowd.

• Goldberg vs. Scott Norton

This is what they SHOULD have been doing with Goldberg six months ago – letting go against the nWo B&W. These two go nose-to-nose to start. Norton chops the shit out of Goldberg, but then Goldberg avoids a whip and pulls Norton into a fireman’s carry only to drop him to the mat for a cross armbreaker. Immediately in case New Japan is watching, Norton reaches the bottom rope. GOLDBERG chants everywhere. He drills Norton with a powerslam, but Norton answers with one of his own. Goldberg NO-SELLS and kicks Norton to the floor. Whoa! On the floor, Norton catches Goldberg as he jumps off the apron and sends him into the guardrail. He clears away the ring steps and goes to ram Goldberg into the ringpost, but Goldberg gets away and shoves Norton into the post. We get some more guardrail action from these two monsters. Norton delivers a short-arm clothesline on the floor. Back inside, Norton hits a NICE flying shoulder tackle for two. A back suplex gets two as well. He *wants* the win here. Another short-arm clothesline puts Goldberg down. Here comes the chants again. Holy crap. Norton chops Goldberg a bunch in the corner. He avalanches Goldberg and goes for a powerbomb. Goldberg goes up, but he tries to land on his feet. He kicks Norton back and comes off the ropes with the Spear and then the JACKHAMMER for the win. (5:32) Yeah, this could have been much more, but I really enjoyed this. I love these matches Goldberg had with guys bigger (or as big) as him. It’s one thing to see him mercilessly beat up a jobber in thirty seconds, it’s another to see him fight someone at his similar size. Because with Goldberg, it’s not necessarily about who is the better wrestler. Good stuff! Somewhere Keiji Muto is laughing in Japanese though. **

After the bell, the nWo B&W boys are out, but they all get annihilated by Goldberg. Next thing we know, Herschel Walker, Chuck Norris, JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMME, and BRETT HULL get in the ring to get close to Goldberg. Why else!

WCW.com is better than ever! Slide shows, polls, media gallery, and a superstar section! It’s the only pro wrestling website that matters!

NITRO GIRLS! SCOTT STEINER appears over at the commentary table to “stalk” the girls – most importantly Kimberly. Heenan tries to get Tony to ick-snay on anything related to Steiner. Once the Nitro Girls segment is over, Steiner just leaves. Okay, then.

• Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash & Scott Steiner vs. Ric Flair, Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael

Our nWo boys come out first and cut promos. Of course, Nash does the babyface Wolfpac act and holds the mic like he’s still trying to be a rapper. WOLFPAC IN DA HOUSE. Steiner switches gears and lets Diamond Dallas Page know that while he’s away in California, his wife is flirting BIG TIME with Big Poppa Pump. If she’s going to tease him, she better be ready to please him. Since DDP looks like how DDP looks, Steiner knows he can’t satisfy Kimberly – and feels he’s just the man for the job. To all his freaks out there, Big Poppa Pump is your hookup – holler if you hear him. The camera zooms in on three moms in the audience who want Big Poppa’s Pump, according to their sign. Yikes. It’s almost 11PM on a Monday night – do your children know where you are? We’ve had Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van Damme, and now these three ladies. Now over to Hollywood Hogan, he thinks WCW and Flair fans stink real bad. At SuperBrawl, Ric Flair better hope he’s got nine lives. Hogan brings up beating up Flair’s “child”, and Eric Bischoff kissing Ric’s wife. Not only will Hogan beat Ric 1000 times worse than the nWo beat Ric’s “child”, Hogan will kiss him out of the wrestling business just like Bischoff kissed Ric’s ugly stinking wife. Yada yada yada. If you’re not running with the ‘Pac, you’re hunted by the ‘Pac. As God as Hogan’s witness, Ric Flair is the first man to go down in WCW at SuperBrawl. Man, Hulk. It’s time to go away for a while. Give us a chance to miss you. Let’s go to commercials.

When we come back, the Horsemen move quickly to the ring. Naturally, the Horsemen should beat up the nWo and the nWo powder out. It sort of happens like that, but then the nWo clear out the Horsemen so they can regroup. Once everything settles down, we get Benoit and Steiner. Benoit lets Steiner yell and point at the crowd. Headlocks and shoulderblocks ensue. Steiner gorilla press slams Benoit and pounds him in the corner. He whips Benoit across, but Benoit brings up his boot to block as Steiner charges. Benoit returns the favor with right hands. He goes over to look at Hogan and Nash, but then gets nailed from behind by Steiner. Nevertheless, Benoit drills Steiner with a lariat and dropkicks him to the floor. Back in, Nash gets a tag and Hogan thinks Benoit is in BIG trouble now. Nash draws Benoit into a test of strength. He buries the knee and elbows the back of his head. Now over to the corner for more knees and elbow smashes. Benoit avoids the Snake Eyes and shoves Nash off into the corner. Chops abound. Tag to Mongo, he slams Nash and drops an elbow for two. Benoit tags in with a Swandive Headbutt to Nash, but Hogan breaks up the pin. As Nash whips Benoit into the ropes, Steiner hits him from behind. Benoit turns around to nail Steiner and then turns back around into a Big Boot from Nash. Hogan tags in and boy this is one surreal moment – HOGAN VS. BENOIT. He punches and scratches Benoit. Hogan whips Benoit into the ropes for the running clothesline and then draws Flair in to cause some chaos. In comes Steiner, he and Mongo swap spit. GROSS. The Twisting Belly to Belly Suplex to Benoit gets two. Steiner then physically threatens ref Charles Robinson. Tag to Nash, he delivers the jumping elbow drop to Benoit for two. Side Slam gets two as well. Mongo makes the save there. Flair is DYING to get a piece of Hogan. Hollywood gives Benoit a back suplex for two. Commercials!

When we come back, Benoit is still taking the heat for the Horsemen. He tries to come back on Hogan, but Steiner grabs Benoit and runs him into the buckle to help out. Hogan lands the sweaty corner clothesline and again draws in Flair. Steiner does a double bicep pose and stands on Benoit with one foot on his chest while looking over at Flair for two. Crowd wants Flair – and with that, the match completely breaks down. All six men in the ring now. Flair low blows Nash and continues to punch him on the mat. Next thing you know, everybody returns to their corners. Steiner runs Benoit into the nWo corner for the tree of woe for some violence. Once he’s free, Hogan whips him with his nWo weightlifting belt. Flair calls out to Benoit to keep fighting because he wants that tag. Hogan gives Benoit a vertical suplex for two. Back over to Nash, he chokes Benoit in the corner by extending his leg. Nash goes to charge Benoit in the corner and misses – hurting his knee in the corner. HOT TAG TO FLA- no! Steiner cuts off the tag and applies a bearhug on Benoit. HOW MUCH DOES BENOIT HAVE LEFT? Once Steiner gives up on the hold, he throws Benoit away with an overhead suplex. Hogan lays on top of Benoit and Benoit still kicks out. HOGAN CAN’T BELIEVE IT. A slam and an elbow drop gets another two-count. He delivers another slam, but Benoit avoids the Leg Drop. Holy crap what planet are we on? HOT TAG TO FLAIR! Naturally, the match breaks down. Flair low blows Steiner to ruin his evening with any freaks out there. Everybody leaves Hogan and Flair alone in the ring. Hey look, Eric Bischoff is at ringside selling merch. That’s not weird at all. He walks by Nash and hands him what’s clearly a 2×4 with a WCW foam finger stuck on top. As Flair applies the FIGURE-FOUR on Hogan, Nash whacks Flair over the back breaking the 2×4 in half for the DQ. (15:36 shown) Before we go through the post-match stuff, this was SURREAL for me to see my favorite wrestler (especially at the time) Chris Benoit getting this much time in the ring to work with the nWo on Nitro. It actually looks like everyone was trying in this match and I loved it. The finish of course is a Nitro finish, which is no finish at all. Then again, why would you want Hogan tapping out on a Nitro to Flair like this? I might be in the minority, but this was fun stuff. I know Mongo was going through his divorce and other issues around this time, so I wasn’t expecting much from him. ***¼

It looks like we’re going backwards to 1996 as the nWo do a number on the Horsemen. Bischoff pulls out some clippers hoping to cut off Flair’s hair, but then the ENTIRE WCW LOCKER ROOM empties out to help Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen and rid the ring of both the nWo Wolfpac and the nWo B&W boys. In the aisle, Hogan cries to Bischoff that Flair tried to break his leg. Just when it looks like the show is over, GOLDBERG shows up from the tunnel to take on the nWo one by one. They start to sell for him just as it’s literally time to go. Could they actually be trying to rebuild Goldberg?!

Well, this is one of the best Nitros I’ve seen in MONTHS. It might even end up being the best Nitro of 1999. I realize that’s not exactly high favor, but I really enjoyed this show from start to finish – even with some of the first hour goofiness.

Until next time, so long for now.

WCW / nWo PRESENTS: SUPERBRAWL IX
LIVE on February 21 from The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California! ONLY ON PPV!
MAIN EVENT: WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Hollywood Hogan (c) vs. Ric Flair
WCW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals