My Take On The Monday Night Wars 04.14.08: Raw vs. Nitro (6.16.97)
Posted by Larry Csonka on 04.14.2008
Dennis Rodman shows up on Nitro and helps lead a beat down of Luger and the Giant, while over on Raw the New Nation gets off to a victorious start at the Undertaker’s expense!
Introduction:
Welcome back to the latest edition of My Take On! With the addition of WWE 24/7 to my cable system, I have decided to have some fun and do some columns on "The Monday Night Wars." I plan to work this similar to the "My Take on MMA" columns, where it isn't a recap as much as it is an analysis piece. I will provide the ratings of the two shows, my breakdowns of each segment that aired and then give an overall final grade so to speak of the show. At the end I will give the winner a point for the ratings win and a point for the show I thought was the best. The goal is to run through as many of these as I can as they air. I think it will be a fun adventure to embark on. Sit back and relax, as I relive The Monday Night Wars!
For those that have asked, these columns don't have a set schedule. They will appear as a fill in for when another 411 writer needs the day off.
Match/Segment: Last Week's "Altercation"/Austin Larry's Enjoyment Index: 8.0 Final Thoughts: We find out that last week's altercation, that happened before Raw between HBK and Bret Hart caused both men to be injured. HBK was injured and with a neck injury, and Hart re-injured his knee so they are out for a while. I don't remember the exact circumstances, whether HBK was actually injured or if it was one of his "vacations." Vince and JR explain that there will be a tournament, and the winners get to face Austin and a partner for the tag titles. As Austin starts to explain that he doesn't need anyone, Mankind appears on the tron. He wants to be the partner. Austin calls him a freak and says he doesn't need him. Foley is great, "I have long hair, I can wear one ear ring, I can shake my ass…I HAVE A NICE ASS!" Austin will face Pillman, unlike last week. Shamrock comes out next and challenges Austin to a match, which Austin agrees to after he whoops Pillman's ass. This was a great opening because we find out about the "altercation," we get the tournament laid out, Foley gets to speak after being involved last week, we get to see video of Austin laying out the people that tried to help him, which helps build to the Stampede Match.
Match/Segment: Pillman Owns You/TAG TOURNAMENT MATCH: Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith defeated The New Blackjacks Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0 Final Thoughts: Pillman delivers another good promo, discussing the "shackles of oppression" that the Hart Foundation had to fight off, only to be handcuffed by the WWF higher ups tonight. The New Blackjacks had spectacular mustaches. It's a shame that Windham and Bradshaw only have two good knees between them. They end up having a really fun little match here, only one flub at the end. Bradshaw was particularly motivated and even as he was gaining weight, Windham could still work.
Match/Segment: Building the Main Event and More Larry's Enjoyment Index: 5.5 Final Thoughts: We get video of the Nation disbanding last week, and then shoot to an interview with Taker and Paul Bearer. Bearer does the talking and says Taker has to do what he wants due to the secret. Taker and Ahmed had issues previously, revolving around Taker choosing to go with Paul. Shamrock then gives a horrific promo about-facing Austin tonight. The other stuff was really good, that, not so much.
Match/Segment: Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/Chyna pinned Phinneas I. Godwinn Larry's Enjoyment Index: 4.0 Final Thoughts: Ugh. This is so blah. HHH looks like Steamboat in comparison to Godwinn out there. This could not keep my interest at all. It was there to get HHH a win to kick off his reign of terror as the new king of the ring, and it did that well enough, but it they made HHH look weak as hell as Godwinn was about to win and Chyna had to help. At this time they were on two completely different levels, and Godwinn shouldn't have gotten so much. After the match HOG appears and slaps around PIG a bit. Wow.
Match/Segment: The New Nation, Under Farooq/Chris Candido defeated Brian Christopher by Disqualification Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.5 Final Thoughts: Farooq says that he promised two new members of the Nation tonight that will be bigger, better and blacker than he and D Lo. Paul Heyman joins the team for commentary. This is a USWA vs. ECW inter-promotional match. They started off with a nice and quick pace, which was a nice change from most of the card to this point. Christopher was ok, but Candido was a much better worker than Christopher. Heyman outs that Christopher is Lawler's son, which leads to Lawler and RVD joining Christopher for a beat down of Candido. Dreamer makes the save. This came off much better than the two previous segments, and overall a good rebound segment. Again it meant a lot more to ECW than the WWE, but it added a taste of something different and that was appreciated.
Match/Segment: Goldust pinned Jim Neidhart Larry's Enjoyment Index: 4.5 Final Thoughts: A very bland match. Bulldog would get involved, Goldust would take him out but that allowed Neidhart to gain control for all of 7-seconds as Goldust would get the win off of the slide uppercut he does. Seriously. The only redeeming quality is that it helps set of for the Canadian Stampede.
Match/Segment: Steve Austin defeated Brian Pillman by Disqualification Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.5 Final Thoughts: The stipulation is that the Foundation must be handcuffed to the ring posts during the match. Austin taking some shots at the cuffed Foundation is classic. I have to say that it is rather depressing watching the match realizing that Bulldog, Pillman and Owen are all gone. This is an all out brawl, and it also sees Pillman gets his nose busted open during the match. This ends up being fine as they did the heated brawl, but unfortunately Pillman was so limited by this point due to injuries that was about all he could do. Austin would stun the ref, which allowed Pillman to use a low blow and knux. The second ref came in and Owen got handcuff keys and frees the rest of the Foundation and THEN we get the DQ. That makes no sense. Mankind and Goldust along with Shamrock are out to make the save. Shamrock and Austin would then brawl, continuing from earlier. The LOD would come out to stop them, sort of. This was a decently heated brawl, but a solid promo from Goldust who lays out the team of Austin, himself, Shamrock and the LOD for the Stampede helps the cause. Austin agrees to team with them ONE TIME only. It ended up being a strong segment.
Match/Segment: Tommy Rogers pinned Bobby Fulton Larry's Enjoyment Index: 5.0 Final Thoughts: HOLY SHIT! THE FANTASTICS COLLIDE! How do I not remember this? Not only were these guys a great tag team, but also I will still say to this day that Tommy Rogers is greatly underrated and is never appreciated. JR runs down their tag team history, which I appreciate. Rogers uses the unprettier for the win. The crowd didn't care at all, but it was fine. After the match a grumpy Marc Mero comes out to retrieve Sable.
Match/Segment: TAG TOURNAMENT MATCH: The Headbangers defeated Jerry Lawler and Rob Van Dam Larry's Enjoyment Index: 5.0 Final Thoughts: Paul E and Dreamer are in the crowd to watch this. The match itself isn't bad but is extremely boring. The Sandman runs in and canes Lawler in the balls, which allows the Headbangers to win. RVD, Dreamer and Sandman all brawl after the match. It was fine.
Match/Segment: Faarooq and Kama Mustafa defeated World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker and Ahmed Johnson Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.5 Final Thoughts: Taker and Johnson have history, as two weeks before the KOTR he ate a chokeslam from Taker. At the KOTR Johnson returned the favor with the Pear River Plunge on Taker. Farooq announces Kama Mustafa as the newest member of the Nation. The former Papa Shango and Kama the Supreme Fighting Machine, and the future Godfather. I say that because some people do not know this. This is more angle than match. The Nation dominates Taker the entire match, Bearer tries to get involved and gets tossed down, just as Taker was going for a tag. The Nation gets the win when Kama gets an Uranage on Taker. Johnson clears the ring to protect Taker, but unfortunately for Taker Johnson is the newest of the Nation. He joins them on the ramp and they salute. As mentioned I liked the angle and nothing gets you hated like beating down Taker.
The Overall: Best Match/Segment: Last Week's "Altercation"/Austin 8.0 Worst Match/Segment:: Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/Chyna pinned Phinneas I. Godwinn 4.0 Final Thoughts: For the first time in the run, outside of a few segments I didn't get into raw this time around. The opening stuff was good, as was the follow up segment. The stuff with the Nation, including the main event was good as well, but that was about it. It wasn't a bad episode really, but just not as good as some of the ones that led up to it. Show Score: 6.75
WCW MONDAY NITRO (6.16.97)~!: RATING: 3.3
Match/Segment: The n.W.o. Arrive Larry's Enjoyment Index: 8.0 Final Thoughts: Bishoff, Macho, Hall, Nash, Syxx, Hogan and Dennis Rodman all arrive in style, cigars and a limo. Hogan and Dennis Rodman were going to be teaming together at the upcoming PPV (Bash at the Beach) where they would be facing Luger and the Giant, so they hit the ring with Bishoff. Rodman and Hogan decide they don't want to wait for the PPV, and will callout Luger and the Giant. They are in Chicago, so Rodman is getting a ton of face heat. Rodman just called Luger "Lex Luther," tremendous. Lex and The Giant don't answer. While not a spectacular promo, it was a great hook in that they teased the audience that they will see the match at some point in the evening. That's the kind of stuff that helped them draw the bigger ratings. And that's why the score is so high.
Match/Segment: Glacier pinned Mortis w/James Vandenberg and Wrath Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.5 Final Thoughts: Glacier is coming off of a win at the Great American Bash over Wrath, which keeps him undefeated. Unfortunately for Glacier he took another post match beat down at the hands of Mortis and Wrath. Mortis/Kanyon was really good and I thought was pretty underrated at times. Vandenberg and Wrath get involved, but end up costing Mortis the match. They try to repeat the beat down from the Bash, but Earnest Miller makes the save and helps Glacier clear the ring. As mentioned, while it was shit on and ignored by management, it actually wasn't done badly. It all made sense, Glacier now has an ally and we move on.
Match/Segment: Medusa Discusses Retirement Larry's Enjoyment Index: 5.0 Final Thoughts: Medusa lost the Women's Title match at the Bash, and due to the stipulations, which was title vs. career, she now has to retire. She thanks fans, family and such. This came off as "ok." They did the interview on the ramp, it was quick and seems like something they almost forgot to put into the show. They could have made it more important, but Medusa did well in her role.
Match/Segment: Dean Malenko defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr. Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.5 Final Thoughts: Dean calls out Eddie, instead he gets Chavito. Malenko was always a joy to watch as a performer. He had lost the US Title last week when Eddie got involved, which allowed Jarrett to win the title. Watching young Chavito was fun as well. Eddie arrives on the ramp, and stares down Malenko as he applies the cloverleaf for the win. Solid enough match and it plays into Malenko vs. Eddie.
Match/Segment: Super Calo pinned La Parka Larry's Enjoyment Index: 4.0 Final Thoughts: This is the first singles match between the two guys. Thanks professor. Sweet Jesus Calo almost killed a woman in the front row! He hit a sweet suicide dive, Parka caught him, fell back and Calo went into the crowd. The match is ok, lots of flippidy doo's, no real lay out and kind of sloppy. It has its place on the card, spot-fests and such, but they can't be bad. Parka takes vengeance after the match with a chair shot. THE CHAIRMAN OF WCW~!
Match/Segment: Lex and the Giant Speak Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.5 Final Thoughts: Lex and the Giant mock Rodman and Hogan for being so confident. Lex them brings up making Hogan submit to the rack last week. The Giant is an angry man, and he wants to kill Rodman. They agree to a match tonight, before the PPV. It was fine, and gave confirmation of the match, which kept viewers tuned in. Promos were pretty bad though.
Match/Segment: Harlem Heat w/Sista Sherri defeated The Amazing French Canadians w/Rob Parker Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.0 Final Thoughts: The Amazing French Canadians are of course the former Quebecois. Jacques and Carl fake out the Heat by starting to sing the anthem, but end up jumping them. I always liked the Quebecois. Jacques was a good worker, and for his size Carl Ouellette moved very well. I am still a huge fan of his short TNA run as "X." The Canadians run wild on Booker most of the match, Stevie comes in, cleans house, Harlem Heat hits the Heat Bomb but Jacques uses the boot of Parker to almost cost the Heat the match. Harlem Heat win after hitting the big apple. It was fine. JJ Dillon is out to discuss the #1 contender's for the tag titles. Harlem Heat faced the Steiner's and won via DQ when Vincent got involved. The WCW Championship Committee announces Harlem Heat vs. the Steiner's next week. Vincent comes out and proves to be completely useless until Booker and Stevie kick his ass, which is extremely useful.
Match/Segment: World Cruiserweight Champion Syxx w/Hall and Nash defeated Rey Misterio Jr/DDP Calls out Savage Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.5 Final Thoughts: Scott Hall plays super dick and drops his ashes on Rey's head. Nash does much the same as he constantly blows cigar smoke at Rey. These two guys worked hard and had a damn good little match. Unfortunately Hall and Nash get involved. Thankfully they allow Rey to fight them both off before getting caught in the buzz killer. After the match Nash about KILLS him with a powerbomb. Nash discusses last night and his theory of survival of the fittest. They divided the herd at the Bash, and they took out the ICONS. Macho and Liz come out now and Savage explains that he rocked DDP at the Bash. But DDP is alive and in the crowd and says that Savage couldn't do the job by himself. DDP claims to have a tag partner to face off with Savage and Hall at the Bash. They played well off of the PPV and set up a PPV match, which boosts this up a bit.
Match/Segment: Ultimo Dragon pinned Chris Jericho Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.25 Final Thoughts: Commentary does a good job of explaining the history of Dragon and Jericho in WAR. Before the match Sonny Ono tried to buy off Jericho to take out Dragon, but all he got was a big old pie face from Jericho. The first few minutes I was not pleased, as it looked as if they were going through the motions. But it picked up nicely and ended up being a damn fine little match. Dragon wins the match with a nice tiger suplex and bridge.
Match/Segment: Piper Speaks Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.5 Final Thoughts: Piper discusses the disappearance of Flair at the Bash. Flair had brawled with Syxx to the back, and never returned. He doesn't believe that Flair left him out to dry. But if so he wants to hear it from Flair directly. I always had issues with the late Piper runs, but the one thing is that he never lost the ability to talk. After bowing to him, Flair says they are friends for life but when he cleared the curtain last night he had the fight of his life on his hands. They shake and all is well. MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAN…WOOOOOOOOOO…GEEEEENE! What they did was fine because it was going somewhere, but it wasn't really anything ground breaking. It was pretty nothing that could have been summed up much quicker:
PIPER: "Where were you last night?" FLAIR: "I didn't screw you over, I'm SUPER SERIAL" PIPER: "Serial?" FLAIR: "Yes, Serial." PIPER: "Ok, lets shake on it."
Match/Segment: Buff Bagwell and Scott Norton defeated United States Champion Jeff Jarrett and McMichael w/Deborah Larry's Enjoyment Index: 5.5 Final Thoughts: Fuck Buff Bagwell. Scott Norton rules though. McMichael is over huge in the match, due to his history with the Bears. This was the definition of "average TV match." That was until McMichael turns on Jarrett in revenge for the previous night. He killed him with an awesome tombstone and then said he would leave him to the wolves. The turn saves the mediocrity of the match.
Match/Segment: Lex Luger and The Giant defeated World Heavyweight Champion Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman by Disqualification Larry's Enjoyment Index: 9.5 Final Thoughts: Rodman and Hogan waste five-minutes on the mic, essentially saying nothing. They go to leave, but Giant and Luger make their way out. While I thought it was a great way for them to get ratings to maintain, this was going to be on the PPV and thus would have been a mistake to give it away. Thankfully they didn't as they would lay out Luger and Giant, allowing the n.W.o to come out and do the gang beat down. They spray paint Giant and Luger as the ring fills with trash. Rodman was paid a reported $1,500,000 an appearance for his WCW in ring "work." The Bash did over 300,000 buys that year; slightly beating out Fall Brawl, The Bash, Slamboree, Road Wild and World War III.
The Overall: Best Match/Segment: Lex Luger and The Giant defeated World Heavyweight Champion Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman by Disqualification 9.5 Worst Match/Segment:: Super Calo pinned La Parka 4.0 Final Thoughts: This was a bookend show that worked out really well. They had the Rodman angle to kick off the show, and they ended with it and a great beat down by the n.W.o on Luger and the Giant. The Cruiserweight title match and Jericho vs. Dragon match matches were both really good as well. This show had a fun feel, more so than previous Nitro's and in the end I enjoyed it better than Raw for the first time in the run. Show Score: 7.0
THE WINNER:
According to the Ratings: NITRO According to Larry: NITRO Overall Series Score: RAW~9.5 – NITRO~6.5
Just got done watching an episode of Nitro that was a few weeks after this. It was some of the WORST WRESTLING i've seen on tv in my entire life.
Posted By: JMASCORPIO (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 12:24 PM
HBK was sent home after his altercation with Bret Hart in the locker room. That is why they held the tournament.
Posted By: Matt (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 01:14 PM
I can't wait for the reviews of the segments that single-handedly gave WWF a fighting chance again...Bischoff's "Tonight Show" sketches that ran for half an hour or more and featured a "so bored she couldn't even hide it" Liz in a wasted role.
What was the time frame for those, anyway? I just remember when those started, I began flipping over to see what else was on, and started catching Raw again during this time.
Posted By: Ken B. (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 01:36 PM
"What was the time frame for those, anyway? I just remember when those started,
I began flipping over to see what else was on, and started catching Raw again
during this time."
It's mid-98, cause it's the lead up for road wild 98, after bash at the beach/malone-rodman and the georgia dome hulk/berg title match.
Posted By: Alan (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 03:54 PM
When I first found out there was another promotion besides WWF in 1989 (NWA/WCW) it quickly became my favorite over WWF and stayed my favorite up until Nitro started getting bad with Russo booking it, etc., that made it go out of business. I really miss Nitro back when it first started. It was more "real" than Raw, had more action and less talk. Then Russo came in and the all the rest that happened to it. Too bad. Luckily, I recorded a lot of Nitro episodes. Woo-hoo.
Posted By: Chico (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 06:35 PM
WCW was my favorite over WWE until Russo, Bischoff, etc, started ruining it and it went out business. I miss Nitro when it was good. Too bad. Luckily, I have lots of Nitro on video. Woo-hoo.
Posted By: Chico (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 06:56 PM
Please delete the below comments and this one too. I don't want to look like I repeated myself. Thaaaaanks.
WCW was my favorite over WWE until Russo, Bischoff, etc, started ruining it and
it went out business. I miss Nitro when it was good. Too bad. Luckily, I have
lots of Nitro on video. Woo-hoo.
Posted By: Chico (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 06:56 PM
Posted By: Chico (Guest) on April 15, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Fuck yeah, Norton! I wish the nWo B-Team was still travelling the world, solving mysteries. And that Norton was still peck-slapping nipples clean off.
Posted By: G-Walla (Guest) on April 15, 2008 at 01:27 PM
