WCW Results ... by Chris Hyatte
SlamboreeWCW/NWO 5/17/98
It's the same old story, but with a few twists. SLAMBOREE joins the long list of seldom memorable PPVs that just seem to be there so that the 12 show per year quota is filled. What made matters worse for the company was that the shaky schedule of their highly successful Nitro shows prohibited maximum hyperbole for this card, (that's not to say that Tony Schiavone didn't try). Still, tonight's show had some intriguing angles that could surprise us and actually play out tonight. The strong Bret Hart is he/is he not with the New World Order, the Giant/Sting vs Kevin Nash and the returning Scott Hall guaranteed much controversy as fans tried to figure out just who was on whose side. Then, of course, there was Eric Bischoff's "challenge" to WWF head Vince McMahon. Now, anyone with any sort of common sense realized that Mr. McMahon wouldn't be there, but one had to wonder how the never subtle Eric Bischoff would handle this. An easy bet would be that he would use it to pump up his already mammoth ego. So would this show, devoid of the usual promotion, emerge as a good show? Or would it quickly disappear from our consciousness within days? Resurfacing briefly when the bill comes in the mail?
- opens with a video collage mixing WCW action with footage of exploding buildings. Not bad at all.
- Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan welcome us to Worcester, Mass. After a brief set up, they showed a clip from the last "Thunder" when Bischoff continued his "challenge" angle against McMahon.
- Shot of Doug Dillenger walking outside where a bunch of planted fans are there with anti-Vince signs. Dillenger holds up an "all access" pass with Vince's name and likeness on it.
- (Note: this bit, as well as all other outside bits were pre-taped, it was too bright out for it to be early evening in New England)
FIRST MATCH
Chris Benoit vs Fit Finely (WCW Television Title Match)
Both men came to the ring with little fanfare. After Finely reacted to the cheers for Benoit, things got going.
Highlights & Lowlights:
- Things started off nicely enough with a mat wrestling volley.
- As with all things involving Benoit, every shot looked great because of the aggression he puts into it.
- Finely isn't a slouch in the move salesmanship either. Both men complemented each other.
- This match was split between killer bumps and rest holds.
- In a great spot, Benoit dove through the ropes at Finely, who was outside. Finely picked up a chair and whacked Benoit mid flight. How Benoit didn't lose any more teeth on that one is beyond me.
- Benoit went for his trademark Multi-German Suplex volley. On the third one, Finely sent him facefirst into the ropes.
Just as Benoit was about to unload his Flying Headbutt, Booker T came to ringside and stared at him. Benoit jumped to the ring floor and yelled at him. Finely dove through the ropes backwards and pasted Benoit on the back of the head with a dropkick. After a few more moves, and a valiant attempt by Benoit to rebound, Finely eventually landed the Tombstone Piledriver and scored the pin. Good opener, and another great showing from the "Canadian Crippler".
- Lee Marshall was seen talking to Chris Jericho online.
SECOND MATCH Brian Adams vs Lex Luger
This match was "made" (or at least announced) just days ago on Nitro. Vincent came down with the former Crush. Luger came to a nice pop. Things got going right away.
Highlights & Lowlights:
- Not much here. It was over rather quickly.
After beating away Vincent, Luger caught Adams in the Torture Rack and got the win. It was relatively quick and painless.
- Backstage with Saturn. Who insists that there will be no "Gauntlet" tonight and he will be facing Goldberg all alone. He also seemed to have left the Flock.
THIRD MATCH
15 Man Cruiserweight Battle Royal.
Chris Jericho interrupted David Pinzer and introduced the wrestlers himself. It was a hilarious sequence as he had something funny to say for all of them. The participants:
1: Super Calo
2: Chavo Guerrero Jr.
3: Ciclope
4: Damien
5: El Dandy
6: El Grio
7: Juventud Guerrera
8: Marty Jannety
9: Kidman
10: Evan Courageous
11: Lenny Lane
12: Psychosis
13: Silver King
14: Johnny Swinger
15: Villano IV
Highlights & Lowlights:
- At different times during the Battle Royal, they showed Jericho backstage, watching the match with a smile.
- The final four combatants were Juventud Guerrera, Ciclope, Kidman, and Psychosis. Psychosis practically threw himself out of the ring after jumping after Ciclope only to have Ciclope move. Juventud flipped Kidman out of the ring.
- This left Ciclope and Guerrera. After staring each other down for a few moments, they shook hands and Guerrera jumped out of the ring on his own accord. Jericho had already hit the ring, but was stunned as to why Guerrera would forfeit the match. Ciclope took off his mask and wig, and revealed himself to be Dean Malenko. Malenko turned around and stared at Jericho. Jericho was freaking out, Malenko immediately went on the attack, which led to...
FOURTH MATCH
Dean Malenko vs Chris Jericho (WCW Cruiserweight Title Match)
Highlights & Lowlights:
- Malenko had the biggest pop of his life going, and responded with his most vicious attack ever.
- He was throwing plenty of uncharacteristic punches.
- Still, this wasn't a quickie. It was a full match, with Jericho enjoying some control as well.
- Juventud Guerrera remained at ringside to cheer on Malenko.
- Jericho performed a nice looking Backsplash that looked painful.
- Jericho went for the "Lion Tamer", but Malenko reversed it into an Ankle Submission. Jericho grabbed the ropes.
- Malenko performed the Top Rope Belly/Knee Drop that was nasty to see.
Malenko put Jericho into the "Texas Cloverleaf". Jericho tried to drag himself to the ropes, but Malenko pulled him back into the middle. Jericho had to tap out and Malenko won the Cruiserweight belt. In a bit of corn, Malenko looked up into the sky and dedicated the win to his father. Still, it was a nicely played angle and a solid match. Surprisingly well done for WCW.
- They debuted the "Vinnie Mac Cam" which was positioned outside the arena, looking for any evidence of McMahon. A white limo was seen pulling up to the building, and Dilleger went to investigate, but it wasn't Vince.
FIFTH MATCH
Diamond Dallas Page vs Raven (Bowery Street Fight in a Cage. Loser is the one who can't answer the 10 count ).
Dallas Page came to the ring first and walked on the top of the cage to get the crowd going. Raven came to the ring with his Riot Guards to protect his personage. There were two trash cans hooked up at opposite corners of the cage filled with weapons.
Highlights & Lowlights:
- High impact and plenty of headshots into metal was on the menu for this match.
- Early into it, Raven dumped out all the weapons out of both cans.
- In a rather gruesome display, DDP attempted to hang Raven in the middle of the ring by looping a bullrope over a hole in the roof and pulling on it.
- DDP whallopped Raven with a VCR
- Raven reversed Raven around and Toe Dropped him into a chair in the middle of the ring.
- At one point, the Flock plowed through the Riot Guards and tried to get into the ring. Out from under the ring, Van Hammer came out and beat them up. The fans really didn't care about him, no matter how hard he tried. He ended up handcuffing Reese to a nearby guard-rail.
- Two Riot Guards broke into the ring and stared to beat up Page. They revealed themselves to be Kidman and Horace Boulder. Page eventually Diamond Cutted both of them.
- Raven gave Page a DDT and then his own Diamond Cutter. Page still made it up before the ten count.
- On a couple of occasions, we could see Page's eyes open and his mouth moving during when he was supposed to be out cold.
In the end, Page gave Raven the Diamond Cutter, and beat him. He ran out of the ring and into the seats. Meanwhile, another Riot Guard handcuffed all the Flock members to various places, then double handcuffed Raven to the steel cage. He yanked off his helmet, to show that he was Mortis. Then Mortis took off his mask and whacked Raven full in the head with a chair. The fans didn't really seem to care about Mortis either. It was pretty stupid watching the Flock hold up the hands and be handcuffed, but the match was sufficiently violent enough.
- more silliness with the Vinnie Mac cam
- Saturn was online, talking to Lee Marshall
- The announcers kill some time until..
SIXTH MATCH
Ultimo Dragon vs Eddie Guerrero
The deal here is that should the Dragon win, then Chavo Guerrero Jr. would no longer be his Uncle Eddie's "slave". Before they hit the ring, Eddie tore up a ringside sign that read, "FREE AT LAST" with a big picture of Chavo on it. The good news was that the sign was a plant, so WCW security made sure to supply the "chunky" fan with another copy.
Highlights & Lowlights:
- Mat wrestling kicked things off.
- After taking one of the Dragon's trademark kick volleys, Eddie wisely got out of the ring to slow things down.
- During a slow part of the match, a nearby fan at ringside decided to take off his shirt and yell at the fans. He got a nice pop from it. The fan easily weighed about 300 pounds.
- Midway through it, Eddie had to slap Chavo for cheering on Ultimo.
- Ultimo crotched Eddie on the top rope then started to bounce him. He followed that up with a Springboard Moonsault on the outside.
- Ultimo snagged Eddie in a variation Torture Rack/Backbreaker
- Eddie blocked an attempted Top Rope Hurricarana and turned it into a Tornado DDT. The announcers screamed that he was ripping off his Nephew.
- After performing that, Eddie did a one handed Crotch Chop.
- Eddie went for the Frogsplash, but he missed.
- Ultimo went for the Dragon Sleeper, but Eddie reversed it and applied his own variation. He put his feet on the ropes to heighten the effect.
This made Chavo come to the apron and yell at Eddie. They argued for a bit, but Eddie ducked just in time for the Ultimo to whack Chavo with a dropkick. This stunned Ultimo enough for Eddie to nail the Frogsplash and get the victory. Afterwards, Chavo beat up Ultimo in rage. Eddie slapped him again, then offered his cheek to Chavo to hit. Chavo begrudgingly kissed him instead.
- They showed a dressing room door with Vince's name on it. Under his name were the words, "The reason for the ratings".
SEVENTH MATCH
Saturn vs Goldberg (United States Heavyweight Championship)
Saturn came to the ring alone. Goldberg came to the ring with the furious pop that is accustomary to the roll that he is currently on. Things got going right away.
Highlights & Lowlights:
- Goldberg laid on the power moves early on. Including a Gorilla Press slam turned into a powerslam/shoulderbreaker.
- Then he put Saturn in another Gorilla Press that he kept on for a while and even lifted him up and down.
- Saturn had Goldberg on the ground and slapped him across the head. This caused Goldberg to get up in an angered hurry.
- Goldberg punched the ring post in a sickening slap.
- Saturn gave Goldberg a swinging neckbreaker, but Goldberg just sat right up.
- Saturn got a chair in the ring, placed it in the middle, and used it as a springboard to nail Goldberg.
Then he tried it again, but Goldberg caught him in the Spear. He followed that up with the Jackhammer and won the match.
- spot for the next PPV. The Great American Bash
- I am not giving this a lot of attention because it doesn't deserve it. Michael Buffer introduced both Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon. Bischoff came out, but Vince didn't. The referee made the ten count and Bischoff won by forfeit. I have to wonder, when did Vince sign the contract? There were plenty of planted anti-Vince sign, but the crowd didn't seem to care, (and not many folks were booing Vince from what I heard). The crowd did get into making the ten count with Bischoff.
EIGHTH MATCH
Bret Hart vs Randy Savage
Michael Buffer introduced both men, along with Roddy Piper as the guest referee. Bret Hart really played the heel to the crowd. After some stalling by Hart, Piper threw him into the ring and the match was on.
Highlights & Lowlights:
- This match was basically all Hart. Except for a few moments of control, Savage was on the defensive.
- In a very WWFish move, Bret tried to drive a piece of the ring steps into Savage. Luckily, he moved.
- There was a sequence where they took the fight deep into the seats. WCW was ill prepared for it as we could only see it from a far shot.
- Hart started to work on Savage's bad leg.
- At times, Hart seemed consumed with the fans, the camera even caught him giving one fan the finger.
- Hart landed a DDT on Savage. Perhaps the first time he tried that move?
- Savage went for the top rope Elbow, and landed it. Unfortunately, he also landed on his bad leg.
Elizabeth ran to the ring to yell at Piper. This allowed Hart to produce a foreign object and hit Piper on the back of his head. He went to hit Savage but Savage caught it and took it. Hulk Hogan showed up and clipped Savage in the leg and whipped it against the ring post. Bret applied the Sharpshooter and won the match. Afterwards, Piper saw the foreign object in Savage's hand and assumed that Savage nailed him with it.
NINTH MATCH
Sting and the Giant vs Scott Hall and Kevin Nash (WCW World Tag Teag Championship Match)
Michael Buffer introduced Hall and Nash first. Along with Dusty Rhodes, both men came out. Nash seemed thrilled to have Hall back. In the ring, Hall got a great pop when he began his survey, which the NWO won hands down. The Giant came down alone in a NWO White shirt. Sting came down as Sting. After the ritualistic moment when Hall threw his toothpick in Sting's face, things got going.
Highlights & Lowlights:
- Hall gave Sting the clothesline, then imitated the Giant walk.
- For a time, Sting shifted to "SuperSting" mode and wasted both Outsiders.
- There was the obligatory melodrama as both the Giant and Nash were tagged in. The crowd was way into the Outsiders, and even chanted, "LET'S GO WOLFPACK" on two occasions.
- With Nash in the corner, the Giant gave him a couple of butt smashes. On his last one, he prefaced it by shaking his booty a few times.
- Nash gave Sting a big boot that always looks good.
- Hall gave Sting the fall away slam, before doing it, he gave the cameras a smirk.
- Hall had Sting in the Abdominal Stretch, using Nash's hand for assistance whenever possible. It was fun watching them perform this as they really sold the sneakiness.
- The Giant dropped his head into Nash's crotch, but didn't really come close to landing.
- The Giant climbed to the top rope and tried to give Nash the belly splash. He missed, but it still was something to see.
- Dusty Rhodes placed one of the tag belts on the apron next to Hall. The foreshadowing was a bit heavy.
In the end, Hall clocked Nash with the belt just as Nash was about to nail the Giant with the Powerbomb. The Giant pinned Nash and he and Sting won the titles. Dusty Rhodes and Scott Hall celebrated with the Giant as the betrayal of Big Sexy was complete, although I'm sure that nobody was too surprised about it. The show ended with Sting in the corner looking stunned over what happened, and apparently thinking about what he should do.
The show was great, action wise. The Malenko angle was beautifully played out and there were some memorable moments. This was also probably Bret Hart's best WCW match, even though it falls short of his WWF classics. The only problem I have is a pretty big one, and systematic of most WCW affairs. Out of the 9 matches, a whopping 6 of them involved some sort of outside interference which costed someone the match more times than not. It is typical WCW strategy, and perhaps that is why so many folks are being turned off by Nitro and going to the competitor? (The REAL reason for the ratings, if you will). Still, the show was more solid than boring, and Bischoff made another fool out of himself. Nothing wrong with that at all.
This is Hyatte