WCW FALL BRAWL ... by Chris Hyatte
9/14/98
-Opens with a video production re-introducing us to the Wargames participants.
-Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan welcome us to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Immediately, the chants of "WE WANT FLAIR" try to drown out Tony's voice. Tenay explains to us that the Wargames now has a couple of new rules:
1: Random drawings will decide who enters the ring, no more taking turns.
2: Pinfalls will count at any point during the match. Conceivably, the match could end with only two participants.
-Backstage footage shows WCW Security leading Ernest Miller away for reasons unknown.
-Gene Okerlund talks up a few of the other matches. Chris Jericho quickly interrupts him to say that Goldberg was so ticked at his parody of him the other night on Thunder, that he has agreed to have a title vs. title match tonight.
FIRST MATCH: Disco Inferno and Alex Wright vs. the British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart.
Both Disco and Wright came out separately and to their own music. Bulldog and Neidhart came out together. Remember when Bulldog used to headline pay per views? Remember when a wrestling company spelled Neidhart's name correctly? WCW spells it "Niedhart"
Highlights & Lowlights:
-Bulldog powered Wright around early.
-So didn't Neidhart to Disco.
-Wright gave Bulldog a nice top corner Monkey Flip. Bulldog still landed on his feet. Wright followed that with a nice back kick.
-Bulldog threw Disco outside, where Neidhart gave him some kicks, hurled him into the guard rails, then tossed him back in.
-The camera had a closeup of Neidhart biting Disco.
-Bulldog used the ropes to help Neidhart vault over and onto Disco. The problem was that Neidhart barely made it over and he still missed Disco anyway.
A Powerslam took home the victory for the Bulldog and Neidhart.
-Gene Okerlund was backstage checking on a rumor that Scott Steiner wouldn't be wrestling tonight. I should add that this rumor was NOT started by Al Issacs. Steiner and Buff Bagwell appeared with a note from Dr. Cecil Schwartz that said that Scott wouldn't be able to wrestle
tonight. JJ Dillon showed up and tore up the note, re-stating the fact that if Scott doesn't fight tonight, he would be banned from WCW for life.
SECOND MATCH: Chris Jericho vs. Goldberg (WCW World Television Championship vs. WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match)
As was the case at the last Thunder, Jericho was shown coming out of his dressing room flanked by two Jericho security guards. He feigned being lost, but eventually made his way out. The fireworks display that he wanted to use ala Goldberg fizzled out in a funny bit. Goldberg's music and fireworks came on, but it was a Goldberg fake who came out. Exactly like that Bore-us Malenko character that Jericho used a few months ago. The announcers were thoroughly disgusted. Tony made an off hand remark about the IQ of the North Carolina people for having the nerve to cheer Jericho, or "Jeri-shmo", as he called it. The fake Goldberg even had a bogus WCW Title around his waist.
Highlights & Lowlights:
-With more sarcasm than heís shown in YEARS Heenan said, "I'm surprised that Jericho thought he could get the fake Goldberg past our crack announcing team."
-This was played for fun, of course. Used as a way to get Goldberg's name on the card without having him actually be there.
-The fake Goldberg Speared Jericho, who popped right back up and kicked him.
After some more pounding, a Lion Tamer won the match. Jericho took both titles and ripped up the fake belt.
-Rick Steiner talked to Lee Marshall at the WCW web site room.
-a pre-recorded segment with Mike Tenay trying to talk with Scott and Steve Armstrong was interrupted by Ernest Miller who was demanding interview time. He attacked both Armstrongs, and almost beefed with Norman Smiley until WCW Security broke it up.
THIRD MATCH: Ernest Miller vs. Norman Smiley.
Smiley quickly came to the ring. Miller came to the ring and told Smiley that since he was a ìbrotherî, Miller would turn his back for 5 seconds and allow Smiley to leave rather to be destroyed. Smiley chose to attack.
Highlights & Lowlights:
-Smiley's attack sent Miller out of the ring to yell at some fans. Miller barely got his robe off when Smiley came out and attacked him again.
-Back in the ring, Miller took control.
-Many times Smiley tried to get the crowd into it, the crowd wasn't up for it.
-Miller was on the top ropes. He jumped up, spun around, landed on the ropes, jumped up again, spun around, and nailed Smiley with a nasty foot. Schiavone called it the "Feliner".
-Another standing roundhouse kick gave Miller the win. After the match, Miller grabbed the mic and reminded us that he was the greatest.
-video clip of the Steiners
FOURTH MATCH: Rick Steiner vs. Scott Steiner
Scott came to the ring with Buff Bagwell. Both men showed no inhibitions towards flexing. Rick Steiner came to the ring barking.
Highlights & Lowlights:
-The Steiners kicked it off with a great slugfest, which Rick pretty much won. Tony remarked, "That was the most action than we've seen in a long while!" There was no trace of sarcasm or irony in his voice.
-The crowd was really popping for it too.
-Rick hurled Scott over the railings and into the seats. At one point, Scott's face was kissing someone's chair. Nobody was sitting there at the time.
-Back in the ring, a double groin kick stopped a Rick belly to belly suplex attempt.
-Rick returned the favor by turning a attempted Double Underhook suplex into a DDT.
-Bagwell interfered, but Rick sent him into the ring post. Buff, who was on the apron, hit the mat and stayed out.
-The Steiners fought some more, then Scott noticed that Buff wasn't moving and went to check on him. The match pretty much came to a stop there.
In a long process that had the fans chanting, "BULLSHIT", Bagwell was apparently paralyzed again. He was slowly stretchered, strapped in, rolled backstage, and onto an Ambulance. Rick tried to get in the Ambulance with him, but Scott told him not to. The doors shut and Rick walked back towards the door. Then Bagwell and Scott stormed out of the Ambulance and attacked Rick. WCW Security broke them up. I swear I heard Scott say the f word and I saw Bagwell brag about how he was "bullshitting" him.
FIFTH MATCH: Silver King vs. Juventud Guerrera (WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match)
Both men came to the ring and things started with little trouble.
Highlights & Lowlights:
-A pretty weak Guerrera chop sent Silver King down a bit too hard.
-As with most Luchador matches, the choreographed sequences seemed a bit too choreographed.
-In a nice move, Silver King picked Guerrera up by the sides and tossed him up in the air. He followed up with a dropkick while Guerrera was still in mid air.
-Silver King picked Guerrera up in a Firemanís carry. He tucked Guerrera's head under his arm, then dropped hard to his knees. Lousy camera angles made it impossible to see exactly what was hit, but Tony seemed to think that it was a shoulder breaker.
-A nice springboard body block by Silver King on the outside was nicely employed.
-Guerrera hit Silver King with a beautiful snap hurracarana that was almost faster than the eye could see.
-Guerrera later followed that with a top rope Hurracarana. The cool thing about it was that Silver King was facing AWAY from the ring at the time.
A Juvee Driver and a 450 Splash helped retain the Cruiserweight title for Guerrera.
-Konnan's WCW Website chat was interrupted by Scott Hall. No punches were thrown.
-video spot dealing with Raven and Saturnís latest doings
SIXTH MATCH: Raven vs. Saturn (If Raven wins, Saturn stays his slave forever. If Saturn wins, Raven must free the flock)
As Raven and Lodi came to the ring, the ring announcer said that a bonus stipulation was that Kanyon had to be handcuffed to the ring post. We see Kanyon being chased down the aisle by WCW security with his wrist handcuffed already. Kanyon was trying to be funny as he said that he wasn't the elephant man....again I say he was TRYING to be funny. Doug Dillenger showed his true self by sneaking up to Kanyon from behind and getting the other half of the handcuffs around the post. Saturn came to the ring as Raven grabbed the mic and called him a slave now and forever. Saturn grabbed the mic and said that he was a man of integrity.
Highlights & Lowlights:
-Things started out very slowly.
-With Raven on the outside, Saturn propelled himself over the top rope onto both him and Lodi.
-Lodi answered back by yanking Saturn off the ring apron and onto the guard rail.
-Saturn gave Raven a Death Valley Driver, Raven kicked out.
-About halfway through, Horace, Riggs, Sickboy, and Kidman showed up with a table. Kidman mounted the top rope and Raven ordered him to pounce on Saturn. Kidman gave Raven a missile dropkick instead. The Flock chased Kidman away in a fury. The table was set up beforehand of
course.
- After several pin attempts, Saturn put Raven in the Rings of Saturn. Lodi made the save.
-Then Lodi mounted the top ropes while Raven held Saturn. A low blow took out Raven, and another kick stunned Lodi, Lodi stayed seated on the top ropes for an absurd amount of time.
-The ref was knocked out near Kanyon. Kanyon reached into his pocket and got the handcuff key. He uncuffed himself and gave Saturn the Flatliner, then rolled Raven onto him and re-cuffed himself.
-Saturn still kicked out.
-The crowd was really into it at this point.
-Then Saturn picked up Lodi off the top ropes and gave him the Death Valley Driver onto the table in a NICE spot, even by WCW standards.
-Raven was there with a DDT when Saturn got back in the ring. Saturn kicked out.
It took one last Death Valley Driver for Saturn to win the match and free the Flock. This match took a while, but really rocked.
-video spot dealing with Malenko, Hennig, and Arn.
SEVENTH MATCH: Curt Hennig vs. Dean Malenko
Hennig came out with Rick Rude. Malenko came out alone. Things started quickly.
Highlights & Lowlights:
-Malenko attacked early, working right on Hennig's knee.
-Which included draping Hennigís leg over the railing and dropkicking it.
-Rude interfered and got the stuffing kicked out of him for it.
-Rude tried to get Hennig out of there, but Malenko pulled him back in.
-Hennig was limping really badly.
-In a sweet move, Hennig was on one knee (the good one) begging Malenko for mercy. Malenko gave Hennig a snap dropkick into the bad knee and got up as fast as a cat. The speed and grace of the move was incredible.
-Hennig tried for the Hennigplex, but his knee couldnít take it. Malenko went for the Hennigplex and scored.
-Rude came in and caused the DQ. Arn Anderson charged to make the save, but was beaten down by Hennig and Rude, who focused on Arn's left side. Tony screamed that this would have a huge effect on the upcoming Thunder arm wrestling segment.....try not to laugh.
-spot for Halloween Havoc
EIGHTH MATCH: Scott Hall vs. Konnan
Vincent had to wait behind the entrance for Hall, who came out very slowly and with a beverage in his hand. Although they didnít come out rightly and say it, the announcers made it clear that Hall was bombed. Hall had a blast acting up the part, even going so far as to shakily climbing the ropes. He grabbed the mic and got a huge reaction by saying, "Hey Yo". Then did the survey, only now incorporating WCW, the NWO and the Wolfpac. Wolfpac won. Hall claimed
victory for his team. Konnan came out to a huge pop, which got bigger as he did his little thing with the crowd.
Highlights & Lowlights:
-Hall quickly moved to the other ring and invited Konnan to jam in there. Konnan obliged. Hall then jumped back into the first ring and laughed his butt off. Hall's enjoyment cracked me up.
-In a bit of "adult humor", Hall hoisted a toothpick at Konnan, Konnan answered by grabbing his crotch and screaming, "OLA LAY". Hall used his thumb and index finger to describe the size of Konnanís genitalia. The announcers ignored the whole bit of course.
-After getting beat up a little, Hall ran to the other ring. Konnan caught him in between the rings and knocked him down. Then Konan stomped on Hall until he went down between the rings and to the ground. Tony remarked that this was a first for wrestling.
-Hall went under the ring and came out the other side to attack, Konnan caught him and dropped him. Hall went out of the ring for a drink.
-Hall mocked the ref as he was counting him out. It was funny to see.
-In the move of the night, Hall had another drink from his beverage WHILE HE HAD Konnan in the Abdominal Stretch!!
-Heenan remarked that an Airplane Spin would be especially deadly to Hall right now.
Eventually, Hall's "condition" proved his downfall as Konnan wrapped him up in the Tequila Sunrise and made him tap out. The match was saved by hall, who really worked to entertain. The surprise job out was a nice touch too.
NINTH MATCH: Wargames (Team Hollywood: Hogan, Hart, and Stevie Ray vs. Team Wolfpac: Nash, Sting, and Luger vs. Team WCW: Page, Piper, and Warrior)
Michael Buffer explained the rules, then told us to get ready to rumble. The cage was lowered and secured.
Highlights & Lowlights:
-Hart and Page came out for the first 5 minute match...not much happened.
-Stevie Ray came out and immediately went on Page.
-Sting came out and went for Stevie Ray, he and Hart never touched each other.
-Piper came out and attacked everyone. I swear I heard booing.
-Luger was out next.
-Nash came out next. He went right for Piper and the audience popped.
-Coming out WAY before his time was up, Hogan snuck into the ring and nailed everyone with a Blackjack. Heenan went politically correct and called it a "Slapjack".
-Hogan even nailed Hart, but spared Stevie Ray because he was helping him.
-Hogan and Stevie Ray tuned on Nash a bit, even tossing him to one end of the ring, probably because Nash was on top of the trap door. Every other wrestler was piled on the other ring by the way.
-Smoke filled the ring.
-The smoke cleared and the Warrior was in the ring, beating his chest. Hogan attacked him from behind.
-Smoke filled the ring again.
-The smoke cleared and Hogan was holding the Warrior's jacket. The Warrior was gone.
-Then the Warrior came out from the entranceway running like crazy. He ran into the ring and pounded on Hogan and Stevie Ray.
-As Stevie kept the Warrior occupied, Hogan had the Disciple open the cage door and let him out, then lock the door again.
-Warrior disposed of Stevie Ray, then kicked in a top part of the cage and jumped out to chase Hogan. He caught up with both of them and attacked them all the way backstage.
Almost as an afterthought, the other wrestlers stumbled to their feet. Page caught Stevie Ray with the Diamond Cutter and got the pin. The show ended on that note.
I enjoyed the entertainment value of the Jericho and hall bits. I really liked the Raven/Saturn match and the Luchador match wasn't bad. The Wargames sucked though. If you were wondering how Bischoff could wreck one of the greatest cage gimmicks in pro wrestling history,
tonight gave you your answer. Horrible match, bad show. This was a Nitro worthy effort, not something that cost $30.
This is Hyatte