1997 Discussion

Discuss 1997 in Nitro

Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero - Nitro 10/20/97
Didn't even know this match existed so it was a nice little surprise, little in the sense that it was only 5 minutes, but those 5 minutes were quality. Don't think they could've fit in anymore stuff if they tried. Benoit chopped the holy hell out of Eddie for a while here but Eddie picked up the win after the 'ol Frog Splash. Super short-Super Fun.

Chris Benoit vs Jeff Jarrett (WCW Monday Nitro, 1-13-97)
3 minutes long. Nothing to see.

Chris Benoit vs Kevin Sullivan (WCW Monday Nitro, 1-20-97)
Preview for the next night’s falls count anywhere match. They go to the bathroom again, only this time it’s like a riot up there and the camera man gets lost in the shuffle. Short match as expected, but this was always fun. **1/4

Chris Benoit vs Steven Regal (WCW Monday Nitro, 4-28-97)
Only goes a couple minutes before Sullivan interferes. It’s a shame these two never got 13 minutes on PPV to show what they could really do against each other because it probably would have been incredible

Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael vs The Steiners (WCW Monday Nitro, 7-7-97)
Surprisingly good, I thought. Lots of physical interactions between Benoit and the Steiners. Got enough time to develop, as well. **1/4

Chris Benoit vs Eddie Guerrero - Nitro (10/20/97)
Crowd wants Eddie to get chopped. Eddie hates getting chopped. Benoit hates Eddie. I’m sure you can put together the puzzle. Match is great for being less than five minutes shown. It’s always interesting to see how these short matches get layed out. Everytime I see how short one of them is, I’m skeptic to give it my time considering it’s not going to be something I nominate. More often than not, though, guys put together a really solid piece of work. That’s again the case here. **

Eddy Guerrero v Dean Malenko (Nitro, 2/10/97)
- Total sprint. Only about 6 minutes long, but I'd still rather watch this than any of their ECW matches. They actually manage to cram a bunch on stuff into that 6 minutes, but it had a real sense of urgency to it and I never felt like I was watching two guys run through a bunch of cool looking spots and sequences just to eat up time. Even the stand-offs didn't strike me as corny. And hey, no indy roll-up section, which might be a first in a Guerrero/Malenko match (although I think they tried it once and flubbed it... that actually makes me like it even more). Syxx hitting the ring and doing whatever that coke head does stopped this short, but what we got was definitely good stuff.

Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho v The Faces of Fear (Nitro, 2/24/97)
- Aw fuck this was BOSS. I could watch 8 minute tag matches like this all damn year and not get bored. Meng and Barbarian are totally awesome big motherfuckers that will toss you around like you weigh 12 pounds, and Eddy and Jericho are totally awesome small motherfuckers that will happily BE tossed around like they're 12 pounds. Couple amazing spots in this, the best of which probably being Meng's MURDEROUS powerbomb on Eddy. Actually fuck that, it's Barbarian's MURDEROUSER back suplex on Jericho. Someone tell me there's a Faces of Fear comp out there. Please. Eddy and Chris are great as the underdogs having to hit hard and hit fast, double teaming when they can, striking in flurries, but it's their willingness to be welded onto the mat that's particularly special. Malenko's run-in at the finish (they mention something about Eddy accidentally costing him the cruiserweight belt the night before) has me hyped to see the Eddy/Dean Uncensored match again, too. Last time I was hyped about seeing a Guerrero/Malenko match? Fuck if I know. I do know this rocked my socks, though. No doubt I'm overrating it, so I'm not nominating it, but I'll definitely consider voting for it. Sterling should watch this, actually. ***1/2

Eddie Guerrero & Chris Jericho vs. The Faces of Fear - Nitro 2/24/97
[Only admins are allowed to see this link] ... rero_sport

An absolute blast. Eddie & Jericho try to fly around early, and they both hit some slick stuff, but Meng & the Barbarian can toss them around whenever. Transition spots are never elaborate but always awesome. Aerial hope spots rock. Andy mentioned the awesome powerbomb and back suplex spots; there's also a huge belly-to-belly from the top rope that sends Jericho clear across the ring. Jericho's FIP spell is pretty tremendous, and Eddie's a standout on the apron. The guy never stops working. The sequence that leads to the hot tag and everything after it-- fuck it, every single thing in this match is a blast. Eddie & Jericho keep throwing double-team offense and it's non-stop and it looks great. Jericho takes a cool bump through the middle ropes when going for the Lionsault.

Yeah, ***1/2.

Chris Benoit v Kevin Sullivan (Falls Count Anywhere - Nitro, 1/20/97)
- Similar to the last match, although I definitely didn't think it was on that level. They go up to the bathroom again and this time the camera man can barely follow it because there's a mob at every entrance or exit. I mean people are just losing it. Nancy follows them this time and she's ready to assault someone with a high heel because even SHE can't get through. Camera man winds up getting stuck in amongst a crowd of rabid fans and it looks like one of those POV scenes from a zombie flick. Great moment in the bathroom where Doug Dillinger (HEAD OF SECURITY) tries to break it up and Benoit just hurls him into a urinal. Finish looks suitably nasty as well. Pretty much a weaker version of the last Falls Count Anywhere match with a different finish, but I don't recall any match in this feud that wasn't at least fun, and this is no different. Needed Dusty on commentary, though.

Eddy Guerrero & Jeff Jarrett v Arn Anderson & Steve McMichael (Nitro, 1/20/97)
- This is in Chicago so the crowd is totally nutso for McMichael. Very pro-Horsemen, but Mongo is over like rover as you'd expect. Jarrett wants to be a Horseman and the crowd are all over him. Eddy's just kinda thrown in as Jarrett's partner, but he's up against Mongo so the crowd are on his ass as well. He and Steve have a nice little exchange and the pop for Mongo flooring Eddy with a shoulder tackle is huge. Then he picks him up for a military press slam and it's an even bigger pop. Eventually Syxx hits the ring and steals Eddy's US title belt or something, but we only get to see Eddy running after something so it's never actually established why. That leaves Jarrett on his own and he gets creamed with a Spinebuster. Interesting finish as well. Match is only about 4 minutes, but it's good stuff. Definitely not voting for it, though.

Eddy Guerrero v Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Nitro, 7/14/97)
- Eddy’s dropped the singlet here and has 100% completed the transformation to total bare-chested, pornstached scumbaggery that I remember from my childhood. He’s also invested in a white bandana that you might not think would make a HUGE difference to one’s cretinous aura, but trust me, it SO fucking does. The previous week it seems Eddy had ditched Chavo during a tag match and left him to be the victim of Scott Norton’s pro-wrestling snuff film, all in an effort to toughen him up. This doesn’t sit well with Chavo, so this week Eddy plans on toughening him up himself. Nice little match, the story being Chavo hanging tough (pun?) and getting more than his expected share of licks in while Uncle Scumbag comes to realise he shouldn’t be taking his nephew so lightly. Eddy getting fed up with the pissing about and just shredding Chavo’s chest with chops is a sight to see. Not their best match together, but this was short and sweet. Michael need not apply, however.

Juventud Guerrera/Rey Misterio Jr. vs. La Parka/Psicosis - Nitro 12/15/97
Super super fun with unreal athleticism. I don't recall any botches either. Both the crowd and commentary team kept losing their shit at the stuff that was going on. I even had to rewind to see Juvi reverse a slam in mid-air, couldn't believe it the first time. I really can't ask for more in a sub 10 minute match.

***3/4

Eddy Guerrero v Dean Malenko (8/18/97)
Eddy Guerrero v Rey Misterio Jr. (Nitro, 9/8/97)

First is a handheld. I struggled to focus on it since it was late and the guy with the camera couldn't seem to keep still (plus someone seemed to walk in front of the camera every half a minute), but if you're a fan of these guys working together then you want to see this, because it might be their best match. Keep in mind, though, that I don't like their "spirit of competition" matches and MUCH prefer them working Eddy as a straight heel and Dean as a straight babyface. Gets plenty of time (almost 25 mins) and Eddy turns the heel shtick all the way up. Malenko doesn't clown around on the mat at all and both guys have a really good run on offence. Finishing stretch is strong and felt like it went on quite a while without ever going anywhere near overkil territory. I'm still probably gonna leave handhelds off my list, and it's not like this is gonna make me change my mind if the Flair/Steamboat handhelds haven't already, but if you're alright voting for them then this is definitely worth your time.

Match vs Rey is a fucking awesome 8 minute sprint. Apparently it's their first singles match, but they're busting out a few spots that I've never seen them do together any other time. Other than the most difficult spot of the match (only time I've seen them do it) looking a *little* flubbed, they hit everything perfectly. These guys really were made to wrestle each other. I can't imagine voting for as many Eddy/Rey matches in this poll as I did in the WWF/E one, but I really want to give this the nod.

El Caliente v Rey Misterio Jr. (Nitro, 9/29/97)
- El Caliente is Eddy under a hood. This is another match that goes around 8 minutes, and while it isn't as good as their first match earlier in the month, you really can't go wrong with this match-up. The 9/8 match had a few spots I had never seen before, but the most spectacular of the bunch didn't quite come off dead on. It wasn't a botch and they still hit it in the end, but with a spot of such difficulty, you recognise even the smallest of slips. They don't just do the exact same spot here; they actually make it even more difficult, only this time they hit it perfectly and it makes for a totally spectacular finish. Post-match Eddy gets unmasked and Misterio wants a title shot, which of course leads to Halloween Havoc.

Eddy Guerrero v Rey Misterio Jr. (Nitro, 11/10/97)
- I could say this is one of the "weaker" Eddy/Rey matches, but that shouldn't imply that it isn't good. They don't necessarily do anything that you won't have seen from them already, but it's still *these* two going 10 minutes and putting on "their" match, so again, you can't go wrong. This probably had the nastiest of set-up spots for the finish, though. Rey really takes a fucking monster of a throat-first bump across the top rope, to the point where I would've bought it as a finish even without the frog splash. ***

Eddy Guerrero v Finlay (Nitro, 12/22/97)
- I've always loved this. It's not a "great match", but Eddy is my all-time favourite wrestler and Finlay is somewhere around my top 10, so just seeing them get 7 minutes to have a match is something I can definitely get behind. You get a couple nifty spots and Eddy is acting like a douchebag, so Fit hauling off and kicking him right in the nose or whatever is all good fun. I'm actually a fan of Eddy walking out at the finish, he's the Cruiserweight champ with a title defence at the biggest PPV of the year less than a week later; fuck getting smacked around by Fit Finlay on Nitro. "I don't need this... nah, man, I don't need this."

Chris Benoit vs. Steve Regal – WCW Nitro 04/28/97
Not too sure if you would really call this match, I’m not sure if it even went 2 minutes. But there was a nice test of strength segment, that’s about all there is to the match though. Kevin Sullivan interrupted the match and brawled away with Benoit. Regal just seemed to drift away while all this went on. Not even going to rate this since I wouldn’t call it a contest.

Fit Finlay vs. Chris Benoit – WCW Nitro 10/27/97
Benoit starts off fast with a roaring flurry of chops but he got his arm smashed into the ring post, and sold the arm well for most of the match. I still love Finlay’s double leg-scissors takedowns, and so does Bobby Heenan!. At one point benoit managed to dodge Finlay and Finlay’s fist took a great nash off the ring post, almost like Finlay getting his comeuppance for what he did earlier with the ring post. Match was capped off with a Flying Headbutt and even though the match only went 5 minutes, It marked an excellent return to Nitro for Finlay who at that point hadn’t been on Live TV in months.

Steven Regal vs. Jim Duggan - Nitro 1/7/97
Had fun with this, but it won't make my list or come close. NWO takes over commentary and distracts from the match, and they go to a time limit draw before they really get a chance to take off. Still, Regal sells brilliantly for Duggan's punches, and Duggan's faces while in Regal's holds are tremendous. Decent little batch of fun, but nothing anybody needs to rush to see

Eddie Guerrero v Chris Benoit (Nitro 20/10/97)
--I love how Guerrero comes to ring all mopy and curve-mouthed only to be yelling his fucking head off at his opponent when the match goes on. Thought Eddie himself was fantastic here, I mean there's onyl so much you can do in the amount of time they had, but they nailed it and Eddie was the star. It's awesome how he's been eating everything Benoit's got and after actually get into offense he taunts the crowd to make it look like Benoit's recovery was because fo watded time on Guerrero's part instead of Benoit being superman. I really, really doubt Benoit would have put himself off a superman, or anything similar, but in under six minutes to work with there's only so much offense a shitcocky heel shoudl get in whether he's reatining or not. Love how Benoit's chops played a role throughout, like in getting Eddie from the apron to the barricade so he can dive on him. Finish made Guerrero look like a dickhead who could've won without giving Benoit more punishment bu he does anyway because he's Cruiserweight Champion and you piece a shit will count his shoulders down. What was the longest match these two had in WCW?

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio - Nitro 9/8/97
Awesome little sprint, really. Andy already pimped it, but man, the execution is so great. Crowd is all over Eddie at the start and it bugs him, and Rey looks taunt-y and small, so Eddie smashes him with a European uppercut and then works the arm. They go back-and-forth: Rey picks up momentum so Eddie murders him, etc. Really insane clothesline cut-off spot, and the ref stands in the corner with his hand over his mouth afterward. Rey busts out great stuff, and even the minor flub is awesome because he just came back from injury & has knee troubles & rust, so I totally dug him not quite hitting everything perfectly but still flying recklessly. Finishing stretch rules and has Eddie smashing Rey's back to bits but not finishing him off: I love how angry Eddie takes out his frustrations. Might make by bottom quarter.

Steven Regal vs. Jim Duggan - Nitro 06/01/1997
BOOOOO at Regal getting new music. Dammit, no Heenan on commentary to burst out laughing at Duggan. Wonderful, NWO show up before the start of the match and take over commentary. Bet they will concentrate on this match a lot...At least Regal and Duggan are concentrating on the match. Duggan with his power and Regal with his awesome facial expressions as the crowd chants USA as loud as they can. Can't go wrong with that formula lol. Duggan does what Duggan does, while Regal does his best to work over the guy, but Duggan being old and pretty limited in what he can take doesn't help. Finish is a time limit draw... though Duggan tapes up his fist and decks Regal which... well, shouldn't that be a DQ? Kinda confusing and shitty finish lol. Match is about as good as it can be really. Fun, not much else.

Steven Regal vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. - Nitro 10/02/1997
Hmmm... could be good! Rey gets Regal in an arm lock at the beginning of the match, and Regal just shakes his head in disapproval and counters it into his own then mocks the front row for cheering someone so pitiful lol. Rey continues to find openings where he can put Regal in a hold, but Regal continues to shake his head in disapproval before countering it into something of his own. They Rey starts jumping around off the ropes and Regal looks very concerned for a moment until he starts to throw out some awesome strikes... while continuing to antagonise the crowd, and 2 guys in particular in the front row lol. Every fucking time Regal takes Rey down he fucking taunts those two cunts in the front row and its awesome. Regal then getting down on his knees holding his heart and crying like he was heartbroken because Rey was hurting was just... I dunno, one of the greatest things ever. Until Rey comes back with some more high flying shizzle to send Regal outside and unfortunately just piss him off more than anything. Finishing stretch is fucking awesome with Rey jumping around flipping Regal all over the place and getting a ton of near falls, until the bell finally rings with one of them and Regal looks fucking terrified that he's lost... but it's just the time limit. Yeah, this is fucking fun. Good match too. Shame there is just a 10 minute time limit for the TV title these days unlike the 30 minutes I think it was back in 1993. But ah well, Regal might be the KING of 10 minute matches atm.

Steven Regal vs Prince Iaukea - Nitro 19/05/1997
They had a great match a few months ago when Iaukea was champ, but now Regal has the belt back and it's time to face the man I have yet to see him beat! Regal wastes no fucking time in beating the living shit out of Iaukea here. No going to the mat and exchanges holds; just sheer brutality. Iaukea keeps finding opportunities to roll up Regal in different ways, since he beat Regal with a quick rollup to win the title and then to retain it at the PPV a few months back. He is unsuccessful this time around though, with Regal kicking out of everything then continuing to punish this young kid before picking up the win in what is nothing more than a squash aside from the 3 or 4 rollup attempt from Iaukea. Make Regal look strong as hell after just becoming the new TV Champ, but nothing more unfortunately.

Steven Regal vs Ultimo Dragon - Nitro 21/07/1997
Fuck yeah, this rematch could be awesome. Please give it more than 5 minutes dammit. More cool shit on the mat and stiff strikes from these two like we saw in their PPV match, and I like the callback spot early on with Ultimo doing the handstand on the turnbuckle but instead of being mesmerised by it, Regal grabs him and hits a powerslam instead. You don't fool Steven Regal twice! Match goes to hell about 3 minutes later when the match ends out of nowhere and Regal taps out, losing the TV title. Well, that was disappointing.

Eddy Guerrero and Chris Jericho vs. The Faces of Fear (Nitro 2/24/97) - So yeah, just watched this. Ho-ly SHIT at the super over head belly to belly suplex. Deserves a spot on everyone's list for that alone tbh. Its gonna get a spot on mine. Bottom 10, but its going on. Andy, this in your top 10 or something? I recall you loving it, and if I liked it enough to place it I'm guessing you have it WAY higher than me

Monday, January 5th, 1997

What Worked

Juventud vs Psicosis was pretty freaking beautiful. Notice the big wad of psychology as each sold more than any luchadore ever should and how the leg of Psychosis being hurt from the missed springboard guillotine set up Juventud's finishing sequence. I see that the Reverse Falcon Arrow is already on the way to being the new headlock/toprope hurricanrana- I mean Jiminy! Two in one match? Psicosis kills himself and we get to watch. Juventud did more than highfly. Juventud gets UD on Thursday- hopefully for a title run. I good nine minutes of wrestling.

HOLY SHEEEEIIIIITTTE! Did I just see a WATCHABLE John Nord match? A freakin PISCADO on a prone Barbarian? Ridiculous bumps and AWA Elbow drops? Hey! It's called a good powermoves match. It was big! It was bonehead! It wasn't boring! WHOMP ASS!

The Flair interveiw with the Bret Hart supporting role was about as classically Flair as you can get. This match will rule the fucking world for the simple reason that they have booked themselves into a guaranteed clean finish. I'm guessin time limit draw. It's Bret Hart. If HE can't carry the ossified Flair to great match, nobody is going to ever again forever. I love this mutual respect/dream match number 1 in the Bret goes to WCW Cavalcade. So Souled Out is gonna be GOOD now....

The Benoit/Mongo match was a lot less than it could have been, though Mongo had the best match of his god-forsaken career. Mongo assumes the Ricky Morton role as Benoit stands around. The Semi Elimination was a wacky, truly makeshift variation on the original. You gotta love Riggs for getting on the good list by totally turning his back on the fannyboy style he was wrestling all of last year and before. Benoit is basically gonna be standing around until Raven is healthy enough to put him over, so I'm expecting a Beat-Lodi-To-Death match next week as the countdown continues.

Hey! It's Rick Martel! I'll be a monkey's uncle! Ah, he can still work, and the As-Boring-As-Senator-Paul-Simon Brad Armstrong ain't gonna hurt you, so it worked for me. WCW attempts to gather up ammo for the assault on Canada by bringing this former AWA champ out of mothballs. If Milkman Millikan shows up, we'll know that they all signed some kind of satanic oath with Bischoff back in AWA. If Baron Von Rashke shows up, we'll know that it involved sacrificing virgins to the spirit of Dick the Bruiser.

HEY! NO GIANT! WOO-HOO!


What Didn't Work

Stevie Ray vs Bill Goldberg was SOOO much of a Hercules Hernandez vs Nikolia Volkoff match. Goldberg actually sold a little, which was a good sign I guess. I feel sorry for Stevie Ray eventhough he sucks, because they can make his brother into one of their top heavyweights and Stevie Ray is gonna be the Eddie Payton of the family. Oh well, he gets paid a lot to suck, so I can't feel too sorry for him.

DDP vs Jericho would have worked if the shithead announcers would have gotten over the whole point of the goddam match. JERICHO IS TURNING HEEL, YOU FUCKHEADS. Notice it.

Savage vs Luger was better than it should have been- what with Savage trying to kill himself, Liz being all old,hot and minky in the DIVORCEE-SEDUCES-THE-TEENAGER- MOWING-THE-GRASS kind of way, the CLEAN PIN IN A NITRO MAIN EVENT, and Luger trying real hard in such a lumbering way, but hey! it's Luger and I can't bring myself to do it. The post match angle involved NOBODY I give a shit about so that can all go to hell too.

(Konan was in the six-man with guys I would usually bust on a whole bunch, but he is outside of the realm of my criticism for a while because I have a one year old daughter and I can't imagine how horrible it was to go through the tragedy that he and his girlfriend went through. Things happen in this world that can't be understood or logically explained in the face of such a loving God.)

THERE YOU HAVE IT.

Monday, September 15th, 1997

What Worked

Juventud Guerrera vs Rey Misterio Jr was about as good as wrestling on Monday gets (since I'm not commenting on the SUPER SPECTACULAR El Pantera performance on the Ollie side). Juventud worked super stiff with the young Lucha punk and was winning the crowd over by mid-match. Rey wasn't afraid to take a hellish bump with that sunset flip to the floor. Juventud and Rey are magic and this was the best eight minutes on TV tonight. And that was win,place, and show for fastest springboard hurricanrana on earth ever. Rey's back, I'm happy, push Juventud harder already. Rey's chest looking like dogfood at the end was the biggest highlight- stiff lucha- I love these guys.

HOLY CATS! Regal is back and potatoing the crap outta Alex Wright. Since Regal and Alex's pop probably go way back, he didn't beat the crap out of him like he wanted to. I hope they have a Regal/Iaukea match soon since Regal doesn't have any qualms about beating the crap outta him. Regal could reach Loch Ness-ian proportions of fatness and still be 1,000 cooler than any other heavyweight in WCW. Dig the Regal chant.

Malenko squashing the Disco Inferno was pretty neat for the intensity that Malenko is shooting for while he is in Horseman limbo. Malenko only works stiff with one guy and that's Disco Inferno for some reason. Malenko should have showed his hand at being the next Horseman a little more, but the seeds are being sown and this match is his first match out of the horrible Jarrett feud. Of course, if he actually becomes a Horseman, he will be wrestling the really horrible wrestlers of the nWo, so maybe this isn't such a hot idea.

The Giant was the only one to really look sufficiently pissed off at the nWo so his match against Konnan worked in that context. I every other context, well.....

The thing that worked the most is that Duggan didn't show up like they threatened he would. It's an odd but effective way of anti-booking. They should threaten us with Kamala next week.

What Didn't Work

The nWo desecration of Flair is fine- in that it builds a lot of heat, gets nWo over strong, gets Hennig over as a true asshole (as opposed to "still good wrestler"), and sets up what could be (if WCW had half a brain, which it doesn't) a good feud with the Horsemen. Instead, the Horsemen are totally discredited for doing nothing all night, the rest of WCW looks like a batch of powdered ass pansies and this whole crappy angle is gonna spiral into the ground, taking all the useless non-working stiffs that permeate the WCW/NWO heavyweight division with it, since they ain't putting Flair and the Horsemen over any time soon. Hogan will turn, Flair will be ruined, Benoit won't have enough heat to make a run at the position held by Hall and Nash, and WCW will suck like it did in 1995. Ed Leslie and the Nasty Boys will return. Juventud will job to newly arrived John Tenta. Lenny Lane will get the Cruiserweight title a month before it's abandoned, and Renengade will return as the Ultimate Weapon. Kick Ass. I can't wait.

Hey! The only WCW guy who was cheesed off enough to show up and face the nWo was Ray Traylor! Yep! Ray Traylor! My hero! God! I hope this angle dies a violent death! Boy! I await the sincerely peeved Michael Wallstreet to grab the ropes during abdominal stretches to really wreak his hellish revenge on the ne'er-do-well nWo who turned their back on him! I hope WWF signs the rest of the EMLL guys so I can get rid of any urge to watch this nWo crap while the first hour of RAW is on.

Eddy Guerrerro vs Ultimo Dragon would have worked a lot better if the hundred-pounds-of -crap-in-a-fifty-pound-bag-that-is-the-nWo didn't take forty minutes for useless midnight-choking-disguised-as-interviews. Eddy SOMEHOW botches a hurricanrana, but the rest is pretty choice for a six minute match. Still, this is way too soon after UD puts Wright over clean for him to put Eddy over clean- especially when there are twenty other guys who can lose to Eddy in a goods match and not lose as much heat. UD is precariously getting over and this ain't helping. If they were going to do this match they should have given UD time to make the match look like more than a rushed Nitro squash. But HEY! It's WCW. Wotta a bunch of morons.

Mongo drops the belt to Hennig. Hmmm... a stiff that tries more than any other WCW heavyweight jobs clean to the latest lazy sack-of-shit to join the Clique Part II, thus killing yet still another WCW belt. My eyes glaze over.

WHOMP ASS!

Glacier vs. Bobby Eaton (01/06/97)
Well, this was squash city. Glacier's contact lenses look weird. He's weird. And he sucks. I don't understand how anyone thought his gimmick would get over. It's sad to see Eaton reduced to this. Only way to describe this is irish whips and kicks. They fuck up the finish, and it's actually Eaton's fault. It looked better the second time round anyway. I think Glacier's entrance lasted longer than the match itself. Oh well.

Konnan vs. Big Bubba (Mexican Strap Match, 01/06/97)
Bubba's in the nWo? Konnan is with Jimmy Hart? I'm awfully confused. Bubba's awesome here, unless I'm just thinking that because of how bad Konnan is. Sure, the gimmick is stupid, but the fans get into it and it's half-way entertaining. Bubba is great for getting heat, I wish he'd gotten a push of some sorts in WCW. I don't know what's up with his punches on the post match attack but they're not great. The finish was strange because surely you'd think the count would've restarted, but no, Konnan scrapes a victory. Story of his life, eh? An ok match, certainly better than I'd expected.