1998 Discussion

Konnan vs. Lizmark Jr. (Nitro, 02/23/98)
These guys take it to the mat and it was WAAAAYY better than it should have been. Konnan for some reason didn't mail it in tonight and actually SOLD for one of his boys, which he never does. Lizmark Jr used all the neato mat stuff he picked up in EMLL from his dad and Atlantis, and Konnan wasn't afraid to pull off some neat rolly, tumbly roll-ups himself. The postmatch Juventud angle could be REALLY bad if it means that Konan is gonna wrestle Juventud any time soon. If it means that RASMUSSEN is having a fever dream and Konan is gonna bring in some Rudos into the nWo to go after Juventud, then I'm WAY all for this. Especially if it's Antifaz, Black Warrior, Shocker, or Venum. But I think it's gonna suck instead.

Yugi Nagata vs. Saturn (Nitro, 02/23/98)
This was pretty cool in spots but dragged a whole bunch in other spots. The spots that worked were filled with stiff kicks and dangerous suplexes so I thought it worked well enough. Neither of these guys can carry a match for some reason, but can be carried to something truly beautiful because both have a LOT of raw resources. This wasn't beautiful or anything but it was too large in scope to say it was a failure. Hell, they gotta fill TV time, it might as well be Saturn and Nagata trying to instill psychology in a match between fat ass suplexes and lung detaching kicks- though their focus was too blurry. Hell with it, it's stiff enough to work in my book. for free. on Monday night.

High Voltage vs. Buff Bagwell, Scott Norton (Nitro, 02/23/98)
Vicious and Delicious taking on High Voltage was really beautiful. I love that these guys are gonna be New Japan slaveboys for a year and they look way better already. Of course, Buff and Norton are quite familiar with the NJ style so this had to work. Buff was feeling it and was working as stiff as he was working in those nWo Japan six-man matches with Yamazaki and Hashimoto. Norton was almost feeling a NJ flashback as he actually did some actual movement around the ring as opposed to doing what he usually does in the states- which is thank God that Shinya Hashimoto is an ocean away and stand around and work looser than Lex Luger. This was pretty great. The Blockbuster STOMPED my ass with manly goodness as did the springboard bulldog on the unsuspecting Buff by Rage, future heavyweight champion of the world. Now, get the hell back to Japan.

Disco Inferno vs. Eddy Guerrero (Nitro, 02/23/98)
Eddy Guerrero rules and carries Disco Inferno to a decent match now that the DI honeymoon is over after he couldn't do anything with the vastly superior LaParka and LaParka could do nothing with DI. The fact that the best wrestler on earth -depending on who Benoit is wrestling- carries you to a good match doesn't get you out my little doghouse that easily. Next week maybe

Rick Steiner vs. Vincent (Nitro, 02/23/98)
Steiner beats the holy dogcrap out of Vincent- which would be fine with me if it wasn't someone as equally deserving of gigantic ass kicking. Rick Steiner beating the hell out of his first nWo member because he was double crossed by his own brother is pretty cool and all, but it's still the frickin Steiners. You can dye Precious Paul Steiner's hair blond and- hell!- make him wear a tiara or something, but he's still gonna stink. He does look cooler than he EVER has, but let's not get carried away. It will be fun to see how WCW handles this truly hot heel turn as compared to the WWF's total mishandling of British Bulldog's super hot heel turn. But this match was nothing in the way of wrestling. Both these guys suck.

Booker T vs. Renegade (Nitro, 02/23/98)
Hmmmm. I have no beef with Renegade. He's improved from worst wrestler on TV ever to quite a spry stiff- which is more than most of the hideous stiffs on WCW can say. But this is one of those things I'd fast forward through if it came on WorldWide. And this is freakin Nitro. Booker T needs opponents and this would have been a good time for Eddy to make his presence felt. Or Buff. Or somebody else who could be an interesting match-up later down the line. But HEY! It's Renegade! YESSSS!

Ric Flair vs. Brad Armstrong (Nitro, 02/23/98)
God I'm so tired of BOTH of these guys. At least they made an effort, but it's Brad Armstrong. He can be and he is a great wrestler but the fact that he has jobbed to absolutely EVERYBODY (HELL, I think my grandma took him to a time limit draw) pretty much puts this match into the Renegade vs Booker T realm of WHO GIVES A CRAP? I mean, it's not like that Lenny Lane or Kaz Hiyashi match where those two could be getting a push anytime soon and they might get an upset or something. Armstrong is a younger better version of Bobby Eaton- wins on WorldWide, losses on everything that humans actually tune in for. Thus my interest wanes.

Sting vs. Scott Hall (Nitro, 02/23/98)
This was a big heaping stack of nothing. Why do these shitheads even show up if they are gonna do this little for the viewing audience? Why do people like this shit when there are two hundred better wrestlers within a hundred mile radius at any time they are in the ring. This shit sucks yadda yadda yadda forever and ever amen.

Juventud Guerrera vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Juvi rules the EARTH. He and Chavo take it to the mat Lucha Libre style and- even if the shitheads in Philly couldn't appreciate it- I was digging it the most. I loved the first two minutes (or first half of this match) and that it worked without leaving the ring once. Chavo whips out the rolling kneebar and Juventud does a freaky bow-and-arrow Satanico roll-up all in one match. What the heck else could you want? Chavo is really starting to kick it into gear and produce on a consistent basis and the fact that he could go straight Lucha with Juventud says a lot about his development as a PowerPlant wrestler. They botched a thing or two, and it was a Nitro match so it wasn't going to be long enough to be great, but Chavo is so good and Juventud is getting so close to greatness that this match rocked in the lunkhead and shit-for-brains parameters of Nitro. The Juvy Driver (number two?) was great and the 450 is always swank. Juventud is feeling it and his bizarro push is on I guess. Next stop for our excitable boy, Konan.

Raven vs. Disco Inferno (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Fudge it. Raven fuggin kicks ass. I thought it was just the Benoit matches that were 90% Benoit and 10% Raven, but that 10% of Raven's is enough to make a glorified squash with Disco Inferno intriguing. These two had a weirdly transcendent match- maybe the first non-Benoit match where you really see the Benoit influence- Stiff as hell, insane bumps, intensity; Everything but the truly world-class dangerous moves. Still, those who are in the circle of Benoit opponents currently- the US title, the TV title contenders- are all aping the US Benoit and it's establishing a style pretty quickly. I was digging this.

Chris Benoit vs. Scotty Riggs (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Speaking of guys who are gonna be better off aping Chris Benoit, Scotty Riggs could use more matches against Benoit and a chance to break into the TV title picture, because this whole Raven angle got him out of that pansy assed gimmick and has him STARTING to wrestle a lot harder and better. I'd stick him in as low man in the Guerrerro-Booker T- Malenko- Jericho- Martel- Saturn axis of "belts for the guys who aren't neccessarily Cruiserweight but who don't suck ass in the ring like all of our crappy heavyweights." Benoit sells a lot of Riggs offense, an offense which is very deeply in the Better Version of Disco Inferno's Offense, but it's Benoit, he's a pro and a fucking MAN so he has no qualms about making sure his opponent look good, so Riggs has a good match.

Psychosis vs. Prince Iaukea (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Prince Iaukea and Psicosis have a neat little match that sucked because of the ending, but was real good in terms of what was done in the ring. Psic goes about 1/5 Tijuana in his suicidal head-crushing attempts but still good enough for free Monday and the apathetic marks in Philadelphia. The Prince is coming along slowly but surely, in that he looked a LITTLE better this time than the last time I saw him in with a real actual worker (Yuji Nagata). Psic is starting to work stiffer and I dig that, and he sorta tried to kill himself, and I dug that, and Prince did a Steamboat crossbody and I dug that and the actual ending was sloppy, but I dug the reversal concept, so I dug that.

Scott Steiner vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Hacksaw Jim Duggan gets the holy crap kicked out of him. I don't care if it IS Scott Steiner, ANYBODY who can make his Royal Big Stupid Shittiness bump that much is A-OKAY in my book. By the end, Hacksaw looked like he was about to cry because of the beating he had to take. What a big pussy. HOOOOOOOOO!

Super Calo vs. Konnan (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Eh. Konnan was gonna kick the hell out of Super Calo because its Konan and he likes to ruin his luchadores whenever he can- to get himself over, but Calo hit some nice stuff and Konan has been attempting to not suck lately. I dread the Juventud vs Konan match. A bunch. Not as good as the weirdly watchable Lizmark Jr vs Konan match, but, hell, it worked for me and I am the god and all in this little column. So there.

Eddy Guerrero, Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko, Booker T (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Dean Malenko and Booker T get caught RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of Eddy and Jericho hitting a state of pure Rudo perfection as they generated enough goofball rudo heat to heat up all the Nitros and Thunders for the next three months- and since Booker T and Dean Malenko are both about as Lucha Libre as Lou Thesz, you can imagine their bafflement and chagrin. I'll jump on the Jericho-is-the-surrogate-Love-Machine Band-wagon. Well, actually Eddy is becoming the surrogate Love Machine and HE'S STILL the best worker in WCW. This match was pretty freakin GREAT as they go all Memphis with the cheap heat- but with actual good wrestling thrown in. I'm guessing Malenko is booking all this stuff because this was once again the best booked match on the card. Malenko goes over after Eddy beats up on Booker T- showing that Eddy is able to beat up the TV title holder- and Booker T escapes from Jericho, seperating Booker T and Eddy from the Cruiserweight champ, and Malenko gets the clean submission over the champion to heat their end of the cool mid-card tagteam situation. This rocked. Spinerooni Intensive (Jim's Wife! WHIP ASS! Tony WANTED to call it a spinerooni but that big historic main event blurred his judgement.)

Public Enemy vs. Barbarian, Hugh Morrus (Nitro, 03/02/98)
HOOO-BOY! Did that Public Enemy vs Barbarian/ Hugh Morrus match SUCK. Even the tables themselves couldn't get a spot right. When the best worker in your match is the Barbarian, fear for your freakin life. Johnny Grunge did prove that he was a better worker than Hugh Morris. Of course, Hugh Morris really....uh .... stinks.

Goldberg vs. Sick Boy (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Bill Goldberg and Sick Boy are two rookies. Sickboy shows flashes of actual niftiness. Goldberg shows flashes of being shittier than the Ultimate Warrior (All the Roid Rage/ None of the hilarious/pathetic Delusional Self-important Psychotic Rambling). Goldberg- GO AWAY. You stink.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Hammer (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Hmmm. If it sucked so much the first time, IT'S GOTTA RULE THE SECOND TIME! Hell, remember how much better that second Hogan/Sting match was? This sucked but advanced the set-up to Benoit vs Raven vs DDP and two of those guys are on my TO WATCH list. Maybe DDP won't fuck it up. Maybe he will. Okay, he probably will. Benoit better get a friggin belt SOON.

Scott Norton vs. Davey Boy Smith (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Hey now, before you jump to any conclusions about what I would say about these two, let me say that Davey Boy Smith vs Scott Norton was SO close to being good. It was Norton having a New Japan lapse and helping out the crippled DBS to look good and it was big and dynamic and stiff and then they had the frickin run-in before it could actually achieve anything of lasting worth. THIS would be a good feud for DBS. Norton can work when he's feeling up for it and DBS might light a fire under him. Booking killed this match though.

Bret Hart vs. Brian Adams (Nitro, 03/02/98)
Bret Hart has been dubbed the Misawa of North America by my esteemed evil nemesis and all around smarter guy than me, John D Williams. But nobody EVER said he had the power to raise the dead or feed a multide with eight loaves of bread and eight fishes. HELLOOOOO BRIAN ADAMS! Welcome to the Kevin Nash Realm of Wrestlers Who Suck So Bad That Bret Frickin Hart Can't Carry You To A Watchable Match. At least I think Adams WANTS to have a good match- as opposed to lazy worthless sack-o-crap Nash, but HEY! Luger wants to have good matches too. But Luger and Adams both really suck, soooooo- want in one hand and crap in the other and see which one fills up first, as my Uncle Doug- who could kick all these guys' asses at once- would say.

Sting, Kevin Nash vs. Scott Hall, Giant (Nitro, 07/20/98)
My God, I want to marry this crowd it's that hot. None of the wrestling is anything special, but the crowd make it come across a million times better than it actually is. For 10 minutes, they got it right on the button. I can't believe how over the Wolfpack are, they are literally chomping at the bit for everything Sting and Nash do. That time when Sting was about to splash Giant but got kicked in the gut? The reaction from the crowd gave me goosebumps. Of course, Bret Hart has to interfere and ruin everything but up until the very last few seconds, this was a blast. I love matches like these.

Goldberg vs Hogan - Nitro, 7/6/98
Been meaning to watch this one forever. Goldberg's entrance gives me chills, and the size of the crowd makes me the millionth person to wonder: Why the Blue He'll did they give away this match on free tv? Not a particularly special match from a technical standpoint. Hogan does all the work, while Goldberg just seems confused. A perfect example is a chain wrestling sequence where Hogan goes into a hammerlock. G reverses into his own hammerlock, at which point he proceeds to stand there holding the arm and clearly unsure what to do. They're fortunate we get the shot from behind, or the camera would likely have picked up a "What now?" expression. In the end, Hogan gets distracted by some confusing runins, setting up for the spear and vertical suplex. Goldberg knew how to work the crowd with his spear, jumping up and roaring like Leonidas. The crowd is nuts, and the spectacle covers up the fact that we got about 10 min of beginner level work. Great theater.

Rick Martel vs Eddie Guerrero -- Nitro, Feb 1998
Ahh, Nitro Girls. :-) Eddie's so awesome in his entrance, making like he doesn't care even a little bit about the fans or the match. This one's another 4.5 min match. Martel looks really good here, press slamming Eddie and coming off the second rope for a lariat. Eddie does a great bit where he distracts the ref by complaining about Martel's allegedly pulling his hair during the armdrags, demonstrating on the ref what Martel supposedly did. EG was such a master of the little things.