JT's Replay: WCW Nitro 7/7/97

WCW Nitro 7/7/97
Mid South Coliseum
Memphis, TN

Hour 1
Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay & Larry Zbyszko

- We open this week’s show with a recap of the closing moments of last week’s episode and then check out the opening animation. After that, it is into the Coliseum where Gene Okerlund welcomes us to pro wrestling’s number one program: Nitro! Gene is in the aisle and bringing out Curt Hennig! Gene doesn’t think Curt’s presence is a coincidence and asks him what he is doing in WCW and what side is he on. Curt says he is the greatest wrestler Minnesota has ever seen and he has his reasons for being here. Gene says that BATB is this Sunday and there are rumors that he collaborating with somebody for that event. Curt says he will be at BATB and he will be in action and not just sitting in the crowd. Gene assumes Curt is DDP’s partner against Savage and Hall, but Curt denies it and says he is a free agent…but don’t take “free” lightly. Ric Flair and a random woman now join us and Flair gives Hennig a big hug. He says Hennig is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time is here to join the Horsemen. Curt denies it again and says he will be at BATB and it doesn’t mean anything. Flair tells him he has to be a Horseman and they will party and rock and roll. Flair, Hennig and the woman all head off as Gene tells us to try and figure it all out. We then head to the ring for our opener.

1) Public Enemy vs. Harlem Heat

Tony and Larry talk about Curt and Larry says he does have some connections to NWO members, but he doesn’t know what to think. Tenay talks about Rodman’s wrestling debut on Sunday and mentions that is the talk of the internet. I always loved how WCW embraced the internet right out of the gate and used it quite well. Booker, Stevie and Sherri are out next as we get some more Rodman talk. Tenay says that this is Rodman’s chance to get out there with no rules or worries of fines. Larry says he is in trouble because he has never wrestled before but he thinks Hogan is up to something. Booker works over Grunge to start things off and the crowd is digging the Heat tonight. Tony talks about both teams having something to prove here. Booker puts Grunge down with a clothesline and gets two. He runs Grunge into the corner as Tony tells us this a return match from Saturday Night when Vincent caused a DQ to give PE the win. Larry tells us that PE had a hard fought win over High Voltage yesterday on Pro as well. Grunge hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. He tags Rock, who lands a double axehandle and works the arm. Booker kicks free and tags in Stevie, who slugs away at Rock as Booker holds him. Stevie continues the assault in the corner but Rock sends him into the other corner to turn things around. Rock eats a boot on a charge and Stevie follows with another boot to the face. He tags in Booker, who drops Rock with a sidewalk slam for two. Booker misses an elbow drop, allowing Rock to tag out. Grunge hits a lariat, but Booker garbs a facelock and tags Stevie. Stevie drills Grunge with a backbreaker but misses an elbow drop. Stevie misses a clothesline and Rock blind tags Grunge and they hit Stevie with a double clothesline. Booker comes in and crushes PE with a double clothesline of his own. We cut to the aisle to see Vincent coming out again. Sherri is telling Booker about Vincent and blocks him from hitting the Big Apple by pulling him towards her. Booker leaves the ring and goes after Vincent as Stevie hits PE with a double clothesline. Booker chases Vincent off as Stevie loads up Grunge for a piledriver. Rock climbs up top and Sherri shoves him off, but he careens into Stevie as he has Grunge up and they fall backwards. Grunge covers Stevie and gets the win. Booker is yelling at Sherri as Tenay proclaims the win an upset. That was a fun match but the end was a bit weak. Public Enemy d. Harlem Heat when Grunge pins Stevie after Rock falls on them from the top rope at 4:55; Grade: *1/2

- We check out the Valvoline replay as Gene heads to the ring to see what is going on. Gene asks Sherri if she sent Booker after Virgil…err, Vincent. I love when Gene slips up. Sherri screams something unintelligible and I think she said she didn’t want Vincent to hit them again. Booker tells Sherri to get her act together or step off Team Harlem Heat. Sherri says they can’t fire her because she is quitting. Sherri leaves and Stevie says that the team of Harlem Heat and Sherri is over…sucker. And we are off to break.

2) Joe Gomez vs. Konnan

We are back and Joe Gomez is headed to the ring as the announcers talk about Sherri quitting Harlem Heat. As Konnan heads out, we get clips of him messing up Rey’s knee after Rey’s match with Nash last week. Tony tells us hat Rey’s leg was broken in that attack and then asks if Konnan is headed to the NWO or was it just a personal vendetta with Rey? Konnan mauls Gomez off the bell, maring him over and hitting a low dropkick. Konnan hammers away in the corner as Tenay says that last week’s assault was one of the most sickening things he has seen. Konnan and Rey trained and grew up together in Mexico and he can’t believe Konnan did that. We cut to the crowd to see Raven again sitting out there. Gomez lands a flurry of dropkicks and a clothesline for two. Tenay says he is going to talk to Raven again this week as Gomez locks in a rear chinlock. They talk about Raven’s look and attitude as Konnan fights up and takes Gomez over with a back suplex. Larry wants to know if Raven and Hennig are WCW or NWO or DDP’s partner. Konnan hits a belly-to-belly for two and then locks in an armbar. Konnan hits the rolling lariat and gets another near fall. He follows with a release Northern lights suplex for two and then locks in the Tequila Sunrise for the win. Konnan was working hard out there but Gomez is a lost cause. His offense is weak and he lumbers around the whole time. Konnan d. Gomez with the Tequila Sunrise at 3:08; Grade: *

- Konnan keeps the hold on as Larry says this is the m.o. of the NWO. Konnan heads off as we go to break.

3) Hector Garza & Juventud Guerrera vs. Los Villanos

Garza and Guerrera head to the ring as Tony and Larry talk about Dennis Rodman and the upcoming BATB match. The bell sounds and Garza and Villano V start off with a lockup. Villano takes Garza down and gets a roll up for one. Garza leapfrogs V but gets hit with a clothesline. He floats over off a whip and hits V with a side kick. Garza lands a dropkick and tags in Juvy. Tenay tells us that the word backstage is a six man lucha tag is in the works for Sunday as Juvy dropkicks V to the floor. V tags Villano IV from the floor and IV takes control but Juvy comes back with some chops and a springboard moonsault. Juvy ducks a clothesline, leaps up on IV’s shoulders and then takes him over with a headscissors. Both men tag and Garza tries a dropkick, but V swats him away. V hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and then tags IV in. Tenay runs over the basic lucha tag rules as the Villanos double team Garza. They spike him on the top rope with a hot shot and V hits a powerslam for two. IV tags back in but they miss a double clothesline and Garza tags Juvy. Juvy springboards in but the Villanos catch him. Garza dropkicks Juvy and they all fall back. Larry and Tony debate which tag style is better as Larry says he likes the traditional tag rules because there are rules to break. Garza whips IV into the corner and follows with a dropkick. Garza drops down to his hands and knees and Juvy hits a springboard splash. They try the same thing to V, but V catches Juvy and spikes him down with a nasty one armed powerbomb for two. V hits a pair of clotheslines in the corner but Garza propels Juvy up and over into the Villanos. Juvy gets a sunset flip for one but the Villanos recover and hit Juvy with a double gutbuster for two. Garza comes in and dropkicks V to the floor. Juvy follows him out with a suicide dive as Garza nails IV with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Garza lands a moonsault off the top but only gets two. IV catches Garza charging and powerbombs him down but Juvy breaks up the pin. Garza ducks a clothesline and IV clotheslines V to the floor. Garza heads up top and nails IV with the corkscrew moonsault. Back inside, Juvy drops V with the Juvy Driver. He heads up top and hits the 450 splash for the win. Man that was a great match. The pace was fast and they hit pretty much everything they tried. Garza and Juvy had some great chemistry as a team as well. Garza & Guerrera d. Los Villanos when Juvy pins Villano V with the 450 splash at 6:12; Grade: ***

- We head up to the announce booth and they talk about Hector Garza and the corkscrew moonsault. They are quickly interrupted by the NWO as Randy Savage, Scott Hall and Elizabeth head over to the booth. Tony and Mike take off but Larry says he isn’t leaving. Tony says Larry can get beat up because he isn’t. Savage lies out on the table and Hall tells Larry to take off with the other jabronis. Larry calls them the “Worm Pack” and Savage points out that Larry was insulting them. Larry stays put as Hall talks about BATB. Hogan and Rodman will take care of Giant and Luger but before that, we get a special treat as Hall and Savage team up for one night only to take care of the mid card jabroni, DDP. He tells Page that they don’t care who the partner is, because they guarantee he is going down in Daytona. Savage says the surprise isn’t working and they are taking Page and his partner very lightly. BATB is going to be NWO all the way. Later tonight, we need to stay tuned to see the Macho Man give somebody a wrestling lesson. Hall says the NWO will keep being too sweet and Savage says the table is comfortable. Hall messes with Larry, but Larry rips the headset off and gets right in his face. Hall backs off and we go to break.

-  WCW Saturday Night hits you with two hours this weekend. We will see Eddie Guerrero, DDP, Public Enemy and Chris Jericho in action, so check it out! Tony tosses us to a special in depth interview with Lex Luger and Giant. We hear them speak while see clips of the finish of World War 3, Giant’s return to WCW, the end of their Spring Stampede match with Harlem Heat, Giant choking Rodman a few weeks back and the ensuing beatdown by the NWO. They then speak about Rodman and Hogan and their upcoming showdown. It was a pretty good piece that gave some insight into Luger and Giant before the big match.

4) Buff Bagwell & Scott Norton vs. Eddie Guerrero & Chavo Guerrero, Jr.

Tony talks about the fact that he takes umbrage to Rodman is just showing up and acting like he can be a main event wrestler. Larry rages on about Scott Hall and the incident last segment. Tenay says that Lex and Giant talked about being embarrassed and the fact that Rodman interfered in their territory. As Eddie and Chavo come out, we go back to last week when Eddie used Chavo to beat Dean Malenko. Eddie is rocking a headband and is looking quite heelish as he heads out with his nephew. We quickly cut backstage as a limo pulls up and then quickly drives back off as we take a break. Coming out of break we get an NWO video package centered on Hogan and Rodman. This is the most I have seen them build a PPV match up all year. We finally return to the ring and the bell sounds. Bagwell and Chavo start things off and Buff lands some right hands. He shoots Chavo in and nails him with a dropkick. Buff poses as Chavo walks over and talks with Eddie. Buff lands a knee off a lockup but Chavo takes him over with a flying headscissors. He lands a dropkick and takes Buff over with an armdrag. Tony tells us that Nash and Syxx are not here tonight and reiterates that Savage will be in action. Buff goes to the eye and then sends him into Norton, who clubs Chavo’s chest. Norton tags in and chops Chavo down. He whips Chavo in but Chavo lands a dropkick. As Chavo hit the ropes, Eddie tagged him, so he heads up top and tries a missile dropkick, but Norton swats him away. The Guerreros get up and try a double suplex but Norton blocks it and suplexes both Guerreros in an awesome spot. Tenay tells us that Bagwell and Norton have been dominating the Orient. Mark Curtis forces Eddie to the apron as Buff takes down Chavo and lands big splash. He gets up but Eddie pushes past Curtis and dropkicks Buff from behind. Eddie mocks Buff’s pose, but Buff smacks him in the face. Eddie follows with some uppercuts but Buff press slams him off a charge. Eddie comes back with a dropkick but he charges and gets caught with a Buff stun gun. Buff tags in Norton and clubs at Eddie. Eddie tries a sunset flip, but Norton blocks it and tosses him into the corner by his neck. He tags in Buff and Eddie quickly scampers to his corner and tags in Chavo. Chavo starts jawing with Eddie and ends up getting popped in the face by Buff. Buff heads up top but misses an elbow drop. Buff tags Norton but Eddie short arms Chavo and then takes off. Norton takes Chavo over with a back suplex as Eddie says that is time for Chavo to be a man and grow up. Norton hits another back suplex and gets two. Norton shoves Chavo to the mat and tags in Buff. Buff plays around Chavo, smacking him around and calling for Eddie. He tags Norton back in, but Chavo hits both of them with a dropkick. Chavo goes for a moonsault, but Norton catches him in midair. Chavo shifts his weight and falls on top for a near fall. He pops up and gets his head ripped off by a Buff clothesline. Norton crushes him with a powerslam and Buff follows with a shoulderbreaker. Norton wrecks him with a clothesline as Eddie looks on from the entrance. Norton covers but pulls Chavo up at two. Norton drives Chavo down with a powerbomb and tags in Buff. Buff stands over Chavo and poses and then stomps away at him. Buff tags Norton back in and he lands a straight shot to the ribs. He tags in Buff and then hoists Chavo up in a bear hug. Buff heads up top and nails Chavo with the Blockbuster to pick up the easy win. Buff and Norton were pretty fun here and the match was quite entertaining and told a good story. Norton & Bagwell d. Guerreros when Bagwell pins Chavo with the Blockbuster at 7:59; Grade: **1/2

- We get a replay as Buff and Norton celebrate their victory. Larry says he is staying for Hour Two so he can see Savage wrestle and we go to break.

Hour 2
Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan & Larry Zbyszko

- We are back and the fireworks are going off in the Mid South Coliseum. Bobby comes out and Larry is staying put so we will have a four man team for the moment. It may not last long though because Savage is up next.

5) Randy Savage vs. La Parka

Savage, Hall and Liz head out to the ring as we get some talk on the mystery partner. Larry rags on the NWO being too gutless to wrestle alone. Savage makes a detour and heads over to the announce table. He looks at Larry and then heads to the ring. Parka is already in the ring and waiting patiently as Savage plays to the crowd a bit. The bell sounds and Parka seems weary of Hall at ringside. They circle around a bit more and Savage takes him over with an armdrag. Savage jaws with Nick Patrick before locking up again and hitting another armdrag. Bobby is having a hard time getting his headset to work so we are still on the three man team. Parka grabs a side headlock but Savage just tosses him down off it. Parka gets a small package for two but Savage lands a clothesline. Savage sends Hall over to the announce booth as Bobby is finally hooked up. Hall starts jawing with Larry as Savage stays in control in the ring. He pulls Parka up and slams him down. He heads up top abut Parka gets his feet up as he comes crashing down. Savage goes down hard and when he gets up, Parka nails him with Diamond Cutter! He rips the mask off and reveals himself to be Page to a huge pop. Page covers and gets the win. That was a pretty awesome moment and the pop for the Cutter and reveal was awesome. Page d. Savage with the Diamond Cutter at 3:07; Grade: *

- Hall hears the bell and raises his arms, assuming a Savage win. Page quickly escapes through the crowd as Hall runs back to the ring to see what happened. Larry takes off as Hall sees Page in the crowd and flips out. Liz helps Savage out of the ring as we go to break.

- When we return, Tony talks about the Page win on Savage as we head back to the ring.

6) Silver King & Psychosis vs. Glacier & Ernest Miller

Silver King, Psychosis and Sonny Onoo head out and they are followed by Glacier, Ernest Miller and their laser light show. The announcers give the hard sell for BATB as Glacier and Miller hit the ring. Silver King and Psychosis hit dropkicks before the bell, sending Miller to the floor. Glacier avoids a second one as Psychosis ends up kicking King to the floor. We cut backstage to see Chavo and Eddie brawling in the hallway. Back in the arena, Glacier and Psychosis are squaring off. Glacier tags in Miller as Tenay talks about Eddie’s history as a hated wrestler. Miller lands a kick, but King comes off the top and dropkicks him in the back. He tosses Psychosis in the air and Psychosis kicks Miller to the floor. They double team Glacier but he ducks a clothesline and Miller hits a springboard double clothesline. Miller hits some kicks and then locks in an Anklelock submission. King breaks it up with a somersault legdrop, but Glacier charges in and kicks him into the corner. Psychosis lands a spin wheel kick but Miller catches him on a second attempt and powerbombs him down. Miller heads up top but Wrath and Mortis come in to break up the match and draw the bell. Thank God because that was a sloppy mess. Glacier & Miller d. King & Psychosis by disqualification at 2:27; Grade: .5

- Glacier and Wrath end up on the floor as Miller and Mortis square off in the ring. Mortis clotheslines Miller to the floor. King hits a somersault senton on Glacier and Wrath as Psychosis lands a corkscrew moonsault on Miller and Mortis. The brawl continues as we go to break.

- We are back and dialing up 1-800-COLLECT where Lee Marshall is in Orlando, the home of next week’s Nitro. He is having a Disney style Nitro party right now though. If you want to attend, drop by the box office as soon as possible. Also, Sunday’s BATB is in nearby Daytona, so check it out on PPV. Lee says he looked all around Disney but couldn’t find “It’s a Small Weasel” or “Alice in Weasel Land” but he will keep on looking. Bobby says Lee looks like Tony Orlando. Not his best comeback. We now join Mean…whoo….Gene as the Nature Boy makes his way out to chat a bit. He is accompanied by a lovely lady and a man covered with a sheet. He wants to formally apologize to Gene and the audience because Saturday night he said the Hot Rod would not show up in Memphis…but he is indeed here. The bagpipes fire up, but Flair pulls the sheet off his friend and it is another mannequin dressed as Piper. Flair assures us that this is not the icon of the sport. Flair’s lady has a question: why do they call him Hot Rod? Flair teases taking the kilt off and then apologizes for being modest and not telling Piper he was a punk and a second rate movie maker from the start. He will be like two hundred other guys he carried to greatness because he is a stiff. He has carried more stiffs than there are apples in Washington. The crowd starts cheering as the real Piper walks up behind Flair. Flair keeps ranting and raving as the crowd is chanting for Roddy. Flair reaches back and tries to pull the kilt but it doesn’t budge. Flair whirls around and pulls the girl in front of him. He then bolts for the ring and Piper follows him in. They brawl a bit and Piper is able to rip Flair’s belt off and whip him with it. He tears Flair’s pants off but Flair recovers and hammers away at Piper. Piper shrugs off some chops and knocks Flair down. He locks Flair in the sleeper until Benoit and Mongo come out and make the save. Piper fights all of them off with punches and eye pokes but the numbers eventually take over. They start stomping him to pieces and Benoit hits the flying headbutt as we go to break. That was the best build up to the Flair/Piper match we have had yet as the crowd was rocking for that fight.

- When we return, we join Mike Tenay who is standing with Raven in the crowd. He says it is more of a coincidence that Raven has been here two weeks in a row. It is the talk of wrestling and is all over the hotlines and internet and Tenay wants to know why he is here. Stevie Richards then hops the railing and gets in Tenay’s face. Tenay clarifies who Stevie is, saying he was former partners with Raven. Stevie says Raven doesn’t talk to anybody but his close personal friend, the king of swing, Stevie Richards. Tenay tells him to do the interview instead then. Stevie says he is straight and then tells Tenay to go ask one of the Mexicans what their favorite movie is. Stevie kneels down and says he is Raven’s best friend in the world. He asks Raven to tell the morons of Memphis if he has signed with WCW. Raven refuses to talk and Stevie asks him again. Raven rises and then belts Stevie across the face and takes off. Stevie says he told Tenay that Raven didn’t want an interview as we cut to another Hogan and Rodman NWO video.

- We are back and the NWO music is echoing in the arena as we are joined by Eric Bischoff and Hollywood Hogan. Tenay tells us that Dusty Rhodes mused that the Rodman/Hogan relationship was forged back in 1995 when Rodman showed up as a guest at BATB. Bischoff tells Hogan that Elvis has nothing on him. Hogan tears the shirt to Eric’s delight. Eric said he woke up this morning and watched Regis & Kathy Lee and apparently Lex Luger was on teaching how to work your abs. Hogan says that the so called Hollywood wannabe is his shadow at high noon. And when the Dirty Dog gets his hands on Giant, it will be smooth sailing from now on. When Eric, Hogan and Rodman were putting around Venice Beach, everyone said that Hollywood’s arms were bigger than Luger’s and he was strong than Giant. Rodman has the killer instinct as well. The ring has totally piled up with trash as Luger and Giant come out to join the party. Lex stalks after Hogan, but Bischoff hits him from behind. Lex shrugs it off and turns to face Eric. Giant points at Hogan and walks at him, but Vincent comes in and hits him from behind. Giant chokeslams Vincent as Luger racks Bischoff. Bagwell hits the ring but he eats a chokeslam too as Hogan quickly bails to the floor. Luger keeps Eric trapped in the rack as Hogan yells at him from the floor. The announcers hard sell BATB one last time as Luger drops Eric and Giant tosses him out to the floor. Hall and Norton come out to help Bischoff as we fade out.

Final Grade: B+

MVP: Diamond Dallas Page
Runner Up: Lex Luger & Giant
Non MVP: Chavo Guerrero
Runner Up: Harlem Heat & Sister Sherri

Review Date: February 2009