The first thing we’ve got to talk about in the month of August is Summerslam, which came from East Rutherford, New Jersey on the 3rd. The show itself is pretty important for a number of reasons. Mankind beat Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a cage for the opener, giving a tantalising glance to the company’s future. Ken Shamrock, who had been treading water before this, added another dimension to his character by snapping and causing his own DQ, torturing the Bulldog after the bell and becoming, in one fell swoop, one of the more over men on the roster. In the short term, the obvious significance is that Austin, the only red-hot babyface in the WWF at the time, suffered a broken neck in his match with Owen Hart. Austin has heat with Owen until his death as a result, and the Rattlesnake’s career is significantly shortened, as well as his ability to perform curtailed. Somehow, Austin managed to win the IC title, although despite his win (and Pillman’s loss to Goldust), Anvil never actually delivers on his promise to shave the goatee if a Foundation member lost. At the time, the most important thing was the fact that Bret, by this point easily the most hated active wrestler in the US, captured the WWF title from The Undertaker when Shawn Michaels lost his temper and swung for Bret, missed, and caught the champion with a chair. Summerslam felt like a huge deal, and the buyrate for Bret and Taker battered the previous year’s card headlined by Michaels and Vader. In fact, this did almost as many buys as Summerslam 1995, which would have been completely unopposed by a WCW PPV, and pre-dated Nitro entirely.
The following night RAW announced the identity of their new commissioner, who’d be taking over from Gorilla Monsoon as the kayfabe authority figure. The chosen individual was Sergeant Slaughter, a 49-year old veteran, who was making his first appearance for the WWF since the autumn of 1992. The show featured him a lot, as they aimed to have him leave his mark on the company. He interviews Hart Foundation gloating about the WWF title change, to announce that Bret’s match at Ground Zero will be for the title (he and Bret play this quite well), and also that Austin would have a rematch with Owen when he was healed up. During the first hour Slaughter also forces NOD members from ringside during Kama’s match with Ken Shamrock (Shamrock wins thanks to Los Boricuas interference), and also informs Brian Pillman that if he doesn’t honour his Summerslam contract and wear Marelene’s dress to the ring that he’ll be suspended, and also that he’ll have to keep wearing the dress until he gets a victory on RAW. The new Commish also finds time to get in between Bret and The Foundation, so that when Bret heads to confront The Patriot (after he has beaten The Sultan, who is making his first RAW appearance in forever) he is suddenly without his backup. When he turns around to see where they are, he gets jumped from behind by Wilkes and beaten on. Slaughter aside, the first hour also sees Taka Michinoku beat Brian Chrisopther with a roll-up, and a double count-out in a match between Vader and Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
Shawn Michaels heads to the ring at the top of the second hour. He is about to turn heel, but to be honest he is a heel before he makes it to the ring. The reaction to HBK costing ‘Taker the belt is downright poisonous, and the booing comes very close the deafening the adolescent screams which, to be fair, still follow him around. Michaels is upset that Vince, Bret, ‘Taker, and the fans are blaming him for the situation, and he vents at the fans for their lack of loyalty after he has given them the last decade. Like most of Michaels ‘heelish’ promos from this period, it’s better than his other stuff because there is some genuine emotion behind it. You can tell that Shawn, twisted as he was, actually was annoyed with the fans for turning on him. He talks about superkicking Undertaker in their match at Ground Zero, but when The Deadman’s music hits Michaels escapes in the darkness. This leaves Taker free to tell HBK he’ll pay for his crimes, but Paul Bearer appears on the ‘tron to foretell the coming of Kane and announce that it is The Undertaker, the murderer, who will have to pay for his crimes. There’s plenty more Slaughter in the second hour – we see him consulting with a doctor who recommends Austin doesn’t wrestle tonight, he orders the Nation from ringside in Ahmed Johnson’s match with Chainz (a match which, despite winning, ends with a beat down and Ahmed’s ejection from the group he joined a mere six weeks previously), and also is responsible for the decision in the main event. Dude Love takes Austin’s place in the match with Owen. Bret is on commentary, but Austin heads out. When the two get into a scuffle, Slaughter gets isolated with Bret, allowing Steve to hit Owen with his own slammy and meaning Dude gets the win. In the other two matches on this night, The Godwinns beat The Headbangers in a forgettable match that fans shout ‘boring’ at, while Goldust and Marlena sit at ringside for Pillman’s match. The Loose Cannon, distracted by the WWF’s glamour couple, lost to Bob Holly via countout and so will have to wear the dress for another week!
This is the 100th episode of Nitro, so they’ve got an extra hour so this is three hours for the first time. Hogan gets his promo at of the way to open the show, rambling at Lex while Bischoff fawns over him. The opening bout is Mortis against Curt Hennig, with the veteran getting a clean win with his finisher. Hector and Chavo Guerrero team up against Jarrett and Malenko, and predictably it is the full timers that get the win. In an echo of a segment from some weeks previous, Okerlund talks with Stevie Richards and Raven as the former tries to get the latter to sign with WCW, only to be abused (this time he is spat on). The Giant beats three guys – Lenny Lane, Joey Maggs, and Scott D’Amore (of TNA’s Team Canada fame), before Savage taunts him and he winds up chasing him off. A video package of Lex Luger leads into a tag match, in which Public Enemy get a win over High Voltage.
Alex Wright defends the title against Chris Jericho at Road Wild, and gets a win over Scotty Riggs to lead into that. In an interview with Okerlund, Lex guarantees that he’ll rack Hogan and become WCW Champ tonight. Syxx and Benoit ends in a schmozz when Jarrett runs in, Mongo runs in to help, and then Malenko also joins the fray. Booker T then squashes Vincent of the NWO, before the announcement is made that DDP will face Flair. Page tells Okerlund this match has come about due to Flair’s aggressive pursuit of Hennig. Wrath then gets a big win over The Barbarian. Meng comes down to his partner’s aid, and there is a staredown between the two at the end. There’s an interesting moment next. We’ve been promised a surprise by the announcers all night that they don’t want to confirm until they see it for themselves. Then, The Steiner brothers – sworn enemies of the NWO – head to the ring with Ted DiBiase! The man who had bankrolled the New World Order, but who hasn’t been seen for months, talks about the mistakes he made in supporting the group and his own traditional ties. The Outsiders head out, say that he didn’t get that when they said NWO 4 life, they meant it. There’s a few threats for him, and for the challengers come Road Wild. Konnan continues his squashing of the Luchas with Psychosis, although he takes a post-match crutch shot around the head from Mysterio for his trouble. Glacier and Ernest Miller win what is essentially an enhancement match against Silver King and Damien. Eric Bischoff then finishes off the second hour by saying that although he loves everybody there, he hates three people. Dillon, Zbyzsko, and The Giant. The upshot is that he’s got plans for them all, and when Dillon comes out and he warns Larry not to touch him again (complete with threats), Dillon is suitably unimpressed, laughing as he leaves.
With RAW off the air, hour three gets underway with Schiavone and Heenan acting like creepy old men as the Nitro girls dance around them. DDP and Flair kick off this hour, with Dallas Page getting the DQ win when Hennig tries to interfere. Villano IV and V then beat Lizmark and Hector Garza. Next the big guns are out. Dillon is in the ring with a contract for Sting to return to wrestling with a huge match against the newly acquired free-agent, Curt Hennig. Sting drops from the rafter in his harness, takes a look at the contract, but gives it back and leaves. Dillon promises that WCW will keep trying… and then it is time for the main event. The match itself has a big-fight feel, so credit to both (and WCW) for that. Hogan dominates the early going, but when Luger takes control members of the NWO head out. Using good timing, though, Luger is able to fight them off one by one, and seeing him hold his own the referee doesn’t call for the bell. Eventually he’s knocked enough of them off that there is an opportunity to turn back to Hogan. He slaps him in the Torture Rack… and the champ submits. The crowd absolutely ERUPT at the title change, and the ring fills with WCW guys, and in a nice touch it doesn’t seem to matter whether they are babyface or heel. The show finishes with shots of the respective locker rooms, of Hogan screaming about a fluke (before noticing the camera and telling them to get out) and of the champagne party that WCW wrestlers were having…
Three hours is a long time to watch an episode of RAW or Nitro, but WCW did brilliantly well with the viewers this week. Unsurprising, perhaps, given the amount of talent on the show for the anniversary, but the final score of a 4.4 was not only the highest for either show on an opposed week, but was also the highest Nitro rating to date. The WWF fell to a 2.7, so their rating went down for the first time since early June, but I suppose if you think about what they were up against then you wouldn’t be too disappointed with that – even though the gap itself was a gargantuan 1.7…
Road Wild came before the next round of shows, and Luger’s title reign turned out to be very short-lived, as it returned after a period of only days to Hollywood Hogan – an imposter Sting strikes Luger with a bit moments before the decision. The Steiners win on the show, but as its via DQ they don’t take the straps. Rumour has it that this is through political manouvreings by Nash and Hall. The Giant beat Savage in six minutes, Hennig got a win over DDP, Flair beat Syxx, while Jarrett swerved Malenko in their elimination match with Mongo and Benoit. While the Road Wild PPV’s did no business on the door, being part of the motor cycle rally, the PPV actually did decent business… though it was beaten fairly handily with the home audience by Summerslam. Apparently, Hart and ‘Taker trumps Luger and Hogan….
The following night, The Giant is issued with a mystery piece of paper before the credits, and then The Outsiders kick off the show by celebrating that they still have the strap, before beating Bobby Starr and David Moore who come out to the ring to The Steiner Brothers music. The real Steiners come out at the conclusion of the spot and run-off the villains, before posing with the belts. Following on from the staredown last week, Wrath and Meng is next, and it is the veteran who ends the recent win streak of Wrath with a tongan death grip. Both sets of partners end up in the ring and all four end up brawling. Eddie Guerrero beats Jericho in a run of the mill TV match next, Alex Wright insults the fans, and then Dean Malenko faces off against Jarrett after the betrayal on the PPV. It’s a good match with huge fan support for Malenko, and just when The Iceman looks like winning Eddie runs in and assaults him from behind. Mongo evens the odds up and they clear the ring but Malenko takes a ‘don’t trust anyone’ approach and attacks Mongo when he offers his hand. McMichael, though, seems to respect that attitude. Gene talks with Curt and Flair – Flair loves Curt and wants him to be a horseman, but doesn’t like that he has seen him talking with Bischoff. Hennig refuses to commit to the horseman and just wants to focus on tonight’s main event with Randy Savage. The first hour ends with Bischoff, and various other NWO members, crowing about taking the title back and holding onto the tag straps as well. The Giant heads out, but it turns out that what he was served with was a restraining order. He ignores the pleas of JJ Dillon and Larry Zbyszko, and crosses the 50 ft line (helpfully painted by Bagwell), before being escorted from the arena. Hour one concludes with more jaw-jacking between Scott Hall and The Living Legend.
Hour two got underway with The Steiners going over Mongo/Benoit in a competitive match, with Rick getting the duke on McMichael. Then, Gene talks with Luger about the tumultuous week he’s had. The upshot is that Road Wild was a low point but he isn’t done chasing Hogan. In the next bout, Vincent tries to help Buff Bagwell go over Dallas Page but they don’t get the job done, a Diamond Cutter finishing this one. Ultimate Dragon beats Mortis next to retain the WCW TV title, before JJ Dillon comes to the ring to make an offer to Sting for the second successive week. Dillon announces that although the NWO won a lot of concessions in last autumn’s War Games, they are still contractually obliged to appear in a number of places that WCW desire. To get Sting back in the ring, Dillon is willing to use up one of those appearances, and offers him a contract to wrestle Syxx. Stinger actually looks a bit offended under all the crow makeup, and tears the contract up in seconds. As he is leaving, Dillon and Okerlund ask what it’ll take, but the fans already know. The entire arena starts chanting ‘Hogan, Hogan’, and Sting points out to the people. With this out of the way, it’s time for the main event. WCW bill this as the first singles meeting between Savage and Hennig, which I found hard to believe at the time but I’ve never seen a match that proves them wrong. Hennig wins via DQ when Page runs in, although he’s had his problems with Savage and so the Macho Man jumps DDP from behind. Scott Hall also runs in (Hennig leaves them to it and slinks to the back) and the two do a serious number on Page, until Lex, the advocate of WCW unity, makes the save to finish the show.
If RAW had been the Slaughter show a week earlier, this week it was the HBK show. He wrestles only his fifth broadcast match of 1997 in the main event against Mankind, and also kicked off the show with a lengthy promo. In Biloxi, he is greeted a little better than last week, but his schizophrenic nature gets the better of him. Forgetting that he is now a heel, he’s slapping hands on the way to the ring like a babyface. He complains about the way he has been treated since Summerslam, particularly by the WWF officials, but is heckled all the way through by sections of the crowd chanting ‘Shawn is gay’. He is rattled, and it is a mercy when Slaughter heads out because it gives Michaels some focus. Not a lot really gets said, though, and it’s mainly an excuse for Michaels to crack jokes about Sarge’s chin. The opening bout is a country whippin’ match between Hank Godwinn and Hawk. The rules are the first person to leave the ring under the barrage of the other loses the match, but it ends up with all four in and it is Animal that knocks Henry from the ring. Slaughter is seen giving a dress to Pillman, and then Goldust and Marlena come to commentate on Scott Putski’s win over Tony Williams. Turns out they’ve hidden a camera in Pillman’s dressing room and so we can all see Brian trying to get into his dress for the evening. Pillman’s match is up next, but just as he is on the verge of victory Goldust and Marlena interrupt, and the footage of him changing is up on the titantron. An irate Pillman goes on to lose the match, meaning that he’ll need to wear the dress for a third consecutive week. Dude Love is in the ring for the final segment of the first hour, and after some words on the tag situation he is interrupted (and insulted) by Shawn Michaels. HBK has an insurance policy for the match later on. Dude says Mankind will tear HBK up tonight, and then ends up dancing with the dudettes.
During commentary on the opening bout, Owen and Bulldog both challenged The Patriot to a match. Sarge makes it a tag team match between those two, and Patriot can choose his own partner. He chose Shamrock, and they got a win when Patriot pinned Bulldog after a chair slid into the ring by Owen fell into the wrong hands. Video footage of Bret receiving a heroes welcome in Canada then gives way to Faarooq against Chainz. The Nation member gets the win with the help of a new recruit; Rocky Maivia, the returning blue-chipper, comes over the railing to assist, and gives the salute after the bell. Patriot heads out and has some words for Bret, but the Hart Foundation come out and a brawl ensues, which brings out Slaughter in an attempt to get some order back. The main event follows, and Michaels and Mankind duke it out. Half way through, HHH and Chyna head out from the back to the ringside area. The announcers speculate that they are the insurance policy, but they are wrong. They are just there because of their problems with Mankind. The insurance policy comes out not long before the end, and it is Ravishing Rick Rude! When the ref is distracted by Chyna, Rude wallops Foley in the skull with a chair, allowing Michaels to pick up the win. Just as we are about to go off air, though, we hear the forbidding gong of The Undertaker’s music… but then Bearer’s voice insist that the time is drawing near and that Kane is coming….
With Nitro back down to two hours, and a repeat of what many consider to be the WWF’s match of 1996 in the main event, RAW obviously bounced back a little bit on this week’s show. They hit back to a 2.9, what they got against the last 2 hour nitro. WCW’s viewership fell to a 3.8, but that is still a very high number for this time period – the highest for a 2 how show since back in early February.
RAW moved an hour later the next week, in an attempt to get the main event portions of their show unopposed. Nitro, unopposed at 8 EST, opened with a Raven monologue about various manifestations of pain. Once the credits roll we’re into more traditional territory, as Harlem Heat get a DQ win over Vicious and Delicious thanks to NWO interference. Barbarian and Mortis is next, with the former getting the win off a (potentially loaded) big boot. Wrath is in next, but Meng follows and locks on the Tongan Death Grip, refusing to release Wrath despite the best shots Mortis can throw at him. Bischoff has a gloating segment next, which includes a demand of JJ Dillon that the he and the NWO get their own show. Flair then has another go at getting Hennig to commit to the Horsemen. He fails, but the two leave as friends anyway. Stevie Richards then wrestles the first of his few Nitro matches, beating Scotty Riggs, but the lasting image of this segment is Raven coming through the crowd and administering an Evenflow DDT after the bell. Debra’s former allies, Benoit and Mongo, go over her new allies, Jarrett and Guerrero, when she mistakenly drops Double J’s US title strap near Mongo and the former NFL player uses it on Jeff.
A typical Outsiders promo leads into Flair and Syxx, which ends with the usual interference when the NWO guy looks like losing. Hennig, though, runs down to even the odds up and prevent Flair being beaten down. Ultimo Dragon retains the TV title against La Parka, before The Giant takes on Hennig. Bischoff appears during this match, saying that because he has moved within 50 feet of the ring during a Giant match that The Giant is now in contravention of the restraining order and should be arrested. Naturally, no one buys this. Giant then moves towards Bisch, Zbyszko appears behind him, and for a minute it looks as if Eric will be trapped. Giant even gets his hands on him, but at this point the Police dive in to restrain him. Next up is Dillon’s third attempt at signing Sting, but no matter what he puts in front of him Stinger tears it up. Frustrated, Dillon issues an ultimatum – Sting has until Thursday – Clash of the Champions – to tell them what he wants, or they are done with negotiations. At this point Sting heads down to the ring; he grabs Dillon by the collar and points to the fans who’ve been calling out Hogan for weeks. Schiavone is getting frustrated with Dillon and Okerlund’s inability to see what is right in front of their face, and Sting even grabs a sign that calls for the Sting and Hogan match. The main event actually runs late, starting after the 11pm time the show is meant to go off the air. DDP and Lex team against the Outsiders. Page is beaten down for most of the match, and the crowd erupt when Luger gets the hot tag… but lo and behold, the NWO all hit the ring. A couple of WCW guys come out to even the numbers - The Giant heads straight for Kevin Nash – and the show ends in mass chaos.
In truth, Bischoff probably designed the show so that it ran over and the Nitro main event overlapped with the top of the hour on RAW. If you stayed with Nitro, you missed Vince’s introduction of Rick Rude, although we don’t learn much about Rude. Aside from the old trappings – catch phrases, music, etc. – all that is new is that he is an insurance policy, perhaps playing on the fact that he collected a healthy policy from Lloyds of London on his retirement from active wrestling. Owen and Bulldog open the action against LOD, and get the win thanks to an assist from The Godwinns, but all three teams end up brawling. The main event for the night is revealed to be Mankind and Undertaker against HBK and Hunter, and we get some comments from Mankind and HBK about how neither are fond of the idea of forming these teams. Someone queues the wrong music next and Brian Christopher comes out to Flash Funk’s tune, but Sunny (the guest ring announcer) recovers well enough to avoid embarrassment. This one comes about because Brian wants to prove he can beat people bigger than the light-heavyweights, although some bad advice from Lawler costs him the match. Ken Shamrock then gets a routine win over The Sultan (the man under the mask was so dead by now that he’ll have to wait two years to become Rikishi before he’ll win another WWF match at this point), before Rocky Maivia explains why he joined the Nation. He gave everything to the fans, but they turned their backs on him and shouted ‘die Rocky die’ and ‘Rocky Sucks’, and so now he is going to get where he wants to go on his own terms. Crush and Chainz appear on the ‘tron at this point, call them the Nation of Constipation, and challenge them to a fight in the parking lot. There is some footage of the Runnels family on the beach, which is then interrupted because the Nation have reached the parking lot… during the brawl, Los Boricuas steal the DOA’s motorcycles. Brian Pillman’s weekly spot in the dress is up next, but when he is in control Goldust strides into the ring and drops an elbow on Jesse James, meaning the real Double J has a DQ win over Pillman and he needs to wear the dress for another week! Seeing the way Goldust is manipulating the situation, Pillman issues a challenge. He knows Goldust wants him gone, so he puts his career on the line – but if Pillman wins, he gets Marlena as his ‘assistant’ for 30 days. Goldust turns him down flat, but Pillman gets under his skin by calling his wife ‘Terri, as I know her’ and then really drives it home by saying Dakota is his love child! An irate Dustin chases after Pillman, but we hear Marlena pick up the microphone and accept the terms. They leave, but Goldust is seriously unhappy with his wife.
Vader and The Patriot kick off the second hour, with Patriot getting a big win going into the Ground Zero main event.He gets jumped after the bell by Vader, though, and Bret soon gets into the ring. In a strange gesture, he lays the Canadian flag across Patriot as Vader is setting him up for a Vader bomb, but the big man is upset with his, jumps down and snaps the flag in front of Hart! The Foundation run down and help Bret, but Patriot is back up soon and Slaughter is also down to restore some order. A pre-recorded interview with Austin airs. It is fairly lengthy, but the upshot is that he is pissed off about being injured but despite what doctors tell him he has no intention of quitting because he has worked too hard to get here, and he’ll take his frustrations out on Owen when the time comes. Then it is time for the main event, which I suppose we now have to consider the unofficial birth of Degeneration X. Shawn and Hunter perform better as a team than their misgivings might have implied, but they still have to call on rude half way through the bout and the show ends with him slamming a chair into Undertaker, with his forehead looking a complete mess. However, The Deadman sits up, and the show ends with him and Mankind not only victorious, but the heels in full retreat.
Both ratings went up this week, presumably because with them not exactly head-to-head more people can watch bits of each show. Nitro put in a really impressive 4.0, while RAW rose to its highest opposed rating since May of 1996. The last time RAW beat the 3.2 it got on this night, Shawn Michaels was the new babyface champion, main eventing against the man who was supposed to be on a trajectory to the King of the Ring.
The bad news for the WWF was that we are reaching that time of the year again when they were ditched off TV for the US Open Tennis. While summer in today’s wrestling industry can often be seen as a rather disappointing time, when interest in wrestling drops and we are miles away from the behemoth that is Wrestlemania, back then summer always seemed to be crucial and in each instance it is pretty terrible for the WWF to be pre-empted when they are. In 1995, it allows Nitro free air time to debut. In 1996, it gives WCW unopposed weeks when the NWO angle is really taking off. This year, as they fought back, it stalled their momentum.
The unopposed show opens with Okerlund talking about Dillon’s efforts to recruit Sting, and he calls out Bischoff who looks like the cat who has got the cream. He’s fairly sure that Dillon’s ultimatum was a mistake, but Dillon gets on the phone and says that Sting has made it clear enough that he wants Hogan, and so the WCW offices are committed to making a Hogan vs. Sting match happen by the end of 1997. EB is livid, shouting about all Hogan’s title defences all round the world and how there’s no way they can fit a match into his schedule, but as he rants Sting gets into the ring behind him. He has a Hogan shirt with him, which he puts over the face (and then stuffs into the mouth) of Bischoff, who is on his knees with terror. A Raven video, not dissimilar from the one the previous week, leads into the opening match, where La Parka uses a chair to get a victory for himself and Psycosis over Glacier and Ernest Miller. Dragon and Silver King run in and there is a multi-man Lucha brawl, which somehow gives way to a match between these last two which is won with the Dragon sleeper. Hall and Macho Man are out next, and they welcome their newest member DDP. This is because he supposedly helped them at the Clash, and also because the one thing that the NWO didn’t have was a weak link. They also insinuate that Luger has been in a slump since Sturgis. Okerlund actually puts the question to Page after the break, but he calls the idea that he joined the NWO ludicrous and says that the Diamond Cutter he hit on Luger was accidental. Jarrett and Benoit is next, but despite the potential in such a match Jarrett wins it in short and sweet fashion. The Faces of Fear against Wrath and Mortis sees out hour one. Meng gets the win over Mortis, but the post-match brawl is still going on when the pyro goes off for the second hour.
This portion of the show kicks off with Okerlund welcoming the Horsemen to the ring. Flair calls out Hennig, because he wants a decision tonight. Once he is in the ring, Hennig refuses to give one. At this point, Flair calls out Arn Anderson, who hasn’t been seen for months. Arn talks about having vertebrae removed and the impact that has had on his life. He’d put off retiring because he assumed that he’d be able to work hard and overcome it, as he had all other challenges, but that even something as simple as being patted on the back and caused his left hand to basically shut down. He now knew that it was not only suicide for him, but unfair to the wrestlers around him like Mongo and Benoit, to continue, so he is here to say goodbye to the fans. Before he goes, though, he has one last challenge, and that is for Hennig. He says this isn’t a challenge for a fight, but the challenge is for Hennig to not take just any spot with the Horsemen, but to take Arn Anderson’s spot as the Enforcer for the Four Horsemen. This swings it, and Hennig shakes hands saying it would be an honour. Mongo is in the ring next and he beats Eddie Guerrero with a tombstone. Mysterio is out next, who talks about the mistake in rushing back for Road Wild and the recurrence of his injury. Konnan is out to mock him, but when he threatens to break Rey’s other leg The Giant intervenes. Konnan decides that discretion is the better part of valour, while Rey says that The Giant is family. A couple of quick title defences for Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko (over Yuji Nagata and Alex Wright, respectively) sandwich a Harlem Heat promo where they are pissed at not being the number one contenders. The main event is then Savage and Luger. As has become the form, Savage dominates early and then New World Order goons hit the ring as soon as Lex is in control. There is no decision, though, presumably because Hall doesn’t actually touch Luger but bounces Savage into Luger, leaving all three down. Page is then in the ring and goes to check on Luger, only to be put in the rack and the show ends with DDP on Luger’s shoulders and the match still in progress…
In the absence of RAW, Nitro did a 5.0 which is not just the highest rating for either show to date but would also be a hugely impressive rating for either show in many of the months that follow. The only upside for the WWF is that rather than being cut off the air completely, RAW would now be bumped to a slot on Friday night. The show itself was poor – Michaels continued to rant about Undertaker to start, Patriot saves Vader from an assault by Bret and his cohort, while there is a first sighting since his WCW release of Jerry Lynn in a losing effort against Taka Michinoku. Other results saw Hawk beat Davey Boy Smith by DQ, Faarooq and Maivia against Crush and Chainz end in a stable brawl, Dude Love beat Rockabilly, Goldust over Salvatore Sincere, and in a bizarre main event, and in a bizarre main event, Recon and Sniper of The Truth Commission over The Headbangers.
I haven’t seen much in the way of figures for this Friday show. I came across one set, and since the show was both poorly advertised and stuck away in the death slot of Friday night, when most people in the key demographic are probably out somewhere, I wouldn’t dismiss the ascribed rating of a 1.6 as completely inaccurate. Whether you choose to believe these figures or not is entirely up to you. Even if we ignore it, though, the disappointing nature of the show leaves a very sour taste in WWF mouths as we complete the second year of the Monday Night War….