September 27, 2007
Mike Abitabile

Monday Nitro
Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
1/13/97

The Nitro theme music and video is interrupted because The Giant is backstage going nuts. He has sought out the nWo locker room and kicked the door in! He wants Hogan bad. He calls him a four-legged feline. Hogan is way in the back of the room, behind every nWo member. Security escorts him out, including head of WCW Security, Doug Dillenger. Why he’s helping the nWo is beyond me.

Tony Schiavone welcomes us to the program and informs us that, apparently, Hogan has backed out of his scheduled title defense against The Giant at the upcoming nWo Souled Out ppv event.

Mr. JL vs. Chavo Guerreo, Jr.

If you didn’t know, JL is Jerry Lynn under a mask. Tony and Larry Zbyszko are trying to figure out how Hogan can get out of the title match. The Giant won last year’s World War 3 battle royal to obtain the title shot, so it is official. They call Hogan a coward, but Larry points out that Hogan has been wrestling giants since 1980. Tony reminds us that in just two weeks, the same building they are in right now, will host the Super Bowl and runs down tonight’s card. Chavo hits a monkey flip followed by a head scissor takeover. JL heads out of the ring. Chavo hits a plancha over the top and is on fire! He sends JL back in and heads up top, but JL hits a dropkick to knock Chavo back outside and hits a plancha off the top rope to the outside! Chavo gets thrown against the railing, then back in. Tony concludes that Bischoff has something to do with Hogan getting out of the title shot, since he runs WCW. Back in the ring, Chavo hits a flying forearm and heads up top. Again, JL stops this and hits a top rope hurricanrana, which gets a two count. Larry covers for the security stopping The Giant by saying, even though he is so big and strong, he was outnumbered and it was for his own good that he was stopped. Okay, at least it’s logic. Chavo heads up top and hits a moonsault for the win! Too fast to be anything special, but it was a nice showcase. We get some key play replays.

Tony welcomes us back and Larry does the L thing with his hand. They discuss Hogan backing out of the match as the fans chant “Larry!” He calls it a game of human chess and says Hogan is playing games with The Giant’s emotions, as he has successfully done with others in the past.

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs. Super Calo

Hacksaw has the purple and gold WCW flag, along with his 2 x 4. Mean Gene stops him and congratulates Hacksaw on doing something about the nWo. Duggan says someone had to do something, so he did, and now he carries the banner of WCW instead of Old Glory. He then says he can’t do it alone and needs help. He asks for Sting to help and tells him not to be wishy-washy and to be a man. Well then. Here comes Super Calo. But before he can get to the ring, Sting arrives from out of nowhere and hits Hacksaw with the Scorpion Death Drop from behind. Larry assumes this means Sting is with the nWo. Tony instead says we should look at the victims that Sting has taken down – Rick Steiner, Jeff Jarrett and now Jim Duggan and look for a pattern. I got nothing, so I wish Tony would just say what he’s thinking. Tony then says the director is trying to get a new match ready because obviously this isn’t going to happen. So we kill time while we figure something out, as Duggan gets up and poses with his flag, thus killing the effect that he’s too hurt to continue. Well, they finally got that standby match ready to go, and it’s…..

Sgt. Craig Pittman vs. Chris Jericho

Tony proclaims it to be a big night on TNT because, after Nitro, The New Adventures of Robin Hood debuts. Uh-oh, I know where this is going. Jericho hits a spin kick and a running clothesline. Down goes Pittman with a few shoulder blocks. Jericho goes up top, hits the missile dropkick and gets the win, just like that! Jericho celebrates with the fans.

High Voltage vs. Harlem Heat

Tony just keeps babbling about Hogan backing out of the match with The Giant. We got it. No match. Can we please talk about the wrestling? I apologize that a match brought out while you were saying the same thing for the 15th time. Sister Sherri is with the Heat. Booker T and Chaos start the match. He powers Chaos down and they screw up a back body drop. Knees to Chaos as Tony runs down the Souled Out card. Tag to Rage and he comes in with a leg drop. All of a sudden we cut to the back and Giant is trying to get into the nWo locker room, again! He calls Hogan a coward and says he gave Giant his word. This time he calls Hogan a monkey. He likes animals, I think. After security drags The Giant out, the nWo just laughs and Bischoff reveals that Giant never signed a contract, so that’s why it’s not happening.

Back to action, and Harlem Heat is double teaming Rage and Booker T nails him with a side kick. Tony rationalizes that by winning World War 3, it technically equates to signing a contract because the stipulation is, the winner gets a title shot. Rage moves out of the way of a Booker T top rope elbow. Hot tag to Chaos who pounds on Booker T and hits a double underhook suplex. Stevie Ray makes the save and Booker T hits his top rope missile dropkick off the shoulders of Stevie Ray for the win.

Tony explains that, because there is some sort of convention going on in town, the WCW Executive Committee is in New Orleans and is across the street at the hotel and are meeting as they speak and as I type. They plan on making a ruling very soon. Tony points out that Hogan is wearing a WCW title belt, so the WCW committee can make the decision.

Eric Bischoff, Ted Dibiase and Vincent come out and kick Tony and Larry out of the booth. Larry to Eric: “The Executive Committee is here, and if you keep messing up, you’ll be mowing Verne Gagne’s lawn again.” Eric wants to know what’s coming up next, and proclaims Sting as a member of the nWo, based on his actions earlier tonight. They introduce a video package on Sting showing how he attacked Jarrett, Lex Luger and Rick Steiner.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Mark Starr

Eric and Trillionaire Ted let us know that DDP will be a member of the nWo sooner rather than later. This is because Page met with Scott Hall (his old friend) at Michael’s Restaurant at the Barbary Coast in Vegas. Ted wants to get him an nWo shirt. Bischoff invited DDP over for a beer, as they are neighbors. They lock up to start and Page gets a headlock. Bischoff calls Giant dumber than a bag of sand. He reiterates that there is no contract. Page goes for the Cutter, but Starr blocks it, so he gets sent to the ropes and Pages hits the Cutter anyways for the win! Bischoff and Dibiase are happy. And here comes Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to welcome DDP to the group. Nash hugs Page and Scott Hall gives him a shirt, which he puts on! Bischoff says Nitro makes the Super Bowl look weak. Nash turns around to give the thumbs up to Eric and Ted at the booth, DDP shakes Hall’s hand, but doesn’t let go. He pulls him in, and BANG! Diamond Cutter before Nash even realizes what happened to Hall. He turns around and charges, Page back drops him over the top onto a table! Eric and Ted freak out and say he’s made a big mistake. Bischoff and Dibiase are going to the back to devise a plan.

We return with a “Following announcement has been paid for by the nWo” announcement with Hall and Nash to hype up Souled Out. They face the Steiners at the ppv and run them down. They claim to have reinvented wrestling. They know about Scott Steiner’s back injury and claim they have the x-rays and know which vertebrae to go after. “Only a mother could love those Steiners.”

Tony and Larry are back and are happy about what Page just did. Tony informs us that the WCW Executive Committee has made their decision and they are on their way to the Superdome to announce it. He even tells us that it’s a two minute walk from the hotel to the arena. Someone get a stopwatch.

Non-Title Match: vs. Eddie Guerrero (Champion) vs. Dean Malenko

I have a feeling Tony and Larry are going to talk about the Hogan/Giant situation instead of the match. Eddie works on the arm and takes Dean down. Tony says you need heart, not black and white videos. All right. Dean grabs a leg and takes Eddie down. Eddie goes back to the arm bar and they break. Collar and elbow tie up, and they break again. Eddie with a headlock takedown. As Eddie takes Dean down with a shoulderblock, Tony says fans have been writing in asking what Piper was saying in gibberish a few weeks ago after Hogan and the nWo put him out of commission. All we know right now is, what he was saying, was in Gaelic. Far be it for me to poke holes through WCW logic, but if you know what the language was, doesn’t that mean someone had to know what he was saying? Like if I say something in Italian, the only way someone is going to know what I was saying, was someone who speaks Italian and would therefore be able to translate what I said? Moving right along… leg drop kick by Dean as Eddie hits the ropes. Tony’s got a note. The announcement is now! The decision is Hogan must defend the title against the Giant at Souled Out, but there is more. He also has to face The Giant TONIGHT! More details to follow, promises Tony.

Eddie gets sent out of the ring but goes right back in. Eddie grapevines Dean’s leg and Tony points out the fans in the Superdome don’t even know what they are going to see later tonight. If it ends like every other Nitro main event, I think they have a feeling. Eddie tries to lock in the figure four, but Dean stops Eddie’s leg from coming down. Tony and Larry are gushing over the Executive Committee’s decision. Eddie gets the figure four on, but Dean makes it to the ropes and head out for a breather. Eddie invites Dean back in the ring. Tony informs us that the nWo is being informed of the decision right now and gets all self-righteous about how everything in the arena still says “WCW”. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Eddie gets a two count. Spinning ddt off the top is reversed by Dean as he just throws Eddie away. Again Tony mentions The New Adventures of Robin Hood debuts after Nitro. More on that later. Dean locks on an abdominal stretch. Tony reminds us that Eddie will face Syxx at Souled Out in a ladder match, as he tries to get his United States title back, which Syxx has stolen. Dean drops to his knees, while still applying the abdominal stretch, putting more pressure on Eddie’s mid section.

Dean leans backwards and rolls Eddie up for a two count. Syxx has made his way into the arena, set up a ladder and sites atop it watching the match from about 60 yards away from the ring. Eddie fights out of the corner with stiff European uppercuts. He then locks Dean into the Gory Guerrero Special, and drops it down into a backslide for two. They trade pinfall attempts. Malenko hits a short clothesline for a two count. Top rope hurricanana pin attempt by Eddie gets a two. Dean hits a brain buster and that also gets two! Eddie hits a brain buster of his own and calls for the Frog Splash. He finally notices Syxx and gets distracted. Dean comes up and power bombs Eddie for the three count! Great match, once it picked up.

It’s hour number two, and Mike Tenay and Bobby Heenan have joined Tony Schiavone to put over the Hogan/Giant match set for later tonight. More as it develops.

Super Calo vs. Konnan

I guess they didn’t want to give Calo the night off after Sting laid out Hacksaw. Jimmy Hart is with Konnan and Tony reminds us that Konnan is still the Mexican Heavyweight Champion. That’s a very generic title. They trade arm bars and Konnan takes Calo down. Calo rolls up Konnan with a bridge, for a two count. Calo with a flurry of arm drags, followed by a dropkick. Konnan rolls out but Calo hits a summersault flip suicide dive. Heenan is impressed that Calo didn’t lose his hat. Tony apologizes to the wrestlers for not talking about the action and just rambling on about Hogan and The Giant. Well, at least he apologized. Konnan hits two powerbombs and Calo jumps up and hits a top rope leg rana. Konnan hits an elevated ddt after screwing it up the first time to get the win. Heenan says we should call everyone we know and tell them to put on Nitro to see Hogan/Giant!

Chris Benoit vs. Jeff Jarrett

Woman is with Chris Benoit. Kevin Sullivan cuts a promo in the back about Chris Benoit, with the use of chess pieces. He promises that next Monday night in Chicago, he wants to fight. He owns the board, and he is going to take it back. Tony has just found out that the Hogan/Giant match tonight will be a non-title match because you have to give the champion 48 hours to prepare for a challenger. What, are they making this stuff up as they go along? Tony is fine with this though because he just wants to see Hogan get his tonight. Benoit hits a shoulderblock and the crowd hates Jeff Jarrett. In the aisle, Mongo, Arn and Debra are making their way to the ring. Suplex by Jarrett. Heenan tries to make a joke about how Debra is Ms. Mardi Gras and they are going to make a 50 foot high float for her, but screws up and says “5 foot” instead, so Tony laughs at him. Benoit sends Jarrett to the turnbuckle, but it’s reversed. Jarrett chokes Benoit over the ropes. Tenay picks this time to announce that there are internet and 900 line rumors about a recent altercation between Scott Hall and Jerry Saggs, and then he never mentions it again. After a swinging neck breaker, Arn distracts the referee. Jarrett’s back was against the ropes and Mongo wants to hit him with the briefcase but Debra won’t give it to him. By the time he finally gets the briefcase from Debra, Jarrett and Benoit have switched places and Mongo nails Benoit by accident and Jarrett gets the three count! Everyone is upset except Debra.

Gene is with the Horsemen in the entranceway. He says Aaron Neville is upset about the dissention in the Horsemen. Benoit is pissed. He tells Mongo that if he wants to continue being a Horsemen, he has to stop fumbling the ball. Benoit says he was handpicked to be a Horsemen. Mongo, on the other hand, became a Horsemen due to an “unfortunate circumstance.” He’s yelling at Debra and puts over Woman. Mongo apologizes for what just happened. He admits he made a mistake. He mocks the Carolina Panthers who just lost the NFC Championship game the day before. Arn is trying to calm everyone down. He says Flair doesn’t want a part of the personal issues, which is why he isn’t here. Debra covers her own rear end, saying she did nothing wrong. Mongo wants to fight Benoit. Arn won’t let them fight. Mongo and Debra take off. Benoit and Woman are gone too. Arn is not happy because he still has to fight Rick Steiner tonight and he doesn’t need this on top of that.

Billy Kidman vs. Scotty Riggs

Scotty Riggs will be fighting his ex-partner, Buff Bagwell, at Souled Out. On his way to the ring, he looks at the camera and says to Buff, “Smack, smack, smack!” Whatever that means. Riggs with a headlock on Kidman, followed by a body slam, and a dropkick. He’s got an arm bar on Kidman now. Kidman fights back with a head scissor take down. Speaking of Buff, he has come out to join us. He’s watching on the stage and says Riggs is fat, and he’s buff. Kidman goes for the shooting star press, but it misses. Riggs hits the perfect-plex, which was Bagwell’s move, but Riggs stole it and is going to call it the “Ameri-Plex.” Buff would just go and use the Buff Blockbuster move instead.

In case you didn’t know, the announcers again tell us Hogan vs. The Giant will be coming up tonight. Heenan says Hogan must have sweaty palms. Lee Marshall is here with his 1-800-Collect Road Report. He’s in Chicago, site of next week’s Nitro. He tells Bobby that Six Flags Great Adventure is opening a new ride called the “Tilt-A-Weasel.” They then show Aaron Neville in the crowd, so I guess Mean Gene really was talking to him before.

Lex Luger vs. Rick Fuller

Rick Fuller is a big dude. Tony mentions that Luger is the most focused he’s ever been. The crowd is definitely behind him. Headlock by Luger to start. Shoulder block and no one moves. Luger with a hiptoss. Tony is proud of the Executive Committee for showing who’s the boss. Tony says that Rick Fuller isn’t backing down from Luger, so of course, Fuller backs down into the ropes right after he says that. Fuller hits a leg drop and gets a two. I’m sure Hogan loved that backstage. Luger fights back with fists and clotheslines. He hits the bionic elbow, which no one picks up on, and the crowd really is going nuts. He racks the big guy with ease and gets the submission win!

The Giant is making his way to the ring as Luger is making his way back to the locker room. They have a stare down and they show each other mutual respect. The announcers say both guys know how important it is for Giant to be focused tonight. Giant heads to the ring to talk with Mean Gene. Gene screwed up and says they are at the Super Bowl instead of saying they are at the Superdome. He says Giant is getting support from WCW. But that’s not what it’s about. It’s about Giant and Hogan. He says he wants it real bad. He says he won’t be a bookend anymore. He was the bookend that kept the nWo together, but now the books are falling apart. Tonight, he ends Hulkamania. Can he say that?

Rick Steiner vs. Arn Anderson

Tenay asks Bobby for his thoughts on Arn’s current situation, because he used to manage him. Bobby puts Arn over big time and says the Horsemen have problems. Scott Steiner brings Rick out on a leash. Arn takes down Rick. He then works on Rick’s back. Rick sends Arn over with an overhead suplex. Tony then lets everyone in on the secret. Because we are running out of time, WCW will have coverage of the Hogan/Giant match DURING THE COMMERCIAL BREAKS of The New Adventures of Robin Hood. Meanwhile, Arn asked the Horsemen to come out, and no one responded. Tenay says he has just gotten word that the Horsemen are locked in the back in a screaming match. Arn gives up and walks out. Rick Steiner wins by count out. Gene enters the ring to talk to the Steiners. Scott says they are coming for the Outsiders at the ppv. He says he’s not hurt anymore. Scott wants to keep talking, but they are out of time and have to go to a commercial.

Another commercial for nWo Souled Out plugging Hogan/Giant, Outsiders/Steiners and Syxx/Eddie.

Non-Title Match: “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant

Tony lets us know we have to go to Robin Hood in six minutes. Which means, the entrances are going to take about six minutes. The entire nWo comes out before Hogan does. Finally, Hogan makes his entrance and poses forever on the stage. All of the goons go to the back except for Dibiase. Tick tock. Here comes The Giant. Giant gets in the ring and Hogan runs. 2 minutes left. Hogan’s got a mic. “Fe fi fo fum… you know something, you sure are a big dum dum.” Giant tries to get the mic, but that doesn’t work. Hogan keeps rambling about how he used The Giant. Giant grabs Hogan’s head and pulls Hogan into the ring. The bell finally sounds and we have 1 minute left. Giant is killing Hogan. Kick to the stomach. And Hogan bails again. Giant throws Hogan back in, and it’s time to go to Robin Hood.

WWE 24/7 was nice enough to just show the clips of the match, which really lasted 5 minutes, but WCW would have you believe lasted about an hour. Giant is still in control. Tony says it’s been like that since the match started. Hogan pulls the ref in front of him. Giant stomps on Hogan’s hands. Back to Robin Hood, but Tony promises we’ll be back during the next break. We come back again and Giant is still in control. Big body slam by Giant. He’s calling for the chokeslam. And shockingly enough, the nWo attacks. Hogan tells the troops to run. Giant cleans house. See, I told you it would end just like every other Nitro main event.

In truth, it was an interesting marketing ploy. I have a bachelor’s degree in marketing, so I think I’d be a pretty good judge (not to put myself over). But it was doomed to fail. First of all, no one could believe a guy pushing 50 and a guy weighing 500 pounds could go an hour. They just finished up the match and sliced it into the commercial breaks. I see what they were trying to do. They wouldn’t shut up about how big the match would be, which would make you want to see it. But that backfired because you were mad that they wouldn’t show you such an important match. Oh well, at least they never tried that again. Next week, we inch closer to the first ever Souled Out!