March 22, 2009
Matt Peddycord
The Powerdriver Review

WCW Monday Nitro
December 25, 1995
Augusta, GA
Civic Center
(Taped on 12/18/95)

The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: Randy Savage (11/26/1995)
WCW U.S. Champion: Kensuke Sasaki (11/13/1995)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat (10/28/1995)
WCW World Television Champion: Johnny B. Badd (10/29/1995)

Your hosts are Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and that Emmy-award winning Steve “Mongo” McMichael.

Lex Luger (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Scotty Riggs
I don’t know if the show went right into this match or not, but this is where my tape starts. Riggs gets the best of Luger to start with a dropkick and a jumping forearm. EL MATADOR UP IN THIS BEEYOTCH! Riggs takes up some more time with an armbar. Luger fights out and blocks a suplex only to then drop Riggs on the top rope and clothesline him out to the guardrail. Is the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket mascot at ringside? Luger brings Riggs back in with a suplex. Riggs brings up a boot in the corner to stop Luger. Backdrop leads to a small package for 1-2-NO! There is no way Riggs is winning here. Luger sidesteps a missile dropkick and a powerslam leads to the TORTURE RACK! (6:23) At least they let Riggs have a little bit more of a chance this week. *

Gene Okerlund brings out Sting to talk more about Luger. Sting is sick and tired of talking about it. They’re buddies and Sting is doing all he can to straighten out Luger. He says Lex could be acting this way for the wrong reasons, but it also could be for the right reasons. At this point, I think Socrates would throw up his hands and walk away. Sting mentions New Japan (Oh, are they going to be at Starrcade?) and tells them that they are on WCW turf, so beware.

Sting vs. Big Bubba Rogers
I bet Sting hasn’t lost a match since March when he lost to…Big Bubba! How’s that for a win streak? Bubba controls to start with an enziguri and a backbreaker. Sting comes back with a face slam. Bubba falls out to the floor and takes another face slam this time on the floor. Back inside, Bubba avalanches Sting and chokes him down on the mat. Sting elbows out of a chinlock, but gets caught with a forearm. Bubba goes to slam Sting off the top rope, but that turns into an inside cradle for 1-2-3. (5:15) Why did they make that look like an upset win? This was just directionless back and forth offense from my view. ¾*

Now Gene Okerlund drags out Lex Luger and Jimmy Hart. WHATS THE DEAL, LUGER? He says the same stuff he said last week about him being the uncrowned world champion. As Jimmy starts blabbering about the SAME THING LUGER JUST SAID, Sgt. Craig Pittman comes out and asks Jimmy Hart to be his manager. Jimmy’s not impressed with Pittman’s physique, so he’s not going to manage him. But he’s impressed with Shark’s physique?

Dean Malenko vs. JL
Well I guess since Sting and Luger have already had their matches and Savage has to wrestle Flair in the main event, they had to have something to kill time. Malenko schools JL early with a t-bone suplex. They do a nice sequence into a series of rollups – ending with JL snapping off a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. To the floor they go, JL hits a CANNONBALLLLL splash on Malenko from the apron. JL gives Malenko a suplex back inside for two. JL crashes and burns on a monkey flip, but then delivers a sit-out powerbomb for 1-2-NO! Malenko comes back and drops JL throat-first on the top rope out of a powerbomb position. From there, Malenko gives JL the Top-Rope Gutbuster. That sets up an inside toehold for the submission. (3:43) This is back when Malenko was just showing off how many holds he could do as “The Man of 1000 Holds”. Good little match. **½

Gene Okerlund has touched base with Sting and Luger, now it’s Ric Flair’s turn. Jimmy Hart interrupts apologizing for what Kevin Sullivan said to he and Arn last week and asks if he can accompany Flair at ringside to assist him in his 12th world title victory. Flair’s down with it.

WCW World Champion Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair (w/Jimmy Hart)
Why give this away on free TV two days before it could happen on PPV? There was no Monday Night Raw that week. No wrestling competition. It’s Christmas. No one’s watching. Savage posts the leg early and slaps on the Figure-Four. Jimmy helps out pushing the bottom rope towards Flair for the break. Ten-count corner punch by Savage is stopped with an inverted atomic drop, but he does it on the bad knee. Flair goes for the FIGURE-FOUR, but Savage counters into a small package. He tosses Savage out as we go to commercial. We come back and see them both fighting in the aisleway. Back in the ring, Flair drills Savage with a back elbow and lets Jimmy choke him a little bit. Flair goes after Savage’s heavily taped arm and pulls back on the hammerlock to try and get a cheap pin with his foot on the ropes. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with the match, but the crowd has been pretty dead since the beginning of the second show taping. Savage comes back with a few desperation nearfalls. Once Flair is cornered, his leg finds its way all up in Savage’s junk. Heenan confirms Flair has a medical condition. Flair hits a suplex and we go to commercial. Back again, Savage starts a comeback with a backdrop for two. They head to the floor where Flair catches Savage in the gut on the way down as he tried a flying double sledge. Back inside, Flair counters a sleeper with a shinbreaker. It’s time to go to school! FIGURE-FOUR! Flair works the ropes, but doesn’t get caught. Too bad though – Savage reaches the ropes for the break. Flair heads up top, but he’s slammed down. Flair goes to the eyes and hooks on a sleeper. Savage breaks that up by shooting Flair face-first off into the turnbuckle. Savage backdrops out of a piledriver and covers for two. Flying double ax handle gets two. Jimmy Hart hooks Savage’s leg from the floor and gets pulled up on the apron. Savage nails Jimmy and then nails Flair. That brings out Lex Luger to attack Savage for the DQ. (14:25) Sting joins in on the fun and hits a Stinger Splash and a press slam on Flair while Savage and Luger duke it out in the corner. Sting and Savage dump those two out and back into each other. They go nose-to-nose as we fade to black. Match seemed to drag quite a bit as this was not nearly on par with their earlier matches. **

AND WE OUT! Uhh, Merry Christmas?