Dropping The Ball: WCW February-March 1998

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Dropping the Ball: Sting vs. WCW

The common position asserted is that WCW mismanagement of Sting's return and its immediate aftermath dissipated all the heat built up in 1997 for Sting. I would contend that Sting did more to torpedo himself than WCW did to fuck him up. I have no idea if Sting was trying to reinvent his wrestling style to match his new darker, edgier persona or if he legitimately just could not give two fucks about wrestling, but he absolutely shit the bed in every match I have seen him in during this time period. The only thing could save him was DDP's safety net of pre-planning his matches and DDP's ridiculous work ethic to drag him to a good Nitro main event. Even then, he was clearly the worse of the two wrestlers. I know this will sound counter-intuitive to most wrestling fans, but it is not like his opponents were dogging him. Hogan at SuperBrawl clearly had his game face on and was constantly moving the action forward. It was Sting's shitty staggered selling and bored movements that were dragging the match down.  Hogan looked like a man ready to compete to keep his top spot and Sting looked like he rather be anywhere else. There was one point where Sting just stopped selling like it was not even a no-sell spot. He just stood up straight and nothing happened. It was like what the fuck, dude. There is just no way a promotion can survive with that type of performance from their champion.

WCW's hotshot booking did Sting no favors. He was shoehorned into the NWO Civil War fighting Savage in his first televised match since the Hogan/Sting rematch when it really did not revolve around him. Sting should be the catalyst for the NWO Civil War because he has taken the title not in these throwaway main events. It seems all of Hogan's focus is on the Macho Man and the NWO dissension. It would have be a simple plot device to have Hogan and Savage gunning for Sting to prove to the rest of the NWO, who the top dog is by defeating the Stinger. In this scenario, Sting becomes important because he is a measuring stick for greatness rather than taking a backseat to Hoagn and Savage. It only gets worse in March when Hogan/Savage main event over him and Hall. Hogan & Savage was clearly the bigger match, but Sting/Hall felt more like an upper midcard match rather than a co-main event and was wrestled like a comedy match (that was Hall's prerogative not Sting's, still Hall's schtick was way more entertaining than Sting's general shittiness). Having Sting play second fiddle to Hogan/Savage does no favors for Sting, but his performances are as much to blame as the bad booking. In the next month, I will argue in favor of WCW's booking decision to relieve him of the title so soon because he was clearly flopping in the ring.

Uncool 

The MEGAPOWERS EXPLODE~! Ten Year Later

 I would have executed this story a little differently, but overall I like the fact there is a direction and it feels important. Hogan has his major main event aura that carries any program he is involved in and Savage is so unpredictable and dangerous that really creates a buzz when he is in the ring. It is funny Savage is known for his heavily pre-planned matches because almost everything he does feels organic and wild. The problem stems from the fact that story never advances in a meaningful fashion. Hogan/Savage keep going back and forth as friend and foe. I know, I know they are wrestling's ultimate frenemies, but at some point the story has to advance and they actually have to break up. The Uncensored cage match should have been that point of no return, but the next night on Nitro they are teaming against Sting and Luger. Do not get me started on the fact that Uncensored Cage Match just ended without a pinfall or submission. It was just a standoff and Savage decking Sting. I get they wanted to set up Savage and Sting for the next PPV, but that was so ham-fisted. This was when I first thought WCW's egos and mismanagement was harming the company. The direction had become muddied. Sting was bombing as champion and Hogan/Savage was having trouble moving forward. They could not decide if the NWO was falling apart or regrouping. Hogan/Savage should have been the catalyst for something bigger, but it really never amounted to anything. At the end of March, WCW feels a little stale and confused, but with potential Hogan/Hart and Hogan/Nash matches very much salvageable.

Bret Hart Is In WCW...Doing Nothing

Starting a new job usually means a week or two of just not doing a whole lot in my estimation. Yes, there is some training, but everybody is so busy, you sort of fall through the cracks. Well, Bret Hart has been in WCW for a couple months and they just do not have anything for him. Really Crush turns on him in Nitro! He would go out and call out Hogan and the consequence is that he is top on the NWO B-Team's hit list? The fucking B-Team? He is wrestling a washed up Curt Hennig, are you shitting me.  It would only get worse for Bret once WCW made him actually you know do stuff, namely be Hogan's lackey. Don't worry Bret, Ric Flair and Lex Luger are also doing nothing.

The greatest problem plaguing WCW in 1998 was the lack of direction in the main event, which is already evident as everyone is taking a backseat to Hogan/Savage and even that feud is having a hard time moving forward. It will only get worse. In 1997, Hogan/Sting was the overarching story, but you had compelling main event feuds like Hogan/Luger, Savage/DDP and Outsiders/Flair&Piper that kept the viewer constantly hooked and provided direction. Instead, now if your name is not Hogan or Savage you are left to twist in the wind.

There are incredible number of pictures of Bischoff acting as Hogan's mic stand on the internet

Recommended Match: WCW World Champion Sting vs WCW US Champion DDP - Nitro 3/24/98

Stupid Angle: Ending of Hollywood Hogan/Randy Savage Uncensored Cage Match.

Randy Savage vs Lex Luger - SuperBrawl VIII

I was actually pretty excited for this coming off Souled Out and Luger had his ribs taped so I was expecting a nice wrinkle. These guys have great chemistry, but this is not as fun as the Souled Out match. I like Luger establishing early that his ribs are injured and he can't do a basic press slam. That is how you establish a hook to a match. Savage cheapshots and works the ribs while being his usual wildman character. Luger makes his inevitable comeback and as the NWO swarms the ring. Luger and Savage fight them off together. Hogan leaves Savage for dead as he gets racked. This would come back to bite Hogan. This was pretty much the end of Luger's status as a major player in WCW until late 1999 as he stuck in the dead end Steiner vs Steiner feud and then in the Wolfpac and finally injured. It was a decent match, but I enjoyed the Souled Out match more.

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Hollywood Hogan vs Sting - WCW Superbrawl VIII 

Vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Sting looked like and wrestled like a sad mime. it was one of the most pitiful performances on a grand stage I think I have ever seen. Sure some wind had been taken out of his sails because they botched Starrcade '97, but still they put him over at Souled Out. Booking or not, when you are out in front of those fans, you control your destiny. He just did not want it. He did not look like gave one single fuck. Hogan on other hand was on his A-game. I was shocked at the amount of effort he was putting into this match. He was working a ton of great heel tactics. He was constantly moving and there was a sense of urgency. You got the impression the belt meant everything to Hogan. At first, he was not taking any chances. He was going to whip Sting with the belt and he was going to cheat like a muthafucka. You felt his desperation. Like any egomaniac, his hubris seemed to be his downfall, he would begin to toy with Sting and Sting would get a hope spot and he would quickly cut off as if it was a wake up call. On top of that you got the sense of entitlement from when Nick Patrick came in. "Do you know who I am, I am Hollywood". The egomania, the entitlement, the desperation, the cowardice all was a perfect confluence of a heel. Hogan has his limitations, he can't bump at all and his offense is pretty straightforward. It was never really all that boring because he was always moving and always coming up with a  new way to cheat. Sting looked like all his charisma has been sucked out by a vacuum. His selling was awful. Standing around and staggering a bit is not selling. Get fucking pissed that this asshole is treating you like shit. Let the crowd know you are in pain. Anything besides what ever the hell that was. Maybe the problem was he was trying to get over a new gimmick he was not suited for. Sting the overgrown child hopped up on sugar in the ring suited him so well that this solemn and somber character was just hard for him to really execute. He needed to be a badass and he just felt like a sad mime. The finish sucked so hard. Savage clearly should have fended off the NWO members while Sting made Hogan tap to the Scorpion Deathlock. Having Savage scoop up Sting's heat and just have Sting pin Hogan right after the spray paint can shot was so lame.

I don't really feel bad for Sting. I don't think he deserved the title after that performance. Did Hogan gobble him up at the outset? He sure did, but Sting could have done things to make that worthwhile. He could have called for more hope spots, he could have shown more fire, more pain, more anything really, but we got apathy. Hogan wrestled like his career was on the line and did a great job. Sting needed to carry his weight. I do not fault them one iota to going back to Hogan to transition to Goldberg. Sting blew it.

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Look at Hennig's friggin arm! WOW!

Bret "Hitman" Hart vs Curt Hennig w/Rick Rude - WCW Uncensored 1998

Of all the stars of yesteryear that I have seen in 1998, Curt Hennig has been the absolute worse for wear. I felt so bad for him because he could not do any of his famous bumps. At one point he tries to do his spin out bump, but looks like shit. He gets pissed. You can't tell if it is because he is selling being outwrestled by Hart or if he is pissed that he is not able to perform at his old level. During Hart's comeback, they tried to wrestle their usual sequences but Hennig was taking all his bumps so awkwardly to avoid landing on his back that I was worried he was going to hurt himself. In actually, reminded me of Rude in 93, who would contort himself in such weird ways to avoid back bumps. On top of that, he was working extra light and just not very convincing. From what I saw, Rude should have been the one in the match. He looked great cheapshotting Hart, moved well and even took a bump off the apron. Hell after the match he did a Rude Awakening coming down right on his back. Rude looked great and was doing his best to add heat to the match. Bret wrestled his standard stuff, but due to Hennig's limitations there was just not much he could do. When it came to selling Bret did the best he could to make Hennig's stuff look credible, but there was just no heat. Hart wins with the Sharpshooter, but is left laying by Hennig and Rude. The angle going in is that NWO has a target on Hart's back. We saw that play out a little during the match with Hennig & Rude targeting the knee, but would have liked to see something more violent. This is not a good match at all and it is depressing to see Hennig in that condition.

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WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting vs Scott Hall - WCW Uncensored 1998

Crow Sting is just a shitty wrestler. The Avenging Angel character is wicked cool and a really genius idea, but fuck Sting just sucked at this point of his career. Hall was pretty damn funny with all his stooging and falling outside of the ring on his ass. I was always a mark for his staggered Giant walk after a chokeslam. Sting could not fucking sell cheap central heat to Eskimos. The Sting falling face first into Hall's junk was also pretty funny. Should they really be having a comedy match with Sting and the World Title? No, they shouldn't but it was the best part of the match by far because Sting could not work anyways. There is interference, a ref bump, Dusty Rhodes drops an elbow, but Sting hits the Slop Drop to win. Nothing match. If Hall was wrestling in the midcard and doing this schtick, it would have been awesome. If Sting were not wrestling at all, it would be even more awesome.

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Hollywood Hogan vs Randy Savage - WCW Uncensored 1998

Worst match ever? No. For instance, I thought their Halloween Havoc 1996 match was much worse than this. Once again, Hogan looked game to have a good match and was very energetic. I really don't understand the complaints of the match plodding. They were cutting a good pace and Hogan never really rested once. I don't know if Savage's knee is already hurt, but they go into Savage babyface match mode, which means he gets the shit beat out of him for most the match. The big difference between this and Sting match is that Savage is selling incredibly well. You really feel like he is hurt and a bit discombobulated by all of Hogan's offense. Hogan whipped him pretty good with belt and wish Savage whipped back a bit harder. I liked the first Hogan cutoff sending Savage into the cage hard on a backdrop, which is the only spot to get universal praise from the reviews I read. If WCW were a bunch of pansies and let use see the double juice, I think this could be more entertaining. I am surprised how dead the crowd was for this because everything I saw was pretty decent and given the personalities I thought that would magnify the reaction. Savage hitting the double axe handle from the top of the cage was a crazy spot that woke the crowd up. The ref just letting them out of the cage to do some basic brawling and then head right back into the cage was lame. The finish was fucking atrocious with Savage & Sting standing off against Hogan & Disciple for an eternity only for Savage to deck Sting. Maybe the reason why Sting did not give a flying fuck was because he was booked like a dope. Stupid shit aside, this is not the worst match of all time. I think the cage inhibited them more than anything else because could have been helped by more brawling around the ring. It is a pretty average match, but Hogan and Savage both seem to have some gas in the tank.

The Song Remains The Same

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WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting vs WCW US Champion Diamond Dallas Page WCW Nitro 3/23/30

DDP is in that period of being a super hot midcard act like Austin in 97 or Rock in 98 that is useful to creating some really dynamic booking and fun matches. What I love from a guy like DDP in this spot is that he has a enough natural buzz and charisma that he generates a lot of interest and heat going up against one of the top dog in spite of the fact he is most likely going to lose. He still gains plenty of momentum from just being shown as an equal to the World Champion and there is no booking anxiety stemming from his jobbing.

DDP does a great job throughout the match expressing through his body language and actions how important this match is. He is focused and determined to prove that not only he belong with Sting that he was a very credible threat to being World Champion. The intense lock up and just his posture made you believe he was taking this match very seriously/ Larry Z added a ton to this match by commenting that DDP may have jacked himself up too much and that the calmer, more experienced Sting may be able to take advantage of this. You see just that as Sting almost hooks the Scorpion Deathlock on a overzealous Page. Page sells how quickly it all could have been taking away. He doubles down and goes for the Diamond Cutter, but is thrown off. They hook each other in chinlocks and I am not too enamored with either of them going for it. I did not think either one needed to use the chinlock. Sting has looked the best he during this stretch because he looks to be trying harder on offense and also wrestling he did before the Crow gimmick. I think he was just more comfortable with that level of energy, facebusters and the out of control splash. Not everyone can reinvent themselves in the ring and once he got back to doing what brought him to the dance, he felt more natural and interesting. His selling still left a lot to be desired. I liked DPP getting the knees up on the out of control splash and he goes for the Diamond Cutter out of the corner, But Sting reverses into the Scorpion Death Drop to a huge pop. I loved the beginning and the finish. They definitely would go on to build off this foundation to have an all-time great WCW match the following year on Nitro. ***

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In March of 1998, the Austin Era officially had gotten underway and with a little help from Mike Tyson, WWF was poised to reclaim its throne. WCW may have had a weak two months, but a reset to Hogan as champion is certainly building to one of two major marquee matchups: Hogan vs Hart or Hogan vs Nash, right? Right? Still in the wings you have the People's Champion and blue collar Diamond Dallas Page and the monster Goldberg surging up the card to inject life. Will WCW rebound with a newfound direction in spring?

The Fall of the New World Order: WCW Souled Out 1998

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Guess who is back in circulation? I don't know what you may have heard, but what I need right now is good-time American pro wrestling.

Ryback's Motto

So that is not exactly what Diamond Dave said, but the point remains I needed to something different from all the puroresu from the 2000s, which I will get back to this week. For now, I just needed something different and it does not get much more different than WCW in 1998. I cut my teeth on WCW 1998, but because it is what I grew up on, I have rarely looked back on it. Rather than leave the memories alone, I decided to go back and revisit my childhood. Much to my surprise, I found WCW Souled Out 1998 to be such a  good show, I have decided to review it.

Review & Analysis of Booking:

When you think of 1998 WCW, you think of mismanagement, celebrities, lack of direction, meandering faction warfare, bad Ultimate Warrior appearances and a held down midcard. Watching Souled Out 1998, I saw a  vibrant wrestling promotion that had rebounded nicely from the royal clusterfuck that was Starrcade 1998. The company had four very strong programs on top that would keep the viewer hooked week to week, but also could deliver a strong payoff if booked properly. The most prominent was the dissension within the New World Order.

The eventual New World Order civil war should go down as one of the great booking atrocities in pro wrestling. I would go as far as to say this is an Invasion-level botch. The WWF fucking up the Invasion basically brought it down to its current level of popularity and WCW fucking up the NWO civil war tanked the company to the point it no longer exists. If you watch Nash powerbomb Hogan on the April 20th edition of Nitro, you will see people were rabid for Nash vs Hogan. The New World Order Civil War could have carried them through 1998 in a similar vein to the overarching Sting avenging angle story of 1997. 1997 WCW was characterized by strong focus in the main event with interesting programs like Hogan/Luger, Savage/DDP and Outsiders/Flair &Piper where everyone had a direction. In January of 1998 with the full-time return of Sting and Bret Hart, the Civil War and a red hot midcard, there seemed to be no reason to doubt WCW's health.  At this point in January 1998, the Civil War was still in the nascent stages and they were using the unhinged, paranoid Randy Savage as the catalyst for NWO dissension.

Savage was having issues defeating  WCW stalwart and flag-bearer Lex Luger, but that is not why they were given the main event slot. They were positioned there for two really well-thought out reasons. First and foremost, the NWO dissension was being positioned as the number one program for the year and thus was given the main event status. Secondly, for once, WCW was actually going to send the crowd home happy with Hogan in the Scorpion Deathlock and Luger racking Nash. WCW was finally winning over NWO because there are cracks within NWO. Ending the show on this note, emphasizes the ramifications of the WCW World Title being in jeopardy and how Savage's possible secession was affecting the NWO's efficacy. Sting and Luger are finally turning the tide and we need to watch next week to find out what is going on with Hogan, Savage & The Outsiders.  In addition, the second biggest program, the status of the World Heavyweight Championship played a big role in heightening the tension. Hall had been promised a World Title shot in February, but was now being put on the backburner for a Hogan/Sting rematch at SuperBrawl and he walked away disgusted at Hogan getting another shot.  Without the title, things were starting to fall apart around Hogan, which is good booking progression. Taking the Starrcade debacle as a given, the best thing for them to do was use this PPV to promote their rematch at the next PPV and keep moving forward.

Outsiders vs MegaPowers: Tell me that wouldn't draw

The match that most feel deserved top billing was the great Bret Hart vs Ric Flair match that was wrestled for purely pride to see who the best was. In a promotion filled with WCW vs NWO, it was refreshing to watch two world class wrestlers compete for the sake of being called the best. Much like the NWO Civil War, WCW bungled Hart's run, but for one month they used him perfectly. The match set him up immediately to be a major main event player in WCW before that all went to hell. I understand that this was a feud featured prominently and was the best match. The match really did not have any consequence and it was not going to be the vehicle to carry the company forward. It is the perfect No. 2 or 3 match because it features main event players with a strong story, but does not carry the company. The other major match was the Clash of the Titans to find out who the True Giant of WCW was. Again it is a simple hook, but incredibly effective especially when you see The Giant and Kevin Nash go toe to toe.  Them playing up Nash's no show at Starrcade by having them both put up 1.5 million dollar bonds really added to the atmosphere.   I can't remember the last non-Wrestlemania where the WWE presented four marquee programs that made me want to tune in for a PPV.

But wait there is more! WCW actually had midcarders that were over. Say what! Yes people actually chanted things like "Raven Sucks!", "Jericho Sucks!", and raised the roof with Booker T. People were invested in the wrestlers not just the moves they were doing or the amount of nearfalls there were. To think, DDP nor Goldberg were even on this card! WCW had a roster that would make the current WWE very envious. Souled Out 1998 is missing that one blowaway classic from being considered an all-time great PPV. Hart & Flair and Benoit & Raven are both great wrestling bouts, but they are not at the elite level to carry this consistently good PPV to the next level. Still from top to bottom, this card was always very good from the lucha libre opener to Hogan in the Scorpion Deathlock. Easily one of the best WCW PPVs of the NWO era.

Highlights:

Match of the Night: Bret Hart vs Ric Flair

Honorable Mention: Chris Benoit vs Raven

Funniest Moment of the night: Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff trying to act.

Match Reviews:

Juventud Guerrera/Super Calo/Lizmark Jr/Chavo Jr. vs 

Psicosis/La Parka/Silver King/El Dandy - WCW Souled Out 1998

Forget the NWO Civil War, the Chairman of WCW was their biggest missed opportunity!

Perfect opener in getting the crowd energized for the rest of the card. I always thought Super Calo was anything but cool with his silver surfer mask and shades, but he was not half-bad. It may have been that Psicosis was bumping for him. Psicosis was great as usual bumping around for everybody and wish we got more of him. Surprisingly what really grabbed this crowd's attention was a wicked intense chop exchange between Silver King and Lizmark Jr. I know that Silver King is known for working a bit of a stiffer style in Lucha and have always wanted to check more of him out, but Lizmark really surprised. I thought he was easily the second best guy in this match. He was kicking ass in there. Juvy got his 450 splash in, but I was a bit surprised he did not get more time to be featured. I know everybody loves El Dandy, but this match did not showcase his talents. The dive train was fucking excellent and definitely the best part of the match. Chavo really did not do much besides get the win to set up his big push into an angle with Uncle Eddie. Without a doubt, the big star of the match was La Parka. Even though, I have not watched La Parka's new Lucha stuff, I am always so happy to hear how well he is doing because he is always one of my favorites as a child. He just owned this match with all his antics. It was so immediate how much charisma this guy had and the crowd totally latches onto him. I loved him falling flat on his the apron. The corkscrew Asai moonsault was sick. The crowd ate up La Parka's chair rampage. Doing his strut on the chair and then the way he walked away so proud was hilarious. La Parka is the MAN! Very fun spotfest. ***1/2

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Raven vs Chris Benoit - WCW Souled Out 1998

"Raven Sucks!" chants ring out early and are eventually replaced by "Benoit! Benoit!" chants. Midcard acts that are over, well how about that! I am a pretty big fan of Raven character, but I freely admit he has very few great matches to his name, but this is probably his best in WCW. He really looked on his A-game punishing Benoit and working hims over with simple, but effective moves. The early surprise attack with dropkick off the apron and then using the railing and bulldog on chair were all great moments to keep relentless Benoit down. Benoit did a great job selling all these attacks and how even though he usually only has one gear: forward; Raven has effectively stymied. The one issue with this segment was Raven almost worked it too neutral. The reason he was getting heat was because his character was so detestable, but besides the sneak attack he was not really doing anything reprehensible. I think with some more heeling and bit more chickenshit, this would have built to an even better Benoit home stretch and a bigger crowd reaction. Still for Raven on offense this was really good shit. I love the Benoit transition being a drop toehold onto the chair calling back to Raven doing that to Scotty Riggs (one of most impactful moments of my childhood. I thought that was some fucked up shit back then). Benoit absolutely and royally kicks the ever loving shit out of Raven. Give Raven credit he was selling, bumping and stooging for Benoit and making him look great. I wish I watched the angle leading up to this because it would have made the beating all the sweeter, but I remember enough about Raven to get me behind Benoit. In what may have been the stupidest fucking thing of all time, Benoit does a diving headbutt onto a chair that is Raven's face. My Dad used to shit all over Benoit for just doing the diving headbutt. This just takes it to a whole new level. The finish stretch is short and compact and put everything that needs to be. They tease a bit of drama with Raven nailing a DDT out of a Northern Lights Suplex. So now you don't know who will win because Raven is beat up he can't capitalize. When he goes for it again, Benoit puts him in the crossface, Raven enjoys the pain of the Crossface before passing out. You put over Raven as this sick masochist and Benoit as a unrelenting badass. I think if Raven reminds us why he is a heel during that opening stretch that this becomes the match of the night on a surprisingly great card. As it stands, it is very good match, but just missing that little something. ***3/4

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WCW Crusierweight Champion Rey Misterio Jr vs Chris Jericho - WCW Souled Out 1998

I thought they worked smart match around Rey's knee going above and beyond the typical Jericho works Rey Jr.'s knee over. Again it is so refreshing to watch a midcard match where both acts are over, huge "Jericho Sucks" and Rey is generally well-liked by WCW fans. Jericho is great at false sincerity early interacting with the crowd I wish they would give him the mic to cut a promo beforehand. The early part of the match establishes Jericho is a dick and has the weight advantage. Rey is able to overcome this with his speed, but eventually this cost him his mobility when he goes for the proto-619, which he used as a fake out move. I liked how after that Misterio tried other tactics to stay in control like grounding Jericho and even going after Jericho's illustrious mane. Rey is really good at selling the knee, but how much is really selling, we don;t know. Rey goes for another high risk move but Jericho hotshots on the top rope. Jericho is great at showboating. Rey works through the pain and gets one last ditch high risk move (somersault plancha). He blows out his knee. Rey tries to persevere, but they work a great finish where Jericho counters the hurricanrana off the top rope into a Liontamer. The Liontamer and Crippler Crossface both over on the same show was cool. I love the Jericho character and they work the best possible match given Rey's limitations.

Role Model for the Free World

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Promo Theater with Jo Jo Dillon, Roddy Piper, Scott Hall, Hollywood Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Sting.

Piper is insufferable. I thought he was so fucking lame as a child and nothing has changed. He says some really bad jokes when it is time to be serious about what is number 1/2 (NWO dissension and the fate of the World Title are pretty intertwined) program in WCW. Hogan wants Hall to jump Sting, but he walks away disgusted because his World Title shot gets postponed. Ooooo drama! Hogan and Bischoff do a hilariously bad job of acting. While Sting has a weird conniption fit of crotch chops. I loathe Crow Sting. Sting is just so terribly uncool, which is what made his original, "overgrown child hopped up on sugar" gimmick so much fun.

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World TV Champion Booker T vs Rick Martel - WCW Souled Out 1998

I am a pretty big Martel mark after watching some of his AWA stuff and especially his Strike Force work. I know how much people rave about his two month resurgence in WCW before injuries finally coerced him to retire so I was pretty amped for this. It was the only match on the card I was let down by. Martel was just wrestling his standard Model match and holding Booker's hand through the whole match. I have never been a big Booker fan. I get why he is cool. He definitely has a presence to him. The dude had no clue what he was doing out there. He would just keep going back to that weak armbar to just go back to his next spot without really doing anything to the arm. The match picks up once Martel is on offense. Credit where credit is due, they work a pretty cool transition where Booker seems to have accidentally heabutted Martel in the family jewels on a leapfrog, but Martel was just faking and exploited Booker's sympathy. From there it was your basic Martel Model match work the lower back in a smart, concise fashion to set up the Boston Crab. Once he finally applies it, Booker makes the ropes and then hits his axe kick and a shitty and dangerous Harlem Hangover to win. Has there ever been a non-shitty, non-dangerous Harlem Hangover. WHAT?!?!? You build your entire offense to this move and then it gets blown off by Booker making the ropes and just hitting two moves to win. Where are the transitions? Where is the consequence? It is a decent little match, but the finish sucked and Booker is so limited. 

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Scott Hall w/Madonna's Boyfriend vs Larry Zbyszko w/Dusty Rhodes - WCW Souled Out 1998

Is that Eddie Trunk? Say it aint so, Dream!

Hall is the master of making old guys seem like credible threats. At Slamboree 1997, the Wolfpac put Flair, Piper and Greene over huge and here he made this match so much fun. I loved him starting off cocky and Zbyszko showing him up with some amateur moves. Hall gets more and more frustrated as this goes on. They do a great job building that tension that if Hall can just walloop Larry with a right that the match will be all over. Eventually Larry can't keep it up because of Louie Spicolli  (Madonna's Boyfriend is such a great gimmick name) and Hall catches him with a wicked right while he is down. The crowd tells me why Larry may not have been the best choice for this role because there is a pretty big Larry Sucks chant. Then a Hall Sucks chant follows and back to Larry Sucks. This is not some sign-songy bullshit. You see people in the crowd pointing at each other telling to shut up. I was getting into the heat and Hall did a great job manhandling Larry Z. Then of course in the moment everyone wanted to see here comes Big Dust. What a moment! The crowd was jacked for this and everyone was on their feet to see Dusty deliver the Bionic Elbow. Then he hits the Living Legend and Dusty reveals the nWo shirt and I am pissed. Hall should have gone over Larry Z and they should have built to Dusty vs Hall! Tony and Bobby reacting in shock and disgust came off really organic like they were shoot pissed off. It added to the moment, but I think Dusty lacing it up one more time for WCW would have been huge, but maybe he physically just couldn't go. This was a really fun match between Hall and Zbyszko, who both knew their roles well. Hall was great clowning around for Zbyszko, but when it came time to get heat he got mean. You can't ask for much more for a heel exactly what you want. Larry is not the most likelable guy and thus was not a great fit for this role, but he did wrestle a strong babyface performance. Last good Scott Hall match? ***1/2

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I didn't watch Ray Traylor & The Steiners vs. NWO B-Team because I actually have other things to do in my life. They were playing up Scotty Steiner's short fuse around this time and then once he turned heel he was a chickenshit. Go figure. He is much better as a loose canon once WCW starting booking him that way.

Holla if ya hear me!

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Kevin Nash vs The Giant - WCW Souled Out 1998

This was way more entertaining that it had any right to be. There was major heat for this and it felt like a real Clash of the Titans. Can't think of a time after this where The Giant ever felt like such a big deal. I guess Maywheather? WWE eventually found their footing with him as an upper midcarder they could plug into the main event when needed. Here, he felt like one of the hottest superstars on Earth. Nash to his credit seemed very willing to put him over and stooge for him. They did some great spots to build the tension and then The Giant just steamrolled him with great action. Nash actually busted some shit I have never seen from him, a fucking leapfrog and a tope. I don't care if the tope does not look like Psicosis the fact he tired was pretty damn cool and out over the aura how much this match meant. The Giant catching Nash and throwing him into the post was awesome. Nash is a big dude and it was crazy seeing Giant pick him up and just move him around at will. They sort of lost steam until the end when Giant was signaling for the Chokeslam. Hot coffee is back, BABY! Nash hits a low blow and then GANSO BOMB~! Seriously, a very scary looking spot and I am glad The Giant was ok. All in all an entertaining clash between two super heavyweights when I expected shit. Souled Out 1998 maybe the best PPV of the NWO era, everything has been at least good and am actually going to watch the entire PPV because how good the marquee matches have been. ***

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Bret Hart vs Ric Flair - Souled Out 1998

The last great Ric Flair match or just the last great Flair match in WCW? I can't think of another great Flair match in WCW after this. Even a year later with Hogan, Flair still had some gas in the tank, but he was not given the opportunities just like Hart was given the opportunities. However, on this night, they made the most of what they were given to have one of the best WCW main eventer vs main eventer matches in the NWO era. What I loved about this match especially in stark comparison today is the the two-spot transition. It is never an abrupt change of control everything is earned. Hart shows Flair up early on the mat and with a figure-4. So Flair regroups and realizes that he ain't winning this one fair and squared. In typical Flair fashion, he takes over in the corner, but Hart still has enough left that Flair needs a back suplex out of a headlock and a well-timed low blow to consolidate control. Then similarly when Flair is chopping away in the corner, Hart fires up with punches, but it is the swinging neckbreaker and an attack on leg. It is a false transition as Flair pushes Hart into the railing and begins working over the knee. Flair worked the leg really well, but also kept up the illegal tactics. Hart busted out a nice enziguri, which I don't remember him using all that often. It was a great hope spot. I have not seen Flair/Hart from 92 in years so does Hart always do the strap down no-sell in these matches because that was a cool touch. I wish he deviated from more from his usual finish run and just beat the shit out of Flair and maybe threw some more cheap shots back in Flair's face. The superplex/Sharpshooter finish is quite decisive and a victory like this should have warranted a WCW World Title shot. But WCW's booking was in such disarray post-Starrcade that they never followed up on it until they turned Bret heel. Bret looked to pick up right way he left off in WWF with crisp offense and selling the knee well. Flair looked inspired, but a little gas. He made up for it with his tried and true tricks and his great verbal selling. It was a great story with Flair looking to prove he could still hang even if it was through cheapshots, but coming up short and thus making Bret Hart look like one of the big hitters if WCW was competent. ****

WCW did not know what you were all about.

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Randy Savage vs Lex Luger - Souled Out 1998

I always thought these two had great chemistry with one another. I know a lot of people will write this off because of the participants and the year, but this was really energetic. It shows how much the knee injury fucked up Savage because he looked great here. He was flying around taking cheapshots. Savage and Liz were such a great heel tandem at this point with just non-stop heeling. Luger always seems motivated against Savage and was cutting a good pace here trying to get out from Savage's nefarious tactics. I liked the short quick crowd brawling and Luger really urgent on countering Savage. Luger's cliche finish sequence was pretty lame, but hell Torture Rack finish to win the match. I know Savage/Luger was hardly the biggest match on the card with Nash/Giant and Flair/Hart. However, neither of those matches would have finished the show with the image of Hogan in the Scorpion Deathlock and Nash in the Torture Rack. WCW sending the crowd home happy is definitively a novelty. I thought it was a fun sprint, not PPV main event worthy, but a fun match. ***

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Souled Out looked to set the table for another banner year for WCW. They had hot midcard acts like Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, DDP, Raven, Goldberg and Booker T that could grow with each other as evidenced by the future Benoit/Booker, DDP/Raven and Jericho/Malenko feuds. On top of that, WCW would look forward to Sting's reign as champion, the imminent NWO civil war and Bret Hart shaking up the main event offering fresh match ups. However, as the next months bear out, it is not too easy to predict the future and some of it is not even WCW's fault.

You suck! You really, really suck!