WCW Nitro
Wichita, Kansas
November 16, 1998
A night of twists and surprises, Nitro fans learned many interesting an unnerving things during the live 3-hour broadcast. Ric Flair brought former Horseman Barry Wyndham back into WCW; a video message from Judy Bagwell revealed that she had been attacked by Scott Steiner; Hollywood Hogan brought out his own version of a bowing Presidential intern, and the LWO gained their most impressive member to date: Rey Mysterio, Jr. (see match results).
But all these surprises seemed insignificant when Bam Bam Bigelow entered the building...(see match results)
Match Results
Juventud Guerrera d. Kidman
Cruiserweight Title Match
Perhaps, the best bout in their Nitro history, Kidman and
Guerrera fought their greatest match to date, with countless
high-risk maneuvers, counters and almost a dozen near-falls.
Guerrera finally overcame his opponent with the 450 Splash.
Wrath d. Raven with Kanyon
Pre-match, Raven sat in the corner and spoke of his childhood to
a chorus of arena boos. He then said he refused to wrestle,
despite Kanyonís pleading. When Kanyon tried to ask his famous
question, Wrath leveled the Raven crony with a lariat and The
Meltdown.
Glacier vs. Kanyon
Glacier came down immediately after Wrath had squashed Kanyon.
During his entrance, Wrath returned, pulled Glacier off-the-top,
and delivered a second Meltdown. Neither Glacier or Kanyon seemed
able to wrestle, but both competitors managed to struggle through
their scheduled match. Kanyon won with The Flatliner, before
collapsing from exhaustion.
Sonny Onoo d. Kaz Hayashi
Onoo, the famous manager-Olympic Karate fighter, appeared to have
set up this match to show the American fans that he was WCWís
greatest Japanese wrestler. But instead of facing a masked
jebronie, Onoo soon realized he was facing Kaz Hayashi, the young
superstar heíd been taunting for the past few months. Onoo ran
into the arms of the referee to avoid his opponent, giving The
Cat an opportunity to spin kick Hayashi into la-la land. Onoo got
the pin, and further ridiculed the young grappler.
Stevie Ray and Horace with
Vincent d. Dean Malenko and Steve McMichael with Arn Anderson
Despite their size advantage, Mongo and Malenko dominated the
thuggish NWO tag team with a combination of technical savvy and
grid-iron force. Interference from Vincent distracted both
Anderson and the referee, allowing Big Heat to clobber McMichael
with a blackjack. Before the black-and-white could secure the
pin, Anderson cleared the ring with a tire iron, but caused a
disqualification.
Eddie Guerrero with Art Flores
d. Rey Mysterio, Jr.
In an effort to have Eddie leave him alone, Mysterio agreed to an
unholy stipulation: If Mysterio loses, he would have to join the
Latino World Order (if Mysterio won, heíd would never be
bothered again). The match went back-and-forth, but soon Flores
made his presence known, setting up Eddie for a devastating power
bomb and roll-up. Juventud Guerrera tried to help Mysterio by
attacking Eddie, only to hit the Masked Superstar with a
springboard legdrop. The maneuver helped Eddie hit a frog-splash
and get the pin. Post-match, a stunned Juvy watched Mysterio
being adorned with the LWO T-shirt.
No Contest: Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
vs. Scott Putski
During the match, Bam Bam Bigelow appeared backstage, screaming
for Goldbergís head. When he couldnít find the Champ, the Beast
from the East ran to the ring and obliterated both Chavo and
Putski. Eric Bischoff, JJ Dillon and a slew of security tried to
get Bigelow out-of-the-ring, but not before Goldberg charged the
ring. A melee ensued, as Nitro went to commercial.
Saturn vs. Konan
Pre-match, Saturn challenged K-Dawg, due to an incident that took
place with the LWO a few weeks back. The Wolfpac member answered
the challenge and fans watched two fan favorites exchange blows.
During the match, the LWO surrounded the ring, interested in the
outcome. Soon, the LWO made a move on Saturn to help Konan, but
K-Dawg still attacked the Luchadors. Angered, Saturn struck both
Konan and the Latino World Order. Post-match, Konan and Saturn
continued to tussle.
Bobby Duncum, Jr. d. Chris
Jericho
TV Title Match
A 7-year veteran and a second generation wrestler, Dunum
surprised Jericho with an impressive mix of power and
Cruiserweight-esque speed. Unable to weaken the big cowboy,
Jericho eventually just walked off, allowing the count-out, but
keeping the belt.
Scott Hall clocks Eric Bischoff
After Hollywood Hogan made a few more election promises, Scott
Hall and Eric Bischoff joined him in the ring. Hall confronted
Bischoff, claiming the NWO mastermind had lost his focus, and
then proceeded to knock Bischoff to the ground. Hogan then
punched Hall and continued to beat him until Nash made the save.
But instead of offering Hall another reconciliation, Nash glared
at his former partner and told Hall to expect the worst on
Sunday.
Chris Benoit d. Bret Hart
These two Calgary boys really heated up the room, throwing their
best moves at each other, in an effort to claim Canadian
supremacy (both men trained with the Hitmanís father, Stu Hart).
Benoit looked especially phenomenal in his return to action but,
due to referee interference, got caught with a groin shot and
subsequent chair shotís to the elbow. Malenko made the save, but
then was also attacked by Hart, who started working over the
Icemanís leg. Enter DDP. Recovered from his own Hart attack,
Page pummeled the Hitman mercilessly. Page then informed the
crowd that he would finish the job at WW3.
No Contest: Goldberg vs. Bam
Bam Bigelow
During Goldbergís elaborate entrance, Bigelow jumped the
undefeated marvel and took the fight to the concrete. The Champ
and The Beast threw furniture at each other and swapped punches
and kicks without either taking an advantage. Security tried to
get the match in the ring so it could officially start, but were
unsuccessful.