nWo/WCW: Souled Out 1999
-January 17, 1999
-Charleston, West Virginia (Jesus, these first three PPVs were all from dumps)
-Commentary: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay
Not only is this 1999 WCW, a notoriously bad era, but it is the first Pay Per View of the Lame Duck era (following the Double Whammy night of the Fingerpoke of Doom/Mick Foley WWE title victory that combined to spell the end of WCW ever being competitive in the Monday Night Wars).
As if that was not enough, this show features DAVID FLAIR'S debut match. My hopes for this are very low here in the early going.
The show starts with a faux-POTUS press conference, with newly-appointed WCW President Ric Flair meandering on, proclaiming that the nWo is dead and that WCW will continue to kick their butts (odd, given that the nWo held the World title and had JUST reunited into one large stable again, but whatever. They can't all be "Fire me! I'm already fired!" promos from Ric).
The "nWo" portion of the logo is crossed out, now proclaiming that Souled Out is strictly a WCW show.
Before we get into the action, a camera crew backstage shows that Goldberg has been attacked in his locker room. So that's great. Already, I know that "HOW IS GOLDBERG?" will be the "WHERE IS JIMMY HART?" of this show, allowing the commentary team to blow off the matches on-air.
1. "Mean" Mike Enos vs. Chris Benoit
-The ****? So there is just a jobber match on a Pay Per View? Am I supposed to know who Mean Mike Enos is? Or care about him?
-Benoit gets his tires pumped by commentary as the guy who saved the careers of Flair and Arn Anderson (in modern day WWE parlance, he would be The Architect of the Horsemen).
-Enos is a slug here. When Benoit has control, the pace picks up and is a bit more tenacious, but unfortunately, Enos controls most of the flow, and he is sloooowww... it's like watching a match in frame-by-frame. It's a snooze.
Benoit eventually wins a glorified "Iron" Mike Sharpe match after FAR too long with the Crippler Crossface.
RATING: * - Slow, boring. Enos sucks. I don't know who let this match escape WCW Saturday Night where it belongs, but I hope he got fired over it.
After the match, we are treated to a video promo showing the events that led to tonight's main event, a Cattle Prod Ladder Match between Scott Hall and Goldberg. Of course, Goldberg had both his undefeated streak and his world title reign ended when Scott Hall zapped him with a stun gun, allowing Kevin Nash to pick up the win at Starrcade 1998 in December. Revisionist history chocks this up as being one of WCW's terrible moves (and a lot of people got somewhat-rightfully pissy that Nash basically had the power to book himself over Goldberg), but at the time, it was a good call. Goldberg couldn't be undefeated forever, and Nash was WAY over and more popular, as Goldberg was already become tired and played-out in the fans' eyes (go watch the end of that match again and note the ending: the place EXPLODES when Nash beats Goldberg). The true ruining of this would take place with the Fingerpoke, but there was nothing inherently wrong with Nash going over Bill.
2. Norman Smiley vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
-Norman enters the match carrying an urn, which I'm told houses the chipped remains of Pepe The Hobby Horse. Oh, THAT angle; I genuinely forgot that Norman had anything to do with that. If I remember my history correctly, Eddie and Chavo Guerrero had been teaming up, with Eddie heeling it up, abusing his nephew, and commanding him to Cheat To Win. This led to Chavo going INSANE (which, in itself, was funny, with Chavo openly breaking the rules in front of the referee, and yelling "Look, Eddie! I'm cheating!" to his uncle, or just running around and idiotically chanting "Eddie! Eddie!).
At some point, Whacko Chavo started carrying around a Hobbt Horse named Pepe, and I guess Norman was the guy to finally destroy it.
-Apparently, this pre-dates the "Screamin'" Norman Smiley gimmick, and I start reminiscing for that, because it was great.
-Chavo hits some impressive moves early to set a quick pace to the match. There is a plancha to the outside, followed shortly thereafter by a springboard bulldog inside (that looked for a second like it might turn into Cena's modern springboard stunner).
-Smiley's Wiggle Dance is SUPER over here, and the fans pop when he teases it. When he pulls back and doesn't deliver yet (good basic heel work from Norman), they boo the hell out of him.
-At one point, Heenan makes a joke about "Mrs. Guerrero" making chili, and it causing people to become ill. Mike Tenay GOES OFF of him over this, angrily scolding him on the Guerrero family legacy. If Tenay was acting or following some pre-determined cues here, he does brilliantly, because I really bought that he was pissed at Heenan for besmirching the Guerrero family name.
-Norman gets control and starts incorporating a lot of innovative holds and locks on Chavo, using all sorts of twists and all of his limbs to tie up and stretch Eddie's nephew. Some of it is really odd in appearance, but it's certainly creative and interesting. This starts a LONG stretch of almost pure mat wrestling and stretches, and the fans do NOT care for this at all. They might as well be at a funeral for this stretch.
After hitting a Superplex, Norman finally gives in to the urge to Wiggle! This wakes the fans back up for a pop, but I think Norman and Chavo miss an opportunity here as they then IMMEDIATELY go back to the mat, and the crowd collapses back into a funk.
Norman throws Pepe's chippings into Chavo's face RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE REFEREE, but no disqualification is called. Chavo then taps to Norman's chickenwing.
RATING: ** 3/4 - Decent little contest, and I appreciated Norman's interesting submission work, though it is admittedly slow and the fans mostly hated it (though silently... at least they didn't hijack the contest). The clash in styles caused some sloppy moments where it seemed as though Norman wasn't moving as quickly as Chavo anticipated.
3. Fit Finlay vs. Van Hammer
-Van Hammer? Wait, really? Wasn't he a WCW guy in the EARLY 90's? Was I completely wrong about his era, or was he returning here?
-Commentary no-sells this match, electing instead to discuss the options for Hollywood Hogan's next possible title defense (he does not have a defense scheduled this evening) and how Flair is going tough on Hogan and his renewed nWo (this is called foreshadowing, by the way).
-The crowd is equally disinterested here. If it was any quieter, you'd probably be able to hear every single conversation various members of the audience were having. To be fair, this is three matches in a row to start a show that are all near the very bottom of the card.
-The match is just... basic. So little of any note happens. They kick, clothesline, face-rake, jawbreaker... it's just some typical brawling stuff. Different from the previous technical display, but similar in lukewarm, unconcerned pace.
-Commentary shifts gears away from discussing Hogan and starts questioning the readiness of David Flair for his introduction to the professional ring. I actually enjoy when commentary, the crowd, and I are all on the same page with how blase a match is.
As a matter of fact, the crowd never reacts to ANYTHING here. Fit finally wins with a Tombstone, and... he used a Tombstone? A'ight. Good for him.
RATING: * - Not egregiously bad or anything, just... boring and pointless. The dead crowd and ambivalent commentary didn't help keep my interest.
4. Wrath vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
-Four matches in, and no sign of the nWo yet... Huh.
-Bam Bam is a relatively new addition to WCW at this point. Commentary tells us that he came in for a shot at Goldberg, but he never managed to get that shot. So... he's settling for a midcard feud with Wrath? Okay then.
-Here's a brawl between two big hosses who are allegedly feuding, but the early going of this one has no intensity or violence or any semblance that these two are anything but weakly bothered by the other. There are no big follow-ups to attacks or pouncing on a hurt foe. It's just basic, bland, big-guy offense.
-****, does Mike Tenay legitimately hate Heenan or something? Schiavone reference NFL interior linemen, causing Bobby to hit an interior decorator joke. Schiavone asks Tenay if the latter heard the fomer say anything about a decorator, and Tenay offers a terse "No". Heenan says that maybe his headphones don't work, and Tenay frustratedly says, "It's always something with you". God damn, Tenay is awesome this show.
Commentary hijinks continue, as Heenan asks if the others know what size shoe Wrath wears, and Tony just sighs, "I don't know. We don't care". Like this isn't a factoid that is often brought up about other big men or something? Did Heenan crap in their headsets for this show or something?
-Bigelow takes the win after Greetings From Asbury Park, furthering rendering the undefeated streak Wrath had for a while to be valueless. Apparently, Bigelow doesn't have music, either.
RATING: * 1/2. Plodding. Slow. At the absolute best, it's "just a match". It just felt like a brief blow-off match.
5. Konnan vs Lex Luger
-This is the nWo's first appearance of the night, and this match comes about because the newly reformed, heel nWo kicked out Konnan (or K-Dawg, if you will, and I won't) to the curb. Konnan enters first, and he does he whole spiel (You know, "Odelay!" "Let me speak on this!" "Viva la rasa!", etc). I forgot how crazy over Konnan was with all this, and I realize he was basically WCW's Road-dogg. What with the mediocre wrestling ability but red-hot pre-match speech gimmick... right down to the stupid, 90's-ish, DOG nickname.
Konnan throws out that Lex is going to "toss my salad and peel my potato". All right then. Wait, does the latter half of that mean something? Have I missed this euphemism?
-Konnan starts with burning tenacity here, and it really sells that he's been dying to get his hands on Luger. The earlier feuds could have taken a page from this.
Commentary actually gives some good analysis by discussing the drawbacks of such a fiery start, noting that Konnan needs to be wary of burning out too fast and being gassed if the match drags on. Good dissection, guys!
-When Luger finally gets the advantage, he has major league heat. Massive boos rain down on his offense.
This is actually a very fun bitter brawling match. Lex has good psychology, targeting the "cinching points" for the Torture Rack: the neck/shoulders and the lower back of Konnan.
-Miss Elizabeth makes an appearance right as Konnan locks in the Tequila Sunrise (and really? The Tequila Sunrise? Jesus). She sprays Konnan in the face with black spraypaint, allowing Lex to win with the Rack (while commentary debates what was in the can she used... oh well. They had their moment).
RATING: *** - This was a fun little match that got a little sloppy at the end and was much shorter than it could have been. I liked the ending because the nWo needed to be strong in their new reformation, but it also kept the over Konnan from looking like a real loser. I really just wish this match had had another 2-3 minutes.
6. Perry Saturn vs Chris Jericho (with Ralphus) - Loser Wears A Dress match
-So... wait. Jericho's ring music here is Break The Walls Down? That can't be right. So The Network must have dubbed that over his actual WCW music. But... why? And what other songs have they dubbed over that I've never noticed. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS NOW.
-So apparently Saturn was feuding with the referee (Scott Dickinson) at this point? By the way, he's a slimey lookin' ref. I wouldn't trust him, either, Perry! And I guess Jericho has been sucking up to the guy in advance of this match. Commentary notes that JJ Dillon should have assigned a different referee, but I thought Ric Flair was in charge now. What gives? How many In-Charge guys are there?
-The first several minutes are adequate, but not ground-breaking. These two seem to have really poor chemistry to start, and there are a lot of "glancing blows". They just don't seem comfortable together.
They eventually get the feel of the match, but even then, it's not much to speak of. The highlight of the match is Jericho backflipping out of a belly-to-back superplex, but even then, he doesn't land perfectly on his feet, and the announcers aren't even sure it was an escape at first. Still, though... pretty good spot.
Perry reverses a vertical suplex into a small package, but Dickinson rolls them over so that Jericho is on top and then fast-counts the win.
Jericho bullies Dickinson into ordering Saturn to put on the dress, and... Saturn just reluctantly does. He doesn't display much emotion other than mild annoyance. There's no heat or anger; he just puts on the dress. Dickson then just leaves, arm-in-arm with Jericho and Ralphus, and they all laugh at Saturn from the entrance aisle.
RATING: ** 3/4 - This ending hurt both wrestlers. Jericho was too weak to win on his own, and Saturn just looked sad and defeated putting on and wearing the dress. Dickinson was the only guy who came out of this looking good, and what does that matter? The match started off-kilter, but smoothed out as it went.
A backstage interview with David Flair shows us that he has NO personality to speak of.
7. Billy Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera vs. Psicosis vs Rey Mysterio - Four Corners match for the Cuiserweight title
-Schiavone keeps screwing up who "starts" this match based on a backstage cointoss (BETWEEN FOUR GUYS... figure that out). Apparently this is a one-fall, four-way match, but it is one-on-one with tagging in-and-out? Tenay sells the importance of being the two guys to start the match because you can minimalize the chances of the others ever having a shot, but Schiavone again screws up whether Rey or Juvie gets to start and says "Ah, it doesn't matter!" literally within 5 seconds of Tenay telling us how much it DOES matter. Is there a show where Tenay straight up axe murders Schiavone and Heenan? I'd like to see that one.
-It ends up being Billy and Rey that start, and they FLY AROUND at the beginning, in absolute perfect synchronicity. They have a wonderful little segment, but Juvie and Psicosis heel it up by charging in and beating them down before returning to their corners.
-Commentary is justifiably befuddled when Rey and Kidman tag out to an unsuspecting Juvie and Psicosis--who themselves are angry and don't want to have been tagged in--because you need to be legal in the ring to win.
-Juvie and Psicosis have their own marvelous segment that ends with Juvie yelling "That was pretty good!" and trying to encourage an appreciative clap from the audience, but they might as well all yell back "NO" because there is no applause for their effort.
Kidman and Rey both jump off the ring apron to avoid tag ins, and commentary is again rightfully confused. What sense does this booking make?!
All four guys eventually start brawling, and Rey and Kidman end up outside o the floor. Juvie and Psicosis argue over which one should get to hit an Asai moonsault on them, but the faces recover and hit stereo leaping sunset flip bombs to the floor. Nice!
Rey, from the ring apron, monkey flips Psicosis OVER the one of the corner poles, to the floor on the other side of the ring!
Psicosis later breaks up a pin attempt on the Juvie Driver by nailing a missile dropkick, and by this point, I am 100% on board with this match.
Rey and Kidman end up prone on the floor like before, but this time, Psicosis nails a running rana over the top rope, landing on both of them to squash them. Sick!
The ending is a bit of a botch. With Kidman, Rey, and Juvie all in the ring, Kidman climbs the ropes to hit the Shooting Star Press. Rey notices this, and throws himself out of the ring into a huricanrana onto Psicosis so he can then JUST MISS breaking up the pin attempt, allowing Kidman to retain.
RATING: **** 3/4 - This match is absolutely delightful. The chemistry and spots here are flawless. The only things keeping this from being 5 Stars are the logic errors at the beginning and Rey's "Oops! I'm supposed to not be here!" dive at the end.
8. Curt Hennig & Barry Windham vs. David & Ric Flair (with Arn Anderson)
-Hennig and Windham get the nWo theme as their entrance, and... was Windham in the nWo? Wait, was Curt? He isn't wearing anything nWo thematic, as this is just in his blue-and-black singlet. Is this more dubbed music? I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS REAL ANYMORE, WWE NETWORK.
-David ****ing Flair.
-Curt and Barry stall at the start and piss around a bit, prompting Ric to grab a mic and threaten to send them off to WWF if they don't come wrestle. Ha!
-David convinces his dad to let him start the match after some goading by Barry Windham. Flair sells opposition to the idea, but then realizes David would get in at some point, so why not? Poor David looks every bit the child that he is with bright flushed cheeks and his wrestling in a Four Horsemen T-Shirt.
David hits some Wrestling 101 moves on Windham straight out of the first episode of a Tough Enough, and Ric acts like he is reaching the climax of Space Mountain over it. Calm down there, Naytch.
The match is... OKAY, at best, but the fans are SUPER into it, reminding me why I'm not a booker after all, I guess. It's kind of boring me. I feel like I'm just waiting for David to heel turn on Ric, but I'm not sure this is even that match. Look at me, such NOT a David Flair historian.
-At one point, Heenan notes that Arn isn't above pulling out a tire iron, and I SWEAR I thought he said "firearm". So I start ignoring the match to think about AA pulling up his shirt and revealing a piece.
-Lots and lots and lots of Ric Flair selling and getting beat on. Match is wearing on my patience.
Finally, David sneaks in to low-blow Curt. Hennig pulls him in close for a beating, but Arn rushes in and clubs Hennig with the tire iron, allowing David to fall on top for the three-count.
A post-match brawl erupts with almost the entirety of the nWo emerging to beat on the Hotsemen (including a running-in Benoit). Hogan is there, too busy to defend his title, but still getting an appearance paycheck to beat David Flair with his weightlifting belt while Ric is handcuffed to the ropes.
RATING: ** - It told the story it wanted to, and the fans ate it up, but I really didn't care for it at all.
9. Scott Hall vs. Goldberg - Ladder Match Where You Have To Climb The Ladder And Retrieve A Stun Gun/Cattle Prod/Shock Stick, But To Win You Also Have To Actually Use It On Your Opponent, Okay? Why Didn't They Just Put It On A Pole? match
-Scott Hall earns a guilty chuckle with his opening promo by saying "I'm the guy who ended the unbeaten streak. What a SHOCKER".
-Hall tries to do the "Count to 10 and say I won because he ain't coming" schtick, but of course, Goldberg emerges for the match.
-The story of the match is, duh, Goldberg's knee following the attack to start the show. And I SWEAR TO GOD, every time Goldberg limps or reaches for his leg, Mike Tenay says "I think Goldberg is favoring that left knee, guys!". Thanks, Tenay. I needed that observation at least 5 times from you.
-After some early feeling-out, Hall gains the edge by kicking the knee out and going to work on it.
Hall hits an elbow drop off the ladder, and Goldberg goes bloody. It seems... an odd time to have bladed. Bill hadn't really taken any head-blows to this point. I THINK that after the elbow, the ladder was supposed to fall with him and bonk Goldberg, but it missed his head by a solid 2 feet, so it looks like Goldberg just became a hemophiliac out of nowhere.
-Disco Inferno, of all people, runs in and stops a Goldberg ladder climb, allowing Hall to ascend the ladder and ascertain the cattle prod. There's some "Oooo! I'm gonna get ya!" heel teases, but Goldberg ends up wresting the stun gun from Hall and shocks Disco with it.
A neat spot sees Goldberg toss the stun gun in the air for Hall, who is speared hard as he jumps for it. Goldberg then hits a rushed Jackhammer to sell the soreness of his knee.
A cameraman cuts to the entryway for no real reason, and when we flash back to the ring, we JUST get to see Goldberg winning the match by shocking Hall. Then we see what the camera crew mis-timed... Bam Bam Bigelow storms the ring and attacks Goldberg. Hall gets the shock stick while all this is going on and shocks both of them just because.
RATING: *** - Typical WCW botched ending (at least camera crew-wise), but Goldberg did a surprisingly effective job selling the kne injury all match. It was fun.
OVERALL SHOW: 5.5/10 - This feels like a perfectly average Pay Per View. There were some clunkers, the undercard wasn't great, but the main event did at least as much as it needed to, and there was one absolutely stellar match thrown in. Bump it up a half rating based on the Cruiserweight title match. For the era, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. And again, the Cruiserweight match is a must-see. The biggest problem is that some matches could have been longer (Lex/Konnan, Jericho/Saturn, even the Cruiserweights) if they had cut the pointless fat (Benoit/Enos, Wrath/Bigelow, Finlay/Van Hammer).