Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Monday Nitro 4.15.96

-There was no show on April 8 and Im not sure why.

I think it was too early for NBA playoffs.

No matter was we just jump a couple weeks.

Last time Booty Man promised some kind of crazy stipulation for Hogans match against Sullivan and Arn Anderson.

Lets get to it! -Announce Team: Eric Bischoff, Mongo, and Bobby Heenan -Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, WV Handicap Match: Hulk Hogan vs.

Arn Anderson and Kevin Sullivan (w/ Woman, Liz, and Jimmy Hart) -The story is Booty Man was hurt on Saturday Night and Hogan just opted to go this one alone.

Thats not what was said 2 weeks ago, but whatever.

The added stipulation is if Hogan wins he gets to pick a manager (including Woman or Liz) for a 5 minute match and if Sullivan/Arn win, they get The Booty Babe for 5 minutes.

What is that stip? So no tags as its just Hogan fighting off both men and they bump around for him at various points.

Arn gets sent into the railing.

Hogan uses a chair on both men as I assume this is no DQ.

Arn and Sullivan get tossed into each other.

Arn goes to the eyes and now the numbers game is actually ad advantage.

Jimmy Hart lays in some boots as well.

The crowd starts a Hogan chant as he sends Arn into Sullivan with a catapult.

Belly to back suplex on Arn.

Slam on Sullivan and Hogan drops the leg for the pin at 4:20.

Winner: Hulk Hogan via pin at 4:20 -Yeah, this was no good and made Arn and Sullivan look even worse than they had been.

I assume the idea with all of this was to let Hogan just keep beating these two up week after week to keep him away from everything else.

Arn did get those back-to-back wins too, so I guess everything after was him returning the favor.

DUD -So Hogan, gets to pick a manager to beat up and can pick from two ladies if he wants.

Just why? Mongo with an awful sounding line: Dont fight it darling, just get in the ring, and Bischoff notes Liz has been writing checks with her mouth, that she cant cash.

Woman puts Liz in front of her and the crowd is cheering all of this is creepy.

Hogan grabs both women and thankfully, he lets them go and picks Jimmy Hart.

Jimmy tries to throw powder and that goes wrong.

Hogan rips off Jimmys shirt and then hits an atomic drop.

Big boot as Bischoff is howling at all of this.

The Giant is out and the crowd is freaking out now.

Chokeslam! Hogan gets up with no issues and starts firing away with right hands.

Big Boot hits chest and then Hogan goes to the eyes before hitting a slam.

Gene comes in to interview Hogan and nearly gets slammed.

-There is more cheers than boos, but you can certainly hear the boos.

Hogan notes he thought Gene was Jimmy Hart.

The boos get louder as he cuts a promo about getting back to the top and then the cheers come as his music hits and he poses.

Heenan goes on a rant about how the crowd can cheer someone who used chairs, put his hands on women, and beat up a manager.

Brain has a point here! Hogan would be gone for 83 days and then IT happened.

Falls Count Anywhere: Public Enemy vs.

The Nasty Boys -Nasty Boys attack as PE is making their entrance with a chair and trash can.

After weeks of saying it was either The Steiners or Road Warriors, it ended up being The PE that attacked The Nasty boys about a month ago.

This is the type of match these teams thrive in and its much better than just doing a standard tag match.

We get split screen action as they use all the weapons they can find.

A can gets put on Rocks head.

Grunge uses a trash lid on Saggs.

He then uses the can to beat on Knobbs on the floor.

Saggs runs over Rock with a can.

Grunge gets sent into the post as Knobbs grabs a table.

Mongo: Here comes the wood.

I am sure 15 year old me found that funny! A tablet gets broken in half just by throwing it at someone, so Knobbs uses the half table to brain Grunge.

The camera actually gets bumped with a trash can in a cool visual.

Rock off the top, but lands ass first on a lid.

Knobbs throws the half table at Grunge as the cameraman gets knocked down.

Rock with a bulldog to Knobbs on an open chair.

Grunge drops a leg with an assist from a can lid for two.

The lids keep flying and the crowd is just taking in a type of violence we werent used to seeing in 96, unless you were following ECW.

The half table makes it into the ring as Heenan wonders if someone is going to use a chainsaw.

Dont give Terry Funk any ideas! A full table gets set up and left, so I am sure that will come in to play later.

We get a cover, but no count as a foot is on the ropes.

Wild! Falls Count Anywhere, but not on the ropes I guess.

Chair shot to the back of Knobbs.

A different table gets brought into the ring and set up.

Grunge tries to drop a leg from the top, but misses and that lets Knobbs get the pin at 9:14.

Weak! Winners: The Nasty Boys via pin at 9:14 -Weak ending and the normal, fun, weapon filled brawl between the two.

*** -PE attacks after the match and put Saggs through the table on the floor to pay that off.

I would have been annoyed if they didnt pay off that table being there.

Earl Robert Eaton (w/ Geaves) vs.

Macho Man Randy Savage -Savage mauls Eaton to start and sends him over the top to the floor.

Bischoff notes Savage will be voice acting for a cartoon on The Cartoon Network and ties it into the ongoing story that Liz wants his money.

Hey, Fred Flinstone is in the front row to continue the corporate synergy.

Eaton takes over and does his Ric Flair impression as he struts and then hooks a figure-four.

He then pulls out a Figure Four shirt and taunts Savage with it.

This doesnt seem like the smartest of strategies! Sure enough Savage fires up and goes to a choke.

He looks to head up, but Geaves grabs the leg.

Savage goes after him and Eaton chases, but runs into a backdrop on the floor.

Savage sends him into the post and then heads up and hits The Flying Elbow.

That gets the pin at 3:56.

Winner: Macho Man Randy Savage via pin at 3:56 -Savage should have steamrolled Eaton here, so the result was expected.

Eaton trying to play mind games was kind of fun as it didnt work but sometimes you have to find a strategy and go with it.

* -Savage pushes the ref out of the way after the match and then jumps over Duggan and a couple other guys to hit another elbow.

Security hit the ring and they cuff Savage to get him under control and out of the ring.

It looked like the ref was reversing the decision because of the shove, but nothing was announced and everything I found still has Savage as the winner.

-WCW Magazine commercial! -WCW is brought to us by The Great White Hype (Samuel L Jackson movie).

WCW World Tag Team Championship: Sting (c) and Lex Luger (c) vs.

Ric Flair (w/ Woman and Miss Elizabeth) and The Giant -Again, Liz in leather! Respectfully! Flair tries to put the moves on Debra, who is at ringside.

Sting and Flair start and outside of Starrcade 90, its usually produces quality.

Flair gets in the first shot and keeps pulling Sting down by the hair, but Sting kips up each time.

Sting with a series of leap frogs and then catches Flair with a Gorilla Press Slam! Dropkick to The Giant to knock him to the floor.

Sting presses Flair over onto the Giant, who catches Ric and sends him back in the ring.

Flair is not happy with that.

Luger in and he does the same and again, Giant catches him and sends him back in the ring.

Awesome! Flair is pissed and actually runs around the ring and chops The Giant.

Heenan questions that strategy and Flair runs away as the Giant stares him down.

That was a wonderful sequence! We take a break at 3:08.

-60 seconds of Peacock commercials! -Back at 4:10 with Flair getting slammed down by Luger again.

Flair throws chops not nothing.

Giant is able to get his hands on Luger, which lets Flair hit a chop block on the knee.

Giant in and he punts Luger in the ribs.

He stands on Luger in the corner and now Flair is strutting on the ring apron.

Classic Flair! Suplex from The Giant and a tag to Flair.

Now the chops are working.

He pitches Luger to the floor and Woman rakes the eyes.

Giant sends Luger back into the ring and Flair drops a knee for a two count.

Giant back in and he sends Luger into the corner.

A second time! Flair back in and he goes for the knee.

Figure-Four is locked and Woman gives some added leverage.

Sting rushes in and kicks away Womans hands, but gets sent back out by the ref.

Patrick catches Woman helping a third time, but doesnt force a break.

Flair opts to use the ropes this time and now, Patrick forces a break.

Flair and Patrick get into a shoving match as Flair always liked that spot.

Giant back in and Luger gets to feel what its like to take a Gorilla Press Slam! Flair in and the chops wake Luger up.

He runs into an elbow though and Flair struts! He then gets dumb and goes up top.

Luger slams him down and both men are crawling to make a tag.

Luger gets there first as hot tag to Sting and another Gorilla Press Slam for Flair.

Dropkick and Flair goes up and over in the corner and takes over the cameraman.

Thats two cameramen that ate it tonight.

Superplex from Sting! Scorpion Death Lock.

Woman throws coffee at Luger, but he ducks and it hits Sting for the DQ at 11:28.

Winners: Sting and Lex Luger via DQ at 11:28 -This was fun until the silly non ending.

The early part with Flair getting bounced around by Sting and Luger while The Giant just keep throwing him back in was fantastic.

The ending hurt a lot, but it was still entertaining.

**3/4 -Giant hits Luger and Sting with a chokeslam and Flair picks the bones.

-We close with Eric tricking Heenan into getting his hands cuffed.

Heenan was always willing to play the fool.

Thanks for reading! 5.5 The final score: review Not So Good The 411 We got two solid matches and two bad matches to kind of make this an average show.

I will drop the rating a bit as the idea of having grown men get 5 minutes in the ring with women is kind of off putting.

It's fine when it's Sherry getting to beat up Colonel Parker or Madusa beating up Paul Heyman, etc, but with women like Liz, Woman, and Kimberly it is icky.

We are getting closer to everything changing though.

legend 0 - 0.9 Torture 1 - 1.9 Extremely Horrendous 2 - 2.9 Very Bad 3 - 3.9 Bad 4 - 4.9 Poor 5 - 5.9 Not So Good 6 - 6.9 Average 7 - 7.9 Good 8 - 8.9 Very Good 9 - 9.9 Amazing 10 Virtually Perfect.

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