Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
WCW Saturday Night, Feb. 28, 1998
By Graham Cawthon, @TheHistoryofWWE on Twitter
Holy Ground: 50 Years of WWE at Madison Square Garden, on sale now: http://t.co/073Ebs9ZGU
Visit our Pro Wrestling Tees Store: http://bit.ly/15qK5B7
http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com
Last week: Ric Flair bested Curt Hennig via DQ in a meaningless 3-minute match. But a lot has happened since SuperBrawl VIII, just 6 days ago. Sting is the new WCW World Champion, Scott Steiner has joined the nWo, and Juventud Guerrera is without a mask. And now Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage are primed to fight at Uncensored for the nWo's top spot.
We are back in Palmetto, Fla., the same site as last week's show.
Disco Inferno vs. Evan Karagias
- Several weeks ago, I noted WCW's strange obsession with marketing Disco's Chart Buster. This was just a month before WrestleMania 14, and Steve Austin was hitting the Stunner on everything that moved. The Chart Buster being the same move, WCW opted to get some more mileage out of Disco as a wrestler and character. And they gave him a more serious tone. Which is fine. But they misstepped a few weeks ago by putting him in the ring with Goldberg and Goldberg tearing through him. We're supposed to overlook that here. Disco picked up a win against La Parka at SuperBrawl and continues the streak by hitting the Chart Buster at 5:04.
The Barbarian (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Barry Horowitz
- The out of control Meng has supposedly split from Jimmy Hart's group. Barbarian runs right through Horowitz and hits a boot to the face at 2:34 for the win. During the contest, Scott Hudson & Mike Tenay note that Philadelphia will likely be a complete sell out for Monday's Nitro, but the CoreStates Center will be available for a closed circuit viewing. To sweeten the deal, tickets are only $10, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, and wrestlers will be on hand for autographs, prizes will be given out and WCW video cameras will be there to capture the moment. Sounds like a good time. After the match, Hart makes a vague comment to the camera about Meng's departure - "It's my way or the highway." If I were Meng and found out Jimmy Hart set up my match with Goldberg here weeks ago, where Goldberg dropped Meng flush on his head, I'd probably not do business with him anymore either.
Davey Boy Smith & Jim Neidhart vs. Public Enemy
- It's the first tag team appearance of the former Hart Foundation members on Saturday Night, going against the former WCW and ECW tag team champions. The story going into the match is how Smith & Neidhart are backing Bret Hart against the likes of the nWo's Curt Hennig, Rick Rude, and the newly arrived Brian Adams. The PE work heel. Interesting to note that the commentary team says the over the top rope DQ rule is officially no more (though it hasn't been an issue in a long while before this). A miscue sends Johnny Grunge off the apron and through a table set up at ringside, allowing Neidhart to catch Rocco Rock with a powerslam to get the win at 5:09.
Barry Darsow vs. Todd Griffith
- Darsow is wearing his own custom T-shirt. I don't think it's something you could find on WCWwrestling.com; I think it's a Darsow basement exclusive. Darsow is a prime example of WCW Saturday Night at this time - a guy with some name value beating no names, week after week, but not really having any direction whatsoever. Darsow applies the Barely Legal armbar to get the submission at 3:31. So where does that rank him as a world title contender, now?
Eddie Guerrero vs. Bobby Blaze
- Wow. You expect it to be a nothing, throwaway squash. And yet Eddie makes it a hotly contested competitive match. He did the same on this same show a few weeks earlier against Silver King. Eddie wasn't getting much spotlight during this timeframe, but he's heading into a TV title match at Uncensored against Booker T. The showcase he gives Blaze, and gave Silver King, is akin to the Terry Funk vs. Eddie match on this same program in 1989. The result is never in question, but there are a few moments during the match that you reconsider your assumption. Eddie hits a big back suplex and follows with the frog splash at 5:56.
Billy Kidman (w/ Lodi) vs. Doc Dean
- Flock version Kidman is still finding himself, and would be months away from his breakout WCW Cruiserweight title run. Much like Eddie vs. Blaze, Kidman and Dean put on a fun, competitive cruiserweight match. A springboard bulldog and the Shooting Star Press ends it at 5:14.
Ernest Miller vs. Frankie Lancaster
- Miller is completely void of personality at this point. He's like a less charismatic Steve Blackman or Dan Severn. He'll come out and slap hands, but he's staring at the ring while doing so and has zero emotion on his face. You can really tell how much his heel turn would save his career, because he was dead in the water here. The Feliner ends it at 3:36.
Jim Duggan vs. William Worthy
- Much like Darsow, Duggan is just a guy on the card with some name value at this point. And it doesn't matter how many times he's going to beat a guy like Worthy, he's no longer a viable title contender. The Old Glory kneedrop ends it at 3:28.
Bobby Eaton & Bobby Walker (w/ Teddy Long) vs. Disorderly Conduct
- We haven't seen Eaton & Walker in a while. Eaton hits the Alabama Jam to end it at 2:47. Bobby Walker continues to look like a guy WCW has some sense of hope and future plans for.
Chris Benoit vs. Raven
- We thought this feud ended at Souled Out. But then both men took interest in Diamond Dallas Page and his WCW US Title. We're just a week removed from Benoit and DDP arguably stealing the show at the PPV. In the week since, Raven and his Flock interrupted Benoit's rematch. Riggs, of the Flock, jumps Benoit upon his entrance. This is a Raven's Rules match, with both men using a steel chair throughout and Riggs interfering. Benoit overcomes the weapon and the interference, prompting Perry Saturn to run out as well. And while Riggs' interference was allowed, the referee oddly calls for the bell at 6:35 when Saturn appears. Moments later, DDP shows up and helps Benoit clear the ring as the show ends.
Other highlights:
- Lots of hype for Macho Man vs. Hogan at Uncensored in a steel cage match.
- Lee Marshall talks to Eddie Guerrero backstage about challenging Booker T at Uncensored. Eddie is still coming into his own on the mic. He would be much more natural by 2003.
- A great backstage promo by Raven, alluding to his past with DDP.
- We get a nWo vignette from Curt Hennig on facing Bret Hart at Uncensored. Hennig gives no indication he's ever wrestled Bret before.
- Plenty of TV time devoted to spotlighting Scott Steiner and Brian Adams as the newest members of the nWo.
Good show. Benoit vs. Raven is always fun, even if the disqualification call makes no sense. Eddie vs. Blaze and Kidman vs. Dean are super fun.
Wrestling historian Graham Cawthon’s WCW Saturday Night’s reviews can be found here each Saturday. Contact him via email at thehistoryofwwe@gmail.com.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
