Monday NITRO
4/13/98
Scott Steiner with Vincent d. Fit Finley
After confronting Larry "The Ax" Hennig, Big Poppa Pump
lost control for only a few
moments, suffering an atomic drop and a European uppercut from
the similarly
blond-coiffed Finley. Steiner came back quick with a superplex
and his Steiner Recliner
submission. Finley submitted.
Ultimo Dragon d. Lenny Lane
After a clean and impressive hold exchange, Lane grounded the
Dragon by ramming his
head into the turnbuckles and the mat. Lane continued to
roughhouse with the former
TV Champion, but soon suffered a flurry of kicks and a high knee
counter to a suicide
dive. Lane rebounded with a power slam. But the Dragon outsmarted
the rookie by
countering a suplex attempt with the Dragon Sleeper, locking in
the submission for the
win.
Johnny Grunge d. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Grunge brought his bag of old school shortcuts to the ring, but
Guerrero's notable speed
advantage allowed him to keep his opponent off-balance. Guerrero
made a fatal
mistake, however, by attempting an off-the-top sunset flip. The
too-heavy Grunge
dropped down on the cruiserweight, grabbed his legs and stole the
win with a quick
three count.
Chris Benoit d. Glacier
Glacier's martial arts footwork was met with the Crippler's
tradmark brutal stomping
and chops. Both competitors floored their opponents in the
corner, but neither could
establish the pin. Glacier worked over the Wolverine with chokes
and a suplex. Benoit
countered with a German suplex and, soon after, locked in the
Crippler Crossface.
Lex Luger d. Buff Bagwell w/ Eric Bischoff
The Total Package and Buff exchanged momentum early on, but the
match only heated
up after the NWOer was ejected from the ring. Bagwell returned
with renewed
intensity, hitting a swinging neckbreaker and choking his
opponent on the ropes.
Bagwell went for the Buff Blockbuster, but Luger ducked and
delivered several
clotheslines. Luger applied the Rack, but was stopped by
Bischoff, causing the DQ.
The Total Package then placed the NWO exec in his painful
finisher. Scott Steiner then
ran ringside and attacked Luger. Then all three NWO members beat
on the former
World Champion. Rick Steiner came ringside for the save, but the
damage had already
been done to the Total Package.
Chris Jericho d. Super Calo
Cruiserweight Title Match
Pre-match, Jericho accused Calo of really being Prince Iaukea.
While the referee
checked under the mask, Jericho attacked. The Lyin' Heart
dominated his opponent in
the early moments, but Calo changed the complexion of the match
with several high-risk
aerial movies. But the same dangerous maneuvers that gave Calo an
advantage cost him
the match. Missing an off-the-top leg scissors, Calo was quickly
put in the Liontamer.
Post-match, Iaukea came down and made Jericho break his
devastating finisher on the
hip-hop Luchador.
Saturn d. Hammer
A Nitro first: Flock member vs. Flock member. The result: an
intense, brutal match-up,
pitting Hammer's brute force against the skilled intensity of the
former TV Champion.
After throwing Saturn around the ring, Hammer found himself
locked into a strong arm
bar. Hammer came back with a belly-to-back suplex, but fell prey
to a Gargoyleplex
and the Rings of Saturn.
Bill Goldberg d. Rocco Rock
Rock managed better than most against the undefeated shoot
fighter. Getting Goldberg
on the outside, Rock took Goldberg to the post and the ring
steps. But, when Rock
brought the table into the ring for a Public Enemy finisher,
Goldberg head-speared the
tag team specialist right through it. Rock took the Jackhammer
and the pin. Post-match,
Saturn started to approach the ring, but was stopped by Raven.
Goldberg then
demolished Flock members Sick Boy and Kidman.
Curt Hennig with Rick Rude d. Yuji Nagata
Pre-match, Hennig and Rude paid their respects to their fathers,
who were sitting
ringside. In honor of his hometown, Hennig obliterated Nagata
with chops, head butts
and the helping hand of the Ravishing One. After Hennig's father,
the Ax, revealed a
"Hennig Rules" T-shirt. Hennig then hit the Hennigplex
for the win. Post-match, Hennig
and Rudes handcuffed nagata to the ring. Jim "the
Anvil" Neidhardt came out to help the
fallen Japanese superstar.
Booker T d. La Parka
TV Title Match
La Parka exhibited more fisticuffs than usual, but couldn't match
the street-fighting style
of the TV Champion. After delivering a pancake drop and a
sidewalk slam, Booker T
took the bout with a missile drop-kick. Post-match, Benoit came
to the ring, leveled La
Parka -- who was preparing to chair Booker T -- then pushed the
Champ to the
ground. Benoit and Booker went eye-to-eye, but didn't exchange
blows.
Diamond Dallas Page d. Rage w/ Kaos
US Title Match
Taking advantage of Rage's lack of singles experience, DDP
attacked hard,
out-maneuvering and punching his opponent. But a distraction by
Kaos gave Rage an
opportunity to employ a power slam and springboard splash. Page
came back.
crotching Rage on the ring post. Page then delivered the Diamond
Cutter and gained the
three count. Post-match, Raven came out with the Flock and
challenged DDP to take
back the belt. Page fought through the Flock, but Page escaped to
the back.
Rick Steiner d. Konnan with Vincent
For a moment, Vincent and Konnan controlled the many-time tag
champ on the
outside, but DiBiase evened the odds by taking out his former
valet. When the action
returned to the ring, K-Dawg hit a low drop-kick and worked the
Dogfaced Gremlin
on the mat. But, after two suplexes and a Steinerline, Steiner
struck with the Steinerdog
and took the match.
Sting vs. Kevin Nash
World Title Match
Pre-match, JJ Dillon reinstated the powerbomb for this unexpected
title bout. A
rematch from last week's Nitro, Nash came at the World Champ with
even more
ferocity and focus. Despite a few offensive flurries from Sting,
Big Sexy dominated his
opponent nearly the entire match with sidewalk slams, knee
strikes and ring corner
muggings. But Sting survived and cut the big man down with
multiple Stinger Splashes.
The Champ went for the Scorpion Deathlock, but Randy Savage sent
Elizabeth down
to distract the referee. While the NWO valet used her feminine
wiles, Savage decked
Sting with his arm cast. Sting still managed a kick out. But Nash
followed up the
attempt with a jacknife powerbomb. However, before he could get
the pin, Bret Hart
ran ringside and pulled the Outsider off Sting. As Sting lay
unconscious, Hart fought the
entire NWO single-handedly.