20 YRS AGO: Keller’s WCW Nitro report including Scott Hall vs. DDP in main event, Luger, Buff, Savage, Ric Flair, Mongo, Konnan, more

By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

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The following is Wade Keller’s report on WCW Monday Nitro from 20 years ago published originally in the PWTorch Newsletter. VIP members can read over 3,000 back issues of the PWTorch Newsletter dating back to the late 1980s as soon as they become VIP. Not VIP? No problem. Rates are as low as $8.25 on average per month and it includes 30+ years of fascinating archives of newsletters and podcasts/radio shows plus new exclusive content daily including podcasts, articles, and a new weekly newsletter. VIP SIGN-UP INFO

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WCW MONDAY NITRO REPORT
DECEMBER 8, 1998
BUFFALO, N.Y.
AIRED LIVE ON TNT

(4.3 rating)

[Q1: 4.1]… Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan opened the show by wondering why Sting had been incognito for the past couple of weeks. They speculated he may have abandoned WCW, or was playing mind games with the NWO… (1) Ray Traylor pinned Konnan at 5:24. At 4:10 the lights in the arena went out. Schiavone said anything can happen and called it “a first in our sport” (ignoring ECW and the WWF’s use of the gimmick several times in recent months; Schiavone does look bad when he says stuff like that). After the lights came back nearly a minute later, Konnan was lying flat on his back. Traylor cautiously looked around, stepped on Konnan’s chest, and scored a three count…

[Q2: 4.6]… (2) Steve McMichael beat Barbarian (w/Jimmy Hart) at 4:08. Schiavone brought up Roddy Piper’s name for the first time in several weeks and said Piper was out with an injury. After the match Hart called for Meng to come out. Mongo knocked Hart off the ring apron into Meng’s arms. Meng gave Mongo the Tonga Death Grip (after Mongo did that annoying exaggerated missed clothesline)… Gene Okerlund interviewed Disco Inferno. He told Disco that a lot of wrestlers talk behind his back about how he embarrassed wrestling by losing to a woman. Disco said he’s tired of people talking behind his back and wants people to have the guts to say those things to his face in the future…

[Q3: 4.7]… Buff Bagwell came out and interrupted Okerlund. He said Lex Luger cannot beat him… (3) Dean Malenko beat Prince Iaukea. Eddie Guerrero replaced Heenan on color for the match and made entertaining, smart-ass comments about Dean being stupid during the match… The Nitro Girls danced on the announcing desk stage as Schiavone plugged the Nitro Party contest…

[Q4: 5.0]… They showed Jim Kelly, former SuperBowl quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, in the front row… A pre-taped interview aired (in black and white) with Kevin Nash, who challenged Giant to a singles match at Starrcade. He said Giant didn’t want a piece of him until he suffered a knee injury. Nash said now that Giant has a hand injury, he won’t dare accept his challenge… Okerlund interviewed Giant in mid-ring. Giant said, “Kevin Nash is right. I am one-dimensional. It’s easy to be one-dimensional when that’s all you need.” He accepted the challenge… After the commercial the announcers reflected on the “major news” of Nash and Giant agreeing to face each other… (3) Chris Benoit beat Loadie at 2:15 with the Crippler Crossface. Benoit was supposed to face Raven, but Loadie (formerly unnamed, but referred to as Skank in some circles) took his place. Raven was nowhere around. After the match Benoit challenged Raven to come out, or any of his other men to face him next. Without Raven, the rest of Raven’s pack were, according to Tenay, without direction…

[Q6: 3.7]… Okerlund interviewed Ric Flair in mid-ring. Flair challenged Curt Hennig to a cage match at Starrcade. Since this was Flair’s first Nitro appearance in several weeks, Okerlund asked for Flair’s take on the announcement that Bret Hart is joining the NWO. Flair took exception with Bret having claimed to be the best of all time. Flair said it’s easy for “Mr. Canada” to proclaim himself that in a newspaper column in his hometown. Flair said Bret comparing himself to him was like comparing Jim Kelly to John Elway. Kelly stood and saluted Flair…

[Q6: 3.9]… (4) Hugh Morrus fought Randy Savage to a no contest in 5:00. Before the match Savage knocked Kelly’s baseball cap off. Morrus attacked Savage. Kelly joined in with some very weak looking forearms. A few minutes into the match the lights went out in the arena again. Camera flashes revealed briefly that Sting was in the ring. When the lights came back on, Morrus, the ref, and Savage were lying on their backs in the ring. Savage had a Sting mask placed on his face… Rick Rude and Eric Bischoff came out. Rude tore into the announcers. He said WCW controls the production and the lights and said he would make Tenay, Schiavone, and Heenan pay. Rude made the three cover their eyes, mouth, and ears respectively and told them not to move once they did. Then he left the scene. Heenan said he can’t work under those conditions, but did stick around. Schiavone said he was fearing for his life and hoped the lights didn’t go…

[Q7: 3.9]… (5) Disco Inferno beat Saturn at 4:22 to capture the WCW TV Title. Disco fought more aggressively than usual. He won with the Chart Buster (Stone Cold Stunner). Tenay again pointed out how directionless the Raven crew is without their leader. He said Disco has re-earned respect… A University of Illinois Nitro party clip aired…

[Q8: 3.7]… (6) Buff Bagwell beat Lex Luger via countout at 5:24. Luger lost when he was taunted and distracted at ringside by Vincent and Scott Norton. Vincent and Norton carried Buff on their shoulders to the back as Mick Patrik explained to Luger “rules are rules”… A black & white segment aired showing Roddy Piper getting beaten by the NWO…

[Q9: 4.6]… (7) Diamond Dallas Page beat Scott Hall via DQ at 7:55. When Page entered the ring, a fan who held up a “Monday Night Raw” banner earlier held up an Undertaker doll. They cut away quickly. At 7:45 Page signaled for the Diamond Cutter. Curt Hennig, Buff, and Norton attacked him. Bischoff and Hulk Hogan came to the ring. Another Sting dummy dropped from the ceiling. He dropped totally under the ring. Hogan said Sting is a coward. He said he keeps challenging Sting, but his arms and mystique are too much for Sting to handle. You could see this coming for a mile — Hogan ordered the NWO to drag the dummy out of the hole. They set dead-weight Sting over the top rope. When Hogan walked up to “the dummy,” Sting looked up. Hogan looked on in shock as Sting beat up the rest of the NWO in the ring…


NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS UPDATE: 10 YRS AGO – WWE in Florence, S.C. (12-2-02): Cena vs. Ziggler (w/Vickie) headlines, Ryback, Bryan, Kane, Punk, Brodus Clay, Corey Graves, Cesaro, A.J. Lee

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