World War 3 ’96

(All screen captures are the property of World Wrestling Entertainment)

World War 3

November 24, 1996

Norfolk Scope

Norfolk, Virginia

News & Notes: Eric Bischoff vowed to sign a match between Hollywood Hogan and Roddy Piper. He spent two weeks searching for Piper in Portland and Toronto. But he claimed he couldn’t find him. Then Roddy made a surprise appearance on Nitro. Bischoff was nervous. Piper questioned him. If Bischoff came to his house, surely he knew what it looked like. He didn’t. Roddy called him a liar. Piper almost slapped Eric, but the nWo arrived. They attacked Piper while Bischoff and Hogan hugged. It was a swerve! Eric Bischoff is the man behind the nWo! (They never explain if he was always with them or joined later.) Eric never wanted the Hogan/Piper bout. Hogan didn’t want to face Piper. But Roddy called their bluff and forced their hand. Now, they will have a contract signing for Starrcade on this PPV.

Meanwhile, Sting continued confusing everyone with his behavior. He confronted Lex Luger after a match. Sting handed him a baseball bat and turned his back. Luger was unsure what to do. When Lex didn’t attack, Sting left. Then Sting beat up Jeff Jarrett after Jeff trash-talked him. The commentators did not understand whose side Sting was on. The nWo tried recruiting him again, but Sting ignored them. However, Sting isn’t the only man the nWo wanted. They also spoke with Diamond Dallas Page. WCW began booking Page against heels. They’re turning him into a babyface. The nWo took notice of his winning streak and offered him a spot. Page didn’t decide either way. People in WCW were wary because DDP is neighbors with Eric Bischoff. (This was a legitimate concern. Some people felt it’s the reason Page received a push. They resented him for it.)

The show opens with a generic video. The narrator lists the matches. They show graphics and play sound bites. 60-men compete in a battle royal for a WCW title match. Dean Malenko defends his title against Psychosis. The Amazing French Canadians fight Harlem Heat. Nick Patrick wrestles Chris Jericho. And there’s a Triangle Match for the tag team titles. It’s World War 3!

Tony Schiavone is with Dusty Rhodes and Bobby Heenan. They speak about the battle royal. Careers could be made or ended. But Heenan is more concerned about Roddy Piper. Tony doesn’t understand why Eric Bischoff prevented the contract signing. (Did he forget the storyline? The reason is obvious.) Dusty says Piper is coming with his own contract. He questions whether Hogan will sign it. Dusty also guarantees a lot of fighting tonight.

J-Crown Championship Match: Ultimo Dragon (c) (w/ Sonny Onoo) vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Notes: The J-Crown is a collection of eight different Cruiserweight and Light Heavyweight championships from around the world. They held a tournament in Japan to unify them into one. Ultimo Dragon didn’t win the tourney. But he defeated the winner to earn the eight belts. Ironically, one of the eight is the old WWF Light Heavyweight Title. The WWF let Japan handle the belt. It became part of the J-Crown. Ultimo Dragon is defending a WWF title on WCW PPV. Sonny Onoo helps Dragon carry the hardware to the ring. It’s an impressive sight. (They only brought seven of them. They’re not allowed to show the WWF belt on TV.)

The Match: They trade holds, reversals, and takedowns and show off their agility. Dragon uses springboard dropkicks and suplexes. Onoo even interferes. Then Dragon focuses on Rey’s back and ribs. He wears down Mysterio with holds, a powerbomb, and two variations of the brainbuster. Next, Dragon gives Rey Tombstones in the ring and on the floor! Rey attempts a rally, but Dragon hits a super Frankensteiner and a running powerbomb. Rey finally answers with a split-legged moonsault, a springboard dropkick, and a somersault plancha. He also tries a springboard sunset flip and a hurricanrana. But Dragon fires back with a dragon suplex. Rey gets a few more pin attempts until Dragon catches him on a hurricanrana. He turns it into a powerbomb for the win.

Thoughts: The action was good, but this was odd. Rey took a beating for 90% of it and then lost. It wasn’t a story of a valiant comeback. I get they’re pushing Dragon, but this could have been more competitive. I wanted to love it. I ended up liking it. It was good, but slightly disappointing.

Winner: Ultimo Dragon (13:48)

Mean Gene is back! (He signed a new WCW contract.) Gene says WCW is on the cutting edge. You can listen to the PPV on wcwwrestling.com (that’s a redundant domain name). Gene then invites DDP in for an interview. He compares the nWo recruiting him to a football draft. Dallas says everyone wants him. The Diamond Cutter is the hottest move in WCW. But Page doesn’t want to talk about that. Gene takes exception to DDP skirting the issue. What about Bischoff? Dallas says Bischoff’s issues don’t affect him. He only cares about World War 3. Page reminds everyone he won Battlebowl. Good god, he’s going to do it again! Dallas says there can be only one. (Is this Highlander?) Page ends his promo by yelling bang and gives the camera a pelvic thrust. DDP speaks to the camera as he leaves. Gene realizes DDP never answered his question.

One Arm Tied Behind My Back Match: Chris Jericho (w/ Teddy Long) vs. Nick Patrick

Notes: Jericho took exception to Nick Patrick’s officiating at Halloween Havoc. He confronted Nick on Nitro. Teddy Long even backed up Chris. But Long’s mouth got Jericho in trouble. Teddy claimed Jericho could beat Nick Patrick with one arm tied behind his back. Nick called this bluff. Now, Jericho has to fight Patrick. The commentators mention Nick trained as a wrestler. His career ended after a knee injury, so he became a referee instead. Patrick wrestles this bout in a sleeveless ref shirt and a neck brace. He looks ridiculous.

The Match: Jericho shoves, trips, and hip tosses Nick. Chris even wins a one-armed test of strength. Patrick keeps regrouping and shoves Teddy Long. Jericho retrieves him, but they fight to the floor again. Chris collides with the post. Patrick pounces and attacks Chris’s tied arm. Nick follows with a neck whip and some punches. But Jericho rams him into the buckles and gives Nick a backdrop. Patrick then bails again and lures Chris into a trap. He kicks Chris and heads to the top. Jericho slams him. (Somewhere, Ric Flair shakes his head in disbelief.) Jericho follows with a superkick for the victory.

Thoughts: This would never be a technical marvel. But it entertained me. Jericho was impressive. He did a lot with one arm. The fans were into it. It was fun for what it was. I didn’t mind it. My only gripe is it should have been shorter. It went a little long. Five minutes would have been fine.

Winner: Chris Jericho (8:02)

The commentators reset and speak about the Piper situation. Heenan thinks Piper is ready to fight after the nWo attacked him on Nitro. Dusty talks about Piper’s long road home to WCW. Heenan also reminds us Hogan never beat Piper. Meanwhile, Bagwell is in the Compuserve room. (Why did he take off his shirt for the segment?)

Next, Gene introduces the injured Ric Flair for an interview. Ric has his arm in a sling, but it doesn’t stop him from strutting. Gene talks about his history with Flair. He says people have a lot of questions for Ric. Flair gets a cheap pop by name-dropping Norfolk. He says WCW is on tour! Ric also says WCW and the nWo are entitled to go their own way. (I expected him to sing.) Then Flair lists off the biggest stars. They represent WCW! Gene says it’s about time someone stepped up to the plate. Flair continues his rant. He promises the nWo will belong to WCW. But Flair takes a strut break in the middle of his sentence. He wants to dance all night! (Ric must be on some good pain medication. He was out there in this promo. It makes Gene laugh.)

The Giant vs. Jeff Jarrett

Notes: Ric Flair continued endorsing Jeff Jarrett. He gave him the stamp of approval, but the other Horsemen didn’t agree. Benoit and McMichael took exception. They said Jarrett wasn’t Horsemen material. Jarrett didn’t help matters by trash-talking Sting. He called Sting out for not picking a side. Sting retaliated by giving Jarrett a Scorpion Death Drop (Reverse DDT). This confused the commentators about Sting’s allegiances. (On a side note, The Giant still has the US Title belt. They stripped Flair of it because of his injury. But The Giant isn’t the champion.)

The Match: Jarrett jumps The Giant, but Giant keeps shoving him. Jeff sticks and moves until The Giant clotheslines him. Jarrett tries more clotheslines and dropkicks. The Giant counters with a boot, a slam, and an elbow drop. He also steps on Jeff and whips him around the ring. While this happens, the fans spot Sting in the rafters. He approaches the ring while The Giant continues attacking. The Giant gives Jarrett a leg drop, a backbreaker, and a big boot. But he misses a Vader Bomb. Jarrett capitalizes with a flying crossbody. Next, The Giant tumbles out of the ring on a missed splash. The ref checks on him, so Sting enters the ring. He hits Jarrett with another Scorpion Death Drop. This allows The Giant to nail a chokeslam for the win.

Thoughts: This was a backdrop for the Sting storyline. The action was passable but forgettable. At least it had a definitive finish, unlike their last bout. I like the storyline work. The rest was uninteresting.

Winner: The Giant (6:05)

The commentators believe Sting joined the nWo. The Giant approaches the camera and says one down, three to go. (Three what? There are only two more matches involving the nWo tonight.) Then they show a replay. Heenan almost forgets the name of the PPV.

Piper arrives next for a contract signing. He calls out Hogan, but he gets Bischoff, DiBiase, and Vincent. (Tony says he never thought he’d see Eric and Vince walk down the aisle together. Wait six years, Tony.) Eric says Hogan is busy reading scripts. But Bischoff has power of attorney. He’ll sign for Hogan if the contract meets his requirements. Piper insults Bischoff and calls him corrupt. (He also questions Eric’s sexuality.) He doesn’t trust him and he threatens to attack him. Bischoff promises fines if he does. Piper tells the nWo if they mess with him, it means no way out. (The WWF write that down for later.) Piper then demands Hogan and gets him. Hollywood, The Giant, Elizabeth, The Outsiders, and Syxx arrive. Hogan says he’ll sign the contract, but he wants Piper to show everyone his hip first. Hogan lifts Roddy’s kilt to reveal a hip surgery scar. Hogan says he rarely picks on cripples. But the entire world wants it. Hogan then signs the contract for Starrcade. Piper slaps Hogan, but the nWo attacks. They hold Roddy while Hogan punches him. Piper fights back, but the numbers are too much. Hogan attacks Roddy’s hip with a chair. The Outsiders also stomp it. Hogan then spray paints nWo on Piper’s leg. Hogan hugs Bischoff while Piper pulls himself to his feet. He wants to fight, but the nWo leave. Piper grabs a mic and says no retreat and no surrender.

Harlem Heat (w/ Sister Sherri) vs. The Amazing French Canadians (w/ Col. Parker)

Notes: Harlem Heat blamed Parker for their loss at Halloween Havoc. Sherri wanted to get her hands on him. (No, not in that way. Not anymore.) Parker hired protection in a new tag team, The Amazing French Canadians. They are the former Quebeccers (Jacques Rougeau and Carl Ouellet). The colonel even changed his look. He now dresses as a French Legionnaire. His new team faces his old one. If Harlem Heat wins, Sherri gets five minutes with Col. Parker. Meanwhile, The Canadians sing “Oh, Canada”. They sound—beautiful.

The Match: Booker and Jacques take turns knocking each other down and kipping up. Then both teams try double-teaming. The Canadians win the exchange. But Stevie answers with a back suplex and a bicycle kick. Harlem Heat then succeeds at double-teaming. Booker and Carl both miss elbows, but Booker recovers with a Spinaroonie. However, Jacques low-bridges Booker and Parker attacks. The Canadians capitalize with combination moves. They use a leg sweep/clothesline, a double hotshot, and a Boston Crab/diving leg drop combo. Stevie breaks up the pin. Stevie then tags and cleans house until everyone brawls. They take out the ref in the melee. The Canadians use the opening to hit a spike piledriver. Then they create a platform with a table and the ring steps. They attempt a tandem cannonball off the structure, but they miss it. Booker follows with a Harlem Hangover for the victory.

Thoughts: This was a fun match. The action was solid, and the finish put it over the top. It was unique. The fans reacted well to it. I also liked the Canadians’ combination moves. They looked good in this bout. It’s safe to say WCW’s tag division is deeper and better than the WWF’s.

Winners: Harlem Heat (9:14)

Parker is beside himself. He berates The Canadians, so he doesn’t see Sherri enter the ring. She punches Parker and rams him into the turnbuckles. She then throws the colonel over the ropes. Parker runs, but Sherri chases him into the next ring. She hits jumping clotheslines that make Dusty lose his mind. Sherri follows with a flying crossbody. But The Canadians grab Parker and run. Everyone chases him to the back. The commentators laugh their butts off at the segment.

Tony switches gears. They speak about Piper again. The commentators speculate whether he fully recovered from hip surgery. The ring crew distracts Heenan with their cleaning.

Next, they show a commercial for Starrcade. The annoying guy from the World War 3 ad is back. He says this is no holiday special. The tree is dumped, the turkey is trashed, and the fruit cake gets it! All the stars of WCW are coming out for one last blow-out! The weirdo trashes the set while he yells this. (Who is this guy? Is he related to a WCW employee?)

Gene is in the dressing room. He plugs the hotline. Another WWF superstar is on his way to WCW. Then Gene introduces Lex Luger. He asks about Sting’s behavior. It frustrated Luger. He doesn’t know what to make of Sting’s baseball bat. It reminds him of the nWo. Luger waited for months for words from Sting. But Sting is a man of no words. Gene then changes the subject. He calls Luger a favorite to win World War 3. Lex racked a lot of large men lately. Luger doesn’t know about that. He says no one is the favorite in such a match. But Luger convinces himself he has a chance. He’s on a roll. Lex will bestow honor on WCW and remove some tarnish. He wants the shot at Hogan. Luger calls it the gold at the end of the rainbow. (Maybe he’ll also get some Lucky Charms.)

Cruiserweight Title Match: Dean Malenko (c) vs. Psychosis

Notes: Malenko defeated Mysterio in a rematch and set his sights on Ultimo Dragon. Dean watched Dragon wrestle Rey. Psychosis then watched Dean watching Rey. He too desired the gold. (We’re reaching inception-levels of scouting. They should have added Sting watching from the rafters.) WCW gave Psychosis his wish. He faces Dean for the Cruiserweight title.

The Match: They trade leg holds, takeovers, head scissors, and kip ups. The mat wrestling continues, but Psychosis reaches the ropes. Then Psychosis answers with wheel kicks and dropkicks. Dean rolls to the floor. Psychosis tries a springboard. But he slips and crashes on the rail. (It looked brutal!) Dean slows the pace with a head grapevine, a leg drop, and more leg submissions. (Dusty says he’s pulling on the ham hock.) Then Dean uses an underhook powerbomb and almost gets a Texas Cloverleaf. He continues attacking the leg until Dean misses a baseball slide. Psychosis answers with a backbreaker, a corkscrew plancha, and a springboard leg drop. He also crotches Malenko and nails a super Frankensteiner. Next, they reverse through a Tombstone twice before Dean hits it. Dean then catches Psychosis in a rolling prawn hold for the win.

Thoughts: I hate to say it, but this was dull. I don’t mind a slower pace. But it has to build to a crescendo. This never found any steam. The crowd was dead because of it. The action was crisp and looked good. But it wasn’t a great bout.

Winner: Dean Malenko (14:33)

Triangle Match for the Tag Team Titles: The Outsiders (c) vs. The Faces of Fear (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. The Nasty Boys

Notes: The Nasty Boys complained about Hogan swerving them. If no one wanted them, they weren’t picking sides. The Nasty Boys declared themselves free agents, like Sting. Meanwhile, Jimmy Hart argued the Faces of Fear deserved a tag title match. They were on a roll. WCW decided both teams would receive a shot. They booked a Triangle Match for the tag team titles. The Nasties jump The Outsiders before the Faces of Fear arrive. (I also want to point out some behind-the-scenes information about this feud. The build almost led to a real-life fight between The Nasties and The Outsiders. Sags felt Hall took liberties on a house show. He retaliated with some stiff shots on Nitro. Nash wanted to fight backstage because of it.)

The Match: The Outsiders let both teams brawl and clubber each other. Hall & Nash only tag when it’s convenient. They leave when they sense trouble. The Nasties and The Faces continue fighting. Barbie hands out running clotheslines, slams, and a piledriver. But The Outsiders break up the pin attempts. Hall & Nash use side slams and punches. But they tag out again when the other teams show life. Then The Outsiders tag both Faces and force them to face each other. They tag out instead. Next, The Nasties attack Barbo’s leg. The Outsiders get in on that action. But Knobbs and Barbarino tag themselves into the match. The Nasties and Faces double-team each other. However, Meng and Knobbs have a better idea. They tag both Outsiders and make them face-off. Nash gets clever and lays down for Hall. The other teams stop this tactic. This leads to a massive brawl. It distracts the ref, so Hall uses Jimmy Hart’s megaphone. Nash follows with a Jackknife for the pin.

Thoughts: I rarely like Triangle Matches, but this was fun. I liked the storytelling with the Outsiders. Everyone did a good job of managing the chaos. It was entertaining and well crafted. Plus, The Faces of Fear continue being a great hard-hitting team. I like them.

Winners: The Outsiders (16:08)

The commentators discuss the battle royal. Heenan thinks Dean Malenko will win. Dusty would rather talk about Piper. He’s passionate about it. Then they introduce the three commentary teams for the main event. Lee Marshall brags about traveling for his Nitro report. He also talks about a fight between the Dungeon and the Horsemen. It ended up in a bathroom. (I’m so surprised.) Dusty and Mike Tenay speak next. Dusty likes Konad’s chances. (It makes me laugh when he calls Konnan that.)

60-Man World War 3 Match

Notes: The WCW title isn’t vacant this year. The winner receives a WCW title match instead. It won’t happen at Starrcade. That spot is reserved for Hogan vs. Piper. The victor gets his shot at a later date. WCW uses three announce teams for this bout. Dusty Rhodes is with Mike Tenay. Larry Zbyszko joins Lee Marshall. And Tony Schiavone works with Bobby Heenan.

Participants: Arn Anderson (they let him work this because he doesn’t have to take many bumps), Marcus Bagwell, The Barbarian, Chris Benoit, Big Bubba, Jack Boot (Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker), Bunkhouse Buck, Ciclope (a luchador with a cyclops-themed mask), Disco Inferno, Jim Duggan, Bobby Eaton, Mike Enos, Galaxy (another luchador), The Giant, Joe Gomez, Jimmy Graffiti (Jimmy Del Ray), Johnny Grunge, Juventud Guerrera, Eddie Guerrero, Scott Hall, Prince Iaukea, Ice Train, Mr. JL, Jeff Jarrett, Chris Jericho, Kenny Kaos (of High Voltage), Konnan, Lex Luger, Dean Malenko, Steve McMichael, Meng, Rey Mysterio Jr., Hugh Morrus, Kevin Nash, Scott Norton, Carl Ouellet, DDP, La Parka (Yes! He’s finally here!), Craig Pittman, Jim Powers, Robbie Rage (also of High Voltage), Stevie Ray, Lord Steven Regal, The Renegade, Scotty Riggs, Roadblock (a surprisingly agile big hoss), Jacques Rougeau, Tony Rumble (no clue), Mark Starr (Saturday Night jobber), Rick Steiner, Ron Studd (the former Yeti), The Taskmaster, Syxx, Booker T, Squire David Taylor, Ultimo Dragon, Villano IV (another luchador), Michael Wallstreet (he changed his name again?), Pez Whatley (he’s still around?), & Alex Wright.

The Match: The Dungeon and The Horsemen brawl around the ring and into the crowd. The refs lose control, so they eliminate both groups. (Arn doesn’t have to take bumps this way. Also, poor Lee Marshall is taken out in the melee. Was that an accident or a rib on Lee?) Meanwhile, the nWo congregates in the corner and protect each other. They eliminate some lesser names, including La Parka (BOO!). In another ring, Luger eliminates both members of High Voltage. Then multiple people attack and dog pile on Ron Studd. (Dusty confuses him with John Studd.) While this happens, DDP and Guerrero fight. Also, The American Males eliminate each other and argue. (Somewhere, Scott Cavaliero isn’t pleased.)

The competitors consolidate into other rings as the numbers dwindle. The nWo saves The Giant from elimination and band together. WCW joins forces to face them, except DDP. He remains neutral and attacks Guerrero. The Giant presses Mysterio to the floor. Regal saves Jarrett. But Nash tosses Jeff. Then DDP tumbles on a missed crossbody. Next, the nWo dumps Regal, so Luger is alone with them. Luger almost racks The Giant until Syxx stops him. But Luger eliminates Hall with a backdrop. He also presses Syxx out of the ring. Luger then puts Nash in The Rack, but The Giant dumps both men to win the match.

Thoughts: The closing moments were fun. Luger was over with the crowd. They thought he would win. However, the rest of the match was forgettable. This was slightly better than last year. It still wasn’t great. It’s hard to get into such a mess. The cameras do a poor job following the action. The stuff with Lee Marshall was amusing. I’ll give them credit for trying to make the early bout interesting. It didn’t work.

Winner: The Giant (28:21)

Nash is slow to rise, but he celebrates with the Giant. The commentators speculate whether The Giant will get a match with Hogan. Did he win only to protect him? Tony says The Giant should get the shot. But they’re unsure. Tony then says goodnight while the nWo continue celebrating.

The Good:

• The Triangle Match was good.

• Harlem Heat/AFC was fun.

• Jericho/Patrick was entertaining.

• The Sting storyline was interesting.

The Bad:

• Most of the battle royal was uninteresting.

• Dean/Psychosis was dull.

Performer of the Night:

I’m giving it to The Outsiders. They made the Triangle Match interesting and told a good story with their work. I also want to give an honorable mention to Lee Marshall. He took a kicking for no apparent reason.

Final Thoughts:

The show was okay, but not great. It’s the first disappointing PPV in a while for WCW. You know you’re in trouble when even the cruiserweight matches are flat. This was a transitional show between Halloween Havoc and Starrcade and it showed. There was entertaining story progression, but that’s it. But it set up things that turn out good, so I don’t hate it.

Thank you for reading. My next review is the WWF’s In Your House: It’s Time. Look for it next Sunday!