Fall Brawl ’98

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

Fall Brawl

September 13, 1998

Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

News & Notes: Hogan and Bischoff banned any footage of Road Wild‘s main event. Hollywood finished DDP. Now he wants Goldberg. Hogan claimed there isn’t a man or warrior he hasn’t defeated. These words drew The Warrior out of exile. He accused Hogan of forgetting his past and selling out. There was little good left in him. So Warrior started his answer to the nWo. He calls it The One Warrior Nation, or oWn. Then The Warrior appeared and disappeared in clouds of smoke. He teleported to the rafters and into locked cages. Warrior used these mind games to mess with Hogan and attack the nWo. He then spray painted oWn on the nWo’s locker room walls. The Disciple swore Warrior did it while invisible! Warrior fancied himself as a superhero. He has his own version of the Bat Signal.

Meanwhile, JJ Dillon announced a unique change to War Games. There are three teams this year. Hogan, Nash, and DDP will captain each team. You can win by pinfall or submission. The winner of the fall receives a WCW championship opportunity at Halloween Havoc. JJ’s announcement caused chaos. First, Stevie Ray defected to the nWo. The Giant cost him his TV title. Stevie realized if you can’t beat them, join them. He turned on Booker and accepted the nWo colors. Next, Bret lost and regained his US belt against Luger. Plus, he fended off DDP with brass knuckles shenanigans. However, Hart is on the outs with Hogan. Bret’s friendliness toward Sting irked Hogan. Finally, DDP offered an open invitation to fill out his War Games team. Piper and The Warrior answered. But every man on Team WCW has his own agenda. There is more. I’ll explain in the match notes.

I have three more news items. First, Eddie Guerrero has a beef with Eric Bischoff. Eddie feels Eric doesn’t care about the younger stars. He favors the old guard and the high-paid wrestlers. The alleged story is Bischoff threw coffee on Eddie during a backstage meeting. Guerrero told Eric to take the job and shove it. But it’s not that easy. Bischoff forced him to wrestle Brian Adams. Eddie laid down for him as a protest. He dared Eric to sue him, like he did to Flair. Eddie also said he hurt his back against Adams, so he took the night off. The second tidbit is about Meng. He attacked everyone! This includes cameramen, security, and even Lee Marshall! No one is safe from the Tongan Death Grip. Finally, Jim Duggan revealed he has kidney cancer. Hacksaw is off TV for a while to get the tumor removed.

Generic rock music brings us the opening video. It has no narration. They show footage of the three War Games teams. It’s WCW vs. nWo Hollywood vs. The Wolfpac. WCW has DDP, Piper, and The Warrior. Team Hollywood is Hogan, Bret, and Stevie Ray. The Wolfpac chose Nash, Sting, and Luger. It’s Fall Brawl: War Games!

Welcome to pro-wrestling’s most dangerous night! It’s sold out and there are two rings and a gigantic cage! One man gets a shot at Goldberg. This is War Games! After introducing his colleagues, Tony explains the new rules for the main event. Bret and DDP are the first two combatants. Randomly selected men will join from each team in two-minute intervals. You can win by pin or submission. And the bout can end at any time. Not everyone has to enter first!

Hold on! Something is happening backstage! We see Ernest the Cat Miller yelling at security. He argues with an unseen man. Miller only wanted to tell people he’s the greatest. But they won’t let him! Meanwhile, Heenan claims he has a prediction for the main event. He says anyone could win. Thanks, Bobby.

It appears Gene stole Buffer’s tux. Okerlund lists the other matches on the card. Then the TV champion, Chris Jericho, interrupts him. He has a hell of a scoop for Gene Mean! Goldberg blew up Jericho’s cell phone all weekend. Chris says Bill took exception to Jericho’s personal security detail. So Chris dared him to put his money where his mouth is. Tonight, you will see Jericho vs. Goldberg. It’s title vs. title! Gene says he’ll need to confirm this, but Jericho assures him it’s true. He threatens to end Goldberg’s streak and become WCW’s first double champion!

The British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs. The Dancing Fools

Notes: It appears The Fools kicked Tokyo Magnum to the curb. They gave him opportunities to redeem himself. First, they made Magnum fight Eddie Guerrero by himself. He lost. Next, Tokyo helped The Fools defeat The Public Enemy, but he let Meng decimate Disco & Alex. He had one more chance at redemption. Disco & Alex wanted him to win the Cruiserweight Title, but Tokyo failed again. We haven’t seen him since. Meanwhile, Bulldog & Anvil remembered they work here. They beat up Luger and challenged him to a tag bout. Luger’s Wolfpac buddies were absent or busy, so he faced them alone. Bret Hart appeared. Bulldog & Anvil thought he came to help. But Bret aided Luger instead and offered to be his partner. A reluctant Lex agreed and they defeated Anvil & Bulldog.

The Match: The early moments involve stalling and complaints of hair-pulling. Anvil also mocks Disco’s dance. Then momentum shifts with strikes and knockdowns. Bulldog & Anvil take control after Neidhart attacks Disco on the floor. He tries to put Inferno in a tree of woe on the rail. It doesn’t quite work. Back inside, Bulldog slows the pace with chinlocks. (It would make Wrestling Bios proud.) Disco breaks free, but Davey blocks a sunset flip. Then Bulldog almost kills Disco with a botched hotshot. But Anvil misses a slingshot shoulder tackle. Wright makes a hot tag. He cleans house with dropkicks, a backdrop, and uppercuts. Disco saves Wright from a running powerslam and they nail a double shoulder block. However, The Fools run into each other on a miscommunication. Davey struggles to lift Disco for the running powerslam, but he succeeds for the win.

Thoughts: It was basic punching, kicking, and stalling. The action wasn’t terrible, but it was flat for an opening contest. To make matters worse, Bulldog injured his back during it. There’s a trap door in the ring for Warrior’s antics. Bulldog bumped on it and damaged his spine. He wrestles another month without realizing he’s hurt. It causes a spinal infection. This leads to a pain killer addiction that shortens Davey’s life.

Winners: Bulldog & Neidhart (11:03)

Gene heard a nasty rumor about Scott Steiner. The word is Steiner won’t wrestle his brother tonight. Okerlund approaches the locker room to get the truth. Scott answers the door with an ice pack on his back and a tiny band-aid on his arm. Bagwell has a signed letter from Dr. Cecil Schwartz! It says he didn’t clear Scotty. Gene conjures JJ Dillon out of thin air to inspect the letter. Dillon says it’s unfortunate. But it’s only unfortunate because Scott wasted his time. JJ rips the letter and repeats his earlier threat. If Scott doesn’t wrestle, they’ll ban him from WCW for life! Steiner and Bagwell chase Dillon down the hallway. Scotty falls while trying to collect the pieces of his letter.

Jericho’s music plays. We see Jericho Personal Security outside the locker room. Ralphus and The Jerichoholic Ninja knock and Chris emerges. They lead him through the hallways, but Jericho gets lost. Chris finds the cafeteria and the back door, but not the entrance. Tony tells someone to lead Jericho by the hand. Finally, they reach the right area. Jericho poses for his pyro. It fizzles out, so Jericho throws a fit. Then we hear Goldberg’s theme. Out comes—a small bald man with a toy belt. The commentators call it a disgrace and a sham. The fans boo. However, Jericho looks scared of the impostor.

TV Title Match: Chris Jericho (c) vs. “Goldberg”

Notes: Jericho discovered a new belt to chase. He jumped Chavo, broke Pepe, and stole Chavo’s TV title shot. Chris defeated Stevie Ray with The Giant’s help. Then Jericho retained his newfound championship. He used shenanigans, more Giant interference, and time-limit draws. Was The Giant on Chris’s side? No, it was a ruse. Once Stevie Ray joined the nWo, The Giant attacked Jericho. However, it didn’t deter Chris. His string of victories gave him confidence. Chris considered himself WCW’s most important champ. He demanded his own security escort, like Goldberg! So Jericho hired two men. One was a WCW trucker named Ralphus. The other was a mulleted man called The Jerichoholic Ninja! This motley security crew wore ill-fitting shirts and escorted Chris. They got lost backstage. Jericho found himself locked out of the building. He missed his defense against Wrath.

The Match: Jericho shoves the impostor and gives him an arm wringer, a clothesline, and a suplex. The cocky pin only gets a two, so Jericho complains to the ref. Little Bronzeberg nails a mighty spear! But Jericho rises to his feet and stomps the idiot. He then locks in a Liontamer for the win.

Thoughts: It was amusing and it received heat from the crowd. This fits Jericho’s character well. Plus, I love Jericho’s personal security. The only problem is, this leads to nothing. It was Jericho’s idea. Bischoff approved it, but Goldberg refuses to do the eventual encounter. He didn’t like Jericho’s comedy shtick.

Winner: Chris Jericho (1:15)

Jericho hesitates to release the Liontamer, so the ref warns him. Chris obliges, but he shoves the ref. Then Jericho collects both belts. He tears up the toy replica. Afterward, Chris speaks to the camera. He asks Goldberg who’s next.

Lee Marshall interviews Rick Steiner in the internet room. He says the fans want to see the Steiners fight. But this must be terrible for their parents. A low-energy Rick Steiner answers the question. He says Scott and Buff did everything to gain the advantage. You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your brother or your enemies. Rick promises to do whatever he can to teach his brother a lesson.

Then they show a clip from Thunder. Mike Tenay interviewed The Armstrong Brothers outside the arena. This annoyed Ernest Miller. Why didn’t Mike choose him instead? Miller is a three-time karate champion! He needs to TV time to inform the world how great he is! The Armstrongs say they never get to do promos, so give them a break. Miller appeared to acquiesce, but he kicked them from behind! Norman Smiley broke up the fight. He asked Miller what his problem was. Then WCW security stepped in before things escalated. (On a side note, Heenan watched the segment from the window. Tony calls him out for eavesdropping.)

The confrontation led to this next encounter. Before the bell, The Cat has words for Norman Smiley. He’s required by law to tell Norman he’s a three-time karate champ. Miller can take a man apart in five seconds. So he offers Smiley the same amount of time to walk away. Otherwise, he’ll eat him alive! Miller turns his back and counts, but Norman stares at him. When The Cat finishes, Norman punches Miller.

Ernest the Cat Miller vs. Norman Smiley

Notes: Ernest Miller returned with a new attitude. He’s a three-time karate champion. No one can beat him! The Cat told the fans not to hate him because he’s beautiful. He even declared himself the best wrestler today! Miller backed up his claims. The beautiful karate-kicking wrestler gained a string of victories. He roundhouse kicked Disco, Riggs, Bull Pain, and Kenny Kaos. These impressive wins fed The Cat’s ego. It led to the aforementioned Armstrongs incident.

The Match: Smiley sends him out of the ring for some fighting on the floor. The Cat takes control with kicks, karate chops, and choking. Norman answers with a back suplex, a leg drop, and a rolling elbow drop. He also uses uppercuts until Miller begs off. It was a trap. The Cat rakes Norman’s eyes and does more strikes and holds. But Smiley rallies and places Miller on the top rope. Ernest shoves him down and whiffs with The Feliner. Norman bumps anyway. They make up for the botch. The Cat whips Smiley into the corner and finishes him with a spin kick.

Thoughts: This was bad. It was dull punching and kicking. Then The Cat botched the finish. The fans chanted boring for a minute, but they even lost interest in that. I’ll credit WCW for getting new faces on PPV, but nobody cared about this.

Winner: Ernest Miller (5:04)

They recap the Steiner Brothers feud from the beginning. The words betrayal, transformation, trust, and ridicule appear on the screen. We see Scott’s various ruses and deceptions. Then they show the events of Road Wild. Scott Steiner must face his brother or they’ll ban him for life!

Rick Steiner vs. Scott Steiner (w/ Buff Bagwell)

Notes: JJ Dillon warned him. But Scott Steiner teased the idea of not wrestling his brother. Scotty introduced his personal doctor, Cecil Schwartz. This long-haired oddball was fond of saying, “Right on!” He also claimed he couldn’t clear Scott to wrestle at Fall Brawl. The injury spread throughout Scott’s entire left side. After all, those bones all connect! But Scotty vowed to defy the doctor and face Rick on TV! What we got was Bagwell in a Rick costume. He behaved like a dog, so Scott made him play dead and pinned him. Next, Scott experienced a miraculous recovery with the help of a witch doctor named JuJu. It was Buff in another disguise. Rick had enough of this nonsense. He chased Scotty and Buff with a chair. Then Rick did an interview. He told his brother the nWo was using him. But Rick promised to beat some sense into Scotty.

The Match: It begins as a wild brawl. The punches fly. They spill outside and fight over the railing. Scott tries to call a timeout. It doesn’t work. But Buff grabs Rick’s foot and Scott blocks a belly-to-belly with a low blow. After some strikes and posing, Scott attempts a Tiger Bomb. Rick stops him and nails a DDT. Bagwell interferes again, so Rick rams him head-first into the post. Then Rick continues his fight with Scott, but something is wrong. The ref checks on Buff in the corner. Once Scotty spots this, he stops the fight. Bagwell claims he can’t move. The ref throws out the encounter, so the fans chant bullshit.

Thoughts: It started hot and had the potential to be great. The fans loved the first few minutes. Then they killed the momentum with the ending. They’re dragging this feud out too long. It has too many false starts and finishes. This was a disappointment. They want to continue the rivalry, but they’re in danger of killing any interest in it.

Winner: No Contest (5:30)

The commentators are skeptical, but they use their serious voices. Rick looks worried. He asks if Bagwell is alright. But he says this better not be a lie. They bring out a gurney and load Buff onto it with care. The EMTs roll him backstage and the cameras follow. Even Bischoff joins them. Rick accompanies the stretcher to the ambulance and they place Bagwell inside. When the doors close, Rick looks distraught. However, the doors fly open. Scott and Buff leap out of the vehicle and attack Rick! Scotty slams him against the arena doors until security stops him. The commentators say Scott and Buff stooped lower than ever! They made fools of everyone. Tony apologizes to the fans. (He should. This segment was way too long. It killed the crowd.)

Cruiserweight Title Match: Juventud Guerrera (c) vs. Silver King

Notes: Juvi escaped the Jericho curse. Chris found a new belt, so Juventud racked up successful title defenses. He defeated Kidman, Psychosis, Tokyo, Karagias, Lenny Lane, and Hector Garza. Guerrera also fended off Kaz Hayashi, who added Sonny Onoo as a manager. But a chance encounter with Silver King led to this bout. Their first contest ended in DQ. Silver King took Juvi to the floor and drilled him with a Van Daminator. The ref called for the bell, but King continued attacking Juvi.

The Match: They start with quick chain wrestling and reversals. Juvi frustrates Silver King with a headscissor takeover. King throws a small fit and eats a springboard hurricanrana. But Silver answers with a dropkick, a spinning hotshot, and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He even nails a muscle buster and a triangle jump plancha. Next, Juvi botches a sunset flip, so King punches him. Silver tries a pop-up powerbomb, but Guerrera turns it into a hurricanrana. Juvi then fends off a rally and lands a Super Reverse Frankensteiner! It only gets two. King has another small flurry, but Juvi hits a Juvi Driver and a 450 for the victory.

Thoughts: It was solid but unremarkable. This was the best match so far, but that isn’t saying much. They did a few cool moves, and the fans reacted to those. But most of this had little heat. The Steiner stuff killed the crowd. Only the high spots and the finish of this bout received a reaction. In fact, some fans started a Taco Bell chant.

Winner: Juventud Guerrera (8:36)

Konnan joins the internet crew. Marshall says tonight must be tough on Konnan. Scott Hall was his family. K-Dawg agrees, but Scott Hall interrupts before he finishes his thought. Hall has an alcoholic drink in his hand and he slurs his words. He heard they were talking about him. What he does in his free time is his business! Konnan tells him to be a professional, so Hall tosses his drink in K-Dawg’s face! They cut away before things escalate.

Next, they recap the Saturn/Raven storyline. Saturn lost a match to Lodi and had to become his slave. Lodi forbid him from attacking Raven or Kanyon. Then Raven tested Perry’s supposed honor. He had to either break Riggs’ fingers or have his own broken. Saturn chose his own. Tony called it sickening. However, Perry got revenge when Lodi wasn’t around. He jumped Kanyon and broke his fingers. Raven punished Saturn with a Flock attack. He fought them, so Raven questioned Perry’s motives. Does he want to save The Flock? Saturn said he put his own soul on the line. Now it’s about saving his own career.

As Raven enters the arena, Penzer announces a new stipulation. They will handcuff Kanyon to the post. Kanyon isn’t happy, but Dillon and Dillinger make him comply. Raven sits in the corner while Saturn joins the fray. He calls Saturn an embarrassment. Tonight begins Perry’s permanent indentured servitude. Saturn offers a rebuttal. It’s all about honor, and Raven has none! Saturn will keep his integrity, no matter the outcome.

Raven’s Rules Match: Saturn vs. Raven (w/ Kanyon & Lodi)

Notes: Saturn wants to release The Flock from Raven’s abusive clutches. A victory frees them. But he must rejoin the faction if he fails. However, Lodi challenged Perry. If the lackey won, Saturn became his slave until the PPV. Kanyon shocked everyone by helping Lodi win. He joined The Flock! Saturn had to hold Lodi’s signs and carry his bags. Lodi also made Saturn wrestle matches. He couldn’t hit his opponents without permission. Saturn complied out of honor and pride. So Raven tested it. He ordered Perry to break Riggs’ fingers or offer his own fingers as a sacrifice. Perry opted for the latter. But he gained revenge. Saturn chucked Lodi in a river and broke Kanyon’s fingers while Lodi wasn’t around. Raven sent The Flock to jump Perry as punishment. Saturn beat them up. Perry’s defiance convinced Raven to add a stipulation. If Saturn loses, he is Raven’s servant forever!

The Match: Saturn fends off Lodi interference early in the action. He lands a plancha on both Raven and Lodi. Then they trade takedowns and pin attempts. Saturn breaks Raven’s sleeper hold. But Raven answers with rolling Russian Leg Sweeps. Raven also gives Perry the dreaded drop toe hold on a chair! This leads to The Flock bringing out a table. However, Kidman shocks everyone! He nails Raven with a missile dropkick and leads The Flock on a chase into the crowd!

Kidman’s turn gives Saturn his opening. He scores a flurry of offense. We see a Death Valley Driver, suplexes, a springboard leg drop, and a Michinoku Driver. Perry even locks in the Rings of Saturn. But Lodi ruins his fun every time. To make matters worse, Raven whips Saturn into the ref and wipes him out! Kanyon steals the key and unlocks himself. He then drills Saturn with a Flatliner and cuffs himself again before the ref wakes. But it doesn’t work! Saturn dishes out low blows and puts Lodi through a table with a DVD! Perry returns to the ring and eats an Even Flow, but it only gets two! When Raven tries another, Saturn blocks it and ends the fight with another DVD.

Thoughts: It started slow, but the finish turned it into an enjoyable contest. I liked the false finishes. They built good drama toward the closing moments. It won over the once-dead crowd. The fans exploded for the three-count. This is now the match of the night.

Winner: Saturn (14:04)

After the bell, someone hands Tony a note. Duggan’s wife called. The doctor removed his tumor and he’s on the road to recovery. The commentators honor Duggan with a loud ho!

Then they recap the Malenko/Hennig situation. They had a Cage Match on Nitro. It turned into a nWo beat down. Hennig & Rude tried to slam the cage door on Dean’s head, but Arn Anderson rescued him! Next, Arn told Malenko he’d be honored to call him a Horseman. It almost brought tears to Dean’s eyes.

Dean Malenko vs. Curt Hennig (w/ Rick Rude)

Notes: Hennig grew sick of Malenko’s calls for a Horsemen reunion. Curt reminded Malenko he ended The Horseman with a cage door to Flair’s head. Then they had two matches. Both involved Rick Rude interference. Hennig & Rude targeted Mongo & Dean, so Malenko and McMichael helped each other. Things were out of control. Even JJ Dillon pleaded with Arn to reform the Horsemen. When Arn refused, Dillon called him scared. Next, Malenko and Hennig had a Cage Match. It became a nWo beat down. Anderson had enough. He rescued Dean and Mongo. The nWo got their wish. They brought back the old Arn Anderson! He said calling Malenko a Horseman would be an honor! This infuriated Bischoff. There would be no reunion and no Flair unless Arn could defeat Eric. He must face Bischoff in an arm-wrestling contest after the PPV. But Arn has to do it left-handed!

The Match: Dean runs wild on Hennig with strikes. Curt regroups, but Malenko follows. He attacks Hennig’s leg on both the rail and the post. Then Dean fends off Rude’s interference and continues the leg work. Curt rallies and tries a slam, but he collapses. It leads to a toe hold and a Cloverleaf attempt by Dean. Curt keeps fighting back with eye rakes. Rude even pulls Hennig to safety. (A cameraman falls over from shock!) Malenko retrieves Curt and returns him to the ring. We get more leg attacks until Rude gives Dean a cheap shot. Hennig goes for a Hennig Plex. His knee buckles, so Malenko tries his own version of the move. Rude jumps him to cause a DQ.

Thoughts: It was dull and the finish was lame. I get the psychology of the bout, but it wasn’t enjoyable. I like both men, so this was disappointing. Hennig has a legitimate knee injury. He will soon take time off for surgery. That didn’t stop them from doing the cage fight on TV. Why not save it for the PPV. A cage would have been better than this.

Winner: Dean Malenko (by DQ) (7:38)

The beat down continues. Hennig and Rude give Dean a double press gutbuster, so Arn arrives to help. However, Hennig attacks Anderson’s neck. Rude holds Arn down and Curt targets Anderson’s left arm! They try to break it ahead of Arn’s arm-wrestling contest with Bischoff. Rude then helps Hennig walk to the back.

Next, we get a Halloween Havoc commercial. The shadows unleashed a forgotten soul. It awakened the evil within. Release the havoc that is Halloween! Snickers presents Halloween Havoc. It happens on October 25^th in the MGM Grand!

Now it’s time for Scott Hall vs. Konnan. Vincent waits for Hall because Scott is busy drinking. He carries the cocktail to the ring. Tenay wonders if Scott is in any condition to wrestle. Vincent looks like he feels the same way. Hall poses in the wrong ring and almost falls off the turnbuckles. Then Scott swipes Penzer’s mic and does his survey. The fans boo nWo Hollywood and cheer The Wolfpac, but Hall scores one for the good guys. Afterward, Konnan arrives and does his catchphrases.

Konnan vs. Scott Hall (w/ Vincent)

Notes: Scott Hall’s beef with Nash continued. Hall & Giant fought Sting & Nash. The Giant chokeslammed the ref to preserve their title reign. Then Hall interrupted Nash vs. Hennig to attack Kevin. It led to two matches between Hall and Konnan. Scott won the first with a low blow. K-Dawg scored a win in the second encounter with a roll-up. Hall threw a fit afterward. Scott had his nWo cronies surround Konnan. Rick Rude asked Konnan to choose who would beat him up. K-Dawg challenged them all, but he escaped unscathed. However, Scott Hall disappeared from TV. JJ Dillon said Bischoff was covering for Hall’s issues. Eric gave Hall preferential treatment. It wouldn’t stand. Dillon booked Hall in another fight with Konnan for the PPV. Scott then made a surprise return while Nash wrestled Stevie Ray. Hall used Stevie’s slapjack weapon to deck Nash.

The Match: Hall won’t take things seriously at first. He makes Konnan chase him from ring to ring. Then Hall asks for a test of strength, but he keeps changing hands. K-Dawg has enough. He slaps Scott and nails a rolling clothesline. Next, he stuffs Scott between the rings. Vincent distracts Konnan while Hall crawls out the other side. After a drink break, Hall uses a bow and arrow stretch, a fallaway slam, and an ab stretch. He calls for a drink in mid-move. Then the ref catches Scott using the ropes. Konnan rallies with a hip toss and strikes. But Hall boots K-Dawg on a charge and places him on the top rope. Hall follows with a back superplex. However, he pauses for more refreshments and Vincent argues with him. Konnan kicks the beverage into Hall’s face and plants him with an X-Factor. A Tequila Sunrise gives Konnan the tap-out victory.

Thoughts: The action was slow. It wasn’t bad. They botched nothing. The performances were good, but it wasn’t enjoyable. Parts of it were amusing, but I can’t like it. I hate this storyline. It’s tasteless. The WWF and WCW did their Hawk and Hall storylines at the same time! Were the companies trying to outdo each other?

Winner: Konnan (12:03)

Michael Buffer introduces the main event. It’s a special edition of War Games! He names the nine combatants and says his catchphrase. Then the cage lowers with fireworks. Buffer explains the updated rules for this encounter. Bret and DDP will wrestle for five minutes. Afterward, a random drawing determines the next entrants. They’ll arrive in two-minute intervals. The contest can end at any point by pinfall or submission. Not all participants have to be present. The winner receives a WCW championship shot at Halloween Havoc.

War Games Match: (Team WCW) Diamond Dallas Page, Roddy Piper, & The Warrior vs. (nWo Hollywood) Hollywood Hogan, Bret Hart, & Stevie Ray vs. (nWo Wolfpac) Kevin Nash, Sting, & Lex Luger

Notes: Hogan wants Goldberg. Nash and Goldberg scuffled over inadvertent spears and big boots. DDP pissed off Nash by declining his Wolfpac invitation. Nash gave him the Jackknife. Bret Hart angered Hogan. He wouldn’t let Hollywood attack Sting! Hogan tried to kick him off the nWo team, but Dillon said Hogan signed a contract! Since he’s on the outs with Hogan, Bret helped both Sting and Luger. Sting tested Hart to see if he was serious. He offered Bret a free shot with the bat, but Bret declined. Meanwhile, DDP and Piper don’t trust each other. Piper thinks Page will stab him in the back for a chance to face Goldberg. As for The Warrior, he’s there to get inside of Hogan’s head. It’s chaos! We have teams, but only The Wolfpac gets along. They claimed they have no leader. They are a faction of equals seeking WCW gold.

The Match: Order of entry: DDP, Bret, Stevie Ray, Sting, Piper, Luger, Nash, Hogan, and Warrior.

Bret and DDP attempt pinfalls early. Then Stevie and Bret double-team Page. When Sting arrives, he jumps from one ring to the other and hits Stevie. Piper joins and punches everybody, including his teammate. Luger is next, Bret waves at him. Lex has none of it. He attacks Hart. After Luger is Nash, but then Hogan jumps the gun. He appears a minute early and uses the slapjack weapon on everyone but Stevie. With the competition laid out, Hogan focuses on Nash. He nails two leg drops and covers. But wait! The ring fills with smoke! The Warrior is in the ring beating his chest! Hogan decks him, but the smoke returns. When it clears, Hogan holds an empty jacket.

Then the real Warrior enters the arena and joins the melee! He targets Stevie and Hogan. Stevie buys Hogan time by throwing forearms, so Hogan escapes. The Disciple pulls him out of the ring and they lock the door. Meanwhile, Warrior fends off Stevie and spots Hogan outside. He can’t use the door, so Warrior kicks through the wall and leaps to the floor! (He injures himself.) Warrior then brawls with Hogan in the aisle until security stops it. Back in the ring, Stevie swings his slapjack at DDP, but he hits Bret! Page takes the opening and plants Stevie with the Diamond Cutter. He scores the pin.

Thoughts: It was a mess. They filled the time until The Warrior’s antics. Nothing of note happened outside of it. In fact, most of the participants laid on the mat while Hogan and Warrior did their thing. This was the Hogan and Warrior show. The rest of the bout was background noise. Then the finish was flat. I’m glad DDP gets a title shot, but this War Games was disappointing. (On a side note, the Renegade played the fake Warrior. How ironic!)

Winner: Diamond Dallas Page (20:06)

DDP stands and stumbles as they announce him as the winner. He crawls out of the cage and celebrates with the fans. Heenan says Dallas is on the biggest roll of his life. Meanwhile, Tenay informs us Sting will wrestle Goldberg on Nitro. Goodnight, everyone!

The Good:

• Saturn/Raven was good and had a hot finish.

• Juvi/Silver King was decent.

The Bad:

• The disappointing main event.

• The Steiner Match and the long post-match stuff.

• Smiley/Cat was bad.

• The awful Last Call Scott Hall storyline.

Performer of the Night:

It’s a tie between Raven and Saturn. They came to work and put on the best match of the night. I liked the drama and storytelling.

Final Thoughts:

They should have called this Bait & Switch: The PPV. Was WCW actively trolling their audience with this show? They were begging the fans to turn and watch the WWF instead. Between the tasteless storylines, the non-finishes, and the lackluster performances, this was awful. Road Wild was dull and uninspired. This event was insulting. It surpassed Road Wild as the worst WCW Pay Per View.

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