WCW Souled Out
Charleston, West Virginia
January 17, 1999 [77%]
We get all of the fireworks and ballyhoo of WCW on Pay Per View, and get ready for a fun one, folks - it's the first PPV of the new year! 'The Voice of WCW' Tony Schiavone is your lead man tonight, but he's got Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan and 'The Professor' Mike Tenay in the broadcast booth to help him call all of the action, and we have action! 3 Titles on the line, including The Giant trying to bring the World Heavyweight Title back to World Championship Wrestling and right the wrongs of Hollywood Hogan and this Elite New World Order that is The Wolfpac; Goldberg and Bam Bam Bigelow finally settling their two month long score; and David Flair debuts to team up with his father in The Nature Boy’s quest for revenge against Barry Windham and Curt Hennig! And even better, wrestling fans: Souled Out is now exclusively a WCW produced event! The opening commentary talk focuses on how Souled Out first came about two years ago as an event created and run by the New World Order, but finally, the third time's a charm because Ric Flair has made sure that tonight’s event is only World Championship Wrestling in charge! Okay, now that so much is time is wasted by the talking head, let’s get to the curtain jerkers and vanilla midgets!
WCW CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE: Kidman © vs. Jushin Liger vs. Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Jushin Thunder Liger?? There is absolutely no reference to why there is a change from the original card outside of The Professor explaining that the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight is a late replacement for the match and his title is not on the line tonight, only Kidman’s Cruiserweight Title. Spoiler alert: Juventud Guerrera decided to enter rehab for the white nose candy! However, that doesn’t stop from an absolute barn burner of a match, going spot to spot with no rhyme or reason from the rip. These four men fly throughout the ring with jumps, slingshots, springboards, and amazing counters, not even play-by-play specialist Mike Tenay able to keep up with the action! Each man vies for an early win with some unique roll ups and pinning combinations, but the best spot, of course, comes through the air. Jushin Liger catches a running Psychosis with a release Hip Toss that sends the masked Luchadore over the ropes to the outside, but Mysterio then knocks Liger through the ropes as well with a running Dropkick! With the two men getting up to their feet on the outside, Mysterio goes for the spot… Tiger Feint! Mysterio swings through the ropes to fake them out, but by staying in the ropes facing the two, it’s a beautiful disguise and image as Kidman flies over top of him… TOPE CON HILO!
Kidman’s somersault senton, flying over Mysterio along the way, is successful in taking out the two men on the outside, and Mysterio then joins the party seconds later - Slingshot from the ring to the second rope on the outside, and springboard from second rope to third rope and ASAI MOONSAULT! The action stays like that throughout, with the action mixing and matching from inside the ring to outside the ring, and both at the same time. It means we get fun moments like Kidman dropping Psychosis on the guardrail with a modified release Gourdbuster, and then dropping him with a running Cannonball onto him, as well as Jushin Liger breaking up a Mysterio pin on Kidman with a Slingshot Senton, landing right on both men! As the action picks up towards the end, it kicks off even more when Psychosis tries to hit a Quesadora Stunner, but Liger blocks, catches him, and tosses him into the air… where the masked-horned Luchadore lands on top of Mysterio, but hits him with a Hurricanrana! It’s right into a pin, but broken up by a running Basement Dropkick from Kidman! Kidman gets up, only for Liger to land a kick and hoist him up in the air… RUNNING LIGER BOMB…
...but of course you can’t Powerbomb Kidman! The Cruiserweight Champion back flips out of the air, landing on his feet, so the Jr. Heavyweight Champion knocks him through the ropes with a beautiful dropkick! Psychosis ends up eating the Liger Bomb moments later, but as Liger tries to get off his knees and go for a Jackknife cover, it’s Rey Mysterio running like the wind, spiking Liger’s head off of Psychosis’ gut with a Hurricanrana Driver! That has both men down, so Mysterio heads to the apron, waits for Liger to get back up - SPRINGBOARD HURRICANRANA!
Mysterio drills Liger with a beautiful snapping ‘Rana, but as he is hitting that and going for the cover, Kidman is recovered and also flies from the top – SHOOTING STAR PRESS to Psychosis! There’s only one cover Charles Robinson can make, and he makes the count… ONE! TWO! THREE! Robinson made the count for the Champion, and even though Mysterio probably had Liger down for the count too, Kidman retains the Championship! The crowd, or at least the ones that care, are clearly confused in the aftermath of what is going on, and so are Heenan and Schiavone too, but it is all made clear as Robinson raises Kidman’s arm in the air, the exhausted Champion happy to receive his Title Belt back into his grasp. However, Kidman makes it a point to recognize Mysterio almost had the victory too, and the two men shake hands and hug in respect to one another for another match that showed either man could easily be Champion.
Winner: Kidman at 13:51 to retain the WCW Cruiserweight Championship [76%]
Booker T vs. Hugh Morrus (w/Jimmy Hart)
Tony Schiavone makes sure to do his job to tell the story of how both of these men have enjoyed a great start to 1999 so far, picking up wins in all their matches, and both wanting to now get their first PPV win of the year to boost them up the rankings and into a title shot contention. The newly returned Morrus dominates the match early with his big size incredibly effective in manhandling the energetic Harlem native. Morrus rag dolls Booker to the canvas and into the corner, utilizing the corner as his favorite place to target Booker and rough him up with repeated blows. However, Booker fights his way back into the contest by avoiding a running Avalanche, Morrus running sternum first into the turnbuckles and allowing Book to score an awkward/innovative (you pick) Leaping Clothesline Neckbreaker type maneuver where he’s really just hitting a clothesline, but takes him down to the canvas with it so it’s like a modified neckbreaker. As you were.
Booker uses his amazing athleticism to keep him in the match, mixing great agility with acrobatic kicks and surprising strength to lift the big man up when he needs to. The two men go back and forth throughout the contest, Morrus continuing to use that great size of his to good effect, but also showing how athletic he is as well, impressing at one point by capping a series of charges between the two by leap frogging over Booker, and then catching him on the turn with a running Cross Body! Morrus looks to use that athleticism again as the match drags onwards, but his No Laughing Matter moonsault this time causes only issues with the diaphragm as he finds the canvas! Gasping for air, Morrus tries to pull himself up to his feet, but he just puts himself in prime position for the Harlem Axe Kick! The scissors kick by Booker T connects, and it means that in a hard fought battle, it is Booker T who is laughing his way to yet another victory in 1999!
Winner: Booker T at 9:12 [73%]
WCW’s Just Making This Shit Up As They Go!
WCW, not me, for the record, are making this up as they go. *cough*. We are in the entrance aisle where ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund welcomes us all to the show and hypes up the crowd a bit in addition to running down some of the big matches still to come. However, Mean Gene wants to get to something he knows he and many other people want to see tonight - what does the current President of WCW have in mind for the temporarily out of office Eric Bischoff!? With an introduction that only Mean Gene can provide, ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair comes out to join Okerlund in the entrance aisle, already dressed to wrestle in his immaculate sequined robe. Flair, of course, goes through the usual spiel with Okerlund, grinning and in a great mood for this interview ahead of his tag team match later on in the card. Mean Gene asks Flair what everyone is dying to know: where is Eric Bischoff and what is Flair’s plan for him?
A grinning Flair has an answer for Okerlund, answering that he is making sure that Easy E is put to good use tonight, and he’s been doing so since the show even came on the air! A quizzitive Okerlund is dying to know just what that means, and a laughing Flair obliges, telling everyone to feast their eyes on the Turner Vision above the stage… where a completely miserable looking Bischoff is standing in a concession stand, decked in an apron and cap, shoveling popcorn into containers for sale! There is laughter between Okerlund and Flair, while shots are picked up of several members of the West Virginia crowd enjoying the misery of Bischoff as well.
Okerlund wants to know how Flair has gotten Bischoff to comply with this humiliating order when he didn’t really do anything on the commentary table two weeks ago, and Flair explains that this time he had the answer ready: Bischoff knows that if he wants to make sure his precious Hollywood Hogan isn’t forced into defending that World Heavyweight Title night in and night out, and have the lives of The Wolfpac made to even more of a living hell than Flair intends to make them, he will do as he is told! Flair also promises Okerlund that tonight is just the beginning for some of the things he has in mind for Bischoff, and that tomorrow night, he will be delivering a State of the Union address… and he’s got something special in mind for Bischoff then too, “so you better hold off on the popcorn for a few minutes tomorrow night, fat boy, ‘cause YOUR BOSS… has got A WHOLE LOT TO SAY! WOOO!” Okerlund then wishes Flair the best of luck in his match tonight, as we get another great shot of an embarrassed Bischoff being forced to fill up some large sodas and hand them over to several paying customers.
WCW TELEVISION TITLE: Scott Steiner © (w/Buff Bagwell) vs. Chris Benoit (w/Mongo McMichael)
With Dean Malenko still struggling to recover from his ankle injury he sustained at a house show at the turn of the year, there is only one man left to be in The Crippler’s corner tonight to counter the presence of The Stuff and his obnoxious antics. This match is a complete late addition to the card, but we get some storyline logic from the commentators as they discuss that the Television Title should be defended weekly on WCW programming and since Big Poppa Pump has been able to drop under the radar lately with President Flair’s forcibly so occupied with not only the nWo Elite but his tag team match against Curt Hennig and Barry Windham, we have seen this match added late to the card to make sure Scott Steiner is not able to keep sneaking his way without title defenses. The collegiate wrestling career of Steiner is put to the test by The Crippler in this match as Benoit tries to grapple the TV Champion with chain and mat wrestling, working his game as he wants to do. However, he finds out that somewhere deep inside of those steroid-induced muscles of his is still a man who can actually wrestle. While Steiner doesn’t match Benoit move-for-move with the mat game, Steiner still finds enough to keep Benoit from wrestling circles around him, keeping himself in the match.
The grappling eventually leads way to the two men deciding to just stiff the living hell out of each other instead, Benoit and Steiner using crisp right hands, skin-ripping chops, and blood bringing forearm and side elbow strikes. Benoit finds his nose bursting with blood halfway through the match thanks to a Steiner forearm strike, while the Champion gets his receipt with a bruising cheekbone with a pointed back elbow right under his right eye. Even with the match spilling to the outside and having a brawl that almost spills into the crowd at one point (stopping short with Steiner just dropping Benoit throat first off the guardrail with a Gorilla Press Drop), Bagwell and Mongo keep their place in their respective corners instead as cheerleader (Buff) and coach (Mongo), letting the nWo and Horsemen fight out their war. Big Poppa Pump, usually a man of such pomp and circumstance in any match, finds himself becoming less and less arrogant as the contest goes, having to stay alert twice to avoid Benoit from pulling him down into the Crippler Crossface, the second time Benoit actually able to pull Steiner down to the canvas only for the Champion to use his free arm to just goozle The Crippler right in that bloody nose with a hard right.
Both men go for their patented suplexes to try and find the opening needed for a win, Benoit pulling off a series of Rolling German Suplexes as well as a Release German later on, while Big Poppa Pump hits both an Overhead and Spinning Belly-to-Belly Suplex. However, that still can’t put either man away, forcing each man to take their game to a higher level. Benoit uses a Northern Lights Suplex to keep Steiner down and give him time to head up top for the SWANDIVE HEADBUTT… but Steiner rolls out of the way! Big Poppa Pump hoists Benoit onto the top turnbuckle and after clubbing him with some shots climbs up to the second turnbuckle for the FRANKENSTEINER! Benoit blocks it, shoves Steiner to the canvas… and follows up with a Missile Dropkick! It’s a cover by Benoit, but a shoulder up prevents the new Champion!
That turns the tides heavily in Benoit’s favor though, and that means only one thing can happen: Buff Bagwell. The Stuff, fearing for his boy’s chances, enters the ring to attack Benoit and force the disqualification, but he gets intercepted by a HUGE running Football Tackle from Mongo! The Four Horseman ain’t letting his partner’s title chances get wasted here tonight, and he follows Bagwell out of the ring and starts putting a beating on The Stuff, completely drawing the attention of referee Johnny Boone away from the match.
That means that it’s typical nWo bullshit as Scott Norton of the Black and White appears out of nowhere, blindsiding Benoit and dropping him right on his neck with a Powerbomb! The B&W Security Team doing its job tonight, apparently! Norton purposely drops Benoit more on his neck than his back with the Powerbomb, so that way when Steiner uses the interference to help trap Benoit in the center of the ring with the Steiner Recliner, not even a man as tenacious and resilient as Chris Benoit can withstand the torque and pain on his neck. Benoit puts up a heck of a fight in the submission, but even he has no choice but to tap out, giving the New World Order first blood tonight. Steiner celebrates big time, knowing that he just won an absolute war tonight, despite the help given to him by both Bagwell and Norton.
Winner: Scott Steiner at 12:21 to retain the WCW World Television Championship [83%]
PEPE ON A POLE MATCH: Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Norman Smiley
What’s that, a completely unadvertised and completely ridiculous added gimmick stipulation to this match?? You betcha, WCW fans!
These two men, to be fair, have been feuding mainly over Pepe, the horsehead on a stick who is Chavo’s friend seeing as Chavito has gone a little loco over the last year, and that is why we have poor Pepe hung up on a pole in the corner. David Penzer announces that this match will not end with any pin falls, but that it will end when one wrestler retrieves Pepe from the pole, and the man who gets Pepe, KEEPS Pepe! It’s riveting stuff, folks. With the sudden and abrupt stipulation happening, it for one throws the fans off, who were not expecting such silliness.
It also throws Chavo off, who spends much of his match crying out in anguish at how far Pepe is from him, shouting out to Pepe if he is okay and the like, and of course the best, “Daddy’s coming for you, Pepe!” The problem, besides that this is a farce, is that Chavo is so preoccupied with Pepe being in harm’s way that he keeps forgetting it is his job to try and actually get Pepe from off the pole in the corner, as Smiley continually is able to attack the mentally and physically distracted Guerrero. We do at least get a zinger from Heenan, who remarks that at times he’s left to wonder if Chavo has a romantic interest in Pepe, adding that he’s been to Tijuana, and it’s supposed to be a donkey, not a horse that humans have relationships with.
When Chavo finally does down Smiley long enough to make his first significant attempt to rescue Pepe, Chavito takes too long trying to counsel the apparently in crisis Pepe as he climbs up the turnbuckles and tries to free Pepe. It allows Smiley to sneak up behind Guerrero, pull his feet out from under him so he crashes face first to the canvas, and then incapacitate Chavo with the Norman Conquest!
The Crossface Chickenwing puts Guerrero down long enough for Smiley to get Pepe from the pole, meaning he is both the winner, and the new owner of Pepe! As he’s done already, Smiley straddles Pepe’s stick and does the Big Wiggle Smack My Bitch Up dance… and then blasts Chavo in the face with Pepe! Black Magic leaves with Pepe afterwards, The Brain thankfully not adding any more zingers to the mix. We do get a fun interlude after the match though of Eric Bischoff, the failed comedy continuing as we see Bischoff trying to fill up a cheese cup for an order of nachos… but dropping the plastic container of nachos in the process, distracting him and causing him to then spill the cheese cup all over his front! And if it wasn’t bad enough for Easy E, he is forced to just take the ensuing verbal tirade from his teenage boss for making a mess!
Winner: Norman Smiley at 6:16 [61%]
Konnan vs. Lex Luger
We haven’t been given to much build to this match up, but fans of the product know very little is needed for this one: Lex Luger has long been known as a man with flimsy allegiances, but that didn’t stop Konnan from having The Total Package’s back and riding for him when nWo Hollywood tried to recruit from from The Wolfpac. So now that we have the nWo Elite in the Wolfpac and Luger is on board with them instead of trying to continue to fight alongside K-Dawg. And with The Wolfpac targeting the Luchadores because of the Latino World Order, it has only added fuel to Konnan’s fire to get payback on The Total Package.
Konnan comes out with absolute vigor because of it, throwing hands and feet at Luger from the get go, his fiery offense far too much for Luger to handle early on, causing Package to retreat to the outside and resort to stalling tactics instead. Konnan’s nonstop impassioned offense tonight though, meaning Luger is only able to get the upper hand by having to resort to the nefarious, poking Konnan in the eye and then sweeping his leg with a trip to end the furious rights and lefts planted on him.
The Total Package doesn’t even have the poise to start his many repeated poses when he finally gets some offense in, still reeling from onslaught by Konnan. Obviously, considering the two men in the ring, this is an absolute punch-heavy affair, both men using their charisma and crowd interactions to sell the story than, you know, actual wrestling. While Luger is finally able to control things once he survives that early flurry, Konnan’s heart and determination to kick Luger’s ass sees him push through The Total Package’s offense then as well, blocking the attempts for the Human Torture Rack, and make a comeback. Konnan gets Luger on dream street with a series of Rolling Clotheslines, but when he goes for the 187 DDT, Luger drives Konnan into the corner turnbuckles… and catches him with the Running Forearm right afterwards! Because this is WCW, and this is Lex Luger, so that means the Torture Rack then follows, and Luger keeps racking him until even a man as passionate as Konnan is forced to eventually tap out to prevent his back breaking, saving his career tonight so he can get payback another night.
Winner: Lex Luger at 7:23 [79%]
I QUIT MATCH: Chris Jericho (w/Ralphus) vs. Perry Saturn
Mike Tenay is quick to immediately point out that President Flair has, either unintentionally or with a point to prove, assigned referee Scott Dickenson to this match, meaning much of the speculation throughout this match is on whether or not Dickenson will again be in Jericho’s pocket, or if what Flair said on Thursday Thunder will hold true. While WCW is totally not running this match to counter the I Quit match that will be taking next week at the Royal Rumble between The Rock and Mankind, this match starts out as anything but the kind of hardcore the WWF will put on. Instead, it’s Saturn and Jericho wrestling a significant amount of chain and mat wrestling, the two men starting the match of incredibly slow, with the talking heads treating this match as a Submission Match, reminding that the only way this match ends is when one man decides that he is going to submit and quit to the other. The Paragon of Virtue and The Gargoyle try to work in several early submissions and stretches on the other, but it’s nothing doing.
Jericho doesn’t try to score favor with Dickenson early on in the contest, but he certainly starts running once Saturn starts manhandling the brash Canadian with his vicious suplex variations, The Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla running behind Ralphus after a Gargoyle (head and arm trapped) Suplex, just rag dolling Jericho over his head. The Goofus can’t stop Saturn though, and instead, Saturn starts using the outside elements to his favor, whipping Jericho into the security guardrail and apron. However, Jericho scurries back into the ring the first chance he gets, and then catches Saturn coming back in with stomps to the back of the head. Jericho again goes back to the submission route as he starts working over Saturn’s back, trying to work the angle for the Lion Tamer. It’s still very much offense from Jericho that shows he is fighting a Submission Match and not anything hardcore like some fans might be clamoring for, and as Saturn fights his way back into the contest, he also keeps the action in the ring as they try to work over each other.
The action picks up despite staying in the ring, Jericho hitting a Running Back Elbow into the corner and Running One Handed Bulldog combination, but his ensuing Surfboard submission (the old school one, just digging a foot into the back of the prone Saturn and pulling his arms backwards) can’t get the job done. Jericho goes for his Powerbomb specialty, but Saturn shows that despite having his back targeted, he is able to show incredible strength by deadlifting Jericho off his feet and onto his back & shoulders, and spiking him on his head with a move that will be soon called the Air Raid Crash! Saturn again starts to pick up the pace, dropping Jericho with a beautiful Release German that flips Jericho 270 degrees on his stomach! He then locks in the Rings of Saturn moments later, and the crowd is waiting for that tap out for Jericho! His hair even more askew than normal, his face littered with tears, Jericho screams in pain at the submission, the match seemingly over… but Jericho rolls over on top of Saturn, spinning his way free!
Jericho is struggling, but as he gets out of the submission, Saturn charges right to Jericho, and he counters with a double leg, and gets him into the LION TAMER! Jericho locks on the submission, and while Saturn isn’t tapping out, Jericho is already celebrating with the move locked in - he’ thinks Dickenson is going to award him the match! Jericho only keeps the Lion Tamer locked in for ten seconds, releases it, and starts celebrating, jumping for joy obnoxiously. There’s confusion all around, and it isn’t until several moments later that Jericho turns and realizes the bell hasn’t rung, Dickenson hasn’t raised his arm… and the referee isn’t trying to either! Dickenson tells Jericho Saturn didn’t tap out, and worst of all for Jericho, Dickenson says he’s not cheating! Jericho starts whining and crying in the temper tantrum like only he can throw… he’s going to have to beat Saturn all on his own! And by the time Jericho stops screaming at the conspiracy against him, he turns right into a refreshed Perry Saturn – DEATH VALLEY DRIVER!
Saturn is finally able to get his fair fight against Jericho, and he starts doing exactly what he wants to do to Jericho… and it involves a steel chair! Jericho begs for forgiveness from his hands and knees as Saturn lines him up with a chair shot - but he never thinks to utter the words “I Quit” - so Saturn absolutely PLASTERS him with a chair to the skull! Jericho is dropped cold, but Saturn keeps the war going by taking the match to the outside, and continuing to use that chair to Jericho, this time striking him in the back over and over again as the two men traverse up the entrance aisle towards the stage! Throughout the whole process, Jericho screams that this isn’t a Death Match to Dickenson, and that Saturn is trying to kill him… but the referee works for Ric Flair, and he’s not stopping this!
With both men on the stage now, Saturn stabs the chair into Jericho’s gut… and then bends the chair over Jericho’s skulls again! Jericho is busted wide open! The crowd is loving seeing Jericho get absolutely manhandled and brutalized by Perry Saturn, and Saturn takes Jericho the edge of the stage, and hoists him up onto his shoulders for another DVD. It’s finally at this point, with his life apparently in jeopardy, that Jericho screams bloody murder, ”I QUIT! I QUIT! Please God! Have mercy! I Quit! He’s gonna kill me!” If you think that’s going to stop Saturn now though… DEATH VALLEY DRIVER OFF THE STAGE… THROUGH TABLES BELOW! Perry Saturn already had the match won, but it wasn’t about just winning for Saturn, it was about making Chris Jericho suffer for the BS games he was playing, and boy has Saturn gotten his payback tonight! When he gets a fair fight, there aren’t many better than Perry Saturn!
Winner: Perry Saturn at 19:13 [86%]
Barry Windham & Curt Hennig vs. Ric Flair & David Flair (w/Arn Anderson)
Listen, this match was made before the Fingerpoke, it’s not my fault~! David Flair comes down in a matching blue and silver sequined robe just like his father, but despite getting to dress like a Nature Boy, we’re all well aware that he is not a Nature Boy. I know, I know, we got a whole big segment on Thunder to act like David is going to be great, but he’s ass, and it’s why it is Ric who spends the vast majority of the match in the ring. Schiavone does a great job to actually sell how The President is in the ring so much because he wants to protect his son from being put in harm’s way, especially considering all of the threats of Hennig and Windham to put the 19-year old in the hospital.
That means despite all of his 14 World Titles, even the Nature Boy is going to take a beating. There’s Woo-inducing knife edge chops a plenty by Flair, the President not going to let his title dictate his actions: he’s still going to beat the living hell out of the two men who have stabbed him in the back and disrespected the good name of what it means to be a Horsemen. Hennig and Windham are two students of the game, two masters of their craft, and they have not a single problem with isolating the Nature Boy, working in perfect harmony to make quick tags to keep each other fresh, keeping Flair in their corner, and utilizing every page in the veterans book to staying ahead.
Windham and Hennig get praise from The Professor and The Brain for their excellent chemistry and double team maneuvers to work over Flair, the 14-time World Champion getting multiple false hope spots where it looks like he’s going to make the hot tag to his son, but repeatedly the veterans prevent it from happening, with Hennig rolling back the clock with some agile reflexes as the illegal man to run around the outside of the ring and pull David off the apron, face planting the youngster off the unforgiving side of the ring instead. However, this is The Dirtiest Player in the Game, and he will break the rules to get ahead! Flair eventually drops to his knees after a series of punches by Windham, and when the cowboy goes in for a final shot, it was just Flair baiting him in… and jabbing him right in the pecker! Hennig comes in to prevent the tag, but Flair knows it’s coming - mule kick low blow to Hennig! And a tag to young David Flair!
He’s only 19 years old and no real experience, but he’s a Flair, so he comes in ready to rumble! David knocks the two veterans down over and over with running strikes, the crowd surprisingly popping for the youngster to prove his worth to the big men. The teenager’s run of offense is as simple as can be, and works for a little while… until the numbers get too much and he turns right into a Lariat from Barry Windham!
The veterans start to put the boots to young David, only for dad to come back in for the save, sending Windham over the top with a clothesline, and then putting the offense in on Hennig. The Flairs get to take turn reddening Hennig’s chest with knife edge chops, their tandem offense capped with a DDT by David that almost scores the win, but Windham comes in to make the save! While David tags his father back in, the action stays broken down, chaos breaking out. David Flair finds himself being reminded he’s a barely trained competitor by Barry Windham rag dolling him in a brawl and tossing him through the ropes to the outside, where The Enforcer is left to try and pick the kid off the ground and get him revived for war. Windham is able to blindside Naitch in his brawl with Hennig, allowing the son of The Ax to put Flair in prime position for the Hennig-Plex… when David comes in with the save! HUGE PUNCH to Hennig… that drops him KOed!?!?
Hennig drops like a sack of potatoes, and young David ducks a right hand from Windham, and BAM~! David drops Windham with a hard right too! Schiavone cannot believe the power of the punch young David possesses, but before anyone can talk about it further, Ric and David go straight into a double cover… and Charles Robinson registers a double three count! What!? As the bell rings and Ric embraces his son with a hug and kiss on the head, we see Double A joining the two in the ring… and quickly grabbing a pair of brass knuckles out of David’s hand! The Enforcer gave the 19-year old the brass knuckles on the outside of the ring before he got back in! He is The Son of the Dirtiest Player in the Game after all!
The three celebrate their victory in the ring together as even Heenan has to laugh at The President profiting from such blatant cheating, considering that The President is Ric Flair of course, and that Eric Bischoff abused his power for the last 3 years. “He’s the perfect President,” laughs Heenan, “so long as he doesn’t end up impeached like Clinton!” It’s such a feel good factor in the ring though for The Nature Boy, his best friend, and his son, the three men enjoying Ric finally getting his moment of revenge against Hennig and Windham, The Professor pointing out the sense of ironic justice that Ric pinned Hennig after using a foreign object considering it was a foreign object that Hennig gave to Bischoff at Starrcade for that victory.
Schiavone uses that as all the reasoning he needs to say that Hennig got exactly what was coming to him tonight, instead of course questioning The President being so happy to accept his son breaking the rules of the match. And while he can’t see it, Schiavone knows Flair will also be happy with the next sight we all see as well: dozens of fans absolutely overloading Eric Bischoff with work as they shout which t-shirt and merchandise they want from him, as Tony informs us that after that little “cheese catastrophe,” Bischoff was fired from his concession job and forced to selling merchandise instead! Look, I just needed to throw something together here to keep him relevant. I’m aware it’s not very good.
Winners: Ric & David Flair at 12:11 [72%]
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Goldberg
The commentators get a video package to help hype this grudge match as a war two months in the making, The Beast From The East coming to World Championship Wrestling just to get this moment: a one-on-one match with Goldberg. Da Man gets the usual entrance with Doug Dillinger’s crew and the smoke & pyro, but it’s safe to say Bigelow isn’t even close to fazed by Goldberg’s intimidating presence and entrance. Instead, it’s a stare down… and big ol’ brawl! The two men forego any sort of grappling or chain wrestling and instead just beat the ever loving piss out of each other, slugging punches and strikes at one another instead. The crowd absolutely loves Goldberg and every strike he throws, although Bigelow is no slouch. The 350 pounder takes every shot Goldberg hurls at him and responds in kind, even escalating the battle by knocking Goldberg through the ropes to the outside with a WICKED Headbutt!
The two men beat the hell out of each other outside the ring as well, Goldberg tackling Bigelow into the security guardrail, doing so with such force that it knocks the steel barricade back into the fans in the front row! Randy Anderson just lets the two gargantuans battle for supremacy, and the crowd gets an even bigger taste of this war because a Running Clothesline by Goldberg sends both men over the guardrail and into the crowd! It’s an absolute mess for the camera crew to keep up with the two men as they slug it out in the crowd, fighting all around the floor seats from one side of the arena to the opposite, ending when The Beast From The East spills the action back into ringside… by THROWING Goldberg over the guardrail from a Gorilla Press position! “Nobody has been able to match Goldberg’s raw strength and intensity like Bam Bam Bigelow has tonight!” shills Tenay to try and put Bigelow over.
While Goldberg definitely has his work cut out for him in the contest, this is Goldberg. Moments after Bigelow throws Da Man over the guardrail, Goldberg does one better by catching Bigelow’s charge, and using that momentum to toss him onto the protective mats with an Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex! The action finally gets into the ring, Goldberg rolling Bigelow in, but Bam Bam then attacks Da Man as he rolls in himself. A big Powerslam by Bigelow earns him a near fall, but Goldberg goes full Goldberg in due time.
After more of a war brawl, The Beast tries to hoist Goldberg up onto his shoulders for the Greetings From Asbury Park… but Goldberg elbows his way free! Those hard elbow strikes stagger Bigelow, and Da Man rocks him further with a Savate Kick! Bigelow rebounds into the ropes, but Goldberg meets him square in the middle of the ring – SPEAR! You know what happens next - JACKHAMMER, SPLAT! - and despite being put through a ringer of a fight by the massive Bigelow, Goldberg is a man on a mission, and he is victorious! The crowd serenades Da Man with chants of his own name, while the commentators discuss that with Goldberg finally winning the war with The Beast From The East, there is already a new war for Goldberg to wage… and it is with the New World Order!
Winner: Goldberg at 9:39 [76%]
WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Hollywood Hogan © vs. The Giant
Michael Buffer does what he gets paid way too much money to do after the entrances: be incredibly extra and corny while doing pre-match introductions, but at least hyping up the crowd with his “Ready To Rumble” spiel. Hey, that cool phrase could probably make a really shitty movie sometime! Ideas~! While Hollywood was ultra-confident in the aisle walk with the feather boas, the million dollar smirk, and treating the red nWo defaced Big Gold Belt like his guitar, we’ve never seen Hogan move so fast to get out of the ring when The Giant makes a lunge at him. That’s what Hogan is all about in the early rounds of this match, doing everything he can to avoid the motivated 7-footer.
It’s baiting from Hogan too so the crowd stays red hot for The Giant to get his paws on Hogan, loving when he finally does by catching Hogan by the ankle when he tries to get into the ring after giving Hollywood chase. From there, The Giant absolutely manhandles Hogan, shoving him across the ring, Biel tosses into the corner, and damn near crushing his heart with some echoing open palm chops to the chest. Schiavone is naturally orgasmic at the thought of Giant just squashing Hogan like a bug inside a few minutes, but c’mon, that’s not happening. Instead, Hogan finds a moment of respite when his 7-foot challenger tries to ram Hogan face first into the ring post. Hogan is able to slide off The Giant’s massive shoulder, instead pushing Giant into the ring post!
It doesn’t how big you are, that hurts, and it weakens The Giant up enough for Hogan to smash the big man’s face and skull off the ring post, apron, and stairs several times to continue to soften him up. From there, it’s Hogan spending a lot of time with slow, plodding offense that Schiavone is forced to completely over sell as the greatest offense ever. Hogan has to use every trick in the book to keep The Giant down though the longer the match goes, choking The Giant, using eye rakes, thumb pokes, and of course, the dreaded back rake… of doom~! However, Hogan cannot give his huge foe the big Body Slam he wants, allowing Giant to instead deadlift Hogan into a Gutwrench from that position, and instead slam him to the ground! Hogan tried several times during his offense to lift The Giant up off his feet, failed, and now The Giant gets a counter out of it!
The Giant starts to make his comeback with more big strikes, getting Schiavone and The Brain to wonder just when the rest of the nWo will be coming out to make the save for Hogan, but Hollywood is surprisingly all on his own as he kicks out from Giant’s receipt of a Scoop Slam, and later a Sidewalk Slam. Instead, when The Giant tries to finish Hogan off with The Chokeslam, it’s again the wily Hollywood showing he’s not afraid to break the rules, field goal kicking Giant right in the groin! Because it’s Hulk Hogan, that somehow triggers the Hulk Up, and we get all of the motions that come with the theatrics and eventual three punches, but a fourth needed to finally knock The Giant down! Whip into the ropes, and the Big Boot knocks Giant down again! Off the ropes… LEG DROP OF DOOM… misses!
Both men are slow to recover even though the match hasn’t been a blockbuster or barn burner by any means, but it’s a Hogan match, so everything is dialed up by a hundred. Instead, it’s a slow recovery from both men, the typical trading punches spot, and the face eventually getting the win on the brawl… and then eventually scoring the big move with a Backbreaker! However, The Giant has the chance to win the WCW World Heavyweight Title for the first time in two and a half years, he’s going to pull out all the stops… he’s heading up to the top turnbuckle! The Giant, 7 feet tall and over 500 freaking pounds, is on the top of the world, the ring somehow still upright… MISSILE DROPKICK!!!
The Giant completely connects with Hogan’s chest, dropping The Immortal One as the whole ring shakes from the landing of the 500 pounder! Schiavone’s having an aneurysm, Tenay is having a wrestling orgasm, and the crowd has to chant “Holy Shit” at that spot. The Giant is slow into the cover - he’s not used to throwing himself through the air like that, after all - but he does make the cover, and The Brain’s convinced it’s a new Champion: ONE! TWO! THR- SHOULDER UP by Hogan! The Voice of WCW is distraught that Hogan somehow kicked out, but Tenay, trying to solidify himself as a neutral play-by-play man, remarks that despite his egomania and cowardly ways, this is Hulk Hogan, one of the greatest of all time in this business. When the adrenaline and intensity kicks in, he still can dig deep and find a way to overcome the impossible.
Despite the ring shaking big spot by The Giant that was unsuccessful in putting The Immortal One away, the 7-footer is not to be denied once he recovers back up to his feet, raising that tree trunk of an arm into the air as he yells out, everyone in not just Charleston but all of West Virginia that the CHOKESLAM is going to put Hogan away. The Giant waits for Hogan to pull himself up to his feet, clasps that massive hand around Hogan’s throat, but this time there’s no low blow needed… Hogan does a Hulk Up again, shaking his head feverently, and Hogan blocks The Chokeslam! Three rights to The Giant… and this time he does it! SCOOP SLAM! Hogan gives The Giant the big slam! Hollywood staggers into the ropes afterwards, almost falling over from the sheer task accomplished… and it rebounds him right into THE LEG DROP OF DOOM~! Get ready to go home unhappy fans, Hogan pins The Giant clean as a whistle and retains the World Heavyweight Title!
Winner: Hollywood Hogan at 12:09 to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Title [82%]
Yeah, I know, a WCW main event had no interference, no real bells and whistles… it’s absolute bullshit indeed. However, there’s going to be all of that now, don’t worry… because here comes The Outsiders! Kevin Nash and Scott Hall join the celebrating Hogan in the ring after the match, but they’re not here to celebrate… Scott Hall attacks the recovering Giant with the damn taser! The Bad Guy stuns the hell out of The Giant, shocking him three times with the taser until the 7-footer collapses from his hands and knees back to a prone position! Big Sexy then makes Hogan’s feat of strength in the match look like nothing as he scoops The Giant up into the air… and drops him with the Jackknife Powerbomb!
Despite The Giant defecting back to WCW, there is no help coming from the locker room, as instead, it is the rest of the nWo Elite coming out to join the original three in the ring. Souled Out, a PPV that was a New World Order creation but has been hyped throughout the night by Tony Schiavone as an exclusively WCW produced event finally, ends the way so many shows have ended instead: the nWo doing an absolute clean sweep of their matches to prove their dominance. After another taser shock by Hall, Luger and Steiner rip the top of The Giant’s one strap top off his body, allowing Buff Bagwell to tag The Giant’s massive back with red spray paint so the whole world know who runs the wrestling world: “n..W...o”
