We are back again with WCW Nitro from the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida! It's time to "Party Hard" with Andrew WK as Joey Styles & Jerry "The King" Lawler welcome us to Nitro LIVE on FX as pyro booms!
We are not wasting anytime, as The Foundation makes their way to ringside. Diamond Dallas Page with the World Heavyweight Championship and Billy Kidman with the Cruiserweight Championship with Kanyon & Mike Awesome in tow. Kidman is on the mic first. Kidman says he's been asked nonstop since joining the Foundation at Fall Brawl, he's been asked "why?" Well Kidman doesn't owe anyone an answer, but it should be obvious to everyone. Just ask another question and you'll get your answer. "Who is Billy Kidman?" Kidman is the anchor of the Cruiserweight division. The heart, the soul, the Foundation! When Shane McMahon bought WCW, Kidman thought things would change, but Kidman was forced to watch from the outside looking in while other wrestlers played with his Cruiserweight title. Kidman won matches, but was never given an opportunity. Why? Because Shane McMahon is a narcissist who will only give chances to people who kiss his butt! But The Foundation isn't here to kiss butt, the Foundation is here to win ALL THE GOLD!
Diamond Dallas Page takes the mic and just begins laughing. "I couldn't have said it any better myself!" Diamond Dallas Page goes on to say that in this ring, you have the best of the best. The Cruiserweight, the Heavyweight and soon, the Tag Team. The Foundation is coming for all the gold, because with all the gold comes all the control! Mark your calendars everyone, because at Halloween Havoc, The Foundation is Gilded! "Badda-Bing, Badda-BANG!"
Storm tried to dictate the pace early with his superior technical wrestling, grounding Dreamer with a series of side headlocks and waistlocks. Dreamer, however, relied on his grit, turning the match into a brawl once they spilled to the outside. Back in the ring, Storm targeted Dreamer’s back, hitting a snapping backbreaker. Dreamer rallied with a DDT that nearly got the three, but Storm kicked out. Dreamer hooked Storm up and was looking for the Spicolli Driver, but Storm slipped out the back and immediately transitioned to the Canadian Maple Leaf. Dreamer showed incredible heart, crawling toward the ropes and flatout refusing to tap even as Storm sat back deep on the hold. Realizing Dreamer wouldn't quit, Storm broke the hold himself, pulled Dreamer to the center of the ring, and spiked him with a thunderous Piledriver to seal the win.
It's Lance Storm. Do I have to say more? A great match from the two, and the Piledriver really was effective here. Dreamer came to play and looked the best he has in WCW. Maybe he finally realized he needs to earn his spot.
After the match, Storm celebrates with Dawn Marie. As Dreamer holds his neck and is being checked by the referee. Storm sees this and rushes over, shoving the referee out of the way. Storm locks Dreamer in the Canadian Maple Leaf again as Dreamer screams in agony. Dawn Marie has a mic and is holding it up to Storm's face. "Rob Van Dam! I can do this all day. And I'll only stop when you come out here, and agree to wrestle me 1-on-1 at Halloween Havoc and put the United States Championship on the line" RVD is already on a full spring to the ring without music and Storm quickly breaks his hold on Dreamer and slides out of the ring. RVD checks on Dreamer before grabbing the mic and simply saying "You're on."
Backstage, we see a table full of seafood. It pans back and we see Shark Boy looking at the food. After a brief pause, Shark Boy is nailed from behind and goes flying over the table sending seafood everywhere. It's Chavo Guerrero Jr.! Chavo picks up Shark Boy and hits him with a Powerbomb through the table, leaving him laying in a pile of shrimp.
MIA operated like a well oiled machine, cutting the ring in half and keeping Mark Jindrak isolated for the opening minutes. Jindrak eventually managed a desperation dropkick to tag in Swinger, but the momentum was short lived. General Rection entered the ring and leveled Swinger with a massive clothesline before hoisting him up for a Samoan Drop. Just as Rection began the drop, Corporal Cajun grabbed Swinger's head with a swinging neckbreaker on the way down. The K.I.A. connected perfectly, and Rection made the cover for the decisive victory.
A fine little squash of sorts for MIA to cement them as the premier team in the tag team division as they are set to wrestle The Foundation at Halloween Havoc.
Backstage we are in Arn's Office! Shawn Stasiak & Stacy Keibler are in there, complaining about how they've been treated in recent memory, citing Joanie Laurer as a menace to society. As they complain, BG James walks in. Anderson says this is perfect. James has wanted an opportunity to get back on track, and Shawn Stasiak is in here complaining about... something. So the two can wrestle this Saturday on Velocity!
Fueled by the attack on his partner Shark Boy earlier, La Parka came out uncharacteristically aggressive, taking the fight to Chavo with stiff chops and a suicide dive. Chavo weathered the storm and began picking La Parka apart with high impact lucha maneuvers, including countering a hurricaran attempt by La Parka with a big Sit Out Powerbomb! The match stayed in high gear with both men trading maneuvers until Chavo turned La Parka's mask, blinding him! Chavo capitalized on the opening, kicking La Parka in the gut and dropping him with a Brainbuster for the 3.
Fun lucha action! Nice to see La Parka actually wrestle and tone down the comedy schtick for a night. The job of this match was to give Chavo some momentum and make him look strong, and that's what it did!
After the match, Chavo begins putting the boots to La Parka, and begins ripping at his mask. Kaz Hayashi's music hits and here comes Kaz to chase of Chavo! Chavo scampers out of the ring as Kaz stands on the ropes, yelling Japanese at Chavo.
Backstage, we have Scott Hudson interviewing Jazz & Steve Corino. Hudson asks what this new alliance is. Corino starts to talk, but instead, motions for Jazz to speak. Jazz said WCW wants a women's division, and they did the right thing, signed the Baddest Woman on the Planet Jazz... Only to sit her on the bench while a bunch of ladies played wrestler. Now Joanie is here and thinks she's something because she beat Stacy Keibler. It's about time she faced a real woman!
Joanie used her strength early on, tossing Jazz across the ring out of a collar and elbow tie up. Jazz showed her veteran savvy by targeting Joanie’s arm and using a series of snapmares and low kicks to ground the champion. The match became a back-and-forth struggle of power versus technique, with Joanie eventually catching Jazz with a huge powerbomb. As Joanie went for the pin, Steve Corino hopped onto the apron and physically pulled the referee out of the ring to break the count. The referee had seen enough and immediately signaled for the bell, disqualifying Jazz due to Corino's blatant interference.
It was an okay match, which compared to every other women's match in WCW this year so far, makes this a 5-star classic! Jazz definitely made a difference, helping keep the flow of the match going. And the DQ finish makes sense setting up a future match at Halloween Havoc I'd assume.
We are in a restaurant... And Italian Restaurant! The Full Blooded Italians are sitting eating a meal. Palumbo & Stamboli are laughing and having a good time while Stamboli slurps Spaghetti. Guido is sitting, staring, looking angry. As Palumbo & Stamboli laugh more, Guido erupts in rage. He says the FBI are losers! And its time Guido reminds everyone why he's "the Boss" he stares down Stamboli & Palumbo as they look shocked and Stamboli's spaghetti drops from his mouth.
O'Haire started the match with an explosive intensity, backing Bagwell into the corner with heavy strikes. Buff tried to slow the pace, but D'Lo Brown was the real factor, constantly tripping O'Haire or distracting the ref to allow Bagwell to hit cheap shots. O'Haire eventually had enough of the interference and took out D'Lo with a spectacular somersault dive over the top rope to the floor. When O'Haire climbed back into the ring, Bagwell was waiting and nailed him with the Buff Blockbuster! Shockingly, O'Haire kicked out at one, roaring back to his feet. Bagwell looked terrified as O'Haire began a brutal assault, punctuated by a spinning roundhouse kick before planting Buff with the Death Spiral for the victory.
Match was okay, but never really kicked into the next gear. It was trying to make O'Haire look dominant, but went to long with D'Lo's interference dragging it out. A straight up squash maybe would have been better, but it looked like they were struggling to fill main event time.
After the match, Bagwell rolls out of the ring as O'Haire celebrates. The Foundation's music hit and they surround O'Haire in the ring. O'Haire is begging them to fight him as they stand on all four sides of the ring apron. DDP nods, and The Foundation attacks. O'Haire tries to fight them of for a minute but the numbers game takes over. As The Foundation begins to put boots to O'Haire, Booker T arrives! O'Haire and Booker start fighting 2 vs. 4 and for a moment turn the momentum, but the numbers game is too much, but just as the Foundation looks in control again, here comes the Misfits In Action! Chaos has erupted as all 8-men brawl in the ring as Nitro fades out!