We are less than seven days away from WCW WrestleWar and the return of War Games, as WCW Nitro is LIVE from the Show Me Center! WCW Nitro’s theme by Andrew WK “Party Hard” plays over the intro video and the pyro explodes as Joey Styles & Jerry “The King” Lawler welcome us to Nitro!
“Here Comes The Money!” WCW Owner Shane McMahon is on his way to the ring alone. He gets a loud reception and he has a microphone.
“This weekend, I step into this ring… and another ring that will be right over there, into the most dangerous match in all of professional wrestling, War Games! When I bought WCW I had one goal in mind, and that was to build the wrestling promotion you fans deserved, with the most exciting stars and the most exciting action in this ring. All while respecting the history of what came before and respecting those who came before both in this ring, and as fans. And you know what? I think we’ve done that. Together. Backstage, there is a locker room full of men and women who want to make this place THE wrestling promotion that everyone talks about. Who wants to make this THE wrestling promotion you fans deserve, and thanks to the hard work of the people back there, I like to think we have been proving that the new WCW is a worthy continuation of the best of the old WCW’s legacy.
That is however, except for a small group of men in the back who call themselves The Foundation. They think they are bigger than this company, bigger than you fans, and bigger than the wrestling business. I’m not here to say they are not talented, I’m not here to say they can’t back up some of their talk, but if you talk a big game, you can expect a big receipt. That’s why I am digging into the bloodiest and most violent of WCW’s history and we will continue the tradition with War Games this Sunday! 8-men will enter, and one group will walk away with ultimate bragging rights. However, this is where Shane-O-Mac gets to put on his ownership hat and become Mr. McMahon, because I think this match needs something a little extra, higher stakes if you want to call it that. Because without something to win or lose, this war will go on forever. So, I am here to make what I think is the single largest announcement in my tenure as WCW owner. At WrestleWar, if The Foundation wins WarGames, I will appoint Diamond Dallas Page the new WCW President. But… if Team WCW wins, all members of The Foundation will be defending their WCW Championships at Starrcade to end the year, in matches chosen by my first choice for WCW President.
Foundation… See you at WrestleWar!”
The match begins with a rapid exchange of chain wrestling, as Hayashi manages to ground Kidman with a waistlock, but the champion quickly switches to a hammerlock. Kidman sends Kaz into the ropes and leapfrogs over him, but Hayashi catches him on the rebound with a deep arm-drag that sends Kidman to the corner. Hayashi charges, but Kidman boots him away and connects with a headscissors takedown. The pace stays blistering as Kaz ducks a clothesline and hits a dropkick, sending Kidman to the floor. Kaz looks to dive, but Kidman smartly rolls back inside and catches Hayashi with a spinebuster for a 2l.
Midway through, Kidman slows things down with a chinlock, but the crowd rallies behind Kaz. Hayashi fights to his feet, hits the ropes, and connects with a big running kick. He follows up with a bridging German Suplex for a very close 2 agaion. Kaz heads to the top, but Kidman crotches him and climbs up for a superplex. Hayashi fights him off and lands a diving crossbody, but Kidman rolls through for a pin attempt of his own. In the closing sequence, Kaz misses a moonsault, crashing to the mat. Kidman seizes the opening, seeing his challenger dazed, Kidman scales the turnbuckle and executes a Shooting Star Press to retain the gold.
Winner and Still WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Billy KidmanWe are in the ring with Arn Anderson and are quickly joined by Rob Van Dam and then the new WCW United States Champion, Lance Storm alongside Dawn Marie. Arn Anderson announces that Rob Van Dam and Lance Storm will need to put their rivalry to rest, and that he cannot have two of WCW’s top wrestlers in a constant power struggle. That’s why he has turned their rivalry into a best-of-5 series, each man has one win a piece, and the third match will be this Sunday at WrestleWar.
Lance Storm gets on the microphone and says he has proven that he is the best wrestler in the world time and time and time again, and no one will ever take that title from him. Rob Van Dam is good, but he is not a serious competitor, and that lack of focus is exactly what separates the best from the rest.
Rob Van Dam is handed a mic by Anderson. Rob Van Dam says people often say he isn’t serious, but RVD knows who he is. He’s the Whole Dam Show, and he lets his actions in the ring speak for him.
As RVD finishes speaking, he does his signature thumb pointing which annoys Storm who throws a wild punch at Van Dam. RVD ducks it and instead hits Storm with a big kick that sends him scrambling to the outside. RVD looks down and sees the United States title, and picks it up, raising it above his head as we head too commercial.
The bell rings and D'Lo Brown starts for his team, pointing directly at Bagwell. Buff acts like he's going to lock up, but immediately ducks through the ropes to stall, checking his hair with Stacy on the outside. Bagwell tags in Stasiak before even touching D'Lo. Stasiak enters and gets caught in a flurry of lefts and rights from Brown, followed by a big calf kick. Rection tags in and the two big men hit a double shoulder block on Stasiak. Rection maintains control with a military press slam, but as he goes for the cover, Bagwell enters the ring just to distract the referee, allowing Stasiak to hit a low blow to kill the momentum
The heat segment sees Stasiak and Bagwell, who only tags in when Rection is grounded, utilizing quick tags and illegal chokes. Rection finally creates an opening by catching Stasiak midair with a powerslam, making the hot tag to D'Lo. Bagwell tries to flee, just as a chaotic "cat-fight" erupts on the floor between Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson. Stasiak and Rection both jump out to intervene, distracting the referee. Bagwell is stuck in the ring with D’Lo finally, but is distracted by the women, he finally turns right into a big Sky High Spinebuster and D’Lo covers for the 3-count!
Winners: D’Lo Brown & General RecitonAfter the match, Blonde Bombshell and Stacy Keibler continue to brawl. Stasiak and Rection try to break it up, but end up brawling too. D’Lo Brown and Buff Bagwell see the chaos on the outside, and begin brawling in the middle of the ring to not feel left out as referees and backstage officials spill out of the back to break up fights as Joey Styles yells about all the fronts of WrestleWar.
Backstage we are in Arn’s Office. In the background, Pete Gas & CW Anderson are back in Arn’s office and look to be watching tape of old Extreme Horsemen matches. Curt Hennig, Tommy Dreamer and Shane Helms walk in, and Arn Anderson tells the men that he is excited to see what each man has to offer in their match against the Foundation tonight. Anderson then singles out Tommy Dreamer and tells him it's time to show up.
Taylor from Tough Enough makes the surprise appearance here to a nice reaction. She shakes hands with Joanie before trying to lock up with the “9th Wonder.” Joanie easily overpowers Taylor and lifts her up in a Gorilla Press, but then gently puts her down. Joanie pats her on the top of the head, but Taylor responds with a big slap and School Girl for a quick 2. Joanie stands up and levels Taylor with a clothesline. Powerbomb. 1-2-3.
Winner: Joanie LaurerSteve Corino & Jazz have appeared at the top of the stage clapping sarcastically. Corino has a microphone, but Jazz takes it out of his hand. She tells Joanie she’s done a great job beating bimbo’s and models, but at WrestleWar, she has to wrestle the Baddest Woman on the Planet, and she’ll learn what a real fight is.
Chavo starts the match with a mocking sign of respect, bowing and praising the Lucha Legend, but Sagrada catches him with a dropkick to the face. The match quickly moves into high-flying territory as Sagrada hits a spectacular tope suicida to the outside, wiping Chavo out. Back inside, Sagrada attempts a springboard hurricanrana, but Chavo catches him in mid-air and transitions into a vicious powerbomb. Chavo slows the tempo, working over Sagrada’s with a series of European uppercuts and a grounded surfboard stretch.
Sagrada fights back with a series of armdrags and a tornado DDT for a 2. He climbs to the top for a moonsault, but Chavo moves out of the way. As Sagrada rolls through to his feet, Chavo is right there to catch him with a kick to the midsection. Chavo holds the luchador up and plants him with a Gory Bomb. Chavo stacks him up for the decisive victory.
Winner: Chavo Guerrero Jr.After the match the mysterious mask flashes across all the screens, cutting off Chavo’s music. Chavo gets on the microphone and says he’s had enough. He isn’t dumb and he knows exactly who has been sticking their nose in his business. He says the king of mystery isn’t as mysterious as he thinks, and that is why Chavo Guerrero Jr. is going to make it simple for him and everyone else. At WrestleWar, Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Rey Mysterio one-on-one, if Mysterio doesn’t show up, Chavo will take the win by forfeit!
The match opens with Shane Helms and Kanyon, two innovators trading creative counters and armdrags. Helms gets the better of the exchange with a "Sugar Smack" superkick, forcing Kanyon to tag in Mike Awesome. Awesome enters and immediately dominates with his sheer size, leveling Helms with a lariat. Tommy Dreamer tags in to a “ECW” chant and goes toe-to-toe with Awesome. Awesome beats on Dreamer for a bit and sends him to the the ropes ducking for a back body drop, but Dreamer instead plants him with a big DDT. The Foundation soon takes control, cutting the ring in half and isolating Dreamer. DDP tags in and hits a series of vintage rib-breakers, followed by Kanyon hitting a swinging neckbreaker across the knee.
Dreamer eventually makes the hot tag to Curt Hennig, who enters like a house on fire, hitting dropkicks on all three Foundation members. The match breaks down into a six-man brawl, with Helms hitting a crossbody to the outside on Awesome and Kanyon. Inside the ring, Hennig has DDP set up for the Hennig-Plex, but Mike Awesome returns to the ring and boots Hennig in the face while the referee is distracted. Dreamer tags back in and attempts a DDT on DDP, but Page shoves him into the ropes. As Dreamer rebounds, DDP spins him around and nails a Diamond Cutter out of nowhere. DDP covers Dreamer for the win.
Winners: The FoundationAfter the match, the Foundation is celebrating and are joined by Billy Kidman from the back. Then, Booker T’s music hits and here comes Team WCW: Booker T, Shane McMahon, BG James & Sean O’Haire and they march to the ring. Team WCW slowly enters the ring and DDP draws a battle line down the middle between the two teams. He gives himself the Self High Five and that’s enough for the brawl to erupt! Booker T & DDP pair off and start brawling in the middle of the ring, as Kanyon & Shane McMahon spill out of one side, Sean BG James & Billy Kidman spill out another, and Sean O’Haire & Mike Awesome spill out of the other. Joey Styles is screaming about War and how the landscape of WCW will never be the same!