The Monday Nitro Workrate Report
A weekly look at what did and didn't work on Monday Nitro by Dean Rasmussen
Monday, November 24th, 1997
What Worked
HEY!! Sickboy doesn't suck! WOO-HOO! It must be nice to have your first
match on National TV against Chris Freakin Benoit. Benoit beat the crap out
of him and also sold like a MAN because he is Benoit and he is the greatest
Heavyweight in WCW. Sickboy was quite PowerPlantesque with his mid-grade
springboard stuff that said High Voltage Finishing Move all over it, but he
was pretty impressive in his first outing, selling more than shitheads like
Meng and Rick Steiner have sold in five years. Benoit getting all mixed up
in the Raven Angle is allright by me; WCW could do SOO much more with our
Canadian Crippler, but if the chowderheads at WCW are gonna waste him, at
least start wasting him with these guys, since four of them have proven that
they can work a good match and sell and take a mountainous ass-stomping like
Benoit is gonna dish out every time. Anything to NOT be Benoit/Meng or that
other no-selling sack of crap who will remain nameless.
BUFF vs Chris Jericho was the BEST of the night. BUFF is SO New Japany
now, working very deliberately and going for big moves like all NJ Heavies.
He was more the heat machine here than the fabulous all around worker like
he is in those 12 zillion nWo Japan matches that has molded him into the
funtabulous top-notch wrestler that we have now. Since he was in with
fellow Tours of Japan vet Jericho this was of a different batch of
psychology than the stiffs of nWo would know about- so this was actually
pretty compelling for the most part. I loved Jericho's Wacky Piscado into
the lil brawl on the floor. I'm not sure what they are doing with Jericho,
but HELL! neither does WCW.
The Prince is becoming Chavo Jr-like since going to NJ for a tour. Two or
three more and he will be as interesting as Chavo has become- in that Chavo
has become a really good worker poised of possible greatness- but with
Iaukea having more size. I await the tapes of the Prince getting mauled by
Liger and Kanemoto. Alex was hitting ALL KINDS of cool moves tonight that I
had never seen him hit before, and I am glad that he fired Debra so now he
can improve eeven more by wrestling REAL wrestlers instead of useless
lummoxes like Mongo and Goldberg. Notice that only Alex and Eddy get REAL
heel heat in WCW- not hatred or nWo disguised fan-fave crap, but real Eddie
Gilbert in Memphis style heel heat, and you gotta love that. Now they gotta
get Alex back in with the real wrestlers again.
HEY! It's Dean Malenko vs Brad Armstrong! They have never had a great
match, but this was pretty technically perfect if excessively non-highspot
intensive so I can't whine about it. I dunno. Brad Armstrong needs a real
gimmick which I have NEVER said about any wrestler ever.
What Didn't Work
HOLY sweet BEJEEBERS! Disorderly Conduct vs the Steiners?!?! What did the
unmasked Texas Hangmen do to deserve this horrible fate? What did I do to
deserve the Steiners stinking up my TV screen with their styro-foams arms,
HGHed extendo chins, sloppy suplexes and crappy selling. The difference
between the Steiners and Public Enemy is that Public Enemy doesn't have a
Pony Keg of steroids pumped up their asses, but the result is the same- a
horrible wrestling experience.
MENG vs Booker T was pretty good. Booker T is such an underrated wrestler
and his offense is SO big that Meng had to sell. Meng actually took some
bumps and Booker T hit some nice Cruiserweight moves that Meng actually
didn't botch. What didn't work was the post match angle where they are
setting up a match where one of the crappiest wrestlers on earth- Stevie
Ray- may actually submit to the worst finisher ever- the Tongan Death Grip-
applied by the worst wrestler currently under contract with WCW- Meng.
Welcome to Hell. AWESOME!
HEY! It's Only RAY TRAYLOR! God! That sucked a golf ball through a garden
hose. Hennig was actually having to wrestle for two people, having to bump
for the weakest punches this side of Cien Caras, flying all over the ring to
try to make Traylor's pathetic offense appear to be exciting. Nice try,
Kurt. You did your part. Traylor please darken my TV set no more. You STINK!
Y'know, if Hulk Hogan is trying to carry you in a match, that means you
really, really suck. The Giant is useless and he's not even a
good-for-a-laugh lummox like El Gigante. If Giant REALLY, REALLY tries, he
may get to the workrate of Andre the Giant which was just under Kimala's
intense workrate. What a wheelbarrel of shit.
No Luchadores. Great. Wouldn't want to put something good on my goddam TV
set when the Steiners could wrestle Disorderly Conduct in a kingsized
turdburger. WCW sucks. And then it rules. And then it sucks again. And
then it will rule and then... They got the WAY too many actually great
wrestlers to be this amazingly inconsistent. They are doing the ABSOLUTE
least with the most talented guys they got for the most part.
nWo jacking off in the middle of the ring, yadda,yadda,yadda...
THERE YOU HAVE IT
DEAN!
