November 1995 WCW Shows
The World Title is in limbo, WCW debuts World War 3, and Darkside Hogan targets Sting. Follow along as I go show by show!
Follow along with my comments from going through each show.
Get caught up on the 1995 WCW Journey.
November 1995 WCW
Current Champions
WCW World Heavyweight Champion: The Giant
WCW United States Champion: Sting
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat
WCW World Television Champion: Johnny B. Badd
November 4, 1995 WCW Worldwide
Diamond Dallas Page v Cobra. Nothing much. Pittman sneaks out in camo so that’s still going. DDP wins.
VK Wallstreet interview on World War 3. References a good friend who said everybody has a price. Gene fakes a heart attack at reference. Going to buy his way into a shot. Doing knockoff Million Dollar Man
Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Brian Pillman) v The Armstrong & Tim Horner. Good real match. Tony speculates that Flair decided to turn because Sting took so long to trust him. Arn hits a spinebuster and Flair gets a pin with the Figure 4.
November 4, 1995 WCW Pro
Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Brian Pillman) squash
Horsemen interview. Flagship back on top. Do what they wanna do.
Bobby Heenan sells one half hour of TV time on Pro to his Japanese associate Sonny Onoo. Show the superior Japanese wrestlers.
Kurasawa squash. Teddy Long comforts Joey Maggs
WW3 Control Center: Kurasawa and Eddie Guerrero talk about WW3. Luger/Savage. Women's Tag Team Challenge from Japan.
Chris Benoit v Cobra. Squash. First time Benoit’s wrestled heelish.
Hacksaw Duggan video in Ireland seeking info on his taped fist champion grandparents. Goofy funny.
Scott & Steve Armstrong v Barrio Brothers. Solid competitive match. Armstrong win.
November 4, 1995 WCW Saturday Night
Mr. Wonderful squash
Nasty Boys v State Patrol. Solid match where it looks like a squash but State Patrol get offense. Dusty impressed by them. Do some good work on Knobbs’ leg before the Nastys win. Post-mathc interview. Sitting back too much. Coming for the gold.
VK Wallstreet v Mike Davis. Longer squash. Only VK can use an abdominal stretch and headlock in a squash. Stock Market Crash wins it. Post-match interview. VK doesn’t stand for Very Kind. Very power man. Upset at Duggan and going to find him in WW3.
Horsemen (Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman) v Cobra & eVad. Decent. Arn and Pillman give them some offense. Pillman gets win.
WCW World Tag Team Titles Harlem Heat v Blue Bloods. Good long match. Close to 20 minutes. Dusty wants to see more clubberin! Tony jokes he’s making a short story long. Dusty on WCWSN makes the show worth watching. Who dare crack whip! This is WCW to me. Col. Parker grabs the shoe from Sherri and nails Regal. Harlem Heat retain. Sherri and Parker run off together.
Horsemen promo. Better together than apart. Reiterate the same points. Be careful what you wish for. Flair says he knew it was time to rejoin them. They’ve found their fourth man.
November 6, 1995 WCW Prime
Star Blazer v Big Train Bart. Ok. Blazer wins with a top rope Thesz press.
November 6, 1995 WCW Nitro #10 - Jacksonville, FL
Announcers open show. fans call in to vote for the main event. Red Locker Room v Blue Locker Room. Bisch pushing Luger/Savage, Flair/Sting.
The Giant vs. Cobra. Giant wearing title. Intimidates Penzer to announce it as a title match. One move choke slam done.
Gene with the heel locker room. What a collection. Tony in face locker room.
Hulk Hogan gone back to his roots on Venice Beach with Macho Man. Macho in black. Has come to the 'darkside'. Stick with me. Macho says forever and ever. Macho says they need to divide and conquer. Savage says Hogan can stay here and he'll head to Nitro to find out who is friend and foe. They'd play with these concepts again with nWo.
The Taskmaster vs. The Renegade. Actually fine. Sullivan wins with stomp. Jimmy Hart wipes off his facepaint and screams at him that he’s just plain old Rick. Things are changing…
Gene with the heels. Flair cuts a promo on Sting
WCWSN: Arn v Kurasawa
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit. Good short match. Raising the standard of wrestling. Heenan loves it. More talk of Cruiserweight Title. Benoit uses the Lion Tamer. Liger, Chono, Saito, Sasaki all watching on. Heenan’s good friends. Strange way to bring in New Japan talent. Insane power bomb in this. Eddie gets the win off a counter. The ref didn’t see Benoit’s feet under the ropes.
Tony in face locker room. Sting cuts revenge promo on Flair. Hates him and going to leave him for dead
WCW United States Heavyweight Title Sting (c) vs. Ric Flair. Good match that won the fan vote. Sting doesn’t have his belt. Sets right tone going after Flair. Flair uses knucks but Sting kicks out! No sells a chop. Locks on Scorpion Deathlock but won’t let go! Babyfaces try to get Sting to let go but he won’t. Have to pull him away. Sting locks it back on! Lex Luger comes in, talking to Sting, and he let’s go. Sting leaves with Lex and Lex is grinning. Teasing a Sting turn. Recommended.
Gene with The Giant, Jimmy Hart, Taskmaster. Jimmy had power of attorney. Put in a clause that if Hogan got DQ’d, he’d lose the title so Giant is the new champ! Gene brings in lawyer Nick Lambrose. Partially correct. Giant not world champ. Executive committee rules that title is held up and awarded to the winner of WW3! Giant not giving up title. Hogan chants but he’s not there
Next Week: Savage/Meng, Badd/Eddie, Sting/Malenko.
Strong show with lots of good progression in the main storylines. Continue to announce next week’s lineup.
November 11, 1995 WCW Worldwide
Chad Brock squash. Country music singer. Does ok.
Jim Duggan v Big Bubba. Ok. Their usual stuff. Double countout. Duggan knocks out Bubba with taped fist.
November 11, 1995 WCW Pro - NEW LOOK
Ric Flair squash.
Scott Norton squash
Norton interview on Shark. Scary bad man. This is all they could come up with for Norton?
Sting sitdown interview. People shouldn't be surprised that he went over edge. Flair used little stingers. Warned him. Lex Luger? What did he say? Stay in his head and heart. Going to face Flair again at WW3. Hogan referring to him as dog and vulture. Don't point finger at me again. This was good. A nice contrast to Sting’s normal shouty promos and showing some range to his character.
New Japan logo intro. Chris Cruise and Sonny Onoo bring us into new Pro setup for last half hour
Kensuke Sasaki & Masa Saito squash.
Masahiro Chono squash.
New Japan guys promo ripping Americans
November 11, 1995 WCW Saturday Night
Disco Inferno v Chris Kanyon. Fun. Worked as a Disco showcase but he gets rolled up and Kanyon gets his first win!
Eddie Guerrero squash
Sting sitdown from Pro
Hacksaw Duggan in Ireland
Sgt Craig Pittman squash
Big Bubba v Steve Armstrong. Decent. Steve gets a bit. Bubba wins.
DUNGEON OF DOOM: Yeti and Giant. Bookend of destruction. Still doing this? Felt dropped on Nitro
Disco Inferno music video
American Males v Barrio Brothers. Good tag match. Barrios do some nice tag work. Males win.
Dean Malenko squash. A good dissection. Malenko wins with a kneebar
Arn Anderson v Kurasawa. Good match, probably Kurasawa’s best. Pillman tries to cut a deal with Col. Parker. Chris Benoit takes up Kurasawa! He’s the fourth Horsemen. Interesting time to do it. Arn hits DDT and wins.
November 13, 1995 WCW Prime
Sting & Lex Luger v Blue Bloods. Solid. Sting and Regal go at it. Slow pace. Sting gets win.
November 13, 1995 WCW Nitro #11 - Jacksonville, FL
Absolute unhinged Hulk Hogan in black mask in Dungeon. He has a sword. Questioning where Sting is at. He’s actively holding the promotion back right now.
Randy Savage vs. Meng. Decent. Savage in black looks like nWo Savage. Macho wins. Luger takes out Savage’s arm.
Kensuke Sasaki vs. Chris Benoit. Fun short match. Suplexes, slams, chops, lariats. Benoit wins with Dragon Suplex.
WCWSN: Benoit v Guerrero
WCW World Television Title Johnny B. Badd (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero. Good time limit draw. An offensive shootout to start. Badd has a bit of trouble with some of what Eddie wants to do. Badd gets more aggressive. Tension escalate well. Wish Badd had stuck around to work with these guys more.
Bischoff gets word that Hogan wants Sting next week on Nitro!
Gene interviews Giant, Jimmy, Taskmaster. Hype WW3.
WCW US Champ Sting vs. Dean Malenko. Good unique match. Malenko works the size difference and atacks the leg. They work surprisingly well together. Sting will be defending vs Sasaki in Tokyo. Sting wins with a rollup.
Gene interviews Sting about facing Hogan next week. No idea what Hogan has against him. Sting is the BIG DOG of WCW. This is where the big dog plays.
Solid show. More good week-to-week storylines.
November 18, 1995 WCW Worldwide
Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Brian Pillman v Mr. JL, Dave Sullivan, Joey Maggs. Decent win for Horsemen. Teddy Long scouting Maggs.
November 18, 1995 WCW Pro
NEW PRO INTRO AND GRAPHICS. Looking very nice
Chris Benoit v Vern Henderson. This was fun. Mostly a squash but Vern gets some great suplexes in. Benoit wins.
Battle Royal. DIsco eliminates State Patrol to win.
Eddie Guerrero v The Gambler. Wor a fun little match. Gambler has a nice neckbreaker and double arm suplex. Eddie wins.
New Japan portion with Sonny Onoo
Jushin Liger v Barry Houston. This ruled. Barry Houston busts out a big dive and a northern lights on the floor. Liger wins with brain buster.
Koji Kanemoto v Scott Armstrong. Another fun short match. New Japan guys here to work. Koji wins with a double arm suplex.
Kanemoto and Liger celebrate with Onoo
Sting promo in the dark. Not sure Hogan means what he says anymore. Offended the Stinger. Where are you coming from? It was Sting who stood by his side and gave him his stamp of approval. Never forgot who he was. Hogan has. My turf. I'm the BIG DOG. Really good promo from Sting again.
The big news on the show is that Sting lost the US Title in Japan. Feels like a genuine shift for the show to more competitive short matches rather than outright squashes. May just be due to the New Japan influence but guys like Benoit and Guerrero like to give the enhancement guys a little more.
November 18, 1995 WCW Saturday Night
Mr Wonderful squash. Orndorff gets a call back from Gary Spivey! Funny.
Jushin Thunder Liger v Barry Houston from Pro
Koji Kanemoto v Scott Armstrong from Pro
VK Wallstreet squash. VK works in the suit. Gene interview on WW3. Sweating. Bad but funny. VK has his own separate adventures going.
Chris Benoit v Eddie Guerrero. Good match. Work a lot of holds. Both counted out after a belly to back superplex.
Diamond Dallas Page squash. Diamond cutter. Gene interview. Return match for TV Title at WW3. Putting the Doll up on the line. Doll annoyed. She's sick of being a prize
Man of Question v Duane Gill. Squash
WCW World Tag Team Champs Harlem Heat squash.
Sting v Bunkhouse Buck. Solid match. Buck works the hand and arm. Sting wins with a sunset flip. Gene interviews Sting on facing Hogan for the first time on Nitro. Big match to give away. Hulk’s in a fog. This is where the big dog plays. Hitting same points. Never forgot who he was. Where are you coming from, Mr. Darkside? Tells Hulkster to dress up in black but he’s the big dog and he plays for keeps. Getting a small taste of the money that’s in heel Hogan versus babyface Sting.
November 19, 1995 WCW Main Event
Eddie Guerrero & Cobra v Stud Stable (Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater). Ok simple match. Eddie gets the pin.
November 20, 1995 WCW Nitro #12
Announcers open up hyping up Sting/Hogan as PPV match. Super Bowl of wrestling tonight!
The Shark vs. Scott Norton. Fun short big man match. Norton wins clean with a huge powerslam. Shark just pops up after.
Gene interviews Taskmaster & Jimmy Hart. Jimmy hyping up Sting. Teasing dissension. Savage is Hogan’s new best friend. Sullivan hypes up WW3.
Disco dances and tries to sell his CD
Brian Pillman vs. Eddie Guerrero. Good match. Was supposed to be Flair but he big leagues Guerrero. Announcers really hyping up Eddie as a new fan favorite. Pillman biting and cheating. Refreshing as a heel. Effective in getting fans behind Eddie. Does a huge dive from the corner. The ring being on an angle makes for some crazy looking dives. Eddie gets the win and his push continues.
WCWSN: Luger. Hugh Morrus. VK. Disco. No matches, just names.
Replay Lex injuring Savage’s arm last week. Eric speculates that what if the attack was a ruse and Macho will stab Hogan in the back? It's very Hogan that they treat these guys wanting the World Title as stabbing Hogan in back
Road Warrior Hawk vs. Big Bubba. Pretty fun. Just clubbing and slams. Duggan stops Bubba from taping his fist and Bubba hits himself! Hawk wins.
Sting vs. Hulk Hogan. Solid. Sting wears red and yellow! Savage’s arm is in a sling. Hogan sneaks in through the crowd in his weird mask to lots of boos. He doesn’t attack Sting, though. Hogan sucks chants. Sting unloads on him to big cheers. There’s a clear money dynamic here. Loud boos when Hogan gets on offense. Hogan asks Macho if he’s with us or against us. Hogan uses his cross armbreaker so you know he’s serious. Not sure if there’s ever a face that fans sided with over Sting, ever. Sting gets the Scorpion but of course, Hogan powers out and breaks it. Hulks up to mostly boos. Legdrop misses. Fans cheer. Sting gets the Scorpion and Hogan is screaming to Macho for help. Dungeon of Doom attack Sting for the DQ. Hugh Morrus is with them now. Sting and Hogan fight off the DOD together. The Giant out last. No Luger. Savage hits Giant with a chair but he no sells it and choke slams Savage! Hogan and Sting take Giant out.
Announcers hard sell World War 3.
Bischoff was talking a lot about RAW on this episode. Yet to have a noticeable going through the motions match on a Nitro. Everyone brings their best. Delivered on the big Main Event but it’s a bit weird they didn’t leave much intrigue for the PPV.
November 25, 1995 WCW Worldwide
Meng squash. Meng and Kurasawa fight. Taskmaster and Col Parker argue. Stud Stable Meng was much better. Has his cool music now, though.
November 25, 1995 WCW Pro
Lex Luger squash. Lex working heel now. Good at it
American Males v State Patrol. Males showcase.
Scott Norton squash
NJPW section
Masahiro Chono v Dave Sullivan. Ok. Chono selling for Evad is wild. Chono wins.
WCW US Title Kensuke Sasaki v Cobra. Total squash. Sasaki has the belt and a cool jacket.
Chono and Sasaki interview. Cruise says the transaction is invalid. Thrown off Pro show. The need to make it Japan vs America feels the a square peg in a round hole with the talent involved.
November 25, 1995 WCW Saturday Night
Arn Anderson v Joey Maggs. Squash. Teddy still looking on.
Disco Inferno v Mark Starr. This is a fun recurring bit where Disco works it like a squash then screws up and Starr beats him. Gene interviews Disco and Disco pretends he won.
VK Wallstreet v Barry Houston. Squash
Taskmaster v Eddie Jackie. Squash. Gene interview on WW3. Have a dear friend coming.
Diamond Dallas Page v Bart Sawyer. Squash. Gene interview. DDP claiming things are all good. Doll says the title more important than her so she's fine being on the line. Wants Johnny to win! Good bit.
Scott Norton squash
Jim Duggan squash
DUNGEON OF DOOM: One Man Gang from Chicago. Might be the funniest one yet because he's just One Man Gang. Gonna put Hogan back in yella!
Lex Luger v Jerry Lynn. Really good match. No more Mr. JL? Lex disrespecting Lynn and gets rolled up. Dusty predicts Brian Pillman will win WW3. Tony’s stunned. Again, just watch these shows for the commentary. Lynn gets rolling and Lex has to use the ropes to turn the tide. He’s mad now and turns it up. Lynn gets more upset teases until a crossbody is caught into a powerslam. The rack ends it. Really enjoyed this quite a bit. Post-match interview on WW3. Going to take out Macho’s other arm too. Gonna hand him to Hogan in tiny pieces. Got his man by his side now and Hogan is lost and floundering. All those prayers and vitamins won’t help him. Lex was on a roll here. Luger/Hogan should have been a big money PPV main event around this time. Recommended.
Hulk Hogan and Sting promo from post-Nitro. Light in the darkness. Been tested. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Sting has always been a friend. Never will question his motives and integrity again. His paranoia. Sting loves it. Also admits that if the title was on line, Sting would be World Champion. Feels like Hogan’s trying to suck up to Sting's fanbase. On Nitro, he wants to know what's going on with Lex Luger and why he's teaming up. Sting very SHOUTY. No spell Luger has on him, Just the way he wants to play the game right now but Hogan has nothing to worry about. Friends forever now. I wonder if there was any thought of a Sting heel turn based on this.
November 26, 1995 WCW World War 3 - Norfolk, VA
Tony and Bobby open. Heenan doing his Rumble bit of picking multiple people
Gene with Hogan, Sting, Savage. Hogan knows who his friends are tonight. No more darkside. Rips off black. Burns it. Will never ever question Sting. Savage apologizes to Sting too. That fire is really going!! Hogan claims Macho's arm is perfect. Observe this, brother. A rag sheet. A dinosaur compared to the internet. Burns the sheet.
WCW World Television Title Johnny B. Badd (c) vs. Diamond Dallas Page. Strong opener, better than their last match. They start really intense. DDP has noticeably toned his act down and it’s working. Diamond Doll refuses to give DDP a 10 but she gives Badd a 10+. They’ve got the crowd hooked. Badd wins it and the Doll is stunned. She hugs Johnny. Gene gets a word and Badd shows her respect and offers her a chance to be his manager if she wants.
Big Bubba Rogers vs. Jim Duggan - Taped Fist Match. Ok undercard match. They had the crowd early but it dragged a bit. VK Wallstreet comes out but Duggan nails him. Bubba uses VK’s chain and wins by ten count. A little surprised this feud made it onto PPV but these vets are fine in this spot.
Gene interviews Ric Flair. Standard stuff on Sting and World Title
Akira Hokuto & Bull Nakano vs. Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki. Very good match. Mike Tenay joins commentary to help out. Bull Nakano has so much charisma. He crowd responds. This is all out intense action. Big pop for Oaki getting a half crab on Nakano. They do a double stomp train. Just awesome stuff. Bull wins it with a legdrop and Bobby Heenan is raving about this being the greatest women’s match he’s ever seen.
Gene interviews Lex Luger and Jimmy Hart. Lex is the flagship. Will be the new World Champ. He’s looking down at something. A monitor? Cue cards?
WCW United States Heavyweight Title Kensuke Sasaki (c) vs. Chris Benoit. Solid action but not much crowd interest. They haven’t done much to establish Benoit joining the Horsemen. Sasaki retains.
Giant, Taskmaster, Jimmy Hart with Gene. Dungeon of Doom will take no prisoners. Hogan chants. Giant gonna throw him over the top.
Starrcade 1995. Graphic has the day wrong of course.
Randy Savage with Gene. Being jittery part of his charm. Gonna get Luger.
Randy Savage vs. Lex Luger. More of an angle than a match. Savage has the bad arm and gets jumped. Savage still gets a visual pin. Luger racks Savage on the outside. Puts on an ambar. Savage goes out and Luger wins. Luger keeps it on but this time Sting comes out to get Lex to let go of the hold.
Sting vs. Ric Flair. Very good match from a timeless pairing. The loudest the crowd has been all night. Parker and Sherri are watching on for some reason. This felt almost like a best of version of their matches in a positive way and the crowd is rocking with all of it. There’s a great spot where Flair flexes and woos to taunt Sting. Sting gets the Scorpion Deathlock to win and a huge pop. Sting really looked great here and seems amped whenever he gets a chance to have real matches like this. He’s a true big match wrestler. A feel good match to throw on any time.
Hulk Hogan with Gene. Every man for himself. Growing fu manchu out. Back to being “normal.”
WCW World Heavyweight Title World War 3 Battle Royal. Enjoyed this as a fun novelty deal. The commentary pairings are Tony & Bobby, Bischoff & Dusty, and Cruise & Zbyszko. There are lots of guys here that I haven’t seen on TV much or at all like David Taylor, Pez Whatley, Bobby Walker, Super Assassins, Mike Winner. Yeti’s wearing his Super Ninja gear now instead of the toilet paper. The crowd is buzzing for the hot start of everyone battling it out. People love the start and the finish of battle royals. The big stunner is Yeti getting eliminated early on. Hogan and Flair pair off a lot. Sting and Luger help each other. Eddie Guerrero makes it to the one main ring and works a bit with Arn which is cool. They continue Eddie’s mini-feud with the Horsemen. Luger mainly stays on the outside, picking people out. Sting and Hogan team up to take out Flair and Arn. Savage wins but it’s disputed because Hogan went out underneath. Mixed reaction as Hogan asks the fans. Ref’s decision is final and Savage is the new WCW World Champion. Fans boo. On one hand, it’s good intrigue for Nitro. On the other, it made Savage looks like a lame duck champion.
Gene gets in the ring and Hogan says Giant pulled him out. Big boos for Savage being announced as the winner. He says he didn’t see nothing but he lives for what it is, is what it is. Can you handle that? They agree to watch the footage on Nitro and TALK TURKEY. Hogan wants a shot. This as much as anything else this year illustrates that WCW happens through the lens of Hogan as the main character. The story isn’t that Savage is the champion, it’s what that means for Hulk Hogan.
Overall I enjoyed this show. Three really strong matches and some fun novelty. This is a Bobby Heenan clinic as well. Gene was on fire too. They can really elevate a show when they’re on top form.
November 27, 1995 WCW Nitro #13 - Salem, VA (Watch)
Announcers recap WW3. Darkside Hogan no more. Savage new champ. Controversy.
WCW World Television Title Johnny B. Badd (w/Diamond Doll) (c) vs. Diamond Dallas Page. More angle than match as DDP is out dejected with roses, trying to get the Doll back. Actually he just uses it to sucker punch Badd. Doll finds a chain in the flowers, throws it to Badd and he KO’s DDP.
Gene with Taskmaster and Jimmy Hart. Sullivan wants to know what Luger's deal with Sting is. Infighting. Jimmy was his first manager and he never lied to him. Sting and Luger are friends but they'll chip away at it. They have a plan.
Akira Hokuto & Bull Nakano vs. Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki. Another good all action tag match and smart to run it back after the PPV. Nakano pops the crowd. Hokuto hits a sick deadlift power bomb. Hokuto gets the win.
WCWSN: Sting v Kurasawa. Malenko. Duggan/VK
Hulk Hogan vs. Hugh Morrus. Decent and rare Hogan just having a match and getting a quick win. Makes sure to take the moonsault, hulk up and win.
Gene brings out new WCW World Champ Randy Savage. The only World Champ. Looks awesome with big gold. Hogan out shortly. Didn't get eliminated. The title still says Hulk Hogan. Getting heated. The footage cuts off and Giant attacks Hogan! Choke slams Savage on concrete! Sting helps out. Hogan chairshots Giant in a funny way. Hogan beats Giant to the back with chairshots. Savage still laid out.
Lex Luger & Sting vs. The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman). Good match that furthered the storyline. Luger takes some time to come out. Arn hits a quick spinebuster and Lex saves Sting. Luger shoves Pillman off the top into Sting. Was an accident or on purpose? They use similar tactics to the Havoc tag to imply that Luger may turn on Sting except Luger breaks through and beats them up. Sting rolls up Pillman for the win. Flair attacks and the Horsemen take out Luger and Sting. Hogan makes the save, goes after Luger but Sting stops him. Luger bails. Mongo explains that Sting sees the good in Luger and wants to get him back. Hogan and Sting shake hands.
Close with a big announcement on WCWSN about Starrcade. Nothing announced for next week
Good followup to the PPV with lots of storyline progression. Maybe a little too much infighting but it’s top guys interacting constantly. It’s a smart way to do it.
I thought WCW would book a Sting and Lex Luger vs Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage match at Starrcade 1995?