WCW Road Wild 1997 Review

Road Wild 1997
Date: August 9, 1997
Attendance: 6500
Location: Sturgis, South Dakota

Its Road Wild 1997 and we are coming hot off the 100th episode of Monday Nitro. If people didn’t know, Luger finally won his World Championship that had been built up over the last three or four months. Thank fuck there is no Dennis Rodman. Or is there?

Was always against these sorts of PPV’s. There is no atmosphere and all bikers do is rev their engines. Wouldn’t know a good wrestling match if they saw one (and i’m telling you, they won’t)

It’s the usual three in Tony Schiavone, The Brain and Dusty Rhodes with the part time stuff of Mike Tenay. The American Dream is wearing some horrible looking biking gear and im afraid, thats the most entertainment im going to get out of this one.

Buff Bagwell and Scott Norton vs Harlem Heat

Booker T and Bagwell lock up to begin proceedings and the nWo is quickly on top. Your usual tag team match up with both teams hitting their moves. Norton nails Booker with a powerbomb as Jacqueline starts to make her way to the ring in a spicy red ensemble! Norton then nails a shoulder breaker to the T which seems to have no effect. Jackie gets involved and starts laying in as Booker hits the Harlem Sidekick! Scott tries to get his foot on the rope but the newest member of Harlem Heat holds down his foot for the 1-2-3.

Rating: ** - Harlem Heat? More like Harlem Spark. Really going nowhere and just a stale tag team to this point. Done it all and the quicker they get Booker into singles competition, the better!

Konnan vs Rey Mysterio Jr.

K-Dawg has recently joined the nWo and broke Rey’s ankle on an episode of Nitro not that long ago. This one is just pure crap as Konnan works on the ankle in what is a ‘Mexican Deathmatch’. One of the worst i have seen for your info. Why the fuck this doofus was getting such a push was beyond me. Rey tries his usual high risk stuff but can’t because of the ankle. Konnan catches him off the top and spikes him with a cradle DDT. Whacks on the Tequila Sunrise for the victory.

Rating: * - Why they put Rey in a situation like that when HE IS A RISK TAKER is totally beyond me. Keep this shit off PPV please.

Tag Team Elimination Match: Mongo McMichael and Chris Benoit vs Dean Malenko and Jeff Jarrett

Malenko and Benoit a year ago put on an absolute spectacle in a 30 minute+ match and they are unbelievably in the same spot on the card. GIVE THEM A PUSH FOR FUCK SAKE!

Jarrett’s music, outfit and overall ring presence is just shocking. The music makes him look like a country bumpkin, the outfit makes him look like a young adult confused on his sexuality and the strut around the ring? What more is there to say!

Its Malenko doing all the wrestling early on and its not long before he is in some trouble. Finally makes the tag but Jarrett wants nothing to do with Mongo. Pulls McMichael on top of him and gets himself eliminated with a pinfall, leaving Malenko to fight for himself. Academic stuff here as the Ice Man tries to fight back but no good. Benoit hits a tombstone piledriver and the headbutt. Mongo gets tagged in and hits another tombstone for the 1-2-3.

Rating: ** - Setting up an angle it looks like for Malenko to take the US title off of Jarrett in the near future. I damn well hope so because Jarrett is lucky to be in a job right now. MOVE THE PRICK ON! USELESS!

Cruiserweight Title Match: Chris Jericho vs Alex Wright (c)

Im a big fan of both and thought Wright was very underrated. His dance moves would always give me a laugh but in ring stuff was very good. Anyways, Jericho enters to the biggest pop of the night. Alex Wright playing possum in the early stages, showing how much the attitude change has helped him. Jericho has had enough and hits a splash off the top to the floor. Back in the ring, Jericho hits a triple clothesline and lionsault but only 2! A powerbomb has Wright in trouble as the pace starts to quicken. Wright reverses a rollup attempt and holds the tights for the win.

Rating: **½ - Was far too short and should have gone another 5 minutes. Was going to be a rip snorter but an abrupt finish took the shine off.

Syxx vs Ric Flair

Again, why is this match taking place? Syxx challenged Jericho weeks ago and now he is all of a sudden wrestling one of the greats?

Anways, match begins with both competitors daring each other to go at them. SUXX is on top early as he hits the bronco buster in the corner and then gives Ric a nice kick to the teeth! Cop that one old man! Flair finally attacks the legs and gets Syxx into a figure four, only for him to get to the ropes. Syxx goes for the buzz killer but Ric backs him into the corner. Goes for another bronco buster but Flair gets the boot up and connects with the groin. GAWN! ALL OVER!

Rating: ** - I don’t get it and i don’t think i want to. This PPV is really dragging. One match over ** stars and that scraped it! The card doesn’t look as if its going to get better!

Curt Henning vs DDP

IF there was a match i had some sort of hope for, it was this one. DDP is not allowed to enter the ring by Henning but has none of it. They get things underway finally as DDP starts to undo the straps of Henning, right down to below the cheeks. HELLO BIKER GIRLS! DDP hits a spinning clothesline and goes for the pin. Henning kicks out and DDP lands on the ref. Curt heads straight to the turnbuckle pad and takes off the padding! Smashes him head first into the exposed turnbuckle and then nails the Henning-Plex BUT ONLY 2! Page goes for the face first piledriver but Hennings legs connect with the ref on the way up. Flair comes out only to be Diamond Cuttered but Mr. Perfect is able to hit another Henning Plex for the 1-2-3.

Rating: *** - Why Flair had anything to do with this is beyond me but easily the match of the night so far. Im going to say it IS match of the night already.

Macho Man vs Giant

Giant enters to no entrance music and Randy tries to begin things with a powerslam. Didn’t think that through ay mach? Savage targets the legs for a short time and tries to get Giant off his feet. Savage heads up top and goes for a double axe handle. FATAL! Chokeslam for the win!

Rating: * - Nothing match and always was on paper. Still, the Giant is one of the best big men in the business today.

Tag Team Title Match: Outsiders (c) vs The Steiners

So 6 months of building for the Steiners to the tag team titles and this is where we sit. Scott Hall of course has to try get his tooth pick in someone’s eye and we are off! This one is all about the Outsiders dominating Scott Steiner for the whole of the match. After getting the living shit kicked out of him, he finally gets the tag as Rick nails both the outsiders and they set up for the Steiner Bulldog. NAILS IT! 1-2 but Kevin Nash pulls Nick Patrick out the ring and we have a DQ? WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!! What terrible booking. The Steiners win but don’t get the belts all because of the ref getting pulled out the ring?

Rating: * - What absolute shit. I can’t imagine what both the Steiners were thinking. 6 months. 6 FUCKIGN MONTHS of building towards this but the usual nWo ego would never book against themselves! FUCKING GARBAGE!

World Title: Lex Luger (c) vs Hulk Hogan

I can honestly tell you, i was expecting nothing, zero, yadda, nil from this match. And if Bash at the Beach was anything to go by, we are in for a long one. Well its your typical Hogan match for 15 minutes as we get a heap of heel tactics. Luger finally gets his second wind and starts to flex up. The Outsiders hit the ring and Luger cleans up. Norton and Syxx are also out but they too are dealt with. Why the fuck wouldn’t he just let them hit him ONCE! JUST ONCE! Get the DQ and your out of there but no! Sting starts to come down the ramp and whacks Luger in the back with the bat. Hogan plants the leg drop and we have a NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!

Rating: * - Well what the fuck is there to say. Luger finally wins the strap, only for Hogan to win it back six days later. AND WORST OF FUCKING ALL, RODMAN IS IN THE BACK! Spray paints the nWo back on the belt and we are done! What fucking shit! Two straight PPV’s where the main event has been garbage and this nWo shit is getting old quick. How many 7 on 1 run ins can you possibly have! ARGGHHHHHH!

PPV Rating: F

A fail in every way. Crowd was shit. Results were booked in the worst fucking way. One three star match and one two and a half star while the rest were all just total crap. What a shit heap!

Ok let me get this out of the way. I love WCW. Always have, always will. But the last two main events and this PPV have opened my eyes as to why people got over this shit and quick.

Fall Brawl is next and im hoping for something but I don’t know what. Anything PLEASE!
 
I remember seeing this PPV on VHS a few years ago. I liked the novelty of the bikers etc, but the show as a whole was fucking garbage.

As great as the nWo were, the constant screwjobs, DQ's and domination of the belts was getting stupid by this point. Bullshit Hogan getting the belt back so soon after Luger had finally won it!

And WTF is Mongo or Rodman doing in WCW, those guys were appalling and an utter waste of money. And people wonder why WCW failed?!
 
Add to that Kevin Greene and you already have three guys hogging main event spots which could have been given to a Jericho or Benoit. Instead they take their services else where and WCW folds.

Been said again and again but its just hard to believe it happened LOL
 

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