83 Weeks - SuperBrawl VIII [Show Notes] (Patreon)

In the February 16, 1998 issue of the Observer, Dave Meltzer speculated on the impact Mike Tyson would have on WWF PPV buy rates by drawing comparisons to Dennis Rodman’s involvement in WCW. Dave writes:

“From a standpoint of the buy rates on the two PPV shows that Rodman did with

WCW last year and how much he was paid ($750,000 per shot), it was really

almost a wash,...Even with all the media pub[licity], WCW with Rodman didn't do

the buy rates (approximately 0.89 on both shows he worked) that the

Hogan-Piper cage match did, it did maybe half of Hogan-Sting and for that

matter, was actually less than even the recent Flair-Hart, and Rodman was a

participant in a match on the second of the two shows, both of which got a ton of

mainstream hype going in.”

Eric, first things first, is $750,000 accurate?

Do you remember the buy rates being a disappointment?

Dave continued:

“Would WCW, turning back the clock one year, make the deal again? I'd

guarantee the answer is yes, for the visibility it gave the company and ego

gratification of those involved of being perceived as a big time business player

and the fact that Rodman's first appearance last March, also in an out of the ring

role, led to WCW's Uncensored beating out last year's Wrestlemania, which

came one week later, when it came to PPV buys. And the huge increase in

interest in WCW over the past year, while it can't be all or even majorly attributed

to the fact Rodman was involved in two PPV shows and one Nitro, he was

responsible for at least a small part in the company's overall growth last year.”

How do you respond to Meltzer’s “guarantee” that WCW would make the deal again?

In your own words, rehash for us briefly what Rodman’s involvement is trying to accomplish.

How did you see Rodman’s contribution to WCW’s growth? Did he help you receive the mainstream visibility in the way you wanted?

1:08:28

Meltzer would go on to predict that Tyson’s involvement in WrestleMania would have a much bigger impact because Tyson was a bigger star than Rodman. In your mind, was a comparison even relevant?

1:01:05

The Inoki Retirement Show on April 8 is going to feature a battle billed as “New Japan versus nWo Japan.” In our Wolfpac episode we talked a little about building nWo Japan abroad at the same time the nWo is dominating ratings in the States.

What was the importance of nWo Japan from a strategic business point of view? How about from a storyline point of view?

How had the 1995 talent exchange you negotiated with New Japan evolved by early 1998?

We’ve documented your relationships with Masa Saito and Sonny Onoo. What kind of working relationship did you have with Antonio Inoki?

1:07:53

In the match we’d see the Bull Powers (Manabu Nakanishi & Satoshi Kojima) defeat nWo Japan (Hiro Saito & Hiroyoshi Tenzan). Did you have any power on decisions in Japan - did they run anything by you?

We would also see nWo Japan members Keiji Muto and Masahiro Chono defeat Osamu Nishimura & Shinya Hashimoto to retain the IWGP Tag Team Titles. Also High Voltage is sent to work to become better. How are those decisions made on what talents are sent or exchanged?

1:08:31

Nitro’s Ratings Domination

Meltzer shifts focus to the Monday Night Wars. He’s quite complementary of how Nitro is dominating Raw in the ratings:

“Coming off a head-to-head show on 2/2 with a 4.93 rating and a 7.51 share,

WCW Nitro followed it up on 2/9 with not only its best Nitro show but also its

strongest from a marquee match standpoint of the year with a double headliner

with Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage and the Steiners winning the WCW tag titles

from Kevin Nash & Scott Hall which drew a 4.60 (4.83 first hour; 4.43 second

hour; 4.55 third hour) rating and 6.91 share.”

“Raw drew a 3.45 rating and 5.32 share on 2/2 followed by a 3.20 rating (3.20 first hour; 3.20 second hour) and 4.79 share on 2/9.”

“The Nitro replays were a 1.0 rating and 4.8 share on 2/2, and a 1.2 rating and 5.5 share on 2/9. Since the Nitro replays have been moved to a 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. slot, the ratings aren't going to ever be what they were. Ironically, the movie in between the two Nitro showings on 2/9 was Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story, which did a 1.7.”

Eric, why were the Nitro replays moved to the 1 am time slot? Was there any concern over how that would impact ratings?

Dave goes on to write:

“The 4.93 rating on 2/2 would be the second highest in the history of Nitro,

trailing only the 4.97 rating on 8/25 which was a week when Raw was

pre-empted for tennis. There was a lot of feeling that with the marquee line-up on

2/9 combined with all the momentum the company has that they would top a 5.0

rating since what has been the key force in the WCW ratings of late has been the

Randy Savage split from the NWO and this, going against Hogan, would be the

strongest match in that storyline possible.”

We know that Hogan and Savage are a draw because of their rich history together. But are you viewing their feud in February ‘98, like Meltzer says, as “the strongest match in that [nWo split] storyline possible”?

What were some other contenders for this main storyline?

This tension between Savage and Hogan is the beginning of what would become the Wolfpac and the “second act” of the nWo story, if you will.

At this point in ‘98, are we just testing the waters to see if ratings, viewership, and fan interest would be there for another Savage v. Hogan feud, or has the decision already been made to go there after Hogan finishes up with Sting at SuperBrawl?

1:12:38

WCW Merchandising

The Observer goes on to discuss Nitro from El Paso, TX on 2/9. The show drew a sellout crowd of 9,085 fans (8,646 paying $168,940, plus $99,635 in merchandise).”

Eric, you’ve told us before here on the show that WCW merchandising was next to nothing when you first took over the company. You also remind us all the time about your approach to be DIFFERENT in almost every way than the WWF.

What were the major differences in your merchandising strategy that helped earnings go from zero to $99,635?

It’s one thing to create t-shirts, replica belts, and other merch. In order to get people to care enough to buy them, however, you have to touch a chord with fans. After all, they’re representing your product on their bodies.

1:15:30

What was it about the nWo that struck such a chord with American culture in 1998? What larger trends and attitudes did the nWo tap into that you believe led to that emotional relationship with fans?

1:20:21 BREAK AG1

It’s not only the nWo that’s making bank. Here’s a breakdown of some of your top guys’ reported merchandise earnings at the end of 1997.

• Hollywood Hogan: $52,413
• Sting: $29,837
• DDP: $12,088
• Kevin Nash: $3,511
• Scott Hall: $3,511
• Lex Luger: $3,132
• The Giant: $1,108
• Randy Savage: $1,079

These numbers don’t include general nWo merchandise. But I’m curious, with guys like Hogan, Nash, Hall, and Savage, how are their merchandising deals structured differently to reflect sales of their individual items versus nWo items? For example, if someone buys a Hollywood Hogan t-shirt, he would reap the rewards. What about an nWo shirt, though? How are the earnings from those products allocated to nWo representatives?

Similar question for Hall and Nash. The fact that they both earned $3,511 suggests that they split earnings from Outsiders’ products evenly. Is that the case?

1:23:47

Chavo Guerrerro Sr. & the Importance of El Paso for Luchadores

At that same Nitro in El Paso, there was a dark match where Chavo Guerrerro Sr. pinned David Taylor.

Eric, we don’t talk much about Chavo Sr. in this era. Was there a concerted effort to bring in Lucha legends, as well as the younger guys that were defining the Cruiserweight division? Or is this just an honorary appearance since we’re in El Paso? Why didn’t we see Chavo Sr. on TV more?

Early 1998 is when the problems began with Eddie Guerrerro that about two years later led to the Radicalz jumping ship to the WWF. As a reminder, this is around the time when the infamous “Coffee Incident” occurs.

From the Observer: “For all the reasons anyone can imagine, most of the mid-card talent is unhappy, but now so more than ever. Eddie Guerrero actually went to Eric Bischoff trying to get a release from his contract but was turned down and actually snapped at, although Bischoff did later apologize. However, with the exception of Rey Misterio Jr. and maybe one other wrestler who I don't believe has actually signed his new deal, virtually all the wrestlers are under contract for nearly two more years and it's doubtful Bischoff would release them since most would wind up with Titan Sports. None of the Mexicans have been happy for all the reasons everyone would figure, but an added reason is that at least as is planned, Juventud Guerrera is supposed to lose his mask to Chris Jericho on 2/22 at the Cow Palace. There were a lot of problems in October leading up to Halloween Havoc when the plan was for Misterio Jr. to lost his mask to Eddie Guerrero, which ended up not happening when Bischoff had a change of heart after a lot of pleading by Misterio Jr. 30 minutes before the show. “

Why was this always an issue do you think?

Konnan would go on an internet chat according to Meltzer and say this, “Konnan was praising the direction of the WWF, said that WCW isn't interested in pushing the Mexicans and said that when their contracts run out (which is a little less than two years away) he expects that they'll all try and go to WWF”

What do you do when you hear or read things like that?

1:24:36

Were you around Chavo Sr. to see if he was influencing Eddie’s decision to ask for a bigger push or influencing him in any other way? After all, you’re in El Paso for this Nitro on 2/9, the ideal location to make the argument about how much the Guerrerro legacy meant.

That Nitro in El Paso, we’d also see Chris Jericho attack Juventud Guerrera, leading Guerrera to put his mask on the line against Jericho’s Cruiserweight Title at SuperBrawl.

1:27:04

Who’s idea is it for Juventud to risk his mask like this? Did you specifically choose to announce this angle in El Paso because the stakes would be higher in a place steeped in Lucha traditions?

1:30:00 WCW’s lack of discipline of storytelling

Dave Meltzer reported:

“Apparently Guerrera wasn't happy about losing it being that it's a family heirloom

and that his father has wrestled for more than 20 years and never lost his similar

mask (you know, all the stuff that Mike Tenay says on television is actually a

shoot) but had agreed to do so, being led to believe they'd build it up right for a

few months and him getting a major focused push and a decent length title reign

before dropping it so it would mean something when it happened, perhaps in a

mask vs. hair match with Jericho since Jericho's hair would create a lot of interest

as well. It would also give time for him to work a simultaneous program in Mexico

where he'd lose the mask there where it would be a huge news story. Well, he

figured wrong as he showed up at Nitro on 2/9 to find out he was supposed to

lose his mask on 2/22 and felt double-crossed…the feeling is that WCW doesn't

understand and worse, doesn't respect, Mexican wrestling traditions and the

Mexican talent themselves.”

Did Juventud express any anxiety about losing his mask?

In the past, you touched on tensions around unmasking like the time you were going to have Rey Mysterio lose his mask. Ultimately, you decided against it. Why go back to that well here?

You went out of your way to bring in luchadores to elevate the Cruiserweight Division, then you ask them to unmask and, essentially, turn their backs on a prized wrestling tradition. Was there any worry about disrespect here? Did anyone backstage – Kevin Sullivan or any of the other guys – try to talk you out of it?

1:34:27

The Death of Louie Spicolli

This 2/9 Nitro also includes the development of Louie Spiccoli’s last major storyline. He does commentary in place of Larry Zbyszko, after an angle where Spiccoli stole Zbyszko’s luggage and coaxed Zbysko’s driver to take Larry to the wrong building. This would lead to a match being booked between the two at SuperBrawl on February 22. Sadly, we never saw that match because Spicolli passed away on February 15 from an overdose.

What did Larry think about working with Spicolli?

It’s hard whenever one of your peers in the locker room passes away, I’m sure. But it’s got to be especially hard when you’re actively in an angle with a guy and working so intimately.

What was your first conversation with Larry, after the overdose?

The February 23 issue of the Observer had this to say:

“Late Saturday night, Louie Spicolli was at his home in San Pedro, CA, a beach

town suburb of Los Angeles, hanging out with a few friends watching pro

wrestling videos. When they started watching his match against Chris Adams

from Nitro five nights earlier, his friends started razzing him about this being the

start of what appeared to be his biggest career push, and how he had put on so

much weight and was looking out of shape. He had stopped going to the gym

and he was letting his hair get messy, he explained, because his new WCW

character was going to be like Chris Farley. But he told his friends he was

worried, because the drug use of some of his co-workers and friends in the

company was starting to scare him, and he was no stranger to the pitfalls of

drugs. Ultimately, like far too many others in this profession, he was right on. On

both accounts.”

That match against Chris Adams on the Feb. 9 Nitro from El Paso would be Spicolli’s last match. Louie had a history of issues with drugs dating back to his run in ECW in ‘96-’97.

Eric, were you aware of Spicolli’s issues when you brought him into WCW?

There’s a definite resemblance to Chris Farley. Did you have conversations with Spicolli about playing into that character? How did you pitch the creative and the push?

Finally, did Louie ever come to you and express these concerns that Meltzer references?

Dave’s report went on to say:

“Spicolli had taken 26 somas, a prescription sleeping pill/pain killer that is the

drug of choice in the wrestling profession today. The drugs are easily obtainable

through noted "mark doctors" who want to be friends with celebrities, modern day

Zahorians. He combined the pills with drinking a lot of wine, apparently it being

the only beverage in the house at the time,...It was more his normal daily routine

to get to sleep and by no means an attempt at suicide. He would take 15 without

it even affecting him. He took 25 to 30 somas every night before going to bed

which he felt he needed to sleep, a dosage that would easily hospitalize an

average person but he had built up such a tolerance for it that he'd wake up fresh

the next morning and go to the gym. For recreation he'd take even more, and

after a while he'd lose count and once he was buzzed he'd pop them

indiscriminately.”

Eric, what do you remember about somas being a problem in the locker room in 1998?

The comparison to Dr. George T. Zahorian is telling. Zahorian was convicted of selling steroids to wrestlers in 1991 and sentenced to three years in prison. What mechanisms did WCW have in place to monitor for these so-called “mark doctors”?

Meltzer finished his account of Spicolli’s death by writing:

“The actual cause of death could not be determined until the full autopsy report came back later in the week, but it was believed to have either been a bad reaction to the combination of alcohol and pills, ironically almost a nightly staple of far too many in the profession despite all the warning signs and deaths in the profession, or choking on his vomit from getting ill from the combination. When the police arrived, they theorized that the wine multiplied the effects of the somas by as much as tenfold. That's a scary bit of math when one considers the percentage of pro wrestlers today who take somas and mix alcohol on a routine basis on the road. Perhaps the tragedy of this, just like the previous tragedy with Brian Pillman, is that it did not shock those who knew him best.”

How do you first hear about Spicolli’s death? What’s the first thing you do?

1:45:22 Louie Spicolli trying to climb the walls

1:48:31 Drug Testing

1:51:26

Obviously the PPV match with Larry Zbyszko is the least important thing at that moment. But how do you handle that situation?

Melzter was extremely critical for how you handled Spicolli’s death on Nitro:

“The mood in Tampa at Nitro was said to be one of surprise, some sadness, and

mostly business. The company did put up a graphic with a picture when the show

started indicating that Spicolli had died, but aside from the incredibly poor

judgment of having Zbyszko, who Spicolli was feuding with, have the death

brought up to him so he could stay in character and basically blow it off with no

explanation to a viewing audience of millions that had to be at least somewhat

curious, nobody said a word about it and that graphic had to leave everyone

curious as hell. There was the NWO, Hall in particular, who had been palling

around with Spicolli both on TV and off, not even allowed to say a word. There

was Bret Hart, Spicolli's wrestling idol, not allowed to say a word. There was Mike

Tenay, who had known Spicolli well for years, never acknowledging the death of

someone who literally over the previous seven days had become a storyline

character.”

Why was the decision made to handle the situation in such a cold way? Did Larry, Scott, Bret, or Mike express that they wanted to say anything particular on air?

Meltzer also wrote that, in the wake of Spicolli’s death, WCW “tested about a dozen or so undercard wrestlers, about 28% of whom came up positive, largely for either marijuana or steroids. There were no suspensions, as WCW policy is for them to attend an educational class on first offense. But wouldn't such a high percentage of positives indicate a company with some serious problems, and almost demand full scale regular testing to make an attempt to get it under control?”

We’re only a few years removed from the Steroid Trials that embroiled Vince McMahon and the WWF. How did that influence WCW’s wellness policy in this era? Walk us through some of the major changes that you personally instituted concerning that policy.

To Meltzer’s point, why not institute a full-scale testing policy?

He also raises the point that, “If it was the NFL or the NBA or MLB, and a player, whether he be a star or a back-up player on a team with a nationally televised game had been found dead that day or one day before, how would the promotion handle it.”

I can understand the argument that the comparison with professional mainstream sports is different because steroids are performance enhancing, while in wrestling it’s more for aesthetics. But Somas are a different story. Muscle relaxers can cause impaired judgment that result in someone getting seriously hurt. This seems like an especially good reason to crack down on illegal drug use, no?

Outside of the wellness policy, what were some of the general changes in the company after Spicolli passed?

The one thing Meltzer does mention was how much business has increased year over year for WCW. “World Championship Wrestling had a phenomenal year, showing a 59.1% increase in attendance, even more impressive since it was coming off a year that had a 56% increase from the year before. The increase came during a year that WCW greatly increased ticket prices across the board. WWF actually showed a greater percentage increase in attendance in 1996 than WCW, with a 61% increase. Although WWF continued going up in 1997, it was not at the same level. Ironically, in 1996, the year the WWF showed such a huge attendance increase, the perception of the industry in many cases due to people paying so much attention to Monday night ratings, was that the WWF was losing to WCW "for the first time ever." The ironic part is that using the Monday night ratings, which WCW has won in every head-to-head match-up since the summer of 1996, ignores that WCW has traditionally always for the one year period been ahead of WWF when it came to cable ratings, it was just that before 1995, nobody really paid this kind of attention to ratings. For the entire year, while WCW came the closest it ever has during a one year period to the World Wrestling Federation in attendance, it still trailed by a few hundred fans per show. Despite the success of Nitro, which for the year increased 15.6%, overall WCW ratings declined 1.8% because weekend numbers had never reached the low levels they achieved this year. With the addition of Thunder in prime time combined with the elimination of the company's two poorest rated shows, Pro and Main Event, television ratings will show a huge increase in 1998.”

1:52:18

We’re just months away from the 83 week streak ending - did you feel it around this time?

Meltzer would follow up with this:

“WCW business this past week doesn't have to take a back seat to WWF by any means. The company drew near record business for its two shows this past weekend, on 1/31 in Boston at the Fleet Center and Nitro on 2/2 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The Boston show, which was scheduled as the first ever Internet pay-per-listen event, drew the largest crowd and gate in company history for a non-televised event drawing a sellout 18,759 fans (18,134 paying $325,154) for a card headlined by a Hulk Hogan vs. Sting cage match in the same building that WWF is running in two months for the already sold out Wrestlemania.

Two nights later at the Alamodome, WCW drew the second largest crowd and third largest gate in company history (crowd trailed only the 1/5 Georgia Dome show and gate also trailed the 12/28 Starrcade show) with 21,213 fans (20,005 paying $446,135), but destroyed all previous company records for merchandise totalling $249,842 or a near record rate of $12.49 per paying customer. San Antonio, for whatever reason, has long had a reputation for doing for concerts about the best merchandising business of any major city in the United States and it proved no different for WCW. Boston merchandise totalled $138,914. The previous WCW merchandise record was $172,000 set at the Georgia Dome show and the all-time U.S. record remains $540,000 for the 1987 Wrestlemania at the Pontiac Silverdome with Hogan and Andre.”

1:54:50 BREAK Manscaped

1:56:46

This is just some tremendous money and I mean to do that for a house show and then TV show…there’s no way you could’ve felt a shift in business could you?

You do have some issues at Nitro according to Meltzer. “Kidman used a variation of the power bomb during the match. Nash came out and brought up that point. I guess we should digress to the power bomb story. Apparently ever since he came to WCW, Nash has been under the impression that since he really only does a few things, and the power bomb, or the variation of it that he does, is his finisher, that the move should be protected ie, nobody else does the move. There are conflicting schools of thought on that policy. One school of thought is you protect the patented move of the star. The other is that as long as the star doesn't prostitute out his move (let too many people kick out of it too often), an undercard guy can use it and the fans see the difference as in every pitcher throws a fastball, but that doesn't take away from Randy Johnson's fastball when he's on the mound. Anyway, Nash has wanted guys not to do the move and when the accident with Giant took place, they decided to do the angle coming out of it with the end result that nobody in the promotion was going to be allowed to do the power bomb, Nash of course would, and the move would be put over bigger than ever and he'd be the only one allowed to use it. The downside is it comes across like a behind-the-times promotion banning the piledriver or jumping off the top rope, as the booing fans reacted to J.J. Dillon when he made the announcement. Anyway, all the wrestlers were told no more power bombs, and they had a translator into espanol telling all the Mexicans that if any of them did a power bomb they'd be fired on the spot. One week later on Nitro we see three (Kidman, Konnan and Scott Steiner) guys doing variations while still trying to keep the angle that it's banned and Nash keeps getting arrested for doing the move.”

Is Kevin pissed about this? What do you remember about all this?

1:59:03

Flairwatch

Meltzer also reported on the confusion surrounding Ric Flair:

“Flair was supposed to appear on the 2/5 Thunder from Beaumont, TX in a

singles match against Eddie Guerrero. Don't know what the situation was and

where signals were crossed, but this time Flair wasn't at the building.”

Eric, what was the situation and where were the signals crossed? Why wasn’t Ric there?

Dave continued:

“Flair did wrestle at the weekend house shows in Texas. At one point the plan

was to shoot an angle in El Paso which apparently was to lead to Flair & Bret

Hart as a tag team against Hall & Nash, but Flair was booked on 2/10 and 2/11 in

New York as part of the Toy Fair representing WCW so one hand didn't know what the other hand in the company was doing.”

Do you remember plans to shoot this angle in El Paso and/or the Toy Fair?

This would have been during the period when Original San Francisco Toy Makers (OSFTM) were producing WCW action figures. The 1998 “Articulated 4.5” series was a big step up because it featured movable joints. Most WCW figures before this, dating back to the Galoob lines in 1990-91, were immovable.

Eric, what role did you have in developing these figures? How were the licensing and development deals negotiated?

Connecting to our earlier conversation about merchandising, how were the proceeds from the sale of action figures negotiated in the individual contracts of this era?

Dave reported more on Flair’s contract issues, writing:

“Flair has basically agreed to a three-year deal with WCW but hasn't actually signed the piece of paper. As best we can tell, that angle is going to be shot soon, but no word on when soon is. Rumors that he might be leaving naturally started since he's disappeared from television for a few weeks but that's premature. WWF took advantage of those rumors for its 900 line talking about a former NWA champion looking to join the NWA since rumors came up with the very logical idea that the one thing that would put the NWA group into prominence and give it credibility in the WWF was if Flair was the top star in that group. But the name WWF talked about if you called the 900 line was Dory Funk, who is currently under contract with WWF to work as a trainer and a coach.”

Eric, any recollection of this 3-year deal Dave’s speculating about?

This is two months before you famously sue Ric Flair over missing a scheduled Nitro appearance on April 8. What influence did the scheduling issues in February play on your decision to take him to court?

How much was the WWF Hotline on your radar? After all, you’re basically doing the same thing with Mean Gene on the WCW hotline.

The TV ratings at this point are insane. On February 2nd - with a main event of Randy Savage vs. Sting - Nitro draws a 4.93 rating over all 3 hours. Raw even draws a 3.45. The 7th quarter set a Monday night record with a combined 6,357,000 homes watching Scott Hall vs. Jim Neidhart on Nitro and the infamous Terry Funk & Mick Foley dumpster angle…business is booming for both companies. Were you surprised to see both shows growing?

2:06:00

On February 16th - Raw is preempted for the Westminister Dog Show. You really enjoyed when that took place didn’t you?

Nitro draws a 5.1 rating over 3 hours with the rating growing all 3 hours, from a 4.75 in hour 1, 5.2 in hour 2, and a 5.35 in hour 3. When that news comes in - you have to be pumped do you not?

The show is scheduled for the Cow Palace…we’ve discussed this before, but remind everyone about your strategy when you took over WCW. What was your strategic approach to running shows outside of the Southeast to expand WCW’s identity as a “southern promotion”?

You’ve said before that you perceived Halloween Havoc as WCW’s biggest show of the year. Where was SuperBrawl positioned in that hierarchy?

You ran SuperBrawl ‘97, ‘98’ and 2000 at the Cow Palace. Why was the venue so right for this particular event? What happened in ‘99?

2:08:48

Last thing to discuss before we get into the show…

From the Observer: “To say the behind the scenes is tumultuous would be an every day thing, but the situation has become far more extreme than usual. It is impossible to have 100 wrestlers under contract and keep them all happy under any circumstances. It's even harder here because the most talented wrestlers are used in the middle and the top slots are locked up by people who have the name power and connections and there is little upward mobility unless one of the stars brings you up to their level (as Hall, Nash and Savage did with Page, and Page is now doing with Raven and perhaps Benoit). And even worse when many of these talented wrestlers have been main eventers and big drawing cards elsewhere in their career. After being kept off TV for a few weeks with the idea he was going to be brought back with a major angle, Ric Flair returned proving he may not be the best worker in the business, but he's still the only one with the key to having a good match with Lex Luger on 2/12 in Oklahoma City. The so-called big angle took place on the 2/16 Nitro in Tampa, which turned out to be a really lame angle where he saved Bret Hart from the NWO and the two shook hands. Lame, because the crowd didn't care as the angle was flattened by the debut of Brian Adams, who nobody knew (and if they did they'd care even less) or cared about turning on Hart, and desperately needed a Flair & Hart interview to explain why they were feuding a few weeks ago and now Flair saved him.”

Not far off from what Tony Khan is dealing with currently is that right?

“Anyway, that's hardly the big story. Hulk Hogan, who to the best of our knowledge has also not signed, is playing his power up for all its worth, which is what someone in power should do. While Hogan has always been the focal point of the promotion, he's now booking his TV angles to where there are a million angles on TV, but none of them mean anything and the announcers really don't emphasize any of them except his program with his shadow, Randy Savage, and starting the tease for an eventual program with Bret Hart. Sting, Lex Luger, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, Hart and Ric Flair's programs all pale in comparison. The fact Hogan already has the biggest name, yet he gets so much television time not only live, but they replay all his interviews to death, give him video features, and the announcers basically talk about his angles and nobody elses. It's just incredibly smart usage of leverage. A few months ago, if Hogan left, it would hurt of course but WCW would still be doing big ratings and sellouts every night without him. In the past, when Hogan would leave for a few weeks, there was no difference in the ratings. They still may draw sellouts on the road if he left since they draw great whether he's booked on the house shows or not, but he's positioned things where him not being around would leave a giant hole in the company and one would think it would make a difference with the ratings”

What was the contract situation with Hulk Hogan like at the time?

SUPERBRAWL VIII: FEBRUARY 22, 1998

2:10:27

Wrestling Observer Poll Results (March 2 Edition)

Overall:

• Thumbs up 85 (75.9%)
• Thumbs down 18 (16.1%)
• In the middle 9 (08.0%)

Comparison to WWF’s No Way Out of Texas (Held one week earlier on February 15)

• Thumbs up 44 (22.1%)
• Thumbs down 127 (63.8%)
• In the middle 28 (14.1%)

Overwhelming victory for WCW this month in 1998.

Meltzer notes:

“The show drew a sellout crowd of 12,620 fans (11,954 paying a new city record

gate of $310,974 plus $127,312 in merchandise) to the outdated facility which is probably one of the world's most famous pro wrestling arenas.”

“It was a typical WCW show. On the positive sign, the booking in the top few matches was better than usual, which somewhat made up for the fact that the wrestling in those matches was non-existent. On the negative side, the undercard, while okay, was not at the level of some of the better WCW events. I saw it was a good, but not great job, which seems to have been the general consensus. The crowd heat was solid, but not spectacular, but it was a weird reacting crowd as it still seemed like San Francisco was what you'd call an ex-WWF city in that it wasn't so much a heel crowd as much as a crowd to see the ex-WWFers, most of whom are sorta heels.”

MATCHES

2:11:35

Match 1

Booker T defeats Rick Martel to win the WCW TV Title in 10:23.

Meltzer’s Take: “Martel blew out his knee early in the match, believed to have been a torn medial collateral ligament. The two ended up working a fairly good match which had a lot more heat than previous matches between the two. At one point, Martel got the boston crab on and there was a huge pop when T made the ropes. They traded a lot of near falls until Martel came off the top rope with a crossbody block but T caught him coming down with a Harlem side kick for the finisher.”

Observer Rating: **¾

Do you remember Martel’s injury playing a part in the match?

This would be near the end of Martel’s in-ring career. He leave WCW in July of ‘98, then retire a year later.

Melzter references the “huge pop” when Booker T made it to the ropes to break Martel’s Boston Crab. Did you already have the feeling that Booker T. was going to be a superstar?

2:14:03

Match 2

Booker T defeats Perry Saturn in 14:23 to retain the WCW TV Title

Meltzer’s Take: “Saturn jumped into the ring and put the Rings of Saturn on immediately but T made the ropes. Saturn got several near falls early. Both guys worked hard but there were blown and mistimed spots as well…Saturn threw a lot of big suplexes out but the match went long and they weren't getting much heat. Saturn used a quebrada in the ring but then there was a miscommunication as both went for moves at the same time and you had that time stand still hesitation. Finally Saturn went for a powerslam but his knee buckled. T came back with an Ax kick but missed a Harlem hangover. Saturn came back with a Northern Lights suplex and a german suplex, but T finally got the fall after a side kick.”

Observer Rating: *¼

This lack of heat that Melzer references, do you attribute that to Saturn specifically, or to a simple lack of chemistry between these two?

2:15:14

Match 3

Disco Inferno defeats La Parka in 11:41

Meltzer’s Take: “This was a weird match in that the work itself was good, but the crowd sees these two as Nitro undercard wrestlers and was bored with them in 3:00. After that point, there were boring chants as they were doing high spots…Parka held a lengthy chinlock trying to build heat for Disco, but that didn't work either. Parka did another tope, but later missed a shoulderblock and hit the post. Disco came back with a reverse atomic drop, a well-timed clothesline and a swinging neckbreaker for a near fall. Ref Scott Dickinson sold as if he'd been thumbed in the eye and Parka brought the chair [into] the ring. After a lot of struggling, Disco slammed Parka off the top rope where he crashed into the chair, and hit the chartbuster for the finish. Naturally the finish, being Steve Austin's move, got a huge pop.”

Observer Rating: **¼

It seemed that Disco and La Parka were working their asses off for most of this match. Why don’t you think they connected with the audience?

Meltzer brings up a good point in his discussion of Disco’s finishing move. Obviously no one person has a monopoly on a particular wrestling move. But certain moves do become so closely associated with certain guys that they become inextricable. In this era when Austin is SO hot, why have Disco or anyone else, for that matter, do a move that will remind you of the competition?

2:16:18

JJ Dillon Interview

Next up, we see JJ Dillon come out and announce that Nick Patrick would be reinstated. Patrick acted as if he was going to ref the main event between Sting and Hogan, but Dillon emphatically refuses to let that happen.

Meltzer writes: “The original plan here was to get a famous lawyer from the most famous trial in recent history involved who would show up at the PPV and legally "bully" Dillon into reinstating Patrick for the main event rather than Dillon having to basically reverse positions with no logical reason at all (other then the logic of Patrick never fast counting in the first place). Johnnie Cochran was the first choice, but when that didn't materialize, they completed a deal for Robert Shapiro (I'm not making this up). Anyway, a few days before the show, Shapiro must have been talking with someone about doing it and the person told Shapiro how associating with pro wrestling would affect his image so he backed out at the last minute, leaving WCW with no way to transition angle A to angle C. After Shapiro nixed the deal, WCW made a last-ditch attempt to get Cochran, who claimed to have liked the idea and would have been willing to do it, but darn those previous commitments.”

What were the negotiations with OJ Simpson’s lawyers Johnny Cochran and Robert Shaprio for this angle?

2:17:40

Match 4

Bill Goldberg defeats Bard Armstrong in 2:23

Meltzer’s Take: “Goldberg added an overhead front suplex to his arsenal. Armstrong used his Russian leg sweep finisher which Goldberg no-sold before going to the finish. It was what it needed to be. “

Observer Rating: *

To Meltzer’s point, was this just to continue building the unstoppable machine that was Bill Goldberg?

2:18:35

Match 5

Chris Jericho retains the WCW Cruiserweight Title and wins Juventud Gurrera’s mask in 13:29

Meltzer’s Take: “Guerrera, who was really upset about losing his mask under these circumstances, wore ‘Juvi 4ever’ on his tights. This was easily the best match on the show…The two went back-and-forth with great near falls and reversals, the highlight being when Guerrera reversed Jericho's Lion tamer into a front cradle. At that point Guerrera went for a huracanrana, but Jericho caught him in mid-air and turned it into a Lion tamer for the submission. Guerrera unmasked, and there was a noticeable female pop when his mask came off, but unlike in Mexico the unmasking wasn't really emphasized at all nor did he mention his real name and reveal his identity. The reason Guerrera at first kept his hair in front of his face when he unmasked was because he wanted to hide the fact he was crying, particularly when he said how much he loved his father since this really was a big deal to him and his family even though WCW doesn't give a rats ass about wrestling or family tradition anywhere else.”

Observer Rating: ***¾

What’s Juventud’s reaction when he comes back through the curtain? Was he really crying as Meltzer suggests?

It seems a little silly, but do you remember the female reaction meaning anything here? After all, we’ve seen several guys play up that pretty boy-lover character.

What did Jericho think about participating in an angle that went against Lucha tradition?

2:21:31

Match 6

Davey Boy Smith defeats Steve McMichael in 6:10

Meltzer’s Take: “McMichael went into the match with a legitimate broken wrist or forearm. To explain the injury, they did this match where McMichael punched the ringpost and Smith smashed the hand on the steps and guard rail before putting a wristlock on. The finish was exactly the same as the Guy Mezger-Satoshi Hasegawa match on the 12/20 Pancrase show with Smith telling him to submit because the arm is going to break and McMichael refusing and finally the ref stopping the match. After the match, McMichael was furious claiming he never submitted and shoved Scott Dickinson down. That part, obviously, didn't occur in the Pancrase match. As usual, McMichael was awful.”

Observer Rating: DUD

What do you remember about Mongo’s injury here?

Meltzer is critical of Mongo’s performance. Were you disappointed in his in-ring work by February ‘98?

The match Meltzer is referencing is the Guy Mezger-Satoshi Hasegawa match held on December 20, 1997 in Yokohama, Japan for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. Pancrase hybrid wrestling is a mixed martial arts form started in 1993 by Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki, and Ken Shamrock.

Is there any credence to Meltzer’s connection between this match and the Pancrase match? How often did you look to MMA for creative inspiration?

2:22:47

Match 7

Diamond Dallas Page retains the US Title defeating Chris Benoit in 15:46

Meltzer’s Take: “The crowd didn't seem to know how to react since neither of these guys were former WWFers. Toward the finish things picked up with Page doing a superplex off the top rope and a clothesline off the top for near falls. Benoit came back with the crossface but Page made the ropes. Page hit a belly-to-belly for a near fall. Benoit came back with three rolling german suplexes for a near falls. When Page kicked out of the third german suplex, the crowd actually booed hoping it would be a win. Page hit a DDT for a near fall and then got the pin after the diamond cutter.”

Observer Rating: ***¼

Multiple times in his recap of this show, Meltzer references “former WWFers” being lenses through which fans appreciated WCW talent. I know that sounds kind of silly. But the foundational idea was part of the nWo invasion angle. How do you both play with and subvert that WWF legacy?

2:25:11

Match 8

Lex Luger defeats Randy Savage in 7:26 of a no DQ match

Meltzer’s Take: “Fans were totally for Savage and chanting ‘Luger sucks.’ Perhaps the biggest pop of the entire show came when Luger racked Savage, and Elizabeth did a run-in raking Luger's eyes. At this point the NWO "B" team (Bagwell, Vincent, Scott Norton and Brian Adams) did a run-in, but Luger and Savage teamed together to fight them off. The bell rang at this point, which made no sense since it was a no DQ match. Hogan then showed up and Luger racked Savage again. Hogan told the NWO group not to interfere and that he wanted to see Savage get beat, and Savage submitted and the bell rang a second time. There was never an explanation as to why the bell rang the first time.”

Observer Rating: ¾*

Is the fans’ love of Savage one of the main reasons you turn Savage to feud with Hogan in the coming months?

Luger is one of your top babyfaces in the era. Why isn’t he getting over fans?

What happened with the ringing of the bell?

2:26:00

Match 9

The Outsider regain the WCW Tag Team Titles defeating the Steiner Brothers in 4:16

Meltzer’s Take: “This wasn't a match at all, just a backdrop for the angle of Scott Steiner going heel. The angle itself was really good. Scott had come out looking mad and teasing the turn big-time. After knocking the Outsiders out of the ring, Rick was running around and kneeled on the ground like a dog with Scott on top of him. Scott then turned on him to a huge face-like reaction. He also decked Ted DiBiase, who was then posted by Dusty Rhodes. Hall went to pin Rick who kicked out the first time, then fought his way out of the corner. Scott wouldn't tag him, and he ended up being overpowered. Hall went for the edge, but simply couldn't lift him the first time, but got him the second time for the pin. Scott then threw ref Dickinson, who seemed to have been having a bad night by this point, out of the ring. Funny thing was after cheering his turn, when Scott gave the NWO hand signal and climbed on the ropes, the crowd booed him heavily.”

Observer Rating: *¼

With a major turn like Scott Steiner’s here, why do it in a match, as opposed to an interview angle, for example?

Meltzer points out that the fans booed Scott Steiner. At this point, the nWo has been red hot and fans have been eating them up. Is there any concern that now you’ve picked a new guy to become a major part of the nWo and the fans don’t want him?

2:29:30

Match 10

Sting regains the vacant WCW Title defeating Hollywood Hogan in 16:32

Meltzer’s Take: “Since Hogan books his own programs, it was no doubt his own insistence to swerve people at the last minute. But since he was doing the job, he dominated virtually the entire match. The negative of that is his offense is beyond bad. Match was saved by having a very good storyline. With the match at its most pathetic, Tony Schiavone screamed how this was Hogan at his best. Hogan never left his feet until one three stage lame bump from a reverse atomic drop. Sting whipped him four times with a belt but then fighting outside the ring, Sting missed the Stinger splash on the floor and crashed into the guard rail. But back in the ring, Sting used a Stinger splash and got the scorpion on, but Hogan made the ropes. Sting went for another Stinger splash, but ref Charles Robinson got caught in the middle and that was the end of him. Of course Patrick came running down, while Hogan legdropped Sting. Patrick counted and Sting kicked out. Hogan got mad at Patrick for not counting fast. Hogan started throwing punches and Patrick stopped Hogan from throwing them. Most of the rest of the match saw Hogan go for pins, not get them, and argue with Patrick about them. Finally Sting made the superman comeback with two Stinger splashes and went for the reverse DDT. On the way down, Hogan kicked Patrick, who went down. At this point the NWO stooge squad of Konnan, Norton, Bagwell and Vincent ran out, with Sting taking them all out. While this was going on, Savage hit the ring and KO'd Hogan with a spray can. Patrick revived and counted as Sting pinned Hogan. Hogan sold the blow for several minutes allowing Sting to spray paint "WCW" on Hogan's back as the show went off the air.”

Observer Rating: ½*

Eric, did you ever feel that Hogan was bored by this point? Did ever feel to you that he was sort-of ‘phoning it in’ by having the same match over and over?

Are you feeling Tony the lines about Hogan’s performance, or is that just Tony seizing the moment?

I know we’re going with Hogan versus Savage after this, but did Sting’s victory feel cheapened by having Savage hit Hogan with the spray can?

After the year-plus build up, did Sting feel that finally getting his victory over Hogan for the title was cheapened?

Eric, what were your personal takeaways from this show? How did they influence you going forward?