WCW '96: After the Bash...

[EZE]

Closing Moments of Bash At the Beach ‘96

The Macho Man Randy Savage took flight, leaping from the top rope to deliver the flying double axe handle to the back of Scott Hall on the outside of the ring against the railings. The Outsider looked dazed and in serious jeopardy as Savage dragged him up to his feet by the hair and rolled him under the bottom rope into the ring. Savage clambered in after him and positioned the man formerly known in the WWF as Razor Ramon before pointing to the sky. Savage climbed the turnbuckle.

Tony Schivone: Yes! This is it, Savage is going for the Elbow. Where’s your third man now Outsiders! Where’s your third man now!

Bobby Heenan: Oh my god, Hall just pushed the referee through the ropes!

Savage seeing Hall get up on his knees, hops down off the turnbuckle and kicks out at the back of Hall collapsing the outsider near the turnbuckle when something tugs at the Macho Mans wrestling tights. He turns round and Kevin Nash who had been laid out for a good few minutes in the ring pulls up tight against Savage and hits a double axe handle up between the legs of the craziest man in world championship wrestling. Savage grabs his crown jewels and collapses to the mat. Nash looks around a bit dazed then collapses back down again as the referee climbs back in the ring.

Dusty Rhodes:   Everyones down. Lugers gone, Stings out on the floor, Savage – he gonna be talking in a high voice tomorrow lemme tell you that! But the outsiders they aint moving…

Whats that? Whose that coming through the curtain Bobby..

I don’t believe it… they said they had a third man right? Are we sure they didn’t mean ‘three men’? Because we got three men coming out here!

The crowds stir and excitement is caused by an enormous bald tattood man dressed in a full bodied one piece wrestling get up with fire designs on it, standing at about 6’3’’ emerges with two other men flanking him. One man with a diamond on his trunks, the other instantly recognisable for his trimmed blond hair and strong face.

Bam Bam Bigelow.. the last time we saw him he was in the… he was in the competition! Shane Douglas! Dallas Page! What are these three doing. Surely not! Dallas has been WCW for years!

Think about it Schivone.. Page could be the brains of it all! He has managed both of the Outsiders in WCW!

Bigelow, Douglas and Dallas Page arrive at ringside and start getting into the ring. Both Hall and Nash catch sight of the trio and look alarmed, retreating into corners of the ring which causes confusion amongst the commentators and the fans that pop for the three men. Page helps up Randy Savage and pats him on the back but then unleashes a Diamond Cutter to more consternation amongst the fans.

He sold us out! He sold WCW out!

The entire locker room should get out there and kick their asses!

Shane Douglas is giving the trademark laugh that he became known for in Extreme Championship Wrestling as he picks up Savage and hits the Pittsburgh Plunge. Bigelow bounces off the ropes and drops a headbutt to the poor face painted wrestler. Nash and Hall’s look of shock has slipped into cautious smiles and they get up nodding there heads and shouting “yeah” at the trio who had come to their aid. Until Nash got Diamond Cuttered that is…

What.. Whats going on? If they’re not with WCW, and they’re not with the Outsiders… this is mind boggling Tony!

Hall tried to fight his ground but Bigelow rail roads him in the corner with a big splash and Douglas grabs him as he staggers out delivering a Pittsburgh Plunge to him. Sting pulled himself up onto the apron long enough for Bigelow to elbow him off it. Douglas positions Hall infront of the turnbuckle and slaps Bigelow on the chest pointing to the top rope.

Apparently Shane Douglas is calling the shots out there…

The bemused fans don’t quite know how to respond and some boo and some cheer the assault on the Outsiders. Bigelow goes onto the apron and climbs up to the top rope extending his arms like Christ before pushing off dropping through the air like a missile his bald head crashing into the ribs of the outsider. Mean Gene Okerlund, always the man to get a scoop has braved the ring and his voice comes over the PA system as he tried to approach Douglas, DDP and Bigelow who pose and celebrate.

“Shane.. Douglas! What on earth is going on here! Your not scheduled to be here! Your not even with this company! Your not with the outsiders! So what is going on!”

“Gene… haha! Hold it right there. You can bet your liver spotted bald head that I’m not with these two jabronis. These two beatnicks. And I sure as hell ain’t with Dubya C Dubya, they threw me to the wolves a lotta years ago and I ain’t forgotten. I ain’t forgiven. You see what stands before you today are three men who have been royally shafted by promoters up and down this country. We got the talent, we got the brains and we got the balls to carry any company in this god damn world. WWF, WCW, ECW it doesn’t matter we can carry it because we’re that good. But because… shut your face fatso… because we got all the talent in the world, it seems the suits in New York, the stiff asses in Atlanta and that dirt feeding piece of trash in Philidelphia are running scared Let me flesh out the image for you. We got Bam Bam Bigelow here… who just last year headlined WrestleMania against Lawrence Taylor. This guy was running wild in the WWF but this guy right here on the floor. Kevin Nash. Him and those other cock-suckers in the clique… they couldn’t let him have his time in the sun. So not only did they steal his thunder by having the other main event match but it wasn’t long after this wrestlemania match that he got forced out! Nash hey, how does it feel. Bigelow spent four years warning McMahon how much of an arsehole you were, how does it feel to finally be out of New York and lieing on your backside  at the hands of the Beast from the East? What else have we got? Oh yea, Diamond Dallas Page…

Page gives the ‘bang’ sign behind Okerlund and double high fives Bam Bam Bigelow. Some litter is being thrown into the ring.

This guy gave Hall and Nash there starts in this business and he gave WCW a lot of loyal years of service! He’s been busting his ass at the beginning of shows for too long. He’s been disrespected. He’s got a finisher which he can hit from any angle he damn well pleases. This ain’t no god damn enhancement talent, hes the freaking main event. And then theres me… The Franchise.

Douglas pauses to look in disgust at the crowd. A bottle of soda is thrown and it splatters all over Mene Gene okerlund and the self-proclaimed ‘Franchise’. Okerlund wipes his face but Douglas doesn’t blink.

Picture the scene, here I was just four short years ago. November 18th, 1992 Macon GA. I had just won the World Tag Team Titles in this company with a living legend Ricky Steamboat. I was on the verge of breaking out as the new Franchise of WCW, the new Nature Boy! But no… no Slick Ric had the book and for all his sweet words of compliments that he gave me after each match I had he held me down, he held me back. He chose to keep himself on top rather than let the future of the business rise up. But Ric, unlike fine wines you don’t get better with age. You were abysmal in 1990, you’re a downright disgrace in 1996. Ive spent four years calling your wrinkly ass out in ECW, a company Ive carried for almost four years on my own back… and you’ve been ignoring me this whole time. You’re a coward Flair. Your no better than Hogan, than Hall, Nash any of these politicions. But that’s going to change, starting from now. And we’re going to change it. You see just like the Triumvirate of Pompey, Caesar and Crassus took control of Ancient Rome in 60BC. This modern day bad ass Triumvirate is going to take over our own empire, we’re taking over World Championship Wrestling to get what were due… and there’s nothing anybody in this freaking organisation or in this crowd can do about it. Smile. You’ve just been blessed with the presence of the Franchise, the Beast from the East and the King of Badda Bing…Hahaha!

The WCW Copyright information faded onto the picture as the Triumvirate strut about the litter strewn ring and the Bash at the Beach 1996 goes off the air. The world was buzzing, but nobody had any idea just how far Shane Douglas' shoot went. For after the Bash at the Beach '96... Everything Changed.

[EZE]

Locker Room Eavesdrop

After the Bash goes off the Air

Eric Bischof’s makeshift office for the nights event is crowded by wrestlers and management alike as arguably the most controversial night in the promotions history has come to an end. On one side of the room Eric is with Nash, Hall and the so-called Triumvirate of Bam Bam Bigelow, Shane Douglas and Diamond Dallas Page. On the other side is Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. They are not happy people. Flair especially.

Flair: Eric I was happy to take a couple of steps down for the good of this company, to let Kevin and Scot have the spotlight. But this was not the deal! This was not the angle. What the hell happened to Hogan? Where is he?

Eric: Look I tried to explain earlier, his flight got cancelled he couldn’t get out here in time…

Flair: No you screwed me Eric, whose idea was it to give Douglas the mic? On pay-per-view Bischof!

Douglas: Nobody knew what I was going to say Slicky Dicky so you calm down. What a matter can’t take the flack? I told you I’d be back ha-ha!

Eric: Shane, don’t make this situation worse. Ric we had a problem. We promised to deliver something big tonight but the flight cancellation threw a wrench into those plans. We had to think on our feet, we threw this together with an hour to go. It could have been anybody but Shane and Bigelow were in the city. You saw the reaction! It tore the house down!

Flair: If he stays I walk! I’m Ric Flair damnit and I deserve to be treated better than this. I bet Vince would treat me better than you’ve done these last couple of years…

Eric: Hey Ric, I can see your angry but don’t do anything stupid. Your locked in for another two years we’re not letting you out. If this is going to be such a problem for you just go home, cool off, we’ll get in touch in a few weeks and we’ll sort things out. But right now we’re moving in a new direction. We’ve got momentum and I won’t jeopardise the whole company for the ego of one man.

Flair: Oh your going to hear from my attorneys, I’ll sue each and every one of you over what happened out there!

Flair then left, slamming the door behind him. Arn, Benoit and Guerrero were as stunned as anybody in that office at what had happened, though Nash, Hall and Douglas found the situation more funny than troublesome. Nash shouted to Arn.

Nash: Hey Double A, where you stand? You going to run off with your tail between your legs?

AA: We’ll stay… we’re not happy but we’ll stay. We’re company men, but I can’t believe you pulled this. Its nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt. You haven’t made a star out of Douglas. You’ve made an embarrassment out of Flair.

[jayden]

Interestin but just a few points.

Firstly I don't think the ring would have been litter strewn just because three guys WCW fans didn't care about came out to the ring and interrupted the match. They only got that reaction in real life coz it was Hogan.

Also I'm not too sure that Douglas would have been up for working so closely with Hall and Nash after everythin that went down in WWF before he left.

I know you passed off what Douglas said as a shoot but in 1996 calling someone a cocksucker and mentioning the words ECW or WWF would get you fired, not a main event spot. Even in 96, when Hogan gave his speech he called the WWF "that big organisation up North, brutha" and never referred to them as the WWF.

It was easy to push Hall and Nash as main eventers right from the get go. It's almost impossible to push Page from so low down in the card to a main eventer overnight. Same goes for Douglas. Most WCW fans would remember him for his tag title reign with Steamboat but they would certainly not see him as someone who should be up in the main event just yet.

Fans would have found the whole thing too confusing, and wouldn't have bought those three fairly small stars as the "huge surprise".

Incidentally, what happened to the Outsiders third man? They said they had one. Where was he?

Other than that it should make for interesting reading though. I just think it's too difficult and unbelievable push those three up to that level in the space of about 10 minutes.

[EZE]

Heh Jayden you picked up on the points which I was hoping people would pick at and chew at. Firstly Im glad it doesnt appear to be sound booking because its not - as Eric says "hogans flight got cancelled".. he had to do something, and spur of the moment is never going to be as well thought out and effective as something well planned. It would of had far less effect than Hogans turn but thats the intention (on my part anyway. Erics just scraping for something, anything). Remember the link between the Outsiders and Douglas is DDP. Who was the only Triumvirate guy on the roster? DDP. Nash and Hall are good friends with DDP and in real life they were soon going to put him over huge (when he DIamond Cutters Scot Hall on Nitro after turning down a spot in the nWo). I dont want to give everything away right now. Just recognise this is WCW were talking about. It doesnt always make sense. But the next couple of shows will fill in the answers to some of your questions. Who says the Triumvirate are main eventers? at them oment they are foul mouthed - christ almighty but I hope the 'encore presentation' bleeps out some of what Douglas said. The litter is because Flair even tho he was a heel on the night of Bash at the Beach is still a beloved figure. And Shanes taking some quite personal shots. Also theyve attacked the top faces in the organisation as well. Plus... like you said. The fans dont particularly care about the trio right that minute but will be nontheless frustrated that theyve been 'swerved' that no third man came out. Ive seen litter thrown in dissapointment and disgust before at shows ive been to This is meant to be confusing. But things will hopefully begin to make some kind of sense. Or in grand WCW fashion... they'll just carry on like the last few weeks never happened lol.

BTW as a result of Douglas' unscripted shoot, Flair has gone AWOL (the hiring of Douglas didnt please him at all on EWR) and his absence.. as US Champion will also have to be hastily explained away on the coming shows by WCW. Think of the situation as Vince Russo & Hulk Hogan in 2000. We may not see Flair for a while, if ever again in WCW.

p.s. as to your comment about not making douglas a main eventer in ten minutes... this quote from Double A Arn Anderson should highlight that issue

AA: We’ll stay… we’re not happy but we’ll stay. We’re company men, but I can’t believe you pulled this. Its nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt. You haven’t made a star out of Douglas. You’ve made an embarrassment out of Flair.

Edited October 13, 2004 by EZE

[jayden]

yeah never thought of it like that. the rubbish in the ring could indeed have been from the disappointment of not seeing somethin that was hugely stellar, and getting douglas, bigelow and page instead.

as for everything else you've said there it makes sense. Bischoff was backed into a corner with Hogan not making it and panicked. WCW were definitely not a promotion who ever had a backup plan lol. I loved them to bits, but their booking could be questionable at the best of times.

However, I can understand you saying that nobody ever said the the Triumverate are actually main eventers but havin them run out like that in such a huge main event kinda hints they might be.

I'm not saying you can't get them over like that, just that in reality this would have gone one of two ways. 1. the fans would have been intrigued and wanted to see what happened next or 2. the fans wouldn't have bought it at all, would have felt cheated and completely rejected the angle and switched off.

You've certainly set yourself a challenge in making sure it's number one and not number two.

Personally from a purely fan point of view who knows what he would like to see, instead of what is realistic, then I would have found that show intriguing and would have been desperate to see what happened the following night on Nitro.

So, as I'm now a fan of your diary that's basically where I sit, intrigued and desperate to see what happens on Nitro, so get on with it

[Godfatha]

I agree with Jayden and it just seems like you're covering for the trio not getting a big reaction. It seems rather far fetched as the fans wouldn't care about the trio, they'd rather see bigger stars than the guy who lost to LT and Dean Douglas. Keep in mind that Nash and Hall would get heat but Douglas, DDP and Bigelow would barely get any heat.

As for a third guy, why not have Flair?

It's too chaotic to have two invading groups. It was chaotic as it was with just the nWo and now to have both groups on the show? It won't do either group justice and the show will be focused on those two groups alone.

[TheYoungOne]

I haven't posted on here since the new boards opened I don't think, so, I'm no nOOb, i just haven't been aroudn recently!

I think what EZE has done is interesting rely. Reading the backstory, you expect Hogan to be coming out, and then you read of 3 men coming out. Then you realise it is Douglas, Bam Bam and Page.

Who expected that to happen? Who has done that before in a diary?

Its different, and whilst it may be a little strange to push these 3, there is method there, and i'm looking forward to how it goes.

[Steve Corino]

An EZE diary is generally a good read, and I'll be interested to read this one.

[VinceMcMahonForPresident]

Definitely some interesting theories. taking the most successful angle in wrestling history and doing that with it

Few things:

I doubt many fans of WCW would really recognize Shane Douglas as The Franchise. If anything, he's the Dynamic Dude. The WCW fan of 1996 is VERY different than the one from 1992. And Ric Flair was the World Wrestling Federation Champion in September 1992

And DDP was barely above jobber status in July 1996. He had just won Battle Bowl and main eventing wasnt even a hint

Think about it Schivone.. Page could be the brains of it all! He has managed both of the Outsiders in WCW!

[EZE]

Thanks for your kind words SteveCorino! To Vince, I realise WCW fans may of recognised Douglas as the Dynamic Dude if they remembered him, but he introduces HIMSELF as the Franchise. And Shane does comment about DDP wrestling on the opening of shows....

And the meeting wasnt kayfabed, obviously. But writing backstage stuff isnt a thing ive done regularly in the past so it may come out a bit plastic at first. But a few points I find just being a bit picky. This isnt real life. This is an interpretation starting in the grand WCW fashion of pulling something wildly unpredictable, and less exciting.... But now theyve gotta recover from this and find a direction. Two updates to follow - a WrestleZine (yes its back!) article and the Nitro preview.

[EZE]

MONDAY NIGHT NITRO PREVIEW

Moday 5th August 1996

It has been eight days since the controversial events of the Bash at the Beach on pay-per-view that left WCW in turmoil and fans in confusion. Tonight we look for some answers. Tonight we will be expecting a major announcement regarding the next WCW Pay-per-view "Hog Wild".

The Questions we hope to get answered: Where was, and was there ever a Third Man that the outsiders Hall and Nash were supposed to bring in as their partner? What has happened to Ric Flair and the United States Title after speculation of major happenings taking place this week. And also, will we find out who the number one contender for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, held by The Giant, is?

Tune in to the hottest thing on television for double title action! The WCW Tag Team Titles are on the line as Sister Sherri's Harlem Heat face the American Males... and WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko takes on japanese sensation Ultimo Dragon. Also on the show, the Giant will be in non-title action!

[PsychoMike]

I really like this. It's very well written and a really cool idea. A bit unrealistic but atleast you thought out why Hogan couldn't be their and they had to scramble. Plus I like unrealistic things. So i'll be sure to keep reading. Good job so far and I hope this goes on for a long long time to come.

[EZE]

Monday Night Nitro

August 5th 1996

Live from the Allstate Arena, Chicago Illinois

Not the Plan…

Turner Network Television switches over to a live feed from the parking lot area of the Allstate Arena in Chicago, sight of tonight’s Monday Night Nitro, the first one since the Bash at the Beach eight days previously. The lot is lit up by street lamps and two figures pacing back and forth immediately draw attention. The camera focuses in on the two revealing an irate Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Nash grabs a trash can and propels it across the parking lot in frustration repeating over and over again “That wasn’t the plan! That wasn’t the plan!”. It seems we haven’t seen the back of the two ‘outsiders’. (82%)

An Apology from WCW

The opening credits roll for WCW Monday Night Nitro and the picture opens inside the arena with a series of explosions on the Nitro stage set before the camera cuts to a medium close up of the Nitro Broadcast Booth where Tony Schivone, Bobby Heenan and Larry “The Living Legend” Zbysko are standing. Larry turns away from the camera and waves at the crowd who are giving a “Larry” chant. Schivone looks serious.

Tony Schivone: Welcome ladies and gentlemen to another edition of Monday Night Nitro. Thankyou for being with us this evening. As many of you will know eight days ago at the Bash at the Beach pay-per-view we we’re scheduled to have a ‘Hostile Takeover’ match in which those outsiders you saw at the beginning of the program would introduce their third man… a man they claimed was defecting from WCW. However what happened was that three men, two who were not even employed by World Championship Wrestling came out and disrupted the show. What followed we must apologise profusely for. WCW did not authorise and do not condone the actions and language of Shane Douglas. Due to the profanity we have been advised that all encore presentations of the Bash at the Beach will now only be aired under an older certificate and therefore we can not show you footage of the incident. What happened left everyone shocked…

Larry Zbysko What it was, was a disgrace. In all my long years in professional wrestling I’ve never seen such garbage. This trifector, or triumvirate whatever their calling themselves should be ashamed. They spat in the face of this business and the legends of this sport…

Obviously Larry is talking about what Douglas said about Ric Flair… the situation as it stands right now fans is Ric Flair has developed some legal issues with WCW Management which we are not at liberty to discuss and will not be back on WCW programming for the foreseeable future… we hope for him to be back here on Nitro as soon as possible but we don’t know when that will be. As a result the United States Title he won at the Bash at the Beach from Konnan has been upheld by WCW Vice President Eric Bischof and its future will be announced a little later on in tonight’s show.

Bobby HeenanThat’s not all though Schivone, the WCW World Heavyweight Champion the Giant is here tonight!

That’s right, the Giant is in non-title action against Brutus Beefcake but right now lets go ringside for Cruiserweight Title action!

Oono Proves his Worth in Yen

Ultimo Dragon d. Dean Malenko © for the WCW Cruiserweight Title

Ultimo Dragon opted out of the NJPW Octuple Crown Tournament in Japan to work tonight’s Monday Nitro. Apparently NJPW were shocked by this decision as he was favourite to win the prestigious tournament, but his decision appears now to of been far sighted as Ultimo Dragon, with Sonny Oono accompanying him arrived in Chicago a little known but highly praised Japanese talent… and walked out World Cruiserweight Champion.

Dean Malenko who only a few short weeks ago had regained the belt in a thrilling contest with the masked luchadore sensation Rey Mysterio Jr came into the match with a lot of momentum and the early exchanges suggested the far more powerful American. Malenko, we are reminded by Schivone is an unconventional cruiserweight, a more technically sound man who was nicknamed by Zbysko as ‘The Man of a Thousand Holds’. He showed some sound technique by taking out the knee of Ultimo Dragon, catching his attempted Asai Moonsault and driving the knee into the mat before sitting on it in a half crab. This grounded Dragon for the majority of the match, a match which lasted longer than anyone was expecting perhaps in order to showcase the ability of the athletes more… or perhaps because WCW still didn’t know what to do with the rest of the show and they just kept telling them to ‘go go go’. Dragon fought back thanks to his manager Sonny Oono tripping Malenko, stalling him for a few moments allowing Dragon to get his breath before nailing a straight martial arts kick into his jaw sending him through the ropes to the outside. Cue a sensational suicide dive over the top rope laying both men out on the floor which popped the crowd. The action returned to the ring where a hectic series of holds and counterholds ended in Ultimo running up the turnbuckle and flipping over the back of Dean Malenko, catching him in the Dragon Sleeper and after a few moments scoring the tap out victory.

Sonny Oono slipped into the ring and stole the title off the referee and hopped up and down around Ultimo Dragon as he got his hand raised and was presented with the title. Dragon seemed to revere it for a moment placing a hand on the title plate before standing up and letting Sonny put it around his waist. (65/62/85)

Blimey Tony! The Dragon has got an enormous upset victory over the Man of aThousand Holds.. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that, no disrespect to the Japanese cruiserweight. But a lot more people will be sitting up and taking notice, myself included!

Ultimo Dragon, with a little help from his manager Sonny Oono along the way...

I guess you could say he’s earning his Yen?

Please… folks we’ll be coming back after this commercial break

*****Advertisement for Hog Wild from the Sturgis Rally and Race 25th August*****

The Triumvirate Strike.. uh..Shoot Again…

We return from the commercial break when the lights dim and the sound of galloping horses come over the sound system as the music for the Four Horsemen begin to play. The crowd boo as Steve “Mongo” McMichael, Debra McMichael, Chris Benoit, Woman and Arn Anderson come walking out in expensive attire. However the boos are suddenly redirected when the male trio of the group are waylaid from behind by Bam Bam Bigelow, “Lord of the Ring” Diamond Dallas Page and the self-proclaimed “Franchise” Shane Douglas. The Triumvirate put the boots to the three and Bigelow rams McMichael into the railings causing his wife to scream in horror and bash her fists into the back of the bald Beast from the East. He turns round and shoves her down, whilst Woman knows better and keeps a distance standing protectively over Chris Benoit who had felt a Diamond Cutter on the rampway when DDP came out from the curtain. Arn Anderson put up a fight with Shane Douglas but was soon beaten down by the numbers and Douglas drove him head first into the railings leaving him laying on the aisle floor. (77%, DDP +2, Mongo +1)

Security! There’s never security around when you need it!

The Triumvirate climb up into the ring and DDP bullies the ring announcer for a microphone but Mean Gene Okerlund makes his way to the ring cautiously and approaches the three. Bigelow stands menacingly over the back of the most famous interviewer in wrestling, the man with all the scoops!

Okerlund: “Shan…”

“Okerlund! Before you go any further just you look around yourself. See who your in the ring with and consider your words carefully..!”

It was Douglas who had grabbed the microphone, still in Okerlunds hands to issue that warning. Gene looks about and seems to swallow nervously but noticeably gets some courage.

Okerlund: “No, Shane Douglas, you look around yourself and recognise that your in a WCW ring! A place you have no right to be in!

Douglas: “Hahaha! Gene you got grape fruits and I like it. So! Rather than my Diamond Cutting friend here teaching you some respect, I’m going to give you the scoop of a life time. I’m going to let you ask me one question… and that question is Why Ric Flair isn’t with the Horsemen? Go on Mean Gene, ask me!”

Okerlund rolls his eyes and repeats the question to Douglas. Bigelow has turned away from Okerlund, DDP and Douglas to mouth off to some fans on the far side of the ring.

“Because he ain’t got the grapefruits you’ve shown me tonight! You see, at the Bash at the Beach I made some… haha… unscripted comments about Flair and hes decided to take his ball and go home. That’s your legend. That’s this companies franchise for you. But it doesn’t matter because WCW has a new franchise in the shape of Shane Douglas!”

Okerlund: “But… why attack the Horsemen, what did they do to you or these two?”

Douglas:“Guilt by association Gene! Arn, Mongo, Benoit…. When you chose to be the muscle for the Nature Boy, you also chose to be the fall guys in his absence. I’ve been calling out Ric Flair for years. But just when I show up on the scene he goes and runs for the Carolina Hills… well boys, I got a backup plan of action. And what it involves is me… we… as the Triumvirate usurping the position of Ric Flair and the Horsemen. What you just saw was the first shots across the bow… and I gotta warn ya. If Bongo, Christine and the Bald Goon want more of the Triumvirate… well… they’ll get franchised hahaha!”

DDP takes the microphone and jabs a finger in Okerlunds face.

DDP: “I got a question for all these fickle idiots in the crowd who suddenly turned into Horsemen fans when we jumped them. What have the Horsemen done lately? Whats Benoit done? Whats McMichael done? Whats Double A done? Nothing! I’m Lord of the Ring! I got the most deadly move in wrestling today. Any angle, moving or stationary when I hit the Diamond Cutter its BANG! Game over. Nobody gets up!”

Douglas:“We’re not going anywhere. We’ve got a point to prove and we will prove it over anybody that gets in our way. You can take that to the bank!” (84%, Douglas +3)

Can you Dig it…?

Harlem Heat © w/Sister Sherri d. American Males to retain World Tag Titles

Dear me, but Larry Zbysko was using some long and confusing words to describe his anger at the insults of the Triumvirate to the Horsemen. Remember eight days ago the Horsemen were almost as bad as those outsiders Hall and Nash. How the fickle booking wind in this promotion changes. Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Scotty Riggs entered into this match seemingly overlooked by Harlem Heat who we were informed by Schivone will be facing the Road Warriors at Hog Wild. However big mistake because the champions almost lost their belts inside the first few minutes of the match when Bagwell got a roll up on Booker T.

But it was only for two and a melee of the four wrestlers ended up with Stevie Ray back tossing Riggs to the floor below, though it appeared accidental with Stevie Ray not knowing his positioning in the ring and so his side were not disqualified. Bagwell suffered at the hands of an inverted atomic drop by Stevie Ray followed by a leg lariat by Booker T as Sister Sherri shrieked on from the outside. Harlem Heat retained their titles in inglorious fashion when Sherri passed one of her high heels to Stevie Ray who hit Scotty Riggs, then legal man, in the eye apparently. Riggs stumbled and bent double holding his eye and Booker hit the axe kick for the three count. Credit to the American Males for bringing their A game as this was a very good tag team match with all the old school action in their. (63/64/78)

Harlem Heat continue winning ways, whether you like it or not. And I sincerely don’t… but right now. We’ve been waiting all night for this. WCW Vice President Eric Bischof is standing by with an announcement regarding the United States Title

Eric Bischof is standing in front of a massive set, a wall covered in various motorbike paraphanalia and the words “Hog Wild” featured prominently. There is a pedestal to the WCW Vice Presidents side with a briefcase on it. Bischof, dressed smartly in a suit address’ the viewing public.

Bischof: “Wrestling fans of all ages, I won’t keep you from the show for any longer than necessary. I am here tonight in my position as WCW Executive Vice President to announce that the United States Title, held by Nature Boy Ric Flair has been upheld… and that we shall be having a 13 Man “United States” Heavyweight Title Tournament. And what better place to crown a United States Champion than in the heart of Americana, at the Sturgis Rally and Race, venue for WCW’s next pay-per-view Hog Wild. This will be a two stage tournament. At Hog Wild ten men will compete in a ‘Last Chance’ battle royal with the winner advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament later that night. The other three semi-finalists will be decided over the coming Nitro shows. We will have three qualifiers. In the first qualifier in tonights main event, Curt Henning will face Big Bubba Rogers. Next week the flamboyant fan favourite Johnny B Badd will compete against the best of British, Lord Steven Regal. And the third qualifier? Well at a special request by Arn Anderson to represent the ex-champion… it will be Arn Anderson… against… Shane Douglas. The losers of these three matches will still have an opportunity to become United States Champion as they will be in the Last Chance Battle Royal at the pay-per-view event itself. Thankyou, and we’ll get you straight back to the show…” (79%)

A Giant Problem..

WCW World Champion The Giant w/Jimmy Hart d. Brutus Beefcake in a Non-Title Bout

The World Heavyweight Champion, has been somewhat overlooked in the last couple of weeks but he was not about to allow himself to be overlooked much longer. Schivone expected an announcement about who would be named number one contender to the Giants title next week on Nitro – So Don’t Miss it! Yea… The Mouth of the South was as vocal as ever as he encouraged the Giant to ‘smash’ and ‘bash’ his opponent as they made their entrance. (82%, Jimmy +3)

Brutus the Barber Beefcake suggested he would offer the Giant a haircut when he came out. It appears that the idea enraged the giant and Beefcake spent the entire match getting his chest slapped red raw and getting thrown enormous distances about the ring. Whatever you say about Beefcake, he was a glutton for punishment tonight as he kept getting up which was drawing increasing support for the fans. And when he knocked the Giant through the ropes to the floor outside the building erupted with cheers and Beefcake was seemingly on his second wind. He even managed to get his hands on “that little snake” Jimmy Hart as Zbysko calls him setting him up for a piledriver only to have the Giant clobber him from behind. The Giant then made short work of Beefcake by Chokeslamming him into the mat and standing on his chest for the three count. That man is not to be messed with…(66/70/78)

He couldn’t be the Third Man… could he?

After another commercial break we were back in time to see that Tony Schivone, Zbysko and Bobby Heenan were being bullied by “those” Outsiders. Heenan charitably offers Hall his headset but Nash takes it shouting into the headset about what happened at the Bash at the Beach not being what we had planned, and that the outsiders had been stood up. Well they don’t get stood up, by anybody, so tonight they were out here to get answers from the man who was meant to be the Third Man in the six man tag team “Hostile Takeover” tag match. He pointed at the crowd and said that as little respect he had for a WCW crowd they were being hoodwinked. The outsiders called out… Hulk Hogan!.

The reaction from the crowd was instantaneous. Hulk Hogan was the third bad guy? He was the man who had betrayed WCW and the fans? Zbyzko stood up and face-to-face told Nash that he doesn’t believe him, that he’s a liar. Hall simply told the Living Legend… to ask Hogan. At that point Real American began to play and Hogan came onto the stage and Schivone asked the questions.

Hulkster… I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this, we don’t want to waste your time so just go on and dispel these horrible accusations! Tell us you were never approached by these outsiders!

You know something brothah! I’ve been called a lot of things in my life. But more often than not it was from people who were jealous of my success. They never took the vitamins, they never said their prayers and put the training in to be a success and they look on and wonder why Hulkamania has ran wild for over a decade. But I have never… ever… been called a traitor. The facts speak for themselves… I was never the third man. I didn’t come out in their corner. I wasn’t even in the state! I was on the other side of the country shooting scenes for my new movie….

Hall and Nash were arguing with Hogan now saying ‘we had a deal’ and ‘you agreed chico’. Hogan shakes his head and paces from one side of the stage and to the other pointing at the crowds before speaking on the microphone.

Schivone, you ask these hulkamaniacs if they think I was the third man! I would never let them down Tony and if these two failures don’t take back their accusation… well brother… Hulkamania may just well run wild tonight.. in Chicago! (93%, Hall +3, Nash +3)

Hogan at this point stepped away from Schivone and tore off his red and yellow shirt. Causing Hall and Nash to back off acting all cool. Hall took a step forward and threw a toothpick at Hogan which caused Hogan to charge forward and swing some wild pythons. Security rushed outy and pulled the outsiders away from Hogan in a scene of absolute chaos. WCW Vice President Eric Bischof emerged from the hustle and bustle with a microphone pointing at the outsiders.

Eric Bischof:“Security! Get these two outsiders out of this building! You two had your chance at the Bash at the Beach! Your takeover failed before it even began. You’ve got no business being here… chuck them out on their rear ends!”

Hall attempts to fight back against the security and he gets taken down on the floor and handcuffed along with Nash who is pressed against the railings. They were carried off shouting “We’ll be back!”. (84%)

Don’t worry! Theres a “Last Chance”..

Big Bubba Rogers d. Curt Henning to win a place in the US Title Tournament Semi’s

After the enormous accusation before the commercial break, nothing was going to be able to seem anywhere near as significant. Not even a chance for a buy to the semi-finals of the US Title Tournament. Having said that, the crowd were as hot for this as they were for the non-title fight between the Giant and Beefcake so I guess that’s something.

Both Henning and Bubba will be wondering what gods to thank for this turn in fortunes. Signed on healthy contracts they’ve nonetheless looked a little lost in the shuffle for the most part. Now they find themselves main eventing prime time television and on the verge of being one step away from being US Champion. Tonight the honour was going to Big Bubba Rogers who I think might be back up to one of his heaviest weights since the eighties. Hes fat. And slowed by it, though he still has that explosion of energy that caught the eye when he was first in the NWA. His avalanche on Curt Henning – with the turnbuckle rung revealed was the highlight and conclusion of the match with Henning grasping his back in pain as Bubba splashed him from a run off the ropes and covered for the three. (63/70/73, Bubba +1, Henning -1)

“Bubba chalks one up on the road to Hog Wild!”

“We’re just about out of time folks. What a night its been! Is Hulk Hogan the Third Man?! I can’t believe it… I won’t believe it!”

Overall: 75%

Best Received Segment: Hogan is accused of being the Third Man (93%)

Best Match: Cruiserweight Title Fight (85% Quality)

Rating: 5.08 (RAW: 5.46)

Attendance: 4028 (RAW: 4018)

[EZE]

WRESTLEZINE

August 9th 1996

Written by Robbie Ryder

Douglas' Push Stopped Already?

Sources coming out of Atlanta are saying that a massive argument erupted between Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischof when they met up to consider WCW's next step. It has become evident that Hogan was slated to be the Third Man in the Outsiders team at the Bash at the Beach however his response on Nitro was only partly true. He was on the other side of the country but filming finished several weeks ago. The weather turned bad and his flight was cancelled. It appears that Hogan was never comfortable with the idea of turning heel on the fans who had made him his vast fortune, but was eventually won round to it by Bischof and his good friend Jimmy Hart. Now, having reconciled himself to turning heel he finds three other guys stealing the spotlight at the Bash at the Beach, and the manner in which they did enraged the former WWF and WCW Champion. He apparently told Bischof that he was not about to share the spotlight with someone who propagates such filth. He has a son of his own and was not pleased with the use of the 'c' word.  Coupled with this, TNT officials were also putting pressure on Bischof to punish Douglas for his language which reflects badly on their family friendly image..

This seems to be the reason why neither the Outsiders, Bischof or Hogan even mentioned the fact that the 'Triumvirate' had crashed the show at the Bash. Instead they just totally side stepped the issue and focused on where the 'third man' was. At the same time the Triumvirate were depushed into what appears to be a war with the Three Horsemen.  Douglas is expected to continue to be punished over the coming weeks though Bigelow and DDP are not suffering from any heat with management at the moment and plans to get them over with the crowd are going ahead.

Owen Hart to WCW?

With World Wrestling Federation superstar Owen Hart recently rejecting a contract offer from Vince McMahon speculation has erupted about him holding out for WCW interest, of which they surely will be. Hart, a family man, knows that his services will be richly rewarded by the bottomless cheque book of Ted Turner as opposed to Vince McMahon who is currently trying to struggle through some financial problems. On the other hand, he is not likely to welcome seeing two members of the Clique in Kevin Nash and Scott Hall again.

[EZE]

MONDAY NIGHT NITRO PREVIEW

Monday 12th August 1996

Des Moines, Iowa is the scene of this weeks exciting edition of Monday Night Nitro! Last week the outsiders Hall and Nash made an accusation that shook the world of profeshional wrestling. Having accused Hulk Hogan of being the Third Man that failed to show up in the Hostile Takeover tag match at the Bash at the Beach, they were evicted from the arena by security under orders of WCW Vice President Eric Bischof. Nash claimed that "We'll be back!", the only way to find out if hes true to his word is to tune in this week!

Also on the show, WCW World Heavyweight Champion The Giant will fight Brutus the Barber Beefcake in a rematch from last weeks bout. Beefcake took a tremendous ammount of punishment last week but has to be commended for his determination to come back this week and fight him again. Commended, or sanctioned by the state Psychiatric Health Department. Tonight though, the Giant has furhter business as we are expecting an announcement from the WCW Championship Comittee on who will challenge him at Hog Wild for his title.

Also on the show, the #1 contenders for the WCW World Tag Team Titles the Road Warriors will engage the Nasty Boys in tag team warfare. And not only this but we have the second match in our three US Title Tournament Qualifiers as Johnny B Badd takes on Lord Steven Regal. Perhaps never before have two such different people met in the ring.

Also don't miss out on Lex Lugers Television Title defense against mexican sensation... Konnan! All this and much more only on Monday Night Nitro on TNT!

[Renegade]

I'm liking it. The writing is good, the promos are good, and I love wrestlezine, that was my favourite part of ur wwf 1993 diary.

[mike546]

Wait, so your whole purpose of the diary, changing around BATB 96, with a Douglas push, is entirley destroyed due to Hogan politics?

Curses to Hogan.

great start.

[jayden]

hmm, I don't like this. It's all well written but the booking has been awful and all this stuff with the outsiders, hogan, triumvirate (which i think is an awful stable name), the horsemen, flair etc is just getting messy and constantly going back on itself.

all it would do is switch viewers off and give WWE their first win in the ratings war for a while. unless you're just trying to destroy WCW to give yourself more of a challenge i'm not enjoying the way this is booked and thought out. as i said, the writing is great, but the ideas are really bad and messy.

[Steve Corino]

On many other people, I wouldn't give this diary a chance in hell. But I'm still thinking EZE can pull it off and make it great.

But it's Hennig, not Henning.

[EZE]

Jayden it isnt going constantly back on itself after one show.... that cant happen. Flair was gone from the begining (so no going back on things) - . Im glad that your taking an interest and dissecting a 1 show old diary... but you seem to be taking it far more seriously than it should be took.And its unknown whether it would turn viewers off, WCW have scored points by naming a US Title Tournament, theyve involved Hogan in the Outsiders Storyline (which is not going back on itself).

The only thing which has "apparently" gone back on itself is the trio of Douglas/Bam Bam/DDP's "apparent" main event push. And Douglas shot himself in the foot on that point - however there is continuity in that theyve turned Flairs absence into a feud between the Horsemen and the Triumvirate. I'm certainly not going to spoiler the storylines I have planned but they make a semblance of sense with regards to two vital areas of my concern. Hogan and TNT officials pulled rank on Bischof over what happened at the Bash at the Beach and as a result WCW are in a new direction. If you dont like it, and dont want to see where that leads, simply dont read mate. But im enjoying where im taking this "new look" at 1996, im having success in game, and my regular readers are enjoying it so itll certainly continue till I get bored or too busy Your welcome to keep reading jayden, always welcome feedback but realise this isnt a "Lets make us number 1 for no other reason than that" diary. Its a retrospective on WCW.

Oh and thanks Corino I think your putting my reputation on the line for me lol.

EDIT: Oh thanks about Curts name. I always screw that up. One of my favourite wrestler/charecters of all time I can never get his name right. If only WWE didnt own the rights to Mr Perfect..

Edited October 17, 2004 by EZE