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| World War 3 - 1997 Results and Review - A Better VHS Experience |
I used to have the VHS edition of WCW World War 3 1997, and the original recording from the PPV. I can tell you that there are a lot of musical edits, as well as sign edits that the WWE has put on the Network. If you want to see the unedited version of this, you should buy the VHS tape here.
Here are the quick results, and then I’ll go into the review of the wrestling.
WCW World War 3 1997 Results
The Faces of Fear defeated Glacier and Ernest Miller
Perry Saturn defeated Disco Inferno (WCW Television Title Match)
Yuji Nagata defeated Ultimo Dragon
The Steiner Brothers defeated The Blue Bloods (WCW Tag Team Title Match)
Raven defeated Scotty Riggs (Raven’s Rules Match)
Steve McMichael defeated Alex Wright
Eddie Guerrero defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. (WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match)
Curt Hennig defeated Ric Flair (NO DQ WCW U.S. Title Match)
Scott Hall won World War 3 after eliminating The Giant
WCW World War 3 Review
Here we go, the event was one of the highlights of WCW’s 1997 year. Of course, on the opposite side of wrestling, you had the WWF putting on a show known as Survivor Series in which they completely screwed over Bret Hart, but hey, that’s their thing, and this is the WCW version. Let’s talk WCW and this event that went down.
The Faces of Fear defeated Glacier and Ernest Miller
I may be one of the only idiots that liked Glacier. Yes, he was a gimmick that was ripped from Mortal Kombat, but that wasn’t a bad thing. He had some stellar wrestling moves, and was far better than Ernest Miller. The Faces of Fear were always grand in my book, and Meng was still in his prime before getting injured by Bill Goldberg. The Barbarian was slowing down, but overall this wasn’t a bad match. There was a lot of power moves and eventually the Faces of Fear got the big win.
Match Rating: 2 out of 5
Perry Saturn defeated Disco Inferno (WCW Television Title Match)
Perry Saturn was a very unique wrestler and it showed here with Disco Inferno. Disco is always a character, but he did put on some good matches here and there. This was a good one, but it was Perry Saturn’s unique offense that got the win. Saturn won with the rings of Saturn from what I remember, but overall, this match was well timed, and on the button. Saturn and Disco’s timing was great here, and I definitely enjoyed the match.
Match Rating: 3 out of 5
Yuji Nagata defeated Ultimo Dragon
If you’re not a pure wrestling fan, then you aren’t going to like this match. At the time Ultimo Dragon was feuding with his manager Sony Onoo and Nagata was taking Ultimo’s place in the Asian wrestling stable that was in WCW. Yuji Nagata was the heel, and Dragon was playing off of his strong style. Dragon was great here, and Nagata’s strong style, mixed with some clever counters made this match really strong. The fans didn’t get it at first, but over time they started to get into it and the ending was a shocker, with Ultimo falling short thanks to Sonny Onoo’s constant nagging outside.
Match Rating: 3 out of 5
The Steiner Brothers defeated The Blue Bloods (WCW Tag Team Title Match)
This was a hard-hitting match, with The Steiner Brothers working very stiff with Regal and Taylor. I liked it, the fans seemed to get a kick out of the Steiners, and the match was not too long. You’re not going to get a technical masterpiece here, but The Blue Bloods do have enough heat to make you invest a little bit of your attention into this match up. The Steiners were definitely a great team at one point, so don’t just judge them by their solo runs.
Check out WCW World War 3 1997 VHS Tape, by purchasing it here!
Match Rating: 2 out of 5
Raven defeated Scotty Riggs (Raven’s Rules Match)
JJ Dillon came out and announced that Raven had to decide whether or not he was going to sign a WCW contract. He hadn’t yet, in story line. Well this match featured some nice hits, and Riggs was definitely a good foil for Raven. The match was hard hitting as it was No DQ and it eventually saw Riggs get beat down to the point where he was knocked out solid. I loved the drop toe hold to a steel chair, and the fact that Riggs sold the gimmick by wearing an eye patch. At the end of the match, the flock picked up Riggs and went out of the arena through the crowd. I loved Raven’s WCW Run.
Match Rating: 3 out of 5
Steve McMichael defeated Alex Wright
I miss Alex Wright. I liked the stupid dance, and then Kaz, and the other dancing idiots. This wasn’t much of a match. McMichael was underrated if you ask me, and he won this without a ton of action. It was a fun in between.
Match Rating: 2 out of 5
Eddie Guerrero defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. (WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match)
People always cite the original match, but this is one is my personal favorite. Rey Mysterio and Eddy (as I read it) put on another great match. This time around, Eddie was wrestling a hard style on this one. Instead of flying around, Mysterio was grounded, and Guerrero was attacking ribs, legs, and grounding the little guy. There were a few moments that showed Mysterio selling injuries from Nitro and previous matches. If you liked the Halloween Havoc match, then you will like this one for sure. Without Eddie trying to break Mysterio’s mask, this match really took on a whole new world. Again, people like to cite the Halloween Havoc match as their best, but this was definitely a great sequel to a great match. More people should mention this one, especially with Eddie’s psychology focusing on body parts of Mysterio rather than just trying to do the same thing he did at Halloween Havoc. Great moments, that led to a false finish, and eventual win by Eddie Guerrero! Great match, and one of the best in the cruiserweight division ever! Killer frog splash for the win, and the constant Eddie Sucks chants, great stuff here. Mysterio put on a valiant effort, but man, Eddie was on fire here.
Match Rating: 5 out of 5
Curt Hennig defeated Ric Flair (NO DQ WCW U.S. Title Match)
Two guys that are legends in wrestling faced off over the United States title on this show. How could these guys follow up a stellar cruiserweight match? Well, psychology my dear friends, some great overall booking in this match up. Hennig and Flair put on a show of chops, reversals, suplexes, and a great overall ending. In the end, Ric Flair slapped on the Figure Four and looked to be winning the title, but Hennig used the belt, which was in the ring to knock his old ass out, and then get the win. This had the crowd going crazy, and for me, this was a great booking decision, a desperation move that made this rad.
Match Rating: 4 out of 5
Scott Hall won World War 3 after eliminating The Giant
This was a great one. Scott Hall was getting beat down, and a lot of different wrestlers were part of the last 10, 6, and 4 and then it was The Giant and Scott Hall! The crowd erupted, and then Sting came down from the rafters, going absolutely ape, only to find out that it was KEVIN NASH! Oh man, great ending to a good overall show. For those that aren’t familiar with World War 3, it’s a 60 man battle royal.
Match Rating: 3 out of 5
As far as WCW shows are concerned, World War 3 is a great example of a great show amidst a bad show versus the WWF. Yes, the Montreal Screw Job occurred in WWF in the same month, but this show was better all around. I loved it. I didn’t like the screw job, and didn’t think that show had a lot to it, but this one, had a lot of wrestling, great moments, and overall stellar match ups in the final 3 matches.
My recommendation is that you purchase the VHS tape of this, and NOT watch it on the WWE Network. You will find that there are subtle edits, changes in the music, and a lot of cuts that weren’t supposed to be there. But hey, that’s just my two cents.
