Match of the Day - The young and the ridiculous

Konnan vs. "Dangerous" Devon Storm - WCW Monday Night Nitro (1996)

One year before having a short run with WWF in their short-lived light heavyweight division, Devon Storm took to the skies, ropes, chairs, stairs, and what ever he could jump off of as the spot hungry, "Dangerous" Devon Storm in WCW to take on Konnan, the current US heavyweight champion at the time.

Both of these athletes would later reinvent themselves in WCW many years later as Konnan made a name for himself again as a member of NWO Wolfpac and eventually with The Filthy Animals while Devon Storm went on to be a bet more of an uncanny competitor as he donned the ripped jeans and went by Crowbar as he aligned himself with Zombie-hot but screams like a banshee Daffney and the Nature Boy's dysfunctional son, David Flair.

Konnan defeats Devon Storm with somewhat ease as he clearly was a very capable and skilled wrestler. Being a well-trained wrestler is not what get's you big in pro wrestler believe it or not, however, and Konnan would pretty much get overlooked through most of his career in WCW up until about the point where he just started wearing the street clothes and all that. One place he definitely wasn't overlooked at was Mexico considering Konnan was basically the John Cena of his day in Mexica.

That's a big deal I've heard.

Match of the Day - Special guest referee 4-way ladder match... must be WCW

Bret Hart vs. Scott Hall vs. Goldberg vs. Sid Vicious - Texas Tornado Ladder Match for the WCW US Heavyweight Championship WCW Nitro (1999)

Today is the first time I have actually heard of this match. It's a four man ladder match featuring Razor Ramon - I mean Scott Hall, Bret Hart (who was in the first WWF ladder match - though Hall's ladder matches are more recognized as firsts), Sid Vicious, and Bill Goldberg. Oh yeah, and the special referee was Kevin Nash because fuck it this is WCW and there needs to be a special referee in a match where one person wins by climbing a ladder to retrieve a belt hanging high above the ring and that's it.

One must also put into account that WCW at this point was essentially the Kevin Nash/Scott Hall show and lacked a lot of substance. So, in a not so surprising turn of event, Nash knocks out Bret Hart who has the title in his grasp with a nightstick at the top of the ladder... Nash then miraculously catches the title as Hart drops to the mat which allows Scott Hall to climb the ladder and snag the title from Nash's hands.

There was also a bit with Rick Steiner and his heel run as he comes out to attack his former friend, Sid Vicious. WCW wasn't the Rick Steiner show though so his little spotlight and impact was overshadowed by what Nash and Hall were really up in this match. Steiner, who was the TV champ at the time would soon lose the title at Mayhem because he was too injured to compete. The title was then given to, yep you guessed it, Scott Hall. 

Scott Hall eventually throws the TV Championship away a week later...

Literally though, he throws it into a trashcan on Nitro.

All in all, this is not one match you will be seeing on a ladder match compilation anytime soon (unless the next Ladder Match DVD runs out of good or legitimate ladder matches). 

It is however a hell of a good look at what WCW was like in 1999.