[1996-09-09-WCW-Nitro] Lex Luger vs Rick Steiner

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Last few minutes of the match only, as the post-match is the reason this is here. Another huge angle. Luger is about to put Steiner in the rack when Nick Patrick runs out to tell Luger the NWO is in the parking lot. Luger chases him outside.

 

We hear Sting's voice coming out of a limo talking to DiBiase. Luger comes out and wants to know what's going on. Sting comes out and attacks him in a dark, rainy parking lot (talk about luck for executing this angle!) and the rest of the NWO joins in.

 

Luger makes his own save and the NWO takes off.

 

There was absolutely no reason to think anything had just happened other than Sting having just joined the NWO. This was a brilliant angle.

 

Flair, Arn and Luger do another promo. Arn again is awesome. He says he's in a total state of shock, because Sting was the only WCW constant since the company started. Luger takes off to find Sting. Flair is sick of all the confusion. The Horsemen are going to War Games and if Luger wants to come along, he can.

 

Makes no sense that the Horsemen didn't join the match at War Games based on all this, but whatever.

[Victator]

What I like is you can buy that guy as Sting til the real Sting attacks him. Which makes Stings anger even more justified.

[shoe]

I remembered when this 1st aired and I was shocked. I recorded it and must have played it back a billion times looking for clues that this didn't happen. I remember shouting at the T.V NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! not Sting. I was a huge Sting mark and this was devestateng. I knew that voice didn't match but by God it looked so much like Sting. Just a great angle that tugged on my emotions as a fan.

[Tim Evans]

I don't know if Will edited this or what but what was up with Luger outside in the pouring rain one second and then immediately they go to a interview with the Horsemen and Luger is not even wet? Other than that, this was awesome. I was in shock when I saw this as a 11 year old.

[BackToBionic]

I always thought Sting was kind of a bastard to get so defensive when everyone thought it was him. I mean...it did look exactly like him from our vantage point.

[Loss]

I think Sting was more offended that:

 

* His friends knew he had other commitments that evening and knew where he was

* When he pointed out that it wasn't him, they refused to believe him

[Zenjo]

The fake Sting was a really good idea. FOR A WEEK!

[El-P]

Again, interestingly enough, Sullivan says in the Timeline that he didn't though the idea of Sting "joigning" the nWo was good because Sting had no ties with them from the past.

Anyway, this is still the second big money angle in the nWo saga, leading to Sting becoming the hottest babyface in the country while only having to hang out in the rafters. Nick Patrick leading Luger to the slaughter was a great touch, and the rainy, stormy weather only made the visuals ever more perfect. I admit that seeing Rick Steiner in his wrestling trunks holding an umbrella later on cracked me up. Great angle, great execution (really, who could have thought it wasn't Sting here ?), and great way to put it over *huge* during the remaining time of the broadcast, with the announcers acting both depressed and nervous and the Horsemen interview being conducted while a match is taking place, like a newsbreak from the usual show. Terrific stuff.

[PeteF3]

There was JUST enough doubt here (the canned-sounding Sting dialogue, the weird robe that the real Sting never wore, the rain) to have us think that maybe it was a fake Sting--but we didn't know for SURE it was fake. And even if it WAS fake, was that kayfabe fake or "Sting wasn't available for the angle" fake? So many intriguing questions coming out of this, and such brilliant execution all throughout the night. We established the NWO was in the parking lot already, we established there was a 6th man, Nick Patrick may or may not have been involved with this, etc. Hard to believe this is WCW we're even talking about.

[soup23]

With the rain and everything this was perfect. The way it was filmed was a rare bit of genius by WCW production as it is really tough to distinguish that this is not the real Sting. WCW was so great at this point and the paranoia is running wild for the viewer going through all of this stuff.

[tim]

Really well-produced angle from the shot into the dark limousine with Sting's voice, the announcers being aghast right away and then really freaking out when fake Sting comes out to attack. The one-camera shot with the rain slowly accumulating over the lens was a cool visual. I'd never really seen it before and this early NWO stuff is some of the best wrestling TV ever.