31 Days of Vince Russo "Special Matches" in 1999/2000 WCW - #1: House of Pain Match (Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero & Konnan) from the 11/15/1999 episode of WCW Nitro

I am planning a 31-day series of matches with special stipulations booked in Vince Russo's WCW from late 1999 to late 2000. These are matches that have either special stipulations or unique rules that I don't think have been booked before Russo went to WCW the first time.

The first entry is the House of Pain Match from the November 15, 1999 episode of Nitro. This match is part of a feud between The Revolution (Shane Douglas, Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn, and Asya) and The Filthy Animals (Konnan, Rey Mysterio Jr, Eddie Guerrero, Billy Kidman, and Torrie Wilson). This is the same episode that featured the infamous "Pinata on a Pole" Match (you'll see that later). Here is a link to the House of Pain Match.

A tag team match involving Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Konnan in late 1999 WCW looks like a great match on paper. All four guys were very solid workers in WCW with Malenko and Guerrero leading the excellent WCW Cruiserweight Division numerous times. At this time, you would have to really go out of your way to book a crappy match with these four wrestlers.

Enter Vince Russo.

On the November 15, 1999 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, Saturn, Malenko, Guerrero, and Konnan were booked for a House of Pain Match. The rules to the House of Pain match as read by WCW Lead Announcer Tony Schiavone are: "It is a tag team match, but to win it you must shackle the arms and legs of both members of a team to the chain to win it." The only way to win the match is to shackle the arms and legs of both members of a team to chains. Remember that.

This tag team match inside a steel cage with four great workers lasts just under three minutes. Saturn and Dean Malenko completely shackle Eddie Guerrero. Saturn and Dean then shackle Konnan's arms and are about to shackle Konnan's legs to get a win when their own stable mates Shane Douglas and Asya come into the cage and lay out the referee. The bell rings which results in a "No Contest", I think. Schiavone says the referee called for the bell, as the camera shows the referee is laid out unconscious. Rey Mysterio, Jr. comes in after the match ends, but is taken out by the Revolution as well.

All in all, four quality wrestlers booked in a crappy match with a non-finish and very limited time to tell a story. There are so many other ways to further a feud between these two factions, so why a House of Pain Match booked the way it was?