31 Days of Vince Russo "Special Matches" in 1999/2000 WCW - #2: Texas Tornado Ladder Match (Bret Hart vs Bill Goldberg vs Sid Vicious vs Scott Hall) from the 11/8/1999 episode of WCW Nitro
Hello everyone! This is the second entry of the 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.
Today's match is the Texas Tornado Ladder Match from the November 8, 1999 episode of Nitro. This match is for the WCW United States Championship which was held at the time by Bret “The Hitman” Hart. The match featured Bret Hart, Bill Goldberg, Scott Hall, and Sid Vicious with a special guest referee to be revealed later.
At this point in 1999, Bret Hart was still a great worker (the Owen Hart Tribute Match with Chris Benoit was a few weeks prior to this match), Goldberg was the biggest WCW fan favorite and could work with the right kind of match, Scott Hall could still work (with proper focus, motivation, and story), and Sid was there.
Here is a link to the Texas Tornado Ladder Match.
Before I get into the match, here is some brief context:
Bill Goldberg defeated Sid Vicious via referee stoppage to win the WCW U.S. Title at Halloween Havoc on October 24th. The match ended due to Sid bleeding quite badly.
The following night on Nitro, Goldberg defended his U.S. Title against Bret Hart. Bret Hart was wrestling despite a “hairline fracture” in his shin and ankle. Bret Hart gets dumped to the outside after a ref bump. Then, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sid Vicious get in the ring and beat up Goldberg. They leave the ring, Bret Hart gets in the ring (unaware of what just happened) to cover Goldberg, and the ref wakes up from his coma to count the 1-2-3. Bret Hart is the new U.S. Champion.
Between then and this ladder match, Bret Hart is the rightful U.S. Champion. Bret Hart thinks Goldberg is the rightful U.S. Champion as Bret doesn’t want to win the title in the manner he did (remember that little nugget). Sid thinks he is the rightful U.S. Champion since he didn’t quit and the ref stopped the match at Halloween Havoc. Through a couple of thefts, Scott Hall has physical possession of the U.S. Title belt.
Now, onto the match itself.
Scott Hall walks to the ring with his music. Sid Vicious then walks to the ring with his music. Hall and Sid start fighting in the ring before Bret and Goldberg make their entrances. Bret Hart (the legitimate U.S. Champion) hobbles down the entrance ramp…with no music and starts fighting with the first two men in the ring. Bill Goldberg comes down the entrance ramp…with no music. Goldberg enters the ring, but there is no ladder nor a referee.
Tony Schiavone tells us there is a special guest referee coming out.
Who could the special referee be? Out strolls Kevin Nash with a referee shirt and a ladder.
The rest of the very short main event occurs with a new U.S. Champion crowned…after a run-in, shenanigans, and a convoluted finish. The new champ is crowned less than one minute before the show has to go off the air.
Some items of note in this match:
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A traditional Texas Tornado Match is defined as a modified Tag Team match, where all the members of both (or all) teams can wrestle in the ring at the same time. The key phrase is “Tag Team”. This is not a tag team match. This is a four-person ladder match for a singles title.
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This was the 13th match of this three-hour edition of Nitro. By comparison, this year’s Wrestlemania (Pre-Show and main show) had 14 matches.
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This match was at the very end of the show and lasted seven minutes from Scott Hall’s introduction to the moment the show ended. The match felt very rushed, and this was apparently the reason for it...they had to get everything done before the show ended.
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The bell did not ring to start the match, nor to finish the match. Not only was there not a referee at ringside before the match started, but apparently the timekeeper decided to leave the show early for reasons.
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WCW says Sid can’t continue to wrestle at Halloween Havoc when he bleeds too much, but WCW allows Bret to wrestle here with a hairline fracture in his leg. Sure, why not?
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Bret Hart didn’t want to win the U.S. Championship in the manner he did a few weeks prior (interference by Hall, Nash, and Sid), but Bret is fine with climbing the ladder to grab the U.S. Title after he just saw Kevin Nash (special referee) and Rick Steiner interfere and screw Bill Goldberg.
Previous entries:
Day 1: 11-15-1999 Nitro - House of Pain Match: Saturn/Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero/Konnan
Posted Dec 2, 2018, 2:25 PM UTC