WCW Road Wild 1999 Review

Welcome back to the TJRwrestlting retro reviews where we are breaking down every WCW Pay-Per-View (or Premium Live Event if it were today), during the “Monday Night War” era.

We are coming off of Bash at the Beach, which was a serious letdown. There were a lot of matches on the show that felt Thunder-worthy, and the ending with “Macho Man” Randy Savage winning the WCW World Heavyweight Title in a Tag Team Match was a little weird. Much like all of his reigns at the top of WCW, Savage would drop the title in short order too, you guessed it, Hulk Hogan. You can read my complete thoughts on that show and every WCW event we have covered here. Now, we are on to Road Wild, which is usually a pretty hard show to follow just based on the setting alone. Let’s see if they can turn it around!

This was the poster. The photos below come from WWE.com.

WCW Road Wild
August 14th, 1999
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota

They start the show showcasing the main event for the night which pits Hogan vs. Kevin Nash for the WCW Heavyweight Title. The stipulation for the match is that the loser will “leave” wrestling altogether.

There is a copter shot of the rally as we are brought to the ring by Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, who are all decked out in ridiculous outfits. They go over the main event and talk about the ramifications of both of these facing their wrestling mortality. It’s time for the first match of the night.

The Dead Pool (Vampiro, Shaggy 2 Dope, & Violent J) (w/ Raven) vs. Kidman, Rey Mysterio Jr., & Eddie Guerrero

Shaggy and Violent J is part of the rap group the Insane Clown Posse. They have spent time in both major wrestling companies at the time and, for better or worse, they were pretty over with certain fans.

The action starts quickly with Kidman, Mysterio, and Gurrero taking all three other guys out of the ring and starting working on Vampiro who is the only one who remains. Kidman hits him with a Spinebuster and tags in Guerrero, who comes in with a splash. Mysterio hits a leg drop on Vampiro for good measure. Guerrero sends Vampiro to the outside and Kidman is out right behind him to lay in some shots and sends him back into the ring. Guerrero hits Vampiro with a sidekick, but Vampiro comes back with one of his own as Guerrero comes back in. Guerrero gets mugged in the corner and they send him to the outside of the ring. Violent J slams him on the outside and Shaggy lays the boots before sending him back into the ring. Vampiro keeps Guerrero in their corner and they continue to keep Guerrero isolated. Violent J tags in and hits Guerrero with a clothesline and keeps him grounded with some shots to the head. He sends Guerrero into the corner and hits a chop before tagging Shaggy into the match. He hits a suplex and comes off the rope with an elbow drop. Shaggy continues to pound on Guerrero before tagging Vampiro back into the match. Guerrero makes a comeback on Vampiro and hits a Hurricanrana and slowly makes his way to the corner. Violent J comes in and stops him in his tracks to give Vampiro the advantage. He hits a Chokeslam on Guerrero and covers him for a two count. Shaggy tags back into the match and they hit a double suplex on Guerrero.

Shaggy climbs up top, but Guerrero knocks him off. He climbs up with him and they come off with a Superplex. Both men are slowly crawling to their corners and both make a tag to their partners. It’s Violent J and Mysterio in now and Mysterio hits some high-flying offense when he comes in. He comes off the ropes, but Raven grabs his feet and throws Mysterio into the stairs at ringside. Vampiro comes out and hits The Vampiro Spike on Mysterio on the outside. They throw him into the stairs again before Vampiro hits a chop across the chest. He rolls Mysterio back into the ring and Violent J is there to meet him with a Sidewalk Slam. He hits a kick on Mysterio before he starts working on the knee. He throws Mysterio hard into the corner and hits an elbow drop across the chest. Violent J hits a knee breaker before tagging Vampiro back in. He comes in and hits a huge Powerbomb on Mysterio before dropping a knee in the groin of Mysterio. Shaggy tags into the match and he stomps Mysterio in the corner. Shaggy hits a nice Powerslam, but Guerrero comes in to break up the count. They send Mysterio to the outside again and he lands in front of Raven. He taunts Mysterio before sending him back into the ring. Mysterio gets sent into the ropes and slides under Shaggy, but he is taken out with a clothesline. Mysterio gets the boots up as Shaggy charges in and hits a Moonsault off the top. That’s enough for him to make a tag to Kidman, who proceeds to take everyone in the match out. Vampiro kicks Shaggy by accident as all hell is breaking loose. Kidman hits Shaggy with the Shooting Star Press in the ring as everyone else is fighting on the outside and picks up the win after 12:22.

Winner(s): Kidman, Rey Mysterio Jr, & Eddie Guerrero
Match Rating: 2.25/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This match was actually pretty entertaining, considering who was in it. Vampiro and ICP had a nice game plan and exchanged tags in and out of the match like old pros. Kidman, Mysterio, and Guerrero picking up the win does make sense since they have been stalwarts in the company up to this point.

WCW Tag Team Title Match
Kanyon & Bam Bam Bigelow (c) vs. Harlem Heat (Booker T. & Stevie Ray)

Harlem Heat has recently reformed after splitting off into singles for the last year or so. Kanyon and Bigelow attacked them after reforming on Nitro and that set up this match here. Page is not with Kanyon and Bigelow because he has a match later on in the night.

The action starts right away with Bigelow going after Booker and Kanyon working on Stevie Ray. Ray gets the advantage back and sets Bigelow up for a Sidekick from Booker T. That sends Bigelow and Kanyon to the outside of the ring. After the chaos, it’s Ray and Kanyon to start the match for their teams. Kanyon gets a kick in and starts pounding on Ray and works him into the corner. Kanyon hits some shoulders to the midsection before sending Ray into the ropes. Ray ducks a clothesline and presses Kanyon over his head and sends him out of the ring. Ray slams Bigelow as he comes into the ring and both men are back outside to try and regroup. Booker T. tags into the match and he locks up with Kanyon as he comes in. He takes advantage and starts whopping Kanyon in the corner. Booker T. brings him out to the middle of the ring but is met with an elbow to the head and then Kanyon drops an elbow across the chest. Kanyon works on Booker in the corner and hits a Shoulder Block as he brings him back out. He sends him into the ropes again, only this time Booker hits a dropkick. He tags in his brother who comes in and stalks Kanyon into his corner. Kanyon makes the tag to Bigelow and it’ll be him and Ray squaring off now. Ray and Bigelow tie up with Ray grabbing a headlock. Bigelow quickly escapes and they are back to a vertical base. Bigelow hits a kick and sends him into the ropes, but Ray ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. Kanyon tags back in and takes Ray down with a clothesline and drops some elbows on him.

Kanyon sends Ray into the corner which brings Bigelow in and they hit avalanche splashes on him in the corner. Bigelow keeps Ray grounded and knocks him down to the ring again. Ray starts to get back to his feet but is taken down again with a high knee and a Headbutt for good measure. Kanyon tags back in and he makes the cover on Ray for a two count. Ray starts to make a comeback and hits a slam on Kanyon, but misses on the follow-up elbow. Bigelow climbs up top, but Ray slingshots Kanyon into him and knocks him off. Ray makes the tag to Booker, who comes in and takes Kanyon out with a series of kicks. Booker sets up the Axe Kick, but Bigelow pulls down the ropes as he came in. Bigelow slams Booker against the railing before sending him back into the ring. Kanyon works on Booker in the corner and comes off with a Fameasser for a two count. Kanyon goes for it again, but this time Booker counters it into a Powerbomb. Booker makes a tag, but is immediately sent to the outside from Bigelow. Bigelow and Kanyon double-team Stevie Ray, but he fights out. That sends Page out to the ring and he is taken out by Bigelow. Booker hits Bigelow with a Missile Dropkick and they win the titles after 13:06.

Winner(s) and NEW WCW Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat
Match Rating: 2/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was a solid tag team match and both teams worked well together. Harlem Heat has been on hiatus for a while and it is nice to see them at the top of the mountain again. They were truly a fantastic team. I really like Kanyon and Bigelow as well so this match was entertaining.

The West Texas Rednecks (Curt Hennig, Barry Windham, & Bobby Duncum Jr.) (w/ Kendall Windham) vs. The Revolution (Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko, & Shane Douglas)

Hennig has turned his sights from Master P. and the Filthy Animals to Saturn and Dean Malenko. They have been attacking them as of late and it’s led to this match here.

Saturn challenges them to get in the ring and they do and are swiftly sent back to the outside. Malenko locks up with Barry to start the match and they exchange blows in the ring. Malenko sends him into the corner and comes in with a clothesline. Saturn tags in and he sends Barry down to the mat with a clothesline. Douglas rags in the match and he continues to work on barry. He works him into the wrong corner, though, and The Rednecks starts triple-teaming him. Duncum tags in and Douglas hits him with a Powerslam. He goes over to his corner and tags Saturn into the match and he works on Duncum in the corner. Duncum tags Windham back into the match, but Saturn takes him out with a series of suplexes. Windham fights back and manages to make a tag to Hennig who pounds on Saturn in the corner. He hits the Snap Neckbreaker and challenges Malenko and Douglas before going back to work on Saturn. Duncum tags back in and starts working on Saturn, but is soon taken down with a German Suplex. Malenko is in and hits a nice dropkick on Duncum followed by a Vertical Suplex and a near fall. He tags Douglas into the match and they hit a double-team move on Duncum before he sets him up for The Pittsburgh Plunge. He is taken out from behind before he can hit the move and they all work on Douglas on the outside. Douglas ducks under a Hennig chop and climbs up top, but he is dumped out by Hennig. He tags Windham back in, and he hits a back suplex on Douglas for a two count.

Windham hits him across the jaw and pounds on him in the corner. He sends Douglas to the other side and hits a clothesline as he comes back out. Duncum tags in and hits a shoulder breaker on Douglas for a two-count. Kendall Windham chokes Douglas on the outside as Hennig tags back in and works Douglas into the corner. More quick tags leave Douglas in no man’s land. Douglas fights out with com elbows and tries to make a comeback, but is soon snuffed out and Windham comes in with a DDT. He throws Douglas into the ropes and both men take each other out with shoulder blocks. Hennig gets a couple of shots to the head of Douglas. Duncum is back in and sends Douglas into the corner, but is met with a boot and Saturn gets the tag back into the match. He takes everyone out, but Windham comes in and hits him from behind. All six men are in the ring now with Malenko eventually getting The Texas Cloverleaf on Duncum before he is hit from behind by Kendall Windham. Saturn climbs back in the ring and hits Duncum with The Death Valley Driver to pick up the win after 10:57.

Winner(s): Perry Saturn, Shane Douglas, & Dean Malenko
Match Rating: 1.75/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was a competitive match with Malenko seeing the least amount of ring time, which was surprising. Douglas and Saturn took most of the punishment for the match, but they held their ground and came out on top. I thought The Rednecks had a solid outing as well and despite the gimmick being hokey, they have been growing on me as of late.

The Cat (w/ Sonny Onoo) vs. Buff Bagwell

The Cat grabs a mic, but is immediately drowned out by motorcycles. He even has Confederate Flag gloves to really fit the part for the show. Bagwell grabs the mic, but The Cat pulls him away from him and he doesn’t get to talk again.

The bell finally sounds and the match is underway. The Cat hits an arm drag to start things off and Bagwell is on the mat. He hits Bagwell with a Scoop Slam and goes back to Onoo for encouragement. The fans start chanting “pussy cat” as they lock back up and Bagwell takes him down with a series of slams. The Cat wants a handshake, but Bagwell shrugs him away. The Cat kicks Bagwell in the stomach and works him into the corner and gets a chokehold on him. He chokes Bagwell again, this time with his foot, before sending him into the ropes. Bagwell reverses a move and hits The Cat with a dropkick. He gets him into the corner for the ten punches, but The Cat hits him with a low blow. He covers Bagwell for a two count. The Cat kicks Bagwell in the chest and sends him back down to the mat. Bagwell starts to mount a comeback, but The Cat snuffs him out with some elbows. He goes for a Vertical Suplex, but Bagwell reverses it into one of his own. Bagwell hits two Atomic Drops and a clothesline to grab a two-count. He tries to bring Miller up, but he gets hit with a Jawbreaker. Onoo is up on the apron with a briefcase, and the Cat tries to throw Bagwell into it, but he reverses it and sends The Cat in instead. Bagwell rolls him up and picks up the win after 7:24.

Winner: Buff Bagwell
Match Rating: .5/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: There was a lot of what Pat Patterson would call “gaga” in this match. The Cat played up to the crowd almost the entire time and when they did get going, it wasn’t anything spectacular. Bagwell was trying to make his way up the ladder in WCW again, so picking up the win here will help that.

After the match, The Cat and Sonny Onoo beat on Buff Bagwell and leave him lying in the ring.

No Disqualification Match for the WCW United States Title
Chris Benoit (c) vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Page grabs the mic and runs down Benoit and his mother, which he has been doing over the last couple of weeks. The U.S. Title had been held by David Flair, but Benoit beat him on Nitro recently to win the belt.

Benoit kicks Page to start and takes him down to the mat with some shots to the head. He pounds on Page against the ropes and sends Page to the other side and takes him down again. Page goes to the outside and Benoit comes out with a Baseball Slide. They exchange blows on the outside before Page gets control and sends Benoit into the ring. He shoots Benoit into the corner and hits a Belly to Belly Suplex. Page stomps on Benoit and keeps him grounded. Page picks him up and drops him with a gut buster. He hits Benoit with a Gutwrench and starts choking him with his boot. Page hits a series of knees to the gut, but on the last one, he gets rolled up for two. Page quickly gets to his feet and nails Benoit with a clothesline. Benoit starts to fight back, but is hit with a Spinebuster and is down again. Page hits another Clothesline and covers Benoit for another two-count. Page stomps on the back of Benoit before hitting a Sidewalk Slam. He goes for another one, but Benoit reverses it this time into a Jawbreaker. He goes up top, but Page knocks him down. Benoit is hanging from the turnbuckle and starts to get whipped by Page, who took the referee’s belt off of his pants. He starts choking Benoit with the belt as he keeps him on the mat. Page rolls him over, but Benoit gets the shoulder up. Page picks him up and holds the belt to keep choking him. Benoit slides out and fires up. He hits Page with a series of German Suplexes and gets near falls on all three. He signals for the Diving Headbutt, but Kanyon pushes him off as he climbed up top. Kanyon is taken out by Page and Benoit rolls Page up for two. Bigelow comes out and hits a splash off the top on Benoit, but Page only gets a near fall. All three men are in the ring now and Benoit takes him all out. Bigelow and Page are laying on top of each other in the ring, and Benoit comes off the top with a Diving Headbutt to retain the title after 12:14.

Winner and STILL WCW United States Champion: Chris Benoit
Match Rating: 3/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was a competitive title match that was back and forth for the whole thing. The No DQ stipulation didn’t really add anything to the match, and it seems like it was there just for The Triad to interfere in the match. It was fun either way and a hard-fought victory for Benoit.

The announcers talk about the remaining matches before they go to a contest where they are giving away a motorcycle. Fans got to register throughout the year and someone is picked at “random”.

“The Millenium Man” Sid Vicious vs. Sting

These two have been at odds since getting involved in the Goldberg vs. Rick Steiner feud. Sid has been working with Steiner and Sting has been backing Goldberg.

They lock up and Sid gets the first shots in. He throws Sting into the corner, but Sting moves as he comes in and Sting gets him lying across the rope. Sting hits a series of Stinger Splashes and that sends Sid out of the ring. Sting beats on Sid on the outside and sends him into the railings before getting him back into the ring. Sting throws him into the corner and goes for another Splash, but Sid moves out of the way. Sid starts to pound on Sting and keeps him down on the mat. Sid sends him into the ropes and hits a Powerslam for a two-count. Sid gets Sting into the ropes and starts working him against them. Sid picks Sting up and drops him with a backbreaker. He starts to lock Sting up to keep him grounded. Sting makes his way back to his feet, but Sid is there to hit him. He sends Sting hard into the corner and hits him with a clothesline as he comes back in. Sid sends Sting to the outside and they work over to the fans where he drops Sting down on the railing. Sid rolls him back into the ring and covers him right away for a two-count. Sting starts to make a comeback and takes Sid down to the mat before dropping a headbutt in the groin. Sid climbs up top, but Sting throws him off. Sting goes for the ropes, but Sid puts his foot out to trip him. Sting recovers and hits a slam only to get some knees to his chest. Sid drops Sting with some Snake Eyes and hits a Big Boot. Sid goes back to the top and Sting is there again and he hits a Superplex. Sting hits him with a Stinger Splash in the corner, but on the third attempt, Sid catches and chokeslams him. He covers Sting and picks up the win after 10:40.

Winner: Sid Vicious
Match Rating: 2.25/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was a good match that Sid won clean as a whistle. That was a shock to a lot of people in the crowd and I was even thrown off by it a little bit. Sting had been the franchise of WCW and Sid went in there and beat him right in the middle. I kind of like the booking. I felt like this was a solid match for what it was and both guys did a good job.

Rick Steiner vs. Goldberg

Steiner has been on his first singles run on a major level. He has done well, and you could tell WCW was behind him in the booking room. Having a feud with Goldberg at this point doesn’t mean as much as it might have in 1998, but this will still be a good test.

They start the match brawling. Steiner gets the advantage, but it’s short-lived and he is quickly taken down to the mat. Goldberg hits a right hand and a sidekick. Steiner tries to fight back, but he is taken down again with another kick. Steiner shoves the referee into Goldberg and hits a low blow as Goldberg shoved him away. Steiner takes Goldberg’s knee brace off and starts wailing on him with it. Steiner hits a clothesline with the brace and starts choking Goldberg on the mat. Steiner continues to pound on him with the brace and drops an elbow. He starts focusing on the knee of Goldberg before hitting a Belly to Belly Suplex as they come back up. Steiner knocks him back down with a shot to the head, but that only pisses Goldberg off and he starts getting some offense in. He hits Steiner with the Press Slam and follows that up with a Spear. Goldberg picks him up and hits the Jackhammer to win the match after 5:39.

Winner: Goldberg
Match Rating: DUD

Collective Thoughts: There wasn’t much to this. They switched off being on the advantage, but Goldberg ended up winning like most of the other matches he was having. High impact, but that was about it.

“Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. “The Worm” Dennis Rodman

Rodman had spent significant time in WCW throughout its run, and this was one of those instances. This will be his first singles match, though.

Rodman starts the match by hitting Savage with the microphone as he was distracted. Rodman throws him all over the outside and into the guardrails. Rodman rolls him back into the ring and throws Savage into the corner. He takes him down with a back elbow and Rodman is in full control. He hits Savage with a short-arm clothesline and drops the elbow down. Rodman hits a Russian Leg Sweep and covers him for a two-count. Rodman gets up and clotheslines the referee before dropping an elbow on him for good measure. Rodman thought it was a slow count. Savage grabs Rodman by the face as a new referee hits the ring. Savage chokes Rodman and works him into the ropes to choke him some more. Savage drops him throat-first on the top rope before going to the outside and assaulting a man for his camera. He hits Rodman with the camera and covers him for a two-count. Savage grabs the referee and punches him out before tossing him out. A new referee comes in and is immediately wiped out. Savage charges Rodman, but he hits Savage with a back body drop and sends Savage to the outside. That was a scary bump. Savage recovers and takes Rodman down with a shot to the head. Savage starts working him up the aisleway and throws him into the crowd. They continue working all the way up to the entrance and they start fighting to the backstage area. They start brawling before Savage throws Rodman in a porta-potty and flips it over. Rodman actually comes back from that and shoves Savage away before heading back to the ring. They fight all the way back to the ring and Rodman climbs up top, but he hits the referee on the way down. That’s number four. Gorgeous George comes down to the ring and she hands Savage something. She hits Rodman with a low blow and Savage punches him with the knucks to pick up the win after 11:30.

Winner: Randy Savage
Match Rating: 1/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This match probably didn’t need to go 11 minutes and have four ref bumps, but it did. Rodman did fine for his first singles match. This match was out of control and went all over the area. Gorgeous Geroge had been in Rodman’s crosshairs since this feud started so her playing a role in the finish makes sense.

Career vs. Career Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Title
Hulk Hogan (c) vs. “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash

Hogan is back in the Red and Yellow after wearing black to the ring for the last three years. He returned to the colors and turned back into a babyface after he helped Sting and Goldberg in a match.

The bell sounds and both men lock up. Nash shoves Hogan into the corner multiple times while the crowd is firmly behind Hogan. He shoves Nash into the other corner this time and we are at a stalemate. Nash grabs a headlock and keeps it on despite attempts from Hogan to get out. Hogan finally hits a Belly to Back Suplex to drop the big man. They do a test of strength, which Nash wins and gets a knee in the midsection. He continues to pound on Hogan and knocks him into the corner. He pounds on him there and drives his knees into the midsection. He chokes Hogan with his boot and lines him up for some more elbow shots. He showboats too long, though, and Hogan starts to make his comeback. He punches Nash in the corner and takes him down to the mat. Hogan climbs up and he hits the ten punches in the corner and gouges the eyes. Hogan takes Nash down with a shot to the head, but it’s short-lived, and Nash takes him down with a boot to the face. Nash hits a Sidewalk Slam and covers Hogan for a two-count. He sends Hogan to the outside of the ring and throws him into the beams at ringside. Nash throws him back in the ring and drops the leg across the back of Hogan in the ropes. Nash gets him back into the corner and just lays in some haymakers. Nash sends Hogan into the ropes and drops him with a big boot. Nash hits Hogan with a Jackknife Powerbomb, but Hogan kicks out and starts to no-sell the move. Hogan fires up and starts punching Nash. He hits the big boot and drops the leg to retain the title after 12:18.

Winner and STILL WCW Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan
Match Rating: 1/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was alright, but it was far from a classic. Nash beat on Hogan for a majority of this one and it just never got into second gear. Hogan absolutely no-sold the Jackknife and won in short order right after which shouldn’t be a shock to anyone. Nash would take some time off of TV, but he would be back.

The show ends as Hogan celebrates in the ring.

Overall Show Rating: 4.5 out of 10

I thought this show was a massive upgrade from the last show. I mean it wasn’t WrestleMania X-7, but you catch my drift. The first three matches took up most of the first hour, which showed WCW giving their talent time to shine. It was cool to see Harlem Heat back together and having them win the gold again was a feel-good moment. The main even matches once again fell a little short, but I have definitely seen way worse from this group. Overall, the show has solid matches and didn’t really drag as much as this has in the past.

What did you think of Road Wild 1999? Did you love it? Did you hate it? Did you not see it? Either way, keep the conversation going over @collectiveheel on Twitter to let me know your thoughts. Take care of yourselves, and each other. I will be back soon enough with some more Collective Thoughts.