Background: One week before this match, The Great Muta (rocking an outfit only Shao Kahn could do properly outside of Muta himself) and The Giant clashed. Only a minute into the match, Muta found himself in position for the Chokeslam. Muta had an exit strategy – the green mist. With The Giant blinded, and the referee calling for the bell, a Randy Savage-led group of nWo members attacked The Giant until Giant’s mass girth and strength allowed him to break free of their clutches.
Monday Nitro
July 28, 1997
Charleston, WV
Before the match, “Macho Man” Randy Savage – with Elizabeth by his side – spoke from the his spot high in the crowd about how he was going to take down The Giant at “Road Wild” after disposing of “Scotty” Steiner tonight. The Giant responded by stating tonight will be just a small showcase of what The Giant has in store for Savage at the pay-per-view.
The Giant vs. The Great Muta
As Muta and Giant squared off, Eric Bischoff took his spot at the announce table by sending everyone except Tony Schiavoni to the back. When Muta realized he couldn’t overpower The Giant, he started kicking and chopping the ever-loving life out of him. Sadly for the newest member of the nWo, The Giant turned the tables and clobbered Muta with a Bischoff described, “Very, very weak forearm.” Muta felt otherwise, making his way to the floor. The Giant responded to Muta hitting the ropes for momentum when he reentered by kicking him in the face.
Muta smartly crawled underneath the ring, exiting on the other side so he could dropkick The Giant from behind when he returned inside. Using a quick roll, Muta was able to dropkick The Giant’s legs from underneath him. As the fans chanted in favor of The Giant, Muta used a flying karate chop-missile dropkick combination that didn’t put the future Big Show down. Eventually making a huge mistake, Muta jumped right into the clutches of The Giant. Before Giant could Chokeslam Muta, The Great Muta unleashed his green mist. Learning from their last encounter, Giant threw his arm up to block his eyes to the shock of Tony – who was watching the close up, yet didn’t realize what The Giant had done to save his eyesight. One Chokeslam later, and The Giant was well on his way to “Road Wild” with a victory over a legend.
Winner: The Giant (5:58)
Following the match, The Giant’s promo was interrupted by Larry Zybysko dragging Eric Bischoff to the ring so The Giant could Chokeslam him to a thunderous ovation. Seriously, the reaction from the crowd as The Giant hoisted Eric by his throat was phenomenal.
Is it a Classic: Not in the sense of it being an all-time great, but the oddity of seeing The Big Show take on The Great Muta is well worth a viewing. If that isn’t enough to get you excited, know that match was actually pretty good; and exactly what it should’ve been. Muta was a crafty veteran who lost due to his evilness working against him. The Giant showed he can be hurt, but overcomes. Good stuff all around.
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