That Hennig vs. Eaton match on Monday Nitro in February 1998...man, it's just...weirdly perfect.
A sub-three-minute snapshot of a very specific, and frankly, bizarre era of wrestling. You had Meng and Barbarian beating each other up, Sting and Luger teaming up, and Goldberg just crushing someone to kick things off. But for me, it's always been about NWO Hennig. That image of him, that cocky smirk, the alliance with Hogan... just felt so out of place.
I always thought Hennig's role should have been to antagonize anything Hogan was involved in. Mr. Perfect took a hammer and smashed up the Hulkster's WWF belt. That kinda hatred is Hall of Fame worthy.
They should have a Wrestling HoF wing dedicated to hate. I need Perfect breaking the Belt, and John Cena burying Wade Barrett under a bunch of folding chairs to be the first inductions.
Poor Bobby Eaton. He barely got a chance to do anything in that match. He went after Hennig's knee, which was a smart move, but then...bam! Hennig hits that legendary fisherman suplex, the one that was once known as being perfect, but downgraded to being his last name due to him not owning the copyright to his wrestling persona. and that was it. Match over. NWO theme plays. It's just...done.
I have a hard time re-watching Hennig's WCW run during this period. It's still jarring to see so many WCW guys just...join the enemy. The group that was supposed to be destroying the company? That storyline jumped the shark so many times, it's a wonder anyone still cared after 1999.
I guess people really loved those NWO t-shirts.
Hennig was a guy that should have been a thorn in the NWO's side. He should have been the one to disrupt them, to expose them. Not join them. Hennig as a low level lackey is pretty messed up. I'd rather have seen him encourage the younger guys to step up and challenge the NWO, while also delivering verbal barbs to the heavy hitters in promos.
And Eaton, well, he was just there. A victim of the NWO machine.
Also time. Father Time came through at the start of 1990, and made the Midnight Express look instantly old and outdated. He was still a good wrestler, There's no way he'd get good tv time to display that when you had Eddie, 2 Chris's and a Malenko featured later in the same show.
That match was as long as it needed to be. A quick, forgettable encounter, just another footnote in the NWO's reign of terror.
Gotta beat up on the dangerous Bobby Eaton to help establish that...
**Eric Bischoff voice**
We are in control! 🤣
Even though the match was short, it still tells a story. A story of missed opportunities, of wasted potential, and of a storyline that went on way too long. It's a weird, oddly compelling glimpse into a very specific moment in wrestling history.
Ultimately, Hennig vs. Eaton is a reminder of how things could have been. It's a "what if" scenario that plays out in under three minutes. And for some reason, that's enough to keep me thinking about it, even all these years later.