GLACIER'S GREATEST CRYONIC KICK - 12/30/96 Monday Nitro vs Disco Inferno

The date was December 30, 1996. The final Monday Nitro of the year.

1996 was an absolute legendary year for World Championship Wrestling. The New World Order, founded officially at Bash At The Beach on July 9, 1996. The formation of the group led to the beginning of eighty-three straight weeks in the early stages of the Monday Night Wars. The advent of the Cruiserweights, combined with the personal rivalry with Chris Benoit and “the Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan, and the incredible reinvention of Sting from the bleached-blond “franchise player” to the silent, Crow looking vigilante helped make WCW a pop-culture phenomenon.

On this final Nitro of 1996, one of the greatest kicks ever thrown in professional wrestling transpired. This picture-perfect superkick might have been the apex of superkicks. It was thrown perfectly, taken perfectly, and got a legendary reaction from the WCW fanbase.

This was the night when Disco Inferno got his head figuratively kicked off his shoulder by the undefeated ice cold martial artist known simply as GLACIER.

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1996 was a very eventful year for Glacier in WCW. Beginning in the Spring, cryptic vignettes began to air on WCW programming, detailing his impending debut. Phrases like BLOOD RUNS COLD and Our World Is About To Change began frequently coming into wrestling vernacular. Videos with a blue hue and an icy, frozen environment, complete with symbolism all throughout, legitimately had people talking about who was showing up.

Wrestling’s version of Sub Zero was built differently. Martial arts is a tough sell in professional wrestling, especially in the United States. Yet to me, an eleven year old kid at the time, Glacier was awe-inspiring. I even decided to learn martial arts because of how awesome this character was.

Initially, the mysterious competitor was scheduled to debut in July 1996. However, it had to wait, thanks to the white-hot New World Order. It would be worth the wait.

After a soft launch on WCW Pro and Worldwide tapings in August, Glacier made his long-awaited Monday Nitro debut on the September 16, 1996 edition, defeating Big Bubba Rogers. His entrance, and subsequent match, included a blue spotlight, lasers, and snow dropping from the heavens. The perfectly maintained blond haircut meshed well with his serious demeanor, and his futuristic gear resembled a more bad-ass version of Bret Hart’s in-ring attire. 

Following a series of kicks, including a spinning back kick on the button, Glacier picked up the win in emphatic fashion.

Over the next few months, little tweaks were made with the character and aesthetic, but Glacier remained undefeated, pinning Pat Tanaka, Hardbody Harrison, Mike Winner, and Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. The ultimate maneuver in his arsenal was the patented shuffling side kick, which was quickly christened the Cryonic Kick. It looked vicious, was delivered perfectly, and, this writer’s opinion, looked better than Shawn Michaels’ Sweet Chin Music.

On December 30, Glacier decided to put his undefeated streak on the line during an episode of Monday Nitro against the Disco Inferno.

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Modern day wrestling fans could say what they want, but the Disco Inferno in 1996 was awesome. Initially seen to be the 70’s version of the Honky Tonk Man, DI quickly found himself hated by many.

Disco found himself on Nitro every single week. Although he was getting destroyed, his charm began to shine through. He began to stand out by just being himself.

For those who felt that Disco was not a good wrestler, those claims were put to rest at Bash At The Beach 1996, when he and Dean Malenko put on a Hell of a match for the Cruiserweight Championship. Disco even came within an eyelash of winning the title. For so many, this was eye-opening. This was the same guy who, in the early stages of 1996, needed a step-by-step process on how to properly do a standing Figure-4 submission hold.

Over time, many of WCW’s faithful audience began to love-to-hate Disco. Even though he was booed soundly each week, fans began “disco dancing” to his Disco Fever theme song, and genuinely getting behind the shtick each and every week on Nitro.

By the time December 30, 1996 rolled around, many fans were looking forward to this contest. The undefeated martial arts cyborg squaring off with the slapstick throwback.

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For many, this match might not have been a “five-star classic”. But it was fun to watch, both men worked well together, and the fans were absolutely HOT for it. Looking back, the absolute fervor around World Championship Wrestling from its fans was incredible.

At one point, Disco went for his standing Figure-4, but Glacier countered from the ground with an impressive sidekick. As Glacier moved forward to go back on the attack, Disco countered with a beautiful “Boogie Oogie Oogie” swinging neckbreaker.

With Glacier down on the canvas, Disco couldn’t help himself. He began dancing and strutting around the ring. Tony Schiavone, Bobby “the Brain” Heenan, and Mike Tenay on commentary were beside themselves, discussing how Disco just couldn’t stay focused.

How right they were.

While Disco was on the turnbuckles, doing the “hustle”, Glacier, like a lion in the jungle, was poised, locked, and ready to attack.

Disco hopped down, turned around, and experienced a true knock-out blow.