WCW '98: One More Hart Beat

[Gabriel]

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: “Macho Man” Randy Savage© vs “Hollywood” Hogan vs Bret “The Hitman” Hart

-It's definately too early to be giving Hart the ball at this point... however, there's longevity in a Hart/Savage feud, and I see that happening here. Savage pins Hogan to get him out of the picture, and then goes on to some matches with The Hitman for the belt, while Hogan tends to the falling apart of the nWo.

WCW Tag Team Championship Match: The Outsiders© vs The Giant & Sting

-I can't see this ending here, but I don't think that Hall and Nash are going to drop the belts... so I'm really intrigued as to how this will go down.

Bowery Death Match: “Diamond” Dallas Page & Goldberg vs Raven & Saturn

-We think that Kidman's going to play a part here, and if he does, it's going to be the part of costing Raven and Saturn the match. Kidman attacks Saturn halfway through the match, leaving Raven to do battle with Page and Goldberg on his own. Goldberg with a Jackhammer pins Raven, and he's out of contention for the US Title. Saturn and Kidman go on to feud, with Raven playing the role of mother. Page challenges Bill to a match for the belt, and we get the Jackhammer into a Diamond Cutter that I've been craving to see since the first time I saw it in WCW.

The Rising Sons vs Davey Boy Smith & Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart

-It just seems counter productive to do anything but put the Sons over. Smith and Neidhart seem destined to fill the role of Veteran Jobber Tag Team, but there are brighter things ahead for their opponents.

Iron Challenge; WCW Television Title Match: Booker T© vs Chris Benoit

-Booker defends the belt every show, and it's not getting tiresome. Benoit's got other things on his plate, and doesn't need the belt to move into his next program. If Booker loses, he doesn't have anything else set up but this Benoit program, and stretching this out wouldn't be good for either man in the long term... so Booker retains... Benoit moves on to the Horsemen reformation... and everyone's happy.

Scott Steiner & Buff Bagwell & Brian Adams vs Rick Steiner & Lex Luger

-DFG and Luger pick up the win over nWo Job Squad, but not at Big Poppa Pump's expense. Adams or Bagwell take the fall, setting up the Big Bad Booty Daddy against his brother in the final confrontation.

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chris Jericho© vs Dean Malenko

Cruiserweight Battle Royal

-I'm going to have to agree with He Who Posted Before Me. This is one point where I would strongly urge you, and anyone else playing EWR in this time period, to go with exactly what happened, because it was an amazing moment. Even my mom, who never watched WCW, was watching it with me that night, and she applauded it just based on the promos heading into the match, and the drama that Jericho and Malenko built up for this moment.

[JStarr]

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: “Macho Man” Randy Savage© vs “Hollywood” Hogan vs Bret “The Hitman” Hart

--I'll go a different route than the rest. Play the creative control card and get the title back on Hogan. Bret's big win needs to be over the man who cost him his moment of glory several years prior.

WCW Tag Team Championship Match: The Outsiders© vs The Giant & Sting

--Have to agree with Corino...there's a bunch of superteams that have a very short list of duos that should be able to beat them, and these are two of those superteams. If it were me, I don't think I'd tie Sting down to having the tag gold.

Bowery Death Match: “Diamond” Dallas Page & Goldberg vs Raven & Saturn

--More dissent between the Flock, and somehow it spills over into this match? I'd love to see a renewed push for Raven and Saturn, but it'd likely take some booking gymnastics to put them over two of WCW's big guns.

The Rising Sons vs Davey Boy Smith & Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart

--SQUASH!!!! Please?

Iron Challenge; WCW Television Title Match: Booker T© vs Chris Benoit

--Maybe Booker's wearing down after the perpetual grind of defending the title every show? I'd say it makes even more sense for Benoit to triumph if he's going to be part of the Horsemen...after all, the Horsemen don't hire losers.

Scott Steiner & Buff Bagwell & Brian Adams vs Rick Steiner & Lex Luger

--This is where the nWo Hollywood starts to fall apart. Love to see Rick pin Scott.

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chris Jericho© vs Chavo Guerrero

--And yes, give Chavo the gold. By Malenko-ference. Having Dean make the big comeback and win the battle royal is ringing pretty obvious right now.

Cruiserweight Battle Royal

--Again, I'll go against the grain and call Chavo Guerrero. It'd help to start breaking him out of Eddy's influence by letting him win something big on his own.

[TGC]

Behind yet about to not be anymore. Nitro:

-You are correct, Kidman in his prime against Eaton in his prime would have been a fantastic match. This was good, but not what it could have been. I love Kidman, as a lot of people know, and here's hoping that you have some plans for him that involve him getting a personality and going somewhere.

-Your Jericho is so good, I have nothing else to say, except of course Dean Malenko.

-Good TV Title Match. Very good. Now, I know of your personal hatred for Book, but it is good to see you not burying him just yet despite that. However if Benoit doesn't walk out of the Iron Man Match at Slamboree as Champ, I'll be shocked. Oh, and god I hate Rick Steiner.

-Another match that a few years earlier could have been a showcase of two of the greatest talents in the entire industry is next, as we see Hennig take on Muta. Wow, just imagine how awesome that would have been say around 1990-1992. Those two could have had a series of matches that would have been spectacular. Sadly, this one ends with Evan interfering. Not a great way to end what was a good match IMO, as it takes away from it a lot. Here's hoping we see these two go at it again someday. And where was Chono?

-See, I'm not really digging Evan's storyline much yet, but that said, the stopping of the clock was brilliant. You just took an idea I had for an upcoming show and used it about a month before I came up with mine. Damn you. Good booking, and a solid way to move the feud along.

-Fantastic video for the Cruiserweight Title Match. Absolutely brilliant. Nice.

-I love you Jericho matches. Very well done. Now there was no way in hell Garza was winning, especially right before the PPV, but it was a very well done match. Fun and exciting.

-Speaking of good videos, man you are on fire. The Horsemen/Flair video was gold. Imagine seeing this hype for weeks and weeks leading to the return of Flair on Nitro. Talk about a mark out must see show. And one hell of a way to make sure the fans tune in to Nitro. That said, perhaps it would have been best to do this on PPV? I know winning the monday night Ratings War was important, but so was selling PPV's. Oh well, it always seemed like Bischoff was more worried with Nitro's ratings anyways, as evidenced by him giving hogan and Goldberg away for free, so you are probably accurate her, but man oh man seems like a waste of a huge potential PPV buy uptrend. Who didn't want to see Flair back?

-Holy hell, High Voltage won a match? Well, it was against PE, the worst fan fave Tag Team pretty much ever, but still, shocking.

-Yay Finlay finally won a match. Yes, by count out, but he won and he won against a Main Eventer like The Giant. It counts to me.

-Funny how Sting and The Giant stand for WCW, knowing full well that The Giant was nWo at least once already, and maybe multiple times. Oh how WCW forgets her own convoluted, crazy, nWo history.

-Man, that Hart Family vs. nWo Losers match wasn't good. At all. Not one damn bit. Ugghhh.

-Great interview by Bret. You really nailed him, and at the same time despite his words, you put enough doubt on his true intentions to make me wonder if he's gonna stay with WCW or join the nWo. Well done, very well done.

-Good Main Event. Hogan lost in such a way that makes sense. Here's a little history for you though. Until now, Savage had never ever pinned Hogan on TV or on PPV. Not ever. In fact, the only real wins Savage ever had against Hogan were cout out and DQ's. That was a major major win here, and it needed to be played up as such. Another note you might not be aware of, but every single one of Savage's World Title losses where he was champ he either lost to Hogan or Flair.

All in all a good Hard Sell Nitro. Very nice.

Overall Grade B+

And now for Thunder:

-Nice, very nice way to get over The Outsiders vs. Sting and Giant match one last time before the PPV. That was so good from all participants. And hey, even you mentioned that The Giant joined the nWo at least once. Kudos.

-Remember when Konnan came to WCW and was put over as this huge Mexican Wrestling star who coul actually wrestle? And he beat major names to get over? Yeah, I do too. Too bad by this point he was a worthless joke. Nice to see you continuing that trend though.

-Oh hell yes beating Neidhart down with an actual anvil is fucking gold. I don't care if the Hart Family Members are supposed to be the faces, I'm a Rising Sons mark through and through. They are the faces for me.

-A Flock disintegration coming? Give me a Saturn vs. Kidman feud and I will love you. For real.

-A Glacier push is never bad. Never ever.

-Wow I hate Evan. It's a good push and a new way to use him as XG said, but I really hate him for screwing Hennig over twice now. And can Booker win any match without help now?

-I don't care if it was via screwjob, Benoit pinning DDP is huge. Absolutely monumental. Oh, and a great match. MOTN IMHO.

-Buff and Liz in a backstage segment and nobody falls asleep? And it gets a B? Oh that wacky TEW scenario you have.

-Rap Is Crap, The West Texas Rednecks rule, and this match blows.

-Hennig and Rude are gold. I miss them both.

-What, no Buff and Randy match? No Outsider interference? Oh wait, it's Thunder, where The Big Boys Rarely Show Up. Good, clean, fun, Main Event Match that sold Sting as The Franchise of WCW, able to take on and usually defeat any nWoer not named Hogan. I liked it.

So not as good as Nitro, but for a Thunder it was jame packed with actual stars. Stunning.

Overall grade B-

And now for some Slamboree Predictions:

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: “Macho Man” Randy Savage© vs “Hollywood” Hogan vs Bret “The Hitman” Hart

Now I know that the odds on favorite here to win is Hart, especially seeing as the name of the diary is One More Hart Beat, but I just don't see it happening yet, especially at a nothing PPV like Slamboree. So I have to give my vote to Savage to retain. He pins Hogan, again, and Hart is saved for The Great American Bash. This doesn't mean Hart will face Savage necessarily, as Hogan could win the blet on the next Nitro for all I know. It is WCW afterall.

WCW Tag Team Championship Match: The Outsiders© vs The Giant & Sting

Hall is such a wildcard nowadays, that him being a champion iof anything is a mistake. Sting and The Giant will win, and hell, maybe they won't feud and destroy what little is left of the WCW Tag Team Titles prestige. Maybe.

Bowery Death Match: “Diamond” Dallas Page & Goldberg vs Raven & Saturn

This could be MOTN just based on the senseless violence and OTT action we should see inside the cage. That said, DDP and Goldberg kinda have to win, and Saturn should be the one taking the loss here. Plus, it furthers the end of The Flock, which I see coming a mile away.

Iron Challenge: WCW Television Title Match: Booker T© vs Chris Benoit

Benoit or Booker? It's hard to say. Benoit walking back into The Horsemen a champion makes sense, but Booker needs something to do post feud, and being a champion gives him that something. However you hatred for singles Booker is well documented, so I have to go with Christ Benoit for the feud ending win.

The Rising Sons vs Davey Boy Smith & Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart

Not even open to speculation in my book. The Rising Sons walk away victorious, and hopefully into Tag Title contention.

Scott Steiner & Buff Bagwell & Brian Adams vs Rick Steiner & Lex Luger

The first real match I simply do not care about at all. I guess I'll go with The nWo Losers simply because I hate then less than Rick Steiner, and Scott has jobbed a lot in the last week.

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chris Jericho© vs The Winner Of The Cruiserweight Battle Royal

Kinda hard to predict, what with us not knowing who exactly is in the BR. That said I will stick by my guns and say Dean Malenko.

Cruiserweight Battle Royal

Again, I guess I'm saying Dean Malenko when he makes his shocking return to WCW, is over like a motherfucker just like he was in reality, and wins this.

Can't wait for the PPV now man.

Edited November 15, 2006 by The New Blood TGC

[Xero Gravity]

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: “Macho Man” Randy Savage© vs “Hollywood” Hogan vs Bret “The Hitman” Hart

From the start, I was dead set on Hart walking out with the belt. But it never actually dawned on me that this is only Slamboree until TGC mentioned it So with that in mind, I think I'm leaning more towards Savage retaining. Because let's face it, I don't think I could stomach a Hogan run right now. However, I do agree that it would be good for Hart to pin Hogan to win the belt at some point.

WCW Tag Team Championship Match: The Outsiders© vs The Giant & Sting

Right now, The Outsiders are one of my favourite parts of the diary. So I'm a little torn on whether or not to vote against them. On the one hand, they're not a makeshift team like Sting and Giant. On the other, Hall is a liability. But I think I'm gonna have to go with my heart on this one and say Outsiders retain.

Bowery Death Match: “Diamond” Dallas Page & Goldberg vs Raven & Saturn

Poor, poor, poor, poor, poor, Raven. That's all I have to say really. There's no way Goldberg isn't Jackhammering Saturn for the win.

Iron Challenge: WCW Television Title Match: Booker T© vs Chris Benoit

This is the match I'm most unsure about. We've gone over it a lot since the match was announced, with the pros and cons for each outcome. I think I prefer the scenario with Benoit winning, so that's the way I'm leaning.

The Rising Sons vs Davey Boy Smith & Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart

Simple really...Rising Sons lose, and I'm disowning you

Scott Steiner & Buff Bagwell & Brian Adams vs Rick Steiner & Lex Luger

Ahhh, the match I'm least interested in. As TGC said, Rick Steiner is detestable and Scott really needs a win under his belt.

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chris Jericho© vs The Winner Of The Cruiserweight Battle Royal

I never got to see WCW areound this time, so I don't know just how good the malenko thing was in real life. But it seems to be a running thing that history should repeat itself here. So I don't think I can really argue with that and go for a Malenko victory.

[Szumi]

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: “Macho Man” Randy Savage© vs “Hollywood” Hogan vs Bret “The Hitman” Hart

Of course Hart seems like the likely candidate to win the belt, but meh, not happening... yet. Hart's either winning the Belt at Bash at the Beach, or Fall Brawl. But not until then. And there's no way you can hold him getting the belt until Starrcade. No way at all. Hogan hasn't really looked credible enough to be Champion to me, not yet. But then again, neither has Savage. Hogan's getting the belt at some point, because Hart has to beat Hulk, cleanly, to win the Title. Hart vs. Hogan is the money feud, not Hart and Savage. And so for that, Randy Savage will be keeping the Title, but will belosing it shortly to Hulk.

WCW Tag Team Championship Match: The Outsiders© vs The Giant & Sting

I'm loving Nash in this diary. You write him so well. I want to say that The Outsiders will be retaining the belts, because a loss never does them good. But getting Nash and Hall away from the Tag Belts will only help the Tag Division, and let Nash and Hall pursue other options, like focusing on the nWo feud, that needs to be resolved, either at Fall Brawl or hopefully not, Starrcade. Bash at the Beach could work, but that would be a little too fast for me. But nevertheless, Sting & Giant are walking away with the Belts.

Bowery Death Match: “Diamond” Dallas Page & Goldberg vs Raven & Saturn

I agree; poor Raven. Great character, good wrestler, but he's on the losing team at Slamboree. DDP & Goldberg are winning this, simply because Goldy can't lose. However, can't wait for the DDP/Raven feud to continue afterwards, and hoping Raven gets to go over. That would just tickle me pink.

The Rising Sons vs Davey Boy Smith & Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart

The build-up for this match has been absolutely solid, glad to see these 4 getting the TV time and pushes. I want to say DBS and JTAN will win, but I'm going with The Rising Sons winning, pinning Neidhart, because he'll be weak from the Thunder attack. I can see a re-match at GAB, with the faces getting the win. But for now, the Japs get the Dubya.

Iron Challenge WCW Television Title Match Booker T vs Chris Benoit

Hmm... this is a tough one to call, but damn will it be fun to read. I'm really not sure who will win because both men seem so equal. I think Booker would benefit the most from keeping the Title, but I am goign to say Benoit will walk away the winner for the big Horseman re-union the next night.

Scott Steiner & Buff Bagwell & Brian Adams vs Rick Steiner & Lex Luger

Ugh, does it realy matters who wins? Matches like these are boring to read, and even more boring to write. I'll say the nWo racks up the win, just because it makes them look strong. And meh, maybe a turn from Luger. He's a much better heel. He can be somewhat interesting as a heel. As a face... worse than Orton.

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chris Jericho© vs The Winner Of The Cruiserweight Battle Royal

Chavo Guererro Jr. wins the battle royal, and then shocks everyone by winning the Cruiserweight Title, and possibly leading into a feud with Eddy. These two have to feud at some point, so let's get it going! Now how is Chavo goign to win, you ask? Duh, Dean Malenko. Malenko and Jericho are above the Cruiserweight Title, so it is pointless to keep them around it. Malenko costs Jericho the belt, and the Title can focus on a Chavo/Eddy feud, while Malenko and Jericho feud away from it.

Cruiserweight Battle Royal

I know a lot of people are expecting Dean Malenko to return from his injury, enter the battle royal, win it, and face Jericho. I don't see that happening. After a strong run, I see Chavo Guerrero Jr. picking up the big win in the battle royal, possibly because of Eddy botching a run-in, or just clean. And that leads to the events in the cruiserweight title match. If Chavo doesn't win, then Malenko will be in this match, and winning it all. These are the only two guys worthy right now.

Overall, I am loving everything Enforcer, and I am glad I got caught up with this. Great stuff, and get moving on Slamboree already.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Szumi

[Draevyn]

~Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington~

Slamboree starts off with a huge pyro explosion, and some nice shots of the jampacked crowd who have all filtered into the Tacoma Dome for what promises to be an exciting night of action. Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan are in the broadcast booth for the evening, and they mention that Mike Tenay has got the night off, which brings them down to a two man crew. They hype the nights festivities and each of the matches, but they’re cut off by some generic music to start the opening match.

Cruiserweight Invitational Tournament (Tokyo Magnum, Billy Kidman, Super Calo, Juventud Guerrera, Lodi, Damien, Hector Garza, El Dandy, Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Prince Iaukea)

All ten men come to the ring in a single file line, proving that sometimes WCW forgets alignments simply to save time. As all ten poured in, the bell rang and they were off and running. For the opening five or six minutes the match was a complete clusterfuck with everyone hitting anything and everyone that moved. Tension was high as Chavo drew back to hit his uncle, but Eddie begged off and then planted an arm right into the younger Guerrero’s nether regions. Eddie laughed it off until he was taken out with a dropkick from Kidman who had been propelled through the air by Prince Iaukea. Iaukea seemed like a man on a mission in this match , looking to get back into the title hunt that he was told he’d never be able to be in again as long as Jericho was champion. He unleashes shots on every single competitor before becoming the first man with an elimination to his name, sending Super Calo up and over the ropes where he crashed to the outside.

Elimination One: Super Calo by Prince Iaukea

Kidman seems content to stay away from the action, actually acting like his leader and taking a seat in the corner, watching everything going on around him. Doesn’t bode well for him when Chavo charges across the ring and nails him with a dropkick in the face though, and Kidman quickly rolls under the bottom rope to the outside. This doesn’t help him either as the rest of The Flock is sitting in the front row, and Saturn takes this time to berate his fellow member with some harsh words. Kidman, after shaking off the dropkick, simply glares at Saturn before turning back around. If he didn’t have bad luck, he’d have no luck at all because turning around puts him right in line with a Juventud baseball slide. Kidman goes spine first into the barricade and then actually up and over, right into the lap of the irate Saturn. Crowd fighting seems to be the in thing during this battle royal because during Juventud’s celebration, a long blonde haired kid in the front row throws a cup of something into the face of Guerrera and the two begin throwing punches at each other until security is forced to come and break them up. Kidman is dumped over the barricade by the rest of the Flock and he finds his way back into the ring.

Juventud finishes with what he’s doing outside and then gets on the apron, using the ropes to springboard into the ring and deliver a spinning heel kick to the unsuspecting Hector Garza. Standing moonsault from Guerrera to Garza leaves the masked luchadore open to a snap suplex, with extra snap from Eddie Guerrero. The cocky latino then parades around only to get caught in a tornado ddt from his nephew Chavo. Once more the men all pair off and battle each other, with El Dandy actually catching Prince Iaukea with a left hand that knocks him to the mat. Chavo taunts Eddie, actually smacking him across the face a couple of times before pulling him up and delivering a pendulum backbreaker. Juventud charges Lodi and goes for a hurricanrana, but Lodi launches him completely over. Juventud lands on the top rope, steadies himself and spins around taking both Lodi and Damien down with a dropkick. Magnum TOKYO charges at Juventud, but Juvy drops down, grabbing the rope and pulling it with him. TOKYO crashes over the top rope and to the floor, for the second elimination.

Second Elimination: Magnum TOKYO by Juventud Guerrera

Iaukea dropkicks Damien back into the ropes and unleashes a series of chops on him before whipping him across the ring towards the other corner but Garza catches him and drives him into the mat with a powerslam. Another standing move as Garza connects with a standing corkscrew splash, but he hooks the leg for the pin and looks confused when there is no count. Heenan calls him an idiot while Schiavone assures him that these men are used to making the pin, and not throwing them over the top rope as this match requires. Garza finally realizes he’s doing something wrong but it’s too late because Lodi has gone outside and gotten his sign from Sickboy, who was holding it. He slides in the ring and makes sure to hold it in the face of Garza. The sign reads “El Stupido” but Garza looks like he’s trying to read it until Lodi smacks him over the head with it, and then peels back the pages to reveal a stop sign hidden between the pages. (“Guess he should have read between the lines”-Bobby Heenan)

Just then Prince Iaukea grabs the sign from Lodi and cracks him over the head with it before tossing it onto the mat and driving him down with a ddt. He goes for the cover, and once again there is confusion as no count is registered. Iaukea curses under his breath and picks Lodi up off the mat, tossing him over the top rope. Lodi, fortunately for him, lands on the apron and rolls back under the bottom rope. He comes in and Iaukea shows a mean streak, stomping him down against the ropes. Unfortunately for Iaukea, his mind was entirely on stomping away at Lodi and he didn’t notice Chavo sneaking up behind him. Chavo dropkicks him in the back, sending him up and over the ropes and to the floor. The Prince is furious and he kicks the barricade and swears at Chavo, who simply shrugs and turns around, right into a hurricanrana from Juventud Guerrera.

Third Elimination: Prince Iaukea by Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Iaukea continues to fight with referees on the outside, but finally stomps his way to the back, much like a little kid would during a temper tantrum. Eddie attempts to powerbomb Damien, but the big Mexican just won’t go up and instead Eddie is backdropped up and over. Damien tries to toss Eddie over the top rope but Eddie holds on like a spider until El Dandy comes over and begins to hammer away on Damien. Dandy whips Damien into the ropes and connects with a back elbow, sets up for an elbow drop and gets his head taken off by a Garza superkick. Everything seems to be breaking down once more as everyone just opens up, almost like they’ve gotten their second wind and are attempting to throw each other out. Garza attempts to shove Dandy over the top on one side while Chavo has Juventud sitting on the top rope and is bouncing it up and down. Damien is still sitting awkwardly in the corner Wait, where is Lodi? Oh, that’s right, he’s found a marker and is busy writing a new sign on the outside of the ring.

Lodi doesn’t even get a chance to use the sign because as soon as he slides into the ring Juventud Guerrera launches himself around the body of Lodi and spins him over the top rope Lodi lands hard, and in a move that Heenan calls completely stupid, Garza forgets what kind of match this is and completely wipes Lodi out by leaping to the top rope and connecting with a twisting plancha to the outside of the ring. As soon as he lands, the referee’s are right there to remind Garza that he’d just eliminated himself. He’s confused at first, embarrassed at second, but unlike Iaukea, he doesn’t throw a tantrum and simply walks to the back. Lodi isn’t so lucky as he lays sprawled on the floor.

Fourth Elimination: Lodi by Juventud Guerrera

Fifth Elimination: Hector Garza by Himself

Inside the ring, Damien and Kidman are standing center ring slugging it out, with neither man gaining the upperhand. Chavo and Eddie look at each other and then attack El Dandy. Schiavone mentions the fact that the Guerrero’s are working together, and just as soon as he mentions it, Eddie turns and clotheslines Chavo Guerrero. Chavo quickly gets back to his feet but Eddie is there with a kick to the gut and a devastating looking brainbuster in the center of the ring. Eddie goes up top and delivers a “Frogsplash” but as soon as he gets back to his feet, Dandy connects with a stiff right hand that Schiavone calls “The Dandy Punch.” Eddie sells it like death, and flops around on the mat holding his jaw while Dandy raises his fist to the crowd, who don’t care one bit. Dandy, seemingly knowing that they didn’t give him the reaction he wanted raises his hand once more, and once more gets nothing. Well, not exactly nothing because Kidman has knocked Damien to the mat and turns around, dropkicking Dandy in the knee and sending him to the mat. Kidman is on fire and he grabs Dandy, picks up Damien and drives both their heads together. In what might be the funniest moment of the entire match, Dandy and Damien actually do a rendition of the old Stooges prank. Dandy attempts a poke to the eye, which is blocked by Damien who holds his hand out for high five. Dandy slaps Damien’s hand which sends it spinning around and smacks Dandy in the back of the head. Kidman finishes the skit by grabbing them both by the ears, helping them to the ropes, and then tossing them over by their ears. Kidman nearly breaks character by smiling, but then he spots Saturn yelling at him and the anger comes back to his demeanor.

Sixth Elimination: Damien by Kidman

Seventh Elimination: El Dandy by Kidman

With the match down to three participants, things begin heating up. Well, sort of. Eddie, forgetting that this was a sanctioned match and Chavo could strike him, began throwing orders at the younger Guerrero, telling him to attack Kidman. Instead, Chavo spun around and nailed Eddie with a series of right hands that surprised his elder, and rocked him back into the ropes. Kidman took the hint and joined Chavo, grabbing Eddie and the two tossed him into the ropes before backdropping him halfway across the ring. Eddie sells the back, but he gets to his knees and begs off from both men. Kidman launches into a stomp attack as Chavo slides out of the ring and takes a chair from the crowd before sliding back in. Once more Kidman stops stomping and Eddie is back to begging off as Chavo approaches with the chair. As the fans begin to cheer for the chair shot, Chavo actually has second thoughts and seemingly can’t do it. He drops the chair to his side and Eddie smirks, until Kidman grabs the chair. Eddie quickly bails out of the ring, sliding under the rope, and when Chavo turns to argue with Kidman, he takes a chair shot right to the forehead. Eddie slides back in the ring and charges, looking to take Kidman down but Kidman tosses him over the top rope. He lands on the apron, and as he gets to his feet Chavo charges at Kidman, who moves. Chavo and Eddie collides, with Eddie going flying into the barricade and being eliminated. Chavo doesn’t have time to look shocked as Kidman grabs him and connects with an inverted tornado ddt. Kidman heads to the outside before delivering a slingshot legdrop.

Kidman looks out at Saturn and yells something at him, but Saturn just shakes his head, and Kidman turns around and grabs Chavo, picking him up and bringing him close to the ropes. The two struggle against the ropes, and Eddie actually reaches into the ring and grabs Chavo’s arm, trying to pull him over the top. The refs are there, trying to pull Eddie away but he manages to pull Chavo over the top. Luckily for Chavo, he hooks his leg under the arms of Kidman and brings him over the ropes too. Kidman crashes to the floor while Chavo manages to land on the apron. Eddie swears, and kicks the barricade while Chavo rolls back under the bottom rope with the referee’s, who raise his hand in victory. Schiavone says that Eddie’s interference backfired, while Heenan claims that it went perfect because he was attempting to help Chavo, and it worked. Schiavone questioned how naive Heenan was as Eddie and Chavo head up the ramp, arguing with each other once more, while commentary hypes the fact that it will now be Chavo Guerrero challenging Chris Jericho for the Cruiserweight Title.

Chavo Guerrero Jr Wins The Cruiserweight Battle Royal-B-

WCW Television Title, Iron Challenge Match: Booker T© vs Chris Benoit

While Eddie and Chavo leave the ringside area, and the referee’s all make their way to the back, Schiavone and Heenan spend time hyping this match as the classic that it is sure to be. They detail the matches that Benoit and Booker have had, and what has seemingly been Benoit’s inability to beat Booker T. Neither one can agree on who the sixty minute time limit favours, with Schiavone claiming it favors the champion, while Heenan argues that Benoit is much more conditioned and ready to go for the allotted time. Benoit looks quite focused as his music hits, and he makes his way through the curtain to a slightly mixed reaction, with what seemed like more jeers filtering through the cheers than usual. The Crippler doesn’t even acknowledge the fans, massaging his wrists as he makes that slow and methodical walk to the ring, staring straight ahead like a horse with blinders on. Booker is a bit more jovial, all smiles as he comes through the curtain sporting his World Television Championship, and raising the roof to an electrifying amount of pyrotechnics. Unlike his challenger, Booker actually slaps hands with a few of the fans at ringside, even stopping to sign an autograph for a little kid who flashes it around excitedly. His joy soon changes though as he ducks under the middle rope and is immediately attacked by the challenger. As Benoit pulls him into the center of the ring, referee Charles Robinson rings the bell, and begins the match.

Benoit straightens the champion up long enough to unleash a stiff knife edge chop that sends him to the mat once more. The challenger is quick to grab the Television title and rip it from the waist of the champion, tossing it into the corner before returning to stomping away at the champion. Booker blocks some of the shots while trying to get back to his feet but Benoit continues to hammer away at him. The two battle against the ropes with Booker finally firing back, but Benoit is relentless, pounding away at Booker with punches before whipping him across the ring. Benoit drops his head too early though and Booker takes advantage of this mistake, kicking him right in the jaw and then another one right to the midsection which doubles him over again. Booker hits the ropes and attempts his axe kick but Benoit pulls away and quickly heads to the outside of the ring. Booker raises his hands and gets a nice pop from the crowd. Benoit is upset at this reaction, and he shows it by glaring at a couple fans in the front row.

Booker doesn’t want to allow Benoit to set the pace, and he reaches over the ropes, attempting to grab Benoit, but this is a mistake as Benoit smacks him right in the face with an open handed slap. Booker staggers back, more shocked than in pain, but it gives Benoit the chance he needs to once again go on the offensive. This time he chooses not to stand up with Benoit, taking him down to the mat with a double leg and then mounting him. He quickly transitions into a cross armbreaker, but Booker quickly struggles to the ropes and forces the break. Benoit holds on until the last possible second, which again earns him some boos from the fans and a tongue lashing from the referee. Benoit takes a second too long before attempting to come in for the attack once more and this time Booker kicks him right in the gut, sending him doubled over backwards. He lands in a seated position and Booker gets to his feet, shaking the arm, but he gets a few stomps in on Benoit before the challenger gets back to his feet. Irish whip to the ropes and Booker takes Benoit to the mat with a back elbow to the face, following it up with a quick elbow drop. Booker hooks the leg but only gets a two count.

Schiavone questions the time but Heenan tells him, and the fans at home, that they are scheduled to be updated every ten minutes. Benoit attempts to take solice in the corner but Booker is there, stomping away at him until he manages to stand. Booker attempts another whip but this one is reversed and he’s sent crashing into the corner. He comes staggering out and Benoit sends him flying with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Booker struggles to his feet and gets taken down with a clothesline. He rolls out of the ring for some air but Benoit isn’t going to let him have it, following him out and driving a knee into the champion’s spine, driving him headfirst into the barricade. Benoit takes his time, looking around at the fans before reaching into the crowd and grabbing an empty chair, from which Schiavone mentions that Benoit has found the only empty chair in the place. He slides it into the ring and then approaches Booker T as the first time announcement is made.

Time Remaining: 50 Minutes

Benoit seems to contemplate the time announcement, which gives Booker a chance to recover and fire off a couple shots to the stomach of the challenger, but Benoit quickly plants a knee into the mid-section of the champion and then bounces his head off the steel barricade. Benoit picks Booker up like he’s going to drive him down for a spinebuster, carrying him around for a second before driving him spine first into the ring apron. From there Benoit rolls him back into the ring. He stands over Booker as the champion crawls towards the ropes, but as Booker crawls Benoit leaps into the air and brings his entire weight crashing down across Booker’s back. Booker continues to struggle until Benoit does the same move once more. This time Benoit remains in a seated position across Booker’s back and grabs his chin, pulling him back into a camel clutch. Booker struggles for the ropes, trying to break the submission, but Benoit wrenches back on the move, even going so far as to fishhook Booker for added pressure and pain. Of course this is an illegal move, and Robinson counts for the break. Benoit once more waits till four to break, and then gets to his feet to argue with the decision.

Robinson stands by his decision, and Benoit kicks the ropes in frustration, but he goes back to Booker T, picking him up off the mat and backing him against the ropes. Booker seems completely out of it, which is the reason he gets such a strong pop when he falls to the mat, grabs Benoit by the tights and pulls him through the ropes, tossing him to the outside of the ring. Benoit is just as schocked as everyone else, especially when Booker gets to his feet, bounces off the ropes and connects with a baseball slide, sending Benoit over the guard rail and into the crowd. Booker, holding his back, makes his way over to the barricade and slips over it, joining Benoit in the crowd. Robinson doesn’t know what to do as a count out wouldn’t favor either man, so instead, he follows them into the audience and attempts to talk them into getting back in the ring. They aren’t buying it though and Booker strikes Benoit, driving him further into the crowd where many of the fans all scramble to touch Booker T while security holds them back. Booker charges, but Benoit has enough time to step aside, and toss him face first into the wall.

Booker turns around and Benoit reddens his chest with a stiff chop that rung out, even above the roar of the crowd. Benoit goes for another chop but Booker ducks and spins around, hook kicking him right in the jaw and sending him sprawling into the wall once more. The champion charges in and drives a knee straight into the challengers jaw. (“Pick up in aisle two! Someone grab Benoit’s teeth.”-Tony Schiavone, “I wonder if that’s how he lost the other one..”-Bobby Heenan) As Booker pulls Benoit up, the challenger quickly fires off a kick to the stomach and attempts a ddt onto the concrete, but Booker thrusts forward, driving the challenger into the cement wall. The two jostle around, trying to get the advantage until Booker thrusts Benoit into the wall once more. The Crippler slumps down the wall and Booker poses for the fans once more, raising his hands to a huge cheer. He moves a fan aside and grabs a steel chair, making a dramatic scene of folding it up and preparing to use it.

The entire crowd seems to be behind Booker T as the champion swings the chair and finds nothing but the concrete wall just above Benoit’s head. The impact of the chair on the wall sends shock waves into his hands and forces him to drop the object. Benoit fires a kick into the stomach of Booker, backing him up and allowing himself to get to his feet. He wobbles a bit but remains standing as he begins punching at the champion, driving him back towards the barricade, just as the announcement is made once more.

Time Remaining: 40 Minutes

Benoit strikes Booker until he’s back first against the barricade and then knocks him over it with a clothesline. Benoit attempts to follow him over but his tired state has him falling back to the floor and then making his way to his feet once more. He grabs Booker by the head and pulls him towards the ring steps, putting his head on one of the steps and then standing right on top of it, squeezing it with his boot. Robinson finally realizes he’s actually officiating this match, sliding into the ring and actually beginning to count the two men out. Benoit leaps into the air and stomps down on the man’s head, sending Booker crumpled to the floor holding his head. The challenger rolls into the ring to break the count before rolling out and picking Booker up. Benoit drags the champ all around the ring, slamming his head off of everything he can find until finally getting tired of that and rolling him back into the ring. Benoit continues to be ruthless, stalking Booker as he attempts to use the ropes to pull himself up. Benoit places his knee across the back of the man’s head, driving him down onto the rope and choking the life out of him.

Lil’ Naitch pulls Benoit away and turns to attend to Booker, but Benoit doesn’t take it very well and attacks Robinson from behind, knocking him down and out. (What the hell has gotten into Benoit?-Tony Schiavone) Benoit goes after Booker but the champ surprises everyone by exploding out of the ropes with a double leg take down, mounting Benoit and throwing down punches into the head and face of Benoit. Benoit isn’t taking this laying down though, quickly getting out of this and actually gains the mount on the champion. Booker quickly scrambles from the ring before Benoit can do much damage, and he quickly reaches in and pulls the challenger out, unloading with some heavy right hands and back handed chops. He quick rolls Benoit back in the ring and locks on a rear chinlock.

Time Remaining: 30 Minutes

Benoit fights back to his feet and breaks the hold with a couple of elbows to the stomach, but he’s cut off when he attempts to bounce off the ropes. Kick to the gut! Booker hits the ropes and connects with a swinging neckbreaker. He hooks the leg of the challenger but only gets a two count. Booker is tired, and frustrated, which translates into some sloppy punches as he drives Benoit into the ropes. He shoots Benoit in before drilling him into the mat with a huge flapjack. After a few minutes of the crowd dying down, this move brings them back, especially when Booker signals that he’s going up top. He does just that and waits for Benoit to get to his feet before leaping off with the “Missile Dropkick.” CRACK! Benoit delivers a steel chair shot right to the leg of Booker T. Schiavone screams at the top of his lungs, wondering what the hell Benoit was thinking, and that it should be a disqualification, but Heenan quickly reminds him that the referee is out, and there is nobody to enforce the rules. Benoit stands over Booker who is rolling around holding his knee.

Booker will not stay down though, and he drags himself to the ropes and uses them to pull himself up. He limps away from the ropes and this time Benoit cracks him right across the shoulder, sending him back to the mat. Booker crawls towards the ropes but Benoit cuts him off with a couple of stomps before putting his arm through the chair. With the champion down, Benoit scales to the second rope and leaps off, but Booker manages to move the chair out of the way. Benoit lands wrong, but he manages to remain standing, and limps back towards Booker who throws the chair into the man’s face. Benoit staggers back, holding his face where the chair had hit him, as Booker struggles to his feet. Benoit attempts to charge back at Booker but the champion withstands the pain and connects with a kick to the gut. Booker hits the ropes once more and connects with a massive “Axe Kick” right to the back of the head. Benoit’s face is driven into the chair. Booker rolls him over, covers, and....there is no referee.

Time Remaining: 20 Minutes

Frustrated, Booker slaps the mat three times, signaling that he should be registering the first fall, but unfortunately his count isn’t legal, and it annoys him quite a bit. He crawls over and shakes Charles Robinson, but gets no response. In the mean time, Benoit recovers and sneaks up behind, rolling Booker into a pinning predicament. Mickey Jay, a second referee, slides into the ring at that moment, but he can only get a two count before Booker kicks out. Both men quickly get to their feet, which gives Booker a chance to scoop Benoit up and drive him into the center of the ring before backing up, hitting the ropes and then driving his knee deep into the forehead of the challenger before once again covering and once again only receiving a two count for his trouble. The champion grinds his teeth in pain as he heads to the top rope, getting a nice pop from the crowd. Benoit gets to his feet and Booker connects with his “Missile Dropkick.” Hook of the leg, and One....Two....Three! Booker T has gone up 1-0.

Fall Number One: Booker T by Pinfall (47:33)

Booker reels back on his knees, holding his shoulder and massaging it gently before climbing back to his feet. He rests against the ropes until Benoit makes it to his hands and knees, which gives him an open target to punt the challenger right in the ribs, sending him rolling towards the ropes. Booker paces, still rolling his shoulder back and forth before picking the challenger up and backing him against the ropes. He shoots Benoit in and goes for a something that ends up with Benoit tossing him across the ring with a Belly To Belly suplex. Benoit explodes with offence, attacking Booker with more intensity than when the match first began, stomping him down against the ropes and not even stopping as Booker attempts to retreat into the corner. Benoit pulls him out of the corner and connects with a snap suplex, before getting back to his feet and running his thumb across his throat. The fans pick up on their jeers as Benoit climbs the ropes and sails off with a “Diving Headbutt” into the sternum of the champion. He hooks the leg. One! Two! Thr-kick out! Booker kicks out and Benoit can’t believe it.

Time Remaining: 10 Minutes

Benoit sits staring at the fans with that “What do I have to do” expression on his face while they continue to heckle him. He grabs Booker by the head and pulls him up, tossing him into the corner where he unleashes a flurry of kicks and stomps, throwing in a couple of chops every once in awhile. He’s well aware that time is running down which has him fighting harder and harder. He snaps Booker over into the center of the ring, takes him down and applies a triangle hold, attempting to choke Booker out. He only keeps the hold locked on for a little over a minute before turning over and driving repeated knees deep into the shoulder, which Schiavone astutely points out as a set up for his “Crippler Crossface.” Benoit shoots him hard into the corner and waits for him to come back out before driving him down with a fujiwara armbar. He attempts to transition into the Crossface, but Booker struggles to keep his arm close to his body, then rolling him over into a pinning predicament, getting two out of it and pissing Benoit off in the process.

Booker attempts to fight back, but Benoit’s wind seems to be completely back as he hammers away on the champion, attempting to put his shoulders to the mat for the three count. Booker does everything he can to keep himself from being pinned, while simply trying to hold on as Benoit strikes him down. The challenger continues to run through Booker, not allowing him even a second of breathing room, before picking him up and dropkicking him right in the shoulder. Benoit finally locks on the “Crippler Crossface” with the announcement that there is one minute left.

Benoit pulls back on the hold, drawing screams of agony from the champion as he struggles to reach for the ropes. Several times he has his hand up, ready to tap, but he uses that ounce of energy in his body to reach out. He actually manages to counter into a pinning predicament but Benoit rolls it right back into the move before the referee can even get into position. Back and back Benoit wrenches, in a move that Heenan says could pull the champion’s shoulder out of it’s socket.

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Benoit applies even more pressure, if that was possible, and Booker lets out an ungodly scream, raising his hands as if to tap. He holds it up, debating, and then begins tapping just as the bell sounds. Mickie Jay is quick to tap Benoit on the shoulder, and he releases the hold, getting to his feet with his arms raised in victory. As he celebrates, Mickie Jay takes the title behind his back and lays it across the body of Booker. Benoit turns around and sees the belt being draped across Booker T and immediately goes nuts. When the announcement is made that Booker has won the match and retained the title, it sends him completely off the deepend. He grabs the referee, arguing with him, but when he doesn’t get the answer he’s looking for a right hand sends Mickie Jay flying to the outside of the ring. He looks around wildly, soaking in the jeers of the fans His searching eyes find the steel chair that had been brought in earlier and he picks it up to the yelling of the fans. Several more officials hit the ring and they all take various chair shots to the head, back and side.

Benoit has become a rabid animal, destroying anyone in his path, and then he looks down at the fallen body of the champion, and a sick smile cross his face. Booker has rolled to his side and is clutching the title, but the price he pays is far more when Benoit unleashes several devastating chairs hots to the shoulder of Booker T. He continues to hammer away on him until he gets another idea, relinquishing the chair and dropping down, trapping Booker in “The Crippler Crossface.” If Booker weren’t unconscious he would have been screaming in pain, but instead he simply remains that way as Benoit continues to stretch the champion. This time it’s road agents who hit the ring, including Arn Anderson who stand in front of Benoit for a second, looking down at him before grabbing him and pulling him away. Benoit looks like he’s about to strike out at Anderson, but instead he simply rolls out of the ring and backs up the ramp, raising his arms in his own personal victory. The rest of the agents tend to Booker while Anderson watches Benoit leave. Chris has that sick smile on his face once more, and the show goes to commentary where they discuss exactly what happened with Benoit in this instance.

WCW Television Championship Match: Booker T© def. Chris Benoit (1-0) to RETAIN the WCW Televison Title-A

Still As Cocky As Ever

As soon as Schiavone and Heenan finish ranting over the ending of the previous match, they send it backstage where Gene Okerlund is standing in front of the usual WCW Slamboree logo, awaiting the man he is set to interview.

Gene Okerlund: Ladies and Gentlemen, this night has been hot already and we’re just starting, but I’d like to introduce you to my guest at this minute. He is the man who will defend the Cruiserweight Championship against Chavo Guerrero Jr later tonight, Chris Jericho.

Okerlund looks to his side but Jericho doesn’t immediately appear. After a couple of seconds, the camera pulls back and shows Jericho pushing a wheelchair into the picture.

Gene Okerlund: What is the meaning of this?

Jericho pushes the chair up behind Okerlund and then pushes him into it, taking the microphone from his hand as he falls.

Chris Jericho: Meaning? There is no meaning Gene-O. Every time I come out here, I’ve got to look at your wrinkled face, and I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re simply a dinosaur who just hasn’t figured out that the rest of his kind is extinct. You ask the same questions time in and time out, and never have anything new, so Gene-O, you just sit there in your chair, I’ll get someone to come wheel you around a bit later, but for right now, I’m going to talk about me. I’m the superstar here, and you, you’re nothing.

Okerlund, looking thoroughly pissed gets out of the chair, says something inaudible to Jericho and stomps off.

Chris Jericho: Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to the one thing that matters. The one thing that means anything in this god forsaken Cruiserweight Division.

Jericho situates the Cruiserweight Title on his shoulder, and taking the cue, the cameraman begins to zoom in on the belt, but before he can focus on it, Jericho steps forward, grabs the camera and moves it up to his face.

Chris Jericho: Not that Jackass! ME! I’m the only thing that matters. Not the Quasi Guerrera’s, not the Rey Mister-o’s, not the Stinko Malenko’s, and certainly not the Chiquita Guerrero’s. ME! ME! ME! Remember that. Everyone wants to talk about Chavo beating me. Chavo didn’t beat me. I did Chavo a favour. If I’d have stuck around, I would have embarrassed him in front of the entire world. But I was nice. I walked away. Now he wants another shot. This time Chiquita, I’m going to embarrass you in front of the everyone, and when you’re looking up at the lights, you’re going to look at me and say, Mr. Jericho, please, please teach me to be like you. Please teach me to be like the Ayatollah of Rock-N-Rolla. Nobody! Nobody!

He makes sure he’s close to the camera.

Chris Jericho: NOBODY! Can beat me!

Jericho flips the mic to someone off stage as the scene fades back to the commentary table where they once again discuss Jericho’s arrogance and complete lack of respect for his fellow competitors. Heenan questions why he should need to, dubbing him “King Of The World” when it comes to the cruiserweight division.

Chris Jericho Interview (Title Match)-B

Scott Steiner/Buff Bagwell and Brian Adams vs Rick Steiner & Lex Luger

This battle has been brewing for months, with the battle of the nWo and WCW, but more importantly the battle between two brothers, and former Tag Team partners, Rick and Scott Steiner. With Scott joining the nWo, Rick immediately wanted to know why, and who had gotten into he ear of his brother, but Scott Steiner chose to strike instead of talk, which lead to this match, because everyone knows that when you battle the nWo, you don’t just battle one of them. On this night the nWo seemed to have the better battle plan as they came to the ring first, and then attacked Rick Steiner as he made his way to the ring. They were able to get the advantage with a three on one attack until some high strung music signalled the arrival of “The Total Package” who hit the ring to a roar from the fans. He quickly disposed of Buff Bagwell, grabbing him by the head and the seat of his pants before tossing him to the floor. Adams attempts to attack, but Luger no-sells a couple of axe-handle shots before throwing some very lazy looking right hands. On the other side Rick manages to catch Scott with a couple of well placed right hands which sends him staggering back before bouncing off the ropes and dropping him with a “Steinerline.” Scotty rolls to the outside, joining the Bagwell at the same time as Adams is clotheslined over the top by Luger. The Total Package poses in the ring, flexing his arms as Rick runs around the ring barking like a dog before striking the famous Steiner pose, getting on his hands and knees like an attack dog.

Silverman finally takes action putting Luger out of the ring in order to start the match. The nWo team regroups as well, before taking their place on the apron, with Buff Bagwell starting the match off against The Dog Faced Gremlin. Bagwell attempts a lock up first thing, but Steiner is much too powerful and he simply shoves him deep into the corner. Billy Silverman gets between them and pries them away from each other. Rick breaks clean but Bagwell reaches over and slaps the taste out of his mouth behind the referee’s back. Rick is incensed, and attempts to run over the referee in order to get to Buff, but Bagwell simply smirks, flexes his arms and mocks Steiner from behind the referee. As soon as Rick does manage to get away, Bagwell ducks beneath the ropes and forces the referee to move Steiner back. Rick has had enough and he tags out. Luger comes in and sends Buff scurrying for his corner with a threatening......pose? Luger roars at the nWo corner, and Buff, looking timid as ever, tags out.

Adams steps over the top rope, which proves to be a mistake as Luger takes the advantage and begins to hammer away at Adams before he can even get both feet into the ring. He finally does manage to get in and shoves Luger back. Not seeming to have any brains, Luger charges back in and immediately takes a boot to the face. He’s staggered back but still manages to catch Adam’s running, driving him into the mat with a huge side slam, hooking the leg and getting a two count before Bagwell comes in and breaks it up with a kick to the back of the head. Bagwell quickly heads for the outside as Luger gets to his feet and gives him the evil eye. Lex peels the big man Adams off the mat and tosses him into the corner before delivering several stomps to the stomach. Luger attempts to whip Adams across the ring but the big man grabs the top rope and holds on, not allowing himself to be pulled from the corner. Instead, Adams pulls Luger in and delivers a short arm clothesline. He quickly tags in Bagwell, who takes his advantage to attack Luger, stomping him down in the corner. When Luger appears to be fighting back, Buff quickly rakes the eyes to regain the advantage.

When Buff is the most technical man in the match, there’s certainly a problem, and it’s apparent as Buff simply hammers away before taking Luger down and applying a weak rear chinlock. He doesn’t keep it applied very long, choosing instead to pull Luger up and toss him into his corner before taunting Rick Steiner. This draws the DFG into the ring, and referee Billy Silverman moves to stop him, which gives the three nWo members a chance to triple team Luger. (“Maybe those earmuffs are affecting his brain, cause he’s letting Luger get beatdown here. You can’t reason with the unreasonable”-Bobby Heenan) By the time Steiner gets out of the ring, and the referee is content that he’s going to stay there, Adams has already switched places with Buff, illegally, and is going to work on Luger alone. Luger manages to reverse a whip, but Adams hits the buckles, and then explodes out of the corner with a clothesline to take Luger down anyway. He drags the All American back to his corner and tags in Scott Steiner for the first time in the match.

Steiner flexes, showing the muscles that he’s so proud of before picking Luger up in the corner and unleashing a couple of european uppercuts. Luger is rocked but he stumbles forward and surprises Steiner with a right hand, knocking him backwards and nearly having him end up in the wrong corner but he fires off a knee to take Luger back down. Schiavone mentions the numbers game being too much for Luger and Rick Steiner in this case, just as Luger begins firing off rights and lefts to get away from Scott Steiner. Heenan discusses the fact that Luger and Scott Steiner used to be really good friends, before this whole nWo fiasco. Luger reaches out for the tag but Scott grabs him by the hair and pulls him back, drawing some massive heat from the crowd.

The heels make quick tags, working over Luger in the corner, including drawing Rick Steiner into the ring on several different occasions while quickly switching places, or choking Luger with the tag rope. Luger finally decides the only way to gain an advantage is to play the nWo game, which he does with a kick to the groin of Bagwell, who at the time was the legal man. He turns and knocks both Adams and Steiner off the apron before stumbling forward and making the tag to Rick Steiner. Steiner is on fire. He hits the ring and clobbers Bagwell who attempts to beg off. Adams comes into the ring and immediately gets leveled with a “Steinerline.” Rick pulls him up and delivers a stump piledriver that actually looks like it may have given him a bit of a stinger. Adams rolls out of the ring holding his neck. Scott Steiner gets into the ring and stands behind Rick, waiting for the man to turn around. Rick finally does and the two men go face to face. Rick seems timid to strike his brother but Scott has no such reservations and begins firing off right hands, rocking Rick back towards the ropes. Quick whip sends Rick to the other side. Rick is able to duck the clothesline, but he’s unable to duck the surprising athleticism of his brother as he’s hit with a “Frankensteiner.” This actually gets cheers from the crowd, which become louder as Rick Steiner kicks out.

Rick’s kick out does little to alleviate the tension though as Adams and Bagwell hit the ring and begin hammering him down.to the mat. This draws Luger into the ring and he shoves Adams off and clocks Bagwell with a right hand. Bagwell hits the mat and rolls to the outside, while Luger whips Adams into the ropes and connects with a forearm right to the forehead. Adams goes down just as Scott Steiner is tossed to the outside when his clothesline misses and Rick low bridges him with the ropes. Luger goes back to the apron and waits for the tag from Rick before quickly getting into the ring and catching the staggering Adams. Adams is quickly hoisted up into the “Torture Rack.” Rick comes in and is able to keep Steiner and Bagwell busy long enough for Adams to submit, which gains another huge roar from the crowd. Luger may not be the greatest wrestler, but he’s damn sure got the fans behind him, and it’s evident as the two men celebrate. Luger drops Adams, and he rolls to the outside, but Bagwell and Steiner want nothing to do with him and they leave him at ringside. Luger and Steiner pose on the buckles.

Rick Steiner & Lex Luger def. Buff Bagwell/Scott Steiner and Brian Adams-A+

Cruiserweight Title Match: Chris Jericho© vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. (w/Eddie Guerrero)

Eddie seems to be in Chavo’s ear more than usual as the two men make their way to the ring, using Eddie Guerrero’s music of course. Not only is Eddie coaching more than usual, but Chavo isn’t disagreeing with him, instead he’s taking it all in, nodding as they enter the ring. Jericho, on the other hand, simply strides to the ring with the belt wrapped around his waist, smirking that usual smirk, and performing that usual swagger. He steps between the ropes, and enters the ring like he owns the entire place, nonchalantly stripping the title from around his waist and holding it in his hands. When Robinson attempts to take the belt, Jericho yanks it back away from him, folds it up and admires his reflection in the golden plate, before pointing to Chavo, shaking his head and finally handing the title to Robinson. Chavo turns back to his uncle and Jericho attacks.

Unfortunately for Jericho, it seems like Chavo has been listening to his uncle because he quickly moves out of the way of the charging Jericho before unleashing some right hands in the corner. Jericho tries to cover up but his vest restricts his movements, which leaves him trying to get it off. He finally does manage to get it off and Chavo kicks it to the outside before pulling him into the center of the ring and suplexing him up and over. Chavo looks at his uncle, who points to his temple and taps it gently. Unfortunately for Chavo, while he’s paying attention to his uncle, Jericho slips around and applies a triangle choke with his legs. Chavo fights to his feet while still in the hold, managing to spring over into a bridging pin for a quick one count. Jericho is surprised by this but he quickly releases the hold and gets back to his feet. Chavo shoves aside a dropkick attempt by Jericho and hits one of his own. This sends Jericho through the ropes, right at the feet of Eddie, who tosses up his hands as Robinson keeps a watchful eye.

Chavo slides out of the ring and picks Jericho up, pulling him to the barricade before driving his head into it, not once, but twice, and then allowing him simply to collapse in pain, holding his head. Chavo slaps hands with a couple of the fans, and immediately gets yelled at by Eddie. Chavo actually stops and goes back to Jericho, picking him up and rolling him back into the ring. Schiavone mentions that this seems like a more focused Chavo Guerrero, which Heenan wonders whether Eddie finally got through his banana brain and taught Chavo what it was like to be a winner. Chavo pulls Jericho up and shoots him into the ropes, connecting with a kick to the stomach and then a running knee lift. Chavo seems a bit more confident as he strides around the ring before picking Jericho up and pushing him towards the corner. Chavo’s new personality seems to have him playing to the fans a bit more though, and as he looks out, Jericho goes low with a well placed boot to the groin, which goes unseen by Robinson.

Jericho is finally able to take over, wiping a bit of blood from his lip where he’d been busted open from the barricade shots. He tastes it, and then smirks before slapping Chavo across the head a few times. You’d think that someone who had spent the last five or six minutes getting thrown around the ring would be a bit more calculating, but Jericho does what he does best, and that’s toy with his opponent. Chavo attempts to sit up but Jericho puts his boot on his head and simply shoves him back to the mat. He quickly hits the ropes, attempting a Lioinsault but Chavo moves out of the way. Jericho lands on his feet, waits for Chavo to get up before dropping him back down with a drop toe hold. He quickly slides over and once again paintbrushes Chavo in the back of the head. Jericho gets up and stomps away on the challenger, driving Chavo towards the ropes where he chokes him across the bottom one. Jericho steps on the man’s back, and then looks surprised when the referee admonishes him. He looks shocked to find himself standing on Chavo’s back, and apologizes to the ref, but makes no attempt to actually move until Robinson registers the four count. This causes Jericho to argue with the ref this time, assuring him that he wasn’t aware of his illegal activities. Robinson isn’t buying it, and he tells Jericho just that, which pisses the champion off even more.

The champion takes his frustration out on Chavo, warranted or not, by smacking him a couple of times across the ears, and then a solid kick right to the ribs. Chavo rolls to the ropes, but grabs hold of them to keep himself from rolling out. Jericho keeps up the attack though, stomping at the challenger before picking him up and driving him into the buckles. Jericho mounts them and sits on top, hooking Chavo and then driving him into the mat with a tornado ddt. He lays across the body, but only gets a two count. Jericho argues the count, but not very long as he sees Chavo getting to his knees. Jericho moves in like a predator, connecting with a right hand that knocks Chavo back down, but the champ quickly pulls Chavo up, shoots him into the ropes and then connects with a spinning heel kick right to the face. Jericho remains in a seated position, breathing hard, but he looks confident in being able to keep Chavo down. He crawls over, and hooks the leg, expecting the three count to be registered but Chavo kicks out again. Jericho, unphased, hooks the leg once more, and once more Chavo kicks out. This time Jericho isn’t as calm, getting to his feet and kicking the ropes before arguing once more with the referee.

On the outside, Eddie Guerrero is getting frantic, yelling at Chavo after every move Jericho performs, but he can’t seem to get through to his nephew. Fortunately for Chavo, Jericho’s ego got the best of him as he went for another “Lionsault” only to have Chavo raise his knees up and plant them into the midsection of the champion. Jericho rolls around gasping, trying to get the air to circulate through his lungs. Chavo crawls to his feet, holding his stomach as well, before approaching Jericho. He pulls Jericho up and shoots him into the ropes, kicking him in his already injured stomach before driving him into the mat with a ddt. Eddie is yelling for Chavo to make the cover, but the challenger heads to the top rope instead. He leaps off but Jericho some how has the presence of mind to leap into the air and deliver a dropkick right into Chavo’s chest, which could very well have collapsed a lung. Chavo rolls around, coughing and choking as he tries to get his wind, and Jericho is on one knee, also having trouble keeping his air. He waits for Chavo to get up and then charges in but Chavo gets out of the way and Eddie intervenes, leaping onto the apron and pulling the ropes down. As Jericho crashes to the outside, Charles Robinson sees this and admonishes Eddie. When the two argue, Charles Robinson has had enough and he sends Eddie to the back, despite the protests from the elder Guerrero.

Chavo is gasping through clenched teeth, but even he questions the referee about his decision, only to be dismissed with a point of the finger. Chavo limps to the ropes, grabs hold of them and then launches himself up and over with a flying body attack. The two men crash back to the floor, with Chavo landing in a fetal position close to the barricade. The back of Jericho’s head bounces off the floor, and this brings a nice little pop from the crowd. Despite being the one taken out by the move, Jericho is the first man to his feet, but he doesn’t seem to have his bearings, nor know where he is for a few seconds as Chavo also gets up behind him. Jericho finally realizes where he is and turns around, firing off a kick to the stomach and then attempting to drive the man’s head into the apron. Chavo blocks it and fires back with an elbow to the stomach and returns the favor by bouncing Jericho’s head off the apron instead. Jericho takes the shot and then grabs him by the back of the head before slamming him hard back first into the barricade. Jericho goes for a dropkick but Chavo ducks out of the way and Jericho gets tied up in the barricade.

Chavo rolls into the ring to break up the count before rolling back out and picking the champion up, dragging him to the ring and rolling him back into the ring. As he waits for Jericho to get up, he plays to the crowd for a few seconds, before grabbing him and hooking him up for a Gory Bomb, but Jericho somehow manages to break the hold, trip Chavo up, and pull him back into a “Lion Tamer.” The entire crowd is speechless. Schiavone on the other hand is going completely insane on how quick Jericho hooked on that move. While Schiavone is going nuts about the move, Chavo is trying to break it, clawing the mat to get to the ropes. Robinson is right there to hear if Chavo submits, but for his part, Guerrero keeps fighting until he finally makes it to the ropes and forces the break.

Jericho thinks he has the match won, and he raises his arms in the air to illustrate the point, but the referee grabs him and pulls his arm out of the air. Jericho is confused for a second but then he realizes what’s going on and immediately attacks Chavo again, beating him down with kicks and then actually getting down on his hands and knees and just goes to work with forearm shots to the back of the head, and upper back. Jericho gets back to his feet looking pissed off and yells at the fans “I’m The Champ!” before driving his feet into the side of the man’s head with a low dropkick. Jericho is annoyed, but his anxiety doesn’t even get to it’s highest point until he sees a man in the front row. (“Oh my god! Dean Malenko is here.”)

Malenko is indeed in the arena, and he is making his way through the crowd with a steel chair in his hand. Jericho quickly backs up, grabbing Charles Robinson and pointing towards Malenko who is now in the front row. Malenko hops the barricade, opens the chair and calmly takes a seat, with his face not showing any kind of emotion. At the behest of Jericho, Robinson slides out of the ring and gets in the face of Malenko, who simply moves his head to the side and watches the match, ignoring the referee all together. Jericho goes back to Chavo, but keeps a watchful eye on Malenko who hasn’t moved from the chair since sitting down. Chavo has taken advantage of this distraction by rolling up the champion and actually holding the tights, but the referee is still trying to talk to Malenko and doesn’t see the pinfall attempt until it’s too late. He does slide in and makes a two count but Jericho kicks out. Both men scramble back to their feet but Chavo quickly dispatches Jericho backwards with a dropkick. Jericho hits the ropes and Chavo surprises him with a back body drop, and then begins throwing punches at the champion as he gets to his feet.

Chavo shoots Jericho in before leaping into the air and hitting a hurricanrana. NO! Jericho holds on, switches his hand placement, and leans back. Lion Tamer! Jericho has it locked on and there is nowhere to go. Chavo struggles for as long as he can but finally he’s forced to tap out, and Jericho once again retains the title in a hard fought battle.

Cruiserweight Title Match: Chris Jericho def. Chavo Guerrero Jr. To RETAIN the Cruiserweight Title-A+

Never Cease To Be Amazed

There is no celebration after the win, but Jericho does take the belt that’s handed to him by the referee, and then he looks out of the ring at Malenko. The “Ice Man” gets up from his chair and dramatically folds it up before sliding into the ring, chair in hand. Jericho backs up a couple paces, not knowing what to expect, especially since Malenko’s expression never changes. Jericho seems to be saying something, but the camera can’t pick it up. Malenko clutches the chair tightly, and then swings. CRACK! The chair hits....Chavo Guerrero Jr. Chavo had been slowly getting to his feet when the entire force of the chair shot sends him back to the mat. Schiavone can’t believe it and he’s going absolutely ape shit.

Jericho seems confused for a second, but then the knowing smile comes across his face as Malenko extends his hand. The two shake hands in the center of the ring, and Schiavone is still flabbergasted, while Heenan says that it was the smartest thing Malenko has done his entire career, as the two men stomp away on Chavo Guerrero Jr. Malenko pulls Chavo to his feet and drives him into the mat with a double underhook powerbomb before strapping on a Texas Cloverleaf. He applies the pressure while Jericho stomps on the youngest Guerrero. There is another roar from the crowd, but this time it’s for Eddie Guerrero who is sprinting to the ring. Jericho and Malenko both scatter from the ring as Eddie hits the ring. Malenko and Jericho back up the ramp, Jericho with a smile on his face, and Malenko with that same stone cold look as when he entered. Eddie calls them back into the ring but when they don’t come, he turns back to Chavo, checking on him. Schiavone and Heenan then talk about everything from what Malenko could be thinking to why Eddie came out and helped his nephew when he’s been setting up his downfall for over a month now. They speculate that they’ll get the answers to their questions tomorrow night on Nitro.

Dean Malenko and Chris Jericho Attk. Chavo Guerrero Jr., Eddie Saves-A

Shot Through The Hart...

While Schiavone and Heenan continue to discuss the last incident, the camera simply fades away to Scott Hudson, who is taking the place of Gene Okerlund.

Scott Hudson: This has been a great night of action, and my head is already spinning, but we’re not done yet. We’ve still got some great WCW action for you, and in our main event, we’ve got a huge triple threat match for the WCW Heavyweight Championship. Standing with me tonight is one of the challengers for that match, Bret “The Hitman” Hart!

The camera pans out a bit to show Bret Hart confidently chewing gum, dressed in his pink and black wrestling gear with a “Calgary Hitmen” embroidered leather jacket. He adjusts the collar of his jacket before stepping closer to the interview area.

Scott Hudson: Now Bret, you’ve made it very clear that you’re in this match for one thing, and that’s for the World Title. Now you’ve eluded to winning the title back for World Championship Wrestling, but you haven’t made anything clear. Could you clear it up for us tonight.

Bret Hart: I could, but I won’t. You see, too many people make the mistake of coming out here and talking. They tell you what they’re going to do, and what they’re not going to do. What I’m going to tell you is something that every single person in my position would tell you. That is, that I plan to walk into that match, and I plan to do anything I can to walk out with the title.

Hudson looks surprised and tries to say something, but Bret cuts him off before he has the chance.

Bret Hart: You look surprised. What did you expect? Do you think that Hogan or Savage wouldn’t do the same thing? Do you think they’re not going to go above the rules to get what they want. Both men have been running roughshod over WCW on and off for the past two years, and now you’re telling me they wouldn’t do the same thing as I’ve just said I’m going to do. Don’t get me wrong Hudson, I wish I could walk into that ring and wrestle an honorable match, but neither Randy Savage or Hollywood Hogan know anything about honor. Hogan has done everything he can to run the show, but tonight, it all stops. Tonight, World Championship Wrestling reclaims it’s status as the top company in the world, and I’ll be rid of Hogan, once and for all.

Hart adjusts the sunglasses, adjusts his collar once more and then leaves Hudson still tripping over his own words as he sends it back to ringside.

Scott Hudson: Umm, I guess it’s back to you Tony, Bobby.

Bret Hart Interview (Discusses The Main Event)-A

Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart & Davey Boy Smith vs The Rising Sons

The Rising Sons come to the ring to a mixture of hard rock and generic Japanese music, with the crowd doing background vocals wth some very loud jeers. Apparently the Japanese duo haven’t gained any fans over the last few weeks, and they don’t look to start now. The face team gets a decent pop when they come out, and Heenan calls them sympathy cheers due to Neidhart wearing a heavy bandage around the top of his head. Schiavone mentions that due to the attack on Thunder, Neidhart has a severe concussion and was forced to sign a release, saying that he would not sue WCW. That was how bad he wanted to get into the ring with the two men tonight. Heenan, of course, called this complete stupidity, while also throwing in a joke about Neidhart’s brain being too small to actually hurt. Neidhart and Smith are smart in this match, not rushing down to the ring like they probably want to. Instead they slowly make their way to the ring, oh wait, no they don’t, they just get to the ringside area before diving in.

Chono immediately goes to the head of Neidhart, kicking at him as soon as he slides in, which again gives Heenan a reason to mock him for sliding in head first. Bulldog fairs a bit better with Muta, firing off several shots to the stomach of the “Pearl of the Orient” before tossing him into the ropes and connecting with a clothesline. With Muta down Bulldog moves to Chono and connects with a couple of shots to the ribs, turning him around and hitting a couple of shots right to the head. With Chono back against the ropes, Smith prepares to shoot him into the ropes only to for Muta to come back with a kick to the ribs and followed by a knee to the face from Chono. The Rising Sons continue to dominate as they pick Davey Boy up and hurl him over the ropes before isolating Neidhart. Neither of the Sons are listening to the referee as they stomp and kick Neidhart in the corner before whipping him across into the other set of buckles. The impact propels him out of the corner where Muta and Chono pick him up into the air and flapjack him into the mat. The pain has Neidhart back up onto his knees and Muta bounces off the ropes and kicks him square in the face.

Robinson finally gets Chono back to his corner, which gives Muta a chance to clip the knee of Neidhart and send him down. Davey Boy attempts to come back in but seeing as Robinson has just got the match calmed down, he’s not willing to negotiate and sends Davey Boy back to his corner. Muta works the head, kicking at it with every attempt that he gets, and even spiking him in the center of the ring with a ddt. With Neidhart laid out on his back, Muta hits the ropes and spins quickly, hitting a crazy elbow drop. He covers, without hooking the leg, and gets a one count. Muta hits a nice snap suplex, followed by a rolling leg drop across the throat of “The Anvil.” Muta moves to the second rope and attempts a move that gets countered with a boot to the jaw. Muta staggers towards his corner holding his chin, but manages to make a tag. Neidhart is inches away from making a tag when Chono comes in, which makes the pop that much bigger as he makes it at the last second.

To his credit, Chono doesn’t back off, moving in for the attack instead but Davey Boy powers out of it and works Chono back into the corner. Ref calls for the clean break and surprisingly gets it, only for Chono to charge straight into a deep armdrag. Bulldog works the armbar for several minutes before Chono is able to power back to his feet and toss Bulldog into the ropes. The two men collide with them both attempting shoulderblocks, but neither man gives an inch. Chono dares Bulldog to try it again, which he does, and once more neither man gives an inch. This time Chono tries it which proves to be a mistake as Bulldog drills him into the mat and gets a quick two count. Chono gets up with a shocked expression on his face, while Bulldog remains on one knee, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. He holds up his thumb and index finger, only inches apart, and Schiavone says Chono knows exactly what that means.

Davey Boy gets back to his feet, bouncing on his instep, before locking up with Chono once more. Both men are just about equal in strength so it seems to be a stalemate until Muta starts to come in. This causes a chain reaction of the referee heading there to get Muta out, which means he’s distracted and Chono takes the advantage with a rake to the eyes. Chono scoops Smith up and drives him into his knee with a pendulum backbreaker, before applying pressure and creating a stretch. Chono tells the referee to ask him (in Japanese, of course), but Davey Boy won’t give it up. Chono tries applying more pressure but he finally gives up and dumps Davey Boy to the mat before dropping a knee deep into the mans forehead. Davey Boy tries to roll away but Chono pulls him back and then blatantly chokes him right in front of the ref. A four count gets the break, but only long enough for the ref to restart his count. Chono does this two more times before the ref attempts to physically pull him off. Chono does back away, and gets kicked in the stomach as he attempts to move in and attack once more. This doesn’t slow him down for long and he answers back with a kick to the head as Davey Boy is trying to get to his feet.

Chono works over Bulldog with stomps before tagging Muta back in, who immediately goes to work on the leg with a dragon screw. Take the man’s legs away and take away his power game, which was the thinking here as Muta wrenched the leg, even using the ropes in an attempt to add more leverage, which also forced the break of the hold when he was caught by the referee. Muta argues the point rather badly, pointing at his throat and glaring menacingly, but gets no reprieve. Unfortunately neither does the Bulldog because he gets kicked right in the head the minute he sits up. Muta goes up to and signals for the “Moonsault” but Davey Boy manages to roll to his corner in the nick of time and tag out to Neidhart. Meanwhile, Muta crashes and burns on the canvas.

Neidhart comes in and picks Muta up nearly before he even lands, and delivers a back suplex. Neidhart’s offence is slowly, which is accredited to the head injury, but he manages to drive a fist into the forehead of Muta before scooping him up and slamming him down once more. Chono attempts to come back into the ring but the ref stomps him, and Neidhart picks Muta up and tosses him into the corner. They wrestle around trying to get an advantage until Neidhart hauls off and rocks him with a right hand. Neidhart’s shots are intended to provide a lot of pain and they do just that as the big man rocks Muta’s head back with every shot. Neidhart shoots Muta into the corner and then delivers another powerslam in the center of the ring. He hooks the leg and gets a two count before Chono comes into the ring and breaks it up with a kick to the head. This usually would only break up the count, but this time Neidhart rolls around holding his head, which prompts Schiavone to go into detail once more on Neidhart’s concussion and the fact that he’s in the ring against doctors orders.

Chono kicks Neidhart a couple of more times before the referee herds him out of the ring. Muta is a bit wary when he gets to his feet and pulls Neidhart up for a snap suplex. Schiavone puts over being able to lift a man the size of Neidhart, as Muta hits a legdrop across the throat. Muta does his best to play to the crowd, getting quite a few boos for his trouble. He waits for Neidhart to get to his feet before hitting a spinning kick right to the jaw that sends him back into the buckles. Muta argues with the Robinson, which is just a clever cover up for Chono choking Neidhart with a tag rope. He isn’t quick enough to break the hold before Robinson turns around, and he gets a stern warning. Muta, on the other hand, pulls Neidhart out of the corner and unleashes a flurry of kicks. He attempts to finish the combo with a spinning back kick to the chest but Neidhart manages to catch it, and he quickly trips Muta before driving an elbow into the man’s midsection. Neidhart is groggy from all the head shots, but he is able to look towards his corner and reach out, but he’s too far to make the tag.

While he’s struggling to actually turn over, Muta makes the tag to Chono and the big man comes in and cuts the ring in half, stopping Neidhart from getting to his corner. He picks Neidhart up and connects witha butterfly suplex, keeping the hands locked and keeping Neidhart in a pinning predicament, which ends up only getting him a two count as Neidhart finds a way to get his shoulder up. Chono bridges out of the move and gets back to his feet. He’s setting up for the Yakuza Kick but Davey Boy drops to the mat and grabs him by the foot, effectively stopping the move and getting a warning from the referee as well. Chono reaches over the ropes and grabs Davey Boy, and while the ref watches them, Muta quickly gets back in the ring and spins Neidhart around, spitting a load of mist into the man’s eyes. Chono turns around and blasts the blinded Neidhart with his “Yakuza Kick.” At that instance, Davey Boy heads in the ring and Chono attempts to kick him too, but Smith is able to hoist him up and dump him over the ropes. Muta charges and gets nailed with a lariat from Smith as well. Bulldog is on fire as he scoops up Muta and drives him hard into the buckles. All the wind is driven from the man’s stomach and he slumps in the corner as Bulldog turns to meet the charging Chono.

Bulldog rocks the man back with a couple of right hands before shooting him into the ropes and looking for a backdrop, which is countered by a kick to the head from Chono, but Bulldog ducks the clothesline attempt and small packages Chono for a surprise two count. Both men scramble up and Davey Boy once more gets the upperhand with a scoop and a slam, followed by a quick elbow drop to the chest. He hooks the leg and once more secures a two count. He gets up while pulling Chono up once more and this time he signals for the end of the match, scooping Chono up onto his shoulders. He holds up the thumb as the crowd cheers before turning it to face down. He charges forward and runs right into a...Tennis Racket?!! JIM CORNETTE! Jim Cornette is in World Championship Wrestling and he has just hit Davey Boy Smith. Referee Charles Robinson is conveniently checking on Muta at this time, which allows Cornette to get the shot in and get out of the ring. Davey Boy is out, and Chono locks in his “STF” just as the ref turns around. With Bulldog out, Robinson has no choice but to call for the bell and award the match to The Rising Sons. Cornette poses in the ring with The Rising Sons while Schiavone calls this a low down dastardly ploy in the part of those three men. They celebrate all the way to the back, while a groggy and defeated Davey Boy checks on Neidhart who is still suffering from the concussion.

The Rising Sons def. Davey Boy Smith & Jim Neidhart-B+

You Can’t Deal With The Madness

As trainers come out to help Neidhart back to the locker rooms, the music of “Macho Man” Randy Savage began playing, which surprised Schiavone as he mentioned that they had time set away for Savage, but it wasn’t until later, and he wasn’t scheduled to come to the ring. Heenan retorted with the fact that Savage has never been one to follow anyone else’s schedule, and that like it or not, The Madness was here. Savage came out wearing the Black and Red, a symbol of his Wolfpac Alliance that hadn’t been relied heavily on over the recent weeks, but still remained a fact. He played to the crowd, waving his finger around like he always has, before taking the microphone.

Randy Savage: OOOOOOOOHHHH YEEEAAAHHH!

Whether you like him, or hate him, you cheer for that one catchphrase, and that’s exactly what the capacity crowd does. Makes you wonder who’s win a pop contest between Savage and Hall.

Randy Savage: Tacoma, Washington, yeeaah, it’s time to blow the roof off the dome. See, everyone wants a piece of “The Macho Man”, and everyone-ah, wants a piece of this right here.

He hoists the World Heavyweight Title up on his shoulder, brushing the nameplate off a bit, just for visual effect before looking up again.

Randy Savage: We’ve got Bret “The Hitman” (extra emphasise) Hart running around talking about how much he’s been screwed throughout his career. Well Hitman, ain’t nobody been screwed more than The Macho Man, Randy Savage. I’ve been beaten up, spit on, and tossed out on my ass more times than any one in this business. When it comes to titles, I’ve always had someone there chomping at my heels, ready to take whatever I had, yeah. So Hitman, I know how you feel, but now you’re the one looking at this (taps belt) and wondering what you can do to take it, and that, that don’t sit well with The Macho Man!

Savage’s reaction goes from cheers to a bit of a mixed reaction for his opinion on Bret Hart, but it doesn’t seem to bother him as he paces in the ring a bit more before continuing to speak.

Randy Savage: When the talk goes to getting screwed, yeah, there’s only one man who fits the bull better than anybody else I know. Hollywood Hogaaaaann! We all know that IIIIII don’t like you. We ain’t seen eye to eye even when we were friends, yeah. You would call it jealousy, but the Macho Man calls it you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Hogan, for over ten years you’ve been getting into my business, but tonight, it’s all about me again, brother! That’s right Hogan, I’m the World Heavyweight Champion, and you’re not taking it away from me. You’re not getting it. Ohhh Yeah! Dig It!

Savage spikes the mic in the center of the ring and makes he “Breaking His Back” sign with his hands, with the crowd cheering him on, and Heenan mentioning that the man is a loose cannon, and you’ll never know what he’ll do.

Randy Savage Interview (Main Event)-B+

Bowery Death Tag Team Match: Bill Goldberg & “Diamond” Dallas Page vs Raven & Perry Saturn

Until this moment, Schiavone hadn’t talked about the huge cage hanging over the ring, but as it begins to lower he goes into hype overdrive, nearly falling off his seat in excitement. Heenan has to calm him by reminding him that these kinds of matches are the kind of matches that shorten lives. At the mention of shortened lives, Raven and Saturn both come over the barricade, and slide in the ring under the lowering cage. Raven stands in the center of the ring and stretches his arms out into the familiar cross pose before taking a seat in his usual corner. Saturn stands beside him, wringing his wrists to show that he can’t wait till this match starts. He looks at each corner which houses the trash cans full of weapons. His head perks up as “Self High Five” rings through the arena, and the crowd instantly pop. The fans show why “Diamond” Dallas Page is one of the most popular men in World Championship Wrestling, maybe only second to.....Goldberg! Goldberg! Goldberg! The fans are chanting as “Invasion” hits the speakers, and the sparklers begin spraying. Goldberg steps through the curtain and basks in the flames, almost breathing them in and like a dragon, expelling them through his nose. He stomps towards the ring as Page waits for him at the bottom of the ramp. Saturn looks about ready to jump out and go after them, but Raven stays in his corner, looking like he doesn’t even care.

Saturn provides a bit of a comedy spot that wasn’t meant to be as Page steps through the cage door and Saturn takes one of the trash cans from the corner and hurls it at him. Page gets a forearm up to block it, which sends objects and weapons flying, one of which is a hockey stick that nearly hits Raven who’s still sitting in the corner. Page charges and gets driven face first into the steel cage when Saturn moves out of the way and sends him into it. Goldberg paws at the mat with his feet, ready to charge as well, but Raven remains sitting in the corner, looking at him. Goldberg dares him to stand up, but Raven doesn’t move. Saturn isn’t as patient, and he charges in, immediately being driven into the mat with a Spear! Raven stands up now, and as Goldberg gets to his feet, Raven actually slaps the man right in the face. Schiavone wonders if Raven is insane, and then answers his own question as Raven turns his back on Goldberg and once again throws up the cross pose. Goldberg develops a shit eating grin on his face before spinning Raven around and throwing some heavy right hands. He sends Raven into the ropes and goes for the Spear on Raven, but ever the ring general, Raven quickly avoids it and takes Goldberg down with a drop toe hold, which Heenan mentions is usually used with the aide of a chair.

On the other side, Page has gotten back into the game and he is now rubbing the forehead of Saturn against the steel cage, and brings blood early in the match. Saturn fights back with a well placed elbow, and actually hits something that Schiavone calls a reverse T-Bone suplex, which lands Page on his face in the center of the ring. Saturn grabs the hockey stick that nearly hit Raven and chokes Page out with it. Raven is giving Goldberg a surprisingly hard time, keeping him on the mat and working over his head with a side headlock. Goldberg is able to turn it into a pin but Raven rolls out even before the referee gets into position, trapping Goldberg in another side headlock before he can get to his feet. Saturn attempts to lock on a Rings Of Saturn on Page, but Page is able to maneuver out and get back to his feet. Saturn is not ready for this and falls victim to some right hands before getting shot into the ropes. He rebounds and gets nailed right in the jaw with a spinning clothesline. He doesn’t cover, but instead mounts Saturn and drives some shots down into Saturn’s face.

The crowd is nearly stunned silent by the mat based game this match has taken on, but they spring to life as Goldberg fights back to his feet and breaks Raven’s hold with a back suplex. He’s a bit groggy, but he’s still roaring like a monster, before picking Raven up and unleashing several martial arts kicks and punches on Raven that ends in a spinning kick right to the jaw. Raven goes down and Goldberg picks up a trash can, setting it into the center of the ring before pulling Raven up and driving him through the can with a modified spinebuster. Page, not to be outdone, sets up a chair and connects with a “Trip To The Diamond Mine” flapjack piledriver on the chair. Both men pin their opponents and both opponents kick out at a count of two. Page gets back to his feet and picks Saturn up, but Goldberg grabs Raven by the head and drives him face first into the cage. Goldberg turns around, and walks right into a dropkick from Saturn who had just dispatched of Page with a shot to the groin. Saturn grabs a cookie sheet and plasters it across the head of Goldberg, then turns and does the same to Page before checking on Raven.

With Raven and Saturn both back in control, more weapons come into play, including a skipping rope which Raven uses to choke Page. Saturn fishes for weapons, and comes up with a....babies rattle? He shakes it a couple times, raises his eyebrows and then tosses it away before grabbing an old school Nintendo. Heenan wonders exactly what are in all the trash cans, to which Schiavone replies that it’ll be revealed as time goes on. Saturn goes to use his Nintendo but Goldberg stampedes him into the corner before getting in some stiff forearm shots. Saturn tries to block them but Goldberg is just too overbearing and Saturn soon falls to a sitting position from all the shots. Page taps Goldberg on the shoulder and moves him aside, almost as if to show him how it’s done with some shots of his own. Raven surprises both when he spins them both around and punches Page, then Goldberg. They look at each other and go for a double clothesline, only for Raven to duck. When they spin around to face the enigma again, Saturn surprises Page with a superkick, while Raven hits a kick to Goldbergs gut followed by a running knee right to the face. Raven continued his stalking of the United States Champion, waiting for him to get up before setting him for the DDT, only to have Goldberg pick him up and toss him away with ease. Goldberg attempted a lariat which was quickly reversed into a Fujiwara armbar which Raven worked for a few seconds before taking a mount position on Goldbergs back and leaping into the air, crashing down on the back of the US Champion.

Raven stands over Goldberg, smirking, before leaping up and crashing down across the man’s back once more. A third one doesn’t quite work out the way he had planned because as Raven leaps up, Goldberg quickly turns around and brings his knees up, which sends Raven bouncing backwards checking to make sure his nuts are still in place. Goldberg gets up, grabbing another trash can as he does. Page has already placed one over the head of Saturn and is punching away at it for more damage when Goldberg swings his garbage can and knocks Saturn to the mat. Page looks at Goldberg with a “What did you do that for” look and Goldberg shrugs, but is hit from behind with a running knee right to the spine. Goldberg shoots forward, smacking his head into the cage before staggering back into a roll up from Raven. The ref is there to make the count, but Page breaks it up with a boot to the head. Page fishes Raven off Goldberg but he’s taken down by Saturn who hooks in a head and arm lock, and tosses Page over with a suplex.

Raven pulls Goldberg to his feet but the US champion takes him down with a quick double leg, but he doesn’t remain on the mat very long, barreling to his feet and pulling Raven up, shoots him into the ropes and connects with a sick looking STO! Goldberg hooks the leg and gets a two count before Saturn hits him in the back with a cowbell. Heenan looks around for Dusty Rhodes, claiming that Dusty comes running every time a cowbell sounds. Saturn drops the cowbell and grabs the skipping rope again, folding it up and using it to whip the hide off “The Man” until he has red welts along his back. Schiaavone wonders what kind of sick individual would use a children toy for such nefarious means. Saturn continues to whip Goldberg until Page gets to his feet, but even then Raven comes from nowhere and clotheslines Page back to the mat. Saturn and Raven begin to dominate the match as Saturn picks Goldberg up and shows amazing strength with a german suplex into a bridge for a two count. Raven drives Page into the corner and then beats him down into a sitting position where he places a trash can over the man’s head, back sup and charges, driving his knee into the can. He backs up again, and this time he dropkicks the can in the corner, and Page seems to be completely out of the match.

At that moment, the cage begins to raise, which draws the attention of Saturn and Raven. Saturn is standing over Goldberg, watching the cage raise, and Raven looks towards the ramp, but there is nobody there. Instead, a man comes out from the crowd with a steel chair, and slides into the ring. With the man standing behind the two, the cage lowers again, which keeps their attention. Saturn turns! SMASH! The chair actually bends over Saturns head. Raven hears the impact, and he turns around with an indifferent look on his face. He stares at the man, who stares back at him through oily hair. Raven knows who it is, but the fans are still wondering until the man reaches into his pocket and pulls something green and white out of it. He tosses it at Raven, who holds it up and immediately has Schiavone going crazy. The object is the mask of MORTIS! Schiavone draws the conclusion that this is the man who was behind the mask over the last few months, and talks about how Mortis had wanted to join the flock, but had been turned down by Raven. The man flips his hair back and lunges with the chair, but Raven ducks. Unfortunately for Raven, he ducks the chair shot and runs right into a SPEAR! Goldberg is up, and he throws his arms in the air, roaring like an animal. The mystery man stares Goldberg down as he lifts Raven up and positions him for the “Jackhammer.” but as he lifts him up, the former Mortis grabs the steel chair and blasts Goldberg with it. The US Champ drops Raven and wobbles, but the second chair shot sends him to the mat. Schiavone questions the motives as Raven gets to his feet with a smirk on his face, which is quickly wiped away when “Mortis” drives him into the mat with a Flatliner! The man kneels beside Raven, holds his hands out into a Ravenesque pose before folding Raven’s own hands over his chest like he was being laid out for a burial The microphone picks up “Mortis” speaking to Raven.

Mortis: What about me Raven? What about me? That’s right. It’s now all about me. You want to forget the past? I’ll make you remember! I’ll make them all remember!

“Mortis” lets Raven’s head fall back to the canvas, but as he gets up, Dallas Page comes out of nowhere and nails him with a Diamond Cutter! Page covers Raven, and the camera sees Saturn laid out and bleeding in the corner as the referee counts the three. Page gets to his feet, holding his ribs and looks around at the destruction before him. The cage starts to rise as he throws up the “Diamond” sign for the fans.

CRACK! Page is nailed from behind with the chair. It’s Chris Benoit! Benoit is in the ring and he has the chair in his hands. This is the second time tonight Benoit has nearly given Schiavone an aneurysm as he screams about Benoit’s actions. Heenan says he think Benoit finally got a backbone and he’s stepping up his game tonight as The Crippler drives the chair repeatedly into Page’s ribs. Schiavone calls for help, and once again the slew of officials rush down and pull Benoit away. Once again Benoit and Anderson go face to face, with Schiavone playing it up as former Horsemen at odds, but Benoit once again backs away, dropping the chair at Anderson’s feet and leaving the ring. The show quickly goes to a ppv hype for next months ppv, telling people to tune into The Great American Bash[ next month.

”Diamond” Dallas Page and Bill Goldberg def. Raven and Saturn (Page p. Raven)-A+

Mortis Attk. Raven-A

Chris Benoit Attk. “Diamond” Dallas Page-A+

WCW Tag Team Title Match: The Outsiders© vs The Giant & Sting

When the hype for the Great American Bash finishes, the cameras are taken back to the arena where the “Wolfpac” is already playing. Kevin Nash steps through the curtain with his title belt secured around his waist. He raises his hand slowly in the air, flashing the Wolfpac symbol and then points to the entrance ramp. He holds the pose for a few seconds before looking annoyed, and then doing the “Oh that’s right” look before heading to the ring alone. Hall not being there with him gets a significant amount of boos, and Nash seems quite amused by this. He chuckles all the way to the ring, walking up the steps and then stepping over the top rope. He takes the microphone just as Penzer was about to introduce him, and holds it out to the fans, amplifying their boos.

Kevin Nash: That’s right, let’em hear it! See, over the past couple weeks, Sting’s been playin’ mind games. He’s been turning the lights on and comin’ outta the dark like some Boogeyman, but I ain’t scared. Now I’ve got the Championship Committee’s psychotic tick hound Roddy Piper tellin’ me that The Outsiders have gotta put their belts on the line tonight against Sting and The Giant. See, I had no problem with that until they went and banned my partner Scott Hall from the building.

This once again brings boos from the crowd and a smile to Nash’s face as he looks around.

Kevin Nash: That’s right. After the events of the last couple weeks, WCW has found it necessary to suspend Scott Hall for his behaviour, which means that he can’t be here tonight.

There is another round of boos, but they quickly fade to cheers as Hall comes from the crowd behind Nash and slides into he ring. Nash thinks the cheers are for him, so he soaks them up. Scott stands behind Nash for a few seconds as the fans cheer, then he taps Nash on the shoulder. Nash thinks it’s the referee and swats the hand away, which amuses Hall. He does it again and once again the hand is swatted away. This time he smirks and turns, grabbing another mic that is handed to him. He gets right close to Nash’s ear.

Scott Hall: HEY YO!

Nash nearly has a heart attack, and the fans go into pop overdrive. Kevin turns around, and Hall playfully flicks his toothpick at him before taking the one from his ear and popping it into his mouth, chewing for a few seconds while the fans calm down.

Scott Hall: I said.....Hey Yo! Did ya think tha’ I was gonna leave da big man all alone tonight? Nah, Nah, Nah! WCW have spent all their money tryin’ ta put stipulations on the Outsiders, but tanight, tanight is about these.

Hall pulls his vest back to reveal one of the tag team title belts wrapped around his waist, and he wipes away the fake dust and then pulls it from around my waist.

Scott Hall: Da only way you’re gonna get these titles is by takin’ them from our cold hands.

Nash quickly cups his hands over his mouth and whispers something in Hall’s ear, which elicits a chuckle from the man.

Scott Hall: Hehe, right, or unless I’m drunk and passed out, but don’t any of you be gettin’ any ideas.

Before anything else can be said, the lights dim and Sting’s music hits, bringing him through the curtain alongside The Giant, who is actually wearing a plastic Sting mask, the same long black coat, and is carrying a baseball bat in his hand, much like Sting himself. Both men slowly walk to the ring while The Outsiders make their way out of the ring and give Sting and The Giant their time to preen inside the ring.

When the bell finally rings, Hall is in the ring against The Giant to start things off, and doesn’t look one bit worried. Hall mocks The Giant a bit, doing the Frankenstein walk before taking the toothpick from his mouth and flicking it at the big man, this time not in a playful way like he had with Nash. This infuriates The Giant who lunges forward for an attack but Hall ducks under and fires off a couple of quick right hands that only serve to anger The Giant even more. Hall seems to know what he’s doing as he sticks and moves. Every time the big man attempts to grab him, Hall ducks under and throws some punches. This works until The Giant actually manages to get his hands on him, and then Hall is thrown backwards into the corner. He’s able to avoid the charging man though and once again fire off some quick shots. He attempts to hammer The Giant in the corner with punches and kicks but The Giant fights back and forces Hall to tag. As Nash gets into the ring Schiavone hypes the battle of the big men.

This time both men lock up in the center of the ring, but there are no arm drags like most men would go for. These two men aren’t about finesse, and more about a big knee to the gut from The Giant to Nash. The Giant’s strength keeps Nash on the ropes before he opens up with a big slap. The Giant is completely dominating this match as he tosses Nash into the ropes and connects with a big boot straight to the chest. The Giant then reaches out and tags in Sting, who quickly comes into the ring and pulls Nash up, backing him into the corner. Sting tosses the big man across the ring and into the other corner before charging in, looking for a Stinger Splash but Nash actually shows impressive strength by catching Sting in midair, spinning him around and driving him into the mat with a side slam. Nash doesn’t hook the leg, choosing to dust his hands instead before getting up and tagging in Hall once again. Hall lifts Sting up and whips him into the ropes again, quick kick to the stomach and a ddt attempt, which gets reversed into a short arm clothesline by Sting

Sting cups his hands over his mouth and yells to the fans before slicking his hair back and grabbing the greasy head of Scott Hall. Hall fires off a couple of shots to the stomach of Sting before Sting fires back with a right hand and then backs Hall into the ropes. Crack! Sting unleashes a couple of chops before shooting Hall across the ring and connecting with a back drop. A couple of quick clotheslines and Sting is in complete control. He works over Hall, wearing him down with precision strikes and clotheslines, but Hall manages to take advantage with a thumb to the eye. Hall drags Sting to his corner and brings in Big Sexy once more. The fans seem to be into this match despite the fact that it’s not a fast paced match with flipping all over the ring. Nash hammers Sting down with heavy shots and even picks him up and drives him into the top turnbuckle with a “Snake Eyes” maneuver. Nash covers and scores a two count before The Giant breaks up the three count. He doesn’t do anymore than head back to his corner afterwards, and Nash stares him down, rubbing the spot where The Giant’s big boot just was.

Nash brings Hall back in who gets a couple of shots in before bringing the big man back in once again. The champions make quick tags, wearing Sting down in the corner with punches and stomps. Hall positions Sting on the top rope before connecting with a back suplex off the second turnbuckle. Another cover gets another two count, and Hall sits there, his back on Sting. Schiavone hints at this being a cocky cover, and is right because Sting takes advantage and rolls the man’s shoulders to the mat. Hall kicks out at two and as both men get to their feet, Hall unleashes a huge lariat on Sting that sends him plummeting back to the mat. Sting bounds back to his feet after the clothesline but simply walks right into a Manhatten Drop from the tag team champion followed by a spinning clothesline that once again knocks Sting down. Hall make sure his hair isn’t out of place before going to his corner and pointing to a table. Nash looks confused for a few seconds before he turns around and sees a cooler on the floor. Heenan muses that Hall must have brought it with him when he came through the crowd. Nash told Hall that he wasn’t getting it, so Hall rolls out and opens up the cooler anyway, grabbing a beer and cracking open the top before rolling back in, being careful not to spill any. He gets to his feet and tips the drink back but Sting is already on his feet and beer flies everywhere as Sting opens up with punches.

Hall is trying to retreat but Sting isn’t having any of it as he backs Hall into the corner and then whips him across the ring into the buckles. Sting charges and nails him with a “Stinger Splash.” Hall is able to step a couple of steps out before falling to his knees and then straight to the canvas. Sting is a bit weary but he manages to stagger to his corner and tag in his partner. Nash hit the ring just as The Giant was coming in, but the big man cut him off and then unleashes a huge slap across the chest. Nash slumps into the corner and Sting charges, slamming his entire body weight across Big Sexy with another “Stinger Splash.” The fans are going crazy as Nash staggers forward and is driven into the mat with a “Chokeslam” from The Giant. As Hall gets to his feet, The Giant grabs him and shoots him into the buckles. Giant lines up and waits as Sting charges. CHOKESLAM! The Giant chokeslams Sting out of the air, and the fans are immediately on The Giant, booing him to no end. Schiavone can’t believe it, and Heenan simply says, that everyone should have seen it coming.

The Giant roars loudly and pulls the straps of his singlet down before picking Sting up by the throat again. With spit coming out the sides of his mouth, The Giant screams at Sting that he trusted him before picking him up into the air and driving him down with a second chokeslam. He grabs Hall and pulls him over to Sting, laying him across the man’s body and then looking on as the referee gets into position and counts the pinfall victory. Hall and Nash don’t look much like winners, but The Giant doesn’t care as he pulls Hall off once again, grabs Sting by the throat and pulls him up, tossing him around like a rag doll. He keeps screaming things at Sting before he drives him down for a third chokeslam. The is the last one as he rolls from the ring and walks up the aisle to a chorus of boos, not even looking back at the ring.

WCW Tag Team Title Match: The Outsiders def. Sting & The Giant to RETAIN the Tag Team Titles-A+

Make Room For Hollywood

Backstage Eric Bischoff is busy giving “Hollywood” Hogan a pep talk when Gene Okerlund enters the dressing room.

Gene Okerlund: Hollywood, we are just moments away from your Triple Threat match against Randy Savage and Bret Hart for our main event. Can I get your thoughts?

Eric Bischoff: Gene, this isn’t a good time!

Bischoff attempts to herd Okerlund out of the room, but Hogan stops him.

Hollywood Hogan: It’s fine, Eric, I told him to come in. Mean Gene, brother, all I’ve heard all night is how much I’ve screwed everyone here in WCW, and to that I’ve only got one thing to say. WAAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAH! Freakin’ WAAAAAAH! I’m sick and tired of all the whining for that Crybaby Bret Hart, and my personal b**ch, Randy Savage. Daddy never shoulda called you Macho, Randy, cause you’re anything but.

Gene Okerlund: Now Hollywood, even you’ve got to admit that they have a point. As a matter of fact, I can point to a few times in history where you have screwed both men.

Bischoff bites his lip, thinking shit is about to hit the fan, but Hogan simply chuckles.

Hollywood Hogan: You’re right Gene, I’m everything you say I am. I’ve done everything I can to get ahead, and you know what Gene?

Gene Okerlund: What’s that Hulk?

Hollywood Hogan: It’s worked! I’ve stepped over people, and I’ve laid bodies in my path, but Gene, a new world order has arisen, with Hollywood at the helm. We went places Gene, and we’re still going places. Tonight, I’m going to get back what’s mine, and the nWo are going to once again ride high on their horse, and put the imposters exactly where they belong. Whatcha gonna do?

Gene Okerlund: What?

Hollywood Hogan: Whatcha gonna do when the power of Hollywood and the nWo destroy each and every one of you?!!

Hogan chuckles, strums his air guitar and leaves the room. Bischoff shoves Okerlund into the couch and follows Hogan for the main event.

Hollywood Hogan Interview-A

WCW World Heavyweight Title Match: “Macho Man” Randy Savage© vs Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs “Hollywood” Hogan

This is one of those rare occasions where the champion enters first, being led to the ring by Elizabeth, who is carrying the World Title over her shoulder. Savage plays to the fans as he makes his way to the ring, rolling under the ropes and then holding them open for Elizabeth. As they make it to their corner, the heavy metal riffs hit to bring The Hitman to the match. He steps through with his wrestling gear, a black leather jacket and a pair of his usual Hitman shades. Hart gets the fans on their feet as he makes his way towards the ring, rolling under the bottom rope and stepping to the center of the ring, where he holds out his hands, and welcomes the cheers of the fans. He takes off his jacket, and as “Voodoo Child” hits, Hart passes his sunglasses onto a lucky fan. As Hart rolls back into the ring, Hogan comes through the curtain playing the air guitar along with Hendrix. Bischoff follows him to the ring, looking less than comfortable in this role, but he seems to perk up a bit as Hogan enters the ring and the referee begins the prematch warning.

As the bell rings, all three men advance to the center of the ring. Savage shows his desperation from the very beginning as he throws punches at both the challengers, which serves to put him in a bad position when they start firing back. They dominate Savage until Hart realizes exactly who he’s helping and turns, punching Hogan right in the jaw. Hart hammers Hogan all the way back into the corner, and steps aside in time to avoid the charging Savage. With Hart out of the way, Savage crushes Hogan in the corner. Savage backs up into a back suplex from Hart. Hart pulls Hogan out of the corner and connects with a suplex. Early cover only gets a one count. Savage drives a double sledge into the back of The Hitman’s head before picking him up and shooting him into the ropes. A clothesline sends Hart down, and then Savage stomps on Hogan. The Champ pulls Hogan to his feet and backs him into the ropes. A couple of chops leads to a couple of shoulders to the stomach of Hogan before Savage shoots Hogan into the corner. He hits hard and comes back out, right into a pendulum backbreaker from Hart.

As Bret gets back to his feet, Savage is quickly in his face, arguing that Hart got involved in his business. They break down into a shoving match until Hart takes Savage to the mat with a side headlock into a take down. Hart works the mat a bit transitioning from the headlock into a hammerlock. Savage works to a seated position, and then to his feet where he’s able to reverse the hold. Hart is the better mat technician though and he’s able to trip Savage up and quickly lock on a spinning toe hold. Unfortunately for Hart, he has his head down while applying the hold which gives Hogan the chance to kick him right in the head. Hart takes a second kick before he finally releases the hold and attempts to double leg Hogan. Hollywood holds his ground, staggering back a bit but not actually going down. He stays on his feet and beats down Hart with some shots to the back of the head. Hart holds on to Hogan’s feet though and actually manages to take the man down. Hart weathers the next few shots and gets into a side mount, hitting Hogan with several punches before getting back to his feet.

Hart grabs Hogan by the hair and drags him up, pushing him towards the buckles. With Hogan slumped in the corner, Hart goes to work with stomps and knees. Savage attempts to charge once more, and this time Hart stands in front of him instead of moving, delivering a clothesline Two more clotheslines have Savage reeling, but he is able to quickly grab the ropes when Hart attempts to lock on an early Sharpshooter. With Hart forced to break the hold, Hogan comes out of the corner and rakes him right in the eyes. Hogan goes on the attack with his eye rakes and back rakes. He scoops Bret up but Hart manages to slip out the back and drive Hogan chest first into the buckles. He grabs Hogan’s waist and pulls him backward, flipping over into a pinning predicament, for a two count. Hart gets to his feet and walks right into a scoop and a slam from Savage. With both Hogan and Hart prone on the mat, Savage goes up top. As he does this, Hogan gets to his feet and turns to face Savage, who flies off the ropes and connects with a double axehandle. Hogan goes down and Savage drops, choking Hogan with his bare hands until the referee is forced to pull him off.

Savage shoves the referee away and goes right back to choking Hogan. This time he’s dragged off, but it’s by Bret Hart instead of the referee. Hart opens up with some shots to the head and stomach region of the champion Savage is forced to backpedal with each shot but then he goes the Hogan route and rakes the eyes. Savage quickly shoves Hart through the ropes before diving off the apron with another of his trademark axehandle smashes. Savage is a complete maniac on the outside of the ring, tossing Hart around and then cutting off the approaching Hogan with a kick to the gut. Savage grabs both men and actually drives their heads together. Hart is dumped over the barricade as Savage grabs Hogan and throws him into the steel steps. Savage chokes the challenger with the heel of his boot against the steps. He’s a man possessed. Hart starts to climb back over the barricade but Savage is there to meet him, hooking him for a suplex. His attempt is blocked though and Hart brings Savage over, dropping him on the concrete with a suplex. Schiavone claims that it may have just broken the champion’s back, while Heenan says they’d never be that lucky.

Savage is laid out in the crowd and Hart scrambles back over the barricade. He meets Hogan on the floor with punches but Hogan is able to overcome The Hitman and drives him face first into the ring apron. Hogan strips off his weight lifting belt and goes to work on Hart, slamming the thick leather belt across the Hitman’s back. Hogan completely wears The Hitman out with the belt until he’s barely moving before bending down and picking him up, rolling him into the ring. Hogan has a slight limp as he rolls back in the ring himself. With Hogan in control, the fans completely shit all over the man, even going so far as to throw things as Hogan picks Hart up and tosses him into the ropes, connecting with a big boot to the face. Hogan cups his hand to his ears and soaks up the jeers from the fans, before hitting the ropes and looking for the “Leg Drop O’ Doom” which Hart rolls out of the way to avoid. Hart is just about out of it, but he manages to fight his way to his feet using the ropes. He doesn’t see Savage on the buckles though and turns around right into another axehandle smash. Savage grabs Hart and tosses him over the ropes where he crashes hard.

Hogan gets to his feet and is driven into the mat with a scoop slam. Savage points to the heavens, and the fans are on their feet, waiting for it. The Champion mounts the buckles, waving his hand, but he’s thrown off and crashes into the mat. Buff Bagwell! Bagwell is on the apron now and he’s arguing with the referee. Scott Norton comes charging down with the chair, and he slides in, completely obliterating Savage with a massive chair shot. Hart is getting to his feet outside the ring but Norton rolls out of the ring and hits him with a shot to the gut with the chair and then cracks it across the Hitman’s back. Hogan gets back to his feet, sees everything that has happened and hits the ropes, dropping the “Big Legdrop” across the throat of Savage. He hooks the leg. 1-2-3! There is a new champion and his name is Hollywood.

The rest of the nWo hit the ring and stomp away on Savage and Hart while Schiavone and Heenan call for some help. Hall and Nash hit the ring as well, and they attempt to fight off the nWo black and white, but with Hogan, Hennig, Norton, Steiner, Bagwell, Adams and Vincent all there, they’re beaten down and left in the center of the ring. Hogan holds up the WCW Heavyweight Championship as Schiavone says it’s a dark day in WCW once again, hypes Nitro and the return of Ric Flair, and then signs off with the last announcement that there is a new WCW Heavyweight Champion. Goodnight Everybody!

WCW World Heavyweight Title Match: Hollywood Hogan def. Randy Savage and Bret Hart to BECOME the NEW WCW Heavyweight Champion (Hogan p. Savage)-A+

Final Rating: A

Well, there it is, in what seems like all it's half-assedness, but hopefully it's still enjoyable. Mr. Starr was the winner of the prediction contest, and therefore I will be PMing him with his prize.

[Steve Corino]

Right off the bat is a result I don't like. I mean, Chavo going over is fine. Alright. But it should have been like real life, because there is no way to improve upon perfection. Also, not having Jericho follow up by having the match right away takes away the whole "chickenshit heel" aspect.

Oh, so this is an hour? Something had me thinking it was only a 30 minute one. Benoit is totally coming off heel here, and it's great. Booker keeping the belt is good, as I said Benoit's going to have enough on his plate with the upcoming Flair return.

LOL goes off to Jericho putting Gene in a wheelchair. You do perfect Jericho, I can't say anything here.

Adams taking the fall is understandable. Likely will give us Buff & Scott against Rick & Lex next month. Please don't lead this Steiner feud until World War 3. Please.

Well that accomplishes two things: makes the Guerrero story more interesting (Chavo can't win when Eddy isn't around) and keeps the Cruiser title around Jericho's waist for Malenko's eventual rematch. Whoa, Malenko turns? They're gonna team now? Gotta say I didn't expect that. Eddy making the save also raises the questions of what's happening there. No one knows who's doing what, and I gotta say, it's got me interested.

Well, that was pretty much a Bret Hart interview. Nothing fancy, nothing extravagent, but all the points are across.

That's pretty much what needed to happen, but Corny as the mouthpiece for the Suns? Damn that makes so much sense (given his previous role in the WWF with Yoko and Fuji) that it will work. This, folks, are your next WCW Tag Team champions.

Macho rules. Nothing more to be said there. Couldn't really "feel" Savage as much as I have with other interviews you've done, but it can be difficult to get the right tone for him.

Wow, Page used the flapjack there. I haven't even THOUGHT of that move in years. And a NES? Yep, Raven helped book this match. A lot of developments to notice here, and I'll start with DDP/Berg winning but Goldberg NOT getting the victory. Interesting. Mortis comes in, and I'm left wondering if you're swerving us and it won't be Kanyon. Then Benoit attacks Page? That's.... odd, because unless we're going way back to Uncensored, there really isn't any basis for it. We'll just have to....TUNE INTO NITRO TO FIND OUT! Couldn't resist that one....

Hall and Nash before the match seemed like two buddies having a good joke on everyone, which it was, so that was done well. And then they retain, which is fine, but I'm not sure where Giant gets the thing about trust because obviously he couldn't be trusted. Unless I'm not getting the tone right.

Now that's how to do a Hogan interview. Not much to say on this note.

Hogan wins. Hogan wins?! I really must question this, because it's probably the least sensical thing to be seen. Then again.... this IS WCW, so I can't say I'm really surprised.

Well, it really..... was. It was a WCW show, gotta definitely say that. An awesome undercard with a bunch of weird shit going on in the main events. Some things I liked, some I didn't. Yep; 1998 WCW at it's finest.

[JStarr]

I won a predix contest? Hmm...normally I get the shaft in those things. What it does prove, though, is that you, Enforcer, are an absolute booking genius.

As for the show:

--The cruiser battle royal had a lot of high-flying action that would be pretty hard to do with ten men in the ring, especially with it being WCW's smaller ring. With four or five, sure, but not ten. Loved the comedy spots with Lodi, El Dandy, and Garza. I enjoyed the aggression that Chavo showed toward Eddie, but it surprised me that Eddie wouldn't have fought back more than he did. If Chavo had won the title later, maybe Eddie could have gotten under his skin with a "You owe me" routine. Good match, but it seemed a little TOO highspeed at the start. (Long-haired blond kid throwing down with Juvi...Shannon Moore?)

--The Iron Challenge match was paced quite nicely, I thought. A lot less text between time announcements at the end, but hell, who's gonna be moving as fast after 45 minutes as they did after 5? Booker T got put over HUGE here, and I'm really curious to see where Benoit's chair-swinging psycho persona takes him. Maybe I missed something, because I was scratching my head at an earlier post that TGC made about you not liking to write for Booker as a single...if that was the case, Booker winning here was surprising as hell.

--TEW gave the 3-on-2 match an A+? :blink: Even reading it, the bout sounds like it would have been somewhat painful to watch, with Luger as face-in-peril and Rick getting drawn into the ring repeatedly. You wrote it perfectly for the workers, and I think we'll all be better off disregarding the rating.

--Okay, the Malenko thing was an enormous swerve, and I commend you for going that route. As many have said, though, Jericho may be outgrowing the Cruiser title, and I hope that Chavo keeps coming after both of them, whether Eddie's going to help or not. And this was an A+ match in every manner out there. Great stuff.

--I always enjoyed Bret Hart's straightforward, plainspoken promos, and this one was class. Did its job quite well making me want to see what Bret might do to win.

--Cornette with the Sons? YES! This team must be World Tag Team title contenders immediately. They essentially dissected Smith and Neidhart in a hell of a match. An extended squash, but it looked like a squash nonetheless, as it likely should be.

--I laughed my ass off at the image of Saturn shaking a baby rattle in the middle of a cage match. But seriously, save the Nintendos...beat people with Dreamcasts. (Y) Seriously, though, the cage match was good, and I understand the appearance of Mortis...but Benoit? I'm sure you've got something up yer sleeve. Raven looked like he really could hang with Goldberg if given the right set of circumstances, and I hope Raven gets another US title shot eventually.

--Was the Giant in the midst of turning about four times a year at this time? After reading the finish of the Tag title match, I was sort of surprised, and I was wondering why. I guess I never saw Giant and Sting staying together for long, but I can't say I expected that. Ah, well...bring on the Japs. EDIT: After reading back to the last Nitro, I guess there was a big glowing neon sign that said, "The Giant's gonna be pissed at Sting for letting him take a whipping!!!" Guess I forgot all about it...my bad.

--The main event seemed to be ending just as it was warming up, but I do think the right man won. It'd be cool to see Hart just go on a rampage, taking out one nWo member at a time. Sort of a gauntlet thing. And one of these days, you'd think people would stop taking Hogan on in matches where he can't get disqualified.

All in all, it was a good PPV, but it could have been a little better. Considering this is WCW and it's only Slamboree, though...you nailed it, brother. Congrats and keep 'em coming. I'll PM you some main events.

Edited December 14, 2006 by jstarr2k3

[SpiceDawg]

I'm jumping on the bandwagon a little late but I enjoyed your WWF '99 thus decided to give this a peek. Comments while I read because it's the manly way. And I really wish people would start considering me a man.

I was going to leave a comment on how WCW usually always had a 3 man crew but then you left a reason for it. Basically, I've typed an useless sentence. I was thinking of suggesting Dusty but remembered he was nWo now. Larry never seemed to do PPVs.

I immediately wonder where Ciclope is in the battle royal (a reference to the actual battle royal from that year's Slamboree). Maybe Malenko is under the Super Calo disguise.

Crap, guess Super Calo was actually Super Calo. Guess, you aren't pulling the Dean is in disguise angle. I realize you would be accused of ripping it off if you went with it but I thought, that was the whole purpose of this battle royal. Besides it was one of my biggest mark out moments ever.

I'm liking the tension between Kidman and Saturn. It will be interesting where this actually leads. Will it divide the flock or only need to one being booted. Will Kidman take the role Saturn had in the real WCW? Intrigue. Or I am reading too much into things.

Why is Juvi still wearing the mask??? Jericho took it off him back in SuperBrawl and it should be one of the things he has collected as a trophy.

Why the heck is everyone going for pinfalls in this battle royal? It makes seem like they don't even know the type of matches they sign up for. I'm sure most of these guys would have been in a battle royal before. It seems silly to me.

Eliminated by tossing them by the ears? I can't picture it. I don't see that translating well at all on actual television. Don't see how you can avoid it looking super fake.

Chavo winning would still be a a feel good moment. He deserves a big win like this after all the crap he has put up with Eddy. This also will wonders in progressing that story since Eddy should be pretty jealous.

I'm definitely liking the heelish tendencies from Beniot. It shows his frustrations with not being able to beat Booker are coming to a boiling point. I am also enjoying how the farther the match progresses the more vicious the wrestlers are getting with each other. It goes from a clean skilled based contest to almost an outright brawl/fight.

I am beginning to get the feeling we won't get any pinfalls until the very end. I'm also thinking Beniot may turn officially heel after this one. I have to say this isn't turning out to be the traditional iron man but in 1998 with two midarders, the major use of the chair is probably the way to go to keep interest in the crowd. What are these guys overness like in this scenario? An iron man would be an idea both federation would probably be weary off with the current wrestling fan but even moreso, with two non main eventers trying to pull it together. I know the WWF/E tried it twice but I remember the first time, a lot of 'journalists' were thinking WWF were heading for a disaster. They were wrong. I think I've lost my point in all this rambling.

So much for no falls in the entire match. I'm liking the desperation and agression by Beniot after he is down a fall and knows time is running out. Man. this is a fantastically written match. Did the wrestlers no the time left in the match or mainly, did Booker hear the 10 second count down? If he didn't then I love the finish of tapping right at the bell but if he did, well, I never liked it when wrestlers tap when they know the time will run out. Actually, I always think wrestlers who put a submission hold one with only a few minutes or seconds left are kind of dumb unless they are hoping to get the guy to pass out. Though you did do a good job of showing the hold would be causing permanent damage to Booker if it stayed on even a few more seconds. I can understand the tapping. Anyway, it makes for a really dramatic finish but I just hope Booker didn't know the count or otherwise he looks silly tapping when the match is basically over. Actually, since Booker retain, it looks like he tapped after the bell anyway.

I love the snapping of Beniot after he finds out he is unsuccessful. I am assuming we have a heel turn now. Great stuff all around and the rematch should be amazing. I like how the story continues of how Beniot can not beat Booker no matter what.

Fantastic Jericho promo. I could totally see '98 Jericho cutting that exact promo.

Rights guys went over in Luger and Steiner. At this point, nWo needs to start losing matches because they were so dominate for a year and half. Besides, Adams taking the fall doesn't mean too much since he's a B-teamer anyway. The big collision between the brothers is held of for a little bit still.

Okay, so this is when you're going to trot out Malenko. His appearance would have registered a massive pop. Well played. What the hell? Malenko hit Chavo?!? Not sure if I like that swerve. How much of the taunting of Malenko would have Jericho done up to the point of starting your diary? I'm all for going in a different direction but I don't know if this story needed that. But Eddie coming to save the nephew he has been tormenting is a interesting twist and should probably lead to a tag match on Nitro or the PPV.

Excellent Hart promo and lead some more hype to the main event. Pretty stoked to see where that one goes.

Are the Risin Sons under a written contract? Otherwise, I am really shocked by the big push they are receiving. Not that Neidhart or Bulldog are major players at this point. I was definitely shocked to see Cornette but he can add a lot to the Risin Sons. Afterall, he can be the promo man and plus he fits with a wrestling oriented like team.

Hahaha -- I can totally picture Schiavone falling off his seat while overhyping the cage match. That silly little over excitable fat bastard. This will be the greatest cage match in the history of this great sport.

Backpedaling it a bit, is it me or was the write up for the Rising Son's match longer than the 1 hour Iron man match? How long is this card anyway? 4 hours? This thing is packed.

I think, a little too much happend at the end of the bowery tag match. I always feel cage matches lose a little anytime someone can interfere in them. I liked the real WCW's way of having Mortis arrive after the cage match. You couldn't do that here because you wanted Benoit to do his attack. I think all the mayhem really made Mortis' big revelation and attack a tad forgettable. Especially since he gets beat down right after taking out Raven. He isn't even made to look that significant. Oh well, I'll see how the rest of the story progresses.

Aren't the Outsiders technically not part of WCW? How can they suspend them? Or at this point has WCW given up on making nWo a renegade promotion and now just a stable? Anyway, once again the talk is pointless because Hall is actually there.

Another rewind, back to the bowery match, I thik you need to make sure you watch the amount of times you allow Goldberg be laid out. At this point, he was seen as an indestructible monster. Part of his appeal was that he could kick anyone's ass and nobody could stop him. That aura is lost when a segment ends with Goldberg laid out on the mat.

Oh boy, yet another nWo turn. Been there and done that. Poor Giant doesn't even get a decisive win over Nash but rather just crawl back into the group. Not a fan, I have to admit. Especially since we've already seen enough turns and surprises tonight. Too many causes things to lose their impact. Oh well, once again, I'll wait to see where this is headed. I really hope Sting is able to avoid the treatment he got in the real WCW. After over a year of being the saviour, I think it's sad he got shoved down to upper midcard -- hopefully, you can avoid that.

I have to admit I am intrigue about this current nWo split especially since it looks like both are going to remaing with the midset of taking over WCW. Which makes a lot more sense than a face nWo that we got in WCW. Hopefully, at some point they do reunite because in reality, the two nWos was just a way to sell t-shirts. We don't really want to see nWo destroy themselves but rather see WCW get their long await revenge (revenge that really should have happend at Starrcade but I digress).

Putting the title on Hogan was completely the right choice. Now, Hart can Hogan and the title. When/if Hart wins the title, it definitely should be off Hogan. Though I hope you slow build a little to the singles match. Maybe wait until the fall or even Starrcade? How doe TEW treat heel v. heel matches? Is it as unforgiving as EWR or a little more realistic? Because you could easily do Hogan against Wolfpack for most of the summer leading to the eventual Hart match. Plus Sting never got his rematch.

Wow, that seemed like a really long show. I think a few matches were written longer that should have been shorter. A few of the short matches should have been longer. But oh well. It was definitely the opposite of a placeholder show because a hell of a lot happend. I have to admit I'm pretty excited to see the direction you take. You've opened up a lot of possibilities. It was a good show despite the fact it may have seemed I had a lot of criticisms.

Keep up the work. Push <insert some random wrestler> (Y)

[Szumi]

~The cruiserweight battle royal really wasn’t what I was hoping and expecting it to be. I was looking forward to some nice multiple-men spots like you could see in a TNA battle royal, but no cigar. The 3 stooges bit was nice, and Lodi working in his sign gimmick as well. Juvy’s brawl with the fan was silly. Potential storyline, yeah, but ugh, just came off silly. Same with Eddie. He’s not listed in the match, then he is, and more or less disappears throughout most of the write-up. Then he’s back. Just was more or less a big ‘WTF’. Chavo winning was no shocker really. He was the only cruiser who looked like he’d make for a likely winner, but I am liking how you built up Kidman. Did well, runner-up, and some tension between him and The Flock. Could be a feud down the line, which would eh, be pretty darn good.

~Honestly, I have to admit that I was disappointed with the Iron Man match. I was expecting some great work rate; good chain wrestling, a few high spots, and lots of close falls, but none of that was really there. This was more of a brawl, and definitely was not what it could, and should, have been. The match wasn’t interesting until about the last half of the match, little bit past. I think one thing that was bothering me was that the write-up itself just seemed too short. 10 minutes being summed up into 2 paragraphs, without any real lapse of time written in those paragraphs… it just didn’t do it for me. Benoit’s turning heel, which just is confusing to me because Flair’s coming back tomorrow night on Nitro, and I think we all know he should be a face. Flair that is. So in essence, so should Benoit too. The ending was somewhat good, but really came off as more disappointing. It was made to seem that Benoit got the tap out in time, and we’d get overtime or something. And instead, no, didn’t tap in time. Honestly, this match just seemed to be putting Booker T over like crazy, while Benoit got made to look like a pussy. Couldn’t defeat Booker, not one time, in a full hour, no matter what he did. This is a match I was heavily looking too, and I was just let down. Typical WCW, I guess.

~The Jericho promo was quite nice. The wheelchair and Gene stuff was comical. Made me chuckle. I’m loving the cockiness Jericho is displaying, but no way is he keeping the Belt tonight.

~You know, I really wasn’t expecting much coming into this match. But damn, it actually was a fun read. The craptastic action great because you let the match be exciting with the crowd environment. The numbers game was a good enough story throughout the match, and Steiner and Luger both did good when the time was needed. Rick taking the Frankensteiner from Scott surprised me… well, that it wasn’t botched. If it was from the corner, wouldn’t have been surprised. But it being a you know, hurricanrana, sheeze! Luger racking Adams was a nice way to get the victory for a few reasons. Luger looks strong, Adams is the weakest man in the nWo, so him losing is cool, and it lets Steiner vs. Steiner keep building up, for a clash at hopefully Bash at the Beach. Good stuff surprisingly.

~Jericho and Chavo was another match I was expecting a lot from. Thankfully, this one didn’t disappoint. The action and write up was solid the whole way through. Chavo did very well as an underdog, although I am shocked that not once, did you bring up the fact of how tired Chavo should be since this is his second match. Easy story to tell, but you passed on it. However, this whole thing with Eddie and Chavo is getting confusing (see ridiculous). In the opener, Chavo opens up on Eddie, and eliminates him from the battle royal. They’re not two friendly folks. Then out of nowhere, Eddie is being nice to Chavo and giving him pep talks and shit. W…T…F? And meh, him getting thrown out was a tad saddening, but it made sense for later. Really shocked to see Jericho get the win. He’s above this. The ending came a bit out of nowhere to me, but I think this is because you didn’t give it enough. It would have worked, but you didn’t do a good enough job of drawing out Chavo’s attempts to reach the ropes, or him doing anything to break the hold. Just a sentence. Also, Malenko just moving his head to watch the match when Robinson came out, made me chuckle. Why, I don’t know, but it did.

~So, a swerve out of nowhere. Is this Bischoff or Russo booking? It was nice to throw us off, and I do like Malenko as a heel. Him and Jericho could be a great team. And to continue the WTF’s for Slamboree, Eddie comes out to save Chavo, becoming an ally for him instead of foe.

~…AND YOUR TO BLAME! Had to complete the Bon Jovi line…

~I definitely liked the Hart promo. He’s doing very well with his role that you’re giving him, and it is only going to get better as time develops. He’s a tactician at first, which is very characteristic, and coming close to home with some comments about Savage and Hogan running the show. I liked how the majority of that focus was on Hogan though, because it builds to the Hart/Hogan match that we all want to see… or at least should want to see, for the World Title.

~Damn, Robinson has reffed enough tonight! Anyways, this match was definitely MOTN so far in terms of work rate, write-up, and overall enjoyment. Neidhart’s concussion was written into the match well, and I liked how both he and Bulldog got hot tags before becoming the face in peril. All of it flowed very well too. It just had that gel needed. Smith coming in towards the end, as the illegal man, was nice to get over his anger, but meh, the incompetence of the referee annoyed me. He just reprimanded Smith, and now, he’s in the ring making pins, and the ref’s counting it. Annoyed me a tad. Ending was sweet. Cornette comes in and drills Bulldog with the racket, and the Japs get the win. Sweet dizz. Cornette will make a great manager for the Rising Sons, who needed a manager to get more over.

~Pretty typical Savage promo, but a little hard to get into. I’m just not digging his character really. I do expect him to win tonight, although I really don’t know why. Meh.

~The Bowery Death Match was great for a WCW match. The action was very entertaining from the start, and although the work rate was nothing more than a brawl really, it was good. Especially for a Goldberg match. Good stuff, and the ending is total WCW with Mortis coming out. He destroys Raven, then takes a Diamond Cutter. DDP gets the win. Good stuff, but my only qualm is that Goldberg looked a tad weak in this match. If he’s going to be getting the big push, I dunno, needs to look a bit more strong.

~Benoit coming out and attack DDP irked me really. Now, a feud between these two would rock, but Benoit has a feud to finish with Booker if you ask me. Your ending left that needing more. That chapter must end before a new one can start.

~3 Tag Team matches in a row made this hard to get into. And maybe it was because of that, or it just was, but this match came across as rather bland. Didn’t interest me a whole, didn’t draw me into the match, despite the big names. Giant turning on Sting could have been nice, if I haven’t seen 3 or 4 turns already tonight. Now it has just gotten stale. A refreshing ending would actually be just a clean win, or no turns. Because honestly, the only 2 matches that have had truly clean cut finishes, were the Battle royal, the match opener for pete sake, and a match with Lex Luger! C’mon already brother, gimme something refreshing!

~Oh that silly Hulk, always being a tool.

~And damn that Hulk, using his politics card to get the last entrance for the match. Weiner.

~The main event was kind of depressing. Tad too short, even for Hogan and Savage. Although the suplex spot with Savage was nice. Not too sure if I like how Hart was in this match. I dunno, he just didn’t look strong at all. But then again, Hogan was the only one to look strong throughout most of the match, so there’s that damn politic card again. I didn’t expect Hogan to win the Belt back here, maybe on a Nitro. Him winning the match with interference is good; realistic. Disappointing though for the fans. Hogan wins the Belt back, and the nWo Black and White is strong as ever.

~As a reader, a good portion of this was disappointing in mediocre. A lot of matches didn’t deliver. The CW Title, Rising Sons/Bulldog & Neidhart, and I guess I can say the Bowery Death Match, delivered. Everything else just disappointed me as a reader. From a realistic perspective, it was spot on. Lots of run-ins, interferences, cheap finishes, and out of nowhere attacks (Benoit on DDP). That was all realistic, but it still leaves a slightly bad taste in me mouth.

[Xero Gravity]

So I actually got through reading this a few days ago, but only just got round to replying.

Smart idea to trot the cruiserweights out first and warm up the crowd a bit with their high flying antics. I don't really have a problem with how it ended, as I didn't watch WCW a whole lot and therefore didn't see the whole Malenko angle. I did like Chavo winning, but truth be told I didn't mind who won as long as it wasn't Kidman

I know we talked a lot about how the Iron Challenge was going to end, but I never knew it would only go to one fall. It did really look like nothing more than Booker being put over Benoit, but I know he's got something coming up later so it souldn't be bad for too long.

It's been said many, many times before, but Jericho's promos are a true highlight of this diary. Tonight's was no different in that respect.

I know I said it on msn, but I'll say it again here. The 3 Vs. 2 handicap match was the one I hated the most in the lead up to the show. While it turned out to be every bit of crap I expected, the way you wrote it actually had me enjoying it to a degree. That's how well you wrote it.

Jericho Vs. Chavo was probably the best outcome I could have liked to see. So it was nice to read a match that translated into the kind of contest that they could both have. As soon as Malenko showed up, I kinda figured that things weren't going to go well for poor Chavito. The prospect of him being a heel is great, and being partnered with Jericho could be even better. Eddie making the save was interesting, and a tag match between the pairs could be awesome.

Bret Hart didn't win best character in a diary for nothing. Once again he brings the goods ahead of the title match later in the night.

You didn't dissapoint with the Rising Sons going over Neidhart and Bulldog. I loved playing up Neidhart's rediculous run in with the anvil not too long ago. Even moreso was the idea to pair up the Sons with Cornette. If anything says they're gonna get a serious shake at the tag titles is a guy like Corny backing them up. Roll on Hall and Nash.

I didn't want to accept it, but I knew there wasn't a chance in hell that DDP and Goldy weren't going over Raven and Saturn. I'd have liked to see Perry be the one to take the fall as he has less going for him than Raven does. I was really hoping for someone like Stevie or Tommy being the one to interfere so I was a little let down with Mortis. I knew Benoit was gonna get involved afterwards, so I'm looking forward to his dealings with Page in the future.

The second least interesting match to me was this tag title match, but unlike the handicap I still wasn't overly keen on it. There was nothing wrong with it writing was, but I just could get into it for whatever reason. I think I agree with the number of turns diluting this one somewhat, and it lost a lot of it's impact.

Nice Hogan promo, but I'll agree with Szumi...what a tool

The entrances were a real foreshadowing of what was to come. I really didn't want to see it happen, but in the long run I guess it does make sense for Hogan to walk out with the belt. Hart taking it off him at a higher profile event will have a hell of a lot more to it than picking up the win here tonight. Hopefully Savage doesn't fall too far off the radar, as I'm sure there's still a place of him even if it's being used to put over up and comers.

All in all, it was an epic read but one I enjoyed nonetheless. A few results that went a way I didn't like all that much, but it's bound to happen every once in a while.

[HailtotheYo]

Let me officially join this party finally. Hopefully there is some alcohol left.

first and foremost, your Bret Hart and Chris Jericho might be the two best characters in the dome right now. You have them down wonderfully. At first I was liking Hart, but as I've moved along, you've just gone lights out with Jericho. And you also are able to do vidoe packages in a mind bogglingly well fashion.

Ok, aside from that all I have to say is that you've picked a very prominent time in Wrestling, and one that was sadly, fucked up. Right now, you're doing a thousand fold better than what actually happened.

Slamboree

The Cruiser match was one I'd have loved to watch, but as with others .... something was just off. for me, the winner didn't matter because I always felt that one of the best things about the cruisers, was that everyone had a chance at all times ... good opener.

While the match itself was phenomenal, where to now for Benoit and Booker ? This is a very WCW dilemma for you. As I'm sure you have plans, as a "fan" I have to scratch the knoggin and wonder who I'll be seeing the two stars face. Especially after this stellar performance by both. They've got to go upwards, but to who ?

I'm looking forward to Steiner/Steiner in the ring. And as Sumzi put it, Adams losing is fine. Something had to happen to that effect and it did. Again, a craptacular yet somehow interesting match from WCW.

HA HA, great work with Malenko. I'd love to see Jericho KEEP the Cruiser Title while laughing off guys like Chaqito. Move him up the card and have him keep the title as his way of justifying himself. Damn that would feed his character greatly. That said, I eagerly anticipate the potential of the group of Jericho/chavo/dean ... oh yea.

As I've said ... your Bret Hart owns all.

Hhhmmm ... I don't think I like Cornette with the Sons. Chono/Muta are bad ass enough to stand alone. However, they HAVE to have a mouthpiece in this era of wrestling. Not that I can think of a better fit (sonny ono) but I just can't see Cornette with them or vice versa. It will work undoubtedly, but to me it will always look funny, not right. Of course, I expect them to be pushed passed the moon now.

I want to see Raven by himself, focused on Goldberg. That is an opportunity for you to make Goldberg beatable, and Raven believable in the Main Event later on. Those two things would do wonders for your WCW.

hhmm ..... kill the Giant. I don't care if it was foreshadowed and all but written in stone. Fuck 'em. Hopefully Sting is able to shake him quickly and move on.

ME time. I like Hogan getting the pin on Savage, and of course the nWo clusterfuck had to occur. This is a nice setting though as Hart is once again first hand to see a Hogan "screwing" of someone else, even if it is Savage. I wonder if you'll use the fact that Hart TOLD Hogan to go in and beat Yokozuna, since you know, you had Hart mention it.

All in all a good PPV for a GREAT Diary !

[Draevyn]

~Charlotte, North Carolina~

Reasons Why You Should Have Bought The Pay Per View

Like usual, the Nitro following Slamboree opened with still shots of the event, interspersed with commentary from the night before. There are no live shots, as WCW wants those who didn’t see it to purchase the replay on Tuesday Night. From the still shots of the pay-per-view, the usual opening for Nitro is shown, and then the show goes straight to the commentary team where Mike Tenay has returned to the booth, along side fellow commentators, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Tony Schiavone. Schiavone, of course, hypes the hell out of the night before, encouraging those who haven’t seen it to buy the replay, and for those that have seen it, buy the replay just to be part of history again. From there the three men move into discussing the biggest happenings of the night, from Dean Malenko’s heel turn, which they say he has a lot of explaining for, right up to the title switch, which lead Hollywood Hogan and the nWo back to prominence. They say that last night was a night of surprises, but tonight is just as exciting as Hollywood Hogan defends his title against Randy Savage in a sort of rematch from the night before. Bet that makes those who bought the ppv a bit peeved.

Commentary Hype PPV and Main Event-A

Back On The Walk Of Fame

No time is wasted as the show immediately goes to the parking lot where a black limousine is pulling into the drive way. Schiavone speculates on who could be in the limo, but had he waited an extra two minutes and he would have known. The driver steps out and moves to the door, opening it and allowing Eric Bischoff to step out first.

Eric Bischoff: Com’on champ. We’ve got a big night ahead.

As Bischoff steps aside and waits, the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion steps out of the limo with the belt in his hand. As the camera gets a better angle, the spray paint is revealed to be back on the WCW title, and it’s now being declared as the nWo World Heavyweight Title. Bischoff starts to retrieve the bags but then remembers that he has someone to do those kinds of things and then follows Hogan into the building. Hogan walks through the halls with that confident swagger, while personnel all scatter to stay out of his way. A split screen reveals the rest of the nWo Black and White are in a locker room, waiting for Hogan’s arrival. They’re whispering among themselves, leading Schiavone to wonder whether or not this is a surprise party. The camera’s continue to show Hogan on the monitor as he walks through the corridor and stands outside a door. Inside the nWo are watching the monitor.

Vincent: Shhhh, here he comes, get ready. 1.......2......Sur-

They look towards the monitor and see Hogan opening a door, but it’s not the door they’re standing behind. Instead, he opens the door to a lush single locker room decked out with lavish decorations and a buffet table. Bischoff whistles in admiration as he steps to the table and takes a piece of cheese. Hogan simply walks in, lays his belt on the couch and takes a seat in the chair.

Hollywood Hogan: Now this is what I’m talking about, brother!

Another quick shot of the nWo in their locker room, all with dumbfounded expressions on their face as they see Hogan in his own locker room, just as Bischoff uncorks a bottle of champagne, which sprays everywhere.

Brian Adams: Son of a bitch!

Scene fades out with the rest of the nWo black and white shaking their heads.

Hollywood Hogan Arrives In Style-A+

Commercial Break

The Rising Sons (w/Jim Cornette) vs Public Enemy (w/Table)

Intimidation seemed to be the name of the game for The Rising Sons on this night, as they were lead to the ring by their new manager, James E. Cornette. Muta and Chono were the silent wrecking crew, while Cornette used his flair with the speech to hype his monsters all the way to the ring. Public Enemy had the fans behind them, and a table in front of them, but that didn’t seem to matter to The Rising Sons. As a matter of fact, as soon as Public Enemy slid into the ring and picked up the table, Chono split it in half with a Yakuza Kick! Muta draws the mist into his mouth and spits it into the face of Rocco Rock, just as Chono hammers away on Grunge, who is still holding the broken piece of his table. What follows after this is a nine minute beat down at the hands of Chono and Muta with them making quick tags and isolating Johnny Grunge from his partner. Wouldn’t have mattered much as Rocco spent most of the match outside, trying to get the mist out of his eyes. Muta and Chono worked over the neck of Grunge, delivering kicks and chokes, before they planted him with a double brainbuster. Chono actually drug Grunge to his corner, and forced him to tag the still half blinded Rocco Rock. Things didn’t get any better for Public Enemy, with Chono driving Rocco down with a powerslam, Muta delivering a crazy elbow, and then going up top as Chono nearly took Rock’s head off with a Yakuza Kick. One moonsault later and Muta made the academic cover, and was awarded the victory.

The Rising Sons def. Public Enemy (Muta p. Rocco Rock)-B

Mama Knows Best!

Even as the bell is ringing, Cornette grabs a microphone and joins his team in the ring. He raises his trademark tennis racket in the air in celebration before slapping each of his men on the chest, indicating a job well done.

Jim Cornette: In case you people haven’t figured it out yet, these two men behind me are going to be a force in World Championship Wrestling. It’s real simple, but if I need to, I’ll explain it real slow for you inbred people to understand. Even you Davey Boy, we want you all to listen up. Over the next few months, and maybe even years, we’re going to show you why the greatest athletes come out of Japan. Davey Boy, you and me go a long ways back, so I’m going to offer you a chance. I’m going to offer you a chance to stand beside us. You know what happens when I set my sights on something, and right now we’re looking at you and that idiot Neidhart. I know you’re listening Davey Boy. I know you want revenge, but you have to ask yourself. Is it worth it? Mama Cornette always told me, don’t fight a battle you can’t win, and you can’t win this one Davey Boy. You’re just a fly in the ointment on our way to the tag team gold. Think about it!

Cornette hands the microphone to Penzer before following his boys out of the ring, spouting off about people simply not getting it,.while Schiavone sends the show to commercial.

Commercial Break

Madness Still Looms

Back from commercial and Gene Okerlund is standing backstage, in front of the usual interview wall, with “The Macho Man” Randy Savage pacing in front of him. Okerlund looks to the camera and addressees the fans.

Gene Okerlund: Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m here with “The Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Savage, last night at Slamboree, you were defeated by Hollywood Hogan for your title.

Savage stops dead in his tracks at the mention of being defeated, and surprisingly lets Okerlund finish the rest of his sentence before cutting in.

Randy Savage: Defeated?!! Were you watching the same match that I was a part of, brother? Gene Okerlund, you know as well as anyone else that I wasn’t defeated for nothing. I was cheated. Bamboozled. Hornswoggled. And there’s no denying that, yeah! But...but....but I should have known! Hollywood Hogan, you’ve never been a man to do things on your own. For the last two years you’ve been relying on the power of the nWo, but toniight, you can’t do that, yeah! You see, I’ve made a few calls. I’ve made a few calls and I talked to God himself, and he told me Hogan, that tonight, in that ring, it’s just you and me. No nWo members, no Bret Hart. Just you, me and that World Heavyweight Title. OOOOOOOHHHHHH YEAHHHHHH!!!

Gene Okerlund: Speaking of Bret Hart, wouldn’t you say he has a claim to be upset about last night just as much as you would? After all, he was involved in the match, and was cheated out of the chance to win the title.

Randy Savage: He may have been cheated out of a chance to win it, but brother, I already had it and it was stolen from me. But that’s okay, cause Hitman, I’m talking to you now. When I beat Hogan tonight, I’ll walk out there next week on Nitro, and I will hand you a title shot. I will look you in the eye, just like you always said you’d do tme, and I will lay the belt on the line. If you can beat me, then you deserve the title, but Hitman, you couldn’t beat me last night, and you won’t beat me next time. I’d kill for the title, and I’d die for the title, would you? Dig it!

Savage doesn’t wait for anymore questions, heading off camera instead, obviously on his way to get ready for his rematch.

Gene Okerlund: Randy Savage is definitely ready, and he has the chance tonight to take back the title he lost last night. Madness is running wild. Tony, Mike, Bobby, back to you!

Randy Savage: (Quickly coming back on camera) SNAP INTO IT, BROTHER!

Gene Okerlund: Hey! You watch it!

Number One Contenders Match; Cruiserweight Title: Juventud Guerrera vs Chavo Guerrero (w/Eddie Guerrero)

The Guerrero’s both seemed to be a bit more at ease with each other, and actually talked their way to the ring instead of arguing the whole way. Juventud stood in the ring, looking weary of this newfound calmness between the Guerrero’s. Every once in awhile someone in the crowd would yell, which would get Juventud’s attention. Schiavone reminds the viewers at home that Juventud had problems with a young man in the crowd last night, but they hadn’t learned the mans identity just yet. That was about the only hype they had for Juventud because from there Heenan and Schiavone argued over the events from last night involving The Guerrero’s and Malenko and Jericho, while Tenay did his best to at least attempt calling the match, which was a shame because this match in itself was a great match.

Both men started off quick, running around the ring and tagging each other with dropkicks and clotheslines. Juventud made the fans dizzy as he spun circles around Chavo and took him down with leg scissors and hurricanranas. Chavo slowed the pace down with chops, and took Juventud to the mat. While Chavo is quick, he just can’t keep up with Juventud’s quickness, so he does the next best thing and drives him into the mat, wearing him down. While not as pushy as he has been, Eddie still yells encouragement from the outside, telling Chavo that he’s got to finish him quickly. Chavo attempts to finish quickly, but Juventud manages to reverse the Tornado DDT, shove him off and then score with a twisting ddt of his own. Both men went back and forth, exchanging high flying moves from there, until Chavo cut him off at the knees, or the neck that is, with a brainbuster right in the center of the ring. Eddie yelled at Chavo to cover, but Chavo looked towards the corner, and started going up. Cue Chris Jericho, who hit the ringside area and attacked Eddie from behind with a forearm, sending him into the ring steps. The ref quickly went out to contain the attack outside, which proved to be the downfall of Chavo Guerrero because Dean Malenko hit the ring through the crowd and caught Chavo coming off the ropes with a kick to the gut and then a butterfly powerbomb. He escapes out of the ring as Juventud quickly went up top and delivered his 450 Splash, and the surprise pin.

Juventud Guerrera def. Chavo Guerrero Jr to for the Number One Contendersship-A

Everybody Has To Wait

As Malenko and Jericho back up the aisle, Gene Okerlund rushes out to get a word with them, microphone in hand.

Gene Okerlund: Chris Jericho! Dean Malenko! After all the taunting, all the insults. Have you two been in cahoots all this time? What do you two have to say for yourselves?

Okerlund turns the mic to Malenko first, but gets no response before moving it to Jericho. Unlike Dean, Jericho is obliged to give Gene some answers.

Chris Jericho: I’ll tell you, Geno-O! I’ll-

Uncharacteristically Dean Malenko grabs the microphone and turns it to himself, looking stone faced as always. His icy tone is still there.

Dean Malenko: Chris, I know you find it hard to keep a secret, but that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Gene, I’ll assure you that things are going to become very clear!

Malenko shoves the microphone back at Okerlund, nearly knocking him over before slapping Jericho on the chest. The two men back up the aisle as medics check on both Chavo and Eddie in and out of the ring. Commentary wonders what Malenko meant by his words.

Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko Say A Lot By Saying Very Little-B-

What’s Up Brother?!

After this, the camera goes back to the group of nWo members still in their locker room, watching the video screen which is showing Hogan in his own dressing room, with a scantily clad woman feeding him grapes. Norton is watching, and the longer he watches, the redder his face becomes. Finally he screams at the top of his voice, which breaks the bickering from the rest of the group.

Scott Norton: ENOUGH!

Everyone looks towards Norton, and all talking ceases until Norton pushes past them and storms out the door, then the question turns to where he’s going, but the rest of the group follow Norton. Schiavone assures those watching at home that camera’s will remain with them, but a commercial break needs to be taken.

Commercial Break

When the show comes back from commercial, Norton is standing in front of the door, with the rest of the nWo standing behind him. He pounds on the door, and the entire crowd seems to hold their breath as the door opens.

Cocktail Waitress: Can I help you?

Norton answers by exploding through the door with the rest of the nWo, throwing the cocktail waitress into the wall with a scream. Hogan bounds (slides) off the couch and gets to his feet, coming face to face with Norton, who is still red faced with anger.

Scott Norton: What’s the deal, brah?!!

Hollywood Hogan: What are you talkin’ about?

Scott Norton: All this! We help you win and then ya forget about us? Is that it? We were waitin’ to celebrate like only we can, and then we find you in here with your skanks?

Norton looks towards Bischoff instead of the cocktail waitress, which gets Bischoff to step up, and Hogan is aggravated now. He starts to say something but Konnan jumps in front.

Konnan: Yo, yo, yo, let’s not do dis here! Scotty, ya gotta settle down, boy. Look I’m sure dat there is an explanation. Ain’t that right Hollywood?

Hogan knows he needs these guys, so he smiles his assurance and puts his arm around Norton, who still isn’t quite buying it.

Hollywood Hogan: Small oversight. We were just comin’ to get you guys. Come on now. Do you really think I’d show you that kind of disrespect. Nash. Now he might do something like that. But I’m Hollywood. We’re the champs again. We rule this company, and there’s nobody that can stop us. Now why would you think I’d betray you like that?

Scott Norton: Well, Brian said....

Hollywood Hogan: Brian....

The minute the name was mentioned, the rest of the nWo jumped on Brian Adams like a pack of wild dogs. He wasn’t expecting it and the numbers game was too much for him as he was beaten down in the middle of the locker room. Konnan and Vincent ripped off his nWo black and white shirt, while Norton hammered him down. When the shirt was off, Konnan and Vincent went to his head and legs, holding him down on the floor as Hogan stripped off his weight lifting belt and cracked it together.

Hollywood Hogan: You....got.....something.....to.....say....to.....me......Big......Man?

Every word Hogan spoke was punctuated with the smack of his belt slapping the bare skin of Brian Adam’s back. Hogan didn’t stop until his arm got tired, and then he took the drink that was handed to him by Vincent before hitting Adams a couple more times as the scene fades with Schiavone putting over the despicable act, saying he may not like Adams, but no man deserves what he just recived.

Brian Adams Is Ejected From The nWo-A+

El Dandy & Silver King vs Magnum TOKYO & Hector Garza

This match could have been amazing, if translations weren’t hard to come by during scouting. All four men seemed to know what was going to happen in the end, and they kept the pace slow, setting up the ending. Silver King is actually quite an accomplished technical wrestler, and he was able to keep TOKYO grounded while they were in the ring, but he kept watching the entrance ramp throughout each hold, and it allowed TOKYO to counter and tag out. Garza fared much better, as both men were about the same size. Dandy didn’t even enter the match until the end, and he was the unlucky one who got the tag just before The Giant made his way to the ring. There was commotion first, and then Schiavone tried to warn the four men in the ring, but of course they couldn’t hear him. Even though they couldn’t hear him, all four men seemed to turn to the stage the minute The Giant stepped through the curtain. Silver King and TOKYO both leap over the ropes, hoping to strike an initial attack which fails when Giant catches them both and hurls them into the ring apron, spine first. As The Giant climbed through the ropes, El Dandy got an idea and he dropkicked Garza into the big man before rolling out of the ring. The Giant was prepared to play around and drilled Garza into the mat with a Chokeslam.

El Dandy/Silver King Fought To A No Contest With Magnum TOKYO/Hector Garza-B

Giant quickly grabs the mic, and lets the entire world know what’s on his mind, as if they hadn’t guessed already.

The Giant: STING!

The Giant is very nearly frothing at the mouth with that single word, and that single word has also popped the crowd, except for a small amount who are still booing The Giant, and have been since he walked out.

The Giant: Sting! I know you’re back there. I know you’re listening, and I want you to listen real close.

Schiavone assures him that not only is Sting listening, but the entire world is waiting to know why The Giant turned on Sting. Heenan more than likely got a laugh from the viewers with his “Like we haven’t seen it before” comment.

The Giant: Every single person backstage thinks that I turned on you, Sting. They think that I turned my back on WCW and joined the nWo, but they’re all wrong. You see, I didn’t join the nWo. I don’t need them. And I didn’t turn on Sting. HE TURNED ON ME!! Every single one of you people did. Don’t think I didn’t see your eyes. DON’T THINK I DIDN”T SEE THE WAY YOU LOOKED AT ME!

What? That’s exactly what all three announcers are asking themselves, and anyone listening after the previous statement. They speculate on exactly what they and Sting did to make The Giant think this, but The Giant is ready to actually tell them if they listen.

The Giant: All the whispers in the back. All the boys wondering when the big man was gonna turn on them again. You couldn’t let go of the past. All you saw was the man that I used to be. NOBODY TRUSTED ME!

With good reason, but Giant isn’t getting that part. He simply paces and looks out at the heated fans.

The Giant: How many times did I save Sting’s ass from a beatdown? How many times did I have his back? And the one time that The Outsiders attacked me, and where was Sting? Where was he? He didn’t help me out. No! He had something better to do. Well Sting, you can’t ignore me anymore. You can’t forget about me. I won’t let you.

The lights go out in the arena, leaving Schiavone to scream like a girl.

The Giant Explains His Actions-A+

Take A Trip To The Dark Side!

There is a massive roar that goes up from the fans the minute the lights go out, that nearly overshadow Schiavone’s girlish cries. An eerie music echoes throughout the arena, and several flash bulbs flicker throughout the crowd. Finally the video screen lights up with a picture of Sting’s candle lit face. He’s got a smirk on his face.

Sting: Forget about you? Big man, I could never forget about ya. I may be gettin’ old, but my mind, it’s as sharp as ever. After all, I’m the one who remembers you playing lapdog to ol’ Hollywood. You remember that? Cause I do.

The Giant is livid in the ring, and he kicks the bottom rope in frustration, yelling for Sting to bring his ass out to the ring.

Sting: You wanna know why I didn’t come out and help ya that night? You really wanna know? Sit down, because this might surprise ya.

Few second pause, and the fans wait with baited breath.

Sting: Because I wasn’t there! You know, with as big a head as you’ve got, I thought you’d have figured that out by now. There’s got to be something in there. I heard that rattle when we were fighting before. See Giant, it’s all in your pathetic little mind, but that’s okay You want to attack me. You want to fight The Stinger? You want to take a trip with me? Come with me Giant. Guess what Big Man!

The lights go out once again, and this time the eerie music quickly ends. When the lights come back up, The Giant is gone from in the ring, but Sting’s candle lit face remains on the screen and he chuckles.

Sting: It’s Showtime!

Sting blows the candle out and the scene goes black, while commentary wonders where the hell The Giant went. Heenan says that this is the kind of games Sting has been playing since coming back in December, and it looks like he’s back to his old tricks with The Giant.

Sting Plays Mind Games-A+

Taking Advantage Of The Situations!

When the show comes back from commercial, Schiavone, Tenay and Heenan are discussing a “sickening act” that took place during the commercial break. Cue the video, and the replay of said act, which starts out with Booker T standing backstage, apparently getting ready for an interview with Scott Hudson when Buff Bagwell and Scott Steiner come out of nowhere and attack Booker. Steiners thick forearms club the back of Booker T’s neck, driving him forward, before the two men simply perform a massive beatdown, while Hudson looks for help. Bagwell ends the beatdown by picking Booker up and drilling him into the back wall before letting him know that he’d be waiting in the ring.

Buff Bagwell & Scott Steiner Attack Booker T-A+

Television Title Match: Booker T© vs Buff Bagwell (w/Scott Steiner)

Schiavone is still overselling the attack of Booker T during the break when Bagwell makes his way to the ring, Scott Steiner at his side. Bagwell is all smiles, which is completely opposite his opponent, who comes out with a grimace on his face, finding it incredibly hard to walk, let alone wrestle. Schiavone takes this time to remind everyone listening of the amount of punishment Booker has taken in the recent weeks from Chris Benoit, and then the backstage attack from Bagwell. Heenan then reminds Schiavone that it was Booker T who said he was going to defend the title every chance he got, on every single television show, and this just happens to be one of those times. Bagwell starts off quickly, attacking Booker before he was even fully through the ropes. Bagwell grabbed the belt from around Booker’s waist and tried to hit him with it, but Booker ducked and managed to hit a spinebuster. The pain Booker was in remained evident but he managed to battle through the match. Steiner kept getting involved, and distracting Booker which would allow Bagwell to get the upperhand on several occassions. Booker took the beating and kept coming back, kicking out of several pinfall attempts, which served to frustrated the nWo members. Tenay remarked on Booker’s resiliency and how he had come back from everything that Benoit had thrown at him. It was Scott Steiner who was the deciding factor in this match as Booker set Bagwell up for the “Axe Kick” only for Steiner to slam a steel pipe into the back of the champion. Booker staggered right into a swinging neckbreaker from Bagwell who immediately went to the second rope and waited. Booker got up and walked right into the “Buff Blockbuster.” Bagwell hooked the leg and did something nobody expected. He captured his first WCW Television Championship, in what may be looked at as five years too late.

Buff Bagwell def. Booker T to BECOME the NEW WCW Television Champion-A+

Get Back Here! We’re Not Done Yet!

Bagwell and Steiner aren’t happy with simply celebrating their win, after all, they are nWo members which means the destruction of WCW and their champions, or in this case, former champions are first and foremost on their lists of things to do. Bagwell stomps away on the former champion until Steiner reaches down and pulls him up, shooting him into the ropes and delivering a huge overhead belly to belly that left his legs bouncing off the ropes. Steiner yells for Bagwell to pick him up, but they don’t get the chance to do what they’re going for because Rick Steiner comes charging down with his studded dog collar clenched tightly in his hands. As he slides under the bottom rope, he waves the collar around, taking Bagwell in the back with it and barely missing Scott Steiner as the two men duck for cover. Steiner checks on Booker T as the nWo members laugh and back up the ramp. Rick makes sure his brother knows that he has his sights set firmly on him, but Bagwell has reason to taunt now as he holds his newly won Television title high in the air.

Rick Steiner Saves Booker T-A

Commercial Break

Curt Hennig (w/Rick Rude) vs Evan Karagais

The challenge had been laid out on the Thunder before Slamboree, and had originally be planned for the pay-per-view, but time restrictions had forced the challenge to be made for Nitro instead. Karagais has been a thorn in Hennig’s side for the last month, since arriving in World Championship Wrestling. Schiavone mentions that Hennig could have just avoided all this by agreeing to train the kid, but Heenan reminded him that Hennig did things that benefitted Hennig, not some punk kid who thinks he can be the next Curt Hennig. Karagais looked quite enthused to be in the match, but he was also quite wary of the man standing at ringside, knowing full well that Rick Rude could be a dangerous man if he wanted to be. Many figured that Hennig would simply walk all over this kid, but Karagais surprised everyone, including Hennig. That didn’t mean that Hennig wouldn’t try as he slapped the taste out of the kids mouth before the opening bell even sounded.

Karagais lit up Hennig’s eyes as soon as the bell rang, taking exception to the slap and firing off several right hands, followed by several forearm shivers. Karagais opened up in the early going of the match, taking Hennig down with several hard hitting, high flying moves that kept Hennig down and out. As Karagais continued to dominate, the fans slowly rallied behind him, but just when he thought he had the momentum, he made a mistake. Coming off the top rope and Hennig caught him with a strike to the gut that flipped him over and put him on the mat. Hennig took control and slowed the pace of the match down considerably, keeping Karagais grounded. Hennig worked a slow game plan, taking several breathers to confer with Rude, and almost forgetting about Karagais until the kid started to come back and then Hennig would ground him again. The kid looked pretty much out of it, which lead Hennig to set up for the Hennig Plex, but he doesn’t get his hands locked and finds himself being driven into the mat with a ddt. Karagasi goes up top, but he’s over excited and doesn’t see Rude slide his briefcase into the ring and then hop onto the apron where he distracts the referee. Karagais leaps off the buckles and gets a loaded briefcase right in the face. Karagais is out, Hennig slides the case out and Rude casually gives up his argument and gets off the apron. Curt pulls Evan to his feet, hooks his hands and finishes him off with a Hennig Plex for the win.

Curt Hennig def. Evan Karagais-B

A Star Is Here!

Schiavone mentions the fact that Hennig seemed off his game on this night, but was still able to pick up the win. The Brain makes sure to point out that if this was a bad night for Hennig, Evan might want to be wary about stepping in on a good night. Bad night or not, Hennig remains cocky, dusting his hands off, and declaring this thing to be over as he rolls out of the ring and joins Rude to head to the back. Despite Heenan’s points, Karagais’s glare when he comes too assures fans, and those at home that he’s definitely not done with Hennig. He rolls out of the ring and turns around right into a right hand from a crowd member. This draws a huge pop from the crowd, and a collective “OHHH” from the commentary team. The camera catches the guy, who is revealed as the same guy who was messing with Juventud Guerrera at the pay-per-view. Schiavone and Heenan didn’t know who it was at the ppv, but leave it to the man known as “The Professor” to know exactly who it is. He declares the man is an “A” list actor from Hollywood, and is surprised that neither Tony or Bobby know him. Tenay explains the movie credits of Christopher Cage III and explains that WCW is actually sponsoring a movie that he’s making at this time. He then goes on to say that he does not condone the actions here tonight, as security flocks to Cage. Cage is screaming that he’ll call his lawyers, and that he doesn’t have to take this, as security escorts him out.

Christopher Cage III Revealed-B-

Glacier vs Prince Iaukea

Both of these men were highly touted upon their debut, but have been struggling in the past few weeks. One due to Jericho punking him out for several weeks straight, and the other due to doing absolutely nothing of note except feuding with Wrath and Mortis. With their past reputation, they were both looking to come out strong, and they actually had a nice opening with both men unleashing offence. Glacier keeps Iaukea at a distance with some well placed Karate kicks but Iaukea gets past that thinking by launching himself off the top rope and delivering a dropkick. Iaukea kept Glacier grounded and worked him along the mat,m even with the fans chanting “Boring” at the two men. The Prince kept his mat game going, frustrating Glacier before setting him up top and taking him down with a spinning ddt. Glacier looks out, but The Prince doesn’t follow it up with a pin, choosing to go upstairs instead and gets caught leaping with a foot right to the face. Glacier created the opening and he definitely took advantage of it. Back suplex puts Iaukea in the center of the ring and a second rope elbow drop gains Glacier a two count. Glacier sets up for his Cryonic Kick but at that minute an explosion takes place on the ramp way. A wall of fire goes across the entire entrance ramp, and some ominous music plays. This draws Glacier and the fans attention to the curtain where a man dressed in an orange and black ninja outfit steps out. Glacier seems quite confused as the man raises his hand and points a single finger at Glacier. Instead of his own voice, there is an audio clip of someone saying ”Your Soul...Is Mine” played over the speakers. Glacier remains confused but the man simply turns his back and disappears through the curtain again. Commentary mentions being confused, and make references to the Mortal Kombat movies, which air on TBS every Saturday night. Nice cheap plug. With the confusion set in, Glacier turns around and walks right into a Northern Lights Suplex from Prince Iaukea. The three count is made, and Iaukea has finally got a win under his belt.

Prince Iaukea def. Glacier-A

Commercial Break

The Hitman Is Here!

When the show comes back from commercial, the camera is at the announce table where Schiavone, Heenan and Tenay are discussing the latest happenings in WCW, before mentioning that during the break, Bret “The Hitman” Hart had entered the building. They go to a quick clip showing him coming through the entrance in street clothes. A couple of people backstage look to wish him well, but he pays no attention to them, showing his intense focus. When the video ends, Schiavone says that he’s never seen a more focused Hitman, and of course Heenan says he has, but it was a long time ago.

The Hitman Arrives-A

The Outsiders are Inside! Does that make them Insiders?

The wolf’s howl breaks up the talk of Hart, and opens the discussion for the two men walking through the curtains with big smiles on their faces, and gold still firmly planted around their waists. They pose on the ramp with Hall ducking down in front of the big man who raises the ‘Wolfpac’ sign above his head. They are quite jovial in their ascent to the ring, and seem even more so when they enter the ring and take the microphone. Nash takes it, and hands it right off to Hall, which excites the entire place. Why they allowed this man to be off t.v is beyond all reason, and these fans are proving that.

Scott Hall: Hey...........................Yo!

With his cheap pop gotten, he passes the mic off to Kevin Nash who seems to have the most to say.

Kevin Nash: Someone want to tell me who’s playin’ with the lights and the fire in this place? I saw Giant in the back trying to light a cigarette, and darn near burnt his eyebrows off. Then again, that might just be an improvement.

Hall takes the microphone, and chuckles while speaking.

Scott Hall: Don’ worry Big Man, ain’t nothin’ gonna improve that big goof’s looks. Hey Giant, looks like ya didn’t get your hands on these.

Hall holds up his half of the tag team titles, and runs his hands over the new nameplate feature, which reads “Outsiders”

Kevin Nash: That’s right boys, read them good cause you’re going to see them there for awhile. The big boys behind the curtain here in WCW have decided we’ve got to start defendin’ these titles, which means there’s about to be a whole lot of bodies layin’ at our feet. WCW, we ain’t got nothin’ against ya right now, but we’re not gonna stand out here and lie either. This is our show boys, and when we get done with Hollywood Hogan and his monkey boys, we’re goin’ right back on our path of human destruction. We’ve simply got three words for you.

Nash holds the mic, but he moves it back to Hall who throws his arms out in typical pose fashion, chewing on his toothpick.

Scott Hall:We’re Taking Over!

Nash casually flips the microphone back to Penzer, who nearly misses it, and Nash laughs. Penzer finally announces their opponents for this Tag Title Match.

The Outsiders Promo-A

WCW Tag Team Title Match: The Outsiders© vs The Texas Longhorns

Of course with the recent comments by The Outsiders, commentary spends most of the opening few minutes discussing exactly what that means for the future of WCW, as nobody really seems to be stepping up on the side of WCW. Schiavone reminds everyone that from what they know, Bret Hart stands up for WCW, but Heenan says it’s more that he’s standing up for himself, rather than WCW. Inside the ring, the opening few moments consisted of some uninspiring brawling between Kendall Windham and Scott Hall. Hall heats up the match by tossing his toothpick into the face of Bobby Duncum on the outside, drawing him into the ring and having the referee forced out of position, which lead to Hall and Nash making quick in and outs, working over Kendall. Hall ended up getting the first cover after a suplex from the middle rope, but was only able to get a two count. Halls knack for taunting the outside comes back to haunt him when he does it one too many times and gets a shot right to the balls for his trouble. Kendall tags out to Duncum, and now the big Texan goes to work.

Duncum seems to be the more fierce man of the team, leaving Windham to his laid back ways. Duncum whips Hall to the ropes and connects with a clothesline, and then stomps away but he takes his eyes of the ball to jaw with Nash and gets rolled up for a two count. The only thing this does is make the big Texan more noisy as he gets back and quickly drops Hall with a bodyslam. Most of Duncums moves are basic, but effective in the grand scheme of things, and he continues to wear Hall out with the high impact slams and clotheslines. Windham and Duncum try the quick tag approach, but end up miscalculating one and they allow Hall to make the tag. That’s all it takes as Big Sexy hits the ring and completely clears it of both opponents, booting Duncum in the jaw and then clotheslining Windham over the ropes. Duncum pops back up but he’s quickly kicked in the gut and reeled into a “Jacknife Powerbomb” Nash covers with his boot and stares down Duncum who thinks better of coming in. The Outsiders continue to dominate.

The Outsiders def. The Texas Longhorns to RETAIN the WCW World Tag Team Titles-A (Fans Love Hall/Nash)

We’ve Heard It All Before...

Scott Hudson has been sent to get a word with Hollywood Hogan, and he’s very cautious entering the room in which Hogan is getting ready, slipping on an nWo white and black shirt after oilding up his skin as usual.

Scott Hudson: Hollywood Hogan, we’ve already seen you tonight, in what some are calling a very despicable act perpetrated on Brian Adams, but tonight, you’re also in our main event in a rematch with Randy Savage. Savage is gunning to get his belt back, and this is your first title defense. What do you have to say?

Hogan is all smiles, adjusting the WCW World Title on his shoulder, and stepping up to the microphone.

Hollywood Hogan: What you saw earlier, brother, was nothing but a little bit of tough love from the ol’ Hollywood and the nWo. See, you don’t doubt us in the nWo, because once you’re in, you’re in it for life, or until we say otherwise. Now tonight, Savage wants to run around with the so called “Outsiders” and oppose the true leader of the nWo, then he can be laid to rest like the rest of them are going to be. Hollywood stands for the big time, and that’s exactly where he’s going to stay. Savage can’t stop me, Nash can’t stop me, and Bret Hart definitely can’t stop me.

Scott Hudson: Speaking of Bret Hart, we were told earlier that “The Hitman” was in the building.

Hollywood Hogan: Do you think it really matters whether or not Bret Hart is in the building? Bret Hart was in the building last night and I’m still standing here as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He was in the building back at Caesar's Palace and we all know what happened there. He couldn’t get the job done. He dropped the ball and once again Hollywood was forced to pick it up and run with it. Now all these years later and Bret Hart wants to whine about Hollywood holding him down. Well, brother, you can’t hold something down who doesn’t want to be down there. Let’s face it Hitman, you just weren’t good enough to get the job done, and you never will Savage! This is your last shot. Hollywood’s moving on to the big time boys!

Hogan slaps his hand with the weightlifting belt, sending Hudson scurrying and Hogan laughing as he leaves the locker room, fixing his belt to his waist, and Schiavone says we’ve got to take a commercial break before the main event.

Hollywood Hogan Interview-B+

Commercial Break

WCW World Heavyweight Title Match: Hollywood Hogan© (w/Eric Bischoff & The Disciple) vs “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Savage is like a rabid animal from the minute he gets in the ring, pacing back and forth, while Heenan hints at a bit of frothing at the corner of the man’s mouth. He gets even more ferocious when Hendrix hits the speakers, throwing out the opening chords of Voodoo Child, simply so the fans can go into boo overdrive. Hogan, Bischoff and The Disciple come out, with Hogan playing air guitar and Bischoff and The Disciple following close behind. Heenan makes sure to comment on the fact that Bischoff has been uncharacteristically quiet over the last few weeks, but Schiavone says they should enjoy it while it lasts because he’s sure Bischoff is planning something. Bischoff and The Disciple spread out on either side of the ring while Hogan climbs in, ducking between the middle and top rope. Immediately Savage attacks with an axehandle to the back of the head and some quick punches.

Savage’s animal offence doesn’t end there as he rips the shirt off Hogan’s body and then unleashes several knife edge chops that turn the champion’s skin from orange to bright red. Savage lays into Hogan, even going so far as to stick his fingers into the man’s eyes and pull back before biting him right on the forehead. Not even two minutes into the match and Hogan already has a cut just above his eye. Hogan can’t even seem to get in the game as Savage just walks all over him in the early going, running up the buckles and delivering lightning quick axehandle smashes to the top of Hogan’s head, as well as the back of the neck. With Hogan in the corner, Savage unloads with some knees and then whips the champion into the corner. He charges in but Hogan manages to move out of the way.

Hogan’s attack is just as vicious as Savages, maybe even more so after the interview, where he made himself out to be the top of the food change. He had something to prove after such trash talk, and he backed it up with some rakes to the eyes and back. Typical Hogan fighting as he took every cheap trick in the book, attempting to steal Ric Flair’s thunder as being the dirtiest player in the game. He couldn’t quite live up to that though as he kept getting caught by the ref, and verbal warnings were handed out on several occasions. It didn’t matter to Hogan though, and he kept doing exactly what he’d been doing the whole match. He didn’t let up on the chokes until he absolutely had to. He continued to rake the eyes and back, even going so far as to bring his weight lifting belt out and strap Savage several times with it.

This cost him though when he went to hit Savage one too many times and ended up having Savage catch the belt with his hand and pull it away. Savage quickly wrapped the belt around his fist and cracked Hogan with it right between the eyes. Hogan went down and Savage was right back on that open cut, biting and gnawing at it with his teeth and hands. Savage gets overzealous though, lifting Hogan up and slamming him in the center of the ring before heading up top. He looks to unleash the “Elbow Drop” from the top but The Disciple reaches in and grabs Hogan’s ankle, pulling him out of the ring. Hogan shakes off the attack as Savage crashes and burns in the center of the ring. Hogan limps around the ring, getting his wind back as Savage recovers in the ring.

Before Savage can get to his feet, Hogan rolls back into the ring and stalks him for a few second before planting him with an elbow to the back of the head. Hogan takes his time getting back to his feet as Schiavone says they need to take their final commercial break of the evening.

Commercial Break

When the show comes back from commercial, Hogan keeping the ref’s attention while Bischoff and The Disciple are mugging Savage on the outside. The ref finally notices exactly what’s going on, and tosses them to the back. Bischoff refuses to go, but referee Nick Patrick actually has security come out and escort both men to the back. Hogan doesn’t like it either, but even his stroke can’t change things, and he’s forced to fight on his own. He grabs Savage and tosses him back into the ring, going back to that mauling attack, choking him to the four count. Hogan gets back to his feet, signaling that this match is over. He waits for Savage to get to his feet before backing him into the ropes. He sends Savage in and connects with the “Big Boot” right to the chin. Savage goes down is open for Hogan to drop the “Big Legdrop” across the throat of the challenger. Patrick is in position. One! Two! Thre-NO! Bret Hart is here, and he grabs Patrick and pulls him out of the ring. Patrick admonishes Hart but Bret just shoves him out of the way and dives into the ring, taking Hogan down and driving him into the mat with a double leg. Hogan is already winded from the match and he’s no match for Hart who just mounts and punches Hogan. Hogan tries to fight back but Hart pulls him up and tosses him into the ropes, delivering a Manhatten Drop and then a dropkick right to the chest, sending Hogan through the ropes. The Hitman doesn’t stop there, going after him and tossing him back into the ropes and following him in. Patrick attempts to restore order, but when Hart isn’t listening to him, Patrick is forced to call for the bell, throwing the match out. This doesn’t phase Hart though.

While it may not mean anything to Bret Hart, it definitely means something to the challenger in this match, Randy Savage, who recovers as Hart is completely obliterating Hogan, and questions Nick Patrick about his decision. When Patrick won’t reverse it, Savage goes ballistic, attacking Hart with an axehandle to the back. With Hart turning to fight with Savage, Bischoff and The Disciple race to the ring and get Hogan out of there, while Hart and Savage are exchanging punches in the center of the ring. Savage rakes Bret’s eyes and throws him out of the ring, once again going back to Patrick, to question the decision, only to receive the same answer, which sends him out after Hart again. Hart isn’t going down without a fight either and he catches the charging Savage and backdrops him into the crowd. Hogan is taken to the back by Bischoff and Disciple while Savage and Hart fight through the crowd. Nobody can believe what has just happened, including the announce team. Savage and Hart continue to fight in the crowd while the announcers talk about what’s going on, saying that Hart had come out to get some of Hogan, and in turn had cost Savage his title shot, which pissed Savage off and sent them into this brawl.

Hollywood Hogan def. Randy Savage by Disqualification to RETAIN the WCW World Heavyweight Title-A+

Bet You Forgot About This; Didn’t You?

While the camera is on the announce team, and they discuss the events of the evening, nearly signing off, just as the opening chords of “Also Sprach Zathrusta”: hits the loud speakers, and the biggest reception of the night begins. After hyping this event for the last month, WCW remained quiet on the situation through the night, making fans nearly forget about this event, but the minute the music hit, the memory came rushing back, and all fans eyes were on the entrance ramp. They cheers slowly rise, reaching a complete crescendo the minute Ric Flair walks out in all his glory, dressed to the nines in a black suit, white shirt, and tie. Flair stands at the top of the ramp, looking up into the sky and soaking up the cheers from the fans, before mouthing the words “I Love This” and strutting his way to the ring. Every single fan in the entire building is standing on their feet as Flair enters the ring and takes the microphone from Tony Chimel and steps to the center of the ring.

Ric Flair: CHARLOTTE!........WOOOOO!......NORTH CAROLINA!......WOOOOOO!....The Naitcha’ Boy is back!

With those few words, Flair already has the fans in the palm of his hand, and he knows it. For a few seconds he doesn’t say anything, making them wait for it.

Ric Flair: See, The Naitcha’ Boy never wanted to go anywhere in the first place, but sometimes, sometimes decisions need to be made, and The Naitcha Boy made that decsion. But anyone who thought that I was going to just sit home, and collect a paycheck was sadly mistake. BISCHOFF! You wanted me gone, but I’m still standing right here. HOGAN! You tried to take out Ric Flair, but I’m still standing here. No Matter....What you do...The Naitcha’ Boy will remain standing right here. WOOO!

It’s easy to tell when Flair is getting worked up because he reaches for the tie and pulls it from around his neck, taking it off. He unsnaps a couple buttons on his coat, and begins strutting around the ring.

Ric Flair: ERIC BISCHOFF! You tried to fire me, but.....

Flair ruffles inside his coat pocket and pulls out a couple of pieces of white paper and unfolds them, holding them up for everyone to see. The cameras are able to zoom in enough to reveal the World Championship Wrestling Letterhead, and the words “Official Contract.” bolded at the top.

Ric Flair: ...Some boys in the back felt that you weren’t in any position to make these kinds of decisions, Mr. President! WOOOO! So at the behest of my friend, Roddy Piper, the higher ups at WCW drew up another contract and Ric Flair signed it, right on the dotted line. You think you can tell me what to do, PAL? Come and try it. Come on! Come out and I’ll kick your ass all the way back to the locker room and out the damn door. COME ON! WOOO!

Flair’s shirt has just about worked it’s way off and he stands, breathing hard in just his suit pants, looking towards the entrance ramp and waiting to see if Bischoff answers his challenge. Of course Bischoff is busy with Hogan, so he makes no attempt to come out, and after a few minutes Flair seems to calm down.

Ric Flair: Whatcha’ seein’ right now is a new Naitcha’ Boy, and don’t think I was just sittin’ at home. No! No! No! Ric Flair was ridin’ high, flyin’ high, and doing everything that only Ric Flair can. But! But! He was also watching Monday Nitro each and every week, and he saw something that surprised him. You see, I was sitting at home over the last few weeks, and I saw those videos being played for my return, but there was something in those videos that shocked even me.

As Flair looks towards the video screen, another one of those video’s play, this one focusing on the spots in which Ric Flair has bled for the company. The final shot of the video showing Flair, leaning over the ropes with blood dripping down his face, and he has the four fingers raised to the camera, through all the pain.

Ric Flair: That right there! That.

Flair raises the four fingers and the crowd go nuts, which is hyped even more when the sounds of horses hooves hitting the ground sounds, and the warped guitar work Flair turns to the stage, and the crowd is in a frenzy when Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit and Steve McMichaels steps through the curtain, dressed nearly as well as Ric Flair had been. Both Anderson and Benoit are stone faced, but Mongo is carrying his Haliburton briefcase and a huge smile on his face, holding up the four fingers and displaying them to the fans. All three men make their way to the ring, which appears to be a complete surprise to Ric. Flair soon realizes what’s happening and holds the ropes open for Anderson as “The Enforcer” steps through the ropes along with the other two members of The Horsemen. Anderson takes a second microphone from Chimel, and turns to face Ric Flair.

Arn Anderson: Ric, I don’t mean to interrupt you out here on your return night, but it seems to be the only way that I can get through to you. Phone calls, they don’t seem to get returned anymore.

Flair’s smile slowly fades, and he looks at Anderson with a confused look on his face, but Anderson doesn’t even seem to notice, continuing on with what he’s got on his chest.

Arn Anderson: Now Ric, you and I have traveled the roads together for what seems like a lifetime. Back in the heyday of the NWA, to the nights of WCW. We’ve done and seen it all. It’s been a heck of a ride, but somewhere along the lines, we lost sight of what’s important. We lost sight of our ultimate goal, and we went our separate ways. But you see, even after we went our separate ways, they continued to cross at different points under one banner.

Flair is still confused, but Anderson raises the four fingers, once again getting another pop from the crowd, who are all ears for what Anderson has to say.

Arn Anderson: The legacy of The Four Horsemen have lead us down the same path many times, and once again, we stand in this ring, face to face, and eye to eye. We’ve gone through many incarnations. We’ve had many allies, and even more enemies, but the Horsemen always stood tall. We stood tall until we were faced with our biggest threat.

Anderson’s timing when it comes to speaking is unbelievable. He knows when to pause and allow his words to sink in, and he knows when to keep going.

Arn Anderson: When the nWo stepped into our house, we just opened the door and allowed them to run like a herd of elephants, trampling over everything, including the legend of The Four Horsemen. We put up a fight, and we lost. Now we’ve blamed a lot of people. We’ve blamed Jeff Jarrett. We’ve blamed Curt Hennig.

At that name, Anderson turns to the camera for a second, just to make sure his words are loud and clear.

Arn Anderson: Hennig, don’t think we’ve forgotten about you. We’ll get to you in just a little bit.

He then turns back to Flair and continues his diatribe.

Arn Anderson: We’ve placed the blame every place, except for exactly where it belongs.

Anderson steps up to Flair, and the two man remain eye to eye, but the action takes place behind Anderson as Benoit immediately attacks McMichael from behind. Benoits strikes take their toll on McMichael, who attempts to turn around and fight back but is never able to get anything going. Flair moves to help but Anderson puts his hand on Flair’s chest, and Flair stops, once again looking at Anderson confused. Benoit isn’t looking at anyone as he whips McMichael into the ring and knocks him down with a shouldblock, before heading up top and delivering a massive “Diving Headbutt.” Benoit peels him off the mat and tosses him straight over the top rope, as the interview returns to order once more, with Anderson still speaking.

Arn Anderson: Out there on the floor is where trash belongs. McMichael, I said it back in June, and I’m going to repeat myself here tonight, you’re a football player, and nothing else. Now Ric, we’ve always been about eliminating the weak links, and McMichael was a weak link. Tonight, we eliminate one link, and we gain two more. Two men who I’ve had my eyes on, We’re not talking about a spot, or my spot in this case. We’re talking about an open invitation to join the most prestigious group in the industry.

Anderon stops speaking and raises his hands as once more the music of The Four Horsemen hits, and the fans wait until the two men step through the curtain before opening up with a chorus of boos. The two men who Anderson have had his eyes on are none other than Dean “The Iceman” Malenko and Chris Jericho. Schiavone says the answers have become clear, and now he knows exactly what Malenko was talking about earlier in the night. The two men make their way to the ring and stand next to Benoit.

Arn Anderson: And with these two, we become......three.

He holds up three fingers, and for the first time since Anderson came out here, Flair is allowing it to continue.\

Ric Flair: WAIT JUST A DAMN MINUTE! WAIT JUST A MINUTE! What do you mean three? What do ya mean Arn! What-

Anderson cuts him off in mid-sentence, opening his arms to embrace Flair. Despite being confused, Flair accepts the embrace.

Arn Anderson: Ric. Ric. Sometimes the hardest thing to do, is let go of the past.

Anderson turns his back on Flair and ushers Benoit, Malenko and Jericho out of the ring, joining them on the floor. All three four men back up the ramp with Flair getting more and more worked up in the ring, with his microphone.

Ric Flair: ARN! ANDERSON! WOOO! Bring...your ass....back to the ring! Come back here. Enforcer! Get in here.

Anderson stops at the top of the ramp, and it appears like he’s about to come back, but he simply stops and watches. The fans are going crazy, but it doesn’t help because someone has come out of the crowd and is standing right behind Ric Flair, who’s still going crazy on the microphone. Most wrestling fans know the man, and Schiavone definitely does as he exclaims “SHANE DOUGLAS”! DOUGLAS IS HERE!

On the stage, Anderson runs his thumb across his throat, and immediately Douglas spins Flair around and nails him with a huge chain covered right hand. Schiavone is going insane, and so is Douglas with his attack. He mounts Flair and just rains down chain covered fist after chain covered fist. Anderson sends his boys to the ring, and they slide in, which serves to send Douglas back a bit. Schiavone declares that friendship has finally prevailed, but that’s all shot to hell the minute Benoit, Malenko and Jericho go to work, stomping Flair on the mat. Flair is busted open, but the four men don’t give him a chance to even think about the blood as they stomp away at him, until Douglas backs them off and dares Flair to get up. Schiavone tells Flair to stay down, but Flair can’t hear him, not that he would anyway, and he gets to his feet, his white hair turned red, and takes another chained fist shot right to the forehead. They spread him out and Benoit goes up top, connecting with a “Diving Headbutt.” With Flair down, Jericho hits the ropes and connects with his “Lionsault.” Malenko moves in and locks in his “Texas Cloverleaf” while Douglas gets right in Flair’s face, yelling at him. Schiavone is now sombre, telling someone to get out here. Flair needs help, and they need to get medical out here.

Finally the fans get a happy ending when “Diamond” Dallas Page and “The Total Package” Lex Luger come sprinting from the back, towards the ring. Anderson is quick to get his boys out of the ring as Luger and Page slide in. They don’t follow the five men outside, choosing instead to check on Flair, who is bleeding profusely. Schiavone calls for medical to get out here as he signs off the show, explaining that Flair’s condition could be very bad.

Ric Flair’s Return-A+

Arn Anderson Speaks To Flair-A+

Anderson & Benoit Beat Down McMichaels-A+

The Horsemen Beat Down Flair, Luger/Page Save-A

Show Rating: A

Horrible, horrible show. Not the way I wanted to start things off after Slamboree, but what's done is done. Now it's time to regroup. Hopefully the final segment was worth it because the rest of the show was pretty lackluster. Mr. Starr, if you're reading this again, that was a forgotten research thing. Was pretty sure it was at Caesar's Palace but seeing as I wrote it while having no access to the internet, I wanted to make sure before I posted...then forgot. As for more stars joining Cornette, not at press time, but it could happen down the road.

Edited January 18, 2007 by Enforcer Guerrero

[JStarr]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Sorry, obligatory Flair-sighting reply there. And the new Horsemen lineup is, to steal a line from the nWo, too sweet. Douglas working with Anderson against Flair seems like something new and different, at least to my eyes. Wondering if this was back before Douglas got it in his head that Flair was trying to cut him off at the knees.

As far as the rest of the show, it did seem like there wasn't much meaningful about the matches themselves, as they were more designed to get certain people over, like the Sons and the Outsiders. But new storylines appeared and took the product in a pretty exciting-looking direction, so I'm not sure what there is to be all that down about.

--Not sure I see Davey Boy joining Cornette at this point, and in fact, I'd mark like a motherfucker if Davey were to, in fact, get some more help. Somebody, say, very familiar with Mr. Cornette. A couple of somebodies, in fact. Including one somebody who would make our favorite mod very happy. But I digress. BTW, any possibility of more Japanese talent coming under Cornette's banner? Just a yes/no here, not digging for names. (Unless you wanna share some names? )

--Interesting teaser for nWo dissent, and it's good to see them pruning some dead weight. Hogan, Bagwell, Steiner, and Norton would be a good core group, POSSIBLY with Konnan. Possibly.

--Speaking of Buff, it's good to see that you've helped Booker past the TV title ranks. Sure, Booker would want a piece of Buff, but am I right in assuming that he'll take a piece of any nWo ass he can get? (Wait, that didn't come out right...)

--Nagging thought that just occurred...where's Goldberg? And Raven?

--Christopher Cage III? Hmm...I think Reso could do a fine job as a spoiled brat movie star. Nice call. Now, whither Andrew Martin? And please, put him over Karagias with extreme prejudice.

--Prince Iaukea and Glacier got an A? Man, you have a very generous scenario. AND a Hogan promo only got a B+? :blink:

Hollywood Hogan: Do you think it really matters whether or not Bret Hart is in the building? Bret Hart was in the building last night and I’m still standing here as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He was in the building back at INSERT PLACE OF WRESTLEMANIA IX and we all know what happened there.

--Was this Hogan being dismissive or you forgetting about a research note?

--I like Hart and Savage being diverted off into a side feud, makes for one more hurdle for Bret. What to do with Hogan in the meantime, though, with Flair now having to deal with his Horsemen problems?

--Page and Luger coming to help Flair, okay. Those three with, say, Goldberg and Chavo against Jericho, Malenko, Douglas, Eddie and Benoit...say, in a WarGames? Aw, yeah. Doooooo eeet. Sorry to fantasy book, but it sounds like gold to me.

All in all, I thought it was a very useful show. Sure, there weren't a lot of five-star classics, never mind the TEW ratings...but you can't have filet mignon for every meal, can you? I like it, and I'm sure others will be agreeing shortly. EG returning strong...I can dig that. Sucka.

[Bob Roberts]

- I've just started reading this diary but based on the last two shows, I think having three big swerves in two shows is a bit much. You had two at the PPV (Malenko joining with Jericho, Giant turns on Sting) and then the big one to end the show last night (Horseman turn on Flair).

- I think you write Chris Jericho just about as well as I've seen anyone on EWB do it.

- I like the way the nWo dissention is being teased. You get the feeling something big is going to happen soon.

- I hope Bulldog doesn't join The Rising Sons. I'd much rather hope that group remains just Japan guys invading WCW. Although I would like to see Bulldog given a bigger push, I think he deserves better than to just be teaming with Neidhart.

- Buff Bagwell winning the TV title was good. I like him in that spot and I hope it means bigger things for Booker in the future. Can't wait for the Steiner vs. Steiner match.

- Main event was definitely interesting and it will also be interesting to see how you play it out in the next few weeks. Will Savage and Hart led their feud get in the way of the title? Will Hogan stay in the background and try to play them against each other? Will they come to their senses and both go after Hogan? I'll be looking forward to see what happens.

Edited January 18, 2007 by Bob Roberts

[Steve Corino]

1. Recap. Cool. Hogan vs Savage tonight should be a fun non-match, what with the obvious amount of interference that will occur.

2. Haha....that was pretty good. Makes sense for Hogan to be pampering himself like that. He didn't know about the surprise party obviously, but the reaction from the B&W was great. "Son of a bitch!" indeed.

3. Rising Sons pick up another victory. Just when, my man, will they be getting their Tag Team titles? It can't be long yet.

4. I like Cornette referencing his past with Davey Boy especially. I know, it's likely not a move WCW would have really made, but it's very logical and I like my wrestling with a little bit of logic built into it.

5. Did Macho really just say "Hornswoggled"? That aside, I really can't seem to get into your Savage. Maybe it's because the majority of Macho Man interviews I've watched were from the 80s where he did a "formulaic non-formula" job with his speeches, so he may have changed things since then, but it just doesn't seem to flow that great. To me, anyways.

6. Even though the big story for Jericho and Malenko is with the Guerreros, I liked seeing Juvi win the number one contendership match. They could have followed up Jericho/Guerrera after the unmasking but didn't. If you'll allow me a small rant regarding real life, the Dean thing did end up very good. But Guerrera coming back from being unmasked the next month and beating Jericho for the title would have capitalized on some momentum, could have sold some t-shirts that said about how "The Juice is Loose" (referencing the now lack of his mask, of course) and catapulted him to bigger fame. Instead, by Uncensored Jericho was against Dean and Juvi beat Konnan in a match that must not have meant much because I don't know the story behind it. Anyways, real life aside, seeing the unmasking getting played up here a bit will be nice, but unless you're moving Jericho into the tag ranks then there's no way Juvi's grabbing the belt from him.

7. Malenko not saying anything makes me wonder if he's not going to turn back against Jericho soon, that it was all a ruse to lower his guard. But as he said, Deaner's keeping a secret.

8. So Norton's pissed. Okay.And now Adams is tossed? Well a bit of fat trimming ain't bad, but I'm wondering where this will go now.

9. Nice filler. Mmmm. But wait! The Giant kills all! This is classic "shock effect" Nitro, much kudos there.

10. I like his reasoning, though as pointed out, there was good reason to not trust him much. I do like the play back to Sting's "turning away" from WCW and into The Crow, though it wasn't mentioned outright by Giant.

11. Sting is learning from the Black Scorpion! AAAAAHHHHH!!!! Really, I can't say I "like" Sting playing games like that because it just seems like they're taking Sting and making him The Undertaker. Sting never really was all that mysterious and black magic and stuff. He was Sting, and Sting is pretty much just Sting. Playing mind games is one thing, but making The Giant disappear is a little too far out there for Sting to manage.

Though if Sting aligns with James Vandenburg in the future, then I'm going to get into the thought of him making people disappear.

12. A pre-match attack works great here. Now I don't know if Booker can come back and retain or not. As if Scott Steiner wouldn't be a tough enough opponent anyways. That said.... have you been watching some old Nitro or something? This show really screams 1996 to me.

13. Oh, it wasn't Steiner? And Buff actually WINS?! Damn, that just killed my mood for the show. It wasn't clean, which is a plus, but it's Buff Bagwell we're talking about here. I know he's got the perfect "cocky heel" thing going for him, but I just can't see this bringing about anything that great.

14. Rick making the save works out well because it's stopping Scott from doing something. Please end this feud quicker than real life. I'm going to keep begging for this until you do so. Though now I'm just hoping it won't be Rick who takes the TV title from Buff. Cost him the belt, go ahead, but please no Rick Steiner holding the TV title.

15. Hennig has to win by cheating? C'mon.... Now if it were that he just cheated for the purpose of cheating, that would have been fine, but this ensures that we're likely going to see Evan keep at it. Don't get me wrong, I don't really have anything against Evan Karagias, but I just think this is stopping any upward momentum that Curt could be getting. Now he's a veteran who had to use interference to beat a kid who was beneath him anyways.

16. Christian, I assume. I like this much, as his first Nitro and he just punked out Evan Karagias. This will give him some instant cred. And I like how Tenay knows him. Leave it to "The Professor".

17. Lord, it's The Great and Powerful Oz all over again. I do want to see where this goes to though. Sting coming in for it would be funny (Scorpion, get it?) but I'm guessing it's going to be a debuting wrestler. Now just to try and figure out what his name will be. Stinger would be good if it wasn't already in use, Hanzo is too obscure for even WCW. Guess I'll just leave it up to you then.

18. Bret is here! Yaaaay!

19. Really dug the opening line about the Outsiders being in. Did they have the Wolfpac music at that point? I'm thinking the Wolfpac were still using the old nWo theme yet. I could be wrong though. Then again you didn't say it was the rap song. Don't mind me, I'm all for the little details like that. Anyways. Good promo there from the originals.

20. You know I think I made that same team back when I did a WCW 98 game. It's just such a naturally fitting duo, really. A good jobbing of them is fine. Makes the titles look better for when the Rising Sons take them.

21. Vague references to WWF happenings. I love it.

22. I made it to the commercial break and finally started thinking "Wait a minute....aren't we forgetting something here?" Anyways, Savage and Hart going at it now will give them something to keep them away from the title for a little bit, which is good to ensure that Bret doesn't take the belt too soon but is still kept in the high-profile game.

23. Ha! See, I didn't forget! And YES, McMichael is killed dead. Weak link, eliminated. Dean and Jericho in the Horsemen? Wow. I really can't see this all working out because of the ego involved on Jericho's end, but the interviews should be amazing at least. Okay, now that makes a bit more sense. Douglas as the new "leader" of the Horsemen? This is the Apocalypse now! But still the Horsemen. I'm really shocked at that development. Luger/Page/Flair to go against the Horsemen now maybe? I'd almost rather see that be just those guys saving him, but it would make sense for Lex to take up alongside Ric at least, what with the past Horseman thing and all.

As I said before, a very 1996-ish Nitro, where there really was nothing that was a full-on filler segment because everything gelled itself into something else. Tough to tell where the next World title defense is going to come from since pretty much everyone is taken care of, and as starr pointed out, where were DDP, the Flock, and Goldberg? (not even a one minute squash for Berg this time?), but for the most part, I liked.

[Xero Gravity]

It's been a long time coming, but it's nice to see Nitro is finally here. I'll try and keep this brief, instead of running down the whole thing from top to bottom.

I was never a huge fan of the nWo to be honest, but that was mainly due to not getting WCW over here until near it's death. However, your portrayal of the nWo has been great up to this point. The who angles throughout the night with the group have been top notch. I've always had a soft spot for Norton, so it was nice to see him involved in them as much as he has. On the same note, I'm all for the group being downsized, as everyone knows one of the things that ruined the nWo was the sheer size of it's number. I still don't really enjoy Hogan as champion, but I'm learning to deal with it as I know there's a good chance he's not gonna be on top for very long.

It's been said a few times, but I might as well say it again. A lot of the matches were simply filler, but some of them at least had a story to carry it. It's always good to see the Rising Sons win a match, and adding a little history to the mix with Cornette and Bulldog was a nice touch. I think I agree with JStarr in that I doubt he'll take up Corny's offer, but maybe somwhere down the line he might. I'd have despised the Iukea/Glacier match if not for the little "your soul is mine" bit...however I fully expect Shang Tsung to show up and steal Glacier's soul now

I'm still the only one who gives a crap about the Karagias/Hennig feud, so it's nice to see it's carrying on for a little while longer. I know Hennig's onto better things once this is over, so I just hope that Karagias doesn't just slip into the shadows once it's done and dusted.

I'm a big, big mark for Christian in all his forms. An arrogant moive star...well it just fits him like a glove. I honestly can't wait to see what you do with him. I just hope you bring in Test as his bodyguard, because that would rock so much.

Finally, the Horsemen angle overshadowed the whole show...which is a good thing. McMichael being beaten down like the piece of garbage he is...well it's a thing of beauty. I've despised a lot of people over the years, but very few have been up at Mongo's level. As for the rest, well it was perfect really. Anderson's promo, Flair's promo, the unveiling of Malenko and Jericho, Douglas' sneak attack...it couldn't have been better in my eyes. Now we get the possibility of old school Vs. new school, and I echo JStarr's idea about a Wargames match featuring these guys.

[Draevyn]

~Fargo Dome, Fargo, North Dakota~

1: Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera

Commentary open the show, but Juventud Guerrera, sans mask is already in the ring. This moves them into discussing the fact that Juventud Guerrera is the rightful number one contender for the Cruiserweight Title, and will get his shot on Nitro against the champion. His opponent for the evening, looking fresher than usual with clean hair, but still sporting his “Flock” garb is Kidman. Kidman has had his problem with fellow Flock member Saturn, who’s in the front row along with the rest of the stable. Lodi has a sign reading “Kidman?” which commentary mentions is Lodi’s way of contemplating his confusion over the flock vs flock battle that seems to be going on. Despite the new look, Kidman still isn’t up for shaking the offered hand of Juventud and instead they start the match off quickly. The opening minutes of the match are very fast paced with them trading takedowns and dropkicks. Kidman looks toward Saturn and the rest of The Flock on several occassions, and only gets a look of disgust from Saturn.

As the two battle back and forth, Saturn seems to be getting more worked up, trying to talk to the rest of The Flock, who aren’t really listening. Kidman manages to reverse a hurricanrana from Juventud by shoving him off and then connecting with a variation of Raven’s Evenflow DDT. The rest of the flock, bar Raven, look at Saturn who simply rolls his eyes and shrugs his shoulders. Kidman attempts to finish the match too quickly, going for the “Shooting Star Press” but gets Juventud’s knees right in the stomach. Choking for breath, Kidman rolls out of the ring, right in front of Saturn, who attempts to get at him, but is held back by the rest of The Flock. Kidman does get to his feet but as soon as he turns around Juvi hits him with a baseball slide dropkick right to the face. Normally this would only serve to keep Juvi in control but the force of this one sent Kidman over the barricade. Kidman’s boot hit Saturn right in the mouth and sent him backwards, falling into his chair which fell over and landed him in a heap on the floor.

Not enough to do any real damage, it definitely fired up Saturn who scrambled up off the floor and grabbed Kidman, hitting him with a forearm across the back of the head and tossing him over the barricade. When he attempted to follow into the match, the rest of The Flock once again. Juventud, who doesn’t look to want to get involved in the “in fights” between The Flock just grabs Kidman and heads back towards the ring. From there the number one contender to the cruiserweight title is dominant, keeping Kidman grounded with some quick chain wrestling, as well as a nice head scissors that Juvi holds for a triangle choke. Kidman gets to the ropes though and breaks it quickly. With both men on their feet it becomes a speed game, but Kidman turns it into a who’s bigger game when he blocks Juvi’s headscissors attempt by shoving him off and then running through him with a clothesline. Kidman controls most of the match from this point, but always looks to Saturn on the outside with that air of arrogance to him.

It all comes to an end when Kidman feels that he’s got Juventud beaten after a Rydeen Bomb and heads to the top rope. Saturn yells at him, drawing Kidman’s attention away and leading to him getting taken off with a weird looking hurricanrana. Kidman lands harshly on his neck, but stumbles back to his feet and walks right into a “Juvi Driver” next to the corner. Saturn watches on, pleased at the events, while Juventud connects with his patented 450 Splash, pinning Kidman and picking up the victory.

Juventud Guerrera d. Kidman-(B+, 7:42)

2: Sometimes Choices Have To Be Made

Even while the final bell was being run, Saturn hit the ring, driving Juventud out with merely a strong gaze. He stares at Juventud until he’s sure that the man is heading backstage before turning to Kidman, who is just coming to after being beaten. Saturn goes to the corner where he’s handed a mic before returning to the center of the ring, staring down at Kidman. Raven hops over the barricade, and slides into the ring, merely sitting in the corner for what the announce team refers to as “no real reason.” Saturn has a reason, and he looks to Raven and points at Kidman.

Saturn: How much of this crap are we going to take? We came here to be winners! We joined you so that we didn’t have to put up with losers like this. This man doesn’t belong with us. He can’t even beat Juventud Guerrera. He couldn’t win the cruiserweight Battle Royal. He just doesn’t belong here. Now Raven, I’ve been your friend through the good times, and I’ve been your friend through the bad times. Unfortunately, what we’ve got here, is one of those bad times. Now the rest of The Flock and I have taken a poll, and we’ve decided that Kidman doesn’t belong with us anymore.

The camera does a pan shot across the entire Flock who are all shaking their heads, with Horace mouthing the words “No, We Didn’t” and Lodi furiously scribbling on a sign before holding it up, which reads “You Can’t Handle The Truth” which Schiavone points out as saying that he didn’t agree to this either. Raven, however, isn’t even looking up, let alone out at the Flock. Kidman is listening though, and he quickly grabs the microphone out of Saturn’s hands, leaving the big tattooed man staring at him angrily.

Kidman: I suck? I couldn’t get the job done? What happened to you, Mr Big Shot? What happened to you and all those chances you got at the United States Title? What happened to you beating Goldberg? I don’t see you walking around here with the U.S title. I don’t see you walking around with that title. It’s sure as heck not in our camp. You want to make all these accusations, then you make them, but don’t act like you’re better than me.

Saturn grabs the microphone once more, this time leaving Kidman looking quite resentful.

Saturn: I am better than you! You keep runnin’ your mouth and I’ma show you just how much better.

He turns back to Raven

Saturn: You gotta make a choice. We go way back, but if you wanna choose this good for nothing kid over me, then you gotta let me know right now. I’m not going to be associated with losers. I’m a winner. I’m an eliminator. And all you gotta do is say the word, and I’ll eliminate this punk right here!

Perry Saturn Presents Raven With A Choice-(A)

3: And Sometimes Those Choices Hurt Somebody!

Raven contemplates for a few seconds before grabbing hold of either side of the ropes and pulling himself to his feet. He looks at Saturn, then to Kidman, then shakes his head and walks to the ropes. As he ducks between the ropes, ready to leave, Saturn grabs him by the shoulder and stops him, forcing him back into the ring. Raven does step back into the ring and goes face to face with Saturn. Commentary hype the fact that Raven doesn’t like doing anything he’s told, and they go completely crazy when Raven spins around and kicks Kidman in the stomach. He sets up and drives him into the mat with an Evenflow DDT.

Saturn stands over the fallen Kidman with a smile on his face while Raven sits there, looking out at the fans who are now livid and showing that with their boos. Raven looks down at Kidman before getting back to his feet and turning to face Saturn. Saturn remains all smiles until Raven kicks him in the gut as well, and then delivers a second Evenflow, this one to Saturn. Raven gets back to his feet and extends his arms in a cross-like fashion. The fans don’t know how to react, but they pop mildly as Kanyon comes out of crowd on the other side and slides into the ring.

While most would believe the huge crowd reaction was for them, Raven simply doesn’t care and attempts to head back to his seat in the crowd, but Kanyon doesn’t let him do that, spinning him around instead and opening up with several punches to the jaw. Raven fights back and manages to back Kanyon up against the ropes. He tries an irish whip, which is reversed. Raven goes into the ropes and Kanyon lines up for something, but Raven quickly grabs the ropes and slides out as the war drums start, signifying the entrance of Kanyon’s opponent for the evening, Goldberg.

Raven Makes His Decision Then Gets Attacked-(A)

4: United States Title Match: Goldberg© vs Kanyon

Goldberg breathes the smoke from his entrance in, and then blows it out through his nose like a dragon ready for it’s last meal. He peels off the belt as he stomps angrily to the ring, the incident from Slamboree still fresh in his mind. Even so, commentary goes back over it from Kanyon coming in to attack Raven to him laying Goldberg out with the steel chair. They warn Kanyon that he should probably bail out, but the former Mortis simply stands his ground and attacks Goldberg as soon as he enters the ring. He attempts to get in several shots on the champion at first but Goldberg simply grab him by the arm and powers him over with a cross between an armdrag and a powerslam. From there Goldberg’s power game takes over as he grinds his opponent down.

Kanyon lasts longer than most foes because unlike most of Goldbergs opponents, he’s able to avoid the spear and watches as Goldberg crashes shoulder and head first into the middle buckle. The raging bull staggers back from the impact and gives Kanyon a chance to execute a russian legsweep for a simple one count. Goldberg quickly gets to his feet but Kanyon is there with a kick to the stomach that slows him down for an attempted suplex. Unfortunately for Kanyon, Goldberg simply grabs him and throws him halfway across the ring with an overhead belly to belly. From there the United States Champion set up in the corner, waiting for Kanyon to get to his feet before looking for a Spear, which is averted by Raven who reaches in and grabs Goldberg’s foot, tripping him up.

Goldberg stumbles forwards and lands right in position for Kanyon to hit him with a ddt. Kanyon is able to get some offense in, driving his knee into the back of the champion’s neck and attempting to keep him grounded. Fans hadn’t seen this happen in a Goldberg match since his debut and this actually has them booing Kanyon who locks on a rear chinlock and drives the knee into the spine of the champion. This doesn’t last long though because Goldberg powers to his feet, spins around and connects with a wild Muy Thai spin kick right to the jaw of Kanyon. Kanyon stutter steps, holds his head, and gets driven straight into the mat with a spear. Goldberg is up! The fans are up! And Kanyon is stirring.

Raven, who’s still at ringside, begins to move around the ring as Goldberg grabs his challenger roughly and pulls him to his feet, hooking his arm over his head and lifting him high in the air before driving him into the mat with a “Jackhammer.” Goldberg hooks the leg. 1.....2.....Raven pulls Goldberg out of the ring. Goldberg is pissed and he decks Raven with an uppercut. Raven staggers into the barricade but is able to move when Goldberg charges in. Raven drops down and toe holds Goldberg into the barricade. Referee Randy Anderson has no choice but to call for the bell and award the match to Goldberg, which doesn’t make Kanyon very happy.

Kanyon slides out of the ring and spins Raven around before peppering him with rights and lefts to the jaw and body. Kanyon attempts a whip into the ring steps but Raven reverses it and sends the former masked man head and shoulder first into it. Unfortunately for him, he turns around and Goldberg takes him down with a double leg takedown, and the two brawl on the floor as Tenay says they’ll try to restore order during this commercial break.

Goldberg def. Kanyon by Disqualification to RETAIN the WCW United States Championship-(A+, 6:07)

Commercial Break

5: Don’t Turn That Channel, Our Main Event Is Great!

As soon as the show comes back from commercial, Mike Tenay and Larry Zbyszko are on hype duty for the evenings main event, which happens to involve four teams that the WCW Offices have deemed are in line for a World Tag Team Title Match. Dean Malenko and Chris Jericho representing the Horsemen will take on The Guerreros who they’ve had problems with over the past couple of weeks. They quickly go into a few replays showing the different incidents between the two teams before adding the other two teams to the match. Those two teams happen to be The Rising Sons and the two men that they’ve had problems with ”The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith and the recovering Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. Once again the history between these two teams are shown, including the huge anvil shot that was given to Neidhart which caused his concussion. Tenay declares that these four teams could tear the house down tonight, and Zbyszko says that’s exactly what he’s hoping for.

Main Event Hype Session-(B)

6: ”Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs Scorpion

When the cameras went back to the ring, Jim Duggan was already in his corner, slowly wrapping his fist in the white tape that he likes to use so much. Commentary run through his accomplishments, including calling Duggan a great patriot to this country. All that stops as the lights dim and a wall of fire appears on the stage. Music with a mysterious tone to it plays as the enigmatic man, who Tenay says is being called “Scorpion”, walks straight through the fire and heads to the ring. Zbyszko asks “The Professor” what he knows about the man, and surprisingly Tenay knows very little. He simply states that the man showed up earlier in the month, looking for Glacier, which everyone already knew.

When the bell rings, Scorpion simply takes a few steps forward, raises his hand and beckons for Duggan to attack. This confuses the rugged brawler, but he’s not one to turn down a fight and rushes in with fists flying, only to have Scorpion step to the side and avoid the attack, He spins around and kicks Duggan in the back of the head, sending him head first into the buckles. Scorpion seems to be playing with Duggan as he beckons another charge and this time grabs the big man and drives him down with a Judo style slam. Tenay applauds the man’s power, and then follows up with an appreciation for the flurry of kicks Scorpion uses to back Duggan into the corner.

Scorpion attempts an irish whip into the opposite buckles, but Duggan manages to reverse it and sends Scorpion in before knocking him down with a hard clothesline. That’s about the only offence Duggan gets in because he goes the uncharacteristic route of attempting a high impact move off the top ropes and takes a foot right to the jaw for his trouble. Duggan is staggering around as Scorpion gets back to his feet, takes a martial arts stance and then drives his hand straight into Duggan’s throat, using the bone between his thumb and forefinger to crush the windpipe of Duggan. He drops, hooks the leg, and scores the three count.

Scorpion def. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan-(C+, 6:42)

7: Hell Has Frozen Over

As soon as the bell rings, Glacier hits the ring and waits for Scorpion to get to his feet. He lines up and as soon as the masked man turns around, Glacier shoots forwards and connects with his Cryonic Kick straight to the jaw. His anger is evident as he drops to his knees and grabs Scorpion’s head. He reaches down and grabs the bottom of the mask, about to pull it off, when the lights go out. Tenay and Zbyszko wonder what’s going on in the ring but when the lights come back up Glacier is the only one in the ring, still on his knees. Camera pans to find Scorpion on the ramp pointing a finger at Glacier. Once again that ominous voice comes from the PA system. ”SOON” is the only thing said before Scorpion walks backstage leaving Glacier cursing himself in the ring.

Commercial Break

8: This Is The Way We Do Things!

Back from commercial break and the camera is in the backstage area, focusing on the bald head of interviewer Scott Hudson.

Scott Hudson: Welcome wrestling fans, I’m Scott Hudson, and I’d like to introduce to you...

He’s cut off by that ever familiar voice, which brings Chris Jericho onto the screen with Dean Malenko coming from the other side, giving Hudson a stony glare.

Chris Jericho: Let me guess Scoot, you’re looking to introduce the men who needs absolutely, and I do mean absolutely, no introduction at all. These fans know who we are. Chris Jericho, the most drop dead sexy beast this company has ever seen, and the man who’s so cold, he’s ice, Dean Malenko. That’s right boys, two of the Four Horsemen have arrived.

Jericho has that cocky smirk on his face while raising the four fingers along with Malenko, who continues to stare a hole through Hudson.

Scott Hudson: That’s exactly what I’m out here tonight to talk to you about. Last week, at Slamboree we saw the two of you shake hands. On Monday night, we saw you inducted into the famed Horsemen. Dean, after everything that Jericho has said about you over the recent months, how can you team with this man?

Malenko cracks his neck from side to side as the microphone is placed in front of his face. He doesn’t move his eyes from Hudson.

Dean Malenko: First off Hudson, don’t talk to me like we’re friends. We’re not friends. I don’t even know how you got this job because you suck at it. I haven’t forgotten the things that Chris said about me, or my father over the last month or so. I haven’t forgotten the complete lack of respect he has shown his fellow competitors. But most important of all, I haven’t forgotten exactly how far Chris Jericho will go to get what he wants. Him and I may not see eye to eye on things, but when it comes to determination, him and I are side by side. You see, part of being a Horsemen means the ability to put the past behind you.

Jericho cuts in at this point.

Chris Jericho: Speaking of putting the past behind us, how about what happened to Ric Flair? Wasn’t that great?

Scott Hudson: About that, what was up with the attack on Ric Flair?

Chris Jericho: It’s real simple, but seeing as you’re slow, I’ll explain it to you. On second though, no, I won’t You want to know what was up with the attack on Ric Flair, then you ask Ric Flair. You ask Shane Douglas. You ask “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson. Those are the three men you should be asking. Why don’t you ask me about me, Jacko?

Scott Hudson: Well, I-ah-

Chris Jericho: You-ah-ah-nothing Scoot! You’re not talking about the greatest champion in WCW because people keep stealing my spotlight. That’s right. The star that is Chris Jericho should be shining brightest of all, but there’s two crazy mexicans that just keep getting in our way. Chiquita, Eduardo, you boys don’t belong in the same ring as The Horsemen, and tonight, in the main event, we’re going to show you that. Anything else chumpstain?

Scott Hudson: Coming up Monday night, you’ve got a Cruiserweight Title defense against Juventud Guerrera. Anything to say about that?

Chris Jericho: What more do you need? Been there, done that, now I’ve gotta do it all over again. Nothing new, Jacko! Dean, anything else?

Malenko continues staring at Hudson, who now shuffles in awkward silence.

Chris Jericho: Didn’t think so! Hey, you, Monkey’s up front, time to do your job!

Both Malenko and Jericho flash the four fingers as the scene fades back to ringside, with Zbyszko calling Jericho a cocky punk, and telling Tenay that nobody tells “The Living Legend” when to do his job, to which Zbyszko then does his job, just like he’d been told.

Chris Jericho & Dean Malenko Interview-(B+)

9: Fit Finlay vs Meng

Enthusiastic brawls seemed to be the order of the day, but that didn’t bother either of these men too much. From the very beginning it’s evident as to what can be expected from this match as Meng unleashes a stiff right hand, which Finlay weathers before answering with one of his own. This continues for nearly two minutes as each of them allows the other to take unblocked shot after unblocked shot. This all ends when Meng grows frustrated and waves his arms around several times, which Tenay refers to as “Martial Arts Poses” before striking with a sick sounding chop right across the chest of Finlay, who simply looks down at his reddened chest and then back at Meng with a smile on his face. Meng hesitates for a second which is the only opening Finlay needs to unleash several of his own unanswered forearms and then a couple of stiff knees right into the stomach of the Wild Samoan.

None of these shots seem to do much damage to either man, which leads the commentators to speculate on the fact that it’s going to take something drastic for one of these men to gain the advantage. Finlay makes the mistake of attempting a headbutt, which has no effect at all and only serves for Meng to wind up and finally take Finlay down with a straight thrust right to the throat. Meng scoops Finlay up and drives him down with a slam, but misses the standing elbow drop. Finlay gets back to his feet and lays in some boots to the chest, which Meng takes but still manages to get to his feet, leaving Finlay to unleash some European Uppercuts to the chin. Meng stumbles back into the ropes before Finlay sets him up and tosses him across the ring before delivering a stiff clothesline, which only shakes the big Samoan. Finlay bounces off the ropes again and connects with a second clothesline, which fires Meng up more and has him waving his hands in the air as Finlay attempts a third clothesline. Meng attempts to block it with a right hand but Finlay ducks, hits the other ropes and then comes off, knocking Meng down with a shoulderblock.

Finlay gets back to his feet and runs his thumb over his throat, signifying the end of the match. He waits for Meng to get up before showing an immense amount of strength by scooping the big man up onto his shoulders and setting him up for a Tombstone Piledriver but Meng slides down his back, spins him around and applies the Tongan Death Grip. Finlay struggles, waving his hands in an attempt to reach the ropes but the strong grip of the Samoan kept him locked in place. Despite all this, Finlay continued to struggle, even going so far as leveling a couple of kicks to the stomach of the big Samoan but they didn’t have enough in them to break the hold. After a few more seconds of pressure Finlay drops to one knee, but then he sees his opening and quickly drops to his back which served to propel Meng throat first into the ropes.

Meng staggered around as Finlay got to his feet, holding his throat until Meng staggered into him. Finlay quickly hoisted him up and then drove him into the mat headfirst with the Tombstone Piledriver. Meng is laid out in the center of the ring, leaving Finlay to cover, forearm over the jaw bone, and score the three count and the victory. After the match, Finlay gets in the camera and declares “Ain’t nobody tougha’ than Finlay” which Tenay declares just might be true.

Fit Finlay def. Meng-(B+, 7:38)

Lights! Cameras! Action!

As the carnage is cleared from the ring, there is a short video that plays highlighting Christopher Cage and his entrance into World Championship Wrestling, in the form of getting involved with Juventud Guerrera during Slamboree’s cruiserweight Battle Royal. There are some slow motion shots of Christopher reaching over the barricade and slugging Guerrero, which Tenay talks over, mentioning that fans should never be allowed to put their hands on wrestlers. Zbyszko mentions that Cage is not just a fan, but also the newest member of World Championship Wrestling. Tenay said that may be true, but at the time nobody knew who he was, which is evident by the security hauling him off that night. From there the video goes to shots of Nitro where Cage once again gets involved, this time with Evan Karagais. Once again security hauls him away, with Cage declaring that heads were going to roll courtesy of his lawyers. The video is done, but Tenay keeps hyping him up as a great actor, and an even better wrestler, which means Cage has definitely got something to live up to, but he will be on Nitro to explain his actions.

Christopher Cage III Hype Video-(B)

Commercial Break

11: Now This Is As Close To Perfection As It Gets!

Coming back from commercial break, and Curt Hennig is heading to the ring with Rick Rude at his side with that lethal briefcase in hand. Hennig has that confident smirk on his face, and avidly chews his gum before spitting it into the air and swatting it out into the crowd. Someone now has gum in their hair. Rude and Hennig talk as they head to the ring, with Hennig laughing at what Rude has to say, while Rude makes baseball like gestures with his briefcase. Hennig rolls into the ring and mounts the second rope, holding his hands up in celebration to a chorus of boos while Rude walks around the ring and takes the microphone, addressing the crowd as he heads into the ring to join Hennig.

Rick Rude: What I want from you fat, obnoxious, overblown North Dakota welfare bums, is to listen up and take heed to what a real man is all about. (Some guy in the front row with a hot chick mouths off, which draws Rude’s attention) Hey buddy, I may be getting older but I could still show your piece of meat right there a thing or two that you’ve never shown her. Nah honey, don’t drool, I’ll show ya a good time.

Rude slides the briefcase in and then rolls into the ring, picking up the case with him and then brushing off his suit as he hands the microphone to Curt Hennig.

Curt Hennig: Trust me ladies, what Rick says is true. We’re just like the fine wine, we get better with age. Don’t believe us? Just write your number down and hold it out as we go by. Please, no fat chicks. Now, let’s get down to business because we have more to discuss than who can nail the most chicks in Dakota. Yeah, we heard you guys were easy. Anyway, what were out here to discuss is what happened Monday night on Nitro. It should be absolutely no surprise to anyone that Curt Hennig did exactly what he said he was going to do when he pinned Evan Karagais in the center of the ring last week.

Hennig looks to the video screen where highlights of the match are shown from mid-match and then finally the ending of the match. Tenay is quick to point out that the video is heavily edited, leaving out the part where Hennig used Rude’s briefcase to take out Karagais before pinning him. A freeze frame stops on Karagais locked in the “Hennig-Plex.”

Curt Hennig: See that? Right there is how you teach these kids. They learn by being put through it, and it doesn’t get anymore perfect than that.

Rude whispers something in Curt’s ear, and he smiles.

Curt Hennig: Oh yeah, perfect, right, I’m not supposed to say perfect. But come on, when something’s that perfect, you just can’t help but state the obvious, and Rick, you gotta admit, that right there, was Perfec-

His little tirade is cut off by some generic rock music, which brings Evan Karagais through the curtain to a lukewarm reaction. Karagais slaps hands with a few fans at ringside, and one of the females actually hands him a card, which he holds up at Hennig and Rude, with a cocky smirk on his face. He then slides in the ring and grabs the microphone from Hennig, who is ticked off by this complete lack of respect shown by the kid.

Evan Karagais: You know, I may be young, but for some reason, I’m not as naive as you seem to think I am. What I’m seeing here tonight is a blatant white washing of the entire truth. See Curt, when I first came here to WCW, I looked up to you. I’d watched you for most of my life, and you were my idol. I respected you. All I wanted was for you to train me. But you wouldn’t do it. You had to make this hard. So I took your challenges, and I met them head on. Because that’s what winners do. Isn’t that what you used to say? I even stepped into the ring with you, and you had to cheat to beat me.

Hennig looks shocked at being called a cheat and quickly states “I didn’t cheat” just close enough to the mic for the fans in attendance to hear him.

Evan Karagais: You didn’t cheat? Why don’t we show the fans in attendance, and those at home the “real” footage from Monday night?

Once again the video screen cuts in, but this time it’s not the heavily edited tape that Hennig showed, which means that the briefcase shot to Karagais’s head was left in. Hennig is furious and he kicks the ropes to show his agitation but Karagais just smiles as the footage comes to an end.

Evan Karagais: It’s okay though Curt, because as many times as you beat me down, I learn something new each and every time. That’s what I’m here for. I’m here to learn. Learn from the best. And if that means I have to get my butt kicked each and every week, that’s exactly what I’ll do.

Hennig can be seen thinking for a minute and then he goes to the ropes, motioning for Penzer to hand him another microphone, which he taps to check if it’s working, and then approaches Karagais with a smile, severely lacking in sincerity.

Curt Hennig: You know, kid, I can respect that. So I’ll tell you what, I’m going to take you up on your quest. I’ll help train you.

Rude’s shock shows that he didn’t know about this, but he quickly hides it with a smile and then looks at Hennig with the questioning gaze, but Hennig isn’t watching.

Curt Hennig: If you’d let me finish before you’d come out here, I would have gotten to this. In fact, I’ve already got you an opponent for this evening. This is going to test your resilience kid.

While saying this, Hennig motions for Rude to leave the ring and then rolls under the bottom rope himself before announcing Evan’s opponent.

Curt Hennig: Don’t worry kid, it’s not The Barbarian like it was last time. No, this time, it’s WRATH!

Evan can be seen mouthing the words “Ahh Shit” as some war like music hits and Wrath comes through the curtain looking fired up and pissed off.

Curt Hennig Agrees To Mentor Evan Karagais-(A)

12: Evan Karagais vs Wrath

Karagais played off his fear quite well, backing away as Wrath made his way to the ring. At one point Karagais actually looked at the referee, his eyes pleading, but the ref just rang the bell as the big man stepped over the top rope and stared down his young opponent. As Wrath moved in, Karagais backed up until he had nowhere left to go and ran into the ropes. This did give him the advantage of being able to duck out of the way as Wrath attempted to grab him. Evan laid some kicks into the thigh of the big man, attempting to knot of a hamstring in Tenay’s opinion, but the big man just grabbed him by the head and swatted him away like he was a pesky fly. Karagais kept at it, charging back in and ducking a clothesline, bouncing off the ropes and attempting a cross body, only to get caught in mid-air and then tossed nonchalantly halfway across the ring.

Hennig claps on the outside, bangs the mat a few times, and yells some “encouragement” at Karagais, who slowly gets to his feet in time to take a clothesline and get knocked back down. Wrath seems like he’s completely focused after his not so impressive showing over the last couple of weeks, especially without his manager James Vandenburg who has been MIA. Wrath pulls Evan to his feet and backs him into the corner where he unloads with heavy shots that Zbyszko declares “could collapse a lung” to Karagais. Wrath whipped Evan into the buckles across the ring before charging in. Fortunately for Karagais, he was able to get a boot up which connected to the chin of Wrath. Wrath staggered back holding his chin but shook it off, and walked right into a dropkick from the second rope. Karagais covered but only got a one count as Wrath pressed him off.

Karagais went to the top rope and waited for Wrath to get to his feet before leaping off with another dropkick that sent Wrath stumbling back into the ropes. For some strange reason, Rick Rude sets his briefcase on the apron and then turns, arguing with a fan. Wrath reaches down and grabs the briefcase, leading Hennig to leap onto the apron and get the ref’s attention, trying to point out the fact that Wrath has an illegal weapon. Evan charges in and for the second show in a row, takes a briefcase shot right flush in the face. He goes down and Wrath slides the case out of the ring before dropping down and covering Karagais. Hennig’s argument is futile and he leaps off the apron in time for the referee to turn around and make the count, awarding the match to Wrath.

Rude appears confused as he flicks the fan off, turns and grabs his briefcase, joining Hennig who is already in the ring checking on Karagais. Commentary debate on whether or not Hennig was sincere in his attempt to tell the referee about the underhandedness or if it was just a ploy to allow Wrath the chance to use the briefcase. Evan is on dream street as Hennig helps him out of the ring, declaring loudly that “Wrath just grabbed the briefcase” before helping Evan to the back. Rude walks behind the two, smirking.

Wrath def. Evan Karagais-(B, 9:16)

13: Momma Always Says The Sun Rises Where It Sets

After the match, cameras go backstage to where Gene Okerlund is standing with Jim Cornette and The Rising Sons.

Gene Okerlund: Jim Cornette, over the last few weeks-

He’s cut off when Cornette unceremoniously grabs the microphone and shoves him away.

Jim Cornette: You’re not needed here anymore, monkey boy. Go play with the rest of the balding men in the back. What you’ve seen here over the last couple weeks is a complete domination by these two men. I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. The greatest wrestlers all come from Japan and you’re looking at two of the greatest. It doesn’t matter whether the gold is around their waist or not, because the fact of the matter is, all they need is an opportunity. An opportunity that they’ll earn tonight when they destroy the three other teams in that main event. You boys have no idea what you’re getting yourselves into. Masahiro Chono and The Great Muta are Japanese wrecking machines. They’re going to eat you up and spit you out just to trample you in the mud one more time. That’s the way it’s going to be boys.

....Cornette’s face is getting redder and redder as he talks, and the fans are booing inside the arena.....

Jim Cornette: You can boo all you want, but the fact remains true. Outsiders, you’ve been ducking every other team in this company for too long, but at Great American Bash, you can’t duck us. You won’t duck us. We’re going to steam roll over you two like a small child between a fat man and his doughnut.

....He seems to calm down a bit, adjusting his red bow tie over his blue suit.....

Jim Cornette: Davey Boy Smith, I’ve given you an ultimatum. You can do what you know is best and join us, or you can end up like that head case Jim Neidhart. It doesn’t matter to us. We’re equal opportunity ass kickers and one more isn’t going to make a difference. But as a former colleague, I’m going to give you this chance. You’re a winner, Bulldog. You’ve got what it takes to be a champion. But not as long as you continue to live in the Hart shadow. You can be somebody Davey. Think about it.

....Cornette turns and looks at his two charges...

Jim Cornette: Boys, let’s go make Momma Cornette proud!

The Rising Sons Interview-(B)

Commercial Break

14: WCW Televison Title Match: Buff Bagwell © (W/ Scott Steiner) vs Rick Steiner (W/Booker T)

From the very beginning, the number of problems this match was going to have were quite evident. Only one referee of about a hundred and twenty pounds trying to keep control of four men the likes of those in this match and around ringside. For his part, Booker T stayed out of the match and allowed Rick to fight his own battles, which he did rather well, powering Bagwell around the ring in the early going. Scott Steiner, on the other hand, feels that he can stick his nose in where ever and when ever he wants, and proceeds to do just that when Rick powerslams Bagwell and makes the cover. Scott reaches in and grabs his brothers ankle, pulling him out of the cover. Rick argues with his brother for a few seconds, but then Booker T clears that up by charging over and brawling with Scott. Referee Rudy Charles rolls out of the ring and gets between the two, which isn’t too smart on his part. In the ring, this distraction gives Buff the chance to come from behind and drive his arm into the nether regions of the challenger.

With Rick Steiner on the ropes, Bagwell takes over, stomping him in the corner and then pulling him out with a suplex in the center of the ring. Like only Buff can, he flexes his arms, showing all the ladies in attendance his “Stuff” before returning to the fight at hand. While in his prime, Bagwell could go with the best of them, his lack of motivation has lead him down the path of uninspired brawler, which he shows during this match with some weak looking punches and stomps. Rick attempts to whip him across the ring but Buff holds the ropes and then propels the “Dog Faced Gremlin” through them to the outside, right in front of Scott Steiner.

Bagwell once again plays his part well, distracting the ref, even pointing out Booker’s attempt to save his friend, and drawing the referee out of the ring to keep Booker on his side. While Charles is busy with Booker on one side of the ring, Bagwell rolls out of the ring and helps Scott Steiner pick his brother up and drop him throat first across the barricade. The two “nWo” members continue to hammer away at Rick until the referee notices what’s going on and comes over to chastise Scott Steiner, who declares his innocence quite loudly. Bagwell pretends that he’s been the one doing all the work, turning to the ref and pointing at himself before continuing to stomp away at his challenger. Bagwell rolls Rick Steiner back into the ring, covers and gets a nearfall.

Bagwell argues with the speed of the count, but can do nothing about it as he goes back on the attack. Unfortunately for him his attack doesn’t last long as he shoots Rick off the ropes and prepares for something, only to take a stiff “Steinerline” right in the jaw, knocking him loopy. Rick continues to dominate, hitting a second Steinerline before unleashing one of his brother’s patented moves with the belly to belly release suplex. Scott gets on the apron and takes an elbow to the face which sends him to the floor again. Booker cheers on his friend who seems likely to put Bagwell away and claim the title, but that’s all not to be as Scott reaches under the ring, grabs a steel pipe and rolls into the ring, striking Rick Steiner down before Booker can even realize what’s happening.

With the blatant interference, the bell is rung and the match is awarded to Rick Steiner via disqualification, but the action isn’t over as Booker T rushes in and attempts to help his friend and partner, but Steiner hits him in the back of the head with the pipe as well. The show goes to commercial with Scott Steiner locking Booker T in a “Camel Clutch” using the pipe to pull back on the man’s head while asking “WHO DA MAN!” to the camera.

Rick Steiner def. Buff Bagwell by Disqualification, Bagwell RETAINS the Television Title-(A+, 6:56)

Commercial Break

15: Scouting The Competition

In a surprise to everyone, including the commentary team, the show comes back from commercial to the sound of “The Wolfpac” music playing. The WCW World Tag Team Champions come through the curtain, getting quite a nice reaction from the fans, and they make their way to the commentary booth to join Tenay and Zbyszko for the next match. Nash immediately goes off on a tangent about Larry’s hair, while Zbyszko fires back with a “Didn’t I see you at the craps table in Vegas last night” making an obvious knock at Nash’s former WCW gimmick. They settle in as the introductions for the main event are made.

The Outsiders Join Commentary For The Main Event-(A+)

16: WCW Tag Team Title Number One Contenders Match: The Guerrero’s vs The Horsemen vs British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs The Rising Sons

Neidhart is wearing a much smaller bandage on his head than the one he wore at Slamboree, but Nash still wonders if he even realizes where he is. Hall says that it really doesn’t matter, even if it weren’t for the concussion he probably wouldn’t know where he was. Zybyzko, always the one to throw out an insult Hall’s way, asks him if he’d like a drink while he’s up there. Tenay attempts to keep egos from flaring. Back inside the ring, and Cornette is yelling something about choices at Davey Boy Smith, but doesn’t get the intended reaction as Smith just ignores the obnoxious manager. Tenay runs down the rules that two men will be in the match at one time, and tags can be made to anyone, not just your own partner. The first team to gain the pinfall gets the victory and the shot at The Outsider’s tag team titles. Nash tells everyone to remember that statement because the belts are in fact in the hands of The Outsiders.

The match starts off with the two powerhouses in the ring, with Chono and Smith locking up in the center of the ring. Despite the height advantage, Smith manages to power Chono back into the corner, but he breaks clean as referee Nick Patrick gets between the two. Neidhart yells at Smith to follow up, but Davey Boy continues to be a good sport, backing into his corner. This doesn’t set well with Neidhart who reaches in and calls for the tag. Reluctantly, Davey Boy reaches back and tags in his brother in law, switching places with him. Once again the lock up ensues, but this time Chono has the clear advantage, shoving Neidhart into the corner, kneeing him in the gut, and then driving his fist down into the back of Neidhart’s head to knock him face down on the canvas. That wounded head is the clear target as Chono stomps away at it before picking him up and dragging him over to his corner, tagging in Muta.

Muta goes to work with kicks on Neidhart, but on the outside Jericho is hurling abuse at Eddie and Chavo Guerrero on the other side of the ring. Muta shoots Neidhart across the ring and he lands in the corner with ring shaking force. A fired up Chavo Guerrero tags himself in and then calls for Jericho to get in the ring. Muta seems willing to oblige, moving towards Jericho who steps away from his corner, unwilling to make the tag. Muta tags in Malenko instead, who looks at Jericho, shakes his head and then gets into the ring. Chavo doesn’t care which Horseman it is, content to attack Malenko the same as he would Jericho. Unfortunately for Chavo, while he may have some experience, Malenko simply has more and “The Ice Man” takes the younger Guerrero to the mat and works him over with various neck holds, before transitioning into a couple of leg locks to work the knee. Tenay interjects in here, letting the fans at home know that both of the Horsemen have finishers that target the back and legs of their opponents. Thank you Captain Obvious. Malenko strengthens that fact with a double underhook powerbomb, but instead of dropping Chavo straight to the mat, he drops him backfirst across his knee.

With Chavo struggling to gain his breath, Malenko tags out to Davey Boy Smith. Once again Smith comes into the ring where he is undoubtably the bigger man, and pulls Chavo to his feet, and then presses him over his head. What appears to be showboating leads to Chavo shifting his weight and coming down behind Smith, rolling him up for a quick two count. This angers Smith and he gets to his feet and quickly stomps away at Chavo, while Cornette declares “If you’d just listen to me those things wouldn’t happen.” Davey Boy powers Chavo around the ring some more until he plants him in the center of the ring and attempts an elbow drop from the second rope. Chavo rolls out of the way and makes a hot tag to Eddie Guerrero.

Guerrero unleashes on Bulldog with clotheslines until Neidhart rushes in an attempt to put a stop to it, but he gets the same treatment in the form of a fluid looking hurricanrana. Eddie isn’t content with simply taking these two down as he quickly rushes over and clocks Chris Jericho with a right hand that surprises the Cruiserweight Champion. Eddie dares him to get into the ring but referee Nick Patrick informs Eddie that his punch constitutes a tag and forces him to his own side. Eddie argues but to no avail and is forced to take his stance on the apron. Jericho, seeing that he’s not fighting Eddie, charges in and gets powerslamed for his trouble. Davey Boy hooks the leg but Jericho kicks out at one.

Davey Boy pulls Jericho up and shoots him into the ropes, attempting a clothesline, but Jericho slides between them and then quickly hits a dropkick. Davey Boy stumbles back into the Rising Sons corner, which prompts Muta to tag himself in. With Davey Boy no longer the legal man, Chono takes the opportunity to choke him for a few seconds while Muta gets into the ring. Muta and Jericho lock up in the center of the ring and they go through a sequence of moves and counter moves that leave the crowd actually going “oooohhhh” and “ahhhh” until Jericho attempts a modified monkey flip, which sees Muta land on his feet and then spin around with a quick kick right to the chin of Jericho. Muta pulls Jericho to the corner and then heads up top, attempting a Moonsault but Jericho rolls out of the way. Muta lands on his feet and then avoids the charging Jericho, watching as he bounces off the ropes once again. He spins around and kicks Jericho in the stomach before executing a quick snap suplex.

Muta follows it up with a crazy elbow drop, which gains him a two count. Quick legdrop gets another two count. Muta tags in his partner, and Chono lines up in the corner, preparing to drill Jericho’s head right off his shoulder but as soon as Jericho stands up, he ducks down to avoid the Yakuza Kick. Chono goes right over Jericho’s head and gets crotched on the top rope. Jericho quickly gets up and dropkicks Chono over the ropes before rolling to his corner and tagging in Malenko. Malenko steps through the ropes and a bolt of lightning seems to cross the screen, but that lightning happens to be Ric Flair who has hit the ring to everybody’s surprise. Nash quickly unleashes a tirade, asking Tenay if he’s paid for this. When questioned for a reason, Nash declares that somebody has to be paying Flair to be here. Nice shoot comments from Nash, which can be seen as childish. Flair attacks Malenko with chops, and then decks Jericho as he tries to get in the ring.

Flair is going completely insane, and there is nothing that the referee can seem to do to keep control. Flair stomps Malenko down in the corner, and even turns and slugs Davey Boy Smith as the Brit tries to help the ref regain control. There is no chance of this when Jericho gets back in the ring and attacks Flair, giving him and Malenko the two on one advantage, which once more breaks down as The Guerrero’s join the fray, attacking The Horsemen team. For a few minutes The Horsemen find themselves outnumbered until ”The Franchise” Shane Douglas hits the ring and evens this up at a three on three battle. The Rising Sons and Davey Boy and Neidhart are staying out of the fracas, battling it out themselves on the other side of the ring.

Several dozen officials rushed the ring to try and separate the six men but they just continue to brawl, out of the ring, into the crowd, out of the crowd, over the barricade, into the barricade, up the ramp, through the curtain, and they were still brawling as the show went off the air. A split screen revealed the brawling backstage as well as the in-ring action where Jim Neidhart is hammering away at The Great Muta. Neidhart’s power game keeps him on top of things as his strikes take their toll. Backstage Ric Flair has Shane Douglas down and is choking him with his belt. Malenko grabs a trash can and slams it over the head of Chavo while Jericho and Eddie Guerrero throw wild punches at each other against a wall. Neidhart misses a charge in the corner and finds himself worked over with kicks. Muta quickly backs up into the opposite corner before connecting with a handspring back elbow in the corner. Neidhart slumps out of the corner, falls to his knees, and then lands face down on the canvas.

Backstage Chris Benoit arrives on the scene of the brawl which turns the favor into a four on three for The Horsemen, with Arn Anderson in the background barking out orders to his charges. Tenay mentions the unity of the Horsemen while Nash says that it shouldn’t take so many people to beat a washed up Ric Flair. He wasn’t that good in his prime, let alone now that he’s ninety. Finally with more officials flooding the scene backstage, the split screen ends and the focus returns to the main event which is now down to a rematch from Slamboree. With Neidhart crawling slowly towards his corner, Muta tags in Chono, who takes his time getting into the ring and allows Neidhart to nearly make the tag before cutting him off with a stomp to the back of the head. :Lending credence to the Cornette stuff, Hall mentions that Davey Boy didn’t seem real interested in getting involved. Tenay says that it was a simple point of not being able to reach for the tag.

Chono pulls Neidhart up before hammering him back down in the corner, but showing that he’s not thinking correctly, Chono makes the mistake of whipping Neidhart into his own corner and this time Davey Boy makes the tag to bring himself in. Smith brawls with Chono, throwing punches and rocking the Japanese Sensation before shooting him into the ropes and answering with a backbody drop. Muta comes in and takes a right hand which sends him backwards where Bulldog stomps him down. Davey Boy tosses Muta to the outside and then cuts Chono off as the big man attempts to get a sneak attack from behind. Cornette hops onto the apron, waving his arms around. Davey Boy tags out to Neidhart who comes in and grabs Chono in a bearhug, setting the Japanese warrior up for a modified “Hart Attack” which never comes because Davey Boy is arguing with Cornette.

Neidhart drops Chono with a Manhatten drop before turning around and spinning Davey Boy around, telling him to keep concentrated on the match, which doesn’t help as Smith turns around and gets sprayed right in the eyes by the green mist of Muta. Davey Boy goes down and clutches at his eyes. Speaking of eyes, Neidhart’s go wide as Chono’s boot nails him right in the face as the Japanese Warrior connects with his Yakuza Kick. He drags Neidhart to the corner where Muta is already perched on top, and he sails off with the Moonsault Press which gains them the three count.

With the match over, and The Rising Sons being declared the number one contenders to the WCW World Tag Team Titles, they stand in the ring with their manager Jim Cornette and point towards The Outsiders at the commentary booth. The Outsiders strip off their headsets and get to their feet staring down The Rising Sons and jawjacking with them as the show fades out with Tenay telling the fans not to miss Nitro, Monday Night, Live on TNT!

The Rising Sons def. Davey Boy Smith & Jim Neidhart, The Guerrero’s and The Horsemen to BECOME the Number One Contenders for the World Tag Team Titles-(A+, 15:17)

-We here at Wrestling Addicts regretfully inform you, the public, that as of Wednesday evening, Stu Hart passed away at the hospital in his native Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Many condolences to the family. Donations should be sent to the Canadian Heart Associate which was sponsored heavily by Stu and the rest of his family.

-Along with the previous news, Bret Hart was scheduled to be at the Thunder tapings on Tuesday but rushed home to be with his father when it was learned that he was sick. Officials quickly shuffled the line up to give Hart the necessary time off. Despite the sad news, Bret Hart will be at Nitro.

-Many have questioned the push of The Rising Sons over the last couple months, citing the fact that they were New Japan talents and could not be relied on over the long run. While Muta and Chono have not signed exclusive deals with World Championship Wrestling, the companies strong ties with New Japan is only being strengthened by the faith that officials have put in the New Japan talents.

-There has been talk of Nitro being cut back to a two hour program to coincide completely with WWF’s Monday Night Raw. There has been an image of filler on the program and officials feel that by cutting it back, they can skip the filler, as well as not over saturate the average wrestling fan with too much in one week. There is no word yet on when this may take place, but rumor is that officials are pushing for this to happen as soon as possible.

[JStarr]

--Wait...Kidman showered?!?!? zOMG, UNREALISTIC!!!!!!11!!ONEONEELEVEN!!

--Not sure how I feel about Raven planting both of his charges with Evenflows. Without Saturn AND Kidman, some new faces would be needed to keep the Flock relevant, because Horace and Lodi just ain't gonna cut it. Are Riggs and Sick Boy floating around here somewhere, too? Raven continuing to fan the hostility between Kidman and Saturn would work quite well, and hopefully this one plays out for a little while. Or, it could play well for comedy as Raven just ignores the whole thing and his boys try harder and harder to get his attention.

--Doesn't just getting some offense in on Goldberg automatically constitute a Jesus push? Starting to see a master plan forming for Raven, getting others to do his dirty work as pertains to Goldberg. Now, is the Raven Show over yet?

--You know what would be funny as hell? Reprising the "Flair in a sanitarium" angles, but using Neidhart instead. After the massive "anvil shot" and having a couple of grueling matches rather than recovering, his egg has got to be mucho scrambled by now.

--To paraphrase Chris Rock from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, "Man, John Tobias and Ed Boon gonna sue somebody!" With Scorpion and the Sub-Zero ripoff set to feud, go whole hog, man. Dress Duggan up as Mario and really court the gamers. (Y)

--Something just seemed off about Jericho in this promo. Not sure I can put my finger on it. Liked Malenko being straightforward about not forgiving Jericho but respecting his approach, though. Seems like the straight-up, no-BS sort of attitude we might expect from "The Iceman."

--Would have loved to see a big-time match between Finlay and Meng. Two tough veteran bastards who you'd literally expect to try to kill each other in the ring.

--I can certainly dig Buff battling Rick Steiner over the TV title, as long as Booker and Big Poppa Pump start moving a bit further up the card.

--Neidhart seemed like the only one in the main event that could have served well by doing the job, and it'll be very interesting to see how the Outsiders/Rising Sons conflict plays out as we approach their title match. Bulldog jumping up the card by jumping Nash or Hall at the PPV? Hmm...

I know you didn't care much for Nitro, but honestly, I thought that show was a little stronger than Thunder. It's understandable, considering Thunder seems not to get much of the A-list talent, but this show seemed bogged down by several factors. First, it was all Raven all the time, then the Mortal Kombat stuff, then the Hennig/Karagias stuff. Lots of the minor stories that just aren't getting my attention for the right reasons detracted from the good stuff, like Finlay/Meng, the TV title match with Booker and Freakzilla involvement, and a nicely overbooked main event where the overbooking wasn't THE reason for the decision. Thumbs squarely in the middle for this show, and I eagerly await the next chapter in Hart/Savage, the nWo's pruning movement, Chris Cage's debut, and a verbal war between Kevin Nash and Jim Cornette. If all that happens on this next Nitro, I'll be one happy monkey.

[Steve Corino]

1. Great way to start the show. Realism at it's finest. Juvi picking up the victory is good as it not only makes him look better in the hunt for Jericho, but pushes forward the in-fighting of the Flock.

2. I see Raven choosing neither and Evenflowing both of them out of the Flock.

3. Thought so. But really, does that mean either of them are out of the Flock? Raven always beat up his subsidiaries, so what's the difference here? Kanyon coming out didn't really add anything except the next match's arrival.

4. I like Kanyon getting in more offense than most people against Goldberg. Raven costing him the match is brilliant booking after he came out and attacked Raven, and it also keeps Raven vs Goldberg alive as a possible next Nitro or PPV match for the two.

5. Should be two very good matches.

6. Surprised to see you go with "Scorpion". Feud him with Sting later.

7. Nice teleport. Kinda missing the flames, but I guess that would be too much.

8. Nothing really of note to say. You've got your Jericho down good, and Dean's pretty easy to handle anyways.

9. They didn't know it at the time but this is 2006 happening right in front of them. Can't really say it's bad though because that's been Finlay all along anyways.

10. Cool.

11. Eh..... alright, I guess I'll stomach some more Evan if it means I get to see more Hennig.

12. See above.

13. Yes! Get them their belts at the Bash!

14. Well he didn't get the belt, so I'll let it ride.

15. Very nWo thing to do. Good to see. I'll also note that the lack of exposure of the nWo on this show has been noticed and somewhat appreciated. We've so far only had Steiner and Buff and now the Outsiders. The main focus of the night has been on first the Flock and then the Tag titles.

16. Yay. Not only total mayhem everywhere but also the Sons get their title match!

Overall thoughts: I liked this show. Good change of pace. Less nWo gave more time for the lesser stories to build.

Now, it's bad to see Stu dying in-game there, but I do like the note of leaving Bret off the show for it. I don't know about dropping Nitro back, but if it'll help your writing then that's all that's important. Who's talking shit about the Sons? They don't know what they're talking about.