Steve Corino

I'll be picking it up anyways. But it helps to see stuff like Holy Diver, Metal Health, and I Wanna Rock on there. Better get some good GNR on though, just because Sweet Child was on GH2 already doesn't mean that's ALL Appetite had to give. I'd love to see Rocket Queen appear.

6/4/98 Thunder from Fort Wayne

1. Kronik in 1998 doing Demolition Decapitation is alright. Don't really care for the name "frogsplash elbow" because it sounds like he did a frog splash and that's Guerrero domain esse, but alright.

2. Raven just pretty much killed the feud in the Flock. And then makes it sound like yes he CAN beat Goldberg. I halfway liked it then.

3. The Mavericks? Are they going to start a poker gimmick now? I guess it worked for the APA....

4. Eh.

5. Wow, the crowd must be on life support tonight.

6. Scorpion using orange mist is great! I love that! So now we have the role of Shang Tsung? With who you got there, it fits pretty good, I gotta give it that.

7. That one brought the crowd around some. And I find myself agreeing with Larry Zbyszko.

8. Sounds like it was a classic Horsemen "Take one guy apart" match. You've pretty thoroughly confused me with what's going on with the Tag title scene now, so I'll say that's likely your intention.

I dunno, I kinda like these shorter results. But did we suddenly switch games or something?

Monday Nitro from Lexington, Kentucky

I confused myself before by not saying what show it was, so I'll start doing that.

1. Flair saying that he can "play that game too" in reference to Douglas taking his friends makes me wonder if we're going to see Candido or Bam Bam here soon. That would be kinda cool actually.

2. The end of the segment kinda came out of nowhere there. Arn just kind of standing back and not saying anything could be construed as either Arn doing his thing or as interesting, but that all just depends on how you plan to run through this. Frankly, Douglas could almost be the face here and Flair the heel very easily. It's New Blood two years beforehand, where the lines are blurred on stage because of backstage.

3. Now I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Arn's non-involvement is interesting. Doesn't ANYONE in WCW have a loyalty to anything? It's almost ridiculous, but it's 1998 WCW, so it's practically a requirement that nobody backs anybody unless it serves their needs for a few seconds.

4. By your write-up, I almost thought Kidman got some time in on the match. Then I read closer. Damn.

5. Wow, Heenan really turned on Ric there too. I like JJ coming across as someone trying to be a mediater, but it seems like you're reading my mind because unless it goes into a brawl with the Horsemen and Flair's team, this will force a loyalty from Arn somewhere.

6. God I love your Jericho. I would try to point out a few lines that stuck out, but I'd be reposting practically the whole thing.

7. In lieu of the massive praise that you'll get for this match, because you're a great writer and you're working with great wrestlers for this one, I'm going to take a moment to bring up something that probably shouldn't be mentioned again. Let's face it, they say you're not reading feedback to find out what you're doing well at because you already know what you're doing well at. I could just number one through whatever and say "Damn that was good" and it would mean next to nothing to you because you know that damn it was good. So in case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to point out things that strike me that aren't entirely good for one reason or the other, because that's what this is all about, right? Anyways. I really want to see you try and go in-depth and make Mike Tenay sound like anything but a total moron in trying to explain to everyone how he knows all about the Ninja Code. I mean there is just no possible way for that to be. I mean, I know that the Glacier/Scorpion storyline means next to nothing in the grand scheme of everything going on around here, because when it comes down to it this is WCW and that means if it has to do with something, then it all has to do with two things: the Horsemen or the nWo. But then you brought up that Tenay knows the Ninja Code. Maybe I'm mistaken, but for some reason I cannot believe that Mike fucking Tenay has ever been able to sneak up on a decent meal, let alone learn all about the ancient art of concealed combat that is ninja. And plus, if he's such a ninja, what happens after Glacier, if he runs across Muta and Chono? They'd tear his ninja ass apart, spit mist in his face, and then kick his non-ninja ass back to whatever non-ninja town he may hail from.

Oh, and damn that was good.

8. Nash is really looking ahead to Hogan, he better not overlook the next champs Muta and Chono. Hall isn't overlooking them though, which makes for a weird balance to the interview, but is good anyways.

9. Possible heel turn approaching with Rick? I'm inclined to guess not so, because Scott really doesn't need his brother hanging onto him at this point because he's already got Buff clinging around. Though a thought that just erupted into my mind, maybe Buff getting the TV belt will be the culmination of Brian Adams's push against the nWo? Could be.

10. Well, Booker did say he was gonna do it likez on da hood dawg. Ain't no ref ta stop da fight in tha hood! Foo' Robison shoulda got out da way'a the man 'fore he got hit wid'a axe kick!

11. So many comments about the backstage around here. First we got Flair and Douglas, then Nash, now Bret. Bret not saying "ass" was a nice touch though. And damn, The Brain is in full heel mode for this show.

12. Benoit and Douglas. For some reason, reading that just made it click in my head that this Horsemen is the Triple Threat + Jericho with Arn Anderson as manager. I have no idea why I didn't put that together before. Congratulations, you've made me want to listen to "Perfect Strangers" now. And at the end, Heenan goes face for Lex and Page. Damn shades of gray storylines. And again, not much action from Arn on the Horsemen's behalf.

13. I think I see what's happening here. Nash against Hogan is set up as well as Outsiders vs Sons, so the Outsiders drop the belts so that he's not doing two matches at GAB. Though where does that leave Flair, Luger, and DDP for GAB? Unless the previous match was your way of writing that possibility out of occurring. Should be a good Thunder ME though, gotta grant you that.

14. Sting's fine. He's Sting, that means he's gonna be just fine.

15. Damn no contests. I really didn't like this one not having a winner, though I know why it couldn't. Bret and Nash both have to look strong, and either of them losing is a step in the wrong direction. But dammit I just didn't like it.

This was the kind of show that you watch and can't really put a finger on much, though nothing sucked at all. In fact the majority of matches were of the very grand kind, with the two title matches being the only "blemishes". And they weren't even blemishes in the sense that they meant nothing, because they still served their purposes well. And as far as this Nitro goes, that's pretty much all I can say.

Quote 1: Yep, I figured that would be how it is.

Quote 2: Flair putting a live mic in Douglas's hands? Is this a way to show that you had a newsbit that said that their backstage problems are solved now?

Quote 3: Thought so.

Quote 4: I dunno, I think I'd just leave it alone. He hasn't been on-screen for quite some time, I don't even remember if you had used him at all really.

Hooray State College!

1. A nice rewatching of at Savage going nutso. Always pleasant.

2. Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay know the Ninja Code? This I have to hear. I mean it's likely just Bobby saying "I know all about it!" like he always did, but Tenay is actually going to explain? I know he's "The Professor", but aren't we reaching a bit here?

3. Damn, I was hoping this was going to be Tenay explaining about his long years spent studying the Shirai Ryu so that he knew what the Ninja Code was. Either way, Finlay is getting a very slow push, which works. He could be a good one to put over Buff for the TV title. Then again, an inanimate object would be a good oen to put over Buff for the TV title.

4. Haha, Jericho talking about how no other big stars are there is great. Nice to show that all continuity is not lost between Jericho and Malenko, but is being put aside for the common goal.

5?

6. Ah, a match that lives up to the rating TEW gives it. Though it was written as though it could have been 20 minutes rather than 11, it's Jericho and Eddy so all is forgiven.

7. Well alright.

8. Well really, it's Brian Adams. Glad he's getting to squash the nWo B-Team, but eventually he's going to run into Norton and probably go down.

9. This video rules if for no other reason than because it included the lawn dart. New champs had better abound. Something tells me they won't though because Nash'll block it.

10. Should be a good match anyways. The question goes, however, as to why Flair and Jericho are out of the match.

11. And WCW would wonder why Thunder is being thought of as a B-show?

12. Be honest with ya, it's written like Christian as a movie star should be, but I'm just not feeling it. It's Jericho Lite, and while our Jerichohol with a Lite version is still tasty, it just doesn't hit the spot like it should be. I did laugh at the line of how "I reminded them who I was facing, and once they finished laughing, they told me to go for it".

13. This match was everything and delivered everything it had to. Luger showed he can still go, Benoit didn't submit, Douglas ran in, they beat up Flair, and Douglas swore. Only thing that could have been asked for was a clean finish, but then would Douglas have been able to come and swear?

I'll say that well, it was a B-show Thunder alright, but it tried really hard not to be. It's something that should have been taped and watched the next day in order to fast forward straight to Jericho/Guerrero and Benoit/Luger.

Two hour Nitro will be fine, as it lets you not have to write so much for Nitro. I just hope that means Thunder won't be regulated to the mere B-show for guys like Adams and Finlay because there'll be less time for them to appear on Nitro.

Bret and Savage against Hogan and a partner should be good enough for a Nitro main event.

The only thing I'm seeing here is how it's potentially going to put you into a corner somewhere, and lead to this Horsemen having to turn face or split. I mean, once the feud with Flair is done, where do they go? To face the nWo? I can't really see the group that's trying to take over WCW turning face to feud with a group synonamous with WCW. Not saying that such a feud would be impossible (after all, by the time the Horsemen/Flair feud is done, the nWo could be gone) but I'm just pointing this out. The good thing is that you've basically just opened the floodgates for Benoit to feud with any upper card guy no matter who it may be. Jericho's talk pushed further the small feud with Juvi, which is nice. Good call on Dean not getting the mic though.

Okay, I'm never opposed to more Hennig, but that segment just kind of ended abruptly. Hey, now he's not supposed to say "perfect". The lawsuit will be on your door later.

Well I guess I don't mind the loss because it furthers the purpose and puts Booker over a bit. Sounded more like a comedy match than anything with the Karagais stuff though.

And the post match sees Evan get what Hennig is trying to teach him; do what you have to rather than what you want to. Lesson learned thanks to the TV title.

That should be a solid match at Bash. Raven and Kanyon can bring the work, Goldberg can bring the crowd into it.

Short and inoffensive, a good squash for Kidman to push the Flock's feuding more. And the post match was just as well.

I laughed at the line of "I'm bigger than most of those things that go bump in the night". I approve of this interview sheerly for that reason.

Sting should be able to pull a really good match out of Giant, I'm thinking the B+ to A* range. Nice. Though nothing has really said where Giant's alleigance lies.

Okay that's a really weird thing to note regarding the "mask or title shot" bit. A clean win though, which is great. I like that.

And the big debut of Christopher Cage III, as he drops Juvi like a bad habit. I'm sensing Bash match here.

Bobby's line made this worth it, because outside of that it was kind of cut and paste stuff. I mean, we've never heard that Juvi is ugly before. And he's a big star, okay.

Nice little brawl it sounds like.

Yes, Wooo. Wooo indeed.

I almost forgot that Konnan is still in the black and white here. In that case, I like this much. He can be the nWo jobber all you want.

Since when is "Yo" not a word? I thought you were going to say that it wasn't really a word because Hall was slurring his speech. I'm impressed with the Savage you did here, liked it much better than the previous one. I really like how they actually are mentioning the Sons, not just ignoring them to focus on Hogan. Hall's analogy of "we were you two years before you were you" is quite nice and makes me kinda hope that you go with him taking the belt from Hogan rather than Nash, if it comes down to either of those guys. This is a good Wolfpac.

Steiner teaming with Hogan should make this a solid match, as well as a good enough match for Nitro main event.

Now, I'm kinda hoping you would have done this a bit differently so that there was time to build the Horsemen feud until Bash rather than further it there, so that the tradition of WarGames being at the Great American Bash would continue. But I guess by 98 it was a Fall Brawl thing, so that means you're doing right. There is no way that the Horsemen feud won't go to WarGames. And Deaner picks up the win - another clean win for the Horsemen tonight, I might add.

I have nothing to add. That was beauty. Having just (finally) gotten to watch the Bret DVD set, I'm getting all into marking out mode over anything that has to do with him, so very good job for nailing him spot-on to my eye. Now all we need is for someone to point out that "If the nWo is all about the black and white or black and red, Bret Hart is only out for the black and pink". Or not.

No mention of how this is Glacier vs Mortis again huh? I mean they mentioned Mortis but not really to that extent.

The post match made me think that playing the role of Shang Tsung should be Kevin Sullivan.

Nice, a short video to hype up the other major feud before getting back into the nWo stuff.

Macho going crazy works as good as anything for the ending of the match.

My rating is a very strong thumbs up. Nothing was really filler, even Finlay getting his push was worth watching.

To the news bits.

So does this mean no Hart Foundation reunion? Good for the NWA to be rising back up. If you play at this long enough I wouldn't mind seeing a four-way promotion war with the WWF, WCW, ECW, and NWA all vying for the top spot. I still say Sting should have something to say about somebody else using the name of "Scorpion". On the two or three hours deal, I say again that while yes, having three hours lets guys like Finlay get some screen time, if it would make it easier on you writing for a two hour show rather than three, then I'd be all for it. Because really, if you move something like Finlay's push down to Thunder, that takes away time that could be getting used on that show for furthering the Flock. So really it's kind of a situation where something bad cancels out something good. Right now I'd say Thunder is pretty much the A- show; it's not Nitro but it's not a Saturday Night either. Now, I guess you could get a Saturday Night or something that would be written with short results, given via internet report as "____ defeated _____ in _:__ with the ______". That way everyone's still getting the same amount of screen time, but you're not writing as much.

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.

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.

Sounds damn cool. Downey will play an insane Iron Man because (at least, while I've been reading, which admittedly hasn't been long) Stark has really been quite the righteous asshole. I can see Downey pulling that off very well.

WWF Undisputed Championship

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Chris Jericho © w/ Don Callis

As the others said, Jericho can't lose here or else everything falls flat on it's face.

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Rob Van Dam vs. Edge ©

Let's face it, RVD is a lot more interesting.

WWF Tag Team Championships

The Canadian Horsemen (Test & Christian) vs. The Dudley Boyz ©

If this is to be a Horsemen night, then it shall be a Horsemen night.

Handicap Match

Booker T vs. The APA

I don't really see Booker getting the victory here. I mean he'll probably bounce back anyways, but the APA were always pushed to be the big "punishment", and it seems like it's continuing here, so Booker gets punished.

No Holds Barred Match

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy w/ Lita

Matt is the more interesting here, so go with him. But this feud can still be pulled to Mania because there's plenty of life in it.

Bonus Questions

1. How many Championships will change hands? Two.

2. Who will be the mystery #30 entrant? Mr. Perfect! A feller can hope, can't he?

3. Who will win the 2002 Royal Rumble match? Angle would be a good call to go for here.

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.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Abyss v Raven v Sting

I know we're dealing with Russo booking here, but Abyss should keep the belt here. He's only had it a month, leave it alone.

TNA X Division Championship: Christopher Daniels v AJ Styles

Meanwhile the X Division belt has jumped around three times in a month, so one more in order to put AJ's heel turn over more won't hurt anything.

NWA World Tag team Championships: LAX v AMW v Team 3D v The Briscoes

I think LAX will continue to make good champions, if for no other reason than to just get Cornette's goat more.

Rhino v Kurt Angle

As much as I don't like it, Angle is being built here while Rhino isn't.

Christian Cage v Samoa Joe

Joe's going to need rebuilt after losing to Kurt, and no better place to start than here.

Jim Cornette v Konnan

If this isn't what happens then there'd better be some major interference happening.

Robert Roode v X

One of these two mystery opponents is going to win and it might as well be here. Though I've really no clue who it's going to be.

Sonjay Dutt & Jay Lethal v Paparazzi Productions

As hilarious as their segments have been, Shelley and Starr are going to need to win once in awhile.

The New Movement v X

Unless you're making a huge debut here, then it's better off for Raven's crew to win here. Oh, and if you're going this route on giving them more gothic names, go with Michael, Jonathan, and Frank, because Francis makes him sound like a woman.

Bonus Questions

1. Who will be Robert Roode's Opponent? No idea.

2. How many titles will change hands? 2

3. Who will be pinned in the Main Event? I agree with musclebuster that Sting should be the one taking the fall here.

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

As I mentioned before, I don't think Slamboree is going to be Hart's big title win. But I also don't think that Savage is going to drop the belt to Hogan here, either. Later on, maybe, probably, but not right now. So Savage defeats Hogan here so that Bret continues looking strong.

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

Giant and Sting don't need to win here by any means. But also, I hope we're not going to see a break-up of the Outsiders. Honestly, the black and white hasn't had nearly enough people dropping out of it to elicit this being taken as a really "major" feud, as IRL there had already been defections by Nash, Savage, Konnan, Hennig, and Rude. Here we've only seen Nash and Savage drop, and Hall hasn't claimed any allegiances anywhere except for showing that he's teaming with Nash. So keep the belts where they are, keep the Outsiders together, and when they drop the belts to the Rising Sons, then I guess you can turn Hall if you want to.

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

Unless I don't quite understand the rules, I assume it's one fall rather than elimination, Page will take the fall in order to put Raven or Saturn in line for a US title shot at some point. I expect Kidman to be involved, but the role is uncertain.

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

The Rising Sons will be our next Tag Team champions. Smith and Anvil are going to be properly fed to the Japanese Machine Team on their rise.

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

If the signs being pointed are being pointed to a Horsemen return, then Benoit's going to have enough on his plate without the TV title being added to his list of activities. Let Booker keep the belt and move on to feud with Jericho.

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

This way, next month we can go ahead and see Rick vs Scott. Right? I hope so. We really don't need to see this dragged out to Halloween Havoc.

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chris Jericho© vs Dean Malenko

Cruiserweight Battle Royal

As I said before, this is one time where history really should repeat itself. Change the aftermath, because Jericho can easily be Booker's next contender, but keep everything else the same.

Alright with the crowd chanting "We're Taking Over" this has suddenly become a Blue World Order reference. I approve. Now Sting is Undertaker, which really I guess is what WCW was doing but that makes it weird. But I like it. I really like it.

Smith picking up the victory over Konnan is only good, because Konnan is next to nothing here. Hey, I like this attack happening. More putting over the Sons as vicious men who'll stop at nothing. Though the imagery was still hilarious. Give these men the Tag belts soon.

Some good cruiserweight action to keep the people happy. I approve. Some dissention in the Flock I'm sure will lead to good things, unlike how the dissention in the nWo did. So now I'm thinking Kidman's going to cost Raven and Saturn the match at Slamboree, but then on the other hand, it could all be a ploy and he's going to cost Page and Berg the match. That's why Raven is fun.

So now Scorpion is going to come to eliminate Glacier? Let's see, Sub-Zero to Glacier, what can you call Scorpion? Sting's already taken. Maybe Spear? If Scorpion is coming to WCW, he'd better be able to use his spear move and have a mic built in under his mask to yell "GET OVER HERE!". Just sayin'.

Sadly I know this isn't going to be Hennig's match. Not just because Booker is going to make it to Slamboree with the belt, but because Karagias is probably going to interfere. And dammit there he is. Oh well, hopefully this'll be over at Slamboree. I have little against Evan, but I just think Curt should be into bigger and more important things. Book's interview was solid, showing how he cares about the title he holds to the point that he would have smashed Benoit with the chair if given the chance just to get a bit of an edge.

Lot of interference tonight, isn't there? Course I guess that's WCW for you. Interference to cost matches I guess is the best way to continue feuds that are about people getting frustrated or violent with one another. Note the lack of Benoit and Booker interference in their respective matches; this feud is about respect and a title, not about people beating one another to a bloody mass of broken bones and muscles.

LOL! Buff just got owned by Liz! That just made this show right there. You can almost see a turn coming with Bagwell pointing out how if she likes guys with class why is she hanging out with Savage, but I'm hoping it was just Buff being a smart-ass.

Good to see a new team coming in. The problem lies in how most teams are superteams or teams who are so over that it takes a superteam to get the belts from them (Sting and Giant, Outsiders, etc) or teams who aren't over enough (Longhorns, Davey and Neidhart, etc). But having a lot of teams around is always a good thing, especially since there are a lot of guys on your payroll who don't have much to do. I've done the same thing in WCW 98 games before; just start up with random teamings for people who there isn't much to do with. I'm sure this match was quite the fun brawl though. But please, just don't make Curt Hennig the leader for the Texas Longhorns.

Speak of the devil! Mic time for Hennig and Rude is good stuff, nice touch with Rude talking about Evan's "fat, obnoxious daddy". Ravishing Rick still lives, people! Wait, so I guess Karagias isn't going to be facing Curt at Slamboree? I think you could have fit the three minute squash match onto the card, really.

Sting against Steiner should be damn good. Kinda short. Run out of time for it or something? Still a good one.

And now, to pay-per-view! Yaaay!

I like this Doc Beejus guy. You need more of him influencing decisions around here

Ah, thank you for mentioning when Slamboree is.

Hey, airtime for Eaton is great by me, even if the match was only average.

Haha, Jericho mic time. Really nothing to say here except note once again at how awesome your Jericho writing is.

Hype video. Good call. On another note, upon doing some research, WCW actually did call their 30-minute Iron Man matches from 92-93 just that, so you could have easily used that name, and we could possibly even have gotten some words from Rick Rude regarding how grueling the match can be. But changing the name to Iron Challenge doesn't hurt anything because it makes it sound like it's different.

Booker against Steiner should rule here, and it is very nice seeing the TV title defended on all shows as it's meant to be. Unfortunately for Scotty, Russo isn't booking, which means we're not going to see a new TV champion here. And there's Rick to make sure of it, which furthers everything that needed to be furthered. Good call.

And HERE is Benoit. Awesome. And hey, there's the four fingers! With the way Benoit is acting, could we be seeing a heel Horsemen on the way? I hope so. Mongo is AWOL, which is great, but in a way I almost hope you don't bring Malenko into the group, for no real reason other than because it was how real life gave us. Not that Benoit and Malenko as the Horsemen team would be bad at all, guess I'm just saying that change is good.

Another hype video, this time for the tag match. Good enough, though really we can all tell Muta and Chono are going over here, right? Right?!

Whoa, Hennig vs Muta? This show kicks ass! AH! Damn Karagias! Get the hell out of here boy! He's getting in the way of Hennig's rise to the top! Seriously, you better be thinking about a major Bret vs Hennig feud for the WCW World title somewhere down the line. Aw dammit. Though I love Hennig cheating to win the bet, this means we're gonna be stuck with Evan for awhile longer. Sorry, but Evan just doesn't do anything for me here.

Another hype video, now the Cruiserweight match. Great way to not only waste time but also to hype Slamboree.

Hectooooor! He really had no chance, but it was good to have the title defense there.

Ooooh boy, now I'm really gonna get excited. But see my comments about regarding the Horsemen.

Wow, a victory for High Voltage? Either PE are leaving or else you're trying to push them a bit. Perhaps some residual effects of the Enhancement Movement from the last Thunder?

Now we get into the important stuff again as we find out more of the Slamboree card through video. And then an interview right after. Yep, this is definitely the hard sell.

Finlay really should have no chance here against Giant, but Hall coming down to ringside makes this match worth the time. Hey! Fit wins?! WHOA, that's fucking huge. Even if it was a countout. And then The Outsiders take out Giant. This is all so crazy that it's gotta be said: Good call.

I like this hype video as well, because it brings some semblance of sense back into perspective: Sting and Giant are WCW and they're trying to take something from the now weakened nWo. Good one.

Protecting Adams and Buff, I presume? Well I guess both teams do have big matches at Slamboree, but really, would a winner have hurt this match?

Ah, more Bret. A side note, I was just watching Survivor Series 95, and more specifically the Bret/Diesel match. So right now, I am in the midst of really loving Bret Hart again. So this better not disappoint. And it doesn't, as Bret says everything that needs to be said. Awesome call.

So I guess it's a triple threat at Slamboree? That's good, because then Hogan or Savage can win it without Bret being involved in the fall. Honestly, I think Hart shouldn't grab the title until something huge, like Starrcade, and Hogan would be the perfect candidate for him to defeat for it. Hogan may drop the match at Slamboree to keep Savage with the belt a bit longer, but the best scenario would be what I just described. In my mind anyways.

And for the main event. I like how you write Savage matches here because it shows him as a wild individual who is out to win no matter what he has to do. And he retains somewhat cleanly. I mean, no interference-wise. Surprising there.

All in all, it was some really good stuff. The hard sells for Slamboree, the huge matches, the win for Fit Finlay.... nothing was major enough to drag this down. Hell, this show might be better than Slamboree itself!

As far as format changing, really I didn't notice any big difference. Some matches might have been a bit shorter (like Eaton/Kidman) but for the most part, everything hit where it had to hit and the major events were done in proper detail.

YES! The Plinko promo! I loved the Plinko promo! Sime, you still the man, mang.

Now it's announced officially that Corny is in control. Alright.

Yay for Beautiful Bobby picking up the win. That's always good. But I'm still hoping for changes.

A great Horsemen interview always shines the brightest, and this is no exception. Though Dillon saying they're the smartest and then cutting to Sid is quite the redundancy.

It's almost overkill for Cornette to be giving Tony this much shit. Just saying.

Freebirds and Southern Boys was pretty much just a device to get the Steiners out there, but it worked, so that's fine.

"Chaarchy"? Sounds like a new kind of jerky.

I like Pillman damn near going crazy in the interview because he's tired of talking about Z-Man. It works to a T, really.

Z-Man needs to just get killed by Arn, as it should be. The time limit draw is cool enough though, because it continues the true old school feel. And now Arn is doing double duty at Clash, which means double the Arn and double the awesome. Awesome.

Really just seemed to be a show. Nothing new added, nothing old lost.

Nash and Bret now teaming on Thunder? Alright, they get to kill Norton and Konnan. That's good.

Meng beats Wrath? Is this a push for Meng or something? Can't say I'm fond of that notion. I'd have much rather seen Wrath go over here and start on a Goldbergian spree like he would have gotten IRL.

Ha. Benoit acting heelish is so cool. I can totally feel a Willis vibe coming off that last part. "I guess you don't get one." Badass.

Ohhhh, Yuji is so screwed here. The match sounds like a mostly shoot-style affair, but Benoit ends up with the victory. Sweet.

LOL goes out to Piper. The part about guys looking up his kilt just came so far out of nowhere at the beginning that it was just perfect for Roddy. The best thing about Bret being the referee for the title match is that it harks back to Starrcade, where he wasn't going to screw anyone over because he knew how it was. Nice touches abound.

Chavo beating Jericho is a bit of a surprise, but he didn't get the belt, so that's alright. I still say Slamboree should be pretty much a word-for-word of what the real show gave us on the battle royal, but that's because it was one of the sole winning points of that show. You have more winning points with Benoit/Booker, but damned if Jericho can't still be the highlight of the show.

The Hennig comment of how Karagias should be with the Backstreet Boys is a nice touch. I'd rather see Hennig getting a solid push of his own, without someone hanging around him (other than Rude, of course), but him being a total dick to Evan is cool, so that's alright. But I see this probably leading to a match at Slamboree, which doesn't hurt so long as the right man goes over.

So I can totally see the screwy ending coming to the tag match right at the beginning. This is going to be a clusterfuck in due time. Hm, no Goldberg or Page to make the save? Strange. Raven and Saturn going over is good though, because they have the higher profile match at Slamboree.

I really liked that video for Sting and Giant. Good job with seeming to catch onto what I was trying to say earlier about people not claiming alleigance to WCW itself, because this shows that Sting and Giant are a unit trying to take something from the nWo, no matter what color the members are wearing.

And then Bret and Nash kill Konnan and Norton. As it should be.

A good show, I thought. Benoit being a total badass and Hennig being a total dick just makes it.

Now that it's mentioned, Savage has been kind of getting the short end of the feud stick. Attention is being paid closer to who is getting the title match rather than who has the title. Seeing Christian as a movie star with Test as his bodyguard would kick ass, but given how you've just named that off as a possibility means that we're likely not to see it. Miller and Glacier are casualties that can easily be taken care of. Job them to Bobby Eaton and send them on their way. No harm, no foul.

I've been a long-time reader of TGC's WCW 1991, and while I don't believe I've ever gotten chance to really give any feedback on it, I'm glad to see that it's making it's big return here. Anyways.

You know Ross and Tony have been put on insane shill mode when they're saying that Pistol Pez Whatley is going to test Arn fucking Anderson. C'mon now. Then again, this was a time when a SNME main event could have been Hogan against Akeem. So I reckon to just take things as they may come.

Bobby and Brian are a great set to have against one another, and I hope that what happened between Pillman and Z in the previous TGC edition of WCW 1991 happens here as well. If I remember it right. I think I do though. Can honestly say that I was never too crazy about what happened with Beautiful Bobby there.... but all signs point to it happening again. Yes I'm being vague for those who didn't see it before. Yay me. But then, this is why we're reading WCW 1991 Re-imagined. Perhaps you shall change things. Perhaps you really liked it and aren't going to change anything. Your call. Just letting you know my thoughts.

And we all know Brian was serious because he called him Tom. Bob Caudle is a real dumbass, but the sad part is that I can really hear him saying that.

For some reason I'm guessing the Sierras aren't the team that are getting something done in the future. That's fine. Can't say I'm all that wild over the Southern Boys, but at least they can go if given the right team to go against.

Hooray for Big Fat Tater! Seriously now, that is one of the best ways to hype Vader. Just show him beating the piss out of people and fans will know exactly who and what he is.

I'm going to be completely honest and say that I have no recollection of the Royal Family or their gimmick. So I find myself really not caring at all about them. But Ricky Morton is cool as hell, so I'll just leave it at that and move on.

SKA-WASH. Arn kills Whatley. As it should be. It took longer for you to write about JJ coming out than it did for the match. Y'know, I was just talking about the Four Horsemen today, and Arn in particular. The greatest thing about Arn Anderson is that he had no real "gimmick" except being an Anderson and therefore a tough son of a bitch. Outside of that, he didn't look that impressive, he didn't have anything to really reach out and catch you with (except an Anderson Left), but he was damn good in the fact that he was simply damn good. His interviews were to the point and didn't really slap you over the head as anything other than just a guy who is going to slap you over the head. And plus, when talking about interviews I also snickered at the thought that no one ever interrupted their partner or manager in old school interviews. Everyone had a lead-in. So seeing that here, as I knew I would from an old school icon like TGC, makes me smile. Onwards.

Austin going for the cheap heat, but I did love the quip about Ross being a lowly grunt, but he'd be General Ross if he were in Austin's league. And then he kills Ross, which works entirely.

Flair winning is great, but was Sid interfering really necessary? I know Luger needs protected to some extent, but since he's dealing with Ric fucking Flair, then there's no reason he could lose anything by dropping the match clean. The Sid-der Splash was worth a chuckle imagining it though, so that makes up for everything.

Now this works out greatly. The old school mentality of "You beat the champion non-title, so you get a title shot" is something that I incorporate into everything, and I absolutely love it. It's just good sense, really - if Wrestler A can beat the champion, then he's better than said champion; so give him a title match because if the champion isn't as good then he shouldn't be holding a belt.

This is what I love about reading TGC diaries. They're really old school-fests, and I've love me an old school-fest. As noted above, not the greatest show ever read, but good enough for Saturday Night. The Clash and PPV cards will be better times, but for SN, it just needs to do what it does: hype the Clash and PPV cards.

Everyone of course has no real alleigances to anyone except the black and white boys and Nash/Savage. Maybe you should work on that. Everybody is either out for their nWo or for themself, and no one seems to be picking up the slack for WCW itself.

But wasn't that the way things were back then? I was by no means an avid WCW fan, but they either had their stable or themselves to look out for.

Savage is being stretchered. Okay. The pink sunglasses give it away that it's a big set-up. But I like the nod. (Though Bret had dropped the pink shades and gone to black sunglasses by the time.) Anyway, it could have been any number of people, but given last Thunder, my bet is on.....Fit Finlay.

I love seeing Hennig get any kind of push in any diary. That said, I hope this one carries him very far, perhaps even into the World title contention, because it looks like any other titles are off-limits to everyone at the moment. I mean Goldberg has the US belt and therefore no one is winning that, and the TV title is Booker and Benoit's baby right now, so the only options for anyone are the Tag or World titles. Though someone snaring the TV belt right out of their feud would be interesting, but that's something WCW had already done in 98.

Gene being so out of it that Jericho runs circles around him is gold.

Evan Karagias is someone I didn't really expect seeing there. Hopefully this is just something to get some younger wrestlers in the scene and not using Hennig's rub for anything more than what it should be: Curt going the distance and getting a major push.

Certainly a better name going with The Rising Sons, that'll certainly show that racist lawsuit who's boss! Common ground being what it is, Bulldog picking up the win by botched interference works. And now that they've gotten a bit of revenge for all the attacks, now we can get back to Muta and Chono beating the piss out of Davey and Neidhart.

The 15 minute time limit strikes again! I didn't know if that had continued into Booker's title run or not, at least it wasn't usually brought up unless it was a heel holding the belt. A good match though, and it gives Jericho a good way to get into the picture after whenever it is he may drop the Cruiser belt. And it also gives Benoit plenty of meat to work on in the Iron Challenge. Good set-ups abound.

Two more weeks until Flair. Awesome. Definately interested to see if he's going to be reforming the Horsemen right away, or if that's going to wait, because Benoit hasn't been talking about it like RL showed us.

Well Gene tried to tell him it's a set-up, but Nash never was the brightest star in the galaxy. Still, Nash/Hart should be a good main event, even with the convoluted finish that we're promised by Nitro Standard.

I'm still left wondering as to if it's going to be a tag match or two singles at Slamboree, but who cares, it'll be a good match(es) anyways.

So Hennig is employing either Meng, Barbarian, or maybe Morrus to destroy Karagias. Sounds good enough.

Benoit LOSES to Norton? Wow. I didn't see that one coming at all. I mean, yeah, Booker interfered, but still, we're on Scott Norton here. Hm.

So both Guerreros are in the battle royal? That should make it more interesting. Now we've got the feuds between Chavo/Eddie and Jericho/Malenko all rolled into the one match. Combining and intertwining storylines for the win.

Glad to see that Hart is intelligent enough. I especially liked him asking "Do you know how many pairs of these I have?" Just simple yet stupid logic, but it works to a T in the situation.

Pretty much saw that ending coming, but hey, it's classic Nitro Standard to promise a huge match and then not deliver except on enough occasion that people aren't going to notice it.

When exactly is Slamboree? I'm guessing this coming week, but nobody has really said for certain and if they did then I missed it. The main event really isn't even completely set off yet (Hogan is likely to get into the title match) but it's almost bound to be a shorter card due to the Iron Challenge, so that makes me think there's at least one more Nitro to come yet. Everyone of course has no real alleigances to anyone except the black and white boys and Nash/Savage. Maybe you should work on that. Everybody is either out for their nWo or for themself, and no one seems to be picking up the slack for WCW itself. Unless Luger and Steiner are going to be considered heroes for fighting Scott, Buff, and Adams. Really, this was another "Just Another Nitro" that didn't figure out anything other than that people are here to try and do whatever they want.

Should be a decent enough main event with Nash against Sting. Is Giant in the black and white here though? I don't quite remember, but for some reason I'm thinking he joined right before Slamboree but isn't there yet. Judging on how he was helping Nash and Sting on Nitro I'm guessing not, but this is 1998 WCW, so who the fuck knows. And please just keep Hall with Nash? Their feud IRL was something that should have been incredible, but it ended up just being really bad.

I like how we introduce Windham as "The brother of the former World champion", just to let everyone know "Hey, this guy is related to someone important!" Didn't work for him though. Good, Benoit's going to be taking Booker's title soon anyways. Iron Challenge match? Nice way around the "Iron Man" name, in a toast to something I like about a good writer doing a WCW diary; noting that a name the WWF has used isn't going to fly in the real world. Kudos.

Nice seeing that the 10-man battle royal and title defense is still happening. I don't usually say this, but this is one time where real life should definately be repeated, and I mean word-for-word, at Slamboree. (A brief note is to please not switch between "Eddy" and "Eddie". I believe it was spelled as "Eddy" at this time. I just remember it being a big deal made in an old WCW magazine I read, where Eddy had "been quoted" as saying that his name was to be spelled in the proper Mexican fashion rather than the American version. But hey, it's your thing, just a note.) I like Kidman picking up the win and then simply scratching himself rather than any sort of celebration. And Eddy yelling at Chavo, I assume for not getting the fall, is good enough for government work to putting the story over.

Only thing I didn't quite like about the interview was how Gene made it like the three of them were facing High Voltage expecting it to be the same as facing Lex and Rick. I'd personally have made it more of Bischoff giving them a cushy match and calling it a warm-up. But that's all in the definition and the way I took it. I mean, if we're going to call them the nWo's designated jobbers of the night, then might as well run with it. And then they do what was expected of them, albeit in a more competitive match than expected. That was a bit more offense than I thought they would get, but the nWo still cleaned house pretty well.

So it's going to be a tag match at Slamboree, or two singles matches? Either way, it should be good, fun, WCW-level hardcore brawling.

Finlay got a lot more against Goldberg than expected, too. Is this some sort of Enhancement Movement on Thunder? Berg kicking out of the Tombstone is a nice shot at the WWF though.

Ah, some lovely Jericho. It looks like we're getting a repeat of the real life's Slamboree, but as I said, that is very welcome. And he beats La Parka? Okay, title defenses are good and all, I guess.

So, Muta and Chono aren't in the nWo, or is Hudson just stupid? Classic hit-and-run tactics that all heels need employ, especially if they're not "speaking wrestlers" like Muta and Chono are. We just need a manager, stat. Where's Gary Hart when we need him?

I like the note of Sting having the fashion as he did when facing Hogan. Going a bit further back into Crow mode when against a major nWo member. I like it. You have a really good grasp on writing Sting matches, and I absolutely love that. Drunken Hall? I thought that didn't start until after Slamboree? Oh well, it works. Now Giant is against Nash who is against Konnan while Sting is fighting Hall outside. I repeat: this is 1998 WCW, so who the fuck knows what is going on.

Despite the complete lack of focus on what is happening in the World title scene and the complete lack of focus in the Tag title picture, this show at least did get across what's happening with the TV and Cruiser titles at Slamboree. And it got Hall around, so that's a positive. No Flair hype drags it down, but the Enhancement Movement brings it up. So fair enough show.

I think most of those released WWF talents should be taken in, myself. Kaientai DX, Cage, and Test, in particular. Yes, I say sign Martin. He didn't really hit any sort of peaks until 99, but he plays the bodyguard role well and could fit in anywhere you want to put him, WCW or nWo.

My love goes out to CW Anderson, Paultimate Warrior, and GODZILLA!. But you already knew that. I'm not gonna spoil the next character that I love, but you know who it is. But CW definately needs to get back to his roots like was posted here thus far, like breaking Dusty's ankle in the cage with Ole.

Two shows to go through, which is a great way to kill time right now, and plus a great read because I likes your work. Yay.

Thursday Thunder

Prince over Juvi kinda sucks because Juvi vs Jericho would be destined for a great match, while Jericho has to pull one out of Prince. The "Monkey Foot" was great, though.

Razzing on Tony is fun.

The two out of three falls match will rule. There, it's said.

Please, no Konnan in the Wolfpac.

High Voltage getting killed is always a nice thing to see. And then Neidhart/DBS getting beaten down by Chono and Muta rules. I can totally see Muta and Chono winning the Tag titles, and that would definately be good.

I must be honest and say that I don't remember much about the Eddy/Chavo storyline. I just recall that they had a lot of matches where if Eddy lost or Chavo won, he'd gain his freedom, then Chavo going insane and submitting to a handshake at Road Wild. A good win for Kidman here.

If I recall right, Lex wasn't really doing much at the time, so him helping Rick works out well for all involved parties.

Goldberg vs Raven did exactly what it needed to, and that's show Goldberg destroying more "high name" people.

As was said, the lack of Bret, major nWo presence, and other various things hurt the show a bit to the reader, but it was an A rated show, so that's always good for the in-game crowd. For Thunder, it was alright enough.

Monday Nitro

Commentary BS sessions are always a good way to start a show.

Jericho is even better though, and him pulling an A* match out of Prince is always good in my book.

Damn, a no contest? At least it should be a good feud to build based on matches. Just a note, was Benoit called "The Rabid Wolverine" yet? I can't remember if he had that before he got to the WWF or if they gave it to him and he was just "The Crippler" in WCW.

Something tells me that Raven's mystery man is either Stevie or Kanyon.

Bah Gawd the filler match! It accomplished what it was meant to: taking up space.

Good to see that Flair's complete disappearance from WCW television is not ignored, as he's returning in a few weeks rather than jumping right into the mix.

See, the hype for Neidhart/DBS vs Muta/Chono demonstrates the problem I had with the 98 scenario. It's almost TOO easy to get really good ratings, because really I don't think a video for that match would be rated that highly. But hey, when you're playing the game, that's good for a change of pace.

The Japanese Threat? Why not just go ahead and call their finisher Pearl Harbor? Guess it's realistic, because they probably would have gotten that name or something like it in due time, but it's still weird. But then again I usually always just went with "Muta and Chono" or "nWo Japan" when playing a game and pushing them. Good win, even if it's a win that was pretty much written in stone as soon as the opponents were mentioned.

And a happy little beatdown for Neidhart and Davey Boy. Good hype.

A nice match between Eddy and Norton for furthering the Chavo feud.

Steiner and Luger should be a good team. Both power wrestlers, both over, both crazy.

Here's to all hopes of the Steiner vs Steiner feud to not take until World War 3 to finish like real life gave us.

This has little to do with the show, but I want to point out how I always thought it was funny in around mid-April before the Wolfpac got their rap theme and were still using the original nWo song, it would play and the crowd would immediately boo until they saw who was coming to the ring.

Bret's explanation was pretty vague. So he's not a member of the Wolfpac? Can't say that I disagree with that, but unsure alleigances is what helped ruin Bret's WCW time. He's still stuck with that here, as he isn't pledging himself to any cause, WCW or nWo or even just Bret Hart. Also good to see that the Wolfpac will not be taking in Konnan just yet, though the "nWo Hollywood" name could have easily been replaced here. But on the other hand, it was also referred to quite often as the black and white, so it can still go either way. Just never really cared for it, is all.

Goldberg killing the Flock? Well, I guess it definately puts him over as someone who can run through a stable, making him perfect to go against the nWo in time. And Page making the save works out, since they were always against one another.

Good, Konnan is still not in the Wolfpac. I was almost expecting to see a swerve there and he'd join up. Really, there should only be about three or four people who should join the 'Pac, and Konnan is just not one of them.

More commentary BS. Cool.

Very basic WCW booking, which is nice to see. Savage vs Hart should be a good main event for Slamboree, possibly even a triple threat with Hogan involved.

Overall a good Nitro, it does exactly what it needs to do as Slamboree gets hyped, no major matches are really "given away" but enough is done that it makes it worthwhile to watch.

Glad to see this returning. My predictions were all right, which would mean something if anyone else had done so....but that's besides the point, of course.

Disco pulling a blade? And I thought Russo was gone!

Nash back in the hunt should be good, could even bring up some dissention among the ranks.

Still kinda sad to see Mark Madden on commentary. You do him too well, he's just as annoying here as he was in real life.

The only things really missing from the show from my standpoint were the two matches that aren't there; Steiner vs Goldberg and Skipper vs Loco.