WCW 1996

[Xero Gravity]

Dammit, I was doing well in the predictions, at least until the third match at least

I'm glad you went with Jericho as CW champion, like a mentioned in the predictions Dragon is better off chasing him. I don't see Jericho staying buddies with Lynn for too long, one of the two is going to stiff the other. Pillman as expected keeps his momentum going with a win over Malenko. But why didn't I see the Broyles turn coming? Should be a nice little credibility builder having him beat Malenko in their eventualy match. Now we come to where my predictions go to shit. I can't say I enjoyed seeing the Steiners win, they pretty much killed off the Blondes after two or three weeks of beating them cleanly. Now we get to see Steiners/Harlem Heat again...joy . Nice to see you found a way to give Eddy's partner more reason for teaming with him. Can't say I've ever been a fan of Bigelow, but at least he's a big bastard to counter Norton. I guess I was wrong about the result, but either way the feud continues so I'm happy. Ugh...Alex Wright, and you gave him mic time? Shame on you. At least the match was shorter than the average bowel movement, which is a plus. I still don't care about him though ^_^. The title switch I expected, shame that it was the Steiners picking up the win. With Harlem Heat on the road to splitting, they've only got the Road Warriors as competition that can be taken seriously. I want to die...actually, I want Savage to die. I can't see you doing much with Savage in the near future, so Shamock should have pinned Anderson. At least he'd gain something from beating him, especially with the TV title link between them. Right now I'd be pissed at Hogan winning, if not for the following reasons:

Kensuke Sasaki

Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Masahiro fuckin' Chono

Fuck Hogan, at least Muta is away from the Dungeon of Doom now...they really need some fresh men, or just disband. Finally we come to the title match. Giant remains champion, and I remain happy. But Sting...as a heel? Well it's been proven to fail miserably every time in real life, but hopefully you can make it work.

Over all, it was a very good show even if I didn't like a few things that went on...but that's life eh? Regardless of Alex Wright I still you.

[Liam]

Monday Nitro 19/02/96

Just coming off the back of a huge Superbrawl PPV, Monday Nitro is on the air and the pyros go off as a sold out crowd are packed into the building ready for some WCW action! With a great show ahead of them including a Harlem Heat vs Steiner Brothers rematch and a main event non-title match between The Giant and The Great Muta, the crowd is on fire for the live event. In the middle of the ring is a member of the WCW committee who has a microphone in his hand.

WCW CM: Welcome everybody to another edition of WCW Monday Nitro! Now, before we begin, I’ve been sent here with an announcement from the higher ups concerning the WCW Cruiserweight Title. Firstly, WCW as a whole would like to congratulate Chris Jericho for his triumph in the final against Ultimo Dragon, and we believe that he will be a good ambassador for a burgeoning title division.

In this vein, I am pleased to announce that starting from tonight, we shall see a two group Cruiserweight tournament, four wrestlers battling round-robin style until the winners of each group meet off in the final. This will give us the chance to further showcase the ability we have in the Cruiserweight division and hopefully give you some of the best action available on US soil today!

Now, we offered Chris Jericho the chance to further his profile by entering the tournament, but he believed in winning the title at Superbrawl, he negated any need to enter, which is fine as far as we are concerned. However, this leaves 8 of the best cruiserweights in the world today battling for the next few weeks to show who is the best, and with the WCW Cruiserweight Title officially declaring that person as the best, we feel it is only fair that the winner of the tournament shall go one on one against Jericho at Uncensored to fight for the title! With this on offer, expect anything and everything to be pulled out to get a shot at being number one.

The first four competitors to enter this tournament will meet tonight in singles action to get this started, Group A starting with Rey Mysterio Jr. versus the legend that is The Great Sasuke! And with Group B seeing the return to WCW of Jushin Thunder Liger going up against Juventud Guerrera, we expect this to kick off to the best start possible. The other four entrants are under wraps as of now, but you shall know of them sooner rather than later.

The crowd pop big for this announcement, especially when the names of the first four entrants are announced. As the committee member leaves the ring, the music of the first competitor hits the PA system.

Cruiserweight Number 1 Contender Tournament: Group A

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs The Great Sasuke

There is a small buzz around the crowd about seeing Sasuke in the flesh, but they are still fully behind Rey Mysterio, who is gaining fans week in and week out seemingly. They shake hands at the start of the match, before we see a long stretch of counters and reversals, everything from armdrags to hiptosses being traded until both men go for a dropkick and crash down to the mat, leaving the crowd time to give a round of applause to both men. As the match settles down, Sasuke begins to take control as he takes Mysterio down to the mat to work on his right leg with a couple of different leglock variations before grabbing a two count off of a snap brainbuster that has Mysterio reeling but just able to kick out! A kick to the stomach sent Mysterio to the outside and allowed the crowd a chance to see Sasuke in flight as he launched himself over the top rope with the Sasuke Special! Sasuke was up quickly and milking the applause of the crowd, but was only able to get a 2 count after rolling Mysterio back into the ring. With the crowd behind him, Mysterio began to slowly make his fight back, blocking a Thunder Fire Bomb attempt before nailing a wheelbarrow bulldog. Jumping off the second rope, Rey then landed a swinging headscissors on Sasuke for a two count, before an attempted huracanrana was blocked into a fierce powerbomb. Sasuke was seemingly in control, and went for a huracanrana of his own and went straight into a pin, only for Mysterio to roll through for the 1,2,3!

Winner: Rey Mysterio Jr

The fans are over the moon with Mysterio’s victory and you can see the importance of beating a legend like Sasuke on Mysterio’s face. Sasuke doesn’t seem able to comprehend how he let the match slip away but he gives Mysterio a congratulatory handshake before leaving the ring so that Rey can soak up the cheers of the fans.

Rating: 67%

The cheers continue up until the theme music of Jushin Liger hits, the fans happy to see him return to a WCW ring.

Cruiserweight Number 1 Contender Tournament: Group B

Jushin Thunder Liger vs Juventud Guerrera

Similarly to the Great Sasuke, the crowd are abuzz about the presence of Liger and the crowd are also fully behind him, with the odd Guerrera fan few and far between. These two also shake hands, but instead of trading moves off like the first two did, Guerrera jumps Liger quickly with blows and strikes, beating him down into the corner. Guerrera appears to believe his only chance is to rock Liger early, and after a DDT, Juvi drops Liger with the Juvi Driver, but Liger is able to kick out at 2, the move used just a bit too early. Juvi picks Liger up and looks to do it again but Liger rolls through the pick up attempt and in locking the waist, is able to drop Juvi on his head with tombstone piledriver! Juvi is all over the place and Liger looks to press home his advantage, nailing palm strikes which rock Guerrera back towards the corner before the inevitable Koppou kick sandwiches him into the turnbuckle, but only a two count is forthcoming. A fishermans buster gives Liger another two count but Juvi blocks a Liger Bomb attempt with a backdrop before mounting a small comeback with a dropkick, a fishermans buster of his own and a brainbuster in a set-up for the 450. But Juvi takes too long heading to the top and Liger is up, crotching Guerrera on the turnbuckle before joining him up on the top. Liger hooks Juvi and plants him hard with a top rope brainbuster! When Liger drapes his arm over the fallen Guerrera the result is inevitable as the refs arm hits the mat three times and gives Liger the victory.

Winner: Jushin Thunder Liger

Rating: 74%

As Liger gets up, he is quick to check on the downed Guerrera who hasn’t moved much since the pinfall. Thankfully, Guerrera starts to sit up and make his way to his feet much to the pleasure of the fans, and like Mysterio and Sasuke did, the two shake hands and embrace before leaving the ring.

Backstage, an annoyed looking Eddie Guerrero is standing next to Mean Gene Okerlund for an interview.

Mean Gene: Eddie Guerrero, first off congratulations for the victory at Superbrawl with your partner Bam Bam Bigelow…

Guerrero: (cuts in) Gene, Gene, don’t get me wrong, I am happy that me and Bam Bam picked up the win at Superbrawl but I didn’t get what I wanted at all, and that was for me to see that piece of crap Diamond Dallas Page bloody and battered by my hand!

MG: He has been pretty evasive of you ever since this….disagreement….between the two of you began.

Guerrero: Well, Gene…I guess he just realises what is good for him, and that is to not let me get my hands on him as I truly don’t know what I might do when it happens…when, not if. Between the cheap shots at me and him getting Norton to injure little Chavito, he’ll get what is coming to him, I’ll make sure of that!

MG: You talk about the injury to Chavo, I believe he is alright now though, isn’t he?

Guerrero: Chavo has been cleared to wrestle and I’m sure he is going to be looking for vengeance himself, but you definitely don’t mess with the Guerrero family and expect to get away with it. DDP, you may have managed to avoid me so far, but be a man and step up and look me in the eye, one on one, man against man and lets put this to rest once and for all.

MG: A challenge issued by Eddie Guerrero to Diamond Dallas Page, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what Page has to say about this in the near future.

Rating: 88%

Returning back to the ring, Scott Norton is pacing around, waiting to collide with one of his opponents from the PPV, Bam Bam Bigelow.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Scott Norton

With these two big men colliding on opposite teams at the Superbrawl PPV, it seemed only right that they collide one on one on Nitro, the crowd fully behind Bigelow but just waiting in awe to see these juggernaughts collide. We see the obligatory tests of strength, as Norton and Bigelow lock up for one of them to push the other back into the corner, Norton first and Bigelow next. Norton hits the ropes and shoulder blocks Bigelow, who doesn’t move either this attempt or the second attempt from Norton, before Bigelow meets the third attempt with a lariat of his own, rocking Norton back before a follow-up knocks Norton outside the ring! Bigelow takes the fight to Norton at ringside, battering him with strikes, but an attempted irish whip into the guardrails is reversed, sending Bigelow crashing back first and this situation is compounded by Norton following in with a shoulderblock. Norton is able to get a two count as the action heads back to the ring and he continues his work on the back of Bigelow, including the amazing feat of picking Bigelow up in a Canadian backbreaker as the crowd “oooo”’d their approval. However, as Norton looked to press home his advantage, Bigelow avoided a charge into the corner and started to fightback, rocking Norton with punches and kicks before dropping him to the mat with a big headbutt to the forehead! This was followed up by a falling headbutt leaving Norton struggling and Bigelow feeding off the pops from the crowd. Just as it seemed Bigelow had the match under control though, Norton used his positioning to hit a low blow out of the referee’s view, before taking Bigelow’s head off with a lariat. Norton appeared ready to go for the kill but as he stalked Bigelow, who was slowly getting to his feet, Chavo Guerrero Jr. grabbed his leg at ringside, having come through the crowd! Norton is distracted and takes a swing at Chavo before turning around straight into a kick from Bigelow, who then drops Norton with the Greetings From Asbury Park for the win!

Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow

Bam Bam Bigelow is up and celebrating a hard fought victory as Chavo slides into the ring. He walks over towards a downed Norton and gets to his knees, berating him assumingly for the attack that left Chavo on the shelf a few weeks ago. Guerrero appears to finish what he is saying but doesn’t leave without hitting Norton with a hard slap across the face.

Rating: 71%

The camera fades away from the action in the ring to show a pre-taped segment. The room is dark with a red hue illuminating the sole figure standing with his back to the camera.

???: Just when one problem seemingly ends, another hits you from behind and you can’t even see it coming.

The man turns around and it is Paul Ellering.

Ellering: The man you see before you is one of the best minds in the wrestling business today and recently this mind has been working overtime. I’ve led people to gold all over the globe, and finally I’ve come back to roost in WCW. Ladies and Gentlemen, you’ll see what I have in store for WCW and in particular for a certain special someone…..

As he says this, three big wrestlers appear from the back of the room, though it is still too dark to really see who they are.

….the first rule of management is to know inside and out what you plan to do….the second is to always back a winner!

Ellering laughs and turns to the three men as the camera slowly fades to black.

Rating: 65%

With the crowd getting ready to see Harlem Heat use their re-match clause against The Steiner Brothers for the WCW World Tag Team Titles, it is a surprise as the music of the Nature Boy hits the PA system and the reaction from the crowd is almost split 50/50, some pleased to see Flair back, some not. He struts his way down to the ring before asking for a microphone from the ring announcer.

Flair: WHOOOOO! Is it good to be back stylin’ and profilin’ just like the Nature Boy knows how, baby! You can love me, hate me or loathe me, but I am one of the best walking these ropes today, so you gotta’ respect me! But, recently, I’ve let myself, my friends and my family down….even though I stand for the Horseman whenever I enter this ring, you could argue that I even let WCW down when I lost my grasp on the WCW World Heavyweight title, losing it to that seven foot tall Giant. I’d love to say that I didn’t give it my all, that I had an off day, that I just didn’t have my head in the game…but that’d be a lie, as you all know that Ric Flair is 110% committed every single second he stands in this ring! I was just beaten on the day by the better man and decided that it was the best time I could find to take a step back, clear my head and come back when I thought the time was right.

I’ve sat back and watch Arn battling Savage, Benoit going for the TV Title and Pillman’s interesting little situation with Jason Broyles, which I’m neither for nor against, but that’s a point for another time…put simply, the Horseman were doing fine without me, as I know they can do. Yet…yet the Horseman ride together through everything, and the DIRTIEST PLAYER IN THE GAME TODAY is ready to prove once again why I am a 12 time champion, cos nobody knows how to bounce back like the Nature Boy does, WHOOO! So Giant, enjoy that belt around your waist cos you are a marked man, a marked man that….

Flair is cut off midstream by the music of Alex Wright of all people hitting the PA system, much to the confusion of the fans. Wright has a microphone already in his hand and stays at the top of the rampway as he addresses Flair.

Wright: Firstly, thank you to all my fans for the rapturous reception you just gave me (the crowd begin to boo) and for all the well wishes and congratulations offered to me for my title defence at Superbrawl…..it really makes it all worth it, to know that I mean so much to so many people and I will continue to fight as the people’s champion for as long as you all want me to do (the booing gets louder)!.

But enough of this, as I came out here to address you, old man! You think that just because The Giant steamrollered his way through you, you deserve a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Title on name value alone? Look at what I have in my hand (holds up the WCW US Title)…this shows that I am the second best wrestler lacing up my boots in a WCW locker room and hell, if I wasn’t busy getting this, I probably coulda got to you before The Giant and been standing here as the best….but there is time on my hands, and I’m happy with my lot at the moment.

Not too long ago, Randy Savage was told he had to climb the ladder to regain what he had lost, and I’d say the same to you….however, if you think that you still have what it takes, I’d be happy to offer you a chance to fight me for my belt anytime you see fit. The way I see it is that you can hide behind the success of the Horseman all you want, but you are on your way down and I’ll be there to step on your fingers as you cling to the last shred of credibility you feign belief in!

Wright drops the microphone on the rampway and heads backstage, before Flair is able to offer a rebuttal. Flair seems more than a little pissed off by Wright’s interruption and it seems as if his promo is over, Flair handing the microphone back and heading up the rampway, the same mixed reaction he got on his way out returning.

Rating: 80%

With Flair leaving the ring, the next match is announced as the re-match for the WCW World Tag Team Titles.

WCW World Tag Title Match

The Steiner Brothers © vs Harlem Heat

The tension between the challengers is palpable and is even evident in a small argument breaking out as to who should start the match, Stevie Ray eventually winning out to go up against Scott Steiner. Aside from their problems, the Heat are on their game individually, as first Ray takes it to Scott and then a few quick tags allow Scott to be isolated early on from Rick. Booker T takes over in the ring and gets two nearfalls off of a jumping side kick and an arm wringer into a sidekick, the latter pinfall broken up by Rick before the three count. A small Steiner fightback is cut short quickly by Stevie Ray aiming a kick to Scott’s back as he hit the rope, but as Booker T looks ready to pounce on the fallen Scott, Ray tags himself in much to the surprise of T, who begrudgingly heads to the apron. This waste of time allows Scott to get to his feet, and he meets Ray with some blows to the stomach before launching him with a beautiful belly to belly suplex, giving Scott his first chance to make a tag to Rick. Scott makes the tag, but Ray has seemingly had enough already, scrambling to Booker and making the tag, Booker not overly enthralled with meeting a rabid Rick in the ring. They collide, and Rick gets the better with some punches before dropping Booker with a big Steinerline and then a powerslam for a two count. As Rick ducks his head for a backbody drop, Booker T drops him with the axe kick out of nowhere, but is too tired to make the cover. He crawls to his corner to make the tag…..but Stevie Ray steps away from the corner and down the stairs! Booker slowly gets to his feet, looking perplexed by what just happened before turning into a shoulder charge from Rick, sandwiching him in the corner. With Stevie Ray slowly making his way back up the ramp, Booker is fair prey to the Steiners, a northern lights suplex from Scott and a bulldog from Rick meaning that the Steiner’s first defense of the titles is a success, Rick pinning Booker as Ray watches on from the top of the ramp!

Winner: The Steiners, still WCW World Tag Team Champions

As The Steiners leave the ring with Booker T out on the mat, Ray makes his way back down to the ring, slowly, menacingly. Grabbing a chair from ringside, he slides back into the ring and waits for T to get back to his feet. As Booker turns around, he walks straight into a chairshot to the forehead, dropping him back down to the mat hard! Ray walks over to stand just above his fallen ex-team mate, before throwing the chair down and walking away.

Rating: 75%

With the Main Event just moments away as The Giant meets The Great Muta in a non-title match, we go backstage to Mean Gene who is standing next to Sting, the man who turned on Lex Luger at Superbrawl, but lost to The Giant in his World Title shot.

MG: Sting…..I never thought I would see the day that you would turn you back on the fans and your friend Lex Luger, but just last night we saw what I can only believe was an act of pure greed!

Sting: Gene, don’t you dare try and judge me on what happened last night, as if you are so high and mighty! If it wasn’t Lex, it would have been whoever was in the ring with me and The Giant last night. You know how long it has been since I was the World Champion in WCW, Gene?

MG: No, but I don’t see…

Sting (cutting in): Over three years, three stinking years I’ve stood to the side whilst the belt has been traded back and forth, but never once coming my way. You know why that is? Because I have a pretty good idea myself that I’ve spent way too much time caring about the fans and what they think of me! For once, I need to go out there and look after number one, and that is me! I’m not going to get back to number one if I don’t keep my focus on the biggest prize in the game, and the fans and people like Lex just get in my way.

MG: But you and Lex are friends, tag partners….why, Sting, really?

Sting: As I said, it could have been anyone. You wanna try and tell me that Lex wouldn’t have stuck the knife in my back the second it looked like I might go and win the title that he craves? You’d be one deluded man if you could tell me it with a straight face, and a liar at that! Luger can cry, bitch and moan about it all he wants but I couldn’t give a crap, at the end of the day it is just business.

MG: So what….

Sting (cuts in again): This interview is over, Gene, I don’t wanna waste anymore of my valuable time on you.

Sting walks off as Gene looks miffed by what just happened.

Rating: 85%

The Main Event is next, and the crowd are split on how to react to The Great Muta as his music hits the PA system, especially since his turn on The Dungeon of Doom at Superbrawl. Masahiro Chono enters with Muta as his cornerman for the match and he seems to be offering words of wisdom to Muta as he stands in the corner waiting for The Giant to make his entrance. The Giant’s music hits the PA system and the crowd await to see their seven foot WCW World Heavyweight champion in a mixture of awe and distaste but as the music continues, there appears to be no sign of him. The ring announcer seems unsure what to do, and re-announces The Giant when the music finishes, it starting up from the beginning once again.

As it runs through it’s second time with no sign of the champion, the camera cuts to one backstage, showing the scene in the corridor of what appears to be the way to the ring. Kevin Sullivan is seen looking worried and angered and as the camera pans around, you can see why….The Giant is down, face first in the corridor with a chair wrapped liberally around his head, a puddle of blood oozing out from a cut on his forehead. Sullivan moves along the corridor to allow EMT’s to make their way to see what has happened to the big guy as the ring announcer is left with no choice but to announce The Great Muta’s victory by default.

The Great Muta vs The Giant

Winner: The Great Muta by default

As the cameras fade out from the show, the fans are shocked by the vicious attack on the Giant as The Great Muta and Chono look more than pleased with their victory, no matter how it was achieved.

Rating: 58% (ouch…>_>)

Card Rating: 72%

TV Rating: 6.09

[Liam]

WCW Saturday Night 24/02/96

The pyro goes off as we welcome you to another edition of WCW Saturday Night.

Cruiserweight Number 1 Contender Tournament: Group B

Jerry Lynn vs Blitzkrieg

A mix of styles in this second match of Group B in the Cruiserweight Tournament, as we get the high flying skills of Blitzkrieg going again the more mat-based offence of Lynn. The fans are behind Blitzkrieg who has made a good impression since his debut and it seems as though he feeds on this to start with, as he reverses a couple of Lynn’s attacks before dropping him twice with a dropkick and taking him over the top rope with a clothesline. As Lynn looks to re-group, he seems to forget about Blitzkrieg’s flying ability and he gets taken out with a beautiful plancha which gets the crowd up on their feet in admiration. However, as ‘Krieg attempts to get back in the ring, Lynn pulls his leg, dropping him face first on the apron, compounded further by Lynn than ramming him face first into the guardrail. With the action back in the ring, Lynn began to press home his advantage, mainly going for the leg of ‘Krieg to keep him grounded and slow him down. A nice Indian deathlock almost has Blitzkrieg in real trouble, but with the crowd behind him he manages to shuffle his way to the bottom rope. The damage seems to have been done though, as ‘Krieg is limping pretty heavily and although he tries to make a comeback, blocking an attempted tornado DDT and wailing away on Lynn with strikes, all it takes is for Lynn to aim a basement dropkick to the knee, and ‘Krieg is back down to the mat in pain. Lynn sees this as an opportunity and hooks a figure four leglock in the middle of the ring. Blitkrieg tries to fight the pain, but it is just too much and he is forced to tap out, giving Lynn the victory.

Winner: Jerry Lynn

The crowd aren’t too happy with Lynn’s win and he jaws with a couple of fans on his way back up the rampway. Some officials come down to help Blitzkrieg back to his feet, but he manages to get up on his own accord, which gets him a generous round of applause from the fans.

Rating: 74%

Cruiserweight Number 1 Contender Tournament: Group A

La Parka vs Ultimo Dragon

The crowd is pretty much split down the middle between these two, with maybe a few more in the camp of Dragon, although Parka gets a huge cheer for his usual dancing japes. Unlike the first match of the night, this is pretty much purely technical, both men feeling each other out the whole way and trying to one-up the other. Dragon takes the early advantage and focuses his assault on the back and neck of Parka, seemingly softening him up for the Dragon Sleeper later on but Parka manages to fight back early on, blocking an attempted kick combination from Ultimo and spiking him with a big clothesline. With the size advantage, Parka tries to use it to his advantage, throwing him with a hard powerslam and following it up with a nasty enziguiri to the side of the head that almost gets him the three, but not quite. Dragon manages to avoid a charge into the corner, rolling over the incoming Parka and hooking him in a pin, but only manages to get a 2 count, followed by standing up right into a superkick from Parka. A DDT has Dragon down and out and La Parka heads to the top rope for the Skytwister Press. As he heads to the top, Dragon is able to get up and crotches La Parka, before nailing him with a stunning top rope frankensteiner! La Parka struggles to his feet and is back down to the mat pretty quickly as Dragon blasts him with four or five kicks rapidly, the last one almost taking Parka’s head off. Dragon is quick to lock in the Dragon Sleeper and with nowhere to go, La Parka taps out.

Winner: Ultimo Dragon

Ultimo Dragon soaks up the crowd admiration as La Parka slowly gets to his feet holding his neck. They walk towards each other and embrace, La Parka moving away to hold up Dragon’s hand as victor.

Rating: 71%

With the first round of matches over, the graphics for the tournament are shown.

Cruiserweight Number 1 Contender Tournament: Group A

1 = Ultimo Dragon

1= Rey Mysterio Jr.

3= The Great Sasuke

3= La Parka

Cruiserweight Number 1 Contender Tournament: Group B

1= Jerry Lynn

1= Jushin Thunder Liger

3= Juventud Guerrera

3= Blitzkrieg

With the camera back on the ring, Lord Steven Regal is in the ring with a microphone in his hand. He belittles the crowd in attendance much to their chargrin, before informing them that Squire David Taylor has had to go back to the UK to deal with some “urgent business”. In his absence, Regal had decided to bring over a replacement for him, announcing the Belfast Brawler as his new partner! The Brawler heads down to the ring, looking menacing and snarling at a few of the kids in the front row before getting into the ring. Regal welcomes him, and promises the fans that in just a minute they will get to see what the Brawler is all about, but he wanted to talk about his match later tonight (versus Chris Benoit for Number One Contendership to Ken Shamrock’s WCW TV Title belt). Regal states that the gold is very important to him, and it has been way too long since it has been around his waist. He promises Benoit to “knock the rest of your teeth out, you peon” before allowing the ring announcer to introduce the Brawler’s opponent.

Rating: 70%

Belfast Brawler vs Scotty Riggs

This is all Brawler, as he jumps Riggs on his way down to the ring, using the guard-rail, ringpost and steps to put a beating on Riggs before they are even in the ring. In the ring, it doesn’t get much better for Riggs, as the Brawler just lights him up with uppercuts, punches and kicks, just pounding him into the mat. Riggs tries to fight back valiantly, throwing a few shots of his own, but he almost has his teeth knocked down his throat with a European Uppercut from the Brawler, which leaves Riggs down and out in the corner. Picking him up, the Brawler nails a rolling fireman’s carry before picking up the semi-concious Riggs and planting him with a tombstone for the inevitable three count.

Winner: The Belfast Brawler

Regal is back in the ring now, and the two of them put the boots to Riggs before the ref manages to get them away from him. Regal grabs the Brawler by the hand and raises it, as the crowd shower them with boos.

Rating: 63%

With a match to come, The Suicide Blondes are backstage with Mean Gene Okerlund. Gene asks them how they felt considering they came so close to getting a shot at the WCW World Tag Team Titles, only to lose out to The Steiners. Copeland takes over most of the talking, saying that although they weren’t the better men on the day, they wanted a shot at the titles as soon as The Steiners would grant them the opportunity. They both believed that they would be holding the belts if the Steiners hadn’t come back to WCW and let their “name value” take over. Cage is particularly indignant, as he lists the teams that the Blondes had beaten on the way to the loss against The Steiners. Finishing off, Copeland looks into the camera and directly challenges the Steiners, stating that if anything, they should “do it out of respect for what we have achieved so far”. With the interview over, the Blondes head to the ring for their match.

Rating: 66%

Psychosis and Konnan vs The Suicide Blondes

Psychosis and Konnan are already in the ring waiting for the Blondes, and the crowd again is a little split, although the Blondes probably have a little more fan support. The basis of the match is the experience of the Blondes working together, as Konnan and Psychosis aren’t always on the same page, which allows the Blondes to take control early on. Copeland is first in the ring with Psychosis, and uses his power to put a beating on Psychosis, drilling him with a reverse DDT for a 2 count and following it up with a neckbreaker for another 2. The speed of Psychosis is never to be under-estimated, and he manages to leap over an on-rushing Copeland in the corner and drill him with a superkick, before tagging out to Konnan. The bigger man of the two, Konnan is able to match power with Copeland, dropping him with a big backbreaker before hooking in a boston crab that Cage has to break up. A thumb to the eye, which gets a few boos, from Copeland allows him to make the tag to Cage, who makes his impact felt straight away with a lifted DDT dropping Konnan for a nearfall. The Blondes use Psychosis’ insistence to get into the ring, thus distracting the referee to their advantage, taking Konnan down with stereo dropkicks, landing a double suplex and a middle rope kneedrop/backbreaker combo, putting Konnan in real trouble. However, as Copeland looks to press the advantage, Konnan nails a rolling lariat out of nowhere, leaving both men down. Copeland makes the tag to Cage, only to rush into a springboard dropkick from Psychosis, who Konnan manages to tag to! All four men are now in the ring with Psychosis and Konnan in control, but a wily move from Copeland, grabbing Konnan’s trunks and leveraging him through the middle rope leaves Psychosis on his own, who turns around to be met by a spear from Copeland. Cage picks him up, drops him with a tiger driver and hooks the leg for the three count.

Winner: The Suicide Blondes

The Blondes are happy with their victory, and head down to the ringside to celebrate with the fans. Psychosis and Konnan look a little despondent with the result, but the crowd give them applause for the effort.

Rating: 74%

With the Number One Contenders Match for the TV Title next, Ken Shamrock makes his entrance to a pretty big pop from the crowd as he joins the commentary team at ringside for the duration of the match.

Rating: 65%

Number One Contender Match: WCW TV Title

Lord Steven Regal vs Chris Benoit

Regal is without the Brawler, and the crowd aren’t too sure who to get behind in the early going, as both men start the feeling out process. They move through a variety of hammerlocks, wristlocks, armbars and the like, until Benoit seemingly gets tired of it and headbutts Regal square in the face! Shaken, he is then dumped hard with a vicious snap suplex which almost gets Benoit a three count in the early going. Benoit is vicious, really looking to get that title shot, and he rakes away at Regal’s face with his forearms, mashing Regal’s face into the mat. A clothesline and a german suplex get Benoit another two count, but as he tries to press home his advantage, Regal catches him off guard with a vicious European uppercut, before planting Benoit with a headbutt of his own! Benoit is dazed and back in a corner, as Regal unloads with punches and uppercuts, before snapmaring him out of the corner and kicking him hard in the back, getting a quick two count with his forearm square across Benoit’s jaw. Now in control, Regal continues to work on the back and torso, when not aiming at it with strikes, hooking Benoit into a nasty looking abdominal stretch, one assisted with the ropes when the ref isn’t looking. Finally, the ref catches him doing it, and forces Regal to break the hold, which is helped along by Benoit manoeuvring himself into a position to hiptoss Regal. Another vicious lariat drops Regal to the floor, before Benoit hooks him and delivers two german suplexes, one after the other. Heading to the top rope, Benoit looks for the diving headbutt, but Regal is quick to move out of the way. With Benoit down, Regal attempts to lock in the Regal Stretch, but receives a couple of elbows in the face as Benoit fits against it. Regal gives up on his attempt and instead grabs Benoit for a tiger bomb, only to have it reversed into a backbody drop. Regal is back to his feet quickly and visibly annoyed, but as he goes to nail Benoit with a clothesline of his own, Benoit grabs the arm and drops him to the mat, locking in the Crippler Crossface! Regal struggles for what seems like an age, but has to submit! Chris Benoit is the new Number One Contender to Ken Shamrock’s WCW TV Title.

Winner: Chris Benoit

With Benoit victorious in the ring, he walks towards the ropes, leans over them and begins to trade words with Shamrock, who has by now stood up out of his chair. They throw some insults back and forth, before engaging in a staredown as the cameras fade to black.

Rating 69%

Card Rating: 69%

TV Rating: 2.59

[9 to 5]

Once again, Liam brings the awesomexcoreness. >_>

Now, let me go into it a little further.

The Crusierweight tourney is a great way to get over the young flyers. Can't say I am a massive fan of that style but since you are introducing it to a new audience it is the best way for the fans to pick and choose who they love and hate.

Great way to bring in Fin..Brawler. Just to go out there and fuck someone up as stiffy like that is the only way to bring in a man like him.

Can't say I am in love in bringing in Edge and Christian in 1996 like this, smells a bit like playing for stats. However, as long as they aren't pushed to fuck to the titles and spend a bit of time 'paying dues' then I can live with them being in WCW.

I really liked the Benoit - Regal match. A bit short for my tastes between these two but realistic enough. Glad Benoit got the win as Regal and the Belfast Brawler could be better suited as a semi-regular tag team for the time being. Again, not too sure about Shamrock being around in WCW at the time but I can live with that far better than the above example.

All in all a good show with some development. And to save PM's, I will reply more.

[JStarr]

Closed and moved to the deep Web.