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[Apologies for the length, but a lot happened in May. All events are true from TEW.]

May 1996 – The Final Month of a Wrestling Booker

There was no worse ending to a month for Greg Gagne than May, because it ended in his abrupt termination. Abrupt, because he arrived at the office Monday morning after a long plane trip from Washington D.C, and was shocked in seeing Eric Bischoff sitting in his office, comfortably sipping a cup of coffee and having a danish. Turning to Gagne, Bischoff furrowed his brow in confusion and then apologized, he was supposed to send a memo explaining certain changes. Bischoff explained that these changes made it clear that Greg Gagne was out and Eric Bischoff was in, once again as operating president of WCW.

Before Greg Gagne would reach the end of his job, a lot happened to him and WCW in May. First, wrestling itself changed somewhat. Vince McMahon had not seen the payoff that he expected at Wrestlemania the previous month, however that did not deter him. It was actually The Ultimate Warrior versus Lex Luger match that may have frustrated a normal man, but not Vince McMahon. The Warrior even arrived late at the site of Wrestlemania, in Boston at the Fleet Center. He did not seem very worried about it though, preparing himself to wrestle in the most superficial manner possible. The Warrior defended his title, although it was a sloppy match.

This prompted McMahon to think about the progress of his company. Usually, he would turn to dependable people to carry his shows, such as Bret Hart. But Hart was now with WCW and the dependable guy became Shawn Michaels, almost by default. Since joining forces with the Smoking Gunns, Michaels was more popular than ever. Vince McMahon cut a promo on WWF Wrestling Challenge stating that the WWF wasn’t going to insult fans anymore with silly gimmicks that were aimed at kids. The new WWF attitude was going to be adult, where sports entertainment was the norm. To prove this, Shawn Michaels turned face, beat The Ultimate Warrior for the World Title and started a feud with the boss himself. This was the WWF in May.

Elsewhere, people took notice of the announcement. The WWF had done edgy angles for a few years, but now were promising an edgy program with those angles as the centerpiece. Paul Heyman and ECW did not react much to this announcement, as they already had edgy angles dominating their program. Perhaps Heyman did agree with the announcement's premise, as he jobbed out most of his gimmick wrestlers. This was true of The Superdestroyer John Nord, who played The Berzerker in the WWF. A young man named Rocky Maivia defeated The Superdestroyer, but a real grudge match came when Balls Mahoney took on the champion, Taz. Balls actually defeated Taz, much to the dismay of the Philadelphia fans.

WCW also had very little reaction to the WWF’s announcement, which was unusual because it seemed WCW would always react to everything their rivals did. For example, they created Nitro and put it up against RAW with malicious intentions, which ended in RAW’s cancellation. However, it seemed they proceeded on as normal and continued doing the same things. Dusty Rhodes even created a few more gimmicks for Nitro, as Greg Gagne organized the roster.

Since Paul Roma had rejoined Paul Orndorff as Pretty Wonderful, Jim Powers was left without much of a role. Powers was eventually terminated as the first casualty of Gagne’s organization. The next casualties were the Rock n’ Roll Express, who had become a victim of the changing time. So, there were a few spots now open, which wrestlers from Georgia Wrestling took upon arriving in WCW.

The first call-up was a man named David Heath, who was playing a supernatural vampire character called The Vampire Warrior in Georgia Wrestling. He was managed by Luna Vachon, a muscled, strong woman who tried to look at everybody in a mean way. Both were called up to continue doing essentially some of the same things they had been doing down south. However, Dusty changed Heath’s character name to The Headhunter, but kept his gross use of blood and props. Dusty also changed Fit Finley’s name to The Irish Pitbull, which was a vague concept about him being a tough-guy. Finley had been doing dark matches, but moved up to the rare Nitro match in May.

The last call-up Dusty gave direction to was a man named Pat Tanaka. Tanaka was not the former WWF star who had the red mohawk, but another man who formed a team called The Orient Express. Upon Mister Fuji’s recommendation, Gagne gave the man a chance and his fundamentals enabled him to get an opening spot, as Fit Finley had done the previous month. These new wrestlers, Fit Finley, Pat Tanaka and The Headhunter got very little reaction. But that may have been because the attention was squarely on The Public Menace.

After defeating Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan wore the World Title like a trophy. Roddy Piper’s interview segment called "In The Pit," became a Public Menace segment. Anyone who joined Piper that was not of the group was beaten up and tossed out of the ring most times. However, this policy was challenged when Michael Wallstreet joined Piper for a Pit interview. While not imposing, he challenged the Public Menace with a decisive promise. He could buy anybody’s loyalty for the Public Menace and even deliver them somebody monumental. Big Van Vader then walked out and Michael Wallstreet handed him a wad of money with a vicious smile. Of course, The Public Menace welcomed them both with open arms.

Barry Windham and his new pals, The Road Warriors also joined the Public Menace. Finally, Diamond Dallas Page joined the Public Menace, which was perhaps an excuse to get Kimberly more airtime. Either way, DDP was back to being a cocky egotist, as he had been in 1993, and WCW dismissed most of the development they had made on the character. As a result, WCW now needed a few more faces or at least storylines with faces.

The first face that they began focusing on was Shogun, the Japanese Warrior. He had gotten over thanks to two things, his strong fundamentals and Mister Fuji. If turning face, they certainly couldn’t have the evil Fuji around, so they instead switched him to Pat Tanaka. Shogun began acting with more respect as his anticipated face turn drew closer, but it didn’t happen until the final Nitro in May.

During this Nitro, DDP was taunting Shogun. DDP had been taunting Shogun for most of the month and a confrontation had been anticipated. It was one of the things that helped DDP get over as a new heel in May, as somewhat questionable Shogun even looked respectable against this guy. DDP would laugh and point out little things he hated about Shogun, but during one interview, Shogun decided to interrupt. He took to the ring and slid in, standing up to the cocky, laughing DDP. He stood there staring at him while DDP smirked and made a few more jokes.

Shogun kept standing there and kept staring at him, as if to merely stand up for his pride. DDP took a swipe at him, but Shogun ducked and returned his blows, then tossed him from the ring like a ragdoll. The TV Champion then turned his cold stare on Kimberly, but like a classic face, let her scurry from the ring unharmed. A match was made at Slamboree, but Mister Fuji did not seem to agree with Shogun’s new attitude, trying to interfere and causing a disqualification. Shogun would now have to do things on his own.

Lord Steven Regal defeated Ron Simmons for the US Title during Nitro, with a little help from his sidekick, Squire Chris Adams. Simmons was a bit frustrated by this loss, as his title reign came to an abrupt end. He began to look at Mean Mark, perhaps wondering why his friend did not help him out. During a backstage vinette, Mean Mark was actually the one calming down Ron Simmons and promised they’d get even. They’d do this by trying to beat up Regal and Adams backstage, a tactic not quite face, but perhaps more anti-hero. All the men were separated by security.

To reward him for his generosity, Hogan petitioned to get a match for Michael Wallstreet. Unfortunately, WCW had to change the storyline a little bit. Harley Race was still recovering from his exhaustion the previous month, so Hogan had to ask the temporary commissioner, Ric Flair! Yes, that’s right, The Four Horsemen couldn’t compete with The Public Menace in numbers so they needed a little something extra and Harley Race just happened to be Ric Flair’s old-school pal. Flair was happy to tell all this to Hogan, making for a few good vinettes. So with that little favor, Flair inserted himself back into a storyline conflicting with Hogan. Naturally, Flair would book himself against Hogan himself for the title at Slamboree.

The Public Menace did not respond nicely. A few weeks into May, they were booked solidly, taking out the Four Horsemen, beating up both Arn and Ole Anderson backstage. They even took a baseball bat to Dean Malenko and Dean Malenko’s car, in one of the first parking lot segments of the stable’s storyline. In response, Flair suspended the cackling duo of Sean Waltman and Mark Bagwell, but he had something special planned for the rest.

He booked Chris Benoit against Michael Wallstreet for Slamboree, then booked The Stunning Steve Austin against Brian Pillman. The two former tag-team partners had never met in singles competition until this match, which Pillman had a conniption fit about. He used Roddy Piper’s interview segment to threaten Ric Flair for this. Flair later reminded Pillman that Harley Race would be back next month, so he need only get his ass kicked for one match. The implication being, that Harley Race was giving the Public Menace soft matches.

Whether or not this was true was not addressed by Steve Austin. Austin declined to be interviewed about Brian Pillman, because Austin said that a piece of crap doesn’t deserve attention, he deserves an ass-whooping. Austin seemed to make the word ass-whooping his own, as he would drawl it out and even make it sound threatening, in that Steve Austin apathetic manner. Like Austin was going to kick ass, then drink a beer. And he did on one occasion, again saying that asking for comments about Brian Pillman was interfering with his beer drinking time. Although, he did put the beer down after some insistence from Ric Flair and addressed the subject in a more serious manner.

Barry Windham and the Road Warriors also became enforcers, as Windham would staredown his opponents and if he saw something he didn’t like, would call in the Warriors. Windham began wearing a Public Menace T-Shirt, which Sting ripped on one occasion. That seemed to deserve a beatdown in Windham’s opinion and The Warriors attacked Sting. Sting was able to fight them off however, until Michael Wallstreet and his pal Vader came down to add to the assault. Vader bloodied Sting, tossing him to the outside. Putting him on a table, Vader splashed onto it and collapsed onto Sting.

After missing one Nitro following this attack, announcers of WCW WorldWide spent a few shows speculating on the condition of Sting. WCW WorldWide perpetually ran a "Where's Sting?" segment for the injured worker. They then announced a Sting versus Vader match for Slamboree and even wondered if he would be ready for that. Sting said he would be ready, but wouldn’t appear until Slamboree, where he hobbled down to the ring on crutches. He carefully got into the ring to address fans and began to explain to them that he was too injured to wrestle. Vader and Michael Wallstreet interrupted to gloat and then trotted down to the ring to nudge and push the injured Sting. Wallstreet snatched the microphone and gloated to the fans some more.

Sting however, wasn’t laughing. When Wallstreet turned to smile at fans, Sting took one of the crutches and broke it over Wallstreet's head. Vader was shocked and immediately attacked Sting. Another crutch was broken over Vader. Wallstreet crumpled on the outside as Sting tossed out Vader. Sting had faked the injury and now wanted Vader. A referee then ran down the ring and joined Sting as he ordered for the beginning of the match. Apparently, this was Sting’s plan all along. With Wallstreet unable to help his larger buddy, Sting did away with Vader. This was one of the few bright spots for faces on Slamboree. There were no others.

WCW Slamboree

Dark Match: The Headhunter w/ Bull Nakano defeated Saturn

Shogun defeated Diamond Dallas Page via DQ to retain the TV Title

Lord Steven Regal & Squire Chris Adams defeated Mean Mark and Ron Simmons

The Allied Powers defeated Owen Hart + Chris Candido to retain the tag-titles

Michael Wallstreet defeated Chris Benoit by count out

Brian Pillman versus Steve Austin went to a no contest

Bret Hart defeated Kevin Nash by DQ

Sting defeated Vader

Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair

The final feud of May featured a returning Bret Hart and Kevin Nash. Hart was returning to competition, but while he wanted to wrestle, Kevin Nash wanted to play mind games. He would go to the outside and sit for a few moments, to take a drink of water as he overacted and tried to look tried. With a smile and a wink, Kevin Nash did not amuse Bret Hart. After trying to cheat and getting disqualified, Nash did not expect to see Hart again. He certainly did not expect to meet Bret Hart at Slamboree.

Nash thought he had a match against The Giant, but prior to Slamboree, WCW showed The Giant and Bret Hart talking about the match. Apparently, The Giant allowed to Hart to sub in for him and even tried to save Bret Hart when The Public Menace turned the match into a mosh. This was similar to the ending of the prior match, the Austin showdown with Brian Pillman.

Critics believed that by giving the two matches similar endings the company was gauging who to push against the Public Menace as the central figure. Austin had the confidence of Greg Gagne and had given consistently good work, in interviews and matches both. Bret Hart had also put in good work, especially in matches, which were clean and evenly paced. Whether or not WCW was trying to evaluate both wrestlers, was never revealed at the time.

Turning away from Slamboree, there were a lot of people arguing on the phone in May. Kevin Sullivan and his wife Nancy aka Woman, were the two most guilty of this. These arguments ended in Woman filing for divorce, perhaps establishing some independence, thanks to a large check from her Playboy shoot in January of 1995. Rumors began flying that the Woman was having an affair with one of the ECW wrestlers, but this was never established, although Sullivan did harp on it a lot to the media.

Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels were also guilty of arguing over the phone, although not to the intensity of the Sullivan’s. Michaels and Nash were still close, despite going in different creative directions, although it was the little things that ruined their friendship. Finally, Paul Heyman again argued with TV executives over the phone, but about his new show, ECW TV. Critics complained that Heyman should be happy to have a TV show at all, but he again wanted things done his way. USWA also got a TV contract, but it was for a syndicated show that few people saw.

Few people saw Greg Gagne after he was dismissed from WCW at the end of May. He disappeared, perhaps angry or embarrassed at being treated in such a casual manner. The reason for his dismissal was not known at the time, but was because of Hulk Hogan. Hogan lived up to his part of the bargain with Eric Bischoff, using a bit of his pull as WCW’s number one star. He did not even need to talk to Ted Turner to get Gagne removed. It was all a rather casual thing, as Hogan would say a few things, make a few requests and start the ball rolling.

Eric Bischoff also lived up to his end of the bargain, saying nothing more about Hogan being the WCW leak. This might have frustrated just about anyone, because it certainly frustrated Bischoff. He would stew over not being able to publicly fire Hulk Hogan for hours on end, but took out his frustrations in other ways. He began to throw darts at a picture of Hogan taped to a wall in his office.

To get out from under Hogan’s thumb, Bischoff contemplated a way to turn this situation to his advantage.

---

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May was pretty interesting, I enjoyed Flair being the Commissioner, And booking himself into a title match. Though, With Flair's comments about Race, I'm wondering if Race will try to get payback on Flair and The Horsemen. Glad to see Regal getting the US title too. I'd love to see him have a singles match with Mean Mark, With Mark getting the title, As he could use a dominant reign with the US title before moving up to the main event. And that would set up a possible Mark/Simmons feud as well. I enjoyed the little Sting angle, As I thought he'd really be injured, But still get his ass kicked. I enjoyed Wallstreet getting people to join PM, But didn't like seeing him beating Benoit. However, Benoit seems like a enemy to PM, So that could work out well. Also interested in seeing what Bischoff will do to Hogan.

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Just read through this from midway on page 4 to catch up and I'm still enjoying it.

Has Public Menace reached double figures of members yet? :D

Just wondering though. When you're actually doing this on TEW, do you autobook the TV shows and just do the PPV events yourself? Or do you book it all yourself?

Edited by wilson316
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Just read through this from midway on page 4 to catch up and I'm still enjoying it.

Has Public Menace reached double figures of members yet? :D

Just wondering though. When you're actually doing this on TEW, do you autobook the TV shows and just do the PPV events yourself? Or do you book it all yourself?

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There is no autobook in TEW

:o

This must take ages to do then, thinking that TEW is considerably longer to book than EWR. Its amazing you've kept going for like three years to be honest.

Another point, I actually didnt watch that much WCW and as a result, dont have much knowledge of it so theres the fear I might start blurring this into reality and asking people if they remembered when Austin fought Harley Race in WCW :D

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June 1996 - The Conspiracy Thickens

The beginning of June in WCW seemed ideal, but there was nowhere to go but down. Greg Gagne was a structured booker, but also relinquished many tasks to others. For example, the development of many gimmicks usually went to Dusty. When he was booking, Gagne could set up these wrestlers for success by organizing the roster in a flexible way where even developing wrestlers from Georgia Wrestling got an opportunity. In comparison, Eric Bischoff crowded Georgia Wrestling with these developmental or rookie wrestlers, such as Fit Finley. Finley did not give up however, nor did anyone else. That was hard to do in a successful company.

The company had been succeeding lately because of The Public Menace angle, a stable which now exceeded eleven members. Brian Pillman and Kevin Nash were especially good at the video vinette, a segment which would plaster the WCW’s airtime. Chaotic angles and matches began to become the norm on WCW Nitro. A backstage attack featuring the Horsemen and the Public Menace was also the norm, a feud that was extending into its third month. A disqualification or no clean ending began to become more common too, as WCW tried to stretch out this feud for a bit longer. Ratings began to suffer.

Unlike the first month that featured Hulk Hogan as a heel, June was not quite on that level of success. Ratings actually peaked seven Nitro’s prior to the end of June, but descended sharply afterward. Nitro attained a 5.5 at that peak, but only attained a 4.8 at the end of June. This was still a solid number, but not enough to make those in charge happy. This was partially attributed to the Tully Blanchard angle.

Tully Blanchard returned at the beginning of June to much fanfare. He cut a ten minute promo recapping most of what had happened the previous two months to “his” Horsemen and was disgusted. He then said that he had to endure watching this and invited the Horsemen to the ring. Every one of them came out, but in typical fashion, Ole Anderson announced he was not going to take any lip from Tully. Tully countered by saying that he didn’t call out the Horsemen to run them down, but to join them. Tully said that if there was any time that they needed to be united as Horsemen, it was now.

Eric Bischoff was scratching his head over how ratings could decline because of this angle. It reinforced exactly what fans were used to, surprises and exciting revelations. Perhaps the Tully angle and his sudden inclusion in the main event in the June pay per view contributed, but others argued that the WWF had more to do with it. At King of the Ring, Shawn Michaels had an excellent match and feud against Razor Ramon. James Townsend, last year's King of the Ring winner, also had a great singles match. Still others argued that the wrestling business was declining due to oversaturation of the product.

Unlike 1993, wrestling had a solid product in which to rebound with, no matter how saturated it got. Bret Hart did not help these problems by going on a wrestling radio show to admit he was “off his game” the previous month at May’s Slamboree in a match against Kevin Nash. Nash and Hart reportedly had a decent match, but Bret Hart panned it for twenty minutes on the show, even going so far as to say Nash was “off his game” too and “wrestled like an amatuer.” Nash and Hart had a heated argument over these comments, but never spoke to each other again afterwards.

The Gilbert Brothers, the perpetual opening act of WCW, were terminated after both coming to work intoxicated. Both reportedly had been boozing it up at dinner, then when Nitro rolled around, were laughing it up and making a scene together. They were immediately asked to leave the venue and received their dismissal in a phone call from Eric Bischoff. Tammy Synch broke down and begged Bischoff to allow Lance Storm to come up to try-out for this spot. Bischoff surprisingly allowed it and Storm was given an opening spot.

WCW Uncensored was a bit of a mess which started with a below average match from Harlem Heat, the team of Booker T and Stevie Ray. Both had been doing the same babyface act for months, but for some reason were just off here. Perhaps it was their opponents, Hardcore War, the team of Dr. Death and Scott Norton. Critics attributed it mostly to a lack of a storyline, a grudge some might have missed. Three teams actually brawled backstage against The Public Menace during one Nitro, after Kevin Nash started an argument with them. Somewhere in the melee, fans were supposed to catch Booker T fighting Dr. Death, but the camera never picked this up until it was time to cut away to the next match.

WCW Uncensored – June 1996

Dark Match: Eddie Guerrero defeated Shogun by count out

Harlem Heat defeated Hardcore War

Chris Benoit defeated Sean Waltman

The Road Warriors defeated The Allied Powers for the WCW Tag-Team titles

Mean Mark defeated Kevin Nash by DQ

Lord Steven Regal defeated Steve Austin to retain the WCW US Championship

Vader & Michael Wallstreet defeated Sting & Bret Hart by count out

Hulk Hogan & Brian Pillman defeated Ric Flair & Tully Blanchard

Something positive did happen in June, fans. A man named Tony Norris made an impact like no other rookie wrestler had before. He actually picked up Vader over his head and bodyslammed him in what looked like an effortless move. Norris was large, standing at 6’2” and weighing in at over 300 pounds. And not Vader pounds, mind you, but a muscled, well-defined body. WCW began selling the fact that he had played college football but was not allowed to go to the pros because of his unpredictable attitude. An uncontrollable force like him was more than enough to intimidate the heels and start to get him over with the fans.

Vader paid Morris back however, when Vader and Michael Wallstreet attacked him during a match. After being pummeled, Sting and Bret Hart ran down to make the save and began a feud of interfering in Vader’s business. Vader cut a promo and of course said that these two men had no right to do such a thing and would pay.

Although critics focused on how Vader’s promos or the main event could improve, Steve Austin flew under the radar once again. Austin began feuding with Lord Steven Regal, who began carrying around the British Flag to taunt Austin with. He also began working more solo matches to defend his United States title. This complicated matters with his sidekick Squire Chris Adams, who grew unhappy after being told to stay home for a while. Chris Adams would not be heard from again in WCW, although many fans did not take much notice.

Austin swiped Regal’s flag one time after he wouldn’t vacate the ring to allow Austin’s match with Owen Hart to go on. Austin tore the flag in half and scattered its tattered remains over the ropes, then turned around and gave Regal the finger. He had actually not been told to give Regal the finger, but Austin’s improvisation made for a good catalyst. Regal immediately tried to attack Austin and both men had to be separated by security.

The next week, Regal demanded an apology from Austin because he had “besmirched” the honorable British colors. Austin said that the only thing Regal was going to get was an “ass-kicking” if he kept it up. Both men confronted each other and a match was set for Uncensored. Regal then began to back down, realizing that the match had been booked for the United States title and had to cheat to win because he couldn’t beat Austin clean.

Harley Race returned in June in his usual commissioner role. He was happy to see Lord Steven Regal trump Austin, but happier to give his old “pal” Ric Flair all the hell he deserved. In fact, Harley Race said that the two of them had never been “old pals” at all, and that the friendship had all been made up by Ric Flair, during his tenure as “stand-in” commissioner. Harley Race said that the only reason he allowed Flair to stand-in for him was that he wanted to see Flair dig his own grave. Race gave opportunities for the wrestlers Flair had screwed the previous month to get even and even allowed Hulk Hogan to choose which match he wanted against Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard.

Hogan chose a weapons match, but Harley Race added onto this stipulation, saying that if Flair and Blanchard lost the match, the Horsemen would be disbanded from WCW forever. A strong statement. Race began conspiring with Hogan and Brian Pillman, who were all pictured backstage together on numerous occassions. However, someone else also pitted himself against Ric Flair, that of Tully Blanchard himself. During the main even of Uncensored, Blanchard refused to tag-in and forced Flair to wrestle the match himself, get double-teamed and even cheapshotted him at one point. After Flair was pinned, Tully shook the hand of the evil Hulk Hogan and joined the Public Menace, live on pay per view.

Come to think of it, June was actually depressing and the Uncensored main event just reinforced that. Furthermore, The Road Warriors, now aligned with the Public Menace, rather easily defeated the Allied Powers at Uncensored for the tag-titles. This was actually their forth reign with the titles and this added to the depressing feeling of the pay per view. Even Chris Benoit, who made Sean Waltman tap-out in his match on the pay per view, was smashed over the head with a glass bottle by Mark Bagwell.

Chris Benoit and Sean Waltman had been engaging in battle of ring prowess, instead of a war of words. It was actually a simple headbutt that started this intense in-ring rivalry. Waltman had purposefully headbutted Benoit during their first mach, when they were in the clinch. Benoit returned the favor, dropping Waltman to the mat thanks to the ferocity of the blow. Waltman retaliated by kicking Benoit in the groin rather hard. Of course, he was disqualified but the two wrestlers had to be separated to stop them from fighting. This small rivalry would be decided at Uncensored.

Lastly, Mean Mark was finally squeezing up into a good amount of airtime, although his feud was mostly featured on WCW WorldWide. This show was experiencing less of a drop, but never had the drawing power of Nitro. Luckily, Mean Mark’s feud was started on Nitro and only elaborated on WorldWide. It began during a tag-match featuring the usual team of Ron Simmons and Mean Mark versus the Public Menace grouping of Kevin Nash and Mark Bagwell.

Nash actually began to get frustrated during the match, as his two opponents would efficiently tag in and out to attack Nash. Nash apparently grew tired of fighting two men, but instead of tagging out himself, Nash tossed Ron Simmons over the top rope purposefully. He kicked him back outside a second time and attacked Simmons on the outside. Now Mean Mark was frustrated. Bagwell rushed the ring when Mark punched Nash from the corner and the match turned into an all-out melee.

Nash would later confront Mean Mark, but after some heated words, Mean Mark said that he was free to kick Nash’s ass at Uncensored. Mean Mark coolly said that he had nothing better to do. Narrowing his eyes at Mark, Nash accepted that challenge with a point of his finger. He then smirked and in a cocky fashion, said that Mark would have to call on some hokey powers to get even close to a victory. Later, critics began to wonder what Nash meant by “hokey powers,” which was an allusion to Mark’s time as The Undertaker.

When Mark and Nash finally met in the ring, the battle was on. Nash was finally not dominating a match outright and sold some of Mark’s moves. Mean Mark actually did something unplanned during the match that Dusty suggested, so it was not all his idea. After Nash bodyslammed him, Mark sat up after a moment in a spot that was reminiscent of his days as The Undertaker. Nash became frustrated again and was disqualified after using a chair on Mean Mark, but Mark again sat up suddenly after being dropped by the chair. However, there weren’t any hokey powers.

Eric Bischoff did not attend Uncensored or watch it backstage, as he usually did. Bischoff put on his lucky ballcap and went hunting for incriminating Hogan evidence. Yes, the conspiracy had escalated, at least in Bischoff’s mind. He hadn’t even actually confirmed Hogan was the WCW leak, until this trip, that is. He traveled to New York, the home of his source. This was a source who had actually received a call from Hogan in January 1995 about Paul Orndorff’s injury and other inside information that was being leaked.

The journalist, Jake Vedder, still had the tape of the phone conversation, which he swore was him talking to Hulk Hogan. However, Hogan never mentions himself by name, although the scruffy voice did say the word “brother.” Bischoff was understandably upset at his disappointing evidence. He took the tape down to Georgia Wrestling to show to Jesse Ventura, another public Hogan-hater.

Georgia Wrestling had a surprisingly good amount of audio equipment that the Armstrong Family used to create tapes of wrestling performances and clean them up. Ventura cleaned up this phone tape, but they still weren’t able to hear much on the recording. However, they were able to isolate someone talking and laughing in the background of the tape. It was obviously the voice of Ric Flair.

First of all, conspiracy-crazy Eric Bischoff went completely over the top with his reaction. Jesse Ventura calmed him down, because he believed Flair’s voice may have gotten on the tape in any number of ways. Bischoff wanted to hear none of these explanations and reminded Ventura how big of a revelation it was that these two men could be working together. Ventura reasoned that Hogan must have paid Flair to cover up for him, knowing that later Flair could easily take it back or change his story.

But Bischoff wondered why Hogan needed to draw attention to a WCW leak and involve Ric Flair in such an elaborate manner. Ventura assumed that the reason Hogan did that was because he had the goods on Flair. Several sources confirmed this. Blackmail had become the number one method of trying to cover up something or trying to get someone to do something for you. Now Bischoff had to discover what this blackmail was and what that would cause Flair to risk his family and his career to cover up for Hogan. This was his new mission.

Most Important Points (MIPs) in June of 1996

1. Flair and Hogan were working together

2. Mean Mark and Steve Austin flew under the radar with solid feuds.

3. Tully Blanchard turned on The Four Horsemen and joined the Public Menace.

4. Tony Norris debuted in WCW by slamming Vader.

5. Jesse Ventura could edit wrestling tapes. Who knew.

--

Edited by Nottavictim
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I too, Digged Mean Mark doing the sit up, Of course, It should be used rarely, Against other hosses, Or a "tough battle", Otherwise, People would just want The Undertaker. I also agree that Norris could be your Goldberg, Except, He's way stiffer than Goldberg. I'm sure some of your guys will bitch about that. Sucks to see Austin and Mean Mark going under though, But I do like the idea of a Mean Mark/Nash feud. Well done on giving Waltman/Benoit a match, As that would be a awesome feud/match. I don't really care for Tully Blanchard, And I got the feeling he was going to turn on the Horsemen. I'm wondering what Hogan's got on Flair.

Edited by Baby Hewey
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Scouting with Cornette - On Feuds

"Jim Cornette is one of the highest rated scouts in wrestling today. Each and every week he is going to bring us the latest scouting reports about wrestlers in WCW," a narrator says, "Who is who? How do they wrestle? What kind of character do they have? Those questions and more will be answered by Jim Cornette Now...here he is...James…E… Cornette!”

Jim Cornette says, “Some would say that the War Games match is the most gimmicky thing ever conceived in the history of wrestling! And I would say, hey now, settle down. It’s the main event for today’s WCW! And showcases one of the main feuds. Let’s look at it a little deeper, how ‘bout it?”

A narrator says, “The War Games was created by Dusty Rhodes to be used in a brutal feud between the Four Horsemen and other top wrestlers in the NWA. These eight man matches in 1987 and 1989 are regarded as some of the best produced by WCW and the NWA."

Jim Cornette says, “WCW brought back the War Games in 1993 and today, it’s a ten man match! Look out, folks. Talk about packing on the superstars. But there’s plenty of drama, if you like your drama bloody, that is. I’m not sure if I’m ready to hear a grown man scream, actually. But let me tell you something, blood is gonna flow faster than ketchup on a hot day. ”

“This year, it’s Team WCW versus The Public Menace in a grudge match to end all grudge matches. Yeah right! The only thing that this match is gonna end is my patience. But maybe Team WCW can pull out a shred of dignity with Bret Hart was team leader. Hart is gonna whip our boys into shape faster than a fat man chasing a donut!”

“That’s right, fans. But you’ll just have to watch Nitro in July to see who he picks for the team. But one thing is for sure, The Stunner Steve Austin won’t be part of that team. He’s hot and continuing a feud against the supposed Lord Steven Regal. The only thing he’s “Lord” of is the amount of crap coming out of his mouth. He has diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain, fans. Let’s count the minutes until The Stunner kicks some regal ass and drinks a beer to celebrate.”

“By the way, could WCW have old men wrestling? It’s not a shock to me, fans. If Tully Blanchard or Ric Flair move any slower time’s going to stop. Oh I know, I know, you have to keep the die-hard fans happy with old-school feuds. But hopefully this feud dies hard sooner rather than later. Now I’m not saying it’s that bad, but we certainly need an actual surprise or two, don’t we?”

“The last feud I want to talk about is the undefeated Tony Smith against Vader and his pal, Michael Wallstreet. Apparently, this Tony Smith guy is a rather large guy with a large amount of strength. He picked up Vader over his head and slammed him onto the mat rather easy. And for his next trick, Tony Norris promises to end global hunger. No, just kidding, fans. But that bodyslam looked effortless, didn’t it? These three are sure to get it going in July!”

“Here’s your champions…

The World Champion is Hulk Hogan, of the Public Menace

The United States Champion is Lord Steven Regal

The TV Champion is Shogun, the Japanese Warrior

The Tag-Champions are the Road Warriors, of the Public Menace

Thanks for joining me today for Scouting with Cornette. The pleasure was all yours."

IPB Image

Jim Cornette says, "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't book that feud."

--

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WCW July 1996 - Blackmail is Good Literature

Ratings were a concern in July, as competition with the WWF heated up. The WWF highlighted and continued the Shawn Michaels versus Razor Ramon feud from the previous month. Meanwhile, early on in July, Sid Vicious returned to wrestling, coming back into the fold after his failed experiment at acting in Hollywood. He signed with the WWF and arrived as a surprise opponent for the masochistic Maxx Payne, partner of Mankind. Sid crushed him in only a few minutes and drove off Mankind rather easily. The group would feud for the rest of the month.

Not to be outdone, Eric Bischoff tried to give WCW fans a surprise when he began pushing Tony Norris. Norris began crushing opponents in a Sid Vicious manner, easily plowing through Lance Storm, Diamond Dallas Page and Dr. Death Steve Williams. Lance Storm scratched his head and began to wonder why he had been called up, if the only opportunity he was going to get was jobbing to Norris. Lance Storm preferred the more casual atmosphere of ECW to WCW’s hectic backstage. Despite Storm's complaints, The Booking Team gave a feud to Norris, not Storm.

WCW wrestlers had to be aware of what was going on and be on their game, especially considering the high-energy style Eric Bischoff preferred. He boosted ratings with the help of solid in-ring work from a combination of matches featuring either Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero or new Georgia Wrestling graduate, Johnny Smith. But what really boosted Nitro was the hype of a high-profile Hulk Hogan match each week, which included a brief feud with Davey Boy Smith. This culminated in a cage match live on Nitro, which was rarely done.

Meanwhile, Hulk Hogan had to prepare The Public Menace for July’s War Games pay per view. The War Games main event was featured at the pay per view as a five on five steel cell match. The entrants would be selected random to enter the cage at timed intervals and the match ended only in submission. To defend the promotion from these dozen men, Team WCW was led by Bret Hart.

While Bret Hart was cutting a promo about Team WCW, an unexpected interruption occurred. The lights dimmed and up came some rather hard rock music announcing the arrival of Mean Mark. Mark walked out with his biker buddy Ron Simmons and went into the ring with Bret Hart. Mean Mark looked serious and focused, but then removed his dark sunglasses and offered a handshake. Bret Hart and Mean Mark shook hands, then Mark took the mic and cut a slow, intense promo. With a coy smile, he said that he was going to “bury them,” referring to the Public Menace.

Ric Flair continued his feud with Tully Blanchard. Blanchard enjoyed going around with the Public Menace, while Flair and Arn Anderson began walking around together to watch each other’s backs. This was tested when Barry Windham and his pals, The Road Warriors, attacked them backstage. It was well-conceived vinette, again highlighting some of the backstage brawling that had become closely associated with The Public Menace angle.

Steve Austin’s feud with Lord Steven Regal surprisingly continued into July, despite a decisive Austin loss the previous month. The loss did two things. It made Regal appear like a superior challenge to Austin, who had gone without a loss for months. It also created a moment for Austin where he could come out and say that now that Regal beat him, the only thing that he wanted to do is beat Regal right back. This motivational angle was actually Austin’s own idea.

And so, Austin set about proving that he was worthy of beating Regal. He poured a beer on the ground without drinking it, in a rather humorous moment, where Austin tried to look pained. Austin defeated Scott Norton and then Saturn during his “tune-up” matches for beating Regal. He defeated each of these two men in a more intense manner, instead of the more casual “Stunner” that fans were used to.

In comparison, Regal also began preparations. He changed his name, saying that now that he was “a champion,” the British people had pronounced him a hero. During one promo, he brought out a picture of the Queen which stood on a stand with him in the ring as he endlessly complimented her for “knighting” him. Regal explained that because he had captured the championship for Britain, the Queen had “knighted” him for his tremendous efforts. Therefore, he demanded to be called “Sir” Steven Regal.

When he was speaking to the picture of the Queen, Austin interrupted, on cue. He strolled to the ring casually, but then turned up the intensity once in the ring. Austin snatched the mic from Regal before any complaints could be heard, then simply said that what Regal had said was making Austin sick. He said that him holding the "United States" title was making him sick and the picture of the Queen was making him sick, most of all. As Regal tried to interrupt, Austin took the picture and broke it in half, shattering the frame. Regal was incensed by Austin’s treatment of the Queen. He then gave Regal the finger.

At War Games, this intensity culminated in a good match. It was arguably one of the best matches on the card, next to Ric Flair versus Tully Blanchard, depending on who you speak to. The Ric Flair match had a remarkable workrate put in by both workers, despite Blanchard’s comments prior to the show. He had said that he wasn’t sure if he could wrestle twenty minutes, as requested by WCW.

Not only did Blanchard wrestle the required time, but did so with enthusiasm and intensity. Ric Flair won the match with the figure-four, which Tully Blanchard was later proud of selling so well. He actually tried to claw towards the ropes and when he couldn’t, tried to turn the hold. But Ric Flair turned the hold right back on him and applied that strong pressure for the tap out.

Tony Norris continued his powerful show of strength against Vader and Michael Wallstreet. During the feud, Wallstreet tried to calm his friend with assurances that they were much smarter than Norris and could anticipate anything he could do. Norris cut his first promo with the company when he said that Wallstreet could put that to the test any time he wanted. His comments were short and sweet. With that challenge, Wallstreet did put what he said to the test, although avoided a confrontation at first.

Meanwhile, Vader did most of the physical work. Vader actually made the Tony Norris’s character and got him over, a first for him in WCW. Norris was actually shorter than Vader, at 6’2 compared to 6’5, but not by much. Norris was much stockier and physically built however. A staredown was inevitable, which allowed announcers to illuminate fans on how physically strong Norris looked and how vicious Vader was. Michael Wallstreet actually tried to separate the two of them when they confronted each other, but a brawl ensued anyway.

During the brawl, Tony Norris picked up Michael Wallstreet this time and press-slammed him over the top rope of the wrestling ring. This seriously incensed the two of them, although Vader was the aggressor. Wallstreet had to do everything in his power to restrain him. At War Games, Wallstreet could make no headway against the powerful Norris, even after ten minutes of trying to gain an advantage. Vader got up on the apron once and was yelling at the referee, so Norris merely walked up and shoulder-blocked him off the apron onto the ground. Well, Vader’s patience could only go so far and had finally come to an end. He slid in and attacked Norris, causing an immediate disqualification. It certainly was looking like Norris and Vader were going to go head to head.

War Games – July 1996

Eddie Guerrero defeated Shogun for the TV Title

Tony Norris defeated Michael Wallstreet w/ Vader by DQ

The Road Warriors defeated Harlem Heat to defend the WCW Tag-Team Titles

Steve Austin defeated Sir Steven Regal for the US Title

Ric Flair defeated Tully Blanchard

War Games 5 x 5: The Public Menace: Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Brian Pillman, Mark Bagwell and Sean Waltman defeated

Team WCW: Bret Hart, Sting, Ron Simmons, The Giant & Mean Mark

The main event was good, improving the pay per view’s workrate and critical acclaim over last month’s PPV. This was not much of an accomplishment, however. The ten man match was long and not much of a spotfest, as earlier matches such as the fast-paced TV Title match and Tag-match. It did however, rely heavily on Bret Hart. Several hours before the show, Hogan reportedly argued for Hart to give up during the match. However, no one seemed to agree. Another ending was worked out between the wrestlers, who were supervised by Stu Hart.

The ending was made for Sting to be the one to give up, as Kevin Nash was pummeling him with a weapon. Dusty had suggested the two feud in August, so it seemed appropriate to actually feud them about something, so Nash was given a bit of the spotlight here.

The fast-paced TV Title match that was mentioned earlier, opened the show. It was surprisingly good, despite Jinsei Shinzaki not being known for matching up well against lighter competitors such as Eddie Guerrero. Guerrero made the match work however, ending it with a frogsplash off the top rope. The two had been following the “Chris Benoit” method of feuding. The locker room began this nickname whenever two wrestlers would wrestle more than once during a month for the purposes of carrying the feud and there would not be a decisive ending each time. Chris Benoit had done this himself the previous month against Sean Waltman. Waltman did have a few more mannerisms, however, to add. To his credit, Eddie Guerrero tried to develop some, but seemed to enjoy his cocky demenor, most of all.

As way of news, Jim Herd went to Japan. This was like Nixon going to China. When he arrived at New Japan, Herd was already out of his element. But, Herd was responsible for designing a new mask for El Samurai, if nothing else. His other suggestions were easily dismissed, such as his usual, horrible gimmick ideas. He did suggest pushing Wahoo McDaniel, who had been working as a manager in New Japan since 1993. The result was disastrous and physically draining for the 58 year old McDaniel, who had to be taken to the hospital after wrestling.

It should be noted that a piece of wrestling literature gained some fame in July. It was a book called “Wrestling Exposed,” a title which highly disgusted anyone in the business or closely associated with it. It was written by newsman Mark Bierman. Bierman’s book had a forward by Jesse Ventura, the legendary Hogan-hater and aspiring writer in his own right. It had quotes and interviews by various wrestlers, most notably, Paul Wight, Brian Pillman, Billy Gunn and Ric Flair. Gathered into an investigative format, Bierman used these quotes and numerous stories to expose some of wrestling’s secrets and backstage turmoil.

Very little of the book effected the WWF. The company had already discarded most of the kayfabe foundations of their product, so were left with very little to expose. However, Bierman did write several stories about Kevin Nash’s wild days in the WWF and Billy Gunn’s conflicts with him. Gunn really laid into Nash in one quote, but the true selling point of the book was its revelations about the WCW leak.

The book began to describe the leak by detailing its long history. Bierman correctly explained that the first leak was the NWA title change back in 1993, a change that was leaked by the new main eventer, Hulk Hogan. Not coincidentally, Hogan later won a unification match for the NWA title which Ric Flair held at the time. He also explained in detail why Ric Flair had been forced to cover-up and lie for Hogan, even going so far as to name Hogan as uncontrollable by WCW authorities. He insinuated that Ric Flair was a steroid abuser, supplied by his wife Beth, a nurse. This was what Hogan had blackmailed Flair with.

Ric Flair did not admit he was a steroid abuser in the book, as doing so would certainly mean the end of his career. However, he aptly dodged most of these insinuations by generalizing and saying that Hogan had threatened his wife. Ironically, Bierman did not name Hogan himself as a steroid abuser, instead naming other wrestlers as drug users, most notably, Marc Mero. A personal quote from Flair revealed further information that Hogan’s blackmail had cost him his job with WCW for a short time. Lastly, Flair revealed that he confided only in one man, and that man was Greg Gagne.

This was how Flair got his job back. Gagne lied and manipulated the facts so he wouldn’t have to reveal what Flair told him about Hogan’s blackmail, but could still award Flair with his old job. However, Gagne was forced to follow The Booking Team’s original plans to form the Public Menace with Hogan as its lead. Although not quoted directly, Flair said that this angered Gagne, as he was forced to book Hogan in a positive manner.

This was certainly the revelation of the year. Hogan immediately denied blackmailing Flair, his wife or anyone else for that matter. In fact, he went so far as to say that he had “picked up” and sustained the company while Ric Flair was absent because Greg Gagne had asked him to. Eric Bischoff did not seem to have an immediate reaction to this, as he normally would. He actually was calm, perhaps enjoying someone else getting a bunch of heat for once, especially Hogan. However, he did not like the insinuations about steroids, although he was certainly not surprised.

Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair never worked together again. The Jesse Ventura audio tape that Eric Bischoff had discovered in June was now worthless thanks to the revelations of the book, but no other revelations were needed. Ric Flair told friends that he actually felt relieved that his family was free of Hogan’s blackmail. If Lance Storm thought the backstage atmosphere was stressful before, it more than doubled in intensity by the end of July. Storm was well-known for his criticisms of the locker room antics of Kevin Nash and the politics of other main eventers.

During one of these antics, Lance Storm was thrown into a dumpster by the Public Menace during a backstage brawl vinette, an unplanned portion of the melee. Storm was irate at being treated in such a manner, especially when he was never scripted to be thrown into a dumpster in the first place. Sean Waltman found the whole incident hilarious and couldn’t stop laughing and joking about it.

Reportedly, Ric Flair’s steroid abuse would have to be answered sooner rather than later. Flair was confronted by Eric Bischoff and explained that years ago, he became addicted to a steroid after a plane crash that shattered his back in 1975. This steroid was a medical Corticosteroid, an anti-inflammatory drug prescribed to help during Flair’s healing. However, Flair became addicted to its ability to immediately take away his pain, especially in his aging joints.

His use extended far beyond his prescribed 1975 recovery period. Doctors told Flair in 1975 that he would never wrestle again, but thanks to this controversial drug, was wrestling again after only a year of healing. However, the drug never did return Flair to his original wrestling style, but inspired the current “Nature Boy” style of flashy submission wrestling. Once again, Flair had come to a crossroads in his life in 1996. But instead of chastising him, Eric Bischoff had grown an understanding side.

Bischoff told Flair to take August off and let the public scrutiny die down. He also advised that he should see one of Eric Bischoff’s personal doctors out in California. This may help with his problem. Hulk Hogan came under similar scrutiny. Many critics called him a bully, a “dirt-dealer,” and a weasel. For bullying Beth Flair, several critics called Hogan one of the lowest men in wrestling today.

Although it was suggested, Hogan did not take August off. Hogan planned on being active in July, August and for months on down the road after that. With the absence of Ric Flair, there was an opening for a new main eventer. WCW had already tested out either Bret Hart or Steve Austin in May for this role, but there had never been a spot open until now. Eric Bischoff had to pick one of them that would not only do a could job, but could stand up to Hogan’s politics and bullying.

Bret Hart was a loyal, company man. He had good support in the locker room, especially from Davey Boy Smith, Brian Pillman and his brother, Owen Hart. On the other hand, Steve Austin also had strong support, especially from Mean Mark, Chris Benoit and Booker T. Eric Bischoff prevented the locker room from splintering, thanks to a well-timed speech. He called for a new direction for the Public Menace angle, one which could actually highlight a face as the centerpiece for his new direction.

He called for the push of Steve Austin.

Most Important Points (MIPs) of July

1. Eric Bischoff decided to push Steve Austin in August.

2. A published book revealed Hulk Hogan’s blackmail of Ric Flair’s steroid use.

3. Sting and Kevin Nash planned a feud thanks to a change in the War Games main event.

4. Ric Flair decided to take a month vacation to let scrutiny die down.

5. Jesse Ventura wants to be an author. Of an actual book. Imagine that.

Edited by Nottavictim
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Wow, Hogan had something huge over Flair. I can't wait to see what happens when naitch returns. Mean Mark in the war games was cool, And hopefully, That leads to him fighting the public menace. A Kevin Nash/Sting is also going to be great, Especially if it establishes Nash as a main eventer. Austin getting his push is going to be great, But I hope you don't rush it, And hotshot him against Hogan too soon. Glad to see Norris getting his push, And it looks like he's your Goldberg. It should be interesting to see what you'll do with the big hoss. Looking forward to reading more of your great work (Y)

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WCW August 1996 - The Austin Era Begins

There’s nothing like brainstorming ideas for something new and fresh. This was certainly the case with Steve Austin, who was the center of attention for The Booking Team. Dusty suggested a feud with Hulk Hogan himself, with a complicated series of attacks and run-ins. Tony Schiavone wanted a feud that focused on a battle of words, since Austin had been so successful previously in promos. Still further, Stu Hart suggested they pick somebody like Vader or Kevin Nash to test Steve Austin in the ring and do something different to allow the feud some originality. Eric Bischoff was not satisfied with any of these suggestions for the new push of Steve Austin.

Eric Bischoff decided to feud with only a minor member of the Public Menace while inserting Austin directly into their business. Sean Waltman was chosen and the feud was built slowly, while considering other things. Bischoff tried to implement all the suggestions from the other booking team members with this ideas. In accordance with Stu Hart, Austin began his feud in the ring. It was easy to build heat against the annoying Sean Waltman and his buddy, the grinning idiot, Mark Bagwell. Bagwell topped even Brian Pillman for his insane ability to look arrogant and cackle. After the first indecisive match, Austin cut a promo expressing his feelings about Sean Waltman, which were certainly not nice.

However, Eric Bischoff wasn’t getting the feeling that Austin’s feud was getting over as much as he wanted. It certainly wasn’t as good as the Harley Race feud, even though the promos are what carried the confrontations in the first place. It was clear that Austin, or rather, Austin’s character, needed someone to rebel against. However, when Eric Bischoff tried to explain this philosophy to the road agents, they didn’t catch on. Bischoff then decided to just do it himself and made himself an on-screen character, an evil heel businessman.

Like Vince McMahon or Harley Race, Eric Bischoff was an on-screen authority. He was announced as “President” of WCW and introduced by Tony Schiavone and several others, who welcomed him. Bischoff was all smiles, later commenting that he now knew why Vince McMahon enjoyed inserting himself into the storylines so much. Eric Bischoff immediately cut a heel promo explaining that he was out to congratulate The Public Menace on single-handedly changing the wrestling business. Unlike Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff said that he didn’t come out to make any changes because he already knew what worked. And that was The Public Menace.

That was Steve Austin’s cue. Like a voice of the everyday fan, Steve Austin came out and confronted Eric Bischoff. Austin cut a promo and explained that Bischoff was clueless about what the fans wanted, because it certainly wasn’t twelve guys patting themselves on the back for half the show. It was another classic rebellion feud, but this time it had an element of legitimacy, as Eric Bischoff really was an authority.

This legitimacy also helped the Public Menace. When Sean Waltman complained about Steve Austin, Eric Bischoff could stand next to him in the ring and give the stable that little edge of having an authority who thought they were good for business. During his feud with Sting, Kevin Nash played up his cocky side in a similar way. His favorite comment was that “majority rules,” saying it in a snide, irritating way.

Sting’s motivation far outweighed any majority rule, but not by much. Nash and Brian Pillman had a tag match early in the month against Sting and Davey Boy Smith. Nash and Pillman looked casual, patting themselves on the back as Austin said that they did. They also blatantly cheated whenever they could, so much so, that several fans were turning red from shouting at the referee. The casual manner ended when Davey Boy Smith powerbombed Brian Pillman and went for the pin, which was interrupted by Nash.

Nash took a little more serious attitude as he continued, especially when he slapped Sting. Sting just stepped back and put his hands on his hips as if to say ‘You want to get serious?’. He then clobbered Nash and the rest of the Public Menace had to run down to interrupt and make a save. Nash and Sting began to confront each other more often.

Meanwhile, Steve Austin cut one of most energetic promos during his feud. When Sean Waltman oozed compliments for Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Roddy Piper, Austin just couldn’t wait to interrupt. He grabbed a microphone and said that the only compliment that he had for Hulk Hogan was his skill at putting him to sleep. Austin added that The Public Menace should be proud to have included every single old guy in WCW. He actually said this on air. With heavy sarcasm, of course.

Austin had a lot of promos and vinettes in August, showing that again he could carry a feud. Meanwhile, once again Chris Benoit was handed a feud that typically showcased his in-ring abilities. When Eddie Guerrero made note that Benoit was a “yawn,” everyone was hoping fans didn’t think so too. Guerrero was certainly more charismatic, but lacked some of that in-ring intensity that Benoit possessed. It was this feud that flew under the radar during the month and showcased the contrast between the two wrestlers.

Schiavone and guest-commentator Larry Zybysko, actually made the feud. Schiavone learned the name of some of Benoit’s moves and Zybysko added commentary that expressed how Benoit and Eddie Guerrero hated each other. Therefore, the two wrestlers had to back up these comments in the ring. The first meeting ended in a no decision, but the second Benoit dominated with stiff chops and moves like he was the second coming of Vader. Guerrero showed his desperation when he kicked out his leg and low blowed Benoit, immediately receiving a disqualification.

The frustration continued at The Great American Bash at the end of the month. When Guerrero thought he was out-smarting Benoit, he grinned, turned to the crowd and pointed to this head as if to say ‘He may have the brawn, but I’ve got the brains.’ However, it was actually a woman who made the difference during the match. Tammy Lynn and Chris Candido visited the match in a casual manner, taunting Chris Benoit for some reason. Tammy Lynn jumped on the ring apron and began yelling at Benoit. This distracted him enough for Guerrero to get the surprise roll-up and the win.

The feud between Tony Norris and Vader certainly wasn’t as sneaky. It was a hard-hitting war that actually injured Vader legitimately. He got a few bruises during one backstage brawl, where Vader and Tony Norris were clobbering each other and taking out most of the backstage set. Vader worked through his bumps and bruises however. There was really no need for any more build up to this particular feud, unlike in Austin’s case. The past two months had made the Tony Norris character, which was a take no-nonsense type. When Harley Race tried to mediate Norris and Vader, Michael Wallstreet got a bit too cocky for his own good.

When Michael Wallstreet thought he could get up into Norris’ face, he got press-slammed up and out of the ring. Vader made a little more difference when he attacked Norris, but not by much. After trading some even blows, Norris closelined him out of the ring too. The Booking Team thought for a long time about how to book the finale to the feud at the Great American Bash. They paraded around several ideas and gimmick matches, but nothing seemed satisfactory.

It was actually Dusty Rhodes who suggested the match choreography that was eventually used. Tony Norris was to make a “Hulk Hogan” style comeback, without the gimmicky hulking up, that is. This meant Vader got the freedom to be a little more stiff than usual, proving that idea possible. This was suggested because Dusty wanted the match “to look realistic.” Norris followed what he was told to a tee, selling most of Vader’s moves with an average degree of skill.

However, the comeback occurred when Vader had him in a headlock. Norris powered out of the submission and even stood up with Vader on his back at one point, in what must have been a painful lift. Afterwards, Norris began his Hogan comeback, first by no-selling several of Vader’s strikes and second, by increasing the tempo of the match by bouncing off the ropes with a series of vicious clotheslines. A second clothesline took staggered Vader, but it took Norris’ final finisher to seal the match. It was a move in which Norris had to lift Vader up.

It was a modified spinebuster that Norris delivered rather quickly by grabbing and locking onto Vader. Ron Simmons had actually shown him the move. Afterward, Vader seemed knocked out cold and it was easy for Norris to get the final pin attempt. It was Michael Wallstreet who later had to help Vader out of the ring. After this match, the biggest bully in WCW seemed a bit less, now that he had met his equal.

This narrative would be quite incomplete without a few words about Shogun and one of his most remarkable feuds. As stated previously, Mister Fuji had double-crossed Shogun and joined Pat Tanaka as his manager, allowing for the easy transition for Shogun to a face. Tanaka and Shogun finally feuded head-on in August, where Mister Fuji was responsible for delivering a handful of promos tearing into his former protégé. This battle of words was mostly confined to WCW WorldWide.

The aspects of the brief feud that were included on the Nitro show included the final portions and the matches. Tanaka was quite a vicious character as a heel, surprising Ron Simmons with a loss, but also chopping Davey Boy Smith across the throat so thoroughly that he was unable to continue a match. He sold the injury to his throat so well that the medics and staff that rushed the ring caused the fans to stand up in wonder. It was just this type of man that threatened Shogun: a cold, calculating striker.

Being a charismatic striker and elaborate wrestling storyteller himself, Shogun enjoyed working the feud. His character was also well enough developed to succeed. Fans had seen him win the TV Title previously, but recently act quite honorably and heroic. For example, he would back off when it was clear that his opponents might deserve more punishment. Unfortunately, it was just one of those times that allowed Tanaka himself to take advantage himself.

Shogun was almost forced to stoop to Tanaka’s level, in a classic turn of the feud where the face has to match extremes with the heel. With all honor put aside, Shogun confronted Tanaka in a match at the Great American Bash and the two traded moves during the opening moments of the pay per view. However, despite Mister Fuji’s best efforts to poke his cane under the ropes, Shogun emerged the victor nonetheless.

The Great American Bash – August 1996

Dark Match: The Headhunter defeated Johnny Smith

Shogun defeated Tanaka w/ Fuji

Eddie Guerrero defeated Chris Benoit to retain the TV Title

6-Man Elimination: The Road Warriors defeated Pretty Wonderful & Harlem Heat to retain the WCW Tag-Titles

Tony Norris defeated Big Van Vader

Steve Austin defeated Sean Waltman w/ Eric Bischoff

Kevin Nash defeated Sting

Hulk Hogan & Roddy Piper defeated Mean Mark & Bret Hart by count out

A word should be said about the ending to the Sting versus Kevin Nash match. The feud had gotten Nash more over than he had ever been previously in WCW. This match perhaps even topped his confrontations in ECW, which initially gained him his fame. After trying to cripple Sting by attacking his knee and legs, Nash tried to pin him, but with no success. Sting kicked Nash in the kneecaps, but Nash reversed an irish whip and sent Sting chest first into the turnbuckle. It was then an easy matter to gather Sting for a roll-up and then win. Afterwards, while the two gathered themselves, Nash and Sting shared a stare but then surprisingly shook hands briefly before departing without a word. In the commentary, Mike Tenay wondered how Sting could shake the hand of such an underhanded foe like Kevin Nash. Quite a question.

Lastly, a word about the main event. Mean Mark called on Bret Hart to return the favor which Mark had paid him by participating on Team WCW at last month’s War Games. In a rather classic biker fashion, Mark asked Bret Hart to stand in for the injured Ron Simmons, who was injured by Tanaka, as explained earlier. Mark explained the challenge of Hogan, which was elaborated on in several shows. Why Hogan had to challenge anybody was quite unusual, until the interview segment aired, which was hosted by Roddy Piper.

It was actually Roddy Piper that began the feud, betraying his personal rule to have on only Public Menace members. He had on Mean Mark, but did so only to insult him, calling him out for his uselessness during the previous month and during the War Games. This was certainly true, however Mean Mark did not like it pointed out right to his face in perhaps the most arrogant way possible. As Mark snatched and seemed ready to strike Piper, Hogan showed his face in an interruption.

With just an appearance, Hogan was able to help his pal and direct Mark’s attention to him. In fact, it was Hogan who put his hand on Mark to push him away from Piper, but such an obviously irritating move only made to pin him as a target. Mark twisted the invading arm of Hogan, but Piper stepped in to slug Mark and attack him. Well, being outnumbered, Mark was disposed of and the challenge seemed concluded early. That is, until Mark recruited Bret Hart as stated earlier.

The match itself was rather unremarkable, except for one fact. Mean Mark had recruited the enormous wrestler named The Giant to be special enforcer for the match. He broke up and stepped in when a melee almost broke out on the outside, for example. However, the numerous members of The Public Menace would have no mere giant thwart their chances to win. Brian Pillman received a chokeslam on the hard mats around the ring when he tried to interfere. So too did Hogan himself receive a chokeslam, but this caused more harm than good. The Road Warriors and Mark Bagwell ran down to avenge their boss, attacking Bret Hart, The Giant and Mean Mark and causing all kinds of chaos.

Apologies for the length of this narrative, but August was also notable for its wrestling business news. Several wrestlers came and went from WCW. Haku signed from Mexico, while Chris Adams left for good, as stated in July. Barry Windham surprisingly left WCW, citing increasing family problems and burn out.

Elsewhere, Shane Douglas resigned for ECW, surprising just about everyone with an unannounced appearance on ECW TV and at the PPV. He had somehow resolved his arguments with Paul Heyman and others in the locker room, although how was never reported. What was reported however, was that ECW TV was cancelled after only beginning in June. USWA TV was also cancelled by a similar, local television station.

The Philadelphia station that removed ECW TV cited the increasing violence as a motive. For example, the No DQ match between Balls Mahoney and The Sandman was especially bloody and was certainly censored. By the end of August, the WWF and WCW were once again the only two American wrestling promotions with television programs. The problems in the wrestling business were becoming so obvious that it was polarizing fans to either of the two major companies and against small promotions. The larger and more extravagant the two became, the less appealing independent promotions looked. Even ECW, who had solid matches and a strong fan base, had little success in the TV market.

Two other depressing facts of the wrestling business occurred in August. First, the drug problems of Art Barr landed him in the hospital and in rehab. If you can recall, Art Barr was the best friend of Eddie Guerrero when he wrestled in Japan. The two were the most well known party-goers, even exceeding Kevin Nash levels of drunkenness and indulgence. However, Eddie Guerrero did not visit his friend when he returned to the US for rehab. WCW would frown on such a thing, if it were ever to occur. The second depressing fact of the month was the push of Sid Vicious by the WWF.

As stated in July, Sid Vicious had returned to wrestling. He began with a small feud against Mankind, but shortly moved onto a series of matches with Shawn Michaels in August. Michaels and Vicious fought to a time limit draw at Summerslam, which was held on the same weekend as the Great American Bash. Summerslam gained more pay per view buys, but by comparison, the Bash only sustained the usual levels for WCW. It was perhaps the main event that made the difference for each. The WWF headlined their new arrival against their number one star, while WCW promoted a mere tag-team match.

Perhaps not news, but a remarkable thing repeated itself in August. Woman aka Nancy Sullivan agreed to pose nude for Playboy a second time, again bringing some publicity to ECW as the magazine appearance had in January of 1995. The publicity was perhaps less this time, but no less remarkable. Woman was becoming a noted commodity.

The last portion of this narrative shall be spent on the sad story of Ric Flair. As noted previously, Flair saw a doctor in California for his steroid problem. It was painful for him to not to be able to receive instant relief for his aching bones and muscles. It was just this type of pain that Flair put himself through, even when offered an alternative. He abandoned steroids cold turkey, which many an addict can tell, is not very effective.

After two attempts to rid himself of the problem, Flair accepted more of the doctor’s help. By the end of August, he was practically in the same spot he was when he began. Flair returned to WCW a sad, depressed man, with his doctor in tow. With a physical injuries dating from 1975, Flair had somewhat of an excuse for his addiction, but the stigma was no less painful. A wrestling magazine began dogging him for pictures.

With a handful of pills, Flair swapped prescriptions for steroids. He sat alone, withered by frustration, age and drugs. Reportedly, it was his good nature that kept him going, but not for very long. With great reluctance, he announced his retirement. He did not make a case of it and certainly never appeared on Nitro to tell the public. However, everyone in WCW urged him for a comeback.

WCW inadvertently was a catalyst for that comeback when they published a book of wrestling stories by author, Jesse Ventura. He had quickly finished the book to counter sales of the previous book that had so tarnished the wrestling business. One of these stories was about Ric Flair, complementing him and painting him in such a good light that it instantly became the most talked about story in the book. So touched, Flair got his second wind. The Nature Boy was coming home.

Most Important Points of August (MIPs)

1. Ric Flair returned, planning his comeback

2. Steve Austin began his push against Sean Waltman and his buddies

3. Eric Bischoff made himself into an on-screen character.

4. Tony Norris concluded his feud against Vader with a win

5. Jesse Ventura published an actual book.

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Whoa, I thought Flair was actually going to retire, Glad that wasn't the case. I'd love to see you put Flair and Hogan in a feud now, Though, I doubt Hogan would drop the title to Flair. Glad to also see you slowly pushing Austin, And I'd love to see the mic battles between him and Waltman. I love how you keep some feuds simple, Like the Shogun/Tanaka and Guerrero/Benoit feuds. I like the way you have the commentators put over their techniques/history and stuff like that. Mean Mark and Bret Hart make a nice alliance, But it's time for Mark to get his shot against Hogan. I'm interested in the Sting/Nash situation, And I could see Nash getting booted from PE for showing respect to the Stinger. Keep up the good work, Man, Looking forward to seeing what's going to happen in September.

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