Thunder
Date: February 7, 2001
Location: Bankcorpsouth Center, Tupelo, Mississippi
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay

Amazingly enough, we’re coming in off a surprise heel turn this past Monday as Rick Steiner joined up with Flair’s group to reunited with his brother yet again. They really aren’t even hiding the fact that this is another NWO clone and I really don’t think anyone minds at this point. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Scott Steiner’s rough night, which means he wrestled about ten minutes over three matches.

Shane Helms vs. Kaz Hayashi

This is a qualifying match for a six man elimination #1 contenders match at SuperBrawl. Kaz flips out of a wristlock to start and runs over Shane with a shoulder. Shane flips up and it’s an early standoff. Kaz gets smart and kicks at the leg but his springboard DDT is countered into a northern lights suplex over the top. Helms hits a big cross body to the floor but bangs up his knee in the process.

Back in and Kaz moonsaults over and before headscissoring Shane right back to the floor. Kaz gets in a dive of his own but can’t hit a top rope hurricanrana. A good looking superkick puts Kaz down and a running neckbreaker does it again. Shane wants the Vertebreaker but here’s Chavo Guerrero for a distraction, allowing Kaz to grab a German suplex for the upset.

Rating: C+. This was a nice surprise and I can dig the idea of Chavo being worried about facing Helms again in the future and taking him out here. Kaz winning is a bit odd but there’s not much of a chance of him adse corner before breaking up an enziguri with another right hand. Smiley jumps over him in the corner and does a bit of dancing but stops to look for Glacier. A clothesline sets up the Seanton Bomb for the easy pin.

Post match Mark Jindrak comes in as a distraction so Shawn Stasiak can come in for the beatdown. Something is edited out as O’Haire came back in from the apron and kicks both guys down. The beatdown is on again until Palumbo makes the save.

Flair gives Sanders Konnan tonight.

Team Canada comes out with Storm picking Elix Skipper to face Cat.

The Cat vs. Elix Skipper

Cat superkicks him to start but Skipper pops up and starts hitting on Miss Jones. At least he has good taste. Skipper takes him to the floor for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Cat starts firing off the kicks, followed by a running ax handle and the Feliner for the quick pin.

Rating: D. Nothing to see here as usual as being the Commissioner (which may have been on the line here but it wasn’t clear) doesn’t mean a ton aside from just opposing Flair. Skipper should be in the Cruiserweight Title hunt and Cat should be doing almost anything other than being a regular wrestler but at least he has a personality.

Post match Storm offers a distraction so Mike Awesome can take Cat out.

Totally Buff is ready for Kronik. They should be after facing them so many times.

Chavo Guerrero asks Wall to take out Rey Mysterio tonight. Hugh Morrus is heard laughing.

Kwee Wee asks a few jobbers (one of whom is Chris Harris) to fight him later tonight. One of them doesn’t take kindly to this and seems game later.

Flair tells Scott Steiner to worry about Nash and ignore everything else.

Lex Luger vs. Brian Adams

Adams sends him head first into the announcers’ table to start and drops him onto the barricade for good measure. They get inside for the first time with Adams raking his boots across the eyes, followed by some choking in the corner. Luger pulls him outside and sends Adams head first into the steps before a whip sends him into “the rail of pain.” Back in and we hit the posing, followed by a backbreaker for two.

Lex stays on the bad back with a suplex and even more posing. Now we go old school with a bearhug until Adams powers out and hits a backbreaker of his own. Cue Buff Bagwell but Adams drops him with a single right hand. The full nelson slam puts Luger away clean in a bit of a surprise.

Rating: D-. It’s rarely a good sign when the best thing you can say about a match is that it had a clean ending. Adams winning with a simple full nelson slam was a surprise but at least the interference didn’t mean anything. Also it’s nice to see Luger putting people over instead of fighting Goldberg on three straight pay per views as it seems he’s FINALLY learning his place.

Bryan Clark runs in for the post match save.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. The Wall

Wall has Chavo with him. As usual the announcers act like Rey is going to die because they’ve never watched Mysterio vs. a bigger guy. Rey goes after the knee to start but springboards into a one armed gorilla press. A sleeper has a bit more success on the big man until he drives Rey back first into the corner. Wall throws him outside so Chavo can get in some cheap shots.

Rey’s knee goes into the steps and Wall chokes him while standing on the announcers’ table. A hard whip sends Rey chest first into the buckle as the announcers think the match should be stopped. Wall misses a top rope legdrop and Rey hits the springboard seated senton with Chavo making the save. That earns him a big flip dive but here’s Hugh Morrus to electric chair Wall off the top and hit No Laughing Matter to give Rey the pin.

Rating: D. So to clarify, the greatest cruiserweight of all time has to get beaten down for five minutes and then saved by Hugh Morrus to set up a match between Morrus and Wall at SuperBrawl. Naturally they had no choice but to put these feuds together and have Mysterio look like a goon whose career was saved. At least he won though and that helps a lot. It was a rough way to get there but the right guy won and that helps a lot.

Mysterio and Morrus clean house post match.

Here’s Kwee Wee for his usual “I’m all man” speech. Tony: “Is it just me or is his hair crooked?” And that’s your latest reason why Kwee Wee is going nowhere. Kwee Wee calls out a fan and it’s time for a fight.

Kwee Wee vs. ???

A few right hands give Kwee Wee a pin.

Here’s the guy Kwee Wee called out earlier tonight with a missile dropkick and we have another match.

Kwee Wee vs. Johnny Dodson

Kwee Wee beats him down with ease and ends Dodson with a piledriver in just over a minute. It would be nice for this to go somewhere but I doubt Kwee Wee is considered important enough to get such attention.

Konnan vs. Mike Sanders

For some reason I can’t picture the Mississippi crowd being that into Konnan’s odd way of speaking. Tony: “Word.” Konnan gets two off a rollup to start but Sanders rolls into a crucifix for two of his own. The mat work goes to Konnan as he grabs something like a standing figure four but sitting on the leg instead of pulling back on it.

The announcers talk about the new owners doing something about Flair as Sanders drops a knee on Konnan’s chest. A clothesline puts Konnan down for no cover because Sanders is busy yelling at the crowd. Sanders puts on a cobra clutch for a bit before Konnan comes back with the rolling lariat. The X Factor sets up the Tequila Sunrise for the clean submission.

Rating: D+. Sanders is someone who looks like he has potential but doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere. Konnan is actually not the worst worker in the world as his normal stuff is entertaining enough though it’s hard to get into whatever nonsense he says before the match. It’s also amazing how much better he is when he’s just being himself and not pulling “pranks” with the Filthy Animals.

Don Harris says he now has a manager’s license. Normally I would ask how bad the commission that issues licenses must be but it seems that they’re avoiding Harris Brothers matches so they’re smarter than I am.

Jeff Jarrett/Rick Steiner vs. Insiders

The Insiders clean house to start and thankfully they’re not wasting the “big” match of the Insiders vs. the Steiners on a nothing show like this. Page and Jarrett get things going with Jeff taking a hard clothesline (with authority according to Tenay) before getting crotched against the post. Rick comes in and blasts Page in the face because he’s Rick Steiner and therefore gets to beat up anyone he wants.

It’s time for the heels to take turns beating on Page before Steiner slaps on a chinlock about two minutes in. That’s never a good sign which is why it’s standard Rick Steiner procedure. Jeff puts on a sleeper because he’s a master of the hold according to Tony. Don’t you have to win a match with it to be a master?

Page escapes with the belly to back (a master wouldn’t allow that) but Rick comes in with a belly to belly to prevent the hot tag. Page finally punches Jarrett down and it’s Nash coming in for a bunch of right hands and boots. The Jackknife puts Steiner away and for once that’s a bad ending as you don’t want a new champion losing when Jarrett is right there.

Rating: D+. This was fine, albeit the same boring main event you would expect on Thunder. Page is always going to be solid and Jeff can be his normally dull self but the other two are clearly just there because they’re paid to be and aren’t going to put in any effort above the minimum. The clean ending was nice for a change, though it should have been Jarrett.

Scott Steiner, Totally Buff and Kronik come out for the standoff to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Just a bunch of bad wrestling and more of the same boring stable vs. stable feud that has been dominating the company for weeks now. It’s not the worst story or anything but it’s so repetitive at this point because WCW has done it so many times in the last few years. So many of the stories are stuck in limbo and it’s getting rough to sit through every single week. At least Rick Steiner lost though and that’s always a good thing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Monday Nitro #275
Date: January 29, 2001
Location: Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Scott Hudson, Tony Schiavone

It’s always weird to me when we reach the last every episode in a given month but this is the final ever episode of Monday Nitro in January. Ok so maybe this is just a way to fill in an opening because there isn’t much to talk about at the moment other than Nash vs. Steiner coming up in a few weeks. Let’s get to it.

Elix Skipper vs. Yang vs. Shannon Moore vs. Jamie Noble

One fall to a finish. The big story for this match: WCW is bringing back TIME LIMITS. Noble and Yang do a wrestling sequence to start until Yang grabs a neckbreaker to send Noble outside. Skipper dives out onto him and it’s Shannon vs. Yang inside. Bottoms Up (Fameasser) drops Yang but Skipper has to break up Noble’s German suplex attempt on Shannon. Yang gets crotched on top, followed by Noble front suplexing Skipper for no cover.

Moore is sent outside and all three hit dives in a nice sequence that you only get in cruiserweight melees. Yang drops all of them with an Asai Moonsault and it’s time for a breather. Back in and Shannon slams Skipper off the top for two as Yang makes the save. Noble amps things up by tombstoning Yang on the floor before shoving Skipper off the ropes. Jamie tries a superplex on Shannon but gets reversed into a super Bottoms Up to give Moore the pin.

Rating: C+. What else were you expecting here as you have four talented guys getting to fly around the ring for a bit. Unfortunately they only had a few minutes, which is an annoying reality of this new era. These guys are on more shows but their time has dropped significantly. You can only get so far with four people involved in a five minute match but at least it’s fun while it lasts.

Here are Ric Flair and Animal for a chat. First of all we get the required Baltimore Ravens insults despite them winning the Super Bowl the day before. Anyway, Flair thinks the Cat might be out of office soon and accuses Page and Nash of showing up drunk on Thunder. We see a shot of them knocked out in the locker room, presumably due to an attack by Ric Flair and/or various other villains.

Therefore, Nash has to qualify for the World Title match at SuperBrawl again tonight by beating Totally Buff in a handicap match. Nash is annoyed in the back and it gets worse as Flair says he has a new contract for another incoming star. I could go for a Tommy Rogers cameo but I was always a Fantastics fan.

We see a bit more complete clip from Thunder with the heels leaving Nash’s locker room.

Jeff Jarrett doesn’t want to wait until SuperBrawl to face Page.

A guy bumps into Midajah so Scott Steiner breaks his leg. Does no one understand the concept of a lawsuit around here?

Here are the Cat and Miss Jones for some dancing before Cat says he wants to fight someone. Cue Shawn Stasiak and Mark Jindrak with the latter of them being sent to the back (And called Beetlejuice for some reason. I don’t see the Art Barr resemblance but I don’t have my glasses on.).

Stasiak implies that he’ll be Commissioner if he wins and says first up is going to be a Tag Team Title shot against Palumbo and O’Haire.

The Cat vs. Shawn Stasiak

Jones kicks him in the chest and it’s time for Cat to choke a lot. Cat goes up but dives into an elbow to the jaw, allowing Stasiak to send him outside. A few whips send Cat into the announcers’ table and the post before he clotheslines Cat back inside. Cat actually uses a headscissors before crotch chopping his way out of a sunset flip. The Feliner puts Stasiak away.

Rating: D-. This is a good example of two guys who need backup help to put in a good match and it’s really sad to see them get stuck out there with such a horrible match. Cat defending the Commissionership isn’t an interesting idea, especially when there’s no way someone as worthless as Stasiak is going to take it away from him.

The Wall is outside of Chavo’s locker room when Hugh Morrus comes in and beats the tar out of him.

Mike Sanders tells Crowbar that he has Lance Storm tonight.

Diamond Dallas Page was at a book signing earlier today when a fan started running his mouth and got in a fight. Page broke it up and that’s about it.

A black Humvee arrives.

Luger and Bagwell have a partner for Chavo tonight.

Jeff Jarrett is ready for DDP at SuperBrawl.

Chavo Guerrero Jr./Road Warrior Animal vs. Rey Mysterio/Billy Kidman

…they’re going to squash Mysterio and Kidman aren’t they? Kidman and Guerrero start things off but Chavo wants Mysterio. It’s just a ruse though, allowing Guerrero to get in a few kicks to the ribs to start off. That’s fine with Kidman who takes over and brings in Rey for something like a double sitout chokeslam. Kidman comes back in and it’s time for a baseball slide between the legs, followed by the Bronco Buster.

Rey’s middle rope moonsault connects but he lets Chavo makes the tag. The destruction is immediate as Rey and Kidman literally bounce off of Animal, who throws them both around like nothing. Some double dropkicks have Animal down though but a powerslam to Kidman and a powerbomb to Rey allow Chavo to pin Mysterio with ease.

Rating: D. So to recap, Mysterio and Kidman beat up the Cruiserweight Champion for about two and a half minutes before Animal, a grizzled veteran who had barely wrestled in years, destroyed them both at once with ease. That’s life in WCW people and it’s a big reason why you don’t see them around anymore.

The Humvee doors open.

We see part of Flair’s speech earlier.

Here’s Ric Flair to reveal the big new talent which is……Dustin Rhodes. Raise your hand if this actually surprises you. The announcers treat this like a huge deal as Ric thinks Dustin should be in a suit instead of cowboy boots. Dustin wants to know what’s wrong with being a cowboy. Well nothing until you’re about eight and then you kind of look dumb. They yell at each other a bit and Dustin turns down the offer to be on the team and the contract as well.

Cue Animal to help beat Dustin down until Dusty Rhodes makes his return (after turning his back on WCW last time) to clear the ring. So to clarify: Animal can destroy Rey Mysterio and Kidman but Dusty Rhodes can clear him out in a few seconds. To make it even better, Dusty talks about how Flair has been holding back talented people to push his friends. The Rhodes Family is here to clean up WCW and the fans seem very pleased with the idea.

Lance Storm vs. Crowbar

Before the match, Storm says Team Canada supports Flair and company. Ever the troublemaker, Crowbar jumps Storm during the national anthem. The other Canadians help Storm with a superkick and it’s an early beatdown for Crowbar in the corner. A comeback via clotheslines is cut off with a knee lift and we’re already in the chinlock. Crowbar fights up and tries a Tombstone (becoming too common of a move) but has to settle for a reverse DDT for two instead.

A belly to back suplex sets up a slingshot splash for two on Lance, followed by a moonsault out to the floor. Is there a reason Crowbar never got a run near the Cruiserweight Title? It’s not like he can’t fly around and he has more charisma than half of the division. Storm comes back with some German suplexes but gets caught in a northern lights suplex. They head up top with Crowbar trying a hurricanrana, only to get countered into the Maple Leaf for the quick submission.

Rating: C+. Not bad here and I’m sure the fact that it’s the longest match of the night so far has nothing to do with that. I’d love to see Crowbar actually go somewhere beyond just jobbing like this but I really can’t imagine that happening. I mean, the guy used to work in a gas station and it’s not like can just give him a new character and backstory or something like that.

Flair gives Storm the Cat at SuperBrawl for the Commissionership. Now that’s better as you could imagine Storm actually pulling that off.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Actually not so fast as Page is arrested for assault due to breaking up that fight at his book signing. Apparently Page accidentally bumped into a kid during the incident and the kid is the one pressing charges.

Flair thinks this is awesome.

Rick Steiner vs. Shane Douglas

Non-title. Steiner is here to do Cat’s dirty work so Shane made sure the title wasn’t on the line here, which translates to Steiner is going over. Schiavone thinks Steiner is one of the best WCW performers in the last ten years. Douglas gets in a few shots to the back to start before Rick just beats him down like he was Dean Douglas all over again.

Douglas begs off before throwing the referee at Steiner for a breather. The distraction lets Shane grab an Indian Deathlock though he’ll be lucky if Steiner even bothers to limp. I would appear to be right as Steiner pops up and grabs a suplex before…..I think a headlock takeover is botched as Shane tries to do something like a rollup.

Shane grabs a rollup with his feet on the ropes for two before the Pittsburgh Plunge gets the same. Hudson: “Rick’s brother Scott would be proud.” Of what? That the brother he doesn’t like at the moment kicked out of the US Champion’s finisher? The chain is easily broken up as the Steiner Line sets up the bulldog, followed by a Death Valley Driver to make the champ job.

Rating: D. Rick Steiner is not very good and there isn’t much of another way to put it. The booking here continues to baffle me as Rick gets pushed like this every single time he comes back. I’d be stunned if he doesn’t wind up with the US Title out of this because he just needs it so badly and is clearly a draw because he’s reached the age where you become one without having to actually, you know, wrestle well in the slightest.

Kevin Nash vs. Totally Buffed

Before the match, Luger and Bagwell rip on the Raven. Apparently winning the Super Bowl doesn’t count because the real Baltimore team moved to Indianapolis so this is a sham. I’m not sure what they were going for there but it really didn’t work as the fans almost cheered. Nash comes out and pulls Buff to the floor in an attempt to make it 2-1, only to have Buff come back in.

It’s Kevin Nash though so he clotheslines them both down and chokeslams Buff, only to have Luger hit him low. A lot of choking ensues until Nash sends Buff outside and hits Snake Eyes into the Jackknife on Luger. So to recap: Goldberg spends three months fighting Luger and Nash can hit his finisher on him in three minutes with Buff Bagwell in the same match.

Bagwell pulls the ref so here’s Alex Wright of all people in a referee shirt. Wright stops to dance though, earning himself a beating. Another Jackknife to Bagwell allows Cat to come in for two with Wright pulling him out. Guys it’s a short Nitro main event and we’re at two run-ins and three referees. Not that it matters anyway as Cat ducks Wright’s punch and slides back in to count the pin on Bagwell.

Rating: D. As mentioned, this was more about all the shenanigans than anything going on during the match because Bischoff and company think that’s how you build someone up. This was much more about Nash than anyone else as you want him to look strong but you shouldn’t have two of your top heels losing this badly. In other words, just let Nash beat Luger, assuming Nash is old enough to do that yet.

Post match Nash wants Steiner but we’re out of time.

Overall Rating: D+. You really can see the line between the generations here as the old guys suck while the young guys are working as hard as they can with the limitations they’re put under. They don’t get time and they’re often there as cannon fodder for the old guys (Kidman and Mysterio getting treated that way by ANIMAL was disgusting) but they’re putting in as much effort as they can.

That’s probably a big reason why Mysterio is a multiple time WWE World Champion and Kidman had a very nice WWE run before getting a job as a producer. In other words: no matter how little time you’re given out there, someone is going to see it at some point and if you’re good enough and work hard enough, you’ll get a break somewhere down the line.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Monday Nitro #274
Date: January 23, 2001
Location: Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Commentators: Scott Hudson, Tony Schiavone

We’re on a Tuesday this week as TNT has stopped pretending that Nitro is the ratings juggernaut it was back in the day. It’s the new era of WCW (the latest one that is) with Ric Flair in charge and evil for reasons that haven’t yet been and won’t be explained because WCW. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the pay per view and last week’s show, which night as well have Nash going TOO SWEET to make it feel more NWOesque.

Last week, the heel stable was eating chicken wings and breaking the bones in time with Sid breaking his leg. Ok that’s kind of awesome.

Tony and Scott say WCW has new owners and it’s not clear where things are going.

Here are Flair, Animal, Luger and Bagwell to get things going. Flair gets right to the point and says that Steiner, who isn’t here yet, deserves a top level opponent for SuperBrawl. That makes Flair think of one name and that would be….Alex Wright. Alex actually comes out as the heels can’t keep straight faces, only to have Kevin Nash cut him off. Wright yells (and rightfully so) and is promptly powerbombed through the stage.

Nash declares himself #1 contender with Cat coming out to say that’s correct. Flair says not so fast because Nash has to beat Bagwell first and Luger will be guest referee. Not so fast either as Luger has to face Diamond Dallas Page for the right to be guest referee in the main event #1 contenders match (my head hurts). Oh and Buff or Nash can’t interfere, because other wrestlers not being allowed to interfere is a special rule.

Mike Sanders gives Chavo Guerrero a pep talk and tells him to watch the next match closely. The Wall is here too and promises to end the legend of the Misfits tonight.

Flair tells Jarrett and Steiner what’s going on. Was there any reason to not have them be there during the talking segment?

Michael Modest vs. Christopher Daniels

Modest had one match on Nitro in March 2000 and hasn’t been seen since. Daniels is 29 here (in his mid-20s according to Tony) because he’s never been a young wrestler in his life. He does however have hair here which is quite jarring. Daniels punches away to start but gets taken down with some wristlocks that have Modest dropping to the mat as he twists. Daniels botches a springboard and almost lands on his head allowing Modest to crank on the arm a bit more.

Modest takes a kick to the shoulder which puts Daniels on the mat for reasons that aren’t clear. They head outside with Modest being sent into the barricade and eating a dropkick through the ropes, followed by a slingshot splash to the floor. Daniels seems to have shaken off whatever was wrong with him at the start. Back in and Daniels hits a slingshot moonsault (called split legged by Hudson despite the fact that Daniels’ legs were in fact unsplit) for two before getting caught in a dragon suplex for two of his own.

Daniels pops back up to the top but Modest runs across the ring and does a handstand into a hurricanrana to bring him right back down. Modest gets dropped again though and the BME gets two, only to have Modest get the same off something like White Noise. A second attempt is countered into a modified Angel’s Wings (Daniels flipped Modest onto his back instead of his face) for two more. Modest cross bodies him out to the floor and here’s Scott Steiner to destroy them both for a no contest.

Rating: C+. It was nice while it lasted but why bother letting either guy go anywhere when you can use them as cannon fodder for WCW? This would be the last appearance in WCW for both guys but at least they were able to be in the ring for a bit before Steiner got to treat them like the most worthless goons this side of The Goon. At least let someone win the match before the run-in.

Steiner uses the pipe to break both their legs before saying he broke Sid’s leg on purpose. They’ll be laying next to Sid and Nash is going to be added to the list soon.

Here are Kwee Wee and Paisley with something to say. He’s ticked off about now being part of Flair’s team and it’s clear that he’s tough enough after the beating from Rick Steiner on Monday. Kwee Wee issues a challenge to anyone in this building, including fans. For some reason he goes after a security guard and beats him down until other guards break it up. As usual this would work better minus the overly gelled hair and glitter.

Team Canada comes out with Lance Storm challenging Konnan to a one on one match with the winner being the official winner of the war between the Canadians and the Filthy Animals. Konnan comes out to accept in his own unique way.

Lance Storm vs. Konnan

They hit the mat to start where Konnan is completely out of his league. Storm grabs the Maple Leaf but gets kicked in the face for a break. Konnan hits the rolling lariat as everyone else brawls on the floor, as they should be. The faceplant is broken up and an Irish whip transitions into the Maple Leaf for the tap out in less than two minutes. Some war, but midcards never meant anything under Bischoff’s watch.

Shane Douglas wants on the team and Luger says he’s in if he can beat the Cat.

General Rection looks a little crazy as Gene asks him about everything the former Misfits have been going through lately. Lash says he’ll have Rection’s back until the end. Rection says it wasn’t supposed to be like this and asks for Lash’s shirt. He’s honorably discharged from the team and it’s time to return to their roots. Rection takes off his shirt and says Hugh Morrus is back. Uh, yay.

Lex Luger vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Winner gets to referee the #1 contenders main event. Luger stalls to start so Page knocks him out to the floor so he can stall while looking up at the ring. Back in and Luger hits an atomic drop and belly to back, burning up half of his arsenal in a few seconds. A shoulder sends Page into the corner and it’s time to stomp a lot. Page crotches him against the post and sends Luger head first into the buckle several times. The referee gets bumped so here’s Jarrett with the guitar to set up the Torture Rack for the Luger win.

Rating: D. I could go with this a little bit more if they didn’t set all this up an hour ago for a payoff half an hour from now. You could pencil Jarrett’s interference in here as soon as they said Bagwell and Nash couldn’t interfere. Again: we’ve reached the point where interference being banned is a special stipulation. How did that happen?

Mamalukes vs. Shawn Stasiak/Mark Jindrak

The Thrillers jump Johnny at the bell so he has to kick Stasiak’s head off for a breather. It’s off to Vito who helps with a double belly to back suplex on Shawn. The Mamalukes take over on Jindrak as well, including a double back elbow for two. Stasiak comes in again and misses a charge in the corner as this is completely one sided so far.

Shawn finally gets in a jumping back elbow to the jaw before bringing in Jindrak for one off a moonsault. Vito takes a double elbow of his own, which is finally enough for Johnny to come in without a tag as everything breaks down. Vito kicks Stasiak and Jindrak clotheslines Johnny for two each, only to have the rest of the Thrillers come in for the weak DQ.

Rating: D+. As illogical as it was for the Thrillers to come in there, you kind of had to know that was going to be the ending. That’s how most matches end around here these days because so many people are in some kind of a faction. The Mamalukes continue to be perfectly acceptable jobbers to the stars and that’s all they need to be.

Stasiak and Jindrak aren’t happy that they just lost a match due to interference. My goodness that actually makes sense.

Post break the Thrillers are still arguing with Sanders not being able to calm them down. Flair pulls Sanders off to the side and tells him to outsmart the rest of the team.

Shane Douglas vs. The Cat

If Shane wins he’s on the team. We get the usual Shane insults to the crowd to start because that’s his big thing. That’s not to say it doesn’t work well enough though. Cat isn’t ready to go yet as he has to make Jarrett vs. Page for SuperBrawl. He also wants to make this for the US Title but Flair comes on screen to say it’s non-title. Instead, the Commissioner’s job is on the line.

Douglas jumps him from behind to start and Flair makes it No DQ to insure a messy ending. Something like a bridging Indian Deathlock has Cat in trouble before a poke to the eye cuts him off again. Shane gets slammed off the top and sent into the buckle ten times as the match warps back to 1987. Cat keeps up the Hogan offense with ten right hands to the head in the corner, only to get poked in the eye again. Cue Mike Sanders followed by the Thrillers to take Cat out but Rick Steiner makes the save, allowing Cat to superkick a chain out of Douglas’ hand for the pin to keep his job.

Rating: D. Somehow that wasn’t as messy as I was expecting it to be, which is saying a lot. Keeping Cat short like this (under five minutes) is the right idea and the match could have been a lot worse. If nothing else Cat is great proof of how charisma is far more important than in ring abilities and almost always will be.

Post match Cat does his dancing and Rick actually joins him for a bizarrely entertaining visual.

Hugh Morrus/Lash Leroux vs. A-Wall/Chavo Guerrero Jr.

It’s a brawl to start and no one can stop Wall (or A-Wall as he’s still being called here, even though he’s out of the team) until Morrus grabs a slam, only to tag off to Leroux by mistake. Morrus says that was just a high five and Wall uses the distraction to make the tag off to Chavo. Wall chokes Lash in the corner a bit as Morrus tries to get in as this breaks down into a more standard tag match.

Lash gets in a quick tilt-a-whirl slam and scores with a clothesline for two, only to get caught in a Gory Special for a few seconds. Back up and Chavo accidentally hits Wall because you have to have heel miscommunication. Chavo doesn’t seem to mind and dropkicks Lash for two with Morrus coming in to break it up. Wall goes after Morrus to start a brawl, allowing Chavo to grab a rollup on Lash for the pin.

Rating: C-. This worked better than it probably should have but above all else it was a good sign that Chavo wound up getting the pin instead of having another champion get beat. Morrus is still being treated as a big deal and it’s nice to be able to go with the stupid name instead of the really stupid name. Lash still isn’t all that great in the ring and is really just a guy in wrestling gear but he could be worse.

Morrus beats Chavo up post match. Sore loser.

Kevin Nash vs. Buff Bagwell

Lex Luger is guest referee and if Nash wins he gets the title shot at SuperBrawl. Totally Buff wastes some time as Luger promises to call it right down the middle. Nash starts with a knee to the well toned abs and chokes in the corner with the boot, drawing some harsh criticism from Luger. Thankfully the whole fair referee thing doesn’t last long as Luger grabs Nash’s foot so Buff can crotch him on the way back inside. However, Lex counts very slowly for Bagwell with Nash kicking out before one, causing Bagwell to yell at Luger.

Bagwell’s chinlock keeps things so slow that it’s Nash being the one on his feet to speed things up with a side slam. Of course it’s another slow cover and Snake Eyes gets the same speed, only to have Luger cut off the count at two instead of screwing around with the pretext. It’s time for a chair with Luger holding it up so Bagwell can knock it into Kevin’s head.

The Blockbuster doesn’t work though as Nash ducks to send them crashing into each other. Of course this is treated as some heroic comeback because WCW announcers are easily entertained. Cue Diamond Dallas Page to hit the Diamond Cutter on Luger. Nash gets up and Jackknifes Bagwell to set up the Austin/McMahon count with Nash grabbing the unconscious Luger’s hand to count the pin.

Rating: D-. This was every crooked referee match you’ve ever seen because there isn’t much you can do to change this gimmick. Nash was obviously getting the title shot and somehow this was the better choice than Nash vs. Luger with Bagwell as the referee. Unfortunately Luger and Bagwell are still some of the top heels in the company and this is about as high speed as they’re going to be able to go.

Post match Scott Steiner, Kronik, Animal and Jarrett come out for the big brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. So to recap, this whole show took two hours to set up Steiner vs. Nash at SuperBrawl. One of the matches was to set up a guest referee for a match to establish Nash as the #1 contender. Just like back in the NWO days, there’s the issue of having so much of the show revolve around that one story, which isn’t very good in the first place. There are other stories on the show to help things out a bit but a lot of them are tied into the Flair super stable stuff in some way. It’s another show full of bad wrestling and focused around one tired story, which is an idea that has barely ever worked but WCW kept doing it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Thunder
Date: January 17, 2001
Location: Allen County Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Attendance: 4,836
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay

We’re coming off an interesting show Monday where things have changed a bit yet still feel very much the same. In this case Ric Flair is now all evil for reasons that aren’t clear (and will remain that way because this is WCW) and the remaining faces are fighting against the latest NWO. It’s certainly better than what we’ve been having but I don’t see much of a shelf life for this one. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Sunday and Monday. You know, the early part of Monday before they did this show in front of a dead crowd.

There’s a new opening.

Here are Cat and Miss Jones to get things going. Cat gets straight to the point: he wants to clean up WCW and Flair isn’t going to keep Goldberg gone forever. Well to be fair no one really believed his career was completely over anyway. Cat wants Totally Buff out here right now so here are Luger and Buff with the latter making fun of the shape of Cat’s mouth.

Luger one ups him by botching Ric Flair’s job title, referring to him as the President of WCW. I know it’s not that complicated but it’s three letters long and Luger can’t remember? Cat makes fun of Buff’s hat so they come to the ring, only to have Kronik come out for the save, prompting Cat to set up a match between them tonight. Dance time!

Here’s Kwee Wee, or Angry Alan more than likely, to issue an open challenge to anyone because he’s not happy with being left out of Flair’s group (which needs a name). Unfortunately it’s quickly answered.

Kwee Wee vs. Rick Steiner

This would be Kwee Wee’s reward for all the effort into making this stupid character work. Steiner takes him down with a suplex right at the bell and it’s time to go outside for a whip into the barricade. A wicked Steiner Line is followed by a bunch of right hands to the face as Rick asks if this is what Kwee Wee really wants. Kwee Wee doesn’t think too much of Steiner barking at Paisley but his objection is stopped cold with a German suplex, followed by the Steiner Bulldog to complete the destruction in a hurry.

Steiner says that’s it for the audition and Flair can come get him (Steiner) if he wants him.

Hardcore Title: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Meng

Meng is defending. Bigelow jumps him to start and makes the mistake of hitting him in the head. That’s fine with Meng so Bigelow hits him in the back with a few chair shots for maybe 14% more effect. They stay on the floor with Meng going over the announcers’ table and Bigelow going into the steps. In other words, it’s the exact same thing that happens in almost every hardcore match.

Back in and Bigelow actually works on the leg because this is the match where you expect psychology. Meng shrugs it off (of course) and no sells a DDT, setting up the Death Grip. For some reason that’s not enough for a pin though and Meng goes up for a top rope splash to retain.

Rating: D. What were you expecting here? Meng wasn’t exactly someone worth seeing on his best days so having him be an even more unstoppable monster wasn’t exactly the right way to go. It doesn’t help that Bigelow had been wrestling the exact same match for at least a year and it wasn’t getting any better.

On top of that, this was it for the Hardcore Title as the WWF would sign Meng away and put him in the Royal Rumble just for the fun of it. Now some people might think WCW would put their champions under contract to make sure no one steals them away like this but they had more important things to worry about, such as finding a justification for Lex Luger being a top heel in 2001.

Glacier video.

Norman Smiley gets a fan letter back from Glacier, who says he’ll have Norman’s back. Giddiness ensues.

Team Canada arrives.

Lash Leroux and The Wall apologize to Hugh (yes they call him Hugh) about having Chavo’s back too often lately.

Don Harris now has a neck brace and will never be able to wrestle again, leaving Ron to wrestle as a singles guy. Norman comes in and challenges him to a match later. I won’t even bother making fun of this.

Ric Flair, Scott Steiner, Midajah and some women arrive. WCW does know that they tell people this is being taped on the same night right? As in the fans should know there’s no reason for Flair and Steiner to leave and come back for the second show.

Norman Smiley vs. Ron Harris

The announcers actually treat Don’s “injury” as a big serious thing because Bischoff is in charge again and announcers have to be this stupid. We hit a LONG stall session to start before Norman armdrags him down a few times. A dropkick lets Norman start dancing and it’s time to stall again.

Tony starts listing off the reasons why the Twins can’t switch again as Ron comes back in with a kick to the face. A side slam gets two so Ron throws him outside and into the barricade. That goes nowhere so Norman makes his comeback with clotheslines and a little spanking. The referee yells at Norman for attacking in the ropes and the Twins switch, allowing Don to give Norman a big side slam for the pin.

Rating: F. Norman jobs, the Harris Twins win, and it’s time for the announcers to start treating us like idiots while acting like idiots themselves. This is indeed life in WCW because Bischoff really does believe he’s smarter than everyone else and that they would actually fall for the most obvious trick in the history of wrestling.

Totally Buff vs. Kronik

Just like last week. Adams slowly powers Luger around to start but Lex has that veteran smirk on his face. I’d smirk too if I got paid this much money to do so little. A gorilla press drops Luger and a piledriver gets two with Bagwell coming in for the save. We get a double tag so Clark can powerslam Bagwell, followed by a belly to back suplex. Adams DDT’s the heels down at the same time but Luger pops up with a clothesline so the old guys (as in the bad ones) can take over. Everything breaks down and it’s Jarrett coming in with the guitar to knock Clark out for the pin.

Rating: D-. How in the world do you have a new creative team and fresh stories (well as fresh as the NWO can be) and still have the same ending from last week? This was horribly dull stuff as Luger might as well have been holding up a sign saying “I’m not trying and I get paid for it” and Bagwell was Bagwell.

Page comes out for the save but Flair and company come out to beat him down. Flair makes Page vs. Jarrett for the main event and calls the team The Elite. That might be the most overused name I’ve heard of in wrestling history.

Billy Kidman vs. Mike Awesome

Before the match, Lance Storm says the war between the Filthy Animals and Team Canada is far from over but they will have the last laugh. Kidman has bad ribs coming in but shrugs off an early beating to dropkick Awesome out to the floor. A crossbody off the apron only hurts the ribs even worse but he’s still able to hit a slingshot legdrop for two.

Awesome gets smart and throws Kidman in the air for a crash down onto the ribs, followed by a splash for a near fall. A powerslam looks to set up the Awesome Splash but it only hits mat to keep things going. Awesome hits a top rope clothesline for two but the Awesome Bomb is countered with a Bodog for two. For reasons of general stupidity, Kidman goes up for the shooting star, only to get crotched back down. Now the Awesome Bomb connects for the pin.

Rating: C+. I liked the idea of this match when it was mentioned on Nitro and it was about what I expected. These two worked a nice power vs. speed match though the ribs didn’t really cost Kidman in the end. The latest stable war isn’t the most interesting thing in the world but that’s what you get in a Bischoff run company.

The Canadians go to cut Kidman’s hair but the Animals run in for the save.

Chavo Guerrero says he was auditioning for Flair when he attacked Morrus on Monday.

Video recap of Nitro.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Hugh Morrus

Morrus (PICK A NAME ALREADY) runs him over to start and throws him up for a gorilla press. That means it’s time for the choking before Morrus puts him on the top, only to eat a tornado DDT for two. It’s time to start in on Hugh’s leg because this show hasn’t died enough already. After that eats up some time, Morrus (called Rection by the announcers) comes back with chops, only to get taken down into another leg lock. A sitout powerbomb plants Chavo but cue the Wall to chokeslam Morrus off the top to give Chavo the pin. The announcers are shocked and call Morrus the heart and soul of WCW.

Rating: D+. Somehow that’s one of the better matches of the night so far despite Chavo laying on the mat for a long stretch and working on the leg, which of course went nowhere. Now we get the implosion of the Misfits, which I’m sure you were all looking forward to. It’s another bad match on a LONG show full of them.

Post break, Chavo says he tried to preach to the other Misfits but couldn’t get through to them.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Before the match, Jarrett addresses the Hoosiernuts. Tenay: “Hoosiernuts? Oh we’re in Indiana.” Basically he’s smart and Page is dumb so come get yours you string bean slapnut. Page starts fast with a clothesline out to the floor but they head back inside before the announcers have to run away. Jeff gets in a few stomps but Page slugs away and gets two off a Batista Bomb. That earns Page a low blow and things slow right back down. Page blocks a kick to the ribs but eats an enziguri which puts Jarrett down as well for absolutely no reason.

Jeff breaks up a sunset flip with a right hand but kneels down so Page can pull him down for two. It’s time for the required Jarrett sleeper hold which has never won a match. Two arm drops bring Page back to life and a sleeper drop (which Tony calls a version of a Diamond Cutter because Tony isn’t that bright) puts both guys down again. A spinning Rock Bottom gets two for Page but the Diamond Cutter is countered, only to have the heels come in for the DQ.

Rating: C. Typical fine match between these two with nothing all that interesting but nothing too bad. You knew the ending was coming as we’ve flashed back to 1998 when a few basic moves were enough to bring out the troops for the DQ because things might get too interesting otherwise.

The good guys come out for the brawl with Tony saying they won’t stop until someone dies to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Oh yeah this show has died again. This was another episode with zero effort and almost no storyline development. We have another big storyline with the heel group vs. the face group and they brawled a lot to end the show. It’s pretty clear that they’re not trying at this point, but the question is (assuming you don’t know they have two months left) what are they waiting for? A pay per view just ended and now they’re just waiting around again? For what? Another horrible show here as Thunder gets more and more worthless every week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Monday Nitro #273
Date: January 15, 2001
Location: Allen County Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Attendance: 4,836
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson

We’re past Sin and heading towards SuperBrawl with the big story being Scott Steiner retaining the World Title after Sid Vicious broke his leg. However the interesting thing (work with me here) was the Mystery Man being revealed as Animal, who sided with Steiner and Jeff Jarrett. Oh and Goldberg is retired. Forever. Let’s get to it.

Of note: this is the first TV show under the new Eric Bischoff regime. He had some influence on last night’s pay per view but I’m not sure if it was full control or not.

Quick recap of the World Title match and Goldberg’s loss.

We see some exclusive footage from after the show with Ric Flair hugging Steiner as Buff Bagwell and Lex Luger watch on. So yeah, Flair is the big villain again.

The announcers recap the big stories of last night and show us the HORRIBLY graphic footage of Sid’s leg being snapped like a twig. That still makes me cringe.

Here are Luger and Bagwell in suits to what sounds like a funeral march. A group of jobbers follow them out with a coffin and we get an In Memory Of graphic for Goldberg. The announcers continue to act all shocked that Flair was behind it. HE’S RIC FLAIR. HE’S EVIL. Why does this continue to surprise you? Bagwell cries as the casket is opened to reveal…..a copy of Goldberg’s book, a spear and a jackhammer. The fans are absolutely livid over this stuff so points for getting the fans to boo.

Luger thinks Goldberg would have wanted this outpouring of emotion because they were great friends. The music is still playing as Bagwell tries to get the fans to keep chanting GOLDBERG. Luger asks if anyone has a special Goldberg story and would like to let us hear it so here’s a crying Jarrett to put a guitar on top of the casket. Jarrett has one memory above all others and eventually gets around to talking about how Goldberg never beat him. Goldberg is a long list of adjectives slap nuts and Tony freaks out that no one can stop this from continuing.

Now it’s time for Scott Steiner to come out with Midajah, who is wearing a veil for a bizarrely creepy look. Steiner takes credit for getting rid of Sid before switching over to Goldberg. Scott didn’t hurt him but at Fall Brawl, he gave Goldberg the worst defeat of his career. Goldberg just wasn’t man enough to stay on top so there’s no rematch. For a genuinely awesome evil moment, Steiner spits in the coffin….and there’s Goldberg’s music.

We cut to his locker room door and it’s Ric Flair and Animal coming out. After a break (oh yeah this is going on for a LONG time) Flair is in the ring to say this is the NEW WCW. Flair goes on about how awesome a collection of talent we have here and how he was behind the Tag Team Title change, the demise of Goldberg and Sid’s injury. The announcers are still shocked that Flair did this.

Flair talks about all the great wrestlers they have and how any of them could destroy anyone at any given time. Tony brings up an important question: WHY DID FLAIR DO THIS??? He’s been talking for a good while now and there hasn’t been an actual explanation for why he did all of this. It doesn’t get any better as Flair says he’ll be interviewing everyone all night long and gets to find out their stance: they can either become one of the group or be handed over to them.

Cue Kevin Nash to say he left Big Sexy back in Indianapolis and brought the killer here instead. Nash is sounding far more intense than usual here. Tonight he wants to face Steiner before he comes to kill Flair. Nash isn’t alone either as here are Diamond Dallas Page and Rick Steiner (great) to help even things up a bit. Kevin says he wants a title shot against Scott tonight but Flair says he makes the matches.

Cue Commissioner Cat to say not so fast because the title match is on, FINALLY ending this segment at nearly half an hour. Good grief people. I know it’s a new regime but we shouldn’t be a fourth of the way into the show after one segment, especially when we didn’t even get a reason for why Flair did all this. Nash and Page as the top faces make sense as there’s the simple problem of there being no one else around to fill the spots. I’m fine with the latest NWO story but this could have been cut WAY down.

After a break, Flair asks Crowbar if he’s going to be a team player. Crowbar says he’s always been a loner so he’s going to keep doing that way. Apparently Flair is going to give him a chance to prove his skills right now.

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Crowbar

Chavo is defending and I’m oddly intrigued by this. Feeling out process to start before the champ getting in a kick to the face, followed by a top rope hurricanrana. The announcers keep wondering how Crowbar is going to be able to fight without trashcans. So are chairs just not good enough for them anymore? Chavo dives off the apron to take Crowbar down again but that means the fight heads outside where Crowbar is in better shape.

Back in and a slingshot legdrop gets two on the champ, only to have Chavo come back with chops and uppercuts. A Death Valley Driver plants Chavo for a delayed two but he blocks a top rope hurricanrana to get a breather. The tornado DDT is broken up as well and Crowbar gets a near fall off a northern lights suplex. Chavo is sent out to the floor again and Crowbar scores with his apron splash. Instead of going for the pin though, it’s time for a chair but Chavo slingshots out to drive Crowbar face first into the chair. Somehow that’s not a DQ so Chavo takes him back inside for the tornado DDT to retain.

Rating: C+. Stupid ending aside, this was still entertaining enough and that’s all it needed to be for the story. I’m assuming Crowbar isn’t going to get the invite to the new stable, which thankfully means he isn’t the nothing wrestler that WCW has presented him as for months. Good little match here as Chavo continues to get better and better every week.

Bam Bam Bigelow (He still works here?) accepts Totally Buff’s offer to be on the team.

Rey Mysteiro Jr./Billy Kidman vs. 3 Count

Again, this should be good. They start fast with some 3 Count miscommunication to give the Animals some early control. Shane hurricanranas Kidman out to the floor, leaving Rey to take a sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combo for two. Kidman is right back in for the save and it’s a Bronco Buster for Helms.

There are no tags anywhere in sight so far. Shannon takes Kidman out with a flip dive and lands on his feet just to show off. Rey dives on both of them before Shane dives on all three of them. Back in and Kidman snaps off a top rope hurricanrana for two but eats a superkick from Shane. The Vertebreaker is broken up to prevent broken vertebrates and Kidman adds the Kid Crusher for the pin.

Rating: B. There were no tags in the entire match but sweet goodness this felt like an old cruiserweight match for the first time in far too long. It’s really cool to see Mysterio and Kidman show off how awesome they can still be in the ring while 3 Count can more than go with anyone. Really fun stuff here, even though it barely broke three minutes.

Post match Team Canada runs in to go after the Animals because this feud is still going. Storm grabs the mic and asks Kidman if he wants a hair vs. hair match against Mike Awesome. Kidman accepts, giving us what could be one heck of a match.

Cat thanks Kronik for their help last night and gives them a Tag Team Title match as a reward. No charge for this one.

Team Canada beats Kidman down.

Flair offers Chavo a spot on the team, which still seems to be called The New WCW. Chavo doesn’t seem interested but Ric tells him to go chase the Nitro Girls and have some tequila before they talk about it tomorrow. Chavo leaves and Mike Sanders comes in to suck up but Ric thinks he was just trying to make a spot. Flair makes him his new pet project to make him the new Dirtiest Player in the Game. Oh and don’t worry about Kronik getting the Tag Team Titles back.

Totally Buff goes up to General Rection because we haven’t flown through enough stuff tonight. Rection doesn’t say anything and looks a bit stunned.

Tag Team Titles; Kronik vs. Sean O’Haire/Chuck Palumbo

Kronik is challenging. Palumbo punches Adams around to start but gets thrown to the floor, allowing Clark to hit his flip dive off the apron. Tony: “HAS HE EVER DONE THAT???” Scott: “Of course he has.” It’s off to O’Haire vs. Adams with the full nelson slam planting the champ for two. Clark comes in for some chops as the announcers say any move could be your last as Sid proved last night. Palumbo gets the tag and is promptly suplexed, only to have O’Haire break up the Meltdown.

Adams tries to come in but the distraction just lets Sean nail Clark in the back of the head. A DDT plants O’Haire though and the hot tag brings in Adams as everything breaks down. High Time gets two on Sean with Chuck making the last second save. Cue Jindrak and Stasiak for a distraction though, allowing Palumbo to score with the Jungle Kick on Adams. Clark gets beaten down on the floor (Hudson: “WHERE IS THE REFEREE?”) as Adams is superplexed to set up the Seanton Bomb for the pin to retain the titles.

Rating: D+. They kept this moving to make sure people didn’t realize how weak Kronik becomes in an actual match but you knew the screwy finish was coming. Thankfully they have the titles on the best pairing as Jindrak and Stasiak are some of the least interesting guys I’ve seen in a good while.

Kidman can’t wrestle so Konnan is taking his place.

O’Haire and Palumbo yell at Jindrak and Stasiak because they didn’t need the help. Sanders and Reno come in to make peace.

Konnan vs. Mike Awesome

Hair vs. hair…..so I guess Kidman’s hair is on the line since Konnan is bald. Indeed that’s the case with Flair popping up on screen to make that clear. Konnan gets beaten down in the corner to start until he snaps off a headscissors to take over. Awesome stops a charge in the corner with a raised boot and a belly to back suplex gets two. Back up and Konnan wristdrags him out of the corner and it’s time to fight on the floor.

Awesome chairs him in the ribs but dives off the steps right into a chair shot to the head. Back in and Mike raises a boot to stop Konnan (looked horrible as Konnan had already landed when he hit the boot), only to have the Awesome Bomb countered into a faceplant (nice nod to Kidman, who can’t be powerbombed you see). A spinebuster sets up the Awesome Splash for two so Awesome goes back up, only to get caught in a super DDT for the pin and Mike’s hair.

Rating: C-. Dang it I really wanted to see Kidman vs. Awesome but instead we got Konnan’s slow offense to mess things up. Kicking out of the Awesome Splash was a big stretch, especially when you could probably have done the same thing with the splash missing but why do that when you can push Konnan harder?

Post match Konnan snips off the back of Awesome’s hair until Team Canada makes the save.

Chavo tries to talk to Rection but the General really doesn’t want to hear it.

Storm tells Awesome that they’ll get the last laugh.

Tickets go on sale for SuperBrawl: Revenge (great title) on Saturday, or less than a month before the show.

Here’s Cat to say send someone out here for him to fight.

The Cat vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Bigelow runs him over and stomps away with a belly to back getting two. The announcers talk about how important this match is as Bigelow chokes away, only to miss a charge in the corner. A chop and the dancing elbow get two on the big man, followed by the Feliner for the very quick pin.

Post match it’s dance time.

US Title: Shane Douglas vs. General Rection

Shane is defending after winning the title last night. Before the match, Shane asks how the fans like him now. Apparently the title weighs 16lbs. Good piece of trivia. Rection starts with right hands and clotheslines for two but Shane comes back with right hands of his own. That’s fine with Rection who wins a slugout and kicks Shane in the ribs. The top rope elbow misses though as Rection takes too much time getting to the top. It’s already chain time but Rection gets to his feet and press slams Shane before throwing the chain out. Cue Chavo to sneak in a chain shot so Shane can get the cheap pin to retain the title.

Post break Rection holds his head and almost cries about how much he wants to fight Chavo. He’s tired of being General Rection or Hugh Morrus but he’s going to finish Chavo’s career. Hopefully that means it’s time for a better name. Like one that’s not a pun.

WCW World Title: Kevin Nash vs. Scott Steiner

Steiner is defending and I think you know what’s coming here. Scott easily takes him into the corner and hammers away to start before Nash spins him around and does the same. A clothesline puts Scott outside and an angry Nash stays on him with the right hands. I’d be mad too if I was asked to wrestle twice in one night.

Scott gets in a shot to the ribs and a spinning belly to belly gets two back inside. The Push-Up Elbow lets the champ show off a bit and a delayed backbreaker sets up a bow and arrow hold. Nash starts fighting up and scores with the side slam but can’t cover because he’s gassed after three and a half minutes. Snake Eyes and the big boot set up the Jackknife and here come the troops for the DQ.

Rating: C. Shockingly watchable match here with both guys working hard and faster than I’ve seen in a long time. Of course the lack of any drama about the ending didn’t help things but that’s par for the WCW course. Still though, for who was in there and how the ending was going to go, this was a glorified miracle.

The remaining good guys come in for the brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Yeah it was actually good and it’s a strong sign for the start of the Bischoff regime. Unfortunately it’s nothing we haven’t seen before and I have no reason to believe that WCW won’t screw this up by the time Thunder airs in two days. The new NWO isn’t going to last long with Lex Luger and Jeff Jarrett as the second and third in command but at least it’s something coherent and focused for a change, which is a far cry from the disasters that WCW tends to put on.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Nitro #272
Date: January 8, 2001
Location: X-Cel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 4,500
Commentators: Scott Hudson, Disco Inferno, Tony Schiavone

We’re finally back after several weeks off and it’s the go home show for Sin. The big question is still who is the mystery man but it seems that something is up as Sid has been put in the title match on Sunday after winning last week on Thunder. Other than that we have the continuing saga of Goldberg and a career jobber masquerading as a guy we’re supposed to take seriously facing Totally Buff because Bagwell isn’t allowed loose on his own. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Ric Flair with a bunch of security to open things up. Flair says Sin is going to be the biggest pay per view of the year, which to be fair it will be so far. Of course it’s also the worst but that’s probably the case for a long time. Like, as long as it takes to get to the next WCW show. Anyway Flair thinks no one likes Sanders as Commissioner so it’s time for him to put that job on the line against the Cat.

On top of that, Sid is now in the World Title match at Sin after taking Jarrett’s place but Ric isn’t sure if Sid or Jarrett should be in the match. This brings out Jarrett, probably to yell at Flair for that statement not making sense. Jarrett says Sid DIDN’T beat him because someone interfering and hitting Sid in the back isn’t a DQ for storyline reasons. Flair doesn’t buy the idea that Steiner will be cool with Jarrett in the title match so there won’t be a three way dance.

Cue Steiner who isn’t happy with this ruling. That’s fine with Ric, who makes it a four way dance with Steiner defending against Sid, Jarrett and the Mystery Man. Scott says it’s really going to be a tag match so Flair shows us clips of Jarrett lying about being in the contenders tournament and accidentally hitting Steiner with a guitar at Starrcade. Therefore tonight, Steiner is going to face Jarrett for the title. Scott says he’s coming for Flair soon.

Goldberg arrives and wants to find Kronik.

Sanders makes Ron Harris vs. the Cat for tonight. Ron has a bit of hair here so they’re not identical.

Shane Douglas wants to be in the World Title match so Flair gives him Sid tonight. Shane: “At Sin, US Title and World Title. Never been done.” So I guess he’s next.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Shannon Moore

Non-title and Shane Helms is out for commentary. Chavo isn’t ready to go yet though as he would rather put the title on the line, meaning that if he loses tonight then Shane is left out of Sin.

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Shannon Moore

Chavo is defending and gets punched out to the floor to start. Back in and some leg lariats in the corner have Chavo in trouble until he counters one into a backbreaker to take over. We hit a seated abdominal stretch from the champ for a bit before a victory roll gets two for Moore. The champ punches him down again but Moore counters a slam into a small package for two. Off to a chinlock on Shannon for all of ten seconds, followed by a springboard Fameasser for two on the champ. Shannon’s sleeper slam is broken up though and Chavo grabs a brainbuster to retain.

Rating: C+. They’re doing something interesting here with Chavo playing mind games with Shane but more importantly they have a story. After all that time of the title being worthless and having one weak story after tonight, it’s really refreshing to see some time and effort being put into things again.

Shane saves Shannon from a beatdown.

Sanders beats up Kwee Wee for no apparent reason until Big Vito makes the save for even less of a reason.

Flair is with Buff and Luger again for some reason.

Ron Harris vs. The Cat

The Twins are identical again and as you might expect, they beat Cat down to start. Ron slowly works Cat over and sends him into the barricade to avoid having to actually wrestle. Back in and Cat gets in some kicks but takes his sweet time dancing into an elbow. The Twins switch and Miss Jones’ protest lets them hit an H Bomb to give Ron the easy pin.

Post break Cat proves how awesome he is by dancing.

Hugh Morrus asks Sid to leave a little bit of Shane for him on Sunday.

Jarrett and Steiner argue. I’m sure this isn’t going to be a swerve.

Sanders is making a Minnesota Massacre match with Big Vito and Kwee Wee vs. some randomly selected opponents. The Thrillers just happen to have their gear tonight in case they’re the RANDOMLY selected opponents. Anyone who interfered in this match will be subject to every penalty Sanders can find for them.

Luger has gotten Kronik a match against Goldberg and Sarge. If they win tonight, Goldberg is fired. Kronik wants pay but apparently they’re doing their job so no pay. Disco: “THEY’RE WRESTLING FOR FREE??”

Billy Kidman vs. Lance Storm

Before the match, Storm challenges the Filthy Animals to a penalty box match, which he’s kind enough to quickly explain. Disco ignores the match to complain about Kronik wrestling for free after taking so much money from he and Alex Wright over the last month and a half. Storm shrugs off Kidman’s right hands to start and drops him ribs first over the top rope.

Awesome throws in a chair behind the referee’s back but Storm opts to wedge it in the corner instead. A Regal Roll gets two for Storm as the USA chants start up. Storm grabs an abdominal stretch for a bit before getting dropkicked out of the air to start Kidman’s comeback. The BK Bomb gets two but Storm scores with a superkick for the same. Storm gets kicked into the chair in the corner for two as Gunns pulls the referee out, triggering the required stable brawl. In the melee, Kidman hits a quick Kid Crusher for the pin.

Rating: C+. Would you expect these two to have a bad match? Storm working on the ribs to set up the eventual Mapleleaf was a good idea but you had to have the stupid brawl on the floor because that hasn’t been done to death in WCW lately. Also it’s nice to see Kidman getting wins but I’m not wild on Storm taking a pin.

Shane Douglas vs. Sid Vicious

Shane complains about being in this town and jumps Sid as he gets in the ring. They’re quickly on the floor with Sid sending him into the barricade and dropping Shane across the announcers’ table. Back in and as Disco incorrectly says Shane hasn’t had a title since he’s been in WCW as Shane pulls out the chain. That’s fine with Sid who kicks Shane in the face and drops a leg. A chokeslam drops Douglas though and the powerbomb gives Sid the easy pin.

Rating: D. Well so much for that idea. I’m very glad that the #1 contender for the US Title got squashed six days before his title shot because Sid wouldn’t have been the same otherwise. Douglas is just one of those guys who is a career midcarder outside of ECW and he’s actually growing on me in that role.

Steiner and Jarrett come out and beat Sid into the crowd after the match.

Flair says Jarrett and Steiner are suspended if they don’t try their hardest tonight. On top of that, Jim Duggan is guest referee for the Penalty Box match. Duggan just looks weird with that short hair.

Here’s Terry Funk to say he’s the king of hardcore wrestling. He’s tired of Flair giving him these nobodies like Crowbar in hardcore matches so he wants the cream of the crop. Funk wants Goldberg, Scott Steiner and Diamond Dallas Page in hardcore matches. Cue Crowbar to call Funk an old man but it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Funk says he’s the man who started ECW because he’s the extreme wrestler in the world today.

Crowbar talks about how he’s the representation of everything Funk is afraid of. As he’s talking, Daffney plays with sparklers and a Sin logo pops up with its own sound effects. Crowbar keeps being serious and says on Sunday he’s going to become the new face of the hardcore revolution. The brawl is on until Meng comes out and puts them both in the Tongan Death Grip. Daffney gets a superkick for her efforts. Meng leaves with the Hardcore Title.

Jimmy Hart DJ challenge.

Someone goes into an office and swaps an envelope from a black suit jacket. That might be the same envelope that Sanders said contained the RANDOM opponents for Vito and Kwee Wee.

Kronik vs. Goldberg/Dewayne Bruce

Bruce has a broken arm. It’s a brawl in the aisle to start with Goldberg punching Adams, leaving Clark to dismantle Bruce like the career jobber he is. The announcers basically scream at Kronik to go after Bruce until thinks settle down to Adams clotheslining Sarge for two. Bruce gets in a quick DDT and Goldberg comes in before being tagged. Yeah he already had one leg in when he was tagged but the referee is fine with all this. Goldberg cleans house as only he can but Totally Buff comes out to beat on Bruce. As this is going on, Goldberg ends Adams with the usual.

Rating: D. As was mentioned, WHY ARE THEY NOT GOING AFTER BRUCE? All you really have to do is distract Goldberg and then beat WCW’s answer to the Brooklyn Brawler and Goldberg is gone. Kronik continues to look worthless but I guess they can be credited with trying to fight Goldberg at the same time.

Totally Buff break the cast off Bruce’s arm and beat down everyone, including Kronik for some reason.

Here’s Sanders to pull the names out of the envelope for the Minnesota Massacre. The first three names drawn are Sanders himself, Chuck Palumbo, Sean O’Haire…..and the Insiders.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Kevin Nash vs. Mike Sanders vs. Chuck Palumbo vs. Sean O’Haire

Officially this is a five way last man standing match so I’m assuming elimination rules. The Thrillers work as a team of course and wrap Nash’s leg around the post before punching Page a lot. Disco: “Page is a tremendous competitor. I understand he’s been doing yoga.” O’Haire and Palumbo superkick each other so Sanders is the only man left but a low blow lets him join the club. Cue the rest of the Thrillers but Kwee Wee, Big Vito (Weren’t they guaranteed to be in this?) and Johnny the Bull cut them off. The Insiders hit their finishers on the Thrillers to win, despite it not being a team match and no counting from the referee.

Rating: F. Do you know the rules of this match? It was a five way last man standing match with two winners and no count from the referee while the people who were announced for the match weren’t actually involved. Oh and more #1 contenders get beaten down in a glorified handicap match six days before their title shot.

WCW World Title: Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Jarrett

Steiner is defending but says he doesn’t care what Ric says because he won’t fight his friend. Here’s Flair to say the title is on the line or Steiner is stripped of the belt and Jarrett is out of the Sin main event. Jarrett shoves Midajah for some reason to give Steiner even more reason to pummel him severely. Steiner drops him with a gorilla press but Jeff shrugs it off. A clothesline has a bit more effect for the champ and it’s time for the elbow drop pushups.

Jeff’s perfect dropkick puts Steiner down and a high cross body gets two on the champ. Steiner tilt-a-whirl slams him and ties Jeff in the Tree of Woe for some choking. They head outside with Jeff being sent into the barricade and slammed onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Jeff can’t get the Stroke as Steiner suplexes him instead. Cue Sid to beat on Steiner though as I guess we have a no contest.

Rating: D+. You know, it actually wasn’t out of the question to have them change the title here in a surprise and then give it back to Steiner on Sunday. Jarrett was fine here and Steiner was his normal self, even if they were just doing all their signature stuff with absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

Now the Mystery Man comes in to beat on Jeff and a big brawl end the show.

Overall Rating: D. Standard Nitro here with nothing really standing out and WCW managing to screw up something as simple as a last man standing match. I really don’t want to see Sin as the card has the potential to be one of the worst in a long time, especially the (likely) unmasking of the Mystery Man. Bad show here but that’s really the norm these days.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Thunder
Date: January 3, 2001
Location: Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee
Attendance: 2,547
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Stevie Ray

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to some of the final months of WCW. It’s been a little while since we’ve had anything to actually watch as a few shows were preempted by holidays. Even WCW wasn’t stupid enough to try and have a show on Christmas night so this is a fresh start for them. Let’s get to it.

We open with a rapid fire video of everything that has been happening recently. It would be nice if they had more than five seconds per story but we need to get in and out of this in thirty seconds.

Mike Awesome has a Team Canada bus.

Opening sequence.

Tony calls this 2001: the Wrestling Odyssey. Well it certainly is a difficult journey.

Here’s President Ric Flair to get things going. He has a few things to get through before we start the show. First of all, Goldberg’s Streak is on the line in his tag match at Sin, as per Goldberg’s request. Second, Scott Steiner will be defending his World Title in a three way dance against Jeff Jarrett and a mystery partner (Yes partner. Even Flair said it twice.). For now though, he’s under a two week suspension because that’s how you build up a World Champion for a pay per view title defense. That suspension ends on Monday, because having a two week suspension WHEN YOU DIDN’T HAVE ANY SHOWS makes perfect sense.

Cue Jeff Jarrett to interrupt because he’s tired of hearing about Steiner and the Mystery Man because he’s the other one in the match. Ric really doesn’t like being threatened so he gives Jarrett a match with Sid with the three way dance spot on the line. His opponent is Sid, whose music starts playing before Ric can even introduce him. It’s a taped show and they still can’t pull this off. We see a clip of Sid having Steiner pinned at Starrcade, which is enough to warrant another title shot. Shouldn’t that be a guaranteed title shot and not a match with Jarrett? Sid says it bees that way so the beating is on tonight.

Post break, Ric asks Mike Sanders why the Insiders aren’t on the show. Sanders says they were given a night off. Ric isn’t convinced but Sanders insists he’s not up to anything.

The Thrillers are in their office when Sanders comes in to say that yeah, he’s the reason the Insiders aren’t here tonight. Reno is given a match with Johnny the Bull later tonight.

Crowbar has a chair match with Meng tonight before he gets to face his idol again. Terry Funk was the man Crowbar looked up to before he bound Crowbar’s hands together and hit him in the head with a chair over and over. Crowbar swears revenge and to receive the hardcore torch at Sin. This was a really impassioned promo, which is why Crowbar isn’t going anywhere.

Buy a Cat T-Shirt!

Shane Helms vs. Jamie Noble

This should be good. They run the ropes to start until Shane shoulders him down, followed by Shane pulling on a double underhook and bending Jamie around like an abdominal stretch. A middle rope fist drop (remember that we’re in Memphis) gets two on Noble. Shane takes too much time posing though and the Nightmare on Helm Street (that dragon sleeper into a standing elbow drop) is countered into a northern lights suplex for two. The Vertebreaker plants Jamie but again Shane won’t cover. Now the Nightmare on Helm Street is enough for the pin in a bit of excess violence.

Rating: C+. Nice little match here with Shane looking good before he heads into his title shot. The Cruiserweights has been one of the few bright spots in these last months as there’s a story here and a talented champion defending against a bunch of guys who want the belt and personal revenge at the same time.

Post match Evan Karagias comes out to go after Shane but Shannon Moore runs in for the save. Jamie tombstones Shannon but takes another Nightmare. Now it’s Chavo running out to hit Shannon with the belt, making him the last man standing.

We see Konnan beating Elix Skipper for reasons I still don’t understand other than stupid politics.

Konnan and Elix get in an argument in the back but it’s a Canadian trap with Konnan getting beaten down.

Cat wants to be the Commissioner again and suggests that Gene Okerlund watch Lassie. Gene thinks he could do things to Miss Jones.

The Harris Twins have been laid out.

Corporal Cajun/Sgt. AWALL vs. Sean O’Haire/Chuck Palumbo

O’Haire and Palumbo are surprise opponents as this was supposed to be a six man. Sanders publicly says that he’s the reason the Insiders aren’t here tonight. The rest of the Thrillers lay out the Misfits to give the team an early advantage with Cajun taking the early beating. It’s a shame the Thrillers can’t beat these stupid names out of them. Stevie makes a Hogan’s Heroes reference which actually breaks Tony up a little bit.

AWALL comes in and punches Palumbo a few times, allowing Cajun to powerslam him for two. Cajun gets two more off a back elbow, only to have Chuck do the Chris Jericho springboard dropkick to knock him off the apron. Of course the Thrillers get in some cheap shots on the outside and AWALL is knocked to the floor. The Seanton Bomb puts Cajun away.

Rating: D. Quite the messy match here but it establishes O’Haire and Palumbo as a good team for the future. Odds are they’ll be the pair that faces the Insiders for the belts at Sin, which is the best possible option due to the level of talent there. The Misfits on the other hand just need to go away. They’re not interesting, the joke is long past over and there’s just nothing left for them to do.

The Thrillers lay out the Misfits post match until Chavo tries to make a save. Shane Douglas comes in through the crowd and beats on Rection.

Post break Shane says he’s going to keep tormenting Rection until he gets the US Title as revenge for him taking away Torrie Wilson. Sin is going to be a chain on a pole match, which makes me think Russo is back. Rection runs in and beats Shane down.

On the bus, Jim Duggan sneaks up on Skipper and attacks because HE NEVER WALKS AWAY FROM A FIGHT. No, apparently he starts them by sneaking up on someone and telling the camera to stay quiet.

The Filthy Animals need to regroup after Konnan got attacked.

Johnny the Bull and Big Vito are talking about their priest when Cat comes up to say he wants to take out Reno tonight so he can put him in soup.

Buff Bagwell doesn’t understand why Sarge has issues with him. Someone who can turn a goof like Goldberg into a wrestler must be talented. Lex Luger has an “autographed copy” of Goldberg’s book and apparently Goldberg can’t spell.

Video on Sarge running the Power Plant.

Lance Storm gives Mike Awesome a match with Duggan tonight, which apparently he can just do.

Rey Mysterio has a plan.

Flair comes in to see the Thrillers and gives Reno a match with the Cat. So Reno has a night off? Jindrak will have a match too but his opponent isn’t named.

Sid, in different clothes than earlier, is ready for Jeff and is very thankful for his spot.

That’s about nine straight minutes of backstage segments. Maybe next up they can have someone hold up a sign that says “YEP! WE’RE STALLING!”

Crowbar vs. Meng

Chair on a pole match, making me even more convinced that Russo is back. Of note: there isn’t an actual pole as the chair is just in the corner. They slug it out to start as Daffney breaks some glass with the screeches. It’s already time for the chair with Meng getting his hands on it, only to have Crowbar dive over the top to take him out. Meng is whipped into the barricade but comes right back with his normal Tongan insanity. A drop toehold sends Meng head first into the steps and for some reason it actually works.

Daffney and Paisley get in a fight over the chair (you remember the chair) as Crowbar slows Meng down with a reverse DDT. That’s not enough for a cover though as Crowbar charges at Meng, only to be flapjacked into the chair on the top turnbuckle. The Death Grip puts Crowbar out.

Rating: D+. For some reason the announcers were stunned by the win, even though this feels like your standard way to build Meng back up before having him get taken down again. I’m assuming we’ll be having another three way for the Hardcore Title at Sin, which makes me think this should have been a standard hardcore match but why do that when you can have a (non-existent) pole.

Flair shakes Bagwell and Luger’s hands but nothing is heard.

Mark Jindrak vs. Goldberg

Jindrak actually gets in some offense but gets beaten in just over a minute with the usual.

Goldberg is ready for Luger and Bagwell.

Jeff Jarrett calls out the Mystery Man tonight because the Mystery Man can choose who he’s facing at Sin.

Luger and Bagwell talk to Kronik.

The Cat vs. Reno

Before the match, Cat says he wants Sanders out here because he has no issue with Igor (his name for Reno, which he’s used at least five times tonight). Reno jumps him from behind and chokes a lot to start, only to get knocked out to the floor. Miss Jones fires off some kicks, which certainly isn’t an excuse to showcase how she looks in chaps. Back in and Reno stomps away but his t-bone suplex is countered into a small package for two. Stevie: “Is that a brainbuster?” Cat pops up, does the crotch chop, and the Feliner ends Reno quick. I have no idea what this is supposed to accomplish but Cat is winning a lot lately.

Jim Duggan vs. Mike Awesome

There’s a big blurred out area behind the Canadians during their pre-match speech due to fans flipping them off. Duggan is back in the blue trunks here. They slug it out to start with Awesome being knocked to the floor for a change. Back in and Awesome slowly beats him down as the match loses the little interest it had coming in. Duggan comes back with a running clothesline as Stevie name drops Bronco Lubich. Skipper does….something from the floor though, allowing Mike to hit a quick Awesome Splash for the pin in a hurry.

Post match the beatdown is on until the Filthy Animals come in for the save. Konnan grabs the mic and tells them to look at the screen, where we see the Team Canada bus covered in graffiti.

After a break, Team Canada says they want to deal with the Animals at Sin instead of calling the cops.

The Mystery Man’s gear is shown in the back.

Buff Bagwell vs. DeWayne Bruce

Buff turns his back to pose to start (and it’s hard to blame him), allowing Bruce to get in a shot from behind. They take it to the floor with Bruce in control and walking around the ring with Buff being dragged behind. Back in and Buff gets two off a neckbreaker before we hit the choking. Bruce fights up and makes his comeback so here’s Luger with a chair. We cut to Goldberg running out of his locker room but Kronik jumps him, throws him in a box and carries him away on a forklift. Back in the arena, Luger Pillmanizes Bruce’s arm for the DQ.

Rating: F. Leave it to two moronic heels to attack a career jobber and injure him instead of going after GOLDBERG. This is such a stupid story as we’ve already had Goldberg go over Luger twice and now they’re going to use Bruce to stretch it out to a third pay per view. Why this is happening while Sid, Jarrett, and whoever is under that mask get a title shot isn’t clear, but I’d chalk it up to “WCW is stupid.”

Jeff Jarrett vs. Sid Vicious

The winner is in the three way dance at Sin. Before the match, Jarrett wants to talk (of course) to the Mystery Man. Jeff rambles on for a long time about how he and Sid both want momentum coming towards Sin but the audio keeps cutting out, likely trying to censor some chants. Sid won’t let him bail though and the brawl is on in front of a dead crowd with Jeff being dropped throat first across the barricade.

Back in and Jeff stomps away before a dropkick gets two. We hit the sleeper (of course) until Sid fights back and gets in a chokeslam. The powerbomb is loaded up but the Mystery Man comes in and hits Sid in the back, but since this is WCW we’ll call that a no contest, meaning neither has advanced to Sin.

Rating: D. Naturally two former World Champions can only get four minutes before a run-in finish that didn’t even go the way it was supposed to. As usual, Sid didn’t quite look great in the ring and Jeff was doing nothing other than his signature stuff. I’m sure you know where this is going for Sin and I really wish they could have just gone with that in the first place.

Sid gets double teamed and of course it’s Scott Steiner under the mask to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. There’s just so much stupid on this show with the main event scene being the biggest issue. I can’t get over the fact that it’s freaking Buddy Lee Parker getting the spotlight in a story. Yeah he trained Goldberg, but you can’t just make up a story to get someone in there with a slightly better win/loss record? As in with any wins on his record? The rest of the show was the usual mess, not made any better by the fact that Sin is next week. Bad show here and a really horrible way to start the new year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 23, 2016
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re past Extreme Rules and now on to Money in the Bank season, meaning we might start tonight with some qualifying matches. However, the bigger story coming out of last night is the return of Seth Rollins, who attacked WWE World Champion Roman Reigns after Reigns retained over AJ Styles. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the main event and Rollins making his return.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Seth to get things going, complete with a new graphic that says “Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim.” He certainly looks like a face to start though I wouldn’t put money on that one. Rollins gets a nice WELCOME BACK chant before smiling at the crowd and saying it’s been 200 days since he’s been in this ring. In case you’ve been living under a rock (or in case you’re really not paying attention), he’s back. He’s here to get back the title that he never lost and last night he fired the first shot with the Pedigree on Reigns.

The fans keep freaking out so Rollins asks if they missed him. Fans: “YES! YES! YES!” Rollins brings up some of the dastardly things he’s done over the years and about how the fans didn’t buy him by calling him a coward who hid behind the Authority. Then his knee went out from all the weight of carrying this company. Over the last few months he’s gotten so many fan letters but he put every one of them in a garbage can and set them on fire.

None of these fans were here with him when he was rehabbing his knee twice a day. Now he’s back on his own to get the title back but here’s Reigns to interrupt. Rollins of course bails and says it’s happening on his time. This brings out Shane to invite Rollins back inside for an adult conversation. This conversation consists of Shane making Roman vs. Seth for the title at Money in the Bank.

Sheamus talks about how much he can’t stand Sami Zayn and this New Era. Tonight he’s going to give Sami a beating for all the people who are sick of this foreigner coming in with his stupid hat. Nothing wrong with a simple, old school pre-match promo.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn

Sheamus takes him down into a wristlock to start, followed by a legdrop of all things. Sami sends it outside with a hurricanrana, only to have Sheamus put a knee in his ribs to send us to a break. Back with Sheamus getting two off the Irish Curse but Sami BLASTS him with a clothesline and gets two off the Michinoku Driver. The Brogue Kick misses and Sami clotheslines him to the floor, only to have the flip dive blocked by a forearm. Sheamus gets back in and eats a quick Helluva Kick for the pin at 10:00.

Rating: C. Well that’s a pleasant surprise, even though there was little doubt that Sami was going to win here. Sami winning is a good option as he’s the epitome of someone who you believe could pull off the big surprise, even though he’s likely only there to take big bumps and sell like no one else can.

Post match Sheamus is furious.

After a break, Apollo Crews is talking about how this is the biggest match of his life when Sheamus jumps him from behind and lays him out.

Here’s New Day for a six man tag and they’ve got a birthday cake. Tonight is the 1,200th episode of Monday Night Raw and that means it’s time to celebrate. However, since cakes in wrestling rings always end up in someone’s face, Big E. picks up the cake and takes it outside to get things out of the way. As he threatens Byron Saxton, cue the Social Outcasts to jump New Day from behind and take us to a break.

New Day vs. Social Outcasts

Joined in progress with Kofi hurricanranaing Slater out of the corner and stomping him down in the corner. Slater is sent to the floor for a Bo Train but Heath collapses, leaving the other two to take a flip dive from Woods. The Midnight Hour puts Slater away at 2:00.

Slater takes the cake post match.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Cesaro vs. The Miz

Non-title. Before the match, Miz and Maryse celebrate their win and promise to win the briefcase again, setting up Miz’s biopic. Cesaro starts fast with the uppercuts in the corner for two before diving over the top to take Miz out again. He even tells Maryse to talk to the hand, taking us back to about 1997.

Back in and Cesaro gets two more off a delayed suplex to send Miz outside as we take a break. We come back with Miz hitting the Reality Check but charging into the uppercut. The Swing doesn’t work because of the shoulder but Miz can’t hit the Skull Crushing Finale. Instead it’s another uppercut and the Neutralizer for the pin on Miz (of course) at 11:24.

Rating: C+. Yo Miz! Thanks for stealing the show last night. Here’s a clean loss to the guy that made you tap out last night. I’m getting to the point where I can’t even complain about these losses anymore. They’re just a fact of life in WWE and nothing is going to change that because WWE doesn’t know any better.

We recap the opening segment.

Rollins talks about how Money in the Bank is his thing when Stephanie comes in. Rollins is all nice to her but she says things have changed around here.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Chris Jericho vs. Apollo Crews

Crews seems just fine after the beatdown earlier tonight while Jericho’s back is covered in bandages from the thumbtacks. Jericho throws a t-shirt in Crews’ face to start and hammers away, only to have Crews just hit him in the bandages because Crews has an IQ above butter. Jericho’s dropkick and chinlock don’t do much as Apollo elbows him in the jaw and avoids the dropkick out of the corner to send Jericho outside.

There’s a moonsault from the apron (mostly missed) to drop Jericho again but Jericho counters the toss powerbomb into the Walls. A rope is grabbed and Crews tries to nip up, only to have Jericho Lionsault onto him for two. Another Walls attempt is countered into a small package, only to have the Codebreaker puts Apollo away at 7:46.

Rating: C+. I’m so glad they brought Crews up for this spot. It’s not like they have a small army of people who can take this loss and not lose a thing as a result. The match was fine, even though Crews didn’t sell a thing from the beatdown earlier. He can’t even hold his back or something? Jericho going to the ladder match is fine but Crews is already looking like another failed call up.

Sheamus laughs at the result.

Life Lesson with Bob Backlund from Smackdown.

Baron Corbin beat Dolph Ziggler last night because he can. This brings in Ziggler, to say Corbin can’t beat him in a straight match. Corbin agrees but doesn’t want to see Ziggler again after. Ziggler promises to steal the show tonight.

Here’s Big Cass, who points to the entrance for the returning Enzo Amore. Enzo is VERY fired up to be back and talks about how he’s back because if he had a dime for every time he got knocked down and didn’t get back up, he would have ZERO DIMES. Cass is ready to kick Bubba Ray Dudley in the head and send him into a pool like a basketball.

Big Cass vs. Bubba Ray Dudley

Feeling out process to start until D-Von goes after Enzo, allowing Bubba to get in a belly to back suplex. He spends too much time shouting though, allowing Cass to take over with a clothesline. A Stinger Splash has Bubba in trouble and we keep up the Sting treatment with Cass slamming him off the top. Cass’ big boot and the empire Elbow put Bubba away at 3:11.

Rating: D. Now this is the kind of thing they need to be doing. Enzo is fine as the guy that gets in trouble so Cass can come in and clean house later on. Enzo can be in a match here or there and that’s fine, but the last few weeks have shown that Cass is the real star of the team and the guy who could get one heck of a push.

Here are Charlotte, Ric Flair and Dana Brooke to talk about their win last night. Ric….oh my goodness he is BOMBED. Anyway, Ric talks about how Charlotte has earned her way to the top and been amazing at everything she’s done. As for Dana, she doesn’t exist without Charlotte, which Dana seems to agree with. Charlotte talks about how her dad was never there for her on Christmas and birthdays because Flair was off being the man. Now Charlotte gets it though because now she’s the woman.

That power makes her be able to say it to him: get out of her ring. Charlotte goes on a rant about how she doesn’t need her dad anymore and how she’s going to be better than the sixteen time World Champion has ever been. She’s tired of having everyone look at her and ask how Ric is doing so now he is dead to her. Charlotte doesn’t want to talk and tells Ric to get out because he can watch her on TV like she did with him for thirty years. Ric leaves in tears while Charlotte and Dana pose. Charlotte still needs practice talking but this worked exactly as it was supposed to.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler headlocks him to the mat to start but Dean slams him with ease and throws Dolph out to the floor. The dive doesn’t get to launch as Ziggler steps to the side as we take a break. Back with Ziggler getting butterfly superplexed for two but missing a dive. Dean’s top rope elbow is countered into a rollup for two, followed by the Fameasser for the same.

Both guys try cross bodies at the same time and we get a quick breather. Dean gets superkicked to little effect as he bounces off the ropes with the rebound lariat for two. Ambrose goes for the elbow again but gets dropkicked out of the air this time. The Zig Zag is countered though and Dirty Deeds sends Dean to the ladder match at 12:09.

Rating: B-. Dean winning a bunch of matches in a row is the way to help him get over the Lesnar loss, as well as keep him from looking like such a big loser in general. Ziggler losing is fine and I’m glad it was clean, though I would have been fine with Corbin interfering to cost him the match.

Ric is leaving and even Arn Anderson can’t make him feel better. Renee Young asks if he has anything to say but Ric gives a very sad forced smile and leaves. That was one of the best scenes I’ve seen in wrestling in a long time. Ric genuinely looked devastated and had nothing to say. It was quiet, it was emotional and it felt real.

The Shining Stars want us to visit Puerto Rico.

Here’s AJ Styles with something to say before his match. AJ talks about how he would have been WWE Champion if not for Anderson and Gallows. This brings the big balds to the ring, where they question what he just said. AJ didn’t bring these guys to the WWE to take out everyone in his way but the way they see it, if this was in Japan, Styles would have been buying them a round of drinks after what happened last night.

AJ thinks it’s time for them to go their separate ways but Anderson and Gallows suggest that AJ never would have made it out of Japan (or a bunch of bar fights for that matter) without them. Styles says they’re still brothers and friends but not on the same team. Gallows says no way because they’re not even friends anymore. That seems to be fine with AJ as the two of them leave.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens

They slug it out to start until Owens grabs a headlock (“HEADLOCK MASTER!”), only to eat a good dropkick for two. Owens gets in a dropkick of his own but AJ bails to the apron. AJ is pulled face first into the apron with Owens heading back inside but rolling under the ropes instead of diving over the top like he was teasing. As usual he’s the best troll in wrestling.

Back from a break with AJ fighting out of a sleeper and hammering away on the floor. They slug it out inside with AJ getting the better of it, only to be pulled off the ropes and sent into the corner with a German suplex. The Cannonball is followed by Owens telling Cole to shut up but AJ gets in a jumping enziguri. That’s fine with Owens who comes back with his brainbuster onto the knee for two but misses the moonsault.

AJ sends him outside and knees him in the jaw, only to eat the Pop Up Powerbomb onto the steps. Somehow AJ beats the count back in (that’s a bit much) and gets in a quick Pele. He really shouldn’t be up that fast after a finisher onto the steps but finishers haven’t meant anything in WWE in forever. The Phenomenal Forearm is broken up though and the Pop Up Powerbomb gives Owens the pin at 16:20.

Rating: B. That was quite the surprise as I was thinking they might go to a double countout to send both guys in instead. Owens certainly deserves the spot and I would LOVE to see what he could do as a Mr. Money in the Bank. Good match here, but would you have expected anything else from these two?

Overall Rating: B-. This was a wrestling focused episode that actually moved some stuff forward. It’s always a nice sign and a good idea to have a fresh set of stories that give fans things they’ve been wanting, save for ANYONE else as the top face of course. I was really liking Charlotte turning on Ric as it’s long overdue and also a well done segment. The show being all about wrestling helped a lot though, as did the extreme lack of McMahons. It was about moving things forward and the show went by quickly as a result. Good stuff here and I’m glad they went this way for a change.

Results

Sami Zayn b. Sheamus – Helluva Kick

New Day b. Social Outcasts – Midnight Hour to Slater

Cesaro b. The Miz – Neutralizer

Chris Jericho b. Apollo Crews – Codebreaker

Big Cass b. Bubba Ray Dudley – Empire Elbow

Dean Ambrose b. Dolph Ziggler – Dirty Deeds

Kevin Owens b. AJ Styles – Pop Up Powerbomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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It really feels like we just got done with Payback and now it’s already time for the next show. In this case that’s not a good thing as the stories were only so strong in the first place and now it’s clear that the stories don’t have enough steam to keep going beyond this show. I’m genuinely not that thrilled to watch this show but maybe I’ll be surprised. Let’s get to it.

Starting on the pre-show, we have Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin in a No DQ match. We’re getting this one because someone felt that the best way to get Corbin over was to have him lose a big match before beating Ziggler in a rematch. Now it’s the always useful rubber match with a gimmick attached, even though I don’t know how many people even wanted the second match in the first place.

Now in theory you have Corbin go over here but that’s what everyone would have said going into their first match. Ziggler is a guy who can take loss after loss and be just fine so there shouldn’t be any other option here aside from Corbin hitting a chair shot or two and End of Days for the pin, thankfully ending this mess of a feud in the process. More than once I’ve forgotten that they’re even feuding and there’s really no excuse for that.

Next up we’ll go with Kalisto defending the US Title against Rusev. This is another match where the ending should be obvious, especially if you look at things for more than all of eighteen seconds. Kalisto was beaten down on Raw and Rusev is an absolute monster, so why in the world would you not switch the title here? I’m sure John Cena returning on Memorial Day is just a coincidence as well.

There’s a new gimmick match on the show as well, assuming you consider a weapons based cage match to be a new gimmick. This time we have Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho in an Asylum match, meaning we have a cage with weapons on top. In this case the feud is over talk shows and a potted plant named Mitch, which is probably why I’m not very interested in this one. Ambrose should go over, unless it’s decided that these two need to have a third match instead of being in Money in the Bank next month. Yeah Dean wins, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Jericho got a surprise win for the sake of being illogical.

New Day is defending the Tag Team Titles against the Vaudevillains and I can’t shake the feeling that we’re getting new champions here. New Day has held the belts since Summerslam (a stat we’re reminded of every few minutes, which is rarely a good omen for a title reign) and it should be near time for someone new to get the titles.

However, I can’t exactly imagine the Vaudevillains actually taking them from New Day. It isn’t going to hurt New Day if they lose them, especially if they get them back in a big moment. That being said, I think New Day retains but the Vaudevillains have been treated as someone beneath the champs, which makes them much more dangerous challengers. New Day should retain though and then drop them to Anderson/Gallows, who we’ll cover next.

What have I done to deserve this? Anderson and Gallows debuted about a month ago and we’re closing in on ten TV matches (counting six mans) where they’ve fought the Usos. If you can come up with a match that has been pounded into the ground any worse than this one, I’d beg of you to not tell me about it.

This time it’s under Texas Tornado rules because it makes sense to just have them go to the big brawling segment that ends all of their matches. I’ll take Anderson and Gallows for the win here as they’ve been beaten enough times now that it’s ok to let them win, just in case people started thinking something of the Usos while making sure no one thought anything of Anderson and Gallows. I’m thoroughly sick of this match but I’m sure we’ll see it again because that’s how WWE does things.

Now we have a match that is actually being treated as one of the biggest on the card as Charlotte defends the Women’s Title against Natalya in a submission match with Ric Flair barred from ringside. The thing here though is that we have a classic Ric Flair formula: how can Charlotte possibly survive this one?

In this case, it’s probably going to be due to some other form of shenanigans and then winning with the Figure Eight. Natalya just isn’t going to win the title because she isn’t that interesting and (in theory at least), it should be setting up a showdown with Sasha for the big title change down the line. The stipulation here comes off as a smoke screen though, which isn’t the most interesting. The build has been good though and Ric not being around should help things a bit.

Next to last we have probably the second biggest match on the card and the one that I’m looking forward to the most as Miz defends the Intercontinental Title against Sami Zayn, Cesaro and Kevin Owens. They’ve put together one heck of a feud here as all four could conceivably walk out with the title and there’s an actual reason to care about each of them fighting the other.

As for the winner……I think it’s going to be Miz. I know the logical move would be to move the title onto any of the other three but Miz hanging onto it can set up a one on one match for the title, perhaps for Sami, before they move on to the next big Zayn vs. Owens match. It also helps that Miz is quite the champion and could give someone a good rub in a title loss. Anyone could win here but I’d actually like to see Miz retain.

Finally we have the main event and please let this be the final match in the feud. Roman Reigns is defending the WWE World Title against AJ Styles in an Extreme Rules rematch after retaining under some shenanigans last time. The idea here is basically welcoming a bunch of violence and interference, which doesn’t really make me want to see the match again. I mean, it was awesome the first time but the Usos/Anderson/Gallows interfering has destroyed any interest I have in this match.

The question here is who interferes as a surprise to cost either guy the title. Of course there’s always the Finn Balor option and it would make sense but I’m still not sure they’ll pull the trigger here. Of course we’ll have Reigns retaining the title but my goodness I’m not really looking forward to this one. I can’t imagine Styles stays in the title hunt after this as he’ll likely do Money in the Bank and then move on to another feud. Either way I’m not as excited for this one than I was for the previous one and most of that is due to this story being hammered into the ground without anything being added to it.

Overall Extrem Rules really doesn’t feel that extreme. We have a nine match card (counting the pre-show) and there’s an Extreme Rules match, a No DQ match, a cage match and a Texas Tornado match. Unless you could submissions and a four way as extreme, this feels like something just a step or two above a regular pay per view card.

Normally the violence and gimmicks can carry this show on its back without too much effort but this last week has killed any interest I had. It’s just not a show that feels like it needs to exist and is only happening because the PPV schedule had Extreme Rules listed. There’s definitely some stuff I’m interested in seeing but nothing that really blows me away. I’m almost sure things will be fine but the stories need to move on after this one.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Monday Nitro #271
Date: December 18, 2000
Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Attendance: 2,872
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, Mark Madden

Since even WCW isn’t stupid enough to hold a TV show on Christmas night or New Year’s Day, this is the last Monday Nitro of 2000. It’s also the night after Starrcade and a grand total of nothing happened. Steiner is still World Champion, Goldberg is still undefeated (and still feuding with Lex Luger for whatever reason) and the Insiders are still a thing because of reasons. Let’s get to it.

Ric Flair welcomes us to the show and talks about how awesome tonight is going to be. We’ll be seeing Buff Bagwell vs. Goldberg but more importantly we’re going to find out who is going to challenge Steiner for the World Title at Sin. Flair implies that it might be multiple opponents, which would at least be a bit more interesting.

Quick recap of last night’s show with a traditional highlight package.

Opening sequence.

Shannon Moore vs. Shane Helms

Winner gets the title shot and for some reason Helms doesn’t get an introduction. They shake hands and start with a fast paced pinfall reversal sequence before Shane turns things up by throwing him over the top by the hair. Shannon pulls him to the floor for a hurricanrana, only to get powerslammed off the top for two. The X Plex (arm trap German suplex) gets two on Shannon before he misses a hurricanrana, allowing Shane to get in a great looking top rope sunset flip for two. Instead the Vertebreaker puts Shannon away with ease.

Rating: B-. This was the old school cruiserweight formula with both guys just doing high spots to wake the crowd up. It’s sad that the company had to go out so soon after this as the division was definitely undergoing a renaissance around this time and it could have been interesting to see where things were going.

Chavo runs in to go after Shane but gets laid out as well.

Hugh Morrus yells at Lash for saving Chavo last night.

Here’s Scott Steiner with something to say. Scott thinks Flair is taking his job as CEO way too seriously because he can’t handle being an average champion by comparison. Steiner dominates while Flair had to squeak by and being CEO is a tough job because Flair can’t find any wrestlers to fight him. Maybe Flair can convince Diamond Dallas Page to get a sex change so he has the balls to face him. That line was allegedly a shoot and led to a fight in the back where Steiner went after Page’s eyes and caused Page and Nash to walk out.

This brings out Ric to say he’s going to make Sin’s main event a three way match with a mini tournament tonight to decide on one opponent. Ric isn’t going to announce who the four participants are so Steiner doesn’t lay them all out. On top of that, there’s going to be a mystery opponent who will be here tonight.

Jimmy Hart does his DJ challenge.

Buff Bagwell laughs at Goldberg spelling “stuff” wrong when he signed a copy of his book. Now Bagwell is here to save the company and has formed a new tag team called Totally Buff. Before Luger can say anything, Scott Steiner comes in and almost begs Luger to help him find out who is in the mini tournament.

Hardcore Title: Terry Funk vs. Meng

Meng is challenging and has Paisley/Kwee Wee with him. Funk pops up on screen to call Meng out to the back for a fight in a cage. Meng heads back to fight him and it’s just in the regular places instead of a cage. I guess old people who are here for no apparent reason are false advertisers as well. They hit each other with some weapons and Funk gets handcuffed. Funk actually begs off, only to say Meng has a big nose.

We get the hit/walk sequence with Meng beating him back into the arena and then the ring. Funk gets in a trashcan shot of his own but Meng shrugs it off and sets up a table. Meng’s splash goes through the table instead of Funk but that’s not sold either. The Death Grip goes on, only to have Crowbar come out and hit Meng with the monkey wrench to give Funk the pin.

Rating: D-. How much good can come from a man in his mid 50s being hit with a trashcan? Apparently quite a bit in WCW’s eyes as they seem perfectly happy to let it happen here and then again in his next title defense. It’s almost like they’re turning this into a joke, like almost everything else around here.

Crowbar, again with the crazy man look, wants Funk and the title at Sin.

Now Steiner wants Jarrett’s help as well.

Vito wants to know where Reno’s family values are. He’s coming for Reno and the Thrillers.

Crowbar tells Mike Awesome to drop the 70s stuff. Didn’t he already drop that nonsense?

Lance Storm vs. Rey Mysterio

This is the first qualifying match for the #1 contenders match. Before the match, Storm says it’s time for him to win the one title he’s never won. Rey has taped ribs coming in but still headscissors Storm down and grabs a rollup for two. Storm gets knocked into the corner and the referee takes a shot to the leg in what seemed like a real injury. A Lionsault hits Storm’s raised knees and Storm gets two of his own off a backbreaker.

They head outside with Rey being sent hard into the barricade as they’re going with a very simple and logical formula here. Back in and Rey scores with a clothesline (not a move I remember him ever using), only to get caught in an abdominal stretch. Rey gets out again but misses a springboard splash to hurt the ribs even further. A headscissors puts Storm on the floor and Rey hits a running flip dive into a seated senton because Rey Mysterio is Spanish for what bad ribs. Now the springboard splash connects for two but a quick Mapleleaf makes Rey tap.

Rating: B. Take two talented wrestlers and let them have a good wrestling match with a simple story. What else were you really expecting out of something like this? It’s also cool to see Storm get a chance at a slightly higher spot up on the card. I was really liking this and again I got WAY more out of a basic wrestling match like this over one of the multiple wild brawls last night at Starrcade.

Mike Awesome vs. Jeff Jarrett

This is the other qualifying match, but first of all let’s have Awesome call himself a love doctor crossed with a career killer. I’m not sure how to take that one but it sounds like an upgrade. Awesome throws him up into the air for a big crash and a near fall, followed by a release German suplex. A Stunner across the top rope sends Awesome to the floor and Jeff puts him face first into a chair. Mike drive him back first into the apron a few times before going over to the announcers’ table to complete a requirement.

A powerbomb is broken up with a low blow however and Jeff gets in that dropkick of his for two. Awesome shrugs it off (well it was just a dropkick) and gets two off a Batista Bomb. Mike uses a lifting Pedigree of all things (Stevie Ray’s Slapjack, which I guess is fair game now) for two but the referee gets bumped a few seconds later. Jeff gets the guitar but it’s quickly taken away, only to have Jarrett pull out another one to knock Awesome silly for the pin.

Rating: C-. Nowhere near as entertaining as the previous match as Awesome really isn’t someone who does well outside of the high impact style, which isn’t exactly Jarrett’s forte. It wasn’t terrible or anything but that guitar shot is turning into one of the most overused finishes I’ve ever seen.

Steiner goes after Jarrett in the back but Jeff says he wants in the title match to watch Steiner’s back.

Glacier is still returning and Norman Smiley dances in happiness.

Shane Douglas wants to fight Hugh Morrus again on Thunder and wants the Misfits involved. He’s hired Kronik to make sure everything is all nice and fair.

Clip of Goldberg on the Man Show.

Awesome freaks out in the back.

No Nitro for the next two weeks.

The Cat vs. Alex Wright

For some reason Cat asks Wright to dance some more. Alex does so but Cat says he’d rather see Madden get in the ring and dance. Thankfully that goes nowhere (the last thing we need is Madden thinking more people care about him) and it’s Cat missing his kicks to start. Alex throws him out to the floor as Madden gets up and runs away, likely due to the announcers talking about the Insiders for reasons that aren’t exactly clear. They trade drink shots as Madden is now back on commentary and a big Wright fan.

Back in and a Saito suplex gets two for Alex and it’s right back to the floor. They go inside again as it’s clear that Wright doesn’t have much of an idea of what to do with this much time. An armbar goes nowhere so Alex cranks on the other arm. Cat gets up for a quick Feliner and the pin.

Rating: D-. You know, you can come up with a lot of reasons why WCW wasn’t anything worth watching around this time and this is another added to the pile: a lot of the wrestling was absolutely horrible. It’s never a good sign when the only good thing about a match is the fact that Ms. Jones looked great. Horribly uninteresting stuff here as people shouldn’t be repeating spots in a six minute match.

The Thrillers arrive in a limo.

Scott Steiner beats up some cruiserweights because they’re around and not doing anything else.

Here are the Thrillers for a chat. Sanders makes trailer park jokes and then stands around wasting time. Eventually he says they give the children something to look up to and men a reason to get in the gym. Mike rips on the Insiders for not being here tonight and says they’ll be defending the titles at Sin.

Their opponents will be….announced later as here’s Ric Flair to brag about how many women he would get back in the Horsemen days. Anyway, Perfect Event is awesome but they’ll be involved in a tag team battle royal on Thunder to determine the #1 contenders. This took WAY too long to get to the point but you had to expect something like that with Sanders on the mic.

Buff Bagwell vs. Goldberg

It’s a chase to start but Luger is waiting on the floor with a chair to hit Goldberg for the DQ at about thirty seconds. Why not hit Bagwell so Goldberg loses via DQ? Oh and a better question: WHY IS THIS FEUD GOING TO THREE FREAKING PAY PER VIEWS???

Goldberg gets beaten down until Sarge comes in for the save.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Lance Storm

The winner goes to the title match at Sin. Feeling out process to start with Jarrett hiptossing him down but getting kicked away. Jeff takes him into the corner but gets tossed to the floor. Storm misses a dive to the floor and tweaks his knee, setting up a very quick Figure Four. The hold is turned over again and Storm gets two off a crucifix as this is the most technical match WCW has had in months. Jeff throws him onto the top for a superplex and a near fall. Jarrett’s enziguri misses and he has to get over to the ropes to save himself. A Stroke out of nowhere sends Jeff to Sin.

Rating: C. This was BEGGING for five more minutes but we were lucky enough to get the Cat vs. Alex Wright instead. Other than that it was a fun match though with two guys who can work a basic yet still entertaining style as well as anyone else. It wasn’t a classic or anything but what else were you expecting here?

Post match Steiner runs out and demands to know who the mystery man is. He heads to the back and sees Flair but a masked man jumps him and beats the champ down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m as shocked as you are but there was a heck of a show and a masterpiece by WCW’s standards. They kept the stupid things on low tonight and just had wrestling matches that advanced stories and helped set up the pay per view. Given that they’re out of two weeks of Nitro due to the holidays, this was a night where they had to get A LOT done and believe it or not they actually pulled it off. This is likely the final good episode and I can actually live with that.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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