Not another Invasion diary...

We are back folks, after a little break thanks to the everyone’s favourite distraction, the Westminster Dog Show and the US Open meant we’ve been deprived of our WWF content for longer than usual. But don’t worry, Mark Garcia Reports is back in action. So, what did we miss last week?

On Raw, Shane kicked off the show, introducing two more new WCW acquisitions, Shawn Stasiak and Hugh Morrus (now going by Bill Demott). They faced the Awesome Storm for the WCW Tag Championships and got beat. Pretty blah. The WCW roster is growing but I can’t tell if this lack of star power is deliberate or not. In any case, Booker T, DDP, Bagwell, Test and Kanyon are getting good responses from the crowd. Meanwhile, Shane gave Test the opportunity to impress him after Test demanded a bigger spotlight last time. Test looked good in his match with DDP but lost after referee Charles Robinson missed his foot on the rope. Test pretty much blew up on Robinson, hitting him with a Big Boot, much to the disgust of Shane and DDP.

No sign of Vince on Raw who was at the hospital with Stephanie. This left Foley and Regal in charge, with Foley desperate for the show to run smoothly and without incident. But this is the WWF so you know that’s not gonna happen. First off, Foley’s tag tournament completely derailed. The Hardyz against the Radicalz ended in a no contest when referee Chad Patton got a little over excited after separating Trish, Terri and Lita. The referee ran backstage to hide his erm… enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Undertaker and Kane didn’t even make it to their match with the A.P.A. who attacked them during their entrance. The two teams brawled through the backstage area the rest of the night, leaving a trail of destruction behind them.

Elsewhere, The Rock got revenge on Austin for the finish on Smackdown, completely destroying Austin’s pickup with a lead pipe and the chaos continued later on when Tazz completely destroyed Rikishi in their King of the Ring quarter final. After the match, he was still livid about the Stinky Face he received on Heat and Tazz smashed Rikishi’s knee with a cinder block. The commentators sold it really strong and Rikishi left on a stretcher. You can thank Raven for this, as he told Tazz to unleash his inner ECW on Rikishi. Tazz advances, joining Edge in the next round who beat X-Pac.

Austin was fuming all night and tried to hire the A.P.A. to protect him but Foley banned Bradshaw and Faarooq taking on more clients for their role in ruining his tournament. However, he accepted that Austin needed protection from The Rock so Foley appointed Tajiri as Austin's bodyguard, much to the annoyance of Regal. Later, after a run in with the WWF women’s locker room, Foley announced he was done trying to fix problems on his own and admitted he needed help.

Over in the hospital, Kurt Angle let slip to Stephanie that it wasn’t The Dudley Boyz who put her through the table but Triple H, which left Stephanie angry at him, refusing to talk to him. It almost looked as though Angle and Stephanie might kiss until Vince arrived. Oh boy, this is where they’re going then. Later, Triple H apologised to Angle for being a jerk to him and thanked him for all the support.

Finally, in the main event The Rock and Chris Jericho teamed up to face Big Show and Tajiri. Austin ducked out of the match at the last minute, putting his bodyguard into the action. Regal raised the stakes for Jericho saying whoever got the winning pinfall would be the number one contender to the WWF Intercontinental Title, even if it was The Rock. During the match, Austin interfered with a gang of police officers who arrested The Rock for the attack on his pickup earlier in the night, leaving Jericho to fight the match alone. Austin distracted Jericho, allowing Tajiri to hit a Buzzsaw Kick to pin and win. Tajiri is the number one contender for Jericho’s title.

On Smackdown, Steve Austin and William Regal conspired against The Rock some more, instigating a restraining order against the Brahma Bull. Mick Foley was furious with Regal for his constant transgressions. Regal tried to cancel Austin’s title defence at King of the Ring with The Rock out of the picture, Angle and Triple H elsewhere and The Undertaker and Kane banned from challenging Austin but they were quickly interrupted by Chris Jericho who believed he should be a challenger. So eager for the opportunity he even challenged Regal, Tajiri and Austin to a handicap match in the main event. Foley rejected the opportunity, saying he would find partners for Jericho. Foley introduced Al Snow as Jericho’s partner and Foley’s personal assistant. In the end, the main event ended up being a handicap match anyway.

Test did not take his punishment from Shane well, attacking him and leaving him needing hospital treatment. Shane left Stacy in charge but needed Mick Foley to accompany him to the hospital, leaving Regal in complete control of the show. He then clocked Al Snow with the brass knux leaving him out of action and Jericho struggled to find partners through the night. Test and Buff Bagwell used Shane’s absence to bully Stacy Keibler into putting them in title matches. Bagwell beat Kanyon to become the WCW United States Champion after Test intimidate Charles Robinson. The WCW official refused to officiate the WCW Heavyweight Title match between Booker T and Test, so Stacy stepped in as the referee. She refused to be bullied by Test, even when he spat in her face. Booker T hit a Bookend and Stacy counted the quick pin for him to retain. Kanyon and DDP helped out Booker T and Stacy and Stacy promised there would be consequences for both men. It got worse for Stacy too, when after Rhyno defeated Jerry Lynn to advance in the King of the Ring qualifier, several WCW wrestlers attacked him with Bill Demott winning the WWF Hardcore Title from the man beast. Stacy quickly made up for the attack, booking a Hardcore match on Raw between the two men.

Foley announced a four way dance at King of the Ring for the WWF Tag Team Titles between The Hardyz, The A.P.A., Undertaker and Kane and Guerrero and Benoit. What a match that’s gonna be! Earlier in the night, more arguing between Terri, Trish and Lita saw The Hardyz lose to Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. They were all set to be rushed by all four Radicalz until they were saved by The Undertaker and Kane. The Hardyz promised they had their backs until King of the Ring.

Too Cool demanded revenge from Tazz but, after Raven’s suggestion that he shouldn’t be wasting his time with them, Tazz partnered with Big Show. They wanted to prove they were the most dominant team in the WWF by challenging The Undertaker and Kane. Big Show got the decisive pin after the ring was surrounded by the A.P.A. and Radicalz and after the match, they beat on The Brothers of Destruction in a six on two attack. The Hardy Boyz rushed down to the ring but changed their minds, leaving the assault to continue. They later admitted their best chance of beating The Undertaker and Kane was when they were down and out.

Over in the hospital, Angle and Stephanie kissed, only to be caught by Vince McMahon. Stephanie was later discharged from the hospital, with Vince not allowing either man to accompany them back to Greenwich.

In the main event, the match went ahead as a 3 on 1 handicap match, with Austin enjoying beating down on an already fatigued Chris Jericho. However, before a pinfall was made, Mick Foley interrupted, informing them all that the restraining order could not be enforced during matches, meaning The Rock was free to team with Jericho after all. A dazed Al Snow also made it to the ring to even the score. Jericho was able to get the win, forcing Tajiri to tap out to the Walls of Jericho, while The Rock chased Austin out of the arena.

On Heat, Al Snow got some measure of revenge, beating William Regal in a match setup by Commissioner Foley. During the pre-match, Foley managed to pickpocket the brass knux from Regal, which allowed Snow to get the win. Albert retained the European Title, defeating Jerry Lynn while Trish also retained, beating Terri who demanded a match after being humiliated on Smackdown. Later, Terri, Jacqueline and Molly Holly beat up Trish.

Here’s my match recaps for the last week.

04/06/01

Denver, CO – Pepsi Center (12,286)
Announcers - Jim Ross & Jerry 'The King' Lawler

SHOW RATING = B+
TV RATING = 1,014,171

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
The Awesome Storm	Bill Demott & Shawn Stasiak	C	WCW Tag Team	Tag Team	Submission
The Hardy Boyz drew	with The Radicalz	B		Tag Team	No Contest
Tazz	Rikishi	C		KOTR Qualifier	Submission
Edge	X-Pac	B-		KOTR Qualifier	Pinfall
Diamond Dallas Page	Test	C+		Singles	Pinfall
Big Show & Tajiri	The Rock & Chris Jericho	B+		Tag Team	Pinfall

04/06/01* (Aired 06/06/01)

Denver, CO – Pepsi Center (12,286)
Announcers - Kevin Kelly & Jonathan Coachman

SHOW RATING = C-
TV RATING = 859,828

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
Jerry Lynn	Grand Master Sexay	C	WWF Light Heavyweight	Singles	Pinfall
Jacqueline	Ivory	D		Singles	Pinfall
Buff Bagwell	Sean O'Haire	C-		Singles	Pinfall
Kanyon	Chuck Palumbo	C	WCW United States	Singles	Pinfall

07/06/01

Omaha, NE – Omaha Civic Auditorium (13,502)
Announcers - Michael Cole & Paul Heyman

SHOW RATING = A-
TV RATING = 1,135,087

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
The Radicalz	The Hardy Boyz	B		Tag Team	Pinfall
Buff Bagwell	Kanyon	B-	WCW United States	Singles	Pinfall
Big Show & Tazz	The Undertaker & Kane	A-		Tag Team	Pinfall
Rhyno	Jerry Lynn	C+		KOTR Qualifier	Pinfall
Booker T	Test	C+	WCW Heavyweight	Singles	Pinfall
Chris Jericho, The Rock & Al Snow	Steve Austin, William Regal & Tajiri	A-		Six Man Tag	Submission

07/06/01* (Aired 10/06/01)

Omaha, NE – Omaha Civic Auditorium (13,502)
Announcers - Michael Cole & Jonathan Coachman

SHOW RATING = C+
TV RATING = 859,828

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
Albert	Jerry Lynn	D+	WWF European	Singles	Pinfall
Trish	Terri	D	WWF Women's	Singles	Pinfall
Tajiri	Christian	C		Singles	Pinfall
Al Snow	William Regal	B		Singles	Pinfall

CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

And there you go. Sorry for the lack of updates the last few weeks, sometimes real life gets in the way of wrestling. And yes, that might include dog shows and tennis but also this dirt sheet writer has to make his ends meet elsewhere and it's a busy time of year. But thanks for sticking with me. Hopefully there won't be so many more distractions over the next few weeks but who knows what the TV schedule (and other stuff) might throw up!

MGR

Are you still with me guys? Mark Garcia Reports is back and after last week’s events, I needed a lie down. Things got back to a more even keel this week as King of the Ring approaches. I’ve got the match ups for your predictions down below but first, what happened on Raw and Smackdown? A left field call was made with the arrival of the WCW Cruiserweights. Billy Kidman made his debut on Raw before winning the WCW Cruiserweight Title on Smackdown in a Fatal Fourway defeating Shane Helms, Alex Wright and Juventud Guerrera. It’s good to see these guys back in action as they really helped WCW’s midcard flourish and hopefully this will be an opportunity to see that happen again. Shane’s WCW roster has grown considerably since the four guys on his debut a couple of weeks back but the big money guys are still on those AOL contracts. However, they’re being patient and as the weeks tick by, those contracts start becoming worth less and less and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Even though WCW are still around on WWF TV, things appear to be mostly cordial between Vince and Shane on screen and I'm not hearing anything about a WCW 'invasion' style angle at the moment. In any case, without some rearranging, a WCW invasion would be very difficult with this roster, not just in size but reputation too.

Raw kicked off from Washington DC with The Rock and Austin opening the show with a verbal sparring competition and ended with a beatdown of The Rock by a mixture of WWF and WCW wrestlers who Austin thought were more deserving competitors. It led to a Gauntlet Match in the main event.

Shane told off his WCW wrestlers for getting involved and Shawn Stasiak complained that Shane was playing favourites, only booking DDP and Booker T in the big matches and they wanted to take matters into their own hands. Shane took some responsibility and booked Kanyon and the debuting Billy Kidman to face Buff Bagwell for the US Title. Kidman looked good in his WWF debut but Bagwell got the win, using sneaky heel tactics.

Triple H was on a warpath, looking for Kurt Angle and Tajiri, which almost led to a confrontation between The Game and Austin, who wanted Triple H onside. Meanwhile, Angle spent the night hiding in the production truck, messing up the show and annoying the crew. Angle claimed he wouldn’t leave until he found out who was responsible for ‘The Truth’ videos that played last week. He did save the WWF’s blushes however, cutting the feed of the secret camera that Al Snow had installed in the women’s locker room to keep an eye on them, right before Trish Stratus disrobed. Obviously, a work but how could you, Kurt?! Mick Foley obviously ordered Snow to remove the camera immediately.

Speaking of Foley, the first match of Mick Foley’s Mix Ups took place when Bradshaw and Eddie Guerrero defeated Kane and Jeff Hardy. Bradshaw pinned Hardy, but also took out Guerrero when the two men argued. The A.P.A. are being booked really strong, almost equally as bad ass as The Undertaker and Kane.

Foley wasn’t finished, putting Triple H and Jericho into a team with the returning Spike Dudley against Austin, Regal and Tajiri. Neither Jericho or Spike trusted Triple H, although Spike told him he would be back for him after dealing with Austin. Triple H was once again distracted by ‘The Truth’ video that played during the match, finally revealing to Triple H that Angle and Stephanie kissed at the hospital. Tajiri pinned Spike but post match, sprayed Regal in the face with the Green Mist accidentally. This allowed Jericho to lock Regal in the Walls of Jericho, with Y2J demanding a rematch against Tajiri at King of the Ring, which he finally accepted.

The King of the Ring progressed, with Christian overcoming Rhyno in the Quarter Finals and Tazz defeating Scotty 2 Hotty. Scotty was so close to getting the win but Raven and Steven Richards interfered. After the match, Tazz tried that same move with the cinder block that took out Rikishi, but Edge and Christian ran him off. They’ve been teasing a break up of X-Factor for a few weeks now, with X-Pac constantly belittling Justin Credible. X-Pac claimed both he and Albert were champions, even though X-Pac holds Jerry Lynn’s stolen Light Heavyweight Title.

In the main event, The Rock got through Shawn Stasiak without too much trouble but Big Show presented a much more imposing challenger. After getting through him, Kurt Angle joined the gauntlet but Angle chased away by Triple H and counted out (Vince and Stephanie had encouraged Kurt Angle to stay and participate in the match, wanting to be as far away from Angle as possible when Triple H caught up with him). Lance Storm and Mike Awesome were also taken out by The Rock’s valiant effort before the two men double teamed him in frustration for their elimination, putting The Rock through the announce table with an aided powerbomb. Diamond Dallas Page, who had earlier requested to Shane to be involved in the match came to the ring but took pity on The Rock, trying to help him to his feet and encouraged EMT’s to help. Test came in through the crowd, knocking out DDP with a chair before hitting The Rock with a Big Boot to pin and win the match, becoming the number one contender to Austin’s title.

Yeah, no. On Smackdown, Vince was having none of Test’s antics and said since he was Shane’s problem, Test would face Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW Heavyweight Title in a Triple Threat Match. The Rock interrupted proceedings demanding Vince make his match with Austin official at King of the Ring. When Vince refused, noting The Rock lost on Monday, The Rock told Shane he would sign the contract WCW had offered. Vince backtracked and set up the match and but begged The Rock not to sign with Shane. The interruptions continued when Triple H demanded Vince tell him where Stephanie and Kurt were hiding. Shane used the division to set up a main event between The Rock, Triple H, Booker T, DDP and Chris Jericho against rivals Austin, Test, Buff Bagwell, Kurt Angle and William Regal.

Mick Foley booked Tajiri to defend the WWF Intercontinental Tile against Kane, much to the horror of both Tajiri and Regal. Despite his beef with Jericho, Regal has started to show a softer side in his relationship with Tajiri, which actually appears quite touching. Regal even went as far as standing up to Austin when he demanded Tajiri take his place in the main event. Kane beat Tajiri by DQ so he retains, after interference from The Radicalz and A.P.A. Earlier in the night, Mick Foley’s Mix Ups continued as The Undertaker and Matt Hardy defeated Faarooq and Benoit. The Hardyz did come to Kane and Undertaker’s rescue and the four teams brawled until Mick Foley stopped them to inform them that the tag match at King of the Ring would be a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match.

Despite having formed an alliance recently, Tazz and Big Show argued when Tazz chewed out the giant for his lack of support with Edge, Christian and Too Cool on Raw. Big Show said he had his eyes on the WWF Title and that was more important than Tazz’s little feuds. Big Show squashed Taka Michinoku while Edge got past Steven Richards as the final four in the King of the Ring took their places, joining Christian and Tazz in the Semi-Finals.

Kurt Angle tried to appease Triple H claiming to know the identity behind the mysterious Truth videos, organising X-Factor to drag Spike Dudley out of the ring. Spike admitted it was him; revenge for the broken leg and getting his brothers fired. Kurt thought the confession would make them even but Triple H didn’t care, and tried to attack Angle. Stephanie got in his face and slapped him, saying she was leaving him for Kurt. Spike showed a further ‘Truth’ video, of a motel room Kurt and Stephanie stayed in after last weeks Raw, getting some very compromising audio that alluded to some pretty X-rated stuff. Later in the night, Mick Foley suggested a match pitting Triple H against Kurt Angle at King of the Ring which Angle flat out rejected until he was pressured into it by Stephanie. Foley made it extra spicy, making it a No Holds Barred match.

As mentioned, Shane showcased a Fatal Four Way between the cruiserweights that saw Billy Kidman become the WCW Cruiserweight Title while Al Snow found a number one contender for the Women’s title, holding a hot dog eating competition, won by Molly Holly. The whole thing degenerated into a food fight, with the women spraying each other with ketchup and mustard.

The main event was a big, dirty house show style affair but a bit of fun. Triple H once again chased Angle out of the arena, meaning their impact in the match was minimal. The match ended with Test pinning Booker T, who hit a Big Boot into a chair into his face, putting him over strong ahead of the pay per view. Rock and Austin didn’t get much action with each other either as they’re clearly saving it until King of the Ring.

This week’s match recaps!

18/06/01
Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum (13,201)
Announcers - Jim Ross & Jerry 'The King' Lawler
SHOW RATING = A-
TV RATING = 1,514,894

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
Christian	Rhyno	C+		KOTR Quarter Final	Pinfall
Buff Bagwell	Billy Kidman / Kanyon	C	WCW United States	Triple Threat	Pinfall
Bradshaw & Eddie Guerrero	Kane & Jeff Hardy	B+		Tag Team	Pinfall
Tazz	Scotty 2 Hotty	C-		KOTR Quarter Final	Pinfall
Steve Austin, William Regal & Tajiri	Triple H, Chris Jericho & Spike Dudley	A-		Six Man Tag	Pinfall
Test	The Rock / Big Show / Angle / Stasiak / Awesome / Storm	A		Gauntlet Match	Pinfall

18/06/01* (Aired 20/06/01)
Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum (13,201)
Announcers - Kevin Kelly & Jonathan Coachman
SHOW RATING = C+
TV RATING = 842,802

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
Faarooq	Bill Demott	C		Singles	Pinfall
The Radicalz	Kaientai	B-		Tag Team	Pinfall
Matt Hardy & Ivory	Steven Richards & Molly Holly	C		Tag Team	Pinfall
Albert	Al Snow	C	WWF European	Singles	Pinfall

21/06/01

North Charleston, SC - North Charleston Coliseum (13,923)
Announcers - Michael Cole & Paul Heyman

SHOW RATING = A
TV RATING = 1,115,070

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
The Undertaker & Matt Hardy	Faarooq & Chris Benoit	B		Tag Team	Pinfall
Big Show	Taka Michinoku	C		KOTR Quarter Final	Pinfall
Billy Kidman	Shane Helms / Alex Wright / Juventud Guerrera	C-	WCW Cruiserweight	Fatal Fourway	Pinfall
Edge	Steven Richards	B-		KOTR Quarter Final	Pinfall
Kane	Tajiri	C-	WWF Intercontinental	Singles	DQ
Steve Austin, Angle, Regal, Test & Bagwell	The Rock, Triple H, Jericho, Booker T & DDP	A		Ten Man Tag	Pinfall

And that was that. Another couple of good shows and some interesting match ups coming up. Here’s the card below, including the buy in on Sunday Night Heat. They've added Too Cool and Kidman taking on Steven Richards and The Awesome Storm. It seems like after all the chaos, Raven still ain't stepping into the ring anytime soon. The only other tidbit to note is that Rhyno will be in Jerry Lynn's corner to help with X-Factor in their match. Let me know your predictions! Any other thoughts for the night in front of an always electric Philadelphia crowd?

This last week in the WWF, we saw the return of Extreme Championship wrestling. I normally do a roster recap at this point but I’m gonna leave it a few more days as I expect a few more jumps happening. Raw was live from MSG, home turf for the WWF as J.R. pointed out several times, while King referred to them as Extremely Crappy Wrestling all night long.

Paul Heyman and his ECW wrestlers opened the show, demanding Vince come to the ring. Heyman dressed him and the McMahon family down for killing the wrestling business, noting that as much as he hated WCW, seeing Shane flaunt it around just to prank to his dad pushed him over the edge. Heyman said that it didn’t take talent to do what Vince and Shane do, just obscene amounts of money. He might not be wrong. Vince said he wasn’t worried about ECW, noting their lack of wrestling infrastructure (even Shane has belts and referees) and ended up taking a 3D from The Dudley Boyz. The Undertaker and Kane interrupted proceedings, saying that ECW failed the locker room code by not introducing themselves to him. Undertaker wanted to make that right, and even offered to put their newly won tag titles on the line. Despite the Dudley Boyz requests, Heyman allowed Tommy Dreamer and Sandman to challenge the Brothers of Destruction.

The Undertaker and Kane beat Dreamer and Sandman, who were still put over pretty strong. Both guys kicked out of a Chokeslam, with J.R. referring to them as ‘tough as old boots’.

The Rock was furious with the ending of King of the Ring, demanding Foley book a rematch for the main event. Foley acquiesced, making the match No-DQ to ensure no funny business. The Rock’s showing a bit of a mean streak recently, going as far as threatening Foley if he refused. The title chase might be a way of turning him heel if that’s what they’re thinking. Austin spent the night trying to get in Vince’s ear, encouraging him to cancel the match but Vince chewed him out and told him to go away. Later, Austin had a moment with Heyman and ECW, and Austin admitted that he’d consider moving to ECW if they got him out of his match with The Rock.

And then came the defections. First, it was Shane and WCW who lost guys. Shane had told Buff Bagwell he’d be defending the US Title every week until he dropped it, after his behaviour with Test last month. Bagwell retained against Shane Helms and got one step ahead of Shane, announcing he was joining ECW and taking the WCW US Title with him. Heyman then introduced a whole host of title holders, WCW Tag Champions, Lance Storm and Mike Awesome, WWF Hardcore Champion, Rhyno as well as the newly minted King of the Ring, Tazz. Heyman stuck it to Shane even further, announcing that ECW had signed Test after Shane had fired him last night. Test has now been on the WWF, WCW and now ECW books in about 6 weeks! Vince sent out the cavalry for an impromptu match and the ECW guys got a respectable win.

X-Pac was pissed that the arrival of ECW had taken the shine of his Light Heavyweight title win and offered an open challenge to any non-ECW wrestler. The call was answered by Taka Michinoku who got the pin, taking the title off X-Pac after only one day, courtesy of interference from Jerry Lynn. Justin Credible found it impossible not to laugh at X-Pac and when he was attacked by X-Factor, he and Lynn fought them off, declaring themselves for ECW as well. Later in the night, Raven and Steven Richards (rechristened Stevie Richards) told The Rock they had gone extreme, encouraging him to do the same.

Triple H found Spike Dudley backstage and tried to thank him for getting to the bottom of what happened with Angle and Stephanie. However, Spike said they were nowhere close to being even, orchestrating an attack by The Dudley Boyz, beating the crap out of The Game. The WWF women weren’t able to escape the beef either, with Francine, Dawn Marie and Beulah announcing that they were taking control of the women’s locker room.

More commissioner shenanigans occurred when Mick Foley took the night off to reminisce with old buddy, Terry Funk. When William Regal complained, Funk suggested a match between Regal and Sabu in an ECW Rules Match. Sabu won with an incredible move, vaulting over a chair from inside the ring and crashing through Regal on the announce table.

Vince tried to get the show back on the road, booking Triple H against The Big Show, but Big Show was attacked by Tazz, Dreamer and Sandman on the ramp. This allowed Heyman to introduce Rob Van Dam to the WWF crowd who demonstrated an incredible offence in an extremely even match with Triple H. RVD got the win over Triple H, when he was distracted by Spike Dudley on the titantron, showing the Dudleyz stalking Stephanie McMahon backstage.

And then the main event. Considering there was only ten minutes left at this stage we should have seen something coming but the match never happened. Before the bell rang, the entire ECW roster came down to ring side. They allowed Austin to leave freely before brutalising The Rock and then turned on Earl Hebner, Howard Finkel and the camera men. They destroyed the ring area and the steps, even attacking fans (almost certainly plants) before attacking J.R. and Jerry Lawler. King was dragged into the ring but saved face, continuing to call ECW ‘extremely crappy wrestling’ before Tazz choked him out. Heyman announced that ECW were just getting started.

On Smackdown, Heyman implored more wrestlers to defect to ECW and was initially happy when Chris Jericho interrupted proceedings. However, instead of joining them, Jericho cut down the ECW guys. Raven stuck his nose in and helped set up a match between Jericho and Test for the Intercontinental Title. Vince wasn’t happy with the matchmaking and insisted that in return, Rhyno defend the Hardcore Title against Big Show, while Shane set up a four way dance for the WCW Tag Team titles. Heyman wanted to showcase what his guys could do in the ring and an eight man tag match was setup for the main event. Vince said he was sending his A-Team.

Jericho would go on to beat Test in the match but received a beatdown from Raven and Stevie Richards post-match, all at Heyman’s orchestration. He once again reminded everyone not to disrespect ECW.

Heyman’s call out put Vince on red alert, suspicious of anyone with an ECW past, namely Al Snow and the Radicalz. The Undertaker pointed out that Austin wrestled with ECW at one point, suggesting that was the reason why ECW let him go before the destruction on Raw.

Elsewhere, Rhyno defeated Big Show to retain after interference from Tazz and their feud from King of the Ring continues. Tazz has been named a senior figure in Heyman’s ECW and gave Buff Bagwell some advice to fit in the ECW locker room. However, it was all a ruse and when Bagwell put his US Title on the lane in an open challenge, Tazz answered it, winning the match and becoming the new WCW United States Champion.

Mick Foley asked Terry Funk to promise there would be no more repeats of Raw, which Funk swore was nothing to do with him. Regal was annoyed at Funk’s presence in the office, even more so when Funk suggested Tajiri join ECW. Foley had to get between the two, putting Regal and Tajiri in the WCW Title match. Regal and Tajiri looked to have a great understanding in the ring, although Tajiri has been demotivated since his loss to Jericho at King of the Ring. The Awesome Storm retained when Lance Storm stole Regal’s pin after a neckbreaker. Regal wasn’t the only one annoyed with Funk, with Al Snow also suggesting Foley was getting too close with Funk.

Vince found the Radicalz backstage and when they suggested they might be tempted to join ECW, Vince offered them all hush money to stay on the WWF side. Terri also managed to wrangle her way in, meaning the Radicalz are getting $250k between them. Little did they know, the whole exchange was overheard by Edge and Christian. Vince was later played again by the returning Tammy Sytch, once again going by Sunny. When she said Heyman had made her an offer, Vince upped his, telling her to find some clients. She'd go on to kick Lilian Garcia out of the interview area so she could interview The Rock but was put in her place.

Lita was beat up by the ECW women, which led to an argument between The Hardy Boyz and Sandman and Tommy Dreamer. This led to a match that the ECW guys won, with Francine clocking Matt with a kendo stick.

Vince tried to get Austin, Rock, Angle and Triple H to team up in the main event and it went about as well as cats in a sack. Austin would only wrestle if Vince guaranteed he would never have to defend the title against The Rock again, so was pretty pissed when he found out he was teaming with him. Meanwhile, Triple H flat out refused to team with Kurt and left. Stephanie told Kurt she was done with him after he stood by while The Dudley Boyz taunted her. Only the arrival of The Undertaker and Kane stopped it going further. While Vince and Shane were awkward around Stephanie, she was able to make up the numbers for the main event, bringing Undertaker and Kane in to take their places.

It didn’t go to plan for the WWF. When Austin provoked The Rock, the two immediately brawled to the outside before the match began, leaving The Undertaker and Kane in a handicap situation against the ECW team of Rob Van Dam, Sabu and The Dudleyz. They put up a brave fight but the numbers and ECW weapon antics were too much, with The Undertaker getting pinned after a 3D. ECW attempted to put Undertaker through a table until Stephanie interrupted, once again proving to Vince and Shane she has a part to play in this fight, bringing out the cavalry. The WWF wrestlers stormed the ring, chasing ECW into the crowd where they were promptly attacked by WCW. The McMahon’s stood victorious in the ring, while Jerry Lawler was delighted on the commentary table, saying goodnight to Extremely Crappy Wrestling, having held his tongue all night.

On Heat, ECW gained two more soldiers, when Albert and Juventud Guerrera left WWF and WCW respectively. Albert attacked X-Pac after they were beaten by Justin Credible and Jerry Lynn while Juvi hit a cheapshot on Billy Kidman after losing in their WCW Cruiserweight Title Match. Stevie Richards and Raven challenged Jericho to a match but he got the better of them, employing the A.P.A. to step in for him, knowing Raven would also be finding a replacement for the match as he doesn’t wrestle much these days. Test was chosen instead and after Bradshaw and Faarooq got the win, with Richards taking the brunt of the beating.

Shane taunted Buff Bagwell for his loss and when Bagwell begged for his job back in WCW, he put him in a match with DDP. It didn’t go well for Bagwell. His contract was only a short term one so it remains to be seen what’s going on with him. Finally, Edge and Christian tricked Vince, pretending to be on the phone to Heyman, letting him know they want in on the money offered to the Radicalz. Vince said there was no more money, but he would divide the $250k between them all, telling them to keep it quiet unless they wanted to dilute their share even more. The Radicalz were not happy.

Last weeks match recaps;

25/06/01
New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden (13,948)
Announcers - Jim Ross & Jerry 'The King' Lawler
SHOW RATING = B
TV RATING = 1,139, 091

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
The Undertaker & Kane	Sandman & Tommy Dreamer	B	WWF Tag Team	Tag Team	Pinfall
Buff Bagwell	Shane Helms	C	WCW United States	Singles	Pinfall
Tazz, Rhyno, Awesome, Storm & Test	Jericho, Edge, Christian, Booker T & DDP	B		Ten Man Tag	Submission
Taka Michinoku	X-Pac	B-	WWF Light Heavyweight	Singles	Pinfall
Sabu	William Regal	B+		ECW Rules	Pinfall
Rob Van Dam	Triple H	B+		Singles	Pinfall

25/06/01* (Aired 27/06/01)
New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden (13,948)
Announcers - Kevin Kelly & Jonathan Coachman
SHOW RATING = 847,894

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
The Dudley Boyz	Too Cool	C		Tag Team	Pinfall
Justin Credible	Funaki	C-		Singles	Pinfall
Billy Kidman	Alex Wright	D	WCW Cruiserweight	Singles	Pinfall
The Natural Born Thrillers	The Hardy Boyz	C		Tag Team	Pinfall

28/06/01
Albany, NY - Pepsi Center (14,869)
Announcers - Michael Cole & Jerry 'The King' Lawler
SHOW RATING = B
TV RATING = 1,320,526

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
Rhyno	Big Show	B+	WWF Hardcore	Hardcore	Pinfall
Tazz	Buff Bagwell	C+	WCW United States	Singles	Submission
Sandman & Tommy Dreamer	The Hardy Boyz	B		Tag Team	Pinfall
The Awesome Storm	Regal & Tajiri / Natural Born Thrillers / Kidman & Kanyon	B-	WCW Tag Team	Tag Team	Pinfall
Chris Jericho	Test	B	WWF Intercontinental	Singles	Pinfall
The Dudleyz, Sabu & Rob Van Dam	The Undertaker & Kane	B+		4 on 2 Handicap	Pinfall

28/06/01* (Aired 01/07/01)
Albany, NY - Pepsi Center (14,869)
Announcers - Michael Cole & Jonathan Coachman
SHOW RATING = B-
TV RATING = 865,024

Winner	Loser	Grade	Title	Match	Finish
Justin Credible & Jerry Lynn	X-Factor	C		Tag Team	Pinfall
Billy Kidman	Juventud Guerrera	B-	WCW Cruiserweight	Singles	Pinfall
Diamond Dallas Page	Buff Bagwell	B		Singles	Pinfall
The A.P.A.	Test & Stevie Richards	B-		Tag Team	Pinfall

CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

Crazy, I have no idea what's going to happen with Fully Loaded just three weeks away. The event is coming out of Toronto. Any ideas? Will any more wrestlers make a jump to ECW from WWF? And what's Terry Funk up to? Let me know if you have a theory. In the meantime;
See you on the darkside!
MGR