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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 15:00:06 GMT 1
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 15:05:03 GMT 1
(Originally posted January 1st, 2017)
The date is Saturday, December 23rd, 2000. Our scene is a Christmas party, a rich man’s party. Champagne and caviar flows freely, as well dressed guests chatter amongst themselves about stocks, bonds, rental properties, vacations, and other general things that the “one percenters” care about most. One finely suited guest, the man throwing this entire shindig, floats around the room shaking hands and small talking as he moves past his fellow business owners. He then notices a man sitting alone at the in-house bar, not in a fine suit but clad in a leather jacket and blue jeans – which doesn’t suit the gray haired man wearing them. But this is the man who was sent an invite, despite how many people said that it wasn’t a good idea. Our host walks over to him, watching him sip at a bottle of beer, before greeting him. “Hey there, Eric; you look like you need some company.”
Eric looks up from his beer bottle briefly to glance at his new drinking companion, offering the old man only a weak smile and a defeated look in his eyes. “What am I even doing here? I barely work for the company anymore, and once the merger goes through, I’ll be out the door even more; Hell, we probably all will be on our asses.”“Well that’s why I invited you! Because you were the man who made it happen. You turned my baby into a profitable man for years, and I think you could do it again.”“That’s just a pipe dream now. Vince is breathing down our necks. We won’t last until April at this rate. I spoke to that Kellner at the party earlier, and as soon as the merger goes through, he’s kicking us off the air.”
“It isn’t that bad. Our last shows were pretty good! The fans can come back, we just need to keep with what’s working.”
“With what? We barely have two dimes to rub against one another at this point.”“That’s where I can come in, one final time, my friend.”
“What are you talking about? I thought your whole amount was tied up in legalities?”
“The company is still mine at this point, I don’t care what they keep pushing on the news. And that means I can still sell a part of it off if I want to, especially a part that they don’t want. Kellner knows some of the other guys, and they’re a little shady… I don’t want them to have the fate of my baby. You go home, and on Monday, stop by the offices. Come right into my office. I’ve had a paper drawn up for months now, just waiting for your signature. It won’t promise any money, but what it does promise is three months of hope.”
“I can’t pay anything for it. My investors aren’t guaranteed yet.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just come on Monday.”
“But why would you do this, when you can make more money by selling?”
“Eric, I’m getting to be an old man. My company is being merged out of my hands. Jane sleeps in a separate room, I think she wants a divorce. And the last thing I want to see is Vince’s faces on my networks ever again. What I want is to be able to sit down at the end of a long Monday and watch some ‘rasslin’.”The fire is in Eric’s eyes, the defeated man gone, as he listens to the speech. “I don’t want to lose my baby without having a say in it. So come on, Eric; make me some good ‘rasslin’ again.”
The date is Monday, December 25th, 2000. A secret board meeting has just happened. There were only three people in the room. Ted Turner, Eric Bischoff, and Sophie Burns, the secretary, as a witness. As Eric heads back home, his signature on legal documents that sell him World Championship Wrestling as of January 2nd, 2001. And all he had to give for it was one dollar and a promise. That he would take the company and continue making good ‘rasslin’ for Ted Turner. “Let’s get back to work.”
The date is Monday, January 1st, 2001. Vince McMahon is just biding his time, waiting for WCW executives to call him. But the call has never come. The ratings have been declining slowly, not enough to be a problem yet but also just enough to be a concern. He has cranked up the McMahon drama to unseen levels, knowing that is what the crowd wants for sure. That’s what he can count on. The crowd just doesn’t know it yet. Why in the Hell hasn’t Kellner called yet? Heyman has already been on the phone, the deal is about as done as it can be without ink on paper yet. My monopoly is so close to being completed, but the major player hasn’t showed his hand yet. The show for tonight has already been taped, and there is no new Nitro to oppose it. If fans want wrestling tonight, they’ll watch. And then next week, we can start building for the Rumble. That always brings them back around. And then WrestleMania, my baby, my greatest creation! They always come in droves for WrestleMania! But why in the Hell hasn’t Kellner called yet? Vince appeases himself by sitting back and thinking about the past year. “It should only be a matter of time.”
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 15:20:08 GMT 1
(Originally posted on January 1, 2017)Owner: Eric Bischoff Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia Figurehead: Goldberg Size: Cult Ranking: 2nd
Broadcasting WCW Live Pay-Per-View EventsHeld Live at Primetime on Time Warner Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, and Mark Madden (who was recently released)  WCW Monday NitroHeld Live on Mondays at Primetime on TNT Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, and formerly Mark Madden  WCW ThunderShown on Wednesdays at Late Evening on TBS Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Stevie Ray  WCW WorldwideShown on Saturdays at Afternoon on Syndication Announcers: Mike Tenay and Scott Hudson
WCW Championships  WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Current Champion: “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner Held Since: November 26th, 2000 (WCW Mayhem) Previous Champion: Booker T  WCW World Tag Team ChampionshipsCurrent 2-Time Champions: The Insiders: Kevin Nash (7) and Diamond Dallas Page (4) Held Since: December 17th, 2000 (WCW Starrcade) Previous Champions: The Perfect Event  WCW United States ChampionshipCurrent 2-Time Champion: General Rection Held Since: November 26th, 2000 (WCW Mayhem) Previous Champion: Lance Storm  WCW Hardcore ChampionshipCurrent 2-Time Champion: Terry Funk Held Since: December 17th, 2000 (WCW Starrcade) Previous Champion: Crowbar  WCW Cruiserweight ChampionshipCurrent 2-Time Champion: Chavo Guerrero Jr. Held Since: December 4th, 2000 (WCW Thunder) Previous Champion: Mike Sanders
WCW Employees On-Screen Authority FiguresWCW CEO: “The Nature Boss” Ric Flair WCW Commissioner: “Above Average” Mike Sanders Active RosterAlex Wright “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow Buff “The Stuff” Bagwell Chavo Guerrero Jr. Crowbar, with Daffney “The Sarge” DeWayne Bruce Diamond Dallas Page Ernest “The Cat” Miller with Ms. Jones Evan Karagias The Filthy Animals: Konnan, Billy Kidman, and Rey Mysterio Jr., with Tygress “The Man” Goldberg The Harris Brothers: Big Ron and Heavy D Jamie Knoble “The Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan The Jung Dragons: Kaz Hayashi and Yang, with Leia Meow “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash KroniK: Brian Adams and Bryan Clark Kwee Wee with Paisley “The Total Package” Lex Luger The Mamalukes: Big Vito and Johnny the Bull “The Monster” Meng The Misfits in Action: General Rection, Corporal Cajun, and Sgt. A-WALL The Natural Born Thrillers: “The Main Event” Chuck Palumbo, “Perfect” Shawn Stasiak, Mark Jindrak, Sean O’Haire, and Reno, with Mike Sanders “Screamin’” Norman Smiley “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner with Midajah “The Franchise” Shane Douglas Sid Vicious Terry Funk Three Count: “Sugar” Shane Helms and Shannon Moore Team Canada: Lance Storm, “Canadian Career Killer” Mike Awesome, and Elix Skipper, with Major Gunns WCW Broadcast Team“Mean” Gene Okerlund “Iron” Mike Tenay Scott Hudson Stevie Ray Tony Schiavone WCW OfficialsBilly Silverman Charles Robinson Nick Patrick Scott Armstrong Backstage Road AgentsArn Anderson (occasionally seen on-screen with Ric Flair) Johnny Ace Terry Taylor Absent from Television
Booker T (injury)
Disqo (injury)
Dustin Rhodes (suspension)
Eric Bischoff (leave of absence)
Glacier (being promoted after a long absence)
Kanyon (leave)
Madusa (leave)
Rick Steiner (leave)
Stacy Kiebler (between storylines)
Sting (storyline injury)
Vampiro (injury)
Current Storylines The World Championship Cluster%@(#At WCW Mayhem, Scott Steiner finally achieved what people had been saying he should have had for years: The World’s Heavyweight championship. “Big Poppa Pump” put Booker T on the shelf in the process, as well as having put Sting on that same shelf. He felt that he had disposed of Sid Vicious at Starrcade as well, but reports say that Sid is not as injured as the champion would believe. “The Nature Boss” Ric Flair, in the interest of setting up a world class title match for WCW Sin, has announced a special three way dance for the World title. Steiner’s somewhat ally, “The Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett, won his way into the bout with a one-night tournament victory, but the third participant only Flair knows. Who is the mystery man? Can Steiner overcome these odds? And is Jarrett really in the match to help Scott as he claims, or is he out to win his fifth World championship? The Streak ReduxWhen Vince Russo was in charge of WCW, he made Goldberg an ultimatum: if he can once again gain his 176-0 streak, then he will be given a shot at the WCW World championship, but if he loses along the way and he must leave WCW! This has led to plenty of men coming along to try and put down “The Man” so they can be the one who retires the former champion. Currently, “The Total Package” Lex Luger has laid his claim to trying to eliminate Goldberg, and he nearly did so at Starrcade with the help of a turning Buff Bagwell. Now, Totally Buff are pooling their resources to achieve their goal, and are doing so by placing Goldberg in an almost no-win situation: forcing him to team with his old Power Plant trainer “The Sarge” DeWayne Bruce at Sin against the two world class athletes! Standing now at 33-0 after a match on the final Thunder of the year, can “The Man” get through these incredible odds to get to the WCW World championship again? Inside the ThrillersKevin Nash had been the coach of the Natural Born Thrillers, but when they turned against him, he knew that he had to look to his past to get through the onslaught in his future. Joining forces with Diamond Dallas Page, “Big Sexy” and he won the WCW World Tag Team championships from The Perfect Event and have been keeping ahead of the Thrillers since. However, Commissioner Mike Sanders has proven to be a thorn in their sides, wanting the belts back around his men’s waists. Ric Flair overruled Sanders trying to simply place his stablemates into contention, instead forcing them into a tag team battle royal, but Sanders stopped the match when it was O’Haire, Jindrak, Palumbo, and Stasiak remaining, and said that he will not reveal which two will take on Page and Nash until Sin. Mystery surrounds the evening as The Insiders have no idea which of these four young, hungry studs they will have to face off against! Blame Canada? Blame Yourself!Team Canada have just gotten a huge shot in the arm as of the final Thunder of 2000 when they dumped Jim Duggan and picked up Mike Awesome! Awesome, shedding his “70s Guy” persona, has dubbed himself the Canadian Career Killer, and he wants to get back all the time he wasted. The Canadians have been having some problems with the Filthy Animals, but this problem has just escalated with the addition of Awesome. Misfits No More?The Misfits in Action, after Lt. Loco left them, seem to be in the brink of collapse. General Rection, the reigning WCW United States champion, is trying to keep Corporal Cajun and Sgt. A-WALL banded together, but “The Franchise” Shane Douglas isn’t helping matters as he routinely attacks Rection. Douglas is simply after the championship gold, but he could help to tear the MIA apart in the process! Who’s Hardcore?Terry Funk won the WCW Hardcore championship from Crowbar at Starrcade. Crowbar, who was joined with Mike Awesome in the 70s getup, threw all that away the next night as he attacked Meng with a wrench in order to ensure that Funk would retain the belt until he got a shot at it! The old crazy Crowbar is back along with “The Scream Queen” Daffney, and they are looking to put that title right back around his waist! But… what about Meng? The Rematch Clause“Sugar” Shane Helms and Shannon Moore co-won the tag team ladder match at Starrcade, only for Helms to defeat Moore in singles action the next night on Nitro to secure himself the WCW Cruiserweight championship match at Sin. Or did he? Crafty champion Chavo Guerrero Jr. has made it clear that if he loses the belt between now and Sin, then Helms is out as Chavo would use his rematch clause to get his match back! Helms is now in a do-or-die situation, as he is forced to assist his opponent so that he doesn’t lose his hard-earned title shot! Brotherly BondsWhen Johnny the Bull decided to turn on Big Vito, Vito brought in his brother, Reno, for backup against the Natural Born Thrillers. But it ended up all being a ruse, as Reno turned on Vito to join the Thrillers also! Johnny then turned right back against the NBT, rejoining Big Vito to reunite the Mamalukes, but one thing is left: showing Reno that if you mess with family, you sleep with the fishes! Blood Runs ColderEveryone has laughed as vignettes have begun to occasionally run again to redebut Glacier, now dubbed as “Blood Runs Colder”. Everyone, that is, except for “Screamin’” Norman Smiley, who feels that this is what WCW needs: a real hero! Matches Set Thus Far for WCW Sin WCW World Heavyweight Championship “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner © vs. “The Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett vs. 
If Goldberg or Bruce get pinned, both must retire! Totally Buff vs. Goldberg and “The Sarge” DeWayne Bruce
WCW World Tag Team Championships The Insiders © vs. Two of the Natural Born Thrillers
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Chavo Guerrero Jr. © vs. “Sugar” Shane Helms
WCW Hardcore Championship Terry Funk © vs. Crowbar
Looking over all the information that he had gathered, Eric Bischoff shook his head. The days of the New World Order, of Hogan and Savage and Piper and Hart bringing in money and ratings hand-over-fist were long gone. Even the days of the exciting matches put on night after night by Benoit and Guerrero and the like were gone. Ugh, thanks a lot, “Taskmaster.” Hope you’re enjoying your miserable life on the unemployment line. “Let’s face it… Vince won this battle.”
He sighs, sitting back in his chair and running his hands over his face. He had made a few stars over the years, but not many; they didn’t need to make new stars before, because why should they when they were promoting the legendary icons of wrestling? New stars were the people that those guys went over to stay on top! Or at least that’s what Terry and Kevin had instilled in him. Russo had his faults, but at least he gave new people a chance. People like Jarrett and Booker may not be the full answer right now, but at least they were talented enough to put on some interesting main events. And that’s what all the dirt sheet and internet whiners said, that main events in WCW were never any good because the main eventers were too old and broken down to put on good matches. Maybe we did let them coast on their name value a little too much, but there’s something to be said for known commodities. However, it’s a new day. Our ratings may stink, but Raw is slipping. Just like in 1995, that sort of slip could be just what we need to jump up and try to overtake them again. And this time there are not as many cooks in the kitchen from Turner to hold us back. “He may have won this grueling five year battle. But the war is still coming.”
Thunder for the third of January was long ago taped and sent to TBS, there’s no way we could change anything about it. But Eric began jotting down notes and ideas on his personal roster sheet, crossing names and scratching arrows here and there with people who can start feuding. He looked at the clock to see that it was almost 2 AM, and at Loree who was long ago in bed. Tomorrow he needed to make a few calls to some people. He may not be able to change the world in one night, but the Xcel Energy Center was only a short drive away from home. And he planned to have a brand new booking sheet ready to go for some people who are going to be very surprised to see his face show up backstage.
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 15:35:05 GMT 1
(Originally posted January 14, 2017)1/8/2001: The Big Day “Hey there! Glad to see ya drop by. You never call, you never write. How will we ever make this relationship work?!?”
I’m almost immediately greeted by Kevin Nash as I got my entry into the backstage area, with him of course making a joke out of things. I greet him as well, but before getting chummy with everyone, I ask to be pointed toward Johnny. I have some business to attend to, and he’s the man I have to talk to first. Behind Closed Doors
When I get into his office, his raspy voice greets me politely as he asks me if I’m here to talk to some of the boys and watch the show. He has no idea the bombshell that I drop in his lap. “You’re what?!”
“I’m sorry you had to find out about it this way, but it had to be kept a secret until after the first of the year.”
“So what, you’re just stepping in and pulling the rug out from under me? Gonna redo things like you and Russo did last year? Because that worked so well for the company!”
“John, calm down! We aren’t changing or rebooting anything. The only thing that changes as far as this goes is that I’m in charge. That shouldn’t be a whole lot of change compared to what we’ve worked with before.”
“Well, no, but what about Turner and his money?”
“Ted gave me the company, but unfortunately we don’t get any more money from him. Which really bothers me about what we’re doing running the Xcel tonight. John, why are we even here? WCW are so far in the red it’s not funny right now! Why are we running in a building we literally can’t afford and have next to no chance of filling?”
“It was set up at the end of last year, Eric! We couldn’t change it.”
“Well, we need to call the next arenas after Sin and tell them that we can’t run there. We need to downsize, and fast.”“They won’t give back our deposits-”
“Johnny, come on! That’s unfortunate, but we gotta do things different. We won’t run far from there, but we gotta fit people into close yet smaller, and more importantly cheaper, venues. It certainly doesn’t seem like we’re selling enough tickets to make it worth our while. Just tell everyone their tickets are being honored at the new location, like Vince did a that one shitty Wrestlemania.”“Eric, what are we going to do without Turner’s money? That’s all that kept this company afloat for the past few years, and then every year before that!”This was one thing I knew how to answer. “Survive, John. Survive on our own.”
He sighs, shaking his head. “That’ll be way easier said than done. I hope you aren’t expecting all of the boys to be happy to see you.”
“I’m not. But I hope I’ll be able to convince them that it’s better than the alternatives.”
With Ace’s help, I got a secret meeting called for all the staff; wrestlers, agents, if their name was on a WCW contract they were to attend. A buzz could be heard from all around the room as John called everyone to order. I had given him a short speech to read off, telling about how the AOL/Time Warner merger would have meant all of their jobs would have ended up down the toilet. Telling them that we no longer were operating under TBS’s braintrust, and that we only had three months of television coverage left on these stations before we were getting kicked off and had to find our own path. I made sure to make it sound as bad as possible, that there was almost literally no way that the company was going to survive. I was feeling a little nervous as he got closer to the end of his speech. “But one man has decided that this company and all you in this room are worth stepping in to save. And that man has bought WCW and all it’s contracts directly from Turner himself. That man… is Eric Bischoff.”As I stepped in front of everyone, Ric Flair’s voice rang out over everyone. He nearly stampeded me as he got in front of the pack. “Are you f***ing kidding me?! You? You?! I thought we were finally done with you! You’re one of the biggest reasons we are in the mess that Ace was just telling us about, and now you’re gonna come in here and turn things around? Is Hogan back here somewhere too? I’m sure he wants to drop a leg on Scott and wear the belt around some more! How about Master P? Is he gonna be around too? What World Order are we about to turn into?”I had maybe this one chance to diffuse this situation before it became hostile. “Ric, please! I know I’ve made some huge mistakes, most of them involving you! But I never thought that I would see the day that WCW was in this shape. I thought we would have won the war by now, but I was blind, okay? All that was before I was forced to leave. Now I have a second chance, another shot to change my fate, all of your fates, by being the sole owner of the company. I’m not asking you to trust me right now. I’m just asking that you give me a chance.”He abruptly off in a huff. Arn joins him, and the door slams shut behind them. Silence echoes around the room, as if waiting for someone else to step forward and air their grievances. But it doesn’t come; instead, Nash and Dallas come to my side, shaking my hand and congratulating me on getting the company. Before any more of the group disperses, I address them all again. “It won’t be easy though. All of the things that John said are true. We are horribly in the red. We will be forced off of Turner broadcasting at the end of March. If we can even keep the banks off our ass by then. But we have a good thing going here. We aren’t finished yet. And as long as we can keep getting fans to keep watching and keep putting money toward us, then just maybe we can still turn this around. The company was offered to Vince McMahon, and he didn’t even want it. Are we going to stand for that? Are we going to be made to feel less than second rate by an asshole like Vince McMahon?! Well I’m not! And you shouldn’t be either! We may not be winning the war tomorrow or the next day, but if we all can work together, we can come back from this, I swear!”
The guys all seemed a little excited, I guess just knowing who to report to may be new for some of them. I will have to deal with Ric and Arn personally later, but for now, it’s on to other business. I posted up a brand new booking sheet for tonight and Thunder, and it left a lot of guys excited. They weren’t to get TV time before, but now they’re set to be featured right away on Nitro. Behind the scenes, one of the first things I had to do – unfortunately – was go further into debt. However, it will save us in the long run. I toned down our production qualities; not so much that Turner’s execs were going to start breathing down our neck, but just enough to save money in the long run… and hopefully not so much that it will become a problem in three months when I have to have a new home for our programming. I had to buy off members of the staff who were being let go so we could bring our production value down to a professional level, move our live event experience to a large crew, our broadcast quality to simply an in-house crew instead of Turner’s people, and our music to smaller yet still licensed bands. If we are running enough shows to make our wage bill worth it, we are going to need all we can get. It was thirty grand that we really didn’t have the ability to spend, but it will come out in the long run. Also, and I hope this one will not come back to bite us on the ass, but I had to do away with drug testing. At least for now, because we just cannot afford the costs that come with doing it. Fortunately for me, being out of the Turner umbrella made the pending lawsuits disappear – but it sure didn’t help our company’s bottom line, as we are already struggling as the poorest of the poor as wrestling companies go in the entire world. That is quite a change from a few years ago, and is a first for WCW. We haven’t been this badly in debt since Crockett ran things. But there will be no rich man coming to save the day. With little money to myself to put into the company, there is no way I can throw cash around like I used to. Big money contracts are going to have to disappear. I just hope that the people who hold onto them will understand and stick around to rebuild the company. I realize that I may be in way over my head. But we can’t just let Vince win. It’s time for Nitro.
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 15:50:11 GMT 1
(Sin originally posted January 29, 2017) 
January 2001: WCW Sin
One of the main storylines leading into WCW Sin was about “The Nature Boss” Ric Flair, CEO of World Championship Wrestling, who has brought in a mystery man to take part in a triple threat match for the WCW World Heavyweight championship. Flair has been trying ever since the start of Steiner’s title reign to give him increasingly more difficult challengers in order to force “Big Poppa Pump” to be regarded as one of the greatest World champions we have ever seen. At the start of the month, this match featured champion “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner and “The Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett, but on the first Thunder of 2001, Steiner and Jarrett tried to set up Sid Vicious when Flair booked Jarrett to put his spot on the line against “The Millennium Man.” After the attack caused a disqualification in Sid’s favor, Flair knocked Jarrett out of the match, making it into Steiner defending against Sid and against the mystery man.
The other main story was Totally Buff trying everything they can to defeat Goldberg. When he was in power, Vince Russo decreed that Goldberg must recreate his impressive 178 win undefeated streak before he can get another shot at the World title, and if he lost a single match until then he would be forced to retire from professional wrestling. “The Total Package” and Buff Bagwell joined forces last month to try to get him out of WCW, and had their best chance when they were awarded a tag team match against Goldberg and his old trainer, “The Sarge” DeWayne Bruce, and either Goldberg or Bruce losing would cause the retirement of Goldberg. They teamed up to break “Sarge’s” arm on the first Thunder of the month, but that led to their “easy” night being thwarted as Goldberg found former the Road Warrior, Animal, to become his new partner!
Other feuds included The Insiders defending the WCW World Tag Team championships against a mystery duo from the Natural Born Thrillers; Team Canada against the Filthy Animals, who are joined by Jim Duggan; “The Franchise” Shane Douglas chasing General Rection’s United States championship into a Chain on a Pole match; Crowbar and Meng both wanting Terry Funk’s WCW Hardcore title, which Funk turned into a Hardcore Invitational; Chavo Guerrero Jr. frustrating “Sugar” Shane Helms all the way through Shane’s turn at being the number one contender for the Cruiserweight strap; and brothers Big Vito and Reno in a blood feud.
(Was not actually the PPV theme, but that one got dropped from youtube, so this is a decent replacement.)
Held at: Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana (Great Lakes) Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Scott HudsonAttendance: 9,339 peoplePPV Rating: 0.23Show Rating: B-This show increased our popularity in 10 regions.
Lance Storm, Elix Skipper and Mike Awesome defeated Konnan and The Filthy Animals (Rating: B-)
Team Canada close in on Jim Duggan, and Awesome powerbombs him through a table! (Rating: C-)
Gene interviews Flair, who talks about tonight’s triple threat match (Rating: B)
Commentary discussion (Rating: C-)
Gene interviews Totally Buff, who unveil a surprise: Madusa! (Rating: C+)
General Rection defeated Shane Douglas in a Pole match to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight title (Rating: C)
As the MIA celebrate their victory, Jeff Jarrett and the Harris Brothers crash the party! (Rating: C-)
Gene interviews Sid ahead of our main event (Rating: C+)
Shane Douglas won a Hardcore Invitational for the WCW Hardcore title (Rating: D)
Douglas cuts a promo on being the true icon of hardcore! (Rating: D+)
Gene interviews the Insiders, who are ready to take on the NBT (Rating: C+)
Video: Goldberg vs. Totally Buff (Rating: B)
Goldberg entrance (Rating: B-)
Goldberg and Road Warrior Animal defeated Totally Buff by DQ when Animal turns on Goldberg (Rating: C+)
With Madusa and Animal’s defections cemented, they and Totally Buff beat on Goldberg! (Rating: B)
Gene interviews Sanders, who doesn’t shed any light on who will be in the Tag title match (Rating: C)
Chavo Guerrero Jr. defeated Shane Helms to retain the WCW Cruiserweight title (Rating: C-)
Gene interviews Scott Steiner, who is going to do what he does best tonight: win! (Rating: B)
Ric Flair talks to his mystery man, who is off-screen (Rating: B)
Gene catches Jarrett and the Harrises, Jeff saying he’ll take the US title to get back at Flair! (Rating: C)
Big Vito defeated Reno in a Parking Lot Brawl (Rating: E)
Commentary discussion (Rating: C+)
Video: The Insiders vs. The Natural Born Thrillers (Rating: C)
Palumbo & O’Haire defeated The Insiders for the WCW World Tag Team titles (Rating: B-)
Sanders hosts the NBT celebration, but he seems a little harsh on the two who weren’t victorious (Rating: C+)
Scott Steiner and Sid Vicious are on their way to the ring in a split screen (Rating: B)
Video: Scott Steiner vs. Sid Vicious vs. Flair’s Mystery Man (Rating: B-)
Scott Steiner defeated Sid Vicious and Rick Steiner in a Triple Threat match to retain the WCW World Heavyweight title as the Steiner Brothers join forces and Mark Johnson does a screwy referee call (Rating: B-)
The Steiner Brothers celebrate the tainted victory to close out Sin (Rating: B)
The remainder of January saw the build begin for SuperBrawl: Revenge, namely the huge return of the former WCW champion Booker T! But more about that next month for the SuperBrawl report!
Off-screen, it was a far more dysfunctional time. With the return of Eric Bischoff to the helm of WCW, it was very quickly apparent that the company was barely treading water financially. The huge contracts left over from the Turner years saw WCW lose over six million dollars in January itself! Eric also couldn’t cut short anyone’s already agreed upon leaves of absence, meaning he was left without huge stars like Sting for the next few months. Ric Flair is also out of the ring, but he’s putting on most of the best segments WCW can get as the on-screen authority figure, throwing barbs back and forth with champion Scott Steiner. At the end of the month, a few new faces had begun appearing in the company, as Harley Race, Paul Orndorff, and Tully Blanchard joined the road agent staff, while Sharmell, Daffney, and Leia Meow were given extensions to their contracts. Mark Johnson came back to WCW, while Reno and “The Sarge” DeWayne Bruce left to join NWA: Wildside. Meanwhile, Meng and Terry Funk were bid farewell, as they left the company in January.
Here’s looking forward to February, and SuperBrawl! |
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 16:05:24 GMT 1
  The Christmas presents are all unwrapped and the New Year has begun, which means there’s only one thing left to be excited about in January: it’s time for the Royal Rumble! Leading up to the show, we had seen a lot of huge twists and turns. Mr. McMahon had practically gifted “Stone Cold” Steve Austin a WWF World Heavyweight championship match against champion Kurt Angle, but it proved to be another man’s trap as “The Cerebral Assassin” Triple H made his return after to heal up some nagging injuries for several weeks. He used the match to attack a weakened Austin, and on the following episode of SmackDown!, Mr. McMahon made Triple H the man who would face “The Olympic Hero” at the Royal Rumble with the championship on the line. And just to make sure Triple H and Austin didn’t maim one another until the show, if they so much as touched one another then Triple H would lose his title shot and Austin would be forced out of the Royal Rumble match! Austin and Triple H were also made tag team partners once in a match of mismatched partners to take on The Rock and Kurt Angle. This type of treatment led to a furious Austin going on a rampage by hitting anyone who got in his way with a Stunner, including Mr. McMahon, Kurt Angle, and The Rock! At the WWF Royal Rumble, Kurt Angle may have retained his championship gold, but it was not without assistance; “Stone Cold” came to the ring while referee Earl Hebner was incapacitated, and he laid a brutal assault on “The Game” en route to Angle rolling over him for the win. Kurt Angle moves on to a new challenger next month, but it looks like these two bitter rivals are primed to destroy one another! This year’s Royal Rumble match was completely up in the air, but a few big names definitely had their sights set on the victory. The Rock was looking to repeat his win from last year, men like Rikishi, The Undertaker, and Kane wanted their first victories, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin wanted to get back into position to win the WWF World Heavyweight championship that he feels he should still have. There were a few surprises, as the Honky Tonk Man, Big Show, and Haku all made big returns to the WWF to try and stake their claim at the main event of WrestleMania. No one could have seen the great run of Kane coming, however, as he single-handedly eliminated eleven men, lasting the longest in the entire match to go to the final elimination. That elimination happened at the hands of Steve Austin, who cemented his spot at WrestleMania 17! But with No Way Out looming in the future, who knows what could happen to Austin and Angle until then? Also on the show, The Dudley Boyz won the WWF World Tag Team championships from Edge and Christian. E&C had laid down a brutal attack on Bubba Ray and D-Von a week before the pay-per-view, which left a huge question mark about their condition. But one 3-D later, and we were looking at brand new champions! In one of the more scary moments of the evening, Chyna tried to come back from her horrific neck injury to take the WWF Women’s title away from Ivory. Chyna looked as though she was firing on all cylinders, until she suddenly dropped to the mat. With friend Billy Gunn looking on, Chyna was stretchered out of the building, her career even more in jeopardy than it was previously. Steven Richards and Ivory laughed maniacally, feeling as though they had won the war… and, unfortunately, for now they may have. The recent hostilities between Chris Benoit and “Y2J” Chris Jericho came to a head in a breath-taking ladder match for Benoit’s WWF Intercontinental championship. Jericho had been attacked by three of The Radicalz (Benoit, Malenko, and Saturn) within the previous seven days of the match, as they dropped a garage door on his ribs! But “Y2J” fought through it, finally achieving his goal of retrieving the title to begin his third reign with the belt! The next time that the WWF will be on pay-per-view will be on February 25th, 2001. One thing is for sure: the final stop on the road to WrestleMania is bound to be full of surprises! Be sure to tune in to WWF Raw is War and WWF SmackDown! to find out what all of your favorite – and least favorite – superstars will be fighting against when they have No Way Out!
The Dudley Boyz defeated Edge & Christian for the WWF World Tag Team titles. (Rating: B)
Michael Cole interviews Stone Cold and Debra, where he talks about both Triple H and his entry into the Royal Rumble. (Rating: B)
Chris Jericho defeated Chris Benoit in a ladder match for the WWF Intercontinental title. (Rating: B)
Vince McMahon is uninterrupted tonight with Trish Stratus, save for when she will accompany Kurt Angle to the ring. (Rating: C+)
Coach interviews Triple H and Stephanie, with him not caring about her petty squabble with Trish so long as he wins the WWF title so he can hold it over Austin’s head! (Rating: B+)
Ivory defeated Chyna by stoppage to retain the WWF Women’s title. (Rating: C-)
Billy helps Chyna be stretchered out of the arena as Steven and Ivory laugh at her! (Rating: C-)
Kurt Angle defeated Triple H to retain the WWF World Heavyweight title when Steve Austin beats up Triple H, leaving him easy prey. (Rating: B)
Stephanie goes to complain to Vince, but catches him practically in the act with Trish! (Rating: B+)
Steve Austin wins the Royal Rumble for the third time by last eliminating Kane. (Rating: B)
Austin celebrates with beer as he is now going to the main event of WrestleMania! (Rating: B+)
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 17:20:15 GMT 1
(Originally posted March 1, 2017)
WCW End of Month Report: January 2001 WCW Championships WCW World Heavyweight Championship Current Champion: “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner Held Since: November 26th, 2000 (WCW Mayhem) Previous Champion: Booker T
WCW World Tag Team Championships Current 2-Time Champions: Chuck Palumbo (4) & Sean O’Haire (3) Held Since: January 14th, 2001 (WCW Sin) Previous Champions: The Insiders
WCW United States Championship Current 2-Time Champion: General Rection Held Since: November 26th, 2000 (WCW Mayhem) Previous Champion: Lance Storm
WCW Hardcore Championship Current 2-Time Champion: Shane Douglas Held Since: January 14th, 2000 (WCW Sin) Previous Champion: Terry Funk
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Current 2-Time Champion: Chavo Guerrero Jr. Held Since: December 4th, 2000 (WCW Thunder) Previous Champion: Mike Sanders
On-Screen Authority Figure
Active Roster
Managers Daffney (Crowbar) – Leia Meow (The Jung Dragons) – Madusa (Animal, Totally Buff) – Major Gunns (Lance Storm) – Midajah (Scott Steiner) – Ms. Jones (Ernest Miller) – Paisley (Kwee Wee) – Tygress (The Filthy Animals)
WCW Broadcast Team “Mean” Gene Okerlund – “Iron” Mike Tenay – Scott Hudson – Tony Schiavone
WCW Officials Billy Silverman – Charles Robinson – Mark Johnson – Nick Patrick – Scott James
Backstage Road Agents Arn Anderson – Harley Race – Jerry Jarrett – Johnny Ace – Paul Orndorff – Terry Taylor – Tully Blanchard
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 17:30:19 GMT 1
(SuperBrawl originally posted June 8, 2017) February 2001: WCW SuperBrawl: Revenge
As was noted last time, Booker T was chosen by “The Nature Boss” Ric Flair to step in and try to take the World championship away from “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner. But now that Steiner’s older brother, Rick, has Scott’s back completely, it is certainly an uphill battle for the former champion to climb. On the final Nitro of January, Booker interfered in a triple threat tag team match that made Diamond Dallas Page get a title shot on the first Nitro of February; but on the final Thunder of January, retribution was swift as the Steiner Brothers brutally assaulted Booker in the parking lot of the arena! Steiner and Booker play mind games with one another as Flair doesn’t let Booker wrestle until SuperBrawl, notably when Booker is a referee and is forced to proclaim “Big Poppa Pump” as the winner. When Booker loses his cool and attacks a member of security, he’s nearly arrested. Steiner brags about this, leading to Tully Blanchard challenging Steiner to a fight, as the two had been having words for a few weeks. With Booker’s assistance, Blanchard actually “wins” the fight, and that sent Scott Steiner into a rampage! The Steiners destroyed Stevie Ray, and that led to Booker attacking Rick Steiner, right as we entered into the night when each man goes for Revenge!
One of the biggest shocks of WCW Sin was Road Warrior Animal turning on Goldberg. Animal explained that he turned on Goldberg because he had grown tired of hearing people compare Goldberg to the path of destruction that the Road Warriors once laid out across the world. Animal upped the ante by destroying one of Goldberg’s prize motorcycles with a heavy biker chain, and then decimated Goldberg with that same chain the next week. This led to their bout for SuperBrawl: Revenge becoming a Chain match, where the two mighty bruisers would be chained together by the wrist.
After Sin saw the team of Sean O’Haire and Chuck Palumbo take away the WCW World Tag Team championships from the Insiders, Page and Nash sought out their rematch immediately. Threatening commissioner Mike Sanders, O’Haire agreed to the bout, but no one could have foreseen how the title stayed in the Thrillers camp: it was due to outside interference from Team Canada! When questioned about it, Lance Storm said that what happened wasn’t personal, it was just a matter of getting WCW to take notice of them, nothing more. However, later that night, Elix Skipper and Major Gunns laid Kevin Nash out with a piece of steel to the knee, while Storm and Awesome drove DDP through a table. The Insiders followed this up by bringing in Dustin Rhodes to help them, with Rhodes calling himself “The Prodigal Son” and joining up with Page and Nash to take on Team Canada at SuperBrawl: Revenge! A series of broken tables left in both teams’ wake led to their six man being a Tables match, which should make this one of the most violent matches WCW has ever seen!
Sid Vicious was on the warpath for Mark Johnson’s head, feeling that he – along with the Steiner Brothers – had screwed him over in the Sin main event. Johnson constantly claimed innocence, saying that all he did was end the bout, operating as any official would, but never admitting any wrongdoing despite blatant video footage to the contrary. Johnson is being protected by being a registered official of WCW, but Sid has him in his sights and claims that if he catches him doing wrong, Johnson has a Powerbomb coming his way!
KroniK, upset at how Totally Buff have been costing them money, and jumped at the chance to take them on at SuperBrawl: Revenge. Luger and Bagwell claim to not be afraid of the hired guns, but the amount of times they run away when the odds are two against two show a big difference from their words to actions!
The Natural Born Thrillers appear to be having some internal issues. Reno disappeared after Sin, and after constant blown interference, mostly by Shawn Stasiak, there were definite problems brewing. Sanders did what he could to hold things together, but as the Filthy Animals become the number one contenders, there is a lot of concern over how long these hot headed youngsters can keep it on the same page!
Speaking of the commissioner, he put the Thrillers against the Animals nearly all month long, but never wrestled himself except for taking on Tygress. He also made sure that “The Cat” was in action all month long, as he was set to take on Ernest Miller at SuperBrawl: Revenge with the commissioner role on the line against the services of Ms. Jones. One of the final hurdles for Miller to get past was the returning Disqo, who claimed that he had undergone some training under a new self help guru. Miller may not have won every match on his path, but that was never a requirement; can he overcome those odds and win back the position of power he once held? Or have the constant matches left him too beaten to take down “Above Average” Mike Sanders?
“The Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett and his Harris Boys bodyguards have hounded the remaining Misfits in Action, with Jarrett wanting to take the United States championship away from General Rection in order to stick it to Ric Flair. Meanwhile, Corporal Cajun becomes the next challenger for Chavo Guerrero Jr.’s Cruiserweight championship. The quick thinking and sleazy Guerrero weasels his way into teaming with his former MIA troop to make a six man tag team match at SuperBrawl: Revenge, not only giving the MIA a third man to compete against Jarrett, Big Ron, and Heavy D, but then avoiding having to defend his title. General and Corporal seem to know that the former “Lieutenant Loco” is going to turn on them, but will he? Or is he legitimate in wanting to help them?
New WCW Hardcore champion “The Franchise” Shane Douglas sent Terry Funk out of WCW with the assistance of his new protege, Crowbar. With Daffney at their side, Crowbar began doing the bidding of “The Franchise” and with Shane occasionally leaving matches to his pupil. Shane runs afoul of the Full Blooded Italians, and they will meet in tag team hardcore action at SuperBrawl with the title on the line!
3 Count had already broken apart in the end of 2000, but allegiances shifted again as Evan Karagias joined back up with Shannon Moore, which left “Sugar” Shane Helms and Jamie Knoble in the cold. This led to a tag team match at SuperBrawl: Revenge between the jilted partners against the new rechristened 2 Count.
WCW SuperBrawl: Revenge February 18th, 2001 Held at: The Centennial Garden in Bakersfield, California (South West) Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Scott Hudson Attendance: 8,641 people (sold out!) PPV Rating: 0.28 Show Rating: B- This show increased our popularity in 10 regions. Ric Flair opens the show to pump up the crowd, with Scott Steiner interrupting him to talk about the main event; Booker T comes out and insults Steiner! (Rating: A*)
Shane Helms and Jamie Knoble defeated 2 Count (Rating: C-)
Gene talks to the Natural Born Thrillers, with Sanders proclaiming big victories (Rating: C)
Konnan hypes the Filthy Animals; arriba la raza! (Rating: C+)
The Filthy Animals defeated Palumbo & O’Haire by DQ due to Shawn Stasiak’s interference; Palumbo & O’Haire retain the titles (Rating: C+)
Gene talks to Totally Buff and Animal about their matches tonight (Rating: B-)
Totally Buff defeated KroniK after Madusa intereferes (Rating: C+)
Jeff Jarrett talks, but the MIA say that this is the land of the Misfits (Rating: C-)
Jeff Jarrett and The Harris Brothers defeated General Rection, Corporal Cajun and Chavo Guerrero Jr. when Chavo leaves his partners behind (Rating: D+)
Shane Douglas and Crowbar defeated The Mamalukes in a Hardcore match (Rating: D+)
Video Recap: Team Canada vs. The Insiders and Dustin Rhodes (Rating: C-)
Team Canada want the national anthem played, but the Insiders interrupt it (Rating: B-)
Dustin Rhodes and The Insiders defeated Lance Storm, Mike Awesome and Elix Skipper in a Tables match, Nash finally eliminating Storm to end the match (Rating: C+)
O’Haire is out for Stasiak’s blood, but Sanders pulls his boys together again (Rating: B-)
Video Recap: Goldberg vs. Animal (Rating: B-)
Goldberg makes a big entrance (Rating: B-)
Animal makes a big entrance (Rating: B)
Goldberg defeated Animal in a Chain match (Rating: B-)
Goldberg is attacked by Totally Buff and Animal, who then also lay out Kronik! Officials break it up (Rating: B+)
Video Recap: Mike Sanders vs. “The Cat” Ernest Miller (Rating: D)
Mike Sanders brings out his trump card: Mark Johnson! (Rating: C+)
Ernest Miller defeated Mike Sanders after Ms. Jones assists (Rating: C-)
With The Cat’s blessing, Sid powerbombs Mark Johnson! (Rating: C)
Video Recap: Scott Steiner vs. Booker T (Rating: B-)
Booker T is visited by Stevie Ray in his dressing room; “Go get ‘that sucka!” (Rating: B-)
Scott Steiner went to a 45 minute time limit draw with Booker T to retain the WCW World Heavyweight title (Rating: B)
After the match, Steiner attacks Booker, but Book is able to drive him away (Rating: B-)
Gene talks to Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, Flair reacting to the end of the main event (Rating: B-)
Commentary wonder what the future holds, since even Ric Flair doesn’t know what’s happening (Rating: C)
Gene gets words from Scott Steiner post-match, who says there will be no rematches for Booker! (Rating: B)
Commentary are shocked that Steiner refuses to grant Booker a rematch as after the end of that bout, he likely would have lost the title (Rating: C)
As we end the show, Gene interviews a heartbroken Booker T backstage (Rating: B)
Next month, WCW is overtaken by immense feelings of Greed! Who will take home all that they want?
Backstage, Eric Bischoff didn’t have a lot to have to deal with. The locker room stayed fairly docile, but he did have to sell off the WCW Power Plant and all it’s assets in order to save some money. He also has made up his mind to go to either Kevin Nash or Diamond Dallas Page in order to talk to them about restructuring their contracts in order to pay them less money, but for a longer period of time. Johnny the Bull was taken under Scott Steiner’s wing as a protege, which could have big ramifications in the future for the Full Blooded Italian. “Uncertainty” is currently the name of the game, as Turner suits have let Bischoff know that under no circumstances will WCW remain on their channels past the end of March; which means no more Nitro on TNT, no more Thunder, no more pay-per-view events. (Technically Worldwide was on syndicated channels, which wouldn’t have been affected; but it was also ending at the same time, and it was doing nothing for the company but costing money that they don’t have.) It is quickly becoming time for Eric to get on the ball about the future of the company. |
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 17:40:10 GMT 1
(No Way Out originally posted on August 5, 2017)February 2001: WWF No Way Out
WWF No Way Out was presented from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Vegas odds were in the favor of the fans who witnessed this incredible show!
The show opened hot with the WWF Intercontinental championship on the line in a fatal four way match, as champion “Y2J” Chris Jericho defended against Radicalz brothers Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero as well as the man who has been leading the new group of X-Factor, X-Pac. With Perry Saturn, Albert, and Justin Credible having wrestled on the live pre-show Sunday Night Heat and Dean Malenko defending his title later, this match kept to the four men who were in the ring, there was no outside interference. The problems that have been brewing between Benoit and Guerrero ever since Eddie’s return to the WWF from injury came to a head as the two took one another out from a failed double team maneuver, and that left X-Pac prey for Jericho to slide a quick roll-up and retain the prestigious Intercontinental title!
After that match was over, WWF Hardcore champion Raven came to the ring. He told everyone that his “Raven Effect” will wash over everyone, no matter how big or small they may be. Those were some prophetic words given his opponent was the massive Big Show, but midway through the bout little Crash Holly tried his luck at winning the 24/7 championship back. But there was no stopping The Big Show, who hit big chokeslams on both men before pinning Raven to win the belt that he had been chasing for the past few weeks. Who will try to win the title from him?!
After we saw Trish Stratus sneaking into Vince McMahon’s office, we saw Triple H backstage in a dark room. Tonight, he would do battle with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in a Three Stages of Hell match, and he looked certainly deranged enough to take a match like this as he spoke threats toward Austin while staring at his weapon of choice, the sledgehammer!
The WWF Tag Team championships followed, as The Dudley Boyz took on The Hardy Boyz in a tag team tables matchup. Despite the great action we saw between these teams with a lot of respect for one another, it had to end in a no contest due to interference from former champions Edge and Christian. E&C felt proud of their actions, until both teams got back up in the ring and challenged E&C to a match next month at WrestleMania – a second Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match!
We headed backstage again to see Trish Stratus engaged with Vince McMahon in a very “suggestive” conversation. She had stuck around managing Kurt Angle after the Royal Rumble, loving the extra attention that comes from managing the World champion, but tonight he was set to battle The Rock. Trish said that she would make it “worth [Vince’s] while” if he made sure that Angle retained the belt tonight, and Vince was very easily swayed to action when she whispered an idea into his ear!
The Right to Censor had been gloating constantly how they had put Chyna out of the WWF since the Royal Rumble. This led to a series of matches with Chyna’s friend “The One” Billy Gunn, especially since Gunn picked up the WWF European championship from William Regal on the last Raw of January. Gunn had successfully vanquished each member of the RTC (including Steven Richards by disqualification, who took a match against Billy just to set him up for a four-on-one attack) except for Val Venis, who never stuck around to finish a match or get his comeuppance from “The One”. Billy had finally had enough, and put the title on the line in order to get Venis into a strap match so he could not leave. In this situation, Gunn prevailed, but it came after Chyna made her shocking return to chase Ivory away from the ring! When the match was over, Chyna took the microphone and told Ivory that her neck was still in bad shape and doctors were warning her against it, but she will be ready to go again – by WrestleMania!
Next was the Three Stages of Hell match, where Triple H vowed to “break Austin’s pride in a straight wrestling match, break his bones in a street fight, and cripple his ass if I have to in a steel cage!” The two had cost one another World title matches throughout January, but once they were forced to stop attacking one another by order of Vince McMahon, Hunter reached out to both he and Vince’s contacts list and seemingly brought together X-Factor between X-Pac, Justin Credible, and Albert, who had helped out Mr. McMahon through Trish Stratus before she seemed to leave him behind. Austin had to fight off the trio, but had some help from Chris Jericho as he was also targeted due to having the Intercontinental title that X-Pac wanted. Now that we were finally here, the two men tore into one another, with “Stone Cold” finally picking up the first fall. Triple H took the second, leading us to the cage match. Finally, the two hit one another with weapons, causing them to fall into a heap – with Helmsley on top of the pile, forcing the official to count the Royal Rumble winner down in a huge shock. What will this mean for Austin’s guaranteed title match next month at WrestleMania 17!
Al Snow and the APA were seen at WWF New York, with Snow trying to get more signatures for his petition to become the new WWF Commissioner instead of Mr. McMahon’s apparent choice of William Regal. The Acolytes had signed a few weeks ago, and were on hand to protect Al and his petition, as Snow went table to table getting fans to sign the form. After that, we had a rare intergender championship match-up, as Dean Malenko defended his Light Heavyweight championship against the high flying daredeviless Lita. Dean had given up his pursuit of a date with Lita, but she used the attention that he had focused on her in order to find herself in this position to wrestle for the title. While she certainly put up a strong fight, in the end she wasn’t prepared for what Malenko brought to the table, as he showed he was not against slamming her face against an exposed turnbuckle to steal the victory, unnecessarily locking her in the Cloverleaf to get the bell sounded and retain his championship.
The Undertaker and Kane had reformed a brotherly bond after the Royal Rumble, brought on by the attack of the team calling themselves the Brotherhood, Rikishi and Haku. All the attacks and fights between the two teams led up to this no disqualification matchup, where it was a brawl from start to finish. Finally a stereo chokeslam on both men drew the close of this bout, as Undertaker pinned Rikishi to put this match away.
Kurt Angle had been pestering The Rock with attacks and interference during his matches ever since Rock was named number one contender for No Way Out, using his friends Edge and Christian as well as Trish’s contacts through Vince McMahon to get men like Albert to assault The Rock. Stratus had tried to get McMahon to bring some extra insurance for this match, but the Dudleyz and Hardyz had chased E&C out of the building and when Vince tried to get William Regal to help, it appeared Regal was stuck in a snowstorm and could not get to the building! But now it was time for the match itself, and despite Vince himself trying to interject himself into the match, it saw The Rock fight back against all manner of the Three I’s in order to finally put Angle away with the Rock Bottom in order to win his sixth WWF World Heavyweight championship! The Rock celebrates with the title in front of all his People as Vince McMahon looks on, visions of whatever Trish had promised him now only a pipe dream. But the story didn’t end there, as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin emerged from the entrance curtain and simply stared down the aisle toward the new champion – the man he would now be set to face off against next month at the Houston Astrodome at WrestleMania!
Chris Jericho defeated Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and X-Pac in a Fatal Four Way match to retain the WWF Intercontinental title by flash pinning X-Pac while Benoit and Guerrero fought. (Rating: B)
Raven says before his match that “The Raven Effect” stops for no man, no matter how large! (Rating: B-)
The Big Show defeated Raven in a Hardcore match for the WWF Hardcore title, Crash Holly tried to run in and win the title but Show laid them both out. (Rating: C-)
Trish Stratus is seen sneaking around backstage, thinking nobody sees her she slips into Vince McMahon’s office! (Rating: C+)
Triple H cuts a promo threatening Stone Cold, while talking to his sledgehammer. (Rating: B+)
The Dudley Boyz defeated The Hardy Boyz to retain the WWF World Tag Team titles, despite attempted interference from Edge and Christian. (Rating: B-)
The Dudley Boyz and Hardy Boyz unite to challenge Edge and Christian to another TLC match at WrestleMania! (Rating: B)
Trish Stratus tells Vince McMahon that if he makes sure Angle keeps the title, he’ll get “rewards” from her! (Rating: B+)
Billy Gunn defeated Val Venis to retain the WWF European title when Chyna surprisingly appears to chase Ivory away! (Rating: C)
Chyna says that her neck has been feeling ready to go again, at WrestleMania! (Rating: C)
Triple H defeated Steve Austin in a Three Stages of Hell match, 2-1, by falling on top of Austin for a pinfall during the cage match. (Rating: B+)
Al Snow and the APA are at WWF New York getting Al’s petition signed by fans. (Rating: B-)
The Rock is interviewed by Michael Cole, Rock saying he’ll win the WWF title and go on to WrestleMania with it. (Rating: B-)
Dean Malenko defeated Lita to retain the WWF Light Heavyweight title by hitting her with a low blow before locking in the Cloverleaf. Lita was blamed afterwards for giving Dean a fractured cheekbone. (Rating: C-)
A frantic Vince McMahon tries to call William Regal in to help do Trish’s bidding, but he’s stuck in a snowstorm and won’t make it to the building! (Rating: B-)
The Brothers of Destruction defeated Rikishi and Haku in a No DQ match. (Rating: B)
The Rock defeated Kurt Angle for the WWF World Heavyweight title, despite Vince McMahon, Trish, Edge, and Christian trying to interfere. (Rating: B)
The Rock celebrates with his title, taunting Mr. McMahon, but “Stone Cold” Steve Austin awaits him at WrestleMania! (Rating: A*)
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 18:25:07 GMT 1
(WCW Greed originally posted on September 15, 2017)March 2001: WCW Greed
“The Nature Boss” had big plans for the Heavyweight champion of the World as we headed into WCW Greed, naming not just one but TWO number one contenders: Diamond Dallas Page and “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash, The Insiders! A triple threat match was set in motion, and to make sure that big brother Rick Steiner couldn’t interfere in the proceedings, Flair set him up against Booker T! Scott Steiner is all alone in his crusade to retain the championship, but he found an unlikely hook in turning the championship goals of Nash and Page against one another! After some miscommunications, the two longtime friends and tag team partners quickly found one another unwittingly playing right into Steiner’s mind games as Greed loomed closer.
“Da Man” Goldberg has been out for Animal and Totally Buff, but this month he gained some allies in Kronik! Adams and Clark were chasing after Luger and Bagwell over some payments that they skipped for their services, and they set up a six-man tag team Chicago Street Fight for Greed! The veteran heels held an advantage on most episodes of Nitro and Thunder as they continually attacked their opponents from behind, but when it’s face to face at Greed, who will come out on top?
“The DFG” Rick Steiner was attacked before SuperBrawl: Revenge by Booker T, and Steiner was not happy about missing his brother’s title defense! Likewise, Booker was incensed by the decree that he would not get an immediate title rematch after the heartbreaking time limit draw. Booker spent much of the build up continuing to go after Scott and trying to find his way into the World’s Heavyweight championship match, but this one had all the appearance of a brutal street fight! After the two have an extended brawl around the arena, it’s determined that their battle will be a Falls Count Anywhere match.
With his partners from SuperBrawl: Revenge moving into the WCW World championship picture, “The Prodigal Son” Dustin Rhodes felt that he had to continue the fight against Team Canada. To do this, he enlisted the assistance of Sid Vicious! Vicious has taken offense to Mike Awesome’s Awesome Bomb, feeling that he is the one, true master of the powerbomb, and the two are poised to make sure that everyone knows it. The wrench thrown into their plans is that Lance Storm refuses to have another six man tag team match, and also refuses to tell Dustin and Sid who they will be facing. Storm tries to take a page out of Scott Steiner’s book and sew distrust between the partners by orchestrating a three-on-one attack upon Vicious while Dustin was occupied elsewhere, but it doesn’t work, and they look to face a unified team at Greed!
The Natural Born Thrillers have been having some issues. “Perfect” Shawn Stasiak hasn’t been living up to his nickname as he kept accidentally costing his partners matches, leading to them losing their preferential treatment as Mike Sanders lost the commissioner’s role to “The Cat” Ernest Miller. Sanders has disappeared, which has left a power void at the top of the NBT – one that Sean O’Haire sealed up quickly by rallying Mark Jindrak and Chuck Palumbo and beating Stasiak out of the group! Shawn has vowed revenge, saying that he has a partner to take on O’Haire and Jindrak at Greed!
After his victory in the six man tag team match at SuperBrawl: Revenge, “The Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett has been chasing General Rection for his United States Heavyweight title. The General has been having enough problems with his crumbling Misfits in Action, as Chavo Guerrero Jr. is set to defend his Cruiserweight title against Corporal Cajun, but he still sneaked a few digs in on Jarrett, like costing his Harris Boys a match against youngsters Air Paris and AJ Styles. Jarrett is out to take the title to show up Ric Flair, while Hugh is out to prove that he hasn’t been a poor champion. Who will come out on top at Greed?
“The Franchise” Shane Douglas had been avoiding matches by throwing his pupil, Crowbar, into the bouts in his place numerous times. But Crowbar finally snapped, and turned against Douglas, vowing to take the Hardcore championship away from him at Greed!
Someone has been attacking people backstage, and no one can tell who it was! “K-Dawg” Konnan, upset that this mystery person targeted his Filthy Animal brothers, is going to call the mystery attacker out at Greed!
 WCW Greed
March 18th, 2001
Held at: UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois (Great Lakes)
Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Scott Hudson
Attendance: 6,959 people (sold out!)
PPV Rating: 0.27
Show Rating: B
This show increased our popularity in 10 regions.Dustin Rhodes and Sid Vicious defeated Mike Awesome and Elix Skipper with Sid pinning Elix after a Powerbomb (Rating: B) Gene Okerlund interview: Ric Flair hypes the show (Rating: B) Stevie Ray interview: Booker T is ready for anything the Steiners can throw at him tonight (Rating: B-) Chavo Guerrero Jr. defeated Corporal Cajun to retain the WCW Cruiserweight title by placing his feet on the ropes for leverage during the pinfall (Rating: C-) Shane Douglas defeated Crowbar in a Hardcore match to retain the WCW Hardcore title (Rating: C-) Shane Douglas boasts, until The Cat tells him that he will be defending again tomorrow on Nitro! (Rating: C+) Jeff Jarrett and Harris Boys promo about taking the title to show up Flair, but Flair throws the Harris Boys out of the arena so that Jeff has to wrestle on his own! (Rating: B-) Jeff Jarrett defeated General Rection in a Ladder match for the WCW United States Heavyweight title (Rating: C+) Gene Okerlund interview: Kevin Nash is ready for the main event (Rating: B-) Konnan calls out the mystery attacker – it’s Kanyon! (Rating: C) Kanyon defeated Konnan after a Flatliner (Rating: B-) The Steiner Brothers cut a promo on their opponents from backstage (Rating: B-) Booker T defeated Rick Steiner in a Falls Count Anywhere match with the Book End on the concrete floor (Rating: B-) Feud Recap Video: The Natural Born Thrillers split (Rating: C) Lance Storm comes out – and he’s Stasiak’s partner! (Rating: C+) Shawn Stasiak and Lance Storm defeated Palumbo & O’Haire for the WCW World Tag Team titles (Rating: B) The new Team Canada lays out all of the Natural Born Thrillers! (Rating: C+) Feud Recap Video: Goldberg and Kronik vs. Totally Buff and Animal (Rating: B-) Gene Okerlund interview: Totally Buff and Animal are ready for the Chicago Street Fight (Rating: B) Goldberg and KroniK defeated Animal and Totally Buff in a Street Fight match with Goldberg pinning Animal with the Jackhammer (Rating: B) Feud Recap Video: Triple Threat for the WCW championship (Rating: B) Scott Steiner defeated Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page in a Triple Threat match to retain the WCW World Heavyweight title after laying out both men with a steel pipe and then forcing Page to pass out in the Steiner Recliner (Rating: B-) Ric Flair congratulates Scott Steiner for his title defense, urges him to rest up to face Nash in a steel cage match on the series finale of Nitro! (Rating: B+) Commentary close out the show, goodnight everybody! (Rating: C+)
Eric Bischoff had decided to speak with Kevin Nash about renegotiating his contract. Nash had been operating under a contract that would last to the end of the year to the tune of $300,000 a month, with full creative control of his character. Eric decided to break that contract up by making Kevin a ten year contract for roughly $30,000 a month, giving him the same amount of money over a longer period. But he did not expect how quickly Nash can “put on his negotiating hat” as Nash immediately saw through Eric’s deal and started making demands. Noticing there were no clauses that he could exploit, he dangled the upcoming WrestleMania against Eric, saying he could leave and get a spot on that show in a heartbeat thanks to his connections with Triple H. Knowing that Eric is desperate for star power to compete with the WWF, Nash made him a deal: he will sign the new contract in a temporary capacity, and will sign the ten year deal once Bischoff signs Scott Hall back to WCW. Hall would be working in New Japan Pro Wrestling until June, so the temporary deal that Nash signs would keep him in WCW at the reduced price tag until July. Agreeing to this, Eric begins trying to get in touch with Hall.
The other big happening at the beginning of March is that Eric gets a late night call from a strange source: Shane McMahon! The son of Eric’s rival comes to him with a proposal, a loan that would put WCW’s finances back to positive figures, in exchange for paying back the loan but also some ownership stock in World Championship Wrestling! His reasoning is because he’s seeing the writing on the wall, that he is getting pushed aside in favor of Stephanie and Hunter, and he wants to have stake in a wrestling company that he can call his own. Eric has to think about it, and Shane leaves the offer open for now.
After one particularly explosive week where first Tony Schiavone played a tasteless rib on the locker room and then the Steiners and Johnny the Bull were harassing Shane Helms, Eric got another big phone call; this time from Sting! Sting so far into the year had been nursing some injuries and taking time off from WCW and moving his home. Sting agrees to show up in a few weeks, which is going to severely help the star presence of the show.
Rey Misterio Jr. put on some weight at Eric’s request, bulking himself up to a more lightweight frame. A lot of working out? Potential issue with steroids in the future? We aren’t sure right now. Midajah lost a few pounds to make her frame appear more skinny, and Terry Taylor is growing a little more average in his middle age.
The worst blow to Eric was that Diamond Dallas Page had found out from Nash that Eric was looking to restructure a contract to save money. This gave Dallas the idea to leave WCW, despite having a year left on his deal as well. To do this, Page paid off his contract so that he could leave WCW and strike it out on his own in the WWF, citing that he wasn’t getting any younger and wanted to find his own way in the twilight of his career. Hence, the final match in WCW (for now) of Diamond Dallas Page was in a losing effort at Greed.
Now the end of March is coming fast, and with that comes the end of WCW on Turner networks. With only two episodes of Nitro and one of Thunder remaining on their deals, WCW needs a saving grace. But where can that come from? Tune in next time to find out what Eric has in store for the “Night of Champions”!
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