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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 18:35:10 GMT 1
(WCW Nitro: Night of Champions was originally posted on October 22, 2017)
March 2001: The Final Nitro
With only three major shows left for World Championship Wrestling on Turner Broadcasting networks, Eric Bischoff set about putting together the future of the company. It’s time to make big moves for the future, but first that means finishing off “The Turner Era” for World Championship Wrestling!
WCW Nitro on March 21st capped off Greed the night prior, with “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner and “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash hyping their cage match on the series finale of Nitro next week. Lance Storm and Team Canada rebranded themselves as “The World” stating that America’s opposition isn’t based only on holding down Canadian talents. Disqo’s “self help guru” was revealed as Simon Diamond, and alongside his bodyguard C.W. (and some outside interference from Disqo) they defeated the Mamalukes. The Natural Born Thrillers were attacked by The World a week away from their rematch for the World Tag Team titles, while General Rection defeated the former Lt. Loco with a No Laughing Matter. Crowbar turned against Shane Douglas against Daffney’s wishes, and in a triple threat match for the Hardcore title which also featured Norman Smiley, Daffney cost Crowbar the match. Finally, despite a strong showing from Lance Storm, Sid Vicious was victorious in a ten man over the top rope battle royal that guaranteed him a future WCW World Heavyweight championship match after WCW came back.
The series finale of WCW Thunder started with Booker T and Lance Storm arguing, as Storm had eliminated Booker from the battle royal on Nitro. Storm said that at the end of Thunder, fans would not remember Booker T, they would only know that Lance Storm stood tall. The Problem Solvers defeated The Mamalukes again, this time in six man tag action as an Italian Street Fight. Disqo joined his guru as Reno rejoined his Italian brothers, but C.W. put him away with a Spinebuster. “Big Poppa Pump” said that he will be the leader of the new era of WCW because no one dares stand against him, leading to Goldberg getting in his face until security broke things up. Despite wrestling in a losing effort against “The Cat”, Kanyon delivered a vicious Flatliner to Ms. Jones on the concrete floor, showing how vile he has become after his return. And finally, Lance Storm and Booker T were in the final Thunder main event, which saw Booker’s recent shoulder troubles come to haunt him as Storm locked him in an armbar that he couldn’t escape without tapping out! As predicted, Lance Storm stood tall at the end of WCW on TBS!
A segment that didn’t seem like much at the time but has spiraled into something big was on WCW Worldwide that week, as Vampiro appeared out of the darkness after having been away for the past few months. He told Tenay and Hudson that he felt WCW should have died for it’s sins, but seeing as it hasn’t, then he will make those who stand up for WCW and those sins pay for them.
 WCW Monday Nitro: Night of Champions
March 26, 2001
Held at: Club La Vela in Palm Beach, Florida
Announcers: Tony Schiavone and Scott Hudson
Attendance: 6,000 (sold out!)
TV Rating: 3.24
Card Rating: B+
This show increased our popularity in 10 regions.
Ric Flair gives an impassioned speech about WCW, challenges Sting tonight! (Rating: A*)
Lance Storm and Shawn Stasiak talk about wanting to hold the titles into the new era, and Storm brags about defeating Booker on Thunder (Rating: C)
As Storm’s Canadian National Anthem plays over the arena, we see backstage that Mike Awesome and Elix Skipper are putting Chuck Palumbo through a table! Sid runs them off, but the damage is done. (Rating: B-)
Mark Jindrak & Sean O’Haire defeated Lance Storm and Shawn Stasiak to win the WCW World Tag Team titles with O’Haire pinning Storm after a scissors kick from Booker T and the Seanton Bomb (Rating: C)
With Rick Steiner trying to keep him focused, Scott Steiner goes on a rant about everyone he can think of in the moment. (Rating: B)
Shane Douglas asks “The Cat” who he’s facing, it’s General Rection! But as Hugh is making his way to the ring, Kanyon attacks Miller! (Rating: C)
Shane Douglas defeated General Rection in a Hardcore match to retain the WCW Hardcore title (Rating: C-)
Crowbar wants answers from Daffney, but in a supernatural twist involving a mirror, he gets a bloodbath from Vampiro! Crowbar is last seen in a room that’s being filled with blood. (Rating: C)
The Problem Solvers get to the ring and Simon hypes up Disqo… but how good is hype when you’re facing Goldberg?! (Rating: C)
Goldberg defeated Disqo easily with the Jackhammer. (Rating: C-)
Sting appears, posing the question “Riddle me this, riddle me that; who’s afraid of the big black bat?!” Sting lets Ric Flair know that on the final Nitro on TNT, it’s Showtime! (Rating: B)
Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr. for the WCW Cruiserweight title (Rating: B-)
Big Sexy is in the house, and he dedicates this match to DDP and “Scott in Tokyo” (Rating: B)
Jeff Jarrett and the Harris Boys demand Jeff’s opponent come out… it’s AJ Styles! (Rating: C)
Jeff Jarrett defeated AJ Styles by count out to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight title (Rating: C+)
Tony and Scott show us stills of what happened at Greed in the main event, which is what led us to the cage match tonight. (Rating: B)
Scott Steiner defeated Kevin Nash in a Cage match to retain the WCW World Heavyweight title by reversing a Jackknife Powerbomb into a Frankensteiner! (Rating: B)
Ric Flair is coming out to face Sting, when the Steiners assault him! Sting makes the save! (Rating: A*)
Goldberg charges out to attack the Steiners, when Eric Bischoff appears and announces himself as the new owner of World Championship Wrestling! He announces that WCW returns to pay-per-view on April 13th, making a huge main event for The Big Bang: the Steiner Brothers vs. Sting and Goldberg! (Rating: B+)
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 18:40:09 GMT 1
(WrestleMania X-7 was originally posted on October 23, 2017)March 2001: WWF WrestleMania X-7  Houston, we have a problem… It is time for the biggest pay-per-view event of the year, WrestleMania! Nine huge matches took place at the show, thrilling and shocking the sold out Astrodome in Houston, Texas! Former friends and partners went at it in the opening contest, as the Radicalz collided in a fatal four way match. After No Way Out, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero had each called themselves “leaders” of the group, and their in-fighting bled over to Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. Malenko and Saturn had been a well-oiled machine of a tag team, but decided they didn’t want involved in Benoit and Guerrero’s battles anymore. In this hot opening contest pitting four of the best talents in the world against one another, Chris Benoit came out on top by making Guerrero tap out to the Crossface. The WWF Hardcore championship changed hands multiple times throughout March, as it tends to do; but the men fighting for it have only gotten bigger and scarier as The Big Show and Kane set their sights on the title! Raven kept sneaking in and taking it away from their hands, leading to this triple threat match for the title. This match started in the ring before heading all around the backstage and back out to ringside again, before Kane finished things with a big elbow drop off the stage onto Big Show to claim the championship for his own! A feud that doesn’t seem to end so much as go silent at times was in the forefront next, as “Y2J” Chris Jericho found himself defending the WWF Intercontinental championship against “The Game” Triple H. This started when Jericho made Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley cry, and quickly turned into Triple H and Stephanie making Jericho’s life hell, utilizing the Island Tribe of Rikishi and Haku to punish him. Motorhead made a special appearance at WrestleMania to play “The Game” for Triple H’s entrance, but Jericho was undeterred as he laid into Hunter with all the crowd pleasing maneuvers in his base. But it was an assist by Stephanie from the outside, sliding “The Game” his faithful sledgehammer, that allowed him to wrest the title away from Jericho, making Triple H a three time Intercontinental champion! It’s been a long road for Chyna to get to WrestleMania X-7. For months she was hounded by Ivory and the Right to Censor, after having her neck broken back in December. In January she was put out during a match at the Royal Rumble event, and after more months of insults and threats, she finally has Ivory one on one. “The One” Billy Gunn and the Acolytes were on hand to hold off the rest of the RTC, and with nowhere to run and no one to hide behind, Ivory was soundly defeated by Chyna, who claims her first WWF Women’s championship! After the bout, Chyna and Gunn finally got their hands on Steven Richards, giving him the beating that he has deserved for months! Everyone remembers how vicious the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match was back at SummerSlam last year, and it was time to revisit that Hell for Edge & Christian, the Dudley Boyz, and the Hardy Boyz, as they squared off in TLC II, once again for the WWF Tag Team championships! It had been a month of E&C using sneak attacks to their advantage, but each team came with friends this year; Bubba and D-Von were joined by little brother Spike Dudley, the Hardy Boyz had Lita on their side, and E&C had the violent Rhyno in their camp. This match saw all three interfere at certain points, but each were taken out in time. Edge shocked everyone by delivering a Spear to Jeff Hardy as he hung from the titles, Jeff hit a Swanton Bomb onto Rhyno and Spike through tables on the outside, and everyone had their chance for glory until Rhyno propped Christian on his shoulders and lifted him up to the titles in order to see E&C retain in a match that will most definitely have shortened these young careers! Is blood thicker than water when we spend all your time spilling it? Mr. Vince McMahon and son Shane McMahon looked to find out as they went head to head in our next bout, a Street Fight where Mick Foley was the special referee. There was a lot of baggage in this one, as Vince had been in the process of divorcing wife Linda and was having a rather blatant affair with Trish Stratus. Shane returned amid one of Vince’s finest hours, also during a time when there is no WWF Commissioner. Shane was unable to sway his sister, Stephanie, into joining his side, and rather than just allowing Vince to name William Regal as the commissioner, this match will let the winner decide who gets the power. Shane had words with Trish Stratus on the prior SmackDown!, telling her that she is talented enough to not be stuck using her body to get places, making her think about what she’s been doing in her life. Father and son had a very emotional battle where William Regal and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley tried to interfere in Vince’s favor, but Linda McMahon and a surprising turn by Trish Stratus helped Shane overcome his father, as “Shane O’Mac” places a trash can against his father and then leaps from one side of the ring to the other for a big dropkick! Mick Foley makes the pinfall, and Shane McMahon has defeated his father right here at WrestleMania X-7! After all of that emotion, the fans were treated to a nice little Gimmick Battle Royal, which saw The Berzerker, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, The Brooklyn Brawler, Brother Love, The Bushwhackers, Doink the Clown, Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, Earthquake, El Matador, The Gobbeldy Gooker, The Iron Sheik, Kamala, Koko B. Ware, Michael “P.S.” Hayes, Nikolai Volkoff, The One Man Gang, Sgt. Slaughter, Skinner, and The Repo Man make their returns to the WWF ring for this bout of nostalgia. Bobby “The Brain” Heenan also made an appearance as he sat on commentary alongside JR. Sgt. Slaughter wins the bout, giving the fans a fun ending to a nice, calm bout. After the match, Bobby was talking to Ross about being happy to appear in the WWF again after all this time and how he was excited to see what was yet to come tonight, when Doink the Clown sneaked up behind him and dumped a bucket of water over Bobby’s back! Our penultimate contest started with “Olympic Hero” Kurt Angle wanting to regain his WWF championship at any cost, while The Undertaker wanted a chance at the championship of his own. After Mr. McMahon asked Undertaker who he’s defeated lately to prove that he’s worth a title shot, these two’s paths kept crossing until they agreed to meet at WrestleMania X-7 in a #1 Contenders match. The crowd were rabid for these two incredibly popular superstars, but in the end “The American Badass” was able to put away Angle once and for all with The Last Ride. Undertaker would have to wait until after the main event to find out just who this win would set him against. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock are two names who can raise goosebumps on your skin just from hearing them. After Austin won the Royal Rumble, The Rock walked out of No Way Out winning the WWF championship, setting the two on this path. Mr. McMahon kept putting them in the same matches, having them take on tag team matches that saw first Austin hit The Rock with a Rock Bottom and then Rock use the Stunner to take down Austin. In a pre-taped sit-down face to face interview that Jim Ross conducted between the two, The Rock told Austin that he would make up for losing to him two years ago at WrestleMania 15, while Austin admits that he isn’t getting any younger, but that he has to win the championship back, no matter what the cost. Mr. McMahon has made this match a No Disqualifications bout, and each man left it all on the mat in their bid to defeat the other and carry the championship. The surprise at the end of the match is when Mr. McMahon comes to ringside and offers a steel chair to “Stone Cold” who takes it and lays into The Rock! With that, Austin makes the cover and regains the WWF championship – before shaking hands with the devil himself, Mr. McMahon! What a dangerous pair these two enemies will make in the future! 
Chris Benoit defeated Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko in a Fatal Four Way match by making Eddie submit to the Crossface (Rating: B) Kane defeated Raven and The Big Show in a Hardcore match for the WWF Hardcore title after Kane took a stunt bump to drop an elbow on Big Show off the stage (Rating: B-) Motorhead make a live appearance to play “The Game” for Triple H to enter the ring to (Rating: B+) Triple H defeated Chris Jericho for the WWF Intercontinental title after Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley interfered (Rating: B+) We see a split screen backstage of The Rock and Steve Austin with Debra in their locker rooms, preparing for the main event tonight (Rating: B) Video: Ivory and Chyna’s feud is detailed (C-) Chyna defeated Ivory for the WWF Women’s title (Rating: C-) Chyna and Billy finally get their hands on Steven, thanks to the APA holding off the RTC (Rating: C+) Edge & Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match to retain the WWF World Tag Team titles; the match featured Rhyno, Spike, and Lita all interfering at points, Jeff Hardy took a stunt bump, and Rhyno helped Christian get the titles in the end (Rating: B) At WWF New York, Michael Cole and Tazz talk with Test about what we’ve seen at WrestleMania so far (Rating: C) Backstage, Chyna is greeted by Jacqueline and Molly Holly, who applaud and congratulate her on her comeback (Rating: C-) Video: The McMahon Family Feud is detailed (B-) Despite William Regal and Stephanie interfering on Vince’s behalf, Shane McMahon defeated Vince McMahon in a Street Fight match with Mick Foley as referee; Trish Stratus and Linda McMahon both attacked Vince with low blows en route to Shane delivering a Mac Terminator to win (Rating: B-) Jonathan Coachman interviews Kurt Angle, asking him about Trish as she isn’t with him, but all he focuses on is defeating Undertaker to become the number one contender (Rating: B-) Sgt. Slaughter won the Gimmick Battle Royal, which also featured The Berzerker, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, The Brooklyn Brawler, Brother Love, The Bushwhackers, Doink the Clown, Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, Earthquake, El Matador, The Gobbeldy Gooker, The Iron Sheik, Kamala, Koko B. Ware, Michael “P.S.” Hayes, Nikolai Volkoff, The One Man Gang, Skinner, and The Repo Man. Jim Ross did commentary with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan for the match. (Rating: D-) Bobby Heenan was talking to JR after the match, when Doink comes up behind him and dumps a bucket of water on him! (Rating: E+) The Undertaker defeated Kurt Angle in a #1 Contenders match (Rating: B) Video: The Rock vs. Steve Austin, told with “My Way” by Limp Bizkit (Rating: B+) Howard Finkel gives a great introduction for the main event participants (B) Steve Austin defeated The Rock in a No Disqualifications match for the WWF World Heavyweight title, using a chair on The Rock that was given to him by Mr. McMahon of all people! (Rating: A) The Astrodome and everyone watching at home is stunned as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon shake hands! (Rating: B+)
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 18:50:33 GMT 1
(The Big Bang originally posted on November 19, 2017)April 2001: The Big Bang
With The Big Bang coming on Friday, April 13, 2001, Eric Bischoff had a lot of ducks to put in a lot of rows. It was revealed (to the readers) that Eric had agreed to keep Kevin Nash for the next four months in WCW at a very reduced price tag with the caveat that he would sign a ten year contract once Bischoff was able to sign Scott Hall. One of the first big maneuvers Eric made at the end of March was to fully embrace a new logo for the company. Having disliked the “star” logo that was put in place at the beginning of 1999, Eric opted to replace it with one that had already been seen plenty on the WCW Magazine covers, backstage, on t-shirts, and on action figure boxes, a somewhat plain looking, simple “WCW” that is normally red but can be easily changed to a different color to fit any situation. The “star” had barely graced shows ever since last August, and it was time to put it out of our misery. Eric found out later that a “Vince” had been going to all the potential television stations that he could try to air Nitro on and had sabotaged him ahead of any kind of deal taking place. Was it Vince McMahon? Was it Vince Russo? Eric doesn’t know, and he doesn’t care because he knows it had to be one of them who was upset that he was in charge of WCW. But the Jarretts arrived just in time with a plan that just may be the answer to Eric’s problems, both in finding airtime and also with money. With money seeming to be a problem of the past, Eric decided to go on a small signing binge. However, most of the names that he wanted to go after, most of them from the now defunct ECW, would end up going into a deal with the WWF instead. Also, Eric put in his notes that when the WWF turned “Stone Cold” Steve Austin heel to join with the evil Mr. McMahon, Bischoff was actually thinking about doing that in the near future as well. But Eric was able to get in touch with someone who Simon Diamond claimed to be one of Paul Heyman’s former ECW “right hand man” in Gabe Saplosky. Gabe was signed and brought a fresh perspective to who Eric would be after in the future. He also was going to have an on-screen presence under the pseudonym Chris Lovey, in order to get fans familiar with him to transition to either an announcer or interviewer role. Also moved to an on-screen role was backstage worker Jeremy Borash, who is going to have a role much more “thrown to the wolves” than what Lovey would receive. Eric decided to save his few debuts for after this show, wanting to keep things pretty basic so that long-time fans will not be threatened away by anything changing too drastically. With that out of the way, it was time for WCW to experience the Big Bang…
 WCW The Big Bang
April 13th, 2001 (Week 2)
Held at: North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina (South East)
Announcers: Mike Tenay, Scott Hudson, and Arn Anderson
Attendance: 13,295 people (sold out!)
PPV Rating: 0.28 (Comcast / Dish Mexico)
TV Rating: 0.27 (Foxtel)The Big Bang welcomes everyone to a brand new World Championship Wrestling, headed by our new announce team of “Professor” Mike Tenay, Scott Hudson, and “Double A” Arn Anderson. Eric Bischoff started the show with a serious of high profile announcements; beginning with how he is officially the sole owner and proprietor of WCW! Eric’s biggest announcement is that next Friday night on April 13, 2001, Nitro will return as a weekly pay-per-view series live from the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following that, WCW Pride will take place on April 22nd. He brings out Ric Flair, telling Ric that he will be happy to allow him to keep running the wrestling side of WCW as “The Nature Boss” so long as he keeps out of the ring. Bischoff’s final announcement to open the show was that he was deactivating the Cruiserweight and Hardcore titles, combining them into the brand new WCW X Division championship! The two holders of those titles were going against one another right now in order to determine the inaugural champion. (Rating: B+)
Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated “The Franchise” Shane Douglas with a quick roll-up at 11:47 for the WCW X Division title. (Rating: B-)
“Mean” Gene Okerlund introduces his new intern, Jeremy Borash, who is going to shadow Gene on-air to be groomed into a bigger position in the future. His first assignment starts right at the top as they interview the Steiner Brothers, with Scott and Rick ready to continue running WCW just like before the end of the prior Turner era. (Rating: B+)
Kanyon defeated Norman Smiley with the Flatliner in 3:09. (Rating: C-)
“The Cat” Ernest Miller, who still wants a piece of Kanyon for his actions against Miss Jones, wants a match against Kanyon at WCW Pride. Kanyon wholeheartedly wants the match! (Rating: C)
“Mean” Gene and Jeremy next interview Booker and the Natural Born Thrillers, who are going to take on The World in six man tag team action. (Rating: C-)
The announcers pump up that “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash has a big announcement for WCW fans, but he’s never able to make it to the ring as Totally Buff attack him from behind! They leave him laying on the floor, but was it a wise move to poke the bear? (Rating: A)
Tony Schiavone’s new role in WCW was revealed as he is the head of the WCW Worldwide Panel, a segment that would become a staple of all WCW productions in the future. The Panel consists of Tony, “Mean” Gene, Jeremy Borash, Chris Lovey, and Stevie Ray. They recap what we’ve seen on the show so far and what is yet to come. (Rating: C-)
“Sugar” Shane Helms defeated Kaz Hayashi at 3:22 following the Vertebreaker. (Rating: C-)
Despite Booker tapping out to Lance Storm earlier in the bout when the referee was distracted, Booker T and the Natural Born Thrillers defeated The World (Lance Storm, Mike Awesome, Elix Skipper and Shawn Stasiak) with Booker pinning Skipper in 17:41 after Sid Vicious distracted The World. (Rating: C+)
Furious, The World lay an assault on all of their enemies, standing tall in the end! (Rating: B-)
“Mean” Gene and Jeremy this time catch Totally Buff and Madusa backstage, who laugh about their attack on Kevin Nash. They say his announcement should be retirement, so he can get out of their way in the new WCW! (Rating: B)
Earlier in the night, Scott Hudson had a sit-down interview with Goldberg, who wants a title match against Scott Steiner. (Rating: B)
Goldberg’s partner tonight, Sting, is seen backstage getting ready for action. (Rating: B)
AJ Styles defeated Yang by DQ when Jeff Jarrett and the Harris Boys attack Styles at 1:50 (Rating: D+)
Jeff Jarrett with the Harris Boys talks about how he doesn’t understand how he was left off the card; but Ric Flair comes out and books them against General Rection and Kronik! (Rating: B)
In an impromptu Street Fight, General Rection and KroniK defeated Jeff Jarrett and The Harris Brothers at 9:03 as Hugh pins Big Ron with the No Laughing Matter. (Rating: B-)
Vampiro and Daffney take over the show to talk about the sins of WCW’s past and how he will sacrifice anyone who stands in his way. (Rating: B-)
Sting and Goldberg make big entrances to the ring for our main event! (Rating: B+)
At 12:29, Sting and Goldberg defeated The Steiner Brothers in a Street Fight with Goldberg pinning Scott after a botch by Midajah sees him get Steiner’s lead pipe and use it on him before the Jackhammer. (Rating: B)
Eric Bischoff comes to the stage to applaud the winners to close out The Big Bang! (Rating: B-)
With this show in the books, it was time to get back to the business at hand: trying to make certain that World Championship Wrestling would live on! Eric Bischoff had a few helping hands to delegate some of his day-to-day booking toward such as Jeff and Jerry Jarrett, Johnny Ace, Gabe Saplosky, and Terry Taylor up until Taylor’s contract was allowed to expire at the middle of the month. There is a lot of young, hungry talent mixed in with the names everyone knows around the world, so the future of WCW certainly looks interesting after The Big Bang!
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 19:05:08 GMT 1
(WCW Pride was originally posted on December 24, 2017)
WCW Friday Nitro premiered as a live pay-per-view on April 20, 2001, but the new era had a few feuds to solve from the last one. The most notable one was “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner keeping his WCW World Heavyweight championship away from “Da Man” Goldberg. Goldberg still has to deal with being forced to replicate his 1998 Undefeated Streak, but that hasn’t stopped them from being pitted against each other. Steiner opened his loud mouth and proclaimed how Goldberg’s streak would have ended in 1998 had he not been ducking him so much, to which Goldberg responded with how Steiner is ducking him by hiding behind the rules that Vince Russo made to hold him back. “The Nature Boss” Ric Flair got an idea from this, and decided to make a match where no one can run from one another: an Indian Strap match! Flair also made a huge main event for the first new Nitro, a Champions Carnival where World and US champions Scott Steiner and Jeff Jarrett (along with a partner, who ended up unsurprisingly being Rick Steiner) against the X and World Tag Team champions, Rey Mysterio Jr. and the Natural Born Thrillers! “Big Poppa Pump” ended up winning the elimination match after a great showing by Sean O’Haire, with Goldberg chasing Steiner away, but no one will be running away at WCW Pride!
Lance Storm had made Booker T tap out twice in the past month, albeit one of them behind the official’s back so he did not receive the victory over it. The two confronted each other on Friday Nitro, where they agreed to a Pride match. The bout would be submissions only, inside the confines of a steel cage. If Storm emerged victorious, then all the accolades that Booker T has won in his WCW career would be transferred to Storm; but if Booker won, then Lance would never be able to badmouth America again! These two world class athletes were looking to steal the show at WCW Pride!
Totally Buff, being unable to retire Goldberg, found a new person to terrorize in “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash. Nash is without a partner now, as we have not seen Diamond Dallas Page in the new WCW, and it appears that Luger, Bagwell, and Madusa want nothing more than to send Nash to the same hole that Page has been buried in! Nash made an open challenge at WCW Pride to face one of the two, not even caring which one it will be. Will that confidence be Nash’s downfall, or does he have a plan to enact? Find out only at WCW Pride!
“The Franchise of WCW” Sting made a big return at The Big Bang, overcoming the Steiner Brothers alongside Goldberg. Sting wanted to turn his attention toward Scott Steiner and the World’s Heavyweight title, but his path is being held up by “The DFG” Rick Steiner. The two veterans (and a long time ago, former tag team partners!) will meet at WCW Pride!
Speaking of “Franchises,” Shane Douglas barged in on Ric Flair to launch into a tirade upon him about how his WCW Hardcore title was taken away from him. Flair, after lambasting Douglas for his actions and his conduct that was unbecoming of a major champion, said that he was glad to finally see some fire in Shane’s guts, and granted him Rey Mysterio Jr.’s first X Division title defense at WCW Pride!
It is all about pride as “The Cat” Ernest Miller is about to face off against the new, vicious side of Kanyon. Kanyon wrote out Miller’s valet, Ms. Jones, last month, and Kanyon has said that he plans on laying out Miller as well. Kanyon enlisted the Problem Solvers to attack “The Cat” on Nitro, but who will come out as the victor at WCW Pride?
Vampiro has explained that Crowbar was punished as a sinner, punished for his greed. He introduced a disciple in the off-beat Daffney, claiming that there will be more in the future to usher in a new testament of pain, punishment, and pleasure to World Championship Wrestling. What could it all mean, I wonder?
Two debuts to WCW were also promoted on Friday Nitro, one being Kid Kash, formerly of ECW, and the other being Low-Ki, who is a young talent who comes with high praise. Kash is set to debut at WCW Pride, as he will be taking on former Cruiserweight champion Chavo Guerrero Jr.
WCW Pride was opened with a new segment, The WCW Worldwide Live Pre-Show! Tony Schiavone and The WCW Worldwide Panel showed hype videos and discussed the evening’s upcoming battles. Along with that, there were a few exclusive matches and interviews.
“The Nature Boss” Ric Flair arrived to the Reno Events Center in a stretch limousine! (B-)
General Rection defeated Alex Wright in 8:41 with the No Laughing Matter (Rating: C+)
Scott Hudson interviewed Ric Flair, who along with Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard will be watching tonight’s show closely (Rating: B-)
Mike Awesome and Elix Skipper defeated AJ Styles and Shane Helms with Awesome pinning Styles in 5:54 after Shawn Stasiak caused a distraction (Rating: B-)
Mark Jindrak & Sean O’Haire defeated The Harris Brothers to retain the WCW World Tag Team titles at 8:01 when Jindrak pinned Ron (Rating: C)
 WCW Pride
Shown Live on April 22nd, 2001
Held at: The Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada (South West)
Announcers: Mike Tenay, Scott Hudson, and Arn Anderson
Attendance: 10,000 people (sold out!)
PPV Rating: 0.18
TV Rating: 0.26
Show Rating: B
This show raised WCW’s popularity in 8 regions.
Our opening video for the show is narrated by the voice of Vampiro: “Of all the deadly sins, perhaps the worst of them all is pride. Pride is the father of all sins, the devil’s most prominent trait. It’s pride that drives men to feel bigger and better than they really are, pride that makes them feel like higher beings than all those around them. Pride makes you fight for only yourself, to put your foot down on all others to climb above them. Selfishness leads men to the highest of highs… but also, the lowest of lows. Remember; pride goeth before a fall.” (Rating: B-) Dustin Rhodes defeated C.W. by DQ when the other Problem Solvers attacked Rhodes (Rating: C+) Simon has a problem… but that problem is that Dustin fights back and sends them scattering! (Rating: D+) “Mean” Gene and Jeremy interview Sid Vicious, who says that Scott Steiner needs to watch out, because Sid is watching him! (Rating: B) Chavo Guerrero Jr. defeated Kid Kash with a cheap roll-up with his feet on the ropes (Rating: D+) Steiner Brothers are going to beat up Sting and Goldberg tonight (Rating: B) Goldberg is banging around in his dressing room (Rating: B) A brawl breaks out between the NBT and The World, they are all thrown out of the building! (Rating: B-) Kanyon defeated Ernest Miller when Vampiro gives “The Cat” a bloodbath (Rating: C) Kanyon joins with Vampiro and Daffney, with Vampiro announcing the start of their Dark Eden (Rating: B-) “Mean” Gene and Jeremy talk to Booker T, who is going to shut Lance Storm up once and for all in the Pride match (Rating: C) Hype Video: Totally Buff vs. Kevin Nash (Rating: B-) Lex Luger defeated Kevin Nash by stoppage after Buff Bagwell interfered, and Luger held Nash in the Torture Rack (Rating: C+) Totally Buff completely humiliate Kevin Nash, telling him he has no friends anymore! (Rating: B) Lance Storm is interviewed by “Mean” Gene and Jeremy, as Storm says he’ll be taking everything Booker has ever worked for tonight (Rating: C) Stacy Kiebler joins The WCW Worldwide Panel to talk about what we’ve seen so far at WCW Pride, as well as what is to come (Rating: C-) Low Ki Training Montage (Rating: F) Sting defeated Rick Steiner with the Scorpion Death Drop (Rating: C+) A victorious Sting doesn’t get to celebrate as a wild Animal attacks! (Rating: A) Hype Video: Lance Storm vs. Booker T (Rating: apparently I never wrote it down) Booker T defeated Lance Storm in a Pride match (Rating: B-) “Mean” Gene and Jeremy tries to get a word from Goldberg, but he only has two words: You’re Next! (Rating: B) Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Shane Douglas to retain the WCW X Division title with a springboard hurricanrana (Rating: B) The Filthy Animals meet backstage, congratulating Rey but Kidman saying he’ll defeat Jarrett for the US title faster than Rey just beat Douglas (Rating: C) Jeff Jarrett defeated Billy Kidman to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight title after Jarrett hits Kidman with his guitar (Rating: B-) The other Filthy Animals push away Jarrett and the Harris Boys, but it’s too late to win the title (Rating: C+) Hype Video: Scott Steiner vs. Goldberg (Rating: ?) David Penzer does the ring introductions for our main event! (Rating: B) Goldberg defeated Scott Steiner in a Indian Strap match after two Jackhammers (Rating: B) We are treated to The WCW Worldwide Live Post-Show then, where The WCW Worldwide Panel talk about the show and if they find out anything, report what is coming next time. Goldberg celebrates his big win, as Scott Steiner and Midajah leave the ringside area (Rating: B+) Flair, Arn, and Tully commend Goldberg on his win over Scott Steiner (Rating: B-) To close, The WCW Worldwide Panel announce that this Friday, Scott Steiner takes on Sid Vicious with the WCW World championship on the line! (Rating: C-) 
April was a big month for World Championship Wrestling, as the brand new WCW Friday Nitro premiered. There were also two pay-per-view events, in The Big Bang and WCW Pride. Eric did what he could to ignore Shane McMahon’s calls, but the money problems keep mounting despite the influx of revenue that the weekly PPVs should be bringing. But with a big main event set up for the second episode of Friday Nitro, and WCW Envy coming up in May, there is no time for anyone to rest on their laurels; after all, the WWF didn’t have any time off in April, and they are working to do what they can to put WCW out of business once and for all!
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Post by Beejus on Feb 22, 2020 19:10:07 GMT 1
(WWF Backlash was originally posted on February 18, 2018)
April 2001: WWF Backlash
 The Allstate Arena had better made sure it’s insurance is paid up because for every action in the WWF, there will always be a Backlash! The opening contest of the night was all about one man’s desires, as “Latino Heat” Eddie Guerrero had been unsuccessfully flirting with various women in the WWF, getting more and more frustrated with each rejection. Al Snow stepped in to help the ladies push him away, and the feud got even more lofty when Billy Gunn and his WWF European championship got involved. The match was very hotly contested, but finally Gunn retained his championship with a small package roll-up on Guerrero. Would Chyna be as fortunate later tonight and keep the championships on “The Golden Team” or would Trish Stratus overcome her? A lot of brawling action led into this battle between the Island Tribe and the Acolytes, as they had numerous matches in the past month that never had a conclusion due to disqualifications or count outs. Now at WWF Backlash, it was a Chicago Street Fight and everyone brought their heaviest punches! But in the end, Bradshaw was able to connect with the Clothesline from Hell on Rikishi to seal this one. Molly Holly had found herself a victim of red paint by Terri a few weeks ago, and the women brought their men into the fray for a mixed six-person tag team match at WWF Backlash! In the end, Hardcore and Crash Holly were able to hold off Saturn and Malenko long enough for Molly to give Terri a taste of her own medicine with the Molly-Go-Round to score the victory. Mr. McMahon has never been a good loser, and losing at WrestleMania X-7 to his son Shane McMahon has left a very bitter taste in his mouth. Vince positioned Shane in a tight spot, pitting him against The Big Show. But when Shane announced himself as the new WWF Commissioner, he showed off “the McMahon grapefruits” run in the gene pool as he purposely made the bout a Last Man Standing match! Show decimated McMahon’s old running buddies in the Mean Street Posse and Test, putting more fuel of the fire in this one. McMahon showed plenty of guts in this bout, resorting to more and more insane actions to try and chop down The Big Show. Finally it took a surprise appearance from Test, running in to deliver a big boot to Show and set him up for Shane to hit a coast to coast dropkick to put Show down for the ten count! A storied rivalry gained another chapter as the Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boyz had a Tables match! Jeff Hardy kept going for one more big move, and it nearly cost him quite a few times, but finally he put away Bubba with a Swanton through the table to win! WWF Hardcore champion Rhyno is always itching for a fight, and he got one when Steve Blackman and Funaki both appeared with referees to try and take the title away from him under the 24/7 rule. But Rhyno fought back to Gore both of them, keeping the championship around his waist. Kurt Angle and William Regal have joined forces under Mr. McMahon’s banner to go after the two men they have been in battle against as of late in Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. The two young Canadians have had their own wars in the past, and it seemed as though they would never be able to be a united front like Angle and Regal are, but as Jericho explained before this match: “I don’t have to trust Benoit, just fight alongside him!” Jericho and Benoit put their differences aside and won this bout by locking Regal in a combination Walls of Jericho and Crippler Crossface, getting an almost immediate tap out victory! Backstage, Rhyno was looking for more violence, and he felt he found an outlet for that violence in Jeff Hardy. But Jeff was able to turn the tables on Rhyno and holds him down to pin him, becoming the new WWF Hardcore champion! Ever since WrestleMania X-7, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley has had it out for Trish Stratus, personally blaming her for Mr. McMahon losing to Shane at the biggest show of the year. Stephanie placed Trish against Chyna, putting Chyna’s newly won WWF Women’s championship on the line in order to get the muscular woman to go into a frenzy that would spell the end for Stratus. But Chyna has no love lost for “Daddy’s Little Girl” and refused to go out of her way for Stephanie, and that led to Stephanie announcing herself as tonight’s special guest referee. Stephanie let both women go after one another, egging them on to try and take the other out at any chance. But the plan was perfect as Tori made her return to the WWF and used a steel chair to lay out both Trish and Chyna! The match was a no contest, but this definitely isn’t over! We went backstage to the Hardy Boyz again as they were leaving the Allstate Arena, but they had a big surprise waiting in the shadows for them as former ECW star Rob Van Dam appeared and attacked the brothers! Following the move that Philadelphia knew as the Van Daminator, Van Dam pinned Jeff Hardy right in the parking garage to steal the Hardcore title! It was finally time for our main event, which is a “Winner Takes All” match as the two men known as The Power Trip, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and “The Game” Triple H, put their WWF and Intercontinental championships both on the line against The Brothers of Destruction’s WWF Tag Team championships! This No Disqualifications match had everything on the line, and it could have gone either way numerous times. But in the end, Triple H was able to get his favored weapon, the sledgehammer, out from under the ring, and he used it to brutalize Kane before Austin hit the Stunner on him to get the win. A big brawl continued between the four men afterwards, but as The Power Trip got away, the evening ended with the ominous sight of The Power Trip holding up all the gold!
Billy Gunn defeated Eddie Guerrero and Al Snow in a Triple Threat match to retain the WWF European title by rolling Guerrero up with a small package (Rating: B) The Acolytes defeated The Island Tribe in a Street Fight match (Rating: B-) Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley meets with Chyna and Billy Gunn backstage, but Chyna tells her to get out because she doesn’t want her help tonight! (Rating: C+) Molly Holly and The Hollys defeated Terri and The Radicalz in a Mixed Tag match (Rating: C-) The Brothers of Destruction are getting prepared backstage when Right to Censor come out of nowhere to attack them! But even with the numbers advantage, RTC get laid out! (Rating: B-) Shane McMahon is seen getting ready backstage, here comes the money! (Rating: B-) Shane McMahon defeated The Big Show in a Last Man Standing match when Test makes a surprise appearance to help Shane (Rating: B-) Edge is at WWF New York tonight, he gives a five second pose (Rating: B) Feud Hype Video: The Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz (Rating: C) The Hardy Boyz defeated The Dudley Boyz in a Tables match (Rating: B) Rhyno is attacked backstage by Steve Blackman and Funaki, but defeats them to retain the WWF Hardcore title (Rating: C-) The Power Trip sit backstage and discuss the evening, planning to win the Tag titles tonight no matter what (Rating: B+) Feud Hype Video: Regal and Angle vs. Jericho and Benoit (Rating: B-) William Regal and Kurt Angle come to the ring as a unified front! (Rating: B) Despite coming to the ring separately, Chris Jericho says the joke is on their opponents; he doesn’t have to trust Benoit, just fight next to him! (Rating: B) Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho defeated Kurt Angle and William Regal (Rating: B+) An unhinged Rhyno picks a fight with Jeff Hardy, but after a scuffle Jeff walks away with the Hardcore title! (Rating: B-) Michael Cole interview: The Brothers of Destruction don’t care who put RTC up to their attack, they’ll win the Power Trip’s titiles tonight! (Rating: B) Stephanie McMahon meets with Trish Stratus, saying that nobody has her all figured out; since both Trish and Chyna have been so vile towards her, she’ll be the referee for the Women’s title match herself! (Rating: B+) Michael Cole talks to the Hardyz, who are excited for their future now with Jeff as Hardcore champ! (Rating: B) Feud Hype Video: Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley has been trying to work Chyna and Trish Stratus against one another (Rating: C+) Chyna went to a no contest with Trish Stratus to retain the WWF Women’s title when Tori made a surprise return, Stephanie allowing her to lay both women out (Rating: D+) The Hardy Boyz are leaving the Allstate Arena, but Rob Van Dam attacks them, and wins the Hardcore title from Jeff! (Rating: B) Feud Hype Video: Power Trip vs. Brothers of Destruction (Rating: B+) “The Fink” announces the participants for our main event (Rating: B) The Power Trip defeated The Brothers of Destruction in a No Disqualifications match for the WWF World Tag Team titles when Triple H hits Kane with a sledgehammer and Austin pins him (Rating: B+) A brawl nearly breaks out, but in the end The Power Trip have all the gold as the Brothers seethe (Rating: A*)
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Post by Mike Haggar on Feb 23, 2020 12:36:27 GMT 1
This is great stuff!
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Post by Beejus on Feb 23, 2020 14:40:10 GMT 1
Thanks! This is a bit of a chore reposting everything (and I have a decent way to go, as the game is posted up to almost November) but I think it is going to be worth it to have it back on a forum again.
(WCW Envy was originally posted on March 31, 2018)May 2001: WCW Envy
After “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner kept the World’s Heavyweight championship around his waist against Sid Vicious, he refused to release the Steiner Recliner from Sid. The only thing that gets Steiner to drop the hold is the appearance of Tully Blanchard, who slaps Scott across the face! Against Ric Flair’s wishes, Blanchard accepts a WCW World Heavyweight championship match for WCW Envy against Steiner! It mostly is Steiner leading this feud as he is on-screen hyping up how badly he wants to break Blanchard in half while Tully goes away for two weeks to train. On the final Friday Nitro before Envy, the Steiner Brothers get in Arn Anderson’s face, but “The Nature Boss” threatens to bench both of them for the rest of their careers if they touch another staff member. Back in February, Tully Blanchard came out on top of an unsanctioned fight between the two (with a little helping hand from Booker T) but can he do it in a World title match?
“Big Sexy” Kevin Nash took a heartbreaking loss at WCW Pride, and he was ready to decimate Totally Buff for the month of May! He teamed up with Dustin Rhodes briefly to take them on, but at WCW Envy, he decided there was no one he could trust more than himself and would be taking on both Luger and Bagwell in a handicap match! Can “Big Sexy” overcome the odds, or are Totally Buff just too much for Nash?
Another huge match coming at WCW Envy took shape at Pride when Animal assaulted Sting after his victory. The former Road Warrior explained that he felt Sting was trying to jump past him by stepping back into WCW after a long absence, and he wasn’t going to let that happen. “The Stinger” used mind games to cost Animal a match against Sean O’Haire before telling him that his soul had been tainted with jealousy and fear, that he was at a crossroads that he chose the wrong path on. In taped interviews, Animal said that he wanted Sting to know his place; Sting countered by saying that if Animal had just asked him, he’d let him get a title match first – but he took the hard road, and at WCW Envy, it is going to be showtime!
After last month’s Pride match, Lance Storm wasn’t seen much all month, but Booker T willed himself back onto television quickly. But Shawn Stasiak feels that Booker is not back to form, and vows to take out little Storm left of Booker T after Pride!
The World also had their hands full with Sid Vicious, Mike Awesome distracting Vicious when he was battling for the World championship. These two “masters of the powerbomb” are going to take one another on in a brutal Tables match!
With the success of the Pride match last month, this month features the Envy match, where six combatants wagered something important to them against the right to a title match of their choosing and winning all the things that are being wagered. General Rection and Billy Kidman both put the status of their groups on the line, the Misfits in Action and the Filthy Animals; Lance Storm held up the managerial contract of Major Gunns; Dustin Rhodes wagered a pair of cowboy boots that his father had worn to win the World title in the 80s; Sean O’Haire said that he would promise a World Tag Team title shot to whoever wins; and Rick Steiner didn’t have something to wager, but his special stipulation said that if he won, then Scott Steiner wouldn’t have to defend his World title for 90 days. These are prizes to be envious of, and only one man can win them all!
“The Cat” Ernest Miller hadn’t been himself since after WCW Pride, the blood bath he suffered really messed with his mind. He finally challenged Kanyon to a rematch in a First Blood match, winning when Vampiro stabbed Kanyon himself with a spike? Vampiro moved on quickly, saying that the outcome didn’t matter to him at all, and that he was pitting Kanyon against the undefeated streak of Goldberg at WCW Envy! As Envy approaches, “Da Man” stands tall at 92 wins out of 176, so he will be looking to further bolster his numbers!
The Filthy Animals have been having some issues since last month, when Kidman gave a friendly nudge to Rey Mysterio Jr. about winning the United States title. When that didn’t happen, Billy felt that his fellow Animals weren’t looking out for him. While he has entered the Envy match, Konnan decided to challenge Jeff Jarrett himself for the US championship, while “Rey-Rey” has granted one final chance to Shane Douglas, with “The Franchise” using a blank contract that he found lying around to force Mysterio into a Last Man Standing match – right after he laid Mysterio out, assaulting his knees! Will The Filthy Animals be able to come out on top in all three matches, or will they lose it all in one fell swoop? What does Vampiro have to do with what is happening in the Animals? Find out only at WCW Envy!
A few lower level plots going on saw “The Prodigal Son” Dustin Rhodes announce that he wanted a World title match, and “The DFG” Rick Steiner decided to stand in his way; Norman Smiley angering Leia Meow and Yang; Alex Wright and “Sugar” Shane Helms having problems stemming from a match they had on Nitro; Simon Diamond and his Problem Solvers harassing General Rection because he declined joining them; “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka appeared and introduced us all to his son, Jimmy Snuka Jr.; Kid Kash wanting another match against Chavo Guerrero Jr., but Kaz Hayashi has been helping Guerrero to keep him at bay; and coming soon to WCW will be the young, hard hitting, rising star known as Low Ki.
The WCW Worldwide Live Pre-Show saw a lot of action, along with the standard Panel discussions and hype videos. Shane Helms and Norman Smiley defeated Yang and Alex Wright by count out when Wright left the bout and Yang tried to chase after him (Rating: C-) “Mean” Gene and Jeremy talk to The Filthy Animals, who look to be on top of WCW tonight; Konnan tells Jeff Jarrett that he’ll leave the Animals out of their match if he leaves the Harris Boys backstage (Rating: C-) Chuck Palumbo defeated Elix Skipper by DQ when Shawn Stasiak blatantly attacks Palumbo (Rating: C-) Jeff Jarrett agrees that he’ll leave the Harris Boys in the back tonight against Konnan (Rating: C+) The World succeed at laying out Jindrak and Palumbo before Booker and O’Haire can put a stop to them (Rating: B-)  WCW Envy
Shown Live on May 13th, 2001 (Week 2)
Held at: The Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico (Mid South)
Announcers: Mike Tenay, Scott Hudson, and Arn Anderson
Attendance: 12,482 people (sold out!)
PPV Rating: 0.02
TV Rating: 1.08
Show Rating: B
This show raised WCW’s popularity in 8 regions.Vampiro’s narration leads us into the main show: “Desire. Jealousy. Want. All these things describe something that lies dormant inside each and every person who is, was, or ever will be. No one is ever content with their position in life in comparison to those around them. And when that vile ‘green eyed monster’ rears its head, some of the worst sins can be committed. The sins of the heart beckon to those weak enough to fall prey to its siren call; but who will be Cain and who will be Abel by the time this story ends?”Jeff Jarrett defeated Konnan to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight title in 11:45 by hitting the Stroke following a low blow (Rating: B-) “Mean” Gene interviews The Steiner Brothers, who are ready to destroy everyone in their path tonight (Rating: B-) Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Shane Douglas in a Last Man Standing match to retain the WCW X Division title at 17:59 after AJ Styles avenges the beating Douglas gave him on Nitro to interfere in the match (Rating: B-) “Mean” Gene and Jeremy talk to Tully Blanchard, who says he is going to teach Steiner about respect (Rating: C) Dark Eden talk about Kanyon facing Goldberg tonight (Rating: C) Mike Awesome defeated Sid Vicious in a Tables match in 8:46 (Rating: B-) Lance Storm wins the Envy match in 17:45 over General Rection, Billy Kidman, Dustin Rhodes, Sean O’Haire and Rick Steiner after an assist from Alex Wright (Rating: B-) Booker T defeated Shawn Stasiak with the Book End at 8:58 (Rating: C) The World attack Booker T, finally O’Haire and Sid run out to stop it (Rating: C+) The WCW Worldwide Panel talk about The World, and hype up that our main event is still coming (Rating: C) Sting defeated Animal at 8:44 by DQ when Animal shoves the official (Rating: C+) Sting and Animal have a stand-off and must be held apart by security! (Rating: B-) The Problem Solvers harass General Rection, but he’s paid Kronik to chase them away! (Rating: C) “Mean” Gene and Jeremy talk to “The Nature Boss” Ric Flair, who talks about how he’s worried about Tully tonight (Rating: B) Totally Buff defeated Kevin Nash at 6:57 with a modified Doomsday Blockbuster (Rating: C+) “Mean” Gene and Jeremy talk to Kid Kash, who wants to take on Kaz and Chavo. They appear and threaten him until Jamie Knoble steps in because “We’re all redneck at heart!” (Rating: D) “Da Man” Goldberg makes a spectacular entrance (Rating: B) Goldberg defeated Kanyon with a Spear and Jackhammer at 4:24 (Rating: D+) Konnan and Rey try to console Kidman, but the influence of Vampiro comes to Billy, and he attacks them! (Rating: C+) David Penzer gives the introductions for our main event (Rating: C) Scott Steiner defeated Tully Blanchard to retain the WCW World Heavyweight title in 12:08 with the Steiner Recliner (Rating: B) Steiner refuses to release Tully after he passes out; after he tries to go after Arn, Ric Flair attacks Steiner with chops and a steel chair! “The Nature Boy” stands tall! (Rating: B+) During The WCW Worldwide Live Post Show, “Mean” Gene tries to get an interview from Ric Flair, but Flair and Anderson are going to the hospital with Tully. The only words Okerlund gets is that Flair says Steiner will pay! (Rating: B-)
The biggest news of the month is only known to three people: Eric himself, a notary, and Shane McMahon. Fearing the debt of WCW spiraling out of control and killing this new era before it has a chance to grow a following, Eric signed over 10% of WCW’s stock portfolio to Shane in exchange for a twelve million dollar loan from the junior McMahon. In future months, this would mean a $5,000 repayment back to Shane, but it put the company “in the black” for the first time since the middle of 2000. In return, Shane said that since Eric has some concern about things the WWF have been putting on being eerily similar to some of the ideas he’s given to his booking partners, he would try to keep an eye on things behind the scenes in the WWF and find out if something shady is going on; and he started off their relationship by letting Eric know that there was someone that the WWF had their eyes on who they couldn’t sign right away, and Bischoff could beat them to the punch. Kevin Nash spread a small rumor that he heard Johnny Ace giving some information to someone on the phone, but nothing has come of it. Kevin is keeping an eye out for Eric, though.
Other news from May saw Kevin Nash successfully drop into a “big heavyweight” frame; the XFL closed down; Bret Hart gave an interview in Calgary where he talked poorly of his experience working in WCW; The Rock’s movie The Mummy Returns premiered in theaters; Mick Foley’s new “Foley is Good” book has released; and Chyna sitting out the rest of her WWF contract along with Jerry Lynn picking up an ankle injury has left two (admittedly minor) WWF titles effectively on the shelf. Next month, on Father’s Day, comes The Great American Bash: Gluttony! |
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Post by Beejus on Feb 23, 2020 14:55:12 GMT 1
(WWF Judgment Day was originally posted on April 28, 2018)May 2001: WWF Judgment Day Sacramento’s ARCO Center is hotter than Hell as we approach WWF Judgment Day! This sold out crowd of 17,317 people were witness to some of the best action the west coast has seen in months! The night started with what many people would call a dream match for the Hardcore championship, as former ECW star Rob Van Dam defended the title against Team X-treme’s own daredevil Jeff Hardy. Their feud had seen Van Dam constantly bragging how much better he is than Hardy, with Jeff trying to get revenge for what happened at WWF Backlash. The action was high flying and intense, and saw Hardy take a leap from the stage that RVD got away from, causing Jeff to crash through a table! “The Whole Dam Show” took advantage and covered Hardy to retain his championship! Tensions spilled over from the past month as “Y2J” Chris Jericho took on William Regal in one on one action. These are two of the best technical wrestlers in the world, and their skills were on display here. Finally, Jericho was able to put Regal away by making him tap out in the Walls of Jericho. A huge wrinkle was in the works for one of our bigger matches, as it appears that “The Big Red Machine” Kane was not in the arena tonight following an attack from Triple H and The Big Show on the previous Thursday’s WWF SmackDown!. This put his match for the WWF Intercontinental championship tonight in serious question! Following WWF WrestleMania X-7, The Dudley Boyz had gone back to their ways of wanting to put people through tables, especially the women of the WWF. They had taken the month of May to focus on pure, sweet Molly Holly, drawing the ire of her cousins, Hardcore and Crash. This has also sparked a rift with the runt of the Dudley clan, Spike, as he apparently has taken a bit of a shine to Molly. At WWF Judgment Day, Bubba Ray and D-Von came out on top of their match, pinning Crash following the Dudley Death Drop, but it was after the match that saw the real sparks. Bubba took this time to go after Molly, and he very nearly put her through a table! But it was Spike who saved her, attacking his brothers and letting her escape to safety! However, he was caught up in the moment and instead of Molly, it was Spike who ended up violently put through the table! Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit had kept up their feud since WWF Backlash, and their reputations as the best wrestlers in the World Wrestling Federation were on the line in a 30 Minute Ultimate Submission match! The two men battled valiantly, but it ended in a draw at 2-2, when Angle was unable to get Benoit to tap out in the final seconds of the match in the ankle lock. The WWF Light Heavyweight champion Jerry Lynn joined us from WWF New York, upset that he’s finally on WWF pay-per-view with a championship around his waist, but he’s stuck at a restaurant holding a microphone. Over the past month, The Big Show was on a quest to prove his worth to Mr. McMahon, and that quest took him to a match where he took down Matt Hardy, and then flung Lita across the ring! Matt took this attack personally, goading Show into a match at WWF Judgment Day, saying that he wasn’t afraid. The match was a handicap match, as Lita teamed with Hardy to take on the 7’ monster. Despite The Big Show not seeming to want to take on Lita, he was able to dispose of her long enough to defeat Matt with a Chokeslam. After footage from WWF SmackDown! of the attack on Kane, Jim Ross and Paul Heyman were able to speak to “The Big Red Machine” on the phone. He confirmed that he was unable to come to the ARCO Arena tonight, and he was very upset at this, but he vowed to get revenge on “The Game” for what he has done! Triple H comes out to brag about taking Kane out, saying that he shouldn’t have to defend his title tonight, but WWF Commissioner Shane McMahon ruined that plan by telling “The Game” that he had found him a last minute replacement challenger… and BANG! Diamond Dallas Page made a huge impact by landing the Diamond Cutter, pinning Triple H as “Shane O’Mac” counts a 1, 2, 3, awarding Page as the new WWF Intercontinental champion! What had at one time been announced as a triple threat match for the WWF Women’s championship became a singles match between Tori and Trish Stratus, where Stratus used her Stratusfaction bulldog to defeat Tori. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley said that in good sportsmanship, she wanted to shake the winner’s hand – but it was all a ruse, as it distracted her long enough for Tori to recover and Ivory to hit the ring, and the two leave Trish lying in the ring! All that was left was our main event, and what a match it was set to be! The WWF championship was on the line in a No Disqualifications match between champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and challenger The Undertaker. The brawls these two have had in the past paled in comparison to what they put on display here, and The Undertaker nearly had the championship back around his waist quite a few times. But the amount of friends left in the locker room tonight played a key factor as Mr. McMahon and “The Game” Triple H interfered in the bout, with Helmsley using his sledgehammer on Undertaker. This left him wide open for the Stunner, as “Stone Cold” retained his championship once again.
Rob Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy in a Hardcore match to retain the WWF Hardcore title; Jeff took a stunt bump during this match and RVD took advantage by rolling out of the way and then pinning Jeff (Rating: B-) Kurt Angle talks to Rhyno and Edge about his match tonight with Chris Benoit, making sure he has “their support” during the match (Rating: B+) Chris Jericho defeated William Regal (Rating: B) Jonathan Coachman interviews The Power Trip, who seem to be on top of the world now that Kane isn’t even in the building (Rating: A) The Dudley Boyz defeated The Hollys (Rating: C+) Bubba wants to put Molly through a table, but Spike saves her; but after she is out of harm’s way, he ends up through the table instead! (Rating: B-) Feud Recap Video: Angle vs. Benoit (Rating: B-) Shane McMahon ruins Angle’s plans by detaining Edge and Rhyno backstage! (Rating: B-) Chris Benoit drew 2-2 with Kurt Angle in an Ultimate Submission (30 Mins) match; Angle had the ankle lock on Benoit when time ran out (Rating: B+) Jerry Lynn talks from WWF New York, saying that he would rather be defending his title tonight, but the WWF think he can’t work hurt, so now he’s finally on WWF pay-per-view… with a microphone, at a restaurant. He says once he’s back, he will prove that he’s the greatest light heavyweight champion of the wooooooooorld! (Rating: C-) The Big Show defeated Lita and Matt Hardy; he didn’t want to face Lita, saying he doesn’t want to hurt a girl, but he finally throws her from the ring and defeats Matt with a chokeslam (Rating: B-) Video Recap: Triple H assaulted Kane on SmackDown, which appears to have caused Kane to be unable to wrestle tonight (Rating: B-) JR and Heyman talk to Kane on the phone, he’s ****ed that he can’t compete tonight but will get his revenge on Triple H! (Rating: B-) Triple H is out to brag about taking out “The Big Red Machine” when Shane McMahon says that he, as commissioner of the WWF, has found a last-minute replacement to face Hunter. Shocked, Triple H turns around, and BANG! Diamond Cutter! Diamond Dallas Page has come out of the crowd and laid out Triple H! He covers, and Shane McMahon himself counts the 1, 2, 3! We have a brand new Intercontinental Champion! (Rating: A*) The Undertaker is seen backstage, wrapping up his fists (Rating: B-) Trish Stratus defeated Tori (Rating: C-) Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley comes out and tells Stratus that she did well tonight, shaking her hand – but it’s all a distraction for Tori and Ivory to attack Trish from behind! (Rating: C+) Feud Recap Video: Austin vs. The Undertaker (Rating: B-) Howard Finkel announces our main event! (Rating: B) “Stone Cold” Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker in a No Disqualifications match thanks to interference from Vince McMahon and Triple H to retain the WWF World Heavyweight title (Rating: A)
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Post by Beejus on Feb 23, 2020 15:25:50 GMT 1
(WCW Great American Bash: Gluttony was originally posted on May 20, 2018)June 2001: WCW Great American Bash: Gluttony
The Great American Bash has been a staple of World Championship Wrestling since it’s inception as part of Jim Crockett Promotions’ summer tours in 1985, and this year on Father’s Day of 2001, it may just be our biggest edition yet! We returned to the home of the Bash, the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, this year the theme of The Great American Bash dealt with the sin of Gluttony.
The main event of the show was the culmination of the past few months in the career of “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Flair had been out of the ring since last year, serving as the CEO of World Championship Wrestling. He had vowed to make sure that Scott Steiner became an honored champion like in the old days by giving him big title defense after big title defense. “Big Poppa Pump” kept needling him, however, and especially when he started having problems with Tully Blanchard. Last month at WCW Envy, Steiner’s assault on Blanchard was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and Ric Flair started attacking him with chops, sending him from the ring! “The Nature Boss” had given way to “The Nature Boy” and Flair was ready for action! Despite having to wait for the championship committee to give him the okay, Flair pushed ahead, knowing that the second the bell rings, he gives up being the CEO. But some things are worth more than that, and it was time for “The Man” to make his return to the ring! In a fit of rage, the Steiner Brothers assaulted Goldberg on the final Nitro before The Great American Bash. Will Flair be able to win World championship number seventeen, or is “Big Poppa Pump” too much for the veteran to overcome?
Another battle that had been brewing for months saw The World fighting against Booker T and the Natural Born Thrillers. Lance Storm had chased Booker T for months, holding over his head that he had made Booker submit on the very last episode of WCW Thunder, but Booker put Storm in his place at WCW Pride. The Thrillers were brought into this feud when former member Shawn Stasiak threw his lot in with Storm’s Team Canada, turning O’Haire, Jindrak, and Palumbo into fan favorites as they fought against the larger group of The World. Meanwhile, Mike Awesome had been at odds with Sid Vicious as the two behemoths wanted to prove who was the master of the powerbomb. These plot threads all converged as Booker T, Sid Vicious, and the NBT made the challenge for a War Games match, bringing back the original two ring, 5 on 5, submission or surrender style of warfare at the show that it first happened, The Great American Bash! The extra wager was that the losing team would be forced to disband, meaning that the stakes are high for The Match Beyond! Tensions are high as on the final Nitro before the Bash, Chuck Palumbo and Mark Jindrak had to be held apart by their partners; will this dissension play a part in the match, as The World are one united front?
Totally Buff tried to move on from Kevin Nash, feeling that he was a non-issue, but “Big Sexy” kept them from winning the World Tag Team championships to get their attention again. Nash said that he was going to find a partner to take them on at The Great American Bash, but he wasn’t going to tell them, keeping the element of surprise. Luger and Bagwell tried to get the name out of Nash, but weren’t able to, Kevin only saying that he didn’t need to have a friend to team with him, just someone who hates Totally Buff as much as he does! Who has Nash found to team with, and will this be the key to knocking Totally Buff off their pedestal?
WCW Envy solved nothing in the fights between Animal and Sting, as well as Dustin Rhodes and Rick Steiner. “The Nature Boss” decided that while these were both matches that would be huge hits, he would make both matches even bigger by combining them into a fatal four way match, with the winner becoming number one contender to the WCW World Heavyweight title!
This month’s Gluttony match was a unique beast indeed. Ric Flair announced that he was going to draw two names, and they would wrestle at The Great American Bash for the prize of gluttonous luxury for the remainder of the year; private jets, limousine transport, a private, catered luxury box and dressing room at each WCW show, and a cash prize of five hundred thousand dollars! Those names drawn ended up being Kanyon and Jimmy Snuka Jr. The thus-far undefeated Snuka didn’t seem to want it, saying that he wouldn’t enjoy such a high life, but his father urged him on, that their family has deserved this kind of treatment for years and was never given it. Meanwhile, Kanyon was given a tongue-lashing from Vampiro, who said that these materialistic desires are beneath their goal in Dark Eden. Who would win the prize in the end?
Speaking of Dark Eden, Billy Kidman’s turn on the Filthy Animals culminated in his joining up with Vampiro, Kanyon, and Daffney in their mission of purification. Vampiro called out Rey Mysterio Jr. and Konnan, stating that they were slaves to their own sins, that they secretly were so jealous of one another that they could barely hold it in, leading to him challenging Mysterio to put the WCW X Division championship on the line in a triple threat match against both Konnan and Kidman. Over the course of the month, it appeared that Vampiro’s words were ringing true, as “Rey-Rey” and Konnan slowly unraveled. When the Filthy Animals meet in the ring, who will come out as the X Division champion?
Smaller feuds that saw airtime during the past month were “The Franchise” Shane Douglas vowing to hold down young talent like AJ Styles; Norman Smiley was promised a surprise by Leia Meow; “The Cat” Ernest Miller got past The Harris Boys to capture a title shot against Jeff Jarrett; the team of Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Kaz Hayashi became known as The Future, and they have been up against Rebel Pride, consisting of Kid Kash and Jamie Knoble; and Hugh Morrus has paid Kronik to team with him in a six man tag team match against Simon Diamond’s Problem Solvers.
We are, as always, welcomed to the show via The WCW Worldwide Live Pre-Show! They spent the hour watching exclusive matches and talking about the bouts that we are going to witness tonight. The WCW Panel welcome everyone to the GAB Live Pre-Show! They talk about the history of the Bash (Rating: C) Vampiro talks about choosing Helms to face because he exudes overindulgence (Rating: C-) Vampiro defeated Shane Helms at 4:07 with the Nail in the Coffin (Rating: C-) Shane Douglas and The Future talk about their match next (Rating: D+) Shane Douglas and The Future defeated AJ Styles and Rebel Pride after Douglas threw dirt in Knoble’s eyes and pinned him with The Franchiser at 9:05 (Rating: C+)  WCW The Great American Bash: Gluttony
Shown Live on June 17th, 2001 (Week 2)
Held at: The Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland (Mid Atlantic)
Announcers: Mike Tenay, Scott Hudson, and Arn Anderson
Attendance: 14,000 people (sold out!)
PPV Rating: 0.10
TV Rating: 0.54
Show Rating: B
This show has improved our popularity in 8 regions.
Our main show opened with Vampiro’s narration of the opening video… “The weather is warm, the days are long, and people are holding family picnics and get-togethers, they are showing more skin when going on vacations. That leads to increased eating; increased sex drives; increased travel; buying useless trinkets to show that ‘Hey, I’ve been places and done things!’ Everyone is doing everything they can before the cold of winter comes back to the world. They are all guilty of Gluttony of the highest order; they all have been found guilty as hedonistic, uninteresting creatures who will never stop desiring to have and hold more and more and more, until finally, they swallow up the Earth in their petty wants. Father’s Day is the perfect celebration of people who have done nothing yet expect praise for it, gifts and presents and cards that are as meaningless as the paper they have been printed upon. Tonight, WCW celebrates tradition by bringing back the Great American Bash to Baltimore; and all you so-called “#1 Dads” out there are going to see the biggest Gluttons of them all – tonight, when you look in the mirror.” (Rating: B) Konnan defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. and Billy Kidman in a Triple Threat match for the WCW X Division title at 15:23 with a roll-up after Mysterio was distracted by Tygress (Rating: B-) Gene and Jeremy interview Ric Flair, who is ready for tonight, taking off his CEO suit in order to bring tradition back to the WCW World championship (Rating: B+) Hugh Morrus and KroniK defeated Disqo and The Problem Solvers with the reappearance of Sgt. A-WALL, chokeslamming Disqo to allow Hugh the pinfall at 12:23 (Rating: C) Jimmy Snuka Jr. defeated Kanyon in a Gluttony match at 6:48 when Vampiro ordered Kanyon to throw the match (Rating: C-) Sting defeated Animal, Rick Steiner and Dustin Rhodes in a number one contender Fatal Four Way match by pinning Steiner with a big splash at 9:11 (Rating: B-) Jeff Jarrett backstage tells the Harris Boys that he can’t put up with their failure anymore, they’re fired! (Rating: C) Jeff Jarrett defeated Ernest Miller after a low blow and The Stroke at 4:25 to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight title (Rating: C-) Gene and Jeremy talk to The Steiner Brothers, who don’t mind that Rick didn’t win earlier because Scott is going to enjoy destroying Ric Flair tonight (Rating: B) The WCW Worldwide Panel are joined again by Stacy Kiebler, and they discuss what we’ve seen so far and what huge matches are yet to come (Rating: D+) Booker T, Sid Vicious and The Natural Born Thrillers (Sean O’Haire, Chuck Palumbo and Mark Jindrak) defeated The World (Lance Storm, Mike Awesome, Shawn Stasiak, Elix Skipper and Alex Wright) in a War Games match at 28:36 when Storm is left unresponsive following The Book End on a steel chair (Rating: B-) Lance Storm walks out on all of his partners, calling them all failures, including Tylene! (Rating: C-) Norman Smiley defeated Yang in 2:50 with the Norman Conquest (Rating: D+) Norman has defeated Yang, but Meow says he wasn’t his opponent; Tajiri is! (Rating: D-) Yoshihiro Tajiri defeated Norman Smiley in 4:19 with a brainbuster (Rating: D+) Kevin Nash brings out his partner: it’s Goldberg! (Rating: B) Kevin Nash and Goldberg defeated Totally Buff with simultaneous pinfalls in 11:20. Goldberg gets win #101 (Rating: B) David Penzer announces our main event participants (Rating: B) With the WCW World Heavyweight championship on the line, Ric Flair defeated Scott Steiner by DQ at 32:28 for punching the official, but with a Dusty finish where Steiner was forced to tap out in the figure four before Nick Patrick called for the disqualification; Scott Steiner remains WCW World champion (Rating: B+) The WCW Worldwide Live Post-Show focused on what we had seen happen over the course of the evening. Here are the highlights:The camera stays on the ring where various wrestlers come to the ring to celebrate Flair’s win, but Scott Steiner isn’t happy! (Rating: A) Cameras catch up with Ric Flair behind the curtain, who talks about how he may not have won the title, but he won the match and wants a rematch (Rating: B+) Lance Storm says he refuses to be surrounded by failure ever again, shoving Tylene away and leaving without her! (Rating: B-) Booker T puts over the NBT as the future of our business (Rating: B+) The WCW Worldwide Panel are signing off for the Great American Bash when the Steiner Brothers interrupt and curse out everyone! (Rating: A)
After Envy, Lance Storm and Jamie Knoble were both handed new gimmicks of Arch Competitor and gimmicky Redneck, respectively. While Storm had done well with his, Knoble was having problems making his work very well. At the end of May, Eric Bischoff spoke with Dustin Rhodes about renegotiating his contract. It was the same deal he had spoken about with Kevin Nash previously; less money for a longer running contract. Rhodes said that he wanted two things that Eric could give him before he signed the deal: one being a better gimmick, as his wholesome cowboy schtick hadn’t gone over very well, and also being allowed to go work for his father’s Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling once in awhile. Being able to set both of those actions in motion, Bischoff was able to get Dustin to sign a new four year contract that took his pay from $50,000 down to $13,070. Mike Awesome had asked for his pay to be raised, which Eric allowed him 75% of what he was asking to move his deal to $11,662 a month. C.W. was also given a 75% raise, putting him just under $3,000 a month, while Shane Douglas, Leia Meow, and Yang signed new contracts.
The person who Shane McMahon had placed Eric Bischoff in contact with debuted at the Great American Bash in Yoshihiro Tajiri. There was a snafu in the WWF being able to give him an offer, and Eric and Shane exploited that to put his name to ink on a new contract before they had a chance to straighten things out. He is going to be playing basically his same character from ECW, a crazy, evil foreigner. Another debut, Low-Ki, who has been hyped by WCW since April, finally has his debut date given, set for the June 29 episode of Friday Nitro.
Eric had some quizzical ideas moving into June, as it appeared that the WWF held a match very similar to what he was doing with the Filthy Animals, as partners entered a triple threat scenario over a championship. It didn’t help that the WWF were also advertising an episode of SmackDown for a few days before the Great American Bash, which is one of Vince’s old tactics that he used to utilize in the 1980s.
After the Great American Bash, chaos reigned supreme as Sid Vicious assaulted Goldberg during a match. Vicious had regained his taste for blood in War Games, and Goldberg was going to be who he took it out on. Goldberg, despite being battered and bruised, challenged Vicious to put his WCW career on the line against Goldberg’s Streak in a Caged Heat match on the final Nitro of June, and it saw “Da Man” come out on top to end Sid’s term in World Championship Wrestling. Backstage, Eric and Sid’s talks about renegotiating his contract had fallen out, as Sid found this new contract insulting. He was the biggest of the names to leave, but this list also included both Harris twins and officials Scott Armstrong and Billy Silverman. Tygress and Tylene agreed to appear at Bash at the Beach, but otherwise their deals were over as well. These were all noted because I reposted the updated, full rosters for both WCW and the WWF as of July 1st.
Elsewhere in pro wrestling, New-Japan gave Jushin “Thunder” Liger the win in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, and Ian Rotten booked himself to win IWA-MS’s King of the Death Match tournament. Sadly, at the end of May, we saw the passings of both George “The Animal” Steele and Larry Zbyszko.
Losing Sid and several others completely, Eric also sent quite a few people down to work on their overall skills in NWA: Wildside. With this somewhat more streamlined roster, Eric was ready to move toward Bash at the Beach in July!
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Post by Beejus on Feb 23, 2020 15:35:09 GMT 1
(WWF King of the Ring was posted on June 17, 2018)June 2001: WWF King of the Ring
The Continental Airlines Arena is red hot as tonight, we crown the 2001 WWF King of the Ring!
Our opening match was one of the semi-final bouts, where “The Man Beast” Rhyno took on the high flying Jeff Hardy. Rhyno was out for blood, but Hardy was able to dodge the Gore, sending Rhyno crashing into the turnbuckle pads. From there, Hardy polished him off with the Swanton Bomb to move into the finals.
After Spike Dudley saved Molly Holly from his brothers last month at WWF Judgment Day, he and Molly formed a tenuous alliance that was looked down upon by both The Dudley Boyz and her cousins, The Hollys! This led us to tonight, where we witnessed a triple threat tag team hardcore match, where Bubba Ray and D-Von took on Hardcore and Crash as well as Spike and Molly! The action was definitely hardcore, with the sweet Molly even showing a bit of a nasty side as she used some baking sheets on her opponents! But in the end, the 3-D finished the bout as The Dudley Boyz landed it on Spike.
We saw backstage that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Debra decided to show up to the arena late, and it seemed to really irritate the rest of The Power Trip, who didn’t appreciate Austin’s cavalier attitude when there was such a big night at hand.
Over the past month, Rob Van Dam felt slighted when Jeff Hardy, rather than continue chasing after him, instead entered the King of the Ring tournament. In order to bother Jeff, RVD instead focused in on brother Matt, getting under his skin and putting the WWF Hardcore championship on the line against him tonight at WWF King of the Ring. An extra wrench was thrown into the mix when Van Dam teamed up with Eddie Guerrero to take on The Hardyz, and Rob decided to leave Eddie high and dry, abandoning the match when things started going south for them. “Latino Heat” added himself to the match at WWF King of the Ring, but in the end it was “The Whole Dam Show” who got the last laugh, pinning Matt with the Five Star Frog Splash to keep the championship around his waist.
Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho pulled off perhaps the upset of the millennium the night after WWF Judgment Day when they took advantage of a miscommunication and defeated Steve Austin and Triple H for the WWF Tag Team championships! But afterwards, Mr. McMahon decided that he needed some big, bad men to take care of this problem, enlisting The Island Tribe of Rikishi and Haku to take care of the Canadians. It was a long, brutal month of many beatdowns that “Y2J” and “The Rabid Wolverine” had to endure, but at WWF King of the Ring, they were able to overcome the odds as Jericho pins Rikishi after the Lionsault. An irritated Mr. McMahon then told the two that he wasn’t done with them, not by a long shot!
“The Big Red Machine” Kane got his chance at revenge on “The Game” for making him unable to wrestle at WWF Judgment Day, as he took on Triple H in a Falls Count Anywhere match. The bout went all around the arena, with Kane even trying the diving elbow off the stage that won him the WWF Hardcore championship back at WWF WrestleMania X-7, but this time it was for naught as Triple H got out of the way of it! After pulling Kane out of the wreckage, the Pedigree put this match away.
Raven is seen sitting at WWF New York, and he was ruining everyone’s good time at the restaurant.
In the second semi-final match of the King of the Ring tournament, teammates in Team RECK went to battle as Kurt Angle took on Edge. What would have been a good match anyways had extra drama added to it as Shane McMahon made his presence known constantly, drawing the bout out as close to the time limit as he could. This frustrated Angle, and it made him lose focus just long enough for Edge to score a big victory!
That strategy backfired for the younger McMahon, however, as up next was his Street Fight against Angle! After WWF Judgment Day, “Shane O’Mac” teased Angle about how he didn’t defeat Chris Benoit, and Angle assaulted him for it, causing him to miss television for two weeks. Shane returned to cost Angle a match, and challenged him to this Street Fight. This was a testament to brutality, which saw an enraged Angle actually suplex McMahon through the glass panes on the stage! Finally, mercifully, Kurt was able to pin Shane to end the match.
The Undertaker wanted to keep chasing after the WWF title that he felt was robbed from him, but Mr. McMahon sent hired guns after him in X-Factor, Albert and Justin Credible. While this wasn’t a “match” at WWF King of the Ring, Undertaker had said that he would call them out for a fight! He did just that, but when things were looking like a bleak, two on one situation, someone else who X-Factor had interfered in the business of, Diamond Dallas Page, came to “The Deadman’s” side! Together, they sent X-Factor scattering. This one doesn’t look to be over soon!
The finals of the King of the Ring tournament were between two men who know one another very well, as daredevil Jeff Hardy took on the obnoxious Edge. Despite there being no tables, ladders, or chairs involved in this match, it was a very good bout that fans really were on the edge of their seats for. At the end, Jeff’s high profile offense was his undoing, as Edge saw a big move coming and course-corrected himself into hitting a big Spear on Hardy that crowned him the 2001 King of the Ring!
Stephanie McMahon-Helmsely, Tori, and Ivory had been making Trish Stratus’s life miserable over the past few months, and this time she was able to bring in some backup to help out as she teamed with Team X-treme’s Lita to take on Ivory and Tori. The women were unleashed upon one another, and it took a big Stratusfaction bulldog to Tori to give Stratus the victory that she so rightly deserved. Afterwards, Stephanie was so upset that she fired Tori on the spot!
Our main event match was for the WWF championship, as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was to face off with the 7’ behemoth, The Big Show! Big Show had finally come to his senses that there was no way one could please Mr. McMahon, and laid out the Chairman of the WWF! The Big Show won the right to challenge “Stone Cold” on this night, and he spent much of the month either ruining the plans of The Power Trip because it was nearly impossible for him to become outnumbered by them. But on this night, the numbers definitely got to him, as repeated interference by Mr. McMahon, Triple H, and William Regal finally wore him down, leaving Show the victim of a Stunner to close the evening with The Power Trip still firmly in control!
Jeff Hardy defeated Rhyno in a Semi Final match (Rating: B)
The Dudley Boyz defeated The Hollys and Spike Dudley and Molly Holly in a Hardcore match (Rating: B)
Austin and Debra finally arrive, the rest of the Power Trip a bit annoyed that he took so long to get to the building tonight (Rating: B+)
Rob Van Dam defeated Matt Hardy and Eddie Guerrero in a Hardcore match to retain the WWF Hardcore title (Rating: B-)
Michael Cole interviews Steve Austin, who says he is gonna knock Big Show down to size (Rating: B)
Benoit and Jericho defeated The Island Tribe to retain the WWF World Tag Team titles (Rating: B-)
Mr. McMahon tells Benoit and Jericho that he isn’t done with them yet, not by a long shot! (Rating: B+)
Jonathan Coachman interviews Edge, saying he’s going to be a king who reeks of awesomeness! (Rating: C+)
Triple H defeated Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere match; Kane took a stunt bump off the stage (Rating: C)
Michael Cole talks to Jeff Hardy; he can’t wait to be King Hardy, also mentioning that he will be chasing RVD once that’s done (Rating: B-)
Raven is at WWF New York tonight, depressing everyone around him (Rating: B)
Edge defeated Kurt Angle in a Semi Final match in a match that featured a lot of interference from Shane McMahon as he made sure the match lasted as long as the time limit would allow (Rating: B)
Kurt Angle defeated Shane McMahon in a Street Fight match (Rating: B)
The Undertaker calls out X-Factor, and he brawls with them until DDP comes out to assist! The two send Albert and Justin out of the ring to regroup! (Rating: A)
Edge defeated Jeff Hardy in a Tournament Final match to become the 2001 King of the Ring (Rating: B+)
Trish Stratus and Lita defeated Ivory and Tori (Rating: B-)
Upset at the loss, SMH fires Tori on the spot! (Rating: B-)
In a match that featured a lot of interference from members of the Power Trip, Steve Austin defeated The Big Show to retain the WWF Championship title (Rating: B)
Show Rating: B
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