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Post by tg01 on Dec 31, 2023 4:25:46 GMT 1
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Post by tg01 on Dec 31, 2023 4:26:12 GMT 1
D.A’s History of WCW Reviews:
Hello everyone, my name is D.A and I have decided that I am going to start writing reviews of the new WCW 2.0 when they begin next week. I have been a wrestling fan since the mid 90s, and I will confess that it was really the nWo that got me watching wrestling, and even after the Attitude Era came along, I stayed with WCW. Even during the horrible Russo period of 1999 and 2000 through to the very end I stuck with WCW. I was that guy who kept trying to tell his friends about how great WCW was as they were on their dying legs. I will never forget how my friends badgered me when the Radicalz all showed up on Raw that night, and deep down I think I knew that was the end for WCW. So, you can imagine my delight when I first heard that WCW was going to be coming back, and that’s why I decided now would be a good time to keep track of the rebirth of WCW, and hopefully it will stick around for a lot longer this time around. I figured before we got started that I would attempt to summarize some of the events that have led to this point. This timeline is based on information that has come out in the wrestling newsletters, from press conferences held by the new WCW owner Andrew Hart, and press releases.
The Beginning of the return (end of 2004, beginning of 2005):
Canadian billionaire Andrew Hart had recently sold off interest in some of the companies he had majority interest in, deciding it was time to move onto a different venture in his life. Rumour has is that it was during a meeting related to this that Andrew Hart first became connected with Don Callis, with Hart being a fan of the former Cyrus the Virus, which would lead to a friendship and business relationship. While the exact figure is not known, it is believed that by the time Hart was done selling off his properties he was sitting pretty with somewhere between ten and fifteen billion cash (Canadian of course) and plenty of time on his hands. Maybe it was Callis who put a bug in his ear, and maybe it wasn’t, but somehow Hart approached WWE at this point seeing as they had been going through a bit of a financial down period. Hart approached them with an offer that they apparently couldn’t refuse, somewhere around a billion dollars, to purchase all of the WCW copyrights and property. As part of that deal Hart was given property of all the WCW Championship belts, but had to pay for replacement belts that the WWE began to use in 2005 hence why the looks of the WWE World and United States Championship were changed, and why they returned to the Light Heavyweight Championship belt. Interestingly, it recently came out that part of the agreement included a dual ownership over the previous WCW footage, beginning with the purchase by Ted Tuner in November 1988. This means that theoretically WWE can still use that footage in video packages or DVD releases in the future if they choose.
The Purchase X 2
Many fans were excited when news of this purchase first came out, wondering what exactly Mr. Hart might have in mind with the footage, property, and copyrights of WCW. That excitement did not last as it was leaked by someone, probably working for WWE, that as part of the legal agreement for the purchase of this material was a provision that Andrew Hart could not start a new wrestling promotion and name it WCW. This led to some disappointment for a few weeks, until it came out that Andrew Hart had entered into negotiations with NWA: TNA to purchase a controlling interest in that wrestling promotion. Almost immediately fans began to make the connection that perhaps this was the plan that Hart had in mind when he had purchased the rights for WCW, and that obviously included some people in the legal department at WWE…
The lawsuit
…as almost immediately it came out that WWE had threated legal action towards Mr. Hart and NWA: TNA and its current owners if there was any sort of reference made to WCW. Every amateur would-be-lawyer quickly went to the internet to argue one way or another, although it didn’t seem to matter until it came out that indeed, Andrew Hart had purchased a controlling interest in NWA: TNA. After it was announced that the TNA promotion would be changing its name to World Championship Wrestling, a lawsuit was formally announced to attempt to block this from happening. It looked like the lawsuit might be enough to delay the switchover for several years, until it was announced in the end of November 2005 that an agreement had come together and the lawsuit was ended. Most agreed that based on the rumours on how the contract had been written up, that Andrew Hart would probably have won if the case had gone to court, but that by paying WWE off he was able to end the legal hurdles quicker then the process would have taken. With that out of the place it became official, NWA: TNA Impact on Spike TV would be rebranding as WCW Nitro beginning with the January 7, 2006 show. The syndicated “B” show Xplosion would also be getting rebranded as WCW Worldwide.
Other News and Notes
As briefly alluded to earlier, Don Callis has returned to the world of wrestling. According to the press release he has a behind the scenes executive position, but it was noted he will also be taking over the role of colour commentary on the television shows going forward. It was noted that Don West will be remaining on the show as well, with his new role to be defined going forward.
This new version of WCW will be running eight PPV’s, for at least the year 2006, with no shows planned for the months of January (Royal Rumble month), April (WrestleMania of course), August (Summerslam), and October. Most fans were very confused why they would run a show in November and not October considering the history of WCW Halloween Havoc. When asked about this at a press conference, Mr. Hart said that there was a reason for this that would become clear as we get closer to October. Mr. Hart also was very proud to announce that we would see the return of many past WCW PPV names, including Superbrawl in February, The Great American Bash in June, and most excitedly, the return of Starrcade in December.
Excitingly, WCW would be on the road in front of new audiences each week, with the focus early on being in the Southeastern states as it was pointed out that there was a built in fanbase of the old WCW that they were hoping to try and get interested in (WCW) wrestling again.
When asked about what titles we might see in WCW, Mr. Hart announced that the first Nitro of the new era would see a Battle Royale that would determine the new WCW World Television Champion. We can also expect to see the return of the WCW World Championship and WCW World Tag Team Championship at WCW Superbrawl. He also announced that there would be a bit of an international flavoured Round Robin tournament to crown the new WCW Cruiserweight Champion at Superbrawl. He mentioned that we would see the return of the historic WCW United States Championship, but that it was something that would not happen until later in the year.
The conversation around Championship belts brought up questions around a possible Womens division in this version of WCW. Mr. Hart was quick to point out that the Womens division had failed in the previous WCW because of a lack of wrestlers who were working the United States who could carry the division. He stated that this is something he wanted to avoid, and so a division would be built up over time, with the hope that by the end of the year we would see the introduction of a Womens Championship belt to lead the division forward.
When asked what fans could expect from this version of WCW, Mr. Hart went on to explain that his goal was to try and present a product that would feel like a continuation of WCW from 2001. While obviously there would be some different faces, they wanted to present a product that might be familiar to any lapsed WCW fans and provide a welcoming for them to come back to wrestling. It was pointed out that this was part of the reason why Center Stage in Atlanta was chosen as the place to host the first month of WCW Nitro, as it was connected with the previous version of WCW. At the same time, he acknowledged that he did not want to forget the young stars from NWA: TNA including wrestlers like AJ Styles, Ron Killings, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe. Mr. Hart said that the hope was carry on WCW like the last five years didn’t happen, while making sure that fans got to know these young stars so that they can “carry WCW into 2007 and beyond.”
The relationship between the former TNA and NWA was brought up, and Hart acknowledged that certain agreements had been in place between NWA and TNA and that “we fully expect to honour those commitments for as long as they are contractually in place.” Further, he explained that this might result in certain occasions where the NWA titles will be defended on WCW shows. Including the very first episode of WCW Nitro where Jeff Jarrett will be defending the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against former Champion, Ron Killings.
Finally, when Mr. Hart was asked about Sting, Mr. Hart got a small smile and said that he had no comment at this time, but “we would have to watch and see….because come January 7, 2006….it’s showtime!”
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Post by tg01 on Jan 1, 2024 2:13:46 GMT 1
 01/07/2006
Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, GA
The episode began with a short video that said 1748 days ago WCW Nitro went off the air, before showing a brief clip of Ric Flair and Sting in the final match. Next it said but today, it’s back, and then it quickly counted down from 1748 to 0 and exploded leading to an opening that was reminiscent of the old exploding WCW Nitro opening video.
After the video there was a brief burst of pyro before going to Mike Tenay who introduced everyone to the show and introduced his new partner at the announcing table, as Don Callis was making his way out to boos from the fans. Before Callis could say too much, Tenay quickly introduced a video package on the history of the WCW World Television Championship. This video quickly showed some of the great wrestlers who have held the belt in the past including: Sting, The Great Muta, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, “Stunning” Steve Austin, Ricky Steamboat, Lord Steven Regal, Lex Luger, and Booker T. As the video ended, Samoa Joe was making his way out to the ring, wearing the TNA X-Division Championship belt. Mike Tenay quickly pointed out that Championship and belt had been retired at the end of 2005 with the transition from NWA: TNA to WCW.
WCW World Television Championship: 20 Man Battle Royale
Wrestlers in this match included: A-1, Andy Douglas, Bobby Roode, Cassidy Riley, Chase Stevens, Christopher Daniels, David Young, Elix Skipper, Eric Young, Jerelle Clark, Joe Doering, Kenny King, Lance Hoyt, Matt Bentley, Petey Wiliams, Samoa Joe, Shannon Moore, Shark Boy, Simon Diamond and Sonjay Dutt. This was your typical battle royale for the majority of the match, with the big highlight being Lance Hoyt eliminating seven of the twenty wrestlers by himself. This led to him being the fifth wrestler left, before the team of Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens, the Naturals, were able to eliminate him by working together. This teamwork was not enough to take out the dominating Joe and Daniels though who each eliminated one of them before settling in for a bit of a mini match to end the match. Daniels looked to end it with a BME, but Joe moved out of the way and after Daniels landed hard on the match, Joe nailed a series of hard punches that dazed Daniels enough, that Joe was able to throw him over the top rope to win the match and become the NEW WCW World Television Champion!
Result: In a poor match, Samoa Joe won a battle royal in 9:54. The other members of the 'final four' were Christopher Daniels, Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens, with Christopher Daniels being the final elimination. Lance Hoyt got the most eliminations over the course of the match. Joe wins the WCW World Television title. (45)
After the match while Joe was celebrating with both Championship belts, AJ Styles came out with doctor’s to check on Christopher Daniels after the vicious attack by Samoa Joe.
WCW Magazine with Jeremy Borash! Jeremy Borash is shown and explained that the WCW Magazine was returning as a digital component on wcw.com and that cameras were backstage filming to provide exclusive videos and pictures that will be shared online, and shown on WCW shows in the coming weeks!
Shane Douglas was backstage and introduced the WCW Commissioner, Larry Zbyszko. Larry was standing beside the WCW World Championship belt which was on a raised dais. Larry announced that he was assigned certain match making powers by the WCW Board of Governors and would be acting on their behalf to present the best matches for the fans. From there he explained that there was an eight-man tournament set up to end at WCW Superbrawl XII. The eight men in the tournament would compete in a preview eight-man tag team match next week. On one side would be NWA Worlds Champion Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Monty Brown and a surprise entrant that Larry had personally picked and would introduce next week. On the other side would be AJ Styles, Christian Cage, Rhino and a competitor picked by the WCW owner. Before Larry could continue, he was interrupted by Raven who wanted to know “what about me, what about Raven?” and Larry back pedaled and said all the competitors had been picked by the WCW owner and he had nothing to do with it. Larry said that this was a new company and that he wanted to start with a blank slate, and asked for a truce with Raven. Raven ignored the proffered hand, but told Larry that he had better be telling the truth, or he would pay the price.
After the commercial break Mike Tenay gave a quick explanation on the Cruiserweight division before turning to a video that showed highlights from the past that included some of the amazing moves by Rey Mysterio Jr, Psychosis, Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, Chris Candido, Elix Skipper, and Shane Helms before Mike Tenay announced that next week we would find out more about an upcoming Round Robin Tournament that would crown a new WCW Cruiserweight Champion at Superbrawl XII. He then announced up next would feature a match in the new WCW Cruiserweight division.
Jay Lethal vs. Shocker
After watching the video, this was not the best taste of the Cruiserweight division for the fans. While Lethal tried his best to pull of some of the high flying moves we were used to in the past, Shocker just couldn’t keep up to the same level. To make matters worse, it was Shocker who got the victory at the end of the match after Lethal crashed and burned and Shocker was able to connect with the Corkscrew Elbowdrop.
Result: In a bout that had sub-par wrestling and non-existent crowd heat, Shocker defeated Jay Lethal in 8:16 by pinfall with a Corkscrew Elbowdrop. (34)
Prior to the Main Event Mike Tenay spoke a bit about WCW’s inclusion in the National Wrestling Alliance, and how occasionally there would be NWA sanctioned title defenses on WCW shows. From there a video played on the history of the NWA, ending with moments where Jeff Jarrett and Ron Killings were seen showing off the ten pounds of gold.
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship: Jeff Jarrett © vs. Ron Killings
Before the Main Event began Earl Hebner was introduced as the official for the match, as picked by the National Wrestling Alliance. Earl Hebner was wearing the traditional black and white striped referee outfit in contrast with the traditional blue shirts worn by the WCW referees. This match itself was a good back and forth with Killings trying his best to get the victory over Jeff Jarrett, but in the end, it was not enough as Jarrett managed to clip Killings leg and work it over before getting the submission victory with the Figure-Four.
Result: In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Jeff Jarrett defeated Ron Killings in 17:59 by submission with a Figure-Four Leglock. (46)
Victory was not enough for Jarrett though as after the match he continued the assault upon Killings knee after pushing Earl Hebner out of the way. Suddenly the fans cheered as someone came through the crowd…DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE! The former three-time WCW World Champion entered the ring and went after Jeff Jarrett, chasing him from the ring and ending the show by throwing up his Diamond Cutter signal.
Overall Rating: 51, TV Rating: 0.64. This was not bad a way to introduce fans to WCW, with plenty of videos that served to connect the past with the present. Because it was the Main Event I can’t ignore that it feels like there is going to be confusion ongoing due to the connection with the NWA, but hopefully this version of WCW can handle it better than the previous version. Next week’s Main Event should bring some star power that might have been missing from tonight, and hopefully we get to see the Cruiserweight Division shine a bit more like the past.
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Post by tg01 on Jan 1, 2024 23:14:40 GMT 1
01/14/2006
Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, GA
The cold opening for this week focused on a new champion being crowned (with footage of Joe eliminating Christopher Daniels and celebrating with the WCW World Television Championship), a Champion retaining (footage of Jeff Jarrett defeating Ron Killings), and a Champion returning (DDP ending the show) before the show began.
After welcoming everyone to the show, Mike Tenay explained that the WCW World Television Championship would be defended on every WCW show going forward, mostly with an Open Challenge format. Tenay explained that the Television Championship would be defended with a 15-minute time limit. And if a wrestler takes the Champion to a draw, or defeats them (by disqualification or count out), then they will get a second title shot with a 20-minute time limit. And if the challenger once again goes to a time limit or gets the victory, they will get one final shot in a 30-minute time limit match, but it they do not win the title in that match they do not get another shot at the WCW World Television Championship.
WCW World Television Championship: Samoa Joe © vs. Tommy Rich
For the second week in a row, the veteran Tommy Rich was getting some TV time as he answered the open challenge for a shot at the WCW World Television Championship. As suspected, while Rich managed to get a few good shots in at the beginning of the match, it was not to last for very long. Joe caught Rich running at him in the corner with an STO, and then from there transitioned into the Coquina Clutch to get the submission victory over the former NWA World Champion.
Result: In a decent match, Samoa Joe defeated Tommy Rich in 6:22 by submission. Samoa Joe makes defence number one of the WCW World Television title.
After the match Samoa Joe took the time to grab both the WCW World Television Championship belt, and the TNA X-Division to celebrate in the ring with the belts raised high above his head.
Larry Zbyszko was standing in the ring with a table that had been set up with the WCW World Tag Team Championship belts set up on the table. Larry announced that at WCW Superbrawl XII it would be a battle of the two best tag teams in the entire world, when the NWA World Tag Team Champions, America’s Most Wanted faced off against Team 3D, with the winners being crowned the WCW World Tag Team Champions. From there he brought out both tag teams and announced that they had each picked three teams for their opponents to face on the road to Superbrawl XII, and that the team that came out of that series with the better record would get to pick the stipulation for the match at Superbrawl. Larry got out of the way when the two teams came to face to face, bad talking each other as the segment ended.
Backstage Jerry Lynn was introduced and explained he had been given the task of bringing the Cruiserweight division back to its previous glories based on his own past history as a pioneer of the high flying, lightweight divisions. From there Jerry Lynn announced that there would be a Round Robin Tournament made up of four wrestlers in two blocks, and the winners of each block would face each other at WCW Superbrawl XII to determine the new WCW Cruiserweight Champion. It would be two points for a win, one point to each wrestler in a draw (each match would have a time limit of 15 minutes), and zero points for a loss. Each block would contain a wrestler from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and an International representative. From there we got a video that showed brief highlights of each wrestler, with Block A being made up of Jay Lethal, Petey Williams, Psicosis II, and JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER! Block B will feature Jerelle Clark, Tyson Dux, Shocker, and Sonjay Dutt.
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tyson Dux
The match last week makes a bit more sense now as it was a battle of one wrestler in Block A, and one in Block B, same as this match. It was exciting to see Liger in a WCW ring again, even if it was pretty obvious that he was probably going to win this match. Liger rallied to end the math with a Shotei followed by the Crash Thunder Buster to get the impressive victory before the Round Robin Tournament begins.
Result: In a poor match, Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Tyson Dux in 7:41 by pinfall with a Crash Thunder Buster. (46)
WCW Magazine with Jeremy Borash! Jeremy Borash introduced some exclusive footage that could be found on the WCW Magazine section on wcw.com. The footage saw Ron Killing walking backstage after his loss last week, and it was clear he was very upset as he was throwing things in the backstage area before walking towards the exit and leaving the building. Mike Tenay says that Ron Killings is expected to be back at Nitro in two weeks after being given some time off to cool down.
In the ring, Larry Zbyszko announces the final competitor in the WCW World Championship Tournament as he brought Sean Waltman out to join the team of Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, and Monty Brown prior to the Main Event.
Backstage Christian Cage, Diamond Dallas Page, Rhino and AJ Styles responded to this announcement, promising victory tonight.
Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Monty Brown, and Sean Waltman vs. AJ Styles, Christian Cage, Diamond Dallas Page, and Rhino
Diamond Dallas Page asked to start the match off and was looking to get into it with Jeff Jarrett, but Jarrett let Monty Brown start the match instead after he tagged out. DDP managed to keep up with Brown at first, but soon Monty used his power to change the tide. Wisely DDP tagged out to Rhino who was able to go a bit more power on power. Each man had time in the ring and showed off some of their familiar moves, before things started to break down near the end of the match. Abyss and Rhino were fighting outside of the ring and through the crowd, and AJ Styles took out Cage, Brown and Jarrett with a dive, leaving DDP in the ring where he managed to drop Waltman with the Diamond Cutter and the victory.
Result: In a good match, AJ Styles, Diamond Dallas Page, Rhino and Christian Cage defeated Jeff Jarrett, Monty Brown, Abyss and Sean Waltman in 16:29 when Diamond Dallas Page pinned Sean Waltman after the Diamond Cutter. (61)
Overall Rating: 62, TV Rating: 0.71 a better show this week with more star power in the Main Event giving hope for where things are going to go in the future.
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Post by tg01 on Jan 7, 2024 23:11:54 GMT 1
01/21/2006 Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, GA
The opening video focused on DDP getting the victory last week, as well as the competitors in tonight’s Main Event: Christian Cage and Monty Brown in a quarter final in the WCW World Championship tournament.
For another week in a row Mike Tenay and Don Callis open the show talking about the Main Event and announcing that the show would be starting with an Open Challenge for the WCW World Television Championship.
WCW World Television Championship: Samoa Joe © vs. Jonathan Gresham
Joe just played with Gresham in this match, allowing him to put on a couple of submission moves, before Joe broke them and locked in the Coquina Clutch to get the quick submission victory.
Result: In an extremely short match, Samoa Joe defeated Jonathan Gresham in 2:35 by pinfall with a Coquina Clutch. Samoa Joe makes defence number three of the WCW World Television title. (49)
After the match Joe got on the microphone and asked if that was the best that Atlanta had to offer? Asking for better quality opponents for the Open Challenge.
A video played giving a medical update on Christopher Daniels after Joe had given him a “head injury” at the completion of the Battle Royale to determine the WCW World Television Championship. The hope is that Daniels will be able to return to action in a few weeks.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Round Robin Tournament Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger (0-0-0, 0 pts) vs. Petey Williams (0-0-0, 0 pts)
Now this was a good Cruiserweight match as Liger allowed Petey to shine throughout the match, resulting in a good back and forth match that had a really good pace additionally. Williams attempted to go for the Canadian Destroyer, but Liger managed to block that and instead turned it into a Liger Suplex to get the victory and the two points in the Cruiserweight Round Robin Tournament.
Result: In a decent match, Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Petey Williams in 8:02 by pinfall with a Liger Suplex. (51)
WCW Magazine with Jeremy Borash! The footage that Jeremy showed was footage of the James Gang arriving to the arena earlier in the day, but they couldn’t even make it into Center Stage because they were attacked by LAX (Apollo and Homicide) with Konnan yelling instructions. A fight continued until some security and wrestlers arrived on the scene to break it up.
Backstage WCW Commissioner Larry Zbyszko is about to talk about the fight when he is interrupted by Raven who says it is now three weeks into the new era and Raven still hasn’t had a match. Larry says he is right and gives Raven a match….on WCW Worldwide. Raven walks away with a shake of his head.
America’s Most Wanted vs. The Naturals
This was the first match in the tag team series to determine the stipulations for the match between America’s Most Wanted and Team 3D at WCW Superbrawl XII. Because of that it was not surprising that Team 3D was at ringside to watch this match. These two teams have had some decent matches in the past, and this was another pretty good match that saw America’s Most Wanted pick up the victory to put them up 1-0 in the tag team series.
Result: In a decent match, America's Most Wanted defeated The Naturals in 7:42 when Chris Harris pinned Chase Stevens with a Death Sentence. (47)
WCW Control Center with Don West! This served to hype Superbrawl XII and the Main Event, before turning it over to some pre-recorded comments from Christian Cage to hype the match up some more.
WCW World Championship Tournament Quarter Final: Christian Cage vs. Monty Brown
This was a clash of speed and power, with Brown managing to overpower Cage at many points throughout the match. At times it almost looked like Brown was aiming more to hurt Cage as opposed to getting the victory. In the end thought it was about experience as Cage managed to move out of the way when Monty Brown tried to connect with the Pounce, resulting in Brown hitting the corner turnbuckle instead. When he turned around Cage caught him with the Killswitch….for TWO! Instead of focusing on the count, Cage quickly went to the top and came off with a Frog Splash which was enough to get the victory and send Cage into the Semi-Finals of the WCW World Championship tournament.
Result: In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Christian Cage defeated Monty Brown in 15:22 by pinfall with a Killswitch. (55)
Overall Rating: 59, TV Rating: 0.68 This was a show building towards the big Main Event, and in that way it was a success. Cage really had to fight to win the match tonight, and is looking like he might be injured going forward, so it will be interesting to see how that plays into things. Down the road it might be fun to see these two go at it again in a bigger setting, like a PPV Main Event perhaps?
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Post by tg01 on Jan 12, 2024 4:20:54 GMT 1
01/28/2006 Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, GA
This week’s recap video focused on Christian Cage defeating Monty Brown last week, while hyping tonight’s Main Event of AJ Styles against Sean Waltman in a Quarter Final match of the WCW World Championship tournament.
Mike Tenay and Don Callis talked about Samoa Joe’s open challenge, and the fact that Marietta’s own Buff Bagwell had accepted the Open Challenge and will be facing Joe for the WCW World Television Championship to kick the show off!
WCW World Television Championship: Samoa Joe © vs. Buff Bagwell
Buff Bagwell made his way out to a loud ovation from the Atlanta fans, which only seemed to anger Joe to get the match started. The story of the match was about Joe targeting the infamously weakened neck of Bagwell. Buff tried to fight back, and at one point it looked like he might pick up the victory with the Blockbuster. But Joe managed to stop him with a C.C.S. Enzuigiri, and then brought Buff from the top with the Muscle Buster on the injured neck to get the victory.
Result: In a decent match, Samoa Joe defeated Buff Bagwell in 8:14 by pinfall with a Muscle Buster. Samoa Joe makes defence number five of the WCW World Television title. (53)
After the match Joe locked on the Coquina Clutch and seemed determine to end the career of Buff Bagwell, when Christopher Daniels made his return and managed to chase Joe away with a chair. Joe slid out of the ring and grabbed the WCW World Television and NWA:TNA X-Division Championship belts and confidently walked towards the back.
Backstage we see Shane Douglas interviewing a returning Ron Killings who was talking about how he felt he had let the fans down, but it was time to regroup and focus and climb back up the roster….when he was interrupted by WCW Commissioner Larry Zbyszko who announced that during his outburst a few weeks back Killings had damaged WCW property and he was suspended until he reimbursed WCW for the property he destroyed. Killings was in shock and looked ready to fight, when security came and escorted Killings out of Center Stage.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Round Robin Tournament Block B: Jerrelle Clark (0-0-0, 0 pts) vs. Shocker (0-0-0, 0 pts)
Unfortunately, it seems like Block B might be the weaker of the two Blocks, as this was not a great match with a lot of moves missing. In the end it was no surprise to see Shocker get the victory over Clark and get the two points in the Round Robin Tournament.
Result: In a bout that had sub-par wrestling and little heat, Shocker defeated Jerrelle Clark in 6:08 by pinfall with a Shockwave.
WCW Magazine with Jeremy Borash! Jeremy Borash let fans know that they were about to show some censored footage, but if you want to see the completely uncensored version to go to wcw.com and check out the digital WCW Magazine. As the footage began it was the James Gang attacking Konnan and LAX in the car lot, when all of a sudden there is a loud crash and the fighting stops as all of a sudden security is running out to show Rhino had apparently been thrown through the windshield of a car in the parking lot! As the camera panned back, we saw that it was Abyss, the man who was supposed to be facing Rhino next week in a Quarter Final WCW Championship Tournament match. Abyss had apparently thrown Rhino through the windshield! As the footage was censored it wasn’t quite shown, but it was made to look like Rhino was bleeding buckets as he was being attended to. As the segment ended Jeremy Borash let the fans know that Rhino was currently at the hospital, but it looked like he would be out for some time and would not be able to compete next week, meaning that Abyss might be getting a bye right to the Semi Finals!
Team 3D vs. The Diamonds in the Rough (David Young/Elix Skipper) w/ Simond Diamond
Much like last week America’s Most Wanted made their way out to watch their WCW Superbrawl XII opponents compete. This was a bit of a wild brawl for the most part, and it was no surprise that Team 3D managed to get the victory and tie up their series with America’s Most Wanted.
Result: In a decent match, Team 3D defeated The Diamonds in the Rough III in 6:26 when Brother Devon pinned David Young with a 3D. (54)
Shane Douglas was interviewing Larry Zbyszko who announced that it had been decided that there would be a replacement for Rhino next week, and Abyss would need to wrestle in a Quarter Final Match. Before Larry could announce who, the wrestler was, Raven interrupted and asked if this was where he was finally going to get added to the tournament. Larry quickly backtracked and said he had not picked the competitor who would be replacing Rhino, but then he quickly changed track and pointed out that last week’s WCW Worldwide had the highest views of any show thus far! Clearly Raven was a draw, and that’s why he would be competing in the Main Event of WCW Worldwide again next week! Raven just shook his head in disgust and walked away.
Jerry Lynn announced that next week it would be Jushin Thunder Liger in action against Psicosis II in a Round Robin match, when he is interrupted by Next GEN (Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, and Roderick Strong) looking to pick a fight, but they backed down when Chris Sabin entered the scene and backed Jerry Lynn up.
WCW World Championship Tournament Quarter Final: AJ Styles vs. Sean Waltman
Not surprisingly, this was a great wrestling match as Sean Waltman tried to prove he belonged after his issues last year with NWA: TNA. There was a lot of great high flying that went along with this match, but in the end AJ Styles won with the Styles Clash and moved on into the Semi Finals of the WCW World Championship Tournament.
Result: In a bout that had great wrestling and good heat, AJ Styles defeated Sean Waltman in 13:46 by pinfall with a Styles Clash. (63)
Overall Rating: 64, TV Rating: 0.73. Styles vs. Waltman is perhaps the best match of the new WCW as Styles really shone in the match. Add to that a lot of storyline development with Joe/Daniels, Abyss/Rhino, Raven/ Zbyszko, James Gang/LAX, AMW/Team 3D and even Ron Killings all getting some progression this week was pretty packed and enjoyable show.
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Post by tg01 on Jan 15, 2024 1:14:37 GMT 1
02/04/2006 Swisher Gymnasium in Jacksonville, FLThe opening video showed the violence committed by Abyss, taking his opponent Rhino out of the WCW World Championship Tournament. The question now was who would be replacing Rhino in the Main Event.
WCW Control Center with Don West! West hypes that next week will be the final WCW World Championship Tournament Quarter Final, and what a match it is going to be….it’s two former WCW World Champions….Diamond Dallas Page vs. Jeff Jarrett!
WCW World Television Championship: Samoa Joe© vs. Heath Miller
There was not a lot to this match as Samoa Joe just played with Heath Miller, until he finally had mercy and locked in the Coquina Clutch to get the submission victory.
Result: In an extremely short match, Samoa Joe defeated Heath Miller in 4:40 by submission with a Coquina Clutch. Samoa Joe makes defence number seven of the WCW World Television title. (38)
After the match Samoa Joe grabbed the two Championship belts and a microphone and challenged Christopher Daniels to come and “get these belts,” at WCW Superbrawl XII, but said Daniels only got one shot, so if he could not beat Joe at Superbrawl he would not get another title match against Joe.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Round Robin Tournament Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger (1-0-0, 2 pts) vs. Psicosis II (0-1-0, 0 pts)
These two masked men seemed to have pretty good chemistry, as they put on a pretty decent match even with Psicosis being relatively unknown to the fans. The end of the match saw Psicosis II coming off of the top turnbuckle and attempting something that looked like maybe a head scissors, but Liger muscled it into a Liger Bomb instead to get four points, and a strong hold on the Round Robin Tournament Block A.
Result: In a decent match, Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Psicosis II in 7:31 by pinfall with a Liger Bomb. (49)
Diamond Dallas Page had a pre-recorded take explaining why he had returned to WCW after looking to retire at the end of 2005, explaining the importance of believing in yourself, and setting a goal and not backing down from trying to achieve it. DDP related his history, and how when it seemed like everything was against him (being too tall to be a manager, being so old when he became a wrestler etc.) that he persevered and now he was going to do the same, he was going to beat Jeff Jarrett and he was going to become the WCW World Champion one more time….BANG!
The James Gang announce that they have a match against LAX at WCW Superbrawl XII, but they are tired of fighting in the back, and they will be standing in the ring next week if LAX wants to lay down hands!
America’s Most Wanted w/ Gail Kim vs. Rock and Roll Express
Team 3D came out with the legendary Rock and Roll Express prior to the match and were cheering them against America’s Most Wanted in this competitive back and forth match. Once more Ricky Morton got to play the face in peril, but this time he wasn’t able to make the tag to Robert Gibson and suffered defeat after the Death Sentence.
Result: In a bout that had a decent reaction from the crowd but sub-par wrestling, America's Most Wanted defeated Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson in 7:35 when James Storm pinned Ricky Morton with a Death Sentence.
WCW Magazine with Jeremy Borash! This week showed Larry Zbyszko backstage talking on the cell phone yelling that he “had got you the match, it’s not my fault that you lost, and you owe me so you are going to do exactly what I say!” He is interrupted by Raven who asks if there was a problem, and Larry quickly brushed it off and said that Raven would once again be on WCW Worldwide…but this time against a legendary wrestler who is a real “rhino” of a man. Good luck! “Luck, like what Ron Killings is going to need to be allowed back into the company? You are the one who might luck pretty soon if you keep making enemies Larry…” “Hey, Killing is welcome back in this company, as soon as he gets the money, including the interest, that he owes in fines!”
Abyss made his way out for the match, and it was announced that the Main Event was going to be a hardcore match. And then it went dark…and when the lights came on….Sabu was standing in the ring!!
WCW World Championship Tournament Quarter Final Match: Abyss vs. Sabu
What a bloody history these two have, with them last competing in a Barbed Wire Massacre match at NWA: TNA’s last PPV in December, and this match did not disappoint! It was fought out of the ring, and involved a table getting broken when Sabu dived through and took Abyss with him, a steel chair used for an Arabian Press, but finally it was a Black Hole Slam into thumbtacks that ended the match and set up Abyss vs. Christian Cage in the Semi Finals of the WCW World Championship Tournament in two weeks!
Result: In a bout that had superb wrestling and good heat, Abyss defeated Sabu in a Hardcore match in 12:46 by pinfall with a Black Hole Slam. (60)
Overall Rating: 60, TV Rating: 0.73. While this episode did not have a match quite as good as last week’s Main Event, it was still a brutal, fun match between Abyss and Sabu. Add that with the legendary Rock and Roll Express getting a good match with AMW, and this was a good historical episode.
NEWS AROUND THE WORLD: An interesting tidbit that came out this week with Samoa Joe apparently deciding that he will not longer be taking dates for Ring of Honor, and in fact has signed on to be exclusive with WCW going forward. Most people seem to be saying that this was a choice made by Joe himself, and not something he was pressured into by WCW management. Although with the exposure that Joe has been getting in WCW, it seems like the new owner of WCW thinks highly of Samoa Joe, and who knows what that might mean for him in the future. |
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Post by tg01 on Jan 21, 2024 5:57:01 GMT 1
02/11/2006 Ocean Center in Daytona, FLA recap of last week’s brutal hardcore match between Abyss and Sabu, with Abyss getting the victory and Sabu being injured from the match.
WCW World Television Championship: Samoa Joe © vs. New Jack
Once more Joe issued an open challenge, but even he had to be a bit surprised that it was “The Original Gangsta” who made his way out to challenge for the title. That surprise may have allowed Jack to get the upper hand in the beginning, but that soon came crashing down as Joe took over, and managed to beat New Jack down before placing him on to the top turnbuckle to set up the Muscle Buster for the pin fall victory.
Result: In a decent match, Samoa Joe defeated New Jack in 7:29 by pinfall with a Muscle Buster. Samoa Joe makes defence number nine of the WCW World Television title. (52)
After the match Joe looked to end New Jack with a Coquina Clutch, but Christopher Daniels came running out from the back and Joe retreated. Daniels grabbed a microphone and accepted the challenge from Samoa Joe for WCW Superbrawl XII.
Team Canada (Bobby Roode/Eric Young) w/ Scott D’Amore vs. Team 3D
While the result of this match was probably not in doubt, what I took away from it was how good Bobby Roode looked in this one as both Bubba and Devon took some good power moves. The end though saw the veteran tag team isolate Eric Young and put him away with the 3D while America’s Most Wanted looked on in frustration.
Result: In a decent match, Team 3D defeated Team Canada I in 7:56 when Brother Devon pinned Eric Young with a 3D. (53)
Shane Douglas was backstage with Jeff Jarrett, Gail Kim, Abyss, James Mitchell, Monty Brown, and America’s Most Wanted with Jarrett introducing his stable of Planet Jarrett to fans that might not have seen them in the final days of NWA: TNA. When asked about his match against DDP, and the tournament for the WCW World Championship tournament and a possible Finals match against Abyss, Jarrett assured Douglas that “we have a plan, we always have a plan!”
A video played to let fans know that Fergal Devitt would be debuting soon in WCW, with footage of his match from the NWA 57th Anniversary Show (against Dru Onyx) being shown.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Round Robin Tournament Block B: Shocker (1-0-0, 2 pts) vs. Tyson Dux (0-0-0, 0 pts)
This was not a good match, with it seeming like these two could just not get on the same page. In the end Shocker got the victory and is now at the top of the leader board for Block B.
Result: In a terrible match, Shocker defeated Tyson Dux in 5:45 by submission with a La Reinera. (33)
A video played with Raven talking about how Larry Zbyszko was showing his true colours, and now Raven needed to get back up, and the Nest was being filled again as he welcomed Cassidy Riley back to his side.
The James Gang come out to the ring and challenged LAX to make their way out, which Homicide and Apollo did. At first the fight was pretty even, but then Konnan got involved and the three members of LAX beat the James Gang down.
WCW Control Center with Don West! Don West hyped WCW Superbrawl XII before going to some comments from Next GEN who challenged Chris Sabin to find himself some partners for a match at Superbrawl, and they didn’t care if that included Jerry Lynn.
WCW World Championship Tournament Quarter Final Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Jeff Jarrett
As you would expect, this match was pretty overbooked and wild with both men fighting through the crowd, a referee bump, DDP hitting the Diamond Cutter, and reviving the referee, but just in time to turn around to get nailed by a guitar. That led to a Figure Four on the knocked out DDP, resulting in the victory for Jeff Jarrett, and setting up a Semi-Final match against AJ Styles!
Result: Jeff Jarrett defeated Diamond Dallas Page by submission with the Figure Four Leg-Lock at 12:38 (49)
Overall Show Rating: 56, TV Rating: 0.68. Tonight’s show was a bit of a step back after a couple of good weeks. While I can understand why Andrew Hart thought bringing back a guy like DDP would help connect this WCW to the old WCW, he is noticeably slower and that held the main event back. But with Cage vs. Abyss, and AJ vs. JJ coming up in the coming weeks, things might drastically change!
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Post by tg01 on Jan 22, 2024 5:28:07 GMT 1
02/18/2006 Miami Arena in Miami, FLThe opening video was both a recap of Jeff Jarrett’s defeat of DDP last week, and a hype for tonight’s match between Abyss and Christian Cage, with the winner moving onto the WCW World Championship Match at WCW Superbrawl XII.
Christopher Daniels came out and announced that since Samoa Joe would not be defending the WCW World Television Championship tonight that he was throwing out an open challenge of his own.
Christopher Daniels vs. Rick Steiner
It was the Dog-Faced Gremlin who answered the call, and immediately used his stiff Steiner-Lines against the recovering Christopher Daniels. But Daniels was able to fight back to make a match out of this, until Rick climbed the turnbuckles looking to finish the match with the Diving Bulldog. When Daniels moved out of the way, Steiner crashed to the mat, which gave Christopher Daniels the opening to connect with the Best Moonsault Ever and pick up the victory!
Result: In a decent match, Christopher Daniels defeated Rick Steiner in 6:12 by pinfall with a Best Moonsault Ever. (42)
After the match while Daniels was pulling himself to his feet, Samoa Joe came out and stood on the ramp and raised both the WCW World Television Championship and TNA X-Division Championship belts.
WCW Magazine with Jeremy Borash! JB talked about WCW Superbrawl XII before showing some exclusive footage from wcw.com with Ron Killings showing up, but being blocked from entering the arena by WCW Commissioner Larry Zbyszko. Zbyszko reminded Killings he needed to pay his fine before he can wrestle again, and Killings pulled out a cheque to give to Larry. Larry freaked out and said “no cheques, you need to bring cash” and had Killings hauled away again. The end saw Larry yelling “and don’t forget the interest.”
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Round Robin Tournament Block B: Shocker (2-0-0, 4 pts) vs. Sonjay Dutt (2-0-0, 4 pts)
Both men knew that a victory here would automatically put them in the match for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship at WCW Superbrawl XII. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that both men were flying out there trying to put the other out, but in the end, it was a bit of an upset when Dutt connected with the 450° Splash to become the first man in the WCW Cruiserweight Championship match by winning Block B after being undefeated in the tournament.
Result: In a bout that had sub-par wrestling and little heat, Sonjay Dutt defeated Shocker in 7:44 by pinfall with a 450° Splash. (41)
A new video played on Fergal Devitt, announcing his debut in two weeks on WCW Nitro.
America’s Most Wanted w/ Gail Kim vs. The James Gang
In some ways this was a must win match for AMW, and it showed as they desperately attempted to beat down the veteran tag team made up of B.G and Kip James. Nothing seemed to be enough though, until referee Dave Hebner found himself being distracted by Konnan. That allowed Homicide to nail Kip James with a steel chair on the outside. When B.G James tried to save his partner, he instead soon fell victim to the Death Sentence giving AMW the victory. Team 3D tried to tell Dave what happened, but the result stood and now AMW was one step closer to being able to pick the stipulation for their match against Team 3D at WCW Superbrawl XII.
Result: In a decent match, America's Most Wanted defeated The James Gang in 9:45 when James Storm pinned B.G. James with a Death Sentence following interference from Homicide. (49)
Shane Douglas interviewed Jerry Lynn and Chris Sabin, with Sabin accepting a six-man tag team match for WCW Superbrawl XII against Next GEN. He then announced his first tag team partner, veteran WCW Cruiserweight Billy Kidman!
WCW Control Center with Don West! It featured comments from Larry Zbyszko and Sean Waltman, with Zbyszko announcing that Sean Waltman would face Cassidy Riley next week on WCW Nitro, and then would face Raven at WCW Superbrawl XII in a WRESTLING match where weapons and closed fists would be illegal. “And Raven, if you don’t win you are OUT of WCW! That means if you get disqualified, or counted out, your career is over!”
WCW World Championship Tournament Semi-Final: Abyss vs. Christian Cage
Christian Cage began this match by jumping over the top rope onto Abyss as he was making his way to the ring, but that only resulted in Abyss catching him and driving him rib first into the ring post. That was the story of the match with Abyss aiming to injure those ribs, but Cage kept fighting back. At one point Abyss put Cage down with the Black Hole Slam, but Cage kicked out of that. At this point Jeff Jarrett made his way out and seemed to be giving directions, as Abyss pulled Cage out of the ring and moved him over by the announcers desk….where he put Cage through the table with a Chokeslam! That resulted in the disqualification and sent Christian Cage to the Finals of the WCW World Championship Tournament at WCW Superbrawl XII.
Result: In a superb match, Christian Cage defeated Abyss in 12:50 when Abyss intentionally got disqualified. (63)
Overall Rating: 64, TV Rating: 0.73. What a great Main Event tonight, and it continues to build the storyline of Planet Jarrett and Christian Cage as we head towards Superbrawl. A bit surprising to see Sonjay Dutt go over Shocker as I can’t image Shocker was happy about that, and it adds to the rumours that he might be finishing up soon. Finally, how great to see Christopher Daniels in the ring again, and it makes sense to give Joe a little break after he has been wrestling so much already this year. This was a great Nitro, and only one more to go until we get to Superbrawl.
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Post by tg01 on Jan 23, 2024 5:36:42 GMT 1
02/25/2006 TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, FLA video played recapping the disqualification last week, and hyping tonight’s Main Event and the resulting two Main Event matches at WCW Superbrawl XII with the winner of tonight facing Christian Cage for the WCW World Championship, and the loser facing Abyss to determine the #1 Contender to the WCW World Championship.
Mike Tenay and Don Callis hyped the show, before a video played on a man who would be making his WCW debut, from NJPW, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Interestingly, the footage used included NJPW footage of Tanahashi competing against current WWE wrestlers Matt Morgan and Mark Jindrak, as well as former WCW veteran Scott Norton, and NJPW up and comers like Shinsuke Nakamura and Katsuyori Shibata.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shannon Moore
It was announced during the match that the winner of this match would face the winner of the Samoa Joe/Christopher Daniels match next week for the WCW World Television Championship. Unfortunately this match was rather short, but what we got to see was electric as Tanahashi managed to control the majority of the match before Tanahashi defeated Moore with a Sling Blade.
Result: In an extremely short match, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Shannon Moore in 4:34 by pinfall with a Sling Blade.
A video played with Samoa Joe posing with both the WCW World Television Championship and TNA X-Division Championship and talking about how he was going to walk in and out of WCW Superbrawl with the belts, before Christopher Daniels got some words about how Joe disgraced the TNA X-Division Championship belt in the past, and now he continues to do so by not letting the belt be retired with the respect it deserved, but when Daniels took control of the belts at WCW Superbrawl XII he would give it the proper retirement it deserved.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Round Robin Tournament Block A: Jay Lethal (2-0-0, 4 pts) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (2-0-0, 4 pts)
With Sonjay Dutt already on his way to WCW Superbrawl XII, this match was to determine who would be his opponent. This might have been Lethal’s coming out party as he went toe to toe with the Japanese legend and gave him everything he had. There was some close pin falls near the end of the match, and everyone was surprised when the bell rang….until they realized it was the first draw of the Round Robin Tournament! There was confusion as Sonjay Dutt came out to join his friend in the ring and we quickly went to a commercial break.
Result: In a bout that had good wrestling and a decent reaction from the crowd, Jushin Thunder Liger drew with Jay Lethal in 15:00 when the time limit expired. (48)
WCW Commissioner Larry Zbyszko came out and reminded everyone that the winner would be determined by who had defeated their opponents in the previous Round Robin matches in the shorter amount of time. Jay Lethal defeated Psichosis II in 8:19, and Petey Williams in 7:12, while Jushin Liger defeated Psichosis II in 7:31 and Petey Williams in 8:02….meaning Jay Lethal defeated his opponents in 15:31, while Liger defeated his in….15:33. Jay Lethal was declared the Block A winner and will be facing off against Sonjay Dutt for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship at WCW Superbrawl XII.
Cassidy Riley vs. Sean Waltman
Larry stayed out for the next match which allowed him to distract Cassidy Riley so that when he turned around it was right into a kick by Sean Waltman and a very quick pin fall!
Result: In an extremely short match, Sean Waltman defeated Cassidy Riley in 0:11 by pinfall with a 1–2–3 Kick after a distraction from Larry Zbyszko. (49)
After the match Larry joined Sean in the ring as he continued to beat on Riley, until Raven came out and quickly chased them away prior to his match against Waltman tomorrow night, where Raven must leave WCW if he does not win the match!
Latin American Xchange (Apollo/Homicide) w/ Konnan vs. Team 3D
America’s Most Wanted was out to watch this match, which should have been an obvious clue to what was going to happen. Team 3D was focused on getting a little revenge on LAX for helping AMW get the victory last week. But when it looked like they might get the victory, Chris Harris jumped into the ring and attacked….Homicide! LAX won by DQ and now AMW gets to pick the stipulation for their showdown with Team 3D at WCW Superbrawl XII.
Result: In an extremely short match, Latin American Xchange III defeated Team 3D in 4:07 when Brother Ray was disqualified when Chris Harris ran in and attacked Homicide. (47)
As AMW was running up the ramp, James Storm grabbed a microphone and announced that the match at WCW Superbrawl XII would be a….street fight!
WCW Magazine with Jeremy Borash! Jeremy showed footage backstage from last week where all three members of Next GEN attacked Jerry Lynn backstage, and then gloated about how they had taken out Sabin and Kidman’s partner for WCW Superbrawl. Up next, we got Chris Sabin and Billy Kidman responding by announcing that their partner for WCW Superbrawl was going to be Hiroshi Tanahashi!
WCW Control Center with Don West! Don West announces that next week on WCW Nitro, no matter the result from WCW Superbrawl XII, will see Jeff Jarrett defending the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against….SCOTT HALL!
WCW World Championship Tournament Semi Final: AJ Styles vs. Jeff Jarrett
These two have so much chemistry that they can put on a great match in their sleep, however this match was rushed like almost all the other matches tonight. This resulted in it not being as good as some past efforts. In the end Jeff managed to work Styles down, until he turned a Styles Clash into a Figure-Four Leglock to get the submission victory and move on to a match with Christian Cage to determine the WCW World Champion.
Result: In a superb match, Jeff Jarrett defeated AJ Styles in 12:50 by submission with a Figure-Four Leglock. (55)
After the match the rest of Planet Jarrett surrounded AJ Styles, with Jeff talking about how the same thing was going to happen at Superbrawl and Jarrett was going to become a five time WCW World Champion. Suddenly Christian Cage was on the Videotron talking about how he was coming prepared for Superbrawl as he was not coming alone….with that the lights went out…and then there was a lightning effect, before white spotlights lit up the top of the ramp where Christian Cage was in person……pointing a black baseball bat at the ring as the fans came unglued making the obvious connection…..
Overall Rating: 59, TV Rating: 0.69. A lot happened in this show as it was the final show before the PPV, but the big finish with the Jarrett/Styles match and the hint that WCW Legend Sting is about to show up, gave plenty of reasons to tune in for Superbrawl.
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