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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Jan 12, 2022 3:23:35 GMT 1
Part XXXI: WCW Bash At The Beach 2000
So obviously, we're coming off The Great American Bash 2000, which featured one of the biggest matches/moments in the history of WCW, as Goldberg's nearly two year title reign, along with his legendary undefeated streak, came to an end at the hands of Rob Van Dam. It didn't take long for challengers to start coming for Mr. Monday Night's title, as Chris Jericho (who defeated Van Dam for the ECW World TV Title leading up to The Great American Bash) immediately established himself as a top contender. Meanwhile, you also had contenders coming from other directions. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting put Scott Steiner firmly in the rearview after defeating Big Poppa Pump in a feud-ending Last Man Standing Match on the June 19th edition of Nitro, and he was looking to do something special.....reunite the NWA World Heavyweight Title and the WCW World Heavyweight Title. Meanwhile, Mick Foley of all people made a claim to be the next challenger. As a member of The Radicalz (and someone who had match-making abilities), Foley didn't approve of Van Dam as champion, and wanted to bring the title to The Radicalz himself. However, Foley had somebody else breathing down his neck in the form of Mike Awesome, who was still angry over The Radicalz taking the ECW World Title from him.
To sum it up quickly, it was decided that Mick Foley, Mike Awesome, and Sting would all their shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Title at Bash At The Beach.....in a Four-Way Elimination Match. As for Chris Jericho, he would get to challenge Rob Van Dam on the June 29th edition of Thunder (Van Dam's first title defense was actually against Randy Savage a few days before on the June 26th Nitro). When it looked as though Jericho was going to become a double champion, thanks to interference from Lance Storm, Kevin Nash came out to even the odds, and helped Van Dam retain his title (of course, Jericho and Nash are involved in a feud at the moment, so that interaction continued that program). As for the three challengers on the PPV, Foley would make both Awesome and Sting run the proverbial gauntlet on the go-home Nitro on July 3rd. He first had both Awesome and Sting compete in singles matches against ECW World Tag Team Champions Sabu and Taz respectively (the latter of which was for Sting's NWA World Heavyweight Title). After they won those singles matches, Foley had the two of them compete in a tag team match against KroniK. Then, Foley had them go through a third match....a Three-On-Two Handicap Match against The Natural Born Thrillers trio of Chuck Palumbo, Mike Sanders, & Shawn Stasiak. That third match ended in a DQ as The Natural Born Thrillers intentionally got themselves DQ'd so that they can dish out more damage at the behest of Foley. On that very same Nitro, Foley would team up with ECW World Champion The Sandman to score a victory over Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer.
Bash At The Beach 2000 would feature a number of title bouts up and down the card.....and two of them would involve Kurt Angle. Not only would he defending his WCW World TV Title against a super tough competitor in Andrew Martin, but would also be going after the WCW United States Title. Angle had Booker T in his sights, but could he leave Daytona Beach with two singles titles, one, or none at all?
There would also be a number of multi-person title matches on the PPV. The Hart Family would defend their WCW World Tag Team Titles in a Three-Way Tag Team Match against The Outsiders and The Steiner Brothers (in a match that feels like something out of the middle part of the decade), while Tina Ferrari would defend her WCW Women's Title in a Fatal Four-Way Match (one fall to a finish) against Amy Dumas, Daffney, and Trish Stratus.
Something new that this card would feature is a pair of matches that would be decided by fan vote (done exclusively through WCW's website). The fans would get to decide on Chris Jericho's challenger for the ECW World TV Title, and the stipulation for Diamond Dallas Page vs. Raven. In the former, Edge would end up winning the fan vote over Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Kanyon, and Christian. In the latter, the end result saw a Stretcher Match (the first-ever Stretcher Match in WCW) winning over over a Blindfold Match, a Raven's Rules Match, and a Crowbar On A Pole Match. Now you can't actually book a Stretcher Match in EWR. This is a case (and I think I've mentioned this in the past) where I did a Hardcore Match, and for the purposes of this diary, I labeled it as something else.....because I can lol.
The PPV was rounded off by a series of grudge matches. Goldberg would lead a team consisting of himself, The Dudley Boyz, and The Hardy Boyz against a Radicalz team made up of Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, and William Regal (quite the lineup, that's for sure!). That bout is just a continuation of the ongoing war between WCW and the forces led by Paul Heyman. I should also note that while it seems like The Radicalz tend to end up with a mixed win-loss record on PPVs, they do win the majority of their TV bouts (though not all of them), so there's that. Finally, father and son would look to settle their differences once and for all, as Ric Flair and David Flair would battle it out in a Submission Match, virtually guaranteeing that someone will be tapping out to the Figure Four.
I do have some other quick things to run through before going over the PPV results. After having a confrontation with Mick Foley on the June 22nd Thunder, Dusty Rhodes was found backstage taken out on the following Nitro on June 26th (heavily implied that it was a member of The Radicalz, but at this point, nobody would fuss up to it). So Dusty has been written out of storylines for the moment. Then, we saw the debut of a brand new stable on the aforementioned June 26th Nitro. WCW Hardcore Champion Terry Funk would be on the receiving end of a beatdown from Rebels Rizing, a new stable that's basically a fusion of real-life WCW stables of The Misfits In Action and The Jung Dragons. The members of this new heel group are Hugh Morris, Kaz Hayashi, Jamie Noble, Jimmy Yang, and Lash Leroux with Kimona Wanalaya acting as the group's manager/valet. This would set up a match for the WCW Hardcore Title, with Hugh Morris winning the title from Funk on the July 6th Thunder. That was actually the only title change of note that occurred on TV since the last PPV.
The final thing I'd like to mention is that, for the next few years, Bash At The Beach will be taking place in Daytona Beach, Florida for the next few years going forward. The reason for this is that I want the PPV to line up with the same weekend as NASCAR's Pepsi 400 at the world-famous Daytona International Speedway. The idea is to make it a destination weekend of sorts with pro-wrestling and NASCAR in the same city. It didn't line up on this particular weekend (with the actual PPV taking place on July 9th while the 2000 Pepsi 400 was on July 1st), but it will line up in the future.
With that out of the way, let's dive into the PPV!!
WCW Bash At The Beach 2000
July 9th, 2000 - Ocean Center - Daytona Beach, Florida
1.) WCW Women's Title - Fatal Four-Way Match - Amy Dumas def. Daffney, Tina Ferrari (c), & Trish Stratus
2.) ECW World TV Title - Edge def. Chris Jericho (c)
3.) WCW World TV Title - Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) (c) def. Andrew Martin
4.) WCW World Tag Team Titles - Three-Way Tag Team Match - The Steiner Brothers def. The Hart Family (Bret Hart & Owen Hart) (c) & The Outsiders (Kevin Nash & Scott Hall)
5.) Submission Match - Ric Flair def. David Flair
6.) Stretcher Match - Diamond Dallas Page def. Raven
7.) Team WCW (Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, & The Hardy Boyz) def. The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, & William Regal)
8.) WCW United States Title - Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) def. Booker T (c)
9.) WCW World Heavyweight Title - Four-Way Elimination Match - Rob Van Dam (c) def. Mick Foley, Mike Awesome, & Sting
For Bash At The Beach 2000, I got an overall score of 89%, which is down only 1% from The Great American Bash 2000. So a strong followup to one of the most important PPVs in the history of WCW, with Goldberg finally suffering his first loss. The match that easily took Match Of The Night honors was Chris Jericho vs. Edge for the ECW World TV Title, which earned an incredible score of 99% (The score for match quality was 100% while crowd reaction was 98%). No other match on this PPV came close, but three of them scored 90% on the dot. Those bouts were the Three-Way Tag for the WCW World Tag Team Titles (which kinda surprised me), Diamond Dallas Page vs. Raven in a Stretcher Match, and Booker T vs. Kurt Angle for the WCW United States Title. Just below those matches were Kurt Angle vs. Andrew Martin for the WCW World TV Title at 89%, and Team WCW vs. The Radicalz at 88%. From there, the only other match that wound up in the 80% range was the main event, which finished with a score of 86%. The last two matches finished in the high 70% range, with Ric Flair vs. David Flair in a Submission Match at 78%, and the Four-Way for the WCW Women's Title at 77%.
As a whole, I thought this show turned out pretty well. Amy Dumas winning the WCW Women's Title was certainly a big deal in terms of my plans, as it sets up a notable feud that will go on into the fall months with a foe that (in OTL) Dumas is very familiar with. As I already mentioned, Chris Jericho and Edge tore the house down, having an incredible match that earned a five star rating from the reviewer in the game. Kurt Angle did leave the PPV with two singles titles, while The Steiner Brothers left with the WCW World Tag Team Titles. As for the main event, not only did Rob Van Dam retain his title, but he scored all three eliminations in the process (first Mick Foley, then Mike Awesome, before finally beating Sting for the win), so a pretty strong start to Van Dam's title reign, with three successful defense already under his belt.
That's all for Bash At The Beach 2000! Be sure to tune in next time, as (thanks to Paul Heyman) a notable ECW PPV name makes its debut under the WCW banner. |
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Post by socratesburrito on Jan 15, 2022 23:25:51 GMT 1
Sting wants to unify the world titles? I like the idea, but I don't think it will be the Stinger as the Belt Collector
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Jan 25, 2022 4:58:01 GMT 1
Part XXXII: WCW Guilty As Charged 2000
So I mentioned in the last post that this August PPV would take on a very ECW name. Well, as you can see, the name of the PPV is Guilty As Charged. No....Judge Jeff Jones isn't running around in WCW, but I thought this was a solid option to go with. I actually wanted to do Anarchy Rulz, but the EWR game said that particular PPV name was already taken, so I had to go with something else.
Before I dive into the events and happenings that led to the matches on this PPV card, I have to talk about something that took up the majority of the television time between Bash At The Beach and Guilty As Charged. I decided to put together a tag team tournament, where the winning team would challenge The Steiner Brothers for the WCW World Tag Team Titles on the PPV. Originally, I didn't name or label this tournament, but in thinking about it, I settled on bringing back a famous tournament that the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions held in the late 1980's (and which recently made a resurgence in the NWA in OTL), which is fitting considering the size and scope of this tournament. That's right....WCW is bringing back The Crockett Cup!!
As I already mentioned, the winners of this tournament would battle The Steiner Brothers for the WCW World Tag Team Titles at the Guilty As Charged PPV. The Steiner Brothers would sit out the tourney, as they were the champions. Also sitting out the tournament would be ECW World Tag Team Champions Sabu and Taz as well as NWA World Tag Team Champions Mark Jindrak and Sean O'Haire (who won the titles on the July 10th Nitro). There would be thirty-two teams in the tournament. Among the participants would be WCW World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam, who declared that he would wrestle twice in one night had he won the tournament. Now the participants in the 2000 Crockett Cup are as follows:
- 3 Count (Shane Helms & Shannon Moore)
- "Dr. Death" Steve Williams & The Giant
- Edge & Christian
- Goldberg & Mike Awesome
- Harlem Heat
- KroniK
- Los Guerreros
- Rebels Rizing (Kaz Hayashi & Jimmy Yang)
- Ric Flair & Terry Funk
- WCW World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam & Jerry Lynn
- The Dancing Fools (Alex Wright & Disco Inferno)
- The Dark Horsemen (David Flair & Devon Storm)
- The Dudley Boyz
- The Faces Of Fear (Meng & The Barbarian)
- The FBI (Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke)
- The Filthy Animals (Juventud Guerrera & Psychosis)
- The Filthy Animals (Kidman & Rey Mysterio Jr.)
- The Filthy Animals (Konnan & Ron "The Truth" Killings)
- The Great Muta & NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting
- The Hardy Boyz
- The Hart Family (Bret Hart & Owen Hart)
- The Jersey Triad (Diamond Dallas Page & Chris Kanyon)
- The Malalukes (Big Vito & Johnny The Bull)
- The Outsiders (Kevin Nash & Scott Hall)
- The Perfect Event (Chuck Palumbo & Shawn Stasiak)
- The Radicalz (Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko)
- The Radicalz (Fit Finlay & William Regal)
- The Radicalz (Perry Saturn & Raven)
- The Thrillseekers (Chris Jericho & Lance Storm)
- Totally Buffed (Buff Bagwell & Lex Luger)
- Tommy Dreamer & Spike Dudley
Now while that is a lot of teams, that only tallies up to thirty-one teams. The final spot in the tournament would go to the winner of a mini-play in tournament with some of the lower card teams on the WCW roster. On the July 13th episode of Thunder, two Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Matches would take place, with the winners facing off later that night to determine who would get into the tournament. The first Four-Way would see Gedo and Jado (aka No Respect) defeat Lenny and Lodi, The Armstrongs (Brad Armstrong and Steve Armstrong), The FBI (Tracy Smothers and Tommy Rich). Meanwhile, The Bad Street Boyz (Joey Matthews & Kristian York) would defeat Hector Garza and Silver King, Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom, and the team of Norman Smiley and Shark Boy. Then, The Bad Street Boyz would go on to defeat No Respect later in the show to earn their way into the tournament.
In the end, the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals for the 2000 Crockett Cup would all take place on the go-home edition of Nitro on August 7th....inside The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans! For those who don't know, that same venue hosted the very first Crockett Cup in 1986. The completed bracket is posted below, and the winner of the 2000 Crockett Cup is revealed (apologies for the tiny text):
So ultimately, Bret Hart and Owen Hart won the 2000 Crockett Cup, joining the list of former tournament winners that includes The Road Warriors, The Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff) and the duo of Sting and Lex Luger. Now there are some other aspects of the tournament that I need to break down. As you can tell by the bracket, Rebels Rizing advanced to the Quarterfinals via a bye, because The Outsiders and The Thrillseekers had a match that went to a No Contest, meaning neither team advanced.
The other thing I need to make note of is what happened on the final night of the tournament in New Orleans. The bracket above lists Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko as beating Goldberg and Mike Awesome to move on to the Semifinals. However, Mike Awesome wrestled by himself in that bout, because Goldberg (during his entrance) was attacked by the debuting Rhino!! Egged on by Radicalz leader Paul Heyman, Rhino destroyed Goldberg, which would lead to a match six days later on the Guilty As Charged PPV.
Now with the Crockett Cup going on, the rest of the card for the PPV itself came together pretty late, but I'll go through everything the best I can. Rob Van Dam would defend the WCW World Heavyweight Title in the main event in a Triple Threat Match against Chris Jericho and Kevin Nash. Of course, as shown earlier by their Crockett Cup bout ending in a No Contest, those two are still embroiled in a heated feud. Another title bout sees The Sandman defend the ECW World Heavyweight Title against Tommy Dreamer in a Ladder Match. The basic story here is that Dreamer has been feuding with The Sandman for a bit, and he's trying to win the ECW World Heavyweight Title for the first time (which he didn't do in the original ECW in this alternate timeline).
Other title bouts include Kurt Angle defending the WCW United States Title against Diamond Dallas Page and Raven, while The Dudley Boyz face off against Sabu and Taz in a Tables Match for the ECW World Tag Team Titles. With the former, it's a very similar situation to the main event, with a champion defending against two bitter rivals. With the latter, The Dudley Boyz are actually coming into this bout as the defending champions. What happened is that Sabu and Taz cost The Dudley Boyz their first round Crockett Cup bout against Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko on the July 17th Nitro. This led to The Dudley Boyz issuing for a challenge for the ECW World Tag Team Titles.....which they won on the August 3rd Thunder.
Elsewhere, we have Mick Foley taking on Ric Flair in a Texas Death Match. These two both cost each other matches over the last month. Ric Flair helped fight off interference attempts from The Radicalz in Mick Foley's attempt to win the WCW World Heavyweight Title from Rob Van Dam on the July 10th Nitro (the night after Bash At The Beach), while Foley helped The Perfect Event eliminate Ric Flair and Terry Funk from The Crockett Cup on the July 24th Nitro. A war of words between two in the aftermath would set up the aforementioned Texas Death Match. Meanwhile, the PPV card would open with an eight man tag that continues the rivalry between The Filthy Animals and The Natural Born Thrillers. Finally, a Tag Team Four-Way Elimination Match would help set up the next set of challengers for the WCW World Tag Team Titles, features teams that were in The Crockett Cup and teams of guys who were in The Crockett Cup, but not on the same team.
In terms of other title changes that occurred since the previous PPV, the WCW Cruiserweight Title would change hands on the August 10th edition of Thunder, as Little Guido would capture the title from Curry Man after some assistance from The FBI. Meanwhile, there was also some movement with the WCW Women's Title. The first title reign of Amy Dumas would only last four days, as Daffney would stun her on the July 13th Thunder to win the title. This would lead to a short program between the two that would last a few weeks. This would include a six-person tag with Team Xtreme against Daffney and The Dark Horsemen on the July 24th Nitro. A rematch was set for a week later on the July 31st edition of Nitro, and in the end, Dumas would win back the title.
Finally, in addition to a win over Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam would score another successful title defense of his WCW World Heavyweight Title against Steve Corino on the July 24th Nitro.
Whew! That was a lot. Let's finally get into the PPV!
WCW Guilty As Charged 2000 August 13, 2000 - Reunion Arena - Dallas, Texas
1.) Eight-Man Tag Team Match - The Natural Born Thrillers (Chuck Palumbo, Mark Jindrak, Sean O'Haire, & Shawn Stasiak with Mike Sanders) def. The Filthy Animals (Kidman, Konnan, Rey Mysterio Jr. & Ron "The Truth" Killings with Torrie Wilson) 2.) Texas Death Match - Mick Foley def. Ric Flair 3.) ECW World Tag Team Titles - Tables Match - The Dudley Boyz (c) def. Sabu & Taz 4.) WCW United States Title - Triple Threat Match - Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) (c) def. Diamond Dallas Page (with Chris Kanyon) & Raven (with Perry Saturn) 5.) #1 Contender's Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Match - Edge & Christian def. The Radicalz (Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero), Booker T & Sting, and The Hardy Boyz 6.) ECW World Title - Ladder Match - The Sandman (c) def. Tommy Dreamer 7.) WCW World Tag Team Titles - The Steiner Brothers (c) def. The Hart Family (Bret Hart & Owen Hart) 8.) Rhino def. Goldberg 9.) WCW World Heavyweight Title - Triple Threat Match - Rob Van Dam (c) def. Chris Jericho & Kevin Nash
For Guilty As Charged 2000, I got an overall score of 89%, which ties the score I got for the last PPV, Bash At The Beach 2000. Similar to that PPV, this PPV had a similar outcome in terms of what the match ratings were. There was one match that was head-and-shoulders above the rest, and that was the #1 Contender's Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Match. That got an incredible score of 98%. From there, only one other match cracked into the 90% range, which was The Dudley Boyz vs. Sabu & Taz in a Tables Match for the ECW World Tag Team Titles, which wound up at 92%. Then, a grand total of six matches finished in the 80% range. The Steiner Brothers vs. The Hart Family for the WCW World Tag Team Titles and the Triple Threat Match for the WCW United States Title both finished at 89%, while the main event finished at 88%. Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair in a Texas Death Match earned an 87% score, while The Sandman vs. Tommy Dreamer in a Ladder Match for the ECW World Heavyweight Title earned a score of 83%. Finally, the opening eight-man tag got 81%, and Rhino vs. Goldberg wound up at 76%. That was the worst bout on the show, but in the grand scheme of things, if that was the worst one, then you know your show was pretty good! Obviously the biggest result coming out of this show is the fact that Rhino (in his first match in WCW) defeated Goldberg in a big win for The Radicalz. Obvious his introduction into WCW has been very impactful in such a short period of time.
That's all for Guilty As Charged 2000 and the revival of The Crockett Cup!! Tune in next time, as we go back to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for Fall Brawl 2000....which might include a double dose of WarGames....
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Feb 8, 2022 4:38:52 GMT 1
Part XXXIII: WCW Fall Brawl 2000
So I mentioned in my previous post that the 2000 edition of Fall Brawl would feature a double dose of annual WarGames Match. While I would normally shy away from double the same match more than once on the same card, I felt it was necessary in this case, as I had two different faction warfare feuds that I was either continuing or blowing off. Of course, the bigger of the two WarGames was in the main event slot, as the battle between The Radicalz and WCW would be taken to the next level. On one side, representing The Radicalz, would be Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, Raven, and Rhino, who has been on the war path since his debut. Not only did he beat Goldberg in his debut match back at Guilty As Charged (though Goldberg did come into that bout injured following an attack by Rhino on the prior Nitro), but he also managed to get a singles victory over the legendary Ric Flair in the main event of the August 21st Nitro. Team WCW was practically an All-Star team, consisting of Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Goldberg, Ric Flair, and Sting. In addition, both teams would have seconds backing them up. The Radicalz would have Mick Foley and Paul Heyman in their corner, while Team WCW would have Dusty Rhodes and Rowdy Roddy Piper in their corner. So a big time match with some of the biggest names in the company. A series of five singles matches would take place on the September 4th Nitro to determine the advantage in WarGames, with The Radicalz earning the advantage by a 3-2 margin (Goldberg defeated Perry Saturn, Raven defeated Diamond Dallas Page, Rhino defeated Booker T, Sting defeated Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero defeated Ric Flair).
The other WarGames bout would serve as conclusion to an mid-card stable feud that's been going on since the start of the year. The Filthy Animals and The Natural Born Thrillers have had matches in various combinations both on TV and on PPV, and now they're finally going to settle things once and for all inside of WarGames!
One major point that I forgot to mention in my previous post involves Andrew Martin. I completely forgot to mention that he turned heel and joined The Radicalz! Silly me. Well, what happened is that he ended up costing his fellow Team Canada members Bret Hart and Owen Hart their match against The Steiner Brothers for the WCW World Tag Team Titles at Guilty As Charged. Martin would later confirm in ensuing episodes of WCW television that he had jumped ship and joined The Radicalz. The two would have a few different segments in the buildup to this PPV, and Martin get a win over Bret Hart in a Four-Way Match on the August 28th Nitro that also included Lex Luger and Scott Hall. That would all build up to their first singles clash in Winston-Salem.
Chris Jericho and Kevin Nash would also continue their feud on this PPV. Both men failed in their effort to win the WCW World Heavyweight Title in the main event of Guilty As Charged, and their continued engagements have led to a Falls Count Anywhere Match that will happen on the Fall Brawl card.
The rest of the card is filled out with five title matches, with Rob Van Dam vs. Owen Hart for the WCW World Heavyweight Title probably being the most unique of the bunch. This was definitely a match that I really wanted to book, and I gave Owen a few wins on TV (against the likes of Fit Finlay, Jushin Thunder Liger, and Jerry Lynn) in the build up to this title bout. Nothing much else to say about it since it's a battle of babyface stars. Right under that is a Three-Way Tag Team Match for the WCW World Tag Team Titles, with The Steiner Brothers defending their titles against The Dudley Boys as well as Edge and Christian. The former were looking to get revenge on The Steiner Brothers after they caused them to lose the ECW World Tag Team Titles to 3 Count on the August 24th edition of Thunder. Meanwhile, Edge and Christian are getting the shot at the titles that they earned at Guilty As Charged. Speaking of tag teams, The Hardy Boyz are in action on this PPV card, but not against another tag team.....against each other! Back on the aforementioned August 24th edition of Thunder, Jeff Hardy managed to defeat Little Guido to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title. Not only that, but The Hardy Boyz would end up capturing more gold on the September 7th Thunder, as they ended 3 Count's ECW World Tag Team Title reign at just two weeks (That would actually lead to a six-person tag on the following Thunder with all three members of 3 Count vs. Team Xtreme). They're the ECW World Tag Team Champions, they're brothers, and they're battling it out for the WCW Cruiserweight Title. What a wild world my version of WCW is.
Another notable title match on this card is Kurt Angle defending the WCW United States Title (but not the WCW World TV Title) against Mike Awesome. After missing out on the last PPV, Awesome wanted to get back into the thick of things, but he was still having issues with Mick Foley, who declared that Awesome had to beat him if he wanted to earn any future title shots of any kind. On the August 21st Nitro, Awesome and Foley would battle it out in an Ambulance Match, and Awesome would emerge with the win. Awesome would then set his sights on Kurt Angle's WCW United States Title, and the match was set for Fall Brawl.
The final title bout on the card would see Amy Dumas defend the WCW Women's Title against Trish Stratus. Nothing much to say about this one, aside from the fact that it's the first match between two women who (in OTL) would go on to be famous opponents.
In terms of other title changes that haven't been mentioned already, the WCW Hardcore Title changed hands on the August 17th Thunder as Ron "The Truth" Killings won the title from Hugh Morris in a Triple Threat Match that also involved Mike Sanders. Additionally, some notable bouts in the build towards this PPV included Andrew Martin, Chris Jericho, and Lance Storm vs. Bret Hart and The Outsiders on the September 11th Nitro, along with Rob Van Dam and Owen Hart vs. Lex Luger and The Giant on the September 14th Thunder.
With all of that finally out of the way, let's dive into the PPV!!
WCW Fall Brawl 2000
September 17th, 2000 - Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum - Winston-Salem, North Carolina
1.) WCW Women's Title - Trish Stratus def. Amy Dumas (c)
2.) WarGames - The Filthy Animals (Billy Kidman, Juventud Guerrera, Konnan, Psychosis, & Rey Mysterio Jr. with WCW Hardcore Champion Ron "The Truth" Killings) def. The Natural Born Thrillers (Chuck Palumbo, NWA World Tag Team Champion Mark Jindrak, Mike Sanders, NWA World Tag Team Champion Sean O'Haire, & Shawn Stasiak with Curt Hennig)
3.) WCW United States Title - Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) (c) def. Mike Awesome
4.) Bret Hart def. Andrew Martin
5.) Falls Count Anywhere Match - Chris Jericho (with Don Callis and Lance Storm) def. Kevin Nash (with Sable and Scott Hall)
6.) WCW Cruiserweight Title - ECW World Team Champion Jeff Hardy (c) def. ECW World Tag Team Champion Matt Hardy
7.) WCW World Tag Team Titles - The Steiner Brothers (c) def. The Dudley Boyz and Edge & Christian
8.) WCW World Heavyweight Title - Rob Van Dam (c) def. Owen Hart
9.) WarGames - The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, Raven, & Rhino with Mick Foley and Paul Heyman) def. Team WCW (Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Goldberg, Ric Flair, & NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting with Dusty Rhodes and Rowdy Roddy Piper)
For Fall Brawl 2000, I got an overall score of 89%, which actually matches the previous two PPVs (Bash At The Beach and Guilty As Charged). So we're on a pretty consistent streak as of late. This PPV card was highlighted by a number of matches that wound up in the high 80% to low 90% range. Again....very consistent. Match Of The Night honors went to, interestingly enough, Andrew Martin vs. Bret Hart with a score of 93%. Those two made great tag team partners, and they clearly make for very good opponents. Right below that was Kurt Angle vs. Mike Awesome for the WCW United States Title, which ended up at 92%. Rounding out the bouts that finished above 90% was the Three-Way Tag Team Match for the WCW World Tag Team Titles, which got a 91% score. After that, we had a tie at 89%, with the main event WarGames Match between The Radicalz and Team WCW, as well as Rob Van Dam vs. Owen Hart for the WCW World Heavyweight Title, both earning that score. It starts to drop off a little bit from there, but the next match was actually Amy Dumas vs. Trish Stratus for the WCW Women's Title, which finished at 86%. Another famous real life combo that's doing pretty well in my EWR game as well. As for the rest of the show, Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Nash in a Falls Count Anywhere Match (continuing their feud) ended up at 85%, Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy for the WCW Cruiserweight Title wound up at 83%, and finally, the WarGames Match with The Filthy Animals against The Natural Born Thrillers was technically the worst match of the night at 81%, though let's be honest.....if that was the score for the worst match on a PPV card, it was a damn good PPV.
I really liked how this card turned out. The two WarGames involved factions that've been feuding throughout 2000, so again, it just felt right to do two. The rest of card is filled with several interesting singles bouts as well as the WCW World Tag Team Title bout. As a whole, I thought I put together a card that had a very strong mix of matches. In terms of the results, The Filthy Animals getting a big win to end their rivalry with The Natural Born Thrillers was a cool moment (Konnan would force Mike Sanders to surrender to the Tequila Sunrise). Meanwhile, the main event WarGames was a HUGE win for The Radicalz as they defeated the team of WCW All-Stars. There would be chaos both inside and outside of the WarGames cage, as an attack on Dusty Rhodes and Rowdy Roddy Piper on the floor by a number of Radicalz members (including ECW World Champion The Sandman) led to Mike Awesome, Tommy Dreamer, and other babyfaces coming out for the save. Ultimately, the match would be stopped after Sting took four consecutive Gore's from Rhino. So once again, Rhino's only been on the WCW main roster for not even two months, and he's already picked off some of WCW's top stars.
That's all for Fall Brawl 2000!! Tune in next time when we go to Las Vegas for the WCW's annual October tradition....Halloween Havoc!! |
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Feb 26, 2022 23:59:42 GMT 1
Part XXXIV: WCW Halloween Havoc 2000
Fall Brawl proved to be a huge night for The Radicalz, as they defeated a team of WCW All-Stars in a WarGames Match. This would really put all five members of the winning team (Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, Raven, and Rhino) in position to challenge for various championships (whichever titles they decide to go after) following the PPV. Raven and Saturn were the first to challenge for titles, and on the episode of Nitro the night after Fall Brawl, they defeated The Hardy Boyz to win the ECW World Tag Team Titles. On that same episode of Nitro, Eddie Guerrero challenged Rob Van Dam for the WCW World Heavyweight Title, and while Van Dam was able to retain his title, he was attacked after the match by the man who would end up being his next challenger, Chris Benoit. The two men would meet in a non-title singles contest on the October 7th edition of Saturday Night, proving to the world that he could beat Van Dam in a one-on-one setting. However, Benoit would (once again) run into issues with his former Four Horsemen stablemate Ric Flair. It was eventually decided that Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit would main event Halloween Havoc for the WCW World Heavyweight Title. Rowdy Roddy Piper (one of WCW's commissioners) would decide that if Flair managed to defeat Benoit at any point before the PPV, he would added to the title match, making it a Triple Threat. The first chance Flair had would be on the October 9th Nitro in an Six-Man Tag, but his team (which also featured Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer) lost to a trio of Chris Benoit, Sabu, & The Sandman (representing The Radicalz, of course). However, the following week's Nitro on October 16th would see Flair get another shot at Benoit in another Six-Man Tag. This time, however, it would see Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Eddie Guerrero take on Ric Flair, Sting......and Mitsuharu Misawa from Pro Wresting NOAH.
So of course, as I'm sure most of you know, NOAH officially formed in the Spring of 2000 when the majority of the All Japan Pro Wrestling roster (led by Misawa) jumped ship to form a brand new promotion in Japan. All of those events that occur in Japan happen just as they do in OTL. After getting itself established, NOAH looked to form a relationship with one of the two major American promotions in Japan, and they ultimately decided to go with WCW. So at this point, WCW has relationships with both New Japan and NOAH, though the wrestlers from both of those Japanese promotions would rarely (if ever) mix when they would come to WCW. As mentioned above, Flair was able to beat Benoit in the aforementioned Six-Man Tag from October 16th, so that meant the main event of Halloween Havoc would indeed be a Triple Threat Match. Another interesting element in this is Woman, who of course is connected to Benoit, but has a past with Flair, so that's another interesting element in play.
WCW's annual October extravaganza would also see the conclusion of two different singles feuds. The first of those would be Goldberg vs. Rhino. As mentioned in previous posts, Rhino has been going after Goldberg since he made his WCW debut just a few months prior. Rhino would get a shot at Sting for the NWA World Heavyweight Title (since he was part of the winning WarGames team) on the September 25th Nitro, but Goldberg attacked Rhino during the bout, thus throwing it out. The two of them would meet in a big tag team match on the Nitro before the PPV on October 23rd (Goldberg and Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit and Rhino) before settling their issues once and for all in a Last Man Standing Match. Meanwhile, Chris Jericho and Kevin Nash would also be reaching the conclusion of their rivalry. After Jericho won the Falls Count Anywhere Match at Fall Brawl, the two would continue to go back-and-forth throughout the month of October. Jericho cost Kevin Nash a chance to win the WCW United States Title against Kurt Angle on the October 2nd Nitro, and he would go on to rub salt in the wound by beating Scott Hall on the October 16th Nitro. This rivalry between Jericho and Nash would finally come to an end on the PPV, as they would face off in an I Quit Match.
The 2000 edition of Halloween Havoc also included a number of other title bouts, outside of the main event. Kurt Angle had been riding high with a few months, with him holding both the WCW United States Title and the WCW World TV Title. However, in the span of a few days, Angle would end up losing both of his titles. On the October 5th Thunder, Awesome pinned Kurt Angle in a Four-Way Elimination Match to capture the WCW World TV Title that also involved Chris Jericho and Kevin Nash (who were, of course, continuing their feud). Then, just two nights later, Angle would lose his WCW United States Title to Booker T on the October 7th Saturday Night after Mike Awesome (who's been feuding with Angle) got involved. This would all lead to a Four-Way Match (featuring Booker T, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, and Mike Awesome) on the PPV with Booker T's United States Title on the line.
Another title that would be up for grabs is the WCW World Tag Team Titles. The Steiner Brothers had been holding the titles since Bash At The Beach which, after the various title changes in the spring, was a nice change of pace in terms of the stability of the titles. They retained in a three-way tag team match at Fall Brawl, but while they put Edge and Christian in the rearview, they weren't able to shake off The Dudley Boyz. They would go back-and-forth for a bit, and this would lead to a match on the October 2nd Nitro where they would capture the WCW World Tag Team Titles. This would prolong the feud between the two sides until the PPV, where the rematch would be in a Tables Match which, of course, is right in the wheelhouse of The Dudley Boyz. Another set of tag team titles that would be on the line is the ECW World Tag Team Titles. As I mentioned earlier, Perry Saturn and Raven captured the titles on the September 18th Nitro, and they would go on to defend their titles on this PPV in a Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Match against The Filthy Animals, The Jersey Triad, and another team from The Radicalz (Sabu and Taz in this case). The buildup would include two separate four-way bouts with a member from each team, with the winners facing off in a singles match. I only mention this because, in that singles match, Rey Mysterio Jr. getting a huge upset win over Diamond Dallas Page. So I did do a bit to at least build up to that title match on the PPV.
Team Xtreme would also be involved in a couple of title bouts on Halloween Havoc. The first of those involved the WCW Cruiserweight Title. Ever since winning the title in August, Jeff Hardy managed to pick up a number of successful defenses. After defeating his brother Matt Hardy at Fall Brawl, he would go on to defend the title successfully against both Rey Mysterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrera. His next challenger would end up being Shane Helms from 3 Count. Helms had been picking up some wins as well (including over Rey Mysterio Jr.), and the fact that he knew The Hardy Boyz so well meant that his match with Jeff on the PPV would be hotly contested. Meanwhile, Amy Dumas would be looking to regain her WCW Women's Title from Trish Stratus. While the tag teams that the two of them are connected to have been friendly with each other (of course, referring to Edge and Christian as well as The Hardy Boyz), these two had not been friendly with each other. They had faced off a couple of times at this stage, but for Halloween Havoc, they were going to take things to the next level in the form of the first-ever women's Ladder Match in the history of WCW. Which one would emerge with the WCW Women's Title come October 29th?
The only bout that I haven't mentioned yet is the semi-main event. Edge and Christian really weren't feuding with The Hart Family, but the match came about because Edge and Christian felt like they had something to prove. Their first match in the spring ended in a DQ or a No Contest (I don't remember off the top of my head, but I know it was a non-finish due to outside interference from The Radicalz), and the second meeting was the finals of the 2000 Crockett Cup, which was won by The Hart Family. Edge and Christian wanted to prove that they could beat Bret Hart and Owen Hart in a straight two-on-two tag team contest. They have another shot at them here. Can they finally get the job done?
In terms of other title changes, I went over some of them earlier, but there are a few more to mention. The NWA World Tag Team Titles changed hands on the September 21st edition of Thunder, as Juventud Guerrera and Psychosis defeated Natural Born Thrillers members Mark Jindrak and Sean O'Haire to capture the titles. That was part of the series of title shots that The Filthy Animals earned after their win in WarGames, though Juventud and Pyschosis were the only ones to actually win a championship (Konnan and Ron "The Truth" Killings unsuccessfully challenged for the WCW World Tag Team Titles against The Steiner Brothers, Kidman unsuccessfully challenged Edge for the ECW World TV Title, and Rey Mysterio Jr., as I mentioned earlier, unsuccessfully challenged Jeff Hardy for the WCW Cruiserweight Title). The WCW Hardcore Title changed hands a couple of times during the month of October. Mike Sanders won the title from Ron "The Truth" Killings on the October 7th Saturday Night, but he would go on to lose the title to Edge just three weeks later on the October 28th edition of Saturday Night.
Speaking of Edge, he was the ECW World TV Champion, but he would end up losing that title on the September 25th edition of Nitro to Radicalz member Yoshihiro Tajiri, after some involvement from his manager James Vandenberg. This would be part of a little mini-feud at this point with Edge and Christian against Tajiri and William Regal. Tajiri would successfully defend his title against Christian on the October 14th Saturday Night, but the reason why I bring this up is that Mikey Whipwreck made his debut here to help Tajiri. Whipwreck is now part of The Radicalz, and this essentially puts together the tag team and manager combo that we saw in ECW in OTL.
Another long post...but fortunately, I think that's everything! Time to dive into the PPV!
WCW Halloween Havoc 2000
October 29th, 2000 - MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, Nevada
1.) WCW Cruiserweight Title - Shane Helms def. Jeff Hardy (c)
2.) ECW World Tag Team Titles - Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Match - The Jersey Triad (Bam Bam Bigelow & Diamond Dallas Page) def. Perry Saturn & Raven (c), The Filthy Animals (Konnan & Rey Mysterio Jr.), and Sabu & Taz
3.) WCW Women's Title - Ladder Match - Amy Dumas def. Trish Stratus (c)
4.) WCW World Tag Team Titles - Tables Match - The Dudley Boyz (c) def. The Steiner Brothers
5.) I Quit Match - Kevin Nash def. Chris Jericho
6.) WCW United States Title - Fatal Four-Way Match - Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) def. Booker T (c), Eddie Guerrero, & WCW World TV Champion Mike Awesome
7.) Last Man Standing Match - Goldberg def. Rhino
8.) Edge & Christian def. The Hart Family (Bret Hart & Owen Hart)
9.) WCW World Heavyweight Title - Triple Threat Match - Chris Benoit (with Woman) def. Rob Van Dam (c) & Ric Flair
For Halloween Havoc 2000, I got an overall score of 91%. Not only is that a two percent increase over the last three PPVs (which all landed at 89%), but it's also the highest scoring PPV I've put together thus far. Out of the nine matches, six of them are 90% or higher, which is really what led to the great rating overall. The bout that ultimately ran away with Match Of The Night honors was Edge and Christian vs. The Hart Family, which garnered an amazing 99% score (along with 100% for crowd reaction and match quality, plus a five star rating from the in-game reviewer). The remaining matches above that 90% were all grouped together in the lower 90's. Jeff Hardy vs. Shane Helms for the WCW Cruiserweight Title earned a score of 93%, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given how well those two know each other. Just behind that bout was the Fatal Four-Way for the WCW United States Title, which got a 92% score. Both the main event and the Tables Match for the WCW World Tag Team Titles wound up at 91%, while....surprisingly....Amy Dumas vs. Trish Stratus in a Ladder Match for the WCW Women's Title finished at 90% (with a 97% crowd reaction), which is easily the best score for a women's match I've ever gotten in EWR. The remaining three matches all finished in the 80% range. Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Nash in an I Quit Match got 88%, the Four-Way Elimination Match for the ECW World Tag Team Titles earned a 87% score, and finally, Goldberg vs. Rhino in a Last Man Standing Match finished with a 82% score. So even the worst match of the night was still pretty good.
I'm really happy with how this show turned out. In particular, I was very pleased with how many of the matches had very strong crowd reactions, which was super cool to see. Again, this is the highest scoring PPV I've done so far, and that's such an awesome feeling. The PPV itself ended up being a very strong card, with a number of titles changing hands (including the WCW World Heavyweight Title), and a couple of feud enders too.
That's all for Halloween Havoc 2000! Tune in next time, where I dive back into the list of ECW show names for WCW's November PPV. I'm pretty sure you guys can guess where I'm going with this one. |
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Post by dhk1989 on Feb 27, 2022 0:31:59 GMT 1
Oh boy, can't wait for Living Dangerously! ;P
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Post by Ryan Kelman on Feb 27, 2022 0:41:01 GMT 1
November to Remember.
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Post by dhk1989 on Feb 27, 2022 1:19:36 GMT 1
I was joking.
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Mar 16, 2022 4:11:51 GMT 1
Part XXXV: WCW/ECW November To Remember 2000
At Halloween Havoc 2000, The Radicalz finally brought the WCW World Heavyweight Title into their ranks as Chris Benoit finally captured the title after years of trying. As a whole, the fall months have been kind to The Radicalz, when you take into account Benoit's World Title win as well as the win inside WarGames at Fall Brawl. However, Benoit would soon come into conflict with some of his former Team Canada stablemates. After retaining the WCW World Heavyweight Title against Christian on the November 6th Nitro, a tag team match was set up with Chris Benoit and Rhino against Edge and Christian. The match ended in a DQ when Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko got involved, but making the save for the babyfaces were Bret Hart and Kevin Nash. Later on, Hart would go on to acknowledge that while he had done a lot of things in WCW, he has yet to hold the WCW World Heavyweight Title. Hart admitted that he figured he would've held the title by now, but he vows that he would put an abrupt end to his former ally's title reign, and the match would be set for November To Remember, which (at the behest of Paul Heyman) would be co-promoted as an ECW PPV as well, ala 1997/1998 when PPV's were promoted as WCW/nWo. On the road to the PPV, Benoit would pick up a second title defense against Bret's brother Owen Hart on the November 23rd Thunder, further adding fuel to the fire ahead of the PPV.
Another World Title that would be up for grabs on this PPV is the ECW World Heavyweight Title. It hasn't been defended on a PPV since Guilty As Charged, but since that show, the feud between Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman has continued. The two would trade victories in various different matches (mostly multi-person tags), while Paul Heyman and other former ECW alumni in The Radicalz would constantly berate Dreamer about never being able to win the ECW World Title. Well, they eventually pushed Dreamer to the brink, and after he defeated The Sandman on the November 20th Nitro (it was him and Terry Funk against Raven and The Sandman), he got to pick the stipulation for their final encounter. Dreamer decided to pull a match from ECW's past, as he revealed that the ECW World Title would be on the line at November To Remember....in a High Incident Scaffold Match!! Now given this match is happening in WCW, and not ECW, there would be some slight differences to the original High Incident Scaffold Match. The scaffold in question would be a more stable structure (as opposed to the original from ECW that had more of a swaying structure), though it would be at a lower height than some of the scaffolds we've seen in WCW's past Scaffold Matches (such as The Great American Bash 1991, if I recall correctly). There would still be an array of tables underneath the ring to break the fall, though they would only be stacked two high, instead of three high. Even with the differences, it's still very much a callback to Tommy Dreamer's past, as he looks to finally win the ECW World Title.
Between those bouts on the card is the first ever meeting between the three teams that famously faced off against each other in the WWF in OTL. The Dudley Boyz. The Hardy Boys. Edge and Christian. You all know the teams and their legendary matches. In my version of events their three-way rivalry is just kicking off in the fall of 2000. Now I don't recall if these teams ever had a normal three-way tag team match in OTL, but that's the bout we're getting here. It came about after The Hardy Boys went to a draw with Edge and Christian in a #1 Contender's Match on the November 20th Nitro.
Another three-way tag team bout on this PPV would see the ECW World Tag Team Titles on the line. Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko, representing The Radicalz, would win the titles from The Jersey Triad team of Diamond Dallas Page and Bam Bam Bigelow on the November 18th edition of Saturday Night. Page didn't come into that match at 100%, as he had just competed in a Steel Cage Match earlier in the week on Nitro, when he finally ended his feud with Raven. Guerrero and Malenko took advantage of the situation to capture the titles, but they soon found themselves with targets on their backs. Not only did they attract the attention of Konnan and Ron "The Truth" Killings (members of The Filthy Animals), but the ongoing Radicalz/WCW conflict led to Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash coming together to form an all-star tag team known as The Insiders. With two very hungry challengers waiting in the wings, the match was set for the PPV.
This PPV would also feature two big time singles matches. The first of those was between Kurt Angle and Mike Awesome for the WCW United States Title. Now these two have been going back and forth for months, and this was the latest chapter in the rivalry between the two. Angle had lost the WCW United States Title and WCW World TV Title in quick succession (partly thanks to Mike Awesome), but Angle would soon regain the upper hand. In addition to regaining the WCW United States Title at Halloween Havoc, he also cost Mike Awesome the WCW World TV Title, when he helped Andrew Martin win the title from Awesome on the November 25th Saturday Night. Obviously a lot of issues between those two. As for the stipulation, I noticed that the game treats an Iron Man Match like a 2/3 Falls Match, with the ones I've done only having three falls. So that's why I tweaked that stipulation a bit. Meanwhile, Goldberg would be squaring off with Scott Steiner. The seeds of this feud actually date back to before Halloween Havoc, when (in the week before the PPV), The Giant was kicked out of The Magnificent Eight. There had been some simmering issues between The Giant and the rest of The Magnificent Eight. While The Giant started working through the members of his former stable in singles matches, Ernest "The Cat" Miller would emerge as the group's newest member, and actually helped Buff Bagwell pick up a win over The Giant. This would lead to Goldberg eventually coming to The Giant's defense, and after the powerful duo of Goldberg and The Giant beat The Steiner Brothers in a tag team encounter on the November 13th Nitro, a singles match between Goldberg and Scott Steiner was made for the PPV.
Elsewhere, two multi-person tags fill out the card. The first of those sees members of The Filthy Animals taking on 3 Count and their new bodyguard....Boss Man Traylor. If you'll recall, Shane Helms won the WCW Cruiserweight Title from Jeff Hardy at Halloween Havoc thanks to help from Boss Man Traylor. However, Traylor had made his deal with Evan Karagias and Shannon Moore. Helms had no idea about the deal, and was not too pleased when he found out what happened on the PPV (he though he won the title fair and square, and didn't approve of his stablemates tactics). Dissension within 3 Count would continue to come to the surface, as miscommunication cost Helms in a non-title singles match against Rey Mysterio Jr. on the November 23rd Thunder. This would lead to an eight-man tag on PPV that would revolve around three count trying to get back on track. The other multi-person match on the card is a Ten-Man Tag, with a mishmash of WCW stars taking on a team led by Chris Jericho that's basically a team of former stars of the WAR promotion in Japan. It was part of the ongoing conflict between WCW and The Radicalz. Throughout the month of November, Jericho had been getting into it with both Ric Flair and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting. This tension would culminate on the November 20th Nitro, when Chris Jericho (with some help from Mick Foley) won the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Sting. The two WCW stalwarts would find some solid backup in the form of Booker T, Owen Hart, and Rob Van Dam, but could they overcome a crew of guys who's known each other for years?
Finally, the last match from the PPV to go over is the opener. Raven won the WCW Hardcore Title from Edge in a Triple Threat Match that also involved Diamond Dallas Page on the November 11th Saturday Night. After his feud with Page concluded, Raven became more entangled in the Tommy Dreamer/Sandman feud. That aforementioned tag team match on the November 20th Nitro also led to Terry Funk stating a claim to be the next challenger for the WCW Hardcore Title. That same week, Raven would also lose a fall to Scott Hall in another big WCW vs. Radicalz multi-person tag in the week before the PPV, so Hall inserted himself into the title picture as well.
In terms of any other titles changes, the only one of note that I haven't gone over already involves the ECW World TV Title. Jerry Lynn captured the title from Yoshihiro Tajiri on the November 2nd Thunder.
With all of that out of the way, let's dive straight into the PPV!
WCW/ECW November To Remember 2000
November 26th, 2000 - Bradley Center - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1.) WCW Hardcore Title - Tripe Threat Match - Terry Funk def. Raven (c) & Scott Hall
2.) ECW World Tag Team Titles - Three-Way Tag Team Match - The Radicalz (Eddie Guerrero & Dean Malenko) (c) def. The Filthy Animals (Konnan & Ron "The Truth" Killings) & The Insiders (Diamond Dallas Page & Kevin Nash)
3.) WCW United States Title - 2/3 Falls Match - Mike Awesome def. Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) (c)
4.) Eight-Man Tag - The Filthy Animals (Billy Kidman, Juventud Guerrera, Psychosis, & Rey Mysterio Jr.) def. 3 Count (Evan Karagias, WCW Cruiserweight Champion Shane Helms, & Shannon Moore) & Boss Man Traylor
5.) Scott Steiner def. Goldberg
6.) Ten-Man Tag - Team WCW (Booker T, Owen Hart, Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, & Sting) def. Team WAR (NWA World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho, Gedo, Jado, Lance Storm, & Genichiro Tenryu)
7.) ECW World Heavyweight Title - High Incident Scaffold Match - Tommy Dreamer def. The Sandman (c)
8.) WCW World Tag Team Titles - Three-Way Tag Team Match - The Dudley Boyz (c) def. Edge & Christian and The Hardy Boyz
9.) WCW World Heavyweight Title - Bret Hart (with Owen Hart) def. Chris Benoit (with Woman) (c)
For November To Remember 2000, I got an overall score of 79%, which is an incredible 12% drop from Halloween Havoc. Not only that, but I can't even remember the last time that I got a score this low. The end of an incredible streak that I've been on, but hey....the card obviously didn't deliver to the standard of a lot of the PPV's that I've put together in 2000. It's not like there were a ton of matches that got pretty low ratings. Many matches finished in the 70% and 80% range, which are hardly bad matches. Unsurprisingly, Match Of The Night honors went to the semi-main event, which earned an 81% score. When you put Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boyz, and The Dudley Boyz in a match together (or in any combination of the three teams), you know it's going to be good. Right behind that bout was main event between Bret Hart and Chris Benoit, which wound up with a score of 80% on the dot. Again, a pairing where a good match is almost a guarantee. From there, a load of matches finished in the 70% range. Kurt Angle vs. Mike Awesome in a 2/3 Falls Match for the WCW United States Title earned a 78% score, while both the Three-Way for the ECW World Tag Team Titles and the Eight-Man Tag wound up at 77%. The Ten-Man Tag earned a 76% score, and the opening match for the WCW Hardcore Title finished with a score of 73%. Finally, the High Incident Scaffold Match for the ECW World Title got a score of 70%, while Goldberg vs. Scott Steiner wound up as the worst bout on the card at 69%.
That's all I've really got to say about November To Remember 2000. Just further continuing the ongoing war between WCW and The Radicalz, while also building things up towards Starrcade. Again, it was definitely a little disappointing to see the PPV not perform, but as I said earlier, I guess it ultimately wasn't a card that was going to deliver strong numbers in terms of match ratings (even though none of the matches were really bad aside from only one that was a little subpar). As for Bret Hart, I definitely wanted to give him a WCW World Heavyweight Title reign, and with how things worked out in the grand scheme of my booking plans, this was where that title win ended up. All this time, I did everything I could to make sure that Hart was still in prominent programs even though he wasn't the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, but him actually winning the title just didn't work out with I had mapped out from the jump. I wanted Goldberg to win the title from Hogan, just like in OTL, and I wanted Goldberg to have a long reign that built up to a rising star (Rob Van Dam) knocking him off the mountain top. In the end, however, Bret ultimately got there. 
That's all for November To Remember 2000. Tune in next time as we get ready to close out the year 2000 with Starrcade!!
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Apr 8, 2022 13:31:42 GMT 1
Just wanted to provide a quick update. I made sure to get my last post in when I did because I knew things were going to get pretty crazy with all of the stuff going on Mania Weekend (I'm still finishing off a show or two!). Probably will have my next post up in a few days or so? At least that's what I'm going to shoot for. It is a big one (Starrcade is always big), so you won't want to miss it.
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