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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Oct 13, 2021 4:32:40 GMT 1
NWA World Heavyweight Title
Ric Flair (12)
WCW Starrcade 1998
December 27th, 1998
21 Days
This was a Steel Cage Match.
Eddie Guerrero (2)WCW Souled Out 1999
January 17th, 1999
35 Days
This was a Triple Threat Match also involving Sting.
Ric Flair (13)WCW SuperBrawl IX
February 21st, 1999
49 Days
This was an I Quit Match.
Bret HartWCW Spring Stampede 1999
April 11th, 1999
91 Days
This was a Triple Threat Match also involving Rowdy Roddy Piper.
Chris BenoitWCW Bash At The Beach 1999
July 11th, 1999
133 Days
Bret Hart (2)WCW Blood, Sweat, & Tears II
November 21st, 1999
40 Days +
This was an Iron-Man Match.
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Oct 14, 2021 4:44:02 GMT 1
NWA World Tag Team Titles
Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray)
WCW Monday Nitro
December 14th, 1998
21 Days +
This was a Three-Way Tag Team Match also involving Vicious & Delicious (Buff Bagwell and Scott Norton).
Team Canada (Andrew Martin & Bret Hart)
WCW Monday Nitro
January 4th, 1999
13 Days
The Jersey Triad (Diamond Dallas Page & Chris Kanyon)
WCW Souled Out 1999
January 17th, 1999
81 Days
This was a Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Match also involving The Eliminators and Harlem Heat.
3 Count (Evan Karagias, Shane Helms, & Shannon Moore)
WCW Thunder
April 8th, 1999
147 Days
All three members would defend the titles under the Freebird Rule.
The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley)
WCW Thunder
September 2nd, 1999
2 Days
3 Count (Evan Karagias, Shane Helms, & Shannon Moore) [2]
WCW Saturday Night
September 4th, 1999
8 Days
This was a Street Fight. All three members would defend the titles under the Freebird Rule.
The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley) [2]
WCW Fall Brawl 1999
September 12th, 1999
50 Days
This was a Tag Team Tables Match.
The Steiner Brothers
WCW Monday Nitro
November 1st, 1999
50 Days
This was a Three-Way Tag Team Match also involving 3 Count.
The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley) [3]
WCW Monday Nitro
December 6th, 1999
25 Days +
This was a Street Fight. |
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Oct 15, 2021 2:30:21 GMT 1
I'll note before I start this title history for 1999 that all Hardcore Title belts are held under Hardcore Rules unless there's a specific stipulation mentioned in the notes.
WCW Hardcore Title
Perry Saturn
WCW Thunder
December 10th, 1998
28 Days +
Andrew MartinWCW Thunder
January 7th, 1999
2 Days
Perry Saturn (2)WCW Saturday Night
January 9th, 1999
12 Days
Raven
WCW Thunder
January 21st, 1999
52 Days
Tommy Dreamer (2)
WCW Uncensored 1999
March 14th, 1999
57 Days
This was a Derby City Death Match.
Buff Bagwell
WCW Monday Nitro
May 10th, 1999
3 Days
This was a Triple Threat Match also involving Konnan.
Raven (2)
WCW Thunder
May 13th, 1999
11 Days
Rob Van DamWCW Monday Nitro
May 24th, 1999
83 Days
Mike AwesomeWCW WrestleWar 1999
August 15th, 1999
28 Days
Masato Tanaka
WCW Fall Brawl 1999
September 12th, 1999
42 Days
Mike Awesome (2)
WCW Halloween Havoc 1999
October 24th, 1999
43 Days
This was a Falls Count Anywhere Match.
The Giant
WCW Monday Nitro
December 6th, 1999
24 Days
Mike Awesome (3)
WCW Thunder
December 30th, 1999
1 Day + |
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Oct 15, 2021 2:45:38 GMT 1
So this is the final post in terms of recapping 1999 title histories. I am happy to report that....at some point in the next few days (but no later than Sunday)....I will be posting my report on my first PPV from the year 2000!! Hold on tight, because that it's coming, and it's going to be a wild ride of a year, with a lot of different things going on.
In the meantime, here's the final title to cover, and it's a brief one.
WCW Women's Title MadusaWCW SuperBrawl IX
February 21st, 1999
203 Days
Defeated Amy Dumas in a Tournament Final.SableWCW Fall Brawl 1999
September 12th, 1999
110 Days +
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Oct 18, 2021 18:10:40 GMT 1
So I ended up being a day late than I promised, which is 100% on me. I was actually in the process of starting this last night (as I type this), but I suddenly started to feel a little ill, so I had put away my laptop and the relax the rest of the night. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to properly concentrate. With that out of the way, let's get straight into it....
Part XXV: WCW Souled Out 2000
It's the year 2000, which means pro-wrestling has unofficially entered the new millennium!! I say unofficially, because even though the new millennium is technically recognized as starting in 2001, does anyone actually see it that way? I feel like the decades should be recognized as being from 00 to 09 instead of 01 to 10. 2000-2009 and 2001-2010 just makes more sense, right? Anyway, when you compare the pro-wrestling scene in North America in the year 2000 in OTL to the world that's been crafted through this mod that I'm playing through on Extreme Warfare Revenge, WCW and WWF are in very different positions, and with the former, there are going to be a lot of interesting things going on as the year progresses.
For now, however, we've got Souled Out 2000, and from a timing standpoint, it landed only a few weeks after Starrcade 1999, so there wasn't much time to build to this PPV. Goldberg is still the WCW World Heavyweight Champion after retaining over Bret Hart at Starrcade, and there really weren't any major storylines with him going into this PPV in terms of his next challenger. On the January 10th episode of Nitro (so six days before the PPV), Eddie Guerrero defeated Sting and The Giant in a Triple Threat Match to become the #1 Contender, so that set up Goldberg vs. Eddie Guerrero as the main event. As for Bret Hart, he would be defending the NWA World Heavyweight Title against Booker T, who was granted a title shot after earning a huge win over Hollywood Hulk Hogan at Starrcade. Again, not much of a story going into this match. Booker T is the challenger, and he wants the title that Bret Hart has.
As for the rest of the card, there are five other title matches to talk about. Mike Awesome won the Starrcade Battle Royal at Starrcade 1999, and decided to go after the WCW United States Title, which was held by Taz. Awesome, already the WCW Hardcore Champion, faced Taz in a title bout on the January 3rd Nitro, but the match ended in a draw when the time limit expired (TV time remaining, as the match headlined Nitro that night). Thus, a rematch was set for Souled Out, with no time limit involved to ensure that we would see a winner. Another title bout would see Rey Mysterio Jr. challenge Yoshihiro Tajiri for the WCW Cruiserweight Title. Much like some of the other title bouts I've mentioned already, there's no real story here. Rey Mysterio Jr. won a Fatal Four-Way Match on the January 13th Thunder to earn this title shot.
The three remaining title bouts on the card have a bit more going on with them. Rob Van Dam had been holding the WCW World TV Title since Fall Brawl in September 1999, and was riding high coming into 2000. However, on the January 10th Nitro, Rob Van Dam got upset for the title by his tag team partner Sabu. It was decided later by Mick Foley that the two would have a rematch for the title at Souled Out, only this time, it would be in a Ladder Match. So after being partners in WCW for two years, the two of them will be going at it in a big match with a title literally up for grabs. Meanwhile, in the PPV opener, the NWA World Tag Team Titles would be on the line as The Dudley Boyz would defend them in a Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Match against 3 Count (Shane Helms and Shannon Moore in this case), The Mamalukes (of course, Big Vito and Johnny The Bull), and WCW's newest tag team.....KroniK. Yep, that's right. I put Brian Adams and Bryan Clark together as KroniK (just like in OTL), and they made their intentions known immediately upon their debut by going after The Dudley Boyz. So while 3 Count and The Mamalukes are involved here, the real story is with The Dudley Boyz and KroniK.
The final title match on this card involves the WCW World Tag Team Titles. The Hardy Boyz would defend their titles against Chris Benoit and Ric Flair from The Four Horsemen. Now there's been some frustrations with The Four Horsemen as of later, especially after Starrcade when neither Benoit or Flair were able to capture singles gold. Going into Souled Out, Ric Flair declared that he was going to challenge for the WCW World Tag Team Titles, but all of the other members of The Four Horsemen (Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Steve Corino, and Steve "Mongo" McMichael) argued that they should be Flair's partner. This led to Rowdy Roddy Piper setting up a Fatal Four-Way Match on the January 10th Nitro to determine who would be Flair's partner, and Benoit would emerge victorious. So while The Four Horsemen are getting a title shot here, there's certainly simmering discontent within the group that's close to boiling over.
As for the rest of the card, there are pair of matches with major ramifications. First, there's a match between The Outsiders (who went back to being babyfaces following their loss, and their makeup, with Konnan and Rey Mysterio Jr.) and The Thrillseekers to determine the #1 Contenders for the WCW World Tag Team Titles. Then, there's the seventh and final match in Hollywood Hulk Hogan's Trial Series, with his WCW career at stake. Coming into Souled Out, Hogan's record is 3-3, with wins over Eddie Guerrero, Sabu, and Konnan (who he defeated on the December 27th Nitro the night after Starrcade), and losses to Bret Hart, Rob Van Dam, and Booker T. His final opponent would be WCW's newest star.....Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle. It's easily the biggest match of Angle's young career, but a big match for Hogan as well, because if he loses, then WCW will not renew his contract (in storyline), and his career in WCW will be over.
There isn't really much else to mention in terms of other changes, as the WCW World TV Title going from Rob Van Dam to Sabu was really the only one. The other thing I will mention is that we did have a new faction debut on the January 10th Nitro. Konnan was in the ring cutting a promo, and who should jump him and beat him up? Chuck Palumbo, Mark Jindrak, Mike Sanders, Sean O'Haire, and Shawn Stasiak, aka The Natural Born Thrillers. So like in the year 2000 in OTL, we've got these five new prospects coming up onto the WCW roster. Though unlike what happened in OTL, they're not being pushed against top names immediately. They're feuding with Konnan (and others who will be revealed later) in the WCW midcard.
With all of that out of the way, let's finally dive into the PPV!!
WCW Souled Out 2000
January 16th, 2000 - Charleston Civic Center - Charleston, West Virginia
1.) NWA World Tag Team Titles - Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Match - KroniK (Brian Adams & Bryan Clark) def. The Dudley Boyz (c), The Mamalukes (Big Vito & Johnny The Bull with Little Gudio), & 3 Count (Shane Helms & Shannon Moore with Evan Karagias)
2.) WCW World TV Title - Ladder Match - Rob Van Dam def. Sabu (c)
3.) WCW United States Title - WCW Hardcore Champion Mike Awesome def. Taz (c)
4.) #1 Contender's Match - The Thrillseekers (Chris Jericho & Lance Storm with Don Callis) def. The Outsiders (Kevin Nash & Scott Hall)
5.) WCW Cruiserweight Title - Rey Mysterio Jr. def. Yoshihiro Tajiri (with James Vanderberg) (c)
6.) WCW World Tag Team Titles - The Hardy Boyz (c) def. The Four Horsemen (Chris Benoit & Ric Flair)
7.) NWA World Heavyweight Title - Booker T def. Bret Hart (c)
8.) Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) def. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
9.) WCW World Heavyweight Title - Goldberg (c) def. Eddie Guerrero
For Souled Out 2000, I got an overall score of 85%. Now that's a five percent drop from Starrcade 1999, but considering it's the first PPV of the year (with a short turnover from Starrcade), I'd say that's a fine starting point. Three matches ended up north of 90%, with the WCW World Tag Team Title bout between The Hardy Boyz and The Four Horsemen being the highest of those at an incredible 96%. Just below that was Bret Hart vs. Booker T for the NWA World Heavyweight Title, which got a 94% score. The third of those three matches was (maybe somewhat surprisingly) the #1 Contender's Match between The Outsiders and The Thrillseekers. Five matches ended up in the 80% range, with the highest of those being Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. for the WCW Cruiserweight Title at 89%. Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam in a Ladder Match for the WCW World TV Title and Mike Awesome vs. Taz for the WCW United States Title both got an 86% score, while the Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Match for the NWA World Tag Team Titles got an 83% score. The lowest of those five matches was the main event, which got only 82%. The match that totally underperformed was Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. Kurt Angle, which only got a 55% score. So whatever it was, those two just didn't mesh. Maybe Hogan wasn't cooperating with Angle? Who knows.
So for a PPV that didn't include names like Diamond Dallas Page or Sting (which is funny as he was on the poster), among others, I thought the show turned out pretty well. Now normally, I'd keep this part of the post short, but there are a couple of MAJOR points to talk about, and it sort of builds and builds up to what happens following the main event (some of these things actually happened when I did the PPV in EWR, and some of it is a little bit of, I guess, expansion on my part just to make it fit better into the story). First, Rob Van Dam wins the WCW World TV Title back from Sabu in a Ladder Match, fair and square. However, after Van Dam's initial celebration, he's goes to check on Sabu.....and Sabu attacks him! Completely unprovoked. Commentary seemed to think it was Sabu just being a sore loser, but there would be more to come.
Right after that match, we got Mike Awesome winning the WCW United States Title from Taz. However, Awesome would suffer a post-match attack at the hands of.....The Sandman. So for those of you not following my other thread (where I'm basically booking WWF alongside my EWR game, where I'm booking the PPVs with most of the roster the WWF has in the game, plus a smattering of guys who were on the outside....basically booking the company with everyone who was left that would make sense), The Sandman joined Taz and a host of other former ECW stars in the WWF following ECW's closure. The Sandman and Taz (slight spoiler since the WWF thread is still in 1998) did actually work together as a team during their time in WWF, but at the end of 1999, The Sandman left the WWF (he was actually with a lower promotion in the game, but again, doing this just for the sake of my story) and signed with WCW a short time later.
One of the big moments of the show occurred in the WCW World Tag Team Title bout. The Four Horsemen team of Chris Benoit and Ric Flair lost to The Hardy Boyz after some miscommunication, and in the aftermath, we got the big breakup, as Chris Benoit turned heel and attacked Ric Flair. So that shoe has dropped, and again, more to come on Benoit in a moment. We would see more turns following Booker T's NWA World Heavyweight Title win over Bret Hart. Chris Jericho and Lance Storm would come out to check on Hart, but in the blink of an eye, they turned on him and attacked him. The rest of Team Canada (Andrew Martin, Edge, and Christian) would run them off, upset and confused over why Jericho, Storm, and Don Callis would turn on their faction's leader.
After Hollywood Hulk Hogan lost the seventh and final match in his Trial Series to Kurt Angle (more on Hogan's future in the next post), Goldberg successfully retained his WCW World Heavyweight Title against Eddie Guerrero. Following the match, Chris Benoit attacked Goldberg (this was part of the game when I played it, but the next part is A LOT of editorializing on my part), along with Perry Saturn. Raven and Tommy Dreamer (they've been a team since the middle part of 1999) ran out to try and make the save, but Raven turned on Dreamer, and joined up with Benoit, Guerrero, and Saturn. It's now a four-on-two attack, but then The Hardy Boys run out and try to put a stop to it. This would lead to Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, and Sabu coming out, and now it's seven-on-four. Andrew Martin, Edge, and Christian would run out, but then Taz, The Sandman, William Regal, Yoshihiro Tajiri, and Fit Finlay joined the heels. Mike Awesome, Rob Van Dam, and The Outsiders would also join the fray, but the heels were all able to divide and conquer, taking them all out eventually. It was absolute chaos at the end of Souled Out, and at the end of the night, who would come out and join this apparent new heel faction that just decimated some of the biggest names of WCW? A man who once worked for WCW many years ago.....and now, he's back to turn WCW upside down and get revenge in the process.
Paul HeymanSee you next time for SuperBrawl....
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Post by dhk1989 on Oct 20, 2021 2:14:14 GMT 1
ECW invasion of WCW??
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Nov 7, 2021 4:14:28 GMT 1
Next post should be coming in the next day or so! I was actually working on it right, but unfortunately I made a rookie mistake, and didn't save my work. Clicked something by accident, and now I've got to start over. Sorry about the delay! Mad at myself for making such a silly mistake.
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Nov 8, 2021 6:40:05 GMT 1
Let's try this again....
Part XXVI: SuperBrawl X: End Of An Era
 The big story coming out of Souled Out 2000 was the huge angle that closed the show, which featured nearly two dozens wrestlers taking out some of the biggest names in WCW in one giant brawl. The man who revealed himself at the very end of the show to be the mastermind of this whole ordeal was none other than Paul Heyman. Yes, that's right. The former leader of The Dangerous Alliance and the man who had a bitter falling out with WCW in 1993 (I believe that was the year he left WCW, please correct me if I'm wrong) was back in the fold. It's been a wild ride for the man that used to be known as Paul E. Dangerously since his departure from WCW. He would join the company that later evolved into Extreme Championship Wrestling, and helped that company rise to prominence. Of course, in this Extreme Warfare Revenge game that I'm playing, ECW ends up closing in the summer of 1998, so what's up with Heyman after his company folds? Well, towards the end of 1998, he ends up joining the WWF in a backstage role, and shortly thereafter, he debuts on television as the babyface WWF Commissioner (I'll dive into this more in my Alternate History Spinoff companion thread at a later date). Heyman is in his role as WWF Commissioner for most of 1999, helping out fellow babyfaces like Steve Austin and Mankind (among others) as a check against The Corporation....and later The Corporate Ministry. However, things begin to unravel for Heyman later in the year. Heyman was constantly butting heads Vince Russo and his confidant Ed Ferrara. Things came to a head in November of 1999, and in the end, Vince McMahon (who was already a bit weary of Heyman) sides with Russo. Heyman is written off television after an attack by Triple H, and he exits the company completely shortly thereafter.
With all of that out of the way, let's get to this pretty significant PPV!
WCW SuperBrawl X: End Of An EraFebruary 20th, 2000 - Cow Palace - San Francisco, California1.) WCW Women's Title - Tina Ferrari def. Sable (c)2.) Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) def. Jushin Thunder Liger3.) Ten-Man Tag - The Natural Born Thrillers (Chuck Palumbo, Mark Jindrak, Mike Sanders, Sean O'Haire, & Shawn Stasiak with Curt Hennig) def. The Filthy Animals (Juventud Guerrera, Kidman, Konnan, Psychosis, & WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. with Torrie Wilson)4.) Grudge Match - Ric Flair def. Steve Corino5.) Six Person Tag - The Jersey Triad (Diamond Dallas Page & Chris Kanyon) & Kimberly def. Totally Buffed (Buff Bagwell & Lex Luger) & Elizabeth6.) #1 Contender's Submission Match - Scott Steiner def. Sting7.) Ten-Man Tag - The Radicalz (Perry Saturn, Raven, Sabu, WCW Hardcore Champion The Sandman, & Taz with Paul Heyman) def. Team WCW (WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg, Jerry Lynn, WCW United States Champion Mike Awesome, WCW World TV Champion Rob Van Dam, & Tommy Dreamer)8.) NWA World Heavyweight Title - Triple Threat Match - Booker T (c) def. Bret Hart & Lance Storm9.) Six-Man Tag - The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, & Eddie Guerrero with Don Callis) def. nWo (Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, & Scott Hall with Eric Bischoff)
For SuperBrawl X: End Of An Era, I got an overall score 87%, which is up two percent from Souled Out 2000. While there wasn't one particular match that rated super highly (think mid-to-high 90% range), a majority of the match ended up in the mid-to-high eighties, with two matches barely cracking the 90% barrier. Speaking of which, there were two bouts that tied for Match Of The Night, and they scored 90% on the dot. Those bouts were Ric Flair vs. Steve Corino in a Grudge Match, and the Triple Threat Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Up next, we got another tie, this time with Kurt Angle vs. Jushin Thunder Liger and Scott Steiner vs. Sting in a #1 Contender's Submission Match both scoring 88%. After that was the main event, which earned an 87% score. So again, you're seeing a lot of matches that, in terms of their respective rating, were clustered in the same area (five matches only separated by about 3%). Then, we have the two Ten Man Tags, as The Radicalz vs. Team WCW earned an 84% score, while The Filthy Animals vs. The Natural Born Thrillers wound up with a 81% score. The final two matches saw a pretty significant drop-off from the rest of the card. The Six-Person Tag with The Jersey Triad and Kimberly vs. Totally Buffed and Elizabeth got a score of 72%, while Sable vs. Tina Ferrari for the WCW Women's Title ended up with a 64% score.Even with the lack of title bouts, I thought this PPV card turned out pretty well. A lot of faction related stuff, but that's the style of promotion that I enjoy booking the most, I guess. I love working with various factions. The Main Event sees Eddie Guerrero get the clean pin Scott Hall in the main event, though the nWo would get a measure of revenge in the post-match by getting their hands on Don Callis. Right before the show would go off the air, Hollywood Hulk Hogan would have one final moment in the ring with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall as the trio would salute the crowd to close the show. A curtain call of sorts for the nWo, as Hogan departs WCW. In the Radicalz/Team WCW Ten-Man Tag, Taz would get the submission victory over Jerry Lynn, while in the other Ten-Man Tag, Mike Sanders would pin Rey Mysterio Jr. via shenanigans (more on that in a future post). Outside of that, I don't think I have anything else to really mention about the PPV itself.That's all for SuperBrawl X: End Of An Era! It's truly an end of an era for WCW, with Hollywood Hulk Hogan exiting the company. At the same time, however, it's a start of a new era as well. A new faction has risen in an attempt to dominate WCW. Don't worry.....there's plenty more to come in this story, including on the next PPV, Uncensored 2000, which will feature the first WCW PPV appearance of a certain King Of Harts....🤔
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Nov 16, 2021 15:51:04 GMT 1
Hold on tight, because there's A LOT going on in this one.
Part XVII: WCW Uncensored 2000
At the last PPV, SuperBrawl X: End Of An Era, we saw Hollywood Hulk Hogan's final match in WCW. Hogan's departure, along with the emergence of Paul Heyman and The Radicalz (which I went over in the previous post) would just the first of many changes and shakeups that would take place in WCW during February and March. Honestly, I wasn't sure how to properly approach this, so I'll just try my best to go in order, because there is a fair amount of info to cover.
So on the episode of Nitro on February 21st (the night after SuperBrawl X), one of the biggest jumps in this phase of the Monday Night Wars took place, as Owen Hart would make his debut with WCW as a babyface, joining forces with his brother, Bret Hart. Now, of course, this means that Owen Hart never passes away in May of 1999 (Owen never goes back to the Blue Blazer gimmick, and thus, the tragic events of Over The Edge 1999 from OTL never take place), and what makes this jump a particularly big deal is that Owen is coming off a run as WWF Champion. His final night with the WWF would see Owen lose the WWF Title to Triple H in a Three Stages Of Hell Match at the Royal Rumble PPV in January 2000 (more on this at a future date in my Alternate History Spinoff thread). Owen's first match would be on the February 24th edition of Thunder, as he and his brother Bret would go on to defeat The Thrillseekers of Chris Jericho and Lance Storm. The Hart Family, along with their fellow Team Canada stablemates Edge and Christian, would both go after The Thrillseekers, and that would lead to a big Three-Way Tag Team Match at Uncensored, but more on the stakes of that match in a bit.
The next big news item to go over involves a significant heel turn. On the aforementioned February 21st Nitro, Mike Awesome and Taz would once again wrestle for the WCW United States Title. However, the match would end in another No Contest as the two brawled around the building until the bout got thrown out. They would have a rematch one week later on Nitro, but with Mick Foley (who has been one of the WCW authority figures since the tail end of 1999) as the Special Guest Referee. In was in this match that we would see the big betrayal, as Mick Foley would turn heel and help Taz win back the WCW United States Title. With that, Mick Foley swiftly joined The Radicalz, and became the one heel authority figure in the promotion. Of course, Foley had a long history with ECW, and was more than willing to partner up with Paul Heyman, with the two sharing a common hatred for WCW. In the ensuing weeks, Foley would introduce some championships into the fold, awarding them to members of The Radicalz. What titles are these, you might ask? Why....they're the championships from ECW, of course! Now I'm not going to try and pretend how this would be possible from a realistic standpoint (with ECW closing in 1998, as I've mentioned previously), but for the sake of making things simple, let's just say that Paul Heyman managed to retain the intellectual property rights to a lot of ECW stuff, including the titles. Foley would award the titles to the people who were holding them at the time of ECW's closure. So Taz was rewarded the ECW World Heavyweight Title, Chris Jericho and Lance Storm were rewarded the ECW World Tag Team Titles, and The Sandman was awarded the ECW Title. The Radicalz would claim that these titles were just as important as the top championships in WCW, and they were out to prove that their titles were the superior titles (though they still obviously targeted the titles in WCW). So you know that Three-Way Tag Team Match I talked about earlier? Well, that's for the ECW World Tag Team Titles.
Of course, The Radicalz would be involved in a number of matches throughout this Uncensored PPV. In fact, the main event would feature two Radicalz members, as both Eddie Guerrero and Taz (who is now a double champion, as he holds both the ECW World Title and the WCW United States Title) would challenge Goldberg for the WCW World Heavyweight Title in a Fatal Four-Way Match also involving Mike Awesome. This is basically the combination of two different feuds in one match, as you have the ongoing Mike Awesome/Taz feud, as well as the issues between Goldberg and Eddie Guerrero that go back to Souled Out. In the semi-main event, we have the continued fallout from the breakup of The Four Horsemen, as Radicalz members Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko (with Steve Corino in their corner) face their former Horsemen leader Ric Flair and Sting (with Arn Anderson in their corner) inside a Steel Cage. Finally, Raven and Perry Saturn are back on the same page under the banner of The Radicalz, and they are set to challenge The Hardy Boyz for the WCW World Tag Team Titles.
Another somewhat notable story coming out of SuperBrawl X involved The Outsiders. With Hollywood Hulk Hogan gone from WCW, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall felt it was time to change things up. So, they decided that they put together a smaller version of The Wolfpac, though it'd be without the nWo moniker (so just The Wolfpac). This would be a four person group, and on the February 28th edition of Nitro, they would introduce the other two members, who would end up being.....Rob Van Dam and Sable! So Hall, Nash, Sable, and Van Dam have joined forces, and they immediately drew the ire of The Natural Born Thrillers, which would lead to a Six-Man Tag at the PPV. Speaking of The Natural Born Thrillers, Mike Sanders got the win for his stable in a big Ten-Man Tag on the last PPV when he pinned Rey Mysterio Jr., who was the WCW Cruiserweight Champion. Sanders would gloat about pinning the Cruiserweight Champion, and eventually (after pestering Dusty Rhodes about it), he was granted a title shot at Mysterio under the condition that he cut the weight to qualify as a Cruiserweight (I believe the limit was 225 lbs, and Sanders was in the low 230 lbs range as a wrestler, so that's totally doable). The decision to do this match is loosely based on the fact that Sanders was WCW Cruiserweight Champion on OTL.
The Radicalz and The Natural Born Thrillers aren't the only heel stables that've got stuff going on for Uncensored. The Magnificent Eight are involved in a couple of matches, the most prominent of which sees Scott Steiner challenging Booker T for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Steiner earned this title shot back at SuperBrawl X, when he defeated Sting in a #1 Contender's Submission Match. In a weird way, Booker T and Scott Steiner have become career rivals during my EWR game. They always seem to find each other feuding over a championship, or being involved in a particular title picture at around the same time. They fought over the WCW World TV Title, the WCW United States Title, and now the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Meanwhile, Magnificent Eight member Buff Bagwell has entered into a feud with Diamond Dallas Page. The Magnificent Eight have been having issues with The Jersey Triad for a little bit, and this is the first singles match in a feud between Bagwell and Page that will go for a little bit.
There's only one match left to mention that I haven't talked about already, and it's the Tables Match for the NWA World Tag Team Titles between KroniK and The Dudley Boyz. Brian Adams and Bryan Clark won the NWA World Tag Team Titles back at Souled Out, and they've been feuding with The Dudley Boyz ever since. So this is basically the next big chapter in that program.
Aside from the one title change I mentioned earlier (where Taz won the WCW United States Title), the only other title change to make note of occurred on the February 24th Thunder, where Bam Bam Bigelow won the WCW Hardcore Title from The Sandman.
Without all of that out of the way, let's dive into the PPV!!
WCW Uncensored 2000
March 19th, 2000 - American Airlines Arena - Miami, Florida
1.) WCW Cruiserweight Title - Rey Mysterio Jr. (with Konnan) (c) def. Mike Sanders (with Mark Jindrak)
2.) WCW World Tag Team Titles - Raven & Perry Saturn def. The Hardy Boyz (with Amy Dumas) (c)
3.) Diamond Dallas Page (with Chris Kanyon) def. Buff Bagwell (with Lex Luger)
4.) NWA World Tag Team Titles - Tables Match - The Dudley Boyz def. KroniK (Brian Adams & Bryan Clark) (c)
5.) Six-Man Tag - The Wolfpac (WCW World TV Champion Rob Van Dam & The Outsiders with Sable) def. The Natural Born Thrillers (Chuck Palumbo, Sean O'Haire, & Shawn Stasiak with Curt Hennig)
6.) NWA World Heavyweight Title - Scott Steiner def. Booker T (c)
7.) ECW World Tag Team Titles - Three-Way Tag Team Match - The Hart Family (Bret Hart & Owen Hart) def. The Thrillseekers (Chris Jericho & Lance Storm with Don Callis) (c) and Edge & Christian
8.) Tag Team Steel Cage Match - The Radicalz (Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko with Steve Corino) def. Ric Flair & Sting (with Arn Anderson)
9.) WCW World Heavyweight Title - Fatal Four-Way Match - Goldberg (c) def. Eddie Guerrero, Mike Awesome, & Taz
For Uncensored 2000, I got an overall score of 90%. Not only was that up 3% from SuperBrawl X in February, but it also ties Starrcade 1999 for the highest PPV score I've gotten so far. This card had four bouts that scored above 90%, which really lifted it up. Match Of The Night honors went to the Three-Way Tag Team Match for the ECW World Tag Team Titles, which earned an incredible score of 97% (it also got a 100% crowd reaction, which is super impressive). The next best match was Raven and Perry Saturn vs. The Hardy Boyz for the WCW World Tag Team Titles, which earned a 91% score. The remaining two over ninety bouts landed at 90% on the dot, and those were Booker T vs. Scott Steiner for the NWA World Heavyweight Title, and the Fatal Four-Way Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Title. From there, the remaining five matches garnered a score of over 80%, which is pretty incredible. Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko beating Ric Flair and Sting in a Steel Cage got 88%, while KroniK vs. The Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match for the NWA World Tag Team Titles somehow ended up at 87%. Buff Bagwell vs. Diamond Dallas Page wound up at 84%, Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Mike Sanders for the WCW Cruiserweight Title landed at 83%, and finally, the Six-Man Tag with The Wolfpac vs. The Natural Born Thrillers finished at 82%. Again....a very successful show from a quality standpoint.
I thought the PPV turned out very well, just in terms of putting the lineup together, and the score (both for the individual matches and overall) reflect that. Goldberg is still on the top of the mountain as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, with another successful title defense under his belt. Meanwhile, you've got The Radicalz continuing to gain strength, while the other heel stables are in pretty solid undercard feuds. As for Owen Hart, he was a guy that I had been trying to sign to WCW for a VERY long time. I'm someone who likes to book out my PPV cards a year in advance (that's a year in advance in the world of EWR), and I had actually booked things out with the intent of Owen Hart coming in. However, at one point, it seemed like that wasn't going to be possible, so I had given up hope and actually changed my plans, because I figured I wasn't going to be able to get Owen. Well, my fortunes changed once again, and I somehow ended up getting him! That meant I had to rebook things a second time, but it all worked out in the end. Also, just to reiterate....all three championships from ECW are now in play after The Radicalz introduced them, so keep that in mind for the future.
That's all I've really got to say about Uncensored 2000!! Tune in next time, when I'll go over Spring Stampede 2000.
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Post by dhk1989 on Nov 16, 2021 16:57:43 GMT 1
Twelve championships now! That's quite a lot.
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