An Alternate History of WCW - 1998 and Beyond
Dec 22, 2021 6:31:28 GMT 1
Asaemon, Ryan Kelman, and 1 more like this
Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Dec 22, 2021 6:31:28 GMT 1
Part XXIX: WCW Slamboree 2000
Now I'm going to be completely honest. When it comes to this particular PPV card, I don't think I necessary put my best foot forward, in terms of how the card turned out. Not that I didn't like the card itself (I like pretty much all of the matches that booked), but I guess I'm referring to it as a whole. As you'll see in a little bit.....this show is basically WCW Survivor Series, for all intents and purposes. Four separate elimination matches in total. Though before I get to the PPV itself, I've got a number of things to go over that've happened since the last PPV.
As far as the Elimination Matches are concerned, most of them are basically a continuation of feuds that've been ongoing. The Filthy Animals and The Natural Born Thrillers have been in a feud for a few months. The Radicalz have been feuding with WCW for most of the year, though Team Canada does hold a more specific grudge with the defection of Chris Jericho and Lance Storm. The third of the four elimination matches involves a mix of feuds (Booker T and Sting with The Steiner Brothers, The Dudley Boyz with KroniK) while guys like Goldberg and The Giant (mainly the former) were thrown in there to give the match a little more star power. Speaking of Goldberg, he would have another successful title defense on the go-home edition of Nitro on May 1st, where he defeated Bret Hart and Raven in a Triple Threat Match.
The fourth Elimination Match (the one that would up opening the show) involves a breakup that occurred very recently. On the episode of Nitro after Spring Stampede, Ric Flair demanded another title shot against Goldberg, since he wasn't pinned the night before in the Triple Threat Match with Goldberg and Chris Benoit. The singles showdown between Goldberg and Flair with the title on the line would take place in the main event, and Goldberg would emerge victorious once again. After the match, however, there would be an angle that saw David Flair turn heel on his own father. Yes, that's right. I'm doing the David Flair vs. Ric Flair. It might sound bad on the surface, but the circumstances are much different. Not only is Vince Russo coming nowhere near my WCW, but David Flair actually spent a fair amount of time in OMEGA (the development territory for WCW) so he's had more than enough time to build up his stats in the game (he isn't super high, but his stats are actually....solid enough). Of course, just like in real life, David Flair would align himself with Daffney and Devon Storm (aka Crowbar, though I'm not calling him Crowbar here). He would cut promos on his father, while also railing against other wrestling legends. This would lead to Ric Flair throwing down the challenge for an Elimination Match, with a real all-star lineup of legends backing him up, in the form of Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, and Rowdy Roddy Piper. To even the sides up, David Flair would hire the services of The Mamalukes for one night only, and that's the match set.
As for the rest of the card, one the big highlights is the conclusion of the feud between Mike Awesome and Taz that's been going on for most of the year. Taz managed to retain the ECW World Title at Spring Stampede in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, but Awesome would come back and capture the ECW World Title against Taz in a Steel Cage Match in the main event of the April 24th edition of Nitro. These two face off again on this PPV, but this time in a Last Man Standing Match, which will serve as the definitive end to the rivalry. Another intense rivalry that's been brewing during the first four/five months of the year is Buff Bagwell vs. Diamond Dallas Page. I've mentioned in my previous post how the issues between these two had gotten more personal, and that certainly continued though this PPV. In their case, an I Quit Match will look to settle the score between the two.
The other matches don't have a ton of backstory to speak up. Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. for the WCW World TV Title is just a title defense for Angle in what should be an awesome match. Scott Hall vs. Steve Corino was an interesting match that I thought would be a nice fit for this card, and I did a little bit of build for it in the final week. Last, but certainly not least, there's a Four-Way #1 Contender's Match, where the winner will get a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Title at The Great American Bash. Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam have never had a shot at the top title in WCW, while Chris Jericho and Kevin Nash are looking for their first shot at the title in quite some time.
Now in terms of title changes, I actually have a bit to go over (aside from the ECW World Title, which I've already talked about). The ECW World TV Title changed hands a couple of times since Spring Stampede 2000. William Regal won the title from Tommy Dreamer on the April 13th Thunder, and he would hold it for a few weeks before losing it to Rob Van Dam on the May 1st Nitro. The biggest title to make note of this time around are the WCW World Tag Team Titles. This will be further shown when I break down the title changes between this PPV and The Great American Bash, but I got real trigger happy with these titles, as they became hot potatoes for a good two months or so. The main motivation is that I wanted to give certain teams title reigns, but given my current plans, the only way I could do that was to do this, so I really don't have any other explanation.
First, let's go back to the Spring Stampede 2000, where KroniK captured the WCW World Tag Team Titles. Their reign only lasted eight days, as The Outsiders (as a duo) won the titles for the 6th time on the April 24th Nitro. That reign is cut short when The Perfect Event (Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak) won the titles on the April 27th Thunder, but then The Outsiders won them back on the May 1st Nitro to start their 7th reign as a team. So a bunch of title changes for this particular title, with more coming in the immediate future.
Will all of that finally out of the way, let's dive into the PPV!
WCW Slamboree 2000
May 7th, 2000 - TWA Dome - St. Louis, Missouri
1.) Four-On-Four Elimination Match - David Flair (with Daffney), Devon Storm, & NWA World Tag Team Champions The Mamalukes (Big Vito & Johnny The Bull) def. Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, & Rowdy Roddy Piper
2.) WCW World TV Title - Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) (c) def. Rey Mysterio Jr.
3.) Five-On-Five Elimination Match - 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, & Ron "The Truth" Killings)
4.) Steve Corino (with Don Callis) def. WCW World Tag Team Champion Scott Hall
5.) I Quit Match - Diamond Dallas Page def. Buff Bagwell
6.) Five-On-Five Elimination Match - Team Canada (Andrew Martin, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, and ECW World Tag Team Champions Edge & Christian with Trish Stratus) def. The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, & Raven with Paul Heyman)
7.) ECW World Title - Last Man Standing Match - Mike Awesome (c) def. Taz
8.) #1 Contender's Fatal Four-Way Match - ECW World TV Champion Rob Van Dam def. Chris Jericho (with Don Callis), Jeff Hardy, & WCW World Tag Team Champion Kevin Nash (with Sable)
9.) Five-On-Five Elimination Match - WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg, WCW United States Champion Booker T, Sting, & The Dudley Boyz (with The Duchess of Dudleyville) def. Steiner's Army (The Steiner Brothers, The Giant, & KroniK)
For Slamboree 2000, I got an overall score of 86%, which is down 4% from Spring Stampede 2000. Not an unexpected result, considering the amount of elimination matches I booked on this card. Match Of The Night honors go to Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. for the WCW World TV Title, which earned a score of 91%. It was the only bout on this card to break the 90% threshold. Fortunately, I wound up with a number of matches that finished in the mid-to-high 80% range. Team Canada vs. The Radicalz in a Five-On-Five Elimination Match and the Fatal Four-Way #1 Contender's Match finished at 89%, with Scott Hall vs. Steve Corino and Mike Awesome vs. Taz in a Last Man Standing Match for the ECW World Title ended up at 88%. Buff Bagwell vs. Diamond Dallas Page in an I Quit Match got an 85% score, and from there, I had two more matches that finished in the 80% range, albeit in the lower end of that range. Team Goldberg vs. Steiner's Army in a Five-On-Five Elimination Match got a score of 82%, while The Filthy Animals vs. The Natural Born Thrillers (also a Five-On-Five Elimination Match) got a score of 81%. The lowest rated match of the night, a Four-On-Four Elimination Match between David Flair's squad and Ric Flair's team of legends, ended up with a 78% score, which isn't too bad, all things considered.
As I alluded to earlier, this wasn't my best foot forward in terms of a PPV card, but still, I thought the show turned out well enough. The biggest takeaway from this particular PPV is that, at the end of the night, as Goldberg was celebrating, Rob Van Dam (who won the #1 Contender's Four-Way Match) came out for a staredown as the show went off the air. A big, first-time ever clash for the WCW World Heavyweight Title is set to take place at The Great American Bash....but you'll have to wait until next time to find out more.
Now I'm going to be completely honest. When it comes to this particular PPV card, I don't think I necessary put my best foot forward, in terms of how the card turned out. Not that I didn't like the card itself (I like pretty much all of the matches that booked), but I guess I'm referring to it as a whole. As you'll see in a little bit.....this show is basically WCW Survivor Series, for all intents and purposes. Four separate elimination matches in total. Though before I get to the PPV itself, I've got a number of things to go over that've happened since the last PPV.
As far as the Elimination Matches are concerned, most of them are basically a continuation of feuds that've been ongoing. The Filthy Animals and The Natural Born Thrillers have been in a feud for a few months. The Radicalz have been feuding with WCW for most of the year, though Team Canada does hold a more specific grudge with the defection of Chris Jericho and Lance Storm. The third of the four elimination matches involves a mix of feuds (Booker T and Sting with The Steiner Brothers, The Dudley Boyz with KroniK) while guys like Goldberg and The Giant (mainly the former) were thrown in there to give the match a little more star power. Speaking of Goldberg, he would have another successful title defense on the go-home edition of Nitro on May 1st, where he defeated Bret Hart and Raven in a Triple Threat Match.
The fourth Elimination Match (the one that would up opening the show) involves a breakup that occurred very recently. On the episode of Nitro after Spring Stampede, Ric Flair demanded another title shot against Goldberg, since he wasn't pinned the night before in the Triple Threat Match with Goldberg and Chris Benoit. The singles showdown between Goldberg and Flair with the title on the line would take place in the main event, and Goldberg would emerge victorious once again. After the match, however, there would be an angle that saw David Flair turn heel on his own father. Yes, that's right. I'm doing the David Flair vs. Ric Flair. It might sound bad on the surface, but the circumstances are much different. Not only is Vince Russo coming nowhere near my WCW, but David Flair actually spent a fair amount of time in OMEGA (the development territory for WCW) so he's had more than enough time to build up his stats in the game (he isn't super high, but his stats are actually....solid enough). Of course, just like in real life, David Flair would align himself with Daffney and Devon Storm (aka Crowbar, though I'm not calling him Crowbar here). He would cut promos on his father, while also railing against other wrestling legends. This would lead to Ric Flair throwing down the challenge for an Elimination Match, with a real all-star lineup of legends backing him up, in the form of Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, and Rowdy Roddy Piper. To even the sides up, David Flair would hire the services of The Mamalukes for one night only, and that's the match set.
As for the rest of the card, one the big highlights is the conclusion of the feud between Mike Awesome and Taz that's been going on for most of the year. Taz managed to retain the ECW World Title at Spring Stampede in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, but Awesome would come back and capture the ECW World Title against Taz in a Steel Cage Match in the main event of the April 24th edition of Nitro. These two face off again on this PPV, but this time in a Last Man Standing Match, which will serve as the definitive end to the rivalry. Another intense rivalry that's been brewing during the first four/five months of the year is Buff Bagwell vs. Diamond Dallas Page. I've mentioned in my previous post how the issues between these two had gotten more personal, and that certainly continued though this PPV. In their case, an I Quit Match will look to settle the score between the two.
The other matches don't have a ton of backstory to speak up. Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. for the WCW World TV Title is just a title defense for Angle in what should be an awesome match. Scott Hall vs. Steve Corino was an interesting match that I thought would be a nice fit for this card, and I did a little bit of build for it in the final week. Last, but certainly not least, there's a Four-Way #1 Contender's Match, where the winner will get a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Title at The Great American Bash. Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam have never had a shot at the top title in WCW, while Chris Jericho and Kevin Nash are looking for their first shot at the title in quite some time.
Now in terms of title changes, I actually have a bit to go over (aside from the ECW World Title, which I've already talked about). The ECW World TV Title changed hands a couple of times since Spring Stampede 2000. William Regal won the title from Tommy Dreamer on the April 13th Thunder, and he would hold it for a few weeks before losing it to Rob Van Dam on the May 1st Nitro. The biggest title to make note of this time around are the WCW World Tag Team Titles. This will be further shown when I break down the title changes between this PPV and The Great American Bash, but I got real trigger happy with these titles, as they became hot potatoes for a good two months or so. The main motivation is that I wanted to give certain teams title reigns, but given my current plans, the only way I could do that was to do this, so I really don't have any other explanation.
First, let's go back to the Spring Stampede 2000, where KroniK captured the WCW World Tag Team Titles. Their reign only lasted eight days, as The Outsiders (as a duo) won the titles for the 6th time on the April 24th Nitro. That reign is cut short when The Perfect Event (Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak) won the titles on the April 27th Thunder, but then The Outsiders won them back on the May 1st Nitro to start their 7th reign as a team. So a bunch of title changes for this particular title, with more coming in the immediate future.
Will all of that finally out of the way, let's dive into the PPV!
WCW Slamboree 2000
May 7th, 2000 - TWA Dome - St. Louis, Missouri
1.) Four-On-Four Elimination Match - David Flair (with Daffney), Devon Storm, & NWA World Tag Team Champions The Mamalukes (Big Vito & Johnny The Bull) def. Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, & Rowdy Roddy Piper
2.) WCW World TV Title - Kurt Angle (with Rick Rude) (c) def. Rey Mysterio Jr.
3.) Five-On-Five Elimination Match - 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, & Ron "The Truth" Killings)
4.) Steve Corino (with Don Callis) def. WCW World Tag Team Champion Scott Hall
5.) I Quit Match - Diamond Dallas Page def. Buff Bagwell
6.) Five-On-Five Elimination Match - Team Canada (Andrew Martin, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, and ECW World Tag Team Champions Edge & Christian with Trish Stratus) def. The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, & Raven with Paul Heyman)
7.) ECW World Title - Last Man Standing Match - Mike Awesome (c) def. Taz
8.) #1 Contender's Fatal Four-Way Match - ECW World TV Champion Rob Van Dam def. Chris Jericho (with Don Callis), Jeff Hardy, & WCW World Tag Team Champion Kevin Nash (with Sable)
9.) Five-On-Five Elimination Match - WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg, WCW United States Champion Booker T, Sting, & The Dudley Boyz (with The Duchess of Dudleyville) def. Steiner's Army (The Steiner Brothers, The Giant, & KroniK)
For Slamboree 2000, I got an overall score of 86%, which is down 4% from Spring Stampede 2000. Not an unexpected result, considering the amount of elimination matches I booked on this card. Match Of The Night honors go to Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. for the WCW World TV Title, which earned a score of 91%. It was the only bout on this card to break the 90% threshold. Fortunately, I wound up with a number of matches that finished in the mid-to-high 80% range. Team Canada vs. The Radicalz in a Five-On-Five Elimination Match and the Fatal Four-Way #1 Contender's Match finished at 89%, with Scott Hall vs. Steve Corino and Mike Awesome vs. Taz in a Last Man Standing Match for the ECW World Title ended up at 88%. Buff Bagwell vs. Diamond Dallas Page in an I Quit Match got an 85% score, and from there, I had two more matches that finished in the 80% range, albeit in the lower end of that range. Team Goldberg vs. Steiner's Army in a Five-On-Five Elimination Match got a score of 82%, while The Filthy Animals vs. The Natural Born Thrillers (also a Five-On-Five Elimination Match) got a score of 81%. The lowest rated match of the night, a Four-On-Four Elimination Match between David Flair's squad and Ric Flair's team of legends, ended up with a 78% score, which isn't too bad, all things considered.
As I alluded to earlier, this wasn't my best foot forward in terms of a PPV card, but still, I thought the show turned out well enough. The biggest takeaway from this particular PPV is that, at the end of the night, as Goldberg was celebrating, Rob Van Dam (who won the #1 Contender's Four-Way Match) came out for a staredown as the show went off the air. A big, first-time ever clash for the WCW World Heavyweight Title is set to take place at The Great American Bash....but you'll have to wait until next time to find out more.
