Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #246 July 31st, 2000 The Opening Word: Last Friday I went with the family over to Lake George, a small town less than a half-hour's drive away from where I live. They were having a summer festival, and one of the advertised attractions was the opportunity to get an autograph from wrestling legend Baron Von Raschke, who lives in Lake George and runs a small gift shop called "The Wigwam." We'd known for some time about his gift shop, but had never gotten around to seeing it. Knowing for sure he'd be there, we decided to check it out. "The Wig man" is a nice little gift shop, with various knickknacks and handicrafts for the passing tourists. And there, running the register behind the front counter, was Raschke himself. He was a larger man than I expected in person, with a slow, easy-going manner and a smile for everyone. I'd really have liked a chance to talk to him, but I was a bit star-struck: and besides, business was pretty brisk, and his attention was needed in ringing up customer purchases. I basically just shook his hand, said what a big fan I was, and had him autograph a b&w photo that I bought from the assortment he had for sale. My nephews, along for the outing, were mostly in awe, the oldest deciding--without ever having seen a Baron Von Raschke match--that he was the coolest wrestler he'd ever seen. Raschke's autograph joins my small but growing collection of autographs which include: Hulk Hogan, Verne Gagne, Scott LeDoux, "Blackjack" Lanza, and AWA promoter Wally Karbo. Getting a chance to meet one of the stars from the past made me think of the wrestlers today, and how so few of them seem to have the same respect for the fans and the business that many of the older stars still have. I especially thought of guys like Goldberg and Kevin Nash in WCW, whining about having to do jobs, going on TV doing "shoot" speeches in which they claim wrestling is fake, but that they really hate the other guy, and that when they lock up at the next PPV their fight will be for real. (Not that I think most of what these two have said is really believed by either. Both are just saying what they're told to say by Vince Russo. The animosity between the two may be real, at some level, but the idea that the two have really been shooting on each other, and that their fight at the PPV will be real, is ludicrous.) Not that I'm pining for the days of old, but there was a certain simplistic appeal to the wrestling where there were good guys and bad guys, who went out there and won when they could, lost when they were supposed to, and did what they did because it entertained the fans. We knew who we were supposed to boo and cheer for back then? Who am I supposed to cheer for in the Goldberg/Nash feud? Some of the things Nash said, like Goldberg not paying his dues like most wrestlers, was true. Yet Nash said a lot of untrue things, particularly in relation to his drawing power in the business. And Goldberg, he was right on when talking about what an opportunist and back-stabber Nash has been in the lockerroom. What am I supposed to think, though, about a man who almost singlehandedly derailed Nitro last week because he disagreed with the storyline written for him by Russo? So who am I supposed to root for, Goldberg or Nash? I'll root for the Baron, who in a business today dominated by phonies was once the real deal. As the Master of the Claw would often say, "dat is all da people need to know!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Cincinnati, Ohio. Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson & Mark Madden. HOUR ONE: - Ten bell salute to Gordon Solie. - Video package hyping Booker T. "Earlier Today" he and his family arrived at the arena. - Booker T comes out and talks about the "player haters" backstage again. Tonight, he says, he'll get it on with Sting. Jeff Jarrett comes out to demand a title match. A brief exchange of words leads to the two brawling, the announcers wondering whether or not this is a match. Jarrett eventually locks on a Figure Four. The lights dim, and out comes Sting for the save. Sting removes his mask, looking okay for someone who was set on fire and knocked off a fifty foot scaffold. Sting tells the crowd if Booker is up for it, he's ready to face him tonight. Jarrett, at ringside, says if they want a show, he'll give them one ... and smashes his guitar over Booker's wife's head! The story with Booker thus far, as accentuated tonight, is that he's so beaten up that it's a miracle he's able to hold onto the World Title. - Sting tells Booker to go to the hospital with his wife--that *he* will take care of Jarrett. - BIG VITO vs. BUFF BAGWELL Judy Bagwell sits in on color commentary. Buff is so distracted, thinking Kanyon may be around somewhere in disguise, that Vito gets the upset pin, reversing a Sunset Flip attempt by Buff. Kiwi demands a match with the Artist, threatening to hit the Cat with his fluffy pink slipper. I'm not sure if the hostility he's showing here is in keeping with the "Mango" character he's copying, or if they're just trying to make him seem less gay. Scratch that--Kiwi just slapped his butt (just like Mango) and sashayed away. Kanyon tells Pamela that Judy Bagwell better get ready to ... feel ... the ... BANG! He then tries to give Pamela the Kanyon Kutter, but Mean Gene Okerlund makes the save ... sort of. He ends up taking the Kutter himself ... sort of. (Actually the camera pans away, presumably so Mean Gene can lower himself to the floor.) - Bagwell comes across the crowd surrounding the fallen Mean Gene. Pointed in the direction of Kanyon, he catches up to him and plants him with a DDT. - Sting is looking for Jarrett. - THE ARTIST vs. KWEE WEE Why the name change? Did I miss something on Thunder last week? Whatever. The announcers use the new name pronunciation as if it was always that way. Mark Madden becomes orgasmic when Kwee Wee is on offense. The Artist fights in his street clothes. Paisley, who left the Artist for Kwee Wee, is at ringside. Schiavone is amazed Kwee Wee can actually wrestle. I'd be more interested to learn where this wardrobe guy got his shorts, boots and knee pads (maybe that question answers itself). A German Suplex by the Artist earns him a two count. Other than that the match is mostly punches and kicks. Kwee Wee then does a tilt-a-whirl skull crusher, leading to the pin. Then Kwee Wee, stealing a line from the old "Incredible Hulk" TV show, tells the guys in the back not to make him angry, "because you won't like me when I get angry!" Big Poppa Pump has arrived. He beats some people up. He then demands the Cat grant him a title shot against Booker T. Cat says Booker is gone. Steiner doesn't care, and wants Booker in a "Pipe Match" backstage. Kevin Nash has also arrived. - Scott Steiner bashes Norman Smiley with a pipe as he's hitting on Midajah. - The Misfits in Action declare war on Canada (specifically Lance Storm). - LANCE STORM vs. LT. LOCO (w/ the Misfits in Action) Lance Storm has renamed the Hardcore Title the "Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title." Madden helpfully points out the initials. The Misfits sit in on color commentary badmouthing Canada. An okay match, which Storm briskly wins with the Canadian Crab. Storm adds the (Canadian) Cruiserweight Title to his collection. Kevin Nash suddenly comes out and, as he's so often done in the past, makes light work of the little guy in the ring. Dick. After the commercial Nash, still in the ring, launches into his "shoot" speech, saying he's only been "unprofessional" once before in the ring, during a match against "a Canadian" (Bret Hart?) in the WWF in Quebec City. (Huh? I don't remember that. Nash says the guy wouldn't lose to him the night before in Montreal.) Nash talks about his tough guy background, and how he used to beat up football players when he was a bouncer. Nash warns that he may get "unprofessional" again against Goldberg at New Blood Rising. Madden: "oh boy, is this great!" Nash didn't go overboard like I expected, but still had no idea what he was talking about all the time. Scott Steiner comes out and he and Nash go at it, until they're separated by security. HOUR TWO: - Nash demands a match with Steiner. The Cat says he can have in him a "Straightjacket Match." - JEFF JARRETT vs. STING The early minutes of the match lead to Jarrett applying the Figure Four. Sting breaks free. Jarrett goes for a chair, giving the ref a mule kick when he tries to stop him. He hits Sting with the chair and covers, but the ref is slow to count because of the low blow. Sting then gives Jarrett the Scorpion Deathdrop and covers for the pin. Kind of a good match condensed down to an okay match. - Booker T has returned to the arena. - Schiavone shares some thoughts of Gordon Solie. - VAMPIRO/GREAT MUTA vs. MARK JINDRAK/SEAN O'HAIRE vs. KRONIC Sean Stasiak & Chuck Palumbo come out to do color. "Eh" match, good when Vampiro and Bryan Clark are in, okay with some others, and occasionally not so good. O'Haire hits Vampiro with the Seanton Bomb and covers for the pin, just as Brian Adams has Muta covered. The ref awards the match to Kronic, angering Jindrak & O'Haire. Muta then sprays some mist and, aw, let's just move on. The Cat books Shane Douglas in a "Viagra on a Pole Match." Remember back when Russo first came in and he and Ed Ferrara cooked up a "[Something] on a Pole Match" for every show? Sting and Booker agree to go through with their match. - Jindrak & O'Haire feel Kronic screwed them over, and vow revenge. - SHANE DOUGLAS (w/ Torrie Wilson) vs. BILLY KIDMAN There's a big ol' bottle labeled "Viagra" hanging from a pole. Shane's pre-match turn on the mic is the usual excuse for him to swear. The rules in this match are that if you get the Viagra bottle, you can use it on your opponent. Eventually the match degenerates to one guy going for the bottle, being grabbed by his opponent and a move done, then the other going for the bottle. Repeat. Kidman gets the bottle, but Douglas hits him with that ugly finisher of his, which breaks the bottle and knocks out Kidman. Douglas is declared the winner. Not the prettiest match. Schiavone: "up next ... a women's hardcore match! That's right ... this ... is Nitro!" - Nash is getting ready for his match. - MAJOR GUNNS vs. MISS HANCOCK The announcers once again talk about Hardcore Matches having to start in the back and finish in the ring, even though the last dozen Hardcore Matches we've seen on Nitro and Thunder haven't followed those rules. The two pull some hair as they pass through the shower. A brief stop at the catering table allows them to throw some food. For some reason Miss Hancock insists on OPENING the bag of chips before hitting Gunns with it. Meanwhile, out in the ring, A.W.O.L. (the Wall) and David Flair are fighting. Gunns and Hancock come out to the ring. Gunns is sent into a table leaned up against the turnbuckles, barely breaking it. Hancock then bodyslams her and covers for the pin. Not good, but not as bad as I expected. Sting, Booker, Nash and Steiner are yet to come. - Kidman, supposedly suffering from a Viagra overdose, is propositioned by three Nitro Girls. - KEVIN NASH vs. SCOTT STEINER (w/ Midajah) It's hard to take Nash serious in his talk of being a fighter and a warrior when, in matches like this, he comes in and stalls for time by pressing his boot against his opponent's throat. Or does little more than deliver kneelifts in the corner. The match is mostly punches, kicks, and Nash laying on the mat. Nash gives Steiner a chokeslam, at which point Midajah comes in and delivers the worst chairshot EVER. Nash no-sells it (I don't blame him--he was barely tapped) and gives Midajah a powerbomb. In comes Rick Steiner. Nash gives him a big boot and sets up the Jackknife, but is hit by Scott with a chair. He then puts him in the Steiner Recliner for a moment, then he and Rick put a straightjacket on him. Even with two men it takes forever to truss him up, Scott Hudson ludicrously saying Nash passed out from the pain of the chairshot and the few seconds he was in the Recliner. Steiner is credited with the win. - Schiavone announces that Vince Russo will be on Thunder to deliver a speech. Will he be smart and apologize to the fans, or dumb and shoot all over the place, blaming the bad ratings on everything and everyone but himself? - STING vs. BOOKER T After a few minutes of action Sting is knocked to the floor, where an arm emerges from beneath the ring and pulls him under. Sting reemerges with some blood dribbling from his head. Sting doesn't really show any effects from whatever it is that happened to him, and the match continues, with Booker eventually hitting the Book End out of nowhere for the pin. Sting rolls to the floor and pulls the Demon from under the ring. Out come Vampiro & Muta. Jeff Jarrett also returns, coming down the stairs through the crowd. Sting ends up locked in the Demon's casket, with the Demon blowing fire at it, setting it ablaze (somewhat). Jarrett, meanwhile, has laid Booker out and hooks his foot to a rope hanging from the ceiling, suspending him upside-down in the aisleway. Jarrett busts a guitar over Booker's bad knee. Messy finish, for reasons I'll get into below. - This Wednesday: Vince Russo returns. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: In a way I'd say this was a better Nitro than the one two weeks ago, because for once it was able to carry itself an entire two hours without having to rely on multiple ring appearances by its strongest workers, and giving away PPV matches (though Sting *did* wrestle twice tonight, and him facing Booker could have been built to as a PPV match). Unlike that show, this is the type of show WCW should be able to put on every week. It wasn't great, but it was solid, not buried by the usual silliness, with some okay wrestling tossed in for those who care about that kind of thing. Speaking of silliness, there, there was still a lot of it on this show. WCW needs to recognize that certain things aren't getting a reaction, and probably aren't ever going to, no matter how hard they shove it down our throats. Kwee Wee probably tops that list. I still don't think the "shoot" speeches are accomplishing much. To the average fan they're just too vague or over their heads to mean anything, while the "smart" fans are just laughing at the idea of Kevin Nash trying to make a tough guy rep (for stuff he did ten or fifteen years ago). At best they're just accomplishing what your average wrestling promo accomplishes, and because of that WCW would probably be better served to not make themselves look foolish in the eyes of the more knowledgable fans. They're just setting themselves up for criticism, and we all know that's something neither Vince Russo nor Eric Bischoff can handle. Had they played this all straight with the fans they'd probably be scoring compliments and high marks from fans across the board. This is all going to come down to what Nash and Goldberg are able to do in the ring, and with Nash out there trying to be something he really isn't, he's rallying the fans WCW always listens to against him. The Pro Wrestling Torch website says the Canadian Nash was talking about was Carl Oulette, former tag team partner of Jacques Rougeau. Talk about an obscure, insider reference. Typical overbooked Russo show finish. The whole thing came off rather badly. First off, the bit with the fire didn't look overly impressive, so they had to dim the arena lights to make the flames stand out better. It still didn't look very good. Because the lights were down, it became hard to see what Jarrett was doing to Booker T. And I couldn't help but flash back to the ECW incident where they were doing a crucifixion bit, and a flaming towel gimmick at the same time, with disastrous results. Add in the whole disturbing image of the white Jarrett basically lynching the black Booker T (as it could be interpreted by some) and the whole thing was probably something they shouldn't have done. Doing one or the other might have been okay, but doing both just resulted in a visual mess. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Atlanta, Georgia. Hosted By: Jim Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler. WWF RAW: - In Memory of Gordon Solie 1929-2000. - Video package covering the Triple H/Stephanie storyline. - Triple H arrives in a limo. - D-GENERATION X vs. STEVE BLACKMAN/AL SNOW "Earlier Today" clip reveals Blackman expressing his disgust over having to team with Snow. Wasn't it cool when Blackman pinned X-Pac last Thursday? This is a hardcore match. *Whack!*--lots of guys hitting other guys with stuff. Road Dogg is effectively taken out of the match when Snow hits him between the legs with a bowling ball. X-Pac then gets a kendo stick, which slips from his grasp as he's swinging it around. The crowd has a good laugh as security guy Jim Dotson has to retrieve it from ringside. X-Pac and Blackman engage in a stick fight, which Blackman wins. A bodyslam follows. Blackman covers for the pin, but Road Dogg just barely breaks it up. Blackman then sets up something nasty with a steel chair, while Blackman takes a swing at Road Dogg with a garbage can lid. Road Dogg ducks, and Snow accidentally hits Blackman instead. X-Pac grabs Blackman, gives him an X-Factor on the chair, and gets the pin. Now Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley has arrived. - Triple H is out and, long story short, he calls for Stephanie to come out so he can apologize to her. He gives her a bouquet of roses, and after pouring his heart out to her, they kiss and make up. The crowd boos. Commissioner Mick Foley crashes their party, sporting crocodile tears for their supposedly touching scene. He says he was disgusted by it, and, after replaying the incident between Triple H and Trish Stratus once more to get a rise out of them, announces that Triple H & Stephanie will compete for the first time ever in a husband-wife tag team match. Their opponents will be Lita and the Rock. "Earlier Today" a couple Ho's demonstrated against Steven Richards. Great to see those 10 year old kids chanting "save the Ho's!" SummerSlam ad shows Chyna clotheslining some fat guy on a beach. - EDGE/CHRISTIAN vs. THE HARDY BOYZ (w/ Lita) The Tag Champs pre-match spiel has them making fun of Atlanta for losing the World Series to New York. As the match begins Jim Ross says a few words about Gordon Solie. Three or four minutes into the match Lita interferes by coming off the apron onto Christian, giving him a huracanrana on the floor. Edge is flattened by the Swanton Bomb. Cover, but the ref is pulled out by Christian at two, then decked, drawing a DQ. He and Edge then waffle Jeff Hardy with stereo chair shots to the head. Shane McMahon chuckles backstage while watching the previous match with the Big Show, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle. Shane says the Tag Champs have intensity like Big Show and Benoit. Angle reminds him that "intensity" is one if his three "I's." Mick Foley then walks in and says they'll need intensity, because Big Show faces Kane tonight, while Benoit & Angle have to take on the Dudley Boyz. - Another look at the Ho's, this time protesting at a refreshment stand. Funny to see all the guys in the crowd chanting, while most of the women aren't. Triple H & Stephanie getting all lovey-dovey is interrupted by Trish Stratus, who apologizes to Stephanie for what happened. Steph says it's all okay. Trish leaves, and Triple H smiles, thinking everything has finally been smoothed over. Stephanie, practically snarling, calls Trish a bitch (bleeped) and accuses her of making eyes at Triple H, and Triple H of looking at her as well. Triple H has no idea what to say. - Jeff Hardy is being checked out. Meanwhile Edge & Christian are asked why they did what they did to Jeff. This must be happening about ten feet away from the examination, because they are almost immediately attacked by Matt Hardy. referees pour in to break up the melee. - The competitors for the next match make their way to the ring ... WWF WAR ZONE: KURT ANGLE/CHRIS BENOIT (w/ Shane McMahon) vs. THE DUDLEY BOYZ Things get interesting when Buh-Buh Ray Dudley gives Kurt Angle the Buh-Buh Cutter. Dudley covers, but the ref is distracted elsewhere. Shane McMahon comes off the top with an impressive elbowdrop, clobbering Buh-Buh. Dudley and Angle end up back on their feet, and a charge by Buh-Buh into the corner sees the referee getting wiped out, when Angle pulls him in the way. Benoit then grabs Buh-Buh and goes into his rolling German Suplex routine. He hits it twice, but Buh-Buh is able to keep him from executing it a third time. In comes D-Von Dudley and he and Buh-Buh give Benoit the 3-D, bringing the crowd to its feet. Buh-Buh calls for a table. Here comes the Big Show. He blows through D-Von on the floor, then chokeslams Buh-Buh in the ring. Shane rolls in and puts Benoit on top of Buh-Buh, and the ref recovers and counts the pin. Pretty good match. Stephanie asks to be shown some wrestling moves, like Triple H did with Trish Stratus. Things then go from bad to worse when Triple H, as he bends Stephanie over to show her how to escape from the hammerlock, accidentally calls her "Trish." She blows her top and storms out. - Stephanie leaves the building, telling Triple H that he, Trish Stratus and Mick Foley can all go to hell. - The protesting Ho's have made it to ringside. Steven Richards, Bull Buchanan and the Goodfather make their way to the ring. In case you missed it, the Godfather turned heel last Thursday by joining up with Richards, claiming to have seen the error of his ways. Richards delivers his usual message. The Ho's then hop the ring barrier, and are promptly seized by security and taken away. We also see, very briefly, a fan run into the ring. The camera stays on the Ho's as the fan is quickly hustled away. Richards says if anyone has a problem with them, they should come out and do something about it. Out come ... THE ACOLYTES vs. BULL BUCHANAN/THE GOODFATHER Faarooq pins Bull after (barely) catching him coming off the top and (barely) giving him a powerslam. Bull and the Goodfather deliver a beatdown afterwards, leaving Faarooq and Bradshaw laying. Michael Cole, live (supposedly) from the Republican National Convention, talks about the WWF's intention to become involved in the presidential elections this fall. The WWF will encourage its U.S. viewers to vote, and will make it known to politicians from all political parties that the WWF fanbase is a sizable group not to be overlooked. A promo following the commercial break highlights this, claiming the WWF is seen by 14 million registered voters each week. I don't think the number is that high, but ... whatever. - RIKISHI vs. TAZZ I thought they were building to this at the PPV? Tazz eventually manages to apply the Tazzmission, but Rikishi doesn't submit. He instead shifts his weight, taking Tazz over in a Samoan Drop. Rikishi gets the pin. Scotty Too Hotty & Grandmaster Sexay of Too Cool quickly come out, and Tazz decides to try again another day (Jim Ross promising as much). Too Cool & Rikishi dance. Triple H suggests that since Stephanie has left the building, the match against the Rock & Lita should be postponed. Commissioner Foley, noting the huge crowd they have in attendance, rules that Trish Stratus will take Stephanie's place. - More from Michael Cole at the Republican Convention. WWF fans will be able to register to vote in New York at WWF events, and at the WWF New York restaurant. Ross and Lawler, through some expository dialogue, make it clear that the WWF isn't backing any particular candidate, and that they'll also be at the upcoming Democratic Convention. - EDDIE GUERRERO/CHYNA vs. VAL VENIS/PERRY SATURN (w/ Terri Runnels) Eddie is in first for his team and does some nice stuff with the other two guys. Then Chyna tags in and they do a long heat segment on her. She finally tags Eddie back in. All four wrestlers wind up in the ring, and when the dust settles Eddie hits Saturn with a huracanrana, tucks the legs, and gets the pin. - Sold out? I guess if you only configure for so many seats and sell them all then that counts. Would WCW consider Nitro a sell-out if they only decided to sell 3000 tickets to begin with? - Michael Cole interviews Linda McMahon at the Republican Convention. - Dean Malenko is at WWF New York, kicking back with a couple of babes, sipping fruity girl drinks. - Trish tries to learn some more "wrestling moves" from Triple H, but he kicks her out of his dressing room. - KANE vs. THE BIG SHOW (w/ Shane McMahon) No match. Big Show jumps Kane before the bell. Shane then interferes, followed by Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. The Dudley Boyz run in for the save. Triple H walks down the hallway, telling Trish to keep her distance. The Rock and Lita are moving through another hallway. - TRIPLE H/TRISH STRATUS vs. THE ROCK/LITA I wonder what Test think of Triple H stealing another lady away from him? This whole match serves as a build-up for a funny show-ending sight gag. The Rock monkey flips Triple H into Trish. He then uses his spit-powered punch to knock him completely out of the ring. Rock tags in Lita, and is then himself pulled to the floor by Triple H. Lita hits a moonsault on Trish and gets the pin. Triple H comes in to chew out the unconscious Trish for losing. Rock slips in behind him and bashes him with a chair, Triple H falling on top of Trish in the "69" position. The fans instantly get the joke, as does the Rock, who laughs. Ross hopes that wherever Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley is, she isn't watching this. - This Thursday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: I'd have called this a strong show if it weren't for the fact that so little happened in terms of storyline advancement. I wouldn't say the WWF feels directionless, just that they're killing time before they commit to the SummerSlam card. The Triple H-Stephanie story dominated the show. It was good for the most part, though as usual the opening interview ran too long. Other than that, the WWF didn't do much other than offer bits of character development and some good matches. That's okay for one show, but put together a string of them and people will start getting antsy again, like they were last month. The WWF needs to start getting more serious in their build to SummerSlam. More than 25,000 fans tonight in the Georgia Dome. It sure looked it. Not as big as that one show WCW did there, but hell--WCW wasn't even able to do that more than once. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: "Monday Night Football" was back this week, featuring a dull game between New England and San Francisco (which New England won in a breeze, 20-0). The main attraction of the game, however, may have been the debut of new NFL color man, comedian Dennis Miller. His performance, from the bits and pieces I caught, was just about what everyone expected it would be. If the ratings for wrestling are affected, Nitro will be hit harder than RAW, as the entire WCW show went up against the football game. RAW only had an hour of the show up against the game, and will probably see a huge jump in viewers during their second hour. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 2000 by John Petrie, and all opinions expressed therein are his own, and not those of "USLink". Check the "Slobberknocker Central" main page for info on how to receive the "Recap" free via E-Mail every week. Volume One, Number 246 of the "Monday Night Recap", July 31st, 2000.