Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #249 August 21st, 2000 The Opening Word: So, was that whole deal with Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach a shoot or a work? Looks like it might have been both. The Atlanta Journal Constitution broke the story last Thursday that Hogan has indeed sued WCW, claiming "defamation of character," stemming from the events at the Bash PPV. Hogan claims that what happened to him "wasn't part of the script," and that Vince Russo, in his "shoot" speech, basically breached Hogan's WCW contract. It now looks like one of two things happened at the Bash: either Vince Russo got carried away during his speech and legitimately angered Hogan, causing whatever plans the two had together to fall apart; or Russo saw an opportunity to rid WCW of Hogan, and ill-advisedly went out and cut a promo on him, which alerted Hogan to the fact that he was being doublecrossed. The Pro Wrestling Torch reports that Hogan, some time after the PPV, tried to go over Russo's head and have him removed from power, but that Brad Siegel backed Russo's decision. As I pointed out two weeks ago in the Recap, this had the affect of opening up WCW to a damaging lawsuit, which we now know for a fact Hogan has filed. And if the Torch is correct in reporting that Siegel backed Russo, then Russo's actions come off as even more foolish. With Siegel backing him Russo could easily have done away with Hogan in a manner not requiring a public screwjob and "shoot" speech. Now Hogan is off TV, but he's suing WCW, which still owes him millions on his contract. It's hard to know what Russo was thinking when he did his "shoot" on Hogan. Russo has claimed he meant every word of it, though ironically his claims that he meant it may themselves have been part of a work--words which could now come back to haunt him. If Hogan's case goes to trial, everything Russo has publicly said (on TV, on the Internet, even in that Thunder interview he taped but never aired) could be used against him. Russo's own comments pretty much corroborate Hogan's claims. From there it's just a matter of deciding if what Russo said and did constituted a breach of contract, and if in doing so Hogan was defamed to the point where damages could be collected. Of course the question has to be asked, "could this lawsuit be part of an ongoing, elaborate storyline?" It's not out of the question. There are serious legal repercussions awaiting Hogan and his lawyers if they knowingly filed a bogus lawsuit. The kicker to that statement is "knowingly." If Hogan was working his lawyer then it would be Hogan alone who faced any consequences. It'd be a pretty risky thing to do, though, so the odds of this still being part of an angle are pretty slim. Whatever happens now between Hogan and WCW, the lawsuit is very real. The question also has to be raised, "does this mean we'll never see Hogan on WCW TV ever again?" The answer, "not necessarily." Any number of wrestlers have worked for wrestling companies while they had lawsuits pending against them, or following the disposition of the lawsuits. The first one that comes to mind is the one Ric Flair filed against WCW back when Eric Bischoff was trying to bury him. That lawsuit was settled, and Flair returned to television. Hogan could conceivably settle his lawsuit with WCW and wind up back on TV. WCW can't have been happy that news of this lawsuit went public. They already have enough problems, what with the company trying to figure out how to cut millions in costs before the Time Warner/AOL merger later this year. Production costs have been cut way back, noticeable on TV in the use of fewer video screens and pyro. In late October they will be eliminating Thunder tapings, choosing instead to tape Thunder on Monday nights following Nitro. TBS just canceled the WCW Saturday Morning show. And over the last week news has come of wrestlers being fired, at about the rate of one per day. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Lenny Lane, Alex Wright, Curt Hennig, Christopher Daniels, Elizabeth, and the Artist have all reportedly been let go, or their contracts will not be renewed when they expire. Juventud Guerrera, Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, Diamond Dallas Page and Kanyon are all said to be on shaky ground. Even the biggest stars, such as Goldberg, may be offered new lower-paying, more incentive-based contracts. Hulk Hogan and his contract are certainly something WCW has to deal with (said to be in the neighborhood of $4 million). Hogan's lawsuit definitely complicates matters. Many believe Vince Russo's position in WCW is shakier than it's ever been. He didn't help matters last week by going on WCW Live once again and blaming everyone and everything but himself for WCW's lack of success; and he didn't exactly inspire confidence when he said when his contract was up in 14 months he'd be out of the wrestling business for good--if WCW even keeps him around that long. By his own admission it's no longer a matter of IF he gets pulled from power in WCW, but WHEN. Things are starting to look grim for WCW. The company is almost as close to rock bottom as it's ever been. Even if TNT and TBS were happy with the ratings the shows are drawing (which are still considered pretty good for cable TV), they come at the price of a company which is losing millions of dollars. Unlike years past, WCW doesn't have Ted Turner as its sole owner to overlook those losses. Now they have Time Warner breathing down their neck, and AOL soon to enter the picture. I don't even know what to say that WCW needs to do to turn things around anymore. Russo has made it clear that he's just going to go on doing what he's doing, and if it helps WCW, great, if not, who cares--he's out of there in a year anyway. Slashing costs and firing wrestlers may help WCW lose less money, but it certainly won't make their shows any more fun to watch. Suddenly, worrying about Hulk Hogan or Vince Russo or WCW's booking and such seems unimportant compared to the idea that in a year, or maybe six months, WCW might not be around anymore. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Wichita, Kansas. Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay & Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. HOUR ONE: - "In memory of Peter Seligman, 1969-2000." - Opening highlights package sends mixed messages, trying to play Vince Russo as a babyface (sign in crowd: "Russo is my hero"), and Goldberg as a big, angry man. - Russo is on the phone with Scott Steiner. Jeff Jarrett barges in, but Russo blows him off. Russo tells Steiner "it" will get done tonight. - ELIX SKIPPER (w/ Lance Storm) vs. LT. LOCO (w/ General Rection) Scott Hudson doubts that Skipper ever played in the CFL. Very short match, with Storm hitting Loco with the Canadian flag, Rection attacking Storm, and Skipper getting the pin after punching Loco while wearing his CFL ring. Goldberg is looking for Scott Steiner. Russo asks Steiner over the phone if he's ready. Cut to Steiner's location--he's ready. - Russo, accompanied by New Blood security and "Iron Man" ripoff theme, hits the ring. Russo says something that gets bleeped. He says he's gone back on his promise of not appearing on TV because "every time I leave, they pull me back in." Goldberg is suddenly in the ring and he tosses the security out. Russo taunts him, saying if he hits him he'll breach his contract. Russo suggests they end this now, and offers him a release paper. If Goldberg signs it he gets all his money, and can show up next Monday night anywhere he wants. Mark Madden says it's a good move. Schiavone asks Madden if he's an idiot. Goldberg looks over the contract, then rips it up. There's more taunting, and Russo says something about Goldberg's girlfriend. Goldberg grabs him, at which point Steiner appears on the jumbo screen. He's at a hotel, somewhere, and busts into a room, grabbing Goldberg's "girlfriend." Nice how Russo invents a girlfriend for Goldberg and puts her in harm's way, all in the space of 30 seconds. Goldberg runs off to save his ... *sigh* ... girlfriend. Here comes Booker T. He has a message for Kevin Nash. Some more banter, the gist of it being that Russo "made" Booker, leads to Booker laying Russo out. So he's fired now, right? - A cameraman is outside waiting for Goldberg to hop on his motorcycle and go save "Beth." - Russo chews out the New Blood (now dubbed "Natural Born Thrillers"--it says so on their t-shirts) for not helping him. If Kevin Nash doesn't show up tonight, Chuck Palumbo gets a shot at Booker T. - KWEE WEE/PAISLEY vs. CORPORAL CAJUN/MAJOR GUNNS WCW fired Kwee Wee's "wife" Papaya, so Paisley has taken her place (the Artist also having been fired). Schiavone bitches about Kwee Wee wrestling, because he's WCW's wardrobe guy. Another quick match, with some okay moves done by the guys, then the women getting in and doing some very basic moves in slow motion. Gunns pins Paisley following a crossbody. The four continue to fight afterwards. Russo is on the phone with Steiner again, calm and collected, saying Goldberg is on his way. - Tank Abbott is in the ring, backed up by 3 Count, to sing his new song. It is very, very, very bad. "Nothin' But A Tank Thing" is apparently its title. I can see some being amused by this, but not me, and definitely not the live crowd. Tank stops the song a few choruses in because he says 3 Count are ruining it. Tank walks out, only to be attacked by Vampiro and the Insane Clown Posse. Call them the "Dark Carnival." Vampiro brandishes the "Juggalo Championship Wrestling" belt. What does it say about WCW that they are recognizing the smallest (and lamest) wrestling "promotion" in the world? Vamp badmouths Steve Borden (Sting) and says some other stuff. Madden says "JCW!" about a dozen times. Tank comes back out and challenges Vampiro for the belt. Schiavone thinks it's historic that the JCW title will be defended on Nitro for the first time. - The Natural Born Thrillers ("Above Average" Mike Sanders, Reno, Mark Jindrak, Sean O'Haire, Sean Stasiak & Chuck Palumbo) hit the ring. Sanders says they've all been held back and abused at the Power Plant while the old stars hogged the spotlight. He runs down all their statistics ( height, weight, etc). Konnan then leads the Filthy Animals out. He says they've stunk up the joint, and starts running down a lot of things they haven't done, such as pay dues, travel the road, and how they have no charisma. Just as they're all about to fight they cut away to a commercial. - NATURAL BORN THRILLERS vs. THE FILTHY ANIMALS (w/ Tygress) Konnan and Stasiak sit in on color commentary (since both are injured). Somewhat good match, made hard to watch by the commentary, with everyone being on a different page. Madden talks about how great this match is compared to seeing the old guys wrestle. Konnan, meanwhile, undercuts Madden by badmouthing the NBT. Stasiak, he just badmouths Konnan. Schiavone, he's trying to call the action, pointing out this isn't a Tag Title match. And Hudson, he wisely keeps quiet for most of the match. The match eventually breaks down into a big mess, with everyone in the ring, everyone getting tossed out, Mysterio doing the Bronco Buster, and Tygress doing the Bronco Buster. (Madden: "Do it to me!" Konnan: "A face full of stuff! A face full of stuff! A face full of stuff! A face full of stuff!" Schiavone: "Whatever, it's a Bronco Buster." Madden: "A face full of stuff?!") It comes down to Sanders and Disco Inferno, with Sanders hitting a headlock/hiptoss kinda thing, and getting the pin. Tygress receives a Seanton Bomb from O'Haire. A cameraman is waiting to tape Goldberg's arrival at the hotel. When will Goldberg reach his girlfriend's room? Why, JUST AS RAW IS STARTING. Good timing, that. HOUR TWO: - "During the break," Tygress was carried out. - Pamela Paulshock gets comments from Chuck Palumbo, who looks and sounds barely awake enough to be getting a World Title shot. - BOOKER T vs. CHUCK PALUMBO Russo is the referee. Not much of a match to speak of, until the other Thrillers run in. They all stomp on Booker, which is allowed, because Russo has made it no DQ. Out comes Big Vito for the save. Kevin Nash then comes in with a chair, knocking Booker out. Palumbo covers, Russo makes a super-fast count, and Chuck Palumbo is the new World Heavyweight Champion. Yikes. Ah, but here comes WCW Commissioner Ernest Miller. The Cat says he got his "stroke" from Eric Bischoff, meaning the two of them (Cat & Russo) have the same level of power, meaning neither can overrule the other. So what does the Cat do? He overrules Russo, saying this wasn't the actual finish for this match. (Umm, given that Russo was both the writer and referee, would that make it official?) The Cat tries to return the belt to Booker, but Booker plays the good guy and refuses to accept it because he didn't beat Palumbo. So Miller restarts the match, this time with himself as referee, and a few moments later Booker hits the side kick and covers for the pin. Russo and Madden go nuts. Seventeen minutes after arriving, Goldberg is ALMOST AT THE ROOM! What did he do, stop to read a paper in the lobby?! - Twenty-one minutes have passed, and Goldberg is FINALLY at the hotel room (with a cameraman waiting for him, of course). A message on a mirror says that Steiner has taken the girl back to the arena. As if Goldberg wasn't made to look enough like a dope, he throws a chair at the mirror, but it harmlessly bounces off. - TANK ABBOTT vs. VAMPIRO The ICP sit in on commentary, completely replacing Schiavone and the others, and they babble on about UFC and boxing and underwear and Eddie Rabbit and god knows whatever else comes into their minds. Oh, and they're wearing suits. A few minutes in they interfere in the match, to little avail, at which point the Great Muta comes in and spits mist on Tank. 3 Count make the save. No winner. Schiavone "Just too many juggalos to deal with." Steiner has arrived, with Beth in tow. - Russo chews out Big Vito for getting involved in his business. He's earned himself a match against Kevin Nash. - NORMAN SMILEY vs. BRYAN CLARK (w/ Brian Adams) This is for the Hardcore Title, and the story here is Smiley doesn't want the belt, so he's asked for an opponent who will beat him easily. He slaps Adams, who is doing color, drawing him into the match. Clark sets up a table to put Smiley through. Here comes the Harris Brothers. Clark winds up going through the table and Smiley is put on top for the pin. The Cat tells Lance Storm that Carl Oulette is gone because of his work permit problems, and that tonight Storm will face Mike Awesome and General Rection in a tag team match, with a mystery partner, and that any of them can pin him and take away the United States Title. Steiner is still terrorizing poor Beth. - Pamela interviews Big Vito. - KEVIN NASH vs. BIG VITO Vito gets in a lot of offense, allowing Nash to lean on the turnbuckles and lay on the mat. Nash then comes back with Snake Eyes, a chokeslam, a cover for two, and a Jackknife powerbomb. He sets up a second, at which point Booker T runs in, to zero crowd reaction. Nash wins by DQ. Booker exhorts the fans to make some noise, but the crowd seems to have totally died. - Big Vito refuses help backstage. - LANCE STORM/JEFF JARRETT vs. MIKE AWESOME/GENERAL RECTION Storm gets some heat for the whole USA vs. Canada thing. Jarrett's revelation as the mystery partner does nothing for the crowd. Awesome & Rection get zero reaction coming in. These are WCW's most loyal fans, but even they've had a hard time enjoying this show. The match is short, going maybe four minutes, with the finish seeing Elix Skipper running in to break up a Rection pin cover (following a No Laughing Matter moonsault). Those two go to the floor, leaving Storm in with Awesome. Jarrett comes in with a guitar and goes for Storm, but Storm ducks and Awesome takes the guitar instead. Storm covers for the pin. Scott Steiner carries Beth to the ring. He says he's doing this in retaliation for what Goldberg did to Midajah last week. Schiavone & Hudson differentiate this by saying Midajah was a trained WCW performer, not a bystander like Beth. Goldberg eventually emerges from the back, but en route to the ring (calmly walking?) he's jumped by Jarrett, who has a steel chair. Jarrett keeps hitting Goldberg with the chair. Once in the ring he and Steiner pound on Goldberg. Booker T rushes in for the save, but he's attacked by Kevin Nash. Goldberg stages a grief comeback, energizing the crowd, but just as quick both are killed when Rick Steiner comes in, swinging a pipe. Goldberg and Booker are handcuffed in opposite corners as both Steiners, Nash and Jarrett stomp on them. Scott then slaps Beth into the Steiner Recliner, just out of Goldberg's reach. - This Wednesday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: Hopefully the babyface build they gave Goldberg tonight will make up for the fans they turned off by the overall show. Going back to regular storylines, as opposed to Russo's "shoot" stuff, is an improvement. Now, if he could just figure out some new territory to explore. As it stands, it feels like he's just rehashing his WWF stories, "Powers That Be" and "New Blood" angles. Such comparisons would quickly diminish if Russo would just keep himself off TV. I see people try to defend him and say he's not trying to be Vince McMahon, but let's be real here, people. Russo's presence thus far, in all his months in WCW, hasn't added anything to the product. He doesn't need to be on TV. Eric Bischoff doesn't need to be on TV. Hell, Vince McMahon doesn't even need to be on TV. But if you're going to be, you'd better be able to show you're someone the fans want to see. Vince McMahon has done that. Eric Bischoff did that, for a while, until it burned him out and affected his performance behind the scenes. Russo hasn't proved he's a capable TV character. We didn't just see the start of a Cat/Russo feud, did we? I thought this was a marginally better show than last week, but that's not saying anything. Hour One this week came off as a total amateur hour, what with Kwee Wee and Elix Skipper and the Natural Born Thrillers (the kind of team name you'd hear on the indy circuit). Hour Two was more interesting, but poorly paced, with a weak main event. The finish was okay, but risky to do given WCW's current state. Is it just me, or are all the new, young guys getting pushed being done so as heels? Doesn't that make it that much harder to get any of them over? That's what happened with the New Blood. How many shows has Goldberg been on since his return where he hasn't wrestled? I almost wish Chuck Palumbo had won the title, just because I figured it would mean that by the end of the night either Steiner, Nash or Goldberg would have taken it away from him. Booker T's a nice guy, but nothing they're doing with him is causing the fans to gain any more respect for him. He's not a dominant champion, merely a nice guy who won't give up. WCW being in the shape it's in, the only way they're going to make a major star of him is if they gave him a push like Goldberg first got. Jeff Jarrett held the belt for months, yet I don't think most fans see him as anything more than a glorified midcarder. I fear Booker's going to come away from his title reign bearing the same impression. If Booker doesn't beat Nash at the PPV, clean, that might just as well be the end of it. As much as I appreciate WCW mixing the new, younger guys into things, I hate being told by the announcers how great WCW is for finally doing it. My first reaction is "it's about time, damn it!" The second is how am I supposed to overlook that this is the same company that shoved the old guys down out throat for so long? We fans are ahead of the curve here--WCW is just playing catch-up. And I'm still at a loss to understand how I'm supposed to think of Russo as a hero for getting rid of the old guys, when it was he who put the Millionaire's Club over the New Blood, and to this day is still pushing Kevin Nash through the roof. It's funny to listen to Mark Madden sing the praises of youth at one point in the show and complaining about "old guys who limp around," then later cheering on Kevin Nash as he's beating up Big Vito. I think Russo's back on track with an approach that could work. Too bad he might not be around long enough to see it through. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Lafayette, Louisiana. Hosted By: Jim Ross. WWF RAW: - Highlights package. - Jerry "The King" Lawler hasn't arrived yet. - The Rock comes out to do the usual. This leads into our 20 minute interview, wherein Commissioner Mick Foley comes out, says he's giving the Rock the night off, which brings out Triple H, Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon & Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. Foley books Triple H & Angle in a tag team match against the Acolytes, and reminded Shane & Stephanie, as he told them last Thursday, that he would be facing Steve Blackman for the Hardcore Title, and that she has to defend the Women's Championship against Lita. To keep that final match "fair," Foley makes the Rock the referee. Tazz roughs up a security guards as he enters the building. Then, as he's walking away, a stack of boxes filled with cans, pipes and other junk falls on him (good thing the cameraman kept filming, and at such a low angle too). Turns out it was Lawler, hiding behind the boxes up on a scaffold-like storage area, who pushed the boxes. Lawler climbs down and goes at it with Tazz until referees break them up. - Lawler joins Ross at the announce desk. - THE HARDY BOYZ vs. THE DUDLEY BOYZ Edge & Christian sit in on commentary. Do you sense the WWF has a PPV to sell here tonight? Lawler asks if the duo are going to do a "run-in." Edge says they're going to do a swerve instead. Trying to explain what that is, Christian admits "ah, we're just going to do a run-in." Funny stuff. The match is good, with nonstop action for the duration. Both Buh-Buh Ray Dudley and Matt Hardy get in Edge's face, with Edge hitting Matt with a spear on the floor. Jeff Hardy goes up top for a Swanton Bomb on D-Von Dudley, but misses. Christian then nails Buh-Buh with a vicious chairshot, and Jeff weakly covers for the pin. Val Venis explains to Trish Stratus that she's wrestling with him tonight so she can prepare for their mixed-tag match against Eddie Guerrero & Chyna at the PPV. - Triple H, Shane & Stephanie each think their own match is more important than the other's, so everyone splits up to plan their own strategies. - VAL VENIS/TRISH STRATUS vs. CRASH/IVORY I've missed Ivory, though not her purple scarf. Crash's entrance video thinks he's still Hardcore Champion defending the belt 24/7. Eddie & Chyna are watching the match on a monitor in the back. The gals are wearing some tight shorts here. I'm talking cheeks hangin' out--shorts up the crack tight. Umm ... where was I? Val mostly dominates Crash, with Trish tagging in and actually delivering a bulldog. Things then break down, and the ref loses control. Ivory gives Trish a bodyslam, but Val catches her from behind and gives her a sit-down powerbomb. Trish covers for the pin. Guerrero laughs off their efforts, but Chyna wants a piece of Trish, and she heads to the ring. Val tries to clothesline her, but she ducks, and knocks him out of the ring. She then catches Trish, but before she can Pedigree her, Val comes back in and takes her down with two clotheslines. Eddie runs in for the save. - Chyna tells Commissioner Foley she wants a piece of Trish. He soothes her by offering to make their tag match at the PPV for Val's Intercontinental Title. If she or Eddie pin either Val or Trish, they win the belt. Chyna seems to dig it, but it looks like Eddie realizes this creates more problems than it solves. - RIKISHI vs. KANE Not much of a match--Kane gets DQ'ed for using a chair. Too Cool come out for the save, but are ambushed by Bull Buchanan & the Goodfather. They also get chaired by Kane. Kane turned on the Undertaker last week because he's finally realized he's a monster, and decided to stop pretending he wasn't. (The Big Show being a fat tub of lard, and being sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling to get into shape, and the WWF needing a new heel, played a part as well.) Buchanan, the Goodfather & Steven Richards stomp on Too Cool. The Acolytes ... Triple H & Kurt Angle ... NEXT! WWF WAR ZONE: - For the next two weeks RAW will air two hours later than usual, because of the U.S. Open. - TRIPLE H/KURT ANGLE vs. THE ACOLYTES Solid match, albeit formulaic back-and-forth action. Faarooq gets Angle up in preparation for the Dominator, but Triple H comes in and kicks him in the spare tire. Referee Hebner counts the pin, even though Triple H wasn't the legal man. The Acolytes then lay some whoopass on Angle. Triple H makes a halfhearted attempt at a save, then walks out. - Angle wants to know why Triple H bailed on him? Triple H says he came back to help Stephanie get ready for her match. - The Right To Censor team comes out. Steven Richards delivers the usual spiel. Foley then comes out and, in an effort to make the WWF "fun" again, books Buchanan & the Goodfather against Too Cool & Rikishi at SummerSlam. And just to make sure both sides are even, Foley adds Richards to the match. Shane talks Rodney and Pete Gas of the Mean Street Posse into attacking Steve Blackman. They rush into his dressing room, but he kicks their asses. Angle tries to leave the building, but Stephanie talks him into staying, saying she needs him. - CHRIS JERICHO vs. PERRY SATURN Jim Ross wonders where Terri Runnels is. The match is barely a minute or two in when Chris Benoit attacks Jericho. No winner. The pull-apart brawl lasts twice as long as the match itself. Shane approaches Trish Stratus with a business proposal. - Angle scoffs at Triple H's attempt to show Stephanie how to apply a full nelson. Steph talks Triple H into letting Angle show her some moves, if only so he can feel like he's part of the team. - STEVE BLACKMAN vs. SHANE MCMAHON Test attacks Blackman while he's still backstage. Apparently that 24/7 thing for the Hardcore Title has been on all this time, it's just that Blackman is such a badass that no one has wanted to take a shot at it. Test gets the better of Blackman, until he makes the mistake of climbing the turnbuckles. Blackman knocks him off with a garbage can. In comes Albert, and T&A work Blackman over pretty good until a miscue between them involving a fire extinguisher allows Blackman to get his karate sticks, which he uses to take both men down. Now Edge & Christian run in, and Blackman looks doomed once again, but they stop the beating to celebrate, with Blackman sending them reeling with his batons. Now Shane finally runs in. He nails Blackman in the head with a kendo stick, then covers for the pin, winning the Hardcore Title. Strictly speaking, this was probably the worst Hardcore Title match ever. But overall, whatever it was, it was entertaining. - Shane is still celebrating his victory, backstage. Foley walks in and congratulates him, and adds that Blackman probably deserves a rematch, so he's adding it to SummerSlam. Shane lays down and yells for someone to hurry up and pin him. Edge & Christian are about to do "Rock, Paper & Scissors" to see who should do it, when Foley suggests they both cover, and he as a WWF official will make the count, and they'll be co-holders of the title. 1 ... 2--Foley changes his mind, and decides to waive the 24/7 stipulation until after SummerSlam. To make it up to Edge & Christian he books them in a Tag Title defense against D-Generation X. Triple H thinks Angle and Stephanie have been in the room alone together way too long. Angle protests that he's only shown her how to do three moves. The Kat is at WWF New York. - "During the break" at WWF New York, the Kat was attacked by Terri, who gave her a stinkface. - EDGE/CHRISTIAN vs. ROAD DOGG/X-PAC A few minutes in Road Dogg tries to give Christian a pumphandle slam, as X-Pac simultaneously tries to do the X-Factor. Edge breaks up the argument by spearing X-Pac. Here come the Dudley Boyz with a table, which they set up at ringside. They chase Edge & Christian out through the crowd. That leaves Road Dogg & X-Pac, in the ring bickering. A shove by the Dogg brings about a headbutt from X-Pac, which knocks Road Dogg off the apron and through the table the Dudleyz left behind. X-Pac looks concerned, but Ross questions if it was really an accident. Lita goes for the gold ... NEXT! - LITA vs. STEPHANIE MCMAHON-HELMSLEY (w/ Triple H & Kurt Angle) Lita starts the match with a spear, then delivers some really bad-looking punches. Stephanie is whipped into the corner. Another weak forearm, followed by a hair-pull takeover. Stephanie blocks a charge with a kick, then goes for that full nelson she was taught, but Lita comes back with a hiptoss. Huracanrana, and a cover for two. The Rock, referee for the match, keeps Angle from coming in. On the other side of the ring Triple H trips Lita. A moment later he's attacked by the Hardyz, who have come out to even the odds. Angle comes over to help. Lita misses a charge into the corner. Stephanie lays in a series of kicks and forearm shots. A whip to the opposite corner, followed by a monkey flip! Stephanie's kicking ass! Reversed whip, duck of a clothesline, and Stephanie kicks Lita's stomach. DDT! Stephanie covers for two. She protests the slow count. Stephanie slaps Lita, and follows with some kicks. Whip into the ropes. Lita takes Stephanie down with a flying headscissors! Forearm, whip, ducked clothesline, and Lita hits one of her own. The crowd is on its feet. Lita climbs the ropes while holding a headlock, leading to a bulldog. Two count, with the crowd counting along. Snap suplex by Lita. She then climbs up top for a moonsault, but Angle shoves her off. The Hardyz come around to put a stop to that. All four men are fighting on the floor, with Triple H & Angle coming out on top. Angle grabs Stephanie's title belt and tries to pass it off to her, but the Rock sees him and flips him into the ring. He pounds on Angle in the corner. Triple H comes in from behind and gets the better of the Rock, but just as he bends him down to do the Pedigree, Angle comes flying in with the belt (intent on nailing the Rock). He hits Triple H instead (the Rock's head now no longer where Angle was aiming). Angle eats a Rock Bottom. Stephanie tries to hit him with the belt, but the Rock ducks, and gives her a spinebuster. He drags her toward the corner and tells Lita to put her away. Lita goes up and lands the moonsault. 1 ... 2 ... 3! New Women's Champion! Stephanie, Triple H & Angle are all left floundering on the mat, as the Hardyz hoist Lita on their shoulders up on the stage. - This Thursday: Nothing announced. - Next week: RAW starts two hours later, at 11:00 PM Eastern. Comments: Typical PPV hype show, featuring good storyline advancement, but almost totally irrelevant matches (quality-wise, anyway). Great finish, though. Here's the card for SummerSlam: * The Rock vs. Triple H vs. Kurt Angle. WWF Championship Match. * Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho. 2-out-of-3 Falls. * The Undertaker vs. Kane. * The Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christian "Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match" for the World Tag Team Titles. * Val Venis & Trish Stratus vs. Eddie Guerrero & Chyna. Mixed-Tag Match for the Intercontinental Title. * Shane McMahon vs. Steve Blackman. Hardcore Title Match. * Road Dogg vs. X-Pac. * Jerry "The King" Lawler vs. Tazz. * Too Cool & Rikishi vs. Right To Censor. * The Kat vs. Terri Runnels. "Stinkface Match." That's an insane number of matches, but as usual the WWF has tried to squeeze as many people onto the show as they can. They always seem to do this for WrestleMania and SummerSlam. They actually did a good job of hyping the undercard. My interest in the show is high, but my confidence that it will be great has gone down. I sure hope Lawler puts Tazz over at the PPV, otherwise what was the point of this feud? (The funny thing is I'll actually be rooting for Lawler.) I fear the Benoit/Jericho match will be used as the "relief valve," so to speak, with the first fall or two being cut really short if they're running long. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: The two shows may have faced stiff ratings competition from the NFL this week, as "Monday Night Football" featured a squeaker of a game between Miami and Green Bay, which Miami won 17-14 with a late touchdown. The game lasted until a few minutes after RAW was over, meaning both shows went up against the game completely. I believe there is no game next week, which is even more good news for a Nitro which will already go fully unopposed. The same for the week after. Then, a few weeks after that, the WWF makes the jump to The Nashville Network. If WCW's going to do anything big that's the time to do it. And it better be REALLY big, as the WWF has their own weapon coming up in about five weeks, as that's when "Stone Cold" Steve Austin returns to TV. Austin's doctors have cleared him to return to the ring in two months. He should be on TV some time before that, though, building to his in-ring return at either the October or November PPV's. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "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 249 of the "Monday Night Recap", August 21st, 2000.