Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #254 September 25th, 2000 The Opening Word: This is the week where we see if WCW has a chance to close the gap in the ratings war with the WWF on their own, or if it will take another collapse of the entire wrestling business to level the playing field, as it did in the early 90's. WCW is banking upon the WWF's switch to TNN causing viewer confusion, hoping that when people tune in to the USA Network to watch RAW and it isn't there, they'll switch over to Nitro instead of looking for RAW on another channel. The recent US Open preemptions showed that Nitro can pick up a little over a ratings-point worth of viewers when RAW isn't on, and the first week back to their usual spot RAW was down about a half-point from where they used to be, while Nitro was up about a half-point. Last week, facing stiffer competition on the major networks, RAW went down another tenth of a point, while Nitro lost the half-point worth of viewers they had picked up during RAW's preemptions. Thunder ratings over the last month saw a slight increase at first, but have since started to settle back down to preemption levels. SmackDown! over that same period saw a big jump the week of the first preemption, but since then have also settled down to their average level. Were RAW not moving to a new channel the effect of the preemptions would probably have been completely negated. As it stands WCW benefitted from them, but perhaps not as much as they had hoped. What remains to be seen is what affect moving to TNN will have on the WWF's ratings. TNN is available in fewer homes than USA, but that difference is shrinking on a daily basis (currently about two million homes) as cable companies scramble to add TNN to their lineups. Current thinking is that the difference in availability won't have nearly the impact simple viewer confusion will have. If the ratings go down, it will mostly be because viewers were ignorant of the change--or are aware of it, but are slow find to RAW's new home channel. WCW will be going all out, hyping Nitro with a "Caged Heat Match" between ... Booker T and Vince Russo? Actually, knowing that match won't draw flies, much less viewers, WCW has promised a "real" main event in the form of a second match in the cage. Last week Russo, who seems to be appearing on WCW Live nightly dishing out spin control, "guaranteed" he'll win the title (though that's a boast made in character, so who knows), and announced an old enemy of his will be returning. Think Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, it doesn't matter--WCW wants your brain working overtime, hoping you'll tune in to see who it is. WCW has also floated rumors that Scott Hall and/or Diamond Dallas Page will be returning (though both rumors have really died down or been denied by WCW recently). DDP was in action at house shows over the weekend, so the smart money says he's the one coming in as Russo's "old enemy." Maybe Russo will win the title from Booker T, but lose it to DDP in the main event? WCW also hopes to lure you away from RAW with a Miss WCW bikini contest, a match between Lance Storm and Sting, Jeff Jarrett versus General Rection, a "Tag Team Turmoil Match" to fill the vacant Tag Team Titles, and the promise that Goldberg will be there. There's also that ongoing "who is the father of Stacy Kiebler's baby?" storyline which everyone seems to have already lost interest in. The WWF will be countering with a loaded show of their own. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is back, and he's ready to open a six-pack of whoopass on whoever ran him over last November. His return at the PPV didn't amount to much, other than showing he's back and looking in good shape. Shane McMahon tried to take advantage of Austin's return by tricking him into beating up his nemesis Steve Blackman, saying Blackman was the one who ran Austin over. Austin obliged McMahon by giving Blackman a Stone Cold Stunner, but of course saw through Shane's plan and give him three Stunners as well. Austin search for the mystery driver will continue with more random beatings on RAW. Other fallout from the PPV (a show getting mixed reviews) will flesh out the first RAW on TNN ... Chyna's Playboy issue is on the stands, and RAW will show behind-the-scenes footage from the photo shoot. That should put more pressure on her relationship with Eddie Guerrero: a relationship which took an odd turn last Thursday when Eddie asked her to marry him and she accepted. Triple H beat Kurt Angle at Unforgiven, but may have lost his wife in the process. Stephanie didn't seem too pleased with Triple H's actions during and after the match, and on RAW Kurt Angle is likely to take advantage of that. Raven made his WWF debut (yes, I know Scott Levy was in the WWF before) by interfering in Jerry "The King" Lawler's match with Tazz. His appearance was one of the highlights of the PPV. It remains to be seen if his first free TV appearance will be as interesting. The Hardy Boyz are expected to defend their newly-won Tag Team Titles against Edge & Christian in "Ladder Match" rematch. Also in a return bout from the PPV, Chris Jericho is scheduled to face X-Pac in a "First Blood Match." Given the lack of storyline advancement at the PPV, and all these rematches on free TV, I'm really starting to regret buying that PPV. (The above preview info courtesy the WWF and WCW websites.) So this is it ... the night we've been waiting for ever since the WWF announced their deal with Viacom many months ago. The WWF wants to make a big impression on their new network, while WCW's very continued existence may depend on how well they do this week. Fail here and WCW may have to accept their status as second-to-the-WWF for years to come. On the other hand if the WWF stumbles, it may be the opening WCW needs to get back into the thick of the Monday Night War they dropped out more than a year ago. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Uniondale, New York. Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson & Mark Madden. HOUR ONE: - Vince Russo gets a babyface video package chronicling his quest to win the World Title. - "Earlier Today" Russo arrived, with personal stooge Jeremy Borash in tow. Make your own Pat Patterson joke here. - The announcers continue the babyface hype for Russo, with only Scott Hudson deviating by saying Russo just had surgery ... to have Borash's lips removed from his ass. Madden trots out the "brain surgery" stuff again. - BIG VITO vs. JOHNNY THE BULL This is a "Stickball Bat vs. Kendo Stick Match." Vito's sister Maria is sitting at ringside, and it's pretty obvious that something involving her is going to happen. Vito and Johnny hit each other with the sticks for a few minutes. Reno of the Natural Born Thrillerz then runs in, attacking Vito. The ref stands by, doing nothing, as Reno hangs Vito in the corner and continues to beat on him. Maria then hops the rail and comes in, covering Vito with her body. So the ref calls for the bell. Huh? Borash is psyching up Russo in the back. Looks like Russo spent the last week in a tanning bed. - The announcers talk about Russo, and except for Schiavone making a funny face, not the slightest doubt is expressed in regards to Russo being a championship contender. - David Flair, in a bit taped over the weekend, accosts a guy at a payphone while looking for a certain address. - Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner & Midajah hit the ring. Jarrett says a new WCW Champion will be crowned tonight. Steiner badmouths a NFL player "Jumbo" Elliot in the crowd, then takes credit for retiring Goldberg. Russo comes out, Borash carrying his towel (called a "stooge" by Hudson). The "borrowing" from the WWF even extends to WCW's fans, one holding up a sign saying "Russo: It's True, It's True." Russo totally babyfaces himself to the crowd talking about New York and badmouthing Atlanta. Sting then appears and tells Russo to look behind him. It's Goldberg, walking through the crowd. I hope that's not the "old enemy" WCW was talking about, he was only off TV one week. Does Sting know about this "transformation" he's supposed to undergo at Halloween Havoc? - "Just Mike" Sanders tells Kronik they're out of the Tag Title match. - TAG TITLE TURMOIL MATCH The teams are the Harris Twins, Mark Jindrak & Sean O'Haire, Lt. Loco & Cpl. Cajun, 3 Count (all three members), the Jung Dragons (all three members), and former champs Juventud Guerrera & Rey Mysterio, Jr. People are eliminated at the rate of about one every twenty seconds. Kronik then come out and dump the Harris Twins and some others, and are eventually removed by mace-spraying security guards. Juvi & Rey and Jindrak & O'Haire are the last four in the match. Disco Inferno runs out and hits Juvi with his duck, supposedly an accident, though there's no way he could have hit anyone *but* Juvi. Konnan, who's done nothing but make masturbation jokes throughout all this, leaves the announce table and chases Disco out. Rey is then clotheslined out of the ring and Jindrak & O'Haire are the new champions. Couldn't they have just had Jindrak & O'Haire win the belts from the Filthy Animals last week? No sign of the Perfect Event and Insane Clown Posse, who were supposed to be in this match too. Torrie Wilson is in the back oiling up. - Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Hank the Angry Dwarf, Crackhead Bob, Fred the Elephant Boy and other members of Howard Stern's "Wack Pack." Uh, yeah. Say, you suppose WCW was pissed that Howard Stern himself refused to be on the show, yet Stern had Steve Austin on his show today, plugging RAW on TNN? Do you think these guys know they're not going to see any nudity tonight? Kevin Nash interrupts the interview, because god forbid anyone who's over with a crowd spend any time in the spotlight without him. - Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse cuts a promo hyping their JCW promotion, then challenge Mike Awesome to a match ... MIKE AWESOME vs. THE INSANE CLOWN POSSE The match lasts about two minutes, the finish seeing Violent J tossed off the hood of Awesome's bus through a table. Then "That 70's Guy" gives an Awesomebomb to Shaggy 2 Dope on top of "That 70's Bus." Shaggy slides off the top, dropping to the ground. Awesome climbs down and covers for the pin. Major Gunns flashes some cleavage. The Cat & Miss Jones are backstage. - David Flair pulls up to a Chuck E. Cheese pizza joint to get directions. A cameraman is in the back shooting this. Cut to the inside of the restaurant. Looking outside we see David walking toward the door, and behind him the backseat of his vehicle is empty. Magic, I tells ya! David yells at the girl behind the counter, so she tells him he has to leave. David thinks she's part of the conspiracy and jumps into the rubber ball tank in the children's play area, looking for the fiend who knocked up his girlfriend Stacy. This stuff is about as believable as the "Low Budget Wrestling" show which airs on the local college channel. - The Cat comes out. If Jeff Jarrett or Scott Steiner interfere in the main event they'll be fired. Mike Sanders comes out, and he and the Cat spar verbally. Kevin Nash then leads the Natural Born Thrillerz out, continuing his "coach" gimmick, diagramming a plan for them to run in on the Cat. One-by-one they attack, the Cat knocking out each, until Sanders knocks him out from behind with a bat. Tygress and Paisley talk about what little chance the white girls have to win the bikini contest. HOUR TWO: - Time for the bikini contest (and RAW to start). Chae doesn't even bother to take off her robe. Neither does Chiquita. Torrie gets the first real reaction taking her robe off. Hank the Dwarf is so drunk he can barely sit on his stool in the ring! Tygress & Paisley go for extra points by rubbing oil on each other. Leiah Meow's S&M outfit is probably a bit much for TNT standards, and Madden doesn't help things by making a blatantly offensive, racist comment. Major Gunns is wearing a U.S. flag bikini, and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan comes out and makes her leave, covering her up with a Canadian flag. Pamela Paulshock, wearing a big fur coat, says it's hot, and takes the coat off, revealing a suit that shows off a lot of cleavage but not much else. The judges declare Pamela the winner, even though she wasn't in the contest. Leiah Meow takes offense and pushes her to her knees, then whips her breasts with a riding crop. I kid you not. Midajah then comes in and gently bodyslams Leiah, and the two roll around. This whole segment was probably worse than 90% of the stuff the WWF did which got them in hot water with sponsors and the PTC, yet it wasn't really all that hot, none of the girls showing anywhere near the amount of skin they promised. (What we did see was good, though.) - Disqo Inferno cuts a promo, saying he has a new partner or something, but he's quickly attacked by Scott Steiner. Steiner calls out Goldberg, who comes out. Goldberg lays down some stipulation, and suggests they do a match in that Steel Cage hanging over the ring ... GOLDBERG vs. SCOTT STEINER Some interesting, intense fighting between these two for a few minutes. Then Midajah comes out and gives Steiner a pipe. He lays out Goldberg, and tries to exit the cage, but the door is being kept shut by "Jumbo" Elliot, who for some reason isn't being hustled out by security for jumping the rail. Steiner goes back into the ring. Goldberg ducks a pipe swing, comes off the ropes and spears Steiner. He then exits the cage, winning the match. Good match until the booking kicked in. Beetlejuice (one of the bikini contest judges) calls Jeff Jarrett a "slapnut." Jarrett lays him out with a guitar shot. - Pamela gets comments from Booker T. - GENERAL RECTION vs. JEFF JARRETT Continuing tonight's streak of nothing matches Rection and Jarrett battle for a minute or two before Team Canada runs in. Duggan hits Rection with a 2X4 and Jarrett gets the win. They continue to beat on him until Sting makes the save. Storm finds a mic and challenges Sting to a match. - STING vs. LANCE STORM We join the match in progress, it having gotten underway during the break. Good match, FINALLY, with Storm getting some good heel heat. Sting is barely able to reach the ropes to break up a Canadian Cloverleaf, which Storm escaped from a Scorpion Deathlock to apply. Sting then wins with a Scorpion Deathdrop and pin. I think Sting got a bigger pop than Goldberg did, probably showing how much more a pinfall victory means than a lame "walk out of the cage door" finish. David Flair pulls up to a house (of course the cameraman is already there waiting for him). David knocks on the door. - Now the cameraman is inside the house, filming as the door is opened by a guy who looks a lot like Leslie Nielsen. David barges in, yelling "where is he?!" Of course David doesn't say who he's looking for, and they haven't made it clear whether David is actually looking for a specific person, or just crazy and bugging people at random. He is looking for a specific address, though, and the guy tells him that's next door. David goes next door and pounds away. The guy tells David that "he" (whoever it is) is on vacation. At the start of the show they said this footage was taped over the weekend, but here they make it seem like it's happening live, and that it's taking place somewhere in New York. Of course I'm wondering why the cameraman doesn't just ask the old guy who lives next door, so he could then tell the announcers. Oh, I see, those cameraman don't really exist. We're seeing all this through witchcraft or something. - Mean Gene interviews Russo. - Jeremy Borash joins the announce team. Russo has a 9-0 undefeated record. - VINCE RUSSO vs. BOOKER T It's irritating the way Schiavone isn't calling Madden or anyone on the stupid things they say. In fact, Schiavone isn't saying much of anything, giving Madden all kinds of extra time to speak. Russo starts off the match pulling a baseball bat out of his pants and laying out Booker T. He tries to walk out of the cage, but Mike Awesome and several other babyface wrestlers have come out to make sure Russo doesn't win. This, of course, gives Russo all he needs to be declared an uncrowned champion, because he *should* have already won. So Russo sets up a ladder and tries to climb out the top, but Awesome is up there, joined quickly by Sting, who drops down from the ceiling. Sting must be psychic. For the next few minutes Booker T beats on Russo, at one point delivering a feather-soft bodyslam from knee-height. Here comes ... Lex Luger?! Luger, like everyone else who goes away for an extended time, returns and immediately turns heel, Luger handing a pipe through the mesh of the cage to Russo. Talk about overbooking a match. Russo uses the pipe to lay out Booker, as well as the ref. The cage door is opened and EMT's go in to help the ref (another idea "recycled" by Russo). One of the EMT's turns out to be Ric Flair(!), and he beats on Russo. Talk about overbooking a match. Out come the Natural Born Thrillerz to beat up the babyfaces, and raise the head-count of people involved in this match to about thirty. Okay, so Booker has Russo laid out, and he rattles off his catchphrases. He then heads over to the door, only to stop when Goldberg's music starts. Booker waits until Goldberg comes in before he tries to leave, but again he's stopped, this time by Scott Steiner slamming the door shut. That might have been surprising if Bret Hart hadn't done the same a few weeks ago in Wargames 2000, and if they hadn't done essentially the same thing both earlier in the show during the Goldberg/Steiner match and ten seconds into THIS VERY MATCH. Talk about overbooking ... say, doesn't this mean the Cat will fire Steiner? Anyway, Booker kicks the door and sends Steiner flying. He heads for the door again, but is cut off by Russo, who is making a dash to escape. Booker stops him, and Goldberg comes flying in with a spear, which slams Russo completely through the cage wall, winning him the match and WCW World Heavyweight Title. But wait ... Booker T stepped out of the cage door at about the same time, so nobody knows for sure who won, the show ending with the announcers yelling they don't know who the winner is. - This Wednesday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: Russo won the match, assuming going through the cage wall like that counts (and it should, if climbing out the top and touching the floor would have counted). Slow-mo replay shows Russo's feet touching the ground before Booker even steps out the door. Now, whether they give him the belt on Thunder is another thing, as they can use any story they want. The finish here was clear, though, that being Russo wanted a scenario whereby he'd clearly have a legitimate claim at winning the title, without having to face the wrath of angry fans by ACTUALLY getting it. Talk about having your cake and eating it too, AND overbooking a match. Did this show deliver on everything WCW promised? Not really. Was it the show they needed to do to get back into the battle with the WWF? Probably not. Was it a GOOD show? No, but it wasn't too terrible either, and coming from me that's a major compliment. I liked the way the show was paced, and the mix of wrestling and non-wrestling stuff was just about right. The show failed, though, in several areas. First off, Hour One was just flat-out bad. The matches were weak, and the David Flair skits were just terrible. Hour Two then got off to a bad start with the bikini contest, which ran too long and failed to even impress the live crowd. The Goldberg/Steiner encounter was then rushed, not even feeling like a real match. Things finally picked up late in the show with the Sting match, and the main event, while tremendously overbooked, was entertaining and had the crowd on its feet. I have to be honest, I like the way Russo has crafted the storyline for himself. It's just too bad that he's given no one else in the company anywhere near that much attention. And while I think it's somewhat well done, I don't like the idea of a booker doing it for himself to put himself over as the company's top star. Maybe that's a big part of why I thought this show was so pointless. What did any of it build to? All storylines seem to be leading to a Russo/Booker rematch, Russo versus Goldberg, and some day Russo versus Ric Flair. A Goldberg/Steiner rematch will be big, but their previous PPV match, and the one here, have effectively killed it's chances of being the BIG match they can build to some day. Sting's getting a big push, but he's not exactly running with the main eventers right now. Sting vs. Booker T, Sting vs. Steiner, Sting vs. Jarrett, Steiner vs. Booker, Jarrett vs. Booker, or any of these guys versus Kevin Nash all seem like matches we've seen a million times before. And Goldberg, being rebuilt as a monster babyface, just seems so much bigger than most everyone else, save for Steiner. WCW can do a lot of main event matches, and some of them could be good, but so many of them we've seen before, and none of them feel big enough to be the type of story that headlines the promotion. WCW can do a solid undercard, if only they can get away from some of the stupid gimmicks they've given guys, and the bad storylines they've put them in. What WCW needs, though, is a big storyline that the whole company revolves around. They don't have that right now, though Russo is trying to fill that void by pushing himself as the next Vince McMahon. So far, I don't think it's working. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: State College, Pennsylvania. Hosted By: Jim Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler. WWF RAW: - It's been a while ... **KEE-RASH!!!** "Stone Cold" Steve Austin makes his way to the ring. He says some things have changed since he left. Vince McMahon went home to make babies. Austin hopes he's shooting blanks. Triple H and Stephanie got married. Austin calls it the worst marriage in the history of the business. Then there's Naked Man Mideon running around. Austin asks why he couldn't buy some cream to clear up the pimples on his ass? Austin promises to track down and destroy whoever it was who ran him down. Commissioner Mick Foley comes out. He can't agree with Austin's more physical methods of investigation, and that he'd prefer to seek out whoever it was who ran over Austin himself. Austin's not down with that idea, because he hasn't eliminated Foley as a suspect yet. Here comes Chris Benoit. Benoit says if anyone deserves justice in the WWF, it's him. He says Foley has screwed him out of the WWF Championship twice now, and that he deserves a shot at the Rock's title tonight. Foley agrees, and books the match. Now here comes Kurt Angle. He thinks he got screwed at the PPV too, and wants another shot at Triple H. Foley, though, wasn't impressed with Angle's performance at the PPV, and denies him the match. Angle accepts that, saying Triple H needs time to "lick his wounds." Angle then turns to Steve Austin, saying he doesn't appreciate the way Austin has been looking at he and Chris Benoit. Benoit wasn't even in the WWF at the time Austin was run over, and Angle says he'd never do something like that himself. He didn't like the way Austin treated him at the PPV. He demands an apology. "That's probably not going to happen, tonight--" KICK! STUNNER! Benoit charges, but Austin ducks, and delivers another kick and Stunner! - KANE vs. RIKISHI Does anyone else think turning Rikishi heel now, which the WWF seems to be doing, is a bad idea? Nothing match. Rikishi shoves down the ref, then gets DQ'ed for hitting Kane with a chair. Austin enters the Undertaker's dressing room. The Taker says he didn't do it, and if he knew who did he'd tell Austin, because that person might come after the Undertaker some day too. Undertaker says it's a shame that some day he and Austin will have to step into the ring against each other again. Austin asks if that's really a shame? The Undertaker pauses, and says maybe it wouldn't be after all. Cool, intense confrontation. Is that a muppet on the toilet, reading a newspaper? Foley's office this week is in a bathroom. Edge & Christian come in and complain about having to wrestle a "Ladder Match" tonight. Foley says he needs a big, historic match for the first RAW on TNN. If E&C don't win this is their last chance at the titles. E&C say the Hardyz title reign will be short. Foley produces a drink umbrella and says they need that then. E&C don't find that funny, but a female arena employee who's been using the nearby stall does. So Foley's office is in the women's room?! - Clip of the Dudley Boyz and Acolytes with the Budweiser guy on Heat. - TAZZ vs. BUH-BUH RAY DUDLEY (w/ D-Von Dudley) Tazz goads Buh-Buh into sending D-Von to the back. Things go along until Tazz drops out of the ring to taunt Lawler. Lawler gets out of his seat, just as Raven is hopping the rail nearby. Raven grabs Lawler and gives him the DDT. He also gives one to Buh-Buh. Tazz covers for the pin. I think Raven's debut has been handled alright, but I am a bit tired of these "he doesn't work here!" angles. Stephanie is upset with Triple H because he forgot her birthday. He says he didn't, that her presents are waiting for her when they get home. She's also upset with that kiss at the PPV because it wasn't very romantic. He says that's not what that kiss was about--it was a message to Kurt Angle. - THE HARDY BOYZ vs. EDGE & CHRISTIAN An early innovative spot see Edge & Christian laid out in the corner. Matt & Jeff lay a ladder on its side, spread it open, and shove it into E&C's crotches. Matt then drop-kicks the ladder, doubling the pain. Later Jeff Hardy is folded up inside a ladder and stood up in the corner. Christian then does a crossbody block onto the ladder, crushing Jeff between its two halves. Edge & Christian get dumped off the ladders climbing to grab the belts. A third, taller ladder is brought into the ring. After some more bumps by everyone Jeff tries to grab the belts. The ladder he's on is knocked away, leaving him hanging from the hoops holding the belts. Edge then leaps off the tall ladder, spearing Jeff in mid-air! The two crash to the mat. Awesome spot. The crowd chants "holy shit!" JR's misapproximations of height are humorous here. Lita does a run-in, but is quickly clobbered by Christian. A bit later Edge does a flying clothesline off a ladder set on the floor, taking out Jeff, while Christian back suplexes Matt off a ladder. After a breather Matt powerbombs Edge off the ladder. He then starts to climb, but Christian jabs him with a chair. They then set up the two smaller ladders on either side of the big one, and climb up with chairs, intent on delivering the Conchairto. Jeff and Lita then crawl in and push the two ladders over, dropping Edge & Christian both to the floor. Matt climbs up a few more rungs and grabs the belts, winning the match. Very good match. That last spot took a long time to set up, though, as Jeff and Lita took a long time getting back into the ring. I'm not sure these four were healthy enough to do this match. WWF WAR ZONE: The last match took us into the second hour. Cutting to the back we see Austin interrogating Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco. The two deny they were at Survivor Series, accusing the other of being there. Austin says he knows they're both lying because they were both there, but adds he doesn't think either did it because neither has the sack to do it. After Austin leaves the two continue to squabble like an old married couple. Chyna's up next. - Chyna comes out to talk about her Playboy pictorial. Two reproductions of the Playboy cover (each nearly six feet tall) have been set up in the ring. In a long speech Chyna talks about how proud she is to have made it to the pages of Playboy, saying that she was always called ugly, and a freak, and that she worked hard to mold her body into something people would perceive as being beautiful. Out come Steven Richards and the Right To Censor crew. Val Venis calls Playboy "sugar-coated pornography." he urges the fans to boycott the magazine, saying they shouldn't buy it because she isn't worth the money. Here comes Eddie Guerrero. In something of an about-face from recent events, Eddie says his Mamacita is more than worth it for anyone who buys the magazine, and as a gesture to her he'll defend her honor by putting his Intercontinental Title up against any member of the RTC. Venis accepts the challenge. Good segment, but one that went too long. Kurt Angle is backstage reading the USA Today sports page, noting which Olympic wrestlers he's either beaten or could beat. Trish Stratus comes in and says she'd never turn down a gift like Steve Austin did, and asks Angle if he still has that gold medal? Yes, he does, and he lets her see it. She asks if she can try it on? She can, and putting it on, the medal drops down her cleavage. She bends over and asks him how it looks. Taking a gander at her mounds, he says "it's true *gulp!* it's true!" X-Pac ... Chris Jericho ... "First Blood Match" ... NEXT! - CHRIS JERICHO vs. X-PAC Jericho jumps X-Pac up on the stage as he enters. The match is good for the minute or so its lasts. X-Pac then grabs a bottle from somewhere at ringside and smashes it on Jericho's head. He also rubs a piece of the bottle across Jericho's forehead, and even though there's no blood evident (that I can see, though there probably should be), the ref calls for the bell, declaring X-Pac the winner. Ah, now there's some blood. The two continue to fight, X-Pac hitting Jericho with a pair of nunchucks, then Jericho putting X-Pac in the Walls of Jericho on the announce table. Officials come out to keep the two apart. Ross declares this a "blood feud" just begun. Austin barges in on Triple H & Stephanie. Steph--damn her cans look big tonight (sorry)--blabbers about giving Austin his hat back and such. Austin asks Triple H if he's going to shut her up, or if Austin will have to do it? Triple H repeats his claim that he didn't run Austin over, and that he doesn't know who did. Austin says he's either lying, one crazy S.O.B., or that maybe he's telling the truth. - The Rock has some comments for Benoit, calling him the "biggest jackass son-of-a-bitch ever!" - The WWF Divas shot some photos in New York. Footage of the photo shoot will be shown this Sunday on Superstars. - EDDIE GUERRERO (w/ Chyna) vs. VAL VENIS (w/ Steven Richards) Before the match they show some pics from Chyna's Playboy spread, doing the "Entertainment Tonight" bit of covering up the naughty bits with a Playboy logo. (I thought they were supposed to have some kind of "behind-the-scenes" footage?) Good match, short, but with a funny finish. Richards jumps up on the apron to distract the ref. Chyna grabs him and tries to pull him off, but he grabs the ropes. So she pulls on his pants. They come off ... he doesn't! Steven's underwear also comes down, and there's his ass all hangin' out for everyone to see. Venis then gets whipped into the ropes, knocking Richards to the floor. Eddie then rolls Val up for the pin. Richards throws a fit, tearing his shirt off, so that all he's wearing is his shoes, socks, underwear, necktie and knee brace. Promo for Sunday Night Heat on MTV. - Crash Holly tries to buy a drink at WWF New York, but the bartender says he's too young. Ross says he shouldn't be drinking anyway, which is funny because Holly supposedly got depushed a few months ago for getting drunk and making a fool of himself at WWF New York. - Steven William Regal is out deliver some more culture to the fans, this time in the form of literature. "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, to be exact. He's a few lines into his reading when ... **KEE-RASH!!!** No, it's not the ghost of Hamlet's father--Austin walks to the ring, kicks Regal in the gut, lays him out with a Stunner, then walks back up the ramp. The crowd loved it. The funniest part is Austin's deadpan expression throughout. Alas, poor Regal ... Benoit is warming up for his match. - THE ROCK vs. CHRIS BENOIT (w/ Shane McMahon) JR cries foul when he sees Shane coming out with Benoit. Huge "Shane's a pussy!" chant as the match starts, so Shane interferes in the match. He later punches the Rock to help Benoit escape a Sharpshooter applied by the People's Champ. Benoit does the rolling German suplex, but the Rock escapes the third suplex, countering with a DDT. Benoit comes back with the flying headbutt off the top. A few moves later the Rock goes for the pin, but Shane grabs the ref, stopping the three count. Referee Earl Hebner gets pissed at Shane, and gets right in his face letting him know he won't stand for any more shenanigans. Then, just as Hebner gets back on the apron the Rock is whipped into him, sending Hebner crashing into the ring barrier. Shane enters the ring and hits the Rock, and floats like a butterfly, but before he can sting like a bee the Rock turns to face him. Realizing he would never be able to get away, Shane goes ahead and hits him--or tries, anyway, but the Rock blocks it, and punches Shane himself, then puts him down with a spinebuster. Here comes Benoit with a clothesline. Benoit slides out and grabs a chair, and lines up a shot on the Rock, but the Rock ducks, and Shane takes the shot instead. Benoit charges the Rock, only to be dumped over the top rope to the floor. Bounce, bounce, bounce--here comes Stephanie to check on her brother Shane. Triple H is right behind, telling her to come back with him to the back. Stephanie wants to help Shane, though, so he helps her roll him out of the ring. Just then the Rock and Benoit battle back into the ring, Benoit getting whipped into Triple H. Triple H, on the apron, yells at Benoit. Benoit takes a swing at him, which Triple H ducks, and he grabs Benoit's head, dropping off the apron, snapping Benoit's neck on the top rope. Benoit staggers back ... into a waiting Rock Bottom! The Rock covers, and a groggy Earl Hebner crawls back in to make the slow three count. The Rock climbs the corner to celebrate, then locks eyes with Triple H. Kurt Angle charges the ring, dropping the Rock with a clothesline. He also hits Triple H, and Benoit joins in to lay the two faces out in the ring. Angle's continued stomping draws Stephanie into the ring. She slaps him, drawing a huge reaction from the crowd. Angle asks her why she did that? Benoit then interrupts ... by headbutting Stephanie! The show ends with Benoit walking up the ramp, Jim Ross declaring him and Angle two despicable human beings. Hey, RAW is starting over! Looks like TNN is going to run a replay right after the live RAW finishes. - This Thursday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: I don't know if this was a home run for the WWF, but it was damn sure a good show. Austin's list of suspects is rapidly narrowing. I imagine Vince McMahon will be back on TV soon to be questioned, and if that happens that's going to be a big night. I don't know where the finish of the show leaves us, but it sure adds an interesting twist to the ongoing Stephanie/Triple H/Angle storyline. The matches were good this week, the Ladder Match maybe being one of the best matches on TV this year. The main event was pretty solid too. The rest ranged from just okay to "eh." There's a lot more that could be discussed, but I think I'll wait until next week, after I see what happens on SmackDown! and we know better where they're heading with the new storylines. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: I was just thinking how much better off WCW would be now if they hadn't ruined Mike Awesome. Could you imagine where he'd be today if they'd have given him a Goldberg-type push, slowly building him up as a monster heel? They could have kept him out of the mix with the other top guys, only just now giving him the U.S. Title. Eventually he could have joined up with Russo, and finally we'd have a major heel they could have groomed for a match against Goldberg at Starrcade. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "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 254 of the "Monday Night Recap", September 25th, 2000.