Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #276 February 26th, 2001 The Opening Word: I liked No Way Out, though perhaps not as much as many others did. Slipping on my steps and messing up my knee and back Saturday night may have had something to do with that. The crowd over at our house to watch the show really seemed to like it (though a few did leave after the Austin-Triple H match). I personally thought the in-ring stuff was tremendous. I had some questions about some of the booking, though. I'm glad both Chris Jericho and the Dudley Boyz retained their respective titles, but I thought neither match was all that great (the 4-way for the IC belt obviously being the better of the two). I actually nodded off during the 3-way Tag Title Table Match. It was depressing to see the Undertaker skate by in another match where he could have put a younger star over. Seeing Christian go through a table was nothing new. For a split-second I though Trish Stratus and Stephanie McMahon were doing the Flair-Steamboat of women's matches! That match kept and going and going ... and it didn't suck. Amazing. The angle with William Regal not knowing what to do was great. The "Right To Nudity" match went precisely as I figured it would. I have nothing at all good to say about the Hardcore Title Match. Maybe it is realistic for the Big Show to breeze to a win in that one, but that doesn't mean it was the right thing to do. The WWF pretty much killed my interest in Raven, which had been growing over the past several weeks. Kurt Angle is incredible. My only beef against what was obviously the best match on the show was that the finish for Steve Austin vs. Triple H was too anticlimactic. Politics rears its ugly head again. I'm sure the "simultaneous knockout/Triple H falls on top for the fluke pin" was a concession to appease Austin. Then letting Austin do the Stunner to get his heat back diminished whatever impact Triple H's win might have had. I'm sure these two will be going at it again later this year, and a cleaner win by Triple H here might have assured a return favor down the road. Now I expect Triple H to only lose to Austin by similarly screwy means. Not that I'm sticking up for Triple H, mind you. I still expect him to wrangle his way into the WrestleMania main event somehow. Overall though the match was incredible. The timing of putting it in the middle of the show was weird, but at least that way we didn't have to worry about timing issues and squeezing it in just in case the show had been running long. That's two pretty good PPV's in a row from the WWF so far this year. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours. Location: New Orleans, Louisiana. Hosted By: Tony Schiavone & Scott Hudson. HOUR ONE: - Cold open to a backstage shot, where we learn that someone laid Kronik out. Security head Doug Dellinger asks Ric Flair how much longer he's going to let this go on, as the members of the Magnificent 7 jokingly deny laying Kronik out. Cut to a door which closes. Now it opens. A sound man hurriedly scrambles out of the way through the door! In the background ... some wrestlers are waiting. After a crowd shot in the arena they come back to the door, Scott Steiner "arriving". He beats up a security guard. That's a keeper for the blooper reel. Out in the arena Diamond Dallas Page starts calling Steiner "Einsteiner" and an idiot. Steiner goes out to the ring. He says he's playing mind games with Steiner, and that he talked to one of the guys who Steiner supposedly injured recently. He'll be back later tonight. Does WCW know how to do anything other than hyping their shows with "mystery" partners/opponents/debuts/returns? Isn't it kind of funny that DDP says he's messing with Steiner's head, then turns around and says something that's SUPPOSED to make Steiner nervous? Why wouldn't Steiner just naturally assume he's lying? By the way, how did DDP get in the building? Why doesn't Flair send security or the police after him? In fact, if DDP is such a thorn in their side, why doesn't Flair just FIRE HIM? - Nice to see an actual bracket for the Cruiserweight Tag Team Title Tournament. Some odd pairings--Kwee Wee teaming with Mike Sanders? Elix Skipper has a mystery partner. Who is Scotty O.? A lot of jobbers needed to fill all these slots. - JOHNNY SWINGER/JASON LEE vs. BILLY KIDMAN/REY MYSTERIO, JR. Schiavone launches into a story about how Johnny Swinger was in WCW before but left in 1999 because he was too much of a rebel to conform. Whatever. At least it's hype for someone, and they managed to get at least one guy out of ECW's going-out-of-business sale. Mysterio is wearing a mask, of sorts. Either they've lucked into the best crowd mic-job ever or they're sweetening the sound, because nobody out in the audience seems to be making the raucous noise we're hearing. A nice Shooting Star Press from the top to the floor by Kidman. Fast action, but mostly a squash, with Kidman & Mysterio getting the win, Kidman pinning Lee with the Kid Krusher. The Cat has a special announcement. - Mardi Gras footage gives the show some flavah. - Scott Hudson talks about Miss Jones, which is pretty silly unless WCW is planning to bring her back. The Cat hits the ring. His "big announcement" is that he's going to step down as commissioner. This is somehow part of his plan to get Kanyon. Ric Flair comes out. Both men talk, but neither say anything of substance. Flair takes his coat of, launching into full "crazy old man" mode, but winds up saying he's the CEO and doesn't fight anymore. The Cat attacks, bouncing Flair around like a ping pong ball with his silly karate schtick. This is so sad. Flair drops to the floor, frustrated, and security is now magically on the scene to hold him back. Flair says the Cat has to face Rick Steiner tonight. I'm sure we're supposed to think it's Goldberg or Kevin Nash coming back tonight, but it's most likely Booker T or Sting. Konnan delivers a speech backstage to ... no one in particular. Like last week he talks without looking at the camera. - Chuck Palumbo & Sean O'Haire come out and challenge Team Canada to a match. - CHUCK PALUMBO/SEAN O'HAIRE vs. MIKE AWESOME/LANCE STORM Midway through the match Lex Luger's music starts to play. Kanyon then sneaks in and lays out O'Haire. Moments later Team Canada gets the win, Storm getting a submission out of Palumbo with the Canadian Mapleleaf. Konnan then jumps the two Canadians as they back away from the ring. - Moments ago, Sean O'Haire challenged Kanyon to a match. Back live, Flair tells Kanyon to take him out with the Flatliner. Is Kanyon part of the Magnificent 7, or just a flunky? - Earlier today, DDP scoffs at the list of guys Scott Steiner supposedly injured, saying Steiner didn't get rid of any of them. I know it's just part of the story, but it really bugs me when DDP keeps calling Steiner an idiot. Steiner's the closest thing this company has to a star. I guess DDP needs something to make himself feel good about this feud. Me, I'll just fondly think of that story where Steiner kicked DDP's ass in a fight backstage not too many months ago. - RICK STEINER vs. THE CAT I refuse to call him "Citizen Cat". You'd think WCW would go out of its way to book its two worst workers in a match together. On the other hand that means we only get one bad match instead of two. Steiner blows up pretty quick, and the next three or four hours are spent with the two down on the mat in restholds. The match goes on and on and on, until Lex Luger & Buff Bagwell finally come out to end the misery. Or add to it. Hugh Morrus then makes the save, nailing Steiner with his knee brace. The Cat covers and gets the pin. He's immediately attacked by Scott Steiner. Steiner puts Morrus in the Recliner, while Rick, Lex & Buff stomp on the Cat. DDP runs in to make the save, but he ends up getting stomped too. Here comes Booker T for the save, the crowd on its feet. Scott Steiner grabs a mic and says he's not impressed by a nobody. Booker challenges Steiner, Luger & Bagwell to a six-man against himself, DDP & the Cat. HOUR TWO: - SCOTT STEINER/TOTALLY BUFF vs. BOOKER T/DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE/THE CAT This match lasts forever as well, and I'm beyond the point of noting whether it was even any good or not. Booker doesn't look too rusty. Ric Flair sits in on color and adds the occasional vaguely articulate comment, talking up how great WCW is. Lots of action here--amazing considering half the participants of the match really stink. Everyone starts doing their finishing moves: DDP Diamond Cuts Steiner; Bagwell hits the Blockbuster on DDP; Booker takes Bagwell down with the Rock Bottom. Booker then hits an axe kick on Steiner and covers for the pin. That's about the best booking move I've seen out of WCW in two years. Booker, DDP & the Cat run away through the celebrating crowd. Can we just end the show now on this high note? Nope, guess not. DDP ruins the moment by gloating on the mic, stepping all over what should be Booker T's moment in the spotlight. - A video package recaps the Dustin Rhodes/Jeff Jarrett feud. - Steiner's throwing a fit backstage. The Good Guys, meanwhile, are celebrating. Why aren't we seeing a cadre off armored security rushing in right now, commanded by Flair, beating the hell out of them? - Dustin Rhodes cuts a Konnan-esque promo, staring off into space as he speaks. - SHANE HELMS vs. SHANNON MOORE (w/ Evan Karagias) Another cruiserweight match like earlier: okay, but too short to amount to much. Helms wins with the Vertebreaker. Chavo Guerrero then runs out and stomps on Helms. It's funny how these cruiserweight matches have all gotten shorter and less spectacular since WCW started "pushing" the division. - Another look at Kid Romeo. A funny story about him: he was in WCW about a year ago, which is when the video of him was originally done. WCW then released him because they apparently thought he had an attitude problem. After a year of bouncing from promotion to promotion, he got a tryout match at a WWF show a few weeks ago. That got WCW on the phone to him pretty quick. - A sponsor ad is disguised as clips of WCW stars partying at Mardi Gras. Hometown boy Lash LeRoux makes his only appearance of the show, for about two seconds. Riki Rachtman?! Kee-rist. - SEAN O'HAIRE vs. KANYON Hey, the wrestling is decent tonight, but storyline-wise the show flatlined a half-hour ago. O'Haire gets the upset pin with the Seanton Bomb. - DUSTIN RHODES vs. JEFF JARRETT Jarrett comes out, and they go to commercial. This is going to draw a brutal quarter hour rating. Flair is the referee. The usual match in this situation. Rather than immediately DQ-ing Dustin for some imaginary infraction and calling in the troops, Flair spends several minutes calling the match down the middle. He then does a 180 and favors Jarrett. Dustin eventually punks out Flair, has Jarrett down for the cover, and tries to use Flair's hand to slap a three count. Flair pulls his hand free after two. A low blow by Flair then leads to Jarrett getting the pin--a dagger-blow to the heart of the crowd which had been into the show since Booker's return and win. Flair & Jarrett run away as Booker T, DDP & the Cat run in waving chairs. - This Wednesday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: A hot crowd this week, but I'm pretty sure they were pumping in crowd noise (early on, anyway). The fans stood a lot, showing they were excited, but I'm not sure if there were even enough people in the building to make that noise we were hearing. When the crowd is going nuts and popping for every punch and kick in the second match, yet you don't actually see the fans reacting, that's a bit fishy. Flair didn't lose his pants this week, so that was a plus. Why the hell wasn't the Booker T match the main event? Is squeezing a few extra tenths of a ratings-point against the start of RAW that much more important than delivering a quality main event? Nitro could have ended with a memorable moment, making the show as a whole seem important. Instead it came off as a high point in the middle of an average show. By the end Booker T was just another guy back in the mix. WCW's put on some okay wrestling matches in the last few weeks. Yet the ratings are dropping as fast as the XFL's. Why? Because the overall program is killing the company. Ric Flair as the crazy CEO out to destroy WCW is driving viewers away. I'm sure few fans have actually sat down and analyzed the inconsistencies like I have, but I bet the effect they have on them is the same. It simply doesn't make sense, and the heel to babyface win/loss ratio is demoralizing. Fans see DDP, Dustin Rhodes and Hugh Morrus as third-string heroes (at best). The most impressive company star has a great physique, but is only a mediocre wrestler, and can't deliver a coherent interview. Everyone else is either an embarrassment, a joke, a has-been, or a never-was. Yeah, the matches are sometimes okay, but the storylines are crap, the production stinks, the announcers are terrible ... and it all seems ten times worse if you compare it to the WWF. If the rumors about the company sale are true, none of this matters. I won't go unto great detail, but the scuttlebutt is that the Fusient deal to buy WCW has hit a snag, and there's more than a slight chance that the company might not be bought after all. If that happens, then WCW is dead. Whatever Eric Bischoff's Master Plan for turning around WCW was has been changed several times now (four times in the past month, according to some). One of those plans was the shutdown, dark period, and relaunch with a new look. Booker T coming back this week is a sign that the speculated big invasion angle, with all those guys currently out coming back at once, is now out as well. I imagine we'll be seeing Sting, Nash and Goldberg all coming back over the next few weeks. WCW will then try to cope from there, working on making new stars, pushing the younger talent, or some rehash of the NWO angle--whatever Eric thinks will turn the company around. That's if the sale goes through. I expect this show to draw some high praise from fans, with many of them saying they think it's a sign that things are turning around. If only that were true. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Phoenix, Arizona. Hosted By: Jim Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler. WWF RAW: - Clips and stills from No Way Out are shown. - WWF Champion the Rock hits the ring. I'm surprised they'd show that entire row of "I Hate The Rock" signs. The Rock talks about Kurt Angle, saying if he wants to whine and complain, why not come out and do it to the Rock's face. Out comes "Stone Cold" Steve Austin instead. Austin not-so-graciously congratulates the Rock on winning the title, and tells him to never mind Kurt Angle. He tells him to stay healthy for their match at WrestleMania. And ... that's it. Hard to believe that took fifteen minutes. The crowd was, of course, ELECTRIC over the prospect of these two squaring off. William Regal is in the back waiting for Vince McMahon to arrive, so he can sort out the misunderstanding that took place at the PPV. Stephanie McMahon tells him he's wasting his time. - The Radicalz await the arrival of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit not pleased with the way things went down in the Intercontinental Title match at the PPV. Eddie comes in and he and Benoit tease a fight. Eddie doesn't seem as "latino" as he used to be. - X-PAC/JUSTIN CREDIBLE vs. CHRIS BENOIT/EDDIE GUERRERO Credible has really bad entrance music. He matches up well with these guys, though. The finish sees Benoit dominating Credible, hitting him with the Rolling German Suplex. He follows with a swandive headbutt off the top, but it misses when X-Pac pulls Credible out of the way. X-Pac then hooks Benoit and rolls him up for the pin. Benoit takes his frustration out on Benoit with a hateful stare. A split sure seems in the works, but who turns face? I could see the other Radicalz siding with Guerrero, saying they're sick of being in Benoit's shadow. Vince McMahon and Trish Stratus arrive via limo. Vince blows off Regal, telling him he knew what he was supposed to do last night, and knows tonight as well. - LITA (w/ Matt Hardy) vs. MOLLY HOLLY (w/ Crash Holly) Matt and Crash get into it at ringside. Raven's Mystery Woman runs in and gives Molly a DDT. Lita, not aware of the interference, hits a moonsault and scores the pin. Kurt Angle interrupts a Vince & Trish strategy session, saying he wants a rematch against the Rock--title match or otherwise. McMahon says he'll take it under consideration. He and Trish resume scheming, said scheme involving a bucket full of slop. - Stephanie asks Vince what will happen if it comes down to them in the ring? Vince says Regal should have thought of that when he screwed up at the PPV. - Regal knocks on Trish's dressing room door. She blows him off, acting like she's not dressed (though we see that she actually is). - Al Snow is at WWF New York, "campaigning" to be WWF commissioner. He's running on a platform of More Midgets and Fewer British People in the WWF. - Now the Big Show barges in on Vince. I've forgotten what the arena looks like, we've been away from it so long. Big Show wants the Rock. McMahon says he should be punished for interfering in the title match at No Way Out, and books a Triple Threat Match between Show, Angle & the Rock for Show's newly-won Hardcore Title. - THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. RIKISHI/HAKU Interfere at the PPV--get a title shot the next night. THAT makes sense. The Undertaker and Kane come out to watch the match. Let's blow through this one: after a match that seems to last forever, the ref is bumped, Kane & the Undertaker run in, Haku is chokeslammed, and D-Von Dudley covers for the pin. The Dead Men then leave the Tag Champs laying, which doesn't do a whole lot for the crowd. Just as the Big Show recent foray into the Hardcore Division has killed my interest in Raven, putting the Undertaker & Kane into the Tag Title hunt has killed my interest in the Dudley Boyz. Michael Cole suffers the usual humiliation to get comments from the Rock. Regal ... Stephanie ... Vince ... Trish ... bucket of slop ... NEXT! WWF WAR ZONE: - WILLIAM REGAL/STEPHANIE MCMAHON HELMSLEY vs. VINCE MCMAHON/TRISH STRATUS Stephanie and Trish start off, picking up where they left off at the PPV. Trish eventually tags in Vince. You can see the crowd getting the creeps as Vince advances on his daughter. Stephanie backs into her corner and reaches for a tag, but Regal throws up his hands and climbs off the apron. MONSTER boo from the crowd for that. Regal retrieves the mop bucket as Vince gets a mic. He says this is all about what *Mr. McMahon* wants, which is the same thing Regal and Trish want. Trish is bouncing on the ropes she's so giddy. Vince, over by Trish, tells her if she wants it, to come in and get it ... and he yanks her into the ring?! SWERVE. Vince tells Steph to get the bucket. She does, and slops a mop-load of the vile goo contained therein onto Trish! All this segment needs now is a contortionist midget hiding in a gym bag. Vince mocks Trish, and her thinking that she was "Daddy's Little Girl". Trish was Daddy's Little Toy, and like all toys, he eventually got bored playing with her. "Playtime is OVER!" Vince dumps the bucket on her, and Trish is left retching in the puddle of filth. I'm not sure if this is the direction I wanted to see this storyline go, but I do think Trish is probably on track now to leapfrog past Chyna as the most popular female babyface in wrestling. - Michael Cole tries to get comments from the devastated, humiliated Trish. In the other room I hear my Dad yelling "leave her alone you jerk!" Oh yeah, HUGE babyface turn here. - DEAN MALENKO vs. TAKA MICHINOKU (w/ Sho Funaki) Taka comes out with a girl (picked from the crowd?) who he says is not only voluptuous, but EVIL! The Girl: "INDEED!" She then pushes Funaki aside and kisses Taka. That ... was ... weird. Quick match, which Malenko wins with the Texas Cloverleaf. This was pretty much as good as either cruiserweight match on Nitro, but I doubt anyone will say that when praising Nitro and blasting this show for being boring and predictable and etc. Angle tells Michael Cole that he's glad to be able to get his hands on the Rock, and the Big Show--he should master the simpler things in life before meddling in his affairs. The simpler things: such as walking upright. "You big cave beast!" Ha! - A white van pulls into the parking area. It's the RTC. They have the Kat in tow--she's dressed just like Ivory now. - RAVEN vs. CHRIS JERICHO Not much of a match. The Mystery Woman comes out with a board, but Jericho ducks it and she hits Raven instead. Jericho lands a Lionsault and gets the pin. Molly Holly comes out after the Mystery Woman and rips some of her hood off, revealing some dark blonde hair. - This Wednesday there will be auditions for the WWF's "Tough Enough" contest, live at WWF New York. How many weeks has it been since the original deadline for that? - The Coach interviews the RTC. Steven Richards says joining the RTC was for Stacy's (the Kat's) own good. - Kurt Angle is backstage doing strange things to his body warming up for his match. The Big Show, meanwhile, warms up by beating up a defenseless locker! - A video package recaps the feud between XFL color commentator Jesse "The Body" Ventura and New York/New Jersey Hitmen coach Rusty Tillman. That was the most interesting part of that awful game this past Saturday, which leads me to believe it's an angle. - RIGHT TO CENSOR vs. THE ACOLYTES/JERRY "THE KING" LAWLER Tazz replaces Lawler on commentary. Another nothing match--not a good night for wrestling on RAW--which the APA and Lawler win when the King pins Val Venis (after the APA soften him up). Richards & Ivory hustle the Kat away from ringside before the match is even over, and with her gone, so goes the crowd interest. - KURT ANGLE vs. THE BIG SHOW vs. THE ROCK Not your standard hardcore match, as the three stay in the ring more than not, and no plunder is used. A funny spot comes when Angle tries to suplex Big Show, but can't get him up. The Rock hooks the Show's other arm and he and Angle together get the big man up and over, drawing a huge crowd pop. Angle then celebrates like he suplexed Big Show all by himself. Right about then this does become a typical hardcore match, as Steve Blackman runs in with the kendo stick. He whacks the Big Show and covers, but the Show kicks out. Hardcore Holly then comes in and whacks the Show in the head with a series of garbage can lid shots. Cover, kickout. Now Albert is in, and he flattens the Show with a big boot. Cover, but that's broken up by Perry Saturn. Here comes Billy Gunn, and he busts a board or bat across Big Show's gut. There must be someone in the WWF whose job it is to saw through wooden foreign objects. The Show decides he's had enough and starts heading up the aisle next to the ramp. Referee Earl Hebner follows, what with Big Show being the champion and all. Suddenly Essa Rios(!) comes flying off the stage with a crossbody. Big Show catches him and slams him to the concrete. He turns, and here comes a flying Crash Holly! This is wild. The party moves backstage, with Hardcore Holly spraying people with a fire extinguisher he's dug up. I think Holly puts Blackman through a table, but we don't see it as the camera is following Big Show. Show deciodes to finish things by slamming Essa Rios against a concrete wall, then holding him there like a butterfly pinned to a board. A pin is a pin, I guess, so Hebner makes a three count. Garbage, but entertaining nonetheless. Back in the ring Angle, Albert and Saturn are working over the Rock. Steve Austin then runs in for the save. A less-than-appreciative Rock eyes Austin's back, lining him up for a Rock Bottom. That's broken up by Albert, who eats the Rock Bottom instead. By then Austin is out of the ring, and he and the Rock go into the obligatory tense staredown. Austin starts heading back to the ring, Jim Ross yelling "it's on, it's on!" as the show fades out. - This Thursday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: Triple H? Who's that? Did they even say his name on the show? An unimpressive show this week. I give it marks for the Trish angle and the frenetic main event, but everything else came off as filler and throwaway matches. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: I was just about to finish this and send it out when I heard about the Kat and Jerry Lawler leaving the WWF. At this point there's next to nothing known about the story, other than the Kat was supposedly fired and that Lawler quit in protest. We should know a lot more by next week, so I'm sure I'll start the Recap off then on that subject. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 2001 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 276 of the "Monday Night Recap", February 26th, 2001.