[RESULTS/OPINION] WCW Monday Nitro/WWF Friday Night's Main Event (RAW)
(08/25/97 - 08/29/97)

[Slobberknocker Central Monday/Friday Night Recap #93 (Extra)]
(08/25/97 - 08/29/97)

 - Quick WCW Clash of the Champions XXXV Results (08/21/97):
 * They started the show by replaying the Sting segment from the 8/18 Nitro.
 * Steve "Mongo" McMichael defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the United States
   Heavyweight Title. Eddy Guerrero tried to interfere in the match, but
   accidentally knocked out Jarrett with the U.S. belt. Debra McMichael then
   tried to cozy up to Mongo, but he told her "it won't be that easy!" 
 * Mean Gene Okerlund interviewed Alex Wright.
 * Mean Gene did a segment with the host of the "Dinner & A Movie" show
   on TBS.
 * Raven defeated Stevie Richards in a "No Disqualification" match with a
   DDT.
 * Mike Tenay introduced a video segment which took an in-depth look at the
   Ultimate Dragon, and set the record straight on his name. From now on,
   WCW will call him "Ultimo" Dragon instead of "Ultimate" Dragon.
 * Alex Wright defeated Ultimo Dragon to win the World Television Title by
   pinfall with a German Suplex.
 * Chris Jericho defeated Eddy Guerrero by pinfall after a series of pin
   attempts and reversals by the two wrestlers. Jericho retained his
   Cruiserweight Title. Eddy attacked Jericho after the match was over,
   leaving him laying in the ring.
 * Psychosis, Villano III & IV and Silver King defeated Super Calo, Juventud
   Guerrera, Hector Garza and Lizmark Jr. Psychosis pinned Super Calo
   following a guillotine legdrop off the top.
 * Another segment with the "Dinner & A Movie" hosts, Claude Mann and Paul
   Gilmartin. All the food dishes were shown to be in honor of Randy Savage
   and the New World Order. Mann and Gilmartin revealed that they are with
   the NWO. Randy Savage comes out and says this is the NWO's birthday
   party. They showed a clip of Savage's appearance on "Dinner & A Movie"
   from several weeks ago. After Savage left, Mann and Gilmartin badmouthed
   Diamond Dallas Page. Page came out, trashed the set and nailed Gilmartin
   with the Diamond Cutter.
 * Ric Flair and Curt Hennig defeated Syxx and Konan. Hennig put Konan away
   with the Hennigplex. Mean Gene then interviewed Hennig and Flair, with
   Hennig again refusing to verify whether or not he was joining the Four
   Horsemen.
 * Randy Savage and Scott Hall defeated Lex Luger and Diamond Dallas Page.
   Michael Buffer did the ring introductions. Prior to the start of the
   match, Kevin Nash gave Savage a vote of confidence by allowing him to
   defend his half of the World Tag Team Titles, thus turning the bout into
   a title match. The rest of the NWO left at the start of the match except
   for Nash, whom referee Nick Patrick ordered to the back later in the
   match. The finish came when DDP, who had been stunned, accidentally hit
   Lex Luger with the Diamond Cutter. Scott Hall covered for the pin.
   After the match, the NWO-led by Eric Bischoff-began to celebrate in the
   ring. Suddenly unusual music started to play and the lights began to
   flicker. The camera showed Sting up in the rafters holding a vulture, as
   a voice-over by a child recited a poem about betrayal and revenge. The
   lights then went out. When they came back on, the vulture was sitting on
   the top rope of the ring. The NWO cowered in fear as the show ended.


WCW Monday Nitro: (08/25/97)
Live/Taped: Live.
Length: Two Hours+.
Location: Columbia, South Carolina.
HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Larry Zbyszko.

 - Breaking with form, for the first time in God knows how long, Nitro
   started at the top of the hour: not five minutes before. With RAW now an
   hour later, it no longer makes sense to start early. I hope they've
   finally dropped the practice for good. (I wish the WWF would do the same,
   since that three minute before the hour start no longer does anything for
   them either).

 - They replay an edited version of the end of the Clash. What is cut out?
   Several seconds of the delay while the lights were off, as well as the
   camera angle that showed the bird wranglers who had set the vulture (or
   buzzard) on the ring ropes. This is just speculation on my part (and it's
   being reported as fact by several of the news sites), but it looked to
   me like the bird was supposed to have a message tied to it's leg. Bischoff
   kept reaching for something (as Hall and Nash pointed) but nothing was
   there. Either the note fell off, or they forgot to put it on, or it was
   there and Bischoff simply couldn't get it because the bird kept snapping
   at him. Whatever the case, it seems like minutes go by as Bischoff and
   crew are staring stupidly at a bird that was obviously different from the
   one Sting had been holding (though we're supposed to think it was the
   same, and that it delivered a message to the NWO).

   Mean Gene Okerlund comes to the ring and informs us all that Sting's
   actions apparently sent a clear message to WCW and J.J. Dillon. That
   message being that Sting wants Hogan. (Huh?)

   Eric Bischoff comes out. He throws the usual insults. They then cut to
   Dillon via telephone from Atlanta. Dillon says he got the message and
   will do his utmost to sign a Sting/Hogan match sometime before the end of
   the year. Bischoff goes nuts, saying Sting doesn't deserve a match, and
   that Hogan would easily dispose of him if one even took place. He starts
   to run down the list of those Hogan has dispatched in the last year.

   The crowd suddenly explodes as Sting comes out. He sneaks up behind
   Bischoff, spins him around, then pulls out a "Hollywood" Hogan t-shirt.
   He places the shirt over Bischoff's head, knocks him over with a boot to
   the face, then stuffs the shirt in Bischoff's mouth. After circling the
   ring, he smiles. Schiavone and Tenay, quite understandably, are pleased.

 - Raven with more rambling, observational prose regarding the unfairness
   of the world today. This stuff sucked in ECW, and it still sucks here.
   Maybe I just never gave a damn about it because, being 27, I never
   considered myself part of that whiny, self-absorbed "generation x" crowd.
   Partly the problem with this gimmick was that ECW never took it seriously.
   As a result, everything he said sounded the same, and it was never "what
   he said" but "how he said it". Tommy Dreamer does nearly the same thing,
   but at least he ties it in to his personal experiences. With Raven it was
   just sophistry. It was prose for the sake of being "mysterious" and
   "moody". He might as well have been complaining about his favorite coffee
   house getting rid of the mocha/Brazilian blend.

   Now Raven has imported the gimmick to WCW, and they as well show no sign
   of doing anything with it. As Schiavone put it, "I have no idea what he
   just said".

   Nitro Girls.

 - GLACIER/ERNEST MILLER vs. LA PARKA/PSYCHOSIS (w/ Sonny Onoo)
   When is Glacier supposed to start impressing me? (It might help if he
   didn't look so much like a member of the State Patrol). The match starts
   and for a second we get this strange mix of lucha and typical (almost)
   WWF-style wrestling. Glacier ducks a kick and La Parka nails his partner.
   A whip to the rope follows and Glacier hits a powerbomb (which doesn't
   fit anywhere with the "martial artist" image he's supposed to have). He
   then tags in Miller, who is my current pick for worst fighter in WCW
   right now. (I won't insult the term by calling him a "wrestler". He
   doesn't wrestle-just throws kicks). Miller comes in and throws a kick. He
   then does nothing but take punishment until his next chance to throw a
   kick a minute or so later. La Parka and Psychosis do a nice move where
   Psychosis drapes Miller over the apron and La Parka leaps over the top
   rope and lands on Miller's back with both feet. Miller escapes by ducking
   a doubleteam move. He tags Glacier back in and Glacier cleans house with
   two clotheslines and two kicks. Miller hits another kick, this time off
   the top (which looked okay, but would have looked absolutely terrible had
   it missed). La Parka then nails Glacier with a balsa wood chair, then
   rolls Psychosis over on top for the pin.

   Glacier's and Miller's entire offense for this match consisted of four
   kicks, two clotheslines, (or more accurately, a move in which Glacier
   places his hand on their face and pushes them over), and a powerbomb.
   Their entire defensive repertoire was a duck by each. Miller is a one-
   note fighter, seemingly unable to do anything other than kick. His entire
   workrate is two kicks in a match. I frankly have no idea if there's any
   skill involved or not since he 1) only appears in a couple matches every
   so often, and 2) only throws a few kicks per match. Not all of them
   appear to land with any great deal of accuracy, and half of that involves
   his opponent making sure he is not only in the right spot, but sells it
   correctly as well.

   The Ultimo Dragon then runs out to tell the ref what happened with the
   chair, but he is jumped by Silver King. This made no sense, until I
   remembered that Silver King may be managed by Sonny Onoo. Ultimo gets
   stomped on a bit, and the mayhem spills to the floor. Ernest Miller does
   a tope dive through the ropes. Yay for him, though what does that have to
   do with martial arts?

   Look for a six man match involving the above named wrestlers next week.

 - ULTIMO DRAGON vs. SILVER KING (w/ Sonny Onoo)
   Match started during the commercial (according to Schiavone) then the
   bell rings to start the match. Tenay, the supposed lucha/Japan style
   expert, spends nearly two minutes straight hyping upcoming event ticket
   sale dates and personal appearances. An okay match, which the Dragon wins
   by forcing Silver King to "tap out". I guess chokeholds are no longer
   illegal, and I can just imagine the fans thinking "ahhh ... he tapped
   out. I find myself becoming more acquainted with this form of submission.
   Giving up, or yelling 'I quit' is no longer sufficient. I now feel myself
   being trained to recognize the 'tap out' as an honorable method by which
   to submit in a match. Thank you WCW for bringing this UFC rule from the
   realm of the Octagon to the squared circle."

   I'm being sarcastic. You know the fans are just thinking "what a puss!"

 - Scott Hall and Randy Savage come out and introduce the latest member of
   the NWO: Diamond Dallas Page. The music plays, but Page never shows.
   Savage then takes to opportunity to "call out" Lex Luger. The announcers
   are skeptical as to whether or not Page has joined the NWO.

 - Mean Gene interviews DDP. Page says the idea of him joining the NWO is
   ludicrous, as well as the idea that the Diamond Cutter he put on Lex
   Luger at the Clash was deliberate. Page berates Mean Gene for even
   suggesting otherwise. He says he hasn't been able to apologize to Luger
   yet, and that things should be worked out between the two because they're
   both "stand up guys".

   Jeez, yet another angle being recycled from a year ago. Is Luger going to
   be attacked by Scott Norton dressed as Page, thus prompting WCW to
   suspect Page himself? Page then defeats the NWO single-handed at Fall
   Brawl, tells WCW to "stick it!", and spends the following year up on the
   roof.

 - JEFF JARRETT (w/ Debra McMichael) vs. CHRIS BENOIT
   Now why can't they all be like this one? Too bad it was way too short.
   Both crank it up several notches and deliver a ferocious, non-stop match.
   Jarrett gets the upset win by tucking Benoit into a small package after
   Benoit had just suplexed him off the top. Jarrett held on and rolled him
   up. The whole match was barely three minutes, though it probably
   delivered more action than most of the other matches in the show.

 - Nitro Girls. Mean Gene does a segment hyping the whole Nitro Party
   contest. Fans are supposed to videotape their own Nitro parties then send
   them in. Every three months WCW will choose a winner and send them a
   Nitro Party pack, as well as the Nitro Girls themselves. They then spent
   quite some time showing all the junk in the party pack. This lasted
   almost as long as the previous match. The first winner will be named in
   November, meaning the Nitro Girls should be around for that long at
   least.

 - WRATH/MORTIS (w/ James Vandenberg) vs. BARBARIAN/MENG
   Didn't ... we just ... see ... this ... last week?

   Meng puts Mortis away with the Tongan Death Choke.

HOUR TWO Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

 - Mean Gene brings out the Four Horsemen. He introduces Benoit, then Mongo,
   then welcomes back Arn Anderson, then finally Flair. Everyone but Arn
   comes out, and it seems like Okerlund has screwed up. Flair then calls
   out Curt Hennig. Hennig comes out. Flair asks him point blank if he's
   going to join the Horsemen. Hennig says no, that he's not ready to give
   an answer yet. Flair then says someone wants to have a word with him
   about that. Out comes Arn Anderson to a huge reaction (too bad Okerlund
   flubbed up and gave it away). Still, a huge moment.

   [ARN ANDERSON]
   "Well Gene, all I can tell you, to get a response like this means what I
   got to say tonight means ... that much more. You see, I'm a realist and
   everybody knows I’ve got average size and speed and average ability, but
   I’ve parlayed that into what I would call a very successful career. And I
   did that on sheer will alone. But another reality is four months ago they
   took four vertebrae out of my neck. Consequently I'm left with a hand-my
   left hand-too weak to hold a glass ... too weak to button a button. But I
   thought in my mind-I knew in my mind I could overcome that too: through
   sheer will, and I was doing just like that. I think I’ve come back a long
   way, but the other day I had something happen at the gym that was like a
   cold slap in the face of reality. A guy about your size, Gene, came up
   and he slapped me on the back and he said, 'Double A, where you been? We
   haven’t seen you on TV?,' and just that slap sent a jolt through me. I
   dropped the water I was drinking and just for a second my system shut
   down and it became crystal clear as I watched the few little drops of
   water draining out of that bottle-the symbolism that was Involved-it was
   like someone had turned an hour glass over and the sand was running out
   on the career of Arn Anderson. Now the fact of the matter is not only do
   I put myself in a suicide situation by trying to wrestle again, I
   endanger these two men’s careers," (indicating Benoit and McMichael),
   "and I respect them too much for that, and other than be anything than
   the 'Enforcer' in my best friend’s eyes, I’d rather walk away. But for
   all you people out there that have ever bought a ticket to see Arn
   Anderson wrestle, whether you loved me ... or you hated me, you knew that
   when that bell rang you got all I had that night: whether I won-whether I
   lost, I gave you everything I had, and you knew that, and when you did
   this to me," (flashes Four Horsemen symbol), "that was your
   acknowledgment. Well the fact is I got nothing left to give, and I want
   you to remember me as I was, not as I am. But being the man that I am, my
   last act formally as a Horseman, I got one last challenge: and that is to
   you-Curt Hennig! Now don’t misunderstand me ... its not for a fight. You
   got something special. I’ve seen you in this ring, your skills, your
   maturity, your commitment to excellence, makes you something special. And
   what my challenge is to you Curt, is stand beside my best friend: Ric
   Flair ... and lead these two men back to the glory and the prominence
   that the Four Horsemen once had. And I’m gonna tell you what your prize
   is: it's not a spot with the Horseman, 'cause this is worth a lot more
   than that to me. I’m gonna give you the only thing I got left-not a spot,
   not *a spot*! I'll give you MY spot!"

   [MEAN GENE]
   "Curt Hennig?"

   [CURT HENNIG]
   "You know, I know every wrestler who's ever been around, or involved, in
   this business that we call 'wrestling', who would pass up the honor to
   not only be a Horseman, but to come out and take Arn Anderson's spot as
   'The Enforcer' of the Horsemen. I have only one thing to say: it would be
   a privilege!"

   Much shaking of hands and embracing ensues. Was it just me, or did Chris
   Benoit look not all that pleased? Hmmm ...

   After hearing rumors of Anderson's return for two or three months, it
   was not only nice to finally see it, but to see them do it right. In one
   fell swoop Anderson solidified the team of the Four Horseman into some-
   thing that finally legitimately resembles some of the teams of the past.
   It'll never measure up to the earliest incarnations of the Horsemen, and
   I'm still not wild about Mongo as a member (nor do I think Benoit fits in
   all that well), but it nonetheless seems a more solid team-if only for
   a brief time. If this is the final call for Anderson, it's a real shame.
   I'd really like to have seen him go at it one last time.

   Anyone else see that scar on his neck? Take one look at that and tell me
   this business doesn't take it's toll on a body. Perhaps Steve Austin
   ought to watch a tape of this interview.

 - STEVE "MONGO" MCMICHAEL vs. EDDY GUERRERO
   A strange little match which I actually liked for some reason. Eddy
   wrestles fast and furious (and did you see his arms? Who the hell sent
   him the IcoPro?) Eddy is nailing Mongo with moves left and right that guys
   only half Mongo's size usually do. I popped when Mongo took a huracanrana.
   Mongo starts to come back in a manner which I actually bought. He turns
   things around with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Eddy then goes up top for a
   moonsault, but Mongo is on his feet and waiting, catches him, and lays
   him flat with a Tombstone Piledriver. Mongo gets the pin and the pro-
   Horsemen crowd is solidly behind him.

   This was an important win for the Horsemen on what has been an important
   night overall for the Horsemen. I give credit to Eddy for doing the clean
   job, and credit to Mongo for not only wrestling the match well, but not
   making a total ass of himself in the process.

 - Mean Gene interviews Rey Mysterio Jr. Mysterio says he's going to have
   his knee looked at by that doctor that works on all the wrestlers knees
   these days. Konan then comes out and starts to menace him, until the
   Giant comes out and chases him off. Mysterio say the Giant is "la rasa".
   Since when?

 - Eric Bischoff comes to the announcer's desk and chases off Heenan and
   Tenay. The rest of the show features Bischoff making fat jokes about
   Tony, whining about the NWO getting it's own TV show, and vehemently
   denying that Sting will ever get a title shot from Hogan.

 - CHRIS JERICHO vs. YUJI NAGATA
   Okay match, but way too high up on the card for it. The crowd started out
   solidly behind Jericho, but seemed to lose interest as the match went
   on. Jericho applies a half-assed Boston Crab and Nagata-*sigh*-"taps out".

   Jericho really needs to watch some tapes of Rick Martel applying the
   Boston Crab.

 - Lee Marshall phones in and makes a Bischoff joke instead of the usual
   weasel joke.

 - Mean Gene interviews Harlem Heat and Jacquelyn. They gripe about not
   being the number one contenders. The Steiner Brothers and Ted DiBiase
   then come out. They start to make the case as to why they should be the
   top contenders when Vicious & Delicious come out (Bagwell & Norton). A
   big brawl breaks out and Bischoff starts screaming about his guys getting
   beat up.

   Jacquelyn's outfit could be best described as "Barely Legal". The Heat
   make a great comment about them not having to go "up north ... or to
   Japan" in order to build a reputation.

 - Nitro Girls. Bischoff is lonely, and want a Nitro Girl of his own.

 - ALEX WRIGHT vs. DEAN MALENKO
   This one just seemed really dull. Suplex ... pin attempt ... suplex ...
   pin attempt. One's eyes started to wander to the edge of the screen,
   awaiting the run-in. Guerrero and Jarrett do not disappoint, stomping
   Malenko into the mat. Jarrett applies a Figure Four, while Guerrero and
   Wright come off opposite top turnbuckles. Malenko wins via DQ.

   I think I'm starting to see what awaits down the road: Benoit, annoyed by
   the fact that he was not chosen by Anderson to be his successor as "The
   Enforcer", turns on the Horsemen, joining Jarrett's anti-Horsemen stable.
   The Horsemen then add Malenko to their fold.

   Or maybe not.

 - Nitro Girls. Kimberly almost loses her top ... which is a good thing.

 - LEX LUGER vs. RANDY "MACHO MAN" SAVAGE
   They took so long to kick this one off that they guaranteed that they
   would run over by a few minutes. They needn't have bothered, as this was
   the typical Luger match: Luger takes punishment for the first five or
   ten minutes, then "Hulks up". Scott Hall then tries to interfere, but
   Luger throws Savage into him. DDP then runs in. Schiavone starts to
   wonder aloud whether Page is there to hurt or help. DDP picks Luger up
   off the mat. Luger, still groggy from all the punishment he's taken,
   hoists Page up into the Torture Rack. Fade to black.

 - Next week: Nothing announced.

Comments:

A real mixed bag, though the positive outweighed the negative. Several
angles finally took a few stumbling steps forward, while others seem to be
coming in from nowhere.

I'm still disappointed at how many angles reflect stuff that was done a year
ago: the refs squabbling, DDP/Luger-"is DDP NWO", and the NWO wanting it's
own show. I wouldn't be surprised if the NWO wins the Wargames match at Fall
Brawl, thus earning them their own TV show. This may be the format of the new
WCW show on TBS starting this November, or early next year.

Is making the Giant Mysterio's buddy the best they can come up with for him?
Why isn't he feuding with Kevin Nash yet?

They sure had to scramble to cover themselves on the whole Sting/rooster
episode. For three weeks we fans all get what it is that Sting wants, but
Dillon has to play dumb. Sting then brings his turkey to the Clash with him,
and while all the fans are going "what the- ... ?" Dillon "hears him
perfectly clear". What?

With all the firings a few months back, we're now stuck seeing the same guys
over and over. Not a bad thing if you like them, just pointing that out to
those who gripe about RAW featuring the same wrestlers over and over.

This was maybe the best Nitro in months, and would have been the most
significant if not for the Luger title win a few weeks back.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

WWF Friday Night's Main Event: (08/29/97)
Live/Taped: Taped.
Length: Two Hours+.
Location: Chicago, Illinois.
Hosted By: Jim Ross and Jim Cornette.

 - Tennis. Now here's an elitist sport. It's not like you can just go out in
   your backyard and play a game: not unless you have a tennis court handy.
   You're stuck going to a community court (in a park or school grounds), or
   better yet, a private club. It is a sport invented by college guys who
   wanted to impress chicks, and it's best players are pasty-legged fleebs
   who were more interested in scoring on the court than with girls. (What
   about women's tennis, you ask? One word: lesbians). It's primarily a city
   sport (though definitely not "inner city"). The reason it's as big as it
   is today is because "Corporate America" embraced the sport as yet another
   way in which to shove their merchandise down our collective throats. (I
   mean c'mon .... you know guys like Agassi and Sampras weren't "getting
   any" until they got their shoe contracts!)

   Maybe I'm being too harsh, though. After all ... any sport with women in
   tiny skirts, and one in which a player could get stabbed in the back at
   any time can't be all THAT bad. (Not to mention the lesbians ... )

   Michaels Chang's match with someone I never heard of before runs more
   than a half hour over, delaying the start of the show by almost forty
   minutes.

 - They kick the show off by showing the Undertaker chairshot more times
   than they played the Zapruder film in "JFK". (Too bad they couldn't have
   gotten Oliver Stone to come in and use some of that Hollywood magic to
   remove the Undertaker's clearly visible blade-job). They then run an
   intro cobbled together from dozens of bits and pieces of miscellaneous
   WWF footage (including a shot of the Undertaker's bloody forehead taken
   as he was walking up the ramp following last Monday's match).

 - Shawn Michaels comes out for an interview with Jim Ross. Shawn still has
   the chair which he waffled the Undertaker with. Shawn says it's the WWF
   and the fans which have driven him to the point he's at now. He runs down
   the Undertaker a bit until interrupted by another "Shawn is gay!" chant.
   Shawn tells the crowd that if he has to come out there, he may just
   (*censored*) their sisters and mommas. He wraps things up by beckoning a
   honey out of the crowd and laying one on her.

 - BRET "HITMAN" HART vs. VADER
   Being this is late night, Bret is able to say "I'm gonna kick your ass!"
   without being censored.

   Not much of a match. The action spills briefly to the floor, then back in
   the ring just before they cut to a commercial. Once back, Bret retrieves
   a steel chair. Vader pulls up the rope-crotching Bret as he enters the
   ring. Vader then picks up the chair, but is immediately jumped by the
   rest of the Hart Foundation. Bret and the British Bulldog pull Vader
   over to the corner and Bret applies the Figure Four around the post. The
   Patriot runs out to make the save. In a quickie interview the Patriot
   says he has no connection with Vader, just that he won't stand by and
   watch Bret Hart injure someone.

 - Sunny comes to the ring, then to the announcer's desk. Sunny and Jim
   discuss the Brian Pillman/Marlena situation. A highlights package
   follows.

 - GOLDUST (w/ Marlena) vs. SALVATORE SINCERE
   Goldust has little trouble putting away the talented (yet woefully dull)
   Sincere. There's a memorable spot where Goldust has Sincere trapped in
   the corner and is laying in the fists. The crowd counts along, counting
   to ten (though Goldust stops at nine). Goldust waves a finger at the
   crowd, rubs himself, smooches Sincere, then nails him for the tenth time.
   Goldust finishes him off with the Curtain Call.

   After the match Brian Pillman taunts Goldust from the crowd.

 - They replay the Steve Austin interview from last week in it's entirety,
   except this time it's slightly less edited (meaning the word "pissed"
   doesn't get bleeped). Next week's show will have an official announcement
   from the WWF regarding Austin's status with the company.

 - DUDE LOVE vs. ROCKABILLY
   How can you watch Dude Love and NOT be reminded of Jimmy "Boogie Woogie"
   Valiant?

   Dude nails Rockabilly with the "Sweet SHIN Music", which involves him
   stomping in the corner, then kicking Rockabilly in the shin. He then puts
   him away with a double arm DDT. After the match he tells Jim Ross that
   either he and Austin will defend the World Tag Team Titles at Ground
   Zero, or they will forfeit them as a team. Dude is again jumped by
   groupies at ringside.

 - Sunny tries to score an interview with Bret Hart in the lockerroom, but
   he kicks her out. Owen Hart squeezes in a quick comment begging
   Commissioner Slaughter to allow Austin back so that he can put him away
   for good.

 - They replay a portion of Shawn's interview from the start of the show.
   The Undertaker then comes out for his interview sporting a large bandage
   on his forehead. Jim Cornette compares the phenomenom of the Undertaker
   to that of the late Andre the Giant. The Undertaker says the reason he
   never faced Shawn before in the past was because he had left him
   untouched to "tell the tale" of the Undertaker's legend. He announces
   that he will face Hunter Hearst Helmsley on next Friday's show.

 - Sable models the "Austin 3:16" t-shirt.

 - Clips from the earlier shown Hart/Vader match.

 - ROAD WARRIOR HAWK (w/ Animal) vs. THE BRITISH BULLDOG (w/ Owen Hart)
   An okay match at the start, as Hawk looked in pretty good form. The
   Godwinns come out a few minutes in and they cut to a break. The match
   ends in a DQ when Owen nails Hawk with the European Title belt, earning
   Hawk the win.

 - Sunny interviews Savio Vega and Los Boricuas. Is it just me, or has
   Savio's accent gotten worse?

 - FAAROOQ/ROCKY MAIVIA (NOD) vs. CRUSH/CHAINZ (DOA)
   The hugest crowd reaction yet is heard as almost the entire crowd chants
   "Rocky sucks!"

   About what you'd expect from a match with these guys involved. The match
   ends in a "no contest" when Los Boricuas stroll in. The rest of the DOA
   and NOD come out and the expected huge brawl ensues. During the melee
   WWF official Dave Hebner gets bodyslammed. Sgt. Slaughter and his crew of
   officials come out to clear up the mess.

 - TAKA MICHINOKU vs. JERRY LYNN
   Lynn is best known as "Mr. J.L." in WCW. Not any more, I guess. Jim
   Cornette offers a run-down of Lynn's career, totally omitting any
   reference to his time under the mask.

   A tie-up and Lynn armdrags Taka to the mat. Back on his feet, Taka moves
   in and takes Lynn down by the leg. Lynn, on the mat, hooks Taka's chin
   from behind. Taka maintains the pressure on the leg as Lynn works on a
   chinlock. Lynn brings his other leg around and maneuvers Taka into a
   headscissors. Taka escapes from the rear and applies a side headlock.
   Both men get back to their feet and Lynn breaks the headlock with an
   elbow to the midsection. Lynn applies a headlock of his own, but Taka
   whips Lynn into the ropes. Lynn catches Taka with a shoulderblock,
   sending him to the canvas. Lynn hits the ropes and hops over Taka. Taka
   gets to his feet and leapfrogs over Lynn. Lynn rebounds and comes back
   with a clothesline. Into the ropes again and Taka ducks a clothesline. He
   then throws one of his own, which Lynn ducks. Off the rebound Lynn goes
   up and applies a flying headscissors. Taka is sent skidding out of the
   ring to the floor. Lynn follows up with a somersault plancha which barely
   connects (Lynn flying over Taka's head and sliding down his back).

   This enough detail for ya?!

   Lynn is the first to his feet and he whips Taka into the rail. Taka
   reverses the whip and Lynn smashes into the steel. Taka is the first back
   into the ring and he waits for Lynn, catching him with a kick as Lynn
   climbs through the ropes. Taka snap-mares Lynn to the mat, then catches
   him with a pinpoint drop-kick to the back of the head. Another snap-mare,
   then Taka goes into the ropes and nails a drop-kick to Lynn's face. Taka
   plays to the crowd as Lynn rolls around in pain. Taka moves in again, but
   Lynn stops him with a series of fists. He scoops Taka up for a slam. Lynn
   climbs to the top turnbuckle, but Taka is up quickly an pops him one.
   Taka takes him off the top with a huracanrana. A quick cover for the pin,
   but Lynn gets the shoulder up at two. Taka measures Lynn and blasts him
   with a spinning heel kick, sending him to the floor. Waiting for Lynn to
   get to his feet on the floor, Taka launches into the running springboard
   plancha. Lynn sells the move for several seconds, which allows them time
   to replay the move via split-screen. When Lynn finally does climb back in
   Taka throws a kick, but Lynn catches it and whips Taka to the mat. Lynn
   applies a single leglock to Taka's right leg, which Taka breaks with an
   old fashioned fist to the eye. Taka slams Lynn to the mat, then goes up
   the top. Taka tries a high arching moonsault, but Lynn moves, causing
   Taka to flop to the mat like a flapjack hitting the floor. Lynn hoists
   Taka up and slams him down with a Tigerbomb. Taka gets the shoulder up
   before the three count. Lynn kicks Taka in the midsection, then whips him
   into the corner, following with a drop-kick. He tries another whip, but
   Taka reverses it, then follows in with a flying knee as he vaults over
   the ropes and onto the apron. He then climbs to the top and delivers a
   drop-kick. Taka signals for the Michinoku Driver. He tries to scoop him
   up, but Lynn works his way loose and lands a fist. Lynn then hoists him
   up into a Tombstone position, but Taka rolls through it, lays in a fist
   of his own, and nails the Michinoku Driver. Taka hooks the leg and gets
   the three count.

   Good match. Ross compares Michinoku to Tiger Mask, which shows you how
   significant his push may just be.

 - Sunny interviews the Commandant and his Truth Commission. The Commandant
   calls Sunny a "trollop" and ends the interview.

 - THE HEADBANGERS vs. RECON/SNIPER (w/ The Truth Commission)
   *Ugh!* Did they really need to use this special occasion to push the
   Truth Commission? Recon pins one of the Headbangers after the seven foot
   tall Interrogator interferes.

 - Sunny comes out once again as they end the show. They close the night out
   with a package of highlights (like they do sometimes on their PPV's).
   This would have been a nice touch had the show been all that spectacular.

 - Next week: The Undertaker vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Owen Hart vs. the
   Patriot. Steve Austin announcement.

Comments:

Okay show, but I'm not sure it was worth waiting the extra five days for.
This was a lot like the "Saturday Night's Main Events" of old in that it
started off with the main event, then went downhill from there. My guess is
that the WWF assumed they would lose a great many viewers as it got later
and later, so they put the important stuff at the top. This was really
unfair to the Michinoku/Lynn match, which deserved a higher spot on the
card.

Michaels/Undertaker could be a hell of a match if both their knees hold out.
It looks like a Michaels/Dude Love feud could be on tap, meaning we might
see the debut of Kane as soon as next Sunday at the PPV. I myself am betting
they'll save it for the RAW the next night.

They should really have Vader dump Paul Bearer to help sell the face turn.

Look for the WWF to announce next Friday that Austin and Love will forfeit
the Tag Titles, and plug the Headbangers into the "Fatal Four Way" match
at Ground Zero. I'm assuming the LOD will finally win the belts again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bottom Line:

Having already seen the results for next week's show (though I tried my
hardest not to) it looks as if there should be one major incident involving
Michaels and the Undertaker, plus a ton of filler. I won't give it away for
those who haven't read about it yet.

WCW has apparently announced that this Monday's Nitro will be three hours
again. In case you hadn't heard, Nitro pulled in a huge rating of 5.0 this
week. The second hour did an incredible 5.7. The big ratings recently have
given WCW and the networks they are on a huge ego boost lately. TNT is
apparently so impressed with the ratings that they may go ahead and do a
three hour Nitro more often, and there's weak talk that it may permanently
expand to three hours. It's also a virtual lock that TBS will now get their
own Thursday Nitro, possibly as soon as this November (though January seems
to be the target date). Many are speculating that this will be an "NWO
show", which would indicate that the NWO will probably win the Wargames
match at Fall Brawl in order to be granted that boon. Whether Nitro expands
to three hours or not, look for it to run over on an almost weekly basis-
especially when RAW is on live twice a month.

Speaking of which, the September 22nd edition of RAW continues to shape up
as a huge one. Marc Mero will make his return, and Yokozuna and the
Headshrinkers are rumored to show up as well (Fatu may shed his "Sultan"
gimmick and rejoin with Samu). This may also be the show where the WWF
crowns a new IC champion. If Austin is forced to forfeit the title (as is
expected) they are rumored to be choosing a new champ with a Battle Royal,
and MSG seems the likeliest site. There's talk of this show being three
hours long (though the schedule currently only lists it as two). If it is
three hours (or even if it isn't) expect Nitro to go three hours as well.
Though there hasn't been any whispers of it yet, don't rule out talk of a
big move on WCW's part to match that show, either moving an hour later and
running two or three hours, or possibly something as crazy as going FOUR
hours should RAW go for three. WCW is in the mindset now that whatever the
WWF does, they have to top it.

This is part of the reason that the WWF is cutting back on expenses. The
move to two hours live every week this spring resulted in a slight boost in
their ratings, but a boost nonetheless that may not have been worth the
additional expense. (An expense so great that the USA Network has been
splitting the cost). Going to a live/taped schedule will save the WWF a ton
of money, which they can use to sign new talent. There's also been the move
to the later hour, which, although a decision made by USA and not the WWF,
has resulted in higher ratings for RAW (and even higher ratings for Nitro.
The move may have been the best thing to happen to either fed, and it was a
decision made by USA). "Walker Texas Ranger", while not beating Nitro in
it's time slot, has done much better than "Highlander" ever did, and has
proven to be a stronger lead-in to RAW. There's now very preliminary talk
by the WWF of cutting RAW back to an hour and starting a new Friday night
show.

I've mentioned in the past that Nitro will be curtailed somewhat when TNT
starts to air "Babylon 5" on weeknights. It turns out that what TNT has
done, in fact, is BOUGHT the series in order to produce new episodes for
it's fifth (and probably last) season. The show had essentially been
canceled, but TNT picked it up. The show was originally planned with a five
year storyline, and many of it's fans were distressed when it looked for a
while like the story would never be completed. TNT stepped in and will now
carry the show. I don't know if they also bought the rights to the reruns,
or if they still plan on airing it on Monday nights. If it is on Mondays,
you can definitely expect it to affect Nitro. On a related note, TNT picked
up "Lois & Clark", which might be the new lead in show to Nitro. "Babylon 5"
was expected to be sandwiched between Nitro and it's replay. Over on USA,
they just bought the rights to "Baywatch", which I believe leads-in to
"Walker" on Mondays. Big changes for two networks which not all that long
ago had "In the Heat of the Night" and "Renegade" as the kick-off to their
prime time offerings. 

As the "Monday Night Wars" change, so does this weekly Recap. The
possibility looms ever closer that one of the two may move away from Monday
nights (and the smart money is on RAW at this point). Should that happen,
it would signal a definite change for this Recap. At this point I'm NOT
planning on doing a weekly Recap of the new Thursday night show. Should RAW
move away from Monday nights, it would then no longer be in direct
competition with Nitro. I would then be left in the position where I would
have to decide which of the two big WCW shows should be compared to RAW.
There are also plans to beef up the cards on WCW Saturday Night by having
the big stars appear more often. This could result in WCW having three major
shows with which to compare RAW to. Over in the WWF there's talk of making
Superstars a big show again by including matches taped exclusively for it.
There's also that talk of the new Friday night show, moving Shotgun Saturday
Night from syndication to the USA Network (the chances of which are slim),
and a new WWF show on fX (Fox's cable network-the chances of which are even
slimmer). Ultimately the concept of "This week's winner:" may evolve into
which federation was better that week, which PPV was better, or what was the
best wrestling show of the week; something which I currently don't and
wouldn't do because, frankly, I don't watch all the wrestling shows every
week. And as long as the race is now opened up, why not include ECW, which I
now have weekly access to?

All of this leaves the future of the "Monday Night Recap" in doubt. There
may come a point where there is no longer a call for it in it's present
format. The Recap was never meant to serve solely as a results list. There
are sites and writers out there who do a far better job of passing along the
dry, bland facts better than I. My strong point, and the whole purpose of
this Recap for the past 90+ weeks, has been commentary, criticism and
praise. This will become increasingly difficult to do if the promotions
continue their current trend of expanding their product and diffusing their
focus. There simply isn't enough time for me myself to focus my magnifying
lens on six hours of WCW a week, five hours of WWF, an hour of ECW, two
PPV's every month, and a quarterly PPV put on by ECW: and this is all the
CURRENT load of wrestling which I can access (except for "Shotgun", which I
still don't get).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that don't be surprised if sometime soon
the Recap takes a new direction. (And if at this point you're worrying that
I'm hinting that it'll go away altogether, don't. That's not what I'm
saying). I may just be warning you that should there come a time when I no
longer see the need to declare a weekly winner, that may also signal the end
of that last shred of neutrality and fairness which I still hold for one
promotion or the other. (Okay ... WCW). This Recap and my website in general
may start looking a little more anti- against one promotion or the other.
(Again ... WCW). I may also scrap the whole thing and start a Mike Nelson
(MST3K) fan page, so ... watch out!

It all depends on how the current wrestling world evolves.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This Week's Winner: Nitro.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 1997 by
John Petrie, and all opinions expressed therein are his own, and not those
of Internet Access, Inc.
Volume One, Number 93 (Extra) of the "Monday Night Recap", August 25th/29th,
1997.