Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #103 November 3rd, 1997 WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Larry Zbyszko. - They replay clips of "Hollywood" Hogan beating on Diamond Dallas Page last week, with Sting coming out to make the save. This would be Hogan's and Sting's only appearance tonight. (Whoops! Didn't mean to give that away). - As if we aren't sick enough of "Assault on Devil's Island", they show another clip of it. Apparently this monumental waste of time managed to do well enough to become the fourth highest rated cable movie of all time. Seriously, someone E-Mail me and say they liked this movie, and exactly why. My response, just to let you know in advance, will be to tell you to watch ANY OTHER action movie made in the last fifty years and you'll see something better. They then show the Hogan/Sting contract signing, which is a slap in the face to anyone who was suckered into watching the movie just to see it. For the record, I taped the show and watched it Sunday night. I don't think it's in any way disingenuous or dishonest to say how terrible this movie was. How much of that dialogue, especially during the "action scenes", had to be dubbed over in the quiet confines of a sound stage? The only thing faker than this dialogue is WCW wrestling. It was nice to see that they only had to rip off about half of "Predator" to get the characters down pat. Unfortunately, this isn't the end of this movie. It airs again next Monday between Nitro and the replay, and will no doubt be shown dozens of more times over the next year. There's also the spin-off coming, which I'll get to in a bit. - REY MYSTERIO, JR./STEVEN REGAL vs. EDDIE GUERRERO/DEAN MALENKO I've no idea why these guys are teamed up, other than the vague notion that Malenko would "do anything" to tangle with Mysterio. Regal, on the other hand, has absolutely no motivation whatsoever to wrestle with or against any of these guys. Obviously Eddie wants another shot at Rey. Very weak match, given the guys involved. I'm not saying it was bad, but this match certainly should have lasted longer than the approximately 3 minutes and 45 seconds that it did. The highlight was an awesome move in which Eddie tossed Rey up in the air over his head, with him landing on Malenko's shoulders, then huracanrana'ing him over the top rope to the floor. Moments later Rey takes a powerbomb from Eddie and sells it like he's just been seriously injured, or has just gone fifteen minutes toe- to-toe in a hard fought match. Eddie sets up for the Frog Splash, but Malenko runs in and applies the Texas Cloverleaf. Rey immediately taps out. Eddie and Dean swap dirty looks, with Eddie being pissed that he didn't get to do his finisher (and thus possibly earn a future title shot with the now pinned Cruiserweight Champion). Add another five or ten minutes to this match and it would have been a classic. As it was it meant little more than advancing some storyline or other, which I'm sure we'll have a clearer picture of after next week. Bill Apter is taking photos at ringside, which usually means something big is going to happen. - Nitro Girls. - They show Piper getting beat again in the cage. You'll notice they haven't yet shown him actually winning that match. I thought WCW was on his side? - FIT FINLEY vs. SQUIRE DAVID TAYLOR Finley wins in a snoozer with a Tombstone Piledriver. The match consisted almost solely of Irish Whips, clotheslines and restholds, and went less than three minutes (which probably contradicts it being a "snoozer". Perhaps "yawner"?) More attention was paid to the arrival of Raven and his Flock Nest of Cult Misfits. The Public Enemy deliver comments on the way to the commercial break. Oh, that's right ... they're in Philly this week. Better use all the ex-ECW stars. - Eric Bischoff phones in and really makes an ass of himself. He plays the typical heel by saying Sting is gutless for not accepting past challenges on Hogan's part (because he wasn't in the building). He then confirms a major piece of news about Roddy Piper confirming that he does indeed have brain damage ... for even stepping in the ring in the first place. Sting too has this same brain damage. Bischoff then makes himself look more like God (not hard to do as head booker) by proclaiming what a major victory it was that "AoDI" did so well. He trashes McMahon and the USA Network. (According to WCW fans all shots at the opposition are now "whining", so this is whining on Bischoff's part). Showing he knows absolutely nothing about TV ratings, he calls the Survivor Series special a "Miserable failure". Bischoff further lies by saying that the 4.0 "AoDI" earned gives them the option to make it a weekly series (which is bullsh*t, as TNT announced months ago that the movie would serve as a pilot for the weekly series, which had already been given the green light-regardless of the ratings). It's called "Shadow Warriors", and it'll be stinking up a TV set near you next year. He then goes on to say the whole NWO will be on the show next week with a huge surprise. Kevin Nash is expected to be back as well. Boy, Bischoff sure is great, isn't he? Not only has he made the most successful wrestling show in cable history, but he's produced a successful cable movie, engineered the highest PPV buyrate in history (more on this later) and knocked out several guys with his karate kick. Eric Bischoff has put himself over more in the last six months than Vince McMahon has done in his entire life. Cornette is right, he is a mark for his own face. - YUJI NAGATA (w/ Sonny Onoo) vs. PSYCHOSIS Nagata squashes Psychosis, winning with a submission hold. This match went longer than the first two combined, but only featured two high spots. - Raven talks about being dumped by a girl in grade school, or something. This was on ten seconds before I realized it was a Nitro skit. If I understand the angle correctly, years of abuse and torture led to him showing up late and sitting at ringside for wrestling cards. "Look out, he's buying a hot dog! Man, is he messed up (and extreme)!" - DISCO INFERNO vs. PERRY SATURN Saturn, sporting a heavy knee brace under his pants, beats Disco for the WCW Television Title. He uses three suplexes and a number of armbars. Disco offers very little offense (or defense). The Philly crowd pops for Saturn's win. I guess he sorta looked like Taz ... if Taz was half crippled and wrestled at less than half his capacity. Raven comes in and knocks Stevie Richards out of the ring. Billy Kidman and Sick Boy stand around looking stupid. BTW, Saturn's ring music is a civil defense horn, and he calls his finisher the "Rings of Saturn". I think it's time to drop Disco Inferno from the ranks of everyone with a shred of credibility. First he loses to a woman, then loses to a man with only one good leg. Hey, I'm not being harsh, this is clearly the message WCW is sending us. He stinks ... gotcha, Tony! - Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Ric Flair. Flair lets us know how much he hates Curt Hennig. I'm glad they have interviews like this, because the Halloween Havoc match between the two showed little fire. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Nitro Girls. - SCOTT HALL vs. CHRIS JERICHO Hall is wearing a WCW World Tag Team Title belt on the way to the ring, which mystifies the announcing crew. They apparently have forgotten that WCW made up the new belts several months ago, and that Hall and Nash wore them every time they appeared in the ring. When Hall and Syxx (subbing for Nash's ego) lost the belts to the Steiners, they were wearing the old WCW Tag Team belts. You may recall that I pointed this out after being tipped off by a regular Recap reader several weeks ago. Tony speculates that perhaps the Wolfpack won the belts back in a match they didn't hear about, then surmises he must have just had the belt made for him. Ahh ... I see ... we fans are supposed to be stupid, not notice anything, and forget that which we do notice, in order to follow the angles in WCW? Explains a lot, when you think about it. The Philadelphia crowd, which booed Hall coming out, all chant along with him as he says "Too Sweet!" (I'm sure these are all free thinking individuals, and that none of this was "sheep-like" activity). He does another "down there" joke (what a degenerate!) He wraps up by ripping into Larry Zbyszko. They show the Bischoff kick to the head again: this time in NWO black-and- white. Hall has the audacity to suggest that Larry is trying to "put himself over". A quick crowd shot shows that some of the ECW Arena regulars are in the crowd. Hall and Jericho actually work well together, and the match looked like it might not be all that bad. Then suddenly (about two minutes in) Jericho escapes from an Outsider's Edge and small packages Hall for the upset pin. Hall beats the crap out of him in retaliation. Larry Zbyszko then goes to the ring with his open contract, which sends Hall scurrying (declaring he's too sweaty to sign, or something). Larry rags on Hall over the house mic. - The final "Lucha Libre" segment. Nice while they lasted. This one gives us the name of some of the moves, and shows a cavalcade of high spot clips. Arguably the most impressive collection of spots ever shown at one time on a wrestling show (here in the U.S.) This alone slightly boosted my overall impression of the show this week. - Bobby Heenan finally joins the announcing crew. - LUCHA LIBRE BATTLE ROYAL Lizmark Jr., Damien, Villano IV, some guy making his debut (El something- or-other), Ciclope, Silver King, Juventud Guerrera, and Villano V comprise the competitors. Wow ... a seven man battle royal. The usual battle royal type stuff goes on for about two minutes until the Giant comes out and beats up everyone. (I'm sure the hardcore Philly fans just loved seeing an angle kill what could have been an incredible match.) The Giant gets on the mic and reiterates that he, not Nash, is the real Giant in WCW. - Nitro Girls. - ALEX WRIGHT (w/ Debra McMichael) vs. RIC FLAIR Okay ... this whole Debra situation now, officially, makes no sense. Be fair now, WCW fans ... isn't she a slut? You bet. I can't believe a wrestling promotion would have the gall to have a married person leave their spouse for someone else. Right? Think hard, now. Make sure you have your story straight. Flair may be one of the most over men ever to wrestle in Philadelphia. Every single chop by him (and there were a lot) elicited a "whoo!" from the crowd. This one was fun to watch just because of the crowd response. You could tell they were a WCW crowd, though, as the noise level dropped way off as the match stretched past the three minute mark. Flair takes his time softening him up for the Figure Four and the win. After the big pop for the finish, the crowd was completely dead thirty seconds later. Why can't Flair throw a punch that looks real? - RAY TRAYLOR vs. STEVE MCMICHAEL The horror ... the horror. Traylor sweats his way to a win with a clothesline. Bill Goldberg comes out wearing Mongo's Super Bowl ring, which distracts him long enough for Bubba to catch him with the devastating forearm. - Mean Gene interviews Diamond Dallas Page in the ring. DDP announces that Halloween Havoc had the largest wrestling PPV viewing audience in history. Far be it from me to doubt him. I guess that means it got a, what, 1.5 buyrate? I'm sure WCW wouldn't lie to us. I'm also sure WCW doesn't care a bit that the "most watched PPV ever" was also one of the worst. - Nitro Girls. - PUBLIC ENEMY vs. THE STEINER BROTHERS (w/ Ted DiBiase) A "Philadelphia Street Fight". The P.E. come out with two tables, both of which are pre-cut in the middle. No, this is not speculation on my part. The camera shows where the two tables have obviously been cut partway through and are being held together with black electrical tape on the bottom. They stack one table on top of the other. This actually wasn't a bad match, though certainly not because it was a "street fight". The best action took place in the ring as the two teams managed to put a few moves together convincingly. Rocco Rock and Scott Steiner head into the crowd for about ten seconds, as Scott pretends to hit Rocco with a chair. (I'm serious). They do some of the match split- screen, which makes it very hard to watch (and gives one just a taste of just how awful it is to try to watch the three ring, 60 man battle royal at World War 3, which uses a screen split into three parts). Scott and Rocco head to the announcer's area, where Scott throws him into the desk. Rocco climbs a few feet up the light structure, then comes off with a forearm shot (probably the best "move" of the "match"). Steiner again pretends to hit him with a chair after slamming him into a piece of the set. Rocco jumps from the top of the ramp onto Scott. Scott, who's supposed to catch him, accidentally drops him on his head. Johnny Grunge is choking Rick Steiner with a camera cable during most of this. The match ends when Rick Steiner is placed half on the bottom table. (Halfway because putting him completely on would have broken the table prematurely). Johnny Grunge comes off the top turnbuckle, but Rick moves out of the way. Johnny goes through the top table and smashes the second one flat (buckling the legs instead of it breaking cleanly). Scott covers Grunge for the pin on the floor. Rick Steiner can be seen bleeding from a cut to the left side of his head or neck. I'm not sure how to judge this. I actually get ECW every week, so this was pretty tame by comparison. By WCW standards it was "extreme", but also completely proved WCW as liars in their supposed attempts to "tone down" their violence. - They show clips from last year's 60 man battle royal at World War 3. I actually like the match, but it's next to impossible to watch until they get down to the last ten men or so. - CURT HENNIG vs. LEX LUGER Michael Buffer does the ring introductions. Hennig somehow manages to carry Luger to something resembling a watchable match. That being said, it goes for about ten or twelve minutes, with Luger getting the definite upper hand. Luger has Hennig set up for the Torture Rack, but Hennig somehow ends up down on the floor. Enter Ric Flair, who pummels on Hennig enough to draw the DQ. Flair chases Hennig out of the ring area, then comes back for a staredown and some words with Lex on the top of the ramp as the show ends. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: I'll be honest ... I didn't watch any of this once RAW came on. I didn't watch any of the replay either. I first watched the whole thing while writing this Recap. What I saw was, at moments, mildly entertaining, but I don't regret for a second waiting a whole day to watch it. The show, at times, liked a lot like your average installment of WCW Saturday Night. No Tod Gordon this week. Why am I not surprised? In case you hadn't heard, the big news this week is that Bret Hart has apparently given the WWF his notice, and will quit the company later this year. Supposedly his 20 year contract with the WWF had an "escape clause" after one year, which he exercised this past weekend. It's apparently a done deal that Hart has agreed to sign with WCW, and could show up their as soon as January 8th. (This may be the surprise Bischoff referred to). More on this in the "Bottom Line". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours. Location: Hershey, Pennsylvania. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Jim Ross and Jim Cornette. - "Stone Cold" Steve Austin comes out and tells Vince McMahon that he's eager to kick Owen Hart's ass. He then addresses the Ahmed Johnson situation (as clips are shown). Out comes Ahmed to challenge Austin. Austin accepts, and the stage is set for a match later in the show. (I know I'm really blowing through this. The Recap is already a day late as I write this, with lots more to come). On the way to break Ross announces that Goldust has thrown his marriage away. Huh ... whuzzat? - Karate Fighters crap. This one was actually funny. Dumb, but funny. - Sunny comes to the ring to announce the next match. - SUPER LOCO vs. AGUILA This is the first match of the Light Heavyweight Title Tournament. Aguila looks a lot like Juventud Guerrera. No, I mean a LOT like Juventud Guerrera. Here's the brackets for the 8 man tournament: Super Loco Jerry Lynn vs Aguila vs. Eric Shelly Taka Michinoku Brian Christopher vs. Devon Storm vs. Flash Flanagan Good, not great. At one match a week they should be ready for the final on the December 15th RAW. However, the final is supposedly set for the Royal Rumble, which is in January. It would probably make more sense to double some of the matches up and hold the final at the next In Your House on December 7th. Brian Christopher sits in for color commentary. This was a good match, only marred by several flubbed spots on Loco's part. The WWF's Light Heavyweight matches are also hampered by the setup of their ring, which forces all their floor spots to take place at the open end by the ramp (making them look very choreographed ... and telegraphed for that matter). Aguila does a backflip off the top into an armdrag, then an even more impressive double springboard off the ropes into and armdrag. Loco flubbed a flip into the ropes (where the wrestler is supposed to bounce off, then land on his feet and point to his head, showing his opponent that he outsmarted him by not jumping to the floor). Loco instead gets hung up in the ropes, drawing a laugh from the crowd. Loco jumps to the floor, but hits the rail. Aguila enters the ring and comes back out with a plancha into a half twist, which I don't think I've seen before. Moments later Loco drops Aguila across the ropes, straddling them and springboards into a flying spinning heel kick, which looked great, but didn't connect. Aguila's left sitting on the ropes untouched. Loco recovers and clotheslines him to the mat. After he's sends Aguila to the floor, Loco nails him with a Flying Space Tiger Drop (handspring cartwheel backflip over the ropes). Aguila sends Loco to the floor and hits him with a moonsault off the top. Aguila gets the pin after an almost "mundane" splash off the top (with a 180 degree rotation). - Jim Ross interviews Goldust and Marlena in a pre-taped sitdown interview. (I'd like to have done a transcript of this, but it would delay the Recap even longer. I may do it some day for the website). Things start off okay with Marlena saying how glad she is to be back with her family. Goldust, (or I should say Dustin), interrupts saying he can't go on with the interview. He says she's making him sick. Dustin says for so long he's lived for her and his father. He says his father wrecked his life for 25 years, but that Terri has made his last seven miserable as well. He tells her she doesn't even know him. She starts to cry as he admits that he wasn't alone for that month she was gone. He says he reached out and found somebody who understands him. "What are you talking about?" she asks. Dustin tosses his wedding ring at her and says she and take it and their marriage and, well ... you know. Snatches of profanity have to be bleeped. Dustin says he's starting his life over for himself and walks out of the interview. Back from the break Jim Ross takes a shot at Dustin, saying he's never taken responsibility for his past failures (always blaming his dad and such). - They run a highlights package to hype the Hart/Michaels match at Survivor Series. You know, Hogan vs. Sting may be the most anticipated match in the entire world of wrestling, but it definitely doesn't have a tenth the degree of depth and passion this match has. Seriously, why is Sting even mad at Hogan? What has Hogan done to him? It was WCW that turned their back on him. - Ahmed Johnson makes his way to the ring, much to the ire of the announcers. ("Can't he wait!") They take a quick commercial. The lights go out and out comes Kane and Paul Bearer. Ahmed stares at him a bit, then takes a shot at him. Kane doesn't react and delivers a chokeslam, followed by a pair of Tombstone Piledrivers. In comes Mankind, carrying a huge turnbuckle bolt, which they use to attach the ring ropes to the corner post. He drops Paul Bearer with the Mandible Claw, then wraps the huge bolt around Kane's skull. Kane drops like a sack of fish, only to sit up (like the Undertaker) a few moments later. Mankind grabs a chair and protects the groggy Ahmed as people come out to help Ahmed. It may be goofy, but the crowd was digging it. - Steve Austin comes back out and says Ahmed got off light. He challenges Ahmed, or anyone else, to come out and fight him. The Nation of Domination gathers at the top of the ramp. They debate amongst themselves, then send Kama to the ring. "Rocky sucks!" is chanted in tune with the NOD's music. No match takes place, as the Legion of Doom jumps the NOD as Austin takes out Kama with the Stone Cold Stunner. The crowd noise dips a bit as Austin strolls from the ring (probably realizing they aren't actually going to see Austin in a match). - They replay earlier highlights to close out the hour. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - Michael Cole waits in the ring to interview Degeneration X. Rick Rude comes out to do the intro's. Shawn and Hunter come to the ring with Chyna carrying shopping bags. McMahon says that Bret Hart isn't in the building tonight because he refused to appear (due to comments by Shawn last week). Cole says Michaels cost Ken Shamrock the WWF Title last week. Shawn gives Hunter a quick kiss (ewwwww!)Hunter takes the mic away and-after a bit of setup-trips him over Chyna (who's behind him on her hands and knees). Shawn then says he's not only wrestling's "show stopper and Icon", but is also the- "Wait a minute, Shawn!" Hunter cuts him off, saying he knows what Shawn was going to say. Shawn starts playing his belt like a guitar (a la "Hollywood" Hogan). Hunter says Shawn would have to be old as God to be the God of wrestling (and compete in an "Age in the Cage" match). Shawn then vows that next week he'll come out on RAW wearing the World Heavyweight Title belt ... and nothing else. Shawn says he wants a match with Ken Shamrock then. Here comes Commissioner Slaughter. He starts to bark at them, which prompts Shawn and Hunter to pull welders helmets out of the shopping bags. A few more barks and they each pull out a pair of tiny windshield wipers, which they attach to the helmets. Slaughter gives them a smug look and tells Shawn he'll get a match with Shamrock, but that it'll take place tonight. The bit ends with Shawn giving a clueless look and saying "you can't talk to me that way ... I'm Shawn Michaels!" They hype the next match as they head into a break. Marc Mero is shown in a back hallway. He pushes aside a cameraman, yelling for Sable to hurry up and get ready. He shoves the door to her dressing room open and the camera picks up quite a bit more of Sable than you'd normally expect. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! - MARC MERO (w/ Sable) vs. SAVIO VEGA Savio does the spinning heel kick into the corner, which is a nice move. Other than that, there was nothing to this match. Mero wins after a low blow followed by the TKO. After the match Michael Cole tries to get a word with Sable, which cheeses off Mero. - VADER vs. THE BRITISH BULLDOG (w/ the Hart Foundation) The Bulldog is accompanied by Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon. This was a "Dog Collar" match, and a pretty bad one at that. The only way someone could win was to touch all four corners (like a strap match). It was also "no DQ", meaning the Hart Foundation had free reign to interfere. Michael Cole gets comments from Furnas and LaFon during the match. Everyone's so busy paying attention to the interview that Vader getting the win is almost missed. Vader touches the fourth turnbuckle, then is jumped by the non-Canadians. (Well, LaFon DOES live in Canada). In comes a fan. Make that a "fan", who takes out Furnas and LaFon with karate kicks. The Hart Foundation stomps on the guy until Vader covers him, protecting him. McMahon and Ross make it clear this "fan" will spend a night in the pokey for running into the ring (as he's escorted out by security). Turns out this fan is a martial arts instructor (whose name I forget). He'll may be on "Team USA" at the PPV this Sunday. A new star is introduced in the tradition of Ernest Miller, Savio Vega and Miguel Perez. Enough with the "fans" already. - ROAD DOG/BAD ASS BILLY GUNN vs. LOS BORICUAS Ross announces that Commissioner Slaughter has had an "altercation" with the LOD and they were asked to leave the building. Yeaaaaaah .... aaaaaannnnd? Not a terrible match, but it's hard to give a rat's ass when the match is between to teams you don't give damn about and the outcome is never in doubt. Road Dog gets the pin with some help from Billy. They didn't even bother to use a foreign object this time. - SHAWN MICHAELS (w/ Degeneration X) vs. KEN SHAMROCK You know what? I liked this match. Sure, it had a few problems: the finish was weak and rushed due to time, as well as Shawn's calling out a few spots too loudly which the microphones picked up a few times (and which the WWF censors tried to bleep, with varying levels of success). The actual match itself, though, wasn't all that bad. Shamrock sends Shawn bouncing around like a pinball. Shawn comes back during the middle segment, at one point catching him with a sweet drop- kick to the mush. Ken stages a comeback during a nice sequence where they go into the ropes-Shamrock nailing Shawn more than once with a flying shoulder, which sends Shawn tumbling each time. They slightly blow a spot where Ken is supposed to legwhip Shawn, but Shawn raises his keg too soon (or Ken takes too long to grab it) and for a split second it looks like Shawn is standing there waiting to be grabbed. Time is starting to run really short as Shawn rushes a Superkick, but Ken ducks it and nails a belly-to-belly suplex. Shamrock then takes him down by the leg and slaps on a submission hold. But wouldn't you know it, the ref is tied up with Chyna on the apron. In comes the Ravishing one, who lays in a rude Haliburton shot to the back of the head. The ref signals for the bell as DX pounds on Shamrock. The show ends with Hunter Pedigree'ing Shamrock's face onto the briefcase. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: The first hour was okay. The second hour really blew, with the exception of the main event. It did a passably good job of hyping Survivor Series, but really suffered by the absence of so many key wrestlers. Here's the SS card in full: * Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart. This was hyped throughout the show as possibly being their last match ever (for obvious reason, as we now know). * Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart. It seems that Owen still hasn't recovered completely from his concussion at the hands of Ahmed Johnson, which really has the Hart family worried. And of course Austin isn't anywhere near 100%. Look for a quickie match. I'm actually betting Austin doesn't win the Intercontinental Title. * Mankind vs. Kane. Look for Kane to take a ton of punishment, but still get the clear, decisive win. Actually, if they want to set up a third match using Cactus Jack, then they should probably have this one end without a definite finish. It's assumed that this match will be "unsanctioned" or "no DQ" or something similar. * Team USA vs. Team Canada. the Bulldog, Neidhart, Furnas and LaFon will comprise the Canadian team. Vader, Goldust and Marc Mero will be joined by a mystery partner. Net rumors say it's Mark Henry, while this week's RAW would suggest the fan will turn out to be a friend of Vader's who will join the team. Goldust will be wearing a cast because he broke his hand this past weekend. * Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson and the Legion of Doom vs. the Nation of Domination. This one could go either way, really. * The Disciples of Apocalypse vs. the Truth Commission. I don't think they even mentioned this match this week. * The Godwinns, Road Dog and Billy Gunn vs. the Head Bangers and the New Blackjacks. I'm interested in seeing this one, but not really anxious ... know what I mean? Only the main event really promises to deliver, and even that could suffer based on current developments. I'd actually pass on this one if my brother weren't splitting the cost with me (all these damn PPV's really add up). This will probably be the last I buy this year. Starrcade would have to have a really strong undercard to attract me, while In Your House "Degeneration X" would have to be strong from top to bottom (I'm not just buying it to see Bret Hart's last WWF match, unless it's a doozy). ECW's "November to Remember" hasn't sold me at all with its constantly changing card. The only thing attractive about it is the price ($19.95). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: December 7th, 1997. A day that will live in infamy for fans of the WWF. This is apparently the night Bret Hart will wrestle his last match for the WWF. If you want all the latest details, check any of the numerous wrestling news sites (a list of which is always available on my site if you need a pointer). Bret Hart, disgusted with the current approach the WWF has been taking, exercised a clause in his 20 year contract, allowing him to give 30 days notice to the WWF. The "how", "where", "when" and "why" is pretty much irrelevant at this point. Hart may have already agreed to a contract with WCW and will probably debut on January 8th: the first night of WCW's new Thursday night show on TBS. Hart will reportedly receive 2.5 million dollars per year(?) for two years (with an option for a third). It's not known in what capacity WCW will use him, but coming in as a babyface to battle the NWO seems the likeliest. I'm not going to rehash his reasons for leaving, but I will comment that the increase in pay and Hart's own failing physical condition are the two most credible reasons (Hart will wrestle far fewer dates than he currently does). The extra time off will allow him to spend time with his family. Hart may also be better able to fulfill his desires to pursue an acting career. For those still saying "it can't possibly be true", here's a brief laundry list of those who have "confirmed" the story in one way or another: * Dave Meltzer, of the Observer. * Bob Ryder, Prodigy and 1Wrestling.com. * Wade Keller. Pro Wrestling Torch. * Mark Madden. WCW. * MiCasa. * 4-1-1. * Most every other wrestling news site quoting one of the above. * Jim Ross on the WWF hotline (refuting certain aspects of Keller's story). * The WWF itself on its AOL area. The WWF announcement is available at all the news sites, and says, more or less, that Bret has exercised an option in his contract which allowed him to give notice. The WWF says he is "exploring other career options". Bret's signing with WCW does not have the same level of confirmation, which may still leave open the door for Bret to re-sign with the WWF (but it looks unlikely). Bret's on-line fan club has issued a "no comment". A few Canadian newspaper have carried the story, reporting on both Bret's departure and eventual signing with WCW. There are already numerous versions of the story unfolding. Some suggest that Hart had a falling out with McMahon after being asked to lose to Michaels at Survivor Series. Another has Vince actually encouraging Bret to go, thus freeing up a considerable chunk of money which Vince may have some ideas about using (as in signing wrestlers-ranging from Ric Flair to the Giant to Kevin Nash). To say that some of the theories already arising are farfetched is an understatement. Nonetheless, most everyone in a position to track the story says the WWF is taking the news of the loss of Hart with an incredible amount of grace and ease. Most reports have the split as being an amicable one, and the possibility of Hart returning to the WWF after his tour of WCW isn't entirely out of the question. It seems that Hart is the one who initiated the contact with WCW, perhaps as recently as five or six weeks ago. Others think that Hart may have re-signed last year intending to do this all along. (Hart will have gotten, after all, a few million dollars, gotten the World Title TWO more times, and the assumption was he'd get a clean win over Michaels-which could still happen this Sunday). The WWF may well have been preparing for this for some time, as Hart have really seen the spotlight on him diminish ever since his title win over the Undertaker at SummerSlam. Since then he's been on the undercard of two straight PPV's and only headlined one or two main events on RAW. Ignoring for the moment the idea of Hart signing with WCW, his remaining days in the WWF raise several questions and bring up several things to consider. It seems Hart and the WWF were trying to keep all of this quiet, with there being the possibility that the WWF would have flat out announced it next week on RAW-wishing Hart a fond farewell. Now that the cat is out of the bag, no one knows what the WWF's plans (or Hart's) are. As mentioned above, all indication are that Hart will fulfill his existing commitments and wrestle through to December 7th. However, the possibility does exist that the WWF may decide to let him go earlier, perhaps to prevent bad blood in the lockerroom, perhaps to diminish the notion that Hart "jumped ship" (if WCW does indeed save his arrival for January 8th). Though it's not too likely, one can't entirely rule out the possibility that this could even mean major changes for this Sunday's PPV, as Hart could feel compelled to leave immediately (if the WWF allowed it). The WWF could go so far as to strip him of the title and completely rearrange the PPV card to set up a tournament (though as I said, this is unlikely). It remains unclear just how the WWF will treat him, knowing that in a month's time he'll be gone and working for the opposition. The traditional practice has been to bury him on his way out. Doing so, however, could backfire, as Hart would then be motivated to lash out at the WWF by way of a verbal attack once in WCW. As it is, Hart is probably professional enough that he wouldn't do that, though he could be driven to it if given a poor send off (as many WWF fans would no doubt like to see). All of this obviously means Hart will have to lose the title sometime in the next month. Losing it to Michaels this Sunday is quite likely, assuming the WWF wants to take no chances (and risk Hart showing up in WCW wearing the belt-a move which would be undoubtedly the biggest embarrassment that could be suffered by the WWF in this whole head-to-head war). This also would make Hart two months removed from being the WWF Champion when he arrived in WCW, which would somewhat lessen the impact of their signing him (it's one thing to sign the champion-it's another to sign the ex-champion). The WWF may simply want to get the belt off him before he commits to anything in writing with WCW (if he hasn't already). On the other hand, the WWF may allow Hart to retain the title this Sunday as his "going away present", sparing him the indignity of losing the belt in front of a Canadian crowd. Hart could then lose the belt in a match on RAW, at the December PPV, or even forfeit it outright in conjunction with the announcement of his leaving. The last would be very beneficial to Hart (and WCW) as he would be leaving as an unbeaten champion. The WWF may not want to go for this, but if they press too hard they could trigger an unpredictable reaction on Hart's part (like showing up on Nitro next week and melting down the WWF belt). I'm assuming that Hart and the WWF already have all these details worked out, but as they say "anything can happen". What will Hart do in WCW? My assumption is that he'll come in as a fan favorite. Many seem to be assuming he'll join the NWO, but that makes no sense whatsoever (which is why it could still happen-we are talking about WCW here). It's well known that Hart has long had a tremendous amount of dislike for Hogan, Nash, Hall and Syxx. He already has an established rivalry with Curt Hennig dating back to Hennig's WWF days. Hart has also long expressed a desire to wrestle Randy Savage in a major match (which he only had the opportunity to do in Japan). With the way WCW uses their "good guys" Hart would also be free to wrestle against Flair, Luger, DDP and eventually Sting. Hart, as some of you may know, already owns all the rights to most every aspect of his wrestling character: the name, the shades, the outfit. I believe he even owns his ring music (though I'm not sure). More importantly, he owns the rights to the nickname "Hitman". Hart would be one of the rare athletes to be able to make the jump virtually unchanged. As far as I know he can move to WCW and start up a new branch of the Hart Foundation, should he wish to do so. (Chris Benoit, whatever you do, do NOT miss any phone calls in the next month!) This last bit raises the question "where does this leave Owen Hart?" (not to mention the British Bulldog and Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart). This is a good question, and one which I can't answer. One would assume that they would stop calling themselves the "Hart Foundation" if Bret owns that name. Owen may even be prompted to change his own ring attire so as not to look so similar to Bret's. From what I understand, Owen and the Bulldog are tied up in a WWF contract through 1999. Bret's departure would certainly open the way for one (or both) to improve their standing in the WWF. Owen could, feasibly, step into Bret's shoes as the "New Hitman". He may also wish to follow Bret to WCW, and the lack of his ability to do so for two more years could see him decrease his performance level and develop a bitter attitude. The WWF needs as few problems in the lockerroom as possible, and one could see a scenario where the WWF gave him an early release just to get rid of him. Bret himself may have or be working on engineering Owen's release himself to take him with him. Who knows? The Bulldog, on the other hand, would probably be more inclined to stay, and is a proven past main eventer. He too may well step up to fill some of the absence left behind by Hart. With Bret Hart gone the Bulldog instantly becomes the WWF's biggest overseas draw (or pretty close, anyway). Jim Neidhart, frankly, is expendable. I'd say he's probably gone by the start of 1998. What about the rest of the Hart clan: Stu and Helen, as well as all the other brothers, sister, wives, nephews, etc.? They've always been a part of the overall package that is Bret Hart. Will we continue to see them at WWF events backing up Owen, or will they follow Bret to Atlanta? Surely we won't see them at both. Which brother will get custody of the family, as it were? The on-camera feud of 1994 between Bret and Owen may spawn into a real interpromotional rivalry. What does Hart's loss mean to the WWF? It hurts ... a lot. Is it the "death" of the WWF? No. Many people seem to forget that Hart was gone last year from March to November. Nearly nine months went by with very little mention of him (except for right after he left and just before he came back). The TV ratings weren't affected all that much. PPV buyrates dipped a bit. House show attendance stayed about the same. Hart's return didn't in itself totally spark the resurgence the WWF has gotten this year. He's been a part of that, but so was Sid, the Undertaker, and the emergence of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Shawn Michaels was sidelined earlier this year and business didn't change all that much. Steve Austin has been out of the ring since August and the WWF is virtually unchanged. As the saying goes, "this too shall pass". His loss will be felt more due to the fact that Nitro will pick up some viewers than anything else. That, and Hart's drawing power overseas and up in Canada. I doubt gaining Hart will suddenly make WCW a legitimate drawing powerhouse in places such as Germany, South Africa and Bahrain, but it'll help. The WWF still has their name recognition, and that'll keep the live audiences coming if they maintain their quality. The addition of Hart does make them a bigger draw in Canada, though: no doubt about that. WCW may also have some interesting opportunities open up in Japan with Hart on board. I'm not sure how much appeal Hart has in Mexico, but if there is any it will help WCW's expansion into that area as well. What do I think of Hart leaving? Very mixed. I hate to see him leave the WWF, yet I'm intrigued by many of the match possibilities that await him in WCW. Barring a return to the WWF in a few years, I do think Hart has thrown away the claim to a legacy which he's spent a decade building up. Had Hart finished out his career in the WWF he'd no doubt have been billed for the rest of his life as the "greatest WWF Champion ever!" Now he's just another former champion. The WWF is once again left without a past idol to pin their glory days on (as in the cases of Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior). Hart has been given every opportunity to step out of Hulk Hogan's shadow, but is now faced with the possibility of finishing out his career playing second fiddle to him. Hart goes from being the WWF's top star and sharing the spotlight with only a few others, to being below the top spot in WCW; forced to share the spotlight with literally a dozen other guys who are all already in line awaiting their turn at the top. At the top sits Hulk Hogan, who still shows no sign of letting up on his death grip on the WCW World Title. Maybe, though, the spotlight isn't exactly what Hart wants on himself. Wanted or not, that's precisely what he'll have on him for the next several months. I'm just interested in seeing how WCW fans welcome the man most of them have labeled for the last two years as "a washed up 40 year old with bad knees who only uses the same five moves over and over!" I'm guessing that their opinion of him will miraculously improve in the next two months, while many WWF fans will "suddenly" recognize him for the "40 year old, bad knees, etc." he always was. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Week's Winner: RAW. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "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 103 of the "Monday Night Recap", November 3rd, 1997. John Petrie petrie@bji.net Slobberknocker Central http://www.bji.net/pages/petrie/index.html