Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #166 January 18th, 1999 The Opening Word: If Tony Schiavone says one word about the Atlanta Falcons this week I'm stopping the tape, burning it, and will skip doing a Nitro Recap. (*mumble* ... how the hell do you miss a chip-shot field goal when you've hit 42 straight before that ... not missing one for the last thirteen months ... *grumble*) My brother got the flu Monday, so I had to cover for him at work. Instead of writing the Recap I stumbled across one of those online trivia/chat sites, and spent 10 hours trying to win a measly $5. Then the flu hit. Don't expect too much this week. Most of my efforts are being expended in trying not to shit my drawers. Hemingway I ain't. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Three Hours+. Location: Columbus, Ohio. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Larry Zbyszko. - Clips (still photos, actually) from Souled Out open the show. - Ric Flair is livid over what the NWO did to his boy David at the PPV. In a clip taped earlier he and the other Horsemen (Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Steve McMichael) are pacing in the back, knocking over stuff. They're waiting for the NWO to show up. Back live we see the NWO limo pull up, with a handy in-car camera shot of "Hollywood" Hogan and his troops whooping it up. Once the limo stops it is rushed by Flair and the Horsemen. Flair smashes a window with a tire iron. The limo peels out, and the in-car shot shows the NWO giggling over their close brush with death. Flair charges the ring and delivers a fiery ("Mean" Gene Okerlund behind the mic). Flair, as WCW President, orders Hogan to defend the World Title against him at SuperBrawl in February. He then moves on to Eric Bischoff, who he knows was behind the attack on David. He orders Bischoff to fight him tonight. Bischoff comes out and says he doesn't have to, since there's nothing in his contract that says he has to wrestle if he doesn't want to. Flair switches gears and offers him the match, putting his own hair on the line. Bischoff still declines. (This scene looks familiar. Just think "I Quit".) Flair further offers Bischoff his position as President of WCW back if he beats him (Flair). This intrigues Bischoff, at which point he's shoved from behind by David Flair, who makes his way to the ring. David yells that he wants to fight Bischoff instead, at which point Bischoff pulls a Foley and says he accepts the match, versus David, with Ric Flair's hair and job on the line. Before Bischoff can walk out Flair slips in the final stipulation that if Bischoff loses, they'll shave his head ("and ass!") Zbyszko asks if they can just have the head, but Tony Schiavone, that homo, says he wants to see it all. (By the way, I'm not paying much attention to Schiavone up to this point, so if he's mentioned the Falcons I missed it. Luck for you all, I guess.) - The first of many highlights clips are shown, so for the sake of brevity (and sanity) I'll forego mentioning the rest. - CHRIS JERICHO (w/ Ralphus) vs. BOOKER T. Nice, long match between these two, going about ten minutes. Booker gets the win with a sloppy missile drop-kick off the top (the only real bad move by either man in the whole match). Chris Jericho's status with WCW is still the biggest mystery going today, and this match does nothing to clear it up. - "Mean" Gene interviews J.J. Dillon. Dillon announces that evil referee Scott Dickinson has been suspended for what he did to Saturn at the PPV. Dillon also says he's working on signing tonight's main event: Goldberg vs. Scott Hall vs. Bam Bam Bigelow in a Triangle Match. Not to tell J.J. his job, but it seems to me he should have stuff like this worked out before the show goes on the air (*nudge-nudge*). - Ad for the Bruise Cruise. I've been remiss in mentioning that one of the selling points for this cruise (attended by WCW stars that you can hang out with and annoy), is that WCW will be shooting some kind of Nitro Girls PPV. I assume this is one of those $5.95 cheesecake/bikini deals you see on Viewer's Choice. For about the same price you can pick up the February "Playboy", which will feature a nude photo spread of Sable. You, yes YOU, can vote with you dollars what degree of filth you'd like to see from the two major wrestling promotions! - Pretaped "Mean" Gene interview offers a special one-on-one sit down discussion with Rey Mysterio, Jr. Mysterio says he didn't give up his LWO shirt because those are his colors. (His "colors" as in "the color of the Mexican flag"--Mysterio's from San Diego, by the way--or his "colors", as in "all hispanics are in gangs". WCW doesn't specify, so you can take your own pick. I guess we're supposed to forget that Rey was desperately trying to get out of the LWO just a few weeks ago.) Rey talks about how important his mask still is to him, then he talks tough about Lex Luger. This video played like it was a response to something that hasn't even happened yet. - DAVID FLAIR vs. ERIC BISCHOFF RAW's close to starting over on the other channel, so Bischoff takes about a week to get to the ring, killing time. Randy Anderson is the referee. The match itself goes something like this: * The two circle. * David sticks his head out. * Eric kicks it. * Eric kicks him in the empty space two inches to the left of his ribs. * Bischoff celebrates and Anderson helps David to his feet. * David hits Bischoff in the head. * Bischoff drops dead. * David covers for the pin. That was quite possibly the worst "match" I've ever seen. David reveals a roll of quarters in his fist, which he tears open and sprinkles over Bischoff. (A subsequent replay reveals that referee Randy Anderson handed David the roll: revenge for his being fired by Bischoff a few years ago.) Ric and the Horsemen then come out to celebrate, and to begin the chore of shaving Bischoff's head. Almost immediately it is apparent that BISCHOFF IS AS GRAY AS AN OLD GRANDMOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cutting lasts for some time, followed by replays, and the inevitable reawakening of Bischoff, who tries to put the trimmed hair back on his head. This was about as funny as these haircutting scenarios can be. Bischoff will now wear a hat for the next few weeks until enough hair grows back to do a dye job (they left all the hair on the sides and back untouched). HOUR TWO Hosted By: Schiavone, Tenay and Zbyszko. - Chris Jericho has J.J. Dillon cornered in the back. According to the match stipulation between Jericho and Saturn at the PPV, Saturn must wear a dress whenever he's in the arena. Saturn wanders in and Dillon reluctantly reminds him of the stipulation. Can you believe, if the rumors are true, that Saturn actually ASKED for this? Seems he feels this will get him more attention, and get him over with the fans. - Konan came out and said all the usual catchphrases. - THE FIRST FAMILY (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. "MEAN" MIKE ENOS/BOBBY DUNCUM JR. "The First Family" is Meng and the Barbarian, formerly known as the "Faces of Fear". The name refers, I believe, a wrestling stable Hart ran years ago. Meng and the Barbarian, when we last saw them, were bitter enemies. So much for continuity. This is a match in the World Tag Team Title tournament and, if you've been watching Thunder lately, you knew how this one would end. Kevin Nash leads the NWO to the ring, attacking both teams, ending the match with no winner. Nash, Hogan and others deliver the usual catchphrases. - DISCO INFERNO vs. WRATH Disco is wearing an NWO shirt. Scott Hall comes out during the match and distracts Wrath, which allows Disco to do the Stone Cold Chartbuster and score the pin. Don't you just love it when they push a guy for countless months, then abruptly de-push him into the cellar--all with him ever being involved in a notable angle. (Particularly grating for Wrath here has to be the fact that he had to lose, cleanly, to a guy who was once fired by WCW for refusing to job to a woman.) - As the Nitro Girls are doing a number Scott Steiner comes out to hit on them. Huh? - SCOTT STEINER (w/ Buff Bagwell) vs. PERRY SATURN Steiner questions the sexual orientation of Saturn, who is wearing his dress. The match here is a fairly typical affair, with Bagwell distracting and Steiner able to slap on the Steiner Recliner. I guess "push" in WCW means you lose all your matches, but get to act silly or wear a dress (Jericho, Saturn). HOUR THREE Hosted By: Schiavone, Tenay and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Kevin Nash, Lex Luger and Elizabeth hit the ring. Tonight's subject of the goof-a-thon is Konan. Lots a trash talk, including a nice quip from Nash about his butt being Konan's "view" (from the rear of the Wolfpac) for the last year. Luger then challenges Rey Mysterio to a match, threatening to remove his mask. He'll call the match off, though, if Mysterio just hands the mask over backstage. (These are the comments Mysterio responded to earlier, before Luger had a chance to even make them.) - Scott Steiner's infatuation with the Nitro Girls continues, as he invades their dressing room. Kimberly seems to be the main object of his desire. Security has to come to get him out of there. - JUVENTUD GUERRERA vs. PSYCHOSIS Partners last week--enemies this week: all because they gave up their LWO t-shirts. Whatever. Winner here becomes the undisputed number one contender to the Cruiserweight Title. (Like that has meant anything over the last year. Just go back and look how many times guys have lost a match like this, only to still get a title shot a few days or weeks later.) An unfortunate commercial break aside, this was a decent match, which Psychosis wins with a legdrop off the top. My Dad pointed out, early in the match, that "the hairy guy in the mask will win." I asked him why? "Because it's his turn." That about sums it up. Now lets see if Guerrera doesn't get a title shot anyway sometime between now and SuperBrawl. - LEX LUGER vs. REY MYSTERIO, JR. What are we supposed to expect here? Luger kills Rey, who does manage to get in some token (albeit visually satisfying) offense. Kevin Nash comes out and, after one rally too many by Mysterio, Nash comes in and assists in the total obliteration. Before they can get his mask off, though, Konan runs out for the save. These "David vs. Goliath" matches only mean something when the little guy wins. - Clip of a press conference announcing the ground breaking on the new WCW Nitro Grill in the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas. - Sandwiched between a pair of commercials is another skit involving Scott Steiner and Kimberly. - GOLDBERG vs. SCOTT HALL vs. BAM BAM BIGELOW Few moments of action, NWO run-in, Horsemen run-in, Hogan runs away. - This Thursday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: If the bulk of the above seems brief it's because I left out about thirty replay clips, highlights clips, Nitro Girls numbers, and other various promos. That said I thought this was an okay show. I liked the first hour, and while not blown away by it, I saw the value in what was done with Bischoff. The rest of the show just sort of limped along after that, falling to a flat finish with the typical NWO run-in to cap off the main event. Fairly obvious that Scott Steiner's next feud is with Diamond Dallas Page. Can't say as I'm looking forward to that whatsoever. As much as I hate Steiner as the Television Champion, I sure hope DDP doesn't win it from him. DDP is as over as he's ever going to get. Giving him the TV strap won't accomplish anything. I actually thought for a moment this week that Saturn was going to get an upset win and take the strap. Now THAT would have been a good move. It would get Chris Jericho back into contention for a title, and allow for encounters against such diverse opponents as Chris Benoit, Raven, Booker T., Fit Finlay, Norman Smiley, etc. As it stands now there are no belts for these guys to go after. The U.S. Title is AWOL with the injured Bret Hart. The Tag Title belts are vacant, held up for a tournament which the NWO angle is continually derailing. The World Title? Please. And you have to be a midget to compete for the Cruiserweight belt. I'm still not sold on the newly reformed "original" NWO. There's still too many people in it (Horace, Vincent, Brian Adams). There's too many t-shirts and nicknames ("Black & White", "Red & Black", "Wolfpac"). They're still involved in too many angles and feuds (Goldberg, Flair & the Horsemen, Konan, Disco Inferno, Kimberly and DDP, Tag Title tournament). It's spread all over the place, with the focus changing every five minutes. And for all the talk of WCW "rebounding" as a faction, look what has happened of late: * Hogan is the World Champion. Coming on the heels of ... * Nash beat Goldberg for the Title. * Steiner is the TV Champion. * They've wrecked the Tag Title Tournament. * They beat up David Flair. * They've kept Goldberg from regaining the Title. These are just the larger things. In all, what has "WCW" accomplished lately? Well, Flair became the President. What has that accomplished? Humiliating Bischoff? I doubt, in the greater scheme of things, that has the NWO worried. In the grand scheme of the storyline conflict between the NWO and WCW, the NWO is still leading WCW by a considerable distance. Their record is about like Goldberg's. They're back to the point they were at early last year, where the NWO had done so many bad deeds that WCW will never be able to even the score anyone's satisfaction. Call me a softy, or old fashioned, but "good" is supposed to beat "evil", and since 1996 I've been waiting for good to get that win. We're now no closer to that than we have been, and have probably gotten farther away from it with the resurgence of the NWO. The best WCW has done in all that time is have Sting, then Goldberg, beat Hogan for the World Title. WCW can do the wrestling in the ring, but they can't tell the larger story. That, more than anything else, is probably why I don't care much for WCW. By the way, if you noticed Kevin Nash didn't wrestle this week, then I've got two words for you. Uh-huh. You all know what they are. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Taped 1/12. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Beaumont, Texas. WWF RAW Hosted By: Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - Show opens with a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. Amen to that. - "Stone Cold" Steve Austin comes out and, no disrespect to him intended, gives the usual "ass" filled speech. The crowd digs it, having not seen much of Austin for over a month. The Road Dogg is in the back filling up a dumpster full of weapons. - ROAD DOGG vs. GANGREL Another in what is becoming a string of not great, but very entertaining Hardcore Title matches. This match--Inst-a-feud(tm)--was set up by the Dogg getting a blood bath last week, then his attacking Gangrel on Sunday Night Heat. The match begins with a shot on Gangrel with a stick. They take turns throwing each other into the barrier. A table comes into play, down on the floor, and the Dogg gets powerbombed through it! Another table surfaces, again on the floor, and the Dogg lands an elbowdrop on Gangrel off the apron (but the table doesn't break). Quickly he goes back up and does a SWEET double legdrop, but the table just bends. Back up again he lands another elbow off the top turnbuckle(!), which finally breaks the table all the away through. Gangrel gets backdropped and suplexed onto the two bent halves of the table. The Dogg finishes him off with a stiff chair shot to the head, and covers for the pin. Austin is in the back drinking a beer. Similar shots will take place throughout the show, reminding us that Austin is still in the building and that ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN AT ANY MINUTE. - "BAD ASS" BILLY GUNN vs. TEST Test really hasn't done much since his debut. It doesn't help him that he's become a hired gun for a Corporation which already has three hired guns (Shamrock, the Bossman and Kane). Gunn may be gaining more popularity than Triple H (which, if you ask me, isn't that huge a feat). This match has its moments, but reaches the inevitable DQ conclusion when Ken Shamrock runs in. Shamrock embarks on a beat-down of Gunn the likes of which we haven't seen in some time. He smashes him into the Spanish announcers table, tosses him around the ringside area, and slaps an anklelock submission hold on him. Before it's done Gunn is howling like a baby to be released. The crowd gives Ken a big "Shamrock sucks!" chant. Nice heat segment. The WWF, on the USA Network, will do a special "Halftime Heat" during the halftime of the Super Bowl. Flip over to USA during the game. If it happens during Sunday Night Heat they will do whatever it is they have planned. If the halftime comes after Heat is over, USA will cut away from whatever it is they are showing to air the special. - Gunn is in the back howling like an infant as a trainer checks out his ankle. Later in the show they reassure us that Gunn will be ready in time for the Rumble to square off against Shamrock for the IC Title. - Kevin Kelly is in the middle of an interview with Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart and Debra McMichael, when they (Owen and Jarrett) are attacked by the Big Bossman and Ken Shamrock. These two teams will square off next Monday on RAW for the World Tag Team Titles. I predict a title switch, which is just fine by me. Jarrett and Hart make a good team, and Debra's nice to look at. Stopping to think about it, Jarrett and Hart are probably the best tag team in North America right now, so giving them the straps may be a pretty good idea. (Of course surveying the tag team landscape, Hart and Jarrett are the best team almost by default.) - Another Vince McMahon training video, and this one is the best of the lot. McMahon actually steps into the squared circle to wrestle, as Shane McMahon shouts motivational jargon into a bullhorn. McMahon nails Dr. Tom Pritchard with a Stone Cold Stunner, then gives him a good tongue lashing a la Austin. He does the same to a pair of masked jobbers, and also practices tossing them over the top rope. Some may recall I said they needed to do something like this leading up to any match McMahon would be in, and suggested they do something like this for Eric Bischoff leading up to his match with Ric Flair. (Unfortunately the best WCW could do was that embarrassing bit where Bischoff beat up a couple of WCW accountants in the ring.) While this doesn't lay the groundwork for McMahon to be able to convincingly beat Austin (much less survive more than a few minutes one-on-one), it does make it much more believable that he could even be in there in the first place. One must admit that in recent weeks McMahon has been much more fluid and mobile in his physical exertions, suggesting that he really has been training hard for this in-ring appearance. During the clip McMahon reminds us that if he fails to stop Austin, he still has "100,000" reasons why Austin won't win the Rumble (the bounty he has placed on Austin's head). McMahon says there's "no way in HELL" Austin will win the Rumble. Mankind and the Bossman are brawling backstage, starting their "no DQ" match (announced on Heat) a bit early. - STEVE BLACKMAN vs. DAN SEVERN Oh, who cares. Even I've given up on Severn. Blackman wins by DQ because Severn is, oh ... I don't know, too mean or something. Austin is still drinking, and Mankind and the Bossman are fighting somewhere backstage. DON'T CHANGE THE CHANNEL! - Mankind/Rock video, hyping their upcoming match at the Royal Rumble. WWF WAR ZONE Hosted By: Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. - MANKIND vs. THE BIG BOSSMAN WWF Championship match, no DQ rule in effect. Brawling match, not bad, but not great, which ends when the Rock comes in and whacks Mankind with a chair. DQ? In a no DQ match? You'd think the WWF would stop doing that. After the match the Rock gives Mankind a Rock Bottom onto a steel chair! During the match itself Mankind takes an nasty bump onto a chair, bending the seat with his head. His head is also slammed into the ring steps. The guy ain't human! Mark Henry, backstage, is trying to convince Chyna not to reveal something. She tells him he's running out of time to come to some kind of decision. - Vince McMahon is in back trying to reassure the Rock that he has nothing to worry about in tonight's main event. On Heat they announced that Shawn Michaels, from his home in San Antonio, had phoned in with a match for tonight's RAW: the Rock vs. Kane. The Rock keeps calling Kane a retard, while McMahon says he knows what he'll do, or else he'll end up back in the mental institution. - Chyna, then Mark Henry, come out to the ring. Chyna gives Mark one last ultimatum. A crowd shot reveals that Mark Henry's mother (so they tell us) is in attendance. Mark gives in and admits to the crowd that he never had sex with Chyna, as he had claimed, and that the two never did anything. Chyna says "you wanted to screw me, now you're screwed. Roll the footage anyway!" They then play a tape on the Titan-Tron of Henry and Sammy, taped during last week's RAW. Sammy locks the door after Chyna leaves so they can be alone (I guess Mark didn't notice the cameraman standing there. Or maybe he did. Ewwwww!) Sammy starts to feel Mark up, dropping below where the camera is shooting. Mark says "ooh baby, don't stop!" (Which is the total extent of the implied "oral sex" that has caused yet another uproar and controversy.) Before there's even enough time to unzip his pants she rises back up. Henry begins feeling Sammy up and, here's the more controversial and--frankly--gross part, Mark reaches under Sammy's dress. This image is pixelated to spare us the sight of what happens next. To quote Billy Crystal: "Those eyes, those thighs--SURPRISE--it's the 'Crying Game!'" Sammy's a MAN, bay-bee, and Mark runs into the bathroom to throw up (the funniest part of this whole bit). "That's why they call me 'Sammy,'" he says as he removes his wig. This whole plot, schemed up by Chyna, was to get back at him for Mark claiming the two had sex (and, one must assume, his filing a "sexual harassment" suit against her). Chyna gives Mark a low blow for good measure. He forlornly exits the ring to be consoled by his mother, but she instead swats him on the butt and drags him away by his ear. More is shown after the break. This sure looked familiar. - Pat Patterson and Jerry Brisco are in the back arguing which is the better athlete. Brisco runs down his amateur credentials, while Patterson reminds Brisco that he was the first Intercontinental Champion. (Oh how I was hoping Brisco would mention the "tournament" Patterson "won" to earn the title.) The two are basically arguing over who should be the one to pin Chyna (another match set up on Heat). - AL SNOW vs. GOLDUST Snow is trying to get his Head back from Goldust. He almost succeeded on Heat by dressing up as a Ho during a Goldust/Godfather match, but his high heels prevented him from making a clean getaway, and Goldust got the Head back. I can't believe how weird that previous sentence was. Anyway, Snow earns the quick pin in this one, ostensibly winning the Head back, but Goldust gives him the Shattered Dreams in the corner, and leaves with the Head. Steve Austin has finally stopped drinking beer and is now downing some coffee--a sure sign he's about to DO SOMETHING. - Patterson and Brisco are still squabbling. - Another segment with the Undertaker, the Acolytes, Dennis Knight and Paul Bearer. This time he just sits there and talks. Yay. At least it was brief. - CHYNA vs. PAT PATTERSON/JERRY BRISCO Man, this one was fun to watch. Unlike a certain Son vs. Executive match earlier in the evening, this was meant to be pure comedy. It starts off slow, with some really poor wrestling from all three involved. Highlights include Patterson doing an airplane spin and making himself dizzy, and Chyna putting both opponents in the Testicular Claw. Patterson tries a low blow but it doesn't work, since there's nothing there no hurt. Things then get a bit weird as Chyna gets knocked to the floor, a nasty looking bump. Sable then comes out for no reason, but she is attacked by Luna before she can reach the ring. Luna beats her with a strap, which just so happens to coincide with the quick announcement that those two will have a Leather Strap Match at the PPV. Back to the match. Chyna is rolled back into the ring and Brisco does his own take on the Corporate Elbow! He tries for the cover, but Patterson pulls him off. Patterson does a splash, then tries for the cover, but Brisco pulls him off. The two come to blows. Chyna gets up and knocks their two heads together. Chyna works over Patterson in the corner as Brisco pulls out a handful of powder. Into her eyes it goes. Brisco takes the opportunity to pat Chyna on the rump, then he lifts up her top, or grabs a boob, or something (censored for the sake of the home crowd). The live crowd reaction was sort of like "ewwwwww!" Chyna then goes into the ropes, hits a double clothesline, drops each with a DDT, lays Brisco on top of Patterson, and leisurely sits in the duo for the pin. - More footage of the Rock and McMahon in the back. - THE ROCK (w/ the Corporation) vs. KANE In the ring McMahon tells Kane he's going to do the "finger-poke-to-the- chest-and-you-fall-down" thing. Kane replies with a not-so-kind gesture. The Rock clips him in the back of the leg and the Corporation lays in the boots. The Rock then sends the others out so he can continue the punishment himself. The match from there goes in and out of the ring, with the Rock doing his color commentary bit. With the Rock in control he goes for the Corporate Elbow, but Kane sits up and chokeslams him. Test comes in and he gets chokeslammed too. It takes the Bossman to finally turn the tide, and the whole Corporation resumes their beating. Here comes Mankind with a chair. He takes out the Bossman and Test. The Rock bids a hasty retreat and gets most of the way down the aisle before he's cut of by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Mankind takes out the Rock with the chair. Austin gives McMahon the bird, while McMahon gives Austin the stink-eye in return. - Next week: Jeff Jarrett & Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock & the Big Bossman. World Tag Team Title Match. Comments: Not much I can say that I didn't mention above. Good show, with a few rough spots here and there, but mostly a fun, smoothly flowing two hours+. All the issues going into the Rumble were touched upon nicely. Speaking of which, the Rumble is probably the first PPV since the Survivor Series--maybe even SummerSlam--that I'm really fired up about seeing. I thought the bit with Mark Henry was funny, but not drop-dead hilarious. As I said above, the funniest bit was when Mark ran into the bathroom and started retching. The Undertaker needs to get into the ring and beat someone up, moving his new gimmick and image forward. Two appearances in and it's already old. I think the crowd was more hostile here than last week, yet this bit only lasted half as long. They're booing not because he's "evil", but because the gimmick sucks. The WWF needs to constructively channels the fans' dislike, and the only way to do that is to establish who his next feud is against. I'm probably in the minority here, but I'd actually like to see Patterson and Brisco go at it in a match. Only, though, if they take it serious and actually wrestle. It'd have to be kept short, with Brisco probably being the one to go over. That, or have the two wrestle McMahon. Let them try to reclaim some of their dignity by turning on him. I'm still amazed at how entertaining these two guys are in their current role. What they're doing (and have done) somewhat diminishes what these guys once meant to the biz. I, for one, would let them know I appreciate their efforts. They make me laugh, but I still respect what they once were. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: Here is the Royal Rumble card: * The Royal Rumble. * Mankind vs. the Rock. "I Quit" Match for the WWF Championship. * Ken Shamrock vs. Billy Gunn. Intercontinental Title Match. * Road Dogg vs. the Big Bossman. Hardcore Title Match. * X-Pac vs. Gangrel. European Title Match. * Sable vs. Luna. "Leather Strap Match" for the Women's Title. There are rumors circulating that the last match listed above won't take place. Steve Austin will be the first entrant into the Rumble, Vince McMahon the second, and Chyna will be number 30. Most of the wrestlers listed above will also be in the Rumble, as well as Owen Hart, Jeff Jarrett, Goldust, Val Venis, Test, Kane, Al Snow & the J.O.B. Squad, the Brood, and most other regular WWF Superstars. No surprise entrants have been teased. Sunday Night Heat will be live to serve as the countdown show. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 1999 by John Petrie, and all opinions expressed therein are his own, and not those of "Internet Access, Inc". Check the "Slobberknocker Central" main page for info on how to receive the "Recap" free via E-Mail every week. Volume One, Number 166 of the "Monday Night Recap", January 18th, 1999.