Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #207 November 1st, 1999 The Opening Word: It's funny how wrestling fans sometimes look at the world through grappling tinted glasses. Hearing about the untimely death of Walter Payton, I immediately thought of his status as an NFL Hall of Famer, his record rushing yards, and his being a member of the Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears. I also thought of his participation at SummerSlam 1994, where he was in the corner of Razor Ramon in a match against Shawn Michaels. I'm a fan of the NFL, but not a hugely fanatical one. I don't have any games with Payton on tape that I could watch. I do, however, have a copy of SummerSlam '94. So I think I'll pop that in the VCR, and look back at a sports legend who is described by many as one of the most wonderful people you could ever have hoped to meet. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Three Hours+. Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Bret Hart is in the back, chewing out Kevin Nash and Scott Hall for interfering in his match against Goldberg last week. Hart then comes out and says he doesn't consider himself the U.S. Champion, and that the belt should still be Goldberg's. Sid comes out to rebut, saying the belt is actually his, not Goldberg's, and repeats his claim that he has proof that Goldberg gave up in their match at Halloween Havoc. The two come to blows, with the crippled Hart being laid out. The Outsiders then come out and hand Sid the U.S. Title belt. Funny bit here: Hart is able to say "screwing", but is bleeped when he says "screw". Sid then says screw twice without being bleeped, but is bleeped the third time. There's an Ominous Steel Cage (tm WWF) hanging over the ring. Saturn pulls up to the arena on a motorcycle with Torrie Wilson, and catches grief from the other members of the Revolution for being so late. Torrie tries to escape, but is caught by Asya (who is dressed just like Chyna). Speculation as to who Randy Savage's protege may be. - VAMPIRO vs. BERLYN (w/ Bodyguard) Both men continue their streak of being unable to win matches without outside interference, when the Misfits (who?) come out and help Vampiro score the quick pin. Berlyn, forgetting he isn't supposed to speak only German, says from now on there'll be no more "screw Berlyn". I pride myself on knowing a fair amount regarding the music business, but to be honest, with the exception of reading their name in recent weeks on the Internet, I have no idea who the "Misfits" are. Never heard a song, never seen a video, nor an album in the stores--not that I can recall. Vampiro advances in the World Title Tournament. Nash tells Hall that WCW won't let him come out to the ring with him. Nash then suggests that maybe he could come out if he was Hall's "promoter". Hall acts like he has no idea what he's talking about. - Following clip of Benoit vs. Malenko from last week, members of the Revolution come out to cut promos. Saturn challenges Eddie Guerrero to a match where Torrie Wilson will be stuck in a shark cage at ringside, with the key to the cage up on a pole. Malenko then badmouths Benoit. Benoit comes out and challenges Malenko to a match in the steel cage. Nash is in the back getting some kind of makeup applied. - The Filthy Animals, entering the building, are asked by a security guard to show entrance passes. Everyone resists the urge to reply "Passes? We don't need no stinkin' passes!" Instead they punk the guard out. - Clip of David Flair destroying Diamond Dallas Page. Mike Tenay conducts an interview with Kimberly in the back. Kimberly announces that because of recent events, she's leaving the Nitro Girls. - ERNEST "THE CAT" MILLER (w/ Ho's) vs. LASH LEROUX Miller is about one step removed from dressing like a pimp, but he does have a couple of Ho's with him. Russo = originality? Lash does one or two moves, Miller's bad knee gives out, and LeRoux gets the super-quick win, advancing in the tournament. Hart tells Tenay that the Outsiders will pay being poking in his business. The Nitro Girls vow to carry on without Kimberly, but wouldn't you know it, they can't decide who should lead the group. Jazz and Spice both want the spot. - Kidman, with Kid Cam, shoots some video of Liz in her dressing room. Even though he's using a common handheld camcorder, we are SOMEHOW ABLE TO SEE THE FOOTAGE BEING TAPED LIVE! Is that even possible? Shouldn't there be some wires, a cable, something? Anyway, the gist of all this is Luger, in the room with Liz, becomes concerned when she points out who his opponents may be in upcoming tournament matches. Cut back to the hallway, where the camera inadvertently picks up a technician telling the Animals that the scene is over! Video package of Scott Steiner which first aired, I believe, several months ago. They then play a taped interview between Larry Zbyszko and Steiner. Steiner humbly relates the circumstances leading up to what may be a career-ending back surgery. The Nitro Girls try to do a routine, but Jazz and Spice get into a fight. Nash, now in his makeup (which we can't see yet) is telling someone on the phone that he's burning all his bridges tonight. Jazz and Spice are still scuffling outside. Buff Bagwell tells Tenay that the Powers That Be can't keep him down. - BUFF BAGWELL vs. STEVIE RAY The Powers That Be have made this a Strap Match. Heenan and Schiavone spend much of the match talking about Nash, setting up who it is he's going to be impersonating (Vince McMahon) without actually saying his name. Buff is in control of the match when the PTB Bodyguards come out and smash him, causing a DQ. Umm ... that was pretty pointless, given that the DQ win still advances him in the tournament. Jeff Jarrett says he's going to get an apology from Lex Luger and Liz for accusing him of smashing her over the head with a guitar two weeks ago. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Tony Schiavone and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Kevin Nash comes out, wearing some hideous makeup that is SUPPOSED to make him look like Vince McMahon. It fails ... miserably. Okay, I'll ignore that and play along. Heenan and Schiavone say the walk and padded shoulders give away who it is supposed to be, when neither is the case. Nash speaks, and neither sounds like McMahon, nor has any of his mannerisms down (aside from using a few McMahon buzzwords like "guarantee"). Help me out here ... what about this is supposed to be funny, besides the basic premise of a Vince McMahon impersonation? (Note: if you read on any other site, newsgroup or newsboard that Nash "nailed" McMahon in this impersonation, they're LYING to you. Whether they were truly amused, on the other hand, is a matter of personal taste. This is worse than the time Road Dogg "impersonated" McMahon, and that impersonation flat-out sucked.) Nash cracks a number of jokes, all of them lame and uninspired. Jesus, Nash looks like Jay Leno's zombie! This just drags on ... and on ... and on. Fans boo, and yell for Nash to get out of the ring. The few who pick up on who Nash is supposed to be chant "asshole!", which TNT tries to mute. Hall comes out and the "comedy" continues, as he brings up a joke the WWF has used in describing "Billionaire Ted". God, this is a hundred miles short of the inspired Four Horsemen parody the NWO did a few years ago. I give them about a "B" for the idea, but a total "F" for the execution. Luger and Liz come across Meng and tell him to pay attention to what Jeff Jarrett says. Curt Hennig tells Tenay that the Powers That Be can't keep him down. - DISCO INFERNO vs. CURT HENNIG I guess another sign of the Russo Era will be WCW doing the same damn matches week after week. Nice to see Larry "The Axe" Hennig at ringside, getting a few shots in on Disco. After a bit some kid comes out--I think the fan who kept running in several weeks ago--and Disco takes a powder, giving Hennig the countout win. Hennig advances in the tournament. The Filthy Animals say they'll get Torrie back tonight. Norman Smiley arrives, dressed in baseball catcher's protective gear. Nash still has on his McMahon costume. I'll be sure to let you know if these even approach the "mildly amusing" level. - MENG vs. BARBARIAN vs. NORMAN SMILEY Lots of garbage can shots lead to Smiley being stretchered out. Meng and the Barbarian then somehow knock each other out. Smiley sees this on the big screen, runs back into the ring, and covers the Barbarian for the win. The crowd got into this, and I'll admit I chuckled a bit as well. Schiavone treats Smiley's post-match Big Wiggle like a major event. Jarrett's on his way out. In a peek into the inner sanctum of the "Powers That Be", "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is shown telling Vince Russo (off camera) that he deserves one more shot at the top. The Bodyguards laugh. Russo scoffs at the idea, asking instead what kind of ratings a washed-up star like him can bring in? Russo says he'll think about it. Add Duggan to the team of wrestlers, probably led by Hulk Hogan when he returns, who will rise up and fight back against the Powers That Be. No question that the "Powers That Be" are supposed to be heels. Yet we're supposed to cheer them for all these great "improvements" they've brought to WCW. Vince McMahon has always been able to handle that dichotomy, turning it into storylines and brisk business. Eric Bischoff tried, but cracked under the pressure when he never got the respect he felt he deserved. Let's see if Russo can successfully handle both roles like McMahon, or if he'll falter like Bischoff. Hall & Nash are looking for Sid. - Jarrett, wanting an apology from Luger, says this isn't the WWF, and they don't abuse women around here. (Really?) Luger comes out and apologizes, adding that he heard it was Meng who really hit Liz with the guitar. Jarrett scoffs, calling Meng a dumb "gorilla". Meng comes out and chases Jarrett off. Liz then starts to thank Meng, only to then spray Mace in his eyes. Luger then bashes him with a rubber tire iron. Hall & Nash knock on Sid's door. "Three ... two," counts the director, as we come back to Luger and Sting waiting for their cue. OOPS! Luger tries to talk Sting into joining him into going after the Tag Team Titles. - SATURN vs. EDDIE GUERRERO The first decent action of the show, even though this is the third straight week they've had these two fight, and for the third straight week there is no pinfall finish. Instead, to win here you have to pluck a key from a pole, to open the door of the cage at ringside, which holds Torrie. All the other Filthy Animals comes out. Saturn winds up being choked out by Torrie when he gets too close to the cage at ringside. Eddie has all kinds of problems getting the key off the pole, but finally does, and wins the match. Hugs all around from Torrie after she's released. Nash tells Sid to trust him. Sid, THINKING HE'S TALKING TO VINCE MCMAHON, accuses him of killing his career two years ago. (No Sid, that was softball.) Nash lifts up his wig, and Sid has a good laugh at his mistake. HOUR THREE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Tenay asks Luger about his upcoming tournament opponents. Luger, comparing this questioning to the Jim Gray/Pete Rose incident, stalks off. - THE FILTHY ANIMALS vs. STING/LEX LUGER (w/Liz) Lex takes his time getting undressed, allowing Sting to get beat on. Luger then tumbles to the floor, faking a knee injury. The four-on-one beating continues, until the ref calls for the bell. Sting is pissed at Luger afterwards, shoving him. The idea with all this is Luger has been using his wiles to take out the other wrestlers in his part of the tournament brackets. Hall tells Sid that all he has to do is touch him, and Hall will lay down for him and give up the pin. Nash mumbles about burning all his bridges with this lame makeup gimmick. - Sting wants a piece of the Animals. Backstage props suffer his wrath. - BOOKER T. vs. JEFF JARRETT The PTB Bodyguards, who will apparently be going by the name "Creative Control", come out and help Jarrett get the win. Schiavone offers it up as proof that Jarrett really is the "Chosen One". Jarrett advances. Clip from a Goldberg interview ... which is next. - Goldberg, on the set of that WCW movie ("Slam") tells Mike Tenay how the Outsiders made a mistake meddling in his affairs. The Nitro Girls get into another scuffle. "Promoter" Nash comes along and tells them to save it for PPV, then says "Get It?" for the third or fourth time (referencing the catchphrase the WWF USED ONE TIME earlier this year in their Super Bowl commercial). Say, how about poking fun at the "New Generation" slogan next? Evan Karagias has some trepidations about fighting Madusa. He says she's hot. Ewwww! Madusa tells Tenay that the Powers That Be can't keep her down. - EVAN KARAGIAS vs. MADUSA Madusa feels up Evan. Evan feels up Madusa. She backs him in the corner and sticks her boobs in his face, then lays down for him to pin her. Evan pulls her up after one. He then lays down for her to pin him. She gives him a big, sloppy kiss. I'm speechless. Madusa advances in the tournament. David Flair and his crowbar arrive. Benoit & Malenko are next. - CHRIS BENOIT vs. DEAN MALENKO Didn't last week's match between these two count?. Like that match between these two, what we get is good, but something seems missing (it was way too short for starters). Benoit hits the headbutt off the top of the cage (the whole point of the match, I suspect) and gets the pin. In come the Revolution to pound on Benoit. The Filthy Animals make the save. David Flair comes out and attacks the Animals with the crowbar. Flair frees Benoit. Sting then comes out and nails Benoit with the baseball bat. Benoit advances. - They replay Benoit's cage dive headbutt. Yup, as I thought, they needed him to do it again so they could hype it. Benoit did it before, but WCW never really mentioned it again. Funny they'd think of it the week after Test and Shane McMahon both did huge off-the-cage-top moves of their own. - David Flair, as he's leaving the building, is run over by a car driven by Kimberly. Kimberly pokes the unconscious Flair with his own crowbar before driving off. Remember when Scott Steiner threw Kimberly out of a moving car, and that was like the worst thing anyone had ever seen? I'm surprised Kimberly would use a similar tactic against Flair. It would have been nice if the announcers brought that up. Since they didn't, forget I mentioned it. Kevin Nash has been knocked out by Bret Hart (YES!), according to Hall. Will Bret finally stop whining about Montreal now? - SCOTT HALL vs. SID VICIOUS Hall lays down as promised, but then kicks out and tries to roll Sid up. That prompts a few minutes of Sid squashing Hall. Hall's showing a lot of ring rust. Bret Hart comes out and nails Sid with a crutch. Hall covers for the pin, then runs away with Hart's U.S. Title belt. Hall's victory gives him the final slot in the World Title Tournament. - This Thursday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: Man, take away the short, pointless bad matches, and the recycled, derivative angles, and that leaves ... well, not much at all. The Good: Norman Smiley made me laugh, and I enjoyed about five minutes of the in-ring action involving the likes of Guerrero and Benoit. The Bad: anything that involved Kevin Nash opening his mouth (and no, I'm not just sticking up for my "hero" McMahon, so stuff that idea). Hey, why is it that it's okay for Russo and WCW to take such a BLATANT shot at Vince McMahon, yet if the WWF made the slightest reference to Russo, they're labeled as bullies and poor sports (as was the case about two weeks ago when Jim Ross made a veiled reference to Russo in his Ross Report on the WWF website)? As I said above, I thought it was a great idea, but God, at least make sure if you do it, it's funny! That was my problem with the old "Billionaire Ted" skits. The very first one was hilarious. The ones that followed weren't, with some being outright ugly and mean-spirited. Nash's imitation here didn't go that far, it just failed to capitalize in any way on the novelty of the idea. I'm reminded of the time D-X made fun of the Corporation, with Road Dogg playing the role of McMahon. He had on a wig, and a Depends diaper. While the sight of a grown man in a diaper has its own humor appeal, by no stretch of the imagination could you call what he did a "good imitation" of McMahon. The same goes here for Nash. It was kind of funny to see, I guess, but died when he started talking. Too bad the writers couldn't come up with any good zingers. Hall's lines were funnier, but by then the angle was DOA (and I don't mean the bodyguards of the Powers That Be). There sure were a lot of technical problems this week. Here are the second round matches in the World Title Tournament: Group One: * Bret Hart vs. Saturn. * Norman Smiley vs. Kidman. Group Two: * Lex Luger advances via bye (DDP and David Flair both out). * Sting vs. Meng. Group Three: * Chris Benoit vs. Madusa. * Scott Hall vs. Lash LeRoux. Group Four: * Buff Bagwell vs. Vampiro. * Curt Hennig vs. Jeff Jarrett. The last bracket looks pretty obvious, as Bagwell will most likely square off with Jarrett at the PPV. With the PPV taking place in Canada, one would assume Hart will win his bracket, going all the way to the final match. If that happens, that would set up either a Hart/Hall, Hart/Bagwell or Hart Jarrett final. Hart/Hall is obviously the only one with marquee value. A Hart/Benoit dream match is possible, but probably not too likely (I can't see Benoit advancing ahead of Hall, Bagwell and Jarrett). It is in Canada, though, so I wouldn't rule it out completely. If Hart doesn't make it past the quarters, then that would suggest either Sting or Luger advancing, with the current booking suggesting that Luger would get the nod. Luger vs. Jarrett looks like the obvious matchup there. If Sting goes all the way, Sting vs. either Hall, Bagwell or Jarrett are the money matches; whereas Sting vs. Benoit is the only one that might actually be, you know, GOOD. If neither Hart, Sting nor Luger make it, then the tournament goes all to hell. There's a possible Kidman/Saturn semi-final match that looks possible, but not too likely. Hart, Sting, Benoit and Vampiro advancing to the semis would be a dream card too good to be true. Unfortunately, Luger, Bagwell, Hall and Jarrett will all probably advance, as storyline will most likely take precedence over the actual matches. There's some okay match-ups there, but also some real clunkers. Impossible to ignore is how weak the tournament looks with Goldberg, Sid Vicious, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, Diamond Dallas Page, Randy Savage and Ric Flair all being absent. For most of these names, though, that's a good thing! Goldberg is about the only one the fans miss. This is, of course, assuming the brackets stay the way they are all the way through. We've already seen Madusa get a second chance. Who says the same couldn't happen to Goldberg? Throw him back into the mix and you have to rethink everything. I think Hart is a lock to take it, with Luger being my back-up choice if Hart is eliminated. I believe a Hart/Goldberg match is in the cards for Starrcade in December. If Hart doesn't come away with the belt at Mayhem, then I'd expect Goldberg to win it soon from whoever does pick it up there, with Hart then chasing after it going into Starrcade. I'll say this about the Powers That Be: they've resparked some interest in the WCW World Title scene with this tournament. I'll give them credit for that. I'll also take that credit away from them if they bring Hulk Hogan back and reintroduce him into the mix. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Washington, D.C. WWF RAW Hosted By: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - Clips from SmackDown! kick things off. - The Rock is out and, as much as I like him, it's just easiest to say that he did his Usual Thing. He takes some shots at Steve Austin and Triple H, then challenges Road Dogg to come out. Road Dogg appears, followed by all of DeGeneration X. The Rock gets demolished. Vince McMahon leads a horde of WWF officials out. He and Triple H exchange words. - McMahon says D-X won't run wild tonight. Mr. Ass will have his hands full with Austin, while X-Pac has to face Kane, who he turned on last week on SmackDown! Triple H isn't happy about all this. Clips catch us up to speed on what went down last week between the Big Show, the Big Bossman and Prince Albert. If you missed it, the Big Show trapped Bossman and Albert in car, then dumped a garbage dumpster on the roof. Michael Cole gets a few comments from him in his dressing room, when the interview is suddenly interrupted by the Bossman and Albert. They toss a tear gas grenade into the room, then hold the door shut (just after Cole and the cameraman escape). The Big Show, being filmed by the abandoned camera on the floor, is shown choking and nearly passing out. Bossman and Albert don gas masks, then enter the room to check on the Show and lay in the boots. - EMT's try to help the gasping Big Show breath normally. - EDGE/CHRISTIAN/HARDY BOYZ (w/ Terri Runnels) vs. THE HOLLYS/TOO MUCH Who would have known RAW would have the best WRESTLING match this week? Way too much action to call, and still have this sucker done by Thursday. Edge, Christian and the Hardyz all combine for a string of moves leading to the pin. X-Pac is being interviewed in the back when he's interrupted by Tori. She asks him how he could turn on Kane? He asks if she's got the hots for Kane, then warns her that Kane's face wasn't the only thing burnt in a fire. ZOIKS! - Players from the Washington Redskins are at ringside. I think Daryl Green was one of them. - Mankind is signing copies of his book(#3 on the New York Times Bestseller List) for various people. Al Snow sits by, reading quotes from the book. Each one he picks winds up comparing some unpleasant thing in Mankind's life to "watching an Al Snow match". Hah! - The Bossman and Prince Albert hit the ring. Now that they've taken out the Big Show, the Bossman calls out Al Snow, who helped set the two up on SmackDown! Snow comes out and says he's not stupid enough to fall for the Bossman's tricks, and brings out his partner ... Mankind. (Snow is screwing himself out of a Hardcore Title shot, but what the hey.) THE BIG BOSSMAN/PRINCE ALBERT vs. AL SNOW/MANKIND Hardcore match, which sees a frying pan, trash can lid, kendo stick and bowling ball all get used. The Bossman eventually bails on Albert, leaving him in the clutches of the Mandible Claw. Snow then puts Albert through a table and covers for the pin. Meanwhile, as all this is going on, Val Venis is in the back throwing Mankind's autographed books into a trash basket. He then drags it out into the parking area and sets it on fire. Mankind sees this and runs from the ring with a fire extinguisher. After the break we see him put out the fire, and curse Venis under his breath. - People have complained that Chyna is a heel when with Triple H, and a face otherwise. Well given that she hasn't appeared in the ring with Triple H in more than three weeks, and now has her own theme music, I think that complaint is dead. Chyna comes out with a shirt that reads "MASTER". Miss Kitty has one that reads "SLAVE". This really turns me on, for some reason. Chyna says she's going to bitch-slap Chris Jericho at Survivor Series. She then turns her attention to Stevie Richards, who she says went through her stuff last week, and stole and ruined an expensive leather outfit. She says she's going to kick his pasty-white ass. Cue the Y2J Countdown, but instead of Jericho, it's-- CHYNA (w/ Miss Kitty) vs. STEVIE RICHARDS Talk about an imitation, Richards has Jericho's poses down perfect. Chyna still destroys him in the ring in just a few seconds, with a low blow and Pedigree sealing the deal. The real Jericho runs in then and clobbers Chyna with the Intercontinental Title belt. Jericho slaps on the Walls of Jericho, then poses with the belt. D-X huddle in the back. Austin is next. WWF WAR ZONE Hosted By: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - "STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN vs. MR. ASS Austin gets some time on the mic to run down Triple H, and throw a few things back at the Rock. The usual Austin match to start, with the action spilling to the floor and into the crowd. Somewhere along the way Austin opens up a cut hardway over his left eye. Gunn goes to work on the eye, so maybe it wasn't hardway after all. Once things move back into the ring Austin sets up his usual moves, culminating in a Stone Cold Stunner. D-X charges the ring. Austin is able to fight them off with a chair, then takes a seat in the ring as they think things over on the ramp. Test, walking along with Stephanie McMahon, has his doubts about something she has planned. - TEST (w/ Stephanie McMahon) vs. VAL VENIS Stephanie sits in at the desk, commenting on the match. Lawler spends his time trying to talk her out of marrying Test. Before the match can start, Val tells Steph that if they had spent the night together, it would be a night she'd never forget. Cue ass-whipping from Test. This one doesn't go long before Mankind runs in to murder Venis. Stephanie comes in after they leave and, since her memory has returned, she asks Test to marry her. He says yes, and the two swap some spit ... rather convincingly, actually. THE WEDDING IS BACK ON! - Members of the McMahon family celebrate backstage. D-X happens along and words are exchanged all around. Triple H says they won't be responsible for what happens to Kane next. - KANE vs. X-PAC No real match, as X-Pac stays out on the ramp and calls Tori a slut,and repeats the claim that Kane's wanger is scorched. Kane comes after X-Pac, only to be jumped by the rest of D-X. They stomp Kane into itty bitty pieces, culminating in a Bronco Buster from X-Pac. Lawler dubs Kane "The Big Red Virgin". Promo for Olympic wrestler Kurt Angle, who'll be making his TV debut ... eventually. D-X and the McMahon clan are going at it again backstage. Kane comes in and tries to take out D-X. As he's being escorted away Vince orders Triple H to defend his title tonight. Triple H goes after Vince, but eats a Shane McMahon spear to the gut instead. Vince gives the title shot to his son Shane. Uh-oh. There's the Rock. - THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. THE HEAD BANGERS Every time Buh Buh Ray tries to speak, someone else's voice comes out over the speakers. Turns out the Bangers are dressed up like the Dudleyz. (Going by the scale of Kevin Nash's Vince McMahon imitation being "sheer genius", this would have to rank just behind it as "pure brilliance". By *my* scale, this was "lame-o!") Back-and-forth between the two, with Thrasher pulling a DDT out of his ass and pinning Buh Buh. That was ... random. I was looking for the "sports entertainment" finish of the Acolytes running in and kicking all their asses. The Mean Street Posse then attack the Head Bangers. The Bangers did an "imitation" of the Posse on Sunday Night Heat, which amounted to them wrestling in sweater vests. - TRIPLE H (w/ D-X) vs. SHANE MCMAHON Vince, acting as guest ring announcer, adds a few stipulations to the match. First, Steve Austin is on hand to deliver color commentary. Kane is named the ringside "enforcer". The Rock is then made guest timekeeper. Lawler and Ross start mentioning the Montreal doublecross. Vince is *obviously* going to "screw" Triple H. Runs runs out and does his one move, the Spear. Triple H then takes over on offense. Shane turns the tide with a low blow. He then tries the Bronco Buster, but is tripped by X-Pac, who pulls him out and spin-kicks him over the ring barrier. Kane goes after X-Pac and those two battle off through the crowd. Shane comes back with a flying clothesline off the rail, which even Austin pays a compliment to. Shane with a Pedigree(!), but Triple H kicks out of the pin attempt. It's the Road Dogg's turn to interfere, which brings the Rock into the fray. He and the Dogg disappear. Triple H is set to bring Shane back into the ring, but Shane drops off the apron, yanking Triple H's neck against the top rope. Mr. Ass makes his move, which brings Austin out of his seat. Somewhere in all this the referee goes down. Triple H plants the kid with a Pedigree, but Austin comes in and levels him with a Stone Cold Stunner. Triple H and Shane roll around on the mat. The crowd is hot for a title change here. Vince slowly enters the ring carrying the WWF Championship belt. He takes aim, charges, then "accidentally" hits Shane when Triple H moves aside. Jim Ross immediately questions whether it was an accident or not. Triple H takes Vince out with a low blow, then covers Shane, earning the pin. The show ends with Triple H doing crotch chops in Vince McMahon's face. - This Thursday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: One of the stronger shows in recent memory, though it did start off slow. Survivor Series is getting a slow build, and with only two weeks to go,we still only have the following matches set: * Triple H vs. Steve Austin vs. the Rock. WWF Championship Match. * Chyna vs. Chris Jericho. Intercontinental Title Match. * The Big Show vs. the Big Bossman. ... and that last one is really just an assumption (though a safe one). I think can also bet on a Kane/X-Pac match, Mankind/Val Venis, and a number of tag team matches made up of the WWF's swollen tag team division. Or perhaps one big-ass Survivor Series style match with four (or more) teams. Ivory should get a challenger too for her Women's Championship. This probably won't be the most rounded of PPV line-ups, but it has a lot of potential for good matches. We should get a number of these set up this week on SmackDown!, with the PPV getting a final push next Monday on RAW. The REAL story brewing, however, is the feud between Austin and the Rock. Triple H's days as Champ are clearly numbered, with one of these two a lock to walk away with the belt. The only question is will it be a face vs. face match, or will Austin turn heel? The latest developments with Vince McMahon raise some questions too. For weeks the WWF has been dropping hints that the other members of the McMahon family are out of step with Vince. They added to that tonight when Stephanie, while sitting in on color commentary, went out of her way to thank her MOTHER, Linda McMahon, for helping her during her recovery. Of course they then blew the door wide open with Vince clocking Shane with the belt. Is the WWF thinking of plumbing familiar territory with turning Vince heel again, or do they have something else in mind? I'm hoping it's something else. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: I think that'll do it this week. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 1999 by John Petrie, and all opinions expressed therein are his own, and not those of "USLink". Check the "Slobberknocker Central" main page for info on how to receive the "Recap" free via E-Mail every week. Volume One, Number 207 of the "Monday Night Recap", November 1st, 1999.