______________________________________________________________________ I do not offer subscriptions to a mailing list! I do not e-mail images! ______________________________________________________________________ - The WWF had Fully Loaded on PPV this past Sunday, 07/23/2000. Going in to the show, I was less than enamored with the way that Benoit and Angle had been developed for the PPV. Really, in general, I feel that the WWF product is losing its steam. It has nothing to do with (supposedly) pushing the three new guys (Benoit, Jericho, and Angle). It might have a little to do with the return of the lethargic Big Slow looming and the return of Kane upon us (for example, shouldn't Angle have beaten or at least soundly handled Kane to build interest in his match with Undertaker, the more legendary brother?). But most of all it has to do, seemingly, with the same problem that has hurt WCW so much over the past couple of years: egos. The WWF has traditionally built tremendously to their PPV main event matches in recent years. Suddenly, for this one show, the build for Angle vs. Undertaker and Benoit vs. Rock have been atrocious. Nothing generated interest for those matches. There was no reason to believe the new guys had a chance. HHH at least gave a lot to Jericho, although HHH has Hogan/DDP smartness in that regard, too, so don't think I'm praising him too much. Why was the build for two of three of the main matches on the PPV so poor? Do you really believe that after so much success with straightforward, logically-built programs, Vince just decided to do something stupid? Nope. Egos. Undertaker and Rock have lost a lot of the respect I had for them as company guys. So, coming in to the show, I expected a great performance from Benoit and Jericho, figuring that Rock and HHH might be able to hang with them, particularly that Benoit would make Rock look better than ever before. I expected that Angle would be able to get absolutely nothing out of Undertaker. In this regard, the PPV delivered. I know that there are going to be some people praising the last two matches. I thought they were very good and good, in that order. But the better in-ring wrestlers in each match have each had many, many better matches in their lives. What's important is that they haven't had those better matches in front of as large of an audience in as important a position. Yeah, Benoit and Jericho might actually have come out of the show with a little bit of a rub, but you can't help but feel that they've been put in a similar role to their WCW days, albeit a bit higher on the card for at least a short while: putting poorer quality wrestlers over without having the favour returned. * Hardy Boyz & Lita beat Test & Albert & Trish Stratus: This was billed as an intergender six person match. Matt & Albert tried to open fast. Albert dropped Matt face and belly first on a suplex. Albert tried to power Matt down, without sitting on him. This allowed Matt to set up a rope spot. But the ropes seemed to be incredibly loose and Matt ended up brutally mangling two high spots in a row. Jeff Hardy is fun to watch. If he doesn't kill his body, he seems to have a hell of a future. Crowd chanted "We want puppies!" during Jeff's high spots. Trish miscued, slapping Test. Trish had half her ass hanging out. Lita had to square off against Albert, so she ran away, tagging in a Hardy while she was outside the ring. Huh? Matt & Jeff & Lita took their shirts off, to more calls for puppies. They drew heat on Jeff. The signal died. It didn't really matter, since when we came back Jeff was just ready to make the hot tag. So we only missed what passes for wrestling from Test & Albert. I shouldn't be so hard on them because they actually are improving (they had no other direction to go). Lita hit big moves on the guys before being powerbombed by Test. Trish tagged in to get a two count on Lita. Trish did a bulldog. The women actually tried to work a few spots. With the guys pairing off, Lita hit a moonsault on Trish for the pin. The match ran a good 15 minutes -- you know what I mean -- and that was at least five minutes too long. Afterwards, Trish belted Lita again, I guess setting up a really bad singles match. * Tazz beat Al Snow: Thank goodness they didn't let Tazz talk. That interview on TV last week was poorly received. And that turned out to be an indication of how interested WWF fans are in this match up. Snow totally dominated, in almost squash-like fashion. He hit a leg drop off the top, played to the crowd, and hit a moonsault, all for a two count. The crowd chanted "boring!" Tazz hit a chop block when Snow went for Head. Oh lord, it seemed like this one was going to go a few more minutes. Tazz looked like he had bit into a lemon, seemingly pissed off at the crowd reaction. Snow tossed his way out of the Tazmission, but Tazz hit another one a second later. In an ECW setting, people would have said that this match was great, but something tells me it will struggle for a non-bad rating in this setting. * Christian was deemed unfit to wrestle because of food poisoning. Mick Foley seemed to accept the diagnosis. Kurt Angle (we guessed) sent flowers to Stephanie, with HHH getting pissed. Later it was sort of revealed that Chris Jericho was sending Stephanie the flowers to screw with HHH. Maybe. * Perry Saturn beat Eddie Guerrero to win the European Title: Perry is now paired with Terri Runnels. "Last Man Standing" appeared on the big screen for the second match in a row (at least). Chyna decked Saturn and went after Terri. Eddie dominated. Perry seemed a fair bit off. He bumped on the floor for Chyna, taking the bump way too early. In the ring, he bumped very stiffly. He just didn't look that good at all. In the ring, Eddie & Perry were talking very loudly to each other, so maybe Perry was rattled from an earlier bump. Saturn rallied with a high power bomb. As Eddie rallied with a DDT, the camera shot showed a trickle of blood from Saturn's forehead. Momentum changed back and forth a few times, but the match never seemed to click. Chyna took a clothesline on commentary table, which crumbled. I couldn't believe that they gave these guys the commentary table spot. Terri came out. She kicked Eddie low. Eddie dropped the title in short order. What a crappy finish. * Acolytes DQ Edge & Christian, who retained the Tag Titles: Edge & Christian did an Anti-Dallas routine before the match, but their photo-op was interrupted by the Acolytes' ring entrance. Bradshaw cut a pro-Dallas, pro-Texas, Anti-Canada promo. They wrestled, trading intricate moves, with key power spots, a la All Japan of old. Okay, okay, they brawled with no rhyme or reason. Jim Ross apologized profusely for the remarks of Edge & Christian, even though the average episode of RAW or Smackdown has at least ten things that are more offensive. The crowd chanted "USA!" The champs rallied, drawing heat on Bradshaw. Okay, the match wasn't all that good when Bradshaw was in there, but at least he got to hit the hot tag to, oh, Ron Simmons. These guys are every bit as bad as Kronic in WCW. In the ring, Edge whacked Simmons with the tag title belt to give up the DQ but keep the title. Two terrible finishes in a row. They brawled to the back in slow motion, kind of walking through the curtain together, instead of actually chasing/running. At this point, after an okay but too long opener, the show was really in the toilet. * Val Venis beat Rikishi in a cage match to retain the IC Title: They used a steel mesh cage and said that victory was gained by pinfall or escape. Rikishi actually tried to climb out of the cage, which seemed beyond unlikely. They did these very slow marches towards the door. Val countered the stinkyface with a low blow and messed up a bulldog to take Rikishi down. Rikishi took a spin bump off a clothesline. Rikishi actually took a few other unique bumps for him in the effort to make this a memorable match. Venis bled. Rikishi hit the butt drop for a two count, with Venis putting his foot on the rope. Terry Gordy, er, Trish Stratus slammed the cage door on Rikishi's head. Does every cage match have that spot now? As anybody would expect Lita ran out with a belt and strapped Trish's bare back. The camera didn't even bother to stick with the match. And in truth, it wasn't really a match as much as a time-killer until Rikishi's surprising stunt. The referee bumped when Val fell into him. The referee outside the ring had followed the women back stage. Rikishi climbed to the top of the cage. The crowd cheered. Rikishi walked carefully to the middle of the side of the cage, jumping off and splashing Venis. That had to kill his knees and elbows. As Rikishi crawled to the cage door, Tazz came out and whacked Rikishi with a TV camera. The crowd booed. I'd like to think they were booing the overbooking. Venis got a cheap one-armed cover victory. Oh boy, Tazz vs. Rikishi is in our future. The cage spot will be played on WWF broadcasts for the next couple of weeks, no doubt. * Shane McMahon came out. He called out Rock for a nontitle match. Rock came out saying that he knew it was a setup, but it didn't matter. Chris Benoit popped up on the big screen, tearing apart Rock's wardrobe. Ooooh, so he can beat up a woman (and have her actually sell his move) and tear up clothes. Wow! I think he might win the title! * Undertaker beat Kurt Angle: Undertaker can barely walk, so they did an angle on Smackdown and again during the PPV where Angle whacked Undertaker's knee with a wrench. At 30 seconds, Undertaker hit an elbow drop, scored a two count, and picked up Kurt. He did the same pick-up routine after a suplex, basically treating Angle like a jobber. Thankfully, Angle rallied and worked over Undertaker's knee for a few minutes. It's ludicrous that this Olympic wrestler would be outmaneuvered by this big snail with bad knees. Undertaker made numerous comebacks, with Angle not being able to withstand them at all. He hit the choke slam. He refused to go for the pin. With "evil intentions," said Ross, Undertaker hit a high power bomb for the pin. Jim Ross did damage control, saying that he wasn't sure whether this one all over for Angle. Yeah, it was pretty much a glorified squash. Absolutely horrible. * Chris Jericho beat Hunter Hearst Helmsley: This was the "Last Man Standing" match, which seemed to be a gimmick to have somebody lose without losing. As a result, this is the one match where you had to figure that the upstart young guy would win. They brawled all over ringside. HHH dominated when they got back in the ring. He ripped off the bandages around Jericho's waist. Stephanie slapped Jericho a few times. As Jericho took a suplex on the floor, I swear Jim Ross said, "That's just carpet on the concrete floor. That's prosthetics, nothing more." I don't get it either. HHH put the abdominal resthold on Jericho, which I wouldn't mind if the product mix had educated fans to believe that an abdominal stretch actually means something. The ref did the slowest seven count possible, as Jericho survived the first knockout possibility. HHH put on the sleeper. Jericho got up at nine this time. Jim Ross tried to push Jericho's toughness, as HHH kept knocking him down. Pedigree. The ref managed a slow nine count, as HHH draped himself across the ropes, resting. HHH used a chair a few times. Pedigree on the chair, no, the referee stopped him. Jericho hit a low blow, getting less of a pop than you might think. He used the chair himself. HHH hit a huge gusher, which, sad to say, is probably what this match needed to get the fans into it. And sure enough, the match was getting good at this point. Jericho took control, with HHH trying unsuccessfully for comebacks. Facecrusher on the chair. HHH survived a second potential knockout, as Jericho interrupted the count. They went to the floor, with Jericho taking a whip into the steps. HHH went for a pedigree on the steps, but ended up getting backdropped to the floor. They whacked each other with the monitors from the commentary table (the Spanish table had been destroyed earlier on); I guess that was a way to clear those sharp corners off the table for a safer table spot. They both got up at nine. Back in the ring, Jericho hit the lion tamer. It seemed like HHH was tapping out, but he was yelling "no!" The commentators yelled that "tapping out means nothing." Why was the referee asking HHH if he submitted? Who knows?. Jericho put the lion tamer on Stephanie. The men went back to the floor to brawl some more. HHH pulled out his sledge hammer, hitting the post. Jericho slingshotted HHH into the post, with the production crew switching angles at impact so we couldn't see HHH use his forearm. Those guys are great. Sure enough, they did a back suplex of sorts through the commentary table. HHH got to his feet at nine, collapsed, and won the match. Jim Ross: "HHH won this match by one second." But Jericho never moved, so that remark made little sense. Jerry Lawler reminded us that neither of these men will ever be the same again after this match. This was certainly the best match on the show, despite the match stipulation meaning that the finish could be shaky and clean at the same time. Jim Ross really tried to put over the "carnage" with some hyperbole. * Rock beat Chris Benoit to retain the WWF Title: Given that both of the other younger upstarts lost their matches, should we really have expected that, against all likelihood, Benoit would capture the title? I wanted it to be so, but I couldn't honestly believe it. Well, they did add the stipulation that Rock would lose the title if he was disqualified. Shane took a tremendous bump onto the table wreckage at the start of the match. Rock dominated for a few minutes, but Benoit took control. Rock's selling is not world class. The crowd chanted "Benoit sucks!" which I guess can be interpreted as Benoit drawing heat. Rock dropped Benoit across the ropes and cut off his comeback, back suplexing him off the top. They sold that suplex bump like it occurred at the 20-minute mark. With a distraction by Shane, Benoit hit a cheap shot for a two count. Honestly, if the reaction of the live crowd to this show at the start of the matches is any indication, the buy rate will be down for this show. Benoit hit the sharpshooter. Rock crawled to the ropes for the break. Of course, it took a long time, so Rock would surely be selling the leg for the rest of the match. Okay, okay, he'd at least be selling the leg one minute later, right? Well, no, he's the Rock. He acted generally fatigued, but his legs were fine. Honestly, he probably had trouble just keeping up with Benoit, so it's unreal to expect him to actually inject some careful psychology, selling, etc. It doesn't help that his ego is obviously huge and that the crowd will let him get away with anything. Rock hit a dragon screw on Benoit -- wonder who suggested that move? He put on the figure four, with Benoit reaching the rope quickly. Shane clotheslined Rock on the floor, twice. They brawled in the front row, thankfully not walking deep into the crowd. Benoit took a DDT, somersaulting over onto his back, but managed to rally with a backbreaker. Shane kept interfering. Rock guillotined Benoit across the top rope out of a power bomb set up. At 10:31 EST, Rock hit the head butt off the top after some very fast moves on his part. Rock rolled onto Benoit and they laid there arm-in-arm, presumably talking over some spots or the weather. Rock hit the spinebuster on Benoit and went for the people's elbow. Shane distracted the referee, who started the count late, so Benoit kicked out at two. Benoit came back. Ross called him "relentless" for the thirty-seventh time and Lawler said "Wolverine" for the twenty-first time. Superplex. Benoit is great. Why wasn't I more into this match? I think Benoit rules and I absolutely loved his work in this match, but I still found myself not getting totally into it. Rock? Guess so. And it seemed like Benoit wasn't doing some of the stuff that has become traditional for him to do, like the multiple German suplexes, for example. Remember in the 1980s, when protect the less able WWF stars (Hogan & co.), the rule of the land in the WWF was that the great undercard guys (like Owen Hart, as Blue Blazer, and Bret Hart earlier on) couldn't do most of their moves lest they embarrass the accepted stars? It felt like deja vu all over again. Benoit went out for a chair. Screwjob time: As Rock took the chair from Benoit and the referee chastised Benoit, Shane came in and whacked the referee from behind with a chair. Yeah, you guessed it. Right as Rock put the crossface on Benoit, the referee recovered, seemingly heard Benoit give up, and signalled for the bell. Benoit became the new WWF champion by DQ. Or is that DF, as in "Dusty Finish?" What a horrible finish for the 1990s. It was like a recycled 1980s Hogan finish. But, wait, Mick Foley came out. Hmmm, ten minutes left in the show. I should mention that the commentators acted totally shocked at the decision. Rock was laid out, bleeding. Foley said there was no DQ and ordered the match to coninue. And we complain about Russo letting story lines invade the match. Benoit hit the German medley for a two count. Crowd chanted "Rocky!" Benoit hit the crossface. You'd think by now he'd know that Rock doesn't sell for that move. Rock inched to the ropes. Jim Ross tried to put Benoit over, but Rock hit the Rock Bottom and scored the pin out of nowhere. Good match, but overbooked and with an anticlimactic finish. Still, Benoit might get some steam out of the false finish, largely because nobody can deny his ability. - RAW on 07/24/2000 opened with Mick Foley praising the WWF PPV matches from the night before. While the final two matches deserve some praise, despite disappointing finishes, I don't know that I would heap as much praise on the show. I suppose that the change of seeing new faces in the main events makes it easy to like the show. As Mick talked about the Rock vs. Chris Benoit match, Benoit & Shane McMahon came out. Shane explained that WWF history is that the referee's decision is final, thus proclaiming that Benoit should be the new champion. Benoit claimed that he should be the new champion and Jim Ross said that some would say he is correct. Who the hell would say that after that lame finish? Benoit demanded a rematch, Foley faltered, and Stephanie came out. Looks like they were setting up the triangle match for the next PPV. There is some talk that Kane might be worked into to make it a fourway match. Jeez, didn't Mick Foley say that these 20-minute long interview segments were history? Stephanie demanded that Mick book the WWF Title rematch this night, because that would somehow uphold her family's history. Mick dissed her, she slapped him, and he said he could fine or fire her. The crowd actually popped. Mick put together Shane & Stephanie vs. two unnamed opponents. Road Dogg faced Steve Blackman for the Hardcore Title. X-Pac did commentary. Match was junk. Road Dogg kicked out after a belly to back suplex. Blackman was holding a stick when he did the move, so Jim Ross acted like the move was somehow more devastating. How? Who knows? These matches stink, as nobody sells anything three seconds afterwards. Blackman kicked a chair into Road Dogg's face for the pin. X-Pac challenged Blackman to a title match on Smackdown. Shane McMahon & Stephanie McMahon faced Lita & Big Slow, who returned to an ovation. Lita could really get over with the female audience, except that no women in the promotion can take any of her moves. When Big Slow lumbered out, Shane ran away and Slow lumbered after him. That left Lita vs. Stephanie, which was just about what you'd expect. Stephanie took a few simple bumps, with the production crew doing a great job of switching cameras during the moves. Trish came out to trip up Lita on the top rope. She strapped Lita. That "butt thong and loose pants" look works. What a dumb match. But I really feel like Lita could be somthing big. The Slow Nasty Bastard was hunting down Shane backstage. Godfather faced Bull Buchanan, with the stipulation being that whoever lost would lose his gimmick. I was honestly hoping that Bull would lose, so that he and Stevie Richards would switch gimmicks, but Vince is a stubborn bastard and he'd rather rile up his enemies and lose sponsors than admit that the product is pornographic and targets children. Big surprise then that Bull went over. Kurt Angle faced Undertaker in a rematch from the night before in a match requested by Angle in the story line. The WWF mentality seemed to be that more people would see this TV match than the PPV match, so the big event to further this feud needed to happen on TV. Thinking back to the night before, Angle couldn't even beat the Undertaker after laying him out with a wrench a few times leading up to their match. Shit. Surely the pathetic Undertaker should be used to put younger guys over, just like Nash should be used in WCW. I guessed we'd find out in a few seconds if the WWF agrees. Undertaker basically squashed Kurt again. With Kurt laid out way too long, Shane McMahon ran into the ring, with Big Slow in tow. Big surprise angle here, as Slow & Shane & Kurt all destroyed Undertaker. How will any of this get Angle over? Luckily he has the charisma and the ability to overcome a few miscues. Why would Big Slow join up with the guy who broke his leg? Oh well, Undertaker fought off the officials who wanted to stretcher him out. He {i}is{\i} the Kevin Nash of the WWF. I really don't see why they couldn't have let Angle get a win over him at this point in his career. Chris Jericho came out to praise to himself and HHH. This was one of many segments that continued the very slow tease of a HHH babyface turn down the line. Jericho asked for another match on this night. HHH chimed in from the locker room to praise Jericho as well. Jericho gained a lot from that PPV match. HHH's praise was halfheareted, as he said that Jericho was nowhere near in his league. "I've already proved that I'm the better man," said HHH. HHH sure has become a good talker at key times like this. Jericho went to the back to find HHH, who didn't back down. They brawled in the locker room. This was a damn good segment. HHH may be one of the smartest guys in the business (in the Hogan-Nash sense, if you get my drift), but it sure does seem like Jericho will get over from this program too. Scott Taylor faced Tazz. Despite Tazz's moderate push, they let Scotty do all of his offense. Not a bad idea, since the crowd would have been disappointed if he didn't hit the worm. Just a few seconds after hitting the move, Taylor found himself in the Tazzmission. Bingo, out came a bandaged up Rikishi, who actually seemed more motivated than I ever remember seeing him in the past. He's hardly good, but for a short burst like this post-match brawl things were good. Kane tracked down Mick Foley and demanded Shane, Big Show, and Angle. And he didn't even need his electronic voice box to talk. Foley put together Angle & Benoit vs. Kane & Rock. Dudleyz & Christian and Edge & Hardyz had a triangle match for the Tag Titles. Did anybody miss the Dudleyz at the PPV? Yeah, me neither. The idea here was that Christian & Edge would have to actually win a match to keep the titles. They tried to use the title belt as a foreign object, but the referee stopped them. They squeaked out a win based on the other team's offense, not their own. Trish Stratus faced Lita in a strap match, presumably just to heat up a PPV match between the two. A wild strap shot bowled the referee over. It was sort of funny, since the women have taken many more strap shots without staying down. Lita moosaulted Trish. Stephanie came in. Lita faced her, Trish tried the sneak attack, and Stephanie missed the single worst belt shot in the history of the sport. Poor Lita had to sell it for the loss. I felt really badly for Lita putting Stephanie's ineptness over that way, but it seems like they are planning to move the belt to Lita soon so I can't really complain too much. Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle faced Rock & Kane. Match had great heat. Benoit was awesome, and his presence just seems to lift up everybody around him, just like Bret Hart used to do in the WWF. Angle tried for leg locks on Kane after a chop block, which just doesn't work after Kane and the Undertaker basically not selling that sort of offense. Benoit even looked awesome in the ring with Kane. Rock got a a great pop off a hot tag. Benoit took one of those creative somersault bumps off a DDT. It's going to take a while to get used to that bump. Rock put the crossface on Benoit. Bite me Rock. Kane & Angle fought up the rampway, but Shane & Big Slow came out to kill Kane. In the ring, not that we could see it, Benoit was presumably in the People's Crossface for several minutes, which does wonders for that move. Shane ran in, Rock chased him, Angle chaired Rock, and the heels pounded Rock on the ramp. Jeez, you'd think that Rock could return the favour in a tag match the night after his big win, especially if they want to set up a triangle match and have us view the challengers as credible. Nitro Nitro on 07/24 opened with Lance Storm coming to the ring. I sure hope he gets over with this gimmick. It helps that the next PPV is in Canada. He did his Jim Garvin impression pointing out that all of the faults of America are not his fault. Big Vito came out to take up his challenge, title vs. title. Don't you grimace when Big Vito talks about having "grapefruits?" You'd think that they could come up with an original phrase. I didn't really enjoy seeing Lance in this framework, similar to my mixed feelings about most of the stuff I saw with him in ECW. He faces Mike Awesome at the August PPV, but the match would be better if he faced Kidman. Lance scored a two count after a superplex and from several rollup variations. Vito hit an elbow off the top for a two count. The crowd actually popped for some of these covers, so I guess they are already getting into the false finishes. They even counted one of Vito's covers. Lance took a cane shot, they traded kicks, and Lance hit a tremendously neat half crab for the win to become a double champion. It is hard to complain about Lance Storm's current status in the promotion, but I hope they have the vision to turn him into a Bret Hart-like character/champion. Who am I kidding? They don't even think a week ahead. Booker T did an interview. I was expecting something to be set up for later in the show. That's the Monday night formula, right? Sure enough, Goldberg came out to challenge Booker, Cat came out, and the match was on. That seemed way too rushed, didn't it? Especially since Booker faces Jarrett at the August PPV. It's like they have no focus. Cat actually announced that the fans would decide on Booker's opponent -- over the next hour, fans could vote on wcw.com for ten potential challengers, "including Sting." No other names mentioned. And the commentators had a stroke at the mention of Sting. What the hell was the point of that? Booker & Goldberg traded some punches. The fans in the arena seemed pissed because they couldn't play a role in the vote. If they were going to piss them off, they might as well have done the 900-number bit to make $10K. I don't understand why WCW panders to the small number of people that get into wrestling on the internet. Hey, Jeff Jarrett will be at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto to meet fans on August 25. In what seems like a lifetime ago, I saw the famous Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff match live at the CNE. Huge crowd, really crappy setting for live wrestling. Miss Hancock came out with David Flair. Billy Kidman, doing guest commentary, said that he had a special dirty video as a present for Torrie Wilson as this was her birthday. David Flair & Hancock faced Chavo Guerrero & Major Gunns. They explained that the "Rip Off The Camouflage" match at the PPV will be a mud wrestling match, so I guess we can expect a Miss Kitty style top removal. Hancock headbutted David's crotch. These women are so bad. Flair is even worse. This was like the worst indy stuff, except the women have really nice (enhanced) figures. Kidman & Madden made every allusion possible to the supposed sex tape. What a total mess. At this point, I felt like Johnny Ace had left the building after the first match, or maybe even before it. A masked Sting was interviewed about a potential title match. He said that he didn't care what the booking committee said...he was taking the mask off tonight. Jeff Jarrett, who was excluded from the ten wrestlers who could get votes on the net, had to face Kronic in a handicap match. To avoid making the Jarrett the underdog babyface, they had Jarrett lay out one of Kronic backstage. In their infinite wisdom, they laid out Bryan Clarke, so that Brian Adams, quite possibly the worst pushed wrestler in the company, could have a bad match. Worse yet, they explained that this match was for the tag titles. I felt like Russo was actually severely ill the past two weeks and somebody else was taking his place. At this point in the show, it was clear that the real Russo was back. And it sucked. The commentators asked, "Can Brian Adams possibly pull of the High Tide by himself?" And I was wondering, "Can Brian Adams possibly be this bad?" No surprise when Bryan Clarke ran in. They doubleteamed him, with Tony explaining that it was legal because it was a handicap match. So, apparently Kronic didn't even have to bother to tag. Kronic ended up driving the referee through the commentators' table when he stopped them from doing the same to Jarrett. Jarrett ran away. Vampiro is now made up to be a damn clown, like those idiot Insane Clown Posse pseudo-rappers. Vampiro wanted to wrestle Great Muta. That's a smart move by him, I think, since it may help create a bridge to New Japan when this regime kills itself. And, yes, I'm back to being a doomsayer after just 50 minutes of a horrible Nitro show. The two-bit rappers, Vampiro, and the Demon (isn't it a bit weird to have the KISS Demon joining up with the juggalos?) all came to the ring. Ernest Miller reffed Muta vs. Vampiro. Vampiro sadly had a total gimmick makeover because of lawsuit worries. Vampiro kicked Miller, who managed to knock down a bunch of guys. Muto nailed him, though, and the "brothers in paint" laid out Miller. This was even more bullshit. A monkey could book this shit. Miller laid out ICP afterwards. It's nice to see positive portrayals of the black guys, despite the motives being pretty transparent. They interviewed Booker T about his title match tonight. I don't like the idea of the world title being treated like a TV belt, in the sense that the world champion (and even his challenger) should actually need some time to prepare for the unique abilities of the opponent because everybody at that echelon is that good. Booker T drew a polite response coming to the ring. His opponent turned out to be Sting. So, not only did they not let the local fans, who chanted "Goldberg!" when told that the fans would pick the opponent, pick the opponent, they set up Booker T vs. Goldberg and then delivered Booker T vs. Sting. Oh wait, Goldberg attacked Sting when he was coming out. Sting acted like he was dead after two blows. Goldberg went to the ring, as Booker T helped stretcher out Sting. Booker T accepted Goldberg's challenge. Damn it all, Goldberg must have an ego as big as Hogan, Nash, or the Rock. Booker was bloody after a shot into the steps. Goldberg went for a cross armbar, but T reached the ropes. T got in absolutely no offense. Stevie Ray came out and threw in the towel, which Goldberg threw back out. Oh shit, this doesn't pay any respect to the world title. Let's see: (i) the champion got in no offense whatsoever, (ii) the challenger didn't want to accept the title, and, worse yet, (iii) Ernest Miller stopped the match but explained that even though Goldberg gets the win he doesn't get the title because Booker didn't give up or get pinned. Whatever credibility they had managed to give back to the title since the PPV disappeared during this horribly booked affair. I guess the substory was that a Stevie Ray turn was foreshadowed and that Booker would maybe come back strong in a rematch? In fact, just a couple of minutes after the stoppage, Booker, unfazed, demanded that Cat put the match back together for later this night, since he didn't want the match stopped. Oh jeez. Maybe the idea was that Goldberg shouldn't be out in the ring for a long period of time. Whatever the intent, everybody, the belt, and the promotion were hurt by this segment. Buff Bagwell faced Kanyon. Former tag champ, Judy Bagwell, came out with Buff. Kanyon didn't come out. Judy swore. This is somebody's idea of entertainment. Judy posed with Buff. At this point, I honestly expected her to turn on Buff. The camera man turned out to be Kanyon in make up. Buff knocked him out of the ring and immediately checked on his mother, who had not been touched yet. Kanyon came back in and laid out Buff. They did a horrible bit where Kanyon walked after the former tag champ while she tried to get away. Like he couldn't catch her if he wanted to. Billy Kidman talked about the dirty home video he was going to play tonight. Lord. What a dumb angle. It's not like it can deliver anything. But Kidman is supposed to be the babyface, right? When he can't deliver on the promise will that help him get over as a babyface? The only way to do this angle is to have the heel hold something phony over a babyface. Shane Douglas faced Mike Awesome, "the fat chick thriller." Mike came to the ring with several fat women. Match was sort of okay, but looked nothing like the matches of the previous two weeks. This night was so disappointing. Torrie grabbed Awesome's leg, while Douglas used a chain to pound Awesome, who was on the turnbuckles. At this point, Kidman's tape came up on the big screen. Douglas was distracted, Awesome used an object, Awesome got the pin. It's all crap. Kidman came out on the platform with a thong. Torrie & Shane went after him. For some reason, Lance Storm came in the ring only to be laid out by Awesome. What a total mess. The show continued. I give up. WCW sucks again. ______________________________________________________________________ If you have any feedback regarding my web pages, please send me e-mail. Don't forget to delete the leading "x" from my e-mail address; that "x" is my web spider spam guard. ______________________________________________________________________