Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #238 June 5th, 2000 The Opening Word: The last couple weeks the WWF has seen their ratings slump a bit from their peak of a few months ago. It's not an alarming slide, but it's nonetheless a downward trend. The change in TV viewer habits as summer approaches have played a part, as evidenced by the share data (TV viewership was down across the board last week, while the percentage of TV viewers watching wrestling is about the same as usual), but there's also the definite lack of sizzle to the WWF product which has kept fans from being wowed. Should the WWF be concerned? I'd say if they aren't, they should be. Fortunately I don't think the WWF has its head buried in the sand. I think there's a number of factors going into the product we're seeing today. First, I believe the WWF has become more committed of late to going back to their old formula of longterm planning. The WWF always used to plan their storylines out well in advance, having an idea what they were going to do anywhere from six months to a year down the road. This has usually been evident during the summer months, as the fans would know (or suspect) for some time what the main event at SummerSlam would be. Then, after SummerSlam, we'd have a pretty good idea what the WWF was planning to do at the next WrestleMania. In recent years they've moved away from this a bit, having to book more on the fly to combat WCW, as well as deal with injuries and talent jumps to the opposition. With a deeper roster now than perhaps ever in the past, I believe the WWF feels a bit more strongly about their ability to pull off plans conceived farther in advance. Another major factor may be the uncertainty surrounding the USA/Viacom situation. I haven't written about it here before, but if you follow things on the Net you know the basics of what is going on behind the scenes. For those who don't ... Basically, the WWF is trying to move their programming from the USA Network to various Viacom-owned networks. RAW is WAR would air live Monday nights on The Nashville Network (TNN). Sunday Night Heat would air on MTV. SmackDown! would stay on UPN, which is already owned by Viacom (and, should Viacom be forced to sell UPN due to government regulations, there's a chance SmackDown! could end up on CBS instead). To facilitate this deal Viacom has offered to buy a chunk of the WWF for something like $100 million. This would already have been a done deal save for a wrinkle, that being the WWF's existing contract with USA. USA has the right to match any offer made to move the WWF away from the network, and right now USA is contending that they've made a suitable offer to match the Viacom deal. At issue is whether or not USA has to match all the perks that come with the Viacom deal, such as promotion for the WWF on all of the CBS-owned radios stations and Internet sites, the massive cross-promotion the WWF would receive on all the various Viacom cable and broadcast networks, and the $100 million investment in the WWF Viacom is willing to make. USA feels that based on the contract they already have, they only have to match the actual amount being paid for WWF programming, whatever that amount is. The matter will be settled in court, negotiations between the two sides having already failed to end the dispute. Don't forget, as all this is going on, the WWF is also arranging the million deals necessary to launch the XFL league next spring. They've already cut a deal with NBC to air games Saturday nights, and UPN will air Sunday night games. NBC has actually agreed to become a partner with the WWF in the new league, splitting the start-up costs. While all this is an explanation of what may be drawing the WWF's attention from their wrestling product, it shouldn't be viewed as an excuse. The WWF can't afford to let their shows run on autopilot. Too much predictability and not enough excitement and the WWF runs the risk of losing fans like WCW when they latched onto the NWO storyline and stopped being creative. More than that, the WWF had better make sure they continue to nurture their talent. Even if the ratings slump and they move away from this incredible peak they've reached, they need to make sure they keep their wrestlers happy and fresh in the eyes of the fans. If not they risk a mass exodus, like WCW suffered earlier this year with the Radicalz. It's a worst-case scenario, but one that could come about, if the WWF slumps, WCW rises, and suddenly a bunch of WWF wrestlers eye the greener pastures of the other company. It's happened before in the WWF, before in WCW, and could damn well happen again if the WWF isn't careful. As nice as it would be to see WCW finally back on top, wrestling fans would hate to see it come at the expense of the WWF. We've already sat through a year of one bad wrestling company and one good. As good as the WWF has been it's hard to ignore how bad WCW was, and merely reversing those positions wouldn't be in anyone's best interests ... except for WCW, of course. Nitro this week features the return of Goldberg, facing Tank Abbott. There is also scheduled a Ric Flair versus Vince Russo match in a steel cage. It'll be interesting to see which of those matches Russo books as the main event. RAW should be more of the same of late, with the WWF addressing the four #1 contenders situation created last week on SmackDown! We'll also see if the WWF continues Chris Benoit's big push, in the form of a streak of clean, decisive Intercontinental Title defenses. Also expect more King of the Ring qualification matches. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Atlanta, Georgia. Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson & Mark Madden. HOUR ONE: - Clips recapping the Tank Abbott/Goldberg story are shown. - "Earlier Today" Tank Abbott & Rick Steiner arrived. - Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo and their security team come out. Why does Tony Schiavone insist on calling this a "banner night in sports entertainment"? When did WCW stop being "wrestling"? (Don't answer that.) Eric plays Brother Love, welcoming the fans to the "empire" that he built. He gives us a Millionaire's Club update: Lex Luger (sent home for disagreeing with the booking) is at home "nursing his busted face." Scott Steiner faces Vampiro tonight. Kevin Nash has to run the "New Blood Gauntlet". If he loses, he loses his title shot at the PPV. No Millionaire's Club members can interfere. Jeff Jarrett faces Sting. Vince Russo takes over and talks about what hell he's been in since he was "forced" to leave New York eight months ago. This being Atlanta, Russo calls out Atlanta Brave John Rocker. Vince promises to make Ric Flair wish he'd gotten a "brain annerizm" in the steel cage tonight. Bischoff calls Russo a genius, then says he's going to take the Hardcore Title away from Terry Funk tonight, and make himself the champion. He finishes up talking about Goldberg, saying that even though he's never had a problem with him, his return last week messed up the New Blood's plans. Bischoff tells Goldberg to pack up his stuff and go back where he came from. If he interferes in the Kevin Nash match he'll be suspended. Russo takes another turn on the mic, badmouthing Goldberg, who is shown looking on in the back. Out comes Goldberg. He takes out R&B Security as Bischoff & Russo escape. - Bischoff chews out Russo for getting Goldberg mad. Jarrett comes in and gripes about defending the belt tonight. Kidman comes in to complain about Horace. Torrie Wilson just walks away. Ernest Miller mirrors Bischoff's frustration. - SHAWN STASIAK/CHUCK PALUMBO vs. KRONIC Stasiak & Palumbo won the Tag Team Titles from Kronic last Wednesday on Thunder. The match starts to stretch out a few minutes, looking like it might actually amount to something. Ernest Miller then comes in, just as all four men battle to the floor. Miller goes through a pantomime of forcing the referee to count the wrestlers out, though the ref doesn't seem to get it, as he sticks out his tongue, boggles his eyes, and acts like Miller is choking him out. After a minute or ten everyone seems to figure out what's going on, and Bryan Adams tosses his opponent in the ring. Miller calls for the bell, declaring Stasiak & Palumbo the winners via countout. Why didn't he do that to begin with? Funny how WCW said they were getting rid of DQ's to please the fans, then gave Stasiak & Palumbo the belts by DQ in a match where a DQ would allow the belt to change hands. Now, the two retain the belts in the rematch by countout. Kronic are just setting up a table when-- Kidman chews out Torrie for walking out on him. Major Guns steps in and Kidman calls her a "stupid bitch". Cut to Scott Steiner, his Freaks, and Kevin Nash arriving. When asked for a comment by interview girl Pamela, Nash asks if Goldberg has arrived? When told yes, Nash quips that his gimmick of being the last to arrive still lives. - Captain Rection assembles the Misfits in Action. Major Guns says Kidman yelled at her. G.I. Bro orders them to kick Kidman's ass. What exactly is the chain of command here? - Nash and Goldberg share a tender moment. - G.I. BRO (w/ MIA) vs. KIDMAN (w/ the Filthy Animals) Why doesn't WCW get that G.I. Bro won't get over if Mark Madden badmouths the gimmick for being stupid, yet neither Schiavone nor Hudson say anything positive about him? Even WITH the gimmick Booker T. is still way over, with this crowd anyway. The match is nothing--Booker punches Kidman in the corner, waves in Major Guns, Torrie comes in too, and gives Kidman a low blow. Kidman no-sells it, apparently because he's wearing a cup (the camera just barely catches him throwing something at the departing Torrie). Kidman turns around, gets blonked by Booker, and Booker scores the pin. The forty-three people surrounding the ring then come in and they all brawl. It's hard to take the Filthy Animals seriously when their theme music sounds like it's performed by a teenage boy-band. Tank Abbott warms up backstage. Miller tries to pump up Bischoff. - TERRY FUNK vs. ERIC BISCHOFF (w/ Ernest Miller) A few garbage cans shots and it's all ever, everyone having wandered away from the ring. What the fu--?! Miss Hancock comes out, followed by Kimberly and Mike Awesome. Kimberly accuses Hancock of trying to steal her spotlight. Does anyone else think Kimberly looks like Shania Twain on steroids? Kimberly tells her to step off, then bonks her in the back of the head with her own clipboard. Hancock. Hancock tells Kimberly to get her "fat ass" back in the ring. Kimberly says she will ... later. Now Funk and Bischoff are back, having "battled" all during the nonsense in the ring. Hudson talks about how amazing Funk is, when we've literally only seen him in action for some twenty seconds. Russo is shown watching in the back. Funk gets on the mic and threatens to drop his pants. Funk moons the crowd (we, fortunately, are spared the sight). The Mamalukes then run in and attack Funk. Funk is chaired, hit with a garbage can lid, smacked with a broom handle, etc. Bischoff is laid on top, winning the Hardcore Title. And whatever credibility Funk had managed to give that belt is flushed down the toilet. I guess this is WCW's answer to Gerald Brisco winning the WWF Hardcore belt, which was a funny angle, but has since gone absolutely nowhere, and killed off what Crash Holly had done for *that* belt. Goldberg's taping up. Scott Steiner is next. - Ric Flair, son Reid and wife Beth arrive by limo. - SCOTT STEINER (w/ Freaks) vs. VAMPIRO Steiner talks about a strip club called the "Tongue & Groove", which I don't think has anything to do with carpentry. Vampiro comes out with the gasoline can. Steiner tosses Vampiro around like a rag doll. He throws him into the guard rail, then hits him with a couple chairs. Vampiro is slammed through the announce desk. God, the Rodney King beating was less one-sided than this one. Vamp gets a few shots in before being tossed back into the ring. More token offense from Vampiro, leading to one of Steiner's girls (I can't spell her name) doing a crossbody off the top--easily the best move of the show thus far. Both she and Vampiro no-sell it. Vamp grabs his gas can and lighter, intent on setting her afire on the ramp. Out comes Sting with the bat. He obliterates Vampiro, dragging him back to the ring, where Big Poppa Pump gets the win with the Steiner Recliner. This match runs several minutes into the next hour, which I'm sure will be used as an excuse if the rating for Goldberg's match comes in on the low end. Tank Abbott's on the move. HOUR TWO: - TANK ABBOTT vs. GOLDBERG Abbott looks awful for the few seconds the match lasts. Goldberg just knocks Abbott off his feet a few times, and delivers a few punches. In comes Rick Steiner. Cue the Wolfpac music, drawing a pop much louder than the one Goldberg got. Kevin Nash runs in through the crowd, sucking away even more of Goldberg's heat. Tank and Rick set up a double clothesline, but Goldberg ducks. Nash trips Steiner, while Goldberg spears Abbott. Pin. Geez, the match was nothing, and Nash comes out the bigger babyface than Goldberg does. I really want to be excited about Goldberg's return, but WCW's making it pretty hard. - Goldberg thanks Nash for the assist. - Pamela interviews Kimberly, who is a bitch. Hey, just doing my part to get into her character! - STING vs. JEFF JARRETT On WCW's "relaxed rules", Mark Madden says "WCW gives the fans what they want--period!" Uh-huh ... like that countout loss for Kronic, four straight matches with run-ins, and Eric Bischoff winning the Hardcore Title? Don't even get me started on what Vince Russo is probably going to do later tonight. Sting cruises to a victory, scoring a roll-up pinfall out of nowhere, winning the WCW World Title. Ah, but out comes Eric Bischoff, who says this was never a title match. Bit of a "Dusty Finish" there, but given this is the best match we're likely to see tonight, that's okay. Sting says so what, and goes back to destroying Jarrett, cranking him into a Scorpion Deathlock, then laying him out with a guitar. - During the break Jarrett was stretchered out to a waiting ambulance. Way to destroy Jarrett's credibility even further. Not only could he not win a non-title match, but he gets stretchered out as well. He just comes off looking like a total wimp. - Awesome and Kimberly come out. Miss Hancock comes out with her clipboard, which she gives to Kimberly to sign, saying it's a document which would prevent Kimberly from suing her if she messed up Kimberly's pretty face. Kimberly calls her "Miss Crabtree", and signs the paper, then we all wait to see who Hancock's partner is. What partner? When did this become a mixed-tag match? Like it's a surprise anyway--Diamond Dallas Page comes out. Kimberly immediately brings up the restraining order she has against him. DDP holds up the clipboard and says Kim just signed her rights away. Yeah ... but before she signed it, DDP was already in violation of the restraining order because he was within 500 feet of her. Eh, whatever ... MIKE AWESOME/KIMBERLY vs. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE/MISS HANCOCK Hancock looks utterly ridiculous "wrestling" in her high heels, suit and wearing glasses. Kim isn't much better. By the way, how many angles did Russo derail by writing Miss Hancock and David Flair's real-life relationship into the storylines? Hancock tries to dance, but is shoved down by Kimberly. As "cheesecake" this rates about two stars, but as a "match" we're easily in the negative star range. DDP and Awesome FINALLY tag in, and exchange some moves. Awesome sets up a table on the floor. He has DDP about beat, but Miss Hancock stands on the table and starts tearing the slit on her skirt, showing off more leg. Awesome is distracted, and DDP hits the Diamond Cutter for the win. I think by the end we got up as high as "DUD" on the star ratings scale, but it may go higher when you factor in the crowd, which went absolutely nuts for all this. Pamela (Paulshock?) says Hulk Hogan has told her there's no way he'll fight Horace tonight. - Horace and HARDCORE CHAMPION Eric Bischoff come out. Eric says Jeff Jarrett's going to be okay, and that we won't see Hulk Hogan tonight (as Horace is setting up a table at ringside). Cue the NWO music ... "HOLLYWOOD" HOGAN vs. HORACE Yes, Hogan has gone back to being "Hollywood". The crowd pops, but not overly enthusiastically. The cage suspended over the ring lowers. "Hogan! Hogan! Hogan!" chant from some in the crowd. Hogan goes all extreme on Horace by hitting him with a chair, then dropping a leg on the chair on Horace's face. Umm, that's it. Hogan wins. In comes Kidman, and Hogan sells for all of five seconds before beating Kidman silly and tossing him through the table at ringside. Ric Flair tells Pamela that he's going to kick Russo's ass. Russo's on the phone with David Flair, urging him to hurry to the arena. - Kevin Nash suits up for his match, which will be our main event tonight. - RIC FLAIR vs. VINCE RUSSO Last week Ric Flair, with his family at ringside, had to lose the World Title to Jeff Jarrett in a bloody, brutal brawl. Would Russo really put himself over Flair, in Atlanta, in front of Flair's wife and son? To Russo's credit he does seem to have lost that beer gut he had two months ago when he first returned to TV. The match starts with Russo doing some offense and Flair no-selling it. A low kick drops Russo, and from there Flair methodically (read: slowly and gently) beats on Russo. A chop and two shoves into the cage is about as physical as this gets. Suddenly David Flair crawls out from under the ring. The cage, I should mention, is like the WWF's Hell in the Cell, covered on top, completely surrounding the ring, allowing a few feet of space between the cage wall and ring apron. There is a notch cut into it allowing the stage to run up to the ring. David obviously crawled along under the ramp to get inside the cage. Anyway, Russo tries to escape, but Reid Flair smashes his fingers. Ric sets to work on destroying David. Russo, meanwhile, pulls a ladder out from under the ring. He sets it up and grabs a ceiling section of the cage roof, which drops open like a trapdoor. Russo and Flair climb up to the cage roof, glomming off the memory of the Foley/Undertaker match (Flair even makes a motion to the crowd, asking if he should throw Russo off). Russo quickly crawls back into the cage, but since the ladder has been knocked over, Russo takes his one bump of the match and drops eight feet or so to the mat. Flair comes down and slaps on the Figure Four. Russo holds out FOREVER (at least a whole minute) without submitting. At one point he slumps to the mat and it looks like they're going to do the old "he passed out, but never gave up!" angle. Finally the MYSTERIOUS RED NOT BLOOD drops from the ceiling, the force of which (quoting Schiavone) knocks Flair and the referee out cold. David slaps on a Figure Four of his own, and Russo covers for the pin. Vince Russo just pinned Ric Flair. VINCE RUSSO ... just PINNED ... RIC FLAIR. That ain't right. For good measure the ref counts to three twice, and since winning wasn't enough, Russo beats up the referee too. Then he heals the sick, feeds the poor, and brings about peace in the Middle East. - KEVIN NASH vs. THE NEW BLOOD Russo comes back out and says if Nash loses to anyone he loses his titleshot at the PPV. He also loses it if any Millionaire's Club members interfere. Nash powerbombs and scores pins (without covering one) over: Disco Inferno ... Chris Candido ... Johnny the Bull ... Horace ... and Rey Mysterio, Jr. The rest of the New Blood run in, overwhelming Nash. Out come Goldberg for the save, returning the favor from earlier. Somehow in the melee Nash is credited with pins on Stasiak, Palumbo, Awesome, Konnan, and maybe some others. Eric Bischoff comes out and says because Goldberg interfered, on Thunder he's going to suspend him. (Why does he have to wait until Thunder?) Goldberg says if Bischoff suspends him, "you're NEXT!" - This Wednesday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: So who's mightier, Kevin Nash or Vince Russo? Is giving Eric Bischoff the Hardcore Title, and giving Vince Russo a win over Ric Flair, in the best interests of WCW? Bischoff booked himself over Flair and the company suffered. By the time Flair got revenge on Bischoff it didn't mean anything--Flair's loss to Bischoff had been too deeply ingrained in the memories of the fans. (It's the same thing that happened with the NWO. No one ever beat them and put the group away: it just petered out on its own accord.) Now Russo has a win over Flair and, if he ever does score a pinfall in revenge, it'll only even up the score, not put Flair over Russo. Russo has bragging rights he can hold onto for the rest of his life now. Is that in WCW's best interests, or just Russo stroking his ego? I think the answer to that is pretty clear. I think WCW's recent past is coming back to haunt them, as the crowd here, even though they were in WCW's home of Atlanta, just wasn't that much into the show until well into the second hour. Even in the opening segment with Goldberg, the crowd made some noise, but didn't pop anywhere close to as loud as I expected. They really came alive during Kevin Nash's run-in, stayed hot throughout the DDP match, were solidly behind Hogan, then died off after Russo beat Flair. Had the show ended there we might have gotten another trash riot. As it was the bit with Goldberg at the end "sent the crowd home happy", though I doubt many fans will have all that many fond memories of this show when they get a chance to think about it. I thought this show really showed some signs of improvement. Even though the first hour was dull as dishwater, things were moving along as well as they ever have. Hour Two actually wasn't that bad, and I found myself actually liking some of it. Then Russo beat Flair, and there's just no way I can philosophically get behind that result. What does it accomplish other than put Russo over as a mega-badass who can't be beat? No--not can't ... won't. It's one thing to give a heel WRESTLER that kind of push, but a non-wrestler who will hopefully never headline a PPV? I hope all the people who constantly complain every time Vince McMahon appears on their TV screens do so here, because Russo is pushing himself just as hard as McMahon ever did. All McMahon has up on Russo now is a Royal Rumble win and World Title victory. With Russo, can something of that ilk be all that far behind? I could maybe buy it if I thought this was leading to a big PPV buyrate a la Austin vs. McMahon at "St. Valentine's Day Massacre", but I just don't see the match even happening, much less it drawing a good buyrate. It'll be months until the rematch if Flair loses the match to David at the PPV and "retires" so he can get his bad shoulder operated on. Russo has built his feud with Flair in such a way as to kill the confidence in the fans of ever seeing Flair beat Russo. Even if Flair does, the fans know it will be because Russo stupidly paints himself into a corner and allows Flair to beat him. They know Flair will need help from a half-dozen guys to offset the interference of another half-dozen guys, and as I said above, Flair will just be evening the score, not going one-up on Russo. Such a match could pay off if booked right, but with Russo, I'm not sure we can hope he books it right, much less book it at all. As tainted as the win was this isn't like one of those meaningless wins Kidman scores over Hogan, or Vampiro over Sting. This is a guy who never should win no matter what the odds, scoring a win over a legend, and it only took some red goo and an assist from David Flair to do it. Here's your Great American Bash line-up: * Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash. World Title Match. * Ric Flair vs. David Flair. Ric Flair must retire if he loses. * Hulk Hogan vs. Billy Kidman. Hogan must retire if he loses. * Sting vs. Vampiro. "Human Torch Match." * Diamond Dallas Page vs. Mike Awesome. "Ambulance Match." * The Wall vs. Shane Douglas. "Tables Match." * Scott Steiner vs. Tank Abbott. "Asylum Match" for the U.S. Title. Eric Bischoff has been promising for weeks a huge surprise at the PPV, and this past Wednesday on Thunder he conducted an interview in which he gave some vague details. Of note were his assertions that it would shake up the wrestling industry, and that lawyers have been involved in signing, sealing and delivering the deal, and that there was nothing Vince McMahon could do about it. The mention of Vince McMahon's name is meant to lead the fans into believing that a major WWF superstar is about to jump to WCW. While it would be a surprise (especially to the WWF, which believes it has every WWF star of note signed to lengthy, ironclad contracts), it's hard to imagine anyone but the very top WWF stars making any kind of a real impact with their move. Therefore speculation has centered on the announcement of some kind of deal which would benefit WCW, be detrimental to the WWF, and actually mean something to the fans. Numerous theories have sprung up, with many of them being quickly shot down by WCW itself. Obviously they're loving all the attention this planned announcement is getting. It's significant to note that it's been the TV character Eric Bischoff who has made these statements, and not the real world Eric Bischoff. Were the surprise a major business deal the odds are news of it would have broken in the mainstream media long before now. Business deals generally thrive on media attention: keeping one quiet to play out a wrestling storyline is pretty rare. Assuming it's more storyline related, that opens up the possibility that Bischoff's talk has been nothing but smoke-and-mirrors, and that the chances of the fans being disappointed by a minor storyline development hyped as major for the sake of generating heel heat (and boosting a prospectively low PPV buyrate) become very real. We've seen this happen just this past Monday, when Bischoff, after promising for weeks a special surprise referee in the Hogan/Kidman PPV match, finally revealed it would be Hogan's nephew Horace donning the striped shirt. Whether some kind of celebrity deal fell through, or Bischoff has been blowing smoke the whole time, the outcome is one the fans obviously cared nothing about. (It is possible WCW has a swerve up its sleeve, however, and could deliver a surprise referee come bell time at the PPV.) Whatever the surprise is, WCW is delighted everyone is talking about it. The problem is, though, when everyone anticipates something, it becomes harder to deliver something that lives up to that anticipation. It happens all the time in WCW and the WWF. WCW is promising something that will rock the wrestling industry, and in their entire history the company has only done four things that have had a significant impact on the professional wrestling business. The first was their signing of Hulk Hogan in 1994, which instantly elevated WCW to the same level as the WWF in the eyes of the public. Hogan had been out of the WWF for nearly a year at that time, but WCW was able to spin the signing as Hogan leaving the WWF in favor of their company. There was an immediate boost in business (which faded fairly quickly, until WCW's next big innovation). WCW created Monday Nitro in the fall of 1995, which escalated the entire wrestling promotion war. Few thought Nitro would work, going up against the WWF live on Monday nights. It not only worked, it was usually the better of the two shows, and the ratings winner, for nearly two years. Much of that success came because of their third big surprise, that of bringing in Kevin Nash & Scott Hall and creating the New World Order in 1996. The NWO was the hottest angle in wrestling history, until the WWF surpassed it with the Austin/McMahon storyline a year later. The only other time WCW seriously shook up the wrestling world was when they signed Vince Russo away from the WWF in late 1999. At the time it looked like it would have a tremendous impact, bringing in the guy who helped turn the WWF around, and robbing them of their top creative mind. In reality the move hasn't--yet--had the impact everyone initially believed it would. Russo has yet to turn WCW around, and the WWF was able to overcome the loss of Russo and go on to even greater success. It's difficult to imagine WCW doing something that could come close to having the same impact as any of those four things did. Bringing in a WWF star will have little impact, unless it's one whose name is on a short list (the Rock, Triple H, Austin, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels) of those who could legitimately bring in WWF viewers with them (and of that list Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker would have the least impact, seeing as how their recent WWF TV appearances haven't lit the ratings on fire). Bringing in a wrestler not under WWF contract (such as the Ultimate Warrior, or a current ECW wrestler) wouldn't have the kind of impact Bischoff is alluding to, nor would bringing in yet another celebrity. Turning Goldberg heel would make waves, but would also probably turn off WCW viewers in droves, as Goldberg is that last legitimate babyface their fans can count on delivering. An industry deal whereby WCW moves to a new network, changes timeslots, is sold to new owners, buys into an NFL team, or goes public and sells stock, might have a serious impact on WCW itself, but the wrestling business as a whole? And what would it mean to the fans? WCW has created a mystery in which the clues to solving it lie in Bischoff's own comments. The question is whether or not his clues are on the up-and-up, or if he's adding spin to what may be a relatively minor deal. We'll have to wait and see, and if WCW gets a few people to buy the PPV out of curiosity, then their goal will have been achieved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Rochester, New York. Hosted By: Jim Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler. WWF RAW: - Clips of the Undertaker, the Rock and Kane all winning matches on SmackDown! and earning #1 contender status are shown. Vince McMahon, accosted by Michael Cole, blames the mess on Triple H's ego. Uh-oh. - Triple H & Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley enter the arena. Huge "asshole!" chant by the crowd. The Game tells the to "keep it shut!" He says never before has the WWF Championship meant so much to so many people. Whoever has it is, undisputed, the best there is. Triple H talks about the Rock, Undertaker and Kane all sharing the dream of being the WWF Champion again. He then goes on to bring up how he could have a big ego for being WWF Champ, but that it's Vince McMahon who really has the biggest ego on the planet. Vince comes out to digress, saying Triple H's biggest accomplishment was marrying his daughter Stephanie. More words are exchanged and Triple H slaps Vince! Off comes the coat ... AND THE CROWD POPS! Shane McMahon comes out to give his two cents, threatening to, as the "Giant Killer", to kill their two giant egos. Triple H and Vince both pop Shane in the face! Stephanie then slaps Triple H, slaps Vince and slaps Shane. The McMahon-Helmsley faction is coming apart at the seams! Out comes the Rock. He says he he's looking at some "steaming, stinking, smouldering pieces of monkey crap ... being slapped around by a two dollar slut!" The Rock says he wants his WWF Title shot tonight! Here comes Kane, and he wants the same thing. Ditto for the Undertaker. Vince decides what they'll do is a "Triple Threat Match" between the Rock, Undertaker & Kane. The winner gets a shot at Triple H. Tonight! - TOO COOL/RIKISHI vs. T & A/VAL VENIS (w/ Trish Stratus) Too Cool has Test put away after hitting the Hip Hop Drop, but there's no ref to make the count (he's down on the floor). Trish comes in with her boot, but Grandmaster Sexay gets it away and nails Test. Val Venis then comes in and, I missed what he did, but he covers Sexay for the pin. All six men are then in and going at it, with Rikishi eventually throwing all three opponents into the corner and giving them the butt-splash. Trish then gets in his face. Rikishi threatens to slap her. She flings herself away, knocking herself loopy in the corner. Rikishi gives her the stinkface, driving the crowd nuts. Apologies are passed all around amongst the McMahon-Helmsley Regime. Crash Holly is then spotted trying to sneak up on Gerald Brisco. - ROAD DOGG (w/ Tori) vs. CHRIS BENOIT Benoit quickly, easily, and with a little help from the Dudley Boyz, pins Road Dogg with a German Suplex. The Dudleyz then grab Tori, intent on putting her through a table at ringside. X-Pac comes in and saves Tori with a low blow on Buh-Buh Ray. Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson are being interviewed. The camera catches Crash Holly sneaking up from behind. As Crash is looking for something to hit Brisco with, he and Patterson switch places, Brisco putting on Patterson's hat. We see this from behind a screen, with a bright light creating the silhouette. Holly nails Brisco, of course hitting Patterson instead. Very contrived. - Michael Cole gets a comment from Kane. - CRASH HOLLY vs. GERALD BRISCO (w/ Pat Patterson) Patterson provides Brisco's introduction, Gerald then coming out to "Real American". Brisco, actually able to get some offense in, stops to so an Indian war dance. Crash nails him with a garbage can lid. Patterson throws in his dirty underwear, which Crash gets hold of and puts on Brisco's head. Patterson then comes in and, somehow, Brisco scores the pin on Crash. Bad match, but I got a laugh out of Jim Ross saying "Poop-stain Patterson". The Undertaker echoes Kane's comments from earlier, namely that tonight they have no allies and aren't brothers. A quick look at the Rock. WWF WAR ZONE: - THE UNDERTAKER vs. THE ROCK vs. KANE Triple H comes out for color commentary. As you'd expect the match consists of someone going for a pin, and the third guy pulling them off. Triple H gets mixed up in the action and nails the Undertaker with a chair. He then hits Kane, allowing the Rock to apply the Rock Bottom and score the pin. Triple H comes in and nails the Rock with the chair too. - EDDIE GUERRERO/CHYNA vs. DEAN MALENKO/THE GODFATHER (w/ Ho's) During the match Eddie get knocked out down by the Ho's and Chyna chews him out for talking a look. Eddie then gets back in and Dean tries a tilt-a-whirl type move, but Eddie turns it into a cradle and the pin. Sweet. Eddie apologies to Mamacita and all is forgiven. - HARDCORE HOLLY vs. FAAROOQ Hardcore scores a pin literally out of nowhere. I'd check my tape to see how, but ... it's Hardcore Holly and Faarooq, you know? Edge, Christian & Kurt Angle are on the move. - EDGE/CHRISTIAN/KURT ANGLE vs. THE DUDLEY BOYZ/CHRIS JERICHO Christian notes Rochester is the home of Kodak, leading to their "flash photography" moment. Angle pins Jericho in an okay but unspectacular match. Y2J then puts Angle in the Walls of Jericho, allowing the Dudleyz time to set up a table, which Angle is put through with a 3D. - THE HARDY BOYZ vs. BULL BUCHANAN/THE BIG BOSSMAN I can't help but notice that the Bossman & Buchanan get on really late during the show again. I can only assume the WWF is afraid they'll kill the ratings while Nitro is on, but if that's the case, why are these guys on RAW to begin with? T & A appeared in the first match, and they're no more over than these two. One of the Hardyz pins the Bossman. I was too busy getting an iced tea to watch this one. The Bossman and Buchanan get into a shoving match afterwards, with the Bossman leaving Buchanan laying. Triple H orders everyone to keep away from the ring. - Michael Cole gets comments from Triple H. Earl Hebner will be the special referee in the main event. He then talks to Stephanie, pointing out that Triple H has taken on all comers, while Stephanie as WWF Champion has yet to defend the belt. Stephanie asks him who he thinks he is to question her, and besides, there's no challengers for the title. Enter Ivory and Jacqueline, both arguing that they deserve shots at the belt. Stephanie does some quick thinking and announces a women's battle royal for SmackDown!, with the winner getting a shot at her belt. - THE ROCK vs. TRIPLE H (w/ Stephanie) The Rock dominates to start. Very quickly they go to the floor, where the Rock sets up a move on the announce desk. It goes nowhere. Triple H delivers a neckbreaker. The Rock is sent into the steps. Double axe handle off the apron. Back in the ring the Rock rallies, but Triple H just as quickly reestablishes control. Triple H tries to come off the turnbuckles, but the Rock grabs him and slams him to the canvas (Jim Ross adding "that never works!", taking a not-to-subtle jab at Ric Flair). A two count by the Rock pumps up the crowd. Triple H shoves referee Hebner, earning a shove in return. The Rock rolls him up and gets another two count. Here comes the MHF. Shane hits the apron, only to be knocked off by Hebner. X-Pac, Road Dogg and Shane all come up, only to be knocked back down by the Rock, Triple H goes down, and the Rock sets up for the People's Elbow. It hits--and the count hits two, when Hebner is suddenly pulled away by X-Pac. Hebner LEVELS X-Pac with a kick to the chest. Meanwhile Triple H and the Rock are jockeying for position, with the Rock ending up shoved into Hebner, who crumples to the mat. Everyone comes in and destroys the Rock. Here comes the Undertaker and Kane for the save. Bodies start flying, but during the melee the Rock accidentally hits the Undertaker with a steel chair. Well, turn out the lights, because that about wraps it up. The Undertaker chokeslams the Rock, and from there it's just a mere formality for Triple H to crawl over and get the pin. The Undertaker and Kane come back in to chase the heels off, but the damage has been done, and Ross ponders what the Rock's reaction will be on SmackDown! Hot match, closing out what was otherwise a mediocre show. - This Thursday: Women's Battle Royal. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: Even I'm starting to get bored with the WWF. Tonight's main event was good, and the opening interview was okay, but the entire remainder of the show seemed to be completely on autopilot. It's like the show (I think) from two weeks ago, minus the usual good wrestling matches. I don't think that would have been all that bad if so many of the matches hadn't been so irrelevant. The formula tonight seemed to be short, pointless matches capped of with little bits to please the fans. This was a hot crowd, and for the most parts those little bits seemed to pay off, but one can't ignore how many of these matches were quick, unmemorable, and didn't lead to anything new. (Is "unmemorable" a word?) I think this show illustrates what I wrote above about the WWF and their long range planning. They have an idea what they want to do at King of the Ring and beyond, and for whatever reason they're just not all that concerned with spicing the storylines up in the interim. To their credit I don't think this will lead to a big slide like WCW suffered, but it will bore some of the more casual fans into tuning out, and a ratings drop of a point or two will open the door for WCW to go roaring past them if something they do catches fire. This is an especially dangerous trend to start now, what with the WWF probably jumping to TNN this fall. We all know the ratings will drop when the change occurs, as TV viewers are notoriously slow to catch up on such things. ECW fans will remember how boring their promotion was leading up to their debut on TNN. Paul Heyman's excuse was always that he was saving his good stuff for the new show on the national stage. Well, the day came when they were on TNN and Heyman's few ideas never caught fire with the fans. Now, a year later, ECW is drawing lower ratings than when they started, and are desperately trying to get thrown off the network so they can go to USA if and when the WWF jumps to TNN. If the WWF is thinking they're saving their good stuff until after the jump to TNN they'll have to work twice as hard to lure the fans back (or new fans in) to whatever it is they try to do. Better the WWF goes in all guns blazing, bringing the maximum number of fans with them. Remember, every fan they bore away now is a fan WCW might pick up, dazzled by Vince Russo's unpredictably goofy booking. Not that I want to see the WWF go all the way in *that* direction. Nor do I want to see a boring WWF, and a WCW which I'm still not all that interested in. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: That's enough for this week. Let's put this beeyotch to bed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 2000 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 238 of the "Monday Night Recap", June 5th, 2000.