Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #243 July 10th, 2000 The Opening Word: Talk about deja vu ... When Vince Russo debuted in WCW last year he promised to push younger wrestlers and remove the older, glory-hogging stars from TV. Internet reaction to Russo's changes were positive, but quickly his writing style and lack of wrestling booking savvy turned the fans against him. Unable to slow the tailspin WCW was in Russo was removed from power by higher-ups. Russo returned in April, this time with Eric Bischoff at his side. Together the two of them promised what Russo had promised before: pushing younger stars and jobbing out the older ones. Internet reaction was again positive, but again the fans turned on him because of his writing style and the realization that Russo wasn't doing what he promised. Younger stars were elevated into the spotlight, but only so they could be the foils of the older stars. Unable to handle the criticisms, and come up with a way to deal with WCW's once-again plummeting business, Russo walked away from his job. At Bash at The Beach Russo returned again, and once again set forth an agenda promising to push younger stars and rid the company of the aging, dead-weight stars polluting the top of the cards. Did the Internet fans buy it? Damn right they did. Reviews for the PPV have been overwhelmingly positive, not so much based on the merits of the show itself (which by most accounts was a very strong show), but because people again believed the line Russo was feeding them. Hulk Hogan was once again removed from the picture, with the promise being this time it's for good. Kevin Nash was jobbed. Booker T was ceremoniously plucked from the midcard and, as if a magic wand were waved over him, made the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. ... and the Internet fans rejoiced. Again. I wonder what the reaction will be if and when Hogan comes back, as part of a stable managed by Eric Bischoff, and is once again in the spotlight, headlining the cards in a feud against Russo's newly-revamped New Blood? It seems likely that this is precisely what's being set up. Hogan, maybe Kevin Nash, perhaps Scott Hall, and a handful of others (Ernest Miller, Diamond Dallas Page, Jeff Jarrett) all part of the latest incarnation of the New World Order Millionaire's Club, managed by Eric Bischoff, claiming to be a separate wrestling promotion feuding with WCW and Russo's New Blood. Seems to me I've seen this all somewhere before. Oh yeah--in WCW, three months ago. Only this time they're going to push the New Blood as the babyfaces and the Millionaire's Club as the heels. I think. Hopefully. If not, god ... what's the big deal then? WCW's got a tremendous task ahead of them this Monday, and in the weeks to come, to craft such a storyline so it makes sense. Right now it doesn't, mainly because there's too many players spread apart on the two different sides of the fence. Right now Hulk Hogan is a babyface, no matter what Vince Russo said about him on the PPV. Eric Bischoff was a heel when we last saw him. To put the two together the have to either turn Hogan heel or Bischoff face. Kevin Nash is a babyface. Goldberg is a heel, and Scott Steiner, having turned against Nash, is also a heel. On which side do these three fall? If Hogan and Bischoff are heels, then that means Goldberg and Steiner would be with them, right? But then that means Goldberg is labeled as one of the ones trying to destroy WCW, and Nash becomes one of the guys standing up for it. But that doesn't make sense, so Nash has to turn heel to join Hogan and Bischoff, while Goldberg & Steiner have to make babyface turns to align themselves with Russo ... right? This is starting to get confusing. Jarrett is a heel, and just lost the World Title to Booker T. Booker is a babyface, thus he's with Russo, meaning Jarrett would be with Hogan, Nash & Bischoff. I think. Of course that ignores a ton of history between all those guys, and ignores the fact that Jarrett is Russo's "Chosen One." So does Jarrett join Bischoff group, or does he do a face turn and stay with Russo? Everyone else in WCW, you pretty much divide them along existing lines and put them with one group or the other, though no matter how you do it you come up with numerous contradictions and lapses in logic. Suppose then that it's Russo's group who are the heels, and Bischoff and his Millionaire's Club are the heroes. Well then, isn't that pretty much the course that brought us to where we are today already? Do we want Hulk Hogan to be the top babyface in the company? And on which side do you put everyone? This is, of course, assuming Hogan will be returning as part of a group lead by Bischoff. That assumption could be wrong. Suppose there are no such grand plans in the works, and WCW will go on just as it was set up at the PPV. That gives us Booker T as the company's top babyface, followed by Kevin Nash, and, I guess, Sting. Goldberg is the top heel, Scott Steiner close behind in second, Jeff Jarrett in third. Vince Russo ... I'm not sure where he'd fit into things. Maybe nowhere at all--maybe he won't be back on TV. Is Booker T a legitimate champion to hold off Goldberg? Can WCW convince the fans that Booker doesn't just have a huge target painted on his chest, just waiting for Goldberg to Spear and Jackhammer his way to the Title at his leisure? And where do they go from there: Goldberg vs. Nash ... again? Turn Steiner or Goldberg babyface and build to them at Starrcade? None of these ideas are bad, mind you, they just aren't likely the kind of feuds to gain WCW any ground on the WWF. Don't forget--Vince Russo is back calling the shots. Russo, the guy who couldn't spend more than two weeks building any storyline. Russo, the guy who's changed the World Title fifteen or so times so far this year. Russo, the guy who thinks a good *wrestling* show is one filled with lots of scantily-clad women and swearing. I'll grant that Vince Russo returned to something of a vacuum and booked an interesting PPV. I'll give him that. But this is still the same old Vince Russo, and already in one night's booking I see him going back to all the promises he's made two times already--the same writing style which relies so heavily on shoots and swerves and "surprise" heel turns and shock value. I'm not out to rain on anyone's parade. I'd just point out to all those singing Vince Russo's praises, yet again, to take a closer look at what's really happening. It should look a bit familiar--he's already done it twice before. Will the third time be the charm? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Jacksonville, Florida. Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson & Mark Madden. HOUR ONE: - Video package briefly recounts Booker T's career (and I do mean briefly). Of note: Stevie Ray is given a lot of credit for shaping Booker's career. Suddenly I'm scared of the prospect of another Booker-Stevie Ray feud. - The announcers play up that this is a *new* WCW, and that there are things that they, for legal reasons, can't talk about. (Then why bring it up?) I'm already sick of the "this match should have happened for a long time but didn't because of Hogan!" talk. Sorry, but Hulk Hogan isn't exactly to blame for all that, you know. If WCW's going to "shoot" they have to be honest and blame Bischoff and Kevin Nash and Kevin Sullivan and Vince Russo too. - Booker T comes out and says he isn't cutting a wrestling promo ... while cutting a wrestling promo. He says he wishes his mother was still alive to see him be champ. He thanks the people who supported him all this time. He alludes to some "player haters" backstage who don't like him being champion. He then "shoots" on Goldberg, saying he's a "mark" for himself. He asks a security guy to escort his wife into the ring. You know, as the announcers are talking about how great this all is, all I can think about is how great they said "G.I. Bro" was too. Cue the Harlem Heat music, and out comes Stevie Ray. GOOD GOD, NO! Madden: "We haven't seen him in weeks!" Hudson: "MONTHS!" Stevie's all "I remember when--" and you can smell the reunion coming. Fans chant "boring!" WCW forgot that as of last week these two guys were a midcarder and a prelim scrub. Stevie says he's proud of him, and loves him. Everyone seems to ignore Scott Steiner's music playing. Here comes Midajah. She distracts everyone talking about Steiner, long enough for Steiner to come in and whack everyone with a baseball bat. The crowd is confused, of course, since so few would know about the Steiner turn at the PPV. - Booker asks Stevie Ray to take his family home for him. - Jarrett wants a rematch, but Pamela Paulshock says the Cat already booked Booker into a match tonight. Scott Steiner suddenly jumps Jarrett. Okay, I'm confused. - Shane Douglas comes out with Torrie Wilson. Wilson returned at the PPV and turned heel by attacking Buff Bagwell--a turn which means nothing to the fans because she had been gone so long before it. Douglas & Torrie talk smack about Buff and Billy Kidman. SHANE DOUGLAS (w/ Torrie Wilson) vs. CROWBAR (w/ Daffney) Douglas wins in short order with the Franchiser: a move which starts out like the Rock Bottom, but instead of dropping the opponent to the mat he makes them land on their feet, jarring their jaw, or something. It looks dumb. Bagwell then runs in and Douglas makes a lame-ass attempt to escape, doing something that looks like the Pee-Pee Dance when Bagwell grabs him by the shorts. Buff gives him an Atomic Drop. Kidman tells Pamela that Douglas can have his "sloppy seconds" if he wants. Jarrett then shoves him aside, demanding a title shot. Kidman strikes back. The limo driver reminds us he's still Smooth. Tank Abbott & 3 Count, dressed in tuxes (Tank also wearing shorts), get out of the limo. Smooth hands them a gold record. Nice to see "Crash TV" is alive and well. - Jarrett demands a title shot. Commissioner Ernest "The Cat" Miller says instead he'll face Kidman tonight. - Madden says 3 Count has sold over three million copies of their new single. Uh--that's not a gold record then, Mark, that's triple-platinum. Schiavone, thank god, acts like they're fulla crap. Abbott & 3 Count, in the ring, are attacked by the Jung Dragons. Why is there a ladder there? Is this a match? Then the Great Muta runs in. No, really. Muta's with the Dragons. Vince Russo is a genius. The crowd chants Muta's name after he spits the green mist at Abbott. The Dragons steal the gold record. Look for the ladder to keep showing up with these guys, leading to a "Ladder Match" at the PPV. Why a "Ladder Match?" Because that's what Edge, Christian & the Hardy Boyz did, and it's what got them over. Kanyon says something to Pamela--I was still too busy laughing about Muta to catch it. Goldberg has arrived. - JEFF JARRETT vs. BILLY KIDMAN Interesting note about Scott Hall's contract: the announcers play it up as if Hall isn't gone from WCW, but that Kevin Nash simply doesn't have it, meaning the Outsiders have been "split up." Torrie Wilson comes out as the ref spends a good minute counting Jarrett out, never reaching "10." Torrie swings away, but Kidman blocks it. Shane Douglas attacks. Kidman takes a low kick from Torrie and is rolled back in. Jarrett covers, but Kidman kicks out. They trade some near-pins. A powerbomb by Jarrett fails (YOU CAN'T POWERBO--sorry, not my gimmick). Jarrett hits the Stroke and gets the pin. Decent match. Did Madden call Jarrett a "Brazilian Warrior?" I thought there were no run-ins in the Cat's matches? Scott Steiner attacks Kanyon backstage. Mike Awesome is hitting on one of the fat ladies from last week. "Nitro Girl Beef?" The Cat comes along and offers him the U.S. Title belt. Awesome says "no thanks." Huh? Booker T is WALKI--sorry, not my gimmick. - MIKE AWESOME vs. BOOKER T They show stills of Awesome beating Steiner via DQ at the PPV, Steiner DQ'ed because he used the Steiner Recliner despite the warnings of the Cat. The announcers really play up the whole "mullet" thing, which I completely fail to understand, knowing only that people go nuts on WCW Live and Observer Live when talking about mullets. WHO CARES--it's just a haircut! A bit into the match Booker and Awesome spend some time brawling at ringside by a chick with huge cans. Oink! Back in the ring a series of offense leads to Awesome hitting Booker with a big splash off the top. Booker kicks out. Awesome sets up a table at ringside, then tries to powerbomb Booker out of the ring. Booker slips free, reversal, and Awesome ends up backdropped out onto and through the table. Awesome gets back in. "Spinerooni! Spinerooni! Spinerooni!" Side-kick, followed by a spinebuster. Awesome kicks out. Missile drop-kick off the top. Awesome kicks out. A Book End (Rock Bottom), and Awesome finally stays down for the count. Good match, and one which gives Booker more credibility as Champion than Jeff Jarrett had during his many title reigns. Scott Steiner then runs in and puts Booker in the Recliner. Awesome, getting that look like Darth Vader got when the Emperor was frying Luke Skywalker, pulls Steiner off Booker. Face turn. The Cat, illustrating the point I made above, comes out of his office, saying that's Steiner's last run-in. (But ... it was after the match was over?) HOUR TWO: - The Cat calls out Steiner. After swearing at each other Miller says he'll beat up Steiner himself. Another face turn, with the announcers playing up how much integrity he has and how fair he's been as Commissioner. Booker makes the save, followed by Kanyon and Jarrett. Miller grabs a mic and says there'll be a three-way match tonight between Jarrett, Steiner and Kanyon, with the winner getting the title shot at the next PPV, "New Blood Rising." Goldberg then comes out and suggests a four-way including himself, which Miller agrees to. - A look at Goldberg backstage. - Stills from the PPV of Ralphus & Norman Smiley making their return, losing to Big Vito in a match for the Hardcore Title. Back live, Norman helps Ralphus train for the rematch. NORMAN SMILEY/RALPHUS vs. BIG VITO Short description: Vito puts Ralphus through a table, Norman hits Vito with a chair, and Vito falls on top of Ralphus, getting the pin. Long description: take the previous description and add in many minutes of chairshots and "comedy." Boring match, which killed some of the momentum the show had actually accumulated. The Cat is attacked by the Jung Dragons--their appearance accompanied by their theme music mysteriously wafting through the air. Paisley, looking for someone to iron the Artist's shirt, comes across "Kiwi"--a flamingly gay hairdresser. Looks like someone watches "Saturday Night Live." - Schiavone again says they can't legally talk about the Bash, urging fans to buy it and see for themselves what happened. - Lenny Lane is at ringside with a big sign saying "Use Me." Madden goes off on a rant about Lane being misused, connecting it to the "fat cats" who "showed up once a month and stole money from this company!" So, Hulk Hogan is the one who made Lenny act gay? Why isn't Madden defending Kiwi? Shoots don't mean shit if they AREN'T TRUE. - The crowd chants "USA!" as Lance Storm comes out. Huh? The crowd turned heel? Storm says he isn't a sports entertainer, and demands the Canadian national anthem be played. Talk about pulling a heel turn out of thin air. Storm comes off like a copy of Bret Hart. LANCE STORM vs. THE ARTIST (w/ Paisley) Storm wins with the half-crab leg submission. Okay match, but the Artist sucks. Paisley sat in on color commentary, making the match all that much harder to watch. Vampiro drives a hearse to the arena. - THE MISFITS IN ACTION vs. KRONIC Juventud Guerrera, Rey Mysterio and Tygress of the Filthy Animals come out to do color commentary. Schiavone pretends like he can't understand them, which is funny and insulting at the same time. Nothing much happening here ... Juvi & Rey try to interfere, but are run off by Mark Jindrak and Sean O'Haire. A series of near-pins leads to Kronic winning with an ugly clothesline off the top. Whatever they were trying they nearly killed Lash LeRoux doing it. Former Tag Champs Perfect Event then run in and lay Kronic out with Lex Flexers. Vampiro lovingly strokes the coffin he's brought into the building. - Last week Bam Bam Bigelow was burned badly saving some children from a brush fire. He suffered 2nd degree burns over 40% of his body. That's a shame. Get well soon, Bammer! - Vampiro comes to the ring. The Demon is in the coffin, and Vampiro orders him to attack Asya, the Demon suddenly under Vampiro's spell, or something. Cue Sting's music and lighting. Out comes someone dressed as Sting, though it's obviously not him. A ski mask and goggles cover his face. The lights are kept low, but it's still obviously not Sting (and it's not Muta either, so we can all stop guessing that). Of course Sting will eventually be back, but right now he's just to lazy to come himself, so they're using stand-ins to push him. - JEFF JARRETT vs. SCOTT STEINER (w/ Midajah) vs. KANYON vs. GOLDBERG Kanyon is so out of place with this group, and won't prove he should be there doing his DDP imitation. The announcers talk about none of these guys being able to cooperate, which is funny because Jarrett and Kanyon were together in fighting Booker T, and Steiner helped Goldberg beat Kevin Nash at the PPV. The whole match--and we're starting to run low on time so there isn't much of it--builds to Steiner and Goldberg locking up, which pops the crowd when it finally happens. As those two brawl to the floor Jarrett comes in and pins Kanyon. Was he the legal man? - This Wednesday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nitro is preempted by a movie and will be on Tuesday instead. Comments: Now we have Jarrett vs. Booker at the next PPV. Maybe they should have had Jarrett retain the title at the Bash, then lose it to Booker at New Blood Rising. That way they could have spent the next month building Booker up as a legitimate title contender, rather than forcing the belt on him now and hoping he gets over. People had already bought the Bash PPV, so why not save the title change, make a chase out of it, and use it to build up the next PPV? Of course we are talking Vince Russo here. The title might change hands four times before then. I'd say the odds of Jarrett vs. Booker going down at the PPV being 50-50 at best. All things considered, I thought this show was okay, which means the Net reaction to it will probably be through the roof. The first hour was much better than the second, though. Forgetting the PPV for a moment, looking at what the show was and comparing it to the last few weeks of shows, it was about the same. It's pretty clear now that Russo's "absence" was all a sham--that all the stuff about Russo feeling pressure and the arguments and such were probably blown out of proportion, if not manufactured outright. It's come out that Russo helped write the last two week's worth of shows, talking to Terry Taylor's booking committee over the phone. The only real difference there's been in WCW since Russo removed himself from TV was a greater emphasis on in-ring action, necessitated by his taking a less hands-on approach to recent shows. That continued this week, with the wrestling on the show being better than it's been in months--maybe since before WCW started to slump. Add in fewer production mistakes, and less of the blatantly crappy stuff, and the show seemed much better overall. And no Hogan, nor Kevin Nash, and Russo didn't put himself back on TV right away. Keep that up and this "new WCW" stands a chance of being ... good? Actually, there was one respect in which WCW was different this week. Notice how many face and heel turns they crammed in? Considering that most of the TV audience didn't see the PPV, the turns that happened there would be a surprise. So they tuned in tonight, and saw turns by: Stevie Ray, Midajah, Scott Steiner, Torrie Wilson, Mike Awesome, the Cat, Lance Storm, and the Demon. I hope they were able to keep track of them all. I hate to get too excited by the improvements with this whole Hogan thing still up in the air. It all goes out the window if and when he comes back. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: San Jose, California. Hosted By: Jim Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler. WWF RAW: - No Commissioner Mick Foley this week. He's on a tour of southeast Asia. - Chris Benoit and Shane McMahon hit the ring. Shane tells us what a mean, evil, nasty, heartless monster Benoit is. They show clips of Benoit's reign of terror last week. Shane says the Rock has been ducking Benoit. Benoit demands that the Rock give him a match tonight, with Benoit earning a title shot at the PPV if he wins. The Rock comes out and tells them to just bring it. The segment ends with Chyna and Eddie Guerrero chasing Benoit & Shane out of the ring, swinging steel chairs. Too much talk for what little it accomplished. - A silly graphic shows Foley's journey from New York to Los Angeles, to Kuala Lumpur, to Jakarta, to Singapore, back to Kuala Lumpur, and finally to Hong Kong. The King says Foley will get turned down by women he can't even understand. - TOO COOL vs. T & A (w/ Trish Stratus) vs. THE HARDY BOYZ (w/ Lita) The match goes some time with neither team dominating, until the Hardyz are eliminated by T & A. Albert gives Jeff Hardy a sitdown powerbomb, then Test covers for the pin. Trish and Lita get into it, with Albert and the Hardyz getting involved as well. In the ring Scotty Too Hotty knocks Test down and goes for the pin, but he's stopped by Tazz, who runs in and chokes him to the mat (drawing a ton of crowd heat). Test goes up top and drops the elbow, then gets the pin. Decent match, with good crowd reaction. Triple H whines about Commissioner Foley booking a match between Chris Jericho and Road Dogg, when Triple H himself wants to get his hands on Jericho. - Tazz blows off an interview attempt by Kevin Kelly. - ROAD DOGG vs. CHRIS JERICHO What strange alignment of the stars have taken place when Road Dogg actually delivers a decent match? The Dogg attacks Jericho up on the stage. In the ring Jericho takes control, but Road Dogg takes over after a brief trip to the floor. From there the momentum switches several times, with Road Dogg eventually screwing up by getting too cocky. He goes for a moonsault(!), but misses. Jericho hits the Lionsault and scores the pin. Triple H, watching the match in the back with Stephanie and X-Pac, goes berserk. The Undertaker nearly kills a hallway full of production geeks, as he tears through on his motorcycle. - Triple H chews out Road Dogg for losing. - The Undertaker rolls out to a big pop. In the ring he basically calls out Kurt Angle. Angle comes out, and once again he tries to apologize to the Undertaker in his unique way. He suggests that maybe it'd be best if the Undertaker cleaned up his image, and says he has a present for him. He leaves, returning a few moments later riding a small white motor scooter! He revs up its tiny engine so we can hear its throaty roar. He then rides it around the ring, just like the Undertaker does his bike. I should mention Angle is wearing safety glasses and a red, white & blue motorcycle helmet. The Undertaker tells him he's going to kick his teeth down his throat, so he can chew his own ass out for pissing the Undertaker off. Angle tries to escape, abandoning the scooter at the top of the ramp. The Undertaker parks his bike, looks over the scooter, then pushes it off the side of the stage. Funny stuff, though the closing visual could have been more impressive. WWF WAR ZONE: - RIKISHI PHATU vs. KANE vs. VAL VENIS What the hell happened to Val's hair? He now has a Russell Crowe-thing going on. He should have gotten a mullet. This is a long and surprisingly good match, though the finish is a total cop-out as Venis, after getting the stinkface from Rikishi, hits him with the Intercontinental Title belt, drawing a DQ. Kane delivers a chokeslam afterwards. Stephanie finds Triple H hiding out in a men's room. He says he's come up with an idea. - "Earlier Today," the Kat arrived at WWF New York. - Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley comes out and offers Chris Jericho the chance to come out and relive their encounter at King of the Ring. Jericho appears on the Titan-Tron and says he's thought of nothing else since the night he kissed her. Jericho's music plays, but he doesn't appear. Triple H, X-Pac and Road Dogg congregate on the stage, having lain in wait nearby, intent on ambushing Jericho. Y2J reappears on the screen and says that was the lamest plan he's ever seen. He asks Triple H why was it he got more action from Stephanie than Triple H has since they were married 10 months earlier? Triple H vows his revenge. Edge gripes about he and Christian having to defend the Tag Titles against the Acolytes. Christian says he has the sniffles, and that Edge will have to wrestle a singles match instead. "Singles matches rule!" - They replay the Foley tour video almost in its entirety, which even the King notes is unnecessary. - X-Pac says the plan sucked. Tempers flare, and before you know it we've got Triple H vs. X-Pac set for later tonight. - EDGE (w/ Christian) vs. BRADSHAW (w/ Faarooq) The Acolytes are cool when in the role of the ass-kicking APA, but just sticking them in matches is boring. How is it Christian can get out of a match just by saying he has the sniffles? Christian comes in with the ring bell, but Bradshaw catches him with a Clothesline From Hell. Edge picks up the dropped bell and waffles Bradshaw. The pin follows. The crowd totally died during this match. Matt & Jeff Hardy pump up Lita. Test, Val Venis and Albert do the same for Trish. She pouts when they tell her they're banned from ringside. As she leaves Albert asks the guys if she can win? In unison they reply "no chance in hell!" - Road Dogg says he won't stick around for the match, and adds X-Pac will regret it. - LITA vs. TRISH STRATUS This is supposed to be a "Ladies Street Fight," but they seem to be under the impression that the goal is to remove the other gal's clothes. Lita gets Trish stripped down to her bra & panties, at which point the klaxons go off and Steven Richards comes out to stop the match. He gets huge heat from the crowd (monster "asshole!" chant), but what's the point of this? (Yeah, yeah, the PTC sucks. We GET IT Vince.) Unable to talk Triple H out of the match he again says he leaving, and that Triple H will regret what he's doing. - San Jose gets an XFL franchise next year. - During the break Road Dogg left the building. - X-PAC vs. TRIPLE H (w/ Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) Some nice action here, but it doesn't last long, as Jericho runs in to get him some. Triple H and Jericho stop, and point up the ramp to Road Dogg, not gone like we all thought, carrying a sledgehammer. They set upon him and totally destroy him, Triple H hitting Jericho in the gut with the sledgehammer. This goes on way too long, referees eventually coming out to put an end to the beating. Jericho, spitting up blood, is carried out on a stretcher. How long did the beating last, you ask? It went on so long that by the end I was wishing Hulk Hogan would run in to make the save! - Great ... replays of the beating. Jericho is loaded into an ambulance, his face a crimson mask. The D-X guys stand nearby, chuckling. My dad REALLY hates X-Pac. Triple H says something about Jericho really "getting over" on them. - Another look at the Kat at WWF New York. - The Rock ... Benoit ... another commercial?! - THE ROCK vs. CHRIS BENOIT (w/ Shane McMahon) The match gets underway fast and furious. We're really short on time, since the Jericho beating ate up so much time. This is going to be a hell of a PPV match--maybe it's not a totally bad idea to give a taste of it away on free TV. The finish sees Shane attack referee Earl Hebner and take his place, revealing a ref shirt under his t-shirt. Benoit gets the Rock in the Crippler Crossface. The Rock tries to grab the rope but misses, his hand hitting the mat instead. Shane calls for the bell, saying the Rock tapped out. Great, do we need to go back to the Montreal Screwjob YET AGAIN, just one night after WCW did it in such a big way? Ross and Lawler argue over the replay. Suddenly the ring announcer says the original referee has reversed the decision, DQ'ing Benoit because of Shane's interference. Wow, both a Montreal Finish and a Dusty Finish in the same match! Benoit and Shane threaten Hebner, but the Rock and several referees save him. The Rock then nearly collapses, selling the effects of the Crippler Crossface (something he didn't really do last week). - This Thursday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: I don't know about anybody else, but I was really bored by this show. The opening interview didn't go anywhere, and the later Undertaker-Angle segment, while I liked it, made for too much talking in the first hour. Hour Two picked up a bit, but then fizzled out late in the show with that stretch of matches with little crowd heat, bad finishes, or no finishes at all. The main event was alright, pretty good actually, but was obviously the type of match where we'd get a weak finish to preserve the PPV matchup. The more I think about it, the more I wish Triple H was still the WWF Champion. I like the feud with Jericho, but it seems to have lowered Triple H to Jericho's level, rather than raised Jericho up to his. Without the title belt, no feud with the Rock, the Stephanie-Angle storyline going unmentioned, and Vince McMahon and Mick Foley being gone, Triple H seemed vulnerable and directionless. They did their best to make up for it with a few intense encounters, but something still seems lacking. Speaking of which, wasn't the show lacking without Mick Foley? The show's actually missed something since Vince McMahon left, but Foley being there made up for that. Not this week, though. With both being gone the show was missing key elements of both drama and comedy that those two could provide. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: Maybe the reason I'm not excited by the prospect of Hogan being gone from WCW is because it means his return to the WWF is that much likelier. Even if Vince McMahon wouldn't sign a deal with him, you know Hogan would be willing to come in for at least one night, just to rub it in Russo's face. Hogan has that WCW Title belt, and I doubt WCW could compel him to return it--not given the way they supposedly booted him out of the company. Hogan's WCW contract is such that his only obligation to the company is two more PPV appearances before its expiration sometime next year. Russo's vow that Hogan would never appear on WCW TV again would seem to absolve Hogan of even that responsibility. You know Hogan would want to get back at WCW and Russo, and unless he can put together that deal with Fox he says he's working on, the WWF is his only option. It's interesting to think about, but it's only a possibility if the whole Bash at the Beach deal was real. I'm pretty sure it wasn't. If I'm wrong, Hogan showing up in the WWF will be my punishment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "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 243 of the "Monday Night Recap", July 10th, 2000.