Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #262 November 20th, 2000 The Opening Word: A lot of stuff happened in the wrestling world last week, from WCW doing a PPV in Germany, to Jesse "The Body" Ventura signing with the XFL to do color commentary, to the WWF putting on their latest Survivor Series PPV. None of it's really worth talking about. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours. Location: Augusta, Georgia. Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson & Mark Madden. HOUR ONE: - Highlights package. - Earlier in the day Commissioner Mike Sanders is in the middle of a meeting with Lex Luger when he's informed that Sean O'Haire of the Natural Born Thrillerz has been laid out. Sanders comes back to the camera and announces that the Perfect Event will be getting a title shot against Boogie Knights. The injured Disqo Inferno will be replaced by a partner of Sanders' choosing. I assume he'll pick General Rection, the guy who won the belts with Wright in Germany in the first place. Isn't it funny how when WCW went to Canada they buried Lance Storm, yet when they went to Germany they pushed Alex Wright to the moon? You don't suppose that has something to do with Wright's tag team partner, Disqo Inferno, being part of the booking team? Sanders also announces a Booker T/Lex Luger match. - YANG (w/ Leia Meow) vs. JAMIE NOBLE Madden says he's just realized Jamie-San is white--a joke already played out by Stevie Ray while Madden was off TV. The match here is good but criminally short, with almost zero crowd response. Evan Karagias comes out, gets beat up 2 Count, Jamie then hits 2 Count with a plancha, and goes back in to score the pin on Yang with a roll-up. The crowd ... well, the show looks and sounds tonight like it's being taped in a high school gym. Lex Luger and WCW CEO Ric Flair are acting pretty chummy backstage. - Sting has been put out of action by Scott Steiner. Gee, Sting injured? Like that's a shock. Of course he'll be getting a World Title shot upon his return. - Alex Wright arrives, talking on his cell phone to someone. He spots Kronik and tries to offer them money to tag with him, but they blow him off. The Filthy Animals happen along then and throw stuff at Wright. - Ric Flair kills a few minutes talking about how great WCW is and how good southern women are. He then talks about Luger's shot at the title tonight, and how if he wins the belt he'll defend it against Goldberg at the Mayhem PPV--the winning streak stipulation from Vince Russo be damned. Jeff Jarrett then comes out, saying he knows got Stacy Kiebler pregnant. Jarrett says he did it. "Miss Hancock got the guitar shot of love!" David Flair comes out. Jarrett says he did it the night after the Great American Bash in Baltimore. "The little Kiebler Elf wanted to know if I wanted some of her cookies!" The next morning she was gone, only a shopping bag she had brought left behind. David asks what was in the shopping bag. Jarrett says "it was full of crap--just like the rest of this story!" He lays out David with a guitar shot. Buff Bagwell then jumps Jarrett. I've never seen so many car-loads of nonsense collide at the same intersection. Kevin Nash has arrived, telling those around him that he didn't come alone. The announcers instantly begin the "who can it be?!" hype. - Elix Skipper is interviewed. Ah, he's been chosen to be Wright's partner tonight. Lance Storm also says some stuff. Major Gunns cops an attitude and Pamela calls her a bitch. - ALEX WRIGHT/ELIX SKIPPER vs. THE PERFECT EVENT The other Thrillerz are out as well. A few minutes into the match Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman of the Filthy Animals come out. Rey distracts the ref, and Kidman plonks Wright, allowing the Thrillerz to score the pin. Well, that's twice this year the Tag Titles changed hands in Oberhausen, German, only to change hands again the very next show (last time was this past February, with the Harris Brothers and Big Vito & Johnny The Bull doing a switcheroo two consecutive nights). Why would the Animals cause a jobber like Wright to lose the belts to the Perfect Event, a team Kidman & Mysterio have had trouble beating in the past (and certainly have no love for anyway)? - Mancow jumps Jimmy Hart backstage. This was pretaped, the punchline of the joke being that it was a paid advertisement by Mancow, and that Jimmy Hart didn't want us to see it. Elsewhere, Kwee Wee, General Rection & Meng deliver comments. Somewhere else ... I don't know what's more annoying: Sanders' convoluted "SOL" setups, or the "nweh-eh-eh" laugh he does afterwards. Also: Big Vito lays out Reno backstage. Jesus--now the BattleDome guys have shown up. I have just four words to describe this whole segment: CRASH TV RUNS AMOK! - Pamela interviews Alex Wright. CHRIST, HOW ABOUT A FRIGGIN' MATCH! - More BattleDome stuff. Rick Steiner comes out to badmouth BattleDome. That leads to Steiner squaring off in the ring with G-Money. Steiner gets in about one punch, then he's jumped by the other BattleDome guys. Security comes out. - Yay, more shit that ain't wrestling: Reno enters the commish's office and JESUS SOLSOLSOLSOLSHITOUTTALUCK!!! - General Rection whips the other Misfits into a frenzy. - Kevin Nash is out. It's about five minutes to the start of RAW. Comments from Nash, as well as the hype from the announcers, would lead us to believe Nash's backup tonight is Scott Hall (though his name isn't said outright). Nash says whoever it was is a close friend who rode to the arena with him, someone he can count on to watch his back. Kev challenges the Thrillerz to a match for the Tag Titles at the PPV. Sanders leads the Thrillerz out. Long minutes tick by as Nash and Sanders stall for time. Eventually the Thrillerz rush Nash, and he's pounded on until-- HOUR TWO: --Diamond Dallas Page makes the save. You can almost hear TV's switching over to RAW in disgust. - Pamela gets comments from Lex Luger. - GENERAL RECTION/MENG vs. LANCE STORM/JIM DUGGAN (w/ Team Canada) Nothing match, which comes to a quick end when Rection rolls Duggan up for the pin. - Shane Douglas and Jeff Jarrett are shown conferring backstage. - KWEE WEE vs. GOLDBERG Sanders sits in on commentary. You know the drill: Squash. Spear (nicely done--Goldberg nailing a springboarding Kwee Wee in mid-air). Jackhammer. Pin. Goldberg then roars at Sanders, saying he's his own man. Ric Flair then comes out and books Goldberg in a match against Sanders. Squash. Spear. Jackhammer. Pin. I can't fault this segment for giving the fans what they want. - Pamela interviews Booker T. - Shane Douglas and Torrie Wilson come out to cut a lengthy promo, amounting to little more than them saying they look good and that the fans are fat and ugly. Their attempts at cheap heat fail to draw any. Douglas challenges the Cat to a match at the PPV. He then starts ripping into Buff Bagwell, which gives us ... SHANE DOUGLAS (w/ Torrie Wilson) vs. BUFF BAGWELL This match lasts about five minutes, but seems two or three times that compared to the other short matches on the show. Not a very good match, but decent enough, with Buff and Shane showing some psychology by working over their opponent's various weak parts, and the announcers actually do an okay job of pointing such out. Buff eventually climbs up for the Blockbuster, oddly doing so in a corner the entire length of the ring away from Douglas. Here comes Jeff Jarrett, followed by the Cat and Miss Jones. The Cat takes out Jarrett, and Buff hits the Blockbuster on Shane for the win. - Steiner cuts an ugly promo on Booker T. Man, he's one to talk about Booker having trouble speaking. About the only reaction he gets from the crowd is when he calls Ric Flair an "old son-of-a-bitch!" Steiner then joins the announce team. - BOOKER T vs. LEX LUGER A few minutes into the match Goldberg comes out, bringing Steiner out of his seat. Steiner pokes Goldberg in the eye, the two then pulled apart by security. Before we know it Goldberg is in the ring. He charges with a spear, narrowly missing Booker and hitting Luger. Booker covers Luger for the pin. The announcers question whether Goldberg was aiming at Luger or Booker T. - This Wednesday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: A bad show with entirely too little wrestling, made worse by all the Crash TV stuff being clustered in the first hour (making the lack of wrestling all the more noticeable). The second hour was at least bearable, because there was more wrestling, and the absence of the bad skits, so I dunno ... should WCW have spaced the stuff out and had two bad hours, or go the way they did and end up with one really REALLY bad hour and one mediocre hour? I'm glad I don't have to make those decisions. Mayhem is this Sunday and I honestly have little idea what the card is. Here is what I know, pieced together from the hype put forth on this show: * Booker T vs. Scott Steiner for the World Heavyweight Title. * Goldberg vs. Lex Luger. * Shane Douglas vs. Ernest Miller. * Kevin Nash & Diamond Dallas Page vs. The Perfect Event. Tag Title Match. I think Lance Storm and General Rection are going at it again for the U.S. Title, but I can't be sure (they've fought so many times already). Perhaps Meng & Kwee Wee will wrestle Elix Skipper & Jim Duggan. This is going to be one of those shows where everything they put on will look so familiar because they've done it all to death already on TV. The only question is will Steiner finally win the belt or not. I can't see him coming up short two months in a row. I'm still stupefied by the fact that WCW keeps hyping the return of someone who isn't even in the company anymore. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Orlando, Florida. Hosted By: Jim Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler. WWF RAW: - A video package shows Steve Austin demolishing Triple H's car at Survivor Series. - Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley makes her way to the ring. Stephanie says it's a miracle that Triple H survived Austin's assault. He's at home under a doctor's care. Stephanie has come to RAW on his behalf to apologize to Steve Austin, and plead with him to put an end to this feud of theirs. She adds that she and Hunter have gotten a new appreciation for life, and that the reason she's been gone lately is that the two have been trying to have a baby together. The fan reaction during all this is very twisted, booing the fact that Triple H will be okay, cheering as Stephanie lists his injuries, and chanting Austin's name like crazy. Stone Cold comes out to a humongous pop. Austin says he has a message for Triple H, and turns to the camera and flips him the double bird. Austin makes fun of the baby the two would have, particularly the size of its nose. Stephanie flees the ring crying. Out comes Chris Benoit. He says he's faced Austin in the ring, and thus far hasn't seen anything impressive. He challenges Austin to a straight-up wrestling match tonight. Austin says he isn't at the top of the technical wrestler list, but he sure is the top-rated beer drinker in the WWF. Austin accepts Benoit's challenge. Stephanie climbs into her limo and is whisked away. - RIGHT TO CENSOR vs. THE DUDLEY BOYZ Steven Richards, the pro that he is, is *still* selling the table shot he took at the PPV. This is for the Tag Titles, an added stipulation being that if the Dudleyz lose then they can no longer put people through tables. Quick match, which the Dudleyz almost have won, putting the Goodfather away with the 3-D, when Richards breaks up the count, causing a DQ. Richards is put through another table. The crowd was really into the 3-D and table shot. Michael Cole interviews Chris Jericho, who will be teaming up with the Rock tonight to face Kane & Rikishi. - William Regal hires T&APA to watch his back tonight in his hardcore match against Hardcore Holly. T&A and Trish are one of those teams I think I enjoy watching doing skits more than actually wrestling. Elsewhere Bob Holly is watching this on a monitor. Bob isn't exactly excited to hear that Crash will be watching his back. - The Rock is interviewed--says the usual. - Michael Cole asks referee Earl Hebner to explain his decision in the Kurt Angle/Undertaker match at the PPV. Still photos are show. Hebner says his decision was simple: he stopped the count when he saw the guy the Undertaker was covering wasn't Angle. Hebner seemed upset over the insinuation that he was part of yet another Survivor Series Screwjob. - WILLIAM REGAL vs. HARDCORE HOLLY Regal begins badmouthing the XFL (a few Orlando XFL players having been shown in the crowd moments before), and American football as compared to English football, before he's cut off by Holly's entrance. The match quickly spills to the back, where Holly is attacked by T&A. Regal covers for the pin. Crash Holly and Steve Blackman then join the fight, getting the better of T&A, who make their escape from the arena in a security guard motorized cart. Jericho ... Kane ... Rikishi ... the Rock--NEXT! - Tiger Ali Singh and Lo Down try to get into the building, but their names aren't on the list. - KANE/RIKISHI vs. CHRIS JERICHO/THE ROCK The Rock is still selling the beating he took from Rikishi at the PPV. Rock and Jericho are both way over in this lengthy, fairly good match. The finish sees Jericho hit Kane with a chair when the referee isn't looking. The Rock then applies the Rock Bottom and scores the pin. Afterwards the Rock and Jericho leave both Kane and Rikishi laying, even going so far as putting Kane in the Walls of Jericho, and Rock putting the Sharpshooter on Rikishi. Referees have to break the two holds. By way of comparison this match alone was probably longer (and definitely better) than all the wrestling Nitro had in its first hour combined. Kurt Angle and someone else dressed just like him arrive. WWF WAR ZONE: - Kurt Angle and his "twin" come out. I have to admit ... this guy doesn't look a whole lot like Angle to me. This is Angle's older brother Eric. The plan at the PPV, according to Angle, was for Eric to wait under the ring until the match was over, and when Angle won he'd have come out to celebrate with him. It wasn't their fault the Undertaker pulled him out and tried to pin him. Angle talks about the Survivor Series Screwjob, mentioning Montreal and Bret Hart, and how for the last six years the WWF title has changed hands at Survivor Series. Angle is glad to say that tradition has come to an end, and that the "good guy" finally came out ahead. Eric: "It's true, it's damn true!" Out comes the Undertaker. Angle plays total coward, hiding behind his big brother, who he sacrifices by shoving into a waiting Undertaker chokeslam. The Undertaker then chases angle up to the stage, catches him, and chokeslams him off through a table down on the floor! - EMT's scrape up what's left of Angle. - The Undertaker demands a handicap match against the Angle brothers. Commissioner Mick Foley says it may truly be a handicap match, not knowing the medical status of either brother. Foley says he'll take it under advisement. - ROAD DOGG/K-KWIK/BILLY GUNN vs. THE RADICALZ (w/ Terri Runnels) "Eh" match, which the faces win when Gunn hits Saturn with the FameAsser. K-Kwik follows with a Firebird Splash and covers for the pin. K-Kwik is going to be a big star if this first gimmick with Road Dogg doesn't bury him. Edge & Christian, talking about Kamala disappearing after losing a Casket Match to the Undertaker, offer to apologize to the Dead Man by giving him a golden urn. Foley books them in a handicap match against him instead. - IVORY vs. MOLLY HOLLY Chyna sits in on color commentary, which is odd since she doesn't like wrestling the other women in the WWF. I guess maybe they're building to a match with her against Ivory, stemming from her continuing run-ins with the RTC. Chyna's Playboy is hyped as one of the best selling ever, which I guess means it didn't outsell the Sable issue (or else you think they would have said so). Trish Stratus interferes in the match, giving Molly a DDT, and Ivory gets the pin. Ivory wrestled the match in long pants instead of a skirt. The Undertaker finds the urn Edge & Christian got for him and tosses it in the trash. Somewhere Paul Bearer gently weeps. - EDGE/CHRISTIAN vs. THE UNDERTAKER E&C get in a bunch of offense, but the Taker quickly turns it around by tossing Edge out of the ring. He then puts Christian away with The Last Ride. Edge comes back in and eats a chokeslam. Eddie Guerrero tells Benoit to kick Austin's ass. Dean Malenko adds that they have his back, just in case Austin tries something like he did with Triple H at the PPV. - Repeat of the video package which opened the show, followed by clips from the Stephanie-Austin confrontation. That's it, penalize those who have actually *watched* the whole show up to this point. - Benoit comes out to work the crowd over a bit, before one last commercial break. - CHRIS BENOIT vs. STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN Feeling out process to start. Lots of hammerlocks, headlocks, chinlocks, armbars, escapes and reversals--Austin giving as good as he takes. The match goes on, slowly building steam, staying in the ring throughout (except for a brief trip to the floor). The crowd really comes alive when Austin hits the Lou Thesz Press. Benoit reverses from the cover attempt, and a string of reversals from there lead to a Crippler Crossface, Benoit pounding on Austin to get him into the hold. Austin strains, eventually reaching the ropes. The two come up kicking and punching. Benoit sends Austin into the corner post. He follows with the triple German Suplex, but Austin fights free before Benoit can pull off the third one. The two go toe-to-toe trading blow, then out of nowhere Austin hits the Stone Cold Stunner and covers for the pin. A bit of an anticlimactic finish, but a tremendous match otherwise. An exhausted Austin chugs a few beer to celebrate. - This Thursday: Nothing announced. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: A very strong, entertaining show this week. I think the WWF acknowledged that they've skimped on some match finishes lately, and tried to make up for that this week with some big, clean wins for their top babyfaces. The Rock and Jericho beat their current feud opponents in a tag match, the Undertaker got a big win in a handicap match, and Steve Austin had to have silenced some of his critics by putting on a strong showing in a technical match against Benoit. The only ones who could really complain about this show are those who constantly complain about the way Benoit is used. I don't suppose that they'll see that Austin now owes Benoit a job somewhere down the road. How smart is Triple H, anyway? Not only does he avoid a job to Austin at the PPV, he gets Benoit to do the job in his place on RAW! It's funny the way the Montreal Screwjob has been permanently woven into the running storyline mythology of Survivor Series. I'm sure some will complain about Vince McMahon not "getting over" Montreal. Trust me, he's over it. It just came up again to sell some more buys for this PPV, promising something controversial would happen. It's likely to come up every year from now on. The show tonight did have an odd feel to it with all the clean finishes, like it was a show where they were blowing off all their running feuds. The problem is none of these feuds are even close to being over. For what good these finishes did tonight it's going to be hard to get the fans interested in the eventual rematches. Stay tuned for some shows very soon in which the heels come out on top big time. To wrap up, let me quickly say this about the entire Jesse Ventura/XFL deal. The people complaining about it now are all the same people who complained about Ventura refereeing at SummerSlam, Ventura's book, Ventura's action figure, Ventura's t-shirt, Ventura appearing on the David Letterman show, Ventura flying to Hollywood to bring movie production to the state, etc., etc., etc. You're going to see certain websites out there make a big deal about this (*cough*1Wrestling.com*cough*), but this is already a dead story here in Minnesota. It'll flare up again as the XFL season approaches, but in the end nothing will come of it, and Ventura's enemies will mutter threats about Ventura's chances of reelection--a fairly empty threat given that Ventura hasn't even said whether he'll even run again when his term is up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: Before writing this Recap (which I admittedly blew through this week) I listened to Marilyn Manson's "Holy Wood" album four times. Now my nose is bleeding. Am I going to Hell? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "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 262 of the "Monday Night Recap", November 20th, 2000.