[RESULTS/OPINION]Monday Night RAW/Monday Nitro (12/11) Monday Night RAW: Taped 11/20. (I think ... crowd looked different). - Recap of Hart/Backlund match-up and Michaels situation. - OWEN HART (w/ JIM CORNETTE) vs. JEFF HARDY Hart pins the jobber as Diesel watches on a monitor in the lockerroom. After match, Yokozuna enters ring and delivers Bonzai drop to squashed prelim bum. Diesel makes the save. British Bulldog's wife Diana is shown in the audience. - AJA KONG vs. CHAPARITA ASARI Okay, I may get flamed for this, but I enjoyed this match. Sure, the outcome was never in doubt, but I liked it nonetheless. Asari got in a few moves (including a funky double cartwheel into a mule kick), but Kong no sold during most of the match. Great crowd reaction as Kong kept pulling up Asari before the three count. Aja with the pin following a spinning backhand. Vince mentions he'll be on AOL tonight. Asari is shown down on the mat with a bloody nose (or lip). - Todd Pettengill interviews Shawn Michaels. Two minutes in and this interview is going nowhere until Pettingill asks if Shawn thinks his career is over. Michaels acts upset that the whole point of the interview was this question and not genuine concern for his condition. Shawn refuses to answer the question. - AHMED JOHNSON vs. RICK STOCKHAUSER Squash. Lawler interviews Ahmed after match regarding IYH and Dean Douglas. - Cute WWF skit showing Razor Ramon, Hakushi, Yokozuna, and Ahmed Johnson dressed as Santas in a police line-up. Harvey Whippleman type (was it Whippleman?) is also there. Little boy points out scrawny guy as one who told him " ... cigarrettes are okay-all wrestlers are wimps-and there is no Santa!" Other Santas beat him to the floor with their toy bags. Merriment and mayhem from the WWF. - The RAW Bowl. New Years eve. This promo featured Classy Freddy Blassie coaching a football gear clad contingent of heels (Sid, Owen Hart, Yankem, and others). - McMahon interviews DiBiase, The 1-2-3 Kid, and Sid in the ring. Sid blathers on about hurting Marty Jannetty and Kid shows he can't do an interview to save his life. - BRET HART vs. MR. BOB BACKLUND Match starts with a good series of catch-as-catch-can maneuvers, then quickly degenerates into stall tactics and rest holds. Lawler interviews Diana Smith, who says she supports the Bulldog. Backlund gets Hart in the CFCW, but he reaches the ropes. Hart applies the Shartpshooter, but Bulldog enters the ring. Ref calls for the bell. Backlund slaps on the CFCW while the Bulldog kicks away. Ring fills with officials. To be continued at In Your House ... - Next week's main event: Yokozuna vs. Razor Ramon for the IC Title. Comments: Yawn. Production values are slicker than ever, but 75% of this show was filler. They finally get around to seriously pushing In Your House. Monday Nitro: Live. - Show starts 3 minutes early. - EDDIE GUERRERO vs. MR. J. L. Good match between these two with the usual sort of high spots one has come to expect from them. Guerrero with the pin following about a half dozen offensive exchanges between the two. - Mean Gene interviews Jimmy Hart and Lex Luger. Sting is still Luger's pal. - DISCO FEVER vs. PAUL ORNDORFF Orndorff wins. He's so #1derful. - Mean Gene interviews the 4 Horsemen. Pillman dominates the interview, accusing Hogan, The American Males, and the Dungeon of Doom of all being jealous of the Horsemen. He then bad mouths Paul Orndorff for losing his edge and " ... talking to Gary Spivey and Dionne Warwick of the 'Psychic Friends Network' for $4.99 a minute!" Of course Orndorff comes out. Calls Pillman the Horsemen's "driver" and "baggage handler". A fight breaks out. At first Arn and Flair only try to pull Orndorff off, but then join in the pummeling. Arn spike piledrives Orndorff on the concrete with Flair's help. Bobby Hennan goes nuts, while Talks about football players he's known who recieved neck injuries. Orndorff is strapped into a neck brace and backboard as Hennan stands nearby, showing concern for one of his former Heenan Family members. - Mean Gene interviews Randy Savage. They announce Savage will fight the Giant next week on Nitro. - LEX LUGER (w/JIMMY HART) vs. "HACKSAW" JIM DUGGAN What looked on paper to be the worst match ever wasn't (though only because it was short). End comes when Luger is down and Duggan proceeds to tape his fist. Hart jumps on ring apron holding Duggan's 2X4. Luger rushes Duggan from behind, pushing him into the ropes. Duggan's head hits the 2X4 and he goes down. Luger puts him into Torture Rack and the ref calls for the bell. - HULK HOGAN/STING vs. RIC FLAIR/ARN ANDERSON Flair's hometown crowd is pro Horsemen in this match. (A huge "Hogan Sucks!" chant erupts at one point). Horsemen come out first. Then Sting comes out alone to his music. Hogan comes out after a delay, looking confused that Sting didn't wait for him. Sting locks up with Arn and we see some real wrestling. Hogan and Flair are tagged in and Hogan no-sells just about everything. Sting is tagged back in and wrestles most of the rest of the match. At one point, Sting is getting destroyed. Hogan tries to save but ref keeps him out. Luger comes to ringside, pulls Hogan off the apron, posts him, then puts him in the Rack. (Yes!) Meanwhile, Sting is getting thoroughly worked over in the ring. Alas, Hogan eventually recovers, and gets the pin on Arn following the usual moves (and Sting's recovering just enough to hold Flair at bay). Pillman hits the ring and works over Sting while Arn and Flair stomp on Hogan. Luger comes to ring and pulls Pillman off Sting. All three Horsemen are now beating on Hogan. Sting sees Hogan is in trouble and tries to help, but Luger hold him back for a few seconds. Sting goes to the Hulkster's aid and Luger leaves the ring. Eventually the Horsemen leave and at some point Savage has entered the ring. Sting is turned away and Savage comes up to him. Sting turns, and seeing Savage so close with fists raised POPS HIM! Savage is steamed and slaps Sting in the face. Mean Gene enters ring and tries to sort mess out. Everyone assures everyone else that they are friends. Bischoff and gang signs off after one last commercial break. Show runs about six minutes over (for a total of about nine extra minutes of Nitro). - Next week's main event: Savage vs. The Giant for the World Title. Comments: An okay show, but all of WCW seems dominated by this one storyline. Again, no Chris benoit. The show's being in Charlotte accounted for the push the Horsemen got and it would have made sense for Benoit to be there (especially since he's the group's "Crippler"). The Orndorff angle came out of nowhere and was great, IMO. McMichael is slowly starting to develope into an acceptable announcer, but it's been a painful process for us fans to sit through. Bottom line: Neither show is really going for the jugular of the other: no longer trying to deliver that knockout punch. This week's winner: Nitro. (This week's RAW/Nitro recap is a bit later than I'd hoped. Blame the flu Monday night and unexpected relatives visiting Tuesday morning). Next week I will do I recap of In Your House as soon as I get the results late Sunday/early Monday. I will post them on r.s.p-w and upload them to my homepage.