[RESULTS/OPINION] WCW Monday Nitro/WWF Monday Night RAW (11/25) WWF Monday Night RAW: Taped 11/18. Hosted by Vince McMahon and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - BRET "HITMAN" HART vs. OWEN HART (w/ Clarence Mason) They jump right into the show again, no content advisory or opening sequence. Jim Ross will sit in the first match, and Shawn Michaels is live from Jose Lothario's house in San Antonio. The British Bulldog looks on from the back as well. This match is a little like a slow-motion version of their excellent matches from just two years ago. Bret seems to focus on weakening Owen's left arm, while Owen works on the lower back of the Hitman. Owen, in the middle of the match, reels off a nice looking belly-to-belly suplex. Owen then puts Bret down to the mat with a kick to the head. After a commercial break we see Owen going to the top, but the Hitman catches him there and slams him to the mat. Owen then gets tossed to the floor. Back up on the apron, Owen goes up and over the Hitman and rolls him up with a Sunset Flip, but Bret rolls through it and begins to apply the Sharpshooter. Out of nowhere comes "Stone Cold" Steve Austin with a steel chair. Austin swings and Hart goes down. Austin then begins to place the chair around Bret's ankle, like he did to Brian Pillman. Owen stands by to assist, but the British Bulldog now enters the ring and pulls off the chair. "Enough" yells the Bulldog, now having saved his brother-in-law Bret. The group argues amongst themselves until Austin settles things by nailing Davy Boy Smith with the chair! The Bulldog and Bret are now down on the mat, and Owen gets in the face of Austin. Nailing Bret was fine with Owen, but hitting his World Tag Team Championship partner was crossing the line. Sensing that his work is done, Stone Cold leaves the ring as Owen is left to figure out what just happened. - Instant replay of what just took place. Dok Hendrix, standing by in the back, says the Bulldog is livid and that he and Owen are having a heated argument. Bret meanwhile has been taken to his lockerroom and should be okay. - THE EXECUTIONER (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. FREDDIE JOE FLOYD This is one of the most animated squashes I've seen in a while, with Floyd all "fists and fire" (as Jim Ross might say.) The Executioner (Terry Gordy) looks badly out of shape, and fights like an old man. The Executioner wins with the dreaded Asian Spike. The talk during the match regards the Executioner's match with The Undertaker at the next In Your House, which will be fought under "Armaggeddon Rules." No time limit, no disqualification and falls count anywhere. Sounds like a "Texas Death Match" to me. - Interview with Shawn and Jose live from San Antonio. Jose says he's recovering from his attack, but that there has been some damage to his heart and that the doctors are trying to get him to do some tests. Because of this, Shawn's match at the Royal Rumble will be Jose's last at ringside. Shawn then goes on to talk about what the loss of the World Heavyweight Title has meant to him. He seriously hacks on Sid for hitting an old man ("Christ... a sixty year old man!" Or something like that.) He says that as far as Jose "becoming part of 'the game,' he's been 'in the game' for thirty years and he can do damn well whatever he pleases!" (Again words to that effect.) On the subject of Shawn's changing, Shawn says he's the same guy that everyone used to like (or hate) but that he had lost his edge over the last few months. Shawn says from now one he'll take even more risks, and "no more Mr. Nice Guy!" On the subject of the fans cheering on Sid, Shawn says he will never beg for the attention of the fans, and those that like him are fine, and if they don't like him that's fine too. Shawn nearly blows up during this, very nearly crossing over to th dark side (the entire interview had a feisty, heelish tone.) People wanted the old Shawn back: they may just be getting it. Shawn says he doesn't care who he faces at the Royal Rumble, but that he'd prefer it be Sid. - Sunny comes to ringside for the next match and dances with Vince McMahon. The blue dress she's wearing looks like it may have come out of one of those pantyhose eggs. *Awwoooooooo!!!* - Karate Fighters. Sunny beats Sable. Sunny is disqualified for rigging her guy's feet with bubble gum. Sable advances. I retch. - SALVATORE SINCERE vs. ROCKY MAIVIA Sunny is at ringside to scout Rocky (and she fairly well drools over him on camera for most of the match.) Maivia gets brief endorsements from Capt. Lou Albano and Don Muraco (taped at the Hall of Fame banquet.) Salvatore gets Rocky in the corner and kisses him on the cheek. Sunny says she's jealous. I retch. Rocky wins with a shoulderbreaker. A quick update from Dok Hendrix. Dok says the Bulldog and Owen have calmed down, intent on salvaging their team and Title reign. Bret meanwhile has refused to allow cameras in to do an interview. - Comments from Marc Mero about Hunter Hearst Helmsly. - "WILDMAN" MARC MERO (w/ Sable) vs. BILLY GUNN A passable match. Billy is sent to the floor and Mero follows up with a double axehandle off the apron. Mero then exchanges words with Helmsly, allowing an opening for Gunn. Both men are back in the ring and Mero does a standing 1/2 twist on the top turnbuckle into a moonsault. The crowd is absolutely dead. Billy then gains the upper advantage as they go to a break. Acclaim's In Your House Slam of the Week: Flash Funk with his "Dis That Don't Miss" (I forget it's new WWF name.) Flash looks a little like Elvis... if Elvis had been black... and a pimp... and fat... fatter. Back to the show where we learn the next In Your House is subtitled "It's Time!" In the ring they just barely catch Mero landing the "Wild Thing." Billy kicks out of the pin attempt. Helmsly gets up and approaches Sable. This brings Mero out of the ring. Billy hits him from behind, then the two (Gunn and Helmsly) double team him in the ring. The ref calls for the DQ. Out comes Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Roberts and Mero are barely able to chase off the heels as McMahon suggests these guys might like to team up for a match next week. - Next week's main event: Helmsly/Gunn vs. Mero/Roberts (presumably.) Comments: Things started off really good, but never kept the heat on. The Shawn interview was his best in ages. The crowd was completely dead during the Mero match. Helmsly is an absolute non-entity as the Intercontinental Champion. I really think they need to either find a new feud for Mero, or consider a change (a heel turn not out of the question.) Helmsly meanwhile may simply be wrong for the WWF. I've never been a big fan of his. I acknowledge he's a good wrestler, but his character is as old as the hills. He just can't generate any heat with the crowd, especially in the absence of Mr. Perfect. I think the WWF needs to quickly get the belt from around his waist, then rehabilitate the Intercontinental division. The Undertaker is being wasted against The Executioner. The problem is what else do you do with him? If the WWF intends on keeping the belt around Sid's waist for some time, perhaps they should run The Undertaker at him. Maybe Vader as well, or Vader vs. Undertaker. I don't know if any of these will result in any good matches, but it seems to be what the fans are going for now (big guys and names from the past.) The tag team division is on the upswing with the addition of Furnas and LaFon, as well as the Headbangers. Maybe it's time to add a TV Title to the mix? Just a thought. WCW Monday Nitro: Live. - Quick WCW World War 3 Recap: * Ultimo Dragon defeated Rey Misterio Jr. Ultimo retains his Japanese Lightweight/Cruiserweight Titles. * Chris Jericho defeated Nick Patrick with one arm tied behind his back. Jericho was accompanied to the ring by Teddy Long. * The Giant defeated Jeff Jarrett. Sting came to the ring and reverse DDT'ed Jarrett, then The Giant chokeslammed Jarrett. * "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan signed a contract to wrestle at Starrcade in December. It was revealed (by Hogan) that Piper underwent hip surgery a few years ago. The NWO then attacked Piper's hip with a steel chair. * Harlem Heat defeated The Amazing French Canadians. Per the stipulations, Sister Sherri received five minutes in the ring with Col. Parker. * Dean Malenko defeated Psychosis. Malenko retains the WCW Cruiserweight Title. * The Outsiders defeated The Nasty Boys and The Faces of Fear in a Triangle Match. The Outsiders retain the WCW World Tag Team Titles. * The Giant won the 60 Man, Three Ring Battle Royale. The New World Order waited in a corner until most everyone else was eliminated. They then teamed up on Lex Luger. Luger eliminated Scott Hall and Syxx, then put Kevin Nash in the Torture Rack. The Giant dumped the two out (Nash still in the Rack) to win the match. The Giant will recieve a future World Title shot against "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. HOUR ONE: Hosted by Tony Schiavone & Larry Zbyszko. - Show kicks off with still photos of Roddy Piper at World War 3. - ARN ANDERSON vs. LEX LUGER It seems WCW finally remembered some of the bogus logic involved with pro-wrestling and stripped Ric Flair of the U.S. Title due to his injury. This match is the first in a tournament to pick a new champ. There's little to tell about this one. I love Arn Anderson, and I don't think WCW gives him a 10th of the respect he deserves. Luger, on the other hand, is one of the few guys in the business that makes Sycho Sid look like a sparkling, dynamic motivated grappler. Luger wrestles the same match nearly every time out. He always fights the same guys too, so he doesn't have to worry about differing styles. For the second week in a row his sole wrestling move is a vertical suplex. The Giant appears in the crowd and states over a mic that regardless of what WCW does, he's the champion because he has the belt. Tony Schiavone says the belt is meaningless, and that WCW will make a new one if need be. Arn and Lex eventually brawl to the outside. Luger puts Arn in the Torture Rack in the aisleway, but both men are counted and out, and thus eliminated from the tournament. I guess what bothers me the most about this feud is the fact that Luger is so obviously the one getting the push, and this is all a time killer until such time as they can fit Luger into whatever larger plan it is that they have in store for him. Arn is little more than equipment at this point. That's so sad and disrespectful. What's more, as dominant as the NWO angle is right now, have you noticed how the only reason it's getting by is because there's really no opposition from WCW? The Horsemen are feuding with the Dungeon of Doom. Arn's tied up with Luger. Benoit is feuding with Kevin Sullivan. Steve McMichael's role seems to be to complain about Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett himself has been involved with Sting as much as he's been involved with the Giant. Nick Patrick vs. Chris Jericho. Harlem Heat are wrapped up in the Sherri/Parker feud. And so on. There is no unified WCW front. The truth is that there's no way the NWO could have physically taken over. In that light, the Bischoff turn becomes a necessity (and thus, begrudgingly, logical.) - Stills of the Ultimo Dragon win over Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho's win over Nick Patrick, and The Giant's win over Jeff Jarrett. I don't care what phony explaination WCW tries to give us, Sting is now a heel. He's not a "tweener" (God, I hate that term,) and he's not with the NWO, but he's a heel nonetheless. You'll se what I mean later on. - The NWO comes out, led by Eric Bischoff. Tony says that this week he's staying put, and Larry Zbyszko provides a human shield for Tony this time around. Bischoff explains that following his being powerbombed through a table by Kevin Nash, he was in the hospital, left tull mull over the decision of whether he would be "consumed by the fire, or be part of the power?" He chose the latter. Once he recovered, he had a summit meeting with the Outsiders and decided to join the bandwagon. This makes him the ranking executive officer in both the NWO and WCW. He tells everyone in the back to listen up, because all WCW wrestlers have 30 days to convert their WCW contracts into NWO contracts, or they're fired. (This is the same thing he told the crowd in Baltimore on Saturday.) Bischoff also warns Roddy Piper to look out, since Bischoff can fine him if he gets out of line. In addition, he offers the opinion that posession IS 9/10 of the law, and thus The Giant IS the U.S. Champion. Out come the American Males. Marcus Bagwell immediately gets a round of high fives and joins the NWO. Scotty Riggs looks on in disbelief. Bagwell then nails him with a reverse neckbreaker (kind of an initiation I suppose.) The irony of all this is what happens in 30 days if things go down as laid out? How can the NWO still be cool if they no longer have anyone to beat up on? How can they be the alternative when they are the status quo? Obviously this isn't going to happen (or not in the manner one would think.) Either someone will step in and pull rank on Bischoff (wouldn't it be cool if Ted Turner told him to knock it off?) or the staunch WCW supporters will sign, but only after they've made it clear that they are going to do all they can to bring the NWO down from within. Annoyingly enough, all the shock and disbelief over Bischoff's betrayal seems to have left Tony Schiavone. His big gripe is that Bichoff is biased towards the NWO, as if the turn had happened months ago and not just a week earlier. Actually, the worst part of all this is Bischoff's acting. - DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE vs. DISCO INFERNO You know, I was just thinking this past weekend "whatever happened to the Disco Inferno?" You know what they say about looking out for what you wish for... An amusing little match. Oh sure, the outcome was never in doubt, but the Inferno made it interesting, prolonging things with a pair of swinging neckbreakers until Page eventually nails the Diamond Cutter. Post match, Mean Gene Okerlund tries to get Page to admit he's with the NWO. Page admits that Hall is his friend, Nash was his first tag team partner, and that Eric Bischoff is his neighbor... but that's all. Page says, about Bischoff, "I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." - More talk about the WCW web site. Larry admits that he can't even turn on a computer. - LORD STEVEN REGAL vs. TONY PENA Pena (pronounced "payn-yah") is built a little like Danny DeVito. He wrestles better than half of WCW's current roster. Therefore, he loses. I liked this match... quite a bit actually. It's one of those surprising little three star matches that just sneak up on you. Lot's of decent grappling between the two, counters, etc. Regal wins with the Regal Stretch, which looks to be an STF variation (I think.) Okay, "Danny DeVito" is being a bit harsh. - Mean Gene interviews Rick Steiner. Steiner says he and Scott are "110% WCW!" Steiner questions Sting's motives. I like Rick, he's a goofball. HOUR TWO: Hosted by Tony Schiavone, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Mike Tenay. - KONAN vs. EDDIE GUERRERO No Bischoff, as Schiavone joins Heenan and Tenay. Konan is all power moves, using both a fishermanbuster and gutwrench suplexes. Eddie turns things around by hitting Konan with a dropkick as he came off the top rope. Konan tries a powerbomb, but Guerrero twist through it, dropping Konan to the mat for a quick pin. Eddie advances in the U.S. Title tournament. - More still photos from World War 3. This time clips of the Harlem Heat vs. Amazing French Canadians, Dean Malenko vs. Psychosis and the Triangle Match for the World Tag Team Titles. - BIG BUBBA (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. RICK STEINER Things barely get going, when Sting makes his way to the ring through the crowd, enters the ring, and gives Steiner a reverse DDT. Now... Rick Steiner is one of the biggest teddy bears in the sport. Sting, you are slime, buddy! *Sniff!* Bubba covers the helpless Steiner for the pin. - REY MYSTERIO JR. vs. PSYCHOSIS Ultimo Dragon and Sonny Onoo look on. This match was almost embarrasing, given what these two are capable of. Mysterio reverses a crucifix powerbomb attempt off the top into a huracarana. I'd accuse them of phoning this one in if I didn't have so much respect for both men. Match lasts maybe three minutes. - Mean Gene interviews Chris Benoit and Woman. Benoit points out that the entire Dungeon of Doom couldn't take him out. Woman tells Kevin Sullivan that it's over between them. This angle appeals to the few fans that "get it." Tony at some point in the show announces that edited footage of the Benoit/Sullivan match from Baltimore last Saturday night will be shown this weekend on WCW Saturday Night. - Footage from World War 3 of the Piper/Hogan contract signing. Good mic work by Piper, keeping Bischoff in his place and telling Vincent that "I taught you how to fight!" Piper says, in essence, that he wants a no DQ match. Bischoff tries to sign the contract for Hogan, but Piper refuses, calling Hogan out. Hogan arrives, and turns things a bit nasty by acknowledging that Piper had had hip surgery. Hogan yanks up Piper's kilt on his right side and shows the huge hideous scar on his flank. (Assuming it's a real scar - it's hard to tell on a 13" TV.) Hogan calls him a "cripple," signs the contract, then calls him a "gimp." Piper jumps him and fists begin to fly. The rest of the NWO pull Piper off and Hogan goes to work on him. They then lay Piper out, Hogan gets a chair and nails the bad hip. They finish up by spraying "NWO" on Piper's right leg. "Piper... I'm going to break you in half, you piece of crap! *Huawwk... ptooeee!!*" (That was a spit.) - JEFF JARRETT vs. ALEX WRIGHT Wright reels off several high flying, high impact moves... but I still hate him. Jarrett winds Wright's gangly, swizzle-stick, pipestem, Ichabod legs into the figure four for the win. - Stills of The Giant's win in the Three Ring Battle Royale. - FACES OF FEAR vs. HARLEM HEAT (w/ Sister Sherri) This actually had the makings of a decent match. Lots of high impact moves from both teams. The Faces of Fear seem to have the upper hand, when suddenly (but not unexpectedly, since there was only a few minutes of TV time left) the NWO (minus Hogan, but plus Bagwell in an NWO t-shirt) arrive. All four wrestlers get stomped. The Giant chokeslams one of the Heat, Stevie Ray I belive, and Meng. That's all. - Next week's main event: None announced. Comments: This show took care of a lot of the NWO angle plotwise. Other than that, it wasn't that great. The only thing they threw against RAW was the early NWO appearance. The second hour, as used to be the case with the first, was really weak. Bottom Line: The WWF has the potential of building up to a great Royal Rumble, which they seem to do every year. The scary thing is that the WWF seems resigned to the fact that much of it's future revolves around Sid. If Diesel couldn't carry the WWF, how can Sid? WCW has managed to keep the NWO storyline somewhat interesting. The problem is that it seems to be at the sake of good mat wrestling. Thank God for the Cruiserweight division, huh? The problem is that Nash and Hogan are miserable wrestlers. Hall can be carried by the right opponent. Syxx seems to have lost most any ability he used to have (as Tony Schiavone put it, "he can't win unless he has his gang of thugs backing him up!") The Giant used to show some potential, but it's gone (and he won't pick anything up from Hogan and Nash.) Do you realize the best worker in the NWO is now Bagwell? Scary. I neglected to comment on the NWO's appearance at the Cable Ace Awards last week. First off, the CAA are the dullest of all the award shows. They are also, arguably, the least prestigious. The awards are generally dominated by a few big name shows, and the rest go to obscure shows and performances. This year it was hosted by Drew Carrey, who is at best moderately funny. The opening was bizarrely annoying, and the bulk of the show was just plain boring. The NWO actually got mentioned in the opening credits. (Imagine a slightly nasal voice, singing the opening credits in sort of a flat monotone: "It's the 1996 Cable Ace Awards... starring... " then the credits rattled off in alphabetical order. When they reached "N," "TheNewWorldOrder: HollywoodHoganScottHallKevinNash... ." The NWO segments consisted of Hogan, Hall and Nash trying to get into the building. The find a copy of the program and make some bad jokes, Hogan expressing a desire to meet Walter Cronkite. They then run into the fat chick (yes, I'm a pig) from "The Drew Carrey Show." She claims to be a fan (obviously scripted.) They ask her how to get in. She says they need a pass. Nash grabs a passing page and holds him up against a door as Hall takes the guy's pass. She then tucks some tissue in the neck of Hogan's t-shirt (to keep makeup off,) then tells them to say, if asked, that they are with with "Cirque de Soleil." "Hey" says Hogan "that's my brand... 'Ban de Soleil!'" (However it's spelled.) "No, 'Mr. George Hamilton tan,' that's 'Cirque de Soleil!'" Sez Hall. "Oh... 'Cirque de Soleil?' Go right on in!" The accosted page tells them. It was pretty clear that maybe 99% of the audience had no clue as to who they were. They showed Roddy Piper in the audience. I don't know if they did anything else, until the very end, at which time they confronted Drew in a dressing room and demanded their Cable Ace Award. As far as I know, they never appeared live in front of the audience, and Carrey even made a joke during a presentation alluding to how bad they were. ("Here are some actors who can make me forget about those wrestlers.") The sad thing is that many in the audience were probably thinking "boy, these World Wrestling Federation guys really suck!" Not that WCW'd mind. This week's winner: Nitro. JRP