[RESULTS/OPINION] WWF Monday Night RAW/WCW Monday Nitro (1/20) - Quick Shotgun Saturday Night (1/18) Recap: * Rocky Maivia defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley via countout. Marlena distracted Helmsley, allowing Goldust to attack him outside the ring. * Hysteria & Mini Mankind defeated Viper & Mascarita Sagrada Jr. * Terry Funk provoked a brawl with Steve Austin. * Faarooq pinned "Double J" Jesse James. * Goldust and Stone Cold battled to no decision. Funk came out and attacked Austin, followed by Helmsley attacking Goldust. Ring filled with wrestlers as show ended. This was by many accounts the best Shotgun yet. - Quick Royal Rumble 1997 (1/19) Recap: * Mascarita Sagrada Jr.& La Parkita defeated Mini Vader & Mini Mankind during the Free For All. * Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Goldust following the Pedigree. Mr. Hughs returned to the WWF as Helmsley's bodyguard. Helmsley retained the Intercontinental Title. * Ahmed Johnson defeated Faarooq by disqualification when the Nation of Domination interfered. Ahmed powerbombed an NOD member through the French commentary crew's table. * Vader pinned Undertaker. Vader in now aligned with Paul Bearer. Undertaker, after the match, attacked the referee, then verbally assaulted Vince McMahon. * Perro Aguayo, El Canek & Hector Garza defeated Jerry Estrada, Fuerza Guerrera & Heavy Metal. Perro Aguayo pinned Heavy Metal. * Order of entry and elimination in the Royal Rumble: 1. Crush. 2. Ahmed Johnson. 3. Razor Ramon. - Razor is eliminated by Ahmed in less than 30 seconds. - Ahmed eliminated himself by leaving to chase after Faarooq. 4. Phineas I. Godwinn. 5. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. - Crush is eliminated by Phineas. - Phineas is eliminated by Austin. 6. Bart Gunn. - Bart is eliminated by Austin in under a minute. 7. Jake "The Snake" Roberts. - Roberts is eliminated by Austin. 8. The British Bulldog. 9. Pierroth. 10. The Sultan. 11. Mil Mascaras. 12. Hunter Hearst Helmsley. - The Sultan is eliminated by the Bulldog. 13. Owen Hart. - Bulldog is eliminated by Owen. 14. Goldust. 15. Cibernetico. - Cibernetico is eliminated by Mascaras. - Pierroth is eliminated by Mascaras. - Mascaras eliminated himself by going off the top ropes to the floor. 16. "Wildman" Marc Mero. 17. Latin Lover. - Goldust is eliminated by Owen. 18. Faarooq. - Latin Lover is eliminated by Faarooq. - Faarooq eliminated himself fleeing from Ahmed, who returned to the ring carrying a 2X4. - Owen & Mero are eliminated by Austin simultaneously. 19. Savio Vega. - Vega is eliminated by Austin. 20. "Double J" Jessee James. - James is eliminated by Austin in about one minute. 21. Bret "Hitman" Hart. 22. Jerry "The King" Lawler. Lawler was the "Wildcard" entry. - Lawler is eliminated by Bret four seconds after entering the ring. 23. Diesel. 24. Terry Funk. 25. Rocky Maivia. 26. Mankind. 27. Flash Funk. 28. Vader. 29. Henry O. Godwinn. 30. The Undertaker. - Flash Funk is eliminated by Vader. - Henry Godwinn is eliminated by the Undertaker. - Maivia is eliminated by the Undertaker. - Terry Funk is eliminated by Mankind. - Mankind is eliminated by the Undertaker. - Austin is eliminated by Bret Hart. The referees, who are busy breaking up a fight on the floor between Terry Funk and Mankind, missed Austin's elimination. Austin reenters the ring. - The Undertaker & Diesel are eliminated by Austin simultaneously. - Diesel is eliminated by Bret Hart. - Bret Hart is eliminated by Austin. Austin is declared the winner. Bret, after the match, manhandled two officials in the ring, then verbally and physically accosted Vince McMahon. * Shawn Michaels pinned Sycho Sid to regain the World Heavyweight Title. Shawn hit Sid with a TV camera following the referee being knocked out. Shawn covered for the pin, but Sid kicked out. Shawn then knocked Sid out with the Superkick and got the pin.

I watched the Rumble live on PPV: my first since last year's WrestleMania. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I do have a few complaints, but they are very minor and have more to do with what they didn't do, and not what they did do. I was disappointed that they didn't do the match on the Free For All where the loser is the last one into the Rumble. I thought that was pretty cool last year. I've no problems with the midget match though. Mascarita Sagrada Jr. is the most impressive midget I've ever seen, and I've quickly become a big fan of his. Mini Vader and Mini Mankind were great as well. The Goldust/Helmsley match was pretty good, as well as the Undertaker/Vader match (seeing the Undertaker tower over McMahon may have been worth the price of admission alone). The Ahmed/Faarooq match didn't really live up to the buildup. The Pearl River Plunge through the table was a mite gratuitous. The Mexican six-man match was nearly a dud. There were a few good moves, but the utter lack of crowd response made it hard to watch. The Rumble itself was very good. They compromised this year by making the duration 90 seconds between wrestlers. I'd have preferred the usual two minutes, but it was better than only a minute like they did that one year. Howard Finkel announced the attendance as 60,477. (Jim Ross mentioned it as being 60,525 on RAW). I have no idea if either is correct, but the place damn well looked packed, even up in the cheap seats. Bret Hart manhandling McMahon was even sweeter than seeing the Undertaker threaten to do it. My only complaint about the Rumble match was Lawler being the "Wildcard" secret 30th entrant. Didn't they announce him as being in it several weeks ago on Live Wire? I spent nearly the whole Rumble waiting for a washed up legend from the past; instead I got a washed up legend from the present. Jim Ross called Lawler's performance "Bushwhacker-like," which almost made up for it. The Shawn/Sid match was about what I expected. As soon as the Undertaker didn't win the Rumble, I knew Shawn was a lock to beat Sid. This left me very hyped to watch RAW. Speaking of which... WWF Monday Night RAW: Live. Hosted by Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - They start off with still shots from the Rumble, finishing up by saying President Gorilla Monsoon will appear tonight with an announcement regarding the main event at WrestleMania XIII. - Before the first match can start Bret Hart comes out. Bret gets in the ring and on a mic. "I've got something to say to you!" directed towards Vince McMahon. Bret says his chance at a comeback vs. Steve Austin was ruined by Shawn Michaels. He says that Vince told him he'd get another shot by winning the Rumble, then had that taken away too when the refs blew the call. "I've been screwed by Shawn Michaels-the "Boy Toy"... I've been screwed by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin... I've been screwed by the World Wrestling Federation... and I've been screwed by YOU!" Bret says he's not one to make idle threats, and since it's clear to him that he's never going to get a fair chance... "I QUIT!" Bret throws down the mic, exits the ring and the ringside area through the crowd (which breaks into a "we want Bret!" chant). McMahon tries to talk to Hart, but gets the cold shoulder. Who should then arrive but Steve Austin. Austin takes up the mic and has a few things of his own to say. It takes a moment for him to start, as there are problems with the microphone. "You gonna give me a piece of equipment that works, Son, or am I gonna have to whip your ass! Bret Hart you can sit there and bellyache and complain with the best of them. Ever since you came back you ain't done nothing but cry! You sit there and talk about how Vince screwed you-how everybody screwed you, how I screwed you... Son, when the going gets tough, the Harts gets going... back home. Knock it off!" He says to the crowd. "Go back to Canada Son, because the only person you can possibly beat is your wrinkled old man in his little old basement." "You talk about being jerked around, I've been jerked around for seven years, and then I get here and I'm supposed to face Sycho Sid tonight and some guy-a 350 pound buffoon that calls himself Gorilla Monsoon-'the Commissioner'-says 'no, no, Sycho Sid is at home with a concussion.' Sycho Sid may be at home with a concussion and an icepack on his head, but he's also got a yellow stripe running right down the middle of his back. Far as Gorilla Monsoon goes, I've got a big bunch of bananas, and I can tell you where to stick each and every one of them! You want me to face the Undertaker, you can bring his dead ass out here, because I threw it over the top rope last night, and I'll do the exact same thing right now, so bring him on out, I got something for him!" McMahon is shown during the above listening, stonefaced. Stone Cold throws down the mic and waves the Undertaker out. McMahon leaves for the back. Jim Ross says it's "a Hell of a night to be with us." - THE BRITISH BULLDOG/OWEN HART (w/ Clarence Mason) vs. DOUG FURNAS/PHILIP LAFON Non-title match. Owen and the Bulldog have apparently settled their differences (they show a clip of Owen tossing the Bulldog out at the Rumble). This was an okay match. Things were going real well, both teams very even going into a commercial break. After that, Owen and the Bulldog looked to be mostly in command and the match looked more like the standard tag team fare. Furnas is kept in for some time until he can roll out of the way of Owen coming off the top and make the hot tag. LaFon comes in and cleans house, and looks to be on the verge of getting the win. Owen grabs LaFon's foot as he's coming off the ropes, then hits him with his Slammy award trophy. The Bulldog scoops LaFon up and powerslams him for the pin. During the match they hype "La Femme Nikita" following RAW. Jim Ross says they should put Nikita and "that wimpy Robin Hood" together in the ring. - They show clips of Shawn's flashy entrance to the ring at the Rumble. - FAAROOQ (w/ The Nation of Domination) vs. BART GUNN They show Faarooq's minion being Pearl River Plunged through the table. Wasn't that the same guy that got Pearl River plunged on the top of a car at Shotgun Saturday Night? A quick commercial is taken. We then see Faarooq handily defeat Bart, getting the pin following a gutwrench suplex. - Vince McMahon and Gorilla Monsoon come to the ring as the NOD depart. They show shots of the Alamo Dome crowd. Back from another break and Monsoon makes his big announcement. Monsoon says he hopes Bret Hart is still in the arena, because he has a proposition. He says that there's no way Steve Austin is getting the WrestleMania title shot due to his tainted Rumble win. He says he's come up with a four way elimination match scheduled for the next In Your House on February 16th from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Monsoon says the participants will be the Undewrtaker, whom Austin illegally eliminated; Vader, whom Austin illegally eliminated as well; Bret Hart, if he accepts the offer; and Steve Austin, the official Rumble winner. Whoever gets the win in this match will undisputedly get the shot at WrestleMania. Out comes Steve Austin, and he wonders when the WWF got the instant replay? He says make the match, becuse he can handle anyone the WWF throws at him. He then approaches Monsoon and McMahon at ringside and threatens to rough up McMahon. A roar goes up as Bret Hart makes his way back to the ring through the crowd. He enters the ring and Austin turns his attention toward him. "I accept!" Austin slips away from ringside. Hart chases him down and the two brawl as officials try to separate them. Hart slams Austin into the ring steps. - "STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN vs. THE UNDERTAKER Hart still hasn't left ringside. The Undertaker comes up on Hart and nails him, and they go at it. Then Austin comes out and attacks the Undertaker. Both men enter the ring and the match starts. Austin takes control, punishing the Undertaker with punches and kicks, chops and slams to the turnbuckle. McMahon mentions that the Undertaker injured his ribs in his loss to Vader at the Rumble. Lawler tries to get Austin's attention to let him know he should focus on the ribs. "Steve, the ribs... the ribs!" Austin drives Undertaker into the corner, but the 'Taker mules kicks Austin in the gennies. Austin staggers back from the corner. The Undertaker moves in from behind to apply a hold, but Austin surprises him, catching him in the Stunner. Both men are down on the ropes. The scene cuts to the back where Vader and Bret Hart have tangled. Both are being held back by an assortment of officials and unidentifiable jobbers. Back to the action in the ring and Austin is climbing the ropes. He's perched on top, ready to deliver, but the Undertaker kicks the ropes, upsetting Austin's balance and he drops astraddle the top ropes. The 'Taker tries to suplex Austin off the top, but Stone Cold blocks that and delivers an elbow shot from the second turnbuckle. Undertaker does his situp. They start to bounce off the ropes and Undertaker lands his patented high clothesline. Before anything else can happen vader comes out. The ref calls for the bell, either disqualifying Austin or throwing out the match. Bret Hart comes out as well and all four men brawl away. Austin tries to escape but Hart chases him all the way towards to the RAW entranceway and starts to drag him back to the ring. Austin lands a low blow. They make their way back to ringside and the melee continues as the show ends. - Next week's main event: Shawn Michaels will do an interview. I didn't catch any matches mentioned. Comments: An excellent RAW. Bret Hart's quitting was as dramatic as Jim Ross' turn on McMahon. The crowd was pumped. We saw some good wrestling and even better brawling. Austin's turn on the mic was a classic. Bret's decision not to quit was credible given the actions of Austin, and the crowd went seriously nuts everytime Bret appeared. The only slow spot of the whole show was the Faarooq match, and they kept that short. This was a great way to follow the Rumble. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live. HOUR ONE: Hosted by Tony Schiavone & Larry Zbyszko. - As the show commences Randy "Macho Man" Savage appears from out of the crowd. He circles the ring, tosses in a chair and confiscates a house mic. "Here's the deal. I've been blackballed... and I'm not leaving here tonight until I talk to somebody that's got some major stroke! Nitro is a two hour show. I've got no plans. I'm planning to stay here all night. And one other thing. I've got a message for my ex-WCW boss Eric Bischoff. Kiss my ass!" Savage takes a seat in the center of the ring and refuses to leave. Chavo Guerrero Jr. comes out as he's scheduled for the first match. He tries to convince Savage to leave. Unfortunately he makes the mistake of putting his hand on Savage's shoulder and Randy clocks him. Next out is Maxx, Chavo's scheduled opponent. Savage sends Maxx out as well. Randy then tosses the referee out of the ring. Security Chief Doug Dellinger tries his hand at removing Savage and gets dropped to the mat. Alex Wright is the next sacrificial lamb. He's knocked through the ropes. The Amazing French Canadians and the Steiner Brothers come down the aisle and implore Savage to leave (they are held back by officials trying to avoid any more beatings). The camera cuts to another part of the arena and we see Sting in rope climbing gear rappelling from the rafters. Hanging from his belt is the black baseball bat. Sting lands and unhooks himself, then heads off towards the ring. The referees and wrestlers in the entryway part for him. Sting enters the ring and circles Savage, who is still seated. Sting bangs the bat against the legs of the steel chair. Sting comes face-to- face with him and levels the bat against Savage's chest as Savage rises. Sting then goes through the familiar routine of jabbing Savage a few times, then handing him the bat and turning his back toward him. Savage just looks on. Sting looks back and Savage tosses him the bat. The two then leave, Sting in the lead, and they head out through the crowd. Savage has apparently found his "somebody that's got some major stroke." This whole thing was as exciting as Bret Hart's quitting over on RAW, and choosing which to watch between the two was very difficult. - They show clips of Masahiro Chono joining the NWO. - ALEX WRIGHT vs. CHRIS JERICHO A loud "boring!" chant breaks out. Jericho wins quickly with a forward roll into a pin. - NWO STING vs. SCOTTY RIGGS Marcus Bagwell, from hence forth o be referred to as "Buff," comes out to taunt Riggs. Riggs has this quick match well in hand when the NWO invade. Bagwell, Scott Norton, M. Wallstreet, Big Bubba, Vincent, and Nick Patrick flood the ring. The announcer starts to declare Riggs as the winner, but they browbeat him into declaring the fake Sting the winner by countout. - Comments from Ric Flair along with Chicago Blackhawk player Bob Probert are aired. A cheap ploy to get a rise from the Chicago crowd. Speaking of the crowd, the New World Order was way over. NWO t-shirts, official and homemade, were more abundant than most any other crowd seen yet. Large numbers of people booed Savage and Sting early in the show. There were also several chants throughout the show, including at least one "ECW" chant. Several guys at ringside wore shirts that spelled out "whoo!" Good, rowdy crowd. - ARN ANDERSON/STEVE MCMICHAEL (w/ Debra) vs. EDDIE GUERRERO/JEFF JARRETT This had the makings of a decent match. (It needed to be, because the momentum of the show was starting to wane). Jarrett and Arn start off and Jarrett is able to take everything Anderson can dish out. Eddie is tagged in and he wrestles Mongo, who still can't string more than two moves in a row effectively. Mongo tosses Guerrero outside the ring, then slams him hard into the ring rail. Back in the ring and Jarrett is tagged in. Jarrett slams both Arn, and then Mongo (which is quite a sight, let me tell you). Next thing you know Guerrero is shown running towards the back, apparently having spotted Syxx wearing his U.S. Title belt. Jarrett now abandoned is easy prey for the two Horsemen. Arn applies a Boston Crab while Mongo stomps on Jarrett's head. Debra McMichael meanwhile has cornered the ref and tosses him her "Mrs. Illinois" sash. The ref accepts that as the towel being thrown in and stops the match. Huh? "Mean" Gene then snares Ric Flair, Chris benoit and Woman, and the gang departing the ring. Flair, in a roundabout way, admits that there are problems with this roster of Hosemen. He tells Benoit and Mongo to be "HorseMEN first," then knock down the ladies. Benoit says they are all winners. Mongo mentions the fact that he and Arn were handling Jarrett, something Benoit hasn't been able to do. Debra says what they were doing to Jarrett wasn't what winners do, then adds after Woman and the others have left, that Woman has a big heart, "and hips to match!" - They play the Eric Bischoff interview from WCW Saturday Night. In brief, Bischoff takes the opportunity to run down Ric Flair, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper and the Giant. Bischoff says to Elizabeth "you know what Randy really wants, don't you? You... and my hair!" - DEAN MALENKO vs. ULTIMATE DRAGON (w/ Sonny Onoo) Short match between the two. Dragon gets the pin after blocking a suplex, then rolling Malenko up for the pin with tht weird crucifix move that Bret Hart sometimes uses. My guess is that they were saving it up for the Clash. HOUR TWO: Hosted by Tony Schiavone, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Mike Tenay. - They replay some of the events from the top of the show. - JACQUES ROUGEAU (w/ Col. Parker) vs. "LORD" STEVEN REGAL Another quick match. The Colonel keeps interfering and eventually accidentally knocks out Rougeau, causing Regal to win by DQ. Comedy. - KEVIN SULIVAN (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. CHRIS BENOIT (w/ Woman) Three quarters of this is a replay of their Great American Bash match. Sullivan jumps Benoit and drags him into the crowd, up the steps, and into the bathroom. Total chaos ensues as not one fan is willing to get out of their way. The camera is knocked around. Woman is most likely groped repeatedly as she tries to follow the action into the men's room. Once there it's pretty much what we've seen before, with Benoit this time ripping a frame and sheet of plexiglass of the wall to use on Sullivan. Doug Dellinger tries to break it up and is shoved down. They then head back and the crowd is even thicker. The wrestlers, security, Woman, Jimmy Hart and the referee have to slide along the wall just to get back to the tunnel which leads into the arena. They start down the steps and Sullivan is attacked by a fan, who is immediately drowned in a wave of security. Benoit tumbles down the steps... again. Down to the aisle and Sullivan steals a cup of beer from someone and dumps it on Benoit. They head towards the ring and a fan throws a drink, drenching Benoit. Benoit then grabs someone's drink and douses Sullivan. As they approach the ring the bell rings, signalling the START of the match! Once in the ring things don't go on for long. Sullivan mule kicks Benoit in the groin like the Undertaker did to Steve Austin. Match finishes with Sullivan down on the mat. Benoit goes up top to deliver his flying headbutt. Jimmy Hart slides Sullivan the ring bell. Benoit comes off and smacks into the bell, (clipping it with his hand and making it sound like his head rang the bell). Sullivan covers for the pin. Sullivan can be seen sporting a small cut on his forehead as he leaves. Tony Schiavone promises even wilder things between these two the next night on the Clash. - The New World Order comes out and takes over the announcer's booth. Nash, Bischoff and Ted DiBiase do the lion's share of announcing for the rest of the show. - CARL OUELLET (w/ Col. Parker & Jacques Rougeau) vs. "HACKSAW" JIM DUGGAN Match is underway for only a short time when the Steiner Brothers come to ringside and attack Rougeau. Scott Steiner nails Carl. Duggan meanwhile has taped up his fist and knocks out Ouellet. Duggan gets the pin. - They show clips of Diamond Dallas Page spurning the NWO. - MASAHIRO CHONO vs. "SQUIRE" DAVID TAYLOR Nick Patrick is sent in by Bischoff to officiate. Chono wins quickly and cleanly, using an STF, which Kevin Nash amazingly recognizes. - OUTSIDER SCOTT HALL vs. BOOKER T. (w/ Sister Sherri) Booker T. is really an underrated wrestler. He gets in some good moves against Hall. When he does get him down for a cover though, Patrick makes a slow count. Buff Bagwell comes out to distract Sherri, while Hall hoists Booker up into the Outsider's Edge (AKA Razor's Edge AKA crucifix powerbomb). Hall gets the pin. Nash mentions that he wrestled against Hall in this building when it first opened. (I assume he meant SummerSlam 1994). Bischoff says that he and Nash were watching the previous night's PPV (the Rumble, which he calls a mess), and would like to ask the fans not to wear NWO stuff to the competition: it's too embarrasing. - They run a promo for the new NWO telephone hotline. The number is 1-900- 454-4004, and costs $1.59 per minute. Enjoy! - LEX LUGER vs. STEVIE RAY (w/ Sister Sherri) Stevie is the relatively unskilled member of the Harlem Heat. Kevin Nash says he wishes WCW would stop giving away that free Horsemen merchandise to the front row because no one is buying the stuff. Luger's biggest competition here was from a choke he recieved from Sherri while down on the floor. Luger wins with the Torture Rack, although Stevie never gave up and Luger seemed surprised at the decision. Nick Patrick made the call. - "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan comes to the ring. Nash calls him the "World's Richest Beach Bum." Hogan tries to play the crowd, but does poorly. As soon as he mentions the Giant, out he comes. Numerous officials and NWO members hold the Giant back while Hogan calls him a "coward!" The Giant breaks free and starts to enter the ring as the show ends. - Next week's main event: None announced. Comments: The opening sequence with Savage was great, but most of the show went downhill from there. I assume the point is that Sting is forming his own resistance group of like minded individuals. I wonder if Diamond Dallas Page might be next? This show, while in it's entirety wasn't all that great, really got me looking forward to the Clash. Speaking of the Clash... - Quick Clash of the Champions XXXIV (1/21) Recap: * Dean Malenko defeated Ultimate (Ultimo) Dragon to regain the Cruiserweight title. Match was interrupted just a few minutes in by a commercial break. Good match. * Scotty Riggs defeated "Mean" Mike Enos. Short, pointless match. * "Mean" Gene Okerlund interviewed the Four Horsemen. Ric Flair was absent. * Chris Jericho, Chavo Guerrero & Super Calo. defeated Konan, J.L. & La Parka. J.L. replaced Juventud Guerrera, while La Parka (who was scheduled to be on the other team) took the place of Psychosis. Jericho replaced La Parka. Jericho pinned J.L. Unimpressive match, lasting only about five minutes. * Harlem Heat defeated Renegade & "Desperado" Joe Gomez. Another short, pointless match. Stevie Ray pinned Renegade following the Heatseeker. * Masahiro Chono defeated Alex Wright. Nick Patrick was the referee and made slow counts whenever Wright had Chono down. * Eddie Guerrero defeated Scott "Flash" Norton. Patrick was the referee again, and at one point is knocked out of the ring. Diamond Dallas Page came out and knocked out Norton with the Diamond Cutter while Patrick was down on the floor. Guerrero nailed the Frog Splash, then covered for the pin. Patrick was forced to make a very slow count, hoping for NWO help to come from the back. None did. * Pretaped comments from The Giant were played. * Chris Benoit defeated Kevin Sullivan in a "Falls Count Anywhere" match. They brawled into the bathroom yet again. Benoit was knocked down the steps again. Back in the ring Woman knocked out Sullivan with a wooden chair and Benoit covered for the pin. * The Steiner Brothers defeated the Amazing French Canadians. This was Scott Steiner's first match back following his injury and he looked rusty. Scott pinned Carl Oulette with a DDT off the top rope (Oulette perched on Rick Steiner's shoulders). * Lex Luger defeated Scott Hall by disqualification. A better match than I expected from these two. Kevin Nash tried to interfere, but Luger held him off. Syxx tried to interfere, but Luger threw him over the ropes into the arms of Nash. Nash came in again as Luger had Hall up in the Torture Rack. The referee finally called for the DQ when Syxx came off the top rope. All three members of the NWO beat on Luger until the Steiners came out. All six men fought as the show ended. Overall, a seriously disappointing show. Only the first match was "Clash of the Champions" material. It was also the only title match. (I'm not sure if Guerrero's match with Norton was for the U.S. Title or not. If they said so, I missed it. Guerrero doesn't have the belt anyway, so it's a moot point). The six-man match was clearly meant to outdo the WWF's six-man match at the Rumble and failed. Amazing considering how lackluster the WWF's match was. The WCW guys weren't even trying. Why do a "Falls Count Anywhere" match, then have the pinfall take place in the ring? They might just as well have billed it as a "No Countout/No Disqualification" match. Worse even, Sullivan and Benoit did the exact same thing they did last year at the Great American Bash, as well as the previous night on Nitro. Only the finishes varied. This one wasn't even as good as the Nitro match. No Flair, Hogan, Giant, Savage, or Sting. No surprises or new arrivals. This may be the first Clash ever that Sting wasn't a part of. Had there not been a title change in the first match, there would have been nothing on the card that would have been memorable. As it is, it was only slightly better than last fall's all time worst Clash. It was less exciting than the previous night's Nitro. In fact, it would have made a poor very Nitro. Again it only ran two hours, giving them too little time to do the matches they scheduled. My guess (hope?) is that they are waiting for "Souled Out" to drop any big bombshells. Otherwise, if we're just supposed to look at this week's Nitro and Clash as incentive to buy the PPV, then WCW failed miserably. I think WCW has just about killed the Clash as a spectacular event. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: I think the WWF scored big with this week's Rumble and RAW. Anyone who wasn't at least slightly entertained is a sap. I thought this was a slightly above average Nitro, with the Savage. Sting scenario being the standout. The Clash bombed, IMO. I have a feeling people are going to tune in hoping to find out more about Sting and Savage, and will be disappointed when the two don't even appear (my prediction right now). I'm betting the NWO goes about 50/50. Eddie Guerrero will probably get his belt back. Hogan and the Outsiders will almost certainly hold on to their titles. Matches involving the lesser NWO members (like Chono or Bagwell) will go in the WCW's favor. With all that's already going on, don't expect any real big surprises or new arrivals. Piper could show up, but I wouldn't expect too much from that. I like what WCW is doing with Sting and the Horsemen, but I see no sign of them resolving the angles any time soon: certainly not at Souled Out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Week's Winner: RAW. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- JRP