WWF Monday Night RAW: Live. HOUR ONE: Hosted by Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - THE ROAD WARRIORS vs. SAVIO VEGA/CRUSH Both Ahmed Johnson and Faarooq (along with his Nation of Domination) have been barred from ringside. We get some brief split-screen comments from Ahmed, then an incredibly racist rant from Faarooq. (He tells Ahmed to bring all the help he can, then repeats it using "Ebonics" so that Ahmed will "understand it"). They also show footage of Faarooq getting attacked by the NOD at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. There wasn't too much of a match here-pretty much all brawling. A few minutes in we learn that Faarooq has left the lockerroom. They cut to Ahmed and ask if he's concerned. Before he can say to much he's attacked from behind by Faarooq. Faarooq beats him to the ground with a nightstick before he's chased away by WWF officials. Back in the ring, just as the Road Warriors are getting the upper hand Faarooq runs in, causing the DQ. The entire Nation stomps on the LOD until Faarooq runs in for the save. Faarooq Pearl River Plunges one of PG-13, then the Warriors do their clothesline off the top rope to D-Lo Brown. The crowd was really into this one. - They run a Slammy Awards promo, with this award being the "Larry Flynt Freedom of Speech" award. Paul E. Dangerously is one of the nominees. This constituted the sole mention of ECW on the show. Also nominated were Lawler, Steve Austin and Howard Stern. The Slammys will be on the USA Network Friday night at 11:00 PM Eastern time. - McMahon, Lawler and Ross speak about tonight's main event. Supposedly there is some kind of a complication, and it may or may not be a World Title match. The match will take place though. President Gorilla Monsoon will appear later to explain things. (If you ask me, this all was just a bit of "mystery" thrown in to keep viewers tuned in). It's also rumored that Shawn Michaels is on his way to the arena. - HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY (w/ Chyna) vs. FLASH FUNK (w/ The Funkettes) The two start of ... oh, I'd say at about half speed. Funk takes the early advantage, but Helmsley reverses a leapfrog into a backdrop to take command. Vince gives away the ending of the entire show (sort of) by mentioning that "La Femme Nikita" will be seen in it's entirety following RAW (inferring that RAW will again run long). Helmsley drops a knee, then moves Funk into the corner. Funk comes back with a few blows of his own. He then reels off a series of offensive maneuvers, ending with a legdrop off the top. He only gets a two count. Funk then gets into an argument with Chyna at ringside. Helmsley moves in and applies a belly-to-back suplex, but Funk kicks out of the pin. Helmsley comes off the top rope, but Funk meets him with a kick to the jaw. Funk hits a side suplex, then heads over to the corner to deliver an aerial move. Chyna jumps up on the apron to argue with him again. This again allows Helmsley to move in and deliver the Pedigree for the win. The crowd was pretty much behind Flash, but Helmsley had his fans too (ugh). Post-match he and Chyna stomp on Funk. She's called Chyna because she's delicate. - Shawn Michaels arrives in the arena. - MINI MANKIND/MINI VADER vs. MINI GOLDUST/MASCARITA SAGRADA JR. They first show footage of a press conference in which it's announced that the state of New Jersey has struck down a law on their books that imposed an extra stiff tax on pro-wrestling events in that state. Governor Christine Todd Whitman appeared, alongside the Undertaker. This means that a future taping of RAW (which from now on will apparently be called the "War Zone"), as well as SummerSlam 1997, will be held there. These minis are dead-on replicas of the originals-especially Mini Goldust. Sagrada Jr. is a real blast to watch. The match is fairly short and the highlights include a great offensive flurry by Sagrada Jr. and a senton from the apron to the floor by mini Goldust onto Mini Vader. Mascarita Sagrada Jr. wins the match by hitting Mini Mankind with a forward victory roll into a pin. After the match Sagrada Jr. chases Mini Vader up the ramp to the stage beneath the jumbo screen. He pushes Vader off the stage, several feet to the floor, then follows with a suicide crossbody (which got a real pop from the crowd). Short, but fun to watch. - Gorilla Monsoon says that although there have been a lot of rumors flying about, tonight's Sid/Bret Hart steel cage match will indeed be for the title. McMahon states the viewpoint of the Undertaker's fans, who think the 'Taker is getting a raw deal. Monsoon tries to defend Hart, but McMahon seems to be siding with the Undertaker (and his fans) in this one. Hmmmm ... - Bret Hart comes out for an interview. He says the WWF's new motto is "You scratch my back, I'll stab yours!" He talks about the Undertaker, Steve Austin and Ken Shamrock. He guarantees a title victory tonight. McMahon makes a point of mentioning the "checkered response" of the fans. - Rocky Maivia comes up for color commentary. - THE SULTAN (w/ Mr. Bob Backlund & Iron Sheik) vs. MIKE BELL(?) The Sultan puts him away quickly with the Camel Clutch. They then come over and taunt Maivia. Rocky stands to accept their challenge, but is held back by Tony Atlas who slips in from out of nowhere. HOUR TWO: Hosted by Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - Shawn Michaels comes out and in a lengthy, upbeat interview states that he will probably be returning in a few months, then goes on to invite himself to WrestleMania and the Slammy Awards. That ought to quiet the "Shawn's going to WCW" rumors. - VADER (w/ Paul Bearer & Mankind) vs. THE BRITISH BULLDOG (w/ Owen Hart) Owen shows an undue amount of interest in the Bulldog's European Title belt, helping him hold it aloft. The Bulldog actually has to pull it away from him. Vader starts off tossing the Bulldog around fairly easily. The Bulldog comes back with a shoulderblock, clothesline, then a thoroughly impressive vertical suplex shortly thereafter. Vader is then clotheslined over the top rope and they go to a break. Vader is now in command. The Bulldog is down on the mat in the corner and Vader lands a splash off the second turnbuckle. Bulldog kicks out at two. The Bulldog hits Vader with a crossbody block. He then tries a crucifix rollup, but Vader drops down on the Bulldog, smashing him beneath his shoulders. Vader splashes for a cover, but only gets the two count. Vader drops the Bulldog with a short clothesline, then goes up for another corner splash. The Bulldog catches him mid-air and turns it into a powerslam. Two clotheslines follow. Vader reverses a whip and sends the Bulldog into the corner, charges, and is caught. The Bulldog carries Vader to the center of the ring and slams him. Davey Boy then lays in a few shots and scoops him up, hoisting Vader across one shoulder. Mankind jumps up on the apron to help Vader. This brings up Owen and he nails Mankind. The ref calls for the bell, disqualifying Vader. Mankind and Vader stomp on Owen until the Bulldog can recover enough to knock out Paul Bearer, recover Bearer's urn, and nails Vader and Mankind with it. The Bulldog gets the win, and this weekend's Tag Title match just got that much more interesting. - Ken Shamrock comes out for color commentary. - BILLY GUNN vs. ERIN FERGUSON(?) Gunn puts the jobber away with a terrible armbar submission hold. Gunn then taunts Shamrock into getting in the ring. Shamrock, refusing to turn down a challenge, goes into a UFC style stance (which draws a chuckle from Gunn). Gunn closes in and Ken takes him down with an armbar. Billy screams to be released, then says he wants another try. They again lock up and Shamrock drops him to the mat and ties up Billy's ankle. Gunn taps out, then backs away from the ring saying it's not over between the two. I think we've seen Shamrock's first opponent after WrestleMania. Shamrock metamorphoses from his usual laid back, smiling self to a fairly intense attitude towards Gunn. Gunn grabs a chair, but does nothing with it. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin comes on the jumbo screen and says he's not at all impressed with Shamrock, and again warns him to call the Submission Match at WrestleMania down the middle. He goes on to say he's in the arena tonight to make sure Hart wins the title. - Sycho Sid delivers comments from the back, warning Austin to keep his nose out of the match tonight. - BRET "HITMAN" HART vs. SYCHO SID Hart and Sid had fought this same match over the last week or so in house shows, and from what I hear they've been mediocre at best; just plain miserable at worst. This one fell somewhere in between. For the first few minutes they do nothing more than trade punches. Steve Austin is shown watching the match via monitor in the back. Hart is the first to try and escape, but is hauled back down by Sid. Sid scoops up Hart and slams him against the cage, then takes his time climbing up the cage wall. Hart eventually gets over to Sid and the two dispiritedly trade blows on the top rope. Hart is dropped, straddling the ropes. Sid moves over and kicks him in the head. Sid climbs down and Hart hits him with an elbow. Bret then tries to escape but is again caught by Sid. Sid bodyslams him off the top turnbuckle, in the first high impact move of the match. Sid heads to the door, but Hart takes him down below the knees. Before Sid can crawl over to the door, Steve Austin comes out and slams it shut. Back from a break and Hart briefly has control of things, but Sid maneuvers Hart into a powerbomb. (Austin is outside the cage cheering Hart on). Sid climbs to the top of the cage. Austin climbs up on the outside and the two sit upon the top, wailing on each other. (I should note that this really had the crowd going, but I'm not sure who they were more behind). Hart eventually makes his way up also and he and Austin pound on Sid from both sides. Suddenly the Undertaker runs out, which raises the decibel level even more. The Undertaker climbs the cage and goes after Hart. Sid after a while is able to knock Austin off the cage. Hart is waiting for Sid though, and suplexes him off the top turnbuckle. The Undertaker climbs down and is met by Steve Austin with a chair. Austin, sensing victory for Hart, raises his arms in triumph and leaves. Sid starts climbing the cage as Hart approaches the door. Hart reaches the doorway, leans through, pauses, and is nailed by the door as the Undertaker streaks over and slams it shut. On the opposite side of the ring, Sid drops to the floor and is declared the winner. The crowd seems generally okay with the decision. After another break we see Hart still in the ring-the cage walls having been partially dismantled. McMahon enters for an interview. He begins the usual "you must be frustrated" type of question, but Hart cuts him off by shoving him to the mat. "Frustrated isn't the goddamn word for it ... this is bulls#!t!" McMahon gets to his feet and exits the ring, not even attempting to speak to Hart. "You screwed me ... everybody screwed me ... and nobody does a goddamn thing about it!" Hart screams about injustice and how nobdy, Monsoon and McMahon included, does anything about it. McMahon has a look of utter disgust on his face. The crowd starts to go quiet, especially when Hart reels off the "Best there is, etc." line. Looking directly at the crowd, Hart says " ... and if you don't like it, tough s#!t!" By now the crowd, except for a few diehard fans, have stopped cheering for Hart (but no "boo's" as of yet). Austin then comes on the jumbo screen and chastises Hart for blowing the match. Jim Ross tries to make apologies to the viewing audience. Austin calls Hart a loser. Hart says Austin is called "Sone Cold" because "your stones are so cold that you're afraid to come out here and fight me." Sycho Sid then comes back out down the ramp. Hart yells how everyone knows he's the best man. "I don't know s#!t!" yells Sid. By this time we've run over the top of the hour and a scrawl runs across the bottom of the screen saying "La Femme Nikita" will follow in it's entirety. McMahon begins to make profuse apologies. Sid enters the ring and he and Hart circle each other. The Undertaker then comes back out and just as he reaches ringside Hart dives through the rope, crashing into him. They scuffle on the floor until Austin arrives, then he and Hart go at it. Meanwhile Sid and the Undertaker tangle as well. The ring fills with officials, but the Undertaker chases them off. Hart and Austin brawl up the ramp and Hart punches Pat Patterson. McMahon goes nuts, calling Hart a "no good dirty son-of-a ... " before he regains control of himself. Just when it looked like things couldn't get any wilder, Shawn Michaels comes to the top of the ramp to survey the chaos. He makes his way to the ring and grabs a section of pipe uses in holding the cage together, but Pat Patterson seems to talk him into dropping it. He then slides in the ring to watch all four men brawling up the ramp. He finally slides out and grabs a chair, but that's when the show ends. - Next week's main event: None mentioned. Comments: Definitely an energy packed show, but it fell far short of blowing me away (like last week). They did do an excellent job of promoting WrestleMania though (at last). Every second of this show got you looking towards the PPV (with the possible exception of the whole Rocky Maivia/ Sultan angle). The Mexican minis match was good, but far too brief. Vader/Bulldog was an okay match. Other than that, the card only served to hype WrestleMania. There's a lot of talk on the 'Net about Hart doing a shoot. I doubt it. Apparently the WWF is claiming it's a shoot, which is probably the best evidence against it being one. The WWF is also supposedly taking a lot of heat from the USA Network, as well as the FCC for the strong language used. I doubt this also. What Hart said isn't even close to being something the FFC concerns itself with. As for the USA Network, if they had a problem with the footage, why did they air it unedited three hours later on the tape delayed west coast feed? There was plenty of time to edit it, as Nitro routinely does in cases like this on their replays. My opinion is that this whole thing was cleared beforehand by not only McMahon and the WWF, but the USA Network as well. I can only see one goal in all this: the indomitable task of turning Bret Hart heel. They took a major step in that direction tonight. The total lack of any ECW mention was noticable, but not a surprise on my part. The WWF needed to hype WrestleMania this week, not Barely Legal. With over three weeks to go until the ECW PPV, I'd expect them to return at least once more. As was signalled by last week's show, anything from this point on will not be an amiable cooperative effort. Herb Kunze had to have hated this week's main event. He's a great believer in the steel cage match being used to end feuds. Finishes like this one cheapen their value. I don't entirely disagree. In this case, I think the goofy finish and interference is the only thing that saved the match. This was an okay show, though not great. It was certainly memorable. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Quick WCW Uncensored 1997 Recap (3/16/97): * Dean Malenko defeated Eddie Guerrero in a No Disqualification Match for the United States Heavyweight Title. Syxx of the New World Order came to ringside to steal the championship belt. Malenko used a videocamera that Syxx carried to knock out Guerrero for the win. * Rick Steiner was attacked by the NWO and sent to the hospital. * Ultimo Dragon defeated Psychosis by pinfall following a Tiger Suplex. * Mean Gene Okerlund interviewed Diamond Dallas Page. Randy Savage brought out an issue of Playboy with a centerfold featuring Kimberly, the Diamond Doll. Kimberly came out, covered in spraypaint, presumably the work of the NWO. Savage attacked Page, then he and Miss Elizabeth spraypainted both Page and Kimberly. * Glacier defeated Mortis in a Martial Arts Match. Glacier was attacked after the match by Brian Clark, (formerly known as Adam Bomb in the WWF), who was brought out by James Vandenburgh, the manager of Mortis. * "Buff" Bagwell defeated Scotty Riggs in a Leather Strap Match. * The Harlem Heat defeated the Public Enemy in a Texas Tornado Match. Steve "Mongo" McMichael of the Four Horsemen interfered on the Heat's behalf, knocking out Rocco Rock with his briefcase. * Prince Iaukea defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. Match went to a fifteen minute time limit. Both men requested additional time and Iaukea reversed a huracanrana into a pin. * The New World Order defeated Team WCW and Team Piper in the main event elimination match. Wrestlers could be eliminated via pinfall, submission, disqualification, countout, or being thrown over the top rope. Most eliminations were of the "over the top rope" variety. Team WCW was one man short due to Rick Steiner's injury). Approximate order of elimination: - The Giant (Team WCW) eliminated himself by missing a clothesline and going over the top rope. - Jeff Jarrett (Team Piper) was eliminated. - Steve McMichael (Team Piper) was eliminated. - Scott Steiner (Team WCW) was eliminated. - "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (Team Piper) was eliminated when Dennis Rodman (at ringside) pulled down the top rope as Piper struck them. - Chris Benoit (Team Piper) was eliminated by the Outsiders, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. - Randy "Macho Man" Savage (Team NWO) was eliminated by Lex Luger. - Kevin Nash (Team NWO) was eliminated by Lex Luger. - Scott Hall (Team NWO) was eliminated by Lex Luger. - "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan won the match after Rodman and Savage interfered. Sting then descended from the ceiling and attacked the NWO with a baseball bat. He challenged Hogan to enter the ring and knocked him out cold. WCW Monday Nitro: Live. HOUR ONE: Hosted by Tony Schiavone & Larry Zbyszko. - The show kicks off with a brief clip from the end of Uncensored featuring Dennis Rodman spraypainting "NWO" on Lex Luger's back. - PSYCHOSIS vs. REY MYSTERIO JR. They spend the first minute or so down on the mat grappling, trying pinfall attempts on each other. They cut to a shot of Sonny Onoo and Ultimo Dragon doing the Japanese commentary for the WCW web site. Dragon, who isn't wearing his mask, has to cover his face with his hand so we can't see it. I'm not going to try a play-by-play here, but suffice it to say that even though they didn't do all that much that waws new, they did it better than they have in other recent matches. Rey uses the same old finisher again (which is ironic, because that's the move that he used on Iaukea at the PPV-Iaukea reversed it for the win). This was the best match of the night. The crowd was really into this one, which was nice to see. If WCW has done anything with the cruiserweight division, it was to make Mysterio a legitimate star in the eyes of the U.S. fans. I'll give them that. - Arn Anderson gives a tremendous, emotional interview. He speaks of family, of how the Horsemen have been rebuilt, and how he will soon be undergoing an operation that will lead to his eventual return. He talks about Kevin Sullivan and his problems, and asks that any hostilities between Sullivan and the Horsemen be ended. Powerful stuff. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Arn Anderson is the classiest thing WCW has going for them these days, and I know they aren't paying him enough. - Still photos of Kimberly's return and Randy Savage attacking Diamond Dallas Page. - DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE vs. MAXX Page routs Maxx, first hitting a splash off the corner, then turning a full nelson from Maxx into a Rude Awakening. He finishes him off with the Diamond Cutter. Mean Gene Okerlund comes in for an interview. Page admits publicly that Kimberly is his wife, and that Savage is a dead man. Savage and Elizabeth show up in the crowd to taunt Page. Savage call himself a "superstar" and an "icon." He refuses to call Page by name, referring to him as the "wrestler with no name." They tease a fight and Page takes off into the crowd after him. - KONAN/HUGH MORRUS (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. RENEGADE/"DESPERADO" JOE GOMEZ Eric Bischoff comes to the desk, interrupting the match. Hall and Nash are with him. Bischoff announces that the duo will defend the belts later tonight. The NWO winning the main event gives them the power to challenge WCW for any title, anytime, anywhere. They interpret this to include putting their own belts on the line any time they want. This gets around Bischoff's suspension. This was a dumb, and slightly disturbing match. Morrus and Konan easily dominate Gomez. Gomez eventually makes a hot tag and the Renegade cleans house. He then inexplicably goes over and tags Gomez back in. Gomez can barely stand, and is flattened by a moonsault from Morrus. After the match Renegade is shown asking Gomez what went wrong. I said this was disturbing, and it is if the intention is for these two to split up. Marcus Bagwell vs. Scotty Riggs is bad enough. Speaking of whom ... - SCOTTY RIGGS vs. DEAN MALENKO This one annoyed me as well, since Riggs was allowed to look fairly good at the expense of Malenko. Dean at times just stood around, or laid down so that Riggs could get in his handful of offense (it was that obvious). Malenko wins when Riggs dives at him and Dean ducks. Riggs drops throat-first across the ropes and Malenko gives him one of those spinning-ass-twirl victory rolls into a pinfall (ahh ... whatever they're called). They also showed a few still shots of Malenko's victory over Guerrero. After the match Dean tells the camera that he's still looking to get his Cruiserweight Title back from Syxx. - LEX LUGER/THE GIANT vs. T. RANTULA(?)/KNUCKLES NELSON Luger and the Giant are still billed as the World Tag Team Champions. The Giant wrestles virtually the entire match, tossing the two ham and eggers around. He chokeslams T. Rantual (or was it just "Tarantula") and covers for the pin. luger comes in as well to slap Knuckles Nelson into the Torture Rack. The crowd went absolutely nuts during this one- go figure. Mean Gene interviews Luger and the Giant regarding Sting's return to WCW. They show still photos of Sting attacking the NWO. - They show stills of Glacier beating Mortis. If you haven't seen him yet, Mortis looks like Skeletor from "Masters of the Universe." They also show a still of the latest action figure that came out and attacked Glacier. - ULTIMO DRAGON (w/ Sunny Onoo) vs. BOBBY EATON Dragon wins in about a minute. - "Hollywood" Hogan and most of the rest of the New World Order come out. Hogan babbles something about the NWO lasting for an eternity. Savage confirms that he'll fight "Kimberly's husband" at Spring Stampede. Hall and also announce that they'll put the belts up against the Steiner Brothers. Hall is then nailed in the head by a drink thrown by a fan. Hall takes it in stride and slicks his hair back. This was the best first hour for Nitro in a long time. HOUR TWO: Hosted by Tony Schiavone, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Mike Tenay. - They recap the Page/Savage encounter from earlier. - JEFF JARRETT/STEVE MCMICHAEL (w/ Debra) vs. ALEX WRIGHT/MARK STARR Good Gawd ... Mongo may be improving! He still can't string moves together, but he's starting to learn how to wrestle as part of a tag team. Mongo clips Starr's leg from behind, then knocks Wright from the ring apron as Jarrett applies the figure four for the win. Before Jarrett and Mongo can leave the ringside area, the Public Enemy come out (with a garbage can) and attack them. Debra hits Johnny Grunge with the briefcase. All four men brawl down the aisle until the P.E. are chased off. Mean Gene comes over and interviews the trio. During the match they showed some stills from the Public Enemy/Harlem Heat match, along with the Horsemen's interference, from Uncensored. - Lee Marshall phones in from Duluth, Minnesota. I'd go to this card, but there's no way I'll drive 150 miles to see WCW again. - SCOTT "FLASH" NORTON vs. CHAVO GUERRERO JR. Why do they save this crap for the second hour? Norton wins easily and fairly quickly with a powerbomb. - They show another pretaped clip of Hogan and Dennis Rodman. This one lasts fifty seconds. Rodman says Hogan is his friend, and that the NWO is for real. Hogan does all the rest of the talking. - THE OUTSIDERS (w/ Syxx) vs. "MEAN" MIKE ENOS/BUNKHOUSE BUCK Hall, Nash and Syxx make utter fools of themselves singing the "Bad Boys" theme song from "Cops." Buck gets creamed for awhile, then Nash throws him into the corner to tag in Enos. Hall comes back in and looks on the verge of putting Enos away, but Enos and Buck rally. An upset is teased. Nash finally comes back in stops the comeback. Buck gets dumped out of the ring and Hall Outsider Edges Enos for the win. I may have been seeing things, but Hall looked pissed that he had to stretch the match out, and he didn't seem to react well to some of Enos' offense. A few of "Mean" Mike's shots looked a little stiff, or off the mark enough to actually hurt. - They show a clip of an interview Piper did at Uncensored. Piper was upset because he was promised "Horsemen," but got "mares" instead (Jarrett, Mongo and Benoit). Piper apparently thought Flair and Anderson would be on his team. He also was upset that team WCW let him down by being one man short. - CHRIS BENOIT (w/ Woman) vs. BILLY KIDMAN Benoit puts the kid away in less than a minute with an STF type maneuver. Ric Flair comes out. Mean Gene asks Benoit about Anderson's comments from earlier. Benoit advises Kevin Sullivan to step back and assess his life and career. Woman says she has nothing to add. Flair then says that his Horsemen came through at Uncensored, and that it was Piper that dropped the ball. He puts forth the opinion that maybe Piper should go home to his family. It's either that, or be like the Horsemen and party all night. - THE STEINER BROTHERS vs. HARLEM HEAT (w/ Sister Sherri) Michael Buffer ("let's get ready to rumbleeeee!") introduces the two teams. This started out fairly well, actually. In fact, it had all the earmarks of being a very solid match. About three or four minutes in, though, the NWO invade the ring. Hogan and his gang stomp the Steiners and Heat, paying particular attention to Rick Steiner's damaged ear. They are saved by Luger and the Giant. As the two forces square off (WCW in the ring, NWO in the aisle) an explosion and flash of light appear in the rafters and Sting drops to the center of the ring on a cable. The crowd goes wild as Sting climbs the corner and points his baseball bat at Hogan. "He pointed at me! He pointed at me!" Hogan cries, huddling with "Buff" Bagwell for support. - Next week's main event: None announced. Comments: Not really a bad Nitro, but so much of it was squashes and one sided matches. The first hour was much better than the second. This week they only barely delivered their advertised main event. Even if I credit them with that, it's still something like only once in the last five or six weeks that they've shown their advertised main event. The Savage/Page feud could have some real heat to it. For it to happen would mean that Savage really isn't a spy for Sting like a lot of people think. The P.E./Horsemen feud seems to have been pulled out of thin air. I know, I've seen what's led up to it. What they haven't explained is why all this has happened. Could they be setting up a Piper/Flair feud? I haven't decided if this is a good thing or not. There's a lot of nostalgia value to it, but neither guy can perform up to past standards. I hate to see these two go at it just to hear Piper say "I scare Flair!" again. Is Benoit on his way out of the Horsemen? That's the vibe I'm getting. I hope none of you people are actually expecting Rodman to show up on Nitro? You know all we're gonna get is these short, pointless video snippets. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: The early ratings return for this week show that both drew about what they did last week. It's another win for Nitro, which was no real surprise, but they did draw somewhat below what they would normally for a post-PPV show (approximately a 3.5). They also failed to draw viewers away from RAW again. This is surprising since the ECW didn't show up this week, yet RAW scored just as well as last week (something around a 2.4 average). Obviously Shawn Michaels' return held some viewers, but it did so with no advance warning over the last week. The second hour was the strongest for both shows. Uncensored has gotten a lot of positive reviews, mostly because it wasn't as bad as everyone figured it would be. I listened to about 60% of it over the 'Net via Realaudio and my take is that it was probably a middle-of-the-road, solid, average card. The main event, though not as bad as the last two years, was still something of a mess. I told you that Hogan's involvement would change the rules, and it did. As far as I know, the "over-the-top- rope" method of elimination was never mentioned until the PPV itself. Why was WCW not allowed to choose a replacement? Sting coming down on that cable looks as goofy as when the Undertaker did it at Survivor Series. On Rodman's involvement at Uncensored: ESPN's Sportscenter ran a very brief mention of it at the very end of their show the next morning. The announcers had a hard time not laughing, and one of them called WCW "the rinkydink federation." I also caught "The Sportswriters" on the Midwest Sports Channel. It's a roundtable discussion show much like ESPN's "The Sports Reporters," and it features a group of grizzled old sports writers who spout of on the sports topics of the week. One of the younger ones, who writes for the Chicago Sun- Times, accompanied Rodman to the Uncensored PPV. He displayed a Rodman NWO t-shirt, and showed a collection of photos of the wrestlers he hung out with, including Flair, Nash, the Giant, and Eddie Guerrero. He said he saw the guys "working out their moves earlier in the day," and mentioned that Eddie Guerrero apparently tore either a bicep or pectoral muscle. He said all the guys went out together after the show. They showed some brief footage of Rodman choking Piper, and he had to explain to all the rest how Hogan was now a "bad guy." He said Kevin Nash told him how he regretted not being able to watch the NCAA basketball tournament games because of his schedule. Steve Austin appeared on "Newsportalk" with Chet Coppick. Austin pretty much stayed in character. He listed Harley Race, Dory Funk Jr., Bob Orton Jr., Ricky Steamboat and Jake Roberts (in his prime) as guys he admired. He also told a caller who asked about ECW that he didn't think it took all that much talent to work there. When asked what he thought about Paul Heyman, he more or less said that he'd worked with Paul before and that it was no big deal. Perhaps most surprising was his refusual to say anything bad about Hulk Hogan. It was Austin's opinion that Hogan was just "doing his thing," that he's meant a lot to wrestling, and that was okay with Austin. He talked about being fired from WCW over the phone, and how he thought the "Ringmaster" gimmick he first had in the WWF sucked. He said he would never go back to WCW, no matter how much money they offered him. He also talked about unnerving Bret Hart. They showed some footage of Austin in the Royal Rumble, and a clip from RAW which took place during the cage match. Austin also watched a snippet of Rodman at Uncensored and gave the opinion that Rodman's involvement in WCW would draw little overall interest. Austin felt the NWO angle was getting stale. From the rumor mill over the last week or so: - Disco Inferno was the one fired from WCW. - Brian Clark (Adam Bomb) is the newcomer to WCW. - Vader was the one strip searched at an airport. - Steve Williams was arrested for possession of a whole load of painkillers. - Jake Roberts was fired by the WWF. I only mention these because people have E-Mailed me about them. Finally, imagine my surprise Monday Night when while flipping channels I came across this week's episode of Extreme Championship Wrestling! The local cable company carries a station called KBSU, which is programmed by the local Bemidji State University. On occasion they run a feed from something called "N1" which stands for "Network One." It's a prepackaged schedule of "alternative" TV programming. They carry music videos, bikini contests late at night, old talk shows, vintage movies, Japanese Animation, and ECW. KBSU only carries the feed a few times a week for a few hours at a time. ECW airs on N1 Mondays at 7:00 PM Eastern, and Fridays at 11:00 PM Eastern. This week they just happened to be carrying the feed at the right time. N1 has a web site at "www.N1.com" and shows a list of stations across the country that carries their feed. Their web site hasn't been updated recently though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Week's Winner: RAW. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------