[RESULTS/OPINION] WCW Monday Nitro/WWF RAW is WAR (09/08/97) [Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #95] (09/08/97) WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Larry Zbyszko. - The Nitro Girls do a number in the ring. - The announcers set the mood of the show by discussing the turmoil WCW is currently in. Eric Bischoff quickly comes out and says that he still holds a lot of power in the company and orders that the NWO skit from last week be replayed. About a minute of it plays (the lead-in portion before it moves to the ring) when Ric Flair can be heard demanding to "Cut that crap off!" The Four Horsemen have come to the desk and throw out a challenge to the NWO. The Horsemen then camp out in the ring for a several minutes (including a commercial break) until security removes them. - EDDIE GUERRERO vs. REY MYSTERIO JR. Mysterio makes his return, but looked far from 100%. Rey blows a few moves. (Still, only half of Rey is better than most of WCW). He and Eddie put together a pretty good match, with Mysterio getting a surprising win with a flawless execution of his springboard huracanrana. - Nitro Girls. They end up in the crowd, which no doubt improved their appeal in the arena. - Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Diamond Dallas Page. Long story short: DDP challenges Lex Luger to come out and agree to settle their differences in the ring. Luger comes out and accepts the challenge, but only under the condition that they go all out. Instant main event. - DISCO INFERNO vs. HUGH MORRUS Disco has really lost a lot of weight. The match itself wasn't much to speak of, being fairly short. Alex Wright comes out, apparently to assist Disco in the match. Morrus pops him on the apron, then sets up Disco for a moonsault ("No Laughing Matter"). Wright tosses his Television Title belt into the ring on Disco's chest. Morrus lands the moonsault with the title belt sandwiched between them, which increases the punishment Disco takes. Morrus covers for the three count. Disco and Wright have a shouting and shoving match in the ring afterwards. You know, having the two team up is only slightly less terrible than having them feud (which is inevitably yet to come once they split up). - Kevin Nash, Syxx, Konan and Buff Bagwell come out to decline the Horsemen's challenge. Actually Nash says they're too busy, but Bagwell says he isn't. Bagwell and Konan agree to represent the NWO. - BRAD ARMSTRONG vs. CHRIS JERICHO Before the match can start Eddie Guerrero comes out and asks Brad to step aside so that Eddie can get a shot at the Cruiserweight Title. Armstrong tells him to "Take a hike!" Mike Tenay reminds us all of Brad's fine lightweight heritage, bring up the fact that he once held the old NWA Lightweight belt and beat Dean Malenko during the original Cruiserweight Title tournament. The match ends quickly as Guerrero runs in and attacks Jericho a minute or so in. Jericho fends for himself, slapping Eddie into the Boston Crab. Armstrong then clotheslines Jericho and assists Eddie in working him over. The highlight of the match was Jericho hitting Armstrong with a plancha shoulderblock from the second turnbuckle, over the top rope, to the floor-no doubt reminding many of the classic Brad Armstrong/Chris Benoit Clash of the Champions match from several years ago (Benoit doing a clothesline instead of a shoulderblock). Hour one comes and goes with little fanfare, but some pretty solid mat action. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Nitro Girls. - "Hollywood" Hogan and Eric Bischoff come to the ring. Hogan reminds Ric Flair (and all of us) that he's the one that made pro-wrestling what it is today. Hogan says that not only will his fellow NWO members take care of business tonight, but he himself will put up his belt against Sting, since Sting doesn't really deserve it. (Huh?) Sting starts to make his descent from the rafters when suddenly SOMETHING GOES HORRIBLY AWRY AND HE PLUMMETS FAR TOO FAST. OH MY GOD ... STING IS DEAD!!! OH THE HUMANITY!!! The camera cuts away before the body hits the ground. Bischoff and Hogan leap from the ring to tend to Sting's crumpled body, which lies twisted next to the security rail. Hogan calls for help, yelling that Sting isn't breathing. Unless you haven't guessed by now, it was a dummy. Hogan, Bagwell, Scott Norton and Bischoff drag it into the ring. Hogan yells at it to admit that he is the better man. They then lay it flat and Hogan drops a few legs on it. Bischoff, now wearing a referee's t-shirt, drops to make the three count. I haven't yet decided if I'm perverted enough to have actually enjoyed this. Except for realistically pretending a human being had just plummeted to his death, the bit with the mannequin has been done before. The announcers didn't do much of a job in trying to sell it (probably to their credit). Still, you could see many fans in the crowd were under the impression that they had just witnessed a tragedy. Once the illusion of disaster had been removed, it failed to draw much heat from the crowd. In that respect it failed it's intention-and was really unnecessary to begin with. - THE STEINER BROTHERS (w/ Ted DiBiase) vs. FACES OF FEAR This one was just lengthy and uninspired, with Rick Steiner seeming to be the only one trying. Match ends by double DQ when the Harlem Heat, as well as Mortis and Wrath all run in for a big brawl. It's not too hard to read between the lines here: with the Outsiders and their egos maintaining a stranglehold on the World Tag Team Titles, WCW has to do something to keep the few other tag teams occupied. I'd guess this is the first step in setting up a four way tag team match to name top contenders for the title. (Where have we seen that before, as in- like, very recently?) - SCOTT HALL vs. SUPER CALO Hall squashes him with the Razor's Edge. Ray Traylor then comes out. The two start to trade blows, with Traylor coming out on top. Traylor puts him down with a belly-to-belly suplex. He then catches the incoming Vincent with a Sidewalk Slam. Hogan then comes out, which distracts Traylor long enough for Hall to put him in the Razor's ... okay, "Outsider's" Edge. Hogan then spraypaints some junk on Ray's back. Hogan, directly into the camera, calls him the "Big LOSSman". - Nitro Girls. - PSYCHOSIS (w/ Sonny Onoo) vs. DEAN MALENKO An okay match which was completely overshadowed by some clueless nutjob of a fan running into the ring. Referee Mark Curtis, spotting the idiot out of the corner of his eye, stops the guys cold with a snap kick to the head. He then grabs him in a headlock and holds him in place until security can move in to drag his sorry ass off to jail. Dean Malenko even lands a kick to the guy's ribs. The production crew makes a point of not shooting the guy for long, though one can make out a friend or relative of his also jumping the rail and earning a night in jail for his efforts as well. Some people are just total shit-for-brains morons, you know? The match continues on as if nothing happened. The crowd, pretty well worked up, loses most of it's enthusiasm as the match drags on (not to say it was bad, it's just that it was probably way too late in the card for a match like this). Malenko gets the win by maneuvering Psychosis into the Texas Cloverleaf. After the match Jeff Jarrett comes to the ring and demands a match. He further demands that a contract be signed so that the winner will be the number one contender to the U.S. Title (which is the stipulation for their match at Fall Brawl this Sunday). Malenko ignores him and walks out as Debra McMichael gets on the mic and calls him a "troll". - Mean Gene comes out to introduce the new "acting Chairman of the Executive Committee". Yup ... "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Piper says he was well suited for the job due to his experience as President of the WWF. Piper says there was three conditions to him accepting the appointment: 1. He promises to put together a match between Hogan and Sting before the year is out (read: Starrcade). 2. He announces that he will face Hogan in a cage match at Halloween Havoc. 3. He alters the main event of Fall Brawl by pulling Lex Luger and Diamond Dallas Page from the Wargames match (due to their tensions). He replaces them with the Four Horsemen. As many people have realized and pointed out, this is all pretty much similar to what he did when he was President of the WWF. - RIC FLAIR/CURT HENNIG vs. BUFF BAGWELL/KONAN Flair and Hennig have little trouble putting the two away, though they take their time doing it. Hennig pins Konan with the Fisherman Suplex. Afterwards Flair and Hennig are greeted and congratulated by Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael in the aisle. - LEX LUGER vs. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE Very quickly the bulk of the New World Order (led by Randy "Macho Man" Savage) come out and surround the ring. Luger gets knocked to the floor and is worked over by the NWO (DDP and the ref miss this). DDP is in control from then on until Luger comes back with a series of clothes- lines. Luger misses his third or fourth and tumbles to the floor. He gets stomped on again, but this time is assisted by Page (as the bell rings, signaling a DQ end to the match). Page and Luger hold their own, but the Giant still comes out to lend a hand, chokeslamming his way through the NWO scrubs. A few Wisconsin cheese-head hats are tossed in the ring, which Savage and Hall wear as they leave. The ring is emptied of all but Page and Luger, who stare each other down. They then shake hands-followed immediately by a close hug which looked kind of embarrassing. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: I actually thought this wasn't a bad Nitro, though I will admit that I didn't watch more than a few minutes of the second hour while RAW was on. I'm surprised in retrospect how quickly the first hour went by, with a mix of solid matches and the angles and other goofiness kept to a minimum. The second hour wasn't all that special, though, and the extra twenty minutes or so wouldn't have been necessary if they had made the Steiners/FOF and Psychosis/Malenko matches shorter. Horsemen/NWO also went too long given the outcome. Of course you know why they continue to run over: for every minute they run over, that's an extra minute going head-to-head with RAW (while every minute equals TWO minutes competing against RAW on the west coast. If Nitro runs one minute over, the replay will last two minutes into the first hour of the tape delayed broadcast of RAW out west. If Nitro goes five minutes over, then the replay goes until TEN minutes after the starts of RAW's first hour. Ten minutes equals TWENTY minutes ... and so on). This Nitro ended up going something like fifteen or twenty minutes over, which not only directly competed with the second hour of RAW, but meant a twenty minute delay in the start of the replay, and thus almost FORTY minutes of RAW being competed against on the west coast tape delay. In other words, WCW simply can't stand to let a second of RAW go unopposed. I don't know if Nitro will run over again next week (I assume it will at least a few minutes), but it's already being said that they will again be three hours for the September 22nd installment (when RAW, it's strongly rumored, will actually expand to 2 1/2 hours). Nitro is actually expected to vary between a slight overrun and a full three hours (or more) every week from now until January (when "Babylon 5" moves into the 10:00 PM Eastern timeslot-assuming TNT still intends to put it on Mondays). Piper as the next interim whatever. Am I supposed to be excited? It essentially means Piper is back in the same capacity as he was earlier this year: he'll give some goofy interviews and wrestle a cage match against Hogan which holds little promise to be any good. They didn't say the title was on the line, but even if it was, there's no way Piper would win it (not with Sting waiting in the wings). Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't WCW do the exact same thing last year by plugging the Four Horsemen into the Wargames match the week before the PPV? I seem to recall the Horsemen "begging" to be the ones to defend the honor of WCW. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quick WWF In Your House XVII: "Ground Zero" Results (09/07/97) * Free For All Countdown Show: - No matches, just interviews: Bret Hart, Brian Pillman, Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin. Announcers for the PPV would be Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. * In Your House XVII: "Ground Zero" Pay-Per-View: - "The Loose Cannon" Brian Pillman defeated Goldust following interference by Marlena. During the course of the match the referee was knocked out. Marlena tried to hit Pillman with her purse, but Pillman took the purse away from her and used it to clobber Goldust. Pillman covered for the pin, then left the arena with Marlena. A camera shot revealed that Marlena's purse contained a brick. Per the stipulations of the match, Pillman now gets "possession" of Marlena for the next 30 days. - "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher defeated Scott Putski by countout. The match was short due to an apparent knee injury suffered by Putski. Christopher did a plancha from the ring to the floor. Putski blew out his knee as he tried to catch him. - Savio Vega defeated Crush and Faarooq in the "Triple Threat Rules Match". Savio pinned Crush following a spinning heel kick. - Max Mini defeated El Torito in a Mexican Mini's match. Max got the win with a Sunset Flip roll-up into the pin. - Dude Love and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin surrendered the WWF World Tag Team Titles to Commissioner Slaughter in the ring. After verbally abusing Slaughter, McMahon and Jim Ross, Austin kicked Ross in the stomach and laid him out with the Stone Cold Stunner. - Owen Hart was interviewed. - The Headbangers defeated the Godwinns, Legion of Doom and Owen Hart & the British Bulldog in the "Fatal Four Way Match" to win the WWF World Tag Team Titles. The Legion of Doom were eliminated when Hawk was disqualified for using the Godwinns' slop bucket. The Headbangers then eliminated the Godwinns. Finally, Steve Austin came out and hit Owen Hart with the Stone Cold Stunner behind the referee's back. Mosh covered Owen for the pin. - The next WWF PPV is announced as being "In Your House: Badd Blood". - Bret "Hitman" Hart defeated the Patriot with the Sharpshooter. Both the British Bulldog and Vader interfered in the match. Hart retains the WWF World Heavyweight Title. After the match Hart choked the Patriot with an American flag. He also hit WWF Hall of Fame'er Pat Patterson. - Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker battled to a double disqualification. The referee was knocked out before the match officially started. The Undertaker literally dragged Michaels all around the arena before another ref came out and officially started the match. After a lengthy back-and- forth brawl Rick Rude put in an appearance. Rude passed Michaels a pair of brass knuckles, but Shawn was unable to get the pin. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna came out as well. At least FOUR different referees were knocked out until finally one of them just stopped the match. The lockerroom emptied as all the wrestlers were called upon to hold the two apart. WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Cincinnati, Ohio. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - The obligatory still photos from the PPV kick off this week's post-PPV show. The Pillman/Goldust match, Austin's antic, the Headbangers bringing home the gold, Hart vs. Patriot and the Undertaker/Michaels war highlight the clips. This consumes virtually all the three minutes which come before the top of the hour. - McMahon brings out Commissioner Slaughter, who has a few words about the state of the WWF following last evenings PPV. Right from the start the crowd is against him. Slaughter says the PPV was three hours of "chaos", and that he intends for there to be law and order from now on-like it or not. The fans don't seem to like it. Slaughter then takes Steve Austin to task, stating emphatically that he is and will be suspended until he gets a doctor's clearance to return to the ring. Further, Austin must forfeit the WWF Intercontinental Title. A tournament will begin to crown the new champion, with the final match taking place at the next PPV. Austin is ordered to appear at the PPV and HAND the belt to the new champ. "Have I made myself clear?!" *Kee-rash!* "You come out here and talk about 'law and order', but what you don't understand jackass is that-" Austin pauses to acknowledge the roaring crowd. McMahon cuts in and asks him to show a little respect. "I ain't respecting nobody in this ring and that's the bottom line! I'll break every damn law you can make and cain't nobody stop me. No you won't! You sit here and say 'that's an order ... this is an order ... that's an order!' Hell, I can look at you son and the only thing you been ordering is a whole bunch of damn cheeseburgers! You sit there and watch your little doctors reports and you say 'you cain't wrestle 'cause you hurt your little neck!' Like you're supposed to be concerned about my welfare. Son, you ain't been to my house. By the way they're paying me when I'm hurt, pretty soon I'll be on welfare! Talk about 'delivering a title' ... you talk about me delivering the Intercontinental Title ... the only thing I'm going to deliver is a big can of whoop-ass right to your front door! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" A kick to Sarge's ample gut follows, and Slaughter is the latest to feel the Stone Cold Stunner. Referees fill the ring as Austin takes a long look at McMahon, sizing him up for a Stunner of his own. McMahon is hustled out of the ring by his employees, while Austin puts on a headset at the announcer's desk and declares he'll stay out there as long as he wants. "How you feeling, Jim? How's your little neck, Son?" Austin eventually decides to leave. Slaughter is helped to the back. Austin delivers one of the most blatant heel performances in WWF history and the crowd just eats it up. - McMahon has returned to his seat and they not only replay Commissioner Slaughter getting Stunned, but also Jim Ross' ride on the Stone Cold express from the previous evening. Austin is shown being surrounded by officials ordering him to leave the building. - Events leading up to tonight's Hart/Vader match are highlighted. - BRET "HITMAN" HART vs. VADER "No Holds Barred". Hart comes out and rags on the Cincinnati crowd, trashing Pete Rose as a typical American "disgraced hero". The match starts off well, with Vader dominating Hart. Vader uses the World Title belt. He also breaks Bret's Canadian flagpole. The match spills to the floor where Hart drops the ring steps on Vader, opening up a small cut on Vader's back. The Bulldog appears at the top of the ramp as they cut to a commercial. Things are pretty much back-and-forth until the Bulldog runs in. Being no DQ, the match continues. It stays two-on-one until the Patriot comes out to even the odds. Owen Hart then comes out and things look bad for Vader and the Patriot. Finally Steve Austin comes and chases the Harts off- narrowly missing extracting some revenge on Owen with a chair. - Sgt. Slaughter is shown pacing about in the first aid room. - Clips are shown of how the Headbangers won the Tag Team Titles, then footage from their celebration among the fans in the concession area. - Before the Headbangers can come out for a squash match, the Godwinns chase the jobbers off and throw out a challenge, which the Headbangers accept. - THE HEADBANGERS vs. THE GODWINNS Surrealism is achieved when Vince McMahon admits that he likes "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson. The crowd was almost totally dead for this one. Instead of dwell upon it, I'll jump ahead to the soon to be notorious finish: The Headbangers have a Godwinn covered for the pin when a "fan" in coveralls slides into the ring and knocks the Headbanger out. The Godwinn covers and gets the pin. Henry and Phineas chase security off and tell Jim Ross that they've brought in their Uncle Cletus to watch their back. A third Godwinn?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (*calmblueoceancalmblueoceancalmblueoceancalmblueoceancalmblueocean*) Nope ... that's not gonna do it ... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since this was a "challenge match", it was "non-sanctioned", and therefore the titles do not change hands. Awww, why the hell not, Vince? Why not go for broke and chase ALL the fans away: not just most? SCOOPS is reporting that "Uncle Cletus" is Tony Anthony (aka "Dirty White Boy" aka "T.L. Hopper). - Sunny comes out to introduce the first Intercontinental Title Tournament match. She and Dude Love then bump bums. Dude says he needs someone to watch his back and brings out Goldust, who comes out with only half of his face painted. - DUDE LOVE vs. BRIAN PILLMAN No match. Pillman "phones in" and says he won't come to a WWF arena until they can promise him a "safe working environment". (Sounds familiar). Pillman also says he's exhausted. He says he's sent in a tape, which they play on the big screen. "Brian Pillman's XXX Files", which merely consisted of Pillman wearing a towel in a hotel room marveling at how much of a "dynamo" Marlena is. As short as this was, it was still too long. Nice idea, but nothing was offered in the presentation. Pillman promises the second installment later in the show. The first round match-ups for the tournament are as follows: * Brian Pillman vs. Dude Love. * Owen Hart vs. Goldust. * Ken Shamrock vs. Faarooq. * Ahmed Johnson vs. Rocky Maivia. I'm not sure whether Pillman's absence counted as a forfeit, or if the match will be rescheduled. They may have announced it, but I missed it if they did. - For those who have trouble remembering what happened less than an hour ago, they show clips. (Hey, if people are dumb enough to watch Nitro, make them miss out. Why annoy those of us who did tune in?) HOUR TWO Hosted By: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - PIRATITA MORGAN vs. MAX MINI They show a clip from the PPV of Max Mini sitting on Lawler's lap and putting on his crown. Max (formerly Mascarita Sagrada Jr.) may be, pound- for-pound, the most enthusiastic wrestler on the planet. The usual great action that one comes to expect from these guys. Morgan plays the bully heel, while Max uses a dazzling array of high flying moves. Max wins with a drop-kick off the top, followed by a crucifix roll-up (like the one the British Bulldog sometimes uses). - First they run one of the promos featured on the PPV the night before, then they recap the Michaels/Undertaker match. Due to the regular interference, as well as the number of referees who were laid out, Michaels and the Undertaker will have a rematch at the next In Your House: "Badd Blood". It will be in a specially constructed cage with a top, and it's being dubbed "Hell in the Cell". - McMahon interviews the Undertaker, who spends a few minutes saying all the usual stuff. Shawn Michaels then appears on the big screen and says the usual in reply. Both guys are so over that they could each recite the contents of their sock drawers and still get a good reaction. - Sunny interviews Owen. - OWEN HART vs. GOLDUST Another IC tournament match, and not much of one at that. Goldust jumps Owen before he can get in the ring and he wrestles the whole match with his jacket on. Goldust is disqualified following less than two minutes of solid, intense action. Goldust sets up for a groin shot, delivering it despite the warnings of the referee, drawing the DQ. Bret Hart and the Bulldog come out to make the save, and are then themselves chased off by Steve Austin, who runs in through the crowd carrying a broomstick. Before Goldust can leave the ring Pillman's voice comes up again. They play the second installment of the "Pillman XXX Files", which was even less exciting than the first. Pillman takes the camera into the bathroom, where the shower is going. "I (heart) U" is etched into the steam on the mirror. (We're all supposed to think Marlena is in the shower). That was it. Pretty lame. - The Hart Foundation-in the back-complain about Steve Austin. - Savio Vega, for no real apparent reason, comes to ringside to sit in for color commentary. (Savio declares himself the "king" of "Triple Threat" matches, and thus best suited to commentate). The Patriot comes out first. Next is the Bulldog, who is jumped at the top of the ramp by Shawn Michaels, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna. This was not just a hit-and-run: we're talking a long, sustained chair- swinging beating. For more than a minute they stomp his knee into paste. This is a preemptive strike by Michaels to knock the Bulldog out of their main event match at the "One Night Only" PPV scheduled for the 20th of this month. Only fans in the UK (and apparently Canada) will see this show. Needless to say the Bulldog was pulled from the match. After the break Savio invites himself into the match and the action begins. This one stretched out forever, running long enough to necessitate at least two commercial breaks. Shawn Michaels comes out to deliver comments after the first break. The match itself was very well executed in some spots, but for the most part came off as a time killer until the eventual anticipated run-in finish. Two separate very loud, very obvious "Boring!" chants broke out, which seemed to displease Helmsley, who gave the crowd the NWO pelvic thrust. (It should be noted that the crowd was really into the match for most of it though, reacting well to many of the moves). The end finally came when following a ref bump, Shawn jumped up on the apron and occupied the Patriot, who was sitting up on the top turnbuckle. Helmsley sent Savio smashing into the Patriot, then rolled him up in time for the groggy ref to make a three count. Shawn then jumps in the ring to stomp on the Patriot. Out come the other three Boricuas, but they are held at bay by Michaels and Helmsley, who are wielding chair that had been tossed into the ring by Chyna. She joins them as Vader comes out to check on his new pal, the Patriot. Shawn taunts Vader, trying to bait him into the ring. The show is mere moments away from ending when the Hart Foundation begins to stroll slowly down the ramp. - Next week: Taped show featuring Dude Love vs. Brian Pillman. Comments: A busy ending, but it didn't really make all that much sense. Savio's involvement brought in the Boricuas, who ended up making the finish look odd. The Bulldog, who minutes before had been beaten so badly that he had to be pulled from the match, came out at the end with Owen and Bret displaying little more than the slightest of limps (and a knee brace, which he had already been wearing before the attack). There was no reason for the Harts to come out. With them virtually ignoring Michaels over the last month, their only target was the Patriot (and perhaps Vader). It doesn't make much sense to come out while Los Boricuas are still there and try to get in a shot on Vader and the Patriot, especially with Michaels and Helmsley just feet away armed with chairs. Also don't forget the real possibility of Steve Austin running in again at a moment's notice. From a realistic standpoint, the three Harts (with one of them already "injured") could have been walking into a situation where they could quickly be up against six men and one woman-three of which were armed with chairs and one possible with a broom- handle. It was all merely a cliffhanger ending for the sake of having a cliffhanger ending. It's the type that Nitro always pulls: making the fans wait a whole week to see what happened after the cameras went off, only to be frustrated to learn nothing did (or be even more frustrated when the promotion doesn't even mention the incident). It would have made a lot more sense for the Undertaker to have appeared at the very end of the show. That aside, it was an okay show which I really enjoyed as I watched it. It was only when it was done and over with that I felt let down. The Pillman videos came off very flat. It's one thing for him to do his suggestive interviews (which force the fans to use their imaginations). It's another to do those same comments while shooting video which doesn't meet the expectations of our own imaginations. A good example was the comments he made about the bed being messed up, then the video shot of them. Had Pillman just said something about it in an arena interview, we'd have all let our minds provide the seamier details. The video just showed an unmade bed. (The real problem with the concept is the obvious limits imposed by the USA Network as to what they can actually show and say). Not showing even the slightest glimpse of Marlena made the situation all the more disappointing. It's obvious that Pillman is just "messing" with Goldust's head. They're going to have to do a lot more than this if it's what they have planned for the next three weeks. It also didn't make much sense to pull Pillman from the card in his home town, either. I'd really love to see them bring in about a half dozen more mini wrestlers and run them as an entire divisions with titles and angles and such. I'm still puzzled as to why the Vader/Hart match was first. They should really have swapped it with the eventual main event, making the Bret/Vader match the long one and the Triple Threat match the shorter one at the beginning. I just can't adequately convey my disgust over the notion of a third Godwinn. With the LOD already scheduled to tangle with the Nation of Domination at the next PPV (along with Ken Shamrock), it seems pretty clear that the Godwinns and Headbangers will keep going at it, with the Godwinns very likely winning the titles. Vince no doubt sees them as a redneck Demolition, and a rekindling of the Godwinns/LOD feud late next months seems inevitable. Adding a third member also allows them to be used as a stable, alongside the DOA, NOD, Los Boricuas, Hart Foundation and Truth Commission. A lot of this booking seems to be gearing up for the eventual Survivor Series card. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: I didn't see Ground Zero, but I did read live results as they were available on the Net. Sight unseen, I thought it looked like a decent show, coming off better than expected. I have also noticed what seems to be a lack of overall response, positive OR negative, which seems to be as good a sign as any that not all that many people saw it, which would certainly spell disaster for it's buyrate. Fall Brawl looks even worse now than it did last week, though you might have to do some thinking to realize it. Here's some of the line-up, as best as I can remember it: * Jarrett vs. Malenko. Instead of competing for a title, the two are fighting to be the "number one contender" to the title. In other words, were watching two guys go at it to see who gets to wait a whole month for a match. I could see if it was the World Title, but it's only the U.S. Title which, since Mongo holds it, almost assures that Jarrett will win this one. Look for Guerrero to help Jarrett win, leading to ... * Jericho vs. Guerrero for the Cruiserweight Title. This could go either way. The smart money seems to be on Guerrero winning the title, which is why I'm predicting Jericho will retain (with the help of Malenko). * Steiners vs. Faces of Fear. Another battle to prove who is only second best. * Faces of Fear vs. Mortis/Wrath. Simply a Nitro match being used to fill out the PPV card. * Alex Wright vs. Ultimo Dragon. Television Title match. I'm betting Disco Inferno causes Wright to lose the strap, setting off the feud between the two of them. * Steve McMichael vs. Konan. U.S. Title. Is this even scheduled for the card? I keep reading that it is. If it is, then there's no way Mongo would lose the belt (since he has to have it to defend against Jarrett next month). Both of these guys seem to be scheduled as part of the Wargames match, so I'm guessing this match may not take place. * Luger & DDP vs. Savage & Hall. This is another one I'm not sure about. If it is part of the card, then that would seem to exclude Savage and Hall from being in the Wargames match. If this ISN'T a scheduled match, then that means Luger and Page won't even be on the PPV. * Team NWO vs. the Four Horsemen. Wargames. So who exactly will be on team NWO? Is Kevin Nash scheduled for a match on the card? Is he fighting the Giant? Right now it looks like Team NWO will consist of Syxx, Scott Norton, Buff Bagwell and Konan. Yow ... not exactly a main event lineup. With Hogan not scheduled to wrestle I doubt he'll even appear. I wouldn't bet on Sting showing up either. It's also possible that Page, Luger, Savage, Hall, Nash and the Giant may not be on the card (though some of them should appear in some way-possibly in matches listed above). It seems to me I've read something about Mysterio and the Giant vs. Nash and Konan. In any case, WCW has once again set up a PPV where the most important matches are not fully defined for the fans. Unless WCW lays out all the matches this Saturday (which is really too late), then anyone getting the PPV will just have to wait and see who shows up. At best it's annoying, while at worst it's a shady business practice (firmly defended by WCW with the phrase "card subject to change"). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Week's Winner: Nitro. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 1997 by John Petrie, and all opinions expressed therein are his own, and not those of Internet Access, Inc. Volume One, Number 95 of the "Monday Night Recap", September 8th, 1997.