[RESULTS/OPINION] WCW Monday Nitro/WWF RAW is WAR (09/15/97) [Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #96] (09/15/97) Quick WCW Fall Brawl 1997 results (09/14/97): * Eddie Guerrero defeated Chris Jericho to become the new WCW Cruiserweight champion. * The Steiner Brothers defeated Harlem Heat. Rick Steiner pinned Stevie Ray with a German Suplex. * Alex Wright defeated Ultimo Dragon to retain the WCW Television Title. * The NWO "attacked" Curt Hennig in his dressing room during a Mean Gene Okerlund hotline promo. * Jeff Jarrett defeated Dean Malenko to become the number one contender to the WCW United States Title (currently held by Steve "Mongo" McMichael). Jarrett will receive a US Title shot at Halloween Havoc. * The NWO delivered comments regarding the Four Horsemen. * Mortis and Wrath defeated Meng and the Barbarian. Meng had Mortis and manager James Vandenberg in a double Tongan Death Grip when he was nailed from behind by Wrath and covered for the pin. * Mean Gene interviewed the Four Horsemen (minus Curt Hennig). * The Giant defeated Scott "Flash" Norton via pinfall following a chokeslam. * Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger defeated Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Scott Hall in a "No Disqualification" match. Announcer Larry Zbyszko interfered on Page and Luger's behalf, distracting Hall long enough for him to be rolled up from behind. * Team NWO (Kevin Nash, Syxx, Buff Bagwell, Konan) defeated the Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Curt Hennig, Steve McMichael, Chris Benoit) when Hennig turned on the Horsemen. Hennig handcuffed McMichael and Benoit to the inside of the cage and assisted the NWO in beating on Flair. McMichael submitted to spare Flair a serious beating, but the NWO went ahead and slammed Flair's head in the cage door. Flair was left a bloody mess. (Some sites report the decision as being "no contest"). It was left up in the air as to whether Hennig had joined the New World Order or not. WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Charlotte, North Carolina. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Larry Zbyszko. - Ric Flair is laid out like a cadaver, presumably in a hospital or clinic somewhere. His forehead is lined with stitch lines (which looked to me like the lines they draw when they are planning to do cosmetic surgery, rather than actual stitched up cuts. This would jibe with the current rumors of Flair taking time off to get a facelift or tuck or something). A tiny horn is shoved up Flair's nose. No audio accompanies the ten seconds or so that comprise the shot. Tony Schiavone can barely speak, just managing to get out that he simply cannot commentate tonight's show. Larry tries to talk him into staying to no avail. Schiavone's leaving forces Zbyszko and Tenay to do the first half of the show by themselves. They show a few stills from the Wargames match, then-incredibly enough-the actual footage of Flair getting his head slammed in the cage door by Curt Hennig. Zbyszko definitely says that Mongo had already submitted to stop the match, but that wasn't enough to save Flair. - DEAN MALENKO vs. DISCO INFERNO In a match which was solely designed to rehabilitate Malenko's image somewhat, he gets a fairly quick and easy win over Inferno, using a combo of a powerbomb then the Texas Cloverleaf to get the "tap out" (*bleagh*). As they go to break they play the fiery street opening. - Eddie Guerrero is shown with Mark Madden doing the "Internet Insiders" show. - HARLEM HEAT (w/ Jacquelyn) vs. FACES OF FEAR Like watching "King Kong vs. Godzilla" at fast speed. Nothing unusual or outstanding took place, but it was done with such zeal and at such a brisk pace as to make it watchable (and somewhat enjoyable). Raven is shown in the front row, which is a nice change from their usual practice of showing him about ten seconds before his becoming involved in that week's installment of his once-a-month angle. Harlem Heat seems to have the match when Booker T. nails the Barbarian with a leg lariat (as he's being held by Stevie Ray). Booker covers for the pin, but the ref says the Barbarians under the bottom of the ropes (which he wasn't ... not much anyway). Meng then comes in and slaps the Tongan Death Grip on Booker T. and forces him to ... "tap out" (*barf*). - Nitro Girls. - Mean Gene and Kimberly bring out Diamond Dallas Page. DDP challenges Randy Savage to a match at Halloween Havoc. - REY MYSTERIO, JR. vs. JUVENTUD GUERRERA A definite thumbs up of a match only slightly marred by an obvious blown spots. Guerrera cleanly misses a drop-kick on Mysterio, who is less than three feet from him-totally immobile-draped over the top rope. The crowd reacts heartily to the obvious miscue. Guerrera silences the boo-birds by powerbombing Mysterio from the apron to the floor. Mysterio hits a crazy senton flip from the ring to the floor, nearly driving the two of them over the rail and into the crowd. Numerous flips and powerbombs later Mysterio wins with his huracanrana roll-up. Three matches and the crowd has popped like mad for the finish of each. It seems to be a strong combination of pro-Horsemen, pro-NWO and pro-high workrate. - ALEX WRIGHT vs. STEVEN REGAL Just days after the charges are dropped Regal makes his return to a WCW ring, looking about a dozen pounds heavier. Regal plays to the crowd and wrestles in old form, though. Wright blows a spot where he is monkey- flipped by Regal. Wright was supposed to cartwheel through it and come back with a kick to the gut. Wright instead plows into the ropes, gets up, remembers to sell the hit to the canvas, (which he does for about a second), then kicks Regal in the stomach. Regal has the youngster pretty much dominated until he is dropped on his head by way of a reverse whip into the corner. Wright hoists him up in a German Suplex for the pin. The crowd, pretty much behind Regal, finally is unhappy with a decision. - Mean Gene brings out Ray Traylor. Traylor says he was "never really NWO", and challenges any NWO'er to fight him ... someday. Not tonight, thank God. - KONAN vs. THE GIANT The Giant still doesn't have any entrance music, just a green light and fireworks. (Hey, maybe he's Kain? No wait ... that's a red light). The Giant pretty much no-sells everything Konan throws at him, knocking him from pillar-to-post. Konan gets in a few shots, staggering the Giant long enough for him to climb to the top. Off he comes, but the Giant catches him and chokeslams him for the win. Okay, so where are they going with this? For something like three months or more the Giant has been coming out to no fanfare and getting clean wins over midcarders and jobbers. Talk about being stuck in a holding pattern. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Nitro Girls. - DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE vs. STEVIE RICHARDS Page has little trouble handling Richards, with Stevie only getting in one brief obligatory stint on offense. Page hoists him up in a Fireman's Carry, then turns it into the Diamond Cutter. Raven then hops the rail, gives Page a long look, and slaps Richards on the face for losing. Yup. "Jobber" ... "lackey" ... "clueless putz" ... that about covers it. - Lee Marshall phones in. - THE OUTSIDERS (w/ Syxx) vs. MORTIS/WRATH (w/ James Vandenberg) Heenan, while hyping the Fall Brawl replay, says "Perfect" instead of Hennig and nearly has a stroke trying to correct himself. What a joke! First off, Hall wrestles the first half of the match, alternating between taking punishment and doing Razor Ramon moves. Nash then tags in and doesn't connect convincingly with a single one of his limited array of forearm and leglift shots. Wrath takes control briefly, landing some stiff chops to Nash's chest. Nash comes back with a kneelift that almost completely misses. He then flubs an Irish whip/reversal. Twice Nash is covered for pins and twice he is so slow to kick out that the ref has to delay the third count to allow him time to lift his shoulder. I swear to God he looks half in the bag here. Nash then hits each opponent with a big boot. Hall comes in and clotheslines Wrath out of the ring as Nash powerbombs Mortis, then plants a foot on his chest for the pin (making thrusting motions to his groin along with the count). The NWO trio celebrate into the break. Once back Eric Bischoff saunters out to the ring. He then introduces "Hollywood" Hogan, who comes out flanked by most of the rest of the NWO. Hogan, on his way to the ring, grabs a fan's sign which says "McMahon ... Bite Me". Hogan tears off his shirt as Bischoff calls for the latest member of the NWO to come out. Ric Flair's music starts up as a robed figure backs out toward the ring. Whirling around it's Curt Hennig, wearing one of Ric Flair's classic red rhinestone covered robes. Hennig enters the ring and says it's a privilege to be in Charlotte. An unseen (and probably quickly ejected fan) shows his disapproval by nailing Hennig squarely in the head with a drink cup, drawing a huge pop from the crowd (and a "Hit him again!" from Zbyszko). Hennig then runs down Flair and Arn Anderson and offers Flair's robe to Hogan. Hogan takes it and swipes it between his legs. Hogan, apparently the only guy who can get away with this stuff, says the day has been "absolutely PERFECT!" Bischoff then asks Randy Savage if he'll accept Diamond Dallas Page's challenge. "It would be an honor!" replies the Macho Man. Hogan then rewrites wrestling history by saying he was in the WWF when Piper was President, but that he never did what Piper ordered. After running Piper down a bit more, he and Hall then do a preplanned bit where they talk about Piper getting something to eat. "I know a good place he can eat ... down there." Hall and Hogan then motion to their groins. Rather than end the interview on that, Hogan rattles on for another minute or so. - They show a brief highlights package of Hogan and Piper, trying to sucker the fans into thinking Piper stands a ghost of a chance in their upcoming match. - EDDIE GUERRERO vs. ULTIMO DRAGON This one was really below what these two are capable of. Is the Dragon injured? A lot of it consisted of restholds and Eddie stomping on the Dragon. After some okay action with a bunch of reversals and a nice running Ligerbomb by the Dragon, Ultimo goes up for a weak looking springboard moonsault. Eddie catches him, plants him, and finishes him off with the Frog Splash. Okay, but far from a classic. Let me take a second here to comment on Eddie as the Cruiserweight Champion. For a long time I argued that Eddie should have been competing with the Cruiserweights, instead of the route he took which put him in with the U.S. Title contenders. This got me a lot of E-Mail growling "who ever said Eddie was a Cruiserweight?" Eddie himself apparently wanted to be pushed as a heavyweight, something which I think was a mistake to do right off the bat. I think the Cruiserweight belt has now been seriously devalued by the last several titleholders who defended the belt in matches that were less than stellar against opponents who didn't represent the best WCW had to offer. Now Eddie picks it up and while there exists the chance for him to bring the belt's value back up, they start the process off by burying a guy who should not only be a strong contender for this title, but has shown himself to be above it in the World Television Title pool. Ultimately, the Cruiserweight belt, Television Title, and U.S. Titles have all become almost equal (though I'll comment more on the U.S. Title below). - They run a lengthy promo for the Nitro Party contest. The Gals then come out for a number. - STEVE "MONGO" MCMICHAEL vs. CURT HENNIG Michael Buffer does the ring intros. Hennig comes out to the traditional Wolfpack NWO theme (you know ... the "porno" music). Even though they're well into their third hour they take a break after Hennig's entrance. Mongo charges the ring but is met by Hennig. Mongo wrestles like Frankenstein after getting hit by lightning. Hennig chews up several of the match's seven total minutes by working on Mongo's legs. Mongo stages a comeback, culminating in a crowd assisted ten count headsmash into all three corner turnbuckles-number ten being facefirst to the mat. Mongo then tries a football shoulderblock, but Hennig, being the wily vet he is, sidesteps it and hoists Mongo up and over in the Hennig-Plex, earning the three count and just like that becoming the United States Heavyweight Champion. Hennig wins his first gold since being Intercontinental champ the better part of a decade ago. (I guess we all know what his price for turning heel and NWO was now, don't we?) - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: A hugely emotional show with a more or less solid first hour. The second went downhill, with the segment with Hennig in the ring joining the NWO not really drawing the heat WCW had to be hoping for. That turned around with the main event, though. Hennig winning the belt did more for him (with this crowd at least) than anything else. Hennig's title win also finally brings the U.S. belt back up to a level in which it should have been for some time. It also wipes out months of angles involving Jeff Jarrett, Dean Malenko and Steve McMichael. Now Jarrett, who is supposed to be a much hated heel and anti-Horsemen, should be getting the title shot at Halloween Havoc (as was stipulated by his victory over Malenko at Fall Brawl). WCW had been engaging in a really simple connect-the-dots booking to set up a Jarrett/McMichael rematch involving the title. The question now is will WCW still give Jarrett the title match, or will they just have him fight Mongo as was originally intended. Why should Mongo even care for such a match since his current state of mind should involve defending the honor of the Horsemen, gaining revenge, and winning his title back. Suddenly the presence of Jarrett and Debra McMichael in WCW is a major distraction. It could be very painful to watch how WCW juggles all these things around and tries to make a coherent storyline out of them. I'm so sick of this whole "tapping out" deal. Remember when it used to be called a "submission" and the guy who gave up was a big puss? Now, just because WCW wants to bring UFC fans into the fold, we're supposed to accept this silly notion that "tapping out" is an honorable way of giving up in a match. If a guy is going to give up to "avoid an injury" then boo hoo-pity party for the wuss. You quit, Bubba ... that's the bottom line. The only difference between this and the extremely humiliating "I Quit" finish is that they guy was too big a wimp to actually say it. At least twice during he show the camera deliberately showed a sign which revealed the fact that RAW was taped. Given the quality of the sign it's not hard to come to the conclusion that it may have been handed to the fan by WCW itself. WCW got into trouble in the past for revealing the results of taped RAW's. They apparently figured this was a way to do so again while absolving themselves of any responsibility. The problem is if the WWF complains then WCW will just say "we're so good even the competition is watching us" (in order to have seen the sign). After more than a month of stagnation on Nitro, WCW finally does something with their ongoing storylines, pointing them in new directions for the future. What hasn't changed, though, is this ridiculous, neverending total domination by the NWO. It's pretty clear at this point that WCW themselves will never actually "destroy" the NWO. Only the NWO itself can destroy it, through in-fighting, betrayals and double-crosses. Hogan may fall at the hands of Sting, while Nash may be taken out by the Giant eventually. It's just unfortunate that the fans will never have the satisfaction of seeing WCW once and for all bury the NWO. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Taped. Length: Two Hours. Location: Muncie, Indiana. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - This week's two minute time killer is a recap of Steve Austin's recent actions. Heavy emphasis is placed on his "hit list" and the question of whether or not Vince McMahon is at the top of that list is asked. Since the show is taped this week, Vince McMahon decided not to show. Ross says he's "on assignment". - KEN SHAMROCK vs. FAAROOQ Weak match, on the verge of annoying. Faarooq looks winded mere moments into the contest. Shamrock gets nailed with a spine buster and starts to bleed from the mouth. After nearly a minute on non-action (while the camera lovingly films Shamrock's puffy, bloody lips) Faarooq walks into a belly-to-belly suplex which earns Ken the pinfall. Rocky Maivia, Kama and D-Lo run out to stomp on Shamrock, but are quickly chased off by the Legion of Doom. Again a lot of time is spent showing Shamrock's bloody mouth. - In a segment which makes Sunny's Super Soaker ads look like a Martin Scorsese film, Sable does a commercial for Lazer Tag. I'm not even going to try and explain this one. - Steve Austin delivers comments from the back. - TAKA MICHINOKU vs. EL PANTERA Pantera is from EMLL and has a really, really ugly outfit. Taka wrestles pretty much the same match he has every other time on RAW, winning again with the Michinoku Driver. Pantera's offensive arsenal looks like a mix of moves often used by Ultimo Dragon, Juventud Guerrera and Rey Mysterio, Jr. This was a really good match, it's just annoying that unless Taka is wrestling Brian Christopher then it's guaranteed that he will win. Comments from the Truth Commission take us into the break. - As they did with SummerSlam, "Ground Zero" is already available to order on video for $29.95 including shipping. - In a rare move for the WWF they hype this Sunday's installment of WWF Superstars, which will feature a special segment on Faarooq. Jim Ross mentions his previous identity as Ron Simmons. WCW always hypes their Saturday night show on Nitro, but this is the first time I can recall the WWF hyping anything on RAW other than a PPV, special show, or the following week's RAW. - LEGION OF DOOM vs. SNIPER/RECON (w/ The Truth Commission) What is it about taped shows and the Truth Commission? A real nothing of a match. Skipping ahead to the finish, the LOD have one of their opponents set up for the Doomsday Device. Hawk clotheslines him off the top and covers for the pin. The "seven foot tall" Interrogator then comes in and drops one of the most awkward looking legdrops I've ever seen. He then hits Animal with a big boot. The ref signals for the bell, giving the LOD the win by DQ. Ken Shamrocks runs in to assist the LOD. The Interrogator no-sells everything Shamrock can throw at him. Inexplicably the NOD then run in and everyone stomps the LOD and Shamrock into paste. Several WWF suits come out to clear up the mess. Why the DOA, Godwinns and Los Boricuas didn't come out as well I'll never know. - Sunny comes to the ring to introduce the next match. - MAX MINI/MR. LUCKY vs. EL TORITO/PIRATITA MORGAN Max Mini sidles up to Sunny and tries to get a look up her dress. The match would be contested under typical lucha rules, meaning any time a wrestler left the ring his partner could enter without having to make a tag. This was my favorite match of the entire evening (for both shows). They threw a little of everything in, and all four mini's looked good. Max did a double springboard corkscrew moonsault from the apron to the floor that was just awesome. They also did a spot which I don't think I've ever seen in a full sized high flyer match. El Torito is sent to the floor. Max quickly hits the ropes like he's going to launch himself at Torito with a plancha or tope. Morgan then quickly steps in his path and cuts him off with a clothesline, thus saving his partner. A bit later Lucky nearly matches Max with a double springboard cross bodyblock from the apron to the floor on Morgan. Max eventually beats El Torito with a headbutt off the top, covering for the pin. The match went a bit long for the arena crowd, but it still got a great reaction from the fans. Like the Taka Michinoku matches it would be really nice to see some of the larger mini's get the win once in a while instead of Max Mini always pulling the "upset". (How can it be an "upset" if he always wins?) After the match Sunny goes over and dances with the King. - A highlights package recounts Brian Pillman's winning of Marlena at "Ground Zero". - DUDE LOVE vs. BRIAN PILLMAN (w/ Marlena) Marlena is almost completely unrecognizable in a black dress, stockings and shoes, with her hair slicked back, wearing a nose ring and black makeup. As she enters the ring Pillman tweaks the hem of her dress, causing it to snap up and flash her bare bottom to the camera ... I think. Let me watch that again to make sure. Hmm ... I'm still not sure ... I better watch it one more time to be absolutely certain. Yep, that sure looks like her bottom. Maybe one more time just to be thorough. This match had been scheduled for last week, but was postponed when Pillman refused to appear due to the presence of Goldust. It is announced that Goldust has been barred from the arena tonight. Moments into the match Marlena tries to make a break for it up the ramp, but Pillman catches her and escorts her to over by the announcer's desk. The match only goes a few more minutes. Dude is just about to land the "Sweet Shin Music" when Dustin Rhodes runs in and attacks Pillman. This earns Pillman the win by DQ. Dustin has to be held down by three referees as Pillman makes his escape with Marlena. (Strangely enough Jim Ross only refers to him as "Goldust", not Dustin). Dustin, out of makeup and wearing bluejeans and cowboy boots, is a dead ringer for his pa Dusty. Thus ended the first hour, which really wavered back-and-forth between miserable and really decent. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - *Kee-rash!* Jerry Lawler heads into the ring to interview "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Lawler lovingly recounts Austin's application of the Stone Cold Stunner on Jim Ross and Commissioner Slaughter. Austin starts off by dumping on Jim Ross, saying he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it could happen again if he gets in Austin's path. He says the same thing could happen to Vince McMahon. He then starts to trash Owen Hart, but is interrupted by the arrival of the Hart Foundation. Bret levels the ultimate insult at Austin by calling him a "hoser". Owen then says they've taken advantage of the U.S. legal system by filing a "temporary restraining order" against Austin. A nondescript legal type guy walks to the ring and serves Austin the paper. Austin actually takes the time to read it over, pausing only to nail Lawler with the Stone Cold Stunner when the King tries to read the legal document over his shoulder. Austin leaves the ring area intently scrutinizing the papers. Here we go again. I don't have to rehash how stupid these "restraining order" scenarios are, do I? At least the WWF was more accurate in their execution of the angle, which merely makes it stupid instead of embarrassing and insulting. From this point on Jim Cornette replaces Lawler at the announcer's table. Lawler is shown in the back with a neckbrace on. - THE PATRIOT vs. OWEN HART A solid match, but the typical television finish keeps it from being all that memorable a one. The action goes back-and-forth up to the commercial break, when it is shown that Steve Austin has come out to the top of the ramp. He is flanked by security guards. Austin has already broken the restraining order since it says he can't come within 100 feet of Owen. The guards are still at the top of the ramp, but Austin has vanished. The match goes on for several more minutes until Austin appears from amidst the crowd. He climbs up on the apron and tears up the restraining order. Owen is distracted by this, allowing the Patriot to roll him up from behind for the pin. Owen gets up and yells for security to arrest Austin. The guards mosey their way to ringside as Austin escapes through the crowd, apparently making him a fugitive from justice. After the break they show the security guys combing the back hallways of the arena for Austin. - Shawn Michaels comes to the ring wearing only a pair of little black boots and a tiny, tiny pair of black shorts-with what looks to be an entire kielbasa stuffed down the front. When asked why he attacked the British Bulldog last week, Shawn says he's done everything in the WWF except win the European Title, and that he would like to be the first man to hold all four WWF titles. Shawn then runs down his list of woes which have lead up to his facing the Undertaker in an enclosed cage match next month on PPV. Shawn says that if he is going down at "Hell in the Cell", then he's taking everyone down with him. The Undertaker appears on the Titan-Tron and says the "Hell in the Cell" will be Shawn's final resting place. Shawn the grabs the mic in his left hand and says "Undertaker ... ". The camera angle switches and suddenly the mic is in his right hand, with Michaels saying "I made you taste your blood once ... and at 'Hell in the Cell' you had better have liked the taste of it, because I guarantee you, you are going to taste it again!" Obviously something was edited out here. Word on the Net has it that Shawn tore into a string of profanities, and that this is what was cut out, as well as his challenging the Undertaker to come out and fight him, which was impossible since the Undertaker wasn't in the building. Some are saying Shawn deliberately made the Undertaker look bad, knowing there was no way for him to come out and face him. One also has to acknowledge the possibility that some was cut due to time constraints. Rumors of this being a major "shoot" are already circulating, with some speculating that this was a deliberate attempt by Michaels to get himself fired so that he could seek his fortunes elsewhere. As is always the case with the continuing Michaels saga, we shall see. - BRET "HITMAN" HART/THE BRITISH BULLDOG vs. THE HEADBANGERS Before the match they show footage of the Headbangers at last Saturday's Philadelphia Phillies game, mixing it up with the team's mascot on the playing field. An okay match which went about fifteen minutes, but was one that didn't really do anything for me. I felt it never really got above the "so-so" level. The end comes when the Bulldog powerslams Mosh and covers him for the pin. Bret shows hardly any emotion as he and the Bulldog are crowned new WWF World Tag team Champions. The decision is quickly waved off however, when the ref realizes he's made a mistake. Thrasher was actually the legal man in the ring-he and Mosh having switched places during a double-team maneuver in which the ref was slightly jostled. The ref orders the match to continue. The Bulldog then drops to the floor, grabs a U.S. flag and pole from a fan and uses it to attack the Headbangers, drawing the DQ. Bret uses the flag to choke the Headbangers out until Vader and the Patriot run out to make the save. - Next week: Live from Madison Square Garden. Comments: A good enough show, but one that seemed to be lacking something-which may describe the WWF right now in general. The show seemed "live" enough, so it wasn't that. I think part of the problem is how so much of the promotion's storylines revolve around three men, and the problems each of those men present and represent. First we have Bret Hart as the champion. Almost since the moment he won the title at SummerSlam he's seemed to be running on autopilot. He's done some okay interviews and his match against the Patriot at "Ground Zero" was pretty good, but otherwise he doesn't seem to have his heart in it (no pun intended). Now that the Canada vs. USA feud has died down a bit it really seems that they're just keeping him occupied until his next major challenge for the title. While still a big part of the focus of the company, he is overshadowed by two others. Steve Austin is definitely the big story right now in the WWF. The problem here is that it's all outside the ring, which is starting to grow old. The WWF is stuck in a terrible position of losing all the heat they've built if they don't show him, yet risk overexposure by showing him too much. Austin really needs to get back in the ring soon to properly advance the angle, but that may not be possible for a few more months (if ever). In the ring, Shawn Michaels is the third part of the company's main focus. His feud with the Undertaker was really the main event of the last PPV, and is already being billed as the one for the next. Yet there's something about Shawn that makes one think he really isn't into this feud. He's going through the motions in the interviews, and went more than all out in the last match, yet there's still some intangible something that leads me to believe he simply would rather be doing something else. Since he doesn't want to have anything to do with Bret Hart, that really only leaves the Undertaker as an opponent for him. Or the British Bulldog, which may be the next big thing planned for him. Introducing his match with the Bulldog right now for the "One Night Only" UK PPV is distracting, taking something away from the next match with the Undertaker. Speaking of the Undertaker, he too is a big part of the WWF's agenda, yet he's really been pushed into the background. Whatever happened to Kain? Is he coming or isn't he? Could it be that Kain will show up at the "Badd Blood" PPV and get involved in the cage match? Not too long ago everything in the WWF revolved around the Undertaker. Now he's been upstaged by Hart, Austin and Michaels, and has been relegated to the role of Shawn's "opponent", and a guy who may or may not have a brother who may or may not be dead. Looking at the WWF's top rank of wrestlers, you have a guy that's injured (Austin), one who may have been pushed too quickly there (the Patriot), one who has little credibility right now (Vader), two who want to have nothing to do with each other (Shawn & Bret), and one who is stuck in permanent limbo due the WWF's refusal to pull the trigger on a long promised storyline (the Undertaker). If I had to compare, I'd say it's a lot like what WCW has done with Lex Luger, DDP, Randy Savage, the Giant and a few others. It's like each company has this little pool of big fish and every week a different one pops up to snap at the bait. (Take Lex Luger for example: just over a month ago he was WCW World Heavyweight Champion. This week he wasn't even on Nitro and his name went practically unmentioned). Moving down the ladder, the WWF really needs to whip the Light Heavyweight division into shape. Right now it's just Taka and Brian Christopher and both these guys keep getting wins over other Light Heavyweight jobbers. With Scott Putski now injured the entire division is comprised of two men and about a dozen scrubs who have been brought in for little more than one-shot appearances. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: Of the two promotions, the WWF is still the one I like better now. However, with the recent lack of focus on the part of the WWF, and WCW's being able to move things along a bit in their storylines, WCW is rapidly earning more of my interest. (There's still a lot about them I don't like-the Sting nonsense and the invincible NWO to name a few). It hasn't helped that the weekly battles between RAW and Nitro have been screwed up for several weeks now. The WWF suffered near irreparable damage due to their two week layoff. Now we have the taped shows every other week to mess things up. Nitro, meanwhile, can't decide if it's a two hour, two hour and fifteen minute, or three hour show. It's even worse on the PPV front. WCW has put on a string of PPV's which all look alike, and seem to be little more than slightly beefed up Nitro's. The undercard matches, while often featuring decent wresting, generally mean very little. The main event matches on the other hand receive the majority of the hype, yet they usually turn out to be terrible matches-with about one in every three containing a big PPV-caliber surprise (such as Hennig joining the NWO). WCW is very much stuck with the fact that most of the planet is waiting for Hogan to face off against Sting, and until then everything else is filler. With Halloween Havoc coming up we have a card filled with matches we've seen several times before (Hogan/Piper, DDP/ Savage, Jarrett/McMichael, Steiners/Outsiders). Like most other WCW PPV's of late it will probably be okay, but far from great. Hogan and Piper being in the cage makes two straight PPV's with a cage match main event. Throw in the "Hell in the Cell" match and that makes three in two month span-definitely oversaturation of the gimmick. Speaking of gimmicks, if World War 3 in November features the usual 60 Man Battle Royal, that will make three straight WCW PPV's with gimmick matches as the main event. I finally saw "Ground Zero" this week and liked it. It was good, but not great-which describes many of the WWF's other PPV's this year. Unfortunately I don't see much of any promise for "Badd Blood". The Hart/Bulldog vs. Patriot/Vader "Flag Match" is just too much like "Canadian Stampede", and sounds more like something you'd expect to see on RAW. The "Hell in the Cell" match, which will probably still be good, suffers from the same problem that the Helmsley/Mankind match suffered from at "Canadian Stampede". The feud between those two was good leading up to it because they moved around the arena. Putting the match in a cage limited what they could do, making for a good-but not great match. The same goes for Michaels/UT. A big part of what made their "Ground Zero" match good was the stuff outside the ring, as well as the outside interference and the multiple referees. Putting this match in a cage again limits what the two can do (though I'm sure they'll come up with some interesting ideas). You also risk the problem of "devaluing" cage matches by making them less than decisive if outside interference does somehow manage to creep in. It should be an okay main event, but the undercard as it's shaping up right now looks pretty awful. Taking a look at the Intercontinental Title tournament, it seems like the eventual outcome is fairly clear. If I remember the brackets right, the last remaining first round match is Rocky Maivia vs. Ahmed Johnson. I'm guessing that Rocky will win, only to lose to Ken Shamrock in the next round. If you figure on Owen Hart either advancing over Brian Pillman due to interference by Dustin, or possibly Pillman deciding to "step aside"-allowing Owen to advance, then that sets up an Owen/Shamrock final match. From there it seems a lock that either Shamrock will win with the help of Steve Austin, or Owen will win, only to receive a Stunner at the hands of Austin when Stone Cold hands over the IC belt. I also wouldn't rule out something goofy like Austin challenging Owen to a match and winning in seconds with the Stunner-thus holding on to the title. Whatever happens, I'm betting on Owen taking a ride on the Stone Cold Stunner Express. Next week is the big week. RAW will be live for at least it's regularly scheduled two hours. Many wrestling news sites are reporting it as confirmed that it will be 2 1/2 hours, but there seems to be little more than speculation to back that up (though the schedule could certainly allow it as USA only has "Silk Stalkings" on after it). Rumors still persist that it may even go three hours. Madison Square Garden has already sold out once, and will probably do so again (they reconfigured the seating chart to free up more available seats, guaranteeing a huge, boisterous crowd). No matches have been officially announced on TV, but Ross and Lawler mentioned several times the possibility that Vince McMahon might suffer a Stone Cold Stunner at the hands of Steve Austin. This is also scheduled to be the return of Marc Mero on TV, and several other superstars are rumored to be coming back as well. Even if you discount every single Net rumor, it's well known that the WWF always puts on a big show at MSG, since a big show there will mean a huge gate, big merchandise sales, and ensure healthy crowds throughout the upper northeast territory, as well as their next swing through New York. MSG is to the WWF what the Omni in Atlanta used to be to the NWA/WCW. Nitro will most assuredly respond with a show that will go at least three hours-possibly even longer than that to match as much of RAW as they can. The rumored main event is DDP vs. Hogan, with an appearance of some kind by Sting almost a given. I'm not going to bother with this week's ratings, other than to mention that the WWF went up from last week while Nitro went down. Next week may be an opportunity for Nitro to really bury RAW. On the other hand, a really strong showing by RAW could really close the gap on the ratings race, benefiting the WWF considerably by helping to carry a good audience over the following week's taped show and into the post-PPV live show the week after that. This could well be the most important week ratings-wise for the entire remainder of the year, as an audience gain might last for the next several months, while any audience loss could take months to recover from. OR it may just turn out to be yet another average week in the ratings. In a bit of news almost completely unrelated to wrestling (except for the ratings) next Monday night will see the season premiere of the "Hey Arnold!" cartoon on Nickelodeon. A check of the highest rated shows on cable will show that it is near the top of the list. It will air during the first half hour of Nitro. FYI, the Monday Night Football game next week is Jacksonville vs. Pittsburgh. Most of the networks will have new shows as well as the new TV season finally gets underway. With all this high caliber competition both shows could really have their work cut out for them. Bear that in mind next week when the numbers come out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Week's Winner: Nitro, but only for the Hennig title win. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "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 96 of the "Monday Night Recap", September 15th, 1997.