[RESULTS/OPINION] WCW Monday Nitro/WWF RAW is WAR (09/29/97) [Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #98] (09/29/97) WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Worcester, Massachusetts. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Larry Zbyszko. - Intro. Fireworks. Nitro Girls. There's a huge number of signs in the crowd tonight, and I'd say about half of them are anti-WWF. Most of the rest are pro-NWO, with the majority of pro-WCW signs being for the Four Horsemen. While WCW security was busy confiscating the anti-WCW/pro-WWF signs they must have missed the one saying "Hogan is a child molester". Now, I'm no great supporter or critic of signs, but if you're going to allow any, then I say let 'em all in. Don't just confiscate the ones you don't like. About the only time I support taking away signs is when they either feature profanity or something else that is obviously offensive, or if the signs are blocking someone's view. I also dislike signs that are, to put it bluntly, stupid. And sloppily made. That being said, I hope someone tries to get a "Slobberknocker Central" sign on Nitro next week, seeing as Nitro is my home state of Minnesota. I myself am passing on the show simply because I don't feel as if WCW is worth driving 440 miles (round trip) to see right now. Even if I did go, I wouldn't take a sign. It's just not my thing. C'mon you guys out there ... show your support! Even if it's just to say "Slobberknocker Central sucks!" Show me you care. Why should SCOOPS have all the fun? - They run a lengthy highlights package showcasing the feud between Diamond Dallas Page and Randy Savage. I thought it was a nice presentation, but my brother couldn't get over the fact that the most recent incident was several months old. - DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE vs. "BUFF" BAGWELL (w/ Vincent) Early in the match they show Raven and Stevie Richards sitting in the first and second rows near ringside. With the exception of an over-the- top rope plancha, the two wrestle a standard "Lex Luger" type match: short bursts of offense (usually involving clotheslines) followed by stretches of playing to the crowd-which worked, as the crowd was madcrazy into this match. (Is "madcrazy" a word?) They teased a pin with Bagwell arguing with the ref and DDP rolling him up from behind for a two count. The ref then got knocked out as he was trying to get Vincent off the apron. Bagwell reversed a whip, sending DDP into the ref. Vincent then came in for the doubleteam, but DDP escaped from a bodyslam attempt and applied the Diamond Cutter. He then ducked a clothesline from Bagwell and nailed him with one as well. He rolls Vincent out of the ring and covers Bagwell for the three count. The crowd, even though firmly behind the NWO for most of the night (with a huge portions of the fans at ringside wearing NWO t-shirts) cheered loudly for the decision. DDP leaves the ring area through the crowd, engaging in a very brief staredown with Raven. Speaking of Bagwell, that movie he was in-"Day of the Warrior"-is on Cinemax later this week. I normally wouldn't watch it, but I hear Julie Strain is in it, so ... On the subject of signs, DDP rips up one-presumably pro-NWO-at ringside. For the entire night there is a guy at ringside-center camera-with a sign hyping the 4 Horsemen, except that his "4" looks like a "Y", which is really annoying. - They run a video package labeled "Lucha Libre & the Luchadores", which was simultaneously interesting and annoying. They show numerous clips of the Mexican wrestlers, the sights and sounds of Mexico, the merchandising and so on. What was annoying was Mike Tenay continually saying in the voice-over "we'll show you ... we'll show you ... " then the piece ended and they hadn't really shown us anything. All these insights on Mexican wrestling have been hacked up and will be parceled out over the next several weeks on Nitro. - REY MYSTERIO, JR. vs. EL CALIENTE El Caliente is Eddie Guerrero in a Mysterio mask-something which is obvious the second he steps in the ring. The announcers, meanwhile, have "no idea" who he is. "I've followed Mexican wrestling for twenty years!" Mike Tenay says, yet he professes to have no knowledge of his identity. As I told my brother: "I just watch him for a few minutes a week ... Tenay practically LIVES with the guy!" An okay match with a heavy emphasis on each one trying to pull the other's mask off. Mysterio pins "El Caliente" ("caliente" meaning "hot") with a huracanrana into a roll-up for the pin. Mysterio then pulls the mask off El Caliente, revealing Guerrero. Eddie, even though the crowd had been chanting his name during the match a few minutes before, acts mortified that he's been unmasked. Maybe he was just upset that his plan failed. Yeah, I'm sure that's what it was. Uh-huh. - Mean Gene Okerlund interviews the Giant, who promises Curt Hennig that he will receive some payback for what he has done to WCW. As they go to break the cut the music and focus in on Sting, who is up among the upper level crowd. With the nose-dive Nitro's ratings have been taking at the end of their second hour lately I don't blame them for letting the cat out of the bag early. - THE BARBARIAN vs. BILL GOLDBERG I had overlooked the fact (and failed to mention) last week that Goldberg not only wears a pair of black gloves, but is also sporting a large tattoo on his left arm. This makes him look only 92% like Steve Austin. My mistake. Goldberg pins the Barbarian with a vertical suplex into a powerslam. He then slaps aside a cameraman on the ring apron and blows off Mean Gene, who tries to get an interview. Okerlund makes as if Goldberg is the rudest person he's ever tried to talk to. The announcers heavily play up Goldberg's past in college and pro football (with Mean Gene even holding up a photo of Goldberg in uniform). Goldberg walks off, still not saying a word. How does that saying go? "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Without missing a beat, Okerlund brings out Larry Zbyszko, who promises to call the match between Lex Luger and Scott Hall right down the middle (as long as Syxx stays away from the ring). Larry asks the NWO how it feels to have someone from WCW finally fight back. I hope there's no more confusion surrounding who Goldberg is: he's Bill Goldberg-not Kendall Windham. Goldberg is a Power Plant graduate who appeared before as one of the scrubs who tried out for Roddy Piper's "family" earlier this year. Kendall Windham is a beanpole of a wrestler who was washed up a decade ago. The Barbarian-who's had little credibility over the last few months-now has none left at all. Have you noticed how he always loses in singles competition, yet usually wins when tagging with Meng? Meng may not be as "indestructible" as he once was, but he's definitely the one carrying that team. - Tony announces that Ric Flair will be phoning in comments later in the show. - DISCO INFERNO vs. JUVENTUD GUERRERA A less than impressive match which saw both Alex Wright and Jacquelyn come to ringside. Wright hinders Disco by putting Guerrera's foot on the bottom rope during a pin attempt. Jacquelyn then helps Disco by tripping Guerrera. Disco wins with a face forward suplex (like the "Curtain Call", which Goldust uses) and the pin. Jacquelyn and Wright both harass Disco as he leaves the ring. The worst feud imaginable is now 33% worse with the inclusion of Jacquelyn. Or 100%. 1000%? HOUR TWO Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Randy Savage and Elizabeth come out. Savage warns Roddy Piper not to get too "creative" regarding Savage's match with DDP at Halloween Havoc. I'm assuming that this will lead to Piper coming out next week to make the match "Falls Count Anywhere", "No DQ", "No Holds Barred", or something like that. - JEFF JARRETT (w/ Debra McMichael) vs. STEVE "MONGO" MCMICHAEL They heavily play up Mongo and Debra's "marital problems", which is probably as sure a sign as any that there aren't any. A fan at ringside has another of those b/w Debra McMichael posters where she's wearing go-go boots. I just find it hard to believe that every week someone at ringside manages to feel compelled to buy one of those ugly things. Can you say "planted"? The match itself is fairly blah, containing the usual Jarrett dominance and the expected Mongo comeback. Debra actively interferes, pulling Mongo's hair. The match finishes unimaginatively with Jarrett rolling Mongo up from behind as he's arguing with his wife. House show material here. - Nitro Girls. - They replay Scott Hall beating up referee Mark Curtis from last week. Hall (on crutches) and Syxx then come out to the ring for comments. I've pointed out before how all these guys say is their NWO catchphrases. This one not only proves me right, but stands as a glowing example of how true that is. Hall asks if the crowd has come to see "WCW" (crowd boos) or the "N ... W ... O!" (the crowd chants along with him). Syxx says "NWO is '4 Life!'" (which the crowd also chants along with). The NWO music starts up to cut him off, but Hall yells for it to stop so he can continue. He rags on Zbyszko for a bit, wrapping things up with the NWO being "Too ... SWEET!" (again the crowd chants along). I hate to call WCW fans "sheep", but it's hard to think otherwise after seeing a segment like this. Why this group of guys who can't wrestle and do the same interview over and over are so beloved by so many fans is beyond me. When you get right down to it, what's the difference between being an "NWO-ite" now and a "Hulkamaniac" ten years ago? It's even more ironic given that Hogan is the head of the NWO. Well, not really "ironic" ... "understandable", perhaps? Me? I was a Randy Savage "Macho Maniac" back then. (At least *he* could *wrestle*!) Nowadays I'm just a Steve Austin mark. - CHRIS JERICHO vs. SYXX (w/ Scott Hall) Syxx points at his dork and rides on Jericho. Where are the "Syxx is gay!" chants? Syxx gets drop-kicked off the apron and Hall comes over and rubs his head. Where are the "Hall is gay!" chants? Jericho does a lot of nice moves, but Syxx only does a few kicks, his quick legdrop, and takes a few bumps. Jericho has the match in hand when Hall gets up on the apron. Jericho confronts him, allowing Syxx to slap on the Buzzkiller. Hall then inexplicably enters the ring and starts to harass the ref in the corner. Larry Zbyszko comes in and pulls Syxx off Jericho. Larry teases taking on the two of them until Lex Luger runs in, which causes Hall to back off and point to his own bad leg. No decision is ever announced, probably making the match a "no contest". They really sold the Zbyszko bit well. I really thought we might see something there for a minute. - Tony Schiavone interviews Ric Flair over the phone. In a superb speech, Flair touches on several subjects. First, Flair "thanks" Hennig for giving him the "wakeup call" he needed. He says he had gotten complacent, and that the reason five guys attacked him at Fall Brawl was because Flair was "stupid enough" to get himself in that situation. Flair says that five years ago he'd have "left Hennig laying a week before that match!" Flair vows to come back and take care of Hennig. He then moves on to Hogan, saying that Hennig giving Hogan Flair's wrestling was like driving an NWO truck through his house. He says he and Hogan were the two biggest draws in the sport and that Hogan can't wear his shoes, much less his robe. He thanks Arn Anderson for being an inspiration. On the subject of the Four Horsemen, he says Chris Benoit is "pound-for- pound the best wrestler in the world". He also says he's great friends with Steve McMichael. He says that as of now he's asking those two to go their own ways, because neither need Flair or the Horsemen. Flair says that the ideal of the Four Horsemen will last for decades, but that the team-as it exists now-is no longer necessary. Flair says that what he has to do, he has to do it himself, because his revenge will not only be "immoral", but "illegal" as well. Flair wraps up saying he doesn't know when, but someday he'll return. Just like that, the "Four Horsemen" are no more. - They play the first "Nitro Party" video, featuring a bunch of sappy knuckleheads from Brown University. These guys and gals, most of which are future scientists and captains of industry, are all NWO fans. One guy seems to have trouble remembering his own name. This video destroys the myth of all WCW fans being "barefoot rednecks" and replaces it with one that is even less flattering. - Eric Bischoff comes to the ring and strokes his ego for five minutes. Bischoff, like Hogan used to, has trouble saying "'Rowdy' Roddy Piper". Going into the break they run an NWO promo for the Buff Bagwell brushed suede hat. TWENTY-FIVE NINETY-FIVE?! Are they f*@#ing kidding me?!!! - WRATH (w/ James Vandenberg) vs. LEX LUGER Wrath, even though accompanied by lasers and spooky red light, gets almost no reaction. Luger, coming out next, gets a lukewarm reaction at best. (They actually run a cameraman along the ringside crowd to provoke a response to simulate the fans cheering-making the mugging and hooting for the camera seem like cheering for Luger). Schiavone announces that a match between McMichael vs. Jarrett has been added to Halloween Havoc, which means Jarrett loses his U.S. Title shot (which he got last week on Nitro). Though they didn't say, this presumably clears the way for a match between Hennig and Chris Benoit. Schiavone also announces that they will probably run over two hours again. Luger has little problem with Wrath, hoisting him up in impressively easy fashion into the Torture Rack. Considering that this was about the end of the two hour "regulation time", this was a pretty poor match to show this late in the show. Somebody in the production truck apparently goofs, as they show the Nitro logo after the match and make the usual camera sweep indicating the commercial break. The announcers then go silent as the shot switches to the Nitro Girls coming out to work the crowd. After several moments of silence (which shows a group of people along the aisle who look a lot like the Brown University students in the Nitro Party video) Mike Tenay says we must be getting "bonus Nitro Girls coverage". The girls get as far as the ring when they finally cut away to a commercial. This is only notable because Tony and Mike start in on some casual chatter for a split second before realizing the mic is still live. Who knows what they might have accidentally said had they not picked up on it right away? - Eric Bischoff comes to the desk, which sends Tenay and Heenan scurrying. Eric starts to rag on Flair's phone call. - CURT HENNIG vs. THE GIANT Neither Hennig nor the Giant draw all that much noise from the crowd. I wonder if fans thought the live TV show was over? Bischoff mentions the restraining order he has against the Giant and Larry Zbyszko. Wouldn't a "temporary restraining order" have run out by now? Wouldn't it take an actual conviction of either the Giant or Zbyszko to warrant a permanent restraining order? I'm not a lawyer, so I'm just asking here. A somewhat interesting match. The Giant starts off dominating. Hennig comes back, taking the match to the floor briefly, then getting back in the ring and applying the Hennig-Plex/Perfect-Plex/Fisherman Suplex. In addition to looking as impressive as hell, this wakes up the crowd a bit. The Giant almost immediately pops back up to his feet (is that "kips up?") and nails Hennig with a chokeslam. In runs the NWO: Syxx, Bagwell, Vincent, Scott Norton, Konan, and Savage. Norton nails the Giant with the U.S. Title belt and the group stomps him to the mat. Enter Sting, who walks to the ring with baseball bat in hand. The NWO immediately exit the ring and back away some distance. Sting-now in the ring-waves the bat at all of them, then drops it to the floor outside the ring. The NWO charge back in, but Sting starts laying them out with fists, chops and kicks! (The crowd friggin' explodes!) On and on, in endless waves they keep coming at him, but Sting knocks them aside like bowling pins. Debris is by now flying in the ring from the fans. Sting pretty much has the whole NWO laid out by the time they cut away, ending the show. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: My dad nearly had another stroke! Here Nitro manages to run about twenty minutes over, yet they "run out of time" just as things get good. Word is that after the cameras went off Sting started hitting the guys with Stinger Death Drops, Stinger Splashed Syxx in the corner, and let out one of his trademark howls. He also did this in at least one house show over the weekend, leading to heavy speculation beforehand that this would happen again on Nitro. Other than the Flair phone call, Zbyszko confrontation, Giant Hennig-Plex and wild ending, I thought this week's show was pretty dull. Not much more to say about it other than that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Taped. Length: Two Hours. Location: Albany, New York. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - They start off with a video package highlighting Steve Austin's numerous Stone Cold Stunners on authority figures. The question of Austin's fate in the WWF is heavily played up. A look at the crowd again shows an abundance of signs, though these seem to be "pro-" and "anti-" just about everything. - McMahon brings out Shawn Michaels, who is accompanied by Rick Rude, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. McMahon starts with Rude, asking him who is paying him. Rude says he has to stick to "rules of confidentiality", then offers to provide McMahon with a similar protection service. McMahon moves on to Michaels, calling him the "wise-ass" of the WWF. Shawn calls his attack on the Undertaker last week his "Garden party". He passes the mic over to Helmsley, telling him to take his shot at the WWF. Helmsley, doing a shoot-style interview, says he's been held back while the WWF "spread it's legs like a whore!" for every other WWF superstar. He says from now on he and HBK will make the WWF rings their own personal "house of pain". Commissioner Slaughter comes to the ring and ruins their parade by saying Helmsley will face the Undertaker in tonight's main event. Hunter and Shawn explode, yelling "no way!" Cue the Hart Foundation's music, as that group appears at the top of the ramp. Bret Hart tells Shawn that he has more than the Undertaker to worry about, as Shawn has committed "crimes" against the Hart Foundation. Unlike the more "real" emotion of moments before Shawn and Hunter make goofy faces indicating how not afraid they are of the Harts. Even though taped tons of questionable language was used unedited. On the way to the commercial they show a door of the arena, saying they are awaiting the arrival of Steve Austin. - They run a lengthy recap of Michaels winning the European Title at "One Night Only". First they show the still photos, then video of what happened after the match, including Diana Smith getting grabbed by Chyna and the Harts coming out for the save. - VADER vs. THE BRITISH BULLDOG Late in the match a fan holds up a sign that says "These Hot Dogs cost too much". Another says "Slaughter Sucks. Go back to G.I. Joe". This actually wasn't too bad a match. Vader works quite a bit, while the Bulldog does much more than I figured his bad leg would allow. Match goes in and out of the ring, with each wrestler dropping their opponent across the ring barrier at different points. Vader finally gets the upper hand and sets up-and nails-the Vaderbomb. As he covers for the pin the cameraman moves to get a better angle, revealing at the last moment the Hart Foundation running in for the attack. Nice camera work, but a stupid, annoying finish. Vader really gets worked over until the Patriot runs out. He too is taken out, and both are "buried" under Canadian flags. Another look at the door shows Austin hasn't arrived yet. - I actually missed a few seconds here as I got caught up in what was going on with Larry Zbyszko over on Nitro. When I finally remembered and turned back to RAW (to resume taping) they were already running the in-depth feature on Ron Simmons which they showed on Superstars. I'll admit it" for a minute Nitro actually pulled me away from RAW. Maybe a minute. Closer to 30 seconds, really. - AHMED JOHNSON (w/ the Legion of Doom) vs. FAAROOQ (w/ the Nation of D.) They show in slow-mo how Ahmed ripped open his hand last week on the WWF's new announcer's tables. Not much of a match here. The action quickly spills to the floor, where Ahmed goes after Faarooq with the steel ring steps (laying in a pair of wicked looking shots on Faarooq's arm). The ref comes out and Ahmed pushes him down, earning a DQ. Match goes maybe a minute total. A big NOD/LOD brawl breaks out, which draws Ken Shamrock out as well to aid Ahmed and the LOD. It may not have been much of a match, but all four of these guys are hugely over with the crowd. Faarooq, by default, advances in the Intercontinental Title tournament. Still no Austin. - They run the third Sable "Lazer Tag" segment, which incredibly enough managed to be worse than the first two. - The latest installment of the "Pillman XXX Files". Marlena is in bed, clutching a blanket tightly to her chin. Pillman pops up from under the covers and says he's "bushed!" Pillman says he won't fight Dude Love at "Badd Blood" unless the WWF assures him Goldust won't interfere. Pillman demands that Goldust be handcuffed to the ringpost during the match. He then starts to grope Marlena and makes a handcuff joke. Jerry Lawler says Pillman has taken some very revealing Polaroid shots of Marlena, and that we'll see them at "Badd Blood". Dude Love then comes out to deliver color commentary for the next match. - GOLDUST vs. THE SULTAN (w/ the Iron Sheik) Remember how only half of Goldust's face and head was painted last week? This time only a quarter is, as the makeup starts down the middle of his face and ends by his right ear. It seems that Dustin Runnels is emerging from the Goldust makeup. Dude Love says Commissioner Slaughter has told him that Goldust will be handcuffed for the Pillman. Dude Love match, and that if Dude Love wins, then Pillman must immediately thereafter fight Goldust in a "No Holds Barred" match. McMahon confirms that Austin has finally arrived. As to the match itself, one word: boring. Goldust gets the pin following a Dustin Rhodes trademark Bulldog. He wrestled the match without his gloves, which allowed Jim Ross to point out that he was wearing his wedding ring. McMahon announces that Goldust and Marlena will hold a ceremony to renew their vows on RAW next week. At some point during the match McMahon made a point of referring to Goldust as Dustin Runnels. They show the footage of Austin walking in the door giving a security guy or arena staffer (or WWF employee) an earful. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - All together now: *KEE-RASH!* Austin is nearly mugged by a fan as he enters the ring. He and McMahon stare down as Vince takes his time coming getting up from the table. Part of the crowd chants "One more time!" McMahon, doing his best to look annoyed, says Austin is either a nut, or he "just don't give a damn!" He says he no longer gives a damn as well, and that the WWF will tolerate him no longer. Austin grabs the mic and says it sounds like Vince is about to fire him, and dares him to do so. Vince instead lays out three options: 1. Get a doctor's release to wrestle. Vince says he knows Austin won't get this because no doctor in the country will certify him. 2. Sign a waiver absolving the WWF of any responsibility if Austin gets injured or crippled. If Austin can't or won't do either of these, then he's ... 3. Fired. Jim Ross says this brings back memories. Austin says he knows his neck better than any doctor, and he'll do what he wants. If McMahon brings out a paper for him to sign he may put his name on it, or he just may shove it up McMahon's ass. Finally, if McMahon has the guts to fire him, Austin guarantees he'll beat Vince up worse than anything that has ever happened to McMahon in his life. They then tease several tense moments as Austin leaves, comes back, leaves, then comes back again and flips McMahon off (which gets video blurred out, showing that there was some editing done for tonight's show). - HEADBANGERS vs. LOS BORICUAS I nominate the Boricuas theme music as the lamest in all of wrestling. Jesus and Jose come out wearing street clothes instead of the sissy milkman outfits they usually have. Jim Ross spends a lot of the match hyping the wrestling legends who will be at "Badd Blood" (such as Lou Thesz and Jerry Brisco), as well as launching into a tirade against Commissioner Slaughter for having Steve Austin at the PPV to hand over the Intercontinental belt in a ceremony. The first undeniably bad match of the evening. Imagine Steve Lombardi and the Brooklyn Brawler wrestling Kimchee and the MVP. (Okay, I realize they were all the same guy, but I think you get my point). The match is put out of it's misery when the Godwinns run in and attack the Boricuas (giving them the DQ win, but preventing the Headbangers from losing the Tag Titles). The other two Boricuas, Miguel and Savio, run in to assist their rasa. - Owen Hart comes to the ring accompanied by four policemen in riot gear. Owen is wearing his new "Owen 3:16" t-shirt, which says "I just broke your neck" on the back. (McMahon points this out to any prospective buyers in the audience). Owen says Faarooq is a capable wrestler, but that he will beat him so long as there is no interference by Austin in the match at "Badd Blood". Owen implores McMahon to make the right decision and fire Austin next week. He brings up tradition, family, even McMahon's father and the foundation of the WWF. McMahon eyes him skeptically. Owen climbs the turnbuckle as McMahon labels him as possibly being the next IC champion. Vince then spots something and runs off. The camera switches angles to show one of the helmeted policemen has removed his helmet ... and it's Steve Austin! Austin waits for Owen to climb down and turn around. When he does Austin kicks him in the stomach and applies the Stone Cold Stunner. The other police run in, but Austin escapes through the crowd. After the commercial they show Austin taking off his helmet via a different camera shot than the live one. The Stunner, like all others, is replayed three times. - They show footage of some dingy looking workmen constructing the new steel cage for the Michaels/Undertaker "Hell in the Cell" match at "Badd Blood". Lawler says they look like the same guys who put the aluminum siding on his house. Ross, taking a shot at the competition, says it's the most dangerous cage match in the industry, and that it isn't "AARP certified" and doesn't have "wheelchair access". Heh. - THE UNDERTAKER vs. HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY (w/ Chyna & Michaels) In an odd twist, the Undertaker is attacked on the way to the ring by Bret Hart and the Bulldog. Vader and the Patriot come out to scuffle with those two. Michaels and Helmsley then start in on the Undertaker. The Taker eventually starts to no-sell the attack and tosses Helmsley aside. He then chases Michaels into the ring, but is attacked by Helmsley from behind as the match officially starts. They needn't have bothered, as the Undertaker quickly chokeslams HHH, then signals for the Tombstone Piledriver. In runs Rick Rude with a Haliburton briefcase. He nails the UT with it, then pulls a black body bag out of it. He, Helmsley, Michaels and Chyna all pound on the Undertaker and roll him onto the bag, zipping him into it. Having now disposed of the Undertaker the group celebrates in the ring. The Undertaker sits up, clawing his way out of the bag. This sends Michaels troops scattering. The Undertaker slowly stalks Shawn up the ramp, ignoring blows on his back by Helmsley. Once they reach the stage at the top of the ramp Michaels signals for Helmsley to charge the Undertaker. He does, and is caught and hoisted into the Tombstone, which the Undertaker delivers on the ramp. Shawn tries to escape through the curtains, but is cut off by smoke and a strange red light (the one nod to the Cain angle throughout the entire show). Michaels, seeing no other avenue of escape, climbs up the gridwork which supports the gigantic Titan-Tron screen. - Next week: Goldust renewing his vows with Marlena. The fate of Steve Austin. Comments: I'm surprised at how live this show felt, though it wasn't enough to totally captivate me. The second hour was really weak, and I had a hard time being interested in anything not involving Austin. The end, while not entirely a letdown, sure failed to deliver on what I and probably a lot of other folks were waiting for: The kiss. In case you hadn't heard, Michaels supposedly climbed down from the Titan-Tron after the Undertaker left and, showing concern for the fallen Helmsley, kissed him on the lips. All this as the crowd chanted "Shawn is gay!" I didn't really think they'd show it, and I still don't even know for 100% if it actually happened. I'm sure the rumor caused a lot of people who heard about it to tune in to see if it really happened. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: How weak is Halloween Havoc shaping up to be? With less than two weeks to go they've only announced four matches (though I myself count five-Schiavone said four): and most all of which have already appeared on PPV's in the last year. Mysterio vs. Guerrero should be fine, but Hall vs. Luger shows no promise, while Savage vs. Page may be great, or it may not. No guarantees there. Jarrett vs. Mongo should be just as bad as the match on TV. Hogan vs. Piper in the cage could be anything from dull to lame, awful and stupid. If they add Disco vs. Wright the card probably gets worse. Depending on the few other undercard matches they could add (including Benoit vs. Hennig) this PPV may be like most other WCW PPV's this year: solid wrestling-wise, with few surprises and a terrible main event. Not that Badd Blood looks any better. I'll say it again: putting Michaels and the Undertaker in a cage will hurt instead of help that match, since it limits what they can do. Hart/Bulldog vs. Vader/Patriot in the "Flag Match" is something you'd expect to see on RAW. Headbangers vs. Godwinns should be dreadful, and will be even worse than that if the Godwinns win the titles. Any match between the LOD and NOD is bound to be awful. Owen Hart vs. Faarooq is nothing special, with a prospective Steve Austin appearance not even able to save it. Finally, Pillman vs. Dude Love ... haven't we seen this match at least twice on RAW in recent weeks and months? This too looks like many other WWF PPV's this year in promising little solid wrestling, some surprises, and a whole lotta disappointments. Both shows went up in the ratings this week, Nitro going up to a 4.1, while RAW pulled in a mystifying 2.7! Where as once the taped shows always did poorer in the ratings, the two most recent have now done better than the live ones! Nitro peaked with a 4.6 (I think during the Flair phone interview) while RAW hit something like a not too shabby 3.1 at it's peak. For the fourth straight week Nitro's first hour did better than it's second. Both shows improved by nearly half a ratings point over last week. RAW would have gotten a stronger rating, but dropped down to a dismal 2.2 at one point, which I believe coincided with the Headbangers/Boricuas match. (Ratings courtesy the Bagpipe Report website). Overall it was an okay week for both shows. Neither one really stood out over the other in my mind. For that reason I'm giving the win based on my favorite moment, which was the totally engrossing tease by Zbyszko in the ring with Scott Hall. I really did bite on that one, to the point that I actually missed taping a few seconds of RAW. That, and the excellent Flair interview (as well as Sting's ring-clearing appearance). The best sign of the night? At one point a fan standing behind and to the right of Vince McMahon held up a sign which said "Dyslexia 6:13" on it. He then turned it around and it said "Toupee", with an arrow pointed at Vince's head! That couldn't have been done any better if the WWF had planned it themselves. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 98 of the "Monday Night Recap", September 29th, 1997.