Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #182 May 10th, 1999 The Opening Word: Slamboree's in the books, and it's getting the not-all-too-unexpected mixed reviews. Those inclined to like it in the first place probably did, while those who wouldn't, didn't. The workrate fans got one match to crow about: the opener, which saw Raven and Saturn win the Tag Titles in a Three Way over Rey Mysterio & Kidman, and the Horsemen. From there the card proceeded with a series of matches which were "good" or "bad" depending on 1) how much you like the wrestlers involved, and 2) how much you consider WCW's actions to be "surprising". Having not seen the show myself, I can't say whether any of these matches (including the first) were good or bad at all. I'm only talking about the results, booking, and reaction from others I've seen. Konan beat Stevie Ray, delivering what seems to be the consensus choice as the worst match on the card. Even in the positive reviews I've read, this match was singled out as being the worst. Bam Bam Bigelow beat Brian Knobbs, in a match getting reactions across the board. Some loved it, some hated it, some said it was average. Most seem to agree that it wasn't as good as the "Hardcore" match at WCW's last PPV, Spring Stampede. Bigelow now has the unofficial title of "King of Hardcore". Rick Steiner, with an assist from Scott Steiner, pinned Booker T. to win the Television Title. The story played out after the match was that Rick thought Scott was trying to hurt him, not Booker T. Running into Buff Bagwell after the match Rick asked if he'd seen Scott, and wished Buff good luck. I haven't seen any overly positive reactions to this match either. Gorgeous George beat Charles Robinson. Randy Savage, Madusa, Miss Madness, Ric Flair and "Asia" (Flair's nurse, in a not-too-subtle shot at Chyna) all interfered in the match. Some were entertained by this, while others thought it was just terrible. George and Robinson apparently did a lot of work preparing for the match, so that they had a few spots planned out, and were able to do a lot of the basics (armbars and such). The "comedy" elements of this match (Robinson looking and wrestling exactly like Ric Flair) seem to be what won some fans over. I personally think Robinson is quite amusing in his take off of Flair. Scott Steiner beat Buff Bagwell. Rick Steiner helped his brother get the win, turning heel as part of a Steiner Brothers reunion. I've seen some describe this, and the earlier Steiner match, as a "surprise", which kind of ignores everything Rick had done on TV in the last month. Some have singled this match out as being overly long and/or bad. The only thing I'm left wondering is if they're trying to elevate Rick to Scott's admittedly upper mid-card level, or will reuniting the Steiners drags Scott down to Rick's rather lower mid-card level? Funny how both Steiners now have singles titles. There's a part of me that wants to see a push for these guys work, but let's face it: both are terrible on the mic, and in the ring the two are only a shadow of their former selves. Ric Flair beat "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, retaining control of WCW, but then Eric Bischoff came out and reversed the decision. Bischoff followed up by firing Flair. The parallels between a new babyface Eric Bischoff and the recently turned babyface Vince McMahon are self-apparent. The difference is if Vince's turn seemed rushed in the space of a month, Eric's turn was done at light speed in one postmatch interview. I'm still trying to figure out on what authority Bischoff was able to overturn the match? This is a story that needed to be set up on TV beforehand to be believable, and WCW never even touched upon it. Sting and Goldberg went to no decision, as Goldberg was attacked by Bret "Hitman" Hart, and Sting was attacked by the Steiner Brothers. Reports are that Goldberg was removed from the building after the show, having suffered a possibly legitimate leg injury (source: 1Wrestling.com). I thought this match might steal the show, but many cite the shortness of the match (ten minutes or so) and abrupt finish as ruining it for them (to varying degrees). My reaction? Remember what I wrote last week about this match being needed to set up the next World Title challenger? Looks instead like WCW is planning on a Sting/Goldberg/Steiners feud, or at least a Goldberg/Hart feud. If Sting goes on to vie for the World Title then I have no real problem with the way this one turned out. Kevin Nash beat Diamond Dallas Page by DQ, due to interference by Randy Savage. Eric Bischoff then ordered the match restarted, which led to Nash delivering two Jackknife powerbombs and scoring the pin, winning the WCW World Heavyweight Title. Bischoff's face turn is completed, and again questions of his powers in WCW arise. Nash, as pretty much everyone expected, won the belt. What isn't clear is who he'll face next, and even more muddled is what the hell is up with Randy Savage. Lots of questions left up in the air by this show. For example, where was Scott Hall? I heard nary a mention of him by anyone who reviewed the show. There was also an angle seemingly set up by WCW early in the PPV, showing DDP palling around with Bam Bam Bigelow. The two are from the same area in New Jersey. (Wasn't DDP Bigelow's manager or something several years ago?) The announcers made it clear that these two were long time buddies, and it more than teased the possibility that Bigelow would get involved in the main event. Nothing came of it, though, causing many to ask what the point was in the first place. Who runs WCW now? Piper, who beat Flair because of Bischoff's actions, or Bischoff, who would seemingly need to be in such a position of authority to do what he did? Also set up during Bischoff's appearances was a theme which has him in some kind of opposition to the "higher-ups" in the Turner/Time Warner corporate structure. Coincidentally a story has been floated by WCW that they had a deal in the works with NBC earlier this year, but that NBC nixed the deal when the Time/Warner people dragged their heels in working out the details. Coincidence, or part of some WCW master plan to get the fans to side with Bischoff in some kind of internal "power struggle"? (Wouldn't it be something if Bischoff claims Time/Warner has held WCW back by making them "G-Rated", and he intends to fix WCW by adding more sex and violence? I wouldn't know where to begin commenting on that one.) Again, this is all stuff that needs to be set up and played out on TV for the fans to digest. That hasn't happened yet. Of course all these questions about Bischoff may be pointless if he doesn't return to an on-camera role. Overall the reaction seems to be that, save for some who liked/loved this show, that it wasn't as good as last month's Spring Stampede. One E-Mail I got suggested it was on par with Uncensored this past March. A few have said it's WCW's worst PPV this year. As I said at the beginning, mixed reactions, for a show WCW really needed to turn things around. With no TV this week to follow things up, WCW loses much of their chance to capitalize on whatever strengths this show may have had. Now, normally I wouldn't devote so much space to a PPV (WCW or otherwise) here in the Recap. Unfortunately for WCW, the PPV is the only thing they'll be doing for several days to come. There's no Nitro or Thunder this week, due to NBA Playoff basketball on both TNT and TBS. WCW Saturday Night this coming weekend will be the first opportunity for the bulk of WCW's fans to find out what happened at the PPV. No word from WCW yet whether they'll turn that show into a "A-List" effort and work on the storylines, or do the usual squash and jobber matches and dole out some PPV results. Next Monday, the 17th, looks bad for WCW as well. It's unlikely that WCW will get a full three hours (due to basketball), so they already have scheduled a repeat of their "Best of '98" special which they ran earlier this year. Thursday the 20th will be WCW's next live show. Monday the 24th is also up in the air, due to the pending NBA schedule. Things aren't guaranteed to return to normal until Monday the 31st. It could be pretty frustrating if WCW is forced to wait until then to start sorting out all the Slamboree fallout. Moving on, the only development to come out of the WWF in the last week is that the Rock has a "broken" arm. I put that in quotes because it looks like it's just an angle to juice up the beating he suffered at the hands of Triple H and Chyna last Monday. Early speculation is that the Rock will use the cast he's now wearing to get the win over Helmsley at the Over the Edge PPV, preventing Triple H from having to do a clean job. The other train of thought is that the injury may be used to explain a Triple H win, sparing the Rock the indignity of having to do the clean job. Or it may lead to nothing at all. Tune into this week's RAW, and the coming PPV to find out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Not on. - This Thursday: Not on. - Next week: Unknown. Comments: Given the state of WCW, and Nitro recently, a break for them (and us fans) probably isn't a bad idea. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Orlando, Florida. WWF RAW Hosted By: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - Flashback package. Shane McMahon leads the Corporate Ministry into the building, as in another part of the building we also see the arrival of Vince McMahon and the Union, 2X4's in hand. - I'm going to go on record and say there are too many signs in the crowd tonight. - KANE vs. "BADD ASS" BILLY GUNN Billy Gunn's music is definitely worse than Paul Wight's. Heading to the ring he's jumped by a female "fan", who is quickly escorted away by security. Would I be jumping the gun (Gunn?) in guessing that she will become his valet soon, with a dumb name like "Candy" or "Peaches"? These two go at it for several minutes, which is a bit too long given the result. Kane ends up getting knocked off the apron, with his feet caught between the middle and bottom ropes. Gunn capitalizes on this and beats on him, ignoring the referee and giving up any pretense of going for the win. Out comes Road Dogg and X-Pac for the save. The Dogg, still in street clothes, has these funny looking scrawny legs (compared to Gunn's, anyway). Now I know why he wears those baggy pants. As X-Pac is trying to free Kane he's attacked from behind by D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry. Ivory cheers them on. I wouldn't call this a heel turn per se, but it sure as hell comes out of nowhere. The Dogg faces Gunn at the PPV, while D-Lo and Henry will get shots at X-Pac and Kane's Tag Title belts. The Ministry and Union: separate hallways--identical destinations. - Monica Seles is in the crowd. I bet some of the higher-ups at USA dug that. - Vince, the Union, and three policemen dressed in riot gear hit the ring. Vince calls out Shane and the Corporate Ministry. They oblige him, taking up positions on the stage. Insults are traded, and a rumble looks about to break out, when WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels appears on the Titan-Tron. Shawn, who is apparently in San Antonio, starts belittling Shane McMahon's booking efforts last week. Shawn says he'll show him how it's done, and lays out a whole laundry list of matches: * At Over the Edge, in the Steve Austin/Undertaker match, Vince McMahon will join his son Shane as the second special referee. * Tonight, Faarooq vs. Bradshaw, in a Lumberjack Match. The Union will serve as the lumberjacks. * Test vs. the Big Bossman, in a "Nightstick-on-a-Pole Match". * Pat Patterson & Gerry Brisco vs. the Mean Streets Posse, loser leaves the WWF. * Ken Shamrock vs. Chyna. * Paul Wight vs. Paul Bearer. Bearer faints at the announcement of this match. If the Undertaker interferes he loses his titleshot at the PPV. * Viscera & Midian vs. Cactus Jack, in a "Hardcore Handicap Match". * Because he can, he books a Sable vs. Debra "Evening Gown Match". Sable will be stripped of the Women's Title if she no-shows. * In tonight's main event, the Undertaker, Triple H and Shane McMahon square off against Steve Austin, the Rock and Vince McMahon. Shawn is about to name a special referee for the last match, when Shane starts spouting off about how he can't do any of this, and is especially powerless being in San Antonio and all. Shawn says he knew Shane would act that way, and asks that the three riot gear-clad police officers reveal themselves. Number one turns out to be Pat Patterson. The third in line is Gerry Brisco. The middle one, in case you hadn't figured it out, turns out to be Shawn Michaels himself. Shawn names himself the referee for tonight's main event. My reaction to all this: Eh. Too derivative of last week's killer show. But we'll see how it plays out. - "THE BIG SHOW" PAUL WIGHT vs. PAUL BEARER Big boot. Elbowdrop. That's all. Wights asks Commissioner Michaels (who's at ringside, having come out with Bearer to make sure he didn't run away), if they can waive the stipulation barring the Undertaker from ringside? Shawn assents, and the Big Show calls him out. The Ministry runs in, the Union makes the save. Are Debra's breasts getting bigger? Sable and Nicole Bass don't think so. Sorry, all the large breasts are causing my mind to wander. - "Stone Cold" returns to "Nash Bridges" this coming Friday. Watching it may save Don Johnson's career. ... For the love of God--DON'T WATCH! - DEBRA MCMICHAEL vs. SABLE (w/ Nicole Bass) Sable's basically wearing black underwear with a gown held closed by one button at the bustline. Shawn says Nicole Bass is "one big dude!" Sable does her catchphrase and Grind, and shows us her butt. Val Venis then comes out, because the little head is doing the thinking for the big head. Debra likes what she sees. Sable comes up behind her and rips Debra's gown off. THIS IS THE GREATEST RAW EV--err, umm, no, not really. Nicole backs Val from the ring, where he runs smack-dab into a guitar shot from Jeff Jarrett. None of this sits too well with Commissioner Michaels, so he goes in the ring and declares that since Debra was the FIRST one to be stripped, she is in fact the winner, and new WWF Women's Champion. Sable doesn't do a very good job of looking all that upset. Hey, is that her left nipple? So the WWF Women's Champion is really pro-wrestling's equivalent to a wet t-shirt contest winner? Just so we get that out up front. The Rock--Vince McMahon--Steve Austin--triple splitscreen. - Shane's upset, and lets Triple H and the Undertaker know it. - TEST vs. THE BIG BOSSMAN The Bossman's nightstick is up on a pole in the corner, an at first glance looks to be about twenty feet in the air. I have my doubts the Bossman can even reach it. The match itself actually isn't that bad, with a lot more wrestling done between the two than I expected. Things come to a close with Test managing to climb up and grab the nightstick, but he's clubbed by the Bossman, who pulls a collapsible baton from one of his pockets. He gets the pin. Cactus Jack is roaming the halls, looking for plunder. Hey, is this the building the Orlando Magic play in? WWF WAR ZONE Hosted By: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. - Val Venis, backstage with Michael Cole, challenges Jeff Jarrett to a match later tonight. - CACTUS JACK vs. MIDIAN/VISCERA The two Ministry members come out with chairs, trashcans, and other assorted implements of mayhem. Cactus Jack comes out with two basketballs. Last week Mankind couldn't beat the Acolytes in a handicap match. Here, because Cactus Jack is the "deadliest" on Mick Foley's personalities, he gets the win. Cactus takes a few sickening chairshots to the head en route to elbow dropping a chair off the apron to the floor, onto Viscera, and scoring the pin. Chyna, backstage, tells Michael Cole "every 28 days I get a little bit moody. Yesterday just happened to be 27." - Video package for "The Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman. Cool. Blackman breaks boards, bricks, and does other assorted karate-type stuff. - FAAROOQ vs. BRADSHAW Faarooq says there'll be no match ... and besides, if there was, we all know who'd win. Bradshaw takes a few seconds to get what Faarooq is implying. He tells him he's proven he can outdrink him every night, "don't make me kick your ass too!" Push comes to shove and the two decide to go at it. After a few minutes of rather animated, stiff brawling, the other Ministry members come in to break it up. The Union lumberjacks, who had kept the two Acolytes in the ring (and taken what shots they could), let all the Ministry members assemble before closing in for the attack. Everyone escapes except Viscera, who takes a few 2X4 shots. Patterson and Brisco are on their way out. They compare who they've beaten in the past. Patterson mentions Nick Bockwinkel. Brisco drops Ric Flair's name--"whooo!" - PAT PATTERSON/GERRY BRISCO vs. THE MEAN STREETS POSSE The Posse are wearing their street clothes again. Patterson and Brisco come out to the strains of Hulk Hogan's old "Real American" theme music. Hey ... they shouldn't make fun of their elders! Anyway, Patterson is taken out immediately with a bodyslam on the floor and a whip into the steel post. Brisco gets in a few shots (including a not-too-bad looking fireman's carry takeover) , but goes down at the hands of the two younger men. Pete Gas pulls off his belt, preparing to whip Brisco (whom Rodney is holding facedown on the mat). Patterson comes roaring in, swinging his riot helmet. Brisco slaps on the Figure Four, while Patterson applies a (half-assed) Boston Crab. Double submission win. I can't believe the crowd pop here. So long Mean Streets Posse. I'll hardly miss ye. During the post-match celebration Patterson whips off his shirt and poses for the crowd. Jim Ross lets all the "fellows" out there know he's single. God, that's funny. This was the most entertaining match of the night (and the only one with a clean finish, I might add.) Shamrock tells Michael Cole that he can't fight Chyna, as it goes against his upbringing. - JEFF JARRETT (w/ Debra) vs. VAL VENIS I'd kind of had my fill of everyone involved in this match by this point. These two go at it for about eight minutes, with Debra eventually climbing on the apron to distract Val. She removes her jacket, and cuddles with Val. Behind his back she hands Jarrett her Women's Title belt, which he uses to waffle Val and cover for the pin. I don't know about the live crowd, or anyone else, but this was just so "ho-hum", done so late in the show, that it kind of killed the flow of the evening for me. Shamrock and Chyna are next. - Another "Beaver Cleaver" clip, which is just too dumb to even talk about. - CHYNA (w/ Triple H) vs. KEN SHAMROCK Shamrock comes out and says he just won't fight a woman. Triple H goads him, and Chyna slaps him. Repeat. Repeat again. Shamrock snaps, and in the course of trading blows with Helmsley he belly-to-belly suplexes Chyna. Frustrated that he was forced to do something he didn't want to, he leaves. No match, no winner, the crowd is about as upset as I am. Our main event cast of characters are on their way out. - STEVE AUSTIN/ROCK/VINCE MCMAHON vs. UNDERTAKER/TRIPLE H/SHANE MCMAHON Right away the Rock gets into it with Triple H, leaving Vince McMahon to get chokeslammed and Tombstoned by the Undertaker. The Rock then nails Shane with his cast, effectively taking both McMahons out of the match. Austin makes his usual late entrance. The four wrestlers pair off against their upcoming PPV opponents and brawl around the ringside area. A few moments are devoted to some wrestling in the ring, and some pin attempts, but nothing much comes of it. Shane and Vince crawl back into the ring and Shane starts dropping elbows on his father. Austin comes in and gives Shane a Stone Cold Stunner. Vince covers, but Austin pulls him off, hits another Stunner, and himself covers for the pin. Vince gives Austin what has to be described as a puzzled look. Austin and Shawn Michaels close out the show, which ends a couple minutes early, drinking beer atop the corner turnbuckles. - Next week: Nothing announced. Comments: It's as if the WWF decided last week's show went so well, that they'd redo it this week, with a few twists and turns thrown in. Some of it worked, but a lot didn't. There were too many matches, ten in total, yet only a few had what could be considered "clean" finishes. Here's how tonight's matches came out: * Kane vs. Gunn - no winner. * Wight vs. Bearer - no match, no winner. * Debra vs. Sable - no "match" to speak of. * Test vs. Bossman - pinfall, foreign object. * Cactus vs Midian & Viscera - pinfall, hardcore rules. * Faarooq vs. Bradshaw - no winner. * Pat & Gerry vs. the Posse - double submission. * Jarrett vs. Venis - pinfall, interference. * Shamrock vs. Chyna - no match, no winner. * Main event - pinfall, virtual "no holds barred" brawl. Half the matches either never got off the ground, or didn't reach a conclusion. Of the half that did, almost all of them included interference, foreign objects, or were wild melee's in which who won had little to do with what happened during the match. Now while this isn't so much different than the average RAW, it can usually be overlooked if the storylines are clicking, right? Unfortunately, speaking for myself, they just didn't click this week. One of the first live shots from the arena was of Vince McMahon carrying a 2X4 alongside the Union. Sorry, but that was a bit much for me. Having a match instead of the usual show-opening interview set on odd tone for the night. Then Shawn Michaels pops up and does his Roddy Piper routine, making matches, throwing out wild stipulations, doing all kinds of things which just fit too well with the running storylines (meaning Shane or Vince could have been the ones to make these matches. Michaels making them wasn't necessary). I just never got into it. Now, speaking of Michaels, it was established many months ago that he has total control over the wrestlers in the WWF (except for Steve Austin, though that's not really an issue here). That said, do the owners of the WWF actually have to abide by what he says? And who "owns" the WWF, anyway? They've said Shane has taken over, but does that mean Vince is totally out? Then why is he still there every week? The WWF has laid a lot of groundwork for all this, but hasn't lately connected all the loose pieces to explain just who can do what. When the Undertaker kidnapped Stephanie, he demanded Vince sign over to him certain documents which would grant him control of the WWF. Presumably he intended to acquire those for Shane, not himself, since Shane and the Undertaker were "in cahoots" from the beginning. So what happened to those papers? Did the Undertaker and Shane get them? Did Vince tear them up when Steve Austin saved Stephanie? My personal assumption is that both own parts of the company, and are able to exert control in various areas. That's the most realistic answer, but hardly one conducive to focused storytelling. Throw Michaels in as the Commissioner and you have too many cooks stirring the pot. It's as muddled as the whole Flair/Piper/Bischoff situation in WCW. I was also disappointed in that once again we get to see Shawn Michaels, but he doesn't do anything of lasting impact. To put it bluntly, I'd like to see some resolution, perhaps even closure, to his WWF career. Is stuff like what he did tonight all we can ever expect from him again? How do I know he's not going to return again in three months and side with Shane McMahon? He comes and goes, does what he wants, gets over with the crowd, and that's it. It really is just like what Roddy Piper does in WCW, and it's annoying as all hell. I like Shawn Michaels, but I'd rather not see him at all if all he's going to do is appear periodically and throw a monkeywrench into the running storylines. If he's Commissioner this week, I want him to be Commissioner next week. And the week after. And the week after. Be a part of the continuing show, not just an added ratings attraction every few months. And if his physical condition or personal life prevents that, then maybe it's time he bowed out for good. At the very least remove him from the role as Commissioner. I can live with the occasional Shawn Michaels appearance if it's just as part of an angle to be played out that night. Giving him free reign to essentially run the company every time he shows up though, well, that's just too much. Looking at this week's finale, I'm left wondering if I'm supposed to read anything into Austin pulling Vince off of Shane to make the cover himself. Maybe it's nothing. In years past, though, one could jump to the conclusion that Austin was turning heel. I sure as hell hope that's not the case. They may have been able to turn Vince face by helping Austin, but I can't see them being able to turn Austin heel by reigniting tensions between the two. I'm going to drop it there and just assume it meant nothing. Hopefully. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: I don't know ... this wasn't really a bad show this week, it just didn't grab me like it usually does. Maybe I actually need Nitro there to help me appreciate RAW. Maybe too the problem was that things seemed a bit on cruise control heading into the Over the Edge PPV. As I said above, the Patterson/Brisco/Posse match was the entertainment highlight of the night for me. It was the only thing that didn't seem like a throwaway, nothing moment, meant to lead to the PPV. It was the only moment of the night that stood up on its own. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 1999 by John Petrie, and all opinions expressed therein are his own, and not those of "USLink". Check the "Slobberknocker Central" main page for info on how to receive the "Recap" free via E-Mail every week. Volume One, Number 182 of the "Monday Night Recap", May 10th, 1999.