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From the Bowery: OMG! Volume 2: The Top 50 Incidents in WCW (BluRay Disc 2)
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...From the Bowery: OMG! Volume 2: The Top 50 Incidents in WCW (BluRay Disc 2)
-Onward we go with the second disc and since this is BluRay there are some exclusive extras tacked on the end of this set.
The Outsiders and ???? vs. Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage
Bash at the Beach: July 7, 1996
-I have reviewed this match a few times on various sets and to save time I will just copy and paste from the review of the “nWo: Back in Black” set I did a few years ago.
-Hall and Nash come to the ring first, and it is without their tag team partner. Okerlund enters the ring after Sting’s pyro goes off prematurely. Hall and Nash let Okerlund know that the 3rd man is here, but they have enough to handle things right now. Team WCW comes to the ring with face paint, and even some fans at ring side have their faces painted. Schiavone finally mentions the names Hall and Nash to individually identify The Outsiders. Heenan makes hints that Dusty could be the third man. Two years later, and Dusty would join the Outsiders and the n.W.o. Luger starts with Hall, and a toothpick is thrown. That just serves to piss off Luger as he hits a flying forearm, and also drops Nash. Nash holds Luger in the corner while Sting hits a Stinger Splash. Luger gets his head/neck caught on the metal bar connecting the buckle to the post, and it left him knocked out cold on the floor. The paramedics bring down a stretcher and wheel Luger to the back. This was a great way to get things to 2 vs. 2, and watching live my first thought was that Luger was going to come back as the 3rd man. Hall throws some blows to a prone Luger on the stretcher. Sting and Hall start after Luger is wheeled out, and Hall slaps Sting across the face. That pisses off Sting as he goes nuts on Hall. A tag to Savage, but Hall catches him in the stomach with a punch. Nash lumbers in and hits snake eyes while the ref is occupied with Hall and Sting. Savage bounces back with a clothesline and gets a 2 count. Hall tags out to Nash, who gets a pretty good pop from the crowd. Rhodes goes crazy with his commentary of “who be bad now?” (may make me weird but I loved Dusty’s craziness on commentary) Nash methodically destroys Savage and drops an elbow on his head. That was a nasty bump that looked like it gave Savage a stinger. Sting quickly tags in and takes the knees in the corner from Nash. Tony and Bobby bemoan what is happening to the WCW wrestlers so far. Schiavone calls for other wrestlers to come down to help, and Sting returns fire with a dropkick. He tries a sunset flip, but Nash lifts him by the throat and choke bombs him to the mat. Hall returns and Sting plays face in peril. Fall away slam from Hall gets a 2 count. A tag is made to Nash and he drops Sting with a big foot. Savage seems to be ok now, and tries to get back in the ring. Sting sells the beating as Nash keeps firing elbows and forearms. Sting ducks a clothesline and dropkicks Nash in his knee. Sting crawls to his corner, but Hall cuts off the tag. Hall paintbrushes Sting and locks in an abdominal stretch. They do what all heels should do and cheat to win as Nash helps Hall with leverage on the hold. Nash takes his turn and also locks in an abdominal stretch. The hold is broken by a shot to the eyes, but Hall cuts off the tag to Savage. Another rest hold as Hall goes to the reverse chinlock. This gives Tony, Bobby, and Dusty the chance to root for the WCW guys and question if there really is a 3rd man (how messed up would that have been if it was mind games all along and there wasn’t a third guy. Not delivering a payoff to the paying fans would have been a great way to piss off the crowd). Savage grabs a chair and tries to hit Nash on the outside of the ring. I know the ref is supposed to be impartial, but he is a WCW ref. Why not lax the rules for your own guys? Nash drops Sting with a sidewalk slam, but it only gets a 2 count. Sting starts to fire back as the crowd starts to come alive. Sting drops Hall (to keep him from cutting off the tag) and dives to make the hot tag to Savage. Macho goes insane as he takes on both Outsiders. He hits the double axe to the floor on Hall and then hits him with another one back in the ring. Nash stops the comeback with a timely shot to the balls. All 4 men are down, and here comes Hulk Hogan. The crowd erupts (as I freaked out at home realizing what was about to happen) (it’s over 20 years later and I still mark out over this moment), and then goes quiet when Hogan drops the leg on Savage. Hogan tosses out the ref to end things as far as the match is concerned at around 17:33.
-Post match sees Hogan embrace Hall and Nash, and drop another leg on Savage. The fans are stunned, and when they realize what is happening, the garbage starts filling the ring. A rather fat (probably drunk) fan tries to get in the ring, but he is dropped by a Nash forearm and gets booted in the head by Hall. Quite a few people are cheering what they are seeing while the majority is standing with mouths wide open. Okerlund gets in the ring to interview Hogan. What comes next is the single most important interview ever given by Hogan in a wrestling setting:
GENE: Hulk Hogan, what in the world are you thinking?
HOGAN: Mean Gene, the first thing that you need to do is to tell these people to shut up if you wanna hear what I gotta say.
GENE: I have been with you for so many years… for you to join up with the likes of these two men absolutely makes me sick to my stomach. And I think that these people here and a lot of other people around the world, have had just about enough of this man, this man, (pointing to Nash and Hall) and you want to put yourself in this group? You’ve got to be…kidding me!
HOGAN: Well, the first thing you’ve got to realize, brother, is this right here is the future of wrestling. You can call this the New World Order of Wrestling, brother. These two men right here came from a great big organization up North. And everybody was wondering who the 3rd man was. Well who knows more about that organization than me brother?
GENE: You have made the wrong decision, in my opinion.
HOGAN: Well tet me tell you something. I made that organization a monster. I made people rich up there. I made the people that ran that organization rich, brother. When it all came to pass, the name Hulk Hogan, the man Hulk Hogan, got bigger than the whole organization! And then Billionaire Ted, Amigo, he wanted to talk turkey with Hulk Hogan. Billionaire Ted promised me movies, brother, Billionaire Ted promised me millions of dollars, brother, and Billionaire Ted promised me world caliber matches. And as far as Billionaire Ted, Eric Bischoff, and the whole WCW goes, I’m bored brother. That’s why these two guys here, the so-called Outsiders, these are the men I want as my friends. They’re the new blood of professional wrestling, brother, and not only are we going to take over the whole wrestling business, with Hulk Hogan and the new blood, the monsters with me, we will destroy everything in our path, Mean Gene!
GENE: Look at all this crap in this ring! This is what’s in the future for you if you want to hang around with the likes of this man, Hall, and this man, Nash.
HOGAN: As far as I’m concerned, all this crap in the ring represents these fans out here. For two years, brother, for two years, I held my head high, I did everything for the charities. I did everything for the kids, and the reception I got when I came out here…you fans can stick it, brother. Because if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, you people wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff would be still selling meat from a truck in Minneapolis and if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, all these Johnny-Come-Lately’s that you see out here wrestling, wouldn’t be here. I was selling out the world, brother, while they were bumming gas to put in their cars to get to high school, so the way that it is now, brother, with Hulk Hogan and the New World Organization of Wrestling, brother, me and the new blood by my side … whatcha gonna do when the New World Organization runs wild on you? Whatcha gonna do? (He grabs Gene)
GENE: Hey don’t touch me! I’ll get a fleet of lawyers. Tony, Bobby, Dusty…dammit…let’s get back to you.
No contest at 17:33
-This is the rare case where a non-finish in a Main Event match doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth. This Main Event was basically an angle advancement match, and it damn sure did its job. The match itself was nothing special, and didn’t feature all that much heat. Everyone was just so fixated on where the 3rd man was and who he would be that the match really didn’t matter. It was a solid, if unspectacular, tag match with Sting taking a great ass kicking. It was also something fresh and different with Nash and Hall making their WCW debut. The rating will go like this: **1/2 for the match and *****for the angle that followed.
-Uncensored: March 16, 1997: We pick up at the end of the Main Event where the nWo just beat Team WCW and Team Piper to basically let them do whatever they wanted. Rodman is alongside the nWo and he spray paints Lex Luger and slaps him around a bit. The nWo celebrate and start to walk, but before they leave Sting comes down from the rafters and makes his intentions finally known as he destroys the entire group. The crowd reaction is insane and Dusty gets a great line, “all hell has broken loose and hell has brought with him a baseball bat.” Hogan is the only one left and Sting points him out. Hogan gets some encouragement from Rodman and screams for Sting to put the bat down. Sting obliges and the crowd is dying to see these two go at it. Again, I mention this was 9 months before they finally had the match. Sting blasts Hogan with right hands and connects with the Death Drop to send everyone home happy. Fantastic moment!
La Parka vs. Randy Savage w/ Scott Hall and Elizabeth
WCW Nitro: July 7, 1997
-Coincidentally, this is the 1 year anniversary of Hogan turning heel and officially forming the group. Always bothered me they had the 1 year party at the Clash the following month instead of this episode of Nitro, but maybe they couldn’t secure a vulture for Sting at this time. La Parka was actually getting himself over with WCW crowd due to beating the hell out of the other luchadores with chair shots. They show some of his attacks and he didn’t hold anything back with those shots. Very slow start as Savage spends more time playing to the crowd before connecting with a running shoulder. La Parka gets a small package for two, but then eats a clothesline. The camera follows Hall as he heads to the announce table to mess with Larry Z. Back in the ring Savage hits a slam and heads up for the elbow, but La Parka gets his feet up to block. This is all great as Larry hasn’t said a single word on commentary and is just there to distract Hall. They presented this so well as they even mentioned Heenan was supposed to take over for Larry, but there was confusion and Larry wanted to stay. Back in the ring, La Parka drops Savage with a Diamond Cutter and then unmasks as DDP before getting the stunning win. Larry says he can leave now. Awesome!
Winner: “La Parka” via pin at 3:08
-No rating for the match as it was all angle, but what an angle. I am actually amazed WCW was able to pull this off so well and pay attention to even the smallest detail. The nWo was so untouchable that the crowd went crazy anytime they showed weakness and this was a perfect example.
-Nitro: Sept 1, 1997: Gene brings out the 4 Horsemen and yep, it’s nWo parody time. Syxx comes out dressed as Flair and Konnan is Mongo. Gene is disgusted and walks off. You can hear the disgust in Tony’s voice as well. Bagwell comes down as Curt Hennig as Tony wonders why they just can’t go to break. Syxx is awesome as Flair as he says “Wooo” 10,000 times seemingly. This is just hilarious as they start the “spot” running gag. It’s kind of hard to buy Tony’s anger when the first few rows of fans are laughing and having a good time. “Arn Anderson” gets brought out and Nash just kills it with his parody. Schiavone seems legit heated here, and it sounds like he has just given up on life at this point. Arn tells them that the beer is on ice, which it seems the real Arn had a problem with. They should have included the actual Horsemen segment from the week before for comparison. “Flair” is weeping like a baby as “Arn” talks about his injury (“that’s the hand I open my beer with”). Again, you can hear audible laughs from the crowd because it is hilarious. Schiavone finally chimes in and calls it the lowest point in the history of Nitro. Don’t worry, Russo would be coming soon! “Arn” gives his spot (not a liver spot, or a dog like spot, but his spot) to “Curt.” He accepts as Schiavone says security was in the back holding the Horsemen from charging the ring. Tony pulls back the curtain as he tells nWo fans to enjoy this as he has a hand in video production and this will never be show again. Oops! Apparently Vince doesn’t share Tony’s outrage.
WCW World Heavyweight Title: Hollywood Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Goldberg
WCW Nitro, July 6, 1998
-This is nearly 2 years to the day of Hogan turning heel and forming the nWo and again is another match I have covered so more fun with cut and paste.
-This match was announced as the Main Event only a few days earlier on Thunder and that was also how Goldberg found out about the match. This takes place in the Georgia Dome with over 40,000 rabid fans who are all expecting to see a new WCW Champion. Goldberg had wrestled Hall earlier in the night as Hogan was throwing road blocks in his way. The crowd is jacked as you would expect and Goldberg immediately gains control with a headlock. Hogan gets steamrolled with a shoulder and backs off to regain his senses. Hogan gets a front facelock (what is it with that hold? There’s only 4 matches on this DVD and that’s hold has been in 3 of the 4 matches), but Goldberg powers Hogan back into the corner. He gives Hogan a clean break however as he is a little more cautious in this match compared to all his previous matches. That’s actually a nice story touch since this is his first shot at the Title and he should be a little rattled. A massive “Goldberg” chant starts and he dominates Hogan in a test of strength. The move is broken though as Hogan gets his foot on the bottom rope. Hogan is finally able to get the advantage after he buries a knee into the midsection. The weight belt gets used as he whips Goldberg. That only serves to piss him off however, and he takes the belt from Hogan. He don’t need a weapon (his hands are his weapon), so he tosses the belt to the floor. Hogan tries a new game plan and that involves honest to god chain wrestling. That doesn’t work either as he ends up in a full nelson. A mule kick to the balls breaks the hold, and drops Goldberg. A clothesline drops Goldberg once again, but the elbow drops from Hogan miss. Goldberg makes it back to his feet and he sends Hogan to the floor. Nothing of note happens though as Goldberg is content with waiting on Hogan in the ring. Once Hogan gets back in the ring he pushes Goldberg into the corner and buries a few knees. He fires Goldberg to the floor and after sending him into the railing, uses a chair to gain the advantage. They head back in the ring where Hogan gets a slam and drops the leg twice. I believe he even drops it a 3rd time, but the camera was focused on Curt Hennig making his way to the ring. Karl Malone and DDP are hot on his heels however. Back in the ring Goldberg is able to kick out following the leg drops to the shock of Hogan. Karl Malone drops Hennig with a diamond cutter, and that is enough of a distraction that Goldberg is able to hit Hogan with the spear to a thunderous pop. Heenan is practically pissing his pants with joy as Goldberg lifts Hogan up for the jackhammer. He holds him up there for a few seconds while the crowd loses their minds, and he finally finishes the hold to get the pin and WCW Title at 8:12. The crowd reaction is something you will likely never see again in today’s pro wrestling. This is how it should have been with Sting at Starrcade 1997. (2016 aside: Just mind blowing to see the reaction to Goldberg winning the title. Just night and day compared to things we see now, and sure it can be debated that this should have been saved for PPV, but then we would have been robbed of this moment. To think this was all Hogan’s idea as even he could see Goldberg was the future and figured he might as well get steamrolled as it was happening sooner than later.)
Winner and New WCW Champion: Goldberg via pin at 8:12
-This was your typical Goldberg match with a slight change as Hogan got in just enough offense, but not too much where it made Goldberg look weak. This is most likely the greatest moment in the history of Nitro and was easily the peak of the Goldberg’s career. The match wasn’t very good, but it was short enough to keep things moving, and historic enough to make it worth seeing. **
-WCW Nitro: Oct 12, 1998: Rick Steiner out to cut a promo to hype the match with his brother Scott at Halloween Havoc. All seems ok, but then Chucky (the doll from Child’s Play) interrupts as Rick asks Gene “who’s that.” Guess he has never seen the movies. Chucky takes shots at Gene and tells him to shut the hell up (so did he rip off Jericho or did Jericho rip him off) which draws a pop from the crowd. Chucky plugs him movie and tells Rick not to mess with Scott Steiner. This was stupid fun and I have no issue with it looking back on it now.
-WCW Nitro: March 29, 1999: Bret Hart is in the ring wearing a Calgary Hitmen jersey in front of a raucous crowd in Toronto. They love Bret and you can tell he loves being back in Canada. Bret says people are worried about the ratings, but he isn’t worried about anything. He starts by reciting “O’ Canada” and the crowd loves him. He tells Bischoff to put that in his pipe and smoke this. I guess this is Bret’s “pipebomb” years before Punk made it a term. He complains he can’t get a match with anyone including Ric Flair (many boos), Hulk Hogan (some cheers as we have seen that Canada loves the man). Bret came to WCW to earn a reputation and not lose one, so he calls out “William Goldberg.” Ha! Things gets surreal as Bret mentions that Goldberg is going around saying he will put up money to face Steve Austin (oh man, I forgot about that),but people shouldn’t forget he beat Steve Austin every time he fought him. Tremendous! Bret then shoots on American football and takes off his jersey to reveal a Leaf’s jersey because this is hockey country. Oh man is this amazing! Goldberg storms down to the ring and drills Bret with a spear, but neither man can move. They both sell it like death as even the announcers aren’t sure what happened. The crowd starts a “Goldberg Sucks” chant as Bret starts to stir. Again, this is a hell of a sell job by both men. Bret rolls Goldberg over and counts his own 3 count to pop the crowd. Bret takes off the jersey and reveals an iron plate. Fantastic! Bret ends by telling Bischoff and WCW that he quits. Again, the greatest thing Bret ever did in WCW (which is sad, but doesn’t take away from the moment).
-WCW Nitro: April 10, 2000: Nearly all the members of the WCW Roster are in and around the ring as the announcers say Vince Russo has called this meeting. Madden points out that a lot of big names are not in the ring. As soon as he says that more guys and girls head down to the ring (the top stars of what would be The New Blood group). Jarrett talks about how he is The Chosen One and he was hand picked by the guy who turned around the WWF. Their plan went off the rails thanks to a bunch of Good Old Boys. What goes around, comes around and Jeff introduces Russo as Vince McMahon’s best kept secret. They are really putting over how Russo reinvented the WWF, and Madden mentions that Russo is not in charge by himself. Russo says he came to WCW to beat Vince McMahon at his own game. He was letting the New Blood change the game, but the Good Old Boy Network started playing politics to take him down. Those guys are now sitting at home watching him. There was a change in direction and Russo knew it sucked. That led to people like Benoit, Guerrero, and Saturn leaving and Scott Steiner being suspended. Russo says this is a new era and tells the New Blood in the ring to seize this opportunity. Bischoff interrupts as everyone assumed we were getting a battle between the two sides. This is Bischoff’s return to WCW and Tony is in awe of what is about to happen. Instead of fighting though they shake hands and hug each other. So that is the first “swerve” in this new era. Bischoff says he and Russo were both screwed by the same people. Bischoff says he made mistakes like Hall, Nash, Sting, Luger, and Sid. The biggest mistake he ever made was Hulk Hogan. Schiavone is stunned to hear Eric say this. Eric cuts a “shoot” promo on doing business with Hogan and apologizes to all the New Blood in the ring. Eric then asks for the old guard to come out and they oblige. The crowd is firmly behind the real stars: Sid, Sting, Luger, Page, etc. Bischoff makes some funny comments as he asks Sid if he had a softball game. Awesome! Eric tells Page he would still be working in a redneck bar in Florida if it wasn’t for him. He takes credit for rebuilding Sting’s career and making Lex a multimillionaire when the WWF wanted nothing to do with him. Russo wants to shoot on Flair now as he calls him “a piece of shit on the bottom of his shoe.” Wow! Russo announces that every champion is being stripped of their titles as everything will be an even playing field. The crowd starts a massive Goldberg chant as Bischoff wants Sid to turn over the WCW World Title. Sid tells Eric to come take it and he says ok. He walks up to Sid and tells him to hand it over. He knows Sid can kick his ass, but if he does so he will be unemployed. Bischoff goes shoot again as he says to Sid “what’s the matter, can’t find your scissors.” Ha! Sid relents and gives up the title.
Human Torch Match: Sting vs. Vampiro
Great American Bash: June 11, 2000
-This is right in the middle of the New Blood/Millionaire’s Club feud as WCW tried to push new stars by having them in feuds with the big name talent. Sting appears on top of Nitro Vision (their Tron) and sets a torch on fire. He tells Vampiro that if he wants to set him on fire he has to come up here. Madden takes a shot at Hogan by saying you can tell it’s not his torch as he would never pass it. Wow! Vampiro is pissed as he complains to Madden who goes insider as he calls Vampiro by his real name, Ian. Vampiro controls early as this does start in the ring. They take turns trying to splash each other in the corner with each man countering. Vampiro gets the last counter and then douses Sting in gasoline. They fight on the floor as Sting gets sent into the railing. Madden plays up the fact that Vampiro has a legit fear of heights. They brawl on the ramp below the video screen, and then start to tease making the climb to the torch. This is all ridiculous. They fight on the side of the Tron and Sting gets knocked off to the stage below. Vampiro gets to the top of the screen as Sting gives chase. They battle up top near the torch and then we get some weird lighting to cover the fact that a stuntman is going to take Sting’s place. Madden talks about how he doesn’t want to see this happen now, and that everyone is sick for cheering for someone to get set on fire. Vampiro connects with a DDT and the lights go completely out as Vampiro grabs the torch. “Sting” gets set ablaze and dives off the Video Screen on to a padded mat hidden as part of the stage. This is just horrible! Dozens of EMTS and firemen tend to Sting as the announcers have to sell this.
Winner: Vampiro via setting Sting on fire at 7:23
-This was just insanely horrible. Obviously, I don’t blame Sting for not going through with the stunt, so that leads me to wonder why it was even done. If a man in the match can’t take the finish then you should probably find another way to go. The match barely even classifies as a match. I don’t do negative stars, but I was sure tempted to here. DUD
WCW World Heavyweight Title: Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. Kevin Nash
Great American Bash: June 11, 2000
-Ugh, more from this show! Ernest Miller is out on behalf of the New Blood to introduce some special guests: Konnan (bell ringer), Rey Mysterio (without a mask: time keeper), Disco Inferno (belt keeper), Juventud (ring announcer), and Miller himself is the special enforcer/outside ref. Just Russo ripping off what he did with Austin/Dude Love. This is already off to a fantastic start. The build to this show included Eric Bischoff promising a surprise so shocking that Vince McMahon himself couldn’t do anything about it. The Animals distract Nash just as the bell sounds to give Jarrett the advantage. Nash fights back with knees and then tosses Jarrett half way across the ring. The crowd starts a Goldberg chant and look to the ramp, but nothing yet so we go back to the match. Jarrett gets sent to the floor with a clothesline and Nash follows. He ends up getting sent into the ring post for his trouble, but turns things back as he sends Jarrett into the railing. Snake eyes next but this one is on the announce table. They start to brawl through the crowd and security does a rather horrible job of keeping the fans away from them. Nash gets his hands on a chair and decks Jarrett in the back. The Filthy Animal attack when they get back to ringside as Mysterio hits him in the knee with a chair. The announcers go over Nash’s history of knee surgeries and that seems to be good enough story for this one. Jarrett goes to work on the knee which is always an easy story to tell in a big man vs little man match. Jarrett tries for the figure four, but Nash has a bit too much still as he kicks away. Jeff goes right back to the knee as Nash screams a lot to sell the abuse. A half crab follows and Nash is ridiculously close to the ropes so he is able to get a break rather easy though I have no clue why Jarrett broke considering the ref hasn’t called a DQ on anything in this one. Now Jarrett is able to get the figure 4 and we get more screaming from Nash. The hold goes on for quite some time as the crowd starts to get restless. Finally, Nash gets to the ropes to break, and this time Jeff doesn’t until the ref separates them. Konnan heads into the ring and he blasts Nash in the head with the ring bell which gets a two count. Nash rallies as apparently his knee is healthy again (or just adrenaline rush). The Animals hit the ring again, but Nash fights them off and hits Jarrett in the head with the title belt. The count is broken up by Disco and finally the numbers get to Nash as the ref is bumped. The Cat is now the ref and he tries a fast count, but Nash is out at two. Disco back in as he tries for a sleeper, but gets dropped. Nash fights all the Animal again, but Jarrett catches him with The Stroke for another near fall. Now Jarrett goes to the guitar, but misses and Nash plants him with a chokeslam. The Cat fakes getting hit in the eye to avoid making the count so Nash drops him with a powerbomb. A big boot misses Jeff by 2 feet, but he has to sell it and then Nash hits the powerbomb, but we have no ref. Rick Steiner shows up to attack Nash and then next is Scott Steiner and Tank Abbott who fight each other. Anyone else want to jump in this? Here are the Animals again as they gang up on Nash. Goldberg’s music hit and he comes out in his own personal monster truck. The crowd is jacked to see him, though a good bit know WCW is about to screw things up here and yep, Goldberg turns heel as he drops Nash with the spear. I have to believe that Vince McMahon was somewhere under a desk hiding when this happened. Jarrett gets the pin to retain the title at 17:22. Bischoff and Russo head down to the ring and they celebrate with Goldberg. The crowd does start a rather loud “Goldberg Sucks” chant and start to pelt the ring with garbage, but soon they would be cheering him again.
Winner and Still WCW World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett via pin at 17:22
-Talk about an overbooked mess. The fascinating part is that this was so overbooked that it actually helped keep what was a boring match at least interesting. The Goldberg turned was obviously a mistake and was a letdown considering the hype given to the surprise as most kind of knew it was coming. *
Judy Bagwell on a Pole Match: Positively Kanyon vs. Buff Bagwell
New Blood Rising: August 13, 2000
-Another Russo staple is having objects on a pole and in this case he actually put a human being on one. Well, technically she is on a forklift, but still the same deal. For those too young to know or who didn’t watch at the time, Positively Kanyon is Kanyon doing a rip-off off DDP. Kanyon says he couldn’t find a pole big enough to hold Judy, so this is now a Judy Bagwell on a forklift match. Seriously, I have no words to describe the embarrassment I feel here. Bagwell is out and he at least acts like a guy hell bent on destroying someone as they fight through the crowd. Once back in the ring the bell rings and Bagwell hits a spinning neckbreaker. Kanyon hits a Russian leg sweep from the second rope for a two count as Judy screams from the lift. Kayon pulls out wire cutters that were taped in the ring post and uses them to cut the cover off the turnbuckle. The announcers play up the legit neck injury that Bagwell received earlier in his career. Oh, I forgot to mention that if Kanyon wins then Judy becomes his valet (or his “Kimberly”). Things slow down as Kanyon hooks in a cobra clutch. I guess this match is pin and submissions, so really this has nothing to do with anyone or anything being on a pole. The Kanyon Cutter is blocked and Kanyon gets run into the exposed buckle. Bagwell tries a backdrop, but Kanyon slips out and connects with the Kanyon Cutter. DDP’s music hits, but it’s a swerve as we get former WCW Champion, David Arquette. He hits Bagwell in the back of the head with a construction hat (I have no words), but it only gets two. Bagwell takes out both men with a double clothesline and then hits a double Blockbuster to get the pin at 6:45.
Winner: Buff Bagwell via pin at 6:45
-So really this was just a standard match with Judy on a lift to watch. No clue why they couldn’t just add the stip that if Bagwell lost then Judy had to be Kayon’s valet, but I guess they wanted the visual of her being on a forklift. That match itself without the story around it was solid if nothing else. **
WCW World Heavyweight Title: Caged Heat: Booker T (c) vs. Vince Russo
WCW Nitro: Sept 25, 2000
-Caged Heat is WCW’s version of Hell in the Cell. Jeremy Borash is actually on commentary in this one with Madden, Hudson, and Schiavone, and he is a heel. It is just crazy how these late WCW shows are flashing signs of what would end up being TNA. Russo is wearing a New York Giants uniform complete with a helmet and he jumps Booker from behind with a ball bat. He tries to leave to win the title, but Mike Awesome is there to keep him from leaving. Russo continues to beat on Booker with the bat and then pulls a ladder out from under the ring. Russo sets up the ladder and tries to get out through the roof off the cage, but everyone at ringside is climbs up to stop that noise. Sting repels from the ceiling and that gets Russo to go back into the cage where Booker is waiting. He pounds away on Russo and takes the helmet off to get some shots in to the head and face. Booker slaps Russo around and then send him head first into the cage. The announcers talk about how Booker can leave at anytime, but wants to make Russo suffer. Another run in as Luger comes in through the crowd and hands Russo a lead pipe. He hammers Booker with that and then chokes him with it as well. Russo puts his helmet back on and lays on the ref with the pipe. That brings in an EMT team to check on him, and one of them is Ric Flair. He gives Russo a right hand to the face and kicks him in the balls before locking in the figure four. The Natural Born Thrillers hit the ringside area next as that is at least 16 people that have showed up in this one. Booker connects with the ax kick and then the Harlem Sidekick as he the grabs a mic. He hits his catchphrase and is ready to walk out the door, but the power of Goldberg’s music stops him. Why didn’t he just walk out the door. Goldberg gets in the cage and tells Booker to leave. He tries to go, but Scott Steiner slams the door in his face. Booker kicks the door back in Scott’s face and as he tries to leave Goldberg spears Russo out of the cage first to give him the WCW World Heavyweight Title at 8:45.
Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Vince Russo via cage escape at 8:45
-This was a mess, but like a lot of stuff at the time all the craziness with the run-ins made you think something was happening when it was really just there to take away from the lack of action in the ring. It certainly was never boring and I guess that sums up Russo’s tenure in a nutshell. *1/2
WCW World Heavyweight Title: San Francisco 49er Match: Booker T vs. Jeff Jarrett
WCW Nitro: Oct 2, 2000
-The title is vacant at this point so this is a rather interesting way to crown a new champion. More fun with poles as there are wooden boxes on poles above each corner of the ring. Inside one box is the World Title and the others have various weapons. The winner is the man to find and claim the World Title. Booker and Jarrett have a brawl on the floor and then when they get in the ring the one of the boxes fall off it’s pole. Jarrett goes out to get it and inside is a blow-up doll. Yep! Booker hits a slam and goes to get another box and inside is a framed picture of Scott Hall (which the crowd loves). Booker uses it to crack Jarrett over the head and send him to the floor next to the blow-up doll. Booker gets cut off from getting another box and they end up again on the floor. Jarrett uses one of the boxes to hit Booker and then drops him on the railing. Another box shot and then they fight on the announce table. Jarrett tries a piledriver, but Booker reverses and hits one of his own. Kind of sucked for Jeff though as the table had no give. Booker gets a third box and inside is a coal miner’s glove in a throw back to wrestling history. Well, at least we know what box has the belt. Jarrett posts Booker balls first, and is able to get the glove away from him. He hits Booker in the gut with the glove and then breaks one of the boxes over Booker’s head with a shot off the middle ropes. They fight under the one remaining box, and then Booker misses a dropkick. Back to the glove and both men get left down and out. Back to their feet and Jarrett locks in a sleeper which is a solid move in this type of match. For some reason the ref checks Booker’s arm which Madden questions as well. Hudson tries to defend it, but he just sounds like a moron. Booker battles back to his feet and gets a sleeper of his own, but Jarrett counters with a back suplex to break. Silly stipulation aside this is a damn fine match. Jarrett with the glove again and heads up top, but Booker catches him with The Book End. Booker can’t get to the box as Jarrett tries for the Stroke, but Booker counters and gets an ax kick and Harlem Side Kick. He climbs again and a low blow stops that noise. Booker misses another Side Kick and Jarrett goes under the ring to get a guitar, but someone keeps him from pulling it out. Jarrett gives up on trying to get the guitar and goes for the box, but Beetlejuice (Howard Stern fame) comes out from under the ring and hits Jarrett in the balls. That gives Booker the chance to get the box, but the belt fall out of the bottom and the ring announcer actually has to hand it to Booker to end the match at 13:02.
Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Booker T via belt retrieval at 13:02
-Again the match on it’s own was actually pretty good as you expect with these two involved. The ending left a lot to be desired, but only one run in is pretty good by Russo standards. Most remember this for the silly stipulation, but check it out for a rock solid match between two pros. ***1/4
BluRay Exclusives
WCW Cruiserweight Battle Royal
Slamboree: May 17, 1998
-Winner of this gets an immediate match with Jericho and speaking of the champ he is here to introduce the competitors. He just kills it here with his intros and I am thrilled they included this as an extra. Here is the entire list if participants: Super Calo (“Master of Da Funk”), Chavo Guerrero (“used to be a great bartender”), Ciclope (“selling chimichangas on the streets of Mexico”), Damian (“can’ t afford a mask so he uses paint), El Dandy (“Winner of Lou Ferigno look a like contest”), El Grio, Juventud Guerrera (Quasi Juice), Marty Jannetty (rock, rock tell you never drop), Billy Kidman, Evan Karagias, Lenny Lane (Lover Boy tape), Psychosis, Silver King (wins a few more matches will be upgraded to Golden King), Johnny Swinger, and Villano IV. After all that hilariousness we settle into a standard battle royal, though you can be eliminated by pin or being thrown to the floor no matter if through the ropes or over the top. For trivia purposes Evan Karagias is the first one tossed from the match. Sadly, a battle royal limits what CW can do in the ring, but they usually get eliminated in impressive fashion. Chavo hits a sweet looking tornado DDT and then Super Calo gets eliminated by a Juvie dropkick. Rapid fire elimination gets us down to 8 men, and as soon as I type that, Lane gets sent to the floor. The crowd is popping like crazy for Juventud as he eliminates Damien with a springboard dropkick. Kidman takes a crazy high backdrop, but ducks to send Chavo to the floor and we have a Final Four of Kidman, Juvie, Ciclope, and Psychosis. Ciclope sends Psychosis to the floor and seconds later Kidman gets bounced by Juvie. The crowd stands to their feet as some are starting to smell something big about to happen. Juvie shakes Ciclope’s hand and then eliminates himself to end the match at 8:27. Ciclope starts to take off his mask and the crowd loses it when it ends up being Dean Malenko. Just a crazy, insane pop, and that leads directly to the CW Title Match.
Winner: Ciclope via Juventud eliminating himself at 8:27
-Comments and rating for all this after the next match.
WCW Cruiserweight Title: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Dean Malenko (Ciclope)
-Jericho is just beyond screwed as Dean goes delivers a beat down of epicness. He beats Jericho all over the ring and the crowd is loving every second of this. Dean counters a suplex, and instead of using holds, he just punches Jericho repeatedly in the back of the head. Dean follows Jericho to the floor and continues to punch him in the face. Dean is just straight fire here as he throws Jericho into the guard rail. Back inside the ring Jericho is able to get in a few shots, but Dean is having none of that and goes back throwing more punches to the face. Dean’s aggressiveness backfires as Jericho is able to turn a charge into a stungun. Jericho starts screaming about a conspiracy, but focuses enough to get a suplex for a two count off the arrogant cover. The Lionsault gets a two count and that is followed by a double under hook into a backbreaker. Jericho heads up top and connects with a back elbow for another near fall. Dean reverses a whip to the corner, but gets caught as they fight on the top rope. Dean reverses up there and gets a top rope gut buster. The Texas Clover Leaf follows and the crowd erupts as Jericho taps out at 7:02.
Winner and New WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Dean Malenko via tap-out at 7:02
-All this was fantastic as everyone played their part perfectly. The crowd bought everything here and we emotionally invested in the Malenko story and got the feel good, payoff they had wanted. Just amazing stuff all around. **** for everything.
Junkyard Invitational
Bash at the Beach: July 11, 1999
-Participants: Ciclope (not Malenko this time), Jerry Flynn, Johnny Grunge, Rocco Rock, Fit Finlay, Hak (The Sandman), Horace Hogan, Brian Knobbs, Hugh Morrus, La Parka, Steven Regal, Silver King, Dave Taylor, and Mikey Whipwreck. The match does take place on location in a junkyard that is so poorly lit you have a hard time making out what is happening or at least who it is happening to. The helicopter shots make for an impressive visual so I will give them that. The winner is the first man to escape the Junkyard by climbing over a nearby fence. Nothing says Hardcore like running for a fight, I guess. An air horn sounds and we are under way with this brawl. A car gets tipped over and nearly onto someone as The Public Enemy show up for their WCW return. Somewhere, someone gets electrocuted with a car battery and then Sliver King hits a Swanton from one car onto another. Nice spot! Finlay puts a bumper to good use as he hits anyone that comes near him. Dave Taylor starts hitting people with a garbage can lid as Tony reminds is that Hak made the initial challenge for this match. Honestly, the guys seem to be working hard and it does look like some stiff shots, but like a lot of the ideas for matches on this set, the execution is lacking. Hugh Morrus drops an elbow off one car onto someone on another car and then someone else dives off a stack of cars onto a group of guys. Heenan kills it as he says on commentary he would take a cigarette lighter to someone’s ear. Awesome! Horace throws someone threw a windshield as La Parka uses his chair to beat on people. Schiavone reminds me where this came from as Ric Flair (the WCW President) said there was no place for Hardcore Wrestling in a WCW ring, so the decided to have this unsanctioned match. Hugh misses a splash onto the hood of a car, and Horace gets hit in the face with a trashcan lid. Hoods of cars and tires get put to use as this is just utter chaos. Some of the guys start to heads towards the fence to leave, and Rock is the first to try, but Horace stops him. We get to the point where Finlay gets put in the trunk of a car and seemingly it is going to get compacted, but he is able to get out before he is killed. After having his life saved, Finlay easily gets over the fence as a car explodes and catches fire.
Winner: Fit Finlay via escape at 13:51
-Again, credit to these guys for their hard work, but this was really hard to follow. Like always I will give them credit for trying something new, but things really got silly towards the end. Had they just left it to tough men beating on each other it would have been fine, but the explosions, and guys nearly getting compacted kind of took away some of the seriousness. *1/2
Pinata in a Pole Match: Juventud Guerrera vs. El Dandy vs. Psychosis vs. Silver King vs. Villano V
WCW Nitro: Nov 15, 1999
-All 5 men are given sticks to beat each other and try to break the pinata which has a check for $10,000 inside. Whoever gets the check wins the match. Vince Russo ladies and gentlemen! The crowd is actually hot for this match as really it is so silly that you just have to see it once. Heenan gets to make a of jokes about what $10,000 can do in Mexico. Speaking of the commentary team, they are joined by Oklahoma, who is flanked by Dr. Death Steve Williams. I am shocked he would agree to do this knowing they were hammering JR like this. The in ring action is solid, but the commentary completely takes away from it. Juvie gets the pinata rather easily as it comes off the pole. For portions we don’t even see what is happening in the match as the camera focuses on Oklahoma. Villano actually tries to put the pinata back on the pole as I take back what I said about the action being solid. Juvie hits a powerbomb and drops an elbow as he breaks open the pinata, but we get a no contest at 4:20 when Dr Death enters and kills everyone dead. He takes the check from Silver King and celebrates.
Winner: No Contest via outside interference at 4:20
-Just horrible on all accounts and only good thing I can say is that it was short. Crowd was into though. DUD
WCW World Heavyweight Title: Ready to Rumble Cage Match: David Arquette (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Diamond Dallas Page
Slamboree: May 7, 2000
-For those of you who have never seen Ready to Rumble, this is the cage that is featured in the final match of the movie. It is basically a Hell in a Cell type with a smaller cage on top and a even smaller cage on top of that. Hanging above the 3 levels is the WCW Title, and you must grab it to win the match. The top cage also has guitars hanging inside. To his credit is has been said that Arquette donated any money he made to the families of Pillman, Owen, and Droz. So there was some good to come out of all of this. All three men start in the bottom cage and Arquette bails to the floor where Jarrett gives chase. Arquette basically stays away and we get DDP vs. Page for the majority of the match. Page catches Jarrett with a clothesline as he chases Arquette. Even part of the entrance ramp is encloses in the bottom cage, and I will also note there are ladders around the ring as you must climb one to reach the trapdoor to get to the cage above. Arquette tries a splash off the top but misses, and then bails to the floor again. He gets run into the cage as Page throws Jarrett into him. Arquette just keeps getting in the way and ends up paying for it each time. JJ gets posted by his balls and that gives Page a chance to get a ladder into the ring. I also realize that the second cage (or level) is filled with tables, and other plunder. Jarrett is busted open so Page tries to climb to the top level, but no go this time. Jarrett hits a belly to back suplex as Madden mentions that the top of this structure is 42 feet. Again, it may have a negative stigma attached to it, but the cage is a rather impressive site. JJ and DDP take turns firing each other into a ladder as this is a solid brawl to start. Page gets trapped under a ladder so JJ drops another ladder on top of him. They fight to climb to “Hardcore Hell” as it is called and Page sends Jarrett flying off the ladder to the entrance ramp. Page is the first one to get to the second level and he uses bolt cutters to cut the lock. Jarrett follows and hits Page in the head with a chair. They are fighting on top of a cage and it does look rather shaky. They fight out of the cage and then back in to hit each other with more weapons. In a great spot they both go flying into one side of the cage and it breaks away. That was pretty sweet actually and brought an audible gasp from the crowd. DDP tries his best to set up a table, but that is a tough sell. DDP says hell with it and just Jeff through the table as best he can. It worked in the end even if a little awkward. Page is now bleeding as well for those keeping track. The crowd is into this match, and again it is a strong brawl. For whatever reason Arquette climbs up to the second level and then gets up to the third level. Mike Awesome shows up as Arquette is just below the title and could win this thing rather easily. Page takes out Awesome and we have a race between Page and Jarrett to get to the 3rd cage. Madden thinks Arquette is their to keep Jarrett from winning and that’s one theory. JJ and DDP fight inside the guitar room and Page hands a guitar to Arquette which probably isn’t a good idea. Page and JJ climb to the top of the structure and Arquette turns on Page with a guitar shot. That gives JJ the opening to grab the title at 15:29. Mike Awesome is back as he looks for a powerbomb, but Kanyon shows up to save Page. That neds badly for Kanyon as he gets tossed off the cage onto the gimmicked (thankfully) ramp. It draw a “holy shit” chant from the crowd, and credit to Kanyon for that one.
Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Jeff Jarrett via belt retrieval at 15:29
-Again, silly ending aside (with Arquette turning heel) this was a rather enjoyable brawl between two seasoned pros. The Awesome and Kanyon involvement seemed a tad too much, but only 1 run-in during the actual match tame by Russo standards. ***
WCW United States Championship: Lance Storm (c) w/ Major Gunns vs. General Rection
-Jim Duggan is the special guest enforcer and Rection (Hugh Morrus in a new character so Russo can make dick jokes) dedicates the match to him in a prematch interview. In Russo talk that generally means a swerve is coming. Major Gunns is reluctantly with Lance and is all decked out in Canadian Flag garb. Storm cuts a promo before the match and his rise in 2000 when he was winning title after title was one of the things WCW got right. Storm attacks early and the crowd is in way into this because it is easy heat. Evil foreigner bashing the US will always work and always make for a hot crowd. Storm tries for a crucifix pin, but Rection turns it into a Samoan Drop. He misses a splash in the corner, and Storm connects with a slam. Storm heads up top, but Rection meets him up there and hits a superplex for a two count. Storm’s trick knee acts up as he delivers a mule kick to the balls. A kick to the chest and a thrust kick gets a two count. Next up is a Storm dropkick and that gets another near fall. Rection gets sent to the floor and Storm follows off the top with a flying body press. He talks smack to Duggan and that gives Morrus a chance to get back into this one. Once back in the ring Rection hits a powerslam for two as they are moving at a very quick pace. Storm gets caught trying a crossbody and gets dropped with a gutwrench powerbomb. Storm comes back with a dragon screw leg whip, but the Maple Leak is blocked. Rection gets a suplex that sends Storm to the floor and Duggan sends him back in the ring. Duggan then hammers Rection with a 2×4 shot and the Maple Leaf is academic as Rection is out. Duggan tears off his shirt to reveal a Canadian Flag shirt and he completes the heel turn by beating down the rest of the Misfits. The crowd is rather pissed, so I guess it worked on that front.
Winner and Still United States Champion: Lance Storm via ref stoppage at 6:46
-This was a solid sprint with a predictable ending. They got the reaction then wanted, but it didn’t last long as nobody wanted to see Duggan in this role. **
-That finally wraps up the entire set which runs around 8 hours. Thanks for reading!
