Wrestling Retrospective: Booker T vs. Jeff Jarrett (WCW New Blood Rising 2000)

World Championship Wrestling in 2000 is often laughed at and considered one of the worst years in wrestling history. For most of 2000, Vince Russo wrote WCW television and attempted to create stars when guys like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko left the company. ECW wrestlers Mike Awesome and Lance Storm jumped ship to WCW, and both initially had great success. However, WCW continued to put on often confusing and comically bad television every week. Sure, WCW 2000 is terrible, but it’s so bad that it’s entertaining, which has to be seen as a victory.

THE BACKGROUND

Jeff Jarrett returned to WCW the night after Halloween Havoc 1999 and quickly became a primary character on WCW television. Jarrett won the WCW United States Championship shortly after returning but would win the WCW World Championship at Spring Stampede 2000, defeating Diamond Dallas Page. In three months, from April to July, Jarrett became a four-time champion. Three of those reigns lasted eight days or less. The longest reign as champion ended up being 41 days.

Booker T had long been a favorite in WCW, whether as a singles or tag team wrestler with brother Stevie Ray. I had been a fan of Booker since the beginning of the Nitro days, but following the Best of Seven series with Chris Benoit in 1998, I became a big fan of both competitors. So, when 2000 came around, and most of the top workers in WCW departed, as mentioned earlier, I began to root for Booker to become the champion. It was his time.

So, naturally, 2000 started with Booker T fighting for the ’T’ in his name against Stevie Ray and Big T. Then, Booker had a short tag team run with Kidman and eventually returned to using his GI Bro character. It was as if WCW had no idea what to do with Booker T, but that changed at Bash at the Beach 2000 when Booker T was randomly inserted into a WCW World Championship match by Vince Russo against Jeff Jarrett. Let us not forget that was the infamous night when Vince Russo buried Hulk Hogan in the ring, and Hogan never returned to WCW afterward.

Booker T and Jeff Jarrett wrestled over the WCW World Championship at Bash at the Beach 2000. It’s a fresh main event previously dominated by Sting, Nash, Hogan, Savage, and Flair for several years. Earlier in the night, Booker T lost to “Positively’ Chris Kanyon, which could have been a potential feud if Booker were to win the title.

Booker T won the WCW World Championship at Bash at the Beach 2000 and looked to lead WCW’s latest new era attempt. However, the most recent new era took place on April 10th, 2000, with the formation of the New Blood, which didn’t connect with the audience. Also, Kanyon defeating Booker T never led to a logical match between the two.

The match I will be doing a retrospective of is not the Bash at the Beach 2000 bout but the New Blood Rising 20000 pay-per-view—fun fact: New Blood Rising 2000 was the only WCW pay-per-view I ever purchased. I have great taste in wrestling.

 

THE STORY

After losing the title to Booker T at the Bash at the Beach pay-per-view, Jarrett became obsessed with regaining the title and quickly demanded a rematch. Jarrett defeated Kanyon on Thunder to become the number one contender. Jarrett made the feud more personal by hitting Stevie Ray with a guitar on Nitro. On the July 31st Nitro, Jarrett attacked Booker and put the champion in a figure four around the ring post. With Booker laid out, Jarrett pulled Booker’s wife, not Sharmell, over the railing and smashed a guitar over her head. Booker would also be hung upside down on the aisle, and Jarrett continued to work over his knee to weaken the champion heading into New Blood Rising. Thus, heading into the pay-per-view, Booker T had a weakened knee to worry about.

Jarrett attacked Booker T during the New Blood Rising pay-per-view by slamming a car door on Booker’s injured knee. But Booker is a fighting champion, and he’s still going to defend the title.

 

THE MATCH

Jarrett wastes no time by attacking Booker’s heavily braced left knee. Booker responds with strikes and a back elbow to knock Jarrett to the mat. Booker tries for a rollup but only manages a near fall. Booker powerbombs Jarrett to counter a leapfrog attempt for a two-count. Booker kicks Jarrett against the ropes and clotheslines Jarrett over the top to the floor. Booker sends Jarrett chest-first into the guard railing a couple of times. Jarrett tries to counter, but Booker again sends Jarrett into the guardrail. Booker chops Jarrett in the corner and pulls Jarrett into the ring post groin several times to maintain the advantage.

Booker heads to the top rope missing a missile dropkick attempt, and lands on his injured knee. Jarrett quickly works over the injured knee with several stomps in the corner. Booker elbows Jarrett in the corner, but Jarrett wraps Booker’s leg around the ring post a couple of times. Next, Jarrett whacks a steel chair against Booker’s knee. Jarrett jabs Booker on the knee with the chair before crotching Booker over the railing. Jarrett takes some time to taunt the crowd. Upon returning to the ring, Jarrett locks in a Boston Crab, but Booker refuses to submit and reaches the ropes.

Jarrett whacks Booker over the knee with another chair shot on the floor. Booker nearly wins the match with a rollup out of the corner. However, Booker collides with Jarrett delivering a clothesline, and both men are down. Booker blocks a few strikes and connects with a spine buster for a two-count. Booker knee-lifts Jarrett and hits a scissors kick. Booker accidentally knocks the referee down, and Jarrett has a guitar. Booker attempts the Harlem Sidekick, but Jarrett nails Booker over the knee with the guitar. Jarrett locks in the figure four in the middle of the ring. The referee, Slick Johnson, has gotten back to his feet. Booker almost gets counted out due to the pain but fights through the pain. Booker reaches the ropes to break the hold.

Jarrett grabs the WCW World Championship and waits for Booker to get up on the floor, but Booker ducks the shot, and Jarrett nails the referee on accident. Booker sets up a table on the floor. Jarrett stops Booker on the apron and tries for the Stroke, but Booker elbows free and puts Jarrett through the table with a Book-End! Booker covers, but Jarrett puts his foot on the bottom rope. Jarrett grabs a chair and low blows Booker. Jarrett nails the second referee with a chair shot, thinking it is Booker. Jarrett delivers the Stroke, sending Booker onto the chair face first, but there’s no referee. Charles Robinson slides into the ring, but Booker kicks out at two. Booker ducks a chair shot and connects with a swinging neckbreaker on the chair for a near fall. Booker walks into a big boot in the corner but catches Jarrett coming off the middle rope. Jarrett counters the Book-End, but not a second, as Booker drives Jarrett to the mat and retains the title.

THE AFTERMATH

Booker T remained in the WCW World Championship picture through the winter, trading the title with Kevin Nash leading into Fall Brawl. Booker lost the WCW World Title to Vince Russo on September 25th but defeated Jarrett on October 2nd to regain the title in a San Francisco 49er match. Booker lost to Scott Steiner at WCW Mayhem 2000 and took time off due to a knee injury.

Jarrett finished 2000 feuding with Mike Awesome, Sting, Buff Bagwell, and Rey Mysterio Jr, respectively.

What are your memories of WCW 2000? Did the Booker T/Jeff Jarrett feud lure you into purchasing New Blood Rising as it did me?

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