WCW/nWo Uncensored - Sunday, 3/15/98

• Howdy everyone, once again. I am Big Mike, and it's time for Uncensored. Yes, a "no holds barred" PPV from the company that won't even show blood on cable television.
• TRIVIA QUESTION: Since everyone else has trivia questions, I guess I will have to also. Remember in the old days, when a wrestler would get "banned" from a federation and then come back with a mask on, and the announcers and officials would act like they didn't know who it was, when even the dumbest marks could tell who it was. Here are three questions about those days:
  • When Michael Hayes was "banned" from World Class Wrestling during the beginning of the Freebird-Von Erich feud in the early 80s, he came back disguised as what famous character?
  • What was the name that both Dusty Rhodes and Cowboy Bill Watts used when they came back as masked characters?
  • Bruiser Brody (my favorite wrestler of all time) once donned a mask when he was banned from WCCW. It resulted in one of the funniest moments I remember when they tried to prove it wasn't Brody. What was he called?
  • See answers at the end of the column.
• Did anyone see that "Road Rules" on MTV with the Headbangers from the WWF showing the cast how to fall? So much for kayfabe, huh Vince? I remember when I was a kid, a legitimate local network affiliate having a series called "Are Wrestling Bouts Staged?" No one tries to hide it any more, that's for sure. And NO, I don't watch "Road Rules" all the time. I just happened to be flipping through the channels and there it was. Honest! I got bored, though, and turned it on something better, like a test pattern.
• You know, I usually don't complain about something like this, but it's time to get Hogan the hell out of town. Hey Hogan, no one cares about you anymore. After he jobbed the title to Sting (in a screwjob, surprise, surprise), he is about as worthless as teats on a boar hog to WCW (as we say in Texas). I think Hogan is hurting the company, and hurting guys like Hall, Nash, Hart, Giant, etc., who should be getting the star treatment and should get top billing, but aren't because Hogan's old ass is stealing the spotlight. I mean, on every show he comes out for his stupid little tirade, which I would think was dumb even if I was the biggest Hogan mark in the world, if there is such a thing. NO ONE CARES, OK! Bischoff has got to be smarter. The WWF is sneaking up on WCW as we speak. I mean, I watched Raw instead of Nitro for the first time in a long time on Monday. And Raw was taped! OK, I will get off my soap box now. Sorry about that little tirade, folks, I had to get it off my chest.
• Hogan-Savage in a cage match tonight. Could we maybe get a little blood out of Hogan at least? Or is it still way too early for a nice Christmas present?
• Hall-Sting world title match tonight that would normally get top billing. This will be interesting. There has been so little hype for this match because of Hogan-Savage (see comments about Hogan above), that I almost forgot about it. I just hope like hell that they book a clean finish. But we've got about as good a chance of that happening as we do seeing me joining the Hollywood Hogan fan club. However, if Hall wins, we might see an nWo breakup angle when Hogan asks Hall to hand over the belt.
• Also Bret Hart vs. Curt Hennig. They should call this "The Matchup of Those Two Guys from Up North Who are Getting Screwed Over in WCW."
• We also have Juventud Guerrera vs. Konnan or "Hey, let's get Juvy over more by putting him against the designated nWo jobber."
• Hopefully Raven-Benoit-Page will be worth the price of the PPV. We could see some juice there. I am actually looking forward to that match. Two of the hardest workers in WCW and Raven, who seems to actually be coming into his own now.
• OK, enough pre-show comments. Now, with a cold Lone Star beer in hand, on to the show, finally............

• We start with a montage of Hogan, Savage, Hall, and Sting.
• We are live from the Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Alabama.
• Gordon Solie, Lance Russell, and Bill Mercer commentating. No, just kidding, it's only Tony "Greatest Match in the History of Wrestling" Schiavone, Bobby "the Brain" Heenan, and "Iron" Mike Tenay. We can only dream....
• Stuff about Hogan-Savage. Yada-yada.
• Booker T defeats Eddie Guerrero with a missile dropkick to retain the World Television Title.
  • Chavo accompanies Eddie to the ring as a result of the match the other night.
  • Someone with a sign "Mean Gene is My Dad." Kid, I feel sorry for you.
  • Booker T comes out to another big pop.
  • Tenay mentions Booker T would like to be mentioned among the top TV champs. Arn Anderson to be exact. Well, Booker, just don't let 'em job you to Renegade. However, Booker, I think you have a little way to go til you reach Double A's level.
  • Booker T starts off with a flurry, as usual.
  • Chavo is sitting outside talking smack to Eddie.
  • No offense for Guerrero yet.
  • Nicely done superplex by Eddie.
  • Eddie's a great heel. He works the crowd well.
  • Brain mentions that the Guerrero family should cut Eddie out of the will and put him in. Then he says, "But what would I do with a '56 Buick?" Great stuff.
  • You know, they never have mentioned what happened to Steve Ray. Does anyone know?
  • Weird looking miss by Booker T off the top rope. He landed on his feet. Almost looked like a blown spot.
  • Missile dropkick by Booker T off the top rope. 1-2-3. Booker T remains champ.
  • Eddie and Chavo have words and then a shoving match outside the ring. Eddie then gets behind Chavo and opens up a can on him, thereby setting up a match in the future between Eddie and Chavo.
• Scott Steiner with Marshall and Madden on the Internet backstage. I would write something, but I couldn't even understand what Scott Steiner said.
• Juventud Guerrera over Konnan with a rollup.
  • Konnan got a lot better push when he wasn't in the nWo.
  • Raven's Flick with "the new guy" (Ron Studd) looking disturbed in the background. Lodi has a sign that says "Use my sign." Hmmmm, could that come into play later, you think?
  • Juventud throws Konnan's head into his hand....I mean the metal stairs. Man that looked bad. That was pretty obvious.
  • What the hell is this? Konnan is standing there with Juventud's legs wrapped around his leg. Tenay calls it an Indian deathlock. I am laughing so hard I can't stop. Konnan is just standing there not even holding him and Juventud is "writhing in agony."
  • Someone in South Alabama is holding their "nWo fears Jethro" sign upside down. I will not even comment about that.
  • Konnan puts on what Tenay calls the "Rocking Horse Cradle-Type Submission." OK, yeah.
  • Juvy looks like he has taken some bad bumps. Lots of rest holds.
  • The crowd is silent. That shows what they think of this match.
  • Juvy with a very awkward rollup for the win, after Konnan goes for a pin attempt.
  • Konnan then goes to work after the match on Juvy. Throws him out of the ring like a lawn dart.
• Scheme Gene with JJ Dillon. What a surprise. They are going to make the powerbomb legal for the Giant-Kevin Nash match since it is Uncensored. Oh no, someone could get hurt very badly or even killed! (note the sarcasm)
• "Whineheart" Chris Jericho over Dean Malenko with the Liontamer to retain the Cruiserweight Title.
  • Now maybe some real wrestling. It's the Iceman. What has happened to him lately? He is getting zero push.
  • Sign in the crowd: "Emmett fears Wild Turkey" I know the feeling, Emmett. I've felt that way on many a Sunday morning.
  • Jericho with "1,004" on his tights. Tenay states that it is a slap to Malenko. Jericho claims he is the man of 1,004 holds.
  • Jericho starts walking toward the back, leaving, then changes his mind.
  • Slow match for these two guys.
  • Jericho with a nice moonsault and pin attempt, but Malenko puts his foot on the ropes.
  • Boy, Malenko is not getting a chance to show anything in this match. Jericho is trying to carry the match, and it ain't working.
  • Jericho goes for the Liontamer, but Malenko gets to the ropes.
  • Malenko falls on Jericho after Jericho tries a belly to belly suplex off the top. It looked very weird.
  • Jericho goes for the Liontamer again, but Malenko crawls on his hands to the ropes.
  • Liontamer yet again, and Malenko tries to get to ropes again but is pulled back, and the match is mercifully over.
  • That was one of the worst Malenko matches I have ever seen. I am truly disappointed.
  • For some reason Scheme Gene walks up to interview Malenko, who is acting visibly upset in the ring. Gene keeps telling Malenko he should have won, and says that Dean has never won in a PPV, and calls Malenko a loser! Kick his ass, Dean! What? Gene says, "Where does Dean Malenko go from here?" Malenko simply says, "Home." Wow, interesting.
• Raven is backstage with Madden and Marshall. Man, it is annoying to hear him talk. I need a drink.
• Lex Luger over Scott Steiner after a distraction from Rick Steiner.
  • Scott Steiner says on the way to the ring : "Luger, I'm going to kick your butt!" Wow, Scotty, better watch your language. It's a little harsh there, young man.
  • Starts off kind of slow, but it picks up.
  • They are outside and Luger throws Scott into the guard rail. He goes up and over. Nice sell.
  • Luger goes for the rack, but Scotty throws his leg up and really gets a rack, if you know what I mean.
  • Here comes Rick down the way. Scott is distracted and Luger pounds him from behind and gets the pin.
  • Norton comes out to work on Rick Steiner. Rick gets rid of him and goes after Scott. Scott tries to use the chair, but Rick flips him up and over the ropes.
  • Short match, but actually not too bad for these guys.
• In a triple threat match, Diamond Dallas Page pins Raven with a Diamond Cutter off the top rope onto a table to retain the U.S. Heavyweight Title.
  • Alright, baby. The one I've been waiting for. No DQ, falls count anywhere. The one scoring the pinfall gets the title.
  • Three great workers here. Should be a good one.
  • Crowd loudly chanting for DDP.
  • All three lock up in a referee's stance. Interesting.
  • Here we go, all three go outside. Raven and Benoit throw DDP into the steps and Benoit goes to work on Raven.
  • Raven goes for the pin on Benoit, and DDP makes the save.
  • Page with a slingshot cross body block onto Raven and Benoit outside. Nice move.
  • A couple more pin attempts, with the third guy making the save.
  • Tony says "Non-stop action, I like this!" Brain: "Tony, reminds me of your cousin's wedding you were talking about."
  • Very foggy inside. Must be something about the humidity on the Gulf Coast. In Beaumont, Texas for Thunder, it was so foggy during Page-Benoit, you could barely see.
  • They are all fighting on the outside, and Raven takes off toward the back and comes back with a trash can, which he drops. It is put over Raven's head, and Benoit and Page both hit it with crutches conveniently left to the side.
  • Benoit and Page are fighting over who pins Raven, and they start fighting on the ramp.
  • Benoit and Raven throw DDP through the lighted Uncensored sign. Twice! He is right inside with the lights shining on him. It looks cool.
  • I can't believe it! Benoit actually hits Raven with the kitchen sink! I don't know where he got it from! That's so hilarious. Whoever set that up should get a medal.
  • While DDP is out inside the sign, Raven is choking Benoit with one of those crowd control barrier ropes.
  • Raven sets up a table, but Benoit throws Raven into it. They head back into the ring. Still no Page.
  • DDP is crawling back to the ring as the match goes on. Benoit throws Raven into a chair.
  • Benoit puts the sleeper on Raven and DDP comes in and puts the sleeper on Benoit. Raven drops for a double jawbreaker and all three men are down.
  • DAMN! Benoit is holding Raven for a German suplex and DDP picks up BOTH of them and German suplexes them.
  • Oh no, Raven is telling Benoit what to do! Benoit holds Lodi's "Use my sign" sign, and hits DDP. He tears the cardboard off and it is a stop sign. As Raven is putting DDP on the table, Benoit uses the stop sign on Raven! It's a great spot, but a stop sign wrapped in paper saying "Use my sign" was done in ECW about a year ago.
  • Page is still lying on the table. Benoit has Raven on the top. Page gets off and knocks Benoit off. Diamond Cutter off the top rope onto the table!!!!!!! 1-2-3!!! Page wins!
  • Wow, what a great match! No juice though. I'm kind of disappointed about that.
• Giant defeats Kevin Nash by DQ after interference by Bryan Adams, who is apparently the leader of the second-team nWo now.
  • OK, if this one does not end in a screwjob or with some kind of outside interference, I will be ecstatic.
  • Giant still has the neck brace on.
  • Long staredown before the match.
  • Wow, Tony says they threw out the over the top rope DQ in WCW. I didn't hear that one. Think it had something to do with the WWF making light of it in the NWA tag team title matches?
  • Lots of power moves, as you would expect.
  • Nash takes the neck brace off the Giant, of course.
  • Oh man, Mongo tries to go into a three-point stance and his wrist gives out. Come on, guys.
  • Bodyslam by the Giant. Man, he made picking up Nash look easy.
  • Oh yeah, here it comes. As Giant was about to put Nash in the powerbomb, Bryan Adams comes in and hits him with a bat. Giant recovers, and breaks the bat over his knee! Giant chokeslams Konnan and Vincent, who have come in, and then Nash gets another baseball bat and breaks it over Giant. As Nash goes for the powerbomb, Giant comes alive, and all of the nWo runs away from him.
  • Did I call the ending or what?
• Scmeme Gene with the Hotline ad. Ho-hum.
• Bret "The Hitman" Hart defeats Curt Hennig via the Sharpshooter.
  • Both of these guys have been getting screwed over in WCW in my opinion.
  • Hennig comes out with his personal valet, Rick Rude.
  • Hitman with a Calgary Hitmen jersey on. That's pretty cool.
  • Bret Hart is good for the sport, I think. He is a great wrestler and is very good with the fans.
  • Tenay talks about Bret Hart defeating Curt Hennig for the WWF Intercontinental Title in 1991. He doesn't mention the WWF by name though.
  • Sharpshooter, but Rude comes in and breaks it up, and Mickey Jay doesn't see it?!?
  • Random thought: One thing I hate about these PPVs is that it causes me to miss "King of the Hill."
  • Hennig has Hart in the corner and Rude tells Hennig to give him "the Robbinsdale crunch."
  • Figure-four on Hart by Hennig. Hart stays in it awhile and then it is broken.
  • Hennig is working on the left knee of Hart.
  • Hennig gets the Hennigplex, but Hart kicks out. Hart throws Hennig into the ropes and into Rude.
  • Bret Hart rolls through the sunset flip and gets the Sharpshooter for the submission win, right as Rude is coming in. In fact, Rude looks bad, as he has to wait until Hennig taps out before he comes in. They both work over Hart, and Rude gives Hart a Rude Awakening! Long time since we've seen that one.
  • Hart is laid out in the ring as Hennig and Rude gloat.
• Sting defeats Scott Hall with the Scorpion Death Drop to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Title.
  • Wow, when was the last time a world title match was not the main event. Thanks, Hogan.
  • Hall comes out with Dusty Rhodes in tow.
  • Huge reaction for Sting when he comes out.
  • Mark "Shooter" Curtis is the referee. Good to see him back in the ring. He has lost A LOT of weight. He is as skinny as a rail.
  • A lot of action early. Hall is mocking the Giant as he puts Sting down.
  • Dusty trips up Sting. Sting turns around just in time for a clothesline by Scott Hall.
  • Hall with a discus punch, a la Kerry Von Erich.
  • Sting falls head first right into the "cajones" of Scott Hall. That would hurt.
  • Here comes Dusty onto the apron. He is strutting while Hall is distracting the ref. Bionic elbow by Big Dust!
  • Hall goes for the pin, but Sting kicks out.
  • Sting goes for the Scorpion Deathlock, but Dusty comes onto the apron and Sting nails him.
  • Curtis is knocked out and Dusty throws Hall some brass knucks, which he nails Sting with. Curtis recovers for the count, but Sting kicks out at two.
  • Hall goes for the Razor's (Outsider's) Edge, but Sting reverses and gets the Scorpion Death Drop for the 1-2-3!
  • Dusty Rhodes comes in for a staredown, and Sting shoots Dusty some DX crotch chops for good measure.
• Promo for Spring Stampede in Denver, Colorado featuring Bill Goldberg.
• And here comes "The Man With the Greatest Job in the World" Michael Buffer.
• Here comes the cage. All right! It's one of the old-fashioned cages with no room on the floor.
• "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage wrestle to a no decision.
  • Hogan comes out alone to "Voodoo Child."
  • Savage comes out to his nWo first-team music with Elizabeth in tow. Man, Liz is showing some leg tonight! She looks hot.
  • The cage does not come into play much early.
  • Hogan takes his belt off and is whipping Macho.
  • Leg Drop of Doom by Hogan, but Savage moves out of the way. Hogan drops the belt and Savage starts using it on Hogan. Man, it sounds like he is whipping the crap out of him legitimately.
  • All right! HOGAN IS BUSTED OPEN!!!!
  • Man, Hogan is cut pretty good around the right eye.
  • Wow, now Savage is busted open. He is bleeding in the face and the body from the cage.
  • Savage has blood all over his face and torso as Hogan takes over the match.
  • For some reason, Hogan tells Mickey Jay, who is on the outside to open the cage door and they go outside. What's the damn point of a cage match if you can go outside?
  • They go back in and the door is padlocked.
  • They are both down, and Savage gets up like Jason in Friday the 13th
  • HOLY S--T!!! Savage goes to the top of the cage and comes down with the elbow on a standing Hogan a la Jimmy Snuka! Hogan kicks out though
  • Uh-oh, here comes the Booty Disciple as Savage is on the top of the cage. He decks the ref and climbs in the cage. Savage comes down to face both of them and calls someone out. Sting descends from the rafters to the ring!
  • Stand-off going down with Hogan and Booty Disciple cowering in the corner. Savage decks Sting as Hogan and Disciple look on. Savage gives Hogan a "for Life" sign and walks out. Hogan is talking trash to Savage as he goes out! Fade to black.
• That was a weird ending. Hogan just kept yelling, "You work for me!" as Savage walked out. That threw me for a loop. I don't know what the hell is coming now.
• Well, not a bad PPV. The Raven-Benoit-DDP match lived up to its billing, and Hogan was busted open, which is always good. The Malenko thing kind of had me freaked out though. They made Malenko look like kind of a wuss. I guess they wanted to show he had some feelings or something for some reason.
• TRIVIA ANSWERS:
  • Answer 1: Michael Hayes came back as Santa Claus. Vader was not the first to do this. It was a Christmas show in Dallas, and Hayes, dressed as a legitimate looking Santa, was in the crowd passing out candy to the kids. "Santa" jumped into the ring where a match was going on between the remaining Freebirds and the Von Erichs. The jolly one proceeded to start beating the hell out of the Von Erichs with his sack of "goodies." Famed WCCW announcer Marc Lowrance, then uttered, totally serious of course, one of the most memorable lines in wrestling history: "Oh no! Santa Claus is attacking the Von Erichs! What will the kids think?" Of course, then he took off the fake beard and hat and it was Hayes. Hilarious stuff.
  • Answer 2: Dusty Rhodes and Cowboy Bill Watts both used the name "The Midnight Rider." Rhodes in Florida, I believe, and Watts in Mid-South. Watts did this kind of cool thing were he sat by a campfire and talked while the Willie Nelson version of the song "Midnight Rider" was playing. Amazing how he sounded just like Watts, and Jim Ross still "didn't know who this mysterious man was!"
  • Answer 3: And Bruiser Brody was known as "Red River Jack." Funniest damn thing I ever saw because Brody was a huge guy and had long hair and a big beard that stuck out from under the mask, and the announcers (apparently kin to Tony Schiavone) still acted like they had no idea who he was. Well one night, when they were trying to figure it out, Brody comes out for a supposed tag match with Red River Jack. Brody goes it alone for a while before another man runs out with the Red River Jack mask on, but this guy was totally clean shaven and smaller than Brody. So he and Brody stand together and clear the ring. Marc Lowrance then stated that "this proves that Bruiser Brody is not Red River Jack." I don't know how, but the announcers always played it straight. Man, there was nothing like WCCW in those days. They did some of the funniest angles ever without being idiotic like some of the angles are now (Doink (I always have to rag on Doink), Disco Inferno-Jacquelyn, Dustin Rhodes-Luna Vachon, even the Sting "Crow" angle after a while).
• Well, adios everyone, I am Big Mike. Support your local honky tonk, and remember, as Robert Earl Keen says, "The road goes on forever, and the party never ends." Truer words were never spoken, my friends.

This a arena report on the WCW Uncensored PPV. I watched the first Uncensored on PPV several years ago and it was the worst PPV of all time for me, it is one of the reasons I don't buy very many PPVs anymore. I will never be caught spending that much money for that lousy of a product again I hope. But of course, I shelled out 25 bucks to see the event in person, but with the lineup, it couldn't be bad, I hope.

My father-in-law and myself arrived at the Mobile Civic Center at about 4:30 pm. There are long lines already started to all the entrances but being the veteran PPV/Nitro type person, we find a seat and wait for them to open the doors and let all the cattle to march in. It became very confusing for a lot of people and me, the ticket stubs said 6:30 pm start, the radio and newspaper said 5:30 start and they didn't open the doors until 5:20 pm. So I was thinking, it is a 6:30 pm start but no, it was a 6:00 pm start. After the bathroom and concession stops, we enter to get our seats at 5:48, the annoucer comes down, annouces that the PPV would start in 10 minutes and here is Wild Cat Willy. The macho cat does his routine and the next thing you know, we are live and on TV. No Nitro Girls to be seen, darn.

There was no dark matches for event. We went straight to the Booker T and Eddie Guerrero match. The arena was 3/4 full at the time, remember I said the tickets said 6:30 pm start, so about 1/4 of the seats were empty at the beginning but they quickly filled. Booker T gets a huge pop, one of the best of the night, and almost everyone is doing the "Raise The Roof" motion with the arms. Eddie draws good heat as the heel. The match was good, with only one real rest period with the leglock/hang on rope routine. Eddie took some good shots and so did Booker T, especially that Superplex. A couple of near bad spots but a good match for the start. The crowd was into the match and I was excited about the night.

Juventud Guerrera and Konnan was next. I was able to catch a glimpse of these two before the card in the backstage area as we were trying to find our seats and came to a blocked off area, neither one seemed pleased about something, but they were through an exit and gone before we could see a lot. The match was imteresting with Konnan reaching into his bag of tricks and finding some new moves. Some really looked really painful live but some looked stupid too. Overall, Guerrera took a good beating and had some hard bumps. I thought Juventud would win because he lost his mask last time and would be repaid tonight, and I was right. Not a bad match. I'm still pleased and the crowd is enjoying itself but had lost some of the first match excitment.

Mean Gene comes out and talks to JJ Dillion, is it just me or was JJ a lot better 10-15 years ago as manager to the Horsemen? I looked forward to him coming back to the WCW from the WWF but he has never added one thing to TV, I'm sure he is doing much better behind the scenes. We can have the powerbomb tonight when the Giant and Nash collide, great, build up the expections and then shoot it in the foot with the match. More later on that.

Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko. The Iceman gets a good response but Jericho is not very over in Mobile. This match reminded me of a late 70's NWA match, a lot of good wrestling and pychology, the crowd was pretty quiet but paying attention. Dean fights tough but loses in a good scripted ending. Mean Gene comes down and tells Dean how bad he has been, we are all yelling for Dean to punch Gene but no such luck. Dean goes "Home".

Luger and Scott Steiner. I called a very short match in this one to my father-in-law and was rewarded again with a good prediction. Lex used his three moves, the clothesline, powerslam and rack. I don't think Scott had but one suplex for the night. The weakest match of the night for me, I didn't expect much and I was right. Luger just doesn't have a whole lot and Scott Steiner just can't carry someone like him. But Scott did do a good job of pissing off the crowd by throwing birdies to everyone, he could be a pretty good heel if he stays with it. Lex has a good entrance but it falls off quick after that, but the crowd was back on fire, Luger does bring excitment.

Up next is the most anticipated match of the night. The three way battle between Page/Beniot and Raven. Page gets a great pop, not as good as I have seen in some other cities but still good. The match was as expected and got out of the ring pretty fast. I expected to hear some ECW chants when the trash can came out but none was heard, maybe Mobile doesn't have a channel with it, but we do have it in Pensacola, 45 miles away. The double crutch shots were great. The crowd was stunned by Page going into the Uncensored Signs, but they were only made of cardboard I think, but you got a better look on live TV. The ending was good, the guy sitting next to me was going, "What a great ending". The Diamond Cutter through the table looked good live, not great but still a good match. The triple German suplex was also a major highlight of the match, the fans went crazy with that.

The Giant and Kevin Nash. Nash gets a good ovation, we are sitting in an nWo section, but nobody is wearing the colors. They did have real long lines at the t-shirts counters. I didn't really expect much from the two but it was a better match than I thought it would be. Vincent (I thought he was fired) got a huge chokeslam, that had to hurt some. The fans enjoyed it and it was not bad for two big men with not a whole lot of moves to use. But JJ, no powerbomb from either man, and you promised it could be used. Don't build it up if you don't plan on delivering.

Bret Hart and Curt Hennig. I was really looking forward for this one. I can still remember the first time I saw these two wrestle for the IC belt in the WWF and it was one of best matches I can remember. This of course was 6-7 years ago now, and I shouldn't expect the same level of intensity and I should have known better to wish for something in the first place. This match was a disappointment for me, it could have been better. I was expecting a classic and got a standard WCW match. That is alright for Nash/Giant, but not for two capable wrestlers who know each other. And no Ric Flair, as soon as Hart was getting pounded after the match, the "Whoooooooos" started but no Slick Ric. I was there to see the "Man" but no such luck. The crowd was pretty quiet throughout, I think they expected more too, and neither one of these guys are really over down south. Ric Flair would have brought the house down.

Scott Hall and Sting. The crowd was back up for this one. Every punch, kick and slam had sound effects from the crowd. Did Mark Curtis look as bad on TV as he did live? He was skinny before the cancer operation, he looks like death now in person. The match like I was said was over with the crowd and it was good to actually see Dusty doing some moves, it does bring back some memories, not all good, but memories still the same. Sting had some near falls, but came out on top with some strong support from Mobile.

Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage. Was not expecting a whole lot for this one but I was pleasantly surprised with the match. I thought both men tried hard. I about croaked when I saw blood on Hogan. I was not paying a great deal of attention to the match until then, I don't know when Hogan bladed but it had to be done quickly. I saw Savage blade because I was now really paying attention. If you saw Hogan throw Savage into the cage and Randy fell to a sitting position on the ropes, both hands go to his head and you can see him blading. The next time Hogan throws Savage into the cage, the blade comes flying out and into the middle of the ring. I don't understand the part about opening the door and letting the both out, I thought the cage was to hold them in. Here comes the man of a 1000 names and a chance of a clean finish is gone. But the crowd really enjoyed the match, and Savage from the top of the cage was great, brought back memories of Jimmy Snuka and Buzz Sawyer.

Sting from the rafters was great. He landed on top of the cage side first and then into the ring. The turn from Macho Man came out of no where but started expecting it when nothing was happening between the four men for about minute.

Overall, I was really pleased with night. Only one bad match, one disappointing match and no Ric Flair. But besides that, the PPV was very entertaining for me and my father-in-law. He doesn't follow wrestling to much any more but he seemed to really enjoy the show.

This was a better night than the four Nitros, the Battlebowl and the Royal Rumble I have attended live. Nitros just are too slow live with short matches and commerical breaks. A PPV has a constant flow and moves much better.

The crowd ended up being a sellout or very close. There were seats in the backstage area open but these were not for sale, but besides that, the place was full to the rafters with a lot of people in the walkways standing. I did not hear "Boring" one time during the show which has to be first in a long while and there were no bathroom/concession stand matches. The crowd may not have been excited all the time, but they were watching and paying attention.

I give it a thumbs up, could have been better in places, and they still had fifteen minutes to go, which could have been used in a couple of matches but overall I thought it was paced well and move right along. Good show.