If you've been onto any Internet wrestling website, you've read about the sale of WCW and the handing of the keys to one Eric Bischoff. Yes, THAT Eric.
Bischoff is well known for his Hollywood tendencies, and I'm not just referring to the wrestler. This is the guy who spent millions on bringing Karl Malone, Dennis Rodman, Master P and KISS into WCW while ignoring young, hungry talent such as Chris Jericho and Paul "The Giant" Wight. This is the same guy who let aging veterans like Hulk Hogan, Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash hold prominent positions in the company while the youth sit and wait for a headlining opportunity that will never come.
On the other hand, this is the same Eric Bischoff that is willing to take the Stamford Challenge. He received permission from Ted Turner to start a competing Monday night show, which helped create the wrestling boom we fans enjoyed in the late '90s. He spent money, but for a short period WCW was profitable under Eric's watch due to the success of the nWo angle and the large depth of the roster at the time. And despite what he has done in the past, Bischoff is the only WCW promoter that was able to give Vince McMahon a real fight for wrestling supremacy.
So, my question is are we going to see the Bischoff that will let the Old Guard run the show and completely forget about the under-40 crowd? Or will we see the Bischoff that will knock McMahon on his ass once again by using good stories that will accenuate great wrestling? I'm hoping for the latter, but time will tell what the latest Bischoff regime will bring to the table.
Now, I have one last thought, and it's to one Terry Bollea.
If the rumors of you coming back are true, please learn the lessons from the past and be willing to give the spotlight to younger guys such as Lance Storm, Kidman and Mike Awesome. I understand "Hulk Hogan" is a household name, but the future is now and it won't wait up.
(Ed.: The pictures are behind links instead of displayed here. They are not for the squeamish.)
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- Before we move on, I should point out the serious tone in which the announcers tell us what happened.
- As some Power Plant trainees bring out a coffin, the TurnerTron shows a picture of Goldberg with the "September 22, 1997 - January 14, 2001" caption.
- The Power Planters lay the coffin in the center of the ring and leave, sharing hugs with Totally Buff.
- As Buff mocks crying over the coffin, Hudson plays up the "Don't Try This At Home" bit concerning the Sid injury.
- Buff opens the coffin, and we see Goldberg's autobiography, along with a spear and a jackhammer. Get it?
- Buff is kind of funny with his overselling, actually.
- Luger cuts a promo "praising" Goldberg.
- Luger says he hopes the people who did this crime will get theirs from the boss, Ric Flair.
- Luger puts over Goldberg's winning streaks.
- The crowd boos as Luger says he mourns last night.
- Luger says Buff has a few thoughts despite his mental state.
- Buff encourages the crowd to chant "Goldberg."
- Buff says Goldberg will always be the man.
- Buff then breaks down and "cries."
- Buff claims he can see Goldberg's face but it's kind of hard to see it when he's six-feet under.
- Buff then breaks down again. Easy there, Mark.
- Buff claims everyone in the arena should grieve.
- Luger asks anyone in the audience or backstage to add their thoughts.
- "Cowboy" brings out Jeff Jarrett, who is dressed for the occasion.
- The funeral music plays as Jarrett puts his guitar on the coffin.
- In a somber voice, Jarrett says he has something to say, this case being a special memory.
- Jarrett about breaks down while the crowd chants for Goldberg.
- Jarrett says Goldberg never ever... beat him.
- Jarrett cracks a smile and says he wasn't on Goldberg's list of victims.
- Jarrett then runs down Goldberg and celebrates with Totally Buff.
- Luger then calls out the "hood emblem" of WCW, Scott Steiner, and his favorite freak, Midajah.
- Steiner and Midajah walk out, with the latter wearing a black veil.
- Steiner claims he gave Goldberg and Sid Vicious fair warning.
- Steiner says he will go down in history as the greatest WCW champion of all time.
- Steiner talks about giving Goldberg the worst defeat of his career at Fall Brawl.
- Steiner says Goldberg wasn't man enough to stay on top.
- Steiner then tells Goldberg good riddance and spits in his coffin.
- A familiar drum beat airs!
- We go to the locker room and out comes...
- Ric Flair and Animal.
- We cut to commercial, with some techs talking over the Monday Nitro logo. * sigh *
- When we come back, Ric Flair is in the ring.
- Ric goes into Heel Bastard Mode, immediately laying out the "fat boy" comments.
- Ric calls the people in the ring the greatest collection of wrestlers in the history of the business.
- We hear Fat Boy comment #2.
- Ric mentions that Nash and DDP lost the tag team titles in one night.
- Ric says in one night, Goldberg goes down and away.
- Ric works in one more Fat Boy and puts the heels over, saying the crowd can do nothing about it.
- Ric calls the people in the ring role models and people the crowd should idolize.
- Ric continues with the usual heel spiel.
- Ric tells Sid to call the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis if he doesn't like what's going on.
- Ric basically tells the people in the back to join him or die.
- Theme From Wolfpac brings out Kevin Nash.
- Hudson: "Let's bring a Reality Check to Monday Nitro!" If you even THINK about bringing Roddy Piper back, I'll puke.
- Nash says he's not in Flair's camp.
- Nash says if Flair's the brains of the outfit, then Steiner's the heart.
- Nash says he left Big Sexy in Indy and the Killer is here.
- Nash says he'll drive a stake through Steiner's heart and take his belt.
- Nash says he isn't alone, and "Self High Five v2.0" brings out DDP.
- Nash says he's got one more friend tonight, a guy from Detroit, MI that Scott Steiner knows well.
- Here comes Rick Steiner!
- Nash demands a title shot against Steiner tonight.
- Flair says he makes the matches, not Nash.
- This brings out The Cat.
- Cat says he's the commissioner and has the power, too.
- Cat does a sanitized version of his usual spiel, booking Steiner in the title match.
- And we're done. Nash showed more intensity than I've seen out of him in MONTHS.
- I'm hoping that the reason why this went twenty-five minutes was due to the company treading water waiting for the new regime. Think about it, would you want to get injured right before the new regime decides who stays and who goes?
- All in all, though, this was effective in building the story for the next couple months.
- Props to WCW for showing clips of the Cruiserweight match from last night.
- Next week, Nitro airs on Tuesday. Since I have class that night (going for a second Bachelor's degree), you won't hear from me, but rather one of the many fine subs that write for DDT Digest.
- As Crowbar comes out, they show clips of his hardcore match.
- And we're on...
- They come off the ropes but Chavo kicks Crowbar in the breadbasket.
- Chavo continues the offense and gets some chops in the corner.
- Crowbar with a corner whip but eats boot.
- Chavo goes up top and hits a headscissors.
- Chavo hops on Crowbar's shoulders and lays some punches, but Crowbar rolls over the ropes, sending both men outside.
- Chavo goes to the top turnbuckle and lays a bodypress onto Crowbar.
- Crowbar jawbreaks Chavo on the apron, which leads to a springboard moonsault for two.
- Crowbar with a wishbone legdrop.
- Chopfest in the corner.
- Off a whip, Crowbar hits a DVD for two.
- Crowbar mounts Chavo on the turnbuckle and lays some knees.
- Crowbar heads up top and tries the frankensteiner, but Chavo blocks.
- Chavo tries the Tornado DDT but Crowbar blocks.
- Crowbar charges into a drop toe-hold.
- Chavo goes up top but Crowbar counters into a Northern Lights Suplex for two!
- Chavo sends Crowbar to the ropes after a punch.
- Chavo charges but gets bodydropped onto the apron.
- Crowbar kicks Chavo out of the ring and hits a bodypress to the outside.
- Punches in bunches at the five-minute mark.
- Crowbar shoves Chavo into the ring and goes up top.
- Crowbar then devolves into his hardcore gimmick and grabs a chair.
- Crowbar sets the chair on the carpet at the same time Chavo hits a slingshot facejam onto the chair.
- In the ring, the brainbuster ends it.
- YOUR WINNER: Chavo Guerrero, Jr. via brainbuster in 6:11.
- We IMMEDIATELY go to commercial, as if an anti-smoking commercial is more important than the frickin' Cruiserweight champion celebrating another title defense.
- Good TV match, though.
- The match starts with the faces oblierating the heels after miscommunication.
- Helms headscissors Kidman out of the ring.
- Two Count follows with a nearly botched powerbomb/neckbreaker combo for two.
- In the corner, Moore inadvertantly whips Kidman into a slide dropkick onto Helms' nuts.
- Bronco Buster on Helms by Rey.
- This is going TOO fast for me by the way.
- Anyway, they do the great trainwreck spot outside, with Two Count getting the last hit.
- On the apron, Rey backdrops Moore onto the floor.
- Helms goes up top, but Kidman intercepts.
- Kidman with a frankensteiner for two.
- Kidman whips Moore into the corner.
- Helms ducks the lariat and hits the Sugar Smack kick.
- Helms tries the Vetrebreaker but Rey makes the save.
- Kidman then hits the Kid Krusher for the win!
- YOUR WINNERS: Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Kidman via Kid Krusher in 3:15.
- Post-match, Mike Awesome runs out and the Animals attack...
- But Team Canada makes the save and beat the hell out of Kidman and Rey.
- Storm challenges Kidman to a hair-versus-hair match against Mike Awesome!
- Kidman wants to do it right now!
- Storm says he'll see Kidman later tonight.
- A hair-versus-hair match! Cool!
- Match was all spots, though.
1/4
- Kronik makes their way out.
- Out comes the tag champs, with presumably more NBT guys on deck.
- Palumbo and Adams start.
- Adams shoves Palumbo to the mat.
- Into the corner, Palumbo with some punches.
- Palumbo comes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock.
- Off a whip, Adams launches Palumbo over the top rope.
- Clarke hits a 360o flip bodypress onto Palumbo outside! Nice!
- Palumbo tags O' Haire in.
- O'Haire goes behind but meets Mr. Back Elbow.
- Adams whips O'Haire cross-corner, but Sean evades a charge with a backflip.
- O'Haire with a spinning heel kick.
- Adams reverses a whip to the corner and catches O'Haire in the full-nelson slam for two after Palumbo makes the save.
- The faces doubleteam O'Haire after a tag.
- Clarke dominates the tag champ with elbowdrops and gets two on a pinfall.
- O'Haire gets a lucky break and tags his partner.
- Palumbo with some rights on Clarke.
- Clarke reverses a whip and hits a double underhook suplex.
- Clarke sets up the Meltdown but O'Haire interferes.
- Clarke fends O'Haire off but Palumbo gets in the Jungle Kick.
- Clarke plays YOUR face-in-peril.
- Palumbo brings Clarke into the corner and tags.
- The champs doubleteam Clarke in the corner.
- Adams comes in, allowing more doubleteaming.
- Hudson brings up
- O'Haire gets too cute and gets DDT'd as a result.
- Both men are down, but they eventually crawl to their corners and tags.
- Brian Adams is a Crush-on-fire.
- They hit High Times on O'Haire but Palumbo saves the belts.
- Kronik destroys Palumbo, but Mark Jindrak and Sean Stasiak walk out.
- This distraction allows a second Jungle Kick.
- Palumbo goes up top, but Adams crotches him.
- As Adams goes up top, Jindrak and Stasiak beat up Clarke outside.
- Adams hits a sloppy superplex, and O'Haire hits the Seanton (completely missed by the camera crew) for the win.
- YOUR WINNERS: Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire via Seanton Bomb in 7:26.
- Mike Awesome comes out solo, which may come into play later.
- As the match starts, Ric Flair appears on the TurnerTron and says that Kidman still loses his hair should Konnan lose.
- We start proper 0:33 in.
- Awesome murders Konnan in the corner.
- Konnan hits a sloppy spinning DDT off the ropes and a shoulderblock.
- From the corner, Awesome goes behind Konnan and hits a release German suplex.
- Awesome covers for two.
- Awesome hammers on the left shoulder.
- Konnan uses the ropes to hit an armdrag.
- Awesome goes outside and lures Konnan out.
- Awesome whips Konnan into the rail and ring apron.
- Awesome nails a chairshot.
- Awesome grabs the steel steps and sets them on the carpet.
- Awesome takes off... and runs into a Konnan chairshot.
- Back inside, Konnan goes off top and eats boot.
- Awesome tries the running Awesomebomb, but Konnan gets out and hits the facejam for 2.9.
- Konnan tries a powerbomb, but Awesome counters into a spinebuster.
- Awesome goes up top and hits the frog splash for... two!
- Awesome goes up top a second time but Konnan meets him halfway.
- Konnan f***s up a DDT off the turnbuckle and gets three!
- YOUR WINNER: Konnan via DDT off the top turnbuckle in 5:04.
- Hey cool, Awesome jobbed clean to Konnan. Didn't think THAT would happen!
- Post-match, Konnan gets the scissors and snips away.
- Konnan stops his haircutting session short when Team Canada makes the save.
- A decent match that was ruined by the usual Konnan sloppiness.
- Cat states the obvious (he's the new commissioner).
- Cat has been avoiding using "ass" under the new G-rated directive by Eric Bischoff.
- Cat calls out his opponent, who happens to be Bam Bam Bigelow.
- Bigelow rips Cat to shreds before giving him a backdrop suplex for two.
- Rope choke near the corner.
- Bigelow splashes Cat in the opposite corner after whipping him.
- Cat regains control and stops selling his injuries from the last minute.
- Bigelow tries to sunset flip Cat during his dance, but Cat gets his chop in.
- Cat eventually hits the Feliner for the win.
- YOUR WINNER: The Cat via Feliner in 1:33.
- Post-match, George and Weesie cut a rug, with Ms. Jones breaking out the NKOTB dance again.
- Man, Bigelow just can't cut a break, can he?
- As Douglas walks to the ring, we see the clip from Sin in black-and-white, in case any of us get grossed out by blood.
- Douglas gloats about his title win.
- Douglas refers to some "Hugh Morrus" guy.
- Out comes his opponent, Gen. Rection.
- As Rection hits the ring, Douglas goes into chickenshit heel mode, begging off.
- Shoulderblocks and clotheslines galore.
- Rection no-sells some punches and hits his own.
- Whip into the corner leads to a fist by Rection.
- Rection puts a chinlock on Douglas on the second rope.
- Boot choke follows.
- Rection with a scoop slam.
- Rection goes up top and misses the Savage elbowdrop.
- Kneelift and Pittsburgh Plunge follow.
- Douglas goes for the chain in his boots.
- Rection gives Douglas a gorilla press slam.
- Rection swats the chain away and chokes Douglas out.
- As referee Scott Jammes tries to break the two up, Chavo Guerrero, Jr. runs out, grabs the chain and bops Rection in the head.
- Douglas rolls over for the pinfall victory.
- YOUR WINNER: Shane Douglas via pinfall in 3:01.
- You'll note that no shots of Rection's forehead were displayed, in case Rection bladed. Me thinks that the G-Rated policies also apply for cutting foreheads, as well.
- The champ gets his entrance at ~9:41 P. M. EST.
- Does ANYONE out there think this will end clean?
- They show more clips of the Sin main event.
- Kevin Nash is walking.
- And we go to commercial.
- Yeah, like Steiner/Nash would go twenty minutes.
- We come back to Nash's entrance.
- Lockup, Steiner kicks and punches in the corner.
- And some chops.
- Nash reverses a whip into the corner and lays into Steiner to some good crowd heat.
- Nash pummels on Steiner on more, getting a two-count and eventually tossing Steiner outside.
- Nash goes outside and lays into Steiner until a low blow turns the tide.
- Steiner brings Nash into the ring.
- Steiner with a belly-to-belly suplex for two.
- Stomps by the champ.
- Steiner whips Nash into a clothesline.
- Elbowdrop leads to the push-ups.
- More basic offense in the corner.
- Steiner with a backbreaker in the center of the ring.
- Steiner locks on a surfboard.
- Nash gets up and blocks a ram to the ringpost.
- Nash takes over and hits a side slam off the ropes, but can't make the cover out of fatigue.
- Mark Johnson goes for the ten-count.
- Both men up, and Nash blocks Steiner's punches and hits his own.
- Snake Eyes in the corner.
- As Steiner begs off, Nash whips him into the big boot.
- The straps come down, but it's the nWo all over again as Flair's troops run out for the lame DQ.
- YOUR WINNER: Kevin Nash via DQ in 5:12.
- DDP, Rick Steiner and The Cat make the save as we fade...
- Nash actually looked like he gave a damn out there. The crowd acted like it, too.
- No adding new members! This killed the "elite" status of the original nWo stable.
- Next time, don't make the ending of your main event so predictable. Again, this is what destroyed the nWo angle in the first place — as soon as the face was about to deliver the final blow, we all knew five nWo members would save the day. Let's be a little more creative. F'instance, have Nash snap during one match and choke out Steiner to the point of causing a DQ, saving the title for the champ. Yeah, it's a cop-out, but it's much fresher than seeing the same six guys do the same cliched run-in.