• Norman Smiley beat Fit Finlay in a hardcore match
• The Demon beat Hugh Morrus
• David Flair and Crowbar w/Daphne beat Harlem Heat & XS in a three-way dance
• The Artist w/Paisley beat Jaimesan (w/ Kaz Hayashi & Yun Yang) in a Cruiserweight title match
• The Maestro w/Symphony beat Mr. Jones
• The Cat beat Maestro w/Symphony
• Wall beat Bam Bam Bigelow in a hardcore match
• Jeff Jarrett beat Buff Bagwell by DQ in a U.S title match

An arena report by Chan and Charlie and Matt

• We decided to go to Chattanooga for the house show since WCW has not returned to Knoxville since a house show on 5/23/1999. For those in the area, WCW is scheduled to return on 6/6 for a Thunder taping.
• When we arrived, we learned that UTC Arena is now UTC's McKenzie Arena. Despite arriving just before show time, we managed excellent parking spaces. This was the first sign that the crowd would be quite sparse.
• We arrived at the arena at 7:18 for a 7:30 show. We bought tickets at the gate and the lady took an eternity to find the tickets. Damn her.
• We asked for the cheapest tickets we could find and they were still $15. For those interested, we sat in Section 332, Row C, Seats 1 and 2.
• We bought hot dogs and cokes and went to our seats.
• As we entered the arena, we were terrified to hear Roddy Piper's entrance music. Fortunately, we remembered Piper does not do house shows.
• We were seated in the upperdeck in front of two middle aged fans resembling ZZ Top. We spent the first half of the night listening to commentary evoking memories of Dusty rhodes. Damn them.
• Dave Penzer was absent and an inept replacement ring announcer announced the main event of Jarrett-Bagwell, an appearance by Miss Hancock and a three-wave tag team bout. He also noted the shift in WCW management and plugged the 4/10 Nitro. Surprisingly he also noted that WCW was in a "rebuilding" stage.
• The ring announcer also served as the bell ringer.
• Match One: Norman Smiley vs. Fit Finlay (Referee Jamie Tucker)
  • Smiley was the only babyface to enter first of the night and more importantly was the only man wearing traditional trunks on the card.
    • Two tickets: $30.
    • Four hot dogs + two cokes=$11.
    • Two hour wrestling card with only one man in trunks=priceless.
  • Smiley as custom, wore a shirt for his match. Evidently there is nothing local worthy of wearing a jersey, since he wore a WCW crew shirt.
  • Finlay wore camouflage.
  • Finlay teased the use of a chair early in the match by moving a chair close to ringside. He then placed it near the ring and used it as a substitute for ring steps. This drew good heat.
  • We should note that UTC Arena was not equipped with "steel chairs." They used blue Virco 1101 Stack Chairs instead. Damn them! If you would like your own Virco 1101 Stack Chairs, click here. You can get one for "as low as $15.95!"
    • Charlie would like to alleviate his name from the previous two lines of the report. That was all Chan...
  • Eventually, Finlay retrieved another chair and Smiley hit the Van Daminator for the pin.
  • The biggest response of the match came when Smiley did the "Big Wiggle" on two occasions during the match.
  • WINNER: Norman Smiley in 7:18.
• Match Two: Hugh Morrus vs. The Demon (Referee Charles Robinson)
  • The ring announcer asked Chattanooga to "say hello to Charlotte, North Carolina's Charles Robinson." This was peculiar as it gave Robinson heel heat which was nonsensical not only for the referee to have heat but because he would later be a babyface in the main event.
  • The Demon entered to Kiss' "God of Thunder," which for Kiss fans is the third track off the Destroyer album (released 3/15/76).
  • Ironically, Kiss will be playing at the same arena on April 24th.
  • Demon won with the cobra clutch slam, which he calls "the love Gun," named after the title track of Kiss' The Love Gun album (released 6/30/77). For trivia buffs, this is the album played in the opening sequence of the 1999 movie Detroit Rock City, which is where the demon hails from.
  • After the match, Morrus hit the No Laughing Matter and left the Demon laying in the ring.
  • These same two met on the 3/22 Thunder and Morrus won that match in just 2:45 with his finisher. Demon's win may lend credence to the theory that Eric Bischoff's return will renew The Demon's push since it was his brainchild. Then again, like most results in WCW, it probably means nothing.
  • WINNER: The Demon in 5:13.
• Match Three: Rave and Frog vs. David Flair and Crowbar with Daffney vs. Harlem Heat with J. Biggs (Referee Jamie Tucker)
  • Rave got on the microphone prior to the match and explained that Lane was unable to attend the match and that Rave was his replacement.
    • For those who do not know, Frog is Curtis White, who wrestles on the independent circuit as Toad. He has worked out at the WCW Power Plant and at one time was Rave's roommate.
    • For further information on Toad, check out his official home page at http://toadcore.freeservers.com/.
  • Rave did the sign gimmick with two two-sides signs saying "XS Rules," "Where R The Ratz," "I am Rave" and "He is Frog."
  • Big T has put on a lot of weight since we last saw him live.
  • Prior to the match, Crowbar and Flair elbow dropped the defenseless mat before turning their attention to one another.
  • Frog started the match with Crowbar. They worked very well together.
  • Frog hit a hurricanrana on crowbar which was one of many impressive moves in the short period the two were in the ring together.
  • The most unpleasant match up of Big T and David Flair only lasted 22 seconds fortunately and Big T hit one move on him before tagging out.
  • Big t had tagged in Stevie Ray and Stevie had a clear advantage on Flair when Rave tagged his back.
  • Rave hit an impressive DDT on Flair which merited a two-count. This was his finisher on the independent scene called "The Rock the Cradle" DDT, acknowledging his resemblance to Billy Idol.
  • On the outside, Daffney beat on Toad outside the ring prompting a brawl outside between Rave and frog and Crowbar and Flair highlighted by Crowbar hitting a plancha on the outside.
  • Rave and Frog left the ring, or pretended to, and laughed when the other two teams attacked each other in their absence.
  • The finish came when most of the action was on the outside leaving Flair and Ray in the ring. Stevie, being the Patron Saint, naturally dominated until...
  • Crowbar came from the top rope and attacked him from behind leaving him to count the lights. Damn Crowbar!
  • Chan's note: Just for the record, there were 28 lights above the ring.
  • WINNER: David Flair and Crowbar in 7:30.
• Match Four: Cruiserweight championship match-The Artist with Paisley vs. Jami-Son with Yang (Referee Charles Robinson)
  • The Artist entered to prince's "Purple Rain" and was announced from Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's a shame they ran thins angle long after Prince announced that it would be fine to refer to him by his original name.
  • Paisley spoke prior to the match.
  • Just when the match hit its climax, the action was taken away from the ring as Yang was spanking Paisley.
  • In the commotion, the Artist hit the top rope DDT for the finish.
  • After the match he taunted his fallen opponent provoking the Jung Dragons to respond, concluding with a double dropkick.
  • WINNER: The Artist in 7:19.
• Fifteen-minute intermission lasted 19:37.
  • We switch seats and sat above the entrance.
  • Daffney returned for no apparent reason and screamed at kids who loved it. She was in her element with the younger fans digging her schtick.
  • We past a large mascot in a green dollar sign suit on the way to our seats. No really... We believe this to be WCW's answer to Al Snow's Cheesy McQueesey at WrestleMania.
  • We switched seats. Unfortunately the lighting in the building was so poor. Chan could barely see his notes during the second half of the show. Damn the lighting technicians.
  • Some guy kept blowing his air horn incessantly. Damn him!
• Miss Hancock came out and informed the crowd she knew how to have fun. As she began to undress a security man known as Buzz stopped her. Damn him!
  • Segment time: 1:46.
  • It is noteworthy that with the possible exception of Buff Bagwell, Miss Hancock received the biggest pop of the night.
• Match Five: The Cat with Mike Jones vs. The Maestro (Referee Charles Robinson)
  • The Cat entered first with Jones (formerly Vincent, Shane, Curly Bill, etc.) And used the house microphone to berate the locals.
  • He started with "I hate you rednecks" and digressed from there. He isolated one obese drunken fan in the front row. He demanded, "Didn't I tell you to sit your @$$ down?" The humorous part was that the fan listened to him!
  • Miller brought attention to the youthful audience noting all of the "ugly-@$$ed kids" in attendance. It would be one of seven times Miller would use profanity for the "family-oriented" Time-Warner outfit.
  • Before concluding, he demanded that security lock the building so that no one could leave before he could dismantle them. Had we not been in attendance, we would have enjoyed this idea.
  • The Maestro then entered, playing the babyface and instructed Miller to shut his "itty bitty big mouth."
    • Needless to say, the intellects of Chattanooga did not notice the oxymoron.
  • Maestro was the babyface which completely destroyed his character. Still, Miller got so much heat, Maestro's ineffectiveness in the role was not as noticeable.
  • Maestro referred to himself as "the Stro."
  • Miller said that if Maestro could beat Jones, he would leave the city. Maestro defeated him in fifteen seconds and Maestro then stopped Miller from leaving and the match was on.
  • Miller and referee Robinson argued and Robinson got in physical shots throughout the match.
  • Maestro did have some offense, including nailing a spinebuster for a two-count.
  • On the way out of the ring, Miller argued with fans. He challenged a redneck woman to jump the rail. She tried and fell over. Miller laughed at her. We did too.
  • Miller also intimidated a technician and other fans on the way to the dressing room.
  • WINNER: The Cat in 9:34.
• Match Six: The Wall vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (Referee Charles Robinson)
  • The Wall's appearance was drastically different. He had brown hair and wore a wife beater t-shirt as opposed to the sunglasses and suit he has worn on television.
  • The Wall also looks far more trim in person than he has on television.
  • The plot in this match revolved around Bigelow's attempt to break the ring announcer's table.
  • First Bigelow bobyslammed Wall on the table, which did not break.
  • Shortly thereafter Wall chokeslammed Bigelow onto the table, which would not break.
  • Finally Bigelow powerslammed the resilient table which maintained its form. A frustrated Bigelow dropped an elbow on the Wall and the table collapsed. The legs on one side of the table had bent in half, but the table did not break.
  • With virtually no transition after this segment, Wall won with the chokeslam.
  • Bigelow carried the dismantled table back to the dressing room area and disgustedly dropped it at the entrance. The cross pieces of the table were steel and needless to say intact which explained the wrestler's difficulty in mangling the table.
  • Despite the short match length, the two still used restholds.
  • WINNER: The Wall in 5:41.
• Match Seven: United States Heavyweight championship match-Jeff Jarrett vs. Buff Bagwell (nWo referee Mark Johnson)
  • There was some confusion after the bout. The ring announcer was flustered after the table had been broken and was plugging the 4/10 Nitro. A sound technician came to the ring and the announcer abruptly stopped.
  • After conversing with the technician, the ring announcer then asked, "What happened to my table?"
  • He said nothing else. Previously he had been alternating between plugging the WCW Mastercard and the new regime. He had plugged Nitro earlier so maybe his notes were lost along with his table.
  • The technician then mistakenly cued the Mamalukes music. Damn him!
  • We would have rather seen them than Buff.
  • Jarrett was introduced from "the Great State of Tennessee" which drew a mixed reaction which was foolish of the ring announcer as Jarrett was the obvious heel. It would be the last of many mistakes the announcer would make on the night. Damn him!
  • This match was announced as one fall with a sixty-minute time limit. Needless to say, no one worried about that stipulation.
  • Bagwell got on the microphone and said first of all, "nobody gives a sh-t about slapnuts." Bagwell was the babyface so the crowd popped.
  • They did a spot where they argued over whether or not Bagwell pulled Jarrett's hair. Previously, there had been low blows in front of Robinson, chair shots, etc. and no one argued, but now that someone allegedly pulled hair there is a great debate.
  • In mid-match, Buff took a fan's camera climbed in the ring and snapped a shot of himself. He then returned the camera. This was pretty cool.
  • The finish came when Jarrett ducked a clothesline and Bagwell hit the referee...
  • Seeing Johnson down, Jarrett grabbed his U.S. championship belt and attempted to hit Bagwell, Bagwell snatched the belt and hit Jarrett.
  • Charles Robinson ran into the ring and counted the pin.
  • The ring announcer quickly got on the microphone and announced the title change.
  • Of course, Johnson then reversed the decision. He announced that Bagwell was disqualified for hitting Johnson with the belt. This was pathetic as Johnson should have disqualified him for hitting the referee, he was "unconscious" and did not see the belt infraction.
  • Finally, the Dusty finish has returned to Chattanooga.
  • This finish was so telegraphed and we actually called it. It was the only match johnson refereed. The ring announcer was so quick on the call that it would have been obvious to anyone as he altered his behavior.
  • The psychology in the match was horrible as Bagwell played the heel perfectly only to be cheered.
  • Fortunately most of the audience was too young to get any of it and the older ones were too ignorant. This is a situation where being a "smart fan" ruins your time at a match. This is why we have come to believe that smart fans make up an unimportant percentage of the wrestling populace.
  • WINNER: Jeff Jarrett vis disqualification in 7:20.
• We then went home avoiding horrible interstate barriers. Damn the Chattanooga Transportation System!