TMM

Is it just me, or is the Noble/Helms feud a lot like Kash's feud with (I think) Styles.. (or whenever he brought in Dallas)

Ha, is it? Seriously, if it is, it's entirely coincidental because I've NEVER seen a NWA: TNA episode, nor do I pay attention to their storylines. If it is anything like that feud...was that feud good?

Hmm maybe Kidman will turn heel to join Torrie? It adds something to Kidman's character that is needed. Looking forward to see who Helms gets. Hopefully it isn't another big man. Can't wait for Nitro to see what Booker and the New World Order will do.

One thing I'll say about the mystery partner, is that it isn't a debut, but someone already under contract.

Sunday 24th June 2001

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THE WEEKLY UPDATE

Tuesday 19th June

   

Neither Disco Inferno nor Ernest 'the Cat' Miller and are expected to have his contract renewed once it expires at the end of September. Neither have appeared on WCW programming since the return, and neither are expected to in the near future with creative having virtually nothing for them. The only idea that has been thrown around is to team them up. The idea was apparently that of Vince Russo, who is close friends with Disco, and has been trying to come up with something for him to do. As of this moment, the idea had been rejected. But, things could still change in the future.

Thursday 21st June

Tommy Dreamer and Brian James have both signed short-term deals with WCW today. James will wrestle under the name of BG James. The deals are said to be around 6 months in length, and both will be used as a part of the new WCW Hardcore division. It is unknown whether they will be offered extended contracts, but must signs at the moment say 'no'. BG James isn't seen as a good long-term investment (at this point), and in Dreamers case, many believe that he can only work the ECW-style 'extreme hardcore' matches, and WCW do not plan on going that far. Thus, their thinking is a long term stay may hurt him and the company more than help.

WCW writer, Allan Wright has today signed a brand new contract with the company, as well as a promotion to head-writer. This promotion came only days after he was offered a job by the WWF! Apparantly, WWF officials some how found out that the 'new' nWo idea was down to him, and after seeing the ratings, tried to prise him away, offering him a lucrative contract. But Wright stayed with WCW and signed their contract...taking the promotion and wage increase!

Friday 22nd June

Terry Funk has agreed to appear at the Bash at the Beach next to participate in the Hardcore title battle-royal. Most likely a one-shot deal, Funk is seen as the personification of hardcore wrestling in many fans eyes, and officials really wanted him in the match. Funk didn't take much persuading, but is trying to get himself more appearances with the company.

Saturday 23rd June

Bill Goldberg will miss this Monday's Nitro because he is taking part in a fund raiser for an animal shelter near his home in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sunday 24th June

MONDAY NITRO PREVIEW

Coming to you LIVE from the Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford, Mississippi, World Heavyweight champion Booker T is set to be on the warpath. Last week, the champion was beaten down by Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Triple H, and is bound to be out for revenge. Booker is going to open the show this Monday, and will have a few choice words for the nWo.

Last week, we saw Jamie Knoble get in the ring with the Cruiserweight champion, 'Sugar' Shane Helms in a non-title match; a match that ended in a disqualification when a huge, unknown monster made his presence felt when he delivered a vicious sit-out powerbomb to Helms and in the process, aligning himself with Jamie Knoble. Because of this, the two have been booked in a tag team match against 'Sugar' Shane Helms and a partner of his choosing. Hopefully, the name of this behemoth will be revealed. The question is though; who will the Cruiserweight champion choose as his partner?

Billy Kidman is also set to be in action, going one-on-one with Shawn Stasiak. Last week, we saw Torrie Wilson try and repair the two's broken relationship. Has it been repaired? Will it be repaired? Kidman can not worry about his relationship, because Stasiak is a dangerous man once he steps into the ring, and will target ANY weakness he sees.

Of course, two more United States title tournament matches will take place, as Chris Kanyon takes on Dustin Rhodes, while "the Chosen One" Jeff Jarrett clashes with the returning Curt Hennig in the main event, and possible Match of the Year candidate.

Confirmed Matches:

* US title tournament: Dustin Rhodes vs. Chris Kanyon

* US title tournament: Curt Hennig vs. "the Chosen One" Jeff Jarrett

* Jamie Knoble & Partner vs. 'Sugar' Shane Helms and a partner of his choosing

-- Chapter Seventeen --

Friday 22nd June 2001

A few matters to sort out...

Bischoff had just got off the phone with a representative for the NBC network. He was trying to talk about the posiblity of adding a second WCW show to the schedule. On the plus side, they were certainly interested, but not at this moment. They made comment on how well Nitro has been performing in the ratings, but didn't want to do anything yet. Talk of the new show would have to wait until at least August he was told. Sting, Flair and himself all agreed that they wanted the show on a different day to Thursday, with Friday or Saturday being the main candidates. The idea was, if it was on Friday or Saturday, then it wouldn't have to compete in the ratings with any other wrestling show, specifically SmackDown. Bischoff was left in charge of getting the TV deal.

Bischoff had also spoken to Bill Goldberg on the phone yesterday, as the former football star was complaining that he wasn't involved in any major storyline. Bischoff convinced him that he had something planned for him soon, but not right now. Goldberg didn't buy into it, but did ask if he was getting a title shot soon. Bischoff, again skipped past the question and said he had a VERY big match planned for Haloween Havoc, and that Goldberg would be a big part of that. When asked what the match was, Bischoff simply told him it was still an idea he had had, and he hadn't finalised the whole thing, but he GUARANTEED him it was going to go down in history.

He was also thinking about this Hardcore title battle-royal scheduled for Bash at the Beach, and was going over a few of the ideas that the writers had come up with. One idea, was to have a 15-minute, 'pin as many times as you want' match like at WWF's WrestleMania 16, so he threw that away. Another, was a ruling that every entrant is to bring in a weapon, and that will be used during the match. It was the best idea out of the all of them, and he was going to use it. The idea was from a newer writer, Allan Wright who joined the company in May. Although he didn't want to admit it, the idea of THIS nWo was all his, as were several of the ideas being used. He had since been offered the role of head-writer, and had also recently been the target of some immense speculation. The WWF had seen the ratings, and were told it was partly down to him, so they approached him with an offer of a job. Thankfully, he rejected it almost immedietly. He then signed the new WCW deal, and become head-writer.

Nothing of note had happened this month, and quite frankly, Bischoff was grateful for it. All he had to do know was help tie up a few deals for some wrestlers to debut at Bash at the Beach.

Right, Bad Blood...unfortunetly, it won't be super-detailed. He got left with Bad Blood as his first show, so I told him not to put to much effort into this, but save it for the first "real" show, being RAW. So Bad Blood will be a less-than-super detailed show, if you understand. Thanks.

i hated the P. Diddy version of 'Every Breathe you Take". I know he did it for his friend or whatever, but it's still utter crap.

HARDCORE TITLE TO BE REINSTATED!!!

Wednesday 20th June 2001

That is right! The Hardcore title is coming back to World Championship Wrestling very soon! The 'powers-that-be' decided now was the right time to bring back the title worn by such wrestlers as Reno, Brian Knobbs, Bam Bam Bigelow, Norman Smiley, Big Vito, Carl Oulette, Crowbar, one half of the current Tag Team champion, Lance Storm and of course, the legendary Terry Funk! The title was abandoned in January, but come Sunday 15th of July, a new champion will be crowned! Bash at the Beach emenates from the Robertson Stadium in El Paso, Texas, and will hold a 20-man, over the top rope, HARDCORE battle-royal to determine the brand new Hardcore champion! Keep an eye out over the coming weeks for any announcements regarding the 20 participants in this match!

Monday 18th June 2001

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We are LIVE at the Mobile Civic Center Arena in Mobile, Alabama

Our hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Jerry “the King” Lawler

Before the opening video, we get a recap of the AWESOME ending to last weeks Nitro, where, to the shock of pretty much EVERYONE, Triple H debuts (under that name), joins forces with his buddies Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, and goes on to destroy Ric Flair and Sting in the process. Without a word of a lie, that was one of the best angles I recall ever seeing for years. The announcers played it off brilliantly, as did the wrestlers, and the fans reaction was breathtaking. Big props to all involved, especially whoever came up with the angle. Now all they have to do is keep the angle from taking over the show, and keep it from going over the top.

After the opening video is finished, we get THE NWO MUSIC!!! Wahoo! The nWo! The true nWo music of old, with seizure inducing effects may I add. Nash and Hall are in jeans and an nWo shirt, and Triple H is wearing his old WWF attire with the jeans, big old leather jacket, but with an nWo shirt underneath. Neat. The make their way to the ring, and HHH grabs a mic. I’m guessing he’s the leader? I’unno. They all stand there, listening to the jeers and cheers of the crowd. Now it’s mostly jeers, and I think that’s because they attacked the perennial fan-favourite Sting. This is what they had to say:

Triple H: None of you saw it coming! None of you know how to react! You all thought that you knew what was coming, but you didn’t! Nobody on this EARTH knew that Triple H would be on Nitro to join forces with his buddies to reform…sorry, to FORM for the first time, the REAL New World Order! What you see before you, are three men who know what they want. Three men who have come together as a unit to form the biggest threat that the wrestling world has ever known! WE are the nWo; any thing else is a cheap impression.

Nash: You know Trips, you’re right. We are THE nWo. In 1996, me, Hall and Hogan gave birth to one New World Order, but that one was a lie. That wasn’t the true nWo, because the TRUE nWo were the guys who caused havoc wherever they went. They did that as a collective group. Myself, Scott Hall and Triple H are the real nWo, because we are out for dominance over this company, as a WHOLE. Before with Hogan, he wanted it all for himself, and he tried to use us to get to the top and dominate. Not us. We are brothers man. We wanted dominance for ourselves, just as Hogan did. But now, we want it all, but we are willing to share between us. That’s what brothers do, isn’t it? Brothers share, and we will be doing that. No more bull…the real nWo is here to make a statement. Don’t try and stop us, because if you do, you’ll end up just like Flair and Sting did; in a hospital. It starts tonight, with Scott Hall beating DDP to go on and win the US title.

Hall: Page…ha ha. You know man, I don’t like you. I mean, you tried to team with my buddy Kevin here, and you even tried to rip-off our name! Kevin and me; man, we’re the Outsiders. Whatever you might’ve thought Page, Kevin used you. I mean, what, did you think he was your friend or something? No man, no. It doesn’t work that way, because you see, in the past, you tried to take down the nWo didn’t you man? Well, things like that aren’t forgotten. So tonight…very soon in fact, you get a beaten down, nWo style courtesy of Scott Hall as I beat your ass, and go on to face whoever wins the next match.

Nash: First things first though. To be a successful faction in this organization, you need yourself one thing; and that is the World Heavyweight title. You know, in the nWo of old, this would never have happened, but last week, the three of us drew straws. The man with the shortest straw would be the one to TAKE the World Heavyweight title from Booker T, and you know what? That man was me! That’s right Booker; your title is coming to “Big Sexy” very soon. But Booker, I know you’re a clever man. Tonight, I have a match, and right after that match is finished, I want you to come to the ring. Now, if you know what is good for you, you will HAND ME that belt. It’s either that, or get the crap beaten out of you week in, and week out until I get my match. It’s your choice Booker; get beat up, or give me the belt. See you then…

Triple H and Kevin Nash depart, as Hall has a match, and we go to a commercial. Gotta say, they made their intentions clear straight away, and it looks like the bookers are handling this one very well so far. It’s early days though, so it could just collapse pretty soon. Up next; Hall vs. DDP.

Commercial Break

WCW United States title tournament: Scott Hall vs. Diamond Dallas Page

We come back from the break, and the nWo music is STILL playing from Nash and Trips departure before the break. Gee, the fans must be sick of that music by now. We get the opening riffs of DDP’s Nirvana rip-off, and he comes out all worked up for this match. He does the ‘bang’ at the top of the ramp before slapping pretty much EVERY fan’s hand at ringside. Tenay pointed out that DDP faced Booker T for the World title last month, but was unsuccessful in his attempts to become champion. Page spins, and runs inside the ring to catch Hall of guard with rights and lefts before the referee pulls DDP off of Hall. Hall said ‘ouch’ several times during that, it made me laugh. Now he pretends he’s scared of DDP by saying, ‘oooo, scary’. Ha. Hall ‘bops’ over to DDP before getting kicked in the ribs and then punched in the face many a time. That ain’t very nice. DDP dominates the match for a couple of minutes, with Hall doing his best impression of bumbling drunken man…wait. Yeah, then Hall blocks a punch and gets a low-blow in behind the refs back before hitting an STO. Both take a while to get to their feet, and Hall takes control again. Hall definitely looks a little ring rusty. We get some fallaway slams, DDT’s, vertical suplexes from Hall in this stage of dominance, and DDP sells ‘em all like a champ. Hall signifies the end, and goes for the Outsiders Edge, but DDP struggles and falls out the back. He tries for the Diamond Cutter, but Hall blocks and gets a backslide. He grabs a hold of the rope while pinning, and gets the cheap victory. Hall celebrates the win by mocking DDP with some…mocking, stuff. DDP is PISSED, and gets up off the mat and attacks Hall. Hall manages to get DDP off of him for a second as he rolls out the ring, only to be followed closely by DDP. The go up the ramp and Hall heads through the curtain, followed by DDP again, but Page then gets thrown back out onto the top of the ramp…by Nash and Triple H! We get the second ever beat down by the REAL nWo, as Triple H busts him open with punches to the head, before feeding him to Nash to kill him dead with a Jacknife Powerbomb on the STEEL! Hall does the nWo pointy thingy at both Nash and Trips, who in turn, growl and look menacing.

Rundown

Winner and wrestler to advance: Scott Hall (8:13)

Fun match. Not the most technically sound by any stretch of the imagination, but DDP carried it to being a good(ish) match. It had the REAL nWo beat down afterwards, so it was good.

** - Fun match + beat down = good stuff

Commercial Break

We come back and are IN the back, where Billy Kidman is hanging out all alone. Mr. Charisma(less) stands up, about to leave when…Torrie Wilson bursts in! Kidman is about to walk off when Torrie stops him. I’ll spare you readers the boring details of this meeting, but the basic premise of this was Torrie is sorry for turning on him last year, and wants to repair their relationship. Kidman is hesitant, but being the nice (see ‘stupid) guy he is, says that they can talk. Well, at least they didn’t neglect the two’s history. Must say, that segment was…bloody bland.

Wahey! It’s Jeff Jarrett! He’s ALIVE! Ahem, yeah. Ok, it’s a pre-taped interview, but this is what he had to say:

Jarrett: Hey; you? Are you paying attention to me? I’m not at the arena today, because I don’t have a match. That’s right; Jeff Jarrett is matchless. But, next week, I WILL be in that ring, going up against Curt Hennig. Yeah, HIM. it’s a United States title tournament match, and after I’ve got through him and everyone else in this thing, I’ll be the US champion for the fourth time. Only four people have held the belt more times than four, and I will be one of those people. You know; I said I wanted a shot at the World Heavyweight title, but I didn’t get it. I get this. But don’t worry about it; it’s all right with me…for now. As soon as I’m done with the United States title, I’m coming for the World title. Whether it’s around Booker T’s waist, or whoever’s, it will be around MINE again very soon. Soon, I will become a FIVE-time, WCW champion. Don’t forget it; next week I’m back, and I WILL be back hitting people over the head with guitars…starting with YOU Curt Hennig. Don’t piss me off…slapnut.

WCW United States title tournament: “The Total Package” Lex Luger w/ Miss Elizabeth vs. Ken Shamrock

Luger is out first along with his girlfriend, the lovely Miss Elizabeth. Apparently, WCW didn’t want to re-hire her, but after much pissing and moaning to Sting, she was eventually re-hired. Shows how this new ‘coalition’ at the head of WCW works eh? Well, the announcers hype up the debut of Shamrock, and sure enough, he gets a very good reaction. He seems to be playing the ‘loose cannon’ type gimmick here like he did in the WWF. Shamrock gets in the ring, and Luger looks a little intimidated. Wouldn’t you be if Ken “FREAKING” Shamrock stood across the ring from you? Shamrock snarled at Luger, who didn’t have clue what was going on. Lock-up, and Shamrock sends him down with an early belly-to-belly. Shamrock spreads the arms and yells at the roof. Is there something up there? People often yell at the roof. Shamrock hits another belly-to-belly, and he’s going suplex crazy! The crowds eating it up, as Shamrock nails every single form of suplex known to man (or at least it seems that way!) before trying a running clothesline on Luger, only to end up in the Torture Rack! Luger is blown up at this point, and as a result of this, kills any look of pain the Torture Rack could do by just holding him there. Shamrock, of course, sells it like he’s being crushed by the garbage room on the Death Star in Star Wars! Luger holds him up there for nearly a minute, until Shamrock falls out the back and hits a big ass karate kick, knocking Luger down, as well as seeing Kenneth collapse in a heap, holding his ribs. They both struggle to their feet, and Shamrock is selling the ribs by keeping one arm there, so essentially, fighting one armed. He manages to block a couple of punches and get in some of his own. Luger’s down, and Shamrock SNAPS! He grabs the ankle, and locks in the Ankle lock! Luger is screaming in pain, but won’t tap. Shamrock is just yelling out, and I think he’s bloody louder than the guy who is actually RECEIVING the hold! Luger finally has enough, and taps out! Phew, that’s over. Ok, fire Luger now! The guy hit a few punches, locked in a shitty Torture Rack, and was blown up after just that.

Rundown

Winner and wrestler to advance: Ken Shamrock (5:24)

It was, essentially, a glorified squash. Obviously the company has plans for Shamrock, but not for Luger. It’s obvious he’s only got a job because of Sting. Luger is a liability to the other wrestlers, and if he keeps going like this, could injure somebody as well as himself,

* - Was there to debut Shamrock, and it served its purpose.

We get a quick recap of the Cruiserweight title match from “The Second Coming” for whatever reason. Oh, ah, because Jamie Knoble is out here. WCW didn’t take my advise to give him a ‘trailer-park dude’ gimmick, so screw them. Bastards. Anyway, this is what he said:

Knoble: Hey! ‘Sugah’ Shane Helms? Boy! You listening to me? I want a shot at your dubbya SEEE dubbya Cruiserweight title boy! But not tonight, you see, because I’m not out here to demand the match TONIGHT, oh no, I’m demanding it some time in the future! Tonight I got a non-title match with you! Tonight it’s about me sending you a message about what I’m all about boy! So if you’ve got the balls, you’ll come out and give me a shot at your title boy! Come on! I haven’t got all day!

Maybe I was wrong about the ‘trailer-trash’ gimmick. Maybe they ARE giving it to him. well, ‘Sugar’ Shane comes out and has a microphone in hand, so here’s what HE had to say.

Helms: Jamie, Jamie. You know I’m a fighting champion, and I’m willing to put my title on the line, TONIGHT if you think you can beat me!

Knoble: Woah, woah Shane! I don’t want the shot tonight! I, uh, I want it NEXT week! Next week I’ll beat you for the belt!

Helms: If you think you can beat me, then it’s on. But you’ve gotta beat me tonight to get the title shot. Let’s start this!

’Sugar’ Shane Helms vs. Jamie Knoble

Hmmm…why doesn’t he want the shot tonight? Knoble is trying to say something to the ring announcer, but quickly turns round as he is confronted by Helms. Knoble smiles at him…then gets out the ring and runs! Ha! Helms, like an idiot, gives chase and as soon as he gets back in the ring, Knoble drops a leg across his neck. He drops some knees and elbows across the neck as well before locking in a headlock. Helms fights to his feet and fights out, landing a kick to the head. Helms holds his neck as he hits a dropkick, followed up with a shining wizard, getting a near fall. These two, as they did last month, put on a frickin awesome match, with some high-flying stuff and some good old mat-based wrestling. An awesome spot to watch was Knoble setting up Helms on the top rope for a superplex, I think, and just as they both stood up on the top rope, Helms punches him in the stomach and DIVES over him (while both are standing on the top rope) and hits a powerbomb into a roll-up, only managing a 2 ½. “Holy Shit! Holy Shit!” about sums it up I believe, as the fans seem to agree. Helms is a little groggy, but is on his feet. He signals for the Vertebreaker…and hits it! Tis over. He’s got the pin, but…what the fuck? That guys is fucking HUGE! This big, dude, just broke up the pin by picking up Shane Helms and SLAMMING him down with a big ass sit-out powerbomb. This guys is mahoosive, not just in height though, as he he’s just a big muscular…guy. He’s got some pretty cool tattoos as well. The ref has since DQ’d Knoble, who is getting helped up by this big guy. Not 100% sure who he is at this moment. Knoble thanks him, but, ha! He’s throwing a bit of a temper tantrum because he blew the match. Well, whoever this guy is…he’s a damn imposing figure!

Rundown

On it’s way to a really good match, shame about the ending. But I can live with that, because there’s bound to be a rematch down the line somewhere, and I can’t wait. Damn he’s big.

*** ½ - Great match, and the ½ is added on because he’s so big.

Commercial Break

Nitro returns, and we’ve got the “(First) Nameless Ones” out in the ring. The former champions, Palumbo and O’Haire want something. Hmm, let’s let O’Haire tell us what that something is shall we?

O’Haire: Last week on Nitro, we beat the Mamalukes, and now we’re out here to lay out a challenge to Lance Storm, and Mike Awesome for a shot at the WCW Tag Team titles. It doesn’t have to be tonight, it doesn’t even have to be next week, but I want you two to come out here right now and give us an answer to the challenge!

Instead of the music of the champions, we get the Mamalukes. No, we don’t we get music that is very similar, but is different in the way it sounds, and the fact it belongs to Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke! Hey! It’s the Full Blooded Italians! Wahey! The fans are reacting with an “ECW” chant of course. Guido has a microphone:

Guido: Hey boys, you know what? My name is Guido Maritito, and this is Tony Mamaluke, and we are the Full Blooded Italians! The champs aren’t here tonight! Unluckily for you, we are. Las’ week, you beat our friends, Big Vito and Johnny da Bull man! So tonight man; we’re going to beat you down so much, you’ll be as flat as a pizza…capiche? So tonight, the F.B.I. face you, and we beat you. Gettit? Good!

The match is on!

F.B.I. vs. Palumbo & O’Haire

Well, they debuted without the Mamalukes, but they did make it relatively clear that they are going to be a group, what with the fact Guido referred to the Bull and Vito as his ‘friends’. Guido and Palumbo start off. Hey, Palumbo looks a little Italian! Maybe if they proceed with the super O’Haire push that is rumoured, Chucky could join the F.B.I. Lock up, of course starts us off, and Palumbo over-powers Guido, sending him flying into the corner, Hulkamania STYLE! Palumbo flexes a little, which gets a pop from the crowd. Guido is irate, and goes to regroup with Tony. Guido is jumping up and down a little bit, and then tags in Tony. Tony charges, and gets taken down with an armdrag…and another one, and another. It’s like Steamboat all over again. Minus the amazingly cool looking armdrags of course. Tony just doesn’t get it, and this time gets squished with a powerslam, getting a near fall for Palumbo, only broken up by Guido. Palumbo tags in O’Haire, and the two hit a delayed vertical suplex on Tony. Guido looks on with wide eyes and confusion. I like him. He’s funny. Cover by O’Haire, broken up again by Guido. O’Haire goes to give chase, but gets rolled up by Tony for a 1 count, who then sneaks under O’Haire’s legs and tags in Guido. O’Haire smirks as Guido slowly steps into the ring. O’Haire charges, and ducks a clothesline, and another, and another before Guido finally manages to get in a chop-block, taking O’Haire to the mat. Guido grabs the leg, and twists it around, in quite a painful looking way. Guido holds this in for a while, before going to the STF, and many other submission moves. He’s quite the technical wizard isn’t he? Guido and Tony make some tags, isolating O’Haire and working over the now-injured right leg. O’Haire was lying on the mat, as Guido came off the top for a, something, and O’Haire stuck his RIGHT foot in his mouth. Both were down, and O’Haire is now rolling around, clutching his right knee. Twit. Guido manages to make the tag to Tony, who grabs O’Haire’s LEFT leg, letting O’Haire stand on his RIGHT leg to kick him off. Ha ha. O’Haire again collapses in pain, holding his right knee but this time manages to make the tag to Palumbo! This house is very dirty right now, so what does Palumbo do? That’s right; he cleans it! Down goes Tony with an elbow, Guido with an elbow as well and Tony goes down a second time, courtesy of a Jungle Kick. Palumbo is about to make the pin, but sees his partner trying to take off his kneepad. PIN THE GUY! He goes over to check on him, but as he does, Guido pops up and rolls Palumbo up for the 1…2…3! Ha ha, serves you right! Idiot. Big Vito and Johnny the Bull come out and celebrate, cementing the alliance between these four.

Rundown

Winners: the F.B.I. (8:23)

Good match, nice win for the F.B.I. on their debut, and if this is the direction they are headed; they’ve laid the seeds for a O’Haire/Palumbo break-up. I prefer the slow burning break-ups, don’t you? Anyway, a win for the F.B.I. and with that celebration, it’s clear we’ve got a new stable here.

*** - Whenever Guido was in there, it was good. The other three are good as well, so we got a good match. Yup.

Up next, Kevin Nash vs… somebody.

Commercial Break

Kevin Nash vs. ???

The nWo’s music hits, and Triple H, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash make their way out, with Nash in the centre. He’s wearing the same stuff he wore at the beginning of the show, so this match isn’t going to be anything special. They stand around for a little while until…Cash comes out? Oh goody, let’s squash the cruiserweights of course. What else could they do?

Kevin Nash vs. Cash

Nash looks terrified. He’s faking it of course, but it still looks funny. He pretends that he wants Cash to stay back, and he tells the referee he didn’t know he had to face HIM. Ha. While Nash is talking to the ref, Cash quickly rolls him up and gets a near fall. Nash gets up…and is PISSED! Cash looks around, tries to charge, but eats boot instead. Nash picks him up, and Jacknife’s him straight back down. 1…2…and the sign of a true heel, he picks up the head and breaks the count. He throws him into the corner and hits knees and elbows, and finishes that with the ‘picture-perfect-elbow’. Cash collapses in the middle of the ring, leading to another pin where he raises the arm this time. Triple H and Scott Hall are ‘irate’ on the outside. Ha ha. Nash then picks him up again…and hits the Book End! 1…2…3, and he lets it end. Ah, but does he. He picks Cash up, and hits the Jacknife again. Some serious beating down ensues, with Triple H hitting the Pedigree (with Hall ‘pushing’ Cash down, as if it would make it a SUPER-Pedigree or something!) before Hall goes under the ring…and produces some spray paint! Wahoo! Hall just finishes spraying, just before the music of the champion hits! Booker T races down to the ring and goes straight for Nash! He lands punches on all three guys and takes Hall down with a Harlem Sidekick before hitting an elbow to Triple H. Nash tries to boot him, but he ducks and kicks in the midsection. He calls for the Axe Kick, and just as he’s about to hit it, Triple H takes his head off with a clothesline! Triple H beats seven shades of crap out of Booker with right hands to the head before, just as they did with DDP earlier, he feeds him to Nash who Jacknife Powerbomb’s Booker, leaving him limp. They aren’t finished yet, as Hall gets the spray paint, and sprays ‘nWo’ on Booker’s back. Nash picks up Booker’s World title, and the nWo pose with the belt as Nitro goes finito.

Rundown

Winner: Kevin Nash (1:52)

A nothing match. It was all about the ending here. It officially started the Nash/Booker T feud over the title, and I guess this was a good way to go about it. The nWo were kept strong, as they should be this early in their run, and it also raises the question; will the company actually put the belt on Nash or not? I would be surprised if they did. I would expect and prefer Triple H to get the belt, but if they’re giving it to Nash, I can live with that.

½ * – Not a match, and not as good as Goldberg’s squash last week

Show Rundown

A good follow up to last week. We now know what the nWo are doing (duh! Pretty obvious anyway, but…ahem) and have a couple of ready made feuds starting up. Hall/DDP, Knoble/Helms, Nash/Booker, and a possible split between O’Haire and Palumbo. I wanna know who that big dude is. Hopefully I’ll read about who he is in a bit. We got some cruiserweights on the show tonight thankfully, even if one was squashed and one was in a backstage skit with Torrie, we did get a match out of them.

Monday 18th June 2001

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Taken from WCW.com:

MONDAY NITRO PREVIEW

Coming to you LIVE from the Mobile Civic Center Arena in Mobile, Alabama, WCW the second ever Monday Nitro on NBC is set to be an UNMISSABLE show! Coming off the shocking events of last weeks show, there are some questions that will need to be answered!

During the Ric Flair and Sting vs. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall match, Triple H made his debut and quickly aligned himself with long-time friends, Hall and Nash. Flair and Sting were the victims of a vile beatdown from the trio, leaving them both in a bloody mess as the show went off the air. Neither Flair nor Sting will be able to attend the show tonight, leaving the trio in control it seems. We've been told that they will kick off the show, as they have a few things to say. Kevin Nash has also informed us that  he will take on an opponent to be announced in the main event. Question is; what are their TRUE intentions?

Last week say David Flair defeat "The Boss" Bubba Rogers, and Rick Steiner beat Bill DeMott to advance in the United States title tournament. Flair was destroyed after the match, and is currently in a hospital, hoping to return soon at 100% to face Rick Steiner. Tonight, two more tournament matches will take place, in Scott Hall vs. Diamond Dallas Page and the debut of Ken Shamrock, who takes on "Total Package" Lex Luger.

Don't miss Monday Nitro, live on NBC, 8 p.m. ET.

Confirmed Matches:

* US title tournament: "Outsider" Scott Hall vs. Diamond Dallas Page

* US title tournament: Ken Shamrock vs. "Total Package" Lex Luger

* Kevin Nash vs. an unamed opponent

Hmm Road Dogg would be a nice addition to the roster especially if you're getting a Hardcore division going. Too bad you won't be able to use the "Road Dogg" name since the WWF owns it. But he could get over with his mic skills. Also why'd you post the HHH story twice lol?

←

Yeah, wasn't sure if I should or not. Bit pointless, but I put it in because it was a story from the week. Yeah...that is the only reason why. I won't do any "double-story-postings".

Road Dogg...hmm, could always do what WWA did and call him the Road Dog!

Sunday 17thd June 2001

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THE WEEKLY UPDATE

Tuesday 12th June

Triple H jumps ship to WCW...and we explain why!

Those of you who saw Monday Nitro last night will be aware that former World Wrestling Federation superstar Triple H appeared in the main event and joined forces with his real-life buddies Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to destroy Ric Flair and Sting.

The explaination for him joining WCW is because of his relationship with Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWF owner Vince McMahon. As previously reported,  they two were going through a "rocky patch", but nobody aside from family and friends knew what this meant. Apparently, Triple H was caught by Stephanie with another woman, a WWF employee no less, and Stephanie couldn't believe it. The relationship ended, and from then on in, Vince wanted him out. He made him lose the Intercontinental title CLEANLY to Chyna in under 4 minutes back in April, and he has not appeared or been mentioned on TV since.

The woman Triple H was with, a member of the production team by the name of Sarah Forester, was payed to keep quiet about, but has today left the company and spoke to a reporter from the PWTorch website about it, explaining everything. She says that Triple H realised what would happen if he stayed, and took up Eric Bischoff's offer to join WCW straight away after walking out of the WWF.

Stephanie has been distraught ever since, and she has not been seen on TV either since she walked in on them. Many of the current WWF employee's are upset he's left, due to his "star power", but agree it was for the best.

Wednesday 13th June

WCW has been holding talks over the past week with former WWF Hardcore, Intercontinental and Tag Team champion, Brian James, A.K.A. the Road Dogg. James was released by the WWF back in January, and has been in search of a full-time position with a 'major' company since. He has appeared at several XPW shows over the past two months, but has not looked in ring shape since late November. He was released by the WWF because of drug abuse. While agreeing the release was the best thing for him, he apparently holds a grudge against Jim Ross, and has stated 'he wouldn't want to work there at this moment in time'. James has undergone rehabilitiation, and is said to be free of the drugs and wants to get his life back together. Negotiations are progessing steadily at the moment.

Saturday 16th June

David Batista has been told to be at Nitro this Monday night at the Civic Centre in Mobile, Alabama. Details haven't been revealed as to why he's been told to be there, as it could be just to tape a dark match. Batista was known as "the Demon of the Deep" Leviathan when he worked in WWF's OVW as a member of the Disciples of Synn.

Some news on WCW's 'Power Plant' facility:

Rick Cornell, A.K.A. Reno was re-signed by WCW on Wednesday on a two-year contract. The former amateur wrestler and kickboxer did not sign on with WCW back in March when the company was undergoing a take over, and has been performing on the independant circuit since. However, after some time working away from the 'big leagues', he contacted WCW in search of a job. WCW agreed to bring him back, but the former member of the 'Natural Born Thrillers' will report to the Power Plant for the forseeable future.

I actually kinda like it. Of course, I would've prefered some actual WRESTLERS on it, but it does look decent. Hopefully the UK release will be different.

-- Chapter Sixteen --

Monday 11th June 2001

After Nitro...

Bischoff was overjoyed about the way the main even came off. He knew the idea was brilliant, he just wasn't sure HOW good it was going to be. The fans went crazy when they saw Triple H standing in the ring. He saw Nash, Flair, Sting, Hall and Triple H all standing together backstage after the show went off the air. Flair, who isn't exactly best friends with Hall or Nash, departed the scene to go see his son David, who had been stitched up from his earlier match with Bubba Rogers. Bischoff approached the quartet, just as Sting shook everyone's hand and was about to depart.

Sting: Good stuff out there guys, I really think people are going to be talking about this...hey Eric. Gotta admit; nice idea this was. Well, gotta go, talk to you later.

Sting walked off and poured some water over his head as he went.

Bischoff: Great work guys! Excellent stuff! I knew it was going to be a hit. Paul, you should've heard the reaction you got when the lights came on. I swear, it was one of the loudest things I've ever heard in my life! Man, I just wanted to say, that you will NOT regret joining WCW!

Triple H: Hey, I was fucked if I stayed where I was; I made the stupidest decision of my life with Stephanie, but she won't forgive me, neither will Vince, so...fuck it, you know? I'll admit this Eric; I never wanted to come here, and after the way you treated Sean a few years back, you should be grateful I even decided to join.

'Maybe we need a word...' thought Bischoff to himself.

Bischoff: Um, Scott? Kevin? Could you excuse us for a moment? I need to talk to Paul alone.

Nash: Hey, sure boss. Catch up with you later Trips.

Kevin Nash and Scott Hall walked off, and Eric Bischoff directed Triple H to a couple of chairs where they could sit and talk.

Bischoff: Look Paul, I know you have reason to hate me. I treated Sean like shit all those years ago, I know that. But with my job, as the man who had control over bucket-loads of Ted Turners billions, Sean Waltman was 'just another guy' who could be replaced like *that*...

Triple H: What is that suppose to mean? What you did was cold as...

Bischoff: Hey, I'm not denying anything, I was a bastard back then, and I'm not trying to excuse my actions. But now, now I'm trying to change. At the moment, we're working on a tight budget, and I don't have Ted Turner's billions at my disposal. I regret quite a few of my actions; most of them actually, in regards to talent handling. But I can promise you; working with Ric Flair and Steve Borden has changed me. No more firings through FedEx. No more bullshit workings of this company. No more politics. WCW is different to what it was before.

Triple H: So why you given Nash a guaranteed World title reign then?

'What? He told him? I can't believe it!'

Bischoff: *Gulp*Wha...what?

Triple H: Oh, I know about Eric. Don't try and fuck with me by saying how much you've changed ok? I know you're fucked, having to work with Flair and Borden, but...tough shit man. I don't care about you, or about the politics in this place. I just care about having fun, and wrestling some matches ok?

Bischoff: I...ok.

Triple H: Another thing; I don't know what you've heard about me from back in the WWF, but believe it or not, I ain't a politics guy. I'll admit; dating the bosses daugther, you're obviously gonna pitch some ideas their way to suit you. But did you ever hear any shit about me and backstage politics?

'Um...surprisingly, no...'

Bischoff: Actually...no, not really.

Triple H: Me, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman did a lot in the WWF, but believe it or not; most of it was them. What I'm saying is, I ain't gonna be politicing here ok? And I'm willing to give you a chance as well. So, I guess that's all sorted now. I wanna ask you though; what am I being called on TV? You can't use the 'Triple H' name because it's...

Bischoff: Uh...ah, you're wrong! Actually, the commentators have already been using it, because WCW now have the copyright for it! It expired recently, and we bought it the other day. We didn't know if you were signing, and WWF didn't know if you were going, so it was just left there until you DID sign with us, and we bought it.

Triple H: Cool. Well, I'm gonna go. See you about.

Bischoff: Yeah, bye.

Triple H got up, the two shook hands, and he left. Bischoff didn't know what to think of that conversation he had just had. Was he being truthful? Or was it some sort of political mind games? He couldn't put his finger on it...

Tuesday 12th June 2001

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Triple H jumps ship to WCW...and we explain why!

Those of you who saw Monday Nitro last night will be aware that former World Wrestling Federation superstar Triple H appeared in the main event and joined forces with his real-life buddies Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to destroy Ric Flair and Sting.

The explaination for him joining WCW is because of his relationship with Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWF owner Vince McMahon. As previously reported,  they two were going through a "rocky patch", but nobody aside from family and friends knew what this meant. Apparently, Triple H was caught by Stephanie with another woman, a WWF employee no less, and Stephanie couldn't believe it. The relationship ended, and from then on in, Vince wanted him out. He made him lose the Intercontinental title CLEANLY to Chyna in under 4 minutes back in April, and he has not appeared or been mentioned on TV since.

The woman Triple H was with, a member of the production team by the name of Sarah Forester, was payed to keep quiet about, but has today left the company and spoke to a reporter from the PWTorch website about it, explaining everything. She says that Triple H realised what would happen if he stayed, and took up Eric Bischoff's offer to join WCW straight away after walking out of the WWF.

Stephanie has been distraught ever since, and she has not been seen on TV either since she walked in on them. Many of the current WWF employee's are upset he's left, due to his "star power", but agree it was for the best.

Monday 11th June 2001

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- Well, we’re actually back. Monday Nitro is back! Sorry, I’m still quite surprised that WCW is alive. Alive and, apparently, well. Well, as ‘well’ as a company can be that has BOTH Kevin Nash and Scott Hall under contract! Well, let’s get straight to it I guess!

We are LIVE at the Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida

Our hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Jerry “THE KING” Lawler. Should be interesting to see how Lawler survives without hearing his voice every 3 seconds. I don’t think his ego can cope with this lack of exposure!

We get a BRAND NEW opening for Nitro! Yay! We got the pyros, and we’ve got…the Outsiders? Groovy. Nash and Hall are out, getting huge pops again, which Tenay tries to cover up by saying the fans are just excited WCW is back. So he claims that the fans are popping for WCW. I’ll let him believe it for a week, maybe two. Here’s what the Outsiders had to say:

Nash: Thanks for the ovation, but it ain’t wanted or needed. We’re out here because we’ve got a few things to get off our chest. First thing is, who here didn’t see “The Second Coming” last month? (Gets a relatively quiet cheer) Yup, I didn’t expect any of you people to be able to afford it! But some of you did see it, so you know what myself and Scott are doing here.

Hall: And of course, because we’re such nice guys, we’re going to tell you what we said! Yeah, we’re THAT kind. You see, we weren’t invited to the GRAND reopening of WCW, so we got a little pissed off and crashed the party. We’re taking back what is ours; WCW. WCW was in our hands back in 1996, and we held it there for years until certain things, and certain people screwed it up for us.

Nash: So, we’re doing exactly what we originally set out to do; take down the authority, and take down WCW. And we’re starting right here, right now…with Ric Flair! Flair, get your haggard old behind out and into this ring right now! If you don’t, we’re going to ruin this show tonight, and screw things… (Flair’s music hits, and Ric “God” Flair is here!)

 

Nash: Nice of you to turn up old man. I said get in the ring, not stand on the ramp. How do you expect us to kick your ass when you’re up there? Have sense man!

Flair: Nash? Hall? What the hell are you doing? Huh? HUH? I know what it was like in the OLD WCW, but this is MY WCW baby, and I won’t tolerate any of your crap whatsoever, do you understand me?

Hall: Hey man, we don’t wanna cause any trouble! We just wanna take over the company, beat some people up, win some belts, drink some bear, then burn WCW to the ground! That’s all man! That ain’t much is it?

Flair: You two don’t make me laugh, not tonight you don’t! So I’ll tell you what boys; I’ve got a match in mind for you two! Scott? You’re suppose to face Diamond Dallas Page tonight in a United States title tournament match? Consider it postponed till next week! Why!?! Why!?! Whoooo, because I said so that’s why! Kevin Nash; you thought that you were gonna have the night off? Guess again big man, you two BOTH have a match! I’m talking tag team match, two-on-two, with two TRUE legends of the ring!

Nash: Legends eh? You mean two washed up old farts I guess!

Flair: Ha ha! Well, one of these legends happens to be a two-time United States champion, a one-time Television champion, a three-time Tag Team champion, and an SEVEN-TIME World Heavyweight champion! This man I speak of, is Sting! That’s right! That’s right! Sting baby is gonna be in that ring with you two tonight!

Hall: Mr. Crow boy? Who’s his partner then chico?

Flair: I’m glad you asked that Scott, because he is a six-time United States champion, a three-time Tag Team champion, and a FOURTEEN-TIME World Heavyweight champion! That’s right! He is also, a kiss stealing, wheeling dealing, jet flying, limosine riding, son of a gun! That man…is ME!!! (Crowd goes apeshit for this. It IS Ric Flair after all!) Tonight! Hall and Nash vs. “the Nature Boy” Ric Flair, and Sting! Be there boys, because you don’t want to miss this one! Whooooooo!

Ok, me liking this! Can I have some more Flair please? Flair and Sting as a team? Pretty cool idea if you ask me. Nash and Hall have the look on their face that says “we’re shit scared, but we’ll pretend that you two are nothing”, which is always good. Actually, Scott Hall just looks high, but meh, you can’t win them all! Up next, Rick Steiner vs. Bill DeMott…bollocks.

Commercial Break

WCW United States title tournament: Rick Steiner vs. Bill DeMott

Tournament does look pretty interesting, and almost impossible to call. However, I do have to question the logic in making Steiner/DeMott and Bossman/DAVID Flair as the first matches. Not the most entertaining in the work rate world. DeMott doesn’t want to be known as Hugh Morrus anymore because he’s all business. Mike Tenay said it, so it must be true. Ever the clever one, King says that if you say Hugh Morrus real fast, it sounds like humorous. I really can’t understand why the WWF were so uncaring when he left! Can you? King’s “joke” gets silence from Tenay and Schiavone. We’ve got some bad ass brawling from these two and some stiff shots to the ribs and head from Steiner. Attempted belly-to-belly from Steiner, but DeMott head butts him, and DDT’s him. We get more brawling, and more pounding away at one another before DeMott drops Steiner onto the mat wait a powerslam, goes upstairs for TMFKA No Laughing Matter…and misses. Good job there Bill. Steiner Driver! It’s done, pin is academic, and Steiner advances to face “The Boss” Bubba Rogers or David Flair.

Rundown

Winner and wrestler to advance: Rick Steiner (4:14)

Um, yeah. Brawl. Simple as that. It was nothing more than a brawl, with a move thrown in there every now and then to make it appear to be a wrestling match. However, it was a relatively entertaining brawl. On the plus side, DeMott has dropped the “Hugh Morrus” persona and actually looks as though he could live up to the potential many said he had when he first arrived. He showed quite a bit of intensity, so I think he could, maybe.

* - Fun fight.

“The Boss” Bubba Rogers is out. They REALLY got far away from his WWF name and gimmick didn’t they? He looks almost EXACTLY the same, and has a similar name. Oh, and he’s also got a nightstick…and a microphone. Oh oh. Here’s what he had to say:

”The Boss”: I am “The Boss” Bubba Rogers, and this here nightstick is what I like to call, the law. There’s a rule for everyone else, and then there are rules for me! I don’t follow the laws laid down by the so-called officials of the company; I follow my own path, and uphold my own laws. If anyone steps out of line, then they get to meet the law. And I can tell you this; that’s not something people want to be doing! So tonight, David Flair? Step out of line boy, and I WILL introduce you to the true law; MY law!

Hmm, actually interesting. Ok, he might suck in the ring, but he can do some good stuff on the mic. I wonder how hard and how far they intend on pushing him then?

WCW United States title tournament: “The Boss” Bubba Rogers vs. David Flair

Rogers tries to grab David, but David ducks and grabs the legs, trips him up and tries a leg lock. Rogers boots him in the face, getting the runt off of him. I would kick him in the face to if he was REALLY related to Ric Flair. What do you mean he is really his son? He can’t be! He bloody SUCKS in the ring! So wrestlers are like footballers; the dad is friggin amazing, yet the son is poop. David is getting his head smashed in down in the corner, as Rogers is punching and kicking away. The crowd is barely even paying attention, as we have a nice little aura of quiet in the arena. There are a couple “David” chants, but not many. Rogers gets a hip toss and a two count, so we get some more uninspired brawling from these two, and David comes out on top here, sending “the Boss” into a corner before laying into him with a 10-punch. Rogers is upset the referee allowed that, and loudly informs the referee and David that he just broke one of his laws. What? No punching him in the face? Is that the law? The referee steps out the way to avoid a splash from David, but Rogers does the same before throwing David into the referee, knocking the ref out. Rogers then hits a crappy looking chokeslam before going outside, and getting ‘the law’…AKA, the nightstick. He comes back in, and WHACKS David in the head with it before hitting the sidewalk slam. The ref conveniently wakes up, and counts the three count. “The Boss” celebrates, for all of 10 seconds before another referee comes down and chats with the first ref. He then goes over to the ring announcer, and we’ve got ourselves our first Dusty finish in the new WCW, as the referee now disqualifies Rogers for use of the nightstick, and awards the match to David Flair! Ah, “the Boss” is pissed, so he clocks David again…and again, and again with the nightstick before buggering off to the back. [sarcasm]And this man is suppose to be upholding the law. [/sarcasm]

Rundown

Winner by DQ and wrestler to advance: David Flair (5:34)

Well, it served the purpose of getting David Flair through, while keeping Rogers strong(ish). I’m assuming that was their intentions. Bubba Rogers could be a pretty could character for WCW if you ask me. Just keep the matches short, and don’t try to expose he’s glaringly blatant weaknesses.

* - David Flair and Bubba Rogers together…what did you expect?

We go into a commercial, watching EMT’s tending to David Flair.

Commercial Break

We come back, and Tony, Mike and Jerry are talking about David going to a hospital, and say we’ll get updates on his condition as they get them. Lawler cracks a joke about David, saying that if he’s anything like his dad, this won’t be his last trip to the hospital.

The music of the FORMER Tag Team champions hits, and Palumbo and O’Haire are out. The graphic said “Palumbo and O’Haire” and I didn’t hear the commentators or the ring announcer mention their first names. Hmmm, maybe it’s because ‘Chuck’ doesn’t sound all that menacing. Well, Palumbo has a microphone, and this is what they had to say:

Palumbo: We’re about to face the Mamalukes in a tag team match, which by all rights, should be probably be for the Tag Team titles. But we don’t have them anymore, because of Lance Storm and Mike Awesome. We aren’t going to whine about it, but what we are going to do, is face in a rematch for the titles down the line! We have a rematch clause, and we WILL put that into effect very soon. But right now, we’ve gotta take care of the Mamalukes, so I suggest that you two get out here and take an ass kicking like a pair of men!

Yay! Rematch! Soon! Hopefully!

Palumbo and O’Haire vs. the Mamalukes

The Mamalukes make their way out, and go seriously over the top with the Italian mannerisms. If WCW do intend on creating a new F.B.I. stable in WCW, I’d like to hope it’d be a semi-serious stable, because both Guido and Mamaluke can put on some damn good matches. And if the Bull and Vito stand there looking menacing, I won’t mind one bit! Vito and O’Haire started out, and O’Haire takes him down with some nice martial artsy looking moves after your typical big-guy stare down. Ok, they’re not your usual ‘big-guys’, but they are, well, big aren’t they? Tag to Palumbo, and he punches away at Vito, sending him into the corner where Vito decides to duck a shot and the clothesline the heck out of Chucky before tagging in the Bull. King makes a good point about Palumbo wearing red, and seen as he’s in the ring with Johnny the BULL, he’s screwed. The Bull brawls for a bit with Palumbo, beating him down with a simple technique; 15 punches>wrestling move>repeat sequence. He does this about FIVE TIMES before Palumbo ducks a clothesline and then takes the Bull out with a dropkick (!) which I didn’t see coming. Both Vito and O’Haire are waiting for tags, and of course, the face gets the tag and CLEANS HOUSE baby! O’Haire is wiping both guys out with clotheslines, punches, NOGGIN-KNOCKERS and then a superkick to the Bull. Vito gets up, and walks into a Jungle Kick from Palumbo. O’Haire goes up stairs, lands the Seanton Bomb and the pin is academic from there. The former champions celebrate in the ring and then do the ‘belt-across-waist’ motion title challengers are so fond of doing now a days.

Rundown

Winners: Palumbo and O’Haire (7:23)

Good match from what I expected to be a pretty shitty one to be honest. Vito and the Bull held up their end of the match, as did the former champs. Maybe this F.B.I. stable idea could be pretty decent, if this outing for the Mamalukes was any indication. Of course, Palumbo and O’Haire were as good as usual. I can’t wait for the Tag Team title rematch.

** ½ - Best match of the night so far, but that’s not saying anything.

We go to a commercial break, and Tony Schiavone says that Air Raid will be here when Nitro returns, as they have something to say. Oh goody…balls.

Commercial Break

Ah man! Schiavone wasn’t lying when he said that Air Raid was coming out. Tenay says that they aren’t booked for a match tonight, and that they were informed through their headsets that these two wanted to come out. Nobody knows why they’re out here. King points out “one of these little shrimps” got mauled by Goldberg last month, and said it was one of the funniest things he’s ever seen. Oh oh, they have a microphone. STILL don’t know who’s who, but it’s the one with the bandana. Again, Schiavone reads my mind, and tells me this is AJ Styles, the guy who got killed at “The Second Coming”. This is what he said:

Styles: ]Hey! We’re Air Raid! What’s going on Florida people? I would like to say a few things, about how BADLY we’ve been treated! I mean, why don’t we have ourselves a match here tonight? I appeared on the first NEW WCW show last month, and I don’t get any love here tonight? It’s not fair! Not fair at all! I was THIS close (using the fingers to indicate how close, no less) to beating Goldberg you know! Can you IMAGINE what that would’ve done for my career? Exactly! I would’ve been huge if I won that match! But do you know what’s better than ME being huge? That is me AND Air Paris becoming HUGE superstars! So we are going to challenge the big dog in the back to a handicap match; we are going to challenge…GOLDBERG! So Goldberg, we want you in this ring right now! Get out here!

Handicap match: Goldberg vs. Air Raid

Oh…crap. Me thinks they’re gonna die. They take off their shirts and warm up in the ring as GOLDBERG’s music hits! ‘Da Man’ comes out in street clothes and as soon as the bell rings, the little cruiserweights jump on him and start pounding away…to no effect. Goldberg thrusts AJ off of him, crashing into the corner before hitting a Gorilla-Press-powerslam on Air Paris. He gets up…and SPEARS AJ dead, signalling for the Jackhammer. He lifts AJ up, and with him in the air, Air Paris punches away at Goldberg, again to no effect as he slams him down on the mat! Awesome. He hops right up, stares at Air Paris (who is scared SHITLESS), grabs his head and then Jackhammers HIM right next to his partner before covering both of them at once for a simple win.

Rundown

Winner: Goldberg (1:36)

Ha. Ha ha ha. Sorry, that was funny. I liked this segment actually. It gives Air Raid and Goldberg something to do, and it keeps the ‘Berg away from the World title scene for the moment. Plus, he squished AJ Styles and Air *My Name Sucks* Paris, so it’s all good.

* ½ - Because it was fun, and quick, and Goldberg squished Air Raid.

We cut straight to the back after a quick celebration from Goldberg to see STING sitting in his locker room, and is joined after a knock at the door by RIC FLAIR! Sorry for the caps, but I just love these two, so tough sheet! They shake hands, and started talking:

Flair: Hey Sting. Listen, we may have had our differences in the past, but if we can agree on ANY one thing, it’s that Kevin Nash and Scott Hall have to be stopped before they can start anything again! You remember what it was like last time they had the power here in WCW, and if it’s ANYTHING like that…

Sting: Hey Ric! You don’t NEED to explain nothing to me! I understand EXACTLY what this is about man! I KNOW what has to be done! I was one of the men who tried to stop Hall and Nash the first time around back in 1996…and I WILL be there again tonight! This is a historic night…but it WON’T be remembered as the night Hall and Nash take over, oh NO! It will be remembered as the night Hall and Nash’s takeover attempts were stopped before they could start, by “the Nature Boy” and the Stinger! It’s time Ric!

Flair and Sting get up, and head out of the room. Flair does a little ‘whooo’ and does a little strut on his way out. I love the interaction between Flair and Sting; they’ve got such a lot of chemistry it’s great. Anywho, one last ad break, and we’ve got ourselves a main event!

Commercial Break

Ric Flair and Sting vs. the Outsiders

Flair is out first, and gets a brilliant response. Thing about Flair is, it never sounds that loud even though it is, because of his music. Sting is out next, and gets a fucking awesome reaction from the fans and is PSYCHED for the match. The Outsiders music hits, and they get a loud mixed reaction. They come out all cocky and shit, and Hall, the big man that he is, gets into an argument with a fan, which Nash breaks up. As a compromise, Nash steals the fans sign and rips it up, leaving Hall happy. Funny stuff. Sting holds back Flair, as the Outsiders try to get into the ring. Hall motions for them to step back so they can get in, and the ref pushes Flair and the Stinger back. They go into the corner, TURNING THEIR BACKS on Hall and Nash, which signifies the start of the match as the Outsiders begin by kicking their asses in the corner. Hall pairs off with Flair, taking him to the opposite corner and attempting to slam his head into the turnbuckle, but it backfires as Flair does said-thing to him. Nash is driving the knees into Sting’s chest, then pulls back, lines up…and misses an elbow as Sting ducks and then goes CHOPPING! Flair follows suit, and we got CHOPPING on both corners before Sting and Flair both attempt to whip the Outsiders into one another. Both whips gets reversed, but in a cool spot Flair and Sting run past one another and Flair clotheslines Nash and Sting gets the Stinger Splash on Hall! Big pop for that. The Outsiders immediately retreat to the outside, and King complements their intelligence. Tony and Mike say they’re afraid of Flair and Sting. King asks if Ric Flair has ever chopped them in the chest, and they say no. Good point Jerry. Hall finally gets into the ring and goes to lock up with Flair, but knees him in the chest, prompting some typical heel tactics from the Outsiders; quick tags, beatings, cheating behind the refs back etc… Flair is now in there with Nash, who hits the knees in the corner, and this time does manage to nail the ‘picture-perfect elbow’, as I like to call it. Tag to Hall, and Flair is in the corner, begging him off. I think you can guess where this is going can’t you? Hall takes the piss out of Flair, and then gets a thumb to the eye to a HUGE pop! Ha! Flair struts, chops, ‘whooos’, and chops again, then tags in Sting! Hall begs him off, but Sting just laughs and stomps away at Hall in the corner. Because he can, Nash comes in and tries to big boot Sting. But Sting ducks, and Nash boots the heck out of the referee. Well, THERE’S our referee-gets-knocked-out spot! I was wondering when that was coming! Sting is about to hit the Scorpion Death Drop, but Hall low blows him and the Outsiders double-team Sting for about 30 seconds before Naitch comes in and makes a save. We get the SUPERHERO face comeback from Flair and Sting as the Stinger takes down Nash and locks in the Deathlock, while Flair has the Figuer-Four in on Hall. The referee is coming to, and BOTH Nash and Hall are about to tap when…the lights go out? What the fuck? The commentators are acting confused, and yelling at the production guys to get the lights to come back on. The eventually do and…OH MY GOD!!! TRIPLE H!!! TRIPLE H IS IN THE RING WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER!!! Flair, Sting, the referee, the crew, the commentators, EVERYONE looks at him in shock. Triple H snarls, and kicks Sting in the head, then goes on to Flair. The referee calls for the DQ due to the awesome interference. Sting gets up…SLEDGEHAMMER TO THE HEAD!! Shit if I ain’t marking out for this! Flair goes over to Triple H, kick-wham PEDIGREE!!! The commentators actually call him ‘Triple H’, which confuses me a little. H helps his buddies Nash and Hall up, and the three men stand tall in the ring. Triple H holds up the sledgehammer in the air, as Nash Jacknifes Sting, and Hall hits the Outsiders Edge on Flair. Triple H smirks, looks at the damage, and all three men raise their hands as the Wolfpac music hits to end this damn awesome show.

Rundown

Winners via DQ: Sting and Ric Flair (11:31)

Well, it was a good match. Nothing special of course because the near immobile Nash and drunken monkey Hall were involved, but SHIT if that finish didn’t make up for it beyond imagination. I loved that ending.

*** ½ - Gotta say, ‘* ½’ is for the ending alone.

Show Rundown

My god, they pulled it off. I expected an average show, with something ‘semi-big’ happening, but I sure as hell didn’t expect this. Triple H (using that as his name apparently!), Scott Hall and Kevin Nash together as a unit in WCW. Hmmm, did NOT see that one coming. No siree. Anything that didn’t involve Hall, Nash, Sting, Flair and Triple H was average stuff, but the stuff involving them was very good. One gripe; no cruiserweights. But other than that, this was a BRILLIANT way to re-debut WCW. Great show.

Monday 11th June 2001

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Taken from WCW.com:

MONDAY NITRO PREVIEW

The road starts here! WCW returns to your television sets Monday the 11th of June, 2001 after nearly a three-month absense. Same time, different channel. NBS is the place to see all your favourite WCW superstars, and you don't have long to wait at all!

Coming live from the Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida, WCW Monday Nitro will be hosted by the brand new announce team of Tony Schiavone, "Professor" Mike Tenay and Jerry "the King" Lawler. A blockbuster card has been announced for the show, with four awesome matches set for the show. There will be the opening of the United States title tournament. The title was vacated by Booker T at "The Second Coming" last month, and a tournament for the title was recently unveiled. These are the three tournament matches that will take place on Nitro:

* Rick Steiner goes one-on-one with Bill DeMott, formerly Hugh Morrus

* "The Boss" Bubba Rogers will take on David Flair

* "Outsider" Scott Hall takes on the master of the Diamond Cutter, Diamond Dallas Page

In addition to this, former WCW Tag Team champions, Palumbo and O'Haire take on Johnny the Bull and Big Vito, the Mamalukes, as they start travelling the road leading to a Tag Team title rematch against the new champions, Lance Storm and Mike Awesome.

Also, at "The Second Coming" we saw Scott Hall and Kevin Nash annonce their intentions to the world. Although they aren't 100% clear to all, it is apparent that it isn't going to be good news for the rest of WCW.

Don't miss Monday Nitro, live on NBC, 8 p.m. ET.

Just thought I'd inform people...Football Manager 2005 is on Play.com now for £17.99. Order it now, if the price goes up, it's still only charges £17.99.

YAY! When's it coming to the UK? That's all I wanna know.

Sunday 3rd June 2001

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THE WEEKLY UPDATE

Wednesday 30th May

Some news on wrestlers who have joined the Power Plant yesterday.

Christopher Nowinski, a former participant on the WWF's recent 'Tough Enough' competition has been picked up by WCW and assigned to the Power Plant to 'learn the ropes'. Nowinski has been working the independants under the moniker of 'Chris Havard', playing up the fact that he is a Harvard Graduate. WCW officials were impressed with his work, and they also believe, with his natural charisma and ready made character, he could be huge.

Rene Dupree, son of legendary Canadian wrestler and promoter Emile Dupre joined the Power Plant today, under the advisement of his father. His father was in contact with WCW after he failed to get his son into OVW or HWA with the WWF. Dupree has the look at pedigree to go quite far in this business.

O.G. Ekmo, and Kimo, collectively known as the Island Boys joined the Power Plant today. Kimo is the son of Sika the Wild Samoan, and both are cousins to the WWF's Rikishi and the Rock, as well as the late great Yokozuna. They have a lot of potential, according to both Afa and Sika.

Friday 1st June

Steven Richards was released from his WWF contract yesterday, and has today agreed terms with WCW. Richards, however, will have to wait until his 90-day clause expires, putting his debut time with WCW some time after the 1st of September. Richards, however, is not the big WWF superstar who has been rumoured to be jumping ship.

Well, the fact that Newcastle weren't going anywhere at the moment was a good enough reason to get rid of him. He's taken the club as far as they could go, and it's time for a change.

To me, it looks like Robson is a brilliant person, but no longer a brilliant manager. He's lost it. Not good enough for this level I must say.

-- Chapter Fifteen --

Monday 28th May 2001

Attempting to sign big talent

Eric Bischoff have read the reports about WCW signing a big name from the WWF. He heard the rumours about Triple H, Hulk Hogan, William Regal and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Truth be told, WCW had been in contact with Hulk Hogan, William Regal, Kane, the Undertaker, Chris Benoit. Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle. Unfortunetly, they pretty much all told the WCW officials where to stick the job. They weren't interested, not one iota. There was still one person left to call, and he had put it off for the simple reason, that the guy HATED Eric Bischoff. This man was fired via FedEx when he was injured. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was not contacted about a job in WCW. Bischoff pretty much knew that Austin would slam the phone down the second he knew who was on the other end. But Bischoff was going to try, and he was going to try personally. He picked up the phone, and dialled the number his assistant gave him.

Austin: This is Austin, who's calling?

Bischoff: I uh, hi, it's Eric...

Austin: Eric? Eric who?

Bischoff: Um, Eric Bischoff...

*SLAM* goes the phone, and Bischoff is cut off.

'Ah nuts. I knew it...wait, one last try, maybe I can use the old Eric Bischoff charm on him'

Bischoff picked up the phone, and rang Austin's number again.

Bischoff: Alright Steve, don't hang up! Not until you've listened to what I have to say ok?

Austin: You know, I expected a phone call from this piece of shit company, but I didn't think I'd be honoured with a PERSONAL phone call from you Eric. What do you want?

Bischoff: I want to offer you a job...

Austin: Ha ha ha ha ha! You? You want to offer me a job? You, the man who fired my ass IN A LETTER? You, a man who doesn't even have the decency to CALL SOMEONE to let them know they're fired? You, a man who said I wasn't marketable in my black tights and black boots? Why the fuck would I want to come work for you?

Bischoff: Why you ask? Well, for one, you wouldn't be turning heel unless you wanted to. You wouldn't be forced to do something that you didn't like, storyline wise that is. You would have complete and utter control over your character. No pre-written lines for you during promos. You would get control over your own merchandise should you wish, and you'd get a bigger cut from it then you'd be getting in the WWF. You would have 100% creative control. Tell me Steve, how does that sound?

Austin: How does it sound? Sounds like a whole lot of bullshit to me. What makes you think I would believe you about any of the crap you just said? You lie to make a living Eric.

Bischoff: Well, because I am a different man now. I know you're probably thinking I'm talking complete and utter BS, but it's true. Working with Steve Borden and Ric Flair as your co-owners is fucking difficult! Listen Steve, I'll fax you a copy of the contract. Take a look at it, and get back to me ok?

Austin: I couldn't give a shit if you did send it Eric, because I'm not interested.

Bischoff: Then why haven't you hung up yet?

Austin:: ...

Bischoff: I'll send it in a bit, then I'll give you a phonecall in a week to see what you think.

Austin: Whatever.

*SLAM* goes the phone, and Austin hangs up again.

'Something tells me that that went VERY well...considering. He's interested...ha, he's interested.'

And if anyone doubted cm wasnt like real-life look at the 2 records either side of monkeys arsenal record 

←

Leeds have just won promotion to Division Two, after going through three consecutive relegations. Liverpool just went down last year as well, which I was VERY shocked about. Unfortunetly, they don't have any decent players to fit into my squad! Owen sucks, and Gerrard just isn't good enough anymore. Boo

Sunday 27th May 2001

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THE WEEKLY UPDATE

It's been a relatively slow week for WCW news, but the few bits there have been, are huge and quite shocking.

Wednesday 30th May:

WCW have apparently agreed terms with a major WWF superstar. No news as of yet on who this wrestler is, but there are a couple of people who fit the bill, and could logically be on their way out:

Hulk Hogan

Hogan is the one I expect that has signed the deal. He signed a contract just before WrestleMania, and then won the WWF title just a month later from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at Backlash. This got his ego up in the roof, and when he was told he was dropping it the next night, he threw a hissy fit. Apparently, McMahon was pissed. Hogan did get punished for moaning, and did do the job, but only when Triple H ran in and cost him the belt. So Hogan and McMahon are already on shaky ground. Shocking isn't it? Well, unlike WCW, McMahon won't put up with Hogan for very long, so it wouldn't surprise me if he goes.

9/10 chance he's heading to WCW

Dusty Rhodes

Although the big man has only been with the WWF a few months, it has become apparent that he isn't enjoying working with the Federation as much as he had hoped. On commentary for Sunday Night Heat, he has sounded bored and un-interested, and during some angles he has been involved in, the people have been getting the same vibe.

8/10 chance he's heading to WCW

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin

No! Can't be possible...could it? This is the same Austin that was fired by WCW via FedEx, he couldn't possibly be going to WCW could he? Well, in the mood he is in now, it is VERY possible. Austin was very vocal about not wanting to turn heel at WrestleMania, and tried to convince McMahon it was a stupid idea. Obviously, he failed in that endevour and is now teaming with his former 'arch-nemesis' Triple H, who he's forgiven for hiring Rikishi to attempt to MURDER HIM! Another sign is that Austin has recently bought the "Texas Rattlesnake" copyright when the WWF's contract ran out. WWF have not yet renewed the contract for "Triple H", "Hardy Boyz", "Too Cool", "Ministry of Darkness" and "Right to Censor". However, this could mean anything, as the last two were dropped because of the stable being defunct. The WWF etill own's "Stone Cold", so he could not use that if he did jump to WCW.

5.5/10 chance he's heading to WCW

Triple H

As stated above, the copyright for "Triple H" has yet to be renewed, meaning he could be on his way out. However, there is no further evidence at all. None what so ever. The main reason for his staying is his relationship with Stephanie McMahon, daughter of Vince. While going through a VERY rocky patch in their relationship right now, sources say they are getting over it and are trying to fix things.

2/10 chance he's heading to WCW

William Regal

Regal is the most unlikely of the lot, but his name was mentioned though. The only logical reason for Regal to even think about heading to WCW is...no, nope, nothing I can think off! He's getting the push of his life, and why he would trade that in is anyone's guess!

0/10 chance he's heading to WCW

It finally ended. Over two season's running unbeaten, and then it all comes to an end in the second game of the 2008/09 season at home to Southampton. i was completely dominant, but couldn't turn my chances into goals.

My former goalkeeper, Stuart Taylor had a career game, getting a 10 rating and man of the match from it. Oh well, was fun while it lasted

Shay Given has come out and said he'd prefer Newcastle to focus on signing a centre back because their ranks a very thin.

Gotta agree. Neither team *really* need the little brat, but he'd be best to move to Man Utd for obvious reasons.

Typical. Nice little bit of cheating because you couldn't beat Blackburn. Really shows the gap in class between Arsenal/Chelsea and Man Utd doesn't it?

This is the wording used by the BBC website:

But the Rovers keeper was finally beaten with only seconds to go when Smith struck his equaliser after being handed the ball by Saha.

About sums it up doesn't it?