KevinStorm

Sexton Hardcastle and Christian Cage!

Thanks! I still have all the Magnificent Seven guys, minus Luger who is in rehab now, but I figured with WCW "going dark" for a while it made sense to reboot stories as well for the most part. Cruiserweight tag titles are gone. I never liked them and the roster isn't really deep enough. Glad you're enjoying it. Thanks for reading!

The Dirt Sheet - Tuesday Week 1 November, 2001 WCW presented Halloween Havoc on Sunday, live on pay-per-view and cable around the world and again from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It was a night of surprises and of successes, as the recent decline in WCW PPV viewers finally reverse and the company saw its highest viewer count since Bash at the Beach in July. Just over half a million people saw Halloween Havoc, including about 224,000 buys on pay-per-view. The main event saw Scott Steiner successfull defend the WCW World title in a triple threat match, getting the pinfall on Jeff Jarrett with assistance from the former WWF start Road Dogg, real name Brian James, who made a surprise debut for the company by shattering Jeff Jarrett's guitar over his head. Sources say Road Dogg is fresh out of rehab, clean and sober, and ready to get back to action. WCW seems to have made the first and possibly the best offer, and they seem to have put a lot of faith in him by debuting him in such a high-profile way. In another shock from Halloween Havoc, Chuck Palumbo defeated Sting clean in the middle of the ring. Sources say that the match--and result--was Sting's idea, because he sees a lot of potential in Palumbo and wanted to do the honors to help get him over more. The two may meet again as part of the Legends Cup tournament, giving Sting the chance to get his win back, but this kind of selflessness is what is necessary to rebuild WCW going forward, and it's nice to see someone willing to make that effort. Speaking of the Legends Cup tournament, that tournament is set to finish at a new WCW pay-per-view to be named, appropriately, WCW Legends Cup. This tournament was a major motivator for WCW to begin doing non-televised events in the days before each TV taping, as a round robin tournament with 2 blocks of 4 wrestlers each means something like 12 matches total, plus the finals, if my math is correct. These live events provide more space to hold these matches, in addition to attracting fans who might think nothing important could happen at one of these shows. I am told WCW leaders are hopeful that the non-televised events and the TV tapings will fit in well as another Las Vegas tourist attraction, at least until the company resumes touring in the future as is hoped.

WCW Halloween Havoc - Sunday Week 4 October, 2001 Pre-show: Mark Jindrak d. Hugh Morrus (53) John Cena came out for a promo hyping up himself. He's interrupted by developmental talent CM Punk, apparently debuting as a heel. THis sets up a match. (31) John Cena d. CM Punk via DQ (36) Shane Douglas and Danny Doring d. America's Most Wanted (42) After a brief intermission we go live on pay-per-view for WCW Halloween Havoc. The camera pans across the sold-out crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as the pyro goes off and the commentary team welcome us to what will surely be an exciting night. The show kicks off with in-ring action as Shane Helms is out to take on Chavo Guerrero Jr who tried to recruit him into The Light. Chavo comes out with Animal looking big and mean. They put on a good cruiserweight style match to warm up the crowd until Chavo distracts the referee and Animal gets in the ring and powerbombs the everloving bejeezus out of Helms. Chavo wins via pinfall at 8:32. 62. After the match Vampiro joins Chavo and Animal as the latter two continue beating on a helpless Shane Helms. Vampiro says over a mic that the punishment Shane Helms is experiencing is nothing compared to what they want to do to Rey Mysterio, and Vampiro says the only way this beating stops is if Mysterio comes out. Mysterio does so, standing on the stage at a safe distance. Vampiro grabs Helms by the hair and lifts his head up for Rey to see. Vampiro says, "See this Mysterio? This is your future. Because if you want to save him, accept our challenge: a gauntlet match, you against The Light, at Legends Cup next month." Mysterio clearly doesn't want to do it because the odds will be more than stacked against him, but he accepts to save Helms. 48. Next we go backstage where Mean Gene Okerlund is standing with Chuck Palumbo and Ric Flair. Gene says Palumbo will take on Sting later tonight and asks for his thoughts. Flair says that Chuck Palumbo is the embodiment of the name Perfection: perfect body, perfect look, perfect potential, and tonight he's going to beat Sting to within an inch of his life, WOOOOOOOOO. Palumbo says Flair is right, and in fact, Palumbo is so confident in himself he tells Flair not to come to ringside with him. Palumbo says, "Ric I know you've got my back, but you have your own match tonight to get ready for, so let me handle business on my own." Flair is surprised but agrees. 47. Back to ringside for the US title hardcore match between Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer. True to the ECW style Dreamer comes out with a shopping cart fool of plunder and the two wail on each other with stiff shots from chairs, stop signs, cookie sheets, and a kendo stick. Not a lot of technical wrestling here. RVD hits a Van Daminator and goes for a cover, but Shane Douglas is at ringside. Douglas climbs into the ring and dives for RVD, but RVD moves out of the way and Douglas strikes Dreamer instead. Douglas gets up and realizes what he's done, only to turn around into a chair shot from RVD for his troubles. Douglas rolls out of the ring as RVD climbs the ropes for a 5-Star Frog Splash and the pinfall win at 11:58. 48. Backstage again in the locker room Shawn Stasiak is livid, yelling about how he doesn't get the respect he deserves because he's the TV champ but doesn't have a match on Halloween Havoc. Stacey Keibler is doing her best to calm him down, but it only makes him more and more agitated. Stasiak accuses Keibler of conspiring against him because she is jealous of how successful and attractive he is. Keibler insists that isn't true and Stasiak raises a hand as if to strike her, but stops just before, and walks away shaking his head instead. 43. Up next is the the match for the WCW Tag Team titles. The Filthy Animals, Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio Jr, are out first, followed by the champions, Team Canada. Mike Awesome and Kidman start off the match, and Kidman soon can't handle Awesome's strength advantage. After some quick tags between both teams, Team Canada corner Mysterio and work him over for several minutes, teasing comebacks and hot tags. Mysterio looks good here but he can't get to Kidman and can't defend himself from the double-teaming and quick tagging. Finally, Awesome misses an avalanche in the corner and Mysterio rolls through and leaps for the hot tag. Kidman is in, dropping Lance Storm first who rolls out of the ring, and lays some quick strikes to Awesome. But Awesome is just too, well, awesome, so he eventually takes back over and puts Kidman away with the Awesome Bomb for the pinfall win at 10:07. 58. After Team Canada celebrate retaining the titles we cut backstage to Kronik with Torrie Wilson. Torrie congratulates Team Canada on their win, and says that they're all glad Team Canada are still the tag team champs. She says Kronik have a score to settle, so they better watch their backs. 49. We go back to ringside and now it's time for the street fight between Dustin Rhodes and Kanyon. They go all out from the start, trading hard strikes and brawling around the ring before spilling outside. They go all over ringside and into the crowd, which is red hot for this one, each man blading on the way. Through the crowd they climb up onto the stage from a ladder on the side, both bloody, both teasing that they're going to fall off through some tables that are conveniently set up. Kanyon bashes Rhodes' face on the stage set, then goes to whip him across the stage and off, but Dustin reverses. Kanyon hits the edge and stops himself, teetering on the brink of falling off, only to turn around into Dustin throwing a diving lariat that takes both of them off the stage and through the tables set up below. Both men appear to be knocked out, but Rhodes landed with his arm across Kanyon so the referee counts the fall. Dustin Rhodes wins via pinfall at 13:11. 67. After that wild brawl Eric Bischoff comes out for a promo to give the crowd a break. He thanks everyone for coming to Halloween Havoc and for watching at home, and for those in attendance or who plan to be in the Las Vegas area he has an exciting announcement: WCW will be holding untelevised events on Mondays and Tuesdays every other week before the Nitro tapings on Wednesdays, and for the next month several Legends Cup tournament matches will be featured at these special events. He also announces that everyone that bought tickets to Halloween Havoc tonight can present their ticket stub at the door either tomorrow or Tuesday for free admission. He again thanks all of the fans for their support. 68. We go now to a video that recaps the events leading up to tonights Sting vs. Chuck Palumbo match, beginning with Palumbo and O'Haire as tag champs, to Palumbo betraying his partner and joining Perfection, to Palumbo tapping out in the War Games match, to his challenge to Sting. 61. Again we go to the backstage area where Sting is preparing to go out. He says he's been waiting weeks for this match, because Chuck Palumbo clearly didn't learn his lesson at Fall Brawl. Sting says he's more than happy to beat that lesson into him one more time, and it's SHOWTIME, folks! 69. Chuck Palumbo is out first, without Flair or anyone else from Perfection, followed by Sting who gets a monster pop from the crowd. The match begins with the two taking it very slowly and feeling each other out. We even get an old school test of strength, which Palumbo wins at first until Sting is able to fight back to even ground before Palumbo throws a headbutt that breaks the two apart. Sting reverses a whip and meets Palumbo with a shoulder block, neither man going down. Sting hits the ropes now and shoulder blocks Palumbo again, but again neither man goes down. Palumbo hits the ropes and throws a clothesline, but Sting stays on his feet. Now Sting hits the ropes and throws his own clothesline, and Palumbo doesn't move. Palumbo hits the ropes and throws a clothesline yet again, but Sting the wily veteran ducks the clothesline and catches Palumbo with a high back body drop. Sting exploits this early advantage and the action spills outside with Palumbo trying to get away to regroup. Sting presses his attack though, whipping Palumbo into the guard rail and charging, only to be flipped over the guard rail into the crowd. Action goes back into the ring now with Palumbo in charge, beating on the veteran who is selling like a master. The crowd absolutely hates Palumbo here and are desperately trying to cheer Sting back into this thing. Later Sting reverses a whip and plants Palumbo with a spinebuster that would've made Arn Anderson proud. Popping up to his feet, Sting holds on to Palumbo's legs and traps him in the Scorpion Deathlock. The entire crowd is on its feet expecting the tap out to come any second now. Palumbo fights and fights, screaming in pain, and somewhow manages to muscle his way to the ropes. Sting can't believe it. He picks Palumbo up on jello legs and throws him into the corner, following up with a Stinger Splash. Palumbo staggers out and Sting wraps his head up for a Scorpion Death Drop for the pin, but Palumbo kicks out at 2.99. Sting grabs Palumbo's legs for another Scorpion Deathlock, but Palumbo grabs Sting's leg and rolls into a half Boston crab. Now it's Sting's turn to get to the ropes, which he does. Palumbo is clearly blown up at this point. His stamina probably isn't quite where it needs to be for a match this long but Sting is carrying him like the pro that he is. Palumbo picks Sting up and hits his Running Powerslam for a two-count. Palumbo goes for another Running Powerslam, but Sting slides out the back and Palumbo goes running into the corner. Sting charges for a Stinger splash on Palumbo's back but Palumbo moves. Sting hits the corner himself, turning into another Running Powerslam. Cover! 1-2-3! Chuck Palumbo gets the win via pinfall at 17:03 and the crowd can't believe it. Palumbo can't either. 74. After Chuck Palumbo celebrates his win as best he can given his exhausted state and begins to go back, we cut to backstage where Gene Okerlund is standing with a still-bloody Dustin Rhodes. Mean Gene tells Dustin that in recognition of his impressive performance tonight, the WCW Executive Committee has decided to give him a shot at the WCW World title on the next Nitro, so he will be taking on either Scott Steiner, Jeff Jarrett, or Booker T, whoever wins. Dustin says he's very grateful for the opportunity, and despite what people like Kanyon may think, he's always had to fight for what he's had--sometimes even harder than others because being Dusty's kid naturally made everyone dislike him. Dustin says that whoever wins tonight, he will do whatever it takes to become World champion. 51. We go back to the locker room now where Perfection are celebrating Chuck Palumbo's win over Sting. Steiner, Flair, and Bagwell all congratulate Palumbo and make fun of Sting. Finally, Flair and Bagwell says it's their turn, and they leave for their match. 57. We go to ringside for what must be a match intended to help calm the crowd down after Kanyon vs Sting, with Ric Flair and Buff Bagwell taking on Diamond Dallas Page and Sean O'Haire. It's odd that these four are put together in what seems like an afterthought of a match, but they come out to perform and impress anyway. DDP takes most of the heat from Bagwell and Flair until making the hot tag, and the babyfaces get the win when Sean O'haire hits Flair with a sort of inverted Widowmaker-Diamond Cutter combination for the pinfall at 15:23. 55. Main event time! Jeff Jarrett is out first, followed by Booker T, who gets a big reaction, and then Scott Steiner with Midajah. The three men feel each other out first, with Steiner more than happy to let Booker and Jarrett fight it out. At one point Steiner even lays across a top turnbuckle and watches, until Jarrett and Booker realize what's going on and knock him off. Jarrett follows Steiner out and smashes him on the guard rail, turning around into a big boot from Booker T. Booker then turns around into an overhead belly to belly suplex from Steiner, who then gets back in the ring, content to take a count out victory. Unfortunately for Steiner, both Jarrett and Booker make it back into the ring. Steiner calls to Jarrett, and points out that if the two of them take on Booker, then they can go one-on-one to determine a winner. Jarrett answers by kicking Booker in the midsection, and the two heels start to beat on Booker for several minutes. Jarrett hits a Stroke on Booker T, and Steiner goes for the pin. But Jarrett breaks up the pin. Steiner gets in Jarrett's face in anger, and Jarrett shoves Steiner. Steiner shoves back. THe two now come to blows as Booker rolls out of the ring. Later as the two heels are still fighting, Booker gets back into the ring. He throws an ax kick at Jarrett but Jarrett ducks and it hits Steiner. Jarrett throws some punches at Booker and whips Booker into the turnbuckles. Booker ducks a clothesline, rebounds, and hits a spinning wheel kick on Jarrett. Unknown to Booker, Chuck Palumbo has made his way to ringside. At an opportune time, with the referee focusing on Jarrett and Steiner, Palumbo drags Booker out of the ring and throws him into the guard rail, then walks away pretending like nothing happened. Just then, Jeff Jarrett walks over to the side of the ring while Steiner keeps arguing with the referee. A man climbs over the guard rail from the audience and picks up Jarrett's guitar. As Jarrett is looking at Booker T down on the floor, the man swings the guitar and shatters it over Jarrett's head. Jarrett falls back into the middle of the ring as the man backs his way up the aisle, removing the hood on his sweater to reveal the former Road Dogg, who Mike Tenay only refers to as "one of the famed Armstrong family." Crowd pops pretty big for Road Dogg, whatever they're calling him. Steiner gets away from the referee and makes a cover for the win at 20:18. 74. After the bell rings, Booker T gets up and realizes what just happened. He's absolutely livid. Steiner is in the ring celebrating with his title belt and Booker T climbs back in going nose to nose with the World champion as Halloween Havoc goes off the air. 72. Overall rating: 72.

Damn that conniving Hogan. Nice to see Giant with a real role here though. WCW historically never seemed to really find his "spot."

The Dirt Sheet - Saturday Week 4 October, 2001 WCW is riding a wave of momentum as they approach possibly their most anticipated PPV card since the reboot, and possibly since long before. Headlined by Scott Steiner defending the WCW World title against both Booker T and Jeff Jarrett in a triple-threat match, the card also features Sting vs. Chuck Palumbo, Dustin Rhodes vs. Kanyon in a street fight, Rob Van Dam defending the US title against Tommy Dreamer in what is essentially an ECW rules match (though WCW can't call it ECW rules due to the WWF owning that company's IP now), and Diamond Dallas Page teaming with Sean O'Haire to take on Buff Bagwell and Ric Flair. Aside from that last match that seems just sort of thrown together for no real reason, this is a pay-per-view with a pretty great build and one that I'm sure WCW officials are hoping will keep their momentum going. There's been very little word of Lex Luger's status since Perfection unceremoniously kicked him out of the group on Nitro as an excuse to write him off TV for a trip to rehab. It is unknown as of right now if Luger was released from the contract that makes him one of the highest-paid members of the roster at what is rumored to be around $700,000 per year. One source within WCW told me that Luger could still have at least a year left on his deal, and WCW may still be hoping that there is light at the end of the tunnel if they can still take advantage of his name value if he manages to come back clean and sober. Backstage at WCW the Halloween Havoc show is seen as the beginning of the road to Starrcade, as I'm told. With the winner of the Legends Cup tournament in November--at a show I am told will be called WCW Legends Cup--getting a World title shot at Starrcade, the tournament is likely to be a major focus for the coming month. This focus on in-ring product will be a welcome alternative from the soap opera-style of the WWF, though WCW still seems to be making no effort to directly compete against their former rival. Now for the Halloween Havoc preview: WCW Halloween Havoc Sunday Week 4 October, 2001 LIVE on Pay-Per-View! Triple Threat match for the WCW World Heavyweight Title (one fall to a finish): Scott Steiner © vs. Booker T vs. Jeff Jarrett Sting vs. Chuck Palumbo Diamond Dallas Page/Sean O'Haire vs. Ric Flair/Buff Bagwell Hardcore match for the WCW United States Title: Rob Van Dam © vs. Tommy Dreamer Street Fight: Dustin Rhodes vs. Kanyon WCW World Tag Team Title match: Team Canada (Mike Awesome/Lance Storm) © vs. Filthy Animals (Rey Mysterio Jr/Billy Kidman) Shane Helms vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr

WCW Nitro - Wednesday Week 3 October, 2001 (airs Friday Week 4 October, 2001) The pre-show between tapings saw John Cena and Shawn Stasiak go to a double count-out (47). And we begin the go-home edition of Nitro before Halloween Havoc 2001 with the familiar pyro display. The announce team remind us we will see the final two slots for the Legends Cup tournament filled tonight but as they're talking, Booker T's music plays and he walks to the ring with a purpose. Taking a microphone, Booker T says we're only a few days away from his chance to make history as a FIVE TIME WCW World Heavyweight champion. He says he's been putting in the work to make'em hurt and paying the cost to be the boss and he's ready to walk through a brick wall, fight a bear, lift a truck, and do whatever it takes to win that title again and finally shut Scott Steiner's big mouth up. Scott Steiner is out next with Midajah and goes to the ring himself. Steiner says Booker T can fight a bear all he wants, because a bear is a natural phenomenon (you can imagine for yourself how he pronounced that), but Big Poppa Pump is a genetic freak that surpasses all natural wildlife, and at Halloween Havoc he's going to rip Booker T to pieces. Not to be ignored, Jeff Jarrett comes out next and gets in the ring. He tells both men that they've forgotten one important thing: The Chosen One is also in this match, and forgetting him will be a huge mistake because he's on a mission to show WCW and all these idiots watching Nitro that he's going to be the face of pro wrestling. Surprisingly, Eric Bischoff comes out next on the stage. He says that he's really looking forward to the triple threat match at Halloween Havoc, but just as a little taste, he's going to set up a match for night: Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner will team up to take on Booker T and a partner of his choosing in the main event on Nitro! 72. After that confrontation we go back to ringside for a Legends Cup qualifier as Chuck Palumbo takes on Bam Bam Bigelow. THe outcome here was never really in question given the big push Palumbo has gotten lately, and the two men just didn't really click for some reason, but the fans are into Palumbo so much that the crowd reaction carried the match well enough. Palumbo wins via pinfall with a running powerslam to show off his strenght at 10:55. 47. After the match Ric Flair gets in the ring and grabs a microphone. He talks up Chuck Palumbo as the biggest badass WCW has seen in years, with the power to rip a tree in half with his bare hands. Flair says if Sting earns a spot in the Legends Cup later tonight WCW might have to have a replacement on standby, because the Stinger might not survive Halloween Havoc. 65. Next we cut backstage to DDP and Sean O'Haire. O'Haire congratulates his former partner for getting into the Legends Cup, and says that he still hasn't forgotten getting stabbed in the back and losing the tag team titles. Sooner or later, Palumbo will have to stop ducking him. DDP takes over here, and says that at Halloween Havoc he and O'Haire are going to dance with Ric Flair and Buff Bagwell, and both of them are going to FEEL. THE. BANG. 61. Team Extreme are out next as Tommy Dreamer has a match with Norman Smiley. Crowd had a good time trash talking Team Extreme but no one cared about Smiley. Dreamer gets the win after a piledriver at 6:38. 50. Shane Douglas and Danny Doring get in the ring next. Douglas says that their mission in WCW is to destroy Rob Van Dam, and the first step to that is Tommy Dreamer beating RVD from pillar to post Extreme-style at Halloween Havoc and taking the US title. 49. The next match is the last Legends Cup qualifier. Kanyon is out first, followed by STING! Crowd is on fire for this one as Kanyon has been getting a decent push lately and Sting is, well, Sting. They get a good amount of time for a TV match and put on a great contest with a hot crowd. Dustin Rhodes comes down to ringside and just stands there staring at Kanyon. Kanyon sees Rhodes, turns his attention away from Sting who he just planted with a bodyslam, and starts yelling at Rhodes. Dustin doesn't say a word, just standing there. Sting recovers, and Dustin points to Kanyon as if to say "look behind you." When Kanyon turns around he takes a couple of punches from Sting, followed by a whip into the corner, Stinger Splash, and a Scorpion Deathlock for the submission at 13:01. 71. After the match Sting leaves the ringside area while Kanyon is still down selling his legs. Dustin Rhodes takes a microphone into the ring. He says, "Kanyon, what are we doing here, man? You interfere in my match, I interfere in yours, you talk about how much you don't like me, I talk about how much I don't like you, what's the point, man? How about we settle this like men, man? Last week I challenged you to a street fight at Halloween Havoc. What do ya say?" Kanyon struggles to climb to his feet using the ropes to pull himself up. Rhodes hands Kanyon the mic, and Kanyon just says, "you're on." 61. Booker T comes back to the ring now. He says that Eric Bischoff just gave him a gift, because he gets to pick his partner to take on both of his opponents for Halloween Havoc and soften them up. He says anybody in the locker room would've wanted a shot at both Jarrett and Steiner, but he found someone he thinks is the best choice: and out comes Sean O'Haire to a decent pop from the crowd. 65. While Booker and O'Haire wait for their opponents, the announcers tell us they've been told something is going on backstage. We cut back to a hallway where Sting is staggering, followed closely by Chuck Palumbo and Ric Flair. Flair yells at Sting while Palumbo throws some heavy punches and forearms, ramming Sting into the hallway wall until WCW officials show up to separate them. 60. Main event time, and with Booker T and O'Haire already in the ring, Jeff Jarrett comes out next followed by Scott Steiner. Steiner and Jarrett clearly aren't too sure about each other, but they start with Jarrett in the ring against O'Haire. The two teams take their time and tell a great story, with some quick tagging early on until the heels cut off Sean O'Haire and beat on him for much of the match. O'Haire gets a couple of counters in, giving the crowd hope for a hot tag, until eventually he ducks a Scott Steiner clothesline and dives for it. Booker T gets the tag and is in like a ball of fire, dropping Steiner first, then Jarrett, then Steiner again, then Jarrett. The crowd is going nuts. Jarrett rolls to the floor and grabs his guitar, kneeling down beside the ring so Booker can't see it. Steiner tries to whip Booker into the ropes, but Booker reverses, sending Steiner, and Jarrett clocks him with a blind guitar shot by swinging it up over his head behind him. The guitar shatters into a million pieces but Steiner doesn't go down, instead turning around and staggering into a Bookend for the 1-2-3 at 16:12. Nitro goes off the air with the announcers reminding everyone watching to order Halloween Havoc this Sunday. 67. Overall rating: 68.

WCW Nitro - Wednesday Week 3 October, 2001 (airs Friday Week3 October, 2001) The pre-show saw Mark Jindrak defeat developmental talent CM Punk (37), Kanyon defeat Hugh Morrus (60), and Bam Bam Bigelow defeat Mike Sanders (41). The video screen comes alive as the opening sequence begins with a wide-ish shot of the crowd as the pyro goes off. The announcers welcome us to another edition of WCW Nitro on F/X and remind us that two more slots in the Legends Cup tournament will be decided tonight, but they're interrupted by Jeff Jarrett's music. Jarrett comes to the ring, guitar in one hand and microphone in the other. He tells the audience to shut their holes, which only brings on louder booing. Jarrett says it's about time WCW recognize the greatness of the Chosen One by finally giving him the World title shot he deserves, even though he has to go through two other men to get it. He says whether he beats Booker T or Scott Steiner at Halloween Havoc he's going to be leaving with the WCW World title around his waist, and there ain't a damn thing anybody else can do about it. Solid promo from a frankly underrated talent. 66. We cut backstage next as Chavo Guerrero Jr asks Shane Helms if Shane has decided to see the Light or not. Helms says he appreciates the offer but he's still thinking it over, and he wants to do what's right for him and his future. Chavo plays good guy here, saying he understands Shane's thinking and he's sure Shane will make the right decision. 51. Back to ringside and it's time for our first match of the evening, Billy Kidman vs. Elix Skipper. The two put on a standard cruiserweight style contest that would've been really cool in 1997 but is a bit old-hat in 2001. Kidman gets the pinfall after a shooting star press at 9:45. 44. After the match we go backstage to Kidman going back to the locker room. Rey Mysterio congratulates him on the win and says he's sure they'll win the tag titles at Halloween Havoc. Just then Mike Awesome and Lance Storm interrupt the two, laughing. Storm says that Mysterio and Kidman can't seriously believe they're going to win the tag titles from the greatest technical wrestler in the world and a big monster like Mike Awesome. Mysterio says to just wait and see. 49. We go now to Dustin Rhodes backstage. He says that after last week's Nitro, he's just about fed up with Kanyon sneak attacking him and blindsiding him all the time. He says if Kanyon really wants a fight, they should make it a FIGHT: a street fight at Halloween Havoc. Rhodes says it's time Kanyon puts up or shuts up. 53. Another promo and this time it's Scott Steiner with Midajah who is just as smoking hot as ever. Steiner rips into both Booker T and Jeff Jarrett, saying that Booker T has never had what it takes to stand up to the man with the largest arms in the world, and the only thing Jeff Jarrett's ever been "chosen" for is dead last for kickball in junior high. Steiner says that Big Poppa Pump is the champion because he's the greatest athlete WCW has ever seen, and now WCW has seen he's so good he needs two opponents at once, but he'll still win at Halloween Havoc. 67. Back to the ring again in a show that's been light on in-ring competition so far, but this should be a treat as we get Ric Flair vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. for a spot in the Legends Cup tournament. They don't disappoint as Rey flies all over the place and Flair does what Flair does, which is make his opponents look amazing. We get a ref bump when Flair dodges a dropkick by pulling referee Charles Robinson in his way. Rey sprinboards off the ropes and hits a springboard hurricanrana for a pin, but the referee is out. Rey gets up to check the ref, but Chavo Guerrero Jr comes out from under the ring and lays Rey out with a steel chair. The referee comes to as Chavo ducks down outside the ring and Flair crawls over to lay his arm over Mysterio for the 1-2-3 at 14:53. 67. Chavo gets in the ring after the bell and puts some more boots to Rey Mysterio Jr, yelling about how Rey made him do this, and if Rey had only seen The Light it wouldn't happen. Shane Helms comes running down the entrance way and slides in the ring. Chavo invites Helms over to help him beat up Mysterio and join The Light. Helms looks from Mysterio to Guerrero and back, as if he's trying to make up his mind. He steps forward and motions for Chavo to back up so he can take some shots at Rey, only to turn around and lay Chavo out with a sharp right hand. Chavo hits the mat and rolls out of the ring holding his face. Helms grabs a microphone and says he's made his decision, and he's decided he wants Chavo one on one at Halloween Havoc. 52. Next we get a video hyping up the hardcore match for the US title between champion Rob Van Dam and Team Extreme's Tommy Dreamer, highlighting that the two both came from the same company before WCW and they worked together to help build that company up to a cult favorite, then showing Dreamer's betrayal of RVD and the events leading up to this match. 40. Backstage again we go to Booker T for a promo. Booker T says that once again Scott Steiner avoids a one on one fight with someone he knows he can't beat. He says that Jeff Jarrett managed to weasel his way into the world title match by pure luck, but the win will be even sweeter when Booker T beats not one, but two of the biggest jackasses in WCW to win the title he never lost and become a FIVE TIME, FIVE TIME, FIVE TIME, WCW World Heavyweight champion. They're really putting some hype behind this match and I dig it. 71. Now we go to the ring for the main event, another Legends Cup qualifier between Buff Bagwell and Sean O'Haire. O'Haire is still kinda green but I like that he's getting quite a bit of ring time. They put on a decent power-based brawl that even includes a TEST OF STRENGTH~! that O'Haire wins until Bagwell throws a surprise headbutt. Finish saw Flair distract O'Haire by grabbing his foot from ringside, causing O'Haire to turn his attention to Flair and leave an opening for Buff to hit a yellow jacket suplex for the pin at 14:21. 57. After the match Flair joins Bagwell into the ring to celebrate both of them getting into the Legends Cup tournament. They start stomping on Sean O'Haire, until Diamond Dallas Page runs down and slides into the ring. Bagwell and Flair make a hasty retreat, and as they go back to the entrance Page calls for a microphone and tells Bagwell and Flair that it seems neither of them have a match at Halloween Havoc, and it turns out Page and O'Haire don't either, so he suggests that Bagwell and Flair take on himself and O'Haire and see how they do with even odds. Flair and Bagwell talk trash toward the ring and accept the challenge as they back away. 63. Overall rating: 64

The Dirt Sheet - Monday Week 3 October, 2001 Probably the biggest story out of WCW lately involves Lex Luger, one of the biggest stars in the company and, up until a couple of weeks ago, a member of the top heel faction Perfection. Recently he seems to have been showing up to tapings under the influence. After several failed drug tests, WCW management finally seem to have had enough and sent Luger to rehab. I am told Luger was furious at the decision and demanded his release, but was denied as WCW are not ready to give up on the star power he brings to the table when he's sober. Even at Luger's age and despite having lost a few steps over time, he's still quite popular and could at least be used to rub up against upcoming talent and get them over. That will have to wait, though, as it seems Luger will be gone for at least several months, assuming he comes back at all. The angle on Nitro with Perfection kicking him out of the group was a cover story for the trip to rehab to explain his disappearance, and the possibility is open for a babyface return and feud with the group if he can get his personal issues sorted. Ratings for Nitro continue their steady state, knocking on the door of half a million viewers but not quite breaking the threshold. With a new set of tapings coming up this week, we should see more of the stage set for Halloween Havoc at the end of the month. Havoc is always an important tentpole event for WCW, with Eric Bischoff said to consider Havoc the most important event in the past. The new regime seems to be thinking of Starrcade as its Wrestlemania-equivalent show, but Havoc should still prove to be a major event with some marquee matches and a great deal of hype. Already we know we'll be seeing Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Booker T in a three way for the WCW title, and the two heels-one babyface structure is intriguing. I wouldn't be surprised to see Perfection get involved, but I'm hoping we get some kind of winner over a messy no contest like we saw on this past Nitro. I am also still hearing some talk of Nitro going live and returning to touring in the future, though as always no decisions have been made yet. Sources say WCW leadership, especially Eric Bischoff, are very eager to at least make Nitro a live show, but others in the leadership group are hesitant to spend the extra money that going live would cost. Touring is another point of debate: some, again I'm told with Bischoff in the lead, want to see WCW go back on the road at least for Nitro. Others, though, see that move as an unnecessary increase in expenses and they aren't ready for such a change yet. With Nitro tapings consistently sold out--albeit in a relatively small venue--some higher-ups in WCW don't think the extra expense and effort of touring or going live would be worth the potential bump in ratings and ticket sales.

WCW Nitro - Wednesday Week 1 October, 2001 (airs Friday Week 2 October, 2001) The second episode of Nitro for October starts with a pre-show after the brief intermission. Mike Awesome defeated Jamie Knoble (54). The main show begins with the familiar pyro display followed immediately by Perfection coming out to the ring, noticeably without Lex Luger who they all beat into the mat on the previous episode. Ric Flair takes the microphone first. He says, "every since we cut the dead weight from Perfection last week, WOOOOOOO, everyone's been asking WHY. WHY did we kick out Lex Luger? WHY did we suddenly turn on one of our own? WHY him and not someone else? Well let me tell you something. I've known Lex Luger his entire career. I helped bring Lex Luger into this business because I saw a lot of potential in Lex Luger. But potential is all he's ever had, and eventually we realized that Perfection will be more perfect without Lex Luger, WOOOOOOO." Scott Steiner takes the mic next. He jokes with the others about how everyone thought he was going to kick out Chuck Palumbo, and says that Palumbo played it so well Steiner almost believed that himself. They share a laugh about the look on Luger's face when the punches started, and how he looked laying in a heap on the mat. Steiner says that Big Poppa Pump only surrounds himself with the best, and the four men--and one woman--the audience is looking at are the ones it will take to keep the World Heavyweight title where it belongs. 67. After that opening we get a match between John Cena and Danny Doring, and holy damn do the fans not care about Doring. Cena got a bit of a pop when he first came out, but Doring without Dreamer--who the announcers say isn't here tonight--or Douglas--who the announcers say is probably preparing for his qualifier match later--is just a dud. After a meh brawl Cena gets the win via pinfall after a Spin-out powerbomb at 8:57. 27. We go to a backstage promo now with Sean O'Haire. O'Haire says he hasn't forgotten about Palumbo betraying him to join Perfection. He says he got a little bit of revenge seeing Palumbo tap out in War Games, but the next step is next week: he's going to take on Buff Bagwell, he's going to win, and he's going to go into the Legends Cup tournament ready to win some gold. 50. Back to ringside for another Legends Cup qualifier. This time Diamond Dallas Page takes on Lance Storm. Storm comes to the ring with his tag title belt but without Mike Awesome. DDP comes out to a big pop from the crowd. They get a decent amount of time for a Nitro match and take advantage by putting on a great match, Storm trying to tie Page in knots while Page tries to keep his distance and use his height advantage to brawl. Lance Storm hits a back suplex and goes for a submission hold, but Torrie Wilson comes out to ringside. Storm sees her and takes a step back, looking around for Kronik who he figures must be close by. Torrie just stands there waving at him, and when he isn't immediately attacked Storm stands by the ropes talking trash to Torrie. Unbeknownst to Storm, DDP has gotten to his feet and Storm turns into a Diamond Cutter. DDP gets the win via pinfall at 10:49. 64. We go backstage now where we see Torrie Wilson again, this time with Brian Adams and Bryan Clark. They enter Bischoff's office and Torrie asks for another shot at the tag team titles. Bischoff says Kronik had their chance and they blew it, so back to the back of the line. Instead, the Filthy Animals will get the next shot at the tag titles at Halloween Havoc. 45. Another Legends Cup qualifier is up next with Dustin Rhodes taking on Shane Douglas. This is another entertaining match, but it's all brawling compared to the previous match that had some technical wrestling mixed in. Rhodes and Douglas really go at each other until about 10 minutes in when Kanyon runs to the ring and attacks Dustin Rhodes right in front of the referee. Dustin Rhodes wins via disqualification at 10:19 and Shane Douglas can't believe what just happened. 66. Backstage again we see Rob Van Dam sitting on top of the arena looking out over the Las Vegas strip. He says, "You know Tommy, you and me, we used to be a part of something important. We helped define a whole new style of wrestling in America, and we helped build the kind of raw, uncut, unedited, unfiltered wrestling company that no one had ever seen before. And now, you running around with Shane Douglas and Danny Doring, calling yourselves 'Team Extreme,' all you're doing is making a joke of it all. You wanna go back to our roots at Halloween Havoc, Tommy? Be careful what you wish for." 40. We're backstage again with Sting. He tells us he has a Legends Cup qualifying match against Kanyon next week, and it's his shot at becoming WCW World Heavyweight champion once again so he's not going to take that opportunity lightly. But, he says he's also got something else on his mind: teaching a young upstart a lesson at Halloween Havoc. He says that he's going to prove Chuck Palumbo isn't ready to be in the same room one on one with the Stinger, and at Halloween Havoc it's gonna be SHOWTIME. 66. Next is our main event, with Booker T taking on Jeff Jarrett to determine the #1 contender to the World title at Halloween Havoc. Tony Schiavone tells us that both of these guys have earned a spot in the Legends Cup, but if either of them happens to defeat Scott Steiner at Halloween Havoc, then Steiner will take the place of the man that beat him in the tournament. They put in a really good match with plenty of time until Buff Bagwell and Chuck Palumbo both run in and attack both men. The referee calls for the bell and rules the match a no contest at 15:10. 58. After the match, Scott Steiner and Ric Flair come to the stage and join up with Bagwell and Palumbo to laugh at Booker and Jarrett, thinking they've just cost both of them a shot at Steiner's championship. But Eric Bischoff comes out next, and announces that because neither man won this match, the World title match of Halloween Havoc will be a triple threat match, with Scott Steiner defending the WCW World Heavyweight title against both Booker T and Jeff Jarrett, and the first fall wins it all! 72. Overall rating: 63.

WCW Nitro - Wednesday Week 1 October, 2001 (airs Friday Week 1 October, 2001) The first set of Nitro tapings began just a few days after Fall Brawl with Mark Jindrak defeating Air Paris (38) and Sean O'Haire vs. Rick Steiner going to a double count-out (63) on the pre-show. The main show started with a video package of still photos highlighting the War Games match from Fall Brawl, with the announcers giving us a run-down of the events of the match, including focusing on Sting getting the win for his team by forcing Chuck Palumbo to tap out. 69. After the video we go to the arena for the opening pyro display, and before the announcers can even welcome us Booker T's familiar music starts playing, bringing on a positive reaction from the crowd. Booker comes to the ring with a purpose and takes a microphone as he climbs in. He says, "I've said it already, I'm gonna say it again, and I won't repeat myself later: Eric Bischoff, bring yo narrow behind out here, because I want a shot at the World Heavyweight title, SUCKAAAAA." Instead of Eric Bischoff, we get Jeff Jarrett out to the ring. Booker T looks incredibly irritated at Jarrett's presence and asks what he's doing out there. Jarrett says he's had just about enough of not getting his just due in WCW. He says Booker T didn't even win a match himself at Fall Brawl, his partner did, but Jarrett won his match. Jarrett says that means if anyone should get a title shot, it's Double-J. Bischoff comes out to the ring now. He says that both men make a good point. On one hand, Jeff Jarrett did win his match at Fall Brawl, and he's got a solid claim to be #1 contender. On the other hand, Booker T has been at the top of his game lately too, so he's got a solid claim himself. Bischoff says the only fair way to solve this problem is for Booker and Jarrett to face each other, and since they both have Legends Cup qualifiers tonight, they'll take each other on next week on Nitro, with the winner facing Scott Steiner for the World title at Halloween Havoc. 65. Next is the opening match, with The Light (Chavo and Animal) taking on America's Most Wanted. AMW have solid potential in the ring but the audience really just doesn't care about them yet. The Light get the win when Animal pins Chris Harris after a power bomb at 8:39. 45. The feed cuts backstage now, with DDP cutting a promo. He says he's got a match against Lance Storm next week on Nitro, with the winner moving on to the Legends Cup. Page says if anyone deserves to be the first Legends Cup winner it's him, because he's clawed and fought his way to the top of WCW when no one believed in him except the fans. He says that next week, he's going to earn his spot in the Legends Cup, and then he's going to continue clawing and fighting so he can earn that title shot at Starrcade. Good promo from Page, and good to see they're hyping up this new Legends Cup thing. 59. Back to the ring, Rob Van Dam comes out with the US title around his waist. Climbing into the ring, he says that at Fall Brawl he had Kanyon beaten but had to settle for a disqualification win because Team Extreme can't stay out of his business. RVD says that he's not interested in DQ wins, or count out wins, but he is interested in revenge wins, and his revenge is long over due. He calls out Tommy Dreamer, and says that he wants Dreamer one on one the way they used to do it: no DQ, no count out, falls count anywhere, and hardcore as it gets. Tommy Dreamer comes out alone next and stands on the stage. He says that if anyone knows hardcore, it's him, and if RVD is willing to put the US title on the line in this match he'll accept. RVD says he'll see Dreamer at Halloween Havoc. 59. We stay ringside next as John Cena comes out to take on Disco Inferno. No real doubt as to how this one was going to go, but the audience at least is starting to take to John Cena. Cena gets the win via pinfall after a spin-out powerbomb at 8:53. 39. After the match the five members of Perfection, plus Midajah, come out to the ring next. Scott Steiner takes a microphone, looking angry. Chuck Palumbo noticeably looks upset due to taking the loss at Fall Brawl. Steiner says that at Fall Brawl, Perfection had a set back. They got embarrassed. Steiner says that he's been let down, and all of their millions of fans around the world have been let down. The audience boos that line, as none of them like these guys. Steiner says that it's time for a reckoning, and it's time for Perfection to cut the "dead weight" out of the group. As he says this, he steps in Chuck Palumbo's face, who puts his hands up as if to beg Steiner to reconsider. Steiner gets right in Palumbo's face, and says "sometimes, a crew has to make hard decisions, look deep inside themselves and realize that one man just ain't carrying his weight, and they gotta cut that man out like a tumor." Suddenly, Buff Bagwell throws a right hand at Lex Luger. Flair joins in on the attack, as does Palumbo. Steiner joins in as well as Luger goes down. The four men pound and stomp Luger into the mat for several minutes and leave him laying. 64. Next the announcers tell us we're about to see the first Legends Cup qualifier with Jeff Jarrett taking on Rob Van Dam. Jarrett tries to keep the match grounded, using his technical skills to try to control RVD, while RVD goes for high-risk attacks and quick reversals. They put on a great match, but during the match Tommy Dreamer shows up on the stage just standing there watching. RVD, who had just dropped Jarrett with a DDT, loses focus and stands at the ropes talking trash to Dreamer. The referee stands by RVD trying to tell Dreamer to go back to the back and not to get involved in the match. While this distraction is going on, Shane Douglas runs in through the crowd and delivers a low blow to RVD from behind. Douglas slides back out of the ring as Jarrett gets back to his feet. Seeing the opportunity, Jarrett puts on the figure four and RVD has no choice but to tap. Jarrett gets the win via submission at 10:29. 65. Backstage, Shane Helms is sitting in the locker room. Chavo Guerrero Jr approaches Helms, and says not to worry because he's just there to talk. Chavo says he saw Helms's win at Fall Brawl, and Vampiro was impressed by his efforts. Chavo says he's there at Vampiro's request to offer The Light to Shane Helms. Helms looks a little confused, but says he'll think about it. 44. Moving to another area backstage, Chuck Palumbo is standing by with Ric Flair. The two of them laugh about how they had Lex Luger so fooled, acting like Palumbo was going to be the one kicked out of Perfection, but it was really Luger all along that was the weak link. Palumbo says that even so, he's got a bone to pick with Sting. Palumbo accepts that Sting maded him tap out at War Games, but if Sting has the spine to go one on one he won't be so lucky. From the side Sting, who heard the whole thing, walks up and gets in Palumbo's face. Sting says, "you wanna dance with the Stinger, big boy? You and me at Halloween Havoc." 71. The main event is up next, which the announcers tell us is another Legends Cup qualifier. Mike Awesome is out first with his tag title belt over his shoulder, followed by Booker T who gets a big reaction. Awesome uses his size to take an early advantage, beating Booker T around the ring with Booker making Awesome look like a monster. Finish saw Mike Awesome get Booker T up for the Awesome Bomb but Booker drops out of it and throws some haymakers that rock Awesome. Booker T ducks a clothesline and hits the ropes, delivering a pump kick to Awesome's gut. Booker hits the ropes again and puts Awesome down with the Harlem Ax Kick, then pops up with a spinnarooni. Mike Awesome climbs to his feet, staggering, and throws another clothesline that Booker ducks and catches Awesome with a Book End. Booker T gets the win via pinfall at 11:33. 66. Overall rating: 66.

Much appreciated! The Dirt Sheet - Monday Week 1 October, 2001 Preliminary figures suggest that last night's Fall Brawl PPV reached somewhere above 450,000 viewers, including 208,000 PPV buys. If these numbers hold, they would represent a decrease of about 4,000 buys and 8,000-9,000 viewers on regular TV from the previous month's Mayhem, headlined by a tag team match between Booker T/Sting and Scott Steiner/Buff Bagwell. The viewer numbers are so close to last month that this decrease is mostly neglible, as it might just be noise. Still, I'm sure WCW leaders expected the return of a traditional War Games for the first time since 1997 would've drawn more. Still, the good news is that the event was still a sell-out, and I am told the positive attendance numbers are contributing to further discussions of expanding the schedule to incorporate one or two extra non-televised events in Las Vegas during Nitro taping weeks, as well as discussions of whether to take the show back out on the road and tour the US when the contract with the Hard Rock Cafe Arena expires after November. That would potentially allow WCW to make a triumphant return to the Mid-Atlantic area for Starrcade, though it's important to note that no decisions have been made as of yet. Business issues aside, the creative direction of Fall Brawl has garnered quite a bit of praise. The booking so far has been reasonably logical and interesting, and some breakout talents appear to be on the rise. Most prominent among these are Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo, who split as a tag team recently and aligned themselves with the two main eventer factions. Though Palumbo took the fall in the War Games match, there's no shame in taking a loss to Sting and there is now a possibility of Palumbo getting into a program with Sting to get his revenge, or any of the other top stars, before the eventual blow-off match with O'Haire. Lower on the card, Shane Helms getting the win over Shane Douglas--who is currently in an on-going program with US champion Rob Van Dam--was an interesting surprise. Giving Douglas a clean loss seems like an odd choice under the circumstances, but I am told by sources that the match finish was Shane Douglas's idea. He reportedly sees some potential in Helms, and offered to put the younger man over to help give him a boost. This is the kind of creative cooperation that is necessary to get the locker room back in shape and keep the company moving. Though Fall Brawl told a lot of good stories, they're all essentially still open, so where WCW goes in the next few weeks on Nitro will be very interesting, especially with the new Legends Cup concept. I am told this idea is directly borrowed from New Japan's G1 Climax tournament: a round-robin style tournament that plays out over several weeks, with the winner getting a lot of shine and a shot at the top title in the promotion. This emphasis on in-ring stories strongly contrasts with the WWF's more soap opera style product, though WCW representatives still insist they have no interest in directly competing with the WWF at this time.

Good show. I like that it really feels like a Nitro from that era.

WCW Fall Brawl - Sunday Week 4 September, 2001 Fall Brawl began for the live crowd with a pre-show that started off with John Cena defeating Shannon Moore (34), followed by TV Champion Shawn Stasiak and Mark Jindrak defeating Disco Inferno and Alex Wright (38), and lastly Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Rick Steiner (59). The broadcast kicked off with a nice pyro display over the two-ring setup and the announce team welcoming us to the MGM Grand Garden Arena where a capacity crowd of 17,500 people have filled the building in anticipation of the return of War Games. First out is Shane Helms, plucky as ever, followed by Shane Douglas, who stops on the stage and tells his two comrades, Tommy Dreamer and Danny Doring, to go back to the locker room area. Clearly Douglas thinks he can handle Helms on his own. For most of this match, he's right, as he takes advantage and gets plenty of heat on Helms. The younger man just won't stay down though, and manages to get some shots of his own in by using his speed and endurance. As Douglas slowly realized he might have underestimated his opponent he kept glancing up at the entrance way as if he was expecting Team Extreme to come help him if he needed it, but they never showed up. Finish saw Douglas miss a corner clothesline and stumble into a hurricanrana, followed by a Vertebreaker and a pinfall win for Shane Helms at 10:10. Really good chemistry from these two and a genuinely surprising finish make this a very entertaining opener on. 65. After the match Shane Helms rolls out of the ring and celebrates with some fans outside like he can't believe he won and frankly, neither can I. Shane Douglas comes to his senses and is livid. THe video screen comes to life above the entrance showing Rob Van Dam standing next to a locker room door labeled "Team Extreme", and he's shoved a chair under the door knob so it can't turn. The door itself keeps shaking over and over and we hear the muffled yells of Tommy Dreamer and Danny Doring. Looks like RVD made sure that no one was going to come help Douglas. 49. The Tag Team titles are on the line next as Team Canada defends against Kronik. Lance Storm is a bit of the odd man out here as his partner and both opponents are big powerhouses, but he and Awesome show their talent as a team by tagging in and out, using Storm's quickness and Awesome's power in combination to keep Brian Adams in the ring and isolated. After a decent contest, Lance Storm slides one of the title belts into the ring to Awesome and climbs on the apron to distract the referee. Awesome blasts Bryan Clark with the belt and throws it out of the ring, making the pin. Storm tells the referee to pay attention, and runs into the ring to stop Adams from breaking the pin. Team Canada get the win and retain the Tag Team titles via pinfall at 11:58 when Mike Awesome pinned Bryan Clark. 55. Straight into more action the next match is the Filthy Animals vs The Light. Oddly enough Vampiro isn't at ringside. Is this the night for heels to underestimate their opponents? Keeping the trend of one odd person in a tag team match, we have three cruiserweights and Animal in this one, though despite being much bigger and slower than the others held his own quite well by slowing the pace down and cutting off his opponents to work them over on his side of the ring and keep them grounded. The finish saw a flurry of false finishes with Chavo and Rey swapping pin attempts before Kidman came in to break one up, followed by Animal who runs in to fight off Kidman, and the whole thing devolves into a brawl. Animal and Kidman spill out to the outside, while Chavo whips Rey into the ropes only to take a springboard hurricanrana for his troubles and the pin. Filthy Animals defeat The Light when Rey Mysterio Jr pinned Chavo Guerrero Jr at 10:08. 62. After the match Vampiro comes out onto the stage as Animal and Chavo make a hasty retreat. Vampiro rants at Rey and Kidman, telling them that they only got lucky and they will see The Light or perish. 49. We get a bit of a break now as Eric Bischoff comes out to the ring with his cocky little strut. He gets into the ring and takes a microphone. Bischoff announces that in November, WCW will begin the first ever Legends Cup tournament: a roun-robin style tournament with two blocks of four competitors each. Each man will go one on one against each other man in his block, receiving two points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. At the Legends Cup pay-per-view in November, the top two in each block will face off to determine the block winner, and the two block winners will face off to determine who wins the Legends Cup, and the winner of the Legends Cup will face the WCW World Heavyweight Champion at the mother of them all, STARRCADE! And through the month of October, tune in to Nitro to see qualifying matchups to determine the blocks. Cool little idea WCW has here, not a King of the Ring style tournament but also not a simple battle royal, and it opens some interesting matchup possibilities depending on who is in it. 62. Back to in-ring action now as the WCW United States title is on the line. Kanyon comes out first looking real-life crazy, followed by the reigning champion RVD who we've already seen once tonight. I expected a good match from two of the most innovative people in the business and I wasn't disappointed. They spilled out to the ring and brawled through the crowd a bit before winding up back in the ring. Kanyon goes for a Flatliner but RVD does a standing front flip to avoid it, immediately hitting the ropes and landing a Rolling Thunder on Kanyon, then goes to the top rope for a Five-Star Frog Splash. Suddenly Tommy Dreamer runs out of the crowd and pushes RVD off the top rope. RVD comes crashing down and Dreamer goes on the attack, putting the boots to RVD. The referee calls for the DQ and RVD retains the US title. 61. Danny Doring and Shane Douglas come to the ring as well. The three men beat down RVD, with the camera picking up Douglas talking trash like "you think you put one over on us huh?" The three men leave RVD laying as WCW officials come to the ring to separate them. 45. Up next is another grudge match between Jeff Jarrett and Konnan. These two veterans showed why they've been in the business as such a high level for so long as they put on a surprisingly technical match, trading holds and reversals and generally staying grounded. Still, their skill and experience showed as they made this match--which was clearly planned to contract with the wild brawl the War Games match is sure to be--entertaining as well. Finish saw Jeff Jarrett reverse a ziplock into a figure four for the submission win at 14:35. 71. We cut to the back where Sting, Booker T, and DDP deliver a promo with Sean O'Haire and Dustin Rhodes standing with them. The three men trade off taking shots at Perfection and expressing how glad they are to finally get those five men in a cage. Booker T mentions again that after they take down Perfection tonight, he wants the WCW World Heavyweight title. 68. Next the cameras cut to a different backstage area where Perfection are looking cocky and sure of themselves. All five men take a turn on the mic. Chuck Palumbo taunts his former partner Sean O'Haire, while Scott Steiner says Booker T isn't man enough to be World champion and Ric Flair hypes up his War Games experience. 66. Now it's the moment we've all been waiting for, as the promos have given the crew time to set up the cage around the two rings. Booker T is out first for the Allies, followed by Buff Bagwell for perfection. They take it slowly, feeling each other out. After two minutes, Ric Flair comes out, making it a 2 on 1. Booker T puts up a valiant fight and holds them off briefly, but they end up gaining an advantage and start laying in to Booker. After another two minutes, Diamond Dallas Page runs out to even things up. He takes the fight to Bagwell and Flair who by now are starting to get tired, but soon the numbers game catches up to him with Booker recovering. After another two minutes, Scott Steiner comes out and immediately starts brawling with Booker T while Bagwell and Flair double team Page. Another two minutes and Dustin Rhodes is in the ring, moving to help Page and evening his fight against Bagwell and Flair until, after two more minutes, Chuck Palumbo gets into the cage, and now we've got a 4 on 3 fight going on with Flair and Page already bleeding all over the place and the crowd going nuts. After two more minutes, Sean O'Haire comes running to the rings and immediately starts brawling with Chuck Palumbo, getting another big pop from the crowd. Now it's O'Haire fighting Palumbo, Booker brawling with Steiner, and Sting and Dustin Rhodes taking on Buff Bagwell and Ric Flair in a sort of tornado tag match within a match. Another two minutes pass and Lex Luger is out, followed two minutes later by Sting, and now we're in THE MATCH BEYOND. These two teams put the War in War games as they really go to battle with each other. Everyone but Sting ends up bleeding from having their face smashed into the cage, and Perfection's strategy becomes trying to isolate someone with Flair so he could put on a figure four, but every time he gets the hold on someone, another one of the Allies manages to break it up. On the other side, the clear choice for a submission hold is Sting, as his Scorpion Deathlock has been making fools tap for a couple decades at this point. In the end, it's the Scorpion Deathlock that wins, with Sting locking it on to Chuck Palumbo while Sting's partners manage to successfully hold off the rest of Perfection until Chuck Palumbo taps. The Allies get the win via submission at 29:39, and the victors celebrate in the ring as the broadcast goes off. 69. Overall show rating: 68.

The Dirt Sheet - Saturday Week 4 September, 2001 Ratings for WCW continue to fluctuate between 450,000 and 485,000 or so per week. This puts them consistently at about half the viewership of the WWF's flagship show, RAW is WAR, and a bit more than half the viewership of Smackdown. Though ratings don't seem to be increasing, this isn't necessarily bad news: Nitro is stuck in a late night slot on Friday nights, usually considered the death slot for TV shows, but it's holding steady anyway. In other WCW news, I am told that Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff have settled their long-lasting tension, as both men decided to put the future of WCW ahead of their past disagreements. This can only serve to help the backstage environment in WCW, which despite the company's recent successful reboot has been suffering due to several incidents and personality clashes. There are high hopes in the company as they move into Fall Brawl, though this is essentially a one-match card. The return of War Games--indeed, the first traditional war games match since Fall Brawl 1997 when the NWO defeated the Four Horsement when Curt Hennig, after receiving his place in the group via an emotional and clearly heartfelt promo by Arn Anderson, turned on the Horsemen and joined the NWO. It's been said that the finish of that match killed Winston-Salem for WCW forever, so I imagine WCW Will be hoping for a better reception this time. Of course, I have to mention that WCW did War Games matches in 1998 and 2000 as well, but those were modified version, heavily modified in the case of the 2000 match. I am very much looking forward to seeing the return of the traditional War Games match, and the ten men involved are all capable of putting on a hell of a match. While most fans will be ordering the PPV to see War Games, there are some other potential gems on the card too. Kanyon vs. Rob Van Dam for the US title is sure to be a sleeper hit and possibly match of the night, and Jeff Jarrett vs. Konnan should be more than decent considering the two veterans involved. Here's a full show preview: WCW Fall Brawl Sunday Week 4 September, 2001 LIVE on pay-per-view! War Games: The Allies (Booker T/Sting/Diamond Dallas Page/Sean O'Haire/Dustin Rhodes) vs. Perfection (Scott Steiner/Lex Luger/Buff Bagwell/Ric Flair/Chuck Palumbo) WCW US title match: Kanyon vs. Rob Van Dam © WCW Tag Team title match: Kronik (Brian Adams/Bryan Clark) w/Torrie Wilson vs. Team Canada (Mike Awesome/Lance Storm) © Konnan vs. Jeff Jarrett Billy Kidman/Rey Mysterio Jr vs. The Light (Chavo Guerrero Jr/Animal) w/Vampiro Shane Douglas vs. Shane Helms