mrwright86

I'm looking for a new name for a reunited and now heel Cryme Tyme. This is in mid-2011, after Shad's heel turn and subsequent release with Shad now back in WWE on Raw playing the same serious, bad ass type character he had before the release while JTG is still the loudmouth heel he became after turning heel on NXT. I'm also considering a group with R-Truth (2011 conspiracy version!), and really like the name House of Truth for the stable, but that's obviously been used in ROH, so I'm thinking simply "Nothing But The Truth".

I do like this, definitely want to put an enforcer type in the group. Was considering Eugene, renouncing the character and claiming her put it all on to make it WWE

I'm looking for a new name for Scotty 2 Hotty to fit an alliance with Gregory Helms in 2006. Helms has just turned to Gregory Helms and he's convinced Scotty to reject the fans and denounce his fun loving past and become a serious competitor like him. Was thinking of just using his real name, and I might, I think I want to at least keep "Scott" as a part of it Also potentially a tag team name for the duo/group?

Any thoughts on individuals names for Booker T and Stevie Ray in 1992 WWF? They’re going to be managed by Slick, who is also managing Ice Train (I’ve gone with the genius name of “Ice Train Jones” here) and will all be babyfaces. I quite like the idea of keeping the Harlem Heat name, but am open to suggestions!

Has anyone got a Damage CTRL logo in gif style?

WCW THUNDER FEBRUARY 1ST, 2001 HEARNES CENTER - COLUMBIA, MISSOURI Tony Schiavone, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and "Macho Man" Randy Savage were on hand to welcome everyone to this historic edition of Thunder! They hyped the kick off of Thunder's qualifiers for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament with Owen Hart taking on Shane Douglas, Billy Kidman against Rob Van Dam and in the main event, Abyss against the eleven-time champion Ric Flair! VS. NWA WORLDS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER: Owen Hart defeated Shane Douglas (11:58) - One of the men Thunder General Manager Hulk Hogan singled out for praise, Owen Hart put himself right on track as he successfully qualified for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament with a victory over Shane Douglas. Tony Schiavone reminded everyone that Owen made his in-ring WCW debut in 1999 in a match with Douglas, a match that Owen won, if only by disqualification. This time it was an even affair, but the result had no question marks thanks to a submission with the Sharpshooter Following a commercial break, Owen Hart met General Manager Hulk Hogan in the backstage area. Hogan congratulated Owen on his victory and told him that this was exactly what he expected when he talked him up a couple of weeks ago. Owen thanked him and said that it was long overdue for him to get this type of opportunity, saying he wants to wear a World Heavyweight title ""that I respect"". Hogan said that Owen doesn't need him telling him what to do, but just know that he has all the tools to win the tournament. Hulk Hogan then walked off but was stopped when Queen's Court approached! Sherri Martel asked Hogan if he had seen what Joanie Lee did at Souled Out, because as a reminder; Lee destroyed Lita. Hogan said that wasn't exactly how he saw it, but there was no doubting that Lee was damned impressive. Martel then wanted to know why Lee is having to defend the WCW Women's World title again tonight against Faby Apache, to which Hogan explained that tonight is a big night and while he agrees that Lee is impressive, she's only defended her title once since winning it at Starrcade so he thinks another defence tonight would be good for Lee and good for the women's division. It was clear that Martel wasn't going to change Hogan's mind, so she ushered for Madusa and Lee to follow her but Lee turned back, got right in Hogan's face and told him not to mess with her! VS. Taz defeated Stevie Richards (1:11) - Richards was clearly concerned and he had every reason to be when he rushed right into a t-bone suplex, followed up immediately with the Tazmission for the dominant victory The victorious Taz was joined in the ring by Erazo, Low Ki and Little Jeanne, following the formation of their union at Souled Out. Taz spoke first, saying he'll let Erazo do the talking, but suffice to say, this group of people made an impact at Souled Out. He handed over to Erazo who was more colourful in his words and attitude, saying they all share the same home, the same attitude and the same fight! He said that Taz is the man in charge and that ten months ago, he and Low Ki approached him in ECW and Taz slapped the taste out of their mouths! They tried to speak, but he did again, this time harder but when they came back a third time, that's when they realised they had earned some respect and from then on, they've been waiting for the right moment. He then introduced "The Brooklyn Bitch", Little Jeanne who said that she was done being called "Little", saying people looked at Taz and if they called him "Little", he put them to sleep! She revealed that she was trained by the same man who trained Taz, a man who didn't give a damn about size and taught her to fight for what she wants, so she's honouring that man by taking the name of Jeanne Rodz, "and yeah, you can call me the Brooklyn Bitch". Taz then addressed the Hardy Boyz and Lita, saying they took the opportunities from them, so what happened at Souled Out is just a taste. He said that Lita felt first hand what Jeanne will do, saying Jeanne is now free to be her true-self and told Lita to watch and understand what she has coming" VS. Jeanne Rodz defeated Estrellita (9:47) - The former Little Jeanne has always been an impressive athlete, but the new attitude gave her a newfound edge. Her opponent Estrellita however is no slouch, going toe-to-toe with WCW Women's World champion Joanie Lee in "The Glamazon's" debut match at World War 3, lasting nearly ten minutes and so when Rodz locked her in and made her submit to a scissored armbar, it will have certainly made people notice Backstage, Jeremy Borash was standing by with Chuck Palumbo & David Flair. Borash noted that next week, Palumbo will get the opportunity to qualify for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament when he takes on The American Nightmare, a man who Palumbo came up short against a couple of weeks ago. Palumbo said that match was in the past and sure, he wishes he had won but know he has the experience of being in the ring with Dustin so he can take it forward and do better this time. Borash then asked David about his absence from the tournament, but David said that he would have liked to be in it, but he understands why and honestly, he's looking forward to supporting Chuck in his efforts because he believes that he can do it. Suddenly, Palumbo & Flair tensed up as The Nightmare Family approached. Dustin told them not to worry, they aren't here for violence, only to send a message to Palumbo; ""impress me"". With that, the trio walked off! That was until Daffney returned, waved and in a girly voice said "hi David" before giggling and walking off again! "Impress me, what's that about" asked Palumbo, but David wasn't paying attention VS. NWA WORLDS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER: Rob Van Dam defeated Billy Kidman (14:36) - Both men had tough matches at Souled Out, but the fact that RVD was even walking after being on the receiving end of a piledriver through the table in his match with Rhino spoke volumes. Just a matter of weeks ago, they were teaming together against TSE but you wouldn't have guessed it tonight as they threw everything at each other, with both men looking to advance into the tournament, breaking out breathtaking moves with a highlight being Kidman landing his patended Shooting Star Press from the top rope, right onto RVD on the outside! In the end, despite and even, back-and-forth contest, it was RVD who was able to land the Five Star Frog Splash to win the match Following the hard fought match, Rob Van Dam helped Billy Kidman to his feet and the two men shook hands, showing their respect for one another before Kidman and Torrie Wilson left the ring to allow RVD his moment The second hour of Thunder began with the arrival of Rey Mysterio Jr. The man who challenged for Kurt Angle's WCW World Heavyweight title walked out with a slight limp, but he appeared to be in good spirits. He thanked the fans for their support and immediately accepted that despite losing at Souled Out and honestly feeling pretty down about it the last couple of days, the words of praise and support he had received made him realise that he made a lot of people proud and inspired a lot of people as well. He recounted a story about meeting a young fan at the airport earlier today who told him that he wants to be just like him and how he loved watching him at Souled Out and that the parents had told him that he hasn't stopped talking about him because it showed that size doesn't matter, it's what's in your heart that counts. As the fans were showing their appreciation, suddenly Sonny Siaki walked out along with Miss Gorgeous George and he wasn't impressed. He told Rey that no, he was a failure because despite all of his effort, the fact is that he lost! And how has Hulk Hogan reacted to that; by rewarding him with a bye into the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament while he has been completely overlooked! He said it makes him sick because he should have been in that tournament because he would win it! Rey told Siaki that he actually agrees with him, he shouldn't have been given a bye and he told Hogan that, but the General Manager overruled him, so if he has a problem, he needs to take it up with Hulk. Siaki smirked and told Rey not to worry because he plans to, but right now, he wants to deal with Rey first! Sonny Siaki started walking down to the ring, removing his shirt as he went while in the ring, Rey Mysterio Jr. prepared for a fight. Siaki stopped short just outside the ring, but suddenly two men hit the ring and attacked Rey Mysterio Jr. from behind! Rey fought valiantly, but both men were over six foot tall and towered over the already injured Mysterio and he had absolutely no chance against the two monsters. A smirking Siaki by now had made it onto the apron to watch up close as they both lifted him up high by the throat before dropping him in a double STO! Siaki entered the ring and knelt down to get face-to-face with Rey, telling him that he has just had the pleasure of meeting the newest members of Evolution; Apolo & Ricky Banderas! Siaki then jumped up and ordered them to "do it again", which is exactly what they did, leaving Rey destroyed in the middle of the ring VS. WCW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Joanie Lee © defeated Faby Apache (6:15) - Both Mari & Faby Apache have picked up wins on WCW Saturday Night over the last couple of weeks, which is perhaps why Hulk Hogan decided to grant Faby this match. The younger of the sisters gave it her all but wasn't able to topple the bigger and more powerful Joanie Lee and a powerbomb from Lee ultimately saw finished the contest Madusa got in the ring and got in the fallen Faby Apache's face, yelling that she never deserved the opportunity that she had. This then prompted Mari Apache to rush into the ring and shove Madusa away before standing guard. While this was going on, Joanie Lee was showing zero interest and had already left the ring, leaving Sherri Martel to hold Madusa back Footage was shown from Souled Out following the WCW Worlds Trios match that saw X-Factor defend the titles against Steven Regal, Fit Finlay & Lance Storm, winning via disqualificiation when Regal snapped and refused to respond to the referee. Exclusive footage from the backstage area saw Jeremy Borash approach the defeated trio where Regal first of all he apologised to his teammates for his actions before getting a sadistic look on his face, saying they weren't done, "not by a bloody longshot", adding that what they did to X-Factor after the match got his blood flowing, he enjoyed the "triangle of torture" that happened and warned X-Pac that they would be back In the back, Gene Okerlund was standing by with Ric Flair who, in tonight's main event will face Abyss for the right to enter the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament. Flair said that he doesn't need to go over old ground about the history of the title and Ric Flair, but he will say that the thought had never crossed his mind that he wouldn't qualify, let alone win the whole damn thing! Flair said that Abyss is a monster, noting that he's been in the ring with him before and has the bruises to prove it! But he is Ric Flair, this is for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title and he can promise you that when the tournament starts in two weeks, Ric Flair will be a part of it! VS. Booker T defeated Mark Jindrak (5:47) - Fresh off of his victory at Souled Out, Booker T was looking to continue his positive momentum heading into the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament. His opponent, Mark Jindrak is a name those who regular watch WCW Saturday Night would be familiar with as Tony Schiavone listed him as a gruadate of WCW's Power Plant training facility and former GCW National champion. Despite his best efforts, it was Booker T who picked up the win after a Book End Goldberg was with Jeremy Borash with Borash noting that Goldberg had requested this interview time. The WCW United States Heavyweight champion praised Diamond Dallas Page for pushing him to his limit and proving that he is a different man than the one DDP faced at Starrcade. He wants to go one further and make it crystal clear to everyone that Goldberg is a fighting champion, a man who will take on all comers, which is why next week and every week thereafter he is issuing an open challenge for anyone to face him for the title! He said that he doesn't care who they are or where they come from, next week he will be standing in the ring, ready for a fight and he expects someone to step up and answer the question of "who's next!" With just the main event left to go, Tony Schiavone hyped the already announced card for next week which will see the remaining three NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament qualifiers taking place; Hector Garza vs. Steven Regal, The American Nightmare vs. Chuck Palumbo and Eddy Guerrero vs. Lex Luger. In addition to that, following their confrontation earlier tonight it'll be Mari Apache taking on Madusa while B.W.A. will be in action in a trios match plus Goldberg's open challenge will be answered VS. NWA WORLDS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER: Ric Flair defeated Abyss (10:50) - When Flair spoke earlier tonight about Abyss being a huge hurdle that he would have to overcome, he wasn't exaggerating. Despite Flair impressive return to action recently, the power and intensity of The Nightmare Family's monster was almost too much for him. But Flair kept going and he worked to take out Abyss' base, but when he finally took Abyss to the ground and was setting up for the Figure Four Leglock, Daffney at ringside distracted him by jumping on the apron and screaming in his direction. This allowed Abyss to recover and connect with the Black Hole Slam, a move that would have finished Flair were it not for his foot getting on the rope at the last second. A giggling and yelling Daffney urged Abyss on, who looked for Shock Treatment, only for Flair to sneak out the back and roll-up Abyss for the win! Daffney let out a scream of fury, and Abyss was no happier as he turned to Ric Flair and laid him out with a huge clothesline. He then dragged Flair to his feet where this time he was able to connect with Shock Treatment, leaving Flair broken in a heap at Abyss' feet, but as Tony Schiavone pointed out; broken, but still in the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament WCW WORLDWIDE RESULTS Madusa defeated Princesa Sugey (7:10) via pinfall with the Germian Suplex During Thunder, Jeremy Borash had the opportunity to speak to Mark Jindrak after his impressive match against Booker T. Jindrak said he plans to be around for a long time and said that it's his mission to impress Hulk Hogan or Roddy Piper and get a spot on Thunder or Nitro The Dudley Boyz defeated Lance Cade & Blake Norton (6:50) when D-Von Dudley pinned Norton after a 3D British Bulldog defeated Devon Storm (5:59) via pinfall with the running powerslam

Scott Hall update, Super X Cup kick-off January 30th, 2001 by Mave Deltzer Don't be surprised if you don't see Scott Hall in a WCW ring again. Hall turned up to last night's Nitro stinking of alcohol, stumbling around and cursing at everyone he saw. This isn't the first time he's turned up to shows with the smell of booze on him, but each time previously he has been absolutely fine to communicate and had been able to work safely, not impacting upon any of his storylines. However, last night was different and WCW management took action. We understand that Hall was given an ultimatum; go to rehab or go home. Apparently Hall argued and threw curses at management, including Eric Bischoff but they weren't changing their stance, especially in light of a similar incident with Perry Saturn and his drug issues a few weeks ago. While Saturn was apologetic and recognised his issues, Hall did not and he was taken back to his hotel by members of staff while slurring and cursing, even trying to fight the staff. It was only the intervention of Hall's friends Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman that made Hall finally agree to leave. It's not clear whether Hall will actually take up WCW's offer of rehab, but his contract is actually in less than three months so if Hall doesn't, he can simply stay at home, pick up his cheque and try and get another job once it's done, likely in Japan. But if he does enter rehab, there is a chance that his contract may be renewed, but there is a feeling in WCW that's Hall time has passed. Interestingly, Hall was set for a face-turn and his recent attempts to "play nice" were a part of this. He was booked to lose to Diamond Dallas Page last night, and after that he would have eventually turned face and turned over a new leaf. The Super X Cup kicked off last night on Nitro with three matches on the show and further two taped on Saturday Night. Christopher Daniels, TAKA Michinoku and Shane Helms advanced on Nitro with Hayabusa and the returning AJ Styles winning on Saturday Night. The final three qualifiers will take place on Nitro with Alex Wright taking on Perro Aguayo Jr. and Kaz Hayashi, Lenny facing Chris Candido and Shannon Moore and in the final match, young NJPW superstar Hiroshi Tanahashi facing Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Super Crazy. Tanahashi is someone New Japan have a lot of hopes for and his presence, along with AJPW's Minoru Tanaka show that WCW's relationship with both of Japan's major promotions continues to be strong, especially with WCW set to hold their August Wrestle War pay-per-view in Japan (now called WCW Japan Supershow) after taking place the last two years in Canada and then England.

WCW NITRO JANUARY 29TH, 2001 FREEDOM HALL - LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY The first edition Monday Nitro since the brand extension began with an introduction by Joey Styles, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and "The Professor" Mike Tenay before topping it off with the arrival of Nitro General Manager "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Piper talked about tonight being a historic night "for a number of reasons". He talked about Souled Out and how Rhino was successful in keeping the WCW World Television title on Nitro, and while Diamond Dallas Page came up short in his WCW United States Heavyweight title match, tonight he has the chance to qualify for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament in the main event. Unfortunately, his scheduled opponent tonight was set to be Scott Hall but due to circumstances beyond their control, Hall did not arrive at the arena tonight and as a result has been removed from the match and will be replaced by Curt Hennig. He then talked about SuperBrawl XI coming up next month and how a Nitro wrestler will challenge for the WCW World Heavyweight title at the pay-per-view and that he would name the challenger "in due course". Piper was then about to say something else when Buff Bagwell walked out! Bagwell told Piper to calm down because he wanted to be in the ring when Piper named him as Kurt Angle's next challenger! Piper then burst out laughing. He kept trying to talk but couldn't control himself as he just kept breaking down whenever trying to get a word out! Finally he composed himself and flatly said "no, sorry kid" but then told him that he hadn't decided on the challenger and if, "and it's a big if kiddo" he were to win his next match, he would consider him. Bagwell wanted to know who his opponent was, which then drew a look of confusion from Piper who asked if he watched Souled Out, if he had seen any of the press about tonight's show because the matches were all made public. Bagwell said that he hadn't because he had a "busy weekend with some of the finest ladies Kentucky has to offer...which isn't saying a lot", to which Piper replied with a smile and said "this was gonna be a lot of fun" as the lights went out, signalling the arrival of Bagwell's opponent; Sting! VS. NWA WORLDS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER: Sting defeated Buff Bagwell (11:54) - After over a month's absence, Sting returned to his new home of Monday Nitro with a win to qualify for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament. Sting looked as though he used the time since Starrcade well as he looked just as good as ever, having put his against The American Nightmare at Starrcade behind him as he pinned Bagwell after a Scorpion Deathdrop Following his win, Sting then grabbed a microphone and said how great it was to be back! He accepted that last time the fans saw him, he let them down in his loss to The American Nightmare at Starrcade but now he's back and ready to go! He noted that just over ten years ago, his NWA Worlds Heavyweight title reign ended before adding that it seems like a pretty good time to become a two-time champion! After a commercial break, the newest member of Nitro's broadcast team Tylene Buck met Roddy Piper, still at ringside and asked him whether he was still out here for a reason? Piper said that it was funny she would ask that because yes, there is! Piper hyped the return after nearly four years of Clash of the Champions, specifically the one later this month; the Super X Cup. He reminded everyone that it was a tournament for the greatest Cruiserweights in the world and that the first one two years ago was won by Jushin Thunder Liger, while last year it was Rob Van Dam who won it. He said that the "big boys" have the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament to worry about, and starting tonight, the Super X Cup kicks off! 24 of the greatest Cruiserweights in the world competing in eight three way dances starting right now! VS. VS. WCW SUPER X CUP FIRST ROUND: Shane Helms defeated Dragon Kid and Jimmy Yang (9:22) - Helms made his WCW debut in this tournament last year and will be desperate to win it this time around, knowing that the winner received a WCW World Cruiserweight title opportunity at SuperBrawl XI. Meanwhile, the issues between the Yang and Dragon Kid flared up again, showing that despite TAKA Michinoku's win against Jushin Thunder Liger, their problems are still there. After a high-flying, death defying display, it was Helms who came out on top after connecting with the deadly Vertebreaker on Yang Fresh off of his big win just 24-hours ago at Souled Out, WCW World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle arrived on Nitro and was met by Tylene Buck. When asked about his win, Angle said that it was never in doubt because he is an Olympic Gold Medalist and the best wrestler in the world. He said Rey Mysterio Jr. tried his hardest, but it just wasn't enough, just like how Sting, Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Eddy Guerrero, Steven Regal, Lex Luger and Bret Hart didn't have enough either. Buck asked Angle about his presence tonight on Nitro, Angle seemed offended and reminded him that as WCW World Heavyweight champion, he can go wherever he likes, the only man who can! He said that beyond that, he knows that he will defend against a wrestler from Nitro at SuperBrawl XI and he is here to check out the competition as well as speak to Roddy Piper about it VS. VS. WCW SUPER X CUP FIRST ROUND: TAKA Michinoku defeated Elix Skipper and Minoru Tanaka (11:23) - During the entrances, a video package aired on Minoru Tanaka, reminding everyone of his time in WCW from late 1998 to early 2000 where he was a two-time WCW World Cruiserweight champion and leader of TNR along with Kaz Hayashi, Jado & Gedo and of course Kristina. Now he reigns supreme as the World Junior Heavyweight champion in AJPW, a title he has held for four months now. Unfortunately for Tanaka, he was in the ring TAKA Michinoku, a man who outside of the WCW World Cruiserweight champion Ron Killings, probably has more momentum than anyone in the Cruiserweight division and proved it when he landed the Michinoku Driver on Skipper to win and advance Immediately after his win, TAKA Michinoku was joined by Dragon Kid, CIMA and Kristina who celebrated his victory with him. However, Minoru Tanaka was not happy with the outcome as he entered the ring and confronted The Jung Dragons! Tanaka and Michinoku came face-to-face, with Tanaka making his feelings clear only for Kristina to step between the two, focusing on her old flame Tanaka as she attempted to calm him down. However it was all just a ruse as with Tanaka distracted by Kristina, the Dragons attacked, putting the boots to Tanaka before TAKA dropped him with a Michinoku Driver! Backstage, Tylene Buck was standing by with the two men who, as a result of their victories at Souled Out were handed byes into the tournament stage of NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship tournament; Bret "The Hitman" Hart and "The Chosen One" Jeff Jarrett. She started talking to Bret first but Jarrett cut him off, saying that everyone has heard enough from Bret over his career and that it was time he was shown the proper respect! Bret smirked and told Jarrett to go ahead, and he went on to point out that he guaranteed victory at Souled Out and that he did just that and said that as a result of that, he deserves to be named challenger for the WCW World Heavyweight title but said he was sure that Roddy Piper would play favourites and give the match to one of his old friends like Bret instead. Waiting for Jarrett to finish, Bret said that he doesn't know who is going to be named challenger but suggested that he was more deserving of it than Jarrett because at least he beat his opponent fairly! This pissed Jarrett off and it looked as though the two were about to come to blows when Chris Benoit arrived and stepped in, prompting Jarrett to mock Benoit for coming to the rescue of the man who beat him, before Jarrett stormed off. Bret was about to speak, but Benoit cut him off and said that Bret is right, he did beat him and it was fair-and-square, but the truth is they both went into that match promising to make the other tap out, yet nobody tapped. Bret told Benoit that he was wrong because he went in to win, nothing more because he doesn't have anything to prove! Benoit asked if that was a dig, but Bret said no, it was just a fact before wishing Benoit the best of luck in his qualifying match with Rick Rude next week and walking off, leaving a clearly frustrated Benoit alone VS. NWA WORLDS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER: Mike Awesome defeated Dean Malenko (5:58) - The fighting spirit of Dean Malenko couldn't be denied, but the sheer, brute power of Mike Awesome was just too much for him as despite a valiant effort, Malenko fell victim to the Awesome Bomb Shawn Stasiak, Mike Sanders and Chase Tatum joined their Evolution teammate in the ring and Stasiak hyped Awesome as the most powerful man in all of professional wrestling. He said that with Awesome's win, Evolution were one step closer to winning the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title before sending a warning to Juventud Guerrera ahead of their match next week. Stasiak then addressed Evolution's recent recruitment mission that has taken place over the last several weeks at live events, noting that his co-leader, Sonny Siaki on Thunder had announced that he had found his first members. Stasiak then revealed that he had done the same and that next week, we would meet the newest member of Evolution. He then turned his attention to the matter of Kurt Angle's challenger at SuperBrawl XI before reminding everyone that as a result of him winning the New Blood Rising tournament, he is guaranteed a one-on-one, pay-per-view main event match for the WCW World Heavyweight title, all he has to do is give one months notice. Which means if he were to stand here tonight and announce himself as Angle's opponent at SuperBrawl XI, well there would be nothing Roddy Piper could do about it! So the question is, will he do that? The answer is simply; no. He will take his match when he is good and ready for it, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't graciously accept Piper naming him as the number one contender, suggesting that he is the best placed to represent Nitro and WCW as champion. He knows Piper said he'd make his decision next week, so he'll wait and eagerly await the announcement Before the next match, a video aired that showed Steve Corino, The Shane Twins and their leader in The Prophecy; "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. Daniels reintroduced himself and his followers, reminding everyone of their run in ECW last year where he prophesied the end of that company and all of the "filth" that came with it, and now he arrives in WCW having seen that prophecy come to life. Now he has a new vision, one of he and his followers draped in gold on Monday Nitro, starting with him winning the Super X Cup and going on to win the WCW World Cruiserweight title at SuperBrawl XI VS. VS. WCW SUPER X CUP FIRST ROUND: Christopher Daniels defeated Ron Killings and Yoshihiro Tajiri (10:31) - The first shock of the tournament took place here as Christopher Daniels, making his first WCW appearance after a spell in ECW last year advanced to the next round, pinning the WCW World Cruiserweight champion Ron Killings in the process! Killings was clearly expecting to win this match and of course the whole tournament, in which case he wouldn't have to defend his title at SuperBrawl XI, but a swift buzzsaw kick from Tajiri put Killings down, but quick thinking from Daniels allowed him to toss Tajiri out of the ring and steal the win for himself The main event was moments away at Tylene Buck was with Curt Hennig and Rick Rude, and it was clear that Hennig especially was furious. Tylene attempted to talk about the big opportunity that Hennig had been handed, only for Rude to cut her off and rage that Hennig is a living legend and should have been in this tournament from the very beginning! Hennig asked Tylene if he was supposed to be happy about being a last minute replacement, because he wasn't! He said that it was a joke that the likes of Juventud Guerrera and Dean Malenko were in this tournament and yet he wasn't. He said that at least Piper got it right by putting Rick Rude in from the beginning, but now he's going to show Piper how big of a mistake he made by excluding him Backstage, in Roddy Piper's office, the General Manager was meeting with Tammy Sytch Enterprises, and he commended Rhino on successfully retaining the WCW World Television title and offered the same praise to Edge & Christian in their WCW World Tag Team title match. Tammy started to talk about how great her group is when Piper cut her off, noting that while he is happy to keep the gold on Nitro, everyone knows there was some "questionable" methods in them doing so. He then said that as a result of that, they will each defend their titles at SuperBrawl XI! Piper turned to Rhino and noted that while Billy Kidman is now on Thunder, his former partner Paul Wight is right here on Nitro so he will defend the title against him at the pay-per-view! Rhino looked ready to kill Roddy Piper, but the General Manager stood his ground, smiled and said that he liked the intensity before turning to Edge & Christian, who wanted to know who they would have to face. He said that he has given it some thought and admitted that the tag team division on Nitro is pretty light, so he's bringing in two brand new teams, four men who have never competed on Nitro or Thunder and next week they will have a match, the winning team will challenge for the WCW World Tag Team titles VS. NWA WORLDS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER: Diamond Dallas Page defeated Curt Hennig (15:59) - The announcers recapped the storied history between both men, dating back to late 1997 and DDP's war with Hennig and the nWo. Hennig and DDP quickly renewed acquaintances with the much fresher Hennig looking to channel his frustration about being excluded from the tournament in the first place. It was clear though that DDP was looking to put his disappointment at losing to Goldberg at Souled Out behind him, but tonight he also had to contend with the presence at ringside of Rick Rude, who made numerous attempts to get involved. One moment of Rude's distraction provded decisive as he drew the referee's attention, allowing Hennig to remove the turnbuckle cover. But in the end, DDP was able to do what he couldn't against Goldberg last night as with Hennig attempting to toss him onto the exposed steel, he snuck out the back and connected with a Diamond Cutter out of nowhere to earn his place in the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament Both men were exhausted, but it was Diamond Dallas Page who got the win and got to his feet first. He had his arm raised by the referee in victory, but from nowhere came Rick Rude as he blasted him from behind! Rude stomped away at him as he ripped his shirt off and posed for the crowd. He then dragged DDP to his feet, only to be caught with the Diamond Cutter just like Curt Hennig was moments before! DDP once again had his arm raised in victory and he stood tall as Nitro went off the air WCW SATURDAY NIGHT RESULTS The Shane Twins defeated Ace Steel & Mike Lockwood (4:58) when Todd Shane pinned Lockwood with the H-Bomb WCW SUPER X CUP FIRST ROUND: AJ Styles defeated Psychosis and Blitzkrieg (11:25) when Styles pinned Psychosis with the Styles Clash After the match, Joey Matthews & Christian York joined AJ Styles in the ring to celebrate their leaders successful return from injury. However, Styles seemed to want to keep his distance from both men, telling them to settle down as he took the opportunity to celebrate on the turnbuckle alone, leaving Matthews & York confused WCW SUPER X CUP FIRST ROUND: Hayabusa defeated CIMA and Evan Karagias (10:26) when Hayabusa pinned Karagias after the Phoenix Splash

WCW Souled Out news and fallout January 29th, 2001 by Mave Deltzer WCW's latest pay-per-view offering Souled Out went down well, although a number of matches failed to meet expectations with fans. The Chris Benoit vs. Bret Hart and Scott Hall vs. Booker T matches especially failed to live up to the hype, with Hall/Booker especially considered at best average with neither men hitting the heights that they are capable of. The Benoit/Bret match was good, as it was back in December but with the calibre of both men, it was expected that they could steal the show. As it was, only the Booker/Hall match was ranked worst in a poll done on this website. The ending suggests that this story isn't done and that WCW were planning to run another match, whether the plans will now change as a result of the reaction remains to be seen. A lot of praise has been given towards Erazo & Low Ki and the Hardy Boyz for their match, as well as the addition of Taz and ultimately Little Jeanne to the group. The plan was to group Taz and B.W.A. back in ECW, where they teamed up once but it never came up. Now with three together on Thunder, it made sense to bring the plan back, especially as WCW are actively looking to build trios or stables to bulk up the division (currently they have X-Factor, Regal's group, the FBI, the Dudley Boyz and now B.W.A.). The addition of Little Jeanne is a new development, partly to have a rival for Lita. Jeanne is from Long Island, not Brooklyn but it's close enough for WCW. Expect a name change for her as a part of this. Rob Van Dam is fine after taking a piledriver through the table from Rhino in their match. WCW have signed Shop at Home Network's Don West to a full-time contract. No really. He's best known as the the host of a sports memorabilia show, Sports Collectibles where he has helped drive huge sales. It's expected that he will serve as colour commentator alongside Mike Tenay on Saturday Night, despite having zero wrestling experience. On the subject of Saturday Night, the historic show has been cut down in time to 45 minutes starting this week. But this is in addition to a new show coming on Sunday called WCW WorldWide. In a press release, it was confirmed that Saturday Night will serve as a supplementary show to Nitro while WorldWide will have the same function for Thunder. The announcers for WorldWide will be Scott Hudson and Larry Zbyszko. Ric Flair, Juventud Guerrera, WCW World Cruiserweight champion Ron Killings and Joey Matthews all signed long-term contract extensions with the company. Despite rumours to the contrary, there was no interest from the WWF in Flair or Juventud. Nitro sees the kick off of the brand extension and the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament. In addition to this, we understand that the build to the returning Clash of the Champions on February 17th will take place as well. As announced last month each of the three shows this year will be themed with February's offering will be the Super X Cup, so expect Nitro to be pretty stacked with the main event of Scott Hall vs. Diamond Dallas Page announced as a qualifier for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament. Thanks to everyone who has read and made predictions, I really appreciate it. DHK1989: 7/10 (given the point for Bret/Benoit as it was my mistake) Old School Fan: 7/10 Satyr24: 6/10 Bigelow Cartwheel: 6/10

WCW SOULED OUT JANUARY 28TH, 2001 CONSECO FIELDHOUSE - INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA The underdog story of Rey Mysterio Jr. was highlighted, showing his rise from his debut as undersized even for a Cruiserweight in 1996 up to his victory at Starrcade last month over the Kevin Nash to now challenging for the the biggest prize in all of professional wrestling, live on pay-per-view tonight at Souled Out. After an impressive pyrotechnic display, Tony Schiavone, Joey Styles and "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes welcomed everyone to Souled Out! They hyped the card, promising six huge championship matches as well as four other high-profile contests. VS. WCW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS - EXTREME RULES: "The Man Beast" Rhino © defeated Rob Van Dam (11:38) - Both men have their roots in ECW, with Rob Van Dam spending the majority of his career there while Rhino invaded ECW after WCW purchased the company around this time last year, going on to win the ECW World Heavyweight title along the way. In fact, these two men crossed paths on the final ever ECW Hardcore TV back in August, on a night dubbed the "Night of Champions" with Rhino successfully defending his title against RVD before both men shook hands in a sign of mutual respect. Those days are long, long gone now as both men held nothing back in a match that saw steel chairs and tables brought into play. RVD thought he had won the match after a steel chair assisted spinning wheel kick, only for Rhino to kick out at the very last second. Rhino himself looked to brutalise RVD when he set up a table in the corner and lined up for a Gore, only for RVD to move out of the way at the very last second, sending Rhino crashing through the table himself! RVD followed up immediately with a jumping side kick off the second rope, but the big, decisive moment came seconds later when RVD headed to the top rope for the Five Star Frog Splash, only for Chris Candido to appear from nowhere and smash a steel chair across RVD's back! Rhino recovered and with Candido's help, managed to set up a table before climbing to the top rope, where RVD was still perched and to the shock and horror of the announcers and everyone inside the Conseco Fieldhouse, proceeded to piledrive RVD from the second rope, through the table! The result was in no doubt now as Rhino retained the WCW World Television title and ensured it remained on Nitro and in Tammy Sytch Enterprises! Medics immediately rushed to the ring to check on Rob Van Dam, who hadn't moved after being driven through the table. While they were arriving, Chris Candido was celebrating Rhino's win as if it were actually him that beat RVD. After all of the clear disappointment Tammy Sytch had felt towards Candido ever since Starrcade, she finally looked as though he had done something right Earlier today, Jeremy Borash caught Kurt Angle arriving at the arena and tried to get him to answer how being pinned by Rey Mysterio Jr. again on Thunder effected his preparation for this match. Angle stopped, glared at Borash but didn't answer and slowly walked away, but when Borash asked him whether he would still use the ankle lock tonight, Angle stopped once again and yelled to Borash that both of Rey's wins were flukes and promised to prove it to everyone by beating Rey when it counted! VS. B.W.A. defeated The Hardy Boyz (11:05) - The issues between these two teams date back to the unification match at the WCW vs. ECW special that saw WCW World Tag Team champions the Hardy Boyz defeat Erazo & Low Ki, who only won the ECW World Tag Team titles three days prior. Ever since then, B.W.A. have held a grudge, seemingly taking issue with what happened to their careers ever since that day as after that, they spent time in Osaka Pro Wrestling, going on to have a successful time as they won and held the Osaka Pro Tag Team titles for almost four months, but that didn't compare to the Hardy Boyz, who took part in the big War Games match at Fall Brawl as well as two epic three matches at World War 3 and Starrcade for the WCW World Tag Team titles, opportunities that Erazo & Low Ki believe should have been theirs. After B.W.A.'s attack on Matt & Jeff recently, the Hardyz started off hot and a brawl erupted immediately, taking place inside the ring before spreading to the outside. Eventually things calmed down and the Hardyz took control, showing their experience advantage that saw them beat B.W.A. in their only previous encounter. It was an even match, but it was clear that the advantage was more so with Matt & Jeff Hardy, so much so though that the when Jeff & Matt had both Erazo & Low Ki set up for stereo Twists of Fate, the announcers were ready to call it. However, before they could land the move, the lights suddenly went out! The arena was completely dark for around ten seconds as Tony Schiavone apologised to the viewers at home until when they did come back on, there was suddenly another man in the ring...Taz! The arrival of the Human Suplex Machine saw Matt & Jeff stunned, but B.W.A. took immediate advantage of the situation with Ki laying out Matt with a brutal roundhouse kick to the side and Erazo with a stiff clothesline from behind to Jeff before both men followed up with the Brooklyn Stomp, all while Taz remained motionless as Low Ki made the pin and picked up the huge victory! Erazo & Low Ki celebrated their big victory, but Taz simply stood by looking down at the laid out form of Jeff Hardy. Then from the otherside of the ring, Matt Hardy staggered in and it was then that Taz struck. Tossing aside the towel from his head, he spun Matt around and locked him in the brutal Tazmission! Matt struggled, but the gruelling match coupled with the deadly hold saw Matt pass out within a matter of seconds. Taz tossed Matt aside before standing between Erazo & Low Ki! VS. "The Chosen One" Jeff Jarrett defeated Eddy Guerrero (11:52) - The announcers noted that this is Jarrett's biggest match on pay-per-view for quite some time, something Jarrett himself was surely keenly aware of. While it may have been Jarrett who has something to prove, it was Eddy who wanted to lay down a marker and set the tone for the rest of the pay-per-view and for Rey Mysterio Jr. in the main event. Unfortunately, things didn't go to plan as with Jarrett looking down and out, Eddy went for the Frog Splash only for Jarrett to get his knees up at the last second. Both men eventually struggled to their feet and Eddy set himself up for a German suplex, but Jarrett managed to sneak a low blow, using his body to cover the cheating and this allowed Jarrett to then go behind Eddy and land The Stroke for the victory. Up next was the WCW Worlds Trios championship match, but before that, the champions X-Factor were with Gene Okerlund. X-Pac, Jerry Lynn & Justin Credible were all looking pretty smug as Gene put it to them that Steven Regal, Fit Finlay & Lance Storm would be looking for payback after what happened on Nitro. Credible asked Gene if they looked worried before asking both Lynn & X-Pac, both of which replied that they weren't. X-Pac then baulked at the suggestion that Regal had him beat on Nitro, but before they could say anything else, Regal, Finlay & Storm attacked them! Gene ran for cover as the X-Factor were on the receiving end of a beating from their upcoming opponents! Regal, Finlay & Storm continued the fight, chasing X-Factor through the curtain onto the entrance ramp and down to the ringside area! The brawl continued with Regal chasing X-Pac into the ring, where suddenly a referee appeared and called for the bell to start the title match! VS. WCW WORLDS TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIPS: X-Factor © defeated Steven Regal, Fit Finlay & Lance Storm (7:25) by disqualification - X-Pac was on the defensive from the get go as Regal didn't let up at the sound of the bell to start the match. Eventually things seemed to settle down into a regular match, but it was clear that Regal, Finlay & Storm were seething about X-Factor's attack on Nitro and eventually they allowed their emotions to get the better of them. It was Regal and X-Pac in the ring and after an exchange of blows, X-Pac showed complete and utter disrespect by spitting in Regal's face! This enraged Regal, who then reigned down brutal blows one after the other, completely ignoring the referee's demands for him to stop, then ignoring the five count, leading to Regal's team being disqualified! But the disqualification didn't stop Steven Regal as he continued plowing X-Pac's face with forearm shots and European uppercuts until Jerry Lynn & Justin Credible intervened. But this then led to Fit Finlay & Lance Storm coming in to even the odds, leading to once again a big six-man brawl in the ring! X-Factor might be an incredible trio of wrestlers, but in terms of brawling, they don't match up and so it proved when Finlay, Storm & Regal had the WCW World Trios champions on the floor, all locked in submissions! Storm had Credible in a single legged crab, Finlay locked Lynn in a modified Indian deathlock while Regal stretched X-Pac with the Regal Stretch with all three members of X-Factor tapping out! Referee's and staff hit the ring to bring it up, which they were ultimately successful in doing, but it's pretty obvious that the issues here are a long way from over With her match against Joanie Lee for the WCW Women's World title coming later tonight, Lita joined Gene Okerlund in the interview area. When asked about her thoughts on facing "The Glamazon" later tonight, Lita first said that she saw what happened with Erazo, Low Ki and Taz earlier tonight and she doesn't know what their relationship is, but she warned them that Matt & Jeff Hardy would get revenge. She then said that she knows the challenge she has in store against Lee, but she wants the title more than anything and assured Lee that she would be in for the biggest fight of her life! VS. Bret "The Hitman" Hart defeated Chris Benoit (21:59) - While these two have met once before with Bret emerging victorious, that match took place under different circumstances with Chris Jericho, preparing for his match with Bret at Starrcade attemtping to manipulate Benoit into calling for the match. However, that loss was obviously playing on Benoit's mind as he looked to set the record straight and even the scores, promising to make Bret submit in the process. For his part, Bret had said the same as well and the match certainly started under friendly circumstances, with a show of respect before the match and classic, top quality wrestling match following. Benoit's focus as clear as he worked over Bret's arm, looking to weaken it for the Crippler Crossface while Bret, who had claimed that he would make Benoit tap out was seemingly far more content with just winning the match. As usual, his gameplan tends to focus on the legs anyway in preparation for the Sharpshooter, but he looked for the pin on a number of occasions with one coming close after a second rope elbow drop. Benoit's failure to lock in the Crossface was beginning to frustrate him, leading to a fatal mistake when he decided to go beyond the usual triple German suplexes, going for a fourth and then a fifth, but when he went for the sixth, Bret managed to roll forward, tuck under Benoit and roll him for a surprise victory! Chris Benoit was in shock, considering how in control he was at the decisive point of the match. With Bret Hart exhausted on the mat, Benoit confronted the referee to question the outcome before accepting the loss, albeit with nothing but irritation. He looked at Bret, who by now was on his feet and having his hand raised by the referee before rolling out of the ring and storming up the ramp, only stopping at the top of the ramp to take a quick glance back towards the ring before he headed through the curtain VS. WCW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: "The Glamazon" Joanie Lee © defeated Lita (8:02) - Just like she has done with every woman she has faced, from Estrellita in her debut at World War 3 to her title victory at Starrcade against Manami Toyota, Joanie Lee towered over and completely out-powered her opponent Lita. But Lita had the far superior speed advantage and speedy shots, followed up with quick movement looked to serve Lita well. But it didn't take too long for Lee's power to properly come into play, and once it did, Lita had no chance as a big boot almost decapitated her and the big powerbomb finished her off for good Sherri Martel and Madusa joined Joanie Lee in the ring to celebrate her victory and first official WCW Women's World title defence. Martel got in Lita's face and yelled that Joanie Lee is the champion and would be champion forever! Queen's Court then left the ring, leaving Lita alone as she struggled to her feet. Suddenly Lita was then attacked from behind by someone! Initially the announcers thought it was a fan, but Joey Styles quickly identified the woman as Little Jeanne! She brutally assaulted Lita, who lay prone on the mat before Jeanne went to the top rope and jumped off, connecting with a big knee to the back! With the damage done, Jeanne left the ring and backed up the ramp with a sadistic smile on her face. But the shock wasn't over yet as when she reached the top of the ramp, she was met by Erazo, Low Ki and Taz! VS. Booker T defeated Scott Hall (14:36) - Both men had disappointing Starrcade's. While Hall's saw his best friend Kevin Nash shaved at the hands of Rey Mysterio Jr., Booker's night didn't end how he wanted either with a loss in the biggest match of his career against Kurt Angle for the WCW World Heavyweight title. So this was a chance for both men to get back on track, with Hall's numerous little digs at Booker's failure having clearly gotten to last years World War 3 winner. Interestingly, despite everything Hall had said towards Booker, he wrestled a mostly fair match, reminding everyone that for all of his antics, he is still one of the finest wrestlers in WCW. This resulted in a hard fought contest that went in Booker's favour as he was able to land a perfect missile dropkick that he followed up with an Axe Kick to pick up the big win. Joey Styles praised both men, noting that Booker T will be able to head to Thunder this Thursday night with a victory while Scott Hall goes to Nitro off the back of a big loss. Booker celebrated his win, but to his and everyone else's surprise, Hall approached him and offered his hand! Booker considered, looking to the crowd seemingly for guidance, but this delay saw Hall pull back his hand in frustration and storm out of the ring! VS. WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: Edge & Christian © defeated "The Giant" Paul Wight & Billy Kidman (11:39) - The announcers talked about how Wight & Kidman, having teamed together for over a year now, would be wrestling their final match as a team if they lose tonight, with Kidman drafted to Thunder and Wight to Nitro. The unlikely duo wrestled with this in mind with Kidman taking high risks and Wight looking to dominate whenever he was in the ring. Unfortunately for Kidman, he was rarely able to make the tag, leaving him isolated for long periods with the champions. With Tammy Sytch at ringside, barking encouragement and the knowledge of their TSE teammate Rhino's victory earlier tonight, Edge & Christian were looking for a clean sweep. And they did just that, although it wasn't a clean victory as just like earlier tonight, Chris Candido played an instrumental role in the result. This time it was more indirect though as he attempted to attack Kidman, only for Wight to grab him and to the delight of the fans chokeslammed him off of the apron onto the hard floor below! But this worked as a distraction, allowing Sytch to slide one of the title belts to Christian, allowing him to blast Kidman between the eyes and get the victory The sound of Edge & Christian's music told Paul Wight all he needed to know, as he rushed into the ring, sending the champions scurrying up the ramp where they reunited with Tammy Sytch. Chris Candido was still laid out, but in the ring Wight checked on his partner Kidman, helped him to his feet and the two shared an emotional embrace before taking in the applause from the appreciative fans, knowing this would be the last time they would be seen together for a long time, if ever again The main event was almost upon us, with just one match before it and at this time, Gene Okerlund introduced his guest as the man who will challenge for Kurt Angle's WCW World Heavyweight title; Rey Mysterio Jr.! Gene put it to Rey that this was the biggest match of Rey's career and Rey agreed but said that fact he is here, getting ready to wrestle in the main event of a pay-per-view like Souled Out shows that this is exactly where he deserves to be. Gene suggested that Rey has Angle's number, having pinned him twice in the past month but Rey admitted that he knows that just because he's pinned him twice doesn't mean he'll do it again tonight, but he knows the simple fact that he has beaten him will play on Angle's mind throughout, which will make Angle second guess what to do next and that will be to his advantage. VS. WCW UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Goldberg © defeated Diamond Dallas Page (12:18) - The conventional wisdom going in was that Goldberg was by far the favourite as his power and speed would be too much for DDP. However, were DDP to connect with the Diamond Cutter, that would be the decisive factor and we would see a new champion crowned. Despite the recent issues, both men showed their respect to each other with a handshake before the bell, but after that, all bets were off. DDP seemed to know that this was a different Goldberg than the one he defeated at Starrcade 1999 to win the WCW World Heavyweight title, a more intense and focused one and DDP wrestled smarter, getting close the edge of what he could get away with without ever crossing the line, attempting to frustrate Goldberg and get him to make a mistake. That mistake came when Goldberg hoisted DDP high in the air, but instead of slamming him down, he took his time, allowing DDP to drop out the back, land on his feet, spin Goldberg around and go for the Diamond Cutter! But it didn't all go to the plan as Goldberg blocked it, shoved DDP away and charged, crushing his opponent with a huge spear! The intensity of Goldberg only grew as he dragged DDP to his feet, hoisted him up and drilled him down hard with the Jackhammer for the victory. Diamond Dallas Page didn't move as Goldberg got to his feet and was handed his WCW United States Heavyweight title. The referee raised his arm in victory, and by that point, DDP had used the ropes to help him up to one knee, at which point Goldberg spotted him and walked over before offering him his hand! DDP considered for a moment before deciding to accept, taking Goldberg's hand and allowing the champion to help him to his feet. DDP then shared a moment with Goldberg, saying something to him that Goldberg seemed to appreciate before vacating the ring to allow the champion to have his moment in the ring The main event was just a short time away, but before then it was time to hear from the Nitro and Thunder General Managers, Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan regarding the qualifying matches for the upcoming tournament for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight champion. In the back, Gene Okerlund was with both Hogan and Piper and Hogan revealed that they had discussions earlier today and decided that despite the original plan of a six-person block, there is far too much talent and so the groups have been expanded by two, creating two eight-man blocks on Thunder and Nitro. Piper then said that as a result of their victories tonight, both Jeff Jarrett and Bret Hart have received byes into the tournament with Hogan revealing that Booker T and the loser of the WCW World Heavyweight title match would also receive byes on the Thunder side. Piper then introduced the qualifying matches to take place over the next two weeks of Thunder and Nitro: Nitro: Mike Awesome vs. Dean Malenko Chris Benoit vs. Rick Rude Scott Steiner vs. Juventud Guerrera Shawn Stasiak vs. Paul Wight Diamond Dallas Page vs. Scott Hall Buff Bagwell vs. Sting Thunder: Rob Van Dam vs. Billy Kidman Owen Hart vs. Shane Douglas The American Nightmare vs. Chuck Palumbo Ric Flair vs. Abyss Hector Garza vs. Steven Regal Eddy Guerrero vs. Lex Luger Gene hyped the calibre of matches we can expect over the next two weeks just for the right to qualify for the tournament, let alone once it gets underway! He then handed over to Hogan to hype the main event, with The Hulkster promising that the winner will do Thunder proud It's main event time! Backstage, just before Rey Mysterio Jr. was about to head through the curtain he was met by not just Eddy Guerrero, but by Konnan, Lizmark Jr., Juventud Guerrera, Chavo Guerrero Jr., La Parka and Averno. They all fired him up with Konnan telling him to do this for "the people" and to make everyone proud while Juvi told Rey that "you've got this" as Rey hugged and fist bumped each man before heading to the ring ahead of his greatest challenge VS. WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Kurt Angle © defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. (17:53) - The story of the match was Kurt Angle's reluctance to use the ankle lock, despite being given a number of opportunities to do so as a result of being pinned twice when Rey reversed it into a roll-up. Angle caught Rey off a springboard dropkick and considered the submission, only to decided against it and go for a German suplex and also when he had Rey down on the mat, he pulled down his straps and once again considered it but ultimately chose not to. This clear concern, or at least indecision almost cost Angle as Rey had no such qualms in his offense, bringing everything that brought him this far in his effort to become the first ever hispanic WCW World Heavyweight champion. Ultimately, Angle's frustration took over as when Rey kicked out of an Olympic Slam, Angle decided that enough was enough and locked in the ankle lock. However, just like Rey has done twice before, he countered the hold and rolled Angle up. But unlike on those two previous occasions, this time Angle was able to kick out, even if it was at the very last milisecond, so close that everyone thought it was over! Eventually, Angle went for another Olympic Slam but this time Rey landed behind Angle and dropkicked him into the ropes, where he then followed up with a tiger feint kick, only for Angle to grab Rey by the legs and lock in the ankle lock! This time however, Angle gave Rey no opportunity to reverse as he dropped down to the mat and grapevined the leg, giving Rey nowhere to go and no alternative but to tap out!

Aiming to post Souled Out tomorrow or Sunday (or maybe Monday!) so last call for predictions if anyone wants to join in

I really like the idea of Technical Torture Triangle, but just "Torture Triangle" sounds cleaner. It works really well considering how I see them and their use. Thanks to everyone for the ideas.

I need a stable name for the trio of Steven Regal, Fit Finlay and Lance Storm in WCW in 2001. They are a babyface group, the kind of base for them is that they are respectful to you if you are respectful to them, but as soon as you aren't all bets are off. A little bit of Blackpool Combat Club vibes I guess. I've previously had Finlay & Regal in a heel stable called The Commonwealth, so that has to be out. Thanks!

WCW SOULED OUT PREVIEW January 28th, 2001 Conseco Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, Indiana WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle © vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. WCW United States Heavyweight Championship: Goldberg © vs. Diamond Dallas Page WCW World Tag Team Championships: Edge & Christian © vs. Billy Kidman & Paul Wight WCW World Women's Championship: Joanie Lee © vs. Lita WCW World Television Championship - Extreme Rules: Rhino © vs. Rob Van Dam WCW World Trios Championships: X-Factor © vs. Steven Regal, Fit Finlay & Lance Storm Chris Benoit vs. Bret Hart Eddy Guerrero vs. Jeff Jarrett Booker T vs. Scott Hall The Hardy Boyz vs. B.W.A. Feel free to leave any predictions. I'm happy to finally get around to my first pay-per-view and then move on to kick-starting the brand extension! EDIT: somehow forgot the include the Bret/Benoit match! @DHK1989, just letting you know so you can update your prediction

WCW THUNDER JANUARY 25TH, 2001 CELEBRATION ARENA - DECATUR, ALABAMA VS. Paul Wight & Rob Van Dam defeated Rhino & Edge (11:57) - Billy Kidman was in the corner of "The Giant" and RVD while Tammy Sytch and Christian were also at ringside. Following Kidman's win on Nitro, the momentum was in their favour as Tony Schiavone speculated about the future of the WCW World Tag Team titles were Kidman & Wight to win this Sunday at Souled Out. In a not-at-all shocking turn of events, Tammy looked to distract the referee during the match while Christian attempted to physically get involved, turning the tide in the direction of TSE. In the end, Wight delivered a huge chokeslam to Edge, which RVD followed up on with a Five Star Frog Splash off Wight's shoulders to take home the victory and perhaps give them the advantage heading into Souled Out Christian ran into the ring, but despite landing a shot on Rob Van Dam, he was quickly cut off by Billy Kidman who immediately renewed his acquaintances with! Wight stood by and seemed to enjoy the sight of Kidman laying into Christian, but suddenly Wight was then blasted from behind with one of the championship belts by Chris Candido! Candido celebrated, jumping around and drawing Tammy Sytch's attention to him as he asked if Sytch saw what he had done. Sytch had indeed seen, but more than that, she had seen what Candido didn't and that was the lack of effect the blow had on Wight as he spun Candido round and drilled him with a huge one-handed chokeslam! Shockingly this wasn't over though as once Wight had gotten back to his feet, he turned and walked right into a Gore from Rhino! Rhino pounded his chest but then he turned and fell victim to a diving kick from the second rope by Rob Van Dam! RVD then hopped to the top rope, lining up another Five Star Frog Splash only for Edge and Tammy to pull Rhino to safety! Jeremy Borash was joined by 3 Count, with Shane Helms set to challenge Ron Killings for the WCW World Cruiserweight title later tonight. Helms was serious, which is a departure from the usual fun-loving, dancing 3 Count that everyone has come to know over the past year or so and said that he is more than ready to set right the wrongs committed by "The Truth" and Chilly Willy several weeks ago. Helms talked about how close he was to winning the title, but that was then, this is now and this is his time! Helms then stormed off, leaving Shannon Moore & Evan Karagias to shrug before Karagias sent a warning to Chilly to stay out of the match VS. The Hardy Boyz defeated Kid Kash & Jason Jett (5:35) - The Hardy Boyz returned to action, following their beat down backstage by B.W.A. and looked as good as ever in a win over Kash & Jett, a duo who have had several matches on WCW Saturday Night but couldn't match the brothers Hardy as Jeff secured the win with a Swanton Bomb to Jett After their victory, the Matt Hardy grabbed a microphone and proceeded to call out their Souled Out opponents, Erazo & Low Ki, saying they didn't want to wait until this Sunday! When there was no answer, Jeff then called them out, saying they talk a lot about wanting payback, yet when they get called out for a fair fight, they have nothing to say! Finally, B.W.A. answered the call and Erazo & Low Ki walked out onto the entrance way. The Hardy Boyz urged them to get in the ring, but it was clear that wasn't on B.W.A.'s mind as Erazo said that once again, Matt & Jeff want everything done on their terms. He said that isn't how it works anymore, from now on, everything that happens will be the way B.W.A. want it to go down, so while they could come to the ring and give the Hardyz another beating, they're going to wait to get what they want on the big stage, on pay-per-view at Souled Out. Erazo then made it clear that everything that happens to Team Extreme from now on is on them In the back, Gene Okerlund was joined by Sonny Siaki and Miss Gorgeous George. Gene questioned Siaki about what comes next for him now we're just one week away from the official split from Evolution, and Siaki said that was a simple question with a simple answer; he's going to enter the NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship tournament, meet Shawn Stasiak in the final and may the best member of Evolution win and after that, he will build his version of Evolution on Thunder. Gene asked about this, noting the sight of Evolution scouting wrestlers at live events and asked whether Siaki has been doing the same. Siaki said that he has been, but while Stasiak is still looking, he already has a core with the likes of Mike Awesome and Chase Tatum whereas he is starting from scratch. But not to worry, he has already done phase one of his recruitment and just like Stasiak said before, we'd meet them soon VS. WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Shane Helms defeated Ron Killings (5:42) by disqualification - The frustration felt by Helms over the outcome of the six-way match that saw Killings win the title was clear for everyone to see. Despite this, he definately threw himself into it and the announcers were impressed by the change in demeanour from Helms to a more serious and focused wrestler as opposed to his regular, fun-loving attitude alongside the rest of 3 Count. Killings though also knew what was at stake and after his successful title defence just three days ago against Juventud Guerrera, he was not going to lose the title under any circumstances. Helms came close on several occasions, but when he hit what many consider to be an incredibly dangerous move, the Vertebreaker, Killings had no chance to kick out. But he didn't have to, as Chilly Willy hit the ring and attacked Helms, causing a disqualification! Chilly Willy didn't let up on his attack, putting the boots to Shane Helms as the fans booed. But as Chilly took in the reaction, Helms got back to his feet and laid Chilly out with a running dropkick! Helms started laying into Willy before letting out a yell, dragging him to his feet and dropping him right on his head with a Vertebreaker, leaving him laid out alongside Ron Killings! Helms then grabbed Killings' WCW World Cruiserweight title and raised it in the air, making it clear that his issues with Killings & Chilly are a long way from over VS. Bret Hart defeated Lizmark Jr. (4:20) - After Chris Benoit's impressive win on Nitro, it was Bret's time to warm himself up and build up some momentum. The former WCW World Trios champion Lizmark Jr. proved more of a challenge than Johnny Swinger did against Benoit, but ultimately Bret was too much for him and one Sharpshooter later, Bret was the winner Gene Okerlund met Bret Hart in the ring, congratulating him on his victory before asking how he was feeling ahead of facing Chris Benoit this Sunday at Souled Out. Bret said he was feeling good, he was ready to go and excited to face Benoit on pay-per-view. He talked about their meeting on Thunder last month, and how it was a different set of circumstances, what with everything that was going on with Chris Jericho at the time, but what that does show is that he can make Benoit tap out! Bret said that he heard what Benoit said on Nitro about making him tap out, and that's great, he welcomes the challenge but told Benoit that he had no chance of making The Hitman tap out, but despite all that, he wishes him the very best of luck The second hour of Thunder kicked off with Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddy Guerrero in the ring together. Eddy pointed out that unlike on Nitro, Rey is right here, suggesting that neither Jeff Jarrett nor Kurt Angle would be interrupting him tonight! He talked about his and Rey's history, noting that they've traded titles, wins and losses but more than anything else; respect. He accepted that Rey might not always agree with his methods, but that's fine because he knows that Rey has his back, just like Eddy has his. Rey then talked about the importance of Souled Out and him being in the main event, challenging for the WCW World Heavyweight title, something just a year ago would probably be impossible. But everything he has done since coming to WCW has made it so he cannot be ignored or overlooked! Rey said that there has never been a Hispanic World champion, not in ECW, not in the NWA, not in the WWF and not in WCW. He said that was going to change "soon", hopefully at Souled Out, but he isn't stupid enough to think that it's going to be an easy ride. He called Kurt Angle the best wrestler in the world and said that his ankle was hurting "for days", so he knows what is in store for him, but more importantly than that, he knows what is at stake and that is the hopes of a whole group of people who are behind him! He said that tonight, he and Eddy set the tone for Souled Out and promised not to let the fans down VS. TAKA Michinoku defeated Jushin Thunder Liger (9:53) - The announcers noted that The Jung Dragons, CIMA & Dragon Kid as well as Kaz Hayashi & Jimmy Yang had been banned from ringside, but that Kristina was there in TAKA's corner. The one-and-only singles encounter took place almost seven years, just two years into TAKA's career in NJPW's inaugural Best of the Super Junior tournament and it was of course Liger who won that day. This time however was different. Kristina was vocal during the match and had a direct impact, distracting the referee during a Ligerbomb that meant when the referee did spot the pin, Liger had TAKA pinned for three seconds already and TAKA kicked out just before the three. Kristina then played no further part and it was TAKA who got the victory, perhaps the biggest of his career when he connected with his patented Michinoku Driver for the huge upset victory Fresh off his impressive, yet tainted victory on Nitro, Owen Hart was with Jeremy Borash and talked about how it was one of the highest profile matches and wins he's had in months. But despite that, he now knows what went down and so right here and right now, he's offering Booker T a rematch because he knows if that was him, he'd want a chance to rectify it. Borash suggested that with the upcoming NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament, it's likely that they will meet each other, providing of course that they win their qualifying matches, whoever they might be against. Owen said that he's talked a lot about the circumstances around his one-and-only World Heavyweight title reign in "the other place" and how it doesn't feel right, so the opportunity to win a title in the right way, under the right circumstances means a lot to him and he's not going to let it pass him by VS. Abyss defeated Joe Gomez (1:08) - Sadly, Joe never stood a chance as one Black Hole Slam later and he was done The American Nightmare and Daffney joined Abyss in the ring, but it wasn't Dustin with the microphone, as he stood beside Abyss as surprisingly Daffney took the lead. "David" she said between giggles, looking shy as she said it before blowing a kiss down the camera, and with that, The Nightmare Family departed! VS. Spike Dudley defeated Little Guido (7:04) - Looking to impress his brothers, Spike gave it everything he had against the leader of the Full Blooded Italians. Unlike Little Guido, who had the entire F.B.I. in his corner, Spike was out alone, perhaps trying to make a point but the presence of Big Vito & Johnny Stamboli soon came into play as they attempted to get involved in the match. Almost immediately though, this led to the Dudley Boyz to run out and for a fight to erupt between the four men! This continued up the ramp and to the back while in the ring, April Maritato slid her brother a pair of brass knucks, only for Spike to avoid the blow and follow up with a Dudley Dog for the big win Tony Schiavone threw it to the back where Gene Okerlund was standing by with Diamond Dallas Page. Gene brought up how so far, both he and Goldberg have dropped each other with sneak attacks, yet he can see that despite this, they both have respect for each other. DDP said that he can only speak for himself and said that he has a lot of respect for Goldberg, for everything he has accomplished in such a short time and you can't knock the fact he held the WCW World Heavyweight title for a whole year. But the fact of the matter is that it was him who ended that title reign, that undefeated streak so he knows what it takes to slay the beast and that it was time for him to wear the WCW United States Heavyweight title once again VS. Taz defeated Kanyon (2:49) - The intensity that Taz brought to ECW and saw him hold the ECW World Television title on four occasions and ECW World Heavyweight championship once was on display here for all to see. Taz showed no sign of intimidation in going up against someone like Kanyon, going so far as to completely disrespect him during the match with a hard slap across the face. Taz threw Kanyon over his head multiple times with incredible suplexes before locking in the Tazmission, one of the most deadly submissions in all of professional wrestling to force Kanyon to not tap out, but to pass out! Dave Penzer went to announce Taz as the winner, but "The Human Suplex Machine" snatched the microphone and shoved him away before declaring, "beat me if you can, survive if I let you!" Just before the main event, the announcers took the time to run down the final card for Souled Out, taking place this Sunday, live from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana: WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle © vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. WCW United States Heavyweight Championship: Goldberg © vs. Diamond Dallas Page WCW World Tag Team Championships: Edge & Christian © vs. Billy Kidman & Paul Wight WCW World Women's Championship: Joanie Lee © vs. Lita WCW World Television Championship - Extreme Rules: Rhino © vs. Rob Van Dam WCW World Trios Championships: X-Factor © vs. Steven Regal, Fit Finlay & Lance Storm Eddy Guerrero vs. Jeff Jarrett Booker T vs. Scott Hall The Hardy Boyz vs. B.W.A. Tony Schiavone also revealed that Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper would be on hand and would speak live to Gene Okerlund to reveal the twelve qualifying matches that would take place over the next two weeks to determine the six entrants for Nitro and six for Thunder in the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament VS. Rey Mysterio Jr. & Eddy Guerrero defeated Kurt Angle & Jeff Jarrett (14:22) - As expected, the match was a high intensity affair, especially following on from Rey's comments earlier tonight. Rey and Eddy didn't wrestle like they had big matches this Sunday, they threw everything they had at their opponents in an effort to win the match and "set the tone" as Rey said. Knowing full well that Rey has a pinfall victory over him already, Angle clearly had no intention of a repeat of that as he went right after Rey's ankle, the same one that he targetted one week ago, now in an effort to ground Rey but also to limit his impact at Souled Out with only three days to go until the pay-per-view. For his part, Jarrett followed suit as he applied the Figure Four Leglock, weakening Rey's resolve but it was Eddy who disregarded the referee's jurisdiction and broke up the hold with a boot right to Jarrett's face! The match would eventually break down but in the end, history repeated itself once again in identical fashion as with Rey screaming in agony while locked in the ankle lock, Rey was once again able to counter it and roll-up Angle for another three count! Once again, Kurt Angle couldn't believe it. He was in shock and took a couple of seconds before turning to the referee, screaming that it wasn't a three count. Unfortunately for him, the referee didn't agree and the decision was final, prompting a furious Angle to look around for Rey Mysterio Jr., only to find him half-way up the ramp, hobbling but with a smile on his face. If Rey can repeat this feat at Souled Out, we will have a brand new WCW World Heavyweight champion! WCW SATURDAY NIGHT RESULTS Shawn Stasiak, Mike Awesome & Chase Tatum defeated Scoot Andrews, Chris Chetti, & Reno (5:21) when Stasiak pinned ChettI Las Apaches defeated Kaori Nakayama & Aki Kambayashi (6:36) when Mari Apache pinned Kambayashi Lenny defeated Averno (5:52) via pinfall Haas Brothers defeated Andy Douglas & Kid Romeo (6:18) when Charlie Haas submitted Douglas Buff Bagwell defeated Scotty Mac (2:22) via pinfall Evan Karagias defeated Perro Aguayo Jr. (6:53) via pinfall Madusa defeated Lisa Marie Varon (5:02) via pinfall Jerry Lynn & Justin Credible defeated Hayabusa & Ultimo Dragon (11:28) when Credible pinned Dragon

WCW NITRO JANUARY 22ND, 2001 COLEMAN COLISEUM - TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA WCW returns to Alabama with just six days to go until the Souled Out pay-per-view, coming live from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana! The new voice of Nitro, Joey Styles welcomed everyone and introduced his broadcast colleagues Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and "The Professor" Mike Tenay before throwing it straight to the ring where Juventud Guerrera will take on Ron Killings in attempt to regain the WCW World Cruiserweight title! VS. WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Ron Killings © defeated Juventud Guerrera (9:03) - Having lost the title in his first defence, Juventud was desperate to make amends. As usual, Killings had Theodore Long by his side but that didn't seem to phase Juvi, as he threw everything he had at Killings, coming close several times as the fans made clear their support for the former champion. Killings however was clearly intent on not replicating Juvi's record and losing the title at the first defence as he tried to use the ropes, the tights and distractions from Long to win the match and once again, Killings' bending of the rules worked. Long's distraction of the referee allowed Chilly Willy to hit the ring from behind and deliver a low blow, allowing Killings to hit Consequences for the win Theodore Long and Chilly Willy entered the ring and Long handed Ron Killings his WCW World Cruiserweight title as Willy shoved the referee out of the way. As Long and his associates celebrated in the ring, the fans began to cheer as they spotted a furious Shane Helms running to the ring! Helms slid inside, decked Willy and then attacking Killings! He pounded away until Chilly recovered and pulled him off, allowing Killings to strike him from behind, turning the tide into a two-on-one beat down! Soon though, Shannon Moore & Evan Karagias charged out from the back and the sight of them sent The Cold Truth scurrying from the ring. Moore & Karagias checked on Helms, but he wasn't in the mood and pushed them aside and demanded a microphone before challenging Killings to defend the title against him on Thunder!" Joey Styles threw it backstage where Gene Okerlund was joined by both the Nitro General Manager Roddy Piper and his opposite number on Thunder, Hulk Hogan. Gene noted that Souled Out is just six days away, meaning the following night is the start of the brand extension and the beginning of the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament. Piper said that Gene was right before pointing out that as the WCW World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle can appear on both shows, this means they Thunder and Nitro will be rotating their pay-per-view title challengers, meaning that as Thunder is technically challenging first, the first main event of this new era will see a Nitro wrestler challenge for the title at SuperBrawl XI in February! Hogan responded by saying that he is confident that Souled Out will set the tone for the future, with Thunder dominating and predicted that Goldberg will retain the WCW United States Heavyweight title while Rob Van Dam will beat Rhino for the WCW World Television title and bring them both to Thunder! Piper didn't agree and for a moment, tensions threatened to overflow until Gene settled them both down. He then gave further detail to the upcoming tournament, revealing that there would be qualifying matches taking place over the first week following, Souled Out with every match on both Nitro and Thunder being a qualifier before the tournament kicks off properly, round-robin style the following week! Hogan said he couldn't wait and repeated his claim that this would be the biggest tournament in WCW history, but with Piper one-upping it and declaring it "the biggest tournament in professional wrestling history...period!" before promising that the winner would be from Nitro! As Hogan and Piper began to bicker again, they were interrupted by Spike Dudley, who shook the hands of both men and apologised for interrupting. He then asked Roddy Piper to sanction a trade for him to Thunder and explained that he didn't know what happened, but he should have been drafted with his brothers and that he wants to be with them on Thunder to challenge for the WCW World Trios titles. Piper said that he would like to keep him because he could see him as a challenger for the WCW World Cruiserweight title, but he can see how much it means to Spike and offered to release him from his Nitro contract! Spike was shocked, thanked Piper and Hogan then offered his hand to Spike and said "welcome to Thunder brother" VS. Joanie Lee defeated Allison Danger (1:04) - Big boot, powerbomb, lights out for Allison Danger and another dominant victory for the WCW Women's World champion Microphone in hand, Sherri Martel and Madusa joined Joanie Lee in the ring and Martel first heaped praise upon Lee for her dominance again. She then turned her attention to Thunder last week, commending Lita for his impressive win over Rhonda Singh, but as she said then, Lee and Singh might be bigger and more powerful than your average woman, but that's where their similarities end. Singh was a means to an end, and sadly her usefulness ended last week and Queen's Court has no further need of her services. She then told everyone, especially Lita to remember Souled Out, because that would be the first title defence in the most dominant reign in the history of professional wrestling In the back, Gene Okerlund had another guest and this time it was X-Factor. With X-Pac set to face Steven Regal momentarily, Gene asked Pac if he was concerned about Regal's words on Thunder. Pac laughed and asked Gene if he looked concerned, because no, he's not concerned one bit! He said that Regal is tough, but he has to catch him first and he is quicker than anyone in WCW. X-Pac himself then sent a warning, this to Regal's teammates Lance Storm and Fit Finlay, suggesting they stay out of the way otherwise they'd get hurt VS. Steven Regal defeated X-Pac (11:06) by disqualification - Regal made pretty clear his intentions last week on Thunder and there was no sign of playing around, just a purely focused and perhaps sadistic individual in action. Pac's attempts to rile Regal up failed completely, as the veteran from Blackpool, England had seen everything his opponent had to offer and took his time, working to inflict pain on X-Pac. Finally, Regal was able to lock X-Pac in the Regal Stretch, and with nowhere to go, X-Pac would gave no choice but to submit. However, just as he was about to do so, Justin Credible and Jerry Lynn ran up and broke up the hold, forcing a disqualification! Jerry Lynn & Justin Credible continued their beat down of Steven Regal and were soon joined by X-Pac in a three-on-one assault. The beatdown continued and as it did so, the announcers questioned the whereabouts of Fit Finlay & Lance Storm until a few seconds later, both men stumbled out from the back, clearly having been attacked! X-Pac laughed before turning back to Regal, who was now struggling to his feet but still defiant as he demanded X-Factor hit him again! X-Pac seemed to shrug, turned to Credible and the two connected with X Marks the Spot to finally put Regal down! X-Factor then posed in the ring with their WCW World Trios champions held high Cameras caught up with all three of the Dudley Boyz backstage, and Bubba Ray was pretty much reading Spike Dudley the riot act for letting the team down on Thunder. D-Von did not look happy either, while Spike was clearly apologetic and told his brothers that he would make it up to them by winning his match. He also had some good news; he has officially been traded to Thunder! Bubba Ray looked surprised and D-Von demanded to know who for, and Spike revealed that Roddy Piper had apparently sanctioned the move without asking for anyone in return because he could see how much it meant to him. The Dudley Boyz didn't seem to buy what Spike had said, or rather had been told but then told Spike to not let them down again against Little Guido on Thunder VS. Diamond Dallas Page defeated Dean Malenko (8:49) - Perhaps he was still feeling the after effects of Goldberg's spear from Thunder, but DDP had his work cut out for him against one of the greatest technical wrestlers alive today in Dean Malenko. A good back-and-forth match ensued that also cut to the back to see Goldberg watching on a monitor before DDP snuck out the back of a suplex to catch Malenko with the Diamond Cutter out of nowhere for the victory The second hour of Nitro kicked off with the arrival of Jeff Jarrett. His demeanour left his mood open to interpretation following his disappointing loss on Thunder, but when Jarrett spoke, it was with a smile as he recounted smashing his guitar over the head of Eddy Guerrero at the end of the show last week! He brushed off the loss to Rey Mysterio Jr., blaming it on the injury he sustained during the match, noting that if that hadn't happened he would of course have won, before saying he would just have to win the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title instead and take his shot at the WCW World Heavyweight title once he had done that. Jarrett was then cut off by the arrival of Eddy Guerrero. Despite what happened on Thunder, Eddy walked out with a smile and told Jarrett that "you got me good" before offering his hand. After considering the offer, Jeff went to take it, only for Eddy to pull back, turn serious and tell Jarrett that he was never going to shake his hand! Eddy said that he knows Rey Mysterio Jr. isn't here tonight as he's recovering from the injury inflicted by both Jarrett and Kurt Angle, but if he was here, he'd probably act a bit better, maybe even show Jarrett a bit of respect after the match, but that's because Rey is a good man, "and to be honest, I'm not all that good", telling Jarrett that he'll get payback for what he did. Before Eddy could go on, WCW World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle walked out and joined both Eddy and Jarrett in the ring. Angle ran Eddy down for what he claimed was trying to steal Rey's spotlight, noting that Eddy had his shot and he lost and then on Thunder he got involved in business that once again didn't concern him. Angle turned to Jarrett and said that it would have been a much better main event if he had to face Jarrett, and he agrees that Rey only won by fluke, but there's nothing they can do now before picking up on Eddy's comment that Rey wasn't here tonight and how after Thunder, Angle owes Eddy one for his attack. Angle and Jarrett stepped towards Eddy, who smirked and said he can see what's happening before immediately dropping Angle with a right hand! He went after Jarrett, but before he could do much, Angle jumped him from behind and a two-on-one beatdown ensued with Jarrett laying Eddy out with The Stroke VS. Chris Benoit defeated Johnny Swinger (2:31) - With just six days to go before one of the biggest matches of Benoit's life, he looked to gain momentum with a victory over youngster Johnny Swinger with the Crippler Crossface After his win, Chris Benoit called for a microphone. He said that everyone who has followed his career and knows about him will know he prefers to do his talking in the ring. He said that he's heard a lot of talk about his match with Bret Hart at Souled Out being a dream match, and that's true, it's a dream for him, but more than that it's a chance to finally get to where he deserves to be; at the very top of this industry. He said that he has all the respect in the world for Bret and he knows The Hitman feels the same, but when the bell sounds, he is there to win and more than that, he wants it to be definitive, he wants to make Bret tap out! Joey Styles received word of a commotion backstage, and when the cameras arrived they discovered a brawl underway between The Jung Dragons and Kaz Hayashi, Jimmy Yang & Jushin Thunder Liger! The arrival of the camera crew didn't seem to make a difference as TAKA Michinoku, CIMA & Dragon Kid continued to fight with their rivals, in a fight that had clearly been instigated by them. Finally officials arrived to separate both groups and as Liger was being held back, he yelled something in Japanese towards TAKA, who responded with some choice words of his own After the chaotic scenes backstage finally calmed down, Joey Styles sent it to the back where Jeremy Borash was standing by with Lita and the returning Hardy Boyz. Borash hyped Matt & Jeff's match at Souled Out as well as Lita's WCW Women's World championship opportunity. He then asked Matt & Jeff about their condition following the beat down by Erazo & Low Ki, but this just frustrated the brothers as Matt replied that they really don't get B.W.A.'s issue with them, saying they beat them to unify the ECW and WCW World Tag Team titles fair and square, and sure, they might not be happy about it but everything that has happened to Erazo & Low Ki since then is on them, not the Hardyz. Jeff said that one week ago they sneak attacked them, but at Souled Out they'll be standing face-to-face in the ring, and last time that happened, they walked out winners and the same thing was going to happen this Sunday. Borash turned to Lita, who said that she doesn't have to worry about Matt & Jeff because despite what B.W.A. did last week, she knows they are better men than Low Ki & Erazo and she guarantees their victory, just like she is going to do against Joanie Lee. She knows better than anyone that the odds are against her, she saw what Lee did to win the title and she's seen her make short work of everyone's she faced, so she knows. But that doesn't matter because she wants this match and she wants this title and she wants in more than The Glamazon does, and that's what will get her through and see her win VS. Ric Flair defeated Hector Garza (13:52) - After Garza's insulting words about his relationship with his son David on Thunder, Flair was fired up, and it certainly showed as he lit up Garza's chest with brutal knife edge chops. Garza however showed that, just as he did when he faced Diamond Dallas Page a few weeks ago, he has the ability to hang with the top stars in WCW as he took Flair to the limit. Despite this, Garza made a mistake and that was all it took as Garza missed his patented Tornillo, allowing Flair to follow up by targetting the knee and eventually locking in the Figure Four Leglock to pick up the submission victory Footage was shown from live events over the weekend, showing Evolution standing just behind the curtain or in some cases out on the entrance ramp watching matches. Back live, Evolution were with Gene Okerlund and he asked Shawn Stasiak about their activities. Stasiak answered plainly that they were doing exactly what he said they would be; scouting for talent. He said that over the past few months, they decided to split Evolution with Sonny Siaki heading up a group on Thunder while he, Mike Awesome, Chase Tatum and Mike Sanders remain on Nitro. In addition to that, they got rid of a lot of "dead wood" in the form of David Flair and Chuck Palumbo, with Stasiak not missing an opportunity to mock their loss on Thunder. As a result, they are recruiting and they have their eyes on a couple of people. When Gene tried to get the information as to the identities of these people, Stasiak laughed and told Gene not to worry, everyone would find out "sooner rather than later" before he and the rest of Evolution walked off Before the main event, the announcers hyped Thunder with the just announced main event of Eddy Guerrero & Rey Mysterio Jr. taking on Jeff Jarrett & Kurt Angle. In addition to that, TAKA Michinoku would take on the Japanese icon Jushin Thunder Liger, Spike Dudley goes on-on-one with Little Guido, Edge & Rhino against Paul Wight & Rob Van Dam, Bret Hart and Abyss in action, as well as more to be announced! VS. Owen Hart defeated Booker T (13:56) - Before the match, both men shook hands as a sign of respect. As expected, the match was a high quality, back-and-forth affair with multiple near falls for each and the fans support split down the middle as both Owen and Booker are fan favourites. But the turning point came when Booker T looked ready to secure the win as he followed up a big missile dropkick by lining up for the Axe Kick, but as he bounced off the ropes he was blasted from behind with the ring bell that was swung by Scott Hall! Quicker than a cat, Hall tossed the ring bell aside and escaped into the crowd, meanwhile in the ring, Owen recovered and unaware of what had just happened (as was the referee), scooped up Booker and drilled him with the belly-to-belly sitout piledriver for the big victory! The lack of ring bell didn't seem to elicit much of a concern for the referee or Owen Hart, who celebrated his victory before taking leave of the ring. As soon as they were both gone, Scott Hall snuck out of the crowd and attacked Booker T! Booker was defenceless as Hall put the boots to him before dragging him to his feet, hoisting him up and drilling him with the Outsider's Edge! Hall then posed in the ring as Nitro went off the air

Could I also be added please ? Thanks!

Update on Perry Saturn and other injuries following Thunder January 19th, 2001 by Mave Deltzer We understand that former WCW World Tag Team champion Perry Saturn has checked into rehab for drug addiction following an incident at Thunder last night. Apparently, Saturn turned up in no condition to work and was scheduled for a match on Saturday Night. WCW officials were not happy, but were also sympathetic when Saturn was confronted as he didn't deny his issues and in fact asked for help. Saturn was drafted to Nitro as part of the draft lottery, although not along with his Revolution tag team partner Dean Malenko so it's unlikely this will have any detrimental effect on Malenko going forward. Hopefully Saturn will get the help he is needed. Jeff Jarrett suffered an ankle injury during his main event match with Rey Mysterio Jr., which explains the match winning hurricanrana looking a bit off. It's understood that it was more of a twisted ankle and happened when Jarrett caught a diving Mysterio midway through the match. Fortunately, while Jarrett struggled to finish the match, it's believed that he will be back at 100% by the time of Nitro, where it's speculated he and Eddy Guerrero will have a confrontation of some kind, although nothing has been made official and no match has yet been announced. As for other injuries, AJ Styles suffered an abdominal injury back in December during his match with Owen Hart on the Boxing Day edition on Nitro. He has been out of action since, but is currently pencilled in for a return following Souled Out. Chris Jericho is another name that is currently injured, having suffered a bruised tailbone during a live event during the week. WCW didn't have any plans for him at the moment (at least until when the brand extension kick starts after Souled Out), so have elected to give him time-off to recover. Interestingly, Jericho had a booking to work the All Japan Pro Wrestling New Year Giant series tour and despite his injury, he worked a match with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Stan "The Lariat" Hansen, two men who aren't exactly known for working light. Despite this, it appears as though Jericho has emerged from this match relatively unscathed and his return timescale remains at about 3-4 weeks. Kevin Nash is another absentee, having been missing since his Starrcade loss to Rey Mysterio Jr. that resulted in his head being shaved. We understand that this is purely for storyline reason and that Nash is being held off returning to TV to build him back up. Interestingly, following the brand extension, when he does return he will not be alongside Scott Hall for the first time since jumping to WCW back in June of 1996.

WCW THUNDER REDBIRD ARENA - NORMAL, ILLINOIS JANUARY 18TH, 2001 Thunder kicked off in epic fashion with the arrival of a pissed off WCW United States Heavyweight champion Goldberg! There was none of his usual theatrics as he walked to the ring with a purpose, tossing his title into the ring before snatching a microphone and demanding that Diamond Dallas Page come to the ring and meet him right now! For his part, DDP's response was immediate as he walked out to what seemed to be a mixed reaction as noted by the now exclusive broadcast team of Tony Schiavone, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and finally, back at the announce booth, "Macho Man" Randy Savage. DDP had somewhat of a smirk on his face as he took his time walking down the ramp and entering the ring. DDP asked for a microphone while on the ramp and upon receiving it, asked Goldberg to "back up big man" before finally entering the ring. Goldberg then told DDP he has one minute to explain why he shouldn't just break him in half right now! DDP smirked again and told Goldberg that he wasn't here to apologise, but he would explain because he's not stupid, he knows that the spear Goldberg hit him with was an accident, he holds no ill-feelings about it. But it reminded him just what he has to fight against at Souled Out and the truth is, after that he wanted to remind Goldberg what he will face as well! He knows Goldberg underestimated him at Starrcade over a year ago, but he also knows that while Goldberg isn't the same as he was back then, he knows Goldberg still doesn't think DDP can beat him! Goldberg answered and said that he appreciates his honesty, so he's going to be honest with DDP as well; DDP can't beat him! He's not underestimating him, he knows what DDP is capable off and knows just how deadly the Diamond Cutter is and when he hits it, it's over. But that doesn't matter if DDP can't hit it, and at Souled Out, he won't hit it and he won't win. DDP said that Goldberg is confident, maybe cocky, but so is he and he doesn't share Goldberg's belief because the Diamond Cutter can and will come from nowhere, and he will be the new WCW United States Heavyweight champion! Goldberg said that it was pretty clear they both have their thoughts, they're both confident so suggested they head to Souled Out next Sunday and leave tonight the way they should have done on Nitro. With that, Goldberg extended his hand to DDP, who considered for a moment, looked around before finally shaking the hand of the champion! The two men showed their clear mutual respect...before Goldberg yanked DDP back and when DDP spun around, he walked right into a huge spear! Goldberg immediately hopped back up to his feet, smirked and said "oops" before picking up his title and walking away VS. The Full Blooded Italians defeated The Dudley Boyz (10:10) - Spike Dudley was in the corner of Bubba Ray and D-Von while Big Vito and Johnny Stamboli had both Little Guido and April Maritato by their side. Dusty Rhodes talked about how big of a win this would be for the FBI were they able to beat the former WCW World Tag Team champions before nothing they were huge underdogs due to the superior experience the Dudley Boyz possessed. However, that was exactly what happened. Little Guido attempted to interfere, prompting Spike to pull him off the apron, kicking off a brawl between the two cruiserweights! However as all this was going on, April then got onto the apron to yell at the referee, distracting him and Bubba Ray, allowing Stamboli to deliver a low blow before Big Vito followed up with a spike DDT for the win and the huge upset! Footage aired from Nitro this past Monday night where in the backstage area, Chuck Palumbo met with his old Evolution teammate David Flair, who seemed to be in a much better mood, perhaps as a result of being drafted to Thunder while Evolution ended up on Nitro. Palumbo told David that he was happy to see David in a good mood and suggested that as they are both on Thunder, why not bring back "some of that old Evolution magic" and work together? David considered for a moment and said that he liked the idea. Back live, Tony Schiavone announced that Palumbo & David would team up later tonight to face B.W.A. Gene Okerlund was joined by Jeff Jarrett, who following what went down on Nitro, will face Rey Mysterio Jr. in tonight's main event with Rey's Souled Out WCW World Heavyweight title match at stake. As Gene was about to ask a question, Jarrett demanded that he shut up and said that you were looking at the man who will finally end this joke of a run of Rey. He pointed out that Scott Hall failed to end him, Kevin Nash failed as well "and got his head shaved by a damned midget!" Jarrett however guaranteed that he wouldn't fail like them because after he beats Rey tonight, he will take his place at Souled Out and would have a worthy pay-per-view main event, not a joke and an embarrassment like we have now! Jarrett made clear that he doesn't have any relationship with Kurt Angle, in fact, he's got some unfinished business with Angle after he "stole" Jarrett's WCW United States Heavyweight title at The Great American Bash two years ago, so facing Rey tonight isn't for Angle, it's for him and after he wins tonight, he'll get his payback when he beats Angle for the WCW World Heavyweight title! Up next was Lita against Rhonda Singh and during Lita's entrance, Tony Schiavone recapped the attack on the Hardy Boyz by B.W.A. on Nitro and noted that they are not here tonight due to injuries sustained in the attack. Once Lita was in the ring, Singh made her way out accompanied by Queen's Court, but Sherri Martel had a microphone in hand, meaning she had something to say. Martel said she was impressed by Lita's guts, but not by her brains because in the unlikely event that she wins tonight, she still has to face WCW Women's World champion Joanie Lee at Souled Out and that will be a totally different experience! VS. Lita defeated Rhonda Singh (5:55) - The size and power difference was evident from the get go, but so was the speed advantage for Lita as after surviving several power moves in the early going, she was able to avoid a big splash, land two dropkicks before dropping Singh with a Twist of Fate which she followed up with a Litasault to pick up the win Immediately after the match, Joanie Lee entered the ring and stood across from Lita. For her part, Lita looked ready to fight, despite everything she had just been through and the effort that had taken her. Then in a shocking moment, Lee turned and blasted Rhonda Singh with a big boot! She then dragged her to her feet and showed her incredible strength by laying her out with an incredible powerbomb! Both Sherri Martel & Madusa were laughing outside the ring, where Martel repeated the words "totally different experience" VS. B.W.A. defeated Chuck Palumbo & David Flair (11:09) - While Palumbo & Flair's relationship goes back several years, they lacked the tag team experience of Erazo & Low Ki, who in addition to be being close friends have been a tag team for several years now. Despite this, David looked like he was getting back on track following his humbling loss to Shawn Stasiak at Starrcade and the emotional damage that and of course the betrayal and loss of his girlfriend Stacy Keibler did to him as he came close to a win, almost getting a submission victory with a textbook Figure Four Leglock on Erazo that he only escaped thanks to Low Ki. Unfortunately, David's momentum was stopped dead when he fell victim to a Ki Krusher from Low Ki before both Ki & Erazo followed up with the Brooklyn Stomp to David, allowing Erazo to make the pin Chuck Palumbo checked on David Flair, clearly disappointed but helped his friend to his feet and recognised the appreciation from the fans as he helped him from the ring. Before they could leave the ramp, the music of The Nightmare Family hit and out skipped Daffney for her in-ring debut! Daffney stopped right in front of Palumbo and David, turned towards David and blew him a kiss before skipping back away to the ring! VS. Trish Stratus defeated Daffney (8:20) - The announcers speculated about the exchange between Daffney and David Flair before turning their attention to the goings on in the ring. They noted that both women are the same age and that they both entered professional wrestling at about the same time, but that after that, the similarities completely end as evidenced by their respective looks and actions. Despite the absence of The Nightmare Family and this being her in-ring debut in WCW, Daffney held her own for much of the match, giving as good as she good but ultimately a Stratusfaction was the deciding factor in giving Trish the hard fought victory After his return on Nitro, Ric Flair joined Gene Okerlund to talk and said that he is feeling reborn after being back out there! He said that he feels better than ever, reinvigorated and ready to do what he said on Monday night; win the NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship! Flair was then interrupted by none other than Hector Garza! Garza told Flair that while he has been gone, things have changed and declared himself the face of Thunder because, "who is prettier than him?" Flair smirked and told Garza that he might be pretty, but he's no "Limousine riding, jet flying, kiss stealing, wheeling dealing son of a gun" like him; "The Nature Boy"" Ric Flair! It was now Garza's time to smirk as he took off his sun glasses and said that last time he checked, Ric wasn't "The Nature Boy", he lost that to his son David, asking how David is after yet another embarrassing loss? He then stopped himself, remembering that Ric and David have no relationship! This caused Flair to snap as he ripped off his jacket and tossed it aside before challenging Garza to face him on Nitro! VS. Billy Kidman defeated Christian (12:45) - After what happened on Nitro, Billy Kidman was looking to get some measure of revenge after TSE's attack on his partner Paul Wight. Considering Christian's history as a tag team wrestler, he showed, just as Tammy Sytch said, that he is an equally impressive singles competitor as well as he and the former two-time WCW World Television champion had a hugely competitive match. Unsurprisingly, Christian's tag team partner Edge attempted to get involved, tripping Kidman once, which drew Wight's attention, but it was the second time that he did it that saw Wight storm over and grab him by the throat! Fortunately for Edge, the referee spotted the altercation and managed to convince Wight to back down before ejecting both Wight and Edge from ringside! This allowed the match to continue, going on for several more minutes before Kidman managed to avoid a spear from Christian and drilled him with a BK Bomb, giving Kidman the opening to head to the top rope and land a picture perfect Shooting Star Press for the victory Steven Regal, Lance Storm & Fit Finlay were with Gene Okerlund and it was pretty clear they, especially Regal, were in foul moods. Regal said that a few weeks ago they put X-Factor on notice that the WCW World Trios championships were coming to them, and nothing has changed there. But after Nitro, something has changed and that is just what they are going to do them at Souled Out, because before then, they were going to beat them in a good old-fashioned wrestling match with the better team winning? Now...now they are going to punish X-Factor! Regal grabbed Mean Gene's microphone and directly to the camera said that X-Pac wants to play games and use a title belt in their match, well more power to him because now Regal wants X-Pac on Nitro and he can't wait to rip his bloody head off! For the first time tonight, Thunder General Manager Hulk Hogan headed to the ring. He soaked up the appreciation of the fans before saying he didn't want to take up too much time because they have "a hell of a main event" coming up. But he was out here because Souled Out is just ten days away and he wanted to announce another huge match for the pay-per-view. Following their obvious issues over the past couple of weeks, Booker T will go one-on-one with Scott Hall! But before that, this Monday on Nitro and for the first time since Starrcade, Booker T will be in action against someone he has high expectations of, someone he thinks could win the NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship, another of the huge names Thunder has to offer; Owen Hart! A video package aired, once again hyping the debut of Taz in WCW but this time, more information was given. It was announced that Taz would be making his WCW in-ring debut in one weeks’ time, live on Thunder where he would remain as a member of Hulk Hogan's Thunder brand! VS. Rhino defeated Shark Boy (0:32) - This could hardly be considered a match, because as soon as the bell sounded, Rhino charged and connected with the Gore for the super quick victory Tammy Sytch entered the ring with a microphone and raised Rhino's hand before gloating about his dominant victory. She then predicted that we would all be seeing this exact scene in ten days’ time at Souled Out, but the only difference is that it will be Rob Van Dam lying at a heap by her feet! This of course brought the challenger for Rhino's WCW World Television title as Rob Van Dam noted that Rhino's win was of course impressive, but no offence to Shark Boy, he isn't a fish, he's "the whole damn show"! Tammy said she didn't care about RVD's list of nicknames and bragged about how the title is staying on Nitro with Rhino and after Souled Out, RVD will walk away sad and disappointed without any title to bring back to Thunder. RVD said that it's been way, way too long since he last held singles gold, noting it was in fact around this time last year that he lost the ECW World Television title but all that means is he's hungry for it, hungrier than Rhino and any member of TSE! Tammy then mocked RVD for his comments, saying while RVD was busy losing the ECW World Television title, Rhino was gearing up the win the ECW World Heavyweight title, a title RVD never held! RVD smiled accepted that Tammy was right, he then thanked Tammy for bringing up their time together in ECW because he thinks that maybe Souled Out is the right place to revive some of that "extreme history" and suggested that their title match be contested under extreme rules! Tammy looked worried for a moment, but seeing the look ofalmost ravenous hunger on Rhino's face, that look soon turned to a sadistic smile as she turned to RVD and said that they accept the challenge! Thunder returned from a commercial break and welcomed back by Gene Okerlund. He hyped the main event that was just moments away, before bringing up the big announcement moments ago by Hulk Hogan, Gene's guests were the two men who would compete in the main event on Nitro; Booker T and Owen Hart! Gene noted that this was a big opportunity for both men, noting they are both coming off a disappointing Starrcade with Booker coming up short in the WCW World Heavyweight title match while Owen finished third in the pre-show battle royal. Owen said that he wasn't looking backwards, he was looking forward and said that with the draft, he has been seperated from his brother Bret and despite what people might think, he's happy about this! He said that he loves his brother, they held the WCW World Tag Team titles together but it was his time now to make a name for himself because he has his sights set on the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title! Booker T seemed to be a bit put out by Gene's comparison of their Starrcade outings, but said he agrees with Owen that it's time to move forward and just like Owen, he wants that NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship not just for himself, but for what it means, noting there has never been a black NWA Worlds Heavyweight champion, so he wants to make history. He then turned his attention to Scott Hall for once again bringing him up on Nitro, saying he'd take him down at Souled Out. Gene noted that while the format and entrants of the tournament have yet to be fully revealed, he imagines that both Booker and Owen will meet in the process and suggested that Monday night would likely not be their final meeting! VS. Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Jeff Jarrett (15:29) - Following Jarrett's comments earlier on Thunder about his goal to get even with Kurt Angle, it was obvious that Jarrett was going to hold nothing back in this big main event. Jarrett looked to exploit every rule as far as possible, utilising the referee's five count to the extremes, sending Rey crashing into the ring steps and using the barricades as well, trusting that the referee would let the match continue, to which he did. Rey was kept grounded as Jarrett targeted his right leg, obviously in setup for the Figure Four Leglock but he was never able to lock it in as Rey, despite being clearly hurt was able to escape on the three occasions that Jarrett went for it. Frustration boiled over for Jarrett when Rey kicked out of a neckbreaker and he stormed out of the ring, only to return with his guitar in hand. The referee immediately stopped Jarrett from using it, yanking it from his hand but as the referee went to remove it from the ring, Jarrett removed the turnbuckle covering behind his back and proceeded to send Rey into the exposed steel ring post! However, seconds later it was Jarrett feeling the pain as he went for a splash in the corner, only for Rey to duck down, sending Jarrett face first into the steel! Rey pounced on Jarrett's pain by heading to the apron and connecting with a springboard hurricanrana into a pin for the victory! Rey Mysterio Jr. emerged victorious, but it was clear that Jeff Jarrett had done a lot of damage to his leg, as had the springboard hurricanrana as he held his knee before using the ropes to get to his feet. Suddenly he collapsed in agony as Kurt Angle chop blocked him from behind! Angle laughed before stomping away at Rey's injured leg and locking him in the ankle lock! Rey was in clear agony as he struggled to break free or to reach the ropes, but Angle wasn't letting up as he continued twisting and turning until Eddy Guerrero charged out from the back to make the save! As soon as Eddy hit the ring, Angle released Rey and went toe-to-toe with him, continuing where they left off over one week ago! Eddy quickly took control, sending Angle reeling towards the ropes but just as it looked as though Eddy was going to take Angle out, he was blasted right across the head with the guitar wielded by Jeff Jarrett! Jarrett stood right over the laid out body of Eddy Guerrero, the remnants of his guitar in hand as Angle stood across the ring smirking as Thunder went off the air

WCW NITRO JANUARY 15TH, 2001 ROCKFORD METROCENTER - ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS Monday Nitro began with the arrival of Shawn Stasiak, Stacy Keibler, Mike Awesome, Mike Sanders and Chase Tatum; Evolution. The fans booed as their made their way to the ring, but it seemed to be music to Stasiak's ears as he asked them to boo even more because he loves it! Stasiak immediately mocked his old partner David Flair for his comments recently about not wanting to be on the same show as Evolution and suggested that perhaps he had broken David after he beat him at Starrcade. But Stasiak moved on and said he had "bigger and frankly better" fish to fry as he talked about tonight's main event; him and Awesome against Diamond Dallas Page and Goldberg! Stasiak said that Awesome is pissed that he hasn't received his rematch for the WCW United States Heavyweight title and even more so about the fact the title is going to Thunder so he won't get the opportunity at it after DDP and Goldberg's match at Starrcade. But he's got it all in hand because he spoke to Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan and due to Awesome being overlooked, they have agreed that when, not if, they win tonight, the match at Souled Out will become a three way dance with Awesome inserted into the match! He said that is is a joke that Evolution, the number four draft pick for Nitro is only now being highlighted but it's fine, because Piper is now going to see what they are really all about. He then turned his attention to other matters, noting the absence of Sonny Siaki and reminding everyone of their mutual parting of ways with Siaki preparing to "lead an Evolution" on Thunder and said that it unfortunately leaves them looking a little bit light. He then promised that they are no recruiting and that they have their eyes set on a number of talent, promising that just like they did before, Evolution will rule WCW, "but this time, I'll be there as the WCW World Heavyweight champion" VS. X-Pac & Justin Credible defeated Steven Regal & Fit Finlay (12:06) - Following Lance Storm's victory over Jerry Lynn last week and the beatdown by X-Factor that followed, it was announced that the two groups will meet at Souled Out for X-Factor's WCW World Trios titles. The presence of Lynn at ringside played a pivotal part as he had the referee distracted when Regal had Credible locked in the Regal Stretch, a hold that had Credible tapping out and after that the tide turned in X-Factor's favour. Once again, Lynn's antics distracted the referee but this time it drew the ire of Storm who went after him, kick starting a fight outside the ring, but this allowed X-Pac to grab one of the championships and, with the referee distracted, blast Regal in the face with it and make the cover just as the referee turned around to administer the three count Gene Okerlund introduced his guests from Tammy Sytch Enterprises as Gene announced that on Thunder, Christian would face Billy Kidman. Tammy hyped her man, saying even though everyone sees Christian as a tag team wrestler, people will soon realise that both Edge and Christian are top quality talent who can give everyone a run for their money one-on-one. Christian addressed Kidman and said that he couldn't wait because he really enjoyed watching Rhino rip him in half last week and while he isn't quite as "jacked" as Rhino, he's got something special in store for Kidman as well. It seemed as though the interview was over, but Chris Candido had something to say and he wasn't happy about what happened on Thunder when he was the "victim of an unprovoked attack", so he went to Nitro General Manager Roddy Piper and issued a challenge so he is facing Rob Van Dam tonight! Tammy seemed impressed, however, Piper himself walked in and said that he loves Candido's fire, he's a big fan but that's not exactly what he said. Candido seemed confused, so Piper explained that Candido had come to him seeking revenge for what happened, so he made a match, but Candido never specified RVD, so Piper assumed Candido wanted Paul Wight, which is who Candido will be facing later tonight! A smiling Piper walked off, leaving Candido absolutely shell-shocked, if not flat out terrified VS. Jushin Thunder Liger, Kaz Hayashi & Jimmy Yang defeated The Jung Dragons (8:56) - It was just a couple of weeks ago that Jushin Liger made a shock appearance to save Hayashi & Yang from an attack by The Jung Dragons and after securing a win over CIMA, a big trios match was the obvious next destination. As you would expect, all six men took to the skies and showed off their incredible abilities, with Yang delivering a breathtaking diving hurricanrana that had even the announcers on their feet. Kristina attempted to distract her former teammates, and it worked, causing Hayashi to confront her outside the ring, leading to to being jumped by both CIMA and Dragon Kid. But this wasn't the decisive factor as ultimately Liger's experience proved more valuable as he was able to score the win over Dragon Kid with the Ligerbomb Jeremy Borash was in the back with Bubba Ray, D-Von and Spike Dudley and he pointed out that as a result of the draft, they are now separated with Spike on Nitro and Bubba Ray and D-Von on Thunder, despite the option to be drafted as a unit. Spike answered and said that they made a mistake, he knows his brothers were drafted together and he accepted that he had probably made a mistake when filling out the form they were all given. But Spike said not to worry, he has spoken with Roddy Piper and he's hopeful that a trade will be arranged and that they will be able to set their sights on the WCW World Trios titles. Bubba then said that whatever happens, he knows that Spike can take care of himself on Nitro, just like they can on Thunder and just like they will on Thunder against The Full Blooded Italians Up next was the match between British Bulldog and Scott Hall and Hall made his way to the ring first and upon arrival, asked for a microphone. He addressed the splitting of The Outsiders as a result of the draft and revealed that the reason it happened was because Kevin Nash hadn't returned the form they all had to fill in, meaning even though he wanted The Outsiders to continue, it needed both men to decide the same thing. "Oh well, it is what it is" Hall said before reminding everyone of his accomplishments by himself; a former WCW United States Heavyweight champion and a four-time Intercontinental champion, "yeah, I named their belt, and what?" Hall added. He said that unlike some people, he isn't defined as a tag team wrestler because he actually has a singles career that was worth a damn! "Unlike some people, if I was in the main event of Starrcade challenging for the WCW World Heavyweight title, there'd be a new champion man", making clear reference to his recent issues with Booker T. Before Hall could go on much further, out walked his opponent for the night, an accomplished singles and tag team wrestler and as noted by Tony Schiavone, a former NWA Worlds Heavyweight champion; the British Bulldog! VS. Scott Hall defeated British Bulldog (11:43) - The two veterans might not have matched the speed that was on display in the last match, but they certainly showed their vast wrestling knowledge by taking it slow, looking for the right openings and turning up the pace when the time was right. In the end, Hall added an impressive win to his belt via pinfall after the Outsider's Edge Gene Okerlund was in the middle of the ring and introduced his guest; WCW World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle! Much like the reaction to Evolution earlier tonight, Angle received boos from the sold out crowd but unlike Shawn Stasiak, Angle told them to shut up and show him some respect! This just prompted more boos, which seemed to further annoy Angle, but he gathered himself and answered Mean Gene's question about the upcoming NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship tournament, something Angle didn't seem especially concerned about. He recognised the history of the title but said that is the key word there; "history". He said that title might have meant something once, but it doesn't now and the only way to make it mean something is for it to be held by someone who can bring proper prestige to it. Unfortunately for that title, as he is WCW World Heavyweight champion he is ineligible to enter and therefore no matter who wins it, the title will remain an irrelivence until The Great American Bash when he unifies it with "the only title that matters, his WCW World Heavyweight title"! The champion then turned his attention to his Souled Out opponent Rey Mysterio Jr. He pointed out that this time last week he was getting ready to beat Eddy Guerrero, Rey's buddy in the main event and retain his title, just like he'll do at Souled Out. Angle said that seen as he had to defend his title in a high profile match against "an undeserved opponent", he thinks that Rey should have to defend his right to challenge for the title as well and thinks he should do so this Thursday on Thunder! This brought out Rey Mysterio Jr., who stayed on the stage and told Angle that Eddy was not undeserving, in fact, he was long, long overdue the title opportunity he had and on another day, Eddy would have won and Angle knows that! Angle refuted this and reminded Rey that unlike when Rey pinned him, it wasn't a fluke, he made Eddy tap out so there was no question about what could have been because everyone knows that Rey will never be able to repeat what happened and pin him again by fluke! Angle then cut off Rey and say that he just made a challenge and Rey hasn't shown the proper respect to answer it! Rey replied that he earned his title opportunity fair and square by what he did at Starrcade and on Nitro on Boxing Day, but if it'll make Angle shut up, then fine, he'll put his shot on the line on Thunder! Suddenly Rey was blasted from behind as a guitar shattered across the back of his skull, a guitar wielded by Jeff Jarrett! Jarrett got right in the face of the now laid out Rey and yelled that he was taking his rightful place, it's his time because he's "the chosen one". In the ring, Angle was laughing before introducing Jarrett as Rey's opponent for Thunder! The second hour of Nitro kicked off with the return of "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair! After soaking up the applause, he thanked the fans and admitted that when he left the ring at World War 3 after losing the three-way match against Sting and Kurt Angle for the WCW World Heavyweight title, he considered hanging up the boots. After what has been one of the toughest years of his life, Evolution turning on him, his family issues being brought onto the national stage, losing to his son David at Bash at the Beach, he was ready to retire. He took time off and then those few weeks became more and more and suddenly Starrcade was round the corner and he wasn't wrestling, and do you know what; it didn't matter. When he realised that it didn't matter, that was when he made the decision that it was over, but making the decision and telling people of the decision is a big, big leap, so he held off, but his mind was made up; he was going to retire. Then the announcement came about the brand extension and while it got him interested, it wasn't enough, he was going to go through with it but then he got drafted to Thunder and at that point he realised it was too late because he had a commitment that he had to honour. But the truth is, his heart wasn't in it and when he got the call from Hulk Hogan to come to Thunder last week, he was going to tell him the truth, tell him everything and he did, he spilled his guts to a man he hates but a man that he respects and he isn't ashamed to admit that he was crying. But then Hogan told him something that changed it all, that re-lit a fire inside of him, a fire he thought was gone because he told him about the NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship tournament! He reminded everyone that he has held that title eleven times, three more than the legendary Harley Race and with all due respect to Race, to Dusty Rhodes, to Ricky Steamboat, to Jack Brisco, to Terry Funk and all the rest but that is HIS title! He then said that eleven isn't enough, he is going for number twelve, he will win the tournament, he will be the final NWA Worlds Heavyweight champion and he will be the man who brought respect back to the title before he goes on to win the unification match and become the undisputed WCW World Heavyweight champion! VS. The Cold Truth defeated Shane Helms & Shannon Moore (8:40) - It was clear that Shane Helms is laser focused on getting a fair shot at the WCW World Cruiserweight title, a title he believes would have been his were it not for the actions on Chilly Willy during the six-way dance last week on Nitro. However, this result will not have done his chances any good as once again Chilly was the deciding factor as with Moore looking for the hot tag, Chilly yanked Helms off the apron, giving Killings an opening to catch him with Consequence for the victory Shane Helms rushed the ring to confront Ron Killings, but Theodore Long got between the two men in attempt to cool the tension. However, this was just a distraction as it allowed Chilly Willy to attack Helms from behind, who subsequently dropped him with the Falcon Arrow, allowing The Cold Truth to make an exit just before Evan Karagias arrived to help out his 3 Count partners VS. Mari Apache defeated Lisa Moretti (5:27) - It was another chance for the Women's division to shine, perhaps for one of the final times on the Nitro brand as Mari Apache followed her sister Faby's win on Saturday Night with one of her own, this time against the veteran Lisa Moretti In a darkened room, The American Nightmare was surrounded by his Nightmare Family, Abyss and Daffney and shared some vague comments about "watching somebody" and "knowing they need help" and how "he is the one to save them", without going into any more detail than that. Dustin then stroked Daffney's hair and revealed that she would make her in-ring debut against Trish Stratus, saying everyone talks about how beautiful Trish is, but to their eyes, none are more desirable that Daffney Lita was in the back with Jeremy Borash to talk about her WCW Women's World title match at Souled Out and she repeated her words from Thunder, warning Lee not to underestimate her, saying she was more than willing to show that she can complete against a bigger opponent by challenging Rhonda Singh to face her on Thunder! Just then, B.W.A. interrupted the interview and it immediately prompted Lita to get ready for a fight. However Low Ki calmed her nerves, saying they were just here to talk. Erazo told Lita that she was debasing herself by associating with the Hardy Boyz when there were real men like them right here. Ki and Erazo crept closer as they talked, forcing Lita to back up but she showed bravery by telling them that Matt and Jeff were twice the men that B.W.A. were! This led Erazo & Low Ki to start laughing, "oh really" said Erazo as he grabbed Lita by the arm and dragged her away! The camera followed and they only had to go a short distance to find Matt and Jeff laid out in a mess on the floor! Lita pulled away and ran to check on them as B.W.A. asked who the real men were and Erazo told Lita they'll be waiting for her call! VS. Paul Wight defeated Chris Candido (0:35) - As expected, this one didn't last long. However, Candido attempted to explain the situation to Wight that he didn't want to face him, he wanted Rob Van Dam instead and to his credit, Wight listened intently and nodded along before grabbing him by the throat and drilling him with a huge chokeslam for the win. Unsurprisingly, Paul Wight never broke a sweat but within seconds he was swarmed by Edge, Christian and Rhino, all attacking him at the same time! "The Giant" held them off, even having Edge by the throat, ready to deliver a chokeslam only for Christian to distract him as he hit him in the back with one of the WCW World Tag title belts! Unfortunately for Christian, this didn't seem to phase him as Wight released Edge and turned to Christian, his eyes set on Christian's throat but he was stopped dead in his tracks when Rhino delivered a Gore that saw Wight crash to the mat! Finally reinforcements arrived as both Billy Kidman and Rob Van Dam ran out from the back, sending TSE scurrying for cover as they regrouped with Tammy Sytch on the entrance ramp. Kidman dared them to come back and fight, knowing he only had to wait three nights before his match with Edge on Thunder With just moments to go before the main event, Nitro General Manager Roddy Piper walked out and revealed that it wasn't just the wrestlers that had been drafted but also the announcers as well! He said that during the commercial break he and Hulk Hogan spoke with all of the contracted announcers and revealed to them where they had been drafted to. He then introduced, starting from right now the brand new announce team of Nitro; "The Professor" Mike Tenay, the legendary Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and introducing to WCW for the first time, the man who for 7 years was "The Voice of ECW"....Joey Styles! All three men walked out together and upon seeing Styles, an "ECW!" chant went up in the arena! The brand new Nitro announce team took their seats and Styles said that this was a huge night for him and he couldn't wait to get started while Heenan asked Tenay "who's the kid with the glasses?" VS. Diamond Dallas Page & Goldberg defeated Shawn Stasiak & Mike Awesome (12:34) - For the third week running, Goldberg is in tag team action and for the second time he is teaming with his Souled Out opponent. Mike Tenay noted the respect shown between both men but perhaps more importantly the confidence that each man has that it will be them walking out as WCW United States Heavyweight champion. Joey Styles reminded everyone that Stasiak and Awesome came into WCW together back in February of 1999, so despite everything Goldberg and DDP have accomplished, the tag team experience edge goes to the Evolution duo. Goldberg and Awesome renewed their rivalry, picking up where they left off in brutal fashion with both men showing their pure, brute strength. But the decisive moment of the match came when Goldberg had Stasiak in his sights for a spear, only for the Evolution member to pull DDP right into Goldberg's path! DDP was down and Goldberg was distracted for a moment, but that was enough for Awesome to attack from behind and land an Awesome Bomb before dragging Stasiak on top for what they presumed would be the three count, but Goldberg kicked out at the very last second! Stasiak then looked to finish his opponent off, dragging him to his feet where he looked for the Stasiak Plant, only for Goldberg to drop out the back and caught Stasiak with a spear! He then turned to Awesome and without missing a trick knocked him off the apron with another spear before picking Staisak up and drilling him with the Jackhammer for the win! Before Goldberg could celebrate, he was jumped by Mike Sanders and Chase Tatum. Unfortunately for them, Goldberg absorbed all of the blows and laid them both out with a double clothesline! Fortunately for them though, this just served as a distraction to allow Awesome to strike from behind and his power was far superior to that of Tatum or Sanders. Awesome then looked once again for the Awesome Bomb when out of nowhere came Diamond Dallas Page with the Diamond Cutter! DDP made the save for his Souled Out opponent, clearly recognising that the spear during the match was a mistake as he helped Goldberg up and shook his hand...only to pull Goldberg in for a Diamond Cutter as well! DDP hopped right back up, smirked and said "oops" before Joey Styles signed off Nitro for the first, but surely not the last time with his patented "oh my god!"

Definitely will! I had the next show ready to post two weeks ago, came here to post and realised the board move (which I completely missed!) was going on. I've then been on holiday and have only just had a chance to get back on, and I've seen a lot of the formatting has been muddled up, so need to work out how it all needs to look now, but hopefully the next show can go up today or tomorrow.

NWA update following Thunder announcement January 12th, 2001 by Mave Deltzer After the announcement by Eric Bischoff about the upcoming NWA Worlds Heavyweight title tournament, there have been a lot of questions about the future of the National Wrestling Alliance. We can confirm that World Championship Wrestling have indeed completed the purchase of the NWA and all associated copyrights, footage and of course championships. This means that historic titles such as the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title that dates back to 1948 is now owned by WCW. The plan, as per Bischoff is for a tournament to take place, seemingly similar to the G1 Climax held annually by New Japan Pro wrestling and once a new champion is crowned, there will eventually be a unification match with whoever the WCW World Heavyweight champion is at The Great American Bash pay-per-view, itself an NWA conception. This wouldn't be the first unification match involved the WCW World Heavyweight championship as Kurt Angle unified the ECW World Heavyweight title last September by beating Rhino. The WCW International World Heavyweight title was also unified back in 1994, but that title barely meant anything anyway. Interesting to note is that WCW have unofficially been a part of the NWA since around May last year, which is when the last recognised NWA Worlds Heavyweight champion Doug Basham (no, really) was forced to vacate the title and it has sat dormant ever since. In addition to that, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight, the NWA National Women's, NWA National and NWA National Tag Team championships have been defended at WCW or Championship Wrestling from Georgia (WCW's development territory) live events with WCW development contracted wrestlers LuFisto and James Storm & Chris Harris holding the NWA National Women's and NWA National Tag Team titles respectively. It's unclear what the future of these championships will be. Another question that had been asked is whether there were any plans to revive the NWA, what with the start of the brand extension. The answer appears to be yes, the original plan was to make Thunder the NWA brand and bring in the NWA championships to that show, but ultimately it was decided that as of January 2001, the brand of "WCW Thunder" is more valuable and more recognisable than the historic NWA brand and it was decided it wasn't worth the financial risk. A similar reason was used after WCW purchased ECW at the start of 2000 and eventually closed it down in September of the same year (coupled with poor ratings in the Saturday night slot and buy rate of the several pay-per-views held).

WCW THUNDER JANUARY 11TH, 2001 GERMAIN ARENA - ESTERO, FLORIDA Tony Schiavone welcomed everyone to Thunder and threw it right down to the ring where WCW President Eric Bischoff, Nitro General Manager Roddy Piper and Thunder General Manager Hulk Hogan were all already standing in the ring. Bischoff noted that he's sure people are wondering what exactly this new "huge announcement" is all about before showing off a black fabric bag that he was carrying. He said it had to do with this before pulling out the classic NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship! Bischoff gave a brief history lesson about the National Wrestling Alliance and said that up until 1993, WCW was a proud member along with numerous other promotions. However since that day, the NWA has fallen from relevance and has frankly been seen as a bit of a joke and ultimately no longer exists. Bischoff then accepted that WCW played a big part in this in how they handled their withdrawal, however he is standing here today with this championship because it's time to return some dignity to if not the NWA, but at least this prestigious championship. Eric Bischoff then revealed that on January 29th, the night that brand extension officially begins there will also be qualifying matches ahead of a tournament to crown a new NWA Worlds Heavyweight champion! In order to pay proper respect to the championship, the tournament will be under round-robin rules with a Nitro block and a Thunder block with the winner of both blocks facing off at WCW's brand new pay-per-view event Sin on March 25th. Bischoff explained that the purpose of this tournament is not to introduce a new World championship, but to pay proper respect and give someone that honour of being recognised as the final NWA Worlds Heavyweight champion because three months later at an NWA original event, The Great American Bash there will be a unification match with the WCW World Heavyweight champion! Bischoff said that WCW is proud of it's history and will pay proper respect to those that paved the way as a number of former NWA Worlds Heavyweight champions will be on hand at both events to present the championship. Hulk Hogan then took the microphone and said that this tournament was going to be the biggest one in WCW history and promised that a Thunder wrestler would walk away with the title. Roddy Piper laughed in the background before Hogan continued, revealed that while the brand extension doesn't kick in until the night after Souled Out, they are both in charge of their respective shows and as this is Thunder, it's time to reveal the main event. "All this talk of nostalgia has got him feeling hyped brother" before announcing Chris Jericho and Sonny Siaki teaming up to face "my number one draft pick" Goldberg and for the first time since World War 3; "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair! VS. Bret Hart & Chris Benoit defeated The Cold Truth (Ron Killings & Chilly Willy) - Nitro's number one draft pick Bret Hart teamed with another top ten pick in Chris Benoit as the two Canadian stars worked together well against Chilly Willy and the new WCW World Cruiserweight champion Ron Killings. Killings was clearly full of himself after his win on Nitro and may have been somewhat distracted at times, but it came down to Chilly and Bret Hart and despite the distraction attempts of Theodore Long, when Bret had Chilly in the Sharpshooter, there was only ever going to be one winner Following the match, Gene Okerlund met Bret Hart and Chris Benoit in the ring and asked Bret about being Roddy Piper's number one draft pick. Bret talked about going "way, way back" with Piper and said that he's grateful for the level of respect that it showed, promising to not let Piper down. Gene then brought up the NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship and Bret noted that it was the only major World championship he has yet to hold so he is 100% declaring himself for the tournament. Just as Gene was going to sign off, he was stopped by Chris Benoit who wasn't especially impressed about being ignored, revealing that he too was entering the tournament and reminded Gene that while he may not have been the number one draft, he was still in the top ten. However that wasn't what he wanted to talk about, he wanted to talk about what Piper said about him not "breaking the glass ceiling", because it made him think and the fact is that Piper is right; someone with his abilities should have been World Heavyweight champion by now. "And who's fault is that? It's mine, nobody else's" answered Benoit, saying it was time for him to make be the champion and the best opportunity he has to do that is to beat "the best". Benoit immediately turned to Bret and said that as far as he's concerned, Bret is the best, it's not a discussion and when they faced off last year, he felt it and he lost. But now he was challenging Bret to face him at Souled Out! Bret talked up Benoit as having "every tool" to be the best because he has everything that the Dynamite Kid had, the power, the speed and he has the technical ability that only the Dungeon in Calgary can create, so he accepts Benoit's challenge! The two men shook hands and Gene announced it officially; Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit at Souled Out!" During the commercial break, Theodore Long was assuring Ron Killings & Chilly Willy that the loss didn't matter, all that matters is the WCW World Cruiserweight championship around the waist of "The Truth". However they were then approached by a furious Shane Helms along with the rest of 3 Count. Helms confronted Killings & Chilly, telling them that he was coming for them because Killings knows that if it wasn't for Chilly, he'd be the new champion. Long stepped between the two groups and told Helms to back off because despite whatever Helms claims, he isn't the champion, never was gonna be and Killings is "so you need to take your little friends and walk on" before he, Killings & Chilly walked away, leaving Evan Karagias & Shannon Moore to try and calm Helms down Queen's Court was backstage with Gene Okerlund, who revealed that Madusa had now been medically cleared and that her first match back would take place later tonight against Lita! Madusa said that it's been over a month and she's been itching to get back in the ring "and it's so, so right" that her first match back is against Lita. "No offence Sherri", but she disagrees with Sherri Martel that Lita should get a title shot next, but that's not her call and she knows that at Souled Out, "The Glamazon" Joanie Lee will end her. But that poses the question; will Lita even make it to Souled Out? Sherri Martel explained to Gene that she appreciates Madusa's honestly, in fact, she wants that challenge because that what pushes them all to be the best! Sherri, Madusa and Rhonda Singh walked off, leaving Gene to look up at the towering Joanie Lee, who glared at him before making her exit VS. Rhino, Edge & Christian defeated Rob Van Dam, Paul Wight & Billy Kidman - Following their issues on Nitro, it was confirmed that Rob Van Dam of Thunder would get a shot at Nitro and Rhino's WCW World Television championship at Souled Out, making that the second championship that could not only change hands but also homes at the pay-per-view. Tammy Sytch was at ringside, but during the course of the match, TSE's other member Chris Candido came down to try and get involved for the team as he slid one of the WCW World Tag Team championships into the ring towards Edge, only for Edge to try and powerbomb Kidman, which never works as Kidman reversed it into a face buster! This would have been the end were it not for quick thinking from Christian to make the save at the last second! Shortly after, Kidman lined up Edge for a Shooting Star Press, only for Christian to pull him to safety, leading to Kidman jumping down where he was immediately met with a Gore out of nowhere for the victory! Chris Candido, looking to make up for his error earlier in the match entered the ring right after and started putting the boots to Billy Kidman. With Kidman already essentially unconscious and Rhino, Edge & Christian celebrating their win with Tammy Sytch, Candido soon found himself alone in the ring with Rob Van Dam and a pissed of Paul Wight! Candido begged off, but Wight didn't care, grabbed him by the throat and laid him out with a huge chokeslam! The punishment wasn't over however as RVD shrugged, hopped up to the top rope and landed a picture perfect Five Star Frog Splash, leaving Tammy Sytch and the TSE furious on the outside. Hector Garza was lacing his boots, preparing for his match with Diamond Dallas Page later when he was met by Psychosis, Super Crazy & Perro Aguayo Jr; his Luchadores Enojados team mates. Garza stood up and Psychosis asked what happened and whether he made a mistake with the draft, but Garza said no because it was time for him to make a name for himself. He said that with no disrespect meant to them, he had outgrown the Cruiserweight division and said it makes him sick to see the likes of Eddy Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr. trying to stake a claim as the face of luchadores across the world when that should be him! He told them that while they might no longer be together, they will always be Luchadores Enojados, and with that they all fist bumped and embraced. VS. B.W.A. defeated C.W. Anderson & Chris Chetti - After their shocking arrival on Nitro, Low Ki & Erazo showed WCW fans what led them to become ECW World Tag Team champions, beating Hayabusa & Ultimo Dragon to do so as they made short work of their opponents, finishing off Chetti with the Brooklyn Stomp Immediately following the match, Erazo snatched the microphone from ring announcer Dave Penzer and introduced themselves to the WCW audience; Low Ki & Erazo, B.W.A. which stands for Brooklyn With Attitude. He said they've "done some bad things" before getting to this point, but this is their place, right here in professional wrestling. He said that they arrived in ECW and made an impact, they won the ECW World Tag Team titles and were just about to start their legacy when the Hardy Boyz ruined it. He reminded everyone that they won the titles on August 30th and lost them September 2nd to the Hardyz in the unification match. He said that night was supposed to be their night, they were going to walk onto Nitro with the WCW World Tag Team titles, but it didn't happen and until last week, they were gone. He said WCW didn't bring them in, so they went to Japan, they dominated over there, won championships but while the Hardy Boyz were making the money, taking the spotlight, living it up, they were sleeping in their cars! They should have had the money, it should have been them at Starrcade and it should have been them becoming big stars and now they're finally here in WCW, they're going to take it all away from the Hardy Boyz! Just as Erazo had finished, the music of the Hardy Boyz hit and Matt & Jeff ran out! They made a beeline right for the ring and went straight after Erazo & Low Ki, laying into them with rights and lefts and had them on the ropes as the fans cheered them on. Matt & Jeff then lined up for stereo Twist of Fates, but Erazo & Low Ki were able to pull away and escape from the ring, leaving the Hardy Boyz clearly frustrated but still ready to fight VS. Diamond Dallas Page defeated Hector Garza - Garza came into this with a big, big point to prove after his comments to his now former team mates in Luchadores Enojados, and he more than did that against the bigger star DDP. While Garza is aiming to move away from being labelled as a Cruiserweight, that doesn't mean he was going to change his style as he used his superior speed and athletic ability to keep DDP on his toes, and it was clear that at times, it was a struggle for DDP to keep up and it looked as though a huge upset was on the cards. But one moment, one mistake was all it took as Garza went for and missed his patented Tornillo and when he got back to his feet, he walked right into a Diamond Cutter to hand the very hard fought victory to DDP as the announcers praised Garza's fighting spirit In the backstage area, Gene Okerlund introduced WCW United States Heavyweight champion Goldberg! Gene asked him about being "the face of Thunder", and Goldberg smirked and said that "I'm the face of WCW Mean Gene" before saying that he's going to make Thunder the top show around because he will be here each and every week and beat everyone in his way. Gene asked him about teaming with the returning Ric Flair tonight, as well as facing an old enemy in Chris Jericho. Goldberg said that he doesn't need to talk about Jericho, he's done enough talking on him but as far as Flair goes; they are very, very different people, both inside and outside the ring, but the only thing they have in common is their hunger to win. Gene then turned his attention to the announced NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship tournament coming up and noted that he has been informed that champions are excluded from the tournament, which Goldberg isn't happy about, saying he is more than capable of representing his title while challenging for another one. Laughter was heard off camera before Diamond Dallas Page approached! Carrying a towel after his gruelling match with Hector Garza, he told Goldberg not to worry, he'll get his chance at the title because after Souled Out, DDP was going to be WCW United States Heavyweight champion! "Oh is that right" said Goldberg and a now deadly serious DDP replied "yeah, it is" before walking away VS. Lita defeated Madusa - For her first match in over a month, Madusa didn't look as though she had spent that long away from the ring at all. The challenger for Joanie Lee's WCW Women's World championship looked good as well, not showing any signs of distraction from the issues between the Hardy Boyz and B.W.A. this week and despite the experience difference, Lita was able to pick up the big win with the Litasault After having her arm raised in victory, Lita called for a microphone and said that ever since being named the number one contender, all she's heard is that she's not going to win the WCW Women's World championship, and this isn't just from Sherri Martel and Queen's Court but from nearly everyone. She said that Matt & Jeff believe in her and she knows her fans do, but the most important thing is that she believes, and she does believe and beating Madusa tonight reinforces that belief! She then warned Joanie Lee not to look past her and to not underestimate her Footage was shown from after the conclusion of Nitro where Jeremy Borash attempted to speak to Scott Hall about the shock result of the draft that saw Hall on Nitro and Kevin Nash go seperately to Thunder, but Hall ignored Borash's questions, simply walking past before shoving Borash out of the way, getting in his car and driving off! Another video package aired, highlighting the impressive suplexes of Taz before reminding everyone that he was coming soon VS. Lance Storm defeated Jerry Lynn - Tony Schiavone noted that these two highly technical wrestlers had only crossed paths once before, back in May at ECW's Hardcore Heaven as a part of a four-way tag team match, but never one-on-one. As expected, it was a technical affair with but with neither man afraid to go to the air when called upon. The match could easily have gone either way and with Steve Regal & Fit Finlay at ringside to counter any potential involvement from the rest of X-Factor, it ensured a fair match continued that saw Storm able to catch Lynn in the Canadian Maple Leaf submission for the victory Within seconds of the submission, X-Pac & Justin Credible hit the ring to put the boots to the victorious Jerry Lynn until Steven Regal & Fit Finlay ran out to even the odds. With Storm laid out, it was two-on-two and even, in fact it was edging towards Regal & Finlay until a recovered Lynn came from nowhere and blasted Finlay between the eyes with one of the WCW World Trios championships! Regal momentarily turned his attention towards Lynn, at which point X-Pac and Credible attacked from behind and the three men delivered a beat down that culminated with Credible and X-Pac delivering X Marks the Spot to lay Regal out alongside both Storm and Finlay Before the main event, it was announced that on Nitro, WCW World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle would be there live, Scott Hall will face the British Bulldog, Steven Regal & Fit Finlay will take on X-Pac & Justin Credible and after their confrontation earlier tonight, Shane Helms will team with Shannon Moore to face Cold Truth on Nitro! VS. Goldberg & Ric Flair defeated Chris Jericho & Sonny Siaki - The young up-and-coming Sonny Siaki was looking to make a name for himself after stepping away from the main group of Evolution, but with Miss Gorgeous George by his side, he still continued to work "the Evolution way". Coming up against the groups founder in Ric Flair gave Siaki something of a point to prove, but unfortunately for him, Flair also believed he had something to prove following his recent prolonged absence. Goldberg and Jericho also renewed acquaintances, but Jericho did everything he could to stay out of the WCW United States Heavyweight champion's grasp, but he did fall victim to a big spear from "The Man", sending him tumbling out of the ring. Ultimately it came down to Flair and Siaki and while Siaki looked on top, posing after dropping Flair with a big powerslam, he neglected to pay Flair the proper attention as he showed just why he is the dirtiest player in the game as he caught Siaki with a chop block from behind before locking in the Figure Four Leglock to score the submission victory on his return match to WCW

1. Goldberg - WCW UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION 2. Ric Flair 3. Booker T 4. Rob Van Dam 5. Estrellita 5. Faby Apache (Las Apaches) 5. Jacqueline (Sisters of Pain) 5. Jazz (Sisters of Pain) 5. Joanie Lee - WCW WORLD'S WOMEN CHAMPION (Queen's Court) 5. Lisa Morreti 5. Lita 5. Little Jeanne 5. Madusa (Queen's Court) 5. Malia Hosaka 5. Manami Toyota 5. Mari Apache (Las Apaches) 5. Rhonda Singh (Queen's Court) 5. Sherri Martel (Queen's Court) 5. Starla Green 5. Trish Stratus 5. Yuki Miyazaki 6. Owen Hart 7. Rey Mysterio Jr. 8. The Nightmare Family (The American Nightmare, Abyss & Daffney) 9. Chris Jericho 10. Kevin Nash Billy Kidman (w/ Torrie Wilson) British Bulldog B.W.A. (Low Ki & Erazo) Chuck Palumbo David Flair Disco Inferno The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley) Eddy Guerrero Full Blooded Italians (Little Guido, Big Vito, Johnny Stamboli w/ April Maritato) The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) Hector Garza Lex Luger Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth) Shane Douglas Sonny Siaki (w/ Miss Gorgeous George) Steven Regal, Fit Finlay & Lance Storm Stevie Ray Stevie Richards Tonga Fifita X-Factor (X-Pac, Justin Credible & Jerry Lynn) - WCW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONS Kurt Angle - WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION Bret Hart 1. Sting 2. Tammy Sytch Enterprises (Edge & Christian, Rhino & Tammy Sytch) - WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS & WCW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION 3. Evolution (Shawn Stasiak w/ Stacy Keibler, Mike Awesome w/ Mike Sanders & Chase Tatum) 4. AJ Styles 5. Averno 5. Blitzkrieg 5. Chavo Guerrero Jr. 5. Chris Candido 5. Christian York (w/ Alicia Webb) 5. CIMA (The Jung Dragons) 5. Dragon Kid (The Jung Dragons) 5. Elix Skipper 5. Evan Karagias (3 Count) 5. Hayabusa 5. Jimmy Yang (Yang & Hayashi) 5. Joey Matthews (w/ Alicia Webb) 5. Juventud Guerrera 5. Kaz Hayashi (Yang & Hayashi) 5. Kid Kash 5. La Parka 5. Lash LeRoux 5. Lenny 5. Lizmark Jr. 5. Perro Aguayo Jr. (Luchadores Enojados) 5. Psychosis (Luchadores Enojados) 5. Ron Killings (w/ Theodore Long) - WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION 5. Shane Helms (3 Count) 5. Shannon Moore (3 Count) 5. Shark Boy 5. Super Crazy (Luchadores Enojados) 5. TAKA Michinoku (w/ Kristina) (The Jung Dragons) 5. Ultimo Dragon 5. Yoshihiro Tajiri 5. Diamond Dallas Page (w/ Kimberly Page) 6. Scott Steiner 7. Paul Wight 8. Chris Benoit 9. Scott Hall 10. Alex Wright Brad Armstrong Buff Bagwell Chilly Willy (w/ Theodore Long) Dean Malenko Ernest Miller Hugh Morrus Jeff Jarrett Johnny Swinger Jushin Thunder Liger Kanyon Konnan KroniK (Brian Adams & Bryan Clarke) Norman Smiley Perry Saturn The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels w/ Midajah, Mike Shane, Todd Shane & Steve Corino) Ravishing Perfection (Curt Hennig & Rick Rude) Rick Steiner Sione Vaihahi Spike Dudley

<div align="center"><div style="width:1300px;padding:10px;border:20px solid #000000;margin:10px;"> WCW NITRO JANUARY 8TH, 2001 AMERICAN AIRLINES ARENA - MIAMI, FLORIDA This historic edition of Monday Nitro kicked off with WCW President Eric Bischoff standing at the top of the stage with podiums representing both Thunder and Nitro either side of him. He promised that WCW would never be the same after tonight before introducing first the General Manager of Nitro, Roddy Piper and second Thunder's General Manager Hulk Hogan! The two men soaked up the incredible reaction from the fans, even sharing a tense handshake before they headed to their respective podiums. Bischoff then said that they weren't going to hang around, they were going straight into the draft and as a result of a coin toss, Thunder has earned the first draft pick which means that Hulk Hogan gets the honour of drafting the very first wrestler. Hogan thanked Bischoff and said that he had thought long and hard about how he wanted to assemble his roster and, frankly there was only one name he could start with. But before Hogan could make that selection, WCW World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle stormed out! Angle was furious and told Hogan and Piper that "your little draft can wait" because he had serious issues he wanted to address! He immediately complained about what happened on Thunder with his pinfall loss to Rey Mysterio Jr. Angle complained that first of all, Rey was using the ropes, then that he also had a handful of tights but then beyond that, Rey wasn't even the legal man! Of course, each and every one of this claims was false, but that didn't stop Angle complaining about "the injustice of it" all, but what it did lead to is both Piper and Hogan leaving their podium and approaching the champion with Piper reminding Angle what tonight is about; a new era for WCW. Hogan said that he and Piper do not get along, "in fact we hate each others guts" but they came together to come up with a great main event for tonight, one they actually agreed upon together that they can now announce. Angle presumed it involved him, to which Piper pointed out that he was right, in fact it will be Angle against a man he came face-to-face with last week on Thunder; Eddy Guerrero! Angle was about to talk when Hogan interrupted him, telling him to shut up! Hogan then said they weren't done because in that match, Angle will be defending his WCW World Heavyweight championship! Angle was furious and complained to both Hogan and Piper but neither seemed to care, so he tried his luck with Bischoff, who brushed it off and said "they're running the show", prompting Angle to storm off! Now that was out of the way, they could finally turn their attentions back to the draft and pick up where they left off with Tony Schiavone announcing that we would hear the top ten picks tonight with the top three for each show right now. Hogan said that this was a huge deal, so he knew there was only one name he could go with; his first pick for Thunder is WCW United States Heavyweight champion Goldberg! Roddy Piper was impressed, telling Hogan that he "got the big one", but Piper said that was fine, Hogan went for the most powerful man in professional wrestling, he's going for the very best wrestler in professional wrestling and announced Bret Hart as Nitro's first pick! Hogan laughed and praised Piper's pick but said that his next pick might well disagree with his claim and drafted Ric Flair to Thunder! Now was Piper's time to laugh as he said "good luck working that relationship" before turning his attention to his next pick, saying is only one name you think of when you think of WCW; longer than him, longer than Hogan, and unlike Flair, a man who has been here since day one and never left; Nitro picks Sting! It was Thunder's final turn for the time being, so Hogan considered for a moment and said that even though his next pick came up short at Starrcade, he is certain that before 2001 is over, we will see him as WCW World Heavyweight; Booker T is heading to Hogan's Thunder! Roddy Piper was left with the third and final draft pick for the moment, and Piper said that it was time for Nitro to get some gold. He said that he isn't a fan of this group, but they have the most momentum of all in this company, what with them holding both the WCW World Television and WCW World Tag Team titles, so he is drafting Edge, Christian and Rhino; Tammy Sytch Enterprises! Hogan actually looked frustrated, like he had made a mistake or missed a trick but quickly refocused and applauded the selection before Tony Schiavone took over, hyping tonight's show with the blockbuster announcement of the main event pitting Angle against Eddy with Angle's title on the line!" <HR> VS. VS. VS. VS. VS. WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Ron Killings defeated Juventud Guerrera ©, Chris Candido, Lenny, Super Crazy and Shane Helms - This match was conducted under elimination rules until two men remained, at which point it became a standard one-on-one match. The first man out was shockingly the former champion Candido, as seconds after an impressive second rope powerbomb to Lenny, he took the opportunity to check in with Tammy Sytch, only for Juventud to toss him out! Candido was in shock, more so when he saw the look of disappointment on Tammy's face as she walked away and he scurried along after her! Back in the ring, Lenny recovered from the powerbomb to show that he could well be a major player in the Cruiserweight division moving forward when he countered a hurricanrana attempt by Juvi and eliminated him, ensuring a new champion would be crowned. Unfortunately for Lenny, he made a fatal mistake of posing, giving Helms and Crazy the chance to team up and dump him from the ring. Helms and Crazy then went after one another until Killings joined the fray, working with Crazy to try and dump Helms. Fortunately Helms rallied, knocking Killings back and after sending Crazy to the apron was able to hit a springboard dropkick to eliminate him, bringing it down to just Killings and Helms. The two held nothing back with both knowing the value of what is at stake, but sadly for Helms, the decisive factor proved not to be either mans skill, but the sneakiness of Killings' new ally Chilly Willy. With the referee distracted by Theodore Long, Chilly snuck in the back, delivered a low blow and a Falcon's Arrow to Helms, allowing Killings to hit Consequence for the three and to win the WCW World Cruiserweight title! <HR> Theodore Long immediately snatched the WCW World Cruiserweight title and ran into the ring along with Chilly Willy and handed the title to it's new owner; Ron "The Truth" Killings. By now, Shannon Moore & Evan Karagias had made it into the ring to check on their partner Shane Helms, who initially looked devastated, but that turned to frustration at the sight of Killings with the title, a title he came so close to winning <HR> Returning from the commercial break, both Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan were back at their podiums again for what Tony Schiavone revealed would be two further picks with the second for each being the choice between the Cruiserweight and Women's division, with Piper and Nitro getting the choice due to Hogan and Thunder getting the first draft pick earlier tonight. Hogan said that Piper has a pretty strong roster so far and admitted that getting TSE and the two championships they bring with them would have been a pretty sweet deal, but he had a plan and he's sticking with it because his next draft pick is someone who has been on a roll for months here in WCW. Someone who from now on can claim the name of "Mr. Thursday Night"...Rob Van Dam! "Damn" said Roddy Piper before laughing and saying "this is kinda fun" before turning his attention to the first of his two selections. He noted that when he picked TSE earlier, he said he didn't like them, not one bit but he can respect talent. His next pick is similar, it's another group, but this set of people he likes even less than TSE! They might not be have any championship gold right now, but he's sure they will again, especially with the winner of New Blood Rising in their ranks as Piper proceeded to draft Mike Awesome, Chase Tatum, Mike Sanders, Stacy Keibler and Shawn Stasiak; Evolution! However Piper wasn't done as it was time for the divisional draft and due to Thunder winning the toss to make the first pick, Nitro gets to select either the Women's division or the Cruiserweight division. Piper said that this was a hard one because from what he's seen, as far as he's concerned the women in WCW are some of the toughest around! "Joanie Lee, she scares me man" he said before saying some of the women have done things that he has never seen before! He admitted that this was almost a coin toss and that he'd have been happy either way, but that said, the excitement of the Cruiserweights just edged it for him! Hogan applauded Piper and said that if it were his pick, he was going to take the Women's division so he is more than happy <HR> VS. The Hardy Boyz defeated Tonga Fifita & Sione Vaihahi by disqualification - Fresh off of an impressive win over Dean Malenko a week ago, Jeff Hardy reunited with his brother Matt in an attempt to continue building momentum. The announcers noted that with the way the draft has gone so far, Matt & Jeff are in a dilemma as their partner Lita has been drafted to Thunder while the WCW World Tag Team titles are on Nitro, so whatever happens will cause a problem. However there were problems much closer at hand, as when it looked as though the Hardyz were on their way to a win, they were attacked by two men wearing hoodies and face masks! The referee immediately called for a disqualification and awarded the match to Matt & Jeff <hr> Despite the disqualification, the assault continued as the two unnamed assailants continued their unprovoked assault on Matt & Jeff Hardy! One of the attackers hooked up Matt, lifted him upside down and drilled him in a sickening manner down right on his head! The other man, having delivered brutal stiff kicks to Jeff then delivered a brutal fisherman driver! The two men then regrouped in the middle of the ring, removed their hoodies and masks to reveal themselves as former ECW World Tag Team champions Low Ki & Erazo; B.W.A.! At the sight of Jeff stumbling towards them, Erazo dragged him to his feet while Low Ki went to the top rope. Erazo then hoisted Jeff up in a powerbomb position, but it was Low Ki that delivered the impact as he dove off with a double footstomp into a powerbomb that Tony Schiavone identified as being the Brooklyn Stomp! B.W.A. stood tall and surveyed the damage they had inflicted upon an impressive arrival in WCW at the Hardy Boyz expense <hr> Gene Okerlund was with Chuck Palumbo ahead of his match with The American Nightmare a little bit later, and Chuck said that it didn't matter to him where he ended up, only that he still had a score to settle with Evolution. The interview was interrupted when David Flair walked in and the two friends slapped hands with David wishing Palumbo luck for his match. David went to leave, but Palumbo stopped him and reminded him that regardless of where he ends up, he has "a damned bright future", suggesting that maybe they could watch each others backs if they end up on the same show. David thanked Palumbo, but simply said "thanks, maybe" before walking away <hr> VS. Joanie Lee defeated Yuki Miyazaki - After the WCW Women's World champion's attack on Yuki on Thunder, Tony Schiavone revealed that Yuki had requested this match. She hadn't asked for a title match, but the announcers noted that if she were to win, she'd jump right to the front of the queue. Unfortunately for Yuki, Joanie Lee was never under threat and in fact she just looked like an animal playing with her food before she finally decided to end the match with a big powerbomb <hr> Sherri Martel and the rest of Queen's Court entered the ring to gloat about the sheer dominance that they would bring to the Women's division, now exclusively set for Thunder. She ran down Roddy Piper for not picking them, claiming that Lee is a bigger star than anyone in the Cruiserweight division and that he was right to be afraid of "The Glamazon" because she would snap him like a toothpick! Martel then turned her attention to Lita and told her that she had been given an opportunity at Souled Out because Lee had personally hand picked her, but the truth is, they aren't worried. Lee already beat the best this division has to offer at Starrcade to win the title and while Lita might be good, she just doesn't measure up to Lee, "so work hard, give it your best, but it's not going to happen" <hr> The second hour of Nitro began with Nitro and Thunder General Managers Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan back at their podiums to make their next two selections. It was Thunder up first and Hogan took the time to praise the dominant display from Joanie Lee moments ago, but now it was time for Thunder's next draft pick and he said that his selection is someone who, for the vast majority of his career has always been overshadowed or compared to his older brother. But now his brother is on Nitro, Owen Hart will get the chance to shine on Thunder! Piper told Hogan that he made a good choice, admitting that he was hoping to bring Owen to Nitro but that's how it goes sometimes. His selection however has the opportunity not just to shine on Nitro but to bring even more championship gold to Nitro! He then proceeded to draft none other that then man who will challenge Goldberg for the WCW United States Heavyweight title at Souled Out; Diamond Dallas Page! Hogan took a sharp intake of breath and said DDP is good, "damned good, but that title ain't going anywhere brother"! Hogan then said that his next draft pick could well be short lived because he's picking the man who if he wins at Souled Out will be able to appear on both shows as WCW World Heavyweight champion; Rey Mysterio Jr! The announcers noted that Rey was not listed when the Cruiserweight division was highlighted, meaning he made the decision to back himself and with this drafting, he will not be tied to the division he played a huge part in bringing to the forefront of WCW. Roddy Piper commented that maybe it would be Rey against Eddy Guerrero at Souled Out if he wins tonight, but that's for later, right now he's going to make his pick and once again, it's someone Piper doesn't like. "That seems to be a theme" added Hogan, before Piper said his pick is someone who is probably should have been a World Heavyweight champion by now, but for one reason or the other, he hasn't been. Maybe on Nitro, he can earn that chance and proceeded to draft "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner! <hr> VS. The American Nightmare defeated Chuck Palumbo - Chuck Palumbo was more than ready to make a name for himself, but fresh off his impressive win over Sting at Starrcade, Dustin had promised that his rise would begin tonight. Dustin played mind games with Palumbo, crouching in the corner, not moving until Palumbo was almost on top of him. For his part, Palumbo went in hard, looking for the big win but ultimately the experience factor of The American Nightmare was more than enough for Palumbo as he picked up the win with the Dream Breaker <hr> Abyss and Daffney entered the ring the celebrate with The American Nightmare, who slithered backwards off of Chuck Palumbo. The Nightmare Family then left the ring and headed up the ramp where they stopped at the sight of David Flair coming out, clearly on his way to check on his friend! David looked eyes with Dustin for a moment, but surprisingly Dustin ordered Abyss & Daffney to step aside and allow David a clear path to the ring <hr> Backstage, Eddy Guerrero was with Gene Okerlund and talked about how this kind of opportunity is long, long overdue for him. He said that he came to WCW five years ago and asked Gene if he knew how many chances like this he has had? "Cero!" he answered, pointing out that he has never had a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight title and while that might have eaten him up before, this is a new time in WCW, a new chance and he's going to take it with both hands. He asked Gene if he realised how big of a deal it was for someone like Rey Mysterio Jr. to get a title shot, not just anywhere but on pay-per-view? He said that it was huge and claimed that everyone in Mexico would be watching because it transcends borders! With all of that said, he questioned how huge it would be for two luchadores to headline the first big pay-per-view of 2001 for the biggest title in all of professional wrestling? He can't even explain it, "which is why Kurt, this is bigger than you, bigger than me, this means everything" and vowed to walk out of Nitro tonight WCW World Heavyweight champion! <hr> Nitro returned from a commercial break to find Gene Okerlund standing by with Steven Regal, Lance Storm & Fit Finlay as well as WCW World Trios champions X-Factor and Gene announced that on Thunder it would be Lance Storm taking on Jerry Lynn. X-Pac then cut off Gene and asked who Regal thought they were? He said that they are the champions, the first real champions "that mean a damn" since the very first ones, saying they are a proper team, they have each others backs before pointing out that Regal and his friends don't even have a name! Regal smirked and said that Pac is right, they don't but they have something X-Factor doesn't and that is the respect of each other and the respect of their peers. He said that Lance Storm is a man who was wasted in ECW, if he had come to WCW several years ago he'd have been a bigger name and a champion by now. But the point is this; on Thunder, Storm is going to make Lynn tap out, now that isn't a threat, it's a promise and then very soon after that they will get their shot at their titles and we'll see just who walks away <hr> Both Paul Wight & Billy Kidman were in the ring, ready for their match with Tammy Sytch's hand picked opponents. Sytch walked out onto the ramp with WCW World Tag Team champions Edge & Christian and said that it was good to see them ready, looking like a team but the truth is they aren't and everyone knows it, especially them. But it's fine, it doesn't matter because they aren't going beat her hand-picked team, a team that Kidman is very familiar with before she introduced the dangerous duo of Brian Adams & Bryan Clarke; KroniK! <hr> VS. Paul Wight & Billy Kidman defeated KroniK - The announcers noted Billy Kidman's history with KroniK and Tammy Sytch having brought them in as essentially "hired guns" last year, but this time a chance at the WCW World Tag Team titles were at stake. When Kidman was in the ring, the match swung towards KroniK but after Kidman made the hot tag to Wight, everything changed and very quickly the big man caught Clarke with a huge chokeslam for the win and to give them a shot at the gold at Souled Out <hr> As Paul Wight was getting to his feet, Rhino ran out and when Wight was up and turned around he walked right into a huge Gore! The WCW World Television champion pounded his chest before turning his attention to Billy Kidman, lining up for another Gore but suddenly Rob Van Dam's music hit! The man who felt the Gore from Rhino last week ran out to the ring with a steel chair in hand send Rhino and the rest of TSE out of the ring, running for cover as RVD begged for Rhino to come back and face him <hr> Tony Schiavone revealed that he had just been told that WCW President Eric Bischoff will be on hand to make yet another huge announcement! None of the announcers had any idea what it was about but from what Schiavone had been told, it was going to kick off Thunder <hr> The main event was almost upon us, but before that it was time to finalise the top ten drafts for Nitro and Thunder. Tony Schiavone reminded everyone the televised draft had been completed, the remainder of the roster would be drafted via a lottery with the finalised rosters available on WCW.com later tonight. Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper were back at their podiums and Hogan said they wanted to make this quick because while it's important, they want to get to the main event as soon as possible! It was Thunder to pick first and Hogan drafted The Nightmare Family, bringing Abyss, Daffney and of course The American Nightmare to Thunder. He admitted to being a bit wary, but regardless of any personal concerns, he can see just how far Dustin can go and could well be a future WCW World Heavyweight champion. Piper followed up naming the largest athlete in all of professional wrestling as Nitro's latest draft pick, as "The Giant" Paul Wight heads to Nitro. Piper added that it was time for Wight to get back on track! Hulk Hogan was clearly disappointed at having lost out on his former tag team partner and WCW World Tag Team champion, but he moved on and drafted another name who is, in his words, "the cockiest guy he's ever met" and drafted Chris Jericho to Thunder! Piper followed up with Nitro's ninth pick and asked Hogan to cast his mind back to November of 1997 when the Hart Dynasty arrived in WCW. He said that he was a part of it, as was Jericho but there was someone else in that group, someone who for whatever reason has never "broken the glass ceiling", but now on Nitro, he's going to have every chance to do that as Chris Benoit is Nitro's ninth pick. It was finally time for the tenth pick for both shows and Hulk Hogan and Thunder were up first. Hogan said that his last pick is a tough one, and frankly when he checked through the list, he was surprised because he didn't expect this name to be alone as ever since he's been in WCW, he's stood side-by-side as an equal with his best friend. He said that they have A LOT of history together, not all of it good but maybe this is what he needs, a fresh start and so Hogan drafted, alone, Kevin Nash! Roddy Piper couldn't hold back his smile as he told Hogan that he had the exact same though...but about Nash's partner! Piper then drafted Scott Hall to Nitro, splitting The Outsiders for the first time since their arrival in WCW over four years ago! Piper said he doesn't know why they weren't listed together, but that's not his problem, he's got the best of the two! Hogan disputed this and hyped up Nash's size and power with the two men bickering for a few seconds before Hogan shut it down, saying they can continue this later and frankly we'd see who got the best deal over the next few months, but right now it's time for the main event! <hr> VS. WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Kurt Angle © defeated Eddy Guerrero - This was a match that had a lot of hype and a lot excitement as soon as it was announced earlier tonight, and with Eddy's comments, the importance of this match could be felt clearly. Despite Eddy's reputation as a high-flyer, he is an incredible proficient mat wrestler as well and he surprised Angle by going toe-to-toe with the Olympic gold medalist in pure wrestling. During the course of the match, Rey Mysterio Jr. was seen watching on a monitor backstage where he was clearly supporting Eddy with the camera catching his excitement when Eddy went to the top rope for a Frog Splash and his disappointment when Angle got his knees up to counter it. Eddy gave everything he had, coming close to a win with the Frog Splash attempt and even closer several minutes later when he, similarly to how Rey scored the huge win last week countered the Ankle lock into a roll-up, but this time for a very near fall. The clearly flustered champion left the ring to recompose, where he then grabbed his title and returned to the ring, only for the referee to take it away from him, leading to Eddy getting another incredibly near fall! Angle was now furious and went on the offensive with the match swinging both ways and exhaustion showing on either side. But when Angle went for an Olympic Slam and Eddy rolled through and countered with an arm drag, he followed up with a brainbuster and went to the top rope, once again looking for the Frog Splash. However this time, Angle rolled out of the way and Eddy had to counter in mid air, rolling through only to tweak his ankle. This was like blood to a shark for Angle, who immediately pounced and locked in the Ankle lock! Eddy was in serious pain and while he endured for longer than many, he ultimately had no choice but to tap out and give Angle the victory <hr> <DETAILS><SUMMARY>WCW NITRO RESULTS</SUMMARY> WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Ron Killings defeated Juventud Guerrera ©, Chris Candido, Lenny, Super Crazy and Shane Helms (13:25) to win the WCW World Cruiserweight title The Hardy Boyz defeated Tonga Fifita & Sione Vaihahi by disqualification(4:06) Joanie Lee defeated Yuki Miyazaki (5:18) The American Nightmare defeated Chuck Palumbo (7:05) Paul Wight & Billy Kidman defeated KroniK (9:30) WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Kurt Angle defeated Eddy Guerrero (16:43) to retain the WCW World Heavyweight title </div style>