infinitehallway

CHIKARApro.com Blog- Mike Quackenbush- 1/22/2010 I read your blog, Claudio, and felt many things. Anger. Incredulity. But above all, regret. You see, Claudio, I don't agree with you about your rationalizations or justifications, but after the events of Three Fisted Tales I was forced to take a long, hard look in the mirror and I realized something terrible. I am to blame for the BDK. Not for the reasons you claim, Claudio. I have never tried to put myself in the spotlight, I have never tried to 'steal anyone's rub'. No, Claudio, the reason I am to blame for this blight on CHIKARA is because I trusted YOU. You see Claudio, I knew exactly who and what you are, but I chose to trust you anyway. You're a scorpion. I'm going to tell you a little story, CHIKARMY. It's an old story, many of you may have heard it before, but it's undeniably relevant to what we are experiencing today. Once there was a scorpion, standing on one side of a river. A frog approached the river, and the scorpion asked the frog to carry it across safely. "You'll sting me and I'll die if I try to carry you," said the frog. "If I sting you and you die we'll both drown!" laughed the scorpion. This made sense to the frog, who agreed to ferry the scorpion across. They started to swim, and when they got halfway across the scorpion reared back and stung the frog. As the frog's lungs began to fill up with water he turned as best he could to the scorpion. "Why would you do this? You will die too!" The scorpion laughed. "I'm a scorpion," it said simply. "I cannot help myself." Claudio, you have revealed yourself, your true self, for all to see. I will not make the same mistake twice. CHIKARA will band together to rid itself of your minions, and there will be no mercy, there will be no forgiveness.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter for Week 3, January, 2010 Shocking news broke this week as ECW on SyFy was cancelled by its parent network. The revival of the Philadelphia based hardcore promotion had failed to recapture old fans or bring in new ones, despite giving a platform to some younger talent, and the SyFy network had seen enough. This news reportedly came as a shock to WWE executives, who were under the impression they had more time to 'save' the show. There are still several international clearances for the show, but it is unsure at this point if tapings will continue or not. What this means for the wrestlers on the ECW roster is also unknown. This is a blow to WWE who have been riding high, handily winning every battle of "The New Monday Night War" so far, to the point where the very conversation seems almost laughable after only three weeks. TNA put on their weakest episode of IMPACT thus far, despite having heavy hitters Sting and Booker T teaming up in the main event. Many fans tuned out in the first hour, when the show had six backstage segments in a row following their opening women's tag match. It was, to put it mildly, a head-scratcher. TNA followed this horrid go-home show with an above average PPV, Genesis, on Sunday. A laregely forgettable show salvaged by a fantastic main event, which saw Kurt Angle lose to AJ Styles in a stellar match. The show did roughly 190k buys. New Japan Pro Wrestling shocked many in the Japanese scene by unilaterally ending their talent sharing and non-poaching agreements with a number of promotions this week. Rumors indicate they are shifting to a more confrontational style in an effort to consolidate their hold on the Puro scene. New CHIKARA ownership took out national ads during RAW and SmackDown! this week to advertise their season debut show, coming up next week. The ads sported incredibly high production values, and seemed to be casting CHIKARA as its own comic-book-like wrestling universe. Their show, A Touch of Class, will be an afternoon show as to not compete with the Royal Rumble later that night, and will broadcast live on iPPV from the 2300 Arena, formerly the ECW Arena. The full card will be released shortly on CHIKARAPro.com.

BDK BLOG- SARA DEL REY- 1/17/2010 It's really simple, why the Haze and I joined the BDK. We are sick and tired of being treated like dainty, fragile little flowers just because we are women. CHIKARA claims to be a level playing field, but all they ever did was pit us against each other or bus in a couple of new broads for us to take out. We never got a chance to prove that we are the best athletes, male or female, in this company. But that is all going to change. Now the BDK is here, and we are going to take CHIKARA apart, piece by piece, and build it in our image. Equal rights mean equal fights, CHIKARA, that's all we've ever wanted. I am the Queen of Wrestling, the best female wrestler in the world, and all you have for me is random joshi wrestler #234? I refuse. Haze refuses. We will demolish your double standard and anyone who fights to uphold it. But you aren't satisfied with that, are you CHIKARA? First show of the new year, and all you have for me is some new goof named Ace Astro? ACE ASTRO? You think I'm going to trot out there and be the tryout match for whatever new Wrestle Factory graduate Quack puts under a dopey new hood? I don't think so. Whoever this kid is he better have his affairs in order, because I'm going to make an example out of him, and maybe when I do you'll finally give the Queen of Wrestling some competition befitting her. Write a will, Ace. You're going to need it.

CHIKARApro.com BLOG - Ultramantis Black- January 12, 2010 Ever since the season finale the CHIKARArmy has been abuzz, abuzz with rumor and whispers about what role I, the great and devious Ultramantis Black, had with the formation of the BDK! It's preposterous! It's ridiculous! It is beyond the pale! I, your maniacal insect overlord, would never conspire with such low-lifes as Pinkie Sanchez or Ares! I categorically deny any knowledge of the BDK, their motives, or their aspirations. While it is true that they have taken the Eye of Tyr from me, I am far too busy with my plans for the Neo Solar Temple to concern myself with them at this juncture, so I consider any business I may have had with the BDK to be concluded! This year shall be the year of the Neo Solar Temple! With my perfect weapon Delrious we shall rise to the very top of CHIKARA where I shall finally, after almost eight long years, claim my first title in the promotion I helped build! There will be no stopping the mighty Neo Solar Temple! There shall be no stopping the mighty ULTRAMANTIS BLACK!

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Update January Week 2, 2010 After week one of the "New Monday Night War" TNA could feel encouraged, if beaten. They put on a better show than many expected, and likely won a few fans who are tired of WWE's same-old-same-old. The same cannot be said this week, as TNA took a step backward in both show quality and viewership, again losing handily to WWE in all major metrics. Despite adding in some star power, the card looked highly similar to the previous week's show, the only highlight being a surprisingly good match between Kurt Angle and Shark Boy, of all people. WWE brought back Jeff Hardy, presumably to keep him from signing with TNA, showing once again that there is no real limit to the number of chances you can get in WWE as long as you don't insult Vince personally on the way out. In less stellar WWE news ECW on Syfy seems to be struggling. Fans don't seem interested in a third brand. Reports are indicating that Mike Quackenbush is already rubbing the new CHIKARA owners the wrong way. The point of contention is reportedly the guaranteed contracts being offered to some workers. Thus far Claudio Castagnoli, Sara Del Rey, and El Generico have all signed deals. Quackenbush is reportedly angry that several of his dedicated CHIKARA students such as Hallowicked, Icarus, Jigsaw, and Ultramantis Black are yet to be offered new deals. Most of the wrestlers seem to understand that contracts are being signed in waves, and several have reached out to me privately to express the opinion that Quackenbush is acting out due to unhappiness at no longer being the main creative voice in CHIKARA. In other CHIKARA news it appears that long time WWE creative team member Bruce Prichard has been brought in. While it is unclear to what degree he will be involved in creative it is believed his veteran status, especially when it comes to live event broadcasting, will be important to the development of CHIKARA. Stay tuned for more updates as we get them.

BDK BLOG- Claudio Castagnoli- Jan 7, 2010 'Why, Claudio, Why?' Everyone keeps asking me that, it's all I've heard since Three Fisted Tales. Why would I betray CHIKARA? Why would I turn on Mike Quackenbush, my fellow Wrestle Factory trainer? Why would I do it? The answer is simple: I am tired of being in Mike Quackenbush's shadow. Since Day One in CHIKARA it has been about one thing and one thing only, Mike Quackenbush's ego. Year in and year out, show in and show out, it was always about making Quack look like a star. If someone else manage to shine? "Well you know who trained them", commentary would say, or suddenly they'd be teaming with the founder of CHIKARA. And should a team or faction DARE to rise up without Quack, like the Kings of Wrestling, CHIKARA would band together to take them down. Look at NAME REDACTED, who was driven all the way out of CHIKARA, whose name can not even be MENTIONED even though he was a founder of the company. I have had enough. When my old partner Ares contacted me about a project he was starting, I didn't need convincing, just the plan. What you saw at Three Fisted Tales was just the beginning of that plan. There is so much more to come. The Brothers and Sisters you have already seen are just the first. There will be others. And we will not stop until one of two things happens- either CHIKARA will kneel before us or CHIKARA will fall. BKD- CC

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Update- Week One, January, 2010 The so-called "New Monday Night War" began in earnest this week, with the first head to head airings of WWE Monday Night Raw and TNA Impact! Wrestling. To no one's surprise WWE won in every conceivable metric, but Impact did put on a better than average show, headlined by Bobby Lashley and AJ Styles teaming up to defeat Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash. WWE Raw was headlined by The Miz defeating Rey Mysterio, the Big Show, and Cody Rhodes to win the US Title. Neither show blew the other away, quality wise, so despite WWE's big rating and viewership advantage (which is to be expected), TNA will feel like they had a solid first showing. TNA added some firepower for this 'war' this week in the form of Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Ken Anderson, and Tommy Dreamer, all on exclusive written contracts. CHIKARA Pro have started to hand out a few exclusive contracts of their own, with Claudio Castagnoli, Mike Quackenbush, Sara Del Rey, and El Generico being the first to sign exclusive, guaranteed deals. Bryce Remsberg, Quackenbush's long time right hand man behind the scenes, has also inked an exclusive deal, and rumors continue to circulate that more contracts are going to be offered in the coming weeks, including one "big name" signing. CHIKARA have also reached out to several global stars on pay per appearance deals, likely for appearances at their annual three-night King of Trios series of shows in April. More on this as we have it. CHIKARA has also invested heavily into their production, with upgrades expected in broadcast quality and production values. This is believed to co-inside with a deal they have struck with an Internet PPV provider, seemingly owned by by Infinite Hallway Productions, at least in part. Early word indicates that this will make CHIKARA events available in the US, Mexico, Canada, and the UK. Their first show will be A Touch of Class, Saturday of Week 3, January. Stay tuned for more updates and news as we get it.

Grand Championship is definitely in the medium to long term plan, but nothing immanent. As far as other titles? Nothing on the horizon right now, but I have plans for expanding CHIKARA beyond what they hit in real life, so when (if?) that happens, things could change. For now the main focus will be the CdP and YLC, with King of Trios being the one off but prestigious title it always has been. Thanks for reading!

CHIKARApro.com Blog: Green Ant (1/2/2010) I may be a rookie, but I know a thing or two. I know that in wrestling sometimes you have to make your own luck. So I don't blame you for that, Pinkie. You saw your chance and you took it. I don't know how it all came together, but you definitely made your impact. But you also made one big mistake. Because I also know there are some things bigger than wrestling. Things like honor, which you obviously don't have, or family. That was your mistake, Pinkie, you forgot that The Colony is a family. And I will fight for my family. I may be a greenhorn, just getting my start, but I know more than enough to take you out, Pinkie Sanchez, and make you regret ever sticking your nose in the Colony's business. You may have put on a mask, but you were never really an Ant, and at A Touch of Class, I'm going to put you out. I don't know what the deal with this "BDK" is, but after the Season Opener, they're going to be down one man.

OOC: Thanks for the early interest, folks. I've got a primer for non-CHIKARA fans up, and will have title histories and a "Previously at..." post up relatively soon! I am planning on having a weekly Wrestling Observer post in the game world, outlining any major stories going on in the world at large. I was contemplating putting results of the "New Monday Night War" in this post as well, but would that detract too much from the CHIKARA focus? Also, I will be putting up some in-universe blogs from various CHIKARA wrestlers as a way to advance stories in between the shows, at least until a TV show gives me more week-to-week storytelling ability (whenever that comes). Hopefully it makes this diary a little more fun even though there won't be many shows at first. Any other requests? Thoughts? Let me know!

PREVIOUSLY AT CHIKARA- JANUARY 2010 CHIKARA's 8th season ended with complete chaos. The two masked men stalking Ultramantis Black interjected themselves after the main event of CHIKARA's final show of 2009, calling themselves the BDK and demanding to see 'the man with the power'. Several CHIKARA stalwarts came out to the ring, but they demanded Ultramantis. What followed was a shocking brawl the likes of which had never before been seen in CHIKARA. The men revealed themselves to be Ares, Claudio Castagnoli's former tag partner, and his massive recruit Tursas. At their signal Claudio attacked Mike Quackenbush, turning on CHIKARA and aligning with the invading BDK. He was joined by Sara Del Rey and Daizee Haze, two of the top female wrestlers in the world, who had grown tired of being treated differently than the men of CHIKARA. More shocking, Carpenter Ant attacked his fellow Colony bretheren, and Vokoder attacked Ultramantis Black. Ares called his troops to heel and Vokoder revealed himself to be Tim Donst, while Carpenter Ant unmasked as Pinkie "Pink Ant" Sanchez. You can watch this shocking footage Here: After the smoke cleared and the BDK retreated there was one last shock in store for CHIKARA. Leonard F Chikarason, fan favorite commentator and CHIKARA Director of Fun (the title held by CHIKARA authority figures dating back to Bob Saget, yes THAT Bob Saget) found the locks to his office changed and a pink slip awaiting him. Who will the new DoF be? Does the BDK have anything to do with Infinite Hallway Media, or is it happenstance and poor timing? CHIKARA fans will be hoping for answers in Season 9, which begins on the fourth Saturday of January with A Touch of Class!

CHIKARA TITLE HISTORIES as of 1/1/2010 Los Campeonatos de Parejas 1: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) - Won tournament- 2/26/06- 2 Defenses 2: Team FIST (Gran Akuma & Icarus)- 11/17/06- 3 Defenses 3: Incoherence (Hallowicked & Delrious) - 10/26/07- 5 Defenses 4: Super Smash Bros (Player Uno & Player Dos)- 9/21/08- 0 Defenses 5: The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian)-10/19/08- 3 Defenses 6: The Colony (Fire Ant & Solider Ant)- 09/13/09- Current champions (4 Defenses so far) The Young Lions Cup YLC I: Won by Hallowicked, defended 4 times YLC II: Won by Larry Sweeney, defended 0 times, lost to Jigsaw YLC II: Won by Jigsaw, defended 4 times YLC III: Won by Shane Storm, defended 2 times YLC IV: Won by Arik Cannon, defended 3 times, lost to Max Boyer YLC IV: Won by Max Boyer, defended 5 times YLC V: Won by Chuck Taylor, defended 2 times, lost to Helios YLC V: Won by Helios, defended 3 times YLC VI: Won by Fire Ant, defended 0 times, lost to Vin Gerard YLC VI: Won by Vin Gerard, defended 4 times, title vacated YLC VI: TITLE VACATED DUE TO DOUBLE DQ BETWEEN EQUINOX II AND VIN GERARD YLC VI: Won by Equinox II, defended 2 times YLC VII: Player Dos, current champion, defended 2 times so far

CHIKARA 101- Everything you need to know about the wacky, fun-filled Lucha party! Since its inception in 2002 CHIKARA has managed to carve out its own unique corner of the pro wrestling universe. While still a part of the greater indy wrestling ecosystem CHIKARA has evolved into its own animal, so to speak, and new fans often require orientation to some of the more unique aspects of CHIKARA, as well as some of its copious amounts of lore. THE BASICS: The first thing you need to know is that CHIKARA is FAMILY FRIENDLY. That means there are no ‘adult’ gimmicks, no ultra-violence, and, perhaps most importantly, NO PROFANITY. Wrestlers have been known to get black-listed from CHIKARA for letting a swear slip out in the heat of the moment. While new ownership could mean major changes, it is expected that the family friendly policy will remain in effect. In-ring the key thing to know about CHIKARA is that it is an American take on traditional lucha libre, which sometimes affects the rules. In any tag (or trios, or atomicos) matches lucha tag rules are in affect, meaning that when a wrestler leaves the ring their partner can join the action without a tag. This also extends to the parlance used, as there are not faces and heels in CHIKARA, but rather technicos and rudos. In Campeonatos de Parejas (tag team title) matches the belts are defended in traditional 2 out of 3 falls rules. The CdP have been the cornerstone of CHIKARA since their inception in 2006, serving at the company’s top prize due to the lack of a “main” singles title. Challengers for the CdP have to earn their shot by accumulating three points, essentially winning three falls in a row. These can come in individual matches, or by taking falls in a 4-way tag. If a team loses, however, they lose all their points and must start over. OTHER TITLES: Besides the Campeonatos there are other prizes to be competed for in CHIKARA, the most prestigious of which is the annual KING OF TRIOS tournament. Held over three nights this massive tournament brings together trios from all around the world to compete with CHIKARA regulars to see which threesome reigns supreme! During the King of Trios weekend another, lesser prize is also decided, as the Rey de Voladores (King of the Fliers) tournament takes place over nights 2 and three. The only current singles title in CHIKARA is the Young Lions Cup, a prize for the up and comers in the company. Decided by a tournament but defended like a championship for the rest of the year, stars such as Hallowicked, Jigsaw, Larry Sweeney, Chuck Taylor, Ricochet, and Fire Ant have all held this prize, and winning it tends to be a sign that the holder is being groomed for a trip up the card. THE WORLD OF CHIKARA Over the years several long running, slow burning storylines have begun to unfold, giving CHIKARA a lore rich in detail and unparalleled in indy wrestling. There are far too many particulars to mention here, in a simple introductory post (though if desired more write-ups can be done), but the two you need to know to gain your footing are The history of the CHIKARA Special and The Eye of Tyr. THE HISTORY OF THE CHIKARA SPECIAL In 2006 and 2007 CHIKARA was rocked by its first major, Clash of the Titans level feud, as Chris Hero turned on fellow Wrestle Factory trainer Mike Quackenbush to form the Kings of Wrestling with Claudio Castagnoli. Hero knew all of Quack’s go-to moves, so Quackenbush had to invent a new move to give himself and his allies a chance to defeat the expanding Kings of Wrestling, which now included Team FIST and Larry Sweeney. That move was The CHIKARA Special, a submission hold that only he knew the counter to. He proceeded to teach the escape to all his fellow technicos, giving his side an unprecedented advantage. However, in late 2007 Chris Hero was looking to avenge an embarrassing loss to the young luchador Equinox, who he considered not on his level. This led to a mask vs hair match, the finish of which saw Hero escaping the CHIKARA Special. Quackenbush, who was on commentary, immediately speculated that someone had sold the Technichos out, costing Equinox the match and his mask. He was revealed to be Vin Gerard, a Wrestle Factory drop-out, who had been masquarading as a Mexican luchador to get bookings. Gerard was shunned backstage for his plot, leading him to become the hated, miserable rudo he is today. But who betrayed CHIKARA? The answer would come from Ultramantis Black, of all people, who confirmed that he had passed the secret of the CHIKARA Special on to Hero in exchange for unnamed payment. Where had Mantis, the great and devious rudo, gotten the counter? From Shane Storm, Mike Quackenbush’s own tag partner! Storm was in the midst of a long losing streak and desperate for a win, so he sold the secret to Mantis in exchange for a victory over Hydra, one of Mantis’ minions. What were Mantis’ reasons for this? What was his payment? After leaving The Neo-Solar Temple Hydra told Tim Donst it all had something to do with a mysterious artifact called THE EYE OF TYR. THE EYE HOLDS THE POWER What was the Eye of Tyr? Why did Mantis want it? Little is known, at this time, about the origins of the Eye, but its powers have proven to be quite formidable. Mantis, smarting from having his stable The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple be excluded from the annual King of Trios tournament, decided to strike. After a match featuring his old rival Hallowicked and Delirious, Mantis and his lackey Crossbones abducted Delirious and held the Eye of Tyr to his head, apparently brainwashing him. When he appeared next Delirious was clad in the colors of the Neo Solar Temple and was doing Mantis’ bidding. Gone was the babbling fan-favorite who teamed with Hallowicked and Frightmare, replaced by Ultramantis’ stoic berserker, whom the insectoid overlord dubbed his ‘perfect weapon’. This new Delirious pushed the Temple to much greater successes, but it came at a cost. The Eye of Tyr must be passed on after use, otherwise the user will become cursed, according to the lore. Mantis, however, held on to the Eye. As the months wore on strange, ominous videos of masked men in white began to appear, calling for the Eye’s return to it’s ‘rightful owner’. Mantis, fearing for both his safety as well as they Eye’s, found a new bodyguard in the form of Vokoder, a new luchador, possibly from the future, who offered to guard the Eye. MORE TO COME

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- 1/1/2010 As the wrestling world holds its breath waiting to see how "The New Monday Night Wars" play out, a potentially major story has broken, seemingly out of the blue. Infinite Hallway Media, an offshoot of the international technology and information consortium known as The Titor Conglomerate have, apparently, purchased a controlling interested in CHIKARA Pro wrestling. CHIKARA, based out of Philadelphia, PA, began in 2002 as the byproduct of 'Lightning' Mike Quackenbush's first class of Wrestle Factory students graduating and needing a consistent place to wrestle. Chikara steadily grew its own brand of family-friendly, heavily comic book influenced lucha-libre over the years, and is recently coming off its most successful 'season' (as they refer to their year of shows). Early reports indicated that Quackenbush will remain heavily involved in the operation of CHIKARA, but will no longer be the sole decision maker. There are also reports of long-term, exclusive contracts being offered to several indy wrestlers, including some already involved with CHIKARA. Little is known about Infinite Hallway Productions, but the spokesman for the company appears to be Issac Logan, who issued a press release announcing the sale. More information as this story develops.

Downloaded today. Pics all work fine and this seems like a great mod to make the jump from 16 to 20 with, so thank you! Only question: was having so many "mercenary" personality types intentional? Seems like it makes backstage difficult to handle.

THE MONDAY NIGHT WAR WEEK THREE PREVIEW WCW MONDAY NITRO Abismo Negro vs Ultimo Dragon Konnan vs Steve McMichael The Giant vs Mortis Riggs vs Goldberg Booker T & DDP vs Curt Henning & Randy Savage WWF MONDAY NIGHT RAW Mark Henry vs Jeff Jarrett New Age Outlaws vs New Blackjacks Savio Vega vs Vader Steve Austin vs Ken Shamrock vs Mankind vs The Rock- Winner gets title shot at PPV BONUS POINT: Which show will have the higher rating?

<p><strong>The Wrestling Observer Breaking News Report</strong></p><p> </p><p> Two pieces of news have come to light following the airing of WCW Saturday Night, which was taped earlier this week. The first of which is that one half of The Public Enemy, Johnny Grunge, has been fired for wrestling while wasted. Rumor has it he was not simply drunk as initial reports from the taping indicated, but wrestling while high on "hard" drugs. No word on the future of Rocco Rock, but it is a safe bet he is not pleased with the outcome.</p><p> </p><p> Also in trouble for drug use is Marcus "Buff" Bagwell, who failed a drug test after the show and has been sent to rehab. Some have grumbled at the seeming disparity in the treatment between Bagwell and Grunge, but the official press releases stressed the difference in circumstances. A source with knowledge of the situation has told me that the official policy is that wrestlers will be given a chance to go to rehab if they fail a test but aren't working inebriated, but if they are endangering their coworkers they will be fired. </p><p> </p><p> One side effect of Bagwell's failed test is that his planned match for Starrcade with Lex Luger is now obviously off, leaving one of WCW's top babyfaces without a story or match going in to the biggest show of the year. </p><p> </p><p> More as it develops.</p>

Saturday Night B-Block- December, Week 2, 1997 WCW Saturday Night- Show opens with ALEX WRIGHT picking up a win over ERNEST “THE CAT” MILLER. Basic match here designed to showcase Wright, who looked solid if unspectacular. Wright picked up the win after a German Suplex. Rating: 52 Up next Chris Jericho has some microphone time, and he spends it saying he plans on making 1998 his year, and dropping some subtle-but-not-subtle hints about a possible future heel turn. Rating: 72 Match two was THE PUBLIC ENEMY vs JUVENTUD GUERRA & PSICOSIS in a what was little more than a car-crash, nothing but big spot followed by big spot. Juvi was the key to this match, totally carrying it, which was made all the more difficult due to the fact that Johnny Grunge was obviously wrestling wasted. TPE get the win after their big slam/senton combo. Rating: 68 This is followed by a promo from Randy Savage, who verbally runs down DDP. Typical Macho Man heel promo, which is to say good but unspectacular. Rating: 85 We come back from break with a hype video showcasing Goldberg and his streak. Lots of spears, a jackhammer or two, end of video, Who’s Next? Rating: 78 This is followed by some cruiserweight action as KIDMAN takes on EVAN KARAGIAS. Pretty much a showcase for Kidman, as Karagias is just a young jobber. Not much to write home about here, Karagias isn’t ready for prime time, so to speak. Kidman gets the win after his Seven Year Itch. Rating: 53 Then we head to the back where Buff Bagwell has words for Lex Luger. Bagwell has some charisma, but no real mic skills to speak of, so this was just okay. Rating: 68 Another disappointing promo follows as Curt Henning calls out Booker T. Henning has never been an all-time great on the mic, but he seemed to be phoning it in here. Rating: 64 Up next we get SATURN vs. PRINCE IUKEA in a forgettable match. Commentators spent most of the time talking about The Flock’s ongoing issues with Goldberg and Chris Benoit. Saturn gets the win after a DVD. Rating: 53 This is followed by a Raven vignette, where he waxes poetic on the idea of stardom, and how it’s reserved for the “Chosen Few”, never people like him. Good stuff, but not quite as good as his recent Nitro efforts. Rating: 78 The main event, at least as far as matches goes, pits CHRIS BENOIT vs. STEVEN REGAL in what could be an under-the-radar must see match. They got a lot of time out there and were allowed to build slowly, and put on a technical wrestling clinic. This could have been a full-on MOTYC but the crowd didn’t have any real stakes in it, since there was no story going in. Benoit got the win after reversing the Regal Stretch in to the Crossface. A side note, the commentators started referring to Benoit as “A Wrestling Machine” throughout the match, indicating they’re changing up his gimmick. Rating: 78 This is followed by a promo from The Outsiders, who run down The Giant. After a few minutes of this he’s run out of patience and attacks, leading to a big ol’ brawl throughout the ringside area, which he fares surprisingly well in despite it being 2 on 1. Rating: 95 Show ends with a hype video for the Starrcade main event between Sting and Hogan. Dramatic music, slow-mo video, the whole shebang. Rating: 95 OVERALL: 82 WWF Shotgun Saturday Night- Show begins with a Light Heavyweight showcase as AGUILLA defeats BRIAN CHRISTOPHER in a back and forth match. Crowd doesn’t care much, but by the end the flashy high-spots have their attention. Aguilla wins after a picture-perfect moonsault, much to the crowd’s surprise. Rating: 46 We head to the back where Sunny is interviewing Ahmed Johnson. Yes, Ahmed Johnson gets promo time. He shouts unintelligibly for a few minutes and Sunny does her best to Vanna White the segment in to something watchable, just about succeeding. Rating: 64 Up next is a match between two promising young stars in D’LO BROWN against MARK HENRY. While both of these guys have potential, there’s only one of them ready to be working on TV right now, and that’s D’Lo, who gets the win after his “Lo-Down” frog splash in a mercifully short match. Rating: 37 We then throw to the back for a promo from Owen Hart, who has words for Triple H. Owen is a world-class in ring talent, but on the mic he is just average, which is exactly what this segment was. Average. Rating: 65 This is followed by a pre-taped segment with Marlena, real-life wife of Goldust. She has a teary, over-acted message for Goldust, as she’s “worried about him”. Seems like they’re going with some sort of “lost in the character” story for him, which is interesting. Rating: 38 Next up is JEFF JARRETT taking on CHAINZ. Not much rhyme or reason to this one, but these are two capable workers who put on a decent little match. Jarrett picks up the win after his Stroke finisher. Rating: 60 The show ends with a vignette from everyone’s favorite lunatic, Mankind. He cuts a rambling but highly entertaining promo saying that he’s entirely focused (“or, at least as focused as someone like me can be”) on winning the WWF title, no matter who the champion is. Rating: 100 OVERALL: 66 Another week where the WCW show was the better show by a mile, though they’re B-shows so they don’t really matter that much. Time will tell if the direction of the B-shows change as we get further in to THE MONDAY NIGHT WAR. OOC: Hey guys I’m back! Real life jumped in for a while, but I’m hoping to be able to get at least one or two updates out a week going forward. Thanks for sticking with me!

<p>Titan Towers, Wednesday morning-</p><p> </p><p> The creative brain-trust of the WWF sat assembled in the chairman’s office. Vince McMahon sat flanked by Bruce Prichard, Pat Patterson, Jim Ross, Jim Cornette, and the newest addition to the ‘inner circle’, Vince Russo. </p><p> </p><p> Russo looked smug, a self-confident smile plastered on his face. He had been pivotal in the direction of the two new signings they were gathered to discuss, and was obviously quite proud of his work. As the others filed in Russo flipped through the latest RAW magazine, which he still oversaw, and appeared disinterested in the pleasantries usually associated with these types of meetings. Ross, per usual, was the last to arrive, likely coming fresh from another meeting in his role as head of Talent Relations. </p><p> </p><p> “We all here? Good!” McMahon boomed, looking excited and clapping his hands together. “What have we got today, Bruce?” </p><p> </p><p> Bruce always kicked off these meetings. No one was quite sure why, least of all Bruce. </p><p> </p><p> “Well Boss we’ve got the two vignettes for our new signings. Vince worked closely with both of them to get the creative going and I produced.”</p><p> </p><p> “Excellent, EXCELLENT!” McMahon boomed. “Let’s see what we’ve got.” </p><p> </p><p> The lights dimmed and a large TV was wheeled in to the room, VCR attached. The tapes were played, back to back. Russo beamed the whole time. Ross was stony-faced. Prichard watched McMahon’s response like a hawk, and McMahon seemed interested, but not overjoyed. The strongest reaction, however, was from Cornette. </p><p> </p><p> As soon as the second clip, this one for the now-former Vampiro’s debut, was finished Cornette let loose with a tornado of expletives, culminating in calling it “the drizzling s***s!” </p><p> </p><p> Patterson and Ross looked shocked at the outburst, if not the content. Prichard regarded Cornette blankly, as did McMahon. Russo, however, blew his top.</p><p> </p><p> “Whatareya talkin’ about bro? That s**t was GOLD BRO. Pure GOLD. You just don’t understand attitude, bro!” </p><p> </p><p> “Gentlemen!” McMahon boomed. “Calm down.” </p><p> </p><p> Cornette and Russo glared at each other. </p><p> </p><p> “Jim,” McMahon continued. “What’s your issue with the vignettes?” Cornette took another deep breath, preparing to launch in to another tirade, so McMahon held a hand up. “Calmly,” he added. </p><p> </p><p> Cornette took a deep breath which didn’t seem to do anything to actually calm him down. </p><p> </p><p> “Look at the first one, what are we calling him?” </p><p> </p><p> “Val Venis.” Prichard replied evenly. </p><p> </p><p> “Right. What kind of name is that? And the gimmick is what? Some Wal-Mart brand Rick Rude knockoff who thinks he’s a porn star? It’s ridiculous. No one will take it seriously!” </p><p> </p><p> “Shows what you know bro, his gimmick is that he IS a porn star,” Russo responded with the satisfied smirk of someone who had obviously scored a point. Cornette blanched, sputtering indignantly. “Don’t try to act like it ain’t perfect for him, bro. Just look at him!” Russo twisted the knife. </p><p> </p><p> “I love the gimmick!” McMahon boomed, effectively ending the argument on Venis. “I think the vignette is perfect! No beating around the bush with this one, just in your face attitude!” </p><p> </p><p> “Well let’s talk about this other one, then!” Cornette raged on. “What in the hell is this whole Azabell, Azcrapail, Azawhatever all about? Are we supposed to believe he’s a demon? Or is he just an evil priest? I mean what the hell?” </p><p> </p><p> “He’s a fallen angel, bro. It ain’t hard to understand if you listen to the damn promo,” Russo sniped.</p><p> </p><p> “Did he say that? I couldn’t make it out over all the second-rate Kevin Sullivan knockoff mumbo-jumbo!” </p><p> </p><p> “Who?” Russo asked, genuinely confused. Cornette went full apoplectic. </p><p> </p><p> “Are you sh***ting me!? You’re going to write a bargain basement occult gimmick and have the balls to not know who Kevin Sullivan is? You stupid, idiot, moron, inbred, New York piece of-” </p><p> </p><p> McMahon stood up abruptly as Ross put a hand on Cornette’s arm to try to calm his compatriot down. </p><p> </p><p> “Enough!” McMahon boomed. “Jim, take a walk and cool off.” </p><p> </p><p> Cornette looked ready to argue but thought better of it, standing dramatically and marching off. Russo didn’t bother to hide his glee as the door closed behind him. </p><p> </p><p> “Now then,” McMahon continued. “Any other concerns? Pat? You’ve been quiet.” </p><p> </p><p> Patterson made a quiet ‘hmmm’ sound. </p><p> </p><p> “I thinka Jimmy has a point-a,” he said after a moment. “It’s a long way from the wrestling trash-man. Will the peoples understand it? Will they believe it?” </p><p> </p><p> Russo was not as quick to respond to Patterson, knowing how deeply Vince trusted the veteran. To his surprise it was Prichard who spoke up. </p><p> </p><p> “They will if we present it right,” he said. “They don’t necessarily have to believe he is a fallen angel, they just have to believe that HE believes it.” </p><p> </p><p> “Exactly!” Russo chimed in. Patterson nodded, apparently satisfied with the explanation. McMahon beamed. </p><p> </p><p> “We’ll get these right in to the show then. Great work everyone.” </p><p> </p><p> The meeting disbanded a few minutes later. As Ross was leaving Vince asked him to stay behind. </p><p> </p><p> “What is it boss?” Ross asked. </p><p> </p><p> “We need to talk about Cornette,” the chairman said seriously. “Is he going to be able to work with Russo?” </p><p> </p><p> “Well they go together like oil and water, but Jim’s a professional. He’ll cool off.” </p><p> </p><p> McMahon looked unconvinced. </p><p> </p><p> “I want to have a plan for Shotgun just in case. Got me, pal?”</p><p> </p><p> Ross though about making a case for his long-time friend, but stopped short. It was obvious McMahon was starting to favor Russo’s new, edgy ideas, and this wasn’t the hill to die on. </p><p> </p><p> “Understood boss.” </p><p> </p><p> Vince chortled and thumped the Oklahoman on the back. </p><p> </p><p> “Attitude! I LOVE IT!”</p>

Bischoff walked in to Jackson’s new office on Tuesday morning all smiles and hair-product, riding high on yet another win over the competition in the ratings. After seeing the lock on his bosses face, however, Bischoff suddenly realized this was not a congratulatory sort of meeting. Jackson looked more serious than Bischoff had ever seen him. Usually the younger man exuded an air of calm confidence, even excitement, but today he seemed annoyed, even angry. “What’s going on, boss?” Bischoff asked with a hopefully disarming grin, taking a seat across from Jackson. “Take a look at this,” Jackson said shortly, passing a small packet of papers to Bischoff. Eric glanced over them and saw they were that day’s dirtsheets. He looked at them disdainfully, and immediately realized that was not the proper call for the situation as Jackson continued. “Read them.” Bischoff, taken aback, scanned the pages, feeling a knot in his stomach form as he did. “This stuff… I mean…” he started to say, but was quickly cut off. “I don’t have a problem with Meltzer reporting that we’ve signed Liger. I don’t care that he knows we’ll be doing a ladder match. Hell, his reporting on that could bring a few buys in, who knows?” Jackson said deliberately. “Right… Right… That could…” Bischoff agreed, not really buying it. “What I do have a problem with is Meltzer knowing about my plans for Jericho after Starrcade,” Jackson continued, voice rising in agitation. He let Bischoff continue to read and saw the subtle shift in the man’s demeanor as he got to the coup de grace. “And what I really have a problem with is Meltzer somehow having more information than I do about how our world champion is feeling about our Starrcade plans!” Bischoff recoiled, if only slightly, as his boss was now standing in front of him, shouting. Jackson wasn’t an imposing man, though he was slightly taller, but his anger was intense. Bischoff immediately went in to damage-control mode. “Boss, look, this kind of stuff, it’s always bullsh*t,” Bischoff answered hastily, immediately regretting it. “It was probably one of the boys trying to stir the pot. Someone probably found out we had a meeting and they’re just sending crap to the writers to pad their ego.” Jackson was obviously not buying the explanation. “All the true stuff he printed, but that one piece is made up? You really expect me to believe that? And who would be stupid enough to do that? What’s the point? What’s the benefit?” Bischoff wanted to remark that Jackson obviously hadn’t spent enough time around the boys to know, but held his tongue. He took a deep, calming breath, sensing the situation was poised to spin wildly out of control. “Boss, I don’t know. We’ve had problems with leaks for a long time now. It’s… It’s not ideal, but we can usually keep it under control. Hell, Dave thought Mabel was going to be the third man in the NWO!” Bischoff tried to force a laugh, but Jackson didn’t smile. “I’ll look in to it, okay? If I find out who Hulk told about the meeting, I can…” Jackson cut him off. “Fine. Look in to it. But what I need to know is very simple, Eric. Is Hogan going along with the plan?” The plan, as they’d come to call it, was the intricate, long-term vision for WCW that Jackson had been laying out for Eric, piece by piece. They’d told Hogan about his part to play in it, though not every detail, and his cooperation was paramount. “As far as I know he has no reservations.” Eric said as calmly as he could. Jackson regarded him coldly for what felt like an entire minute. “Find out for sure. As of right now your primary responsibility is to ensure that Hulk Hogan is on board and cooperating with the plan. Everything else comes second.” Jackson said it calmly, evenly, but with intensity. Bischoff, filled with a newfound respect for his young boss, realized that his job was likely dependent on his success, regardless of how many weeks Nitro had thumped Raw in the ratings. “And if he has concerns?” Bischoff asked, mouth suddenly a bit dry. “Not everything is set in stone. If he has concerns we can try to work with them. He’s a vital part of the future of this company. But some things are non-negotiable. Starrcade is the first of them,” Jackson let the words hang between them. “Understood.” Bischoff left the office feeling somewhere between confused and pissed off. He was barely out of the building before he had Hogan on the phone. “Terry, it’s me. We need to talk…” Next: “You just don’t understand Attitude, bro…”

This is the Post Montreal mod, so it's December of 97. Roster is a bit bloated but not quite multi-NWO era. Lots of clearing out to do post Starrcade, but maybe not quite what anyone is expecting. Thanks so much for reading!

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter News and Notes- Week 2. December, 1997 WCW With the new regime beginning to assert more control several behind-the-scenes deals have become more clear. The most important is that WCW’s second major TV show, which was to be called Thunder and air on TBS starting in January, has been shelved indefinitely. New WCW management feels the roster is not big enough to support two major shows, so they have negotiated a deal where the show will not begin airing until they are ready for it, but TBS will retain rights of first refusal for the show when it begins. In other TV news they have inked deals with NHK and Sky Euro to begin airing Nitro in Japan and Europe, respectively. Increasing their flagship show’s reach was apparently a top priority for the new regime, and more deals are anticipated. In non-TV news our sources indicate that Chris Jericho is in line for a major push in 1998, as owner Logan Jackson sees him as a potential face of the company in the future. This has raised several eyebrows in the locker room, as it is well-known that Jericho was considered “too small” by previous head honcho Eric Bischoff. To that end, it should be noted, Jericho has recently begun bulking up. If Jericho truly is leaving the cruiserweight division that will present another vacancy to the rapidly thinning division, that currently sits without a champion. Reports indicate that there will be a ladder match for the title at Starrcade, possibly with as many as six people, which would be a first, at least in the US. The biggest question surrounding Starrcade appears to revolve around the main event, as Jackson apparently held a top-secret meeting with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan, apparently to soothe over any worries Hogan has about his future, as well as the direction of the company. The logical direction of the storyline is Sting finally getting his win, securing WCW’s future, and that is widely believed to be the finish, even pre-dating Jackson’s acquisition of WCW. Sources indicate that Jackson has elected to tweak the nature of the finish, potentially in a way that makes Sting look stronger or takes some protection away from Hogan, and this meeting was to pitch that vision. Reports indicate that the meeting went “well”, but Hogan remains concerned and undecided about the finish. More as it develops. WWF: Owen Hart and Mick Foley both returned to TV this week. There is no heat on either for missing the previous week, and in fact many are surprised they remain with the company at all, particularly Hart. Reports indicate that Hart will be receiving both a pay and push increase, as a program with Triple H appears to be on the cards, likely culminating at Wrestlemania. Davey Boy Smith, Hart’s long time partner, will not have any part to play in the storyline as he came to terms on a release with the WWF this week, buying out his remaining contract. He is expected to join Bret Hart in WCW. The WWF’s year-end pay per view offering will now be known as Armageddon. No main event has been finalized at this time, though reports indicate Ken Shamrock vs. Shawn Michaels or D-Generation X vs. Steve Austin and Owen Hart are both being considered. Vignettes for new signings are expected to begin in the coming weeks. Both Morely, who will be going by the name Val Venis, and Vampiro, whose new moniker has not been decided, are expected to receive pushes upon debut. Dustin Runnels, performing as Goldust, wrestled in a severely impaired state this past week, and received a stiff fine as a result. His substance abuse issues are no secret backstage, and are the only thing preventing him from making a real, main event run. Next: Loose lips sink ships...

WWF Monday Night Raw- Week 2- December, 1997 The show opens with the usual pyro and ballyhoo as JR and the King welcome us to another edition of Monday Night Raw, and then bring out the CEO of the WWF, Vince McMahon! McMahon comes down to the ring to a chorus of boos, which he ignores. Vince gets in the ring and gets on the microphone. “Now for the eight days there have been a lot of questions floating around, a lot of rumors and speculation. I am here to address those questions and rumors, and to provide all of you here tonight, and all of you watching around the world, some important information on the future of the World Wrestling Federation.” The crowd has no idea how to react to this, most still booing, many chanting for Bret Hart. A large “You Screwed Bret” chant breaks out, and Vince visibly reacts. “I screwed Bret, did I?” The crowd booms in response. “I’ll have you know that Vince McMahon didn’t screw Bret Hart, Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart!” The crowd comes unglued to the point that JR and the King even comment on it. “Now what all you people need to know is that there is nobody, and I mean nobody bigger than the World Wrestling Federation. Not even if they’re the WWF Champion. Anything that I did or took part in I did for one reason, and one reason only, to protect the World Wrestling Federation. The World Wrestling Federation is the legacy of my family, and no one, not some Billionaire from down south or some primadonna from Canada is going to destroy that!” The crowd wants to cheer here, but they’re still torn. Vince is straddling the line, here, between heel and his traditional babyface announcer role. “On that note, now that we are rid of the aging albatross around our neck, I am here to inform you that the World Wrestling Federation, in a bid to better reflect the world as it is today, will be moving away from the tired trope of ‘heroes against villains’, black and white, cookie cutter characters. What you will see going forward is a more life-like, realistic presentation, full of the kind of twists and turns and shocks you come to expect from the World Wrestling Federation, with a heavy dose of… attitude.” Rating: 100- an epoch defining promo, to be sure. We then get an early commercial break and come back for our first match: MATCH ONE- Goldust vs. Flash Funk What a way to kick off the Attitude Era, right? Right? Commentators spent a lot of this match talking up Goldust’s ongoing issue with Vader, weaving in Flash Funk’s past friendship/teaming with Vader in to the narrative. Match itself is nothing to write home about, primarily because Goldust was obviously under the influence during the match, staggering around and moving at about a third of his usual pace. Match kind of plods along until Goldust “snaps” and nails Funk with a huge chair-shot drawing the DQ. Winner: Flash Funk Rating: 51 Goldust continues his beat-down with the chair, throwing the referees to the side, until Vader runs in to make the save, causing the Gold one to make a hasty retreat. Vader checks on his fallen friend. Rating: 64 We come back from commercial to see the Nation of Domination in the back in full force. As usual Farooq tries to take the lead, but The Rock interjects, steamrolling the nominal leader of the Nation, using the time to run down Ken Shamrock, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Tom Cruise, Bill Clinton, and DX. It’s a verbal tour-de-force as only The Rock can provide, greatly amusing his fellow Nation-mates, aside from Farooq, who is left fuming as the Rock winds their allotted time down all on his own. Rating: 98 Next up we have MATCH TWO: The New Blackjacks vs. The Godwins These four went out and tried to have a barn-burner of a brawl, which all four guys could theoretically pull off, but neither of these teams has any sort of heat, so it just fell flat. The two teams have a pretty standard brawl before Windham hits his big lariat for the win. Winners: The New Blackjacks Rating: 54 We come back from another break and out comes the World Heavyweight champion, Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid grabs a mic and calls Vince McMahon out to the ring, who dutifully obliges, looking like a parent tired of dealing with his unruly child. “What do you want, Shawn?” McMahon asks as calmly as he can manage. Michaels smirks at his boss, clearly loving every second of this on screen interaction. “What I WANT, Vinny-Mac, is for you to tell all these idiots that I had nothing to do with the stunt you pulled on that chump.” Now it’s Vince’s turn to smirk. “Why Shawn, since when did you care about what all these people think?” “You know I don’t give a damn about any of these people, Vince, just like you don’t. What I do care about is the boys in the back. They need to know their champion isn’t a… a stooge!” The jam-packed crowd knows a set up when they hear it, and immediately a chant of “STOOGE! STOOGE! STOOGE” rains down on the champ, who heels it up in response. “The boys in the back, huh? That’s who you’re worried about, Shawn?” Vince asks, Shawn nods emphatically. “I think there are a couple of people you’re reeeealllll worried about back there Shawn. A couple of people you’re afraid of.” “Hey you get something straight there Vinny, the Heart Break Kid ain’t afraid of nobody!” Vince smirks at him knowingly as The Undertaker’s music hits and the arena goes dark. The crowd goes nuts, as does the champ, albeit in decidedly different fashions. The Deadman appears at the top of the ramp with a microphone. “Shawn Michaels….” the Undertaker drones. “You aren’t fooling anyone with your protests. Everyone knows you are nothing more than a paper champion, hand picked by the powers that be to do their bidding.” The crowd again booms “Stooge!” at this, while Michaels looks irate. “Your time is coming soon, Shawn Michaels, and when it does there will be no one, not Triple H, not Chyna, not even Vince McMahon who will be able to keep you from resting… in… peace…” We then fade to commercial on an angry Shawn Michaels and intimidated Vince McMahon. Rating: 100 We come back from break to Sunny and Sable on the ramp, both hawking the 1998 WWF Calendar, wearing slightly skimpier clothing than usual, it should be noted. They get a little catty, ending up in a tug-of-war over the calendar. Rating: 65 Next up is MATCH THREE: Ahmed Johnson vs. Jeff Jarrett Decent little match here between two guys potentially poised to make main-event runs. Very even, back and forth match which is probably a testament to the working ability of Jarrett, because Ahmed is still below-average in ring at best. Match follows a typical formula of the heel controlling and the face making the comeback for the win, with the Pearl City Plunge taking the victory for Ahmed. Winner: Ahmed Johnson Rating: 70 After the commercial break we get a hype video for “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock, showing some of his highlights and best moves. Rating: 75 We then head to the ring for MATCH FOUR: Kane vs. Vader It’s a good, old-fashioned hoss fight as only the WWF can provide! Kane is being pushed as a near-invicible killer, and that continues here a he takes Vader’s best shots and keeps coming. Kane is in full control of the match until his ‘inexperience’ costs him as he misses a corner charge, allowing Vader to take over. Vader uses his clubbing offense to finally deal some damage to the demonic force that is Kane, but becomes distracted when Goldust hits the ringside area, allowing Kane to nail him with a chokeslam for the win! Winner: Kane Rating: 77 We head to commercial and come back to see the entrance of Stone Cold Steve Austin! The crowd goes crazy as the glass shatters and the rattlesnake storms down to the ring and grabs a mic. He then cuts a scathing promo on Shawn Michaels, calling him a ‘pampered little bitch who only shows up to work when the boss talks sweet about him’ and a ‘paper champion’. The crowd starts chanting “stooge” again, and Austin says stooge is “too good a word for him” and tells him to “drag that playgirl ass out here so Stone Cold can show you what a real champion looks like”. Michaels responds to this by appearing on the Titan Tron and bad-mouthing Austin, saying he’s never done anything worthy of “carrying (his) jock, let alone a WWF title shot”. Austin smirks and calls Michaels “scared”. Michaels responds by saying he “ain’t scared of nothing”, saying Austin just had “other problems to worry about”. Right as he says this The Rock jumps Austin from behind! The two begin to battle around ringside, leveling each other with punches and kicks, but it’s broken up before it can escalate to anything farther. Crowd was ALL ABOUT THIS, though, and there seems to be a ton of potential in a Rock-Austin matchup. Rating: 100 Now it’s time for the MAIN EVENT- Triple H (with Chyna) vs. Mankind. Crowd firmly behind Mankind here, although these two don’t have much of an issue coming in to this, which hurt the heat. They were given a good amount of time here to build, and though it never got truly ‘main event’ quality. Triple H used underhanded tactics to cut off every attempt Mankind made to rally and take control of the match, showing off his myriad ways of using the knee. Chyna also got involved, hitting a low blow when Trips distracted the ref. That made the finish all the more surprising, as Owen Hart hit the ring to lay out Triple H as the ref was busy telling Chyna off! The newly dubbed “Ace of Harts” came through the crowd and nailed HHH with an inziguri which allowed Mankind to nail his double-armed DDT for the win! Winner: Mankind Rating: 77 After the match Owen unleashed on Triple H, and the show went off air with Ross exclaiming that DX’s issues with the Hart family look far from over! Rating: 72 Overall: 85- The main event was very much overshadowed by the Austin/Rock segment right before, but overall some solid story advancement for the WWF! Next: The dirtsheets weigh in!

The Monday Night Wars Week TWO WCW Monday Nitro Show opens with pyro and then we get Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, and Steve McMichael, better known as the Four Horsemen, out to the ring. They have some words for Bret Hart, who has officially been confirmed as a new signing by WCW… or the NWO. Flair takes the lead here, cutting a heck of a promo, saying that even though he and Bret haven’t always seen eye to eye, they’ve always respected each other, and more over, they’ve always respected the business. “Bret, you’ve made yourself quite a legacy already, and by coming to WCW, where the big boys play, you can cement it! But if you side with Hogan and his cronies, you won’t cement your legacy, you’ll piss all over it.” Rating: 98 We then get a quick recap of last week then head to the ring for Match One: Juventud Guerrera vs. Kidman vs. Chris Jericho vs. Ultimo Dragon A good ol’ fashioned cruiserweight cluster to open the show here as these four were given a little over ten minutes to go out and steal the show. Jericho and Dragon did their best to provide some cohesion but it was an uphill battle. Match is pretty much a succession of high spots, building to the big car crash dive spot, ending with Juvi hitting a corkscrew plancha. They go back in the ring and throw it in to hyperdrive for the finish, everyone hitting their big moves but having the pins broken up. Jericho gets the upper hand and locks the Lion Tamer in on Ultimo, but Juvi runs in, drop kicks Jericho, then nails Ultimo with a 450 for the win! Winner: Juventud Guerrera Rating: 69 As the wrestlers head to the back Mean Gene catches Chris Jericho for a few words, who is beside himself. Jericho cuts a very frustrated promo, showing a little more fire than we’re used to from the white-meat babyface. “Gene let me tell you something, all you WCW fans need to know, you still haven’t seen the best of Chris Jericho. I am tired of being the butt of the joke, tired of taking loss after loss, and in 1998 that’s going to change baby!” Gene gives him a look only he could get away with. “Well, Chris Jericho, I ask you this, what are you going to do about it?” Jericho grew silent for a moment, suddenly looking very serious, maybe even dangerous. “Just wait and see Gene-o, just wait and see…” Rating: 61 We go to commercial and come back to a pre-taped vignette from Raven. This is another slickly produced skit, this time with Raven outdoors in a dark alleyway, looking every bit the disenchanted, maybe even homeless grunge icon. He cuts a promo on Goldberg, calling him “just another over-hyped Adonis” who can’t possibly understand what it’s like to be Raven. He says at Starrcade his Flock will show the world that Goldberg is just a false idol like all the others. Good stuff here, Raven is really coming in to his own on the mic. Rating: 86 We then head to the ring for a match featuring one of Raven’s flock: Match Two: Saturn vs. Glacier Nothing much to report here, as Glacier still isn’t very good. Saturn does his best, though, and is showing his mettle as a really underrated in-ring talent. Nothing much going on in this one, as Saturn controlled for most of the match, Glacier got a quick comeback, but Saturn ended up being too much for the ice-ninja, sealing the win with his Death Valley Driver. Winner: Saturn Rating: 59 We then cut to the back to see the NWO arrive in limos, looking incredibly cocky. Bischoff proudly shows off a Canadian flag inspired NWO shirt, showing the maple leaf in the trademark black and white. Rating: 100 Match 3: Goldberg vs. Wrath Welcome to squash city, Mr. Wrath. Goldberg made quick work of the black-clad monster, taking a quick victory after a spear and jackhammer. Commentary spent most of this match talking about Goldberg’s ongoing issue with The Flock. This was just a backdrop for advancing that story. Winner: Goldberg Rating: 54 After a commercial break we are in the back as DDP, Ric Flair, and Chris Benoit approach Booker T in the locker room. They have a huge 4 on 4 match against the NWO in the main event, and after Hogan’s mockery of Booker last week they’ve decided to offer the young star the fourth spot in the match. Booker gladly accepts, saying he’s ready to prove himself. Rating: 100 We then cut to the ring where “Rowdy” Roddy Piper is addressing the crowd. He has some thoughts on the upcoming Starrcade main event, and to the shock of no one he is firmly behind Sting. He cuts a typical Piper promo, running down Hogan and continuing the “WCW has Sting’s back” story. Rating: 85 Next up is MATCH FOUR: Lex Luger vs. Curt Henning Two big stars here in the semi-main event, but sadly Curt’s best days are behind him and Luger is… well… Luger. This match is about what you’d expect between the two. Lex starts off hot and Curt bumps himself silly for the Total Package before taking a shortcut to gain the advantage. Henning controls for a few minutes before Lex starts the inevitable comeback, which culminates in Lex locking in the Torture Rack! Henning looks close to tapping when Buff Bagwell hits the ring, attacking Luger, and causing the DQ! Henning and Bagwell put the boots to Luger for a few seconds before leaving, celebrating as if they’d actually won the match. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 75 Next we head backstage where the Steiner Brothers have some promo time, but they spend most of it bickering back and forth. Rick continues to be of the opinion that Ted Dibiase is some sort of double agent for the NWO, or at least a terrible influence, and Scott believes Dibiase is what the team needs to “dominate 1998 like we have for the last decade”. This was fine. Rating: 73 This is followed by a highlight video of The Giant, hyping his feud with Kevin Nash. Chokeslam, chokeslam, chokeslam, scream of rage. Rating: 77 Finally it is time for our MAIN EVENT: Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, Booker T, and Diamond Dallas Page vs. Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash So much star power in this one, but it came up feeling more than a little flat, primarily due to the babyface side. DDP is massively over, but his gimmick of “true born” just doesn’t fit him at all. Kimberly also distracted from the match, her chemistry with Page is just off. Booker T also struggled to keep up with all the big name players, looking over-awed by the occasion. The match itself was a slow-building 20 minute spectacle, with everyone getting their moments. Story of the match was simple- when it was one on one WCW was able to keep control, but when the NWO broke the rules to double team they took over. Booker ends up eating a pin here after Hogan blasts him with a chair shot and Macho Man hits his trademark flying elbow. Winners: The NWO Rating: 83 The NWO, joined by several more of their lackies, then continue to beat down the WCW heroes, with referees unsuccessfully trying to break it up. After a couple of minutes of this the lights go out and a strange, ominous song starts to play. What sounds like a small child begins to speak in a sing-song sort of voice, mocking and ethereal. “Hooooogannnnn. Hooooooogaaaaaan.” The lights come back on and the NWO has circled up in the ring, now confused and alarmed, ignoring the WCW crew entirely. Hogan can be heard shouting instructions. “He’s here, damnit. Keep your eyes open!” The lights go out again, and now the music is louder, as is the voice. More accurately, many voices, digitally manipulated, meshing together. “He’s here for you. Your time is up.” The lights come back on and Sting himself is now standing on the ramp, pointing his bat directly at Hogan, who is beside himself, freaking out and shouting orders. The lights continue to flicker, on and off, on and off, with the NWO looking around like they expect ghosts to pop out at any moment and carry them to hell. The lights go out one last time. The child’s voice comes over the PA once again, melding with what sounds like an old, dying man. “The year is dying fast. Your time is slipping through your fingers. There will be no running. Only a reckoning.” The lights come back on and Sting has vanished, as has Hogan’s WCW title. The camera then quickly cuts to Sting, in his normal place in the rafters, holding the belt aloft. “You dirty thief! You rotten…” Hogan goes apoplectic as the show comes to an end. Rating: 95 Show Rating: 88

24 (ish) Hour warning! Only one pick em in so far!