WCW: Heart and Soul

Nobby_McDonald · March 13, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Rob Van Dam {©}

United States Heavyweight Championship: Booker T vs. Rey Misterio Jr. {©}

World Tag Team Championship: Doomsday vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: Billy Kidman vs. TAKA {©}

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: AJ Styles (The K-Nections) vs. Matt Hardy (The Wild Cards)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: Dustin Rhodes (Agents of Chaos) vs. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (The League of Extraordinary Grapplers)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Straight Edge Suckas) vs. "Sugar" Shane Helms (Satyr's Hopeful Few)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: Jeff Hardy (The Dead Jesters) vs. Chris Candido (Uncrewed's Crew)

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

Bob Backlund vs. King Corino

What will be match of the night? Booker v Rey

How many championships will change hands? 1

Will Dustin Rhodes show up? Yes

Will Kimberly show up? Yes

GingeyOne · March 14, 2017

Fan Scorecard:

World Heavyweight Championship: "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Rob Van Dam {©}

United States Heavyweight Championship: Booker T vs. Rey Misterio Jr. {©}

World Tag Team Championship: Doomsday vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: Billy Kidman vs. TAKA {©}

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: AJ Styles (The K-Nections) vs. Matt Hardy (The Wild Cards)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: Dustin Rhodes (Agents of Chaos) vs. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (The League of Extraordinary Grapplers)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Straight Edge Suckas) vs. "Sugar" Shane Helms (Satyr's Hopeful Few)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: Jeff Hardy (The Dead Jesters) vs. Chris Candido (Uncrewed's Crew)

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

Bob Backlund vs. King Corino

What will be match of the night? Matt Hardy vs AJ Styles

How many championships will change hands? 1

Will Dustin Rhodes show up? Yes

Will Kimberly show up? Yes

General diary comments/questions/critiques: Loved the recap of the Rumble and other promotions. I just love hearing about the whole game world, one of the reasons I loved the Golden Age was also seeing the alt-JCP opposition.

deanohbk · March 15, 2017

RVD

Booker

True Heroes

TAKA

AJ

Flair

Helms

Jeff Hardy

DDP

King Corino

Rey v booker

0

Yes

Yes

The Final Countdown · March 16, 2017

February 24th, 2002: SuperBrawl XII

http://i.imgur.com/n60rgw5.png

February 24th, 2002

From Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan

Attendance: 8,500 (sell-out!)

Announce Team: "The Professor" Mike Tenay and Bret "The Hitman" Hart

http://i.imgur.com/y93UBAQ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/4Xw5lCb.jpg

Official Theme Song:

Ultimate Fan Series Opening Round: #3 Straight Edge Suckas vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (S.H.F. leads 2-1)
Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. "Sugar" Shane Helms
http://i.imgur.com/DhzkzHt.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/hlbUlLo.jpg

This was supposed to be The Destroyer against Chavo, but after his suspension Shane Helms took his place both on S.H.F. and in this match. It's not great for Awesome's standing in the company but it might have been a positive thing for this match. I told the two cruiserweights to go all out and try to deliver a great match to begin the show, and I was pleased with the result. Obviously the heat wasn't what it could have been since both guys are heels, but the action was very good. They traded big moves and near-falls back and forth, and Tenay and I played up the fact that they were fighting not just for themselves but for the good of their respective teams. In the end I stuck with the original planned outcome even with a new wrestler involved, as Helms hit the Vertebreaker to defeat Chavo and make S.H.F. the first team to advance to the Semifinals.

Grade: B

http://i.imgur.com/Wi1oegS.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/JJpe0Lr.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/J3M8Nhg.jpg

A camera man asked the Steiners and Mark Jindrak if they'd heard from Dustin Rhodes, but the answer was no. All three guys seemed rather upset about it all. Jindrak said this was the biggest opportunity of his career, and this loser wasn't even going to show up? He was fine here, but both Steiners did a good job carrying the segment. Rick talked about all the things he was going to do to Dustin if he didn't show up tonight, but Scott was at his crazy best.

"Dustin, listen up! I know you ain't got no balls just like your old man, but you better get yer (censored) to this building tonight! Battle Creek's a dump, but you're gonna come here anyway and fight like a man! 'Cause if you don't, I'm gonna wipe the whole Rhodes name off the planet! I'll take you out, I'll take your old man out, I'll take out your stupid plumber grandad if he's still alive! And after I'm done I'll walk right into the locker room at Monday Night Raw just to take your ex-wife and make her one of my freaks!"

Grade: C+

http://i.imgur.com/S0cu0uO.jpg
Doomsday vs. True Heroes {©}
http://i.imgur.com/uY8UroB.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/hjNw7kz.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/sOdsktm.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/SAWQKXw.jpg

I don't think it's any secret that one of these teams is much better than the other as far as workrate goes, but I have to say that I was impressed with Brian Adams' ability to keep up with Punk and Storm. Obviously he can't move like they do or wrestle like they do, but he was fine in his role as a big powerhouse brawler. He knew his strengths and played to them, and I thought his brawling looked better than usual here and contrasted well with the more technical approach of the champions. Bryan Clark was another story. He's just nowhere near the level of Punk or Storm in the ring, and he was a real detriment to the match, Fittingly, it was Clark who took the fall after being hit with the Heroic Finish.

Grade: B

http://i.imgur.com/cAw5Dl8.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/eLttffP.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/CCq92jB.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/xJ35HqH.jpg

Etsuko Mita was backstage, and Mike and I revealed on commentary that she had just agreed to a contract with WCW. She had the WWWA World title with her, and Mike and I played up the heritage of it as the longest-tenured championship in the history of women's wrestling, dating all the way back to Mildred Burke in 1937. Alex Wright, Jamie Knoble and American Dragon approached her to welcome her to the WCW roster. All three claimed to be big fans of hers and said they couldn't wait to see her WCW debut. Knoble was good as he talked about how cool it was going to be for the true women's world championship to find a new home in WCW, but Wright and Dragon didn't hold up their end of the segment. Wright was supposed to mention that she was the innovator of the Death Valley Driver, but botched the name and called it the "Death Drop." Dragon wasn't much better as he delivered a few rather bland lines about the excitement Mita and the other women would bring to WCW.

After all three were done they extended their hands for her to shake, but she just looked at the three men, frowned, shook her head and walked away without giving them the time of day. We wanted to establish Etsuko as a cocky old school heel here, and I think it turned out okay considering we couldn't have her actually speak. The best thing for the women's division would be their own separate show, but that won't be an option until much later in the year. In the meantime I will gradually begin to build the women up with some limited time on Nitro and Saturday Night, and Mita will of course be a huge part of that since she's the champion.

Grade: D+

http://i.imgur.com/u0cJ04Z.jpg
Billy Kidman (w/Torrie Wilson) vs. TAKA {©} (w/Eric Bischoff)
http://i.imgur.com/jL0KtAH.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/VMwitRH.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/eX0IXCy.jpg

I viewed this as the "highlight reel" match of the show, and with that in mind I told Billy and TAKA to try and deliver an all-out cruiserweight display with high spots aplenty. Prior experience suggested that both guys would do well here, and so they did. There were some amazing moments from both men, but I think the coolest might have been when Kidman caught TAKA out of mid-air on a Lionsault and drove him to the mat with a BK Bomb for a long 2-count that the fans totally bought.

Last month the involvement of Torrie and Bischoff led directly to a non-finish, but after a little bit of drama and some staredowns early on, the seconds stayed out of the way for the stretch run of this match. There were some finisher teases, but the big moment came when Billy set TAKA up with an inverted suplex and went to the top rope for the shooting star press. Unfortunately for him TAKA got the knees up, and moments later he hit the Michinoku Driver and cleanly retained his title.

Grade: B

http://i.imgur.com/u4Nhu66.jpg

Flair came to the ring for his match, dressed to wrestle, and cut a promo on Dustin. He said that he'd wrestled Dusty Rhodes hundreds of times in his career, if not thousands. They were usually at each other's throats, and with good reason: they were polar opposites. Dusty was the common man, the American Dream, while he was the elite, the Nature Boy. But even though they'd spent years of their lives beating the hell out of each other on a nightly basis, one thing Ric always knew was that any time he had a match scheduled against Dusty Rhodes, the Dream was going to be there to give him one hell of a fight. He didn't know what Dustin's deal was, but if he inherited an ounce of his old man's courage, he would come out to the ring right now and fight him like a man!

There was a long pause with no response, and just when it seemed like no one would come out to respond, there was indeed an arrival (make that arrivals) from behind the curtain. But it wasn't Dustin who stepped onto the ramp.

http://i.imgur.com/4Hgahfk.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ptxupoY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/kccSmqv.jpg

Salvation (sans Destroyer, obviously) stood at the top of the ramp and delivered a message. Mortis was very good as he said that Dustin Rhodes would not return tonight to fight Ric Flair and would never return, because Dustin Rhodes was a man beyond salvation. "He was a man who refused the saving grace of Father Isaac, and so he was destroyed at Starrcade." Vampiro's time was even better; he said that the destruction of Dustin Rhodes at Starrcade should be held up as an example to the rest of the WCW locker room. "Salvation can be benevolent and noble to those honest enough to admit their faults and accept guidance, but we can also be a force of chaos and torment to those who have blinded themselves to reality." Father Isaac's performance was lacking, especially in comparison to his associates, but his was the focal point.

"Yes, Ric Flair, the rumors are true: Dustin Rhodes is no more! We shall never see his face on WCW television again! But fear not, because you will get the fight you seek tonight. We have arranged for a very special opponent for you, and I'm going to unveil him to the world right now. Ladies and gentlemen, Dustin Rhodes had to be destroyed. He had to be destroyed so he could then be reborn. I am pleased to introduce the newest member of Salvation. Say goodbye to Dustin Rhodes, and say hello to...THE UNNATURAL!"

http://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpg

Dustin came out in his new gimmick. He's got his face painted up somewhat similar to what he used as Goldust, but using a red and black color scheme. The character itself will be much less...flamboyant than Goldust. No sexual innuendos or homoerotic undertones; just darkness. He stood beside the other members of Salvation on the ramp and accepted the microphone when Isaac held it out to him.

"Dustin Rhodes is dead. He was a fool, too caught up in his own hubris to see that his career, his entire LIFE, was in shambles. Dustin Rhodes was a man that spent his whole life trying to prove his worth to the world: to himself, to his wife, to his father, to all the fans who idolized said father while he was too busy traveling the world to spend time with his son. None of it was ever enough. But now the man who was Dustin Rhodes has ceased to exist. Now from the ashes of Dustin Rhodes, The Unnatural has been born...and NO ONE will EVER forget the name."

Dustin's delivery was solid, and I thought he did a good job establishing his new character. The idea was for The Unnatural to be a weirder take on a pure evil incarnate type of character, and I thought the crowd reaction to it was above average in this initial segment. His heel turn was a major success as well.

Grade: B

Ultimate Fan Series Opening Round: #2 Agents of Chaos vs. #7 The League of Extraordinary Grapplers (L.O.E.G. lead 2-1)
The Unnatural (w/Father Isaac) vs. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
http://i.imgur.com/hSGqVHg.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/u4Nhu66.jpg

To give a little extra something to the new character, Dustin put a lot of work into bulking up in his time off. I thought it was really evident here and made him feel like a bigger deal. As for the match itself, I took Ric's physical limitations into account and had them focus on telling a story. The action might not have been the greatest, but Ric and Dustin have good chemistry together (like father, like son I guess) and Father Isaac is also a very good fit with the Unnatural character. The Unnatural wrestled a pretty physical and heelish style, choking Flair and gouging at his face, but Ric was able to put him down with a chop block to the knee and do more work on his legs in preparation for the figure four.

http://i.imgur.com/LuHGjH3.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/OZDc3yZ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/cCdOWIq.jpg

That's when The Empire reared their heads. Bischoff, TAKA and Sytch strolled down the ramp, drawing the attention of both Flair and the referee. That allowed Candido to sneak in from the other side and lay Flair out with a fisherman buster (I think we'll start having him use that as an impact finisher to go along with his top rope leg, but we'll need to come up with a name for it.) The Empire practically gift-wrapped the win for The Unnatural, and he took it. He probably could've just pinned Flair, but instead he pulled him back up and delivered his new finisher, Unnatural Selection (an implant DDT.)

Grade: B-

http://i.imgur.com/SSavu06.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/q9yvg1C.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/35Od9kC.jpg

We ran a short little skit backstage where Disco tried to audition for a spot in 3 Count, but they were disgusted by his outdated dancing moves and told him to get out of the '70s and join everyone in the new millennium. Both members of 3 Count were very poor here, but Evan does seem to be getting better at acting.

Grade: D

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas
http://i.imgur.com/WWA8fPj.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/SlbyjcN.jpg

These two put on one of the best matches of the night at Starrcade, and after continuing the feud with a six man tag last month we went forward with the rematch tonight. They had a lot to live up to after their Starrcade bout, but they not only equaled that first match, they succeeded it. This match was just a shade below the elusive A grade we've achieved only three times previously. Dallas might be past his prime physically, but even at age 45 he's still capable of greatness inside the ring. As for Douglas, he's someone I viewed as a valuable role player when I inherited the company, someone who could be a reliable and solid mid card act. His performances, particularly in this feud with DDP, have me second-guessing my original assessment. He could very well wind up as a main event player, especially if he can consistently produce matches of this quality on the PPVs.

A stealthy cheap shot gave Douglas a late advantage, but Page was able to catch his foot on a boot, spin him around and drop him with a discus clothesline. He signaled for the Diamond Cutter next, but Shane shoved him forward, causing a head-on collision between DDP and referee Nick Patrick. Patrick obviously caught the brunt of that, and with him out of the picture Douglas immediately hit DDP with a blatant low blow. Douglas smiled and went out to the floor, where he grabbed the ring bell from the timekeeper's table. Before he could return to the ring with it...

http://i.imgur.com/jAnziwr.jpg

...Kimberly came running down the ramp! She came up from behind and grabbed the bell, and was able to yank it out of Shane's hands since he was caught by surprise. He turned to glare at her, pointing his finger at her and cocking the fist of his other hand. Rather than backing down, Kimberly fearlessly swung the bell at Shane's head! He didn't expect that and couldn't get his hands up in time to block it, so the bell clocked him right in the face! Kimberly dropped the bell and ran back up the ramp, so she was already gone from ringside by the time DDP (and Nick Patrick) came around. Dallas was totally unaware of all that had happened: all he saw was that Douglas was face-down on the ramp. He brought Shane back into the ring, hit the Diamond Cutter and won the match, but Mike and I were quick to wonder how he'd feel about this win after he watched the tape and saw that Kimberly had interfered despite his promise that she wouldn't.

Grade: B+

http://i.imgur.com/cxjgZpP.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/zJ5f3EO.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/LuHGjH3.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/OZDc3yZ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/cCdOWIq.jpg

Speaking of being unhappy with outside interference, Sting scolded The Empire in the back for interfering in Ric Flair's match earlier in the night. Luger tried to calm his friend, wanting everybody on Uncrewed's Crew to stay on the same page, but Sting ignored his longtime friend's argument (good thing, because Lex's promo was borderline nonsensical anyway.)

"I'm sick and tired of this same old song and dance from you, Bischoff! I DARE you guys to actually do something by the book for a change! In fact, I'm going to make sure that it DOES happen! Later on tonight, Candido, you've got a chance to send us to the Semifinals if you can beat Jeff Hardy. I won this thing last year, and I'd love to do it again this year, but NOT if you guys are going to do it the way you've been doing it! So I'll be watching that match real close, and if anybody OTHER than Candido gets involved, they'll have to answer to me and the big black bat!"

When pleas for reason and sensibility fell on deaf ears, Bischoff agreed that no one else from Empire would interfere in the match. Candido said that he didn't need anyone's help anyway. "There's a reason I'm part of this Empire! There's a reason I'm one of the centerpieces of the next generation--the generation that's replacing you, Stinger!" Candido is developing into a better performer, but Sting was the unquestioned star of this segment.

Grade: B

Bob Backlund vs. King Corino
http://i.imgur.com/0W0jqwA.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/I7app7W.jpg

I knew not to expect much from Backlund at this stage of his career, so I used this match to calm the crowd down and make sure they weren't too drained before we got to the big few matches at the end. Backlund and Corino were successful in doing just that, and honestly they had about as good a match as could really be hoped for with a 51-year old man involved (even though Bob is in really good shape for his age.) Backlund teased the crossface chickenwing a few times, but Corino always fought it off. He eventually hit the piledriver to win the match, which was the only outcome that made any sense.

Grade: C+

Ultimate Fan Series Opening Round: #4 The Dead Jesters vs. #5 Uncrewed's Crew (Uncrewed's Crew leads 2-1)
Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Candido (w/Tammy Sytch)
http://i.imgur.com/1tytiqE.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/OZDc3yZ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/omw6AWI.jpg

Interest was high for the first PPV match of Jeff Hardy, but this was also a huge opportunity for Candido to make an impression. I was impressed with the efforts of both men, who delivered a good match. It would've been even better if either of them had been able to take charge and hold the match psychology together, but the action was good regardless. The fans popped for Jeff's signature spots, but they also bought into Candido's near-falls, which was encouraging. He's got a ways to go before he can be viewed as a true upper card guy, but we're definitely making progress.

Candido went for his new fisherman buster finisher, but Hardy elbowed his way out of it and scored with a sitout jawbreaker. From there he went up top and hit the Swanton Bomb to win the match and force this series into a tiebreaker tomorrow night.

Grade: B

http://i.imgur.com/zAUQMDu.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/JtXyw9X.jpg

Arn and Tony chatted backstage about the return of the Clash of the Champions, which will be on PPV Sunday, March 24th, from Australia. Arn was awesome as he talked about the importance of the United States champion getting a shot at the World Heavyweight title, and Tony was funny in his own right as he said it was "sure to be one of the greatest nights in the history of our sport."

Grade: D+

Ultimate Fan Series Opening Round: #1 The K-Nections vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1)
AJ Styles vs. Matt Hardy
http://i.imgur.com/Ht8KF88.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/YIpiDFE.jpg

I envisioned this as a really fun, "can you top this?" babyface match where both guys pulled out all the stops to try and come away with the win. Unfortunately neither man did very well under my all out instructions. I think they put too much pressure on themselves to try and deliver a great match, and their performances suffered for it. They're talented enough that the match still wasn't terrible by any means, but it definitely could have been much better under different circumstances.

The entire match was a back-and-forth struggle with both guys trading near falls. AJ nearly won it with a vertical suplex lift into a neckbreaker, and then Matt came a half a second away with a Splash Mountain Bomb. Hardy let out his familiar scream and went for the Twist of Fate, but AJ was able to shove him in the back. The forward momentum sent Matt chest-first into the buckles, and when he staggered back out towards the center of the ring AJ delivered the Styles Clash to guarantee a third tiebreaker tomorrow. At one point the plan was for Matt to win here and send the Wild Cards to the Semifinals, but I decided to have AJ win and extend the series. This keeps my options open as I'm still not 100% decided on how the UFS as a whole will ultimately play out, plus it's the biggest win of AJ's career thus far. Matt will be focusing mainly on teaming with his brother for the foreseeable future anyway, so this loss shouldn't really hurt him.

Grade: B-

http://i.imgur.com/GoltiY2.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/l0qRIIJ.jpg

Bobby did a short backstage interview with "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. Nothing special or noteworthy, and pretty similar to the segments we've done so far with Daniels, with him calling himself "God's gift to the cruiserweight division." Chris did a pretty good job with his delivery, which I was impressed with considering it was his first appearance on PPV. Bobby wasn't as good though, with a couple of attempted one-liners that fell flat. The Brain is still really entertaining, but he's not as sharp as he used to be and has off-nights far more often than he ever did in WWF.

Grade: C-

http://i.imgur.com/mitTbCm.jpg
Booker T vs. Rey Misterio Jr. {©}
http://i.imgur.com/sJZr1Hv.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/9v49DN6.jpg

Most considered this the odds-on favorite to be the best match of the night, and with good reason. Rey and Booker are two of our very best, and in this match they showed exactly why. While Booker was trying to win the United States title as a gateway to the world title match at next month's Clash of the Champions, the sheer quality of this match was a great thing for the prestige of the US belt. For around 23 minutes these two thrilled the crowd with a back-and-forth match. Rey tried to do his usual flying attacks, but Booker did all he could to disrupt his rhythm with everything from stall tactics to power moves to brawling to downright cheap shots. He seemed to enjoy working with Rey, as he showed improved technical skills when they were on the mat and also looked better when taking to the air, which made Mike and I even more frustrated on commentary since we all knew Booker was good enough to win major championship matches straight up and didn't need to take any shortcuts.

This match was the perfect blend of great wrestling and character development, with Rey standing up for the prestige of the United States title as something more than a mere stepping stone, and Booker being absolutely ruthless as he continued his quest to regain the championship he believed never should have left his possession. Whether you're a fan of great ring work or engrossing characters, you couldn't help but love this match.

Booker whipped Rey off of the ropes and threw a clothesline, but Misterio ducked it and snapped off a swinging DDT. He went out to the apron and took flight with his springboard hurricanrana, but Booker dropped down onto his chest at the last moment and Rey collided with ref Charles Robinson. While Rey checked on the ref, Booker rolled out to the floor and grabbed a steel chair. He brought it back into the ring and smashed Rey across the back with it! After several more hard shots to the back he took aim at the champion's face, but Rey blocked it. Misterio wrested the chair out of Booker's hands--then jabbed him right in the ribs with it!

A shot to the back knocked Booker down, and Rey continued to batter him with the chair. Mike and I said that the repeated attacks on Nitro and now Booker introducing the chair had sent Rey over the edge and made him lose his temper. The first thing Charles Robinson saw upon regaining his wits was Misterio beating the hell out of Booker with a steel chair, so naturally he called for the bell and disqualified him. Booker wins the match, but not the title.

Grade: A

http://i.imgur.com/uj4FkBt.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/zbQxlTu.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/9QpxTLI.jpg

RVD was standing near the curtain, preparing to go out for his match when he was approached by the Natural Born Thrillers. Palumbo wished him well in the main event, saying that they were genuinely pulling for him to beat Scott Steiner tonight. O'Haire agreed, because if RVD won, that meant that tomorrow night on Nitro the Thrillers would beat the US champion AND the World champion in the same match! Rob showed some improved acting chops as he shrugged his shoulders and said that tomorrow was tomorrow.

"You two dudes are one tough tag team, no doubt about it. Me and Rey-Rey are gonna have our hands full tomorrow, but that's tomorrow. Tonight it's about this World Heavyweight title over my shoulder, so I think you boys should pull up a chair and watch the champ in action, because I'm about to put on the show of a lifetime in front of my hometown! Battle Creek's gonna be rocking when they see the hometown guy walk out there with the world title, and as they watch me do what only I can do, there's just three letters everybody in the crowd will be chanting: R-V-D!"

Grade: B

http://i.imgur.com/haJKoFv.jpg
"Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner (w/Midajah) vs. Rob Van Dam {©}
http://i.imgur.com/QEoXr2L.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/Wi1oegS.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/uj4FkBt.jpg

What to expect from this match? I didn't have a clue. The Starrcade match was certainly a disappointment, but then RVD went and had a great match with The Destroyer last month. Steiner got things started by attacking RVD right at the opening bell, and that set the tone for most of the match. Scott was dominant, tossing RVD all around the ring with suplexes, beating on him with strikes and doing plenty of flexing and trash talking all the while. This is pretty standard fare, but we went too far in that direction this time. Scott was too dominant for too long, and it really hurt the match. The fans were ready to cheer the hometown hero on but we didn't give them much chance to, with any signs of a comeback stuffed before it could ever really get going. It wasn't a psychology problem per se, as they did tell the story we were looking for. The story just didn't make for a very compelling match, and once again these two had a lackluster main event together.

RVD finally got a genuine comeback going, connecting with several kicks and hitting Rolling Thunder and a cartwheel moonsault for a pair of near falls. Just when the crowd was getting behind Van Dam, Steiner caught him on a spinning heel kick and turned it into a modified exploder suplex. He went for the Steiner Recliner, but RVD used his flexibility to escape the predicament and then floored him with a standing spin kick. He hopped up to the top rope, did his thumb pointing thing and jumped off for the Five Star Frog Splash!

Steiner rolled out of the way! As RVD got back up to his feet, clutching his ribs, Scotty clubbed him with a lariat right to the jaw. He pulled him up into waistlock position and attempted a German suplex, but RVD landed on his feet and seamlessly took him to the mat with a rolling prawn hold for a sudden three count.

Grade: B

Show Overall Grade: B

Credit to K-Nection once again for the poster!

Briskout · March 16, 2017

If anyone's a good replacement for Awesome, it's bizarro-Rhodes, even without the undertones. If Awesome returns, that'll be one dominant stable.... and Vampiro.

Good show overall, I really can't wait to see heel Rey come out more. Rey definitely needs a good heel run and can pull it off.

K-Nection · March 16, 2017

Good show overall, I really can't wait to see heel Rey come out more. Rey definitely needs a good heel run and can pull it off.

Booker T says to Rey.....

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/d4/d4f48ebb6b42e204e991cac62b11dac63fb3f15ff6eacdd6500dd5e485acff6a.jpg

deanohbk · March 17, 2017

I can't wait for clash of champions to come down under

michgcs · March 17, 2017

Finally finished reading the show-- are we seeing a Rey Misterio heel turn?

Also, did either Flair or Candido complain on their losses? I'd imagine Flair's still higher up on the pecking order compared to The Unnatural, and I think Candido's done well for himself; hopefully he's not a sore loser?

Beejus · March 17, 2017

I dug the show, man. Glad I don't end up having a mutiny on my hands with the Agents because of Dustin not showing up! I can't say I exactly chose an Unnatural creature, but he got the win, so no complaint yet. I'm a little surprised you decided to split the Hardyz wins, and Rey's actions make me pretty curious like it seems everyone else is as well. Personally, I don't think he plays a very good heel, but if anyone can make it write out well, it'd be you. Can't wait to see more!

The Final Countdown · March 17, 2017

February 2002: SuperBrawl Wrap-up <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/CsYcpkv.jpg</div> Vince ran No Way Out heads-up against SuperBrawl. Austin had his typical fantastic match, with Chris Jericho as this month's opponent. Except Steve was no longer the champ, so his match was in the semi main event spot instead of closing out the show. The show ender was the first title defense of Bubba Ray Dudley, who retained over Big Show. I'm not sure they could've picked a worse initial opponent for him if they tried. That match was predictably lackluster. The show itself was still fine, but it obviously would have been much better with that Austin/Jericho match in the main event slot. The show also featured the PPV return of Bam Bam Bigelow, who beat The Goodfather by DQ. Not exactly setting the world on fire there. Royal Rumble winner Rocky wasn't in a match, but he did have a confrontation with Austin to continue that program. Hogan's only involvement was a backstage segment where both he and Undertaker tried to politic their way to a world title shot from Commissioner Foley. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg</div> Some notes from tonight's show: -Bryan Clark was unhappy about losing to True Heroes. I responded to that by making sure he was the one to take the fall. See how he likes that! -Ric Flair wasn't happy about putting over Dustin and his new gimmick. In his case I agreed to protect him with the booking, and once he heard The Empire would interfere and the finish wouldn't be clean, he was more accepting of it. -Steiner didn't want to put RVD over either. I was expecting this, and that's why the match was structured so heavily in his favor. The match suffered as a result, but at least we don't have an angry Big Poppa Pump to deal with. -I congratulated Booker and Misterio for their show-stealing match during my post-show speech, and also gave Ric a salute for putting Dustin over. Maybe he didn't deserve it since I had to make concessions in order for him to go along with it without complaint, but I'm trying to raise his spirits a bit. He's remained pretty irritated ever since I brought Bischoff back. -Thanks largely to the disappointing main event, this was the worst PPV we've put on since I bought the company. It was still a good outing given our current stature though, and I think it was also good enough to give SuperBrawl a boost in importance. I've made yet another acquisition for our future women's division. Lacey is an 18-year old independent worker whose in-ring skills are nothing to write home about at this early stage of her career, but she does have something of a star presence. She's reported to Wildside, and she'll probably be down there for some time in an effort to bring her in-ring ability up to respectable levels. <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Prediction scores (maximum possible points: 14) ((+1 = Correctly predicted either Hardy as the free agent Arn was negotiating with)) deanohbk: 13 K-Nection: 11 (+1) Warhawk8492: 11 Wolfman84: 11 Beejus: 10 crackerjack: 10 (+1) Cro Cop Rules: 10 Nobby_McDonald: 10 (+1) KnowYourEnemy: 9 Dead_Jester: 9 evileddie10: 9 Kijar: 9 smw88: 9 (+1) onewithsergio: 9 sportsfanmas: 9 GingeyOne: 9 (+1) Uncrewed: 8 Satyr24: 8 jscotty: 8 (+1) franticloser: 8 (+1) michgcs: 8 (+1) Rateddc: 8 (+1) LordofGustav: 8 (+1) BHK6: 8 chrismday: 8 (+1) Happy0wns: 7 DGenerationMC: 7 Briskout: 7 The Lariat: 7 (+1) Theheel: 6 </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Standings in prediction contest after 2 shows (1 show remaining) Wolfman84: 21 K-Nection: 21 crackerjack: 20 deanohbk: 20 LordofGustav: 19 GingeyOne: 19 Nobby_McDonald: 19 Warhawk8492: 19 michgcs: 18 Dead_Jester: 18 Rateddc: 18 franticloser: 18 Cro Cop Rules: 18 Satyr24: 17 BHK6: 17 evileddie10: 17 jscotty: 17 chrismday: 17 smw88: 17 Beejus: 17 DGenerationMC: 16 Briskout: 16 Uncrewed: 16 The Lariat: 16 sportsfanmas: 16 KnowYourEnemy: 15 Kijar: 15 Theheel: 14 Happy0wns: 14 onewithsergio: 9 AMarc9-8: 9 SomeLazyMagic: 9 2Sweet: 8 </div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> I seriously wish I could outsource the task of tallying up these prediction scores. Talk about tedium! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Briskout" data-cite="Briskout" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>If anyone's a good replacement for Awesome, it's bizarro-Rhodes, even without the undertones. If Awesome returns, that'll be one dominant stable.... and Vampiro. Good show overall, I really can't wait to see heel Rey come out more. Rey definitely needs a good heel run and can pull it off.</div></blockquote> I'm hoping The Unnatural can be a big deal, but we'll see. Poor Vamp. <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Awesome will return, but I'm not nearly as high on him as I was right after Sin. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Booker T says to Rey..... http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/d4/d4f48ebb6b42e204e991cac62b11dac63fb3f15ff6eacdd6500dd5e485acff6a.jpg</div></blockquote> I think he's too busy moping about not winning the title! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="deanohbk" data-cite="deanohbk" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I can't wait for clash of champions to come down under</div></blockquote> Ah, are you Australian? I'll probably start running about 2 months + PPVs per year in Australia/New Zealand. It's one of my better regions thanks to my TV exposure there. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="michgcs" data-cite="michgcs" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Finally finished reading the show-- are we seeing a Rey Misterio heel turn? <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Also, did either Flair or Candido complain on their losses? I'd imagine Flair's still higher up on the pecking order compared to The Unnatural, and I think Candido's done well for himself; hopefully he's not a sore loser?</div></blockquote> Are we? Hmm... Flair I obviously covered in my in-character portion. As for Candido, he's still well behind Jeff's popularity in most regions aside from Japan. I THINK they're close enough that Jeff wouldn't have complained about losing to him though. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Beejus" data-cite="Beejus" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I dug the show, man. Glad I don't end up having a mutiny on my hands with the Agents because of Dustin not showing up! I can't say I exactly chose an Unnatural creature, but he got the win, so no complaint yet. I'm a little surprised you decided to split the Hardyz wins, and Rey's actions make me pretty curious like it seems everyone else is as well. Personally, I don't think he plays a very good heel, but if anyone can make it write out well, it'd be you. Can't wait to see more!</div></blockquote> Picking Dustin when you did was honestly great value. It would have been a decent value pick even without the gimmick change, but the switch only boosted his value. Besides, I think The Unnatural is a much better Agent of Chaos than plain old Dustin Rhodes would've been! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Until fairly late in the game both Hardys were supposed to win, but I had a change of heart.

deanohbk · March 17, 2017

Yes I'm a proud Aussie...glad u doing more shows down under does that mean we may see more Aussies in WCW soon

The Final Countdown · March 21, 2017

March 2002: Road to Clash of the Champions

http://i.imgur.com/C7WWlCZ.jpg

February 25th, 2002

From the McMorran Place Arena in Port Huron, Michigan

Attendance: 4,800 (sell-out!)

Announce Team: "The Professor" Mike Tenay and Bret "The Hitman" Hart

Spotlight Segment:

http://i.imgur.com/sJZr1Hv.jpg

We opened with Booker T in the ring, and he was in a much better mood than he had been seemingly ever since he lost the world title to Scott Steiner last July. Booker looked like a star as he explained why he was so happy: it was because justice was finally about to be served.

"The whole dang world knows I should still be the heavyweight champion of the world right here and now! And there's not one person with any brains who thinks it's fair that those stooges in the WCW front office have denied me my rematch ever since! But all that's comin' to an end now, because last night I beat that sucka Rey Misterio Jr. up so bad that he couldn't take it anymore, and he got himself disqualified on purpose just so I wouldn't hurt him anymore! You know what that means, dawg: at Clash of the Champions I'm finally gonna get my world title rematch! So Rob Van Dam, enjoy holdin' onto my belt for a few more weeks, fool, because when we go down under for Clash of the Champions I'm taking it back! Now can...you...dig..."

"Hold on just one second there, Booker," a voice said, interrupting Book in mid-sentence.

http://i.imgur.com/zAUQMDu.jpg

Commissioner Anderson joined Book in the ring, and he was the bearer of bad news.

"Book, you seem to have misinterpreted something, and as a result you've jumped to the wrong conclusion. It is true that you beat Rey Misterio Jr. last night. That's official, that's in the record books, and nobody's taking that victory away from you. But you are NOT going to be challenging for the world heavyweight championship on March 24th."

Booker was outraged, demanding to know what the hell Arn was talking about. Arn explained that the title shot at Clash of the Champions was going not to "the winner of Booker T vs. Rey Misterio Jr.", but the United States champion. Booker might have won last night, but he DIDN'T win the US title, and so he WOULDN'T be getting the title shot at RVD. This segment didn't go as well as I'd hoped and I'm not really sure why, but it did what it needed to do.

Grade: B-

After going 50/50 in their UFS singles matches last night, the Hardys were back together in tag action and got a win over the oddball team of Fit Finlay and Disco Inferno. (B)

Satyr's Hopeful Few backstage promo; while all the other UFS teams fight for their lives tonight, they're already looking forward to demolishing whomever emerges to meet them in the Semifinals. (B)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: #4 The Dead Jesters vs. #5 Uncrewed's Crew (series tied 2-2)
Shane Douglas and Lance Storm took on Sting and Lex Luger in the first of three UFS tiebreakers. Between the technique of Storm and the savvy of Douglas, they were definitely a match for their more famous opponents. The Empire tired of watching the standstill and came out to the ring to take matters into their own hands, but Sting jumped down from the apron and yelled at them to stay out of it. As that was going on, Douglas hit the Franchiser on Luger and pinned him to send The Dead Jesters to the Semifinals. (B)

RVD and Misterio are interviewed while fellow K-Nections teammates AJ Styles and American Dragon stand in silent support. Both men agree that they're going to give it their all at Clash of the Champions in what is sure to be a classic title match, but tonight they'll have no problem working together against the Natural Born Thrillers to make sure the team advances. (B+)

We cut to Sting yelling at The Empire in their locker room while Lex Luger unsuccessfully tries to play peacemaker. Bischoff places the blame for their elimination squarely on Sting, and Candido and TAKA attack him! Luger flees, and Sting is beaten down. (B-)

The first televised women's match in WCW in quite some time featured Alexis Laree against Takako Inoue. Mike and I spent the match introducing both women to the audience, presenting Alexis as a plucky 22-year old prospect while the more experienced Inoue considers herself not only the best women's wrestler in the world but the most beautiful one as well, and she isn't shy about voicing that opinion. Women's champion Etsuko Mita watched the match from the aisle, and she saw Inoue attempt to humiliate her opponent, only for Alexis to catch her cocky opponent off-guard with a swinging DDT for a surprising pinfall! (D+)

Backstage skit: 3 Count try to recruit Stacy Keibler into "the band" while Kaz Hayashi watches on blankly. She laughs but gives them no real response. (C-)

Cruiserweight tag team action saw Jamie Knoble and Billy Kidman team up against Cash and Elix Skipper. Kidman redeemed his loss to TAKA at SuperBrawl by pinning Skipper with the shooting star press. (B)

King Corino backstage promo; "Who is left for me to defeat? Who is left to challenge The King?" (C+)

Ernest Miller's dancing did not impress The Unnatural. The Cat was put down for the count by Unnatural Selection. (B-)

Christopher Daniels interview: "TAKA? Billy Kidman? AJ Styles? None of them can hold a candle to the Fallen Angel, God's gift to the cruiserweight division!" (C+)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: #1 The K-Nections vs. #8 The Wild Cards (series tied 2-2)
All four were babyfaces, but there was significant intrigue thanks to RVD and Rey teaming up even though they'll be wrestling each other for Rob's world title at Clash of the Champions. The two champions worked together well enough to have a very even match with the Thrillers, but when RVD attempted a flying side kick off of the top rope, O'Haire got out of the way and he kicked Rey instead! Palumbo knocked a surprised RVD out of the ring and O'Haire hit the Widow Maker to finish Misterio (the second time he's defeated him in the last month.) The Wild Cards are on to the Semifinals, and the defending champions are out! (B+)

RVD helps Rey up after the match, but Rey shoves him! Rob tries to apologize, but Rey leaves the ring in a foul mood. (B-)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: #2 Agents of Chaos vs. #7 The League of Extraordinary Grapplers (series tied 2-2)
In our main event, the Steiner Brothers, Ric Flair and DDP fought to determine who the final UFS Semifinal team would be. Flair and DDP have been in plenty of huge matches, and that big match experience helped them avoid some of the pitfalls that would derail most first time teams against a tried and true duo like the Steiners. That said, there's simply no replacement for teamwork, and the Steiners have few rivals in that area. They cut the ring off, isolated DDP and forced him to submit to the Steiner Recliner. (B)

Shane Douglas comes out after the match and taunts the fallen DDP. "Last night, Kimberly showed up and handed you that win. Tonight she's not here, and look what happened! You lost like the worthless piece of crap you are! You haven't done anything but prove me right over the last two nights. Without that bimbo there to support you, you are NOTHING, Page!" (A*)

Show Grade: B+

http://i.imgur.com/pBTSX2H.jpg

Taped immediately after Nitro

Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Don West

American Dragon made relatively short work of Alan Funk. (C+)

Backstage: True Heroes approach Totally Buffed, invite them to join them in their locker room and "discuss business." (B)

Takako Inoue may be conceited about her looks, but she's also supremely talented and proved it by defeating local Cindy Rogers with a spinning backfist that she calls "Night Night." (C-)

Alex Wright defeated the slumping Mike Sanders in the main event. (C+)

Wild Cards backstage promo: they shocked the world by eliminating the #1 seed and defending champions, and they'll continue all the way to the championship. (B-)

Show Grade: C+

http://i.imgur.com/C7WWlCZ.jpg

March 4th, 2002

From Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua, New Zealand

Attendance: 3,000 (sell-out!)

Announce Team: "The Professor" Mike Tenay and Bret "The Hitman" Hart

The show is supposed to open with a match between Norman Smiley and Disco Inferno, but Booker T comes to the ring and orders both men out; Smiley doesn't comply and Booker attacks him, throwing him over the top rope. He demands that Arn Anderson come to the ring and "make it right" by giving him his world title shot; if not at Clash of the Champions, then tonight! Arn comes out and says his decision is final; the next world title match will be held at the Clash, and it will be reigning US champion Rey Misterio Jr. who challenges for the belt. Booker says that if that's the way it's going to be, Arn's forced his hand: he's going on strike, and will not wrestle another match for WCW until he gets the world title shot he deserves! (C+)

The first match of the night to actually get underway was a triple threat between American Dragon, Shane Helms and Kaz Hayashi to determine the next challenger for TAKA's cruiserweight title. All three men had a chance to shine, with Dragon's technical wrestling, the flying of Hayashi and the impact moves of Helms all coming into play, but it was the young masked grappler who got the win with a quick cradle on Helms. (B)

Bobby Heenan interviews Alexis Laree and Etsuko Mita. Alexis says she's seen plenty of tapes of Mita in Japan and respects her ability, but she won't be afraid at Clash of the Champions. "It's my dream to be women's champion, and I want to make the most of it!", she explained. Mita just shook her head, rolled her eyes and walked off. (D-)

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round: #2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards
The Semifinal round opened with a match between Mark Jindrak and Matt Hardy. Jindrak got in some power offense, but Hardy looked to be in a different class and won the match with the Twist of Fate. ©

Totally Buffed confront both Hardys after the match and say that they're sick of all the "geeks on the internet" talking about the Hardys all the time. "You may think you're something special because you jumped off of a few ladders, but you're not stars and have never been stars, and we're not gonna let you come in here and steal attention from true stars like us!" Bagwell shouted. They challenge Matt and Jeff to a match at COTC, and the challenge is accepted! (C+)

Roddy Piper gives a short teaser for Piper's Pit tonight with guests Rob Van Dam and Rey Misterio Jr, which is sure to be explosive after the incident we saw last week where Rey shoved him after their tag match. (B-)

The two preeminent factions in WCW today, Salvation and The Empire, wound up on opposing sides in a singles match. Tammy Sytch was all smiles when Chris Candido won the match for The Empire with a fisherman buster on Vampiro. (B-)

Candido does some boasting after the match, but is chased away by Ric Flair! Flair challenges Candido to a match "any time, anywhere, so I can kick break both your legs with the figure four! And after you're out of the way, I'm taking Bischoff out!" (B)

AJ Styles and Sting, who still have a tag team title shot in their back pocket from last year's UFS, took on and defeated 3 Count courtesy of a Styles Clash on Karagis. (B)

Lance Storm is warming up for his main event UFS match against Mortis while CM Punk laughs about how easy it was to manipulate "those two musclebrained morons" Luger and Bagwell to go after the Hardys. Arn Anderson interrupts the snickering champions to introduce the men who will challenge them for their titles at Clash of the Champions: the Natural Born Thrillers! Palumbo smirks and says they'll see them at the Clash. "After we beat the world champ AND the US champ in the same match last week, we're gonna make it a clean sweep at the Clash and take our belts back!" (B+)

Konnan's career has been fairly stagnant recently, and it didn't improve any when King Corino hit the piledriver to hand him a loss. (B)

Vignette: Shane Douglas mocks the absent Diamond Dallas Page, who is still in the US this week. Douglas gives a history lesson, complete with clips, about how DDP's career was going nowhere until Kimberly joined him as the Diamond Doll, and then how his career-making feud with Randy Savage only came about because of Kimberly's nude photoshoot. He then shows more recent footage: Kimberly helping DDP beat him at SuperBrawl, and then Page losing in last week's tiebreaker when she wasn't there. "You're nothing without her, Page! If you didn't have a hot wife there to prop your worthless career up, you'd still be running some damn nightclub!" (B+)

Backstage: Scott Steiner gives the rest of Agents of Chaos a pep talk. ('Pep talk' in this case meaning he threatened to beat up "wannabe Big Poppa Pump" Jindrak for losing earlier, and warned The Unnatural that if he lost his match, he'd "smack that stupid makeup right offa ya!") The Unnatural doesn't back down. "I will win, Steiner, do not worry about that. What you need to worry about is what I'll do to YOU should you fail." (B+)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: #4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few
Lance Storm against Mortis was an intriguing matchup. Storm is a supremely talented technician, while Mortis built a reputation as a practitioner of innovative offensive moves during his time as Kanyon. He still had those moves at his disposal, but he's also wrestled with a more aggressive, almost maniacal edge since putting the mask of Mortis back on. That made all the difference here, as some rough brawling put Storm on the defensive and left him open for the Flatliner. (B+)

Spotlight Segment:

http://i.imgur.com/uj4FkBt.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/9v49DN6.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/FIVYBul.jpg

The world title feud took center stage to close out the show as RVD and Misterio joined Roddy for another edition of Piper's Pit. While I usually just give my workers a few bullet points to cover in their promos and leave the rest up to them as I feel it's more natural and has a greater chance of producing something truly memorable, I did not do so here. Rey usually seems to struggle cutting promos off the cuff, so Dusty Rhodes and I collaborated with the guys involved to create a detailed script for this segment. I think it was a good decision. Rey's performance was still generally underwhelming, but at least he was able to stick to the words we'd scripted for him instead of trying and failing to come up with something in the moment.

Roddy replayed the ending of last week's tag team match where RVD came off the top rope and accidentally kicked Misterio in the face, and then the post-match altercation where RVD tried to help Rey up only to be shoved away. He asked whether that was just Rey blowing off some steam and losing his cool in the moment after the frustration of losing the match and being eliminated from the UFS, or if there was something deeper at work here.

Rey admitted that he uncharacteristically lost his temper there, just like he'd lost it at SuperBrawl when Booker was assaulting him with a steel chair. But he felt his reaction was justified in both instances.

"When you were helping me up after the match, you said you were sorry and told me the kick was just an accident. But how do I know I can believe that? How do I know you didn't kick me on purpose so you could try and soften me up for our title match?"

RVD frowned and again insisted that it had been an accident. He pointed out that the footage clearly showed that he was aiming for Sean O'Haire, and he was already in mid-air by the time O'Haire got out of the way. Rey was still skeptical.

"That sounds real nice, but why should I trust you? You're already the world champion, so being eliminated from the UFS didn't mean as much to you. And we know you're very selfish; you say it every time you hold a microphone, and show it every time you get up and point to yourself like you're the only person that matters. Every chance you get, you tell everybody how 'Rob-Van-Dam' is special. 'R-V-D is one of a kind; no one can do the things that R-V-D does!' Well I've got news for you, Rob; no one else can do the things I do either! You're not as special as you think you are, and at Clash of the Champions you're going to find out that you're not 'one of a kind' after all, vato!"

RVD continued to profess his innocence, but Rey blew him off and left the ring as the show went off the air. This was a great segment; likely the best non-wrestling appearance of Rey's career. Going with the script was definitely the right way to go.

Grade: A

Show Grade: B+

http://i.imgur.com/pBTSX2H.jpg

Taped immediately after Nitro

Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Don West

Chavo Guerrero Jr. defeated Air Paris. (C+)

Christopher Daniels is interviewed again about his plans to "bless" the cruiserweight division with his presence. (D+)

Totally Buffed picked up a win over The Mamalukes. (C-)

Fit Finlay spiked Ernest Miller with a Tombstone in order to defeat him. (C-)

The Unnatural cuts an ominous promo; says "in order to reach the light, you must first embrace the darkness as I did." (B)

Show Grade: C

http://i.imgur.com/C7WWlCZ.jpg

March 11th, 2002

From Challenge Stadium in Perth, Australia

Attendance: 4,500 (sell-out!)

Announce Team: "The Professor" Mike Tenay and Bret "The Hitman" Hart

The opening match saw the legendary Ric Flair join forces with young American Dragon to take on their mutual adversaries The Empire. Flair wanted to get his hands on Chris Candido in the worst way ahead of their match at Clash of the Champions, but Candido played mind games and evaded him. Flair caught up with Candido and they brawled on the floor while Dragon got TAKA in Arms Across America and forced him to submit. (B)

RVD promo; he doesn't know what Rey Misterio's deal is, but he hopes Rey can retain his US title against Sean O'Haire tonight so their match can truly be a Clash of the Champions. (B+)

AJ Styles prevailed in a high spot-filled match against Cash. (B)

King Corino promo; he again asks if there is any competition left for him to defeat. (C+)

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: #4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (S.H.F. lead 1-0)
It was a 'Showdown of Shanes' as Shane Douglas tried to even this series at one win apiece, and Shane Helms attempted to put the Hopeful Few one win away from a sweep. Helms did a solid job at keeping up, but Douglas was able to ground his lighter opponent and submit him with a crossface. (B)

Pretape with Roddy Piper, who says he's heard Booker T is going on strike. "That's just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard, and I've heard a lot in my years in this business! Kid, I'm giving you an open invitation any time you wanna come on Piper's Pit instead of sitting at home wasting away!" (B+)

3 Count approach Fit Finlay about joining the band; after all, that Michael Flatley dude is Irish and he's almost as good a dancer as they are! (He's actually an American, but don't tell Evan Karagis.) Fit tells them that they have three seconds to leave before he beats them over the head with their own green circles. (D)

Norman Smiley wouldn't be doing any Big Wiggling tonight after Mortis defeated him with the Flatliner. (B)

Eric Bischoff and Etsuko Mita interrupt an Alexis Laree interview for WCW.com, and Eric announces that Mita has joined his Empire! "Etsuko needs an agent, someone who can watch her back and take care of the unfamiliar backroom politics in American wrestling while she does what she does best, which is dominate in the ring. She'll be a huge asset to our growing Empire, and you, missy, will NOT get in the way of that!" Alexis is saved from further harassment by the arrival of Sting, who tells Bischoff to beat it before he's introduced to the big black bat. ©

Sean O'Haire is interviewed about his US title shot tonight. "I've already pinned little Rey twice in the past month. What's one more time? And then after Chuck and I take our tag belts back at the Clash, I'll be a double champion!" (C+)

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round: #2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 1-0)
The unpredictable Unnatural represented his team against Chuck Palumbo in the second match of the series. Palumbo was not affected by the bizarre behavior of the former Dustin Rhodes, but the young veteran slipped out of a running powerslam attempt and tied the series with Unnatural Selection. (B)

The Hardys and Totally Buffed argue in a backstage hallway. Luger and Bagwell do some flexing and dare the Hardys to top that, but Matt and Jeff aren't impressed. Matt says they don't show their value by posing for magazine covers; they do it in the ring, and that's just what they'll do at Clash of the Champions. (C+)

It was a battle of former tag team champions as Doomsday took on the Steiner Brothers. The big brawl of a match went in the favor of the brothers thanks to Scott, who finished Bryan Clark off with the Steiner Recliner. (B)

Spotlight Segment:

http://i.imgur.com/WWA8fPj.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/SlbyjcN.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/jAnziwr.jpg

DDP was in the building tonight, and he was there for one purpose: to confront Shane Douglas in the middle of the ring. With Kimberly standing at his side, he called Douglas out to the ring. Once he arrived, he called Shane's video presentation last week "cute" but said he was tired of this back and forth between them.

"Shaneo, along with all the garbage you've been spewing, there's one thing you ain't wrong about: Kimberly has played a role in every one of our matches. At Starrcade you used her as a shield like a coward and that's why you beat me. In our six man tag at Sin she stopped you from hitting me with a chair, and at SuperBrawl she knocked you out cold with the ring bell. By the way, even though I asked her to stay home and not interfere that night, I have to say that it was pretty damn funny!" Dallas came across really well in this segment, and his delivery was good as well.

Douglas gave a sarcastic laugh and asked if any of this had a point, and Page explained the purpose of his visit. He proposed that they have one more match, one on one, at Clash of the Champions, with just them and no Kimberly. Shane rolled his eyes and said DDP said the same thing before SuperBrawl, and she'd still saved him just like she'd been saving his entire career from day one. Page admitted it was true, and even though he understood that she was concerned that Shane would try something dirty and that's why she'd shown up at SuperBrawl without his knowledge, he knew that in order to settle this once and for all she needed to be out of the picture.

That's why he would get in touch with the WCW matchmakers and put a stipulation in the match contract that if Kimberly interfered in any way at the Clash, he would automatically be suspended for 90 days! Douglas stroked his chin thoughtfully. He liked that idea, but he wanted to insert a clause of his own.

"I've said it all along, Page: your mere presence here all these years has denied opportunities to more deserving wrestlers, wrestlers like me! You should have quit years ago and allowed someone with some actual talent to take your place, someone that didn't need the help of some bimbo to become relevant! But since you didn't quit back then, I want to make you quit now! If we're going to fight one more time at Clash of the Champions, I want an I Quit match!" Shane's content maybe wasn't quite as strong as DDP's, but it was still above average in its own right.

DDP said that was just fine with him. The challenge was accepted and the match was on: DDP vs. Shane Douglas in an I Quit match, and if Kimberly gets involved DDP is suspended for 90 days! This was another great segment from these two.

Grade: A

http://i.imgur.com/mitTbCm.jpg
CM Punk joined color commentary to watch as Sean O'Haire had the biggest singles opportunity of his career, but he also had plenty of confidence after pinning Rey twice recently. This was largely your typical big man versus little man match, except O'Haire is quite athletic himself and demonstrated that several times. O'Haire went for it all when he lifted Rey onto his shoulders for the Widow Maker, but the champion swung around and countered into a spinning headscissors. He quickly followed up with a springboard hurricanrana to retain his gold. (B)

Rey gets on the mic after the match and says he thinks it's very unfair that people are questioning his integrity after his reaction to RVD's actions. "The person you should be questioning is Rob Van Dam. He's the one that kicked me in the face and cost us the match, and he's the one that always makes everything about him!" RVD steps out into the aisle to respond. "If you don't want to believe that the kick was an accident, hey, that's fine. That's on you. But when I kick you in the face at Clash of the Champions? THAT will be intentional, dude!" (B+)

Show Grade: B+

http://i.imgur.com/pBTSX2H.jpg

Taped immediately after Nitro

Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Don West

The search for a third band member isn't going so well, but 3 Count did pick up a win tonight over Air Paris and Jim Duggan. (C-)

Christopher Daniels cut a generic promo ('Gods gift to the cruiserweight division', etc.) (E)

Kaz Hayashi put a smile on Stacy Keibler's face by defeating Jason Jett. ©

Eric Bischoff cuts a promo on behalf of Etsuko Mita, promising that Mita will be the women's champion for as long as she sees fit, and there's nothing Alexis Laree can do about it. (C-)

CM Punk flew solo tonight and forced Yang to submit to the Second City Stretch. (C+)

Show Grade: C

http://i.imgur.com/C7WWlCZ.jpg

March 18th, 2002

From ETSA Park in Adelaide, Australia

Attendance: 3,200 (sell-out!)

Announce Team: "The Professor" Mike Tenay and Bret "The Hitman" Hart

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round: #2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (series tied 1-1)
Two men who have achieved their greatest success in tag teams met in singles action, and the winner would put his team one win away from the finals. Rick Steiner had almost two decades of experience on Sean O'Haire, but the younger man was clearly the better athlete at this stage. The Widow Maker helped O'Haire bounce back from last week's failed US title challenge. (B)

True Heroes come out to the ring and taunt O'Haire, saying that he might be an impressive athlete but forget about being a double champion: he would remain beltless after Clash of the Champions! O'Haire doesn't back down, but Punk and Storm do once Chuck Palumbo comes out from the back and joins his partner in the ring. (B+)

Backstage, Scott Steiner confronts Jamie Knoble. "If you think you're gonna beat me and knock us out of the Universal Fan World Series at the Clash, you're even stupider'n you look, and that's sayin' something!" Knoble corrects his pronunciation and says we'll find out who advances in the Ultimate Fan Series on Sunday. (A)

We had mixed tag team action, as Sunday's title challengers American Dragon and Alexis Laree took on the championship Empire duo of TAKA and Etsuko Mita. Laree was caught and planted with Mita's Death Valley Driver to end a competitive match. (B-)

Christopher Daniels interview; he tells Heenan that he'll debut when the time is right for him to grace the cruiserweight division with his presence. (D-)

Sting doesn't have a match scheduled for the Clash, but he came away a victor tonight after slapping the Scorpion Deathlock on Shawn Stasiak. (B-)

Ric Flair corners Eric Bischoff backstage and tells him he's going to drive him out of WCW right here and now! Bischoff cowers and makes pleas for mercy that fall on deaf ears, but Chris Candido makes the save! He beats Flair down onto the floor, and after straightening his jacket Bischoff joins in, both of them putting the boots to Flair. (B)

Their partners were up next in a UFS match, but first Matt Hardy took on Lex Luger. Luger did some of his power moves, but simply couldn't keep up and was taken out with the Twist of Fate. ©

Ultimate Fan Series, Opening Round: #4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (series tied 1-1)
On Sunday they'd meet in tag action, but right now Jeff Hardy and Buff Bagwell battled to give their teams the edge in the UFS. Bagwell was unable to counter Hardy's energetic offense and was defeated with the Swanton Bomb. (B-)

Backstage: Salvation confront Kidman. Vampiro warns Kidman that he is on a mission, a quest for immortality, and Kidman will not intervene in that by defeating him at Clash of the Champions and eliminating the S.H.F. from the tournament. ©

Pretape: Booker T accepts Roddy Piper's invitation, says he'll see him in Piper's Pit at Clash of the Champions. (B+)

Our main event featured AJ Styles going one on one with Shane Douglas. Styles is loaded with potential and is already pretty great, and he showed it by really taking Douglas to the limit with some great aerial tactics and solid wrestling. Douglas was reeling, but he was able to cut Styles off on the top rope and deliver a superplex. From there he locked in a crossface for the submission win. Mike and I pointed out that this was the second straight week he'd won a match with this hold, and it could come in handy in the I Quit match with DDP. (B+)

DDP steps out into the aisle and tells Douglas what's coming. "That was a nice hold there, Shane. But I'm not going to wrestle you at Clash of the Champions--I'm gonna kick your ass until you can take no more and scream the words 'I Quit!' Douglas, winded after a tough match, responds: "You're overrated trash, Page. You always have been and always will be, and on Sunday I'm going to expose you as the hack that you are!" (A*)

Spotlight Segment:

http://i.imgur.com/uj4FkBt.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/9v49DN6.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/zAUQMDu.jpg

The commish was out in the ring for the official world title contract signing, but Arn was very much a background character in this one. He stayed out of the way and left all of the talking to RVD and Rey. I again scripted their words out ahead of time, as that seems to work best for Misterio.

Rey spoke first, and he began by saying that RVD seems to be all anyone can talk about these days.

"Everybody's amazed by the things that Rob Van Dam can do. And I'll be honest: they should be. You're one amazing athlete, Rob. You definitely have a style all your own, and I can understand why everybody's so impressed with you. But here's the thing: I've been raising the bar for athletic wrestling for YEARS! And I haven't been doing it in the underground; I've been doing it here in WCW, the greatest wrestling company in the whole world! While the old guys like Hogan and his friends stole all the headlines and made all the money with their boring, slow, out-of-date wrestling, it was the cruiserweight revolution that stole the show every single night! And nobody did more to usher in that style than Rey Misterio Jr.!

"Now WCW is changed. The Hogans and the Nashes are gone, and the modern style of wrestling is at the top where it shoulda been all along! Now Rob, I'm not taking anything away from you, vato. Like I said, you're one heck of an athlete. But the only reason you were able to come in here and achieve the kind of success you have, get the kind of opportunities you've gotten so quickly, was because guys like me broke that glass ceiling down and introduced WCW fans to the style of the future! Whether you meant to kick me in the face a few weeks ago or not, this match is about more than that. It's about me reminding the whole world that the trend-setting style of the modern WCW wasn't ushered in by Rob-Van-Dam. No, as great as you might be, you're just following in the footsteps of Rey Misterio Jr! I changed the game forever, and I'm going to change it one more time this Sunday at Clash of the Champions, when I defy every single person who ever told me I was too small to make it in pro wrestling by winning the HEAVYWEIGHT championship of the world!"

Rob had listened to all of this calmly and with a smile on his face, and he actually applauded once Rey finished speaking and signed the contract. He admitted that Rey made some good points. He'd been a huge trend-setter from the moment he'd entered WCW almost six years ago.

"Even I was impressed by the things you were doing--and I'm not easily impressed, dude! You've been doing cool things here in WCW for years, and good for you. But here's the thing: I wasn't in 'the underground' because I had to be or couldn't make it anywhere else. I coulda left ECW for a big money deal from WWF or WCW years ago, but I stayed. I stayed because I was having the time of my life, and because while you and the cruiserweights were revolutionizing the style here in WCW, we were having a little revolution of our own down in Philadelphia! You guys changed the game, but so did we! A better businessman took what we were doing, renamed it 'Attitude' and made millions off of it, but anybody who lived it knows that all he really did was copy ECW!

"But that's the past, man, and I don't live in the past. I live in the moment, and at this moment I'm the WCW World Heavyweight Champion! Anybody who knows me knows I've never been greedy or worried about material things, but I'm proud to hold this belt. I'm proud to hold it because it means that I can go out and put on the best show possible against the very best opponents, and they'll give me their best shot every single time because they want to take it away from me! And you, Rey, you're one of the best. I've been looking forward to this match for a long time, dude, because I know we're going to tear the damn house down like only we can!"

RVD signed the contract, and afterwards held his hand out for Rey to shake. The challenger did shake it after a pause, but you could see that there was still some tension and competitive fire from both guys despite the sportsmanly gesture.

Grade: B+

Show Grade: B+

http://i.imgur.com/pBTSX2H.jpg

Taped immediately after Nitro

Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Don West

In a battle of wrestlers with no momentum to speak of, Johnny the Bull got his hand raised against Mike Sanders. (E+)

Mean Gene tries to join 3 Count, but Shannon Moore tells him he'd break his hip five seconds into the first performance. (D-)

True Heroes breezed through a non-title match against Air Paris and Jason Jett. (C+)

Jamie Knoble promo on his match against Scott Steiner. "I may be the underdog, but if Scotty thinks I'm gonna be a pushover he's in for a surprise!" (B-)

Chavo Guerrero Jr. used the Gory Special to defeat Yang. (C+)

Show Grade: C+

What will we get from RVD vs. Rey Misterio? Two out of RVD's three PPV main events have underachieved, and there's also the all-babyface thing to consider, but if both of these guys are 'on' this should be amazing from an athletic standpoint.

We've held off on the Thrillers getting their rematch at True Heroes for several months, but this felt like the appropriate time, especially with the NBT getting a high profile win over RVD and Misterio.

American Dragon is young, but the guy is already really fundamentally sound. I think he and TAKA could deliver a sleeper candidate for MOTN if all goes well here.

The Women's title will finally be defended on WCW programming. I considered having Mita defend against one of her fellow AJW alumni, but decided to start with young Alexis Laree instead. Alexis wasn't going to improve much more down in Wildside, and I'm trying to be more deliberate with my introduction of the Japanese women since they can't cut live promos on any of our shows held in English-speaking regions (which is basically all of them, aside from our trips to Japan.)

Scott Steiner looks to keep the Agents of Chaos alive in the UFS against Jamie Knoble of The Wild Cards. This could be really good, as long as Scotty doesn't take any liberties with the kid.

The other UFS match sees Vampiro trying to keep Satyr's Hopeful Few in the hunt. To do so he'll have to beat Billy Kidman of The Dead Jesters.

DDP and Shane Douglas will finally close out their program with an I Quit match, with Kimberly truly barred from ringside this time unless she wants to get her own husband suspended. The matches have been very good; the angles have been great. There should be tons of heat here.

Ric Flair and Chris Candido are back at it in Flair's first singles meeting with a member of The Empire since Bischoff arrived and the group got their name. This story has been good for Candido, but I worry about Ric's ability to deliver in the ring anymore.

The Hardys are in their first PPV match as a team here in WCW. Will their cutting-edge style prevail against the strength and flexing of Totally Buffed. The answer seems obvious...right?

http://i.imgur.com/BgAsYSJ.jpg

Fan Scorecard:

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Natural Born Thrillers vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: American Dragon vs. TAKA {©}

World Women's Championship: Alexis Laree vs. Etsuko Mita {©}

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

What will be match of the night?

How many championships will change hands?

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds)

General diary comments/questions/critiques:

Here's a specific question I'd like to ask, which you can answer in the critiques section if you'd like: do you think I should continue to post the TV shows in a monthly batch like this, or would it be better to try giving each week a post of its own? The style worked previously, but I'm wondering if four weeks in one post might be a bit much now since the introduction of the spotlight segment.

Ian carlisle · March 21, 2017

Fan Scorecard:

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©}

RVD via roll up pin

World Tag Team Championship: The Natural Born Thrillers vs. True Heroes {©}

by DQ

Cruiserweight Championship: American Dragon vs. TAKA {©}

Clean

World Women's Championship: Alexis Laree vs. Etsuko Mita {©}

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Because its Scott Steiner

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

To build towards Flair v Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

To build between Flair v Douglas

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

Hardys duh!

What will be match of the night?

Rey v RVD

How many championships will change hands?

0

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds)

20:10

Uncrewed · March 21, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Natural Born Thrillers vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: American Dragon vs. TAKA {©}

World Women's Championship: Alexis Laree vs. Etsuko Mita {©}

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

What will be match of the night?- Flair/Candido

How many championships will change hands?- 0

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds)- 21:44

General diary comments/questions/critiques: Uncrewed's Crew will be back with a vengeance!

deanohbk · March 21, 2017

RVD

True Heroes

TAKA

Etsuko mita

Steiner

Kidman

Douglas

Flair

Hardy's

Rey v RVD

0

19:45

K-Nection · March 21, 2017

Fan Scorecard:

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Natural Born Thrillers vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: American Dragon vs. TAKA {©}

World Women's Championship: Alexis Laree vs. Etsuko Mita {©}

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

What will be match of the night? Rey vs. RVD

How many championships will change hands? 0

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds)22:23

General diary comments/questions/critiques: I love the monthly write ups.....honestly it feels like the pacing of the game goes quicker.

Briskout · March 22, 2017

Would you keep the style the same? If so, separate posts might be okay as I find myself having to pause and even elave the page and come back (like I would for a regular length TGA show, so...) But that's more me than anything else.

Fan Scorecard:

World Heavyweight Championship: Rob Van Dam {©} - No chance of RVD losing

World Tag Team Championship: True Heroes {©} - Unfortunately it seems like the NBT are jobbing out

Cruiserweight Championship: American Dragon - I'll take the risk

World Women's Championship: Etsuko Mita {©} - Same as RVD

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Vampiro

I Quit Match: Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair

The Hardys

What will be match of the night? Main event

How many championships will change hands? 1

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (2)4:20...

General diary comments/questions/critiques:

Kijar · March 22, 2017

I'm all for more at once, the weekly shows just helps hash out things that don't come across clearly or in-depth, but your monthly round-ups work just as well.

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©}

Great time for both guys. I'd pay any amount of money for a card that ended with this match.

World Tag Team Championship: The Natural Born Thrillers vs. True Heroes {©}

I believe in them

Cruiserweight Championship: American Dragon vs. TAKA {©}

Easy to change this title's owner

World Women's Championship: Alexis Laree vs. Etsuko Mita {©}

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Loserweight

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

Cruisergreat

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

What will be match of the night? Wishful thinking 619/RVD

How many championships will change hands? 3

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds) 28:23

Rateddc · March 22, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Natural Born Thrillers vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: American Dragon vs. TAKA {©}

World Women's Championship: Alexis Laree vs. Etsuko Mita {©}

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

What will be match of the night? RVD / Mysterio

How many championships will change hands? 0

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds) 21:13

General diary comments/questions/critiques: Personally I like the all-in-one posting style, easy to read and it feels like the pacing is a lot quicker. No complaints here.

DGenerationMC · March 22, 2017

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

How many championships will change hands? 0

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds) 21:26

Happy0wns · March 22, 2017

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

What will be match of the night? Misterio Jr. v RVD

How many championships will change hands? 0

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds) 22:37

General diary comments/questions/critiques:

Wolfman84 · March 22, 2017

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

What will be match of the night? Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam

How many championships will change hands? 0

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds) 23:04

jscotty · March 22, 2017

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

What will be match of the night? Rey/RVD

How many championships will change hands? Zero

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds) 18:44

General diary comments/questions/critiques: Personally I enjoy the style you're using now. I agree with everyone else with regards to the pacing and easy reading.

LordofGustav · March 22, 2017

Fan Scorecard:

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

What will be match of the night? RVD vs. Rey

How many championships will change hands? 0

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? 21:05

General diary comments/questions/critiques:

michgcs · March 22, 2017

Sorry, never really bought into Rey as a World Champ. Much less unmasked Rey, too.

I have a feeling that NBT will win them back

I have another feeling which seems unlikely but what the heck, let's go with it

Hopefully this will be the start of something good

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #8 The Wild Cards (Wild Cards lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jamie Knoble

Must-win for Scotty. AND L-O-FRICKIN'-L AT JAMIE TRAILER PARK TRASH KNOBLE CORRECTING BIG POPPA SCOTT'S GRAMMER (yes, I misspelled "grammar" on purpose <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/rolleyes.png.4b097f4fbbe99ce5bcd5efbc1b773ed6.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />)

Ultimate Fan Series, Semifinal Round--#4 The Dead Jesters vs. #6 Satyr's Hopeful Few (The Dead Jesters lead 2-1): Billy Kidman vs. Vampiro

Another Series that goes the distance? Though I think Kidman might have something to say about it

I Quit Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Shane Douglas

I feel that DDP's gonna win but dammit, Douglas is right!

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido

Would've wanted Legend Killer King Corino vs Sting here but ehh

The Hardys vs. Totally Buffed

No question The Hardys pick up the "W," right?

What will be match of the night? Rey vs RVD

How many championships will change hands? 2

TIEBREAKER: How long will the main event be? (minutes and seconds) 17:54

General diary comments/questions/critiques: If you're not satisfied with one big monthly post, maybe try it out as a couple of two-week posts? It'd be shorter and give you more time, as well.

Sign In

WCW: Heart and Soul

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Join the conversation