WCW: Heart and Soul

deanohbk · April 5, 2017

RVD

Yes

Douglas

True Heroes

AJ Styles

Madusa

Steiner

Sting & Flair

Salvation

??? - Doomsday

???

??? - Daniels

RVD v Rey

2

Awesome love the diary

Rateddc · April 5, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee? Yes

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

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

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? Doomsday

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge? Jamie Knoble

What will be match of the night? 1

How many championships will change hands? Rey vs. RVD

Ian carlisle · April 5, 2017

Fan Scorecard:

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee?

Yes

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

If you are pushing Shane Douglas like he is a star then he should beat Sean O'Haire

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

by DQ,

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

A Aj Styles v Jeff Hardy dream match does not need the title for it to be awesome.

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

Its a new day and a new generation

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

Because Jeff Hardy is going to be the man in WCW , and it will all start with this Match

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Because Ric Flair needs a PPV win at some point

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who?

No

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge?

Matt Hardy

What will be match of the night?

Jeff Hardy v Scott Steiner

How many championships will change hands?

0

cbacon87 · April 5, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee? Yes

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

Maybe not for the belts, but I wouldn't be surprised if you surprised us. If that makes sense.

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

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

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? Yes, Konnan and Hugh Morrus

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge? American Dragon

What will be match of the night? Steiner vs. Jeff

How many championships will change hands? 0

General diary comments/questions/critiques: I was happy to see Douglas get the US Title on Nitro. Pushing guys like AJ and Danielson makes perfect sense for various reasons, but I'm also into seeing people go with what each individual game throws up. Guys like a Douglas or a Hercules in your last diary are just as interesting to me, even if (or maybe partly because) they're not guys people would think to push going in and wind up delivering.

sportsfanmas · April 5, 2017

Fan Scorecard:

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T) -- Neither wins

Will Booker T be an impartial referee? Nope

Gonna say that somehow neither of these guys win thanks to Booker, and we get a Triple Threat match very soon.

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

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

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? Insane Clown Posse

Something else that seems like a no-brainer, as evidence by the number of other people who have already predicted it. However, the element of surprise is good.

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge? American Dragon

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

How many championships will change hands? 1

General diary comments/questions/critiques: Very interested to see what is going on with Lex Luger, the man seems to have gone nuts again! Of course, my predictions are usually pretty horrid, but with so many question marks going into this one, the possibilities are wide open. Most of the question marks seem to have logical solutions, but the shock factor of this dynasty is what is doing it for me. I never saw RVD as a World Champion personally, but it was a good swerve, if you want to call it that.

BHK6 · April 5, 2017

Fan Scorecard:

World Heavyweight Championship: Rob Van Dam

Will Booker T be an impartial referee? Yes

United States Heavyweight Championship: Shane Douglas {©}

World Tag Team Championship: True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: TAKA {©}

World Women's Championship: Etsuko Mita {©}

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): Jeff Hardy

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? Doomsday

???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge? Christopher Daniels

What will be match of the night? Rey vs RVD

How many championships will change hands? 0

Warhawk8492 · April 5, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T) Draw due to Booker T, setting up a triple threat next mouth

Will Booker T be an impartial referee? No

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

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

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? Yes Doomsday

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge? Shannon Moore

What will be match of the night? The World title match

How many championships will change hands? One

General diary comments/questions/critiques: Great booking and writing

The Final Countdown · April 5, 2017

April 2002: Pre-Slamboree News and Notes <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg</div> Christopher Daniels had an injury scare in his match with Jim Duggan, where he whiplashed his neck on a routine bump. Thankfully he should be fine after resting it for a week or so. Lots of broadcasting news: -The biggest is that we'll no longer be on FX come May. Not to worry though; we're leaving for greener pastures. We'll be moving to the USA Network, Vince's longtime home before TNN threw a bunch of money at him. USA will air both Nitro and Saturday Night. This is a massive deal for us; it puts us on more even footing with WWF as far as TV reach goes. Our deals with tv asahi and Ten Network Australia are still more lucrative, but this is a big step in our attempt to fight back against Vince in the biggest wrestling market in the world. -I inked a new deal with Cablevision to broadcast our PPV events in the US. This is a better deal and will get us in more US homes than our expiring agreement with In Demand. -I've extended our deal for Nitro on Canal 5 in Mexico, and also upgraded our PPV coverage there, going from Sky Mexico to MVS Multivision. -I signed a 9-month extension of our existing agreement with tv asahi to air our PPV events. I couldn't get a better time slot than we've already got, but simply continuing this partnership is a huge deal for us. I'm hesitant to give him a significant push with his repeated drug issues, but I've re-signed Mike Awesome to a long-term extension. Brian Adams is sticking around after signing an extension. I've signed Bryan Clarke to one as well, but it's a short-term one as I'm not sure I really want to keep him around. Ric Flair brought Stacy Keibler before the wrestler's court, allegedly for refusing to shake his hand. I wonder if she was actually just trying to avoid being hit on by a man old enough to be her dad. I've fired Don West. Big loss there. He was a poor color guy who regularly hurt segments on Saturday Night and showed no signs of improvement. I'm also looking to use our time on Saturday Night to establish an announce team that will eventually be assigned to the women's show I want to establish in the future. This way I can figure out a good fit and give them some time to build experience working together on a less important show before we launch the women's program. With that in mind I hired young Tracy Brooks and had her take Don's spot after I filled in for one week. She showed up for a tryout at our developmental territory in hopes of getting hired as a wrestler. Our scouts didn't see much potential in her as an in-ring worker, but they thought she had a good look and some charisma and might be a useful addition in a different role. I'm trying her out with Tony on Saturday Night for now, and we'll see how it goes. Ideally I would like a female color person on our future women's show, so hopefully Tracy will pan out. CM Punk thinks Kidman is a talented worker and I should push him more. It kind of made me laugh because Kidman's been around a lot longer than he has, but at least he was saying something positive. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/CsYcpkv.jpg</div> They pulled a quick about-face on the seeming elevation of Rhyno; he dropped the ECW title to Kurt Angle the very next night on Raw in a four way main event that also featured Regal and Bubba Ray. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/syuSRKH.jpg</div> Keiji Mutoh had been splitting time between New Japan and All Japan, but it was inevitable that that would change once the partnership between those companies soured. He's chosen to sign with All Japan and leave his longtime home of NJPW. It's a bit of a bummer for us as it means we can't bring him in for future guest appearances, but obviously it's a massive blow for New Japan. A week or so later Hiroshi Hase also decided to sign an exclusive extension with AJPW and quit working for NJPW. Jinsei Shinzaki (the former Hakushi) won the annual Champion's Carnival tournament, defeating Hase in the finals <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/sDkxtEI.jpg</div> New Japan sold out the Budokan in Tokyo for 'Glory of History.' It was a very good show, headlined by Tatsumi Fujinami retaining the IWGP title against Koji Kanemoto in an excellent main event. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/HLY8nvy.jpg</div> NOAH ran their first big event since Misawa dropped the title, 'Final Attack Due.' It was a good show, but they've definitely been putting on better. Misawa's absence in the main event was keenly felt, as Akira Taue's first title defense over Yoshinari Ogawa was a very good match, but a clear class below the string of classics Misawa was putting on. They turned right back around eight days later with another big show. Maybe they should've waited a bit longer, because 'Get to the Gold' in Sapporo was a pretty disappointing show by their standards. Match of the night was Jun Akiyama beating Masao Inoue in the semi main event. The main event in which Taue retained the title against Vader was downright poor, but I'm sure it would've been much better if Vader hadn't suffered a dislocated shoulder halfway through. That'll keep him out for a couple of months. Akiyama also hurt his shoulder on a TV taping a few days later, but it wasn't serious. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/sM8DaHV.jpg</div> I should probably start paying more attention to what's going on in Mexico, so I'll just start with this: AAA held their annual Rey de Reyes ("King of Kings" tournament. Abismo Negro won the tournament this year, beating Latin Lover, Dos Caras and then Hector Garza in the tournament finals. This is Abismo's second time winning the tournament, as he also won it in 2000. Rey de Reyes is a big deal; at this moment in time none of AAA's regular titles are anywhere near as prestigious. IWRG and the Mexican branch of Toryumon seem to view each other as enemies at this point, with some hostile business practices being employed by their respective owners, Marco Moreno and Skayde. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/ebDwXEW.jpg</div> IWA Mid-South has officially closed up shop. <hr noshade size=3> <div style="text-align:center;">Hall of Champions: World Heavyweight Champion: http://i.imgur.com/haJKoFv.jpg Rob Van Dam http://i.imgur.com/uj4FkBt.jpg Won: December 30th, 2001 from Scott Steiner at Starrcade in Tokyo, Japan Previous Champions (since March 2001): Scott Steiner: July 15th, 2001-December 30th, 3001 (168 days) Booker T: March 26th, 2001-July 15th, 2001 (111 days) World Women's Champion: http://i.imgur.com/741TrEA.jpg Etsuko Mita http://i.imgur.com/cAw5Dl8.jpg Won: January 9th, 2002 against Zap I during the AJW Glass Grave Yard tour in Annaka, Japan after Aja Kong vacated the title when she left AJW ((Mita was the reigning WWWA World champion when AJW was bought out by WCW. The title was adopted into WCW with its lineage intact, and Mita was recognized as WCW's Women's World Champion.)) Previous Champions (since January 2002): None United States Heavyweight Champion: http://i.imgur.com/mitTbCm.jpg Shane Douglas (2nd reign) http://i.imgur.com/mS6Goca.jpg Won: April 1st, 2002 from Rey Misterio Jr. at Monday Nitro in Pikeville, Kentucky Previous Champions (since March 2001): Rey Misterio Jr (#2): October 14th, 2001-April 1st, 2002 (169 days) Kanyon: August 5th, 2001-October 14th, 2001 (70 days) Rey Misterio Jr: May 13th, 2001-August 5th, 2001 (85 days) Booker T: March 18th, 2001-April 30th, 2001 (44 days) Cruiserweight Champion: http://i.imgur.com/u0cJ04Z.jpg TAKA http://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpg Won: December 30th, 2001 from Jushin Liger at Starrcade in Tokyo, Japan Previous Champions (since March 2001): Jushin Liger: August 5th, 2001-December 30th, 2001 (147 days) Shane Helms: March 18th, 2001-August 5th, 2001 (140 days) World Tag Team Champions: http://i.imgur.com/S0cu0uO.jpg True Heroes (Lance Storm and CM Punk) http://i.imgur.com/sOdsktm.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/SAWQKXw.jpg Won: December 30th, 2001 from The Natural Born Thrillers at Starrcade in Tokyo, Japan Previous Champions (since March 2001): The Natural Born Thrillers (Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire): January 14th, 2001-December 30th, 2001 (351 days) </div> <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Lariat" data-cite="The Lariat" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> General diary comments/questions/critiques: Let's forget about Big Vito and get behind Johnny The Bull. Aside from that, I think you're doing quite well. The only thing I notice is a lack of credible upper midcard faces, but I imagine that's still a work in progress.</div></blockquote> I'm sure Sting would be in favor of his protege getting more focus! He does definitely have more of a future than Vito, but I'll probably see if I can send him to Wildside and hopefully get his skills up a bit once the Mamalukes run their course. I have several mid and lower mid card faces who should have very bright futures. I'm betting it's only a matter of time before AJ autopushes to upper mid, and hopefully Knoble will get there too. I'd be shocked if Dragon doesn't get there someday, but I'm trying not to go too hard too fast with him. <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> World Women's Championship: Etsuko Mita {©} -While Madusa is more over in the states, just doesn't make sense. Mita winning puts over the title.</div></blockquote> Slamboree is in Japan, so that's not a factor. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Who will answer Helms' open challenge? Does Matt fit as a Cruiserweight?</div></blockquote> Not sure if the mod considers him one or not, but I don't. <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> United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©} I like the new Douglas pic, he looks like a big deal now!</div></blockquote> He definitely needed a new picture! The old one screamed goofy midcarder to me. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="cbacon87" data-cite="cbacon87" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> General diary comments/questions/critiques: I was happy to see Douglas get the US Title on Nitro. Pushing guys like AJ and Danielson makes perfect sense for various reasons, but I'm also into seeing people go with what each individual game throws up. Guys like a Douglas or a Hercules in your last diary are just as interesting to me, even if (or maybe partly because) they're not guys people would think to push going in and wind up delivering.</div></blockquote> Yeah, me too! I'd throw Koko B. Ware in there too.

chrismday · April 5, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee? Yes. And then he'll beat them both senseless afterwards!

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

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

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? Bryan's Clarke and Adams

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge? American Dragon

What will be match of the night? Rob vs Rey

How many championships will change hands? 0

Beejus · April 5, 2017

I am digging the Luger stuff. Can't wait to see my Agents pick up the Fan Series victory! Dead Jesters are JUST TOO FAT~

Rob Van Dam - You've built so much into building up RVD that I can't see him dropping the belt before a match against Booker. Booker will play nice during the match, because the stakes are too far against him to not do so.

Shane Douglas - This belt will one day belong to O'Haire, but not on this day.

Road Warriors - I can't see them picking up the belts, but I also don't foresee Storm or Punk putting either of them down. So an intentional count out to keep the RWs looking strong to take on other top teams who aren't in title contention.

TAKA - One of the jewels of the Empire, they aren't about to drop the belt anytime soon.

Etsuko Mita - Same as with Taka.

Scott Steiner - I figure you are probably going to have Jeff win, but I have to support my lead Agent!

Sting and Flair - Slamboree is historically a night of legends, hence a win for these two and the Warriors.

Salvation - Big time heel group wins out over the member who was kicked out. Vamp's partners will be The Insane Clown Posse!

Shane Helms - Sugar Shane will break a spine. His opponent will be Kidman.

MOTN: RVD vs. Mysterio

Titles: 0

Dead_Jester · April 5, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee? Yes

-Way too much on the line for Booker not to be impartial, but that doesn't mean he can't screw both guys at various points in the match.

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

-Hoping O'Haire will be a player down the line but now it's Douglas' time to shine.

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

-Given Animal's lack of air time in the recent months I don't really see the L.O.D going over the Heroes.

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

-Tough one to call but I see AJ taking it.

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

-Out with the old.

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

-You'll eat those words Beejus, mark my words <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

-Found this one really tough to call but I can see Sting and Flair taking the tag match but putting over the Empire in singles matches

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? No

-Not sure why but I feel that Vampiro is a lone lamb walking into the slaughter on this one.

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge? American Dragon

-Dragon "steals" a win after his self appointed mentor Chavo gets involved.

What will be match of the night? Hardy vs. Steiner

How many championships will change hands? 1

crackerjack · April 6, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee? Heck No.

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

Big Sean O'Haire fan myself, but nobody's touching Douglas for a while

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

If he's anything like he is in my save, Hawk will need a Straight-Edge Suspension pretty soon.

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

The Six Man Tease kinda gives it away here

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

I know zero about Mita, but I do know Madusa is old.

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

HEH

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

You've done a great job in creating/putting over The Empire, but I don't think they're ready to defeat the Stinger - yet

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? Doomsday

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge? Daniel American Dragonson

What will be match of the night? RVD/Rey

How many championships will change hands? 0

General diary comments/questions/critiques: I want off Lex Luger's Crazy Train

LordofGustav · April 6, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee? Nope

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

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

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? Nope and... come on baby won't you show me what you got yeah! I want your salvation!

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge? Kidman

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

How many championships will change hands? 0

General diary comments/questions/critiques:

evileddie10 · April 6, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee?

Yes

United States Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}

World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}

Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©}

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

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? Yes, Doomsday

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge?

American Dragon

What will be match of the night?

Booker/Rey

How many championships will change hands?

1

Nobby_McDonald · April 6, 2017

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee?

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who?

Bushwhackers

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge?

"Sugar" Ray Leonard

What will be match of the night? Misterio v Van Dam

How many championships will change hands? 1

Armando Payne · April 6, 2017

Not too late to miss out bois

World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©} (w/guest referee Booker T)

Will Booker T be an impartial referee?

Yes, until the end of the match when he beats up both Misterio & Van Dam and leaves them bloodied and then he leaves the ring with the belt whilst Arn Scours from the stage. Also I'm predicting Booker will bring in a few weapons and allow Rey and Rob to hit each other with weapons and just break the rules, he'd be very very lax with the rules because if you allow your opponents to beat each other up equally then you're still being impartial.

Literally have no idea why you'd book Shane to get the championship if he's going to drop the belt. I'm predicting Shane to win shadily causing Chuck to voice his uproar then Chuck faces Shane for the belt and we have that Beer Money storyline when Bobby Roode lost to Kurt Angle only for James Storm to win the world belt and then Bobby turned heel on James Storm afterwards. But with the Natural Born Thrillers. (So I'm predicting next PPV Chuck wins, then the Nitro afterwards they have a PPV rematch, Chuck retains, Sean turns heel.)

The only way I can foresee a Road Warriors title win is if it leads to Corino & Candido beating them for it. Failing that True Heroes have to win it.

But only via DQ, TAKA drops it next PPV in a rematch with The Empire banned from ringside.

I cannot see Made In The USA winning in Japan... ... that sounds real tone deaf.

Ultimate Fan Series Finals--#2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1): "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Hardy

This should be akin to that Undertaker/Jeff Hardy match, Steiner wins but Jeff will look like a hundred bucks even with the defeat.

Sting and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Chris Candido and King Corino of The Empire

Ric Flair & Sting can barely go anymore. Have The Empire retire them for good.

Vampiro and ??? vs. Salvation

Will Vampiro find two partners? If so, who? (Either Insane Clown Posse or 3 Count.)

LEX EXPRESS IS GONNA RUN OVER SOME SUMBITCHES, YEA-UH!!! Yeah, Vampiro & The Insane Clown Posse wins after Lex Luger bumps into Father Isaac with the Lex Express causing a distraction which leads to Violent J clubbing Mortis over the head with a magnet. (If we're sticking with In House Talents then Iunno Vampiro joins 3 Count?) (Keep in mind Lex Luger isn't part of the match.)

"Sugar" Shane Helms vs. ???

Who will answer Helms' open challenge?

Lesson Number One in these type of scenario never issue an open challenge cause you'll never know who'll answer them, yes it's The Cruiserweight Who Likes To Teach People Stuff, it's THE Brian Kendrick who makes his debut from Wildside and beats Shane Helms when he goes for his Sliced Bread, Shane counters the Sliced Bread into a Vertebreaker but Brian counters into a roll up and he wins, afterwards Shane beats Brian up and hits him with a Vertebreaker

What will be match of the night?

Scott vs Jeff

How many championships will change hands?

0

General diary comments/questions/critiques:

You're doing real good kid, real good. It's real fun to read. (What's weird is that I can only read this if I'm not signed in.)

michgcs · April 7, 2017

Wow, congrats on the USA network deal! That's huge!

The Final Countdown · April 9, 2017

April 21st, 2002: Slamboree

http://i.imgur.com/JJNDW4D.png

April 21st, 2002

From Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan

Attendance: 12,000 (sell-out!)

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

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

http://i.imgur.com/mitTbCm.jpg
Sean O'Haire vs. Shane Douglas {©}
http://i.imgur.com/zbQxlTu.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/mS6Goca.jpg

Douglas' first title defense was against 1/2 of the Natural Born Thrillers (the half that is generally considered to have the higher upside.) I felt it was time to take the United States title off of Rey Misterio and considered several candidates, including both King Corino and Chris Candido of The Empire, but instead went with Douglas because he was red hot after the feud with DDP and I wanted to keep the forward momentum going. Shane was motivated to prove I made the right call in putting the belt on him, and I thought he did a good job there. This match was overshadowed by some of the bigger ones later on in the show, but it was pretty good in its own right. It was a nice way to start the show.

The story of the match was that O'Haire was physically superior, as he was both stronger and had more raw athletic ability than Douglas. Therefore Shane would need to rely on smarts and technique if he wanted to retain his title. Despite some cool spots where O'Haire got to show his stuff, Douglas' strategy of focusing on the challenger's legs throughout the match paid off in crunch time when his knee buckled while attempting to hit the Widow Maker. All Douglas had to do was fall on top of him and hook the leg to make his first successful defense.

Grade: B

http://i.imgur.com/hlbUlLo.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/p13CqOT.jpg

Shane Helms stood in the ring to await the man who accepted his open challenge, and the fans in Tokyo gave a nice reception as Hayabusa came to the ring. I signed Hayabusa shortly after FMW went out of business last month, and my plan was to debut him here in this spot. He's tremendously talented and exciting, but it'll take time to get him over in front of our American audiences. Here in Japan though, he was guaranteed to get a good reaction right away.

Grade: C-

Hayabusa vs. "Sugar" Shane Helms
http://i.imgur.com/p13CqOT.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/hlbUlLo.jpg

I told these guys to go out and have a fast-paced match full of high spots. That's always been Hayabusa's strong suit in the tapes I've seen, so I wasn't surprised to see him excel in this match. Helms didn't exactly struggle in the environment either, but this was definitely the Hayabusa show. He pulled off many of his signature high flying spots, including a corkscrew senton, springboard spinning heel kick and springboard moonsault. Helms got in some good shots of his own, but when he went for the Vertebreaker, Hayabusa fought free and hit a tiger suplex. From there he went up top and won the match with a move of his own creation, the Phoenix Splash.

Grade: B

Vampiro, Chavo Guerrero Jr. and American Dragon vs. Salvation (w/Father Isaac)
http://i.imgur.com/kccSmqv.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/DhzkzHt.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/xJ35HqH.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ptxupoY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/4CP35O5.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/hSGqVHg.jpg

Vampiro came to the ring alone, but Chavo Guerrero Jr. led American Dragon to the ring just before the bell and volunteered their services as his partners. Vampiro didn't show much reaction, but referee Charles Robinson allowed it and we had a six man tag rather than a 3-on-1 handicap match. (When I first plotted this PPV out last month it was actually going to be a handicap match, but I saw an opportunity to use this Chavo/Dragon story and work them in.) Chavo and Dragon did some work, but the focus of the match was on Vampiro attempting to get his revenge on his former Salvation "brothers." Maybe we should've focused more on Chavo and Dragon and less on Vampiro, because he was the worst performer in the match by a wide margin. He looked especially bad as he chased Isaac around the ring with all the intensity of a slug.

Between the overwhelming power of The Destroyer, the erratic brawling of The Unnatural and the ruthless creativity of Mortis, Chavo looked progressively less interested in battling Salvation as the match wore on. After Vampiro ended a run of Salvation dominance and began crawling towards the corner, Chavo hopped down off of the apron. American Dragon looked down at him in confusion, and Chavo shook his head and told him that "it's all about timing." Dragon slowly followed his self-appointed mentor up the ramp, leaving Vampiro to his fate. Isaac laughed and shouted that it was time to "put him out of his misery", and so it was. All three members of Salvation gave Vampiro a severe beating before Unnatural Selection ended it.

Grade: B-

http://i.imgur.com/jAnziwr.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/DC095b3.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/iWrsHvp.jpg

Why did these three women all meet together backstage? To discuss a strange letter sent to all three of them, of course. They showed the letter to the camera man, who zoomed in to get a good shot of its contents. It was printed on a piece of old computer paper that looked straight out of the '80s or early '90s, the kind with the perforated edges with the holes on the sides.

I want YOU!

...to join me on the Call to Action Campaign 2002!

Coming soon!!

Grade: C

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Sting vs. The Empire (w/Eric Bischoff and Tammy Sytch)
http://i.imgur.com/u4Nhu66.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/cxjgZpP.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/I7app7W.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/OZDc3yZ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/eX0IXCy.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/omw6AWI.jpg

Stop me if you've heard this before: Ric Flair was the weak link in this match. Sting was showing his age somewhat too, but at least he was able to keep up with his younger opponents reasonably well. It's a constant struggle for Ric though, even if he's still over enough and smart enough that his matches are never downright awful. We kept it simple and focused on the story here. It was an interesting story too, at least in my opinion. We ran with the idea that Flair and Sting had wrestled against each other so many times over the years that they knew each others' styles very well, and it actually made them a more formidable team and gave them an advantage over their younger and more fit opponents, who had rarely shared the ring either as opponents or partners.

Seeing that Flair had Corino on the mat and was softening him up for the figure four, Sting preemptively knocked Candido off of the apron and fought with him on the entrance ramp. Ric gave a "wooo" and prepared to slap on his signature submission, but Bischoff climbed onto the apron and grabbed his attention. Mike and I sold the idea that being the dirtiest player in the game, Flair surely recognized it as a trap. But he hated Bischoff so much that he couldn't resist a chance to clobber him. He abandoned the figure four and took a swing, which Bischoff was ready for and avoided by jumping right back down to the floor. Corino sprung the trap, low blowing Flair while the referee was yelling at Bischoff. He spiked Ric with the piledriver, and Sting was unable to make it back in time to break up the pin.

Grade: B-

Corino taunted Flair after the match and put his foot on his chest. Sting came back into the ring and got in his face, threatening to knock him out if he didn't leave. Corino backed off, only for Candido to hit Sting with a clothesline to the back of the neck! Both Candido and Corino put the boots to Sting for a bit before throwing him through the middle ropes out onto the ramp. But it didn't stop there.

Flair recovered enough to get back up and make a beeline for Bischoff, but Candido and Corino cut him off before he got there. Together they beat Flair down onto the mat, but Bischoff wasn't satisfied with that. He ordered them to hold Flair in place, and had Sytch pass him one of the baseball bats Flair and Sting brought to the ring with them. He made a big production of winding up and taking a few practice swings as Candido and Corino extended Flair's left arm, leaving it vulnerable...

...and smashed Flair's arm with the bat! Ric sold it like a champ, immediately screaming in pain and rolling around on the mat as Corino and Candido let him drop. The Empire left the ring and walked back up the ramp, satisfied with their work. That left Sting to come back in and check on Flair, and we also had Arn Anderson come out too as an homage to their well-known history. Arn frantically waved to the back and called for help as Mike and I speculated on how much damage had just been done to Ric Flair's arm.

Grade: B

As a short transition between that major angle and our next match, we aired a video promoting our next PPV, Mayhem, on May 19th. The focus of the video was on the debut of the titular 'Mayhem' match. Basically it's the Royal Rumble, except the eliminations are by pin, submission or TKO rather than over the top rope battle royal style. The winner challenges for the world title at the Great American Bash.

Grade: B-

http://i.imgur.com/741TrEA.jpg
Madusa vs. Etsuko Mita {©} (w/Eric Bischoff)
http://i.imgur.com/DGHfcJh.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/cAw5Dl8.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/eX0IXCy.jpg

Mike and I put over the credentials of Madusa, but said it had been quite some time since she'd taken on elite competition. The question was, could she still go at a level good enough to hang with an athlete the caliber of Mita? Within the context of the match she came out strong with some early offense, but faded once Mita turned the tide with a swinging neckbreaker. The reigning champion never looked back after that, proving her superiority by finishing Madusa off with her innovation and greatest weapon, the Death Valley Driver. Bischoff did a good job at enhancing the match in a supporting role on the floor without overshadowing the action, and he smugly counted along as Madusa was pinned.

Madusa was great in her day, but her day has passed. Mita was just on a different level for in-ring performance. That wasn't a surprise to me though. Madusa was brought in specifically as a name for Mita to beat that Western fans would recognize, and she did her job. Her short-term deal with us will be up in a few days, and she'll go back into retirement and focus on her new career as a monster truck driver.

Grade: B-

Bischoff grabbed the mic after the match, but seeing as we were in Tokyo, he simply handed it to Mita and she was able to speak for herself for a change. I told her (or told her translator, whatever) what I wanted her to say in broad terms and let her handle the verbiage. Obviously I didn't understand what she was saying, but based on the crowd response it seemed like she did a good job. She was to boast about how easily she'd defeated a so-called legendary women's wrestler, and say that if this was the best competition WCW could offer her, she was going to be the World Women's Champion until the day she retired. Bischoff couldn't understand her any better than I could, but I thought he did a good job at silently standing behind her and contributing to the tone of her promo with that smug little smirk of his.

http://i.imgur.com/LyKOnBY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/zVT0XcD.jpg

Two women took exception to Mita's claims and walked down the ramp to confront her. Manami Toyota appeared in a non-wrestling segment at Sin in January when we first started laying the groundwork for the division, but Mike and I put her over again as a woman that was regarded by some experts as the most talented wrestler in the world, regardless of gender. This was the first TV appearance for Toyota's occasional tag team partner Toshiyo Yamada, and Mike and I talked her up as a tough as nails fighter with some lethal kicks. It'll take some time to see how the American audiences react to it, but her no-nonsense bad ass gimmick got a very good response tonight.

I told Toyota to respond to Mita's boasting by saying the competition was only just beginning in this division, and if it was a challenge she wanted both she and Yamada would be happy to provide it. The crowd reaction wasn't quite as good as I was expecting it to be, and one of my Japanese assistants informed me that Manami both looked and sounded nervous during her promo. Regardless, Mita and Bischoff reacted by slowly backing out of the ring, with Mita scowling and holding the belt up in the air once she was about halfway up the ramp.

Grade: C+

Ultimate Fan Series Finals: #2 Agents of Chaos vs. #4 The Dead Jesters (Agents of Chaos lead 2-1)
"Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner (w/Midajah) vs. Jeff Hardy
http://i.imgur.com/QEoXr2L.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/Wi1oegS.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/1tytiqE.jpg

Though both of these guys made their names as part of a tag team (each with their older brother no less), Scott had since become a 2-time world champion singles wrestler. Mike and I pushed the idea that many fans and analysts believed that Jeff's career would one day take a similar path, and talked this up as a real test for both men to see where they currently stood. Many, myself included, thought this had a shot to steal the show. They did not disappoint. Between Scott's suplexes and power moves and Jeff's aerial stuff, this match was awesome. Jeff even showed some improved fire and aggression in some brawling sequences. About the only drawback to this match was that they didn't really tell a great story, at least not in a manner that could draw that huge emotional investment from the fans that the all-time classics have. Still, it didn't change the fact that this match was something special. This was the best Scotty's looked since that match with Mutoh in August, and Jeff's performance only reinforced my belief that he'll be a huge main event star for us in the future.

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

The match was still pretty much in a stalemate when Lance Storm appeared at ringside. Mike and I were quick to speculate about his purpose. While the Hardys had made their debut by interrupting a True Heroes promo and the Heroes subsequently convinced Totally Buffed to try and take them out, Lance was a fellow member of the Dead Jesters and thus had a vested interest in seeing Jeff win this particular match. Indeed, Storm stood on the ramp right next to the ring and began clapping his hands while shouting encouragement to Hardy. Jeff and referee Nick Patrick looked at him in confusion, but he just kept shouting phrases like "go get 'em!" and "do it for the Dead Jesters!"

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

While all of this was going on, CM Punk came around from the other side and slid a steel chair right to Scott Steiner. Steiner looked surprised by the aid, but shrugged his shoulders and clobbered Jeff in the back with it while Storm continued to hold the ref's attention. Big Poppa Pump kicked the chair out of the ring and covered Hardy, with Storm conveniently walking back up the ramp just in time for Patrick to make the count. The Agents of Chaos won the Ultimate Fan Series, with an unlikely assist from the world tag tem champions!

Grade: A

http://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/JJpe0Lr.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/J3M8Nhg.jpg

We had the other members of the Agents of Chaos join Scott in the ring after the match for a celebration. It was a bit tricky to manage since none of them could cut a promo in front of the Japanese audience, so we just had them celebrate without talking. Scott and Rick were of course celebrating together, and they did acknowledge Jindrak with some high fives and back slaps. Jindrak offered a high five to The Unnatural, who just stared at him with a complete lack of emotion until Mark backed away, looking disturbed. The fans seemed entertained by Scott, who is pretty over in Japan, but they didn't quite know how to react to Dustin's gimmick.

Grade: B-

http://i.imgur.com/u0cJ04Z.jpg
AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©} (w/Eric Bischoff)
http://i.imgur.com/Ht8KF88.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/eX0IXCy.jpg

Though we did have that celebration angle as a buffer, the great match between Steiner and Hardy was still fresh in the fans' minds as Styles and TAKA came to the ring. That was a tough act to follow, but I had a great deal in faith that both of these guys would be up to the task. They definitely delivered. It wasn't quite good enough to match what had come before it, but it was still a fantastic match of its own. Unlike many cruiserweight matches, I didn't give AJ and TAKA any special instructions like going heavy on the high spots or pulling out all the stops to try and steal the show. I just let them do their thing, and their thing was pretty damn good. They did some mat wrestling, they did some high flying, and they went back and forth in a very exciting match. AJ held up his end for sure, but TAKA was awesome. This match also suffered from the occasional dip in storytelling, but the action was tremendous.

The finish was a highlight reel moment to be sure. After hitting a tornado DDT, TAKA went to the apron and flew at AJ with a springboard dropkick. AJ caught him out of mid-air, hooked his legs underneath his arms and executed the Styles Clash! Bischoff's jaw dropped at the sudden reversal of fortune, but he could do nothing but watch in horror from the floor as the referee counted once...

twice...

...three times! AJ Styles is the new cruiserweight champion!

Grade: B+

http://i.imgur.com/S0cu0uO.jpg
The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©}
http://i.imgur.com/nK4nv40.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/xBMEvAh.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/sOdsktm.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/SAWQKXw.jpg

I had high hopes for both the UFS finale and the cruiserweight title match, and both of those matches went as well as I could have possibly hoped for. I wanted a bit of a buffer between those matches and the main event, and that's where this tag team match came into play. This wasn't an official cool down match; I didn't specifically tell them to bring the crowd down or anything, because we weren't going to have time to work them back up before the main event. I just assumed that this match wouldn't blow people away as much as the two that came before it, and I guessed right on that.

It honestly was a better match than I expected, but that's pretty much all about True Heroes. Hawk and Animal did have their team chemistry and years of experience to fall back on, but they were never great in the ring even in their prime, and their prime has been over for quite some time. Punk and Storm had their working boots on tonight, and they carried the Road Warriors to a quality match. Punk looked pretty visibly angry as it became obvious that Hawk was wrestling the match impaired. I don't blame him, but at least he and Lance showed their professionalism.

The Warriors did a few basic power and double team spots and set up for the Doomsday Device, but Hawk was shoved off the top rope by Punk and fell (softly) to the mat. Punk then helped Storm down off of Animal's shoulders and they put him down with a double back suplex, and Lance finished Hawk off with a spinning heel kick off of the top rope. This match marked the end of Hawk's three-appearance talent trade deal with us, and he's back to New Japan full time. It couldn't have come any sooner, because he was with us for all of a month and failed at least three drug tests, including two on the same night. Animal still has over two years remaining on his contract and I'd rather not eat all that money at one time by releasing him, but I'm not really sure what I can do with him.

Grade: B

http://i.imgur.com/haJKoFv.jpg
Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam {©}
http://i.imgur.com/9v49DN6.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/uj4FkBt.jpg

Special Guest Referee: Booker T
http://i.imgur.com/sJZr1Hv.jpg

We aired a pretty lengthy video before the match recapping all the history between the three men; the US title wins for Rey, the WCW debut of RVD all the way up to him winning the world title from Scott Steiner at Starrcade, and the great match the two had last month. Then it abruptly cut to a piece that covered Booker's obsession with regaining the world title he thought should've been his all along. That obsession motivated him to wreck last month's main event and then cost Rey the US title against Shane Douglas, and it led to him being inserted into this match as the special referee. This was some fantastic stuff by our production crew that helped draw out the popularity of all three guys, make them come across as big stars and get the storyline over.

Grade: A*

With the "pregame" done, it was go time. RVD and Misterio had a lot to live up to after their classic last month, as well as a couple of great matches earlier in the night. They wrestled a similar style of match, showcasing their athleticism and doing a lot of really cool-looking things within the context of trying to win the match and walk out with the championship at the end of the night. My expectations for this one were sky high coming in. They tore the house down in Australia, but our analysis suggests that both guys are even more popular in Japan, with RVD in particular having gotten over huge with how heavily we've featured him on our TV shows and PPVs airing on TV Asahi. Given that, I figured they'd be able to draw the fans in even more and turn their awesome work into a legitimate match of the year contender in the entire business. Unfortunately, this was not RVD at anywhere close to his best. He was all over the place tonight, with several mistimed and sloppy spots that hurt the match in some crucial points. The work in general was still high quality and the match was very strong, but afterwards I couldn't help but wonder what might've been had we gotten a usual RVD big match performance.

The key difference in the story telling this month was of course the presence of Booker T as the guest referee, and that created a lot of intrigue. There were multiple points where both wrestlers had near-collisions with Booker that led to staredowns and arguments. We got across the mutual disdain between Booker and both combatants, and the camera work and facial expressions of Booker established how badly he wanted to attack both men. Yet he didn't, because the stakes were so high for him. Knowing that he would get a world title shot if he called the match right down the middle, Booker reined in his temper and focused on getting through the match without causing a scene.

It had been over thirty minutes since the opening bell, yet RVD and Rey were still busting out the acrobatic maneuvers. A dizzying back and forth sequence saw counter after counter, with RVD catching Rey on a diving hurricanrana attempt and going for a running powerbomb, only for Misterio counter it with a headscissors that sent Van Dam over the top rope and onto the entrance ramp! Rey went right to the top rope and leapt out for a flying tornado DDT, but RVD caught him and hit a Northern Lights suplex on the ramp instead! RVD threw Rey back into the ring and hit a modified Rolling Thunder in which he jumped from the ramp, over the top rope and back into the ring, landing right on Misterio's chest with the somersault senton finale. RVD hooked the leg, and Booker dropped down and counted once...

twice...

...after a glare at Van Dam, Booker counted for the decisive third time and RVD retained his title!

Grade: B+

The timekeeper handed Booker the world heavyweight title, and he went to present it to Van Dam. Unlike most referees though, he chose to "present" the belt to the champion by smacking him in the face with it!

Mike and I were quick to point out that Arn Anderson's stipulation only applied while the match was going on. Now that it was over he was free to do what he wanted, and he was making full use of that freedom. He dropped the title and just as emphatically dropped Rey Misterio, who he picked up and threw over the top rope and onto the ramp. He picked RVD up off of the mat and sent him right back down with the Book End. Then his attention turned to the title itself. He picked the belt up and held it in the air, and gave RVD a stomp right to the face for good measure before dropping the belt on the chest of the fallen champion. Mike went into hype mode for the world title match at next month's Mayhem, but he went too dramatic and sounded inauthentic. RVD was the standout of this angle, simply because he's so over in Japan and the fans react big to anything that happens to him. It was a great way to build heat for next month, and an equally great way to sign off.

Grade: A*

Show Overall Grade: A

Armando Payne · April 9, 2017

So did I get all of them except for 1 right or all of them except for 3 right? (Like I predicted AJ Styles to win but I didn't expect him to win the belt and I predicted Sugar Shane Helms to lose but I didn't predict him to lose to Hayabusa.)

Still pretty darn good PPV can't wait for Mayhem cause brutha I dig Aztec Warfare so you booking it will be pretty darn dope. The only thing which would've improved it would be Lex Luger driving The Lex Express all over Kyoto bay bay. Drive 'MURICA all over Japan, rein in that babyface heat.

sportsfanmas · April 10, 2017

Wow, a few surprises on this PPV. Definitely flipped the script. I already know I was horrible on the predictions for this PPV lol. Good stuff.

michgcs · April 11, 2017

Damn, I guess my Chavo prediction sorta came true? LOL but not really, I guess. I like Booker T working within the rules and just smashing both Rey and RVD. I LOVED Double-C getting the win! (Vitamin C? The C Empire? C-List Champs?) I DOUBLE-LOVED AJ Styles winning the title!

As for things I didn't love... hmm...

...

... lemme get back to you on that one...

GREAT SHOW!

K-Nection · April 11, 2017

That was awesome! I loved it from top to bottom once again.

The Final Countdown · April 11, 2017

April 2002: Post-Slamboree News and Notes <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">April 22nd, 2002 05:35 a.m.</div> A middle of the night phone call from Dusty Rhodes was not what I needed right after Slamboree. Overseeing (and providing color commentary for) a PPV show is tiring, as Dusty well knows. I told him I hoped he had a good reason for waking me up, and he said simply: "Turn on your computah, daddeh." I sighed but did as he suggested, turning the hotel room light on and pulling my laptop out of its case. It reloaded the Observing Wrestling website, which I'd visited just after Slamboree ended last night to get a sense of the fans' feelings of what I thought was our best show since WCW vs. The World, as well as their thoughts on the WWF PPV that aired the same night. There had been a lot of discussion and praise for both shows last night, but I now saw they had been all but forgotten less than twelve hours after they aired. A regional company in Europe had begun promoting their next tour on their website, and the entire wrestling world was talking about it. I clicked on the link to the article with a healthy dose of skepticism, wondering if this was really why Dusty had woken me up. I knew full well how rumors on the internet went, and this one bordered on the absurd. The article included an update with an official reply from the European Wrestling Promotion, which insisted that it was not engaging in false advertisement and the superstar in question legitimately would be joining them for their next tour. I rolled my eyes upon reading that, sure the company was just trying to draw attention to themselves with no hope of actually delivering on their promise. Some emails to Wade Keller and Dave Meltzer (wonder how Dave feels about this Observing Wrestling website?) triggered responses that I was not expecting. Both insiders said that their well-placed sources were insisting that there was truth to this. Whether Vince had chosen not to offer him an extension or he'd just decided to leave, all signs pointed to this being a genuine story. Was Vince insane? Was there more to the story; did Vince know something I didn't? Or was this a decision made by the wrestler? Was he unhappy and walking away despite Vince's money? Or was this all smoke and mirrors after all, and a contract extension would come at the 11th hour? A thousand questions were running through my mind, and I had answers for none of them. Well, that's not entirely true. I knew for a fact that this had the potential to change the game forever. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and called my secretary, who I knew would already be in the office despite the early hour. She answered the phone sure enough, sounding perfectly awake and alert. "Emma?" I said, ignoring her greeting. "It's Bret. Could you get me Steve Austin's phone number?"</div></blockquote> <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg</div> I praised Scott Steiner and Jeff Hardy for their tremendous show-stealer, and also gave Rey a pat on the back for a great job in the main event. I could tell Rey was very happy at the acknowledgement. I think he's more than proven over the past couple of months that he is capable of being a true main event star for us. Shane Helms was furious about losing to Hayabusa. Hayabusa's more over than him in Japan, where the show was held, but I guess he was worried about how the loss would reflect on him in the other areas where Hayabusa isn't well known yet. Ric Flair was again pretty unhappy about losing to The Empire, but he didn't care as much once he heard the exact finish. He's now on a vacation to sell the injury angle, which I'm sure will improve his mood further. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/CsYcpkv.jpg</div> The WWF ran their first post-Mania PPV, 'Backlash', in Texas heads-up against Slamboree. It was a strong show; definitely an improvement over Mania, and right on the same level as our own PPV offering. Hogan retained the title over Austin in the main event in what would be considered a great match overall, but was still well below the string of classics Steve was putting on every month as champion. The show also featured Edge and Christian beating T&A for their 8th tag title reign, setting the record for most reigns even farther along for any future teams to try and break. That was a puzzling decision to me since there were rumors not too long ago that they'd both be focusing on their singles careers. Match of the night belonged to The Rock, who carried Crash Holly of all people to a fantastic performance in the middle of the show. <div style="text-align:center;">Hall of Champions: World Heavyweight Champion: http://i.imgur.com/haJKoFv.jpg Rob Van Dam http://i.imgur.com/uj4FkBt.jpg Won: December 30th, 2001 from Scott Steiner at Starrcade in Tokyo, Japan Previous Champions (since March 2001): Scott Steiner: July 15th, 2001-December 30th, 3001 (168 days) Booker T: March 26th, 2001-July 15th, 2001 (111 days) World Women's Champion: http://i.imgur.com/741TrEA.jpg Etsuko Mita http://i.imgur.com/cAw5Dl8.jpg Won: January 9th, 2002 against Zap I during the AJW Glass Grave Yard tour in Annaka, Japan after Aja Kong vacated the title when she left AJW ((Mita was the reigning WWWA World champion when AJW was bought out by WCW. The title was adopted into WCW with its lineage intact, and Mita was recognized as WCW's Women's World Champion.)) Previous Champions (since January 2002): None United States Heavyweight Champion: http://i.imgur.com/mitTbCm.jpg Shane Douglas (2nd reign) http://i.imgur.com/mS6Goca.jpg Won: April 1st, 2002 from Rey Misterio Jr. at Monday Nitro in Pikeville, Kentucky Previous Champions (since March 2001): Rey Misterio Jr (#2): October 14th, 2001-April 1st, 2002 (169 days) Kanyon: August 5th, 2001-October 14th, 2001 (70 days) Rey Misterio Jr: May 13th, 2001-August 5th, 2001 (85 days) Booker T: March 18th, 2001-April 30th, 2001 (44 days) Cruiserweight Champion: http://i.imgur.com/u0cJ04Z.jpg AJ Styles http://i.imgur.com/Ht8KF88.jpg Won: April 21st, 2002 from TAKA at Slamboree in Tokyo, Japan Previous Champions (since March 2001): TAKA: December 30th, 2001-April 21st, 2002 (112 days) Jushin Liger: August 5th, 2001-December 30th, 2001 (147 days) Shane Helms: March 18th, 2001-August 5th, 2001 (140 days) World Tag Team Champions: http://i.imgur.com/S0cu0uO.jpg True Heroes (Lance Storm and CM Punk) http://i.imgur.com/sOdsktm.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/SAWQKXw.jpg Won: December 30th, 2001 from The Natural Born Thrillers at Starrcade in Tokyo, Japan Previous Champions (since March 2001): The Natural Born Thrillers (Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire): January 14th, 2001-December 30th, 2001 (351 days) </div> <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="crackerjack" data-cite="crackerjack" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors vs. True Heroes {©} If he's anything like he is in my save, Hawk will need a Straight-Edge Suspension pretty soon.</div></blockquote> You aren't wrong there! The only reason he got off with fines is because he was only with me for a few weeks. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Armando Payne" data-cite="Armando Payne" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> Cruiserweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. TAKA {©} But only via DQ, TAKA drops it next PPV in a rematch with The Empire banned from ringside.</div></blockquote> I did consider this. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>General diary comments/questions/critiques: You're doing real good kid, real good. It's real fun to read. (What's weird is that I can only read this if I'm not signed in.)</div></blockquote> Thanks, good sir! <img alt=":cool:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/cool.png.f00d2562b2c1d873a09323753efdb041.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> That's really strange. <img alt=":confused:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/confused.png.d4a8e6b6eab0c67698b911fb041c0ed1.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <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>Wow, congrats on the USA network deal! That's huge!</div></blockquote> It really is. Between that and also getting better PPV coverage in the US, I should be able to start making some much bigger strides towards National status. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Armando Payne" data-cite="Armando Payne" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>So did I get all of them except for 1 right or all of them except for 3 right? (Like I predicted AJ Styles to win but I didn't expect him to win the belt and I predicted Sugar Shane Helms to lose but I didn't predict him to lose to Hayabusa.)</div></blockquote> I don't add it up as a percentage of how many were correct; I just tally up the total number of things you got correct. In that case you'd get two points for AJ winning and Helms losing. The title change prediction is solely about getting the number correct, regardless of whether or not you get the matches themselves right. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Still pretty darn good PPV can't wait for Mayhem cause brutha I dig Aztec Warfare so you booking it will be pretty darn dope. The only thing which would've improved it would be Lex Luger driving The Lex Express all over Kyoto bay bay. Drive 'MURICA all over Japan, rein in that babyface heat.</div></blockquote> I've only watched like one episode of Lucha Underground and so only have a cursory knowledge of it. I didn't know that was what Aztec Warfare was. That's pretty cool, as it seems like it could be a fun matchtype. I loved writing the Royal Rumble when I was running WWF, and this'll be how I fill that void in this project. Lex is very busy going "back to basics" at this point in time. I'm sure he will soon be back and better than ever!

SIser187 · April 11, 2017

Woah. Long time listener. First time caller so to speak. That'd just put you on a whole different level if you got Steve Austin, especially considering I think Bret was always friendly with Steve and the level of star he is if his head's on straight for you. Jaw on the floor to say the least on that one. Just hope he isn't on time decline.

Rateddc · April 11, 2017

Was Austin in the process of negotiations when Briskout dropped in to run Mania, because that'd explain it since all negotiations vanish when a new player drops in on a company? If not then that's a big move by the AI.

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