Your Companies "Top 10 DVD" Match List

[AT-67]

Best of WCW 1998:

 

1. Diamond Dallas Page vs Curt Hennig - Superbrawl (98)

2. Hollywood Hogan (World Heavyweight champion) vs Sting vs Bret Hart - WrestleWar (95)

3. Raven (United States champion) vs Goldberg - Nitro April (93)

4. Sting vs Bret Hart - Spring Stampede (99)

5. (Mask vs. Mask) Rey Mysterio Jr. (Cruiserweight champion) vs Juventud Guerrera - Spring Stampede (82)

6. Diamond Dallas Page vs Bret Hart - Great American Bash (99)

7. Raven vs Chris Jericho - Road Wild (99)

8. (War Games) Goldberg, DDP, Sting, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall vs Hollywood Hogan, Randy Savage, The Giant, Scott Steiner, Curt Hennig - Fall Brawl (97)

9. Bret Hart vs Chris Jericho - Nitro December (99)

10. Goldberg (World Heavyweight champion) vs Bret Hart - Starrcade (100)

[Peria]

Since I just finished WK11, I figured I'd do a top 10 main events of them + the bonus first ever WK main event!

 

Bonus: Wrestle Kingdom I: Keiji Mutoh vs. Kensuke Sasaki

Mutoh had earned his shot after winning the G1 Climax. His opponent was one of the most dominant champions seen in a while. Not much storyline here, but Sasaki managed to beat down Chono, who had BlackChaos in his corner. So kayfabe, Sasaki was the one to beat.

 

10) Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (WK 5) (95)

Tanahashi faces his good friend and fellow Segigun ally at the time, Kojima. Fresh off a G1 Climax win, this was a match between two good friends.

 

9) Satoshi Kojima vs Shinsuke Nakamura (WK 7) (97)

Kojima managed to win the G1 three times in his career (somewhat by mistake on my part) and this was his 2nd win. His opponent was someone Tanahashi failed to beat several times, Kojima was the massive underdog here, but, after reconnecting with tag team partner Tenzan, Kojima has a fighting spirit.

 

8) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada (WK 9) (97)

Tanahashi, shocked by the massive upset caused by Okada, had to earn his way back to the limelight, with a G1 win, and a 2-1 lead over the Rainmaker, Tanahashi vows for the title he has coveted for most of his career.

 

7) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Suwama (WK 6) (98)

If you've read the last 3, you'll notice a trend. Tanahashi's 3 year reign was ended by Suwama, and the Ace wasted no time in earning his spot at the main event, facing Suwama.

 

6) CM Punk vs Hirooki Goto (WK 8) (99)

Now hold up, what is this? CM Punk, before leaving me for WWE, was quite heavily pushed, and he had bested Tanahashi (their feud was one-sided though in Tana's favor) finally. Who challenges him? An unsuspecting winner of the G1, Goto. Tanahashi was in the co-main event facing Nakamura for the IC title, in case that matters.

 

5) Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki (WK 2) (99)

Minoru Suzuki enters WK 2 as IWGP Champion. His only IWGP Heavyweight win. And he faces long-time rival Yuji Nagata. Despite Suzuki besting Nagata in the G1, Nagata still managed to squeak on by due to a draw with Tanahashi that forced Suzuki out of the finals by a measly point. Nagata. Fun fact, Nagata retired and he had 2 IWGP reigns with a total defenses of... 1.

 

4) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito (WK X) (100)

Tetsuya Naito, the Stardust Genius, wins the G1 in his very first attempt. Tanahashi, the beloved ace, for the first time feels more pressure than ever, with not only Kento Miyahara and Kazuchika Okada challenging his throne, and Shinsuke Nakamura always seen as the #1 or #2 guy depending on the year, now he faces yet another.

 

3) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WK 4) (100)

Tanahashi's only singles win against Nakamura comes at Wrestle Kingdom 4, during his historic 3 year title reign with 17 title defenses. While I had seriously considered letting Nakamura win this one, I wanted to have Tanahashi do something legendary, that I would never do again in this save, and this was it.

 

2) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata (WK 3) (100)

Tanahashi had a bit of a losing streak before becoming the Ace. After WK2, Tanahashi left Segigun to strike out on his own and learn to thrive on his own. No hard feelings, but now Tanahashi finds himself facing his former leader, Yuji Nagata. This was the start of Tanahashi's aforementioned title reign.

 

1) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura (WK XI) (100)

Tanahashi's second victory over Nakamura, and another WK win under his belt. While Tana is 2-5 against Nakamura, he is 2-0 at Wrestle Kingdom. This win marks his 5th title reign!

 

 

Out of the 11 Wrestle Kingdoms, Tanahashi has been in 7 of them.

[claxton110381]

I'm currently in April 2027 in my MAW save. Here's what I would put on my top-10 DVD. Not necessarily the best matches, but would be essentials for a new MAW fan.

 

Best of MAW - The Jay Fair Era (January 2016 - December 2026)

 

1) Aldous Blackfriar vs Greg Gauge - MAW The Sam Keith Classic VI, July 2016 (53)

The blowoff for the feud between Gauge and Blackfriar took place in a Hell On Earth (Texas Deathmatch) match. Originally scheduled for the next month, the match was moved ahead due to Greg Gauge being signed to BHOTWG. Blackfriar defeated Gauge to win the Mid Atlantic Championship.

2) The Architect vs Gino Montero - MAW The Battle of the Mid Atlantic, 2016 August (55)

This match was MAW's Match of the Year for 2016. The Architect defeated Gino Montero in his 11th defense as inaugural COTT World Junior Heavyweight Champion. This was Montero's fifth and final MAW match before signing an exclusive contract with SOTBPW.

3) Aldous Blackfriar vs Nigel Svensson - MAW Super Showdown, March 2017 (64)

After winning the 2017 Rip Chord Invitational, Nigel Svensson challenged Aldous Blackfriar for the Mid Atlantic Championship. After Aldous caused an intentional DQ to retain his title, Sam Keith restarted the match under No DQ rules. This, however, allow his Dark Watch to become involved, and Aldous defeated Nigel to retain his belt.

4) Spencer Spade vs Azumamaro Kita - MAW The Night of Champions, December 2018 (71)

Spencer Spade successfully defended the COTT World Heavyweight Championship against Azumamaro Kita in front of a small crowd of 300 fans in Maryland. Both men would later go on to bigger and better things, with Spade resigning with SWF and Kita signing with BHOTWG.

5) Team MAW (Fro Sure, Spencer Spade, Roderick Remus, and Miller Fforde) vs The Dark Watch (Aldous Blackfriar, Mutant, Thorn*, and Erebus*) - MAW Where It All Begins Again, October 2020 (58)

Four of Mid Atlantic Wrestling's top stars joined together to try and take the Mid Atlantic Championship from Aldous Blackfriar and his Dark Watch. If Team MAW won, Fro Sure would become champion, and if the Dark Watch won, the title would remain with Blackfriar. In the end, Team MAW would come out on top. However, after the match, Spade would turn on Fro Sure, leading to an extremely violent bout the next May.

6) Fro Sure vs Spencer Spade - MAW Old School Rules, May 2021 (62)

After being backstabbed at Where It All Begins Again 2020, Fro Sure defended the Mid Atlantic Championship against his former friend Spencer Spade in a Mid Atlantic Deathmatch. The match was one of the bloodiest, most violent matches in MAW history, ending with Fro Sure coming out on top. The same month, Spencer Spade would leave MAW to return to SWF.

7) Miller Fforde vs Raphael - MAW Summer Heatwave 2025 (Night Two), June 2025 (54)

On the 14th anniversary of his MAW debut, Miller Fforde finally got his chance to challenge for the Mid Atlantic Championship. Fforde defeated Raphael in the brutal ladder match, and celebrated in a very emotional moment with his MAW family.

8) Tommy Cornell Jr vs Lawrence Robert* - MAW Where It All Begins Again, October 2025 (73)

This match is tied for the best match in Mid Atlantic Wrestling. Tommy Cornell Jr competed in only three matches in MAW before becoming exclusive to 21CW. This main event-worthy match against Robert was his MAW debut, and ended in a win for Cornell.

9) The Architect vs Harold Nash* - MAW Mid-Atlantic Week 3, May 2026 (73)

In front of a sold-out crowd of 2,000 people, The Architect defeated Harold Nash in one of the two absolute best matches of the Jay Fair-era of MAW. No feud. No titles. Just a mat classic.

10) Double Feature (Gregory Jones* and Sean Quarry*) vs The Aces of Mayhem (Ace Youngblood and Max Mayhem) - MAW The Proving Ground, November 2026 (62)

The Aces of Mayhem played heroes for months, saving other members of the roster from attacks at the hands of Double Feature. After being assaulted themselves, they decided to run Double Feature out of MAW once and for all. They put the Mid Atlantic Tag Team titles on the line in a Loser Leaves MAW match. The duo were unsuccessful in their attempt, saying goodbye to MAW once and for all.

 

 

* = Random Gen

[Zeel1]

I'm playing with Genadi's May 2001 mod and working under the basis that WWF did in fact go through with the supposed original plan of rebooting WCW as it's own show in order to maintain it's audience, with it eventually taking SmackDown's spot and having it's own roster. The vast majority of my top matches and shows have been WWF ones as WCW's began with passable but noticeably lesser match/show ratings and have been gradually building with time, as though they really are their own company, which I always found neat. But rebuilding WCW through this lens has always been my main focus with this save and I think it's the more fun thing to look at.

 

Since it's not even close to being the top 10 matches in my promotion's history, I think looking at the most significant ones for the revived brand makes the most sense.

 

Disc 1

 

#1. WCW Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. Booker T & Diamond Dallas Page – B- (74) (Nitro, July 2001)

 

The main event of the first-ever Nitro of the brand new era of WCW, the promising but endlessly arrogant O'Haire and Palumbo were quick to interrupt WCW World Heavyweight Champion Booker T as he ushered in the new age of WCW. The two were looking to make a big statement as they swarmed him, only for him to be saved by another beloved icon in DDP. The main was on, billed as WCW's present vs. WCW's future.

 

This was a physical brawl, a fight for status as the Natural Born Thrillers fought tooth and nail to take the top spots of their two more famous foes, but Booker and Page weren't backing down an inch. But right when victory looked in hand, Diamond shockingly turned and planted his own partner with a Diamond Cutter, leaving him for dead and easy pickings for the hungry tag team to finish off.

 

 

#2. WCW United States Championship Tournament Final: Lance Storm vs. Mike Awesome – B+ (84) (SummerSlam 2001)

 

Rather than rush into giving WCW their own PPVs, the decision was made to build to that slowly over time and focus on TV for the most part, with one exception: two marquee matches on each of WWE's Big Four PPVs, thanks to their groundbreaking new agreement! And this was the first of those crossover matches. When Booker opened the inaugural Nitro, he relinquished the United States title, making way for a hotly contested 16-man tournament!

 

Storm defeated Chris Candido, Konnan and Curt Hennig to advance to the finals, whilst Awesome had to go through Dustin Rhodes, Shane Douglas and Chris Kanyon to meet him there. The tournament also included the likes of Fit Finlay, Vampiro, Buff Bagwell and Monty Brown among others, but ultimately it came down to these two wholly different, yet extremely talented athletes in what ended up being one of the most showstealing bouts on a very stacked SummerSlam card.

 

Awesome's incredible might mixed with ahead-of-his-time agility was a terrifying challenge for anyone, but Storm's smooth technique and incomparable conditioning kept him from ever looking overwhelmed. Ultimately on this night though, Awesome took the win and made a statement as one of the key names to watch in WCW.

 

 

#3. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T © vs. Diamond Dallas Page – B+ (88) (SummerSlam 2001)

 

DDP wasted no time in making his intentions clear. He wasn't part of the WCW revival for glad-handing sentiment, he was there for one thing; his own success. After turning on Booker on the very first Nitro, the bout between the two seemed inevitable. Whilst Booker did defend his title before this, namely against the man who pinned him in that match, Sean O'Haire, this was easily his biggest challenge he'd faced in the technically new reign.

 

These two hard-working WCW loyalists knew they were representing the brand on what was just months prior considered enemy turf and they did everything they could to send the right message. After a tooth and nail war, Booker retained his title in a match that let the world know that WCW was truly back.

 

 

#4. WCW Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. The APA – B+ (85) (Nitro, September 2001)

 

Some may not have expected this to be a big-time match worthy of Nitro's main event, but no one involved gave a damn about that. In front of a hot crowd that'd followed the APA's dogged pursuit of the tag titles ever since emerging in surprising fashion on the debut Nitro, everyone seemed ready for the hated Natural Born Thriller's reign to end and the two veteran brawlers gave everything they had to make it happen.

 

After a true knock-down, drag-out classic, Palumbo and O'Haire proved once again that, like 'em or not, they're legit, barely edging out the APA in a clean victory. This was a fine main event on it's own but it would have historical significance after the fact as being the last tag title match for Farooq and Bradshaw. The next week, after a loss to Kronik, Farooq turned on Bradshaw in a shock, violent assault, quickly rechristening himself under his true name, Ron Simmons.

 

 

#5. WCW Television Championship: Chris Candido vs. Vampiro vs. Brian Lawler vs. Monty Brown vs. Dustin Rhodes vs. Chyna – B (79) (Nitro, October 2001)

 

For weeks, dozens of wrestlers had been vying for the honor of winning the new and improved WCW Television Championship, a title that promised to be one of the most competitive and coveted ever due to a rule that, true to it’s name, it would be defended exclusively on Nitro and WCW Saturday Night, never to be contested on a PPV. But it would be defended weekly on one or both of these two shows, a rule that would make it one of the hardest titles ever to keep hold of.

 

Everyone involved in this six-way free for all had gotten there by winning similar multi-person matches, a testament to the roster's depth. Among them was Chyna, who left WWF after months of bickering with Vince McMahon over his refusal to allow her to continue competing with men and going after men's titles. She swiftly found herself getting just such an opportunity here.

 

But while she would eventually have her own run with this title, this night belonged to the unpinned rising superstar Monty Brown, who went on to prove himself a tough, fighting champion.

 

 

#6. 4-on-4 Traditional Survivor Series Match: The Radicalz (Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko) vs. Team WCW (Booker T, Ron Simmons, Diamond Dallas Page & Konnan) – B (81) (Survivor Series 2001)

 

Part of WWF's agreement with WCW saw them send the Radicalz, a group that initially became famous for defecting from WCW mind, over to Nitro for promotional work. This supposedly cordial visit soon deteriorated to the Radicalz running down WCW and proclaiming that they hoped that the brand would fail again. The roster didn't take kindly to this of course, and among the chaos that ensued... Norman Smiley ended up rolling up Perry Saturn to take the WWF Hardcore title!

 

As far as Vince was concerned, this was the ultimate insult. A WWF title on WCW soil?! Unable to let it stand, he demanded the Radicalz return the next week and set this right. Through wild circumstance and a few title changes' worth of madness, including Booker T of all people taking the Hardcore title for an hour or so, eventually they were able to secure the title and bring it back to Raw... but they made several enemies in WCW in the process and they refused to forget. Two weeks later, when Perry Saturn was attempting to wrest the European Title away from Nick Dinsmore who had only seven days prior upset Eddie to take the title in his debut, none other than Diamond Dallas Page jumped the barrier on Raw to screw him out of the victory!

 

Unable to let this go, Perry went on to reclaim the Hardcore title and opted to go to Nitro, knowing that this particular belt could be defended in any situation that came up. Using it as a bartering chip, Perry called out Page and offered to defend it against him, provided he agree that all parties were barred from ringside. What resulted was the first time a Hardcore Title match had ever headlined a show more major than Heat, and the match was a wild weapons-filled brawl. Saturn, to his credit, did not look at all out of place against the top WCW star, but could not quite put him away. He would come to regret this challenge, as a Diamond Cutter off the second rope through a table ended his reign; WCW ended up going into Survivor Series with the Hardcore title!

 

While the match itself was great, few knew at the time the ramifications it would have. Fed up with the group's constant struggles with WCW, Vince gave the Radicalz a last-minute ultimatum at Survivor Series. If they couldn't beat the team comprised of their biggest WCW enemies, they'd be fired from WWF!

 

With their WWF careers on the line, the Radicalz were willing to do anything it took to beat the WCW contingent, but they had quite the task on their hands, as they happened to make enemies of four of the promotion's best. There was one thing in their favor though. Booker and DDP still weren't exactly friends, but much more pertinent is that Ron Simmons was smackdab in the middle of his own campaign to take the WCW Title and he was really getting under Booker's skin in the process. The tension between the two of them was palpable as they refused to even stand on the same apron.

 

The Radicalz made the most of their talent and used every dirty trick they could, but overcoming three former WCW Champions alongside one of Mexico's biggest ever stars was easier said than done. Their desperation showed when Eddie suplexed Booker stomach-first on the barrier and went up to the apron for a Frog Splash. Booker managed to escape this, leaving Guerrero to land onto his abdomen on the barricade. This debilitated him horrendously, enough for Booker to toss him into the ring and swiftly capitalize with a Scissors Kick and the elimination, leaving the Radicalz without their leader ten minutes into the match!

 

Fortunately for them, Booker and Simmons' incessant arguing finally came to a head when Ron surprised him with a vicious spinebuster after tagging in and then simply making his leave, letting himself get counted out. In spite of DDP and Konnan's best efforts, they couldn't get the tag from Booker in time. Saturn and Malenko eventually held him down for a diving headbutt from Benoit for the pin. Just like that, Radicalz were up 3-to-2.

 

DDP and Konnan weren't about to give up though, even if they were taking considerably more damage now. They picked their spots and, as DDP and Malenko struggled in a crucifix cradle test of strength, the former suddenly spun in front of him and nailed a Diamond Cutter for the surprise win. This victory was short-lived though as Saturn and Benoit were quick to swarm on him with a double team. Moments later, Saturn hit a DVD on DDP as Benoit held Konnan back with a crossface on the floor, and it was down to a 2-on-1. Benoit threw Konnan into the ring and tagged in to pound on him, but he proved his resilience. Before long, Benoit went to put him into a Crossface proper, but ended up bundled up into a La Magistral for the shock win, putting things to a 1-on-1. Saturn tried to put the hurt on the significantly more worn down Konnan, but his toughness continued to shine through and a Rings of Saturn attempt was reversed into the Tequila Sunrise for the submission victory... and thus, the Radicalz lost their spot in the WWF.

 

 

#7. WarGames: The Radicalz (Eddy Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko) vs. Latino World Order (Konnan, Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera, Super Crazy and Essa Rios) – B+ (84) (Starrcade 2001)

 

It's safe to say nobody hates WCW more than The Radicalz. Already pushed to defect over a year ago, WCW's top stars ended up getting them fired from their jobs at WWF as well. With few other options, the humiliated team ended up signing with their former company once again, but they didn't do it with their tails between their legs. Before the ink even dried on their new deals, they made their intentions clear; they wanted to destroy WCW from the inside out.

 

The Radicalz had already embittered themselves towards the LWO during their several run-ins on Nitro in the months prior, but the resentment boiled into fullblown hate after their leader Konnan put the nail in the coffin of their WWF careers. Their first official appearance as WCW wrestlers in over a year saw them assault and bloody him, kicking off a progressively dangerous, personal war between the two factions.

 

One story of note within the battle was Chavo Guerrero Jr., the silly loco boy who had for months asked to join the LWO, much to their hesitance as he rather clashed with their image. But on the same night that they finally relented and gave him his own LWO shirt, he showed his true lying, cheating and stealing colors, assisting his uncle Eddy to help him defeat LWO's own ringer Essa Rios. Displaying a new fiery attitude, Chavo officially became the fifth Radical, tying up the numbers.

 

With five men on each side, a decision was made... Starrcade was always WCW's biggest show of the year, but this time it was going to be their first genuine, world-reaching PPV since returning. They needed to go all out to re-establish WCW as a power, and nothing could possibly be more WCW than a WarGames match!

 

What followed was by far the wildest, fastest-paced, high flyingest WarGames match ever, with Super Crazy in particular wowing the world by climbing up the cage within the structure and hitting a death-defying moonsault onto all five of his opponents. But ultimately, the match came down to the still injured Konnan - who had not wrestled since the initial attack over a month prior - getting his wounds reopened in a major way before being locked into the Crossface, this time unable to counter. As the other Radicalz held back his allies, the badly bleeding Konnan eventually succumbed to his wooziness and passed out within the hold. With this, the Radicalz won the first major battle in their war against WCW.

 

 

#8. WCW Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. The Hardy Boyz – A (92) (Starrcade 2001)

 

The Natural Born Thrillers' tag title reign pre-dated the fall of WCW in it's original incarnation. They initially won them at the third-to-last PPV before they closed, back in January. Since the promotion's return, they had kept a death grip on them, with their reign closing in on a full year as they came into Starrcade. After retaining over two of WCW's all-time greats on the return episode of Nitro, they went on to defend against the likes of the APA, the New Age Outlaws, Patricide (Dustin Rhodes & Brian Lawler), the Party Crashers (Scotty 2 Hotty & K-Kwik) and even the legendary Road Warriors. Wrestling those titles away from them seemed truly impossible.

 

But the Hardyz were never very big on the word 'impossible', and they looked to prove that they were up for the task of ending the second-longest WCW Tag Team title reign in history. And in a tag classic for the ages, the two hot tandems clashed reckless abandon with brute explosiveness. In the end, experience and heart won out as the Hardyz ended up putting an end to the Natural Born Thrillers' stellar run, and put themselves in rarefied air among teams to have won gold in both WWF and WCW.

 

 

#9. Title Unification Ladder Match: WCW Cruiserweight Champion Shane Helms © vs. WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam © – B+ (86) (Starrcade 2001)

 

RVD made an instant splash in the WWF, winning the Light Heavyweight title in his debut in which he answered an open challenge from his long-time rival Jerry Lynn. He swiftly established himself as far and away the most dominant champion in the title's history, amassing 13 defenses over the next seven months. He repelled challengers like Lynn, both of the Hardyz, X-Pac, Brian Lawler, Christian, Dean Malenko and others. Most notably he won a special triple threat match at Vengeance in which himself, European champion Matt Hardy and Hardcore champion Chyna all put their titles on the line in a free-for-all; two months into his tenure and he was a triple champion!

 

Suffice to say, there was a huge buzz surrounding the exciting and unique Van Dam, especially when he made the shock move to jump ship to WCW right in the middle of his reign, convinced that they offered stiffer competition at his weight class, especially with many of his toughest challengers already having made the same move. He continued his incredible run defending against WCW's cruisers, including a win over Chavo Guerrero Jr, but from the word go, WCW Cruiserweight Champ Shane Helms kept a close eye on Rob and always seemed to be seething over his victories.

 

Helms had similarly established himself as an all-time Cruiserweight champion just as Rob was doing the same with the Light Heavyweight title. Shane had originally won it on what many thought was the final Nitro that March, and since WCW's return, he'd put together 11 defenses, turning back the challenges of names like Billy Kidman, Juventud Guerrera, Psicosis, Rey Mysterio Jr, Matt Hardy and even the legendary Tiger Mask IV. And yet all the world's eyes were on RVD... he couldn't stand it.

 

The tension was immediate and after a few months worth of grandstanding, posturing and sending messages from afar, the two finally met face to face and a challenge was put forth. They both agreed that they needed to find out once and for all who was truly the best at their weight class. And so it was decided that both of their titles would be hung from the rafters in a Ladder match to unify the two championships!

 

The match was a true spectacle, one that proved to many that Shane Helms may well have been on Rob's level. But ultimately it ended in fittingly showstealing fashion. With Helms climbing the ladder and inches away from the titles, RVD managed to springboard himself from the ropes directly onto the upright ladder... with a chair in hand! With a swift toss, RVD hit a seemingly impossible Van Daminator, landing back on his feet on the rungs whilst Shane was sent hurtling into a conveniently placed table. The win was academic from there, with Van Dam ushering in a new age for the Cruiserweight division.

 

 

#10. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T © vs. Ron Simmons – A* (99) (Starrcade 2001)

 

Ron Simmons stripped himself of his WWF name, which he referred to as... something else, and unleashed several years of frustration at how his career had gone. Sure, he'd become beloved to a wider audience, but only after allowing the WWF to fool the world into thinking he wasn't cut out to be a major singles star. He was quick to remind everyone of his former success in WCW, of being the first-ever black world champion in wrestling, something he took dearly seriously.

 

Showing signs of his persona prior to the APA, he brought up the struggles his race had endured in the business, and how some had responded to it better than others... he proceeded to call out Booker T and accuse him of becoming a glad-handing stereotype for the sake of his success. Naturally Booker wasn't happy to be characterized as, well, a caricature... for his part, he was equal parts offended and sad that someone he used to look up to so much had turned into such a bitter, hateful man. The challenge was laid down, and accepted, that Simmons would face Booker for the world title at Starrcade.

 

As the weeks went on the feud became all the more intensive, as Simmons proved more and more desperate to reclaim his former glory and defeat the 'fraud' for the sake of their race. Booker snapped at him for missing the big picture of what was going on. The two of them were headlining Starrcade together, they were making such positive history... but his every word tainted the occasion. Booker vowed to not only prove just how real he is, but to put on a match worthy of it's place in history.

 

It did not disappoint. The audience had been whipped into a frenzy as everyone knew, in equal measure, that Simmons was indeed a huge star, but one that needed to be proven wrong. Booker attempted to outspeed Ron, just as he tried to outpower him in kind, but by the end of this grueling affair they both looked as equals. After both a Bookend and Scissors Kick failed to work, it took a Houston Hangover to the back of a doubled over Simmons' head to take him down.

 

After the match, Booker attempted to go for a handshake, and Simmons seemed to contemplate it... but he couldn't bring himself to do it, eventually just turning and walking away. But Booker wasn't going to be dismayed on this night. He knew... he could feel it in his bones, that WCW's return to PPV was a stellar success and they were on the verge of a glorious new age in WCW, one that would surpass all that came before it.

 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Disc 2

 

1. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T © vs. Eddy Guerrero – A* (96) (Royal Rumble 2002)

 

Thanks largely to those in WCW, the Radicalz had a rough latter half of 2001, but they did close it out strong with a WarGames win over the LWO. This quickly established them as a big threat in WCW now that they were officially on it's roster again - whether they were happy about having to sign on or not. So it was no surprise when team leader Eddy Guerrero set out for the World Heavyweight title soon after. He made a big splash onto the scene, winning a fatal four way eliminator that also included Matt Hardy, Chyna and Monty Brown enroute to defeating DDP - who'd won his own such eliminator - later in the night to earn a title match.

 

Booker being one of the original few to give the Radicalz trouble in their Nitro visits nearly six months earlier, Eddy made it clear that he could really hold a grudge as he blamed him for his downfall from the WWF. Of course in Booker's eyes, he should be thanking him for leading him back to the big leagues! And to be perfectly fair, the bout would come on a big stage, with the WCW title defended on a WWF show for only the second time, and this time on none other than the Royal Rumble!

 

When the match came, it was a classic to be sure, but marred by the rampant interference from the other four members of the Radicalz. A well-timed Scissors Kick took out Chavo Guerrero, but he still had Saturn, Malenko and Benoit to deal with! A chair-wielding DDP eventually came out to even up the odds - Booker and Page's shared loyalty to WCW bringing them together against the Radicalz, in spite of their past differences - but despite his most valiant efforts, all he could ultimately do was lure their assault onto himself instead. And while this did serve to even up the playing field in the ring, the damage was done; Eddy managed to lie, cheat and steal to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

 

 

2. Cage Match for the WCW World Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. The Hardyz – A (91) (Superbrawl XII)

 

The Natural Born Thrillers, Palumbo & O’Haire, were the only tag team champions that this era of WCW ever knew. When they came to Starrcade, it’d been nearly a full year since they won the tag titles back at January’s Sin PPV, one of the final major events of the original WCW. And since the return of Nitro back in July, they had defended those titles time and again against top competition, and it looked as though they couldn’t be beaten. But the Hardy Boyz proved that they were beatable, vanquishing them and taking their titles.

 

Needless to say, they weren’t happy about that and weren’t going to take it sitting down. After spending all of 2001 holding down the fort in the WCW tag division, the Thrillers were fervent in their pursuit of reclaiming the gold. They finally got a shot two months later at Superbrawl XII. After a run in from Patricide, one of the other tandems in the intensifying division stopped a previous rematch attempt before it could even get started, it was decided that the Hardyz & Thrillers would square off in a cage match to settle their feud.

 

The steel confines suited them well, as the cage just barely contained their ferocity. The brute strength of Palumbo and O’Haire sent the much smaller duo into the cage walls. But it accentuated the high flying antics of the Hardyz just as much. Being an Attitude Era-tag team cage match, it ended when either both members of a team were eliminated from contention or when the survivors from a team escaped the cage.

 

Everyone predicted it when the match was announced and of course the inevitable occurred: Jeff Hardy did something stupid. In this case, a Swanton Bomb off the top of the cage, which actually landed him right onto Palumbo, in pinning position no less! But while he got the pin to eliminate him from contention, he was so rocked by his own maneuver that he was easy pickings for O’Haire to finish off, bringing it down to a one-on-one!

 

Sean O’Haire and Matt Hardy had a bruising battle, but of course O’Haire got the better of the exchange eventually and saw fit to climb out to make his escape. But Matt got his bearings in time to grab his ankle, stopping his pursuit, before climbing up with him! As the two fought atop the cage, Palumbo returned to ringside to help, only for Jeff to limp his way back and brawl with him! As this went on, Matt out-grappled O’Haire… and hit a mind-blowing Side Effect, taking the both of them off the top of the cage to land on their partners below!

 

This signaled the enthralling end of the match… but it seemed that both Matt and O’Haire landed at the same time, ending in a draw! While the Hardyz were of course pleased to retain, neither team were satisfied with this outcome, and it was clear things were far from over...

 

 

3. WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Rob Van Dam © vs. Lance Storm – A (91) (Superbrawl XII)

 

From the beginning of his run in the returning WCW, Lance Storm was aiming to become a champion once more, reclaiming the days in which he amassed an embarassment of gold in the original WCW's final year. He came close right from the start, making it to the finals of the US title tournament, but would lose out in the end to Mike Awesome. Over the next few months he didn't give up in that quest, enlisting the help of manager Jim Cornette as well as Awesome's old rival Masato Tanaka to aid him in pursuing the champ.

But that failed thanks in part to equalizer Curt Hennig.

 

The increasingly frustrated Storm wasn't going to give up on his title hopes however, clutching them tight as he and new Camp Cornette member Jerry Lynn teamed up to qualify for Starrcade's Battlebowl. Then, finally, Storm achieved the big PPV win he'd been hunting for since that Summer, claiming the prize. And since he last eliminated star cruiserweight Rey Mysterio Jr. to do it, he decided that this win made him No. 1 Contender for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.

 

RVD, fresh off unifying said championship with his Light Heavyweight title, saw no issue with that. But Lance and his Camp Cornette cohorts sure saw issue with Rob. The stern and serious group despised his laid back stoneriffic attitude, accusing him of wasting his own stellar potential thanks to his habits - this in spite of the staggering success he'd had in the half year prior! To that end, Storm saw fit to teach him the error of his ways when they clashed at the Royal Rumble... but despite all his best efforts, and advice from Lynn on taking down his famed rival, Lance couldn't beat him straight up.

Furious, Camp Cornette decided to hell with traditional values and holier-than-thou virtues. Rob Van Dam was rife with constant attacks in the next few weeks, most notably a violent assault from Tanaka! Seeking revenge, he wanted a match with any of them, but of course there was only one option they wanted to give him; putting his title on the line against Lance once again.

 

Though he enthusiastically accepted, he probably shouldn't have. He came into the match at Superbrawl with a badly injured leg, bad news for someone facing a man with a famous single leg boston crab! Storm cinched in the hold tighter than ever before when he inevitably rolled him into it, but Rob wasn't going to tap through any level of pain and made it to the ropes to break, fighting his heart out. He even got pretty close to winning anyhow, and got some comeuppance on Masato in the process, hitting him with a Van Daminator when he tried to interfere!

 

But that proved a poor decision, as it only served to hurt his leg all the more. He tried to go up for the Five Star Frog Splash anyway, but his leg gave out as he climbed. He managed to stay up there and valiantly stand, but by the time he finally went soaring, Lance had all his faculties about him and was merely playing possum. He sprang up and superkicked him out of the air, for the pin, finally becoming champion once more.

 

 

4. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Eddy Guerrero © vs. Diamond Dallas Page – A (92) (Superbrawl XII)

 

Eddy’s title celebration ceremony was quickly spoiled by both Booker T and DDP who were hungry to reclaim WCW’s honor. And while Eddy would successfully defend against former champ Booker the week after - albeit by even more dubious means than the initial title win - Booker and DDP got one over on the Radicalz seven days later with a win in a tag match that saw DDP pin the champion, earning a title match! And he followed that up with a win over Chris Benoit in a stellar bout, which by stipulation meant that the Radicalz were barred from ringside for this Superbrawl bout!

 

But while Eddy no longer had any help, by no means was he forced to fight a clean match and this only allowed him to pull out every trick in the book, mano-a-mano! Thankfully, Charles Robinson had been around the block a few too many times to fall for his attempts to bait a DQ victory, but at the end of the day, Eddy’s talent level combined with a litany of cheap shots and cheaper tricks were just too much for even DDP to handle and he escaped with the gold once more, a devastating blow in his self-professed war on WCW’s biggest stars.

 

 

5. No Disqualification match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Eddy Guerrero © vs. Mike Awesome – A* (96) (Nitro, March 2002)

 

While he’d dealt with what he considered WCW’s present, Eddy was far from done as he looked to destroy WCW’s future. And Mike Awesome exemplified that future in the eyes of many, pegged by the world to end the year as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Eddy generously offered him a shot to make that happen even earlier than predicted, on one condition: he agreed to make it No DQ.

 

While this suited Awesome’s sensibilities just fine, it also meant the Radicalz could interfere at will, and they very much took advantage of that. Benoit, Saturn, Malenko, Chavo, every last one of them took their turns coming in and assaulting Awesome. But amazingly, nay, freakishly, Awesome managed to beat back every single one with his magnificent power. They each gave him a challenge, but he was ultimately able to plant them all with an Awesome Bomb… every member except the man himself.

 

Their constant attacks allowed him much-needed breathers, saving him from certain defeat on many occasions! You could truly see the regret on his face for ever thinking this was a good idea… but milliseconds after Awesome put down Benoit, Eddy got him a chair-assisted low blow, followed by a harsh shot over the head. He put the chair to his chest for the proceeded Frog Splash for good measure, and narrowly put away the terrifying Awesome. He breathed quite the sigh of relief as he rolled away from that ring...

 

 

6. Sting vs. The Giant – B+ (83) (Nitro, March 2002)

 

In a time where WCW’s heroes were struggling against the underhanded and vicious Radicalz, an icon emerged. One who had led the charge through such a challenge in the past, one who was not going to let the promotion be killed once more, one embodied WCW more than anyone else. It was the man called Sting… and his sudden arrival after nearly a full year on the sidelines was a shock to the wrestling world. He wasted no time in making his mission statement known, wordlessly pointing his bat towards the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Eddy Guerrero.

 

But while he arrived to much fanfare and the world immediately began fantasy booking him taking down the hated Radicalz, he wasn’t going to get his shot so quickly. Eddy was quick to point out that, icon though he may be, he couldn’t get a title match based on name value alone! He demanded that Sting earn his title shot, and the Stinger agreed with the sentiment. A match was made for Sting, in his first match in twelve months, to face a mystery opponent of Eddy’s choosing. He was prepared to go through any member of the Radicalz… but was shocked to find none other than the seven-foot tall Giant emerging!

 

Hungry to get back into the title picture himself, he proved a weighty challenge for Sting, a helluva welcome back to WCW! But after a heroic underdog battle, the likes of which made him famous in the first place, Sting chopped down the Giant with a Scorpion Deathdrop, immediately erasing any argument for keeping him out of the title picture! It was no surprise when the announcement was made the next week… Eddy would defend his title against Sting at the Granddaddy Of ‘Em All, WrestleMania!

 

 

7. WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Lance Storm © vs. Taka Michinoku – A* (99) (WrestleMania 18)

 

When WCW returned, many members of WWF’s roster sought new employment, particularly those that had fallen by the wayside and gotten lost in the star-filled shuffle. And of those, few seemed quite as squandered as that of Taka Michinoku. Perhaps the most talented men to ever set foot in a WWF ring, he was nigh on forgotten by the time WCW made it’s comeback, struggling to even find opportunities on Heat. For the original Light Heavyweight Champion, who had bested some of the greatest in his weight class in a tournament to crown the inaugural champion just four years prior, it was quite the shame.

 

It’s no surprise that he and long-time partner Funaki made the jump to the land that made the term ‘Cruiserweight’ famous. But when Kaientai continued to struggle against a deep tag division, Taka had to make the tough choice of breaking out on his own once more. His climb up the ladder was tough and arduous, but after about eight months, he found his way into the first-ever WCW Cruiserweight Classic! This entirely original concept saw 32 stellar talents compete in a fiery tournament that would conclude at Superbrawl! And the stakes were high, as the winner would not only receive a cruiserweight title match, but said match would take place at none other than WrestleMania!

 

Taka battled his way through the grueling tourney, defeating Evan Karagis, AAA legend Blue Panther, and former stalwart Cruiserweight Champions Shane Helms and Dean Malenko, enroute to the final. There, he squared off with Jerry Lynn in a fantastic battle, and proved once and for all that he deserved to be regarded as one of the top cruiserweights in the world by defeating him live on Pay-Per-View! This was huge not just because he won the tournament, but also the message it sent, defeating an associate of champion Lance Storm’s!

 

It’s safe to say it caught the proud Canadian’s ire, as he saw the loss as an affront to the stubbornly arrogant Camp Cornette. He demanded to go in alone as he fought for the group’s honor. Taka, meanwhile, fought for personal redemption, to cement himself for good this time, to earn a victory that would forever make him a star. And so the two incredibly gifted competitors squared off on the grandest stage possible.

 

It was a masterpiece to be certain, as much a showcase of agility and athleticism as it was a clinic on technical wrestling. Shockingly, Camp Cornette proved true to their word, as Lance was completely on his own after seeing his allies off on the stage. In the end, he may have ended up regretting this… as after about 20 minutes of wicked action, Taka caught his leg off a superkick attempt, and pulled him in, and up, for a Michinoku Driver, the second of the match! This one put Storm away and completed Taka Michinoku’s long road back to glory.

 

 

8. Four-Way TLC Match For The WCW World Tag Team Championships: The Hardyz © vs. The Natural Born Thrillers vs. Patricide vs. The Filthy Animals – A* (96) (WrestleMania 18)

 

The Hardyz put themselves on the Mount Rushmore of tag teams when they managed to add the WCW tag team titles to their collection of tag gold. And they did so on WCW's greatest stage, Starrcade, by defeating the long dominant Natural Born Thrillers at that! But the Thrillers were far from done with their pursuit of the titles they considered their property. And when the steel cage match between the two teams ended in controversy, it caused quite a stir, not least of which because of what had already happened earlier in the night!

 

After all, a No. 1 Contender's tag team match was also on the show, in which the Filthy Animals defeated X-Pac and Kid Kash to earn the next shot. But that put them at odds with the Thrillers, who argued they still deserved a shot, and perhaps had a point. And just to make matters even more confusing, just days after Superbrawl, Patricide - the team of Dustin Rhodes and Brian Lawler, brought together over their disdain for how their fathers have overshadowed their own careers - went and beat the Hardyz in a non-title match!

 

It was a win by dubious means granted - a brass knuckle shot behind the ref's back, to be precise - but it was a win nonetheless. That meant three teams had a fine argument for being the next challengers, heading into a WrestleMania in which all of WCW's major titles would be defended! This left WCW's championship committee in quite the bind... but thankfully, the Hardyz themselves had quite the solution in mind for this ordeal.

 

Of course, their answer would be a four-way TLC match! As you can imagine, this was a wild and brutal match. The Hardyz were incredibly comfortable in there, but had to contend with the amazing ladder-scaling agility of Mysterio & Kidman, the barbaric, table-shattering power of the Thrillers, and the no-good, chair-stomping wickedness of Patricide!

 

While the champs put forth a hell of an effort, they took one risk too many and the match ended up being one by the other high-flying duo. The Filthy Animals scored a huge WrestleMania win, putting the entire tag division on notice in the process.

 

 

9. Falls Count Anywhere Triple Threat Match For The WCW United States Championship: New Jack © vs. Bradshaw vs. Mike Awesome – B+ (84) (WrestleMania 18)

 

When Ron Simmons was defeated by Booker T at Starrcade, he took it hard. He had seen the match as his last real shot at reclaiming the former glory, though he’d prove that wasn’t quite true… still he was left paranoid, desperate to retain his spot. So to help him do just that, he called in some reinforcements. That is to say… he brought back the Nation, one that he claimed was more powerful and loyal than ever, learning from his past mistakes. With him, stood old friends D’Lo Brown and Charles Wright, as well as new blood in the form of K-Killings and Elix Skipper.

 

With Simmons as their fearless leader, D’Lo and Killings as a tag team, Skipper representing them in the Cruiserweight division and Wright as their interference-running heavy, they were a formidable force. They ran roughshod over their first two months, but at the first sign of setback, Simmons again showed his mounting desperation to stay on top. The Nation’s enemies, Bradshaw, Mike Awesome, The Road Warriors, and K-Killings’ abandoned former partner Scotty 2 Hotty formed to defeat them at Superbrawl. It ended with Bradshaw finally getting a pin over his former partner, no less, and this sent Simmons into a frenzy. He wasted no time in planning a perhaps drastic counterattack.

 

Simmons revealed the existence of a secret weapon that he was ready to unleash on WCW, a step in the war that even his allies thought may have been going too far… but despite their protests and Ron’s own hesitation, that secret weapon was revealed. And that secret weapon was none other than the criminally dangerous New Jack. He burst onto the scene as you would expect, with a cacophony on unconventional tools of war, most notedly a railroad spike, which he carved into the head of US Champion Bradshaw, leaving him in a deep pool of blood upon his arrival.

 

Two weeks later - much sooner than any doctor would recommend - Bradshaw put the title on the line against him in a No DQ match, and while he tried to bring as violent a fight as he could, there was just no matching New Jack in sheer psychopathy. Less than a month after arriving, New Jack had claimed the US title, and combined with his aiding of K-Killings in becoming Television Champion, he’d quickly turned the tide in WCW’s intensifying, deepening war to determine the dominant force.

 

Bradshaw wasn’t giving up the fight, however, nor was Mike Awesome who was still seeking his rematch after losing the title at Starrcade three months prior. He was especially fired up given that Bradshaw won the title in a four-way, also including Masato Tanaka and Shane Douglas, and it was Douglas who Bradshaw pinned the title in the first place, not Awesome! Thanks to this bit of tension, and the shared desire to be champion once more, the two made it clear that they weren’t likely to double up on New Jack… so, being an anarchic sort, the champ dared the both of them to go up against him at WrestleMania, so long as they agreed to a match of his choosing… Falls Count Anywhere!

 

As you can imagine, these three went all up and down the stadium, through the streets and back… before the match ended in heart-stopping fashion. Deep into the stands, Bradshaw, battered, bloody and bruised, was laid out on a table, knocked unconscious after New Jack had wrapped a lead pipe around his head. Awesome and New Jack proceeded to fight their way to an upper deck, where New Jack planned to jump off. But Awesome overwhelmed him and did him one better… hitting a ridiculous Awesome Bomb, a nearly 20 foot drop, that sent the both of them onto Bradshaw, through the table!

 

Needless to say, all three were out… but in a wild stroke of luck, New Jack ended up on top of both his adversaries, scoring a pin despite entirely unconscious! Thus ended perhaps the most violent match in WrestleMania history...

 

 

10. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Eddy Guerrero © vs. Sting – A* (99) (WrestleMania 18)

 

This was it. The biggest match WCW had seen since it’s return, and among the biggest in it’s entire existence. For the first time, the WCW Championship defended at WrestleMania. For the first time, the iconic Sting would step into an official WWF ring, and at the Show of Shows no less. This wasn’t just an instant classic in the making between two all time greats. It wasn’t just a megastar of the last generation squaring off with a burgeoning megastar of the current generation. And as prestigious as the title was, and with how much it meant to both of them, the bout was still about something bigger than that.

 

This was a match with WCW’s soul on the line. For Eddy to win here would validate everything that the Radicalz stood for, and make it clear that their way was superior, that liars and cheaters would always best the honorable. In Sting’s eyes, it wasn’t just a match he wanted to win, or even a match he needed to win. It was a match that WCW needed him to win, and the most important match of his life.

 

He’d defeated the wildcard that was the Giant on his first night back. Alongside fellow WCW stalwarts Booker T and DDP, he’d defeated Chavo, Malenko and Saturn in a six-man tag. He’d defeated Chris Benoit in a stellar Nitro main event just days earlier. He had jumped through every single hoop the Radicalz had forced him through. Now there was just one left… to take down Eddy Guerrero, to become WCW World Heavyweight Champion once more and to finally bring justice back to the promotion that he held so dearly to his heart.

 

As expected, it was an amazing clash, strength meeting skill as the two athletes went to battle. Eddy threw one dirty trick after the other at Sting, but he had learned how to combat them all, thanks to a lifetime of learning from the best… indeed, eventually they all seemed to fail him and 15 minutes into the match, Eddy was wholly overwhelmed. Naturally, the Radicalz then came down in full force, surrounding the ring, prepared to do whatever it took to keep that title on their leader…

 

But they didn’t anticipate just how ready WCW was to strike back. In spite of not having matches of their own, Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Konnan and Monty Brown all showed up ready to defend WCW’s pride and they took it to the Radicalz! After a wild brawl at ringside, they managed to chase them off, just as Sting got the knees up on a frantic Frog Splash attempt! A winded Eddy backed up into the corner… leaving himself open for a wicked Stinger Splash! With all of WCW’s top heroes cheering him on, Sting locked in the Scorpion Deathlock and Eddy had no choice but to submit!

 

Time will only tell if the war here is over or if it's only getting started... but for now, WCW reigns supreme!

 

 

Digital download bonus:

1. WCW World Heavyweight Championship Cage Match: Booker T © vs. The Giant – A (89) (Nitro, November 2001)

2. WWF Hardcore Championship: Perry Saturn © vs. Diamond Dallas Page – A (89) (Nitro, November 2001)

3. WCW World Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. Road Warriors – B (79) (Survivor Series 2001)

4. Rob Vam Dam vs. Ron Simmons – A (91) (Nitro, November 2001)

5. WCW Television Championship: Chris Kanyon © vs. Monty Brown – B+ (85) (Nitro, December 2001)

6. WWF Light Heavyweight Championship: Rob Van Dam © vs. Jerry Lynn – B+ (85) (Nitro, December 2001)

7. Chris Benoit vs. Diamond Dallas Page – A* (100) (Nitro, December 2001)

8. WCW Cruiserweight Classic Finals: Taka Michinoku vs. Jerry Lynn – B (82) (Superbrawl XII)

9. WCW Television Championship: Vampiro © vs. Shane Helms – B+ (85) (Nitro, April 2002)

10. The Mega Powers vs. Kronik – B (77) (WrestleMania 18)

[Element]

I'm playing with Genadi's May 2001 mod and working under the basis that WWF did in fact go through with the supposed original plan of rebooting WCW as it's own show in order to maintain it's audience, with it eventually taking SmackDown's spot and having it's own roster. The vast majority of my top matches and shows have been WWF ones as WCW's began with passable but noticeably lesser match/show ratings and have been gradually building with time, as though they really are their own company, which I always found neat. But rebuilding WCW through this lens has always been my main focus with this save and I think it's the more fun thing to look at.

 

Since it's not even close to being the top 10 matches in my promotion's history, I think looking at the most significant ones for the revived brand makes the most sense.

 

Disc 1

 

#1. WCW Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. Booker T & Diamond Dallas Page – B- (74) (Nitro, July 2001)

 

The main event of the first-ever Nitro of the brand new era of WCW, the promising but endlessly arrogant O'Haire and Palumbo were quick to interrupt WCW World Heavyweight Champion Booker T as he ushered in the new age of WCW. The two were looking to make a big statement as they swarmed him, only for him to be saved by another beloved icon in DDP. The main was on, billed as WCW's present vs. WCW's future.

 

This was a physical brawl, a fight for status as the Natural Born Thrillers fought tooth and nail to take the top spots of their two more famous foes, but Booker and Page weren't backing down an inch. But right when victory looked in hand, Diamond shockingly turned and planted his own partner with a Diamond Cutter, leaving him for dead and easy pickings for the hungry tag team to finish off.

 

 

#2. WCW United States Championship Tournament Final: Lance Storm vs. Mike Awesome – B+ (84) (SummerSlam 2001)

 

Rather than rush into giving WCW their own PPVs, the decision was made to build to that slowly over time and focus on TV for the most part, with one exception: two marquee matches on each of WWE's Big Four PPVs, thanks to their groundbreaking new agreement! And this was the first of those crossover matches. When Booker opened the inaugural Nitro, he relinquished the United States title, making way for a hotly contested 16-man tournament!

 

Storm defeated Chris Candido, Konnan and Curt Hennig to advance to the finals, whilst Awesome had to go through Dustin Rhodes, Shane Douglas and Chris Kanyon to meet him there. The tournament also included the likes of Fit Finlay, Vampiro, Buff Bagwell and Monty Brown among others, but ultimately it came down to these two wholly different, yet extremely talented athletes in what ended up being one of the most showstealing bouts on a very stacked SummerSlam card.

 

Awesome's incredible might mixed with ahead-of-his-time agility was a terrifying challenge for anyone, but Storm's smooth technique and incomparable conditioning kept him from ever looking overwhelmed. Ultimately on this night though, Awesome took the win and made a statement as one of the key names to watch in WCW.

 

 

#3. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T © vs. Diamond Dallas Page – B+ (88) (SummerSlam 2001)

 

DDP wasted no time in making his intentions clear. He wasn't part of the WCW revival for glad-handing sentiment, he was there for one thing; his own success. After turning on Booker on the very first Nitro, the bout between the two seemed inevitable. Whilst Booker did defend his title before this, namely against the man who pinned him in that match, Sean O'Haire, this was easily his biggest challenge he'd faced in the technically new reign.

 

These two hard-working WCW loyalists knew they were representing the brand on what was just months prior considered enemy turf and they did everything they could to send the right message. After a tooth and nail war, Booker retained his title in a match that let the world know that WCW was truly back.

 

 

#4. WCW Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. The APA – B+ (85) (Nitro, September 2001)

 

Some may not have expected this to be a big-time match worthy of Nitro's main event, but no one involved gave a damn about that. In front of a hot crowd that'd followed the APA's dogged pursuit of the tag titles ever since emerging in surprising fashion on the debut Nitro, everyone seemed ready for the hated Natural Born Thriller's reign to end and the two veteran brawlers gave everything they had to make it happen.

 

After a true knock-down, drag-out classic, Palumbo and O'Haire proved once again that, like 'em or not, they're legit, barely edging out the APA in a clean victory. This was a fine main event on it's own but it would have historical significance after the fact as being the last tag title match for Farooq and Bradshaw. The next week, after a loss to Kronik, Farooq turned on Bradshaw in a shock, violent assault, quickly rechristening himself under his true name, Ron Simmons.

 

 

#5. WCW Television Championship: Chris Candido vs. Vampiro vs. Brian Lawler vs. Monty Brown vs. Dustin Rhodes vs. Chyna – B (79) (Nitro, October 2001)

 

For weeks, dozens of wrestlers had been vying for the honor of winning the new and improved WCW Television Championship, a title that promised to be one of the most competitive and coveted ever due to a rule that, true to it’s name, it would be defended exclusively on Nitro and WCW Saturday Night, never to be contested on a PPV. But it would be defended weekly on one or both of these two shows, a rule that would make it one of the hardest titles ever to keep hold of.

 

Everyone involved in this six-way free for all had gotten there by winning similar multi-person matches, a testament to the roster's depth. Among them was Chyna, who left WWF after months of bickering with Vince McMahon over his refusal to allow her to continue competing with men and going after men's titles. She swiftly found herself getting just such an opportunity here.

 

But while she would eventually have her own run with this title, this night belonged to the unpinned rising superstar Monty Brown, who went on to prove himself a tough, fighting champion.

 

 

#6. 4-on-4 Traditional Survivor Series Match: The Radicalz (Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko) vs. Team WCW (Booker T, Ron Simmons, Diamond Dallas Page & Konnan) – B (81) (Survivor Series 2001)

 

Part of WWF's agreement with WCW saw them send the Radicalz, a group that initially became famous for defecting from WCW mind, over to Nitro for promotional work. This supposedly cordial visit soon deteriorated to the Radicalz running down WCW and proclaiming that they hoped that the brand would fail again. The roster didn't take kindly to this of course, and among the chaos that ensued... Norman Smiley ended up rolling up Perry Saturn to take the WWF Hardcore title!

 

As far as Vince was concerned, this was the ultimate insult. A WWF title on WCW soil?! Unable to let it stand, he demanded the Radicalz return the next week and set this right. Through wild circumstance and a few title changes' worth of madness, including Booker T of all people taking the Hardcore title for an hour or so, eventually they were able to secure the title and bring it back to Raw... but they made several enemies in WCW in the process and they refused to forget. Two weeks later, when Perry Saturn was attempting to wrest the European Title away from Nick Dinsmore who had only seven days prior upset Eddie to take the title in his debut, none other than Diamond Dallas Page jumped the barrier on Raw to screw him out of the victory!

 

Unable to let this go, Perry went on to reclaim the Hardcore title and opted to go to Nitro, knowing that this particular belt could be defended in any situation that came up. Using it as a bartering chip, Perry called out Page and offered to defend it against him, provided he agree that all parties were barred from ringside. What resulted was the first time a Hardcore Title match had ever headlined a show more major than Heat, and the match was a wild weapons-filled brawl. Saturn, to his credit, did not look at all out of place against the top WCW star, but could not quite put him away. He would come to regret this challenge, as a Diamond Cutter off the second rope through a table ended his reign; WCW ended up going into Survivor Series with the Hardcore title!

 

While the match itself was great, few knew at the time the ramifications it would have. Fed up with the group's constant struggles with WCW, Vince gave the Radicalz a last-minute ultimatum at Survivor Series. If they couldn't beat the team comprised of their biggest WCW enemies, they'd be fired from WWF!

 

With their WWF careers on the line, the Radicalz were willing to do anything it took to beat the WCW contingent, but they had quite the task on their hands, as they happened to make enemies of four of the promotion's best. There was one thing in their favor though. Booker and DDP still weren't exactly friends, but much more pertinent is that Ron Simmons was smackdab in the middle of his own campaign to take the WCW Title and he was really getting under Booker's skin in the process. The tension between the two of them was palpable as they refused to even stand on the same apron.

 

The Radicalz made the most of their talent and used every dirty trick they could, but overcoming three former WCW Champions alongside one of Mexico's biggest ever stars was easier said than done. Their desperation showed when Eddie suplexed Booker stomach-first on the barrier and went up to the apron for a Frog Splash. Booker managed to escape this, leaving Guerrero to land onto his abdomen on the barricade. This debilitated him horrendously, enough for Booker to toss him into the ring and swiftly capitalize with a Scissors Kick and the elimination, leaving the Radicalz without their leader ten minutes into the match!

 

Fortunately for them, Booker and Simmons' incessant arguing finally came to a head when Ron surprised him with a vicious spinebuster after tagging in and then simply making his leave, letting himself get counted out. In spite of DDP and Konnan's best efforts, they couldn't get the tag from Booker in time. Saturn and Malenko eventually held him down for a diving headbutt from Benoit for the pin. Just like that, Radicalz were up 3-to-2.

 

DDP and Konnan weren't about to give up though, even if they were taking considerably more damage now. They picked their spots and, as DDP and Malenko struggled in a crucifix cradle test of strength, the former suddenly spun in front of him and nailed a Diamond Cutter for the surprise win. This victory was short-lived though as Saturn and Benoit were quick to swarm on him with a double team. Moments later, Saturn hit a DVD on DDP as Benoit held Konnan back with a crossface on the floor, and it was down to a 2-on-1. Benoit threw Konnan into the ring and tagged in to pound on him, but he proved his resilience. Before long, Benoit went to put him into a Crossface proper, but ended up bundled up into a La Magistral for the shock win, putting things to a 1-on-1. Saturn tried to put the hurt on the significantly more worn down Konnan, but his toughness continued to shine through and a Rings of Saturn attempt was reversed into the Tequila Sunrise for the submission victory... and thus, the Radicalz lost their spot in the WWF.

 

 

#7. WarGames: The Radicalz (Eddy Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko) vs. Latino World Order (Konnan, Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera, Super Crazy and Essa Rios) – B+ (84) (Starrcade 2001)

 

It's safe to say nobody hates WCW more than The Radicalz. Already pushed to defect over a year ago, WCW's top stars ended up getting them fired from their jobs at WWF as well. With few other options, the humiliated team ended up signing with their former company once again, but they didn't do it with their tails between their legs. Before the ink even dried on their new deals, they made their intentions clear; they wanted to destroy WCW from the inside out.

 

The Radicalz had already embittered themselves towards the LWO during their several run-ins on Nitro in the months prior, but the resentment boiled into fullblown hate after their leader Konnan put the nail in the coffin of their WWF careers. Their first official appearance as WCW wrestlers in over a year saw them assault and bloody him, kicking off a progressively dangerous, personal war between the two factions.

 

One story of note within the battle was Chavo Guerrero Jr., the silly loco boy who had for months asked to join the LWO, much to their hesitance as he rather clashed with their image. But on the same night that they finally relented and gave him his own LWO shirt, he showed his true lying, cheating and stealing colors, assisting his uncle Eddy to help him defeat LWO's own ringer Essa Rios. Displaying a new fiery attitude, Chavo officially became the fifth Radical, tying up the numbers.

 

With five men on each side, a decision was made... Starrcade was always WCW's biggest show of the year, but this time it was going to be their first genuine, world-reaching PPV since returning. They needed to go all out to re-establish WCW as a power, and nothing could possibly be more WCW than a WarGames match!

 

What followed was by far the wildest, fastest-paced, high flyingest WarGames match ever, with Super Crazy in particular wowing the world by climbing up the cage within the structure and hitting a death-defying moonsault onto all five of his opponents. But ultimately, the match came down to the still injured Konnan - who had not wrestled since the initial attack over a month prior - getting his wounds reopened in a major way before being locked into the Crossface, this time unable to counter. As the other Radicalz held back his allies, the badly bleeding Konnan eventually succumbed to his wooziness and passed out within the hold. With this, the Radicalz won the first major battle in their war against WCW.

 

 

#8. WCW Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. The Hardy Boyz – A (92) (Starrcade 2001)

 

The Natural Born Thrillers' tag title reign pre-dated the fall of WCW in it's original incarnation. They initially won them at the third-to-last PPV before they closed, back in January. Since the promotion's return, they had kept a death grip on them, with their reign closing in on a full year as they came into Starrcade. After retaining over two of WCW's all-time greats on the return episode of Nitro, they went on to defend against the likes of the APA, the New Age Outlaws, Patricide (Dustin Rhodes & Brian Lawler), the Party Crashers (Scotty 2 Hotty & K-Kwik) and even the legendary Road Warriors. Wrestling those titles away from them seemed truly impossible.

 

But the Hardyz were never very big on the word 'impossible', and they looked to prove that they were up for the task of ending the second-longest WCW Tag Team title reign in history. And in a tag classic for the ages, the two hot tandems clashed reckless abandon with brute explosiveness. In the end, experience and heart won out as the Hardyz ended up putting an end to the Natural Born Thrillers' stellar run, and put themselves in rarefied air among teams to have won gold in both WWF and WCW.

 

 

#9. Title Unification Ladder Match: WCW Cruiserweight Champion Shane Helms © vs. WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam © – B+ (86) (Starrcade 2001)

 

RVD made an instant splash in the WWF, winning the Light Heavyweight title in his debut in which he answered an open challenge from his long-time rival Jerry Lynn. He swiftly established himself as far and away the most dominant champion in the title's history, amassing 13 defenses over the next seven months. He repelled challengers like Lynn, both of the Hardyz, X-Pac, Brian Lawler, Christian, Dean Malenko and others. Most notably he won a special triple threat match at Vengeance in which himself, European champion Matt Hardy and Hardcore champion Chyna all put their titles on the line in a free-for-all; two months into his tenure and he was a triple champion!

 

Suffice to say, there was a huge buzz surrounding the exciting and unique Van Dam, especially when he made the shock move to jump ship to WCW right in the middle of his reign, convinced that they offered stiffer competition at his weight class, especially with many of his toughest challengers already having made the same move. He continued his incredible run defending against WCW's cruisers, including a win over Chavo Guerrero Jr, but from the word go, WCW Cruiserweight Champ Shane Helms kept a close eye on Rob and always seemed to be seething over his victories.

 

Helms had similarly established himself as an all-time Cruiserweight champion just as Rob was doing the same with the Light Heavyweight title. Shane had originally won it on what many thought was the final Nitro that March, and since WCW's return, he'd put together 11 defenses, turning back the challenges of names like Billy Kidman, Juventud Guerrera, Psicosis, Rey Mysterio Jr, Matt Hardy and even the legendary Tiger Mask IV. And yet all the world's eyes were on RVD... he couldn't stand it.

 

The tension was immediate and after a few months worth of grandstanding, posturing and sending messages from afar, the two finally met face to face and a challenge was put forth. They both agreed that they needed to find out once and for all who was truly the best at their weight class. And so it was decided that both of their titles would be hung from the rafters in a Ladder match to unify the two championships!

 

The match was a true spectacle, one that proved to many that Shane Helms may well have been on Rob's level. But ultimately it ended in fittingly showstealing fashion. With Helms climbing the ladder and inches away from the titles, RVD managed to springboard himself from the ropes directly onto the upright ladder... with a chair in hand! With a swift toss, RVD hit a seemingly impossible Van Daminator, landing back on his feet on the rungs whilst Shane was sent hurtling into a conveniently placed table. The win was academic from there, with Van Dam ushering in a new age for the Cruiserweight division.

 

 

#10. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T © vs. Ron Simmons – A* (99) (Starrcade 2001)

 

Ron Simmons stripped himself of his WWF name, which he referred to as... something else, and unleashed several years of frustration at how his career had gone. Sure, he'd become beloved to a wider audience, but only after allowing the WWF to fool the world into thinking he wasn't cut out to be a major singles star. He was quick to remind everyone of his former success in WCW, of being the first-ever black world champion in wrestling, something he took dearly seriously.

 

Showing signs of his persona prior to the APA, he brought up the struggles his race had endured in the business, and how some had responded to it better than others... he proceeded to call out Booker T and accuse him of becoming a glad-handing stereotype for the sake of his success. Naturally Booker wasn't happy to be characterized as, well, a caricature... for his part, he was equal parts offended and sad that someone he used to look up to so much had turned into such a bitter, hateful man. The challenge was laid down, and accepted, that Simmons would face Booker for the world title at Starrcade.

 

As the weeks went on the feud became all the more intensive, as Simmons proved more and more desperate to reclaim his former glory and defeat the 'fraud' for the sake of their race. Booker snapped at him for missing the big picture of what was going on. The two of them were headlining Starrcade together, they were making such positive history... but his every word tainted the occasion. Booker vowed to not only prove just how real he is, but to put on a match worthy of it's place in history.

 

It did not disappoint. The audience had been whipped into a frenzy as everyone knew, in equal measure, that Simmons was indeed a huge star, but one that needed to be proven wrong. Booker attempted to outspeed Ron, just as he tried to outpower him in kind, but by the end of this grueling affair they both looked as equals. After both a Bookend and Scissors Kick failed to work, it took a Houston Hangover to the back of a doubled over Simmons' head to take him down.

 

After the match, Booker attempted to go for a handshake, and Simmons seemed to contemplate it... but he couldn't bring himself to do it, eventually just turning and walking away. But Booker wasn't going to be dismayed on this night. He knew... he could feel it in his bones, that WCW's return to PPV was a stellar success and they were on the verge of a glorious new age in WCW, one that would surpass all that came before it.

 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Disc 2

 

1. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T © vs. Eddy Guerrero – A* (96) (Royal Rumble 2002)

 

Thanks largely to those in WCW, the Radicalz had a rough latter half of 2001, but they did close it out strong with a WarGames win over the LWO. This quickly established them as a big threat in WCW now that they were officially on it's roster again - whether they were happy about having to sign on or not. So it was no surprise when team leader Eddy Guerrero set out for the World Heavyweight title soon after. He made a big splash onto the scene, winning a fatal four way eliminator that also included Matt Hardy, Chyna and Monty Brown enroute to defeating DDP - who'd won his own such eliminator - later in the night to earn a title match.

 

Booker being one of the original few to give the Radicalz trouble in their Nitro visits nearly six months earlier, Eddy made it clear that he could really hold a grudge as he blamed him for his downfall from the WWF. Of course in Booker's eyes, he should be thanking him for leading him back to the big leagues! And to be perfectly fair, the bout would come on a big stage, with the WCW title defended on a WWF show for only the second time, and this time on none other than the Royal Rumble!

 

When the match came, it was a classic to be sure, but marred by the rampant interference from the other four members of the Radicalz. A well-timed Scissors Kick took out Chavo Guerrero, but he still had Saturn, Malenko and Benoit to deal with! A chair-wielding DDP eventually came out to even up the odds - Booker and Page's shared loyalty to WCW bringing them together against the Radicalz, in spite of their past differences - but despite his most valiant efforts, all he could ultimately do was lure their assault onto himself instead. And while this did serve to even up the playing field in the ring, the damage was done; Eddy managed to lie, cheat and steal to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

 

 

2. Cage Match for the WCW World Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. The Hardyz – A (91) (Superbrawl XII)

 

The Natural Born Thrillers, Palumbo & O’Haire, were the only tag team champions that this era of WCW ever knew. When they came to Starrcade, it’d been nearly a full year since they won the tag titles back at January’s Sin PPV, one of the final major events of the original WCW. And since the return of Nitro back in July, they had defended those titles time and again against top competition, and it looked as though they couldn’t be beaten. But the Hardy Boyz proved that they were beatable, vanquishing them and taking their titles.

 

Needless to say, they weren’t happy about that and weren’t going to take it sitting down. After spending all of 2001 holding down the fort in the WCW tag division, the Thrillers were fervent in their pursuit of reclaiming the gold. They finally got a shot two months later at Superbrawl XII. After a run in from Patricide, one of the other tandems in the intensifying division stopped a previous rematch attempt before it could even get started, it was decided that the Hardyz & Thrillers would square off in a cage match to settle their feud.

 

The steel confines suited them well, as the cage just barely contained their ferocity. The brute strength of Palumbo and O’Haire sent the much smaller duo into the cage walls. But it accentuated the high flying antics of the Hardyz just as much. Being an Attitude Era-tag team cage match, it ended when either both members of a team were eliminated from contention or when the survivors from a team escaped the cage.

 

Everyone predicted it when the match was announced and of course the inevitable occurred: Jeff Hardy did something stupid. In this case, a Swanton Bomb off the top of the cage, which actually landed him right onto Palumbo, in pinning position no less! But while he got the pin to eliminate him from contention, he was so rocked by his own maneuver that he was easy pickings for O’Haire to finish off, bringing it down to a one-on-one!

 

Sean O’Haire and Matt Hardy had a bruising battle, but of course O’Haire got the better of the exchange eventually and saw fit to climb out to make his escape. But Matt got his bearings in time to grab his ankle, stopping his pursuit, before climbing up with him! As the two fought atop the cage, Palumbo returned to ringside to help, only for Jeff to limp his way back and brawl with him! As this went on, Matt out-grappled O’Haire… and hit a mind-blowing Side Effect, taking the both of them off the top of the cage to land on their partners below!

 

This signaled the enthralling end of the match… but it seemed that both Matt and O’Haire landed at the same time, ending in a draw! While the Hardyz were of course pleased to retain, neither team were satisfied with this outcome, and it was clear things were far from over...

 

 

3. WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Rob Van Dam © vs. Lance Storm – A (91) (Superbrawl XII)

 

From the beginning of his run in the returning WCW, Lance Storm was aiming to become a champion once more, reclaiming the days in which he amassed an embarassment of gold in the original WCW's final year. He came close right from the start, making it to the finals of the US title tournament, but would lose out in the end to Mike Awesome. Over the next few months he didn't give up in that quest, enlisting the help of manager Jim Cornette as well as Awesome's old rival Masato Tanaka to aid him in pursuing the champ.

But that failed thanks in part to equalizer Curt Hennig.

 

The increasingly frustrated Storm wasn't going to give up on his title hopes however, clutching them tight as he and new Camp Cornette member Jerry Lynn teamed up to qualify for Starrcade's Battlebowl. Then, finally, Storm achieved the big PPV win he'd been hunting for since that Summer, claiming the prize. And since he last eliminated star cruiserweight Rey Mysterio Jr. to do it, he decided that this win made him No. 1 Contender for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.

 

RVD, fresh off unifying said championship with his Light Heavyweight title, saw no issue with that. But Lance and his Camp Cornette cohorts sure saw issue with Rob. The stern and serious group despised his laid back stoneriffic attitude, accusing him of wasting his own stellar potential thanks to his habits - this in spite of the staggering success he'd had in the half year prior! To that end, Storm saw fit to teach him the error of his ways when they clashed at the Royal Rumble... but despite all his best efforts, and advice from Lynn on taking down his famed rival, Lance couldn't beat him straight up.

Furious, Camp Cornette decided to hell with traditional values and holier-than-thou virtues. Rob Van Dam was rife with constant attacks in the next few weeks, most notably a violent assault from Tanaka! Seeking revenge, he wanted a match with any of them, but of course there was only one option they wanted to give him; putting his title on the line against Lance once again.

 

Though he enthusiastically accepted, he probably shouldn't have. He came into the match at Superbrawl with a badly injured leg, bad news for someone facing a man with a famous single leg boston crab! Storm cinched in the hold tighter than ever before when he inevitably rolled him into it, but Rob wasn't going to tap through any level of pain and made it to the ropes to break, fighting his heart out. He even got pretty close to winning anyhow, and got some comeuppance on Masato in the process, hitting him with a Van Daminator when he tried to interfere!

 

But that proved a poor decision, as it only served to hurt his leg all the more. He tried to go up for the Five Star Frog Splash anyway, but his leg gave out as he climbed. He managed to stay up there and valiantly stand, but by the time he finally went soaring, Lance had all his faculties about him and was merely playing possum. He sprang up and superkicked him out of the air, for the pin, finally becoming champion once more.

 

 

4. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Eddy Guerrero © vs. Diamond Dallas Page – A (92) (Superbrawl XII)

 

Eddy’s title celebration ceremony was quickly spoiled by both Booker T and DDP who were hungry to reclaim WCW’s honor. And while Eddy would successfully defend against former champ Booker the week after - albeit by even more dubious means than the initial title win - Booker and DDP got one over on the Radicalz seven days later with a win in a tag match that saw DDP pin the champion, earning a title match! And he followed that up with a win over Chris Benoit in a stellar bout, which by stipulation meant that the Radicalz were barred from ringside for this Superbrawl bout!

 

But while Eddy no longer had any help, by no means was he forced to fight a clean match and this only allowed him to pull out every trick in the book, mano-a-mano! Thankfully, Charles Robinson had been around the block a few too many times to fall for his attempts to bait a DQ victory, but at the end of the day, Eddy’s talent level combined with a litany of cheap shots and cheaper tricks were just too much for even DDP to handle and he escaped with the gold once more, a devastating blow in his self-professed war on WCW’s biggest stars.

 

 

5. No Disqualification match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Eddy Guerrero © vs. Mike Awesome – A* (96) (Nitro, March 2002)

 

While he’d dealt with what he considered WCW’s present, Eddy was far from done as he looked to destroy WCW’s future. And Mike Awesome exemplified that future in the eyes of many, pegged by the world to end the year as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Eddy generously offered him a shot to make that happen even earlier than predicted, on one condition: he agreed to make it No DQ.

 

While this suited Awesome’s sensibilities just fine, it also meant the Radicalz could interfere at will, and they very much took advantage of that. Benoit, Saturn, Malenko, Chavo, every last one of them took their turns coming in and assaulting Awesome. But amazingly, nay, freakishly, Awesome managed to beat back every single one with his magnificent power. They each gave him a challenge, but he was ultimately able to plant them all with an Awesome Bomb… every member except the man himself.

 

Their constant attacks allowed him much-needed breathers, saving him from certain defeat on many occasions! You could truly see the regret on his face for ever thinking this was a good idea… but milliseconds after Awesome put down Benoit, Eddy got him a chair-assisted low blow, followed by a harsh shot over the head. He put the chair to his chest for the proceeded Frog Splash for good measure, and narrowly put away the terrifying Awesome. He breathed quite the sigh of relief as he rolled away from that ring...

 

 

6. Sting vs. The Giant – B+ (83) (Nitro, March 2002)

 

In a time where WCW’s heroes were struggling against the underhanded and vicious Radicalz, an icon emerged. One who had led the charge through such a challenge in the past, one who was not going to let the promotion be killed once more, one embodied WCW more than anyone else. It was the man called Sting… and his sudden arrival after nearly a full year on the sidelines was a shock to the wrestling world. He wasted no time in making his mission statement known, wordlessly pointing his bat towards the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Eddy Guerrero.

 

But while he arrived to much fanfare and the world immediately began fantasy booking him taking down the hated Radicalz, he wasn’t going to get his shot so quickly. Eddy was quick to point out that, icon though he may be, he couldn’t get a title match based on name value alone! He demanded that Sting earn his title shot, and the Stinger agreed with the sentiment. A match was made for Sting, in his first match in twelve months, to face a mystery opponent of Eddy’s choosing. He was prepared to go through any member of the Radicalz… but was shocked to find none other than the seven-foot tall Giant emerging!

 

Hungry to get back into the title picture himself, he proved a weighty challenge for Sting, a helluva welcome back to WCW! But after a heroic underdog battle, the likes of which made him famous in the first place, Sting chopped down the Giant with a Scorpion Deathdrop, immediately erasing any argument for keeping him out of the title picture! It was no surprise when the announcement was made the next week… Eddy would defend his title against Sting at the Granddaddy Of ‘Em All, WrestleMania!

 

 

7. WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Lance Storm © vs. Taka Michinoku – A* (99) (WrestleMania 18)

 

When WCW returned, many members of WWF’s roster sought new employment, particularly those that had fallen by the wayside and gotten lost in the star-filled shuffle. And of those, few seemed quite as squandered as that of Taka Michinoku. Perhaps the most talented men to ever set foot in a WWF ring, he was nigh on forgotten by the time WCW made it’s comeback, struggling to even find opportunities on Heat. For the original Light Heavyweight Champion, who had bested some of the greatest in his weight class in a tournament to crown the inaugural champion just four years prior, it was quite the shame.

 

It’s no surprise that he and long-time partner Funaki made the jump to the land that made the term ‘Cruiserweight’ famous. But when Kaientai continued to struggle against a deep tag division, Taka had to make the tough choice of breaking out on his own once more. His climb up the ladder was tough and arduous, but after about eight months, he found his way into the first-ever WCW Cruiserweight Classic! This entirely original concept saw 32 stellar talents compete in a fiery tournament that would conclude at Superbrawl! And the stakes were high, as the winner would not only receive a cruiserweight title match, but said match would take place at none other than WrestleMania!

 

Taka battled his way through the grueling tourney, defeating Evan Karagis, AAA legend Blue Panther, and former stalwart Cruiserweight Champions Shane Helms and Dean Malenko, enroute to the final. There, he squared off with Jerry Lynn in a fantastic battle, and proved once and for all that he deserved to be regarded as one of the top cruiserweights in the world by defeating him live on Pay-Per-View! This was huge not just because he won the tournament, but also the message it sent, defeating an associate of champion Lance Storm’s!

 

It’s safe to say it caught the proud Canadian’s ire, as he saw the loss as an affront to the stubbornly arrogant Camp Cornette. He demanded to go in alone as he fought for the group’s honor. Taka, meanwhile, fought for personal redemption, to cement himself for good this time, to earn a victory that would forever make him a star. And so the two incredibly gifted competitors squared off on the grandest stage possible.

 

It was a masterpiece to be certain, as much a showcase of agility and athleticism as it was a clinic on technical wrestling. Shockingly, Camp Cornette proved true to their word, as Lance was completely on his own after seeing his allies off on the stage. In the end, he may have ended up regretting this… as after about 20 minutes of wicked action, Taka caught his leg off a superkick attempt, and pulled him in, and up, for a Michinoku Driver, the second of the match! This one put Storm away and completed Taka Michinoku’s long road back to glory.

 

 

8. Four-Way TLC Match For The WCW World Tag Team Championships: The Hardyz © vs. The Natural Born Thrillers vs. Patricide vs. The Filthy Animals – A* (96) (WrestleMania 18)

 

The Hardyz put themselves on the Mount Rushmore of tag teams when they managed to add the WCW tag team titles to their collection of tag gold. And they did so on WCW's greatest stage, Starrcade, by defeating the long dominant Natural Born Thrillers at that! But the Thrillers were far from done with their pursuit of the titles they considered their property. And when the steel cage match between the two teams ended in controversy, it caused quite a stir, not least of which because of what had already happened earlier in the night!

 

After all, a No. 1 Contender's tag team match was also on the show, in which the Filthy Animals defeated X-Pac and Kid Kash to earn the next shot. But that put them at odds with the Thrillers, who argued they still deserved a shot, and perhaps had a point. And just to make matters even more confusing, just days after Superbrawl, Patricide - the team of Dustin Rhodes and Brian Lawler, brought together over their disdain for how their fathers have overshadowed their own careers - went and beat the Hardyz in a non-title match!

 

It was a win by dubious means granted - a brass knuckle shot behind the ref's back, to be precise - but it was a win nonetheless. That meant three teams had a fine argument for being the next challengers, heading into a WrestleMania in which all of WCW's major titles would be defended! This left WCW's championship committee in quite the bind... but thankfully, the Hardyz themselves had quite the solution in mind for this ordeal.

 

Of course, their answer would be a four-way TLC match! As you can imagine, this was a wild and brutal match. The Hardyz were incredibly comfortable in there, but had to contend with the amazing ladder-scaling agility of Mysterio & Kidman, the barbaric, table-shattering power of the Thrillers, and the no-good, chair-stomping wickedness of Patricide!

 

While the champs put forth a hell of an effort, they took one risk too many and the match ended up being one by the other high-flying duo. The Filthy Animals scored a huge WrestleMania win, putting the entire tag division on notice in the process.

 

 

9. Falls Count Anywhere Triple Threat Match For The WCW United States Championship: New Jack © vs. Bradshaw vs. Mike Awesome – B+ (84) (WrestleMania 18)

 

When Ron Simmons was defeated by Booker T at Starrcade, he took it hard. He had seen the match as his last real shot at reclaiming the former glory, though he’d prove that wasn’t quite true… still he was left paranoid, desperate to retain his spot. So to help him do just that, he called in some reinforcements. That is to say… he brought back the Nation, one that he claimed was more powerful and loyal than ever, learning from his past mistakes. With him, stood old friends D’Lo Brown and Charles Wright, as well as new blood in the form of K-Killings and Elix Skipper.

 

With Simmons as their fearless leader, D’Lo and Killings as a tag team, Skipper representing them in the Cruiserweight division and Wright as their interference-running heavy, they were a formidable force. They ran roughshod over their first two months, but at the first sign of setback, Simmons again showed his mounting desperation to stay on top. The Nation’s enemies, Bradshaw, Mike Awesome, The Road Warriors, and K-Killings’ abandoned former partner Scotty 2 Hotty formed to defeat them at Superbrawl. It ended with Bradshaw finally getting a pin over his former partner, no less, and this sent Simmons into a frenzy. He wasted no time in planning a perhaps drastic counterattack.

 

Simmons revealed the existence of a secret weapon that he was ready to unleash on WCW, a step in the war that even his allies thought may have been going too far… but despite their protests and Ron’s own hesitation, that secret weapon was revealed. And that secret weapon was none other than the criminally dangerous New Jack. He burst onto the scene as you would expect, with a cacophony on unconventional tools of war, most notedly a railroad spike, which he carved into the head of US Champion Bradshaw, leaving him in a deep pool of blood upon his arrival.

 

Two weeks later - much sooner than any doctor would recommend - Bradshaw put the title on the line against him in a No DQ match, and while he tried to bring as violent a fight as he could, there was just no matching New Jack in sheer psychopathy. Less than a month after arriving, New Jack had claimed the US title, and combined with his aiding of K-Killings in becoming Television Champion, he’d quickly turned the tide in WCW’s intensifying, deepening war to determine the dominant force.

 

Bradshaw wasn’t giving up the fight, however, nor was Mike Awesome who was still seeking his rematch after losing the title at Starrcade three months prior. He was especially fired up given that Bradshaw won the title in a four-way, also including Masato Tanaka and Shane Douglas, and it was Douglas who Bradshaw pinned the title in the first place, not Awesome! Thanks to this bit of tension, and the shared desire to be champion once more, the two made it clear that they weren’t likely to double up on New Jack… so, being an anarchic sort, the champ dared the both of them to go up against him at WrestleMania, so long as they agreed to a match of his choosing… Falls Count Anywhere!

 

As you can imagine, these three went all up and down the stadium, through the streets and back… before the match ended in heart-stopping fashion. Deep into the stands, Bradshaw, battered, bloody and bruised, was laid out on a table, knocked unconscious after New Jack had wrapped a lead pipe around his head. Awesome and New Jack proceeded to fight their way to an upper deck, where New Jack planned to jump off. But Awesome overwhelmed him and did him one better… hitting a ridiculous Awesome Bomb, a nearly 20 foot drop, that sent the both of them onto Bradshaw, through the table!

 

Needless to say, all three were out… but in a wild stroke of luck, New Jack ended up on top of both his adversaries, scoring a pin despite entirely unconscious! Thus ended perhaps the most violent match in WrestleMania history...

 

 

10. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Eddy Guerrero © vs. Sting – A* (99) (WrestleMania 18)

 

This was it. The biggest match WCW had seen since it’s return, and among the biggest in it’s entire existence. For the first time, the WCW Championship defended at WrestleMania. For the first time, the iconic Sting would step into an official WWF ring, and at the Show of Shows no less. This wasn’t just an instant classic in the making between two all time greats. It wasn’t just a megastar of the last generation squaring off with a burgeoning megastar of the current generation. And as prestigious as the title was, and with how much it meant to both of them, the bout was still about something bigger than that.

 

This was a match with WCW’s soul on the line. For Eddy to win here would validate everything that the Radicalz stood for, and make it clear that their way was superior, that liars and cheaters would always best the honorable. In Sting’s eyes, it wasn’t just a match he wanted to win, or even a match he needed to win. It was a match that WCW needed him to win, and the most important match of his life.

 

He’d defeated the wildcard that was the Giant on his first night back. Alongside fellow WCW stalwarts Booker T and DDP, he’d defeated Chavo, Malenko and Saturn in a six-man tag. He’d defeated Chris Benoit in a stellar Nitro main event just days earlier. He had jumped through every single hoop the Radicalz had forced him through. Now there was just one left… to take down Eddy Guerrero, to become WCW World Heavyweight Champion once more and to finally bring justice back to the promotion that he held so dearly to his heart.

 

As expected, it was an amazing clash, strength meeting skill as the two athletes went to battle. Eddy threw one dirty trick after the other at Sting, but he had learned how to combat them all, thanks to a lifetime of learning from the best… indeed, eventually they all seemed to fail him and 15 minutes into the match, Eddy was wholly overwhelmed. Naturally, the Radicalz then came down in full force, surrounding the ring, prepared to do whatever it took to keep that title on their leader…

 

But they didn’t anticipate just how ready WCW was to strike back. In spite of not having matches of their own, Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Konnan and Monty Brown all showed up ready to defend WCW’s pride and they took it to the Radicalz! After a wild brawl at ringside, they managed to chase them off, just as Sting got the knees up on a frantic Frog Splash attempt! A winded Eddy backed up into the corner… leaving himself open for a wicked Stinger Splash! With all of WCW’s top heroes cheering him on, Sting locked in the Scorpion Deathlock and Eddy had no choice but to submit!

 

Time will only tell if the war here is over or if it's only getting started... but for now, WCW reigns supreme!

 

 

Digital download bonus:

1. WCW World Heavyweight Championship Cage Match: Booker T © vs. The Giant – A (89) (Nitro, November 2001)

2. WWF Hardcore Championship: Perry Saturn © vs. Diamond Dallas Page – A (89) (Nitro, November 2001)

3. WCW World Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. Road Warriors – B (79) (Survivor Series 2001)

4. Rob Vam Dam vs. Ron Simmons – A (91) (Nitro, November 2001)

5. WCW Television Championship: Chris Kanyon © vs. Monty Brown – B+ (85) (Nitro, December 2001)

6. WWF Light Heavyweight Championship: Rob Van Dam © vs. Jerry Lynn – B+ (85) (Nitro, December 2001)

7. Chris Benoit vs. Diamond Dallas Page – A* (100) (Nitro, December 2001)

8. WCW Cruiserweight Classic Finals: Taka Michinoku vs. Jerry Lynn – B (82) (Superbrawl XII)

9. WCW Television Championship: Vampiro © vs. Shane Helms – B+ (85) (Nitro, April 2002)

10. The Mega Powers vs. Kronik – B (77) (WrestleMania 18)

 

Very detailed. Nice!

[EdawgTheMighty]

<p>So I have been playing a game based off of mod that started in 2001, a real-life mod, and I can't remember which one it was. Either way, I started up SHIMMER Women's Wrestling way early than they were supposed to. So in 2006, five years later, I think it is time to release a DVD. A lot of these features Portia Perez who has a fantastic destiny roll and her skills and popularity have skyrocketed.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>1. Portia Perez over Hailey Hatred, Kana, and Ariel for the SHIMMER title</strong></p><p>

Portia Perez and Kana came into SHIMMER on the same show and teamed together to find out that they had excellent chemistry. So, a couple of years together made them a force to be reckoned with. Eventually, they split with Portia backstabbing Kana shortly after losing the tag titles. Moving them both in the Main Event scene. Ariel and Hailey are long-time SHIMMER vets with Hailey the defending champion. Perez takes the win over Kana after a Kosher Pickle and secured the highest rating of any show up to that point.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>2. Trish Stratus over Hailey Hatred</strong></p><p>

Trish won Female Wrestler of the year three years in a row and WWE drops her. So she storms into SHIMMER beating everyone, including the former 4x SHIMMER champion Hailey Hatred in a 30-minute Iron Woman match.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>3. Team Amazing (Kana and Portia Perez) over Minnesota Homewrecking Crew (Lacey and Rain) - Ladder Match</strong></p><p>

Minnesota Homewrecking Crew has been on every SHIMMER show since the very beginning. Were 3x Tag champs at the time against a young upstart team. After six months of bulldozing every opponent Team Amazing were put up against. They went over MHWC in the still highest rated tag match in company history.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>4. Portia Perez drew with Trish Stratus</strong></p><p>

Trish's first title shot ended up with Portia using a weapon to escape while still champion. It lasted over half an hour with the two ending up at ring side where Trish hit Portia with her double underhook DDT through the announcer table. Headling of SHIMMER's very first PPV.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>5. Team Youth (OC Emily Storey and Candice LeRae) over Knox Roxx (Rebecca Knox[becky Lynch] and Nikki Roxx) and Minnesota Homewrecking Crew</strong></p><p>

Team Youth's first of seven tag team title runs begun with a career-making match of Candice Lerae whose performance was head and shoulders over everyone else. Which has left her in the Main Event scene recently.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>6. Hailey Hatred over Ariel</strong></p><p>

Hailey Hatred won her fourth SHIMMER title at the end of the very first supernova hot fued against the uber talented Ariel. Culminating in a almost perfect match.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>7. Kana over Lacey</strong></p><p>

A throwaway match between two members of feuding tag teams on a show trying to breakthrough into the Southwest market of the US. Ended up being, head and shoulders, the best match of the night.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>8. Sara Del Rey over Allison Danger</strong></p><p>

Second anniversary show where Sara went over Allison putting an end to her year long title reign. Not the greatest match, but indicative of the quality to come.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>9. Britani Knight over Ariel</strong></p><p>

Knight was supposed to lose to the veteran Ariel, but unfortunately Ariel suffered a broken leg forcing an audible. Yet, despite this the match brought down the house.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>10. Trish Stratus over Portia Perez, Hailey Hatred, and Kana</strong></p><p>

Trish finally was able to get the pin over Portia during this elimination-style four-way match when the two of them were the last in the ring. Headlining the last PPV SHIMMER put on, yet it was nearly a perfect match.</p>

[Jaultma2]

<p>From Central States to Nationwide, the rise of the USPW:</p><p>

(From a game I wanted to turn into a diary but never got around to writing up)</p><p> </p><p>

#10 Adrian Adonis defeated Bulldog Bob Brown in a Loser Leaves town match to retain the CSW Heavyweight Championship at CSW Supershow 12, February 1988</p><p> </p><p>

#9 Ken Patera and Ted DiBiase defeated Adrian Adonis and Sting at CSW Supershow 17, July 1988</p><p> </p><p>

#8 Adrian Adonis and Lex Luger defeated The Sheepherders at USPW Supershow 25, March 1989</p><p> </p><p>

#7 Adrian Adonis defeated Kerry Von Erich to retain the CSW Heavyweight Championship at CSW Supershow 16, June 1988</p><p> </p><p>

#6 Lex Luger defeated Ted DiBiase by DQ at USPW Battle of the Belts, April 1989</p><p> </p><p>

#5 Terry Funk defeated Adrian Adonis at USPW TV, June 1989</p><p> </p><p>

#4 Adrian Adonis and Lex Luger defeated The Grapplers at USPW TV, April 1989</p><p> </p><p>

#3 Lex Luger defeated Ted DiBiase for the USPW Heavyweight Championship at USPW Freedom Fight, June 1989</p><p> </p><p>

#2 Adrian Adonis defeated Scott Hall at USPW TV, June 1989</p><p> </p><p>

#1 Ted DiBiase defeated Adrian Adonis for the CSW Heavyweight Championship at CSW Supershow 19, September 1988</p><p> </p><p>

Adrian Adonis is the undisputed MVP of this save as he's been loyal to us and had very good matches with lots of bruiser heels. DiBiase is loyal to AJPW and thus never signed exclusively with a bigger company and has been huge for us. Lex Luger showed up after WCW arrived and bought out JCP. For some reason, they didn't take Luger and he's been our top babyface ever since.</p>

[Alan James]

<p>I haven't been playing my current game that long. Started in January 1996 and now we are in March 1996 pre Wrestlemania 12. What we have so far.</p><p> </p><p>

10. Psycho Sid defeats Jake Roberts on Raw. Jake had defeated Tatanka and kid (countout). Sid stepped in to put things right for the Million Dollar Corporation. (73)</p><p> </p><p>

9.Razor Ramon defeated Kid and Goldust in a triple threat match.No way out to retain the IC title. Razor pinned Kid. (77)</p><p> </p><p>

8. It is now time for the Royal Rumble match. Yep, Royal Rumble makes it on a top 10. Wow. Shawn Michaels wins it like he does in real life. Austin was made iron man. (79)</p><p> </p><p>

7. Razor Ramon and Diesel fight to a double dq on raw. (81)</p><p> </p><p>

6. Shawn Michaels defeats Kid on raw. (82)</p><p> </p><p>

5. Shawn Michaels defeats Jerry Lawler on raw. (83)</p><p> </p><p>

4. Bret Hart defeats The Undertaker at Royal Rumble to retain WWF title. The Diesel interference costs Undertaker with a roll up. Didn't want to do a lazy DQ. Had fun putting Big Kev through all sorts of merry-go-rounds as Undertaker messed with his soul. Bret wonders what he got out of it. Undertaker tells Bret it is not all about him (85)</p><p> </p><p>

3. Shawn Michaels drags a quality match out of Jeff Jarrett on raw. (85)</p><p> </p><p>

2. Owen Hart defeats Shawn Michaels at No way out. (89) Felt this was the right thing to do. I couldn't just have Owen lose after the kick incident. I'm keeping him hot for the future.</p><p> </p><p>

1. Bret Hart defeats Diesel in a cage match at No way out. (92) This one exceeded expectations. Storyline was so hot at this point. They were both on their game. We had the Undertaker get involved like real life. The hilarious thing was we had Bret Hart and Undertaker fight in incidents. Bret started it and Undertaker finished it. Bret took the stern warning well. Bret must have been on another rampage, complaining about how the match ended. This time it went to the next level and Bret got knocked out. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

[LordofGustav]

From Central States to Nationwide, the rise of the USPW:

(From a game I wanted to turn into a diary but never got around to writing up)

 

#10 Adrian Adonis defeated Bulldog Bob Brown in a Loser Leaves town match to retain the CSW Heavyweight Championship at CSW Supershow 12, February 1988

 

#9 Ken Patera and Ted DiBiase defeated Adrian Adonis and Sting at CSW Supershow 17, July 1988

 

#8 Adrian Adonis and Lex Luger defeated The Sheepherders at USPW Supershow 25, March 1989

 

#7 Adrian Adonis defeated Kerry Von Erich to retain the CSW Heavyweight Championship at CSW Supershow 16, June 1988

 

#6 Lex Luger defeated Ted DiBiase by DQ at USPW Battle of the Belts, April 1989

 

#5 Terry Funk defeated Adrian Adonis at USPW TV, June 1989

 

#4 Adrian Adonis and Lex Luger defeated The Grapplers at USPW TV, April 1989

 

#3 Lex Luger defeated Ted DiBiase for the USPW Heavyweight Championship at USPW Freedom Fight, June 1989

 

#2 Adrian Adonis defeated Scott Hall at USPW TV, June 1989

 

#1 Ted DiBiase defeated Adrian Adonis for the CSW Heavyweight Championship at CSW Supershow 19, September 1988

 

Adrian Adonis is the undisputed MVP of this save as he's been loyal to us and had very good matches with lots of bruiser heels. DiBiase is loyal to AJPW and thus never signed exclusively with a bigger company and has been huge for us. Lex Luger showed up after WCW arrived and bought out JCP. For some reason, they didn't take Luger and he's been our top babyface ever since.

 

Congratulations. I never heard of someone who would take a NWA territory other than JCP and then leave the alliance to find success like that. Quite interesting.

[Steamboat80]

Best of the WWF 1985

 

Bonus Match - WWF Women's Match of the Year

Wendi Richter defeated Leilani Kai to retain the WWF Woman's Title - WWF Championship Wrestling (82)

 

10) Roddy Piper & Cowboy Bob Orton defeated Andre the Giant & Mr. T - Night of Champions (98)

 

9) Hulk Hogan defeated Cowboy Bob Ortong to retain the WWF Championship - WWF Championship Wrestling (99)

 

8) Big John Studd, Cowboy Bob Orton, & Roddy Piper defeated Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, & Mr. T - WWF September Supercard (99)

 

7) Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, Andre the Giant, & Jimmy Snuka defeated Harley Race, Cowboy Bob Orton, Roddy Piper, & Big John Studd in a Survivor Series Elimintation Match - Survivor Series (99)

 

6) Hulk Hogan defeated Big John Studd in a Steel Cage Match to retain the WWF Championship - The Big Event (99)

 

5) Hulk Hogan defeated Paul Orndorff to retain the WWF Championship - WWF April Supercard (99)

 

4) Paul Orndorff, Roddy Piper, & Big John Studd defeated Andre the Giant, Mr. T, & Jimmy Snuka - WWF May Supercard (99)

 

3) Hulk Hogan defeated Big John Studd to retain the WWF Championship - WWF October Supercard (99)

 

2) Hulk Hogan defeated Paul Orndorff to retain the WWF Championship - WWF June Supercard (99)

 

1) Hulk Hogan defeated Cowboy Bob Orton to retain the WWF Championship - WWF Championship Wrestling (99)

[EBEZA]

I'm playing with Genadi's May 2001 mod and working under the basis that WWF did in fact go through with the supposed original plan of rebooting WCW as it's own show in order to maintain it's audience, with it eventually taking SmackDown's spot and having it's own roster. The vast majority of my top matches and shows have been WWF ones as WCW's began with passable but noticeably lesser match/show ratings and have been gradually building with time, as though they really are their own company, which I always found neat. But rebuilding WCW through this lens has always been my main focus with this save and I think it's the more fun thing to look at.

 

Since it's not even close to being the top 10 matches in my promotion's history, I think looking at the most significant ones for the revived brand makes the most sense.

 

Disc 1

 

#1. WCW Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. Booker T & Diamond Dallas Page – B- (74) (Nitro, July 2001)

 

The main event of the first-ever Nitro of the brand new era of WCW, the promising but endlessly arrogant O'Haire and Palumbo were quick to interrupt WCW World Heavyweight Champion Booker T as he ushered in the new age of WCW. The two were looking to make a big statement as they swarmed him, only for him to be saved by another beloved icon in DDP. The main was on, billed as WCW's present vs. WCW's future.

 

This was a physical brawl, a fight for status as the Natural Born Thrillers fought tooth and nail to take the top spots of their two more famous foes, but Booker and Page weren't backing down an inch. But right when victory looked in hand, Diamond shockingly turned and planted his own partner with a Diamond Cutter, leaving him for dead and easy pickings for the hungry tag team to finish off.

 

 

#2. WCW United States Championship Tournament Final: Lance Storm vs. Mike Awesome – B+ (84) (SummerSlam 2001)

 

Rather than rush into giving WCW their own PPVs, the decision was made to build to that slowly over time and focus on TV for the most part, with one exception: two marquee matches on each of WWE's Big Four PPVs, thanks to their groundbreaking new agreement! And this was the first of those crossover matches. When Booker opened the inaugural Nitro, he relinquished the United States title, making way for a hotly contested 16-man tournament!

 

Storm defeated Chris Candido, Konnan and Curt Hennig to advance to the finals, whilst Awesome had to go through Dustin Rhodes, Shane Douglas and Chris Kanyon to meet him there. The tournament also included the likes of Fit Finlay, Vampiro, Buff Bagwell and Monty Brown among others, but ultimately it came down to these two wholly different, yet extremely talented athletes in what ended up being one of the most showstealing bouts on a very stacked SummerSlam card.

 

Awesome's incredible might mixed with ahead-of-his-time agility was a terrifying challenge for anyone, but Storm's smooth technique and incomparable conditioning kept him from ever looking overwhelmed. Ultimately on this night though, Awesome took the win and made a statement as one of the key names to watch in WCW.

 

 

#3. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T © vs. Diamond Dallas Page – B+ (88) (SummerSlam 2001)

 

DDP wasted no time in making his intentions clear. He wasn't part of the WCW revival for glad-handing sentiment, he was there for one thing; his own success. After turning on Booker on the very first Nitro, the bout between the two seemed inevitable. Whilst Booker did defend his title before this, namely against the man who pinned him in that match, Sean O'Haire, this was easily his biggest challenge he'd faced in the technically new reign.

 

These two hard-working WCW loyalists knew they were representing the brand on what was just months prior considered enemy turf and they did everything they could to send the right message. After a tooth and nail war, Booker retained his title in a match that let the world know that WCW was truly back.

 

 

#4. WCW Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. The APA – B+ (85) (Nitro, September 2001)

 

Some may not have expected this to be a big-time match worthy of Nitro's main event, but no one involved gave a damn about that. In front of a hot crowd that'd followed the APA's dogged pursuit of the tag titles ever since emerging in surprising fashion on the debut Nitro, everyone seemed ready for the hated Natural Born Thriller's reign to end and the two veteran brawlers gave everything they had to make it happen.

 

After a true knock-down, drag-out classic, Palumbo and O'Haire proved once again that, like 'em or not, they're legit, barely edging out the APA in a clean victory. This was a fine main event on it's own but it would have historical significance after the fact as being the last tag title match for Farooq and Bradshaw. The next week, after a loss to Kronik, Farooq turned on Bradshaw in a shock, violent assault, quickly rechristening himself under his true name, Ron Simmons.

 

 

#5. WCW Television Championship: Chris Candido vs. Vampiro vs. Brian Lawler vs. Monty Brown vs. Dustin Rhodes vs. Chyna – B (79) (Nitro, October 2001)

 

For weeks, dozens of wrestlers had been vying for the honor of winning the new and improved WCW Television Championship, a title that promised to be one of the most competitive and coveted ever due to a rule that, true to it’s name, it would be defended exclusively on Nitro and WCW Saturday Night, never to be contested on a PPV. But it would be defended weekly on one or both of these two shows, a rule that would make it one of the hardest titles ever to keep hold of.

 

Everyone involved in this six-way free for all had gotten there by winning similar multi-person matches, a testament to the roster's depth. Among them was Chyna, who left WWF after months of bickering with Vince McMahon over his refusal to allow her to continue competing with men and going after men's titles. She swiftly found herself getting just such an opportunity here.

 

But while she would eventually have her own run with this title, this night belonged to the unpinned rising superstar Monty Brown, who went on to prove himself a tough, fighting champion.

 

 

#6. 4-on-4 Traditional Survivor Series Match: The Radicalz (Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko) vs. Team WCW (Booker T, Ron Simmons, Diamond Dallas Page & Konnan) – B (81) (Survivor Series 2001)

 

Part of WWF's agreement with WCW saw them send the Radicalz, a group that initially became famous for defecting from WCW mind, over to Nitro for promotional work. This supposedly cordial visit soon deteriorated to the Radicalz running down WCW and proclaiming that they hoped that the brand would fail again. The roster didn't take kindly to this of course, and among the chaos that ensued... Norman Smiley ended up rolling up Perry Saturn to take the WWF Hardcore title!

 

As far as Vince was concerned, this was the ultimate insult. A WWF title on WCW soil?! Unable to let it stand, he demanded the Radicalz return the next week and set this right. Through wild circumstance and a few title changes' worth of madness, including Booker T of all people taking the Hardcore title for an hour or so, eventually they were able to secure the title and bring it back to Raw... but they made several enemies in WCW in the process and they refused to forget. Two weeks later, when Perry Saturn was attempting to wrest the European Title away from Nick Dinsmore who had only seven days prior upset Eddie to take the title in his debut, none other than Diamond Dallas Page jumped the barrier on Raw to screw him out of the victory!

 

Unable to let this go, Perry went on to reclaim the Hardcore title and opted to go to Nitro, knowing that this particular belt could be defended in any situation that came up. Using it as a bartering chip, Perry called out Page and offered to defend it against him, provided he agree that all parties were barred from ringside. What resulted was the first time a Hardcore Title match had ever headlined a show more major than Heat, and the match was a wild weapons-filled brawl. Saturn, to his credit, did not look at all out of place against the top WCW star, but could not quite put him away. He would come to regret this challenge, as a Diamond Cutter off the second rope through a table ended his reign; WCW ended up going into Survivor Series with the Hardcore title!

 

While the match itself was great, few knew at the time the ramifications it would have. Fed up with the group's constant struggles with WCW, Vince gave the Radicalz a last-minute ultimatum at Survivor Series. If they couldn't beat the team comprised of their biggest WCW enemies, they'd be fired from WWF!

 

With their WWF careers on the line, the Radicalz were willing to do anything it took to beat the WCW contingent, but they had quite the task on their hands, as they happened to make enemies of four of the promotion's best. There was one thing in their favor though. Booker and DDP still weren't exactly friends, but much more pertinent is that Ron Simmons was smackdab in the middle of his own campaign to take the WCW Title and he was really getting under Booker's skin in the process. The tension between the two of them was palpable as they refused to even stand on the same apron.

 

The Radicalz made the most of their talent and used every dirty trick they could, but overcoming three former WCW Champions alongside one of Mexico's biggest ever stars was easier said than done. Their desperation showed when Eddie suplexed Booker stomach-first on the barrier and went up to the apron for a Frog Splash. Booker managed to escape this, leaving Guerrero to land onto his abdomen on the barricade. This debilitated him horrendously, enough for Booker to toss him into the ring and swiftly capitalize with a Scissors Kick and the elimination, leaving the Radicalz without their leader ten minutes into the match!

 

Fortunately for them, Booker and Simmons' incessant arguing finally came to a head when Ron surprised him with a vicious spinebuster after tagging in and then simply making his leave, letting himself get counted out. In spite of DDP and Konnan's best efforts, they couldn't get the tag from Booker in time. Saturn and Malenko eventually held him down for a diving headbutt from Benoit for the pin. Just like that, Radicalz were up 3-to-2.

 

DDP and Konnan weren't about to give up though, even if they were taking considerably more damage now. They picked their spots and, as DDP and Malenko struggled in a crucifix cradle test of strength, the former suddenly spun in front of him and nailed a Diamond Cutter for the surprise win. This victory was short-lived though as Saturn and Benoit were quick to swarm on him with a double team. Moments later, Saturn hit a DVD on DDP as Benoit held Konnan back with a crossface on the floor, and it was down to a 2-on-1. Benoit threw Konnan into the ring and tagged in to pound on him, but he proved his resilience. Before long, Benoit went to put him into a Crossface proper, but ended up bundled up into a La Magistral for the shock win, putting things to a 1-on-1. Saturn tried to put the hurt on the significantly more worn down Konnan, but his toughness continued to shine through and a Rings of Saturn attempt was reversed into the Tequila Sunrise for the submission victory... and thus, the Radicalz lost their spot in the WWF.

 

 

#7. WarGames: The Radicalz (Eddy Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko) vs. Latino World Order (Konnan, Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera, Super Crazy and Essa Rios) – B+ (84) (Starrcade 2001)

 

It's safe to say nobody hates WCW more than The Radicalz. Already pushed to defect over a year ago, WCW's top stars ended up getting them fired from their jobs at WWF as well. With few other options, the humiliated team ended up signing with their former company once again, but they didn't do it with their tails between their legs. Before the ink even dried on their new deals, they made their intentions clear; they wanted to destroy WCW from the inside out.

 

The Radicalz had already embittered themselves towards the LWO during their several run-ins on Nitro in the months prior, but the resentment boiled into fullblown hate after their leader Konnan put the nail in the coffin of their WWF careers. Their first official appearance as WCW wrestlers in over a year saw them assault and bloody him, kicking off a progressively dangerous, personal war between the two factions.

 

One story of note within the battle was Chavo Guerrero Jr., the silly loco boy who had for months asked to join the LWO, much to their hesitance as he rather clashed with their image. But on the same night that they finally relented and gave him his own LWO shirt, he showed his true lying, cheating and stealing colors, assisting his uncle Eddy to help him defeat LWO's own ringer Essa Rios. Displaying a new fiery attitude, Chavo officially became the fifth Radical, tying up the numbers.

 

With five men on each side, a decision was made... Starrcade was always WCW's biggest show of the year, but this time it was going to be their first genuine, world-reaching PPV since returning. They needed to go all out to re-establish WCW as a power, and nothing could possibly be more WCW than a WarGames match!

 

What followed was by far the wildest, fastest-paced, high flyingest WarGames match ever, with Super Crazy in particular wowing the world by climbing up the cage within the structure and hitting a death-defying moonsault onto all five of his opponents. But ultimately, the match came down to the still injured Konnan - who had not wrestled since the initial attack over a month prior - getting his wounds reopened in a major way before being locked into the Crossface, this time unable to counter. As the other Radicalz held back his allies, the badly bleeding Konnan eventually succumbed to his wooziness and passed out within the hold. With this, the Radicalz won the first major battle in their war against WCW.

 

 

#8. WCW Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. The Hardy Boyz – A (92) (Starrcade 2001)

 

The Natural Born Thrillers' tag title reign pre-dated the fall of WCW in it's original incarnation. They initially won them at the third-to-last PPV before they closed, back in January. Since the promotion's return, they had kept a death grip on them, with their reign closing in on a full year as they came into Starrcade. After retaining over two of WCW's all-time greats on the return episode of Nitro, they went on to defend against the likes of the APA, the New Age Outlaws, Patricide (Dustin Rhodes & Brian Lawler), the Party Crashers (Scotty 2 Hotty & K-Kwik) and even the legendary Road Warriors. Wrestling those titles away from them seemed truly impossible.

 

But the Hardyz were never very big on the word 'impossible', and they looked to prove that they were up for the task of ending the second-longest WCW Tag Team title reign in history. And in a tag classic for the ages, the two hot tandems clashed reckless abandon with brute explosiveness. In the end, experience and heart won out as the Hardyz ended up putting an end to the Natural Born Thrillers' stellar run, and put themselves in rarefied air among teams to have won gold in both WWF and WCW.

 

 

#9. Title Unification Ladder Match: WCW Cruiserweight Champion Shane Helms © vs. WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam © – B+ (86) (Starrcade 2001)

 

RVD made an instant splash in the WWF, winning the Light Heavyweight title in his debut in which he answered an open challenge from his long-time rival Jerry Lynn. He swiftly established himself as far and away the most dominant champion in the title's history, amassing 13 defenses over the next seven months. He repelled challengers like Lynn, both of the Hardyz, X-Pac, Brian Lawler, Christian, Dean Malenko and others. Most notably he won a special triple threat match at Vengeance in which himself, European champion Matt Hardy and Hardcore champion Chyna all put their titles on the line in a free-for-all; two months into his tenure and he was a triple champion!

 

Suffice to say, there was a huge buzz surrounding the exciting and unique Van Dam, especially when he made the shock move to jump ship to WCW right in the middle of his reign, convinced that they offered stiffer competition at his weight class, especially with many of his toughest challengers already having made the same move. He continued his incredible run defending against WCW's cruisers, including a win over Chavo Guerrero Jr, but from the word go, WCW Cruiserweight Champ Shane Helms kept a close eye on Rob and always seemed to be seething over his victories.

 

Helms had similarly established himself as an all-time Cruiserweight champion just as Rob was doing the same with the Light Heavyweight title. Shane had originally won it on what many thought was the final Nitro that March, and since WCW's return, he'd put together 11 defenses, turning back the challenges of names like Billy Kidman, Juventud Guerrera, Psicosis, Rey Mysterio Jr, Matt Hardy and even the legendary Tiger Mask IV. And yet all the world's eyes were on RVD... he couldn't stand it.

 

The tension was immediate and after a few months worth of grandstanding, posturing and sending messages from afar, the two finally met face to face and a challenge was put forth. They both agreed that they needed to find out once and for all who was truly the best at their weight class. And so it was decided that both of their titles would be hung from the rafters in a Ladder match to unify the two championships!

 

The match was a true spectacle, one that proved to many that Shane Helms may well have been on Rob's level. But ultimately it ended in fittingly showstealing fashion. With Helms climbing the ladder and inches away from the titles, RVD managed to springboard himself from the ropes directly onto the upright ladder... with a chair in hand! With a swift toss, RVD hit a seemingly impossible Van Daminator, landing back on his feet on the rungs whilst Shane was sent hurtling into a conveniently placed table. The win was academic from there, with Van Dam ushering in a new age for the Cruiserweight division.

 

 

#10. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T © vs. Ron Simmons – A* (99) (Starrcade 2001)

 

Ron Simmons stripped himself of his WWF name, which he referred to as... something else, and unleashed several years of frustration at how his career had gone. Sure, he'd become beloved to a wider audience, but only after allowing the WWF to fool the world into thinking he wasn't cut out to be a major singles star. He was quick to remind everyone of his former success in WCW, of being the first-ever black world champion in wrestling, something he took dearly seriously.

 

Showing signs of his persona prior to the APA, he brought up the struggles his race had endured in the business, and how some had responded to it better than others... he proceeded to call out Booker T and accuse him of becoming a glad-handing stereotype for the sake of his success. Naturally Booker wasn't happy to be characterized as, well, a caricature... for his part, he was equal parts offended and sad that someone he used to look up to so much had turned into such a bitter, hateful man. The challenge was laid down, and accepted, that Simmons would face Booker for the world title at Starrcade.

 

As the weeks went on the feud became all the more intensive, as Simmons proved more and more desperate to reclaim his former glory and defeat the 'fraud' for the sake of their race. Booker snapped at him for missing the big picture of what was going on. The two of them were headlining Starrcade together, they were making such positive history... but his every word tainted the occasion. Booker vowed to not only prove just how real he is, but to put on a match worthy of it's place in history.

 

It did not disappoint. The audience had been whipped into a frenzy as everyone knew, in equal measure, that Simmons was indeed a huge star, but one that needed to be proven wrong. Booker attempted to outspeed Ron, just as he tried to outpower him in kind, but by the end of this grueling affair they both looked as equals. After both a Bookend and Scissors Kick failed to work, it took a Houston Hangover to the back of a doubled over Simmons' head to take him down.

 

After the match, Booker attempted to go for a handshake, and Simmons seemed to contemplate it... but he couldn't bring himself to do it, eventually just turning and walking away. But Booker wasn't going to be dismayed on this night. He knew... he could feel it in his bones, that WCW's return to PPV was a stellar success and they were on the verge of a glorious new age in WCW, one that would surpass all that came before it.

 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Disc 2

 

1. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T © vs. Eddy Guerrero – A* (96) (Royal Rumble 2002)

 

Thanks largely to those in WCW, the Radicalz had a rough latter half of 2001, but they did close it out strong with a WarGames win over the LWO. This quickly established them as a big threat in WCW now that they were officially on it's roster again - whether they were happy about having to sign on or not. So it was no surprise when team leader Eddy Guerrero set out for the World Heavyweight title soon after. He made a big splash onto the scene, winning a fatal four way eliminator that also included Matt Hardy, Chyna and Monty Brown enroute to defeating DDP - who'd won his own such eliminator - later in the night to earn a title match.

 

Booker being one of the original few to give the Radicalz trouble in their Nitro visits nearly six months earlier, Eddy made it clear that he could really hold a grudge as he blamed him for his downfall from the WWF. Of course in Booker's eyes, he should be thanking him for leading him back to the big leagues! And to be perfectly fair, the bout would come on a big stage, with the WCW title defended on a WWF show for only the second time, and this time on none other than the Royal Rumble!

 

When the match came, it was a classic to be sure, but marred by the rampant interference from the other four members of the Radicalz. A well-timed Scissors Kick took out Chavo Guerrero, but he still had Saturn, Malenko and Benoit to deal with! A chair-wielding DDP eventually came out to even up the odds - Booker and Page's shared loyalty to WCW bringing them together against the Radicalz, in spite of their past differences - but despite his most valiant efforts, all he could ultimately do was lure their assault onto himself instead. And while this did serve to even up the playing field in the ring, the damage was done; Eddy managed to lie, cheat and steal to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

 

 

2. Cage Match for the WCW World Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. The Hardyz – A (91) (Superbrawl XII)

 

The Natural Born Thrillers, Palumbo & O’Haire, were the only tag team champions that this era of WCW ever knew. When they came to Starrcade, it’d been nearly a full year since they won the tag titles back at January’s Sin PPV, one of the final major events of the original WCW. And since the return of Nitro back in July, they had defended those titles time and again against top competition, and it looked as though they couldn’t be beaten. But the Hardy Boyz proved that they were beatable, vanquishing them and taking their titles.

 

Needless to say, they weren’t happy about that and weren’t going to take it sitting down. After spending all of 2001 holding down the fort in the WCW tag division, the Thrillers were fervent in their pursuit of reclaiming the gold. They finally got a shot two months later at Superbrawl XII. After a run in from Patricide, one of the other tandems in the intensifying division stopped a previous rematch attempt before it could even get started, it was decided that the Hardyz & Thrillers would square off in a cage match to settle their feud.

 

The steel confines suited them well, as the cage just barely contained their ferocity. The brute strength of Palumbo and O’Haire sent the much smaller duo into the cage walls. But it accentuated the high flying antics of the Hardyz just as much. Being an Attitude Era-tag team cage match, it ended when either both members of a team were eliminated from contention or when the survivors from a team escaped the cage.

 

Everyone predicted it when the match was announced and of course the inevitable occurred: Jeff Hardy did something stupid. In this case, a Swanton Bomb off the top of the cage, which actually landed him right onto Palumbo, in pinning position no less! But while he got the pin to eliminate him from contention, he was so rocked by his own maneuver that he was easy pickings for O’Haire to finish off, bringing it down to a one-on-one!

 

Sean O’Haire and Matt Hardy had a bruising battle, but of course O’Haire got the better of the exchange eventually and saw fit to climb out to make his escape. But Matt got his bearings in time to grab his ankle, stopping his pursuit, before climbing up with him! As the two fought atop the cage, Palumbo returned to ringside to help, only for Jeff to limp his way back and brawl with him! As this went on, Matt out-grappled O’Haire… and hit a mind-blowing Side Effect, taking the both of them off the top of the cage to land on their partners below!

 

This signaled the enthralling end of the match… but it seemed that both Matt and O’Haire landed at the same time, ending in a draw! While the Hardyz were of course pleased to retain, neither team were satisfied with this outcome, and it was clear things were far from over...

 

 

3. WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Rob Van Dam © vs. Lance Storm – A (91) (Superbrawl XII)

 

From the beginning of his run in the returning WCW, Lance Storm was aiming to become a champion once more, reclaiming the days in which he amassed an embarassment of gold in the original WCW's final year. He came close right from the start, making it to the finals of the US title tournament, but would lose out in the end to Mike Awesome. Over the next few months he didn't give up in that quest, enlisting the help of manager Jim Cornette as well as Awesome's old rival Masato Tanaka to aid him in pursuing the champ.

But that failed thanks in part to equalizer Curt Hennig.

 

The increasingly frustrated Storm wasn't going to give up on his title hopes however, clutching them tight as he and new Camp Cornette member Jerry Lynn teamed up to qualify for Starrcade's Battlebowl. Then, finally, Storm achieved the big PPV win he'd been hunting for since that Summer, claiming the prize. And since he last eliminated star cruiserweight Rey Mysterio Jr. to do it, he decided that this win made him No. 1 Contender for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.

 

RVD, fresh off unifying said championship with his Light Heavyweight title, saw no issue with that. But Lance and his Camp Cornette cohorts sure saw issue with Rob. The stern and serious group despised his laid back stoneriffic attitude, accusing him of wasting his own stellar potential thanks to his habits - this in spite of the staggering success he'd had in the half year prior! To that end, Storm saw fit to teach him the error of his ways when they clashed at the Royal Rumble... but despite all his best efforts, and advice from Lynn on taking down his famed rival, Lance couldn't beat him straight up.

Furious, Camp Cornette decided to hell with traditional values and holier-than-thou virtues. Rob Van Dam was rife with constant attacks in the next few weeks, most notably a violent assault from Tanaka! Seeking revenge, he wanted a match with any of them, but of course there was only one option they wanted to give him; putting his title on the line against Lance once again.

 

Though he enthusiastically accepted, he probably shouldn't have. He came into the match at Superbrawl with a badly injured leg, bad news for someone facing a man with a famous single leg boston crab! Storm cinched in the hold tighter than ever before when he inevitably rolled him into it, but Rob wasn't going to tap through any level of pain and made it to the ropes to break, fighting his heart out. He even got pretty close to winning anyhow, and got some comeuppance on Masato in the process, hitting him with a Van Daminator when he tried to interfere!

 

But that proved a poor decision, as it only served to hurt his leg all the more. He tried to go up for the Five Star Frog Splash anyway, but his leg gave out as he climbed. He managed to stay up there and valiantly stand, but by the time he finally went soaring, Lance had all his faculties about him and was merely playing possum. He sprang up and superkicked him out of the air, for the pin, finally becoming champion once more.

 

 

4. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Eddy Guerrero © vs. Diamond Dallas Page – A (92) (Superbrawl XII)

 

Eddy’s title celebration ceremony was quickly spoiled by both Booker T and DDP who were hungry to reclaim WCW’s honor. And while Eddy would successfully defend against former champ Booker the week after - albeit by even more dubious means than the initial title win - Booker and DDP got one over on the Radicalz seven days later with a win in a tag match that saw DDP pin the champion, earning a title match! And he followed that up with a win over Chris Benoit in a stellar bout, which by stipulation meant that the Radicalz were barred from ringside for this Superbrawl bout!

 

But while Eddy no longer had any help, by no means was he forced to fight a clean match and this only allowed him to pull out every trick in the book, mano-a-mano! Thankfully, Charles Robinson had been around the block a few too many times to fall for his attempts to bait a DQ victory, but at the end of the day, Eddy’s talent level combined with a litany of cheap shots and cheaper tricks were just too much for even DDP to handle and he escaped with the gold once more, a devastating blow in his self-professed war on WCW’s biggest stars.

 

 

5. No Disqualification match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Eddy Guerrero © vs. Mike Awesome – A* (96) (Nitro, March 2002)

 

While he’d dealt with what he considered WCW’s present, Eddy was far from done as he looked to destroy WCW’s future. And Mike Awesome exemplified that future in the eyes of many, pegged by the world to end the year as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Eddy generously offered him a shot to make that happen even earlier than predicted, on one condition: he agreed to make it No DQ.

 

While this suited Awesome’s sensibilities just fine, it also meant the Radicalz could interfere at will, and they very much took advantage of that. Benoit, Saturn, Malenko, Chavo, every last one of them took their turns coming in and assaulting Awesome. But amazingly, nay, freakishly, Awesome managed to beat back every single one with his magnificent power. They each gave him a challenge, but he was ultimately able to plant them all with an Awesome Bomb… every member except the man himself.

 

Their constant attacks allowed him much-needed breathers, saving him from certain defeat on many occasions! You could truly see the regret on his face for ever thinking this was a good idea… but milliseconds after Awesome put down Benoit, Eddy got him a chair-assisted low blow, followed by a harsh shot over the head. He put the chair to his chest for the proceeded Frog Splash for good measure, and narrowly put away the terrifying Awesome. He breathed quite the sigh of relief as he rolled away from that ring...

 

 

6. Sting vs. The Giant – B+ (83) (Nitro, March 2002)

 

In a time where WCW’s heroes were struggling against the underhanded and vicious Radicalz, an icon emerged. One who had led the charge through such a challenge in the past, one who was not going to let the promotion be killed once more, one embodied WCW more than anyone else. It was the man called Sting… and his sudden arrival after nearly a full year on the sidelines was a shock to the wrestling world. He wasted no time in making his mission statement known, wordlessly pointing his bat towards the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Eddy Guerrero.

 

But while he arrived to much fanfare and the world immediately began fantasy booking him taking down the hated Radicalz, he wasn’t going to get his shot so quickly. Eddy was quick to point out that, icon though he may be, he couldn’t get a title match based on name value alone! He demanded that Sting earn his title shot, and the Stinger agreed with the sentiment. A match was made for Sting, in his first match in twelve months, to face a mystery opponent of Eddy’s choosing. He was prepared to go through any member of the Radicalz… but was shocked to find none other than the seven-foot tall Giant emerging!

 

Hungry to get back into the title picture himself, he proved a weighty challenge for Sting, a helluva welcome back to WCW! But after a heroic underdog battle, the likes of which made him famous in the first place, Sting chopped down the Giant with a Scorpion Deathdrop, immediately erasing any argument for keeping him out of the title picture! It was no surprise when the announcement was made the next week… Eddy would defend his title against Sting at the Granddaddy Of ‘Em All, WrestleMania!

 

 

7. WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Lance Storm © vs. Taka Michinoku – A* (99) (WrestleMania 18)

 

When WCW returned, many members of WWF’s roster sought new employment, particularly those that had fallen by the wayside and gotten lost in the star-filled shuffle. And of those, few seemed quite as squandered as that of Taka Michinoku. Perhaps the most talented men to ever set foot in a WWF ring, he was nigh on forgotten by the time WCW made it’s comeback, struggling to even find opportunities on Heat. For the original Light Heavyweight Champion, who had bested some of the greatest in his weight class in a tournament to crown the inaugural champion just four years prior, it was quite the shame.

 

It’s no surprise that he and long-time partner Funaki made the jump to the land that made the term ‘Cruiserweight’ famous. But when Kaientai continued to struggle against a deep tag division, Taka had to make the tough choice of breaking out on his own once more. His climb up the ladder was tough and arduous, but after about eight months, he found his way into the first-ever WCW Cruiserweight Classic! This entirely original concept saw 32 stellar talents compete in a fiery tournament that would conclude at Superbrawl! And the stakes were high, as the winner would not only receive a cruiserweight title match, but said match would take place at none other than WrestleMania!

 

Taka battled his way through the grueling tourney, defeating Evan Karagis, AAA legend Blue Panther, and former stalwart Cruiserweight Champions Shane Helms and Dean Malenko, enroute to the final. There, he squared off with Jerry Lynn in a fantastic battle, and proved once and for all that he deserved to be regarded as one of the top cruiserweights in the world by defeating him live on Pay-Per-View! This was huge not just because he won the tournament, but also the message it sent, defeating an associate of champion Lance Storm’s!

 

It’s safe to say it caught the proud Canadian’s ire, as he saw the loss as an affront to the stubbornly arrogant Camp Cornette. He demanded to go in alone as he fought for the group’s honor. Taka, meanwhile, fought for personal redemption, to cement himself for good this time, to earn a victory that would forever make him a star. And so the two incredibly gifted competitors squared off on the grandest stage possible.

 

It was a masterpiece to be certain, as much a showcase of agility and athleticism as it was a clinic on technical wrestling. Shockingly, Camp Cornette proved true to their word, as Lance was completely on his own after seeing his allies off on the stage. In the end, he may have ended up regretting this… as after about 20 minutes of wicked action, Taka caught his leg off a superkick attempt, and pulled him in, and up, for a Michinoku Driver, the second of the match! This one put Storm away and completed Taka Michinoku’s long road back to glory.

 

 

8. Four-Way TLC Match For The WCW World Tag Team Championships: The Hardyz © vs. The Natural Born Thrillers vs. Patricide vs. The Filthy Animals – A* (96) (WrestleMania 18)

 

The Hardyz put themselves on the Mount Rushmore of tag teams when they managed to add the WCW tag team titles to their collection of tag gold. And they did so on WCW's greatest stage, Starrcade, by defeating the long dominant Natural Born Thrillers at that! But the Thrillers were far from done with their pursuit of the titles they considered their property. And when the steel cage match between the two teams ended in controversy, it caused quite a stir, not least of which because of what had already happened earlier in the night!

 

After all, a No. 1 Contender's tag team match was also on the show, in which the Filthy Animals defeated X-Pac and Kid Kash to earn the next shot. But that put them at odds with the Thrillers, who argued they still deserved a shot, and perhaps had a point. And just to make matters even more confusing, just days after Superbrawl, Patricide - the team of Dustin Rhodes and Brian Lawler, brought together over their disdain for how their fathers have overshadowed their own careers - went and beat the Hardyz in a non-title match!

 

It was a win by dubious means granted - a brass knuckle shot behind the ref's back, to be precise - but it was a win nonetheless. That meant three teams had a fine argument for being the next challengers, heading into a WrestleMania in which all of WCW's major titles would be defended! This left WCW's championship committee in quite the bind... but thankfully, the Hardyz themselves had quite the solution in mind for this ordeal.

 

Of course, their answer would be a four-way TLC match! As you can imagine, this was a wild and brutal match. The Hardyz were incredibly comfortable in there, but had to contend with the amazing ladder-scaling agility of Mysterio & Kidman, the barbaric, table-shattering power of the Thrillers, and the no-good, chair-stomping wickedness of Patricide!

 

While the champs put forth a hell of an effort, they took one risk too many and the match ended up being one by the other high-flying duo. The Filthy Animals scored a huge WrestleMania win, putting the entire tag division on notice in the process.

 

 

9. Falls Count Anywhere Triple Threat Match For The WCW United States Championship: New Jack © vs. Bradshaw vs. Mike Awesome – B+ (84) (WrestleMania 18)

 

When Ron Simmons was defeated by Booker T at Starrcade, he took it hard. He had seen the match as his last real shot at reclaiming the former glory, though he’d prove that wasn’t quite true… still he was left paranoid, desperate to retain his spot. So to help him do just that, he called in some reinforcements. That is to say… he brought back the Nation, one that he claimed was more powerful and loyal than ever, learning from his past mistakes. With him, stood old friends D’Lo Brown and Charles Wright, as well as new blood in the form of K-Killings and Elix Skipper.

 

With Simmons as their fearless leader, D’Lo and Killings as a tag team, Skipper representing them in the Cruiserweight division and Wright as their interference-running heavy, they were a formidable force. They ran roughshod over their first two months, but at the first sign of setback, Simmons again showed his mounting desperation to stay on top. The Nation’s enemies, Bradshaw, Mike Awesome, The Road Warriors, and K-Killings’ abandoned former partner Scotty 2 Hotty formed to defeat them at Superbrawl. It ended with Bradshaw finally getting a pin over his former partner, no less, and this sent Simmons into a frenzy. He wasted no time in planning a perhaps drastic counterattack.

 

Simmons revealed the existence of a secret weapon that he was ready to unleash on WCW, a step in the war that even his allies thought may have been going too far… but despite their protests and Ron’s own hesitation, that secret weapon was revealed. And that secret weapon was none other than the criminally dangerous New Jack. He burst onto the scene as you would expect, with a cacophony on unconventional tools of war, most notedly a railroad spike, which he carved into the head of US Champion Bradshaw, leaving him in a deep pool of blood upon his arrival.

 

Two weeks later - much sooner than any doctor would recommend - Bradshaw put the title on the line against him in a No DQ match, and while he tried to bring as violent a fight as he could, there was just no matching New Jack in sheer psychopathy. Less than a month after arriving, New Jack had claimed the US title, and combined with his aiding of K-Killings in becoming Television Champion, he’d quickly turned the tide in WCW’s intensifying, deepening war to determine the dominant force.

 

Bradshaw wasn’t giving up the fight, however, nor was Mike Awesome who was still seeking his rematch after losing the title at Starrcade three months prior. He was especially fired up given that Bradshaw won the title in a four-way, also including Masato Tanaka and Shane Douglas, and it was Douglas who Bradshaw pinned the title in the first place, not Awesome! Thanks to this bit of tension, and the shared desire to be champion once more, the two made it clear that they weren’t likely to double up on New Jack… so, being an anarchic sort, the champ dared the both of them to go up against him at WrestleMania, so long as they agreed to a match of his choosing… Falls Count Anywhere!

 

As you can imagine, these three went all up and down the stadium, through the streets and back… before the match ended in heart-stopping fashion. Deep into the stands, Bradshaw, battered, bloody and bruised, was laid out on a table, knocked unconscious after New Jack had wrapped a lead pipe around his head. Awesome and New Jack proceeded to fight their way to an upper deck, where New Jack planned to jump off. But Awesome overwhelmed him and did him one better… hitting a ridiculous Awesome Bomb, a nearly 20 foot drop, that sent the both of them onto Bradshaw, through the table!

 

Needless to say, all three were out… but in a wild stroke of luck, New Jack ended up on top of both his adversaries, scoring a pin despite entirely unconscious! Thus ended perhaps the most violent match in WrestleMania history...

 

 

10. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Eddy Guerrero © vs. Sting – A* (99) (WrestleMania 18)

 

This was it. The biggest match WCW had seen since it’s return, and among the biggest in it’s entire existence. For the first time, the WCW Championship defended at WrestleMania. For the first time, the iconic Sting would step into an official WWF ring, and at the Show of Shows no less. This wasn’t just an instant classic in the making between two all time greats. It wasn’t just a megastar of the last generation squaring off with a burgeoning megastar of the current generation. And as prestigious as the title was, and with how much it meant to both of them, the bout was still about something bigger than that.

 

This was a match with WCW’s soul on the line. For Eddy to win here would validate everything that the Radicalz stood for, and make it clear that their way was superior, that liars and cheaters would always best the honorable. In Sting’s eyes, it wasn’t just a match he wanted to win, or even a match he needed to win. It was a match that WCW needed him to win, and the most important match of his life.

 

He’d defeated the wildcard that was the Giant on his first night back. Alongside fellow WCW stalwarts Booker T and DDP, he’d defeated Chavo, Malenko and Saturn in a six-man tag. He’d defeated Chris Benoit in a stellar Nitro main event just days earlier. He had jumped through every single hoop the Radicalz had forced him through. Now there was just one left… to take down Eddy Guerrero, to become WCW World Heavyweight Champion once more and to finally bring justice back to the promotion that he held so dearly to his heart.

 

As expected, it was an amazing clash, strength meeting skill as the two athletes went to battle. Eddy threw one dirty trick after the other at Sting, but he had learned how to combat them all, thanks to a lifetime of learning from the best… indeed, eventually they all seemed to fail him and 15 minutes into the match, Eddy was wholly overwhelmed. Naturally, the Radicalz then came down in full force, surrounding the ring, prepared to do whatever it took to keep that title on their leader…

 

But they didn’t anticipate just how ready WCW was to strike back. In spite of not having matches of their own, Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Konnan and Monty Brown all showed up ready to defend WCW’s pride and they took it to the Radicalz! After a wild brawl at ringside, they managed to chase them off, just as Sting got the knees up on a frantic Frog Splash attempt! A winded Eddy backed up into the corner… leaving himself open for a wicked Stinger Splash! With all of WCW’s top heroes cheering him on, Sting locked in the Scorpion Deathlock and Eddy had no choice but to submit!

 

Time will only tell if the war here is over or if it's only getting started... but for now, WCW reigns supreme!

 

 

Digital download bonus:

1. WCW World Heavyweight Championship Cage Match: Booker T © vs. The Giant – A (89) (Nitro, November 2001)

2. WWF Hardcore Championship: Perry Saturn © vs. Diamond Dallas Page – A (89) (Nitro, November 2001)

3. WCW World Tag Team Championships: Natural Born Thrillers © vs. Road Warriors – B (79) (Survivor Series 2001)

4. Rob Vam Dam vs. Ron Simmons – A (91) (Nitro, November 2001)

5. WCW Television Championship: Chris Kanyon © vs. Monty Brown – B+ (85) (Nitro, December 2001)

6. WWF Light Heavyweight Championship: Rob Van Dam © vs. Jerry Lynn – B+ (85) (Nitro, December 2001)

7. Chris Benoit vs. Diamond Dallas Page – A* (100) (Nitro, December 2001)

8. WCW Cruiserweight Classic Finals: Taka Michinoku vs. Jerry Lynn – B (82) (Superbrawl XII)

9. WCW Television Championship: Vampiro © vs. Shane Helms – B+ (85) (Nitro, April 2002)

10. The Mega Powers vs. Kronik – B (77) (WrestleMania 18)

 

Jesus. Why is this not being diarised?!

[EBEZA]

Bret wonders what he got out of it. Undertaker tells Bret it is not all about him

 

http://giphygifs.s3.amazonaws.com/media/tnYri4n2Frnig/giphy.gif

[Jaultma2]

Congratulations. I never heard of someone who would take a NWA territory other than JCP and then leave the alliance to find success like that. Quite interesting.

 

Thanks. I took it slow out of the gate and just had a bunch of talented people fall to me on pay per appearance deals between Japan tours. I also ran everything in the midwest/midsouth for a long time.

[Matt_Black]

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#6 Nicholas Lopez defeats Star Master, OLLIE Superestrellas, Sunday, October Week 3 (82)</p><p> </p><p>

#5 Luis Montero Junior defeats Extraordinario Junior, OLLIE Superestrellas, Sunday, August Week 1 (82)</p><p> </p><p>

#4 Jungle Jack wins the vacant Campeonato De Universal OLLIE in a 15-Man Mayhem match vs. Alicia Strong, Angel Of Mercy, Devious Dr. Fang, Diamante Azul, Disturbed, Dragon Americano, El Critico, El Hijo Del Neutron, Extraordinario Junior, Fray Valiente Junior, Hellspawn 666, Major Junta, Slayyer, and Star Master, Venganza, Monday, December Week 4 (82)</p><p> </p><p>

#3 El Critico defeats North Star Junior, OLLIE Superestrellas, Sunday, December Week 1 (83)</p><p> </p><p>

#2 El Critico defeats Luis Montero Junior in a Last Man Standing Match, OLLIE Superestrellas, Sunday, August Week 2 (83)</p><p> </p><p>

#1 Nicholas Lopez & Jungle Jack defeat The Shadow Riders, OLLIE Superestrellas, Sunday, October Week 4 (84)</p>

[Devine_Limits]

<p>Fleish RWC Mod -- WWE</p><p> </p><p>

10. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kevin Owens</span></strong><strong> def. Dolph Ziggler</strong> (WWE Battleground 2018) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

9. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Cody Rhodes</span></strong><strong> def. Seth Rollins</strong> - First Blood Match (WWE Elimination Chamber 2018) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

8. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Sami Zayn</span></strong><strong> def. Kevin Owens</strong> - By DQ (The Great American Bash 2018) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

7. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Samoa Joe</span></strong><strong> def. Dean Ambrose, John Cena & AJ Styles</strong> (RAW 2018) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

6. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Becky Lynch</span></strong><strong> def. Charlotte Flair</strong> - Last Man Standing Match (WWE Roadblock 2018) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

5. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Drew McIntyre</span></strong><strong> def. Finn Balor</strong> (SmackDown 2018) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

4. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura & Seth Rollins</span></strong><strong> def. Kevin Owens, Bobby Roode & Randy Orton</strong> (SmackDown 2018) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

3. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Finn Balor</span></strong><strong> def. Alberto Del Rio</strong> (WWE Great Balls of Fire 2018) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

2. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">AJ Styles</span></strong><strong> def. The Miz</strong> - Ladder Match (WWE Battleground 2017) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A+</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

1. <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kazuchika Okada</span></strong><strong> def. EC3</strong> - By DQ (WWE Fast Lane 2018) = <strong><span style="color:#FF0000;">A+</span></strong></p>

[DomNWO]

<p>Top 10 Matches in NJPW History: Saito Era</p><p> </p><p>

Tokyo Dome Show 2004: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Title - 99</p><p> </p><p>

Wrestling World 2006: The Great Muta vs Jinsei Shinzaki - International Grand Title - 99</p><p> </p><p>

2004 G1 Climax - Day 4: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bryan Danielson - 100</p><p> </p><p>

2001 G1 Climax Final: Bob Sapp vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - 99</p><p> </p><p>

Battle Formation 2003: Josh Barnett and Manabu Nakanishi vs Hase and Mutoh (BATT) - 99</p><p> </p><p>

NJPW Hashimoto Farewell Show, 2004: Tanahashi, Nakamura, and Shibata vs Hashimoto, Chono, and Mutoh - 99</p><p> </p><p>

G1 Climax - Day 8: Manabu Nakanishi vs Kensuke Sasaki - 100</p><p> </p><p>

BOTSJ 2005 - Day 4: Jushin Thunder Liger vs CIMA - 96</p><p> </p><p>

NJPW Presents - Joshi Domination 2005: Devil Masami vs Manami Toyota - 96</p><p> </p><p>

NJPW Anniversary Show XXXIV, 2006: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Rey Mysterio - 99</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

Bonus Matches</p><p> </p><p>

Wrestling Dontaku 2005: HARDCORE (Mike Awesome and Mr. Gannosuke) vs Shinzaki and Frye (BATT) - IWGP Tag Team Titles</p><p> </p><p>

Tokyo Dome Show 2004: Men of War (Sean O'Haire and Mark Jindrak) vs Hase and Mutoh - IWGP Tag Team Titles</p><p> </p><p>

Wrestling World 2001: Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata - IWGP Heavyweight Title</p><p> </p><p>

New Year's Dash 2005: Mutoh and Tanahashi vs Samoa Joe and Bob Sapp</p><p> </p><p>

G1 Climax Final 2005: Tanahashi vs Samoa Joe vs Kensuke Sasaki - G1 Climax Title</p><p> </p><p>

Hiroshi Hase Farewell Show, 2004: Hase, Mutoh, Kea, Frye (BATT) vs Liger, Shibata, Samoa Joe, Danielson</p><p> </p><p>

BOSJ Finals 2006: Milano Collection AT vs CIMA - BOSJ Title</p><p> </p><p>

NJPW G1 Tag League Final: TenKoji vs Tanahashi and Nakamura - G1 Tag League Titles</p><p> </p><p>

Wrestling Dontaku 2004: Manabu Nakanishi vs Bryan Danielson - 100</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

A couple of things:</p><p> </p><p>

This is from 2001- mid 2006, using Genadi's 01 mod. Longest save I've had and all of these matches have some sort of story behind them, which I'm really proud of. If you want any more details about a certain match or w/e just quote it, I didn't wanna write a paragraph for every match because I'm lazy, lol.</p><p> </p><p>

My top 10 isn't really about match rating. As you can see I have an 100 on my bonus match list, because I value importance too. There were some 100s that I didn't feel really need to be on this list because they were on road to shows, or were filler matches in a G1 or something. I tried to put the 10 that mattered the most in the history of the company in this era, used the bonus matches to put some on there that I personally like (but were still really good matches).</p><p> </p><p>

Also, my top 10 isn't in any sort of order. Just put them on the list as I found them in the game.</p>

[mjmiller2010]

WWE January 2004 - May 2006

 

Disc 1:

1. Rey Mysterio v. Eddie Guerrero (Ladder Match, January 06 SmackDown)

 

2. John Cena v. JBL (I Quit Match, Judgment Day 2005)

 

3. Batista v. Edge (June 2005 Raw)

 

4. Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels v. Edge and Christian (February 2005 Raw)

 

5. JBL v. Chris Benoit (Cage Match, April 2006 SmackDown)

 

6. Kurt Angle v. John Cena (First Blood Match, January 2006 Raw)

 

7. John Cena v. Kurt Angle v. Chris Masters (December 2005 Raw)

 

8. Sting v. Brock Lesnar (SummerSlam 2005)

 

9. Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels v. Carlito and Kurt Angle (July 2005 Raw)

 

10. John Cena v. Brock Lesnar v. JBL (WrestleMania 21)

 

Disc 2:

1. Shelton Benjamin v. Booker T (WrestleMania 22)

 

2. Carlito v. William Regal v. Shelton Benjamin (Vengeance 2005)

 

3. Dudley Boyz v. Paul London and Brian Kendrick (February 2006 SmackDown)

 

4. Chavo Guerrero v. Paul London (July 2005 SmackDown)

 

5. Booker T v. Billy Kidman (September 2004 SmackDown)

 

6. Christopher Daniels and Sean O'Haire v. Big Show and Kane (April 2006 Raw)

 

7. Matt Hardy v. Johnny Nitro (No Way Out 2006)

 

8. The Undertaker v. Orlando Jordan (September 2004 SmackDown)

 

9. Ric Flair v. HHH (Cage Match, Taboo Tuesday 2005)

 

10. Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, and William Regal v. Ric Flair and Batista (November 2004 Raw)

[Astyn]

CZCW Top 10 DVD

 

Special Mentions

- Marvel Molloy defends CZCW Championship against Jackpot Jordan (B)

- The American Cobras III defeat. Acid Reign (B)

 

(10) - The American Cobras III (Jonnie Perez & Logan Wolfsbaine) defeated. Rich & Famous (Jackpot Jordan & Jake Idol) - CZCW Christmas Cage Chaos, December 2017 (B)

 

(9) - The American Cobras III (Jonnie Perez & Logan Wolfsbaine) defeated. AcidReign (Acid Zero (Acid II) & Stuntman) - CZCW Revolution, January 2018 (B)

 

(8) - CZCW Xtreme Championship Ladder Match - Acid Zero (Acid II) defeated. Stuntman - CZCW Hardcore Halloween, October 2018 (B)

 

(7) - CZCW Tag Team Championship - El Hijos Del Mexico (El Mitico Jr. & Tigre Salvaje Jr.) defeated. Going Coastal (California Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Fernandes) - CZCW Reach for the Sky, September 2018 (B)

 

(6) - CZCW Tag Team Championship - Dragon Temple (Super Ninja & Devious Doctor Fang) defeated. El Hijos del Mexico (El Mitico Jr. & Tigre Salvaje Jr.) - CZCW Hardcore Halloween, October 2018 (B)

 

(5) - CZCW Tag Team Championship - El Hijos del Mexico (El Mitico Jr. & Tigre Salvaje Jr.) defeated. The American Cobras III (Logan Wolfsbaine & Jonnie Perez) - CZCW Spring Break Bash, April 2018 (B)

 

(4) - CZCW Tag Team Championship Fatal-4-Way Ladder Match - El Hijos del Mexico (El Mitico Jr. & Tigre Salvaje Jr.) defeated. AcidReign (Acid Zero & Stuntman), American Cobras III (Logan Wolfsbaine & Jonnie Perez) and Platinum Class (Ernest Youngman & Justin Sensitive) - CZCW Welcome To The Coastal Zone, May 2018 (B)

 

(3) - CZCW Tag Team Championship - El Hijos del Mexico (El Mitico Jr. & Tigre Salvaje Jr.) defeated. Platinum Class (Ernest Youngman & Justin Sensitive) - CZCW Battle On The Beach, July 2018 (B)

 

(2) - CZCW Tag Team Championship - El Hijos del Mexico (El Mitico Jr. & Tigre Salvaje Jr.) defeated. The American Cobras III (Logan Wolfsbaine & Jonnie Perez) - CZCW Uprising, March 2018 (B)

 

(1) - CZCW Tag Team Championship - Going Coastal (California Love Machine & Frankie Fernandes) defeated. El Hijos del Mexico (Tigre Salvaje Jr. & El Mitico Jr.) - CZCW Wave of Fury, August 2018 (B)

[Everything Ken]

I had a whole write out typed up like my Bray one I posted several months ago. Probably, even much more detail. And then when I hit reply, I got logged out. And I love this topic, even though it hasn't had a reply in months.

 

Anyway, I might go back and expand this, but it feels so defeating cause I already wrote a lot for it already and didn't copy it.

 

 

WWE April 2014 mod for TEW 2013 by Fleisch

Becoming the Boss: The Sasha Banks Story

 

1. Sasha Banks defeated AJ Lee in a submission match @ Summerslam 2015

 

2. Sasha Banks defeated Paige for the vacant Divas Championship @ Royal Rumble 2016

 

3. Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte and Becky Lynch to retain the Divas Championship @ WrestleMania 32

 

4. Summer Rae defeated Sasha Banks in an I Quit Match to retain the Womens Championship @ Battleground 2016

 

5. Sasha Banks defeated Nia Jax, Ashley Apex (Madison Rayne), Bayley, Alexa Bliss, and Mickie James in an elimination chamber match for the vacant Smackdown Womens Championship @ Elimination Chamber 2017

 

6. Sasha Banks defeated Bayley to retain the Smackdown Womens Championship @ WrestleMania 33

 

7. Sasha Banks defeated Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch © to win the Smackdown Womens Championship @ 2017 October Week 3 Smackdown

 

8. Sasha Banks defeated Ashley Apex to retain the Smackdown Womens Championship @ Clash of the Champions 2017

 

9. Sasha Banks defeated Summer Rae to retain the Smackdown Womens Championship @ Fast Lane 2018

 

10. Becky Lynch defeated Sasha Banks to win the Smackdown Womens Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 34