St. Templar Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 The Last Days of Global Wrestling Entertainment Any history of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has to decide where to start. Should that beginning be with Hackenschmidt and Gotch, whether their matches were worked or shoot? Should it be the establishment of organizations desperate to crown a real worldwide recognized champion, whether that be the National Wrestling Association (an outgrowth of the National Boxing Association), Worldwide Wrestling Affiliates, the Midwest Wrestling Alliance, or even the New York State Athletic Commission? Should we go to the establishment of the National Wrestling Alliance and its second champion Lou Thesz touring the world unifying other world championships into the NWA’s World Heavyweight Championship? Should it be the breakaway from the NWA by Vincent J. McMahon’s World Wide Wrestling Federation, its recognition of Buddy Rogers as world champion or the historic reign of Bruno Sammartino? Should it be the split… It becomes too much. We’ll start with the establishment of the Universal Wrestling Corporation in 1988 by Ted Turner as part of Turner Broadcasting System. It didn’t hold that name for long, as it was little more than a shell company to place the assets of Jim Crocett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling. Within a month, the Universal Wrestling Corporation became World Championship Wrestling, named for the television show of the same name, which itself was named after the Australian promotion of that name. Utilizing a connection to the NWA that they would rather quickly dispose of, WCW grew into a true challenger to the national prominence of the World Wrestling Federation (as Vincent McMahon’s son Vince had renamed the WWWF), the first truly national promotion, which had built that prominence on pay-per-view and syndicated programming before securing a national platform on the USA cable network. Turner’s WCW would gain a similar national platform by airing on Turner Broadcasting’s TNT network. The tale of the Monday Night Wars has often been told, so we won’t rehash it all, but it’s instructive to take a look at how they ended: not with a bang, but with little more than a whimper. 2000 – 2001: The End of Turner’s WCW As Turner Broadcasting System had become part of Time Warner’s empire in 1996, so had World Championship Wrestling, and that hadn’t been a big issue until the year 2000. Spiraling costs coupled with drooping ratings, uncreative booking and writing decisions (marketed as “Crash TV”), and a frankly bizarre focus on inanity over entertainment made WCW a huge drain on Time Warner’s resources. That made it something that most executives, particularly those in the television department of TNT and TBS, were completely willing to part with. Trying to stem the tide, Ted Turner, who’d built his television company on airings of Georgia Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, continued to do all he could to fight the company divesting itself of WCW. However, he was fighting a losing battle. He wasn’t the only one paying attention to this, however. The writing was on the wall, and it was a message picked up on by Eric Bischoff, formerly the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling, and wrestler Jeff Jarrett, himself the son of long-time Memphis promoter Jerry Jarrett. At some point in the year 2000, Bischoff and the Jarretts (who had maintained an at-best strained relationship for quite some time) began discussions to take WCW off of Time Warner’s hands. There has long been a rumor, one which was heavily discussed in the nascent internet newgroups of 2000, that a fourth partner was to be WCW’s creative director Vince Russo, but neither of the Jarretts nor Bischoff has ever confirmed nor denied that. Jerry Jarrett, who negotiated the capital investment from numerous northeastern banks, was to be just that: the money generator for the purchase. Eric Bischoff would run the creative direction and the office. Jeff Jarrett, whom many believed would be the face of the wrestling product, handled talent relations. And it was in this role that he had what many consider his greatest success: the negotiation with and signing of Texas independent wrestler Tony Davidson. Davidson, a college athlete whose baseball career was cut short by being seen as “injury prone” thanks to his freshman and sophomore seasons being cut short by knee and shoulder issues, had worked with a local grappling and fitness guru named Aaron Gutierrez (who founded and ran the Grapplers Anonymous Wrestling Academy until he sold it in 2013 to Booker T) to rehab from his knee injury in 1996. Gutierrez had a friendly relationship with several small-time central Texas wrestling promoters, one of whom gave Davidson his first shot in the wrestling business. Davidson, after leaving the University of Texas baseball team, parlayed that first opportunity into numerous appearances throughout Texas and into Mexico, where he wrestled in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), as well as into Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and throughout the American southwest. In early December of 2000, after an independent show in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Davidson met with the Jarretts, where he was offered a lucrative contract to wrestle in WCW and Wildside Wrestling (which would become better known as WSW before being rebranded in 2002 with the initials of ECW, which Bischoff and the Jarretts would purchase in 2001). Davidson’s success in WCW and its later incarnations would be tremendous, but they aren’t the focus of this history. Later in that same month, Time Warner’s board of directors would approve the sale of WCW to Global Wrestling Entertainment (GWE), which was the shell company that Bischoff and the Jarretts had founded in Georgia in October of 2000 to serve for just this purpose. Part of the agreement was a pact to continue airing WCW Nitro in prime-time on TNT through the month of July 2001. In March, the deal was formally completed and the “final” episode of WCW Monday Nitro would occur on Monday, March 26, 2001. Bischoff’s vision was to reboot the company, but this would not be like the April 2000 reboot engineered by Vince Russo. This would be a soft reboot in some ways (the title holders would keep their titles) while a drastic change in others. It’s worth noting here that Vince McMahon did make a lowball offer to acquire WCW in late 2000 that would not have required Time Warner to air WCW programming, but GWE offered a greater sum of money and an unofficial promise not to try and extend their television deal with TNT or attempt to move television to TBS. It’s often said that Turner himself, with what had become his limited power base in Time Warner, particularly after the merger with America Online in 2001, strongly opposed the sale to McMahon and swayed enough board support to GWE’s proposal. The first broadcast under GWE control would be a pay-per-view event: The Big Bang, which would emanate from Disney’s MGM Studios on May 6, 2001. In the opening segment of the show, Booker T, who had won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and retained the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, came out to relinquish both titles due to an injury he suffered on that final Nitro telecast. In the opening match, Lance Storm would defeat Buff Bagwell, Tommy Dreamer, and Tony Davidson (making his debut on GWE programming) to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, while in the main event, Sting would Dustin Rhodes, Ric Flair, and a debuting Rob Van Dam to claim the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The show would also see Team Canada’s Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo defeat The Filthy Animalz’ Billy Kidman and Rey Misterio, Jr., to capture the WCW World Junior Heavyweight title while Shane Helms defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr., to retain the WCW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship and Cruiserweight Championship had been renamed to reflect a slightly different dynamic and, as many reported, put them on a par with the NWA’s World Junior Heavyweight Championship), while the reunited Steiner Brothers defeated Natural Born Thrillers’ Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire and The Insiders (Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash) to capture the WCW World Tag Team Championship. And, like that, GWE was off to the races, although the name Global Wrestling Entertainment and the letters GWE would not be uttered on broadcasts until a bit later. True to their word, GWE did not seek to extend broadcasts on Time Warner television but opted instead to approach the USA Network, long the home of WWF’s flagship Raw broadcast, which had moved to TNN (later Spike TV). This would occasion moving Nitro back to a Monday night broadcast to go head-to-head with Raw again (TNT had demanded a Saturday night broadcast due to the perceived strength of WWF’s programming. The Precipitous Decline of the WWF The World Wrestling Federation, on the strength of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, alongside a packed midcard, continued for a while to go from strength to strength. McMahon rehired Vince Russo (some would say inexplicably) to manage the television product while he focused on his XFL, which itself was sold to Viacom and announced to be airing its second season on TNN before being unceremoniously dropped. Russo immediately rubbed several wrestlers the wrong way, paving the way for the exit of such heralded recent arrivals as Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn, and Eddie Guerrero, all of whom quickly were re-signed by GWE. But Russo’s biggest hiccup was a burgeoning feud with WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. Pushed by Russo’s firing of his close friends Jim Ross and William Regal, Austin left the promotion as well, opening up the situation where fences were mended in his past with both Jeff Jarrett and Eric Bischoff before he signed with Global Wrestling Entertainment. And, to focus on his burgeoning Hollywood career, The Rock left the promotion in 2002, leaving a still-solid upper card that featured The Undertaker, Triple H, Kane, and Marc Mero, but the losses of Austin, The Rock, Benoit, Guerrero, etc., took a powerful toll. If the issues were not clear enough, sallies made against the company by the Department of Justice would lead to a number of investors dropping out, and the publicly traded WWF’s stock (actually the company was called World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.) tanked in the light of newly-diminished performance and the rumors that McMahon himself would be brought up on charges of tax evasion by the Internal Revenue Service and financial malfeasance by the Securities and Exchange Commission. And, although these claims would later be proven false, McMahon himself was indicted in 2003. That was after, however, something of a set of olive branches went back and forth between WWF and GWE, leading to a fresh infusion of talent that was more than willing to go between the two promotions, including WWF’s Chris Jericho, Bradshaw, and Faarooq (former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons) and GWE’s Tony Davidson and Chris Benoit. As McMahon was taken away from the daily running of the company, Linda McMahon took over the operations while the creative direction of the company was handed to Bruce Prichard. The decline was real, however, and, as SummerSlam 2003 closed with a new WWF World Heavyweight Champion in John Bradshaw Layfield (who defeated defending champion Brock Lesnar, Kane, and Tony Davidson in the main event of the show, it opened a new era for the WWF. GWE’s WWF Much as GWE had taken breaks in its programming, an innovation pushed by Eric Bischoff, the deal was finalized to sell WWF to GWE. And, during the period of time that GWE spent doing its due diligence and preparing to buy out WWFE’s shareholders, WWF’s television and event products were managed by GWE. This would begin with a series of touring shows in Canada and Mexico. St.T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Templar Posted June 19, 2022 Author Share Posted June 19, 2022 The Last Days of Global Wrestling Entertainment Any history of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has to decide where to start. Should that beginning be with Hackenschmidt and Gotch, whether their matches were worked or shoot? Should it be the establishment of organizations desperate to crown a real worldwide recognized champion, whether that be the National Wrestling Association (an outgrowth of the National Boxing Association), Worldwide Wrestling Affiliates, the Midwest Wrestling Alliance, or even the New York State Athletic Commission? Should we go to the establishment of the National Wrestling Alliance and its second champion Lou Thesz touring the world unifying other world championships into the NWA’s World Heavyweight Championship? Should it be the breakaway from the NWA by Vincent J. McMahon’s World Wide Wrestling Federation, its recognition of Buddy Rogers as world champion or the historic reign of Bruno Sammartino? Should it be the split… It becomes too much. We’ll start with the establishment of the Universal Wrestling Corporation in 1988 by Ted Turner as part of Turner Broadcasting System. It didn’t hold that name for long, as it was little more than a shell company to place the assets of Jim Crocett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling. Within a month, the Universal Wrestling Corporation became World Championship Wrestling, named for the television show of the same name, which itself was named after the Australian promotion of that name. Utilizing a connection to the NWA that they would rather quickly dispose of, WCW grew into a true challenger to the national prominence of the World Wrestling Federation (as Vincent McMahon’s son Vince had renamed the WWWF), the first truly national promotion, which had built that prominence on pay-per-view and syndicated programming before securing a national platform on the USA cable network. Turner’s WCW would gain a similar national platform by airing on Turner Broadcasting’s TNT network. The tale of the Monday Night Wars has often been told, so we won’t rehash it all, but it’s instructive to take a look at how they ended: not with a bang, but with little more than a whimper. 2000 – 2001: The End of Turner’s WCW As Turner Broadcasting System had become part of Time Warner’s empire in 1996, so had World Championship Wrestling, and that hadn’t been a big issue until the year 2000. Spiraling costs coupled with drooping ratings, uncreative booking and writing decisions (marketed as “Crash TV”), and a frankly bizarre focus on inanity over entertainment made WCW a huge drain on Time Warner’s resources. That made it something that most executives, particularly those in the television department of TNT and TBS, were completely willing to part with. Trying to stem the tide, Ted Turner, who’d built his television company on airings of Georgia Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, continued to do all he could to fight the company divesting itself of WCW. However, he was fighting a losing battle. He wasn’t the only one paying attention to this, however. The writing was on the wall, and it was a message picked up on by Eric Bischoff, formerly the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling, and wrestler Jeff Jarrett, himself the son of long-time Memphis promoter Jerry Jarrett. At some point in the year 2000, Bischoff and the Jarretts (who had maintained an at-best strained relationship for quite some time) began discussions to take WCW off of Time Warner’s hands. There has long been a rumor, one which was heavily discussed in the nascent internet newgroups of 2000, that a fourth partner was to be WCW’s creative director Vince Russo, but neither of the Jarretts nor Bischoff has ever confirmed nor denied that. Jerry Jarrett, who negotiated the capital investment from numerous northeastern banks, was to be just that: the money generator for the purchase. Eric Bischoff would run the creative direction and the office. Jeff Jarrett, whom many believed would be the face of the wrestling product, handled talent relations. And it was in this role that he had what many consider his greatest success: the negotiation with and signing of Texas independent wrestler Tony Davidson. Davidson, a college athlete whose baseball career was cut short by being seen as “injury prone” thanks to his freshman and sophomore seasons being cut short by knee and shoulder issues, had worked with a local grappling and fitness guru named Aaron Gutierrez (who founded and ran the Grapplers Anonymous Wrestling Academy until he sold it in 2013 to Booker T) to rehab from his knee injury in 1996. Gutierrez had a friendly relationship with several small-time central Texas wrestling promoters, one of whom gave Davidson his first shot in the wrestling business. Davidson, after leaving the University of Texas baseball team, parlayed that first opportunity into numerous appearances throughout Texas and into Mexico, where he wrestled in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), as well as into Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and throughout the American southwest. In early December of 2000, after an independent show in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Davidson met with the Jarretts, where he was offered a lucrative contract to wrestle in WCW and Wildside Wrestling (which would become better known as WSW before being rebranded in 2002 with the initials of ECW, which Bischoff and the Jarretts would purchase in 2001). Davidson’s success in WCW and its later incarnations would be tremendous, but they aren’t the focus of this history. Later in that same month, Time Warner’s board of directors would approve the sale of WCW to Global Wrestling Entertainment (GWE), which was the shell company that Bischoff and the Jarretts had founded in Georgia in October of 2000 to serve for just this purpose. Part of the agreement was a pact to continue airing WCW Nitro in prime-time on TNT through the month of July 2001. In March, the deal was formally completed and the “final” episode of WCW Monday Nitro would occur on Monday, March 26, 2001. Bischoff’s vision was to reboot the company, but this would not be like the April 2000 reboot engineered by Vince Russo. This would be a soft reboot in some ways (the title holders would keep their titles) while a drastic change in others. It’s worth noting here that Vince McMahon did make a lowball offer to acquire WCW in late 2000 that would not have required Time Warner to air WCW programming, but GWE offered a greater sum of money and an unofficial promise not to try and extend their television deal with TNT or attempt to move television to TBS. It’s often said that Turner himself, with what had become his limited power base in Time Warner, particularly after the merger with America Online in 2001, strongly opposed the sale to McMahon and swayed enough board support to GWE’s proposal. The first broadcast under GWE control would be a pay-per-view event: The Big Bang, which would emanate from Disney’s MGM Studios on May 6, 2001. In the opening segment of the show, Booker T, who had won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and retained the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, came out to relinquish both titles due to an injury he suffered on that final Nitro telecast. In the opening match, Lance Storm would defeat Buff Bagwell, Tommy Dreamer, and Tony Davidson (making his debut on GWE programming) to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, while in the main event, Sting would Dustin Rhodes, Ric Flair, and a debuting Rob Van Dam to claim the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The show would also see Team Canada’s Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo defeat The Filthy Animalz’ Billy Kidman and Rey Misterio, Jr., to capture the WCW World Junior Heavyweight title while Shane Helms defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr., to retain the WCW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship and Cruiserweight Championship had been renamed to reflect a slightly different dynamic and, as many reported, put them on a par with the NWA’s World Junior Heavyweight Championship), while the reunited Steiner Brothers defeated Natural Born Thrillers’ Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire and The Insiders (Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash) to capture the WCW World Tag Team Championship. And, like that, GWE was off to the races, although the name Global Wrestling Entertainment and the letters GWE would not be uttered on broadcasts until a bit later. True to their word, GWE did not seek to extend broadcasts on Time Warner television but opted instead to approach the USA Network, long the home of WWF’s flagship Raw broadcast, which had moved to TNN (later Spike TV). This would occasion moving Nitro back to a Monday night broadcast to go head-to-head with Raw again (TNT had demanded a Saturday night broadcast due to the perceived strength of WWF’s programming. The Precipitous Decline of the WWF The World Wrestling Federation, on the strength of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, alongside a packed midcard, continued for a while to go from strength to strength. McMahon rehired Vince Russo (some would say inexplicably) to manage the television product while he focused on his XFL, which itself was sold to Viacom and announced to be airing its second season on TNN before being unceremoniously dropped. Russo immediately rubbed several wrestlers the wrong way, paving the way for the exit of such heralded recent arrivals as Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn, and Eddie Guerrero, all of whom quickly were re-signed by GWE. But Russo’s biggest hiccup was a burgeoning feud with WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. Pushed by Russo’s firing of his close friends Jim Ross and William Regal, Austin left the promotion as well, opening up the situation where fences were mended in his past with both Jeff Jarrett and Eric Bischoff before he signed with Global Wrestling Entertainment. And, to focus on his burgeoning Hollywood career, The Rock left the promotion in 2002, leaving a still-solid upper card that featured The Undertaker, Triple H, Kane, and Marc Mero, but the losses of Austin, The Rock, Benoit, Guerrero, etc., took a powerful toll. If the issues were not clear enough, sallies made against the company by the Department of Justice would lead to a number of investors dropping out, and the publicly traded WWF’s stock (actually the company was called World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.) tanked in the light of newly-diminished performance and the rumors that McMahon himself would be brought up on charges of tax evasion by the Internal Revenue Service and financial malfeasance by the Securities and Exchange Commission. And, although these claims would later be proven false, McMahon himself was indicted in 2003. That was after, however, something of a set of olive branches went back and forth between WWF and GWE, leading to a fresh infusion of talent that was more than willing to go between the two promotions, including WWF’s Chris Jericho, Bradshaw, and Faarooq (former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons) and GWE’s Tony Davidson and Chris Benoit. As McMahon was taken away from the daily running of the company, Linda McMahon took over the operations while the creative direction of the company was handed to Bruce Prichard. The decline was real, however, and, as SummerSlam 2003 closed with a new WWF World Heavyweight Champion in John Bradshaw Layfield (who defeated defending champion Brock Lesnar, Kane, and Tony Davidson in the main event of the show, it opened a new era for the WWF. GWE’s WWF Much as GWE had taken breaks in its programming, an innovation pushed by Eric Bischoff, the deal was finalized to sell WWF to GWE. And, during the period of time that GWE spent doing its due diligence and preparing to buy out WWFE’s shareholders, WWF’s television and event products were managed by GWE. This would begin with a series of touring shows in Canada and Mexico. St.T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Templar Posted June 19, 2022 Author Share Posted June 19, 2022 August 15, 2003 - Tri-Branded House Show in Montreal Bell Centrre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Attendance/Capacity: 15,137/16,000 Ticket Sales: $529,795 TV Revenue: $0 (not broadcast) PPV Revenue: $0 (not broadcast) Merchandise Sales: $70,881 This untelevised event show was opened with commentators Jim Ross, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and The Honky Tonk Man at the table. We are in the first show we’ve had with all three “brands” (that’s how they’re referred to in shareholder documents), so we should see some cross-pollination between wrestlers who’ve been exclusive to one company or the other previously. We are in the Bell Centre in Montreal for tonight’s show, and the crowd is excited for the first GWE show in Canada since the Jarretts and Bischoff took over WCW. The big buzz around the crowd is about Bret Hart’s in-ring return during the leadup to Bash at the Beach. Folks are curious if he will wrestle tonight. And speak of the devil, but as we start the show, Bret Hart comes out to welcome the crowd. He’s accompanied by his old tag team partner Jim Neidhart. The crowd still worships Bret (makes you wonder if GWE will bring out Shawn Michaels tonight…), and he got a huge pop when he announced that he would be teaming with Tony Davidson, AJ Styles, Ric Flair, and Sting tonight in the main event. (Score: 84) To open the night, it’s the pride of Whitby, Ontario, as Test is out to defend his NWA Heritage Championship against Albert. These are two big men who don’t do a lot of selling, but the hits look like they hurt (probably because they’re hammering each other as hard as they can), and a Big Boot puts Albert down for a three-count to allow Test to retain the title. This wasn’t a bad opener, and it was obvious they were trying to get the crowd heated up, but it could have gone a good four to seven minutes shorter than the 12:28 time from bell-to-bell. Test broodingly glares at the crowd in a show of celebration. I don’t know who the agent was for the match, but it makes you wonder if some of these big bodies from the WWF are going to be able to match the more intense style that fans of WCW and ECW have come to expect. (Time: 12:28; Score: 69) The NWA North American Heavyweight Champion Big Show teams with The Briscoe Brothers to take on Bad Company’s Kane, One Man Gang, and Vader, with Paul Bearer roaming the ringside area. The three big bodies from Bad Company featured two solid workers as big men who can move and the most credible wrestler in the GWE’s locker rooms in One Man Gang. The other side had Show’s size and the Briscoes willingness to flip and fly all over for the bigger guys. I’m guessing it might have been the influence of Tony Davidson (who’s been rumored to be a mentor to the Briscoes) that got Jay Briscoe to deliver a J-Driller to get the pinfall on Vader. Davidson’s influence or not, the Briscoes may be the top up-and-coming team anywhere in the industry today, and both Jay and Mark have big futures ahead of them. (Time: 15:13; Score: 76) We see the rich, if small, women’s division up next as ECW World Women’s Champion Daffney defending her title against Nattie Neidhart, while TJ Wilson roamed ringside. Early in the match, I was actually distracted by the lack of Shelly Martinez at ringside since Shelly’s been associating tightly with Daffney in the last few months. I don’t know if GWE is splitting them up, or if this is just for the tour or for tonight. That distraction faded when these two started going at it well, showing their stuff. And it was a Frankenscreamer to Nattie that led to a pinfall victory and secured a title retention for Daffney. Daffney is one of the class of women’s wrestling today, and Nattie Neidhart is way more than just a pedigree; she’s one of the top young wrestlers anywhere in the world. (Time: 12:02; Score: 70) NWA World Tag Team Champions The Trailblazers of Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire, representing Ric Flair and his RF Promotions stable, came out next to defend the titles against one of the best teams ever in The Dudleys. This was a hard-hitting match that went solidly and ended when O’Haire hit a Reverse DVD on D-Von for the three-count. This was a good match, but I really wanted to see someone go through a table when I saw it was a Dudleys match. (Time: 12:43; Score: 66) Gold dripped from one team in the next match, but it wasn’t tag team gold. WWF Cruiserweight (no longer the Light Heavyweight) Champion El Generico teamed with (real-life best friend, reportedly) NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Champion Kevin Steen to take on Warrior Spirit’s Kensuke Sasaki and KENTA, while Sonny Onoo prowled their corner. Generico and Steen work well together, and Generico and KENTA seemed desperate to outdo each other when it came to selling for their larger partners. It was a good match for the three young guys with the veteran leadership of Sasaki really helping the overall match presentation. And it was a Sasaki Northern Lights Bomb on Steen that made the difference, as he pinned the big man for the victory. (Time: 10:43; Score: 70) Shelly, Shelly, Shelly: the WCW World Women’s Champion was out next to defend her belt against the legendary Madusa. Madusa, sadly, seems to be fading faster than she can slow it down. It was great to see her, but Shelly, a perfectly serviceable women’s champion, doesn’t have the stuff to carry the veteran. It’s only right, then, that a Shelly-Shock leads to the pinfall. (Time: 11:52; Score: 59) Eddie Guerrero’s shock return from injury (since his knee was purported to keep him out for another couple of months) to challenge Chris Jericho for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2003 has been talked a lot about over the last couple of weeks, so we all knew that a title defense was likely up for tonight. Rumor has it that Guerrero, nephew Chavo Jr., and close friend Rey Mysterio are part of the crew moving from WCW to WWF. That would bump up what we’ll be seeing on SmackDown, and I wonder how long they keep Eddie and Rey from the WWF World title picture. But that also means less Eddie on Nitro, which is a bummer if you’re not up for watching wrestling on Friday nights. And it also means that Guerrero matches against Billy Kidman might be few and far between in the future. So I hope everyone enjoyed this one, which I’ll call my match of the night. Guerrero and Kidman work very well together, and Guerrero hitting a Frog Splash to get the pinfall victory and retain the title makes all kinds of sense. (Time: 14:27; Score: 82) NWA United States Heavyweight Champion James Storm is staking his claim on a spot in the future of the main event scene as one of the hot young champions in the company today. Taz is definitely on the downside of his in-ring career, having already had what turned out to be a temporary retirement. Taz was a destroyer in this match, and Storm was put in peril right away. Several teases of a Tazmission ended without that result, but Storm got Taz up for an 8-Second Ride and the pinfall victory to retain the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. (Time: 10:59; Score: 81) Our only world heavyweight title defense of the night came next when Rhino was out (with Taz staying out to guard his corner) to defend the ECW World Heavyweight title against Dan Severn, who was accompanied by Jim Cornette. These two have no choice but to beat each other, and it looked like Severn suffered a cut at some point in the match. From folks closer in, it didn’t look like he cut himself, but the hammering of Rhino could have no doubt busted him open for real. Severn is underrated, although he seems to be getting credit on the WCW and ECW rosters, and he made everything look good. I think this is also the case of two hard-hitters who just went out and beat the snot out of each other. And Rhino hit a Gore to get the pinfall victory and retain his title. I wouldn’t mind seeing this one as the main event of an ECW pay-per-view (or whatever they’ll call them now…more on that later). (Time: 15:44; Score: 64) Molly was out next to defend the WWF Women’s Championship (makes you wonder why the WWF belt didn’t get the “world” treatment) against up-and-comer La Dama Huerta. Judy Huerta is a protégé of Afa and Sika, and she’s starting to come into her own. That wasn’t enough to have them put over by Molly, though, and I don’t know she’s ready for it even if that was the plan. A Molly-Go-Round got Molly the pinfall victory and the title retention. (Time: 12:35; Score: 65) Rumor has it that GWE put Scott Steiner on the shelf because they planned to release him, but a last minute negotiation between Steiner and Bischoff got the deal done. Part of that was Steiner agreeing not to fuss about a title loss Nitro, but he would be put in a key position. Rumor also has it that, when GWE releases which wrestlers will be assigned to each “brand” in a couple of weeks, Steiner is going to the WWF. Either way, Diamond Dallas Page will no doubt be staying with his new Mega Power stablemates in WCW. But, I guess he won’t need the NWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship in WCW (unless they’re going to switch it back somewhere before Bound for Glory. Because, this was a solid match between two veterans. It was nothing spectacular, but it didn’t really need to be. And Steiner won it with a Steiner Recliner to become the new NWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion. (Time: 10:43; Score: 80) Our second world heavyweight champion appearance comes next, when WWF World Heavyweight Champion John Bradshaw Layfield teamed with long-time partner Ron Faarooq Simmons. Their gimmick change from The APA to Business Before Pleasure, with the suits and the ties and the name changes and Bradshaw’s short blond hair has been…surprisingly successful. It’s tough to square “JBL” and “RFS” being good guys who kick ass, because it seems like they can only do one at a time, but that doesn’t stop the quality of their work. Put them in a triangle tag against Team Angle’s Perry Saturn and Shelton Benjamin and the newly-heel team of Edge and Matt Hardy (I mean that they’re newly-heel; not that they’ve teamed regularly…although that wouldn’t be a bad idea), and you had a nice treat of a match. And, as you might expect, JBL got the pinfall victory after a Clothesline from Hell to Shelton Benjamin. (Time: 15:30; Score: 80) The sheet I get these scores from gave this match the highest rating of the night even though I preferred the Guerrero-Kidman match. But, I do have to agree this one was terrific. D-Generation X vs. The nWo will be a feud for the ages, I expect, with different pairings and other permutations giving them a ton of ways to make it work. Put Booker T, Goldust, and Rob Van Dam in the ring for DX, and Hunter and The Outsiders in for the nWo, and you’ve got a setup for success. At first, I was shocked not to see HBK at ringside, but, then…it’s Montreal. They put on a show, though, and it was a nice finish to see Booker T pin Big Sexy after a Scissors Kick. My only knock on this one, really, was that it could have gotten more time, which would have only made it better. (Time: 13:50; Score: 88) In the best women’s match of the night, Lita put the NWA World Women’s Championship on the line against Joanie Wonder, with Eric Bischoff at ringside. Honestly, this would have been the title match that I thought would have been a switch tonight. And Lita and Joanie have some good chemistry from the looks of things. A Lita Bomb into a pinfall victory for her to retain the title was a nice surprise for me. (Time: 11:21; Score: 70) The main event of the night was up next, which was what WCW and ECW have been calling a Super Atomicos match (5-on-5 or a ten-man tag is the traditional American name). We got Bret Hart’s return to wrestling in Canada alongside his mentee Tony Davidson, Sting, and RF Promotions’ WCW World Junior Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles and Ric Flair taking on the team of WCW World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle, “Redd Dogg” Rodney Mack from Fightstar Promotions, Raven from R.E.D., WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Mike Awesome from The Devastation Corporation, and the leader of The Entourage “Double J” Jeff Jarrett. Lots of different combos and false finishes as this one went on, and it got a good long time. Davidson and Angle teased a future feud while they got the bulk of the time or their teams and made the most of it. A great Angle Slam spot that Davidson only survived by rolling out of the ring was matched with another terrific Tornado spot that Angle kicked out of after Davidson took a while to cover him due to “exhaustion” (I’m sure that’s what Good Ol’ JR said). But, it was the Canadian hero who got the late tag against the U.S. Champion (and, somehow, former Team Canada member) Mike Awesome. And, when Hart started to lock in the Sharpshooter, the roof almost came off the place. Hart got the submission victory for his team to send the crowd home happy. (Time: 27:34; Score: 83) Overall, this was an enjoyable show, with a lot of teasing of WWF vs. WCW without a lot of delivering. Still, that’s something that will no doubt come as the performers, bookers, agents, etc., get more comfortable with the new arrangement. Their working relationship over the last few months will no doubt help with that. The next three nights will see GWE tour across Canada before taking a few nights off before a pair of shows in Mexico. Bound for Glory 3 should be a lot of fun in early September. Overall show score: 82 St.T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Templar Posted June 19, 2022 Author Share Posted June 19, 2022 August 16, 2003 - Tri-Branded House Show in Toronto Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Attendance/Capacity: 19,800/19,800 Ticket Sales: $693,000 TV Revenue: (0) PPV Revenue: (0) Merchandise Sales: $818,687 We’re in the Air Canada Centre after a good, if a bit underwhelming, Montreal show last night. The commentary team of Ross, Lawler, and Honky is at ringside. There was tremendous buzz outside the arena tonight, and the building looks to be sold out. Holy courage! Tony Davidson starts off the show in the ring with Bret Hart. They’re playing to the crowd…and Davidson calls out Shawn Michaels. HBK and Hart go back-and-forth on the mic, but HBK apologizes to Bret for all that happened all those years ago, and the two men shake hands. It looks like they may not be bosom buddies or anything, but they look to have buried the hatchet. As for the performances, Bret looked a little off, but that might have just been the emotion of the moment. All three of them looked to be invested in what was going on, and the reality of the history of Bret and Shawn, not to mention that Davidson is closely connected with both of them, made this all the better. (Score: 100) In a nice opening brawl, The Big Show successfully defended the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship against the former Olympian Mark Henry, who was accompanied by his Fightstar Promotions pals Teddy Long, “Redd Dogg” Rodney Mack, and Ron Killings. After a good bit, Show hit the Show Stopper on Henry to get a pinfall victory and retain his title. (Time: 13:40; Score: 75) AJ Styles is one of the hottest rising stars in the business (some would argue and say that he is the hottest), and here he took on Matt Hardy (who came to the ring with Trish Stratus) to defend the WCW World Junior Heavyweight Championship. After a lot of good back-and-forth action and a nice contrast between Styles flying around and Hardy’s more ground-based attack, Styles hit the Styles Clash for the pinfall victory. (Time: 14:34; Score: 85) Daffney faced Jackie Moore in a title defense of the ECW World Women’s Championship. This was a good match, as expected from these two, and it ended with a Frankenscreamer for a pinfall victory for Daffney. (Time: 12:57; Score: 63) Kevin Steen was down to the ring next with El Generico to defend the NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship against Kensuke Sasaki, who had Sonny Onoo and KENTA with him. I really wanted this match to be good, but the chemistry between these two was absolutely horrific. Mercifully, Steen finally hit a Go Home Driver to get the pinfall victory. (Time: 11:27; Score: 49) The Mega Power stable is an interesting idea as long as they keep it relatively small. All four members were out tonight, Savage and Sting defending the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team titles (but not the NWA United States Tag Team Championship) against Bad Company’s Kane and Vader, who were accompanied by Paul Bearer. A good, straightforward match, but I think most of the fans figured that only one set of tag titles was on the line so they could put them on the challengers, which they did. Kane hit a big Chokeslam on Savage for the pinfall victory and title win. (Time: 14:43; Score: 74) It was hardcore action next as Chris Benoit defended the WCW Hardcore Championship in a fatal 4-way against Al Snow, Gangrel, and Keii Mutoh. Benoit dominated the match, finally hitting a Diving Headbutt on Gangrel to gain the pinfall victory and retain the title. (Time: 10:23; Score: 80) But that wasn’t all for the WCW Hardcore Championship tonight. As Benoit was awarded his title belt, he was jumped by The nWo’s Hall, Nash, and HHH. They beat him down before turning to leave, only for Keiji Mutoh to pounce on the fallen Benoit for a three-count. And Keiji Mutoh became a five-time Hardcore Champion. (Score: 78) It’s tag team action next as NWA World Women’s Champion Lita and Mickie James facing WCW World Women’s Champion Shelly Martinez and Trish Stratus. It was a good back-and-forth after the shock the crowd seemed to feel at the Mega Power vs. Bad Company match and the shenanigans after the Benoit defense. The tag match ended when James hit a Mickie-DT on Martinez to get the pinfall. It has to make you wonder if they’re just going to turn around and put the WCW women’s title back on James before too long. (Time: 15:45; Score: 69) Eddie Guerrero is out next to defend the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match against CM Punk and Steve Corino. Punk and Guerrero had some good back-and-forth action, but Corino seemed to have some trouble getting into things until late in the match. Guerrero finally hit a Frog Splash on Corino to gain the victory and retain the title. (Time: 14:46; Score: 78) We saw Canada’s own LuFisto come out to challenge Molly for the WWF Women’s Championship next. LuFisto is raw, but she’s definitely got potential, and I hope they can do something to build her up. The result of this match was no big surprise, as Molly hit a Molly-Go-Round to gain the pinfall victory and retain the title. (Time: 12:38; Score: 65) Put James Storm in that category of younger workers that GWE is big on pushing. The NWA U.S. Champ was challenged by none other than the Cerebral Assassin himself. Triple H was accompanied to the ring by Kevin Nash and Scott Hall for the match while Storm was on his own. And Triple H looked dominant, but it was Storm that played the babyface-in-peril role to perfection, staying alive for Hunter to get distracted by Chris Benoit. That distraction allowed Storm to hit the 8-Second Ride on The Game for the victory and the title retention. Lots of folks will likely say that this was the match of the night. They won’t be right, but they’ll say it anyway. (Time: 14:30; Score: 86) The career renaissance of Scott Steiner continued next. The NWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion defended his title against Jeff Hardy, who came to the ring with Lita. Steiner’s power and Hardy’s willingness to sell and innovative offense were a potent combination. And when Steiner locked in his famed Recliner, the match was over. (Time: 12:37; Score: 81) It’s trios time. Brock Lesnar, Edge, and Test come down before the babyfaces, whose team consists of D-Generation X’s leader Shawn Michaels and Rob Van Dam teaming with “The Modern-Day Warrior” Tony Davidson. And this match featured a lot of Davidson and Lesnar pounding on each other, which always entertains me. This is a pair of big, beefy boys whose offenses look real and who understand psychology and selling…but not too much. Rob Van Dam seemed to focus on Edge while Shawn Michaels stayed mostly with Test. Despite the promises early on, the match ended with Davidson and Test in the ring when Davidson hit a Tornado on the Heritage Champ for the three-count. For my money, this was the match of the night, even if it didn’t get the highest rating. (Time: 14:39; Score: 87) Business Before Pleasure (JBL and RFS, as it were) took on The Outsiders next. Layfield and Simmons (or Bradshaw and Faarooq if you go by their “middle names”) have always been solid in the ring together, as have Hall and Nash. Triple H made a pest of himself at ringside, and the match was solid throughout. Triple H was neutralized by the arrival of Chris Benoit, who would also distract Nash so that JBL could hit the Clothesline from Hell to get it done. (Time: 12:28; Score: 77) That brought us to the main event, with Kurt Angle defending the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Booker T. These guys both have it, and there would be no problem from my perspective with these two guys being the focus of a title feud in the near future. This was a terrific match, and the extracurriculars from Goldust and Shawn and from Saturn and Benjamin were kept to a minimum. The focus on Angle and Booker was just what it should have been. And Angle hitting a slam on Booker to get the pinfall made both men look great. (Time: 18:18; Score: 88) St.T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Templar Posted June 20, 2022 Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 August 17, 2003 - Tri-Branded House Show in Calgary Scotiabank Sattldome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Attendance/Capacity: 12,509/19,289 Ticket Sales: $437,815 TV Revenue: $0 PPV Revenue: $0 Merchandise Sales: $636,978 We are in the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with J.R., The King, and Honky at the commentary table. There’s a rumor that GWE will be releasing these on DVD (or hopefully a DVD set) at some point in the future, which is why they’re having live commentary. We can only hope those rumors are true. Tonight’s show opens to a not-full house with Lance Storm coming out to a pop, where he reminds the crowd (in fact anybody’s forgotten) that he’s from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He then brings out his boyhood hero Bret Hart. The crowd’s eating it up, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of Clarence Mason leading out Junior Fatu and WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Mike Awesome. Usually, Mason is pretty smooth, but tonight, he seems to be struggling a bit with the back-and-forth. It’s obvious that Storm and Hart are trying to feed him and help him out, but it’s just not working, and I can’t say that this segment is anything but disappointing. Still, they fed the idea that the opening match will have Storm team with The Hitman to take on these two members of The Devastation Corporation. (Score: 69) And that match kicked off the show. It had to be a thrill for Storm and Awesome to work in the ring with Hart, and he and Storm work well as a team, although I’d honestly rather see Storm working as a solo act. Awesome, sad to say, might have plateaued, though. He’s the one who takes the loss for his team, though, as he tapped to Storm’s Straightshooter. (Time: 15:24; Score: 77) Tag team title action was up next as WCW World Tag Team Champions Nick Dinsmore and Rob Conway, The Lords of the Ring, defended their titles against Too Cool. Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty looked good, and these two teams are pretty evenly matched and an extended feud between them would be entertaining. This match ended with Sexay pinning Conway after a Top Rope Legdrop. (Time: 13:25; Score: 72) I’m not sure who’s behind the idea of booking The Big Show on each of these shows so far, but I think it’s been fun to see him facing different types of opponents, and the fact that the last couple have been defenses of his NWA North American Heavyweight Championship just makes it all the better. In Calgary, he faced Edge, and the mix of styles was nice to see. Edge is going to be a big star in this company, and Show makes heads turn everywhere he goes. Show hit a Show Stopper on Edge to gain a pinfall victory. (Time: 13:52; Score: 76) The rise of Shane Helms (now The Hurricane) up the card has been a lot of fun to see, and seeing him team with a guy who’s in the main event scene (although likely on the way back down that same card) is an enjoyable thing to see. And, to see them go up against Bad Company’s Jerry Sags and Vader tells me that they might just be looking to push Helms. Bad Company picked up the win, however, after Vader hit a Vader Bomb to Hurricane for the pinfall. (Time: 11:43; Score: 70) What seeing Big Show is from the WWF perspective, I’d say seeing James Storm is for ECW fans. Storm was there last night defending the NWA United States Heavyweight title against the ice-cold (and not in a good way) Shawn Stasiak. Storm is hot, and Stasiak is truly the opposite when it comes to momentum. It’s almost sad to see, especially since GWE has posted sexy-lady valet Midajah to try and help Stasiak. It was a pretty work-a-day match, too, with Storm looking much better than Stasiak, and I have to wonder if that’s due to Stasiak’s lack of ability or just the fact that he can’t seem to get anything out of the crowd. It was almost merciful when Storm hit him with an 8-Second Ride to get the pin and retain the title. (Time: 15:58; Score: 69) Oh, the next match! Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero Jr. rejoined Eddie Guerrero as La Familia (making you wonder if Chavo and Rey will join Eddie in the move to the WWF…I mean, SmackDown brand). And The Filthy Animalz have had a few hits, even if Billy Kidman’s won a lot more than Konnan, but Abyss has been lost in the mix since he moved up from developmental. All three of them got their moments to shine opposite Eddie, Rey, and Chavo. Surprisingly, at least to me, was to see Rey Mysterio be the one to take a pinfall loss after Abyss hit him with a Black Hole Slam. (Time: 12:40; Score: 81) I really want Frankie Kazarian to do well. There’s just something about the guy, but wonder if feeding him to Rhino for a title defense here is really the best move. As you might imagine, Rhino hit him with a Gore after a decent match to get the pinfall and retain the ECW World Heavyweight title. (Time: 14:08; Score: 68) That turned around quite a bit with the arrival of Big Poppa Pump, who was out to defend the NWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship against the Hardcore Legend Mick Foley. Steiner and Foley are pros and work well together. This was a lot of fun to watch, and the two told a great story of a game Foley trying to conquer the stronger and more athletic Steiner. Foley sold his never-say-die attitude for all it was worth, but once Steiner got him locked into the Steiner Recliner, not even Foley could avoid tapping out. (Time: 15:05; Score: 82) Molly was out to defend the WWF Women’s Championship against now-former NWA World Women’s Champion Simply Luscious. Luscious is a good worker, but she’s nothing great. Molly definitely carried this one and did what she could with what she had. She hit a Molly-Go-Round to get the pinfall victory. (Time: 11:49; Score: 66) John Bradshaw Layfield was out next to defend the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Matt Hardy. Ron Faarooq Simmons and Trish Stratus were out to manage them, respectively. I know there’s not a lot of story going on with these shows, but seeing JBL against Matt Hardy in a longer feud would be a lot of fun, and these two work well together. Matt doesn’t bounce around like his brother, but his selling makes JBL’s offense look absolutely amazing. And when Hardy got on a hot streak, JBL didn’t seem to have a problem selling for him. Simmons and Stratus at ringside had their own little comedy bits at ringside, too. JBL hit his Clothesline from Hell (somebody needs to come up with a new name for it to fit his new character) to get the pinfall win. (Time: 15:23; Score: 77) The match of the night was up next. First off, congratulations to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon (Paul and Stephanie Levesque as they’re known elsewhere in the world) on the birth of their first daughter last night. It seems a pretty reliable story that they got the news she was in labor last night (apparently a week or so early), and the Cerebral Assassin was given time off and rushed out of the arena by a couple of guys (Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Tony Davidson, according to those rumors) to make sure he got to the airport as quickly as possible. I have no information on whether HHH got to the hospital before the arrival of Aurora Rose Levesque, but we do wish them all the best. Anyway, to the match, it was Triple H and his nWo buddies Kevin Nash and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Scott Hall taking on the trio of Tony Davidson and RF Promotion’s WCW World Junior Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles and Chris Benoit. All three guys looked good throughout, with Styles doing most of the work against HHH and Davidson facing mainly Nash. But, the marquee matchup they were pushing here was Benoit against Hall, and it was the two of them doing most of the work toward the end. Hall finally muscled Benoit up or an Outsider’s Edge to get the pinfall and the victory for the nWo. (Time: 15:43; Score: 88) The next match was designed to let the crowd recover and, despite a ton of star power on display, it accomplished that feat. NWA World Women’s Champion Lita teamed with Mickie James to face ECW World Women’s Champion Daffney and WCW World Women’s Champion Shelly Martinez. The biggest nit I have to pick with this match was that Daffney and Shelly really seemed to not work well. This was likely a case of nerves, though, since they usually get along very well in the ring. Lita closed it out by hitting Daffney with a Lita Bomb for the pinfall victory. (Time: 12:47; Score: 64) The main event was a well-built four-way for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Angle defended the title successfully against Raven, Rob Van Dam, and Sting. Angle looked hot throughout, and it was a battle for submission supremacy before he locked Sting in an Ankle Lock after rolling through an attempt at the Scorpion Deathlock that got Angle the victory and a title retention. (Time: 26:19; Score: 86) Overall, a really exciting and packed show. The crowd response wasn’t as strong as it was the previous night in Toronto, but I felt like the crowd got their money’s worth. Overall Show Grade: 85 St.T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Templar Posted June 20, 2022 Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 August 18, 2003 - Tri-Branded House Show in Vancouver General Motors Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Attendance/Capacity: 19,000/19,000 Ticket Sales: $665,000 TV Revenue: $0 PPV Revenue: $0 Merchandise Sales: $793,039 We are in General Motors Place for the final night of GWE’s Canada Tour. J.R., The King, and The Honky Tonk Man are in their regular places for tonight’s event. Early reports are that tonight’s show will be a sellout, and the Vancouver crowds are usually quite strong. The show opens when Tony Davidson, CM Punk, and Christian all come out to the ring. They take turns on the mic, hyping that tonight’s main event will see the three of them teaming up to face all three members of Team Angle. These three guys have some amazing skills on the mic, and the crowd was eating up what they were serving. (Score: 80) And the crowd got into it early when Bret Hart came out next to take on Test for the NWA Heritage Championship. Test looked as good as he could, but Hart has been in top form since returning to the ring. And the crowd popped huge when Hart slapped on the Sharpshooter, and even huger when Test tapped to it. Hart was awarded the Heritage title belt, and played to the crowd afterward. (Time: 12:52; Score: 82) And from one Canadian Hero™ to a pseudo-Canadian as Elix Skipper was out next to challenge AJ Styles or the WCW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (no, Skipper isn’t a former Canadian Football player, despite the WCW storyline bio). Skipper is an underrated flyer, but Styles is the real deal, and with the charisma and star power to match. The crowd quickly got behind the Georgia native, especially with Ric Flair in his corner. And Styles hit the Spiral Tap to get the win and retain the title. (Time: 15:21; Score: 81) Shelly Martinez was up next to defend the WCW World Women’s Championship against Nattie Neidhart. Martinez is a decent worker but gets by mostly on her looks. Neidhart, however, is a future star in the business, and she’ll end up with a litany of titles to show for it. Tonight, however, despite the crowd being strongly behind her, was not her night. Martinez hit her with a Shelly-Shock to get the pinfall victory. (Time: 12:05; Score: 68) The Trailblazers of Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire were escorted to the ring by Ric Flair so that they could defend the NWA World Tag Team titles against Fightstar Promotions’ “Redd Dogg” Rodney Mack and Mark Henry, who were accompanied by Teddy Long. Long is a heat magnet and provided a solid counterpoint to Flair’s own managerial tactics. It was a good brawl and ended with Palumbo hitting a Super Kick on Henry for the pinfall win. (Time: 12:40; Score: 69) The next match is likely a preview of what we’ll see over the weekend on GWE’s Mexico shows. Rey Mysterio took on Nicho El Millonario (the original Psychosis, who is not permitted to wrestle under a mask in Mexico and has adopted this character). Their chemistry is unmistakable, and the action in the ring was out-of-this-world. These are two of the best luchador-style wrestlers in the world today, and they left it all out there. Mysterio, naturally, took the win with a Top-Rope Hurricanrana. (Time: 15:29; Score: 81) Our next match was pitting two of the top stables’ lower-tier stars, as D-Generation X sent Road Dogg and X-Pac out to take on The nWo’s WWF Intercontinental Champion Billy Gunn and Justin Credible. The action was practiced and solid, and we all know how well these four know each other. X-Pac took the victory with an X-Factor on Gunn. We can’t be sure if that means a future Intercontinental title program for the two or not, but we’d love to see it. (Time: 11:35; Score: 69) Daffney came out to make a defense of the ECW World Women’s Championship, tonight against Jackie Moore. The former “Miss Texas” was unable to seize the crown as Dafney beat her with a Frankenscreamer for the win. (Time: 10:53; Score: 60) Just a few nights ago, Scott Steiner took the NWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship from Diamond Dallas Page, and tonight was his time to defend it against a new challenger in his old rival Booker T. These two know how to work, and the crowd knows to expect big things from them; both of those played out tonight before Booker T beat Steiner with a Scissors Kick to take the victory and the title. My biggest gripe personally for this match is that they could have been handed another five or six minuts. (Time: 12:55; Score: 83) James Storm continues to show that he is a worthy NWA United States Heavyweight Champion. In this show, he defended the title against Hardcore Holly in a hard-hitting affair. Storm is definitely the more over of the two, but the crowd was into seeing what he would do to Holly. He took the victory with a Top-Rope Bulldog to keep the title. (Time: 13:51; Score: 69) Lita and Trish feuded between Nitro and SmackDown before Bash at the Beach, with a big return at SummerSlam for Lita to capture the NWA World Women’s title, and this night saw her defending the title against Trish. Trish is still on the rise, skills-wise, but she’s near the top of her game, and I don’t think there’s argument that Lita is at the top of hers. A Lita Bomb would give Lita the victory and title retention. (Time: 14:25; Score: 71) In what was likely the most shocking part of the night’s show, Edge and Matt Hardy were teamed up to take on Business Before Pleasure (formerly The APA since they put on business suits and everything). An interesting stipulation was announced for this one right before it started when Howard Finkel announced that if Edge or Hardy pinned JBL, they would win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. JBL yelled at Finkel, obviously selling anger at the announcement, but Finkel just shrugged as he left the ring. As you might imagine, this led to both Matt and Edge doing everything not only to get JBL into the match, which also allowed Ron Faarooq Simmons the opportunity to stay in the ring and resist tagging in his partner until JBL had to give a blind tag just to get into the fight. Then, Edge and Hardy went after each other a bit before JBL hit him with a Clothesline from Hell, leading to Hardy being dragged from the ring by Trish Stratus and allowing JBL to eat both a Spear and an Edgecution to get the pinfall, giving Edge and Matt the victory and Edge the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. (Time: 14:03; Score: 80) The previous match wasn’t long out of the ring when DDP’s music hit, and the “People’s Champion” made his way to the ring. He was set to face Kane, who had Paul Bearer in his corner. Their match was everything we could hope for from two veterans who understand both how to work and their characters. Kane got an advantage before hitting a Chokeslam and getting the pinfall victory. (Time: 13:39; Score: 77) In a brand new matchup that we love to see, the next match saw NWA World Heavyweight Champion Scott Hall defend his title against Val Venis. I did notice that a lot of Val’s mannerisms seemed to be played down in the match, and he seemed to be more businesslike. I’m not sure if this is part of a character transformation or just tweaking who he is. His supposed past as an adult film star was not mentioned much past the Right to Censor storyline in 2001, but a lot of tongues over the years have wagged about just eliminating that from his backstory. But, all of that is beside the point in this match, which was very good. Hall and Val work well together, and Hall sold for a lot of Val’s offense. In the end, however, it was not enough as an Outsider’s Edge got Hall the victory and allowed him to retain his title. (Time: 12:36; Score: 81) You’ll no doubt remember the feud back in 2001 and 2002 between Mickie James and Joanie Wonder as they rose through the ranks of WCW’s women’s division, and it was refreshed that at this show. They haven’t forgotten anything when it comes to how to work together. James’ strength in the ring is well-known, allowing Wonder to be one of the few in the company who can look stronger than her. Wonder looked strong throughout the match, but it was a Mickie-DT from nowhere that got James the win. (Time: 13:19; Score: 72) The main event was next up and, as promised, all three members of Team Angle were out first. Then, out came Christian, Punk, and Davidson. The match was entertaining all-around, but the interactions between Angle and Davidson really stole the show. The two gelled amazingly well, and it was a shock roll-up that got Davidson the pinfall victory over the world champion. A knowing grin at the Olympic Gold Medalist as he, Christian, and Punk backed up the ramp. (Time: 18:53; Score: 80) I really enjoyed being a part of this crowd. I only wish I could have written on GWE’s charter plane between Calgary and Vancouver, since I’m sure that was a smoother ride than Delta’s flight between the two cities. Overall show grade: 80 St.T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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