[Brandon_Brownson]

WCW MONDAY NITRO
July Week 1

The show kicks off with the usual opening package and pyro show. The announce team welcomes us to the show and hype up some of what we'll be seeing tonight, including Masahiro Chono VS Chris Benoit, Booker T VS Alex Wright for the TV title and Hollywood Hogan VS Lex Luger, where the winner will walk away with the WCW Title, and the loser will be fired. We take it to the ring for our first match.

SEGMENT 1- Damien VS Chavo Guerrero Jr
The fan's didn't pop particularly hard for either of the two when they came out, but they put in a fairly decent Cruiserweight style match to open up the show. The match ends with Chavo Jr hitting Damien with a gory bomb.
RESULT: Chavo Guerrero Jr pins Damien at 12:40 following a Gory Bomb
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 2- Raven Promo
Raven comes out to the ring alone. The announcers mention that this is rare, since usually Raven has his Flock in tow. In a lengthy segment, Raven says that for the past few months, he's been in a rapidly worsening slump. He says that he should be the most dominant force in wrestling today, but all he's managed to do as of late is hold the WCW US title for barely a day. He hints that maybe it's his own shortcomings that are responsible for this, but he then announces that it's the useless clowns he's called his “Flock” that have caused this rapid decline. He digs into each member of his Flock one-by-one before he says that he's done with The Flock. They're nothing without him, but he's everything without them. This is a new era, the era of Raven.... NEVERMORE! Raven drops the mic and heads out through the crowd as the announcers stammer in shock.
RATING: A

SEGMENT 3- West Texas ******** VS Norman Smiley & Marty Jannetty
This is a decent showing for the newly formed team of Duncam Jr and Windham. While Norman and Jannetty looked painful (at best) as a Tag Team, it didn't matter so much as the WTR dominated throughout the entirety of the match (save a brief Jannetty comeback). The glorified squash match lasted nearly 11 minutes before the West Texas ******** ended things with a vicious double lariat.
WINNERS: West Texas ******** def Smiley & Jannetty (Duncam Jr pinning Smiley) at 10:54 following a Double Lariat.
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 4- Sonny Onoo & Masahiro Chono interview
Backstage, Gene Okerlund interviews Sonny Onoo and Masahiro Chono (though Chono more or less just stood there looking menacing due to his poor English). In the interview, Onoo (who seemingly overnight learned how to speak almost perfect English) says that he's tired of the Japanese People being little more than a joke in America and that's going to end tonight at the expense of Chris Benoit. Basic interview, but it did what it needed to do.
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 5- Fit Finlay VS Glacier
It should first be said that Finlay is a huge chunk of the reason that this match was good. This match was pretty back and fourth, with Glacier still doing a lot of his martial arts stuff (though some of it did look a lot more vicious than usual) and Finlay being a down and dirty brawler in this contest. After a shockingly good match, Finlay wrapped things up with a Celtic Cross, which the announcers are hyping as his new finishing move.
RESULTS: Fit Finlay pins Glacier at 11:49 with a Celtic Cross
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 6: Lex Luger hypes the main event
Backstage, Gene Okerlund catches up with Lex Luger. Lex cuts a promo on not just Hogan, but the nWo as a whole. He says that for almost two years, the nWo have been a thorn in Lugers side, in the side of WCW, and it ends tonight. He will win the WCW title and when he does, Hogan will have to leave WCW for good. He claims that without their leader, the new World order will fade away into obscurity, and he will be heralded as a hero. It's kind of a wonder that the crowd ate this up like they did, but whatever.
RATING: A

SEGMENT 7: El Dandy VS Juventud Guerrera
Dandy and Juventud put on a back and fourth lucha libre clinic out there, and the fans ate it up like hot cakes. After a bunch of flashy moves and near-falls, Juventud ends up winning it with a Juvi Driver.
RESULTS: Juventud Guerrera pins El Dandy at 17:33 with a Juvi Driver
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 8: Thunder Main Event
In a super quick segment, it is announced that on Thunder, Bill Goldberg will defend the United States Title against Brian Adams in the main event.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 9: Luger gets Jumped
Lex Luger is backstage getting warmed up for his match, when Curt Hennig jumps him from behind. Henning basically beats the shit out of Luger for two minutes before the zebra squad (refs and officials and whatnot) run in to pull Hennig off of Luger. Lex is obviously hurt after this attack.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 10: Kidman pleads with Raven
Raven is in the parking lot about to leave the arena when Billy Kidman catches up with Raven. Kidman tries to talk some sense into Raven, saying that the Flock has helped him and how HE wants to continue to help Raven, but he eventually gets hit with the Raven Effect, laying him out in the middle of the parking lot. Silly Billy, you can't talk sense into Raven!
RATING: A

SEGMENT 11: Masahiro Chono VS Chris Benoit
Man, did the crowd love this one! Chono and Benoit put on a fantastic match, with neither getting a huge advantage over the other until later on in the match. It should be noted that Onoo didn't do the whole Japanese-tourist selfie thing that he usually does; he really is a new man! Toward the ending of the match, Benoit is in solid control until Chono throws him to the outside of the ring. Chono briefly distracts the referee as Onoo grabs a kendo stick and cracks it over Benoit's head. This resulted in Benoit getting counted out, giving Chono the win. The fans are pretty pissed about this cheap win, but Onoo and Chono are celebrating like they just won the world title.
RESULT: Masahiro Chono def Chris Benoit at 17:51 by countout
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 12: Final Hour Hype
The announcers take a moment (as Chono & Onoo are still celebrating, no less) to hype up the final hour of the show. The mention that the TV title match will be happening next, and they also discuss the main event, particularly the attack earlier by Hennig. Heenan is firmly in the corner of the nWo, Tenay is appauled by the attack, and Dusty... well, Dusty's being Dusty.
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 13: Television Title Match
It's obvious that this match was booked to make Booker T look good, but Alex Wright also looked fantastic in this match. Booker used his clear size advantage to take over in the early moments, but Wright (with a little bit of cheating, of course) took control during the middle of the match, showing the world that he's one of the better cruiserweights out there today. After some fantastic back-and-fourth in the final 5-7 minutes of the bout, Booker ends up retaining the title with the Book End. The fans are pretty hyped after this match.
RESULT: Booker T retains the TV title by pinning Alex Wright at 15:50 with the Book End
RATING: A

SEGMENT 14: Bischoff's announcement
Backstage, Gene Okerlund is summoned into the office of the nWo, where everyone is congradulating Curt Hennig in doing “what needs to be done”. Mean Gene is appalled at what he's seeing, but Bischoff snatches the mic away and announces that if anyone interferes in tonights match to help Lex Luger, they will be fired. Okerlund looks like he just smelled a dead skunk after he hears that, but the nWo quickly boot him out of their office.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 15: Hogan hypes main event
However, the camera man stays in the locker room, and Hogan cuts a promo. He says that Luger doesn't have what it takes to cut the mustard, and after tonight, that piece of crap will no longer wrestle in HIS ring (Obviously, he also said brother about 80 times, dude 63 times and Jack 28 times, but do I really need to clarify that?)
RATING: A

SEGMENT 16: Wrath VS Meng
It's pretty obvious that this match is just here to bring the crowd down a little bit before the main event, but it was still a pretty solid match, nonetheless. Meng got in a decent amount of offense, but this match was more or less all Wrath, ending with a Meltdown.
RESULTS: Wrath def Meng at 8:50 with a Meltdown
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 17: WCW Title Loser Leaves Town match
This match was about as fantastic as a Hogan-Luger match could be (which is to say not very, but the crowd ate that shit up). Hogan was in control of about 70 percent of the match (big shock), getting some decent heat from the crowd, before Luger comes out of nowhere with a huge comeback. It's looking like Luger might actually win the match, but he makes a fatal mistake and accidentally clocks the referee. Regardless, Luger continues his assault and slaps Hogan in the torture rack, eventually making him tap out. The fans pop, thinking that this is the end of the nWo like Luger said, but theres one little problem- the ref is still out. Luger drops Hogan and tries to shake the ref awake, but Steiner and Hennig interfere and beat the ever-beloved shit out of Luger. Hogan gets his shit together and nails Luger with the Leg Drop of Doom, getting the 1-2-3 as the ref miraculously comes back to life. Oh, wrestling ref logic!
RESULTS: Hollywood Hogan retains the WCW World Title against Lex Luger at 21:46 with a Legdrop (and help from Curt Hennig & Scott Steiner)
RATING: A

SEGMENT 18: Sting comes to the rescue
After the match, Hogan and his boys celebrate before turning their attention to Luger, who is slowly stumbling to his feet. The nWo mock Luger for a moment before they decide to add injury to insult. The three beat on Luger for a bit before Sting runs out, baseball bat in hand, and tries to go after the nWo. The boys in black bail before Sting can do any damage, though, leaving Sting trying to help Luger to his feet as the closing moment of the night.
RATING: A+

QUICK RESULTS
Chavo Guerrero def Damien
West Texas ******** def Norman Smiley & Marty Jannetty
Fit Finlay def Glacier
Juventud Guerrera def El Dandy
Masahiro Chono def Chris Benoit
TV TITLE: Booker T (c) def Alex Wright
Wrath def Meng
WCW TITLE LOSER LEAVES TOWN: Hollywood Hogan (c) def Lex Luger

RATING
B

ANNOUNCED FOR THUNDER
US TITLE: Bill Goldberg (c) VS Brian Adams

ANNOUNCED FOR BASH AT THE BEACH
Jack Shit​

 

[Lariatoh!]

Your show has a heap of potential... But your first Nitro has so much filler. Where were all your big names? You rolled out a couple, but was this show meant to be the last of a Bischoff run show or this is with your new head of creative?

Damien? Marty Jenetty, Norman smiley? El Dandy (who am I to question. El Dandy?)?, Glacier? Your opening post stated you were dropping a heap of dead weight. As a first show I was hoping for a change in direction, balls to the wall show.

I like the recap style easy to read. I don't like you trash talking your own segments.. A little weird. In any case, I'll read your next show to see where you are heading...

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

Your show has a heap of potential... But your first Nitro has so much filler. Where were all your big names? You rolled out a couple, but was this show meant to be the last of a Bischoff run show or this is with your new head of creative?

Damien? Marty Jenetty, Norman smiley? El Dandy (who am I to question. El Dandy?)?, Glacier? Your opening post stated you were dropping a heap of dead weight. As a first show I was hoping for a change in direction, balls to the wall show.

I like the recap style easy to read. I don't like you trash talking your own segments.. A little weird. In any case, I'll read your next show to see where you are heading...

A lot of the first few weeks is the end of the Bischoff era, which will be explained a little later. Another big chunk of the B-List being rolled out is because A- I'm trying to push some people to be a little more (Jannetty would be great to work with younger talents since he has a heap of experience, Damien is solid as fuck [though I'm bummed that Halloween isn't in TEW for some reason] and Glacier could make an alright midcarder) and B- Somebody's got to do the J-O-B to push some of the people I want to do something with (Not going to go too deep into that).

Another big thing is that you'll be seeing more established stars on Thunder because, hey, I've got this two-hour block, I might as well do something with that.

Anyway, thanks for the review, I hope you stick around a bit. The first few shows are going to be a little meh, as I'm transitioning into the things I want to do (Were this to actually happen, there would definitely be a transitionary period), but I've got some really cool stuff planned out!

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

BREAKING NEWS
WCW RELEASES ALMOST 40 PEOPLE

Earlier this week, WCW President Aurora Edwards said that she will be releasing some WCW talent. However, we had no idea it would be this many people this quickly! On WCW's website, it was announced that almost 40 people were released today!! Here are the talents who have been released:

Rick Rude, Vincent, The Barbarian, The Disciple, Van Hammer, The Fake Sting, Yuji Nagata, Villano IV, Villano V, Sick Boy, Scott Putski, Scotty Riggs, Stevie Ray, Steve “Mongo” McMichael, Reese, Scott Norton, Robbie Rage, Rocco Rock, Rick Martel, Magnum TOKYO, Prince Iaukea, Mike Enos, Lodi, Lizmark Jr, Kenny Kaos, Lex Luger, Lenny Lane, Johnny Grunge, Jerry Flynn, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Horace Hogan, Chris Adams, Ernest Miller, Bobby Eaton, Barry Horowitz, Barry Darsow, Brad Armstrong and Buff Bagwell.

While some of these names don't come as a shock, there are several names on this list that have taken us off guard. The obvious three are Buff Bagwell, Lex Luger and Mongo. Luger has been a mainstay in WCW for years, and Bagwell & Mongo seemed to be really building momentum as of late. Folks like the Villanos and Public Enemy come as a shock after President Edwards announced that she'd like to focus on the tag team division. Horace Hogan comes as a HUGE shock due to his uncle, Hollywood Hogan, being one of the biggest names in WCW today.

After these releases, we're wondering if we'll be seeing any more releases in the near future? Also, with all this space cleared up, just how many people is Edwards looking to hire, and when will we see some of those names?

Well, rumor has it that Edwards is not only looking at top indie talent, but she's also got an eye on ECW and WWF talent, as well! The WWF have recently released a few names, and inside sources say that Edwards is interested in a few of them (most notably Andrew Martin, who was in WWF developmental as Test, and Amy Dumas, who was in the same developmental program as Lita). In ECW, Edwards has an interest in several top-tier names like Mike Awesome, Rob Van Dam, Shane Douglas, Taz, Sabu, Masato Tanaka and the Dudley Boyz. If the massive firing is foreshadowing the way Edwards does business, we might have another big list of new hirings coming very soon!

As a side note, while the first episode of Nitro since Aurora has taken over wasn't bad, some fans have commented that it wasn't what they were expecting. It felt like, according to these fans, most of the show was filler. Rumor has it that the transition from Edwards to Bischoff isn't going as smoothly as planned backstage, resulting in some of the on-air product being rushed. The long-term plan is that Edwards will take full control of the product after Bash at the Beach, and inside sources say that things might be a little sketchy until then.

NOTE: Alright, I had to add that last paragraph in. Over on WrestlingForum.Com, someone commented that the first episode of Nitro seemed kind of full of filler, and I'll agree to that, but it's kind of intentional? Some of the people I used that seem like filler guys right now are people who I think I can really do something with in the future, some of it was to put over talent that I want to push, and some of it was just because I want to wait until after Bash at the Beach to really start some of my major storylines (TEW put me at the beginning of July, and the build to Bash would only be two weeks). The first handfull of shows aren't going to be full of superstars, but for what they are, I still feel that they're really good. I ask that you stick with me for a little while. As of writing this, I have everything up to Bash at the Beach written out, and I'll be uploading it over the next few days. Once the build for Slamboree starts, I promise that things are going to get awesome!

One final note, even after Bash at the Beach, you might notice that not all of the A-List talent is going to be on Nitro, and there's a reason for that. Thunder always left a bad taste in my mouth because WCW had two hours where they didn't have to worry about WWF in 1998, and they really did nothing with those two hours. I'm trying to divide my major feuds between Nitro and Thunder, and even a few for Saturday night (Out of the story lines I'm working out right now, I've got them split 50/40/10 between the three shows). This is partially, as I mentioned, so Thunder can get it's time to shine, but this is also so all three shows are fun for me to write. If I strictly put all the major stuff on Nitro like WCW did, Thunder and Saturday Night would be more of a chore to write out, and I don't like chores. So yeah, thanks to those of you who have read my intro and Nitro, I hope you stick around because shit's about to get pretty cool!​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

WCW THURSDAY THUNDER

July Week 1​

The show starts with the opening package and pyro, and the announcers lead us through some of the action we'll be seeing tonight, including Raven VS Konnan to determine the #1 Contender for the TV title and Bill Goldberg defending the US Title against Brian Adams in the main event.

SEGMENT 1: Johnny Swinger VS Evan Karagias
It's pretty obvious that the styles of these two didn't mesh at all, but for what it was it was a decent opening match. This match ended right as it really started going to hell with a quick roll-up
RESULT: Evan Karagias def Johnny Swinger at 8:59 with a roll-up
RATING: C+

SEGMENT 2: Eddie Guerrero promo
Backstage, Mean Gene talks with Eddie Guerrero about his match on Saturday against Perry Saturn. Guerrero touches a little bit on that, but spends most of the match making fun of Chris Benoit for his match on Nitro. Foreshadowing for a feud? Maybe...
RATING: B

SEGMENT 3: Psicosis VS La Parka
These guys put on a great match out there. La Parka got a few chuckles out of the crowd by trying to introduce a chair into the match, only to have the referee stop him every time. Psicosis ends up winning the hard-fought match with a Psycho Stunner.
RESULT: Psicosis def La Parka at 22:52 with a Psycho Stunner
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 4: Hype
The announcers hype up the rest of the card. Nothing special to add here.
RATING: A (How the hell did hype get that high of a rating? Beats me!)

SEGMENT 5: Hugh Morrus VS Jim Neidhart
This was a relatively quick big man match, but it wasn't that bad. Hugh Morrus showed that he could eventually be a big time player, showing some good selling and some great offensive. Eventually, though, Neidhart got the better of Morrus with the Anvil Flattener.
RESULT: Jim Neidhart def Hugh Morrus at 7:39 with an Anvil Flattener
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 6: TV Title #1 Contender Match
I'm sure everyone knew that Raven and Konnan could put on a good match, but this was on a level nobody saw coming. Raven and Konnan threw everything they had into this match, pushing one another to their limits and wowing the crowd with some fantastic back-and-fourth, false finishes, high spots, all that jazz. Raven wound up winning it with an Evenflow DDT, but the crowd wasn't even particularly upset that the bad guy won. They were just happy to have seen the match!
RESULT: Raven becomes the TV Title #1 Contender by pinning Konnan at 17:42 with an Evenflow DDT
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 7: Sting's Challenge
A promo airs, featuring Sting in the rafters of an arena. It's dark and atmospheric as hell, with the white of Sting's paint being the only thing above a dark gray. Sting mentions that he tried to kill the nWo in 1997, but he failed. Sure, the nWo was hurt, but they survived to fight another day. He let himself be distracted with being the champion, but he lost sight of finishing what he started, and it took his best friend, Lex Luger, losing his job for Sting to realize that he has work he needs to finish. Sting says that before the year is over, the nWo will be dead! He ends the promo by challenging Hogan to a match at Bash at the Beach. He says that he doesn't care if the belts on the line, he just wants Hogan one-on-one.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 8: Billy Kidman VS Dean Malenko
The announcers definitely hype up the fact that this is the first match Kidman has been in where he isn't a member of the flock (that might not be true, but when has that mattered to a WCW announcer?). Kidman definitely puts in a fantastic effort, working one hell of a match with Dean Malenko. Malenko, of course, looked good, too. This match came down to Malenko trying to keep Kidman grounded, and Kidman wanting to use his aerial offense to fuck Kidman's day up. Kidman was eventually grounded, though, and forced to tap to the Texas Cloverleaf.
RESULT: Dean Malenko def Billy Kidman at 22:31 by submission to the Texas Cloverleaf
RATING: A

SEGMENT 9: United States Title Match
This match might have gotten an A+ rating, but we can probably mostly chalk that up to the fact that Goldberg is red-hot right now. That said, this wasn't a bad match. One could even say that, for a Goldberg match, this was fantastic (even if there was a hideous lack of selling on either side). Brian Adams got some good defense in, but Goldberg dominated through most of the match, eventually ending it with a huge spear.
RESULT: Goldberg retains the US title against Brian Adams at 13:09 with a Spear
RATING: A+

QUICK RESULTS
Evan Karagias def Johnny Swinger
Psicosis def La Parka
Jim Neidhart def Hugh Morrus
TV TITLE #1 CONTENDER: Raven def Konnan
Dean Malenko def Billy Kidman
US TITLE: Goldberg (c) def Brian Adams

SHOW RATING
B

ANNOUNCED FOR SATURDAY NIGHT
Eddie Guerrero VS Perry Saturn​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

WCW SATURDAY NIGHT
July Week 1

The show kicks off with the opening package and pyro, and we go straight to the announce booth. The C-Squad begin to hype up tonight's show, particularly the Eddie Guerrero VS Perry Saturn match, though they also mention that at some point in the broadcast, we will hear from Hollywood Hogan. From there, we go right into the action.

SEGMENT 1: Silver King VS Super Calo
It should be noted right off the bat that this show was held in Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rican crowd definitely wasn't feeling WCW tonight. That said, this match got possibly the best reaction, despite the fact that it featured the most B-List of Cruiserweight talent. Not to say that this was a bad match- if anything, it was pretty okay. Calo and King knew how to work the Puerto Rican crowd pretty well, and had them pretty engaged right up till the end, when Calo put King away with a diving Huricanrana.
RESULTS: Super Calo pins Silver King at 10:38 with a diving Huricanrana
RATING: C

SEGMENT 2: Hector Garza VS Chris Kanyon
Honestly, this match wasn't that great. Hot, lukewarm or cold crowd aside, Garza and Kanyon's styles really didn't mesh, and the fans made their opinions known. The two tried as hard as they could to win the crowd back, and Kanyon won with the Flatliner, but from start to finish the crowd shit all over this contest.
RESULTS: Chris Kanyon pins Hector Garza at 10:11 with a Flatliner
RATING: D

SEGMENT 3: Hogan's Response
We get a pretty typical nWo style promo, full with weird angles, black-and-white filter, and the creepy industrial locations. However, instead of seeing the whole gang showboating around, we simply get Hogan in jeans and an nWo shirt, with the world title on his shoulder. Hogan starts by saying that he took care of Luger once and for all, and we will never see him in WCW again (big loss, I know!). From there, he responds to Sting. He makes fun of the Stinger for a moment, particularly jabbing at the “I just got your best friend fired” wound, but he eventually states that he will not wrestle Sting at Bash at the Beach or any other show, because Sting just isn't worthy to be in the ring with him. He ends by saying that if Sting wants a shot at Hogan, he's got a massive mountain to climb, brother!
RATING: B

SEGMENT 4: Eddie Guerrero VS Perry Saturn
It's possible that in any other venue at any other time, this match would have gotten the crowd to go wild. Now, Perry and Eddie were a little off their game, admittedly, but the fans didn't really get into this match. Perry spent most of the match working the limbs for the Rings of Saturn, and Eddie did whatever he could (legal or otherwise) to get the upper hand in this one, but it's obvious that they weren't into this match much. The match went on for almost 25 painful minutes until Eddie ended it with a frog splash.
RESULTS: Eddie Guerrero pins Perry Saturn at 23:05 with a frog splash
RATING: C-

SEGMENT 5: Guerrero taunts Benoit again
The show ends with Guerrero once again making fun of Benoit for not getting the job done. It's kind of obvious that this segment was supposed to go on for a little longer than it did, but the crowd were absolutely vicious, chanting “WCW sucks” and “End the show” as Eddie tried to cut his promo. Eventually, Eddie simply dropped the microphone and headed to the back as the commentators wrapped up the show and announce Chris Benoit VS Ultimo Dragon, Chris Jericho VS Juventud Guerrera for the Cruiserweight title and Curt Hennig VS Rick Steiner for Nitro. Thank god this one's over.
RATING: E

QUICK RESULTS
Super Calo def Silver King
Chris Kanyon def Hector Garza
Eddie Guerrero def Perry Saturn

OVERALL RATING: C-

ANNOUNCED FOR NITRO
Chris Benoit VS Ultimo Dragon
Curt Hennig VS Rick Steiner
Cruiserweight Title: Chris Jericho (c) VS Juventud Guerrera

NOTES: Seriously, fuck booking shows in Puerto Rico. That was some grade A bullshit. Anyway, I've got a huge news update coming soon, so there's that.​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

BREAKING NEWS
WCW HIRES 30 NEW TALENTS

It would seem that President Aurora Edwards does, in fact, pick up talent as quickly as she drops them, and in just as big of bulk. We knew that some new stars would be coming into WCW in the near future, but we had no idea that such a large amount would be coming THIS quickly. Here is the complete list of new talents;

Jerry Lynn, Rena Mero, Shark Boy, Rhino, AJ Styles, Mike Quackenbush, Shane Helms, Shannon Moore, Gedo, Jado, Super Dragon, Headhunter I, Headhunter II, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Kimona, Christopher Daniels, Homicide, Kaz Hayashi, Sabu, Masato Tanaka, Mike Awesome, Super Crazy, John Kronus, Doug Williams, Andrew Martin, Joey Matthews, Christian York, Kurt Angle, Chris Harris and Amy Dumas.

This is a lot to take in, so let's try and take things step by step.

First of all, it looks like the rumors that ECW might be taking a hit have become a fact. The loss of Kimona might not be that huge, but losing Sabu, Masato Tanaka and Mike Awesome is a huge blow. Tanaka and Awesome were in the middle of working a pretty marquee program in ECW, and Sabu has been a staple in ECW for a very long time. Rumor has it that WCW also had talks with Shane Douglas, and that creative had plans for Douglas to be the leader of an Extreme nWo-style faction, but talks with Douglas fell through, as Douglas still has very negative feelings toward WCW. However, the fact that Douglas was even willing to sit down with WCW is news in and of itself.

As expected, WCW picked up Andrew Martin, who worked with the WWF as Test up until earlier this week. It would seem that Martin did not have a no-compete clause in his contract; we'd assume because the WWF didn't see Martin as a big enough name (though the no-compete clause is still a pretty new thing in WWF contracts). We are unsure as to what Martin's role in WCW will be.

The Cruiserweight division looks to be getting a breath of fresh air with established indie talents like Mike Quackenbush, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Christopher Daniels, Kaz Hayashi and Super Crazy, as well as up-and-coming Cruisers like AJ Styles, Shane Helms, Shannon Moore and Homicide. There is also quite the international flair with some of these Cruisers.

Rumor has it that a number of these talents will help beef up the tag team division, including the Headhunters and the team of Mathews & York (who have recently started teaming together in the New England area). A wild card in this is John Kronus. Though he was not brought in with a partner, fans of ECW might recognize that he already has an established partner on the roster...

Rena Mero, Kimona and Amy Dumas are rumored to be coming on as managers, but it's possible that the three will become in-ring workers at some point, as President Edwards made it known that at some point she would like to have a Women's division in WCW.

Possibly the biggest star that WCW picked up was Kurt Angle. Angle, of course, won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 in Men's freestyle wrestling, though he also won two freestyle world cups and a world championship in amateur wrestling. Angle stopped into ECW for a cup of coffee, leaving quickly after Raven and his flock crucified Sandman (we have to wonder if there will be any backstage animosity between the two over the incident), and he trained with WWF's developmental league for a while before leaving earlier this year. WCW has a potential mega-star on the levels of Bill Goldberg on their hands, if they manage to play their cards right.

Our backstage sources say that some of these stars will be heading to the Power Plant for some fine-tuning, while the rest will be either debuting at Bash at the Beach or shortly afterward.​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

WCW MONDAY NITRO
July, Week 2

The show kicks off with the opening package and pyro show before we take it to the announce table. After welcoming everyone to the show, they hype some of the matches we'll be seeing tonight, including Chris Benoit VS Ultimo Dragon, Chris Jericho VS Juventud Guerrera for the Cruiserweight title and Curt Hennig VS Rick Steiner in the main event. From there, we go to the ring for our first match.

SEGMENT 1: El Dandy VS Super Calo
The opening match features two B-List Cruiserweights who picked up wins last week, and they definitely got the crowd going with a lot of fast-paced action. It wasn't anything super special, but it did exactly what it needed to do, and that's get the crowd red hot. After an almost 15 minute contest, Super Calo picked up the win with a diving huricanrana.
RESULT: Super Calo def El Dandy at 14:31 with a Diving Huricanrana
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 2: Booker T promo
Backstage, Mean Gene is with the WCW Television Champion, Booker T. Mean Gene mentions that on Thunder, Raven became the number one contender to the Television Championship, and he asks Booker what he thinks of that. Booker starts by actually kind of complimenting Raven. He mentions that he thought that without the Flock, Raven would just be another punk on the roster, but he proved that he's damn good in his match against Konnan. However, Booker quickly mentions that compared to Booker T, he's just some punk sucka whose going to go down just like the rest of them... NOW CAN YOU DIG THAT, SUCKA?!?
RATING: A

SEGMENT 3: Fit Finlay VS Jim Duggan
This match could have easily been a squash to put Finlay over, but I think that Jim Duggan wanted to prove that his career isn't quite over yet. There was absolutely nothing pretty about this one; Duggan and Finlay beat the ever-beloved shit out of one another, but the crowd quite enjoyed the sloppy slugfest. Duggan put in a great effort, and he showed the fans that he's still got some gas in the tank, but he wound up with his shoulders on the mat after a Celtic Cross.
RESULT: Fit Finlay def Jim Duggan at 12:17 with the Celtic Cross
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 4: Big Sexy and the Macho Man exchange words
Backstage, Kevin Nash is shown walking down a hallway, when a door opens and Big Sexy almost walks into it. Randy Savage comes out of the door, and the two begin to argue. This is one of the oldest set-ups in the book, but the classics can still get the job done.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 5: Ultimo Dragon VS Chris Benoit
Before the match began, Sonny Onoo grabs the mic and promises that big things are coming to WCW. Last week, Masahiro Chono beat Chris Benoit, kick-starting a new wave of Japanese Wrestling Supremacy, and tonight it continues. Benoit comes out, clearly not pleased by what happened last week and what Onoo just had to say, and the two begin a fast paced, hard hitting match. Benoit is very much a technical wrestler, but he can go at the speed of one of the best cruisers in WCW today, and the fans ate that shit up like hot cakes. Toward the end of the match, Benoit is in control, and Onoo gets up to the apron to distract Benoit. Benoit takes the bait, and Dragon hits the ropes, but Benoit notices what's happening and gets out of the way, making Dragon dropkick his manager off the apron. Dragon tries to apologize to Onoo, but Benoit comes behind Dragon and beats him with, ironically enough, a Bridging Dragon Suplex.
RESULT: Chris Benoit def Ultimo Dragon at 19:55 with a Bridging Dragon Suplex
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 6: ...and then Guerrero ruined it
Chris Benoit celebrates a little bit, and Onoo comes into the ring to yell at Dragon. Benoit turns his attention to Onoo, who backs himself into a corner, but before Benoit can do much of anything, Eddie Guerrero runs out and attacks Benoit from behind. During the attack, you can hear Eddie yelling “You're not better than me!”
RATING: B

SEGMENT 7: And now, some main event hype
Backstage, Mean Gene is standing with Rick Steiner. Mean Gene mentions how Steiner's opponent, Curt Hennig, was largely responsible for Lex Luger getting fired, and he asks how Rick feels going in to this match. Steiner begins a decent-length promo tearing into the nWo. He talks about how the nWo has cost him championships, has cost him friends, and how the nWo has even cost him his own brother. Rick gives Sting credit for putting his focus back on destroying the nWo, but he says that Sting isn't the only person who wants the nWo gone. Steiner says that he wants to dismantle the nWo for all they've cost him, and it's going to start tonight with Curt Hennig!
RATING: A

SEGMENT 8: Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender Match
The announce team mentions that the winner of this Psicosis VS Rey Mysterio Jr match will face whoever the Cruiserweight champion is in the main event of Saturday Night. Psicosis and Rey Mysterio Jr do what they do best against one another- put on a five-star match! This is the epitome of a great Cruiserweight title match, and it ends with the good guy going over!
RESULT: Rey Mysterio Jr def Psicosis at 18:34 with a Springboard Huricanrana. Rey Mysterio Jr is the #1 Contender to the Cruiserweight Title.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 9: Hugh Morrus VS Perry Saturn
From here, we gotta bring the crowd down a little bit. Morrus tries to use his size advantage through most of the match, but Perry puts the pressure on the limbs and makes Morrus tap out to the Rings of Saturn. Good match, but nothing compared to the match that came right before it.
RESULT: Perry Saturn submits Hugh Morrus at 12:46 with the Rings of Saturn
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 10: Hennig can hype, too
We go backstage again, where Mean Gene is standing with Curt Hennig. It should be mentioned that the whole interview, Okerlund looks like he's inhaling the nastiest fart known to man. Anyway, Mean Gene mentions that Hennig cost Luger his job, and Hennig cuts him off. Curt says that Luger cost himself his job by getting involved in WCW's business, and Hennig made sure that he'd never do that again. Hennig also proclaims that if Rick Steiner and Sting know what's good for them, they'll back off the nWo or they'll go the same route as Luger.
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 11: Wrath VS Glacier
This match is a pretty solid match between two of WCW's up-and-coming midcard talents. Glacier's martial arts moves look more vicious this week, keeping up with the trend of making him more threatening and less goofy, but Wrath's power and intensity proves to be a little too much for Sub Zero... er, Glacier, and he gets put away with the Meltdown just like Meng before him!
RESULTS: Wrath def Glacier at 13:31 with a Meltdown
RATING: B

SEGMENT 12: Cruiserweight Title Match
We kick off the final hour of Nitro with some excellent Cruiserweight action! Jericho is really showing off his technical game here, working the legs of Juvi to keep him grounded and soften him up for the Walls of Jericho, but Juvi is going at Jericho just as hard, swapping out some of his high flying for some lighting quick moves of his own. It's obvious by the 8-minute mark that Jericho's done some damage, though. All the while, the announce team is making sure that the crowd knows that the winner of this match will defend the title against Rey Mysterio Jr on Saturday Night. After an almost 20 minute bout, Jericho eventually forces Juventud to tap to the walls of Jericho. The Juice fought hard, but at the end of the day, The Juice got Juiced!
RESULTS: Chris Jericho retains against Juventud Guerrera at 19:32 with the Walls of Jericho
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 13: Post-match showboating
After the match, Jericho demands that he be given a microphone. Jericho delivers a quick promo explaining that he's not just the best Cruiserweight champion in the history of WCW, but he's the best champion period in WCW history. Hell, he's the best WRESTLER in WCW history! He's better than Ricky Steamboat, he's better than Harley Race, he's better than Ric Flair, he's better than Sting and this Saturday, he'll definitely prove he's better than Rey Mysterio Jr! Jericho definitely isn't trying to make any friends backstage with this promo!
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 14: Sting gets Stung
We're back in the interview area with Mean Gene Okerlund, and this time his guest is Sting. Mean Gene gives a little background (Sting challenged Hogan on Thunder, Hogan declined on Saturday Night) and Gene asks Sting where he's gonna go from here. Sting starts to answer, but it's only a short matter of time until he gets jumped by Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall and The Giant. Hall and Giant are doing most of the beating-up, while Hogan mentions over and over again that Sting shouldn't have messed with the nWo. After a few minutes of vicious beating, Giant and Hall roll Sting on his belly, and Hogan tags Sting's back with the nWo logo. The three leave cackling like madmen as Sting lays on the ground, not moving, his trench coat tainted with the nWo's insignia.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 15: Curt Hennig VS Rick Steiner
A lot of people look at the two Steiner brothers and focus mostly on Scott. This match proved that more people should be looking at Rick! Rick and Hennig put on a fantastic match, both men using their technical prowess and Steiner throwing in a healthy dose of stiff brutality, to boot. Ah, but an nWo member is in the main event, so we all knew there was going to be a run-in. At the 16 minute mark, Hennig feigns injury, distracting the referee while Scott Hall runs out with a slap jack. He gets up to the apron and tags Steiner across the noggin with it. Hall drops down and hides while Hennig nails the Hennig-plex and gets the win. The final shot of the night is Hall and Hennig celebrating in the middle of the ring, gloating over the beat-downs the nWo had given that night, as the announcers tear into the nWo (well, at least Tenay and Dusty do) and quickly hype that on Thunder, we'll see Bill Goldberg defend the US title against Fit Finlay and Masahiro Chono VS The Great Muta
RESULT: Curt Hennig def Rick Steiner at 17:46 with a Hennig-Plex (and help from Scott Hall)
RATING: B+

QUICK RESULTS
Super Calo def El Dandy
Fit Finlay def Jim Duggan
Chris Benoit def Ultimo Dragon
Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender: Rey Mysterio Jr def Psicosis
Perry Saturn def Hugh Morrus
Wrath def Glacier
Cruiserweight Title: Chris Jericho (c) def Juventud Guerrera
Curt Hennig def Rick Steiner

ANNOUNCED FOR THUNDER
US TITLE: Bill Goldberg (c) VS Fit Finlay
The Great Muta VS Masahiro Chono

ANNOUNCED FOR SATURDAY NIGHT
Cruiserweight Title: Chris Jericho (c) VS Rey Mysterio Jr

QUICK NEWS
Shortly after Nitro goes off the air, WCW announces on their website that the tag team titles have been vacated, claiming that it has been almost 40 days since Kevin Nash and Sting have defended the titles, and that after the nWo's assault on Sting, there is no way he'll be able to defend the titles at Bash at the Beach (Oh yeah, there's a pay-per-view coming up at the end of the week... there is story reasons why you haven't heard anything about it yet, by the way). It is announced that there will be new WCW Tag Team Champions crowned at Bash at the Beach.​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

New episode of Thunder coming in just a moment, but first....

BREAKING NEWS
JJ Dillon Reveals why the Tag Team Titles have been Vacated

Breaking news comes out of WCW this morning as President JJ Dillon releases a statement on WCW's website fully explaining why he's decided to vacate the tag team titles.

“Before now,” Dillon states, “it had been a month and a half since the champions- Sting and Kevin Nash- had defended their titles. Some of you might not be aware of this rule, but WCW Champions contracts state that if you hold a title, you must defend it at least once every 30 days or you can be stripped of the title. There were plans for Sting and Kevin Nash to defend the Tag Team titles at Bash at the Beach, but unfortunately thanks to the nWo, Sting is not medically cleared to compete at Bash at the Beach. As a result of that, I have to regretfully announce that Kevin Nash and Sting have been stripped of the titles.”

“However, there will be a tag team contest at Bash at the Beach for the Tag Team Titles. As those of you who follow the website know, we've recently acquired a lot of new talent, and you will see some of this talent compete for the tag team titles! Now, I'm not going to give away one of the teams because who doesn't love a good surprise? But I have no qualms saying that one of the teams you'll be seeing in action is The Headhunters!”

So, it's official! At Bash at the Beach, we will have new Tag Team Champions, and we're going to see two new tag teams compete in WCW for the first time!

WCW THUNDER
July, Week 2

The show kicks off with our usual opening package and pyro show, and we move to the announce booth, where our B-Team tells us that we'll be seeing The Great Muta face Masahiro Chono, and Bill Goldberg will defend his US title against Fit Finlay!

SEGMENT 1: Billy Kidman VS La Parka
This was a pretty standard Cruiserweight offering. We're still seeing a very goofy side of La Parka, while Kidman still looks like a lost puppy without Raven's guidance. This opening contests lasts for just over 20 minutes before Kidman puts La Parka away with a shooting star press.
RESULTS: Billy Kidman def La Parka at 20:19 with a Shooting Star Press
RATING: B

SEGMENT 2: Finlay hypes the main event
Mean Gene is standing backstage with Finlay, and asks how The Fighting Irishman is feeling going into his US title match. Finlay cuts a pretty simple promo saying that Goldberg's never been in the ring with a mean son of a bitch like him, and that Goldberg's going down one way or the other.
RATING: A

SEGMENT 3: Hector Garza VS Chavo Guerrero Jr
I can see what the thought process was here- They both started their career in the Mexico area so they must be compatable, right? Well, not so much. This wasn't a terrible match, per se, but you can tell that these two didn't gel as well as a booker would think they would. After 15 minutes, Chavo ends the only-okay bout with a Gory Bomb.
RESULTS: Chavo Guerrero Jr def Hector Garza at 15:43 with a Gory Bomb
RATING: C+

SEGMENT 4: The Perfect One Speaks
We're backstage with Mean Gene again, and he's joined by Curt Hennig. Mean Gene starts to lay into Hennig over the nWo's actions on Nitro, but Hennig quickly snatches the mic out of Mean Gene's hands. Hennig says that a lot of people are stepping out of line, and the nWo is more than happy to put people back in their place. Rick Steiner tried to fight the nWo, and Rick Steiner went down. Sting wants to kill the nWo, but they made sure that Sting not only got his ass beat, but they caused him to lose the Tag Team Championship. The nWo is here to stay, the nWo runs WCW, and the locker room better get used to that!
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 5: Brian Adams VS Meng
This is a pretty standard midcard match. It doesn't really have any bells and whistles, but it did show that, despite being almost 40, Meng still has a lot of gas in the tank. However, gas in the tank doesn't particularly translate to victory, as Adams picked up the victory with a Chokeslam.
RESULTS: Brian Adams def Meng at 12:30 with a chokeslam
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 6: Goldberg Arrives
Not a whole lot to say about this. Limo arrives, Goldberg comes out, crowd pops. Yep.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 7: The Buzzsaw Cometh
We get a debut package video for Yoshihiro Tajiri. It shows some footage from his work in Japan, as well as him practicing Martial Arts in a dojo somewhere. There isn't any dialogue since Tajiri still doesn't know English very well, but it does what it needs to do. It says that he'll be debuting some time next week.
RATING: C+

SEGMENT 8: Masahiro Chono VS The Great Muta
This match was pretty much the opposite of Guerrero-Garza from earlier. These guys came up in Japan, and they worked together like peanut butter and jelly, producing a fantastic, hard-hitting puroresu style match that the fans surprisingly got super behind. This contest was a delight up until the 19 minute mark, when Onoo got up on the apron and Chono nailed Muta with a pair of brass knuckles he had hidden away in his trunks. Muta staggered a bit before Chono finished him with the Yakuza Kick. The fans were pissed off about this ending, that's for sure!
RESULT: Masahiro Chono def The Great Muta at 19:56 with the Yakuza Kick
RATING: A

SEGMENT 9: Quoth the Raven...
From there, we're taken to the boiler room of the arena, where Raven is sitting in a dark corner. There's an ominous blue lighting casting over Raven (much atmosphere. Wow!) Raven begins to talk about his TV title match with Booker T, and he reveals that, despite the fact that he won the Number 1 contender match fair and square, it will not be happening at Bash at the Beach. Raven tears into JJ Dillon a bit, but he quickly turns his attention back to Booker T, saying that he's a farce, a false idol for the people. He then reveals that on Nitro, he and Billy Kidman (he looks like he's going to puke as he announces he's in a match with Kidman) will be facing Booker T and Dean Malenko. Regardless of the “extra baggage”, he plans on making an example of Booker T and showing the world that whenever he gets his TV title match, he's going to beat the shit out of Booker T and walk away the champion. Quoth the Raven.... nevermore!
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 10: The Genetic Freak Speaks
Mean Gene is backstage with Scott Steiner for all of three seconds before Steiner snatches the mic and kicks Gene in the ass, shooting him offscreen. Steiner says that he's been working his butt off making sure that the nWo is the most dominant force in wrestling today, but he hasn't done a lot for himself lately. Steiner says that it's been a long time since he's held a title, and it's about time that the Big Bad Booty Daddy changes that.
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 11: US Title Match
Goldberg's really starting to improve; this is his second good match in a row. A lot of this can be attributed to Fit Finlay, the ring veteran, but credit still has to be given here. This match goes on for about 13 minutes until Goldberg wraps it up with the Spear/Jackhammer combination.
RESULTS: Bill Goldberg retains the US title against Fit Finlay at 13:31 with a Jackhammer
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 12: Who's Next?
Goldberg celebrates his victory, but out of nowhere Scott Steiner rushes to the ring and lays Goldberg out with a steel pipe. Steiner poses with the belt for a minute before demanding a mic. He's given one and he simply says “BILL GOLDBERG, YOU PIECE OF CRAP!... YOU'RE NEXT” before dropping the belt and the mic and leaving the arena. The last shot of the show is Goldberg slowly getting to his feet.
RATING: A+

QUICK RESULTS
Billy Kidman def La Parka
Chavo Guerrero Jr def Hector Garza
Brian Adams def Meng
Masahiro Chono def The Great Muta
US TITLE: Bill Goldberg def Fit Finlay

ANNOUNCED FOR SATURDAY NIGHT
Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr (c) VS Chris Jericho

ANNOUNCED FOR BASH AT THE BEACH
US Title: Bill Goldberg (c) VS Scott Steiner (This match is announced shortly after Thunder wraps up on WCW's website)
Tag Titles: The Headhunters VS ???

ANNOUNCED FOR NITRO
Booker T & Dean Malenko VS Raven & Billy Kidman

NOTE: You might notice that, even though Bash at the Beach is just a hop, skip and jump away, there isn't much of anything announced for that. There's a reason for this, which I'll go in to shortly after Bash. Also, as I'm sure you could have guessed based on the fact that there isn't much of anything announced for BatB, I'm not going to do a prediction type thing for it. I might for the next pay per view (which is Road Wild, if memory serves me), but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

WCW SATURDAY NIGHT
July, Week 2

We start with the pre-show package and pyro before we go to WCW's C-Team. The C-Team hypes up the main event- Rey Mysterio Jr going up against Chris Jericho with the WCW Cruiserweight title on the line! After about a minute of hype, we go to our first match.

SEGMENT 1: Silver King VS Evan Karagias
We start off the C-show with a rather lackluster Cruiserweight match. While Silver and Evan aren't bad wrestlers by any stretch of the imagination, something just didn't click between them. The match went on about 5 minutes longer than it should have before Evan wraps things up with the Outrageous Corkscrew.
RESULTS: Evan Karagias def Silver King at 12:38 with an Outrageous Corkscrew
RATING: C+

SEGMENT 2: Jerry Lynn Debut Hype
We get a quick hype video for Jerry Lynn, showing off some of his work in the indies (though no ECW footage is used, and there is no mention of his previous stint as Mr. JL in WCW). We find out that Jerry Lynn will be making his WCW debut at Bash at the Beach. Hey, almost forgot there was a PPV coming up, didn't you?
RATING: B

SEGMENT 3: Break Down the Walls
Backstage, we are with Mean Gene, who is interviewing Chris Jericho. Mean Gene asks Jericho how he feels going in to his match, and Jericho says that it's an atrocity that he has to defend his title twice in one week. Jericho says that he shouldn't have to defend his title after beating Juventud Guerrera on Nitro, but he'll do it, and he'll prove that he is everything that he says- he is the best in the world at what he does, BAY-BAY!
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 4: Damien VS AJ Styles
From there, we go to possibly the worst Cruiserweight match that WCW has ever put on. It's obvious that AJ Styles is still extremely green in this match, as he botched a number of moves. Maybe WCW should get on the ball with the whole developmental territory thing, but I digress. After almost 9 minutes of hard-to-watch wrestling (and not in the good way), AJ goes down. At least the right guy won this match!
RESULTS: Damien pins AJ Styles at 8:50 with the La Valagueza
RATING: E

SEGMENT 5: Booyaka!
We quickly go backstage to Mean Gene Okerlund, where he is standing beside Rey Mysterio Jr. Okerlund this time asks Mysterio how he feels going into the Cruiserweight Title match, and Mysterio begins his monologue. He starts off by saying that after tonight, he will prove that he is the greatest Cruiserweight WCW has ever seen, saying that Jericho calling himself the best Cruiserweight- and the best wrestler- is little more than wishful thinking. Mysterio mentions that last time they were in the ring together, back in January, Jericho beat Mysterio to win the Cruiserweight title. Tonight, Rey-Rey's gonna pay back the favor.
RATING: B

SEGMENT 6: Cruiserweight Title Match
The first two matches of the night were lackluster at best and horrible at worst, but this match single-handedly saved the show. Jericho and Mysterio put on a clinic inside the ring, showing the world that they are the best Cruiserweights in WCW today. Jericho spends a lot of the match trying to weaken Mysterio's legs to keep him grounded, but Mysterio finds a way to power through the strain put on his knee and combat Jericho with some innovative high-flying action. Almost 20 minutes go by before we crown a NEW champion, courtesy of the West Coast Pop
RESULTS: Rey Mysterio Jr wins the Cruiserweight Title from Chris Jericho at 19:49 with the West Coast Pop
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 7: Mysterio Celebrates, Jericho's Challenge
After the match, Mysterio celebrates his victory. The announcers proudly tote the fact that Mysterio is now tied with Jericho for the most Cruiserweight title runs (4 runs each). While Mysterio celebrates, Jericho marches to the commentary booth and rips a head set off Scott Hudson and states that he has a rematch clause in his contract, and that he's invoking that at Bash at the Beach. Jericho tells Mysterio to enjoy his victory, because tomorrow night, the belt's going home with The Highlight of the Night! Jericho drops the headset back on the table and the announcers run through some of the newly added matches to Bash at the Beach- Jerry Lynn VS Mike Awesome, Kevin Nash VS The Giant and Booker T VS Billy Kidman in a non-title match.
RATING: A

QUICK RESULTS
Evan Karagias def Silver King
Damien def AJ Styles
Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr def Chris Jericho (C)

SHOW RATING: B-

ANNOUNCED FOR BASH AT THE BEACH
US TITLE: Bill Goldberg (C) VS Scott Steiner
TAG TEAM TITLES: The Headhunters VS ???
CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE: Rey Mysterio (C) VS Chris Jericho
Kevin Nash VS The Giant
Booker T VS Billy Kidman
Jerry Lynn VS Mike Awesome

ANNOUNCED FOR NITRO
Booker T & Dean Malenko VS Raven & Billy Kidman

NOTE: First of all, sorry it's been a week since my last update. I've been pretty booked with other projects, especially with the wrestling company I work for (I just got promoted to being a member of our brand-new YouTube team, so that's exciting). Anyway, I'm gonna try and make sure I've got at least all of Week 3 written out before I put up Bash at the Beach. To those of you who've been reading and following the story, thanks for doing that. Based on the lack of reviews, I'm guessing that y'all are the quiet type, but the little thing that says over 400 people have read this ain't lying, and it's really cool to think that people have checked out this BTB that much. Sadly, this section isn't what it once was, but I like the little gathering of people we have here now, and I hope that y'all get a kick out of me (or at least this BTB), as well. Anyways, I'll try and not take a week to get Bash at the Beach up. After that? That's when things are really gonna get good!​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

BASH AT THE BEACH 1998
Sunday, Week 2

The show opens with a quick video package showing WCW wrestlers rumbling on the beach. From there, we go to a pyro show inside of the arena, and we get a glimpse at the set. It's obviously got a beach theme to it- sand, a giant picture of the ocean, a lifeguard tower, more or less what you'd expect. We go to the A-Team, who welcome us to the show, not getting a chance to hype up what we're going to see, as the entrances for the first match start.

SEGMENT 1: Gedo & Jado VS Team OMEGA
We start off with the debut of not one, but two teams. First, Gedo and Jado, who have been making quite the name for themselves in Japan. Next is Team OMEGA, made up of Shane Helms and Shannon Moore, two Cruiserweight darlings who've become local legends in North Carolina. This match probably wasn't the best one to kick off the pay per view. It's obvious that Gedo and Jado are going to have to spend some time learning to adapt to American wrestling, as their Puroresu style didn't really catch on. Team OMEGA, on the other hand, were everything the crowd wanted. Solid cruiser-style wrestling from these two. The opening contest goes for almost 10 minutes before Gedo and Jado wrap things up with a Superkick/Lariat combination.
RESULTS: Gedo & Jado def Team OMEGA at 9:43 with a Lariat/Superkick combo
RATING: C-

SEGMENT 2: Hype, Hype, Hype!
From there, we get a run-down of the rest of the card. The announce team hypes up the matches we already knew about (US title match, Tag title match [though they don't reveal who the surprise tag team is], Cruiserweight title match, Nash-Giant, Booker-Kidman, Lynn-Awesome) and also announce that Super Crazy will make his debut tonight!
RATING: A+ (Man, do as much as mention Goldberg and the rating spikes up!)

SEGMENT 3: Jerry Lynn VS Mike Awesome
From here, we go to the all-too-rare Face VS Face match. Jerry Lynn shows that he's one of the best Cruiserweights in the world, and Mike Awesome shows that he's a hard-hitting powerhouse to be reckoned with, and the fans got really in to both of them. Awesome hit a lot of big power moves, but Lynn kept coming back with some fast-paced, high-flying offense. However, there was no clear winner to this one, as it reached the 15 minute time limit!
RESULT: Jerry Lynn and Mike Awesome go to a 15 minute time limit draw
RATING: B

SEGMENT 4: Onoo's Army
After the match, Lynn and Awesome face off, but they quickly shake hands. The fans pop at this show of good sportsmanship, but it all goes sour when the group of Gedo, Jado, Ultimo Dragon, Masahiro Chono and the debuting Masato Tanaka storm the ring and beat the high-holy shit out of Lynn and Awesome. The fans are confused until they see Onoo walking down the aisle, laughing his ass off. The commentators question what the hell is going on, and ask if Onoo is trying to start a Japanese nWo (Because it's 1998, and every heel group needs to be an nWo rip-off). Onoo leads his army to the back as officials rush the ring to help scrape Lynn and Awesome off the mat.
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 5: Big Bad Booty Daddy
We then go backstage, to a very beach house looking interview area. Mean Gene is standing with Scott Steiner, and he begins to question why Steiner attacked Goldberg. Steiner snatches the mic away from Mean Gene and demands that he go make Steiner a hot dog. Steiner announces that he attacked Goldberg to get peoples attention, and it freakin' worked! He has a US title match tonight, and he's going to make sure that Goldberg suffers his first loss to the Big Bad Booty Daddy. The nWo is going home with more gold, and that's all gonna be thanks to Steiner!
RATING: A

SEGMENT 6: Tag Team Title Match
The Headhunters come out to the ring looking rather menacing. The announce team does a good job of hyping them up, but things go quiet after they finish their entrance. The arena is a-buzz wondering who the mystery team is, when...
A rip-off of “Real Solution 9” starts to play and THE ELIMINATORS COME OUT! Some of the more in-the-know fans pop like madmen as Saturn and Kronus make their way out to the ring, looking all business!
This match is nothing short of brutal. None of Saturn's technical prowless is shown here, as the two teams beat the ever-beloved shit out of one another. The Headhunters look especially threatening in this match, as their size and power become a big factor in this match (Headhunter 1 even hits the moonsault, which makes the fans absolutely lose their shit). However, the Eliminators definitely show that their tough as nails, as they keep coming back for more, and get some damn good blows in, as well. After 12 minutes of brutal brawling, Saturn and Kronus nail Headhunter 2 with the Total Elimination, and get the pin victory!
RESULTS: The Eliminators beat The Headhunters at 12:31 with Total Elimination to become the new WCW World Tag Team Champions.
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 7: Headhunters get Revenge
The Eliminators get the belts, but they don't have very long to celebrate. The Headhunters launch a post-match attack, and the two teams brawl their way out of the ring in to the aisle and eventually up to the set. They make the most of the objects on the set (the most noteworthy moment being Saturn busting a surfboard over one of the Headhunters' heads) before they finally make their way to the back.
RATING: C

SEGMENT 8: The Champ is Here
From there, we go to the parking lot, where Goldberg is seen getting out of a limo, US title proudly around his waist... that's about it. Fan's loved that shit, though.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 9: Psicosis VS Super Crazy
The debuting Super Crazy definitely got people's attention in this one. While virtually nobody knew who the hell he was going in to this match (Even the smarter fans didn't know much about Crazy), he quickly showed the world that he was a force to be reckoned with in the Cruiserweight division, having a fantastic lucha-libre styled match with Psicosis. The two trade a lot of back and fourth, but this match was clearly scheduled to make Crazy look like a real star. The match ended with the Triple-Moonsault (which the fans fucking loved).
RESULTS: Super Crazy def Psicosis at 16:58 with the Triple Moonsault
RATING: B

SEGMENT 10: Too.... SWEEEEET!
The camera cuts to a creepy industrial setting, complete with fucked-up angles and black-and-white, which can mean only one thing- this segment has been paid for by the nWo! We see the group bragging about getting Luger fired, costing Sting the tag team title and laying out Rick Steiner. Scott Steiner says that after tonight, Goldberg's gonna be on that list, as well. From there, they talk about Kevin Nash. Hogan says that he was part of the original nWo, but he decided that he was too good for the group. He thought that he knew best so he formed a rag-tag bunch of phonies that were doomed to fail from the start. He promises that after tonight, Nash is going to go the way of the dodo, and he's gonna be begging that his exit was as smooth as Lugers, and that's too.... SWEEEEET!
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 11: Cruiserweight Title Match
If the fans thought that the Jericho-Mysterio match on Saturday Night was good, then they were absolutely blown away by this one. Mysterio and Jericho both brought their A-Game going in to this contest, and it's safe to say that they stole the show! Jericho was much more aggressive than usual, clearly pretty miffed that he lost the title on Saturday. He bent just about every rule in the book to get the title back, and almost had it with an especially-vicious Liontamer. However, Mysterio showed a lot of heart as he kept fighting back, eventually winning the match with a Schoolboy. Anti-climactic ending, sure, but the fans didn't seem to mind. They were just happy that they got to see a true 5-star classic!
RESULTS: Rey Mysterio Jr retains the Cruiserweight Title from Chris Jericho at 23:48 with a schoolboy
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 12: US Title Match
After that, we go in to the third and final title match of the evening. From a technical standpoint, this match wasn't going to win any awards, but it told a fantastic story. Steiner definitely proved to be Goldberg's biggest challenge yet, as he was significantly bigger and stronger than Goldberg. Steiner threw Goldberg around the ring like a sack of potatoes, and made sure to potato him a few times for good measure. There were a few moments where Steiner almost had the match won, but after 10 minutes of getting his ass kicked, Goldberg mounted a fantastic come-back. Around the 14:30 mark, Steiner got thrown out of the ring, and he took his time getting back in. Meanwhile, Goldberg was crouched down, ready to nail the spear. Steiner gets in... but it looks like he has something in his hands. Goldberg doesn't notice and charges forward for the spear, but Steiner cracks Goldberg in the head with a lead pipe. The referee calls for the bell, but Steiner gets a few more good whacks in before he heads to the back.
RESULTS: Bill Goldberg retains the United States Title against Scott Steiner at 15:54 due to disqualification
RATING: A

SEGMENT 13: Big Sexy
We go back to the beach house interview area, where Mean Gene is standing beside Kevin Nash. Gene doesn't get to say a whole lot as Nash takes the mic away from him. Nash says that it was two years ago that the nWo formed, and things are different. When they started, it was three guys against the world, taking on the man. However, as time went on, it became the Hogan show. The nWo became, and still is, all about Hollywood Hogan, and that's where Nash's big issue with the group is. He says that Hogan is a spotlight stealer who doesn't deserve the attention that he gets. Hogan gets the big bucks, and that's something Nash can't allow because Big Sexy should be the one making top dollar in WCW. He plans to take Hogan out, but it starts with the world's ugliest lap dog- The Giant. Nash says that he used to have a lot of respect for The Giant, but he got his nuts chopped off by Hogan. Tonight, he's gonna put the lap dog down!
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 14: Billy Kidman VS Booker T
This is Kidman's first MAJOR match since breaking away from the Flock, and you can tell that he's still not used to being there without Raven's guidance. Kidman looked pretty good in this match, but you could see him turning to a corner, expecting advice that never came. It was this that helped the tides turn in the favor of Booker T. Booker found himself in control for a little over half the match, using his size advantage to beat down the smaller Kidman. It looked like Booker had the match in the bag, but things started to change after Booker accidentally clocked the ref with the Heat Seeker. Kidman just barely rolled out of the way, and didn't move a whole lot after. Booker checked to see if the ref was okay, which gave Raven a chance to sneak in through the crowd and nail Booker with the Television title. Raven lifts Booker to his feet and plants him with a Raven Effect on the title! Raven slides the belt outside of the ring, and lifts Kidman on to Booker before exiting the ring. The referee, who has impeccable timing, counts the 1-2-3.
RESULTS: Billy Kidman def Booker T at 16:22 with assistance from Raven
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 15: Raven belittles Kidman
After the match, Kidman looks happy to see Raven in his corner, but his expression quickly changes as Raven belittles Kidman, saying that he's useless without Raven and that he doesn't give a shit about Billy anymore. Raven then turns his attention to Booker and nails him with another Raven Effect before leaving the ring. Booker T gets help to the back and Kidman stumbles around, looking absolutely devastated.
RATING: A

SEGMENT 16: The Giant VS Kevin Nash
The main event is more or less what you'd expect from these two. They put on a typical big man main event, with one trying to over power the other, but the other showing that they're just as big and strong. The match does a good job of doing the whole back-and-fourth action thing, with neither getting a big advantage until kind of late in the match. The guy who gets the advantage is Nash, after a big boot, and it looks like he's going to get the win. However, it's a WCW main event, so you know the nWo gets involved. Hennig makes his way down the aisle and gets up on the apron, making sure that all eyes are on him. The referee goes to the apron and starts arguing with Hennig, giving Scott Hall enough time to come in through the crowd and nail Nash over the head with a slapjack. Nash is staggered, Hall gets out of the ring, Hennig drops to the floor and Giant hits a huge clothesline to end off the match.
RESULTS: The Giant def Kevin Nash at 14:33 with a Chokeslam
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 17: And running out for the save is...
Hennig and Hall get back in the ring to celebrate with The Giant before they turn their attention to Nash. Scott Hall starts to get pissed and he's the first person to jump in Nash, screaming about how he's a traitor and a no good piece of shit. Before the three can cause too much damage, though, Sting comes down from the rafters and cleans house, forcing the nWo to bail out quick! The final shot of the evening is Sting pointing the bat at the nWo while Nash slowly gets up to his feet.
RATING: A+

QUICK RESULTS
Gedo & Jado def Team OMEGA
Jerry Lynn and Mike Awesome wrestle a draw
TAG TEAM TITLES: The Eliminators def The Headhunters
Super Crazy def Psicosis
CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE: Rey Mysteri Jr def Chris Jericho
US TITLE: Bill Goldberg def Scott Steiner
Billy Kidman def Booker T
The Giant def Kevin Nash

SHOW RATING: A

ANNOUNCED FOR NITRO
Booker T & Dean Malenko VS Raven & Billy Kidman​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

PRESIDENT EDWARDS ADMITS BASH WAS RUSHED

Just hours before Monday Nitro, WCW President Aurora Edwards releases a blog on WCW's website where she admits that Bash at the Beach felt like a rushed pay per view, and that's because it was. She admits that the transition between Eric Bischoff to her wasn't the smoothest, and that resulted in the pay per view not getting the attention and development that it should have had. She admits that this is hardly an excuse, though, and she promises that this will never happen again. She is now 100 percent in control of WCW, with no more loose ends from Bischoff's run to tie up, and all of her attention is focused on making Road Wild the best show it can possibly be!

In a bit of Kayfabe (which is weird, considering how the first half of the blog was shoot? Whatever!), she says that she is appalled at the actions of the nWo, and she isn't alone! Diamond Dallas Page was upset at how the show ended, and he specifically requested to face a member of the nWo on Nitro, and his wish was granted; the main event of Monday Nitro will be DDP going up against The Giant. She also states that she has no idea what the hell was up with Onoo and his group attacking Jerry Lynn and Mike Awesome, but Awesome took offense to that so, on Thunder, we will see Mike Awesome go up against Masahiro Chono.

ANNOUNCED FOR NITRO
Diamond Dallas Page VS The Giant
Booker T & Dean Malenko VS Raven & Billy Kidman

ANNOUNCED FOR THUNDER
Mike Awesome VS Masahiro Chono

NOTE: Alright, that might have been kind of a lame reason that the first few shows were meh, so let me explain the real reason- in TEW, I was plopped in the first week of July. With a pay-per-view only two weeks away, I wouldn't really be able to build anything too noteworthy, so I decided to use the Bischoff-Edwards transition as an excuse to go into Bash rather half-cocked. That said, I've got plenty of time to build up Road Wild, and I plan on making it a show worth checking out! Hopefully y'all are still with me on this one, because this is where shit's gonna start getting good!​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

WCW MONDAY NITRO
July, Week 3

We start off with the opening package and pyro before going to Dusty, Tenay and Heenan, who discuss the aftermath of Bash at the Beach. We quickly head to our first match.

SEGMENT 1: Rhino VS Chris Harris
Instead of the Cruiserweight action we normally start off with, Nitro kicks off with a glorified squash match. Harris got a couple of moves in, but this match was clearly made to make Rhino look as dominating as possible, and that carried on pretty much from bell to bell. It isn't going to win match of the year, but it got the job done.
RESULTS: Rhino def Chris Harris at 6:31 with a Gore
RATING: C-

SEGMENT 2: Benoit's Request
Backstage, we see that President JJ Dillon (Keep in mind that JJ's still the Kayfabe president at this time) is in the arena. JJ shakes a few peoples hands before Chris Benoit comes up to him. Benoit keeps it short and sweet, requesting a match against Eddie Guerrero. Dillon mentions that he saw what happened last week on Nitro, and he makes it official- Benoit and Guerrero will face off in the main event of Thunder!
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 3: West Texas ******** VS Team OMEGA
We get some pretty solid tag team action here. It's obvious that both teams are still learning how to work off one-another, but the end result was passable. The WTR were trying to turn this match into a stand-up brawl, but OMEGA were throwing some great Cruiser style offense into this. One could argue that OMEGA is WCW's answer to the Hardy Boyz, but I digress. Anyway, after over 10 minutes of okay wrestling, Helms wraps it up with a Shining Wizard.
RESULTS: Team OMEGA def West Texas ******** at 13:51 with a Shining Wizard
RATING: C

SEGMENT 4: To be the man...
Backstage, Mean Gene is standing with Chris Jericho. Mean Gene explains that last week, Jericho lost not once, but twice to Rey Mysterio Jr, resulting in him no longer being the Cruiserweight champion. Before Gene can make any sort of point, Jericho goes on a tirade, saying that it's unfair that he had to wrestle three times last week, and that he didn't have any time to recover, whine whine whine. After Jericho pisses and moans for a bit, Ric Flair walks into the interview area with a giant smirk on his face. Flair simply asks “So what's this about you being better than me?” Flair goes to “WOOO”, but Jericho jumps on top of him and the two brawl for a moment before security pulls the two away from one another.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 5: BANG!
From there, we go to the gym of the arena, where DDP is getting warmed up for his match. Rick Steiner comes up to DDP and says that if the nWo try anything during his match, he's got Page's back. Page thanks Steiner and then says that it's about time the locker room unites to take on the nWo, and that he's happy to call Steiner a friend. Aww, how cute!
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 6: Doug Williams VS Super Crazy
We finally get some Cruiserweight action, and what the clash of styles it was! Doug shows that he can fly to a certain extent, but he mostly used his technical prowess to pick apart Super Crazy, showing that he's going to provide quite a different style to the Cruiserweight scene. Crazy, on the other hand, does exactly what you'd expect- flies around the ring like a freaking bird. The match goes back and fourth for a while and toward the end, Williams is in solid control. However, things start to go the other way when Crazy flips his way out of a German suplex. A kick to the gut and a Crazy Bomb later, and Doug is staring up at the lights.
RESULTS: Super Crazy def Doug Williams at 15: 39 with a Crazy Bomb
RATING: B

SEGMENT 7: Smack from Steiner
We go back to the interview area, where Mean Gene is standing with Scott Steiner. Mean Gene asks Steiner why he attacked Goldberg last night, and Steiner starts.... well, he goes off like only Scott Steiner can. Steiner says that he can get himself another title shot whenever he wants, so that didn't really matter. What mattered to him was sending a message to Goldberg, and that message is that Goldberg isn't hot shit like everyone thinks he is. Bill Goldberg is nothing more than a little bitch who wishes he was half the man that the Genetic Freak is! Steiner can beat Goldberg any day of the week, and he's going to make Goldberg's life a living hell until he gets another shot at the US title.
RATING: A

SEGMENT 8: Homicidal, Genocidal, Suicidal
We see Norman Smiley making his way to gorilla position when Sabu comes out of nowhere and starts savagely attacking Smiley, finally ending by putting Smiley through a table. Smiley was supposed to compete in the next match, but that might not be happening now... and Sabu? What's his deal?
RATING: C+

SEGMENT 9: Andrew Martin VS Jim Duggan
Shortly after we come back from commercial break, we find out that medics are checking on Smiley right now, and that Andrew Martin is his replacement. Much like the first match of the broadcast, this is more on the squash match side, designed to make the new talent look good, but Duggan manages to get in some offense, regardless (almost winning the match around the 5 minute mark). Around the 7:30 mark, Martin nearly decapitates Duggan with a big boot. Martin could clearly win the match there, but he drags Duggan off the ground and demolishes him with a Pumphandle Slam. The fans didn't like that much, but it won him the match!
RESULTS: Andrew Martin def Jim Duggan at 8:04 with a Pumphandle Slam
RATING: C+

SEGMENT 10: The Madness...
We cut to a pre-taped vignette featuring the Macho Man himself. Randy Savage spends the entirety of the vignette mocking Kevin Nash. Savage gives Nash crap for not being able to win last night, even if the nWo got involved. Savage says that he's been in matches where he had to fight off armies just to get the 1-2-3. Savage claims that Nash is just a big teddy bear, an oversized punching bag, and Savage is going to knock the sand out of him. He ends by questioning why Nash tried to start a group called the Wolfpack when he's just the world's biggest runt of the litter.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 11: Raven & Billy Kidman VS Booker T & Dean Malenko
We go to one of the two advertised matches for this edition of Nitro, and it does not disappoint. All four men are firing on all cylinders in this match, with Kidman providing a lot of high flying, Malenko putting on a technical clinic, and Booker and Raven beating the shit out of one another whenever they got the chance. This match had a little bit of everything in it, and the fans loved every second of it. Throughout the match, Kidman is clearly looking for Raven's guidance, but Raven spends the entirety of the match belittling Kidman whenever he got the chance. Toward the end, Raven is the only person with gas left in the tank, as he'd spent the last 8 minutes just hanging out on the apron, not trying to get the tag, ripping into Kidman. After over 20 minutes, Booker ends the match after nailing Kidman with the Bookend.
RESULTS: Booker T & Dean Malenko def Billy Kidman & Raven at 22:34 with a Bookend
RATING: A

SEGMENT 12: Kidman's confusion
After the match, Raven gets in the ring and continues to make fun of Kidman, calling him useless and saying that he's not good enough to be at Raven's side. Raven eventually starts attacking Kidman, but Booker T breaks that up, brawling with Raven until he leaves the ring and starts to head to the back. Booker T tries to help Kidman get up, but a very disheveled looking Kidman pushes Booker off of him before leaving through the crowd. It's clear that Kidman is lost and confused.
RATING: A

SEGMENT 13: Psicosis VS Konnan
This is a pretty decent match designed to- and succeeding at- killing some time in the most entertaining way possible. It's clear that Psicosis has a chip on his shoulder after losing the previous night at Bash, but that chip doesn't get him too far, as Konnan wins the match.
RESULTS: Konnan def Psicosis at 17:41 with Montezuma's Revenge
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 14: JJ's Gauntlet
We see the nWo (Hennig, Hall and the Giant, at least) backstage, bragging about what they've done recently. They make fun of DDP and Rick Steiner, making fun of them for thinking they can stand to the nWo, but JJ Dillon comes in. JJ says that the nWo's actions as of late have caused him more than a few headaches, especially with Sting. Between having to strip him of the tag titles and worrying about his physical health and setting up doctors appointments and Sting's constant requests to face off against the nWo, JJ's had enough. JJ Dillon announces an nWo gauntlet, where over the next few weeks, Sting will face off against Hennig, Hall and The Giant, and if he wins against all of them, Sting will have earned himself a shot against Hogan for the WCW title. Dillon leaves, and Hennig and Giant look pretty pissed, but Hall assures them that it'll be no problem. As long as the nWo have one another's back, Sting won't make it to Hogan. They laugh it off as Giant leaves their locker room for his match
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 15: The Giant VS Diamond Dallas Page
This is a fantastic main event! DDP shows an intensity that we haven't seen out of him before while facing off against the Giant, and that leads to DDP having the advantage in the opening moments of the match. It isn't long before The Giant's size becomes a factor though, which leads to the match being extremely back and fourth. We get to the end of the match, and... I'll let you guess what happened. If you guessed that the nWo interfered, you'd be right! We see a repeat of last night, with Hennig making the distraction and Hall hitting DDP with a slapjack, and it's all over.
RESULTS: The Giant def Diamond Dallas Page at 20:08 due to interference from Hall and Hennig
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 16: Big ass brawl
Before the nWo can really celebrate, Rick Steiner runs out. Rick and DDP do a decent job fighting the three members of the nWo, but the numbers game becomes a factor and the nWo get the upper hand. However, the lights go out, and when they come back on, Sting is in the ring with a baseball bat. The good guys clean house and send the nWo packing to end the show.
RATING: A+

QUICK RESULTS
Rhino def Chris Harris
Team OMEGA def West Texas ********
Super Crazy def Doug Williams
Andrew Martin def Jim Duggan
Booker T & Dean Malenko def Raven & Billy Kidman
Konna def Psicosis
The Giant def Diamond Dallas Page

ANNOUNCED FOR THUNDER
Chris Benoit VS Eddie Guerrero
Mike Awesome VS Masahiro Chono​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

WCW THURSDAY THUNDER
July, Week 3

We kick things off with the opening package and pyro show before we go to our announce team. The commentators talk about the gauntlet that JJ Dillon has set up for Sting, as well as discuss the Benoit-Guerrero match. However, it's not long before we go down to ringside for our first match.

SEGMENT 1: Bad Street Boyz VS The Headhunterz
It could be the fact that their styles didn't gel, or perhaps it's that the BSB are still pretty green, but this match was only passable at best. The Bad Street Boys got a decent amount of offense in, but this match was almost entirely showing off the dominance of the Headhunters, ending with a huge moonsault from Headhunter 2.
RESULTS: The Headhunters def Bad Street Boyz at 8:46 after a moonsault
RATING: C

SEGMENT 2: Hunted
After the match, The Eliminators come out and have a huge brawl with the Headhunters. It's pretty clear that the two teams haven't made up after their match at Bash at the Beach. The two brawl up the ramp and make their way backstage. It's clear that this rivalry has only just begun!
RATING: C

SEGMENT 3: Jealousy
In the interview area, Mean Gene is standing beside Eddie Guerrero. Gene asks point blank what Guerrero's deal with Benoit is, and Guerrero goes into a tirade. He mentions that he is the brightest star in the Guerrero family, that he's become a huge star in Mexico and Japan and he should be the biggest star in America right now, but he's not because of Benoit. Everyone is constantly comparing Guerrero to Benoit, from their battles in Japan to their matches in the US, including right here in WCW. Guerrero wants to prove once and for all that he's better than Chris Benoit so he can move on with his career and become a champion once again!
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 4: Mike Awesome VS Masahiro Chono
We go into the first of our advertised matches. Chono is accompanied to the ring by Sonny Onoo. Mike Awesome is pissed off after what happened at Bash, and the two begin a very stiff match, beating the high holy hell out of one another with a little bit of wrestling thrown in. Awesome uses his size advantage and his extreme background to throw Chono into ring steps, barricades and toss him all around the ring, but Chono uses his strikes and submission stylings to take it to Awesome, even almost getting him to submit to the Deathlock STF around the 10 minute mark of the match. However, this match didn't have a clean finish. Around the 15 minute mark, Onoo gets up on the apron, distracting the ref, as Masato Tanaka runs out and blasts Awesome with a roaring elbow. Chono blasts the now seated Awesome with a Yakuza Kick, and the match is over.
RESULTS: Masahiro Chono pins Mike Awesome at 16:24 with a Yakuza Kick (and help from Tanaka)
RATING: B

SEGMENT 5: Asahi no Heishi
Onoo, Chono and Tanaka are joined by Ultimo Dragon, Gedo and Jado. Onoo begins to explain that he's sick of nobody taking Japanese wrestlers seriously. They're all expected to be nothing but stereotypes and flashy moves, and it's crap! The Japanese are hard hitting wrestlers who are better than any American, Canadian, Mexican, Englishman or anyone else in WCW today. Onoo promises that America will start to take Japanese wrestlers more serious, and that'll be because of the group he's assembled. He mentions that Chono is a former NWA champion but nobody remembers that because he's Japanese. He points out Ultimo as the best cruiserweight in wrestling today, Tanaka as one of the hardest hitting wrestlers in the world and Gedo and Jado as the best tag team the world has ever seen. Onoo promises that this is the era of Asahi no Heishi!
RATING: C

SEGMENT 6: Davey Boy Smith VS Wrath
From there we go to a very above-average midcard Heavyweight match. Davey Boy is really showing shades of his old self in this match, putting on his best in years, and Wrath is really impressing everyone. Big things could be in Wrath's future if he keeps putting on matches like this. The younger wrestler picks up the victory with the Meltdown.
RESULTS: Wrath pins Davey Boy Smith at 7:37 with a Meltdown
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 7: La Parka VS El Dandy
We go straight into the next match, which is a decent lucha libre match. Nothing much to say about this one, La Parka picks up the win.
RESULTS: La Parka def El Dandy at 15:18 with a Skull Bomb
RATING: C+

SEGMENT 8: The Second Strike
After the match, Sabu runs out through the crowd and delivers his second attack in two shows, laying out La Parka with the steel chair that he brought out. Officials quickly come in and drag Sabu off La Parka as the commentators question what the hell Sabu's deal is!
RATING: B

SEGMENT 9: Rabid
We're back in the interview area, and Mean Gene is with Chris Benoit. Mean Gene reiterates what Guerrero said earlier and asks if Benoit has any comments to make. He says, short and sweet, that the reason Guerrero isn't a huge star is because he's petty. Benoit is better and he'll prove it tonight!
RATING: B

SEGMENT 10: Chris Benoit VS Eddie Guerrero
This isn't the best match the two have ever had, but it's still the match of the night by far. Guerrero and Benoit start the match off with a lot of fast paced super-junior style action, then switch over to super technical, then try to out submission one another for the first 15 minutes of the match, before it breaks out into a series of signature moves. Around the 22 minute mark, the referee misses Guerrero nailing Benoit with a low blow. Guerrero rolls up Benoit and grabs the ropes to pick up a very cheap win.
RESULTS: Eddie Guerrero pins Chris Benoit at 22:35 after a low blow and grabbing the ropes
RATING: B+

QUICK RESULTS
Headhunters def Bad Street Boyz
Masahiro Chono def Mike Awesome
Wrath def Davey Boy Smith
La Parka def El Dandy
Eddie Guerrero def Chris Benoit

ANNOUNCED FOR SATURDAY NIGHT
Jim Duggan VS Masato Tanaka (announced on the website)

NOTE: Oh man, I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I've updated this. I wound up getting absolutely flooded with a bunch of stuff. However, things are starting to calm down a little bit, so I can start directing my attention back on this BTB. Huge thanks to those who have stuck with me. Definitely leave me a review- I have a pretty solid idea of what I want to do with this, but your imput would definitely help me make the shows even better! Until next time, Cheers!​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

WCW SATURDAY NIGHT

July, Week 3

The show kicks off with the typical opening package/pyro show/announcer run-down before we go to our first match.

SEGMENT 1: Mike Quackenbush and AJ Styles VS Christopher Daniels and Super Dragon
This is a showcase of the latest and greatest in Cruiserweight talent, and... well, it could have been a lot better. Quite frankly, AJ is still as green as goose shit and he could use some time in a developmental system. Everyone else looked pretty decent, especially Quack and Daniels. Quack wins the match for his team, putting Super Dragon away with the Quackendriver.
RESULTS: Quackenbush & Styles def Daniels & Dragon at 6:56 with a Quackendriver
RATING: C-

SEGMENT 2: Announced for Nitro
The announce team announces three huge matches for Nitro. First, they announce that after their altercation, Ric Flair will be taking on Chris Jericho. They next announce that Goldberg will be defending his US title against Wrath. Finally, in the main event, Sting will take on the first challenge in his gauntlet, Curt Hennig.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 3: Onoo and Tanaka
Mean Gene is standing with Sonny Onoo and Masato Tanaka. He asks what Tanaka's plan is going into this match, but Onoo starts an unrelated tangent. He says that Jim Duggan is a shining example of what's wrong with America. He mentions that he comes out wearing shorts, not bothered at all that he looks like a slob. He uses a piece of wood to win his matches, while all Tanaka needs is his might and muscle. Tanaka will prove tonight that Japanese wrestlers are simply better by taking out Duggan.
RATING: C+

SEGMENT 4: Shark Boy VS Homicide
We get to see two more fresh faces in the cruiserweight division here. This match is a decent chunk better than the opening contest, but it's still pretty clear these two have a long way to go. Homicide shows a very rough neck style of wrestling here, taking a few liberties and stiffing the hell out of Shark Boy to send a point home, eventually wrapping the match up with Da ****** Killa.
RESULTS: Homicide pins Shark Boy at 8:59 with Da ****** Killa
RATING: C

SEGMENT 5: Yoshihiro Tajiri VS El Dandy
People booed Tajiri in the opening moments, afraid that he was with Onoo, but they quickly warmed up to him. This was a very solid Cruiserweight style match, with a very Super Junior VS Lucha Libre style to it. El Dandy would flip off the ropes and do all sorts of fancy flips and arm drags while Tajiri would come back hard with his martial arts style offense. It looked like Dandy could have won it a few times, but Tajiri eventually came out on top after a thunderous buzzsaw kick. it should be noted that Tajiri did not use his mist at all in this match.
RESULTS: Yoshihiro Tajiri def El Dandy at 11:16 with a buzzsaw kick
RATING: C+

SEGMENT 6: The Jealous Young Man
After the match, Kaz Hayashi jumps in through the crowd and makes his WCW debut by attacking Tajiri. Hayashi beats on Tajiri for a while before planting him with the WA4. He gives Kimona, Tajiri's manager, a dirty look before storming off back through the crowd, leaving them and the announcers baffled. Kimona runs in to check on Tajiri.
RATING: C

SEGMENT 7: Jim Duggan VS Masato Tanaka
This is a decent strongman style match that sticks out quite a bit compared to the Cruiserweight action we got through the rest of the night. Duggan shows that he's still got gas in the tank, but he can't really hold up for very long against the strong style offense of Masato Tanaka. Sonny Onoo, while out in the arena, stays out of the match, preferring to bark orders from near the announcer's booth. Onoo does say something about how Tanaka doesn't need him to win the match. Around the 12 minute mark, Duggan starts to make a huge comeback and even prepares himself for the Three-Point Clothesline, but he ends up running right into a huge Roaring Elbow, and that was all she wrote!
RESULTS: Masato Tanaka def Jim Duggan at 13:42 with a Roaring Elbow
RATING: C+

QUICK RESULTS
Mike Quackenbush & AJ Styles def Christopher Daniels & Super Dragon
Homicide def Shark Boy
Yoshihiro Tajiri def El Dandy
Masato Tanaka def Jim Duggan

ANNOUNCED FOR NITRO
Sting VS Curt Hennig
US TITLE: Goldberg (C) VS Wrath
Ric Flair VS Chris Jericho​

 

[Brandon_Brownson]

WCW MONDAY NITRO

July, Week 4

The show kicks off with the opening package and pyro we've all grown to know and love. After that, we go to our announcers who not only run down the card, but announce that The Eliminators will face The Headhunters on Thunder. From there, we go to another tag team match for our opening.

SEGMENT 1: Team OMEGA VS Gedo & Jado
This is a pretty standard opening match without too many bells and whistles. OMEGA get a few big moves in, but this is mostly Gedo & Jado dominating. Gedo eventually wins the match for his team after nailing Moore with a Superstar Splash.
RESULTS: Gedo & Jado def Team OMEGA at 10:36 with a Superstar Splash
RATING: C

SEGMENT 2: Can you di...
Backstage, Booker T is shown getting ready for his match. However, Raven sneaks up behind him and brutally attacks him. Security eventually pulls him off, and a laughing Raven tells Booker that his time with the title is almost up.
RATING: A

SEGMENT 3: Lash LeRoux VS Doug Williams
This match is a glorified squash, but a decent Cruiserweight style match. Lash LeRoux impressed the crowd, but the real story here was Williams, who definitely showed that he has potential to be the next Dean Malenko. Williams wins the match with the Chaos Theory.
RESULTS: Doug Williams pins Lash LeRoux at 8:54 with the Chaos Theory
RATING: B-

SEGMENT 4: Wrath is NEXT
Backstage, Mean Gene is standing with Bill Goldberg. Okerlund mentions how Wrath has been on a roll as of late and asks Goldberg how he feels going into this match. Goldberg says he's not one for talking, so simply put.... WRATH.... YOU'RE NEXT!
RATING: A

SEGMENT 5: Chris Kanyon VS Fit Finlay
This was a solid match, despite the fact that it's clear that their styles didn't exactly gel. Very back and fourth, with both men getting a lot of impressive spots in. It's obvious that WCW wants to do some cool things with the both of them in the near future. However, someone has to win, and that someone was Kanyon, who won with the Flatliner.
RESULTS: Chris Kanyon pins Fit Finlay at 14:56 with a Flatliner
RATING: B

SEGMENT 6: Ric Flair VS Chris Jericho
The first of three main events tonight! Flair and Jericho put on what could easily be a Nitro match of the year. Ric Flair shows that he's still got it, and it's obvious that Jericho is in the prime of his career. Both men get several near falls and almost submit their opponent, but things start to take a turn around the 14 minute mark. Flair accidentally lays out the referee, and as Flair is checking on him, Bret Hart runs into the ring and lays Flair out, throwing a few punches before taking him out with a piledriver. Hart leaves the ring and Jericho locks on the Walls of Jericho. The referee comes to and notices that Flair is out, calling for the bell.
RESULTS: Chris Jericho def Ric Flair at 16:56 with help from Bret Hart
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 7: Chavo Guerrero Jr VS Billy Kidman
We go from one perfect match right into another. Kidman replaces Booker T in this match, and the two put on a Cruiserweight clinic. Guerrero is favoring his more technical Lucha side while Kidman is going right for aerial offense here. It should be noted that small pockets of the crowd are starting to actually cheer Kidman, despite his continued involvement with Raven, to some degree. Kidman eventually picks up the win with the 7 year itch, and more people are cheering him by the end than at the beginning.
RESULTS: Billy Kidman pins Chavo Guerrero Jr at 10:21 with a 7 Year Itch
RATING: A

SEGMENT 8: Why, Bret, Why?
Backstage, Okerlund catches up with Bret Hart and asks why he interfered in Flair VS Jericho. Hart explains that he's never liked the womanizing, cheating, wasteful Flair. He says that Flair is a dark spot on the sport that he so loves, and he's tired of everyone idolizing him over someone like Chris Jericho or Bret Hart, two people who put pride and honor back into the sport that he loves. Hart plans to finally wipe out Flair, something he should have done years ago when he had the chance!
RATING: A

SEGMENT 9: Dig it!
Backstage, Randy Savage cuts a promo on Kevin Nash. Savage mentions that Nash doesn't have enough Diesel left in his tank to make it anywhere, that his best days are behind him and tonight, Randy Savage is gonna show him what a real winner looks like!
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 10: Meng VS Hugh Morrus
This is your above-average big man match of the night. Meng looks terrifying in this match, stiffing the hell out of Hugh a few times, but Hugh keeps firing back (though with some underhanded tactics) and eventually puts away the islander with a moonsault.
RESULTS: Hugh Morrus pins Meng at 7:36 with a Moonsault
RATING: B+

SEGMENT 11: US Title Match
It's a good thing this wasn't an infomercial, because there was definitely a lack of selling. Anyway, this was another fantastic Goldberg match. It's obvious that he's been working with some people backstage, because Goldberg's game is definitely upping quite a bit. Wrath also looked pretty strong in this one, coming closer than anyone before him in beating Goldberg. However, the streak continues after a thunderous Jackhammer.
RESULTS: Bill Goldberg retains against Wrath at 15:45 with a Jackhammer
RATING: A

SEGMENT 12: Holla
After the match, Steiner sneaks in through the crowd and beats the piss out of Goldberg with a lead pipe. He poses with the belt and yells some things that have to be bleeped out before leaving the arena.
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 13: Perfect
Hennig, without his nWo compadres, delivers a promo stating that Sting isn't going to make it to face Hogan- he's not even going to make it past his first challenge. Hennig states that he is the perfect wrestler, and nothing can beat absolute perfection!
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 14: Konnan VS Randy Savage
This is another match-of-the-year candidate, as Savage and Konnan pull out all the stops. Big things are in the future for Konnan, that's for sure. The match goes on for about 17 minutes before Savage sneaks in a low blow and throws Konnan outside of the ring, where he is counted out.
RESULTS: Randy Savage def Konnan at 17:51 by count-out
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 15: Sting VS Curt Hennig
We get yet another A+ match as The Vigilante takes on The Perfect one. Hennig pulls out all the stops, both legal and otherwise, but nothing he can do can put Sting away. Around the 20 minute mark, Sting starts to mount a huge comeback, but he has difficulty pinning Hennig. Eventually, though, Sting locks in the Scorpion Death Lock, giving Hennig no choice but to tap out.
RESULTS: Sting submits Curt Hennig at 24:50 with the Scorpion Death Lock
RATING: A+

SEGMENT 16: We're Taking Over
After the match, Hall and Giant run out and beat on Sting for a while. Giant gives Hennig a disapproving look while Hall reminds Sting that he's the next challenge, and he isn't gonna do very good against him, chico!
RATING: A+

QUICK RESULTS
Gedo & Jado def Team OMEGA
Doug Williams def Lash LeRoux
Chris Kanyon def Fit Finlay
Chris Jericho def Ric Flair
Billy Kidman def Chavo Guerrero Jr
Hugh Morrus def Meng
US TITLE: Bill Goldberg def Wrath
Randy Savage def Konnan
Sting def Curt Hennig

ANNOUNCED FOR THUNDER
The Eliminators VS The Headhunters​

 

[Brent1985]

I love these!! Hope to see more