by Christopher Robin Zimmerman
WrestleLine/WrestleManiacs
THANKS FOR SHARING: Something I never noticed about Homicide until
last night's marathon: the very LAST scene of the LAST episode shows Lewis
and Sheppard walking around with flashlights looking for clues. After they
reran the Homicide movie last night, they started all over. The FIRST
scene of the FIRST episode? Lewis and Crosetti, doing the EXACT same thing
- walking around with flashlights looking for clues. Even Lewis' lines are
roughly the same, "if I could find it, I could go home." Full circle.
THAT is the way you do TV. And that, as I make one of my improbable
lurches from off-topicedness back into pro wrestling, is yet *another*
reason I felt like a real sucker for turning away from Court TV yesterday
to sit through New Blood Rising.
THIS WEEK'S TEST: SportsLine monkeys in suits can blow me! Wait...can I
still say "blow me?"
QUICK QUOTES: AOL 53 (UNCH), TWX 77 (+ 11/16), SPLN 17 13/16 (+ 5/16 - last
year, this time 19 13/16 - hey SportsLine.com! Your stock is TWO DOLLARS
LOWER than it was A WHOLE YEAR AGO! I can't WAIT for you to find a way to
blame your stagnant stock price on "naughty words in WrestleManiacs
teasers")
WCW logo - nothing - it just lets out a little wine
VIC VENOM & JOBBED TO DAVID ARQUETTE (with the TV-14-DL ratings box and
close captioned logo and muted "asshole" chant) are in the ring. "Ya know,
this is deja vu all over again. I stood in this very ring one month ago
and I made history. I made an example outta somebody, and you all know who
it is because that piece of ... hasn't been around since. Well tonight,
I'm gonna make an example on live TV out of another...Goldberg! You don't
screw with me. And the fact is, I came here tonight to fire Bill
Goldberg's ass on national TV! Yeah, cheer for him you ... Canadian! Well
you know what? Brad Siegel wouldn't let me fire Golberg because the fans
love Goldberg! Well I say screw the fans, and I say screw Bill Goldberg!
And Goldberg, since I could not fire your ass, when then I'm gonna have
your ass kicked right here tonight - and he's right here, Bill. Remember
what happened at the Phillips Arena, Bill? Oh, we all know that that
was....so I say, Bill, you bring it out here and let's call it in the ring!
Do it Tank! You know, let me explain something to you...you see, Bill
Goldberg, Bill Goldberg believes in his own little mind that, if this world
were 'real' then he could take everybody! He could kick (voice cracking)
EVERYBODY'S ass! He could kick your ass, Tank! You know, Bill, ya think
you're Superman, Bill. Ya think you're invincible. You think I can't beat
ya, huh? Well, I'll tell ya what, I've got the kryptonite to
st....tonight, pal. What do I gotta do? Do I gotta beg you to come out
here chickensh...? What's a matter, Bill? You don't wanna come out here?
You don't know the script? You don't know the storyline? Tank'll......"
We go to break.
How many times did Vince Russo just say "I," "me" or "my" back there - that
is, when he wasn't getting muted...
Your hosts include TONY SCHIAVONE & SCOTT HUDSON. Vince Russo appears,
takes Hudson's headset and screams to "Keith" to "show the.....fight. He's
gettin' his ass kicked - show the ..... fight."
Cut to the aisle, where GOLDBERG and Tank are SHOOTIN', bro. They're
SHOOTIN'. This is REAL. That Irish whip into the barricade was REAL.
That clothesline was REAL. Anyway, Goldberg turns it around on Tank, then
goes after Russo - knocking over the commentary table in the process and
scattering the commentary team. Back to Abbott, where Goldberg puts on a
REAL armbar. The crowd's REAL chant, I might add, is "Russo sucks." Russo
tries to take a swipe at Goldberg while he's occupied with the armbar,
Goldberg lets go and goes after him again. Russo makes the "that's it"
motion to try to signal another ad break...and throws a chair before they
fade to black.
Promotional consideration paid for by Slim Jim (no Savage), America (ha!)
Online, Judge Wapner's cash scam, and Motel 6 7/8 - they should all ask for
their money back
(Classic joke coming up)
Say, over on WCW.com there's a contest where the winner gets to go see
Halloween Havoc. Second prize is you get to go see Halloween Havoc...TWICE!
(rim shot)
Thank you, you've been beautiful. I'll be here until June 2001
This portion of WCW Monday Nitro is brought to you by Castrol Motor Oily
Our commentators tell us that tonight, Kevin Nash will face Scott Steiner
in a #1 Contender's Match - proving that everyone who pays to see a PPV is
an idiot. Also tonight, Jeff Jarrett gets another shot at Booker T for the
title - proving that everyone who pays to see a PPV is an idiot. Let's go
to the ring!
FRANCHISE (with Torrie Samuda and PPV stills) is out. By the way,
this is TNT and WCW Monday Nitro - emanating LIVE from the Sky Reach Place
in Kelowna, BC 14.8.2K. Might as well get that out, right? Franchise says
some stuff, but since it's not a SHOOT, there's really no point in my
transcribing it.
FRANCHISE (with Torrie Samuda) and RENO v. KIDMAN and BIG VITO - Kidman's
lost his first name again, I see. This match isn't a SHOOT, so what's the
point in my doing play-by-play? I *will* tell you that Cubs Fan told me
Reno was Rick Fuller, and I must admit I didn't recognise him without his
hair. The (fake) finish is Vito pinning Reno off a frog splash. (3:18)
Post-match, Vito foils Franchise's plan to put Kidman in some (fake) cuffs.
Then, when Reno tries to save, he eats a Kidman (fake) right, put into the
(fake) ropes, Vito with an (fake) atomic drop, and Kidman's (fake)
Tomokaze, which is apparently called the Kidcrusher - which is a fine
name...AS LONG AS YOU ENJOY VIOLENCE TO CHILDREN. Wait...doesn't Scott
write about CHILDREN VIOLENCE?? Now for a (fake) run-in by PERFECT EVENT &
MARK JINDRAK & SEAN O'HAIRE. Tony mistakenly calls Vito "Vino." in all the
confusion. You know what? ALL these kicks, stomps and punches are FAKE.
FAKE. That guy playing the Perfect Event's music is IN ON IT.
In the (fake) commissioner's office, the Filthy Animals tell Cat they'd
like to continue their "professional relationship," and as a token of their
esteem, they present him with a "personal assistant, Mrs. Jones." Looks
like one of the Nitro Grrls to me. But then, this segment is entirely
fake.
Meanwhile, David Flair is WALKING! He's still wearing the same outfit as
last night. Major Gunns appears and asks him if "Stacy is all right."
IT'S A SHOOT, BABY! IT'S REAL!!! David doesn't answer - THIS IS AS REAL
AS REAL GETS! REAL REAL REAL
Promotional consideration paid for by Catbo, America (ha!) Online, Corn
Nuts, Bubble Yum, Motel 6 7/8, and Wizards of the Coast's Nitro trading
card game (that hyperlink STILL doesn't work, yo)
Here comes DAVID FLAIR to drop some REAL SHOOT. Still shots of last
night's ROTC match. Flair babbles incoherently.
We look backstage where Gunns is watching on a monitor - and crying. The
MIA, in the background, are playing cards and oblivious
Back to the ring, where David continues to babble. He doesn't know what's
going on with his girl. MAJOR GUNNS is out, all teary. She *still*
manages to jut out her ass as she goes between the ropes. "David, please,
I'm so sorry - I just don't know what happened..." and she breaks into
tears. She doesn't know what went wrong. "For some reason, I feel like
it's my fault!" "What do you mean it's your fault? What did you do to
her?" Flair grabs her. "Huh? What did you do? What did you do?" SHE'S
STACY NOW is out. "She didn't do anything, get off of her! David, stop!
David! I'm pregnant!" Flair kisses her, then says "woooo" and struts.
THIS IS REAL LIFE. So that makes Major Gunns....D'Lo Brown. Right?
New Blood Rising encore presentation ad still asks us to see it "live" -
hmm, must be fake
Backstage, Flair and Stacy make out. I wonder what Lane and Rave think of
this? I wonder what Los Fabulosos think of this?
LANCE STORM is out. Last night, so MANY wrong things happened in the US
title bout that I can't even begin to describe it to you, but the ultimate
result is no heat for either guy coming out of the PPV. If you need more
in-depth type commentary, more than a few good people hit the analysis
right on the head over at the Torch, so go read about it there. Is Storm
gonna SHOOT? "If I can be serious for a minute..damn it's good to be home.
Finally getting to wrestle for some true wrestling fans. Tonight is our
night. Our chance to show what hard work, integrity and pride is all
about. And quite frankly, America doesn't have a clue. They can wave the
red, white and blue if they want to, but I just keep makin' 'em tap out to
the Maple Leaf! Let's show the world what REAL national pride is all about
- all rise for the playing of the Canadian national anthem!" Was that a
shoot? Because this is Canada, Tony manages to wait a whole TWELVE SECONDS
before stepping on the anthem. SHAME! Anthem lasts about (:41) before CAT
comes out dressed in referee shirt - ohhh, it's supposed to be hidden by
that big coat, only...it isn't. I've decided this ISN'T a shoot, so no
typing. Crowd chants "asshole" and gets muted. Cat asks the crowd to kiss
his "American black ass," which is funny enough for me to ignore the fact
that it's FAKE. Crowd chants for Storm to "kick his ass" - that's a shoot!
Cat tells the "Power Ranger" that tonight he'll put the (fake) title on the
line in a (fake) return bout with Mike Awesome - proving that anyone who
pays for a pay-per-view is an idiot. Cat says there's a (fake) special
referee for this match and shocks JUST ABOUT NO ONE by removing his jacket
to reveal the zebra.
WCW UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: LANCE STORM v. AWESOME
MULLET - Look at all those fake blows. That fake superkick. That
fake leg lariat. Cat with a VERY slow (fake) count. (Fake) Awesome splash
gets a FAST (fake) count. Awesome throws Storm outside. (Fake) whip into
the barricade. (Fake) chairshot. Putting him back in the (fake) ring.
(Fake) slingshot splash gets (fake) 2. Storm with an (fake) eyepoke and
(fake) dropkick. Head to the (fake) turnbuckle. (Fake) whip into the
opposite corner and (fake) followup lariat. (Fake) Northen Lights suplex.
Cat almost gets a (fake) 1 out of it. Into the (fake) ropes, Awesome goes
behind with a (fake) German release suplex. "That's it!" (Fake) Running
Awesomebomb. Cat (fake) ignores that Storm is (fake) holding the bottom
rope and counts...only to have it broken up at the (fake) last minute by DA
MOUNTIE, ALSO wearing the stripes. He's carrying a (fake) Canadian
Rulebook with him. Awesome points (that's a shoot), (fake) gutshot,
readying for another (fake) running Awesomebomb, but who should appear but
QUEBECER JEAN-PIERRE CARL LAFITTE OULETTE, who makes the save, culminating
in a (fake) chokebomb. They position Awesome in the middle of the ring -
Rougeau stands at the (fake) corner and Oulette on top - it's THE (fake)
TOWER!!!! Storm puts on the (fake) Canadian Maple Leaf...Cat is back in
the ring with a (fake) Feliner for Rougeau, (fake) kick for Oulette, and
back to refereeing the match. Huh. Now ELIX SKIPPER is out for no
apparent reason. What? He just KICKED Cat in the gut! THAT'S GOTTA BE A
SHOOT! IT'S TOO *SHOCKING* TO BE FAKE!! Oh, no, no it's not. He just did
his goofyass FAKE finisher on the Cat. Rougeau back up to check on
Awesome, but he's (fake) out cold. Oulette makes Awesome's hand tap, and
Rougeau says "RING THE FUCKING BELL." You know, LAST night submissions
didn't COUNT. Oh well. Continuity's a bitch anyway. (4:23) MRS. JONES
appears and she walks off with the Cat up the aisle. Was that a shoot?
Golly I'm confused!
Performance art! It's PERFORMANCE ART!
PAMELA PAULSHOCK stands with Lance Storm, the Amazing French Canadians and
Elix Skipper. Storm announces they're to be known as Team Canada, THEN
decides to relinquish two of his title, giving the SHIT to Oulette and the
100 kg title to Skipper. BOY WCW sucks. For an encore, Cat appears with
Scott Steiner's white bat and tells them there'll be some title shots
tonight, then. Ooh! SURELY this wasn't in the SCRIPT!
WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT (fake) TITLE: JEDOUBLEF JADOUBLEREDOUBLET (with
stills) v. BOOKA T. - wow. This ENTIRE fued, start to finish, lasted 36
days. GOLDBERG comes out (it's a SHOOT!), robbing Jarrett of the
third count in his final title shot. What a way to end it. (relaxed DQ
6:48) Goldberg tosses Jarrett over the barricade into two plants - err,
"security guys." Hudson slips a "Jesus" past the mute guy. Goldberg's got
the mic. HE'S GONNA SHOOT!! "Russo! Hey, Russo! Guess what - one down,
two to go. And by the way, you better watch your ass - 'cause you're
next!"
Jeff Jarrett shills TracFone.
Thunder ad features...lotsa fake wrestling
The 1-800-CAL-LATT Road Report says that Nitro hits the Kansas Colesium in
Wichita next Monday, where there will be lotsa fake stuff happening
The 1-800-COL-LECT replay shows Goldberg SHOOTING
Pamela Paulshock tries to interview Scott Steiner (and the TV-14-DL), but
he puts his finger in her mouth instead. No, REALLY. Goldberg's a little
bitch, and Nash will have a bunch of muted stuff happen to him.
CARL "THE RAVE" OULETTE v. SCREAMIN' NORMAN SMILEY for the SHIT - What's
this Quebecer doing as part of Team Canada anyway? Smiley, as the (fake)
storyline goes, no longer wants any part of hardcore matches, but the Cat,
who still has (fake) issues with him, booked this match. Despite the fact
that Storm had previously told us that SHIT matches didn't have outside
implements used in them, Oulette is quite happy to go outside the ring and
produce plundah. You know, all this hardcore shit is FAKE. It's not REAL,
a REAL SHOOT REAL REAL REAL REAL REAL. Nash will SHOOT in the next
segment! FOR REAL! (Fake) finish sees Smiley laid out on a table,
only to grab the shirt of referee "Blind" Charles Robinson, holding on
tight enough to be pulled up and away from Oulette's second rope somersault
- Oulette goes through the table by himself, Smiley falls on him, Robinson
counts, and, ladies and gentlemen, we have a new Hardcore champion.
Whoopee. (5:56) Smiley tries to refuse the belt, then angrily takes away
the belt.
Cat tells Mrs. Jones "one down, one to go - now we need to find somebody to
go kick Skipper's ass." Who will the lucky winner be? We zoom around a
door to see Kwee Wee and Papaya...Good God let's hope not. By the way,
this isn't the REAL backstage. It's FAKE.
Jeff Jarrett FAKE wrestles while shilling TracFone (which is REAL)
REAL close captioning sponsored by Meineke!
Pamela Paulshock stands with Kevin Nash - he thinks Russo needs a drug
test. And that's a shoot, brother! Nash says that until Scott Hall gets a
second chance, Scott Steiner won't get HIS second chance at the #1
Contendership. If Booker T wants to go tonight, he'll go - if not...he'll
find some other way to kill the time. My hunch is that EITHER way, we
won't actually see Nash WRESTLE.
WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE: RAYMOND STEREO & DE JUICY ONE (with Disco
Inferno, Carlos & Tygryss) v. THE GREAT MUTA & THE JOBBIN' JUGGALO (with
the Demon) - Animals have a BRAND NEW shitty theme. Tuesday on VH-1's "The
List," several wrestlers kill time. KRONYKK join the commentators and
SHOOT with us until the HARRIS BOYZ appear through the crowd and scare the
bejeezus out of the commentators - they all brawl to the back as the match
starts. Disco actually takes a coupla swipes at the commentators as they
walk around ringside. Run-in is by (THIS IS) STING. Somehow,
referee "Blind" Mark Johnson manages to miss Sting running out, putting the
bat to both Muta and Vampiro, then leaving. Rey Rey's arm finds its way
onto Muta thanks to Disco Inferno - 1, 2, 3. Ladies and gentlemen, we have
new tag team champions. Whoopee! (6:14)
In this wcw.com contest ad, which is the FIRST WCW superstar you see? Go
ahead - guess - I'll give you a hint: it's the guy that Russo wants to FIRE
In the Cat's office, Demon demands a four corners match with him, Vampiro
and Muta against Sting. Cat goes ahead and books it - 'cause it's all fake
anyway. Besides, we all know how Cat feels about outside interference!
WCW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION: "PRIME TIME" ELIX SKIPPER v. KWEE WEE (with
Papaya) - Skipper is out with a Maple Leaf jacket and this IS his in-ring
Nitro debut. And he's the 100 kilo champion. THIS is the kind of match
featuring the kind of competitors that Vince Russo FOUGHT for! Is it true
they fired Mona to pay Papaya? Come to think of it...didn't the current
brain trust rename this guy "Skip Over" the FIRST time? Damn, who's
wearing more glitter? Finish sees Skipper pull out a "Grey Cup ring" and
throw a loaded (fake) punch for the pin. (6:04) Post-match, Kwee Wee
(fake) beats up referee "Blind" Jamie Tucker.
Hey, look! It's Sting! And he's WALKING! Oh no! Behind him, we see
Goldberg entering the hall! AND THAT'S A SHOOT!
Buff Bagwell carries the power of the card (and that's a shoot)
(THIS IS STING) v. PAINT JOBBERS in a Four Corners Match - say, you don't
think Demon got so vocal about getting a four corners match so he could
SHOCKINGLY SWERVE and turn on Vampiro and Muta. Nah. Demon and Sting
(fake) go at it until Vampiro and Muta come in and (fake) work over Sting -
Vampiro stopping to yell at Demon a bit. I heard they fired Asya - is that
true? Sting manages to turn the tide and (fake) take out BOTH Vampiro and
Muta - got Muta in the Sharpshooter when Vampiro comes back in with a kendo
stick - Demon grabs it and tells him "I wanna do it - let ME do it!" Hey,
maybe I called this after all. WHACK to Vampiro! SHOCKING, I TELLS YA!
Muta taps (wow, Muta jobs twice in one night) (2:07) and Sting is declared
the victor - but you and I know the REAL jobber in this match is VAMPIRO!
By the way...in a four corners match, there are usually two people outside
the ring. Sting and Demon share an uneasy gaze. Something might have
happened post-match that wasn't Vampiro jobbing but I really wasn't paying
attention.
Jeff Jarrett has one more TracFone to shill
New Blood Rising encore promo has an awful lot of Goldberg in it - I mean,
if Russo wants him FIRED and all
Backstage, Demon beats up Vampiro and Muta
KEVIN NASH gimps to the ring with his portfolio. He's gonna SHOOT with us!
It'll be SHOCKING! "Canada! Big Sexy's in the ...! Y'know I can't help
but see a lotta Scott Hall signs out here..." Crowd: "We want Hall" "You
know what? Nobody wants Scott Hall more than myself." Man, that's GAY of
him. "But you see, WCW is decided he's just TOO dangerous for live TV!
Y'know, everywhere I go, people always say 'what the hell's Scott doin'?
What's Scott up to?' Well since I can't bring the real thing out here, I
thought I'd conduct a little interview with Scott myself." And Nash pulls
out a cardboard cutout of Hall. "Scott, you got anything you'd like to
say?" Some voice: "Hey yo. Hey yo." "Y'know, Scott, I know you haven't
been around in a while, but ah...partner, that NWO thing died a little
while ago...for the third time and uh...I don't think it's be fair if we
didn't have a little survey. How many people wanna see Scott Hall back?
And how many people wanna see the people that is holding Scott Hall back
from not coming on this television show to kiss my ass? Live TV - isn't it
beautiful?" Hudson: "It was." "All right. Booker, I'm done. Let's do
this." The music plays... and BOOKA T. is out in dress pants and
shoes and no shirt. About halfway up the ramp, WHITE THUNDER comes out and
waffles him with his lead pipe - and here's some shots for Nash as well. I
can't tell. Is this fake or are they shooting? Just to confuse us
further, the Nitrotron fires up and we see Goldberg...with a frightened
Midajah in his left hand. "Steiner - hey Steiner! Got your attention now,
huh? You know, I was telling kids (commentators speak over him here and I
can't make it out). The fact is, any bitch that's been with you ain't no
damn lady!" We see him pick her up in the jackhammer position....and then,
because this is TNT, the picture on the Nitrotron cuts out - 'cause you
can't show that kind of thing. Plus we wouldn't REALLY want to put Midajah
through having to go through a jackhammer through a table - ESPECIALLY
since we already forced her to endure a truckstop powebromb. ANYWAY,
Steiner runs off...back to Booker - Nash is kneeling over him. Hey, with
that ponytail, he hasn't had to brush his hair back ONCE!
Cut to the back, where we see Midajah lying amongst the remnants of a
table. Steiner: "Goldberg! You son of a bitch! You're mine! Goldberg!"
Credits are up... and we're out. None too soon.
The only possible conclusion I can reach: knowing his days are numbered,
Russo is busy setting himself to the task of scorching the earth. If HE
can't play, he's damn well gonna make sure nobody ELSE can play after he's
gone. A continual series of "worst episode ever" with no end in sight.
Boy, it's something to look forward to, isn't it?
See you Wednesday. The saga...continues.
Christopher Robin Zimmerman
www.CRZ.net