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/wrestling /saturday night /19 February 2000 |
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/wrestling /saturday night /19 February 2000 |
| WCW Saturday Night by E.C. Ostermeyer | 19.2.0 |
MainBLAH |
This is the "WCW Saturday Night" recap for Saturday, 19 February 2000, and I'm your recapper, E.C. Ostermeyer. We are live on tape from Bethlehem, PA. Scott Hudson inaugurates the new era in WCW Saturday Night" by welcoming the "Living Legend" himself, Larry Zybysko as co-anchor. Mr. Zybysko has returned from a golf tour in Hawaii in order to save WCW in general, and the "Saturday Night" show in particular. We are one day away from "Superbrawl 2000"! Whoopee. In the tradition of the Roman gladiatorial contests of old, a match is held in honor of Mr. Zybysko. Match # 1: The Harris Boys d. Chad Hart & Rick Fuller Zybysko shrewdly names the Harris Boys as the last remaining fragment of the N.W.O. after the events of the past week between Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. Yep, move over Bryan Adams, Scott Norton and Vincent; you've got new alumni in the N.W.O B-team! Still, I bet Ron & Don are just eating up the fact that a couple of failed mid-card jobbers from the WWF (remember "Disciples of the Apocalypse", folks?) are headlining here in the WCW. However, it should be noted that this career path has the same job security as one of Darth Vader's Admirals So, the Harris Boys' career, while not exciting, may be mercifully short. But not tonight. Opening bell is a mere formality, as Hart and Fuller are blitzed by the Harris Boys. Chad Hart is in the Land of the Giants out there. Fuller is double-teamed and driven back to his corner, then Ron Harris turns his attention to Chad Hart. Big Right Hand is followed by a sidewalk slam .Hart then eats, in succession: spinebuster Irish whip into the corner Three Big forearm shots Multiple kicks to the gut Whip to the ropes Big boot to the jaw Ron tags in Don, and they double-team Chad Hart with a double clothesline Don with a running powerbomb on Chad Hart, who's looking decidedly squooshy by this time. Larry Z. says that the Harris Boys are sending a message to WCW indicating their displeasure at being banned from ringside at Superbrawl, and that Mr. Hart has the misfortune to be the messenger. Don hits three Elbow drops in succession on Hart, then another for good measure. Don tags Ron back in. Referee Charles Robinson tries to break up the double team, but Ron Harris pushes him aside and wades into Chad Hart. Rick Fuller's had enough of this and intervenes, only to get clobbered by Don Harris. Fuller and Don battle outside the ring, with Fuller eating the steel guardrail, while Ron is pummeling Hart in the corner. Both Harris Boys back in the ring, double team on Hart, double side suplex, cover and Don pins for the win. (2:26) Afterwards, both Harris Boys get on the stick. (aaagh!). Ron Harris: "Kevin Nash! You think you can ban us from Superbrawl? You gotta 'nother think comin'! You 'member the last time we had words with you, we left you layin' beside your wheelchair, pal!" Don Harris: "NOBODY tells us what to do! If we wanta be at Superbrawl, we WILL be at Superbrawl!" Ron Harris: " Bank on it!" This segues nicely into Hudson/Zybysko Talking Heads Segment #1: Scott Hudson shills the Three Way Dance between Jeff Jarrett, Sid Vicious, and Scott Hall. Larry Z. isn't so sure that we've seen last of the Harris Boys, because Jarrett's tricky, and wants every advantage to win the World title from Sid Vicious. He also doesn't think that the title defense by Sid Vicious is gonna be a walkover, no matter how big the Milennium man is. Scott Hudson promos the Hulk Hogan/ Total Package bout, and Larry Z. warns that Hogan better look out for Miss Elizabeth's possible interference. Still to come on the "MotherShip" (Hudson's new nickname for the show), Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Three Count, (where's Tenay?), Buff Bagwell, Bam Bam Bigelow in a hardcore match, and The Total Package. All coming up after these Commercials When we come back, out comes Hacksaw Jim Duggan with 2by4 and a bag o' trash. Crowd is really popping for Mr. Duggan, who is just eating it all up, and leading the cheers. "USA! USA! USA!" Apparently, Jim wants to talk to us all. "Hol' onto that microphone for me...(wipes nose with back of sleeve) Hoooooo! You know, folks, when the "Powers That Be" came into WCW... (Larry Z: "He says it like me!") "...they made me, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, the janitor of WCW. But that's okay, because Hacksaw Jim Duggan, I've worked hard my whole life, and I'm not afraid of hard work, and I know that every silver cloud...er... every cloud has a silver lining, excuse me... (Hudson and Larry Z. are snickering) "... but in THIS case, its GOOOOLD!" Hudson: "What is he talking about?" Larry Z.: "I dunno, it's Duggan. His IQ's the same as my golf handicap!" (Duggan continues) "When I was down in the basement of the WCW, cleaning up all that trash, and all that garbage, I looked over in a corner. And there, covered with goo, was something real shiny!" Duggan begins to empty the trash bag out into the ring. He holds up a championship belt. "It's the WCW World Television Title!" Duggan drapes the belt over his shoulder, and nods importantly, his face assuming a stern expression. Hudson: "Scott Hall threw it away!" Duggan: "You know folks, I don't think that those prima donna millionaires realized when they threw this into the trash, that in twenty years of professional wrestling, this represented the best that there is! Twenty years! That's longer than all of these Fancy Dan wrestling shows, combined! "So I'm gonna tell ya what Hacksaw Jim Duggan is gonna do. I'm gonna take this belt home, I'm gonna polish it, I'm gonna clean it, I'm gonna slan-, uh, sandblast it if I have to... Hudson: "Turn it sideways?" Duggan: "...because maybe I, more than anybody else, understands what this belt means. Because they tried to throw ol' Hacksaw Duggan in the garbage before, HOOoooooo!, LarryZ. :" They tried, but they couldn't get him to fit in the bag!" Duggan: "So I come face to face with my fears, and I know what's important in life. So if anybody wants to challenge ol' Hacksaw Duggan for this belt, like the game show host says, COME ON DOOWWWNN! For Hacksaw Jim Duggan is the World Championship Television Champion, and if they don't like it, they can come on down and take it away from me, tough guy! HOOOooo!" LarryZ. :"I'll tell ya, he's gotta good attitude..." Suddenly, a Voice From the Back rings out. "Hey Hacksaw, Hacksaw Jim Duggan!" Hudson:" That's Robert Gibson!" Larry Z. :" I haven't seen Robert for YEARS!" Hudson: "of the Rock & Roll Express!" Gibson: "I agree with everything you say, 'cause nobody knows more than myself, what that title means. That title helped make "The Rock & Roll Express." So tonight , I wanna challenge you for the Television Title. Tonight!" Duggan: "Well c'mon, Gibson, 'cause I'll break you in two, tough guyyy!" Gibson: "Tonight!" Duggan is riled up, and starts with the "USA! USA!" chant again, as we fade to Commercials When we come back, after what seems like forever, Three Count's in the ring, and it looks like they're gonna favor us with a song. What's Karagias on about? A request line? Holy mother of... Anyhoo, 'N Synch they're not. Up in the seats, our cameras spy a little girl in a purple shirt who's holding her ears. This speaks VOLUMES about REAL heel heat for these guys. Are those tears? Has Three Count made this little girl CRY? Oh my God, they made her cry! YOU BASTARDS! (I think that Three Count may now be in the running for the Jake "The Snake" Roberts' "Most Heel Heat Generated in the Shortest Amount of Time" award.) Fortunately, Brad the Sound Guy has recovered from the beating received at the hands of Three Count last week for interrupting their inane musical interlude. Revenge a-bilin' in his heart, Brad cues up Disorderly Conduct's entrance music. Three Count are looking around for Brad, and we are graced with Match # 2: Three Count (with Evan Karagias) d. Disorderly Conduct Another tag match, and who's complaining? Shannon Moore with the opening offense on Mean Mike, culminating in a spinning heel kick to Mike's jaw. Mean Mike bails out, but his attempt to regroup is thwarted by a huge Shannon Moore pescado over the top rope that takes both Mean Mike and Tough Tom to the floor. Mike's attempted beat down of Moore gets stymied by a sneaky Evan Karagias' clothesline. Back and forth action in the ring, now, with several pinning combinations coming to nought. Flip moonsault by Shane helms plants Tough Tom, cover but Mean Mike breaks it up. Tom gets back up, a little (?) groggy, and eats a Shane Helms' standing side kick. A Helm's pose-down gets a beat-down from DC, but a setup for a standing guillotine backfires when Helms' ducks to one side, and it's the beginning of the end for Disorderly Conduct. Shannon Moore tags in, and goes at DC like a house afire, with kicks and clotheslines for everybody. Now all four men are in the ring. Big finisher, with a Three Count double drop kick on Mean Mike. A missed vertical moonsault by Shannon Moore, that's caught in mid-move by Tough Tom, gets finished by a huge flying cross-body press by Shane Helms on top of his own partner, and Moore gets the pin. (4:05) WCW promos featuring Superbrawl in San Francisco, and various other shows around the country. Commercials Footage of the Jarrett/Nash feud. Nash is still way cool on the stick, and Jarrett's getting that way. But nobody beats Mean Gene Okerlund for stick work. Back to the ring for Match # 3: Kid Romeo d. Jaime Howard This is the Power Plant match for the evening, and, in the tradition of all recent Power Plant matches, it doesn't disappoint. Fierce back and forth action with neither wrestler clearly in control. A nasty looking German suplex by Howard is followed by a high bridge pinning move, but Kid Romeo has just enough presence of mind to roll out from under it. Mean flying clothesline almost decapitates Kid Romeo. Both men out of the ring. Gorilla slam by Howard WOW! Huge shooting star press off the guardrail, but Kid Romeo's out of position, and winds up with his head under Howard's back and eats a WHOLE lotta floor. That looks painful as hell! Both these guys gotta be playing hurt! Back in the ring for both. Howard goes for the cover, 1,2, no! Kid Romeo into the corner, and Jaime's working him over. Whip to the far corner, but Romeo's got a boot waiting for Jaime Howard. Tornado DDT sends Howard to the mat. Howard misses a punch. Romeo misses with a front kick, but converts it to an enziguiri that almost decapitates Jaime Howard! Hook the near leg, 1,2,nope! Romeo with a drive into the opposite corner, and again, sets Howard for an inverted powerbomb, lateral press, two count only. Kid Romeo to the top corner, but Howard cuts the feet from him and Romeo gets crotched on the top turnbuckle. Howard with forearm shots to Romeo's head, top rope hurancanrana, lateral press, 2 count but Romeo kicks out. Short arm clothesline attempt by Howard gets reversed, and the Kid hits his "Romeo Relaxer" (cradle DDT) finisher for the win. (5:48) This is Pay-Per-View quality stuff, folks! Time for more Commercials Match # 4: Vampiro d. Kaz Hayashi The smoke from Vampiro's entrance pyrotechnics is obscuring this match for most of the crowd. Fortunately, we watching at home see a great see-saw match, as Hayashi is just a whirlwind of moves. However, Vampiro catches Hayashi in one "goozle-grabber" of a choke hold, teases his uranage suplex, and, after mugging for the camera, hits a huge chokeslam. Hayashi reverses a powerbomb attempt, shoving Vampiro away. Vampiro with a standing side kick, then charges in for the kill, but Hayashi side-steps him and Vampiro eats the ring post. Vampiro rolls to the outside, but Hayashi's not letting him get away that easily, and hits a flying cross-body to maintain control. Both men back in the ring now. Hayashi's flying double axe handle from the top rope meets a big boot to the gut! Vampiro then hits his "Nail in the Coffin" finisher for the win. (4:21) Commercials. Again. Footage shows the WCW Cruiserweight Tournament, and how Lash LeRoux and that Iaukea guy got as far as they did. Sorry, Lash, but it looks like Ikey's "Moment" to me. In more ways than one, as the next match will attest. Match # 5: The Artist Formerly Known As... (aw heck, let's just call him "Ikey" for short!) d. Yung Yang. More smoke and lotsa candles, as Ikey and Paisley ( aka "The Artist Formerly Known as Nitro Girl "Storm") make their way to the ring. I'm getting more impressed with the talents of Yung Yang every time I see him. Ikey opens with a snap-mare takedown, but he's too nonchalant about following up , and eats a short-arm clothesline from Yung. Now Yung's got Fists of Fire so fast they're a blur, and finishes up with a stiff elbow drop to the small of Ikey's back. Yang's gotta watch Ikey though, as his attempt to capitalize gets a golotta that slows him way down. Ikey with a clothesline, folllowed by a lateral press, but only a 2-count results. A big body slam and a lateral press, but again, only a 2-count. Whip to the ropes, Ikey telegraphs a back drop , but Yung Yang attempts a rollover into a Sunset Flip and almost gets it. Ikey regains his balance and shakes an admonitory finger in Yang's face. Yang's not having that, and headbutt's Ikey in the crotch, knocking him to the mat. Yang with a roll-up, cover, 2-count. Side kick by Ikey, followed by a thumb to the eye staggers Yang only temporarily, as he unleashes a vicious sidekick followed by a clothesline. But Ikey regains control with a towering pancake splash and a flying DDT for the win. (3:39) Commercials. Ho hum. Hudson/Zybysko Talking Heads Segment #2: Both shill for Superbrawl 2000, with special emphasis this time on the Flair/Funk Texas Death Match. Commercials Match #6: Buff Bagwell d. Al Green To the everlasting shame of WCW, the push for Buff Bagwell is now officially over. Back from his supposed arm injury, Buff Daddy is the stuff again, does some superb stick work with the crowd in Bethlehem, PA, and sneers at Mr. Green. Bagwell's still great working the crowd. An almost pedestrian match, considering what we've been shown earlier. Green does his usual good job of selling every move that Bagwell tries, but there's a lot of rest moves and standing around. Green hits a short-arm clothesline on Bagwell; did he come back too early from his injury? Choke on the ropes by Green, and it looks like he's gonna score an upset, but Bagwell hits the "Buff Blockbuster" for the win. (4:14) Commercials Match # 7; Hacksaw Jim Duggan d. Robert Gibson It's great seeing Robert Gibson back; he's even wearing the old Rock & Roll Express duster as he walks to the ring. Gibson, looks pretty good, considering. Duggan's as proud as he can be, and is whipping the crowd into a frenzy with the "USA!USA!" chant. Gibson does a creditable job taking some pretty stiff shots off the turnbuckles, and really selling a sloppy Atomic Drop from Duggan. Elbow and knee drop from Gibson sends Duggan to the mat. Reverse chinlock by Gibson is powered out by Hacksaw. But Gibson re-hooks it, using the ropes as leverage, until the referee spots it and breaks the hold. An attempted Gibson head-bounce off the turnbuckle is reversed by Duggan. Gibson grabs Duggan's 2 by 4, but the ref also grabs the board and takes it away from him. Gibson turns around just in time to eat a running clothesline that flattens him. Duggan hits his "knee drop to the noggin" finisher (4:26) Let's see if I can do this just like CRZ would... Ahem... Ladies and gentlemen we have a NEW WCW World Television Champion, Hacksaw Jim Duggan! Boy, Duggan's grinning from ear to ear as he holds the TV Title belt over his head in victory. A slow match to be sure, but lots of fun watching two old pros work their magic like they did before. WCW ought to really consider and support a "Senior" circuit. After the match, Lord Steven Regal comes out and challenges Duggan for the belt! As a four-time past WCW TV champ, Regal is incensed that the title should be held by a dirty, smelly, insignificant worm like Duggan. (Boos and catcalls from the crowd) Regal is so sure of his skills as a wrestler, that he will put his career (!) on the line next Saturday. If he loses, he will retire, and "you will never see Lord Steven Regal again!" Duggan's in the ring waving "bye-bye" to Regal. Duggan, leaving the arena, clutches the title belt, and says "I found it, and it's MINE!" Larry Z.: "Finders keepers, huh?" Commercials Match # 8: Bam Bam Bigelow d. Adrian Byrd for the WCW Hardcore title Mr. Bigelow brings a WHOLE lotta "plunder" to the ring. Byrd isn't sure what to make of this. Referee Charles Robinson holds up the Hardcore Title belt, calls for the bell, then gets the hell out of there! Byrd has a brief flurry of offense, hitting several clotheslines and a wicked-looking DDT. But he misses his opportunity to pin Bam Bam by going outside the ring to grab the trash can Mr. Bigelow dropped, allowing him to recover from the earlier DDT. Adrian arrives back in the ring, dropping the trash can in the process, and says hello to a mean-looking sheet-pan shot to the head from Bam Bam Bigelow. One "Greetings From Asbury Park" later, and Bam Bam 's the winner (1:43), and still WCW Hardcore Champion After the match, Brian Knobbs comes out and waffles Bam Bam with a cast shot. Then Fit Finlay comes out and waffles Brian Knobbs with HIS cast. Commercials Footage of the Flair/Hogan match, the "breaking" of Hogan's "arm" by Luger, the formation of the Luger/Flair team, and the victory over Terry Funk. Jeez, Hogan's trying like HELL to recapture the old magic, isn't he? Too bad he's starting to lose his place and repeat himself during stick time. Where's the Macho Man when you need him. Match # 9: The Total Package d. Van Hammer Well, it was too good to last. The wheels just came off Scott Hudson's "MotherShip" with this match. First, a ridiculous pose-down. Next, Luger gets on the stick, the better to impress us with his command of the English language. He states that his only target is Hulk Hogan, and that there are men lined up around the block with broken arms in testimony to his skill as a wrestler. He then states that he will dedicate his next match to Hogan, and to bring out the next victim, (aw shoot, its...) Van Hammer. Surprisingly, Hammer does a good job of pacing the match in order not to tire Mr. Luger out too much. Lot's of resting holds, blows that allow Mr. Luger to stagger away holding this or that injured area. The momentum shifts when Luger "rochambeau's" (Golotta's) Van Hammer, then hits a running clothesline. Choking Hammer on the ropes, but referee Charles Robinson breaks it up. Van Hammer counters with a boot to the face, Multiple clotheslines followed by a powerslam and a big, Hogan-esque, Leg Drop o' Doom! Van Hammer tries for a second leg drop, but Liz whacks him in the knee with the baseball bat, and THAT slows him down. Liz tosses the bat to Luger, who clobbers Hammer's right arm. Whoops, Charles Robinson saw the "foreign object", and DQ's Luger due to "unauthorized batting practice." (DQ 4:28) Liz shoves a chair in the ring, and Luger adds Van Hammer's broken arm to his collection. Lots and lots of WCW officials are out to stop further abuse. (Is there a clown car back there?) Luger sees the "Closing Credits" chyron, and just gets in the last word (well, words, really!): "See ya at Superbrawl. Hogan!" A good show overall. Nine matches to be sure, but only 36 minutes and 20 seconds of actual in-ring action. This should come as no surprise, considering how much WCW is banking on the Superbrawl PPV to pull their ratings iron out of the fire. Hence the large number of PPV-related footage and promos. No need to do the math. We know where the time went, WCW. See you all next week. E.C. Ostermeyer [slash] wrestling Mail the Author |
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