WCW 2000

[asover7s]

MONDAY NITRO (April 10, 2000)

The Show opens with several WCW wrestlers in the ring. Noticeably absent are most of the older, established stars. You can see in the ring Buff Bagwell, Konan, 3 Count, Vampiro, Booker T among others. Those not there include Hulk Hogan, Sting, Ric Flair and the current World Heavyweight champion, Sid Vicious.

The last one to come out is Jeff Jarrett, who introduces to the two visionaries that will lead the new era of World Championship Wrestling, Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff.

Russo talks first about it being time to head in a new direction. The older guys have held the spotlight for way to long, and it’s time to make way for the new blood. He specifically mentions the leader of the new blood, the Chosen One, Jeff Jarrett.

Bischoff gets the mic and mentions that he made mistakes in the past. The biggest mistake he made was attaching himself to that piece of crap, Hulk Hogan.

Bischoff announces though, that as of this minute, all WCW title will become vacant. They are hitting the reset button, and starting to do things the right way.

Russo comes back and starts saying how they don’t need the older guys anymore. As a matter of fact, he was going through contracts and seeing who they can get rid of. Sadly he says, two contracts that are untouchable belong to Diamond Dallas Page, and Sting. As a result, he will be putting those two in a four-man tournament to decide who will face Jeff Jarrett for the World Title this coming Sunday at Spring Stampede. The winner of Sting and DDP will face the winner of Booker T and Curt Henning with the winner of that meeting Jarrett for the gold.

He then turns his attention to the ones, who are disposable. Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Lex Luger and Sid Vicious. But he wants to prove he’s not as cold-hearted as many claim him to be. Nash is still recovering from a foot injury, but the other three will compete in a 6-man match tonight against 3 random members of the New Blood. If Flair and The Millionaire’s Club loses, they are all fired.

STING VS. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE

Sting and DDP each make their way to the ring, but each has their entrance music cut off before they can make their way out. DDP has the lovely Kimberly by his side. The two put on a classic spot fest. Each one going through their arsenal of well-known moves on the other.

Before too long, New Blood Members Buff Bagwell and Vampiro came to ringside to watch the match. Page knocked Sting out to the floor with a closeline, then turned to see Bagwell flexing too try and impress Kimberly. Page ran out of the ring to confront him. Bagwell slapped Page in the face and got DDP to start firing at Bagwell. While the ref was distracted by this, Vampiro crept over to Sting on the floor and delivered the Nail in the Coffin. The referee was counting. Page ran to chase after Bagwell and Sting was out cold outside thanks to Vampiro. The referee ruled it a double countout.

Sting and Diamond Dallas Page battled to a double countout in 0:09:36.
Rating: * 1/4
[Buff Bagwell interfered against Diamond Dallas Page.]
[Vampiro interfered against Sting.]

WORLD TAG TITLE SEMIFINALS
3 COUNT VS. THE MAMALUKES
Shannon Moore and Evan Karagis represented 3 Count against the Mamalukes. It was a classic battle of strength against speed. The Mamalukes held the early advantage thanks to their size and strength, but in the end, 3 Count was able to adjust and got the win. They will move on to Spring Stampede to compete for the WCW World Tag Team Titles.

3 Count (Shannon Moore and Evan Karagias) defeated
The Mamalukes (Big Vito and Johnny the Bull) when S. Moore pinned
Johnny the Bull after a bodyslam in 0:14:13.
Rating: ** 1/4

Scott Steiner came out to the ring and called out Hulk Hogan. He said Russo wanted to rid WCW of that piece of garbage, but Steiner talked him out of it, so he had the opportunity to kick his ass. Steiner said he owed it to Hogan after all the crap he pulled, holding Steiner and others back during the nWo days.

Hogan came to the ring and got in Steiner’s face and the two ended up exchanging punches. Hogan got the better of Steiner and knocked him out to the floor. While Hogan was coming out to join him, Steiner reached under the ring and pulled out a lead pipe. Steiner nailed Hogan with it several times, driving him up against the announce table. The pipe chased the broadcast crew out of their seats as Steiner cleared the table and then slammed Hogan through it.

WORLD TAG TITLE SEMIFINALS
KRONIK VS. THE FILTHY ANIMALS
This match looked to be a mirror image of the last one with two teams contrasting in the same way. And yet again, it was the smaller, quicker team getting the win.

Juventud and Rey Misterio Jr. defeated KroniK (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) when Juvi pinned B. Adams after a springboard dropkick in 0:13:44.
Rating: **
Ric Flair came out to talk about what he heard Russo and Bischoff talking about earlier in the night. He said he built this company. He is WCW and they can’t get rid of him. Bischoff has tried before, but never got the job done. This time will be no different.

While he was going on one of his trademark rants, he didn’t notice Shane Douglas sneaking up behind Flair. Douglas turned Flair around and knocked him out with a chain around his fist. Douglas stood over Flair and told him that tonight, he’ll be facing, the Triple Threat!!

BOOKER T VS. CURT HENNING

The winner of this match was supposed to face the winner of Sting and DDP but since there was no winner in that one, it was announced that whoever won would go on to face Jarrett at Spring Stampede.

Booker took control early only to see the veteran Hennig come back and seemingly take control. However, Hennig got distracted when his old "Mr. Perfect" music began to play and Shawn Stasiak came out with a towel around his neck very similair to Hennig's old style. While Hennig was distracted, Booker was able to hit the Book End to get the win

Booker T pinned Curt Hennig with the Book End in 0:10:40.
Rating: ***
Russo and Jarrett and told Booker that he’s glad he got the match, but Jarrett was the chosen one, and Booker’s time will come, but it’s not now. Russo told Booker it was going to be real simple. Jarrett will poke him with his finger, Booker would go down and Jarrett would pin him.

Booker got right in Russo’s face and told him he lays down for nobody, and that his time is now.

While Booker had his attention on Russo, Jarrett hit him over the back of the head with his guitar. They left Booker laying in the ring as they walked to the back.

SHANE DOUGLAS, CHRIS CANDIDO AND BAM BAM BIGELOW VS. RIC FLAIR, SID VICIOUS AND LEX LUGER

Kevin Nash was on crutches at ringside in the corner of the Millionaire’s Club. Eric Bischoff was at ringside watching to represent the New Blood.

The beginning of the match started out as a brawl with everyone pairing off and fighting all over ringside. Soon the match settled down into an actual tag match, but with all six men eager to brawl with each other, things kept getting out of hand.

Nash interfered against Bigelow causing Bam Bam to go after the injured Nash. Soon everyone spilled out onto the floor except for Flair who was laying in the ring. From the far side of the arena, coming over the guardrail was ECW Champion Mike Awesome. Awesome hit Flair with an Awesome Bomb and left back through the crowd.

Douglas crawled back into to go and pin Flair but the referee was still distracted by the fight on the floor. From the other side of the arena, Scott Hall jumped over the guardrail and ran into the ring. Douglas initially fought him off, but Bischoff of all people, grabbed one of Nash’s crutches, snuck it into Hall who cracked Douglas over the head with it. Vicious got back in the ring, hit a powerbomb and pinned Douglas. At the end, Bischoff stood in the ring with Hall and the rest of the Millionaire’s Club with their arms all raised in the air as the cameras faded out.

Ric Flair, Sid Vicious and Lex Luger defeated
Shane Douglas, Chris Candido and Bam Bam Bigelow when Vicious pinned Douglas with the powerbomb in 0:14:12.
Rating: **
[Mike Awesome interfered against Sid Vicious.]
[Scott Hall interfered against Shane Douglas]

[asover7s]

SPRING STAMPEDE (April 16, 2000)


Vince Russo came out to open up the show. Russo pumped up the New Blood and said tonight will be a glorious night as they ascend to the top of WCW. He said the night will be highlighted by “The Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett finally realizing his destiny by winning the WCW World Heavyweight Title, against a worthy challenger, Booker T.

Russo ran down every title that will be decided tonight. Members of 3 Count and the Filthy Animals will decide the world tag titles. A four way tables match will determine the new Hardcore champion between The Wall, Scott Steiner, Bam Bam Bigelow and Hulk Hogan. Sid Vicious, Shawn Stasiak, Konnan and Mike Awesome will meet in a tournament to decide the new United States Champion.

He then announced that the Cruiserweight title will be retired, and in its place, they will bring back the World Television Title. 3 triple threat matches will determine three men that will meet in a ladder match for the title. Enjoy the show.

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH
TV TITLE QUALIFIER
SHANE HELMS VS. KAZ HAYASHI VS. VAN HAMMER

Helms and Hayashi each had the early advantage using their speed and high flying moves to take down the bigger, stronger Hammer. However, Hammer then got smart. He laid around on the outside as the two young high flyers took turns hitting each other with high impact moves. After Kaz seemingly took the advantage over Helms, Hammer ran back in, hit him with a powerslam and got the pin to move on.

Triangle Match:
Van Hammer defeated Shane Helms and Kaz Hayashi when Hammer pinned Kaz after a powerslam in 0:11:34.
Rating: ** ¼

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH
TV TITLE QUALIFIER
CHRIS CANDIDO VS. DISCO INFERNO VS. LASH LEROUX

This match was marred by interference from the Millionaires Club. Candido may have made the mistake before the match when during a backstage interview, he called out the Millionaire’s Club, especially Scott Hall, for costing his team the match on Nitro. Hall responded by running down and attacking Candido during his match. Disco hid on the floor as Hall ran down and took out Candido’s knee, then gave the Outsiders Edge to LeRoux on the floor. Disco snuck back in the ring, put a figure four on Candido and won the match.

Triangle Match:
Disco Inferno defeated Chris Candido and Lash LeRoux when D. Inferno made Candido submit to a figure four leg lock. 0:06:00.
Rating: ** ½
[Scott Hall interfered against Chris Candido.]

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH
TV TITLE QUALIFIER
YANG VS. CHAVO GUERRERO VS. ALEX WRIGHT

The Jung Dragons got a representative in the TV Title match. After a high speed match with each taking turns getting the advantage, Yang got the pin on wright to move on the finals.

Triangle Match:
Yang defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Alex Wright when Yang pinned A. Wright after a powerslam in 0:13:50.
Rating: **

UNITED STATES TITLE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
SID VICIOUS VS. SHAWN STASIAK

The New Blood and the Millionaire’s Club squared off in the first semifinal match and it as it turned out, it was a person not really in either group that determined the outcome. Stasiak cost Curt Hennig his shot at the world title on Nitro and Hennig got his revenge tonight. You would think that he would’ve wailed away on Stasiak, however the smart veteran decided to hit Vicious. Why? Well that got Stasiak DQed and eliminated from the tournament. Stasiak was stunned in the ring as Hennig walked to the back laughing.

[Semi-Finals]:
Sid Vicious defeated Shawn Stasiak by disqualification in 0:05:40.
Rating: 1/2*
[Curt Hennig interfered against Sid Vicious.]

UNITED STATES TITLE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
MIKE AWESOME VS. KONNAN

It would seem like both would have an even shot, but Russo made it clear that his New Blood group was more partial to their most recent talent acquisition, Mike Awesome. Russo was ringside watching the matchin seemingly as a neutral observer, until he slid a pair of brass knuckles to Awesome. He knocked out Konnan, then hit the Awesome Bomb to get the win.

[Semi-Finals]:
Mike Awesome pinned Konnan with the Awesome Bomb in 0:10:59.
Rating: ***

HARDCORE TITLE
4 WAY TABLES MATCH
HULK HOGAN VS. SCOTT STEINER VS. THE WALL VS. BAM BAM BIGELOW

The match would be an elimination match with the last man not to go through a table winning the Hardcore title. This match was exactly what Russo wanted. Three of the biggest and baddest in the WCW, against Hulk Hogan. Naturally, the three ganged up against The Immortal, and Steiner, for the second time in less then a week, put Hogan through the table.

Then it was time for the New Blood to turn on each other. It didn’t seem to be all for one though. The Wall and Steiner were clearly teaming up against the member of the Triple Threat. However, Bigelow rallied to get Steiner eliminated, but the Wall was too much in the end as he finally knocked out Bigelow and won the Hardcore Title.


Table Four Corners Match for the vacant WCW HARDCORE TITLE:
The Wall defeated Bam Bam Bigelow, Scott Steiner and Hulk Hogan:
x S. Steiner beat Hogan via putting him through a table in 0:02:02
x Bigelow beat S. Steiner via putting him through a table in 0:10:18
x The Wall beat Bigelow via putting him through a table in 0:16:04
Rating: *
(The Wall won the WCW HARDCORE TITLE.)

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
3 COUNT VS. THE FILTHY ANIMALS

Four of WCW’s brightest future stars shown in the match for the tag titles. The match by far the match of the night. Shannon Moore couldn’t make it but Shane Helms stepped in his place. There wasn’t a moment to breath as all four ran back-and-forth, flying all around the ring. In the end, it was 3 Count, getting the 3 Count to win the titles. After the match, Rey and Juventud shook their hands and handed them the belts in a show of respect.

Match for the vacant WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES:
Shane Helms and Evan Karagias defeated Juventud and Rey Misterio Jr. when Karagias pinned Juvi with the Outrageous Corkscrew in 0:14:50.
Rating: ****
(Shannon Moore no-showed.)
(Shane Helms and Evan Karagias won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)
Click here to see highlights.

However the celebration would be short lived as Nash and Hall ran in from the back and blindsided the new champions. Powerbombs where everywhere as the Millionaire’s Club members left the new champs laying. Nash got on the mic and said they aren’t moving out the way for anybody. Whatever they want, they’re taking. And they want the World Tag Titles. He referred to 3 count as paper champions and said, they’ll meet again real soon.

WORLD TELEVISION TITLE
TRIPLE THREAT LADDER MATCH
VAN HAMMER VS. DISCO INFERNO VS. YANG

The three winners from earlier faced in a ladder’s match to determine the TV Title. Van Hammer’s power helped him in the early stages of the match, but as it turns out, he just wasn’t agile enough to climb up the ladder. Hammer tried and was at one point real close, but Disco came back and shook the ladder enough for Hammer to fall off and get knocked to the floor. Disco took advantage, climbed the ladder and grabbed the belt.

Triangle Ladder Match for the vacant WCW WORLD TELEVISION TITLE:
Disco Inferno defeated Van Hammer and Yang in 0:14:24.
Rating: **
(Disco Inferno won the WCW WORLD TELEVISION TITLE.)

UNITED STATES TITLE TOURNAMENT FINALS
SID VICIOUS VS. MIKE AWESOME

The Millionaire’s Club made the statement earlier, what they want, they’re taking. Apparently the U.S. Title was something they wanted. The New Blood was busy helping Jarrett get pumped up for his world title match, Lex Luger on behalf of the Millionaire’s Club gave the assist to Sid to bring some gold to the club.

[Finals]: Match for the vacant WCW UNITED STATES TITLE:
Sid Vicious pinned Mike Awesome after a choke slam in 0:04:47.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Sid Vicious won the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)
[Lex Luger interfered against Mike Awesome.]

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
JEFF JARRETT VS. BOOKER T

Vince Russo came to the ring with Jeff Jarrett. They told Booker just like on Nitro, all he had to do was let Jarrett poke him and get pinned. Jarrett poked Booker but instead, Booker popped Jarrett in the face, then clotheslined Russo to the floor.

The match was good back and forth battle. Booker fought out of Jarrett’s figure four and rallied to take an advantage and looked on the verge of winning the title until the ref got bumped. Russo waved to the back and out poured the Wall, Steiner, Vampiro and Buff Bagwell. It was a 5-on-1 assault on Booker until Sting and Diamond Dallas Page came down to help out Booker. The veterans helped clear the ring of the New Blood members.

As the ref woke back up, Booker was alone in the ring with Jarrett. He hit the Book End and got the 1-2-3 to become the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. After it was over, Sting and DDP came back into the ring, shook the hand of the new champ, and the camera faded out as the confetti poured from the ceiling surrounding the new champion.

Match for the vacant WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Booker T pinned Jeff Jarrett with the Book End in 0:15:28.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Booker T won the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

Card rating: ** 3/4

[asover7s]

MONDAY NITRO (April 17, 2000)

It was a night that The New Blood made their presence known and felt. The show opened with Booker T coming to the ring, dressed in a very nice looking suit with the World Heavyweight title over the shoulder. He thanked the fans for being behind him. He thanked his wife as he pointed out Sharmell sitting front row. He called Sunday night the greatest moment in his decade long career.

The celebration would be short lived as Jeff Jarrett came to the ring and asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. Jarrett said he is the chosen one and the title should be his. Booker T defended his win and saying he got the 1, 2, 3 and won the match. Soon, the rest of the New Blood members (Bagwell, Vampiro, Mike Awesome, Shawn Stasiak, The Wall and Scott Steiner) came to the ring and surrounded Booker T. Things did not look good for Booker. Jarrett wanted a rematch and Booker told him to get in line. Vince Russo finally made his way to the ramp and said Booker will give Jeff Jarrett a title shot, and it will be tonight. Jarrett said, we’ll find out later on, who really is the chosen one. The New Blood let Booker leave the ring peacefully, knowing Jarrett would meet him later on.

BILLY KIDMAN VS. KAZ HAYASHI

Two of the bright young stars of WCW faced off in the first match of the evening. On the tv side, Tony Schivone announced that the winner would be in line for a U.S. Title shot. The two matched each other move for move in the early going. Kaz got a bit of an advantage after Kidman attempted a springboard moonsault on the floor, only to see Hayashi move out of the way. Hayashi had the advantage for a few minutes, only to see Kidman rally. He hit the Kid Krusher and got the win.

Billy Kidman pinned Kaz Hayashi with the Kid Krusher in 0:09:19.
Rating: ***

In the back, Russo was seen with Kronik. He told the two he had a job for them. He was going to book them in a handicap match against Hulk Hogan. If they did a good job, he’ll make sure there is a prominent spot in the New Blood for the most dominant tag team in wrestling today.

HANDICAP MATCH
HULK HOGAN VS. KRONIK

Hogan opened up with a little bit of offense but the numbers advantage took its toll on Hogan. Having to face two big strong guys like Clark and Adams seemed to be a bit much. Hogan did mount a little offensive rally which did nothing but bring Scott Steiner down to the ring leading to a 3-on-1 assault. He didn't throw him through a table this time, but did lock him in the Steiner Recliner for an extended period of time until he felt he inflicted enough pain on Hogan. Steiner high-fived Kronik as they all left to the back.


Handicap-Match:
Hulk Hogan defeated KroniK (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) when Hogan defeated Clark by disqualification in 0:07:43.
Rating: DUD

Russo came back to the ring and called out the Triple Threat. Russo said that they gave Douglas and his group every opportunity, yet they've let him down. They had a chance to get rid of Flair and his group once and for all last week on Nitro, and they couldn't get the job done, despite Russo loaning them the services of Mike Awesome. Then they then all failed to win any titles at Spring Stampede.

Douglas didn't take kindly to being called out and got right in Russo's face. He said he would’ve taken Flair out, but Russo’s supposed boy Bischoff turned his back on them. Russo said that he was washing his hands of Douglas and the group. They could fight their own battles against Bischoff, Flair and the Millionaire’s Club. He was putting Chris Candido in a match with Lex Luger and letting them fight it amongst themselves.

CHRIS CANDIDO VS. LEX LUGER

The match took place, but not without Millionaire’s Club interference. Flair, Sid, Hall, Nash and even Bischoff all made their way down to jump in the ring. Douglas and Bigelow came to the aid of Candido but it turned into a 6-on-3 beatdown in favor of the Millionaire’s Club.

Chris Candido defeated Lex Luger by disqualification in 0:04:37.
Rating: * 1/2
[Scott Hall interfered against Chris Candido.]
Click here to see highlights.

In the back, Booker T is shown getting ready for his title defense. Sting and DDP come up to the champ and wish him luck in the match. They mentioned they have their own issues to deal with the New Blood. They have Buff Bagwell and Vampiro in a tag match later on. Sting told Booker to be careful. Russo is going to try anything to get that belt off him, but he and DDP are going to make sure Booker doesn’t get screwed.

6 MAN TAG
3 COUNT VS. THE FILTHY ANIMALS

In a bit of a rematch of the World tag title match, it was a 6-man match between 3 Count and the Filthy Animals. Like a day before, 3 Count got the win, but that brought back out Bischoff and Flair and the Outsiders. They said 3 Count will have to put their belts on the line against the Outsiders. They were going to take what they wanted and they want the titles. 3 Count agreed to a title defense, but that didn't stop The Millionaire’s Club from attacking the undermanned and undersized boy banders.

3 Count (Evan Karagias, Shane Helms and Shannon Moore) defeated
The Filthy Animals (Juventud, Konnan and Rey Misterio Jr.) when Karagias pinned Konnan after a powerslam in 0:19:58.
Rating: *** 3/4

DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE & STING VS. BUFF BAGWELL AND VAMPIRO

The match, for as long as it lasted, was nothing more then a glorified brawl. Bagwell tried flirting with Kimberly, which led to DDP tackling him and starting to pound away. Sting and Vampiro went at it and fought all around ringside.

At one point, Bagwell tried to hide behind Kimberly and used her as a shield from DDP. The ref had his attention turned to trying to help Kimberly get out of harms way. This allowed Scott Steiner to come down, hand Vampiro a frying pan, which he promptly nailed Sting with. When the ref turned around, Vampiro covered him and got the pin.

The New Blood (Buff Bagwell and Vampiro) defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Sting when Vampiro pinned Sting after hitting him with a frying pan in 0:05:11.
Rating: * 3/4
[Scott Steiner interfered against Sting.]

After the match, the New Blood members ganged up on Sting and Page. They beat down the veterans until Booker T ran down, and cleared the ring. Booker stood alone in the ring, he talked some crap about the New Blood and called down Jarrett to get it on.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
BOOKER T VS. JEFF JARRETT

Jarrett came to the ring with the New Blood members at ringside for “moral support”. The match stayed clean with the ref keeping a close eye on them. At different times, they were able to get a small cheap shot in on the champ and helping Jarrett gain an advantage. Jarrett had Booker in position to deliver The Stroke, however, Booker was able to reverse it and hit The Book End.

Booker was in position to get a second straight victory over Jarrett until Scott Steiner rushed into the ring and broke up the pin causing a DQ. It then turned into a New Blood beatdown on the champ, but this time help was on the way. Sting and Diamond Dallas Page, fresh off their beating, came back, this time with steel chairs to chase the New Blood away. They stood in the ring with the champ as the New Blood was on the retreat as the cameras went off.

Booker T defeated Jeff Jarrett by disqualification in 0:09:16.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Booker T retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)
[Buff Bagwell, Mike Awesome and Scott Steiner interfered against Booker T.]

[asover7s]

THUNDER (April 19, 2000)

The show opened Disco Inferno dancing his way to the ring with the Television Title around his waist. He got into the ring as the music died down he got on the mic. He called Spring Stampede the greatest night in wrestling history, as Disco Inferno (Yes he referred to himself in the third-person), put on one of the most legendary performances in wrestling history by winning the Television Title. People in attendance will be telling their grandchildren that they were there that night. He said tonight was a night for celebration and called on everybody to dance. The disco music came back on and he resumed his dancing, only to have it interrupted after a few short seconds by the sounds of heavy metal.

Van Hammer made an appearance on the stage. He said the match was fixed so that he couldn’t win. A man the size of himself shouldn’t me put in a ladder match. He claimed the smaller Disco had an unfair advantage and he demanded a one-on-one rematch, in a real match.

Disco responded by saying that he’ll have to wait another time, because tonight he was going to dance the night away. Hammer though said he already spoke with Vince Russo, and the match was already made for tonight in the main event.

ELIX SKIPPER VS. LASH LEROUX

The Ragin’ Cajun’ himself came out to face a newcomer to WCW making his debut. Elix Skipper. Skipper was noted to be a former Canadian Football League star making the transition into wrestling.
The young Canadian showed what a fine athlete he is. Despite having to keep up with the quickness of LeRoux, Skipper showed he was more then capable. He made it a successful debut getting the win.

Elix Skipper pinned Lash LeRoux with the Sudden Death in 0:14:05.
Rating: *** 1/4

KAZ HAYASHI AND YANG VS. THE MAMALUKES

One of these two teams would keep climbing up the tag team ladder in WCW. The Mamalukes tried to use their size and strength to their advantage, but the Jung Dragons were able to execute their high-flying offense to score the win.

Kaz Hayashi and Yang defeated The Mamalukes (Big Vito and Johnny the Bull) when Kaz pinned Johnny the Bull with the Flying Senton in 0:13:14.
Rating: ** ¾

After the match Vito was upset at Johnny the Bull for getting the pin and had some words for him, but they made up and walked backstage seemingly getting past it.

HARDCORE TITLE MATCH
THE WALL VS. NORMAN SMILEY

It would be the first defense for The Wall of the Hardcore title he just won at Spring Stampede. Wall overpowered Smiley in the early goings, and he got an added boost when fellow New Blood member Shawn Stasiak came down with a trash can full of weapons to pass on to Wall. However maybe Stasiak was the wrong New Blood member to help him out as the sight of him down at ringside caused Curt Hennig to run down and chase away the one who was referring to himself as “PerfectShawn”.

Wall had Smiley basically out in the ring, but Hennig was able to grab a baseball bat that Stasiak had yet to throw to Wall. Hennig got in the ring, hit Wall in the stomach and once more over the back. By this time, Smiley was getting up. He saw Wall down and locked in Normal Conquest submission hold that got Wall to tap out and give Smiley the Hardcore title.

Falls-Count-Anywhere Match:
Norman Smiley made The Wall submit to the Norman Conquest in 0:07:48.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Norman Smiley won the WCW HARDCORE TITLE.)

TELEVISION TITLE MATCH
DISCO INFERNO VS. VAN HAMMER

Hammer wanted to show that in a normal wresting match, there was no way Disco could beat him. And for a good portion of the match it looked like he might be right. Hammer though got a bit too cocky. He tried to showcase to the fans and turned his attention away from Disco. This allowed Disco to recover and out of nowhere, hit the Chartbuster, which was enough to stun Hammer and get the 1-2-3. Disco retained his title and danced all the way to the back still with the gold in hand.

Disco Inferno pinned Van Hammer with the Chartbuster in 0:12:02.
Rating: **
(Disco Inferno retained the WCW WORLD TELEVISION TITLE.)

Card rating: ***

[asover7s]

MONDAY NITRO (April 24, 2000)

"You're either with us, or you're against us."

With Vince Russo and the New Blood standing in the ring to open the show, that was the motto he announced his New Blood was going by and it was starting tonight. He called out Booker T and said he still owed Jeff Jarrett a title match and was going to give it to him at Slamboree. But tonight, there was unfinished business with him, Sting and DDP. There will be a 6 way match between them and any 3 random members of the New Blood.

The 3 faces came out and agreed to the match. Sting called the New Blood nothing but a bunch of wannabe thugs who can't win anything on their own. DDP went on saying they're not the future of WCW, the future is the man currently holding the world title, pointing to Booker T.

Russo said the future will be whatever he says it’s going to be. Jeff Jarrett will become the new World Champion at Slamboree and he and the rest of the New Blood will take this company to new heights.

For the first match of the night, Billy Kidman was getting the shot at the U.S. Title that he earned last week against Sid Vicious.

UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH
SID VICIOUS VS. BILLY KIDMAN

Kidman caught Sid off guard early with his speed and high-flying moves. But he went to the well once too often and got caught flying off the top rope and was powerslamed by Vicious.

Kidman mounted a late rally, but Vicious had Lex Luger at ringside with him, who pushed Kidman off the top rope and helped Sid get the win with the powerbomb. Sid gave Kidman one more for good measure after the match and Luger put him in the torture rack for a period of time before they walked to the back.

Sid Vicious pinned Billy Kidman with the Power Bomb in 0:07:18.
Rating: *** 1/4
(Sid Vicious retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

After they left and Kidman was still laid out, Buff Bagwell's music plays and he comes down. He tells Kidman that this didn't have to happen. He could've had the New Blood watching his back, but Kidman never stood by them in recent weeks. Kidman didn't say a word and after Bagwell was done, he threw the microphone down and spat on Kidman.

3 Count came to the ring next and said they had enough of the Millionaire’s Club trying to flex their size and muscles. Karagias said if the Outsiders want a title match at Slamboree, they got it. But tonight, they wanted a six man match.

SIX MAN TAG
3 COUNT VS. THE MILLIONAIRE’S CLUB

They got Luger, Flair and Hall in the ring and the undersized 3 Count pulled the shocker by getting the win over the veterans. Of course that wasn't going to be the end of things. Once again just like last week, the entire group jumped in as Sid and Nash came in for a beat down of 3 Count.

This time though, there was backup coming. Douglas, Candido and Bam Bam Bigelow, the Triple Threat, ran down and helped 3 Count clear the ring of the Millionaires Club.

3 Count (Evan Karagias, Shane Helms and Shannon Moore) defeated
The Millionaires Club (Lex Luger, Ric Flair and Scott Hall) when Karagias pinned Luger after a flying forearm in 0:08:43.
Rating: **

CURT HENNIG VS. ERNEST “THE CAT” MILLER

Vince Russo wanted to see where The Cat, Ernest Miller stood. He matched the Cat aganist New Blood nemesis Curt Henning. Cat ran into the ref and both were knocked down. This allowed Shawn Stasiak to run in and knock out Henning with a chair. Cat never saw this, when he came to, he hit the feliner and got the win. After the match, Stasiak threw Cat a chair and told him to finish the job. Cat looked torn. He ended up throwing the chair down and walking away.

Ernest Miller pinned Curt Hennig with the Feliner in 0:10:20.
Rating: ** ¾

BUFF BAGWELL VS. CHRIS KANYON

Buff Bagwell was matched against Kanyon. Bagwell questioned where Kanyon's loyalties were. To his boss Vince Russo, or his old friend DDP. Kanyon said he was his own man and fought Bagwell. Of course the match ended with Mike Awesome in the ring jumping Kanyon. The two double teamed him until Henning came down to even things up. Once the New Blood started to double team Henning while Kanyon was out, DDP ran down to clear the ring.

Buff Bagwell pinned Chris Kanyon after hitting him with a frying pan in 0:12:23.
Rating: ***
[Mike Awesome interfered against Chris Kanyon.]

KRONIK VS. THE FILTHY ANIMALS

Next on the Russo hitlist were the Filthy Animals. Russo considered them failures for not winning the tag titles and doing nothing to help the New Blood. He sent his powerhouse team of Kronik out to destroy them and they pretty much did the job. They overpowered the smaller team and left them both laying in the ring after the match. One of most telling things however may have been Konnan not coming down to check on his buddies. He appeared at the top of the stage and just shook his head apparently in disgust.

KroniK (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) defeated
The Filthy Animals (Juventud and Rey Misterio Jr.) when Clark pinned
Misterio Jr. with the Meltdown in 0:11:22.
Rating: ***

6 MAN TAG
NEW BLOOD VS. BOOKER T, DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE AND STING

With the amount of hostility building up between the New Blood and basically everyone else in WCW, there was no way this was going to stay just a 6 man match. Officially the New Blood picked up the win after Jarrett pinned the champion Booker T. But the aftermath was an all out brawl. The entire New Blood jumped in, but their enemies were quick to come get some revenge. Hulk Hogan, Curt Hennig ran in. Kanyon came down to get some revenge. Kidman showed up and fought on the side of good, going after the New Blood members. The cameras faded out on the massive riot in the ring.

The New Blood (Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner and The Wall) defeated
Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page and Sting when Jarrett pinned Booker after the Stroke in 0:15:57.
Rating: *** 1/4


Card rating: ***

[asover7s]

THUNDER (April 26, 2000)

The show begins with Van Hammer coming to the ring still upset with the ending of the TV Title match last week.

Hammer stated that the match last week lasted 12 minutes and 2 seconds. For 11 minutes and 59 seconds, he beat the hell out of Disco Inferno. But Disco got in one lucky shot and got a 3 count. Hammer then demanded another title shot.

Disco came out with the gold around his waist. He told Hammer he had his shot and if he wants another one, he is going to have to earn it.

At that point, the music of the Filthy Animals hit and Konnan came out to throw in his two cents. Konnan said if anyone deserved a shot, it was him. He challenged Hammer to a match tonight and the winner would get a title shot at Disco at Slamboree. All three agreed to the deal.

ELIX SKIPPER VS. CHAVO GUERRERO JR.

Elix Skipper made his second consecutive impressive showing, this time taking out proven veteran Chavo Guerrero Jr. Skipper may be new to WCW, but he is already making noise with by beating another proven veteran. He is quickly climbing up the ladder of WCW.

Elix Skipper pinned Chavo Guerrero Jr. with the Play of the Day in 0:10:11.
Rating: **

THE JUNG DRAGONS VS. THE MAMALUKES

The Mamalukes came out and challenged the Dragons to a return match from last week. Big Vito claimed the same mistakes wouldn’t happen again. Well, they did happen again. Once again Johnny the Bull was on the wrong end of the decision as he got pinned and the Dragons claimed their second victory in as many weeks over the former tag team champions.

Kaz Hayashi and Yang defeated The Mamalukes (Big Vito and Johnny the Bull) when Yang pinned Johnny the Bull with the Yang Time in 0:16:35.
Rating: *** ½

After the match, Vito stayed in the ring and once again verbally accosted Johnny for costing them the match. He told him he better step it up a notch or he’s going to find himself a new partner.

MIKE AWESOME VS. CHRIS KANYON

Kanyon wanted revenge on Mike Awesome for attacking him on Nitro. He got him one-on-one, but maybe Kanyon bit off a little more then he could chew. Kanyon was able to hit some impressive maneuvers, but Awesome’s power was too much as he got the match turned in his favor, closing it out with an Awesome Bomb.

Mike Awesome pinned Chris Kanyon with the Awesome Bomb in 0:15:29.
Rating: *** ¾

NUMBER ONE CONTENDERS MATCH
VAN HAMMER VS. KONNAN

Disco was kind enough to join the broadcast team on commentary since he will be defending his title against the winner of this match. Hammer was eager to get another shot at the title and had the better of Konnan for most of the match.

In fact, Konnan had to resort to going out to the floor to get away from the heavy metal man. Konnan reached under the ring and pulled out a bottle of tequila. He rolled back into the ring and smashed the bottle over Hammer’s head. This obviously led a disqualification, but Konnan didn’t care.

He kept stomping away on Hammer who was busted open. Disco jumped in the ring to try to get him to back off and Konnan responded by attacking Disco, locking him in the tequila sunrise.

The other filthy animals, Rey Mysterio and Juventud ran down and try to get Konnan off him. They finally were able to pull Konnan off, but Konnan yelled something in Spanish at them before walking out to end the show.

Number-One-Contenders-Match:
Van Hammer defeated Konnan by disqualification in 0:08:03.
Rating: -1/4*

[asover7s]

MONDAY NITRO (May 1, 2000)

Vince Russo comes down to the ring holding a metal briefcase. He sets it down, and grabs a mic. He mentions that although he and Eric Bischoff are in charge of the day-to-day operations of WCW, like everyone, he has bosses he has to answer to. And his bosses have told him there will be a special guest referee in the World Title match at Slamboree between Booker T and Jeff Jarrett.

He went on to say that they refused to tell him who the referee will be. But he has a plan. He holds up the briefcase and says inside is an equalizer. Something that will make sure Jeff Jarrett walks out of Slamboree the new world champion.

This brings out Booker T to the stage. He says he’s glad someone in management knows what the hell they’re doing, and they know enough to keep Russo from getting involved in the match. No matter who the referee is, one-on-one, Jeff Jarrett can’t beat him. Can you dig that … Sucka!!!

Jarrett ran down from behind and nailed Booker in the back. Booker stumbled all the way down to the ringside area where Jarrett continued on the assault. He rolled Booker into the ring and followed him in. Russo passed the briefcase to Jarrett who nailed Booker with it right in the head. He then placed the briefcase on the ground and gave Booker the Stroke right on top of it. Russo and Jarrett left with their hands raised as Booker was out cold in the ring.

SHANE DOUGLAS VS KEVIN NASH

Shane Douglas came out and issued an open challenge to anyone in the Millionaire’s Club. Answering the challenge was Kevin Nash. At the beginning of the match, the members of 3 count came to do commentary and get an upclose look at one of the men who will be challenging them for their world tag titles at Slaboree. 3 Count and broadcaster Scott Hudson had some entertaining comments going back-and-fourth trading insults on Nash.

Nash tried to wear Douglas down with his power moves, but Douglas would come back, hit his belly-to-belly and grab the win.

Shane Douglas pinned Kevin Nash after belly-to-belly suplex in 0:12:18.
Rating: **

After the match, Douglas took a mic and called out the rest of the group. “Bischoff, Flair, you and your group may be Millionaires, but I own your ass”. He then went on to call out Sid Vicious and challenge him to a match for his US Title at Slamboree. This brought down Sid and while Douglas was distracted, Nash came from behind and leveled Douglas. The rest of the Millionaire’s poured into the ring. Candido and Bam Bam ran into to try to help, but it was the boost given from 3 Count coming to the aid, flying through the air taking down the Millionaires that helped clear the ring.

The Triple Threat and 3 Count stood in the ring together and all shook hands.

BILLY KIDMAN VS ERNEST MILLER

Russo still wanted to see where The Cat stood so he sent him out to take out Billy Kidman. It wasn’t too long before some of the New Blood came to attack Kidman. Scott Steiner and the Wall ran in and manhandled the smaller Kidman. They asked for The Cat to get a few shots in but instead, Cat just slid under the bottom rope and ran to the back. They brought in a table and Wall was ready to choke slam Kidman through it when Hulk Hogan’s music hit.

Steiner ran down to meet him and the two started to brawl. But with Wall there, the numbers were against Hogan. They brought him into the ring, and Hogan took Kidman’s place of going through the table.

Billy Kidman defeated Ernest Miller by disqualification in 0:07:13.
Rating: ** 1/4
[Scott Steiner and The Wall interfered against Billy Kidman.]

Russo came out applauding the carnage. He told Wall thank you and in return fro his service, he was scheduling an impromptu hardcore title match against Norman Smiley right now. And it would be a table’s match.

HARDCORE TITLE MATCH
TABLE MATCH
NORMAN SMILEY VS. THE WALL

The carnage was cleaned up from ringside and Norman Smiley was reluctantly brought out to defend his hardcore title. Wall dominated him in every aspect. He had it set up to Superplex Smiley through the table, but Kidman ran back down with a steel chair. He got on the apron and nailed Wall with it. Smiley shoved him off and Wall went crashing through the table.

Kidman handed Smiley his belt and they ran off through the crowd before the New Blood could come down.

Table Match:
Norman Smiley defeated The Wall by putting him through a table in 0:15:30.
Rating: ** 1/4
(Norman Smiley retained the WCW HARDCORE TITLE.)

Kevin Nash rushed in a fit of rage back down to the ringside area and went right over to the broadcast booth. He got in Scott Hudson's face saying he heard what Hudson was saying about him during his match. If Hudson had anything to say, be a man and say it right to his face.

Hudson tried to back off his comments, but Nash punched him in the face. He then drug him over the table and threw him into the ring where Nash hit Hudson with a Jackknife Powerbomb before finally leaving.

JUNG DRAGONS VS. FILTHY ANIMALS

The Jung Dragons picked up another win to keep climbing back up the tag team ladder, but this wasn’t without controversy. It looks like Konnan has severed all ties with the Filthy Animals as midway through the match, he ran down. At first it looked like despite their recent problems, he would help out his boys, but instead he broke a tequila bottle over Rey’s head with the ref not looking and got him counted out. Konnan then left before Juventud could come to his aid.

Kaz Hayashi and Yang defeated The Filthy Animals (Juventud and Rey Misterio Jr.) when Yang defeated Misterio Jr. by countout in 0:10:12.
Rating: ** ¼

STING VS. VAMPIRO

Sting finally got Vampiro in the ring one-on-one. He got the win in the battle, but Vampiro may have won the war. After the match, Sting was celebrating, when Vampiro hit him low. And of course, this was followed by the New Blood rushing down to beat down Sting.

DDP tried to make the save but Bagwell took care of him. Buff then yelled directed to Kimberly pointing to the fallen DDP saying look at that. Is that what you want or do you want a real man.

The beating of Sting continued. Vampiro set up a table on the floor and it looked to be an ordinary throw him through the table spot. But Vampiro took it one step further and lit the table on fire.

Vampiro got help from Mike Awesome and The Wall, picking Sting up and throwing him out of the ring through the flaming table. Cameras faded out on Sting caught in the fire.

Sting defeated Vampiro when Vampiro passed out in the Scorpion Death Lock in 0:18:04.
Sting suffered an elbow injury. He will be out for approximately 2 cards.
Rating: ***

[asover7s]

THUNDER (May 3, 2000)

Konnan came out to open the show and called out Rey Misterio Jr. Konnan said he was tired of being associated with losers, so that is why he did what he did over the past few weeks. He told Misterio, if he wants to try to get some revenge, come out now and settle this thing like men.

REY MISTERIO JR. VS KONNAN

Rey sprinted down to the ring and went right after Konnan. He came out with an intensity that got him a quick advantage, but the ruthlessness of Konnan soon took over.

Konnan was on the outside, Rey tried doing a springboard hurracanranna out on the floor, but Konnan caught him and turned it into a powerbomb. From there, he grabbed the ring steps and dropped them countless times on Rey.

Konnan snuck back into the ring to get the countout victory. But then he went back on the floor and continued his assault.

Konnan defeated Rey Misterio Jr. by countout in 0:05:32.
Rating: ** 3/4

Security had to come down to get Konnan to back off as they brought out a stretcher to take Rey back. It looked like Konnan was gone and the medical staff was free to get Rey into an ambulance, however Konnan would come back. He grabbed hold of the stretcher and rammed it repeatedly into the back of the stage before finally leaving.

Eric Bischoff was in the back with the Millionaire’s Club and he said he had some bad news. Due to Kevin Nash’s attack on Scott Hudson last week, he was suspended for 90 days. However, he said the Millionaire’s Club will not skip a beat. Lex Luger will join with Scott Hall at Slamboree to challenge 3 Count for the World Tag Team titles. Tonight they will have a warm-up match against the Mamalukes.

ALEX WRIGHT VS LASH LEROUX

The match itself was nothing to speak of, but the ending saw the emergence of the newest group in WCW. Four men jumped over the guardrail and took out both Wright and LeRoux.

One of them grabbed the mic and introduced himself as Mike Sanders. The others were identified as Chuck Palumbo, Mark Jindrak and Sean O’Haire and collectively, they are to be known as the Natural Born Thrillers.

They called themselves the future of WCW and will take out anyone and everyone who is in their way.

Alex Wright and Lash LeRoux battled to a double countout in 0:10:25.
Rating: **
[Chuck Palumbo interfered against Lash LeRoux.]
[Sean O'Haire interfered against Alex Wright.]


ELIX SKIPPER VS. HUGH MORRUS

Elix Skipper continued his winning streak by defeating Hugh Morrus. When Morrus tried to go for the No Laughing Matter, Skipper countered it into a powerslam for the win.

Elix Skipper pinned Hugh Morrus after a powerslam in 0:09:31.
Rating: *** 3/4

Skipper took the mic after the match. He said right now, fighting for the TV Title, is a guy stuck in the 70’s and a guy stuck in the 80’s. He said WCW needed a new warrior for the 21st century and he was the guy. Although, Hammer may be the No. 1 contender, he said next week, he’ll be in the ring. If Hammer thinks he’s man enough, face him for the right to challenge for the title.

THE MILLIONAIRE’S CLUB VS. THE MAMALUKES

It was an impressive debut as a team for Luger and Hall. Hall hit the Outsider’s Edge on Johnny the Bull to get the win. After the match, Vito left to the back while Luger put the Bull in the torture rack to make a further statement. Bischoff raised their hands in victory as cameras faded out.

The Millionaires Club (Lex Luger and Scott Hall) defeated
The Mamalukes (Big Vito and Johnny the Bull) when S. Hall pinned Johnny the Bull with the Outsiders Edge in 0:12:36.
Rating: 3/4*

[asover7s]

MONDAY NITRO (May 8, 2000)

Vince Russo comes out holding the briefcase from last week. Jeff Jarrett is along side of him. Jarrett states that it doesn’t matter who the special referee is going to be for the world title match at Slamboree because as they showed last week, thanks to their great equalizer (as he grabs the briefcase), Booker T has no shot.

Russo said in the interest of fairness, he will put both Booker T and Jeff Jarrett in warm-up matches tonight. Booker will be in tag action against Kronik. For his partner, Russo has chosen, New Blood member Mike Awesome.

He then says he has brought in one of WCW’s all time legends to warm up Jarrett tonight.

SHANE HELMS VS. LEX LUGER

The first match of the night was a preview of the world tag title match. Shane Helms represented 3 Count against Lex Luger of the Millionaire’s Club. Luger thought he was going to dominate the young kid, but Helms surprised him and got the win.

Shane Helms pinned Lex Luger after a T-Bone Suplex in 0:12:41.
Rating: * ¾

After the match all heck broke loose. The Millionaire’s Club ran in. The rest of 3 Count ran in. The Triple Threat came down to side with 3 Count. Shane Douglas singled out U.S. Champion Sid Vicious and took down Sid with several belly-to-bellys. The Millionaire’s Club ran in retreat as the faces stood in the ring.

DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE AND HULK HOGAN VS. SCOTT STEINER AND BUFF BAGWELL

Scott Steiner continues to have Hulk Hogan’s number. Bagwell went towards Kimberly which caused Page to run after him onto the floor. The two started to brawl which drew the refs attention, allowing Steiner to hit Hogan with a lead pipe to get the win. It was announced that both Page and Bagwell, and Steiner and Hogan will meet at Slamboree.

The New Blood (Buff Bagwell and Scott Steiner) defeated
Diamond Dallas Page and Hulk Hogan when S. Steiner pinned Hogan after hitting him with a foreign object in 0:23:43.
Rating: * 1/2
Click here to see highlights.

JEFF JARRETT VS.

Jarrett came out for his warm-up match against a “WCW Legend”, which was revealed to be Too Cold Scorpio. Jarrett dominated Scorpio and finished him off with The Stroke.

Jeff Jarrett pinned Too Cold Scorpio with the Stroke in 0:07:33.
Rating: ** ½

HARDCORE TITLE MATCH
NORMAN SMILEY VS. TERRY FUNK

The hardcore legend came out and issued a challenge to Norman Smiley for the Hardcore title. Funk said he wanted to teach him what hardcore really means. After a match that saw chairs and table’s use, it was Smiley making Funk tap out to a leglock.

No-Countout-No-DQ-Falls-Count-Anywhere Match:
Norman Smiley made Terry Funk submit to a single-leg takedown into a leglock in 0:14:51.
Rating: ****
(Norman Smiley retained the WCW HARDCORE TITLE.)

KONNAN VS. JUVENTUD

Juventud wanted revenge on Konnan for his assault on Rey Misterio Jr. at Thunder last week. The two brawled out onto the floor and neither was real concerned with getting back in the ring, causing a double countout. Security had to come down to break the two up.

Juventud and Konnan battled to a double countout in 0:07:25.
Rating: ** 1/2
Click here to see highlights.

BOOKER T AND MIKE AWESOME VS. KRONIK

This match was a slaughter from the get-go. Before the bell even run, Awesome hit Booker with a powerbomb and fed Booker to the wolves and Kronik dominated him. Awesome even got a few more shots in. Clark finally put Booker away for the win.

KroniK (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) defeated Booker T and Mike Awesome when
Clark pinned Booker with the Meltdown in 0:10:39.
Rating: ****

The beating didn’t stop after the match. The rest of the New Blood poured into the ring. Jarrett, Bagwell, Vampiro, Stasiak, The Wall, Steiner, they all came him. A few faces tried to run in. Kidman came down. Page came in. Hogan came back. But the numbers advantage was too much. Until some familiar music hit. The shocked New Blood members looked at the entrance way as running to the ring was none other then GOLDBERG!!!! Goldberg ran in and cleared the ring of the New Blood. Goldberg then reached under the ring and pulled out a duffle bag. He opened it up to pull out a referee shirt which he then put on and pointed right at Jarrett.

Booker stood in the ring smiling, as Jarrett looked terrified.

We are less then one week to Slamboree. Here is the current card, with more matches, including a TV Title match to be added after Thunder.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
Booker T © VS. Jeff Jarrett
Special Guest Referee, Bill Goldberg

U.S. TITLE
Sid Vicious © VS. Shane Douglas

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES
3 Count © VS. Lex Luger and Scott Hall

Buff Bagwell VS. Diamond Dallas Page

Scott Steiner VS. Hulk Hogan

Shawn Stasiak VS. Curt Hennig

[JoshiQ]

I'm kind of surprised this hasn't gotten more love on the board. I've enjoyed reading all of the cards, and you have some good stuff going on here.

I am usually not a huge fan of unrealistic booking (like Hogan losing a lot, Luger losing to Helms)...but you chose a perfect time period. I can actually see Russo and Bischoff booking some of this stuff. Especially the Hogan in a hardcore match and handicap matches. It really does fit great for the time period.

I'm assuming you are running this unbooked?

[asover7s]

Sorry for the hiatus. Been moving so this got put on the backburner for a bit. I will pick this back up very soon.

[asover7s]

THUNDER (May 10, 2000)

VAN HAMMER VS. ELIX SKIPPER

Van Hammer and Elix Skipper started the show off to decide who will meet Disco Inferno for the TV Title. The champ was outside scouting the match. Skipper took the early control knocking the bigger Hammer to the outside. Disco had some choice words for Hammer which caused Hammer to take a swing at him.

When Hammer got back in the ring Disco ran in and began attacking him drawing a DQ. Skipper got pissed Disco cost him the match so he began attacking Disco. All three men began to brawl until security broke it up.

Van Hammer defeated Elix Skipper by disqualification in 0:03:38.
Rating: * 1/2
[Disco Inferno interfered against Van Hammer.]

It was announced that due to the controversial finish to the match, at Slamboree it will be a 3-way match for the title. Disco defending against both Van Hammer and Elix Skipper.

SHAWN STASIAK VS. BILLY KIDMAN

Stasiak was in the ring and issued an open challenge to anyone to help him get prepared for his match Sunday against Curt Hennig. Coming down to answer the challenge was Billy Kidman. Stasiak had New Blood members Vampiro and the Wall at ringside. Stasiak tossed Kidman outside and distracted the ref while Vampiro and Wall went to work.

In a show of solidarity against the New Blood, Kanyon ran down and went into the ring and attacked Stasiak. Vampiro and Wall jumped into the ring but Kanyon slid out as he and Kidman went to the back.

However, Vampiro got on the mic and issued a challenge to Kanyon for the main event tonight, which he accepted.

Shawn Stasiak defeated Billy Kidman by disqualification in 0:01:39.
Rating: **
[Chris Kanyon interfered against Shawn Stasiak.]

MIKE SANDERS VS. LASH LEROUX

Last week Mike Sanders and his Natural Born Thrillers made their arrival, tonight, Sanders made his in-ring debut and it was a successful one as he looked impressive in a victory over Lash LeRoux

Mike Sanders pinned Lash LeRoux after an Asai moonsault in 0:07:46.
Rating: * ½

HARDCORE TITLE
NORMAN SMILEY VS. BIG VITO

Smiley kept hold of his Hardcore Title after Vito knocked himself out trying do a flying chair shot. Smiley moved and Vito ended up hitting the mat, driving his own skull into the chair. Smiley locked in the Norman Conquest and got the win.

Norman Smiley defeated Big Vito when Big Vito passed out in the Norman Conquest in 0:11:51.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Norman Smiley retained the WCW HARDCORE TITLE.)

The end of the match though saw several WCW Superstars rush into the ring. Terry Funk came down to challenge Smiley and they began to fight. The Wall came down, table in hand and attacked both, sending Funk through a table. Sean O’Haire of the Natural Born Thrillers came down to try to make an impression.

Eric Bischoff backstage announced that anyone who wanted involved, can get in a battle royal at Slamboree for the Hardcore Title.

VAMPIRO VS. CHRIS KANYON

Kanyon fought with anger, trying to get one back on a New Blood member, but in the end Vampiro was too much. He got the win, but kept attacking Kanyon after the match. Then all of a sudden the lights went out. When the came back on, Vampiro was unconscious in the ring with a black bat lying next to him.

Vampiro pinned Chris Kanyon with the Vampiro Spike in 0:09:25.
Rating: *** 1/2

Card rating: ***

Here is the complete card for Slamboree this Sunday

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
Booker T © VS. Jeff Jarrett
Special Guest Referee, Bill Goldberg

U.S. TITLE
Sid Vicious © VS. Shane Douglas

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES
3 Count © VS. Lex Luger and Scott Hall

TELEVISION TITLE
Disco Inferno © VS. Van Hammer VS. Elix Skipper

Battle Royal for the Hardcore Title

Buff Bagwell VS. Diamond Dallas Page

Scott Steiner VS. Hulk Hogan

Shawn Stasiak VS. Curt Hennig

Konnan VS. Juventud

[jacklarkin]

I have to admit I was still a pretty big fan of the WCW in 2000, even with the bad booking. There were a lot of fun wrestlers to watch like Smiley, Vampiro, Kanyon etc, and you truly never knew what was going to happen one week to the next. Hated the Millionaires / New Blood angle though.

Couldn't stand Stasiak though and hope Curt Hennig goes over in that one.

Whenever I ran unbooked cards Lash LeRoux in TNM was just dynamite, almost impossible to beat.

[asover7s]

SLAMBOREE (May 14, 2000)

HARDCORE TITLE BATTLE ROYAL

The PPV opens with the hardcore battle royal. 2 men begin and every 2 minutes another enters. Eliminations will be pinfalls or submissions only.

Brian Adams of KroniK and the champion Norman Smiley start things off. Smiley did what he could to run away from the big man. Finally Bam Bam Bigelow came down and Smiley spent a good portion of the match hiding.

Only one man was eliminated before everyone got in the ring and that was the Wall, who went out thanks to Bam Bam and the New Blood member was not happy.

One of the most surprising performances was Alex Wright who cleaned up a bit, eliminating three straight men, including Smiley, before Brian Clark finally got him.

The final two were Bam Bam and Too Cold Scorpio. The Wall made a return and knocked out Bam Bam with a lead pipe, leading to Scorpio getting the win and the title.

10-Man Battle Royal:
Too Cold Scorpio won a 10-man Royal Rumble:
x B. Adams and N. Smiley started out.
x Bam Bam Bigelow entered at 0:02:00
x Bryan Clark entered at 0:04:00
x Terry Funk entered at 0:06:00
x Big Vito entered at 0:08:00
x The Wall entered at 0:10:00
x Sean O'Haire entered at 0:12:00
x Bigelow defeated The Wall after a splash in 0:13:27
x Too Cold Scorpio entered at 0:14:00
x Alex Wright entered at 0:16:00
x A. Wright defeated O'Haire after a flying bodypress in 0:17:24
x A. Wright defeated T. Funk after a moonsault bodyblock in 0:17:57
x A. Wright defeated N. Smiley after the Reverse Neckbreaker in
0:21:50
x Clark defeated A. Wright after a double underhook superplex in
0:25:18
x Clark defeated Vito after the Meltdown in 0:29:29
x Bigelow defeated B. Adams after the Greetings from Asbury Park in
0:36:25
x Scorpio defeated Clark after a power bomb in 0:38:05
x Scorpio defeated Bigelow after a flying somersault legdrop in
0:38:17
Rating: *** 1/2
(Too Cold Scorpio won the WCW HARDCORE TITLE.)
Click here to see highlights.

SHAWN STASIAK VS. CURT HENNIG

Well, we thought it was going to be Curt Hennig. However, Stasiak came out and informed everyone that Hennig knew he couldn’t win, so he left town. Stasiak said though he was in a mood to fight and offered an open challenge to anyone in the back. The Canadian national anthem began to play as none other than Lance Storm made his way to ringside!!!

Storm made his WCW debut a successful one, getting the victory over PerfectShawn.

Lance Storm pinned Shawn Stasiak after a cradle suplex in 0:13:49.
Rating: *** ½

KONNAN VS. JUVENTUD

Konnan didn’t waste anytime attacking Juventud and locked him in an armbar forcing a submission. However he refused to let go and only did once Rey Mysterio made his return and ran down to the ring to save his partner. Konnan escaped to the back before having to deal with Rey.

Konnan defeated Juventud when Juventud passed out in an armbar submission in 0:04:18.
Rating: **

SCOTT STEINER VS. HULK HOGAN

Steiner has had Hogan’s number in recent weeks and this was no different. Granted, the New Blood made their presence known as the Wall, Vampiro and Kronik were all at ringside helping Steiner. Steiner got the win and then continued with a post match assault. Chairs and tables flew everywhere and when it was all done, Hogan was left a bloody mess in the rnig.

No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Scott Steiner pinned Hulk Hogan after a tiger driver in 0:15:45.
Rating: 1/2*

WORLD TELEVISION TITLE
DISCO INFERNO VS. VAN HAMMER VS. ELIX SKIPPER

First pinfall would win the match which meant the champion Disco could lose the belt without getting pinned. That’s exactally what happened. Skipper pinned Hammer to get his first taste of gold in WCW.

Triangle Match:
Elix Skipper defeated Disco Inferno and Van Hammer when Prime Time pinned Hammer with the Sudden Death in 0:15:29.
Rating: ** 1/4
(Elix Skipper won the WCW WORLD TELEVISION TITLE.)

DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE VS. BUFF BAGWELL

DDP charged the ring and went right at Bagwell. Buff didn’t even have time to flirt with Kimberly before Page began pounding him. When it looked like Page was ready to put him away, members of the New Blood tried to run in but Page had backup in Kanyon and Kidman. With them holding the New Blood at bay, DDP hit the diamond cutter and got the win.

Diamond Dallas Page pinned Buff Bagwell with the Diamond Cutter in 0:13:02.
Rating: ** ¼

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES
3 COUNT VS. THE MILLIONAIRES CLUB

It’s been really hard for 3 count to figure out who they were facing. It was supposed to be Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, but then Nash got suspended. So Lex Luger filled in as Hall’s partner, but Hall never showed up. This led to Flair filling his spot and finally we had our match.

The power of Luger and veteran cheating tactics of Flair got them the advantage, but the quickness and youthful energy of 3 Count proved to be the difference as they claimed the win to hold on to their titles.

3 Count (Evan Karagias and Shane Helms) defeated
The Millionaires Club (Lex Luger and Ric Flair) when Karagias pinned Luger after a flying forearm in 0:22:00.
Rating: ***
(Scott Hall no-showed.)

UNITED STATES TITLE
SID VICIOUS VS. SHANE DOUGLAS

With Luger and Flair still smarting from their loss, Sid had no assistance and was forced to face the Franchise one-on-one. It’s funny the way things change. A few months ago, Douglas would get booed out of any arena in the country. Tonight, it was a standing ovation as he pinned Sid to win the U.S. title.

Shane Douglas pinned Sid Vicious after a powerslam in 0:17:38.
Rating: * 1/2
(Shane Douglas won the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
BOOKER T VS. JEFF JARRETT
SPECIAL REFEREE BILL GOLDBERG

Jarrett came down with Vince Russo, clutching that mysterious briefcase we’ve seen in recent weeks. Goldberg called the match right down the middle. Well, for most of the match atleast. Russo tossed the briefcase to Jarrett to hit Booker with, but it was stopped by Goldberg who ripped the case from Jarrett’s hands and threw it back at Russo. Jarrett looked stunned, but then Goldberg stunned everyone.

He ran and speared Booker T!!!

Jarrett then picked him up, hit the stroke and Goldberg counted 1-2-3!! Russo rushed in the ring to celebrate and Goldberg handed Jarrett his newly won world title belt.

Russo then took the briefcase and handed it to Goldberg, who opened it to reveal that it was full of money. He closed it back up, shook Russo and Jarrett’s hands and left as Jarrett celebrated in the ring with the world title.

Jeff Jarrett pinned Booker T with the Stroke in 0:23:00.
Rating: **** 1/2
(Jeff Jarrett won the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)


Card rating: *** 1/2

[mdale2k]

Wow interesting end ti the main event never sass that coming!

[asover7s]

MONDAY NITRO (May 15, 2000)

The show begins with Vince Russo bringing out the new World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett. Fireworks shoot off in celebration of the crowing of a new world champion. Russo and Jarrett go on about how Jarrett was simply a better man and better wrestler than Booker T. They then call out the man that helped make sure Booker wouldn’t cheat his way to a win, Bill Goldberg!!

Goldberg comes out to a chorus of boos from the crowd for the first time in his career. Goldberg got in the ring and shook hands with Russo and Jarrett and said he didn’t care about what the fans thought. He is out for money and fame and Russo can bring that to him.

This drew out Booker T, still enraged over how he lost his belt last night. He said he will take care of that Benedict Arnold, Goldberg in time. But he wants a shot at his title back, to which Jarrett says no. Goldberg then has some words calling Booker a false champion. Booker called Goldberg a turncoat chicken, to which Goldberg charged outside and began to fight with Booker.

With their attention drawn to the fight outside, Jarrett and Russo didn’t see Diamond Dallas Page climb over the guardrail and jump into the ring. Jarrett finally turned around only to get hit with a diamond cutter. DDP jumped back into the stands and goes away.

THE WALL VS. BAM BAM BIGELOW

Due to their altercations during the hardcore battle royal, Bam Bam and the Wall met to try to settle their difference. Wall got assistance from his New Blood ally Scott Steiner who tossed Wall a bat that he used to knock out Bam Bam.

The Wall pinned Bam Bam Bigelow after hitting him with a baseball bat in 0:06:24.
Rating: *
[Scott Steiner interfered against Bam Bam Bigelow.]

Steiner and Wall kept attacking Bam Bam which brought out the rest of the triple threat, Chris Candido and Shane Douglas. But it was a trap. Once they hit the ring, more New Blood members poured out of the lockerroom and jumped Douglas and Candido.

The entire triple threat was laid out in the ring and Steiner got on a mic and started talking crap to Douglas saying he planned on taking his newly won US Title from him.

WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
3 COUNT VS. KRONIK

In recognition of their service lately, Russo award Kronik a world tag team title match. On paper it seemed they would dominate the smaller 3 count team, but the speed and agility of Karagias and Helms made it quite a match.

However, two men jumped over the guardrail and began attacking Helms. Mike Tenay on the broadcast identified them as Christian York and Joey Matthews from the independent circuit.

While they attacked Helms, Kronik double teamed Karagias to get the win and the belts.

KroniK (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) defeated
3 Count (Evan Karagias and Shane Helms) when Clark pinned Karagias with the Meltdown in 0:10:43.
Rating: **
(KroniK won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

MIKE AWESOME VS. BILLY KIDMAN VS. ERNEST MILLER

Russo still wanted to see where the Cat stood as he had yet to commit to the New Blood. So he booked him in a 3 way match with one New Blood member Mike Awesome, and one New Blood enemy Billy Kidman. Cat pinned Kidman to win the match, but as Awesome attacked Kidman after, Cat didn’t help either man and just walked away yet again.

Triangle Match:
Ernest Miller defeated Mike Awesome and Billy Kidman when E. Miller pinned Kidman with the Feliner in 0:18:30.
Rating: *** ¼

Backstage, Millionaire Club members Ric Flair, Lex Luger and Sid Vicious were sitting with Eric Bischoff trying to figure out their next move when Scott Hall came in. Luger took offense asking Hall where he was at Slamboree. Hall said he got caught up and Luger asked if there was a Happy Hour somewhere? Hall took offense and charged Luger. Flair and Sid separated them while Bischoff just walked away.

KONNAN VS. REY MISTERIO JR.

Juventud was out after Konnan’s attack last night so Rey came down with Chavo Guerrero in his corner. This was a mistake as Chavo turned on Rey letting Konnan grab the win.

Konnan made Rey Misterio Jr. submit to the Tequila Sunrise in 0:08:04.
Rating: **** 1/4
[Chavo Guerrero Jr. interfered against Rey Misterio Jr.]

Eric Bischoff made his way to the ring and said he was done with the Millionaire’s Club, calling them old and worthless. He was then turning his attention to making Vince Russo’s life a living hell. He has just as much athuority in WCW as Russo as hasn't been using it as he should be. He was using his power to book a number one contender’s match for Jeff Jarrett’s title tonight, Diamond Dallas Page VS. Booker T with the winner to get the title match at the Great American Bash.

VAMPIRO VS. LANCE STORM

Storm was making his WCW TV Debut and drew a tough opponent in Vampiro. Storm was impressive early but soon Vampiro turned the tide and looked ready to get the win. Then the lights went out. When the came back on their was a chair with a black trenchcoat draped over it and a baseball bat on the seat. Vampiro looked a bit concerned, then the lights went out again. When they came back on this time, it was STING!!! Standing their pointing the bat directly at Vampiro who looked terrified. With his attention drawn, Storm came up from behind and locked in the Maple Leaf and got a win.

Lance Storm defeated Vampiro when Vampiro passed out in the Canadian Maple Leaf in 0:11:51.
Rating: **** ¼

NUMBER ONE CONTENDERS MATCH
BOOKER T VS. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE

Booker and Page showed a great deal of sportsmanship from beginning to end. DDP got the win, but it was far from clean. Goldberg ran down and speared Booker T as it looked like Booker was setting him for The Book End. This drew a DQ to give Page the match. Page tried to fight off Goldberg,n but then Jarrett came down with a guitar and smashed it over Page’s head. He and Goldberg stood with their hands raised as the camera faded out.

Diamond Dallas Page defeated Booker T by disqualification in 0:12:06.
Rating: ** 1/4


Card rating: *** 1/4

[asover7s]

THUNDER (May 17, 2000)

The show opened with Elix Skipper coming out to the ring with his newly won TV Title around his waist. He thanked the man most responsible for him climbing the mountain and claiming the gold – himself.

Cue the disco music as the former champ Disco Inferno comes out dancing as always. Disco gets into the ring and asks what’s wrong with this picture. He doesn’t remember Skipper pinning his shoulders to the mat. Nor does he remember Skipper making him submit. He calls it a total crime he lost his belt without ever being defeated.

The two exchange some trash talk and end up settling on a one-on-one match next week Skipper vs. Disco for the title.

MARK JINDRAK AND SEAN O’HAIRE VS. THE MAMALUKES

We’ve been hearing a lot from the Natural Born Thrillers, and tonight we saw them back up those words with action. After the Thrillers took early control, Big Vito helped turn the tides to swing the match in their favor. Unfortunately, more miscommunication cost them. Vito taked in the Bull and then Vito stood on the apron taking some time to yell at the crowd. O’Haire knocked the Bull into Vito sending him flying into the guardrail. O’Haire then hit his Seanton Bomb and got the pin.

Mark Jindrak and Sean O'Haire defeated
The Mamalukes (Big Vito and Johnny the Bull) when O'Haire pinned Johnny the Bull with the Seanton Bomb in 0:08:27.
Rating: ***

Vito got in Johnny’s face once again after the match, but it appeared that this was the last straw. Instead of working out their differences again, Vito went on the attack and effectively ended their partnership as he left Johnny laying in the ring.

CHRISTIAN YORK AND JOEY MATTHEWS VS. HUGH MORRUS AND LASH LEROUX

York and Matthews made their in-ring debuts after attacking Helms and Moore of 3 Count on Nitro. They had some problems early in the match against the bigger Hugh Morrus, but were able to turn the tides when LeRoux got into the match. The two showed they had great teamwork and chemistry, using effective double teams and ended up winning fairly easily.

Christian York and Joey Matthews defeated Hugh Morrus and Lash LeRoux when York pinned LeRoux with the Rebel Yell in 0:11:05.
Rating: ** ¼

After the match, York and Matthews grabbed a mic and had some words for Shannon Moore and Shane Helms. They told the story that once upon a time, they were a unit called the Bad Street Boys. But Moore and Helms got greedy and left the group to come to WCW. Seeing the success they had made them sick since they know they’re better. Now Matthews and York said they’re here too, and they will prove that they’re the ones, that should’ve gotten the break. They told Shane and Shannon they’ll see them Monday night.

Van Hammer came to the ring and said that he heard Skipper and Disco agreed to a TV Title match, but argued that he shouldn’t be left out of the picture. At the sound of this, the Natural Born Thrillers music played and Chuck Palumbo came out. Palumbo asked Hammer shouldn’t he be at a Ratt concert somewhere instead of being out here wasting everyone’s time. He then challenged Hammer to a match tonight which Hammer accepted.

HARDCORE TITLE
TOO COLD SCORPIO VS. ALEX WRIGHT

When you think of great hardcore wresters, Alex Wright and Too Cold Scorpio aren’t the first names that come to mind. Yet Scorpio won the hardcore battle royal at Slamboree and Wright may have had the most impressive showing.

The two put on a fairly decent hardcore match, until it was interrupted by someone whose name is synonymous with hardcore wrestling, Terry Funk. Funk used a host of different weapons and took out both Scorpio and Wright before leaving. But since it was a hardcore match, there was no DQ. Scorpio made it to his feet first, grabbed the ring bell and clocked Wright with it to get the pin.

No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Too Cold Scorpio pinned Alex Wright after hitting him with the ring bell in 0:12:53.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Too Cold Scorpio retained the WCW HARDCORE TITLE.)
[Terry Funk interfered against Alex Wright.]
[Terry Funk interfered against Too Cold Scorpio.]

VAM HAMMER VS. CHUCK PALUMBO

Hammer used an array of power moves to claim an early advantage in the match, at one point knocking Palumbo outside the ring where he was able to regroup with Mike Sanders. Palumbo then turned the match around with a series of shortcuts such as a thumb to the eye and a low blow. Just when Hammer seemed to be weathering the storm, Sanders got on the ring apron to distract Hammer, allowing Palumbo to hit a powerslam and get the win.

Chuck Palumbo pinned Van Hammer after a powerslam in 0:09:43.
Rating: **

Card rating: ** 1/2

[asover7s]

MONDAY NITRO (May 22, 2000)

6 MAN TAG
TRIPLE THREAT VS. THE NEW BLOOD

Nitro began this week with a match as the Triple Threat were out for revenge after last week’s attack from the New Blood members. Early on the action was all over the place except in the ring. Douglas and Steiner paired off, as did Bam Bam and the Wall, and Stasiak and Candido.

Finally the ref got things under control and got the action to go in the ring. The New Blood got the upperhand and went to work on Candido. Finally, Candido was able to catch Stasiak with a DDT to allow himself to make the hot tag to Bam Bam. He got in the ring and cleaned house, Douglas came into help.

Douglas was tagged in against Steiner and started to work over Big Papa Pump, until he went for a low blow to stop Douglas’ momentum. Steiner hit a few of his signature moves on Douglas and then started talking smack about how he’s going to do this again later on and take the US Title from him. Douglas responded with no words, just hitting the Franchiser out of nowhere to get the pin for his team.

Triple Threat (Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido and Shane Douglas) defeated The New Blood (Scott Steiner and The Wall) and Shawn Stasiak when Douglas pinned S. Steiner with the Franchiser in 0:17:22.
Rating: *** ¾

The celebration was short lived as The New Blood members continued on the attack. Kronik came down to help out the The New Blood and the numbers advantage was just too great. For the second straight week, the Triple Threat was left laying in the ring.

After a commercial break, Vince Russo came to the ring with Goldberg and the World Champion Jeff Jarrett. Russo broke the news that since DDP was officially the winner last week, he will meet Jarrett at the Great American Bash for the world title. He’s perfectly fine with that since he knows that Jarrett will wipe the floor with him.

He was interrupted with Eric Bischoff coming out to ringside, surprisingly, with Booker T and Goldberg flanked to each side of him. Bischoff restated the promise he made last week that he wants to make Russo’s life hell. He said he got an epiphany that he wouldn’t be able to do it with old has beens like the Millionaire’s Club. He said he’s going to do it with hungry and talented wrestlers like DDP and Booker. He has a contract ready for Goldberg to sign, to face Booker T at the Bash. He could sign it now, or after tonight’s main event, a tag match. DDP and Booker T against Jeff Jarrett and Goldberg.

REY MISTERIO JR. VS. CHAVO GUERRERO JR.

Good high flying back and forth action between the two. No one got any continuous offense as the match kept going back-and-fourth. When it seemed like one man would gain an edge, the other would come up with some counter move to turn things around. Such as the ending, where Chavo was in control, and went to the top rope, only to have Rey get up, climb up there with him and hit a Huracanranna to lead to the pin.

Rey Misterio Jr. pinned Chavo Guerrero Jr. with the Super Huracanrana in 0:11:42.
Rating: *** ¼

After the match, Konnan ran down and blindsided Rey. Chavo and Konnan double teamed Rey until security finally came to break it up.

BUFF BAGWELL VS. LANCE STORM

Russo hasn’t been happy with Lance Storm beating all his guys since he came to WCW. He thought Buff Bagwell would finally do the job right for him, but Buff spent too much time posing allowed Storm to jump him and gain the offensive edge. Buff turned out to get things in his favor for a big, but missed a blockbuster attempt. Storm then locked in his Maple Leaf hold and it was over.

Lance Storm defeated Buff Bagwell when Buff Bagwell passed out in the
Canadian Maple Leaf in 0:09:12.
Rating: ****

LEX LUGER VS. SCOTT HALL

Luger wanted a match with Hall for not showing up at Slamboree. I don’t think Luger expected Hall to show up sober and committed to the match. Hall hit the Outsiders Edge to get the win.

Scott Hall pinned Lex Luger with the Outsiders Edge in 0:11:11.
Rating: -* 3/4

Hall continued to attack Luger after the match when the other Millionaire’s Club members Ric Flair and Sid Vicious came to try to be peacemakers. Hall was having none of this and attacked Flair too before leaving.

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES
KRONIK VS. 3 COUNT

Shane Helms and Shannon Moore were the ones chosen to get the tag title return match against Kronik. However as they were making their way to the ring, they were blindsided by Joey Matthews and Christian York. They brutally attacked the 3 Count members, slamming them on the floor and throwing them into the guardrails.

Kronik then came down and it easy pickings. They ordered the ref to start the match. They didn’t need to do much, but Clark hit Helms with a chokeslam and that was it.

KroniK (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) defeated
3 Count (Shane Helms and Shannon Moore) when Clark pinned Helms after
a choke slam in 0:01:49.
Rating: **
(KroniK retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

With the ring cleared, the lights went out. Some lightning flashed and then Sting’s music began to play. Sting made his way to the ring with a bat in one hand and a mic in the other.

He called out Vampiro, saying he owes him an ass kicking. Then a mysterious hooded figure came out the entrance way and stood at the top of the ramp. Sting, thinking it was Vampiro, pointed the bat towards him and told him to come down to the ring. The hooded figure raised his hands and the lights went off. When the lights came on, the hooded man was still on the ramp, but Vampiro was in the ring with a bat of his own. Sting had his attention drawn and never saw Vampiro who laid him out with a bat. Vampiro went and joined the hooded man on the top of the ramp while Sting was left unconscious.

BOOKER T AND DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE VS. JEFF JARRETT AND BILL GOLDBERG

Jarrett and Goldberg got in the ring first and Booker and Page charged at top speed. The faces got the upperhand early. Booker hit Goldberg with a superkick knocking over the top rope. DDP went for the Diamond Cutter on Jarrett but Jarrett shoved him off. However, DDP didn’t relent, and sent Jarrett to the outside as well with a brutal closeline.

Once things got settled and the match took place, Goldberg’s power got his team and Edge and they began to go to work on Booker. Booker would come back and catch Jarrett with an ax kick and get the hot tag to DDP who came in and was on fire. Booker was able to recover and help Page clean house. He actually hit the Book End of Goldberg and was ready to go for the pin when Jarrett brought in his guitar and smashed it over his head.

Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page defeated Bill Goldberg and Jeff Jarrett when Booker defeated J. Jarrett by disqualification in 0:15:56.
Rating: * 3/4

That was the end of the match but the war was far from over. The New Blood spilled out of the lockerroom and joined in the attack. Kanyon tried to make the save, but he was of no big help as he to got overwhelmed by the New Blood.

Booker was busted open and Goldberg brought out the contract for a match at the Bash that Bischoff had left him. He wiped some blood from Booker’s head and signed his name in Booker’s blood to make the match official.

Card rating: * 1/2

[asover7s]

THUNDER (May 24, 2000)

Van Hammer came out to open the show and called out Mike Sanders. He told Sanders that he cost him a chance to get back into the TV Title picture. He challenged Sanders to a match tonight to even up the score. “Right here, right now”. Sanders told Hammer its time for him to just go away because this is the time for the Natural Born Thrillers to rise. This brought out the rest of the Thrillers, Palumbo, O’Haire and Jindrak and jump Hammer from behind. It was a 4-1 beatdown before the finally backed off.

VAN HAMMER VS. MIKE SANDERS

At that point, Sanders grabbed a mic back and said if he wanted his match tonight, he got it. He called for the ref to ring the bell and the match started and then ended just as quickly.

Mike Sanders pinned Van Hammer with the 3.0 in 0:00:41.
Rating: *

BILLY KIDMAN VS BUFF BAGWELL

It was another instance of Bagwell spending too much time posing and not even time focusing on his opponent. Kidman too advantage of the distracted Bagwell to take over the match and get the win.

Billy Kidman pinned Buff Bagwell with the Kid Krusher in 0:09:49.
Rating: ** ¼

HARDCORE TITLE
TOO COLD SCORPIO VS. ALEX WRIGHT VS. TERRY FUNK

This match was signed based on the ending of last week’s hardcore title match, only Alex Wright pulled out of the match with a sling on his arm claiming a shoulder injury. So WCW officials booked Big Vito in his place.

Vito was bigger, stronger and younger then the other two and was in position to get a victory until his former partner, Johnny the Bull made an appearance clocking Vito with a lead pipe knocking him out. Scorpio took advantage and scored yet another victory.

No-Countout-No-DQ-Triangle Match:
Too Cold Scorpio defeated Big Vito and Terry Funk when Scorpio pinned Vito with the Flying Scorpio Splash in 0:25:48.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Alex Wright no-showed.)

After the match though, Wright jumped in the ring appearing as if he wanted to congratulate Scorpio. After shaking his hand with his good arm, he pulled off his sling and clocked Scorpio with his cast. He then ripped it off and beat Scorpio with it.

The only thing that stopped him was Terry Funk. The hardcore legend got back into the ring and nailed Wright from behind, leaving him laying with a piledriver.

3 COUNT VS. CHRISTIAN YORK AND JOEY MATTHEWS

When you put 2 teams of wrestlers who each claim to be the best boy band in the WCW together in a ring, you wouldn’t expect any sort of brawl. But that is exactly what happened when Helms and Moore finally got their hands on York and Matthews.

The ring couldn’t hold these four men and they fought outside and all the way to the back. The official decision was a double countout, but this feud is only just beginning.

3 Count (Shane Helms and Shannon Moore) and Christian York and Joey Matthews battled to a double countout in 0:11:38.
Rating: ** ½

TV TITLE
ELIX SKIPPER VS. DISCO INFERNO

Disco got what he wanted, a one-on-one chance for his title back, but the match didn’t end that way. Chuck Palumbo and the Natural Born Thrillers made a reemergence and took out both Skipper and Disco.

Elix Skipper defeated Disco Inferno by disqualification in 0:05:52.
Rating: ***
(Elix Skipper retained the WCW WORLD TELEVISION TITLE.)
[Chuck Palumbo interfered against Disco Inferno.]
[Chuck Palumbo interfered against Elix Skipper.]

[epw]

Got some very good angles going on. Surprised to see the triple threat as faces. Wonder if they coulda pulled that off in the real world. Love Goldberg as a brutal heel. Signing the contract in blood did a good job driving that point home. One question though, are you running Nitro and Thunder as separate brands like Raw and Smackdown?

[mdale2k]

is it good or bad that I really want to see how you develop Elix Skipper and Too Cold Scorpio!

Looking forward to seeing how Skipper fairs.

[asover7s]

EPW, no it's not separate brands, but I'm trying to build Thunder as the developmental show for Nitro. For instance the Natural Born Thrillers just came in. After they build up a name for themselves, they'll likely find themselves on Nitro.

Mdale, I have a feeling Skipper for sure will have a bright future in this version of WCW. Scorpio was kinda the beneficiary of an unbooked battle royal, but I like him in this role right now as hardcore champion.

[JoshiQ]

I am enjoying the push you seem to be giving Lance Storm. Same with Too Cold Scorpio.

It's a little hard for me to keep up with all of the current stables you have right now. But they will grow on me eventually, and it looks like the Millionaire's Club may not last long anyways.

The Triple Threat is one of my favorite pairings, especially the version with Candido and Bigelow. Like EPW said, it's hard to see them as faces, but it's not hard to be a face against a guy like Scott Steiner.

Who all is in the New Blood at this time?

Page-Jarrett should be good, same with Goldberg-Booker. You've built both matches up well.

[asover7s]

Right now, New Blood officially consists of: Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, The Wall, Mike Awesome, Shawn Stasiak, Buff Bagwell, Vampiro and Kronik. Vampiro though is beginning to branch off on his own and Goldberg is more of a hired gun than an offical member. The Cat also has been non-commital about his status.

Millionaires Club is down to Ric Flair, Sid and Lex Luger. Kinda want to phase out the guys that aren't going to be apart of the feds future

[asover7s]

MONDAY NITRO (May 29, 2000)

Vince Russo stormed out to the ring to open the show. He began by stating the obvious that we were less than two weeks from The Great American Bash and Jeff Jarrett was going to defend his world title against Diamond Dallas Page. Russo felt is was only fair that each man be given the opportunity for a tune-up match tonight. He booked Diamond Dallas Page against one of the New Blood’s strongest members, Mike Awesome. He also said he had a special opponent for Jeff Jarrett. Someone who is really going to give Jarrett a brutal test before the Bash. International superstar, Yang!!

At the sound of this, out of the back stepped Eric Bischoff. He reminded Russo that he has just as much booking power in WCW as he does. And he already had Jarrett booked in a non-title warm-up match tonight. Although it won’t be against Yang, it will be against Booker T. Bischoff left the ringside area while Russo kept trying to argue out of the match.

BUFF BAGWELL VS. CHRIS CANDIDO

Bagwell has been on a bit of a losing streak in recent weeks, partially due to his tendency to want to pose instead of go for a win. It hurt him again this week too. He had Candido nearly beat as he went to the top rope to get ready for his blockbuster. He took a bit too much time posing up top, and when we went for the move, Candido moved out of the way. He hit a suplex on Bagwell for a 1-2-3.

Chris Candido pinned Buff Bagwell after a waistlock suplex in 0:09:00.
Rating: ** ¼

After the match, Russo came down along with Scott Steiner and Kronik as his bodyguards. Russo began tearing down Bagwell. Week after week, Bagwell has failed him. All going back to Slamboree where he couldn’t take out DDP. He ran down his list of recent losses to Lance Storm, and Kidman among others. He told him he had no room in the New Blood for losers. He then asked Bagwell what he had to say for himself and tossed him the mic.

Before Bagwell could get any words out, Steiner and Kronik all jumped him. It was a 3-on-1 beatdown and Bagwell had no friends to help him. But not wanting to see the New Blood beatdown anyone, Chris Candido came back into the ring to help out and was soon joined by the other triple threat members Shane Douglas and Bam Bam Bigelow who cleared the ring of the New Blood.

KONNAN VS. REY MISTERIO JR.

Let’s be honest. This was a handicap match. Chavo Guerrero took every advantage he could to help out Konnan against Rey. Chavo’s boost gave Konnan the edge he needed to lock Rey in the Tequilla Sunrise, and even after he got the tap out. He simply refused to let go.

Konnan made Rey Misterio Jr. submit to the Tequila Sunrise in 0:11:58.
Rating: **** ¼

Security tried to break Konnan loose but he refused to let go. Then from the back came the returning Juventud to come to Rey’s aid. He took out Chavo then dropkicked Konnan out of the ring before checking on his fallen friend.

In the back, Russo went up to Ernest Miller and asked him what the heck he’s been doing. He asked Cat if he remembered the ultimatium he gave him a few weeks back. You’re either with the New Blood or against them. He asked the Cat to show his loyalty by going out and beating Lance Storm.

LANCE STORM VS ERNEST MILLER

The two put on a great display of mat wrestling. Storm’s technical expertice was counted by the martial arts skills of the Cat. After a great series of back-and-forth action, Storm caught Cat in a Feliner attempt and turned it into the Maple Leaf, that forced Cat to tap out.

Lance Storm made Ernest Miller submit to the Canadian Maple Leaf in 0:15:53.
Rating: *** ¾

Russo came to the ring, this time with The Wall and Shawn Stasiak and told Cat that was his last chance. Wall and Stasiak began to beatdown Cat and the Wall was set to chokeslam him through a table when two of the New Blood’s enemies, Billy Kidman and Chris Kanyon came down to make the save. They pulled Cat out of the ring and began heading towards the back when Russo called to them.

He asked Kidman and Kanyon if they liked sticking their nose in the New Blood’s business. Well if they wanted it, he’d give them a World Tag Title shot against Kronik. Kanyon and Kidman wasted to time in shaking their head to agree to the match. Only problem was, their back was to the entrance way. Russo said the catch was, the match will be right now. Kronik ran out from the back and blindsided Kidman and Kanyon. After attacking on the floor for a few minutes, they tossed them into the ring and we had our title match.

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES
KRONIK VS. BILLY KIDMAN AND CHRIS KANYON

Kronik wasted little time in this match. They kept the edge they gained from their blindside attack and won this fairly quickly.

KroniK (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) defeated Billy Kidman and Chris Kanyon when B. Adams pinned Kanyon after a spinebuster slam in 0:03:40.
Rating: *** 1/4
(KroniK retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

They weren’t done though. After the match they stayed on the attack until for the second time tonight, the Triple Threat made the save. Candido took the mic and offered a challenge for the Great American Bash. Kronik to defend against the Triple Threat, Candido and Bigelow. Adams replied with a “You’re on” and we have our tag title match set for the Bash.

After the ring cleared, the lights went off. Lightning flashed in the arena much like last week. Only this time, when they came back on, it was Vampiro standing in the ring. He even asked “What? Were you expecting Sting?” He then went on and said how much he enjoyed being in Sting’s head. And how much he enjoyed putting Sting out of action a few weeks back. And how much he looked forward to facing Sting again and taking him out for good.

Sting’s music began to play and the he appeared at the top of the stage. Sting began to slowly walk towards the ring and Vampiro never flintched. He just stood there waiting on him. When Sting got to ringside, the lights went out again. And when they came back on, the hooded figure from last week was right behind Sting and hit him in the back with a baseball bat.

Vampiro then looked down at an unconscious Sting and told him, that before Sting can get to him, he first has to get past, The Fallen Angel.

DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE VS. MIKE AWESOME

Perhaps the best thing for Page was the problems the rest of the New Blood had been having all night. There was no backup at ringside for Awesome. It was a rare one-on-one match featuring a New Blood member. Awesome was able to get a bit of offense in, but Page was on a collision course to meet Jarrett and nothing was going to stop him. One Diamond Cutter and it was over.

Diamond Dallas Page pinned Mike Awesome with the Diamond Cutter in 0:11:41.
Rating: ***

NON TITLE MATCH
JEFF JARRETT VS. BOOKER T

To no one’s surprise, Goldberg was ringside staring down Booker, just letting him know he’ll be waiting for him at the Bash. After Booker scored some early offense, the distraction of Goldberg let Jarrett take control. He had Booker set up for the stroke, but Booker did a nice counter into a samoan drop. Booker went to the top and was ready to come down on Jarrett when he saw Goldberg jump to the apron. Booker then lept and hit a missle dropkick on Goldberg. Russo tried to feed Jarrett a guitar, but DDP came to the ring and knocked out Russo. While DDP distracted Jarrett, Booker got a flying forearm on Jarrett and then got the pin.

Booker T pinned Jeff Jarrett after a flying forearm in 0:09:49.
Rating: *** 3/4
[Goldberg interfered against Booker T.]

After the match though, Goldberg jumped into the ring and speared Booker. DDP tried to fight him off but Jarrett was able to grab his guitar and smash it over Page’s head to end the show.