WCW Mayhem 99'

WCW Mayhem 99'

Toronto, Ontaria, Canada - November 1999

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship is vacant, the United States and TV Title are held by Scott Hall, and the WCW Tag Team Champions are Kidman and Konnan of the Filthy Animals stable. Disco Inferno holds the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. 

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan

The first ever Mayhem pay-per-view starts off with a recap of the 32-man tournament JJ Dillon ordered for the vacated WCW World Championship. At Halloween Havoc, Goldberg had won the title in an unsanctioned match against Sting, but because Sting didn't realize he was putting the title up for grabs, Goldberg's win was reversed. However, as Sting had attacked Charles Robinson, Dillon seized the title from him. 

Tony and Bobby run down the evening's card and, on paper, it actually sounds like it could be a pretty fun show thanks to a large amount of variety.

Jeff Jarrett makes his way down the aisle for the first tournament bout of the night. Jarrett's gimmick was that he was The Powers That Be's "Chosen One" so he was expected to go far in the tournament. His opponent is Chris Benoit, though, who has home country advantage and is sporting a Maple Leaf on his tights. Benoit is very over with the crowd and he wastes very little time busting out the big guns, including a superplex, a reverse neckbreaker, and some out-of-the-ring brawling. Jarrett crotches him into the post, though, and the tide turns. Jarrett has his working boots on too, keeping up with the Crippler move-for-move and keeping his foot on the gas for the most part. Jarrett locks in a sleeper and takes Benoit to the mat, but he can't tire him out enough to end the match. Benoit rallies soon after, landing a great backbreaker and then a trio of German Suplexes for a big near fall. The Powers That Be's twin henchmen (The Harris Brothers) show up. I looked them up on Wikipedia and learned they were named Pat and Gerald (a Russo-penned nod to Patterson and Brisco) because why shouldn't they be? Jarrett looks like he might get a countout victory and, as the commentators note, makes an unwise decision to bring Benoit back in the ring, nearly costing himself the match on two quick near falls. The psychology and layout of the closing stretch isn't strong, but you can't fault the execution of anything. Dustin Rhodes comes out to even the sides and Benoit manages to get the W, but Creative Control beats him down after the match. Security comes out to save Benoit, which, again, doesn't really make much sense because, according to the storyline, Jarrett and Creative Control's actions were what the Powers That Be (who would control security) wanted. Whatever. Not a bad match, but not great. (2.5/5)

Disco Inferno is backstage with his Cruiserweight Championship. Jarrett and Creative Control beat down Inferno before being pulled away by Vampiro (or is that Jerry Only?) and Konnan.

Evan Karagias makes his way down the aisle with Madusa for his Cruiserweight Title shot against the aforementioned Disco Inferno. Having been attacked backstage, Inferno is barely able to make his way out to the ring, essentially dragged to the aisle by Tony Marinara (Tony Mamaluke), who claims that Inferno owes his family money. Marinara joins Tony and Bobby on commentary and while this helps explain his role in this match and storyline, it doesn't necessarily add a ton of entertainment value. Inferno and Karagias have a relatively straightforward match in the ring, Inferno maintaining control for lengthy stretches, throwing in his trademark dance moves, but staying focused and wrestling with a more serious approach than he was typically known for. There was a time when the cruiserweight division was known for fast-paced, high-flying, revolutionary wrestling, but this match offers none of those things. An audible "Boring" chant starts up (or is that "Goldberg"?) but is cut off by a near fall and then the involvement of Madusa on the outside, something this bout probably could've used more of to keep it interesting. Marinara leaves commentary and tries to pick up Madusa, leading to Karagias stepping between them. Inferno tries to get the upperhand by hitting Karagias with a chair, but Evan steps aside and Inferno blasts Marinara with it instead. Karagias wins the Cruiserweight Championship (and $25,000 according to Schiavone) in short order and then makes out with Madusa. Gross. Pretty bad stuff. (1/5)

Bret Hart is shown entering the arena. The crowd approves.

Jeff Jarrett gets chewed out by the Powers That Be (an unseen Vince Russo) as Creative Control looks on.

Back to the ring we go for the first WCW Hardcore Championship match - Brian Knobbs vs. "Screamin'" Norman Smiley. 90% of this match is trash can shots, the other 10% being a bunch of one guy leading the other guy to a different setting so he can toss him into empty boxes or hit him with a trash can. When Hardcore Hak and Raven were involved in these sorts of matches, you didn't see much psychology but you could at least hope for someone to leave their feet at some point or take some stiff concussion-causers to the head. The Benoit/Sullivan matches that kind of birthed the genre in WCW were fairly novel 3-4 years earlier and benefitted from Dusty Rhodes' enthused commentary (and some serious intensity and urgency in the wrestlers' performances). This is a "hardcore" match by definition, but really just forgettable, one-note, un-entertaining filler in spirit. Neither Knobbs or Smiley look like they've been given any direction and don't come up with a single original or clever spot in the whole match - which probably runs 8-10 minutes but feels closer to 15 because of how nauseatingly repetitive the "offense" is. Half-star for the signs in the audience. (0.5/5)

The Revolution cut an unfunny promo backstage about the Filthy Animals and then the Filthy Animals cut an unfunny promo back. In-ring, these two teams have enough talent in their ranks to produce a really good match, but they also have to carry the weight of Konnan, Torrie Wilson, and Asya, so I'm not necessarily looking forward to this match.

Tony Marinara tells Disco Inferno that because he lost, he is now forced to bring in "the boys" from home. Disco is seriously worried.

Jeff Jarrett, backed by Creative Control, walks around backstage, promising he'll do something to impress the Powers That Be. 

The 6-person elimination tag match is next - Malenko, Saturn, and Asya of the Revolution taking on Kidman, Eddie Guerrero, and Torrie Wilson of the Filthy Animals. Early on, Malenko is poked in the chest by a face-painted fan in the front row and, credit to Russo, I'm not sure if this is a work or shoot as the camera stays on the fan even as he's escorted out of the area. Back in the ring, Torrie is beaten down by Asya, causing Kidman to come into the ring and take her out. Guerrero steps over to Torrie to check if she's alright and Kidman gets rolled up. The crowd breaks into a loud "Eddie!" chant and Kidman exits the ring, leaving Guerrero and Torrie to fend for themselves. Konnan walks out on the match too, seemingly to talk some sense into Kidman. Asya can actually work a little, connecting with a big vertical suplex to respectable applause before tagging out to Malenko. Guerrero hits a headscissors-into-a-victory roll to eliminate the Iceman soon after and we're back to even sides. Despite maintaining control for a few minutes, a miscommunication leads to Saturn taking out Asya with an errant kick. Guerrero capitalizes and hits a Frog Splash to put her away. The match is now 2-1 with the Animals outnumbering the Revolution, but as Eddie's partner is Torrie Wilson, this is really just a 1-on-1 affair at this point. Cool spot with Saturn attempting a springboard splash and Eddie cutting him off with a dropkick. Eddie follows it up with a big tornado DDT for 2, but Saturn hits his Death Valley Driver for a near fall of his own. Saturn misses an elbow drop from the top but Eddie refuses to make the tag, recognizing the futility in putting Torrie in the ring with Saturn. Eddie hits a crossbody from the top, but Saturn locks in the Rings of Saturn! Torrie Wilson is the last member of her team and the crowd heats up tremendously. Saturn pulls her by the hair, but Torrie hits her with a low blow! Shane Douglas gets involved and distracts the ref, allowing Saturn to hit her with a low blow of his own! I'm going to be kinda nice and say this match was average, but anything more than that would be going overboard. (2.5/5)

Before the fans or announcers can even register Saturn's victory, though, we cut to...

Backstage, Jeff Jarrett beats down on Buff Bagwell, who is up next in a match where he'll be putting his career on the line.

Curt Hennig is out first, no longer decked out in his Cowboy gear despite that gimmick getting over. The story leading up to this match is that the Powers That Be have essentially put a hit on Hennig, turning every one of his matches into a Retirement Match by making it that, if he loses by pinfall, he needs to leave WCW. Buff's music plays, but Bagwell doesn't show up. Instead, Jarrett and Creative Control make their way down the aisle and it looks like Hennig will be wrestling Jarrett instead. Buff Bagwell comes out with a 2x4 and cleans house and now the match is ready to start. What's funny about this match is that the commentators keep referring to the losers having to "hang up their boots," which seems like a purposeful choice of words to lead to a future swerve, essentially telegraphing whatever screwy way they deal with the loser of this match. The crowd is fully behind "Perfect," which is unsurprising considering his opponent and how low-regarded Buff Bagwell was (and remains to be). At times, you can tell that Perfect is not loving his dance partner either. Hennig locks in a sleeper and some "Boring" chants start up (as well as some barely noticeable "We Want Bret"s). Its an old-school spot (that they repeat) and one that a natural heel like Hennig usually uses effectively - but in this context, with the crowd solidly behind him, it just seems like a lazy to add minutes to the match. Buff's comeback seems like it was tacked on to a different match as Bagwell doesn't really sell any of the damage or fatigue he endured for most of the contest. Buff's Blockbuster finish startles the crowd who probably expected a more elaborate conclusion, especially considering that this was a Retirement Match featuring one of the biggest stars of the 90s. Again, though, the word "retirement" is never really uttered, though Schiavone does at least note that Hennig's career has come to a "screeching halt" and Heenan calls it a "sad day" for wrestling. Hennig gets a standing ovation, but, again, we cut backstage before the gravity or emotion can really be fully appreciated. (1.5/5)

Bret Hart vs. Sting is next, the winner going on to face Chris Benoit in the finals of the World Championship tournament. Designed to not only cement Bret Hart's facedom, but to help draw some sympathy for the Stinger too, this one reeks of Russo overbooking too as Lex Luger makes a run-in and attacks his best friend Sting but Bret Hart refuses to take the cheap victory around minute 6-7. Also should note, before the match, Heenan notes that Bret feels he's been "jobbed by the promotion" because why not use "insider terms" before a title match? This match is too rushed to be considered even good, a very disappointing bout considering that these two, who given time and the right context, surely should've been able to tear the house down. (1/5)

After a word from Benoit, Lex Luger is shown backstage wearing a neck brace. He explains that because of his neck injury (which was diagnosed and then treated in the last 4 minutes) he will be unable to compete tonight. 

Back to the ring we go for Vampiro (with Jerry Only) vs. Berlyn (with The Wall) in a Chain Match. Before the match can begin, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Oklahoma make their way down the aisle to the familiar sound of the Sooners Fight Song. Oklahoma's commentary immediately distracts from what is happening in the ring and destroys any possible good that occurs in this match. In the ring, Vampiro falls victim to the numbers game, chained to The Wall rather than to Berlyn. For some reason, when the Wall covers Vampiro, the ref makes the count despite this match clearly being supposed to be Berlyn/Vampiro. Berlyn gets jealous of The Wall's dominance and the two argue, The Wall eventually walking out. The Oklahoma commentary is maybe the most annoying, awful, unentertaining commentary I've ever heard in a match. Vampiro, with help from Jerry Only, hits a big suplex and then a Michinoku Driver before using the chain to choke out Berlyn in a camel clutch for the win. This match would've been maybe average without Oklahoma, but his commentary is so bad it brings this one to unwatchable territory. (0/5)

Scott Hall, the United States and TV Champion, is backstage. Hall issues an open challenge to anyone that wants a shot at either of his titles.

Curt Hennig is shown exiting the building while Kimberly is shown entering. She'll face David Flair later. Great.

Lex Luger, in a neck brace, makes his way down the isle with Elizabeth at his side. His opponent tonight is Meng. Lex Luger working like a bumbling, cowardly heel ala Hollywood Hogan is just so odd and kind of shows how little reverence Russo had for any of the characters or history of WCW. I'm a Meng fan and, judging by the signs in the crowd, he was over enough to deserve a spotlight PPV match, but a multi-time World Champion like Luger shouldn't be screaming "Help me!" during this match or probably really any match. Elizabeth tries to use mace to help her man, but after struggling to even get the pepper spray to work, she blasts it into Luger's eyes instead because she has absolutely no aim whatsoever. Luger, no longer wearing the brace, falls prey to the Tongan Death Grip. Another dud of a match. (1/5)

David Flair is seen polishing his crowbar like a pyscho. Since when do people polish their crowbar?

Scott Hall makes his way down the aisle. Still as charismatic as ever, Hall does his usual schtick, but compared to everything we've seen for the past hour, its pure gold. Booker T accepts Hall's challenge as Schiavone explains that this match will be for both of Hall's belts. Booker is fairly over, but Hall is more popular with the live crowd, the Toronto fans popping huge when he throws a toothpick into Booker's face. These two don't have natural chemistry, but the match gets physical enough to cover up its miscues. The crowd doesn't seem to give too much of a shit, though, the audience noticeably turning away from the action at one point (and not even in the direction of the entrance ramp, where Jeff Jarrett comes walking). Again, overbooking spoils what was a decent match and what could've been a big moment for Booker T as, up to this point, while Booker had had some big wins on PPV against the likes of Chris Benoit and others, Scott Hall might'e been the biggest "name" he'd faced yet. The lights go out and when they come back on, Midnight is in the ring. She cleans house and the heels make a run for it. (2/5)

A video is aired hyping the next match. Psychotic David Flair is one of the worst and greatest characters in wrestling history I think. 

Flair makes his way down the aisle, crowbar in hand, for his match with Kimberly. Kimberly tries to distract him with her beauty, for Flair is too psychotic to care. She hits him with a low blow, but he only winces a little and crabs his trusty crowbar. He takes out the ref and looks like he's going to beat her down, but she begs for mercy as the crowd cheers on, hoping they'll get a live sex show. Instead, she pulls out his cup and hits him with a second low blow. This time it registers and she bashes his skull into the mat repeatedly. He tosses her aside and gets her in the corner. Kanyon makes his return (Schiavone notes that he was in Hollywood working on the Ready to Rumble movie coming out this spring) and, shockingly, doesn't turn on Kimberly, taking out Flair with a russian leg sweep. Kanyon checks on Kimberly and, because no match can have too many low blows, gets in the crotch by Flair's crowbar. DDP makes the final save, hitting a Diamond Cutter on David. Arn Anderson comes out to stop the carnage and the Triad exits. Flair gets back up and takes Double A out with the crowbar. There are bits and pieces of this angle that have been almost good, but mostly in that "So Bad Its Good" way. Unfortunately, its not quite bad enough to register as good and its certainly not good enough to register as good either. Its just dumb filler involving characters that either (a) were far more interesting/tolerable when they were allowed to be themselves or (b) have no business being featured in a pro-wrestling show (this would be David Flair and Kimberly). Half-star for David Flair's overacting. (0.5/5)

Sid vs.Goldberg in an "I Quit" Match follows. Goldberg strikes early, but Sid manages to win control in the ring and plants Goldberg into the mat with TWO big chokeslams. He tries to choke him out, but Goldberg locks in an MMA-influenced armbar. A "Goldberg Sucks" chant starts up as he pummels Sid with clubbering blows. Sid sells a damaged arm to garner further sympathy. I'm not sure if this match was designed to get Sid over as a face (the Havoc match certainly seemed so), but what it is effectively doing is putting heat on Goldberg. Goldberg locks in a Kokina Clutch and the match is called - even though Sid never quit. So, yeah, basically the same finish as their Havoc match, only this time with a bucket less blood. Also, while that match exceeded my expectations, this one did the opposite by not delivering on any of the carnage that they had promoted. (0.5/5)

Main event time - Chris Benoit vs. Bret Hart for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship in a showdown in Toronto. Unlike every other match on this card, you get the feeling that Vince Russo's marching orders were to go out and just put on a great wrestling match like they had done a few months prior in their storied Owen Hart dedication match. Dean Malenko makes a brief run-in that draws crickets, the crowd showing only slight interest in the run-in. Back in the ring they go and Hart connects with a piledriver. Two anti-WCW signs are prominently showed - one reading "Wait! This isn't WWF!" and the other "Why Would Anyone Pay For This?" (which is funny, but kinda self-deprecating unless that fan got his tickets for free). Benoit gets some payback a few minutes later as, after some back-and-forth exchanges, the Crippler hits a tombstone piledriver and then nails a flying headbutt for 2. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash arrive and immediately go after Benoit. Goldberg makes a run-in to try to restore some justice but after nailing Nash with a spear, Hall hits him with a chairshot. Hart is back up and he hits Hall with an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline. Well, maybe they weren't told to just go out their and have a good match. Trash starts to fill the ring as Hart takes out Hall on the outside of the ring. Inside the ring, Goldberg is on his feet but the referee is still out cold. A new referee comes in and the match goes on despite all the shenanigans. At the entrance ramp, Goldberg and the Outsiders get pulled apart by staff. Back in the ring, Benoit and Hart try to win back the crowd's attention, but backstage the brawling continues. Its almost a perfect metaphor for this entire show - a good wrestling match struggling to happen through a myriad of pointless, overbooked distractions. As Benoit locks in a figure four, Schiavone reminds fans that both men are fighting their second match of the night, which is a necessary reminder because so much bullshit has happened between the start of this show and the main event that the "ironman" element has been completely lost (it also doesn't help that Benoit/Jarrett opened in what feels like eons ago and Sting/Hart was a brief dud). Both men are back on their feet and Hart hits his patented russian leg sweep for 2. Had this match just been allowed to breathe, it'd probably be remembered as one of Hart's best outings in WCW as the last third is pretty great. Benoit hits a pair of big suplexes (the first one planting Hart into the mat with nasty force) and then tries to lock in the Crossface, but Hart wrestles out and locks in the Sharpshooter to a huge ovation. The last 60 seconds of this match are probably the best 60 seconds of wrestling that WCW aired in months. The Hart Family enter the ring to celebrate with Bret, who hugs Benoit in the center of the ring. Heenan calls this "maybe the best match I've seen in my whole career," which is ridiculous. (2/5)


With a piss-poor Kwang Score of 1.25-out-of-5, WCW's first ever Mayhem PPV ranks as one of the worst wrestling shows I've ever seen. Score-wise, only Bash at the Beach 99' performed worse. This show fails in every way possible, from overbooked clusterfuck matches to bad comedy to overwrought "drama" that gets turned on by the fans because of how unbelievable and corny it is (i.e Arn Anderson leaving the ring on a gurney). Going into this show, it looked like it could've been actually a little bit of fun - Benoit/Hart, Sting/Hart, and Benoit/Jarrett as your three tournament matches? Sid/Goldberg in an "I Quit" Match? A Scott Hall Open Challenge? Even Knobbs and Smiley, in the right hands, could've been booked to be entertaining. Instead, every single match under-delivers and, in multiple cases, actively take the wind out of the crowd (for example, while Hall is more over than Booker T at the start of their match, giving him the "Warrior Treatment" probably would've popped the crowd and helped heraldin the idea of WCW seriously pushing their younger talent). On paper, this show promised variety, but in execution, we got nonsense interference in nearly every contest, making this entire show feel like a bad episode of Nitro. Total garbage that's impossible to recommend.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyvile

WCW Halloween Havoc 99'

WCW Halloween Havoc 99'

Las Vegas, Nevada - October 1999

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, Sting is the WCW World Champion, the WCW World Tag Team Champions are Konnan and Rey Mysterio Jr., the Television Title is held by Chris Benoit, Disco Inferno is the Cruiserweight Champion, and Sid is the United States Heavyweight Champion.

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan

Halloween Havoc 99' is a historically important show, at least to crazy wrestling fans, as its the first PPV written under the watch of Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara, aka the "Powers That Be," who had come over from the WWE a week or so after Fall Brawl. Their "Crash TV" fingerprints are all over this show, every match containing at least one, usually questionable, element of surprise...

Disco Inferno defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Lash Leroux in the opener. Unsurprisingly, the Las Vegas crowd gets behind Inferno early on - not only does he look incredible, but by this point, years of being the "annoying doofus" had made him lovable. Leroux, meanwhile, botches at least two moves and had spent his rookie year in mostly unimpressive losing efforts. With Inferno the smoother, more familiar worker, its no surprise that he's cheered more than booed here. Inferno eventually picks up the win with his finisher and the "swerve" follows soon after as Leroux attacks Inferno in the post-match, dropping him onto the Cruiserweight Championship. I'd qualify this as a "double turn," but its not a well-executed one as it would've been much more effective to have Leroux actually increase his heelishness as the match wore on. (1/5)

The WCW World Tag Team Championships are on the line in a 3-team Falls Count Anywhere match next. The story here is that, after winning the titles on Nitro a week or so prior with Konnan, Rey Mysterio was injured and thus, The Powers That Be demanded a 3-way for the vacated titles between The Filthy Animals' Kidman & Konnan, The First Family (Knobbs and Morrus), and the former champions, Harlem Heat. With so many guys in one match and WCW's notoriously shoddy cameramen on the job this one is an absolute mess, nearly impossible to watch and completely impossible to enjoy. There are maybe two (?) decent spots - one of which being a great moment when Morrus drops Kidman chest-first from the press slam positon onto the top of a steel chair. The finish is disputed as Harlem Heat pin Knobbs backstage while, moments later, Kidman pins Morrus in the ring (though the cameras don't actually capture that moment). I'm not sure if the timing was right or wrong, but it doesn't really matter as the match has no real suspense anyway. Another match not worth watching. (1/5)

Ric Flair arrives with a crowbar (and his son, David) backstage...

In the ring, Diamond Dallas Page and his wife Kimberly cut a promo against "Nature Boy." Despite how cringeworthy this one starts, with Kimberly talking about how Flair spanked her 14 times on the butt, DDP actually comes within inches of making it work by the end. Page and Flair's match tonight is now a strap match too, which is classic Russo in that it was an out-of-left-field idea that he probably thought of on the ride to the show and fast-tracked instead of building up to it and giving time for fans to actually, y'know, give the company money to see it.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Perry Saturn is next. As far workrate goes, this match smokes the previous two, with Guerrero doing the heavy lifting from a storytelling perspective and Saturn throwing out his usual dazzling array of offense. Unfortunately, the bizarro booking continues as Ric Flair runs down the aisle and causes a DQ by attacking Guerrero. Now, storyline-wise, this absolutely makes perfect sense because Flair was feuding with the Filthy Animals (who had attacked him on Nitro and taken his Rolex, his robe, his money, etc.), but in this match (and the previous contest), the Animals not only get face pops, but the matches seem to be structured to keep them in the babyface role. Flair, meanwhile, is also a babyface because (a) he's Ric friggin' Flair and (b) he's also involved in a feud with DDP, who, as miscast as he may have been, had worked hard to get the Jersey Triad gimmick over as villains. Kidman tries to make the save, but Flair strikes him down too as the crowd applauses. The wrestling on display is good, but the finish makes sure to render it meaningless. (2/5)

Backstage, Goldberg is seen beating the snot out of someone before getting pulled off. Who was the unlucky victim? Noneother than Sid, the guy he's facing later tonight. Sid's forehead is bleeding severely, but he still wants to go. 

Buff Bagwell makes his way down the aisle and cuts a promo that includes a couple lines about the Powers That Be, referring to them as "two writers from New York" who have come to "save WCW." When people talk about how stupid WCW's "worked shoot" promos were, these are the segments they're talking about as Bagwell's comments likely went over the head of 90% of the audience and the other 10% certainly didn't think they were "revolutionary" enough to start buying WCW products in record numbers (as the ratings, merch sales, and PPV buys would show over the next few months). Jeff Jarrett runs down with a guitar in hand and proceeds to brawl with Buff around the ring before Lex Luger shows up to save Bagwell. Luger tries to hit Jarrett with a guitar but Double J sneaks away and Luger clubs Buff by accident. Note - the guitar doesn't break, meaning that Bagwell probably got a legit concussion. 

Backstage we go (again) to see Sid refuse to get stitches for the massive wound in his head. Sure, why not?

Berlyn takes on Brad Armstrong next. I took WCW's bookers to task for the way they handled Berlyn's match against Jim Duggan at the previous month's Fall Brawl show and I'll do it again now - What is the goal here? If the goal is to get Berlyn over as a killer, why is he having trouble beating a 45-year old jobber-to-the-stars like Duggan and a never-was like "BA"? To his credit, Alex Wright does at least wrestle like more of a heel in this outing, his strikes packing more punch, and aside from a little too much flash in the opening minutes, his timing noticeably slower, his offense more deliberate. The Russo-ness comes in the awkward finish as Armstrong gets a surprise pinfall when Berlyn...uh...decides not to kick out? After dominating the match, it makes so little sense that Berlyn would lose by a straight pinfall - not even a roll-up or a fluke pin in some sort of cool counter - but it is what it is. Berlyn's bodyguard, who I don't believe had been given the name The Wall yet, comes in and takes Armstrong down with one shot. Berlyn then adds insult to injury by applying a choke. Again, this reeks of Russo in that there must've been some idea as to why Armstrong should win this match, but that idea probably had more to do with surprising the audience than it did with actually building towards a pay-off that would get the workers over. Berlyn comes out of this looking completely ineffective. Armstrong, despite winning, got no offense in so he didn't impress anyone either. If The Wall was supposed to get more heat or infamy, there were a dozen better ways to do it than him just hitting Armstrong with one clothesline. (1.5/5)

Backstage, Ric Flair cuts a dynamite promo against the Filthy Animals. The match with DDP seems like an afterthought, though. Still, its the most entertaining 2 minutes of this show yet so I'm awarding it a point. (+1)

Next up - the Television Champion Chris Benoit defending the strap against the former TV Champ, Rick Steiner. So, for those keeping score at home, Benoit defeated Steiner for the title on an episode of Nitro in September and was in the midst of his 3rd TV Title reign. Many critics hate Steiner's work from this time, but I actually give him some credit for getting good heel heat and putting on highly physical matches. Unfortunately, some of his high impact offense was often separated by lifeless submissions and telling stretches where he looks to be completely out of breath. That being said, aside from some "no selling" early on, this is one of his better outings and Benoit is wise and talented enough to make this feel like a real fight by putting movement and emotion into every little thing he does - whether its trying to escape a grapevine or flying into the steps. Steiner brings him up for a powerbomb and Benoit botches what looked to be a sunset flip attempt, but his speed and intensity makes the mess-up work in the context of the bout. Some "boring" cat calls can be heard as Steiner continues to dominate. Throwing some more hope spots into this match and letting Benoit get more licks in would've probably popped the audience more rather than making this all about the Gremlin's callousness and Benoit's never-give-up spirit. After two suplexes, the "boring" chants are even more audible. Benoit finally gets some offense with a DDT and a shoulder tackle, but the crowd doesn't really wake up until he starts getting some chops in. Benoit connects with a trio of german suplexes. A solid ref bump spot and you can hear the air leave the building as they work to what everyone can now predict will probably be some sort of screwy finish. The biggest pop of the match happens when Benoit calls for his flying headbutt, but Steiner throws the chair up and Benoit eats it hard in the face! Malenko runs down...and whacks Benoit, turning heel in the process. Malenko then hugs Perry Saturn in the aisleway, rejoining The Revolution. Did I mention that Vince Russo booked this show? Average match with a below average finish. (2/5)

Bret Hart is backstage. I love the Calgary Hitmen logo. Hart cuts a promo on Lex Luger and I'm as confused as ever about why WCW felt like attaching these two at the hip. Their match is next...

Lex Luger makes his way down the aisle with Miss Elizabeth. Luger was being built up in a way not dissimilar to the way he was originally brought into WWE as a narcissitic egomaniac, posing in the ring for a good minute or two before Bret Hart makes his way down the aisle, limping from the basebal bat attack he suffered on Nitro. A fan holding an "Owen" jersey is shown in the crowd (Owen had passed in May of that year in a freak accident). Bret goes right on the attak and controls early, the Hitman getting some crowd approval for his efforts but definitely not as over as he could've been/should've been. Countless others have said it, but from Bret's bizarre debut at Starrcade to his mismanaged heel/face switches after that, the Hitman was, as Del Amitri might put it, "the right guy in the wrong situation" for almost his entire WCW tenure. While his execution is still excellent from a technical perspective, this match, like the previous one, comes across as rather cold because, despite screwing Hart in his title match against Sting, title match screwjobs had become so commonplace in WCW over the previous few years that this sort of attack doesn't really register as a grudge-worthy. To make an analogy, if every time you went to Dunkin Donuts, a random guy in front of you got the last jelly, you're anger towards the random guy in front of you would morph into anger for Dunkin Donuts. That's where WCW was now. Screwing someone out of the title had become such a regular occurrence that you really couldn't fault a heel or a babyface for doing it. Hart's damaged knee ends up costing him the match and Luger gets the clean win because, again, this is WCW and it seems they actively wanted to make Bret Hart a non-star. And to think there are conspiracy theorists who believe Hart was sent to WCW to "sabotage" it from the inside! Haha! If anything, McMahon was the one in cahoots with WCW to sabotage Bret's career. Another sub-average match. (2/5)

Madusa comes out with the Nitro cologne and "shoots" on the Powers That Be, calling "bullshit" on what they are making her do. She poursthe cologne on Bobby Heenan. I'm going to give this a point just because its a pretty insane angle they went for here. (+1)

Hulk Hogan's music plays but the challenger doesn't walk out as Tony and Bobby speculate that he's playing mind games with his opponent, the WCW World Champion, Sting. The Stinger walks out looking unfazed and Hogan's entrance theme is played again. The Hulkster finally shows up but is wearing what I believe are intended to be "street clothes" but most people button their sleeveless shirts when they walk the street. Hogan proceeds to lie down in the ring and let Sting pin him. Oh my f'n god. They cut very quickly to the Sid/Goldberg promo video before Tony and Bobby can even make any comment about the match. The crowd boos mercilessly. Just insanely stupid. (0/5)


The United States Championship match is next - Sid defending the strap against Goldberg, who is not quite at peak-level of overness but is still easily the most over babyface they have on the roster. As Goldberg makes his entrance, the Outsiders attack him. This allows Sid, who is still sporting quite a bit of blood on his face, to take control in the entrance way for a brief spell. Goldberg fights back, though, and sends Sid into the guardrail. To his credit, Sid bumps and sells for the former Atlanta Falcon with a fair amount of gusto. I was under the assumption that the blood on Sid's face was fake, but it seems real (and really dangerous) as he continues to bleed profusely throughout the match. I'm not exactly sure why they opted to have Sid actually do a blade job in a backstage segment but whatever. On commentary, Tony and Bobby talk up how brave and impressive Sid is - essentially working to turn him babyface because Russo had no patience to do these sorts of turns organically over time? Goldberg is merciless here, just going after the gash in Sid's head with clubbering blows. Finally the ref stops the match for blood loss. Sid gets back up and wants the match re-started. Rick Steiner shows up and now the fans don't know how to react to Sid. Another non-finish. I got my answer as to why they didn't just fake the blood earlier as they wanted to make it as believable as possible that he couldn't continue the match and opted to just have him lose a couple pints. This was above-average in that it is one of the weirder matches, from beginning to end, I've ever seen. (3/5)

Ric Flair's date night with Kimberly is partially re-aired, but for whatever reason, they don't play the actual spanking scene despite that being the most notable part of the segment.

Sting makes his way back down the aisle and lets the fans know that he didn't come to Las Vegas for a night off, which gets him cheered. He lays down an open challenge to whoever has the guts to face him tonight. Very babyface-ish action to take. I guess he's not a heel anymore either. How many pseudo-turns have we got tonight?

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Ric Flair in a strap match is next. The clusterfuck nature of the previous 30 minutes has basically killed all the heat for this match as the reactions they get are mild until they fight in the stands. They make their way back towards the ring and Flair forces himself onto Kimberly. This allows Page to get the upper hand and in case you didn't see enough blood in the Sid match, Flair gigs himself too. Brawls don't need to be filled with huge spots or innovative striking, but this match lacks anything to make it stand out, Flair relying on "getting color" and signature chest chops to stretch the match rather than actually building any sort of story or suspense. Page, legendary for his meticulous approach to laying out matches, obviously did nothing of the sort here. Flair goes after Page's knee - another telling sign that Flair was calling this (and turned it into a standard Flair match) and didn't really care about building the match around the stipulation. Page hits the Diamond Cutter, but they seem to botch the finish - or it was Russo's booking? Page covers Flair and it seems like Naitch is meant to kick-out (he sort of does at 2.99) but Charles Robinson calls for the bell because Flair didn't really get a shoulder up or anything. David Flair comes in and gets struck by Kimberly's crowbar. Page then grabs the crowbar and beats Flair with it too. I can't believe the non-finish for Sting/Hogan wasn't the most bizarre match ending of the night. (1.5/5)

Ric Flair is put onto a stretcher as Tony and Bobby talk up how the match he just had may have ended his career. The tone doesn't really work after what we saw with Sid earlier. As Flair is put into the ambulance, the Filthy Animals show up and beat him down again. They hijack the ambulance and drive off into the Las Vegas night.

Main event time - Sting returns to the ring for the third time tonight and lays down an open challenge. Unsurprisingly, Goldberg shows up. Schiavone repeats multiple times that this is not a title match. Charles Robinson runs down the aisle to officiate, not looking too bad considering he just took a Diamond Cutter ten minutes earlier (and move that Bobby and Tony theorized ended the career of Ric Flair). Goldberg controls early, but Sting is able to mount some offense and even hits him with a great-looking splash from the top rope. Sting hits Goldberg with a spear, but Goldberg no-sells it. Goldberg goes for a spear in the corner but Sting sidesteps and Goldberg hits the post. The crowd pops huge as Sting hits multiple Stinger Splashes! Sting run the ropes, but Goldberg leap frogs him and hits him with a Spear! Jackhammer! This one is done. When people write about this match (which is rarely), they harp on the fact that this match runs under 5 minutes as evidence that its a "burial" of Sting, but the Stinger actually gets a fair amount of offense in and, momentarily, looks like he's on the brink of victory. Goldberg's finishing moves are, deservedly, protected, though, so once he hits them, the match should and does end. What doesn't make a lick of sense is that Goldberg is awarded the WCW World Championship. Tony says, "I guess he's the World Champion...and he's also the United States Champion as well," barely hiding how dumb he thinks all of this was. Sting hits Charles Robinson with his patented reverse DDT and Heenan jokes, "Why not?" as if to say, "What other BS can we put onto this show." I actually enjoyed this match, despite its brevity, but the booking and production around it is just so stupid. (2/5)



With a Kwang Score of just 1.8-out-of-5, if you watch a random 30 second clip of this show, you will most likely be (a) not entertained and (b) totally confused. Still, there is an odd charm to watching a 3-hour trainwreck and there are specific moments that are thought-provoking in a way that scripted, safely produced pro-wrestling television almost never is these days. The Sting/Hogan angle is awful, for example, but its also undoubtedly interesting to watch as it happens. Unfortunately, the astonishing number of "swerves" and not-so-subtle winks to the audience (in a misguided effort to appeal to "smart" wrestling fans) is not balanced out by actual good wrestling - something that Vince Russo has always downplayed when he's discussed the success of the WWE in 98' (where you might have had Sable and Val Venis and The Godfather pushing the envelope with their characters but you could also count on Austin, Foley, The Rock, Triple H, and Taker to put on convincingly serious and dramatic matches). Wrestling-wise, only Goldberg/Sid will keep your attention for its full run time, but if you're a fan of "So Bad - It's Good" wrestling shows, this one has enough bizarre booking and ludicrous "moments" to lend it a certain appeal.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver 

WCW Fall Brawl 99'

WCW Fall Brawl 99'

Winston-Salem, NC - September 1999

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, Hulk Hogan is the reigning WCW World Champion, the United States Championship is held by Chris Benoit, the TV Title is held by Rick Steiner, and the Cruiserweight Champion is Lenny Lane. The World Tag Team Champions are the Windhams, Barry and Kendall.

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay

Fall Brawl begins with Vampiro and the Insane Clown Posse taking on the not-yet-Filthy Animals, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio Jr., and Billy Kidman. 1999 was not a banner year for WCW, but the audience is very hot for this, chanting "Eddie!" and booing the hell out of the heels, who spend the first few minutes trying to avoid any contact with the heroes. For some reason, Shaggy 2 Dope starts things off for his team and blows the first 2 spots miserably. I criticized the way ICP were used at Road Wild and it bears mentioning again - the fact that two out-of-shape rappers in clown make-up are able to hang with 3 former Cruiserweight Champions without some sort of shenigans or outright cheating is just insanity and further proof that there was no one handling any quality control for WCW at this time. As anyone might've expected, the best parts of this match involve the guys who didn't record an album called Carnival of Carnage. Not a terrible match all things considered, but still offensive enough in theory alone. I am curious if Rey was legitimately injured at the tail end of the contest as it certainly seems so. (1.5/5)

I forgot how good the West Hollywood Blondes were. Lenny Lane defends his Cruiserweight Championship against Kaz Hayashi and from the minute the Blondes are out from behind the curtain, they are just on. The gimmick is definitely dated and borderline homophobic - but I like how the commentators avoid even the mention of sexuality, really just playing up how despicable the duo is because of their cheating, not because of their "mind games" (which is always how the WWE has handled their effeminate/homo-erotic characters). Also, Lane, while certainly not an all-time great anything, is better than I recall him being and the effort he puts in early to lure the crowd in with silly antics pays off huge as the match goes on and becomes a competitive, athletic contest with real stakes. Hayashi has some terrific offense, though it doesn't surprise me that the WWE did nothing with him when he eventually came over in 2001 as, while he has a natural charm, the WWE in 2001 just wasn't the place for gimmickless Japanese high-flyers (no matter how talented they were). Lodi's signs on the outside are great and should've been enough for him to get a foot in the door in the WWE. As surprising as it may seem, this is probably the best Cruiserweight Title match I've watched in at least a couple months as the division had suffered a bit as it became more of a "TV title" than a major championship consistently defended on PPV with real storylines around it. WCW in 99' is weird because so many of their "bad" gimmicks, like the Blondes and the Rap Is Crap thing, were actually the best parts of the show and so many of their "heavy," "serious" angles in the upper midcard and main event were unwatchable. (3.5/5)

"Mean" Gene welcomes Sting to the center of the ring for an interview. Sting is very over with the North Carolina crowd, which isn't too odd considering Winston-Salem was a WCW stronghold for years. Sting tells Lex Luger to keep his nose out of his business and then adds that he's got no problem with Hulk Hogan, his opponent tonight, until they step in the ring. Sting paces the ring and talks about the idea of becoming a nine-time World Champion. He promises "Showtime" and makes his way out of the ring. Good, basic, old school promo. 

A video offers explanation for our next match - The First Family's Hugh Morrus and Brian Knobbs taking on The Revolution's Dean Malenko and Shane Douglas in a hardcore match. Hardcore matches are not really in Malenko's wheelhouse so I'm curious how he'll work this kind of match. The match starts like most hardcore bouts and is just an all-out brawl with Malenko holding his own by outsmarting his opponents. After a few minutes, though, it turns into your typical tag team match, an unexpected turn. The most repeated "hardcore" spot is one guy whipping another into the guardrail, a move that's not even illegal. Even Schiavone notes that the match is less hardcore than he anticipated. Douglas and Malenko, standing tall in the ring, try to get the crowd involved, but promised a No DQ match and presented a standard bout, I'm not surpised they're not popping for bodyslams and chest chops. Samuel Morse would be proud of how much telegraphing of spots and momentum shifts happens in this match. Malenko comes in hot, but Knobbs trips him up and Morrus hits his No Laughing Matter for the win 100% clean. This was about as hardcore as an episode of Family Matters. (1/5)

Saturn challenges Rick Steiner for his Television Title next. I was surprised by how tolerable this match was - Steiner dominates, but at least he does so with dynamic offense, scaling back the chin locks that he'd been employing in some of his other (boring) matches from this time. Saturn's strength is in his offense too and he gets some moments to shine, though, his extended selling is definitely not great. Watching Saturn over the course of writing this blog, he is a great example of a guy that had many tools, but rarely put them all together to tell a clear story that you could really feel from bell-to-bell. This match goes a shade long and has an almost offensively backwards finish that sees Rick Steiner get the clean win despite the fact that WCW was supposedly trying to build up the Revolution as a meaningful "Next Generation Horsemen"-type stable. With two back-to-back losses, one need not look further to see why, within 5 months, most of the team's members (and Eddie Guerrero) would be hightailing it to WWE. (2/5)

After a word from Hulk Hogan (and a brief "We Want Flair" chant), Berlyn takes on "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan (replacing Buff Bagwell). This match starts innocently enough with Hacksaw playing the hero and Berlyn (aka Alex Wright, though the announcers refuse to make the connection for some stupid reason) playing the fearful, cowardly villain. As it continues, though, Wright and Duggan seem to be on completely different pages and they proceed to botch one strange submission spot after another. Again, the booking here is part of the problem - Berlyn was promoted as a big deal and he should reasonably defeat Duggan with ease, but because "Hacksaw" is twice his size and twice as over, Berlyn looks like a nobody in comparison and the crowd doesn't care one bit about him. A trainwreck of a match in every way, including the post-match (where Buff Bagwell finally shows up and gets booed for not making it to the show on time). (0/5)

The WCW World Tag Team Titles are on the line next, Kendall and Barry Windham of the West Texas Rednecks defending against Harlem Heat. The West Texas Rednecks were longer using the "Rap is Crap" entrance music and were now using the equally great "Good Old Boys" music. Booker T starts things off against Kendall Windham before tagging in Stevie Ray to clean house. Both Stevie Ray and Barry Windham look to be in the worst shape of their careers - the former's muscle gut slowing down everything he does and the latter's beer gut barely containing itself under his tee-shirt. I like the West Texas Rednecks gimmicks a bunch, but they weren't a super exciting team to watch. Booker T comes back in and gives the match a needed energy boost. He ends up on the outside, though, falling prey to the numbers game. From here, he becomes the face-in-peril and the match goes into classic tag team match territory, the Windhams pulling out all the tricks they'd learned and, in the case of Barry, mastered in the 80s. Stevie Ray comes in for the "hot-ish" tag and laboriously takes out the Windhams. The finish comes when Curt Hennig tries to take out Stevie Ray with a cowboy boot shot but the referee is pre-occupied with Booker T on the outside and doesn't make the pin. Booker T comes flying off the top rope to a huge ovation with a missile dropkick and we have new champions. Unmemorable match but at least it didn't really overstay its welcome. (2/5)

Chris Benoit defends the WCW United States Championship against Sid next. The build to this was all about Sid's respectable undefeated streak and Benoit being the leader of The Revolution stable. Sid has tremendous heat, which I'm not sure has ever been not true. Very loud "Goldberg" chants from the audience, which is pretty disrespectful to the babyface he's actually fighting. Benoit says Sid's repetitive, rudimentary offense with lots of energy and, at times, literally drags Sid into position for high impact spots in an effort to make this as good a match as possible. Benoit hits a tremendous german suplex, but Sid recovers fairly quickly and reverses a crucifix into a samoan drop to plant the champ back on the mat. Sid's spotcalling during a headlock is as bad here as it was at the 91' War Games. Benoit's comebacks get some audible pops, but I'd argue Benoit deserves even more praise than the audience gives him as he is doing everything he possible can to make this match more physical and more dynamic than any Sid match in history. Benoit misses a diving headbutt and Sid connects with the powerbomb to go 80-in-a-row. I usually mark out for Sid squash matches more than his competitive matches, but this one was surprisingly good. (3/5)

Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page follows, DDP in full-fledged heel mode and no longer nearly as big a deal as he was in 98' because of it. The Halloween Havoc match they had is often cited as one of Goldberg (and DDP's) best matches and there's a reason this one doesn't usually get name-checked. Goldberg is massively over and DDP goes out of his way to get every bit of heat he can from the crowd, but because DDP is now just playing the role of a standard, crowd-baiting heel, this match doesn't really give us anything new or interesting out of either guy. Even the Triad run-in is purely handled as the referee and DDP are in the opposite position that they need to be in order for the ref to "miss" the interference. This match is basically saved by the overness of Goldberg, but I'd still call it sub-average considering what these two could've done together if anyone in WCW had bothered to build up the match by playing up their history rather than letting them go out and work the most basic of face/heel matches. (2/5)

Main event time - Hulk Hogan defending the World Championship against Sting. The story coming into this match is important; Lex Luger had spent the previous few weeks trying to convince Sting that the Hulkster was going to stab him in the back and revert back to his nWo heel character while Hogan vehemently denied this. Meanwhile, Bret Hart, also positioned as a babyface, was on Hogan's side (and, because they're all really faces, Sting's side too) and just wanted there to be a clean winner so that he could challenge for the WCW World Championship next. Onto the match itself...Hogan basically dominates the entire fight, which is a really confusing choice as Sting was definitely more over with the crowd. Hogan's face turn in 99', while initially met with a warm reception, pretty quickly fell back to where it was in 95' when at least half of the audience was really sick of the schtick. What they should've done was find some sort of "middle ground" for the babyface Hogan character (even the adoption of long pants helped to slightly freshen up the Hulkster in 2003) that would've made his character less grating and more in-tune with the "shades of grey" characters they had in the main event scene (Nash, Hart, Goldberg, Sting, etc.). Sting, fighting from underneath, ends up getting all the sympathy (it doesn't help that Hogan chokes him out with a TV cord at one point) so his is the comeback that gets the big pop (not the undeserved "Hulk Up"). Would it have been so hard for Sting to take advantage of a damaged leg or knee instead and control this one, putting the Hulkster on defense? Just before Hogan is going to get the W, DDP shows up to spoil the finish, hitting Hogan with a Diamond Cutter. Its not exactly clear why he does this, only that he's a villain and villains just don't like Hogan? He puts Sting's arm over Hogan, but the Hulkster kicks out at 2. In comes Bret Hart, followed by Sid, and the crowd begins throwing trash in the ring. Luger shows up with a baseball bat, but Hogan stops him before he can strike. Sting ends up with the bat and turns heel by striking Hogan and applying the Scorpion Death Lock. The crowd actually cheers for the turn and there's at least two reasons for that - first, the match itself portrayed Sting as the underdog so seeing him win "by any means necessary" isn't all that distasteful, and second because its actually a clever swerve by a guy known mostly for being swerved as Sting, after years of being screwed over by the Horsemen and the nWo, finally gets his moment of revenge. I know I enjoyed seeing Sting and Luger screw Hogan after all he'd done as the leader of the nWo, even if that was "ancient history" by this point. Wrestling fans have long memories. In summation, the match itself was poor, the run-ins were ridiculous (why were DDP and Sid even involved?), but the final twist was actually a good idea and executed well. (1.5/5)


With a Kwang Score of 1.83-out-of-5, Fall Brawl 99' is a hard show to watch. DDP/Goldberg and Sting/Hogan are re-matches that fall far below what the originals achieved (even if the booking of Sting/Hogan at Starrcade 97' was historically bad, the match itself at least had a "big fight feel" that this one pales in comparison to). When the best match of the night is a Lenny Lane/Kaz Hayashi and you have as many Hall of Famers as WCW had on the roster at this point, something is wrong with your company. 

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville