WCW SuperBrawl Revenge

WCW SuperBrawl: Revenge

Nashville, Tennessee - February 2001

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WCW World Heavyweight Champion is Scott Steiner, the United States Champion is his brother Rick Steiner, and the Cruiserweight Champion is Chavo Guerrero. The WCW World Tag Team Champions are The Natural Born Thrillers (Palumbo and O'Haire).

COMMENTARY: Tony Schiavone and Scott Hudson

The show kicks off with a 6-man battle to become the number one contender for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. For some reason (injury maybe?), Billy Kidman was beaten down before the match by Road Warrior Animal (who debuted at WCW Sin) and gets replaced by Shane Helms, who was getting over as a "tweener" turning babyface in the weeks leading up to this match. The rest of the challengers are Jimmy Yang and Kaz Hayashi (of the Yung Dragons), Evan Karagias, Jamie Noble, and Shannon Moore (Helms' partner in the two-man Three Count). This match starts out decently with some cool spots including a pop-up-into-a-sitout powerbomb from Three Count and some stereo moonsaults by the Dragons. Karagias is awful, though, and botches a number of moves early on. There is a terrible sequence where practically everyone in the ring attempts a move at the same time and they all miss by a mile. I'm not sure if that was supposed to look cool, but it was a dumb, dumb idea. Jimmy Yang screws up the first elimination of the match (which was thankfully Karagias) and the crowd boos him mercilessly. Noble then hits Yang with a tombstone to knock him out of the match (and the crowd cheers). As the match winds down, there are some questionable psychology moments as guys break up pinfalls that would be beneficial to them. The story of the match becomes Shane and Shannon turning on each other, with Helms playing the fan favorite and it works really well. Unfortunately, by this point, WCW was on life support and no amount of good matches could fix it. The botches in the middle of this match keep this one from being a "must watch," but its undeniably a better than average match just thanks to the effort of Helms, Moore, Hayashi, and Noble. (3/5)

Hugh Morrus (having reverted back to his original name) takes on former MIA teammate The Wall next. I wasn't expecting this to be very good, but it was surprisingly solid with both guys putting forth noticeable effort. The brawling is hard-hitting and while there are some hiccups and slow sections, they get the animosity across and the match does appear to be a real struggle between two heavyweight competitors. Not the worst match I've seen this month. (2/5)

Shawn Stasiak and Mark Jindrak team up to challenge the reigning WCW World Tag Team Champions - Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire - in the next match. Like the previous bout, the story here is based on the break-up of a stable (this time the Natural Born Thrillers). Palumbo plays face-in-peril for a lengthy stretch of this match, which helps things considerably as this could've been a total mess without a clear story to build and develop with the 10 minutes they're given (arguably 2-3 too many for guys this inexperienced). O'Haire had undeniable star potential, though, I always felt like sticking him with 3 other guys with such similar builds didn't help him at all. When he does get the hot tag, the crowd does come alive a little - though, its always hard to tell because these latter WCW PPVs feature the most obvious and annoying crowd sweetening I've ever heard. The right team wins as, by this point, not a single title in WCW was worth much and they all desperately needed to be built up by not being "hot potato'd" just for the hell of it. (2.5/5)

Finally a match that is actually somewhat worth watching - Chavo Guerrero defending the WCW Cruiserweight Championship against Rey Mysterio. Guerrero and Mysterio are given ample time and, for the most part, they use it well - though Mysterio does botch a couple of moves (a rare sight). Watching it, I wondered if maybe Mysterio having to wrestle in ridiculously baggy overalls had something to do with his lack of balance. While not nearly as good as Rey's classic with Eddie from a few years prior (most notably their Halloween Havoc 97' classic), its clear that Chavo and Rey were aiming to replicate some of that magic (with certain moves even being clever twists on signature Eddie/Rey spots). Chavo had some good matches against guys like Noble and Helms around this time, but here he looks even more comfortable and busts out a number of good-looking maneuvers. This isn't a "must see" classic, but it does show that WCW still had talent on its roster even as they neared their expiration date. (3/5)

Dustin Rhodes challenges Rick Steiner for his United States Championship next. There's a pre-match video package that hits all the major plot points of this feud, but it still didn't excite me much. I'm a big Dustin Rhodes fan, but the late 90s/early 00s were not his best years and Rick Steiner was also far from his prime. This one starts out loose and Rick Steiner's heat segment is dull, but when Dustin takes over the match - surprisingly - picks up nicely and actually grabbed my attention. The finish is nicely executed too and its Dustin (again) who should get most of the credit as he takes an expert face-first bump into an exposed turnbuckle. (2/5)

The next match - Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell vs. KroNik - needs some background. Earlier in the night, WCW President (?) Ric Flair was banning all the babyfaces from the arena after their matches and also seemed to organize an attack on KroNik member Bryan Clarke before his match (Bryan Adams is alerted to this by Lance Storm, who told him before the previous match that KroNik would be competing next). Anyway, the set-up is that Adams will have to face off against Totally Buffed alone. Before the match begins, though, Luger and Bagwell cut a lengthy promo on the fans, proclaiming their greatness and - at one point - forgetting who the World Tag Team Champions are but promising to beat them too. Bryan Adams finally comes down and, lo and behold, he's backed up by Bryan Clarke...or so we're led to believe. The two teams brawl in the entranceway and, off-camera, Bryan Clarke is taken out with a chair. On commentary, Scott Hudson makes it sound like he saw Buff Bagwell level Clarke with the chair even though the viewer did not and talks about how Clarke suffered a similar attack a few weeks before this, indicating that Clarke might be out for good. As Adams gets double-teamed in the ring, the camera periodically shows Clarke on the arena floor, a chair covering his head. Its an odd look. Despite being outnumbered by a former WCW World Champion and a multi-time Tag Champion, Adams is able to overcome the odds and rally until...Bryan Clarke comes in and barely german suplexes him! Clarke then reveals himself to be not Clarke at all - its Mike Awesome in make-up! Mike Awesome's make-up job is amazing too, reminiscent of "Spaghett" from Tim and Eric. The real Bryan Clarke staggers out from backstage, just to make it even more clear that this was all a ruse from the get-go, but gets beaten down too. This was not a good match, but I must admit to being entertained by all the shenanigans in this match (even as it made the commentators look like idiots). (1.5/5)

Ernest Miller challenges Lance Storm in the next match for Commissioner-ship of WCW. Storm was Ric Flair's puppet while Miller was the babyface, but I'm not sure anyone in the arena cares either way really. Lance Storm cuts a promo before the match - which is a recurring theme for this show. I'm guessing that WCW opted to do this because their TV ratings suggested that nobody was watching their shows and they needed to make it clear who the heel was before every match (by having them come out and insult the crowd in increasingly boring ways). Storm calls himself the best technical wrestler in the world and that might have been true in 2001...but, technically, this match still sucks. Miller was never a great in-ring performer but I think he actually got worse over time. The finish involves "Above Average" Mike Sanders (another Ric Flair lackey) trying to help Storm win the match but distracting him instead and costing him the match in the end. This match went 8 minutes, which felt at least 3 minutes too long. I'll award a half point for Storm's effort, but that's it. (0.5/5)

Next up is supposed to be Jeff Jarrett vs. Diamond Dallas Page - but Jarrett comes out and says that because DDP stated he was willing to fight Kanyon "any place any time," we see these two rivals go at it in a match that was basically building since the previous June's Great American Bash show. As is often the case for Kanyon's matches, there is some excellent offense on display - including Kanyon delivering a tremendous suplex from the outside of the ring back into the ring while standing on the second rope (a move I'm not sure I've seen anyone do aside from Cesaro). Page is game here too, clearly working harder than 90% of the other guys on the show to try to get the intensity and personal issue between these guys over and even getting some color. Looking back, it is painfully obvious how little the WWE thought of Page after the WCW buy-out because, even in 01', the guy was still probably in the Top 10 best workers in the company and easily in the top 5 of most over - which is impressive considering that those two loops in the Venn Diagram did not crossover much (for example, while AJ Styles was under contract in 2001 and probably already one of the best cruisers under contract, he was a no-name while the much-less talented and mobile Kevin Nash was still main eventing). Jeff Jarrett helps Kanyon screw over Page, there's a ref bump, yadda yadda. Remember, the whole purpose of this show was designed to bury the babyfaces so that they could come back for revenge down the line (led by Bischoff, I believe). This isn't good enough to be considered better than average, but its a step up from the last couple bouts. (2.5/5)

This is followed Jeff Jarrett taking on DDP in the match we were supposed to get originally. Somehow, DDP survives Jarrett's initial pin attempt and subsequent offense, rallying in heroic fashion as the crowd chants "DDP!" in unison. They brawl into the crowd, DDP showing more energy than he probably should considering he just went 10 minutes with Kanyon and lost that match. Back in the ring, Jarrett applies a sleeper and I'm not really sure what this match was designed to do. I thought that the point was to have Jarrett sneak a cheap win over DDP because he was already a beaten man, but once they started going back-and-forth, that story no longer made any sense as its now basically an even contest. In fact, when DDP hits Jarrett with a DDT, they both end up selling it like death - which would make sense if Jarrett had also wrestled earlier but that's not that case. Kanyon gets involved again and DDP even takes a chairshot...but won't stay down. Jarrett grabs his guitar but bashes Kanyon in the head with it and DDP hits a Diamond Cutter for a relatively clean win over Jarrett. I'm not sure who had the book at this moment, but these two back-to-back matches lacked clarity and consistency. Jarrett's Stroke and a Flatliner were enough to beat DDP in minute 8, but a chairshot doesn't do it in minute 16? Points awarded for the effort, but the "story" made little sense to me. (2/5)

Main event time - Kevin Nash challenging Scott Steiner for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. This match starts with more overbooked nonsense as Ric Flair comes down to the commentary table, followed by his champion, Scott Steiner. Didn't these two hate each other in real life? Steiner cuts a promo about how cowardly Nash is and Flair, as President, announces that the match is now a Loser Leaves Town match (the winner being forced out of WCW). Nash and Steiner expect Nash to lose by count-out, but instead, he rolls down the ramp in a wheelchair. Flair and Steiner are shocked, believing that he's injured. Nash throws off the blanket and reveals that he is not injured at all! Its actually a pretty cool visual even if I don't think anybody was "swerved." Steiner is inexplicably gloating in the corner as all this goes down, which allows Nash to come in and clock him with the title. Nash makes the cover and we have a NEW WCW CHAMPION! The crowd pops for it, but Flair comes in and announces the match is actually 2-out-of-3 falls. Steiner is bleeding but manages to get fight back, the two heavyweights going to the outside and doing some brawling. Midajah distracts Nash, allowing Steiner to waffle him with a lead pipe! Steiner then goes to Flair and demands he announce that the match is also Falls Count Anywhere. Steiner pins Nash on the outside and we're tied at 1-1...or so one might think, but Flair announces over commentary that the first fall didn't count. I think it was just a throwaway heel line, but it doesn't matter anyway because very few people were watching this show or cared anymore about the WCW World Title. Nash is bleeding now too and the match continues with Steiner busting out a number of big belly-to-belly suplexes. Steiner's heat segment is impressive and Nash does a fine job taking the bumps. I can see why some would consider this too slow-moving, but I think Nash's selling is fine and the pace is alright (remember, Nash was struck a lead pipe directly to the skull). Nash gets back to his feet but Midajah cuts him off with more of a distraction and Steiner hits him with a not-so-great chair shot into the shoulder. He then applies a weak-looking Steiner Recliner. People bash Cena's STF, but the Steiner Recliner looks like utter shit most of the time. Nash manages to power out and Steiner is sent crashing out of the ring. Steiner comes back in and Nash hits him with a chokeslam for 2! The shenanigans pile up at this point and its hard to keep track of it all as Nash hits a powerbomb, but his attempts are broken up by Midajah and Flair. Nash reaches for a pair of brass knucks that are in the ring (and were used earlier I believe) while Steiner gets a chair given to him by Flair and Steiner hits him with a second chairshot. He then reapplies the Recliner and a second referee comes out to call the match for Steiner. Overbooked garbage, but there were at least a few moments that I found entertaining. (1.5/5)


The final SuperBrawl is about as bad a show as one would imagine WCW was putting on in its dying days. What hurts it the most is the inane booking as there is a remarkable lack of consistency and psychology in nearly every match. Weapons are used willy-nilly but often to no effect and the amount of ref bumps and interference is mind-numbing when this is exactly what diminished their championships throughout, well, ever. With an average Kwang Score of 2.05-out-of-5, do not expect to enjoy this show if you're even the world's biggest WCW fan.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WCW Starrcade 85

WCW Starrcade '85: The Gathering

Atlanta, GA & Greensboro, NC - November 1985

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Ric Flair was the recognized NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Tully Blanchard was the United States Champion, Terry Taylor held the NWA National Championship, and the Television Title was vacant (as was the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship). The NWA World Tag Team Champions were The Koloffs, Ivan and Nikita, while the NWA National Tag Team Champions were the Andersons, Ole and Arn. 

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone and Bob Caudle


Starrcade 85 begins with the National Anthem followed by Sam Houston vs. Krusher Kruschev. Kruschev would go on to wrestle as Smash (of Demolition), the Repo Man, and an assortment of other gimmicks. The referee's bright yellow outfit is odd, but I guess that was the norm in 85'? The crowd is red hot, reacting big for the slams and escapes, fervently supporting Houston. I'm not sure why Houston became a jobber in the WWE - he moves around pretty well, has good size, and is/was over enough. There's a dull stretch built around a head scissors, but they break out of it and go on a decent sequence afterwards. Houston applies an armbar. Kruschev escapes and sends Houston to the ropes and then, instead of back-body dropping him, just pops him in the air and lets him drop face-first. He then does the same thing from a guerilla press position. Kruschev applies a bearhug and the crowd goes nuts chanting "USA!" Kruschev continues to cut off every one of Houston's desperate attempts at offense. Kruschev goes to the top rope (why?), but Houston is back on his feet and Kruschev ends up crotched. In the corner, Houston delivers a number of big blows and then calls for the Bulldog. He hits it as the crowd goes nuts, but when he goes for the cover, Kruschev is too close to the ropes! Houston celebrates like an idiot and Kruschev hits him with a big clothesline for 3! Kruschev is now the Mid-Atlantic Champion! The crowd hates it. This match isn't anything special, but listen to the audience - the match did its job and the crowd was fully into it. (2.5/5)

Abdullah the Butcher makes his way down the aisle for the next bout. As he walks to the ring, he gets in a fight with a fan - which is awesome. Bonus point for that. His opponent is "The Ragin' Bull" Manny Fernandez. This is a Mexican Death Match, the Butcher's specialty. Fernandez is opened up early and in a big way by Abdullah's favorite weapon - the fork. He is able to recover and open up Abdullah with his boot and basically that's the entire story of the match until Fernandez miraculously lifts up the Butcher with a big suplex. The crowd is 1000% into this even if, watching it now, it looks like both guys are moving in molasses and this is just a plodding brawl. It doesn't help that the camera men also miss some of the big bumps, including one that Abdullah takes from the second rope. Oh, did I forget to mention, this is a Sombrero On A Pole Match? Proof that Vince Russo didn't originate stupid "Item on a Pole" matches, he just thought bringing them back 15 years later would work. Fernandez misses a huge splash from the top rope, but when Butcher tries to crush him in the corner, the Bull steps aside and Butcher goes head-first into the corner post. Nowadays you see that spot in every other match but I'm not sure how often it was used back then. Like the opener, this had the crowd on their feet for its duration and I really did enjoy seeing Butcher fight a fan. (3/5)

Backstage, Krusher Krushev cuts a promo. Was his gimmick that he was claiming to be Russian but wasn't Russian? I don't know enough about the NWA to know, but the fact that he has absolutely zero accent makes his allegiance to Russia extra brilliant (and makes me think this was the gimmick).

The next bout is a classic NWA gimmick bout - Black Bart vs. "Cowboy" Ron Bass in a Bullrope Match with the added stipulation that if Ron Bass wins, he gets to face Black Bart's manager, JJ Dillon, in another Bullrope Match afterwards. Can you guess who is going to win? Like a strap match, Bart and Bass are tethered to each other by a rope with a cowbell in the middle that can be used as a weapon (and is immediately by Bass). Bart is opened up in minute one (as the camera captures Bart slicing himself in the corner). Like the previous match, this is basically just a brawl with even less technical wrestling (hey, at least Fernandez busted out a suplex and a flying forearm). As Bart takes over, it is Bass who gets busted open, both men bleeding profusely. This is too one-note to maintain my attention and it is noticeable how much quieter the crowd is, even as they leave buckets of blood on the mat. Bass gets a pin after coming off the ropes with the cowbell and JJ Dillion immediately gets into the ring and puts the boots to him. Good psychology there. The "after-match" has a time limit of 5 minutes but Dillon tries to end it early with a pinfall. He then proceeds to bash Bass with the bell and choke him with the rope, the Outlaw trying to draw on the crowd support to rally. As Dillon tries to choke him out, Bass makes his way onto his feet and turns to Dillon, who now plays the coward. Bass hits him in the head with the bell and Dillon goes to the mat, the camera panning to the crowd so as to cover the fact that it is now his term to do some blading. Dillon is a bloody mess as Bass continues to knock him in the skull with the cowbell. Bass goes for the pin (which doesn't make much sense), but Black Bart gets back in the ring and hits him with a piledriver. Somewhere in the mix the referee went down and when he gets back up, Dillon is making the cover. I liked the "bonus match" much more than the original, but as a total package, this was a bit boring. (2/5)


Next up - a $10,000 Arm Wrestling Match/Grudge Match between The Barbarian (with Paul Jones) and "Superstar" Billy Graham. The Barbarian is forced to arm-wrestle with his left hand due to an injury to his right hand (which is in a cast). Can you guess what's going to happen with that cast? Anyway, once they get going they make a good show of their struggle, Graham using his whole body to draw the crowd in. By this point, Hulkamania was running wild, but you can really see the inspiration for the Hulkster here. Of course, as soon as Graham wins, Jones strikes and the Grudge Match portion of this bout begins. Graham gets busted open, the Barbarian even biting into the Superstar (and getting a bunch of his blood on his chest from it). Barbarian misses a leg drop and Graham unloads with some big right hands (again, the similarity to Hogan's is unmistakable), but Barbarian cuts him off. Barbarian misses a splash from the top and Graham locks him in a...a...bearhug. Its a bit of a letdown after the fast-paced action these two were pulling off, but hey, it is 1985 and these guys are legit 300-pounders. Graham keeps him locked in the bearhug until Jones comes in with his cane and breaks up the hold, getting his man DQ'd in the process. Outside the ring they go, where they brawl there way over the guardrail - which is a good 10 feet in front of the crowd. Graham leaving through the audience is an underwhelming conclusion, but this was still quite a 10-minute war and pretty fun for what it was. (2.5/5)

The not-so-one-of-a-kind Buddy Landell is up next to take on fan favorite Terry Taylor, who is the NWA National Champion (and you think the WWE has too many belts!). Taylor and Landell lock up to start things and then go face-to-face in a jawing session. It is amazing how much Landel looks like Flair here. Taylor slaps the spit out of Landell's mouth and he begs off like the real Nature Boy. This is the first real technical wrestling match of the night and it is a welcome change-up from everything that came before. Taylor shows great fire, Landell is a solid bumper, and there are some interesting twists and turns that modern wrestling fans will recognize. I really like the theory behind and most of the execution in the finish, but wish the ref had "come to" just a little bit quicker so that it didn't look like Taylor was knocked out for what seemed like an eternity before he made the count. Another solid match, but probably not better-than-average just because it was short. (2.5/5)

The Minnesota Wrecking Crew - Arn and Ole Anderson - defend their NWA National Tag Team Championships against Wahoo McDaniel and Billy Jack Haynes in the next bout. There are some great individual moments and details here, but as a whole, this wasn't anything I'd recommend or be eager to re-watch. Wahoo's chops are great, Ole's punches look good, Anderson is a great seller - but that still doesn't make this a riveting 10 minutes. The finish is fine, classic heel stuff with Wahoo getting pinned by the edge of the ring and having his legs held down by Ole from the outside. (2/5)

The next bout is a wrestling classic and one of the most gruesome bouts in history - Magnum TA challenging Tully Blanchard in an "I Quit" Cage Match for Blanchard's United States Championship. Magnum gets bloodied early on, but what I like about his color is that it starts out as a bit of a mere drip, not a full crimson mask (unlike most of the other bladejobs on this show). In terms of wrestling moves, this one doesn't offer much - but what it does feature is two guys tearing into each other with realistic urgency, a red hot crowd that is audibly gasping in horror as they grind the mic into eachother's wounds, and both participants looking super tough as they refuse to say "I Quit." The camerawork also captures some great facial expressions from Tully's valet, Baby Doll, on the outside watching her beloved get bloodied. I've seen some reviewers rank this as one of the top 5 matches of all time, but I must admit that as a more modern viewer, I wouldn't rank it up as high. That being said, when fans talk about matches that look and feel like a real "war," this will immediately come to mind as the violence in this match unspools in such an organic way, from mere tit-for-tat striking at the start to the two competitors trying to bash their opponent's brain in until they give up. The finish is outstanding too as Blanchard destroys a chair so he can make a wooden stake to ostensibly murder Magnum TA in front of a paying audience. It is something out of a prison movie and, having now seen this match, I can totally see how the sequence was the clear inspiration for the Jeff Hardy/Randy Orton wrench spot and Triple H/Batista nose-ring from this past year. The post-match scene is fantastic too as Magnum TA, reduced to an animal in this match, leaves the ring with the belt over his shoulder and the smallest amount of his dignity in tact as he refuses to "finish Tully off." Meanwhile, Tully screams in pain like one of the poor victims in a Saw movie. This is how you end an "I Quit" Match cleanly without the loser actually losing any credibility. (4.5/5)

Back to Atlanta we go for an Atlanta Streetfight between The Midnight Express (Eaton and Condrey) and the "Street People," Jimmy Valiant and Miss Atlanta Lively (aka Ronnie Garvin dressed like a woman). The Midnights are in tuxedos, Jim Cornette is yelling and screaming, Ronnie Garvin is wearing make-up, "The Boogie Woogie Man" is shaking his hips - this match screams "comedy," but the action is super intense and there's way more blood than a "comedy" match should ever have. At one point, Bobby Eaton takes a hip toss onto the concrete floor that is anything but a joke. The finish is rather cool too as Eaton tries to come off the top with his patented leg drop but gets uppercutted by Valiant. Nowadays, that would just be a nearfall because a match could never finish without one guy hitting their finishing move at least twice. A fun brawl. (2.5/5)

Next up, the NWA World Tag Team Championship Match - Nikita Koloff and Ivan Koloff defending the straps against The Rock n' Roll Express. Aside from this being in a cage, it is a fairly standard Rock n' Roll Express match - not necessarily a bad thing - as the faces get some shine early, then one Rock n' Roller gets mercilessly beaten down (in this case Robert Gibson), before he makes a hot tag and the other (Ricky Morton) miraculously leads a comeback. Instead of leading a fiery comeback filled with double dropkicks, Morton's tag leads directly a roll-up flash pin, which is an exciting ending but not necessarily as fulfilling as seeing the heels actually get their comeuppance. Equally odd is the post-match, which sees Morton essentially abandon his battered teammate as he gets beaten down even more by the nefarious Russians. Nobody even makes the save or anything - Robert Gibson just eats shit in the cage until the Russians get tired of stomping him. I'm guessing the bookers and the Russians wanted to maintain their heat - which is understandable - but they dominated 90% of the match and crushed the faces after the bell and it comes off as overkill. Not a bad match, but too one-sided for me and the post-match was confusing. (2/5)

Main event time - Ric Flair defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against longtime rival Dusty Rhodes. The backstory for this match is that Flair had turned heel on Dusty in October, forming the Four Horsemen with the Andersons and Tully Blanchard. As the Horsemen had barely been in existence by this point, though, the commentators don't mention the stable by name and really just focus on the action. The Atlanta crowd is hot for this, but its not quite clear if they're cheering or booing anything as both guys are pretty over. The thing about Flair, even back then, is that no matter what he did as a heel, a large portion of the audience always loved him. Anyway, Flair and Rhodes never put on any mat classics like Flair did against Steamboat (or even Luger for that matter), but there's tremendous passion behind every chest chop. There's also some good psychology throughout as Flair focuses on Rhodes legs to soften him up for the figure four while Dusty tries to take out the champion with everything he can think of - mostly strikes and, whether purposely or not, the wise decision to take out Flair's legs too (which would prevent him from applying the figure four and make countering the move easier and more painful). While the match has those positives, it also has some negatives - an extended body scissors segment (always kind of death in any match) and a number of moments of blatant no-selling and stalling that a match like Blanchard/Magnum or Flair's better matches just didn't have. Plus, the production is marred by a particularly loud fan wooping it seemingly directly into the commentators' microphones. While this is a considerable improvement from the previous year's bout, which ended with a blood stoppage, I wouldn't consider it a Top 10 Flair match or even, necessarily, the best example of how entertaining Dusty Rhodes was as an in-ring performer. The finish helps bump this one above average. (3/5)


Starrcade 85' is a considerably stronger show than the previous year's offering (a show that earned a weak 1.77 Kwang Score), though its still not a show I'd recommend to just any fan. The Magnum TA/Tully Blanchard cage match is a fantastic, "must see" match that I am embarrassed to having never seen before. It is as brutal as advertised. For some, the danger and gore of the rest of the card will be a huge selling point. Aside from the Magnum/Tully match, there is lots of great brawling on this show from the Midnights, Bart and Boss, and in the Abdullah/Manny Fernandez match. There's also some good straight-up wrestling in the Terry Taylor/Buddy Landell match. I could even see the argument that while I personally felt the Koloffs/Rock n' Roll Express match was too one-sided and the post-match made no sense, others might look at it with fondness based on their personal love for Ricky and Robert.  To others, though, the poor production quality, one-note commentary, and the wrestling style of the era - mostly brawling with very few high spots - will be an automatic turnoff. With a Kwang Score of 2.65-out-of-5, Starrcade 85' is not for everybody, but as a change of pace from today's wrestling, you could do far worse. Plus, it bears repeating, the Magnum TA/Tully Blanchard match is probably one of the top 25 matches of all time.

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand

NXT Takeover XXV

NXT Takeover: 25

Bridgeport, CT - June 2019

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the NXT Champion is Johnny Gargano, the NXT North American Champion is Velveteen Dream, and the NXT Women's Champion is Shayna Baszler. The NXT Tag Team Championships were vacant.

COMMENTATORS: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuiness, and Beth Pheonix


NXT Takeover XXV began with Roderick Strong facing Matt Riddle in a straight-up 1-on-1 match. The "look" of this show was tremendous in its simplicity - blacked out arena, brightly lit ring, no frills. When they went to the outside, it almost looked too dark at times, but it also gave the show a "back to basics"/house show feel that made it stand out from the main roster PPVs (and even most of the recent Takeovers). Anyway, the match itself was good; Strong is the "Messiah of the Backbreaker" and he delivered quite a few here, setting the pace and controlling a good portion of the bout. Riddle's comeback came a bit too far out of nowhere for me. At one point Riddle hit a GTS-into-a-German Suplex that popped the crowd, but at other times, he just seemed to be lackadaisically going through some of his offense, lazily throwing a series of kicks into Strong's chest. Comparatively, Strong's late-match rally was outstanding and spirited, Strong's rapid series of forearms bringing a huge "NXT" chant out of the crowd. Not to be outdone, Riddle hit a ripcord-knee, then a powerbomb, then another knee at point-black range, nearly costing himself the match when he attempted a high flying move to put away Riddle. After another string of offensive maneuvers, Strong applied a brutal Boston Crab, only for Riddle to escape via a series of big kicks to the face. Riddle then locked Strong in a submission, the two eventually getting to their feet where Riddle was able to defeat him with a Cradle Tombstone Slam (not exactly a piledriver). A strong match (no pun intended), but not an all-time classic. (3.5/5)

Backstage, Johnny Gargano stretched in preparation for his title defense.

We then cut to ringside where Shawn Michaels and the Road Dogg were standing around.

The 4-way for the NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match was next, pitting The Undisputed Era, The Street Profits, The Forgotten Sons, and Burch and Lorcan. The Profits came out first to a surprising amount of fanfare - the last I saw these guys they didn't look all that great, but the crowd has taken to them. Next out were Blake and Cutler, the Forgotten Sons. The somewhat colorless Lorcan and Burch were out third before the Undisputed Era arrived, O'Reilly and Fish coming in as the most established stars in the match. The UE controlled early and tried to bring in the first ladder, but were stopped by a ridiculous suicide dive from Wesley Blake. Blake tried to drag two ladders in but was thwarted by Lorcan and Burch. All the while, the Street Profits seemed to be playing possum until Dawkins came off the top with a big splash. Once the ladders did make their way into the ring, the nasty bumps began - first with O'Reilly taking a nasty back bump onto the leg of a ladder and then Blake eating a bunch of a ladder-based offense from the Profits. O'Reilly and Fish broke up the Profits' dominance but nearly costed themselves the match in the process as O'Reilly came off the ropes with a dropkick and landed back-first on the edge of the ladder (slicing himself up pretty good in the process). Fish then hit a ridiculous german suplex on the ladder onto Montez Ford, popping the crowd huge. As Fish made his way up the ladder moments later, Cutler came back into the ring and powerbombed O'Reilly into the ladder (causing Fish to land on his partner) in a great spot. As Cutler tried to get up the ladder, O'Reilly grapevined his leg but got tossed out of the ring. Cutler and Blake then hit a cool double-team maneuver that saw one guy lock Fish in a reverse DDT while the other came off the ladder with a stomp on the chest. The Profits got the next big offense in, hitting a double-team blockbuster. As O'Reilly tried to make his way up the ladder, Ryker showed up and brought him down with a powerbomb into a ladder in the corner. Ryker then took out Burch, Ford, Fish, Dawins, and Lorcan, the crowd erupting in a "We Forgot You" chant as he set up the ladder for his brethren. Eventually the UE led a beatdown on Ryker, 3-out-of-4 teams working together (briefly) to take Ryker out, with Montez Ford hitting him with the coup de gras (a ridiculous front somersault splash to the outside). In the ring, Burch and Lorcan took control of the match, taking out UE with some brutal suplexes and throws. Burch and Lorcan nearly grabbed the titles, but the UE showed up with another ladder, all four eventually climbing to the top of the two ladders. As expected, the Forgotten Sons spoiled their chances by knocking over the ladders and sending the "favorites" to the arena floor. As the Sons climbed, Dawkins hit a spear on Blake (I think? and Ford came off the top rope and landed on the ladder in a Kofi-esque move, tossing the remaining Forgotten Son off the ladder and grabbing the belts for the win. I'm not sure this was quite a "must see" match, but it was certainly fun. (3.5/5)

The North American Championship was on the line next - Tyler Breeze challenging The Velveteen Dream in his big NXT return match. The build-up for this match was all about how The Dream is basically an "upgrade" of Breeze. I wasn't super excited about this as my memories of Tyler Breeze in NXT originally was as a jobber-to-the-stars and, aside from the Fashion Police, the guy's been a non-entity on the main roster. You run this same program with Nakamura or even Bobby Roode coming back to put Dream in his place and you might have me, but Breeze? Meh. The match itself was good-not-great, with a strong finishing stretch but some ups-and-downs to get there. Dream, ostensibly the babyface, seemed to dip his toe dangerously close to outright heelishness when he tried to embarrass Breeze by taking a selfie of himself dominating him on the outside, a moment that felt way more earned when genuine capital-S Superstars The Rock and Austin did it years ago. I also wasn't a huge fan of the multiple false finishes as, again, to "buy in" on these meant one had to believe that Breeze had a legit shot of becoming the North American Champion, a scenario that nobody saw as likely (kinda like when Breeze took on Jushin Liger in his sole WWE appearance). The final third of the match featured some cool exchanges and the finish was strong, but I'm not sure they really needed a full 20 minutes (though, to be fair, the live crowd was heavily into this). While I wouldn't rank this as one of Dream's best matches, it might have been the biggest spotlight Breeze has ever had and he certainly proved that he's worthy of a second look on the main roster. (3/5)

The NXT Women's Championship was on the line next as Shayna Baszler defended her title against Io Shirai. The pre-match hype video made Shirai out to be a huge deal, but, almost inexplicably, this match gave most of the spotlight to the reigning champion. This felt like a 70-30 match with Baszler taking the 70 and looking about as dominant as she ever has. As someone who doesn't watch NXT weekly and having never seen Shirai's work in Japan, I was impressed by her technical skills, but not necessarily her presentation as a definable character or personality. Kairi Sane's Pirate gimmick is out there, but at least its there. Asuka's face-painted Psycho Warrior Killer thing is brilliant when she's allowed to live up to it. Bianca Belair was a tremendous opponent for Baszler far more because of her character and spirit than because of her wrestling skill (though her athletic skills can't be ignored either). Shirai may be the most proficient of any of Baszler's challengers, but she's certainly not the most colorful or excitement-inducing. Still, its hard to get exciting about any of Baszler's challengers these days when her title reign has become the exact thing that should never happen in a developmental league: repetitive, stale, boring. At one point, Baszler seemed like the Next Big Call-Up, a surefire difference-maker that could've helped fill the hole left by Ronda Rousey. But now? I'm not sure what purpose she serves in NXT and the main roster's women's division is no longer a hotbed of activity and innovation. Her addition to it, in 2019, seems a bit like acting lukewarm water to more lukewarm water and hoping the temperature rises. Sorry, it just don't work like that. Despite all this negativity, there were still great moments in this match - Baszler's arm-attacks continue to make me grimace, Shirai's 619, the speed and execution of nearly every sequence. I wasn't a huge fan of the fnish which saw Baszler's henchmen come out only to be taken out by Candice LeRae before they could cost Shirai the match (only for these events to distract Shirai long enough for Baszler to apply her choke submission and tap out her opponent in convincing fashion). I may be forgetting a detail or two, but Baszler's victory was about as clean as they get. The post-match beatdown that Shirai inflicted helped her get her heat back...but was also a bit odd to me and seemed to (at least initially) confuse part of the audience too. Eventually, Shirai's graphic beatdown (which involved a number of kendo stick shots and a chair-assisted moonsault) got a "You Deserve It" chant, but it still rubs me the wrong way that the fan favorite would throw a post-match temper tantrum when, again, the match's result wasn't super screwy. I'm not sure what the plan is for Baszler going forward but a rematch seems likely. Here's hoping that they develop a more interesting, character-driven story for the next outing because this was a noticeable step down from Baszler's previous defenses and not the "coming out party" that Shirai needed. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole for Gargano's NXT Championship. This match started out with some good back and forth, but really picked up around when the action spilled to the outside and we saw one of the nastiest double-stomps ever (a double-stomp onto Cole's left arm as he tried to support himself on the ring apron). Back in the ring, Cole targeted Gargano's knee and had this match stuck to this simple story and really, really milked it (instead of erratically bringing that thread in and out of the match), I would've been a much bigger fan. Instead of being anchored by two guys having to fight through mirrored injuries, we saw an un-tethered cacophany of counters and breathtaking offense. One could argue there were too many moments in this match - Ushigoroshis, backstabbers, bicycle kicks, discuss clotheslines, topes and spears. Gargano and Cole went "lights out" and should be applauded for their efforts...but as they dazzled the crowd with one impeccably-executed superkick after another, it all blurred together a bit to me, like a medley of tweaked variations on the same ol ' Sweet Chin Music. The live crowd didn't necessarily help things either. Though they reacted with massive pops and counted along to every nearfall (many of which were outstanding), they simultaneously refused to play the simple role of supporting the hero and booing the villain. Instead, they cheered everything and only slightly booed when Adam Cole stripped Gargano of his knee pad. Aside from his highly questionable use of reverse hurricanranas and two dozen superkicks (when damage to his knee was the crux of his selling) and my personal distate for the Cirque De Soleil-ness of Adam Cole's Panama Sunrise (a slightly-altered Canadian Destroyer that's alteration makes it even more apparent that the opponent is doing most of the work), the match's low point was the unnecessary ref bump that led to Gargano - a guy who should know something about screwy finishes and just focusing on winning after his series with Ciampa - foolishly opting to go for a pinfall when he knew the referee was knocked out! The "visual pin" is a classic wrestling trope dating at least back to the 70s (and maybe even earlier), but this match already had so much excess that its purpose - to make the hero look like he could've and should've won - was lost in the maelstrom of false finishes, Last Shots, and kicks to the face. I liked the finish, but because we had seen these guys bust out so much, the fact that it was the sole Last Shot that Adam Cole actually connected on (I think?) was completely lost. I'd still rank this as the match of the night and a "must see" clash simply because how else could one describe a match with such undeniably awesome execution, timing, and action (including some innovative spots that will likely and sadly be forgotten in the embarrassment of riches this match offered), but I don't think I'll go as far as saying I truly "loved" this match to the same degree as others (including Dave Meltzer). (4/5)


With a Kwang Score of 3.30-out-of-5, a remarkable score that indicates that this show featured significantly above-average wrestling throughout, NXT Takeover: 25 was another great show from the WWE's most consistently entertaining brand. Its worth noting, however, that this score actually marks a bit of a dip from the 3.4-3.5 range that these shows generally score. It is rare to call a show featuring 3 matches with scores of 3.5 or higher inessential viewing, but for the first time in a long time, that's what this particular NXT offering felt like. The tag team ladder match was fun - but not necessarily as strong as the recent Men's Money in the Bank Ladder match we saw a few weeks prior. The main event will likely make tons of Year End Lists, but it will certainly not top mine; "workrate porn" sequences are becoming as tiresome and predictable as any other overused trope no matter how well-executed. Compared to your average WWE show, this was more entertaining and watchable - but for the first time in forever, the NXT product felt like it was in a bit of a holding pattern rather than providing viewers with something new and exciting.

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand

WCW Sin

WCW Sin

Indianapolis, Indiana - January 2001

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Scott Steiner is the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, Terry Funk is the Hardcore Champion, and Hugh "General Rection" Morrus is the United States Champion coming into this show. Chavo Guerrero is the WCW Cruiserweight Champion while the Tag Titles are held by "The Insiders" - DDP and Kevin Nash. 

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone and Scott Hudson

The first and only Sin PPV kicks off with the Cruiserweight Champion, Chavo Guerrero, defending the title against 3 Count's Shane Helms. Like a couple of the other matches on this show, the wrestling isn't bad - in fact, its arguably better than most of what the WWE was putting on around this time - but the characters are so not over that it prevents this match from feeling like anything more than a spirited exhibition match. I'm not the world's biggest Chavo fan, but a few years earlier, his love/hate relationship with his uncle Eddie had made for some good TV. Sadly, any of that character and personality had evaporated by this point as he was simply trotted out to be a "good hand." Similarly, 3 Count was one of the WCW's few redeeming acts in 2000...so they were split up. On one hand, this allowed WCW to create matches and rivalries among the former partners (and this led to some good matches), but in retrospect, I'm not sure it really was wise to break up an over act just to have them feud with each other in spotfest ladder matches in the hopes that they would get over as individual stars. Anyway, Guerrero and Helms execute a number of big moves and you can actually hear the live crowd pop over the incredibly distracting "sweetening" that WCW was now using. Buried under the awful crowd mix is a quality match and, thankfully, Mark Madden has been removed from commentary so its called decently too. I wouldn't go out of one's way to check this out, but its a solid opener. (3/5)

Big Vito takes on his (kayfabe) brother Reno in the next match. Even without the "sweetening," Vito was somehow over in 2000 - at least relative to the rest of WCW's roster. I'm not even sure why or how. He wasn't that good a wrestler nor was he a good promo, but fans cheered the guy...so WCW kept him in a never-ending feud with nobodies like Reno and Johnny The Bull in the undercard. Because they'd basically been attached at the hip for the better part of 3 months by this point, Vito and Reno have decent chemistry and they spice up their basic brawling with some actual good moves. Again, this match isn't outright bad - its just not interesting. No worse than average. (2.5/5)

According to Tony and Scott Hudson, the next match was not advertised - The Yung Dragons vs. Evan Karagias and Jamie Noble. This is the type of match I was referring to in my review of the opening bout. The idea of spreading out talent (by breaking up 3 Count and unmasking Noble [who was part of the Jung Dragons initially]) is a fine one, but it wasn't executed well enough. 3 Count were unlikable heels and the Jung Dragons were milquetoast babyfaces, but when the two factions became three separate teams, not a single one carried on with any sort of personality or gimmick beyond just being flashy, innovative wrestlers. Now, again, the matches that resulted were often very fun (this one included), but none of these guys had a chance in hell of actually getting over and moving up the card as long as they were entangled in a never-ending feud with each other that wasn't built on any real story. Lots of good high-flying and suplexes with Evan Karagias landing a crazy 450 as maybe the highest of the high spots. Why are these teams not wrestling for the World Tag Team Championships? (3/5)

Mike Sanders cuts a promo before his match against Ernest "The Cat" Miller. The two were feuding over the job of WCW Commissioner, but Ric Flair was the storyline president too. I'm guessing the logic was that Authority Characters were working in WWE, so why not have two in WCW? Miller was good in small doses as Glacier's teammate against the underrated team of Mortis and Wrath, but by this point, he was now one of WCW's most spotlighted talents...and I'm not sure he quite warranted that amount of screen time. The finish is a schmozz with the Natural Born Thrillers coming out to help Sanders only for KroNik to show up and basically turn face by taking them out and helping Miller win. (1.5/5)

The first and - as far as I know - only Penalty Box Match ever is next: Team Canada vs. The Filthy Animals with Jim Duggan as the guest referee. Team Canada is made up of Lance Storm, "Primetime" Elix Skipper, Major Gunns and Mike Awesome, who went from being one of wrestling's most in-demand free agents thanks to a good ECW run to a comedy character to now just a lackey. The Animals are Kidman, Mysterio, Konnan, and Tygress. I forgot if Major Gunns, who was initially forced into joining Team Canada when the Misfits in Action lost some stip match, had turned heel and was now happily in the stable or not. Whatever. Duggan starts the match with a very long-winded explanation of how this match would play out. Like hearing why a joke is funny, you know its a good idea for a stipulation match if you need a full 3 minutes to explain the rules to the audience. When the match begins, two of the heels get sent to the box almost immediately and, over the course of the match, there's nearly always a heel occupying that space (including Major Gunns at one point). As anyone would expect, everyone but Konnan looks good and gets some time to show their best offense (the Awesome Bomb gets the loudest pop of all, proving the time old adage that powerbombs are always over). Eventually the match devolves into an unmanageable mess that ends with the villains actually prevailing in somewhat clean fashion after a string of rapid-fire false finishes and a little bit of confusion over who the legal men were. Considering the stipulation, the ref, and that Konnan wrestled, this was about as good as it could've been. (2.5/5)

Next up - Meng vs. Terry Funk vs. Crowbar for Funk's Hardcore Championship. This is just an out-and-out brawl with no structure, no story, no selling, and nothing to recommend it outside of a surprisingly great finish. Funk and Crowbar brawl in the bathroom because WCW thought that milking that trope to death was somehow good. Meng takes a bunch of chair shots and garbage can shots and none of it is exciting or suspenseful. Crowbar hits a big leg drop from a high perch, which is impressive but doesn't factor into the ending because NOTHING that happens in this match is sold. Anyone reading this who thinks I just like to shit on hardcore matches should look back at what I wrote about the Nasty Boys/Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne classic from 94' or even the Dustin Rhodes/Bunkhouse Buck matches. Those matches were fantastic, with escalating violence and blood and urgency and suspense. This match is just guys hitting each other with garbage because it was "cool" in the late 90s. But this match is in 2001 and its all old hat even by then. This stuff hasn't aged well at all. Still, like I wrote earlier, the finish is surprisingly great as - if nothing else - they did successfully make it questionable as to who was going to win because, for the entirety of the match, pinfalls were being broken up by people who had just taken a weapon shot. So, if nothing is sold as truly devastating, how can anyone stay down for 3 seconds? Well, the answer is a rapid sequence followed by Meng's excellent Tongan Death Grip. A point and a half awarded for Crowbar's effort and the finish. At this point, WCW might as well have actually pushed Meng to the main event because the Tongan Death Grip was sick and Meng had credibility as a badass. (1.5/5)

The WCW Tag Team Championships are on the line next as The Insiders (Kevin Nash and DDP) defend the straps against Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire of the Natural Born Thrillers. There's some pre-match nonsense with "Above Average" Mike Sanders trying to argue that he should be able to "sub out" Thrillers whenever he'd like, but Ric Flair comes out and nixes that idea. I'm not sure what the purpose of this was - maybe just to make it clear that Flair was now the sole Authority? Regardless, The Insiders tandem impressed me at Starrcade 2000 by not stinking up the joint (which was definitely within the realm of possibility). While it wasn't as good as the Starrcade match, its worth mentioning that Sean O'Haire absolutely killed it in this match with his freakish agility and strength. I know that O'Haire flopped big time in the WWE, but he also debuted at a time when nearly every guy on the roster was jacked to the gills, covered in tribals, and looked like they used to work security on the Ozzfest Tour. In this context, O'Haire didn't turn many heads - but in 2019, I'd argue that he'd probably have a much stronger chance of getting over and winning Vince's approval. Anyway, at Starrcade I noted how noticeable it was to see Nash and DDP having fun and cutting loose a little bit, but here they seem to be just going through the motions. Its neither guy's worst performance ever...but, after seeing the finish, its hard not to wonder whether their lack of motivation came from the fact that they were going to get screwed and made to look like idiots by Buff Bagwell, a guy criminally not over by this point. While the Starrcade match ended with a nice "feel good" moment, this one ends with all sorts of messy interference - further devaluing the titles. (1.5/5)

Shane Douglas challenges General Rection for the US Championship in a First Blood/Chain match...that is not No DQ for some reason. This is a twist on the expected, but not a good one as it leads to a bout that is mostly a snooze. There is a chain hanging from the ceiling that both guys are fighting to use kinda? I say this because there is no urgency from either guy to grab a ladder for the majority of the match. Instead, they brawl in the ring and out, Shane applies submission holds, and Rection hits a big splash and a press slam, wrestling the same match these two would have without the First Blood/Chain stipulation. When it does come time for the finish, there's a ref bump as Douglas pulls a chain out of his boot and steals the victory. This match was not good and shows once again how inept WCW's producers/agents were at this time. A First Blood/Chain match needing a ref bump is just insane. (1.5/5)

Its time for, arguably, the heaviest promoted match of the show - Bill Goldberg teaming with "The Sarge" DeWayne Bruce against Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell in a No DQ tag match. Over the previous few months (?), Goldberg had gone on another undefeated streak, the new twist being that if he lost a match, he'd be fired. Luger and Bagwell had combined their forces to try to run him out of town, but Goldberg was backed up by his longtime friend and trainer - DeWayne Bruce, the real-life head trainer of WCW's Power Plant school. Now, if you think The Sarge would turn on Goldberg here, you (like me) might've forgot that Vince Russo had been relieved of his booking control by this point. Still, the WCW bookers who were in charge still found ways to drive away fans with this match...but we'll get there. First, let's talk about the match itself, which is dull and uneventful save for a Goldberg power spot or two. Eventually, Luger starts jawing with a fan in the audience and Goldberg comes out to sort things out - only to get sprayed in the face with mace! Goldberg is sent back into the ring and gets beaten down. I'm guessing Luger and Bagwell didn't just spray the mace themselves because the element of surprise was so crucial? Also, DeWayne Bruce disappears for the last 3-4 minutes of this match inexplicably despite the commentators talking about how tough he is for the first 8. Bagwell and Luger hit a Double Blockbuster and pin Goldberg and Goldberg is now retired. The crowd, naturally, shits all over it while the commentators try to add gravitas. So, again, to review, this was a No DQ match where nobody used any weapons until a fan used a weapon and Goldberg's tough-as-nails tag partner ended up being no help at all because, in the end, Goldberg was double-teamed 2-on-1 for the entire finishing stretch. A total mess that takes all the air out of an arena that is three-fourths filled with air and empty seats. Bad match, convoluted ending, very poor post-match production with the cameras not really capturing any of the emotion that this huge development should've brought with it. Garbage. (0.5/5)

Main event time - Sid vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Steiner vs. A Mystery Man - for Steiner's WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Everyone but the Mystery Man comes out and then we hear the familiar sound of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" to signal the arrival of WCW President Ric Flair. Flair says that the Mystery Man is here, but will not come out until later for some reason. I think many fans believed that this meant the Mystery Man was going to be Flair himself, or at least Sting - basically someone with the credibility to take out both the heels (Steiner and Jarrett) after Sid had softened them up. Jarrett and Steiner use their partnership to wear Sid down. Sid does get some offense in at one point, rallying for a few minutes. The camera cuts backstage, where Flair is getting the Mystery Man out of a limo and when we return...Sid is on the mat and is not looking good at all. Basically, Sid had attempted a move from the top rope and broken his leg in one of the nastiest ring injuries ever. Jarrett and Steiner try to buy time with stomps and whatnot, but Sid is in terrible shape. The Mystery Man makes his way down the aisle and kicks Sid too. Then Steiner pins him. Dogshit match. And guess who the Mystery Man is? Road Warrior Animal. Is this the worst Mystery Man reveal ever? It has to be. The crowd boos at the reveal as they obviously expected someone remotely relevant. The commentators try to play up how big of a shock this is, that they believed Animal to have been retired, but nobody thought he was retired - people just stopped giving a shit about the Legion of Doom a good 3 years before this. If the last match earned a half-point on at least a decent performance out of Goldberg, this match lacked even that. (0/5)


WCW Sin has a well-earned reputation for being one of the worst pay-per-views ever. After a promising start (thanks to the cruiserweights), the show rapidly deteriorates into unwatchable, audience-infuriating dogshit. Now, it should be said that some of the booking decisions were meant to build towards WCW's next big storyline: a Ric Flair-led heel group running roughshod over the company until Goldberg, Sting, and other babyfaces came to the save day. This explains why Flair would bring in Road Warrior Animal to take out Sid in the main event. It explains why Goldberg's win-or-get-fired angle wasn't dropped by President Flair (who, as a babyface, had the power to veto it all along). Hell, the fact that its Flair that introduces Goldberg to the fan that betrays him is actually some nice, clever storytelling. The problem is really in the execution. For example, knowing that Flair was secretly a heel, it makes sense that he would make the Goldberg match a No DQ bout - - - but the heels don't even bother to use the stip their advantage. Similarly, it makes sense that Flair would bring in a Mystery Man to help keep the title on Steiner - - - but why not just include him from the very beginning? Was he really that worried that Sid would overcome both Steiner and Jarrett and that Road Warrior Animal would be the game-changer? Why not just have Animal come out from the get-go so they can beat him down 3-on-1? I know we're supposed to believe that Animal has betrayed Flair at this point, but if that is what we're supposed to believe, why doesn't Flair come out to make the save himself? I've given this show far more thought than WCW's staff did. With a Kwang Score of 1.75-out-of-5, which is probably generous, I'm happy giving this a...

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WCW Starrcade 2000

WCW Starrcade 2000

Washington, DC - December 2000

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WCW World Champion is Scott Steiner, the United States Championship is held by Hugh "General Rection" Morrus, the Cruiserweight Championship is held by Chavo Guerrera, and the Hardcore Title is held by Crowbar. Finally, the WCW World Tag Team Champions are The Perfect Event (Stasiak and Palumbo). 

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden, and Scott Hudson  

The final (real) Starrcade ever kicks off with a Number One Contender's Ladder Match for the WCW Cruiserweight Match between Jamie Noble, Evan Karagias, Shannon Moore, Jimmy Yang, Shane Helms, and Kaz Hayashi, essentially a continuation of the Noble & Karagias/Jung Dragons/3 Count feud that had been running for a few months. These six were pretty much the only acts in WCW with any buzz and it was largely because of the ahead-of-their-time spotfests they put on. There are some tremendous spots in this match, but like so much of WCW from this point, the commentary and general feeling of meaninglessness makes it impossible to call it "essential" viewing. Even if there's not a tremendous difference between this match and the ladder bouts that the Hardys and Edge and Christian were performing around the same time, the latter matches still feel big and important because of the storylines behind them - specifically the drive to win the World Tag Team Championships. It is just hard to buy into this match when the contract hanging from the ceiling has been rendered so worthless. Like, why would anyone fight so hard for the title that Oklahoma held not too long before? If the lack of gravitas doesn't bother you and you're just in the market for a match with lots of big crashes and some well-executed planchas and splashes, you won't be disappointed - but it takes more than that for me to consider something a "must watch." (3.5/5)

Next up, Lance Storm vs. Ernest "The Cat" Miller. As we get to the end of WCW, I can confidently say that while Miller's most well-known gimmick was this run, as the James Brown-aping dancing karate man, his most tolerable matches were probably the tags with Glacier against Mortis and Wrath. He's a decent comedy wrestler, but nothing more, and Lance Storm had to work extra hard to make this match remotely good. Storm's pre-match promo references the Gore/Bush election, which is kind of neat, and the crowd is undeniably hot for this (thanks to the teasing of a catfight between Miller's second and Major Gunns, who might've been going as Miss Canada now(?)). Miller does at least one cool move, lifting Storm up into the air for a would-be inverted atomic drop only to kick him right in the groin, but there's not much else to speak of aside from the finish - which sees Jim Duggan come in and tease a face turn before costing Miller the match. Afterwards, Storm and his buddy "Prime Time" Elix Skipper beat down on Duggan until Miller makes the save. Unrecommended. (1/5)

Backstage, The Filthy Animals cut a promo with WCW's newest interviewer, Buff Bagwell. They talk about their upcoming Bunkhouse Brawl against Jeff Jarrett and his crew. Eh, maybe it'll be decent?

Crowbar fought Terry Funk in a match for the WCW Hardcore Championship next. This one started out backstage, but eventually came to the ringside. Funk handcuffed Crowbar and destroyed him with weapon shots, a match structure lifted directly from the far more famous (and gruesome) I Quit Match between The Rock and Mankind at Royal Rumble 99'. For all the violence, including a spot that saw Funk get his head crushed by a door, this match was forgettable and frivolous and had zero heat. (1/5)

Big Vito and Reno vs. KroNik followed. The storyline leading into this match was that KroNik had been receiving large sums of cash to take out Vito and Reno but there was mystery around who their benefactor was. Before the match begins, Brian Adams makes comments towards Vito and Reno's manager, Lisa Marie, indicating that she is the one who paid them off. This wrinkle in the story isn't factored into any of the match at all, though I'm not sure it would've helped things much anyway. Vito plays the face-in-peril and the commentators hype up his toughness as KroNik beats him down. The Natural Born Thrillers come out from the backstage area, further confusing things regarding who has been paying off KroNik. When Vito is finally able to make the tag, Reno turns on him, and the match comes to an end with Vito getting laid out in the ring. WCW was at such a low by this point that pushing Big Vito as a popular underdog babyface wasn't even that far-fetched of an idea. Crazy, right? (1/5)

Mike Awesome fought Bam Bam Bigelow in an Ambulance Match next. On paper, this should be an easy Match of the Night candidate as Awesome and Bigelow are both great brawlers. Unfortunately, this is completely meh and lacks a single creative spot or moment (save for maybe the finish). The word "lazy" isn't really fitting because Bigelow and Awesome hit each other with chairs, send each other into the guardrail, and there's even a table spot. Even at the low speed at which these smashes and crashes are delivered, they hurt. But their efforts result in the opposite of an entertaining match. There's no heat, no suspense, and the gimmick itself is hard to work when calling this feud "lukewarm" would be generous considering how NOBODY in WCW was really over at this point. But about that finish - its not a bad one and I wouldn't be surprised if its been used again because it really is a great "cop out" to having one of your stars actually get shoved into the back of an ambulance. SPOILER ALERT: Early in the match, we get a crane shot that swoops over the ambulance, crowd, and into the ring. Its just a 2-second cutaway from the action. But its important. Its important because, when the finish happens, and Bigelow goes through the top of the ambulance, the viewer never sees the ambulance from overhead. This was likely because the ambulance was heavily "gimmicked" - there was likely a crash pad in the ambulance and its not clear whether Bigelow actually "crashed through" the roof or if the roof had been removed. Whatever the reason, the fact that we never see Bigelow writhing in the wreckage is the kind of small detail that would've at least helped this match a tiny bit in terms of presentation. A disappointment. (1/5)

Next up - Shane Douglas challenged General Rection (Hugh Morrus) for his United States Championship. Morrus is a guy that showed a ton of promise when he first came on the WCW scene in 96' or 97', but by this point, had to be one of the worst wrestlers in the company. I can't believe he was ever involved in training anyone. Despite Douglas heating up the crowd (with yet another knock about the Gore/Bush election), Morrus is so unsympathetic and unlikable that this match is just dull. In fact, there are audible "Boring" chants at one point during a sleeper segment - which they go back to because, based on their breathing, both guys are winded (or its actually me who was getting sleepy watching this match). Eventually, Chavo Guerrero makes his way down the aisle and helps his former Misfit-in-Action partner retain the title - despite getting booted out of the stable and subtly feuding with Rection before this. Credit to WCW for trying to develop an intricate storyline, but man, it is just incredible to think that, if they had bothered to build these sort of plots around the tremendous talent they had in 97' or 98' (instead of, often times, letting them just go out and wrestle meaningless matches), they could've really had something. People love to bring up Guerrero, Jericho, and Benoit when they talk about WCW's wasted talents - but the bigger wastes might've been guys like La Parka, Finlay, and Psicosis, who were rarely given real storylines and pushes (likely because of they were "international" talents). Anyway, this match is below even passable. (0.5/5)

A Bunkhouse Brawl follows - The Harris Brothers with Jeff Jarrett taking on The Filthy Animals (Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, and Konnan). There are all sorts of goofy weapons and props in the ring, which, I guess, makes this a "bunkhouse" match rather than just your average streetfight? Like the other hardcore matches on this show, this one is nothing special. There's only one cool spot in the whole thing - Mysterio getting powerbombed into a dumpster - and everything else is just tedium. The participants are putting in effort and there are even moments of actual wrestling out of Kidman and the aforementioned Mysterio, but the Harris Brothers are like the Worst Possible Road Warriors and Jarrett can only do so much in a mess like this. This isn't the worst match of the night, but its far from the best. (1.5/5)

Next up - The Insiders (Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash) challenging The Natural Born Thrillas (Chuck Palumbo and Sean Stasiak) for the WCW World Tag Team Championships. I was pleasantly surprised by this match - and by the tag work of Page and Nash in the previous bout they had - as it is actually a perfectly fine, well put-together tag match. It begins with a crowd-pleasing announcement from Ric Flair that the NBT's manager (and WCW Commissioner) Mike Sanders is not permitted to get into the ring or the titles will change hands and, from there, we get a straight-up wrestling match. Nash and Page don't do anything remarkable, but its noticeable that they, despite the disaster that WCW had become, look to be having fun working together. They don't bury their opponents either, letting them build-up the heat with Page as the face-in-peril. The crowd is more alive for this than they have been for any other match on the card (save for maybe the big spots in the opener). It is a solid match among a night of duds. The final few minutes reward the audience by giving them what they want too - what a concept to not have the established babyfaces look like idiots! (2.5/5)

In another rematch from last month, Goldberg takes on Lex Luger. This might be Lex Luger at his most beefy. The commentators pretend he looks good, but he looks inflated, bulked up beyond belief like a cow pumped full of steroids. Goldberg comes in and Luger exits the ring, but Goldberg follows him and just beats his ass. Luger gets sent into the rails a couple times and then tossed into the ring. This is the loudest the crowd has been all night, but it is clearly piped-in noise as the audience is sitting on their hands and not a single mouth is open in any of the sections. The "sweetening" is not only obvious (as the crowd noise goes uninterrupted for the entirety of the match despite clear ebbs and flows in the action), it is also incredibly distracting. Buff Bagwell shows up to distract the ref. Meanwhile, Luger takes out the Sarge (who was also ringside by this point). Luger uses brass knucks to try to strike Goldberg - which, as even the ref points out - would've been legal to do at any point in this No DQ match (which is why its stupid that Luger hides it from the ref). Ditto for Bagwell's interference (a Blockbuster he "inadvertently" strikes on Goldberg, who was his ally at the time). Luger attempts a Torture Rack, but Goldberg escapes it and hits him with a judo throw. Meanwhile, outside the ring, in Goldberg's eye line, Bagwell completes his heel turn by attacking the Sarge. Goldberg hits a Spear and pins Luger. Then, despite getting hit with a Blockbuster earlier and seeing his friend (the Sarge) laid out on the outside, Goldberg still turns his back on Bagwell and practically begs him to hit him with a chair. I'm not sure if this was supposed to lead to a Goldberg/Bagwell match or another Goldberg/Luger match, but either one is far from appealing. After the match there's a nice moment where Goldberg picks up a fan with physical disabilities. Anyway, this match was not very good and the execution and booking of the "twist ending" was obvious. Poor. (1/5)

A clear +1 for the video promo hyping our main event. I can't believe that this was going on in WCW and nobody cared at all. A Sid/Steiner feud today would more entertaining than most of what we get today just because of the star power. (+1)

Main event time - Sid vs. Scott Steiner for Steiner's WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Sid is wearing long pants, a different look for him. Steiner is accompanied by Midajah. The crowd is on their feet, but it still sounds like the audio has been sweetened. A simple Google search reveals that the attendance for this show was barely 7k in an arena that holds 20+, so, yeah, I'm not buying that this motionless crowd of indifferent faces sounds like a sea of screaming fans. Steiner brings Sid to his knees during their test of strength, which definitely doesn't pack the same dramatic punch as when Warrior and Hogan did it. To his credit, Sid actually does bust out some basic wrestling moves as well as a big leg drop early on. Steiner takes a good spill to the outside but ends up in control of the match immediately after Midajah strikes Sid with a bat. Steiner breaks ups his very basic offense with poses and push-ups, then hits a belly-to-belly before putting Sid in the Recliner. Sid is able to grab the ropes and it makes no sense that he wouldn't have done it the very second the Recliner was applied. Steiner is able to re-apply it in the center of the ring, though, and Sid calls for the crowd to help him rally. Midajah tries to help, but ends up cross-bodying Steiner. Sid hits a chokeslam, but is too tired to make the immediate cover and Steiner gets his shoulder up at 2. They both sell like they've been through hell. Sid locks in a Cobra Clutch. The ref is knocked out, Sid hits another chokeslam and makes the cover but there's no one there to award him the win. Steiner then grabs a lead pipe and takes control. Charles Robinson runs down and Steiner makes the cover, only for Sid to kickout at 2. Jarrett shows up and attempts to hit Sid with a guitar, but Sid ducks, and Steiner is the one that eats it! Sid looks to have the match won, but Jarrett pulls Lil' Naitch out before he can make the 3 count! I gotta give them credit - its overbooked nonsense, but I did bite on that one. Robinson comes back in as Steiner counters a powerbomb attempt with two kicks right to the balls. He then hits him with another suplex and locks in the Recliner for the third time. Sid doesn't tap, though - he "passes out" from the pain, which is supposed to protect his character and credibility but doesn't. This wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, but its definitely not good either. (1.5/5)


Starrcade 2000 is a sad end to a one-time great series of PPVs. By this point, there were probably less than 5 guys on the roster who were remotely over and of those 5, not a single one was as over as they once were (save for maybe Steiner, who was excellent as WCW's top heel but had also only really been put in that spot by default). There were still some talented guys on the roster, but the titles had been thoroughly devalued and no matter what the creative department tried, nothing was connecting. The show's Kwang Score of 1.5-out-of-5 tells you everything you need to know; If you put on any random match on this show, you will most likely be viewing something considerably below average. Aside from the opener, the best match of the night is a forgettable Nash & DDP/Natural Born Thrillers tag match.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville