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Starrcade 1999
Date: December 19, 1999
Location: MCI Center, Washington D.C.
Attendance: 8,582
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, Bobby Heenan
I continue my trek through Starrcade but I’m starting to run low on shows to do in this series other than, and I shudder when I type this, Starrcade 2000. This is in Russo’s tenure so what do you think is going to happen here? There are 13 matches here so of course we’re going to have a bunch of very short matches. The main event is Bret vs. Goldberg for the title with Bret defending. And yes, this is the match that is credited with being the end of his career. Let’s get to it.
The opening video is about Sid vs. Nash in a battle of powerbombs and Bret vs. Goldberg. Nothing special at all here.
Mamalukes vs. Disco Inferno/Lash Leroux
Just a random tag match. Disco gives his hat to a fan so I guess we know who the faces and heels are here. No clue why Disco and Lash are teaming together but who cares? Disco owes the Mamalukes money apparently so there’s half of your explanation for half of it. Ok so Lash was feuding with Disco and they’re friends now. Sure why not. The Mamalukes are known as the Marinara Goon Squad. Oh I give up.
Some dude that I think used to be in ECW is with the Italians here. Vito and Lash start us off here. Yeah this is starting the biggest show of the year. Big karate kick to Lash’s face as Vito thinks he’s a different stereotype I guess. Disco gets a big old pop. I don’t know what to say. Not much at all going on here as apparently the mob boss was tarred and feathered on Nitro.
We hear all kinds of stories about making someone a Stromboli (a sandwich), people being tarred and feathered, Mean Gene in a gentleman’s club and a guy being put in a body bag. What is going on here? If the Mamalukes win here they get $25,000 I guess. Seriously what is going on here? Better yet, who actually knows what is going on here?
All heels here as Heenan is remarkably still sober 10 minutes into this show. Apparently the Italians are idiots. I think I’m giving up on trying to figure out the story here and just going with the idea that the match is a formula based tag match and not bad at all. I like my power vs. speed so this is working well enough for me. I have no idea why they’re fighting but that’s par for the course I suppose.
Johnny misses a top rope legdrop as you can tell we’re wrapping this one up pretty quickly. Lash and Johnny in the ring now as Disco hits a frog splash for the longest two ever as Vito has to come off the top with an elbow for the save. No semblance of a tag match anymore if you didn’t get that. Face miscommunication causes Disco to hit a Stunner on Lash and an Edgecution from Vito ends it.
Rating: C. It’s a formula tag match but it wasn’t bad. Again I have no clue why this match happened but I guess that’s not important here. Disco and Lash were the definition of a thrown together tag team and the match wasn’t anything special at all. Decent enough opener though as at least it was fast paced. Now if only it had meant anything at all.
Post match the heels drug Disco and put him in a body bag. This is something that rarely worked apparently so this is a first time thing. They carry him to the back and open the body bag to throw him in the trunk of a car. Yeah this was idiotic as hell.
Hall, the US Champion, isn’t here tonight so Benoit gets the US Title by default. It was supposed to be a ladder match. Benoit comes out and I realize I have no idea what his music sounded like before this. He has the belt with him and is now the champion I guess. Oh ok Hall was injured. Better than nothing I guess. He wants a title match tonight though so he issues an open challenge for a ladder match later on. That’s nice of him.
Cruiserweight Title: Evan Karagis vs. Madusa
Madusa is more or less the first American wrestling Diva and Karagis is totally worthless. She dives at him to start this off. You have Rey and Kidman and Juvy on the roster and we get this. Sure why not. Her boobs are awesome if nothing else. She was in the tournament twice apparently even though she lost both matches. Big powerslam from Evan but he doesn’t cover.
Moonsault misses by him and Madusa hits a spin kick to take him back down. A dropkick “hits” Evan in the arm but she gets slammed down when going for another. Sitout powerbomb and still no cover from the guy with the penis. A Northern Lights suplex gets two but Madusa counters into one of the worst powerbombs ever. The fans think this is boring and I can’t say I disagree.
Top rope clothesline takes down Madusa as she’s on the floor. One of the Nitro Girls named Spice that has been hitting on Evan distracts him, allowing Madusa to hit a German suplex, her finisher, on him to end it and win the title. She was like the weak version of Chyna as she fought men but wasn’t nearly as interesting.
Rating: N/A. Boring as hell match here with nothing notable at all. Madusa’s boobs are still impressive though. We’re into at least it was quick territory here which you know is never a good sign at all.
Norman is in the back and says he’s not afraid of Meng. That Hardcore Title looks a LOT like the ECW Title. He gets scared of the producer saying we’re out of time in the interview.
Hardcore Title: Meng vs. Norman Smiley
Norman is in football pads here. He was the coward that kept managing to accidently retain the title when he didn’t want it. This became incredibly popular so he was almost immediately pulled off television. How are we half an hour into this show now? Norman brings out a dumpster full of weapons including a BIG Surge container, as in the kind you see as a gas station full of ice and bottles of the drink.
Norman tries to run and Meng beats the hell out of him with a trash can. We’re up by the stage 20 seconds into this. Smiley runs away and can’t hurt him on the few occasions he tries to hit him. Tony thinks if Norman screams enough Meng will quit. Into the catering area as nothing can stop Meng. Champion goes through a table. Fire extinguisher to the face has some relief for Meng.
Finlay and Brian Knobbs run out of nowhere to do what they can to Meng but nothing is really working. Knobbs is the trainee of Finlay it seems. Death Grip to Brian is broken up by Finlay. They can’t hurt him at all as Norman is nowhere to be seen. A big lead pipe shot to Meng allows Norman to run in and get the pin to retain.
Rating: N/A. Just a bunch of weapons shots and the double team thing. Total comedy match that were old a year ago but they kept running with them anyway.
David Flair is presented with a gold crowbar by a deliveryman.
Oklahoma, a parody of Jim Ross played by one of the bookers, is with Steve Williams. Oklahoma has a microphone on him for the match apparently. Vampiro’s crew steals him as he leaves the ring. Williams vs. Vampiro later and if Vampiro wins he gets five minutes with Oklahoma.
We recap Hacksaw vs. the Revolution. The Revolution were a military themed heel group of mainly the young talent that were thrown into the group to keep them happy. Most of them would leave for WWF in less than six weeks. The powers that be had made Duggan a janitor and is standing up for America who are anti-American.
Jim Duggan/???/???/??? vs. The Revolution
Revolution is comprised of Shane Douglas, Perry Saturn, Asya and Dean Malenko. If Duggan and company lose he has to denounce the American flag. If the Revolution lose they have to be the janitors. Hmm we could have young and talented guys doing demeaning tasks. I wonder who wins here. Shane does commentary here so it’s Malenko, Saturn and WCW’s Chyna vs. Duggan and….the Varsity Club.
Yes, as in the Varsity Club that was the second biggest heel stable ELEVEN YEARS AGO. No one has any clue who they are or why they’re together so they don’t really react at all. The Club is Mike Rotunda, Rick Steiner and Kevin Sullivan. Kimona from ECW is their cheerleader. More or less imagine a team of Jack Swaggers. Duggan and Malenko start us off.
Ok make that Saturn. Apparently being in the ring when the bell goes off doesn’t mean you’re starting the match. Hacksaw won’t tag so more or less it’s him against all three. Three Point Clothesline takes out Malenko and so much for that as he’s up seconds later. No Varsity Club guys yet. Saturn hits a springboard reverse dropkick and still no tag. What was the point in bringing in partners if he won’t tag?
Moonsault by Saturn misses as the Club all hold out their hands and so much for that. Finally the Club is just like fuck it and comes in for the big brawl. Asya is in the Tree of Woe and Sullivan gets his running knee. The Varsity Club cleans house and since they were heels for their entire run in the 80s, they turn on Duggan and leave him laying. To be fair though, it’s not like they were really faces long enough to have this be considered a turn. Shane gets the easy pin.
Rating: F. Another boring as hell match that ended in a screwy finish. We’re 50 minutes in and have had four matches with a total of ONE breaking five minutes. Duggan of course wouldn’t go through with the stipulations as the Misfits in Actions would make the save. This was just stupid with the Varsity Club being totally unknown. Stupid match and worthy of Thunder rather than this.
The Misfits, Vampiro’s crew, yells at Oklahoma who is in a cage.
Vampiro vs. Steve Williams
Oklahoma is brought out in the cage and has a mic on him for no good reason. I think Vampiro is the face here. Ah yes he is. Williams comes out to the Oklahoma fight song which is the music that JR uses. This guy was more or less the Brock Lesnar of the 80s. Vampiro jumps off the cage to take him down in the aisle as Oklahoma (remember he’s a person) does commentary from the cage.
Oh and he only talks in brief sentences, which he calls talking in sound bytes. Yes we get it: you can make fun of JR. Shame he was making a fortune at this point and is now considered either the second best or best announcer of all time and Ed Ferrara is credited with being part of what killed WCW.
In the ring now and Williams starts using his power stuff to take over with the three point stance shots. Almost all Williams here as Oklahoma is getting old fast. Correction: he’s always been old. Ross can be annoying and is probably worthy of a parody but do we need four guys doing commentary? Jerry Only (member of the Misfits. They’re a band if you didn’t know that) comes in and gets destroyed.
Some of the other Misfits get destroyed. And then Williams walks into a kick similar to Trouble in Paradise to take him down. Suplex by Williams takes the pale one down though. Williams then goes nuts and throws the referee away and drills him, drawing the DQ to give us Oklahoma vs. Vampiro. Oh and we have our second five minute match of the night, clocking in at 5:02. Nicely done guys.
Rating: D. More boring stuff here that belongs on Nitro. This wasn’t a feud that was explained or anything. Vampiro apparently just doesn’t like Oklahoma and wants to fight him for some reason. The Misfits were another of those things that was supposed to be a big deal but no one cared so WCW lost a bunch of money on it. What a shock to some of you but yes, WCW was in fact that stupid to think a punk rock band would be popular in WCW.
So apparently the five minutes start immediately while Oklahoma is still in the cage. Williams beats him down for awhile while Oklahoma says let me in. Still in the cage after like a minute or so. Minute and a half now as nothing is happening at all. Vampiro is still down and no one has let him out yet. So after about two minutes of the clock are gone we unlock the cage and Vampiro is getting up.
Oklahoma does commentary for this as I’m not going to dignify it as a match. Oklahoma, the writer here, apparently has no issue with allowing himself to beat up one of the hotter midcard acts at this time for a few minutes. About two minutes left in the time at this point as the Misfits come in and Vampiro is back up.
No offense though as Oklahoma gets a low blow. 80 seconds left and no offense by Vampiro. Ah there’s a suplex so it’s ok. The Misfits come in for a group beatdown, ending with Vampiro hitting his Michinoku Driver to end it. His offense consisted of a suplex and the Driver after winning a match because the other guy beat the hell out of him so much that the referee tried to stop it.
Oklahoma got in stomps, a jumping DDT, low blows and jokes. You see here what I mean about the writers and bookers having big egos? This more or less ended Vampiro as a legit guy if you didn’t get that. And no I’m not classifying this as a match as the actual “fight” lasted maybe two and a half minutes, most of which was the Misfits shoving Oklahoma and throwing bad punches.
An hour and three minutes in, six official matches, two breaking five minutes, one breaking five minutes and three seconds, one being ok but absolutely nothing special at all. Ladies and gentlemen, WCW.
Creative Control (the Harris Brothers in their millionth gimmick and second different one) along with Curt Hennig, Vincent and La Parka get advice from the “Powers That Be” which was Vince Russo off camera but you can recognize the voice.
Harlem Heat and Midnight (ANOTHER attempt to recreate Chyna but this time a black one) have an argument.
Creative Control/Curt Hennig vs. Harlem Heat/Midnight
Creative Control are just big guys in suits. No Stevie here as he’s mad about realizing he has no career. So it’s a handicap match to start us off here. Booker vs. one of the Harris guys to start as I can’t imagine Midnight will be in there much. Apparently whoever wins this gets the #1 contender spot to the tag titles and I guess Midnight and Hennig get a nice pen and pencil set.
The tag titles aren’t on the line here if that tells you anything. As in not on the card at all. The champions are the Outsiders, both of whom had singles matches tonight. At this same time, WWF had recently had a tag team ladder match for the belts with the Hardys and Edge and Christian. Who do you think had the better division at this point?
Hey let’s look at a ladder for the title match later. Midnight comes in and actually gets physical here. Creative Control are named Gerald and Patrick apparently. Midnight gets in some trouble thanks to Shane (Vincent’s name and yet ANOTHER parody of WWF and yet another that maybe two people got. I had to look it up myself) as nothing is happening here. Yeah I’m stunned too.
Hennig vs. Midnight at the moment. Of course THIS is the match that they give a bit of time too. Apparently the Powers That Be have said something big is coming tonight. I know what it is and I’m still shaking my head at it. Stevie finally comes down and Booker tells him to leave. So he’s mad at him for not coming out and mad at him for coming out. Hey, maybe Stevie was saving a busfull of nuns from a homework Nazi.
Booker gets in to ZERO reaction and beats up Creative Control with Hudson saying that each guy is Patrick and/or Gerald. Yes he’s saying that one person may in fact be both of them. No one cares about this apparently as they haven’t moved an inch. Spinebuster to one of the twins. Hennig gets a shot with brass knucks to end it. At least it’s over.
Rating: D+. Another uninteresting match with nothing at all of any worth going on here. Why is this supposed to be interesting? Why not just a regular tag team match? Was there any reason for this to be a six person tag? Does it matter though? Creative Control meant nothing and Harlem Heat was dead so what was the point? At least it broke seven minutes though.
Recap of Dustin Rhodes vs. Jeff Jarrett. Rhodes had come back and been given the gimmick of some weird thing called Seven where he was in white face paint or a mask or something so he gave a “shoot” to get out of it and went after the Powers That Be and in specific Jarrett. They’re having a Bunkhouse Brawl tonight, which is a hardcore match more or less.
Dustin says it’s about his father somehow and gets jumped to start this.
Dustin Rhodes vs. Jeff Jarrett
What the hell is a bunkhouse anyway? They fight with a wheelbarrow for awhile as we’re back in the arena now. Or I guess they’re just in it now as they hadn’t been in there yet. What does it say that nearly eleven years later these two are getting renewed pushes? Since it’s a Rhodes’ match we get a bullrope and cowbell. I can’t stand this good ole boy mentality that WCW lived for, namely through the Rhodeses.
Just a brawl so far and not a very good one. The cowbell ringing constantly is getting very annoying very quickly. All Dustin so far. Apparently he cost Jarrett the title at Mayhem. While having the advantage he throws powder in the eyes of Jeff. Isn’t that for when you’re in trouble? He also pulls out duct tape as apparently his jeans are made from Mary Poppins’ bag.
He tapes the referee to the ropes and gags him for no apparent reason. It’s a no DQ match so let’s make sure the referee can’t do anything. Low blow has Dustin in trouble and here comes Hennig again. He lets the referee go as Jarrett beats up Dustin. And now in a hardcore match, Jarrett hooks on a sleeper. SUCH HARDCORE STYLE! Dustin gets up and the fans come back to live for a bit.
Belly to belly gets two as Hennig pulls him out. He breaks up another pin as this is just stupid. Shattered Dreams to the buckle which Jarrett of course sells. Hennig breaks that up too as this is getting stupider by the minute. Shattered Dreams to Hennig but Dustin is thrown to the floor. They fight up by the entry way and here’s Hennig to make sure he isn’t forgotten. Bulldog takes him down but Jarrett climbs the ladder that is by the entrance and hits Dustin with the guitar to end this.
Rating: D. Another boring as hell match but more importantly, WE BROKE ELEVEN MINUTES! Yes a glorified handicap hardcore match has gotten the most time tonight out of all the eight matches so far tonight. Somehow we have FIVE MORE MATCHES left. This was just barely watchable and it’s not very good at all. Weak match for the vast majority here as these matches were never that good.
David Flair is still a psycho and beats up a bear with his crowbar.
We recap David vs. DDP which is of course about Ric somehow. David beat up Kimberly who is DDP’s hot wife.
DDP says Flair does have problems and implies that DDP is said problem. Riveting stuff here.
David Flair vs. Diamond Dallas Page
Flair is a guy I’ve always felt sorry for. He had almost no talent but was thrown into matches like these because his dad was Ric Flair. David clearly tried but the matches tended to suck. This is a crowbar on a pole match. David brings his own crowbar, completely negating the point of the pole and the gimmick in general. Flair is crazy remember.
Apparently David is crazy enough to hit Page with the crowbar and then do nothing else at all. Heenan thinks David hears voices (calling). The referee tries to say the match is over because Page can’t fight but he says screw it and now the match officially starts? Flair for no apparent reason puts the crowbar down and uses basic wrestling. A rollup by Page gets two.
Yes a crowbar on a pole match with a psycho in it is turning into a wrestling match. We get a DDT and a sunset flip for two each. Flair gets in the most offense of his career but a discus lariat takes him down as Page is hurt too. It should be noted that the crowbar is high enough up that if you stood on the bottom rope or perhaps even your toes you could grab it. Figure four goes on for a second but then David grabs the crowbar but never swings it as a Diamond Cutter ends it. This was idiotic.
Rating: F-. Yeah this was fucking idiotic. Let’s see. There was a crowbar brought in, the crowbar in the match title was maybe 8 feet off the ground, this was all of four minutes long and the crowbar never came into play. I give up.
A middle rope Diamond Cutter puts Flair out cold and DDP grabs the crowbar. Daffney makes her first live appearance to protect him though and is still hot here.
We recap Sting vs. Total Package which is WCW’s method of giving Luger a makeover. He treated Liz like crap including throwing her in mud and making her fight Meng. If Sting wins, Liz’s contract with Package is void. I love how having someone’s contract apparently makes nearly criminal acts all fine and good.
Sting vs. The Total Package
Wasn’t this happening like 8 years ago at Starrcade in the main event? Hennan is drunk now. After Luger’s entrance, Sting gives Liz a special can of mace to use which had been her trademark thing lately. This is high octane apparently. Yeah she’s turning of course and has no issue with being womanhandled I guess. Luger jumps him to start and Sting has no gloves on which is a weird look for him.
They play Package in the middle with Liz slapping him and Sting punching him. Tony says it’s like pinball but wouldn’t that be more like Pong? Both guys go down and Liz gets the mace can. She checks on Luger and gets caught. Liz sprays the mace in Sting’s eyes, AND IT’S SILLY STRING! Yes, for the first time EVER, Sting has thought something out and realized he was going to be swerved.
In a funny moment, Luger tries to come up behind Sting and jump him but Sting casually throws an elbow without ever taking his eyes off Liz. It was so calm and without even thinking that it was hilarious. What’s even funnier is he does it AGAIN. Damn Luger looks like an even bigger joke than he usually does here. Sting turns it on beats the living hell out of Luger, getting a top rope splash for two.
He adds a pair of Splashes but Liz runs in for the DQ. He does however do something VERY STUPID here by catching her with the bat and telling her to lay it down. She does, he turns around for the Scorpion and OF COURSE she picks it up and drills him in the head with a SICK cracking sound. They Pillmanize his wrist like ten times and beat him with the bat. He would be gone for months because of this of course.
Rating: D. Pretty boring match here with nothing of note other than the turns. This was a matchup that they never stopped going back to and at this point Luger was just completely worthless for the most part. The bat crack was one of the sickest sounds I’ve ever heard in wrestling though as it CRACKED his skull. They don’t even give him a stretcher. Seriously?
Recap of Sid vs. Nash which is a powerbomb challenge. Yeah you win by powerbombing the other guy so that neither guy has to get pinned. This is what we mean by having guys be protected. Neither wanted to have a 3 counted on them so they cooked this up.
Sid Vicious vs. Kevin Nash
I have the hardest time spelling Vicious most of the time. Scott says they’re shoehorned in here despite this year having just over half the attendance of the previous year which was in the same building. Yes attendance was down almost 50% in 12 months. Slugout for the most part to start as Nash gets a low blow to block and we head to the floor.
Even more basic stuff here as nothing of note is going on at all. Sid pulls back for a punch and swings with it but stops cold for a slam instead. A lot of these things would happen and would never really be addressed but whatever. Down goes the referee and Sid gets a….he gets a….well it was kind of a…..Tony calls it a powerbomb but that certainly doesn’t fit at all as it was more or less a Piledriver with a bit of a push to it.
No referee of course and here’s Jarrett to clock Sid with a guitar. Oh I think I know what’s coming here and I had to look away from the screen due to the roll of my eyes taking them away from the screen. Nash pulls the straps down and goes for a powerbomb but can’t do it due to his back. Instead he just TELLS the referee he did and that is enough for the victory. I give up.
Rating: F. In a match where you didn’t have to job, they wouldn’t do the job that it took to lose the match. Do I even need to explain why this was freaking idiotic?
Benoit says the open challenge hasn’t been answered yet. He comes out for the match…and it’s Jeff Jarrett. Yeah instead of like Eddie or Malenko or someone, the old guy WHO IS THE FREAKING CHOSEN ONE ALREADY is going to take the US Title match.
US Title: Chris Benoit vs. Jeff Jarrett
It’s a ladder match remember. Oh and also nice way of giving Jarrett a spot in a THIRD match tonight and also making Benoit likely win look weak because he beat a weakened man. They fight in the aisle with Benoit dominating. Big old suplex from the middle rope to take out Jarrett even more. Benoit goes for the ladder but Jarrett gets a baseball slide to take out Chris.
Benoit’s face is busted open from that spot. He takes over again and goes up but Jarrett saves. This match is comprised of a lot of Irish whips into the ladder in the corner. Other than that there isn’t much here. There is zero heat on this match either. Jarrett gets tied upside down in the ladder but manages to shove it over and take out the climbing Benoit.
Benoit almost gets to the title but Jarrett hits a dropkick to take it out. Hudson says any video that Benoit rented to study for this match is worthless. The idea of Benoit going to a Blockbuster to rent tapes for the match is just amusing for some reason. Benoit climbs to the top of the ladder but hits a swan dive anyway before going up and getting the title while Jarrett is more or less not conscious anymore.
Rating: C+. This wasn’t bad but really wasn’t anything special at all. The spots were just decent, there was no heat, the ending didn’t work and the crowd didn’t seem to care. It didn’t help that they aired it again the next night and Jarrett took the title. Benoit would win the world title at the next PPV because Hart and Jarrett were both hurt. And then he was gone the next day. This was by far the best match so far tonight.
Bret vs. Goldberg is happening because Goldberg wanted a shot after Bret won one of the worst tournaments of all time. Oh and they won the tag titles which meant nothing. Bret was attacked and the Outsiders got the titles. That means something tomorrow so keep that in mind.
Bret says he’ll win, or better yet that Goldberg will lose.
WCW World Title: Bill Goldberg vs. Bret Hart
It’s No DQ and allegedly Piper was the referee but is nowhere to be seen. Bret comes out first for no apparent reason. Goldberg gets his full entrance to waste some time to the extent that his music starts again when he comes into the arena. Why do the superstars always need the big entourages? They shake hands and here we go.
This doesn’t exactly have the same ring as Sting vs. Hogan does it? Long feeling out process to start as Bret takes us to the mat. Press into a powerslam puts Bret down and power takes over. Goldberg gets his ankle hold which just happens to be perfect for the Sharpshooter but Bill kicks him off. Not a lot of actual contact so far but it’s not terrible I guess.
The referee is down during some brawling on the floor which likely isn’t going to go well at all. Goldberg busts out a big boot to take Hart down. A second referee is in now. Down goes referee #2 and the spear misses. A third referee is here as Bret gets the figure four around the post. Bret works the knee in the ring as we’re running out of time. Figure four goes on.
Goldberg’s head is busted open and he reverses the hold with relative ease. You get the ultra rare Goldberg Sucks chant as this match is kind of dragging a bit. Goldberg gets some shots in and down goes the third referee. Sweet damn why are referees so freaking weak? And there’s the Bret Killer kick which resulted in the end of his career. It should be noted that it wasn’t his last match here but the kick messed up his neck and resulted in him having a concussion. The post concussion syndrome is what ended his career.
Spear crushes him but there’s no referee. Instead Roddy Piper runs out as the referee. Ok makes that slowly walks out. He looks all upset and there’s a clip to the knee. Sharpshooter goes on but before it’s on Piper calls for the bell. Yes, it’s Montreal all over again. Scott: Don’t tell me it’s Montreal all over again! Yes, this is what they thought would turn WCW around. Piper hands him the belt as we go off the air.
Rating: D+. The match was just ok until the freaking idiotic ending but that’s expected I guess. Goldberg’s kick more or less ended Bret’s career which is obviously a bad thing. Not a terrible match but much like the actual Montreal match, the ending makes it hard to actually grade it. It certainly wasn’t a great match but it was boring as hell more often than not.
Overall Rating: W. As in WOW. They actually thought this was the best possible show they could put on? On top of the absolutely horrible ending, the next night THE FREAKING NWO REFORMED. Yes, Bret, the Outsiders and Jarrett had all the titles and reformed it. Since Bret wouldn’t wrestle again for ten years and Jarrett was hurt by Jimmy freaking Snuka, the whole thing was scrapped and they tried to give the title to Benoit who just bailed, realizing that the company was dead.
This was an absolutely awful show with all of two decent matches, one of which had Lash Leroux and Disco Inferno in it and had nothing on the line at all. There was nothing at all going on here and you could see Russo’s booking all over it. I mean seriously, Montreal is the best thing you can freaking give us? While somehow not as bad as some of his later stuff, this is the true mark of a bad Russo show. The writing was on the wall here and everyone knew it. Horrific show.
Date: December 19, 1999
Location: MCI Center, Washington D.C.
Attendance: 8,582
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, Bobby Heenan
I continue my trek through Starrcade but I’m starting to run low on shows to do in this series other than, and I shudder when I type this, Starrcade 2000. This is in Russo’s tenure so what do you think is going to happen here? There are 13 matches here so of course we’re going to have a bunch of very short matches. The main event is Bret vs. Goldberg for the title with Bret defending. And yes, this is the match that is credited with being the end of his career. Let’s get to it.
The opening video is about Sid vs. Nash in a battle of powerbombs and Bret vs. Goldberg. Nothing special at all here.
Mamalukes vs. Disco Inferno/Lash Leroux
Just a random tag match. Disco gives his hat to a fan so I guess we know who the faces and heels are here. No clue why Disco and Lash are teaming together but who cares? Disco owes the Mamalukes money apparently so there’s half of your explanation for half of it. Ok so Lash was feuding with Disco and they’re friends now. Sure why not. The Mamalukes are known as the Marinara Goon Squad. Oh I give up.
Some dude that I think used to be in ECW is with the Italians here. Vito and Lash start us off here. Yeah this is starting the biggest show of the year. Big karate kick to Lash’s face as Vito thinks he’s a different stereotype I guess. Disco gets a big old pop. I don’t know what to say. Not much at all going on here as apparently the mob boss was tarred and feathered on Nitro.
We hear all kinds of stories about making someone a Stromboli (a sandwich), people being tarred and feathered, Mean Gene in a gentleman’s club and a guy being put in a body bag. What is going on here? If the Mamalukes win here they get $25,000 I guess. Seriously what is going on here? Better yet, who actually knows what is going on here?
All heels here as Heenan is remarkably still sober 10 minutes into this show. Apparently the Italians are idiots. I think I’m giving up on trying to figure out the story here and just going with the idea that the match is a formula based tag match and not bad at all. I like my power vs. speed so this is working well enough for me. I have no idea why they’re fighting but that’s par for the course I suppose.
Johnny misses a top rope legdrop as you can tell we’re wrapping this one up pretty quickly. Lash and Johnny in the ring now as Disco hits a frog splash for the longest two ever as Vito has to come off the top with an elbow for the save. No semblance of a tag match anymore if you didn’t get that. Face miscommunication causes Disco to hit a Stunner on Lash and an Edgecution from Vito ends it.
Rating: C. It’s a formula tag match but it wasn’t bad. Again I have no clue why this match happened but I guess that’s not important here. Disco and Lash were the definition of a thrown together tag team and the match wasn’t anything special at all. Decent enough opener though as at least it was fast paced. Now if only it had meant anything at all.
Post match the heels drug Disco and put him in a body bag. This is something that rarely worked apparently so this is a first time thing. They carry him to the back and open the body bag to throw him in the trunk of a car. Yeah this was idiotic as hell.
Hall, the US Champion, isn’t here tonight so Benoit gets the US Title by default. It was supposed to be a ladder match. Benoit comes out and I realize I have no idea what his music sounded like before this. He has the belt with him and is now the champion I guess. Oh ok Hall was injured. Better than nothing I guess. He wants a title match tonight though so he issues an open challenge for a ladder match later on. That’s nice of him.
Cruiserweight Title: Evan Karagis vs. Madusa
Madusa is more or less the first American wrestling Diva and Karagis is totally worthless. She dives at him to start this off. You have Rey and Kidman and Juvy on the roster and we get this. Sure why not. Her boobs are awesome if nothing else. She was in the tournament twice apparently even though she lost both matches. Big powerslam from Evan but he doesn’t cover.
Moonsault misses by him and Madusa hits a spin kick to take him back down. A dropkick “hits” Evan in the arm but she gets slammed down when going for another. Sitout powerbomb and still no cover from the guy with the penis. A Northern Lights suplex gets two but Madusa counters into one of the worst powerbombs ever. The fans think this is boring and I can’t say I disagree.
Top rope clothesline takes down Madusa as she’s on the floor. One of the Nitro Girls named Spice that has been hitting on Evan distracts him, allowing Madusa to hit a German suplex, her finisher, on him to end it and win the title. She was like the weak version of Chyna as she fought men but wasn’t nearly as interesting.
Rating: N/A. Boring as hell match here with nothing notable at all. Madusa’s boobs are still impressive though. We’re into at least it was quick territory here which you know is never a good sign at all.
Norman is in the back and says he’s not afraid of Meng. That Hardcore Title looks a LOT like the ECW Title. He gets scared of the producer saying we’re out of time in the interview.
Hardcore Title: Meng vs. Norman Smiley
Norman is in football pads here. He was the coward that kept managing to accidently retain the title when he didn’t want it. This became incredibly popular so he was almost immediately pulled off television. How are we half an hour into this show now? Norman brings out a dumpster full of weapons including a BIG Surge container, as in the kind you see as a gas station full of ice and bottles of the drink.
Norman tries to run and Meng beats the hell out of him with a trash can. We’re up by the stage 20 seconds into this. Smiley runs away and can’t hurt him on the few occasions he tries to hit him. Tony thinks if Norman screams enough Meng will quit. Into the catering area as nothing can stop Meng. Champion goes through a table. Fire extinguisher to the face has some relief for Meng.
Finlay and Brian Knobbs run out of nowhere to do what they can to Meng but nothing is really working. Knobbs is the trainee of Finlay it seems. Death Grip to Brian is broken up by Finlay. They can’t hurt him at all as Norman is nowhere to be seen. A big lead pipe shot to Meng allows Norman to run in and get the pin to retain.
Rating: N/A. Just a bunch of weapons shots and the double team thing. Total comedy match that were old a year ago but they kept running with them anyway.
David Flair is presented with a gold crowbar by a deliveryman.
Oklahoma, a parody of Jim Ross played by one of the bookers, is with Steve Williams. Oklahoma has a microphone on him for the match apparently. Vampiro’s crew steals him as he leaves the ring. Williams vs. Vampiro later and if Vampiro wins he gets five minutes with Oklahoma.
We recap Hacksaw vs. the Revolution. The Revolution were a military themed heel group of mainly the young talent that were thrown into the group to keep them happy. Most of them would leave for WWF in less than six weeks. The powers that be had made Duggan a janitor and is standing up for America who are anti-American.
Jim Duggan/???/???/??? vs. The Revolution
Revolution is comprised of Shane Douglas, Perry Saturn, Asya and Dean Malenko. If Duggan and company lose he has to denounce the American flag. If the Revolution lose they have to be the janitors. Hmm we could have young and talented guys doing demeaning tasks. I wonder who wins here. Shane does commentary here so it’s Malenko, Saturn and WCW’s Chyna vs. Duggan and….the Varsity Club.
Yes, as in the Varsity Club that was the second biggest heel stable ELEVEN YEARS AGO. No one has any clue who they are or why they’re together so they don’t really react at all. The Club is Mike Rotunda, Rick Steiner and Kevin Sullivan. Kimona from ECW is their cheerleader. More or less imagine a team of Jack Swaggers. Duggan and Malenko start us off.
Ok make that Saturn. Apparently being in the ring when the bell goes off doesn’t mean you’re starting the match. Hacksaw won’t tag so more or less it’s him against all three. Three Point Clothesline takes out Malenko and so much for that as he’s up seconds later. No Varsity Club guys yet. Saturn hits a springboard reverse dropkick and still no tag. What was the point in bringing in partners if he won’t tag?
Moonsault by Saturn misses as the Club all hold out their hands and so much for that. Finally the Club is just like fuck it and comes in for the big brawl. Asya is in the Tree of Woe and Sullivan gets his running knee. The Varsity Club cleans house and since they were heels for their entire run in the 80s, they turn on Duggan and leave him laying. To be fair though, it’s not like they were really faces long enough to have this be considered a turn. Shane gets the easy pin.
Rating: F. Another boring as hell match that ended in a screwy finish. We’re 50 minutes in and have had four matches with a total of ONE breaking five minutes. Duggan of course wouldn’t go through with the stipulations as the Misfits in Actions would make the save. This was just stupid with the Varsity Club being totally unknown. Stupid match and worthy of Thunder rather than this.
The Misfits, Vampiro’s crew, yells at Oklahoma who is in a cage.
Vampiro vs. Steve Williams
Oklahoma is brought out in the cage and has a mic on him for no good reason. I think Vampiro is the face here. Ah yes he is. Williams comes out to the Oklahoma fight song which is the music that JR uses. This guy was more or less the Brock Lesnar of the 80s. Vampiro jumps off the cage to take him down in the aisle as Oklahoma (remember he’s a person) does commentary from the cage.
Oh and he only talks in brief sentences, which he calls talking in sound bytes. Yes we get it: you can make fun of JR. Shame he was making a fortune at this point and is now considered either the second best or best announcer of all time and Ed Ferrara is credited with being part of what killed WCW.
In the ring now and Williams starts using his power stuff to take over with the three point stance shots. Almost all Williams here as Oklahoma is getting old fast. Correction: he’s always been old. Ross can be annoying and is probably worthy of a parody but do we need four guys doing commentary? Jerry Only (member of the Misfits. They’re a band if you didn’t know that) comes in and gets destroyed.
Some of the other Misfits get destroyed. And then Williams walks into a kick similar to Trouble in Paradise to take him down. Suplex by Williams takes the pale one down though. Williams then goes nuts and throws the referee away and drills him, drawing the DQ to give us Oklahoma vs. Vampiro. Oh and we have our second five minute match of the night, clocking in at 5:02. Nicely done guys.
Rating: D. More boring stuff here that belongs on Nitro. This wasn’t a feud that was explained or anything. Vampiro apparently just doesn’t like Oklahoma and wants to fight him for some reason. The Misfits were another of those things that was supposed to be a big deal but no one cared so WCW lost a bunch of money on it. What a shock to some of you but yes, WCW was in fact that stupid to think a punk rock band would be popular in WCW.
So apparently the five minutes start immediately while Oklahoma is still in the cage. Williams beats him down for awhile while Oklahoma says let me in. Still in the cage after like a minute or so. Minute and a half now as nothing is happening at all. Vampiro is still down and no one has let him out yet. So after about two minutes of the clock are gone we unlock the cage and Vampiro is getting up.
Oklahoma does commentary for this as I’m not going to dignify it as a match. Oklahoma, the writer here, apparently has no issue with allowing himself to beat up one of the hotter midcard acts at this time for a few minutes. About two minutes left in the time at this point as the Misfits come in and Vampiro is back up.
No offense though as Oklahoma gets a low blow. 80 seconds left and no offense by Vampiro. Ah there’s a suplex so it’s ok. The Misfits come in for a group beatdown, ending with Vampiro hitting his Michinoku Driver to end it. His offense consisted of a suplex and the Driver after winning a match because the other guy beat the hell out of him so much that the referee tried to stop it.
Oklahoma got in stomps, a jumping DDT, low blows and jokes. You see here what I mean about the writers and bookers having big egos? This more or less ended Vampiro as a legit guy if you didn’t get that. And no I’m not classifying this as a match as the actual “fight” lasted maybe two and a half minutes, most of which was the Misfits shoving Oklahoma and throwing bad punches.
An hour and three minutes in, six official matches, two breaking five minutes, one breaking five minutes and three seconds, one being ok but absolutely nothing special at all. Ladies and gentlemen, WCW.
Creative Control (the Harris Brothers in their millionth gimmick and second different one) along with Curt Hennig, Vincent and La Parka get advice from the “Powers That Be” which was Vince Russo off camera but you can recognize the voice.
Harlem Heat and Midnight (ANOTHER attempt to recreate Chyna but this time a black one) have an argument.
Creative Control/Curt Hennig vs. Harlem Heat/Midnight
Creative Control are just big guys in suits. No Stevie here as he’s mad about realizing he has no career. So it’s a handicap match to start us off here. Booker vs. one of the Harris guys to start as I can’t imagine Midnight will be in there much. Apparently whoever wins this gets the #1 contender spot to the tag titles and I guess Midnight and Hennig get a nice pen and pencil set.
The tag titles aren’t on the line here if that tells you anything. As in not on the card at all. The champions are the Outsiders, both of whom had singles matches tonight. At this same time, WWF had recently had a tag team ladder match for the belts with the Hardys and Edge and Christian. Who do you think had the better division at this point?
Hey let’s look at a ladder for the title match later. Midnight comes in and actually gets physical here. Creative Control are named Gerald and Patrick apparently. Midnight gets in some trouble thanks to Shane (Vincent’s name and yet ANOTHER parody of WWF and yet another that maybe two people got. I had to look it up myself) as nothing is happening here. Yeah I’m stunned too.
Hennig vs. Midnight at the moment. Of course THIS is the match that they give a bit of time too. Apparently the Powers That Be have said something big is coming tonight. I know what it is and I’m still shaking my head at it. Stevie finally comes down and Booker tells him to leave. So he’s mad at him for not coming out and mad at him for coming out. Hey, maybe Stevie was saving a busfull of nuns from a homework Nazi.
Booker gets in to ZERO reaction and beats up Creative Control with Hudson saying that each guy is Patrick and/or Gerald. Yes he’s saying that one person may in fact be both of them. No one cares about this apparently as they haven’t moved an inch. Spinebuster to one of the twins. Hennig gets a shot with brass knucks to end it. At least it’s over.
Rating: D+. Another uninteresting match with nothing at all of any worth going on here. Why is this supposed to be interesting? Why not just a regular tag team match? Was there any reason for this to be a six person tag? Does it matter though? Creative Control meant nothing and Harlem Heat was dead so what was the point? At least it broke seven minutes though.
Recap of Dustin Rhodes vs. Jeff Jarrett. Rhodes had come back and been given the gimmick of some weird thing called Seven where he was in white face paint or a mask or something so he gave a “shoot” to get out of it and went after the Powers That Be and in specific Jarrett. They’re having a Bunkhouse Brawl tonight, which is a hardcore match more or less.
Dustin says it’s about his father somehow and gets jumped to start this.
Dustin Rhodes vs. Jeff Jarrett
What the hell is a bunkhouse anyway? They fight with a wheelbarrow for awhile as we’re back in the arena now. Or I guess they’re just in it now as they hadn’t been in there yet. What does it say that nearly eleven years later these two are getting renewed pushes? Since it’s a Rhodes’ match we get a bullrope and cowbell. I can’t stand this good ole boy mentality that WCW lived for, namely through the Rhodeses.
Just a brawl so far and not a very good one. The cowbell ringing constantly is getting very annoying very quickly. All Dustin so far. Apparently he cost Jarrett the title at Mayhem. While having the advantage he throws powder in the eyes of Jeff. Isn’t that for when you’re in trouble? He also pulls out duct tape as apparently his jeans are made from Mary Poppins’ bag.
He tapes the referee to the ropes and gags him for no apparent reason. It’s a no DQ match so let’s make sure the referee can’t do anything. Low blow has Dustin in trouble and here comes Hennig again. He lets the referee go as Jarrett beats up Dustin. And now in a hardcore match, Jarrett hooks on a sleeper. SUCH HARDCORE STYLE! Dustin gets up and the fans come back to live for a bit.
Belly to belly gets two as Hennig pulls him out. He breaks up another pin as this is just stupid. Shattered Dreams to the buckle which Jarrett of course sells. Hennig breaks that up too as this is getting stupider by the minute. Shattered Dreams to Hennig but Dustin is thrown to the floor. They fight up by the entry way and here’s Hennig to make sure he isn’t forgotten. Bulldog takes him down but Jarrett climbs the ladder that is by the entrance and hits Dustin with the guitar to end this.
Rating: D. Another boring as hell match but more importantly, WE BROKE ELEVEN MINUTES! Yes a glorified handicap hardcore match has gotten the most time tonight out of all the eight matches so far tonight. Somehow we have FIVE MORE MATCHES left. This was just barely watchable and it’s not very good at all. Weak match for the vast majority here as these matches were never that good.
David Flair is still a psycho and beats up a bear with his crowbar.
We recap David vs. DDP which is of course about Ric somehow. David beat up Kimberly who is DDP’s hot wife.
DDP says Flair does have problems and implies that DDP is said problem. Riveting stuff here.
David Flair vs. Diamond Dallas Page
Flair is a guy I’ve always felt sorry for. He had almost no talent but was thrown into matches like these because his dad was Ric Flair. David clearly tried but the matches tended to suck. This is a crowbar on a pole match. David brings his own crowbar, completely negating the point of the pole and the gimmick in general. Flair is crazy remember.
Apparently David is crazy enough to hit Page with the crowbar and then do nothing else at all. Heenan thinks David hears voices (calling). The referee tries to say the match is over because Page can’t fight but he says screw it and now the match officially starts? Flair for no apparent reason puts the crowbar down and uses basic wrestling. A rollup by Page gets two.
Yes a crowbar on a pole match with a psycho in it is turning into a wrestling match. We get a DDT and a sunset flip for two each. Flair gets in the most offense of his career but a discus lariat takes him down as Page is hurt too. It should be noted that the crowbar is high enough up that if you stood on the bottom rope or perhaps even your toes you could grab it. Figure four goes on for a second but then David grabs the crowbar but never swings it as a Diamond Cutter ends it. This was idiotic.
Rating: F-. Yeah this was fucking idiotic. Let’s see. There was a crowbar brought in, the crowbar in the match title was maybe 8 feet off the ground, this was all of four minutes long and the crowbar never came into play. I give up.
A middle rope Diamond Cutter puts Flair out cold and DDP grabs the crowbar. Daffney makes her first live appearance to protect him though and is still hot here.
We recap Sting vs. Total Package which is WCW’s method of giving Luger a makeover. He treated Liz like crap including throwing her in mud and making her fight Meng. If Sting wins, Liz’s contract with Package is void. I love how having someone’s contract apparently makes nearly criminal acts all fine and good.
Sting vs. The Total Package
Wasn’t this happening like 8 years ago at Starrcade in the main event? Hennan is drunk now. After Luger’s entrance, Sting gives Liz a special can of mace to use which had been her trademark thing lately. This is high octane apparently. Yeah she’s turning of course and has no issue with being womanhandled I guess. Luger jumps him to start and Sting has no gloves on which is a weird look for him.
They play Package in the middle with Liz slapping him and Sting punching him. Tony says it’s like pinball but wouldn’t that be more like Pong? Both guys go down and Liz gets the mace can. She checks on Luger and gets caught. Liz sprays the mace in Sting’s eyes, AND IT’S SILLY STRING! Yes, for the first time EVER, Sting has thought something out and realized he was going to be swerved.
In a funny moment, Luger tries to come up behind Sting and jump him but Sting casually throws an elbow without ever taking his eyes off Liz. It was so calm and without even thinking that it was hilarious. What’s even funnier is he does it AGAIN. Damn Luger looks like an even bigger joke than he usually does here. Sting turns it on beats the living hell out of Luger, getting a top rope splash for two.
He adds a pair of Splashes but Liz runs in for the DQ. He does however do something VERY STUPID here by catching her with the bat and telling her to lay it down. She does, he turns around for the Scorpion and OF COURSE she picks it up and drills him in the head with a SICK cracking sound. They Pillmanize his wrist like ten times and beat him with the bat. He would be gone for months because of this of course.
Rating: D. Pretty boring match here with nothing of note other than the turns. This was a matchup that they never stopped going back to and at this point Luger was just completely worthless for the most part. The bat crack was one of the sickest sounds I’ve ever heard in wrestling though as it CRACKED his skull. They don’t even give him a stretcher. Seriously?
Recap of Sid vs. Nash which is a powerbomb challenge. Yeah you win by powerbombing the other guy so that neither guy has to get pinned. This is what we mean by having guys be protected. Neither wanted to have a 3 counted on them so they cooked this up.
Sid Vicious vs. Kevin Nash
I have the hardest time spelling Vicious most of the time. Scott says they’re shoehorned in here despite this year having just over half the attendance of the previous year which was in the same building. Yes attendance was down almost 50% in 12 months. Slugout for the most part to start as Nash gets a low blow to block and we head to the floor.
Even more basic stuff here as nothing of note is going on at all. Sid pulls back for a punch and swings with it but stops cold for a slam instead. A lot of these things would happen and would never really be addressed but whatever. Down goes the referee and Sid gets a….he gets a….well it was kind of a…..Tony calls it a powerbomb but that certainly doesn’t fit at all as it was more or less a Piledriver with a bit of a push to it.
No referee of course and here’s Jarrett to clock Sid with a guitar. Oh I think I know what’s coming here and I had to look away from the screen due to the roll of my eyes taking them away from the screen. Nash pulls the straps down and goes for a powerbomb but can’t do it due to his back. Instead he just TELLS the referee he did and that is enough for the victory. I give up.
Rating: F. In a match where you didn’t have to job, they wouldn’t do the job that it took to lose the match. Do I even need to explain why this was freaking idiotic?
Benoit says the open challenge hasn’t been answered yet. He comes out for the match…and it’s Jeff Jarrett. Yeah instead of like Eddie or Malenko or someone, the old guy WHO IS THE FREAKING CHOSEN ONE ALREADY is going to take the US Title match.
US Title: Chris Benoit vs. Jeff Jarrett
It’s a ladder match remember. Oh and also nice way of giving Jarrett a spot in a THIRD match tonight and also making Benoit likely win look weak because he beat a weakened man. They fight in the aisle with Benoit dominating. Big old suplex from the middle rope to take out Jarrett even more. Benoit goes for the ladder but Jarrett gets a baseball slide to take out Chris.
Benoit’s face is busted open from that spot. He takes over again and goes up but Jarrett saves. This match is comprised of a lot of Irish whips into the ladder in the corner. Other than that there isn’t much here. There is zero heat on this match either. Jarrett gets tied upside down in the ladder but manages to shove it over and take out the climbing Benoit.
Benoit almost gets to the title but Jarrett hits a dropkick to take it out. Hudson says any video that Benoit rented to study for this match is worthless. The idea of Benoit going to a Blockbuster to rent tapes for the match is just amusing for some reason. Benoit climbs to the top of the ladder but hits a swan dive anyway before going up and getting the title while Jarrett is more or less not conscious anymore.
Rating: C+. This wasn’t bad but really wasn’t anything special at all. The spots were just decent, there was no heat, the ending didn’t work and the crowd didn’t seem to care. It didn’t help that they aired it again the next night and Jarrett took the title. Benoit would win the world title at the next PPV because Hart and Jarrett were both hurt. And then he was gone the next day. This was by far the best match so far tonight.
Bret vs. Goldberg is happening because Goldberg wanted a shot after Bret won one of the worst tournaments of all time. Oh and they won the tag titles which meant nothing. Bret was attacked and the Outsiders got the titles. That means something tomorrow so keep that in mind.
Bret says he’ll win, or better yet that Goldberg will lose.
WCW World Title: Bill Goldberg vs. Bret Hart
It’s No DQ and allegedly Piper was the referee but is nowhere to be seen. Bret comes out first for no apparent reason. Goldberg gets his full entrance to waste some time to the extent that his music starts again when he comes into the arena. Why do the superstars always need the big entourages? They shake hands and here we go.
This doesn’t exactly have the same ring as Sting vs. Hogan does it? Long feeling out process to start as Bret takes us to the mat. Press into a powerslam puts Bret down and power takes over. Goldberg gets his ankle hold which just happens to be perfect for the Sharpshooter but Bill kicks him off. Not a lot of actual contact so far but it’s not terrible I guess.
The referee is down during some brawling on the floor which likely isn’t going to go well at all. Goldberg busts out a big boot to take Hart down. A second referee is in now. Down goes referee #2 and the spear misses. A third referee is here as Bret gets the figure four around the post. Bret works the knee in the ring as we’re running out of time. Figure four goes on.
Goldberg’s head is busted open and he reverses the hold with relative ease. You get the ultra rare Goldberg Sucks chant as this match is kind of dragging a bit. Goldberg gets some shots in and down goes the third referee. Sweet damn why are referees so freaking weak? And there’s the Bret Killer kick which resulted in the end of his career. It should be noted that it wasn’t his last match here but the kick messed up his neck and resulted in him having a concussion. The post concussion syndrome is what ended his career.
Spear crushes him but there’s no referee. Instead Roddy Piper runs out as the referee. Ok makes that slowly walks out. He looks all upset and there’s a clip to the knee. Sharpshooter goes on but before it’s on Piper calls for the bell. Yes, it’s Montreal all over again. Scott: Don’t tell me it’s Montreal all over again! Yes, this is what they thought would turn WCW around. Piper hands him the belt as we go off the air.
Rating: D+. The match was just ok until the freaking idiotic ending but that’s expected I guess. Goldberg’s kick more or less ended Bret’s career which is obviously a bad thing. Not a terrible match but much like the actual Montreal match, the ending makes it hard to actually grade it. It certainly wasn’t a great match but it was boring as hell more often than not.
Overall Rating: W. As in WOW. They actually thought this was the best possible show they could put on? On top of the absolutely horrible ending, the next night THE FREAKING NWO REFORMED. Yes, Bret, the Outsiders and Jarrett had all the titles and reformed it. Since Bret wouldn’t wrestle again for ten years and Jarrett was hurt by Jimmy freaking Snuka, the whole thing was scrapped and they tried to give the title to Benoit who just bailed, realizing that the company was dead.
This was an absolutely awful show with all of two decent matches, one of which had Lash Leroux and Disco Inferno in it and had nothing on the line at all. There was nothing at all going on here and you could see Russo’s booking all over it. I mean seriously, Montreal is the best thing you can freaking give us? While somehow not as bad as some of his later stuff, this is the true mark of a bad Russo show. The writing was on the wall here and everyone knew it. Horrific show.
