Jesse Ewiak

Is there trouble in the 24 Karat Paradise? If I was Orton & Stevens, I'd worry about any Minnesotans that get picked up by the NWA anytime soon. Solid house cards for these cities, especially the Augusta show. Even though I might of decided to beat traffic and leave after the Funk-Magnum match.

- As somebody whose been catching up lately, I love the Montreal/Mid-Atlantic as something that didn't happen in real life, but kind of fits when you think about it, especially with the rosters of both companies. - Nikolai Volkoff is about the right challenger for a stop the level of Myrtle Beach. - I don't know about Billy Graham going twenty five minutes in 1985. That could get kind of ugly. - Fernandez-Kamala is a fun secondary feud that can draw people in.

World Championship Wrestling presents The Big Bang! LIVE! on Pay Per View from The Hard Rock Cafe Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada - 2,000 paid - SOLD OUT! After an Opening Video highlighting the four semi-finalists in the WCW World Title Tournament and the Dustin/Jarrett match tonight, the Terrible Trio of Schiavone, Hudson, and Tenay welcomes us to The Big Bang! (88) In the opening match of the night, Diamond Dallas Page advanced to the finals of the WCW World Title Tournament, defeating Kanyon in a little over fourteen minutes by blocking the Flatliner, and finally turning it into the Diamond Cutter to pick up the win! After the match, Ernest Miller along with his entourage came down to ringside to make fun of Kanyon for losing, telling the crowd in Las Vegas, “somebody should call my Mama so she can laugh at a punk like Kanyon!” The former member of the Jersey Triad chased the trio off, but not before Miller landed a solid karate kick to the mush of Kanyon. (74/58) Next up, Sting and Ric Flair basically went on auto-pilot, having a perfectly solid eighteen minute match that kept the crowd engaged, hitting all of their classic spots that have entertained fans all over the world for over a decade. Sting no-sell spot? Check. Flair Flip? Check. Figure Four Reversal? Check. There was no interference as Jarrett was busy getting ready for his match with Rhodes according to Scott Hudson, so the finish was clean as the Stinger was able to lock on the Scorpion Death Lock in the middle of the ring and pick up the submission win! (76) After that, in a high flying match that was all about the impressive moves going on, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Billy Kidman regained the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Titles, defeating Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo in a little under thirteen minutes when Kidman flew off the top with a Shooting Star Press on to Romeo, to get the win and take the belts! (69) Following a brief commercial for The Great American Bash, it was time for a bit of a brawl between Jeff Jarrett and Dustin Rhodes. The sons of two legendary wrestlers clashed one more time in a match that more resembled a brawl than a wrestling match. Near the end, it looked like Jarrett had gotten the win by applying the Figure Four in the middle of the ring, but Dustin reversed and went on a tear. After a ref bump, Jarrett went for the ole' El Kabong, but Dustin moved out of the way and the guitar blasted back in Jarrett's face! A few seconds later, in a little over fourteen minutes, Dustin Rhodes has picked up a big win! There wasn't much time for celebrating, as almost immediately after the bell rang, Ric Flair ran down to ringside, attacking Dustin and putting the boots to him. It looked like Flair & Jarrett were about to take Dustin out of WCW for good with a Spike Piledriver, but the crowd in Vegas came alive as Dusty Rhodes ran down to the ring to save his son! A few Bionic Elbow's later and both Ric and Jeff had high tailed out of the ring as Dusty attended to his son. (72/61) There wasn't much you could do to follow that up, so instead, WCW put forward a 15 Man Battle Royal for the vacant United States Championship! The highlights were Shane Douglas going out surprisingly early, Bam Bam Bigelow tossing out the most men, but the match ended with sometimes teammates Hugh Morrus and Konnan bonking into each other, allowing Buff Bagwell, who'd been sticking and moving almost the entire battle royal to pick up the win and become the man to bring the US Title into the new era of WCW! Bagwell then celebrated with the title, as Schiavone went over Buff's long history in WCW, starting from the time when he was barely graduated high school to now. (69/60) In a short, but hard-hitting eleven minute match, Chavo Guerrero Jr. used a belt shot and a brain buster to take the WCW Cruiserweight Title from Shane Helms. Early on, it looked like the athletic skill of Helms would allow him to take the win, but Chavo was able to avoid the Vertrebreaker and he even stun the fans with his own big-time manuever when he drilled Helms with a top rope superplex that almost got the win. However, a Guerrero knows he must do whatever he can to pick up the win, so after Helms missed a dive to the outside, the title belt got involved and shortly afterward, the youngest Guerrero was a champion! (66) Coming up next was supposed to be the WCW World Tag Title match between Team Canada and the former Natural Born Thrillers of Palumbo & O'Haire, but as the youngsters made their entrance, Storm & Awesome attacked them from behind, absolutely massacring them at the top of the ramp, before dragging Sean and Chuck down to the ring, telling the referee to ring the bell. Then, in a short four minute match, Team Canada won the WCW World Tag Team Titles from O'Haire & Palumbo after Awesome walloped Palumbo with the Awesome Bomb after a superkick from Alberta's Greatest Athlete. (55/74) Just as Team Canada began to celebrate, Rey Jr.and Kidman walked out of the entrance with Torrie Wilson. Kidman challenged Storm & Awesome to a match right now, where if Kidman & Rey lost, they'd retire the Cruiser Tag Titles and never challenge for the World Tag Titles as long as Team Canada were champs. After a moment, Storm & Awesome accepted the challenge and the match was on! Those four athletes then had the best match of the night, a nearly twenty minute near classic ended with Rey Mysterio Jr. cradling Mike Awesome, giving Rey & Kidman the WCW World Tag Team Titles. The match itself was back 'n' forth with the psychology swinging between Kidman & Rey hanging on for dear life essentially anytime Awesome was in the ring to a polished technical vs. aerial battle anytime Storm was their opposite number. The finish was Storm drilling Rey Jr. with a superkick, then celebrating and not seeing Rey somehow manage to cradle Awesome and keep him down for the three count to pick up the belts! After the match, Rey, Kidman, and Torrie all celebrated with all four title belts while the crowd cheered and Team Canada fumed at ringside. (53/78/56) Before the World Title Tournament final, Booker T came out to a good response from the WCW faithful, with the World Title still around his waist. He then joined the announce table for the finals, pushing Hudson out. Booker explained that whoever won, he wanted to be there to give them the belt. (79) In the finals of the tournament for the WCW World Title, there were two slight issues. First of all, it was set to go for nearly twenty five minutes and unfortunately, after wrestling earlier in the night, both Sting & DDP gassed out. In addition, despite both men being very over, the crowd had been primed for a face vs. heel final and instead was getting a relatively clean match. While the match itself was fine, the finish was what stood out as Sting went for the Stinger Splash in the corner, but Diamond Dallas Page got out of the way for the last minute, waited for Sting to eat the turnbuckle, stumble out – BANG! DIAMOND CUTTER! Three seconds later, Diamond Dallas Page was WCW World Champion for the fourth time – (66) After a moment of tension, Sting and DDP shook hands, then Booker T entered the ring with the WCW World Title. After a moment of looking at it, Booker put the title around the waist of Page as the crowd cheered. The decent response then went wild as the sirens hit and Scott Steiner came out of the entrance and pointed at both men in the ring, making the 'wanting the belt' motions and generally being a crazy man as Schiavone & Tenay thanked fans for watching the new WCW. (91) Show Rating – 75/B-

World Championship Wrestling presents The Big Bang! LIVE! on Pay Per View from The Hard Rock Cafe Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada - 2,000 paid - SOLD OUT! After an Opening Video highlighting the four semi-finalists in the WCW World Title Tournament and the Dustin/Jarrett match tonight, the Terrible Trio of Schiavone, Hudson, and Tenay welcomes us to The Big Bang! (88) In the opening match of the night, Diamond Dallas Page advanced to the finals of the WCW World Title Tournament, defeating Kanyon in a little over fourteen minutes by blocking the Flatliner, and finally turning it into the Diamond Cutter to pick up the win! After the match, Ernest Miller along with his entourage came down to ringside to make fun of Kanyon for losing, telling the crowd in Las Vegas, “somebody should call my Mama so she can laugh at a punk like Kanyon!” The former member of the Jersey Triad chased the trio off, but not before Miller landed a solid karate kick to the mush of Kanyon. (74/58) Next up, Sting and Ric Flair basically went on auto-pilot, having a perfectly solid eighteen minute match that kept the crowd engaged, hitting all of their classic spots that have entertained fans all over the world for over a decade. Sting no-sell spot? Check. Flair Flip? Check. Figure Four Reversal? Check. There was no interference as Jarrett was busy getting ready for his match with Rhodes according to Scott Hudson, so the finish was clean as the Stinger was able to lock on the Scorpion Death Lock in the middle of the ring and pick up the submission win! (76) After that, in a high flying match that was all about the impressive moves going on, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Billy Kidman regained the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Titles, defeating Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo in a little under thirteen minutes when Kidman flew off the top with a Shooting Star Press on to Romeo, to get the win and take the belts! (69) Following a brief commercial for The Great American Bash, it was time for a bit of a brawl between Jeff Jarrett and Dustin Rhodes. The sons of two legendary wrestlers clashed one more time in a match that more resembled a brawl than a wrestling match. Near the end, it looked like Jarrett had gotten the win by applying the Figure Four in the middle of the ring, but Dustin reversed and went on a tear. After a ref bump, Jarrett went for the ole' El Kabong, but Dustin moved out of the way and the guitar blasted back in Jarrett's face! A few seconds later, in a little over fourteen minutes, Dustin Rhodes has picked up a big win! There wasn't much time for celebrating, as almost immediately after the bell rang, Ric Flair ran down to ringside, attacking Dustin and putting the boots to him. It looked like Flair & Jarrett were about to take Dustin out of WCW for good with a Spike Piledriver, but the crowd in Vegas came alive as Dusty Rhodes ran down to the ring to save his son! A few Bionic Elbow's later and both Ric and Jeff had high tailed out of the ring as Dusty attended to his son. (72/61) There wasn't much you could do to follow that up, so instead, WCW put forward a 15 Man Battle Royal for the vacant United States Championship! The highlights were Shane Douglas going out surprisingly early, Bam Bam Bigelow tossing out the most men, but the match ended with sometimes teammates Hugh Morrus and Konnan bonking into each other, allowing Buff Bagwell, who'd been sticking and moving almost the entire battle royal to pick up the win and become the man to bring the US Title into the new era of WCW! Bagwell then celebrated with the title, as Schiavone went over Buff's long history in WCW, starting from the time when he was barely graduated high school to now. (69/60) In a short, but hard-hitting eleven minute match, Chavo Guerrero Jr. used a belt shot and a brain buster to take the WCW Cruiserweight Title from Shane Helms. Early on, it looked like the athletic skill of Helms would allow him to take the win, but Chavo was able to avoid the Vertrebreaker and he even stun the fans with his own big-time manuever when he drilled Helms with a top rope superplex that almost got the win. However, a Guerrero knows he must do whatever he can to pick up the win, so after Helms missed a dive to the outside, the title belt got involved and shortly afterward, the youngest Guerrero was a champion! (66) Coming up next was supposed to be the WCW World Tag Title match between Team Canada and the former Natural Born Thrillers of Palumbo & O'Haire, but as the youngsters made their entrance, Storm & Awesome attacked them from behind, absolutely massacring them at the top of the ramp, before dragging Sean and Chuck down to the ring, telling the referee to ring the bell. Then, in a short four minute match, Team Canada won the WCW World Tag Team Titles from O'Haire & Palumbo after Awesome walloped Palumbo with the Awesome Bomb after a superkick from Alberta's Greatest Athlete. (55/74) Just as Team Canada began to celebrate, Rey Jr.and Kidman walked out of the entrance with Torrie Wilson. Kidman challenged Storm & Awesome to a match right now, where if Kidman & Rey lost, they'd retire the Cruiser Tag Titles and never challenge for the World Tag Titles as long as Team Canada were champs. After a moment, Storm & Awesome accepted the challenge and the match was on! Those four athletes then had the best match of the night, a nearly twenty minute near classic ended with Rey Mysterio Jr. cradling Mike Awesome, giving Rey & Kidman the WCW World Tag Team Titles. The match itself was back 'n' forth with the psychology swinging between Kidman & Rey hanging on for dear life essentially anytime Awesome was in the ring to a polished technical vs. aerial battle anytime Storm was their opposite number. The finish was Storm drilling Rey Jr. with a superkick, then celebrating and not seeing Rey somehow manage to cradle Awesome and keep him down for the three count to pick up the belts! After the match, Rey, Kidman, and Torrie all celebrated with all four title belts while the crowd cheered and Team Canada fumed at ringside. (53/78/56) Before the World Title Tournament final, Booker T came out to a good response from the WCW faithful, with the World Title still around his waist. He then joined the announce table for the finals, pushing Hudson out. Booker explained that whoever won, he wanted to be there to give them the belt. (79) In the finals of the tournament for the WCW World Title, there were two slight issues. First of all, it was set to go for nearly twenty five minutes and unfortunately, after wrestling earlier in the night, both Sting & DDP gassed out. In addition, despite both men being very over, the crowd had been primed for a face vs. heel final and instead was getting a relatively clean match. While the match itself was fine, the finish was what stood out as Sting went for the Stinger Splash in the corner, but Diamond Dallas Page got out of the way for the last minute, waited for Sting to eat the turnbuckle, stumble out – BANG! DIAMOND CUTTER! Three seconds later, Diamond Dallas Page was WCW World Champion for the fourth time – (66) After a moment of tension, Sting and DDP shook hands, then Booker T entered the ring with the WCW World Title. After a moment of looking at it, Booker put the title around the waist of Page as the crowd cheered. The decent response then went wild as the sirens hit and Scott Steiner came out of the entrance and pointed at both men in the ring, making the 'wanting the belt' motions and generally being a crazy man as Schiavone & Tenay thanked fans for watching the new WCW. (91) Show Rating – 75/B-

They're on their own feet now - search Between the Sheets

The thing is, if fans want to cheer every indy guy no matter what, they shouldn't be surprised if Vince pushes the heels who can actually get heat from the smart crowds - aka, guys like Corbin and Jinder. Maybe they should've actually booed Owens being handed the title by HHH instead of chanting 'You Deserve It.'

So, I started up a WCW 2001 game in TEW 2016, and I actually booked enough interesting stuff that I'd thought I'd put it out there for you guys to read and comment on. The basic gist is Bischoff and friends actually bought WCW, it's now May and I have a two hour show on FX, along with the entire old WCW roster, aside from folks like Goldberg & Hogan. I'm starting out with Eric's idea of starting out in Las Vegas, but I'm going from there. One quick note is for some reason (I forget 2001), Booker starts with an injury, so yes, the World & US Title is vacant. Also, I came up with the idea of writing this all out before writing down all the exact times of angles & matches, so I'll note if something went real short or long. As a final cherry to this sundae, as kind of a lark, I've put in Piper as the head booker. WCW Nitro Live from The Hard Rock Cafe Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada - 2,000 - SOLD OUT! In general, a stripped down look for WCW as they 'reboot' for seemingly the 19th time since 1999. There's a smaller TurnerTron (or FXTron now?) near the entrance gate, but that's been clamped down far closer to a lower cost entrance, but there's been a ramp added to give some amount of class to the proceedings. Announcers are still up at the top of the ramp, though. The first Nitro in six weeks started out with Eric Bischoff coming out to a chorus of boos from the WCW faithful. He told the crowd he deserved those boos, but explained that the last few years had made him humble and made him learn that he had to go back to basics. In this new WCW, there'd be no new orders, no Wolfpack's, no Black & White, but a focus on what made WCW great - great in-ring action and talent that WCW fans cared about. Bischoff then said unfortunately, there was also business to tend too and out came Booker T, with his shoulder taped up and the WCW US Title on his other shoulder and World Title around his waist. Booker explained that while training for his comeback, he'd injured his shoulder and as a result, would be unable to defend either title at The Big Bang, coming up this Sunday so he was relinquishing both titles. Just as Bischoff was about to announce something, Scott Steiner came out to the ring. He cut a quick promo on Booker T being something that had to be bleeped too, then demanded that Uncle Eric give him his World Title back. Bischoff responded, "Scotty, this isn't the old WCW. You're going to earn everything, starting tonight. Now, you've earned a chance to become the next WCW World Champion. But, you're going to win an eight man tournament and your opening round opponent in tonight's main event here in Las Vegas will be...Sting!" Steiner went nuts as the crowd reacted and the show cut to as Schiavone, Hudson, and Heenan welcomes us to the new, improved WCW Monday Nitro. They quickly went over the brackets, then hyped the other matches at The Big Bang, including Shane Helms vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. for the Cruiserweight Title, The Filthy Animals challenging Kid Romeo & Elix Skipper for the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Titles, and Team Canada looking to defeat Sean O'Haire & Chuck Palumbo for the WCW Tag World Titles. - (85) COMMERCIAL In the 1st official match of the new WCW, Diamond Dallas Page defeated Buff Bagwell in about twelve minutes with the Diamond Cutter to advance to the semi-finals at The Big Bang. The prior DDP-Bagwell feud seems to have been dropped, as the announcers largely focused on Bagwell trying to move up to the next level and Page looking for one last run as the top of the promotion. Solid match, but nothing special. (74) After the match, Page took the mic, welcomed the fans back to WCW, and said that whoever he had to face along the road, whether it was Flair, Sting, Steiner, or even Dustin Rhodes, they'd all feel the BANG! GOOD GAWD! (86) COMMERCIALS Backstage, Ernest Miller with M.I. Smooth and Miss Jones was upset Kanyon was in the World Title Tournament, but couldn't get Eric Bischoff to answer his door. (60) In a tune-up match for the tag title match at The Big Bang, Sean O'Haire pinned Lance Storm in a little over nine minutes with the Senton Bomb after knocking Awesome to the floor as he attempted to interfere. O'Haire & Palumbo were pushed as the possible future of World Championship Wrestling as the match itself was pretty solid. (68) COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercials, in the 2nd match of the World Title Tournament, Ric Flair defeated Dustin Rhodes after Jarrett absolutely nailed Rhodes with a guitar after about thirteen minutes of action. As you'd expect, this was a solid old-school style brawl, as Flair is slowly feeling the effects of his age, but can still solidly work in the ring. (66) After the match, as you'd expect, Jarrett & Flair took the boots to the fallen 'Natural' until WCW Officials could chase the devious duo away. (73) Backstage, Shane Douglas was very upset with not being in the WCW World Title Tournament, so Bischoff acquiesced and put him in a match for the US Title, but waited until Shane agreed, then announced it'd be a 15 Man Battle Royal! Douglas blew his top about a conspiracy, but Bischoff simply explained that this was an opportunity for Shane to show his worth to the new WCW. (66) COMMERCIALS In a wild six-man match focusing largely on a bunch of spots, Chavo Jr., Elix Skipper, and Kid Romeo defeated Shane Helms and The Filthy Animals after about nine minutes of action when Chavo dropped Helms with the brainbuster after a double dive by Skipper & Romeo on to Rey & Kidman on the outside. (63) In a segment that had to be on TV only to appeal to the horndogs, Stacy Kiebler showed up to Bischoff's office in a very tight skirt and blouse and offered to be Eric's official personal assistant all while dropping enough double entrendes to fill the opening minutes of a particularly clever adult film. Eric seems interested, but explained that she was still Jindrak and Statsiak's manager, it'd be very unprofessional for Stacy to be involved with the boss. Then, Stacy bent over to pick up something from Eric's floor and he suddenly had second thoughts. (65) COMMERCIALS In a shockingly good match, Kanyon pinned Konnan in a little over ten minutes with the Flatliner to advance in the title tournament. There was no hints of Positively Kanyon or even 'Champagne' Kanyon, but he's seemed to kept the newer intense look and leather jacket as he came to ringside. Konnan looked oddly motivated as he threw in a few big moves he seemingly hasn't done in years, but still did the J-O-B as Kanyon advanced to The Big Bang. (76) After the match, Kanyon took the mic and declared that tonight proved, at the Big Bang, "Nobody would be betta' than Kanyon!" (68) Quick cut to Sting somewhere in the arena where he cut a promo saying how there'd been more change in WCW in the past two years than the previous twenty, but he'd been here for all of it. "Ya' see, little Stingers, I don't bleed black & red, black & white, or even red, white, and blue. The only thing I bleed is WCW, so Scott Steiner, get ready because pal, it's Showtime!" - (89) COMMERCIALS In a solid main event. Sting pinned Scott Steiner after the Scorpion Death Drop after a nearly twenty minute bout after Booker T came down to ringside to watch the match. This led to Steiner breaking the Steiner Recliner, which allowed Sting to make his comeback and win the match. - (77) After the match, as Steiner yelled at the referee, Booker rolled in and absolutely drilled the Big Booty Daddy with the WCW World Title belt! - (92) The show ended with the trio of announcers hyping WCW's return to Pay Per View, in only six days where new WCW World & US Champions would be crowned. Show Rating - 82

The Wrestling Observer – October 30th, 1995 WWF IN YOUR HOUSE : DEVIL'S NIGHT Thumbs Up – 109 – (37.9%) Thumbs Down – 103 – (35.8%) In the Middle – 75 – (26.3%) BEST MATCH POLL Diesel vs. Ramon – 89 Michaels vs. Bigelow – 81 Fatu vs. Orndorff – 13 Six-Man Tag – 4 WORST MATCH POLL Yokozuna & Sid vs. Mixtape – 159 Randy Savage vs. Earthquake – 9 Based on phone calls and fax messages to the Observer as of Tuesday, 10/24. In the brave new world in the World Wrestling Federation after the exodus of the Hart Family and the restructuring of large portions of the major wrestling promotions, there are positives and negatives to look at for Vince McMahon. On the one hand, more and more, backstage power is coalescing around the group of Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall, who form the core group of three of the few acts in the current day company that draw any money. In addition, while there's been a recent influx of new talent, much of it is unknown to the current audience and with only an hour of prime time TV per week (even though that's rumored to change), little time to build these new stars, especially with having to compete against WCW's offering every week. On the other hand, the actual in ring action at the top of the card is possibly it's ever been and with the recent addition of wrestlers such as Steve Austin, Hector Garza, Konnan, The Gangstas, and such, the roster is fresher than it's been in years as even if the audience doesn't know these new wrestlers yet, they at least don't have the stink of the last few years of low drawing houses on them either. Plus, with the return of Savage to the company, the WWF now has a major star they can offer to the mainstream press that they actually remember. In addition, the ratings for RAW, despite the two hour assault they're facing weekly, has stood up stronger than expected. For the actual Pay Per View, Devil's Night drew well, drawing an audience of 9,879 with some papering at the Winnipeg Arena, but nothing too heavy. There was some news about a small chunk of fans wanting refunds due to the Hart Family leaving the company, but for the most part, the audience seemed receptive to the idea of new wrestlers, even if the heat wasn't the strongest. In the Free-For-All match, Hector Garza made his debut in the WWF, defeating Jacques Rougeau in 9:25 with a La Majistral cradle after hitting a twisting moonsault on Rougeau. Garza made his entrance in a tear away suit with three women who were dressed in evening gown after Rougeau had called him out in the ring while Hendrix and McMahon shilled the show. Garza's a talented young star and Rougeau's an effective heel, so while there was some slight hinks with communication, both workers came across well. ** ½ After the match, Garza danced with the women ringside while the announcers did their final sell job for the Pay Per View. 1. The Steiner Brothers defeated The Smooth Operators in 10:11 to advance to the finals of the WWF Tag Team Title Tournament. Outside of Savage and Ramon, the Steiners were the strongest babyfaces on the show. The match itself was solid, but nothing out of the ordinary as The Steiners were saving their big spots for the finals and neither Bogner or Hughes are out of this world talented. The biggest spot of the match was when Scott blocked a choke slam attempt by Bogner, then hit him with an Exploder-type suplex for a near fall. Finisher was Rick hitting the top rope bulldog on Hughes for the win after Scott did a Frankensteiner in the middle of the ring. ** ¼ 2. Yokozuna & Psycho Sid defeated Mixtape in 7:56 to advance to the finals of the WWF Tag Team Title Tournament. A pretty terrible match that only drifted up to acceptable for a few OK power spots between Yokozuna and Hogue. DiBiase distracted McCready, but it was largely a clean pin as Sid hit him with a Powerbomb. 1/2* 3. Fatu pinned Paul Orndorff in 10:34 with the top rope splash after Jake Roberts hit Orndorff with a DDT. Hot beginning to the match as Fatu attacked Orndorff in the aisle way while Orndorff was walking down the aisle with his blond companion of the week (who also came down earlier with Garza). Fatu is a solid worker, so he was able to keep up with Orndorff in the early going, but as soon as Orndorff decided to slow things down in the middle, they lost the crowd. They got them back for a bit when Fatu backdropped Orndorff out of a piledriver attempt. Finish was after a ref bump, Orndorff hit Fatu low, then hit the Piledriver, but Jake Roberts came down to the ring, spun Orndorff around and nailed him with a DDT. Fatu then went up top and hit the big splash to pick up the win. Solid match, but weird to job Orndorff out when all indications that they're planning Roberts-Orndorff to be a solid upper midcard feud. ** ¾ 4. Randy Savage pinned Earthquake in 9:43 with the Flying Elbow Drop. They tried to build up Tenta up strong on the Superstars show before the PPV by having him squash three guys in a row, but the WWF crowd still largely remembers him as a midcarder in the The Faces of Fear stable. Savage tried though, selling Earthquake strong in the initial moments of the match by letting him largely no-sell Savage's first flurry, then collapsed when he went for a body slam. Slow, but effective power offense from Earthquake led to him going for the big splash in the corner, but Savage getting out of the way, hitting the Flying Axehandle, but failing again for the body slam. Earthquake then hit the big powerslam and went for his running splash, but Savage rolled away, went up top and hit the Flying Elbow to pick up the pin. ** The Gangstas debut never happened as Gorilla Monsoon came out with The Smoking Gunns as bodyguards, with Monsoon explaining that due to the actions of The Gangstas last week, while he couldn't fire them due to various clauses in their contract, he could simply not let them wrestle. However, as Monsoon said that, The Gangstas came through the crowd and went after The Gunns, before road agents, referees, and a few other wrestlers (including Doink, Ray Lloyd, and Mixtape) pulled The Gangstas off The Gunns. While they were dragged to the back, both members of The Gangstas screamed 'ATTICA'. Unsurprisingly, the Canadian crowd didn't get it. 5. The Undertaker, Ahmed Johnson, and Crush defeated Tatakna, IRS, and Steve Austin in 13:03. A hot, solidly worker match in the beginning when both Rotundo and Austin were in the ring with 'Taker, with both guys taking solid bumps to make him look strong, but the match quickly slogged when either Ahmed (who is still pretty terrible in the ring) and Crush were inside at all. Long heat segment with Crush attempting to sell for all three men at various points, even though Austin tried to make it entertaining by jawing with the babyface team while IRS had Crush locked in an abdominal stretch, which still isn't over, since it's not 1975. Hot tag to Ahmed got barely a noticable pop, but things picked up when the match devolved into a Pier Six brawl at the end. Finish was The Undertaker sliding in after sending IRS into the ring barrier, picking Tatanka up and pinning him after the Tombstone while Ahmed and Austin brawled in the aisle. ** 1/2, almost entirely for the finish and the opening minute or two. Right after the bell rang, Austin attacked The Undertaker from behind, going after him, only to get freaked out by 'Taker sitting up (leading to an actual good line from McMahon - “Not exactly what The Hottest Free Agent is used to with his former employers.”) Not sure if this is leading to an Austin-Undertaker program, but that should be build too, not tossed away when Austin still needs to be built. 6. Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Shawn Michaels in 13:39 to win the IC title. Michaels largely sold the back the entire match, only hitting a brief flurry of offense right at the beginning of the match which ended when on the outside, Bigelow caught him going for a flying cross body and slammed him into the metal post multiple times in the powerslam position. From there, it was basically Bigelow hitting a series of power moves and trying to make Michaels submit to a cobra clutch, a bearhug, and even a Canadian-style backbreaker. The finish of the match was cool, as Bigelow ducked under an attempt at Sweet Chin Music by Michaels, hit a powerbomb, then the Flying Headbutt to pick up the pin. If not for Diesel being Bigelow's new running buddy on screen, the chances of this being a largely clean win (minus the back injury) would be near zero. *** ¼. Before the next match, Ross got up from the announcers booth and interviewed Konnan, sitting at ringside. Konnan cut a promo on Michaels, saying that while it was impressive Michaels had won a few ladder matches, Konnan had been selling out soccer stadiums (OK, sure) in front of thousands while getting no respect from the American audience who'd “rather cheer a Chippendale's stripper than a real hero.” This led Michaels, still recovering from his loss to roll out and confront Konnan, but it ended with Michaels pushing Konnan back into his chair, then Michaels heading toward the back. 7. The Steiner Brothers defeated Yokozuna & Psycho Sid in 9:59 to win the WWF Tag Titles. Almost the entire match was building to either Rick or Scott hitting big power spots by Yokozuan, with intermittent run ins and bursts of offense from Sid. Obviously, somebody figured out that Sid taking suplex spots would not go well, and let Yoko, who even nearing 600 pounds is still a good bumper take the brunt of the match. Most impressive spots was Scott powering out of a nerve hold from Yoko and hitting a massive belly-to-back suplex, and both brothers locking Yokozuna in and somehow hitting a vertical suplex on him. Finish was Rick Steiner hitting the bulldog off the 2nd rope after Yoko had missed the big leg and Rick hit five Steinerlines in a row. * ¼ 8. Diesel and Razor Ramon went to a DDQ in 14:19 in a match for the WWF title. It's utterly obvious that different people have different rules. Chairs, tables, the steps, and even the title belt were all involved in a chaotic main event that began with Ramon calling out Diesel for a 'real fight' and ending with both men crashing through the Spanish Announcer's Table even after the bell had rung. In between, it was largely punches and kicks between both men, with Diesel gaining the advantage early by exposing the turnbuckle and hitting the Snake Eyes, but Ramon fighting back by blocking the Jackknife, hitting his own version of a Snake Eyes (only on the top rope) and getting a near fall off a bg side suplex. After a ref bump, the plunder got involved and when the ref woke up, he saw Ramon & Diesel battling with chairs and the steps and called the match off. ***

A+ Stuff! If Hogan gets too loud about not putting over people, put him in a match with Hase & Fujinami and tell those guys to take the limiters off and remind Hulk this isn't Stamford anymore.

This is really cool stuff, even if Jim Steele & Jim Powers are the most 1996 Worldwide team ever. Also looking forward to the return of THE SHOCKMASTA!

Triple H is being a great heel for the territory, and I'm weirdly looking forward to his eventual beatdown from one of the local guys. The Public Enemy work as a far less controversial Gangstas replacement. Hopefully, they'll get the good kinda heat.

Great stuff - looking forward to the tour ending show. I'm thinking the long term setup is toward some kind of Women's Triple Crown, La Parka possibly being the mystery partner, and of course, Mr. Awesome being unmasked as Steve DiSalvo, OK, maybe not the last one.

WWF Monday Night RAW LIVE from Madison Square Garden in New York, NY October 10th, 1995 - 10,600 (9,300 paid) Vincent K. McMahon, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, and Jerry 'The King' Lawler welcome us to Monday Night Raw, live from the birthplace of the World Wrestling Federation – Madison Square Garden! After going over the card tonight, Piper & Lawler get into an argument over the main event tonight, where Piper insults Yokozuna and Sid as 'two dumb mongrels' and Lawler calls Crush & Savage a 'a jailbird and a psych who should be in jail.' The familiar music of Doink the Clown comes over the arena and the crowd cheers the Clown Prince of the World Wrestling Federation. Those cheers turn largely to boos as Bam Bam Bigelow's music hits, coming down that aisle with the WWF Champion Diesel. However, Lawler is quick to note a few black gloved fans getting high gives from Big Daddy Cool. As Bigelow gets in the ring, Diesel heads over to the announcers table, grabbing a chair from the ringkeeper, sitting down beside McMahon and clapping him on the shoulder. Doink the Clown vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - As Diesel joins the three man booth at ringside, Bam Bam and Doink circle each other. While Bigelow powers Doink in the corner, Diesel makes a crack about being stuck in a booth with “a fake crown, a fake hip, and a fake hairpiece” while Bam Bam goes to work on the Clown Prince of the World Wrestling Federation. After a few kicks, punches, and shots in the corner, Bigelow drags Doink into the middle of the ring, heaves Doink up, then drops him with a huge Press Slam on Doink in the middle of the ring, but the big man from New Jersey goes up top too soon and as a result, Doink is able to get up and make Bigelow fall to the mat with a mighty crash. From there, Doink hits a quick knee drop and elbow drop on Bigelow before locking him in a camel clutch style maneuver. Bigelow powers out of the hold after a minute or so, tossing Doink down to the mat with an electric chair style slam, but rushes too quickly into the corner and Doink slowly gets up, hitting a few forearms and kicks on Bigelow in the corner. Doink sends Bam Bam into the corner with an Irish Whip, but Bigelow reverses it and sends Doink into the corner then crushes him with an AVALANCHE SPLASH! Doink slumps down in the corner and Bigelow goes to town on him with punches and kicks in the corner until the referee pulls him away, admonishing The Beast from the East. After snarling at the ref, Bigelow picks Doink up by his green hair, but the Clown has one last flurry for Bigelow, hitting him with several knees and elbows, but it's too little, too late as Bigelow reverses a suplex with a low kick, drills Doink with a big vertical suplex, then goes up top and picks up the pin after the Flying Headbutt! Bam Bam Bigelow p. Doink – (7:09 – Flying Headbutt) After the match, Diesel rolls in the ring with his new partner and play to a big heel reaction with some soft mixed in cheers, largely male. ###Oh Shawn...### 'Sexy Boy' turns the MSG crowd around entirely to cheers as the current Intercontinental Champion comes down the ring with the belt on his shoulder, clapping hands before rolling in the ring and standing across from his opponent at In Your House and his former running buddy. Shawn Michaels then takes the mic and says, “Sorry, guys. You didn't quite kill this hound dog, which means you made one big mistake. Ya' see, Kev, I'll get to you later. After all, Razor gets the first shot to take a piece out of you and he'll have no problems doing that at In Your House.” To cheers, Shawn then continued, “But, Bigelow, I want to talk to you. Here's the truth, big man. I know why you did this. After all, at the end of the day, where ever you've gone, whether it's here at the pinnacle of the business, over in Japan, or even down there where the Canadians ran off too, you've never been the big dog. You've been an underachiever. You've shown up, got lots of promotion from whomever is making the matches, then you've gone out there and....CHOKED!” Big pop for that, as Bam Bam looks to go after Michaels, but Diesel holds him back. “That's right, stay on your leash. After all, at the grandest stage of them all – Wrestlemania. In your biggest match ever against an NFL Legend. You choked. You made all of us look like idiots by getting pinned by some damn football player coming in for a big payday.” Mixed pop for that. After all, LT is LT in New York. Michaels then continued, “so yeah, I admit it. You guys got me. Hoodwinked me. Took out Razor, then KO'd me from behind. All that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee. Because the day after, when I woke up, I admit, it was not the best day of my life. I had bruises. I had pulled muscles. I needed a long long bath in some ice cold water. However, here's the thing Bam Bam – I was still The Heartbreak Kid. I was still The Showstopper. I was still the World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Champion!” Another pop as Michaels finished, “so come to In Your House. Because when the night ends, it'll just be another choke job by Bam Bam Bigelow.” Michaels then tossed the mic to Bigelow who said, “you ran your mouth a lot, Shawn. But, you're still across the ring from the Baddest Things Running in the WWF, so what makes you think you're going to make it to In Your House?” Michaels simply shrugged as a voice boomed over the PA to a gigantic pop, “Hey Yo!” The camera shifted to see Razor Ramon coming down through the crowd with a mic in his hand. As Diesel and Bigelow turned around, Ramon hopped the barrier, nodded to the announcers at ringside, then got in the ring. After a stand off of about a second, Ramon pointed at Diesel, then said to a pop, “calm your overgrown puppy down, champ.” Diesel responded, “Razor, you want to do this? Let's do this. I took you out before, I can do it again.” Ramon shot back, “but this time, I'm standing in front of you. So, I'll actually see you coming, big man.” Diesel simply shrugged and said, “never said I was a role model. I did what I had to do to show the World Wrestling Federation who I truly was. It was just business, pal.” “Didn't feel like business when I was knocked out on the floor, Diesel. But that doesn't matter, mang. What matters is in thirteen days at In Your House, all your whining, complaining, and [bLEEP]in' about being held down by the corporate suits will end, because you'll be looking up at the lights and I'll be the next World Wrestling Federation Champion!” “We'll see, Razor. I mean, after all, can you really trust the guy who threw you off a ladder and who you threw off a ladder just a few weeks back? Yeah, I'm a mean nasty T-Rex, but I'm upfront about it. I shed my scales, Ramon. Can you say the same about your partner?” That got an oooh from the MSG crowd, which brought Michaels to say, “this isn't Psychology 101 in Tennessee, Kev. Razor and I beat the hell out of each other, but it now means we respect each other. I thought you and I had come to the same conclusion, but the truth is, you were always scared of that little voice in the back of your head that said, everybody WWF fan out there really wanted The Heartbreak Kid with that big shiny belt!” Another pop as Ramon then said, “hell, maybe Shawn and I can main event Wrestlemania in another Ladder Match after I kick your tail at In Your House!” There was another tense standoff before Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow exited the ring, the WWF Champion raising his fist while Bam Bam made the title belt motions. COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercials, we get part three of the long form interview of Jim Ross with Jake 'The Snake' Roberts. They go over Robert's early career in the World Wrestling Federation, his rising popularity, and the problems that came along with it, including the drinking and drugs. Roberts explains that the only thing that mattered more than getting high from drugs or drink was the high from the crowd when he came out in the ring, but even then, that eventually burnt out. Roberts and Ross then continued, quickly covering a “disastrous trip down South” with another organization, reclaiming some of his career in Mexico, only for Roberts to say, “then I screwed it all up again.” The Snake finished by saying, “only when I was lowest did I finally see the light.” After that, we has a backstage interview with the entire Million Dollar Corporation, including The Million Dollar Man, Psycho Sid, Yokozuna (w/ both WWF Tag Title Belts), Irwin R. Schyster, Tatanka, and Steve Austin. DiBiase ranted about The Steiners, saying they're overhyped and on Superstars this week, they'll fall to IRS & Tatanka, then he began to talk about Crush & Savage, before Sid interrupted saying, “I am the Master and Ruler of the World – Machoooo Man, you will feel the thunder and what real savagery is tonight!” Before finishing off, Austin came in, talking about he was so above the rest of the World Wrestling Federation “outside present company” and that he was getting tired of the “low class trash” he'd been facing off so far in the WWF. Coming back from that, there was a quick recap of Mixtape facing off against The Nasty Boys on RAW, then there was quick inset promos of both teams with McCready saying, “Nasty Boys, you want to get funky with the future of the WWF, then let's get down and dirty with some chunky chords and nasty beats, brother!” Mixtape vs. The Nasty Boys – WWF World Tag Team Title Tournament Quarter Finals - McMahon went over the accomplishments of The Nasty Boy in the World Wrestling Federation prior to their leaving for “competition in regional promotions around the country”, then hyped up McCready and Hogue as two young guns looking to rise to the top of the WWF. Right from the bell, The Nasty Boys matched their name as they went right after the rocker and the rapper with clubbering blows before the referee could get things calmed down. Once the actual match started, Sags was in the ring with McCready and hit a neckbreaker and sidewalk slam right after the other to show off to the crowd here before throwing McCready into the corner and nailing him with a big clothesline in the corner. Sags then went to climb the ropes and continue the beatdown, but the big man from Los Angeles tossed one half of the former WWF Tag Champs down to the mat, then drilled him with a big discus-style lariat (called the 'RCA 45' by McMahon), then the man known as Van Hammer to WCW audiences picked Sags up and hit him with a big ole' belly to back suplex. Both men were slow to get up, but McCready got a pop from the audience by drilling Sags in the stomach, then dropping him with a big hair-aided faceslam right to the mat. McCready then turned around and tagged in Havok Hogue, who went out to the ring apron and somersaulted in the ring with a senton, landing on Sags! ONE! TWO! KNOBBS MAKES THE SAVE AND CONTINUES TO BEATDOWN HAVOK HOGUE! That made McCready come in the ring and things quickly broke down, but in the melee, Sags hit a low blow on Hogue, then impressively hurked Hogue up into a pumphandle slam. With McCready back on his side of the ring, Sags tagged in Knobbs. The Nasty Boys then grabbed Hogue and drilled him with a Double DDT, then Knobbs came off the ropes with a nasty elbow to the throat. From there, the big man went to work on Hogue, stomping and kicking him in the corner as the fans booed. While Knobbs played to the crowd, Hogue tried to crawl over to his own corner, but Knobbs saw that and pulled Sags back over to the middle of the ring before tagging Sags back in. After placing Havok in the corner and nailing with a quick kick to the gut, Knobbs grabbed his partner and sent him to the corner for their assisted splash – NO! HAVOK GOT OUT OF THE WAY! Knobbs goes over to help his partner, but Hogue ducks the attack and Knobbs goes right over the top rope. Van Hammer then quickly came in, nailed Sags with the double leg slam, then Hogue came off the top rope with a Senton Splash, which McMahon called Destiny on the Radio to pick up the slight upset win! Mixtape d. The Nasty Boys - (7:03 - Senton Splash) After the match, Mixtape played to the fans before McMahon threw it to tape of this weeks Superstars, showing Crush and Randy Savage winning their tag team match _ _and_ Fatu distracting Orndorff near the end of the match. We're then sent to the backstage area where Paul Orndorff is shown, dressed in a very nice suit where he rants and raves for a little bit, before officially challenging Fatu for In Your House! COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercials, we're shown the same Hector Garza video from the last few weeks, ending with the announcement that Garza will appear at In Your House. After that, we cut to the ringside area where McMahon says there's a situation outside. We cut LIVE, outside of Madison Square Garden where we see The Gangsta's, trying to get inside the arena with their whole posse, but security stopping them from entering. Gorilla Monsoon comes outside and tells The Gangsta's that part of the agreement they signed with the WWF was that they would make their debut at In Your House, but not before hand. Everybody outside boos that decision, begin to chant, “LET THEM IN” for a moment before New Jack calms them down saying, “look, Monsoon isn't the problem here. We all know the honky that's really making the decisions around here. So, Gorilla, we'll be at Devil's Night. Just remember, and tell you massa' that mofos like us cause all the destruction during Devil's Night. Call Detroit and axe them about Gangstas like us.” Coming back from that, McMahon looks very uncomfortable while Lawler jokes, “told ya' nothing good comes from Smoky Mountain, McMahon.” Vinny Mac no sells that joke, then sends it to ringside for the main event of the evening. Psycho Sid and Yokozuna come out first, with Yoko still holding the WWF Tag Team Titles. McMahon notes that all members of the Corporation, aside from DiBiase who holds a managers license have been banned from ringside. Then, for the 1st time in nearly two years, Randy Savage comes back to Madison Square Garden and he gets an absolutely enormous reaction from the WWF faithful. As both teams face off, McMahon tells us that after this commercial break, you'll see the entire main event. COMMERCIALS Randy Savage & Crush vs. Yokozuna & Psycho Sid w/ Ted DiBiase – WWF World Tag Team Title Tournament Quarter Finals - The bell finally rung with Crush and Psycho Sid in the ring and the two behemots went right to work on each other, trading punches, forearms, and more punches with Sid gaining the advantage, pushing Crush in the corner, before raising his big boot to choke the Hawaiian in the corner. Of course, this was near The Macho Man, so the former WWF Champion was having none of it, rushing over, throwing Sid's boot down to the mat to the cheers of the crowd and some admonishing from the referee. Psycho Sid glowered at Savage while The Million Dollar Man complained at ringside, then the big man continued his assault on Crush, only the slight distraction from Savage allowed Crush to block Sid's attack and go after him with several big shots, then sending Sid into the ropes and hitting him with a big shoulderblock, causing him to drop to the mat. Crush then went to pick Sid up from the mat, but as he went for a big slam, Psycho Sid shifted his weight, then hit the big Hawaiian with a surprise headbutt, sending him back to the ropes. That allowed Sid to drop Crush with a boot, then tag in Yokozuna to the boos of the crowd. With Crush down, Yoko did what he does best – slow things down. To the boos of the crowd, Yokozuna slapped on a nerve hold on Crush, keeping the big man from Kona trapped down on the mat where it doesn't matter how big you are. Savage implored his partner to power out, hyping up the crowd with claps and other crowd pleasing antics as Crush tried to stay conscious and power out of the hold. Fighting off the hold, Crush slowly got back to a vertical base, then elbowed the former WWF Champion several times in the elbow, almost breaking free. Sensing the momentum shifting, Yoko tried to clamp on a headlock, but Crush fought out of it, sent Yoko to the ropes, then as the 600 pounder slowly came off the ropes, nailed him with a huge Flying Shoulderblock that sent both men to the mat! Crush was the first man up and to the cheers of the crowd tagged in The Macho Man who came in a house of fire, running straight over and knocking Sid down to the floor with a big forearm, then turning around and nailing Yoko with several right hands as he got back to his feet. Stumbling back, Yoko was trapped in the corner, which allowed Savage to climb the ropes and to nail Yokozuna with big right hands as the crowd counted along with The Macho Man to '10', then Savage hit one last one as he dropped down to the mat as if to add an exclamation point. However, at this point, The Million Dollar Man jumped to the ring apron to complain about Savage's closed punches. Savage came over to jaw with DiBiase, but that gave Yokozuna enough time to recover, come over and drill Savage from behind, then lock him and send him down to the mat with a vicious BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX! Yokozuna raised his arms to the crowd and yelled 'BANZAI' and from the corner and ran – BIG LEGDROP! NOBODY WAS HOME! Savage barely rolled away and both men were down in the middle of the ring as the referee began his count. As the referee reached 'five', Savage began to stir, slowly getting up to his knees and using the ropes while Yokozuna also sat up. Unfortunately for The Macho Man, Yokozuna was much closer to his partner and was able to tag in Psycho Sid before Savage got close to Crush. With the goofy scary smile that embodies Psycho Sid, the big man from West Memphis went to work, kneeing, forearming, and punching Savage against the ropes before Irish Whipping Savage, then drilling him with a massive big boot. As the crowd booed, Sid picked a limp Savage up, rose his arms to the crowd and went for the Powerbomb – but Savage dead weighted him. Sid nailed with several forearms again, but again – Savage dead weighted him. A third time – Sid went to pick Savage up, but this time, Crush rushed in and nailed Sid from behind to the cheers of the crowd. Sid turned around and went after Crush while the referee tried to break things up. As that went on and both men traded shots in the corner on the ringside apron, Savage rolled to the outside to get some rest. As he stood on the outside, the crowd roared as Yokozuna stalked him from behind, but as the former WWF Champion rushed at Savage near the barrier – SAVAGE MOVED! YOKO ATE THE BARRIER! Back inside the ring, the referee has lost control of Sid & Crush and both men are actually brawling in the ring. Sid is going after Crush in the corner, Savage rolls in and nails Sid from behind. Lawler complains in the announcers booth about The Macho Man acting like he's above the rules and is shot down by Piper saying, “I think between you, me, and Savage, we've all tossed out the rulebook more than a few times, brother.” Crush is recovering inside the ring as Savage tosses Sid to the outside sloppily and because he's a crazy ass mofo, Savage scales to the top turnbuckle – FLYING AXEHANDLE TO THE FLOOR ON SID! Both men are down on the mat while the referee checks on Crush who is trying to get up. As he does that, DiBiase complains again to the referee, but while that's happening, the crowd buzzes as EARTHQUAKE COMES SAUNTERING DOWN TO RINGSIDE! Savage is using the ringside barrier to keep himself standing, but 'Quake grabs him. POWERSLAM ON THE RINGSIDE FLOOR BY EARTHQUAKE! WHAT THE HELL?!? Earthquake grabs Sid and gently tosses him back inside the ring. At that moment, The Million Dollar Man drops down to the ring floor again and the referee begins his count as 'Quake backs away to the entrance area. With relative ease as Crush is held back from going outside by the referee, his count reaches ten and the match is over. Yokozuna & Sid Vicious CO Crush & Randy Savage – (12:55 – Count Out) As the bell rings, Crush finally goes outside to help his fallen partner, only for Yokozuna to meet him and also toss him into the barrier! The crowd boos as The Million Dollar Man cackles at ringside, then pulls out a bundle of bills and hands them over to Earthquake. All of the sudden, the boos from the crowd turn to some cheers as Mixtape runs out from the back, going right after Yokozuna on the outside of the ring with Havok Hogue and Stone McCready dropping the former WWF Champion with a double clothesline, then getting in the ring and going after both 'Quake and Sid. It's an absolute brawl, but the numbers turn against Mixtape when Tatanka, Irwin R. Schyster, and Steve Austin come down to ringside, stomp on Crush and Savage a little more on the ringside floor, then come in, and go after both members of Mixtape. The newly former tag team tries to fight, but it's a number game. Just when it looks like The Million Dollar Corporation is going to end things early, the crowd rises again as Ahmed Johnson rushes down to ringside, slides in the ring, and goes crazy on The Corporation! Right hand for Irwin, big boot for Austin, elbow for Tatanka, clothesline for Sid sends him to the outside. Another big slam on Tatanka, Yokozuna rolls in – BODYSLAM ON YOKOZUNA! But again, it's a 5-on-3 situation and the heels eventually regroup and go after Ahmed and begin to attack him. Sid has Ahmed in position for a powerbomb when - THE LIGHTS GO OUT! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! PURPLE LIGHTS COME BACK ON PURPLE TO REVEAL - STANDING IN THE RING! The heels scatter, leaving Tatanka and IRS all alone – BIG RIGHT HAND ON TATANKA SENDS HIM FLYING! CHOKE SLAM ON IRS! MONDAY NIGHT RAW ENDS WITH AHMED, THE UNDERTAKER, RANDY SAVAGE, AND CRUSH STANDING TALL! TITAN SPORTS - COPYRIGHT 1995

Hey...we want some wrestling here instead of this soap opera BS! Kidding, this is great stuff. But, looking forward to the actual build up to the squared circle stuff as well. Unless we're going to get a Gordi vs. Hogan after you say he's looking at Yuka w./ jealous eyes.

Red Lions should just be renamed 'New Japan guys that NJPW has no use for' The Super Generation Army is so loaded it's not even funny. When Akiyama is your 4th guy - yikes. At least they'll be able to pull some great matches out of the non-Tenryu members of Revolution. Hansen & Taue wrecking fools will be fun as hell. Maybe throw Kikuchi & Fuchi together as veteran jerks. Good stuff continuing what the previous booker has done and doing something different from RL AJPW.

WWF picks up Miss Texas.

Triple H in SMW could be Godly, especially if you let him go full blue blooded Yankee on the SMW folks. Unabomb as your champ is kind of iffy but I understand it'd work in the territory, at least for know, but as usual, the tag title is the actual top title around here.

Yeah, I've only seen a few shoot style matches, but from reading the Observer forever, this gets me in the 'mood' of reading results from Dave and seeing the show in my head even if I've never seen 80% of the guys on the show. Plus, any world that involves Finlay & Regal kicking the crap out of Japanese undercard workers is a good one.

I absolutely love Virgil, The Gambler, and the former Destruction Crew as your top heels. Actually surprised Roadblock & Droese weren't a WCW Worldwide team at some point in like, 1998 or something. Looking forward to Ottman eventually going nuts.

Awesome write up of the show and I can 'feel' the old school DVDVR review voice. You just need 'Dean Phil' calling The Gladiator the next Stan Hansen or something else crazy like that to finish things off. As for Battle Bowl, I like Hayabusa vs. Funk as the big match so you can give Gladiator an 'easier' 1st defense for now.

I like the whole chaotic "Heenan making things up as he goes along" nature of this. With Hogan gone, it's a good thing to build around The Horsemen. Still not sure about Sting & Bret being gone for the first few weeks of Nitro, but hey, The Warrior draws ratings (right)? Looking forward to Havoc and everything else.

WWF Picks up Konnan