[2000-07-24-WCW-Nitro] Goldberg vs Booker T

[soup23]

The promo here was strong with Booker coming out and giving his rah rah promo and then Goldberg demanding a title shot. Cat does his best promo we have seen standing up to Goldberg and then saying the fan vote will determine the match tonight. We cut to the match and Sting has wont he fan vote? Huh. Someone definitely not Sting but dressed as him comes out and gets attacked by Goldberg. “Sting” gets stretchered out and now it is Goldberg vs Booker. Goldberg is vicious here and busts Booker open on the outside. He locks in a cross armbreaker which is an excellent hold for him and Stevie Ray comes down and throws in the towel. In a funny move, Goldberg wipes his sweat off with the towel. Cat says the match is over but Goldberg isn’t the champion because Booker never said I quit. That puts Goldberg in a rage and we see backstage he takes it out on Stevie putting him through a glass windown. What is with Goldberg and glass? Booker demands a rematch and we have it later on in the show. Match doesn’t start up before Jarrett comes out and hits Goldberg with a chair. That deflates the crowd until Goldberg gives Jarrett a thunderous spear. Cat gives Berg the spinning kick but Goldberg disposes of him. Booker is back up though and is able to hit the Book End for the 3 with Berg kicking out right at the finish. After the bell, Goldberg destroys Booker with a spear and jackhammer. Whew, a lot to take in here. Mostly good with a mix of bad. One thing is certain, both Goldberg and Booker are more important feeling than Jeff Jarrett. I will give the whole segment a **3/4 rating.

[GSR]

Booker thanks all the fans for supporting him ever since he won the World title, before informing Jeff Jarrett he’s going to get taken to school at New Blood Rising. Goldberg interrupts proceedings and joins Booker in the ring. He tells him that he never had a problem with him until last Monday when he stuck his nose in his business and had the nerve to put his hands on him. Goldberg then reminds everyone how a couple of weeks back Booker promised that every Monday night he would put that belt up, “it’s Monday Book and you’re looking at your partner for this evening… because you’re next!” Booker accepts the challenge and the two of them are nose to nose when ‘Commissioner Cat’s’ music plays. ‘The Cat’ tells Goldberg that he’s the boss, and while Booker did say he’ll put the title on the line every Monday night, he (Goldberg) doesn’t get to choose the person he’s going to face. As Booker calls himself ‘the people’s champion’ (where have I heard that before?), then they’re going to let the fans decide who will get to face him. The crowd start a ‘Goldberg’ chant, but ‘the Cat’ ignores them and says that for the next hour they can vote on WCW.com for who they want that opponent to be. Since he’s the boss, ‘the Cat’ then gives Goldberg five seconds to get out of the ring, but this results in Goldberg snatching him around the neck and with Booker making the save before security are quickly out to separate them.

 

Backstage interview between Goldberg and Mike Tenay where he promises that if the fans don’t choose him to be Booker’s opponent, the person they do will be leaving in a body bag.

 

The World title match and Booker is out first as we await the result of the poll on WCW.com. A Sting video appears on the Nitrovision and he has seemingly won the vote. When ‘he’ walks out though it is clearly not the real Sting and he’s immediately jumped from behind by Goldberg. Booker goes out to confront him and the two are at it again, with security again trying to keep them apart. As Booker helps ‘Sting’ onto a stretcher and to the dressing room, Goldberg gets on the mic and challenges him to come back out so he can “beat his ass”. It doesn’t take Booker long to answer and he sprints back to the ring. Booker ducks under a swinging rights and peppers Goldberg with a series of jabs. Irish whip, however Goldberg just charges at him and takes him down. Awesome looking overhead press into a bodyslam. Booker rolls to the floor but Goldberg follows him out and whips him into the ring steps. Despite Tony Schiavone’s claims that Booker went shoulder first into them, he’s bleeding from the forehead! Fireman’s carry takedown into a cross armbar and Booker is just about able to reach the ropes. Stevie Ray is out and throws in the towel for his brother, however Goldberg just uses it to wipe off his sweat before throwing it back at him. ‘The Cat’s’ back and he tells Goldberg that it’s over; he will get the win, but because Booker didn’t submit or he didn’t pin him, he can’t give him the World title. That doesn’t go down too well with Goldberg who then takes his frustrations out on the security.

 

Booker later confronts ‘The Cat’ in his office and he wants him to restart the match. It’s not about the belt anymore for him, and he threatens that if he doesn’t get it tonight he’s walking out of WCW. ‘The Cat’s’ not having a Benoit situation on his watch and acquiesces to his demands.

 

Stevie Ray is concerned for his brother and goes to see Goldberg. He tells him that Booker needs medical help and asks him to let this one go. His response is to attack Stevie and throw him through a glass window. It’s been a busy night for those paramedics, as after an advert break we see Stevie being stretchered into an ambulance as Booker looks on.

 

Onto the rematch, and this time it’s Booker who jumps Goldberg as he’s making his entrance. He goes to whip Goldberg into the guardrail, however reversal and it’s ‘the Book’ who goes crashing into it. The commentators are really trying to get over this ‘human cyborg’ moniker for Goldberg. He tosses Booker into the ring, but when he climbs through the ropes himself, Booker nails him with an axe kick. Whip to the turnbuckle, only to be met with a Goldberg boot when he charges in. Irish whip, Booker ducks the clothesline, crossbody, however Goldberg catches, puts him over his shoulder and powerslams him to the canvas. He starts to rain down punches on that cut from earlier in an attempt to reopen it, when out rushes Jeff Jarrett. ‘Double J’ sneaks into the ring and cracks Goldberg over the back with a steel chair. Apparently this is ‘anything goes’ so the official has to let it go. The chair shot has little affect anyway and Goldberg with a spear to Jarrett. ‘The bloody Cat’ is now in the ring and levels Goldberg with a ‘Feliner kick’ (what an awful name that is!). Goldie slugs him, Harlem side kick by Booker, ‘Book End’ AND BOOKER WITH A THREE COUNT ON GOLDBERG!!! He actually kicks out fractionally after the official has counted the fall and as Booker is celebrating, spears him. ‘Jackhammer’, but it looks like Goldberg may have hurt himself as he’s holding his arm. Security are out to try and calm the situation (you would’ve thought they would’ve learned by now!) but he takes them out one by one as the show goes off the air.

 

Sadly the match couldn’t live up to the build up. This angle had ran for the duration of the episode of Nitro, built well and then we got this main event. Goldberg has got a real bad ass aura about him at the moment, and he and Booker could’ve had a competitive match. As it was we got Jeff Jarrett interjecting himself, and then to top that, ‘Commissioner Cat’ and this shitty looking ‘Feliner kick’ dropping ‘the human cyborg’. Okay, Goldberg gets back to his feet pretty quickly after both lots of interference but that interference just deflates you. There is an air of freshness about Booker vs Goldberg, there is no freshness about Jeff Jarrett being in the main event mix. I appreciate why ‘The Cat’ had to be involved in the majority of this, but he’s a character I’ve already tired of and his involvement in the match itself made no sense. A huge shock seeing Booker get a three count on Goldberg as that was something that I was completely unaware of. Liked the idea of him kicking out just after the three though and going on a rampage to get his heat back.