WCW is riding high after WrestleWar as Nitro rolls into the Bank of America Centre in Boise, Idaho LIVE on FX. In a night of spectacular wrestling and the return of the infamous War Games match, Team WCW defeated The Foundation and that means tonight, Shane McMahon’s choice for WCW President will be named as the ultimate authority in WCW!
Cue the video, “Party Hard” by Andrew WK, the pyro and Joey Styles & Jerry “The King” Lawler are at the commentary desk as WCW Nitro is live, NOW!
RIC FLAIR! RIC FLAIR! “Also Sprach Zarathustra” is blaring through the speakers and that can only mean one thing. Here comes “The Nature Boy!”
Ric Flair is on his way to the ring to open Nitro, he’s in a nice suit and wooing and strutting his way to the ring. He stands for a moment and takes in the ovation before finally addressing the crowd.
Flair stops and looks at the big screen, a short video package plays showing the current Hall of Fame members like Terry Funk and Dusty Rhodes, then flashes to reveal the class of 2001 with snippets of their careers: Paul Orndorff, the Rock’n’Roll Express, Jimmy Hart and the “Macho Man” Randy Savage! Big pop for that. Flair is back on the mic.
First of all, Billy Kidman, at Starrcade, you are defending that World Cruiserweight Championship against Shane Helms…. Woo! AND Chavo Guerrero Jr…. WOOO! And the man who made his return at War Games... Rey Mysterio! Fatal 4-Way, baby! Woo!
Next up, the WCW World Tag Team Champions, Kanyon and Mike Awesome, you are defending those titles against two men who tore you limb from limb inside War Games... BG James and the “Psycho Killer” Sean O'Haire!
And that brings me to the big daddy. Diamond Dallas Page! At Starrcade, you are putting the biggest prize in this sport on the line against the man who has fought tooth and nail to carry the flag of this company... Booker T! But DDP, I know how you operate. The “Dirtiest Player in the Game” wrote the book! So, to ensure that justice is served in the building that The Nature Boy made famous... I will be standing right at ringside to watch every single second and make sure the best man wins! And here is the real treat, Page: if you get yourself disqualified, or if you get yourself counted out, you lose the World Heavyweight Championship! No shortcuts, no backdoors, no excuses! It’s Booker T! It’s DDP! It’s Starrcade! It’s Greensboro! To be the man, you've got to beat the man, and right now, the Nature Boy is running the show! WOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The opening contest explodes with cruiserweight action as Rey Mysterio and Shane Helms waste no time taking the fight to the Primetime Players. Mysterio, looking absolutely revitalized in his sleek new gear, keeps Skipper off balance early with Lucha chain wrestling. Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo attempt to ground the high-flyers with desperate tandem offense, but the babyface duo completely overwhelms them. Late in the match, chaos spills to the arena floor where Mysterio wipes out Skipper big springboard crossbody from the top to the floor. Mysterio slides into the ring and Romeo tries to grab him but Mysterio drops him onto the middle rope with a drop toe hold. Mysterio off the opposite rope and hits the 619 kick in the ropes he debut last night! The impact sends Romeo stumbling backward right into the waiting clutches of Shane Helms, who hooks the arms and plants him into the canvas with a Vertebreaker to secure the pinfall.
This might surprise you, but WCW Cruiserweights are always fun, even if the match seems pointless. Great to see Mysterio back and his new mask, attire and entire presentation is such a step up. Helms gets the pin which is a good boost for him. The 4-best cruiserweights in WCW are set to wrestle at Starrcade and I for one am excited for it.
Backstage we are in Arn’s Office. Arn Anderson is talking with Joanie Laurer and is reminding her he is still WCW Commissioner. Laurer says that’s why she’s here and she wants Steve Corino 1-on-1. Arn says he isn’t sure about men wrestling women, and Joanie says she is tougher than any man she’s met and glares at Anderson. Anderson smiles and says, “Prove it tonight” and tells her she has a warm-up match later.
We cut to the locker room of The Foundation. DDP is furious and asks who Flair thinks he is. DDP, Kanyon and Kidman all take turns complaining and whining while Mike Awesome stands stoically in the background staring at nothing, which made me laugh. There’s a knock at the door and it DDP yells at someone to answer it, so Awesome does. Terry Taylor pops his head in! He says the President forgot an announcement earlier. DDP has a match tonight, against D’Lo Brown. And its for the World Heavyweight Championship. And the rest of the Foundation need to pack their things and go home, because they are not needed tonight. DDP screams and lunges at the door as Terry leaves, slamming into it as it closes and Kanyon tries to console him.
La Parka has an unveiling during the Shark Squad’s entrance, transformed from the influence of the deep sea into La Sharka! Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli attempt to utilize their distinct size and power advantages, but they are repeatedly thwarted by their bizarre nautical opponents. Palumbo tries to lock in a headlock, but La Sharka brushes him off and dances across the ring, while a frustrated Stamboli tries to blindside him only for Shark Boy to leap in the ring and bite his backend. Guido Maritato gets visibly angrier at ringside with each failure. Things get worse when the FBI tries to corner La Sharka, but Shark Boy distracts them by "swimming" up and down the ring apron with just the fin of his mask visible above the top rope, allowing La Sharka to nail Palumbo with a Spinning Heel Kick sending him to the outside. Completely losing his mind, Guido confronts Shark Girl at ringside, but his yelling is cut off with a stiff slap across his face and Shark Girl violently bites his backend too! The spectacle completely breaks the concentration of Johnny Stamboli, allowing La Sharka to swiftly with a quick roll-up to score the shocking 3-count!
Listen, I jokingly was hyped for the Shark Squad a few weeks ago. I did not expect it to be a thing. But I think it might be a thing. This is going to be great, or terrible.
Backstage Steve Corino & Jazz are standing in a corridor. Jazz has her newly won WCW Women’s Championship around her waist. They are talking about something as the camera gets closer and Jazz is heard saying “Thanks for your services” as she hands Corino a wad of cash. Corino says she’s on her own now and walks off, leafing through the wad of cash.
Joanie Laurer looks to make an immediate statement, wasting zero time as she takes the fight right to Disqo. They tie up and Joanie out powers Disqo to the mat. She tells Disqo to get up and they tie up again. This time Disqo manges to get Joanie in a hammerlock and begins celebrating by gyrating his hips. Joanie gets angry, powers out, and boots Disqo in the gut. Powerbomb! 1-2-3!
Joanie looked lost and uninterested, and it effected the match. You’d think she would be able to work a good match by now with the years she’s had among some of the best, but she still is relying on Disqo to try and drag a passable match out of her. She gets a good crowd reaction, but even that is starting to fade.
Backstage again and we see Booker T, Sean O’Haire & BG James. Booker tells them he’s thankful for everything they’ve done together, but they all have bigger things on the horizon at Starrcade. James & O’Haire agree and the three men shake hands. Booker walks off one way as James & O’Haire go off the other way.
We now cut to Scott Hudson and he is standing by with the “Whole Dam Show” Rob Van Dam. Hudson asks RVD what he expects next week in match 4 of the best of 5-series with Lance Storm as its do or die for Rob Van Dam. RVD simply says “Do.” Hudson then ask what makes him so confident and RVD reminds everyone he’s the Whole Dam Show, and confidence is a by product of that. So next week, there will be a new United States Champion… Rob… Van… Dam!
This mixed tag team encounter kicks off with Lance Storm and General Rection locking up hard, with Storm instantly taking control using crisp, technical transitions to keep Rection at bay. Rection tries to build momentum, but Storm cuts him off effortlessly with a stiff superkick before tagging in Dawn Marie. Blonde Bombshell tags in for the Misfits, but the technical exchange between the women rapidly devolves into a chaotic, hair-pulling catfight across the canvas. Bombshell manages to get the upper hand, cornering and neutralizing Dawn Marie. Seeing his partner in trouble, General Rection moves along the apron to assist, but suddenly Shawn Stasiak and Mark Jindrak sprint down the aisle, pulling Rection off the apron and begin laying a beating on the General on the outisde! Inside the ring, Storm keeps the referee's attention completely occupied by complaining to him. This allows Stacy Keibler to slide into the squared circle unnoticed, Spinning Leg Kick straight to the back of Blonde Bombshell's head. Dawn Marie quickly drapes a hand over Bombshell as the referee turns back around, counting the pinfall.
Dawn Marie’s in-ring debut! I don’t know if she’s going to step in the ring on a more full time schedule, but she isn’t any worse then Stacy or Bombshell at this point. Storm and Rection had a decent little match, interrupted by a catfight. The real story is Mark Jindrak seemingly joining up with Stasiak & Keibler to take on MIA. A Cajun return soon, I’d assume.
After the break, Scott Hudson catches up with Stacy Keibler, Shawn Stasiak & Mark Jindrak backstage. Hudson asks what exactly we just saw. Stacy says everyone knows the “Beacon of Beauty” Stacy Keibler. Everyone knows the “Mecca of Manhood” Shawn Stasiak. And everyone should know the “Reflection of Perfection” Mark Jindrak. Because they are the most beautiful, most genetically gifted trio in the history of wrestling, unlike the Misfits In Action. They are… the Portraits of Poise.
This championship main event gets underway as the crowd unloads on DDP. D’Lo Brown brings the fight directly to the champion early on, utilizing his explosive power to level Page with a couple of heavy clotheslines and a running leg drop. DDP plays defense, trying to slow the pace with underhanded tactics, but D’Lo cuts him off with a sudden Sky High out of nowhere! D’Lo is fired up now, he scales the turnbuckles and takes flight, flattening Page with a thunderous Lo Down frog splash! D’Lo hooks the leg and this looks like a new champion, but DDP barely manages to survive by driving his foot onto the bottom rope at the last possible second! Sensing the title is slipping away, D’Lo doesn't waste a beat and immediately scales the turnbuckles again to attempt a second consecutive Lo Down. Desperate to save his reign, DDP kicks referee Nick Patrick intentionally straight into the ring ropes! The sudden impact causing D’Lo to lose his footing and crotch himself painfully on the top rope. Page aggressively hooks D’Lo’s head and brings him crashing down off the top rope with a Diamond Cutter out of the corner to secure the 3-count!
As DDP celebrates, Booker T’s music hits! Booker makes his way to the ring and stand face-to-face with DDP! The two are exchanging verbal jabs we can’t hear. DDP eventually raises the title above his head as Ric Flair walks out onto the stage and slowly smiles at both men.