Participants: Akio, Amos Hersch, Buff Bagwell, Christopher Nowinski, Chuck Palumbo, Crowbar, Curt Hennig, CW Anderson, Disqo, D’Lo Brown, Elix Skipper, Evan Karagias, Guido Maritato, Jason Jett, Jeff Jarrett, Johnny Stamboli, Josh Mathews, Kaz Hayashi, Kwee Wee, Marc Mero, Mike Sanders, Norman Smiley, Pete Gas, Tommy Dreamer, Willy Fraizer

The bell rings and it is instant, unadulterated chaos with twenty-five guys just mauling each other. Right away, a personal grudge explodes as Akio and Kaz Hayashi charge each other and start brawling against the ropes. Amos Hersch barrels across the ring and levels them both with a massive double clothesline, sending both former Jung Dragons tumbling over the top rope to the floor at the exact same time!

Shortly after, Willy Frazier tries to throw his weight around against the FBI, but the numbers game is too much. Johnny Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo hoist Fraizer up and hurl him over. The FBI then turns, swarming Norman Smiley, lifting him high and tossing him right out behind Frazier. Meanwhile, Kwee Wee is going absolutely nuts in the corner, but his rage gets the better of him. He swings wildly at Tommy Dreamer, who ducks, grabs him by the tights, and launches him over the top. Over by the turnbuckle, Marc Mero is trying to show off his boxing skills against Jarrett, but Jarrett dodges a wild haymaker and drops Mero with The Stroke! Jarrett then lifts up Mero and easily tosses him over the top. Evan Karagias tries to fight off Little Guido, but Palumbo runs over and pulls Karagias off and drills him with a big Super Kick. Guido then tells Palumbo to stand aside and he tosses Karagias out to eliminate him.

The crowd starts buzzing as the two Tough Enough finalists, Christopher Nowinski and Josh Mathews, square off. Mathews is the ultimate underdog here, using his speed to hit some crisp dropkicks and a swinging headscissors that nearly sends the arrogant Harvard boy over the top. Nowinski barely hangs on, rakes Josh's eyes, and uses his size to press-slam Mathews straight down to the floor. Nowinski climbs the turnbuckle to brag and mock the crowd, but Curt Hennig comes from behind and gives him a simple shove to the lower back, sending the snob flying out to a pop.

Across the ring, a fun little four-man dynamic unfolds as Pete Gas and CW Anderson face off with Disqo and Mike Sanders. Disqo and Sanders are trying to dump Gas, but CW Anderson rushes in for the save, hitting a big clothesline on Disqo and then planting Sanders with a Spinebuster. Before they can even breathe, the FBI swoops in, Stamboli and Palumbo grab Disqo and Sanders and toss them both out as Guido calls the shots. Anderson looks like he’s about to help Gas up to his feet, but instead, he grabs Gas amd tosses his own partner over the top rope! Anderson and Gas have a brief staredown, when Hersch scoops Anderson up and hurls him out to join Gas.

Jason Jett goes to work on Elix Skipper. Skipper battles and tries to go for a standing hurricanrana, but Jett counters into a Powerbomb. Jett then tosses Prime Time for the elimination. Jett’s glory is short-lived as Jeff Jarrett immediately appears, throwing Jett over the top. Crowbar tries to bring his erratic style to Curt Hennig, but the Perfect One utilizes a textbook hip toss to send Crowbar crashing to the arena floor.

Amos Hersch looks completely unstoppable, but D’Lo Brown, Curt Hennig, and Tommy Dreamer al team up to take on the Amish Brute. The three corner Hersch against the ropes and hit a massive triple clothesline, finally dumping the powerhouse to the floor. D’Lo keeps the momentum going, ducking a right hand from Buff Bagwell and hitting a big back-body drop to send Buff over the top rope to the floor.

We are down to the final elite groups as D’Lo, Hennig, and Dreamer face the fully intact FBI. The numbers advantage plays out quickly as Chuck Palumbo catches a charging D’Lo Brown and turns him inside out with a clothesline over the top. Refusing to back down, Hennig and Dreamer use their wits. When Palumbo and Stamboli charge together, Dreamer and Hennig duck down, pulling the top rope down with them and letting the FBI’s own momentum carry them crashing over the top to the floor! With Little Guido left completely alone, Hennig and Dreamer double-team him with a suplex before tossing him out to leave themselves as the final two.

Dreamer and Hennig stand nose-to-nose, trading stiff right hands to a roaring Greensboro crowd. Dreamer gets the upper hand and hoists Hennig onto his shoulders for the Spicolli Driver. But the veteran counters beautifully, slipping out behind Dreamer and shoves Dreamer, sending Tommy tumbling over the top rope to the apron and down to the floor. Hennig raises his arms, but he forgot about Jeff Jarrett! Jarrett, who had hidden on the outside without being eliminated, slides back in with a guitar and smashes it squarely over the back of Hennig's head with a loud wood-shattering explosion! Jarrett picks up the limp body of Hennig, tosses him over the top, and wins the match.

That was a fun little battle royal. Lots of stuff going on there and lots of little stories. Surprises with the Tough Enough guys and Jeff Jarret was fun, and Jarrett showing up to win establishes him right away towards the top of WCW’s card which is probably needed.

Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Lance Storm w/ Dawn Marie

The countdown clock begins at 30:00 as the Greensboro Coliseum erupts into roaring chants of "R-V-D!" Right away, you can tell these two know each other inside out from their previous four matches. They engage in a beautiful, crisp display of technical chain wrestling. Storm goes for an early single-leg takedown to target RVD’s knee, but Van Dam counters by flipping out onto his feet and landing a spinning heel kick that forces Storm to back off. By the 10-minute mark, the score is still tied at 0-0. Storm slows the match down to a grinding pace with surgical precision, hitting a brutal dragon screw leg whip and dropping all his weight onto Van Dam's lower back with sharp knee drops. RVD rallies at the 18-minute mark, hitting a springboard side kick and a spectacular split-legged moonsault for a heart-stopping two-count, but the sheer physical exhaustion of this long series is starting to show on both men.

With five minutes left and the score still deadlocked at 0-0, the intensity hits a fever pitch. Lance Storm ducks a spinning wheel kick and transitions flawlessly, locking in the lethal Canadian Maple Leaf right in the dead center of the ring. Van Dam is screaming in absolute agony, his back arched terribly. RVD scratches and claws across the canvas, finally managed to drape his hand over the bottom rope. The referee demands a break, but a frantic Storm completely refuses to let go, ignoring the 5-count until the referee has no choice but to disqualify him! The buzzer sounds, giving RVD the first fall at 1-0.

Storm is totally unhinged by the ruling. He drags the damaged champion back to the middle of the ring and locks the Canadian Maple Leaf right back on. With his leg and lower back already severely compromised, RVD has nowhere to go and is forced to tap out almost instantly, tying the match at 1-1. Storm, showing a mean streak we haven't seen before, refuses to break the hold even after the fall. He sits back incredibly deep on the submission until RVD passes out from the pain, forcing the referee to award Storm a technical submission victory. Storm is now up 2-1 with only two minutes left on the clock.

Storm stands up and starts celebrating in the ring, soaking in the deafening boos, convinced the United States Championship is his RVD slowly starts to stir, clutching his mangled knee. Livid that the champion is even moving, Storm rolls outside and grabs a folding steel chair to finish him off. As Storm slides back in and swings the steel, RVD acts on pure survival instinct, leaping up to execute a Van Daminator, kicking the chair straight into Storm's face! RVD collapses on top of him, the referee counts the three, and we are tied at 2-2 with less than a minute remaining.

The crowd is going absolutely bananas as the clock ticks past forty seconds. Knowing he only has one shot left, RVD painfully hobbles to the corner, dragging his useless left leg behind him. He agonizingly climbs the turnbuckle, balancing on one foot, and launches himself off the top, Five Star Frog Splash! RVD hooks the leg with everything he has left, and the referee counts 1... 2... 3! The three-count lands with just three seconds left on the clock, and the final buzzer sounds!

These two gel together so well, and wrestling 6-matches of such high quality over the last couple months, concluding with this match is just brilliant. I probably preferred some of their other contests just a hint more, but that’s more down to personal taste at this level, as Iron Man matches can be convoluted. I did love the Canadian Maple Leaf spot and thought it was a great unique idea, and unique is hard in wrestling.

Misfits In Action (Blonde Bombshell, General Rection & Corporal Cajun) vs. Shark Squad (Shark Girl, La Sharka & Shark Boy) vs. Portraits of Poise (Stacy Keibler, Shawn Stasiak & Mark Jindrak)

The match gets underway with mixed tag rules enforced, meaning the women can only fight the women and the men can only fight the men. General Rection and Shawn Stasiak start it off, trading some heavy right hands. Stasiak tags in Mark Jindrak, who showcases his insane vertical leap by dropping Corporal Cajun with a beautiful dropkick. Cajun manages to tag in La Sharka, and the serious tone goes right out the window. La Sharka enters and immediately starts doing a comedic dance routine, dodging a clothesline from Stasiak by doing a limbo under his arm, completely infuriating the Portraits of Poise.

The match reaches its boiling point when all six male competitors tumble to the outside, engaging in a wild brawl on the floor. Seeing the massive pile of bodies grouped together, Shark Boy climbs to the top turnbuckle and launches himself with a massive flying crossbody dive all the way to the floor, completely wiping out Jindrak, Stasiak, Cajun, and La Sharka. With all the men down and out, the action shifts to the legal women inside the ring: Stacy Keibler and the Blonde Bombshell. Stacy delivers a crisp Spinning Heel Kick to Bombshell’s jaw and immediately begins celebrating and soaking in the cheers.

However, Stacy celebrates a bit too close to the Shark Squad's corner. Shark Girl reaches over, slaps Stacy hard on the back to blindly tag herself in. Stacy turns around and starts furiously yelling at Shark Girl for stealing her spotlight, going to slap her across the face. Shark Girl ducks the slap completely, slipping right behind Keibler. Shark Girl reaches out, pulls Stacy's wrestling tights down to briefly reveal her thong-clad behind, and takes a "bite" out of Stacy's backside! Stacy shrieks in absolute shock, scrambling frantically out of the ring. Shark Girl turns around just as the dazed Blonde Bombshell is slowly trying to push herself up, Shar Girl catches her in a quick School Girl roll-up for the 1-2-3!

That was fine. I didn’t have super high expectations, and it probably ended up being exactly what I thought it was going to be. I really didn’t see Shark Squad winning, and though their cheap wins leading into the match were going to be played as flukes. Loved the finish though. Curious where everyone goes from here.

Sean O’Haire vs. The Foundation (Kanyon & Mike Awesome) (c)

Sean O’Haire marches down the ramp entirely alone, his face a mask of pure fury after the backstage assault on BG James. The referee has no choice but to start the match. O'Haire puts up an incredibly valiant effort early on, using his raw strength to hit a double clothesline on both champions and planting Mike Awesome with a spinebuster. However, the overwhelming numbers advantage quickly catches up to him. Kanyon tags in and clips O'Haire's knee from behind, allowing Awesome to execute a brutal running clothesline in the corner. The Foundation punish O'Haire with heavy shots and double-team stomps. After a vicious Awesome Bomb from the “Career Killer”, O'Haire is seemingly out cold. Instead of covering him to win the match, Kanyon slides outside to grab a steel chair, while Awesome pulls a heavy concrete cinder block from under the ring, making it clear they want to permanently take O'Haire out of commission.

Before they can execute the assault, the arena speakers erupt with Shane McMahon’s music! The Greensboro Coliseum goes absolutely unhinged as Shane McMahon makes his shocking return to WCW television for the first time since WrestleWar, dressed to compete! McMahon sprints down the ramp, slides into the ring, and immediately takes the fight directly to the tag team champions! Shane unloads with a flurry of his signature shuffling punches on Kanyon, sending him over the top rope, before combining with a recovering O'Haire to hit a double shoulder block on Mike Awesome, clearing the ring. McMahon walks over to the corner, steps onto the apron, and looks directly at O'Haire, extending his hand to officially become his new tag team partner as the referee approves the substitution!

The match transforms explosive tag team affair. Awesome tries to overpower McMahon, but Shane showcases his reckless athleticism, hitting a flying clothesline off the middle rope. Kanyon tags in but eats a massive sidewalk slam from O'Haire. The champions manage to isolate McMahon for a brief stretch, with Awesome hitting a huge back suplex, but Shane dramatically escapes a powerbomb attempt to make the hot tag to O'Haire! O'Haire enters like a freight train, knocking Awesome down with a spin kick and hitting a clothesline on Kanyon.

The match dissolves into a wild four-man brawl in the center of the ring. Awesome and O'Haire engage in a heavy exchange of right hands, but O'Haire gains the upper hand, hooks Awesome, and plants him with a devastating Death Spiral! O'Haire immediately goes for the pin, but Kanyon rushes over just in time to break up the count. McMahon charges to handle Kanyon, unleashing another rapid-fire combination of shuffling punches that backs Kanyon up right into O'Haire’s grasp. O'Haire hooks him up and delivers another Death Spiral to eliminate Kanyon from the equation. With Awesome still dazed on the canvas, McMahon hops onto the apron, and O'Haire walks over to tag him in. McMahon scales all the way to the top turnbuckle, points to the heavens, and launches himself across the ring, connecting with a Leap of Faith Elbow Drop right across Mike Awesome’s chest! Shane hooks the leg as the referee counts a dramatic 1-2-3 to crown new champions!

That was awesome! McMahon’s return was out of nowhere. And they managed to have a great match with Kanyon & Awesome doing a fantastic job dragging the best out of McMahon and just everything was firing for these guys. Can’t say I had McMahon & O’Haire as Tag Team champions as a possibility earlier this year, but here we are. Shame it looks like James was the mystery injury and had to be pulled from the match, but maybe that worked out for the best.

Joanie Laurer vs. Steve Corino

The match begins with Steve Corino talking trash, but he is quickly taken aback when Joanie Laurer showcases the blatant power advantage over him. Joanie easily wins an initial lock-up, shoving the King of Old School across the ring and dropping him with a heavy shoulder block. Corino looks completely shocked, ducking outside the ring to confer with his thoughts. Back inside, Joanie continues to dominate the physical exchanges, hitting a traditional vertical suplex and a big clothesline that sends Corino reeling. Corino goes to enter the ring and when Laurer tries to grab him, drops her throat first across the top rope! Utilizing his superior wrestling, begins to target Joanie's neck and back with a series of clubbing forearms and locks on a butterfly hold on the grounded “9th Wonder”. Joanie fights back, making it to her feet and driving elbows into Corino’s gut.

Corino tries to battle back and sends Laurer into the ropes, and drops his head for a back body drop, but Laurer stops and grabs Corino looking for a big Powerbomb! Desperate to escape, Corino drops down and fires an intentional low blow directly between Laurer's legs. Corino takes a step back to celebrate his underhanded tactic, but Joanie doesn't even move. Obviously. Corino's face contorts into pure terror, and he quickly backs himself into the corner. The referee immediately steps in, getting right in Corino's face to chastise him for the attempt at cheating, while Joanie steps forward to join the argument. With the referee’s vision completely blocked by Joanie's size, Corino reaches and drives a sharp thumb directly into Laurer’s eye. As Joanie doubles over, blinded by the jab, Corino quickly flies out of the corner and dills an Old School Expulsion! He hooks the leg and gets the 3!

Match ending seemed a bit out of nowhere, but they were having a nice little match and possibly Joanie’s best match since back in her WWF days. Corino getting the win is good for him, but curious what his means for Joanie or if these two have more matches in their future.

Rey Mysterio vs. Shane Helms vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Billy Kidman (c)

The action starts at a blistering, breakneck pace as all four cruiserweights look to secure a quick victory. Shane Helms and Chavo Guerrero immediately trade rapid arm drags, while Rey Mysterio executes a spectacular springboard hurricanrana on Billy Kidman that sends the champion scrambling to the outside. The match features a series of high-flying, breath-taking spots, including Helms hitting a huge diving crossbody to the outside, wiping out both Chavo and Kidman. Midway through the contest, the chaotic pace momentarily stalls as Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman find themselves standing face-to-face alone in the ring. The Greensboro crowd erupts as the two men have a tense, dramatic staredown, with Joey Styles heavily mentioning their storied history as close friends and former partners in the Filthy Animals, before they immediately explode into a chain wrestling clinic that ends with Mysterio hitting a wheelbarrow bulldog.

. Shane Helms hits a roaring neckbreaker on Chavo and looks to finish the match, but Billy Kidman strikes, intercepting Helms and planting him hard with a devastating Kid Krusher. Before Kidman can make the cover, Mysterio springs onto the apron, catches Kidman with a sharp drop-toe-hold into the second rope, and connects with a 6-1-9 that sends the champion flying across the ring. Rey goes to capitalize, but Chavo Guerrero Jr. violently intercepts him, lifting Mysterio up and planting him into the canvas with a brutal Gory Bomb. As Chavo stands up to celebrate, a recovered Shane Helms blindsides him, hoisting Chavo into the air and executing a spectacular, crushing Vertebreaker! Helms collapses momentarily, allowing Billy Kidman to recover and rush across the ring, shoving Helms out of the squared circle to the floor. Kidman covers the unconscious Chavo Guerrero Jr., Rey Mysterio desperately lunges across the canvas to break it up, but he is mere inches too late as the referee counts the 1-2-3 to let Kidman retain the gold.

A Cruiserweight spring on Starrcade with 4 of the best in the business and it showed. Loved it. Seemed short on time, but that was maybe a blessing in disguise as these guys were just going for broke. Kidman retaining is a choice and Mysterio seemed the obivious choice to win, but so far with this Starrcade, WCW seems to be really subverting expectations on a good few of the matches. Looks like we are maybe headed to Kidman vs. Mysterio 1-on-1 which I can get behind.

Kitti Carter vs. Jazz (c)

Kitti and Jazz have a stare down in the middle of the ring. Kitti is bubbly and dancing around a bit as Jazz does not look impressed. Jazz is trying to tie up, but Kitti scurries away instead, then blows Jazz a kiss from the corner. Jazz charges in and absolutely squashes Kitti in the corner! Didn’t see that coming. Jazz pulls Kitti to the middle of the ring and hits the Jazz Stinger, locks in the STF, and Kitti taps immediately.

Well, that was short. Kitti quite literally didn’t get a single move in and I think I have less than a minute on the match time. Can’t say I expected a wrestling clinic, but an absolute squash wasn’t what I thought either.

Booker T vs. Diamond Dallas Page (c)

The atmosphere inside the Greensboro Coliseum is absolutely electric as the bell rings for this monumental main event. With WCW President Ric Flair keeping a watchful eye from ringside as the Special Enforcer, Booker T and DDP start with a classic, high-stakes lock-up. Booker uses his speed early on, hitting a spinning heel kick and a big sidewalk slam that forces the champion to the outside to regroup. DDP begins to slow the match down, targeting Booker’s ribs with stiff gut-punches and driving him spine-first into the mat with a slam. The match unfolds into an absolute epic war of attrition, with both stars trading heavy signatures; DDP connects with swinging neckbreaker for a 2-count, while Booker hits a spectacular diving forearm smash off leaves both men collapsed on the canvas as the crowd roars.

In the climax of this grueling battle, Booker T hits the ropes looking for a flying forearm, but DDP ducks out of the way. Booker's momentum carries him forward, and he accidentally collides directly with referee Nick Patrick, knocking the official completely unconscious. With no referee, the match descends into absolute chaos. Mike Awesome and Kanyon hit the ramp, rushing down to ringside to interfere on behalf of the champion. However, Ric Flair refuses to let the main event be ruined; the President steps directly into their path, blocking the ramp. Awesome and Kanyon get right into Flair's face, threatening the “Nature Boy”, but Shane McMahon and Sean O'Haire sprint out from the back with steel chairs, chasing the former tag team champions out of the arena.

Meanwhile, World Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman exploits the distraction, having snuck entirely through the raucous crowd. Kidman slides into the ring behind Booker T's back, raising his cruiserweight title belt to blast the challenger. Flair spots this at the absolute last second, slides under the bottom rope, and intercepts Kidman, unleashing a furious barrage of trademark knife-edge chops that sends Kidman into the corner! Flair doesn't stop there; he trips Kidman to the mat and locks him in a Figure Four Leglock!

As Kidman is screaming and tapping out in agony to Flair's hold, DDP and Booker T battle to their feet right next to them. DDP spins Booker around, looking to hit a definitive Diamond Cutter to retain his title. However, Booker T uses DDP’s momentum against him and spins the champion around and planting the champion into the canvas with a definitive Book End! Booker hooks the leg as a second referee slides into the ring, counting a 1... 2... 3! The arena completely erupts!

I loved that. A fantastic match from Booker & DDP, and the shenanigans at the end actually seemed like a logical messy conclusion, and ultimately the match itself was kept unaffected by Ric Flair at ringside, which is what Flair said he’d do. The tension tease between Flair & Booker had me thinking Flair was turning heel here, but instead we get a feel good ending to the first not-quite year of Shane McMahon’s WCW, which seems like the right move.