WCW NITRO
Date: Monday, Week 3, January 2001
Location: Charles E Smith Center; Washington D.C.
Attendance: 4,782
TV Rating: 3.91
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Jarrett does “the right thing”
The Nitro opening runs, edited slightly to feature the new logo and color scheme, and we pan inside the Charles E Smith Center in the nation’s capital! Pyro goes off all around the big screen on the stage. The cameras get close ups on fans throughout the arena wearing WCW merchandise and showing off their signs. Tony Schiavone and Scott Hudson are on the call as usual and say that things in WCW have never been more exciting and unpredictable! They talk about the return of Dustin Rhodes last night and the raucousness in the main event that resulted in Jeff Jarrett once again winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Tony says Dustin Rhodes is here tonight and we will be hearing from him later on tonight, but right now, Jeff Jarrett is set to address the crowd!
Jarrett’s music hits and the new king of the mountain comes out wearing a Tennessee Titans shirt with the sleeves cut off, carrying his guitar as always, and wearing the WCW World Championship around his waist. Jarrett brings a microphone to the ring and antagonizes the fans for a bit before getting down to business.
“Alright, alright, let’s cut the music. All you fans out there, cut the crap, I got something to say! Now last night was a very important night for everyone in World Championship Wrestling! We’re under new ownership now. Eric Bischoff is officially steering the ship. Many have said WCW is entering a new era now, so that means everyone in the back is on edge. But last night was a particularly big night for yours truly! I was faced with the toughest decision you can be faced with in this industry. I had to choose between friendship… and championship gold! Now, I know you Washingtonian slap nuts will never understand that feeling, okay, but try to empathize a little!”
The boos pour down, and Jarrett gets back to his point.
“But look, I went into the main event of Sin with every intention of doing what I felt was the right thing! I was going to stand by Scott Steiner and ensure that he kept this World Heavyweight Championship. I was! But things changed when the fourth man was revealed to be Dustin Rhodes. You see, Rhodes took out Steiner. And then for reasons that are beyond me, he took my guitar from ringside and creamed big Sid Vicious with it. At that moment, I had to make a decision, and I decided to do the right thing! I hit Sid with The Stroke… I made the cover… and I won this championship! Now I’ve heard a whole lot of talking these past 24 hours and just as I figured, everyone wants to make me out to be the bad guy. They say I turned my back on Scott. They say I went into business for myself. They want to know what’s the deal with Dustin Rhodes helping me out. Hell, I’d like to know myself, but that ain’t the point. The fact of the matter is all you pissants, just like you always do, decided to jump to conclusions without getting your facts straight! Well, I’m here right now to set the record straight once and for all!”
Just then the sirens of Scott Steiner’s entrance theme blare over the speakers and out comes the former champ, looking all business. He enters the ring and doesn’t say a word, just eyeing down Jeff Jarrett.
“Scott, I’m glad you’re here because I was going to ask you to come out for this. Now like I was saying, I intended to do the right thing last night. And though everyone wants to get up on their high horses and act like I betrayed you last night, that ain’t what happened! You see, I did do the right thing last night when I pinned Sid Vicious to take this championship. And now I’m going to show you what I’m talking about. You see Scott, I’m not some snake who’s going to pull a fast one on you when your back is turned. If I’m gonna try something with you, I’ll do it straight to your face like a man. That’s one thing I can promise you. But like I said, things aren't what they seem and now I’m going to do what’s right!”
Jarrett unlatches the title from around his waist and looks at it long and hard. He then extends the belt out, offering it up to Steiner. Steiner looks at the belt, then up at Jarrett. Off the microphone you can hear Jarrett tell Steiner to take it. Scott Hudson questions if Jarrett really won the belt just to hand it back over to Steiner. After a long and tense stand off, Steiner reaches for the title, but Jarrett pulls it back. Steiner stares at The Chosen One for a second until suddenly Jarrett hits him with a swift kick right to the genetic marbles! Steiner doubles over in pain. Jarrett backs up with a sinister smile, then charges forward, absolutely drilling Steiner in the skull with the title belt! Steiner falls in a heap as Jarrett looks around, nodding, proud of what he’s done. Jarrett then stands over Steiner shouting that he doesn’t play second fiddle to anyone! Referees come out to back Jarrett away as Steiner begins to pour blood from his forehead. We then cut to our first commercial break as the referees tend to Steiner and Jarrett laughs his way up the ramp.
Rating: B
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The Jung Dragons w/ Leia Meow vs. 3 Count
Kicking off the night with cruiserweight tag team action! Chavo Guerrero decides to join the commentary desk for this match up to get a good look at some of his potential challengers. Both teams bring their best for this match, and there are dives a plenty. Things are back and forth for several minutes and both teams become spent. Out from the back comes Jamie Knoble and Evan Karagias, here to bust up the party. Karagias measures up Helms and goes for a roundhouse kick but Helms ducks and drops him with a clothesline. Meanwhile, Knoble grabs Kaz Hayashi and attempts an Irish Whip, but Kaz counters and sends Knoble into Yang who takes him down with a side kick. Knoble and Karagias roll to the floor, but they get no reprieve, as Shannon Moore and Yang hit synchronized suicide dives to wipe them out! All of the sudden, Chavo leaves the announce desk and enters the ring. But he too fails to interfere as Helms and Hayashi hit a double superkick on the champ! Helms is talking down to Chavo when Kaz whips him around. Helms is quick to react though, landing a kick to Kaz’s gut and delivering his signature move, The Vertebreaker! No one gets up from the Vertebreaker and Kaz is no exception, as the referee counts the 1-2-3 for Helms!
Result: 3 Count win via pinfall
Rating: C-
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Main Event Announcement
After returning from the second commercial break of the night, we get a graphic on the screen displaying the main event for the evening, just signed by Ric Flair! It’ll be Jeff Jarrett and Dustin Rhodes taking on the unfriendly duo of Scott Steiner and Sid Vicious! Tony and Scott react in shock, saying there’s no way that Steiner and Vicious will be able to work together in this match. Tony then adds the point that for all we know, Jarrett and Rhodes won’t be able to work together either!
Rating: B-
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Rey Mysterio vs. Elix Skipper
The next bout is somewhat of a return match from Sin, as The Filthy Animals’ Rey Mysterio takes on Team Canada’s Elix Skipper. The two high fliers of their respective groups are going it alone here in this one, as Flair has ordered no one to be at ringside during the match.
We get a match that’s all about counters and one upmanship. Skipper puts on a very impressive performance, hanging with one of the premiere cruiserweights in the world for the better part of 10 minutes. The highlight of the whole match comes when Mysterio hits Skipper with the tiger feint kick. Mysterio heads up to the top rope, looking for a big diving move, but Skipper makes a quick recovery, does a vertical leap to the top rope and quickly snaps off a hurricanrana off the top. Skipper is unable to seal the deal though. He pulls Mysterio up for a powerbomb, but Mysterio rotates over and rolls Skipper up with a sunset flip for the sudden pinfall victory!
Result: Rey Mysterio wins via pinfall
Rating: C
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Goldberg gets more than he bargained for...
Back from yet another commercial, the distinct and iconic theme music from Goldberg echoes through the arena, bringing the fans to their feet! The cyborg-like behemoth comes marching defiantly towards the ring. He makes his signature entrance and takes the ring, grabbing a microphone. Fans in the first few rows are seen bowing to the man. His music dies and Goldberg doesn’t beat around the bush with what he’s out here for. He says last night, Totally Buff seriously injured DeWayne Bruce in their tag team match, and he’ll likely never wrestle again. He was able to get the win against the two of them, but he’s not satisfied with that, and he wants a piece of the two of them right here, right now!
Goldberg drops the mic and begins to pace back and forth in the ring, looking towards the stage. But then there’s a rumbling in the crowd, and suddenly a bulky figure wearing a leather jacket with a black hood over his head slides into the ring wielding a ball peen hammer! Goldberg turns around and immediately takes the hammer right to the skull! Goldberg drops and is out like a light! The man drops the hammer. He pulls back the hood to reveal his identity… It's
Road Warrior Animal! The commentators lose their shit and the fans let out an audible gasp (though their response isn’t as dramatic as the commentators are putting it over). Animal is rocking his trademark mohawk but no facepaint for the former Legion of Doom member. Animal grabs the limp body of Goldberg, throws him over his shoulder and drives him down into the mat with an Air Raid Crash! Scott Hudson says Goldberg’s world has just been turned upside down by Animal! Animal climbs up to the middle rope and raises his arms in the air as the broadcast cuts to several shots of angry fans in the arena. Animal goes to exit the ring, but turns back and spits on Goldberg’s beaten body just to add insult to injury! We fade to commercial with the surreal shot of Goldberg lifeless in the middle of the ring.
Rating: B+
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KroniK vs. Shawn Stasiak and Mark Jindrak
Following their brawl at Sin, these two heavyweight tag teams clash officially here on Nitro!
KroniK have a commanding lead throughout a majority of the match. The two guns for hire relish in pummeling the cocky up and comers. But, their lack of focus is ultimately their undoing. Despite seeming to have the match in the bag, KroniK continues to deal out punishment, until Jindrak is able to break out of a rear chinlock, kneeing Adams in the head and sending him crashing into Clark on the apron. Jindrak then nails Adams with a picture perfect dropkick, before making the tag to Shawn Stasiak. Stasiak, however, stays on the apron. Adams never sees the tag so he goes back after Jindrak, allowing Stasiak to lurch in and surprise Adams, hitting him with the bridging fisherman’s suplex! Adams tries to squirm free but Stasiak is just able to keep his shoulders down for the 3 count to steal the match!
Result: Shawn Stasiak and Mark Jindrak win via pinfall
Rating: C
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Enough Funkin' Around
KroniK lament their loss in the ring as The Thrillers high tail it to the back, having secured the W. Tony and Scott talk about the match that has just been transpired, but Tony then gets word that something’s going down in the back and we’re going to send the cameras to the back to check it out!
We cut to the parking lot, where the camera is focused on a collision. It looks like one car has backed into another. We see Disco standing there with his hands on his head, and it’s apparent that he was driving the car that backed into the other. Disco is a bit nervous, pacing around. The door to the other car opens and out steps the hardcore legend, Terry Funk! Funk doesn’t look amused, and Disco becomes frozen in place. Disco tries to explain himself to Funk, but Funk tells him to can it! Funk tells Disco in very few words that he’s going to meet him in the ring tonight. Funk walks off shaking his head as Disco is left looking distraught.
Rating: C
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Dustin shoots from the hip
Now it’s the time that many fans have been waiting for. Gene Okerlund has Dustin Rhodes in the interview area. Rhodes is decked out in blue jeans and a denim jacket. He sports a cross necklace. He’s also wearing a backwards trucker hat. Okerlund gets things going, recapping Dustin’s actions at Sin. Okerlund asks Rhodes to take him through what brought him back to WCW and what dictated his actions at Sin. Rhodes smirks a bit and stares down the camera.
“Well it’s all pretty simple really, Gene. I got the call from Ric Flair several weeks ago, telling me he needed my assistance. Imagine that. Ric Flair calling Dustin Rhodes of all people for help. He told me he needed someone to enter the main event of Sin and ensure that Scott Steiner did not leave with the gold. Alright, easy enough. Flair told me ‘Dustin, brother, I’m going to take care of you! You do me this favor and I’ll get you whatever you want!’... Sure. So I accept Flair’s mission. I do whatever he tells me to do. I show up on Thunder to brawl with Steiner. I go to Sin, I enter the match, and I remove Steiner from the equation. I’m a man of my word, after all. I got the job done, just as I promised to.”
Gene says that all adds up, but what he can’t figure is why Dustin didn’t blast Jarrett with the guitar when he had the chance, and win the WCW World Title for himself. Dustin chuckles lightly.
“I get it. Why not win the title? And for that matter, why let Jeff Jarrett who I’ve fought tooth and nail with for years, win the title? Well that’s simple too, Gene. You see, I’ve been cooped up in the house for months, serving a suspension after I spoke my mind on just how I felt about WCW management. And I’m going to be honest, I didn’t know if I was going to come back. You know my story, Gene, and so do all the fans. But allow me to fill in those who have been living under a rock for the past decade. If you couldn’t tell, I’m the son of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. An all time great of this sport. I broke in at a young age and I’ve been pegged for greatness due to my pedigree. And a lot of folks think that because of that, I must have it easy. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. See, not only do I have to deal with enormous expectations that come with being the son of a legend, but I also have to deal with the resentment that comes with being the son of a legend. And I have to deal with the baggage of my father who was a legend. And I have to suffer because of enemies he made in this business. To put it in simple terms, I’ve never been given a fair shake because I’m “Dusty’s son”. So like I said, I’m at home, contemplating if this career path is right for me. And that’s when Flair calls and lays out his master plan. And at that moment, it all clicked for me. It occured to me what I’d been doing wrong all these years. And I needn’t look any further than Flair himself to make it oh so clear what I had been doing wrong. I wasn’t playing… the game. You know what I’m saying Gene?”
Gene nods, kind of tenuously.
“You see in pro wrestling, busting your ass is only going to get you so far! This business doesn’t care about the dues you pay and the sweat you pour into it! At the end of the day, it’s all about who you know and what you can do for them! That’s what separates winners from losers in our industry, plain and simple! Now I thought for the last 10 years that if I busted my hump and left it all in the ring, racked up enough wins and did what was asked of me, I could reach the mountaintop. Ho boy, was I sadly mistaken! I watched as wrestler after wrestler passed me by and I was so goddamn oblivious to what was going on. I’m embarrassed of myself looking back on it. But now I’ve got it figured out and things are going to be different this time around. So to circle back to your question, I didn’t try to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Sin because that’s not my priority at the moment. I let Jarrett win the title because as much bad blood as he and I once had, I realize now that he and I faced the same struggles coming up in this business and I have to tip my hat to him for figuring out how to navigate this game long before I did. And on top of that, I just knew it would piss Flair off! That’s right. Flair, I know good and well why you called me! Because you think you can control me. You wanted to take advantage of me and have me do your bidding, knowing that I’m a “company guy” and I’d be happy to break my back for WCW! Come on Flair, I know I was naive but how stupid would I have to be to believe you had my best interest at heart? But I was a man of my word. I told you I’d get the belt off Steiner and that’s just what I did. I know this is asking a lot of you Nature Boy, but now I want you to be a man of your word! You owe me one. So here’s my one wish, Flair: you… me… SuperBrawl… one on one! Simple as that. Quite frankly I don’t think you have the GUTS, Flair. Prove me wrong!”
Dustin takes off, leaving Gene stunned. Tony and Scott remark as this new side of Dustin Rhodes and remind us that he’ll be in action tonight, teaming with Jarrett against Steiner and Sid in the main event!
Rating: C+
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Mike Awesome vs. Jim Duggan
Mike Awesome and Jim Duggan make their entrances for this match. We shoot it over to a video filmed earlier in the night, showing Jim Duggan going to Ric Flair and requesting this match after Awesome hit the Awesome Bomb on him at Sin. Flair agrees to make the match, but tells Duggan to watch himself out there.
The match gets started, and Jim Duggan is on fire, fueled by patriotism! He drops Awesome with some bionic elbow strikes and then sends him off the ropes, launching him up high with a back body drop! Duggan lets out a huge “HOOOOOO!” but Awesome has recovered quickly, and we get a shot of Awesome staring a hole through the back of an oblivious Duggan’s head. As soon as Duggan turns around, Awesome lights him up with a big uppercut, sending the old timer all the way to the floor. Awesome brutalizes Duggan on the floor as the referee begs for him to bring the match back inside. Awesome breaks the count but immediately rolls back to deal out more damage. Duggan gets some hope spots in though, dropping Awesome with a flying shoulder block on the floor. Both men make it to their feet at the same time, and begin exchanging punches. Duggan does a mini “Hulk Up” and gets the best of the exchange, landing a flurry of punches, capped off with one big heave to knock Awesome down.
Duggan rolls in and out to break the count and makes his way over to Awesome who is working his way up to his feet. Awesome suddenly grabs Duggan around the abdomen and launches him face first into the steel post! Things swing completely back in favor of Awesome who takes Duggan into the ring and continues to deal out some punishment, to the point where it becomes difficult to watch for fans of the American hero! Awesome taunts the crowd along the way. He pulls Duggan into a rear chin lock and just pelts him with measured strikes right to the forehead. Awesome pulls Duggan up and continues to instigate the crowd. He pulls Duggan up overhead, backs into the corner and runs out with a vicious Awesome Bomb! Scott Hudson says Duggan is toast! But… Awesome isn’t finished. He makes the cover but then pulls Duggan’s shoulder up off the mat! He slowly picks Duggan up and delivers a second Awesome Bomb! At this point, Tony is begging for Awesome to stop on commentary. Awesome finally makes the cover, just placing one hand on Duggan’s chest to get the pinfall victory!
Awesome leaves Duggan lying in the ring, barely stirring. Tony and Scott put Awesome over strong as a destructive force that seems more dangerous than ever!
Result: Mike Awesome wins via pinfall
Rating: C
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Where’s The General?
In the back we find Mike Tenay, who has been serving in somewhat of an investigative reporter role as of late. He’s near the entrance of the building, standing by. He says he’s waiting to get a word with General Rection who lost the United States Championship to Shane Douglas last night at Sin, and he understands Rection’s car is pulling up to the arena in just a moment.
Sure enough, in just a few seconds, a black car pulls up a few feet away from Tenay. The door opens, and Rection’s MIA stablemate Corporal Cajun steps out and closes the door. No Rection in sight, so Tenay gets a word with Corporal Cajun. He asks Cajun where Rection is and how he is doing. Cajun shrugs and tells Mike he hasn’t seen or heard from Rection since his match last night. He says Rection never checked in to their hotel and he hasn’t returned his calls yet so Mike’s guess is as good as his. Cajun says if he knows Rection, he’ll show up tonight, because he’s a competitor and he doesn’t want to let any fans down. But as of right now, he has no clue what’s going on with him. Tenay thanks Cajun for his time and Cajun proceeds to head to his locker room…
Rating: C-
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Sanders has some words for KroniK and The Insiders!
Elsewhere in the back we find Gene Okerlund once more, and there’s a raucous somewhere in the distance. Suddenly, the entire Natural Born Thrillers group walks into frame celebrating, high fiving and singing their own praises. Okerlund looks at them with contempt and as usual, Sanders steps to the front to act as the mouthpiece of the group. Okerlund says that was quite the win for Stasiak and Jindrak against KroniK earlier, but asks Sanders why they’re celebrating like they just won the Super Bowl! Sanders tells Gene that every day is a celebration for The Thrillers but there’s something extra sweet about getting the win against two jacked up muscle head geeks like KroniK! Sanders says not only did they take his money last night, but they also stole money from The Cat because they failed to get the job done that they were paid for! But, Sanders says that’s perfectly fine because he remains two steps ahead at all times. He then pivots to the other match The Thrillers had last night, where O’Haire and Palumbo took on Nash and DDP for the Tag Team Titles. He says you can’t win them all, but in the end The Thrillers always get the last laugh! He says The Insiders better be celebrating just like The Thrillers are because their time is coming, sooner than they think! Sanders laughs and the whole squad heads out. Gene Okerlund yells after them that maybe next time they face The Insiders they won’t get their butts kicked! Gene shoots it back over to Tony and Scott to end the segment.
Rating: C+
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WCW Hardcore Championship
Terry Funk (c) vs. Disco Inferno
Disco wants no part of this match and sells his nervousness through his entire entrance. The bell sounds and Funk invites Disco to come at him, but Disco is very cautious to do so. Eventually, Funk has enough of the stalling and just takes the fight right to Disco. Most of the match features Disco retreating and avoiding Funk’s attacks. Funk backs Disco up against the ring post out on the floor, and swings a steel chair at him, but Disco ducks and Funk only makes contact with the post. The vibration through the chair hurts Funk’s hands and buys Disco an opening. He hits Funk with a big chop to the chest, but Funk just eats it and grins at Disco who apologizes! More chasing ensues and Disco ends up trying to crawl under the ring for cover. Funk grabs him and pulls him out, but Disco has a fire extinguisher and blasts Funk in the face with it. Once again, Disco has an opening and tries to take advantage of it. For a moment he is able to pummel Funk down. But, that doesn’t last all that long. Funk’s near immunity to pain allows him to weather the brief storm and retake control. They end up back in the ring, going back and forth a little bit. Disco goes for The Chartbuster, but Terry whirls him around, kicks him in the midsection and plants him with a piledriver for the win. A fun and chaotic match, but not something the fans were particularly into.
Result: Terry Funk wins via pinfall
Rating: D+
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It ain’t over til it’s over!
Gene Okerlund is joined backstage by “The Ruler of the World” Sid Vicious. He’s in his ring gear, wearing his signature vest, and he looks ready to fight. Mean Gene thanks Sid for his time, and asks the big man after months of chasing the WCW World Title and coming up short, what he has planned for tonight and the immediate future. Sid takes a long deep breath and wipes down his face. Sid snaps into a tangent, saying that guys like Steiner and Jarrett think they have things figured out, but Sid is the master of his own destiny! Sid says no matter the odds he’s put against and all the setbacks he experiences, he will be the one who gets the last laugh! He singles out Steiner and says that as far as he's concerned, they can settle their problems at another time, because tonight his focus is on Jarrett and Rhodes, and avenging his loss at Sin!
Rating: C+
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Three's Company
Elsewhere backstage we are following behind the narcissistic tag team known as Totally Buffed as they are walking through the corridors of the arena. They are talking to each other a bit, but their words aren’t picked up on the mic. They make their way to a door and Lex asks Buff if he’s sure this is the right place. Buff says he thinks so. They knock on the door and wait for a moment. The door opens and standing there is the man who made his presence felt earlier in the night with a brutal assault on Goldberg - Road Warrior Animal! Animal stands there stone faced while Buff and Lex enthusiastically give him props on what he did to Goldberg earlier. Buff even says he’s a huge fan of the Road Warriors, and Lex adds that Totally Buffed wants to be just like them! Animal says that all that Road Warrior stuff is history now and it’s just him here in WCW to cement his own legacy. Lex and Buff nod and tell Animal that they really respect that. They tell Animal that they can appreciate that mindset, but they are here to make a proposal! A working agreement between Animal and themselves. Buff says Animal can do his own thing, but seeing as they have a common target in Goldberg, they can have a bit of a loose alliance and work together to decisively rid WCW of Goldberg! Lex says Animal can even take all the credit! Buff and Lex stand there for a while with their arms spread waiting for an answer. Eventually, Animal nods and sticks out a hand. He shakes hands with Lex and Buff and says that sounds like a good plan to him. Lex and Buff laugh maniacally and high five as we fade back to ringside.
Rating: B-
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Shane Douglas vs. Norman Smiley
Our penultimate match of the evening features the newly crowned United States Champion Shane Douglas taking on Norman Smiley! Shane Douglas takes the mic before the match begins and addresses General Rection, who he defeated last night. Douglas claims that Rection is somewhere back in Michigan crying into his pillow after Douglas bested him at Sin! He tells Rection that there’s no one to blame for that loss but himself, and maybe Rection should be thanking Douglas because now he can take a good long look at himself and realize that he’s nothing but a joke!
Douglas ditches the mic and the bell rings. Smiley is able to surprise Douglas, starting the match with a big flying forearm! Smiley frantically puts the boots to Douglas, trying to overwhelm the champ early and maybe pick up a big win. Scott points out that a win here for Smiley would certainly move Screamin’ Norman way up the rankings. However, Smiley’s window of opportunity soon slams shut. Smiley draws Douglas up to his feet and sets him up for a suplex, but Douglas lands a kick to Smiley’s knee immediately dropping him down to a kneeling position. Douglas plants Smiley with a DDT and takes back full control. From this point, Douglas lays into Smiley, focusing his attack squarely on the knee of Smiley. The damage done to the knee prevents Smiley from ever making a big comeback. Ultimately, Shane is able to cinch in the figure four leglock on Smiley, forcing him to tap out!
Result: Shane Douglas wins via submission
Rating: C
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No laughing matter…
Douglas has secured the victory and is proudly soaking in the boos of the audience. But suddenly his music cuts out. Douglas looks to the stage area, and slowly walking out from the back comes General Rection to no music. He isn’t in his normal gear, he is simply wearing black sweatpants, a Nike shirt and a bandana as a headband. Douglas laughs at the sight of Rection, who is clearly in no joking mood. Rection makes his way about halfway down the ramp, and then gets a microphone to address Douglas. He tells Douglas that he was half right about him. After suffering that loss to him last night, he had to re-evaluate things in his life and his career, and he reached the conclusion that it’s time to cut the crap! He says he worked years upon years to become the United States Champion, and that was his crowning glory. But then in a matter of no time whatsoever, he lost it all. He says that after a decade in the business, it can no longer be about having fun for him. It’s time to get serious. So from now on, he will no longer be known as General Rection, nor will he be known as Hugh Morrus. From now on he will be addressed as
Bill DeMott and he will fight every day to ensure that Bill DeMott is a name that is respected, not laughed at! DeMott, as he wishes to be referred to, thanks Douglas for helping him reach this conclusion. You can read The Franchise’s lips as he condescendingly tells DeMott he’s welcome. But then DeMott tells Douglas that he wants his title back and that he owes him a little payback for that low blow from last night!
DeMott drops the microphone and charges the ring. He slides in and begins unloading on Douglas with a combination of jabs, topped off by a discus clothesline! Douglas is quick to roll out of the ring at the first opportunity. He snatches his US Title before heading for higher ground. DeMott climbs up to the second rope, ordering Douglas to come back and fight him. Douglas refuses, yelling at DeMott that he’s going to be sorry he didn’t just quit! DeMott celebrates in the ring to fanfare before we head off to commercial.
Rating: C-
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Actions speak louder than words
The Natural Born Thrillers are backstage, still patting each other on the backs after Stasiak and Jindrak got the win over KroniK earlier tonight. They can also be heard talking about how they’re going to do the same to The Insiders, finally putting those dinosaurs in their place! But things get quiet pretty quickly as Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page walk into the shot. There’s a staredown between the two groups for a while before Nash tells Sanders to keep his trap shut about The Insiders until they actually manage to get a win over them, because so far they’ve tried and failed at every turn! Sanders snaps back and soon all eight men standing there are having a screaming match with each other. A voice is heard yelling off camera and soon Ernest “The Cat” Miller comes into view, throwing his hands up and yelling at everyone to shut up. Miller says he has his issues with The Natural Born Suckas just like Nash and Page, so how about they settle things like men! He challenges The Thrillers to a six man tag match… any three of The Thrillers versus himself, Page and Nash next week on Nitro! There’s a silence as they all look at Commissioner Sanders, waiting for an answer. Finally he cracks and tells Miller he’s on! The Thrillers move out. Page and Nash high five Miller and say next week’s going to be a lot of fun.
Rating: B
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Sid Vicious and Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Jarrett and Dustin Rhodes
We have reached the main event! Tony Schiavone tells us all what we already know, which is that there is a lot of tension between all four men in the match up and there’s no telling if either of these teams are going to be capable of working together. Off the bat, Rhodes and Jarrett are out first and they seem to at least be civil with one another. Sid comes out next and has to be stopped from jumping his opponents. Steiner is out last and marches straight to the ring, sporting a bandage on his forehead from where he was busted open earlier. He’s clearly in a fighting mood tonight. Also notable is that Steiner wants nothing to do with Sid.
The match begins with Steiner and Rhodes facing off. Steiner gets the jump on Rhodes early, looking to just obliterate his opponent. Rhodes, being more level headed and tactical, is able to hang in there with his cunning. Rhodes does take more complete control, and gets Steiner in an arm wrench. He tags in Jarrett who is happy to come in and take advantage of the weakened Steiner. Jarrett comes in and delivers a big uppercut to Steiner’s ribs. Using that leverage Jarrett just hammers down on Steiner. He even pulls the bandage off of Steiner and clocks him with a couple of closed fists, causing the blood to pour once again. This turns out to be a mistake though, as it only fires Steiner up and allows him to make a blind rage comeback! Steiner hits Jarrett with a couple of suplexes. He heads off the ropes, at which time Sid makes a blind tag.
Steiner takes Jarrett down with a shoulder block and then turns to look at Sid who is entering the ring off the blind tag. Sid ignores Steiner and just goes right after Jarrett. Steiner eventually goes to the apron, angrily. Sid takes Rhodes down with a big boot, just to send a message. Sid mangles Jarrett for the most part, until Jarrett counters an Irish Whip sending Sid towards the rope where Rhodes gets in a cheap shot, hitting him with a knee to the lower back. Jarrett pulls Sid down with the side headlock and begins to chip away at him with some different holds. Jarrett and Rhodes trade in and out rapidly, each getting in a few shots at a time. Rhodes gets in a big hangman’s neckbreaker and attempts a pin, only to get a 2 count. After another minute or so, Sid is able to land a big back body drop to buy himself some time. He lurches over, reaching out for a tag from Steiner. At the last second, Steiner pulls his hands away, shoots a big middle finger at Sid and drops off the apron. Steiner takes off up the ramp, telling Sid to take care of himself! Sid looks furious, but turns back to try and handle business.
Though he puts in an excellent effort, including a hot run where he handles both Jarrett and Rhodes, climaxing with a good old fashioned double noggin knocker, ultimately the numbers prove to be the difference maker. Rhodes and Jarrett use every trick possible to keep Sid down but the big man stays alive, even through The Stroke from Jarrett! Jarrett looks in disbelief at Sid kicking out. Rhodes and Jarrett have to break out a double team maneuver, hitting an atomic drop/lariat combo to drain Sid a bit more. Jarrett hits a second Stroke, and this time around Sid doesn’t manage to kick out, giving The Chosen One and The Natural a dub.
Result: Jeff Jarrett and Dustin Rhodes win via pinfall
Rating: C+
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Heading for lockdown
Rhodes and Jarrett celebrate a bit, and even shake hands after the match. Tony puts over Sid’s effort again but has to hand it to Rhodes and Jarrett who worked as a cohesive unit for the win. We quickly cut away from the ring to the backstage area where Steiner is storming through the hallway. He barges into the office of Ric Flair and tells Flair he’s done playing his little game. Sid dug his own grave out there and got what he asked for. But he isn’t worried about Sid, he wants his title rematch and he wants it next week! Flair tries to calm Big Poppa Pump down a little bit. Flair tells Steiner he’s happy to give him his rematch, just as his contract stipulates. Flair tells Steiner there’s too many outside factors he has to worry about though so what’s going to happen is next on Nitro, it’ll be Steiner vs. Jarrett for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship inside the steel cage! Steiner chuckles and tells Flair that’s perfect for him. Flair then adds that he’s going to have Sid Vicious at ringside with strict orders to make sure no one goes into or comes out of the cage until a winner is decided! Steiner’s smile turns to a frown quickly. He swipes a bunch of papers off of Flair’s desk and storms out. Tony and Scott go nuts at commentary, saying next week’s Nitro will be can’t miss TV with the confirmation of a six man tag match pitting The Natural Born Thrillers against Ernest Miller and The Insiders PLUS a World Championship Cage Match where Scott Steiner will challenge Jeff Jarrett, with Sid at ringside as the special enforcer! Nitro fades off air with Tony promising next week will be one for the books!
Rating: B
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Show Rating: B-
THAT STEEL CAGE NEXT WEEK!!