Friday, April 14, 2000

The World's Greatest WCW Spring Stampede 2000 Preview

Much like the most recently aired "greatest Nitro of all time," WCW's leaving us pretty much in the dark for their Spring Stampede PPV. As of this writing, we've only a total of 2 set matchups with which to work.. and a couple tournaments for good measure. Though the actual stripping of all titles was certainly a key moment of Monday's show, the follow through isn't really that impressive after a glance at this lineup. Without a doubt, many of these workers have the goods (and now the motivation) to deliver, and the matches themselves will knock the prestige of each belt up a couple notches. There's just something of a bad taste lingering around the bland tournaments and 6-ways surrounding each decision. Perhaps it unnecessarily clouds things. Either way, I'll be happy if the cruiserweight rumble we were treated to on Thunder is any indication of what we have ahead of us.

Personally, I'm not convinced as to WCW's success just yet (yea, and that's what.. a surprise??). I won't begin to argue the finer points of this past Monday's show, because for what it was.. there really wasn't much more possible. Honestly, I enjoyed it.. but I enjoyed the prospect of competition even more. With the WWF apparantly resting on its laurels, this is WCW's big shot to tear the house down with a superb PPV. The hype's there, the interest is there (!), and the talent's got more than a few representatives present in each matchup. For the first time in ages, two watchable workers are vying over the world title, and we'll have a worthy champion no matter who walks away with the gold. I'll back the human slut machine here, and agree that if Booker's ever gonna get his fair shake, the time's now. So let's take a look at what's replaced Hogan/Sid, Vampiro & Sting/Team Package and Candido/TAFKAPI...

Juventud Guerrera vs. The Artist vs. Chris Candido vs. Crowbar vs. Shannon Moore vs. Lash LeRoux
Cruiserweight Championship | Six Man Elimination Match

Though it was spottier than Mean Gene, this past Wednesday's edition of Thunder gave us a glimpse at the past, the present and the future of the cruiserweight division. With teammates turning on each other and supreme fan interaction.. not to mention a high spot or two thrown in to keep things interesting, the battle stole the show. Remember when that wasn't just a pleasant surprise, but a near guarantee? With new talent like Candido and LeRoux heating things up, past superstars like Juvi and Rey continuing to do what they do best, and rising stars like Moore and Crowbar busting out revolutionary new stunts every time out, things could look worse. A division that's notoriously fast paced, with a title that changes hands seemingly at random, the cruisers look to be recapturing that old flame here in the most unpredictable match of the night. I'll go with Candido, because he needs it to establish himself with the WCW crowd. However, none of these guys can be really marked out of the ending.. a good sign.
Winner: Chris Candido

Screamin' Norman Smiley vs. Terry Funk
Hardcore Championship Match

Another surprisingly fresh twist on a theme that's long since become tired and redundant. Throw the Funker in with crap like Brian Knobs and you're likely to get crap back out the other end.. throw him in with somebody that knows their way around and you just might find something special. Smiley's never been a big bump taker, so I'd look for Terry to complete destroy himself here (what else is new), effectively getting both Smiley and himself over like madmen. So long as the gigantic Surge tubs are left backstage here, it could be a keeper. As for a winner I'm going with Funk, seeing as how Smiley's supposedly unhappy with his current position within the company. Beside that, Funk's never really been treated with proper respect and I'd consider the Hardcore title to be a cheap little token, meant to recognize him while not tying up any of their "important" titles.
Winner: Terry Funk

Match #1: The Mamalukes vs. Team Package (Ric Flair & The Total Package)
Match #2: Buff Bagwell & Shane Douglas vs. Harlem Heat 2000
Match #3: Winner of Match #1 vs. Winner of Match #2

Tag Team Championship Tournament

If it's a competition with the WWF's roster these guys are looking for, they may as well retire the belts right now. It ain't gonna happen. Suppose the WWF didn't have half the roster it currently boasts; it would still put the current WCW roster to shame. There's no question this is the weak link of the fed, with 4 singles wrestlers paired together (seemingly for 'one night only'), one sub par regular team and what's possibly the worst combination in the history of our sport in Harlem Heat 2000, things could look a whole lot better for today's tag belts. On a fluke, I'll go with Harlem Heat 2000, and may they be buried along with the belts they'll possibly carry.
Winners: Harlem Heat Suck-000

Bracket #1: Scott Steiner vs. The Wall, The Cat vs. Mystery Opponent (Probably Sid). The Winner of Steiner/Wall takes on Winner of Cat/Mystery. Winner of that match is in the finals.

Bracket #2: Sting vs. Booker, Kidman vs. Vampiro. The Winner of Sting/Booker takes on Winner of Kidman/Vampiro. Winner of that match is in the finals.

U.S. Heavyweight Championship Tournament

Since more than half of the listed combatants are already involved with feuds of their own, the finale of this one comes down to Booker, Scott Steiner and the Cat. Hogan will find a way to eliminate Kidman, pushing toward the feud we've been looking forward to for ages. The Wall and Sid are likely to start the series nobody demanded by eliminating each other, while Vampiro and Sting effectively take each other out of the runnings as well. A Flair interference isn't completely unlikely, which could hurt Scotty's chances... and if they put the Cat over Booker, we've come all this way for nothing. What I'd like to see is a big Booker/Steiner showdown in the finals. A solid heavyweight brawl with just enough ring presence to keep complete geeks like myself satisfied throughout. When he still had his senses, Steiner was more than worth his while in there and a clash with the newly motivated Booker could be enough to bring out shades of old in the younger Steiner brother. While a rumored feud with Goldberg is on the horizon for the slowly elevated "Big Poppa Pump," a short program over the US title could do nothing but aid both men. I'll take Scott over in this one, with Booker eventually taking the blowoff..and the title.. within a couple months' time.
Winner: Scott Steiner

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Jeff Jarrett
World Heavyweight Championship Match

As if the return of the 'power that was' didn't pretty much guarantee a world title reign for Double J, the inclusion of DDP iced the deal. With a willingness to job for rising stars that's become almost legendary, picking Jarrett seems almost too predictable.. but I'm willing to take that chance. After working his ass off for the past 3 months and effectively getting Sid over, Jeff's more than deserved his spot in the limelight. He's among the handful of straightforward, solid heels left in the business and is without a doubt the best worker of the bunch.. his promos aren't butter, but they aren't vinegar either. After several 'tweener' champs (and one standout, overnight champion that shall remain nameless), WCW really needs a strongly defined champion to take charge and lead the federation back to glory. With Sid coming off a failed attempt at the same effort and Jarrett just breaking into his prime, there couldn't be a more ideal choice.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett

In Closing...

If things fall together on this card as they have more than enough opportunity to, we could be looking at a full scale assault on the WWF's lead...but then again if the card falls into disarray and poorly conceived angles, this could be the final nail in the coffin for the boys down in Atlanta. It's a make or break PPV, and without a doubt WCW's last chance. I've more faith in the promotion now than at any point in the past 2 years, and I believe Bischoff and Russo've learned from the mistakes they made in the past. At least, for the time being. If Booker and Jarrett come away from this wearing gold, you're likely to never hear the end of it from me, which is why it ain't quite likely. I'm confident these two are more than one trick ponies this time around, and we'll come out of this PPV with an angle or two with legs enough to carry the promotion into a new competition. And that should take care of it for me.. so, until the next time Vince and the Rock raid my catchphrase closet (not to mention our PPV banner), i'll be around.
until next time, i remain
drq

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