Personally, I think the internet as a whole is living up to its reputation by looking too deeply into this once. I've read multiple reports chastising the effort as a failure days before it's even been revealed. The important thing we often forget in our crash tv world is to just sit back and allow yourself to be entertained. Sure, chances are pretty high that this big surprise will suck eggs.. Eric and Vince have backed some real loser ideas in the past (anybody remember nWo Nitro? How about that Late Nite with Eric Bischoff fad?), but these are also the men that have hit paydirt on several occasions as well. If you throw that much shit at the wall, some of it's bound to stick. For the sake of competition, I hope this Sunday's dump is a hefty, sticky mess.. just to wake McMahon up. I'm really looking for the longshot here, hoping the oft-denied ECW / WCW crossover is in the works.
Lieutenant Loco vs. Disco Inferno
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Oh yeah! There's still a cruiserweight division, though I'm not sure which man is champion. Chavo and Disco can tear up as well as anybody left in WCW, so this could be pretty decent before all's been said and done. Guerrero's been stuck with terrible gimmick after terrible gimmick since his feud with Uncle Eddy years back, when his own personality would have likely sufficed. Disco, luckily enough, managed to escape the 'mobster' scene he was stuck in.. but I still refuse to believe he's a legitimate cruiserweight. Much as I like Disco, I'd rather have seen a Chavo / Candido match here. I'll count on it for next month. Chavo / Loco / Pepe / whatever takes the win.
Winner: Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
Tank Abbott vs. Scott Steiner
This one's supposed to go down in that big "thunderdome" cage, which actually holds a historical reference of its own (the cage was used in the late 80s on several occasions). I'm still waiting for the resurrection of the scaffold match.. those things kicked some ass.
Abbott seems to have become fodder for the great propeganda machine that makes up Goldberg and Steiner lately, and I'd expect that trend to continue here. I'm sure WCW half expected Abbott to morph into some sort of Shamrock-esque surprise success story, but the uncharismatic UFC brawler hasn't really done.. well, much of anything. He's apparently paying for his lack of progress now with successive losses to the aforementioned main eventers. I'm looking for that trend to continue Sunday night.
Winner: Scoot Steiner
G.I. Bro vs. Shawn "Perfect Shawn" Stasiak
Whatever a 'boot camp' match is. I'm betting it's just another name for "overdone hardcore junk brawl". The new Mr. Perfect gimmick's gone all of nowhere, and Henning's rumored departure pretty well dooms its future, as well. Much as I wish this were an important match for Booker's ascention, I know better. He appears to be stuck in the midcard once again, biding time until he can't work any more.
Winner: Booker T
Sting vs. Vampiro
Human Torch Match
As I said in the intro, they need to put Vampiro over once.. but the feud also needs to end sooner rather than later. I won't even try to consider Vamp as winner of the blowoff, but to keep things competitive (again, in the same boat as Kidman), the matches need to be split a little more evenly. Vampiro's toned down his style a bit lately, and though he's formed a definitive personality, he hasn't been given much chance to flaunt it. As high as I was on this feud just over a month ago, it's completely deflated since. Just to keep things moving along, I'll go with Sting.
Winner: Sting
The Wall vs. The Franchise
Little to no buildup = dead crowd. Dead crowd = low return buyer rate. Low return buyer rate = Dead WCW. Dead WCW = Lazy WWF. Lazy WWF = Bad Programming. The demise of the industry will one day be attributed to matches like this.
Winner: Shane Douglas
Mike Awesome vs. Diamond Dallas Page
Ambulance Match
Like I said up above, nothing's really been said about this feud, positive or negative. DDP's a man that's gone from my list of most hated workers to my short list of the well respected through hard work, a willingness to put just about anybody deserving and a personality built for the sport. Mike Awesome, though I've lost a great deal of respect for him for the events surrounding his ECW jump, is still one helluva worker who isn't afraid to bump and flies like a lightweight. The two have definite chemistry together, with a storyline leading back to the last PPV. These two, given 10 or 15 minutes, could pull together a solid, powerful showcase.. head and shoulders above the promise I've given most of the other matches on this card. I'll go with Awesome here, but expect the feud won't end for a ways still.
Winner: Mike Awesome
Hulk Hogan vs. Billy Kidman
It became pretty obvious Hogan wouldn't do the job to Kidman the first time they met, and now they don't even have the hype to fall back on. If Perry Saturn's moved on, after his blistering commentary on the wrongs of Hogan, the fire's pretty well out. I'll recount what I said last month: Hogan doesn't have to job here, and I wouldn't expect it for a second. If he'd really like to 'lead by example', though, he could start by selling some of Kidman's offense and actually leading the crowd to believe he has more than a snowball's chance in hell. And if he takes the shooting star press, I'll let his wrongdoings slide for quite some time.
Winner: Hogan
Ric Flair vs. David Flair
It's little Davey's chance to shine. Ric's bouncing baby boy has supposedly been training hard in preparation for this big breakthrough match, and I'm told we may be surprised with the effort he gives us this Sunday. I hope so, because he's never gonna get a chance like this again if he blows it. One of the brightest points in Russo's initial reign was his fleshing out of David, and his 'crazy' gimmick was almost enough to make me forget he sucked a fierce game on the mat. In the same vein, his nose to nose staredown a few weeks ago with Slick Ric made me care about this short little necessity. If he's really been hitting the training room, I'd be willing to give David another chance. Common sense says Ric would take this easy, but reality insists the lifelong Horsemen takes time off for surgery. Still, I'm going with the Nature Boy on the PPV.. then working an angle on Nitro to explain his absence.
Winner: Ric Flair
Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash
WCW Championship Match
Well, it could be worse.. Sid could still be hanging around. Despite his near-burial with the World Title, I still believe in Jeff Jarrett in a twisted sense here, but he needs a clean victory like no other. Sunday's do or die time for Kevin Nash as a company man. He could establish himself as a man out for the betterment of the entire locker room, laying down for JJ after a long, difficult, heavily contested match.. or he could pull a Backlund and take the belt after a kick to the gut and a powerbomb. Jarrett's in serious trouble, but a hard-earned pinfall over what I've perceived to be the #1 active face in the promotion may be just the medicine he needs. Throw out the guitar shots, enough with russo interference. Hell, his finisher may not be enough. Just give the fans a well fought match with a decisive finish.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett
IN CONCLUSION...
Why isn't Goldberg on this card' Despite an injury, you'd figure they'd at least have him on hand in a limited capacity, be it as special ref in the Abbott / Steiner match, enforcer in the main event.. something to give buyrates an extra little nudge. Instead, the return of their biggest star decays in the minds of fans, losing momentum all the way. If the WWF can find a way to insert a barely mobile Steve Austin into the main event, WCW really needs to find a way to do the same with Goldberg.. arm injury or not.
Aside from the big 'surprise', I see little reason to order this card. With the steam of their big arrival and subsequent relaunch run out, Bischo and Russoff have found themselves back in the same deep pit.. only this time they've thrown out their only means of escape.
until next time, i remain
drq
drq
No comments:
Post a Comment