UseTheSledgehammerUh

Talk about a de-push for Mr. Edge. And Orton becomes a GRAND SLAM CHAMPION (meh, the World Title DOES say "WWE World Heavyweight Champion).

The Transitional Traditionalists. Lita looks better than any woman on the roster tonight.

After Cena causing Bischoff to be fired, why wouldn't Bischoff try to ruin Cena forever? Instead he gives him the night off. "Marina" accompanies Johnny Nitro.

Contry Creates Cash, Bischoff is catching Orton disease from working with him.

New Raw song is good. Lita is SMOKIN'.

From the crowd last night, one of the worst PPV crowds ever, it was hard to tell DX lost any heat. Oh, you mean when Edge hit Shawn in the hands with a chair and Orton hit a super sloppy RKO on Triple H? DX lost on a bullshit lame referee screwjob, it's not like Edge & Orton actually gained any heat or respect from the crowd.

I DL'd the PPV and watched it this morning. At one point you could CLEARLY hear "lines" being said to Jim Ross and Lawler and then JR & Jerry repeating them for the crowd. So WCW. Tag Title Match was actually done well, with the 2nd Figure Four being too much. Fans popped huge. But Piper looks like he's going to die tomorrow, was overweight big-time, and eh, I dunno. 7 month reign ended by these guys? BTW, Johnny looks to be the big emerging SS babyface. Women's Title Match got really annoying with the yelling stripper sluts surrounding the ring and pounding the mat every 2 seconds. Wasn't awful but wasn't good, like all women's matches. IC Title match got some "boring" chants, but it wasn't bad. I say it was "OK". Texas Tornado Tag was OK. Sensing a pattern here? By the way, THIS WAS THE MOST DEAD CROWD EVER. Cryme Tyme got NO reaction. DX's initial reaction wasn't there. No pop for Jeff. THEY JUST SAT DOWN ALL NIGHT. Boo to you, Cincy. DX/Edge & Orton was SO slow and there was no Bischoff payoff. Boo. What else was there? The opener was, oh yeah, the best match on the show, at about ** 1/2. Umaga was booked REALLY strongly. He and Kane had a fun match. Michaels superkicks in the backstage was HILARIOUS. Great DX segment for a change. Cena and King Booker's segment with Sharmell was GREAT. The actual match was slow. It was OK. Thumbs down.

WCW Monday Nitro (Live) - April 1, 1996 Live from Cleveland, Ohio Hosted by Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Steve McMichael The Giant (with Jimmy Hart) & Sting Vs. Harlem Heat It was sneaky Jimmy Hart's idea to substitute The Giant for Lex Luger, but it turns out to have been a setup, as Sting & Giant stand toe-to-toe after Jimmy Hart paid off Harlem Heat to drop out of the match and let Giant have Sting to himself! NO MATCH. The Giant (with Jimmy Hart) Vs. Sting Sting rocks Giant with clotheslines and chop blocks. Giant no-sells Sting's punches and gains the advantage. Outside, Giant throws Sting into the guardrail and throws him over the top rope into the ring. Sting counters a chokeslam and kicks Giant to the floor. Lex Luger hits the ring and stands by Sting's side and the referee calls for the bell at 2:41, apparently giving Giant the disqualification victory. Jimmy Hart seems really pissed at Luger and yells that he'll be sorry. I guess this is Lex's official babyface turn. The Road Warriors Vs. The Steiner Brothers Vs. The Nasty Boys Can't recall any previous "triangle (3-way) tag team matches" in WWF/WCW before this one. Rick & Knobbs slug it out and Rick powerslams him. Scott dropkicks Sags out. Animal clotheslines Knobbs. Big elbowdrop. Crowd's hot. Animal crashes into the top rope as Knobbs dodges him. Hawk kicks Sags in the mouth. Scott's in, pumphandle slam on Hawk. Lots of action. Scott & Hawk clothesline each other. "LOD!" chants. Hawk runs into the ringpost but comes back with a neckbreaker on Scott. Fist drop gets two. Animal in with a big shoulder tackle, but Rick tags him with a "Steinerline" from the apron. Rick in, crossfaces Animal. Scott in with an overhead belly-to-belly on Animal! Sags in to beat up Scott. Nasty Boys beat up Scott and Rick is in. Lots of tags here. Big crazy brawl on the floor and finally the teams get seperated. Rick stupidly whips Animal into the LOD corner. Hawk takes down Rick and locks a chinlock on. And another one. Nasty Boys still won't tell who mugged them a few weeks ago. Rick rather easily tags Scott. Scott clotheslines Knobbs but then walks into a vertical suplex. No one's gotten a big advantage or come close to winning. Sags and Rick trade punches. Backbreaker on Rick by Sags. Knobs with a clothesline and elbowdrop. LOD beats up Sags on the floor and Rick hits a German suplex on Knobs. We go to commercial. We're back, with Rick and Animal double-clotheslining each other. Sags and Hawk come in. Hawk with a powerslam. Hawk's on fire, but Knobbs gets the better of him with a clothesline and splash. They're giving this plenty of time, which is great. Knobbs with a splash in the corner on Hawk, then gets a bulldog for two. Rick is in, release German suplex on Knobbs. Scott and Sags are in, with Sags in control. Tags are plentiful as Rick and Knobbs come in. Rick and Knobbs get tossed to the floor by the LOD when Rick tries a top-rope belly-to-belly suplex. Knobbs throws Rick into the post. Scott backdrops Hawk to the floor. The Public Enemy run down, attack Knobbs, and Johnny Grunge, who is dressed up like Brian Knobbs, rolls into the ring and Scott Steiner pins him for the win at 12:32. Grunge's impression looked pretty spot-on: fat, blonde guy with graffiti shirt and black pants. Bischoff thinks TPE mugged the Nasties. **, I liked that they gave it time, but it had no flow, just guys in and out of the ring every minute or less, so I can't really call it "good". Kevin Sullivan & Arn Anderson (with Woman & Elizabeth) Vs. Hulk Hogan & The Booty Man (with "The Booty Baby" Kimberly) Kimberly has an ugly green hat to make her more annoying. What a body, though. Commercial before the bout. Bobby Heenan announces he is retiring from professional wrestling after this broadcast. Booty Man and Arn start, with Booty Man punching him out. Atomic Drops for Arn and Sullivan. Hogan clotheslines Arn on the floor, then he & Booty Man give Arn a double-Big Boot. Booty Man throws Sullivan off the top rope. Arn in, he wants Hogan in there. Arn holds his own, but Hogan drops him throat-first across the ropes. Hulk rams the heels' heads together. Heenan, for the 50th time in 1996, notes Hogan's team is dominating. Sullivan works over Booty Man with throat-chops. Woman rakes Booty Man's eyes for the loudest crowd pop of the match. Booty tossed to the floor. This is boring. Arn guillotines Booty Man on the bottom rope. Booty and Sullivan crack heads. Hogan tagged in to little crowd response. Big Boot on Sullivan. One for Arn sends him to the floor. Kimberly gives Hulk her shoe. He hits Sullivan with it and gets the pin at 7:45. Thank God. End this feud. Please. Please. It's just so stupid. I hate Booty Man. I hate Booty Babe. I hate high heel shoes. Sullivan's too short to wrestle Hogan. Stop having Kimberly and Booty Man make out. Stop jobbing Arn Anderson to these guys. Please. * for lots of boring action. Afterwards, Booty Man went to get Kim's shoe but Arn & Sullivan attacked him. Hogan quickly saves. Post-match, Gene Okerlund interviews Hogan & Booty Man, with Kimberly and her ugly lime green hat. Hulk's sick of the Dungeon getting the last laugh. Booty Man has a special plan to get them some satisfaction. Booty Man tells Hulk to be his partner on the next Nitro and they'll get the last laugh. It's a big secret and a special match. Great, this match AGAIN! Hulk and Booty Man have no idea there's no Nitro the next week. WCW Television Champion Lex Luger Vs. WCW World Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (with Woman & Elizabeth) Luger would leave with the World, TV, and World Tag belts if he wins. Steve McMichael's wife Debra, is sitting at ringside, and Flair gives her a quick gesture. Steve says Flair has good taste. This is the 5000th World Title match between these two, and Luger has come close to winning the World Title from Flair about 4,999 times. Flair's got nice crowd support. Lex overpowers to start to a mixed reaction. Flair is frustrated. Liz is laughing hysterically about something and trying to hide from the camera. Luger press-slams Flair and he rolls to the floor. He stalls and regroups with the ladies. Another gorilla press slam for Lex. Flair stalls and suckers Lex into an attack. Lex then runs into an elbow. Luger comes back with a running clothesline, then clotheslines Flair over the top rope. Flair throws a tantrum and sulks with the ladies. Flair is basically in "Honky Tonk Man Title Reign" mode from February-April of 1996. Yet another press slam for Lex, and he drops Flair on the top rope. Running clothesline. Another. A third. Flair's dead. No Nitro on April 8th. Flair throws Luger to the floor and Woman rakes the eyes. Flair stomps the challenger and chokes away. Woman claws him. Flair chop blocks the knee. Flair locks on the Figure Four Leglock. Two count. Luger then no-sells it and reverses it. Lex gets tossed to the floor. Lex wakes up and chases Flair in. Sunset flip gets Lex two. Backslide gets Lex two. Flair flips over the ropes, Luger catches him up top, and hits a superplex! Powerslam from Luger and he calls for the "Rack". Woman grabs a cup of coffee from a planted fan. Luger has Flair in the Torture Rack, but Elizabeth is on the apron. Woman throws the coffee in Lex's face. Flair rolls up Luger (with feet on the TOP rope) and gets the pin at 10:56. ** 1/2 for a spirited effort there. Sting chases Flair away. Heenan's "retirement" was, shock, an "April Fool's Day" joke.

WCW Monday Nitro (Live) - March 25, 1996 Live from Unannounced Hosted by Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Steve McMichael The Belfast Bruiser Vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage Bruiser is of course Dave "Fit" Finlay with gray hair and a black mullet. Apparently Hogan "overcame all the odds" and finally won the war with the Horsemen and Dungeon at Uncensored, despite losing Elizabeth and the World Title in the process. Okay. Bruiser grounds Savage to start and keeps a chinlock on. Elbow smashes and European uppercuts stagger Savage. Savage comes back with a running clothesline, then knees Bruiser to the floor. Bruiser then CRUSHES Savage's face into the ringpost and drops him across the guardrail. Bruiser works him over further on the floor and throws him over the guardrail. Savage slowly gets back into it, and Bruiser runs into the ringpost. Savage hits the Flying Elbowdrop out of nowhere and gets the win at 5:06. **, could've been better with more time. Savage no-sells the beating at the end, but did a good job (as usual) of selling Bruiser's offense during the match. Gene Okerlund Interview with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (with Elizabeth & Woman) Liz looks amazing and Woman caresses Gene's face. Flair's gonna slay The (fire breathing) Giant tonight. Flair's got the belt, the ladies, and the whole world in his hands. Last night Lex Luger cheap-shotted him and Flair knows it. Luger wants to be him. Luger's on the "enemy" list now. The girls say Flair's more man and has a better body than Luger. J.L. Vs. WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Konan J.L. beat Dean Malenko the night before in the "Cruiserweight Title Tournament". Also, Brian Pillman backed out of the Doomsday Cage Match the night before. J.L. uses his speed early and headscissors Konan twice. Nice kip-up and go-behind by Konan, and a short armdrag takes J.L. down. Konan monkey flips J.L., but the challenger lands on his feet. Konan kicks his knee and DDTs him to take control. Somersault senton splash and a modified surfboard keep Konan in control. Randy Savage is causing a ruckus backstage trying to attack Ric Flair. J.L. fights back with a fireman's carry and armbar. J.L. gets two lucha-esque armdrags in, one out of a full nelson (very nice!) and hits a spinning elbow on the champion. J.L. hits a missle dropkick to the back of Konan's head for two.Konan gets a gutwrench into a powerbomb for two. Bischoff claims Chris Benoit amd Psychosis advanced in the WCW Cruiserweight Title Tournament. J.L. counters a powerbomb into a sunset flip for two. Series of heatless near-falls. This is decent, crowd just doesn't care. J.L. DDTs Konan, who is sitting on the top rope, to the mat and gets a close two-count. Konan catches J.L. in the corner and hits the Angry Man's Slam/Alabama Slam, then rolls over for the pin at 6:20. **. Disco Inferno Vs. The Booty Man Disco brings his "hit CD" to the ring. Disco looks frustrated with someone basically doing his gimmick. Booty embarasses Disco by dodging him and hitting atomic drops. Kimberly comes to ringside and cheers on Booty Man. She smacks her man's "booty". Booty Man hits the running knee for the pin at 1:16. DUD. Come on, now. Booty Man and Kimberly kiss afterwards and she acts all winded and flabergasted. Great. WCW Saturday Night has Dean Malenko Vs. Sting, cool. The American Males Vs. WCW World Tag Team Champions Sting & Lex Luger The story: Bagwell has always been Sting's little protege backstage and knows Luger's a big jerk. Luger acts all nice and high-fives the fans when Sting is looking, when he isn't Luger makes mean faces to the crowd and ignores them. AWESOME. Commercial before the match. Riggs dropkicks Lex twice and Luger rakes the eyes to get back in it. Riggs backdrops Luger, wow. Luger cheapshots Riggs. Lex clotheslines Riggs and cheapshots Bagwell. Luger goes to attack Bagwell on the floor but Sting stops him. Bagwell's ready to fight Lex in the ring so of course Lex tags Sting in to fight his protege. Fact-paced criss-cross sequence sees Bagwell backdrop Sting. Sting blocks a bodyslam and slams Bagwell twice. Bagwell's all "ya got me" and tags out. Luger and Riggs in with Lex in control. The Males double-hiptoss Luger and a Bagwell splash gets two. Luger dodges a Bagwell bodypress and then viciously stomps the hell out of him! Now he's punching him and going crazy, followed by a taunt. Perhaps Luger is jealous of Sting's loyalty to Bagwell, hmm? Bagwell hits him with a flying forearm. Sting and Riggs in. Sting hits a high crossbody block for the pin at 6:29. Bagwell was in the ring and could have broken up the pin, but chose not to attack Sting. Luger grabs the belts and gloats at ringside, and Sting is all "Give me my title belt!" Sting raises the Males hands in a show of sportsmanship as Luger poses at ringside with his title belts. ** 1/2 for telling a really great little story there and elevating Bagwell & Riggs somewhat. The Giant (with Jimmy Hart) Vs. WCW World Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (with Woman & Elizabeth) Expect Savage to ruin this since they mentioned he was causing a backstage ruckus earlier. Elizabeth throws away Savage's alimony money to the crowd. Savage tries to get to ringside but is restrained by security and low-card wrestlers. Woman slaps him for good measure. Hogan's back next week to wrestle. Giant shoves Flair easily to the mat and taunts him. Savage was handcuffed and forced to leave the arena. Flair runs into Giant like a moron. Giant press slams Flair. And another one! Bischoff says Flair overcame the much larger Vader and can beat big guys. Flair tries to run away, but Giant carries him back in. Flair's chops and punches have no effect. Big vertical suplex from Giant. Flair comes off the top, gets caught, and Giant delivers a backbreaker. Giant climbs to the top rope. Stupid. He misses Flair by a mile and lands on his head. Looked bad. Giant then no-sells a chop. Ha. Giant misses a corner splash and falls to the arena floor. Flair has a wire drom Woman and chokes Giant on the floor. The ladies distract the referee and Flair uses the wire again. Flair thumbs Giant in the eyes. Flair punches away but Giant shoves him away. Flair punches away and gets shoved again. So Flair kicks Giant as hard as he can in the groin. Woman chokes Giant with the wire. Flair gets slammed off the top rope. Giant drops the strap. Flair's spazzing out in fear. Giant chokeslams Flair! Elizabeth and Woman in the ring. Arn Anderson comes out and chairshots Giant in the back. Kevin Sullivan in and grabs the chair, but Giant turns around sees Sullivan with it. The Giant chokeslams Sullivan! The Giant then chokeslams Anderson! Jimym Hart is in the ring, the referee has called for the bell at 8:56, and this one is over. The official decision is a no-contest. **, this was fun while it lasted. Giant walks to the backstage area pissed off.

WCW Monday Nitro (Live) - March 18, 1996 Live from Chattanooga, Tennessee Hosted by Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Steve McMichael Show starts with Loch Ness and The Giant brawling in the aisleway, as apparently Giant attacked Ness on his way to the ring against Television Champion Lex Luger. Giant is dominating Ness. WCW Television Champion Lex Luger Vs. Loch Ness Luger hilariously poses in the entranceway as his pyro explodes while Loch Ness is being beat up just feet away by The Giant. Luger tells referee Randy Anderson to start the ten count, and Luger retains the title by countout at 0:12. DUD. Jimmy Hart, who Sting forbids to associate with Luger, jumps into Luger's arm as he celebrates, Luger hugging him back...but then Luger wises up and acts like he didn't want Hart there. Funny. Luger then hits the announcer's booth, gloating about his record-setting title defense and how it's like winning the Super Bowl during the coin toss. Luger is absolutely money here. Tony Schiavone Interview with The Mega Powers - Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage Hogan and Savage will take down everyone in their path at Uncensored. Texas Tornado Match, Leather Strap Lumberjack Match, it doesn't matter, the Mega Powers will win or lose together. They'll play dirty, too. Crowd's pretty hot. Oh, and Sullivan can bring whatever new additions to the Dungeon of Doom he has. The Public Enemy Vs. The Steiner Brothers This is a "stand-by" match to replace the Television Title match, which logically doesn't really make sense because all of Loch Ness' matches thus far have been a minute or so. TPE grab a table and bring it to ringside. Steiners are back to their more colorful singlets. Steiners last through Rocco Rock around back at Starrcade 1990. Scott pounda away on Rocco, but he reverses Scott's tilt-a-whirl attempt into a nice armdrag! Scott hits the tilt-a-whirl suplex anyway right after, and a gorilla press follows. Grunge and Rick tag in and the crowd's hot. Rick powerslams Grunge, then the Steiners give TPE multiple "Steinerlines" and clear the ring. Crowd's super hot. Rocco sends Rick to the floor and Grunge bulldogs him onto a plastic chair. Rocco with a moonsault headbutt from the second rope, followed by a DDT. Rocco comes off the top but gets caught in Rick's powerslam. Scott in. Overhead suplex off the top rope on Rocco, but Rock comes back with a springboard moonsault! Grunge in with a nice short-arm clothesline. Public Enemy drops Scott throat-first on the ropes. This isn't that great, but it's not bad. Overhead belly-to-belly from Scott on Grunge. Rick in and a brawl ensues. Rick put on the table outside. Rocco Rock with a tope con hilo but Scott moves Rick and Rocco goes through the table! Back inside, Scott lifts Grunge up and Rick hits the top-rope bulldog at 7:02. ** 1/2, this wasn't bad at all, and surely TPE's best offering (wrestling-wise and booking-wise). Arn Anderson (with Woman) Vs. The Booty Man Arn's got the badass black jacket and Woman looks smokin'. Booty Man comes out to his hideous "Shake-shake-shake your booty!" theme song and equally hideous Brutus Beefcake ripoff attire. Bischoff hypes the awful Uncensored card, forgetting to mention Regal Vs. Belfast Bruiser, which was actually good. Booty struts around, but the entire front row are huge Horsemen fans. Booty rams Arn's head onto the buckles. Arn cowers in fear. Arn works him over in the corner. Booty Man no-sells and easily beats Arn up. Arn runs to the floor and suckers Booty into an attack. More basic garbage. Booty Man gets choked and punched around the ring. Arn works over his arm. Hammerlock slam. Booty Man gets a powerslam in. And a backdrop. Crowd really doesn't care. Kimberly comes to the ringside area as Bischoff gets REALLY irritating. Woman had her shoe off ready to give to Arn. Booty Man seperates the ladies and Arn attacks. Booty Man hits the running knee as Arn is getting back in the ring and gets the pin at 5:40. * 1/2. Booty Man and Kimberly celebrate. On WCW Saturday Night, Lex Luger Vs. Brad Armstrong. WHAT? The Road Warriors Vs. The Nasty Boys Warriors have new music, with an "Iron Man"-type introduction and half generic music. Nastys run in and attack. Hawk and Sags brawl near the crowd. Knobbs hits Animal with a double-axehandle. Hawk pounds the crap out of Sags. Hot opening. Commercial break ends it. Nasties are bandaged up from whoever attacked them last week. Animal hits both Nasties with a chair but no DQ is signalled. Animal shoulderblocks Knobbs. "Nasty!" chant. Knobbs continues to get worked over. Gene Okerlund is home with the flu, apparently. Animal powerslams Knobbs and drops an elbow. Sags comes in but eventually gets double-teamed. All four men in. Steiner Brothers hit the ring and attack Sags. Animal hits Knobbs with the spiked arm pad and gets the pin at 5:50. **, this was pretty decent but the commercial hurt the hot start and it could've used more time. The Steiners brawl with Hawk in the entranceway. Texas Tornado Match: WCW World Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair & Kevin Sullivan (with Woman) Vs. Hulk Hogan & "Macho Man" Randy Savage No Elizabeth with Flair. Big brawl to start. Crowd's really hot. Hogan backdrops Flair. Savage chokes Sullivan. Hogan chokes Flair with a Randy Savage foam hat. They're brawling on the floor. Sullivan whips Savage into the post. My goodness, the heels are getting some offense! Hogan throws Flair off the top rope. Flair flips over the ropes and Hulk clotheslines him to the floor. Hogan chokes Sullivan with a cable as Woman rakes Savage's eyes. This has been a decent brawl, but I hate the "split screen" WCW loves to use. Hogan hits both heels with the blue plastic chair. Sullivan rakes Hogan's eyes and back. Flair throws Hulk over the top rope. Flair locks the Figure Four Leglock on Savage and Hogan locks the same move on Sullivan. Savage reverses Flair's hold. Hogan clotheslines Flair after Flair's done getting shoved by the referee and being embarassed. Flair comes back with a back suplex but Hogan no-sells it. Hogan flips Flair over the top rope again via the corner. This is getting repetitive now. All four fight on the floor again. Hogan backdrops Flair as they're back in the ring. Flair has Woman's shoe, though, and hits Hogan in the eye with it. Two count and Hogan "Hulks up". Arn Anderson is out. Three punches, Big Boot. Anderson trips Hulk while attempting the Legdrop. Brian Pillman, wearing his 900-number t-shirt, is at ringside, fighting with Savage and wielding the mighty blue plastic chair. The referee calls for the bell at 10:16, presumably disqualifying Flair & Sullivan for outside interference. **. Savage and Pillman are really going at it. The Booty Man is out to help Savage & Hulk clear the ring. Coming down the entranceway is Jimmy Hart with the wrestler formerly known as "Zeus" in the WWF and a huge camo-wearing, camo-face-painted wrestler who is bigger than "Zeus". Hogan, Savage, and The Booty Man retreat. Flair taunts Hogan on the microphone. Pillman has disappeared. Tony Schiavone interviews The Alliance to End Hulkamania. Sullivan introduces "Z-Gangsta" (Zeus) and the other man, called "The Final Solution". It'll be 8-on-2 at WCW Uncensored in 4 cages. Flair rants as the two huge guys flex and yell.

One of Lex's classic Nitros is coming soon. Lex/Loch Ness opens Nitro. Show begins with Giant pummeling Loch Ness in the entranceway. Luger's music hits, he POSES WITH THE PYRO as they're brawling RIGHT NEXT TO HIM. Luger goes to the ring and the referee gives Loch Ness the 10 count and Lex retains the TV Title. Luger celebrates like he just won the World Title. Jimmy Hart runs in the ring and jumps into Lex's arms. Then Lex remembers Sting doesn't want Hart near him. So Lex is all (fake) "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? DON'T HUG ME!" Later on, Luger runs his mouth off and gets him and Sting in a Chicago Street Fight, and Sting's all "Dude, you grew up in the white collar section". Sting's PISSED Lex got them in the match. Luger - "We'll be GLAD to meet you in a Chicago Street Fight at UnCensored! Uh, what's a Chicago Street Fight?"

"50. Also first wrestler to defeat an nWo memeber (Nick Patrick at WW3 '96)" Technically, Nick Patrick was still a WCW employee at this time. I FINALLY just saw this match and it does not suck. It's actually kind of realistic.

49. First person to take a title from the nWo.

Episode 2 Spoilers:

I'm enjoying the online broadcasts a lot, no commercials and no need to have to stay in on a Thursday (esp. since this Thursday is my birthday AND Rutgers/Louisville). Any idea how long they'll keep 'em up? Add Summer's hippie dork college male friend to "I hate you" list. He reminds me of the lameoids we have at my campus and their protest signs and what not.

The Sixers are looking to be 3-0, up 11 in the 4th against the World Champions. This must be some sort of joke as the Sixers claim this year they'll be "playing defense", despite not having anyone who can play defense, and having a bunch of garbage aside from the two Allens in the lineup. Oh well, I'm game... WHO'S NEXT?

What was the significance of the "hand gesture" that Carr got flagged for taunting with after his awesome TD leap? I didn't see it.

John Cena Vs. King Booker Vs. The Big Show Smackdown! Title gets picked, Booker pins Show. HBK & HHH Vs. Edge & Randy Orton Bischoff is referee. Intercontinental Title Match Jeff Hardy Vs. ? Carlito is picked and Jeff retains. World Tag Titles Match The Spirit Squad Vs. Ric Flair & ? Dusty is picked, Squad retains. Umaga Vs. ? Sandman wins vote, Umaga beats him. Womens Championship Tournament Finals Lita Vs. Mickie Divas Lumberjack wins, Mickie wins when Maria screws over Lita. Charlie Haas & Viscera Vs. Cryme Tyme Vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch Vs. The Highlanders Tag Team Turmoil is picked. Highlanders over Haas & Viscera. Cade & Murdoch over Highlanders. Cryme Tyme over Cade & Murdoch.

Kinda like this year's Rumble finish.

Taker completists, don't forget "The Undertaker: This Is My (or his?) Yard" on DVD. You get interviews with him during the documentary I believe.

WCW Monday Nitro (Live) - March 04, 1996 No Show. Pre-Empted for Civil War movie on TNT. WCW Monday Nitro (Live) - March 11, 1996 Live from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Hosted by Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Steve McMichael "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan Vs. The Giant (with Jimmy Hart) Duggan cheap shots to start, Giant no-sells. Giant gets punches at and staggers, but he easily fights back. Two Brian Pillman 900 Number posters are held up in the second row. On the floor, Giant crushes Duggan into the ringpost. Giant keeps slugging away. Bischoff mentiones Brian Pillman at ringside, then Eric leaves the table. Giant bear-hugs Duggan forever. Bischoff went to ringside and apparently had security remove Brian Pillman from ringside. Duggan bites Giant's nose or kisses him, I can't tell. Giant continues to beat up Duggan. Please stop this. Elbow for Duggan. Giant crashes into the corner as Duggan avoids a splash. Duggan three-point stance clotheslines Giant to the floor. Giant right back in and kicks him in the face. Another long bearhug. Duggan breaks free. Duggan uses the duct tape on the floor to tape up his wrist as Giant pushes the referee aside. Three Duggan punches knocks Giant down. Jimmy Hart and Duggan have a tug-of-war for the tape. Duggan slugs Hart, but Giant chokeslams him for the easy pin at 6:30. Way, way too long and really bad. A generous *. Gene Okerlund Interview with WCW Motorsports Driver Steve Grissom A "pretty decent year" so far. He recently started 43rd and ended up in 4th place. Overall the WCW car is 3rd in the points standings. Not bad, but this is a wrestling show, so let's keep these short. The Steiner Brothers Vs. The Road Warriors Motorcycles rev and the Steiner Brothers make their surprise return to WCW, apparently replacing The Nasty Boys who got attacked in the back and need medical assistance. Big pop for Rick & Scott. I don't recall these two ever having many matches, just this one and the Steiners' win at Starracde 1989 in the Iron Team Tournament. Wow, had The Road Warriors not looked pretty inferior in their Nitro bouts so far, this could be a big-time bout. Matching ugly striped singlets for Rick & Scott. Scott & Hawk start and Hawk overpowers. Scott answers with a spinning belly-to-belly out of the corner and a pumphandle slam. Crowd is hot, but doesn't this match just further take babyface heat off the Road Warriors? Hawk with a top-rope clothesline and this match may just be spots, but it's a fun one. Big kick from Hawk. Neckbreaker from Hawk. Double-underhook powerbomb from Scott and Rick gets tagged in. Animal gets tagged in to a pop. Powerslam from Animal. And a dropkick follows! Rick with two Steinerlines and Animal's down. Release German suplex! The LOD is *bumping*! Rick belly-to-belly suplexes Animal off the top! What! Scott in with an overhead release bellyto-belly! Animal tied in the "tree of woe" and choked by Scott. I like this match. Now Rick chokes Animal in the corner. "LOD!" chant breaks out. Rick tastes Animal's boot and tags Scott in. Scott with a reverse chinlock, a preview of the Steiner Recliner. Rick puts on the same. Things slow down, and Animal & Scott clothesline each other. Rick & Hawk tagged in. Hawk clotheslines everyone, Scott to the floor and Rick gets leveled, too. Powerslam on Rick. Big double-team clothesline on Rick. Doomsday Device on Rick as the fans pop! Scott breaks the pin. Rick gives Hawk a German Suplex. Scott comes off the top with a flying clothesline, but then Animal hits Scott with the same. Scott drills Animal with the Frankensteiner! Hawk saves his partner. Double-team Steiner Bulldog off Scott's shoulders. Animal has a spiked arm-band from his entrance attire and hits Rick in the face! Hawk scores the pin at 10:11. This was really fun and I didn't expect the Warriors to be able to bump around. Probably one of their last good bouts, and The Steiners came back strongly to WCW in a big-way even though they lost. *** 1/2 for a miraculous LOD effort and a very good surprise return for the Steiners. Best Nitro match of 1996 to this point! Post-match, Gene Okerlund interviews Rick & Scott. They've hunted the Road Warriors for 4 years and now they're in big trouble, plus they had to cheat to win. Gene doesn't know what happened to the Nasty Boys, another team that if motivated can really work well with Rick & Scott. Rick's pissed he got cheated. Alex Wright Vs. WCW Television Champion Lex Luger Luger won the TV belt from Johnny B. Badd on the previous WCW Saturday Night. This was to be Badd's rematch, but Bischoff claims he blamed his loss on Kimberly and couldn't hang with the big boys of WCW, so he's out of here. Luger's also a World Tag Champ. I wonder what the first Nitro to get all 5 titleholders on the show will be. Wright with a dropkick and armdrag works over Lex. The need to put the TV Title on Luger made absolutely no sens in the long run. Wright's all in his face, sends him to the floor and hits a dive over the ropes. Big flying axe-handle from Wright gets two. Luger uses sneaky tactics to gain control and hits a "Snake Eyes" on Wright in the corner, countering him. Lex slaps him around. Wright tries to fight back with kicks and European uppercuts. He gets a backdrop. Spinning kick gets two. Missle dropkick by Wright, who goes back up as Jimmy Hart interferes. Lex drops Alex throat-first on the top rope and gets the pin at 6:36. **, as Wright kept things interesting. "Lumberjacks with Straps" Match - WCW World Champion Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, & Kevin Sullivan (with Woman & Elizabeth) Vs. Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, & The Booty Man Lumberjacks include Meng, Hawk, Animal, Dave Sullivan, Dallas Page, Squire David Taylor, Earl Robert Eaton, Konnan, Lord Steven Regal, The Barbarian, Loch Ness, and The Giant. Big brawl to start. Loch Ness and Giant brawl after Ness accidently hit him. Heels get beat up together early on. Hogan's pummeling Flair, Savage chokes out Arn, and Kimberly comes to the ringside area again with a white outfit and roses. Flair tries to run away but Animal brings him back to the ring. Sullivan gets triple-teamed with the leather strap. Brawl in the ring continues as Flair chokes Hulk and the heel lumberjacks go after him. Kimberly looks concerned as Hulk's team gets beaten up. Hulk beats up Page, Barbarian, and Blue Bloods. Punches in the corner for the babyfaces. More choking. Crowd pops when Flair gets the advantage. I really want this to end. Hogan beats up Flair some more. Big Boot. Legdrop. Flair is pinned out of nowhere at 6:29. Boring and gets a * for having no flow. Post-match, Gene Okerlund interviews Kevin Sullivan who says Hogan will pay in four cages at WCW Uncensored. Dungeon of Doom, Luger, the Horsemen will all be in it. Arn Anderson says tonight didn't resemble professional wrestling (Amen) and that the PPV will be uncensored. Gene notes Hulk's team dominated them. Flair tells Hulk to lay off his women and does his crazy man antics to end the show. Flair briefly interrupts the announcer's booth and rants.

WCW Monday Nitro (Live) - February 26, 1996 Live from Knoxville, Tennessee Hosted by Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Steve McMichael Big Bubba Rogers Vs. Sting Sting's half of the tag champs, Bubba's a depushed former foe of his. Bischoff gives away the taped "World Whining Federation" Raw results - "DQ Yokozuna in a handicap match, Jake Roberts? Talkin' about diggin' up some bones here, over Isaac Yankem, DDS, and Diesel over Bob Holly, he's still around". Wow. Bubba gives Sting a clean break in the corner to start but Sting isn't fooled...for once. Big Sting bulldog but Bubba comes back with an uppercut, ropes straddle, and a second big punch. Bubba's always been a tough fight for Sting. Sting comes back with a big jumping attack but gets caught and spinebustered. This isn't bad. But now we cue the chinlock. Bubba splashes him into the corner and keeps on the offensive. An obviously planted "granny" in the front row jaw-jacks with Bubba. Lame. Sting totally botches a piledriver, landing on his knees and dropping Bubba slowly head-first, like a tombstone piledriver but Bubba facing away from Sting. Sting just cant setup the "Stinger Splash", and Bubba counters a pump splash. Sting finally trips Bubba off the top rope and hits a flying bodypress for the pin at 7:14. **, Bubba seemed motivated but Sting on defense isn't pretty unless it's Vader. Gene Okerlund Interview with Lex Luger & Sting The Road Warriors interrupt. They respect Sting but think Luger's a big coward. Luger talks smack and challenges the Warriors anywhere, anytime. Sting's all "dude, shut up." The Road Warriors claim Lex isn't really from the streets of Chicago, and Sting agrees Lex is from the "white collar section" to simmer his partner down. A "Chicago Street Fight" gets set up, with the Road Warriors saying Luger's gonna be in trouble. Luger accepts the match then has no clue what a "Chicago Street Fight" is as Sting is all pissed. Lex Luger Vs. The Renegade Renegade actually overpowers Luger early on, but Lex pokes the eyes. Renegade with more clotheslines, crowd doesn't really care. Backdrop on Lex, but then Renegade leaps and gets caught on the ropes, missing Luger. Luger chokes him and drops an elbow. Basic stuff, here. Back suplex and running clothesline. Then an exciting chinlock. Big vertical suplex. Renegade still fights back, hitting a powerslam and a handspring elbow in the corner that makes Muta cry. Renegade goes up for his top-rope splash finisher, but Jimmy Hart runs down and trips him. Luger "racks" Renegade for the submission win at 5:47. * for basic slow power wrestling. Sting comes out and is pissed that Jimmy Hart cheated for Lex. Luger is all "I didn't see him!" and then raises Renegade's hand in a funny moment. Lex may not have it in the ring, but he's been funny on this show. Sting screams in Luger's face and Lex looks scared. Harlem Heat Vs. The Road Warriors This is a #1 Contender's match, which they announce half-way through the match. The whole show's been about the tag team division so far, when's the last time you've heard something like that in today's wrestling scene? Booker and Hawk start with Booker in control. Hawk with a clothesline and weak dropkick. Neckbreaker and fist-punch gets Hawk two. Animal and Stevie Ray in there now and this could be bad. Lots of "feeling out" and then Stevie takes control for a short while before Hawk gets back in. Stevie powerbombs Hawk and stomps him. Booker T. in to deliver the "Jump Axe Kick". "Hawk!" chant ensues. Road Warriors are getting beat up pretty badly. Big front face-lock weardown spot. Hawk runs shoulder-first into the post. Booker with the Harlem Sidekick, called a "Jump Wheel Kick". Hawk finally hits a clothesline and tags Animal. Double-clotheslines on Heat. All four brawl. Booker hits the Harlem Hangover but there's no referee. Animal kicks Booker in the face and Hawk gets the pin at 7:47. * for some terrible booking here, as the Road Warriors got pummeled and stole a win for some reason. WCW World Champion Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Kevin Sullivan (with Woman & Elizabeth) Vs. Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and The Booty Man Hulks' team clears the ring and a brawl is on. Booty Man and Arn Anderson start, as Kimberly (former "Diamond Doll") comes out in a white dress with roses to watch. Arn gets triple-teamed and hit with a high knee from Booty Man, the guy who was "The Zodiac" in the Dungeon of Doom but, surprise, was Hogan's secret spy all along. Booty locks the sleeper on Arn, then one for Sullivan. Booty Man overpowers Flair, then tags Savage in. 5 minutes in and it really hasn't gotten started. Savage escapes the heel corner. Nitro is pre-empted on March 4th for a Civil War movie. Flair gets thrown off the top, but counters Savage's flying axe-handle with a punch. Hulk tagged in as Flair gloats. Hogan with clotheslines and a backdrop. Flair flips to the apron and gets clotheslined. Hogan clotheslines Sullivan & Arn to the floor. 10 punches for Flair in the corner. Booty Man in, and a double-Big Boot for Flair by Booty and Hulk. Booty Man beats everyone up. The heels have gotten maybe one move in. 8 minutes in and nothing's really happened, all 6 seem fresh. Woman & Elizabeth distract Savage and the heels attack him. Sullivan works over Savage with stomps & punches. Now Arn in with a guillotine on the bottom rope. Quick heel tags and double-teams. Savage & Sullivan collide and both down. Hot tag and Booty who sends the heels into Hulk's big boot. Legdrop on Arn gets Hulk the pin at 12:02. The heels then attack Hogan, handcuff him to the ropes and briefly whip him with Flair's belt. We'll go * 1/2 as this never really got going until late and made the Horsemen/Dungeon look really weak.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-Uv5mTcrJ_w An early misfire in the Monday Night War.

"Now hold on, hold on a second. The hurricane's name is Hurricane Ditka..."

56. He was in Owen's last match (Canadian Country/E & C, house show) 57. Bill Buckner impression at KOTR '00 in Boston, MA..."Or as I call it, THE single greatest moment in sports history."-Edge