WCW Nitro 8/21/2000

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Nitro
Date: 8/21/2000
From: Wichita, KS

Matches:
1.)WCW Cruiserweight Champion Elix Skipper defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr.
2.)Lash LeRoux & Major Gunns defeated Kwee-Wee & Paisley
3.)Sean O’Haire, Mark Jindrak & Mike Sanders defeated Juventud Guerrera, Rey Mysterio Jr. & Disco Inferno
4.)WCW World Heavyweight Championship Booker T defeated Chuck Palumbo to retain the title
5.)JCW Heavyweight Champion Vampiro fought Tank Abbott to a no contest
6.)WCW Hardcore Champion Norman Smiley defeated Bryan Clarke
7.)Kevin Nash defeated Big Vito by disqualification
8.)WCW Canadian Heavyweight Champion Lance Storm & Jeff Jarrett defeated Mike Awesome & Hugh Morrus

Angle Advancements/Notes:
1. Lance Storm quickly gets involved in the opening match as he hits Chavo with the Canadian flag. Hugh Morrus ends up brawling with Storm and Chavo gets a chair. The referee takes the chair away and Skipper puts the Grey Cup ring on to punch Chavo and wins the match. That lasted just about two minutes. What a waste of two young wrestlers that could’ve provided a stellar match.

2. Vince Russo comes out with security, but it isn’t too long until Goldberg comes out. Russo stands up to Goldberg and tells him to sign his release from WCW, but Goldberg simply rips that up. Russo warns Goldberg about his men that consist of Jarrett, Steiner and now Nash. That doesn’t seem to bother Bill. Once Russo mentions his girlfriend, Beth, that’s when Goldberg snaps. We then see on the big screen that Scott Steiner has kicked open Bill’s hotel room door and abducts Beth! Obviously, Bill doesn’t stay around much longer. Russo goes to leave as well, but Booker T comes out and tells Vince to tell Nash that he is coming for him. Booker actually said “I’m going to be so far up his ass that it will be hard for him to breathe.” Russo decides to stand his ground and as a result gets an axe kick for his troubles.

3. The mixed tag team match is one to forget about, that’s for sure. The ending saw LeRoux toss Gunns off the top rope and onto Paisley to earn the victory. After the match, Kwee-Wee and Paisley attack LeRoux and Gunns.

4. Tank Abbott comes out to the ring with Three Count to debut a new song. Abbott gets fed up with the guys and rips them for messing up. Vampiro and his misfits come out and attack Abbott before clearing the ring of the singers. Vampiro reveals that Juggalo Championship Wrestling is going to take over WCW. At the end of the segment, Abbott challenges Vampiro for the JCW Championship.

5. The young faction consisting of O’Haire, Jindrak and Sanders were able to backup their talk when they came out the victors over establish WCW wrestlers Juventud, Mysterio and Inferno. The finish saw Disco and Sanders left in the ring with Sanders getting the win with a hangman’s noose neckbreaker.

6. Another member of the Natural Born Thrillers, Chuck Palumbo, gets the biggest opportunity of his career as he challenges Booker T for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. To add the odds in his favor, Vince Russo is the special referee. Booker gets the upper-hand early on with a sidekick and the 110th Street Slam but Russo isn’t going to count for the champ. Palumbo gets control on Booker as the champ gets distracted by Russo. Palumbo works over Booker with a suplex and powerslam as a highlight of his offense. Booker hits another Harlem Sidekick as he makes his comeback. The Natural Born Thrillers come down with Reno hitting Booker with Roll The Dice. Big Vito runs down and cleans house but Kevin Nash comes out and whacks Booker with a chair. Palumbo tries to cover but Vito has distracted Russo. Eventually, Russo makes the quick count and Palumbo wins the championship! The Cat comes out and states that since he is an equal to Vince Russo, the match will be restarted. Booker ends up finishing Palumbo off with the Book End to retain the championship.

7. The Vampiro/Abbott match was more of filler angle advancement. Abbott accidentally knocks the referee out with his knockout punch. That allows Vampiro’s misfits to come out and attack Abbott. Three Count make the save on Abbott to end the segment.

8. Backstage, Scott Steiner is bringing Beth into the arena. Also, Vince Russo books Big Vito into a match against Kevin Nash later tonight!

9. Norman Smiley continues his lucky reign as WCW Hardcore Champion thanks to the Harris Brothers getting involved and attacking Bryan Clarke. Clarke is driven through a table and Smiley is able to steal a victory.

10. Vito actually gets some quality offense in against Nash as he hits a mafia kick, a top rope elbow drop and head butt. However, Vito isn’t able to keep Big Sexy down for a three count. Nash drives Vito down with a side slam and a chokeslam. Nash drops Vito with a powerbomb and goes for a second one but Booker runs down and attacks Nash to cause the disqualification. After the match, Booker hits Nash with a Harlem Sidekick.

11. Morrus and Storm start off the main event with Morrus controlling Storm with clotheslines and punches. Hugh follows up with a gorilla press slam but Storm knocks him down with a side kick. Storm gets a near fall after a flying shoulder block. Morrus soon attempts a top rope elbow drop but Storm gets out of the way. Storm locks in the Canadian Maple Leaf but Awesome gets tagged in. Awesome hits Storm with a sit-out powerbomb. Morrus hits a moonsault on Storm but Elix Skipper saves his captain. Storm gets out of a powerbomb attempt by Awesome and Jarrett smashes a guitar over his head. That allows Storm to win the match.

12. Scott Steiner comes down to the ring with Beth. Goldberg makes his way down to the ring as well but is attacked by Jeff Jarrett with a chair. That allows the heels to work over Goldberg in the ring. Booker T and Kevin Nash run out as well to fight. Goldberg gets some offense in but that ends when Rick Steiner hits him with a pipe. Goldberg and Booker are handcuffed to the ropes as Scott puts the Steiner Recliner on Beth as the show comes to an end.

Final Thoughts:
An underwhelming show here this week for Nitro. They attempted to push Palumbo up the card and that just wasn’t done well. He should have been presented stronger than he was, in my opinion. The matches this week weren’t impressive and didn’t hold my interest all that much. I can support a little push for Big Vito as he is starting to win me over at this point. The Steiner/Goldberg feud didn’t need the involvement of Goldberg’s girlfriend. That actually hurt the angle for me. That being said, this edition of Nitro gets a thumbs down from me.

Thanks for reading.