WCW Nitro 2/26/2001

Written by: Kevin Kildenberger

A month left. I like where WCW is going with Steiner and having him wipe out all the faces before ultimately being brought down….Hypothetically of course as WCW will die. Now Bischoff sped up this plan, essentially trying to pull the trigger on something happening as Fusient saw the books and lowered their initial offering. Who knows how true this is, as it was supposed to come to a denouement at the May PPV rather than later. Also, the set up was for Steiner v. Goldberg at Starrcade. This could change of course as Bret Hart never faced Hogan though it was oft spoken of, minus their 98 “swerve” match. So let’s continue the march towards the last PPV: Nitro received the same 2.1 off the same 2.3 and 1.8 while RAW garnered an increase to a 5.3 off a 4.9 and 5.3.

Kronik was supposedly led out on a meat wagon. They were attacked or something. Not sure if I missed something or they just started like this.

Steiner beats up some workers in the back looking for DDP. DDP is shown on a TV and tells EinSteiner how can he find him when he is out here and Steiner is back there. Steiner picks up the TV throws it and heads to the ring. He tells DDP that he has looked all over the trailer parks searching for him but couldn’t find him. He screams for Page who is in the crowd claiming he is not running from him, but just playing mind games. He spoke with one of those supposedly dead guys who Steiner took out and he is returning tonight and wants a piece of him. Steiner is not happy but blusters that he will kill him. DDP hypes up the crowd and declares that Steiner’s life will be a living hell and he will feel the bang! There are some plants in the crowd with freshly minted DDP shirts and they take off their shirts and their chests spell Bang! As they go to break they show Steiner heading into the crowd.

Hot crowd though and decent sized.

Match 1: Kidman and Rey Mysterio Jr. v. Jason Lee and Johnny Swinger

To the match! All four are going at it. Rey and Kidman get the upperhand but Lee and Swinger isolate Rey and work him over. They hang him out to dry. Rey is sent hard into the corner and swept down off the rebound by Swinger. Rey tries to fight back but is dropped with a fully body swinging neckbreaker. Rey gets the forearm up after the whip into the corner and they fly around the ring with both going down due to a flying crossbody. Kidman gets the hot tag and he unloads on both men. Kidman has Lee in the corner, crushes him and Rey adds the Bronco Buster. Swinger runs in and takes on both. Lee and Swinger are on the floor jawing with fans, and pay the price as Rey flies into them. Kidman shooting star presses onto both! Damn! For some reason Swinger does not stop the pin attempt off the powerbomb by Kidman. He waits for Rey to take him out to the floor and Rey and Kidman finish off Lee.

*** Short but awesome and the crowd was uber hot.

They are advertising for Spring Breakout….They have not advertised beyond the first week of March or so.

Cat is in the ring. He is not dancing for us, as he hates Kanyon for what he did to Jones. He wants him and steps down as Commish in order to get at him. Here comes Flair. Cat will not get Kanyon until the PPV. Cat tells his old ass to get out of his way. Flair threatens him with the Steiners and then claims he is mad, takes off his jacket and watch and gets in the put em up position. Then he grins, grabs the mic and remembers he is the boss and does not need to do any fighting. He sucker punches the Cat and starts to strut and promptly gets his ass handed to him! Flair retreats and tries to get back in the ring but security holds him at bay. Flair screams that Cat is a dead man, and he has Rick Steiner tonight. If he survives then he gets Kanyon. Cat is fine with that and yells about mommas.

Konnan has something to say: Flair and his boys think they have taken everyone out but instead they have united the locker room. He is going to lead now.

Match 2: O’Haire and Palumbo (c) v. Lance Storm and Mike Awesome

Haire has the mic and makes no sense. He calls out the Canadians for what they did to Kronik

After the break the match is on, as Awesome and Storm are in the ring. Non-title.

Awesome is getting manhandled by the tag champs. Awesome mounts a comeback and now he and Strom dominate. Palumbo is getting doubled-up. Cue Luger’s music as the heels have the upperhand. Kanyon comes out of nowhere and wipes out O’Haire and leaves. Palumbo though is game and cleans house. Storm is powerslammed. Awesome goes up top but stumbles so he jumps down and clotheslines Palumbo. Storm decks him and finishes him off with the Maple Leaf.

*1/2 Hey Storm and Awesome get a win!

Konnan attacks a celebrating Storm and Awesome from behind….and they go straight to break.

O’Haire is pissed and yells about wanting Kanyon. Flair tells Kanyon in the back to finish him off.

DDP is talking about Steiner earlier today. Steiner has bitten off more than he can chew. DDP is the last man standing. He may be a genetic freak but he is no mental giant. DDP will tear him down mentally before beating him. And DDP is still standing.

They pan to a cougar in the crowd. She wants me.

Match 3: Rick Steiner (c) v. Cat

They don’t waste any time as they tear into each other. Cat starts mugging him with a beatdown out on the floor, running him into the railing. Back in the ring though Rick comes back and then jaws with the ref. Rick keeps him grounded. Rick works him over, jaws with the ref some more and then goes back to the chinlock. Cat is up, but is knocked back down. He finally comes back and hammers away with kicks and punches. He whips him into the corner and then misses the charge. Rick gets two as Cat got the foot on the ropes. Rick goes for a punch, has it blocked and Cat decks him but is whipped into the corner, however he misses the charge too and Cat takes him down getting two. He runs him into the corner front first but misses the Feliner off the rebound and it hits the ref. Cat strikes with an enzuguri, and Rick rolls to the floor and Cat comes after him, chokes him out with a cord but is ambushed by Totally Buff. But Morrus makes the save and Cat manages to pin Rick as Scott comes down to attack right after the match.

**1/2 Decent. Angle advancement.

Cat and Morrus are getting mauled. DDP runs down to make the save but he is overwhelmed and beaten.

Cue Booker T! HE runs down and goes ape shit. Where was Konnan? Oh well. He helps clean house and the fans go ballistic. Steiner yells that he thought DDP was going to bring back someone from the dead and mocks Booker. Booker responds thath he has been thinking about Steiner for over two months. He wants him. Steiner agrees. He tells Flair to make the match and it is a six man tag with Totally Buff and Scott v. DDP and Booker and Cat. They charge each other and the fight is on….

Commercial.

Match 4: Scott Steiner (c) and Totally Buff v. DDP and Booker T and Cat

The faces are kicking ass. I think there was a commercial…Got distracted. I think the ref went right for the bell. Cat and Buff are going at it with the Cat uppercutting him after a kick. Flair is at the announce table. Luger and DDP are going at it as the fans chant for Booker T. They go back and forth. Cat comes in and gets caught in the wrong corner and dismantled. Booker got the tag but the ref did not see it. Now Cat is getting pummeled by the heels. Luger hammers him and Booker has to make the save. Steiner takes his turn and Luger is back in. He tries to hold the Cat back but he manages to make the tag to Booker, however, the ref does not see it again and the Cat kicking continues. Fans jeer Luger as Cat tries to fight but is kneed back into the corner. DDP finally gets the tag and he charges in and goes straight for Steiner pounding him. Luger pops him from behind, and gets two after a powerslam. Buff is in, and DDP goes for a powerbomb but Buff flips and lands on his feet but is clotheslined. Buff is covered and is nearly pinned. He got his shoulder up at the last second. Booker finally gets the hot tag and his ass kicking of Buff does not last long as he is planted. Buff gets two. One of the faces has been wiped out on the floor and so has the other one and Booker is all alone. Steiner chops him up. Steiner Line and then he dumps him to the floor. The faces wake up out there and tee off on Buff and Luger. Steiner is hammered, rolled back into the ring and hit with a missile kick. Two count. Booker pancakes him, spins up but is ambushed by Buff. Now the match breaks down as everyone goes at it. DDP is pounded in the ring. But he fends off Buff and then Diamond Cuts Steiner! Buff is on the middle rope and Blockbusts DDP but Booker T Book Ends him. Then he axe kicks Steiner for the win!

*** Great return for Booker and a really fun match. Buff can work when he wants too. Not sure about Steiner eating the pin but such is life I guess….We will see where it goes.

The faces brag.

After the break Steiner is Roid Raging in the back as the faces celebrate in their locker room.

Recap of Dustin Rhodes’ return and his feud with JJ. He has an earlier interview where he rants about Jarrett and who is daddy is and how he will be his daddy and he will tap, tap, tap it or something. Jesus, that is what I say to my wife every night! Creepy….Yes, my wife cries herself to sleep too!

Video of Spring Breakout as they plug AOL in Mardi Gras. Rachtmann is doing the voice-over. Shit they should have hired me, I would have been cheaper but then again I would have been out of a job.

Match 5: Shannon Moore v. Shane Helms

They go at it. Helms drops him on his nose and then clotheslines him. He hammers Moore into the corner but runs into a boot and is then run into the corner himself. Moore goes to mount and pound him but is crushed with a running powerbomb. Two count. Moore comes back and runs him around the ring, knocking him around. Helms fires back, ends up sliding to the floor to deck Evan Karagias. Moore sentons out and lands on his partner! Helms rolls him back in and then goes up and flies into Moore getting two. Evan is on the apron and gets decked but that allows Moore to knee him in the gut and go for his finisher: Bottoms Up. But Helms reverses out and wins via the Vertabreaker.

**1/2 Fun but too short.

Chavo runs in and ambushes him from behind. Evan and Moore help him out.

More Spring Break stuff.

Match 6: Kanyon v. Sean O’Haire (c)

Kanyon is decleated as Haire runs him over the top rope. He rolls him back in, and the bell rings and Kanyon greets him with a few blows but Haire gives it right back to him. Kanyon comes back for a bit, and Haire counters with a shot or two but Kanyon drops him and slams him around for a bit. He gets two. Goes up top after a body slam and misses the splash. Haire kicks him in the head getting two. They tussle, with Kanyon coming out on top with a powerbomb but Haire kicks out. Haire comes right back with a nice move. Fuck I got a text from my wife who is at her moms tonight and forgot what it was! But he won via a Seanton Bomb after leaping up to the top rope.

**1/2 Another solid match and not sure about Kanyon losing cleanly but he usually does and it allows Sean to get his revenge.

Flair is in a ref uniform and comes down. Jarrett is in the ring and he mocks Dustin with Dusty’s voice.

They show Dustin walking in the back.

Match 7: Jeff Jarrett v. Dustin Rhodes

Dustin has dominated from the get go as Flair has so far called it down the middle. Dustin wails on him out on the floor and now punches away inside the ring. He places JJ up top, tosses him off and has the win but Flair slow counts. They end up on the floor again and now JJ comes back and goes on an extended offensive. He hammers him and then applies a sleeper. Dustin is down after some help by Flair but when he is about to fade he rallies and is up, and out of the hold suplexing JJ. Both are down. Dustin keeps after him, piledrives him, Flair counts slow and that allows JJ to get the shoulder up. He mounts and pounds JJ in the corner and Flair pulls him off and gets tthe jersey over for his troubles. JJ tries to make the save…Flair stays in position with his head ducked for a bulldog, which he finally receives. JJ does too. Flair gets his legs hooked in the corner for the nut shot but JJ comes in with the guitar only to get decked and now he is hooked in the corner. Dustin has the guitar but is nutted by Flair and finished with the Stroke.

**1/2 Angle advancement and the DVD stops as JJ starts to celebrate.

**** Great show. They had some decent wrestling. They gave the Cruiserweights some time. I really like the angle with the Mag. 7. Now I have read that they brought back Booker early due to the ratings slide and to inject some life into the show. Hindsight shows that it wasn’t necessary as WCW died but at the same time they could have continued down the route of having Steiner wipe everyone out. I like seeing Booker but pinning the champ is questionable but it does make his return that much better. But it starts to even the odds and gives WCW a fighting chance against Flair something that was probably not in the original plan. So I am not too keen in the probable change in plans, but we will see where it goes. Despite that, along with the DDP plants, and the fact that Konnan disappeared the show as still really strong. The PPV is starting to look really good. For the first time in long time WCW has some great angles and action and the show is well paced. The last six plus weeks have been really damn good.