Finishing off the year 2000 for WCW in this series. Do you agree with my assessment of what was good and bad during the year? Part one of the series can be found HERE.
The Good #1: For comedy purposes, the idea to have Tank Abbott become an obsessed fan with Three Count provided some entertaining moments during this era for WCW. He’d often dance and sing with the group during their summer feud with the Jung Dragons, which appeared to get started on July 3rd edition of Nitro.
The Good #2: Kanyon had developed a new character known as Positively Kanyon, which was a spoof on Diamond Dallas Page, his former friend. He would hit Diamond Cutters on unsuspecting people and carry around DDP’s book claiming to be his own. It was the most popular that Kanyon had been, and he was a heel.
The Bad #1: Woody, a WCW production worker, was involved in a feud with the WCW Tag Team Champions Perfect Event, Shawn Stasiak and Chuck Palumbo. Woody got some revenge on the duo on the July 5th Thunder. I’ve always just thought it was a waste to focus on non-wrestlers on television. Especially when they go over actual wrestlers, even if the wrestlers aren’t good.
The Good #3: Also on the July 5th Thunder, it was revealed that David Flair was playing Daffney while being romantically linked to Miss Hancock. The segment for the reveal was nicely done.
The Good #4: Kronik is probably the most over tag team WCW has had in several years even if they are very similar to the APA in the WWF. They won the tag titles from the Perfect Event at the Bash at the Beach pay per view.
The Bad #2: Also at Bash at the Beach, there was an awful graveyard match between Vampiro and the Demon. The whole feud was awful.
The Good #5: At the pay per view, Shane Douglas would be aligned with Torrie Wilson after she turned on Buff Bagwell. It was much needed for Douglas, who has always been more entertaining and effective with a female manager (Francine in ECW).
The Bad #3: Jeff Jarrett laid down for Hulk Hogan to lose the WCW World Championship. However, this would all turn out to be a work, or at least supposed to be. The advertised match lasted three seconds, which has happened too many times in WCW’s history. Vince Russo would come out and cut a promo ripping on Hogan and claiming he wasn’t worthy of a spot, basically.
The Good #6: One good thing that came out of the promo, was that Booker T would be named the number one contender to Jarrett’s championship. Later on in the night, Booker T won his first WCW World Championship pinning Jeff Jarrett and finally establishing himself as a main event act in WCW.
The Bad #4: Alan Funk debuted as a homosexual character on July 10th edition of Nitrom known as Kwee-Wee. Also, Lenny Lane showed up with a sign saying “Use Me” in the crowd. They wasted both talents.
The Good #7: The July 18th edition of Nitro was focused mainly on a WCW United States Tournament to crown a new champion. Lance Storm won the tournament in the finals against Mike Awesome.
The Good #8: Lance Storm continued to collect gold by winning the WCW Hardcore Championship on July 24th from Big Vito. Oddly, I still remember that match when I watched as a kid.
The Bad #5: I was going back and forth on this one, but I think having Goldberg lose to Booker T on the July 24th edition of Nitro, in less than three minutes, wasn’t anything good. Yeah, it’s a great victory for Booker T, but kind of devalues Goldberg.
The Bad #6: Judy Bagwell started a feud with Kanyon on the July 26th edition of Thunder. Yes, Judy Bagwell, a former WCW Tag Team Champion, was feuding with Kanyon. The whole sentence just doesn’t feel right to me.
The Good #9: Lance Storm made it a trifecta when he won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship from Chavo Guerrero Jr. on the July 31st edition of Nitro. He holds all three undercard championships. That’s a good way to get a new talent over in WCW, don’t ya say? There’s no way WCW can mess this up, right?
The Good #10: Booker T successfully defended the WCW World Championship against Sting on July 31st. The match ended cleanly and got some decent time on television. A refreshing thing to see on television, at the time.
The Good #11: The continued push of Lance Storm continues on the August 2nd edition of Thunder where he defended all three titles in three different matches and won them all cleanly.
The Bad #7: Kanyon teamed with Pamela Paulshock, the backstage interviewer, against Buff Bagwell and Judy Bagwell on August 7th. The match featured a run-in from Mean Gene, who essentially cost Kanyon the match with a low blow.
The Bad #8: Also on the August 7th edition of Nitro, Vince Russo provided some thoughts for the company. Which, included wanting John Rocker in a match so he can kick his ass. He also put over his ability to increase ratings for the company. Blah, Blah, Blah
The Good #12: The man that holds three titles, Lance Storm, challenged WCW World Champion Booker T on August 7th, which made sense from a story perspective. It was a really good TV match, with Booker coming out as the victor.
The Bad #9: However, during the match, Mike Awesome a large woman were focused on during the match. Apparently, WCW can’t allow a good match to go without any distraction.
The Good #13: To continue the Kidman/Shane Douglas feud involving Torrie Wilson leaving Kidman for Douglas, Kidman showed a birthday party video for Torrie, which showed her to be an overweight woman eating her cake by the handful.
The Good #14: Elix Skipper, a WCW Power Plant guy, managed to get a clean victory over Crowbar on the August 9th edition of Thunder. While a minor victory, it was nice to see WCW trying to get some younger talents over.
The Bad #10: Also on August 9th, Kanyon and Mark Madden battled Buff Bagwell and Mean Gene. I get the humor part of it, but it’s just a waste of TV time for other guys who need it.
The Bad #11: New Blood Rising saw Judy Bagwell on a forklift, David Arquette appearance, Lance Storm getting jobbed out in a match with Mike Awesome three times and still winning because Jacques Rougeau was a crooked enforcer.
The Bad #12: A triple threat match between Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner and Goldberg competed in a triple threat match. The match broke kayfabe when Goldberg decided to not take the power bomb, which Nash noted to him was the finish of the match. Nash eventually won the match by pinning Scott Steiner.
The Good #15: While the whole storyline was awful on the pay per view, it caused Goldberg to become a face again. Goldberg never should have been a heel and he wasn’t exactly over in the role, anyway.
The Bad #13: Literally three rematches from New Blood Rising happened on Nitro the next night. Storm vs. Awesome, Nash vs. Steiner and Booker vs. Jarrett. What would be the point in buying a PPV?
The Good #16: By this point, Lance Storm had given away his Cruiserweight Championship to Elix Skipper and Hardcore Championship to Carl Oulette. The good thing that came out of this was Skipper getting the gold and highlighting his skills.
The Good #17: The Natural Born Thrillers were formed on the August 16th edition of Thunder. After the failed New Blood stable earlier in the year the six wrestlers could be arguably the future of WCW.
The Bad #14: The feud between Mark Madden and Mean Gene continued with a street fight on the August 16th Thunder. Again, waste of television time.
The Good #18: Goldberg and Scott Steiner started a feud with the main focus being Scott Steiner attacking Goldberg’s girlfriend, Beth. While I don’t necessarily like the premise of the feud, these two needed to get involved in some kind of singles feud.
The Good #19: During this time, Crowbar was trying to get the love and attention of Daffney, but was foiled at each turn. It turned out, that Daffney would develop feelings for a guy that looked EXACTLY like Crowbar. The poor guy couldn’t catch a break, but it was an entertaining and clever story, I thought.
The Bad #15: Kronik and the Harris Brothers feuded for whatever reason and they had a House of Pain match on August 28th. It was dreadful.
The Bad #16: Booker T was the WCW World Champion for just over a month when he lost to Kevin Nash on the August 28th edition of Nitro. Ya know, because Kevin Nash needs to be champion.
The Bad #17: To continue the wackiness, Bret Hart met Goldberg in the desert who had Vince Russo with him. In the end, Hart whacked Goldberg with a shovel. It was weird since Bret couldn’t wrestle anymore due to a concussion he suffered in a match against Goldberg. There was never a payoff.
The Good #20: On September 4th, there was a triple cage match for the WCW World Championship featuring all the top names in the company. Kevin Nash retained after pretending to be at odds with Vince Russo and the crew. I just liked there was a triple cage on TV.
The Bad #18: David Flair and Stacy Keibler were going to get married on September 11th. However, it was revealed that David wasn’t the father of her child. I’ve never liked angles like that.
The Bad #19: Fall Brawl 2000 saw an awful chain match between Kronik and the Harris Brothers. A scaffold match that saw Kidman team with Madusa against Shane Douglas and Torrie Wilson. Plus, the Sting vs. Vampiro feud just will not end. Lastly, in a scary moment, Paul Orndorff nearly crippled himself when performing a piledriver against the Natural Born Thrillers. He had retired due to neck injuries and probably shouldn’t have competed.
The Good #21: It’s probably the best Goldberg match, ever. He lost to Scott Steiner at Fall Brawl in a great match. Also, Booker T regained the WCW World Championship from Kevin Nash inside a steel cage match.
The Bad #20: I haven’t mentioned that Mike Awesome has been transformed into a fat chick lover and now a 70s Guy. Why couldn’t they just stick to a badass Mike Awesome like he was in ECW? It’s not that hard!
The Bad #21: Vince Russo became the number one contender to the WCW World Championship on September 18th. It can’t get much worse than that.
The Bad #22: Others may have a difference of opinion, but I didn’t think the heel turn by Jim Duggan joining Team Canada was all that great. The man had just recovered from cancer and was one of the most popular guys on the roster… even in the year 2000. Heel turn didn’t seem like a logical direction to go in.
The Good #22: To seemingly remind us of how great the Cruiserweight division once was, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrera had an enjoyable match on the September 20th edition of Thunder.
The Good #23: On September 25th edition of Nitro, there were matches between Goldberg and Scott Steiner inside a steel cage and a singles match between Sting and Lance Storm. Both were enjoyable big matches for WCW.
The Bad #23: Vince Russo won the WCW World Championship in a steel cage with Booker T. Yeah, it could get worse, I guess. Goldberg got involved and speared Russo through the cage before Booker could step out to win the match. So, it was a loophole of sorts, but still, a wrestling WRITER booked himself to be the top champion. Unreal…
The Good #24: Vince Russo would vacate the WCW World Championship on Thunder. But, still.
The Bad #24: Vince Russo appeared on the October 2nd edition of Nitro in a pope mobile and proclaimed that Goldberg would have to break his 176-win streak in order to ever get another WCW World Championship match. Making life quite difficult for the top star in the company.
The Bad #25: Goldberg’s first major feud upon this news is with the team Kronic. Ya know, the most over babyface tag team in the company that was turned heel just to be fed to Goldberg at Halloween Havoc. Yeah, genius!
The Good #25: The WCW World Championship returned to an actual wrestler when Booker T defeated Jeff Jarrett in a San Francisco 49er match on October 2nd. Basically, there were four boxes, one in each corner, and in one of the boxes there would be the championship. Oh, and after the match, Scott Steiner put Beetlejuice (from Howard Stern fame) in the Steiner Recliner.
The Good #26: WCW went to Australia in October for two weeks and got 8,000+ in attendance for their TV shows. It not only made for a better viewing experience, but the matches and shows were actually nicely done for a larger than usual audience.
The Good #27: Jeff Jarrett did a few skits dressed as Sting mocking his character in MasterCard commercials that aired previously.
The Good #28: Ric Flair returned to television on October 18th edition of Thunder that took place in Australia.
The Bad #26: However, Flair’s appearance was getting himself involved in the David Flair storyline to find out who the father of Stacy’s child was. David suggested that Ric had sex with Stacy and could be the father. I miss Flair vs. Steamboat days.
The Good #29: Crowbar and Vampiro had a really good TV match on October 23rd edition of Nitro. Two guys that were largely underutilized during their time in WCW.
The Bad #27: Halloween Havoc 2000 may be one of the worst pay per views to ever happened. The only redeeming thing was a match between Booker and Scott Steiner, but that had a no decision. Goldberg destroyed the creditability of Kronik in a match that lasted less than five minutes.
The Good #30: Hugh Morrus got a tribute to him on the October 30th edition of Nitro. While onscreen Morrus didn’t accomplish much before winning the WCW United States Championship in 2000, he was well-liked and respected in the WCW locker room.
The Bad #28: WCW had a brief feud with BattleDome. It was a short-lived program that featured eventually well-known actor, Terry Crews.
The Good #31: Kevin Nash had formed an alliance with the Natural Born Thrillers, but that cam to an end on the November 8th edition of Thunder when the young group turned on Nash, effectively turning Nash back to a face.
The Good #32: Similar to October, WCW ran shows in England in November and had another good showing for attendance.
The Good #33: By this time, Ric Flair was the onscreen authority figure, which had previously been Vince Russo, Mike Sanders and The Cat. Oh, and by the way, Russo isn’t with the company anymore.
The Good #34: Diamond Dallas Page made his return to WCW television on November 20th edition of Nitro as he would team with Kevin Nash at Mayhem against the Natural Born Thrillers.
The Good #35: At Mayhem 2000, DDP and Kevin Nash won the WCW Tag Team Championships from the Natural Born Thrillers. In a cage match, Scott Steiner won the WCW World Championship from Booker T. Steiner had easily became the top act in WCW deserving the championship.
The Bad #29: Booker T would be forced out of action for nearly five months to get knee surgery that he had needed for many months prior to his main event push.
The Bad #30: The following night on Nitro, Scott Steiner’s opponent for Starrcade is revealed and it’s the returning Sid Vicious. Sid hadn’t been seen since the spring due to softball season.
The Bad #31: Vignettes began to air promoting the return of Glacier. Ya know, the character that didn’t get over in ’97, why not bring it back in 2000.
The Good #36: Chavo Guerrero Jr. ditched MIA and became a heel in the cruiserweight division. He would win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship on December 6th from Mike Sanders.
The Good #37: Jung Dragons, Shane Helms, Shannon Moore, Jamie Noble and Evan Karagias provided a really fun ladder match to open Starrcade 2000. That’s really the only highlight of the show.
The Good #38: Shane Helms became the number one contender to the WCW Cruiserweight Championship defeating Shannon Moore on December 18th.
The Bad #32: To close out the year, Jeff Jarrett won a mini tournament to become the number one contender to the WCW World Championship. The tournament included Mike Awesome, Rey Mysterio and Lance Storm, whom he defeated in the finals.
What are your thoughts or memories on WCW 2000?
Thanks for reading.