Is this the WWF? It sure seemed like it, with the interesting angles forming and the tons of backstage action. The matches seem to have life in each one, and there were a few oldschool members missing, like Mean Gene. The matches were of better quality, and you can tell they are wanting to deal with T & A more. This is a new WCW.
Filthy Animals What the hell? The Filthy Animals were nothing the other day, but now they have instantly became a force! Heck, Konnan even got a title tonight, and that's unheard of anymore. I suppose Ferarra and Russo like what the saw when the came to WCW in the Filthy Animals.
Hardcore Smiley Was anyone else laughing from the hardcore like I was? My first impressions when I saw the match to be Smiley and Horace Hogan, was like "oh damn, a weak midcard match" and that was until I found out it was a hardcore match. Then Horace beat on Smiley with the trash can, and he was screaming in pain. That was hilarious! He actually won that match, which makes it even funnier. I was hoping for Hak to return after this match, but I guess his status in WCW is still in limbo.
Bret Hart vs. Sting Good match between the two, and it was nice to see Bret submit in his move that he stole from Sting. But of course, Sting isn't the original one to do that move...help me on this one, I think some Japanese wrestler invented the move....I forget who his name is.
Vampiro is Doomed! Looks like Vampiro is on his way out, or they are just pushing him to sign a lower contract. That's a shame that they need to squash him for this, as his potential is well worth the money. The new creative team is on crack for not noticing that.
Why Meng? Why the hell does WCW always push Meng? He's a good brawler, but he lacks the ablity for people to give a damn about him. He'll get a small push, and then get squashed by Goldberg..and disappear again.
Battle of two losers with Rick Steiner and Berlyn. Both wrestlers get too much airtime as it is, so I suppose Russo thought to cut that down by having them in the same match!
Outsiders Oh boy, they were looking backstage for Goldberg! They might be alright if they were just like they were when they first came in back in 96. I know how much of a panzy Nash became, and how reliable Scott Hall is. I don't really care for the two anymore.
Goldberg vs. Luger was a good match, but I was really hoping for Goldberg to lose. Nobody should be indestructable, and you get more over if you lose some here and there. Big losses to big wrestlers always gets you noticed...because if you keep winning, the fans will automatically turn the channel because they know Goldberg will win every damn time.
Wow, it's Jeff Jarrett! I'm glad to see that Jarrett is keeping his hardass attitude, and I'm glad to see him go after a soft Bagwell. I wonder if he'll do his domestic garbage again.
Last Word: Wow, this was not the normal Nitro. They are using the WWF's formula for success, and that's very apparent with all of the backstage action. The show was very fresh, and it did have a few choppy spots...but I can understand how hard it much be with a Pay Per View this week. This was easily one of the best Nitros in a while, and WWF better get ready for a fight! I'll give this show a
You Know how much I love those opening Interviews! Only this time it was different..it was Stone Cold and the Rock..both HUGE faces getting ready to rumble. Oh joy, we get to see another more than two wrestlers in a main event match. Oh boy!
Good Tag match with the Dudley Boys and X-Pac/Kane. I like how the crowd seemed silent when the Headbangers came down to attack the Dudleys. Oh well, it's better than having that domestic violence conspiracy with Chaz.
Lots of Backstage stuff that I didn't really care for. Like the cardgame for example..that was so stupid. However, the Mankind-Rock stuff was well acted out, and I was impressed by that.
New Age Outlaws vs. Acolytes has been a dream match of mine for a while now, but it's a shame the titles weren't on the line since....
The Rock N Sock connection dropped the straps to the Hollys. It's good to see Mankind just stick it to the Rock for trashing his biography.
Stupid Angle with Bossman and the Big Show. That cancer stuff isn't cool in my book, and it just bothers me. Just shut up and wrestle.
Great Feud in the Making with Chyna and Chris Jericho. I predict that this will be the feud that establishes Jericho, finally, in the WWF.
Other Stuff like Val Venis becoming a Superstar? He's in desparate need of a better finisher. Good thing I don't get to see the Dinosaurs of the Women's division, Young and Moolah, wrestle on Smackdown. That's one advantage of not having UPN. I loved seeing both the Hardys and Edge/Christian pound Gangrel, who has held their talent down. I just like how Jim Ross says the trash can that Bulldog was dropping on Test was steel, then it bounces off of Test's body. Rather odd to do that for steel. Oh yeah, the night finishes off with Stone Cold going after Triple H...hasn't that happened many times before?
Last Word: Well, tonight's RAW had it's ups...and it had it's downs. Less involvement with the main eventers anymore with RAW, and I don't think I'd ever see Rock and Sock vs. the Hollys as the main event match of RAW. This edition had it's high points and low points, there for, I'll give it a
-Alright, ECW got a lovely 1.2(rounded off) this week for their TNN show. That is indeed the highest rating they have ever recieved, but if you have ever taken a statistics class, you know that this isn't significantly different from their previous ratings. There are always errors when they are that close is what I'm saying. But still, this is better than nothing. I heard they put on a good show Friday, which I missed again! I have heard that ECW is continually trying to get TNN to advertise them, but I don't know how that situation is going. ECW just needs to put on good shows, and the ratings will slowly grow. I'll try to tape this week's show to form an opinion if it's getting better or not.
-Everyone is asking..why on earth did the Bossman and Big Show hardcore match get scrapped at No Mercy. Well, because of RAW. Apparently, the WWF probably felt that they wanted to have the Bossman get someone to tell Big Show that his father passed away, and it would work better if it was on television for ratings, rather than the pay per view. They wanted to add fuel to the fire to make this a better feud, because, after all, Big Show was originally slated to fight Prince Albert at No Mercy. Of course, it only drags the cancer feud longer, and that's an incentive to change the channel.
-Today, the WWF shares go on sale for 17 Dollars a piece, with around 10 million floating around out there. It should be interesting how much of that stock sells today, but it wasn't really advertised much. Oh well, the millions..and I mean millions of WWF fans will buy that stuff up, maybe even throw their life savings up for it.
-And what about Hogan? He obviously wasn't on Nitro last night, and many are questioning if he'll show up at Halloween Havoc. Of course he's showing up! Why wouldn't he? If nobody has told you yet, this Hogan 90 day out clause crap is a work. They are just playing this out, since everything that can happen now internally could be an angle with Russo and Ferarra around. He'll probably beat Sting for the title, and he probably lose to Bret Hart at WCW Mayhem, the next WCW PPV in Toronto. Just that easy.
@Well, that's all the trouble I can cause today. I hope you enjoyed the return of the Monday Night Grades, and please keep in mind that they are opinionated. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back tomorrow with another PDC.
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Take Care, and Remember That this column is OPINIONATED.