Hiya!  It's the Post-Bischoff era so who the fuck knows what's gonna happen.  As for Eric Bischoff getting fired- say what you will about his shitty booking ideas and idiotic managerial style, he did gather up an undercard chockfull of guys I actually give a shit about so I guess  that's quite a feat.  Of course, Paul Heyman gottem first and booked them like actual wrestlers from the get go so let's keep that part straight.  Actually, I guess Bischoff can say that his biggest successes in terms of what would keep smarts watching his little wrestling company is the fact that he could never completely kill Benoit or the Cruiserweight division.  I also think that his reign saw the development of a better wrestling style with all of his undercard workers being so great (a fact that got overshadowed by the amazingly shitty garbage at the top) with a lot divergent styles worked into the style that US
wrestlers will wrestle like now and from now on.  I would say that actual wrestling as a whole is better in general because of lot of things that Bischoff did.  In retrospect, I think history will show that Bischoff was the one that got many Junior Heavyweight wrestling styles  over with American fans- a feat that one else can say they have done at such a broad level with ANY level of success.  Plus he saved WCW from total financial ruin and also saved the WWF from financial ruin by going head-to-head and making Monday nights the night where a lucrative demographic were automatically gonna be watching one of two shows
suddenly.  It was definately time for Bischoff to go, but his moves to bring in Benoit, Malenko, Misterio, Juventud and especially Eddy Guerrerro were what brought me out of total apathy for the WCW product. And I guess he will ALWAYS have and treasure that. So there you go.

WHAT WORKED-

  The Bill Busch Era kicks off with a bang as Malenko and Benoit show why they were great New Japan Juniors- because they both SELL BETTER than New Japan Juniors.  Malenko rips up Benoit's leg, while Benoit bludgeons  Malenko's chest to the point of almost bleeding.  I loved the elaborate double-roll knee-bar by Malenko and loved how Benoit sold it.
I loved the SUPER-MANLY Supersplex.  I loved the finish but I hated the ending.  The finish was SWANK because there ain't a single motherfucker in the back that could pull THAT off and because it made sense in the context of the match- as Malenko was weakened and surprised a strong Benoit, thus a mid-air reversal makes sense.  I guess Malenko and Benoit
are now out of the realm of shitty heavyweights at the top so after doing their time carrying loads from pillar to post, they can whip out a thousand Lyger vs Pegasus endings like this.  WOO-HOO!  On the other hand, I hated the STOKED Malenko being all proud of Benoit and shit after Benoit just pinned him.  They should have either- a.) had Malenko clothesline Benoit and beat the hell out of him postmatch and then they come to their senses later, or b.) do the Takaiwa/Ohtani/Kanemoto double smack to the face and then a handshake and then get the fuck out of the ring.  Either way, great fucking match.  WCW should HOTSHOT! these two INTO A PROGRAM!

- Eddy and Saturn had a good little match- with Eddy getting LEGIT HEEL HEAT! with his sleepers and then getting LEGIT FACE POPS! with his reversal of the DVB with a Rana, thus Eddy toys with the fans, the booking, the heat, the everything having to do with wrestling because- HELL!- he's Eddy and he CAN.  The other thing that made this KING-SIZED
was the way Eddy made all of Saturns offense look so top drawer- especially when Saturn whips out his Exploider a couple of times and Eddy takes it like a MAN.  WCW is already better at little things this week- like how the intro of the Dirty Filthy Dirty Dirty Filthy Animals after the  bell rings makes for some kind of issue with the Revolution, as if Shane and company can't be trusted or- at least-  aren't trusted by the Latin WCW contingent- as it is now some kind of possible budding feud- as opposed to a plain face vs face match from which it started out as.  Rey Nabunanaga Jr looked TOTALLY great with the hair and wraparounds and Konan looked like a mental patient and they should have hinted more of a problem with the Revolution at points during the match somehow- but that is a quibble at this point- as they have lots of ways to get these factions hating each other over the next couple of weeks if they wanted to. The ending was great and I loved the stare down.  Get Eddy on the stick already and let's make with the tagteams already.  WCW should HOTSHOT! these eight INTO A PROGRAM!

- I dunno.  Lenny Lane and LODI worked their motherfucking asses off to carry the Insane Clown Posse but- GODDAM- does Violent Jay stink.  I'm wondering if under all that make-up, there isn't a man called Ed Leslie  hiding- ready to unleash a comical kneelift- because he is the only other person I can think of who throws more business exposing clotheslines. Those were amazing and it was more amazing that actual wrestlers sold them.  Shaggy 2 Dope is still a-okay in my book, because he is getting a little better at selling and he will die for your pleasure.  My main beef with this match was that LODI and Lenny hit a ass-stomping finisher with their Double DDT and Shaggy takes it like a fucking KING but then Shaggy kicks out of it!! What the hell?!?  That's twice in two weeks that I've seen that in WCW.  On WORLDWIDE, Villano 5
did the coolest DDT variation in the known universe and Lash Laroux kicked out of it and it was as business-exposing as Violent J horrendous clotheslines.  DITTO THIS.  Still, Lenny and LODI are becoming quite the good little tagteam and LODI is developing quite well as a worker as of late so this goes here.  The ECU thing was a SHOOT! and I was all over it.  Now let's get back to that Lenny vs Kaz PROGRAM!

- Ah what the hell, I'm loving this Berlyn stuff.  They whited him out again and we are all suitably stoked.  Alex needs to either put on a shirt or get on the gas (I'm kidding, Naimark.  Put down that keyboard.)  Buff tries a little and takes a lowgrade bump.  Alex wrestles a bunch and goes all Memphis with his heat gathering- so it adds to his LEGIT HEEL HEAT! as he goes all Euro on..... Ah fuckit, I'm lying, this match sucked, but the whole new YORK FOUNDATION takes a new twist with the Nouvelle pre-Jacko JACK VICTORY guy to make with the screwjob and I'm becoming  a total sucker for the Really-Crappy-Days-Of-WCW Retro schtickt- as long as they don't bring back El Gigante and Richard Morton and The Dudes With Attitudes!.  And his hot translator is SOOOOO from Tampa.  Berlyn needs to no longer be HOTSHOTTED! into A PROGRAM! with Buff.  I mean, Vampiro is right there and they both can work stiff as shit. There.

- Benoit gets the belt off Steiner killing about five birds with one stone.  People on the internet will wet their pants about the horrible  treatment of Benoit, but I'd much rather see Benoit take the strap off Steiner than see Benoit lose to Sting while setting up a Lex Luger/ Sting vs Shithead Hogan/ Bret Hart "main event".  Steiner vs Benoit would actually be good at some point down the road. Meanwhile, the TV title can be in somekind of non-Sid related feud that won't suck. RIGHT?! RIIIGHT!?!

WHAT DIDN'T WORK-

- Disco Inferno and Eric Watts wrestled and then Sid came in and powerbombed everyone and it sucked.  Sid really sucks ass.  Some suckass parts of WCW didn't leave with Bischoff, I see. It was too much to hope that Sid would be grouped with the RockaWrestling Kiss PPV from the Fiesta Bowl.

- Silver King and Norman Smiley were have great little homo-erotically drenched batch of quasi-lucha when Shithead Sid shows up.  WCW, FEEL FREE TO FUCK YOURSELF.

-Jerry Flynn vs Prince Iaukea is interrupted by Goldberg so Bill can GET ON THE STICK! and challenge Sid.  Sid refuses or something while watching on the monitor.  Goddamn, Bill, ya dipshit.  Wait two minutes into the Iaukea vs Flynn match and they would have trotted Sid's lousy ass into the ring for ya.  Strategy, Bill, STRATEGY!

- Kendall Windham and Steve Regal take it to the mat for a minute and it's pretty neato.  The rest of this promising match was a bunch of unlikely set-ups for a contrived screwjob. PU! I would like to see these four actually try and try over something heated since three out of four are actually good- with two of those three being Euro-Great.  Barry was
good back in 1988. Fuck, Barry was great in 1988.

- I'm digging the evil Sting.  I'm not digging the giant festering turd that would not die- Hogan- stinking up my TV set yet again. Golly, does the Hulkster look even more pathetic than usual with his knee injury- I mean Hogan had the sweeping grace of Lex Luger and the amazing agility of Hercules Hernandez already, now he's lost even THAT.  At least, Sting and the pathetically-inept-in-every-way Luger, feigned working on hopefully ravaged beyond repair knee.  There was WAAAAAAY too much Hogan and not enough of the only guy in this quartet who can work- but Hart did make the bat to the face look ultrafine.

- Harlem Heat and the First Family kinda stand in the ring, awaiting the West texas Rednecks.  Bryan Knobbs isn't very good now, is he?

THERE YOU HAVE IT.

DEAN RASMUSSEN.
 

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