WCW Spring Stampede 2000

With the promotion spiraling out of control, and ratings in a free-fall, WCW once again chopped the head (Kevin Sullivan) off, and replaced him with the two-headed monster of Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo. Their first move was to ‘reboot’ the entire promotion, in-turn vacating all the titles, and necessitating tournaments to crown new champions – which was to conclude at Spring Stampede.

From Chicago, Illinois; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, and Mark Madden.


Opening WCW World Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinal Handicap Match: The Harris Brothers and The Mamalukes v Ric Flair and Lex Luger: Yes, it's a handicap tournament match, because that's what this show needs: more convolution! Originally scheduled as The Mamalukes against Flair/Luger, but Vince Russo adds the Harris Brothers in since Flair and Luger are veterans. Okay. Flair cares so much, that he is dressed for action in slacks and a polo shirt, but the other four ignore his fashion faux paus, and attack. Flair fights them off by chopping Big Vito, and he hits a side suplex on Johnny the Bull before hooking on the Figure Four. Vito breaks, and the dust finally settles on Ron Harris and Flair. Ron with a jumping backelbow, and Don Harris comes in for a double-team big boot for two. Cross corner clothesline flops Flair, but another one misses, and Flair heads up - only to get slammed off. Ron misses a pair of elbowdrops though, and that allows the tag to Luger - which the referee misses. They keep working Flair over, but end up fighting amongst themselves, and Luger comes in for a full on brawl - finishing Johnny with the Torture Rack at 6:13. Bad match, but not boring. ½*

Jimmy Hart v Mancow: This. Is. Pay per view! Cow gets all fired up cutting a promo, and attacks Hart. Hail tries to get involved, allowing Jimmy to blow Mancow low, and choke on the mat. They scramble through a schoolyard fight, and Jimmy 'hits' a flying kneedrop. Hail comes in again to press slam Mancow onto his entourage, but the referee is down, and can't count the fall for Hart. Mancow gets a chair while Jimmy tries to revive the official, and whacks Hart with it for the pin at 2:49. Fine for two non-wrestlers, but pretty terrible otherwise. And that could be forgiven if this was an actual CELEBRITY celebrity match, but uh, no, it wasn't. Thankfully short, though. DUD

WCW United States Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Scott Steiner v The Wall: Scott powers him into the corner for a flurry of fists, but a cross corner whip is countered with a kneelift, and Wall kicks him in the corner. Ten-punch count, but Steiner-math forces a low blow after two shots, and he hits a belly-to-belly. German suplex, but Wall elbows free, and returns the blow favor. Hey, that's just good etiquette. Big boot and a legdrop get two, but Steiner catches him in a stungun as he tries following up. Out to the floor, a table gets set up, but Wall gets blinded after an eyerake, and accidentally puts the referee through it for a disqualification at 3:51. Stupid ending, but at least the match was short. DUD

WCW United States Title Tournament Quarterfinal Triple Threat Match: Bam Bam Bigelow v Ernest Miller v Mike Awesome: This is Awesome's WCW debut, and he's scheduled against Miller, but Bigelow joins us to make it a three-way. Well, if that's how it works, why bother even HAVING a tournament? Why not just have everyone run out during the finals, and decide to join? Whatever, let's just get through this stupid show without thinking too much. Not like the bookers were anyway. Miller gets taken out before the bell, and Bigelow attacks Awesome, but takes a big boot, and gets clotheslined over the top. Mike dives after him with a tope suicida, and backdrops Bigelow into the crowd - diving after him with a clothesline. Awesome with a clothesline on the way back in, and a flying version follows for two. Side suplex, but Bam Bam counters into a bodyblock for two, and slams him. Flying headbutt hits, but Miller superkicks him to stop the Greetings from Asbury Park - only for Awesome to quickly shut him up with a lariat, and a frogsplash to finish at 4:00. The Bigelow/Awesome period was actually turning into a nice little match before Miller joined them, but overall this didn't have enough time to go anywhere. *

WCW World Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinal Match: Harlem Heat 2000 v Shane Douglas and Buff Bagwell: Brawl to start, and the dust settles on Stevie Ray and Douglas - Stevie hitting a quick backbreaker. Elbowdrop misses to allow the tag to Bagwell, and he hits a swinging neckbreaker, but runs into a spinebuster from Big T after a blind tag. Big T stupidly whips Bagwell into his home corner, and ends up taking a pump-splash for two. Both guys start selling like they've been out there for twenty minutes to try and manufacture drama for the tags, and indeed, Douglas does a house of fire routine after two minutes of action. Pittsburgh Plunge finishes Stevie at 2:40. DUD

WCW United States Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Sting v Booker: Booker controls through a quick reversal sequences, but a criss cross ends in Sting hitting a hiptoss. Another one goes Sting's way with a bodyslam, and he hits a few clotheslines to knock Booker out of the ring. Sting follows to whip Booker into the rail, and he adds a shot into the broadcast table - only to get stungunned onto it when he charges. Inside, Booker hits a clothesline for two, and works a chinlock. Sting powers up, so Booker gives him an axekick for two. Flapjack, but Sting ducks the Harlem sidekick, and DDTs him for two. Stinger Splash hits, but version two is blocked with the Harlem sidekick - only for Sting to catch him with a bodypress coming off the ropes for two. Suplex, but Booker reverses - only for Sting to counter into the Scorpion Deathdrop at 6:33. They were really trying to push this as some sort of classic (both in the booking, and in the commentary), but it was too short to have a chance to really go anywhere, and was basically no more than a decent TV match. *

WCW United States Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Billy Kidman v Vampiro: Kidman tries a sneak attack, but misses, and gets tossed into the corner for some abuse. Cross corner clothesline, and Vampiro hits an overhead suplex, then follows with a flying clothesline for two. Criss cross goes Kidman's way with a rana, and he adds a dropkick, but gets powerbombed as he tries a ten-punch in the corner. Side suplex, but a second powerbomb gets countered into a facebuster, and Kidman bodyslams him. Slingshot legdrop gets two, and a sidewalk slam (a spot significantly less impressive when you're under six feet tall) gets two. Vampiro reverses a vertical suplex, and hits a chokeslam for two. Nail in the Coffin, but Kidman counters into another facebuster for two. Bad transition, as they go out to the floor and stand around, then roll back in so Vampiro can take over with lightning kicks. Not sure what happened there, but it looked terrible. Armbreaker, but Kidman escapes, and DDTs him for two, as Hulk Hogan  arrives (pulling up backstage in his car - apparently rushing to the arena to deal with this), and marches out. He attacks Kidman, and does an extended beat down before putting Billy through a table, then rolling him in for Vampiro to pin at 8:27. Good match before Hogan showed up - his extended beating of Kidman both making Billy look like a complete loser, and ruining the flow of the match. * ¼

WCW Hardcore Title Match: Terry Funk v Norman Smiley: This is not a tournament final, but is for the vacant title. They start backstage, and Funk empties a vending machine full of sodas onto him. Into the kitchen, as they break about six thousand health laws by sweating all over everything. They keep trading shots all the way into the arena and down to the ring, where Smiley tries to buttfuck Funk, and gets clobbered with a chair. Terry finds a ladder, but Dustin Rhodes runs out to piledrive him before he can use it - only to take a chair to the face in the process. Funk recovers and whacks Norman with the ladder, and we have a new champion at 8:04. The usual mindless hardcore brawl. ¼*

WCW United States Title Tournament Semifinal Match: Scott Steiner v Mike Awesome: Scott with a quick drop-toehold out of the initial lockup, and he ties Mike up on the mat. Clothesline, and Scott tosses him out to the floor to clear the ring for a proper pose fest. Awesome dives back in with a nice slingshot shoulderblock (with Steiner charging him - making it look really brutal) and adds a splash for two. Flying clothesline gets two, so Scott rakes the eyes, and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Into the corner for some stomps, but Awesome counters a cross corner whip with a springboard backelbow for two. Leaping legdrop gets two, and he goes to the top to finish, but Kevin Nash runs in, and whacks him with a crutch - Steiner finishing with the Recliner at 3:14. Afterwards, the announcers accidentally give away the tournament results and refer to Steiner as the new US champ, and quickly have to backtrack. This was going along fine as a power match, but much like the rest of this show, didn't have enough time to properly develop. ½*

WCW United States Title Tournament Semifinal Match: Sting v Vampiro: Sting charges in, but takes a leg lariat, and Vampiro headbutts him. Pair of savate kicks, and he chops him into the corner, but Sting does the flexy no-sell, and they spill to the outside for a quick brawl. Back in, Sting hits a bodyslam, and a flying splash for two. Back out again, Sting tries a splash against the rail, but misses, and Vampiro whacks him with a chair, then superkicks him. Vampiro with a diving shoulderblock on the way back in, and a legdrop gets two. Side suplex for two, and a series of kicks set up a vertical suplex for two. Bodyslam, but a missile dropkick ends awkwardly with both guys miscommunication, and ending in a heap. Looks like Vampiro was trying for the move, and Sting was supposed to catch him in a powerbomb on the way down, but didn't. Regardless, Sting hits the Scorpion Deathdrop, and slaps on the Deathlock to advance at 5:57. Weird match, as they seemed to have a bunch of communication issues throughout, and it looked very awkward at points. ¼*

WCW Cruiserweight Title Suicide Six-Way Match: The Artist v Juventud Guerrera v Chris Candido v Shannon Moore v Lash LeRoux v Crowbar: Also not a tournament final, but for the vacant title. Everyone brawls, and Candido bodyslams Moore for two. Crowbar breaks it up, and hits a Northern lights suplex on Candido for two, followed by a slingshot legdrop for two. Lash breaks that up, and hits a modified brainbuster for two - Guerrera breaking it up. He hits the JuviDriver for two when Artist breaks it up, and Juvi bulldogs him, but walks into a superkick. Brawl breaks out again, but everybody trading off highspots for a dog pile out on the floor. Inside, Artist tries to superplex Candido, but gets shoved down, and Chris goes for the flying headbutt - which misses. Artist drops him like a Samoan, but Tammy Lynn Sytch runs out (in her WCW debut, and looking more like Cloudy than Sunny) to shove Artist off the top rope to allow Chris to pin at 5:12. Afterwards, she gets in a catfight with Paisley, which comes off as plain sad, with the crowd not reacting at all, since it wasn't remotely sexy. ¼*

WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Ric Flair and Lex Luger v Shane Douglas and Buff Bagwell: Luger starts with Bagwell, and Buff wants a handshake, but even Lex is too smart for that. He hammers him, but misses a cross corner charge, and gets bodyslammed. Bagwell stops to pose and gets clotheslined, and Luger hits a bodyslam of his own, but gets his eyes raked. Tag to Shane, but he gets quickly press slammed, and Flair tags in - still in street clothes. He destroys Douglas with chops on the floor, but Shane rakes the eyes on the way back in, and tags out. They cut the ring in half on Ric, and Flair has to suffer the embarrassment of missing the Flair Flip while in the ring with Douglas. And you know that has to sting. Second try works, but Luger clobbers Douglas from the apron, and tags. He's a house of arson, but out come Kronik (making their debut as a team) to chokeslam him - Bagwell pinning him to win the vacant titles at 8:29. Really boring tag match here. And nice to see them rewarding Douglas for trying to bail to the WWF with a title. See, if I were Vince McMahon, I would sign Douglas to a contract the next day, just to twist the knife, and then job him out until his contract is up. ¼*

WCW United States Title Match: Scott Steiner v Sting: Scott knocks Sting around to start, but gets caught with a pair of dropkicks to put him out on the floor, and Sting follows with a plancha. Flying splash (with great elevation) on the way back in hits the knees, however, and Scott press slams him. Clothesline and an elbowdrop for two, followed by a head-and-arm suplex. Steiner bails to go threaten a fan, and gets knocked off the top rope as he tries a superplex as a result. Sting with a pair of clotheslines to setup the Stinger Splash, but Scott shoves the referee in the way to block the second one. Sting goes for it again, but Vampiro bursts through a hole in the ring, and pulls Sting underneath. He eventually comes back up, and Scott slaps on the Recliner to win the title at 5:32. I'd like to say something, like, 'stupid ending aside, this was a good match,' but in reality this was a shitty match with a stupid ending tacked on. ¼*

WCW World Title Match: Jeff Jarrett v Diamond Dallas Page: This is the tournament final, but thankfully they didn't book the whole thing on this show, too, as then we'd end up with even further abbreviated versions of these abbreviated matches. Bell sounds, and Jeff charges, but Page sees it coming, and nails him. Criss cross goes his way with a clothesline, and an inverted atomic drop hits. Floatover DDT gets two, and he knocks Jarrett to the outside for a plancha. Kimberly (and her fantastic rack) add a slap out there, and the guys brawl into the crowd for a while. Unfortunately, WCW apparently spent all their money on Shane Douglas, as they can't afford a camera to follow them, and we're left with a wide shot to try and follow things. Back to the ring, Page hits a slingshot sunset flip for two, and a clothesline follows. Flying version, but Jarrett shakes the ropes, and Page takes a nice crotch bump on the turnbuckle. Ouch! Jeff superplexes him down, and adds a few chair shots. 2^nd rope axehandle, but Page reverses him into the ropes with a short-backelbow. Sitout powerbomb gets two, and they spill to the outside as Eric Bischoff shows up. Jarrett kicks his ass out there, and as a fan stupidly tries to get Page to autograph a copy of his autobiography mid-brawl, Jarrett grabs it, and starts tearing pages out in Page's face. Ha, that's awesome. Kimberly attacks to try assist Page in reversing a shot into the post, and Dallas crotches him on it for good measure. Diamond Cutter, but Jarrett grabs the ropes to block, and cracks DDP with the title belt for two. Figure Four, but Page makes the ropes, and cradles him for two when he tries locking it on again. Schoolboy for two, so Jeff cracks him with a chincrusher - only to get caught in a uranage for two as he tries a flying axehandle. Jarrett tries a sleeper, but Dallas reverses, so Bischoff pops up onto the apron to distract the referee. Diamond Cutter in the meantime, but Kimberly comes in to turn on him by cracking him with a guitar, and Jarrett hits the Stroke to win the WCW Title at 15:02. This was actually a good little match for the most part, as they were given time, and worked hard to keep a good pace from bell-to-bell. Good enough to save the show? No. But better than anything else on this card. * ¾

BUExperience: Well, it was certainly an improvement over their last few pay per view efforts (and no negative star matches this time out), but don’t mistake that for praise – this is far from a good show. Starting fresh was smart in theory, but the new direction was basically exactly the same as the old direction, and long tournament shows like this are not generally too good at producing interesting matches. Combine that with an overload of shitty finishes and screwy angles, and you’ve got another stinker of a pay per view.

DUD