WCW Mayhem 2000

From Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden, and Stevie Ray.

Opening WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Mike Sanders v Kwee Wee: Wee attacks him with a Thesz press, and hits a hiptoss out of a criss cross, then dumps Sanders out of the ring. That draws the rest of the Natural Born Thrillers out, and they don't even bother trying to hide the cheap shots from the referee - beating on Wee at will. Nice spot, as Jindrak and O'Haire hiptoss Wee back into the ring, and Mike catches him in a powerslam on the way. All the cheating draws Meng out to brawl with the Thrillers, as Sanders gets some nearfalls out of the beat down. Now Ric Flair is here to break it up, and with everyone cleared away, the match picks back up with Sanders hitting a snapmare and a kneedrop for two. Chinlock, so Wee tries a cradle, but Sanders clobbers him with a clothesline for two, then slaps on a cobra clutch. Wee side suplexes free, and a slugfest goes his way to set up a kneelift. Backdrop hits, then into the corner for a ten-punch count. Wee tries a sunset powerbomb on the floor, but Sanders turns it into a rana. Paisley comes in to give him a handspring elbow to stop the comeback (again, in full view of the official), but Wee blows his chance, and Sanders hits the 3.0 at 7:52 to retain. Did we really need THAT much overbooking in the damned OPENING MATCH?! ½*

Triangle Match: 3-Count v The Jung Dragons v Jamie Knoble and Evan Karagias: Brawl in the aisle to start, as Count and the Dragons target their former teammates. Inside, Dragons hit Count with stereo inverted atomic drops, and we get some goofy dancing stuff before the Dragons backdrop them both out. The dust settles on Kaz Hayashi and Karagias to start, and Evan hits a powerslam for two. Flapjack, and Shane Helms tags in for a slugfest with Evan. Karagias with a Thesz press to set up mounted punches, and he tags to Knoble for a quick double-team. Jamie with a Japanese armdrag into an armbar, but Shane makes it to the corner to tag Shannon Moore, and they hit Jamie with a nice German suplex/spinheel kick combo for two. Moore with a rana, but Knoble powerbombs him to counter, and the Dragons come in to take both guys down. Kaz hits Moore with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, but a short-clothesline is countered into a rocker dropper. Tag to Helms with a straight-jacket suplex on Kaz for two, and an inside cradle gets two. Gutwrench suplex, but Kaz escapes a flying sunset flip, and superkicks him. Tag to Yun Yang, and he takes out all four opponents with martial arts stuff, before getting clobbered by Moore. It turns into a brawl, and everyone trades nearfalls until it turns into a dog pile on the outside. A ladder gets involved in a callback to their earlier pay per view encounter, and Yang takes the Countdown to allow Helms the deciding fall at 10:53. Total spotfest, and it lacked flow, but it was entertaining, and probably as good as it's going to get on this show. ** ½

Jimmy Hart v Mancow: Really, again? Jimmy comes out on crutches to try and get out of things, thus instantly becoming a hero to millions. Yeah, that trick only works when people actually want to see the match you're trying to get out of, but nice try, Jimmy. Mancow doesn't buy it, and grabs a microphone to reference the 2000 Presidential Election by telling Jimmy that he's like Al Gore, and 'doesn't know when to say goodbye.' He crosses the line by referring to Jimmy's cock as a 'hanging chad,' however, and gets attacked with the crutch. Goes nowhere, though, as Mancow quickly finishes him with his own crutch at 1:36. So glad we got to see this. DUD

WCW Hardcore Title Triple Threat Match: Crowbar v Big Vito v Reno: You know the drill: punch-punch, kick-kick, weapon shots, brawl around the arena, and Crowbar whacks Reno with a chair to retain at 7:22. DUD

Handicap Match: Alex Wright and KroniK v The Filthy Animals: The idea here is that Wright has paid KroniK as his personal hit squad, but that they've only agreed to wrestle for seven minutes. Alex gets his monies worth by ordering Brian Adams to start with Billy Kidman, and Adams tosses him around. Press slam, but Billy counters into a sleeper - only to get full-nelson slammed. Tag to Wright to get the two count out of it, and Alex adds a dropkick. Cross corner charge misses to allow Billy a slingshot headscissors, and he tags Rey Mysterio Jr, but Wright gets to Bryan Clarke before Rey can catch him. Rey holds his own with a springboard legdrop for two, but a springboard bulldog is nicely countered into a chokeslam. Clarke with a sitout powerbomb, but Wright stops the Meltdown, as he wants to finish himself. Could have tagged afterward, genius. Instead, he comes in with a hanging vertical suplex, then passes right over to Adams. Good thinking there, Alex. Unfortunately for him, time elapses, and KroniK walk out. You'd think that would lead to a countout, but the referee ignores that, and allows the Animals to double-team - they finish Alex with a flying legdrop to the stepchildren at 7:47. The match wasn’t very good, but I did like the idea of KroniK as guns for hire. ¼*

Shane Douglas v Ernest Miller: Slugfest to start goes Cat's way, and he puts Shane on the floor with a series of kicks. He follows for a brawl out there, so Torrie Wilson runs interference, and Shane suplexes him back into the ring - though, a version so lazy they Douglas never bothers to leave his feet. Shane controls with punch-kick stuff, and slaps on a headvise. Miller escapes with a series of chops, but gets swatted down, and elbowdropped. Shane blocks a ten-punch count with an inverted atomic drop, and hits a double-underhook suplex for two. Another headvise, but Cat wins a sloppy criss cross with some punches, and superkicks him for two. Feliner for two, as Torrie and Ms. Jones catfight on the outside - Madden doing his best Joey Styles impression as they do. Shane grabs a chain in the chaos and uses it for two, then argues the count, and gets rolled up for two. Shane tries a DDT to finish, but Miller holds the rope to block, and kicks Shane with his fancy red slipper to finish at 7:59. Douglas looked exceptionally lazy here - though who could blame him, given the state of the promotion at this point? DUD

Bam Bam Bigelow v Sergeant AWOL: AWOL overpowers him into the corner out of the initial lockup, and chokes him there for a bit. Bam Bam fires back with a short-kneelift and a Samoan drop for two, but a cross corner charge hits boot, and AWOL goes back to choking. I guess he figured if he emulated Undertaker enough, he might get a WWF job? More choking, as the crowd goes to sleep. Flying clothesline gets two, but Bigelow counters a side suplex with a bodyblock for two, then DDTs him. Flying headbutt misses, however, and AWOL big boots him a couple of times. Backdrop is blocked with the Greetings from Asbury Park, but AWOL escapes, and clobbers him with forearms. Spinebuster, and he tries for a chokeslam through a table, but Bam Bam counters into Greetings for the pin at 5:41. Thankfully short, but they packed more than their fair share of sloppiness, and bad transitions into six minutes, don't worry! –¼*

WCW United States Title Match: Lance Storm v General Rection: Bigelow attacks Rection on the floor before the match, and Storm throws him into the steps to capitalize. Inside, Storm works the knee, and applies a leglock. He wraps it around the ringpost a couple of times, but ends up getting shoved into the rail, and Rection brawls with him on the floor. Storm takes another shot at the knee to stop the comeback, and inside he tries for the Maple Leaf, but Rection grabs the ropes. Storm ends up crotching himself on the post, but Major Gunns runs interference before Rection can capitalize, and Storm clips the knee again. Vertical suplex gets two, and a nice superkick hits, but he fails to cover, and Rection powerslams him as a result. Flying moonsault, but Gunns whacks the knee to crotch him on the top turnbuckle, and Lance follows up to side superplex him - only for Rection to elbow him down, and hit the moonsault to win the title at 6:23. As usual, Rection's selling was good, and the match was fine - just too short to go anywhere. *

Jeff Jarrett v Buff Bagwell: Buff overpowers him through the initial lockup, and hits a swinging neckbreaker followed by a pump-splash for two. Jeff tries a hiptoss, but Bagwell reverses, and hiptosses him right over the top with it. Brawl around ringside, and Jarrett uses a chair to takeover. Inside, he hits a 2^nd rope fistdrop for two, and tries a sleeper, but Bagwell reverses. Jeff side suplexes free, but another 2^nd rope fistdrop misses, and Buff unloads clotheslines. Single-arm DDT sets up the Blockbuster, but Jeff ducks, and Bagwell splats. He still manages a tornado DDT for two, but Jeff backdrops him over the top before he can finish. He grabs a chair, but David Flair runs in to DDT him onto it, and Bagwell covers for two. Flying bodypress, but Jeff rolls through for two. Bagwell hits a quick inverted DDT to retain control, but Jarrett whacks him with the guitar, and gets the pin at 11:10. Poorly worked match, with lots of dead spots, and bad transitions. DUD

WCW World Tag Team Title Match: The Perfect Event v The Insiders: Chuck Palumbo starts with Kevin Nash, and Kevin does the Jake Roberts spot where he goes for the finisher in the opening seconds, but Chuck hits the deck, and bails. Palumbo regroups out there with Shawn Stasiak, and back in, Nash overpowers him through a collar-and-elbow lockup. Slugfest goes the challengers way as well, and he works him over in the corner. Snake-eyes and a clothesline put Palumbo on the floor again, so the rest of the Natural Born Thrillers try to interfere - and get quickly tossed around by Nash and Dallas Page. Ric Flair comes down to send them to the back, though I'd say that was kinda pointless, given that the Insiders were treating them like pesky jobbers anyway. Dust settles on Page and Stasiak, and DDP controls through a reversal sequence, and hits a short-clothesline out of a criss cross. Cheap shot from Palumbo allows Stasiak a DDT on DDP for two, and a swinging neckbreaker follows. Event cut the ring in half on Page, and Chuck tries a sleeper to finish, but Page reverses for a double-knockout. Tag to Nash, and he's a house of arson - Stasiak taking the Powerbomb to crown new champions at 14:53. This was neither good nor bad, it was just sorta there, and didn't really do anything for me one way or the other. *

Goldberg v Lex Luger: Goldberg tries a wristlock, but Lex grabs the ropes, and stalls. More wristlocking, but Luger side suplexes him to break - which Goldberg promptly no-sells. The announcers flip out like he just no-sold a Steiner Screwdriver through a table, or something (it was a fucking basic SIDE SUPLEX!), so I'm guessing they've all either forgotten 1998, or are just high. Wouldn't blame them either way, frankly. Luger clotheslines him out of the ring, and follows for a beat down out there, but gets caught in a powerslam on the way back in. Goldberg with mounted punches, but Lex uses the referee as a shield to block the spear, though Goldberg ignores it, and Jackhammers him for the pin at 5:53 anyway. Really, really dull. DUD

Main Event: WCW World Title Straightjacket Caged Heat Match: Booker T v Scott Steiner: This time, 'Caged Heat' is a Hell in a Cell again, and there is a straight-jacket hanging inside - though the match is standard pinfall/submission rules. Scott attacks as Booker enters the cage, but the champ reverses a whip into the cell, and they head into the ring - Booker hitting the Harlem sidekick for two. Vertical suplex, but Scott counters by crotching him on the top rope, and clotheslining him out. In, Scott hits his shitty elbowdrop, and adds a backbreaker. Belly-to-belly suplex gets two, and Scott tries a bow-and-arrow, then the Samoan superdrop for two. Glad to see they're working almost the exact same match from the month before, spot for spot. Bearhug, so Booker uses an inverted atomic drop to break, and clotheslines his challenger. Missile dropkick for two, and he climbs the ropes to try and grab the straight-jacket, but Scott Samoan drops him down, and gets it himself. Booker electric chairs him before he can use it though, and hits the Harlem sidekick. He puts Steiner in the jacket (well, eventually, as he has some trouble with it - something that a rehearsal could have solved), but neglects to even tie the arms or secure the straps. So, basically, he's just put Steiner into a sweater, with full use of his arms. Booker grabs a chair to do the Rock/Mankind bit, but again, Steiner's arms are not even wrapped, and there's only one (of, like, seven) fastener holding it on. Scott rips the jacket off and clotheslines the champ, then slaps on the Recliner. Booker muscles up and tries dumping him onto the top rope, but they mess it up, and Scott lands on his feet before pretending to fall into the ropes. Ugly spot. Scott pops up anyway with an overhead suplex, but a 2^nd rope axehandle is blocked with the Book-End for two. You'd think guys would stop trying that spot on him, but no. Booker with a series of clotheslines and a neckbreaker for two. Axekick, as Schiavone notes that 'their bodies are screaming at them to stop.' Yeah, Ton, I think that's the crowd you're hearing there, pal. Harlem sidekick, but Scott blocks with a chairshot, and slaps the Recliner on again for the title at 13:11. Ugly match, with Steiner not giving Booker a lot to work with. ¾*

BUExperience: Hey, only one match in negative stars! That’s practically a classic for them at his point, no? Look, the promotion was in total freefall at this point, and literally nothing short of Austin, Rock, Undertaker, and Triple H all deciding to jump the next day could possibly save them at this point. And even that might not have done it, frankly. It didn’t matter who was booking, it didn’t matter who the champion was… the damage was done, and WCW was a walking corpse by this point – these final pay per views nothing more than a lively wake.

DUD