Hey friends and well-wishers. Michaelangelo here once again. This week I ma on location in a hotel room in Memphis. Unfortunately, this hotel only gets TNT, so I can't see RAW until Tuesday night at the earliest. If this report is posted later than normal, now you know why.

No particular topics of interest for me today. I've been traveling a lot this week and have little strength, so lets go right to the...

Mail Sack!

From: Phil Francis 
Subject: Jab

Bobby Heenan on Sid, " He can beat you many different ways." Uh...let's see. Powerbomb, that's one. Chokeslam, that's two. Okay. I got two. _____________ 

Well, if you count boring me into unconsciousness with his rambling interviews, he could probably pin anyone pretty easily while they're catching some Z's... 

-------------- 
Phil Francis 
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Ouch, a non-weasel fan. I heard rumors that they existed.

From: Michael Mousseau
Subject: Good, bad and ugly

Hey, I totally missed the *WCW* refs in the WWF's Rock, Mankind/Show, Taker match! Ha! Well, I guess 1 slipup per week is allowable. Great column. 

Mike Mousseau

Whoops. Missed that one...gotta proofread these better.

From: sancreunion@hotmail.com
Subject: NONE

> BAD: Most of the booking for Fall Brawl. Who the hell decided that the Revolution would get beat in every match of the night? Come on,  Knobbs and Morrus over Douglas and Malenko!?! Did Vampiro have to lose again? What happened to Buff vs. Berlyn? Do they really think  Fattsaw Jim Duggan was a suitable replacement? You all know how I feel about Benoit dropping the title to Sid, and I have more to say about that later. I am glad that DDP is okay with putting over other wrestlers, but does he have to make a career of it? I'm very glad I didn't bother ordering this one.

Listen, you think you have it bad, we actually ordered the thing... you forgot to add that most of the workers seemed to be drunk off their
asses, or inebriated in some other way.  I don't know HOW some people are praising the ICP vs. Kidman/Guerrro/Mysterio Jr. match... Eddie
was the only one in that match that was anywhere close to being 100% on his game (Mysterio did okay, but all he really did was run through
his trademark spots).  ICP were horrible.  Knobs and Morrus winning made me throw beer at my TV.  The Hacksaw match was so entertaining
that we didn't start playing Tekken 3 until at LEAST 5 seconds into his entrance music.

> BAD: Bobby Heenan on Sid, " He can beat you many different ways." Uh...let's see. Powerbomb, that's one. Chokeslam, that's two. Okay. I > got two.

You forgot the all-important Sid Scissor-Stab!

> BAD: Photos of the PPV "Courtesy of WCW Magazine." Funny, they look like video stills to me.

But they always say that!  And they're always video stills!

> BAD: She nearly gave herself two black eyes running to the ring. Wow. Them's real.

Just cuz they're old-lookin' and kinda saggy doesn't mean they're real!

> BAD: Sign: "Mr. Test-ickles." So disturbing, I need to brush my teeth.

Aw, but there were two signs:  "Paging Mr. Ickles" was the first one...

> BAD: Gotch Gracey? What the hell? BAD: This whole spot was sloppy and pointless. This is the first time that Jericho has bored me. Even the crowd was dead silent. The only part of it that I liked was Jericho's impression of Shamrock.

Holy shit.  Jericho could not have done a better or more complete mocking of not only Ken Shamrock, but the entire UFC organization
and fighting style!  We were laughing our asses off... you'd really have to watch UFC to get it, I guess, but the entire idea of a
"Gotch Gracie" put everyone I know that was watching on the floor... While he's feuding with Shamrock, I think that this kind of stuff
is totally appropriate.

Lots of good points here. The Sid comment was classic. As for Luna's...uh...endowments, as everyone knows, old implants don't sag, they harden. Ouch.

From: Totalpkg80
Subject: your new column!!!

I would like to first give you congrats on your new wrestling column I thought it was awesome.  It's nice to see your still around.  I thought your Nitro results over at ***** were great but The good, bad, and ugly kick's A$$.  Keep up the great work and I can't wait to read it next time. Oh and I have a question for you.....Who do you think will start running things backstage and behind the scenes at World Championship Wrestling?  A lot of people said Flair, a lot of people have been saying Nash or Kevin Sullivan. Just curious to see who you would pick.  Later. The Total Package

This message came from one of the folks who used to read me at a site that kind of went the way of the dodo. As for the question, I hope to see Flair involved in a lot of what happens backstage, but it looks like Nash, Rhodes,  and Sullivan will be handling a lot of the booking.

Oddly enough, nobody answered the Question of the Week last week. If you forgot, it was:

How do you think Eric Bischoff's removal from WCW wrestling will affect the quality of their product?

Well, I guess total silence means that you are all mourning the loss of the great, great, Eric Bischoff.

Let me try to come up with something a bit more controversial for this week's question. How about this, we all know that Bob Ryder is a WCW backer through and through. Any objectivity he may have had between WCW and WWF was torched the minute he accepted a job and regular paycheck from Atlanta. There's another guy who's views are more contrary to Ryder's, yet he receive the same paycheck. This week's question is:

Mark Madden, WCW Shill? Yea or Nay and why?

All responses will be printed. Send them to michaelangelo70@hotmail.com.

On with the countdown.

The Good, Bad, and Ugly for September 20, 1999

WCW

BAD: WCW still getting us to by into the “Sting’s been a bad guy for ten years” angle. Jesus, didn’t you guys read my column last week?

COULD BE GOOD, COULD BE BAD: Tony claims Sting Versus Benoit will happen tonight. It had better happen or they will have a LOT of pissed off fans out there.

GOOD: Juvy and Psychosis versus Rey JR. and Kidman. Cool! This is a damned good way to start off a Nitro.

GOOD: Great match with lots of great spots. The crowd is behind it.WCW, you done good.

SUGGESTION: Let me add a wrinkle. How about letting Juvy and Psych win this match? I don’t think anyone would mind.

GOOD: WOW! They did! Holy shit! Kudos for the booking staff and for Kidman for doing the job.

BAD: What the hell are the rest of the Filthy Animals doing out there? Juvy and Psych won fairly. These are heel tactics.

GOOD: Chavo making the save when Kidman tried to take off Psychosis’s mask. Who’s the heel here again?

BAD: The challenge that Chavo made for next Monday. Looks like the rumors of old Psych losing his match are true. Come on, nobody out there thinks Kidman’s gonna get a haircut.

BAD: Goldberg versus Brian saw Steve Austin fight Knobbs. I thought WCW was going to center their federation around the Big G.? Having him fight a midcard jobber on Nitro  is not what I would consider centering around him. When is the last time you saw Steve Austin fighting Val Venis?

BAD: Tony on Goldberg beating on Knobbs outside the ring. “Fans, this is what Pro Wrestling is all about.” Uh….ok, Tony.

BAD: Having Goldberg get hit 100 times with a chair and megaphone and come right back to take the win. Are we trying to establish that he’s unbeatable or inhuman?

GOOD: Goldberg on the stick. He’s getting better. Not great…but better.

BAD: Why give Goldberg the US Title? Sid having it sucks bad, but if Goldie gets his hands on it, who knows when guys like Vampiro and Saturn will get a chance at it?

BAD: Waiting until Halloween Havok for the match between Goldberg and Sid. Give us a 5 or 7 minute taste on Monday night before then. That would be ultra cool and increase PPV buy rates. Oh, and lets not forget the fact that it might just MAKE THE FANS HAPPY!

GOOD: The Revolution’s video montage. This looks cool and shows some great moves by all four men.

BAD: To bad they have zero heat.

BAD: Tony saying that Benoit won the TV Title shot last week by beating Malenko. Bullshit! He won a right to take a shot at the World Title. Ok, let’s just gloss over that.

GOOD: Ric Flair! Woo! “Free at last!” The crowd is “Woooo”ing along with him, and popping like mad.

BETTER: Benoit coming out and actually demanding his title shot. To ice the cake, he even mentioned that he and Flair had “unfinished business.”

BAD: The crowd’s tepid response to The Crippler’s monologue.  Never take the mic against Flair. You can’t win.

GOOD: Are they really giving us the match? They have a graphic for it…will we get to see Benoit versus Sting, only time, and a screwjob will tell.

GOOD: The Nitro Girl Search without Rikki Rachman! Thank God for Mean Gene! Have they finally listened to the fans? Could it be true? Could he be fired.

GOOD: Tygress’s skirt. Wow.

INTERESTING: I guess since Tigress is out there, the rumors of a Nitro Girl split putting Spice and Kimberly on one side against all the others was total bullshit. It just goes to show that you should never listen to anything you read on the Internet. It’s almost all stupid ass speculation based on personal opinion, tea leaf reading, and astrological prediction.

GOOD: Benoit is out…will the champ actually follow?

GOOD: Yes, Sting is coming.

GOOD: This is a 9 p.m. match? Wow.

GOOD: Hogan, Flair and Hart on the same team next week. I guess I’m a mark, but Having Flair and Hart out there at all should be enough to get most people interested.

BAD: Sting getting a face pop. He’s taking all the face heat from Benoit…WCW is failing with a heel Stinger. He’s gonna have to do some nasty stuff to get over as a bad guy.

GOOD: I dig this match. These two are worth watching.

UGLY: Badly missed powerbomb countered by frankensteiner spot by Benoit.

BAD: Sting’s badly mussed face paint. That’s the sign that he’s been in a real match.

GREAT: The last 5 minutes of this match. Comeback after comeback…it’s what makes for truly exciting wrestling. Not even the ref bump really bugs me.

BAD: Goddamned screwjob.

GOOD: Well, all things considered, the match came to about the only ending they could give to allow Benoit to save face (he beat Sting more than once when the ref was out) and allowed Sting to hold the belt. It also helps set us up for next week’s Six-way tag between Flair/Hogan/Hart versus Sting/Luger/DDP.

BAD: Scott Armstrong? They let all those great luchas go and kept this guy.

BAD: Looks like Berlyn has been relegated back to the place he thought he’d left behind as Alex Wright. They really botched this guy’s gimmick.

BAD: Berlyn’s haircut. It really is stupid looking.

BAD: Berlyn, the German fighting machine, has to win against jobbers by cheating. Having Brad Armstrong confront him after the match is just the last straw. Say bye-bye Berlyn.

GOOD: The backstage moment with The ICP and Vampiro. Don’t get me wrong, I hate ICP with every fiber in my being, but I love Vamp so much, I can actually like this.

GOOD: DDP versus Ric Flair. I know we’ve seen it over and over again, but these two guys will put on a show. Too bad, we know it will be a shmozz. Eh, I guess that I can live with it.

GOOD: DDP’s interview. He got the crowd going by only bordering on cheap heat. I think that he is actually getting way over as a heel. Shooting on Flair’s age and his need to retire was pretty cool. He got a great crowd response.

GOOD: Eddie Guerrero versus Saturn rematch. It should be even better than last week since there’s kind of a story behind it.

BAD: It’s still a face versus face match.

GOOD: Blitzkrieg versus Evan Kariagas for a title shot on Thursday.

BAD:  If Sid doesn’t interrupt the match, I think Kariagas will get the win. Bleah.

BAD: Boy, this match really sucks. Evan is two steps behind Blitzkrieg. It looks like a train wreck. The crowd’s chant of “Boring” is way too loud before Sid arrives.

BAD: Fucking Sid AGAIN. And Kariagas won the match. Both my predictions won.

BAD: Sid’s tirade is so bad that I actually switched to Alley McBeal. If you don’t believe me, I saw Lucy Liu growl at Callista Flockheart. Restraining order…oh come on. I hate this fucking angle. Fight each other and get it over with. PLEASE, WCW, don’t put us through a month more of this crap.

BAD: Where’s the Filthy Animals’ montage. Why do we have to see the Revolution’s twice?

BAD: Konnan. He’s back. He’s dancing. We’re pissed.

BAD: Is this a lumberjack match now?

HORRIBLE: Taking a break during the match?

GOOD: Eddie’s flying swinging DDT. Wow.

GOOD: Finally, Shane Douglas starts to turn heel.

BAD: Hogan saying, “That’s the bottom line during his interview.”

BAD: Lenny and Lodi known as the West Hollywood Blondes. Uh, I thought they canned the homosexual angle.  If they are going to do it, why the hell are they still calling these two “brothers”?

BAD:  The ICP video. I just hate these two assholes. They are not wrestlers…they’re not musicians. They are fucking posing losers who happen to have stumbled upon a lucky idea for a gimmick. They just make me so aggravated, I have to scream…GLEAAAAAAAAGH!!!

BAD: Why the fuck is Shaggy 2 DOPE the #1 contender for the Cruiserweight Title? What the fuck is this>\?

BAD: I hope this “fan runs in on Lodi” thing comes to a head soon. Oh, by the way, if you never thought it was an angle before now, the fact that they showed the security guards put their knees in his neck and cart him off screaming should be a dead giveaway.

BAD: This match is horrible. The spots were bad, and the ending was entirely too contrived and forced.

GOOD: At least the ICP jerkoff lost.

BAD: Mean Gene’s Marge Schott joke. Uh…okay Gene. Tell the one about Eddie Cantor now. Who? Exactly.

GOOD: The return of Big Papa Pump! I have so missed this guy! He’s the best heel WCW has had this year.

GREAT: He automatically goes into his “hootches” and “Big Bad Booty Daddy” speech. He even gets muted! I can hear you Scotty, I’m hollering.

EVEN BETTER: Pump on Hogan back to Hulkamania. “I puked red and yellow.”

GOOD: Booker T. in singles competition against Kanyon. Wow. Cool booking.

BAD: Again, there’s no back story here to speak of. It would really help, you know.

GOOD: Although it’s really nothing special, it is a solid match by two hard workers.

GOOD: Kanyon avoids the “bent over like a moron until Booker gives me the Harlem axe kick” by dropping to one knee in pain and getting up in time for the bump. He’s a pro. Kudos Kanyon.

GOOD: Clean finish.

BAD: Where was the rest of the Triad?

GOOD: Is it me or does DDP seem to be having a great time?

GOOD: Flair going right after Page. Fighting though the crowd, down the isle, everywhere around the ring….I just love it. Wooo!

BAD: With Flair as a face, we won’t get to see him beg off. I just love that rafter shaking “Noooooo!” He howls when he’s in trouble.

BAD: “Little Naitch” Charles Robinson is the ref…why isn’t there any mention of this by the announcers or any acknowledgement by Robinson or Flair in the ring.

GOOD: We knew it would end in a schmozz. It wasn’t too badly booked. Flair gets the best of DDP and Sting, Hogan gets “reinjured” and Sting gets over more as a heel. It sets us up well for next week and seeing Flair and Hogan helping each other out is kind of cool…let’s see how it plays out next week.

OVERALL: not a bad offering. A lot of worthless matches, but the Benoit/Sting gig was cool. Kanyon and Booker also put on a decent show. With Papa Pump back, things are going to get a bit better each time he’s on the stick. They have some work to do, and we need the Outsiders, but WCW is making strides.

 WWF

GOOD: Vince winning the WWF Title on Thursday. He did it the best way he could. HHH beat him all over the ring and an actual wrestler laid the champ out to give Vinnie Mac the 1-2-3.

BAD: We all know that this sets up yet another heel turn for Big Vinnie, and perhaps he’s taking Stone Cold with him this time. He’s turned too many times this year.

BAD: If Austin does not turn heel, why the hell would he help McMahon?

BAD: HHH would have been better off holding the belt up to the PPV. It would have given more bloodlust to his opponents and more of a payoff for the fans. Besides, he made a pretty good heel champ.

GOOD: Vince’s pop. The guy gets heat no matter what he does. He’s a heel and they hate him. He’s a face, and they love him.

GOOD: Vince giving up the title for a 6-pack challenge at Unforgiven.

BAD: With all the main eventers in the title fight, the rest of the card is going to be kind of thin.

GOOD: RAW’s opening interviews. Vince made an attempt to stick to the rules of his “banishment,” Austin did his usual tirade, and HHH worked in developing his heel persona by threatening Vince’s family. They are going all out to push the angles for this Sunday’s PPV.

BAD: Stone Cold “reinstating” Vince in the WWF. Of course, this is totally a set-up by Vince.

GOOD: It might be a swerve. Chances are, it will be. Who knows what the hell is going to happen at the PPV?

GOOD: The Rock trying desperately to be a face. Did you catch the cringe when he asked the security guard what her name was?

GOOD: The Rock’s rendition of Smackdown Hotel. If you haven’t heard it at a live show, it’s ten times funnier in person.

GOOD: Mankind in the boiler room. He looks at home there.

GOOD: Rock’s save of Mankind.

BAD: The Rock drives off The Big Show with one punch? Uh, right. He gets smacked in the face and wanders away in a daze?

BAD: If the refs are on strike, who is paying for them to fly from arena to arena to picket?

GOOD: Jericho ripping up the “I’m a Jerichoholic” sign. Y2J rules. Master of cheap heat!

GOOD: Jericho versus Mr. Ass. Wow, a wresting match featuring, of all things, WRESTLING!

UGLY: The DDP Hughes laid on Mr. Ass. Wow. That was close.

BAD: The Liontamer being called “The Walls of Jericho.” I could have thought of a better name than that. I can’t think of any right now, but…it’s not my job anyway.

GOOD: The Rock’s tirade. I know it’s just a variation on his same schtick from week to week, but I still love it. Cole “wearing” a Rock T-Shirt.

GOOD: Mankind coming in with “Things between the Rock and Mankind are strictly platonic.” Mick manages to come up with something that tops off Rock’s interviews every week. I wonder how long he can keep it up?

BAD: The Undertaker’s interview. Redefines the word “bland.”

BAD: Aren’t Edge and Christian supposed to get the next title match?

GOOD: Ivory on the stick.

BAD: She’s not nearly as over as she should be.

GOOD: Ivory’s invitation and Luna’s arrival. Tell me she’s not impressive in the ring.

BAD: Non-title match? I though she said that the title was on the line.

BAD: D’Lo gets the “stolen phrase of the week” award for using the term “punk card.” If you recall, The Undertaker used it a couple of weeks back and HHH used it on Smackdown this past Thursday. I think it’s time to retire that particular saying

BAD: I get a funny feeling that Shane is going to set up Vince in that main event tonight…again.

BAD: Stephanie McMahon in the ring?

GOOD: Buh Buh Ray Dudley’s stuttering act. It’s gonna get better.

BAD: D’Von calling Farouk and Bradshaw, “The Acu-lites.” Sounds like a new kind of replacement bulb for the ceiling fan.

BAD: Bradshaw and Farouk at the commentator’s table. These two guys are about as sad as it gets. They flubbed their words, screwed up their lines, and made little or no sense.

GOOD: The Dudleys versus the Hardys. That powerbomb outside the ring looked brutal, but the 3D was about as sweet as it gets.

GOOD: Farouk and Bradshaw using Public Enemy as an example for what they plan to do to the Dudleys. Consistency, wins EVERY TIME.

GOOD: Stevie Richards’ new gimmick, copying other people’s gimmick. I hope he follows Mankind around next.

BAD: Jarrett continuing his misogynistic crap. Okay, we get the point. We’ve seen enough women getting beaten up.

BAD: If Chyna wins at Unforgiven, nobody will be surprised. If she loses, there will be an uprising. They can’t win.

BAD: Steffie’s ring attire. Ugh.

BAD:  There’s no heat between Debra and Stephanie. Why would they want to fight each other?

GOOD: Steve Lombardi! Woo! He was one of my childhood heroes. Who could forget his meaningless feud with Paul Roma.

GOOD: Stephanie makes the pin on Jarrett. She had a meaningful part in the match and did not have to wrestle.

BAD: Figure-4 on Debra? Who didn’t see that coming?

BAD: UT talking to Kane before the commercial break. Now we know Kane is going to screw his brother.

GOOD: The fact that Lillian Garcia’s presence is largely unnoticed. She’s getting a bit better.

GOOD: The Rock calling Viscera “Fat Albert.” We all thought it, he was the first to say it.

BAD: Darkside rules mean that anyone who believes in the “dark side” gets to be in the ring? That is too stupid for words. I guess they expected UT to be healed by now, so they are having a hard time thinking of reasons to keep him out of the ring.

GOOD: The Rock and Mankind recapturing the tag titles.

GOOD: Kane turned on the UT. Who called it? Me.

BAD:  Mariana with stained blood on her face during her “Chaz beats me” interview. This angle is bad news. WWF had better tread lightly.

GOOD: Notice how every single match at the PPV has some sort of angle associated with it and how they touch on every angle during the course of this show.

GOOD: WITH APOLOGIES TO CRZ: Blackman’s face when he pulled the vibrator out of his weapons bag. The last time a sexual device made me laugh that hard was…well, never mind.

GOOD: The sneak attack on Kane by UT and his minions. The WWF is getting gasoline happy and I am wondering when they will get to the point when they are actually torching someone for real.

GOOD: They finally buried Pepper. Hopefully, one Unforgiven is over, the angle will be buried too.

GOOD: That still photo of the Bossman pissing on Pepper’s grave. I admit it, I laughed out loud. If that makes me a nasty person, so be it.

BAD: If The Holly’s are not going to weigh anyone, why do they keep bringing that scale out?

UGLY:  That pitcher shot on Bossman’s face. Wow! The only thing it lacks is juice.

GOOD: Scratch that, there’s the juice.

BAD: D’Lo and Marc Henry in the strip club. Was that really a necessary location for a fight?

GOOD: They managed to pull something unexpected out for the main event again. I expected Shane to turn on his dear old dad. Instead, he locks him up intentionally to protect him and gets Test to fight by his side instead. Good work WWF bookers.

GOOD: Shane’s ring work is looking good. If he decided to make a career of this, he could be a great cruiserweight.

GOOD: Vince getting the last shot on Helmsley. God, I missed the big lug.

OVERALL: This was a great show. They managed to provide tons of entertainment while hyping every match for the upcoming PPV at the same time. What else is there to say?

Well, two interesting shows. Up close it seems that WWF is still the dominating force and WCW is still floundering. If we take a few steps back, we see that perhaps WWF is starting to actually grow stale and WCW is on the mend. Hopefully, the new powers that be of WCW will continue their decent booking strategies and add more meaningful angles. If they do, we just might see an improvement in the ratings.

Questions? Comments? A sharp stick in the eye? Send me mail at michaelangelo70@hotmail.com.

I am Michaelangelo and will be for a while.