WCW Thunder - Monday, Week 1, September 2001

15,000 in attendance at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.

This week on Thunder: The start of the Blackjack Classic, words from the new International Heavyweight champion Sting, and an impromptu main event which culminates in a shocking reveal! All this and more, just after the break!

 

1. As is tradition for each tournament, the show starts with a video of Dusty Rhodes and Mike Tenay running down the bracket for the 2001 Blackjack Classic!

Dusty and Tenay run down their odds for the tournament - they see Paul Wight as the likely winner given the dominant streak he's been on recently, but as to their personal dark horse picks, Dusty thinks that if Mark Henry can get past Wight, he's going to win it all. Mike Tenay acknowledges that his is an unusual pick, but if anyone has followed the career of Shinya Hashimoto in Japan they would know that he is not a wrestler to be doubted, and Tenay believes he could win the whole tournament. Dusty probably makes fun of him for that. (68)

2. Opening the show proper is Sting! He says that he's happy to say that he's back on top of the mountain and holding a world championship one more time. Sting thanks the fans for having his back through his whole journey - since they never let him down, he doesn't plan on letting them down any time soon. On that note, he says that he's going to do that by giving the fans the show they wanna see. He's not gonna back down from anybody, and anyone who wants a shot at this championship is welcome to it. Just then, Lance Storm comes out! Storm says he only lost his title to Sting because three other men were in that ring, and if it were one on one, Sting would never have won. Sting replies by saying that if Storm's so eager to try and take his title back, let's do it at SuperBrawl! (100)

3. Blackjack Classic 2001 Opening Round: Shinya Hashimoto and Power Warrior went to a draw after a blackout attack happened and laid Power Warrior out. As a result of the draw, neither man will advance to the next round, meaning that the winner of Glenn Gilbertti vs. Joe Legend will receive a bye. As for the match itself, it was a disappointment - Power Warrior and Hashimoto didn't click at all, and it was obvious. (55)

4. Immediately after the attack on Power Warrior, Mike Awesome storms down to the ring and grabs a microphone. He says that all these attacks have gone on long enough, and he's gonna end it once and for all tonight! Mike Awesome says that if Mutoh won't admit to being the attacker, he'll beat it out of him - he wants a no DQ main event tonight! (69)

5. A vignette airs for a new tag team, showing motorcycles speeding down the open road, eventually pulling up to a rest stop, where the camera shows the two bikers - Brutus and Horace, Hell's Boulders. (49)

6. Scott Norton squashed Solo Snuka in 2:21 with a Blue Thunder Bomb. (57)

7. Backstage, a cameraman is following Crash as he walks. He says that he figured out why he hasn't had any success recently - he went after the television title, he lost. He went after the tag titles, he lost. He thought about going after the Brass Knuckles title, no dice. Crash says the problem isn't him, he just hasn't been going after the right championship. Just then, we see where he's going - he's entering the locker room to approach The Hardyz and Amy Dumas, who are talking with each other while Matt holds his new Cruiserweight championship. Crash lays down a challenge to Matt, and Matt accepts! (71)

8. Steve Austin defeated Bubba Ray Dudley in 3:17 with a Stunner. (74) After the match, he grabbed a microphone and called out Scott Steiner and Jimmy Hart. After throwing insults at the two for a moment, he says he wants to get revenge. Just then, Dwayne Johnson also comes out, and says that Austin has bigger problems - he cost Dwayne the World title and he doesn't just get to get away with that. The two go back and forth, but before the conversation can esc08alate, security steps in. (71)

9. WCW Television Championship: Steve Corino defeated Ray Traylor with the Old School Expulsion in 7:57 to make his fourth defense of the Television title. (80)

10. Blackjack Classic 2001 Opening Round: Glenn Gilbertti defeated Joe Legend in 3:31 after interference from Big T. Gilbertti advances to the second round, where he will receive a bye into the semi-finals. In a stroke of bad luck, the two competitors in the opening round match once again didn't have chemistry together. (44)

11. Eric Bischoff is in the commissioners' office when Steve Corino enters. Corino tells Bischoff that he has a really great idea for the Television title that Bischoff has gotta hear. Eric says that it's the worst possible time for anything new to be on his plate, there's a lot going on with corporate and he doesn't have the time. Corino tells Bischoff to hear him out - he's got this great new direction that, as the second best TV champ of all time (Eric asks why he wouldn't call himself the best, Corino says he doesn't want to piss Goldberg off), he thinks would be great for the belt. He calls it - "Option C"... (71)

12. Adam Castle is on his way to the ring. While he walks down the ramp, commentary explains that Christian Cage suffered a major concussion after the con-chair-to he suffered at the hands of his so-called best friend, and he'll be out of in-ring action indefinitely. They wish him a speedy recovery. In the ring, Adam Castle says that when he left the Flock to join his best friend Christian in the Hart Foundation, he thought the worst times were over. He thought he was going to get to ride into the limelight with Christian by his side, like they had always dreamed of. Even back in the days before WCW, when they were just two kids in Canada with a dream, they always knew that moment was gonna come. Then Christian got hurt before the big tryouts, and the rest is history. Castle says that he even got to drop that dumb name Raven made him use. But, Castle says, the other Harts never accepted him or Christian like they did anybody else. Adam says that he was a black sheep from his first day in the group - all the Harts ever wanted to do was promote their guys, the guys they wanted to be the face of the family, no matter if anyone they were looking over was a Dungeon graduate or not. They didn't want Christian, either - he was a 'next generation talent'? Castle calls it a joke, and says that the Harts only wanted Christian as someone to carry their bags and pin all their losses on, but Christian never saw it. He trusted them, and look where it got him - lied to and mistrusted by people like Chris Benoit and the British Bulldog. Castle says that's why he put Christian on the shelf - so he could have time to see things from a different perspective and open up his eyes. As for the others - Castle is making it his mission to personally destroy the Hart Foundation once and for all. He says he's going to do the wrestling world a favor and get rid of their egos for good. (72)

13. In the office, Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff are directly facing the camera. They announce that next week, a press conference will be held to discuss the upcoming brand split featuring themselves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a handful of talent. Many announcements will be coming, with information in regards to the brand names, championships, pay-per-view schedule, as well as new talents, both from inside and outside of the WCW system. (71)

14. Blackjack Classic 2001 Opening Round: Jeff Hardy defeated Hector Garza in 10:20 with the Twist of Fate to advance to the second round of the tournament, where he will either face British Bulldog or Konnan. (78)

15. In a vignette, Honky Tonk Man says he's been searching the roadside bars, and he's found the next Elvis, and he'll be bringing him to WCW. (67)

16.  DiBiase Enterprises (Dean Malenko, Sean O'Haire, & Mark Jindrak) defeated Tatsumi Fujinami, Flying Kid Ichihara, & Manabu Nakanishi in 10:15 after O'Haire hit Ichihara with a Crescent Kick. (78) After the match, DiBiase took the microphone and praised O'Haire and Jindrak, calling them unstoppable and the future of the business - throughout the promo, Malenko looked uninterested. (73)

17. Blackjack Classic 2001 Opening Round: Konnan defeated British Bulldog in 7:52 with the rolling lariat. He will face Jeff Hardy in the second round. (79)

18. In the main event of the evening, Keiji Mutoh defeated Mike Awesome in a fast-paced anything goes match, where he got the pinfall after 9:06. The match was even, though the style favored Awesome - there were plenty of chairshots throughout. Near the end, Mike Awesome had set a table up in the middle of the ring and was on the top turnbuckle with Keiji Mutoh. Awesome lifted Mutoh up and hit an Awesome Bomb off the top turnbuckle, driving Mutoh through the table! Then the lights went out, and when they came up...

Jake Roberts was behind Mike Awesome with a chair! Roberts hit Awesome directly in the head, knocking him out. Then, Roberts calmly shook Mutoh awake, and he shakily crawled on top of Awesome to get the win. Is Jake Roberts behind the blackouts? (95)