[2000-07-09-WCW-Bash at the Beach] Jeff Jarrett vs Booker T

[soup23]

Russo gives his scathing promo and really tries to present himself as the hero here. Again, the message he says here is true but the messenger is a phony piece of shit that has made some brutal decisions and pushed his own agenda on air and off in recent months. He promises a great match here between these two hungry guys. I know they didn't have much time to prepare but I thought this match was a mess that generally gets a past historically just for being a younger movement for WCW. The crowd brawling was really uninspired and the overall narrative of the match lacked the focus that was on the Thunder match with Jarrett's leg work. Booker winning at the end is a nice moment but this overall is just a strange show trying desperately to present a feel good ending. **

[AstroBoy]

Scott Hudson apparently becomes DDP at one point during the match and calls Hogan "Hollywood Scum Hogan". This is really heatless and the two have some awkward exchanges early and then they bail and start brawling in the crowd. For the spot they're in, I actually think that's a smart move to give the crowd something different.

 

Jarrett gives Booker a really rough piledriver on the table and it doesn't give as they finally build some sympathy for Booker. Jarrett cuts off Booker smartly and puts him in a sleeper to give the crowd a chance to get behind Booker. It really feels like Booker is not that explosive and hitting some of the wrong notes on his comeback here and Jarrett goes after the knee. They are at least succeeding in getting the crowd behind Booker.

 

This is feeling like a really underrated Jarrett performance to be honest, although it's odd that he would work a 10 punches in the corner spot late in the match. Nice feel-good finish and Booker T is the champion. This was a pleasant surprise.

 

***

[GSR]

Vince Russo is in the ring and Mark Madden thinks that we’re going to hear the truth now. He claims he left WCW three weeks ago and didn’t know if he was coming back or not. The reason he didn’t know was because ever since day one when he arrived in WCW, he’s done nothing but deal with the bullshit of the politics behind the curtain. He came back though for every one of the guys in the locker room that busts their ass for WCW “for the guys that give a shit about this company”. Russo says that Hulk Hogan doesn’t give a shit about WCW and all day he’s been in the back playing politics because Hulk Hogan wants to exercise his ‘creative control’ card. That meant, when he knew it was bullshit, he beats Jeff Jarrett. Hogan got his wish, he got his belt and he’s gone home and Russo promises that “you’ll never see that piece of shit again”. He calls the belt that Hulk has ‘the Hulk Hogan Memorial belt’ and says there will be a new WCW title belt, and that still belongs to Jeff Jarrett who’ll defend it tonight against Booker T.

 

New main event time! A couple of side headlock takedowns that Booker escapes from, and Scott Hudson talks about how Jarrett may have the advantage as Booker has already had one match tonight while he hasn’t “unless you count laying down with the foot pin for Hollywood ‘Scum’ Hogan earlier” What’s eating ol’ Scotty Boy? The start is very similar to the match they had on Thunder, just a bit more fleshed out. Booker throws ‘Double J’ over the guard rail into the front row and they have one of those Tommy Dreamer ECW walk-around-the-building ‘brawls’. Jarrett with a piledriver on an unbreakable announce table. Sleeperhold, Book’s arm drops twice but not for the third time. He fights back to his feet and a series of elbows to the mid-section breaks the hold. Booker with a sleeper, however just like on Thunder, ‘Double J’ escapes via a shinbreaker. Figure Four, but Booker counters with a small package for two. He’s right back at the Figure Four and this time has got it fully locked in. Booker manages to turn the hold over to reverse the pressure and Jarrett is forced to grab the ropes. Axe kick followed by a spinebuster for a near fall. Harlem side kick again fails to connect and ‘the Book’ crotches himself over the top rope. Jarrett whips him into the official and collects the World title belt from the outside. He goes to clock Booker with it, however he sees him coming, ducks under the shot and a boot to the mid-section. ‘Double J’ drops the belt and Booker wallops him with it. Cover, Billy Silverman has come back around and Jarrett get a shoulder up at the last split second. Low blow and now ‘Double J’s’ wedging a steel chair between the turnbuckles. That backfires though and Booker rams his head into with Jarrett kicking out again just in time. ‘The Stroke’ on Silverman, Jarrett grabs his guitar and comes off the top; however Booker catches and plants him with ‘the Book End’. Slick Johnson slides into the ring and we have a new World champion.

 

First time I’d ever seen that Vince Russo, and whilst I’m not certain how truthful all of it was (claims he came back for the guys in the locker room), it was both a captivating and fascinating listen nonetheless. The guy clearly had his problems with Hogan, but he really shouldn’t have been talking about Hulk ‘exercising his creative control’ out there in front of everyone. The match itself was an expanded version of the one they did on Thunder. Booker especially looked a bit nervous at first in what was probably the biggest match of his life at this point. Solid work again, however a much better crowd here and they, along with me, got into it as the match built. I thought we might have a completely clean match, but we still had ref bumps, weapon shots and blatant attacking of the official. Some cracking near falls towards the end and a great finish, especially as you don’t see Slick Johnson and think that Silverman is still down and out. Booker was pretty emotional at the end and the crowd popped big for the title change.