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[2000-07-10-WCW-Nitro] Booker T vs Mike Awesome


soup23

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They start out chronicling what happened at Bash at the Beach. Booker T comes out and gives a heartfelt promo thanking the fans and having the regret that his mom had passed on and couldn’t see him become a champion. With the pleasantries out of the way, Booker calls out Goldberg. Booker calls him a mark for himself and the business. Booker then moves on to thanking his wife who is decidedly not Sharmelle. Sadly, I looked up Booker’s bio and they were divorced around nine months later. Stevie Ray comes out and congrats Booker too. Just then Madaja comes out and cuts a promo allowing Steiner to sneak up from behind with a bat and lay out Stevie and Booker. I guess we have our next PPV challenger for the belt.

 

The main event starts and I have to say that I’m enjoying Awesome in this WCW role more than him in ECW so far. He still isn’t great but has shown he can have some big man matches vs over babyfaces between this and the Hogan match. He feeds into their offense and comebacks and is credible enough when on top. This was overall a stronger match than the Jarrett title win IMO. Awesome’s big splash gets a good nearfall and he then retrieves a table. Awesome ends up going through that with a Booker forearms smash. Booker runs through his big arsenal of moves and wins with the Book End. How refreshing to have a main event end cleanly. Steiner runs in and locks on the Steiner Recliner. Awesome turns face by helping Booker T. I enjoyed this a good deal as a change of pace and showing WCW feeling different again. It is another reboot but at least it had a promising start. ***1/4 (6.3)

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  • 4 weeks later...

They worked a nice little match and maximized the strengths of both guys. It looks like Booker is kind of getting the "fighting champion who must prove he can be champion" role here and this is just a simply laid-out and executed match that made the situation in WCW seem kind of fun. Booker's little run of offense leading to the finish was nice and he works well in this role. The bit with the table was well built-to and paid off.

 

***

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nitro opens with Mike Tenay narrating a nice video package of Booker T. The Book’s out and he thanks all of his fans for their support, calls Goldberg a ‘mark’ for himself and the business, and then asks security to escort his wife (who’s in the crowd and isn’t Sharmell) into the ring. He thanks her for allowing him to do what he does before telling her he loves her. Stevie Ray interrupts them and gives us a history lesson of their life together as Tony Schiavone hopes that this doesn’t get ugly. Even Scott Casey gets referenced as Stevie says how he told Booker that he’s got what it takes to get to the top! Stevie tells him that he’s proud of him and that he loves him, when the sirens to signify Scott Steiner start up. No Steiner though, its Midajah carrying a microphone as Scott Hudson wonders if she can talk! She tells Booker’s wife that she’s no idea what she’s doing here and there is only one real man in WCW, her ‘Big Poppa Pump’ Scott Steiner! She informs Booker that tonight he’s going to make him his personal bitch, when from behind Steiner lays out Stevie and then Booker with a baseball bat. His wife cowers in the corner (although surprisingly he doesn’t attack her) as he continues to assault Booker with the bat.

 

On to the match itself and Awesome backs Booker against the ropes, but no clean break here. Irish whip is reversed, Booker with a leap frog followed by a spin kick and Awesome takes to the outside. A series of punches in the corner from ‘the Book’ and a whip to the turnbuckle is reversed. Booker avoids the charge, however Awesome ducks under the Harlem sidekick and levels him with a clothesline (which Booker takes a spin bump off). He throws Booker to the floor and cracks him over the back with a chair before whipping him into the guardrail. Slingshot splash back inside for two. ‘Alabama slam’ and a huge frog splash off the top that Booker only just about gets a shoulder up from. Awesome sets up a table on the outside, goes for the ‘Awesome bomb’ from inside the ring to the arena floor, however Booker manages to free himself in time. Backdrop over the top rope by Booker, but Awesome lands on the apron. A right staggers him and a flying forearm does the trick, sending Awesome crashing backwards through the table he’d previously set up. He just about beats the count back into the ring and Booker with an axe kick. Harlem sidekick connects, while a spinebuster and a missile dropkick both only bring him a two. Desperation short lariat from Awesome is avoided and Booker snatches, then plants him with ‘the Book End’ for the win. Steiner attacks Booker after the bell and puts him in the recliner, however Awesome with the save and Scotty is quickly out of there.

 

There does feel a definite change in the air and about trying to improve the quality of the matches this month, and clean (or cleaner) finishes are certainly helping. Crowd are big time into Booker as the champion. The tease of the bump through the table was very nicely done and a great nearfall off the frog splash in here too.

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  • GSR changed the title to [2000-07-10-WCW-Nitro] Booker T vs Mike Awesome

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