[2000-08-28-WCW-Nitro] Booker T vs Kevin Nash

[soup23]

A long gloating Russo promo to start things off. Nothing really of note except to make the main event tonight of Nash vs Booker which is supposed to main event the next PPV. Nitro was running unopposed tonight with Raw starting at 11 so they could have made a splash. Instead we get this. The match itself wasn’t bad if it wasn’t so apparent as to what was going to happen. Jarrett is the referee and acts like he is going to call it down the middle. Russo is on commentary and outraged. Madden is even worse than usual. Of course that is a SWERVE and Jarrett smashes a guitar over Booker’s head in the ending moments. They clean up the debris for some reason. Nash then hits the jackknife and we have a new champion. Oy. Nash is not the guy to hold the belt right now. Match showed signs of life if a straight match but Russo effect makes this drop a good deal. ¾*

[GSR]

Vince Russo heads to the ring along with Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash and the ‘Natural Born Thrillers’ and describes them as the elite group in WCW. He came here 11 months ago and now the band is back together! Russo claims he gave Goldberg the easy way to get out of this, all he had to do was sign his release, but no he wanted to do things the hard way and now it’s gotten New York ugly (whatever that means). Nash jokes how he should’ve called himself ‘the puppet master’, instead of ‘Big Sexy’, as every few months he sucks the fans in so they buy his merchandise, and when it’s all gone, they get the real him. He doesn’t care about them because they can’t get him title shots, they can’t get him belts, they can’t watch his back, but these guys can. After saying that he’ll become the new WCW champion at Fall Brawl, Russo interrupts and tells him that he’s wrong, he won’t be...he’ll become the new WCW World champion right here tonight and sets the title match for later in the show. He then announces that Jeff Jarrett will be the special guest referee inside the ring, and Scott Steiner will be the guest enforcer on the outside. Oh FFS! Booker T, shortly followed by ‘the Cat’, are out and head to the ring to confront them. Typically Russo gets the first shot in, low blowing ‘the Cat’ after he’s turned his back, and the four of them put a beating on them. The Filthy Animals try to make the save but they can’t get past ‘the Thrillers’ who’re keeping guard in the aisle. The numbers game is too strong and the Animals also end up getting laid out in the ring. As ‘the Band’ leaves, Nitrovision cuts in and Goldberg is digging a grave in the desert. He tells Russo that he’s coming back to the arena, is going to take out all of his goons, and will then drag his carcass back to the grave and dump his body in it.

 

On to the title match and Russo can’t keep out of the limelight joining the commentary team for what he describes as a ‘New York screw job’, guaranteeing a title change at the same time. Nash blindsides Booker as he’s distracted by Steiner and a right hand sends him tumbling through the ropes to the outside. Steiner is around and about to clobber him with the lead pipe when Jarrett tells him to move away. As Nash takes it to Booker on the floor, ‘Double J’ starts counting both men out of the ring. Russo is up from the announcer’s desk and can’t believe what he’s seeing. Jarrett is out to separate the wrestlers, he rolls Booker into the ring and ushers Russo back to his position at the desk. Side slam by Booker for a two. Nash gets a two of his own after a big boot and clothesline but Russo thinks ‘Double J’ is deliberately counting slow. His master plan looks like it’s unravelling before his eyes as Jarrett orders Steiner to the back when he catches him up on the apron interfering in things. He misses another Nash pin attempt, after a second big boot, as he’s still trying to get Steiner out of there. Standing side kick by Booker, he ducks a big boot (is that all Nash can do?) and drops ‘Big Sexy’ with a Harlem side kick. Axe kick followed by a missile dropkick off the top. Steiner is back at ringside and Jarrett slugs him. ‘Book End’, then Russo passes ‘the Chosen One’ his guitar and he breaks it over Booker’s head. Shock, horror it was a set up all along! ‘Jackknife’ powerbomb and as Vince Russo guaranteed, Kevin Nash is once again the WCW World Heavyweight champion.

 

This shit is so played out now and of course Jarrett was never going to call it down the middle. It was mildly amusing watching Russo ‘think’ that Jarrett was double crossing him and Tony Schiavone’s smug reaction to it but that’s it.