Emanating from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI

Your commentators are Jim Ross and Jerry “the King” Lawler

We don’t waste anytime in bringing out the drawing point of the show…the return of the nWo. Vince was so despondent over the state of the WWF lately that he decided he had to “kill” the WWF by injecting it with poison aka the nWo. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but who cares, they’re here regardless. They say they are hurt by the names they’ve been called and they just want a chance to prove themselves. Wow, it’s refreshing to see such honesty. How could we have been so wrong about these guys? They’re just like you and me. And by you and me, I mean every disingenuous heel who has ever promised to turn a new leaf.

The winner of this match gets a title shot at Wrestlemania

Albert press slams Storm and then gives Christian the giant swing. Albert delivers the bicycle kick to Storm and gets 2. From the apron, Christian drops Albert across the top rope and then Storm nails him with a spin kick. Albert clotheslines both heels and tags Scotty. Scotty escapes a reverse DDT and kicks Christian down for 2. Albert misses a charge and then gets clotheslined to the floor. From behind, Scotty bulldogs Christian and tries for the Worm, but is stopped by Storm. Christian hits Scotty with the Unprettier and pins him. ½ *

Everybody dukes it out to begin. Matt goes up top, but Storm kicks him down from the apron. Storm dropkicks Matt and gets a nearfall. Matt drops Christian against the top rope and then tags Jeff. Jeff is able to take down both heels. As Matt and Christian brawl on the floor, Storm locks Jeff in the Canadian Maple Leaf. Matt comes back in and breaks it up. Heel miscommunication leads to Storm hitting Christian with a heel kick. The Hardyz then do a Twist of Fate/swanton bomb combo on Storm, which easily puts him away. ¾ *

The Hardyz quickly hit Poetry in Motion on Bubba. However, Bubba prevents Jeff from doing the same to D-Von. A powerslam by D-Von gets 2 on Jeff. Bubba applies a unique submission on Jeff, but Matt breaks it up. Bubba goes up top, but is distracted by Matt. That allows Jeff to get up and nail him. Bubba blocks Jeff’s superplex attempt, but then misses a senton bomb. That allows Jeff to make a hot tag to Matt. A legdrop from the second rope gives Matt a nearfall. Matt tries for the Twist of Fate on Bubba, but Stacy comes in and stops him. Now Lita runs in and tackles Stacy. Bubba hits Matt with the Bubba Bomb, but then turns around and receives the Litacarana. Jeff then comes off the top rope and nails Bubba with a somersault plancha. Inside, Matt rolls up D-Von and uses the tights to get the pinfall. **

Postmatch: D-Von nails Matt from behind and then they give Jeff a 3-D on the floor.

With Jeff down, Billy and Chuck double-team Matt in the ring. Matt briefly fends them off. However, Billy shoves Matt into Chuck, who superkicks him. Billy follows it up with a Fameasser and easily pins him. DUD

Billy appears to be blown up before the APA make it to the ring. All four men brawl once the APA hit ringside. A shouldertackle by Farooq gets 2 on Chuck. It’s all APA thus far as they have isolated Chuck. Billy comes in illegally and delivers a neckbreaker to Farooq. Billy and Chuck now double-team Farooq in their corner. Billy tries for the Fameasser, but Farooq catches him with a spinebuster. Bradshaw gets the hot tag and he destroys both guys. He dumps Chuck to the floor and then nails Billy with the Clothesline from Hell. Bradshaw covers and scores the victory. ½ *

Bottom Line: This was pretty wasteful given the effort by most teams and the eventual outcome. Things are pretty sad in the tag division when you start relying on the APA to lead the way again. Of course, the Hardyz and Dudleyz were game for the short time they fought together, but none of the other teams showed promise. It’s pretty sad that Billy and Chuck were in with the Hardyz for all of 30 seconds and appeared to be completely gassed by the time the APA arrived. On the bright side of things, they could have given us a straight-up APA vs. Billy and Chuck match. So I guess we should be thankful we got this instead.

- Michael Cole interviews Ric Flair about the nWo. Flair thinks they’re full of crap and don’t respect anybody. The Undertaker then barges in and shoves Cole out of the way. He then gives Flair some lip about showing him some respect. Don’t worry about him, Ric. He’s just cranky because he suddenly has some competition for head backstage politician.

This was a thinly constructed feud where Goldust said he was coming after “him” and then, for reasons never told, it turned out to be RVD. As RVD does his taunt, Goldust clotheslines him to the floor. Goldust brings him back in, but then gets kicked by RVD. RVD does a cartwheel into a splash and gets 2. Goldust bails to the floor and decides to leave. He changes his mind, but is reluctant to get back in. Instead, he drags RVD out and attacks him around ringside. RVD throws Goldust into the crowd and then legdrops him across the guardrail. Goldust knees RVD as he tried to go back into the ring and then delivers an elbow from the second rope. Inside, Goldust gives RVD some rough turnbuckle treatment. He then perches him in the corner and stretches RVD’s head back toward the post. That’s unique. Goldust catapults RVD into the ropes and then holds onto him so RVD’s back. A backslide by RVD gets 2. RVD starts his comeback with a spinning heel kick. RVD slams Goldust and delivers rolling thunder. He covers, but only gets 2. RVD no-sells Goldust’s sliding uppercut and legdrops him. RVD goes for the Five Star Frog Splash, but Goldust moves out of the way. Goldust DDTs RVD and gets 2 ¾. RVD escapes the Curtain Call and gives Goldust another spinning heel kick. That gets 2. Goldust goes for a bulldog, but RVD shoves him off. RVD kicks him down again and then connects with the Five Star Frog Splash. RVD covers and gets the 1-2-3.

BL: Given the flimsy set-up and the fact that Goldust hadn’t re-established himself yet, I would have figured this would be somewhat of a squash match. Instead, it was a well-worked, evenly fought match. I liked Goldust’s work on the back, but I wish RVD would have sold it more. However, I’ve come not to expect that from him. The slow nature of the match took the crowd out of it, but I liked it. ***

- Stone Cold is walking backstage and he bumps into the nWo. As a sign of friendship, they offer him a six-pack of beer. Austin takes it, but then throws it away and walks past them. Those guys should have known better than to offer him Michelob Ultra.

Nice to see T and T teaming again. I always liked that pairing. The champs immediately get jumped. Inside, Tazz elbows a charging Test and then clotheslines him. Spike gets the tag and hits Test with a missile dropkick. As Test goes to press slam Spike, Tazz hits him and Spike falls on top to cover. However, the referee is tied up with Booker. Test holds Spike so Booker can kick him. Booker then covers, but Tazz breaks it up. Test gives Spike some rough turnbuckle treatment. Booker and Test have now made Spike the Ricky Morton of the match. Spike headbutts Test and then goes for the Dudley Dog, but Test crotches him on the top rope. Booker connects with the scissors kick and then does the Spinaroonie. When Booker covers, Tazz comes in and stops him. Spike manages to hit Booker with a tornado DDT and then tags Tazz, who gets no reaction from the crowd. A Northern Lights suplex by Tazz gets 2. Heel miscommunication leads to Test accidentally backdropping Booker out of the ring. Test escapes a Tazzmission attempt, but then gets hit with the Dudley Dog by Spike. Test elbows a charging Tazz and then tries to pin him with his feet on the ropes, but the referee sees it. Test argues with the referee who shoves him right back. Test stumbles backwards right into the Tazzmission. Test quickly drops and taps out.

BL: There’s some perfectly acceptable wrestling here, but the crowd wasn’t buying it. Once again, the match was hastily put together. This meant that Tazz and Spike couldn’t properly play up the underdog factor. Tazz and Spike were clearly not the future of the tag division, but they certainly weren’t going to lose to an on-again, off-again duo like Booker and Test. **

- The Rock tells Jonathan Coachman that he’s looking for revenge on Taker after he tombstoned him on a limo a few weeks ago. He then says that Taker is a “Dead Man Walking”. Uh oh, looks like they’ll be paying Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon royalties for that line.

This is the blowoff to this feud and all the brass knuckles nonsense. Despite the knux being on the pole, the referee still checks Regal. How distrusting! Before he can finish, Edge attacks Regal in the aisle. Edge beats up Regal around ringside and then continues the assault in the ring. Edge goes for the knux, but Regal stops him. Then Regal goes for them and is thwarted. Regal tosses Edge to the apron, so he goes and tries to get the knux. Regal sees this and tries to stop him, but Edge drops him across the top rope. Edge throws Regal into the steps and then tosses him into the crowd. Again Edge goes for the knux, but is stopped. A missile dropkick by Edge gets 2. Regal picks up Edge and drops him across the top rope. Regal applies an abdominal stretch and uses the ropes for leverage. Edge eventually escapes and tosses Regal to the floor. As Edge goes for the knux, Regal shoves him off the top rope and into the guardrail. On the floor, Regal hits the double underhook powerbomb. Back inside, Regal applies the Regal Stretch. Somehow Edge crawls and makes it to the ropes. Regal powerbombs Edge again and gets 2. Regal begins to climb for the knux, but Edge crotches him on the top rope. On the apron, Regal goes to powerbomb Edge, but Edge somewhat reverses it and they both fall to the floor. Not sure what they were going for there. The two slug it out up top, which Regal wins. That allows him to grab the knux. However, Edge then grabs him and delivers a back suplex. The knux are loose on the mat. Edge goes for them, but Regal kicks them away. The Edge-o-Matic gets 2. Edge manages to spear Regal and then gets the knux. As Edge approaches Regal, he punches Edge in the midsection and then the head. We then see he was wearing another pair of kunx. Regal tucks his pair away and then pins Edge for 3.

BL: We get another solidly worked, yet not terribly exciting match here. These two hit all the right spots, but failed to make this compelling. Once again, the crowd plays a factor here, as they still haven’t woken up for some reason. I like Regal using a rogue pair of knux to win, but I thought the finish could have been more developed. *** ¼

- Kurt Angle tells Lillian Garcia that he’s confident in his match again HHH. It’s not because Stephanie McMahon is the special guest referee, but because he has gold medals. Angle says he didn’t win those out of a cereal box, he earned them. That’s very funny considering that the fake ones he’s wearing do look like they came out of a cereal box.

This came about after The Rock “disrespected” Taker by making fun of the fact that Maven eliminated him from the Rumble. The Rock sprints to the ring and attacks Taker right away. Taker stops his momentum with a big boot. The two now slug it out. The Rock hits an ugly neckbreaker on Taker. Taker catches The Rock coming off the ropes with a sidewalk slam. That gets 2. Taker now begins to work over The Rock’s midsection. The Rock avoids a big boot and then knocks Taker to the floor. The Rock attacks Taker around ringside. Taker comes back by crotching The Rock on the barricade. The two now fight amongst the people. Back at ringside, Taker legdrops The Rock across the apron and gets a nearfall. The Rock whips Taker, but puts his head down and gets a DDT. Taker gets a two count out of that. Taker slows things way down with a bearhug. The Rock escapes and clotheslines Taker. The Rock gives Taker a DDT and a spinebuster, but when he goes for the People’s Elbow, Taker gets up and tries to chokeslam him. However, The Rock escapes by kicking low. Taker comes back, however, and does deliver the chokeslam. That gets 2 ¾. Frustrated, Taker goes to his motorcycle and rests. The referee questions him and Taker shoves him into the steps. Now Taker grabs a lead pipe that was tucked in his cycle. As he goes into the ring, Ric Flair runs out and tries to attack him. Taker boots him down and then goes back inside. The Rock avoids a pipe shot and puts Taker in the Sharpshooter. Vince runs down and distracts the referee. The Rock brings him in the ring and beats him up. Taker grabs The Rock and goes to Tombstone him, but Flair comes in and nails him with the pipe. The referee doesn’t see this because he’s tending to Vince. The Rock then gives Taker the Rock Bottom and pins him for the win.

BL: For two established main eventers, this was a very pedestrian affair. Aside from the extremely hot finish, this was a whole bunch of punching and kicking. These two should be able to produce something better than that. Thankfully, the ending saved this stinker. It really got the crowd involved in the match and did a good job of kick-starting Taker’s feud with Flair. I appreciate the effort in the closing minutes, but it’s not enough to save this match. ** ½

- The loser at WWF New York is…the perfect loser, Mr. Perfect. He tries to run down the NY crowd, but he doesn’t seem to have the proper focus. It’s hard to tell whether he’s drunk or just too depressed to care. Either way, this is far from the perfect utilization of his talents.

Angle was pissed off that HHH cost him the chance of winning the Rumble on his first try. Angle wants retribution and got it in the form of this match. To make matters worse, HHH and Stephanie were having marital problems. HHH wanted out, but Stephanie convinced him to stay after telling him she was pregnant. He later found out she was lying and threw her to the curb. Now she attempts to get revenge by being the special referee for this match. As Stephanie gives HHH the riot act, Angle quickly rolls him up for 2. Angle puts the boots to HHH in the corner, but HHH comes back and returns the favor. The civilized Milwaukee crowd begins to chant “take your shirt off” to Stephanie. Angle goes to clothesline HHH, but accidentally hits Stephanie right out of the ring. An awesome bump by Stephanie that caught me completely by surprise when I first saw this show. HHH goes to work on Angle as referees come out to check on Stephanie. Two of them cart her off, while Tim White stays behind. HHH hits Angle with a neckbreaker and gets 2. HHH gives Angle a 10-punch count, but Angle comes back with three German suplexes. That gives Angle a nearfall. HHH boots a charging Angle, but he comes right back and delivers an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. A second one gives Angle a nearfall. Now Angle applies a sleeper. HHH manages to escape, but Angle remains on the offensive. Angle tries for a 10-punch count, but HHH delivers a spinebuster out of the corner. HHH nails Angle with a high knee and then follows it up with a spinebuster. A facebuster by HHH gets 2. Angle bails out of the ring and baits HHH to chase him. As HHH starts to get back in the ring, Angle nails the referee from behind. HHH connects with a neckbreaker on Angle, but there’s no referee. Angle goes low on HHH and then hits him with an Angle Slam. Suddenly, Stephanie runs back out, but can only register a 2 count. Angle pulls down the straps and goes for the ankle lock, but HHH shoves him off and into Stephanie. HHH DDTs Angle and covers, but again, there’s no referee. Angle tries to use a chair on HHH, but he ducks it and Pedigrees him. Tim White crawls over and counts, but Stephanie gets up and drops an elbow on him. HHH grabs Stephanie and attempts to Pedigree her, but Angle nails him from behind with a chair. He delivers another chair shot and then gives him the Angle Slam. Angle covers and Stephanie makes the 3 count. Kurt Angle is going to Wrestlemania. Whooo!

BL: I’m again disappointed with a match between two established stars. I can understand the action being a little weak when Stephanie was the ref, given the storyline. However, they eliminated her from 75% of the match and the action was still lackluster. They didn’t do anything wrong…I just know they can do better. The storyline dominated this match and it wasn’t for the better. We all knew Angle wasn’t going to main event Wrestlemania, so why insult our intelligence by trying to prove that he is? *** ½

- Angle immediately walks out of the arena and goes to his car. He tells a security guard that if anyone asks where he’s going to tell them that he’s going to Wrestlemania! Enjoy the fake moment while it lasts Kurt.

- The nWo come into the dressing room of The Rock and Hollywood Hogan asks to take a picture with him for his son. Afterwards, Hogan mocks The Rock under his breath, but The Rock hears him. The Rock then does a nice job of making fun of all three of them, while also telling them to stick the camera up their ass. Geez, I hope The Rock doesn’t treat all of his fans that way.

Austin beat Angle to win this shot against Jericho. The two staredown and then exchange middle fingers. Austin tosses Jericho to the floor and then chases after him. Back inside, Austin elbows Jericho and then chops away on him in the corner. Now Austin repeatedly rams Jericho’s head into the turnbuckle. Jericho stops Austin’s momentum with a neckbreaker. Jericho comes off the top rope and Austin catches him with a fist to his midsection. Austin clotheslines Jericho to the outside and then attacks him around ringside. Back inside, Austin misses a charge and rams his shoulder into the post. Now Jericho attacks Austin around the ring. The two now take their fight down the aisle and toward the entrance staging. Back at ringside, Jericho drops Austin across the barrier. Jericho goes up top, but Austin crotches him. Austin goes up and gives him a superplex. Now he takes him over to another corner and gives him a second. He takes him to a third corner and does the same. Austin covers and gets 2. Austin now gives Jericho some rough turnbuckle treatment. Jericho slows Austin’s momentum with a lowblow that the referee doesn’t see. Jericho chops away on Austin in the corner. Jericho avoids a Stunner attempt and tries to put Austin in the Walls of Jericho. However, Austin manages to power out of it. Austin catches Jericho coming off the ropes and gives him a hot shot. That gets 2. Jericho dumps Austin to the floor and then beats him up around ringside. Jericho tries to use a chair, but Austin kicks him. Back inside, Jericho goes for the Lionsault, but misses. Jericho catches Austin coming off the ropes with a sleeper. Jericho tries for a dropkick, but Austin avoids it and then attempts to put him in the Walls. He can’t turn him over, so he catapults him into the corner. Austin goes for the Stunner, but Jericho escapes it. Jericho actually tries a Lou Thesz Press, but Austin catches him mid-air and slams him. That gets 2. Jericho delivers his crappy bulldog and then weakly hits his Lionsault. Jericho hits a second Lionsault and covers, but Austin kicks out at 2. Jericho charges at Austin in the corner, but misses and rams his shoulder into the post. Austin goes for the Lou Thesz Press, but Jericho reverses it into the Walls. Somehow Austin makes it to the ropes. Jericho grabs a title belt, but when he comes inside, Austin shoves him into the referee. Now Austin delivers a spinebuster to Jericho on the title belt. That gets a nearfall. Austin goes for the Stunner, but Jericho reverses it into the Breakdown onto the title belt. That gets 2 ¾. Jericho tries for another crappy bulldog, but Austin ducks and Jericho clotheslines the referee as a result. Now Austin puts Jericho in the Walls and he taps, but there’s no referee. Austin gives Jericho the Stunner and covers, but now the nWo comes out. Austin originally fights them off, but eventually they get the better of him. Jericho crawls over and covers. The referee is up and makes the 3 count.

Postmatch: The nWo come back in and continue their assault on Austin. They cap it off by spraypainting nWo on his back.

BL: We’re promised three main events and we get three lackluster matches. In this one, it was almost as if they were biding their time until the nWo made their run-in. Instead of delivering an epic 20 minute match followed by a shitty run-in, they were content with doing a bunch of chops and transition moves until they arrived. Once again, this wasn’t a bad match. It’s just really frustrating knowing that they could do so much better. *** ¼

Final Thoughts: I think the three “main events” summarize my feelings on this show as a whole. The show wasn’t terrible, but when you look at the card and then compare it to the actual in-ring action, something doesn’t add up. To some degree, I can sympathize with them wanting to phone it in on the PPV before Wrestlemania. However, they made matters worse by supposedly establishing the Wrestlemania card with this show, only to undo everything before the actual event. I’d say this is only worthy of watching if you’re a big nWo mark. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother.

Next time, it takes the bizarro fans of Canada to salvage a poorly developed Wrestlemania.