Animal the Mystery Man at Sin
By JOHN POWELL -- SLAM!
Wrestling
Surprise! Surprise! What a rush! It's Road Warrior Animal back in WCW.
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Another pay-per-view. Another surprise. The thought on every fan's mind
going into the Sin broadcast -- those still watching World Championship
Wrestling anyway -- was who would be the Mystery Man Ric Flair had signed
into the Four Way Match for the WCW World Title.
With the other participants (champ Steiner and challengers Sid and Jarrett)
in the ring, Flair came out to say he promised a Mystery Man but he never
said when he would enter the match. Very bad plotting resulting in a very
bad match. Flair's decision to delay the entrance permitted Steiner and
Jarrett to double-team Sid left, right and centre. Sid, apparently
seriously injured during the course of the match, mounted some offence like
a double clothesline and a poorly executed double suplex that dropped
Steiner on his head otherwise Jarrett and Steiner stuck together, never once
turning on each other in the heat of battle. The teammates even let each
other go for the pin on occasion without interfering.
Flair leans into a limo telling Mystery Man, it was "showtime". Decked out
in the bargain basement white-black outfit on loan from The Black Scorpion,
the mystery man stepped into the ring clocking a legitimately-injured Sid
once in the skull. Steiner got the pin and retained his title. The Mystery
Man took over his mask to reveal himself as Road Warrior Animal! Steiner
and Animal hugged while the announcers inferred that Animal had struck a
deal with Big Poppa Pump and betrayed Flair.
Shane Douglas is the new WCW United States Heavyweight Champion.
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Was the Mystery Man angle a surprise? Sure. In this, the Internet news age,
WCW kept a tight lid on the Mystery Man's identity. Was it an event that
will "change the wrestling world"? I don't think so. Can Animal even "go"
any more or was the WWF's misuse of The Road Warriors not indicative of
their current abilities? Is Animal's appearance a hot-shot shocker (like
Hawk's short-lived return to WCW several years ago) just because anyone
with an I.Q. above that of an empty milk carton guessed it was Rick Steiner
under that mask and the stupid get-up on Nitro and Thunder? We'll have to
wait and see.
All in all, Sin came off like a live audition in which everyone was trying
to prove themselves worthy to the new management, Fusient Media. That was a
good thing. For the first time in a long time, everyone worked with
enthusiasm and that enthusiasm spread quickly to the live crowd who were
into every match until the main event left them scratching their heads.
Even the Reno and Vito "brother versus brother" brawl was mildly
entertaining.
Goldberg gets maced by a "fan" at Sin.
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To give you an idea how much the buyout has changed WCW's attitude, the
commentary by Tony Schiavone and Scott Hudson couldn't have been better.
After several years of sleepwalking through WCW's product, Schiavone's
excitement about being a part of World Championship Wrestling was restored
and Hudson proved that he can carry a show if he's left to do his job
without deadweight distractions like Stevie Ray or Mark Madden mucking
around where they don't belong.
Now that the Mystery Man has been unmasked, the real question wrestling
fans have is will the new-found excitement in the locker room and
management offices of WCW be perpetuated or like some many times before
will the spark fizzle out long before the federation can catch fire. Again,
we'll have to wait and see.
The next WCW pay-per-view is SuperBrawl: The Revenge on February
18th.
WCW Sin 2001 Results
Chavo Guerrero (champion) versus Shane Helms (challenger) (WCW
Cruiserweight Title Match)
Shannon Moore gave Helms some encouragement before the match. Fantastic
and quick-paced with Guerrero and Helms going full-tilt. Guerrero comes out
on top with a Brain Buster.
Winner: ...and still WCW Cruiserweight Champion...Chavo Guerrero at
11 minutes and 13 seconds.
Match Rating: 7 / 10.
Reno versus Vito
Tough as nails battle with both men carrying each other well. Reno,
who has floundered as part of The Thrillers, finally had his breakout match
showing why the company has kept him around for so long. He's not great but
he'll do. Reno Rolls The Dice on Vito and wins.
Winner: Reno at 8 minutes and 40 seconds.
Match Rating: 5 / 10.
Brian Adams accepts a pay-off from Mike Sanders. Bryan Clark comes in
with a bigger roll of bills from someone else. Kronik forgets about
Sanders' plans for them opting for the high paying job.
The Yung Dragons versus Jaime Knoble and Evan Karagias
A bonus match and what a bonus it is! Astounding and innovative back
and forth action only slightly degraded by the number of near falls before
the conclusion. I can't say enough about the members of Three Count or The
Dragons. All one has to do is look at that tremendous Ladder Match about a
month ago to clearly see that these guys not only warm up the crowd as is
their purpose but are also putting a lot of creativity into their matches.
Yang's inside cradle pins Knoble. Knoble and Karagias beat on The Dragons
afterwards, driving them from the ring.
Winner: The Yung Dragons at 9 minutes and 21 seconds.
Match Rating: 8 / 10.
Luger and Buff (the tag team which should be known as Over-Rated)
arrive. Their plan is to have someone interfere for Goldberg so he and
Sarge are disqualified.
Mike Sanders versus The Cat
The WCW Commissioner's post is on the line and Eric Bischoff's stroke
plays out. The Thrillers punk The Cat. Kronik comes to his rescue. Kronik
stuffs the money Sanders gave them in his mouth. The Cat kicks Sanders in
the chops sending it flying everywhere.
Winner: ...and new WCW Commissioner, The Cat at 5 minutes and 44
seconds.
Match Rating: 5 / 10.
Flair shows Goldberg the footage of Luger and Buff's scheme. To help
Goldberg out, Flair makes the tag match a No DQ encounter. Goldberg meets
with a fan. He signs some autographs and takes some photos. This will
figure into the plot later on.
Team Canada versus The Filthy Animals (Penalty Box Match)
If anyone is caught double-teaming, interfering or breaking the rules,
ref Hacksaw Jim Duggan has the power to send them to two penalty boxes on the rampway. Everyone spends some time there at least once. One bizarre incident has Mike Awesome penalized for attempting to cut Billy Kidman's hair with a
pair of scissors. Can you say Haircut Match coming up? Kidman taps out to
the Canadian Maple Leaf.
Winners: Team Canada at 13 minutes and 4 seconds.
Match Rating: 6 / 10.
Terry Funk (champion) versus Crowbar (challenger) versus Meng (challenger) (WCW Hardcore Title Match)
They should have left Meng out of it. He's too darn slow and the
"unstoppable monster" gimmick is more stale than the Austin - McMahon feud.
Daffney throws a drink on Funk from the entrance way. Funk pulls her over
the rail by her pony tails. Crowbar sneak attacks Funk with a chair. They
battle to a women's washroom where Funk bounces Crowbar's head off every
stall door. Roar! Meng jumps in trash-canning everybody. Funk and Crowbar
team to drop five or six tables on Meng. Of course, he doesn't stay down.
Funk slams Crowbar on a safety rail propped up on another safety rail. The
rail snaps in half closing on Crowbar as he hits. Crowbar lays Funk on a
table and jumps on him from the first row balconies. For some reason the
camera men miss the shot and we have to see the spot on replay. Meng
splashes Funk and Crowbar from the top and second rope. Funk and Crowbar
take turns double chair-shoting Meng. Still, he remains standing. He's a
monster don't you know. Meng kicks Crowbar and locks the Death Grip on Funk
to legitimately win the Hardcore Title.
Winner: ...and new WCW Hardcore Champion, Meng at 11 minutes and 41
seconds.
Match Rating: 4 / 10.
Ric Flair is so happy to be working with The Cat he gave him the night
off. Is Ric Flair really a heel CEO working with Steiner and the other
baddies? Hmmmm. I wonder.
The Natural Born Thrillers (Palumbo and O'Haire) (challengers) versus The
Insiders (champions) (WCW World Tag Team Title Match)
A replay of their previous pay-per-view match with Flair sending
Sanders and the other Thrillers to the back and DDP taking a beating until
he hot tags Nash. Lex Luger creeps to ringside with a steel chair. DDP
brawls with him into the crowd before he has a chance to use it. This
leaves Buff Bagwell with an opening to crack Nash with a wrench. O'Haire
Swanton Bombs Nash to win the belts for his team. DDP chases them off with
a steel chair in his hands.
Winners: ...and new WCW World Tag Team Champions...The Natural Born
Thrillers at 10 minutes and 52 seconds.
Match Rating: 6 / 10.
Shane Douglas (challenger) versus General Rection (champion) (U.S.
Heavyweight Title - Chain On A Pole - First Blood Match)
The chain is so high above the ring you'd need a ladder to grab it.
Keep that in mind. The official confiscates a chain in Douglas' trunks.
Rection retrieves a ladder from under the ring and pulls the chain down
shouting...You want blood?...to the fans. Douglas tips over the ladder on
Rection (which also knocks out the ref), pulls out a chain from his boot
and socks Rection. The ref wakes, sees the blood and awards the U.S. Title
to Douglas. Bleeding in the back, a distraught Rection tells Cajun and
A-WALL that he's "got nothing" as he stomps off.
Winner: ...and new WCW United States Champion....Shane Douglas at 10
minutes and 59 seconds.
Match Rating: 6 / 10.
Goldberg, The Sarge versus Totally Buff
If Goldberg and Sarge lose, Goldberg gets fired. The Sarge, using his
cast as a weapon, is battered until the hot tag to Goldberg. Luger
manhandles a fan outside the ring. Wouldn't you know it? It is the same fan
Goldberg met in the back earlier. Goldberg pulls Luger off the fan. The fan
thanks Goldberg by spraying mace into his kisser. Goldberg is blinded.
Luger chair shots him and lifts him up on his shoulders for a Blockbuster.
Goldberg is pinned. Mucho footage of Goldberg being escorted to the back
and bottled water used to wash his eyes out. Bye-bye, baldie.
Winners: Buff and Luger at 10 minutes and 17 seconds.
Match Rating: 4 / 10.
Scott Steiner (champion) versus Jeff Jarrett (challenger) versus Sid
Vicious (challenger) versus The Mystery Man (challenger) (WCW World
Heavyweight Title Match)
Winner: ...and still WCW World Heavyweight Champion...Scott Steiner
at 7 minutes and 4 seconds.
Match Rating: 2 / 10.
Total Event Time: 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Overall Event Rating: 7 / 10.
