Post by cauchi on Nov 23, 2020 16:28:19 GMT -5
WCW Monday Nitro: Episode #3
Monday, November 23rd, 2020
Nationwide Arena: Columbus, Ohio
Welcome to WCW Monday Nitro! We are welcomed by WCW’s broadcast team of Jim Ross, Mike Tenay and Tony Schiavone who hype tonight’s WW3 "Go Home" episode of Nitro. As we head in to tonight’s broadcast we are told by the announce team that a planned match for this week was changed as CM Punk will no longer need to find a tag team partner tonight, now that he has 3! Tony Schiavone confirms that tonight’s Main Event is now an 8-Man tag team match as CM Punk teams with Jon Moxley, Cesaro and Hiroshi Tanahashi to take on Nick Aldis, Seth Rollins, Dominick Dijakovic and Jeff Cobb!
Match #1: Singles Match
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Jay Lethal vs. Santos Escobar ©
We kick off tonight’s PPV go home show by heading straight to the action, as WCW Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar makes his first defense of his title against the veteran Jay Lethal. The commentary team recap the friendly conversation last week that set up this match, both men start off slow in order to get a feel for each other. It is indeed a highly entertaining match from start to finish as both men put on a very fast paced match, reminding some of the older fans of the good old Lucha days in WCW. Lethal, who realistically at his age should be up a weight class, does well keeping up with the Champion, scoring himself quite a few near falls as the crowd who was mixed in the beginning is now firmly behind the challenger. The end of the match comes after a missed Lethal Injection allows Escobar to catch Lethal with El Legado for the pinfall victory, successfully retaining his Cruiserweight Championship.
Winner & STILL WCW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION: Santos Escobar by pinfall @ 9:37.
We head backstage to Jim Cornette who is standing alongside his two monsters Dominick Dijakovic and Jeff Cobb. Cornette wastes no time immediately addressing CM Punk’s return to professional wrestling and his WCW debut 2-weeks ago on Nitro. Cornette calls CM Punk a coward who waited until after the main event before he attacked a tired Dominik Dijakovic, before bringing up how CM Punk needed to go to Eric Bischoff in order to get tonight’s main event changed because he couldn’t find himself a partner. He calls Punk a whiny spoiled millennial baby before accusing him of tarnishing professional wrestling. Taking a moment to cool himself down, Cornette promises that even with 5 other men added to this match, Dominik Dijakovic is going to beat CM Punk worse than Mikey Gall did in his UFC debut before saying that Jeff Cobb will be there to pick up any of the remaining pieces. Cornette has the camera man focus on both Dijakovic and Cobb before telling the WCW fans that one of these men will be the next in line for Nick Aldis’ WCW World Championship after the dust is settled this Sunday at WW3.
We see Killer Kross backstage with Scarlett. Kross mentions The Miz’s desire for tougher competition before telling him to be careful what he wishes for. Kross brings up his battle with Jon Moxley and how easily he put him away before wondering if he’s been gone so long that people have forgotten what he is capable of. Kross tells The Miz that while everyone is focused on the WW3 match this Sunday, Kross is focused on tonight. Kross promises The Miz a night he’ll never forget, but will live to regret, before walking off as Scarlett stares in to the camera and says “Tick-Tock”.
As we head back to ringside, WCW Women’s Champion Tessa Blanchard makes her way down to the ring. She’ll join JR, Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay on commentary as she find out who her opponent is at WW3, next!
***COMMERCIAL***
Match #2: Singles Match
WCW Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match
Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai
The two most dominant women over the last two weeks have an opportunity here to get a shot at Tessa’s Women’s Championship this Sunday. The commentary team focus on how Rhea Ripley had lost a very close match at Halloween Havoc, while Io Shirai is yet to have an opportunity since Tessa became Champion. These two women put on a PPV quality match, showcasing why WCW may have the strongest Women’s Division in the entire GWA, while the crowd is on their feet, not knowing who to cheer for here! Seeing an opportunity to capitalize on a major mistake from Ripley, Io Shirai takes her down with an Enziguiri before climbing the top rope and going for the Over the Moon Moonsault! Ripley though, manages to roll out of the way at the last second as Shirai crashes to the mat in obvious pain. Ripley then grabs Shirai for the Riptide, but before she can hit the move, Tessa Blanchard has slid in to the ring and nails Ripley with the WCW Women’s Championship! Not wanting Shirai to feel left out, Blanchard then nails Shirai with a Buzzsaw as the referee has no choice but to throw this match out.
Winner: No Contest by Interference @ 12:25.
We head to WCW backstage correspondent, Charly Caruso who is standing by with Seth Rollins. Charly asks Seth about his mindset going in to WW3 with an opportunity to get his first WCW World Championship shot against a man he’s teaming with tonight. Rollins laughs before praising Nick Aldis as both great champion and an even better businessman. He then says he’s had many conversations with Nick Aldis in last few days, and Aldis knows that although they are on the same team tonight, if Seth Rollins is the last man standing this Sunday, it’s going to be all business between them. When asked about his thoughts on outlasting 59 other superstars on Sunday, Rollins says he’s always got a plan, and Sunday is no different. Speaking of plans, Charly asks Rollins to shed some light on why Buddy Murphy was seen leaving the locker room of the Motor City Machine Guns last week, but Rollins acts surprised. Though you can clearly tell he’s lying, Rollins denies any knowledge of Buddy Murphy’s actions last week, before reiterating to Charly that there is always a “Plan B” before walking off.
We see WCW Women’s Champion Tessa Blanchard walking backstage with a smug look on her face as she looks to be preparing to leave the arena. Just then, Arn Anderson appears from out of nowhere and stops Tessa in her tracks. Tessa and Arn make some small talk as the two of them do indeed have a history thanks in part to Tessa’s father being a long time friend and partner of Arn’s back in the early days. Arn turns the conversation on its head though, when he tells Tessa that he’d just spoken to Eric Bischoff, and due to her interference in tonight’s match with Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai, he’s decided to make her match at World War 3 a Triple Threat Match. Tessa isn’t happy and takes her frustrations out on Arn, calling him every name in the book before storming off.
Match #3: Singles Match
The Miz vs. Killer Kross (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux)
Earlier tonight, Kross warned Miz to be careful what he wished for, and he stays true to his word as Kross easily picks apart The Miz who offers little to no offense of his own in a match that very closely resembled that squash match between Kross and Jon Moxley. After toying with his opponent for far too long, Kross locks a nearly unconscious Miz in to a Kross Jacket, wrenching on the hold until Miz loses consciousness, forcing the referee to ring the bell!
Winner: Killer Kross by technical submission @ 4:17.
***COMMERCIAL***
WCW Presents: World War 3
LIVE: THIS SUNDAY, November 28th, 2020
Little Caesars Arena: Detroit, Michigan
We get a graphic on screen as we return from commercial break announcing a must see tag match next week as The Revival have challenged DIY for the right to be named number #1 contenders to for the WCW Tag Team Championships!
Speaking of The Revival, we head backstage to see them in their locker room discussing their strategy for the WW3 match this Sunday before turning their focus on a game plan against DIY next week on Nitro. Just then, there is a knock on the door, but before anything can be said, the door busts open and in storm Flamita and Bandido, Jr who both attack The Revival!
A brawl breaks lose in the Revival’s locker room as the two teams begin beating the hell out of each other until a group of referees and other backstage personnel are able to rush in and get some separation between them. As WCW officials manage to remove Bandido and Flamita from The Revival’s locker room, the camera catches a glimpse of Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano watching from the hallway with smiles on their faces.
Main Event: 8-Man Tag Team Match
Cesaro, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jon Moxley & CM Punk
vs.
Jeff Cobb, Dominik Dijakovic, Seth Rollins & Nick Aldis
This Main Event is used to hype this Sunday’s 60-Man WW3 Battle Royal as some of WCW top stars are involved in this match, along with the current WCW Champion himself, Nick Aldis. The match itself is out of control with multiple men in the ring at any given time, and the referee seemingly having one hell of a time trying to maintain any order. With Cornette on the outside barking orders, Dijakovic refuses to wrestle with CM Punk, tagging out on Cornette’s command every time Punk enters the match, much to the chagrin of the fans. There is a cool moment during the match after all hell breaks loose for the fourth or fifth time, with the babyfaces clearing out the ring, leaving CM Punk and Jon Moxley to share the ring together. Moxley and Punk although on the same team, size each other up as it’s every man for themselves on Sunday. The crowd roars as Punk and Moxley exchanges a very words with each other, looking like they may trade a few punches of their own, when Jeff Cobb and Nick Aldis are both back in the ring to capitalize on their opponent’s distractions. As we wind down to the end of the match, Punk having enough of Cornette rolls out of the ring and looks to finally be able to get his hands on Cornette, but eats a massive boot from Dijakovic which drops him on the floor. This starts another brawl that spills to the outside, leaving just Seth Rollins and Cesaro in the ring. After a quick back and forth, Cesaro goes for an Uppercut, but Rollins manages to jump back! He kicks Cesaro in the gut, then the knee before landing The Stomp for the 3 count!
Winners: Nick Aldis, Seth Rollins, Jeff Cobb & Dominik Dijakovic by pinfall @ 27:35.
With superstars still brawling on the outside, Rollins celebrates his victory in the middle of the ring, until he is floored by Nick Aldis who nails him in the back with the WCW Championship before retreating up the ramp and standing at the top of the stage.
Holding the WCW World Heavyweight Championship up high, Aldis proclaims that none of the men in the ring are deserving of being WCW World Champion, which is why he has decided that he will officially enter the WW3 match himself in order to guarantee that after he wins the match, he won’t have to defend his championship at Starcade because there will be no one in the company that will be deserving enough for a shot at the championship! The crowd boo’s heavily as Aldis turns to leave the arena, but what he doesn’t see is Matt and Nick Jackson standing on the stage behind him! As Aldis turns around, the WCW Champion is floored with a pair of Superkicks as The Young Bucks now stand over the body of the Champion. Looking down at Aldis’ WCW Championship, Matt and Nick discuss with eachother the possibility of becoming WCW Champion themselves as we fade out of this go home episode of Monday Nitro.
***THE END***
