Omaha Civic Auditorium – Omaha, Nebraska | TV Rating: 4.0
The Good
I know, I know. It’s an interminable Shane and Stephanie segment that opens the show and it doesn’t really achieve all that much. And it’s totally illogical in parts. For instance Stone Cold wants the Alliance to stop all their in-fighting but then books them all in a Battle Royale where the winner gets a shot on WCW Champion Chris Jericho. And although they do go through with WCW Commissioner William Regal (as he now is) making it official that again shows that what WCW officials can and can’t book for their own title changes from week to week. But it’s entertaining. And at least offers up something slightly different from the usual.
Plus the Alliance Battle Royale might be little more than your standard battle royale and Booker T winning it doesn’t give us anything new but it is entertaining and at least offers up a chance for some different names to get a bit of exposure.
At least until the run in’s, the main event of Rob Van Dam defending his Hardcore title against The Rock is quite good. And I suppose as it’s Hardcore rules I shouldn’t once again complain that Alliance guys can only ever seemingly win when there is interference on their behalf. The Dudley Boyz winning the WCW Tag Team Titles is historic but not great.
The Bad
Despite it being in the good as a whole, Shane McMahon’s tough man act against certain alliance members in the opening segment is just abysmal. Maybe it’s unfair, but Taz and Al Snow cant really do much when they are given less than two minutes. Having Stephanie and Shane beat up Linda is McMahon overkill.
The Indifferent
Trish against Molly is your standard three minute TV match but at least it’s women actually wrestling for once. Kurt Angle’s successful US Title defence against Christian is fine for a five minute TV match but it’s already clear Christian isn’t going anywhere up the card isn’t it?
Similarly, Chris Jericho and Booker T do what they can in a FOUR minute WCW World Title but Booker once again loses. Which is fine as a call in terms of Jericho not dropping the belt but if they were going to go four minutes and make the WCW guy look weak why not at least have given someone lower down the totem pole the opportunity?
It’s an historic moment as The Dudley Boyz as they defeat the Hardy’s for the WCW Tag Team Titles which makes them the first (only?) team to ever hold the ECW, WWE and WCW Tag Titles. But it’s another sub-five minute match and surely we’re all bored to tears by seeing these two teams go at it by now.
Overall
This is something of a strange show in one sense. Nothing really important or big happens (the Dudley Boyz triple title status aside, I guess) and even the better matches of the evening can’t be said to be anywhere near classics. But again there is a good pace to the show, nothing is truly awful (Shane cos-playing being a hard-nut aside) and you get a generally entertaining show overall.