Match of the Day - Kevin Nash - The original streak ender #wcw

Kevin Nash vs. Goldberg - WCW World Heavyweight title match - Starrcade (1998)

Undertaker's streak may be over, but at least he wasn't tasered by Paul Heyman for Brock Lesnar to pick up the unexpected win. How about being tasered by Scott Hall? Well, that's exactly what happened to Goldberg while defending not only his World Heavyweight title but his 173 win streak (despite most of those wins being squashes) here at Starrcade '98.

Goldberg would eventually try to duplicate his streak in the later half of 2000 in order to earn himself a title shot at the World Heavyweight title. Unfortunately, he only made it into the double digits, 35 to be exact, before being defeated in his last match in WCW at Sin 2001.

Match of the Day - The no DQ loser leaves town for 30 days coal miner's glove tuxedo steel cage match!

Speaking of stipulations inside a steel cage match...

Ted DiBiase vs. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan - No DQ Loser Leaves Town Coal Miner's Glove Tuxedo Steel Cage match - Mid-South Wrestling (1985)

Say what you want about this ridiculous sounding match starring a crazed Jim Duggan and a beardless Ted DiBiase in tuxedos, it definitely made sense at the time. At least, that's what I have heard...

The object of the match was pretty simple really, get locked in a cage with your tux on and if you could retrieve the coal miner's glove (a big glove loaded with a bar of metal on the knuckles) you could use it as much as you wanted without being DQ'd or the match stopping. Once there was a definitive winner, the loser had to leave with their tail tucked between their legs and stay away for 30 days. There was also no time limit.

Got it?

Match of the Day - Remember that K-Fed/John Cena feud?

John Cena vs. Kevin Federline - No Disqualification match - Raw (2007)

Battle of the "rapper thugs"

Today was the day someone reminded me about Kevin "K-Fed" Federline, that guy who was once married to Britney Spears and apparently was a... nope. That's really it.

Thanks to my rediscovery of this forgotten "mogul", I remembered this longing-to-be forgotten match that took place on Raw back in 2007. The only reason I actually watched it was to make sure there was any fighting at all in the match, for better or for worse. And well, there sort of is.

I'm sorry.

Match of the Day - Triple H's third match of the night on Smackdown! in 1999

Triple H vs. Mankind - Boiler Room match - Smackdown! (1999)

Flip back over to WWF in 2000 and you would see a lot of Triple H. This was at the height of HHH's push as himself and meant he was in the spotlight a lot. Some say it could be due to the lack of Stone Cold at times and others could say it was due to him banging Mr. McMahon's daughter, Steph, never the less, late 1999-2000 was all HHH.

On one Thursday night Smackdown! (remember those) in late 1999 though, There was a lot more Triple H than the normal Triple H show... See, Triple H that night would actually be in 5 matches! If he couldn't win 3 out of 5 of them that night HHH would not get his title shot he had won Yep, this was just his third bout here taking on his soon-to-be foe, Mankind in Mankind's specialty match, a Boiler Room Brawl.

A Boiler Room Brawl is when two competitors fight inside the confines of the arena's un-padded boiler room with the winner being the first person out of the room.

Triple H gets his second win of that night after escaping the boiler room unharmed thanks to someone pushing Mankind off of a high place for another Mankind super bump. I believe it was later relieved to be Chyna but I honestly do not remember when and how it was relieved...

Theme Results

Non-ring: a boiler room.

Match of the Day - Sleeveless-flannel monsters ball match: Abyss versus Mick Foley

Hardcore Wednesday:

Abyss vs. Mick Foley - Monsters Ball Match - TNA Bound For Glory (2009)

Everyone's dream match, right?

Just watch.

Special guest referee: Dr. Stevie Richards.

Also features "Zombie Hot" Daffney taking a barbed-wire board bump. That was awesome *chants*.

Match of the Day - WWE's first "real" handicap match

Big Show vs. Zack Gowen & Stephanie McMahon - No Holds Barred Handicap match - WWE Smackdown! (2003)

In Zack Gowen's first official match on Smackdown!, the youngster had to prove that he had just what it takes to be a true competitor in WWE by defeating the 500 pound Big Show and seizing an official contract out of Vince McMahon's cold dead hands. Throw Stephanie McMahon, the General Manager at the time, in there and you got yourself a classic pro wrestling Cinderella story.

Did I mention Zack Gowen is a one-legged wrestler? Oops, that was important.

Anyways...

As Zack Gowen was a legitimate amputee and Stephanie McMahon couldn't wrestle to save her life, this truly was WWE's first "real" handicap match.

Get it?

Thanks to face Kurt Angle, face Brock Lesnar, and a steel chair, Gowen's Cinderella story comes true and he gets his contract. The icing on the cake? A combination of Gowen's rival and soon-to-be boss, Mr. McMahon getting knocked on his ass and Gowen's perfect one-legged moonsault onto Big Show for the win!

Gowen's time in WWE was very short-lived despite making it to Vengeance of that year in a match against Mr. McMahon and a short rivalry with Matt Hardy Version 1. I remember him having a broken leg (that's right, the one leg he has) courtesy of Brock Lesnar (heel again) and then never really seeing him on Smackdown! much after that. I guess once you break a one-legged man's only leg you really can't do much else with him. His character was pretty much dead from that point on.

Match of the Day - Triple H goes to boot camp with the commissioner

Triple H vs. Sgt. Slaughter - Boot Camp match - WWF D-Generation X: In Your House (1997)

The commissioner of the WWF at the time, Sgt. Slaughter comes out of retirement and puts his combat boots on to teach the young punk from Connecticut a lesson or two in a good ol' Boot Camp match at a PPV named after Triple H's newly formed stable known as D-Generation X.

What is a Boot Camp match?

Pretty much a Sgt. Slobber-type street fight featuring combat boots rather than wrestling boots.

Let the military honor begin, courtesy of The King.

Theme Results:

Jeans: Triple H

PS: The Sarge's theme music at this time was later used as Kurt Angle's classic "You Suck!" theme!

Match of the Day - Hulk Hogan wrestles as himself to take on younger wrestlers trying to get over

Hulk Hogan as Terry Bollea vs. Mike Awesome - WCW Nitro (2000)

Would you like the long version or the short version?

Short version it is.

In 2000, WCW had a big brain idea to pit young up-and-comers with seasoned vets and well past-their-primers. Though the intention was to get the new guys over, WCW management made the god awful decision of putting the two biggest wrestling personality heels, Eric Bishoff and Vince Russo, in charge of the young talent. Combine that with the fact that the veterans were known as The Millionaire's Club and led by Hulk Hogan, a man who supposedly passed the torch on in 1990 but still needed the spotlight every year he wasn't making terrible movies in Hollywood (sound familiar), made the chances of the young guys getting over a lot harder. Like WCW hard.

I understand that sometimes a company already has solid top guys and don't need green competitors getting a push, but this was WCW 2000; the top guys of the past were gone and it was time for the top guys to carry the weight of the company.

So, in the mist of the New Blood (the young guys looking for a break) versus the Millionaire's Club (the guys who needed to step down from their pedestals , Hulk Hogan decided that he needed to take matters into his own hands and fight as himself, Terry Bollea, to take on Mike Awesome, an up-and-comer with high potential to keep the power of WCW to the old guys.

Hulk Hogan also had a running feud with Billy Kidman, a kid who was never big enough to be a main eventer, as well as his own nephew, Horace Hogan, who was always just destined to be in a B-list NWO. Soon after he would feud with Jeff Jarrett before leaving the company after the Vince Russo shoot/work incident at Bash at the Beach. A story for another day.

As for Awesome, he was never given the main event status push he really deserved and was repackaged numerous times starting with the "Career Killer" gimmick, then the "Fat Chick Thrilla" gimmick, then "That 70's Guy" gimmick, and then finally the "Canadian Career Killer" gimmick after joining Team Canada in the dying days of WCW. It should also be noted that his gimmick as the Career Killer was because he could kill careers but in an ironic turn of events is what killed his career.

Theme Results:

Jeans: Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea