10 Things Fans Should Know About WCW's Infamously Bad New Blood Rising PPV
Olivia Owen Over the years, it is hard to keep track of quite how many poor WCW PPV events there actually were. Particularly in the latter stages of the company’s life, shows were getting more desperate, lessening in quality, and severely struggling in star power.
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After a bizarre “restart” in which all titles were vacated and the “New Blood” stable was formed, WCW produced the “New Blood Rising” event on August 13, 2000. With WCW being sold to WWE the next year, this ended up as the one and only edition of this show - which is probably for the best, as it wasn’t very good. There are plenty of different things to know about this event.
10 Named After The “New Blood” Faction
New Blood Rising Were A New WCW Faction
- New Blood feuded solely with the Millionaire’s Club until the faction was disbanded
- Over 30 members made up the New Blood, including notable names such as Bret Hart, Goldberg, Rey Mysterio, and more
In the past, WCW had named shows after factions - nWo Souled Out for instance. This was an attempt to recapture that magic, naming a PPV event after the New Blood group. The group was established by both Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff, with the premise of featuring younger names and those who were overlooked in the previous era of WCW.
It was an attempt to boost viewership and create something though, though it would ultimately fail, and it was nothing more than a cheap, lousy, nWo parody. Strangely though, the group would actually cease to exist by the time this PPV rolled around, as WCW decided to cancel plans due to them not working. Strange indeed.
9 Tank Abbott’s Comedy Character
Dancing MMA Fighter
- Like many “dominant” competitors, a failed push led to a comedy gimmick
- Tank Abbott went from world title contender to dancing valet
Tank Abbott was originally brought into WCW to add realism and authenticity to the product due to his legit fighting background, and one stage was even in plans to become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion Fast forward a few months and he was a comedy character.
At New Blood Rising, Abbott’s random character was on full show, with his gimmick being someone obsessed with dancing to 3 Count’s music. It was a wacky gimmick that didn’t make the most of his appeal as a fighter.
8 Only One Fun Match
A Crazy Trios Ladder Match
- 3 Count’s musical recording contract was hung above the ring
- Tank Abbott stole both vinyl record and recording contract after the bell
New Blood Rising had 11 matches, but only one was actually fun, and this came in the form of the opener when 3 Count took on Jung Dragons in a ladder match.
It was a crazy spot-fest in which everyone got a chance to shine. The rest of the card had some average matches, but nothing was as fun as this.
7 Canadian Rules Match
Gimmick Match Was A Confusing Mess
- Per Canadian Rules, the referee counts a five-count instead of a three count, and then a wrestler must stay down for a subsequent ten count
- Lance Storm was the hometown hero for this match
This match type led to a very slow match which didn’t really get out of first gear. The crowd became disinterested by the time despite being hot for Lance Storm at the opening bell.
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In the end, Storm would defeat Mike Awesome to retain the WCW US Championship in a weird, confusing, plodding match that was actually among the best on the card.
6 Weird Night For The Great Muta
The Great Muta Had A Busy PPV
- Early in the show, The Great Muta lost to The Cat
- Later in the night, The Great Muta became one half of the WCW World Tag Team Champions
The Great Muta is an all time legend, and to see him during the mess of WCW in the year 2000 was a hard thing to witness. His first match of the night came in an awful bout against The Cat, in which the babyface Ernest Miller cheated his way to victory.
In an impromptu match, Muta would later team with Vampiro to win the WCW Tag Team Titles from Kronik. The booking here made no sense whatsoever.
5 Judy Bagwell On A Forklift
One Of The Oddest Match Types Ever
- Judy Bagwell is a former WCW World Tag Team Champion
- Kanyon wanted Judy Bagwell as his valet, so kidnapped her away from her son
Judy Bagwell was the mother of professional wrestler Buff Bagwell, and she involved herself in WCW programming on more than one occasion. One of the weirdest came at New Blood Rising in a bizarre match stipulation - a Judy Bagwell on a Forklift match. That’s right, not a pole - a forklift.
Buff Bagwell had to win his own mother back from Kanyon, who had kidnapped her, so logically she was attached to a forklift.
4 Rip Off The Camouflage Mud Pit
The Worst Gimmick Match In WCW History
- WCW attempted to drum interest in attractive women without clothes on
- Miss Hancock and Major Gunns had one of the worst matches in history
Vince Russo had many bad ideas, but a match where you have to rip off your opponents clothes and throw them into a mud bath might be one of the most obscene ever. This couldn’t be further away from “professional wrestling”.
The rules made no sense, and this match between Miss Hancock and Major Gunns ended when they were both in the mud pit and a pinfall was made. It was also implied that a miscarriage took place in this match, which was tone deaf and an awful angle. Crazily, this isn’t even the worst rated match on the show per cagematch.net!
3 Blurring The Lines Between Real & Kayfabe
Vince Russo’s Obsession With Breaking Kayfabe
- WCW tried to convince fans that Miss Hancock’s miscarriage was legit
- David Flair - her real life partner - was involved in the angle
Following the awful match involving Miss Hancock and Major Gunns, WCW ran the aforementioned miscarriage angle. After the match, David Flair came out to check on her in a moment that Tony Schiavone claimed was “not part of the show”.
Hancock’s real name of Stacy Keibler was used too to try and make fans believe that it was all “real”. Choosing to break kayfabe for something like this was questionable.
2 The Shoot Match Mess
Goldberg Vs. Kevin Nash Vs. Scott Steiner Was A Disaster
- WCW tried to paint this triple threat match as “real”
- The competitors were “work shoot” not following the script
This show was hampered by WCW trying to blur lines, but in the process of this it made the entire show look bad. Kevin Nash claimed he was winning no matter what the script says, and later on in the match, Goldberg walked out due to refusing to take a “planned” powerbomb. Tony Schiavone on commentary even asked if they’d now improvise due to things going off-script.
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Steiner was applauded by the announce team for following the script and losing the match. What an absolute atrocity.
1 A Typical Jeff Jarrett Main Event
Ref Bumps Galore
- Jeff Jarrett has a reputation of overbooked main events, and this followed suit
- Despite Jarrett cheating, Booker T ended the show as WCW World Heavyweight Champion
Although there wasn’t any interference, which was surprising, there were multiple referee bumps and false finishes in which Jarrett was trying to cheat his way to victory in the main event.
Over the years, Jarrett has had this type of main event and type of match on countless occasions, so it was just following that typical formula throughout.