Monday Nitro

Tupelo, Mississippi
February 5, 2001

After having his title match taken away in his last meeting with Shane Douglas, Rick Steiner made sure he had the gold on the line when he stepped into the ring on Nitro against The Franchise. Although Douglas used everything he could to his advantage, including his own cast, in the end, it was The Dog faced Gremlin walking away with the United States Championship.

Just as we though we had seen the last of Rick, Kevin Nash dropped the bombshell that the DFG would be his partner against Big Poppa Pump in the main event. What Nash didn't know, however, was that the old adage "blood is thicker than water" would become painfully clear, as Rick and Scott reunited to leave Nash staring at the ring lights.

The show started with Ric Flair, along with Animal in the ring, arguing with Big Sexy Kevin Nash, who was in the aisle way. Nash took out Animal before going after the CEO in the squared circle. As Kevin worked over The Nature Boy, Mike Sanders was outside telling Scott Steiner, Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, and Jeff Jarrett about the attack. Ric laid chops into Big Sexy's chest, but Nash just brushed them off, threatening to strip Flair naked on national TV. Kevin undressed the CEO to his boxers and moved in for the kill until Flair's troops came down the aisle. Kevin threatened to break Ric's neck if they entered the ring, as he called The Cat out to do some negotiating. As Nash held Flair by the neck, the commissioner booked Scott Steiner in three matches for the night. The first would be against four cruiserweights, the second against DDP, and the third against Kevin Nash for the title. After Flair was forced to agree, The Cat gave Nash a mystery partner for the match, claiming that if Big Poppa lost, Flair would have to resign as CEO.

Handicapped Match
Scott Steiner with Midajah d. Yang and Kaz Hayashi and Jaime Knoble and Evan Karagias
As Flair's men helped him from the ring, Scott Steiner stayed inside, waiting for his first match. Yang, Kaz Hayashi, Jaime Knoble, and Evan Karagias charged the ring and met Big Poppa straight on, all falling to the power of the world heavyweight champion. After some fantastic double team maneuvers, all four men covered Steiner, but Scott kicked out, sending everyone flying in different directions. Big Poppa brought Yang from the middle turnbuckle with a T-Bone suplex, but stopped the referee before he could count three. Steiner piled Knoble on top of Hayashi, who was on top of Karagias for a triple Steiner Recliner for the win.

Backstage, as Scott Steiner attempted to place his troubles on Ric Flair, the CEO blamed Mike Sanders, telling his protŽgŽ to "fix the problem."

Backstage, The Cat booked Brian Adams against Buff Bagwell, as Nash, DDP, and Ms. Jones looked on in agreement.

Mean Gene Interview: Rick Steiner
The Dog Faced Gremlin said he was going to defeat The Franchise for the US Title to finally bring some gold to the good guy's side.

Mean Gene Interview: Brian Adams
After footage was shown of Bryan Clark getting hit with a chair by Animal last week, Adams swore that he would exact revenge later in the show.

Backstage, Bagwell and Luger laughed about the attack, asking Ric Flair for a bout against KroniK in a no substitution match at SuperBrawl, knowing that Clark would not be ready.

WCW United States Title Match
Rick Steiner d. "The Franchise" Shane Douglas
Douglas entered the ring to berate the crowd, but Rick Steiner told Shane to shut his mouth, before heading out. Shane used the cast on his right arm as a weapon right away, weakening Steiner to send him into the steel guardrail. Douglas used a steel chair, but Rick fought back, as the fight moved in and out of the ring. The DFG caught The Franchise in mid air with a suplex and headed to the top rope. As he came off, Shane used the cast to the head, followed by The Franchiser. Rick kicked out at two, and after a flurry of moves, caught Douglas in the Steiner Driver for the win, gaining the United States championship.

Backstage, after Ric Flair told Chavo Guerrero, Jr. that he found a new opponent to test the Cruiserweight Champion, the CEO charged out of the room, irate as he saw Dustin Rhodes heading to the ring on the monitor.

Interview: Dustin Rhodes
Dustin told the crowd that he was ready to take Ric Flair down for good. The Nature Boy came on the Nitro Vision and reminded Rhodes that he was fired before demanding that production cut his mic and go to a commercial. Security came into the ring and escorted Dustin out of the arena.

Non-Title Match
Disqualification - Diamond Dallas Page d. "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner with Midajah
Steiner entered in his ring gear this time around, prepared to go into his second match of the night. Page got the best of the champion in the opening exchange, sending Big Poppa to the outside with a huge clothesline. DDP went to the top rope, but Midajah shook the ropes, sending Page down hard onto the top turnbuckle. The champion proceeded to beat on Dallas, dropping him time and again with big power moves, weakening the back of his opponent. After Steiner slammed the referee to the outside, Page floated over Big Poppa and delivered the Diamond Cutter, before exiting the ring through the crowd. As DDP celebrated with the fans, Jeff Jarrett and the returning Chris Kanyon attacked, leaving him lying as security pulled to assailants away.

Backstage, Nash and Rick Steiner called for Coach Danny Young as DDP collapsed on the floor after the vicious attack.

Non-Title Match
El Níno d. Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
Chavo was cocky as he took control right away over the rookie, El Nino. The masked man turned the tide, sending Guerrero to the floor before diving over the top rope onto the champion. Chavo caught the newcomer in the face with a big boot, bringing the El Nino back to the outside for some more punishment. Nino flew again, catching Chavo with a bulldog and a legdrop from the top rope, scoring the pin over the champion. After the bout, El Nino unmasked to reveal Rey Mysterio, Jr., who delivered a BroncoBuster on Guerrero, adding insult to injury.

Non-Title Match
Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire d. Lance Storm and Mike Awesome
As Storm called for the Canadian anthem, The Cat came on the big screen, sending the tag team champions, Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire to the ring. Awesome and O'Haire squared off first, each trying to chop the other down to size. As Storm tagged into the ring, the champions wore him down, using big double teams on the leader of Team Canada. Awesome came in a house of fire after the hot tag, but soon fell victim to the Thriller's double team antics. Storm came in but was kicked in the face, temporarily clouding his vision. A whip across the ring sent Awesome into Storm, who clamped on the Maple Leaf submission, unaware that it was his own partner. Palumbo sent Storm over the ropes, where he collided with his other stable mate, Elix Skipper. In the ring, O'Haire flew down with the Seanton Bomb onto Awesome for the win.

Backstage, Shawn Stasiak and Mark Jindrak watched on a monitor, studying the match as they prepared for their upcoming match at SuperBrawl.

Time Limit Draw - Brian Adams vs. Buff Bagwell
Adams leveled Bagwell with a kick as Buff Daddy entered into the match. Bagwell fired back with a series of his own kicks, showboating around the ring with his patented strut. Buff kept Adams on the mat with face locks, attempting to wear his bigger opponent down before moving in for the win. The KroniK member plowed through Bagwell with a big shoulder block, prompting Luger to come to the ringside area. Bryan Clark came from nowhere, attacking Lex before he could interfere. Road Warrior Animal arrived and jumped on Clark as the bell rang, signaling a time limit draw. After the bell, Flair's troops left KroniK out on the ground once again just 13 days before the PPV.

Backstage, Scott Steiner assured Ric Flair that he had nothing to worry about in the upcoming handicapped match.

Mean Gene Interview: Brian Adams
Adams said that the harder they got beat down, the stronger KroniK would be. He challenged Luger to a bout at Thunder.

Handicapped Match
"Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner with Midajah d. "Big Sexy" Kevin Nash and Rick Steiner
Nash came to the stage and announced Rick Steiner as his mystery partner, enraging Big Poppa. Scott attempted a belly to belly on his brother, but it was countered by the new US Champion, who sent Poppa Pump hard to the mat with one of his own. Nash tagged in and was all over Scott, but the world champion turned the tide of the match, catching Big Sexy in a surfboard submission. After Kevin flattened Big Poppa with the Jackknife powerbomb, he went for the cover, getting a two-count before Rick dropped an elbow across his back, turning on his partner. Scott made the cover and got the win, as the Steiner brothers celebrated. When Rick and Scott headed down the aisle toward the back, DDP arrived on the stage with a chair as Nitro drew to a close.