Monday Nitro
Greenville, South
Carolina
March 5, 2001
In Jeff Jarrett's weekly attempt to get under the skin of Dustin Rhodes, the former world champion brought out an imposter Dusty Rhodes to "wrestle" against in his featured bout. The man in question turned out to be Ric Flair, who was also in on the gag; but when the real American Dream arrived with some harsh words for the Nature Boy, Flair set another match for the upcoming Greed PPV - the CEO and The Chosen One against Dustin and his daddy, the Dream himself, Dusty Rhodes.
Disqualification - Booker T d.
Rick Steiner
The show started with Rick Steiner in the ring challenging
Booker T to a match. Booker came out and said he was going to be
the new US champion, calling for a referee to start the bout. T
took it to the Dog Faced Gremlin on the outside, using the ring
steps as a weapon. Once inside, Rick turned things around,
pounding the former WCW Champion to the mat. The opening contest
went back and forth, with both competitors exchanging command.
Booker hit the axe kick and the Harlem side kick, setting for the
finisher. Big Poppa Pump ran in, followed by DDP, giving the
referee no choice but to call for a disqualification. Page
challenged the Steiner brothers to a tag match against himself
and Booker for later in the broadcast.
Tony Schiavone and Scott Hudson announced that Ric Flair had booked Jeff Jarrett against "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes for later on Nitro.
WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team
Tournament Match
"Prime Time" Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo d. Air Paris
and A.J. Styles
Prime Time came out to claim "his house" before
introducing his mystery partner - Kid Romeo. Styles and Romeo
locked up first, with the Latin star being taken over with a
quick arm drag takedown. Soon, all four men were flying from the
ring to the outside, risking their bodies in the quest to become
the first ever Cruiserweight tag champions. Paris and Styles used
double team maneuvers on Romeo and Skipper, keeping both men
grounded. Elix hit a top rope moonsault to the floor, followed by
Styles, who flew off the turnbuckle with a body press. Chavo
Guerrero, Jr. arrived on the stage to watch the action. In the
end, Romeo and Skipper scored the win to gain a spot in the next
round.
Backstage, Sean O'Haire, with Chuck Palumbo by his side, challenged Lex Luger to a match.
Sean O'Haire d. Lex Luger
The Total Package jumped right on O'Haire as he entered the
ring, beating the youngster into the corner of the ring. Luger
landed two shots with the forearm, but missed an elbow drop,
allowing Sean to stage a comeback. O'Haire used his power against
the Package, but the ring veteran got a boot up in the corner,
catching the tag team champion in the face as he ran across the
ring. Chuck Palumbo ran out and pulled Lex under the ropes to the
outside, unfortunately allowing Bagwell to slide in from the
other side with a chair, slamming Sean in the knee. Luger got
back into the ring and held his opponent for Buff's Blockbuster.
O'Haire ducked, however, forcing Bagwell to deliver the move to
his own partner. Sean went to the top and drove down with the
Seanton Bomb for the win.
Outside the arena, Smooth pulled up in a black limousine, with Kanyon and Shawn Stasiak in the back. "PerfectShawn" gave Kanyon an autographed picture to give to Ms. Jones as Smooth eavesdropped from the front.
Backstage, Chavo said he was going to prove later in the show that he was a better man than Shane Helms.
Backstage, Mike Awesome and Lance Storm attacked Konnan until Hugh Morrus made the save.
Jeff Jarrett d. "Dusty
Rhodes"
Jeff Jarrett got on the mic and promised that he would put
the Rhodes name to rest once and for all. A man dressed in a
rubber mask and cowboy getup walked to the ring, as the fans
jeered his entrance. The Chosen One poked the imposter in the
eye, delivered the bionic elbow, and covered him for the three
count. Dustin Rhodes ran out and destroyed Jarrett until the
imposter ripped off the mask to reveal Ric Flair underneath as he
jumped Dustin. The real Dusty Rhodes arrived to the ring and
drove both Flair and Jarrett out of the ring with a series of
elbows. The Dream got on the mic and compared Ric Flair's role in
wrestling now to an extra in Hollywood movies. The Nature Boy
challenged Dusty and Dustin to a tag match against Flair and The
Chosen One at Greed.
Non-Title Match
Chavo Guerrero, Jr. d. "Sugar" Shane Helms
"Sugar Shane" came out to the stage with the Nitro
Girls, but once in the ring, Guerrero wasted no time in putting
the hurt to his Greed challenger. As Helms stood on the outside
of the ring apron, Kid Romeo and Elix Skipper pulled him off, as
Chavo nodded his head in approval. Shane fought back again,
hitting a surprise attack with a dive over the top to the floor
onto Prime Time and Romeo, before heading back into the ring
after Chavo. As Romeo distracted the referee, Skipper entered and
doubled with Guerrero on Helms, leading the Cruiserweight
Champion to victory.
Kanyon was shown in the hospital room of Ms. Jones, telling the cameraman to keep things rolling, no matter what. As Kanyon tortured Jones in her bed, The Cat came from across the room, brawling with his archrival. Miller and Kanyon fought all around the room as Jones screamed for help. Finally, The Cat smashed a bottle over Kanyon's head and zapped him with a defibrillator.
Hugh Morrus d. Mike Awesome
Morrus, who slid in underneath the ropes, made Awesome look
foolish, by luring him to the outside. The Canadian Career Killer
came back, throwing the laughing man around the ring and to the
ringside area. Awesome hit a sit out powerbomb, and showed
tremendous agility off the top rope with big offensive moves.
Morrus missed a charge into the corner, slamming his shoulder
into the ring post. Lance Storm interfered from the outside, but
was left laying by Hugh, who headed back into the squared circle.
The two went back and forth until Morrus was able to go to the
top and land down with the No Laughing Matter moonsault for the
1-2-3. Team Canada attacked Hugh after the bell, but Konnan made
the save, running the Canadians from the ring.
Diamond Dallas Page and Booker
T d. The Steiner Brothers
Booker said he would accept the challenge for the tag team
match if Rick gave him a shot at the US crown at Greed. Page
ripped into Big Poppa, but Scott was too powerful, turning DDP
upside down helpless in the corner. The Dog Faced Gremlin came in
and was taken for a ride by Booker, who was fired up after the
tag. Poppa Pump pulled down the top rope, sending T to the
outside for some punishment with a steel chair. The Steiner
brothers kept Booker in their corner, using quick tags to wear
down the former champion. Rick and Booker both made the hot tag,
bringing Page into the action, exploding all over Big Poppa.
Scott clamped on and landed with a big belly-to-belly suplex,
before brawling up the ramp and to the back with Booker, where
the rest of the Magnificent Seven jumped in. Dallas hit the
Diamond Cutter and got the pinfall on Rick, and brawled with
Scott in the crowd as Nitro faded to black.