Zoom Trivia Night: Wrestlemania Edition
Bash at the Beach 2000 Incident: 20 Years Later
There are many incidents in the world of professional wrestling that is talked about to this day. From the Montreal Screwjob, to CM Punk walking out of WWE, and even the Owen Hart tragedy, These key moments are never forgotten from the old generation of fans, and the current generation once they do their research on these topics. One of these key moments happened in WCW on this day 20 years ago which has since been named the “Bash at the Beach 2000 incident” by the fans. It is time to revisit this moment that is not only talked about to this day, but also debated on which parts of this incident was planned or not.
WHAT LEAD TO THIS INCIDENT
Vince Russo returned to WCW in June 2000 after taking a brief hiatus. At this point, WCW was already in it’s worst year and the damage of the company itself left everyone uncertain. Vince Russo wanted to push the younger talent that has not had the chance to the main event status. He began this a few months earlier when he pushed for Jeff Jarrett to win the WCW Championship and he did exactly that. There was no problem with Russo doing this because the majority of the fans wanted to see more talent that they already had become main eventers and some of the talent they already had before Russo came to WCW left for WWE and became bigger stars. The only thing that was somewhat preventing this, was the big name talent such as Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Sid were all still in the main event scene that year. You could imagine the politics going around backstage during this time with those bigger names over the mid to lower card names.
The week of the show, John Laurinaitis had a meeting with Hulk Hogan. John told Hogan that Russo wanted Hogan to lose to the WCW Champion Jeff Jarrett at the show. Hogan did not like this idea and called Eric Bischoff to talk to Russo about another idea for the match. The plan that was purposed was for Hogan to win the title, leave WCW with the Championship, have Vince Russo set up a new tournament to crown a new champion, and then have Hulk Hogan return at a later date as the “real” champion (Similar to how CM Punk and John Cena were both WWE Champions at the same time in the summer of 2011). Hulk Hogan as the real champion vs the current champion would have then be booked at either Fall Brawl, or Halloween Havoc at that year.
Vince Russo did not like this idea. But due to Hogan using his creative control clause in his contract, Hogan figured that Russo would not change that plan. Vince Russo stated on Kayfabecommentaries that his plan the entire time is that no matter what, Hogan was not leaving with the belt. Booker T was.
THE DAY OF THE SHOW
At the day of the PPV and about two hours before the show began, Eric Bischoff talks to Vince Russo the moment he arrived to the arena. Bischoff told Russo to talk to Hulk Hogan about the match. Hogan told Russo that he should win the WCW Championship because he needed the title again, or else he will not work the show in protest. Hogan then asked Russo what would happen if it was real that he beats Jarrett in a shoot. Vince Russo then told Hogan if it was real, then he would go out and cut a promo towards Hogan. Vince Russo then pitched the Booker T vs Hogan match for both WCW Championships down the line and Hogan liked the idea. But what was about to happen, was not what they expected.
THE MATCH
The match then started. Jeff Jarrett’s music played, but Vince Russo made his entrance followed by Jarrett. Hulk Hogan then made his entrance. As soon as the bell rang, Russo told Jarrett to lie down which stunned Hogan, the announcers, and even the crowd. Russo then threw the belt in the ring and walked off. Hogan then got a microphone and said that infamous line “That’s why this company is in the damn shape it’s in because of bull**** like this” as he put his foot on Jarrett’s chest for the three count. Jarrett left the ring afterwards as Hogan became the new WCW Champion. Hogan then left the ring to walk to the back. What happened next during the Sting and Vampiro skit, is that Hogan and Bischoff left the arena to go to their plane. Vince Russo returned to the ring to not only cut a scathing promo on Hulk Hogan, he fired him as well and rebooked the main event as Jarrett will now face Booker T. Hogan and Bischoff was not aware of the promo Russo cut until they landed at their location a few hours later. Booker T defeated Jarrett to win his first ever WCW Championship.
THE AFTERMATH
Everything that happened before Jarrett lied down was part of the pitched plan. The only people that knew about this, was Hogan, Vince Russo, and Eric Bischoff. This was an example of massive communication as nobody knew what was real, and what was not in that situation. Hogan then sued Russo for defamation which was settled a few years later. Hogan would never return to WCW. Vince Russo stayed for a few more months. Booker T would then win the WCW Championship three more times in WCW, and be signed to WWE after they brought WCW. It was in WWE when Booker T won his fifth WCW Championship. And Jeff Jarrett stayed in WCW until the end, but WWE did not sign him. But he eventually founded Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which is now Impact Wrestling. To this day, there are different versions of the story told by Vince Russo, Jeff Jarrett, Booker T, and Eric Bischoff. Between the parties involved, it is up to you on which take of the story about the incident that you side with. I remember watching this show live on Pay-Per-View with my brother and cousin and they both had a hard time piecing out whether if this incident was part of the show, or not. This was, until the next day, we realized that Hogan was really gone from WCW. The way you can sum up this incident, is that it was a work, presented as a shoot, that then became a shoot.
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com
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Amazon’s The Boys Season 2 Trailer Has Debuted Worldwide
Amazon Prime Video has debuted the official teaser trailer for the second season of THE BOYS, the first three episodes of which will premiere on Prime Video on Friday, September 4, 2020. New episodes will be available each Friday following, culminating in an epic season finale on October 9. The eight-episode Amazon Original series will be available exclusively on Prime Video in more than 200 territories around the world, and is produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios with Point Grey Pictures, Kripke Enterprises and Original Film.
The even more intense, more insane Season 2 finds The Boys on the run from the law, hunted by the Supes, and desperately trying to regroup and fight back against Vought. In hiding, Hughie (Jack Quaid), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capon) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) try to adjust to a new normal, with Butcher (Karl Urban) nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Starlight (Erin Moriarty) must navigate her place in The Seven as Homelander (Antony Starr) sets his sights on taking complete control. His power is threatened with the addition of Stormfront (Aya Cash), a social media-savvy new Supe, who has an agenda of her own. On top of that, the Supervillain threat takes center stage and makes waves as Vought seeks to capitalize on the nation’s paranoia.
The Supes of The Seven also include Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), The Deep (Chace Crawford) and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell). Recurring stars in season two include Claudia Doumit, Goran Visnijc, Malcolm Barrett, Colby Minifie, Shantel VanSanten, Cameron Crovetti, PJ Byrne, Laila Robbins and Giancarlo Esposito returning as Vought boss Stan Edgar, among others.
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Feuds of the Dead Week 2: Michonne vs The Governor
Michonne and The Governor is the first feud in this mini series of Feuds of the Dead that was adapted from the source material. The feud in the comic was brutal and not all of it was adapted on the television show due to it’s graphic nature. But what we got on the show, worked and the fans of The Walking Dead loved it. Here is week two of Feuds of the Dead as I am highlighting the feud between Michonne and The Governor.
After Michonne found Andrea at the end of season 2, they traveled together in season 3. At this time, Andrea fell sick and Michonne given her pills and told her that they should continue walking. They then witnessed a helicopter crash in the forest and they both walked to the area where the helicopter crashed. They both seen dead bodies until they both hide behind bushes as The Governor and a few of his men checked on the soldiers. The Governor killed those soldiers, and as Michonne and Andrea were about to leave, Merle Dixon caught them and ordered them to drop their weapons.
They were taken to Woodbury as Michonne and Andrea were kept in a locked room. When The Governor came to see them, Michonne demands that they get their belongings back and to leave. The Governor tolf Michonne that they can sleep for the night. The day after, The Governor gives them a grand tour of Woodbury and Michonne is still not buying that it is a safe place as she wanted him to give back her sword. Michonne eventually does gets back her sword as she went into his house to retrieve her sword while the party at Woodbury was going on. Michonne wanted Andrea to leave with her, but she wanted to stay.
Michonne also killed all of the walkers that was used as the pets at his fight arena. After The Governor discovers this, he sent Merle, Crowley, Tim, and Gargulio to hunt Michonne down. Michonne killed Crowley and Tim quickly, but Merle shot Michonne. Merle was about to kill her, but he was attacked by walkers which gave Michonne a chance to leave. At this point, Michonne has given Rick Grimes and the rest at The Prison intel on how they will launch their assualt on Woodbury and to save Glenn and Maggie. While that was going on, Michonne and The Governor had a standoff as zombified Penny, the daughter of The Governor is put down by Michonne. This lead to the fight between Michonne and The Governor as these two fought until The Governor lost his eye due to Michonne stabbing his eye with a shard of broken glass.
A few days later after Michonne rejoined the group, The Governor and his group attack The Prison for the first time along with Merle. Michonne and the rest did their very best to kill the walkers that were pouring out from that truck along with the ones that were coming to The Prison. Michonne and the rest of Rick’s group plan to go back to Woodbury to rescue Andrea. The entire Prison was clear and The Governor and his group attacked The Prison again, but nobody was inside at all. Rick’s group arrived to Woodbury to try to rescue Andrea, but it was too late as Milton was killed by The Governor hours before and he bit Andrea before she put him down. Everyone waited outside the room as Andrea killed herself by a gunshot.
At the beginning of season 4, everything was calm and quiet at The Prison until the flu breakout began. At the same time this was happening, it was revealed that The Governor abandoned Woodbury and burned most of the town down, and went into hiding. He then meet Tara and Lilly as he stood with them for a few months. The Governor eventually went back to his old ways as he began to plan a takeover of The Prison. He captured Michonne and Hershel, and used them as leverage in order for Rick Grimes to give him The Prison. Rick wanted to work with The Governor, but that was not happening.
The Governor killed Hershel by using Michonne’s sword, and the all out assault begins after The Governor said his iconic “Kill Them All” line. During this battle, Michonne freed herself, and stabbed The Governor through his back with her sword as he was choking Rick. We thought that he would be dead at an instant, but it was Lilly Chamber to kill The Governor after Michonne saved Rick. That moment was the end of the feud.
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com
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Interview: NOS4A2’s Mattea Conforti
Mattea Conforti has made a name for herself within the last few years appearing in major television shows and movies such as Power, Gotham, The Olie and Moon show, and most recently, Frozen II as Young Elsa. Her acting career is really shining at an early age and Mattea has a bright future. Mattea also stars as Millie Manx, the daughter of Charlie Manx on NOS4A2 and here to talk about season 2 of NOS4A2 is Mattea Conforti in this exclusive interview.
Before we begin, how have you been doing since the pandemic started?
Mattea: “Well, things have been definitely kind of shaky from the beginning You know, figuring out what you’re going to do in your free time now that most of the world has been shut down. But, you know, me and my family, we’ve been working on making the best of what we have and we’re pretty grateful for all that we have considering our options right now.“
What do you miss the most before your area shut down?
Mattea: “I really miss acting and doing big shows. Now I think I never really realized how much I loved to do it until now because, once you realize that you have something and it’s gone for a little bit, you miss it a lot.”
You played as the younger version of Elsa on Frozen II and you were also part of the Broadway Play of Frozen as well. Since everyone knew that you were part of the broadway, how often did you have to hide that you were also part of the second film from your friends and classmates?
Mattea: “I wouldn’t say that long, but definitely quite some time just because it was so confidential. It was going to be a very big Disney film. So probably like about like a year, which isn’t really that bad. But it’s still hard to keep such a big secret from everybody. And I don’t really think anybody figured it out. If they did, they probably didn’t tell me just because, they weren’t allowed to say anything because they knew that they respected that. But I think we did a pretty good job of hiding it from everybody.”
From being on Frozen II and the Frozen Broadway Play which was targeted towards children, to being Millie Manx on NOS4A2 which is targeted for the older demographic, was it a hard transition for you to go from this character on Frozen, to being Millie Manx on NOS4A2?
Mattea: “It’s definitely a hard transition going from cutesy, innocent young princess, to Millie Manx who is hardcore, mature, and tough. But the emotions for both of them are definitely the same, in my opinion. They’re both very loyal and loving and they’re caring characters. When I usually talk to my friends about Millie Manx, they would be like ‘I would never see you as that kind of person’ just because I know in my life, people don’t really associate me with like like gory, danger, and hardcore. But they wouldn’t really expect me to be doing all that stuff.”
So far from what I am seeing, I like the second season of NOS4A2. What can fans expect for the rest of the season?
Mattea: “There’s definitely some moments in the show that I never really had to do before, especially in season two. The horror intensity level goes up so much and even to not just emotionally, but also physically for all the characters including Millie Manx. But without giving too much away, there’s definitely more dangerous adventures and crazy experiences that I get to do the season.”
The first time you seen Christmas Land, did you think for a second that this could actually be a real place to visit for a second?
Mattea: “It’s different to see it in the warehouse where we were filming and from the big screen because, you see a couple of blocks with letters on them and some fake snow. And then you look on TV and it looks like a huge village of all these demon children. So I never expected that all of that NOS4A2 magic can make it look so real.“
Who did you like to work with the most on NOS4A2?
Mattea: “I was working with all of the people that played all the characters on the show because they all have such different acting approaches and they all have different experiences in acting and they all have done different shows. So just see how all of them work well with each other and see how they can bring their own elements to the table. It’s I think that’s the best part of being part of the show. So I love working with everyone! Also, I remember when I used to do school on set and we had a tutor, I would always dread going from scene to scene, then go to school right after because I wanted to do was just film and do my scenes. But I remember Zachary Quinto would kind of like help me with my schoolwork. We would talk out the books I was reading in English or he would kind of motivate me to go do my homework.”
The dynamic between Millie and Charlie are some of my favorite parts of the season so far, because Millie misses her dad and it is very relatable. How much how much input did you had when it came to the development of your scenes with Zachary?
Mattea: “Well, it’s hard to use my own input to play Mallie Manx just because my life and her life is just so different. But the relationship between her and her father I would say, is definitely the same and differing between me and my father just because we both love them so much. And Millie loved her father so much. And we both do anything just to, like, make them happy or to make them proud. But it’s different just because Millie Manx and her father connect on like a gory and a dangerous level. But me and my father, we can connect, you know, realistically like a loving way. You can definitely see that the relationship between them gets more emotionally intense. And Millie is going to discover a lot more about Charlie’s past and where she came from. So there’s definitely going to be a lot more intense moments between them.
Before you got your role as Millie Manx, have you read the NOS4A2 novel to study the character and the source material?
Mattea: “I have not read it. I think I definitely would have been more scared to read it and it is a severally, very big book. My mom actually read it and she said it was a little bit similar to that. So it’s a lot similar to the show. So I could kind of go back and forth on that.”
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com