Let me start out this time by eating some crow. I totally missed that the triple cage had showed up before the Slamboree PPV – most recently at Uncensored 1996. My apologies for botching this right out of the gate.
CAREER KILLER MIKE AWESOME – WCW, 2000
History
Mike Awesome was a “can’t miss” prospect for WCW. He was big (6’6″) and had no problems coming off the top turnbuckle or over the ropes to the outside. Plus, he was hated. ECW fans despised the fact that when he jumped, he was still the ECW world champion. As a matter of fact, Paul Heyman reportedly worked the legal system as fast as he could to keep Awesome from bringing the ECW title on Nitro with him. Not long after, Heyman brought Tazz back from the WWF to take the title off Awesome, but that’s another story.
Awesome debuted on Nitro on the first Russo/Bischoff show – April 10, 2000 – by jumping Kevin Nash from behind and laying him out with a crutch. A monster push appeared to be on the way.
Then came Slamboree. As we saw last week, Awesome chucked Kanyon off the top of the first level cage, putting him into the hospital and a halo. What happened next?
The next night, Awesome took on DDP in a stretcher match. Long story short, Awesome won after nailing Page with a chair (and forcing him to sign divorce papers from Kimberly). Now Awesome was on to something.
He proclaimed himself the “Career Killer” and took on Sting on the next episode of Thunder in an ambulance match. After interference from Vampiro, Sting was inside the ambulance and Awesome was the winner. Three down.
The next Monday, Awesome jumped Kevin Nash and was chased off by Lex Luger. Nash challenged Awesome to an ambulance match, which Awesome immediately accepted. Unfortunately, DDP’s interference cost Awesome the match as he was unconscious after a Jackknife and a Diamond Cutter. The losing streak continued on Thunder two nights later, Awesome took on Scott Steiner in an ambulance match. Awesome wound up losing this one because the Goldberg monster truck showed up in the arena. Yes, you read that correctly. A monster truck cost him the match.
On Monday Nitro, things were going back on track. Awesome was scheduled for a table vs. ambulance match against the Wall. Awesome rolled down to the ring in a wheelchair while wearing a halo, then climbed into the ring and mocked Kanyon a little more. The match was short, as Awesome pitched the Wall over the top rope and through a table. Then Shane Douglas jumped the Wall. Then things went south as DDP showed up and jumped Awesome. Page threw Awesome into the back of the ambulance and it drove away. Still, Awesome got the win, even though beating the Wall was nowhere as prestigious as beating Sting.
On Wednesday Thunder, Awesome got his revenge as Page saw a shot on the Turnertron of Awesome in Kanyon’s hospital room. The next Monday, the momentum switched again, as Page helped GI Bro (Booker T) defeat Awesome in another ambulance match.
On the next Nitro, Page chalked up another victory as he and Miss Hancock (Stacy Keibler) defeated Awesome and Kimberly in a mixed tag match. Finally Awesome started turning things around by fighting off Page when he was attacked during an ambulance match with Corporal Cajun (Lash LeRoux).
Then came the Great American Bash. Awesome took on Page in an ambulance match which he won, after Kanyon climbed out of his wheelchair and hit Page with a Diamond Cutter. Still, a victory was a victory.
After this, however, Awesome began sliding down the card. The next Thunder he wrestled a tag match with Kanyon against the Steiner Brothers. On the following Nitro he was reduced to a guest referee for Jeff Jarrett. He then went into a short feud with Kevin Nash, which Nash won.
It took until the end of June for Awesome to get back into the win column with a victory over Scott Steiner (with help from special guest referee the Cat). On the next Nitro, Awesome was really feeling it as he spent a lot of the show powerbombing WCW staffers through tables in the backstage area. He also had another match against Scott Steiner that night. Despite the fact that Steiner was suspended, Awesome had the referee award him the victory, only to be jumped by Rick Steiner, who succeeded in running Awesome off.
Awesome easily got revenge on Thunder as he sprayed something into Rick Steiner’s eyes and pinned him. Hey, a win’s a win, right? The “winning streak” continued at Bash at the Beach as Awesome won the United States title from Scott Steiner. Sure, he only won because Steiner was disqualified for using the Steiner Recliner, but he did win. As you might have noticed, the monstrous push for Awesome was fading fast.
The fading continued on the July 10 Nitro, as Booker T defeated him for the WCW world title. The loss was compounded as Scott Steiner Steiner Reclinered him after the match. You think he’d hit rock bottom yet? Oh, no. That happened next as Awesome decided he liked one very particular type of woman. Yes, Mike Awesome had stopped being the Career Killer. Now he was the Fat Chick Thriller. And that, my friends, is the end of this story.
Final Analysis
This is the perfect example of what happens when the booker has no idea with what to do with someone after their first feud concludes. Awesome started off strong, but then he found himself sliding down the card once his feud with DDP was over. The Nash feud was a mistake as Nash beat him at every turn and the Steiner feud didn’t help either. To make somebody a monster, you have to book him like WCW did with Goldberg. They have to keep beating people. Unfortunately for Awesome, that didn’t happen.
Where Are They Now?
Following the demise of the Fat Chick Thriller gimmick, Awesome wound up becoming “That 70’s Guy” (even with a replica of the Partridge Family bus) and then joining Lance Storm’s Team Canada (even though he’s not Canadian).
When WCW was bought by the WWF, Awesome was picked up and again seemed to be on the verge of a major push as he was the first WCW star to win a WWF title. Sure, it was the hardcore title, but he did beat Rhyno for it. Unfortunately, Awesome’s push dissipated again (likely because of the WWF writing team’s feeling that WWF wrestlers were superior, as well as the possibility that Paul Heyman still held a grudge over the way Awesome had defected from ECW). In September of 2002, Awesome was released from his now-WWE contract.
After a short stint in NWA-TNA, Mike Awesome returned to the land where he rules – Japan. As of last October, he was competing for the Pro Wrestling Noah group as the Gladiator.
Next Week: What happened to Kanyon after he attacked Page at the Great American Bash?
