Just watched this week's WCW NITRO. Time for my weekly thoughs:

• Vampiro against Crowbar was actually a pretty good match. Hardcore-style, with some RVD-style chair spots, but more of them would really help the promotion.



• I really like Booker T as an athelete. That's why I want them to stop sabotaging him.

  
  How? First off, get rid of the catch-phrase. Change it. "Don't hate the playah, hate the game" makes even less sense than most of the phrases that The Rock uses, if that's possible. Also, tell Mark Madden that the "spinarooni!" line is dumb. It isn't an offensive move, just a show of athleticism. The comment makes it seem lame instead.




• Bill Goldberg's 5-minute entrance. It's so long and repetitive, it just deserves people laughing at it, like the Gillberg parody was in the WWF

  
  Entrances much longer than the actual matches just make them look weaker.




• Konnan: how many years has he been doing the same shpiel? No matter his gimmick, he never stops his "Oralé!" bit. It's even more annoying than Road Dogg's repetition in WWF-land. Change it already!

An update/correction on the death of Rodney Anoia, taken from the Wrestling Online newsletter:

- We received reports from different people that Yokozuna passed away in

Liverpool, England and not London as we mentioned in yesterday's issue. We

apologize for the error. Yokozuna's body was found in the afternoon in the

Moat House hotel, the place where he was staying for the UK tour. That

same night, the former WWF champ had to wrestle at Stockport Town Hall

according to published reports. The Liverpool Daily Post said that Yoko

was on a tour promoted by Big Time Wrestling Promotions. Kenny Wayne,

transport manager, found him dead in his hotel room. The shows scheduled

will continue as normal and a 10-bell salute will be rung before every

show that remains to wrap-up the tour. "As a mark of respect the American

wrestlers have requested we carry on the tour, because Yoko would have

wanted the tour to continue," said the local promoter while talking to the

Daily Post. Both the WWF and WCW acknowledged Yokozuna's death during

their television shows yesterday. Rodney Anoai was only 34 years old, was

married and also had two children.

I just read very sad news for anyone, especially for fans of 1990s wrestling: Rodney Aioia, known as Yokozuna was found dead of a heart attack in a hotel room in London, England. I just read of it in the Wrestling-online newsletter, they heard it through 1wrestling.com. He was 34 years old, only a year more than I am, the same age that Mick Foley retired at.

Yoko was no longer allowed to wrestle in the US because of his 600-lb weight. The McMahons tried to get him to lose some of it, but he never did. In the end, it was likely what caused his coronary.

Rodney was related to practically all of the Samoan wrestlers in the sport. I wouldn't ve surpised if Rikishi and The Rock take time off to mourn tonight.

How sad: heaven now has the former WWF tag team champions together (Yoko and Owen Hart) - both way too soon.

I didn't have time to say this after No Mercy last night, as I got home with the necessity to get to sleep for work the next day. Still, to paraphrase Jim Ross:

THE ROCK LOST!

THE ROCK LOST!

THE ROCK LOST!

Ahem. Sorry, I'm back now. As I've stated here before, I've grown to be fed up with Dwayne "The Rock" as World Champion. In Hulk Hogan fashion, he's taken a major beating from an opponent, then pulled a miraculous recovery to a contrived win, for way too long. It made for dull, predictable matches.

Kurt Angle winning the World strap was a surprise; I think he's one of the rare rookies who won it in their first year in the ring (I think Goldberg was the only other). Add that to X-Pac's first good match this year (thanks to the major bumps he took on the cage), and there's enough good to outweigh the mediocre on this event.