Mike Awesome vs Civilian

Date: October 29, 2000
Location: MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV
Source: Armpit reader Troy Anthony, Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Mike Awesome got a run with WCW following his time in ECW, and got a decent push doing a 1970s guy gimmick that was beyond lame. Awesome’s gimmick was just one example of the awful booking and character development that defined WCW when Vince Russo took over the creative end and the company fell apart. Vampiro had been a star in Mexico and showed promise as a charismatic new star, but again was bungled by the inept booking.

The two put on one of the worst matches of the year, which was surprising because they are both good workers. Russo was not actually the booker during this period, but the writers (Ed Ferrara and Bill Banks), both of whom were understudies of Russo, were told to continue Russo’s storylines until he returned to the company (he took time off due to post-concussion syndrome and “stress”). This was also during a time the company was being scouted by potential buyers, and the horrible Halloween Havoc show didn’t do them any favors.

The match started off okay, but after a few minutes, they were brawling into the stands and using foreign objects they grabbed from fans. Vampiro grabbed a cane from someone and hit Awesome with it. Seconds later, that same fan jumped on Awesome and appeared to head-butt him. Security was on him very quickly, but Awesome was able to get a good shot in. Vampiro kind of helped get him down as well, but by the time he could’ve thrown any blows, the fan was subdued.

From that point on, the match was hideous with one blown spot after another. The finish was all messed up, as Awesome couldn’t find what he was looking for under the ring, which we’re assuming was a table. He had powerbombed Vampiro on the outside mat, which looked dangerous. But the finish looked even more dangerous, and had a nasty result. Awesome was likely to powerbomb Vampiro off the top rope and onto a table, but without the table, Vampiro took the bump in the ring. It looked spectacular, but that was because the bump was very real and Vampiro’s head bounced off the mat. It got a pop, but he got a concussion and the next morning he woke up with numb fingers.

Before he got the diagnosis, WCW has inexplicably asked him to take another powerbomb on the Thunder tapings on Tuesday. He had told the company his fingers were numb, and they all saw the nasty powerbomb he took, but still they didn’t care. Absolute and complete negligence on their part, and while we know today how dangerous that would’ve been, even back then it was a bad call that anyone with a brain wouldn’t have allowed.

And that, folks, is just one of the many vivid examples of why WCW died. And it deserved to die, because they killed it with bad booking, bad characters, and bad decisions like that.

Awesome unfortunately passed away in 2007 after hanging himself.  He was in legal trouble following a domestic dispute with his wife, who wanted to divorce him and take the children.