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Worst in the World: Kevin Nash vs Scott Steiner vs Goldberg-New Blood Rising

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Special thanks to Otter Empire for suggesting this match. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.
The worked shoot. An event in a wrestling show that was scripted, but presented in a way to make the audience believe that it was unscripted, frequently using insider terms that the knowledgable fans would know. We've seen it throughout the history of wrestling, with moments such as Brian Pillman's promo from ECW CyberSlam 1996, CM Punk's pipebomb promo, and even Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman on Late Night with David Letterman. All of those are good examples of a worked shoot. For a bad example, you just have to look at...pretty much any one Vince Russo wrote for WCW in 2000. From the commentators slipping insider terms whenever they could to having Hugh Morrus acknowledge that his name was given to him by Eric Bischoff, the frequent blurring of lines between work and shoot did nothing but make an already bad product even worse. Nowhere is this more obnoxious than the triple threat at New Blood Rising between Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and Goldberg in a #1 contendership match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Taking place on a show that already featured a worked-shoot pregnancy angle, this match and its infamous mid-match moment is just about the strongest case against doing worked shoots. Let's get into this.
Kevin Nash comes out first, which prompts Tony Schiavone & Scott Hudson to discuss how Nash guaranteed he'd "go over" this match, our first insider reference of the match. I'd say you could take a drink every time the commentators saying something a mark would know, but I don't want to be responsible for someone dying of alcohol poisoning. Even as Scott Steiner makes his way to the ring, they're still talking about who's going over a how Vince Russo said he's going to do what's best for WCW and what'll happen if Steiner doesn't want to do the job and what's happening behind the scenes. None of this makes the show better. All it's doing is emphasizing that everything happening on the show is fake. Doing worked-shoots like this only hurts the product.
Goldberg's music plays...and no one comes out. They even zoom in on a sign that says "GOLDBERG FEARS GILLBERG"
You know, Gillberg...the guy in the WWF whose sole character trait is making fun of Goldberg. WHY WOULD YOU SHOW SOMETHING THAT PUTS ONE OF YOUR MOST POPULAR WRESTLERS DOWN COMPARED TO ONE OF YOUR COMPETITION'S JOBBERS?! WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF THAT?! After the music stops, they play it again...and no one comes out again. They finally decide to just start the match.
Nash and Steiner lock up, with Steiner forcing Nash into the corner and beating him down. Nash fights back with a few knees and a big boot, sending Steiner out of the ring. Nash follows him out and throws Steiner into the guard rail. Nash drops Steiner across the guard rail before suddenly, Goldberg runs down with taped ribs and a chair. Goldberg floors Nash with a chair to the head and beats down Nash until Steiner breaks it up and throws him back in the ring. Steiner hits a clothesline and a flexing elbow drop for a two count before hitting a big boot and an overhead t-bone suplex. Steiner goes for another clothesline, but Goldberg ducks it and hits a shoulder tackle followed by a mule kick, sending Steiner out of the ring again.
Nash gets back in the ring and trades blows with Goldberg. Goldberg gets the better of the exchange, forcing Nash into the corner and beating him down. Nash turns the tables, but Steiner breaks up his advantage and hits a twisting belly-to-belly suplex for a near fall. Steiner threatens the referee before hitting a clothesline followed by another flexing elbow drop for another near fall, prompting Steiner to yell that the referee sucks. I love Scott Steiner with all my heart. Steiner beats down Nash in the corner, but Goldberg quickly hits him with a butterfly suplex soon after. The two follow up with a double clothesline spot before they both get clotheslined by Nash. Nash follows up with a sidewalk slam on Steiner and a big boot on Goldberg before he calls for the Jackknife. And this is where a mediocre but not terrible match devolves into a borderline disaster.
Nash sets up for the Jackknife, but Goldberg pushes out of it. Goldberg then just...leaves. Vince Russo comes out from the back and confronts Goldberg, yelling at him to get back in the ring.
Goldberg drops one of the seven words you can't say on TV and heads to the back as the commentators theorize that Goldberg was "supposed to do something that wouldn't have made him look good." It's clear as day what they were going for here; the idea that Goldberg went off-script. They sacrificed a marquee match featuring three of their biggest stars for a shot at the world title so they could work the smarks. What the actual fuck is this company?
Steiner knocks Nash out of the ring and hits him with a chair before throwing him into the guard rail and yelling that Canadians suck. The commentators aren't even bothering to try to call the match at this point, just talking about the reasons for Goldberg leaving and how Kevin Nash is a pro for not shoot-punching Goldberg. Back in the ring, Steiner hits a back suplex for a near fall as Tony Schiavone wonders if they'll have to improvise a new finish. I hate everything about this company. Steiner follows up with a backbreaker for a near fall but gets caught with a big boot from Nash when he charges him in the corner. Suddenly, Midajah, not just one of Steiner's "Freaks" but his "Most Favorite Freak" comes down to ringside. Nash hits Snake Eyes, which Mark Madeen gets way too excited about on commentary, before going for a chokeslam. Steiner grabs the referee and throws him to the ground, allowing Midajah to low blow Nash even though this is no-DQ.
Nash recovers quickly and low blows Steiner, prompting Midajah to elbow drop Nash's dick. It was a bad night to be Kevin Nash's penis. Steiner makes the cover, but Nash kicks out. Steiner picks Nash back up, but Nash quickly hits a DDT and makes the cover, only for Midajah to break it up. Nash corners Midajah, only for Steiner to jump on his back. Nash fights him off, hits a big boot, and finally hits the Jackknife for the three and the win to end this absolute mess.

The Verdict

Just awful. Absolutely awful. The actual wrestling isn't too terrible on its own, but everything around it was the absolute pits. The stupid work-shoot stuff made both the match hard to follow and the commentary unlistenable. If you know they're talking about, it's just shameless pandering and removes you from the illusion of wrestling. If you don't know what they're talking about, then you're lost the whole match. To top it off, the last minute or so of this match is a complete dumpster fire. Nothing about this match works at all. I couldn't recommend you watch this match under any circumstances. It's not worth it.

Rankings (Best to Worst)

  1. Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts-WrestleMania IV
  2. Too Much vs Al Snow & Head-King of the Ring 1998
  3. Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 33
  4. Vampiro vs Sting-Great American Bash 2000
  5. T&A vs Head Cheese-WrestleMania 2000
  6. Triple H vs Sgt. Slaughter-D-Generation X: In Your House
  7. Konnan vs One Man Gang-SuperBrawl VI
  8. Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules-WrestleMania IV
  9. Rick Rude vs Hawk-Clash of the Champions XXV
  10. Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera-New Year's Revolution 2006
  11. Steve McMichael vs Reggie White-Slamboree 1997
  12. The Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match-WrestleMania 13
  13. Tag Team Battle Royal-WrestleMania XIV
  14. The Chamber of Horrors-Halloween Havoc 1991
  15. The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc.-WrestleMania VIII
  16. Ivan Koloff vs Paul Jones-Clash of the Champions IV
  17. ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi vs The Kongtourage-Genesis 2009
  18. Ivory vs Tori-SummerSlam 1999
  19. The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)
  20. Jerry Blackwell vs Boris Zhukov-SuperClash II
  21. Nikita Koloff vs Bobby Eaton-Bunkhouse Stampede
  22. Alex Wright vs Steve McMichael-Halloween Havoc 1997
  23. The Great Khali vs Kane-WrestleMania 23
  24. Savio Vega vs Crush vs Faarooq-Ground Zero: In Your House
  25. The Shockmaster vs Awesome/King Kong-Starrcade 1993
  26. Total Divas vs Other Divas-Survivor Series 2013
  27. The Oddities vs Kaientai-SummerSlam 1998
  28. Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice-WrestleMania VIII
  29. Paul Ellering vs Teddy Long-Capital Combat
  30. Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man-Saturday Night's Main Event (10/31/1989)
  31. Tyson Tomko vs Stevie Richards-Unforgiven 2004
  32. Kane vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2009
  33. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Hog Wild
  34. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Souled Out 1997
  35. Dustin Rhodes & King Kong vs Awesome Kong & The Equalizer-Battlebowl
  36. Finlay & Little Bastard vs The Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman-No Way Out 2007
  37. Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania V
  38. Yokozuna vs King Mabel-In Your House 4
  39. Dusty Rhodes vs The Honky Tonk Man-SummerSlam 1989
  40. Sting & Hawk vs Meng & Kurasawa-Clash of the Champions XXXI
  41. Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage-Uncensored 1998
  42. Al Snow vs Big Boss Man-Unforgiven 1999
  43. Mickie James vs Ashley-Royal Rumble 2006
  44. Christy Hemme vs Big Fat Oily Guy-Against All Odds 2007
  45. Stevie Ray vs Konnan-World War 3 1998
  46. Vampiro vs The KISS Demon-Bash at the Beach 2000
  47. Team WCW vs nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood-Fall Brawl 1998
  48. Vampiro vs Oklahoma-Starrcade 1999
  49. Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania III
  50. Van Hammer vs Terrance Taylor-Clash of the Champions XVI
  51. Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot-Wrestling Classic
  52. The Undertaker vs Goldberg-Super ShowDown 2019
  53. Hiroshi Wajima vs Tom Magee-All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
  54. Jim Duggan vs Big Boss Man-Royal Rumble 1990
  55. Meng vs Jim Duggan-Uncensored 1995
  56. Jim Steele vs The Equalizer-SuperBrawl IV
  57. The Undertaker vs Giant González-WrestleMania IX
  58. Sting vs Tony Palmore-Battle 7
  59. D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel
  60. Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai-WrestleMania
  61. Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania XX
  62. Edge vs Triple H vs Vladimir Kozlov-Survivor Series 2008
  63. Kevin Sullivan vs Dave Sullivan-SuperBrawl V
  64. Steve McMichael vs Brian Adams-Road Wild 1998
  65. Scott Hall vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl IX
  66. Boris Zhukov vs Paul Samson-Beach Brawl
  67. Kane vs The Great Khali-Breaking Point
  68. PN News & Bobby Eaton vs Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor-Great American Bash 1991
  69. Scott Steiner vs Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Road Warrior Animal-Sin
  70. Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl 1997
  71. Batista vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2007
  72.  Sable vs Tori-WrestleMania XV
  73. Super Invader vs Todd Champion-WrestleWar 1992
  74. King Kong Bundy & Jim Neidhart vs Yokozuna & Jake Roberts-Heroes of Wrestling
  75. Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker-Clash of the Champions XIII
  76. The 8-Divas Tag Match-Survivor Series 1999
  77. The Fabulous Freebirds vs The Renegade Warriors-Halloween Havoc 1990
  78. The Knockouts Gauntlet-One Night Only: Live! 2016
  79. AJ Styles vs Frank Trigg-No Surrender 2008
  80. Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono-Halloween Havoc 1992
  81. Mike Awesome vs Vampiro-Halloween Havoc 2000
  82. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena-Extreme Rules 2014
  83. Brothers of Destruction vs KroniK-Unforgiven 2001
  84. Mabel vs The Undertaker-King of the Ring 1995
  85. Wendi Richter vs The Fabulous Moolah-The Brawl to End it All
  86. David Flair vs Kimberly Page-Mayhem 1999
  87. The Truth Commission vs The Disciples of Apocolypse-Survivor Series 1997
  88. The Bushwhacker vs The Fabulous Rougeaus-WrestleMania V
  89. The Beverly Brothers vs The Bushwhackers-Royal Rumble 1992
  90. Teddy Long vs Eric Bischoff-Survivor Series 2005
  91. Greg Valentine vs George Steele-Heroes of Wrestling
  92. Abdullah the Butcher vs One Man Gang-Heroes of Wrestling
  93. Major Gunns vs Miss Hancock-New Blood Rising
  94. Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda-RAW (7/8/2002)
  95. Triple H vs Scott Steiner-Royal Rumble 2003
  96. Kevin Nash vs Scott Steiner vs Goldberg-New Blood Rising
  97. Hollywood Hogan vs The Warrior-Halloween Havoc 1998
  98. Mr. T vs Roddy Piper-WrestleMania 2
  99. The Royal Family vs Clowns R' Us-Survivor Series 1994
  100. The Blacktop Bully vs Dustin Rhodes-Uncensored 1995
  101. Team Dos Caras vs Team El Canek-Leyendas Mexicanas 2017
  102. Pat Patterson vs Gerald Brisco-King of the Ring 2000
  103. The Four Doinks vs Team Bigelow-Survivor Series 1993
  104. Sting vs Jeff Hardy-Victory Road 2011
  105. Oz vs Tim Parker-SuperBrawl
  106. The Mighty Maccabee vs The Iron Sheik-Maccabiah Mania II: Shekel Slam
  107. Van Hammer vs Doug Somers-Halloween Havoc 1991
  108. Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant-Saturday Night's Main Event (11/25/1989)
  109. Jeff Jarrett vs Sting-Halloween Havoc 2000
  110. The Doomsday Cage Match-Uncensored 1996
  111. Kane vs The Undertaker-Judgement Day 1998
  112. Rebel vs Shelly Martinez-One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown
  113. Kaitlyn vs Maxine-NXT (10/19/2010)
  114. Sabu vs The Sandman-November to Remember 1997
  115. Seth Rollins vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Hell in a Cell 2019
  116. Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler-WrestleMania XXVII
  117. The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff-Heroes of Wrestling
  118. James Storm vs Chris Harris-Lockdown 2007
  119. John Laurinaitis vs John Cena-Over the Limit 2012
  120. Ultimate Warrior vs Goldust-In Your House 7
  121. Los Villanos vs Los Psycho Circus-Triplemania XXIII
  122. Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell-Victory Road 2009
Thanks for reading. Be sure to share if you enjoyed and leave any suggestions for matches you'd like to see covered on the Worst in the World in the comments below. Next week, I take a look back at a match from the AWA's WrestleRock. Until next time.

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