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August 2009 is dedicated to the long, lost WCW. Even the showcase PPV (or special show) is WCW related, Clash of the Champions from 1994. It should be interesting to see what exactly is chosen for this month’s matches.
-Ric Flair(c) vs. Road Warrior Hawk for the NWA Title-
This is an oldie from Bunkhouse Stampede held on January 24th, 1988. There are no introductions here and we just start off right away with the match (not even getting the opening bell!). This is quite an odd pairing. I wonder why Hawk main evented in a solo match against Flair way back when. Flair tries a chop in the corner that does nothing to faze Hawk. Flair tries a shoulderblock that goes nowhere, too, so Hawk casually press-slams Flair. Flair rolls to the outside for a time-out but the ref won’t allow. So he goes back to the ring and takes another press-slam. Flair is sent headfirst into the corner and collapses down in the center of the ring. Hawk stomps a mudhole in Flair as Paul Ellering cheers on at ringside. Flair bails to the outside but when he gets to the apron he is suplexed in. Flair is caught in a bear-hug as the five-minute mark is called. There’s a cool spot where Hawk puts Flair’s shoulders down on the mat while still standing and holding the pair hug for a couple of two-count. Hawk breaks when the pinfalls don’t work and Flair fires away with chops that Hawk just shrugs off. Hawk hits a flying shoulder that sends Flair to the apron and then to the outside at JJ Dillon’s feet. Hawk follows and boots Flair in the face but Flair pokes the eyes and sends Hawk into the barricade. Hawk no-sells that and stalks Flair around the ring and back in. Chops still don’t work for Flair so he goes a bit lower and low blows Hawk. Well, the steroids didn’t shrink it too much yet, I guess. Flair controls and sends Hawk outside and into the ringpost. Some follow-up chops actually show some effect, too. Jim Ross notes this is from the Nassau Coliseum in New York. I don’t know how many of you have been there but that arena is pretty run down right now. I never really cared for it much anyway, probably because the Islanders play there and I am a huge Ranger fan. Flair hits an axe-handle off the top rope (a top rope move actually worked!) and he covers for two.
Flair puts his head down and gets caught with a neckbreaker but he misses a knee-drop and Hawk starts selling the knee. Well, at least he’s not fighting a guy whose finisher focuses on the knee. Oh wait. Flair goes to work on the knee (I would call it old-school but this is 1988 so it is just school now, or maybe new-school, neo-school?). Flair sneaks in another low blow as Ellering intimidates Dillon. Flair smacks the knee of Hawk into the ringpost before locking on the figure-four. Flair uses the ropes because he’s the dirtiest player in the game but Hawk uses his raw power to drag Flair to the middle and then reverses the hold. Flair gets the rope as the camera gets a close-up on Flair screaming (Oh my leg! Jesus Christ!). Flair heads upstairs, bad knee and all, but Hawk catches him and Flair is tossed off. Hawk chops at Flair in the corner but Flair responds with one of his own. Hawk clotheslines Flair out of the corner and accidentally hits the ref, too. The ref is out and Flair is clotheslined to the outside. That would normally be a DQ but there is no ref to see it. Hawk sends Flair into the ringposts and Flair is now cut-open. CUE THE BLACK AND WHITE! Hawk powerslams Flair as JR asks if he can pin him here. Well, you just mentioned not 10 seconds ago that the ref was still out so I don’t think that would be plausible. Hawk sends Flair to the corner and follows with a rebound clothesline. Flair pokes the eye and heads upstairs. Hawk crotches him and super-plexes Flair off. He covers but the ref is still down and out. JJ Dillon comes in with a chair-shot to the back but that did nothing to Hawk. Hawk goes after Dillon but doesn’t see Flair grab the chair. Flair nails Hawk with a chair over the head and the ref arrives to count but Hawk kicks out at two. Hawk is suplexed down but he gets right up. Hawk does the standing punches in the corner as a close up of Flair goes to B&W. They are really inconsistent with their editing these Classics.com people are. Flair grabs the chair that is still in the ring and hits Hawk in the back with it to draw the DQ at 21:25. That was a cheap ending. Flair is sent to the corner and flops to the outside, safely out of harm’s way. The Flair Broomstick rule applies here but there wasn’t anything in this match that really added anything special to it. Plus, the lame ending just didn’t help. It makes sense, I guess, in that you needed to keep both Flair and Hawk strong and Hawk definitely wrestled his best solo match ever but it just seemed to lack that little extra something. ***1/2.
-Mike Rotundo vs. Nikita Volkoff(c) for the NWA TV Title-
This is a January 26th, 1988 match from NWA Pro. Rotundo is the Florida champ at this point and has Kevin Sullivan in his corner. Rotundo is probably better known today as IRS. I was always impressed as the Russian, with the CCCP letters on his tights, was so liked by the crowds and Rotundo, the all-American from Syracuse, was booed. Rotundo stalls a bit to start. Rotundo works on a side headlock takeover that Nikita gets a couple of two-counts on. Nikita fights out and bodyslams Rotundo who rolls to the outside. Since this was TV we head to what was a commercial break and come back with Rotundo holding Koloff in a headscissors. Koloff kips out of it but Rotundo takes Koloff back down with some amateur wrestling take downs. Rotundo is taking it to the champ with takedowns but misses a charge in the corner as we take another commercial break. We resume with Rotundo fighting back out of whatever predicament he was in. Rotundo elbows down Koloff and drops a leg for two. Koloff fights back with powerful rights and charges with an elbow into the corner. A snapmare cover gets two. Oh hey, Earl Hebner is the referee here. Koloff works a front face-lock but Rotundo breaks with what looks like a low blow. Rotundo misses a follow-up dropkick as four-minute remain in the twenty-minute match. Koloff does another snapmare pin for two. Rick Steiner makes his way down to ringside to join Sullivan as part of the Varsity Squad. Rotundo is sent into the corner as three-minutes remain. Rotundo connects with a Lou Thesz press and covers but Steiner pulls Koloff off of Rotundo. Koloff clotheslines Rotundo down but Hebner is too distracted by Steiner. Sullivan comes in and hits Koloff in the throat with a foreign object and that’s enough for the pinfall and the TV title for Rotundo. This was a kick-ass old-school match with some great mat-wrestling and some great psychology. Everything here made sense with what they wanted to do. They weren’t going for flashy but you could watch this and believe what was happening and to me that is a sign of a great match. ****.
-Lex Luger & Ole Anderson vs. Ric Flair & Tully Blanchard in a Steel Cage Match-
This is a neat match from WCW Worldwide and aired on March 5th, 1988. This is the standard tag-team rules (tag in and all that) and Ole starts with Tully. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing some black and white here. Blanchard is tossed into the cage and immediately tries to escape but they are in a cage and there is no escape! Tully is pinballed between Luger and Ole before taking a Luger axe-handle from the second rope. I should note there was a commercial break here and when it returned Flair is chopping away at Luger in the corner but that is just wasting time since Luger is not affected. Luger press slams Flair and Tully before grabbing Flair in a bearhug. Tully breaks that up and Flair and Tully try a double clothesline but Luger ducks and clotheslines both men down. Ole comes in and works the arm of Tully but that doesn’t get very far as Flair gets tagged in. Flair gets whipped into the cage and he tries climbing out over the top but gets caught and pulled down. Tully gets on the top rope to combat Ole but Luger shakes the ropes and Tully falls off. Flair is whacked around in the corner and once Ole lets up Flair flops down. Ole walks into a knee breaker though and we go to another break? What they had commercials every four minutes? We return with Flair in a figure-four but Ole makes the ropes. Arn has made his way to ringside as Tully tries to stop Luger from being tagged in. Tully fails. Luger dropkicks and powerslams him. He drops an elbow and pins but Flair breaks up that pin. Ole goes after Flair so naturally Tully tries to pull Ole off of Flair. This allows Luger to roll-up Tully for the pinfall at 6:50. Arn and Dillon come into the cage and start pounding away at Ole and Luger. Dusty Rhodes makes the save. This was a really short cage match that wasn’t helped by the two commercial breaks. It was okay but not the great classic you would expect from these four in this type of match. **.
-Sting & Michael Hayes vs. Ric Flair & Barry Windham-
This is from WCW Main Event and was first aired on February 2nd, 1989. I will assume this was the main event of the Main Event. Sting and Windham start this off and Windham shoulderblocks Sting down. Sting tries a leapfrog but is caught in a spot that ends up going nowhere. Flair is tagged in and he chops at Sting in the corner to no effect. Sting military press slams Flair and then a charging Windham. Flair returns and is slammed down for two but Sting misses a dropkick. Flair whips Sting to the ropes but Sting just stops and tags in Hayes instead. Hayes does a moonwalk to start but I’m not impressed with that iteration of Jackson’s famous dance move. Hayes is pinned into the heel corner but Hayes fights out and Flair flops down. Flair is sent to the corner where he goes up and over onto the apron where Sting is awaiting. Flair takes a breather. He comes back and hits a few knee drops on Flair but the last one misses. Hayes posts Flair’s knee and he goes for the figure four. Windham tries to save but Sting catches him and puts him in the figure four. Windham is still able to get Hayes to break the hold and while the ref is distracted he lowblows Hayes. Hayes is worked over by half of the Four Horsemen and even tossed over the top. That should’ve been a DQ but Sting is too busy complaining to referee Teddy Long and thus Teddy doesn’t see it. Windham lariats Hayes down for two. Flair is tagged in and Hayes bodyslides him for two. Flair heads upstairs and you can guess what happens next. Hayes makes the hot tag to Sting and he fires away with dropkicks. Windham and Flair double team but Sting sort of runs into Windham to eliminate him. Flair tries chops but that fails. Sting gets the Stinger Splash and locks on the Scorpion Deathlock. Windham breaks and tosses a charging Hayes. Sting covers but Windham breaks. Sting is double teamed and the heels head off the ropes. Hayes trips up Flair and this allows Sting to roll-up Windham (the illegal man) for the pinfall and the victory at 15:34. It’s a fun old-style match with the classic tag-team elements that always work and draw the crowd in. There was nothing extra added to really set it apart from any other above average tag-match. ***1/2.
-Original Midnight Express vs. The Midnight Express in a Loser Leaves Town Match-
This is from Chi-Town Rumble, held on February 20th, 1989. Paul E and Cornette are both wrestling in this match, too. Jack Victory is in for Dennis Condry. Rose starts off with Stan Lane. Randy Rose gets a quick drop toe-hold take-over. Lane responds with one of his own but adds a shoulderblock to the combo. Rose bodyslams Lane and heads upstairs but he’s tossed off the tope and clotheslined to the outside. Victory is tagged in but he’s quickly taken down with a drop toe-hold allowing Bobby Eaton and Cornette to drop an elbow onto Victory. Rose is tagged in and he gets punched by Cornette. Heyman tries to punch Lane (as Rose holds him) but he hits Rose instead. Rose is pissed at Heyman and stares him down so Lane rolls him up for two. Eaton is brought in and he slugs Rose to the outside. Eaton follows but gets slammed into the barricade. Eaton is body-slammed back in the ring and Heyman is tagged in so he can stomp at the beaten and battered Eaton. Eaton gets up and Heyman quickly tags out. Cornette is tagged in but Rose doesn’t tag in Heyman. He instead bodyslams Cornette first. Heyman now comes in and throws some boots Cornette’s way. Heyman covers for two. Heyman works over Cornette in the corner but Cornette eventually makes it back up. Heyman tags in the actual tag wrestlers and Victory pummels Cornette a bit before Eaton bulldogs Victory. Cornette is able to make the tag to Lane. Lane comes off the ropes but runs into the knee of Heyman. That distraction allows Victory to attack from behind. Rose powerslams Lane for two. Lane is dumped allowing Victory to get in some cheap shots. Rose hits a second-rope axe-handle to the outside on Lane. Lane backdrops out of a piledriver attempt but Victory is tagged in to keep the ring cut in half. Victory hits a back suplex and brings Rose back in who covers for two. That’s an odd maneuver. Victory couldn’t cover him? Anyway, Victory comes in only to charge at Lane and run into his foot. Lane is able to make the hot tag. Baaaaack body drop for Eaton. A missile dropkick follows and Eaton takes Victory’s hand and tags in Heyman. Cornette is tagged in and Heyman begs off. Ross tells us that the loser of the fall must leave the NWA. Cornette clotheslines Heyman but Rose breaks up that pin. Rose is tagged in but Cornette is able to make it to his corner and tag in Lane. A pier-six breaks out and all the guys are in the ring. Rose misses a top-rope splash and Lane covers for two. The heels regain control but the faces recover and Rose takes a double face smasher from the Midnights. He’s covered at 15:51 and he must leave town. The match just cuts off here without any celebration or post-match festivities. This was a formula tag-match though the inclusion of Cornette and Heyman changed that dynamic somewhat. It was a decent match but it didn’t set my world on fire or anything. **1/4.
-Road Warriors vs. Doom-
This is a WCW Power Hour match-up from February 23rd, 1990. You know, I am not familiar with Doom. JR mentions Mean Mark Callous and an attack he did on the Warriors. Mean Mark Callous would become the Undertaker by the end of the year, a gimmick he still holds to this day. Doom is a team comprised of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed. Simmons and Animal start with Simmons attacking Animal from behind. Animal comes back with a monkey flip and a flying shoulder block. Why would he use the monkey flip of all moves on Simmons? Reed and Hawk enter the match. Hawk atomic drops Reed before clotheslining him down. Doom takes a little break as the Legion of Doom await. Reed is press-slammed by Animal and it’s another time-out for Doom. Hawk comes in with a arm-bar. That’s a rare mat-based maneuver for the power-house LoD. Hawk bodyslams Reed for two. He takes a double elbow and Animal goes after that arm. It’s not often you see the heel in peril. This is like a total flip-flop of the usual tag-team formula. Of course, as soon as I write that Animal is pulled to the outside by Simmons and he’s double-teamed. Animal is covered right next to Hawk and Hawk is so sure of Animal kicking out he just chills on the apron. Animal is sling-shot into the bottom rope before stopping a charging Simmons with a big boot. Reed is tagged in and prevents Animal from tagging out and hits a second-rope elbow for two. A double-suplex nets a two from Doom. Reed powerslams Animal but a splash hits the knees of Animal. Animal makes the really hot tag to Hawk and he’s on fire. He gets a back drop, a neckbreaker and flying shoulderblock. He covers but Simmons breaks. This draws Animal into the fray. Hawk is dumped and Doom tries to set up Animal for a double-team clothesline off the top but Hawk shoves Simmons off and hits a top-rope clothesline on Reed to finish this at 12:38. The tag team formula worked marvelously here and even though both teams are known for their power they were able to keep things going and keep the drama building. ***.
-Ric Flair(c) vs. Junkyard Dog for the WCW Title-
This is a really cool pairing between the two hall of famers and it took place at Clash of the Champions XI on June 13th, 1990. During the introduction you see one of the worst paintings of Ric Flair I’ve ever seen. Ole Anderson is with Flair at ringside. JYD is a lot bigger than he was when he was in the WWE. Flair shoves JYD so Dog slaps him down. They lock-up and JYD shoves Flair down a couple of times. He continues overpowering Flair before punching him over the top and to the outside. Flair flops on the entrance ramp before coming into the ring and begging off. This just sets up a poke to the eye. Flair chops at the Dog but they have no effect. JYD slugs away at Flair in the corner. Flair does the only thing that has worked for him this match and thumbs JYD in the eyes again. Flair cuts him down and drops a knee but JYD is right back up. JYD backdrops Flair after sending him to the corner. Flair bails to the apron but he thumbs the Dog and stuns him on the top rope. Flair grabs a chair and whacks JYD in the head with it while the ref is distracted. JYD no-sells that and punches away at Flair in the corner again. Flair is sent to the corner and he flips to the apron and runs across the apron and scales the turnbuckle. He comes off with an axehandle but he runs into JYD’s fist. Flair is sent to the corner and JYD again backdrops Flair on the rebound. Flair gets a shot in from behind and heads up but JYD catches him and tosses him off. More punches from JYD and this draws Ole Anderson. He attacks JYD to draw the DQ at 6:08. The rest of the Horseman come in to work over JYD. Sting, Luger and Mr. Wonderful come out to make the save. This was terrible. For some reason they didn’t do a Flair match and instead opted for a JYD WWE style match and it just didn’t work out. It was literally punch-punch-punch-back drop-no sell and repeat. ¼*.
-Owen Hart vs. Rip Rogers-
This is a very rare Owen Hart match from WCW Power Hour dating March of 1991. Wow, where the hell did they find this one? Owen is in a neon yellow singlet as the fans seem to chant faggot at Rip Rogers. Owen rolls him up for two and follows with a small package for one. The ref was out of position there. Rip knees Owen in the chest before shoulderblocking him down. Owen follows with a hiptoss, a bodyslam and a dropkick that sends Rip to the outside. Owen drags him back in and atomic drops him. Owen sends Rip to the corner and monkey flips him out. An enzuigiri follows for Owen but it wasn’t a Michaels killer enzuigiri. Rogers comes back with a rake to the eyes. He sends Owen to the corner but a second whip is flipped out of by Owen. Owen follows with a belly to belly and he dropkicks Rogers to the outside. Owen rips out a sweet suicide dive through the ropes before hiptossing Rogers on the mat. A dropkick follows and he sends Rogers back in. He hits a flying body-press (that almost over shoots Rogers) for the pinfall at 4:25. This was a really cool and long Owen Hart squash. **.
-Steiners, Nikita Koloff & Sting vs. Rick Rude, Jake Roberts, Big Van Vader & Super Invader-
This big tag match is from Clash of the Champions held on September 2nd, 1992. I don’t know who the Super Invader is. This is an Elimination (or Survivor Series Type) match. Rick and Vader start things off and they’re going to the powerhouses right away. They trade right hands and the fans just don’t care. They’re pretty quiet. Vader charges in the corner but runs into a boot. A short-arm clothesline turns the tide for Vader and he squashes Rick with a Vader bomb and another clothesline. Rick manages to unleash an overhead belly to belly on Vader which looked impressive. Invader and Koloff are tagged in. We see a bunch of shoulderblocks and clotheslines before Koloff cross bodies the Invader for two. Rude is tagged in and promptly gets booted in the face. Scott is tagged in and he goes to work on Rude’s arm. Rude tags in the Invader but he doesn’t do much, taking a gut-wrench suplex and an overhead belly to belly suplex. He sends Invader to the ropes to set up the Frankensteiner but he doesn’t see Rude tagged in. Rude trips up Scott and Rude hits a swinging neck-breaker and a follow-up elbow for two. Jake comes in to make his money but he’s out about as quickly as he went in. Vader forearms away at Scott in the corner. Rude comes in and gyrates before running into a tilt-a-whirl slam. This enables Scott to hot-tag Koloff and he shoulderblocks down the recently tagged in Jake Roberts. Koloff tries to take on all comers but he runs into the knee of Rude and Roberts is able to school boy him for the pin at 7:24. Sting comes in for the first time and he manhandles the Invader before pinning him at 8:02. He pretty much just used transition moves to finish him off. Rick comes in with a clothesline on Vader and a release German Suplex. That is impressive. Rick heads upstairs and leaps at Vader but he’s caught and powerslammed down. Vader climbs the ropes and hits a splash off the second rope for two.
Rude is tagged in as commentator Jesse Ventura makes a reference to Rude not getting hit as hard in WCW as he did in the amateurs, a thinly veiled reference to the WWE. Rick makes the tag to Sting but the ref didn’t see it due to heelish tom-foolery. Vader goes to the second rope again but this time Rick catches him and powerslams him down. He covers but Rude breaks up that pin. Vader tries a suplex but Rick falls behind him and tries to pick him up for a top-rope Steiner line. He can’t get him up and that totally messes up everything as now Steiner clotheslines Vader out of the ring. Ross and Ventura wonder if Rick got DQ’ed but it was Scott who was DQ’ed at 11:44. Rick gets counted out after taking a Rude Awakening outside at 12:25 as Vader makes the count back in. It’s one against three now. Sting puts Roberts in the Scorpion Deathlock but Rude breaks it up. Rude comes in and is bulldogged for two. Jake distracts the ref and this allows Vader to hits a splash off the top rope. He falls on both Rude and Sting and both guys are knocked out. Vader is DQ’ed at 14:25 for his top rope move, which explains why Scott was DQ’ed earlier. So the ref DQ’es Vader and Jake literally comes in and pulls Rude into the heel corner. Jake is tagged in and easily puts Sting away with a DDT at 15:14. This was actually a good match until Rick couldn’t pick up Vader. All hell broke loose after that and no one had any idea what was going on and the match really suffered as a result. **1/4.
-Ron Simmons(c) vs. Bobby Eaton for the WCW Title-
This is a rare Ron Simmons title defense from WCW Saturday Night dated December 26th, 1992. I’ve never seen Ron defend the title before. Newer fans may know Ron Simmons as Farrooq, or one-half of the APA. Eaton has Michael Hayes in his corner. Simmons showcases his power by shoving Eaton out of the corner. Simmons takes Eaton over with a side-headlock. Eaton pulls Simmons over for a pinfall but that only gets two. Eaton looked like he had the pinfall but Eaton was using the tights and the ref caught it. This spot is repeated about 14 times before we do anything productive. Simmons bodyslams Eaton and then goes after him with some JYD headbutts. Simmons sends Eaton to the corner and backdrops him on the rebound for two. We slow it down some more with a Simmons bearhug. Eaton fights out of it and suddenly Simmons is selling this like it’s the 50-minute point of the match and he’s been worn down for a long amount of time. Unfortunately, it was Eaton’s ONLY offense thus far and just makes Simmons look weak. Simmons ends out outside and Eaton follows. Eaton is hiptossed and bowled over. A powerslam finishes this at 6:25. This was tres boring. It was a Simmons squash but he didn’t look strong in the process. *.
-Hollywood Blondes(c) vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the WCW Tag Titles-
This match-up took place at Clash of The Champions from June 17th, 1993. This came about when Brian Pillman and Steve Austin (The Hollywood Blondes) poled fun at Flair’s interview segment with one of their own, “Flair for the Old.” Pillman pokes fun at Flair a bit to start before getting tossed down by Arn Anderson. Pillman slaps at Arn in the corner and Arn is having none of that. Pillman gets stunned over the ropes and Arn calls for Austin. Austin comes in and makes fun of Arn’s gut. Arn tags in Flair and the fans go wild. Flair chops away at Austin and back drops him out of the corner. He pulls in Pillman and chops away at him, too. Arn crotches Austin via the ringpost as Flair continues chopping away at Flyin’ Brian. Austin continues getting worked over by the Horsemen as both Flair and Arn go after Austin’s arm. Arn goes to the ropes but Pillman catches him and chokes him and this allows Austin to stomp at him. The Blondes work over Arn but Arn fights back and when he ducks an Austin butt splash Arn is able to tag in Flair, but not before getting his knee taken out by Pillman. Flair atomics drops Pillman and clotheslines Austin to the outside. The Blondes try a double clothesline but Austin is tripped up by Arn and Flair hits a flying forearm on Pillman and covers him for the pin and the first fall at 9:40.
The second fall starts with Pillman and Flair exchanging chops in the corner. Flair is whipped to the other side but he flips onto the apron, chops Pillman and chops down Austin. Pillman recovered and elbowed Flair to the outside and Austin follows that with a suplex to the mat. Austin and Pillman continue double-teaming Flair outside until Arn comes over with a chair. Austin comes in and chops at Flair in the heel corner where nefarious double-teaming is certain to occur. Flair is super-plexed and Austin lazily covers for two. Pillman comes in but Flair fights back with chops of his own. Flair and Pillman shoulder-block each other and Flair is able to make the hot tag to Arn. Arn hits the spinebuster on Austin but Pillman breaks up that pin. Pillman also chops the leg and puts Arn down. Austin covers but only gets two. Pillman comes in and starts working over the leg. There’s a long period of silence now on the commentary track where Jesse Ventura’s voice should’ve been heard. I know it was Jesse because you could hear it slightly on the audio. I wonder why his commentary track was deleted? Pillman locks in a half-crab and Austin cheats by applying a little more pressure. Pillman breaks and tries a leap off the top but he finds the boot of Arn instead. Arn makes the hot tag to Flair and he cleans house. He tosses Pillman over the top but the ref doesn’t see it (it would’ve been a DQ). Flair back suplexes Austin and tries a figure-four but Barry Windham comes in and attacks Flair. The DQ is called at 20:48. Arn and Flair win but because that last fall was DQ they do not win the titles. This was a really fun match but I don’t know why the Blondes didn’t pick up a decision and the ending was really cheap. Still, all the parts with Flair in the ring were awesome. ***1/2.
-Ric Flair vs. Steven Regal for the Marquis of Queensbury Cup-
This was a little tournament held by WCW and we start with a third round match-up from WCW Worldwide 05/07/94. There is a five-minute time limit for this match and there are three judges at ringside. Flair goes right after the leg but Regal makes the ropes. Regal gets a hiptoss and goes after the arm. Flair flips out and gets Regal in a single leg crab. Regal makes the ropes but Flair goes right after that injured, taped up leg of Regal. This is a mat-wrestling-only match with points deducted for punching and that sort and at five-minutes is short enough that it doesn’t get boring. Flair keeps attacking the leg as Regal tries attacking the arm. Regal shoulderblocks Flair down. Regal goes for a side headlock but Flair back suplexes out of it and locks on the figure four. The time expires before Regal can submit. The five-minutes actually expired at 5:13 but it is close enough. Flair awarded the winner via decision. Flair goes to shake Regal’s hand but Regal bails. That’s not very gentlemanly! This reminds me of a very old-school 60’s type of match. **1/4.
We also get the fourth round match-up between Flair and Regal. It’s funny what a difference a week makes. Flair was without a title last week but is the WCW champ this week. Flair goes to work early with a side headlock take-over but Regal rolls him over for two. Regal throws an uppercut which is legal according to these rules. Regal knocks him down but must wait for Flair to get up. Regal puts Flair in a cross bow but Flair turns his body weight and covers for two. Flair chops down Regal and works the leg of Regal. Regal tries a backslide with 30 seconds left for two. Flair chops away but gets sent to the outside over the top. That would normally be a DQ but not so with these rules. Time expires at 5:00 and we go the judges. We get a cheap draw ending and that will lower the rating from the first one. **.
-Sting vs. Rick Rude in an I Quit Match-
This is from an episode of WCW Worldwide from May 14th, 1994. Rude calls for a test of strength but of course cheap-shots Sting. Sting responds with a trio of back trips and connects on a fourth one, too. Sting sends Rude belly-first into the corner, hanging him in a reverse tree of woe. Sting puts Rude in a Camel Clutch of sorts. Sting sits down on Rude’s back to wear it down but Rude catches on and quickly turns around and lifts his knees to block. Rude works a nerve pinch which is odd since he’s not fat or Samoan so I wonder why he’s worked that into the moveset. Rude realizes this and puts a sleeper on instead. Sting fights out and with Rude on his shoulders he falls backwards to slam Rude down. Rude is up first and heads upstairs but an axe-handle attempt lands into the fist of Sting. Sting gets a fifth back body drop before hitting an atomic drop. Sting misses a dropkick and this allows Rude to clothesline Sting down. Rude takes out a Coal Miner’s Glove as Vader comes up on the screen to distract Rude. Sting attacks from behind and clotheslines Rude over the top. Rude runs to the back and the bell is called for at 10:00 as the footage ends. So, what was the decision? The announcers mentioned something about a count-out so we’ll go with that. This was really boring. Actually it was one of the most boring I Quit matches I’ve ever seen. The lack of any sort of finish was really annoying and drops this rating a lot. *1/2.
-Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat-
This is a momentous match from WCW Main Event held on July 25th, 1994. It is the last ever televised match between Flair and Steamboat. Feeling out process to start concludes with Flair pulling Steamboats hair to knock him down while in a wristlock and Steamboat kipping back up. Flair throws an illegal punch while the ref is distracted and he knuckles Steamboat in the corner. Flair drops a knee before tossing Steamboat over the top. That would’ve been a DQ but the ref was distracted by Sensuous Sherri, who is in Flair’s corner. Sherri gets in some cheapshots on the outside, too. Steamboat stares down Sherri and this allows Flair to knee Steamboat in the back. Steamboat makes it to the apron where he’s met by Flair. Flair pounds away before resorting to stomping and choking. Sherri continues with the cheapshots, too. Steamboat fights back with some chops and Flair flops down in the center of the ring. Steamboat chops Flair to the outside and the two exchange chops at ringside. Flair begs off once inside the ring but Steamboat is having none of that. Flair is backdropped out of the corner and Steamboat follows with a dropkick. Flair begs off but quickly pokes Steamboat in the eye. Steamboat fires back with chops but Flair covers Steamboat in the corner and uses the ropes to get a couple of two counts. Flair shoves the ref and the ref shoves him right back. Steamboat bodyslams Flair for two. A press-slam follows and Steamboat shoots Flair into the corner. Flair goes up and over to the apron where he’s chopped to the outside and where he flops once more. Flair hides behind Sherri and sucker punches Steamboat. Steamboat continues firing away with chops before sending Flair inside. Steamboat heads upstairs but his chop fails and Flair punches him in the gut. The ref is bumped after Flair runs into the ref on an Irish whip. Steamboat gets a couple of roll-ups and the visual three-count, Sherri is bumped when Flair runs into her, too and Flair heads upstairs only to be tossed off. Steamboat locks on the Figure Four. Sherri tries to break but Steamboat cradles her to put her out of commission. Steamboat breaks and atomic drops Sherri to the outside. Steamboat heads upstairs with a cross body but there’s still no ref. Stunning Steve Austin runs out but Steamboat wards him off. The ref finally revives and calls for the bell at 12:04. Steamboat gets triple teamed until Ricky Morton and someone else run out to chase the heels away. There was too much interference here to even compete with any of the previous Flair/Steamboat classics but these two work together so well that anytime you can watch them it’s always gonna be at least really good. ***1/2.
-Ricky Steamboat vs. Jean Paul Levesque-
This is a WCW Saturday Night match from September 3rd, 1994. This is a great historical oddity. This isn’t on Classics.com for the Ricky Steamboat match, no, no, no. It’s the guy he’s wrestling. If you didn’t know, Jean Paul Levesque is a little better known now as Triple H. Levesque cowers in the corner to start. Triple H doesn’t look quite as big as he does today. He’s quite thin here, probably about as thin as Steamboat is right now. Steamboat works a side headlock take-over. Levesque breaks and tries sending Steamboat over the ropes but Ricky skins the cat and goes back to the side headlock. Steamboat sends Levesque to the corner and back suplexes him for two. Steamboat tries another one but Levesque pokes the eyes to break. Steamboat is sent to the corner but he ducks a charging Levesque. Steamboat charges but misses Levesque and hits his shoulder on the ringpost. Steamboat comes back with a clothesline but he uses the bad shoulder and he immediately sells it. Steamboat rolls to the outside where he’s followed by Levesque and he stays on that shoulder. He sends Steamboat shoulder first into the ringpost. Levesque even stuns the arm of Steamboat over the top rope. Levesque even pulls out a hammerlock bodyslam. I always like that move and it’s obvious that it still works the arm and even the most dense person could pick up the psychology of a move like that. Levesque does a second hammerlock bodyslam but when he tries for the third one Steamboat shows his guile and small packages Levesque for the pinfall at 7:28. Levesque attacks Steamboat after the match. Levesque was doing a bunch of things here he would abandon when he went to the WWE. He worked really well with Steamboat here. **1/2.
-Wahoo McDaniel vs. Dick Murdoch-
This is a Slamboree match from May 21st, 1995. Now you may be asking yourself why the hell these two “veterans” were wrestling years after they retired. Well, WCW wanted to look back on their history and decided to hold a legends match at Slamboree that would be presented in black and white. They even got Gordon Solie to call this match. The fans seemed less than interested in this match as you can see all the people leaving for their bathroom break. Wahoo armdrags Murdoch who sells it like he’s broken his back. Given his age, maybe he did. Wahoo shows his moveset by pulling off another armdrag. Wahoo fights back with some dusty elbows before working the arm. Wahoo fights back with a chop and this action is going so fast and frenetic that I can hardly keep up! Murdoch goes all lucha on us by going to the top rope with Wahoo standing in front of him and kind of just falling on top of him. This devastating maneuver only gets two. Wahoo comes back with a chop that ends this at 6:18. I am completely flabbergasted. I don’t even know what to say. Bobby sums it up best, “I bet he’s glad this is over.” DUD.
-Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair & Vader-
This is the second 1995 Slamboree Match to make it onto the Classics website this month. The Renegade (a Ultimate Warrior knock-off) appears to be in Hogan’s corner. Hogan and Vader start things off. Wait, I mean stall things off. Vader corners Hogan and pounds away but Vader misses one shot so badly that even Bobby Heenan points it out. It’s so bad that Hogan has no choice but to fight back. He clotheslines Vader to the outside where Randy follows with his patented top-rope axehandle. Vader comes in and double clotheslines the two before tossing Savage. Flair attacks Savage as the referee is distracted because he’s Ric Flair and that is what he does. Savage makes it back and gets chopped in the corner only to have Savage fight out of that. Flair is sent to the corner and he flips onto the apron; running right into a Hogan big boot. He staggers to the entrance before flopping down. Hogan drags him back to the ring where he’s clotheslined right back to the outside by Savage. Flair returns with a poke to the eyes but Savage is able to tag in Hogan. Flair tries a chop but that doesn’t do anything. Hogan follows with a clothesline before Flair goes to the eyes. Flair heads upstairs and is tossed off. Hogan puts Flair in a figure four. Vader tries to stop him but the ref wards him off. So Arn Anderson comes in and Hogan small packages him while still holding Flair in the figure four. That’s a great way to stop an attacker, rolling him up. Hogan lets off the hold to usher Arn to the outside and this allows Flair to take out Hogan’s knee. There’s a huge giant standing at the entrance apron and this looks like the first appearance of The Giant, Paul Wight. Meanwhile, Vader suplexes Hogan and celebrates but doesn’t see Hogan get right back up. Hogan tries a back drop but Vader sees it and just bowls him over. Vader whips Hogan to the corner and Hogan does the slowest run I’d ever seen. Usain Bolt he is not. Vader avalanches him and drops the Vader Bomb. Instead of covering Vader wants a top-rope Vader Bomb. That misses. Flair is tagged in but can’t stop the hot tag to Savage. Savage back drops Flair and pounds away at him in the corner. Savage whips Flair and tries to follow up but runs into an elbow. Flair heads upstairs and for the second time this match he’s tossed off. Savage with a flying elbow drop and a cover but Hogan distracts the ref (Why?) and Arn pulls Savage to the outside. Savage goes after Arn but runs into Vader instead. Renegade prevents any other sort of double-teaming from occurring. Vader connects with a moonsault on Savage that gets two. Flair comes in and fires away with chops but Savage counters with a clothesline. Savage makes the hot tag to Hogan and he cleans house, bodyslamming both Flair and Vader (and ripping every muscle in his back as a result). Hogan gets a big boot but when going off the ropes for the leg drop Arn trips him up and Hogan re-injured his bad knee. Flair covers but Hogan kicks out and hulks up. Vader and Savage are brawling on the outside as we head to a wide angle shot to see everything. Arn interferes again but hits Flair with an axehandle off the top. Hogan leg drops Flair and this is over at 18:56. While an entertaining match it wasn’t OMG good. ***.
-Alex Wright vs. Arn Anderson(c) for the WCW TV Title-
This is from Slamboree held on May 21st, 1995. This is the third match featured from Slamboree on Classics.com this month. They trade a lock-up to start with Wright pulling off an armdrag. Wright outsmarts Arn with a dropkick and seemingly has a counter for everything Arn throws at him. Wright gets an enzuigiri and flips out of another blocked kick with a dropkick. Arn tries an enzuigiri of his own but Wright ducks out and goes for a submission. We take a cut for some reason (though it didn’t effect the match at all) and come back with Arn on the outside and Wright coming back with a pescado. We return to the ring with Wright working the arm but Arn breaks and starts working the throat of Wright with some old school choking. Arn goes to the spinning toe hold but Wright kicks him off to the corner. A spinning heel kick and a suplex follows for Wright and he heads upstairs. A missile dropkick gets two. Alex puts his head down but Arn counters with a small package that is then countered by Wright for one of his own. Arn is sent to the corner but he fights out. He goes to slug Wright and Wright tries ducking but Arn had the kid outsmarted and DDT’s Wright for the pinfall and the victory at 10:38. I really liked the psychology of the match. You had Wright really taking it to the veteran and trying his best to outsmart Arn. Unfortunately for Wright, the wily veteran showed his experience and was able to secure the win. The match was a bit too slow at points but was enjoyable to me on a couple of levels. ***.
-Sting vs. VK Wallstreet-
This wasn’t chosen for the match itself but for the commentary. The match took place on Nitro on September 11th, 1995. Bischoff reads off the results of Raw (Michaels beats the big guy with a superkick) from that night. VK Wallstreet is better known to WWE fans as IRS or to wrestling fans as Mike Rotundo. The VK thing was a jab at Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Sting corners Wallstreet and VK doesn’t try to break clean. Sting blocks and hiptosses Wallstreet down before dropkicking him into the corner. VK is sent hard to the corner and he bails to the outside. Once back in he sidesteps a charging Sting and sends him through the ropes to the outside. Sting makes it to the apron and tries a slingshot clothesline that misses by a mile. VK drops a pair of elbows and tries a fireman’s carry that Sting flips through and sunset flips Wallstreet for two. Sting follows with a clothesline and knee to the back to send Wallstreet to the corner to set up the Stinger Splash. A top rope crossbody finishes this at 4:12. This was just an extended squash that featured some blown spots and that is never good in a short squash match. *. This wasn’t on here for the quality though. It was on here because Bischoff gave away the Raw results in one of the first big uppercuts thrown by WCW in the Monday Night Wars.
-Hulk Hogan(c) vs. The Giant for the WCW Title-
These two battled it out at Halloween Havoc on October 29th, 1995. The Giant looked pretty good here. He was a lot thinner than he is now and actually looked menacing. The Giant was tossed off a roof prior to this match on this same night I believe. Only in wrestling can a man fall from a great height and show absolutely no signs of injury. Giant charges with an axehandle but Hogan sidesteps. He has the Taskmaster stuff painted on his forehead and it looks like his mustache is gone. Hogan pounds away but the Giant doesn’t topple. Remember that game, Topple? I don’t think they make it anymore. It was one of those games that was fun to play but a mess once it finished and no one wanted to clean up. Plus it was easy to lose the pieces. Hogan tries to slam The Giant but ends up tearing every single muscle in his back. Giant chops away at Hogan in the corner before forcing him down in a test of strength. Hogan is bodyslammed and Giant tries a legdrop but Hogan manages to avoid it. Hogan sends Giant headfirst into the turnbuckle before scaling the ropes for the ten-punch-count in the corner. Hogan clotheslines the Giant to the outside and the Giant tries to take a powder and leave to the back. Hogan catches him and brings him back to the ring. Heenan mentions Nitro for the second time this match. Because I am sure everyone paid for this so that they can hear ads for the free show the next night. Hogan tries to knock down the Giant but the Giant sideslams Hogan and covers for two. The Giant locks Hogan in a bearhug and after what seems like an eternity Hogan breaks. He runs into a chokeslam and the Giant covers for two. We have the Hulk Up kick-out and a whole lot of punches (Heenan: He’s thrown 1000 punches tonight!). Hogan bodyslams the Giant and hits the legdrop. He covers but Jimmy Hart, at ringside for the Hulk, hits the referee to knock him out. The Giant looks up to see what’s going on before going down again. Hart shoves the ref down again before hitting Hogan. The Giant makes it back up and puts Hogan in another bearhug. That’s just great. You have your opponent all out of sorts and instead of putting him away with your finisher you lock him in a bearhug. Taskmaster adds some insult to injury until Luger and Savage make their way to ringside. Luger immediately turns on Savage and beats him as the Yeti comes into the ring. The Yeti starts humping Hogan, or at least that’s what it looks like. Luger puts Hogan in the Torture Rack, too. The ref is still out for those paying attention. Savage gets the Lucky Pierre treatment by the Yeti and Big Show, too. Heenan exclaims that you will never see a PPV like this again and I am thankful for that. The ref just stops the match at 16:54 and makes The Giant the winner but since he won via DQ the title doesn’t change hands. I didn’t even know this was a title match since the announcers never once mentioned it during the match. This was beyond terrible. DUD. I like that this was put on WWE Classics.com because of the nonsense that was the Yeti but that’s 20 minutes I’ll never get back again.
-Introducing: Finlay-
Finlay first debuted in WCW as the Belfast Bruiser Fit Finlay. He also says he thought his first opponent, Mike Marcello, was a bit too low on the totem pole for him. He got the name way back when he was 19. Finlay talks about his feuds with Regal and his favorite match with him was his Nitro parking lot brawl. We see his first match, too. It is from WCW Saturday Night from February 10th, 1996. Fit is interviewed by Gene and his feud with Regal is started right away. He attacked Regal two weeks earlier on an episode of Saturday Night and we see clips of that. So it’s Finlay vs. Mike Marcello. Marcello takes an early short-arm clothesline and a bodyslam. Marcello tries a sunset flip but Finlay catches him and drops a knee. The piped in crowd reaction is pretty annoying on this episode. Finlay does an Irish nerve-pinch (the same as a Vulcan nerve-pinch but done by an Irishman) before elbowing Marcello in the face. Finlay goes after the arm before powerslamming Marcello. Finlay spears him in the corner and knees him in the face. A Tombstone ends this at 3:30. Well it was a nice squash to put Finlay over at least. *.
-Finlay vs. Steven Regal-
This match comes to us from WCW Nitro and first aired on April 22nd, 1996. This is a Parking Lot Brawl. There’s a good set of fans out there watching this match. There are some cars lined up around there with their lights on. Did anyone notify the drivers of those cars? Finlay tries a boot but Regal ducks and Finlay’s boot goes through the glass. Finlay finds a cinderblock but Regal pokes the eyes and grinds Finlay’s face into it. Finlay fights back with a tire and a bumper. Regal is bodyslammed onto the hood of a car before Finlay chokes Regal with a “safety strap,” or a seat belt. Regal clotheslines Finlay into a truck bed. Regal slams Finlay into a car that blows out a window in a cool visual. Finlay’s hand is cut open now. Finlay fights back with the bumper and tries a tombstone but Regal fights out of it. Regal tries a bodyslam on the hood of a car but Finlay back drops out of it. Regal is up quickly and piledrives Finlay on the top of the car for the pinfall at 6:16. This was a fun brawl. **1/2.
-Lord of the Ring Battle Royal-
This nugget is from Slamboree, the 1996 version held on May 19th. This is a battle royale where you can be eliminated either by being tossed over the top rope or through a pinfall. Let’s see, we have Public Enemy in here, The Barbarian, DDP, Robert Eaton, Ice Train, Dick Slater and Scott Norton. Barbarian hits a big boot on DDP and he heads over the top. He was supposed to skin the cat (I think) but one foot hit the bottom. The ref didn’t see it so he stays. This is really boring. We have a lot of punching and kicking and little else. Rocco Rock is back dropped over the top at 3:42, the first man gone. Robert Eaton is knocked out by Slater’s boot at 4:00. Robert turns on his manager, I guess and Dick Slater goes out and attacks him. I guess he was eliminated off-camera because the announcers say he’s gone, let’s say at about 4:22. Scott Norton is back dropped out by DDP at 4:30 leaving just Barbarian, Johnny Grunge, Ice Train and DDP. DDP gets all three with Diamond Cutters and he’s able to ping and eliminate Grunge (at 5:35) and Ice Train (at 5:41). He covers Barbarian but Barbarian kicks out. Barbarian tries a roll-up but that only gets two. Barbarian tombstones DDP (and almost kills him) but DDP is able to kick out at two. Barbarian power bombs DDP for two. Barbarian misses a flying headbutt and DDP gets a Diamond Cutter for the pinfall at 9:34. This was really bad and disjointed. I just couldn’t get into the flow of the match and having 8 guys in there doing nothing was boring and even the solo Barbarian/DDP match was boring. *1/4.
-Sting & Lex Luger(c) vs. The Steiner Brothers vs. Harlem Heat for the WCW Tag Team Titles-
This was a Nitro match from June 24th, 1996. Luger has on the Sting face-paint. Booker T and Scott Steiner start, both looking a lot different than they would during their late WCW run. Scott is looking a bit more buff since the last time he was in the WWE. Scott hiptossed Booker T but Booker sends Scott to the ropes where Stevie Ray kicks Scott in the back and Booker hits a spin kick for two. Scott fights back with a double-underhook slam. He covers but Luger breaks up that pin. Rick and Stevie Ray have a go and this leads to Rick getting a release German Suplex. He covers but Booker breaks up that pin. Scott tags in and he actually tags in Sting. Sting is double teamed in the Harlem Heat corner but Booker misses a spinning heel kick and crotches himself on the top rope. Sting powerbombs Booker and covers for two. Sting tries a splash out of the corner but hits the knees of Booker. Stevie is tagged in and he bodyslams Sting for two. We take a Nitro commercial break and return with Sting working on Booker with a chinlock. Booker stuns out of it and brings in Stevie Ray. A powerslam gets two. Booker is tagged in and gets a spinning heel kick. He covers but Rick makes the save. Booker tries a splash off the top but Sting evades and he’s able to tag in Luger. Luger cleans house but the Outsiders make their way top the ring with baseball bats. Everyone is distracted by the Outsiders at ringside and this allows Harlem Heat to roll-up Luger for the pinfall and the titles at 9:14. That’s really secondary to the main angle going on here and that is the Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) being at ringside with arm police officers preventing them from getting into the ring. Let’s go ** for the match.
-Rey Misterio vs. Dean Malenko-
This is a Nitro match-up from July 8th, 1996. This was an outdoor Nitro and was the night after Bash at the Beach and the famous origin of the New World Order. I think Dean Malenko would work a lot better in the current WWE as a MMA-style wrestler with all the different moves (1,000 of them!) he could do. Malenko with a quick go-behind into a pinfall gets two. Rey comes back with a rana and an armdrag take-down sends Malenko bailing to the outside. Malenko tries a suplex once back in but Rey breaks free. Rey tries a springboard but Malenko catches him. Malenko tries to send him to the corner but Rey ducks and Malenko hits. A pair of springboard dropkicks get two for Rey. Malenko tries a powerbomb but Rey arm-drags out of it but runs right into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A T-Bone suplex follows for two. The commercial break comes and goes and we come back to Malenko sending Misterio up in the air and letting him fall. A powerbomb gets two. Malenko hooks an a Camel Clutch. When that doesn’t work he breaks and Rey comes back with a roll-up for two. Malenko picks Rey up to suplex him but just drops him gut-first over the top rope. Malenko puts Rey in a reverse chinlock and adds a body-scissors to it, too. Malenko dumps Rey and hits a nice brainbuster suplex on the mat. Malenko brings Rey in and slams him for two. He tries a pump-handle slam but Rey falls on top of him for two. Malenko is head-scissored to the outside and Rey tries an asai moonsault that just glances Malenko. Rey gets up first and sends Malenko in. He follows with a top rope rana for two. Malenko is bodyslammed and Rey follows with a split-legged moonsault for two. Malenko heads upstairs and puts Rey over his back and jumps off and hits a gutbuster while in the air. That was awesome. Malenko covers but picks Rey up at two. An overhead belly to belly suplex is next and Malenko picks up Rey at two again. That proves to be his downfall as Rey rana’s Malenko into a pinfall to become the new Cruiserweight champ at 9:31. This was a really cool mix of styles. Malenko was methodical in his work on Rey and not methodical in the Undertaker sense (slow and plodding). Rey worked in some high-spots that didn’t detract from the matches story. This was a good match to pick for this month. ***.
-Eddie Guerrero vs. Psychosis-
This is the second featured this month from the July 8th, 1996 WCW Nitro. Eddie takes down Psychosis with a side headlock as Rey cuts a promo about his match with Psychosis. Eddie and Psychosis do some mat wrestling as Rey habla’s espanol. Eddie armdrags Psychosis out of the ring and Psychosis gets his hand caught on the ropes going out which looked painful. Psychosis makes it back to the ring and sidesteps a charging Eddie to send him to the outside. Psychosis follows with a top rope somersault to the outside. Once back in Psychosis goes after Eddie’s shoulder. He stuns it over the top rope. Eddie sneaks in a hurricanrana for a two-count. Psychosis heads upstairs for an axe-handle but Eddie catches him and uses the gravity of Psychosis falling down to atomic drop him. That is a really cool move. Eddie charges Psychosis in the corner but misses and hits the post with his busted shoulder. Psychosis follows with a top rope rana for two. Psychosis heads upstairs for a possible moonsault but Eddie catches him. Psychosis flips over with a sit-down powerbomb for two. Psychosis heads upstairs but Eddie catches him again (some people never learn) and super-plexes him off. The ensuing Frog Splash ends this at 8:32. It was a bit slow in the opening minutes but it picked up nicely at the end. **1/2.
-Lord Steven Regal vs. Lex Luger(c) for the World TV Title-
These two battled it out on August 31st, 1996 on an episode of WCW Saturday Night and was that shows main event. Regal has Geeves with him. This was right at the beginning of the New World Order stuff and that’s what the announcers are talking about, calling them common thugs. Dusty says this needs to be stopped. Of course less than 5 years later it wouldn’t be and WCW would be dead. Regal takes an early shoulderblock from Luger. Regal slows things down and tries to work the arm but Luger reverses. Luger backslides Regal for two and hiptosses Regal to the outside. Regal returns and after breaking in the complete opposite of what many would consider clean starts throwing forearms at Luger and stomping at him in the corner. I like this intensity from Regal. Luger makes a comeback and starts tossing Regal around before clotheslining him down. Luger suplexes Regal and covers for two. Regal’s saved by getting his foot on the rope. Luger hits a forearm which Dusty mentions is a heavy steel forearm. Did the WCW acknowledge that WWE angle? So Regal ends up on the outside and Luger follows. Luger rolls Regal back in where the referee checks him out. While the ref’s back is turned the Outsiders come from the crowd to attack Luger. They send him into the ringpost and back into the ring where Regal covers for the pinfall and the title at 7:40. This was a really good TV match and before the Outsiders attack it was shaping up to be a really memorable title change. Both guys showed a lot of intensity tonight for some reason. **1/2. Regal is interviewed after the match. He will defend his title everywhere and make WCW proud.
-Syxx(c) vs. Eddie Guerrero for the Cruiserweight Title in a Ladder Match-
This is from the Souled Out PPV held on January 25th, 1997. I think this was a New World Order PPV with basically all the NWO guys going over. Eddie blindsides Syxx to start but Syxx quickly gets the upper hand. Syxx tried for a tilt-a-whirl but Eddie falls down and Syxx sort of stands there looking like an idiot. So they repeat the spot with Eddie getting a head-scissor and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker that sends Syxx outside. Eddie follows with a top rope splash. We head back in and Eddie misses a blind charge leading to a Syxx spinning heel kick from the top rope. Syxx sets up Eddie for the Bronco Buster and he succeeds in slamming his crotch into Guerrero’s face. Eddie dropkicks Syxx to the outside as Bischoff says Syxx is a real black belt unlike Steven Segal or Jean Claude Van Damme. Syxx gets to the apron and Eddie tries to suplex him in but Syxx reverses and Eddie is dumped. Syxx follows with a somersault plancha. Syxx gets the ladder and he needs the help of one of the crew to get the ladder into the ring. Eddie catapults the ladder using the ropes and it slams into Syxx’ face. Eddie slams the ladder into the back of Syxx. Syxx recovers and it is his turn to use the ladder. Eddie is suplexed and Syxx scales the ladder before opting not to. He folds up the ladder and rides goes upstairs and wants to ride the ladder down onto Eddie. Eddie dropkicks the ladder and Syxx is crotched. Eddie superplexes Syxx and sets up the ladder. They both climb up and both take a spill off the ladder. They head up again and Syxx punches Eddie off but as Eddie falls he knocks into the ladder and Syxx falls off, too. Both men climb up the ladder and both are able to unhook the title. They battle over it and Eddie uses the belt to knock Syxx off and gain the title at 13:48. the New World Order announcers are pissed and they want to get this ruling reversed because Eddie used a foreign object to win. This was a really unspectacular Ladder Match in my opinion with a couple of blown spots early on and only one or two really cool high spots. It was a decent ladder match but nothing ground-breaking. ***.
-Road Warriors vs. Steiner Brothers-
This is a Nitro match from March 11th, 1997. This is a really interesting match-up. I expect to see a whole bunch of power moves here and not too much technical wrestling. Scott immediately gets a belly to belly and a gut-wrench suplex on Hawk. He tries a top rope belly to belly but Hawk shoves him off and hits a flying clothesline and follows with a neckbreaker. Rick and Animal are tagged in and Animal powerslams Rick before dropkicking him. Rick comes back with his big clotheslines and a release German suplex. Animal takes a tope rope suplex from Rick and an overhead release belly to belly from Scott. The Steiners continue working on Animal until Animal and Scott both clothesline each other in the middle of the mat. Hawk is tagged in and he clotheslines down the Steiner brothers. Scott is clotheslined to the outside and Rick takes a flying shoulderblock. Rick is powerslammed and the Warriors set up the Doomsday Device. It hits and Animal covers but Scott disrupts that pinfall. Animal is dumped and Scott follows. Animal is sent to the barricade as Hawk takes a release German suplex. The Steiners try their own Doomsday Device but it is broken up by Animal. Scott ends up hitting a top rope clothesline on Hawk which is reciprocated by Animal. Animal takes a Frankensteiner but Hawk breaks up that pin. Hawk takes a top rope bulldog but Animal hits Rick with a spiked pad and knocks him out. Hawk covers for the pinfall at 10:08. A lot of the spots here looked a little off, meaning that they weren’t executed all that well and looked a tad sloppy. I would love to have seen these guys wrestling 7 years earlier. It’s a fun power match-up. **1/4.
-Madusa vs. Akira Hokuto(c) for the WCW Women’s Title-
This made it to the WCW Spring Stampede PPV held on June 15th, 1997. If Madusa wins she’s the WCW champ and if she loses she has to retire. Akira slaps down Madusa to start before tossing her down by her hair. Were all of Madusa/Blayze’s feuds against foreign people? Madusa takes a sick hair toss bump before getting choked. Akira piledrives Madusa but can’t capitalize. Madusa responds with some second rope dropkicks for two. Madusa does a sit-down splash onto Akira as she’s in the seated position which looks like a good move to work someone’s neck. Hokuto comes right back with a suplex and more choking. Hokuto tosses Madusa via a gut-wrench release suplex before locking in a spinning toe hold. Madusa makes the ropes and Akira bites the toe before breaking the hold. Madusa says screw selling the leg, I’m gonna kick Akira 9 times. Madusa gets small packaged as a result for two. Akira sends Madusa to the corner but Madusa flips over and kicks the charging Akira in the face. That was a really slow move to execute and looked too contrived. Madusa comes off the top rope with an axehandle but she buggers up her own knee in the process. Akira starts focusing on that knee and suplexes her over for one. Madusa must’ve gotten some spurt of adrenaline because she not only hits a handspring rana in the corner but follows that with a POWERBOMB for two. Akira comes back with a superplex for two. Madusa tries for the German suplex but Akira pulls her leg out from under her and starts stretching out the knee. Madusa eventually makes the ropes and Akira has to break. Akira misses a top rope dropkick and Madusa responds with a German suplex (using the ropes to help wrench Akira over) and it should be over if not for Sonny Onoo pulling Madusa’s leg. Akira bodyslams Madusa and heads upstairs She tries a splash but Madusa puts her knees up. Really? Madusa clotheslines Akira for two. Madusa tries a belly to back suplex but the knee gives out. Akira finishes this with a Michinoku Driver at 11:42. The psychology was kind of wonky at times and a few spots seemed too contrived but it was a decent women’s match. Let’s call it **1/4.
-Curt Hennig(c) vs. Diamond Dallas Page for the US Title-
Starrcade featured this match-up way back on December 27th, 1997. DDP has his ribs taped which is just a target now for Hennig. DDP gets a quick roll-up for two. DDP tries for a Diamond Cutter but Hennig rolls out of it and to the outside. He’s too smart for that he exclaims into the camera. We head back and DDP takes down Hennig with a side headlock. Hennig corners DDP and breaks with a knee to the gut and chops. Schiavone says they are to the ribs though they are clearly hitting his chest. DDP comes right back with the side headlock take over. DDP hits some sort of a side Russian legsweep. Hennig bails and DDP tries to bring him back in but Hennig pulls him down over the top rope. Hennig makes it back to the ring and sits down on the ribs of DDP. DDP is dumped and sent into the steel steps. Hennig works a chinlock and even uses the ropes for leverage. DDP breaks it with a jawbreaker. DDP starts swinging away and a slugfest ensues. DDP wins it and Hennig bumps to the outside. A slingshot cross body follows for DDP and Hennig is sent into the barricade. DDP crotches Hennig on the ringpost before coming back to the ring. He tries for a Diamond Cutter but Hennig hangs onto the ropes to block. Hennig covers and uses the ropes but it only gets two. While Hennig argues DDP rolls him up for two. Hennig clotheslines DDP down for two. Hennig tries the Perfect-plex but DDP counters and drops down. Both men revive but a double right sends them both down again. DDP catches Hennig with a Diamond Cutter and after the one-two-three he becomes the new US Champion at 10:54. This was a decent match. The crowd sat on their hands the whole time and that certainly didn’t help but there was nothing here that was outright bad. ***.
-Diamond Dallas Page(c) vs. Kevin Nash for the WCW -
This is a Thunder match-up from January 8th, 1998. Schiavone talks about the vacant WCW title. We actually get the DDP introduction (with the Smells Like Teen Spirit rip-off) as well as the introduction of Nash. Nash has Hogan with him as well. This is from Thunder’s debut which is running over its allotted time according to the boys announcing. This is also Nash’s return match from a knee injury. DDP sends his shoulder into Nash’s a few times until Nash wisens up and clotheslines DDP down. DDP tries a hiptoss that doesn’t work but a neckbreaker does work and it gets two. DDP puts his head down and gets clubbed in the back. Nash knees at DDP in the corner but DDP responds with some punches of his own. So Nash sends DDP back into the corner and follows with a clothesline. Side slam gets two for Nash. Nash dumps DDT and sends him to the stairs, something the crack camera crew almost misses. Nash brings DDP into the ring and does the sit-down splash on the ropes. Nash drops DDP onto the top turnbuckle before dropping an elbow for two. Nash tries to drop DDP again but DDP counters and tries a Diamond Cutter. Hogan interferes with a punch to the gut and that ends this thing with a DQ at 6:36. Hogan and Nash are about to double-team Nash until the Giant comes in. Nash and the Giant stare down as Thunder is out of time. This wasn’t all that impressive. Nash and DDP moved very slowly and I just couldn’t get into the match at all. *1/4.
-The Giant vs. Kevin Nash-
These two met at WCW Souled Out, an event held on January 24th, 1998. I’ll be honest, I’m not expecting too much from this one. The two guys stare down with Giant shoving Nash aside. Nash responds with a devastating side headlock which the Giant back suplexes out of. I should mention that Nash has Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff in his corner. Giant does the standing butt thrust into the gut of Nash, a staple of Andre the Giant. Nash takes a powder break. Nash sends Giant to the corner and follows with a clothesline. The Giant liked that move so much he does it himself. He chokes Nash in the corner with his boot. Nash leapfrogs Giant, the only time I can remember him doing a leapfrog. Nash clotheslines Giant to the outside and Nash follows with a terrible looking pescado where the Giant was supposed to catch him and slam him into the ringpost. Amazingly, Giant sort of catches him and deadlifts him and still slams him into the ringpost, albeit chest first. Nash is rolled back into the ring and while the ref checks up on him Hogan comes around and whacks Giant in the back with a chair. Giant beats the ten-count back into the ring. Giant revives and clotheslines Nash down but a double big-boot knocks both guys out. Nash is up first and covers for two. He slugs Giant in the corner but the Giant walks out with an atomic drop. The Giant throws a bevy of clotheslines followed by a big boot. Nash is bodyslammed and he calls for the chokeslam. Bischoff gets on the apron and he’s chokeslammed in over the top rope and down. Nash grabs a pot of hot coffee and splashes it in the eyes of Nash and follows with a low blow. Nash tries for the power bomb and tries to get him up. Giant does the best he can to help out Nash but Nash isn’t strong enough and drops the Giant right on his neck. That was Sid-Pillman bad. Ouch. I mean the Giant did the best he could to help Nash but Nash couldn’t lift him at all. Damn. Anyway, that ends the match at 10:45 and Paul Wight is lucky not to have broken his neck there. Nash blew about all of the moves he tried and half-assed it through the match and that never helps a match’s rating. The Giant really busted his ass though and made it into a passable match. **.
-Ultimo Dragon vs. Billy Kidman-
These cruiserweights squared off at WCW Nitro on February 16th, 1998. Kidman attacks from behind and sneaks in an elbow. He sends Dragon headfirst into the corner. An Irish Whip is reversed but Kidman ducks a blind charge. Dragon flips onto the turnbuckle (so his head is on the top corner) and he dropkicks Kidman. Dragon gets a rolling bodyscissors that finishes with a sunset flip cover for two. Kidman ends up on the apron and comes in with a springboard headscissors take-over. Kidman bodyslams Dragon before hitting a springboard legdrop for two. Dragon fights back with some chopping but an eyerake puts things back in Kidman’s favor. We go to a side headlock take-over and I ask why we are resting already? It’s only three minutes into the match. Dragon headscissor’s out of it and keeps Kidman locked between his legs. Kidman breaks and boots Dragon in the face when he telergaphs a back drop attempt. Dragon fights back with what JR would call educated kicks. We see the giant swing and both men are dizzied up and out. Wow, a double KO spot at 4:30 into the match. Dragon tries a hurricanrana but Kidman rolls through and that is rolled through by Dragon for a two-count. Kidman comes back with a springboard bulldog. He tries another one but Dragon kicks him in the face to block. Dragon runs off the ropes and is powerslammed for two. Kidman heads upstairs but Dragon is right up and he crotches Kidman. Dragon hits a top-rope rana. Dragon tries his Dragon sleeper but Kidman counters. Dragon just dropkicks him in the back Another attempt is blocked. Kidman hits a sit-down slam for two. Kidman tries a suplex but Dragon flips over and locks on the sleeper to end this at 6:52. This wasn’t a great match and it was lackluster during the rest periods but the ending was hot. **1/4.
-Hollywood Hogan vs. Randy Savage in a No-Disqualification Match-
Savage put the WCW title up for grabs the night after he won it from Sting on Monday Nitro way back on April 20th, 1998. I guess the New World Order Powers explode? Hogan has the Disciple in his corner. The Disciple is Brutus Beefcake for those who didn’t know. There is a lot of stalling to start here. Savage still wasn’t incredibly roided out yet. He still looks like he did in his final days with the WWE. Hogan is shoulderblocked down and immediately backs off. Hogan responds with a back-up and by gawd that will show him. Hogan pounds away at Savage in the corner in plain view of the camera. Hogan talks smack and calls him a piece of crap. Hogan resorts to choking and the Disciple gets in on the fun. He stops before the ref could see but what would it matter? The ref can’t DQ him. For that matter, why was the ref counting when Hogan was choking Savage? What was he going to do when he was done counting? Hogan with a belly to back suplex gets a two. Savage rolls to the outside where the Disciple shoves him to the barricade and Hogan chair-shots Savage on the back. Hogan actually misfired on the first chair shot and hit him on the shoulder or something. So Hogan sends Savage back to the ring and starts working on the bum knee of Savage. We know it is a bad leg because of the knee brace on it. Now, why the hell didn’t Hogan use the chair before and ram it into his knee instead of his back? Hogan uses his belt on Savage outside before trying a leg drop inside. It misses and Savage uses the belt. He bodyslams Hogan and heads upstairs. He hits the big elbow but he landed on his injured knee and can’t cover. Man, that thing is still injured 6 years after Flair used the figure-four to regain the title from Savage. Talk about a lingering injury. So Hogan gets up and works in a spinning toe-hold. Hogan puts on a figure-four but Savage is able to make the ropes. Of course, this is no DQ but Hogan breaks the hold anyway. Hogan goes back to choking and he breaks when the ref counts. Does anyone even know the stipulation of this match? Savage starts choking Hogan and the ref tries to break it so Savage tosses him down. Beefcake runs in and gets a neckbreaker on the referee. Savage is double-teamed, something Beefcake could’ve accomplished in plain view of the referee with no reprisal but hey, what do I know. Savage gets his knee posted into the unwavering steel (“And it’s heavy steel! – Tony Schiavone) as Hogan tells the camera he heard a snap. Hogan lays out Savage with the title belt and Nash finally makes his way out. Bischoff holds Nash’s leg and now he is double-teamed. He ducks a belt shot and the Disciple is out of play. Nash tries a power-bomb but he’s kicked in the back by Bischoff and he’s laid out. Nash hits the powerbomb on Hogan and drapes Savage over Hogan. He tries to revive the ref but Bret Hart runs out and lays out Nash with the belt and puts Hogan on top of Savage and pulls the ref into view. Hogan is the new WCW champ at 15:36. Piper runs out and is like, what the hell is going on? Well, he made this no DQ. It was not their Wrestlemania V match but I have to admit, I got pulled into the story at the end and Hogan actually busted out a moveset for this (spinning toe-hold and figure-four) and showed some psychology to boot. **1/2.
-Chris Jericho(c) vs. Juventud Guerrera for the Cruiserweight Title-
This comes to use from the April 20th, 1998 Nitro. This starts right away with Juvie attacking Jericho in the corner. Juvie charges and Jericho flips Juvie over but he lands on the apron and he pulls Jericho down. Juvie works a reverse chinlock Jericho lifts up Juvie and is ready to spinebuster Juvie but falls backwards to drop Juvie over the top rope. Juvie ends up on the apron and Jericho tries a springboard body press but misses. Juvie follows with a springboard somersault press. He rolls Jericho back in and a somersault spinning heel kick gets two. A DDT gets two. Jericho tries a German suplex but Juvie flips out of it. Juvie tries a hurricanrana but Jericho catches him and puts him in the Liontamer. Juvie tries to break free but can’t and he submits at 3:41. Well, the guile of Jericho wins out. This was really too short to be worthwhile but that’s 1998 Nitro for ya. *
-Juventud Guerrera, Ciclope & Super Calo vs. Silver King, El Dandy & Damien-
This should be a decent spot-fest from WCW Saturday Night that aired on June 6th, 1998. I know Juventud but I have no idea who anyone else is. I’ll assume Damien is the one with the face paint. This is Lucha-rules. El Dandy is in blue tights. Ciclope is in an orange outfit that looks like he’s a pumpkin. So that leaves Super Calo as the other one. Ciclope misses a charge but hits a missile drop kick from the top for two. Calo comes in but takes a boot to the face and a super kick from Silver King. Calo is headscissored down but like most matches like this there’s no need to sell moves. Calo hits a missile dropkick of his own for two. Damian misses a dropkick on Juvy and Juvy responds with a seated dropkick. Juvy charges at the heel corner and takes a tough fall on the back of his neck. Juvy is chopped down but he comes back with a rana for two which Silver King reverses for two. Juvy with a victory roll into a cradle for two but King comes right back with a clothesline for two. Dandy tries a dropkick on Juvy but Juvy ducks. Ciclope is in and he’s sent to the outside through the bottom rope. Dandy follows with a suicide dive and Calo follows with a plancha. With everyone else outside Juvy hits Damian with a Juvy-driver to end this at 5:44. I wasn’t crazy about this but it served its purpose I suppose. **.
-Diamond Dallas Page vs. Bret Hart(c) for the US Title-
Bret was challenged by DDP on the October 26th, 1998 edition of Nitro. Hart takes down Page to start but Page rolls up Hart for two. A swinging neckbreaker gets two for Page. He tries for the Diamond Cutter but Hart ducks out and atomic drops Page. Page tries fighting back but is clotheslined down to quell that surge. A side-Russian legsweep gets two for Hart. Hart works a side-headlock and he uses the ropes for leverage. Hart DDT’s Page for two but while he argues with the ref DDP is able to mount a comeback. He throws a discus clothesline and flapjacks Hart for two. Page heads upstairs but is crotched and Hart follows with a superplex that knocks both guys out. Hart does crawl over and covers for two. Hart picks up DDP but DDP rolls up Hart for two. Hart misses a blind charge in the corner (and runs in chest-first) and DDP school boys him for two. Bret won’t stand for this insurrection and hits a backbreaker followed by the second rope elbow for two. DDP fights back and sends Hart head-first into the corner and continues slamming but Hart with a back kick hits both DDP and the ref in the groin. Hart takes out an illegal object and swings but he misses and DDP hits a Diamond Cutter to pin Hart and win the US title at 10:47. Hart lays into DDP with a chair after the match before putting him in a Sharpshooter. Goldberg comes out to make the save as the footage ends. Why not show the save, WWE? I thought this was a really well executed match. It wasn’t flashy but it was technically sound. ***1/4.
-Eddie Guerrero & Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Misterio & Billy Kidman-
This is a Nitro battle from December 28th, 1998. I see Eddie in his LWO shirt and I realized I had completely forgotten about that. Eddie throws Juvy into the corner to start and tells him to get on the apron. They mention that Juvy is subservient to Eddie. Eddie and Rey start and Rey is shoulderblocked down. Eddie follows with a back suplex. Rey responds with a Mexican arm-drag and a tilt-a-whirl back breaker that sends Eddie cowering to the ref. Eddie tags in Juvy and Billy is tagged in. Juvy goes to Eddie for advice but he just shoves him back in and into a Kidman clothesline. Juvy comes back with a bulldog. Kidman back suplexes Juvy out of the corner and tags in Rey. Rey bronco-busters Juvy and Juvy tries to tag out but Eddie won’t have any of that. They continue arguing as Kidman and Rey look on. That is a big mistake as Juvy and Eddie attack and Kidman is suplexed by Eddie. There’s a big contrived spot where Kidman back drops Eddie only to get headscissored by Juvy and Juvy takes a springboard dropkick from Rey. Juvy and Eddie end up outside where we have stereo somersault splashes. We head to commercial and come back with Juvy locking Kidman in a headlock. Kidman breaks and Juvy misses a splash in the corner. He looks to take a tough fall on his neck/back but he gets up right away. Rey gets the hot tag and dropkicks Eddie before head-scissoring Juvy into a pinfall. Eddie breaks up that pin and powerbombs Rey. Kidman breaks up that pin. Eddie props Rey on his shoulders and Juvy comes in with a springboard splash for a pinfall that is again broken up by Kidman. Eddie airplane spins Rey into a slam and his cover is broken up by Kidman. That’s the hat trick for Kidman! Juvy comes in with a guillotine leg drop and Kidman breaks up that pin, too. Eddie tries to whip Rey into Juvy’s boot but Rey reverses and Eddie takes the boot. I’m surprised Eddie didn’t rough up Juvy for that. Instead he just tags him in. Eddie chops away at Rey. Kidman interferes and this leads to Juvy and Eddie running into each other. Kidman gets tagged in and back drops Eddie. Juvy gets a back drop of his own, too. Rey springboard butt splashes Eddie off of Kidman’s shoulders but the pin is broken by Juvy. Kidman blocks a powerbomb with a face-buster and Rey follows with a springboard leg drop for two. I thought that was over. Things break down for Rey and Kidman after that. Rey and Kidman run into each other and Kidman is dumped. Rey is tosses and Juvy hits a nice suicide somersault splash onto Rey. The frog splash finishes off Kidman at 13:47. The pace was quick, almost all the spots hit and the spots themselves were well-done. This was a great cruiserweight match. ***1/2.
-Gregory Helms vs. Jamie Noble vs. Shannon Moore vs. Evan Karagias vs. Kaz Hayashi vs. Yang-
This is a huge Cruiserweight match from WCW Superbrawl Revenge held on February 19th, 2001. This should be an entertaining spot fest. Noble and Moore start and anyone can tag anyone else. The winner gets a title shot against Chavo Guerrero. Noble tries a powerslam but Moore flips out of it. Moore grabs a sleeper which Noble back suplexes out of for two. Noble sends Moore to the rope and Helms tags himself in. Moore tosses Noble to Helms and Helms powerbombs him. Noble is dumped, followed quickly by Three Count and the Yung Dragons follows with double springboard moonsaults. Noble ends up back in the ring and the Yung Dragons double-team him. When was Helms tagged out? Noble tries a German suplex but Kaz lands on his feet and head-scissors Noble into the middle turnbuckle. Yang tries a powerbomb but Noble armdrags out of it. Noble gets a neckbreaker for two. Karagias is tagged in by Noble and it looks like someone blew a spot as Karagias and Yang start slugging it out. Karagias dropkicks Yang down before Yang blows an armdrag reversal. Karagias does a springboard moonsault but doesn’t cover because it looks like another spot is blown. Helms tags himself in and before going after Yang stomps a mudhole in Karagias. Helms gets rolled up for two. Helms goes off the ropes and Moore tags in and Three Count double teams Yang with a double team Fireman’s Carry slam for two, in a pin broken up by Kaz. Moore gets hung up in the ropes so Helms comes in. Kaz is tagged in but a pier-six erupts and Karagias sets up Kaz upstairs. He tries a superplex but gets crotched instead. So Helms tries to take advantage of Kaz and he is able to superplex him. Helms lands on the mat so Yang tries a splash (and misses) and then Helms tries a moonsault (and misses) and Karagias and Noble miss their moves from the top. So it’s a sextuple KO. Helms is up first and Noble takes a wicked spin kick to the back of the head from Yang. Kaz is superkicked to the outside. Yang takes a superkick into a German suplex from Three Count. Helms leaps outside onto Yang, followed by Karagias, followed by Kaz, followed by Moore’s asai moonsault and completed with Noble’s somersault splash onto Helms. Karagias heads into the ring with Kaz and hits a spinebuster for two. Karagias lifts up Kaz in a powerbomb position and Noble follows with a springboard dropkick. Noble covers but Karagias pulls him off and tries to cover. Noble gets bumped to the outside by Yang (and helped by Karagias). Yang blows a lionsault so he does a neckbreaker to eliminate Karagias at 10:22. The fans didn’t like that blown spot and boo that. Noble tombstones Yang to end his night at 10:56. Noble hits a springboard dropkick to knock Moore to the outside. Helms takes a flying forearm from Noble and Noble goes upstairs. Moore catches him and does a Rocker Drop from the top rope to eliminate Noble at 11:58. So it is Three Count left against Kaz. Moore backslides Kaz and Helms follows up with a legdrop from the top. A double team airplane spin/neckbreaker follows. Helms calls for a vertebreaker but Moore turns on Helms with a Rocker Drop and covers him. The pin is broken up by a wicked kick to the face by Kaz. Helms breaks up that pin and stomps away at Moore. Moore low blows Helms and now Helms is double teamed by Kaz and Moore. Kaz and Moore continue double-teaming Helms until Kaz punches Moore to the outside. Kaz with a backbreaker sets up a top rope move. Moore comes in and moves Helms out of the way and Kaz misses a moonsault. Helms hits the Nightmare on Helms Street to eliminate Moore at 15:11. So Kaz and Helms are left and Kaz dropkicks the leg of Helms to gain an advantage. Helms tries the Nightmare on Kaz but Kaz counters with a German Suplex for two. Helms gets a neckbreaker for two. Helms heads upstairs and tries a sunset flip but Kaz rolls out and kicks Helms in the face for two. Helms blocks a German suplex and connects with the vertebreaker to end this at 17:30. This was a long match and was good at points but there were few downsides. First, matches like this really depend on the spots and at times the spots were blown pretty badly. Second, there were times this was just a mess. Guys were just hanging around wondering what to do next. It wasn’t the good spot-fest I was hoping it to be. Still, all these guys busted their asses and it wasn’t for lack of trying. **1/2.
-The Bottom Line- When this month started I thought there would be some really awesome early 80’s matches. Sadly, there was nothing here from before 1988 but then I remembered that before 1988 it was NWA everything. I think who ever chose the matches tried to keep this just WCW and as a result we get a lot of matches from the 90’s. It’s a wide array of matches from before the Monday Night Wars (88-94), the height of their popularity (95-98) and their decline (99-01). There are certainly some historic things on here (an early Outsiders appearance for one) and a lot of events taking place near the big New World Order event, like two matches from the next night’s Nitro. You’ll also see a lot of current WWE starts cutting their teeth in WCW. There’s really a lot of everything; the Cruiserweights, the secondary titles, the big names and everything in between. I would’ve liked to have seen some NWA stuff but the Classics team was consistent in picking only WCW stuff. Nothing here topped out over **** but most of these are either too short to be really amazing or have some other sort of value to make most everything on here a good choice. I would’ve preferred some more Flair and more stuff from 90-93 but what is on here represents a nice variety of wrestlers and a nice variety of rare matches. Another winner for the Classics.com team and for $4.00 a month you have no reason not to order this.
Here’s a rundown of matches I didn’t watch this month. Yeah, it was only one match and it is one I’ve seen before.
--Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson (Fall Brawl 1995)
I already reviewed this on Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen DVD and this was a solid **** match.
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