klunderbunker
Welcome to My (And Not Sly's) House
Slamboree 1993
Date: May 23, 1993
Location: The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 7,008
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko
This is the final show I need to have everything from Starrcade 1992 Uncensored 1997 so thats why Im doing it. This is another of the legends shows and the first one in the series. That being said, they didnt know what they were doing at this point so the show is likely going to suck. The 94 version is good so Id advise you to go watch that instead. Anyway, the main event here is Vader vs. Davey Boy for the title. Lets get to it.
The opening video talks about how the Legends are the important people here tonight and how the matches between young guys are kind of secondary. Ill give them this: they have a lot of people here that normally arent here.
The Legends are in the ring. Granted they were introduced before the show started so were not even told who all of them are but why should that matter? I mean, weve got Sid vs. Van Hammer to fill in that time!
Maxx Payne, a heel at the time, comes out and plays the Star Spangled Banner on his guitar. Odd but he did that a lot in 93 if I remember correctly as both a face and a heel. After this, some jobbers bring out a throne that I think was used for Madusa in 1991. In this case it contains the Fabulous Moolah, who is Queen of Slamboree apparently.
Missy Hyatt says hi to the fans in Canada. Eric says that Sting wont be facing Scott Norton tonight due to a guy named the Prisoner (Nailz) attacking Norton. And then the lights go out on the interview area. That might be a good hint about whats going on tonight. Due to the lights being off there, we get a shot of the Legends leaving which is just kind of sad for some reason. Eric and Missy talk about the main event to fill in some time. Hey the power is back.
Bobby Eaton/Chris Benoit vs. Marcus Bagwell/2 Cold Scorpio
Benoit means nothing yet and this is one of those old school PPV tag matches that would be on Saturday Night (the show) a few years later instead. Scorpio is totally awesome and Bagwell is still Rookie of the Year as hes always been for the most part. Benoit vs. Scorpio to start which is awesome to me. They do some VERY nice fast paced stuff to start as neither guy can get a solid shot in.
Benoit is sent to the corner and isnt sure what just hit him. Eaton and Benoit cant combine to take Scorpio down either because hes just too fast. The heels (Benoit/Eaton if that wasnt clear) are sent to the floor and we slow things down again. Eaton tries his hand now and the guys with matching tights work over his arm. Bagwell sends him to the floor (ignoring the over the top rope rule as is usual) and brings Benoit in against his will.
The heels have a short meeting on the floor to try to figure things out. Back in and Bagwell works on the arm a bit. Eaton throws Bagwell over the top when no one is looking and Scorpio isnt happy. Theres a top rope knee drop by Eaton for no cover. Back to Benoit who gets that wicked clothesline of his. Benoit with some nice speed stuff here, including a middle rope legdrop for two.
Eaton hits something like a Stun Gun and Bagwell is in trouble. Belly to back to Bagwell gets two. Benoit misses a top rope splash as it eats knees and theres your hot tag to Scorpio. He cleans house and everything breaks down. Spinning splash off the top gets two as Eaton makes the save. Scorpio (I think) debuts the Tumbleweed (moonsault into a front flip legdrop) for the pin on Benoit.
Rating: C+. Pretty good little tag match to open things up here. Scorpio is one of my favorites so this was hard for me to not like. He was a guy with some meat on him that could fly like a Guerrero so its hard to not get into him. Nothing great but as an opener this was certainly fine.
We hear about the recently debuted Colonel Robert Parker, one of the most worthless managers in history. He was around forever but the whole southern gentleman thing gets really annoying after awhile. Parker approached Van Hammer and was declined as Hammer attacked him. Parker has a surprise here to get revenge.
Van Hammer vs. ???
As previously mentioned, its Sid Vicious. Parker brings out a stretcher and runs his mouth a bit before Sid is unveiled. This was rather surprising as Sid had been in WWF in mid 92 and hadnt been seen since. This is a squash and Van Hammer was injured on the powerbomb. He would be around for about two weeks the next year and then wouldnt be seen again until the Flock in like 97.
Masked Assassin wants Dusty Rhodes.
Dick Murdoch/Don Muraco/Jimmy Snuka vs. Wahoo McDaniel/Blackjack Mulligan/Jim Brunzell
Snuka in WCW is just weird. There are only three Legends matches and theyre all in a row. See, the problem with shows like these is that they have to actually wrestle. The Jims star us off here. Brunzell controls and takes over to start before bringing in Mulligan (Barry Windhams dad). Mulligan vs. Murdoch now and they look their age. Murdoch gets taken down and goes into the wrong corner which ends badly for him.
Larry actually gets on Schiavone for knowing too much history. Dang Bischoff messed with that guys head and style like nothing Ive ever seen. Murdoch (former big shot in the KKK apparently) runs from Wahoo and its off to Muraco. Wahoo slams him a few times and Muraco runs off. Its weird to see Snuka on the seemingly heel team.
Muraco chops McDaniel a lot as Wahoo is face in peril I guess. Ok never mind as its off to Brunzell again who hits that dropkick of his. MURDOCH HITS A FREAKING FLYING HEADSCISSORS!!! I need a minute here. The announcers pop big for that. Not very horrible either if you can believe that (playa). Sleeper doesnt work that well for Brunzell as Muraco breaks it up and hits a powerslam for no cover.
Wahoo gets a tag but the referee misses it so were still not ready to bring someone new in. Heel miscommunication puts Snuka down. Murdoch goes up top and puts his knee in Brunzells back to drive him down for two. Back to Muraco who gets caught in a cross body for two. Snuka finally comes in and gets in an argument with Snuka. Everything breaks down into a big brawl and the match gets thrown out.
Rating: C. Its hard to come down on these matches as theyre not supposed to be good or anything. None of the guys have been active for years other than maybe some work on the indy circuits (Muraco was in ECW sometime around this, as was Snuka) so its not like theyve been in the spotlight recently. The idea is to let them get one last hurrah and thats fine. Hard to complain if the match is even remotely passable.
Thunderbolt Patterson/Brad Armstrong vs. Baron Von Rashcke/Ivan Koloff
It was supposed to be Bob Armstrong but hes hurt so its his son instead. Hes in street clothes but whatever. Total brawl to start as Armstrong is about 25 years younger than everyone else in the match. Raschke gets sent to the floor and the young guys team rule the ring. Let the stalling begin! The Baron runs from Patterson a lot and we get a very basic match which doesnt look to last that long.
Koloff vs. Armstrong now as we talk about Sammartino losing the WWF Title to Koloff. Naturally that name isnt used but you get the idea. Theres the Claw to Armstrong but Patterson breaks it up. Patterson gets a hot tag and beats up the bald bad guys a bit. What I think was supposed to be a double chop to the Barron ends this.
Rating: D+. Yeah this was pretty worthless. Patterson looked like he was about 95 years old and was probably the second best looking guy in the match. Bob helped a bit but with only four and a half minutes to work with, how much can you really complain here? Not much of a match but it wasnt supposed to be anything that good.
Time for A Flair For The Gold, which is Flairs talk show segment held in what is supposed to be part of his house. The playlist I have for this show has this in another spot but everything I can find says this goes here so whatever. We had been PROMISED that the original Horsemen would be reunited here but Tully Blanchard wanted too much money so its replacement time.
However first of all we need to bring out Arn who has Barry Windham for the NWA World Title tonight. Thats a rare thing for him as he hardly ever got world title shots. Even he points out hes only getting one shot at the title. Ole Anderson (billed as Flairs cousin) is here. He points out that theres no Tully so we need one more Horseman. And its Paul Roma. As in Paul Roma who had been last seen as a jobber in the WWF about two years ago. The total lack of a reaction for him should imply what was coming for him. This is easily the dumbest idea in the history of the Horsemen, including Jeff Jarrett.
The fans want Flair now.
Johnny Valentine is on commentary for the next match.
Dory Funk Jr. vs. Nick Bockwinkel
Dory has Gene Kiniski with him and Nick has Verne Gagne. Bockwinkel is only 59 here so hes not totally old yet. Larry reminds us that he retired Bockwinkel which would be his tag line for like a year in the AWA. Thankfully Nick is in tights here instead of trunks. This is going to be a very basic mat based match which both guys certainly know how to do very well.
Nick works on the arm but gets caught by the Funk uppercuts. Head vice goes on as Gagne gets annoyed by the spotlight not being on him for more than 8 seconds so he interferes. Larry tries to convince us that Gagne won all of his titles by skill. Back to the mat as this is a very old school style match which a lot of people arent going to like that much. Funk slams Bockwinkel a few times as we hear the time limit, meaning this is pretty destined to go to a draw.
Bockwinkel keeps working on the arm because thats worked so well thus far right? Forearm gets two for Dory. They slug it out a bit and shockingly enough Nick wins that. Nick goes to the floor for a bit after Dory gets a shot in. Verne is clearly needed to come into the ring now despite his man being on the floor. See what Im dealing with here? Back to the mat with them trading control.
Funk breaks an attempt at a Boston Crab and hits a belly to back for two. Dory is an old looking person. Hes only 52 here but he looks like hes about 70. Dory works on the arms as we have five minutes left. Bockwinkel works on the arm with four minutes left. Headlock doesnt do anything so they slug it out in the corner.
We hit a chinlock as we have three minutes left. They might as well write the ending on the programs at this point. An uppercut from Funk puts Nick on the ramp as theyre rapidly running out of time. Suplex back in gets two for Funk with two minutes left. Piledriver gets two. We get the spinning toe hold with a minute left. Bockwinkel gets out of it and puts on the Figure Four as the outside guys come in. The match continues and they slug it out until its a draw.
Rating: C. Again this is a match that not everyone is going to like. Its very technical and would have been far more interesting about 20 years ago but you cant blame them for that. Both guys were in pretty decent shape out there and the whole thing worked pretty well, all things considered at least.
Rick Rude/Paul Orndorff vs. Dustin Rhodes/Kensuke Sasaki
Rude is the US Champion and Orndorff is TV Champion. Why theyre having this match is beyond my knowledge but who cares. Dustin is feuding with Rude but I have no idea about Sasaki. Sasaki vs. Rude and apparently Sasaki was supposed to get a title shot but didnt so hes mad here. Sasaki shoves him around a lot and Rude hammers him. Tony cant get Sasakis name right and uses various other Japanese wrestlers names instead.
Off to Paul and Rhodes and we hit the hammerlock. Sasaki works on the arm also and now its time for Dustin vs. Rude, which is the featured match here. They slug it out with Dustin hitting a backdrop to take over. Rude gets a knee up and Dustin does the same, both in the corner. Rude sends him to the floor where Orndorff works Dustin over. Orndorff in legally now and he has a huge brace or bandage around his right thigh.
Back to Rude who cant get a Piledriver on Dustys kid. Tombstone doesnt work either as Dustin counters into one of his own for two. Double tag brings in Sasaki and Rude as I missed Orndorff being in there at all. That should tell you a lot. Sasaki gets half of a gorilla press and everything breaks down. Gee imagine that. Orndorff shoves Sasaki off the top and the Rude Awakening ends this.
Rating: D+. Pretty weak match here that felt like a TV main event. Sasaki is a guy Im not a fan of in the slightest and this was no exception here. Orndorff .I just dont get it. He was a huge deal in 86 and other than that I dont get it in the slightest. Either way, this was pretty worthless for the most part and went on too long at the same time.
Time for the WCW Hall of Fame inductions. Gordon Solie of course handles things as only he can. The fans wont shut up and let him do it. He talks about some of the legends that have passed away and cant be here. He asks for a moment of silence and it gets a bit quieter but not silent. The first inductee is Lou Thesz. Hes credited as holding the world title for nearly 29 years. Just .no. He held the NWA Title for over ten years and thats about it. The ONLY way they could claim that is if theyre counting every title that was called a world title, even if it was only recognized in certain cities, which is a stretch at best.
The rest are big names, but not exactly on the same level. Verne Gagne is by far the biggest of the three and as you know held the AWA World Title a bunch of times in the company he owned. Also we have Mr. Wrestling II and Eddie Graham, who is a legendary promoter from Florida. Hes dead by the time this happened though.
Sting vs. The Prisoner
As I said, this was supposed to be Scott Norton but he went back to Japan. The Prisoner is more famous as Nailz and the fans arent thrilled with him at all. Prisoner chokes him down a lot and Sting is in trouble early. Someone has put a bounty on Sting who isnt mentioned here. My guess is it would be Flair because, you know, hes Flair. As usual Nailz is a rather bad wrestler and he shows us that again here. Sting fires back with some kicks and that gets him nowhere.
Sting gets tossed to the floor again and Nailz chokes him with a cable because we havent had choking in a few minutes. Back in and Sting gets beaten down even more. He gets a cross body and some bad offense because Nailz is really bad at selling. Single leg takedown gets two. Uh .ok? Slam hits, elbow doesnt. Nailz goes after the referee and Sting hits a top rope clothesline to end this at a count of about 2.5.
Rating: F. Yeah this was horrible. Nailz is freaking terrible and I have no idea why he kept getting work. Naturally he was gone very son after this and never really did anything else of note. He was in the AWF soon after this. Never heard of the AWF? Theres a reason for that and it should explain why Nailz was there.
Tag Titles: Hollywood Blondes vs. Dos Hombres
This is in a cage. This is one of those angles that is so full of backstory its unreal. Ok so who in the world are Dos Hombres. Well theyre luchadores in masks. However, theyre introduced as Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. Now one of them is Steamboat. The other however, isnt Shane Douglas. Its actually Tom Zenk. So in other words, we have a guy portraying Shane Douglas portraying a luchador who everyone knows is Shane wearing a mask.
Now that probably requires an explanation too. Steamboat and Douglas had been tag team champions and feuded with Brian Pillman/Barry Windham. Windham had to leave for some reason so they substituted in Steve Austin and made the team the Hollywood Blondes. They eventually won the titles and held them for like six months. Oh and these are UNIFIED tag titles, because the NWA thinks people still care about them because the NWA is stupid.
Anyway, the new champs beat the former champs time after time. They were scheduled to face Dos Hombres, some new team from Mexico, in what was supposed to be a squash. However, Dos Hombres started fighting like Douglas and Steamboat to the point that everyone said yeah thats Steamboat and Douglas. They were even introduced by those names. Anyway, the thing is that Douglas had been fired and in the non-title match it was Brad Armstrong under the mask. In this match which is for the titles, its Tom Zenk. Got all that?
Despite this being in a cage they have to tag which gets annoying fast. Steamboat and Austin start but its off to Pillman very quickly. Yeah thats Steamboat. You can tell those chops anywhere. Pillman cant put him into the cage and theres an armdrag. Off to Shane who is way too skinny to be who hes portraying. There are two guys in suits that keep getting shown and I dont know who they are.
Both Shane and Austin block head shots to the cage but Austin goes in back first just a bit. Both guys hit the ropes and Austin gets backdropped. Not much of a cage match here but a pretty good wrestling match up to this point. Austin eats cage in the first good shot into it. Back to Steamboat (I think) against Pillman who takes over. Yeah theres an armdrag so its Shane who got tagged in.
Gorilla press puts Pillmans back into the cage. Off to Austin who cant do much because his back hurts from going into the cage. He gets caught in the Tree of Woe but from the top of the cage instead of the corner. The challengers do the camera thing that the Blondes are known for in a funny bit. Austin gets down and takes over again. I have no idea which Hombre is in there.
Middle rope elbow gets two for the future rattlesnake that has hair here. The Blondes have to hide the use of a towel. In a cage match? Pillman comes in and jumps into a boot to put both guys down. I think thats Shane in there but Im really not sure. Theyre full body suits so you cant tell them apart at all other than mannerisms. Austin cuts off the tag at the last second and we keep at it.
Shane gets a dropkick to send Austin into the cage. Oh yeah thats a Steamboat shot from the apron. Austin blocks another tag with something like a spinebuster. Larry says that Austin can be a legend if his body holds up. Holy prognostication Larry! Rocket Launcher sends Brian into Shanes ribs and they both down again. Theres the tag to Steamboat who cleans house. Austin tries to hide and theres the Flair shot from him. You figure out what I mean by that and why the audience laughed at it.
Everything breaks down and Steamboat takes the mask off. He climbs the cage and takes out BOTH Blondes for two with a huge cross body! AWESOME! Even the bell goes off inadvertently and I cant blame them. Steamboat DDTs Austin for two and does the same to Pillman. Stereo dropkicks get two. In a rushed but kind of sweet ending, the Hombres get the champs in opposite corners and whip them together but Pillman reverses and sends Steamboat into Austin who hits a Stun Gun to retain.
Rating: B. Good match, although Im really not sure why it was inside a cage. Anyway, the point is that this was solid stuff as the Blondes were totally awesome throughout their entire run so this was pretty much an automatic good match. Zenk is good in the ring but he was in over his head with these guys. The backstory is a mess but it was still a breath of incredibly fresh air after watching the legends go at it for an hour.
Dusty Rhodes, Mr. Wrestling II and Stu Hart are with Eric for some reason. Shockingly enough Dusty dominates the conversation. He tells the Assassin to bring it on. Mr. Wrestling II talks about how awesome WCW is. Stu talks about how wrestling is in his family and we hear about the main event a bit. The guys voice was a mess but to say he trained an army of awesome workers is an understatement.
NWA World Title: Arn Anderson vs. Barry Windham
Not something Im used to typing. Seriously, why did Arn NEVER get title shots against face champions? I know Flair was champion most of the time but its not like he didnt lose it on occasion. Arn is from Minnesota. Just Minnesota. No town or anything. Just Minnesota. Larry doesnt like Arn due to relatively recent stable issues. I love the emphasis Capetta gives to the word WORLD when hes saying the name of a title. Always have.
Windham used to be a Horseman but then left the team so theres something resembling a story here. Barry won the title at I think Superbrawl so this is his first defense. Arn gets a quick belly to belly for two. Windham hammers him back into the corner but walks into a backdrop for two. Arn is covering every chance he can. Barry pops him with a right hand Theres a DDT though and it only gets two.
Barry goes to the apron to hide and gets back in before Arn can. Back in and Anderson tries to jump off the middle rope but jumps into a clothesline. Windham gets a DDT and drops an elbow for two. Out to the floor and Barry is still in control. Arn pulls him out to the floor from the apron so they immediately explain the lack of DQ. How did they wait until 1998 to get rid of that stupid rule?
Arn busts him open with a shot to the railing. Apparently thats a DQ in WCW but not in the NWA. Seriously just let the old guys be put to rest already to get rid of these stupid explanations. Oh man hes cut bad. Small package gets two for Arn. Off to the chinlock and theres a knee to the head. Arn goes up and Barry knocks him to the floor. Suplex on the floor has Anderson in trouble. He may have a bad knee also.
Barry goes up to Arn and apparently gets popped in the head which he sells like he got shot in the chest. A slam results in Barry falling backwards for two. Spinebuster hits and Barry is in trouble. He manages to get to the floor though and tries to walk out with the belt. Back in the ring now and Arn shoves the referee, allowing Barry to pop him with the belt for the pin.
Rating: B. Solid old school style fight here which is something both guys are great at. Again though, how weird is it to see Anderson getting a title shot? Anyway this was solid stuff and Barry was still good here. Flair took the title from him the next month and it would become the Big Gold Belt soon after that.
WCW World Title: Vader vs. Davey Boy Smith
Dude, Rule Britannia is copyrighted? Basically the idea is that Vader is unhurtable and everyone has been trying to find someone to stop him. He would beat Sting, Cactus, break the back of a jobber (literally) and more or less just rampage through the company. Then he fought this guy named Flair. Anyway theyre just showing off power to start here so there isnt much to say.
Vader gets him in the corner and mauls him as he is known to do. Out to the floor and Vader pulls a Sting, crashing into the railing on a splash attempt. Smith gets a solid slam and the champ is in trouble. Davey even manages the DELAYED vertical on Vader. My jaw literally dropped at that one as he had him up there for like five or six seconds. Smith runs into a boot which does nothing as he slams Vader again.
Smith sends him to the floor and the crowd is actually getting into this. The fans of course chant Whoomp There It Is for some reason. Crucifix is countered into something like a Samoan Drop to put Davey down again. Vader Bomb hits a few moments later but Smith kicks out to a solid reaction.
Vader cranks it up and hits the thing where he jumps into you off the middle rope. Davey slams him off the top and gets a headbutt off the top but cant get anything going for more than a few seconds. Rollup gets two. Whenever Vader is in trouble he fires a big right hand to get out of it. Why mess with what works I suppose. Top rope splash gets no cover for the champion.
This match needs to end, like NOW. Vader throws on a chinlock and Smith scares me again by picking him up on his shoulders and dropping back. Someone got the GOOD steroids this week. Smith catches a charging Vader in something resembling the powerslam but Race breaks up the count. Race gets beaten up on the floor and then Vader hits Smith with a chair for the ultra lame DQ.
Rating: D. This was ridiculously boring as no one cared. The power moves by Davey were great but at the same time thats not enough to carry a match. They did what they could but the clashes of styles just killed it. Vader needs a guy that can move around out there because Vader can sell quite well for them. Not the worst Ive ever seen, but totally uninteresting especially with that ending.
Some faces come out to save Davey and get mauled until Sting comes out for the actual save.
Magnus TA says nothing of note.
Verne Gagne sucks up to WCW to close the show.
Overall Rating: D. See, in 94 they had legends that were actually interesting. This simply didnt have it at all and the fans didnt care. They put it in Philadelphia the next year and had the freaking NWA out of the picture and you got a WAY more entertaining show. A better main event helped a lot too as Sting fought Vader like he was born to do. The main event kills whatever good stuff this show had going for it because no one wanted to see Smith face Vader and the match sucked on top of that. Bad show overall and it was a chore to sit through.
Date: May 23, 1993
Location: The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 7,008
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko
This is the final show I need to have everything from Starrcade 1992 Uncensored 1997 so thats why Im doing it. This is another of the legends shows and the first one in the series. That being said, they didnt know what they were doing at this point so the show is likely going to suck. The 94 version is good so Id advise you to go watch that instead. Anyway, the main event here is Vader vs. Davey Boy for the title. Lets get to it.
The opening video talks about how the Legends are the important people here tonight and how the matches between young guys are kind of secondary. Ill give them this: they have a lot of people here that normally arent here.
The Legends are in the ring. Granted they were introduced before the show started so were not even told who all of them are but why should that matter? I mean, weve got Sid vs. Van Hammer to fill in that time!
Maxx Payne, a heel at the time, comes out and plays the Star Spangled Banner on his guitar. Odd but he did that a lot in 93 if I remember correctly as both a face and a heel. After this, some jobbers bring out a throne that I think was used for Madusa in 1991. In this case it contains the Fabulous Moolah, who is Queen of Slamboree apparently.
Missy Hyatt says hi to the fans in Canada. Eric says that Sting wont be facing Scott Norton tonight due to a guy named the Prisoner (Nailz) attacking Norton. And then the lights go out on the interview area. That might be a good hint about whats going on tonight. Due to the lights being off there, we get a shot of the Legends leaving which is just kind of sad for some reason. Eric and Missy talk about the main event to fill in some time. Hey the power is back.
Bobby Eaton/Chris Benoit vs. Marcus Bagwell/2 Cold Scorpio
Benoit means nothing yet and this is one of those old school PPV tag matches that would be on Saturday Night (the show) a few years later instead. Scorpio is totally awesome and Bagwell is still Rookie of the Year as hes always been for the most part. Benoit vs. Scorpio to start which is awesome to me. They do some VERY nice fast paced stuff to start as neither guy can get a solid shot in.
Benoit is sent to the corner and isnt sure what just hit him. Eaton and Benoit cant combine to take Scorpio down either because hes just too fast. The heels (Benoit/Eaton if that wasnt clear) are sent to the floor and we slow things down again. Eaton tries his hand now and the guys with matching tights work over his arm. Bagwell sends him to the floor (ignoring the over the top rope rule as is usual) and brings Benoit in against his will.
The heels have a short meeting on the floor to try to figure things out. Back in and Bagwell works on the arm a bit. Eaton throws Bagwell over the top when no one is looking and Scorpio isnt happy. Theres a top rope knee drop by Eaton for no cover. Back to Benoit who gets that wicked clothesline of his. Benoit with some nice speed stuff here, including a middle rope legdrop for two.
Eaton hits something like a Stun Gun and Bagwell is in trouble. Belly to back to Bagwell gets two. Benoit misses a top rope splash as it eats knees and theres your hot tag to Scorpio. He cleans house and everything breaks down. Spinning splash off the top gets two as Eaton makes the save. Scorpio (I think) debuts the Tumbleweed (moonsault into a front flip legdrop) for the pin on Benoit.
Rating: C+. Pretty good little tag match to open things up here. Scorpio is one of my favorites so this was hard for me to not like. He was a guy with some meat on him that could fly like a Guerrero so its hard to not get into him. Nothing great but as an opener this was certainly fine.
We hear about the recently debuted Colonel Robert Parker, one of the most worthless managers in history. He was around forever but the whole southern gentleman thing gets really annoying after awhile. Parker approached Van Hammer and was declined as Hammer attacked him. Parker has a surprise here to get revenge.
Van Hammer vs. ???
As previously mentioned, its Sid Vicious. Parker brings out a stretcher and runs his mouth a bit before Sid is unveiled. This was rather surprising as Sid had been in WWF in mid 92 and hadnt been seen since. This is a squash and Van Hammer was injured on the powerbomb. He would be around for about two weeks the next year and then wouldnt be seen again until the Flock in like 97.
Masked Assassin wants Dusty Rhodes.
Dick Murdoch/Don Muraco/Jimmy Snuka vs. Wahoo McDaniel/Blackjack Mulligan/Jim Brunzell
Snuka in WCW is just weird. There are only three Legends matches and theyre all in a row. See, the problem with shows like these is that they have to actually wrestle. The Jims star us off here. Brunzell controls and takes over to start before bringing in Mulligan (Barry Windhams dad). Mulligan vs. Murdoch now and they look their age. Murdoch gets taken down and goes into the wrong corner which ends badly for him.
Larry actually gets on Schiavone for knowing too much history. Dang Bischoff messed with that guys head and style like nothing Ive ever seen. Murdoch (former big shot in the KKK apparently) runs from Wahoo and its off to Muraco. Wahoo slams him a few times and Muraco runs off. Its weird to see Snuka on the seemingly heel team.
Muraco chops McDaniel a lot as Wahoo is face in peril I guess. Ok never mind as its off to Brunzell again who hits that dropkick of his. MURDOCH HITS A FREAKING FLYING HEADSCISSORS!!! I need a minute here. The announcers pop big for that. Not very horrible either if you can believe that (playa). Sleeper doesnt work that well for Brunzell as Muraco breaks it up and hits a powerslam for no cover.
Wahoo gets a tag but the referee misses it so were still not ready to bring someone new in. Heel miscommunication puts Snuka down. Murdoch goes up top and puts his knee in Brunzells back to drive him down for two. Back to Muraco who gets caught in a cross body for two. Snuka finally comes in and gets in an argument with Snuka. Everything breaks down into a big brawl and the match gets thrown out.
Rating: C. Its hard to come down on these matches as theyre not supposed to be good or anything. None of the guys have been active for years other than maybe some work on the indy circuits (Muraco was in ECW sometime around this, as was Snuka) so its not like theyve been in the spotlight recently. The idea is to let them get one last hurrah and thats fine. Hard to complain if the match is even remotely passable.
Thunderbolt Patterson/Brad Armstrong vs. Baron Von Rashcke/Ivan Koloff
It was supposed to be Bob Armstrong but hes hurt so its his son instead. Hes in street clothes but whatever. Total brawl to start as Armstrong is about 25 years younger than everyone else in the match. Raschke gets sent to the floor and the young guys team rule the ring. Let the stalling begin! The Baron runs from Patterson a lot and we get a very basic match which doesnt look to last that long.
Koloff vs. Armstrong now as we talk about Sammartino losing the WWF Title to Koloff. Naturally that name isnt used but you get the idea. Theres the Claw to Armstrong but Patterson breaks it up. Patterson gets a hot tag and beats up the bald bad guys a bit. What I think was supposed to be a double chop to the Barron ends this.
Rating: D+. Yeah this was pretty worthless. Patterson looked like he was about 95 years old and was probably the second best looking guy in the match. Bob helped a bit but with only four and a half minutes to work with, how much can you really complain here? Not much of a match but it wasnt supposed to be anything that good.
Time for A Flair For The Gold, which is Flairs talk show segment held in what is supposed to be part of his house. The playlist I have for this show has this in another spot but everything I can find says this goes here so whatever. We had been PROMISED that the original Horsemen would be reunited here but Tully Blanchard wanted too much money so its replacement time.
However first of all we need to bring out Arn who has Barry Windham for the NWA World Title tonight. Thats a rare thing for him as he hardly ever got world title shots. Even he points out hes only getting one shot at the title. Ole Anderson (billed as Flairs cousin) is here. He points out that theres no Tully so we need one more Horseman. And its Paul Roma. As in Paul Roma who had been last seen as a jobber in the WWF about two years ago. The total lack of a reaction for him should imply what was coming for him. This is easily the dumbest idea in the history of the Horsemen, including Jeff Jarrett.
The fans want Flair now.
Johnny Valentine is on commentary for the next match.
Dory Funk Jr. vs. Nick Bockwinkel
Dory has Gene Kiniski with him and Nick has Verne Gagne. Bockwinkel is only 59 here so hes not totally old yet. Larry reminds us that he retired Bockwinkel which would be his tag line for like a year in the AWA. Thankfully Nick is in tights here instead of trunks. This is going to be a very basic mat based match which both guys certainly know how to do very well.
Nick works on the arm but gets caught by the Funk uppercuts. Head vice goes on as Gagne gets annoyed by the spotlight not being on him for more than 8 seconds so he interferes. Larry tries to convince us that Gagne won all of his titles by skill. Back to the mat as this is a very old school style match which a lot of people arent going to like that much. Funk slams Bockwinkel a few times as we hear the time limit, meaning this is pretty destined to go to a draw.
Bockwinkel keeps working on the arm because thats worked so well thus far right? Forearm gets two for Dory. They slug it out a bit and shockingly enough Nick wins that. Nick goes to the floor for a bit after Dory gets a shot in. Verne is clearly needed to come into the ring now despite his man being on the floor. See what Im dealing with here? Back to the mat with them trading control.
Funk breaks an attempt at a Boston Crab and hits a belly to back for two. Dory is an old looking person. Hes only 52 here but he looks like hes about 70. Dory works on the arms as we have five minutes left. Bockwinkel works on the arm with four minutes left. Headlock doesnt do anything so they slug it out in the corner.
We hit a chinlock as we have three minutes left. They might as well write the ending on the programs at this point. An uppercut from Funk puts Nick on the ramp as theyre rapidly running out of time. Suplex back in gets two for Funk with two minutes left. Piledriver gets two. We get the spinning toe hold with a minute left. Bockwinkel gets out of it and puts on the Figure Four as the outside guys come in. The match continues and they slug it out until its a draw.
Rating: C. Again this is a match that not everyone is going to like. Its very technical and would have been far more interesting about 20 years ago but you cant blame them for that. Both guys were in pretty decent shape out there and the whole thing worked pretty well, all things considered at least.
Rick Rude/Paul Orndorff vs. Dustin Rhodes/Kensuke Sasaki
Rude is the US Champion and Orndorff is TV Champion. Why theyre having this match is beyond my knowledge but who cares. Dustin is feuding with Rude but I have no idea about Sasaki. Sasaki vs. Rude and apparently Sasaki was supposed to get a title shot but didnt so hes mad here. Sasaki shoves him around a lot and Rude hammers him. Tony cant get Sasakis name right and uses various other Japanese wrestlers names instead.
Off to Paul and Rhodes and we hit the hammerlock. Sasaki works on the arm also and now its time for Dustin vs. Rude, which is the featured match here. They slug it out with Dustin hitting a backdrop to take over. Rude gets a knee up and Dustin does the same, both in the corner. Rude sends him to the floor where Orndorff works Dustin over. Orndorff in legally now and he has a huge brace or bandage around his right thigh.
Back to Rude who cant get a Piledriver on Dustys kid. Tombstone doesnt work either as Dustin counters into one of his own for two. Double tag brings in Sasaki and Rude as I missed Orndorff being in there at all. That should tell you a lot. Sasaki gets half of a gorilla press and everything breaks down. Gee imagine that. Orndorff shoves Sasaki off the top and the Rude Awakening ends this.
Rating: D+. Pretty weak match here that felt like a TV main event. Sasaki is a guy Im not a fan of in the slightest and this was no exception here. Orndorff .I just dont get it. He was a huge deal in 86 and other than that I dont get it in the slightest. Either way, this was pretty worthless for the most part and went on too long at the same time.
Time for the WCW Hall of Fame inductions. Gordon Solie of course handles things as only he can. The fans wont shut up and let him do it. He talks about some of the legends that have passed away and cant be here. He asks for a moment of silence and it gets a bit quieter but not silent. The first inductee is Lou Thesz. Hes credited as holding the world title for nearly 29 years. Just .no. He held the NWA Title for over ten years and thats about it. The ONLY way they could claim that is if theyre counting every title that was called a world title, even if it was only recognized in certain cities, which is a stretch at best.
The rest are big names, but not exactly on the same level. Verne Gagne is by far the biggest of the three and as you know held the AWA World Title a bunch of times in the company he owned. Also we have Mr. Wrestling II and Eddie Graham, who is a legendary promoter from Florida. Hes dead by the time this happened though.
Sting vs. The Prisoner
As I said, this was supposed to be Scott Norton but he went back to Japan. The Prisoner is more famous as Nailz and the fans arent thrilled with him at all. Prisoner chokes him down a lot and Sting is in trouble early. Someone has put a bounty on Sting who isnt mentioned here. My guess is it would be Flair because, you know, hes Flair. As usual Nailz is a rather bad wrestler and he shows us that again here. Sting fires back with some kicks and that gets him nowhere.
Sting gets tossed to the floor again and Nailz chokes him with a cable because we havent had choking in a few minutes. Back in and Sting gets beaten down even more. He gets a cross body and some bad offense because Nailz is really bad at selling. Single leg takedown gets two. Uh .ok? Slam hits, elbow doesnt. Nailz goes after the referee and Sting hits a top rope clothesline to end this at a count of about 2.5.
Rating: F. Yeah this was horrible. Nailz is freaking terrible and I have no idea why he kept getting work. Naturally he was gone very son after this and never really did anything else of note. He was in the AWF soon after this. Never heard of the AWF? Theres a reason for that and it should explain why Nailz was there.
Tag Titles: Hollywood Blondes vs. Dos Hombres
This is in a cage. This is one of those angles that is so full of backstory its unreal. Ok so who in the world are Dos Hombres. Well theyre luchadores in masks. However, theyre introduced as Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. Now one of them is Steamboat. The other however, isnt Shane Douglas. Its actually Tom Zenk. So in other words, we have a guy portraying Shane Douglas portraying a luchador who everyone knows is Shane wearing a mask.
Now that probably requires an explanation too. Steamboat and Douglas had been tag team champions and feuded with Brian Pillman/Barry Windham. Windham had to leave for some reason so they substituted in Steve Austin and made the team the Hollywood Blondes. They eventually won the titles and held them for like six months. Oh and these are UNIFIED tag titles, because the NWA thinks people still care about them because the NWA is stupid.
Anyway, the new champs beat the former champs time after time. They were scheduled to face Dos Hombres, some new team from Mexico, in what was supposed to be a squash. However, Dos Hombres started fighting like Douglas and Steamboat to the point that everyone said yeah thats Steamboat and Douglas. They were even introduced by those names. Anyway, the thing is that Douglas had been fired and in the non-title match it was Brad Armstrong under the mask. In this match which is for the titles, its Tom Zenk. Got all that?
Despite this being in a cage they have to tag which gets annoying fast. Steamboat and Austin start but its off to Pillman very quickly. Yeah thats Steamboat. You can tell those chops anywhere. Pillman cant put him into the cage and theres an armdrag. Off to Shane who is way too skinny to be who hes portraying. There are two guys in suits that keep getting shown and I dont know who they are.
Both Shane and Austin block head shots to the cage but Austin goes in back first just a bit. Both guys hit the ropes and Austin gets backdropped. Not much of a cage match here but a pretty good wrestling match up to this point. Austin eats cage in the first good shot into it. Back to Steamboat (I think) against Pillman who takes over. Yeah theres an armdrag so its Shane who got tagged in.
Gorilla press puts Pillmans back into the cage. Off to Austin who cant do much because his back hurts from going into the cage. He gets caught in the Tree of Woe but from the top of the cage instead of the corner. The challengers do the camera thing that the Blondes are known for in a funny bit. Austin gets down and takes over again. I have no idea which Hombre is in there.
Middle rope elbow gets two for the future rattlesnake that has hair here. The Blondes have to hide the use of a towel. In a cage match? Pillman comes in and jumps into a boot to put both guys down. I think thats Shane in there but Im really not sure. Theyre full body suits so you cant tell them apart at all other than mannerisms. Austin cuts off the tag at the last second and we keep at it.
Shane gets a dropkick to send Austin into the cage. Oh yeah thats a Steamboat shot from the apron. Austin blocks another tag with something like a spinebuster. Larry says that Austin can be a legend if his body holds up. Holy prognostication Larry! Rocket Launcher sends Brian into Shanes ribs and they both down again. Theres the tag to Steamboat who cleans house. Austin tries to hide and theres the Flair shot from him. You figure out what I mean by that and why the audience laughed at it.
Everything breaks down and Steamboat takes the mask off. He climbs the cage and takes out BOTH Blondes for two with a huge cross body! AWESOME! Even the bell goes off inadvertently and I cant blame them. Steamboat DDTs Austin for two and does the same to Pillman. Stereo dropkicks get two. In a rushed but kind of sweet ending, the Hombres get the champs in opposite corners and whip them together but Pillman reverses and sends Steamboat into Austin who hits a Stun Gun to retain.
Rating: B. Good match, although Im really not sure why it was inside a cage. Anyway, the point is that this was solid stuff as the Blondes were totally awesome throughout their entire run so this was pretty much an automatic good match. Zenk is good in the ring but he was in over his head with these guys. The backstory is a mess but it was still a breath of incredibly fresh air after watching the legends go at it for an hour.
Dusty Rhodes, Mr. Wrestling II and Stu Hart are with Eric for some reason. Shockingly enough Dusty dominates the conversation. He tells the Assassin to bring it on. Mr. Wrestling II talks about how awesome WCW is. Stu talks about how wrestling is in his family and we hear about the main event a bit. The guys voice was a mess but to say he trained an army of awesome workers is an understatement.
NWA World Title: Arn Anderson vs. Barry Windham
Not something Im used to typing. Seriously, why did Arn NEVER get title shots against face champions? I know Flair was champion most of the time but its not like he didnt lose it on occasion. Arn is from Minnesota. Just Minnesota. No town or anything. Just Minnesota. Larry doesnt like Arn due to relatively recent stable issues. I love the emphasis Capetta gives to the word WORLD when hes saying the name of a title. Always have.
Windham used to be a Horseman but then left the team so theres something resembling a story here. Barry won the title at I think Superbrawl so this is his first defense. Arn gets a quick belly to belly for two. Windham hammers him back into the corner but walks into a backdrop for two. Arn is covering every chance he can. Barry pops him with a right hand Theres a DDT though and it only gets two.
Barry goes to the apron to hide and gets back in before Arn can. Back in and Anderson tries to jump off the middle rope but jumps into a clothesline. Windham gets a DDT and drops an elbow for two. Out to the floor and Barry is still in control. Arn pulls him out to the floor from the apron so they immediately explain the lack of DQ. How did they wait until 1998 to get rid of that stupid rule?
Arn busts him open with a shot to the railing. Apparently thats a DQ in WCW but not in the NWA. Seriously just let the old guys be put to rest already to get rid of these stupid explanations. Oh man hes cut bad. Small package gets two for Arn. Off to the chinlock and theres a knee to the head. Arn goes up and Barry knocks him to the floor. Suplex on the floor has Anderson in trouble. He may have a bad knee also.
Barry goes up to Arn and apparently gets popped in the head which he sells like he got shot in the chest. A slam results in Barry falling backwards for two. Spinebuster hits and Barry is in trouble. He manages to get to the floor though and tries to walk out with the belt. Back in the ring now and Arn shoves the referee, allowing Barry to pop him with the belt for the pin.
Rating: B. Solid old school style fight here which is something both guys are great at. Again though, how weird is it to see Anderson getting a title shot? Anyway this was solid stuff and Barry was still good here. Flair took the title from him the next month and it would become the Big Gold Belt soon after that.
WCW World Title: Vader vs. Davey Boy Smith
Dude, Rule Britannia is copyrighted? Basically the idea is that Vader is unhurtable and everyone has been trying to find someone to stop him. He would beat Sting, Cactus, break the back of a jobber (literally) and more or less just rampage through the company. Then he fought this guy named Flair. Anyway theyre just showing off power to start here so there isnt much to say.
Vader gets him in the corner and mauls him as he is known to do. Out to the floor and Vader pulls a Sting, crashing into the railing on a splash attempt. Smith gets a solid slam and the champ is in trouble. Davey even manages the DELAYED vertical on Vader. My jaw literally dropped at that one as he had him up there for like five or six seconds. Smith runs into a boot which does nothing as he slams Vader again.
Smith sends him to the floor and the crowd is actually getting into this. The fans of course chant Whoomp There It Is for some reason. Crucifix is countered into something like a Samoan Drop to put Davey down again. Vader Bomb hits a few moments later but Smith kicks out to a solid reaction.
Vader cranks it up and hits the thing where he jumps into you off the middle rope. Davey slams him off the top and gets a headbutt off the top but cant get anything going for more than a few seconds. Rollup gets two. Whenever Vader is in trouble he fires a big right hand to get out of it. Why mess with what works I suppose. Top rope splash gets no cover for the champion.
This match needs to end, like NOW. Vader throws on a chinlock and Smith scares me again by picking him up on his shoulders and dropping back. Someone got the GOOD steroids this week. Smith catches a charging Vader in something resembling the powerslam but Race breaks up the count. Race gets beaten up on the floor and then Vader hits Smith with a chair for the ultra lame DQ.
Rating: D. This was ridiculously boring as no one cared. The power moves by Davey were great but at the same time thats not enough to carry a match. They did what they could but the clashes of styles just killed it. Vader needs a guy that can move around out there because Vader can sell quite well for them. Not the worst Ive ever seen, but totally uninteresting especially with that ending.
Some faces come out to save Davey and get mauled until Sting comes out for the actual save.
Magnus TA says nothing of note.
Verne Gagne sucks up to WCW to close the show.
Overall Rating: D. See, in 94 they had legends that were actually interesting. This simply didnt have it at all and the fans didnt care. They put it in Philadelphia the next year and had the freaking NWA out of the picture and you got a WAY more entertaining show. A better main event helped a lot too as Sting fought Vader like he was born to do. The main event kills whatever good stuff this show had going for it because no one wanted to see Smith face Vader and the match sucked on top of that. Bad show overall and it was a chore to sit through.