Sage Cortez
I think it’s fair to say that WCW did a poor job leading to Beach Blast, but knowing the results of their Worldwide tapings does make things a little bit interesting for me. I’m wondering how they were able to use all this new talent and how they book results given the stories they were now locked into. To be honest I am having a hard time caring about this show. Perhaps it has been too long since I watched any of that WCW stuff.
– July 18th, 1993, from the Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi
The opening video was bizarre, that’s for sure. Eric Bischoff and Missy Hyatt were the hosts for this show. Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura were going to do commentary, and Jesse was led down to the ring by women in swimsuits. Just like the year before!
Ron Simmons vs. Paul Orndorff for the WCW Television Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: This could be a good one. First thing I noticed is that the arena is actually lit up in a way that allows the viewer to see the crowd. They should have done this match at the preceding Clash, but Orndorff had a groin injury and couldn’t take part. Apparently if Orndorff gets disqualified he loses his title.
Match Review: The Paula chants started immediately, to nobody’s surprise. Orndorff stalls for quite a while before getting this started, and it begins when Simmons attacks Orndorff and throws him in the ring. Simmons pops Orndorff with a back elbow, then dropkicks him for 2. Orndorff rolls to the outside for a little bit, and gets back in for a drop toe-hold. Orndorff misses an elbow drop, so Simmons goes to work on that left arm. Orndorff nails him with an elbow to stop that, but misses a charge to the corner. Orndorff tries a sleeper, then turns that into a back suplex instead. Orndorff goes up top, misses a knee drop, and Simmons starts going to town on that left leg. Doesn’t look too punishing, at least until Simmons applies a figure-four. Orndorff quickly makes the ropes and rolls to the outside, then he pulls Simmons out there and rams him into the announce table. Orndorff brings the action back in the ring, and he goes to a chinlock. Simmons gets out, but Orndorff hits him with a knee lift to put him back down. Simmons then gets up and gets some momentum, but he runs into another knee and Orndorff covers for 2. Orndorff goes to the chinlock again, but lets it go after a bit. Simmons powerslams Orndorff for 2, then a sunset flip gets 2. Orndorff misses a dropkick, so Simmons hits him with a clothesline. A back elbow follows that, and it only gets 2. Simmons takes Orndorff down with a suplex and gets 2, then Orndorff goes to the eyes. Orndorff tries a PILEDRIVER, but Simmons backdrops him over the top and gets himself disqualified after 11:15. After the match, Simmons shoulderblocks Orndorff and covers him, but the bell rang. Orndorff tries to whack Simmons with his belt, but instead Simmons gets it and chases him away.
My Thoughts: Don’t know who thought this finish was a good idea. Super weak, bad idea. The match was pedestrian otherwise, nothing was there to set the world on fire but nothing was terrible either. Not a whole lot to say about something like this, but clearly Simmons wasn’t very over and was nearing the end of the line in WCW. *1/4.
Tex Slazinger and Shanghai Pierce vs. 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Bagwell
Pre-Match Thoughts: You may know Pierce and Slazinger as the Godwinns. That doesn’t bode well for this match, but given that these two don’t have a terrible farmer gimmick, who knows? They were actually around for a while but it just turns out that I didn’t review anything with them in it. This Scorpio and Bagwell team is such a misuse of talent, but both guys did their most with it. No idea why Pierce was a masked wrestler. At least I can tell them apart that way!
Match Review: Pierce and Bagwell lock up, and Pierce calls him a punk. They lock up again, and this time Bagwell takes Pierce down with a cross body. Scorpio runs in for a double facebuster on Slazinger, and that clears the ring. Scorpio then botches a dive where he was supposed to jump off Bagwell, but the heels cover it well by beating Scorpio up. Scorpio then takes Pierce down with a cross body, and the heels are then thrown into the ring. Of course, they vacate it, so no real advantage is gained. Slazinger wants to face off with Scorpio, so that’s what we get. Slazinger shoulders Scorpio down, then backdrops him so far he nearly flew out of the ring. Scorpio comes back with a cross body from the second rope that gets 2, then he dropkicks and arm drags Slazinger down. Bagwell tags in for a double hip toss, and that gets 2 as well. Pierce makes a tag in and is taken down with a drop toe-hold, but Bagwell gets up and hip tosses him. He arm drags Pierce down too, giving us a pause. The rope running sequence there was pretty good. Pierce comes back with a bodyslam, then tags out only for his partner to be arm dragged again. Bagwell suplexes Slazinger for 2, then Pierce knees Bagwell from behind as he runs the ropes. Slazinger drops Bagwell with a single-arm DDT, and keeps a hammerlock on the youngster. That’s weird to say now. The two heels trade tags while hammerlocking, then Bagwell sunset flips Slazinger for 2. Slazinger hits Bagwell with a clothesline for 2, then tags in Pierce for some knee drops that get 2. Pierce then applies a chinlock, and follows that up with an amazing gutwrench powerbomb for 2. He drops an elbow on Bagwell, then slams him. He misses another elbow drop, but Slazinger cuts Bagwell off from the tag. Slazinger drops Bagwell with a shoulder-breaker, then tags Pierce in for an elbow drop that gets 2. Pierce misses a charge to the corner, and this time Bagwell’s able to make the tag.
Scorpio comes in with some rapid punching, a great kick to Slazinger, and a superkick on Pierce. Scorpio goes up top, and down he comes with a big splash that gets 2. Bagwell runs in there to deal with Slazinger, so all four guys are in there. The Texans get thrown into each other, Slazinger eats a dropkick from Scorpio, and it’s time for the end. Bagwell drops Pierce with a back suplex, Scorpio comes off the top with a 450 SPLASH, and that’s it after 12:46.
My Thoughts: This was good for what it was. I don’t believe the crowd ever thought the heels would win, and the closing stretch was a great opportunity for Bagwell and Scorpio to showcase their offense. The botched dive was the only real mistake. Good pace to this one, I particularly liked the gutwrench powerbomb. More to come from these four, that’s for sure. **1/2.
Mr. Wonderful is with Missy Hyatt for an interview, and apparently this guy named THE EQUALIZER is there. Oh no. Orndorff’s promo where he pumped himself up was pretty good. He almost slipped up and said WWF while ranting and raving. The Equalizer is there to help Orndorff mess people up. Okay. Orndorff eventually started talking about Ricky Steamboat, who for some reason didn’t have a match. Doesn’t quite make sense to me.
Lord Steven Regal (w/Sir William) vs. Erik Watts
Pre-Match Thoughts: I could have gone the rest of my life without another Erik Watts appearance. He brought little American flags to the ring with him. Disgusting. Nice to see Regal being given a push. I don’t know exactly why WCW decided he should be given one. Maybe Dusty Rhodes thought this idea was too good to pass up. I don’t know.
Match Review: Watts got a chant going, but the crowd doesn’t care that much. Regal doesn’t want to lock up with this swine. When he does, he goes to work on the arm with a wristlock. Watts reverses and Regal counters with a monkey flip, but Watts holds on. Regal eventually stops the hold, and we get a good counter from Watts in addition to an overhead throw and leg drop. Watts goes to an armbar, but Regal kips up and reverses it. Regal tries to force Watts down, but instead Watts reverses the knucklelock. Regal reverses it himself, then Watts kips up and Regal cradles him up for 2. We get some reversals that all end up in two counts, then it’s back to square one. Schiavone then made a shoot comment about how fans aren’t conditioned to react to this kind of wrestling. That’s much more honesty than I usually hear from an announcer. Watts takes Regal down and armbars him, then a sunset flip gets 2. It’s actually difficult to review a Regal match because of all the things he does. Regal goes to some European uppercuts, then misses a knee drop. Watts kicks him down to the canvas and goes for the STF, but SIR WILLIAM SLAPS WATTS to break it. Regal then rolls Watts up, grabs the tights, and gets the 3 count at 7:32.
My Thoughts: People will certainly disagree but I found this match exciting and quite entertaining. Regal’s style is good for my interests, especially when the match is wrestled at pace. I liked the addition of having Regal cheat here. People needed to have a reason to boo him, and over time he became a chronic cheater. **1/4.
Very interesting that they’d hype War Games at Fall Brawl when there was absolutely no reason for such a match to happen at this particular point.
After that, Regal was interviewed and said he wanted to take Orndorff’s TV title. Interesting.
Maxx Payne vs. Johnny B. Badd
Pre-Match Thoughts: They actually aired a video package for this match. By package I mean they showed Payne blasting Badd with the BADD BLASTER repeatedly. Obviously they had to blow this feud off, but I can’t recall them giving so much important time to something so meaningless. This may be Badd’s worst outfit of all. Can’t help but shake my head repeatedly.
Match Review: Badd is wearing a mask. WHY? He jumps Payne, then a cross body gets 2. Are we pretending the Badd Blaster destroyed his face? Badd then takes a charge at Payne, and flies way over the top and out to the floor. Payne pulls Badd back in there and snap suplexes him, then he follows up with a hammerlock slam. Payne nails Badd with a back elbow, then it’s time for an armbar. Badd fights out of that, but Payne cuts him off and drops him with a backbreaker for 2. Payne goes for the PAYNEKILLER (Fujiwara armbar), but Badd makes the ropes. Payne suplexes Badd again for 2, then Badd goes for a sunset flip that gets 2 for him. Badd goes for a cross body, but Payne catches and slams him. Payne misses the elbow, so Badd dropkicks him over the top. Now that was bad. Badd decides to crush a prone Payne with a PLANCHA, don’t know what the logic was there. Payne posts Badd, then clotheslines the post on accident. Badd throws Payne back in the ring and goes up top, but he slips and has to come off the second rope with a terrible cross body that gets 3 at 4:53.
My Thoughts: Fair to say that match did not end well. They blew just about everything towards the end, I don’t know what was going on there. Payne’s bump over the top looked so fake and business exposing that the announcers didn’t really sell that at all. I wouldn’t have either. Strange match. 1/2*.
Paul Roma and Arn Anderson vs. The Hollywood Blonds for the WCW/NWA Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: Roma will get some crowd love by proxy I think. If not, the whole thing was even more of a complete failure. The Horsemen had these weird custom airbrushed shirts. They were also wearing white. This is a bit weird. Roma just doesn’t look very comfortable. The last match ended quickly and left two hours on this show for four matches. Pillman and Austin were getting some heat for the lack of a good TV rating at the Clash, so it would be surprising if they kept their titles.
Match Review: Austin and Roma will start this one, and the Blonds immediately stall with Pillman acting like he wants to fight a fan. Austin gets back in the ring and doesn’t break clean, and when he locks up with Roma again the same thing happens. They then trade hammerlocks, and Roma pops Austin in the face to knock him out of the ring. Pillman tags in there, and he wants Roma’s elbow pad checked. Pillman then checks in his trunks for a foreign object, but isn’t going to use it yet. Arn tags in and elbows Pillman in the mouth, but Pillman comes back with a turnbuckle shot. Pillman hip tosses Arn, then starts rolling the camera and taunting him. Arn pulls Pillman’s hair to knock him down, so Austin tags in and Arn arm drags him. Austin backdrops Arn in response, then some elbow smashes get 2. Arn forearms Austin to the outside, and I guess it’s break time. Austin wants to shake hands with Arn, but Arn boots him in the gut and tags in Roma for a double axehandle from the top rope. Roma puts a wristlock on him, but Austin tries to get out with a bear hug. Instead, Roma sunset flips him for 2. Austin tries a powerbomb, but instead Roma takes him down with a horrible backslide for 2. Roma misses a cross body, then Pillman tags in and Roma picks him up with a choke lift. Roma then clotheslines Pillman and covers for 2, so Arn tags in for a wristlock. Arn then picks Pillman up and drops him throat-first on the top rope, which leads to a catapult and Arn hitting Pillman from behind. Pillman’s ass cheek is hanging out. Oh no. He sends Arn to the outside, teases a dive over the top, winds up on the apron, and jumps into the rail on accident. Arn tries a suplex when Pillman gets back in there, but instead Roma sunset flips Pillman from the top for 2. Pillman knees Roma to the outside, so Austin drops Roma on the rail. Austin makes a legal tag in there and boots Roma in the gut, then gutwrench suplexes him. Austin nails Roma with a short clothesline, then he does some pushups. He drops some knees on Roma, then brings Pillman back in there for some chops. Austin makes his way back in the ring, and Roma boots him in the face on a charge to the corner. Austin goes to punch Arn to stop him from tagging in, then the Blonds choke Roma in their corner. It’s very difficult for the Blonds to get heat while beating this guy up. Pillman and Roma try to dropkick each other, then both of them wipe out.
Arn finally makes the tag in there and takes Austin out with a backdrop, then Pillman eats a DDT. Austin breaks up the cover, and Pillman covers Anderson for a very close 2 count. Austin tags back in and slams Arn, then he goes up top and comes down with an elbow smash for 2. Austin chokes Arn with his boot, then rams Arn into Pillman’s boot as he makes the tag out. Arn tries to fight out of the corner with some headbutts and stuff, but he’s trapped and Pillman is able to tag out. Austin throws Arn out and goes for a PILEDRIVER ON THE FLOOR, but Arn backdrops him instead. Both guys roll back into the ring, but Austin cuts Arn off from the tag and covers for 2. Arn tries to fight back again and goes for a DDT, but Austin picks him up and drapes him on the top rope. Pillman gets in a few shots while Arn is on the apron, but when Arn makes it to his feet, he drops Austin with a stun gun. Austin rolls over to Pillman and makes the tag, and Pillman draws Roma in, distracting the referee so that Arn’s cradle doesn’t get the three count. Arn and Pillman then collide with each other, and Austin cuts Arn off again, this time with a back suplex that gets 2. Arn winds up on the apron, and Austin goes to suplex him into the ring only for Arn to suplex him out! Arn gets cut off AGAIN, and Pillman covers him for 2. Pillman takes Arn down with a flying head-scissors, then he goes up to the second rope only to be clotheslined on the way down.
Now we have another hot tag, and this time Roma cleans house. He backdrops Austin, press slams Pillman, and all four guys are in the ring. Roma clotheslines Pillman, then Arn tosses Pillman out of there. Arn SPINEBUSTERS Austin, and Roma covers for the nearest of 2 counts. Austin goes for a slam, but Roma cradles him up only for the referee to usher Arn out of the ring. Pillman clotheslines Roma, Austin grabs Roma’s tights, and the Blonds keep their belts after 26:16.
My Thoughts: I’ve seen some differing reviews for this match, but this just did not do it for me. The work was good, but it was too long and the crowd didn’t give a single fuck. The Blonds couldn’t get heat on Roma, and he was in the match for a very long time. I don’t understand why he took the pin when he was the new guy. I’d give it **3/4 for the good work, but again, this doesn’t do it for me. Just not the right mixture of things I need to see in long tag matches.
Rick Rude vs. Dustin Rhodes in an IRON MAN MATCH for the WCW United States Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Neither man is the champion heading into this. I don’t really know what to expect of this match. Rude has looked a bit off in his 1993 matches, certainly nothing compared to his performances in 1991 and 1992. I’m not sure having a 30 minute match with him in it is the best idea WCW ever had. Rude wasn’t in possession of the title belt anymore.
Match Review: There’s a timer in the corner this time! I approve. After about a minute of stalling, the two lock up, tumble across the ropes, and have to be broken up. That happens again, so they’ve killed two minutes already. Rude goes to the eyes and beats Dustin up for a little bit, but Dustin comes back with a nice backdrop. He throws Rude from corner to corner for a while, then sits on him for a chinlock. Rhodes swivels his hips for a little bit, which gets some great commentary from Ventura. That was amazing. Dustin does some air humping in between chinlocks, which gets a good laugh out of me. THAT’S VULGAR THOUGH. Dustin tries to jump on Rude’s back, but winds up jumping on his knees instead. Rude follows up with a clothesline, then heads up top and flies down with a clubbing right to the head. Rude goes to a bear hug, which Dustin has to get out of with some elbows. Rude follows with a belly to belly suplex for 2, then goes to his own chinlock. Dustin picks Rude up on his shoulders and drops him to the mat, then he misses a splash. Big mistake. Dustin is still able to trip Rude and go to work on his leg, which lasts until Rude pokes Dustin in the eye while Dustin has an Indian deathlock on him. When they get up this time, they trade bombs until Rude blocks a backdrop attempt. Rude then drops Dustin with a cool looking backbreaker, then the RUDE AWAKENING gets the fall at 13:20.
Rude heads up top to continue things, and he hits Dustin with a flying clothesline for 2. Rude smashes Dustin’s face into the mat, and we’re apparently halfway done with the match. Rude then drops Dustin throat-first on the top rope, and Dustin takes a hard bump on the ramp. Dustin beats the count and gets back in the ring, but Rude puts him in a chinlock. Dustin fights out, but runs into a big knee and falls all the way across the ring. They trade chops for a little bit, but Rude boots Dustin to put a stop to that. Rude goes for the TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER, and of course Dustin reverses it. These guys did that spot about a LOT. Dustin covers for 2, then charges at Rude and misses, flying over the top. Rude snap suplexes Dustin when he gets back in there, and that gets a 2 count. Rude does that once more, getting 2 again. Dustin reverses a suplex into his own, and covers for a 2 count of his own. Rude pulls Dustin into the buckle to stop his momentum, then he goes up top for another one of those clubbing blows. Rude works Dustin over a bit more, taking him down with a knee lift and doing some poses. Rude goes back to that chinlock, but Dustin fights out. Rude now goes to a sleeper, but Dustin doesn’t quite go to sleep. He gets out of the sleeper with a jawbreaker, which makes Rude snot rocket him. Good heel work. Rude goes to a throat shot, then rams Dustin into the buckle a few times, which leads to Dustin FIGHTING BACK. Rude goes to the eyes, and that causes Dustin to take a tumble over the top. Rude snot rockets Dustin AGAIN, and when Dustin gets back in the ring, Rude decides to have a boxing match with him. Eventually he ducks to avoid a punch, so Dustin runs the ropes and BULLDOGS him for a fall at 26:55!
Dustin heads up top to try and capitalize on what just happened, and flies off with a BIG ELBOW that gets 2. For some reason I thought that would get a fall. Dustin goes for a PILEDRIVER, but that only gets 2. Dustin picks Rude up and slams him, then drops an elbow for another 2 count. There’s about one minute left, right as Dustin hits Rude with a series of clotheslines that get 2. Dustin goes to his own sleeper, but Rude goes to the jawbreaker himself. Rude heads up top, but Dustin gets over there and dodges him. Dustin drops Rude with a DDT and covers, but the 3 count is made when the time is up at 30:01.
My Thoughts: I didn’t mind this match, but the finish was absolutely terrible. There were parts of the match where it felt like they were burning time, and there were a whole lot of restholds. The commentary carried the match for the most part. I couldn’t imagine seeing this go thirty minutes without these two on commentary to keep things fun. **1/2 is as far as I could possibly go. They did work hard, and the closing stretch was good. That finish, though. Made the whole thing feel completely pointless.
Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham for the NWA Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: This was being presented as Flair’s last chance to win a title. He then wrestled for 15 more years. That’s quite incredible to me. Before the match, they showed Flair attacking Windham at the Clash, as well as Flair and Windham fighting both in the ring and in the parking lot during an episode of Worldwide. The problem with this feud is that people really wanted to cheer Windham. Windham had a blown out knee and was never really the same from this point on, sadly. Flair’s gold robe was some interesting foreshadowing.
Match Review: They lock up, and Windham goes right to some punches. Flair fires off the chops, but Windham clotheslines him. Flair comes back with more chops, so Windham leaves the ring. He gets back in there and shoulders Flair down, then throws him upside down into the corner and out to the floor. Windham clotheslines Flair on the floor, and suplexes him back into the ring for good measure. Flair pokes him in the eye, clotheslines him in the corner, and follows that up with more chops. Flair goes to a sleeper, but Windham runs him into the corner to break it. Windham takes Flair down with a Samoan drop, then powerslams him for a 2 count. This crowd is DEAD. Windham hits Flair with a clothesline and covers for another 2 count, but Flair comes back with some right hands and a roll up that gets 2. Flair hits Windham with a cross body that sends Windham over the top, but Windham pulls Flair out there and slams him. Windham beats Flair up in the corner when he gets back in the ring, but Flair comes out of the corner with an inverted atomic drop. He follows that with a knee drop, and goes for a suplex that Windham blocks. Instead, Windham puts Flair on the top rope for the SUPERPLEX! Windham decides to head up top after that, and Flair moves out of the way of his flying elbow. Flair cradles Windham up for 2, then they trade punches for a little bit. Flair gets thrown upside down into the corner again, and flies off the top with a cross body that Windham reverses for 2. Flair and Windham then collide with each other, and Flair drops Windham with a back suplex after that. Flair goes after Windham’s knee, but Windham makes the ropes. Flair goes after it again, but this time Windham kicks him away. So, Flair kicks him in the knee next time, locks on the FIGURE-FOUR, and Windham makes what looked like a mistake to me by staying down for the 3 count after 11:28.
After the match, Flair cut a promo about his title win and said some stuff about all his potential challengers. Weird to see him doing a babyface promo at this particular point of his career.
My Thoughts: The crowd popped big for Flair winning, but that finish was extremely flat to say the least. Don’t know who booked the finishes on this show, but they’re largely terrible. Anyway, the crowd didn’t care about the match no matter what Windham and Flair did. They did quite a bit to try and keep the crowd involved, but it just didn’t happen. This is a strange event. The way they acted like Flair won their actual title was going a little too far, though. Everyone knew Vader was the real champion and that this was a second-tier belt. **1/2.
Masters of the Powerbomb (w/Harley Race and Col. Robert Parker) vs. The British Bulldog and Sting
Pre-Match Thoughts: Good tag team name for Vader and Sid, it must be said. I don’t understand why they booked this match and I probably never will be able to. Vader and Sid were presented as the most important people on the show and it would be hard to make a counter argument against that. Sting and Davey looked like friends with their matching colors.
Match Review: Sting and Sid will start this one, and Sting tackles Sid to beat him up. Sting follows that with a facebuster, then Sid blocks his sunset flip, only to be given another facebuster. Sid comes back with a CHOKESLAM, then all four wind up in the ring. The heels throw Sting and Davey out and celebrate afterward, so the two babyfaces hit them with a double shoulderblock from the top rope! Bulldog and Vader make tags in, and Vader beats Bulldog down in the corner. So much for that. Vader follows with a clothesline, and he goes for a suplex only for Davey to counter with his own. Vader cuts off Bulldog’s momentum with a standing splash, then he drops an elbow on his nuts. Sid tags in there, and Vader clotheslines Bulldog before Sid hits him with a big boot. Sid puts a chinlock on Bulldog, then lets go and decides to stand on his head. Vader makes a tag in and levels Bulldog with a clothesline, then he throws his mask off in anger. Bulldog tries a sunset flip, but Vader goes for a BUTT SPLASH and misses instead. Sid comes in with a double axehandle, then it’s time for a nerve hold. Bulldog comes back with a bodyslam, but Sid makes the tag out and stops Bulldog from doing the same. Race decides to hold Bulldog in place, but Vader splashes his manager instead! Sting makes the hot tag in, and takes both big men out with a series of punches. Sting then dropkicks Vader, and knocks Sid out to the apron. Vader throws Sting into the corner and misses a charge, but he’s able to clothesline Sting anyway. Sid tags in and hits Sting with some clubbing shots, then he chokes him with his boot. Sid is comical. Vader tags in as I can see Ventura laughing at one of his jokes, and he knocks Sting down with some punches once more. Vader goes to the second rope now, and down he comes with a clothesline. Vader then puts Sting on the top rope, but Sting blocks the superplex and knocks Vader to the canvas. Sting tries to make the tag, but Vader cuts him off with a big elbow. Sid makes his way back into the ring for some kicks, and he follows up with a bodyslam. Sid misses an elbow drop, and finally Sting makes the tag.
Bulldog runs Sid over, but he runs into a big boot the next time he runs the ropes. Sid slams him into the mat and makes a tag, with Vader deciding that it’s time for a Samoan drop that gets 2. Vader decides it’s time to climb the ropes, and down he comes with a VADER BOMB that Sting has to prevent a cover after. Sid throws Sting to the outside and follows him out to the ramp, and I guess it’s brawling time. Now Vader goes up top, and HE COMES DOWN WITH A MOONSAULT. Sting rushes back into the ring to break up any potential cover, and after that, Bulldog takes Vader down with a crucifix that gets the 3 count after 16:44!
My Thoughts: There’s a lot to go over here, I think. I think they did a good job of sufficiently making Bulldog look like he got a fluke victory. Vader really wasn’t the kind of champion who could be taking big pinfall wins. They wanted to do Bulldog/Vader again, so Vader had to take a full. It still looked like a fluke. Sid looked like a goof in this match, it was clear for anyone to see but I don’t understand how everyone failed to see that. Instead they presented Sid as strong as ever. Sting not getting the big babyface win was a bit strange, but it was time to get used to that as that became the status quo for quite some time. ***1/2 for this one, don’t understand why they did this match but I liked it a lot. Vader’s moonsault was extremely impressive.
After the match, Schiavone has to tell Vader he’s the man as Vader smashes his chair. That’s the show!
This was a strange event, one where the matches were largely not that bad, but the storylines were extremely boring and uninventive. Lots of big mistakes with the booking, and given that Windham vs. Flair didn’t deliver, that’s sad. I’m not really looking forward to WCW at this particular point, but my next article is all WCW. That kind of sucks. It’s going to be a month of matches and in the end I hope I have a better feeling about that than I do this.
Wrestling Time: 2:00:55. Lots of wrestling here and not much else. They didn’t use all of their good talent either.
Best: Masters of the Powerbomb vs. Sting and Bulldog.
Worst: Maxx Payne vs. Johnny B. Badd. Not a whole lot nice to say about this. Way overdone.
Card Rating: 4/10. Not a very good outing. Maybe this article was the same!
