Sage Cortez
Heading into Battlebowl, WCW appeared to be a mess and had a very untalented roster at that particular time. Regardless of that, they pushed forward with more PPV events even when it didn’t make sense to hold them. This one in particular just does not feel like something I want to see. It is something I am going to see, though. This was just a week and a half after the last Clash show and was also in Florida. Silly card placement.
– November 20th, 1993, from the Civic Center in Pensacola, Florida
The introduction video is so wrestling. I don’t know any of these matches because I didn’t want to spoil the lottery for myself. I assume the obvious tropes will be part of this. Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura are the commentators once again, and their excitement level doesn’t seem as high as it should be. One of these wrestlers looked a lot like Dino Bravo but I can’t place who it was just yet. Gene Okerlund and Fifi are going to do the drawing.
THE LETHAL LOTTERY: Cactus Jack and Vader (WCW Champion, w/Harley Race) vs. Stevie Ray and Charlie Norris
Pre-Match Thoughts: That first team completely dropped all pretense of this not being rigged. I dig it though. Given the second team this sounds assured to be terrible. What a total waste. I almost can’t believe it, but then again, it’s WCW. I should believe it. Vader and Cactus go at it in the aisle, until Stevie Ray runs out to help Vader beat up Cactus. Eventually Vader punches Harley Race! Norris runs down and gets clobbered by Vader, so the match starts after that.
Match Review: Stevie Ray and Cactus Jack are the legal men, and Cactus blocks a charge to the corner. He throws Stevie to the outside, where Vader beats him up until Cactus attacks Vader. Haha. Stevie slams Cactus when they’re in the ring, and Norris tags in for a big boot. Cactus takes control, then Vader makes a reluctant tag in and clotheslines Norris hard. Vader picks Norris up and slams him, then drops on him with a Vader Bomb. Vader throws Norris out of the ring, and Cactus flies onto Norris with a somersault from the apron. Back in the ring, Vader runs Norris over and tags out. Cactus drops a leg on Norris for 2, then back suplexes him for 2. Stevie makes a switch in, levels Cactus with a clothesline, and gets into it with Vader too. That’s a mistake. Cactus eats a boot from Stevie anyway, then Norris tags in for a boot of his own. Norris suplexes Cactus, and then kicks him out of the ring. Stevie throws Cactus into the rail, but Cactus crawls back into the ring anyway. Norris goes to a chinlock for a while, until Vader breaks it up with a clothesline. Stevie makes a tag in there, and Cactus drops him with the double arm DDT. Cactus makes the tag out to Vader, who gets chopped a few times by Norris. Vader runs Norris over to a decent face pop, then splashes him. This is cool. Vader takes Norris and POWERBOMBS him, and that’s going to get the victory after 7:35.
My Thoughts: This match sucked, but it was cool to see people cheer Vader. It was interesting given that it was somewhat symbolic of the direction wrestling was headed in. The cool guys got cheered more and more as time went on. 1/2* for the action, it was extremely dull.
THE LETHAL LOTTERY: Paul Roma and Erik Watts vs. Johnny B. Badd and Brian Knobbs (WCW Tag Champion, w/Missy Hyatt)
Pre-Match Thoughts: This match sounds horrendous. Can’t really see a way that it turns out better than expected. It being that bad really makes me not want to watch it at all, but I don’t have a choice in the matter. Knobbs had a great reaction of disgust to being teamed up with Badd.
Match Review: Badd and Roma will start, which seems to be a battle of two of the most disliked guys out there. They lock up but nothing comes of it. Badd and Roma then try to hip toss each other, but wind up in the ropes instead. When they lock up again, Badd takes Roma down with an arm drag. After some wristlocking, Roma fights out only for the same thing to happen. Knobbs tags in and nails Roma with a clothesline, and it appears he’s trying to make Badd nasty. Okay. Knobbs misses another clothesline, and Roma backdrops him this time. Roma slams Knobbs, dropkicks him, and tags in Erik Watts. Watts hits Knobbs with a knee lift, then dropkicks him out of the ring. Badd makes a tag in as a result of that, and shakes hands with Watts. Okay. He hammerlocks him, and that gets reversed. We get a halfway decent wrestling sequence, and it ends with a series of roll ups that get 2 each time. Roma makes the tag and hits Badd with an elbow from the top, then drops Badd with a hammerlock slam. Watts tags in the same way, misses a charge to the corner, and Badd takes him down with an overhead throw. Knobbs tags in, rams Watts into the buckle, and follows up with a clothesline in the corner. Watts takes Knobbs down with some arm drags, so Knobbs tags out. Watts tags out as well, and they hit Badd with a double back elbow for 2. Roma powerslams Badd, but Missy is on the apron so Knobbs can break the cover. Badd takes Roma down with a headlock, but Roma breaks it and slaps his own on. Knobbs trips Roma as he runs the ropes, which makes Badd unhappy. Come on. Knobbs then tags in there and kicks Roma out of the ring, then rams him into the apron. Knobbs suplexes Roma for 2, then tags in Badd for a headlock. Why are there headlocks at this stage of the match? The two guys collide with each other, and Knobbs cuts Roma off from his corner. Knobbs bodyslams Roma, then says that’s the finish. He goes to the second rope, dives onto Roma’s foot, and Roma makes the tag out after an enzuigiri.
Watts is a shitty house of fire, who hits Knobbs with a back elbow and a clothesline as well. He slams Knobbs, drops an elbow on him, and rams him into the buckle a lot. Watts then takes Knobbs down with a cross body, but Knobbs reverses it for the 3 count at 12:57.
My Thoughts: Never quite got out of first gear. Brutal match as a result of that, and worst of all neither pairing showed any team work. It was hard to watch and I wasn’t even slightly entertained. DUD. Just like the last WCW show I watched, not a good start.
THE LETHAL LOTTERY: The Shockmaster and Paul Orndorff vs. Ricky Steamboat and Lord Steven Regal (WCW TV Champion, w/Sir William)
Pre-Match Thoughts: Just fuck off. What a terrible way to use such good talent. The Shockmaster will probably be a complete drain on this match. I can’t quite believe this is happening. This show is so easy to book and they went the opposite direction with all of it.
Match Review: Orndorff and Steamboat will start the match, which is the only prudent thing to do. When they lock up, Steamboat takes Orndorff down with a headlock. Steamboat then shoulderblocks him, and Orndorff tries to throw him over the top. Steamboat skins the cat in and takes Orndorff over the top with a flying head-scissors, then they brawl on the floor. BUSINESS HAS PICKED UP. Back on the inside, Orndorff gets knocked around after a dive from the top and covered for 2. Steamboat goes to the chinlock, then dodges a monkey flip when they get up. Right back to the headlock, which Orndorff bridges out of. Steamboat dodges a charge to the corner, then atomic drops Orndorff into the buckle and they both collide. Shockmaster and Regal make the tag in, and Regal wipes his hand off afterward. that’s funny. He looks disgusted by the Shockmaster. Regal locks up with him and gets shoved to the canvas to nobody’s surprise. Regal tries a headlock, but Shockmaster breaks it and pats him on the head. This match just died. Regal goes for a cross body, but Shockmaster slams him instead. Orndorff tags in, and of course he starts arguing with his partner. Regal wants to shake hands with Orndorff, which makes Steamboat angry. When Regal and Orndorff lock up, Regal slaps a headlock on him and takes him down. When they get up, Regal hip tosses Orndorff for 2. Orndorff comes back with a backslide that gets 2, and they shake hands again. Regal goes to a full nelson, but it gets reversed. Regal has a counter of his own, but nothing comes of it. Steamboat angrily tags in, and Orndorff catches him for a stun gun. Orndorff drops Steamboat with a side slam, then a bodyslam. He tags the Shockmaster in, and the fat dude misses an elbow drop. Regal refuses to tag in, but Shockmaster makes him. Shockmaster misses a splash in the corner, then Orndorff accidentally elbow drops him. Regal tries to hit Shockmaster with an umbrella, but Steamboat grabs it and clocks Regal with it. Shockmaster splashes Regal, and that’s good for the victory after 6:27.
My Thoughts: That felt like a tale of two matches. As soon as Shockmaster got in there everything went to shit. It wasn’t Regal’s fault, I don’t think anyone would blame him. Momentum was never recovered after that. Incredible that Shockmaster would get to pin him as well. 3/4* for the start.
The way they talked about Starrcade 1993 was nice, but one thing that bothers me when wrestling promotions reminisce about the past is that they only seem to do it when what they’re doing at the time is awful.
Vader was in the back with Mean Gene for a meeting, and they were going to announce the venue for Starrcade. To Charlotte they went. This seems like something that should have been done on WCW Saturday Night. Never mind. Ric Flair walks into the picture, and he has a contract drawn up for a match with Vader for the title. He wants it. If Flair doesn’t win, HE WILL RETIRE. Vader sounds up for it.
THE LETHAL LOTTERY: Awesome Kong and the Equalizer vs. King Kong and Dustin Rhodes (WCW US Champion)
Pre-Match Thoughts: Awesome Kong is definitely not the female wrestler. His team is the worst I’ve EVER heard of. What was the goal here? Were they trying to fuck the crowd over? This is embarrassing. The Colossal Kongs were managed by Harley Race so who knows what to make of this.
Match Review: Equalizer and Rhodes will start things, and Dustin grabs onto a hammerlock. Equalizer shoulders him down, but slowly runs the ropes and is taken down with an arm drag. Equalizer breaks the armbar, then tags in Awesome Kong so Dustin can hit him with some dropkicks. Dustin dropkicks his fat ass into the ropes, then rolls him up for 2. Awesome Kong comes back with awful punches, then whiffs on an elbow drop. King Kong tags in, so we get a fat showdown. He tags Dustin back in immediately, so his tag partner can beat Dustin down. Or not. Equalizer tags in, and Dustin wristlocks him. King Kong tags in and clotheslines Equalizer, then Equalizer returns the favor. Kill me now. This is SO BAD. I’m unable to formulate words. King Kong runs into a big boot, then Equalizer hits him with a flying shoulderblock. Equalizer misses a leg drop, and both guys make tags. Anyway, Dustin hits Awesome Kong with a BIONIC ELBOW for 2. Dustin goes for a sunset flip, and that also gets 2. Everyone gets in the ring, Dustin bulldogs Awesome Kong, and that’s the finish after 5:56.
My Thoughts: This was one of the worst matches I’ve watched in a long time. I’m so not feeling any of this stuff. I don’t know what’s going on with this crap, but there hasn’t been anything here I’ve wanted to watch. Given the wrestlers remaining in the locker room when they show the draws, they probably will come up with something soon. -*.
THE LETHAL LOTTERY: Sting and Jerry Sags (WCW Tag Champion, w/Missy Hyatt) vs. Ron Simmons and Keith Cole
Pre-Match Thoughts: This has some potential. I mean, it’s a lot better than everything else’s there’s been to work with so far. That’s for sure. I haven’t seen many Simmons matches in the last little while, but regardless of that he wasn’t terrible.
Match Review: Sags and Simmons lock up, and Sags hits him on the break. The crowd is so dead. Sags goes for a hip toss, but Simmons reverses and follows up with a dropkick. He shoulders Sags down, then tags in Cole for, uh…a wristlock. He drops some legs on Sags’ arm, and those don’t look like they hurt at all. Sags tries a bodyslam, but Cole holds onto the arm. The crowd wants Sting. Sags nails Cole with a clothesline, but won’t tag Sting just yet. Good way to get heat. Sags chokes Cole with the ropes, but Cole arm drags him. What a jobber this Cole is, for that to be his big move in that spot. Simmons tags in for a double back elbow, and that gets 2. Sting finally gets to tag in there, and Simmons slaps his hand away instead of shaking it. They do break clean, then Simmons shoulders Sting for 2. Sting takes Simmons down with a waistlock, then runs him over a few times himself. Cole makes a tag in and kicks Sting’s arm, but nothing comes of that. Cole arm drags Sting, then Sting takes him down with a backslide for 2. Sags makes a tag in, but Cole arm drags him. Sags comes back with a knee drop, then an elbow drop to the back of the head. Simmons tags in there and so does Sting, and Sting takes him down with a cross body and a clothesline. Simmons seems upset. He refuses to break clean this time, turns around and wallops him. Simmons powerslams him, and Cole tags in there for an armbar. This guy sucks. Simmons tags back in for a facebuster, then catapults him into the bottom rope. Cole tags in again, and goes back to the arm once more. Wow. Sting gets in something with a backdrop, then picks Cole up and slams him. Sting follows with a suplex, then hits him with the STINGER SPLASH. Sags makes a blind tag in, then nails Cole with a flying elbow from the top for the victory at 13:14.
Once everyone else left the ring, Simmons took Cole out with a SPINEBUSTER.
My Thoughts: Finally there was something to watch and be interested in. This wasn’t super spectacular or something like that, but it was a cohesive wrestling match with a story, structure, and decent athleticism. That’s acceptable. **1/4. I liked the story of this where Cole would wrestle like a dope and eventually Simmons couldn’t take it anymore. Seemed rational.
THE LETHAL LOTTERY: Ric Flair and Steve Austin (w/Col. Robert Parker) vs. 2 Cold Scorpio and Maxx Payne
Pre-Match Thoughts: So, we get two good ones. I can live with this. Really psyched to see how Austin and Flair work as a team, and Scorpio vs. Flair is super interesting. This should be given the most time of all the Lethal Lottery matches. Austin and Flair argued before this started. Maxx Payne turned babyface somewhere in the previous months but I didn’t think it was even worth pointing out until now.
Match Review: Austin said that he’s the captain so he should start the match. He will do so. Payne starts with him, and Austin can’t pick him up. Payne takes Austin to the canvas, then shoves him down. Austin wants to make a tag, but Flair struts on the apron instead. Payne shoulderblocks Austin a few times, and gets a 2 count as a result. Austin stomps him in the gut, but Payne gets up and picks him up with a choke lift. Scorpio makes a tag in, and Austin slugs him out of the ring. Austin tries to suplex him back in, but Scorpio flips through and turns a hip toss attempt from Austin into an arm drag of his own. Scorpio dropkicks Austin as well, then Austin forces his way out by tagging Flair. Flair and Scorpio shake hands, then Flair takes him down with a drop toe-hold. Scorpio reverses to a hammerlock, then Flair takes him down with a headlock. Reverse to head-scissors, then Scorpio bridges up to a backslide for 2. Scorpio shoulders Flair down hard, then tags in Maxx Payne. Flair heads up top, but Payne slams him down. Payne misses an elbow drop, then Austin tags in and gets backdropped. Austin ducks to the outside, as Scorpio makes a tag in. Flair does too, and hits Scorpio with hard chops. Scorpio comes back with a splash in the corner, then suplexes Flair. A standing moonsault gets 2, then Scorpio cradles Flair up for 2. Some great chemistry here. Scorpio gets backdropped by Flair, then Austin makes the tag in and goes right to work with knee drops. Austin then goes for a side slam, but Scorpio floats through and a sunset flip gets 2 for him. He hits Austin with a SUPERKICK, then goes to the top rope only for Austin to get up and crotch him. Payne runs in to complain, but Austin SUPERPLEXES Scorpio for 2. Austin follows with a backbreaker, then stands on Scorpio’s throat for a little bit. Flair tags in and drops a knee on Scorpio, which gets 2. Flair’s back suplex gets 2, then Austin tags in and backdrops Scorpio. Austin drops the knee for 2, then goes to an abdominal stretch. When Austin cheats, Flair stops it and they get into a slap fight. Flair wins it, then picks Scorpio up for a big suplex that gets 2. Austin goes up top for some reason, and it’s a knee drop after Flair slams Scorpio. Payne breaks the cover, so Austin goes to a chinlock. Scorpio fights out, rams Austin into the buckle, and follows with a spinning wheel kick.
Flair and Payne make tags in, and Payne doesn’t sell Flair’s chops. Flair sells for Payne, that’s for sure. Payne backdrops him, clotheslines him, and misses a charge to the corner. Flair locks on the FIGURE-FOUR, and Payne gives up after 14:31.
My Thoughts: This is very likely the only thing on this show worth watching at all. Scorpio was a great performer, especially with other great performers. Payne did his job well and gave a good account of himself. The match was very fast paced and I enjoyed it quite a bit. ***1/4. Scorpio and Flair had a natural flow, I feel robbed that we didn’t get a 30 minute match between them. Doesn’t make any sense.
THE LETHAL LOTTERY: Rick Rude (WCW International Champion) and Shanghai Pierce vs. Marcus Bagwell and Tex Slazenger
Pre-Match Thoughts: Way to put your secondary, supposedly equal to Vader champion in a shit match. The booking on this has been so bad. I don’t get any of it. Heel teammates facing each other is too common a trope in this scenario.
Match Review: Rude and Pierce argued a little bit, but Rude will start things off with Bagwell. Rude shoves Bagwell down hard, then picks him up and suplexes him. Bagwell comes back with a drop toe-hold, then goes to an armbar and tags in Slazenger to do the same. Pierce makes a tag in, and once more we go through the same deal with two teammates not wanting to fight each other. Rude tags back in, and Slazenger attacks him from behind. Slazenger hits him with a back elbow, then brings in Bagwell to hold the armbar. Bagwell misses a charge to the corner on Pierce, then comes back with a hip toss. After a bodyslam by Bagwell, a big splash gets 2. He arm drags Pierce, then they do some reversals that get zero heat. Rude makes a tag in, pounds on Bagwell, then goes to a chinlock. That’ll get the crowd into it. Pierce tags in, and Bagwell chinlocks him. Goodness. Pierce fights out, but Bagwell goes back to the armbar. At some point in here everyone must have agreed to give minimum effort because the crowd wasn’t interested. Bagwell suplexes Pierce, then Rude pulls the top rope down on Bagwell and he flies over the top. Rude tags in once Bagwell enters the ring, and he drops him with a front suplex. After a gutbuster, Pierce tags in and slams Bagwell. Pierce goes to the second rope, and drops a knee on Bagwell for 2. Rude gets in there and goes to a bear hug, then Pierce makes an illegal switch in and covers for 2. To the chinlock again, and this time it’s a long one. Bagwell fights out, but runs into a big boot. Pierce drops him with a GUTWRENCH POWERBOMB, but only gets 2 because Slazenger breaks the cover. Now they argue, and Slazenger makes the tag in there. Finally we get a brawl between two tag partners. About time. The crowd likes it too! Slazenger gets the better of the battle, and takes Pierce out with a clothesline. Rude makes a blind tag in, sneaks in for a RUDE AWAKENING, and gets the pin on Slazenger after 14:49.
My Thoughts: This was acceptable tag team wrestling, I’d give bonus points for them actually getting the crowd involved. They never did that in the other matches. I didn’t think the match was great or anything like that, but it wasn’t as horrible as the others. **, this is a show I really want to be able to forget.
THE LETHAL LOTTERY: Hawk and Rip Rogers vs. Davey Boy Smith and Booker T
Pre-Match Thoughts: Like I said, not fucking around with those lame Harlem Heat names. There were other guys in the draw, but this is what came out. Not a good matchup at all. The crowd isn’t on the verge of revolting at how bad this show is, it just feels like nobody cares. Rip Rogers got buried so bad when his name was announced. Hawk punched him in the aisle and seemingly knocked him out. Booker stomped him too.
Match Review: The camera keeps showing Rogers trying to get back to the ring, as Bulldog and Hawk start the match. They lock up, but both guys are really strong so nothing happens for a while. They try a test of strength, but nothing comes of that either. Booker tags in because he’s unhappy with that, as Rogers is still down on the ramp. I would bet everything I own that he takes the pin. Booker works Hawk over with some forearms, then puts a chinlock on him. Hawk comes back with some big shots, then picks Booker up and slams him. Booker does a spinarooni to get up, and hits Hawk with a clothesline. Weird seeing Hawk actually sell, it’s not right. Booker takes Hawk down with a side slam, then covers for 2 as Bulldog cheers on Hawk. That’s really dumb. Booker walks over and clobbers Rogers, as the crowd chants LOD for Hawk. That’s a bad look for WCW. Booker clotheslines Hawk with the top rope, then goes up top and hits him from behind. He follows by going back to the chinlock, and when they get up, Hawk clotheslines him. Booker gives him a backbreaker in response, then goes to the second rope for a flying elbow that misses. Hawk hits Booker with another clothesline, drops a fist on him, and picks Rogers up. He throws Rogers onto Booker, and once again Booker takes an embarrassing pin and gets defeated by Rogers after 7:55.
My Thoughts: The jobs that Harlem Heat had to do are genuinely embarrassing, especially this one. They could have done it any other way. I hated the match, it was really boring. The best person in it didn’t work at all, so that’s what you’d expect. 1/4*.
BATTLEBOWL
Pre-Match Thoughts: The participants are Rip Rogers, Hawk, Vader, Cactus Jack, Johnny B. Badd, Brian Knobbs, Paul Orndorff, the Shockmaster, Dustin Rhodes, King Kong, Sting, Jerry Sags, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, Rick Rude, and Shanghai Pierce. I just want this to be over. That being said, I’ve seen battle royals with far worse participants. Supposedly if somebody goes over the top and lands on the ramp, they aren’t eliminated. I forgot about that, but at Starrcade ’91 it made the match more interesting.
Match Review: Everyone gets right to brawling, and surprisingly Rogers isn’t immediately thrown out. Rude nearly has Dustin thrown out, but while that’s going on, Rogers gets knocked out of the ring by Badd and eliminated after 44 seconds. Cactus Jack dodges a clothesline charge from Shanghai Pierce, so Pierce flies out as a result. I liked seeing Cactus and Flair team up on Austin. This is not the best battle royal I’ve seen, there’s a lot of downtime between the big spots. Flair and Austin head to the outside and start brawling, which gives us some action. Badd takes a tumble to the ramp thanks to Orndorff throwing him out there, but no elimination yet. Orndorff then backdrops him out at 3:20 and he takes a huge bump. I’m really hoping for a final four with Cactus, Sting, Vader, and Flair in it. That’s quite unrealistic though. Orndorff nearly gets rid of Flair, but Hawk saves Flair. Then they start fighting each other. Cactus is trying to give Vader a SUPERPLEX, but instead Vader drops him to the canvas. I was hoping to see that. Vader then tosses Cactus over the top. Come on man. Dustin backdrops Orndorff out at the same time. Then the Shockmaster knocks out Awesome Kong, and the Nasties get rid of Shockmaster at 5:29. Vader picks Sting up and press slams him onto the ramp, and after some time, Dustin hits Austin in the gut as Austin jumps off the second rope. Everyone in the match now is or was at some point reasonably talented. Sting nearly gets rid of Knobbs, but Sags makes the save. Vader and Flair have interacted a bit too much for my liking. Flair nearly gets into it with Race, but the crowd doesn’t seem to care about anyone but Sting, who double clotheslines the Nasties. Vader nails Flair with a clothesline, then Sting tries to get rid of the Nasties only for Vader to stop it. Vader runs Sting over, then Austin works over Hawk. Hawk does the same to Austin, and this match needs to end more quickly than not. Austin and Dustin wind up on the outside, and Austin sends him into the post. Dustin is bleeding big time now. Dustin gets back in there and backdrops Knobbs over the top 13:36, then picks up Sags and Austin dumps them both right after. That was smart. Hawk backdrops Rude over the top, and now we’re down to five. Vader gets rid of Hawk, so our final four is Austin, Sting, Vader, and Flair. That’s not bad.
Austin hips Flair with some chops, then Vader walks over and beats Flair up. Sting suplexes Austin, as Vader misses a splash in the corner on Flair. Race pulls Flair onto the ramp, and now we get a brawl that the crowd finally gets into. Flair suplexes Race on the ramp, but Vader walks over and drops an elbow on Flair’s nuts. Vader splashes Flair, and now everyone assumes Flair isn’t getting back in the ring. Sting puts the SCORPION DEATHLOCK on Austin, but sees what happened to Flair and clotheslines Vader. Now everyone’s fighting on the ramp! Vader drops another elbow on the messed up Flair, who needs medical attention. They bring out the stretcher for Flair, who is deemed unable to continue while not actually being eliminated. Flair’s selling was awesome. 10/10 acting job. Austin wooing in his face about killed me. Now we have a 2 on 1 with Sting against Vader and Austin. They press slam Sting back into the ring, then head up top only for Sting to hit Austin with a big boot and powerslam Vader! Sting cleans house for a while, and the crowd’s going crazy now. BUSINESS HAS PICKED UP. Sting starts dodging and rolling away from the heel duo, but Vader runs him straight over eventually. Austin goes to the second rope and hits Sting with an elbow, then Sting gets double teamed even more. Vader splashes him a few times, then misses one and Sting gets up like a house of fire. He clotheslines Austin, clotheslines Vader, but Austin grabs him and tries to throw him out. Austin can’t quite do it, so he knee drops him instead. Vader goes to the second rope, and lands on Sting with the VADER BOMB. Vader hurt his back by the look of it. Austin heads up top and misses a knee drop on Sting, then Vader accidentally crushes him in the corner. Sting tosses Austin onto the ramp, and Vader clotheslines Sting over the top as well. Thing is, Austin rolled off the ramp to the floor, so he’s been eliminated after 23:31.
Vader and Sting are the only two left, and Vader hits him with a clothesline and big splash. Vader clobbers Sting with some punches, then they collide with each other and Sting falls in a way where he headbutts Vader in the nuts. Sting picks Vader up on his shoulders and tries to get rid of him, but can’t get any further than the top rope. Sting tries a STINGER SPLASH, but tumbles over the top and loses the match at 25:35.
My Thoughts: That did a really good job of reestablishing Vader as the main man in WCW. I know the time seems too long for a battle royal, but 12 minutes of this wasn’t a battle royal. It was a tag match and then a handicap bout. Both of which were really good. The battle royal had some dead spots, but I think the way the match finished more than made up for it. The match didn’t redeem the show, but this made me feel a little better about how I suffered through this. Great booking, but I’m sure people were annoyed by Flair not actually being thrown over the top. ***.
Well, that show was terrible almost the whole time. The effort was lacking, the crowd didn’t care about anyone but Sting, and the show was just really difficult to watch as a result of those things. I’m glad they buried this concept because it wasn’t good. I know other people feel differently and like the idea of random tag teams, but I do not. It’s not for me at all. Of course, WCW’s roster at the time wasn’t very good. There were too many big guys who couldn’t work and they struggled to accommodate them all. Of course, that would be hard to do in any case. Next up, it’s over to the WWF for Survivor Series 1993.
Wrestling Time: 1:48:59. Goes without saying that’s a lot. There were no interviews, it was merely the lottery draw and the matches.
Best: Battle royal. Without question, it’s the only thing worth seeing from this.
Worst: Awesome Kong and the Equalizer vs. Dustin Rhodes and King Kong. This was a huge joke.
Card Rating: 3/10. Avoid forever.
