Through the Years: WCW Matches & Angles from SuperBrawl to Clash 15

 

There’s admittedly not a lot of content in this article, but it does explain what’s going on before Clash of the Champions. That’s the important thing, anyway. Not a lot of business news to discuss, other than that their SuperBrawl 1 returns were really low. No surprise there with the main event they advertised. Time to get to the next match, and this set will feature many tag team matches.

 

– Taped to air May 25th, 1991, on WCW Pro, from Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia

 

Ric Flair (WCW Champion) & Arn Anderson vs. Big Josh & Bobby Eaton (WCW TV Champion)

Pre-Match Thoughts: What in the world is Big Josh doing here? Were they going to do a Flair/Josh feud? It would have torn the house down I’m sure. Arn and Eaton continuing their thing is good news. Big Josh is a character who doesn’t seem apt to being in a team with somebody, which is why I don’t understand this.

Match Review: Josh and Arn will start this thing, and Arn can’t slam Josh. As such, Josh slams Arn. Arn gets kneed in the face, but comes back with his own knees. After punches from both guys, down goes Arn. Eaton and Flair tag in, and start slapping each other. Eaton takes Flair down with a shoulderblock, so Flair comes back with chops. Eaton hits him with chops too, and backdrops Flair as well. Big Josh tags in, so Flair takes a break. Flair spits at Eaton once he’s done with it, and that makes Eaton tag back in. Eaton backdrops Flair for a second time, and clotheslines him over the top! Flair comes back with a post shot of Eaton, throws him into the rail, and tags Arn back in. Arn gives Eaton a SPINEBUSTER, and back out he goes. Flair chops Eaton to the outside, where Arn hits the poor guy. Flair brings Eaton in the hard way, and Eaton starts a comeback by hitting Flair with some punches. Eaton then takes Flair down with a backslide for 2, and suplexes him. Eaton then throws Flair upside down into the corner and to the outside, so Flair drags Eaton out there to toss him into the rail. Flair decides to head up top, and there’s Eaton to slam him down. Eaton follows with a neckbreaker, and bodyslams Flair too. Eaton hits Flair with the ALABAMA JAM, so Arn gets in the ring to break the cover. Arn then knees Big Josh to the outside, grabs his axe handle, and Eaton blocks the attempt to attack with it. Eaton then hits Flair and Arn with it, getting himself disqualified at 10:09.

My Thoughts: This match was good, although it didn’t quite get the heat they wanted. They hardly used Matt Borne in the match. He was a really good worker, but he wasn’t a fit here, so he just stood there. Flair and Eaton were doing their own thing, building up to their own match at Clash of the Champions. **1/2 for that thing. It was obvious they were working out the kinks.

 

– Taped to air May 25th, 1991, on World Championship Wrestling, from Cumberland County Civic Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina

 

One Man Gang & Terrence Taylor (w/Mr. Hughes, Alexandra York, and Kevin Sullivan) vs. Dustin Rhodes & Ricky Morton

Pre-Match Thoughts: Did Dusty think the heels had enough people accompanying them to ringside or what? I mean, damn. There is such a thing as too many. Morton walked out on Dustin the last time I watched them team up, so I’m surprised Dustin would be dumb enough to team with him again. One Man Gang is doing a thing where he’s chained up and Sullivan has to release him from those chains.

Match Review: Dustin will start the match with Taylor, and he pushes Taylor to the canvas. Dustin hits Taylor with dropkicks to knock him out of the ring, and the Gang gets in there. These guys don’t want to mess with him, but I don’t know why they’re calling him a giant. Dustin Rhodes is as tall as him. Taylor gets back in the ring, and Dustin shoulders him for 2. Gang tags in, and Dustin beats him up. Well, we can tell who the booker’s son is. Morton tags in and punches Gang, but can’t knock him down. Taylor is brought in there, and Morton sunset flips him for 2. Morton takes Taylor down with an arm drag, tags Dustin back in, and Dustin drops a leg on Taylor’s arm. Dustin sunset flips Taylor for 2, and takes him down with an arm drag. Morton tags back in, gets poked in the eye, and Taylor goes for a suplex. Morton reverses to a cradle that gets 2, and takes Taylor down with an arm drag. Morton continues with arm drags, and Taylor makes a tag out. Gang takes over, landing some really big looking shots. That’s just Morton’s selling, though. Gang clotheslines Morton, and drops a leg on him. Taylor tags in and Morton arm drags him, then makes a tag out. Now Alexandra York walks over to Morton, tells him something, and he leaves. HE DID IT AGAIN. Dustin misses a cross body and flies to the outside, where Gang stomps on him and Sullivan beats him with a chain. Gang puts Dustin back in the ring, and Taylor covers him for 2. That should have been the end. Dustin knees Taylor in the face, but he can’t make a tag out. Taylor clocks him, tags in Gang, and Gang throws Dustin to the otuside. Dustin comes back in with a sunset flip attempt, but Gang sits on him. Taylor tags in again, and Dustin cradles him up for 2. Dustin goes for a backslide that also gets 2, and fights back with some elbows. Dustin also gives Taylor a cross body, and dodges Gang’s attempt at splashing him, causing him to splash Taylor instead. Dustin then dropkicks Gang to the outside, and Mr. Hughes gets in the ring. He wants to rumble with the Natural. York tries to make Hughes stop, and the match gets thrown out.

My Thoughts: They had a situation where Dustin was surrounded by five people and still didn’t lose. That’s really offputting to me. The match was fine besides that, but that’s like saying a movie was fine besides a part that made absolutely no sense. The build towards Morton’s turn was really good, but it didn’t make any sense for Dustin to keep teaming with him. **.

 

– Taped to air June 1st, 1991, on World Championship Wrestling, from Cumberland County Civic Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina

 

STEVE AUSTIN DEBUTS

 

I still can’t get over Austin having hair like this and probably never will. He was also big on the steroids, it looks like. No surprise there, that’s probably one of the reasons he got noticed. They would eventually drop Vivacious Veronica and replace her with his wife, Jeannie.

 

– Taped to air June 8th, 1991, on WCW Pro, from Johnson City, Tennessee

 

One Man Gang, Nikita Koloff, Ric Flair (WCW Champion), and Barry Windham (w/Kevin Sullivan) vs. El Gigante, Tommy Rich, Sting, and Brian Pillman

Pre-Match Thoughts: The babyface team here sounds interesting. This match is just too strange not to watch. I would regret not checking it out. Flair teaming with Nikita and the Gang isn’t exactly something you’d see every day. At least this episode of WCW Pro started with PN News rapping. Don’t know what I’d do without seeing that. I really can’t think of a worse gimmick that was as over as this one. Maybe the dead guy. Holy shit, the clips of the people in the crowd clapping. Guys, if you’ve never seen PN News do this gimmick, you haven’t lived. The entrances were alternating, and Sting stupidly entered the arena only for Nikita to attack him in the aisle with his steel chain. That’s one way to deal with someone you hate. Eventually some jobbers come out, but Sting is out of this match.

Match Review: Tommy Rich and Barry Windham are in there, in what has become a handicap match. Rich shoulders Windham down, and follows with a hip toss. Flair tags in, as does Pillman, and they trade chops. Pillman gets the better of it, punches Flair in the corner, and backdrops him. Gigante tags in, gets poked in the eye, and now the babyfaces have a replacement partner. IT’S PN NEWS. Gigante slams Flair down from the top rope, and follows that with a suplex. The Gang gets in the ring, and these two trade bombs until Gang goes down. Gang gets up and returns the favor, but Gigante hits him with a big boot. Nikita and Pillman tag in there, and Nikita brings in Flair after working Pillman over. Flair hits Pillman with some ridiculous chops, and misses an elbow drop on him. Rich tags in, and puts the SLEEPER on Flair. Flair gets out with a back suplex, and tags Nikita back in. Nikita misses a charge to the corner, but Rich can’t tag out yet. Nikita hits Rich with a clothesline, and picks him up for the SICKLE. Sting now runs back out there, and the match gets thrown out at 5:28. Of course, Sting goes after Koloff, drops him on the guardrail, and the crowd is going crazy. They really just wanted to see a big brawl. Nikita rams Sting hard into the guardrail, and Sting returns the favor as they fight all the way to the back.

My Thoughts: This wasn’t as much of a match as it was an exhibition engineered to have a big brawl at the end. That’s cool, too. Sometimes, we need to see stuff like that to get us going. I thought it was hilarious that the crowd popped for PN News running out there…and he didn’t even participate in the match. During the post-match brawl, there were too many babyfaces out there, and Tommy Rich was standing around doing nothing. **1/4. Short but super fun.

 

– Taped to air June 8th, 1991, on World Championship Wrestling, from from Cumberland County Civic Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina

 

Arn Anderson vs. Bobby Eaton for the WCW Television Championship

Pre-Match Thoughts: I think this may count for Arn’s rematch, although I’m not sure. Arn and Flair have still been affiliated, so I’m sure Flair will show up during this match.

Match Review: Arn takes Eaton down with headlocks, but Eaton quickly gets up over and over again. Now Flair comes down to the ring, I totally expected that. Arn needed a cheering section. Arn gives Eaton a SPINEBUSTER, but it only gets 2. Arn then catapults Eaton’s throat into the bottom rope, haven’t seen a lot of that move in these reviews. Arn continues to work on Eaton’s neck, but Eaton comes back with some punches. He smashes Arn’s head into the mat, and that gets a 2 count. Arn rams Eaton into the buckle, chokes him with the ropes again, and Flair has the chance to taunt Eaton. Arn puts an armbar on Eaton, then goes up to the second rope for a flying nothing, as Eaton gets his boot up to stop him. Arn misses a charge to the corner, and Eaton clotheslines him. Eaton then misses a charge of his own, and Arn DDT’s him for 2. Arn heads up top, and Eaton falls into the ropes, crotching him on the top. Now Flair runs in, and Eaton clotheslines him over the top. Arn gets disqualified at 5:30, as Flair sends Eaton into the rail and post. This poor guy. He even hits Eaton with his shoe!

My Thoughts: This is the strongest Flair was booked in a very long time. Match was, of course, an afterthought. This was probably a big problem for WCW at the time, they’d advertise these matches and nothing would matter. It’s bad booking. I’m hoping in the coming months, they fix this shit. Otherwise, it’s going to be difficult to watch. **.

 

– Taped to air June 9th, 1991, on WCW Main Event, from Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina

 

Ric Flair (WCW Champion) & Arn Anderson vs. Brian Pillman & Bobby Eaton (WCW TV Champion)

Pre-Match Thoughts: So, it looks like we have another match that won’t have a finish. I really can’t help myself though. I’m sure everyone understands. Inching closer to Flair being gone as well. That’s a bit bothersome for me, but I loved his WWF run. Haven’t seen what WCW was like without him. Maybe it’s better as a whole.

Match Review: Eaton and Pillman attack, and Eaton taking down Flair is the lump sum of what happened. Eaton backdrops Flair, who leaves the ring and trades chops with Pillman. Not bad at all! Pillman and Arn lock up back inside the ring, and trade wristlocks. Pillman takes Arn out with a dropkick, follows him to the outside, and Arn clotheslines the post on accident. Eaton tags in and puts a hammerlock on Arn, but Arn is able to tag out. Flair hits Eaton with hard chops, they trade shots, and Eaton gets the best of it. He clotheslines Flair over the top, and follows Flair to use the railing on him. Arn tags back in, and Eaton suplexes him. Pillman tags in with gusto, but Arn cuts him off quickly. Pillman gets backdropped onto the apron, but he fights back off the top with a missile dropkick that sends Arn to the floor! Pillman follows, Arn tries a piledriver, and Pillman backdrops him. Pillman throws Arn back inside, but Arn throws him into Flair’s knee and gets out of there. Flair hits Pillman with a low blow, and drops a knee on him to follow it. Arn tags in and wrenches Pillman’s knee into the post, and continues the work by kneeing and elbow dropping it. Flair tags in, and Pillman makes a tag out as well. Eaton backdrops Flair again, throws him into the corner, and knocks him out to the floor. He quickly tosses Flair in the ring, and they trade more bombs until Eaton hits Flair with a neckbreaker that gets 2. Arn and Pillman get in the ring now, and everyone winds up on the floor. All four guys walk towards the back, and we have a double count-out at 8:08.

My Thoughts: This was a good appetizer for the matches at the Clash, although they’ve had these guys interact with each other far too much. Good match, despite the constant spinning of the wheels. **3/4.

 

They went about building up to a Flair/Eaton match all wrong. Far too many interactions between these two on TV, and Eaton did nothing in them to earn a title shot. Yet, that title shot was given to him, and I bet fans were extremely confused. They also only really pushed two matches. The loser leaves town match with Arn and Windham against Pillman and El Gigante was one, and the Eaton/Flair 2 out of 3 falls match was the other. They also had some stuff where Missy Hyatt and Paul E. Dangerously were feuding, but I couldn’t find that. What a lame feud. Lame company too with all the non-finishes. This was actually a bit difficult to watch. Next up, I’ll be sticking with WCW and watching Clash of the Champions 15.

Best: One Man Gang being pushed as a giant. I know how terrible this is, but nothing else qualifies.

Worst: The push of Dustin Rhodes. It’s absolutely terrible.