Sage Cortez
Headed out of the Bash, it was apparent that Bill Watts would not only impose his style and changes, but that WCW as a whole would look radically different as a result of those changes. One thing that was going to happen, was that WCW was going to be replacing certain wrestlers with a few others. Terry Taylor was gotten rid of, and Jimmy Garvin was soon to be on his way out, breaking up the Freebirds. It appears that I lied about not reviewing anything from the period between Beach Blast and the Bash. There is a good reason for that, because it had no relevance to the Bash.
– Taped to air July 4th, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Michael Hayes vs. Steve Austin (w/Paul E. Dangerously) for the WCW Television Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: This sounds far more uninteresting than it actually is. Regardless, I’m interested in seeing how Hayes works the crowd as a babyface in a singles match. He was a master of working the crowd, and had been stuck with a bad partner for such a long time.
Match Review: Hayes works the crowd as expected, with Austin sneering at him. Austin takes Hayes down with a headlock, but Hayes gets out and gets up to work the crowd a little more. They trade hammerlocks, and Austin hip tosses Hayes, who comes back with an arm drag. Austin takes Hayes to the corner and lands some punches, but Hayes goes back to the arm drag. Austin reverses an armbar and drops knees on that arm, but Hayes is able to pop him with a big left for 2. This is more of the Watts style, as Austin goes back to the armbar. Dude, it’s not 1978. Hayes gets up and goes for the DDT, but Austin backdrops him. Austin follows that up with the STUN GUN, and that’s it after 5:40.
My Thoughts: It was rare to get Hayes to do a job, and this was overall an absolutely nothing match. The whole thing is not over, though. * for this, mostly for the novelty of seeing Hayes job. Jimmy Garvin did do some jobs for WCW after this, namely to the Barbarian, but he was done and we wouldn’t be seeing him anymore.
Austin heads to the microphone for a post-match promo, and says that he’d beat Barry Windham in five minutes. LIKE PULLING THE WINGS FROM A FLY. So, here comes Barry Windham. He says Austin won’t be able to stick in the ring for five minutes. Now we have a bit of an impromptu brawl! Ole Anderson and Bill Watts walk out to tell the referees to get out of the way, so it looks like we have a match! Windham and Austin lock up, and Windham arm drags Austin then slams him. Windham clotheslines Austin for 2, then takes him down with a headlock. Austin comes back with a back suplex, and Windham arm drags him again. Austin comes back with a back elbow, but Windham boots him in the face. Austin tries to roll out of the ring, but Dustin Rhodes puts a stop to that. Windham headlocks Austin again, then these guys trade reversals for a bit until Windham hits Austin in the face. Windham bodyslams Austin, then misses an elbow drop on him. Austin backdrops Windham, then covers for a count that would have gotten 2. Austin suplexes Windham for another would-be 2 count, but Windham comes back with a lariat. Then, hilariously, Dustin Rhodes gets in the ring and counts to 3! Good angle that was supposed to get their Omni match over.
– Taped to air July 18th, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Jushin Liger vs. Brad Armstrong
Pre-Match Thoughts: This should be a nice match. I’m really hoping that given the division, they work a different style than the heavyweights. WCW really needed something that was going to be different, I have no problem making that statement. This isn’t a title match and there is a 10 minute time limit. These guys basically got cucked.
Match Review: Liger and Armstrong trade wristlocks, with Liger taking Armstrong down. Time for some chain wrestling, with Liger having him in a head-scissors and Armstrong getting out of it. Time for a test of strength, and Liger takes the role of having to power back up to his feet and going to the top rope for an arm drag. He follows with a series of them, which Armstrong gets out of, only to be given a flying head-scissors. Another arm drag follows that, but Armstrong gets in some offense with a dropkick and headlock takeover. Liger takes Armstrong down with a drop toe-hold, then puts Armstrong in a SURFBOARD! Liger puts a head-scissors on Armstrong, who gets out and goes to a spinning toe-hold. Liger gets up with an enzuigiri, and kicks Armstrong again to knock him out of the ring. Liger teases a dive and Armstrong ducks down, but Liger comes back with a great baseball slide to really knock him down. Liger suplexes Armstrong back into the ring for 2, but Armstrong takes him down and works on the leg. With only two minutes left, I do not understand the logic. Liger picks Armstrong up for a back suplex, but Armstrong comes back with a Russian leg sweep for his 2 count. Armstrong then blocks a cradle, and a Liger sunset flip gets 2. Armstrong goes for a GERMAN SUPLEX, but Liger takes him down with one for 2! Liger tries a suplex, but Armstrong counters with a backslide that gets 2. Liger’s cradle then gets 2, and right as the 10:00 time limit runs out, Liger has Armstrong sunset flipped.
My Thoughts: I was regretting watching this, until the end when things had really picked up. I won’t go so far as to say this was a great match, but the finishing sequence was something that was becoming sadly unique. Armstrong was a good wrestler, but not spectacular as some people on the internet think. Liger with him was a good mix. **1/4.
Larry Zbyszko vs. Steve Austin (w/Paul E. Dangerously) for the WCW Television Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Ricky Steamboat was supposed to be the challenger in this match, but his ribs were hurt from that backbreaker at the Bash. Instead, Zbyszko is taking his place in the match as a substitute. This is a great way to keep the Zbyszko feud with the Dangerous Alliance going. Dusty Rhodes is on commentary with Jim Ross this week!
Match Review: These two take some time before locking up, and when they do, they jockey for position until the referee breaks them up. Austin takes Zbyszko down with a waistlock, then they go into the ropes and Zbyszko teases chasing Paul around the ring. Zbyszko takes Austin down and bars up the arm, but Austin scoots to the ropes and leaves the ring. Austin does get back in it, and Zbyszko hammerlocks him. Austin gets out of that, but Zbyszko has some arm drags ready for him and an abdominal stretch. Austin hip tosses his way out of there, but he gets kneed in the gut and cradled up for 2 right before the commercial break.
Austin has Zbyszko in a spinning toe-hold when we come back, and he grabs the ropes whenever he has a chance. THAT’S CHEATING. Austin gives Zbyszko a gutwrench suplex for 2, then kicks Zbyszko’s leg out from under him. Back to the toe-hold, this time the stepover variety. Eventually Austin drops an elbow on it, and Zbyszko tries to turn the locked leg hold into a body-scissors. Zbyszko takes Austin’s back at a point, then takes Austin’s shoulder and twists it. Austin gets out of that, and dishes out a shin-breaker. Austin wraps the leg around the ropes, but Zbyszko tries to fight back with right hands. Old Larry rakes the eyes, kicks Austin in the gut, and rams him hard into the buckle. Zbyszko backdrops Austin for 2, and a swinging neckbreaker gets 2 as well. Zbyszko drops Austin with a gutwrench powerbomb for 2, then gets distracted by Paul. STUN GUN by Austin, cover, and that’s it after about 13 minutes. After the match, Austin cuts a promo on Steamboat and says he’ll never get a shot at this title. We’ll see about that.
My Thoughts: This was a Watts style match, but it was also good. They didn’t go too long, kept the crowd involved in the match, and the holds in the match mattered. I liked Zbyszko having to resort to dirty tricks to beat Austin, only to come up short. That’s where the psychology comes in with his age and whatnot. As everyone knows, Zbyszko was nearly done with his full-time career in WCW, but he’d have more to give later. **1/2.
– Taped to air July 25th, 1992, on Worldwide, from the Civic Center in Augusta, Georgia
Nikita Koloff vs. Rick Rude (w/Madusa) for the WCW United States Championship
This was the dreaded joined in progress. I can’t really explain why, perhaps because it was a very long match. In any case, this was supposed to jumpstart a big feud. What we see as part of the match here is actually very good. They broke out some great spots, like Rude going up on Nikita’s shoulders and being dropped to the canvas. The crowd pops big for Nikita grabbing Madusa to deal with her interference, then he went and threw Rude over the top like a dumbass. NOW WE HAVE A BRAWL! They fight all the way to the back, and officials trying to separate them doesn’t even do the job. So, FEUD. They continue to fight in the back, and Nikita eventually breaks into Rude’s dressing room. THEN TERRY TAYLOR, BOBBY EATON, AND GREG VALENTINE PUT THE STOMPS TO NIKITA. NOW ALL THE BABYFACES ARE IN THERE! That was cool.
– Taped to air August 1st, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Ricky Steamboat vs. Steve Austin (w/Paul E. Dangerously) for the WCW Television Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: I guess Steamboat did get his title shot even though Austin didn’t want to give it. This is yet another chapter in their seemingly endless rivalry, although it’s not quite as endless as I thought. Even though it carried over to tag teams, it did end for about a year or so. I guess that’s all that it needed to end for. The improvement that Austin got from working with Steamboat is immeasurable.
Match Review: Steamboat and Austin lock up, and Steamboat guards the ribs early on. Steamboat takes Austin down with a drop toe-hold, and goes to a front face-lock that Austin must reverse. Steamboat dodges kicks to the ribs, but Austin hits him in the face and head with elbows and punches. Steamboat drops Austin out to the floor, but he comes to the apron quick only for Steamboat to knee and chop him. Steamboat uses an armbar, then it’s the headlock only for Austin to counter, and Steamboat to counter that with a pin that gets 2. Steamboat rolls Austin up for 2, then goes back to the arm drag. Austin nearly breaks away, but Steamboat walks the ropes and goes back to the hold. Steamboat tries a hip toss, but his ribs hurt, so he dodges an Austin clothesline and hits him with one of his own. Steamboat has the armbar on again, then decides to go out to the apron and wrench the arm on the rope. Steamboat uses a drop toe-hold to keep the armbar going, and we head to a commercial.
Back from that commercial, Austin is working on the ribs of Steamboat, with some shoulder charges into the corner. He runs into Steamboat’s boot after one, but hits Steamboat in the gut on Steamboat’s way down from the second rope. Austin applies a bear hug, then takes the tape off Steamboat’s ribs and decides to make Steamboat his personal kicking dummy. He brings Steamboat to the outside and rams him into the ring, then knees him in the gut as he stands on the apron. Austin follows that with a suplex, and covers for 2. Austin applies an abdominal stretch, which Steamboat gets out of by poking the eyes. Steamboat tries a bodyslam, but he can’t and Austin gives him one instead. Austin follows with another for a 2 count, but Steamboat knees him down low. They’re using this spot far too much in WCW at this time. Steamboat chops Austin to get in some offense, but gets elbowed hard in the head for 2. Austin goes to a body-scissors, and eventually a back suplex. Austin’s big splash lands on the knees, so Steamboat picks him up for a backbreaker, hurting himself in the process. Steamboat cradles Austin up for 2, then a roll up gets 2. These are very near falls. Steamboat applies a sleeper, but Austin crushes him at the turnbuckles. Now Austin and Steamboat collide with each other, then Paul throws a foreign object into the ring and distracts the referee. Steamboat hits Austin with the object, covers, and presumably wins the TV title after 18:08! Sadly, the referee spots the object in Steamboat’s hands, and the decision is reversed.
My Thoughts: I thought this would be important for the purposes of the reverse decision, but this was actually a good match. They worked the body parts well, kept a good pace, and the crowd was hot. I was surprised by how obvious the reverse decision was, because Steamboat wouldn’t do something like that. If he did, he’d have gotten caught. So, in that way, it does make some sense. **3/4 for a good match, and I know some people won’t like it, but the style had changed and everything got different for a little while.
– August 2nd, 1992, from Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland
Ron Simmons vs. Big Van Vader (w/Harley Race) for the WCW Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Because damn your television taping schedule, that’s why. It’s not like WCW waited for the TV show to air before advertising what had happened in this match. WCW had foreshadowed this forever, really. Of course, they couldn’t help themselves. I don’t like that they made Vader a transitional champion, especially for somebody so low on the card to become champion in his place. What’s funny is that they didn’t talk about the angle which caused this match a whole lot until after talking about this. So, we’ll do it in that order. Short version, Ron Simmons was substituting for Sting. The angle they did to decide Simmons would get a shot was perfect. After Sting’s injury, they had a bunch of guys go down to the ring and Grizzly Smith would pick a name out of a bowl to decide who would challenge for the title. They picked Simmons.
Match Review: This crowd is really hot, and to some level they’re primed for the title change. These two big men lock up, and Vader pushes Simmons away. Simmons is ready, though. Vader clobbers him with a right hand, then Simmons returns the favor. Vader works him over in the corner, but Simmons comes back with his own and beats Vader down! Simmons clotheslines Vader, then picks him up for a back suplex. Simmons lands the flying shoulder, but Vader ducks to the outside before anything else can happen. This crowd is very genuinely on fire, so I bet this was early in the taping. Vader gets back in and goes for a clothesline, but Simmons drops him with a SPINEBUSTER for 2. Simmons goes for a splash in the corner, but Vader puts his boot up to stop that. Vader clotheslines him, then beats him down with punches again. Vader splashes Simmons in the corner, clotheslines him again, and lands the big splash only for Simmons to kick out at 2. Vader follows up with a suplex, then CHOKESLAMS Simmons as hard as he can. Vader says it’s over, then goes up to the second rope for a BIG SPLASH. Simmons kicks out at 2, in the process making himself look better than Sting. Well, that’s odd, but not his decision. Anyway, Vader wrecks Simmons with another clothesline, and goes for another suplex only for Simmons to reverse to his own. Vader runs Simmons over to kill his momentum, but Simmons comes back with a backslide for 2. Vader misses a splash in the corner and gets rolled up for 2, then Simmons goes for a sunset flip and Vader sits on him. Vader goes for the POWERBOMB, and Simmons goes over his back to stop that. SIMMONS POWERSLAMS VADER, COVERS, AND WINS THE TITLE AFTER 9:42! The babyfaces all running out to congratulate him was pretty much perfect.
My Thoughts: The kid jumping up and down in the front row is exactly why you do that. Simmons also had the most realistic world title winning celebration imaginable, and all in all, people loved to see Harley Race have to eat his words on those comments. This match was basically perfect in terms of the goal and how it turned out. On that singular night, that is. Simmons run was overall a disaster because they didn’t have guys like Rick Rude or Ricky Steamboat (in a babyface match) put him over as the legitimate champion. Instead he was programmed with your Barbarians. Simmons being the first black champion was something wanted by the fans, or they wouldn’t have popped like that. *** for the match, but one of the best title change moments ever. Now I’ll show…
Rick Rude and Nikita Koloff had another good match, which featured Rude hitting the referee with an accidental clothesline, and Nikita pinning Rude after the SICKLE. Nobody could count the fall. So, in comes Cactus Jack with a chair, that Rude gets and hits Nikita across the back with. Sting runs down to the ring to make the save, but Cactus would appear to have had a plan. Sting gets the chair and hits Cactus in the face with it, then he picks Rude up for a press slam and throws him onto Cactus! Oddly enough, that isn’t the end of it all. Through the crowd, here comes…THAT’S JAKE ROBERTS! THAT’S JAKE THE SNAKE! He attacks Sting and wallops him with a chair, and some of the crowd cheers him for it. He hits Sting with a short clothesline, then the boos come in. Jake then grabs Sting, and he DDT’S HIM ONTO THE CHAIR! THERE’S ANOTHER. Roberts has a cross that he drops on Sting, then he pulls out the SNAKE HANDLER’S GLOVE. HE HAS A BIG SNAKE! Some of the babyfaces come out, but they’re a bit afraid of the snake and won’t get too close to it. In typical Jake fashion, he’s able to leave without anyone focusing on him. Hot segment, a perfect way to introduce him.
– Taped to air August 8th, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Jesse Ventura with Jake Roberts
Of course, we are OWED a Jake Roberts promo to describe what he did. He talked about hunting deer and blowing their brains out, then says that’s basically what he did. It’s funny Jake would talk so bad about his dad when his dad worked there, then he spits after saying “my father.” Whoa.
LARRY ZBYSZKO GETS HIS ARM BROKEN
This is a better way of showing this, even though it was from the next week’s show. At the end of a long match where Zbyszko teamed up with Brian Pillman, it was time for Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton to get after him. They actually did the angle during the commercial, then replayed it. What happened was, eventually Eaton would jump off the top rope with a double knee drop to the arm, then Eaton put an armbar on him and broke the arm. The match wasn’t worth reviewing in order to see this, but Zbyszko breaking his arm was important. He cut a good promo about it.
– Taped to air August 15th, 1992, on Worldwide, from Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland
Cactus Jack vs. Ricky Steamboat
They hadn’t shown many of these matches on television, but these two had worked together around the circuit doing an assortment of matches. I’m sure Cactus destroyed his body a whole lot in order to prove himself to Bill Watts as well as put on the best matches possible to gain respect. He was left off the Bash show, just like a bunch of other guys. So, it was proving time. This is also joined in progress and I don’t give a play by play on those. Steamboat is a master of selling, and he was going to be stuck selling those ribs for quite a while. Cactus actually won this match, after delivering a flying elbow from the apron and getting Steamboat counted out! That was basically the end of this feud as pertaining to television.
– Taped to air August 22nd, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Scotty Flamingo vs. Ricky Steamboat
Pre-Match Thoughts: I haven’t seen enough Steamboat matches this time, I guess. This is a good TV matchup, and it’s not like you get to see the future Raven face Steamboat every day. Ross also ran down the Clash 20 card before this match, which was of great benefit to me.
Match Review: Steamboat and Flamingo lock up, with nothing coming of it. Flamingo goes to a headlock takeover, and keeps the headlock on even by grabbing hair. Steamboat gets out of it, then grabs Flamingo’s hair for a facebuster. Steamboat uses his own headlock takeover, and when he lets go, a sunset flip gets 2. Back to the headlock, which is presented as being a WRESTLING LESSON. Eventually Flamingo gets up and drives Steamboat to the canvas with a back suplex, then rips away that rib tape and kicks at the ribs. Flamingo backdrops Steamboat for 2, then slams him for another 2 count. Flamingo puts Steamboat in an abdominal stretch, then tosses him to the outside. Hayes buried him on commentary for doing that. They fight on the apron, and Steamboat eats the turnbuckle before being pulled back in. Flamingo puts him in a body-scissors, which Steamboat gets out of for a backbreaker attempt that he can’t complete. Flamingo misses a charge to the corner, so Steamboat hits him with a double chop. After some elbows to the gut and a kick to the face, Steamboat goes up to the second rope for a cross body that gets 3 at 7:50.
My Thoughts: This felt like such a nothing television match, which was becoming far more common in WCW. I wasn’t entirely expecting that, but they worked fine. Nothing spectacular or anything like that, very basic. **.
Jake Roberts vs. Marcus Alexander Bagwell
Just wanted to link this squash. Jake was getting incredible heat for the studio show, which was rare and quite uncommon. Cactus Jack was on commentary and had some great lines. I liked him saying that Jake Roberts was his hero. Jake’s promo after his match was absolutely excellent. He wanted Sting to quit, and he’d leave him alone.
That’s it for this time, but I must point out some things. This card for Clash of the Champions was absolutely stacked. They booked an eight-man elimination main event, which featured Vader, Jake Roberts, Rick Rude, and the Super Invader taking on Sting, Nikita, and the Steiner Brothers. We also had Steve Austin defending his TV title against Ricky Steamboat! WCW was doing silly things to get more people in the arena, such as allowing two kids to get in free for each adult ticket, but business was still bad. The mood in the locker room was terrible and they thought that Watts was going to destroy their contracts. Overall, the mood in WCW was very bad, and there was seemingly no end in sight. Also, I’m sure everyone noticed that far more WWF wrestlers were joining the company, even though it didn’t need them. Next up, it’s going to be SummerSlam 1992!
Best: Ron Simmons winning the WCW title. It was well overdue that a black man become world champion, but they didn’t really do anything with him and that was a mistake.
Worst: Your Barbarians and Tony Atlases going to WCW. Also not far off, your Jushin Ligers getting buried and their style basically disallowed.
