Sage Cortez
I’m extremely interested in seeing what was ahead for WCW. I’m not saying that what they were doing was good. It was just very interesting. The issues of the Wrestling Observer from this time usually discuss the matters of Bill Watts cutting WCW’s budget, cutting wrestlers contracts, and reports on the morale of the talent. These are all nothing short of intriguing reads. There’s an amazing story about Brian Pillman having a contract dispute with Bill Watts, not accepting less money, and being buried. This was scrapped later, but it’s a good example of things that went on there. Some of the guys Watts hired to replace departing talent would flake out immediately. Butch Reed was hired, put over on the Clash, no-showed a TV taping, and fired within the span of a few weeks. Much like the WWF, attendances and TV ratings were way down. During these two months, Paul E. Dangerously was also phased out. He was used less and less on TV in the first place, but less and less became even less than that. I’ll never be able to understand that. To the matches!
– Taped to air September 5th, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton (w/Michael Hayes) vs. The Steiner Brothers in a #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH
Pre-Match Thoughts: As it says, the winner would become the #1 contenders for Steve Williams and Terry Gordy’s tag team titles. This was taped before the Clash, even though it was aired afterward. So, the usual TV taping crowd would have known the result when watching the Clash show. If the same people were at both, anyway.
Match Review: Arn starts things off with Scott Steiner, and Scott stops the headlock fairly quickly by going to a wristlock. Scott takes Arn down with a fireman’s carry, and locks on an armbar. Arn makes the ropes, and tries to go to the arm himself. Scott clocks him in the face, but Arn takes him down for some stomps. He misses a knee drop, so Scott goes to a stepover toe-hold. Rick tags in, laughs at Arn, and teases kicking him in the nuts. Haha. Arn stands up, and Rick grabs his foot, eventually tripping him and putting him in a half crab. Scott tags back in and applies the stepover toe-hold again, but Arn’s able to tag out. Scott drops Eaton with a tilt-a-whirl slam, then turns him over with a Boston crab. Rick tags in and blocks a sunset flip, then nails Arn with a STEINERLINE.
After a commercial, Eaton is in there with Scott, and he nails Scott in the face. Eaton puts a half nelson on Scott, but Scott reverses to a belly to belly that gets 2. Arn tags in, and Rick powerslams him for 2. Eaton runs in and kicks Rick in the back of the head, then Arn slams Rick. Eaton goes up top, and Scott throws him into a catch powerslam by his brother! Rick brings Arn in the hard way, and Scott trips him, only for Arn to kick Scott through the ropes and into the post. Hayes gets in some offense by running Scott’s arm into the post, which was going to be a disqualification in the new WCW even if one of the participants in the match had done it. Arn stomps a mudhole in Scott as he gets in the ring, then puts an armbar on him. They’re trying to break his arm like they broke Zbyszko’s. Scott fights out, but Arn trips him and tags out. Eaton drops Scott with a single-arm DDT, then goes to the armbar again. Arn tags in for a hammerlock slam, then heads back out. Eaton uses a short arm-scissors, but Scott picks him up and drops him with a back suplex. That will never stop being impressive to me. Rick makes the big tag in, and he goes after both heels with big bombs. Backdrop to Anderson, and all four guys are in there. He powerslams Arn, and Arn winds up backdropping him over the top. What a bump! Scott goes to the outside to beat up Hayes, stopping any illegal double teaming. Then, Scott throws Arn off the top, right as Eaton flies off the top with an ALABAMA JAM on Rick Steiner. The referee didn’t see it, and Arn covers Steiner for the victory at 19:50! Now, in theory…Anderson and Eaton get a title shot!
My Thoughts: Lots of mat wrestling here, with a very hot finish that elevated the match. I was shocked to see Anderson and Eaton put over in that spot, and I bet the Steiners were not too pleased about jobbing there. There is a reason the Steiners were doing jobs, and it was their contracts and job status. They had wanted to leave, but Watts was pushing them even further in that direction. ***, good stuff. Sometimes I love this style, and sometimes I don’t.
– Taped to air September 6th, 1992, on The Main Event, from the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia
Cactus Jack vs. Dustin Rhodes in a FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE MATCH
Pre-Match Thoughts: I’m genuinely in love with these types of matches. It’s the variety. The product is so one-note in both companies, but here, you get something that’s totally different. In all likelihood, it’s going to be really damn good too.
Match Review: Dustin immediately meets Cactus in the aisle, so here we go. NO TIME FOR NONSENSE. Dustin hits Cactus with some BIONIC ELBOWS, then takes Cactus over with a small package on the floor, getting a 2 count. Dustin rams Cactus into the rail, but Cactus comes back with a bodyslam. Cactus fell down too, because he had accumulated so many injuries. Cactus goes off the apron with a sunset flip that gets 2, and the guys fight towards the back. Dustin rams Cactus into a platform and covers for 2, then he suplexes him on it. Oh my God. Dustin grabs a trash can and drops it on Cactus, then they start walking back to the ring with Dustin kicking him the whole way there. Finally they go into the ring for the first time, and Dustin puts a sleeper on Cactus. Cactus rolls to the outside, and when Dustin goes for the bulldog, Cactus posts him. Cactus grabs a table, and pretty much drops it on Dustin’s head. Bischoff said the table was 85 POUNDS. Cactus has a plastic chair, then drops it on Dustin’s head. WHAT A SICK FREAK. Dustin drops Cactus with a back suplex, and covers for 2. This is absolutely insane. They each hit each other at the same time, but Cactus gets up first and covers for 2. Cactus has the chair again, but Dustin stops that and hits him with it. Dustin hits him a couple more times with the chair, then charges at him and misses a cross body, flying all the way over the top. Cactus flies OFF THE APRON WITH THE BIG ELBOW, and covers for the victory at 6:48!
My Thoughts: I was so glad to see Cactus win this incredible match. I can’t believe this was as short as it was, and it was incredibly entertaining throughout the match. No downtime here at all. The finish came out of nowhere, but it’s easy to see why Foley was so injured and had to take time out of the ring. He was basically killing himself. ***1/4, that was a whole lot of fun.
– Taped to air September 19th, 1992, on Worldwide, from the Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama
Jake Roberts vs. Nikita Koloff
Pre-Match Thoughts: The things that I find, I tell you. This is a big match that took place in basically what you’d call Podunk. I bet it didn’t draw a fly either. Jake’s teasing to use the snake at the start of his matches is a lot of fun to me. This is 80’s WWF and 80’s NWA colliding, in a lot of ways.
Match Review: Roberts goes to the wristlock at the start, then shoots Nikita into the ropes only for Nikita to run him over. Nikita drops some knees on Jake’s left arm, then shoulderblocks him again. Nikita applies a hammerlock, which Roberts breaks with a knee. Nikita shoulders him down again, and makes sure Roberts doesn’t leave the ring. Roberts finally does take a break, but Nikita follows and gives chase. Roberts attacks him with a knee, getting over his methodology pretty well. He hits Nikita with an elbow, then takes him down for a chinlock. Roberts puts his feet on the ropes, right as Larry Zbyszko presents the idea that there may not be anything in Roberts’ bag at all. He’s right, there wasn’t. Watts didn’t like it. After a very long chinlock, Nikita fights his way out only for Roberts to knee him in the gut. Roberts follows that up with an inverted atomic drop, which gets 2. Roberts goes to the chinlock again, and when Nikita gets out, he blocks a backdrop. Nikita blocks a charge to the corner as well, then slams Roberts. Nikita follows that up by going to the second rope, and he comes down with a flying shoulderblock. Nikita signals for the SICKLE, and here’s Cactus Jack. HERE’S STING! Roberts throws Nikita over the top rope for the DQ after 6:45, then it’s time for Roberts and Cactus to try some double teaming. They work Sting over, but Nikita gets back in the ring with a chair to put a stop to it.
My Thoughts: This was not a good match, I think the way I’d describe it is functional. Jake’s in-ring ability had definitely subsided, but the psychology was still there. He was reliant on the announcers to get it over, to some degree. Schiavone and Zbyszko did a good job of that, but the match is still the match. 3/4*. I reviewed this one to see if the matches in WCW with Jake were as bad as I’ve read. Maybe they were.
– Taped to air September 26th, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Jake Roberts and the Barbarian (w/Cactus Jack) vs. Barry Windham and Ron Simmons (WCW Champion)
Pre-Match Thoughts: On this show, they finally rescinded the idiotic top rope rule, unless the person was delivering a knee drop. This match does sound like the absolute drizzling shits. But, with it being on TV, it is not possible for me to ignore it as I do some WWF matches that were taped for VHS. This is probably for the purposes of an angle rather than anything else. Roberts was substituting for Cactus because he couldn’t wrestle even if he wanted to. Windham had been doing jobs to the Barbarian for a little while, I should mention.
Match Review: Windham starts with Roberts, as I finally notice Bruno Sammartino on commentary. Windham bars Roberts arm and tags in Simmons, who does the same. Simmons runs Roberts over with a shoulderblock, then hammerlocks him. Windham gets in there, works on the arm, and Roberts pushes Windham to the corner. Barbarian tags in, no-sells just about everything, and throws Windham over towards Simmons. Simmons tags in, and they collide with each other a few times. Simmons wrecks Barbarian with a clothesline, but Barbarian gets up and starts choking him.
We go to a commercial as Simmons is beating Barbarian down, and come back with both guys at square one. Windham tags in, and he hits Barbarian with a clothesline, then arm drags him. Roberts tags in, backdrops Windham, and tags out of there. Barbarian powerslams Windham, drops some elbows, and tags back out. Roberts rams Windham into the buckle, then puts a chinlock on him. I should also mention that Roberts was already in a match on this show. Roberts knees Windham in the gut, then Barbarian comes in for a bodyslam. He follows with a backbreaker, and Roberts chokes Windham with the ropes. Cactus gets in on that action too! Barbarian puts a waistlock on Windham, then throws him over the top rope with the referee distracted. Windham slowly gets up to the apron, then Roberts makes a tag in and chokes him with the ropes again. Roberts then slams Windham, and hits him with the short clothesline. Roberts goes for the DDT, but Windham backdrops him and makes the tag out! Simmons works over Barbarian, hitting him with a back elbow. Roberts and Barbarian eat some clotheslines, and this crowd is HOT. Simmons follows up with a SPINEBUSTER, but Roberts breaks the cover. All four guys are in there, and Simmons runs Roberts over. He picks Windham up, but Barbarian LOADS HIS BOOT and kicks Simmons. Cactus runs in to beat Simmons down, getting his team DQ’d after about 13 minutes. Cactus then goes after Windham, and Barbarian hits Simmons with a diving headbutt from the top rope. Dustin Rhodes and Van Hammer run in there to stop all this, and that’s the end of the whole thing.
My Thoughts: This match stunk, but they needed to get Barbarian in there with Simmons and have him look strong in some way. At the same time, having Barbarian in there with Simmons reduced what Simmons had going for him, and made him look like the same guy he was when he started in 1988. Sadly, it was what it was. *1/2, that’s probably generous.
– Taped to air October 3rd, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham vs. Steve Williams and Terry Gordy for the WCW/NWA Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: Due to Gordy and Williams being the ones who won the tag tournament, those new NWA titles meant absolutely jack shit. They were kept with the WCW titles at all times. That’s something else, really. To book that Great American Bash around the new titles, then do that. Would feel like a total waste of money in a lot of ways. This match looks LONG. Gordy and Williams gave the Steiners a taped non-title match before this, and they lost that. That’s lame. Not only that, what about Arn and Eaton? They were supposed to be the top contenders. Arn is on commentary for this, so that answers one question.
Match Review: Dustin locks up with Gordy, and he arm drags him a few times. Dustin follows with elbows, then he picks Gordy up and slams him. He follows that with an arm drag, then tags in Windham for another arm drag. Doc makes a tag in, and he goes to the chain wrestling. Why, of course! Dustin tags in and arm drags him, then bars the arm. Doc uses a drop toe-hold, arm drags Dustin, and takes him to his corner. Gordy tags in, picks Dustin up, and has a piledriver attempt reversed. Windham tags in, dropkicks Gordy, and covers for 2. Windham grabs onto the arm and Gordy tries to slam him, but Windham holds that arm. Gordy makes the ropes, tags out, and Doc drives the shoulder into Windham for a bit. Doc misses an elbow drop, then it’s time for a commercial.
Windham has a hammerlock on Doc, then tags in Dustin for the same. Dustin takes Doc down with a cross body for 2, but winds up in the wrong corner. Gordy misses a charge to the other side, and Dustin goes back to work on the arm. Windham and Rhodes hit Gordy with a double dropkick for 2, then Windham takes Gordy over with a gutwrench suplex for 2. Windham keeps holding the armbar, as Arn provides some great commentary. Like, really great. Gordy rakes the eyes, but Rhodes tags in and elbows that arm. Gordy pops Dustin in the face, tags out, and Dustin has to arm drag Doc. They need to pick it up. Dustin goes for a sunset flip and gets 2, then goes back to the hammerlock until Doc drives him back to his corner. Gordy gets in there, and he puts Dustin in an abdominal stretch. Dustin hip tosses his way out, and arm drags Gordy again. Windham tags in, holds the arm, and Gordy elbows him in the head. Gordy goes for a backdrop, but it gets blocked and Windham suplexes him. Windham puts Gordy in position, but Gordy knocks him out to the floor before that superplex. Doc sucker punches Windham and beats him up for a while, then we go to another commercial.
We come back with Doc having Windham in a chinlock, so nothing much happened. Windham uses a jawbreaker to break it, but Gordy tags in and clotheslines him for 2. Doc tags in, and hits Windham with a flying shoulderblock. These guys seem to be acting like the end is near. Doc follows that up with a powerslam, which gets 2. Gordy comes in and applies the STF, then gets out of there for a Doc elbow drop. Doc applies an abdominal stretch on Windham, which Dustin runs in to break. Gordy tags in there, and he goes for the piledriver again, only for Windham to backdrop him. Gordy tags out and cuts Windham off, then Doc puts a chinlock on him. Maybe a seated cobra clutch, I don’t know. Windham fights out of it, but Doc knees him in the gut. Doc misses a charge to the corner, then Windham clotheslines him. Dustin finally makes the tag in, and hits both guys with BIONIC ELBOWS. Dustin clotheslines Doc, then dropkicks Gordy out of the ring. Dustin puts a sleeper on Doc, who throws him off for a hot shot. Gordy tags in and PILEDRIVES Dustin for 2, then he slams him. Gordy lines Dustin up for a massive clothesline, which gets 2 as well. The match picked up a lot after the tag. Gordy stomps a mudhole in Dustin, then backdrops him. An elbow drop gets 2, then Gordy and Doc hit Dustin with a double shoulderblock for 2. Doc leg drops Dustin, then hits him with some HARD chops. Doc misses a charge to the corner, so Dustin takes him down with a back suplex. Gordy tags in and misses some elbow drops, which allows Dustin to tag out. Windham backdrops Gordy, then hits him with a clothesline for 2. Doc hits Windham with a forearm, then Gordy goes up top only for Windham to stop him. Windham takes Gordy down with a SUPERPLEX, and Doc breaks the cover. Dustin hits Gordy with a BULLDOG, the referee ushers Doc to the outside, and Windham covers for the tag title win after 29:46!
Windham grabbing all the belts for himself is some very subtle foreshadowing. The presentation of this interview behind Jim Ross is really bad. You have Van Hammer, Marcus Bagwell, Erik Watts, Shane Douglas…and the WCW Champion Ron Simmons there to congratulate Windham and Rhodes. Those other jabronis do not belong there. Dustin’s fake Dusty voice is hilarious. Windham seemed to take all the credit, saying that his superplex was something Gordy wasn’t going to get up from. What about the bulldog? Dustin didn’t even get to hold one of those four belts.
My Thoughts: After the hot tag to Dustin, the match picked up intensity. The point of the match was to get over the grueling aspect, because the team that beat Gordy and Williams needed to outlast them more than anything else. I don’t like this match as much as a lot of people, but it was a very good match. Once the action picked up, they never stopped. Lots of great spots at the end, and the crowd really got into the match. ***1/2. I really liked the bit at the end, other than the inexplicable group of babyfaces.
– Taped to air October 10th, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Steve Austin and Brian Pillman vs. Brad Armstrong and Dustin Rhodes (WCW/NWA Tag Team Champion)
Pre-Match Thoughts: These two were not yet the Hollywood Blondes, but we’re getting there. They took no time at all to pump up friction between Rhodes and Windham. They’d been tagging for months, just won the titles…and there’s friction? That’s a little confusing. Windham hadn’t arrived at the arena, so Armstrong took his place in this match. Pillman needed to find new trunks now that he was a heel.
Match Review: Dustin and Austin start this one, and Dustin pushes him back to the corner. Austin shoulderblocks him down, then Dustin takes him down with a drop toe-hold. Austin finds himself with a front face-lock on Dustin, until Dustin backdrops him. Dustin goes to a chinlock, which Austin does get out of. Dustin elbows him after that, and Armstrong tags in. Armstrong grabs the arm, and Pillman tags in as well. Pillman elbows Armstrong, then chops the guy. Pillman dodges Armstrong, then hip tosses him down. Pillman grabs hair to stop Armstrong from doing anything, but Armstrong hip tosses and arm drags him anyway. A dropkick knocks Pillman out to the floor, then Pillman feigns interest in shaking hands. Armstrong arm drags him, then Dustin tags in. Pillman chops away at Dustin, who hits him with a big right hand. Dustin stops a monkey flip with a fist drop, then arm drags Pillman. Austin tags in, and he gets arm dragged too. Armstrong gets in there, gets rammed into the buckle, and dropkicks Austin in response. Armstrong teases a dive to the outside, but Austin pulls him out there, getting kicked into the rail. Austin looks quite unhappy. Dustin tags in, misses a dropkick, and Austin drops him with a gutwrench suplex. Pillman tags in, dropkicks Dustin, and covers for 2. Austin tags in, and there’s a double back elbow. Austin tosses Dustin to the outside, and Pillman clotheslines him from the apron. Dustin goes for an enzuigiri, but Austin moves out of the way and drops knees on his head. Austin goes to the second rope, and misses a knee drop. Armstrong makes the big tag, and dropkicks Austin hard. Armstrong dropkicks both guys, and drops Austin with a knee lift for 2. Here comes Barry Windham! He’s at the arena! He grabs Dustin, asks him why he’s in this tag team match, and they start slapping each other. OH NO! Austin and Pillman double team Dustin, but Windham runs in to save his partner anyway, leading to a disqualification at 11:28. “ONLY I GET TO HIT MY PARTNER!”
My Thoughts: This was an absolutely standard match, until the very end which was totally different than the stuff I’ve seen from either of the two big promotions to this point. I thought it was funny, even though it probably wasn’t supposed to be. In any case, they were building towards a big breakup angle, and this was part of that. **1/2.
– Taped to air October 17th, 1992, on Worldwide, from Municipal Auditorium in Columbus, Georgia
Scott Steiner vs. Ricky Steamboat for the WCW Television Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: The Steiners situation was quite the interesting one. They were headed towards a big contract problem, but in the meanwhile, Rick Steiner tore his pec. So, the Steiners found themselves split up once again. They’d also aired some spots where it seemed like Scott Steiner may or may not be turning heel. Lots of subtle stuff.
Match Review: Steiner and Steamboat lock up, with nothing really coming of it. The ropes in this ring don’t look right for some reason. I can’t pinpoint how or why. Steiner slams Steamboat a few times, but Steamboat comes back with some nice dropkicks. Steiner then takes Steamboat down, but Steamboat makes the ropes. Steamboat hip tosses Steiner out of the ring, acts like that wasn’t on purpose, and goes to check on Steiner. Steiner is angry. Steamboat holds the ropes to let him in, and in two break situations, they break cleanly. In the third, Steiner and Steamboat start getting mad at each other. Steiner shoves Steamboat, both in the chest and the face. So, they trade bombs, with Steamboat then taking Steiner down with a drop toe-hold. Steamboat has an armbar on him, then uses a fireman’s carry. Steamboat gets up and arm drags him, but Steiner gets up with a hip toss. Steamboat goes back to the drop toe-hold, and Steiner gets up with a belly to belly throw. Steiner follows that with a backdrop, then puts a half crab on the champion. They get up, and Steiner applies a bear hug. Steamboat tries to twist his way out, but Steiner applies a hammerlock. Steamboat then misses a charge and flies over the top, with Steiner looking a little…angry? I don’t know how to phrase it. Steamboat climbs back up to the apron, Scott pulls him in, and locks him up in an inside cradle to win the TV strap at 9:44.
My Thoughts: This was extremely strange. A nothing match, ending in a title change. I guess Steiner’s celebration was supposed to make him look like a douche. He certainly did look like one. What happened was, Watts thought he might stay if he gave him a singles title. The plan was for the Steiners to break up and for Scott to be the heel. Yeah, like that was going to happen. **, not much of a match. Steamboat losing the title like this was incredibly stupid, as was putting this title on somebody who was leaving.
I need to bring up the things WCW was bringing up and dropping. Burying Barry Windham they did and un-did, obviously. Tony Atlas showed up as a heel. Super Invader was already gone. Dick Slater, gone. Greg Valentine walked out instead of jobbing to Sting, in large part because he wasn’t scheduled to be booked anywhere else. Guys like Erik Watts and Shane Douglas had started, and Chris Benoit was supposed to, but didn’t. Not a lot to say besides that, because WCW made absolutely no sense. Next up, we’re going to continue with the WCW theme by watching Halloween Havoc. That should be interesting.
Best: Doc and Gordy vs. Windham and Dustin. Liked that, but it took a long time to get going.
Worst: Putting the TV Title on Scott Steiner. He wasn’t even going to be there.
