WCW On Pay Per View in the 90's - Every event Reviewed

[Keith]

Fall Brawl 1995

Date: September 17, 1995

Location: Ashville, North Carolina

Attendance: 6,600

Tagline: "Let the Games Begin!"

Comments: WCW once again dragged out Dusty's classic gimmick the War Games match to headline its Fall Brawl PPV. This time it was used to carry on the tedious Hulk Hogan-Dungeon of Doom feud. In the run up to the event Vader was heavily advertised to appear as part of the face team. However fate took its course and Vader got into a locker room fight with Paul Orndorff. Management took Orndorff's side and the 400 pounder was released from his contract. Vader would debut in the WWF 4 months later at the Royal Rumble. The recently defected Lex Luger was quickly inserted into the match in Vader's place. The change was not for the better. I think Vader would have added something different. Far from the worse WCW PPV in recent memory, Fall Brawl had its bright spots. The promotion for the match between long time friends Ric Flair and Arn Anderson was very good. Since this was their first high profile singles match and Fall Brawl was held in Flair's back yard that match should have been the main event. On the whole WCW went through the motions on this night. Another problem was that the PPV itself only had 6 matches. As a result a number of matches were over long. It would have been better to have had a couple more matches and spaced them out a bit.

Four matches aired on the pre-show Main Event. The pick of them was Eddie Guerrero's TV debut in a decent match against Alex Wright which went to a no-contest when Wright asked for the match to be stopped because an injury to Guerrero. Guerrero who would have successful career in both WCW and even more so WWF/E made a promising first appearance. In another pre-show match The Nasty Boys jobbed to the American Males (Marcus Begwell and Joey Maggs) when they were distracted by the antics of Col. Robert Parker and Sister Sherri at ringside. It should surprise no one that the Nasty's were more over with the crowd than the lame hot throb tag team (who should have been a heel team anyway).



Flyin' Brian VS. Johnny B. Badd
This opener was billed as a face VS. face match with the winner set to get a U.S. title shot against Sting. Pillman who was about to transform into his most memorable character was showing a more heelish side. Cutting down on the the flashy high risk moves, Pillman was dressed in black and showed a more aggressive style. Credit to both guys for telling a decent story and working the crowd quite well. The match was strange in that the original period which went to a 20 minute time limit draw was a slower paced wrestling match. It was decided by the ref that it would go into sudden death over time. The match shot into life with a faster pace and a number of near falls. In the end Badd got the better of a crossbody mid-ring collusion to steal the win. Considering Pillman's change in the direction it might have a made more sense to have given him the match with Sting. Then again maybe it was felt he didn't need it. It was a strong opener anyway. ***



Cobra VS. Sgt. Craig "Pittbull" Pitman
A match that would look bad on a episode of WCW Saturday Night. The only saving grace was that it was very short (less than two minutes). But then the booking and finish of the match was an insult. Some no name cadet came to ringside and fooled Cobra into thinking that Pitman would not involved in the match. Only for the Pittbull to drop down from the rafters and start choking Cobra. Of course the ref still started the match Neither man showed any personality or presence. Pitman's offence was rubbish. The heel went over with the Code Red. *

Following his match with the Macho Man on TV Orndorff has the most bizarre but hilarious locker room melt down. Orndorff questions if he is Mr Wonderful anymore?Orndorff talks to psychic and spiritual healer Gary Spivey Gary gives our boy one hell of a pep talk By the end of the segment Orndorff is looking into the mirror repeating Spivey's words, "I am Mr. Wonderful"



TV Title Match Diamond Dallas Page (W/The Diamond Doll and Max Muscle) VS. The Renegade (c) (W/Jimmy Hart)
Another dull Renegade match which lasted too long. But at least the reign of terror is finally over! During the match heel Page forces the Doll to hold up a score card giving his moves a ten! Maybe giving Page the red hot TV title will give him some much needed heat? **



Tag Title Match Harlem Heat (W/Sister Sherri) VS. Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater (c) (W/Col. Robert Parker)
Another sluggish match. These two teams don't make mix well. At over 16 minutes this was another over long match. Almost nothing of note happened. The small plus points were future star Booker T who looked decent taking a pounding from the heels. There was something to seeing old school bad ass "Dirty" Dick Slater and his stiff style. The finish and title change came when Sherri and Parker engaged in some wild kissing in the second ring and the Nasty Boys avenge their pre-show loss by costing Buck and Slater the bout. Post-match both teams had issues with their managers. Sherri insists that the Parker kiss was part of her plan to cause a distraction? By the way this title change was rendered pointless the next night on Nitro when Harlem Heat dropped the belts to The American Males. Yes the same American Males who only wrestled on the pre-PPV show!**



Ric Flair VS. Arn Anderson
Now the hype for this match was very good. Described as a match we never thought you'd see. There was video packages recounting the history between the two best friends and typical strong promos from both (Flair describing Arn as like a brother). In a funny side note in storyline WCW were pushing the idea that the Flair-Anderson falling out happened because of Hulk Hogan's debut in WCW (suggesting that Flair was never the same after Hogan arrived). The match was a technical sound, nicely paced and exciting match with a strong crowd response. Early on Anderson was serious, with a aggressive style, at one point slapping Flair, Natch's reaction to this was gold. Arn focused on the arm with full arm and twist, wrapped it around the ring post and a hammer lock slam. Rolling Flair onto his shoulders Arn got repeated one counts. In an original spot Flair takes the aeroplane flip in the corner but suckers Arn in ducking and sending the enforcer to the floor. A double axe handle off the top keeps Flair rolling. Back inside he zones in on Anderson's knee with a chop block. A knee drop followed by pins with the feet on the middle rope A back drop out of the corner scores two. Anderson back drops Flair to the floor but then takes a surplex on the outside. Back inside Flair hits his impressive vertical surplex and a float over for two. A reverse chop of the ropes gets the same result. Flair blocks an Arn sunset flip attempt, but then misses with a fist. Arn again shows his mean streak with Flair upside down in the corner he chokes and puts the boots to him. Arn signals for the DDT but Flair is too close to the ropes and blocks it. Arn hits rocket launcher and a running knee drop for two. Flair catches Arn coming off the ropes with a clothesline. A figure four attempt is blocked, but in the end Flair locks it on. In a very intense sequence Double A keeps popping up after the ref counts at one point spitting at Flair. Finally he reverses it to a big pop! Another figure four attempt is countered into a small package followed by a hot near fall. The finish comes when Pillman who had been watching at ringside (along with a number of wrestlers) jumps up on the apron and gets into a shoving match with Flair. As Flair returns to Arn Pillman gives him a kick to the head setting him up for a Anderson DDT and three count. So in typical WCW fashion a cheap finish to a very good match. ****









More gold DOD antics as the Taskmaster hypes the main event including talking about expired flowers



War Games Main Event The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Sting, Macho Man Randy Savage and Lex Luger (w/Jimmy Hart) VS. The Dungeon of Doom (Kamala, The Zodiac, The Shark and Meng (w/The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan)
For the third straight year (since switching it to a different PPV) the War Games match was deadly bore devoid of any real drama. It at least got off to a decent start with Sting starting off against The Shark. The Stinger got a response from the crowd with a high risk move and a slam on the 400 plus pounder. The match pretty much took a nose dive when the terrible Zodiac entered the match for the heels. Lex Luger's in-ring comeback for WCW was an anti-climax. The attempt to get heat out of the tension between Luger and team captain Hogan (can the faces trust the recent defector? yawn....) was just cheap. The finish was cheap too. Hogan got the match winning submission with a fucking chinlock on The Zodiac As a result of the face team's win Sullivan was forced to face Hogan. As Hogan hammered the Taskmaster, The Giant predictably came out and attacked Hogan setting up the main event for Halloween Havoc. Why the hell the Giant wasn't part of this match is anyone's guess. You can't really expect such logical booking from WCW in 1995 *1/2



Best Match: Flair VS. Anderson

Worst Match: Cobra VS. Sgt. Craig "Pittbull"Pittman

Rating: 3/10



Next time.... A truly scary main event at Halloween Havoc 95

 

[Keith]

Halloween Havoc 1995

Date: October 29, 1995

Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit Michigan

Attendance: 13,000

Tagline: There's Nowhere to Hide



Comments: Now where to start with this bad boy?...A new low for a company who I thought couldn't get any lower. Halloween Havoc 95 was a truly terrifying and insulting PPV both to the live audience and those who paid to watch it on PPV. And that's before I even get to the dumb clusterfuck which is the double header main event Much of the PPV itself felt like a longer version of Monday Nitro. With far too many pointless segments (like Hulk presenting the winner of a contest with his Harvey Davidson), and very little in-ring action. Many of the matches were either too short, or overbooked with messy finishes. Is this the worst PPV in history? Not quite. There have been worse. But its certainly one of the most baffling and insulting. Oh but I'll get there, don't worry I will get there... On the Main Event pre-show Dean Malenko teamed with Chris Benoit to defeat The Blue Bloods (Bobby Eaton and Steven Regal). Malenko who would become a big part of WCW's Crusierwright division had debuted a few weeks ago on TV.

At the start of the show we see Hulk and The Giant riving up their Monster Trunks for the big battle

TV Title Match Diamond Dallas Page (c) (W/The Diamond Doll & Max Muscle) VS. Johnny B. Badd
The set up for this match is beyond dumb. Badd failed to make his U.S. Title shot against Sting (you know the one he earnt at the last PPV) because, wait for it....BECAUSE OF A FLAT TYRE! Badd is later mocked by DDP and Muscle, who let slip that it were they who gave him the flat. What motivation DDP and Musclehead Max had to do this is anyone's guess. By the way Page has recently come into $13million. Since winning the money he had magically got a new attitude and greater success. What this has to do with his wrestling ability I don't know. What confuses me even more is why Page would feel the need to keep wrestling if had such riches?... The match itself is decent and one of the better on the card. Page is starting to find his groove more as a performer (though as it turns out he's a much more natural face). Badd jump starts him by having a fake Badd appear in the aisle. They fight through the crowd before Page comes back with a pancake (face first pancake) for a two. The pace drops and Badd's comeback attempts are nicely timed. Johnny's backslide gets a two as does DDP's clothesline. DDP counters a sunset and Muscle distracts the ref. But Badd comes back with a headscissors take down and double axe handle off the top. The Doll gives Badd a ten for this move! This gets him two as does a powerbomb, but Diamond comes back with a running bulldog. When Page is flipped to the outside with see impressive Badd high spots including a flip into a plunger and a summersult leg drop off the top for two. Max Muscle's interference back fires and Badd picks up the pieces with the win and becomes the new TV champion. And that's not the first time you will see a dusty finish on this show After the match the Doll seems impressed with Badd, maybe spotting her new meal ticket **1/2



Tony and the Brain hype up the Monster Truck match. Their doing their best I'll give them that

Zodiac VS. Macho Man
So the story here is that Macho and Lex Luger will face each other if they can win their matches against members of the DOD. Macho runs Zodiac in less than two minutes (on a PPV?) to reserve energy should he face Lex later.

Kurasawa (W/Col. Robert Parker) VS. Road Warrior Hawk
Another lumbering 80's style big man match. Its a mystery why Benoit and Malenko couldn't get on the PPV when this worthless filler did. Kurasawa gets the cheap win when Parker holds Hawk's leg down on a pin. This probably means the feud isn't over sadly. *1/2

Mr. J.L. VS. Sabu (W/The Sheik)
J.L. would go onto wrestle under his real name Jerry Lynn (see what they did there!), and would have far greater success in ECW where he would have legendary series with Rob Van Dam. Lynn would also be a ROH champion and have a strong career on the indie scene as well as a brief WWE run. The original Sheik appeared in Sabu's corner to try and give a bit more buzz. The match itself is a rushed filler filled with random spots and nothing to tie them together. Sabu who does get a few chants looked useless. The match fired to connect with the live crowd. There is a novelty Sheik fireball shot post Sabu's win **



We get more waffle from the Taskmaster and his father. Sullivan struggles to keep a straight face at times as father rambles on about the milky way the Eclipse. Not to mention the Insurance policy that is "THE YETI!"

Hogan says "Brother" a lot and calls Mike "Maniac Mike" as he presents him with his Harvey.

Meng (W/The Taskmaster) VS. Lex Luger
Painfully slow, lifeless match which was lasted too long. Having Luger on the defense for most of the match was a bad move. The match only exposed boths limitations. Sullivan ends up costing his own man the match getting Meng DQ after he nailed Luger with a spike and looked set to win. I guess Sullivan wanted faces Macho and Luger to face each other later on or something?... *1/2



Arn Anderson & Flyin Brian VS. Sting and Ric Flair
This starts off as a handicap match with Sting going it alone against the Enforcer and Brian. Flair was attacked earlier the night and there was doubt if he would make the match. From the start there a huge "We Want Flair Chants" Sting starts off fast taking both heels on and clotheslining them to the floor. Pillman tries to sucker him in with a fake handshake but Sting calls his bluff and press slams Pillman. Anderson unsure, slowly comes into the match (Arn's facial expressions and body language are first class here). In a original spot Arn goes for a piledriver with Pillman up on top Sting back drops Anderson head first into Brian's balls for a big pop Sting keeps things going sending Pillman off the top to guard rail outside. Pillman sells this like a Pro. Both this heel run and the one from 92-93 show where his real talents were. Arn runs Sting into Pillman on the outside (an old Anderson family tactic). To little surprise the Nature Boy makes an appearance and gets a big pop. Just to add a bit more realism he comes out half naked in street clothes. Double A slows down the tempo locking a sleeper on Sting. Meanwhile Flair whips up a storm on the apron. Flair nails Arn with a cheap shot with his shoe in front of the ref (but isn't DQed?). This again is selling just how desperate the Nature Boy is to get a piece of Arn. Pillman misses with a high risk move, Sting almost gets the hot tag, Arn hits a smooth belly to back surplex for a two. Sting powers up from a Arn wrist lock as Flair chases Pillman around ringside. Anderson's abdominal stretch looks good. Heels tag in and out, doing a good job in cutting off the ring. This Pillman-Arn team has a nice balance to it. Pilman wears Sting out some more with a half grab and Arn nails the spinebuster only for Flair to break up the pin. Sting powers his way out of a bear hug. Arn tags Pillman, and Sting makes the hot tag to a well rested Nature Boy, but wait? What's this?... Flair attacks Sting!! WTF! What would you know it was a double cross all along (probably meaning that Pillman costing the Flair the match with Arn at Fall Brawl was part of it). Flair, Pillman and Anderson triple team Sting. I have mixed feelings on this twist. It was handled very well during the match. By building up to Flair's hot tag it gave us the sense he really wanted to get back at Arn and so the swerve was more effective. Of course Flair and Arn working together as heels just feels like a better fit. Pillman is a nice addition too. Looks like they are forming a new Four Horsemen stable. Then again this twist has been used to death over the years. The other downside is that it cheapens the Flair-Arn feud. But out of all the dusty finishes on this show this was the best. Enjoyable match too. ***1/2



Monster Truck Match Hogan VS. The Giant
And they actually talk about it like its a serious sporting event!!! Easy E joins Heenan and they are joined by Monster Truck expert Bob Chandler who supposedly made Hulk's truck. It was actually filmed on a roof across from the arena the previous day. Great line from Bob, "They''ll be safe as long as long as they don't go off the roof" In a dull, dull looking 5 minutes the camera's cut in-between the trucks showing both guys inside the truck. It all looked a bit DIY. Finally Hogan wins by forcing the Giant's truck across the line. The Giant gets out of his truck and confronts Hulk. The two tussle and Hogan basically kills the Giant. Or at least you would think he kills him right, considering he goes off the roof of a very tall building!! How to rate such a unique spectacle?

Lex Luger VS. Macho Man
No surprise that Heenan and Tony are selling what just happened rather than focusing much on this match. Its a cheap way to hype a main event suggesting one half of that main event is dead and won't make the match. The match itself is a decent enough tussle which was given no where near enough time to build. The finish was very scrappy too. Jimmy Hart comes to ringside and distracts the ref. Meanwhile Luger acting heelish has his feet on the ropes when pinning Macho. Macho runs Luger into Hart at ringside and nails an elbow off the top for the win. WCW are still presenting Luger as a shady character at this point. BTW this match only lasted 23 seconds longer than the Monster Truck match! **1/2




WCW Title Main Event Hulk Hogan (c)(W/Jimmy Hart) VS. The Giant (W/The Taskmaster)

Heenan goes into total melt down before this match trying to get information on the Giant's condition (their still running with Giant being Andre's son and of course Heenan managed Andre). But fear not Brain because as it turns out The Giant is super human!!
Hogan comes out first and starts selling how disturbed he is at what happened on the roof. He is cut off in his prime by the Giant's music. Not only is he still alive but he doesn't even have a scratch on him!!!! Buffer int erupts Hulk with "The Challenger has arrived"! With Tony chipping in with "He's rose from the dead"! This is The Giant's first in-ring appearance for WCW by the way. Once again WCW went all nostalgia turning this main event into a full blown re-run of Hogan's famous WM3 main event with Andre from 1987. Including typical wear down holds, test of strengths and Hogan finally slamming the Giant. Hogan even goes to the head with the fans counting him down. Credit to the champion who does a good job of bumping for The Giant. The match itself is a bit of bore and predictable with it. It would have been better without the messy booking which just gets dumber. The ending is a right clusterfuck. Hogan hulks up after a big choke slam and hits a slam followed by his legdrop of doom. Jimmy Hart then jumps up on the apron and totally blows the finish. He trips over but takes out the ref who is about to count the pin (or maybe he planned it that way to look like an accident?)... Hart plays innocent but then turns on Hulk with a belt shot. Luger and Macho then both come out followed by "THE YETI"!The Yeti then proceeds to shag Hogan and The Giant In one final twist Luger puts Hogan in the torture rack finally declaring his true colours. Somewhere in all this mess the Giant is declared the winner by DQ?Hart and Lex turning heel I don't have too much of a problem with but how they got there was a total shambles. Besides Hart is new going to manage the DOD who already has enough with Sullivan managing them. All these add on's just took away from The Giant's in-ring debut and made him look weak. *1/2



Best Match: Arn Anderson and Flyin Brian VS. Sting and Ric Flair

Worst Match: Hogan VS. The Giant (both Monster Truck actual match).

Event Rating: 3/10

Next Time 60 WCW wrestlers go to war in yet another risky experiment its the debut of the World War III PPV.

 

[Deezy]

Could've sworn that monster truck shit was on the show before the PPV.

And Sheiks fireball melted his mask to his face with that fireball no one knew he was throwing, put alot of heat on Sabu.

 

[Lover Boy]

Oh damn WW3 as the next event, I am looking forward to this

 

[Keith]

World War 3 1995

View attachment 1986

Date: November 26, 1995

Location: Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk Scope

Attendance: 12,000

Tagline: Sixty Men... Three Rings... Three Giants... One Battle Royal

NOTE: I forgot to flag up that Steve Austin was fired by WCW in September before the Fall Brawl PPV. Austin was unhappy with his direction (quite rightly) and had a paring of the ways with WCW CEO Eric Bischoff. In a small run in ECW Austin would mock WCW in a number of very entertaining skits ("WCW Where the big boys play with themselves"). By the end of the year Austin had signed with the WWF and the rest is history.



Comments: Another wacky WCW experiment which ultimately failed. Once again it looked Bischoff and the creative team copying and trying to one up the WWF. To crown a new World Champion the company presented their answer to the Royal Rumble Battle Royal, exempt this time instead of being 30 men, WCW booked 60. As if this wasn't over kill enough, the bookers added on a three ring concept with action taking place in all three at the same time (there were even three separate announce teams to call each ring). The final nail in the coffin was that it had a shady finish with the new champion being crowned in a in decisive way. That was classic 1995 WCW booking. They just tried way too hard to be clever, throwing all logic out the window. Its a shame the main event was such a shambles because World War 3 was actually one of WCW's stronger PPV's of 1995 with a strong undercard.


Schivone opens with "The biggest night we've had on PPV TV!"He also pushes a early form of computer social networking called "Compyserve" where the fans can chat with the wrestlers.

Before we get to the action itself Mean Gene interviews Hogan who rips off the black saying the darkside of Hulk Hogan is over. That didn't take long. He says he can trust Sting and Macho to back him up against the DOD and called them "the coolest dudes in the world"

In a video package hyping up the TV Title opener, DDP call Badd "Johnny B. Bonzo"

TV Title Match Diamond Dallas Page (W/The Diamond Doll) VS. Johnny B. Badd (c)
Not only is the title on the line but so are the services of The Diamond Doll who looks stunning in a striking black dress A very solid opener. There was some decent chain wrestling back and fourth early on. DDP gets some heat when using the Doll as a shield, throwing Badd into her. Page hits a nice tilt to whirl into a face slam. He calls for the Doll to give him the ten, but she says no. Badd slowly fights back and decks Page and unlike Page he gets a 10! Badd keeps things rolling with a sit out powerbomb for a hot two. DDP almost steals the win with a feet on the ropes pin attempt. DDP then scores with a side walk slam goes for the pin, but the champion reverses it for a near fall. Badd hits a headscissors take down. He goes up top but Page counters with knees up on the "Bad Mood". DDP gets a two from the gut buster. He goes for a tombstone, but Badd reverses it for a near fall. He finishes the job with "The Bad Day" spring board leg drop to retain the title and win the Diamond Doll's services. Post-match The Doll looks confused but hugs Badd. ***

Gene pushes "breaking news on the WCW Hotline about the WWF Steroid trial". This is truly desperate stuff from WCW. They really should focus on their own business.

Tap Fist Match Big Bubba Rogers VS. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Yes! A PPV match between Big Bubba and Hacksaw in 95!! At this point both guys are at least three years past their primes (their last PPV meeting was at the Rumble 90). The tap fist add-on only made things worse. Duggan did get a response from the crowd at least at the start. This is a plodding, slow and sloppy big man match. They barely even used the tap fists. They keep switching between rings to try and create interests. But the wrestlers are going through the motions with one predictable spot after the other. After what felt like a long ten minutes VK Wallstreet (Mike Rotunda, yes another washed up Ex-WWF guy) came to the ring with a chain, but Duggan knocks him down with a 2X4, only for Bubba to grab the chain and hit an upper cut for the win. Very lame! *1/2





Flair in classic purple glitter robe is on fire in his interview

Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki VS. Bull Nakana and Akira Hokuto (W/Sonny Onoo)
One thing you have to give credit to Bischoff for during this time was the deal he had struck in Japan to have some of their top talent work on WCW shows. This special attraction women's match was the best of the night PPV so far and was certainly one way WCW could truly stand out from WWF. Vince and co. have very rarely come close to having female matches this good on their shows. The Professional Mike Tenay joins Tony and the Brain for this one. The heels take the first upper hand with a double clothesline. Bull shows her monster power by whipping Ozaki across the ring by her hair. In a smart moment of showmanship and psychological Hokuto holds in a arm lock in front of her partner just teasing her The heels cut off the ring, finally drawing Suzuki in with their heel tactics. A Hokuto missile/spear off the top gets two. A tornado DDT turns things around for the faces, Suzuki hits a running press for two. Stereo half grabs by Suzuki and Ozaki get cheers from the crowd. Bull breaks up a double team attempt and hits her power bomb, but is off target with her top rope leg drop finisher. The faces hit a pair of stumps off the top for a two. Bull fires back with a double surplex, but Hokuto misses her latest top rope effect. A double drop kick on Nakana hits, but she is able to block a double surplex attempt with brute force. A pair of sunset flips which look great gets a pair of two counts. Hukuto gets into her groove with a dragon surplex for two and a over head surplex. Hokuto hits a double drop kick off the top, and a flip which takes both out. The heels hit their version of a Doomsday Device but Suzuki makes the save. Bull finally hits the top rope leg drop for the win. ****







U.S. Title match Chris Benoit VS. Kensuke Sasaki (c) (W/Sonny Onoo)
We find out that Benoit now on the WCW roster full time (he first appeared at Superbrawl III) is the newest member of the Four Horsemen competing the new look lineup (Flair, Arn, Pillman, Benoit). Sasaki holding WCW's number two title was clearly a way for the company to further capitalise on the relationship with Japan. The two produce a slow burning, stiff Japanese style match, with lots of wear down and power moves, with the odd well timed high spot thrown in. The match is solid, but never got out of second gear for me and the crowd never warmed to it the way they did the women's match. Sasaki is the power house of the match as he gets Benoit in a press slam. Benoit counters a Boston crab attempt and later scores with his impressive running spear through the middle rope onto the Champ on the floor. A snap surplex gets Benoit two. A Sasaki power slam gets the same result. Benoit scores with three German surplexes in a row, but Sasaki breaks the cycle. He goes for a tombstone piledriver, but Benoit counters it into one of his own (second time tonight for that spot, are WCW trying to piss off the Undertaker?). The challenger then hits his top rope headbutt, but it it takes too much out of him to make the cover straight away. Sasaki has enough time to recover and escapes on two. A head scissors off the top also gets two. Sasaki focuses on the arm and goes for a submission but Benoit makes the ropes. Out of the blue Sasaki gets the win with a Death Valley Driver. At this point Benoit looks like one of WCW's best prospects. Will they fuck it up or make him a star? You'll just have to stay tuned to find out more ***








Lex Luger (W/Jimmy Hart) VS. Macho Man
The mini Macho-Lex feud goes on with Lex now confirmed as a heel (for now). Hart as Luger's manger feels like an odd choice. This is a short, brawl style match and not bad for what it is. But it does feel like filler and could have been cut. Plus there's the Macho injury. The main purpose of the match is to further sell that both men are pulling double duty and will compete in the Battle Royal. Macho almost got a early win with his elbow drop, but Hart makes the save. Lex later hooks the torture rack on the outside of the ring as Jimmy screams the count at his guy to remind him not to get counted out (a nice use of Hart). A Luger armbar leads to Macho passing out (he had already injured his arm). Post-match Luger reverses to release the hold before old pal Sting comes out and talks him around **

Ric Flair VS. Sting
Have these two ever had a bad match? I highly doubt it. This was on the lower end, but still very solid and enjoyable. Schiavone does a really good job of selling the history between the two. There's some nice little moments with Flair rolling between rings, just to mess with Sting or take a breather. Sting hits the first of a few press slams early on. Flair responds with a vintage Nature Boy thumb to the eyes and hard chops. But they have little effect on the Stinger. The face takes control with running clotheslines and a nice drop kick. For no reason I can see Sherri and Col. Parker come to ringside just to snog There's a pattern of Flair zoning in on Sting's arm, but Sting hardly being effected by much of his offence. At one point a fight between the two spills outside. A Flair low blow off a Sting choke turns things around for the Horseman. A chop block to the knee is followed up by a back surplex. The figure four is hooked on and Flair slaps Sting which if anything fires him up more. A Sting reversal leads to Flair quickly releasing the hold, this is followed a Sting backslide for a near fall. Sting catches Flair in a rocket launcher, before Flair's normal airplane spot. Sting finishes the job with a superplex and Scorpion deathlock for the submission win. ***



60 Man World War 3 Battle Royal for the Vacant WCW World Title
Before the main event The Brain says the winner is likely to be someone we haven't seen yet and is fresh, hinting that he is going for the Giant to win. We are treated to 3 broadcast teams who all cover one a ring each. Easy E and the Dusty Rhodes call one of the other rings and Chris "Fuckin" Cruise teams with Larry Zbyszko his partner. Zbyszko has his work cut out with Cruise who looks like a nerdy weatherman or gym teacher and just shouts most of the time. He's terrible! Which is fitting because this match sucks pretty much to the later stages. 60 is way too many, so we end up with pure jobbers like Joey Maggs and Mark Starr making up the numbers. Chris Kanyon makes his PPV debut in the match. He will feature a fair few times in the coming years. I may give 1995 stick for its overkill with ex-WWF stars, but I'm not going to lie I marked out for The One Man Gang! The wrestlers just walk out one after the other in quick succession which is something of a blur. Buffer claims, "ITS THE GREATEST BATTLE ROYAL IN THE HISTORY OF WRESTLING! IT'S WORLD WAR 3!"





Adding to the farce the announcers miss early eliminations. Cruise doesn't even know the name one of the jobber's name Sting sticking Discos head into Knob's armpit is a fun spot. Macho sells his injury like a Pro and I marked for him and Gang going at it. Great selling from Macho. Hogan is targeted as one of the threats of the match as a gang of heels team up to try and oust him. Cruise calls "Norton is out" like it is some natural disaster Pillman heels it up nicely on Hogan with a choke (is it just me or could a Pillman-Hulk feud have actually been great?). Scott Armstrong does a stretcher job I'm guessing to sell the stakes of the match. I hope he was paid a bit extra When Hogan dumps Booker and Saggs at once the field is down to 23. At that point the match already feels like its been going forever! Luger and Hogan carry on their feud in another ring. Page and Badd eliminate each other. Of course Hulk's buddy The Zodiac makes it to the FINAL 15!!! Eddie puts in a good showing making it to this stage too. The final eight actually looks good with Luger, Sting, Flair, Anderson, Macho, One Man Gang, Hogan and The Giant. Sting slingshots Flair into Anderson's nuts sending the enforcer to the floor. Hogan clotheslines Flair out to end the Horsemen interest. And Ric goes nuts! Hogan and Macho double team the Gang to try and get rid of him. At the same time try the same with the Giant. Hogan joins them and the three eliminate the Giant. Macho finishes the job on Gang. Hogan is dragged under the bottom rope and Macho is announced as the winner new WCW Champion. Post-match Hogan and Macho argue over the finish. Typical Hogan!
Hulk appeals to the fans to tell Macho and the ref what happened. Macho says he didn't see it. Hogan says tomorrow on Nitro he will show the footage which will confirm his claim. What a bunch of bullshit! I have no problem with Macho winning the Title. At this point he's been with WCW about a year and has put in the time. He's a big enough name and is a nice break from the normal guys. But why have a dusty finish? Why not put Macho over properly? The arguing with Hogan at the end took the spotlight off Macho's World Title win. Such a payoff to the crowning of a new WCW champion with the title having been held up is just weak. But then maybe that was Hulk's plan? Because of the format of the match it was a baffling watch and a struggle to get through. If he had been condensed to a 20 man battle royal (made up of the top contenders) it would have worked out much better. What a whimper to end an otherwise strong PPV. *1/2

Best Match: Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki VS. Bull Nakana and Akira Hokuto

Worst match: Bubba VS. Duggan

Event Rating: 7/10



WCW Monday Nitro 27/11/95

Location: Salem, Virginia

WCW TV Title match Johnny B. Badd (c) (W/ The Diamond Doll) VS. Diamond Dallas Page
Page comes out with roses to try and win Kimberly back. This turns out to be a trick as its later revealed that there is a chain planted in the flowers. The Doll looks confused and unsure what to do. After a few minutes she throws the chain into the ring through Page's legs into Badd's hands. The champion decks DDP and gets the win. The suggestion after the match is that the Doll might have been trying to throw the chain to Page, but missed. Even though she's only just joined Badd there is already a question mark over can Badd trust her? Yes in the sexist world of 90's wrestling women can rarely be trusted *1/2



Sullivan questions Hart over how he can manage Luger when Lex and Sting are friends? Jimmy says that Sting is part of the plan.

Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki VS. Bull Nakano and Akira Hokuto (W/Sonny Onno)
Because of it being on TV this re-match from WW III was given less time and so couldn't live up to it. But still produced plenty of highlights. These include Hokuto's missile drop kick off the top, Ozaki's German surplex, Hokuto catching one of her foes off the ropes into a full away slam and Hokuto's impressive brain buster for the win. ***



Hugh Morris VS. Hulk Hogan
Predictable 80's style big man squash. Morris never impressed me too much. Nothing to report on this one. *1/2



Macho calls Hogan out to sort out the confusion from World War III. Hulk points out that his name is still on the belt. Macho responds with, "I plan on having that changed" They roll the footage from last night, but wouldn't you know it at the crucial moment the video cuts out. Macho like a Pro sticks to his guns. The Giant comes out and nails both guys. Hogan snaps nailing the Giant with chair shots. Sting comes out and calls Hulk off. Bischoff claims that somethings going on funny about Sting calling Hogan off the Giant. CAN HE BE TRUSTED?!!

"Flyin" Brian Pillman and Arn Anderson VS. Lex Luger and Sting (no Jimmy!)
The heels double team Sting. Arn hits his spinebuster and Luger makes the save. Sting takes on both heels. Hits a running face slam and press slam on Pillman. Luger ducks a double clothesline and knocks Pillman to the floor. He then hits his running forearm and the announcers sell his past motorcycle accident. Sting gets Arn in the deathlock, but at the same time Lex knocks Pillman off the top and he hits Sting breaking up the hold. A further question mark is placed on Lex when he takes a long time to break up a Horsemen double team. Sting gets a roll up for a cheap win. Flair comes out the heels triple team Lex and Sting. Hogan makes the save. Sting defends Luger when Hogan questions him. Sting and Hulk have words but end the show shaking hands. This Luger-Sting storyline drags on for many months to come. **1/2



NEXT TIME.... WCW wrap up another crappy year with their traditional curtain call Starrcade 1995.

 

[Chris]

Overall, I'd say the WW3 PPV was one of if not the best one they ever did outside of Duggan/Rogers and Macho/Luger, also the main event was boring but the rest of the matches all delivered and then some, especially the women's match.

 

[Keith]

Overall, I'd say the WW3 PPV was one of if not the best one they ever did outside of Duggan/Rogers and Macho/Luger, also the main event was boring but the rest of the matches all delivered and then some, especially the women's match.

What one of their best ever PPV? I think the matches that are bad do drag it down a fair bit. Plus there's a fair bit of bad booking. But it is a really good show mostly.

 

[Chris]

What one of their best ever PPV? I think the matches that are bad do drag it down a fair bit. Plus there's a fair bit of bad booking. But it is a really good show mostly.

Nah nah nah, I was just talking about the World War 3 PPVs lmao it's not close to one of their best ever

 

[Keith]

Monday Nitro

25/12/95

Mongo's dogs is dressed in Santa get up Eric has a scary XMas jumper

Lex Luger (W/Jimmy Hart) VS. Scotty Riggs
Standard Television match. Riggs gets a bit more enforce in than you would expect. Once again Lex looks way more at home as a heel than face. *1/2

Big Bubba VS. Sting
Half assed match compared to some of their PPV meetings. Its a watchable tussle, with a rushed finish. Sting is shot off the top but reverses Bubba into a weak looking cradle for the pin. **



During a Luger interview, Sgt. Craig Pittman asks Jimmy if he will manage him to the top. Jimmy compares Pittman's body to Lex's and mocks him

Dean Malenko VS. J.L.
Neat little match. Malenko is starting to get a decent build with his man of a 1000 holds gimmick. He hits an early over head surplex for a two. There's some smooth counters back and forth and the future Jerry Lynn sneaks a two from a roll up. He takes control with a headscissors sending Malenko to the floor. The masked guy then hits a nice looking summersalt splash on the outside. A J.L. sitout powerbomb also looks good and gets two. Malenko screws up a powerbomb into top rope flapjack move. The Iceman takes full control with a nice second rope gutbuster followed by reverse leglock for the submission. *1/2



Jimmy Hart (again on classic form) sucks up to the Nature Boy offering his services for the night. Ric causally accepts.

WCW Title Main Event - Ric Fair (W/Jimmy Hart) VS. Macho Man (c)
The night ends on a high with a ultra intense and realistic main event. In the opening moments Macho turns the tables on the challenger with a figure four of his own Flair's selling is on the money. Finally making the ropes, Ric then goes for the finisher himself, but the champ counters it into a cradle for a two. Between them Flair and Jimmy turn the tide. After hitting the guard rail, the champion loses it grabbing a chair from the crowd, which Pee-Wee Anderson quickly takes off him. Back inside Flair zones in on Savages injured arm. Flair hammerlock and foot on the rope combo gets a series of twos. Macho fires back with an elbow off the ropes and a backslide for a two. Each time Flair fires back. Another nice touch is Flair hurting his arm after hitting a standing surplex. Its fine little details like that which is why the likes of Flair and Macho were the cream of the crop even deep into their careers. Champ and face exchange hard hitting blows back and forth. Macho scores a two with a back drop. Flair catches the champ coming off the top on the floor. Macho sleeper is quickly countered by a knee drop onto Flair's knee. The challenger hooks up a figure four, Macho finally gets to the ropes. Flair then gets a sleeper hold, but Macho snake eyes him in the corner. Macho gets a near fall from a double axe handle off the top. After Macho nails Jimmy, Luger comes out and causes a DQ. Sting then evens up the scores (but never goes after Lex). Macho and Sting bump up against each other. The show ends with a face off. The screwy finish was to protect both guys for Starrcarde. Giving away such a match for free on TV is such a WCW 1995 move. ****



Starrcade 1995

Date: December 27, 1995

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Attendance: 8,200

Tagline: "USA's Toughest Meet Japan's Best in This International Wrestling Showdown (how is that a tagline?)



Comments: Hogan was no where to be seen at WCW's big year end curtain call, serving a storyline suspension. Hogan was still taking plenty of movie bookings as his wrestling career stalled (things would change). Dusty joins Heenan and Tony for the first time to call the show. This was not a good move. The Dream is a rambling mess behind the mic. His attempts at humour suck too.

Taking up most of the PPV with the World Cup of wrestling between WCW stars and New Japan Pro Wrestling talent proves overkill and feels more like a novelty than a must see. The quality is very up and down. As if the overall result was in doubt, over the course of the evening it soon becomes predictable. The triangle match and WCW title headliner added star quality, but was a strange ending to the evening.

Chris Benoit VS. Jushin "Thunder" Liger (W/Sonny Ono)
Bischoff's good buddy Ono is in the corner for every New Japan representative. The opening of the World Cup gets the evening off to a lively start. Benoit takes the first upper hand of the match with a series of German surplexes, a boston crab and a German surplex into a bridge for a two count. Liger comes back with a nice looking surfboard into a reverse crossface. Liger counters an electric chair and hits a tombstone. The Horseman catches his masked foe up top and hits a superplex, but struggles to make the cover, only getting two. Misses his top rope headbutt. Liger hits a powerbomb but goes for a cocky cover allowing the Canadian to escape easily. This is followed by a brainbuster but only two. Benoit comes back with two German release surplexes and his top rope diving headbutt. Kevin Sullivan comes out distracts Benoit. Liger puts New Japan 1-0 up from a sloppy roll up finish. The Japanese star did a great job of playing heel for the US crowd. ***1/2



Eddy gives a bland 1980's goody-goody promo hyping up his match later. Guerrero comes along way from this on the mic.

Koji Kanemoto VS. Alex Wright
Middling match which shows Wright out of his depth. His attempts at chain wrestling don't convince. His sleeper looks crap. BTW the Nashville crowd chant "USA" Wright as face just doesn't work. Kanemoto scores the win with a rolling cradle after dropping Wright on the top rope. 2-0 to New Japan. **




Ono claims he plans on buying WCW

Masahiro Chono VS. Lex Luger (W/Jimmy Hart)
Luger pulls a win back for WCW in another forgettable match. Chono's reverse DDT and STF at least got the crowd behind Lex. Tony calls a Chono kick "a Mafia kick" Lugers gets the win following a top rope forearm shot followed by the human torture rack. **



Johnny B. Badd (Kimberly) VS. Masa Saito
Ono insults Kimberly with a sexist remark, she puts him down with a Bonanza reference IN 1995 WTF?!!!! She also questions Sonny's manhood. Now those insults never go out of fashion Kimberly has a new confident attitude bouncing about the ring like a sporty tomboy. This is surprisingly solid match with the contrast in styles working quite well. Saito gets some heat choking Badd out with the Japanese flag. He gets a two with tidy side surplex. A side Russian leg sweep gets the same result. Badd fires back with a high knee lift, a double axe handle off the top and a sunset flip for two. Sonny distracts Badd and Saito tosses Badd over the top for a lame DQ finish levelling up the two promotions 2-2. I'm sure WCW have dropped this silly over the top rope DQ rule over the years and brought it back when it suits them. **1/2



Luger still flirting between face and heel says he wants to win the triangle by himself, telling Jimmy to stay in the locker room.

Shinjiro Ootani VS. Eddy Guerrero
We start with a slow feeling out process. Eddy takes control with a nice headscissors counter and summersalt splash. Later he scores two from a standing powerbomb. Ootani gets his foot on the rope after taking a brainbuster. The New Japan guy steps up his game with a springboard drop kick and the leaping flash off the top. Eddy reverses a sleeper into a overhead surplex and a nice German surplex into a bridge for the hot near fall. The near falls rank up for Eddy from a headscissors and powerbomb. Ootani's springboard drop kick to the back of Eddy's neck looked brutal. This followed a senseless high spot from the WCW guy. A smart closing sequence sees reversing a pin into a sunset flip and a couple of reversals before Ootani gets the pin to put New Japan back in front. ***



Macho goes all Buzz Lightyear "To infinity and beyond"! A silly reference but at least a current one unlike Kimberly's earlier

Tensan VS. Macho Man
Much better than you would think for a match only given six minutes and where the result was never really in doubt. A tidy back and forth affair, with Macho again selling his arm effectively. In the end the top rope elbow got the WCW champ the win. 3-3. ***

Flair gives the most enthusiastic promo of the night ahead of the semi-main event.

Kensuke Sasaki VS. Sting - World Cup of Wrestling final
And the final match with the scores tied (what a shocker hey?) ended up being a really flat, damp squid. Both guys were going through the motions. Sting clearly was saving his best for the triangle match. The match felt even less important with it only getting just shy of seven minutes. Sting got the predictable victory for WCW with his scorpion death lock submission, and was surrounded by a host of babyfaces. The match had very little drama to speak of. As if Sasaki's night wasn't bad enough he also dropped his U.S. Title to washed up big man The One Man Gang in a match which didn't even air on PPV **



Triangle Match (winner gets a WCW title shot the same night) Sting VS. Ric Flair VS. Lex Luger
Not for the first time Flair was the star of the match (probably the whole night). He goes after the Stinger's leg (worked on in the previous match), but Sting bounces back with big power moves, a hiptoss and press slam and a running face slam. Sting and Luger's relationship is pushed to the edge when Luger breaks up his friend's pin on Flair after a superplex. The Nature Boy knocks Lex into Sting causing a tag (tornado rules). Luger starts to dominate Flair and gets a near fall from a running forearm drop. Flair turns the tables with a nice chop block and chair to Luger's leg as Sting is jawing with the ref. Vintage Natch follows with a figure four holding the ropes every time the ref counts the pin. Luger finally reverses the hold and then hits a nice standing surplex for the two. A rocket launcher and Flair taughts Sting to enter. Sting does come in, but the quality drops as his and Luger's exchanges are no where near as heated as the Packages with Flair. A Sting crossbody off the top gets two. Luger gets knees up on a second rope splash and takes over. Out of no where Sting hooks a death lock but Lex hits a low blow. A roll up gets two, as does a Sting sunset flip. A snap surplex is followed up by a Stinger splash, but Sting misses a second one. Lex locks in the human torture rack, but Sting's foot knocks the ref for six. Flair sneaks back in, nails Luger and dumps both him and Sting over the top rope. The ref recovers and counts both men. Just as it appears as if Sting might just make it by the ten count, Luger grabs his foot to stop him from making it. Both are counted out and Flair gets a shot at the big one. As crummy as this finish seems. I actually quite like it. It keeps the Luger-Sting feud/story bubbling. It protects both of them. Plus its a classic Flair tactic which sells how smart he is but also how heelish he is. A nice way to end an over long and uneven semi-main event. The triangle match not really a favourite of mine. **1/2

WCW Title Main Event Macho Man (c) VS. Ric Flair (W/Jimmy Hart)
Yes that little pip squeak is now in Flair's corner So we get a pretty rushed main event (just over eight minutes). WCW are determined to bundle this feud. Anyway, its a lively effort, with some intense brawling and smooth back and forth. Early in the match Paul Orndorff appears on the ramp in a neck brace (he was injured by the Horsemen recently). Finally Jimmy chucks his megaphone in and distracts the ref. But Macho grabs it first and nails Flair, and Ric does a massive blade job. The Horsemen hit the ring, but Macho runs them into each other. The champ hits his top rope elbow, but the ref is still tied up. Arn Anderson nails Macho with brassnuts. Flair covers to become the 12 time World Champion. The Horsemen celebrate doing a great job of selling the importance of the title. A lively main event which should have been given more time, and should not have come on the back of a 28 minute match which set it up. Over booking once again was a problem for WCW. ***

Best Match: Chris Benoit VS. Jushin Liger
Worst Match: Kensuke Sasaki VS. Sting

Event Rating: 6/10



Next Time WCW rolls into 1996 a year which would change the face of wrestling forever and kick start the attitude era and Monday night wars...

 

[Chris]

Yeah fuck that World Cup for Starrcade, the only matches I really enjoyed were Eddie's and Benoit's. The triangle match should have been cut in half and that time should have been given to Flair/Savage instead.

 

[Keith]

Monday Nitro 1/01/96

Location: Atlanta, GA

They open with a countdown to the New Year/the first Nitro.

Arn Anderson VS. Macho Man
There's a nice little grudge match feel to this one. Arn cost Macho the WCW title to Flair. Macho wants revenge and is also still nursing an injury. Macho starts off fast. They brawl to the floor. The former champ rapes Arn's face, runs him into the guard rail. Eric mocks Raw's answer to the Orange Bowl which aired that night (Raw got a 2.6, Nitro got a 2.5 that night). Back inside Macho blocks a sunset flip and hits an atomic drop. Savage got a two off a double axe handle from the top. A reverse elbow gets the same result. Anderson turns the tide with a arm bar slam. Macho makes small comebacks, but everytime the Horseman returns to the Arn. Macho takes a hot looking Anderson DDT Arn gets two with the bottom rope saving Savage. The ref takes a bump, Macho uses brass nuts (the same weapon Arn used on him at Starrcade) to snatch the win. Benoit and Pillman come out and complain about the result. Flair is no where to be found. ***1/2



Lord Steven Regal VS. Chris Benoit
The fans are treated to a stiff style, technical match, the sort that these two could have at their best. After some smooth counter holds, Benoit hits a German release. Regal gets a two off a nice butterfly surplex. Regal takes an electric chair. Benoit misses his diving headbutt off the top. The Crippler reverses a tombstone attempt and hits one of his own. The experience Brit had the smarts to roll out of the ring before he could be pinned. Benoit misses a top rope dive to the floor. Regal scores a surprise win. ***



Pillman comes out and rips Benoit apart for his second straight defeat.The Loose Cannon also knocks the Enforcer for his opening loss Savage. Arn fires back telling Pillman to keep his head and warns him not to get into bed with the DOD. Sullivan and a couple of his goons charge the ring to end the segment

The Super Assassins (W/Col. Robert Parker) VS. Sting and Lex Luger
The Assassins looking like two generic power plant muscle guys double team Sting. Once again the match is to sell the "can Sting trust Lex"? storyline. Finally Luger and Sting both hook on their respective submission holds for the predictable outcome. During the match Craig Pittman asks Mongo if he will guide him to the top. Mongo politely says no, but gives Pittman some useless babyface advice **



AND THEIR STILL DOING THE GIANT IS THE SON OF FUCKING ANDRE THING!!!

Before the main event time to snap into a slime Jim! https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Macho+slim+jim+ad

WCW World Title Main Event Ric Flair (c) VS. Hulk Hogan
So Hulk returns from a storyline suspension and gets a title shot his first night back This is a perfectly enjoyable TV main event, with Hogan and Flair running through the usual spots and playing to the crowd. Its all very watchable stuff. They've had better matches, but the two have decent chemistry and seem willing to sell for one another. Finally Flair works on Hogan's leg, slaps the figure four on for a few minutes, Hulk reverses and Jimmy comes out to distract Hogan. The leg drop of doom soon follows, but Jimmy ties up the ref. Arn comes out and hits Hogan with the brass nuts, but Hogan pops up. Hogan shows the ref the weapon and the match is thrown out What a bullshit finish. First of all why would the ref take as red than it was Arn who brought the nuts in? Second HOGAN JUST COST HIMSELF THE WORLD TITLE!! The Giant comes out to attack Hogan, Macho makes the save. **1/2



Hulk and Macho challenge Flair and Anderson for next week's Nitro. The match is set. Overall a good start for WCW to 1996.

But then we got this shit!

Clash of the Champions XXXII (32)

Date: 23/01/96

Recap of double title switch from the previous nights Nitro. Macho won the WCW title back from Flair. Sting and Luger became the tag champs beating Harlem Heat. Two needless title changes IMO. That they both happened on TV shows just how much Eric was is trying to push Nitro against Raw.

This Clash takes place in Las Vegas at Cesar's Palace. As Mania 9 proved that is one shitty venue. This time the action takes place in doors.

Public Enemy VS. The Nasty Boys
Not the barn storming opener to kick things off. Public Enemy had recently signed. They never did much for me. Outside of the hardcore ECW environment they feel like a fish out of water act. The Nasty's need a certain kind of team and match to get the best out of them. PE and this match isn't that. Its a sloppy watered down brawl. Saggs introduces a table for a pop. Moments later the ref calls for the lame DQ when it becomes clear the table is going to be used. Knobs takes a moonsalt on table after the match. *1/2



After a standard Flair/Giant promo we get classic cheesy 90's ads Karate Fighters and Slick 50 these can be seen on the Network version).

Dean Malenko VS. Alex Wright
A match hampered by some sloppy offense from Wright and being rushed. Malenko does his best. The Iceman zeros in on Wright's knee with a leg whip and leg lace. Wright comes back with a sloppy crossbody off the top. Malenko hits a nice belly to back surplex. Dean is then caught on top with a drop kick. Wright screws up a basic surplex, then gets a near fall from a German. Malenko gets the win with a rolling cradle after Wright misses a drop kick. Even in victory Dean looked pissed. **



The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan VS. The Disco Inferno
If this sounds like another shitty throw away match. Don't worry. It doesn't happen. Instead a guy dressed as Elvis comes out in Disco's place. He's a singing telegram from Disco Inferno who won't make the match because he's at the Sherri-Col. Robert Parker wedding. Sullivan beats the Elvis up and that's it

The Road Warriors return in an interview with Sting and Luger. The Warriors are wearing blue spikes? Pleased to see his old buddies Sting accepts their challenge of a title match. Lex playing the villain of the piece is less keen telling the Warriors to get in line. There is a nice piece of comedy when Lex is listing all the other tag teams he mentions The State Patrol

Next a dreary Mr. Wonderful video package. The former TV champ claims he was in the line to be a Horseman if not for Pillman and the injury. So why would Flair and Anderson attack someone they were planning on having in the Horsemen?

Col. Robert Parker arrives late to his own wedding. Not only that but he's lost all his money and is afraid to tell Sherri that they will have to get married on the cheap. He speaks to someone on the phone who he calls his little fried pie Later when Sherri arrives she isn't happy. She does agree to let Mean Gene give her away as she's getting changed in the back of a limo. The wedding is set for A Little White Chapel drive up window At the crucial moment Medusa shows up to gate crash the wedding. Medusa was Parker's "Little Fried Pie" Less than a month ago Medusa had returned on Nitro in the famous angle where she dumped the WWF Women's title in the trash can. Now she's been shoehorned into this shit show. Both her and Sherri deserved better.



Flyin' Brian VS. Eddie Guerrero
This heated fast paced match is probably the highlight of the show. Pillman starting to get on a roll with his edgy Loose Cannon persona is on electric form jawing with ringside fans. This is the famous match where he grabs Heenan by the neck drawing a What the fuck are you doing?" from the Brain. Heenan's reaction is so convincing that it appeared to be a shoot spot. Plus the F word in WCW was unheard of. During his loose cannon run Pillman was said to have come up with stuff off the cuff which he would do without telling the other person. Guess only Pillman, Heenan and maybe Bishchoff knew if this spot was planned or a shoot. Back to the match, Eddie hits a nice tilt to whirl backbreaker, and a couple of nice drop kicks, before a tornado DDT gets two. The pair exchange hard chops, Pillman almost steals the win with a feet on the ropes pin, Eddie gets a near fall with a roll up. Both have the same idea and clash with crossbodies. Pillman makes the cover first, grabs a hand full of tights and gets the pin. Another match which should have been a bit longer. But it worked in getting Pillman more heat and building Eddie as a future star (he was not hurt in the defeat). **1/2



Kevin Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers makes his WCW debut in a interview segment with Hogan and Macho. Greene is a fitting surname for this guy They banter over who is going to take Miss Elizabeth out on the town at the end of the night.

WCW Tag Team Title match The Blue Bloods VS. Sting and Lex Luger (c)
The highlight of this match is probably Regal's entertaining comedy routine and selling the opening minutes. The rest is pretty forgettable stuff. There's more tension between Sting and Lex. But they retain the belts when the Bloods collide after Eaton misses his target on a top rope move. Sting hooks the Scorpion. **



Pillman threatens to say the seven deadly words your not supposed to on TV in an interview with Eric. He also sends a massage to Wonderful and Sullivan.

Mexican Title match Konan (c) VS. Psicosis
Tenay mentions Konan's previous WCW appearance at Starrcade 90. These two never quite gel. We get a typical Mexican style match which doesn't connect with the crowd, with the odd good move. Psicosis diving topi is probably the highlight. Konan's reckless German release off the top is not too clever. The champ retains with a ziplock submission. **



Main Event Ric Flair and The Giant (W/Jimmy Hart) VS. Hulk Hogan and Macho Man (W/Kevin Greene and Miss Elizabeth)
I guess it was only a matter of time before Ex-WWF Valet Miss Elizabeth made her WCW debut and reunited with ex-husband Macho. This was Liz's first wrestling appearance in nearly four years. She looked as delightful as always Nancy "Woman" Toffoloni also appeared with Hulk and Macho before the match. She had been a valet for Ric Flair in the 80's so this was shot from the faces to Flair. In typical early 96 WCW fashion both Liz and Woman had turned heel siding with Flair 3 weeks later.

Flair sells like crazy for the faces double team. Savage scores a two count from a backslide. The Hogan-Giant part of the match drags things down. They basically do a re-run of Hulk's match with Andre at Mania 3 with Hogan finally slamming the Giant. Hogan pops up from a Flair surplex - Tony tells TBS viewers that the movie Child's Play is on its way at the end of the match Hogan makes the hot tag to Macho who appears to have the match won with a double axe handle and top rope elbow, but Jimmy distracts the ref and Flair wins with brass nuts again! Greene helps Hogan fight off Pillman and Zodiac after the match. **

Based on this show its amazing to think that by mid-Summer WCW were kicking WWF's asses.

Next time I kick off the PPV year properly with the sixth annually Superbrawl.

 

[Deezy]

Alliance to end Hulkamania seemed like a shoot with how shitty it was booked and made people hate Hogan instead of what was intended.

Also......Madusa threw a title into a garbage can, only so she can get into a fued over Robert fucking Parker

 

[Keith]

Superbrawl VI

Date: February 11, 1996

City: St. Petersburg, Florida

Venue: Bayfront Arena (home of the first Superbrawl)

Attendance: 7,200

Buyrate: 210,000 (roughly)

Tagline: "The Brawl for the Belt"



The voice over guy sounds like a teenager surfing dude!

On the main event pre-show The Road Warriors toppled Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater in 02:07. Hugh Morris beat Chris Kanyon in 2:28. Big Bubba Rogers and VK Wallstreet defeated Joey Maggs Craig Pittman in 2:14. Jim Duggan and the latest member of the DOD Loch Ness (British Wrestling fans will know him as Giant Haystacks) went to a double DQ. These useless bunch of matches show just how much dead weight WCW had in early 96.

Street Fight: Public Enemy VS. The Nasty Boys
Public Enemy's entrance was so 90's! This was better than their Clash match because the rules at least allowed some decent hardcore spots even if it was watered down hardcore. It was still a forgettable and rushed opener. Rocco misses a leap off the ledge goes though a table and is pinned. The rookies must have been pissed. **



Gene plugs the Hotline and says that two WWF stars are rumored to be jumping ship. Its too early for Hall and Nash right? The Steiners?

TV Title Match: Johnny B. Badd (c) (w/The Diamond Doll) VS. Diamond Dallas Page
This feud has dragged a bit, but the matches have been pretty solid. This was no exception. Not only was Badd defending the services of Kimberly and his title but a win would also see him win back the rest of the money Page owned her from a Casino game or something like that?... Kimbo's outfit was a odd one. It was always glitzy enough but for some reason it has random strips hanging off it Badd scores early near falls from a springboard leg drop a backslide and a small package. A Page gutbuster looked good. DDP jaws with the crowd and the Doll. You can see his heel persona starting to connect. Page turns a corner with a rough looking tornado DDT. He wants a 10 from the Doll, he gets a zero! Badd fights his way out of a chinlock escapes a surplex attempt and snatches a two from a roll up. The heel out of desperation hooks the tights on a number of pins. Page decks the former champ and hits a good looking double axe handle off the top. A hot sunset flip off the top gets a two. A smooth sit out powerbomb gets another close count. Page smartly side steps Badd hanging him up on the top rope. DDP almost steals the win with a cradle pin with feet on the ropes. He hits a nice tilt to whirl gutbuster slam for a two and a half count. A sleeper/choke almost puts the face out, but he survives reverses a tombstone attempt hits one of his own and retains the gold and the girl. ***1/2



Harlem Heat cut a hot promo ahead of their tag title shot. Booker says on the Road Warriors, "This isn't 1976. Its 1996. Harlem Heat are pushing tag team wrestling into the future."

WCW Tag Title Match: Harlem Heat VS. Lex Luger and Sting (c)
Booker and Sting get things off to a decent start. T hits a nice flying forearm on Lex, and the Brothers double team him. There's more tension with the champs. Sting turns things around with a running face face. Lex hits a back surplex but misses an elbow drop. Booker's scissors kick looks great. Ray's release power bomb not so much. The heels cut the ring off nicely. Sting gets the tag but the ref doesn't see it. Sting actually stays in the ring and hammers away longer than normal (nice touch). Ray goes for a powerbomb but the Road Warriors come out and cause Luger to fall on top of Ray for the pin. The story here is that the Warriors are in line for a title shot and would prefer to face Sting and Lex. A solid match with a naff finish. ***



There's a question of if Sting saw what happened as he and Lex celebrates.

U.S. Title Match The One Man Gang VS. Konan (c)
Konan's attire reminded me of his Max Moon days The champ takes the Gang off his feet in less than a minute which made the big man look like a real jobber. The offense from both looks piss poor. Konan's punches are rubbish and he screws up a top rope move and a missed drop kick spot. Time seemed to slow down for the closing spot where Gang misses a top rope splash and the champ retains with a flip. This had no place on a PPV. *1/2



The Taskmaster (W/Jimmy Hart) VS. Flyin' Brian - Strap/I Quit match
The match is more of an angle. Pillman comes out with a strap for a fast start. The match only lasts two minutes. Pillman grabs the mic and in famous moment says, "I respect you Booker man" and runs out. Sullivan of course was one of the headbookers at the time. In 1996 most wrestling fans wouldn't even know what the term means. Sullivan looked truly pissed. Like many loose cannon moments this brings up the question was it a work or a shoot? I can't say but I gotta believe this match was originally supposed to last longer than two minutes. I have my doubts if this was the planned finish. This was Pillman's final WCW appearance ending his seven years in the promotion. Days later the Loose Cannon returned to ECW (he had a brief run there in 1994). Pillman claimed to be in Philadelphia as a free agent. There was a rumour that this was a secret agreement between Easy E and ECW owner Paul Heyman. So secret that only they and Pillman knew about it. Pillman never returned to WCW. He signed with the WWF that summer. Playing a version of his Loose Cannon persona (his debut press conference is quite something), Pillman was famously involved in the edgy angle when he pulled a gun on Steve Austin at Pillman's house. The following year he joined the heel Hart Foundation stable. During his WWF run Pillman made few in-ring appearances because of a recurring knee injury. When he did wrestle the injury limited him a lot. A feud with Goldust was cut short when Pillman tragically died of a heart attack in his hotel room hours before the IYH: Bad Blood PPV on October 5th 1997. Pillman was just 35. RIP to one of the great Light Heavyweights of his time.



Top 5 Brian Pillman WCW PPV matches
1. VS. Jushin Liger Light Heavyweight Title, Superbrawl II
2. VS. The Z-Man Light Heavyweight Title, Wrestlewar 1992
3. Pillman & The Z-Man VS. The Freebirds U.S. Tag title, Wrestlewar 1990
4. Pillman & Barry Windham VS. Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas NWA/WCW Tag Title, Starrcade 1992
5. Pillman, Sting and Dustin Rhodes VS. Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Paul Orndorff Thundercage match, Superbrawl IV

Returning to Superbrawl 6, the fans did get a proper match of sorts. Arn Anderson charged to the ring following Pillman's exit and he and The Taskmaster squared off. After a few minutes of a decent scrap, Flair hit the ring and convinced the pair they should pool their energies into something more useful. No contest **1/2




Tag Title match Sting and Lex Luger (c) VS. The Road Warriors
Credit to Lex for some good heel work here. He teases walking out on the match with his title belt Sting talks him around. Lex complains about the Warriors spikes A Warriors/Sting/Luger feud in 96 doesn't thrill me but this match better than expected. Hawk screws up a neckbreaker on Sting. Those opening exchanges were tame. Luger takes a pounding from the Warriors including a guard rail shot. The champs turn things around and tag in and out. Sting goes for a splash off the top but Animal gets the knees up. A stinger splash on Animal is followed by a Scorpion deathlock. Hawk breaks it up and Lex seemed a bit slow coming in for his team. As Luger comes in illegally all four guys brawl to the floor. We get a double count out. Something tells me this feud isn't done. **1/2



Flair cuts an electrifying and intense promo alongside Woman. Woman who had been involved in wrestling since the 80's was a Pro in this segment. Flair promises that by the end of the night he will have Miss Elizabeth alongside Woman and Macho's World Title belt.

WCW Title Cage Match - Macho Man (c) (W/Elizabeth) VS. Ric Flair (W/Woman)
Not able to match their Wrestlemania 8 classic, but this is a very heated, intense and realistic clash with compelling near falls and nice pacing. Before the match Flair gets on the mic and gives Liz one last chance to kiss a real man After a slow start, Flair runs Savage head first into the cage. The Nature Boy then decks the ref There's nobody to count Macho's backslide. The ref is back up to count a two after a Macho back drop and two clotheslines. Flair takes control shoving Macho into the cage, hitting a reverse chop and a nice reverse elbow catching the champ coming off the ropes. Flair goes up top, but Macho catches him up top and rocket launches him to the mat. Savage then slaps Flair's own figure four leg lock on him. The challenger sells this to perfection. Ric is almost pinned in his own hold. He grabs the ropes but the ref kicks his hand off (different rules in a cage). Woman starts screaming in pain for Ric Flair escapes but is decked by Macho for a hot near fall. Macho climbs the cage and goes for a double axe handle, but Flair catches him coming off with a shot to the gut. The timing on this move is spot on. Ric's standing surplex is impressive, he gets a couple of two counts. Macho hits the cage more than once. Ric gets the figure four this time. Weirdly when Macho grabs the rope the ref drags Ric off. The Champ snatches a two after a small package from a figure four attempt. Ric takes a number of shots into the cage and is cut open. Flair tries to escape the cage, Macho grabs his tights and pulls them down exposing his rear end, stopping short of showing his tackle Hot near fall after Flair tumbles to the mat, so close the bell actually rings. A classic Flair low blow and both collapse. Macho is back dropped into the cage. Woman gets some powdered but Macho ducks. Liz turns heel handing Flair her shoe. Macho grabs a roll up for a two count. But Flair quickly nails him with the shoe and gets the 1-2-3 to win his 13th World Title. Liz celebrates with Woman. But of course Hogan had to run out to steal the spotlight! There's no reason for him to be out there. The heels should have been allowed to celebrate for longer to sell the title change and Liz's turn. The twist seems quite predictable to me. What else were they going to do. If Liz just stood by her man it would be nothing new. ****





Hogan with a patch on his eye calls Liz a turncoat and suggest her shoe came off a bit too easily on Nitro when Flair injured his eye

Steel Cage Main Event - Hulk Hogan VS. The Giant (W/Jimmy Hart and The Taskmaster)
These two never really had a good match but this was better than expected. Making it a simple, grudge match brawl payed off. Keeping the match to 15 minutes was smart too. We still get the typical 1980's WWF style match. With a test of strength and bear hugs. Heenan: "Hogan I suggest you keep an eye out" Hogan pops up from a choke slam. The Giant takes multiple cage shots. A big boot and three leg drops of doom. The two both climb the cage, but Hogan fights the Giant off knocking him to the mat and climbing to the floor to win. After the match Hogan fights off the whole DOD with chair shots, FUCK!!!
Loch Ness comes out but is held back by the other heels. **1/2

Best Match: Flair VS. Macho

Worst Match: Konan VS. One Man Gang

Event Rating: 7.5/10

From top to bottom a very consistent PPV with a satisfying double main event. Coming up next time WCW return to the absurd with its second Uncensored PPV.

 

[Chris]

I really didn't like this PPV the last time I watched it, the matches you rated high were definitely high points with Flair/Savage also being my best match, but I thought that period from Luger/Sting vs Harlem Heat until Flair/Savage was such a trash run that it made the PPV way harder to get through. Main event also sucked IMO but looked way better due to the middle of the PPV being so bad.

 

[Keith]

I really didn't like this PPV the last time I watched it, the matches you rated high were definitely high points with Flair/Savage also being my best match, but I thought that period from Luger/Sting vs Harlem Heat until Flair/Savage was such a trash run that it made the PPV way harder to get through. Main event also sucked IMO but looked way better due to the middle of the PPV being so bad.

It was probably because certain matches were better than I expected. It was a mistake not having Savage/Flair main event. The only truly bad match I thought was the Konan one.