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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Apr 29, 2020 12:22:25 GMT -5
WRESTLE WAR '92 (May 17, 1992) Cactus Jack pinned Johnny B. Badd after a piledriver in 14:31. Rating: *** ½Johnny B. Badd went 1-on-1 with Cactus Jack with the common perception that he’d have the edge in a straight up match. However, Cactus proved he didn’t need a street fight stipulation to turn a match into a brawl. He got an added hand from Abdullah the Butcher who caught Badd with his cane behind the ref’s back helping lead to Cactus’ piledriver and the pin. The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) defeated Diamond Studd and Vinnie Vegas when M. Hayes pinned Studd with the DDT in 12:34. Rating: * ½The Freebirds scored a big win over the new chargers of their former manager Diamond Dallas Page. With the win, the Freebirds are now looking to move on and get back into the title picture. Marcus Alexander Bagwell pinned Paul Orndorff with the Fisherman Suplex inm8:42. Rating: ** ½The promising rookie Bagwell scored what has to be considered the biggest win of his young career but shocking the veteran Orndorff. Bagwell celebrated back up the ramp after the match while Orndorff just sat in the ring looking stunned. Thomas Zenk pinned Flyin' Brian with the Flying Dropkick in 11:41. Rating: *** ½Their heated exchange from last month’s Battlebowl event has seem to spawned a rebirth of the rivalry between these former partners. This time Zenk got the best of Brian with some help of the York Foundation during the match. The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) defeated The Young Pistols (Tracey Smothers and Steve Armstrong) when Enos pinned T. Smothers after a bridging back suplex in 11:17. Rating: *** (The Destruction Crew retained the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES.)In just a short time on the WCW roster, the Destruction Crew has established itself as one of the toughest teams in the business. Tonight was another successful US tag title defense. The Young Pistols put up a good fight, but didn’t have it in them to fully match up. Big Van Vader pinned Junkyard Dog after a splash from the second rope in 9:56. Rating: 3/4*
Van Vader is back in WCW and is taking no prisoners. JYD was able to get a bit of offense in, but for the most part, this match was all Vader, with Harley Race cheering on his new recruit the entire time. The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip and Todd Champion) defeated The York Foundation (Richard Morton and Thomas Rich) when Champion defeated Rich by disqualification in 13:53. Rating: **Two teams looking to get back into the title picture, and nothing was settled. It looked like the Patriots were gaining an edge before the referee caught York hitting Chip with her computer. Thomas Zenk ran in after the decision to help his stablemates get the upper hand. War Games No-Countout-No-DQ-Match: The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner), Sting, Ron Simmons and Dustin Rhodes defeated The Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Eaton, Rick Rude and Steve Austin when Sting made B. Eaton submit to the Scorpion Death Lock in 28:18. Rating: ****As anticipated, War Games lived up to its name as a War between the two feuding sides. It was bloody, it was brutal, it was a War Games. The Alliance team won the coin toss to get the numbers advantage throughout the match and used it to inflict a great deal of punishment when Sting’s team was undermanned. Scott Steiner and Arn Anderson were the first two and Steiner seemed to be getting the best of his old rival Anderson. But in the next round, Larry Zbyszko joined his tag team partner in a 2-on-1 against Steiner. Rick Steiner evened up the odds and we had a ongoing fight between the World Tag Team champs and their top contenders. Bobby Eaton came in to turn the tide back to the Alliance, but Sting was actually the third man into the match for his team and his energy made an immediate impact, giving his team the momentum. Not one to let his arch rival hold the upper hand, Rick Rude came in next and went right after Sting. Dustin Rhodes was next, followed by Steve Austin. Finally, Ron Simmons was the final man into the match and his strength and power was a lot for the Alliance members already exhausted to handle. The final moments came as Bobby Eaton tried to come off the top rope for a leg drop, but Sting caught him and immediately locked him in the Scorpion Death Lock. Simmons kept dropping elbows on Eaton’s prone body while the rest of Sting’s group were able to fight off Card rating: ** 1/2 Card rating: ** 1/2
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 2, 2020 11:43:49 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XX (June 16, 1992) WCW is presenting two big events this week. First is tonight's milestone 20th Clash of the Champions, which is followed this weekend with the PPV, Beach Blast, headlined by Sting defending his world title against Rick Rude. Cactus Jack and Abdullah The Butcher and The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip and Todd Champion) battled to a double countout in 5:25. Rating: * ½
The 20th Clash of the Champions opened with a wild affair. The ring quickly couldn't hold Cactus Jack, Abdullah and the Patriots. But the fight wasn't limited to just them. Johnny B. Badd, who's had problems with Cactus Jack and Abdullah recently, he's teamed up with Ricky Steamboat and those two came down to join in the fight against Cactus and Abdullah. At the same time, York Foundation members Rich and Morton entered the fray to blindside their recent rivals, the Patriots. Flyin' Brian pinned Thomas Zenk after a Victory Roll in 12:03. Rating: *** 1/2Flyin' Brian got revenge on his old partner, although went dirty to get it. He low-blowed Zenk before rolling him up for the win. Steve Austin and Dustin Rhodes wrestled to a timelimit draw in 20:00. Rating: *** 1/2 (Steve Austin retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Austin hasn’t been stopped since he won the TV title back in September. But Rhodes came as close as anyone has to taking Austin’s title away. If the match was five seconds longer we might have had a new champion as the time limit expired right after Rhodes hit a bulldog, but before he could go for the pin. The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) and Dick Slater defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) and Van Hammer when W. Bloom pinned J. Garvin with the Butterfly Suplex in 0:12:43. Rating: ** 3/4The Freebirds and Van Hammer seem like a match made in heaven. The Fabulous ones will meet The Destruction Crew for the US titles at the upcoming Beach Blast PPV. But the champs have an extra man in their corner, as former Freebird Terry Bam Bam Gordy arrived to join against his former friends. He said this version of the Freebirds have turned into Hair metal wannabees and abandoned the true Southern Rock roots they made their name with. But Gordy said he never cared for the showboating, all the dancing. He just wanted to beat people up and said Hayes and Garvin are making a mockery of The Freebird name. Marcus Alexander Bagwell pinned Paul Orndorff with the Fisherman Suplex in 8:24. Rating: * 3/4Bagwell scored another win over Paul Orndorff, proving his last win was no fluke. This time, however, Orndorff cheap shotted Bagwell after the match. He was seemingly trying to end the rookie's career before it even got started. Luckily, Barry Windham made his return and chased off Orndorff. Windham said Orndorff is one of the reasons he's not still world champion and was ready to get revenge. Diamond Dallas Page and Vinnie Vegas defeated The Young Pistols (Tracey Smothers and Steve Armstrong) when Page pinned T. Smothers with the Diamond Cutter in 18:12. Rating: ***Diamond Dallas Page has shown he’s committed to making the transition from simply a manager, to a wrestler. His team with Vinnie Vegas is looking like a formidible one as they scored an impressive win tonight. Arn Anderson pinned Scott Steiner with the DDT in 11:35. Rating: *** 3/4Only a couple days before meeting in a World Tag title match, Anderson and Scott Steiner met 1-on-1. Anderson got his team some momentum going into their challenge with a clean win. NON-TITLE MATCH Sting defeated Bobby Eaton by disqualification in 19:16. Rating: *** 1/4 [Paul E. Dangerously interfered against Sting.]This idea of this match was purely to soften Sting up before his world title defense against Rude at Beach Blast. Eaton seemed to have no intention of winning the match at any point, only to inflict as much damage as he could. But as soon as Sting was getting set to finish off the match, the rest of the Alliance ran in to jump Sting. Thankfully, the Steiners, Rhodes and Ron Simmons were close behind to keep it a fair fight. Rick Rude pinned Ron Simmons with the Rude Awakening in 14:37. Rating: *** 1/2 (Rick Rude retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)It was thought Simmons might catch Rude looking ahead to his title match with Sting and not take his US title defense tonight seriously. But Rude was up to the challenge, wethering an initial storm of Simmons’ power offense. Paul E. proved to be the decisive edge, catching Simmons in the head with his phone when the ref wasn’t looking, leading to a Rude Awakening. Card rating: *** 1/2
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 6, 2020 16:19:29 GMT -5
BEACH BLAST (June 20, 1992)
No-Time-Limit-Match: Dustin Rhodes pinned Steve Austin with the Bulldog in 14:02. Rating: *** 1/4 (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)After Rhodes came so close to winning the TV title from Steve Austin last week at the Clash of Champions, WCW officials decided their rematch needed to be a no time limit match. Rhodes made the most of his second chance, finally becoming the one to dethrone Steve Austin as TV champion. The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip and Todd Champion), Johnny B. Badd and Ricky Steamboat defeated The York Foundation (Richard Morton and Thomas Rich), Cactus Jack and Abdullah The Butcher when Champion pinned Cactus with the Patriot Missile 13:52. Rating: ** 3/4
A lot of animosity was on display between the various teams in this match. It resembled more of a street fight than wrestling match for good parts of it, as can be expected when you have 8 men in a ring who don’t like each other. When it was all said and done, it was The Patriots standing tall, getting the win for their team. Barry Windham pinned Paul Orndorff with the Superplex in 0:07:41. Rating: ***Barry Windham scored a measure of revenge against one of the men he held responsible for injuring him months ago, forcing him out of action and vacating his world title. The Vacant title went in two directions, WCW awarded it to Sting after a tournament at Superbrawl. The NWA did not choose to follow suit, deciding their new champion in Japan. However, after the match during an interview, Windham was approach by an NWA representative that said due to the circumstances, he is offering Windham a chance to win the NWA title back against new champion Masahiro Chono next month at the Great American Bash. Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated Greg Valentine by countout in 7:07. Marcus Alexander Bagwell suffered a neck injury. He will be out for approximately 4 cards. Rating: * 1/2While a veteran in the wrestling world, Greg The Hammer Valentine is a new arrival to WCW. He was tasked with trying to cool off the redhot rookie Marcus Bagwell. Valentine didn’t get the job done in one respect, Bagwell got the win via countout, but he did in another. After Bagwell beat the count back into the ring in the middle of a fight on the floor, Valentine pulled Bagwell back outside and continued to go to work after the bell. He left Bagwell laid out on the floor to which he had to get helped to the back. The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) defeated Michael Hayes and Van Hammer when W. Bloom pinned M. Hayes after a flying headbutt in 17:53. Rating: *** 1/4 [Dick Slater interfered against Michael Hayes.] (Jimmy Garvin no-showed.)The Freebirds got their shot at the US tag champions, but prior to the match, Jimmy Garvin was jumped backstage by the champs, Terry Gordy and Dick Slater. Hayes picked Van Hammer to take Garvin’s place and the duo actually worked together quite well. However, it wasn’t enough against the fine-tuned machine the Destruction Crew has become. Vinnie Vegas pinned Junkyard Dog with the Snake Eyes in 8:07. Rating: * 1/4Vinnie Vegas had a bit of an issue early on against the rugged veteran, but prevailed for maybe his most impressive singles win in WCW. Flyin' Brian pinned Thomas Zenk with the Springboard Clothesline in 12:20. Rating: ****After getting a win over Zenk at last week’s clash via a lowblow, Brian issued an apology and offered Zenk a rematch. But while it wasn’t another lowblow, Brian did take various cheap shots at several points during the match, but eventually got a clean pin. The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton when R. Steiner pinned B. Eaton after a spinning backbreaker in 15:01. Rating: *** 1/2 (The Steiner Brothers retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.) [Paul E. Dangerously interfered against Scott Steiner.]Paul E. pulled a bit of a swerve, teaming Bobby Eaton with Arn Anderson in tonight’s title match instead of Arn’s normal partner, Larry Zbyzko. Undeterred, the Steiners were ready for anyone it seemed. A really solid match that went back and forth, but the Steiners got the best in the end to hold on to their titles. Sting defeated Rick Rude by disqualification in 0:13:12. Rating: *** (Sting retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.) [Dustin Rhodes interfered against Rick Rude.] [Bobby Eaton interfered against Sting.]The main event turned into a mess. Mass interference from the Dangerous Alliance was countered by Sting’s friends, namely the Steiners, Dustin Rhodes and Ron Simmons. The ref had no choice but to throw the match out, leaving nothing settled between the two old rivals, Sting and Rude.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 6, 2020 18:54:33 GMT -5
THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH (July 12, 1992)
Dustin Rhodes and Flyin' Brian battled to a double countout in 14:13. Rating: *** (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Flyin’ Brian has been developing a darker side to him recently, but that has equaled wins which earned him a TV title shot against Dustin Rhodes. In the weeks leading up to the match, Pillman admitted it’s been frustrating that he’s never held a singles title yet in WCW, and that he was going to do what was necessary to finally get a belt. His refuse to lose attitude kept him in the match, but Rhodes wasn’t ready to give up his title after fighting so long to finally win it. Rhodes was out on the entrance when Brian came off the top rope with a crossbody that the momentum knocked both back, sending them tumbling over the edge. Neither was able to get up before the 10 count. Johnny B. Badd and Ricky Steamboat defeated Cactus Jack and Abdullah The Butcher when Steamboat defeated Jack when Jack passed out in a double chicken wing submission in 9:28. Rating: *There’s been a lot of bad blood in the past between these two, and seemingly it might’ve been settled tonight. Badd and Steamboat proved themselves to be the superior team. The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) defeated Dick Slater and Terry Gordy when M. Hayes pinned T. Gordy with the DDT in 14:03. Rating: ** 1/2
Hayes took this match as personal as perhaps any in his career. He said Gordy has been trying to spit on the history they created and he wasn’t gonna stand for that. Also, the attack on Jimmy Garvin last month was uncalled for and with Jimmy back, the Freebirds were gonna get their revenge. You could see the focus in their eyes as there wasn’t the typical dancing and strutting, they were ready to fight and that laser focus carried them well in the match. But Gordy and Slater was a tough team to hold down. It wasn’t until Van Hammer gave the Birds a bit of aid, hitting Gordy in the back with his guitar while the ref was distracted, that led to a Hayes DDT and the win. Handicap-Match: Big Van Vader defeated The Young Pistols (Tracey Smothers and Steve Armstrong) when Vader pinned T. Smothers with the Vader Bomb in 5:03. Rating: **Since his return to WCW, there has been little anyone could do to stop Vader’s path of destruction. Even in a 2-on-1 situation, Vader still proved to be unstoppable. Harley Race had a look of pride on his face as his man destroyed the Pistols. The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) defeated The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip and Todd Champion) when Enos defeated Chip by disqualification in 16:23. Rating: *** (The Destruction Crew retained the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES.)The Patriots have been on a recent winning streak, earning them a US Tag Title shot. But the Destruction Crew has been even hotter since winning the belts. Added to that, their recent alliance was Slater and Gordy has paid off and it did one more time. When the Crew looked to be in trouble, Slater and Gordy ran into to jump the Patriots and cause the DQ. No-Time-Limit-No-Countout-No-DQ-Match: The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) and Ron Simmons defeated Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton and Steve Austin when R. Simmons pinned A. Anderson with the Powerslam in 29:53. Rating: **** [Paul E. Dangerously interfered against Rick Steiner.]A tough defeat for the Dangerous Alliance, getting most of their fiercest rivals in the ring at the same time. Ron Simmons got the pin for his team, which one has to think would put him in line for a title shot against whoever comes out of tonight’s main event the champion. Match for the vacant NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: Barry Windham pinned Masahiro Chono with the Superplex in 16:39. Rating: **** 1/4 (Barry Windham won the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)Six months after winning the world title, only to be forced to vacate it due to an injury, Barry Windham has part of it back. Cage Match: Rick Rude pinned Sting with the Rude Awakening in 18:43. Rating: *** ¾ (Rick Rude won the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)After the madness that consumed their title match last month, it was determined the rematch had to take place in a steel cage. Officials thought this would create a fair match and determine a true champion. What they didn’t take into consideration is the cage was just big enough for Paul E. to stuff his cell phone through, giving it to Rude. Rude smacked Sting over the head with it, and then put him away with the Rude Awakening. Paul E. rushed into the ring after it was over to hand the belt to the new champion, dancing and jumping up and down as Rude held the title high. Rick Rude was the new WCW World Champion. Card rating: *** 1/4
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 13, 2020 18:37:34 GMT -5
UNITED STATES TITLE TOURNAMENT (August 15, 1992)
After US champ Rick Rude won the World Title at the Great American Bash, he was forced to vacate his previous title. WCW officials decided to hold a one-night, 16-man tournament to decide its new champion. FIRST ROUND Johnny B. Badd pinned Bobby Eaton in 2:28. Rating: *
Johnny B. Badd hasn’t had many problems with the Dangerous Alliance in the past. That might change after this. Announcers hyped the match as one between two of the best punchers in WCW. Eaton tried to goad Badd, offering him a free shot, apparently not believing Badd had a good punch. He was wrong. Badd took the free shot and knocked Eaton out. Dustin Rhodes and Steve Austin battled to a double countout in 15:49. Rating: ** 1/2Rhodes recently won the WCW TV title off Austin, and now Austin stood in the way of him winning another. But nothing was settled between the two old rivals, as they fought each other outside of the ring, both getting counted out. As a result of this, Johnny B. Badd will get a bye in the next round. Ricky Steamboat pinned Greg Valentine with the Flying Cross Body Press in 5:28. Rating: ** 1/4In a battle between two veterans, but ones with contrasting styles, the athleticism and high-flying nature of Ricky Steamboat bested the brute power of The Hammer. Great Muta pinned Junkyard Dog after a Soviet suplex in 6:05. Rating: *One of Japan’s best came back overseas to go after the United States title. He scored an impressive first-round win over the rugged JYD. Terry Gordy pinned Thomas Zenk after a powerslam in 7:09. Rating: ** 3/4The power of Terry Gordy gave him a relatively easy win over Zenk who didn’t seem to be on the same page with his manager Alexandra York. Van Hammer pinned Paul Orndorff with the Hammer Rocks in 9:35. Rating: *** 1/4A win over someone of Paul Orndorff’s stature could go a long way to giving Van Hammer momentum that can carry him through the tournament. But up next he matches up with Terry Gordy with whom Hammer has had problems with lately. After Hammer’s win, Gordy blindsided Hammer, laying him out in the middle of the ring. Flyin' Brian defeated Ron Simmons by countout in 6:54. Rating: ** ¼ Aside from going for the US title, Ron Simmons is also a top contender for Rick Rude’s world title. Rude came down to ringside, drawing Simmons’ attention. Simmons chased Rude all the way to the back, getting himself counted out. Sting defeated Cactus Jack via pinfall in 7:50. Rating: *** ¼One of the heavy favorites coming into the tournament, former world champion Sting picked up a win in a tough first-round match against Cactus Jack. QUARTERFINALS Johnny B. Badd won via default. Ricky Steamboat pinned Great Muta after a powerslam in 13:31. Rating: **** 1/4
No surprise that two talented veterans gave an instant classic. They exchanged high impact, high flying moves. But the end came when Steamboat caught Muta going for a top rope splash and turned it into a powerslam. Van Hammer defeated Terry Gordy by disqualification in 5:37. Rating: ** [Dick Slater interfered against Van Hammer.]Gordy’s tag team partner, Dick Slater, accompanied him to the ring. Gordy thought he weakened Hammer enough with his attack earlier, but Hammer kept fighting and was getting the best of Gordy. Slater tried to get in a few cheap shots, but the referee caught him and called for the disqualification. Upset at the ruling, Gordy and Slater double team attacked Hammer. Flyin' Brian pinned Sting 12:50. Rating: *** ½Sting, one of the tournament’s favorites, is out in the quarterfinals. Flyin’ Brian moves on after getting an unexpected helping hand from Jake the Snake Roberts. With the referee knocked down, Roberts came out of the stands and DDTed Sting. Brian crawled over on top of Sting as the ref revived to get the pin. SEMIFINALS Ricky Steamboat pinned Johnny B. Badd after a small package in 12:32. Rating: *** ¾Two tag team partners faced each other with a spot in the tournament finals on the line. They put on a great show with Steamboat getting the win after rolling up Badd. After the match, Badd shook Steamboat’s hand and the two hugged. Badd wished Steamboat good luck in the final. Flyin’ Brian pinned Van Hammer after a flying cross body press in 7:11. Rating: ** ¾ Flyin’ Brian will face Steamboat for the United States title. Brian had a rough road getting to this point facing Ron Simmons and Sting, but got past both, albeit with a little help. The semifinal match was no exception. Hammer had already been softened up by a couple beatings from Terry Gordy. This time, Gordy snuck down to the ring and held Hammer’s foot down so he couldn’t kick out after a Pillman splash. The ref couldn’t see it and Pillman got the win. Match for the vacant WCW UNITED STATES TITLE Ricky Steamboat pinned Flyin' Brian after a flying cross body press in 14:36. Rating: *** (Ricky Steamboat won the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)After a long, hard road, Ricky Steamboat is the new United States champion. Although it seems Flyin’ Brian fails to accept that. The match was the fast-paced one you’d expect it to be with two high-flying talents. But Brian went for a flying cross body and his legs caught the ref. It looked like Brian had Steamboat down for what would’ve been a 3 count, but the ref wasn’t in position to count. As Brian aggressively brought the ref to, yelling and screaming at him, he didn’t see Steamboat go up top and come off with a cross body of his own. The ref was able to count this time, getting the win and the title.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 26, 2020 0:23:19 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXI (September 2, 1992) Dustin Rhodes defeated Steve Austin by countout in 7:08. Rating: ** 1/4 (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Dustin Rhodes scored a victory over former TV champion Steve Austin by countout. Austin was the one that took the match outside, hitting a Stun Gun on Rhodes on the guardrail. All Austin had to do was roll Rhodes back into the ring and he likely would’ve had his title back, but he kept up an attack on the floor. All the while, the ref kept his count going, and at the last second as Austin tried to get back into the ring, Rhodes countered and hit a Bulldog on the floor. The Natural then rolled back into the ring just beating the 10 count. After the match however, other Dangerous Alliance members Bobby Eaton and Arn Anderson raced down to attack Dustin. Greg Valentine defeated Thomas Zenk via pinfall in 0:07:39. Rating: ** 1/4Greg Valentine is quickly developing a reputation as someone that likes to not only win matches, but injure the younger wrestlers. Valentine says its survival of the fittest, and if these alleged young lions can't hang, they need to get out of the jungle. He already scored the win over Tom Zenk but kept up the attack. Marcus Bagwell, who Valentine put on the shelf months ago, tried to come down to help out but got his leg taken out for his troubles. The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) defeated Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton when J. Garvin pinned B. Eaton with the DDT in 9:52. Rating: *** 1/4The Freebirds took a big step toward getting back in the tag team title picture getting a win over Eaton and Anderson. They got a little added help, though, from Dustin Rhodes. While Paul E. had the ref distracted, he slipped his cell phone to Eaton who was aiming to smash Garvin in the head with it. But Rhodes ran down and decked Eaton, sending him into a Garvin DDT. Johnny B. Badd and Ricky Steamboat defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Badd pinned Enos with the Tutti Frutti in 12:32. Rating: **** (Johnny B. Badd and Ricky Steamboat won the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES.)Johnny B. Badd and Ricky Steamboat won the US Tag Titles together to go with Steamboat's US singles title. Although Flyin' Brian thinks he still has a right to that title after the way last month’s tournament finals ended. Brian attacked Steamboat after the match, fighting off both new champs. Van Hammer pinned Dick Slater after a powerslam in 11:03. Rating: ** 1/4Through his association with the Freebirds, Van Hammer got on the bad side of Dick Slater, an associate himself of Terry Gordy. Hammer might have put an end to that feud with a decisive win tonight. Barry Windham pinned Great Muta with the Superplex in 17:25. Rating: **** 1/4 (Barry Windham retained the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)
Barry Windham is making the most of the second chance the NWA gave him. After coming back from injury, Windham first beat Masahiro Chono to win the NWA title, then tonight, picked up another huge win over another one of Japan’s finest, the Great Muta. Elimination No-Time-Limit-Match: Big Van Vader, Cactus Jack, Jake Roberts and Rick Rude beat The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner), Ron Simmons and Sting 4 falls to 2: x Vader beat S. Steiner via the Powerbomb in 4:25 x Cactus Jack beat R. Steiner via the Double Arm DDT in 11:51 x R. Simmons beat Rick Rude via the powerslam in 14:25 x Sting beat Cactus Jack via the Stinger Splash in 16:51 x Vader beat R. Simmons via the powerbomb in 19:05 x J. Roberts beat Sting via the DDT in 25:23 Survivors: Big Van Vader, Jake Roberts Rating: ** ½A wild match for sure between 8 men with a lot of grudges against everyone. Cactus Jack and his normal tag partner not in the match tonight, Abdullah the Butcher, has been hanging around Vader and Harley Race, trying to pick up Race as their manager. The association is seemingly paying off as they played a big role in eliminating the Steiners from tonight’s match, putting them in line for a world tag title shot. After the Steiners were eliminated, it was down to Sting and Ron Simmons against the other team of 4. But they slowly whittled their way to an even match. First Simmons scored a big pin over world champion Rick Rude. Simmons had already been named the No. 1 contender to Rude’s title, so this should give Simmons a great deal of momentum going into a title match coming up at Halloween Havoc. Sting eliminated Cactus Jack evening the match, but Rude got a measure of revenge on Simmons, catching him from behind while the ref was distracted leading to Vader eliminating Simmons. Roberts finished off the match, taking advantage of a 2-on-1 against Sting then finally putting him away with the DDT. Card rating: ***
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 28, 2020 23:36:42 GMT -5
HALLOWEEN HAVOC (October 25, 1992) At the top of the show, Ron Simmons is shown pulling into the arena. The announcers make mention about the possibility of tonight being historic. Simmons has the opportunity to become the first black world champion in wrestling history. It’s a milestone that’s not lost on the All-American, as he numerous times has stated how important it is to him to earn that distinction. Bobby Eaton defeated Dustin Rhodes by disqualification in 0:12:20. Rating: ** 1/2 (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.) [Steve Austin interfered against Dustin Rhodes.]Dustin Rhodes retained his television title, but again took a beatdown from the Dangerous Alliance, namely Steve Austin and Arn Anderson rushing into the ring once it looked like Rhodes was getting set to put Eaton away. Fortunately, Dustin had some help run down in the form of Johnny B. Badd and Ricky Steamboat who were able to chase the Alliance off. The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) when W. Bloom pinned J. Garvin after a Soviet suplex in 13:48. Rating: ***The former US tag champs toward getting back into title contention by scoring an impressive win over the Freebirds. Steve Austin pinned Johnny B. Badd with the Stun Gun in 13:28. Rating: *** ½ In the weeks after winning the US singles title, Ricky Steamboat vowed to give his tag team partner Johnny B. Badd a title shot. This of course rubbed quite a few people the wrong way. One of them was Stunning Steve Austin who said Badd would only get a title shot before him over his dead body. This led to tonight’s match. It was a great back-and-forth match, but the difference probably was that Badd’s partner was getting ready for his US title match, Austin had friends who were free to come help him cheat. Even though Dustin Rhodes tried to pay back Badd by help fighting off the Alliance, there was strength in numbers as Austin followed up a DDT from Arn Anderson behind the ref’s back, with a Stun Gun to lead to the pin. Ricky Steamboat pinned Flyin' Brian with the Flying Cross Body Press in 15:47. Rating: **** 1/4 (Ricky Steamboat retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Steamboat had his own issues to worry about as he had to defend his title against the man he beat in the tournament finals, Flyin’ Brian Pillman. The two produced a classic, but unlike their first encounter in the US title tournament finals, there wasn’t any controversy about the outcome. Steamboat got a clean win to retain the US title. Van Hammer defeated Terry Gordy by disqualification in 7:18. Rating: ** 1/4 [Dick Slater interfered against Van Hammer.]After beating Dick Slater at the Clash of Champions, Van Hammer took a step up to try to do the same against Terry Gordy. But before he could get a chance, Slater rushed in to cause the disqualification. Cactus Jack and Abdullah The Butcher defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) when Cactus pinned S. Steiner after a swinging neckbreaker in 14:09. Rating: ** 3/4 (Cactus Jack and Abdullah The Butcher won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)The unpredictable and wild duo of Cactus Jack and Abdullah the Butcher did what no one thought they could do, dethrone the Steiner Brothers as world tag team champions. Their brawling style countered the Steiners’ technical prowess. The match eventually broke down with all four men going at it at once. In that kind of environment, Cactus thrives and was able to score a pin on Scott Steiner. Big Van Vader defeated Barry Windham by countout in 10:18. Rating: ** 1/4 (Barry Windham retained the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)Vader has been on a path of destruction since returning to the states and WCW, and it led him into an NWA title match against Barry Windham, a wrestler on a hot streak of his own. But even Barry Windham found it difficult to stop Big Van Vader. The only mistake Vader made was giving Windham a powerbomb on the floor, to which he wasn’t able to recover from getting counted out. Since titles can’t change hands on a countout, Windham retained his title. First Blood Match: Sting defeated Jake Roberts in 18:51. Rating: *** 1/2Shortly before the match, it was revealed that the stipulation for Sting and Jake The Snake Roberts would be a First Blood match. Roberts had an edge, having Sting almost unconscious after a DDT. He tried to bring his snake in the ring, perhaps in hopes it would bite Sting and open up a cut to give Roberts the match. But Sting came to right in time, preventing Jake from letting the Snake loose. Instead, Sting took Jake down and got him in the scorpion death lock. It weakened Jake enough that Sting was able to go outside, get a chair and bring it back into the ring. He repeatedly hit Roberts in the head with it until he busted open. Ron Simmons pinned Rick Rude with the Powerslam in 19:03. Rating: *** 1/2 (Ron Simmons won the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.) [Paul E. Dangerously interfered against Ron Simmons.]History was made tonight. With friends such as Sting, Dustin Rhodes and others keeping the Dangerous Alliance at bay, Simmons was able to take down Rick Rude, winning the world title, becoming the first black world heavyweight champion in the process. With the Dangerous Alliance members held back, Simmons thrived in a one-on-one situation against Rude. Though Rude did try to play dirty as much as he can, Simmons was able to overcome all and win the match. After the match, the vast majority of the locker room seemed to empty into the ring with everyone congratulating Simmons.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 30, 2020 21:09:45 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXII (November 18, 1992) The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) when Enos pinned S. Steiner after a German suplex in 13:35. Rating: *** ¾Two sets of former champions, former world champions the Steiners and former US champs the Destruction Crew met in a key match to see who could move back toward title contention. It was the Destruction Crew that came out on top after what looked like Wayne Bloom loaded something into his elbow had and caught Scott Steiner with it, sending him into a german suplex from Enos. 2 Cold Scorpio pinned Richard Morton with the 450 Splash in 7:38. Rating: ** 1/4WCW got its first look at a promising new talent tonight as 2 Cold Scorpio made an impressive debut getting a win over Ricky Morton. He closed the match by leaving the audience in awe seeming his somersault splash off the top rope. The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) and Van Hammer defeated Terry Gordy, Greg Valentine and Dick Slater when Hammer pinned Slater with the Hammer Rocks in 14:36. Rating: ** ¾A rivalry that’s been going on for a while doesn’t seem like its ready to end. Despite Gordy and Dick Slater recruiting Greg The Hammer Valentine as their latest partner, The Freebirds and partner Van Hammer picked up a win when Hammer pinned Dick Slater, but after the match, Terry Gordy clocked Hammer with his own guitar. Dustin Rhodes pinned Jake Roberts with the Bulldog in 10:46. Rating: ** 3/4 (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Dustin Rhodes produced another solid defense of his TV title beating Jake the Snake Roberts. Roberts in the middle of his match was seemingly going to let his snake loose, but before he could get to it, Sting came down and pulled the bag off the ring. Roberts threatened Sting from the ring, not seeing Rhodes clothesline him in the corner which set up the Bulldog. Johnny B. Badd and Ricky Steamboat defeated Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton when Badd pinned B. Eaton with the Tutti Frutti in 0:16:39. Rating: *** 1/2 (Johnny B. Badd and Ricky Steamboat retained the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES.) [Paul E. Dangerously interfered against Ricky Steamboat.]
The US Tag Champs picked up a win over Dangerous Alliance members Anderson and Eaton. But after the match, Steve Austin entered the ring to help his friends attack the champs. As Badd and Steamboat began to get an upperhand, Flyin’ Brian, who has had problems with the champs, ran down to help Austin and the Alliance. Sting pinned Cactus Jack with the Scorpion Death Drop in 15:54. Rating: *** 3/4Sting found himself in a brawl with one half of the tag team champions, which means the other half was around as well. Abdullah the Butcher jumped Sting before the bell giving his partner Cactus Jack and early lift in their match. As could be expected with just about any Cactus Jack match, it featured more brawling than wrestling. Still, Sting was able to overcome it all and pick up the victory, only to be attacked after the match by Jake The Snake Roberts, including giving Sting a DDT on the top of the rampway. Barry Windham and Ron Simmons defeated Rick Rude and Big Van Vader when B. Windham defeated Rude by disqualification in 0:19:47. Rating: ***The four men who will compete in the double steel cage main event at this year’s Starrcade met in a tag team match. At Starrcade, Barry Windhamn defends his NWA World Championship against Big Van Vader, while Ron Simmons defends his WCW World Championship against the man he won it from last month, Ravishing Rick Rude. Windham teamed with Simmons against Vader and Rude. It didn’t take long for the match to devolve into a mele with each set of future opponents facing off. Nothing was settled tonight as Vader brought a chair into the ring and attacked Windham with it. Rude and Simmons kept fighting back up the ramp and into the crowd, while Vader hit a pair of Vader Bombs on Windham in the ring. The show closed with Vader standing triumphantly over a fallen Windham. Card rating: *** 1/4
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Jun 3, 2020 12:00:45 GMT -5
STARRCADE '92 (December 28, 1992) STREET FIGHT Johnny B. Badd pinned Flyin' Brian after hitting him with a road sign in 12:46. Rating: *** ¾ This year’s Starrcade opened with a bang as Johnny B. Badd and Flyin’ Brain engaged in a war to settle their score. Neither are what you consider to be a wrestler that would typically thrive in a No-DQ environment, but they proved to be more than willing to use chairs or whatever else they could find to batter their opponents. At the end, it took a stop sign Johnny B. Badd brought out from under the ring to deliver the decisive blow. Terry Gordy pinned Van Hammer after a DDT in 11:38. Rating: ** 3/4Many didn’t think that Terry Gordy would be be able to stop the red-hot rookie Van Hammer without the help of his buddies. But the veteran Gordy proved that experience has its benefits as he scored what some might consider an upset win. Dustin Rhodes pinned Arn Anderson after a Bulldog in 17:17. Rating: *** 1/4 (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Rhodes made another strong TV title defense getting the best of one of the best TV champs of all-time, Arn Anderson. And in the process, perhaps finally settled his score with the Dangerous Alliance. Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Z-Man defeated Dick Slater and Greg Valentine when Bagwell pinned Slater with the Fisherman Suplex in 14:02. Rating: *** 1/4Thomas Zenk abandoned his relationship with Alexandra York and is going back to his old moniker “The Z Man.” He teamed with Marcus Bagwell to try to gain some revenge of Greg Valentine, who tried to injure each at various points in the past few months. The Hammer countered by picking Dick Slater as his partner. In a match that was a contrast of styles, the younger, more athletic team got the best of the veteran, powerhouse team. 2 Cold Scorpio pinned Bobby Eaton with the 450 Splash in 10:11. Rating: **** 1/4 [Paul E. Dangerously interfered against 2 Cold Scorpio.]In his first PPV appearance, 2 Cold Scorpio looked impressive again while getting the win over Bobby Eaton. Ricky Steamboat pinned Steve Austin with the Flying Cross Body Press in 15:30. Rating: *** 1/2 (Ricky Steamboat retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Steve Austin got the shot he was looking for at Ricky Steamboat’s US title, but failed in his mission to take the title. After the match, despite his earlier loss to Johnny B. Badd, Flyin’ Brian has apparently not given up his grudge against Badd and Steamboat. He ran in to blindside the champ after his hard-fought battle. Badd ran down to help his partner Steamboat, but Austin joined Brian and the duo got the best of the US tag champs. The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) defeated Cactus Jack and Abdullah The Butcher when M. Hayes pinned Cactus with the DDT. 9:01. Rating: ** 1/2 (The Fabulous Freebirds won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)Several teams campaigned to get the title shot at Jack and Abdullah, and it was the Freebirds who earned the right. They made the most of their opportunity, not falling into the all-out brawl the champs were looking for and keeping it more of a wrestling match. They thrived in that environment and once again became world tag champions. Sting pinned Jake Roberts with the Scorpion Death Drop in 19:25. Rating: ** 3/4Sting beat Jake The Snake Roberts at Halloween Havoc in a first blood match, but since then, Roberts has claimed Sting would never be able to pin him. Sting proved that claim false, reversing an attempted Roberts DDT into an inverted death drop. Cage Match: Big Van Vader pinned Barry Windham with the Vader Bomb in 11:25. Rating: *** 1/2 (Big Van Vader won the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)In the first of the double main event, a new NWA World Champion was crowned in Big Van Vader. His size and power were too much for Windham to handle. The big man showed that even the world champ couldn’t stop Vader’s path of destruction. Cage Match: Ron Simmons pinned Rick Rude with the Powerslam in 12:21. Rating: *** (Ron Simmons retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)Rick Rude wanted the same caged environment in which he won the world title from Sting this past Summer. He got his wish but history would’t repeat itself. Simmons fought too long and hard to be the first African-American world champion to let the title slip away so soon. Though Rude came close, he was unable to dethrone Simmons.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Jun 4, 2020 10:49:26 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXIII (January 13, 1993) Things have gotten pretty crazy over the past few weeks. Barry Windham was looking for a rematch to win his NWA title back from Vader, but he instead was met with a series of attacks from Paul Orndorff making his return to WCW and teaming back up with Harley Race. Windham recruited Sting to back him in the fight, but Sting’s old rival Rick Rude was ready to reignite their rivalry, saying he’s not going to let Sting jump him in line for any kind of World Title shot. The solution was to stick them all inside Thundercage with Vader, Rude and Orndorff on one side, and Sting, Windham and a mystery partner they were bringing in for the event on the other. The match will be tonight’s main event on the Clash of the Champions. Dustin Rhodes pinned Jake Roberts with the Bulldog in 8:36. Rating: ** 3/4 (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Dustin Rhodes is establishing himself as one of the greatest TV champions this promotion has seen. He produced another successful title defense, once again over Jake The Snake Roberts. Roberts had Rhodes set up for a DDT, but Rhodes shoved him off into the corner. Rhodes followed in with a clothesline, then came out with the Bulldog. 2 Cold Scorpio pinned Greg Valentine with the 450 Splash in 0:14:13. Rating: *** 1/2It hasn’t been a secret, Greg Valentine has had a vendetta against the young talent. A young high-flyer, 2 Cold Scorpio was everything Valentine stood against. But Scorpio, who’s been on a roll since his debut in the fall, was able to keep it going with a big win. Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Z-Man defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Z-Man pinned Enos in 4:28. Rating: **The newly formed team of Bagwell and the Z-man picked up a huge victory over the former US champions in a surprisingly quick match. Terry Gordy pinned Michael Hayes after a DDT in 7:25. Rating: ** 3/4Gordy picked up a win over his former partner-turned-rival Michael Hayes with an added unseen assist from his current partner Dick Slater. The win should set up Gordy and Slater for a world tag title shot at the Freebirds. Van Hammer defeated Vinnie Vegas by disqualification in 12:25. Rating: 1/2* [Diamond Dallas Page interfered against Van Hammer.]
Van Hammer tried to get back on the winning track squaring off with Vinnie Vegas. But as Hammer was gaining control, Diamond Dallas Page rushed in to keep Hammer from going for a pin, causing a DQ. Flyin' Brian and Steve Austin defeated Ricky Steamboat and Johnny B. Badd when Brian pinned Badd after a roll up in 14:45. Rating: *** (Flyin' Brian and Steve Austin won the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES.)We have new United States tag champions as Flyin’ Brian and Steve Austin came together to end the reign of Badd and Steamboat. It took a handful of tights when Brian and Badd, but new champions were crowned. Ron Simmons pinned Cactus Jack with the Powerslam in 10:34. Rating: *** (Ron Simmons retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)It was a much different matchup than what he’s used to, going from wrestling for the title against Rick Rude, Ron Simmons had to switch gears to fight off tonight’s challenge from Cactus Jack. But Simmons showed he can switch gears effectively powering through the challenge and holding on to his title. [THUNDERCAGE]: No-Countout-No-DQ-Match: Barry Windham, Sting and Davey Boy Smith defeated Big Van Vader, Rick Rude and Paul Orndorff when Sting pinned Rude after a Stinger Splash in 22:13. Rating: *** 3/4Vader, Orndorff and Rude entered the cage, which was bigger than a traditional cage with room still outside the ring to walk around or fight in. Sting and Windham came out next and waited to make their partner’s grand unveiling. They both pointed back to the entrance way as the British anthem played over the PA, and to the surprise of everyone, Davey Boy Smith came out to join Sting and Windham as their mystery partner. The match itself was quite a fight. Old rivals squared off such as Sting and Rude or Orndorff and Windham, as did new ones like Vader and Davey Boy. Other fights broke off, Sting took out some old agressions on Orndorff, Windham was clearly not afraid to step in Vader’s path as he wanted to show he has what it takes to take down the monster. After a chaotic seen, which included chairs, broomsticks and other weapons brought into play, Sting climbed high up on the cage and splashed down on Rude to get the win for his team.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Jul 20, 2020 19:09:42 GMT -5
SUPERBRAWL III (February 21, 1993) Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Z-Man defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Bagwell pinned Enos with the Fisherman Suplex in 7:43. Rating: ** ¾The Destruction Crew claimed Bagwell and Z Man’s win at last month’s Clash of Champions was a fluke. They’ve been going on for weeks that two “pretty boys” can’t stand up to them in a real fight. But sure enough, Bagwell and Z-Man did it once again, defeating the former US Tag Champs and pushing them high on the ladder in the WCW tag team division. Van Hammer defeated Diamond Dallas Page by disqualification in 13:24. Rating: 1/2* [Vinnie Vegas interfered against Van Hammer.]After DDP got involved in Hammer’s match last month against Vinnie Vegas, Hammer goaded Page to get in the ring with him himself. The reverse of last month played out, as Hammer was setting up to go for the win, only for Vegas to run in and cause the DQ. Dustin Rhodes made Shane Douglas submit to a figure-four leglock in 9:20. Rating: *** 1/4 (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Former TV champion Shane Douglas has returned to WCW. He said he’s heard the claims that Rhodes is becoming one of the best TV champs of all time, but that’s only because Douglas hasn’t been around. Rhodes immediately granted Douglas a shot to prove who’s better, and on this night it was Dustin, reaching deep into his ever-expanding arsenal of moves pulling out a figure-four leg lock that made Douglas give up. Flyin' Brian and Steve Austin defeated 2 Cold Scorpio and Johnny B. Badd when Brian pinned Badd after a roll up in 12:38. Rating: *** (Flyin' Brian and Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES.)With Ricky Steamboat scheduled for a US title defense tonight, Johnny B. Badd recruited 2 Cold Scorpio as his partner for the US tag title return match. Scorpio was a good pick, as the impressive rookie made quite a showing for himself. But Brian and Austin have worked to become a polished tag team and that was too much for Badd and Scorpio to overcome. Ricky Steamboat pinned Rick Rude with the Flying Cross Body Press in 18:51. Rating: **** ½ (Ricky Steamboat retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Rude feels his best path back to a world title is to regain the US title he never lost. But since he gave up the US gold, Steamboat has had a strong run as champion. Rude was unable to get his title back despite having an epic battle with Steamboat. Davey Boy Smith pinned Cactus Jack with the Running Powerslam in 8:01. Rating: * 3/4Cactus Jack has been pestering Harley Race lately, begging him to take him on as a client, but Race has been reluctant, keeping his focus on Vader and his new reassociation with Paul Orndorff. But Race said if Jack wanted to prove himself, he could take out Davey Boy Smith at Superbrawl. He didn’t. Smith hit his patented powerslam to end the match. Dick Slater and Terry Gordy defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) when Slater pinned M. Hayes with the Piledriver in 15:00. Rating: *** 1/4 (Dick Slater and Terry Gordy won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)Terry Gordy continued to take aim at his former partners, especially now with them being tag team champions, he kept claiming he was the backbone of the group and would prove it by taking those titles away. Slater’s tough nature complimented Gordy well as has been shown by the success the team has had leading up to the match. Slater also liked to wear heavy cowboy boots to the ring for matches, which came into play. After the match broke down and bodies were everywhere, the ref was trying to put Garvin out of the ring while Hayes had Gordy set for a DDT. But Slater took off his boot and clocked Hayes with it, then hit him with a piledriver for the win. Paul Orndorff pinned Barry Windham with the Piledriver 9:10. Barry Windham suffered a sprained ankle. He will be out for approximately 1 card. Rating: *** 1/2Harley Race was mightly pleased with the performance of his man Orndorff as he dispatched of an old rival. Windham looked hobbled after the match and had to be helped to the back. White Castle of Fear Strap Match: Big Van Vader defeated Sting in 26:53. Rating: *** (Big Van Vader retained the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)Vader accepted a challenge from Sting for a title match, but only if Sting agreed to the stipulation of a strap match. Vader used the strap to punish Sting early, whipping him and choking him. His power and prowess with the strap kept him in control early, but Sting kept fighting back. At one point, Vader went up top to him a Vader bomb, but Sting had the presence of mind to yank the strap, bringing Vader crashing down to the mat. Sting then took his turn whipping and choking Vader with the strap , but Vader’s power later again swung the match in his favor. To win a strap match, you have to drag your opponent around the ring, touching all four corners. Vader had three out of the four, but Sting refused to give in and let Vader get to the fourth. Unfortunately for Sting, his revival including a devastating dropkick, but it actually sent Vader into the final corner, giving him the win.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Jan 29, 2021 12:53:02 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXIV (March 18, 1993)
Dustin Rhodes defeated Paul Orndorff via pinfall in 1:33. Rating: ** (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)The latest Clash of Champions opened with Dustin Rhodes defending his TV title against Paul Orndorff in what looked on paper to be a great match. Instead, Orndorff refused to listen to the opening bell, spending extra time going over strategy with manager Harley Race. Rhodes finally had enough, clocking Orndorff from behind then rolling him up for a quick pin. Shane Douglas pinned 2 Cold Scorpio with the Belly-to-Belly Suplex in 11:50. Rating: ** 1/2Shane Douglas isn’t taking his loss to Dustin Rhodes at Superbrawl well. He’s continued to call out Rhodes saying no one deserves a title shot more than him. A few weeks ago on Saturday Night, this claim drew the attention of 2 Cold Scorpio, a rookie no one has been able to slow down. Douglas turned out to be that person. Douglas took advantage of Scorpio going for a top-rope dive outside at Douglas, but Douglas moved and Scorpio crashed to the floor. That turned out to be the beginning of the end. Flyin' Brian and Steve Austin defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Austin defeated W. Bloom after a Stun Gun in 3:03. Rating: ** 3/4 (Flyin' Brian and Steve Austin retained the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES.)Austin and Brian have become quite a formidable team and took another step toward cementing their status as one of the premier tag teams in the world today with a rather quick over a strong pair of former title holders themselves. Johnny B. Badd pinned Vinnie Vegas with the Tutti Frutti in 7:01. Rating: ** 1/4 [Diamond Dallas Page interfered against Johnny B. Badd.]Johnny B. Badd has a reputation for a devastating knock out punch. It’s been said he can take down any man with one shot. The 7-foot tall Vegas wanted to give Badd a shot at backing up that statement. He did. Despite being at a size disadvantage, Badd still delivered a knockout blow. Ric Flair returns with A Flair for the GoldThe most successful world champion in WCW history, the Nature Boy Ric Flair made his return to WCW after a two-year absence, hosting a talk show he called “A Flair for the Gold” with former Horsemen running mate Arn Anderson by his side. His first guest was Ravishing Rick Rude, who took the opportunity to let Flair know things have changed since he’s been gone and everything now goes through Rick Rude. Flair countered that those are big words for someone without gold around his waist. Rude said that’s going to change when he gets his rematch with Ricky Steamboat tonight with Flair saying he can’t wait to see it happen. Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Z-Man defeated Terry Gordy and Dick Slater when Bagwell pinned Slater with the Fisherman Suplex in 11:44. Rating: *** (Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Z-Man won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)We have new world tag team champions. Bagwell and Zenk have taking criticism on several fronts for being just two pretty faces, but they showed they can sure can bring it in the ring. Gordy and Slater take pride in their toughness, but Bagwell and Z Man matched it and them some. Ricky Steamboat pinned Rick Rude with the Flying Cross Body Press in 15:52. Rating: **** 1/4 (Ricky Steamboat retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)The question was how can Steamboat and Rude follow up their classic from Superbrawl? The answer was to put out another classic. Rude seemed like he may be able to take this one, but got distracted when Arn Anderson and Ric Flair came down to take seats near ringside. Steamboat took advantage of the distracted Rude and once again topped his old rival. Ron Simmons and Sting defeated Cactus Jack and Abdullah The Butcher when Sting pinned Cactus after a scorpion deathlock in 26:20. Rating: ** 3/4Cactus Jack has been eager to prove his worth to Harley Race in hopes of Race taking him on as a manager. His latest effort included him and his partner Abdullah the Butcher going after WCW Champion Simmons and Sting, always a thorn in Race’s Paw. Jack’s efforts didn’t pay off as Simmons and Sting proved triumphant. After the match, Simmons and Sting went to wish good luck to Davey Boy Smith before his title match with Vade, when they were confronted by their friend Barry Windham, still limping due to his ankle injury he suffered recently. Windham wanted to make sure he wasn't being left out of things now that Smith was around. Sting and Simmons assured him they're all in this together. Big Van Vader pinned Davey Boy Smith with the Vader Bomb in 13:51. Rating: *** 1/2 (Big Van Vader retained the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)Race’s top client continued his path of destruction. He withstood a tough challenge from WCW newcomer Davey Boy Smith, once again displaying how dominant he can be.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Feb 3, 2021 13:48:31 GMT -5
SLAMBOREE (May 23, 1993)
Davey Boy Smith pinned Paul Orndorff with the Running Powerslam in 6:10. Rating: ** ½Since arriving in WCW, Davey Boy Smith has aligned with a group fighting against s stable led by manager Harley Race. Orndorff tried to get one up for Race’s group, but Smith made surprisingly quick work of Mr. Wonderful. Sid Vicious pinned Van Hammer with the Power Bomb in 2:09. Rating: 1/2*Van Hammer seemed like he would present a stiff challenge to Sid, who’s been tearing up the weekly show since a world title match loss to Ron Simmons. Sid, though, proved to be way too much for Hammer. The Hollywood Blondes (Flyin' Brian and Steve Austin) defeated 2 Cold Scorpio and Johnny B. Badd when Brian pinned Scorpio with the Springboard Clothesline in 26:20. Rating: *** 3/4 (The Hollywood Blonds retained the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES.)Badd looked to regain the US titles from the Blondes, this time with 2 Cold Scorpio as his partner. The two teams gave a very entertaining match but it was the champs coming out on top. Rick Rude pinned Arn Anderson with the Rude Awakening in 10:04. Rating: ***Rick Rude took exception last month to Ric Flair coming back to WCW and thinking he could go right back to the top of the federation. Maybe more so, he took exception to Arn Anderson, whom Rude teamed with in the dangerous alliance, siding with his old friend Flair instead of Rude. Rude sent a message to Flair by taking care of Anderson tonight. Shane Douglas pinned Dustin Rhodes with the Belly-to-Belly Suplex in 8:16. Rating: ** 1/2 (Shane Douglas won the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)For 11 months, no one has been able to take the TV title off Dustin Rhodes. That streak ended tonight at the hands of Shane Douglas. It wasn’t exactly a win by the book, as it appeared Douglas used some brass knucks while the ref wasn’t looking to set up his belly-to-belly suplex. Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Z-Man defeated Dick Slater and Greg Valentine when Z-Man made Slater submit to a sleeperhold in 16:21. Rating: *** (Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Z-Man retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.) Terry Gordy no-showedBagwell & Z Man proved their title win over Slater & Gordy was no fluke. Valentine replaced Gordy in the rematch when Gordy didn’t appear in the arena. After the match however, The Hollywood Blondes decided there's only enough room in WCW for one set of tag champions. The current US title holders ambushed world champions as they were celebrating their win. Ricky Steamboat pinned Bobby Eaton after a crucifix in 6:14. Rating: *** (Ricky Steamboat retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)
Another challenger steps up to challenge for Steamboat’s US title and another is turned away. However, a new challenger has already seemingly made his intentions known. After the match, Steamboat was getting interviewed when Sid Vicious came out. He simply stood in front of Steamboat, looked at the belt, chuckled and walked away. Ron Simmons pinned Barry Windham with the Powerslam in 16:47. Rating: ** 3/4 (Ron Simmons retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)Simmons granted a title shot to his friend Barry Windham in an effort to make amends to Windham feeling on the outs with their group. The gesture almost cost Simmons his title, but the All-American was narrowly able to get the best of Windham. After the match, Simmons offered Windham a handshake. Windham, distraught over the loss, took a minute before responding, but finally shook hands. Sting pinned Big Van Vader after the Stinger Splash in 0:22:42. Rating: *** 1/2 (Sting won the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.) [Harley Race interfered against Sting.]Sting is the new NWA world champion. He got an assist from of all people, Cactus Jack. It wasn't on purpose, but Jack tried to lend Vader a hand by use of a shovel, only to have Sting move and Jack hit Vader with the shovel. Sting dropped kicked Jack off the apron, then splashed down on Vader and got the pin. As Sting celebrated his title win, Vader and Race chastised Jack for costing Vader the title.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Feb 6, 2021 12:29:22 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXV (June 16, 1993) The Hollywood Blondes (Brian Pillman and Steve Austin) defeated Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Z-Man when Pillman pinned Bagwell in 14:46. Rating: *** (The Hollywood Blondes won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES) (The Hollywood Blondes retained the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES)The landmark 25th edition of the Clash of Champions began with a unification match for the two sets of tag team titles in WCW. The match featured several momentum shifts but it looked like Bagwell & Zenk were going to walk away with all the gold. After a wild scene with all four men fighting in the ring, Bagwell hit Austin with a fishermen’s suplex and had him down for 3, but the referee was trying to clean up the mess and get Zenk out of the ring. Meanwhile, Pillman snuck back into the ring with a belt and clocked Bagwell with it, rolling Austin on top of him to get the pin. The Blondes walk away with all the gold. Johnny B. Badd pinned Dick Slater with the Tutti Frutti in 7:07. Rating: ***Johnny B. Badd has been welcoming challenges from all comers who think they have a stronger punch than him. Dick Slater was the latest to take the challenge and the latest to fall. Cactus Jack defeated Paul Orndorff by countout in 10:52. Rating: ** 3/4Harley Race was irate at Cactus Jack for costing Vader the NWA title recently. He sent Paul Orndorff to get some revenge. Jack was looking at this as an opportunity to show what he can do for Race, still in an effort to have him take Cactus on as his manager. Jack won by countout after hitting a flying elbow on the floor Orndorff couldn’t recover from. Jack went to Race and tried to get him to raise his hand, but instead Race berated Cactus. It seems at that point, a light finally went off inside his head as Cactus finally swung and clocked Race. He left the ring from a big ovation from the crowd. A Flair for the GoldRic Flair hosted his Flair for the Gold segment with Barry Windham. Flair sang the praises of his former Horsemen running mate. Windham though was skeptical of Flair coming back. Windham asked Flair what he was doing back here? Flair suggested that he would be willing to get the Horsemen back together. Windham however said Thanks, but no thanks. Windham accused Flair of holding him back saying he treated Windham as nothing more than a lackey. Since Flair was gone, Windham has twice won a world championship. Something Ric Flair never let Windham get near. As Flair tried to talk some sense into Windham, Rick Rude ran in and attacked Flair from behind, giving him a Rude Awakening. 2 Cold Scorpio pinned Shane Douglas with the 450 Splash in 8:17. Rating: *** 1/4 (2 Cold Scorpio won the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Shane Douglas recently won back the Television title, but his second reign with the belt didn’t last long. Scorpio, who Douglas beat to earn his TV title shot, was ready for a rematch and didn’t make the mistakes that cost him that first encounter months ago. Douglas tried to walk out of the match to retain his belt via countout, but former champion Dustin Rhodes came to make sure Douglas got back in the ring, and Scorpio won his first WCW title. Sid Vicious pinned Ricky Steamboat with the Power Bomb in 4:52. Rating: *** 1/4 (Sid Vicious won the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Ricky Steamboat had been on a roll since winning the US title last summer. But he hadn’t run into anyone quite like Sid Vicious during his winning streak. When he’s at the top of his game, there’s very few people that can match up to Sid and he has been on a tear lately. Steamboat just couldn’t match up to Sid. Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) and Rick Rude and Sting, Davey Boy Smith and Barry Windham battled to a draw in 20:00. Rating: *** 1/2
Windham’s relationship with Sting had strained lately since Davey Boy Smith arrived, as Windham has accused Sting of trying to push him out of the picture. Sting offered this 6-man pairing as a show of unity to go up against Rude and a new tag team in WCW, Harlem Heat. Flair and Arn Anderson were eager to get revenge on Rude for his attack earlier and ran in to go after Rude. Windham, reasserted that he wanted no part of Flair and Anderson and didn’t want their help and walked out of the match. This left Sting and Smith puzzled and at the end of things, the ref had no choice but to throw the whole match out. Big Van Vader pinned Ron Simmons with the Vader Bomb in 12:44. Rating: **** (Big Van Vader won the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)After losing his NWA title, Vader got a shot at the WCW title tonight against Simmons. Simmons is one of the few in WCW that can match Vader’s power, and Vader looked surprised that he couldn’t overpower the champ. Vader spent time targetting Simmons’ back and those efforts paid off in the end, Simmons went for a powerslam but couldn’t execute it and Vader collapsed on top of him. This became the beginning of the end as Vader once again became a world champion.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Feb 10, 2021 17:04:15 GMT -5
BEACH BLAST (July 18, 1993)
Dustin Rhodes pinned Shane Douglas with the Bulldog in 8:09. Rating: **A few months back, Dustin Rhodes’ record-setting TV Title reign was ended by Shane Douglas by nefarious circumstances. Rhodes wanted a rematch, not even caring that Douglas was no longer TV Champ, he just wanted to get back in the ring with Douglas. Rhodes got the revenge he was looking for, dispatching of Douglas fairly quickly. Johnny B. Badd pinned Paul Orndorff with the Tutti Frutti in 0:11:38. Rating: *** 1/2Paul Orndorff was the latest to step up to the challenge Johnny B. Badd laid out of having the toughest punch in wrestling. And Orndorff was also the latest to fall. Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce when Booker pinned Slazenger with the Axe Kick in 7:13. Rating: * 1/2Two of the newest tag teams in WCW faced off to see which will take a quicker step up the rankings ladder. Harlem Heat proved to be the better team on this night. Lord Steven Regal defeated Marcus Alexander Bagwell when Marcus Alexander Bagwell passed out in the Regal Stretch in 15:07. Rating: ***Another newcomer, Steven Regal, picked quite a challenge for his first WCW PPV match with Marcus Bagwell. The match went back and forth on several occasions, but Regal caught Bagwell, put him in his patented submission hold and claimed a huge win. 2 Cold Scorpio pinned Bobby Eaton with the 450 Splash in 12:21. Rating: *** 3/4 (2 Cold Scorpio retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)
It was a successful TV title defense for Scorpio. His athleticism and high-flying moves were too much for even a veteran like Eaton to contain. Davey Boy Smith defeated Sid Vicious by disqualification in 11:07. Rating: DUD (Sid Vicious retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Davey Boy Smith provided a tough matchup for Sid, someone who might not have Sid’s size, but could still match him in power. The match was pretty even, but at one point with Smith started to take control, Sid slid outside to get a break. When Davey Boy followed him, Sid grabbed a chair and smacked him with it to get DQed. After the match, Sid kept repeatedly hitting Smith with chair shots. It took Sting, someone whom Sid claimed he has unfinished business with, to finally come down and chase Sid off. Later in the night, a camera caught Harley Race handing Sid some money in a discrete part of the arena. The Hollywood Blondes (Brian Pillmam and Steve Austin) and The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson and Ric Flair) battled to a double countout in 17:16. Rating: *** 1/2 (The Hollywood Blondes retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)Rick Rude recently recruited his old stablemate Austin and his new partner Pillman to help him in his growing feud with Flair. Nothing was settled in this match as their fighting continued well after the ref ran the bell. But at that time, Rude did run down and blindside Flair. Big Van Vader pinned Ron Simmons with the Vader Bomb in 12:31. Rating: ** 3/4 (Big Van Vader retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)Ron Simmons got his rematch against Vader for the WCW world title, but the second round went much like the first. Vader was too big and too strong even for Simmons. Rick Rude pinned Sting after a belly-to-back suplex in 17:56. Rating: *** 1/4 (Rick Rude won the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)In the lead up to this match, Rick Rude constantly reminded Sting it was one year ago he took his world title away from him and promised to do it again. The end of the match turned into a mess. Ric Flair came down to go after Rude for his attack earlier. But as the referee held Flair back, Sid came out of the crowd to get some revenge on Sting for stopping his attack on Davey Boy Smith earlier. Sid laid Sting out with a powerbomb and Rude covered the knocked out Stinger to become new NWA champion.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Feb 15, 2021 12:20:53 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXVI (August 18, 1993) Tonight’s Clash of Champions is counting down toward next month’s Fall Brawl pay per view featuring the return of War Games. It was announced Sting would captain one team and Big Van Vader the other. Sting has already announced Davey Boy Smith and Dustin Rhodes as his team members, with the promise of another that will “shock the wrestling world,” whatever that means. Vader has picked Sid Vicious to join him with the last two members a mystery. Lord Steven Regal made 2 Cold Scorpio submit to the Regal Stretch in 10:51. Rating: *** 3/4 (Lord Steven Regal won the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)The show opened up with a new TV champion. Regal and Scorpio were a total contrast in styles, each taking control of the match at various points when forcing the match to fit their style. But Regal took advantage of Scorpio missing a top rope move and Regal following by locking in his submission. Shane Douglas pinned Marcus Alexander Bagwell with the Belly-to-Belly Suplex in 12:57. Rating: * 1/2Two young, potential stars of the future faced off with Douglas getting the best of Bagwell tonight. Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Booker pinned W. Bloom after a flying forearm in 15:31. Rating: ***Harlem Heat made a huge move up the tag team ladder with a win over the Destruction Crew, but after the match, Harley Race, Vader and Sid Vicious walked to the ring. Harlem Heat looked ready to fight them off, but instead Race took the mic and said that wasn’t what they were looking for. Race offered Heat the final two spots on their War Games team, which the two gladly accepted. Arn Anderson and Paul Roma defeated The Hollywood Blonds (Flyin' Brian and Steve Austin) when A. Anderson pinned Brian with the DDT in 14:48. Rating: *** 1/4 (Arn Anderson and Paul Roma won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)While Ric Flair is in the midst of a growing feud with Rick Rude, Arn Anderson recruited Paul Roma, who’s been given the title of a Horsemen on a trial basis, as his tag team partner. Together, they challenged and defeated the Hollywood Blondes and became new world tag team champions Dustin Rhodes pinned Sid Vicious with the Bulldog in 10:15. Rating: 3/4* (Dustin Rhodes won the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Two who will be on opposing war games teams faced off 1-on-1 with Dustin Rhodes shocking the big man to become new United States champion. Ricky Steamboat defeated Barry Windham by disqualification in 23:22. Rating: ** 3/4Barry Windham has been offered his old spot as a Horsemen by Ric Flair, but turned it down. He seemingly broke off his relationship with Sting and others, instead choosing to become, in his words, a lone wolf. Windham wants to get back into the world championship picture on his own. Beating Steamboat would’ve given him a big step toward that goal, but he could never put him away. Frustrations mounted to the point where Windham grabbed a chair and attacked Steamboat, getting DQed. Rick Rude and Big Van Vader and Ric Flair and Sting battled to a draw. Rating: *** 3/4
There was nothing civil about this. Rude and Flair will meet at Fall Brawl for Rude’s NWA title, and the two spent the majority of this match brawling with each other. The Vader/Sting side of the match devolved into each’s war games teams coming to the ring to fight each other. But in the midst of it all, the lights flickered and appearing on the entrance ramp was a man in a dark black coat and a sparkly silver helmet. Presumably the fourth member of Sting’s team, all paused as the man marched slowly to the ring. Right before entering the ring, the man threw his helmet off revealing Abdullah the Butcher!! Butcher was previously partners with Cactus Jack who hasn’t been seen since an attack from Vader months ago. But All were shocked as Butcher began fighting along side Sting and his group. The show ended with the fight still going on.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Feb 21, 2021 16:59:31 GMT -5
FALL BRAWL (September 19, 1993) Lord Steven Regal made Ricky Steamboat submit to the Regal Stretch in 21:47. Rating: **** 3/4 (Lord Steven Regal retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)The first Fall Brawl began with a technical clinic between champion Regal and challenger Steamboat. Regal cleanly defeated the Dragon to retain his title. After the match, in a sign of respect, Steamboat offered his hand to Regal, only to be met with a sucker punch instead. 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated Shanghai Pierce and Tex Slazenger when Scorpio pinned Pierce after a splash in 18:39. Rating: **
The recently formed team of Scorpio and Bagwell looked impressive in getting a win tonight, signaling they’re going to be a team to watch in the near future. Johnny B. Badd pinned Shane Douglas with the Tutti Frutti in 18:02. Rating: ***Badd also catapulted himself into consideration for a title shot when he won a back-and-forth match against Douglas. Barry Windham pinned Van Hammer with the Superplex in 8:03. Rating: ** 1/4The newly minted Lone Wolf was impressive, dominating a formidable foe in Hammer. After the match he gave an interview saying he’s sick of politics, sick of everything, asking why he gets stuck in a midcard match instead of the main event. The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) defeated Arn Anderson and Paul Roma when Sags pinned A. Anderson after a faceslam in 17:05. Rating: ** 1/2 (The Nasty Boys won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)Newly returned to WCW, the Nasty Boys are new tag team champions. However, it was due to little fault of Anderson. At one point in the match, Roma was on the apron, but instead of paying attention to the match, was posing to the audience. Knobbs whipped Anderson into the back of his teammate, sending Roma flying to the floor. Roma saw it was Anderson who hit him from behind and simply walked out of the match. All alone from that point, Anderson was easy pickings for the Nasty boys. No-Countout-No-DQ-Match: Cactus Jack pinned Paul Orndorff with the Double Arm DDT in 13:41. Rating: *** 3/4Cactus Jack is back and has a grudge against anyone associated with Harley Race and Big Van Vader. That includes Paul Orndorff who was instrumental in an attack that put Jack out of action months ago. He put a beatdown on Orndorff, then called out Race and Vader, saying he’ll see them soon. Rick Rude pinned Ric Flair after the Rude Awakening in 24:01. Rating: **** 1/4 (Rick Rude retained the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)After verbally going back and forth for months, Rude and Flair finally met in the ring. The match was pretty even with each taking control for extended parts, only to see the advantage flipped. It looked like Flair was going to get an added boost, when his old valet, Woman, came down to ringside and began cheering him on. But in an opportune moment, when Rude had the ref distracted, Woman opened her purse and pulled out hairspray, spraying it right in Flair’s eyes. Rude took advantage of the blinded Flair, hitting his Rude Awakening to get the pin. War Games No-Countout-No-DQ-Match: Sting, Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes and Abdullah The Butcher defeated Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T), Big Van Vader and Sid Vicious when Sting beat Ray after a Scorpion Death Lock in 40:38. Rating: ***As expected, War Games was a brutal battle, shoving 8 guys who don’t like each other into a steel cage. But not many expected a ninth man to enter the fray. As Vader stood as the last man waiting to enter the match, he was attacked on the floor by Cactus Jack. Jack even followed Vader into the cage, with a chair none the less. He began beating down on Vader’s whole team, especially Vader. The added lift from Jack’s attack helped Sting’s group out on the way to their win.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Apr 22, 2021 15:07:26 GMT -5
HALLOWEEN HAVOC (October 24, 1993) In previous weeks, WCW's championship committee granted Ric Flair a rematch with Rick Rude for the International title. This drew the ire of Barry Windham who says this only validates the complaints he had for months about Flair's return. Rude said he doesn't care, Flair, Windham it didn't matter. He'd beat whoever faces him. The decision was made to have Flair and Windham wrestle with the winner fighting Rude later in the night. Also tonight, Cactus Jack finally get his chance for revenge on Big Van Vader, challenging the big man for his WCW World title in a Texas Death Match, where a wrestler after being pinned, has a 10 count to get back to his feet. Arn Anderson pinned Paul Roma with the DDT in 10:30. Rating: ** 3/4Anderson and Roma faced off to settle their differences after their partnership imploded. Anderson got the win, but after the match, Roma’s new partner, Paul Orndorff, ran in to help Roma beatdown Anderson. Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated Davey Boy Smith and Johnny B. Badd when Booker pinned Badd after the the Harlem Hangover in 7:53. Rating: ** 3/4
While Smith and Badd are great individual wrestlers, their chemistry as a team was lacking and they couldn’t stop the well-oiled machine Harlem Heat is becoming. Ricky Steamboat pinned Lord Steven Regal with the Flying Cross Body Press in 18:08. Rating: **** (Ricky Steamboat won the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)In a return match from last month, Steamboat this time got the best of Regal to become the new TV champion. But he still apparently didn’t earn Regal’s respect. After the match, Steamboat, much like after his loss last month, offered his hand to Regal. Instead, Regal spat in Steamboat’s face, then sucker punched him again. Dustin Rhodes pinned Steve Austin after a roll up in 15:48. Rating: *** 1/2 (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Old rivals met again with Rhodes this time holding the US title. Austin had his tag team partner Brian Pillman by his side, but Pillman made a critical mistake, grabbing Austin’s foot when he tried to grab Rhodes’ foot after a reversed whip into the ropes. Austin yelled at Pillman for screwing up, allowing Rhodes to roll up Austin to get the win. After the match, Austin brutally attacked Pillman for his mistake costing him the title. The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) defeated 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell when Sags defeated Scorpio via pinfall in 10:52. Rating: ** 1/4 (The Nasty Boys retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)The new pairing of Bagwell and Scorpio was certainly a fan-favorite and presented an interesting contrast of styles match against the powerful Nasty Boys. At the conclusion of a mele that saw all four men in the ring, it looked as if Scorpio would win the titles for his team after hiting a somersault splash on Sags. But as the ref was busy trying to get Bagwell out of the ring to restore order, Brian Knobbs grabbed a TV camera, and came in and clocked Scorpio with it. Sags rolled over on Scorpio and got the 3 count. Sid Vicious defeated Sting by disqualification in 11:51. Rating: ** 3/4Sting has had enough of being on the wrong end of cheap shots and sneak attacks. Harley Race attempted to give Sid a boost in the middle of his match by sneaking him a chair to use, while Race distracted the ref. Only problem was, Sting got hold of the chair instead of Sid and started repeatedly using it on the big man. The ref saw Sting using the chair and called for the DQ, but Sting pretty much adopted an “Oh Well” mindset and continued to chase Sid to the back with the chair. Ric Flair pinned Barry Windham after a small package in 21:16. Rating: ****Former stablemates Flair and Windham faced off with the winner set to challenge Rick Rude for the WCW International title (formerly known as the NWA World Title) later in the night. Windham, a former 2-time world champion in his own right, showed he’s come a long way from when he used to be a Four Horsemen member, serving and protecting the legendary Flair. But despite that and a size and strength advantage, Windham couldn’t put Flair away. Windham grew increasingly frustrated at being unable to secure the pin. In a moment of weakness, Flair saw an opening and took it, catching Windham in a small package to get the pin. Windham was shocked after the bell rang. As Flair offered his hand to Windham, the Texan hit Flair with a vicious clothesline, then set him up and delivered a vicious superplex before leaving the ring to a chorus of boos. Flair wasn’t quite back on his feet yet when Rude, with Woman by his side, came down demanding their match start now. Rick Rude pinned Ric Flair with the Rude Awakening in 13:11. Rating: *** (Rick Rude retained the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)Rude thought he had Flair right where he wanted and went for a quick pin, but the Nature Boy kept showing the perseverance he’s been known for, refusing to stay down. But unlike Windham, Rude kept his cool and eventually took advantage of a worn down Flair, hitting the Rude Awakening and retaining his title. Death Match No DQs, No Countouts, Falls Count Anywhere Cactus Jack pinned Big Van Vader in 12:15. Big Van Vader pinned Cactus Jack after a Vaderbomb in 16:34. Cactus Jack pinned Big Van Vader after an elbow drop in 21:02. Big Van Vader pinned Cactus Jack after a powerbomb in 24:56/ Cactus Jack did not answer the 10 count. Rating: **** (Big Van Vader retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.) [Harley Race interfered against Cactus Jack.]This was as brutal and as violent as one would expect. It’s said that no one takes a beating quite like Cactus Jack, and although he took quite a beating, he showed he can dish one out just as much. It was Jack who actually scored the first pin of the match, diving off the rope with a chair striking Vader. But to win the title, Vader had to stay down until the count of 10, and unfortunately for Jack, and the thousands of fans cheering him on, Vader made it back up by 7. Vader’s size and strength began to take over the match and he got a pin of his own with a Vader bomb, but Jack wouldn’t stay down, just beating the 10 count. Vader continued to pummel Jack but the wild man from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico stormed back. The fight spilled to the floor and Jack used everything he could find around the ring to hit the champ with. This paved way for Jack to hit a diving elbow off the ring apron to get yet another pin on the champ. It looked for a moment it might be enough to get him the title, but with Harley Race encouraging his meal ticket, Vader narrowly got back to his feet. Jack went back after Vader trying to put him away, but Vader countered a big move by Jack. Eventually, Vader took back control and set up Jack for a powerbomb on the rampway. But Harley Race shouted “No!” to Vader. The champ looked confused, but then Race pointed to the floor below the ramp. Vader moved closer to the edge, then powerbombed Cactus Jack to the floor below. Vader went down, got the pin, and this was one Cactus Jack couldn’t get back up from.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Apr 25, 2021 9:36:02 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXVII (November 10, 1993) Sid Vicious was previously announced as the new No. 1 Contender for the WCW World Title, set for a match at Starrcade against Big Van Vader. But it was revealed tonight that during an overseas tour, Vader took out Sid, injuring him and knocking him out of action indefinitely. To crown a new No. 1 contender, a 20-man battle royal will be held tonight at the Clash of the Champions!! Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton defeated Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma) when A. Anderson pinned Orndorff A. Anderson with the DDT in 13:02. Rating: ** ¾Roma and Orndorff thought they had the upperhand on Arn Anderson, but Anderson tonight revealed a new tag team partner, a former friend from their days in the Dangerous Alliance, Bobby Eaton. Eaton was the perfect choice, helping Anderson gain revenge on Roma and Orndorff. Two-out-of-three-Falls Match: Lord Steven Regal beat Ricky Steamboat 2 falls to 1: x Regal beat Steamboat via the Regal Stretch in 10:07 x Steamboat beat Regal via the Flying Cross Body Press in 12:15 x Regal beat Steamboat via a Victory Roll in 15:58 Rating: **** (Lord Steven Regal won the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Steven Regal is once again the TV Champion winning the belt back from Ricky Steamboat. After the match, Regal demanded Steamboat show him respect. Steamboat reached out to shake Regal’s hand, but instead, Regal said Steamboat needs to get down on a knee and kiss his feet. Before Steamboat could replay, Johnny B. Badd ran down to the ring and said he refused to let Regal treat a legend this way. This led to a brawl between Regal and Badd. Steve Austin defeated Dustin Rhodes by disqualification in 13:29. Rating: *** ¼ (Brian Pillman interfered against Steve Austin) (Dustin Rhodes retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE)If there was any doubt before, there shouldn’t be anymore. The Hollywood Blondes are no more. After Austin attacked Pillman for their Halloween Havoc loss, Pillman repaid the favor by running in and attacking Austin during his US title shot. It took a host of WCW officials to come down and separate the two. Ice Train pinned Dick Slater with the Train Wreck in 6:21. Rating: 1/2*A new arrival in WCW tonight. Ice Train looked impressive in a debut win. Cactus Jack pinned Maxx Payne with the Double Arm DDT in 11:40. Rating: ** 1/4Speaking of new arrivals, Maxx Payne arrived as a Harley Race recruit to keep Cactus Jack away from him and Big Van Vader. But this did not go as planned. Cactus scored the victory then cut a promo after the match saying he didn’t care who Harley Race threw in front of him, nothing was going to stop him from getting to Vader. No. 1 Contenders Match 20-Man Battle Royal: Ric Flair won a 20-man Battle Royal in 42:10 Rating: *** 1/4
With so much on the line, tensions ran high between both old enemies and old friends. Rick Rude, despite already being WCW International Champion entered the match saying he was on a quest to unify the belts. Former World Champion Ron Simmons, who’s been out of action for several months recovering from injuries, made his return, and he tangled with Cactus Jack, a person Simmons claims was responsible for his injuries back when he sided with Race and Vader. Jack tried to align with Simmons, but the former champ wasn’t having it, and the two eventually eliminated each other when the momentum from a Simmons clothesline took both over the top rope. Tensions rose between two friends when Davey Boy Smith eliminated Dustin Rhodes. Rhodes looked shocked that Smith would take him out and starting arguing with him, which allowed Rick Rude to come from behind and throw out Smith. Smith and Rhodes kept arguing as they went to the back. The Final Four came down to Sting, Rude, Ric Flair and Barry Windham. Sting tried to work with his friend Windham, but Windham instead was ready to go it alone. That didn’t quite work out as Sting eventually eliminated Windham. That didn’t sit well with the self proclaimed Lone Wolf as he pulled Sting out. That caused an issue with Sting who got in Windham’s face until Windham took a cheap shot at Sting and walked to the back. Down to Flair and Rude, the rivalry between the two reignited. While Rude got the best of Flair in their previous exchanges, it was Flair that overcame Rude and the distraction from Rude’s valet Woman to eliminate Rude, winning the match and earning the world title shot.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on Apr 27, 2021 13:30:11 GMT -5
STARRCADE '93 (December 27, 1993) Lord Steven Regal defeated Johnny B. Badd by countout in 10:12. Rating: ** 1/2 (Lord Steven Regal retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)After their confrontation at last month’s Clash of Champions, Johnny B. Badd was awarded a shot at Steven Regal’s TV Title. The early stages of their match was a great technical contest but as the match wore on, Badd’s striking ability started giving him an edge. Regal must’ve noticed this, too. As took an opportunity to slide out of the ring, grab this title belt and walk to the back getting counted out. Badd’s hand was raised in victory, but he seemed less than pleased with the way he won. Steve Austin pinned Brian Pillman with the Stun Gun in 14:24. Rating: ***Brian came out a house of fire trying to gain revenge on Steve Austin for turning on him a few months back. It seemed even Austin was caught off guard with the intensity his former partner showed. Things eventually settled down into a standard match complete with the momentum swings you’d expect in any big match. Austin took control but soon saw Pillman swing the match in his favor catching Austin with some high flying moves. But one high-risk move too many proved costly. Pillman went up top to try to put Austin away with a big cross body splash, but Austin caught Pillman in mid air and dropped him over the top rope for a Stun Gun. No-Time-Limit-No-Countout-No-DQ-Match: Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma) defeated Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton when Orndorff pinned B. Eaton with the Piledriver in 11:23. Rating: *** ¾
This match seemingly did very little to settle the score between Anderson and Roma and their respective new partners. Anderson and Roma brawled at on the floor with Anderson throwing Roma all over the place, but in the ring, Orndorff hit Eaton with a low blow, followed by a piledriver, and Roma kept Anderson just busy enough to prevent him from going to make the save. Ron Simmons pinned Cactus Jack with the Powerslam in 8:44. Rating: ** 1/4Simmons picked up a win with the help of all people, Harley Race. Race came to ringside to distract his nemesis, Cactus Jack, allowing Simmons to come from behind and hit Jack with a powerslam that led to the pin. To everyone’s shock, Race came into the ring after the match and raised Simmons’ hand in victory as everyone ringside looked shocked. Davey Boy Smith pinned Dustin Rhodes with the Running Powerslam in 13:12. Rating: ** 1/4 (Davey Boy Smith won the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Two good friends fighting for one of the top prizes in the sport created a bit of an awkward opening to the match until each settled in and put their friendship aside. Each had the momentum in their favor over the course of the match, but the end came when Davey Boy blocked Dustin’s attempt at a Bulldog, and caught up in a powerslam that got him the pin and the title. After the match, Rhodes was visibly distraught for losing the title, but after a moment, shook Davey Boy’s hand and congratulated the new champion. Rick Rude pinned Great Muta with the Rude Awakening in 19:15. Rating: **** 3/4 (Rick Rude retained the WCW INTERNATIONAL TITLE.)As WCW International champion, Rick Rude said he will put his title up against the best in the whole world, and that included tonight’s challenge from The Great Muta. Muta and Rude put on a truly classic match, but Rude was able to withstand the challenge and hold onto his title. The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) defeated 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell when Sags pinned Bagwell with the Flying Elbowdrop in 17:27. Rating: *** 1/4 (The Nasty Boys retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)Harlem Heat has been vocally upset about getting passed over for title shots that instead went to Bagwell & Scorpio. Booker T and Stevie Ray made an appearance to attack the two behind the ref’s back, which made the challengers easy pickings for the Nasty Boys. Sting pinned Barry Windham after a Stinger Splash in 14:44. Rating: *** ¼ Barry Windham injured his shoulder and will be out for 4 months. Sting has tried over recent weeks to talk some sense into Windham after his change in attitude. Windham insisted he didn’t need Sting or anybody else. The two engaged in a fight that harkened back to their heated rivalry of three years ago. Much like the majority of those encounters, it was Sting coming out on top. Ric Flair pinned Big Van Vader after a roll up in 16:35. Rating: *** 1/4 (Ric Flair won the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)Flair was an underdog against the rampaging champion considering the size and strength mismatch. But you can never count out the heart of the Nature Boy. Flair kept coming back after each Vader charge, and eventually Flair found an opening. A low blow staggered Vader and a roll up held him down for the three count making Flair a 5-time WCW champion. As Flair was celebrating after the match, Rick Rude’s music hit and the WCW International champion marched to the ring with his belt. Rude entered the ring and faced down the new WCW champion with each holding up their respective belts.
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 6, 2021 13:28:52 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXVIII (January 27, 1994) The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) defeated Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) when M. Hayes pinned Booker with the DDT in 11:55. Rating: ** 1/4An injury to Marcus Alexander Bagwell kept him and 2 Cold Scorpio from competing in a No. 1 contenders match against Harlem Heat. Heat thought they were getting a free pass to a title match, but instead, a replacement team was found. The Fabulous Freebirds made a stunning return and beat Harlem Heat to earn a shot at the champion Nasty Boys. Steve Austin pinned Dustin Rhodes with the Stun Gun in 10:51. Rating: *** 1/4
Rhodes was trying to get back in line for a shot at the US Title he lost at Starrcade, but an old rival was also looking for that shot. Rhodes thought he had Austin positioned for his patented Bulldog, but instead Austin blocked it and drove Rhodes into the corner. Coming out, Austin hit the Stun Gun and scored the pin. Brian Pillman defeated Lord Steven Regal via pinfall in 9:28. Rating: *** 3/4 (Brian Pillman won the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Brian Pillman is the new TV Champion. Steven Regal attempted to walk out of the match much like he did at Starrcade against Johnny B. Badd, but Badd came down to throw Regal back into the ring where Pillman got the pin and his first WCW singles title. Ice Train pinned Greg Valentine with the Train Wreck in 4:51. Rating: * ½Rookie Ice Train picked up one of the biggest wins of his young career, topping the veteran Valentine. Sting defeated Ron Simmons by disqualification in 6:35. Rating: *
Ever since the unholy alliance between Big Van Vader and Ron Simmons was formed under Harley Race's guidance, their top target has been Cactus Jack. Realizing he needed help, Jack in weeks past has reached out to old rival Sting to no avail. But in tonight's match between Sting and Simmons, Vader came down to help his new partner double team Sting. Coming out for the save was Cactus Jack. Was tonight enough to convince Sting to team up with Cactus? Davey Boy Smith pinned 2 Cold Scorpio with the Running Powerslam in 8:29. Rating: *** 1/2 (Davey Boy Smith retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Even though his tag partner wasn’t available for a top contenders match tonight, the championship committee decided to award 2 Cold Scorpio a US title shot at Davey Boy Smith. Scorpio’s high-flying moves gave him an edge for a while, but he went for one big move too many as Smith caught him coming off the top and turned it into a powerslam. Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma), Rick Rude and Big Van Vader defeated Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, Bobby Eaton and Ricky Steamboat when Rude pinned Flair after a Rude Awakening in 17:27. Rating: * 3/4Rick Rude has made it perfectly clear. He wants to unify the WCW World and International titles. This reignited his ongoing war with Ric Flair. The two built up their teams, Flair reaching out to old friends and Rude reaching out to Flair’s enemies for tonight’s 8-man tag main event. Everyone expected the main event to be wild and in that regard it didn't disappoint. In fact, it didn't even stay an 8-man match, the final count was around 11. Cactus Jack took the opportunity to come down to run after Vader, which in turn brought down Ron Simmons with Sting closely behind him. In all the madness. Rude ended up hitting Ric Flair with a Rude Awakening and scored a pin on the WCW champion. Card rating: ** 1/4
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 9, 2021 12:19:39 GMT -5
SUPERBRAWL IV (February 20, 1994)
Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell when S. Ray pinned Bagwell with the Slapjack in 14:13. Rating: ** ¾Harlem Heat placed blame squarely on Scorpio & Bagwell for them not getting a shot at the tag title. They aimed to take out their frustrations in the match that was supposed to happen last month. The match had several momentum swings but in the end, the power of Harlem Heat, plus their willingness to take a cheap shot behind the ref’s back, pushed them on top. Lord Steven Regal made Johnny B. Badd submit to the Regal Stretch in 14:02. Rating: ****Regal also was playing the blame game, blaming Badd for Regal losing the TV title to Brian Pillman. They aimed to settle their differences tonight. Regal utilized the strategy of taking out Badd’s arm to weaken his lethal punch, but also to make him more susceptible to the Regal Stretch, which is exactly what happened. Once the hold got locked on, Badd tried his best to withstand the pain but eventually gave it up. Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton defeated Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma) when Anderson pinned Roma after a spinebuster in 13:32. Rating: *** 1/4Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton looked to move past their feud with Pretty Wonderful as the two posted a convincing win with Anderson going over his former partner. Brian Pillman pinned Dustin Rhodes with the Springboard Clothesline in 10:35. Rating: *** 1/2 (Brian Pillman retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Pillman granted his friend Dustin Rhodes, the longest reigning TV champion in WCW history, a shot at the TV title Pillman now proudly owns. Rhodes thought this was a great chance to snap his losing streak, but Pillman wasn’t going to roll over and let Rhodes take his title. Pillman scored the win and Rhodes was dejected after the loss, but eventually shook Pillman’s hand and raised it in victory. Davey Boy Smith pinned Steve Austin with the Running Powerslam in 15:16. Rating: *** 3/4 (Davey Boy Smith retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Steve Austin earned the right to challenge Davey Boy for the US title. But the British Bulldog has been on a roll lately and that continued tonight with another impressive win. The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) defeated The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) when M. Hayes pinned Sags with the DDT in 14:43. Jerry Sags injured his right knee. He will be out for approximately 6 months. Rating: ** 1/4 (The Fabulous Freebirds won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)A month ago the Freebirds weren’t even competing in WCW, now they’re the World Tag Team Champs for an unprecedented fourth time. The veterans withstood the Nasty Boys’ power and every cheap shot the champs could throw at them. But the Freebirds themselves are not above getting dirty when needed. With the referee distracted, Hayes kicked Sags low then hit a DDT that won the Freebirds the gold. After the match, Jerry Sags was favoring his knee as the now-former champions headed to the back. Cactus Jack and Sting defeated Ron Simmons and Big Van Vader when Cactus pinned R. Simmons with the Double Arm DDT in 15:40. Rating: *** 1/2There was definitely some ease, especially on Sting’s part, with two old rivals pairing up together. Cactus was more than willing to work with Sting and eventually Sting came around and the two ended up working well as a team. Simmons and Vader made a monster pair, but the determination of Sting and Cactus Jack won out in the end. Rick Rude pinned Ric Flair with the Rude Awakening in 22:50. Rating: *** 1/4 (Rick Rude won the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.) (Rick Rude retained the WCW INTERNATIONAL TITLE.)Rude has had Flair’s number in recent months, which gave Rude an added boost of confidence going in, but it also gave Flair and extra motivation. Rude likely hadn’t seen the fury Flair came out with early in the match. But as the match settled in, Rude weathered the storm and began taking over offensively, getting a little help from his valet, Woman. The biggest aid she may have given may have been when Flair had Rude in the Figure 4 in the middle of the ring, with little hope for Rude to grab a rope. Instead, Rude grabbed the referee while Woman sprayed hair spray into Flair’s eyes, much like she did during Rude and Flair’s first encounter months back. This broke the hold and Rude thought he’d have an easy time from here on out, but as he hobbled over to Flair, Flair still had the presence to get Rude in a small package although Rude was able to kick out. Flair, though, caught Woman back on the apron and went over to his former valet confronting her before she tried anything else, but the distraction enabled Rude to come from behind and hit a Rude Awakening. Rude got the pin, and all the gold! Card rating: *** 1/4
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 11, 2021 16:07:15 GMT -5
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXIX (March 17, 1994) Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T), Brian Knobbs and Greg Valentine defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin), 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell when Booker pinned J. Garvin with the Axe Kick in 18:01. Rating: ** 1/4Brian Knobbs is in search of a new tag partner after an injury to Jerry Saggs knocked him out of action for about 6 months. He gave Greg The Hammer Valentine a tryout in tonight's 8 man match. Hammer did well for his team, but it was Harlem Heat who made quite a statement when Booker T pinned one half of the world champion Freebirds. Dustin Rhodes pinned Dick Slater with the Bulldog in 9:08. Rating: ** 1/4Dustin Rhodes has been on a bit of a losing streak lately. He shocked everyone by coming out for tonight's match with none other than Terry Funk by his side. Rhodes picked up the win with Funk simply cheering him on from ringside, shouting some basic instructions and encouragement. After the match Rhodes said he was in need of some guidance to get back on the winning track. He was questioned about Funk's notorious record in WCW, but Rhodes said that wasn't the same man. Funk has reformed and is going to be a valuable asset to helping the Natural get back on top. Lord Steven Regal pinned Ice Train after a kick to the head in 13:43. Rating: * ¼Steven Regal picked up a big win over Ice Train. After the match, Davey Boy Smith was giving an interview to which Regal walked through interrupting. He called Smith an embarrassment to Great Britain and said he should do the world a favor and that the US title away from him. Before Smith was able to give much of a counter, Regal sucker punched Smith then walked away. Steve Austin and Brian Pillman battled to a double countout in 11:27. Rating: ** 1/4 (Brian Pillman retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)Former partners and rivals met for Pillman’s TV title. But nothing was settled on this night. Old hostilities came back quickly once the bell rang and the match eventually spilled out to the floor. Both were too busy beating each other they didn’t pay any attention to the ref counting to 10 and counting both men out. Big Van Vader and Ron Simmons and Cactus Jack and Sting battled to a draw in 20:00. Rating: *** 1/4In a return match for Superbrawl, the four held nothing back in a wild brawl. Much like the night’s previous match nothing was settled as the fight hit the match’s 20-minute time limit. The bell didn’t stop the fight, however. As they kept battling until officials had to come down to pull everyone apart. Rick Rude defeated Arn Anderson by disqualification in 16:49. Rating: ** 1/4 (Rick Rude retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.) (Rick Rude retained the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.) [Ric Flair interfered against Rick Rude.]Rick Rude isn't satisfied by simply beating Ric Flair last month to unify the world titles, he's been actively rubbing Flair's nose in the fact that he beat him. Rude was challenged tonight by Flair's best friend Arn Anderson. Although the Enforcer mounted a tough challenge, Rude got the better of him. However, Rude refused to pin Anderson. He hit him with three straight Rude Awakenings and then was going to go for a fourth before Flair saw enough. He rushed the ring and began brawling with the undisputed champ. Card rating: ** 1/4
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 14, 2021 9:10:41 GMT -5
SPRING STAMPEDE (April 17, 1994) Johnny B. Badd defeated Jean-Paul Levesque via pinfall in 12:39. Rating: *** ¼Levesque has been invaluable to Steven Regal’s success recently, including wins over Johnny B. Badd. Badd was able to get a measure of revenge, topping Levesque in a 1-on-1 match. 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated Brian Knobbs and Greg Valentine when Scorpio pinned Valentine with the 450 Splash in 11:31. Rating: ***Brian Knobbs' partnership with Greg the Hammer Valentine turned out to be short-lived. After losing tonight to Scorpio and Bagwell, Knobbs attacked the Hammer and left him laying in the ring. Dustin Rhodes pinned Maxx Payne with the Bulldog in 7:13. Rating: ** ½Dustin Rhodes is once again building back a winning streak. Once again, Terry Funk was in Rhodes' corner giving him advice and cheering him on. No-Countout-No-DQ-Match Falls Count Anywhere Ron Simmons pinned Cactus Jack with the Powerslam in 22:12. Rating: ** 3/4Ron Simmons scored a win over Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere match following a hit with a shovel in the parking lot. But after the match, Simmons put Jack's unconscious body in the trunk of a car that drove away. Brian Pillman pinned Steve Austin with the Springboard Clothesline in 16:59. Rating: *** ½(Brian Pillman retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE) Following their double countout at the Clash of Champions, a rematch was a necessity. Pillman has been on a roll lately and he kept his momentum going besting his former partner in an exciting contest. Lord Steven Regal pinned Davey Boy Smith after a somersault slam in 15:06. Rating: ** 3/4 (Lord Steven Regal won the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)Regal knew it was going to take a lot to take the US title away from Davey Boy. So Regal brought a lot to the table. He brought Jean-Paul Levesque and also brought some brass knuckles. Levesque tried to slip Regal the Knucks while he had the ref distracted, but Davey Boy caught him gave him a shot that knocked the knucks out of his hand sending them flying. But they landed close enough to Levesque where he was able to gather them, then while Regal distracted the ref, Levesque clocked Davey Boy with them, helping Regal get the pin and the title. Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) when Booker pinned M. Hayes with the Axe Kick in 15:20. Rating: ** 3/4 (Harlem Heat won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)Harlem Heat has been saying all they needed was one shot. Tonight they finally got that shot and made the most of it. The Freebirds are one of the most decorated tag teams in WCW history but tonight they ran in to a younger, strong and more athletic team, as there was nothing they could do to stop Harlem Heat from becoming world champions. Sting defeated Big Van Vader by disqualification in 2:43. Rating: * ¾ There was a lot of anticipation for this match, but sadly it never really got going. Shortly after the opening bell, Ron Simmons ran down to join Vader in a 2-on-1 assault of Sting. With Cactus Jack God knows where, Sting was at the mercy of Harley Race’s diabolical pair. Ric Flair defeated Rick Rude via pinfall in 20:13. Rating: *** (Ric Flair won the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)
Ric Flair finally turned the tide on Rick Rude, getting the win and becoming the new undisputed champion. This match followed the similar script of their most recent encounters, Flair coming out strong but Rude weathering the storm and taking control. In past matches, Rude has also had an edge with the presence of Woman by his side. Tonight, Arn Anderson took her out of the equation … literally. He came down, picked her up and carried her to the back. Still, Rude had Flair set up for the Rude Awakening, but Flair kicked his leg back and caught Rude in between the legs. Flair took the opportunity to roll up Rude and get the pin, once again becoming world champion for the 6th time in WCW and 13th time overall. After the match Flair was celebrating in the locker room with Arn Anderson when his old friend/rival Sting came in to congratulate him. Also coming in was interviewer Gene Okerlund who talked to Flair about the win. Gene also asked Flair about rumors that have been circulating that WCW is in negotiations with none other than Hulk Hogan. Flair first criticized Okerlund for bringing that up at this moment, but said he heard the rumors and honestly he doesn't like them. He made an appeal to Sting who was still around, saying the original WCW guys need to stick together because if Hogan comes in, he's going to try to take over and make this place all about him. Sting was taken back a bit by Flair's comments before saying he didn't agree, and that he thinks everyone will benefit if Hogan comes aboard. He told Flair he's sorry but he thinks Flair is taking the wrong approach on this one, and then he left. Card rating: ***
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Post by cardsflyinhigh on May 17, 2021 10:25:52 GMT -5
SLAMBOREE (May 22, 1994) Dustin Rhodes pinned Steve Austin with the Bulldog in 12:47. Rating: ***Dustin Rhodes opened the night with another impressive win, topping old rival Stunning Steve Austin proving his losing streak was a thing of the past. As usual, Terry Funk was alongside. After the match, Rhodes called out his friend Davey Boy Smith who came to meet him in the interview stand. Rhodes asked Smith for a match, saying his downward spiral started when he lost to Davey and needed another chance at him to correct things and move forward. Smith said while he respects Rhodes and would gladly give him a match, he's too focused on trying to win his US title back from Steven Regal at the moment. Rhodes said he respects that, but as soon as Smith gets that back, he wants a shot. The two shook hands. Brian Knobbs pinned Greg Valentine after a back suplex in 0:07:31. Rating: ** 1/4Brian Knobbs got a singles win over Greg Valentine, but after the match, Knobbs was attacked by Paul Roma and Paul Orndorff, Pretty Wonderful. The two later said that one half of the Nasty Boys was already gone, alluding to Jerry Sags’ knee injury, and they were going to get rid of the other, making one less team to keep them from tag gold. No-Time-Limit-Match: Jean-Paul Levesque and Lord Steven Regal defeated Johnny B. Badd and Davey Boy Smith when Regal pinned D.B. Smith after a dragon suplex in 23:50. Rating: ** ¼Dustin Rhodes made a reappearance, running down to the ring with a branding iron and hitting Smith in the back with it, knocking him out and giving Regal and Levesque an easy win. Rhodes went to the back yelling "You're too scared to fight me, I'll make you fight me!" Brian Pillman pinned Ricky Steamboat after a flying dropkick in 13:47. Rating: *** ¾ (Brian Pillman retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE)Brian Pillman is a changed man from a few years ago. He and Steamboat once engaged in a fantastic series of matches for the US title with Steamboat always getting the better of the younger, more volatile Pillman. Pillman, showing his changed attitude, offered Steamboat this title match in a sign of respect. The match was another great affair, and this time, Pillman came out on top with the clean win. After, Pillman and Steamboat embraced in the middle of the ring. Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell when S. Ray pinned Bagwell after a Slapjack in 13:47. Rating: ** 1/4 (Harlem Heat retained the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)Despite them being No. 1 contenders, Harlem Heat agreed to only give a title shot to old rivals Bagwell and Scorpio if they agreed to the stipulation that if they lost, they would disband forever. Confident they’d win, Bagwell and Scorpio agreed to the terms, but maybe they should’ve given it a second thought. Harlem Heat scored the win, breaking up their rivals in the process. Sting defeated Ron Simmons by countout in 14:04. Rating: * 3/4Cactus Jack made his first appearance since getting thrown in a trunk by Ron Simmons at Spring Stampede a month ago, running to ringside and chasing away Simmons during his match with Sting. Sting stood in the ring a bit confused but accepted the countout victory. Rick Rude pinned Barry Windham with the Rude Awakening in 15:21. Rating: *** 3/4While Rick Rude says he should be at the head of the line for a world title shot, Barry Windham, back after a shoulder injury, argued that Rude needs to climb his way back up. Rude dismissed Windham’s suggestion that he should be at the head of the line for a title match, but offered to prove who the real top contender is. There was no official designation as to this being a top contenders match, but Rude clearly believes his win solidifies his standing at the top. Big Van Vader defeated Ric Flair by disqualification in 15:25. Rating: ** 1/2 (Ric Flair retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)
Flair has grown increasingly paranoid in recent weeks over the possibility of Hulk Hogan coming to WCW. But he hasn't gotten much support in his crusade to unite WCW against him. Flair finally reached his snapping point tonight, during his title match against Vader he attacked Vader with a chair getting DQed. Sting came down to try to talk sense into Flair only to have Flair attack Sting with the chair as well. An insensed Flair screamed after the match, "I was wrong, I don't need Sting. All I need, is the Horsemen." He flashed four fingers up as cameras faded out. Card rating: ** 1/2
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