Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas v Barry Windham/Brian Pillman (WCW 28/12/92)
--First five/seven minutes of this are a little...weird, I guess. I don't want to complain about anything they did, because it isn't anything complainable, but they almost put Windham in a hot tag role (he and Pillman were heels). Babyfaces getting offense at the beginning of a tag match is given, but it was different here. Again, nothing to complain about but I didn't think it *really* picked up until after Douglas was trying to get the hot tag on Steamboat. And when it picked up it motherfuckin' PICKED UP. Douglas isn't my cup of tea, and truthfully I can't stand him, but he's fine and dandy in a babyface role with three great wrestlers, and he played a really, really good FIP. Pillman caught my eye a fair bit, and the match made me re-consider Pillman as a heel worker (re-consider him for....nothing, really), because everything he did here was awesome, he pretty much directed the cheating and double-team stuff with Windham and he was busting out some babyface-looking stuff without looking for a babyface reaction. When the ref had his back turned he'd chuck someone over the top rope or hang them in he ropes. The transistion spot from babyface offense to heel offense was really good as well; a top rope dropkick to the outside is about a lethal and dangerous move as you'll get in a 92 WCW tag match. Hope spots were excellent, I especially loved when Steamboat got fired up and whacked Windham with a chair, which would make you think Douglas would have enough time to tag himself out, but he's stays in for longer and I thought that was such a terrific teased tag. The eventual hot tag seemed "all for nothing" or something since Steamboat ending up giving Douglas a hot tag, but it was all built tremendously with all the intereferences and Steamboat's crossbody on Windham leading to him holding Winhdam down so he couldn't interrupt the final three count. Always loved this and it won't ever go down, fantastic match.
Dustin Rhodes v Steve Austin (WCW 27/12/93)
--Man Austin's hair is so distracting here, it looks so goofy and stupid how it just flopsand wiggles atop his head like a mohawk pushed to one side. About the match, I have honestly never liked it very much at all. Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin in 1993 with 2/3 falls sounds awesome, but this? Eh. I can't call this a bad match because they did enough to make me think it wasn't, and even though I contemplated skipping this half way through I wanted to see the rest, so that counts for something. This still does almost nothing for me and I think it's just..*too* basic, I guess. Dustin wants revenge for get hit with...something, at some point earlier in the feud, and Austin getting out the ring because he can't take it is great, but I kind of, I don't know, waited for something great to happen and it didn't. The first fall goes like 15 minutes and the finish was good, with Dustin sending Austin into his manger, making Austin go over the top rope, but the second fall was just pointless really. Dustin busts him up before it starts, and can't put him away, so Austin gets this cheap win with the tights pulled, and I didn't really, you know, "care". The only thing I can say I really, really liked about this was Dustin sending Austin over the crowd railing and Austin give a dazed look as if he doesn't know how that could've happened. I should really watch Halloween Havoc 91 again because I remember liking that a lot more.
Rey Misterio Jr. v Jushin Liger (WCW 29/12/96)
--Wasn't expecting to think much of this because the past times I've watched it I thought it was disappointing for a Rey vs. Liger match, but shit, I really enjoyed it. Liger had a brain tumour operation four months before this and I can attribute him being slower to that, but if you're going to be slow in any match it should be in a match opposite Rey. I think Liger wanted the fans to kind of be 50/50 or something, and when they weren't, he goes "fuck it; Monster Killer Heel Liger time", and Monster Killer Heel Liger was awesome. Spends a chunk of time punishing Rey, and not "I need to win this match with these moves" punishing, he opts for "you little shit I like seeing you cringing" punishment. He's complainign to the ref about how Rey gave up in a surfboard and giving a Shawn Michaels-pose when dunking him and stuff. The Rey of 96 isn't the best Rey but he was great at taking stuff, especially powerbombs where he'd be holding his head and giving this high-pitched whelping. Liger's first powerbomb was a son of a botch of a powerbomb as well, and it gets annoying when the crowd are so crappy. I seriously would have settled for a 2011 SmackDown crowd over this, it was awful. They popped for Liger catching Rey in a mid-air dropkick and gave some "Rey" and "USA" chants, but during Rey's comebacks they were as hot as...something cold. Like ice cream.
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