Cactus Jack v Dustin Rhodes (Main Event 30/8/92)
--These two should have had a lengthy mid-card feud in 1997 WWF. Pretty sure 'Dust was the face at that point, and Mick could've still kept heel Mankind around. Unless you're missing the point; this was good. Felt like a real home-bred boy vs. nut-job-made-in-a-science-lab-somewhere match; Rhodes could only do so many punches to the face without Cactus smiling and squealing like a shithead. Foley looked good and maniacal on offense and I liked how it eventually got to the point of Rhodes laying him out on that blue carpet and drop-kicking him just to get him down. Messy finish sets up the no DQ (or falls count anywhere, Idr) match and it rules. I kept thinking the whole match how great a 15 minute Clash of the Champions or PPV match between these two would in 1994 (or even then). And then I got sad because it never happened. Ah.
Steve Austin v Ricky Steamboat (Clash of the Champions 2/9/92)
--Before this started they had some 11 year old girl from Tulsa (who looked at least 14) sing the America National Anthem. Only reason I'm mentioning that is because Paul E. Dangerously was talking is Austin's ear throughout and I thought that was a deliciously scumbaggy thing to do. Then they put him in a cage above the ring. For a reason I don't remember, I didn't really get this on the first watch. I didn't think it was anything less than good, but I didn't *truly* think that it was anything above good. Fuck. That. Loved it, and again, Austin impressed the hell out f me compared to the rest of his WCW run up until that point. This may actually be his best singles match with the company come t think of it, and I can't think of a better performance from him. He on that (originally) taped rib/back like a mother, and Steamboat's selling was as per Steamboat. Meaning it didn't suck. But really, Austin's attacks look so sweet; the abdominal stretch, the knees, and he did this top-rope throw that I ever remember seeing before. For a long time I always thought "Steve Austin could have been a major player in WCW" was an overstatement, but when you're in there making Ricky motherfucking Steamboat look like he wasn't the better guy in the match- you fucking rock. They didn't make the no DQ rule too handy, but the finish had Dragon coming off of the top (which was a disqualification in that time and promotion) after crawling through the bottom of the ring (which was AWESOME). Actually, I think originally I may have been annoyed that this seemed no-DQ for no good reason, but that's the sort of thing I can overlook when I'm having this much fun. This is *really* good.
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