Catus Is A Nut, Jake Is A Bastard, and Dustin Takes A Lot of Pain

Cactus Jack v Dustin Rhodes (Main Event 30/8/92)

--Hell of a brawl. It literally took them six or seven minutes (and the match went about nine) for them to get in them to get in the ring (falls count anywhere). Piss and vinegar Dustin Rhodes makes a special appearance, and Foley's doing his WCW trademarks like the off-apron sunset flip and the kissing/biting the chair after using it shtick. When he grabbed the chair it had an electrical cord around it and he looked really pissed that he couldn't get it off. Then he stopped trying and jerked some headphones in his direction. Then he laid waste to Rhodes. Thought the transition spots in this were pretty much perfect; really loved the outside-bulldog being turned into Dustin running into the ring post. Dustin's revenge with the chair near the end was great even if he didn't win. These two NEEDED a lengthy match.

Jake Roberts v Dustin Rhodes (Saturday Night 26/9/92)

--God this was great. Rhodes had a little too much shine at the beginning working Snake's arm, but it all looked really good and Jake's leg tapping and hand-biting is what I want in this sort of selling. It all came full circle once Roberts did the ol' "fake a leg injury" job and tosses Dustin out and does squats to mock him. He takes his sweet time tearing Dustin apart. Dustin going back to the arm whenever he was in trouble was terrific, and Jake being a wily prick to win was better.

Guess Which Company And Year These Matches Are From.

No, not 2010 TNA.

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.

WCW's 1992= Good?

Maybe.

Ricky Steamboat/Nikita Koloff v Brian Pillman/Jushin Liger (Great American Bash 12/7/92)

--Steamboat's the guy I peg for runner-up worker of the world in 92 behind Arn, but shit, I have to really look at Liger when going through everything because he could be number one. I thought he was just as good as Dragon here, and he was good in the Clash XIX tag, he has a great match with Pillman at SuperBrawl, a classic with El Samurai, great matches with Benoit and Norio Honaga. Yeah, looking forward to venture through him in 92. This match, obviously, did not suck, but it wasn't something I'm chucking "great" at either. Basically plays how you'd think it would with Liger and Pillman going more airborne and Koloff getting the shoulder blocks and yelling at the ref in the corner. Liger & Pillman actually work the arm of Koloff as some kind of attempt to throw off the game of Nikita, and it was sweet watching that mesh into Liger finally getting a successful shoulder block on him. , I don't like a babyface vs. babyface tag match, though, and I rarely see them work out really well. One guy always does something that was meant to be taken by a heel team. Here, Steamboat pulled Pillman and Liger both into the ring and clocked their heads together, which I think is really something to be left for a Dangerous Alliance pairing. Actually, Steamboat wasn't his awesome self in this; without making him look or sound bad, he didn't seem like the guy to throw into a babyface v babyface match. He had some awkward looking stuff with Pillman that went more and more downhill as the sequence went. Ah, every wrestler has their flaws. This is worth a watch for sure.

Rick Rude/Steve Austin v Barry Windham/Dustin Rhodes (Great American Bash 12/7/92)

--Everyone rocked here. There isn't much that would separate this from a regular Dangerous Alliance v Sting and Pals tag match, but a regular Dangerous Alliance v Sting and Pals tag match is a great fuckin' match. Austin struck me as being better than ever (at that point and time) here; the most of the year he kind of looked like a mid-card rookie guy on the team seemingly pushing his weight, but he comes off here as one of the veterans who'll rally fuck you up. His offense ruled during Windham's face in peril slice, actually all the cheap shots and cut-offs from he and Rude were all great. Dustin's hot tag explosion house o' fire was as good as it gets.

Rick Rude v Nikita Koloff (Worldwide 25/7/92)

--I hate myself for not remembering practically any of this because I really, really enjoyed it. I remember Rude selling really well and making Nikita look really good, and I had this silly grin when he went to hit Nikita over and over to no reward. The look on his face was amazing. Um, yes, watch this too.

WCW. From 1992.

Brian Pillman v Tom Zenk (WrestleWar 17/5/92)
--Liked this a lot, especially for a former partner match where neither guy is full-fledged heel. Zenk seemed to be the guy that was going heel; by the time Pillman had the majority of the match he'd go to the lnegths of faking injury. Pillman had the leg worked and Zenk would fall in a pile when he tried an Irish whip, so Pillman goes airbourne to finish him off. Zenk was milking it and he comes off as a bit of a dick. Which was great since babyface Zenk isn;t my (or anyone else's, from what I gather) cup of tea. Nothing to shove on a ballot for me, but another gem in the belt of WCW's '92 year.

The Steiner Brothers v Tatsumi Fujinami/Takayuki Iizuka (WrestleWar 17/5/92)
--This was better than Pillman/Zenk, if even basically a glorified spotfest. I thought there were enough nifty transitions and ground-and-pound for this to sidle away ever-so-slightly from the territory of a "spotfest", but what you remember about this one is the spots. And there were some really good spots. I particularly liked the one where Fujinami & Iizuka were attempting some sort of doomsday device with Rick on top, only for Rick to counter it with a suplex. It was a little sloppy, which is unsurprising given the move actually pulled off, but it made for a hell of a visual regardless. Iizuka's nose exploded somewhere in there, and i thoguht that added to whatever role he was playing...which I saw as "underdog". Sort of. Won't put this on the list either, but it goes in that '92 WCW belt.

Sting v Cactus Jack (Beach Blast 20/6/92)
--Watched this again because I thought it's drop a few places, and while it did, it's still awesome. I think I've seen this like 6 times now since first watching it 2008, and pretty much every time it holds up way better than I thought it would. Cactus takes more concrete bumps than I had remembered, the vertical suplex within the crowd barriers and the backdrop suplex where his head connects with the legs of the railing look nastier with each viewing. That sunset flip from the apron to the floor does as well. Totally makes him look like the looney shit-smahser that will do anything to inflict pain. him rubbing the chair after swinging it was bone-chillingly great as well, and I think he even apologized to it. Sting was pretty great in this, as well. I loved when Cactus had a leg-scissors around his waist and he was fighting off the crossfaces and giving a really good Herculean comeback. By the end of it it really felt like he had endured a flat out fight to the end. Shit's still awesome.

Bit o' Clash XIX

Brian Pillman/Jushin Liger v Chris Benoit/Beef Wellington (Clash of the Champions 16/6/92)
--I've seen this overrated to hell but otherwise it's good. Benoit is pretty great even at a stage this early in his career. Not "Pretty great" in the sense where he's the best wrestler having the best matches, but I don't remember seeing a guy play a young lion while also looking like a guy who others would shit their pants to get in the ring with because he's going to grind at your face with his knuckles. Wellington seemed fine, he looked like the resthold guy for this which was cool in a match built mainly around the sensationalism of Pillman and Liger's flying spots (hope it doesn't sound like I'm knocking that). The dives were cool and if I have the right match I remember a pretty nasty outside bump by Benoti or Wellington. The announcers really don't shut up about there not being any mat covering on the concrete floor either, and Jesse Ventura lost his mind for Liger's Asai Moonsault. This wasn't a great match, but I wouldn't have a problem watching it right now; it was good.

Steve Williams/Terry Gordy v The Steiner Brothers (Clash of the Champions 16/6/92)
--When watching the Beach Blast main event with the same match-up, I honestly thought it was this one until Jim Ross said "We hope you're enjoying Beach Blast," so it blew my mind to think they could have a better match out there (from opinions I'd heard, anyway). I pretty much thought there was no way I'd prefer this one to that one in the end. Note to self: BULLLLLLSHIT. This was excellent, and basically the Beach Blast with a lot of the fat of the mat restholds and stuff trimmed off with a better crowd. I think it went a max. of 15 minutes, and without that downtime you have Doc and Gordy basically dropping control segments with restholds in favour of control segments with bullldozing killing. This still had the Williams/Rick mat work, and what was done of that was really good, but it's basically a more focused version of bombfest that gets me loving this. Actually the Gordy/Scott stuff may have been better. They worked this bridging segment, and by the looks of it Gordy could legitimately not lift himeslf up and collapsed each time. That might be called a "botch", but watching what was Scott (kayfabe) not being able to get a guy in a bridge was amazing. The suplexes her threw around were obviosuly great as well. Williams blowing of all of the mat work in favour of a slap to the face was beautiful and really got this going to the eleventh number. MVC did NOT relent on that leg either and the finish with the chopblock was sweet. This is my highest 2-on-2 tag right now and unless my re-watches of MX/Southern Boys and MX/RnR hit my sweet spot like this did, it's staying there.

Comparative Thoughts; Rick Rude v Brian Pillman

This "comparative" thing was basically an idea I had where I take what I wrote about a match, however long ago, and write something new, kind of comparing what I thought about it previously, and this time. Whether I agree, disagree, missed something, etc.

Rick Rude v Brian Pillman (WCW 15/2/92)

--Out of all the “Rude squashes an inferior wrestler without actually squashing him” matches, this has to be by far the best one. Rude goes for a handshake like in the match with Zenk, but Pillman doesn’t accept, and that don’t fly well with Rude who’s got Pillman’s fuzzy little head in a headlock following that. Pillman’s all about his “Flyin’” quickness and that all that so he’s running around and eventually gets to Rude’s leg. Jim Ross calls it “Pillman confusing Rude”, which in turn confused me because I think if you’re the smaller guy going for a leg is good, but whatever, he’s Jim Ross :P. One thing I’ve mentioned before about these Rude “squash” matches is how Rick makes the guy almost looks like he can win, he leaves way for all of his signature “got this in the bag” moves like Air Pillman and all that, and you get the feeling it could be a short while before they give you a Razor Ramon/123 Kid-lioke upset or something. They DON’T, obviously, but you get the feeling it could happen. 

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Rick Rude v Brian Pillman (Pro 15/2/92)

--{{Out of all the “Rude squashes an inferior wrestler without actually squashing him” matches, this has to be by far the best one.}} That, I don't agree with at all. This is a really good match, but the Dustin Rhodes one Worldwide from May is *a lot* better. Otherwise, I probably liked this more than last watch. Still, I think I can still find 100 matches I want on a list more than it. Reading what I wrote before, it sounds like I didn't dig the leg work as much as I did a few days ago, and I have no idea why. It was awesome. Pillman really grinds into working over the leg and Rude has to have one of the greatest limps in the history of acting. I thought he was actually overselling a little, especially before Pillman went the ring post, but there was a time when I literally thought to myself "what if he's actually been hurt?" For a pro wrestler to make me think that; the guy sold terrifically. I absolutely stand my ground on thinking that Pillman could have pulled out a win, and I bought it more this time after watching a lot of his 1991 and seeing he was more of big deal in WCW than I thought. Th final moments were a really awesome hot-streak period, and post-match had Rude holding the belt in the air in a small heap of exhaustion with this "I earned this, motherfucker" look. To have this great smugness through the open period, then after possibly not even ten minutes have the aura of the victor of a hard-fought battle, really says something about a guy. I said this already; this won't make my list, but I'll be damned if it isn't really fucking good and a clear-cut example of how peak Rick Rude could be as good a wrestler as anyone on the planet. I could get the sense that this gets better with every wtach because it definitely did on watch #2.

'92 WCW. Yep.

The '92 and '93 Yearbooks came in the mail, so I'm going through what, based off of what I've read, could make my top 100 list. Going to re-watch things that I think look too high or low, too (maybe).

Big Van Vader/Mr. Hughes v The Steiner Brothers (Clash of the Champions 21/1/92)
--Fun sub-ten minute bomb-fest. Actually this had less bombs than I was expecting, but a Steiners vs. Fat Boys match without bombs is like....what's the point? I'm not huge fan of Vader being dominated in the openings of matches, but the Steiners are practically all about that. Mr. Hughes reminded me of this giant guy I saw on the Mid-South set...Kareem... Abdul... Mohammed...something. A really big guy who looks like he could beat the shit out of you at any moment, yet gets almost zero offense in any match. In fact all I remember him doing was a hip-lock, and I can't even say it was him that did it. He'd spend most of him getting thrown in suplexes, which all looked awesome, and meant a lot more than the regular Steiner suplexes since these guys are fatasses. I watched this like four days ago, so I'm struggling to picture anything else but Vader's punches and Jim Ross going pretty giddy for a Steinerline, but this was a good match.

Cactus Jack v Van Hammer (Clash of the Champions 21/1/92)

--Mick Foley in a falls-count-anywhere environment usually won't miss, but the ultimate level of suck known as "Heavy Metal" Van Hammer drags this down. This was clearly only interesting when Cactus had control, and even then Van Hammer seemed like a lazy scared little sack when selling a clothesline. Actually, Hammer's physicality was way worse than anything else; he'd actually do a nifty little sequence, like a classic WCW 90s clothesline > powerslam > middle rope jump thing, but those ten seconds won't make a match. Him being really unwilling to take any sort of good bump while Mickles was plastering his own arse into the concrete for the sake of a good bump really annoyed me. The highlight of Hammer's entire offense might have been he first move where he launched some of that...stuff from his stupid looking guitar at Foley. Foley's sweet revenge is awesome in the back, he's laying stuff into Hammer's head and making him feel that shit. I don't remember what exactly he hit him with, but I remember thinking it was a prop used in the Finlay/Regal parking lot brawl. Probably wasn't. Still, that tier #2 in this match only behind Abdullah the Butcher hobbling in and dumping people (including one Missy Hyatt) into what I think was a pig water trough. Good match? Average match? No idea. It's something I'd be fine with wasting eight or so minutes on right now, so, yeah.

Blue Bloods, Bruisers, Giants and Men In Robes

Sting/Lex Luger v Ric Flair/The Giant (Nitro 22/4/96)

--This, in some way, was like the Road Warriors vs. Steiners tag from March, but unlike that, this was interesting, and, for under ten minutes, was pretty damn good. There's ususal sequences that you might expect, like the Ginat dominating, then getting double teamed and chucked out, then Flair getting his, etc. etc, but it's the 80s style stuff that you never get tired of, and no one needed to be lead/carried to anything. Lex is way less sarcastic and tweener-some here, and it looks like they just nuked the idea of him turning heel because he just seemed like regular ol' babyface Luger. Wight was surprisingly good around this time at showing off size differences. There was this one really awesome segment where he had Luger in the chokeslam position, and Sting gets up on the top turnbuckle to so these chop block things, and he sells the both of them differently. Flair's reaction to Wight getting knocked over was one of total disbelief. I still maintain the opinion that Flair in 1996 is a totally awesome character and just an excellent heel. His entrances in particular are too fucking sweet. Then once it boils down to the point where he doesn't think he can win, Woman hands him a cup of coffee and he ends up hurling it in Wight's face, who gets real pissy afterward and wants a Title match. You can tell how green Wight was on the mic post-match. I'm so loving this stuff.

Steven Regal v Fit Finlay (Saturday Night 27/4/96)

--I'd already seen this, but it's one of the most superb pieces of five minute wrestling matches I've ever seen. Finlay was in WCW as some sort of intruder; tracking down Regal because they fought all over Europe and he wants revenge or...something. Either way, he's pissed that he didn't get to completely wipe Lord Steven off at Uncensored and he goes balls-to-the-walls gritty on offense here (to no surprise, obviously), and Regal brings just as much (see the previous sentence in parenthesis). arm shots, crossface grinding, those chest-on-aprons blasts, basically, you name a gritty move, and they likely did it in these five minutes. They get into outside/barricade/chair territory soon enough and Finlay eventually gets disqualified for piledriving Regal on the mat outside. I loved the look on his face, and his whole demeanour; like, "don't give a flying shit what the fans like, don't give a flying shit what referee wants, don't give a flying shit if I get sent to jail." Man oh man I dig this.

Steven Regal v Fit Finlay (Nitro 29/4/96)

--The parking lot brawl which others actually seem to like more than I do. Still dig it, though, and I think the only argument I can have against it is it's lack of length. Starts off real nasty, with Fit basically plating his leg through a car window after Regal hopped his arse out of the way. That may actually be my favourite spot in the match, but after that it does nothing to go downhill. The face-in-concrete chunk spot s one I fund particularly nasty. Fit's selling in general here was pretty nasty; some of the head bumps he took on car hoods looked a lot more like he actually launched his own cranium into it instead of subtly blocking t with a part of his arm(s). There's the shots with the car bumper and that AWESOME seatbelt choke as well. The final piledriver on the top of one of the cars was great, which was even greater because in some way it kind of plays off to the Saturday Night match (which, I'll be 100% honest, I only just noticed writing this). I really love how Eric Bischoff on commentary was almost wanting to not let anyone at home see this because it was so vicious, and I remember watching WCW match from even up to 1999 where they reference this. I'm still note going to put it on my list, but this really is something else.

Ric Flair v The Giant (Nitro 29/4/96)

--Not sure I enjoyed this as much, as the first, maybe because they did some of the same things *too* similarly (like, Flair tries failed shoulder block, chops, forearms- the Giant poses, etc.). here were some new things; I don't remember Wight taking a hefty shoulder bump into the turnbuckle the other match, for example. Even if this was completely different, though, the finish was pretty out-of-nowhere bad. I know the Giant is, well, a giant, but surely they can come up with something better than him sitting up from the figure four and chokeslamming Flair to win the World Title. That's not even a problem to me because of "no-selling" or anything, but it all seemed, out of place, I guess. Not going to say I didn't have fun with this, though; definitely not a bad match.

Ric Flair/Randy Savage v Arn Anderson/Eddie Guerrero (Slamboree 19/5/96)

--"Lethal Lottery", meaning random partner choosing, basically. Not much of a match, but it was a fucking supreme angle. Eddie and Arn come out how they do, and once Flair's theme hits, he doesn't come out and Savage rolls out instead. Arn's jumped him and Flair's in a hurry to get out, while Eddie's trying to get Arn off of him. Macho lays down for a while and Guerrero gets his shine on Flair. There were brilliant spots like Flair tagging Savage in then making a groggy Guerrero tag in Arn, then Arn gets fed up with Eddie's willingness to fight back and gives him the DDT of his life. One thing I have to say, Eddie Guerrero, honestly, just seemed pretty "okay" around this time. He wasn't bad, but he hadn't found "it" yet. Getting the upper hand on Ric Flair Southern-style clearly was not his calling in life. Even when he tapped Arn on the shoulder and poked him in the eye, Tony Schiavone's all, "well how 'bout that?" as if it were something uncommon for him to do anything but wrassle~~ Reading this makes it sound like my opinion of pre-97 Eddie is way lower than it actually is, but there it is. Anyways~~~~~ this as a whole is pretty awesome.

More '96 WCW - Nitro 25/3

Fit Finlay v Randy Savage (Nitro 25/3/96)
--Six or seven minutes, but it's FINLAY and SAVAGE going six or seven minutes. This was the night after Uncensored, where Fit had smashed up Regal's nose with a forearm (I remember it being a fist, though, they're building it as a forearm anyway) and he controls most of the match. When he lays in the forearms it's great, the commentators fly off like "there it is, the forearm that got Regal" or something, and Macho was selling it like a total drunk. Savage's winning comeback almost came out of nowhere since he got almost no offense in, but Finlay was wiggling during the three count instead of laying there dead so it looked more believable that way. Fun match.

Sting/Lex Luger vs. Marcus Bagwell/Scotty Riggs (Nitro 25/3/96)
--Any interest I could have had in this (which was pretty much zero- American fuckin' Males) was squashed when I saw Bagwell in the ring sing along to his team's song (American fuckin' Males). Luger was pretty great in this, though. he comes out and the way he's high-fiving the fans and shoving his arms in the air comes off as really sarcastic, and he seemed to stop doing that sort of fan-pleasing when Sting turned his back. Bagwell was basically Sting's protégé, and when they got in the ring together Sting got the upper hand at every point and Bagwell clapped and gave him dues, and Sting played the role of respectful mentor. Luger was a prick. He pounded the ever-loving shit of Bagwell and Tony Schiavone wondered whether it was to get under Sting's skin, who was confused and disgusted an the apron. Sting/Luger winning was pretty priceless; Lex almost runs off with both tag belts and Sting's in the ring raising the American (fuckin') Males' arms. What else? Oh yeah, Scotty Riggs.... he was.....pretty shitty, actually. American fuckin' Males.

Ric Flair v The Giant (Nitro 25/3/96)
--This was fun, and Ric looked as good a heel as just about ever. The size difference is shown SO well; Flair can chop all he wants, but big Wighty just throws him and does these humungosaurus poses. One pose the ref backs up like three feet because he thinks he's about to be digested or something. The Giant goes to the top rope and misses a cool looking splash. Ric rolled out of the way, but he could have legitimately laid still and Wight would have still missed him by five feet. Wight takes this ridiculous-for-big-man bump over one of the turnbuckles and flops over to the outside as well. Arn comes with a chair after Elizabeth and Woman distract the ref and when he swings it there's Kevin Sullivan there and Arn blames him and he's pointing and laughing like a school child when Sullivan gets done. He gets done as well, obviously. I think this ended in a no contest, but my memory's not pulling for me right now. Looking forward to the match in April regardless.

Some '96 WCW

 Going through all the WCW on the 1996 yearbook for a top-100-matches-of-WCW poll. Enjoy. Or don't. I don't care.

Road Warrior Hawk/Road Warrior Animal v Rick Steiner/Scott Steiner (Nitro 11/3/96)
--I didn't look forward to this, and although it wasn't bad, there was nothing to it. Some matches suck, and some are just uninteresting. I wasn't sure who the faces/heels were supposed to be. Seemed like they were going for face vs. face, then Steiners as heels, then Warriors as heels when they won by whacking one of the Steiners with something. Looked like a thermos to me. I'm sure it wasn't. Either way, nothing of real interest to see here, but the Steiners doing a Doomsday Device (unsuccessfully I think, I remember a rwally bad down period where Animal took too long to get Scotty down) was a nice touch.

Sting/Booker T v Road Warrior Hawk/Road Warrior Animal (Uncensored 24/3/96)
-- "Some matches suck, and some are just uninteresting." Meet the suck. This was joined in progress, and I tend to check the time of the chapter of the DVD when it first starts, and this had 15 minutes left, and I thought "no way it lasts 15 more minutes." It. Fucking. Did. And it was painful. It's a Chicago Street Fight, and it's a lot of bad brawling and more confusing heel/face stuff. Sting's a clear face obviously, but Booker walks out on him at one point and gets together with his brother and some others (fuck if I remember who) in the back and tie up Animal. Then he come back to help Sting, then some more bullshit happens. I checked the length of entire match on Wikipedia, and it apparently ends up at over 29 minutes. To hell with enduring that shit. This was not good. No siree.

Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage v Ric Flair/Arn Anderson/Lex Luger/The Ultimate Solution/Z-Gangsta/Meng/The Barbarian/Kevin Sullivan (Uncensored 24/3/96)
--Ahhh. Tower of Doom. I didn't see this is full either, but I saw less than Warriors/Sting & Book I think so I endured less pain. Either way, I didn't/don't know the rules of this and don't really care; this wasn't good either. There's a gigantic cage with supposed "levels" and Hulk and Savage get the crap beat out of them by a bunch of guys. Z-Gangsta is better known as WWF's "Zeus", and was still the maniac cross eyed yelling sasquatch he was years before. The Ultimate Solution was, well, a fat man. It was great watching Hogan lose a couple of shoulder-pushy-whatevers to him. Luger's seemingly full fledged face turn on Flair was pretty nifty, even if they teased it as an accident. Finish had Hulk and Macho going outside the cage to the ring and Savage turning around and pinning Flair to win. I don't get it either.

Getting Tired of Writing Titles with "Split" In It

Brian Knobbs/Jerry Saggs v Cactus Jack/Maxx Payne (WCW 17/4/94)
--Ten minute this-is-how-ECW-should-have-been match. Nastys don't even wait for Foley & Payne to get in the ring, they just come at with bloody pool cues. POOL CUES. Maxx Payne was a brute. Using the table from the concession stand (or whatever) and trying to suffocate Knobbs with a t-shirt was a freaky looking moment. Saggs and Foley were beating the crap out of each other while the other two were. They were using a different table to hit each other with, Foley even used it as a partner and suplexed the thing onto Saggs. Eventually here comes Knobbs to the rescue and drills Cactus into the face with a shovel. A SHOVEL. Foley then gets pushed by Saggs and takes one of the most sick bumps I can remember off of the ramp onto the flat concrete, where Saggs decides to hit him in the face with a shovel one more time when he's down (and I mean *hit*, there wasn't any face protection or anything, he hit him in the face with a shovel) to pin him. Ridiculous brawl and I doubt I've even highlighted all of the best parts of it.

Split.Split.Split.

Ric Flair v Hulk Hogan (WCW 17/7/94)
--Wow what a great match. Really, great match. It wasn't anything in terms of "icon vs. icon epic", not that I'm one to be suckered in to that anyway, but everything came out great and then culminated full circle with Hogan winning the belt. Flair had some great ones in 94 (I love vs. Steamboat Spring Stampede), but this wasn't a carry job at all, I thought. Hogan was taking a lot of Flair's moves well and bumping a bit more than he would even a few years before this. He had aorund three tries at Hulking Up before getting it successfully done, like Flair was wise to his power up and stopped him every chance he got. Sherri (Flair's manager) was excellent, she did a top rope dive after she pulled the ref into the barricade and knocked him cold. Tried again later on and missed, and it really felt like something out of 87 WWF. Mr. T takes here away nevertheless in WCW Nitro style fashion but what can you do? Hogan finally getting the Hulk Up done was a no-sell fest obviously but fuck you he's Hulk Hogan.

Chris Jericho v Eddy Guerrero (WCW 14/9/97)
-Always thought this was really great and at worst a top 5 for Jericho's whole career; haven't change my opinion. Jericho can get some crap for his WCW run and rightfully so, he was a bit green and kind "slop" like, but I really thought he brought it well here. Guerrero was obviously better, but Jericho was keeping him down with holds a decent part of the match, making sure all his high-flying stuff couldn't come into play. Eddy would best him on the anyway, but when he'd hit a headlock or twisted armlock or something, Eddy'd have a hard time breaking it out it, if ever breaking out of it. Once Eddy did get on a small high-flying binge it they kept the spotty stuff under control, as well, not that I really expected it to be overdone with Davey Richards stuff, but that's some of the criticism I can see for Jericho around this time. Guerrero is one of the best in the world here though so he was having great stuff all over the place. Back work on Jericho was worth mentioning as well and Jericho sold it. Great, great match.

Eddy Guerrero v Rey Misterio Jr. (WCW 26/10/97)
--"Everything just clicked" in an understatement for how in-sync these two were. Thought this might go down, and it probably did just that leeetle bit, but I still think it's a classic and a match of the year contender in a year with an inordinate amount of high-end stuff. Opening seconds were even awesome with Rey ducking Guerrero's swinging arm after some berrating and going to work on him immediately. Eddy's get-back-in-control move was sweeping Rey's leg when he was on the apron, where Rey DIDN'T decide to land and instead chose to do an insane bump to the outside. Loved Eddy's control segments as well, they didn't last too long, but he got the most out of every move (stole that from Heenan ) and made it look as vicious and damaging as he could. Twirling backbreaker was intense in particular and Rey sold it like he was giving brith. Once Rey got on the offense for a while, the crowd went, kind of, "deadish", where they needed something after a hurricanrana to give them a big pop. So, Eddy got the control back so he could demolish Rey with a powerbomb only for Rey to come back so the crowd would have something to pop for. GENIUS! Finish was as good as a lucha move in the US is going to get.

Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson v Tom Pritchard/Stan Lane (WCW 21/2/93)
--RnR were a older wee-bit sloppier version of themselves in 1984, and I loved it. If this WAS 84 in Mid-South or somewhere, the crowd would've been an all-time hot one, and even though here they were just satisfyingly loud, it didn't matter at all because I still got that mid-80s vibe. For however many minutes they were giving their "routine" (can't exactly call it a "routine" since they mix up spots and don't do the same thing every match), it was all good fun. They would Irish Whip Lane into the turnbuckle a few times until Pritchard tried to jump onto the turnbuckle to block it, then sent Lane into the opposing corner and gave Tom a good ol' kick in the gut. Then Morton would allow himself to be cornered into their side of the ring so he could have punches at both of them, and when Pritchard fired at him, he ducked and Tom hit Lane on the apron. OH THE FUN. Cornette throwing mild tantrums on the outside adds to any match he's managing in so this was real easy to sit through, and he takes a shoulder block you just NEED to see. Cornette's of course the son of a bitch that costs RnR the control of the match, and Morton may be the greatest FIP of all time so it's pretty great little part of the match. He knows when the ref's back is turned the crowd will pop when he hit s a sunset flip that isn't being counted, he knows how to get sympathy from anything that breathes, and he knows Kevin Nash is a worthless piece of shit. Hot tag is something a little different along the way but interesting nonetheless. BOBBY EATON interferes and RnR continue to kick arse and win. It's pretty great that this happened the same night as the great Scorpio/Benoit match and the Sting/Vader strap match which I think is seriously the best US match of 1993. DUBYU-THSEE-DUBYA'S WHEYER DEM BIG BOYS PLEH, DADDEH

Yeah They Call Him The Natural.....

Vader v Dustin Rhodes (WCW 16/11/94)

--24 hours ago I'd never watched this before; I've now seen it three times. There's only so much two guys can do in twelve minutes, but, off of the top of my head, this might be the best twelve minute match I've ever seen that isn't Volk Han vs. Kiyoshi Tamura. Amazing. Vader's usually cocky, but here he's reached a different level of dicky, slapping Dustin and blowing saliva n his face and yelling his head of at him with Harley Race giving him a maniacal cackle on the outside. Dustin losing his shit, Tony Schiavone loses his shit, I lose my shit. Dustin's a perfect house o' fire, and you see about a million people jump on their feet when he tackles Vader down like a freight train and starts slapping away himself. He goes the Sting route and knocks him over the top rope and takes his mask and runs over Race, and only loses his own control when Big Van gets a breather outside. A Vader control segment is the control segment you WANT, and he's pummelling the crap out of Rhodes in the turnbuckle corner with those ridiculous swings. A Dustin sympathy period is a sympathy period you want, and I'd say his hope spots are as good as about anything I've seen. There's  great amount of stuff he does that would be considered almost nothing had this been the same sized opponent, but Vader's got the 200 lb weight upper hand, so when Rhodes pulls of a successful suplex or a power slam counter to a splash, you have everyone losing their mind. The DDT off of the second rope in particular was the damned greatest. Vader having to use two Vader splashes to get Dustin down was awesome, and Dustin kicked out at both which was a whole new level of him possibly being able to get a win here. Dustin had a sensational 1994, but I'd say he could have come off looking even stronger here than he did anytime else. He obviously got more control and stuff in the Buck series/WarGames, but this is fuckin' VADER, man. Two years prior (almost to the day, actually) you had Dustin scraping every bit of energy he had to even be a contender to win against Van, and here there's a lot of stuff that makes you think, "Dustin's fuckin' WINNING?!?!" Vader has to resort to throwing Dus over the rope when the ref takes his own period of pain because of Dustin overzealousness, and the idea of Vader resorting to being desperate enough to do that is awesome. And those clotheslines, man. He WIIIPPES him. Finish might be unspectacular, but, again, Dustin was made to look really strong. Once Vader's in deep shit Race gets in the ring and Dustin goes to whoop him only for Vader to cream the whole lot of them, then he lays out Rhodes with this face plant thing. This really was excellent, and I can only think how tremendous it would have been had they feuded throughout '95. I honestly cannot fathom a promoter watching this and thinking it wasn't a money feud. The crowd was molten, the match was terrific, and the performances were immense. Dustin looked like a better opponent for Vader than Sting was. Apart from Hart/Hart at WrestleMania and Blue Panther/El Mariachi, this is probably as good a match as I've seen from a non-Japanese promotion in 1994. Again, amazing.

Flair vs. Steamboat Still Rocked In 1994

Ric Flair v Ricky Steamboat (WCW 14/5/94)
--Really like the Spring Stampede match (Spring Stampede is a contender for best PPV ever, btw), but holy son of a mother this was even better. The idea of a wrestler vacating a belt and winning it back without anyone else winning it has always seemed dumb to me, but this truly felt like it was either guy's ballgame. Flair's heel shtick never gets old no matter how many times you've seen it, or no matter how many time you've seen it with the same opponent, and Steamboat is the perfect hope spot/cross-bodying/fiery fan favourite combatant for him. Loved Steamboat turning the screws and going for Flair's leg, and the figure four on him was a great spot. Flair's in "I'm better than Hulk Hogan" mode, but no matter how much he has to prove he's got to go to the ropes to get leverage and shove referees and all that and it's the Ric Flair you want. Bobby Heenan losing his mind whenever they went to a commercial break was the greatest thing ever. Finish is god-awful, and I think it actually hurt the match. After thirty minutes of grappling and outside-suplexes, Flair catches Steamboat with some demented head butt thing while Steamer's going for a leapfrog and pins him clean after waiting a few seconds. Apart from that, though, this was the business.

Ric Flair v Ricky Steamboat (WCW 24/7/94)
--Never really seen these two in a thirteen-minute spring environment, and it's a shame because this was five batches of fun. Flair lost the WCW Title to Hulk a week earlier at Bash at the Beach, and Sherri's by his side here and she's the greatest bitch wrestling's ever had. She gets a ton of cheap shots in with her high heel and bitch-slapping hand and Steamboat's staring her down only for Ric to catch him in the back. The referee interrogates Sherri and she's making the Sign of the Cross and promises she did nothing but stood and watched this fine pro-wrasslin' match. Then there's crowd members yelling and she's calling them fat pigs and saying they'll lose their fake teeth if they don't shut up or something. SHERRI CARRY JOB. Nah seriously this was a blast, with thirteen minutes instead of thirty five they work a lot more like a TV match around this time and have the feeling out being way cut down. Steamboat shines with his usual chop job and everything, and he gets Flair complaining about hair pulls and doing his Flair flops and stuff. Finish has Steamboat with Flair in the figure-four and getting his revenge on Sherri simultaneously. Then we get Steve Austin coming out and all hell is broken. Yeah, pile o' fun was this.

Babyface Arn Anderson?

Arn Anderson v Steven Regal (WCW 9/10/93)

--These two don't match up as well as they should. I really, really like their SuperBrawl IV 30 minute one, but even that, I don't know. "Arn Anderson vs. Steven Regal for 30 minutes" is an on-paper wet dream for me, and it's not *everything* I want, you know? Either way, they've never had a bad match together, either, and this definitely wasn't. Honestly the more I watch the more I think it's because Anderson just should not be a babyface. He works the arm, and it's okay, but it's way, way, way, way more fascinating and believable when he's a heel, because he's got more room for cheating his way out of things and creating openings for transactions, etc. Arn's babyface facial expressions and mannerisms really aren't great either. I thought his stuff during this time not being too great *may* have just been because he was over the hill at this point, but he's still top stuff the next year once he turns on Dustin, so I'm convinced it's this babyface thing. Match goes the fifteen minute time limit, and the final parts are a little disappointing; I really don't like WCW pulling out these draws only for the wrestlers to kill time in the last few minutes and not really get anywhere. It's really the same thing: babyface hits finisher at 8 second mark, pretends he's so out of energy he can't cover, and once he does at the 2 second mark, it's too late. This wasn't bad, but I'd be fine and dandy never watching it again.

Them Philly Crowds, Man

Dustin Rhodes v Barry Windham (WCW 29/12/92)

--If this was on a TV episode with a super cutesy pro-babyface crowd instead of being a handheld in the annoyingly crowd-split Philly, I get the feeling I would have thought it was a really good match. There's these bunch of fans near the person holding the camera in particular backing Windham (the heel) that are especially annoying.  It's a shame because like I said, this had some really, really good stuff. Windham is a sizeable opponent for Rhodes' babyface shtick and even though the two look like giant blobs with white heads on the handheld camera, i could see Dustin rolling in pain at certain points and I was ***dying*** to catch a closer look. Windham was being pretty dicky, taking cheap shots and teasing chair-usage and such, and the hope spots Dustin put in were perfect for the ten minutes they got. There's a ref bump and it would have been really great to see the crowd lose their shit when Dustin hit the Bulldog after that. A lot of the crowd actually barracked for Dustin, but I'm looking a little less forward to the tag with Liger and Steamboat from the same live event for no other fact than the negative reaction. God I really don't like Philly wrestling crowds. Scratch that, I *hate* Philly wrestling crowds.

These Two Must Be Best Friends

Skipped the 1/8 and 8/8 TV matches because the 93 yearbook's one its way and I'll watch them both on there, but here's 3 Steamboat/Regals to rock your.......mind?

Steven Regal v Ricky Steamboat (WCW 19/9/93)
--I got the feeling I liked this less than most on here, but it's on the list and not scraping the bottom parts. I guess my only real negatives are how some of the mat-based stuff worked, because i would have liked it to be Regal trying to ground Ricky with Ricky being a Hawaiin jumping bean ruining hs offense (that's right...a Hawaiin jumping bean...shut up), but it didn't bring the match down. And a great match it was. I haven't seen the 1/8, 8/8, or any of the build up to this, but thankfully this took place in a English-speaking country because them commentators tell me Regal attacked Steamboat with an umbrella the night prior reuslting in Steamer taping his ribs. Once they get shine and small offense in Regal's all about attacking that thing and keeping Steamboat in as much pain as possible. Steamboat's arm work was good, but I felt it sort of went nowhere. I really don't want to make it sound like I didn't like this becasue I really, really did. Mixed words and all that. Finish was tremendous, Stemboat goes to skin the cat and with the referee distracted Sir Wi--oh to hell with it--BILL DUNDEE clocks him over the head with his "it might rain in here on day faggots" umbrella and lets Regal win the TV Title. Great match, even if it doesn't sound like I think so. Well, I got it at 49 right now, so there, that's great. I might watch this again.

Steven Regal v Ricky Steamboat (WCW 25/9/93)
--Someone could say this was better than the Fall Brawl match and I'd totally get it. I don;t think it is, and i have it lower, but I watched it twice in one day and is actually a better ten minute match than the Arn/Steamboat from 21/3/92 (or 28/3/92, Idk). Steamboat jumps Regal from the time bell goes and the crowds gone into studio-Memphis mode adoring everything that's going on and watching Regal get thrown around in delight. He takes his LORDSHIP to the utside and Regal gets pasted to the floor, evetually getting in the ring and using bite tactics becasue he wants this fucker to feel PAIN. Regal's "shock" selling is so great, and his "desperation need to win this thing" offense is even better. He keeps Steamboat more grounded here, I thought, and it was evident that whenever Steamboat would get his offense back he'd use a chop or a head-into-turnbuckle rather than a submission. Steamboat might be the greatest ever babyface at creating hope spots. Once DUNDEE gets involved Steamboat reverses the advantage and gets the pin and it's awesome.

Steven Regal v Ricky Steamboat (WCW 27/12/93)
--Don't have this listed, but it was still really good. A 15 minute time limit at the boggest may per view of the year isn't the kind of thing I think is all that smart, but 15 minutes can get you a hell of a match. There's really good matwork for a lot of it, and it's the kind of Benoit/Finlay matwork where really anyone could get the advantage off of one move instead of anyone being grounded. I'm really struggling to remember anything else, but onve they hit the last few minutes, I felt let down, I guess. I thought Regal's might noe behte guy who could go for a time limit draw with all them fancy schmancy pinfalls and such, but I thought he did it well in the Arn match from SuuperBrawl IV and the Saturday Night Stemboat match could have fooled me for a time limit wreckfest. Finish was real good, though; Steamboat misses that final crossbody and doesn't get his title back.

If This Feud Were A Woman I'd Be In A Chapel Saying "I Do,"

Went through a hefty chunk of the Dustin Rhodes/Studd Stable feud from 1994 and it is so the greatest thing ever. Here's basically the best of the best of what I watched in unneeded nonsensical detail. Watch all this, btw.

Dustin Rhodes v Bunkhouse Buck (WCW 17/4/94)

--Couldn't have asked for anything more in a Bunkhouse match. Buck comes out all cocky because this is his time and Bunkhouse is part of his name and how can little rookie boy even try to touch him. Minute later and Dustin's launched himself over the ropes with some sort of piece of wood in his hand. I haven't seen what lead up to this, but the announcers said "Dustin's looking for revenge", and that equals good pro wrasslin'. Typical shine period where there's no rules, and typical heelish arsehole antics from Buck, low blows and all. He grabs that piece of wood eventually (which s apparently a 1x2) and smashes it over Rhodes head. It's one of those ECW shoot hits as well, where he goes "pro wrestling's fake you bastards? FUCK IT!" Dustin's entire faces goes red with blood and it's dripped on the mats outside. You're getting two types of Dustin Rhodes here; sympathy Dustin, and enraged Dustin, and they're as good as each other. Once sympathy Dustin is out of the way, enraged Dustin takes over by shaking in the corner drawing energy from God and his Texans at home. or something. Enraged Dustin's all about that revenge, he's whipping and punching making sure Buck goes home to the trash can where he lives on a stretcher. WCW are awesome at ending a match and making you want a proper conclusion in the future and this naturally had that. This is sitting in my top quarter right now, and even if I don't think it'll stay there, it was everything a guy could want.

Dustin Rhodes v Bunkhouse Buck (WCW 22/5/94)

--They had a Bunkhouse, here's a bull-rope! Dustin's still all piss and vinegar and he doesn't even let the tie the rope to Buck before he tries to murderise him. I'm almost struggling to remember any Buck offense, because Dustin beat on his for a *long* time, but it's the kind of Mid-South-esque babyface beating that you crave in a feud as vie as this has been. There are these absolutely nasty cowbell shots where it's Dustin's turn to go ECW on Buck, and he just swings the thing straight at his head and he's content with wherever it lands. There were plenty of shots like that and I remember saying "Jesus" out loud on one of them. Buck's bumping like Terry Funk everywhere and Dustin's whooping him all over. Watching Col. Parker lose his mind is always fun as well. Then the actual TERRY FUNK comes out with a cloth on his head once this is finished after having one of the more batshit matches ever with Tully Blanchard earlier in the night (seriously watch that one) and there's madness everywhere. This definitely wasn't as good as the Bunkhouse match, but it's a great, great fight and it's laying in my top 50 right now. Two matches and I already think this feud is the greatest.

Dustin Rhodes/Arn Anderson v Terry Funk/Bunhouse Buck (WCW 17/7/94)

--"YEAH, I'LL BE YA PARTNER!" Arn accepts Dustin's invitation to be his partner and "take them down". More enraged Dustin! He throws both guys over the top rope when the referee has his back turned and Jesse Ventura on commentary is yelling at everyone. I mentioned Buck bumping and selling like Terry Funk himself, and they're both in the ring now so you can imagine what the hell is going on in there. You don't see a huge bunch of Arn in this, likely because of the turn, but he's a crazy babyface apron. He's shaking and yelling and jiving once he gets the final tag he gets up Dustin up and plants a mega DDT on him in the mother of al betrayals. Meng's out and they're stomping on his arm like the Horsemen did to his pa in the '80s. Just more build up, fun and twists in a really great feud.

Dustin Rhodes v Bunkhouse Buck (WCW 6/8/94)

--Nothing much to write about here, this was more tame than the other matches since is the a ten minute match on free TV, but it was really good for the time given and it made me think that Buck has more stuff to his name other than the Dustin/Studd Stable feud. You obviously get your hatred and fiery punches, but there's no whipping or cowbell shots to the noggin around here. Buck pushes the camera man down before getting to ring, and that's fairly batty. Post-match is the mother load, though. Dusty was at ringside the whole match and he gets involved into this tussle with Meng and Parker and you see the sparks fly everywhere. If WWE were half as good at building matches off of little ten minute matches on TV as WCW were in this era, I'd be watching.

Dustin Rhodes/Dusty Rhodes v Terry Funk/Bunkhouse Buck (WCW 28/8/94)

--"All I need's is a hug t' seal d' deal." Dusty's really over from facing up to the Studd Stable and he can't move a whole lot but he knows what he's doing in there and is a great crowd worker. More Funk and Buck bumping, Terry tries to rip off the barricade in a ad bunch of frustration. Dustin's shine periods really are great, he has those post where he dominates both guys and they don't look completely arse-stupid like they might. the transitions posts are really good as well, I dig it when people miss stuff/opponent's evade. AA bring a DQ and post-math has Dusty swinging a wooden chair over Meng's head with the fucker not even reacting and you hear five thousand audience members dump in their pants. Meng's choking Ol' Dusty out and Dustin's grounded so it's pretty clear they need back-up in their little war. Like the Dustin/Arn vs. Buck/Funk tag this isn't a match to list, but it's really, really fun and it's a great feud-builder. Punches and elbows, man.

Dustin Rhodes/Dusty Rhodes/Jerry Sags/Bran Knobs v Bunkhouse Buck/Terry Funk/Arn Anderson/Col. Robert Parker (WCW 18/9/94)

--It's WarGames and in one of the more ridiculous TV snippet segments you see Dusty come to The Nasty Boys for help in some kind of goofy looking bar area. But forget about that; this is WarGames, motherfucker! First period has Dustin getting in without hesitation and trying to be more piss and vinegar against an Arn Anderson who's putting a more Wile E. Coyote strategic approach forth. That's to no avail obviously, and he eventually gets one of his classic WarGames spots where he has his head shoved between both rings and Dustin's treating him like a jackhammer.  Period 2 allows Bunkhouse to come through and give Arn a chance to rest before the both of them can double team Dustin's arm that they stomped on months back. The next two minutes is up and Jerry Sags brings it with double clothesline and cage-ramming that I swear to God looked like could tip the cage over. The Studd Stable are pissy on the outside and Funk wants in NOW; that bezerk motherfucker tries to somehow throw a chair in there, forgetting there's a roof on it and everything. Looney. Gets even loonier when he gets to legally come in with one of his boots off, wavering it everywhere and tipping himself over the ropes in the process. He's got Dustin and rubs his face against the cage of the are where Dusty's standing watching his son being treated as cheese. Then Funk gets caught in a piledriver and ends up falling between the two rings way down the floor. <3 Terry. Knobs is the nest guy in and blows every heel in sight into the cage like darts, and the revenge boot shots Funk gets are brutal lump-giving blows. More Funk lovin' when he gets so dizzy out of his mind he ends up swinging his fists at an already dazed Buck (who's his partner). Final heel period sees Parker sweating his arse off and tuggin' at his shirt collar because he thought Meng was gonna be in this thing up until a week ago. He slowly tries to creep in only to see Dustin staring him down and he takes the longest time. Buck grabs Dustin and Parker grubs up the confident to come in and lay those cheap manager shots in. Now's the point of the "I hope the cameramen get the best parts on tape" section where they have no idea what to stick on TV. We get a AA Spinebuster, Funk whipping Dustin, Colonel whipping Sags, and Dustin getting the belt and whipping everyone all in the space of a couple of minutes. The crowd blow their arse off once he gets to Colonel, and you have Meng trying to tear the cage off to get in there like originally planned. Dusty's in once the final ten count's done and before he gets triple-teamed he's shining all oevr the place with his signature elbows and is that good ol' house o' fire. The Dusty/Colonel stare-down is awesome and once Parker gets clobbered Meng decides to try to climb the cage to only be knocked down. Dusty's got a Figure-Four on Colonel and the Nastys are taking turn splashing and dropping elbows on him before he finally gives up before he becomes paraplegic. Meng's in after the match is done and head butts a camearman in madness. I found it odd that there was no blood the entire match, but apart from that, this was an insane blow-off (even if there were matches after it). Terrific stuff, probably the best WarGames behind 87, 91 and 92.

'DEM BIG BOYS PLEH BUT 'DEY DON'T PLEH NICE~

Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner v Steve Williams/Terry Gordy (WCW 20/6/92)
--Sort of went into this expecting something great. Forget "great", man; this was fantastic. Almost seemed like a dream match between the two teams who had all the power and mat presence in the world, and it came off like that Rock vs. Brock vibe you WANT. Obviously not as big or anticipated, but it's something to take seriously. Doc and Gordy are Japan tourists of sorts, and it has that same deal as when Vader was brought in at the Great American Bash a month later. Point is; it's no regular tag match. Scotty Steiner being the mat wrestler of the bunch outclasses Gordy's attempts at building some kind of offense. Williams at one point is yelling his bloody head at Gordy to keep hold of a leg while in a submission himself, and Gordy's tugging on that thing for his life. The Rick/Doc parts in particular felt like the big this-is-the-motherfucking-load showdown stuff. It gets the Varsity Club history mention from Jim Ross, and he says he's been waiting on this one. Williams has that football past and he's bulldozing Rick like an elephant mother who's had her child attacked. Rick eats like three shoulder-blocks to the thigh area and when Williams rampages him for the third he pulls a Steinerline out of his arse and Doc's completely wiped. Doc gets thrown with a belly-to-belly and he sold it excellently, he gets out of the ring and tries to weed it off and in turn is putting the suplex over as a really big deal. I seriously dig that kind of smallish stuff. It gets to the point where they're channelling their inner-puroresu and bombing each other with the mother-set of suplexes. These aren't regular US suplexes either, they're those motherfucking AHHHHHHH suplexes you'd want parading an All Japan main event. Gordy was getting planted on his head in a mad heap of arse and elbows. Totally level ballgame; Steiners can wrestle, MVC can wrestle, Steiners can throw, MVC can throw, and that's more little shit points I dig. One thing Steiners have that trouble doing is getting Doc and Gordy down for longer periods of time, which Doc and Gordy themsleves master. There's this really terrific grounding part where MVC are literally not letting Scott get past the middle of the ring. I felt the hot tag was almost a mistake, though. Williams had a Boston Crab and Scott's scurrying towards his corner to get to Rick, and when he actually hits the tag the referee goes to look at Gordy in the MVC because he was probably supposed to interfere or something. I'm not making no complaint, though; house-o'-fire Rick Steiner isn't something you want to miss. WCW around this time could be notoriously shitheaded with bullshitting time limits, so when they ht the 30 minute draw the time's really clocking in at about 25 or less, but they shove in all the really cool nearfall stuff you see when the announcer's counting down on his mic. Scott gets his Frankensteiner in once he counts to one and you could tell he wanted the pin despite keeping those big ol' belts. Time limit draw only helps the level ballgame deal and sets up a possible re-match between two teams that have that SCORE TO SETTLE. I would've been perfectly settled with this being the only match they had, though. Seriously exceptional and maybe a top five WCW match of 1992. Forty seven fuckin' stars.

Triple Double A

Arn Anderson v Ronnie Garvin (NWA ?/4/86)
--Not even David Crockett's abysmal commentary could stop this from being a small bucket of fun. Only last around eleven minutes, but Arn's so awesome at getting you interested in what he's doing, and the match turns out pretty great in that short time. A good chunk of the match is basically slow & power-struggle...."y", but they do build it up into some captivating title chase parts. Oddly enough though the best parts in the match were the slow parts, and i'd give 100% of the credit to Anderson. At one point they're in an arm lock power struggle and Arn's losing so he complains about hair pulling, then the ref goes to check if Garvin's actually doing & AA does it behind his back & jerks Garvin to the mat in a headlock. Then Garvin pulls AA's hair in retribution so he looks like the cheater. DQ finish with Tully probably set up a good little feud so it's forgivable. Anderson's also the greatest ever at "drunk-punching".

Arn Anderson v Bobby Eaton (WCW 19/5/91)
--Probably about as good as a midcard 12 minute TV Title match gets. The whole thing going in was the fact Eaton was a tag wrestler his whole career, and was looking for his big break as a singles performer (TV Title was pretty big), while Arn was viewed as maybe the greatest TV Champion ever. It was great. Anderson started off being the "crafty veteran singles wrestler", trying to really squash Eaton and get it done quickly. My favourite part was him shoving Eaton off of the top turnbuckle into the ramp they used to have. Bobby looked like he could've fucked his knee if he landed one second earlier. Anderson works on the leg the most of the rest of the match and eaton had some pretty great comebacks. Bobby getting the win was great too.

Steven Regal v Arn Anderson (WCW 20/2/94)
--Goes nearly a half hour so of course it was great, but there was something missing, and I can't put my finger on it. Nothing to complain about overall, seeing Regal with his face only a mother could love grinding Anderson's body parts where the bones stick out is about as good as it gets. I'm going on a ledge and saying Regal's one of my favourite sellers too. I love how he scrunches his face when in certain predicaments and yells out an "AOWH" at times like when he gets caught in a leg scissors. This match was really Regal trying to keep his TV Title by going the full half hour since he figured he couldn;t beat Arn cleanly, and he didn't. His manager helped him with a cheapshot win at the end with like eight seconds remainding in the time limit. Regal having a taped leg the whole match was weird considering Anderson hardly ever touched it until the end, but whehn he did the crowd went nuts, but they didn't really...build it off from that. Awesome match though, these two are becoming two of my favourites to watch ever.