WCW Spring Stampede 1994

For 1994 WCW decided to add a new pay per view to their calendar, for the first time producing an event for the month of April, to bridge the gap between SuperBrawl in February and Slamboree in May. It was an interesting period for WCW, as this was one of the last shows produced before their fateful signing of Hulk Hogan in June, changing the direction of the entire promotion.

I wasn’t a WCW fan yet when the event was first held (in fact, only becoming a wrestling fan at all a few months before), but I did acquire a VHS copy of the show in the late 90s (from Amazon.com!), based on good word of mouth, and the reputation of Ric Flair v Ricky Steamboat matches.

From Chicago, Illinois; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan.


Opening Match: Diamond Dallas Page v Johnny B. Badd: Page jumps him, but quickly gets rolled up, and clotheslined to the floor. Badd drags him back in to work the arm, but Page finds counters to whatever Badd tries, and suckers him into the corner. Page with a side suplex, and a gutbuster, before going to a chinlock. Badd with a side suplex of his own to escape, and an inverted atomic drop. Backdrop, so Page tries a tilt-a-whirl - but gets headscissored to the outside. Badd follows with a nice tope, and hits a flying sunset flip for the pin at 5:55. Nothing special, but a solid, energetic opener. * You have to give it to WCW with Johnny B. Badd, though. Their audience was primarily the Southern states, and they managed to get an effeminate, black character over as the babyface.

WCW Television Title Match: Steven Regal v Brian Pillman: Pillman jumps him before the bell, beating him from one end of the ring to the other. Regal tries to offer a handshake to calm him, but Pillman responds with a literal slap in the face. That's not very polite, frankly. Regal bails, but Pillman is on him like stink on a fat person, and smashes his arm into the rail. Inside, Pillman works the arm, but Regal reverses a wristlock. He hits an impressive overhead suplex for two, and an overhead backbreaker, but Pillman struggles out into a cradle for two. That only serves to piss Regal off, however, and he ties him up on the mat again. Powerbomb, but Pillman counters with a rana for two. He tries to keep it going, but gets tied up again, with Regal hooking a surfboard. Pillman gets off the mat to engage in a slugfest, and dropkicks the champ. Regal tries to hook the leg again, but gets enzuigiri’d, and caught with another dropkick. Backdrop, and a suplex, but the time limit expires at 15:00, allowing Regal to retain. Hot start, but it slowed down a lot once Regal went into his strategy of keeping Pillman on the mat in holds he knew wouldn't get him a victory – but would run down the time to the point where Pillman couldn't either. Psychologically sound, but dull. * ¾

WCW World Tag Team Title Chicago Street Fight: The Nasty Boys v Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne: The Nasties jump them in the aisle, getting right into the Street Fight stipulation by cracking them with pool cues that apparently litter the streets of Chicago. Jack and Payne take control by responding with a couple of chair shots, and they brawl over to a concession stand (a really weird one that's next to the entrance area, and isn't accessible to fans. You don't suppose it's just there as a prop? Nah, couldn't be. This is a Street Fight!). Payne slams Brian Knobs through a merchandise covered table, and tries to smother him with a 'WCW' t-shirt. Quite a bit of symbolism there for a Street Fight. Jerry Sags takes Jack out, and the Nasties team up to bring the Payne. How much pain? The maximum amount of pain. Cactus comes back wielding a table, and does a neat spot where he suplexes the table onto Sags. Knobs breaks up a pinfall with a stiff shovel shot, and Sags botches a piledriver through the table (he didn't so much screw it up, as the table broke too soon). Sags grabs the snow shovel, and nearly bashes Cactus' head in on the floor (the thing boomeranged off of Jack’s skull) for the pin at 8:54. It doesn't really hold up today, but this was like nothing else at the time - and the perfect use of the Nasty Boys, whose standard matches are always a chore to sit through. Good, chaotic brawl, though, and certainly one of the more memorable and influential matches from the time period. ** ½

WCW United States Title Match: Steve Austin v The Great Muta: Austin stalls to start, dodging lockup attempts, and bailing into the ropes - until Muta catches him with an armdrag. They fight to a stalemate over a wristlock, but Muta catches him in an abdominal stretch off of a criss cross. Austin wrestles out, but gets suplexed for his troubles. Muta grabs a side-headlock, and Austin tries to counter into a headscissors, but Muta easily powers out. Austin goes to the floor to regroup, and tries to tie Muta up on the mat on the way back in - but gets caught with another wristlock. Austin's manager Col. Parker gets involved, distracting Muta, and allowing the champ to dump him to the outside. He posts him out there for good measure, but fails to work the count, as the referee is too busy admonishing him for the post shot. He responds by throwing him into the rail (hey, the referee probably technically said no posting - he was ambiguous in his ruling about the rail), and hooks his own abdominal stretch back in the ring. Muta comes back with chops, but misses a dropkick, and Austin drops an elbow for a series of two counts. He tries to choke him out, but Muta backdrops him, and hits a crisp suplex. Dropkick, but a flying version misses, and Austin cradles him. Criss cross, and Muta catches him with a stungun. Handspring elbow follows, and he tries to finish with a flying rana, but Parker gets involved again. Austin charges, but Muta hits a desperation backdrop, over the top - causing a disqualification at 16:20. Dull, restholdy match, and overlong - especially for the ending. It would have been so much more psychologically sound if Austin dumped Muta over the top (in frustration, as the whole match had been building around Muta countering whatever Austin could throw at him, and not allowing him to control the match), but, as is, it all just came off as mundane with lack of a suitable ending. *

WCW International World Title Match: Rick Rude v Sting: Sting with a quick backdrop, and a clothesline to the floor. He suplexes him out there, and Rude begs off, but Sting shows no mercy. Inside, Sting with a side suplex for two, and he grabs a front-facelock. Rude tries to grope his ass as a counter, but Sting's cool with it (this is before he found Jesus), and keeps the hold bracingly applied. Rude tries a non-gay way to escape - trying to power into an inverted atomic drop - but Sting hangs on, so Rude does the next best thing: throws him dick-first into the ropes. I guess if he ain't gonna get that dirty dick, and wants to make sure no one else does either. Rude with a side suplex for two, and he hooks a reverse chinlock. Sting powers out for an electric chair, but Rude turns it into a victory roll – only to get reversed for two. Rude with a sleeper, but he lets off too early. Uh oh. He hammers, but Sting SURFS UP!! Atomic drop! Inverted version! Series of clotheslines! Backdrop! Stinger Splash, but the referee gets bumped. He hooks the Deathlock anyway, but Vader (who had been campaigning for a shot at the winner) runs in. Sting clears him out, but Rude clips the knee in the chaos. Rude Awakening, but Sting is still surfing, and blocks. Rude hammers the neck to soften him up, and tries again, but you may as well call Sting Brian Wilson - 'cause he counters for the pin 12:50. Also, because he's fucking insane. They had good chemistry, but this was definitely a phoned-in. ** Rude would win the title back a couple of weeks later, but suffer a career ending injury in the process, leading to the title becoming vacant.

Bunkhouse Match: Dustin Rhodes v Bunkhouse Buck: A 'Bunkhouse Match' is just fancy talk for another street fight. Dustin dives into the ring from the ramp way with a clothesline, and unloads with fists of fury. Jumping clothesline, and a suplex get two. Backdrop, and they spill to the outside, where Dustin blows him low. Inside, Rhodes continues hammering, but a bodypress misses, and he falls to the outside. Buck follows, breaking a pool cue over his back, and catching him with a clothesline on the ramp way - sold with a 360 by Rhodes. He hits Rhodes with his suspenders (no!), drawing blood, and goes to work on his leg - posting it. Dustin responds by throwing powder in his eyes, but he can't properly mount a comeback before Buck starts whipping him with his belt. You'd think that'd be more effective than the dreaded suspenders, but, hey, they drew blood. The better question is why any guy would need both a belt and suspenders. What kind of jeans was this cowboy wearing, exactly? Blind charge misses, and Rhodes starts punting field goals on Buck's ribs. He hits him with a pair of brass knux, drawing blood from Buck. Dustin unloads with his own belt, and an atomic drop. Ten punch count, and a bulldog gets two when Col. Parker interferes. Slugfest won by Rhodes, and he tries another bulldog, but walks into a loaded glove shot, and Buck gets the win at 14:11. The tag title match had crazier bumps, but this one had a double bladejob to make up for it. Energetic, and adequately brutal. ** ½

Vader v The Boss: Boss jumps him in the aisle - taking out both Vader and Harley Race - and clotheslines him into the ring from the ramp way. Big boot, and they spill outside again, where Vader takes control with forearm shots. He dumps Boss back in, and follows with an impressive leap over the top from the ramp way, with a splash. Boss catches him with a cross corner clothesline, and even manages to slam the big guy. He gets caught with a sloppy looking backdrop over the top, and Vader splashes him for two. He takes him into the corner for more body shots, but Boss catches him with a side suplex. Another off of the 2^nd rope, and a superplex gets two. Boss with a hard hitting flying shoulderblock, but a second try gets him powerslammed on the way down, and Vader looks to finish with the Vaderbomb - but it only gets two. Flying moonsault kills him at 9:02, however. Afterwards, The Boss flips out, attacking Vader with his nightstick. This leads to an unintentionally hilarious segment, where figurehead WCW President Nick Bockwinkel scolds Boss like a child ('BAD BOSS! What you did was a bad thing! Bad!') and stripping him of his name, which is just rampant abuse of his WCW Presidential powers, frankly. In actuality, this was due to a lawsuit from the WWF over WCW blatantly ripping off the Big Bossman character, and needing to find a reason to change his name - quick. Match was really well paced, hard hitting back-and-forth stuff, including drawing blood hardway from Vader. ***

Main Event: WCW World Title Match: Ric Flair v Ricky Steamboat: Staredown to start, and Flair immediately tries to dominate him on the mat - only to get countered with whatever he throws at the Dragon. Wristlock? Reversed. Headlock? Countered into a headscissors. Front-Facelock? Bridged out. He gets frustrated and slaps Steamboat, but the Dragon returns that shot as well - establishing that these two are evenly matched, and ready to go. With that established, Steamboat gets aggressive, catching him with a press slam, and a pair of well executed head scissor takedowns. Dropkick, and a flying tomahawk chop gets two, so Flair bails to regroup. Flair works the count, and back in the ring, tries to sucker Steamboat with a test-of-strength - almost immediately going to the hair. That doesn't work, so he goes to the old standby: chops. But Steamboat matches him blow for blow, and Flair heads to the apron to regroup. Another test-of-strength, but Steamboat is wary, and catches him in a side-headlock when he tries to get off a cheap shot. Great sequence, as Flair wrestles out of the hold, and tries to engage Steamboat in a criss cross, but as he hits the deck to let Steamboat jump over him, the Dragon just stops cold, and dives right back into the mat-based side-headlock. Flair wrestles out again, and tries to dump Steamboat over-the-top in frustration (to get disqualified, but retain the title), only to have Steamboat skin the cat back in, and schoolboy him for two. Back to the headlock, so Flair chops his way out, and tries to engage him in another criss cross, only to have Steamboat stop the momentum, and slap on a front-facelock. Flair rams his shoulder into the ribs to escape, but gets backdropped. Dropkick, but Flair sees it coming, and side-steps him. Finally having some semblance of control, Flair unloads with chops, and hits the shindrop for a series of two counts. Back elbow, and he tries another series of two counts - wearing Steamboat down every time he forces a kickout. Criss cross works this time - with Steamboat worn down - and a bodypress sends them both tumbling to the floor. Flair tries a piledriver out there, but gets backdropped, and Steamboat chops. He tries a bodypress, but Flair side-steps again, and Steamboat crashes into the rail. Inside, Flair tries a flying chop, but gets superplexed off for two. Flair Flip puts him back on the outside, and Steamboat follows out with another flying tomahawk. Back in, Flair begs off, but Steamboat won't hear it - chopping him into a Flair Flop. Sunset flip, but Flair decks him to avoid going down. Shindrop again, but this time Steamboat is prepared, impressively catching him in midair, and turning it into a figure four. He keeps it locked tightly, dragging Flair across the ring like a dog with worms every time he tries for the ropes. Flair finally has enough, and decks him to break. Suplex, but Flair's leg gives out, and Steamboat topples him for two. Flair tries a headlock, but Steamboat bridges into a backslide for two. Inside cradle gets two. More chops send Flair to the outside, but Steamboat grabs him by the hair. He tries a suplex back in, but Flair reverses, so Steamboat counters into a big chop. Another Flair Flip puts him back on the floor, and Steamboat follows out with a tomahawk off of the apron - but Flair is prepared. Steamboat takes a breather while Flair works the count, and catches him with a flying bodypress coming in for two. Short-clothesline, but Flair reverses, and tries his own flying bodypress - only to gets slammed off the top. Steamboat flying splash misses – landing right on his knee - and Flair pounces with the figure four. Steamboat makes the ropes, but the damage is done, and Flair fires at the knee. Figure four again, but Ricky cradles him for two. Another backslide for two. Steamboat with a super-duperplex, but it does as much damage to him as Flair, and by the time he covers, Flair manages a kickout. Flair tries a side suplex, but Steamboat counters into a double-chickenwing for a double pin at 32:19 - as both men had their shoulders down. Nick Bockwinkel rules it a draw, with Flair retaining - though he would later decide the title should be held up pending a rematch. They would have that rematch on WCW Saturday Night the next week (though it wouldn't air until May) to settle things - with Flair regaining the title. Match was outstanding. Brilliant execution throughout, solid ring psychology, and great, drama – with both guys fighting ferociously – frustratingly – for control, and learning from each mistake along the way. They made restholds legitimately exciting – and that’s not easy. **** ½

BUExperience: Surprisingly (or not), WCW would not reuse Spring Stampede until 1997 – adding concept cards like Uncensored and World War 3 to their lineup 1995. What a great show the first outing was, though. An amazing main event, topping a diverse card (brawling, pure wrestling, power wrestling – it had something for everyone), and all in front of a super hot Chicago crowd. It lacks any real historical significance (though the Tag Title match was certainly influential), but still holds up nearly twenty years later. ****

BONUS MATCH!

WCW World Title Match: Ric Flair v Ricky Steamboat: With the title held up, Nick Bockwinkel ruled that they have a rematch on WCW Saturday Night (the flagship program at the time), which they taped a few days after Spring Stampede, but wouldn’t air until May. Flair goes right to a side-headlock, but Steamboat counters into an armbar. Flair escapes, of course, and wants the test-of-strength, but Steamboat knows that trick too well, and wrestles him into a hammerlock. Flair counters into a half-crab, but Steamboat won't let him properly apply it, so Flair regroups. He gets caught with a pair of press slams, however, and a hanging vertical suplex gets two. He goes back to the armbar, and Flair wrestles out a couple of times - only to get locked in it again. He slaps Steamboat across the face, but that just enrages him, and he backdrops Flair. Ric bails to the floor to regroup, and suckers him into a chop on the way back in. Flair unloads, and dumps Steamboat to the floor. Flair follows out with an axehandle off of the apron, and - this time having to beat him properly, as he can't retain by countout - drags him in. He tries a couple of armdrags, but gets reversed at every turn, but an inverted atomic drop leaves Steamboat reeling. He tries a series of two counts, and this time uses the ropes - but Steamboat keeps fighting. Steamboat with a backdrop, and he tries a slam, but Flair topples him for two. Flair goes to the eyes to stop a series of chops, so Steamboat bails to the floor to regroup. He sunset flips back in - this time blocking the fist to the face counter Flair used in the first match - but a blind charge misses. Flair heads up, but Steamboat stops him with a superplex for a series of two counts. Splash hits nothing but knees, and Flair catches him with a back elbow. Shindrop off of the 2^nd rope, and he tries a sleeper, but Steamboat won't fade - refusing to submit, and kicking out of a couple of pinfall situations Flair attempts while holding... the hold. Steamboat rams him into the top turnbuckle to finally break, and they get into another chopfest. Flair Flip puts Ric on the outside, and Steamboat tries to follow out with the flying tomahawk - but Flair nails him on the way down. Suplex out there, but Steamboat reverses, and drags him back in with another suplex, only to have Flair counter with a chop. Shindrop misses, and Steamboat rams the knee into the post – not playing Mister Nice Guy anymore. Figure four, and despite the Dragon's best efforts, Flair makes the ropes. Ricky keeps after the knee this time, hammering it, but a flying splash misses. Shindrop, but it hurts Flair as much as Steamboat, as he remembers to sell the injury. He manages a brilliantly executed hanging vertical suplex, but can't immediately capitalize, as the knee suffers for it. He eventually gets a two count off of it, as Steamboat had time to recover. Flair with a kneebreaker, and he locks his own figure four - this time using the ropes for leverage. Steamboat struggles until the referee catches Flair's cheating - but the damage is done. Flair kicks at the leg, but Steamboat counters another kneebreaker with an enzuigiri. Flair tries to catch him with a flying bodypress before he can get up, but Ricky's right there to slam him off. Ten punch count, but Flair ducks under another Flair Flip, and runs up the ropes to try a flying tomahawk. It misses, however, so he stunguns Steamboat in desperation. Suplex, but Steamboat counters into his own sleeper, with Flair fading. He throws another desperation move (side suplex) to escape, but Steamboat bridges out of his pinfall attempts. Super-duperplex, and a side suplex get two. Flying tomahawk gets two, and a second gets two, as Flair is too dazed to counter. Press slam, but Flair throws the referee in front of Steamboat's flying bodypress. Steamboat goes to check on the Official, but gets rolled up - for two. They trade cradles, but Flair kicks him in the face to slow him down. Um, yeah, that'll usually do it. Steamboat just refuses to quit, however, and they do a double knockout - with Flair capitalizing first, and for the pinfall at 40:00. Certainly derivative of the previous encounter, though augmented by building on the previous match, and learning from the mistakes made. Not as good overall, but giving Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat forty minutes with each other literally cannot result in a bad match. ****