With the ‘tainted’ Starrcade shuffled aside, WCW was prepared to fully promote SuperBrawl as their flagship show – booking a long-awaited blowoff between WCW Champion Lex Luger and former best friend Sting in the main event.
The show also marked another revolving door regime change for the promotion, as Jim Herd was dismissed in January, and replaced by Kip Frey – whose main contribution was to backstage morale, in offering bonuses to whomever he felt put on the match of the night.
From Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Eric Bischoff, with Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura – in his first WCW pay per view appearance, riding out on a motorcycle – on commentary.
Opening WCW Light Heavyweight Title Match: Jushin Liger v Brian Pillman: Pillman (the first champion) had dropped the title to Liger at a house show in December '91, and this is the rematch. They fight over an armbar to start, and a big criss cross sees them throwing stereo dropkicks - ending at a stalemate. Pillman tries for the arm again, but Liger won't let him grab hold, so he dropkicks him to the floor. Baseball slide, but Liger runs right back in with a leglock. Springboard moonsault gets two, and a dropkick puts Pillman on the outside - with Liger threatening to dive out after him. Pillman hangs back to compose himself, and comes back with a mat-based headscissors. Liger tries to counter into a surfboard, but Brian dives for the ropes. Liger responds by propping him up in the corner, and charging over with a dropkick. Pillman with a quick crucifix for two, but Liger retains control with a sunset flip for two. Liger decides to try for the knee, and a kneebreaker sets up a figure four. Pillman manages a reversal, but the damage is done, and Liger keeps stomping the leg. Modified half-crab, so Pillman powers up into an enzuigiri. He gets backdropped to the floor, however, and this time he's stunned enough for Liger to follow out with a flying somersault bodyblock. Suplex back in, but Pillman hangs on, and throws a springboard clothesline. Just to be a dick, he then takes Liger over to the apron, and suplexes him to the floor. He follows with a flying bodypress, but a diving axehandle off of the apron hits the rail. Liger with a flying bodypress back in, but Pillman dropkicks him on the way down. Flying dropkick countered with a dropkick (a nice play on the earlier stalemate), and they follow with stereo spinheel kicks leaving them both knocked out. Pillman manages to recover first with a powerslam, but Liger reverses a German suplex for two. He decides to finish him with a super-duperplex, but Pillman tosses him off, and hits a flying bodypress for two. Backdrop, but Liger counters with a powerbomb for two. Piledriver, but Pillman counters with a rana for two. DDT gets two, and a diving forearm allows Pillman to go up, but Liger crotches him, and completes the superplex spot for two. Flying headbutt misses, though, but Pillman uses the moment to cradle the dazed champion for the pin at 17:00. Well, I think that about does it for the Kip Frey bonus game. Great back-and-forth match, filled with well executed high spots. Good story in their frustration with the other throwing the same moves at the same time, but a bit too light on psychology - as everything they worked on (like Pillman's knee) was forgotten towards the end. *** ¾
Terry Taylor v Marcus Bagwell: Taylor's Million Dollar Man knockoff gimmick is somewhat brilliantly ironic. Taylor overpowers him early on, but gets backdropped, and they get into a shoving match. Bagwell with a flying bodypress for two, and he takes him down with a mat-based side-headlock. Taylor tries to dump him, but turns his back, and ends up in a sleeper. Taylor with a chincrusher, but Bagwell mouths off ('I'm the stuff!'), and gets choked. Gutwrench powerbomb for two, but a backdrop allows Bagwell a sloppy sunset flip for two. Taylor responds with a suplex, and a flying splash gets two. Piledriver, and the Hennig-necksnap get two, but Bagwell gets a fluke rollup for the pin at 7:38. Good effort, but the match was all over the map, and didn't really work. *
Cactus Jack v Ron Simmons: Simmons makes the mistake of a clean break off of the initial tie-up, and gets slaughtered as a result. Blind charge misses, however, and Cactus gets his head caught in the ropes - 1994 Germany-style. Simmons drags him back in, and hits a faceslam. Legdrop gets two, but a blind charge of his own doesn't go too well, and Cactus gives him a single-arm DDT. Legdrop gets two (must both be huge Hogan fans), and they spill to the outside for Cactus to ram him into the rail. Cactus-elbow off of the 2nd rope, and he heads in to get his nice countout victory. Simmons decides to beat the count, so Jack cracks his neck across the ropes. Chinlock, so Simmons tosses him with an overhead suplex. Dropkick, but a football tackle clothesline misses, putting him on the ramp way. Cactus charges full steam, but gets spinebustered, and Simmons finishes with a powerslam at 6:34. A couple of nice bumps from Cactus, but not much more. ¾*
Richard Morton and Vinnie Vegas v Z-Man and Van Hammer: RAM JAM!! Morton and Hammer start, and Richard goes right to the eyes. Hammer responds with a press slam, and does his Ultimate Borrier routine, so Morton tags Vegas (Kevin Nash - dressed as IRS). They fight over a tie-up, going to a stalemate - until Vegas rakes the eyes. Slugfest goes Hammer's way, but a ten-punch count gets him rammed into the buckle. Tag to Z-Man (Tom Zenk) for a missile dropkick, so Vegas follows suit. Um, by tagging. Not with a missile dropkick. Clothesline puts Morton on the outside, and Z-Man follows with a plancha. Nice looking hiptoss on the floor, but Morton beats the count back in, and (say it with me) rakes the eyes. These two seriously needed some kind of 'Heel Cheap Tactic' manual, for variety. Tags all around, and Vegas drops Hammer with a side suplex. Morton with an inverted atomic, as the heels cut the ring in half. Vegas with a SOLID big boot, a diving shoulderblock, and a suplex (that's pretty much more than he did in all of 1996), but a double knockout allows the tag to Z-Man. He's a consonant of fire, and a sunset flip finishes Eaton at 12:01. Well paced match, with good effort from everyone involved. *
Steve Austin and Larry Zbyszko v Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham: Big brawl (SUPERBRAWLING!!) to start, with everyone ending up on the outside. Sort of proper start with Austin and Rhodes, and Steve tries a flying axehandle - but gets nailed on the way down, and bails. Rhodes drags him back in for a Windham flying axehandle, and he forces Austin to tag. Zbyszko's game, though, tossing Windham onto the ramp way quickly for some abuse. It doesn't last between the ropes, though, as Windham catches him with a DDT, and Rhodes tags for a backdrop. He viciously works on Larry's arm (revenge for breaking Windham's with a car door, months earlier), and Barry jumps in with a gutwrench powerbomb. Piledriver, but Austin breaks it up, and allows Zbyszko to toss Windham illegally over the top. He crotches him on the rail out there for good measure, and Austin hits a short-clothesline back inside. Suplex gets two, and he dumps him again for Zbyszko to abuse on the floor. Zbyszko swinging neckbreaker for two, and the heels cut the ring in half. Zbyszko tries to put Barry away with a sleeper, but he throws a stunner, and we have a double knockout - leading to a double tag. Rhodes is a house of arson on Austin, but a Zbyszko distraction allows Austin to level him with a lariat. Zbyszko with a swinging neckbreaker for two, and a DDT gets two. Austin works a chinlock, but Rhodes gets uppity, so he brings Zbyszko back in for a backbreaker. Suplex reversed by Rhodes, but the heels cut the ring in half so fiercely, he can't make a tag. Rhodes throws a desperation stungun to finally get the tag to Windham, and he, too, gets a chance to light houses on fire. Four-way brawl, and Windham tries the superplex - but gets crotched. Rhodes runs over to shoves Zbyszko off of the top in retaliation, allowing Windham a flying clothesline to finish at 18:23. Really intense, well paced tag team wrestling. Not a super innovative spotfest like the opener, but great use of the formula (particularly cutting the ring in half), and well worked all around. *** ¼
WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton v The Steiner Brothers: Bobby Eaton starts with Scott Steiner, and Scott uses his college wrestling background to control on the mat. He gets caught with a swinging neckbreaker, and Eaton takes the high risk of trying something off of the top - only to get caught, and suplexed by Steiner. He tags Anderson, who outright demands Rick Steiner tag in. He obliges, and then runs around the ring barking like a dog to intimidate Anderson. Hey, would you want to lockup with a grown man crawling around on all fours and howling? Well, I mean, I'm sure some people might - but not Arn fucking Anderson. Steiner easily tosses him around, and tags Scott back in to finish what he started. He fights over a wristlock with Anderson, and when Eaton decides to help out, the Steiners clean house. Scott passes out a tilt-a-whirl slam to Eaton on the ramp way, and hooks him in a chinlock back in the ring. He and Rick hit an electric chair/2nd rope clothesline combo, but a cheap shot from Anderson allows Eaton a two count - and the heels cut the ring in half. Anderson gets clotheslined when he tries a 2nd rope axehandle, and the Steiners unload a double-suplex. Official tag to Scott, and another suplex gets two. Another cheap shot gets Scott on the mat, and Anderson drops a knee for two. Tag to Eaton, and he ups the ante with a flying kneedrop for two. DDT gets two, and a Boston Crab looks for the submission. No go, so Eaton tries a reverse chinlock, but Scott literally drags him across the ring towards Rick while in the hold. Eaton cuts him off at the last second, though, and hits a flying splash on the ramp way. Inside, a four-way breaks out, and the heels nail Rick with a electric chair/flying bodypress combo, which Rick then rolls through for two. Flying DDT gets two on Anderson, so he grabs a handful of powder to blind Rick. The blind Steiner accidentally suplexes the referee, while Scott hits a rana on Eaton. Another official runs in to count the pin at 20:06, but unfortunately, the first referee recovers, and decides to disqualify the Steiners for the accidental suplex. Similar to the previous match, but lacking the overall intensity - and perhaps about five minutes too long. ** ½
WCW United States Title Match: Rick Rude v Ricky Steamboat: The angle here - other than general hatred - was that Rude manager Paul E. Dangerously is barred from ringside, but Steamboat brings a mysterious masked ninja to stand in his corner, just in case. They fight tooth and nail over the initial lockup - even shoving the referee out of their way. It ends in a stalemate, so Steamboat starts throwing armdrags, and hits a faceslam for two. Armbar, as the mysterious masked ninja patrols the perimeter. Rude keeps fighting, so Steamboat starts posting his arm to really work it. Somehow, the referee lets it slide (yet, a blind guy accidentally bumping into a referee is a DQ), though that's a slippery slope, as next week Steamboat could start stabbing opponents' arms if his armbars don't work. Steamboat with a hammerlock-slam, and he keeps on with the armbar. Rude manages a bodypress that pinballs Steamboat off of the ropes, and then dumps him to give his arm time to recover. Suplex back in, but Steamboat starts to get uppity, so Rude throws a desperation clothesline - only to hurt the bad arm further. He plays it safe with a chinlock, but Steamboat just doesn't know when to quit - so Rude gives him a swinging neckbreaker. Piledriver gets two, and a side suplex for two. Steamboat with a kneebreaker to slow him down, and he manages to slap on a figure four. Rude desperately reaches the ropes, so Steamboat drags him back for another one - only to get shoved off into the corner. Rude with a flying tomahawk, and he wants to pose - but the arm damage prevents him from doing it properly. Oh, now it. is. ON! Another flying tomahawk, and he keeps Steamboat grounded with another chinlock, but the Dragon powers out with an electric chair. Slugfest goes Steamboats way, and a double knockout leaves both men... knocked out. Rude recovers first with a sleeper, but the overwhelming power in the hearts of the children of the 90s allows him to reverse. Rude goes with a more direct chincrusher to escape, but gets crotched on the top rope, and super-duperplexed off for two. Enzuigiri, and a backdrop get two. Flapjack, and a flying tomahawk, but suddenly the Ninja hops up on the apron and clobbers the challenger, allowing Rude the pin at 20:02. We would learn the Ninja was Paul E, of course. Extremely similar to their match from the '88 Royal Rumble in many ways, down to Steamboat's arm work, Rude's excellent selling of it, and even the match time. **
Main Event: WCW World Title Match: Lex Luger v Sting: Luger - Sting's 'former best friend' - had turned heel out of necessity in mid-1991, when Ric Flair left the promotion without a top heel upon his departure. Unfortunately, Luger started having issues with WCW as well, and since his contract only required him to work a certain amount of dates, he opted to sit out most of the buildup for this match. Big, long 'wanna hit the bars tonight' staredown to start - with neither man making the first move. Luger finally strikes first blood, and unloads in the corner, but misses a blind charge. Sting quickly turns that into a Stinger Splash, but Luger totally no-sells it, and flattens him with a clothesline. Powerslam, but Sting reverses a German suplex, and hooks Luger in the Torture Rack. Lex finds a quick escape to it, but ends up getting DDT'd. The champ bails to the floor to regroup with Harley Race, and tries to work a cheap shot on the way back in - but Sting sees it coming, and rams him into the rail. Inside, Sting with a backdrop for two, and he goes for the Scorpion Deathlock - but Luger lunges for the ropes. Lex begs off, but Sting's in non-mellow surfer mode, and responds by wrapping his hands around Luger's throat. Luger blows him low (always a good first step at reconciliation), and works the nuts with an inverted atomic drop. Luger stops time to pose instead of finishing him, but still manages a press slam. More posing, and he hits the piledriver (his finisher around this point), but it only gets two. Slugfest goes Sting's way, and he busts out the backscratches. They go tumbling to the outside, and Harley Race tries to make the assist, but Sting shrugs him off, and catches Luger with a flying bodypress on the way back in for the title at 13:02. Started off well enough, but got real dull real fast, with Sting mis-timing his comeback (the crowd was practically begging him to SURF UP!! after the piledriver, but he spent another few minutes just stomping around), and not a great ending, as it made Sting look almost like he got lucky, not definitively defeating Luger. This would be Luger's last WCW appearance until the fall of 1995, as he headed North. *
BUExperience: Pretty good show, with no outright bad matches (the lowest rating was at ¾*), and everybody putting in a good effort, thanks to Kip Frey’s incentive program. Worth checking out, even if the main event is more than just a little underwhelming. **
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