WCW SuperBrawl III

By the 1993, WCW had established SuperBrawl as its flagship program – leaving Starrcade twisting in the BattleBowl wind – and set up a big blowoff for the hot Vader/Sting program to headline the card. It also marked Ric Flair’s long awaited return to WCW pay per view - after having a falling out with the company in 1991, and a successful eighteen month run in the WWF.

From Asheville, North Carolina; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura.


Opening Match: The Hollywood Blonds v Marcus Bagwell and Erik Watts: This was part of Bagwell's endless quest to battle the Blonds, bringing in different partners throughout 1993, as each previous partner failed to get the job done. Luckily he thought to bring in Erik Watts in for the pay per view showdown - as the kids say ‘it’s on for now!’ Steve Austin and Marcus Bagwell start, with Austin stalling, and avoiding tying up. Pre and Post-'Stone Cold' Steve Austin is probably the most disparate gimmick evolution a wrestler has ever undergone. I mean, can you picture 1998 Steve Austin cowering from Marcus fucking Bagwell? The faces double team Austin with a double backdrop, but Erik Watts gets caught in the wrong part of town, and has to face Brian Pillman. Watts manages to control with an armbar, but Bagwell also gets caught in the wrong corner (not exactly masters of cutting the ring in half, these two), though Austin also quickly loses control - getting hooked in an abdominal stretch. Watts with a Boston crab, but Pillman breaks it up, and feigns a knee injury before dumping Erik. He follows out with an axehandle off of the apron - but eats rail. Again, the faces fail to cut the ring in half, however, and Austin gets the tag to decimate Watts with a clothesline to the outside. He follows out much more successfully - slamming Erik on the floor - and inside the Blonds work him over, properly cutting the ring in half. Tide turns when Austin launches Pillman for a flying splash, but he hits Watt's knees - in a great bump - and gets the tag to Bagwell. He's a house of arson, causing a four-way brawl to break out, and in the chaos Austin catches Bagwell with a cheap shot for the pin at 16:34. This was early in the Blonds' run, and - despite only working as an active team for under a year - are remembered as one of the finer tag teams of the 90s. Not that this is a great example of why, but it was a well paced match, playing the fact that Watts and Bagwell were completely outmatched up well. * ¾

Chris Benoit v 2 Cold Scorpio: Benoit catches him with a shoulderblock early, and a crisp snap suplex lays him out. Cross corner whip, but Scorpio counters with a springboard bodypress, and a dropkick – knocking Benoit to the floor. He regroups, and inside works an armbar - but Scorpio does a series of somersaults to counter into a hammerlock. Benoit wrestles out, but gets caught with a quick overhead armdrag to put him back on the outside. He regroups again, and tries a test-of-strength back inside, leading to beautiful back-and-forth monkey flip counters. Scorpio controls with another armbar, so Benoit tries the monkey flip counter again, only to have a spinkick thrown at him - so he chops him to properly put him down. Benoit with a backbreaker submission, but Scorpio battles out, so Benoit grabs a chinlock. He dumps him to shrewdly go for the countout victory, but Scorpio beats him in, and throws a missile dropkick - which misses. Back to the chinlock, but Scorpio fights out again, so Benoit responds with a spinebuster, and an elevated Boston crab before going back to the chinlock. Benoit with an impressive side super-duperplex for two, and a Russian legsweep gets two. Another side suplex, but Scorpio counters into a bodyblock for two. Backdrop, but Benoit catches him with a powerbomb for two. Shoulder-powerbomb, but Scorpio counters into a sunset flip - though they botch it. He still throws an enzuigiri, and a cross corner clothesline (with a literal twist!) sets up a twisting flying moonsault for two. Victory roll, but Benoit drops him face first to the mat to counter, and hits a 2^nd rope flying legdrop for two. Dragon suplex, but Scorpio gets the victory roll that failed earlier, and the pin at 19:59 - one second under the time limit, though the match was actually closer to eighteen minutes. Still, a good booking technique to build drama, and well executed - as they didn’t go to the almost always disappointing time limit draw finish. Great array of counter-style wrestling, but slightly impeded by the time limit - as they worked quite a few restholds to build towards it. Still, well paced, well booked, and packed with well executed offense. *** ½

Davey Boy Smith v Bill Irwin: This was Davey's WCW debut, as he was 'taking a break' from the WWF (see: let go for failing a steroid test, or bitterness over jobbing the Intercontinental Title to Shawn Michaels - depending on who you talk to). Davey overpowers him to start, and clotheslines Wild Bill to the floor off of a criss cross. Inside, Davey press slams him, but gets caught in an armbar. Irwin with a back elbow for two, and he works a chinlock. Slugfest goes Davey's way, and he hits a hanging vertical suplex, and a clothesline gets two. Blind charge misses, however, and Irwin tries a 2^nd rope bodypress - only to get caught with the Running Powerslam at 5:49. Too long for a debut squash – as the booking should have had Davey dominantly running through his offense, and finishing in less than three minutes. DUD

Falls Count Anywhere Match: Cactus Jack v Paul Orndorff: This was the blowoff to an angle where both men were solicited by manager Harley Race to join Vader in a tag match, and when Orndorff was chosen, he and Vader beat Cactus down. This was also the catalyst to the memorable Vader/Cactus Jack feud, as after dealing with Orndorff, he set his sights on the big man. Jack is pissed, too, jumping Orndorff with a snow shovel during his backstage interview segment, and stalking him to the ring. And you know he's extra pissed, because they're wrestling in Asheville - it's not like he could pick that up at the corner store. He had to actually travel with that snow shovel, and besides the obvious security hassles a guy named 'Cactus' would certainly encounter carrying a snow shovel through an airport (even pre-9/11), that had to be a bitch to stow. Orndorff kicks him in the face to slow him down, ramming him to the rail, and choking him out with an electrical cable. Jack comes back with a rail shot of his own, and pulls up the floor mats for a weak slam. Elbow drop gets two on the floor, so he tries a crazy flying sunset flip (taking the brunt of the bump on the exposed concrete) for two. They head into the ring for the first time, with Orndorff hitting a clothesline, and hooking a head vice. Yep, a resthold in a Falls Count Anywhere match. 'Mr. Wonderful' my ass. Outside again, they brawl up the aisle, and Jack takes another wild bump over the rail. Orndorff suplexes him onto it, and bashes his head into it a couple of times for good measure. Back to the ring, Orndorff hits a flying axehandle, and goes after the leg - even trying to tear his knee brace off. He chokes Jack with the brace, and slaps on a rope-assisted figure four, blatantly grabbing the ropes, since it's no DQ. Jack won't give, however, so Orndorff clotheslines him to the outside, to bash his knee into the exposed concrete. Orndorff grabs a chair, and unloads with a few vicious shots to the leg. He calls for a piledriver onto the chair, but Cactus gets hold of the shovel, and lays him out for the pin at 12:17. Good brawl, well paced, and actually infused with psychology - which you almost never see in these types of matches. It doesn't have the prestige of some of Cactus' tag matches in early '94, or Benoit/Sullivan from '96 - but it's on par. ***

The Heavenly Bodies v The Rock 'n' Roll Express: The Bodies were the SMW (Smokey Mountain Wrestling) tag champs at this point - having traded the titles with the Express a number of times leading up to this - but the belts aren't on the line here. Tom Prichard and Robert Gibson start, with Gibson taking him down with a headscissors, and Ricky Morton hitting a rana. Tag to Stan Lane, but he gets caught in an armbar. The Express do some double team offense, cleaning house, with the champs bailing for hugs from manager (and SMW founder) Jim Cornette. That… that might be a bit of bias. Inside, Morton hits an atomic drop on Prichard, and Gibson with an enzuigiri for two. That leads to them teasing a four-way brawl, but end up with Lane comically bumping into Cornette - in a spot straight out of the 80s. Cornette's distraction allows Lane to lay Morton out with a savate kick, and the Bodies cut the ring in half. Sitout powerbomb gets two, and a powerslam for two - as they try to build the heat segment into a pinfall. They get caught in a double DDT, however, and Gibson tags. He's a house of arson, but gets quickly caught in a double team. Morton comes back with a double dropkick, but Jim Cornette gets involved again, and Prichard bulldogs Gibson... for two! Meanwhile, Bobby Eaton runs out, but hits the wrong guy with a flying elbowdrop, and the Express get the pin at 12:52. Well paced, making good use of the tag formula - and I appreciated the false ending, as wrestling fans are so disciplined to expect that to be the cheap pin for the heels, that it came off as truly unexpected, and engaging when it wasn’t. ** ¾

WCW United States Title Match: Dustin Rhodes v Maxx Payne: Payne tries a cheap shot early, but Dustin slugs it out with him, and knocks him to the outside. That pretty much sums up the early going – as they work several sequences of Maxx trying something cheap, and Rhodes outwrestling him to the point where he bails out to regroup. Dustin with a long armbar, but a blind charge allows Payne to take over - tossing Rhodes across the ring like a child. He grabs an armbar of his own (since that’s what this match needs), and a backdrop lays Rhodes out. Bodyslam, but Payne misses an elbowdrop, and Rhodes suplexes him. Abdominal stretch, but Payne shoves the referee, and gets disqualified at 11:28. Payne was subbing for Ron Simmons here, so it wasn't exactly a national secret who was getting their hand raised. Really dull match - basically an eleven minute resthold without building to anything - that they probably should have wrapped up in half the time, especially considering the ending. DUD

NWA World Title Match: The Great Muta v Barry Windham: Before the bout, Ric Flair comes down (making his return to WCW after nearly two years away - and hundreds of 'We Want Flair' chants across the country) to do commentary, and observe the match. Muta wins the initial lockup with a go-behind, but Windham bails into the ropes before he can follow-up. Another lockup goes Muta's way, and Windham gets frustrated, shoving the champ. Test-of-strength goes Barry's way, and he catches Muta with a Northern Lights suplex. Collar-and-elbow again won by Muta, taking the challenger down into a long, long mat-based headlock. Barry finally decides to wrestle out, but gets suplexed, and locked right back in the headlock. Barry eventually wrestles out again, and Muta misses a dropkick, allowing Windham a DDT. He dumps him, and drops him with a side suplex on the floor. Suplex back in gets two, so he drops a pair of knees, and hooks a sleeper. Muta fades, and Windham throws his feet on the ropes to try and put him away, but Muta won't give. Barry gets frustrated, and tries a butterfly suplex for two. Slugfest goes Windham's way, and he hooks a chinlock. Muta breaks out with a sunset flip, and hits a backdrop - but he's too worn down to capitalize. Windham keeps hammering, but Muta shoves him off during a superplex attempt, and hits a flying tomahawk. Handspring elbow quickly follows, and he hits a backbreaker, setting up the flying moonsault - though it misses. Windham tries to capitalize with a suplex, but Muta counters into a side suplex, and another backbreaker. Flying moonsault hits the knees, and Windham DDT's him for the title at 24:10. Match was way too long for what they were going for, as they worked a nice feeling out process in the early going - but transitioned into resthold heavy stuff during the meat of the match, which came off as dull and boring. It wasn't helped by the fact that when they were working spots, they were extremely slow and plodding - talking, like, mid-90s Undertaker plodding. ¼* - which may as well be negative stars when you're doing a twenty-five minute match. Afterwards Ric Flair presents Windham with the title belt - but Windham shoves him away. Cue ominous music.

Main Event: WCW World Title White Castle of Fear Strap Match: Vader v Sting: A 'White Castle of Fear' Strap Match is just fancy talk for a basic 'touch all four corners to win' Strap Match. It also is named after an insane, infamous mini-movie produced by WCW (one of many during this period - all of which involved an evil midget) where Vader hangs out in his Bond villain-style mountain lair, and goads Sting into visiting. So SuperBrawling can occur. Couple of Tug-of-Wars to start, easily won by Vader, but he's just toying with him - not following up with anything. Sting finally gets sick of playing rag-doll, and charges, but walks right into a clothesline. Vader unloads a couple of shots with the strap, and flattens him with a 2^nd rope splash. He makes the mistake of gloating, allowing Sting to crotch him with the strap, and dropkicks him. 2^nd rope clothesline, and Sting returns the favor with his own flying splash - though he does it twice, to compensate for the size difference. Sting unloads with the strap, leading to a great cut shot to the crowd, where little old ladies are cheering him on, while a small child sits with his ears covered. Vader bails, but Sting can't dive after him due to the strap, so he follows, and pulls him into the post. Sting slams him on the outside, and tries to drag him to the corners from the floor. He gets two, but Vader dumps him onto the rail on the way to the third. Inside, Sting drops him like a Samoan, but bounces off like a pinball when he tries a shoulderblock. Vader with a powerbomb, but Sting backdrops him, and heads upstairs. Another flying splash misses, but a standard one from Vader doesn't, and he beats him into a pulp on the mat. Fallaway slam, and a Vaderbomb follow, but he's not satisfied - whipping him, as Sting begs off. Vader with a fallaway slam off of the top rope, and, figuring that’s enough, starts going for the corners. He makes two, and Sting tries to shove him off, but pushes him right into the third. Realizing Sting is too 'fresh,' he abandons the effort, and tries another Vaderbomb - but misses. Flying splash, but Sting tugs the rope to crotch him on the turnbuckle, and then slams him off by tugging again. Sting stupidly engages Vader in a slugfest, and ends up getting superplexed for his troubles. Vader makes three corners, but Sting ties himself in the ropes to stop the effort. That just pisses the monster off (more), however, and he unloads body shots in the corner. He tries to finish, tugging at Sting to reel him in, but he pulls so hard that Sting somersaults through the air, and into him. Sting with an impressive German suplex, followed by a DDT, and he returns the favor with his own fists of fury in the corner – busting Vader open. From the ear. Sting tries for the corners, impressively carrying Vader on his back, but the leg gives out before the fourth. Vader hogties him, and makes three corners, so Sting tries to kick him off again before the fourth – but it sends Vader falling right into it for the win at 20:54. Well, to be fair, he made that same mistake earlier. Serves him right for making it again. Match was brutally stiff –  a great entry in the endless Sting/Vader wars – with both guys beating each other mercilessly to try and wear the other down enough to make the corners. *** ¾

BUExperience: Great main event on top of solid card (with one very notable exception) make for good viewing. It didn’t settle anything between Sting and Vader in a blowoff sense, but it was another great battle in their endless war.

This was a bad period for WCW - just taking the book away from Bill Watts in yet another regime change, infighting with the NWA (they would lose the ‘right’ to their titles later that year), and even longtime NWA/WCW stalwart Jim Ross quitting. While Eric Bischoff was now technically in charge, he still would have to reign in Dusty Rhodes and Ole Anderson’s creative directions, though watching this show, you’d never know what a disaster it was backstage. ****