NWA (WCW) WrestleWar 1990

After Sting’s clean pinfall victory over NWA World Champion Ric Flair in the finals of the ‘Iron Man’ tournament at Starrcade ’89, Flair and the Horsemen promptly turned on the Stinger, and a title match between the two was set up for WrestleWar. At the time, the WCW front office – headed by Jim Herd – felt Flair was past his prime, and it was time to give up the NWA Title (which he had held almost exclusively for over six years) to an up and coming young star like Sting, before being demoted to the midcard.

Unfortunately for their plans, Sting legitimately injured himself during the buildup for the show, leaving WCW without a main event for WrestleWar. Since there wasn’t anyone else credible enough on the roster, they subbed in Lex Luger (who was NWA United States Champion, and had gone to a draw with Flair at Starrcade) with plans to put him over Flair instead, and then transition the title to Sting once he healed. Flair balked, already unhappy with WCW’s plans for his future, and refused, saying he would put over Sting – and Sting only.

From Greensboro, North Carolina; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Terry Funk.


Opening Match: The Dynamic Dudes v Kevin Sullivan and Buzz Sawyer: Johnny Ace starts with Sawyer, and gets overpowered, so he starts throwing dropkicks to put Sawyer on the floor. He follows with a plancha, and Shane Douglas hits a flying axehandle on the way in. Tag to Sullivan (sporting an EPIC rattail), but he walks right into some double-teaming. Sawyer and Sullivan start getting frustrated with each other as the Dudes keep dodging them, and double-teaming - so Kevin manages to toss Shane to the floor for Sawyer to suplex. They work him over, cutting the ring in half - but he slips out of the third bearhug they want to put him in, and tags Ace. House of arson, but he walks into a Sawyer suplex, and a flying splash finishes at 10:15. Competent tag wrestling. ¾*

Cactus Jack v Norman the Lunatic: Mick Foley was having a cup of coffee in WCW - his real run not starting until the next year. Norman the Lunatic is one of the more perplexing gimmicks from the era, as he was supposedly a deranged mental patient who escaped an asylum (apparently hoping the guards wouldn't flip past WCW), but soon turned face, sold as a 'loveable' escaped mental patient. Jack jumps the nut on his way in, but Norman starts overpowering him, and unloads headbutts. Bearhug, and an avalanche leaves Jack on Dream Street, and Norman launches him over-the-top. Backdrop puts Cactus in the third row, but he reverses a whip to the post, and hits a dropkick off of the ring apron. Norman beats the count in, so Jack congratulates him by ramming his face into the mat, and then biting his eye. Chinlock, but Norman powers up into an electric chair - only to miss a splash. Cactus stupidly tries a piledriver, but Norman backdrops, and then sits on his face for the pin at 9:33. Hey, mental patients need love, too. If you didn't know it, it would be hard to recognize Cactus as Mick Foley at this point, particularly because of his weight - still so thin he was actually competing in Light Heavyweight divisions around this time. ½*

The Midnight Express v The Rock 'n' Roll Express: Ah, the NWA/WCW's most reliable pairing. Stan Lane starts with Robert Gibson, with both teams immediately tease a four-way brawl. Lane and Gibson trade armdrags, until Gibson manages to fling him to the floor. Lane and Cornette get into an argument with the referee over it (with Cornette arrogantly jabbing his finger into his chest), and threatening a fight, so the R'n'R's stir it up, and coax the referee into decking Cornette. That bit's about as old school as they come, and has been around forever for a reason - it works. The dust settles with Bobby Eaton and Ricky Morton, and they get into a test-of-strength, with Morton literally climbing Eaton, and using his shoulders as a launch pad to catch Stan Lane off guard with a flying axehandle. Jim Cornette gets involved again, but this time the R'n'R's take care of him themselves - leaving him out on the floor, with Lane giving him chest compressions. Lane tags in to avenge Cornette properly, but runs in to a barrage of double-teaming, and ends up getting posted on the floor, and tags back to Eaton. He loses a slugfest with Ricky Morton, and a bodypress sends them both tumbling over the top - so Lane runs over and slams Morton on the outside to try and force a countout. Gibson helps him beat it, but the damage is done, and the Midnight's start cutting the ring in half with slams and suplexes. When none of that can put the rocker away, they start in on the double-teams and cheap shots. Robert Gibson loses his mind on the apron as the Midnight's cut off every tag attempt, or, if it looks like they can't stop him in time, distract the referee so he misses the legal tag. Eaton with a flying elbowdrop for two, and Lane with a sidewalk slam, but Eaton misses the Rocket Launcher (an assisted flying splash), and Morton finally makes the tag. Gibson explodes, but a cheap shot from Jim Cornette slows him down. The Midnight's try to finish with a double-team stun gun, but Morton spears Eaton, and Gibson cradles Lane for the pin at 19:31. Very few teams in history could work a tag team formula match to such perfection the way these two teams could, and this was a great example - with a good heat segment, kept light on resting, well timed spots, and generally great selling - though Ricky Morton recovered from the heat segment a bit too quickly at the end. *** ¾

Chicago Street Fight: The Road Warriors v The Skyscrapers: These two teams had an inconclusive match way back at Halloween Havoc, but then Sid suffered an injury, preventing a proper blowoff. They kept the fire going, but by the time this came around, Sid had been replaced by Mark Callous, and Dan Spivey had quit the promotion - being replaced by the Masked Skyscraper (Mike Enos), making for a less than particularly satisfying blowoff. The Warriors enter on motorcycles - though they ride on backseat behind a driver, as apparently WCW didn't trust them operating heavy machinery. And, considering Bret Hart's story about how loaded Hawk got before gunning his motorcycle to ringside at SummerSlam in 1992, probably a good idea. Big brawl right away, with the Warriors dominating, as Doom marches out to ringside to observe. The Skyscrapers try to come back, but the Warriors shrug them off, so Mark Callous (The Undertaker, pre-undertaking a WWF contract) whips out a pair of knux to turn the tide. The Warriors pretty much shrug that off, too (when a guy isn't even fazed by use of weapons banned in Texas, you should probably just give up), and kill Masked Skyscraper with the Doomsday Device at 4:59. Understandably short given the circumstances going in, and though the original Skyscrapers would briefly reunite at the end of the year, by then the Warriors had bailed to the WWF, and they never squared off. Afterwards, Doom stare the Warriors down - another feud that was never paid off when they jumped ship. DUD

NWA United States Tag Team Title Match: Brian Pillman and Tom Zenk v The Fabulous Freebirds: The champs jump the Freebirds during their pre-match striptease, and clean house. They officially start with Pillman and Michael Hayes, and not surprisingly, Hayes stalls. Pillman finally corners him with some chops, so Hayes bails to Jimmy Garvin. Pillman doesn't even want to bother, and tags Zenk, and he trades off with Garvin on the mat. Pair of dropkicks, and he tags back to Pillman for a side-headlock. Crucifix gets two, so Garvin bails to Hayes - but not before Hayes fluffs his hair. Pillman gives the fluffer a series of turnbuckle smashes, and flying bodypress gets two. Nice sunset flip for two, and Pillman grounds him with an armbar. Zenk tags to help work the arm, but Hayes manages a clothesline off of a criss cross, and tags Garvin. He tries to keep it going, but Zenk traps him in an armbar as well, and the champs take turns working the part. Pillman ends up in the wrong part of town, and Hayes traps him in a sleeper, as the challengers work to cut the ring in half. Garvin fucks up, allowing the tag to Zenk, and he unloads a gorgeous dropkick, and gets Hayes in a sleeper of his own. Garvin cheap shot breaks things up, and now the Freebirds get the chance to work Zenk over with punchy-kicky-chinlocky stuff. Zenk eventually catches Hayes with a DDT off of a criss cross, and gets the tag off to Pillman. House of arson/four-way brawl sequence, and the champs retain when Pillman pulverizes Garvin with a flying bodypress at 24:32. Like the Express/Express match, this was a long, formula match (which is fine), but unlike the Express match, this one suffered from stalling, and restholds - generally not displaying the mastery of the formula that the earlier match did, and becoming overlong. Notable was Pillman's selling during the heat segment, as well as his execution - taking all of the Freebirds' offense spectacularly, and making their spots look particularly devastating. *

NWA World Tag Team Title Match: The Steiner Brothers v Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson: Scott Steiner starts with Arn Anderson, but Arn decides to fire a cheap shot off at Rick Steiner instead of tying up. That triggers a four-way brawl, and the Steiner's murder them. Arn is anxious to try again, but Scott eases his fears with an atomic drop. Ole goes with Rick, and tries to drive him into the wrong part of town, but Rick takes them both out. Another four-way sees the Anderson's on the floor again, and inside, Arn tries a side-headlock, but Rick powerslams him. Arn tries to beg off, and challenges for a test-of-strength, but thinks better of it at the last second. He manages to take Rick down out of a collar-and-elbow, but Steiner gets up before he can hit something off of the top rope, so the frustrated challenger takes a walk. That's actually a nice bit, but in the wrong match, since this one is taking forever to get going, and more stalling is the last thing it needs. Scott gives Arn the other end of that atomic drop from earlier, and hooks a figure four, but it gets broken up in yet another four-way sequence. Ole tries a single-leg takedown on Scott, but gets belly-to-belly suplexed for two, and he tries to bail to Arn, but Double A wants no part of it, and talks him into trying again. Railroad into the corner forces Arn to tag, and he gets quickly suplexed by Rick, and tags back out - pretty much telling Ole to leave him the fuck alone. A cheap shot turns the tide on Rick, and the Anderson's start cutting the ring in half, but Ole loses a slugfest, and Scott tags. No houses are set on fire, however, as he instead takes Arn to the mat with a side-headlock. They spill to the floor, and Scott tries to clothesline him into the post, but Arn dodges, and Steiner cracks his arm on the steel. The Anderson's go after it with armbars, and hammerlock slams, but Arn misses a pump-splash, and gets caught with a Frankensteiner. Both men tag out, and now the house catches fire. Inside cradle gets the pin on Ole at 16:05 Took forever to get going (too many wild brawl teases), and once it did, it was fairly dull. Anytime you see a Steiner's match go fifteen minutes with only one suplex, you know it's phoned in. ½*

Main Event: NWA World Title Match: Ric Flair v Lex Luger: Sting heads down to ringside for moral support, though having a guy who can barely walk in your corner when you're facing Ric Flair and the Horsemen isn't exactly a profound strategic move. The referee takes forever giving them instructions - which is a touch I like, because it adds realism - but at the same time, they're both long reigning NWA Champions. You'd think they'd know! Flair tries a hammerlock, but Luger easily reverses, then lets off - just wanting to show Flair he won't be outwrestled this time. Luger wins another showdown (overhead wristlock) so Flair starts complaining about hair pulling. Luger calls for a test-of-strength, and manages to wrench Flair to the mat before he can throw the expected cheap shot. Shoulderblock puts the champ on the floor, and he works the count before climbing back in. Flair - seeing he's outmatched, and that the cheating isn't working - starts playing mind games, to finally get a word in edgewise, but Luger just clotheslines him again, and he's on the floor. That's enough for him, and he starts heading home, but Luger literally carries him back in. It turns out to be strategy on the part of Flair - to nail Luger as he's climbing back in - but Lex no-sells, and press slams him. Flair bails again, and resorts to begging - but again it's a ploy. And again, Luger no-sells, and press slams him - this time managing to cover before Flair can bail, and getting two. Flair tries chops, and gets press slammed again (he's a slow learner), and Luger hugs him like a bear. Once worn down, Luger forces the hold to the mat for a couple of two counts, so Flair goes to the eyes to break. Luger still shrugs it off, and unloads a ten-punch, flopping Flair. Blind charge, but Flair sidesteps, and Luger goes crashing out to the floor. Flair capitalizes, and rams him into the rail. Back inside, chops cut Luger down to size, and Flair drops a shin for two. Slugfest goes Luger's way, but he misses a cross corner charge - ramming his shoulder into the turnbuckle. Flair zeroes right in on it with a rope-assisted hammerlock, with Luger openly tapping out - but since it's 1990, that doesn't count as a submission. I wonder if that was hard for 'old guard' wrestlers to remember to change up in the late-90s, when 'tapping' became the accepted declaration of surrender, as it was so commonly used as a form of selling up until then. Flair keeps after the shoulder, even taking the time to salute a 'We Have HERD Enough' sign held by someone sitting next to Dave Meltzer in the front row. Luger tries to stop him by blatantly choking him (that usually works), and a Flair Flip puts them on the floor. Luger returns the favor by ramming him into the rail, and starts no-selling the chops Flair desperately fires off in response. Inside, Luger with a sleeper, but Flair makes the ropes. Again, so Flair goes with a more aggressive escape - side suplexing his challenger. He tries a suplex to the floor to make sure Luger doesn't get up, but Lex reverses to the inside, and posts his leg for getting cute. Luger with a figure four, but he doesn't hook it properly, and Flair escapes. Shoulderblock (using all his might) takes Luger down, so Flair tries it again - but gets powerslammed. Flair desperately dives at him with a clothesline, but he bounces off Luger like a SuperBall, and a backslide nearly loses him the title. Another ten-punch, but Flair counters with an inverted atomic drop this time around. Pair of Flair flying axehandles for two, and a butterfly suplex gets two. He tries a sleeper, but Luger WON'T NAP without milk and cookies first (WARM MILK, BITCH!), unloading a clothesline for two. Leaping elbowdrop misses, and Flair starts going in for the kill with a pair of kneebreakers. He pounds the knee, and hooks a rope-assisted Figure Four to finish. Sting shouts encouragement, helping Luger to reverse, but Flair's in the ropes, and he won't let off. Chops, but Luger's heard the magic words from Sting ('bathroom in ten'), and no-sells. Flair lures him to the floor to try the rail again, but nothing this time. Flying axehandle again, but Luger slams him off of the top as Meltzer's friends have more fun with signs. Series of clotheslines puts Flair on the floor, and a suplex brings him back in, getting two. Powerslam, and he calls for the Torture Rack, so Woman gets involved again. That's enough distraction to get the referee bumped, but Luger's going nuts, and starts slamming Flair again. Superplex, but there's no referee, so Ole and Arn Anderson run in. Luger shrugs them off, and gets Flair in the Rack as the referee wakes up, so the Anderson's go for the hobbled Sting. That draws Luger onto the floor to make the save, but his good intentions get him counted out at 38:08. Great, exciting match. This match is a perfect example of the differences between doing something, and doing something right. Lots of guys use 'bailing' as a stall tactic, but few used it as effectively as Flair - repeatedly going to the outside out of frustration, or strategy to lure Luger into a cheap shot. Many guys work armbars and hammerlocks, and think it's psychology. Flair put Luger's arm through the wringer not because his finisher targets it, but because Luger injured it through the natural course of things, and not targeting it would be stupid. Little bits like that are the difference between the Freebirds keeping Tom Zenk in an armbar for ten minutes because they have to fill ten minutes, and Flair grinding Luger's shoulder into mulch because he missed a blind charge, and that finally slowed him down. Where the match fails is its overly repetitive offense - which mostly falls on Luger, though Flair’s chopping got a little out of hand as well. Further, all of that psychologically sound shoulder work was completely forgotten (by both men) after that 'segment' had ended - unlike their match at Starrcade '88, where Luger starting powering up, but the injury came back to haunt him. Overall, it's a fantastic, if fatally flawed match. ****

BUExperience: The main event and the Express/Express match is enough to carry the show, and warrant tracking it down (especially when you consider that, combined, they take up a third of the show), but lack of any real historical significance, and terribly shoddy production values (a problem WCW had for its entire existence, but particularly bad before Eric Bischoff took over a few years later) keep it on the lower end of the scale. **