WCW WrestleWar 1992

1992 was the last year WCW ran WrestleWar, replacing it with Slamboree in the lineup for 1993, and shuffling WarGames into the new Fall Brawl pay per view event as its permanent home. The card came during yet another period of transition for WCW, this time quite a sharp one, as Bill Watts was unseating Kip Frey, and morale dropped sharply, as their management styles were night-and-day – Watts known for being an out of touch, stingy hardass.

From Jacksonville, Florida; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Eric Bischoff, with Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura on commentary.


Opening WCW United States Tag Team Title Match: Terry Taylor and Greg Valentine v The Fabulous Freebirds: Taylor starts with Michael Hayes, and Hayes stalls his way around a couple of tie-ups. Taylor tags Valentine, but the champs run into each other during a miscommunication, and Hayes hip tosses him. Atomic drop/clothesline combo gets two, and Valentine hammers his shoulder on a blind charge, and Jimmy Garvin tags in to hold an armbar. The Freebirds work the shoulder, but Valentine gets the tag to Taylor - only for him to miss an elbowdrop. Nice of the champs to work some psychology into the Freebirds' endless armbars, 'cause they were gonna happen whether they properly set it up first, or not. They spill onto the elevated ramp way, and Hayes backdrops him back in for Garvin to armbar again. Taylor counters by dumping him, and the champs do a terrible job of cutting the ring in half: Valentine missing literally everything he tries, until he just gives up and tags Taylor back in. Terry with a chinlock, but Garvin shrugs him off and tags Hayes. He's a house of arson, but Taylor catches him with a diving forearm during a double-team, and Valentine slams him. Backbreaker gets two, and Taylor with a gutwrench powerbomb for two. Valentine decides to try and finish with the Figure Four (despite not having worked the knee at all yet - what is this, Wrestling Challenge?), but Garvin quickly breaks it up, and Hayes tags him in all official-like. More houses burn down, and Garvin catches Taylor with the DDT to win the titles at 16:02. Anytime you see 'Freebirds' and 'sixteen minutes' together, it's on par with seeing 'gas station' and 'sushi' on the same sign. The Freebirds would lose the titles on TV the next month, and the belts were quietly retired over the summer. ½*

Johnny B. Badd v Tracy Smothers: Badd looks like he just walked off the set of Silence of the Lambs here. Badd with a series of armdrags to leave Smothers cowering in the corner early - so Badd takes the time to fix his hair. Smothers regroups, but gets hit with a bodypress and a dropkick before Badd locks an armbar. Smothers comes back with a sloppy dropkick for two, and plods around for a minute before hitting a nice flying backelbow for two. Flying bodypress, but Badd rolls through for two. Smothers cuts his comeback off with a savate kick for two, and he tries a piledriver, but Badd cradles him for two. Smothers tries a chinlock to ground him, but Badd unloads his Golden Gloves routine, and powerslams him for two. Flying sunset flip only gets two, so Badd catches him with a closed fist to finish at  7:03. Smothers looked like he was having an off night (lots of sloppy spots, and generally lethargic execution), but this was decent, overall. *

Marcus Bagwell v Scotty Flamingo: WCW was so broken up at the loss of the Dynamic Dudes, that they molded 'Scotty Flamingo' out of the ashes. They literally have a slap-fest to start, until Bagwell hits a side suplex for two. Suplex gets two, so he goes back to the slapping - but Flamingo dumps him in frustration. Inside, he tries a kneelift, but Bagwell counters into a rollup for two. Flamingo upgrades his slapping to a pair of closed fists, and a 2^nd rope version gets two. Chinlock, but Bagwell WON'T QUIT, so Flamingo tries a bodypress - sending them both tumbling over the top. Inside, they get into another slapfest - as Ventura and Ross have an interesting conversation about why Flamingo should have left Bagwell out there, and taken the countout win instead of helping him back in and risking it. And, in fact, Marcus nails him with a 2^nd rope axehandle, and a fisherman's suplex for two, but Flamingo ends up reversing a rollup, and gets the pin with a handful of tights at 7:11. Well paced, back-and-forth match - though a bit too much resting in the middle. Not coincidentally, both Flamingo and one of the Dynamic Dudes became so jaded with these ridiculous gimmicks, that they ended up becoming much bigger stars in ECW a few years later, using their disgust to propel their characters. * ½

Ron Simmons v Mr. Hughes: This is scheduled as Summons/Junk Yard Dog v Hughes/Cactus Jack (token white guy), but Cactus ambushes JYD on the ramp way during the entrances, and hits a Cactus elbow right on the concrete to keep him out of things. They decide to do Simmons/Hughes one-on-one since Dog can't compete (Seriously? One elbowdrop, and you're done?), and they slug it out - won by Hughes with an eye rake. Simmons responds with a big clothesline, and a hiptoss puts Hughes on the outside to regroup. Inside, Hughes calls for a test-of-strength, and nails Ron with a cheap shot when he stupidly accepts. Clothesline for two, and a kneedrop (which looked like it took more out of Hughes than Simmons) gets two. Blind charge misses, but Simmons has a hard time mounting a comeback against that much gut, and Hughes chokes away. Cactus lends a hand for good measure (both hands!), but misses another blind charge (literally, as he didn't even make contact with the ropes he was supposed to fall into), allowing Simmons to backdrop him, and the spinebuster looks to finish - but Cactus runs in. Ron wrecks him, however, and a 3-Point Stance finishes Hughes at 5:22. Aaaannnnndd DUD

Todd Champion v Super Invader: Invader is Ray Fernandez (the WWF's Hercules) under a mask, and looking noticeably chubby. Invader goes to the eyes right away, and hits a clothesline. He forces a test-of-strength, but Champion is a member of the elite WCW Special Forces (Plus, he's a champion! His name says!) - so naturally he powers up. Invader stops the effort with a sidewalk slam, and he hooks a chinlock on the mat. Champion tries to live up to his name again, but Invader dumps him, and rams him into the rail. Slam on the floor, but a flying splash misses, and Champion starts throwing clotheslines. Invader sidesteps his third attempt, and finishes with a powerbomb at 5:26. Really dull TV-match stuff, but thankfully kept short. ¼*

Richard Morton v Big Josh: The crowd stages a mass exodus for the concession stands in response to these two, as Josh overpowers Morton in the early going. Morton manages to tear Josh's flannel shirt (!!!), but when that isn't enough (I'm shocked too. I literally just shit all over the keyboard), he tries an inverted atomic drop. Armbar, but Josh removes the flannel shirt altogether, and no chances can stand for the aging hipster. Belly-to-belly suplex and a butterfly suplex hit, so Morton desperately goes to the eyes, but Josh hits a buttsplash for the pin at 7:33. Both guys would be out of the promotion by the end of the summer, and no one missed them in these roles - except maybe the guys running the concessions stand. DUD

WCW Light Heavyweight Title Match: Brian Pillman v Z-Man: These two are former tag partners, so we get the obligatory staredown to start. They trade armbars and headlocks to establish that they know each other well, and then do a dropkick stalemate (always one of my favorite spots) to hammer it home. Pillman takes control on the mat with a hammerlock, but Z-Man (Tom Zenk) finds a counter, and hiptosses the champ for two. He tries a hammerlock of his own, but Pillman makes the ropes. Criss cross goes to another stalemate, so Pillman takes him down with a headscissors, and ties him up on the mat with it. Zenk tries a backslide, and an inside cradle for two. Sunset flip, and now Pillman gets defensive - unloading some hard chops. Pillman goes for the leg to slow him down, and starts getting aggressive - tearing at the knee. Somersault legdrop misses, and Z-Man suplexes him for two. He drives his knees into the back, and hits a backbreaker, but a springboard splash hits the knees. Pillman goes back to the leg, and hooks a half-crab as Z-Man struggles for the ropes. Z-Man with an enzuigiri, but a blind charge misses - bashing his knee into the buckles as a result. Pillman immediately locks him in a figure four, but Z-Man reverses, and Pillman begs off into the ropes. Pillman tries a slingshot clothesline, but Z-Man catches him on the way with a powerslam for two. Chops, and he tries to drop him like a Samoan - but Pillman pulls out a crucifix to save himself for two. Scathing commentary there, WCW. Superplex, but Z-Man tosses him off, and hits a brutal flying bodypress (he basically landed on Pillman's head with his full weight) for two. Flapjack gets two, but Z-Man's leg gives out when he tries to follow-up, allowing Pillman to try a flying bodypress. It turns out to be a ploy, however, as Z-Man catches him with a big boot on the way down, and goes for a missile dropkick - only to have Pillman sidestep, and cradle him for the pin at 15:30. A bit disappointing, but face/face matches were such a rarity in the early-90s, and I always loved the way they would build from mutual respect/stalemate sequences into heated exchanges. ***

IWGP #1 Contender's Match: The Steiner Brothers v Tatsumi Fujinami and Takayuki Iizuka: Scott Steiner starts with Fujinami, and go to a stalemate over the initial lockup. Fujinami catches him with an armdrag to keep him on his toes, so Scott responds with a single-leg takedown, and a fireman's carry into a front facelock. Iizuka tries to run in, but Scott unloads a blockbuster, and lets him tag in officially. Iizuka railroads him into the corner, and hits a 2^nd rope elbowdrop. Flying somersault bodyblock gets two, and he tries a Boston crab, but Scott powers out, and bridges into a butterfly suplex. Tag to Rick Steiner for a brutal powerbomb/flying elbowdrop combo for two, and Rick throws him into Fujinami to bring a real challenge. Fujinami immediately takes him to the mat with a side-headlock, but Steiner wrestles to a vertical base, and hits a German suplex for two. Tag to Scott for a half-crab, but Fujinami makes the ropes. Back to Rick, but he walks right into an electric chair, and Iizuka dives off of the top to bodypress him off - only to have Steiner reverse in midair for two. Fujinami tries a leglock, but Rick counters into a cradle for two. Fujinami refuses to let off of the leg, however, and tags Iizuka to help him cut the ring in half with another leglock. Steiner counters into a hammerlock, and tags Scott to crush him with a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. Double-chickenwing, but Iizuka wrestles to a vertical base, so Steiner simply suplexes him before tagging Rick in to powerbomb him into the turnbuckles. Scott with an abdominal-stretch suplex for two, and he keeps after him with an abdominal stretch cradle for two. Iizuka makes a desperate tag - triggering a four-way brawl - ending with Fujinami hooking an abdominal stretch cradle of his own for two. He keeps Scott tied up on the mat, but Scott gets the tag off to his brother. Rick tries to take him to the mat, but Fujinami bails to Iizuka, and Steiner creams him with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Scott goes with Fujinami again, but a double-team fails, and Rick dives in with a flying clothesline to take out both guys. Scott with a belly-to-belly superplex on Iizuka, but Fujinami saves with a side-superplex. Iizuka with a German suplex for two, and a well executed spike piledriver leaves Scott for dead. Iizuka follows up with a flying dropkick to make sure, and Fujinami goes to the sleeper to finish him. Scott won't give, so Fujinami tries a Dragon Sleeper - but Scott literally kicks him in the face, and we get a double knockout. Both men tag, and Rick hits Iizuka with a brilliantly executed belly-to-belly for two. That triggers a four-way brawl, and as Scott ties Fujinami up in the corner, Rick murders Iizuka with a belly-to-belly superplex for the finish at 18:15. Fantastic match, completely bucking the standard tag formula, and instead putting on a great, stiff match - fighting over holds, and attempted falls, as well as making excellent use of quick tags. The Steiner's would go on to win the titles from Bam Bam Bigelow and Vader the next month in Japan. ****

Main Event: WarGames: The Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko, and Bobby Eaton) v Sting's Squadron (Sting, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and Nikita Koloff) : Sting's Squadron - aside from having one of the most awesome group names in wrestling history - is probably the greatest alliance of babyface muscle ever assembled to take on a group of formidable heels. Steve Austin starts with Barry Windham, and it's a wild slugfest. Windham misses a blind charge, but block a shot into the cage, and slams Austin. Piledriver, but Austin backdrops him, as Paul E. Dangerously literally maps out the game plan with the others on the floor. Austin blocks a shot into the cage, so Windham simply DDT's him, and then grates his face on the mesh for being a smartass. Austin tries to monkey bar his way into a dropkick, but Windham dodges, and brings him down with a flapjack before ramming him into the steel a couple of times - busting him open. Windham hammers away - Austin's blood literally on his hands - and hits a kneelift as Rick Rude heads in for the Alliance. He saves Austin, and absolutely unloads on Barry in the corner. Austin recovers enough to lend a hand, and hits a 2^nd rope clothesline before the Alliance toss Windham into the cage - right in front of the Squadron. Ricky Steamboat comes in, and he's a house of arson. Austin eats cage. Rude eats cage. DDT for Austin. One for Rude. Steamboat with a monkey bar dropkick on Austin, and a rana on Rude as Windham finally gets back to his feet. Arn Anderson in with a DDT on Barry Windham, and a spinebuster on Steamboat to turn the tide. He and Rude hook a double-crab on the Dragon, but Windham manages to get by Austin to make the save. Rude with a piledriver on Steamboat as the Alliance uses the numbers to their advantage, but Dustin Rhodes buzzes in to even the odds. He goes right for Anderson with elbowsmashes, and bounces Austin's head off the ceiling while hitting an inverted atomic drop. Rhodes with an electric chair on Austin, as Steamboat locks Rude in a figure four, and Windham unloads on Anderson in the space between the two rings. Larry Zbyszko joins us, but Rhodes is on fire, and just destroys him with a barrage of closed fists. Paul E., realizing desperate measures must be taken, calls an audible and sends Alliance valet Madusa climbing onto the roof of the cage (in a cocktail dress, no less) to pass Anderson Dangerously’s early-90s brick-style cell phone. She goes to drop more weapons in, but Sting races up the other side of the cage, and scares her back down by threatening to stain her titties with his face paint (commonly known as a 'boating accident'). Meanwhile, Arn unloads with the cell phone (doesn't sound as impressive today, but this was a real Zack Morris moment), and Rude tries his best to choke Steamboat to death. The buzzer brings Sting in, and he bulldogs Anderson. Chincrusher, and a press slam for Rude (making sure to press him into the ceiling several times first), and he backdrops Austin into the side of the cage for good measure. Sting and Steamboat wedge Rude's head between the two rings, as Bobby Eaton anchors for the Alliance. He manages to slow the Squadron down a bit, but Nikita Koloff rounds the field out, and the Alliance is in trouble! He and Sting take out Larry and Arn with stereo clotheslines, and Sting hooks the Scorpion Deathlock. Meanwhile, Rude rips the turnbuckle (not the pad, the entire buckle) off - causing the top rope to fall down - and Bobby Eaton seizes the metal hook out of it. He and Zbyszko try to crack Sting's head with it, but he sidesteps, and Larry nails Eaton in the shoulder - allowing Sting to hook an armbar for the submission at 23:27. One of the most fondly remembered versions of the WarGames concept, it was an absolute brutal, bloody, and creative classic - filled with non-stop hard work from everyone, and paying off the angle wonderfully. It put the war in WarGames – not only destroying the ring itself, but leaving everything (the mat, the ropes, the pads, the other men) a bloody mess.  ****

BUExperience:  Dull undercard, but the last hour/hour and a half absolutely saves it – with a fun Light Heavyweight Title match, a brilliant (if forgotten) tag match, and a brutal main event, to provide a fine sendoff for WrestleWar. While WCW was in traction backstage, there was some great effort here before Bill Watts alienated himself from half the roster, and fired the other half. ***