WCW Beach Blast 1993

With the Great American Bash on hiatus, WCW brought back the Beach Blast concept for the month of July. The show focused on a showdown between Sting/Davey Boy Smith and Vader/Sid, which WCW promoted by making an infamous ‘mini-movie’ in which both teams have an altercation on a beach… along with a devious midget who blows up Sting and Davey Boy’s boat. While the feud had potential, turning it into a joke with a goofy mini-movie involving midget hijinks didn’t do them any favors, and the show failed to draw.

From Biloxi, Mississippi; Your Hosts are Eric Bischoff and Missy Hyatt (and her tits), with Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura (both dressed like Jules and Vincent at the end of Pulp Fiction) on commentary – all in front of a heavily papered crowd.


Opening WCW Television Title Match: Paul Orndorff v Ron Simmons: Orndorff was having a Honky Tonk Man-esque run with the title after winning it in a tournament in the spring, so if he gets himself disqualified here, he loses the title. Orndorff stalls to jaw with the crowd (all chanting 'Paula' at him), so Simmons gets it started himself by jumping him from behind. Well, guys getting called 'Paula' often get jumped from behind, so nothing strange there. Ron dropkicks him to the outside, and Orndorff hangs out there to break Simmons' momentum. Back in, Orndorff tries to take him down, but Ron shrugs him off, and takes him to the mat with a wristlock. Paul with a sleeper as Simmons whips him into the ropes, and a side suplex sets up a flying kneedrop - but Simmons moves. Ron kicks at the leg, and pulls Paul to the center of the ring when he tries to bail. Simmons keeps after the knee, and tries a figure four, but Orndorff grabs the ropes (Simmons was stupid to try it so close to the ropes to begin with), and this time manages to sucker Simmons to the floor for some abuse. Inside, Orndorff with a chinlock, but Simmons gets uppity, so Paul switches to outright punching him. That only gets him powerslammed, however, and a sunset flip gets two. Lariat and a backelbow get two, and a snap suplex for two - again too close to the ropes, which Orndorff uses to break. He goes to the eyes as Simmons argues the rope break, and tries a piledriver, only to get backdropped to the floor - which gets Simmons ironically disqualified at 11:15. Match was decent, and the crowd loved it, so it worked well as an opener. ¾*

Marcus Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio v Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce: Bagwell starts with Pierce, and they work a power-stalemate until Bagwell manages a bodypress out of the ropes for two. Pierce passes to Slazenger, and he DEMANDS Scorpio - Bagwell obliging. Scorpio confuses him by trying to turn it into a dance contest, but unfortunately, it's not ECW, so he just gets backdropped clear across the ring. He tries a superplex, but Scorpio blasts him with a pair of dropkicks, and armdrags him into an armbar. Tag back to Bagwell with a double-team hiptoss for two, but Slazenger decks him, and passes to Pierce. Big criss cross goes Bagwell's way with another hiptoss, and another armdrag puts Pierce on the mat in an armbar. Cheap shot puts Bagwell in his place, and Slazenger with a DDT as they start to cut the ring in half. Pierce misses a blind charge, however, and Scorpio is a house of arson. Superkick and a flying splash get two on Pierce, and the obligatory four-way brawl ends with Bagwell side suplexing Pierce for Scorpio to finish with the 450 splash at 12:46. Decent, well paced match - if a little dull during the heat segment on Bagwell. At the end of the day, it's the Godwinns versus Buff Bagwell and Flash Funk - that was about as good as it was gonna get, so no complaints from me when everyone was putting in an effort. *

Steven Regal v Erik Watts: The opening graphics accidentally identify Watts as Regal, which is likely the nicest thing anyone has ever said about him. The first couple of tie-ups go to a stalemate, until Regal gets him into a wristlock out of the third - which they trade though a series of nice reversals. Regal turns it into a test-of-strength on the mat, but Watts bridges back to a vertical base - only to have Regal shift into an overhead wristlock, and throw him back to the mat. That triggers a pinfall reversal sequence - ending in Watts taking Regal to the mat in an armbar. He shifts into a hammerlock when Regal gets uppity, and a sunset flip gets him two. Regal springs up first with an anklelock, but a kneedrop misses, and Watts goes after the leg. STF, but Regal manager Sir William slaps him in the face, and Steven schoolboys him (with a handful of tights) for the pin at 7:32. Watts was unquestionably over pushed, but he worked hard here, and Regal was game to work some nice mat stuff with him. *

Johnny B. Badd v Maxx Payne: This came about when Payne blasted Badd in the face with the Badd Blaster (a confetti gun) on TV, injuring Johnny so badly that he has to wear a protective mask. He's not too upset about it, though, since getting blasted in the face was a regular Thursday night for Johnny B. Badd, and he understood that Payne was just a bit overzealous in his advances. Badd with the Golden Gloves routine right away, and a bodypress gets him two. Blind charge ends up sending him crashing over the top, however, and that allows Payne a hammerlock slam on the way in. Cross corner clothesline leaves Badd slumped in the corner, and Payne hooks an armbar, but Badd brings the closed fists again. Payne with a backbreaker to stop that effort, and an armbreaker has Badd diving for the ropes. Payne responds with a suplex for two, but gets sunset flipped for two, and Badd with a dropkick to send him to the floor. He follows with a plancha, and a 2^nd rope flying bodypress finishes for Badd at 4:53. These two did not mesh well at all - this was sloppy and loose, though thankfully short. DUD

NWA & WCW World Tag Team Title Match: The Hollywood Blonds v Arn Anderson and Paul Roma: Steve Austin starts with Paul Roma, and Austin's literally laughing in his face. He gets distracted by Brian Pillman threatening to kill some hick on the floor, however, and delays locking up with Roma to go prevent murder making its WCW debut. He gets around to acknowledging Roma by shoving him into the corner, but he gets reversed on a hammerlock attempt, and knocked to the floor for Pillman to kiss his boo-boos. Austin tags Pillman, but he gets to face Arn Anderson - and the crowd pops literally because Arn is actually a threat. The Blonds treat him that way, too - immediately backing off before Pillman loses a series of lockups against him and bails back to Austin. Big criss cross allows Steve a backdrop for a series of two counts, until an annoyed Arn simply decks him out onto the elevated ramp way. Austin gets on his knees to beg for a truce with his former Dangerous Alliance teammate, but Arn responds him kicking him in the face, and tagging to Roma. Paul with an armbar, but Austin dodges a bodypress attempt, and manages to get the tag off to Pillman. He comes in with a series of chops, but gets leveled with a lariat, and Arn tags back in with a wristlock. Snake eyes, and a slingshot have Pillman begging for a time out, and he uses the distraction to dump Anderson to the outside. A dive off the apron after him sees Pillman crash into the rail, however, and Roma catches him with a sunset flip on the way back in for two. He gets overwhelmed in a Blond double-team, and the champs start cutting the ring in half. They destroy Roma with double-teams (openly mocking him along the way), until a nice dropkick stalemate with Pillman (Roma trying a missile dropkick, Pillman trying a dropkick to counter - both landing flat on their faces) allows the tag to Arn Anderson. DDT for Pillman, but the referee gets distracted by Austin, and there's no count. Tag to Steve to hit a flying elbowdrop for two, and he dumps Arn to the floor for a piledriver - only to get backdropped. Inside, Arn goes for the tag, but takes another elbowdrop for two, and gets dumped across the top rope to knock the wind out of him. Nice bit, as Austin tries a spinebuster, but Anderson counters with a stungun, then cradles the incoming Pillman for two. He can't sway the momentum against the fresh Pillman, however, and gets a flurry of fists to the face. Double knockout nearly allows him to make the tag, but Austin cuts him off with a side suplex for two. Vertical suplex, but Arn counters with his own to dump Austin to the floor - but gets cut off again by Pillman with a headscissors takedown. 2^nd rope bodypress misses, however, and he finally makes the tag to Roma - even working in a Rock 'n' Roll Express-esque somersault on the way. Four-way brawl immediately breaks out, and Anderson hits a spinebuster on Austin for Roma to roll up - only for Pillman to assist in a reversal, and the Blonds to retain at 26:16. Too long (this would have been much better served with about ten minutes trimmed off), but hard work from everyone, and a great 'everything but the kitchen sink' final heat segment make it work. It took them a while to establish the Horsemen as the faces, but once they did, Anderson in particular did a phenomenal job - which was a lot of fun to watch for guys like me, used to seeing him work brilliant heel tag matches for so many years. ** ¾

WCW United States Title Iron Man Match: Rick Rude v Dustin Rhodes: This is for the vacant title - held up after Rhodes battled challenger Rude to a double pin on TV in May. Big tussle over the initial lockup ends in a stalemate, and a second try goes the same way - Rude barking insults at Rhodes. Like the quality heel he is, Rude goes to the eyes to takeover, but gets backdropped coming out of the ropes. Dustin whips him around to hurt the back before taking him to the mat in a reverse chinlock - the crowd starting to file out for concessions en masse. Rude comes back with a lariat and a flying axehandle, but he has trouble with the hip swivel due to Rhodes' back attack. Rude returns the favor with a bearhug, but the taller Rhodes starts firing elbowsmashes, so Rude takes him down with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Reverse chinlock, but Dustin fights out with an electric chair - only to have a splash hit the knees. Rude can't capitalize, however, and Dustin sweeps him off his feet into a leglock. Rude won't give, so Dustin tries a backdrop, but Rude blasts him in the face, and hits a pair of Rude Awakenings to take the first fall at 13:20. Rude follows up with a flying clothesline for a series of two counts, and a faceslam sends Rhodes scurrying onto the ramp as the match reaches the halfway point. Rude quickly forces the referee to start counting Rhodes out, but Dustin manages to beat it back in - only to walk into a chinlock. Rhodes starts firing off chops to break, so Rude tries a tombstone, but gets reversed for two. Overzealous blind charge sends Dustin flying to the floor, however, and Rude hits a snap suplex on the way back in for two. Another snap suplex for two, but a third try gets reversed by Rhodes for two. Rude retains the momentum with another flying axehandle, and he works a chinlock, but Dustin gets uppity, so Rude turns it into a sleeper - running down the clock. Rhodes with a stunner to break, but he can't turn the tide, and Rude takes his time jabbing him in the throat and smashing his face into the turnbuckles. Series of jabs leaves Dustin punch-drunk, but Rude gets overconfident, and Dustin head fakes him into a bulldog at 26:55. Both men have to step it up now, and Dustin with a flying elbowsmash for two. Piledriver gets two, and an elbowdrop for two. Series of clotheslines for two, and he tries a sleeper, but Rude breaks with his own stunner. He still walks into a DDT, but time expires at 30:00 - giving us a lame draw. And, unfortunately, Gorilla Monsoon isn't there to settle it with overtime. That ending is even more annoying when you consider that Rhodes beat Rude for the vacant title anyway the next month. They were obviously trying for a sequel Rude's fantastic Iron Man against Ricky Steamboat the year before, but this didn't go nearly as well - boring the crowd with plodding, and basically stretching a ten minute match out to thirty. *


NWA World Title Match: Barry Windham v Ric Flair: This came about when Windham rebuffed Flair's attempts at a bromance - including turning down a spot in the Horsemen. Barry tries to dominate with closed fists at the bell, but Flair returns fire with chops, so Windham levels him with a lariat. Flair Flip to the floor for a clothesline, and a hanging vertical suplex brings the challenger back in. Cross corner clothesline reversed by Flair, and he hooks a sleeper off of a criss cross - only for Windham to bash him into the turnbuckles. Barry drops him like a Samoan, and hits a powerslam for two. Diving clothesline gets two, but a chopfest doesn't go well for the champ, and Flair hits a sloppy bodypress to send them to the outside. Windham slams him out there, and tries a ten-punch count on the way back in - but takes an inverted atomic drop. Shindrop, but Windham counters a vertical suplex into a superplex - only to miss a flying elbowdrop follow-up. He still gets two since Flair hasn't recovered from the superplex, but gets cradled for two when he tries a bodyslam. Flying bodypress, but Barry rolls through for two, and they work a double knockout spot. Windham up first with a desperation side-headlock, but Flair easily counters into a side suplex, and goes for the Figure Four. Windham dives for the ropes before he can lock it, however, so Flair fires off a solid shot at the knee at center ring, and hooks it on for the pin at 11:28. Strange ending (the hold was on for only a few seconds, and Windham gets pinned in it?) to a really unfocused, disappointing match. This would be Windham's last appearance, until he showed up as Flair's surprise opponent at Slamboree the next year. ¾*

Main Event: The Masters of the Powerbomb v Sting and Davey Boy Smith: The buildup for this may have gotten goofy, but Sid and Vader as a team (and billed as the 'Masters of the Powerbomb') is all kinds of awesome. Sid starts with the Stinger, and a big staredown ends with Sting spearing him into a series of mounted punches. Pair of faceslams, but Sid takes the pep out of his step with a chokeslam, and drives him into the heel corner for some abuse. Tag to Vader to unload some body shots, but the heels make the mistake of turning their backs, and get stereo flying clotheslines from Sting and Davey. They wisely bail to regroup after that, and the dust settles on Vader/Smith. Vader immediately does a number on him with a vicious series of body shots in the corner, and a short-clothesline leaves Smith crawling. Suplex, but Davey slips free, and takes the big man into a hanging vertical version for two. Clothesline follow-up literally bounces off of Vader, however, and he gets hooked in a leglock. Tag to Sid for a big boot, and a sloppy reverse chinlock that looks more like he's giving Davey a nice stretch than trying to make him submit. Nervehold next, as Sid moves on from stretching to massaging the Bulldog. I guess this show really is a day at the beach. Miscommunication with manager Harley Race ('Stop sucking!' 'Huh?') allows the tag to Sting, and he's a house of arson, but gets overwhelmed facing the Masters of the Powerbomb two on one. He gets his chance at a massage (ah, and now the real reason for the tag becomes apparent), too, before Sid passes to Vader to show us how to properly kill Sting. 2^nd rope bodypress starts things off nicely, but a superplex attempt gets him shoved back to the mat. Tag to Davey, but he quickly walks into a big boot from Sid, and Vader drops him like a Samoan for two. Vaderbomb triggers a four-way brawl, and with Sid handling Sting on the ramp way, Vader busts out his flying moonsault for the first time on WCW programming - likely to try and balance out Sid's level of suck. Davey's done, but Sting loses Sid, and dives into the ring to break up the count at two. Both men dazed, Vader tries another Samoan drop, but this time Davey manages a crucifix for the pin at 16:44. Dull stuff outside of the ending - an especially sloppy performance from Sid. ¾*

BUExperience: This show has pretty much been forgotten by history – and for good reason, as it’s almost entirely historically insignificant, and outside of the tag title match, the wrestling isn’t particularly engaging. The mini-movie is still awesome, though. DUD