WCW Spring Stampede 1999

From Tacoma, Washington; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan.


Opening #1 Contenders Match: Juventud Guerrera v Blitzkrieg: The winner becomes the top contender to the Cruiserweight Title. Blitzkrieg tries to intimidate him with a lightning kick exhibition, and they trade hammerlocks into a pinfall reversal sequence that ends with Blitzkrieg grounding him in a leglock. Juvi counters into a victory cradle for two, but Blitz grabs a headlock to slow him down. A long criss cross ends in a Blitzkrieg tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two, but Guerrera chops him, and takes him down with a headscissors. Juvi wastes time playing to the crowd and takes a handspring elbow, and Blitzkrieg keeps him in the corner for a ten-punch count. A backdrop puts Guerrera out on the apron, but he flies back in with a springboard dropkick. Blitzkrieg bails to the floor to regroup, but Juvi is right on him with a tope suicida, and he rolls him back in for a brainbuster. Guerrera with a surfboard, but Blitzkrieg escapes, and topples him for two. Guerrera tries to keep control with a suplex, but Blitzkrieg slips free, and dropkicks him out to the floor to set up a flying bodypress, but Juvi is ready with a vicious dropkick that hurts him almost as much as Blitz. Back in, Guerrera tries a tilt-a-whirl of his own, but Blitz armdrags him out to the floor, and follows with a springboard moonsault. In, Blitzkrieg tries a powerbomb, but triggers a reversal sequences that ends in Guerrera hitting a brutal inverted DDT for two. Guerrera tries something off of the top, but Blitzkrieg knocks him down (that whole sequence was botched), only for Blitz to miss a corkscrew moonsault as he tries to salvage things. Juvi Driver looks to finish, but Blitzkrieg counters with a small package for two, and then takes him up for a headscissors off the top for two. Back up, but Juvi blocks this time, and finishes him with an insane Juvi Driver off the top rope at 11:12. I liked this a lot better back in '99, but it's still a hell of a match. The pacing was a little off (too much 'spot... wander... spot' stuff), but the spots themselves were not only eye-popping, but absolutely brutal. ***

Hardcore Match: Bam Bam Bigelow v Hak: Bigelow brings a cart full of plunder, and they don't even make it to the ring before a brawl over the weapons breaks out in the aisle. Hey, just like Kindergarten in the hood! Over to the entrance, Hak puts Bigelow onto a table, and drives him through it with a swanton bomb off of a stagecoach. They brawl back to ringside, and Bigelow whacks him with a crutch, but gets hit with a trashcan as they head into the ring for the first time. Hak takes too long setting a table up, and Bigelow cracks him with a cookie sheet, then a broom. More weapon shots set up a suplex, but Hak reverses - only for his knee to give out. That looked botched, and even Tony Schiavone refers to it simply as 'whatever that was.' Hak goes for a ladder, and dropkicks it at Bigelow to set up a swanton bomb onto a ladder covered Bam Bam. Hak bulldogs him onto the ladder, but wastes time looking for more weapons under the ring (as opposed to all the weapons already in the ring, I guess), and gets stomped. Bigelow slams him off the ladder and through a table, then props the ladder up in the corner for an Irish whip. Hak returns fire with a crutch, but misses a flying legdrop, and hits a piece of the guardrail he brought into the ring earlier. Bam Bam goes for a fire extinguisher, but Hak whacks him with a Singapore cane, and gives him a Russian legsweep into the piece of the rail. They fight up to the top rope, but Bigelow gets the best of it - bringing him down with a visually impressive Greetings from Asbury Park through a table for the pin at 9:34. The usual watered down 'hardcore' junk (all those weapons and no blood?), but both guys worked really hard (which I appreciate), the crowd got into it, and it didn't overstay its welcome. Fun stuff. **

Scotty Riggs v Mikey Whipwreck: Riggs does his best Rick Rude impression (hip gyrations and all), but unlike Rude (or even Val Venis) he looks like he's trying way too hard to be 'cool' or 'sexy' and ends up looking like an idiot, instead. He still controls with armdrags in the early going, but Whipwreck slaps him, and unloads with rights in the corner. Ten-punch count and a jumping backelbow set up a dropkick, and Riggs is on the floor. Mikey follows with a whip into the rail, and a baseball slide sets up a slingshot rana. A slingshot legdrop misses though, and Riggs brutally knocks him off of the apron and into the rail - Mikey's head BOUNCING off of the steel. Scotty with a flying axehandle on the way back in for two, and a dropkick follows. Snapmare sets up an elbowdrop for two, and a cross corner high knee leaves Whipwreck dazed. He manages to block a second one, and hits a 2^nd rope dropkick for two. Russian legsweep gets two, and a rana is worth two. Criss cross, and Riggs gets the best of it with a diving forearm for the pin at 7:04. Filler, but both guys made a solid effort, and Whipwreck sold well for Riggs. *

Konnan v Disco Inferno: Disco goes right for him and stomps in the corner, and a goofy looking rolling clothesline hits, but Disco gets bulldogged while coming out of the ropes. Konnan with a seated dropkick and a ten-punch count, but a cross corner charge misses, and Disco drives an axehandle into the back. Konnan with a springboard armdrag to try and recover the momentum, but Disco slows him down with a chinlock, and hits a short-clothesline followed by a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two. Back to the chinlock, but a criss cross ends with both men spilling out to the floor, and Disco takes a shot into the ringpost. He still manages a snapmare and a fistdrop on the way back in for two, and we take another detour through chinlock land. Bodyslam sets up another 2^nd rope elbowdrop, but this time Konnan dodges him, and hits his own (slightly less goofy) rolling clothesline. Konnan with a nice cradle DDT for two, and a cradle (sans DDT) gets two. Backdrop, but Disco counters with a swinging neckbreaker for two - only to have the Last Dance (a stunner) reversed, and Konnan pins him with his own knockoff hold at 9:18. I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'bad,' but it certainly wasn't 'good,' and the crowd had no patience for it. Disco's constant dancing and chinlocking didn't help matters any, either. DUD

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Rey Mysterio Jr v Billy Kidman: Both guys are co-holders of the tag titles at this point. Even today, seeing Rey mask less and in camo pants is just weird. They get right into a bridging reversal sequence that ends in Rey cracking his neck with a headscissors, but Kidman fires back with a slingshot version. He backdrops Rey to the floor to set up a plancha, but a whip into the rail is reversed - only for Rey's bulldog attempt to get him dropped onto the rail. Kidman uses the rail for a slingshot legdrop, and rolls the champ in for two. Chinlock, but Rey pretty quickly powers out, and knocks his tag partner to the floor with a headscissors. He follows with a springboard moonsault, but Kidman catches him - only for Rey to slip into the headscissors anyway. Mysterio with a well executed springboard seated senton on the way back in for two, and a springboard moonsault gets two. Rana, but Kidman counters with a running powerbomb, and covers for two. Side suplex gets two, and a sitout powerbomb is worth two. Back to the floor, Kidman hits a shooting star press off of the apron, and he rolls him in for a scoop powerslam - only to get dropkicked as he tries a flying bodypress follow-up. That gets Rey two, and he adds a crazy top-rope bulldog for two. Spinheel kick, but Kidman blocks a powerbomb with a backdrop, and hits a powerslam for two. Another chinlock, but Rey powers into a clothesline – knocking Billy over the top to set up a springboard somersault senton. In, Rey dives from the top again, but Billy clotheslines him on the way down for two, and slaps on another chinlock. Rey busts out a gorgeous rana for two, and decides to get in on this chinlock action with one of his own. Kidman dodges a blind charge, but a flapjack is countered with a sitout facebuster for two. Kidman with a sitout double-underhook facebuster, and a sunset powerbomb gets two. Rey dodges him coming into the corner to set up another bulldog off the top for two, and Kidman returns fire with a springboard bulldog for two. Rey with a guillotine legdrop after Kidman misses a charge, and he adds a springboard moonsault for two. Powerbomb, but Kidman counters into a facebuster, and heads up for the Shooting Star Press, but Mysterio crotches him on the turnbuckle, and brings him down with a rana to retain at 15:33. Good, but they were trying way too hard to have a five-star match here (effort is always good, but this felt forced), and it hurt the match a lot. ***

Raven and Saturn v Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko: Saturn (still in his dress wearing period) starts with Benoit, and they get right into trading hammerlocks - Benoit winning by knocking him out to the floor. Malenko is right on him with an axehandle off of the apron, but Saturn catches him in an inverted atomic drop, and nails Benoit. He quickly takes him to his corner to set up a few double-teams with Raven (forward-falling suplex/flying splash, drop-toehold/elbowdrop, etc), but Benoit ends up knocking Raven to the floor, and this time Arn Anderson lends a hand to make sure Dean beats him properly. Official tag to Malenko for a double-team spinebuster, and they wishbone Raven. Malenko with a brainbuster for two, and a leg lariat, but a tag to Benoit gets him cradled for one - Malenko distracting the referee to delay the count. Benoit regroups with a side suplex for two, and blasts Raven with a short-clothesline for two. Malenko tags with a cross corner clothesline (Benoit brilliantly adding a clothesline of his own from the apron), but another cross corner charge doesn't go as well, and Raven clotheslines Dean. Tag to Saturn, and he takes both guys out with suplexes - even stopping to nail Anderson for good measure. Raven pops in for an electric chair/flying bodypress combo, but Benoit breaks up the Death Valley Driver, and German suplexes Saturn. Malenko adds a powerbomb into the Texas Cloverleaf as Benoit and Raven brawl to the floor, but Saturn manages to make the ropes, and drop Dean in the Death Valley Driver for two - Benoit breaking up the count with a flying headbutt. Just awesome. And the crowd is loving it, too. The dust settles on Saturn and Benoit, and Chris levels him with chops. Backbreaker gets two, and he tags Dean for a drop-toehold/baseball slide combo. Malenko adds a kneedrop for two, and slaps on a sleeper - tying Saturn up on the mat in a bodyscissors. Raven saves, so Benoit comes in with a Northern lights suplex for two, and the match slows down a bit as the Horsemen work to cut the ring in half. Of course, it was breakneck before that, so 'slowing down' is just a relative term. Saturn manages to side suplex Malenko for the tag, and Raven is a nuthouse of fire. He drop-toeholds Benoit onto an unfolded chair, but on the floor, Saturn misses a flying splash through a table on Malenko - allowing Dean to save Chris. Malenko still ends up taking a DDT from Raven, but Anderson distracts the referee, and Benoit breaks it up with a chair-assisted flying headbutt - Malenko scoring the fall off of it at 14:12. Fucking awesome! It needed another five minutes to really get going, but this was hard hitting (no one was pulling punches here), really well paced, and filled with awesome combo stuff from both teams. **** ¼

WCW United States Title Tournament Final Match: Scott Steiner v Booker T: Steiner does the Jerry Lawler 'walk around the ring and insult the fans one by one' routine before the bell, but unlike Lawler (who's funny when he does it) Steiner is downright cruel. Whether or not that's a good thing, I'm not sure. Inside, Steiner continues to stall, and actually bails to go yell at the fans some more. Booker finally gets hold of him with a takedown, but Steiner counters on the mat - though he's too busy yelling at the fans to properly apply a hold. A criss cross goes Booker's way with a dropkick, and Scott's on the floor again. Inside, Steiner unloads forearms, but Booker catches him with a diving forearm coming out of the ropes. Savate kick, and he dumps Scott back out to the floor - this time following him with a clothesline off of the apron. He rams him into the rail to let all the fans he tortured abuse him a bit, but that's not the smartest of moves - Steiner actively swinging at people. Inside, Booker hits a pair of cross corner clotheslines and a ten-punch count, but Scott rudely interrupts by dumping him to the floor. Steiner whacks him with a chair out there, and stops to make sure his insane biceps haven't popped before dropping an elbow. Oh, wait, he was just posing. I get confused sometimes. Steiner with a backbreaker for two, and a belly-to-belly suplex gets two. Bearhug, but Booker won't quit, so Scott drops him with an overhead suplex. Vertical suplex, but Booker counters into a DDT, and we have a slugfest! That goes Scott's way with an eye rake, but Booker fires back with the Harlem Sidekick, and adds a series of clotheslines. Unfortunately, the referee gets bumped on the third one, and the crowd instinctively hit their feet in unison to look towards the entrance for a run-in. None comes, but Booker hits the axekick and a flapjack to set up another Harlem Sidekick, but there's no referee to count the fall. Booker lets off to revive him, and hits a spinebuster, but Steiner blocks the Harlem Hangover by crotching Booker on the top turnbuckle. Scott brings him down with a Frankensteiner, but the referees dramatic count only reaches two! Booker with a vertical suplex, but this time Steiner counters - popping Booker with a set of knux to win the vacant title at 16:00. This was an ten minute match stretched to sixteen with stalling, and unfortunately the ten weren't very good either. Lots of slow, plodding stuff from Steiner, but honestly, it could have been much worse. ½*

Goldberg v Kevin Nash: Nash powers him into the corner out of the initial lockup for a series of kneelifts, and he goes for the boot choke right away. Geez, Kev, don't run through your whole move set in the first two minutes, dude. Picture-frame elbow and a mule kick ground Goldberg, and Nash hits a short-clothesline for two. A pair of cross corner whips set up a sidewalk slam for two, but a big boot misses, and Goldberg catches him with a diving shoulderblock. Goldberg with a suplex and a sidekick to set up the spear, but Nash leapfrogs him, and Goldberg takes out the referee. That allows Lex Luger to blast him with a chair, but Goldberg blocks the Powerbomb by grabbing a handful of Nash's nuts and twisting. Spear, Jackhammer, and Pin  at 7:46. Short and inoffensive, but certainly not good. DUD

Main Event: WCW World Title Four-Corners Texas Tornado Match: Ric Flair v Hollywood Hulk Hogan v Sting v Diamond Dallas Page: Randy Savage acts as the guest referee (wearing sunglasses the whole time, since he's awesome), making his return after spending nearly a year on the shelf with knee injuries. Everyone brawls to start, naturally, and Hogan ends up on the floor with Flair to allow Sting and Page to have the ring. Sting goes for the Deathlock early on, but Dallas makes the ropes, and hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. Diamond Cutter, but Sting blocks, and hits a flying clothesline to set up the Stinger Splash for two - Flair breaking up the count. They switch dance partners (Hogan/Page, Flair/Sting), and Ric gets slammed off of the top and back into brawling with Hogan. Hulk takes off his weightlifting belt for a couple of shots as Sting and Page fight out to the floor, and Hogan adds a cross corner clothesline to flop Flair. Hogan hits the big boot/Legdrop combo for the pin, but Sting lets off the Deathlock on Page to break it up. That allows Flair to clip Hogan's knee, but Hulk lands badly, and ends up injuring himself. Flair keeps working on it anyway, and locks the Figure Four, but Hulk reverses until Page breaks it up. He grabs Hogan for the ringpost figure four (a spot I've never liked, even when Bret Hart did it a thousand times better than Page did here), but Hulk's knee is ALL fucked up - both Sting and Flair giving him breathing room as they realize there's a problem. Hogan gets carried out (not to return until the summer), as the other three improvise a new match. They start with Page hanging in the corner while Sting battles Flair - Sting unloading a ten-punch count. Ric chops, but Sting no-sells, and Flair flips to the floor - Page diving at Sting with a clothesline from behind, and covering for two. Dallas slams Sting for two, and a discus clothesline on Flair gets two. Sting fires back with a Stinger Splash and a hairpull slam, but a tombstone piledriver is reversed for two. Flair tosses Page to the floor to finish Sting, but ends up getting super-duperplexed by the Stinger for two. Flair with a side suplex for two, and he tries a sleeper, but Page sneaks back in with a sleeper of his own on Flair - a triple sleeper. Sadly, the crowd doesn't pop for it, and you can kinda see that they were counting on it. Sting drops into a chain stunner to break, so Ric and Dallas take turns chopping him on the ropes. Sting no-sells and takes both out with a clotheslines, and adds a bulldog for Page and a Stinger Splash for Flair. Scorpion Deathlock, but Dallas breaks it up - only to have his suplex follow-up countered with the Deathdrop. That allows Flair to pounce on Sting with the Figure Four, but Savage not only refuses to check for the submission, he gives Flair a Flying Elbowdrop, and Page goes for the kill with a Diamond Cutter on Flair to win the title at 17:27. Fun, non-stop match - probably one of the best WCW main events post-1996. * ¼

BUExperience: I haven’t seen this show in a very long time, but I remember liking it a lot in 1999, and I was pleased to find that I still do. Good effort up and down the card, a hot crowd, and a true classic in the Raven/Saturn versus Benoit/Malenko match make this a winner - perhaps the last truly great, memorable WCW pay per view before the promotion folded two years later.

Personal theory: there was a smoking hot blonde in the front row that almost all of the wrestlers stopped to look at/play to at least once per match (Scotty Riggs the most obvious offender). They should have had her in the front row of every WCW show in 1999, because her pussy was clearly what they needed to beat Vince McMahon. ****