WCW SuperBrawl IX

From Oakland, California; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan.


Opening Match: Booker T v Disco Inferno: Both guys waste a good minute after the bell on posing, and a criss cross ends in Booker hiptossing him. Another one ends on a Booker shoulderblock, but a third ends in Disco catching him with a swinging neckbreaker. They keep feeling each other out with various spots leading to nothing (bodyslam, back off; armdrag, back off), until Booker gets sick of Disco's dancing, and backdrops him. Into the corner for some chops, and a cross corner clothesline sets up a diving forearm for two. Another backdrop is blocked with a kneelift, and Disco grabs a chinlock before clotheslining Booker to the floor to block a kick. Disco follows for shots into the steps and guardrail, and a bodyslam on the way back in sets up a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two. Booker fires back with a spinkick to set up the axekick, but Disco reverses an Irish whip into an inverted atomic drop. Disco levels him with a clothesline (Booker doing a 360 to sell it), but the Chartbuster is blocked with a side suplex, and Booker hits the Harlem Sidekick. To the top, but Disco crotches him, only to have his superplex blocked, and Booker to finish with the Harlem Hangover at 9:19. Slow start, but it really got going toward the end - though the finish looked horribly phony with Disco out of position, and having to set himself up for the Hangover. ¾*

Chris Jericho v Saturn: If Jericho loses, he has to wear a dress, since he was vocal in his objections to Saturn's cross dressing during this period. Saturn goes right for him with a clothesline and a backdrop, and Chris bails to the floor - only to take another clothesline from the apron. Saturn whips him into the rail to set up an axehandle off of the rail, and they brawl into the crowd for a bit. Back to ringside, Jericho reverses another whip into the rail, and adds a shot into the steps for good measure. Back in, Chris goes for a German suplex, but Saturn counters into an overhead suplex, and a backdrop follows. Jericho tries a dropkick, but Saturn stops shot coming out of the ropes, and sends him back out to the floor with a slingshot. Saturn follows with a plancha, but wastes times going after Jericho's old, fat bodyguard Ralphus (one of the more hilarious Jericho bits from the era), and gets dropkicked from behind. Chris with a hanging vertical suplex and a pair of chops knocks Saturn to the floor. Chris follows with a missile dropkick, and rolls Saturn in for a bodyslam to set up a flying elbowdrop - which misses. Saturn superkicks him, and a bodyslam of his own sets up a flying splash - which hits. Saturn with a roundhouse kick to set up a ten-punch count, but Jericho counters into the Liontamer - only for Saturn to cradle him for two. Powerbomb, but Chris slips free, and plants him with a release German suplex. To the top, but Saturn crotches him, only to have his superplex blocked, and Chris to leap with a flying bodypress. It hits, but Saturn counters the cover into the Rings of Saturn - only for Chris to make the ropes. Saturn with a modified brainbuster, but a springboard moonsault misses, and Jericho hits one of his own for two. Spinkick, but Saturn counters into the Death Valley Driver, then gives one to the referee instead of covering, and walks out - officially losing by countout at 11:21. I really hated that ending, but the match was good, fast paced stuff up until then. ***

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Billy Kidman v Chavo Guerrero Jr: Chavo slaps him at the bell, and hides in the ropes to lure the champ into a pair of chops. Hiptoss, but Kidman counters with a headscissors takedown, and a dropkick puts Chavo on the floor. Back in, but Billy knocks him right back to the floor with an atomic drop, and this time he slides out after him before he can regroup - whipping the challenger into the rail. Inside, Chavo tries to offer a handshake to slow Billy down, but Kidman backdrops him onto the apron, and a slugfest out there ends with Billy crashing into the guardrail. Inside again, Chavo gives him a brainbuster for two, and a snapmare sets up a chinlock. Kidman powers up, but a backelbow puts him out on the floor yet again, and Guerrero follows with a somersault plancha before rolling him in to stomp a mud hole. A charge misses though, and Kidman capitalizes with a flying bodypress for two. Into the ropes, but Chavo stops him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, but a powerbomb is blocked with a backdrop. Kidman fails to capitalize this time though, and takes a side suplex. Chavo heads up, but a flying bodypress is blocked with a dropkick, and Kidman cradles him for two. Chavo manages a drop-toehold in the corner to block a charge, and a rana off of the top is worth two. Another side suplex, but Kidman counters into a sitout powerbomb for two - only to get crotched on the turnbuckle as he goes for the Shooting Star Press. Guerrero DDTs him down for two, but another try at the powerbomb is countered into a facebuster, and the Shooting Star Press helps Kidman retain at 8:26. Some reliably neat spots, but they never really clicked, and it was disjointed. Still, a good effort, and at under ten minutes, it didn't overstay its welcome. **

WCW World Tag Team Title Tournament Final Match: Curt Hennig and Barry Windham v Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko: The idea here is that it's a double elimination tournament, and Benoit/Malenko have already lost once, so in order to win, they have to beat Hennig/Windham twice in this match. If you can't see exactly where they're going with this, you have no business watching pro-wrestling. Windham starts with Malenko, and Dean uses his speed to catch him with a few armdrags. Barry tries to roll to the floor to take a break, but Dean outruns him, and catches Barry in a drop-toehold into a front-facelock. Windham counters into an armbar, but Malenko blasts him with a backelbow, and both men tag. A chopfest goes Benoit's way, and a test-of-strength allows him to show off his bridge before he ties Curt up in a straightjacket. Hennig makes the ropes, but makes the mistake of slapping Benoit, and gets murdered with chops before tagging. Windham tries to overpower Benoit, but also gets chopped, and Malenko tags in with a dropkick. A distraction from Hennig allows Windham a suplex, and he unloads a ten-punch count that looks hilarious with the size difference. Tag back to Hennig for a double-clothesline, and Curt covers for two. More double-teaming in the corner, but Malenko manages to get to Benoit, and he unloads on both heels - hitting Hennig with a backbreaker for two. A gorgeous snap suplex gets two, and Dean comes in with a cross corner clothesline and a side suplex for two. He and Chris hit a double-backelbow, and Benoit hits the flying headbutt - Windham breaking up the cover. Tag to Dean, but Hennig catches him with a low blow after a sloppy sequence, and Windham tags to start cutting the ring in half. Dean escapes Curt to tag Benoit, and Chris unloads with a series of chops. A clothesline leaves Hennig on dream street, but he manages an inverted atomic drop, and passes back to Barry. Windham goes right into the superplex for two, and a double-suplex with Hennig gets two. Hennig with a snapmare into a rolling necksnap to set up a somersault cradle for two, and Windham adds a side suplex for two. They continue to cut the ring in half, but a four-way brawl end in Malenko hooking Windham in the Texas Cloverleaf for the submission at 19:34. The brawl continues, and Malenko tries the Cloverleaf again, but this time Windham chokes him out with his belt, and clotheslines him for the pin at 20:37 - winning the titles. Benoit and Malenko looked unbelievably good here, but Windham and Hennig (though they worked hard) just couldn't hang with them by 1999. I'd love to see 1999 Benoit and Malenko versus 1990 Hennig and 1987 Windham for twenty minutes, though. * ½

Hair v Mask Match: The Outsiders v Konnan and Rey Mysterio Jr: This is Miss Elizabeth's hair versus Rey Mysterio's mask - which are actually good stakes, since either would be interesting to see. Scott Hall starts with Mysterio, and immediately tries to intimidate him with the size difference. He shoves Mysterio around, but Rey snaps off an armdrag when Scott gets too cocky. Rey with a drop-toehold, and he blocks a bodyslam with a dropkick. Rey with a springboard rocker dropper, and a springboard seated senton splash hits. Bodypress, but Scott catches him in a blockbuster, and tags Kevin Nash in to squash him proper. Nash has fun launching Mysterio across the ring a bit, and Hall comes in with a cross corner clothesline. Outsiders Edge, but Rey slips free, and dives into the corner to tag Konnan. He's a casa of fire on both Outsiders, but gets overwhelmed in a double-team, and Nash murders him in the corner with kneelifts and the boot choke. They cut the ring in half, but Hall runs into a double-knockout spot, and Rey gets the tag. He blasts Nash with a springboard dropkick, then adds one for Hall. Spinheel kick for Nash, and he uses the big guy as a springboard into Hall. Konnan joins in for a four-way brawl, but Lex Luger jumps him, and Rey is left two-on-one. He holds his own, but the Outsiders Edge finishes him at 11:01 - and Rey loses his mask. The David and Goliath stuff was a lot of fun (especially in 1999, when Mysterio was rarely programmed with bigger guys), but it wasn't very good overall - the heat segment on Konnan particularly dull. Though, the mask less Mysterio stuff was pretty intriguing in 1999, even if it wasn't the best business decision on WCWs part in the long run. *

WCW Television Title Match: Scott Steiner v Diamond Dallas Page: Page charges in, and Steiner actually dives through the ropes to the floor in fear. Page gives chase, and they slug it out before Dallas knocks him into the rail. Inside, Page keeps unloading, and hits a discus clothesline, but gets speared to trigger a schoolyard scuffle. Back to the floor, Steiner goes into the rail again, and Page catches him with a flying clothesline on the way back in. A swinging neckbreaker sends Steiner rolling back to the floor, and Buff Bagwell runs down to go his best Marky Mark impression/help him up. Page takes them both out with inverted atomic drops and clotheslines, but gets overwhelmed, and clotheslined by Scott. They double-team Page on the floor, and Scott with another clothesline on the way back in for two. More double-teaming, and Scott hangs him in a tree of woe as the match drastically slows down. Steiner with a belly-to-belly suplex for two, and a backbreaker hits. Bagwell passes him a chair, and pops off the turnbuckle pad while Scott whacks him with it, but the referee catches him, and ejects him from ringside. Page uses the distraction to knock Steiner out to the floor for a plancha, but a whip into the steps is reversed, and Scott goes for the chair again - the referee stepping in. That allows Page a clothesline, and he rolls Scott in for another flying clothesline, but gets crotched this time, and Scott brings him down with a rana for two. Hiptoss is countered with a DDT, and both men are left looking at the lights - Page recovering first, and covering for two. Diamond Cutter, but Steiner shoves him into the exposed buckle to block, then drives him into it with a series of powerslams, and hooks the Steiner Recliner to retain at 13:53. Slow, dull, and overlong - but Page was trying. ¼*

WCW United States Title Match: Roddy Piper v Scott Hall: Piper throws the kilt at him and charges, taking Scott to the mat for a series of rights. He chokes Hall with his t-shirt, and an earringer sets up another set of fists. Swinging neckbreaker gets two, so Disco Inferno runs interference, but Piper shrugs him off and gives Hall an atomic drop. Inverted version hits, but Hall knocks him out to the floor when he tries a follow-up, and rams the champ into the steps. Inside, Hall unloads with rights, as Piper tells him to hit harder. Hall obliges, so Piper blows him low, but Scott responds in kind - both men left down on the mat. Tree of woe allows Disco to interfere again, and Hall hooks an assisted abdominal stretch. Piper hiptosses free as the crowd dies, and Roddy fittingly hooks a Sleeper. Disco breaks it up, but Piper takes him out, so Kevin Nash runs in, and the distraction allows Hall to schoolboy him with two feet on the ropes to win the title at 8:21. Neither guy was particularly good by 1999, and considering Hall had already worked earlier, I wasn't expecting much. But even I wasn't expecting anything this bad. Hall looked drunk. His attempts at selling looked more like Piper was pouring 100 proof vodka down his throat, and both guys had it in total house show mode here. -½*

Goldberg v Bam Bam Bigelow: Big staredown to start, and the initial lockup goes to a stalemate. Another collar-and-elbow goes Goldberg's way, but Bigelow fires off a cheap shot during the rope break - only for Goldberg to pop up, and slam him. Bam Bam bails to the floor, but takes a diving shoulderblock on the way in, and a fireman’s carry sets up an armbreaker, but Bigelow's in the ropes. Goldberg with a dropkick and a clothesline to knock him back to the floor, but Bigelow is ready with a sweep this time, and he whacks Goldberg's knee on the ring apron a couple of times. Into the steps, and back inside, Bam Bam keeps after the knee with a headbutt to it. Leglock, but Goldberg chokes his way free, so Bam Bam switches to a chinlock. Goldberg uses a side suplex to break, but he's still battered, and Bigelow bodyslams him to set up a flying headbutt for two. Flying moonsault, but Goldberg shoves him off - only for Bam Bam to hit the deck as he tries the spear. He still ends up taking it out of a criss cross, and the Jackhammer finishes him at 11:39. I appreciated the attempts at psychology, but it didn't really build to anything, and this was far too plodding. ¼*

Main Event: WCW World Title Match: Hollywood Hulk Hogan v Ric Flair: Hogan controls with shoulderblocks in the early going, but Flair outwrestles him into a hammerlock, and chops the champ in the corner. Hulk returns fire with a backdrop and a cross corner clothesline for two, and Flair flips to the floor for a chairshot. Flair tries to chop, but Hogan rakes the back, and knocks him into the rail - Flair blading. Hulk suplexes him on the floor, and we head back in for Hogan to slam him off of the top. He adds a pair of elbowdrops to set up mounted punches, but Flair pops up and tells him to bring it. Hulk gets kinky with the weightlifting belt, but Flair wants more, and chops him - Hogan no-selling like a babyface. Flair responds with a mule kick, and he steals the weight belt for a little revenge - likely relishing it after Hogan took that spot too far the month before on Ric's own son. Flair bites him, and Torrie Wilson (unnamed, in her debut) marches down. She hops up on the apron to slap Flair (the announcers not wondering if she's there to collect child support, or something, sadly), but Flair shrugs it off and side suplexes Hogan. Ten-punch count and a hanging vertical suplex get two, but Hulk catches him with the big boot (Schiavone: that's one of his trademark moves!!), and he hits the Legdrop. Flair clips the knee as a masked man starts heading down to the ring, and he breaks up the Figure Four with a taser - Hogan covering to retain at 12:01. Afterwards, the masked man reveals himself as David Flair, and Torrie makes out with him. Hell, Ric would likely understand his son tasing him in exchange for a piece of that - not really a heel turn in my book. This was less a proper match, than two guys just running through an exhibition of their routines for a few minutes, with a bullshit finish thrown in for giggles. DUD

BUExperience: The only things worth sitting through this for are Saturn/Jericho and Rey losing his mask, and neither of those is even close to enough to carry a pay per view – especially one that features that Hall/Piper fiasco. DUD