WCW Fall Brawl 1998

From Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan.

Opening Match: The Dancing Fools v Davey Boy Smith and Jim Neidhart: Alex Wright starts with Davey Boy, and Smith tries to overpower him, but Alex counters a headlock with a snapmare. Slugfest in the corner goes Wright's way, but a criss cross ends in Davey hiptossing him. Press slam, and both men tag - Neidhart knocking Disco Inferno around with shoulderblocks. Disco tries an armbar, but Jim nails him with an elbow, so Disco takes him down with a drop-toehold, and stomps him - Anvil hilariously winded through it all. Tag back to Davey, but he walks right into a double-team from the Fools, and Wright gives him a leg lariat for two. Cross corner whip, but a blind charge misses, and Davey clotheslines him - only to get a boot to the face when he tries a backdrop. Disco tags with a 2^nd rope elbowdrop for two, and he hits an inverted atomic drop. Criss cross ends with Disco out on the floor, and Neidhart is on him with a whip into the guardrail. He rolls him back in for Davey to chinlock, and he hits a sloppy stungun - missing the mark, and hitting the middle rope. Neidhart blows a slingshot shoulderblock next (belly flop!), and Wright tags in for a gorgeous missile dropkick. Backdrop for Davey to trigger a brawl (including a cute criss cross sequence with the referee having to hit the deck) - Smith pinning Disco with the Running Powerslam at 11:53. Neidhart and Smith just looked terribly broken down and out of place here (interestingly, this match led to Smith becoming even more broken down, as he injured himself by landing on Warrior’s trapdoor during the bout)... what a difference a year makes. ¼*

WCW Television Title Match: Chris Jericho v Goldberg: Well, sort of. That's the promised match, but instead Jericho has a bald jobber come out to Goldberg's music (complete with toy version of the WCW title belt), and squashes him with the Liontamer at 1:14. Just an angle. DUD

Ernest Miller v Norman Smiley: Miller tries to give him a chance to forfeit, and is even kind enough to turn his back to save Smiley the embarrassment of having to face him while he does - but Norman responds by attacking, and knocking Miller to the floor! Jerk! Ernest plants a superkick on him when he follows him up, and adds a whip into the rail for good measure. Back inside, Miller unloads chops, then switches to kicks, but Smiley side suplexes him and drops a leg for two. Uppercuts in the corner, but he walks into a legsweep, and Miller chokes him on the ropes. Savate kick and an armdrag leave Norman in an armbar, but he counters with a drop-toehold, and hits a bodyslam. Hanging vertical suplex gets Smiley two, but a superplex is blocked, and Miller hits a really sloppy flying roundhouse kick before finishing with a standard roundhouse kick at 5:04. This had no place on pay per view. Embarrassingly bad. –¼*

Scott Steiner v Rick Steiner: Scott has a doctor’s note, but WCW Commissioner JJ Dillon isn't buying it, and orders him to wrestle, or face a lifetime suspension. Rick is ready, too, unloading on him with closed fists right away, and hitting a clothesline. Into the corner for more abuse, and Scott bails to the floor to block a clothesline. Rick follows and dumps him into the crowd for a couple of stiff shots, but Scott blocks an overhead suplex with a low blow on the way back in. Back out, Scott rams him into the steel steps, and rolls him back in for a clothesline. Double-underhook powerbomb, but Rick counters with a DDT, and heads to the top to finish - only for Buff Bagwell to distract him before he can. Rick nails him, but Scott uses the opportunity to bash him, only for the referee to stop the match at 5:30 - supposedly over concern for Bagwell's neck. See, back in April of 1998, Rick Steiner botched a flying bulldog and nearly legit crippled Bagwell, and this is a nod to that. So everyone's all concerned that Bagwell is paralyzed, but he ends up jumping out of the ambulance and attacking Rick anyway. Bullshit ending aside, this could have been worse. ¼*

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Juventud Guerrera v Silver King: King takes it to him with chops off the bat, but Guerrera slips out of a vertical suplex, and hooks a wristlock. King flip-flops his way free and hits a dropkick, and a chopfest turns into a criss cross - Guerrera winning with a headscissors takedown. King bails out to the floor to regroup, but Juvi suckers him back in, and hits a springboard rana for two. Another criss cross won by the challenger with an alley-oop dropkick, and he dumps Guerrera across the top rope. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two, and a modified shoulderbreaker gets two. Another dropkick knocks Guerrera out to the floor, and Silver King follows with a springboard bodypress. Inside, King backdrops him, but a flapjack is countered into a rana for two. Guerrera with a clothesline and a ten-punch count, followed by a missile dropkick for two. Criss cross ends in King hitting a superkick for two, but a cross corner charge misses, and Guerrera hits an insane inverted rana off the top for two! Holy shit! Juvidriver, but King counters into a small package for two, and hits a snap suplex. Springboard moonsault misses, however, and Juvi gets the Driver - finishing with a 450 splash at 8:36. Yeah, that inverted rana should have been the finish - nothing else could top that. Some nice spots, but terrible flow - mostly due to King's tendency to stall and plod between moves. * ¼

Raven's Rules Match: Raven v Saturn: If Raven wins, Saturn joins the Flock. If Saturn wins, the Flock has to break up. If no one wins, they both have to get Flock of Seagulls haircuts. Raven doesn't want to get started, so Saturn pulls him out of the corner - only to take a stungun. Raven with a cross corner shoulderblock and a kneelift, but he takes too long following up, and gets superkicked. Saturn adds a bodyslam for two, and an inverted atomic drop sets up a springboard bodypress for two. Another slam, and Saturn heads up with a flying splash for two. Lodi distracts him to allow Raven a kneelift, but a suplex to the floor gets blocked, and Saturn knocks Raven off of the apron and into the rail. He follows out with a plancha and rolls Raven back in, but Lodi dumps him into the rail before he can follow, and Raven snapmares him to set up a pair of 2^nd rope elbowdrops for two. Sunset flip gets one, and a lariat sends Saturn spiraling to the mat as Lodi holds up signs mocking Bill Clinton. Raven with a sleeper, but Saturn quickly uses a stunner to break - which Raven somehow gets a two count off of. Pair of snapmares, but a third is countered into a backslide for two. Raven with a two-alarm rolling Russian legsweep for two, and he grabs a chair for a drop-toehold onto the seat. The rest of the Flock comes out to finish Saturn, but Kidman turns on Raven with a missile dropkick, and Saturn hits the Death Valley Driver for two. That leaves both guys down for the count, and Raven is up first, but he talks into an exploder suplex. Bodyslam and a springboard legdrop get two, and a sitout scoop slam gets two. Raven tries an inside cradle for two, but gets locked in the Rings of Saturn - Lodi breaking it up before he can tap. The referee goes down off of a reversed cross corner whip, and Kanyon comes in with a Flatliner on Saturn - getting Raven a dramatic two count. Saturn blows him low, but stops to drive Lodi through a table with the Death Valley Driver, and walks into the DDT for two! Raven is shocked, and Saturn finishes him with another Death Valley Driver at 14:02. Started off well enough, really slowed down in the middle, but the ending was hot, and there were lots of believable near falls. Good stuff. ** ¼

Curt Hennig v Dean Malenko: Malenko slugs him into the corner right away, and just goes ballistic with rights until Hennig bails. No dice though, as Dean chases him out to the floor, and dropkicks his knee against the guardrail. Bash into the post next, and he hooks a leglock on the way back in. Curt escapes, so Dean simply starts kicking at the knee - literally stopping any offense Hennig manages with a swift shot. Malenko with a kneebreaker, so Rick Rude pulls Hennig out to the floor, and they decide to walk out (or, hobble in this case). Malenko won't have it, and drags him back by the hair. Hennig pleads for him to stop, but Dean responds with a cold dropkick to the knee, and he hooks a grapevine. Curt tries to use Rude to break, but Dean methodically pulls him back to center ring, and hooks a leglock. Side suplex, but he gets caught with a cheap shot from Rude as he runs the ropes, and Curt goes for the Hennig-Plex, but Dean reverses - only for Rude to break up the count, and draw a DQ at 7:37. I loved the match (Malenko's cold, methodical knee work was excellent), and Hennig was working his ass off to sell for him, but that ending left me colder than a witch's tit. * ¾

Scott Hall v Konnan: This was during that super tasteful angle where Scott Hall played an alcoholic. Talk about method acting! Although, in this case, it may just be 'meth acting.' Hall controls with an armbar early, but takes a short-clothesline to break, and Konnan blocks an overhead wristlock with a hairpull. Hall calls (Last call! Last call!) for a test-of-strength, but Konnan pops him with a cheap shot, and knocks him between the two rings - stomping him into the gap between them. Hall decides to crawl under and sneak attack from the other side, but it backfires, and a hard right puts him back on the floor. Hall stops to take a sip of his special cider ('it's in season!'), and gets Konnan in a bow-and-arrow on the way back in. And it's a doozy - going on forever before Konnan manages a reversal. Hall quickly breaks with a mule kick for two, and hits a blockbuster for two. Abdominal stretch, but instead of using the ropes, Hall reaches for his drink, and sips. Hilarious bit, as the referee checks to see if he's using the ropes, and Hall gives him this look, like, 'No man. Been too busy drinking!' Konnan reverses the hold, but fails to take a sip of anything, and Scott hiptosses his way free. Hall with a side superplex, but he gets distracted with his drink again before he can cover, and Konnan sneaks up with a sitout facebuster before finishing with the aptly named Tequila Sunrise at 12:02. An angle dressed up as a wrestling match. ¼*

Main Event: WarGames: Team WCW (Diamond Dallas Page, Roddy Piper, and The Warrior) v nWo Hollywood (Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and Stevie Ray) v nWo Wolfpac (Kevin Nash, Lex Luger, and Sting): Three teams this year, and pinfalls count. Plus, the winner becomes #1 Contender to the WCW World Title. Only two guys start, and in this case, it's Dallas Page and Bret Hart. Bret goes after the arm right away, but DDP reverses an armbar, and shifts into a standing side-headlock. Slugfest goes Page's way, and a belly-to-belly suplex gets him two. Ten-punch count, but Hart uses a stungun to counter, and DDTs him. Hart with a backbreaker, but Page counters a suplex with a single-arm DDT for two. He drives Bret into the corner, but Hart rakes the eyes, and hits a Russian legsweep for two. Inside cradle gets two, but Page blasts him with a lariat as time winds down, and Stevie Ray joins the match. He goes after Page, though really, it's essentially every man for himself, so the whole concept of teams is pretty much pointless. Dallas holds his own two-on-one, but ends up on his back as the period ends, and Sting enters the cage. He unloads on Stevie Ray, and hits a clothesline - diving from one ring to the next with it. Meanwhile, Hart and Page continue their war, and the end of the period brings a deranged looking Roddy Piper in. He, at least, gets the concept of every man for himself, and hammers on everyone - Page included. Buzzer sounds, Lex Luger is next in. He goes for Stevie Ray, but does nothing of note. Seriously, ever since the initial Hart/Page period ended, almost nothing has happened. Just aimless punch-kick battle royal fare. Piper gets Luger in a Sleeper for a few seconds before Bret breaks it up, and the buzzer Kevin Nash in. He jumps Piper, and goes for a Powerbomb on Stevie, but Roddy breaks it up before he can execute the hold. There's still a good minute left in the period, but Hogan decides to come in early (with not so much as a word of protest from the referees), and he takes everyone out with a slapjack. Well, everyone expect Stevie Ray, since they're both essentially black. Neither of them bothers trying to pin any of the, like, six unconscious guys in the match, but instead just kill time since Hogan jumped the gun on his entrance by a good minute. Nash gets a couple of Legdrops, and suddenly the ring fills up with smoke, and when it clears The Warrior is standing at center ring. Hogan attacks him, but the ring fills with smoke again, and he disappears... only to come charging down the aisle moments later. Okay. Hulk bails out off the cage (again, with not so much as a word of protest from the official), as Warrior fires off clotheslines on Stevie Ray. Meanwhile, everyone else in the match is still unconscious from those brutal shoehorn shots Hogan was delivering, apparently. Hogan spends the next couple of minutes making faces at an enraged Warrior from outside of the cage - Warrior apparently out of magic tricks, and too lazy to try the door. He eventually decides to break off a portion of the cage to get out, and while he chases Hogan up the aisle, Page hits the Diamond Cutter on Stevie Ray for the pin at 20:04. Oh, what the FUCK was that? Forget the flawed internal logic of the match. Forget that a big portion of it was focused on magic tricks. Forget that the rules made no sense. Why the fuck was it so damn boring? It’s WarGames! How do you screw up a multi-man, two ring, anything goes, cage match? That’s how, apparently. Thank you, 1998 WCW! ¼*

BUExperience: What more can I tell you? There’s a couple of decent matches in the middle, but they’re surrounded by total crap, and a main event that is considered one of the most ridiculous in WCW history – and that’s really saying something. Maybe worth a look as a morbid curiosity, but not really. DUD