WCW WrestleWar 1992 (Version II)

Original Airdate: May 17, 1992

From Jacksonville, Florida; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura

Opening WCW United States Tag Team Title Match: Terry Taylor and Greg Valentine v The Fabulous Freebirds: Even all this time later, they're still using the NWA version of the belts here. I always forget Valentine jumped, let alone won a title during that run. Taylor starts with Michael Hayes, and that goes nowhere fast. Tag to Valentine, and a miscommunication results in the champions colliding, and Hayes schoolboying Greg for two. Valentine manages to take over with an elbow, and he throws a bunch of chops, but runs into an atomic drop and a pair of clotheslines for two. Over to Jimmy Garvin to work Valentine's wrist (Is it any surprise that the Freebirds wanted to make everyone limp wristed?), but Greg fights them both off, and tags. Unfortunately for Taylor, he quickly runs into trouble, and the challengers cut the ring in half on him. Garvin gets dumped to the outside, where Valentine starts clubbing him with chops to turn the tide, but Greg runs into a boot as he brings it back in. Valentine should have busted out the shin guard from 1990 for old times sake, being in there with a Garvin, and all. Tag to Taylor, as the match just kind of mosey's along without any real excitement. Finally things pickup as we get to the finish, with Valentine and Hayes getting tags, and Taylor saves Greg from taking a DDT. Greg works Hayes over now, as apparently that wasn't building up to the finishing sequence after all. Horrible tease, guys. Just get on with it already! Finish finally comes as Hayes fights Taylor off for the hot tag to Garvin, and Jimmy puts Terry away with a DDT at 16:00. Really boring, overlong match. The Freebirds as babyfaces just doesn't work, either. Like, Michael Hayes was born to play a smarmy douche, and I couldn't buy him as the face-in-peril at all. ¾* (Original rating: ½*)

Johnny B. Badd v Tracy Smothers: Badd gets a quick schoolboy for two, so Smothers accuses him of holding the tights. Cute shit like that is a great (and simple) way to get the crowd into things, and something that's completely lost on the current generation of wrestlers. They feel each other out for a bit, and Badd is looking crisp here. Johnny hits a bodypress for two, and a dropkick staggers Tracy for an armdrag into an armbar. Charge in the corner misses, however, and Smothers throws a dropkick of his own for two. That's enough to turn the tide, and Tracy goes to work. Flying backelbow gets him two, but Badd rolls through a flying twisting bodypress for two, so Smothers throws a leg lariat for two before grounding Johnny in a chinlock. Badd escapes and hits a sunset flip for two, so Smothers desperately cuts him off - only to run into an inside cradle for two. Tracy tries grounding him with another chinlock, but Badd escapes with a high knee, and this time he's able to fight Smothers off to mount a comeback. Powerslam and a flying sunset flip get two, so Tracy makes a last ditch effort to turn the tide, but runs into a left hook at 7:03. Good little match here, with both guys working hard, and telling a good story. ** ¼ (Original rating: *)

Marcus Alexander Bagwell v Scotty Flamingo: Seeing Raven play Rick Rude is weird. Feeling out process to start, which pretty quickly turns into a heated slugfest. Bagwell gets the better of it, and a pair of corner whips leads to a side suplex for two. Vertical suplex gets two, so Scotty dumps him to the outside, then back in for a sloppy side suplex for two. Even the announcers are forced to call it a 'modified' version, since it came off so badly. I guess kinda how like Wolf of Wall Street on basic cable is 'modified.' Criss cross ends in both men tumbling over the top during a bodypress, and the lighting here is just terrible, making the whole promotion come off as bush league compared to the WWF's presentation. Back in, Bagwell hits a hiptoss and a clothesline, then adds a 2^nd rope flying axehandle. Fisherman suplex looks to finish, but Scotty's in the ropes. Bagwell tries a rollup instead, but Flamingo reverses, and gets the pin (with a handful of tights) at 7:11. Not good, not bad. * (Original rating: * 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 flying 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? Ron comes at him with rights to start, and a clothesline puts Hughes down. Hiptoss sends him to the outside, and Hughes hangs out there for a while to regroup. Back in, he suckers Simmons while calling for a test-of-strength, and manages a clothesline to setup an elbowdrop for two. Bodyslam sets up a kneedrop for two, but unfortunately that's pretty much the extent of Hughes' move set, and so we're treated to a long punch/kick portion as he works Ron over. Simmons comes back with a hiptoss (nicely taken by Hughes), and a backdrop follows. Hughes rakes the eyes to try and keep control, but Simmons fights him off, and hits a spinebuster before finishing with a 3-point stance at 5:28. ½* (Original rating: DUD)

Todd Champion v Super Invader: Invader goes to the eyes right away, and unleashes the most blistering series of martial arts strikes this side of Kwang. Say what you will about this gimmick, but after watching a lot of Hercules' matches at the end of his WWF run, putting him under a mask wasn't exactly a bad idea. Making him pretend to be Asian is a whole different story, but I do get the mask. He hits Champion with a sidewalk slam and works a chinlock, as the announcers ignore the match and hype the inaugural Beach Blast event. Why does Champion have the Olympic rings on his tights? At least Kurt Angle or Ken Patera actually were Olympians - where does this jackass get off? Invader dumps Todd to the outside for a bodyslam on the floor, then back in for a bodyslam in the ring. Sadly, he doesn't complete the trifecta with one on the ramp. Todd tries mounting a comeback, but Invader basically ignores it, and hits a powerbomb at 5:27. On top of being dull, this was also really poorly worked. DUD (Original rating: ¼*)

Richard Morton v Big Josh: Morton tries to attack, but Josh shrugs him off, and hits a hiptoss, then a bodyslam to setup the Log Roll. Morton stupidly tries to turn it into a slugfest, but that goes badly for him. What pretty boy rocker tries to slug it out with a lumberjack? A stupid one, I guess. He does manage to dodge Josh in the corner to hit a side suplex, and an inverted atomic drop follows. Morton works him over, but runs into a belly-to-belly suplex, and Josh adds a double-underhook suplex for two. Morton goes to the eyes to setup a 2^nd rope flying axehandle, but Josh quickly fights him off and finishes with the Northern Exposure at 7:29. The booking tonight has been really lazy, with almost every match following the same basic finishing pattern. And speaking of 'lazy,' I'm going to borrow my own joke from the original review, and again note that the only people who enjoyed this one were the guys running the concession stands. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

WCW Light Heavyweight Title Match: Brian Pillman v Tom Zenk: Feeling out process to start, with Brian generally dominating his challenger. Zenk manages to hook a backslide for two, and he follows with an inside cradle for two, then a sunset flip for two. Brian nips that in the bud with a chop, however, and he takes Tom down for a toehold. Brian tries a somersault senton splash onto the leg, but Zenk moves, and vertical suplexes the champ for two. Tom with a backbreaker to setup a pump-splash, but Brian lifts his knees to block, and goes back to the toehold. This has been a lot more mat-oriented than I would have expected thus far, and that's not exactly a good thing. Brian keeps working the leg, so Tom throws a leg-feed enzuigiri for two, but misses a knee in the corner, and Pillman capitalizes with a figure four. Zenk manages to get into the reverse, and though Pillman gets into the ropes to escape, he takes some damage to his own leg in the process. That slows him down as he goes after Tom in the corner, and Zenk is able to counter a slingshot shoulderblock with a powerslam for two. Brian manages to hook a crucifix for two, but Tom blocks a superplex (which they very obviously telegraphed by having Zenk's legs on the inside the whole time), and hits a sloppy flying bodypress for two. Pillman nearly broke his neck there - doing a full back flip off of it. Criss cross ends in both guys trying a bodypress and wiping out, and Tom is able to get the better of it with a pushup flapjack for two. Brian tries firing back with a flying bodypress, but Zenk big boots him out of the air for two, in a nicely timed spot. Tom goes up for a flying sidekick, but Brian dodges, and somersault cradles him to retain at 15:28. This picked up nicely following a rather slow start, but the fact that all the leg work in the early going was totally ignored by the end hurt the match. ** ¾ (Original rating: ***)

#1 Contender's Match: The Steiner Brothers v Tatsumi Fujinami and Takayuki Iizuka: Winners become top contenders for the IWGP Tag Team Title, and the Steiner's are already the WCW World Tag Team Champions here, though that isn't up for grabs. Scott Steiner starts with Fujinami, as Jesse quickly notes that the Steiner's are from Michigan, and suggests that they have a personal vendetta against their opponents tonight since Japanese automakers have hurt American ones financially. Ross then equally quickly noting that Jesse's comments are not official company policy is pretty funny. Feeling out process to start, until Scott busts out a blockbuster. That brings Iizuka in without a tag, so Scott gives him a blockbuster as well, then drills Fujinami with a clothesline. Tag to Iizuka, and he gets some traction with a series of knees in the corner and a bodyslam. 2^nd rope flying elbowdrop hits, and a flying somersault senton gets two. Boston crab, but Scott looks to escape, so Iizuka turns it into a somersault cradle for two - only to eat a double-underhook powerbomb. Tag to Rick Steiner for a powerbomb/flying elbowdrop combo for two, so Fujinami tags back in to try his hand at taking Rick down. He manages to do so with a side-headlock, but Rick escapes with a nasty release German suplex (right on his head!), followed by an elbowdrop for two. Rick tries his own headlock before passing back to Scott for a backelbow to setup a half crab. Fujinami gets the ropes, and both men tag - the Japanese team quickly hitting Rick with an electric chair/flying bodypress combo - only for Steiner to catch Iizuka in midair with a belly-to-belly suplex for two! Crazy! Fujinami comes at Rick with a flurry of kicks before Steiner can tag, however, and he grounds the Gremlin in a leglock. He and Iizuka cut the ring in half, but Scott gets the tag, and hits Iizuka with a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. An overhead suplex follows ahead of a tag to Rick, and he brutalizes poor Iizuka with a running inverted drop into the turnbuckles. Scott follows up with a pumphandle slam for two, but a cradle puts Iizuka right in position for a tag, and Fujinami comes in with a flying axehandle. Abdominal cradle is worth two, but Scott is able to tag out, but Fujinami quickly gets to Iizuka. He comes in with a kick combo, but Rick no-sells him, and hits a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Both men tag, and the heels try a double team, but Scott counters by Japanese armdragging both simultaneously, and Rick comes in with a flying clothesline. Scott tries a superplex on Iizuka to finish, but Fujinami saves with a side suplex before he can do it, and Iizuka delivers a German suplex for two. Spike piledriver follows, and Iizuka adds a flying dropkick to batter Scott for Fujinami to pop in the dragon sleeper. Scott gets the ropes, so Fujinami tries a regular sleeper, but Scott kicks him in the head to escape, and throws a lariat. Tag to Rick, and Iizuka quickly eats an overhead superplex at 18:15. This was pretty awesome, with lots of eye popping moves, and stiff as all hell. Poor Iizuka took the brunt of the Brothers' aggressions here, and apparently was so badly beaten that he was effectively blind for a while after, as his eyes had swollen shut. It had flow issues though, and was kind of all over the place. *** ¾ (Original rating: ****)

Main Event: WarGames Match: Sting's Squadron (Sting, Barry Windham, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, and Nikita Koloff) v The Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton, Arn Anderson, and Larry Zbyszko): Windham starts with Austin, and they waste no time getting into a slugfest. Barry controls and hits a bodyslam, but an elbowdrop follow-up misses, and Steve backdrops him to setup an elbowdrop of his own. They fight over into the next ring, where Windham hits a DDT, so Austin dives with a jumping clothesline, but gets sent into the cage after an ill-advised attempt at using the ceiling of the cage for monkey bars. Barry grates Steve's face into the mesh to draw first blood as the first period ends, and Rick Rude enters the match. He goes right for Barry, but nearly gets reversed into the cage before Austin saves with a 2^nd rope flying clothesline. They work together to toss Windham into the cage, and Rude applies a reverse chinlock until Ricky Steamboat enters the match to break it up. He nails both heels with DDTs, and catches Rude with a rana as Windham recovers enough to work over Austin. Arn Anderson is next in, and he drops Barry with a DDT, then plants Steamboat with a rotating spinebuster to setup a tandem Boston crab with Rude. Rick drills the Dragon with a nice piledriver ahead of tossing him into the next ring, and man is Austin just gushing blood here. Enter Dustin Rhodes to blitz Anderson, and he hits Austin with an inverted atomic drop to setup a clothesline. Steamboat gets Rude in his own Boston crab as Dustin hits Austin with an electric chair, and here comes Larry Z! He runs right into Rhodes, however, so Madusa thinks fast - climbing up onto the roof of the cage to pass Arn Paul E. Dangerously's cell phone! Sting climbs up onto the roof as well, but she gets it in before he can stop her, and Anderson goes to work with the weapon. I think that may have been the most dangerous spot of the match, given how loose and flimsy the top of the cage appears. They never really bothered to reinforce those until after Mick Foley changed the whole game in 1998. Sting enters and immediately bulldogs Anderson, then backdrops Austin into the cage. Steamboat gets creative by jamming Rude's head into the crevice between the rings and banging him around like that, and blood is flowing all over the place here. In comes Bobby Eaton, and he puts his freshly taped fist to good use. Larry tries to rip off the entire top rope so that he can use the turnbuckle as a weapon, but Sting stops him, as Nikita Koloff enters the fray. Koloff nearly gets into an altercation with former adversary Sting, before saving him from an attack, and embracing him in a hug! Unfortunately, the Alliance are less than impressed with this display of friendship, and beat them down. The entire ring look like a horror scene, with blood splattered everywhere - staining the mat, the turnbuckles, the ropes, etc. Rude manages to rip down the top rope, but Larry misses a shot with the metal buckle - hitting partner Eaton, and allowing Sting to force him into a submission at 23:24. I know this is pretty universally considered to be the best WarGames ever, but I think I actually prefer the '91 version. I realize that's blasphemy to some people. Still a great match though, with lots of creative spots, intensity, and bloody as hell. **** (Original rating: ****)

BUExperience: Not much to see on the undercard, but the last two matches are both great, and end up saving the show by themselves (along with, to some extent, the disappointing Light Heavyweight Title bout). I’m still not sure this is worth your time to cue up, but it’s not a total stinker.

**