WCW Slamboree 1993 (Version II)

Original Airdate: May 23, 1993

From Atlanta, Georgia; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Larry Zbyszko

Opening Match: 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell v Bobby Eaton and Chris Benoit: Bagwell looks like such a doofus copying Scorpio's dancing. Scorpio starts with Benoit, and they pickup right where they left off at SuperBrawl. And extended criss cross ends in Scorpio hitting a dropkick, and he armdrags Chris over - Benoit backing off. He decides to distract Bagwell to allow Eaton to come in with a cheap shot, but Scorpio fights both heels off, and Marcus comes in to help clean house with stereo dropkicks. The dust settles on Marcus and Bobby (Marcus Bobby would have made a great jobber name), but Benoit comes in for a cheap shot, so Scorpio cuts him off, and they clean house again. Back to Bagwell and Eaton, but this time Benoit is able to successfully fire off a cheap shot, and Bobby tosses Bagwell over the top like a bag of trash. Assuming the ringside area was a recycling bin, of course. He's not a monster! Back in, Bobby bodyslams him to setup a flying kneedrop, and Benoit near decapitates him with a hooked clothesline. Nice bodyslam sets up a 2^nd rope flying legdrop for two (didn't see that move from him too often), and Eaton tags in with a pair of kneedrops for two, as they cut the ring in half. Benoit hits the knees in brutal fashion while trying a flying headbutt, however, and Scorpio gets the tag - Roseanne Barr the door! Scorpio goes for the kill on Chris with a flying twisting splash, but Bobby saves at two. They gang up on Bagwell, but it backfires, and Scorpio finishes Benoit with the Tumbleweed at 9:25! Good opener, with lots of energy, and especially great work from Benoit. *** (Original rating: * ¾)

Van Hammer v Sid Vicious: Sid is a hyped mystery opponent, courtesy of Colonel Rob Parker. Hammer is actually dressed like Sid used to in 1990 for this, in a funny bit of visual symmetry. And, in another nice little bit of symmetry, Sid brings a stretcher down with him. Hammer actually tries to slug at him, but Sid is having none of that, and puts him down with a clothesline - the crowd popping big for him. Powerbomb, and we're done at a lean 0:36. Kind of weird that they'd cut this cool moment off the old Turner Home Video version of this show, especially considering how quick it was. This was everything it needed to be. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Legends Six-Man Tag Team Match: Wahoo McDaniel, Blackjack Mulligan, and Jim Brunzell v Dick Murdoch, Don Muraco, and Jimmy Snuka: This is the first of several 'Legends matches' tonight, part of the original Slamboree theme. They take turns working over Snuka to start, but Blackjack runs into a cheap shot from Murdoch, and Dick gets the tag. Mulligan shakes him off with a hiptoss and an armdrag, however, so Dick throws a knee, and drops an elbow for two. Over to Wahoo and Muraco, and Wahoo hits a pair of bodyslams to win a criss cross, but gets trapped in the wrong corner. That doesn't really go anywhere though, as Brunzell just kind of gets the tag, without much of any heat segment. Murdoch hits him with a headscissor takedown, but Jim works an armbar, and tries to put it away with a sleeper, but also gets caught in the wrong corner. Muraco hits him with a front-powerslam and a pair of legdrops, and Murdoch hits a swinging neckbreaker as they cut the ring in half. Brunzell manages a bodypress on Muraco for two, and he dodges a headbutt drop from Snuka to allow for a small package for two. The heels make one last ditch effort at cutting him off, but Snuka and Muraco end up colliding! They fall apart, and it all quickly turns into a brawl, the referee disqualifying both teams at 9:06. Afterwards, as the brawl continues, Snuka takes a pretty wild bump over the top - better than anything else that happened during the actual bout. This was a main event on any local indy show in the country, but not really a pay per view caliber match in 1993. Good use of quick tags, though. ½* (Original rating: DUD)

Legends Match: Ivan Koloff and Baron von Raschke v Thunderbolt Patterson and Brad Armstrong: Brad is subbing for dad Bob in this Legends match, since the elder Armstrong was announced as having knee surgery. Big brawl to start, with Patterson and Armstrong cleaning house. After much stalling, the dust settles on Baron and Patterson, which goes nowhere. Patterson would have been better off with an image of a bolt on his boots, because having 'TP' on them is too funny. The heels cut the ring in half on Armstrong, but it lasts all of a minute before Patterson gets the tags, and Baron eats a chop to the throat at 4:39. Total junk. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Ric Flair hosts a pay per view version of his A Flair for the Gold television interview segment. The idea here (promoted on WCW programming, and literally promised to the fans by Flair himself) was that Ric (now back from his WWF tenure) would reform the Four Horsemen with original members Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, and Tully Blanchard. However, the plan broke down when WCW threw Tully a lowball (guess they needed to save up that Davey Boy main event money), and left them without a fourth Horsemen - leading to Flair introducing Paul Roma as the replacement. This would be the wrestling equivalent of getting the Beatles back together, with John Mayer replacing George Harrison. Almost universal consensus is that this is the absolute low point for the stable, but it still felt prestigious - especially compared to some of the shit they went through during the nWo days. I think a lot of the bitterness comes less from Roma joining an elite group like the Horsemen, than the letdown people felt when the promised reunion with Blanchard didn't materialize

Legends Match: Nick Bockwinkel v Dory Funk Jr: Johnny Valentine sits in for commentary on this one. They spell Bockwinkel's name wrong, which is sadly less than surprising. It's hard to believe that Gene Kiniski (in Funk's corner) was actually wrestling up until the year before this, given how broken down he looks here. I mean, he can barely climb out of the ring! Feeling out process to start, until Nick goes to the arm, so Dory starts throwing bombs in the corner, and grounds Bockwinkel with a cravat. Nick counters to a headscissors, but Dory escapes. Bockwinkel tries an armbar, but Funk escapes that as well, so Nick bodyslams him - Dory bailing to the outside before Nick can add to it. Back in, Bockwinkel goes to another armbar, so Funk throws forearms again, and grounds him with a chinlock. Dory is in desperate need of a haircut here. Nothing looks worse than a balding man who still wears his stragglers long. Nick fights him off in the corner, but ends up on the outside after trying a cover too close to the ropes. Back in, Dory takes him down with a facelock, but an attempt to roll it into a pin is reversed for two, and Bockwinkel tries a Boston crab - only to get blocked. Nick regroups with a side-headlock, but Funk side suplexes free for two, and armbars him. He turns it into a bow-and-arrow, but Bockwinkel reverses, so Funk mulekicks free. Nick tries another headlock, but Dory slugs free in the corner, so this time Bockwinkel returns fire, and snapmares him over for two. Chinlock, but Dory uppercuts out, and knocks Nick onto the ramp with them. Funk brings him back in with a vertical suplex for two, and a piledriver follows, but Bockwinkel is in the ropes. Dory responds with a butterfly suplex, but Bockwinkel counters with a backslide for two, so Funk pops him with a backelbow. Spinning-toehold, but Nick counters with an inside cradle for two, and he's able to slap on a figure four! That brings Gene in for the save, which somehow doesn't draw a DQ. Slugfest goes Bockwinkel's way with a bodyslam, but it only gets two. Funk with an inside cradle, but time expires at 15:00. Very slow, methodical style match, but not a bad one. Better than I remembered it being, as this definitely put me to sleep as a kid, though I can appreciate the style a lot more now. ** ¼ (Original rating: ½*)

Rick Rude and Paul Orndorff v Dustin Rhodes and Kensuke Sasaki: Rude and Orndorff are the WCW United States and WCW Television champions, respectively. Rick starts with Sasaki, and they spend some time sizing each other up, before Sasaki shoves him across the ring. That pisses Rude off, and he hammers away, but Sasaki grabs a wristlock, and wrenches the US Champion down to the mat. Tag to Orndorff, but he ends up right in a wristlock as well, and Rhodes tags in to work his own wristlock down into a hammerlock. The babyfaces take turns working Paul's arm, but he powers away from Dustin long enough to tag Rick. Big slugfest between the two rivals, and Rhodes gets the better of it with a backdrop, but misses a charge in the corner. He tries to stay in it with a bodypress, but Rick sidesteps that, and Dustin bumps over the top to the outside. Orndorff is on him with some guardrail themed abuse, and inside, Rick hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. The heels cut the ring in half on Rhodes, but he manages to reverse a tombstone from Rude for two. Orndorff cuts off the tag, but ends up colliding with Dustin during a corner charge, and Sasaki slaps hands! He comes in hot on Rude with a 2^nd rope flying clothesline and an inverted atomic drop, then a series of clotheslines. Press-slam follows, but in comes Orndorff, and Roseanne Barr the door! Sasaki goes up, but Paul shoves him off the top, and the Rude Awakening finishes at 9:25. Fine, with little resting, but not especially engaging. * ¾ (Original rating: ½*)

Gordon Solie unveils the WCW Hall of Fame, and starts by reading off the names of some of the recently passed wrestlers for a moment of silence. He then brings out inductees Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Mr. Wrestling II, and Eddie Graham (posthumously, represented by son Mike). Very different than the WWE's fun pre-WrestleMania versions we see today, as kayfabe was still in effect so we don't get funny road stories – basically just Solie reading off a career retrospective for each, and then the guy coming out to accept a plaque

Sting v Prisoner: This is Kevin Wacholz' one and only WCW appearance, capitalizing on his recent WWF stint with a quick payday. Ballsy of him to show up this close to Cobb County! He goes right to his favorite move, the chokehold, and chokes Sting down to the mat. All that choking right off the bat has to be a rib. Backelbow puts Sting down for more choking, and poor Sting is having to sell like crazy here, when this should be little more than a squash for him. Prisoner with a backbreaker for two, but an avalanche misses, so he's forced to rake the eyes to keep control. He dumps Sting to the outside to allow himself a breather, then follows out to choke the Stinger with some electrical cable. This match is only a few minutes deep, and it's dragging badly. Inside, Prisoner cross corner whips him, but a clothesline misses, and Sting hits one of his own for two. Sloppy backdrop connects, and the Stinger Splash follows for two. Prisoner is falling apart here, badly messing up even the most basic of transitions. Sting misses an elbowdrop, and Prisoner slugs him in the corner, but gets distracted by the referee, and Sting finishes with a flying bodypress at 5:16. Prisoner got way too much in on Sting here, and the match was terrible. -* (Original rating: -*)

NWA & WCW World Tag Team Title Cage Match: The Hollywood Blonds v Dos Hombres: This was set up when the Blonds won the unified tag titles from Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas on TV in March, so the former champions donned masks, and the 'rookies' beat the Blonds in a non-title TV bout to get a shot here. Unfortunately for WCW, Shane disappeared (surfacing in ECW) before the blow off, leaving Tom Zenk under the mask, though the announcers still play it up as Douglas - the graphic during the ring entrances even labeling him as Shane. That's ballsy. Steve Austin starts with Steamboat, and tries to go for the mask right away, but eats chops until he tucks his tail between his legs, and tags. A little less than 'stone cold,' this fella. Pillman matches Steamboat in the chop department, but he fails to send him into the cage, and ends up in an armbar. An eyerake fixes that problem, but Austin ends up in one as well, and Zenk comes in with a 2^nd rope flying elbowsmash. The announcers openly calling Zenk 'Douglas' is one of those goofy things that could only happen in the world of professional wrestling. He grounds Steve in a hammerlock, then sends him into the side of the cage a few times, until Austin begs off. Over to Steamboat for a flying axehandle, and he continues to work Steve's arm, then backdrops the champion into the cage during a criss cross. Should've kept your mouth shut and taken your armbar quietly! Ricky sends him into the steel again with an atomic drop, then a third time with a toss - Austin bumping all around here. Back to Zenk with his own flying axehandle, but the Blonds manage to double team in the corner, and Brian tags in for some chops. Snapmare sets up an elbowdrop, but Tom rolls out of the way, and tags back to the Dragón. Buque De Vapor works the arm, and he press-slams Brian into the cage, in a nice bump. He ends up in the wrong part of town, but manages to fight off an incoming Austin anyway, and hits a backbreaker before vertical suplexing Steve into the side of the cage - leaving Austin hanging in a tree of woe off the top of it! Wild! Steamboat adds a bodypress onto the hanging champion, but Zenk trying the same goes badly when Steve falls off, and both guys nearly break their necks. That was a risky spot, to say the least. I'd be hesitant to try that with a landing pad to cushion my fall, let alone the hard edge of the ring. The Blonds sink their teeth right in, and cut the ring in half on Tom. Funny bit, as Zenk saves himself from a pin by putting his leg on the ropes, so an annoyed Austin punishes him by destroying the leg. Cute. Over to Pillman for a 2^nd rope flying splash, but Tom lifts his boot to block - only for Steve to cut the tag off at the last second. Zenk has to fight Austin off again with a dropkick, but a distraction from Pillman allows Steve to cut him off again with a spinebuster! The Blonds are such wonderful dicks. Rocket launcher, but Tom gets his knees up to nail Pillman, and that's finally enough for the tag - Roseanne Barr the door! The Blonds eat steel, so they try to escape, but Austin eats an electric chair, while Pillman gets crotched on the top rope! The Hombres unload stereo ten-punch counts before whipping the champions into one another, and Steamboat climbs to the top of the cage for a flying bodypress onto both Blonds for two! DDT on Austin is worth two, and one on Pillman gets two! This is tremendous. The Hombres with stereo dropkicks for two, but Zenk runs into the Stungun after Pillman reverses a whip, and the champs retain at 16:11! Well, this was pretty great. Wild action here, with lots of hard work from everyone involved, and tons of bumping from the Blonds. I severely underrated this on the first go around. **** (Original rating: ** ½)

NWA World Title Match: Barry Windham v Arn Anderson: Rare high profile world title shot for Double A here. Despite the Horsemen reforming earlier on, Arn is out alone. He hits Barry with a belly-to-belly suplex for two early on, and a whip into the corner allows him a backdrop for two, so Windham slugs him down to put a stop to that. Arn responds by popping off a DDT for two, and Windham wisely bails to the outside to try and break the momentum. He suckers Arn to the edge of the ring and pulls him out onto the ramp, where Windham leaves his challenger a horizontal mess. He tries a turnbuckle smash on the way back in, but Arn reverses - only to get slugged out of the air while trying to add a flying axehandle. Windham quickly adds a DDT and an elbowdrop for two, then dumps the Enforcer to the outside - only for a brawl out there to backfire on him, and Windham left busted open as they head back inside. Arn hammers away in the corner, and hooks an inside cradle for two. Tony pulls a Vince McMahon by declaring it a three count and announcing a new champion, before quickly retracting. Anderson works a chinlock, and boy, Barry didn't hold back with that blade tonight. Arn goes up, but Windham knocks him to the floor with a dropkick, then follows for a vertical suplex out there. Their color choices tonight make these two look like tag team partners. Windham with a flying clothesline on the way in, and a kneedrop is added for two. Floatover suplex gets two, but he runs into a rotating spinebuster, so again very wisely bails to the outside to avoid getting into trouble. This time Barry grabs the title belt and decides to walk, but Arn drags his ass back in, and goes to work in the corner. The referee protests, so Anderson shoves him aside, and Windham uses the opportunity to grab the title belt - blasting his challenger with it for the pin at 10:55. Good outing here - well paced, and well worked. ** ¾ (Original rating: ** ¼)

Main Event: WCW World Title Match: Big Van Vader v Davey Boy Smith: Camp Cornette EXPLODES! They size each other up to start, each trying to overpower the other. Vader starts throwing bombs early, but he can't take the Bulldog off of his feet. The champ decides to go wild on him in the corner, and THAT gets Davey's attention. He ends up on the outside, but Vader misses an avalanche against the rail, and nearly takes out an older lady in the front row while bumping over it! Bulldog pulls him back over the rail with a slam on the outside, but Vader beats the count (why were you giving him the opportunity to get counted out, fool), so Smith delivers an impressive hanging vertical suplex! Long delay on that one too, wow! Charge in the corner doesn't go well, but Bulldog manages to powerslam Vader out of the air when the champ dives off the middle rope, and a clothesline sends the Mastodon over the top! He again stupidly risks a countout, but Vader beats it in, and counters a crucifix with a Samoan drop. Smith is wrestling like an idiot here. Vaderbomb looks to put this away early, but Bulldog kicks out at two! Vader responds by walloping him with stiff forearms, and a bodyslam leads to a 2^nd rope flying bodyblock. Vader gets nasty in the corner again, but Smith counters a superplex with a gourdbuster off the top, then adds a flying headbutt on the way down! That knocks him silly as much so as Vader, but he still manages to slam him for two, so Vader throws a clothesline to cut him off. Davey tries a sunset flip, but Vader counters with a seated senton splash, so Bulldog rolls out of the way, and hooks the leg for two. Vader cuts him off again, and a snapmare sets up a flying splash - though it punishes Vader as much as his challenger. Smith is actually up first, so Vader throws a boot to keep him back, then dumps him to the outside to give himself time to regroup. Harley Race throws in some cheap shots out there, but Bulldog still beats the count, so Vader throws some more bombs in the corner. Vader looks to have legit hurt himself during that flying splash, but he's trying to shrug it off. Bodyslam and a seated senton splash connect, and Vader randomly grabs a reverse chinlock, but Bulldog powers free with an electric chair! Comeback time, and Bulldog hammers away on the champion! Clothesline gets two, and the Running Powerslam looks to finish, but Race pulls Smith out at two! That allows Vader to grab a chair, and the referee has enough - disqualifying the champion at 16:17. Afterwards, Vader continues beating on him, until a bunch of babyfaces (led by Sting) make the save. Some really impressive power stuff, and Davey Boy looked like a beast throwing the massive Vader around, but the finish sucked, and Smith’s lapses in psychology bugged me throughout. ** ½ (Original rating: ** ½)

BUExperience: Kind of a forgettable event, with little of consequence happening, though not a bad show. The Legend’s Reunion theme fell a little flat, and the Legend’s matches themselves were easily the low points of the card, but the Cage match is fantastic, and there’s enough good stuff here to make this worth taking a look at – even if it felt like a placeholder show more than anything else.

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