WCW Slamboree 1995 (Version II)

Original Airdate: May 21, 1995

From St. Petersburg, Florida; Your Hosts are Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan

Opening WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Harlem Heat v The Nasty Boys: Brian Knobbs is a no-show at the bell, but Jerry Sags decides to go it alone anyway. He starts with Booker T, and drills him with a clothesline that Booker does a wild spiraling oversell on. That would have made even Curt Hennig blush. Stevie Ray decides to run in, but Sags hits them both with a DDT, so Sister Sherri hops up onto the apron to protest, prompting Jerry to outright deck her. Like, holy shit! I mean, we're talking a full on closed fist, and he knocked her out cold, and the crowd is cheering it like crazy! Sags continues to dominate both champions by himself, but gets distracted by Sherri, and Stevie is able to take control. For those keeping score at home, it takes three people to finally stifle Jerry Sags, and two of them are the world tag champions. Did the bookers get confused, and think this was the Hogan match, or something? The Heat work Jerry over in dull fashion, though Booker does bust out a wild flying somersault legdrop for the first time on pay per view. And, if you ever needed a clear representation of the disparity between Booker T and Stevie Ray as workers, Stevie then comes in to follow-up with his own flying legdrop... off the bottom rope. And he didn't even manage to execute it properly! Sags manages to hit Booker with a piledriver, just as Knobbs finally shows up, and gets the hot tag. I'm guessing the delay was in some way related to punching a toilet pretty hard. Knobbs comes in and goes to work, so Sherri tries to hit him with a flying bodypress, but gets caught in a slam. Knobbs follows by nearly killing her while throwing her out of the ring, and he nearly kills poor Stevie with a sloppy backdrop over the top, then makes it a trifecta by nearly killing Booker while trying to lift him for a slam! Jesus! All that sets up a flying elbowdrop from Sags, and we have new champions at 10:52. This, like every other match between these two teams in their endless feud, was pretty terrible. ¼* (Original rating: ½*)

Kevin Sullivan v Man With No Name: Man With No Name attacks as soon as Sullivan is in the ring, and a high knee sends Kevin right back to the outside. Man With No Name follows to ram him into the guardrail out there, and he applies the least convincing looking chokehold I think I've ever seen. How do you botch a choke? Inside, Man with a ten-punch count, and a series of turnbuckles smashes to drop Sullivan, and he unloads with chops next. Sleeper, but Kevin escapes, and dumps Man to the outside. Sullivan follows to give him a trip into the rail as a receipt for earlier, but trying to trade chops with the Man With No Name ends badly. Back in, Man works him over in the corner, though he's working so loosely that it looks more like he's giving Sullivan a vigorous massage. Piledriver is worth two, so Man With No Name tries a stinger splash, but ends up bopping his head on the post. That allows Sullivan a tree of woe, and the double-stomp finishes at 5:25. The ring work was laughably bad, and I'd probably normally go into negative stars on it, but they kept the pace quick enough that I'll be nice. DUD (Original rating: ¼*)

Legends Match: Dick Murdoch v Wahoo McDaniel: Gordon Solie takes Bischoff's place for this one, and the match is presented in black and white, which is a neat touch. One thing you have to give WCW is that they weren't afraid to play around with the format from time to time. Be it things like this, or unique sets, or interesting venues. That's something that's really missing from today’s monochromatic presentations. McDaniel manages a couple of armdrags early on, but he eats a few elbowsmashes, and Murdoch grabs a wristlock. McDaniel escapes with a big chop in the corner, so Dick starts slugging, but Wahoo holds him back with more chops. He grabs an overhead wristlock next, but Murdoch slugs free in the corner, so McDaniel uses chops again. Truly riveting action. McDaniel with a pair of turnbuckle smashes, followed by yet more chops, but Murdoch throws a knee to put a stop to it. He follows with more elbowsmashes, and a backelbow puts Wahoo down for an elbowdrop for two. More elbowsmashes, but Dick runs into a knife-edge chop, and McDaniel scores the pin at 6:18. Out of respect to my elders, I didn’t want to go into negative stars for this one, but that wouldn’t be fair to guys like Brian Knobbs or Man With No Name, who went out there and left it all in the ring tonight. –½* (Original rating: DUD)

IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Great Muta v Paul Orndorff: Hey, this may actually break one-star! Feeling out process lasts about half of the match, before Orndorff drills him with a clothesline, but eats a dropkick while looking for a follow-up. Muta adds a crisp elbowdrop, then slows things down again with a chinlock. Paul counters to an overhead wristlock, but Muta quickly counters back with a headscissors. Orndorff is near the ropes, but opts to fight his way out of the hold instead, so Muta tries a headlock next, but gets dropped with a side suplex. Paul dumps the champ to the outside to choke with some electrical cable, and knowing WCW, we're all just lucky the arena wasn't plunged into darkness. Orndorff with a vertical suplex in from the apron, and a pointed elbowdrop sets up a chinlock. Has there even been a single pin attempt yet here? Muta fights free, but misses a dropkick, and Orndorff hits another pointed elbowdrop to set up a front-facelock. Was Bill Watts hanging out backstage with all the other legends, and decide to try to book this, or something? Muta uses an inverted atomic drop to escape the hold, and he whacks Paul with a clothesline to set up a 2^nd rope flying elbowdrop. Seriously, this feels like it has Bill's fingerprints all over it. Orndorff fights back with a bunch of kicks, and a snapmare sets up a fistdrop for two. Hey, a cover! Piledriver, but Muta counters with a backdrop, and he throws a spinkick. Handspring backelbow connects, followed by a bulldog for two, and Muta adds an ugly shoulderblock. Backbreaker sets up the flying moonsault, and Muta retains at 14:10. Not much of a finish there. Hey, we're over an hour into the show at this point, we should be due something watchable, right? Sadly, this wasn't it. Honestly, I'm not sure what they were going for here, but that can't possibly have been it. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

WCW Television Title Match: Arn Anderson v Alex Wright: Feeling out process to start, with Wright actually dominating. They stay on the mat forever, until Arn bails to the outside following an STF, and Alex rams him with a baseball slide. Wright with a plancha, and he blasts Anderson with a European uppercut on the way back in. Wristlock is applied, but Arn manages to escape by throwing an elbow in the corner, and he hits an inverted atomic drop, followed by the rotating spinebuster. Arn chokes him down, but runs into a spinheel kick, and Alex adds a vertical suplex as he mounts a comeback. Beautiful missile dropkick gets two, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and Arn hooks a small package for two - then reversed by Wright for two. Anderson goes to the eyes to cut him off, however, and the DDT ends Alex's undefeated streak at 11:36. Not a good month for undefeated streaks on pay per view. Match of the night thus far, at a whopping * ¼ (Original rating: * ¼)

Meng v Road Warrior Hawk: This is Hawk's first match on an official WCW show (as opposed to a joint show with NJPW) since late '93. He's looking bloated as hell, too. Meng blitzes him at the bell, with Hawk sometimes selling, but mostly not. Piledriver gets totally no-sold, but Meng responds in kind by completely no-selling a neckbreaker. Hawk tries a charge, but ends up taking a bump to the outside, and Meng hits a backbreaker on the way back in. Hawk decides to start no-selling again, and throws a flurry of fists, followed by a short-leg clothesline. Jumping shoulderblock sets up a fistdrop for two, and a cross corner clothesline follows. Bodyslam leads to a flying splash, but Meng rolls out of the way, and Hawk takes another spill out of the ring. Meng follows for a brawl on the floor, and we've got a double countout at 4:40. Then, in a business exposing moment, a bunch of enhancement guys run out to pull them apart, mere seconds after the bell. They hadn't even gotten around to ringing the bell over and over and over again! I get what they were going for with this match, but it didn't really work. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Gordon Solie (a surprise inductee himself tonight) hosts the WCW Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. He brings out the other legends: Wahoo McDaniel, Angelo Poffo (father of Randy Savage), Terry Funk, Antonio Inoki, Dusty Rhodes (who brings young Cody with him), and Big John Studd (represented by his son, as Big John passed away in March of that year). The ceremony drags on for a good twenty minutes, though it's very different than the WWE's fun pre-WrestleMania versions, as kayfabe was still being observed, and we don't get funny road stories. It's basically just Solie reading off a career retrospective for each, and then the guy coming out for a brief 'thank you.' And this would be the last appearance of the WCW Hall of Fame, as they would drop it for 1996

Lights Out Match: Sting v Big Bubba Rogers: Sting brings a table into the ring with him, but the referee immediately pours cold water on that idea. That's like a DQ on a pay per view with no rules, or something. Bubba stalls to start, and eats a dropkick once he's finally ready to go - only to bail to the outside again for more stalling. Well, at least he's consistent. Bubba manages a corner clothesline as he comes back in, and he uses his necktie to choke the Stinger. Sting fights him off with a standing dropkick, but ends up getting dumped to the outside, and Bubba rams him into the steps out there. He tries to use the table Sting brought out, but gets reversed into it, and Sting bodyslams him onto the table. Unfortunately, the table is folded up and flat on the floor, thus having no chance of breaking. Sting stands it up, but Bubba throws a handful of powder in his eyes to aid in a reversal into the table. That has to be the worlds dirtiest table, too. Howard Hughes wouldn't come within ten feet of it. Back in, Bubba tries a piledriver, but Sting counters with a backdrop, and he whips Rogers into the table (now leaning in the corner). Stinger Splash, but Bubba dodges, and he pulls his belt off to whip the Stinger. It's nice to see them actually taking advantage of the stipulations, unlike their meeting at Uncensored. Scrapbuster looks to finish, but only gets two, so Bubba goes up - only to get slammed down off the top! Sting with a bodyslam to set up a flying splash for two, and a corner whip leads to a clothesline. Sting tees off with right hands, and he covers Bubba over with the table ahead of a double-stomp. That's enough to allow for the Scorpion Deathlock, and Rogers submits at 9:30. Better than the Uncensored match, but their series should have been a lot more fun than it ended up being, as these two just never clicked the way you'd expect them to given their styles. * ¼ (Original rating: ½*)

Main Event: Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage v Vader and Ric Flair: This is Flair's first match back since his retirement at Halloween Havoc seven months prior. Hey, for a pro-wrestling retirement, that's practically a lifetime! On paper, this really is something of a WWF v WCW dream match, just on the name value of the participants alone. Hogan starts with Vader, and the big man unloads on him in the corner, but Hulk turns the tables, and blasts him with a clothesline. A second one sends Vader over the top, and Savage is ready with a flying axehandle out there. Back in, Hogan and Savage try a tandem clothesline, but Vader reverses, and tosses Macho to the outside for Flair to attack. Apparently they're now both legal (I didn't see tags for either), and inside, Macho corner whips him - Flair flipping onto the apron, and into a big boot from Hulk. Back in again, Savage hits a backdrop, then sends Ric right back to the outside with a clothesline. Ric manages to poke Macho in the eyes on the way back in, and he cracks him with chops in the corner, but Savage fires back with right hands. Tag to Hulk, so Flair tries to chop him as well, but Hogan no-sells, and hits a backdrop, followed by a clothesline. Ric goes to the eyes to allow him a snapmare, but a trip to the top rope ends in Hulk slamming him off, and he slaps on a figure four as an insult to injury. Arn Anderson tries to run into break it up, but Hulk fights him off all on his own (while still applying the hold, mind you), so Ric clips the leg to finally get him to sell something. Snapmare sets up a kneedrop to the leg, and Vader tags in to work the part with a leglock. Meanwhile, a very large man stands near the entrance way - the debut of the still unnamed Giant. It's funny because he popped out during the entrances too, but WCW had so much pyro going near the curtain that no one saw him, and they had to redo it. Vader with a vertical suplex, but Hulk no-sells, so Ric takes a cheap shot to put Hulk down for a choke. I have no idea why Hogan always felt he couldn't sell for Vader more. It's not like he's a little guy, or like he didn't have a reputation for being a monster. And it's really annoying, because it's hard to garner any sympathy when the babyface can’t be bothered to sell. Vader manages an avalanche and a Vaderbomb, but a second one misses, and both men tag out. Savage comes in hot on Flair, and the Flying Elbowdrop looks to finish, but Anderson pulls Macho out of the ring as he covers. That allows Vader to attack him, all while Renegade (who is supposed to be at ringside to prevent just such shenanigans) stands there and growls at the heels from a distance. No wonder he never got over. The heels go to work on Randy, and Vader delivers the Vadersault, but Hulk breaks up the pin at two. Vader takes it out on Savage in the corner, as does Flair with more chops, but Macho manages to drill the Nature Boy with a clothesline during a criss cross, and there's the tag to Hogan! Hulk comes in hot with bodyslams on both heels, so Arn interferes again - Hulk having to deal with him on his own because Renegade is utterly useless. That allows Vader to splash the Hulkster, and Flair covers for two - triggering the HULK UP!! Arn interferes AGAIN, but hits Flair by accident, and Hogan Legdrops him at 18:58. Welcome back, Ric. The celebration is cut short after the bell, however, when the heels attacks for a beat down. That draws Savage's dad (Hall of Fame inductee Angelo Poffo) out of the crowd to help, but he runs into a beating from Flair and Anderson! The match was nothing special, and overbooked like crazy, but all four guys are comfortable enough with each other that it was watchable, and the angle with Poffo afterwards definitely resonated with me as a kid - particularly because of how well Savage sold his heartbreak. It's interesting too, that despite having very clear recollections of many other shows from this period, literally the only thing I remember from this one is the attack on Poffo. * ¾ (Original rating: *)

BUExperience: WCWs streak of unwatchably bad pay per views continues unabated here. At least shows like Uncensored were so bad that they became epically bad. This was just boring, which is much worse in many ways. It’s something of a small miracle that they were able to retain enough of an audience and stay alive long enough as a promotion to even make it to the nWo angle in 1996.


DUD