WCW at Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre (March 13, 1993)

 

Original Airdate: March 13, 1993

From Manchester, England

Opening Match: Johnny B. Badd v Scotty Flamingo: Feeling out process to start, dominated by Badd. Badd ends up missing a bodypress, and he takes a spill out of the ring, giving Flamingo control. Inside, Flamingo suplexes him for two, and Scotty goes to work. Flamingo holds a chinlock, but Badd fights to a vertical base, so Scotty hammers him back down. Flamingo puts the boots to him before dumping Johnny to the outside, but Badd beats the count. Flamingo stays on him with a cross corner whip, but the charge in misses, and Badd goes on the comeback trail. Flamingo hooks a schoolboy for two, but Badd reverses another corner whip, and hooks his own schoolboy for two. Clothesline, but Flamingo reverses for two. Flamingo tries a sidewalk slam, but Badd counters with a headscissor takedown, and then pops Scotty with a left hand when Flamingo pops up - allowing Badd the pinfall at 15:17. I found it to be pretty dull, but the crowd was into it throughout. ¾*

Michael Hayes v Maxx Payne: Posturing to start, and they trade off on the mat. Payne manages a backdrop to win a criss cross, and he adds a vertical suplex. Payne with a turnbuckle smash, and he takes Hayes to the mat for a headvice. Michael fights free, and tries a headlock, but Payne side suplexes him to put a stop to it, getting two. Payne works a chinlock from there, then a nervehold, to really up the excitement factor. Hayes escapes, and lands a clothesline for two, but gets caught in a vertical suplex. Payne looks to add an elbowdrop, but Michael rolls out of the way, and hits Payne with a few turnbuckle smashes. Hayes keeps him cornered for a ten-punch, but Payne fights it off with an inverted atomic drop, followed by a clothesline for two. Hayes fights him off in the corner, and tries a DDT, but Maxx blocks. That allows Payne to slap on a fujiwara armbar for the submission win at 12:21. This was too long, and dull, but not completely worthless. ½*

Rick Rude v Van Hammer: This is scheduled as Rude and Barry Windham against Hammer and Dustin Rhodes, but the heels take out Dustin before the match, so it's changed to a one-on-one bout. Rude works an overhead wristlock right away, but Hammer escapes, and backdrops him. Hammer with a trio of cross corner whips, and he takes Rude to the mat in a reverse chinlock. Rick escapes, so Hammer goes to a bearhug, Rude escapes, so Hammer clotheslines him for two, but Rick gets his knees up to block a splash. Gosh, Hammer was in control for so long there, and with such dull stuff, that you’d think he was the heel. Rude with a flying axehandle, and he works a reverse chinlock of his own. Hammer escapes, and tries a flying splash, but Rude gets his boot up to block. That allows Rick to climb to the top for a flying splash of his own, but now Hammer gets his boot up. Both men stagger up for a slugfest, and Rude grabs a sleeper to win it. Hammer escapes, and another slugfest ends in Hammer delivering both sides of an atomic drop. Hammer with a series of clotheslines, and a bulldog gets him two. Hammer with a slingshot suplex for two, but a corner splash misses, and Rude hits the neckbreaker at 16:02. ¾*

Davey Boy Smith v Vinnie Vegas: This one aired on WCW Saturday Night, March 27 1993. It’s hard to believe that less than two short years later, Vegas would be WWF Champion. They measure each other to start, with Smith getting the better of him. The crowd is chanting nonstop for Bulldog here, wow. A test-of-strength goes Vinnie’s way, and he works Davey over. Vegas with a sidewalk slam for two, as the relentless chanting continues. Vegas with a chinlock, but Smith escapes, and makes a comeback. A hiptoss gets him two, so Vegas tries a charge in the corner, but misses. That allows Bulldog to deliver the running powerslam at 12:18. They didn’t have a lot of chemistry together. ¼*

Big Van Vader v Cactus Jack: Vader gets in his face early, so Jack starts throwing shots, but runs into a bodyblock while charging. That allows Vader to go to town in the corner, and Harley Race even adds some abuse from the outside for good measure. Jack fights back, choking the big man, and blocking an avalanche with a boot. That allows Cactus a pair of DDTs for two, and he grabs a sleeper, but Vader falls back on him to break it up. Jack bails to regroup, but Vader is on him, only to miss a charge, and go flying into the crowd. Jack follows over the guardrail to slug him, and he delivers a bodyslam on the concrete out there. Jack finds a chair to crack Vader with a few times, so Race comes over, but Jack fights him off. Inside, Cactus pounds Vader down in the corner, and hits an incoming Harley with a clothesline. That does allow Vader a moment to recover, and the big man nails Jack, then dives with a 2nd rope bodyblock. Jack tries a sunset flip, but Vader sitdown splashes him, and dumps Cactus to the outside. Harley holds him up, but Jack ducks the incoming Vader, and the big man ends up hitting Harley. Inside, Vader keeps control with a Samoan drop, and he goes to the middle for a pump-splash. Another one, and he covers, but Jack kicks out at two. Vader responds by brutalizing him in the corner, but Jack blocks a superplex attempt, and dives off the middle - only to get caught in a slam. Vader tees off on him, but another sitdown splash misses, and Jack manages a side suplex. Jack chokes him on the ropes, so Vader uses a mulekick to create separation, and he goes to the middle with a splash for two. Vader goes back to the middle for another one, but Jack dodges this time. Avalanche, but Jack dodges that as well, and uses an inverted atomic drop on him. Jack with a clothesline over the top, and he dives from the apron with a somersault senton out there. Vader beats the count, so Jack drops him with a double-arm DDT, but the referee is caught up with Race, and the delayed count only gets two. Jack beats Race up, but that allows Vader to recover with an avalanche, and he adds a powerbomb at 14:01. This was much better than everything else on the card thus far, with actual action, and lots of genuine excitement and energy. *** 

Main Event: WCW World Title Match: Sting v Paul Orndorff: Sting had defeated Vader to win the title at a live event in London two days before this, and he'd lose it back to Vader in Dublin Ireland four days after this. Oh, spoilers. Sting’s got the classic blue tights/pink boots look here tonight, probably his best. I know most people associate him with the ‘crow’ look, but ‘surfer’ is and was always my favorite. They feel each other out to start, dominated by the defending champion. Sting wins a criss cross with a press-slam, and Orndorff hides out in the ropes to break the momentum. Another exchange sees Sting hiptoss him, and Orndorff bails to regroup this time. Sting grabs a standing side-headlock, but Orndorff whips him into the ropes, and manages to shoulderblock the champion down. Paul puts the boots to him until Sting falls out of the ring, and Orndorff follows to try a suplex on the floor, but Sting reverses. Sting gets an armbar on as they head back inside, but Orndorff side suplexes him to escape, and hits a pair of pointed elbowdrops. To the outside, Orndorff feeds Sting the rail, and he takes him back in to hold a front-facelock. Sting escapes, and whips him into the corner, but an attempt to hit the Stinger Splash misses, and the champion ends up on the outside. Orndorff drags him back in to hit with a dropkick for two, and he grounds Sting in a rear-facelock. Sting escapes, and wins a criss cross with a bodypress for two, so Paul immediately takes it back to the mat in another front-facelock. Sting fights to a vertical base, but Paul pounds him down again, and decides to finish up with the piledriver, but Sting finds a backdrop to block. Orndorff responds by unloading in the corner, but a cross corner whip backfires when Sting rebounds with a springboard backelbow. That allows the champ to go on the comeback trail, and the Stinger Splash sets up a schoolboy at 14:56. This was solid, if low key. * ½ 

BUExperience: A good crowd, a good Cactus/Vader match… and not much else. This is probably worth a look for the novelty of a high VQ WCW house show, and to see Sting as champion during his brief reign, but that’s about all.

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