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[1993-05-08-WCW-Worldwide] Hollywood Blonds vs Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio


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  • 1 month later...

Barring something popping up and surprising me, this has got to be the best Blonds match there is, and probably also the best U.S. tag match of 1993. Austin and Pillman were just really gelling as a team by this point and this is a great match where everything just really falls into place nicely. Really a lost classic that's as good as anything to come out of the U.S. all year. Pillman's foreign object hiding in the first couple of minutes is outstanding, and the match is laid out really well, with three strong builds to a hot tag taking place in 20 minutes. Exciting and really heated too.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Yeah, this was terrific stuff. I know the Blonds have been taking a whipping (the *team*, anyway) for a little while now, but I still dig the shit out of a lot of their stuff. The early foreign object shtick was awesome (I was actually a little disappointed they didn't follow up on it at some point) and Pillman almost took Bagwell's head off with that towel spot.

 

This might be a top 5 US MOTY. Certainly can't think of a better tag match, at least.

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  • 1 year later...

Yep, really good TV match. Scorpio is the biggest missed opportunity by the big two of the decade, seriously, he blows away guys like Malenko or Booker who got a rep for being featured during the MNW era. Bagwell has developped into a decent blowjob (straight or gay, I couldn't say) tag-team babyface, and the Blonds really got out of their shell teaming together. Amazing how Austin has improved in two years. The towel strangulation shot is brutal.

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  • 1 year later...

Computer challenge match. I wonder is this the same computer from York Foundation. Ventura strongly questions why computer chose Bagwell and Scorpio. Pillman trying to use a foreign object before the match even begins is funny. Doing the whole Memphis stuff by hiding it between him and Austin. They briefly tease issues with Austin and Pillman. Blonds are great in this match. Scorpio's offense after the hot tag is great. He's very suited for that.

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  • 1 month later...

Dammit Kevin, I wanted to make an Alexandra York quip. Pillman must have been watching tapes from Memphis, as he plays mind games to start with a foreign object, which is worked absolutely beautifully. I love that it never actually gets used. Pillman was like Gaylord Perry at work on the pitcher's mound--the batter THINKING he was doctoring the ball accomplished just as much as actually scuffing it. Bagwell plays some mind games of his own by mocking the Blonds' "roll camera" taunt. Damned if Buff isn't really good taking the FIP beatdown here. More work with the towel, and are the Blonds ever coming into their own as a heel tandem. They do about 3 or 4 heel tag staples and execute them perfectly with their own personal spin on them. I loved them attempting to shoosh the crowd before "shaking hands," as Jesse put it, on the abdominal stretch. With two minutes of airtime left, Buff gets a great escape and hot tag and Scorpio goes nuts, a la Rick Rude at the end of the Ironman Match, trying desperately to get pins on Flyin' Brian. Time expires and this was a whale of a match. When Loss called it the U.S. Tag of the Year I thought it was an overexaggeration, but looking back I can't really find anything that one could definitively argue as better. I think I'm still partial to either the Clash tag or the tag title change, but this has been a hell of a run for the Blonds, and another strong performance from Bagwell & Scorpio also.

 

The only thing I didn't get was Austin walking away from the corner and Pillman getting into a shouting match with him. Either something got cut during the commercial break or they're already teasing a break-up, which is absolutely flabbergasting if that's the case.

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  • 2 months later...

Previously at PWO:

 

Marcus Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio v. Brian Pillman and Steve Austin I believe this is a Worldwide match, though the audio on the AVI file I have is terrible. Either way it's an interesting match, not nearly as good as the hype I have seen it good, but quite interesting to watch because of what it shows abuot all parties involved. Match goes about 12:30, or at least that's what airs. There is some clippage, but it's hard to tell exactly what you miss. The match is really broken up into two sections, Bagwell trading offense with Austin and Pillman and Scorpio playing FIP for a big chunk of the match. Bagwell is interesting here because he's full blown vanilla face mode. He actually kind of reminds me of Tom Zenk here, as he is sort of the straight man, to the flashier offensive guy, in a mid range tag team that is kind of working as the "potential superstars" type of thing. Bagwell really spends almost all of his offensive time working the arm and it comes across as something he's doing because he feels like he has to. You can tell Steamboat is the model for alot of those vanilla face guys from the era, as they all have a tendency to go to the arm. Bagwell doesn't do a bad job, but it's not a great job either, and almost the entire time he's in the ring you are praying for Scorp to get in. Of course when Scorp comes in with a slingshot legdrop onto a prone arm, it becomes obvious why you wanted him in :) It's funny because while I feel like Bagwell had potential as a worker at the time, and he sort of crumbled once he went full blown heel, I just watched a Nitro match with him and Brad Armstrong recently, where the internal story, psych, and exchanges were more interesting and even cutting edge than what Bagwell was bringing here even though he was working a variation of the "high octane" tag team theme. Anyhow, the rest of the match is Scorp getting his ass kicked. It's a good fun ass kicking. Pillman is Pillman and was always good with taunts and cutoffs on comebacks, but you forget how good Austin was at the same stuff. Actually Austin is unsung for alot of reasons, not the least of which is his bumping, but that's not really the showcase here. The beatdown on Scorp is really basic, but it's well laid out, so that it doesn't drag even when they are running chinlock spots. Austin mocking Scorps dance routine is fun also. Scorp himself was an underrated guy in 93. He's good here eating stuff, but really he's very good here with facial expressions and with mini-comebacks. It's interesting that they run a longer comeback section prior to the hot tag, but it works well enough, because it's Scorp and even his basic stuff feels kind of flashy. When he finally hits the hot tag it's basically bag well running through the standard babyface schtick with bodyslams and "showing fire" and what not, before they run into the chaotic ending with Bagwell hitting a fisherman and Austin breaking it up so Pillman can role through on the pin. Scorp actually attempts a great diving save to no avail there also. Not a great match, but good. Very standard really, but there is nothing wrong with standard. When the WWE ran Haas/Holly v. MNM last year several times the matches worked well because they were standard tag matches, that stuck to a relatively basic formula and were executed well enough. Holly was over enough as a face and MNM were over as heels so the neccesary crowd response was there to. Oddly I don't think the Pre-Blondes v. Bags and Scorp is as good as the better Haas/Holly v. MNM matches, but it's the kind of stuff that would be a better showcase for tag matches than what we get on Raw for example. Match is worth seeing mainly as an interesting look at all of the individual charactors...the squandered poential of Bagwell, Pillman being Pillman, Austin developing more as a worker and Scorp really standing out in a year where he had alot of "good" stuff that isn't really mentioned in the same breathe as other "good" stuff from the year.

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  • 11 months later...

Can't argue with the masses here, as this was a great, great match. Was this the first time (at least on the yearbook ) that the Blondes were introduced as such rather thn as Austin & Pillman? The characters are fully developed here as well with Pillman shooting film. Pillman's work with the foreign object was basic and awesome. Yeah, its not an AJPW tag but you don't have to rise to that level to put on a great match. It was interesting to see Pillman worked over by Scorpio and Austin not there for the corner in a spot you'd usually see from the babyface team. Scorpio was gold here -- offense was seamless and crisp while bumping like a champ. The Blondes really great at building heat throughout the match and making you want to see their comeuppance. Cheating on an abdominal stretch and telling the crowd to be quiet? A+ for that. Scorpio finally tags in with a minute to go and he's on fire but can't close it before the bell for a draw.

 

Loved this. Had it as my #3 US MOTY behind only Vader/Sting and Vader/Flair.

 

****

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  • 2 months later...

Never seen this before and Im so glad I didn't read the comments ahead of time as I actually hadn't heard the hype for this one. It blew me away. The blondes were so good here doing all the cheating staples of a tag team in impressive fashion. Too Cold and Bagwell were great babyfaces and took the beating and showed good shine when given the opportunity. The finish is a shame as we get a cheap way out but this is a great WCW hidden gem and I can't wait for Parv to marvel at the heel tactics of the blondes. ****

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  • 1 year later...

WCW World Tag Team Champions Hollywood Blonds vs 2 Cold Scorpio & Marcus Alexander Bagwell -WCW Worldwide 5/8/93

 

"Look at Austin shaking Pillman's congratulating him on the victory" - Jesse The Body describing as Pillman gets unfair leverage holding an ab stretch from Stunning Steve

 

Textbook heeling from the Blonds here, not so much in terms of stooging or bumping, but in cheating and just being low down no good bastards. I loved the beginning with Pillman telling the ref to check Bagwell for a foreign object only for him to have in in his hand and then slip into his kneepad. Wish they found a way to work it into the match. Bagwell is a good white meat babyface in this. I liked Austin taunting him with camera roll only for Bagwell to slip out and kick him in the gut taunt and then hit a suplex. Scorpio is the perfect early 90s midcard babyface. So much pep and zip in everything he did. Loved the barrage of nearfalls. Nice transition with Austin throwing him off on a headscissors attempts affirming how dangerous those high flying moves are. Pillman vs Scorpio would have been great at this time loved the chopfest and Pillman showing he can go aerial too with headscissors. However, Pillman takes to the air from the apron and takes the Pillman bump to the guardrail. Nice tit for tat and transition to a Bagwell hot tag. It is very amusing watching Stone Cold Steve Austin sells fear for Buff Bagwell in 1993. The Terrible Towel rears its ugly head as Bagwell runs the ropes; Pillman wraps the towel around his throat and yanks him down. What follows is a textbook heel heat segment, nothing flashy but very compelling. Choking, taunting, fishhooks, badmouthing, distracting the ref during hope spots, throwing over the top rope, illegal help on the ab stretch. It was a thing of beauty to watch as every single move was despicable and with no redeeming quality to it. Tony informs us that we are reaching the TV time limit. Bagwell needs to get his ass in gear then! Austin holds Bagwell up for Pillman to hit Air Pillman, but he gets nailed. One minute left! HOT TAG TO SCORPIO! Rights and lefts and it is the half twist moonsault from the top, but there is no ref. O' Connor Roll, but Austin clothesline Scorpio, which puts Pillman on top, I expected that to be the finish, but kick out. The Blonds run into each other, Scorpio goes for the school boy, but the time has expired.

 

This reminded me a lot of that excellent Arn vs Dustin match from early 92 in just how textbook it was. They are completely different matches, but if that is purest form of double limb psychology, this is the purest form of tag team heeling and not to mention some great babyface work from Bagwell and Scorpio. They don't make em like they use to that's for sure. ****

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  • 1 month later...

This was tremendous, both as a match and as a class in heel tag team sychology. Buff and Scorp didn't get much respect at the start; even Jesse wondered how "the computer" had chosen them over Steamer and Douglas for the title shot. But by the end, they looked like a team that could give the Blonds fits for years to come. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we're going to get any rematches, at least on this set.

 

The Blonds must have been watching some tape prior to this match, because they work like a team from twenty years before, and I mean that as a compliment. Pillman's "hide the foreign object" game is a classic bit we don't get too often anymore, and I loved the spot with the towel to the referee's blindside, though I hope we don't see it too often as it makes whoever the ref is look like a total schmuck, unless of course WCW does as Jesse suggested and starts hiring refs with eyes in the backs of their heads.

 

Buff's already learning how to be a good showman; I loved his mocking of Austin's "filming" gesture, which isn't something most guys with his limited experience have picked up on yet. Scorp doesn't need such things; he's got his athleticism, which elevates every bout he's in. As I've said before, when you're a face and Jesse Ventura not only respects you, but gets into your act like he does with Scorp's, you've accomplished something.

 

I didn't mind the draw; Buff and Scorp aren't known as a top team yet, and this was their equivalent of Sting's draw with Flair at the first Clash of the Champions. They should get another shot soon with a full time limit, whether we see it here or not.

 

I'm with Pete; I wonder why they were teasing dissension between the Blonds quite this soon. I'm not sure exactly when they're dropping the belts, but it isn't in the next few weeks for sure. Pillman's just finding his stride as a heel, and to turn him back face, particularly the same type of face he was earlier in the decade, would be a total waste of potential. I know perfectly well that Austin's future is in singles matches, but let's at least make some hay with these two as a team before we rush into a breakup, especially because I'm not sure that an Austin-Pillman feud would be all that big a deal yet.

 

Tony's back to being annoyed with Jesse, although Jesse bringing up stuff like guys puking in the ring doesn't help. It's not that Tony shows disgust with Jesse rooting for heel tactics such as the use of the towel; it's the way he does it. With Vince and Gino, it was "How can you possibly condone this, Jesse? What's the matter with you?" With Tony, it's "How can you interrupt me, even though I'm not saying much of anything? You're ruining my broadcast!"

 

As good as Jesse's been with both JR and Tony at various times in WCW, I think he'd have been better off staying with Vince. Maybe Gino wouldn't have gone downhill as far nor as fast if he and Jesse had still been partners on pay-per-views, and we would have been spared Savage on both pay-per-views and ​Raw, where he's gotten increasingly worse over time. It would be kind of a shame for Heenan, since he probably would have been doing Challenge ​only and may have even gone to WCW early as a result, but overall I'd take a Jesse for Savage and Lawler trade in the booth any day. Maybe Lawler would have gotten a bigger push as a wrestler if Vince hadn't been so concerned with him doing his rent-a-joke bullshit in the booth.

 

Line of the Night goes to Jesse, as Pillman plays "hide the object": "It melts in your mouth, not in your hand." Tony crapping all over that bit by claiming that it was a commercial for M&Ms is a perfect example of why he'd be better with Zbyszko, whose style is a lot more serious, on a full-time basis.

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  • 2 months later...

#389

 

This is such a great match. Easily the best match the Blonds had and far better than anything they did with Steamboat and Douglas. Bagwell and Scorpio were such a fun team. I don't know the story behind them being put together, but they totally made it work. I usually dislike time limit draws but this was an example of how they can be done well. There was so much action going on in the last minute or so and and the show went off the air with everyone left buzzing.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1993-05-08-WCW-Worldwide] Hollywood Blonds vs Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio
  • 11 months later...

In the Secret Santo thread@Matt D gave me Hollywood Blondes vs Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio from the 5/8/93 WCW Worldwide.

This was one hell of a tag team match!

There was a beautiful sequence early on with Flyin' Brian hiding a foreign object in his kneepad while he told the referee to check Bagwell's boot. Awesome heeling.

The Hollywood Blondes were absolute masters when it came to heel tag team techniques. They somehow managed to make an extended abdominal stretch sequence incredibly entertaining. It's sad that stuff like that is basically a lost art now. :(

Seeing Austin do a modified Stone Cold Stunner as a transition spot was a bit jarring in retrospect. :)

At the time, I never had much use for Bagwell and Scorpio as a tag team. It seemed like a waste of Scorpio to me, who I thought was the greatest thing ever back then, because he was doing top rope moves only seen in Japan in the early '90s. But I have to say, Bagwell is much better than I remember him being. Not all of that can be attributed to a carry-job by Austin and Pillman either, because Bagwell was selling very nicely and did a great job during the face in peril portion of the match. I always thought he was miscast as a face - who ever really wanted to cheer this Chippendale wannabe? - but he made a damn good case for himself in this match. 

This must have been the beginning of the end of The Hollywood Blondes, because dissension was teased throughout. What a waste! While it was obvious that Austin had major singles star written all over him, they could've gotten a lot more mileage out of the Blondes. That was just one of the myriad of bad decisions that plagued WCW back then. 

I loved the time limit draw finish. That's something you don't see much anymore. Everything here felt so meaningful, which is another art that's been lost in the era of "movez" and no psychology. This told a damn good story in a very entertaining fashion. 

Thanks for giving this to me, Matt. I had an absolute blast watching it! 

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  • 3 years later...

Sort of nuts that it's been eleven years since I last watched this. It's still probably the best Hollywood Blonds match. The foreign object shtick at the beginning rules. Pillman takes a roll of coins out his trunks and cackles like some SHENANIGANS are afoot, then when Bagwell tells the ref' to check him he hides it back in the trunks but refuses to open his closed fist. When he finally does and proves there's nothing in his hand he bursts out laughing like this is the funniest shit in the world. He then hides it in the kneepad before passing it to Austin, so when the ref' checks the kneepad there's nothing there and Pillman is beside himself at how amusing this is. It was very Memphis and I'm not even annoyed that it never had any actual payoff to speak of (we never see it again after the opening bit). Bagwell and Scorp both take a turn playing face in peril and this crowd are just molten hot for these guys. It's always a hoot when the WCW studio crowds would chant "Whoomp, there it is" for Marcus Bagwell and they're absolutely losing it for him doing the Blonds' roll camera bit in Austin's face. Then Austin about yanks his head off with the most brutal towel clothesline you'll ever see, which was a fairly amazing transition spot. Scorpio's heat segment is even better than Bagwell's and I always love how much height he'll get on simple moves. Or not even moves as such, just how he'll leap into the air before hitting the mat as Pillman steps over him hitting the ropes. He's graceful in a way not many guys of the era were. There were a bunch of really fun Blonds moments during the beatdowns as well, my favourite being the assisted abdominal stretch, or maybe Austin's little dance mocking Scorpio. The more I go back and watch Austin the more awesome he comes across. I guess most people think of him as a brawler as that was how he worked during the supernova years, but to me brawling Austin was so good because of the energy and the character work. As an actual punch-kick brawler I don't think he ever really had good punches. His execution on regular wrestling moves and his bumping ability was always pretty outstanding though, and you get to see more of that pre-neck injury. Even a simple vertical suplex bump here looked great. He's a guy who's rocketed back up my favourites list over the last few years and maybe I'll do that full 2001 re-watch some day. Anyhow, this was great and one of the best WCW tags of the decade. 
 

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