EPISODE #2
AUGUST 19, 1988
As the show starts, we go right to a video tape from the Tulsa Convention Center and a ring announce informing us that in the finals of the Gauntlet Match to crown a new WCW World Champion, it is the “Total Package” Lex Luger vs “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
Now we get the normal intro to World Championship wrestling!
Tony Schiavone: Hi everybody. Welcome back to World Championship Wrestling. Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross and David Crockett ringside here with World Championship Wrestling, the major league of professional wrestling. As you just saw, it was Lex Luger and Ric Flair squaring off for the World Title. We will be showing you the finish of that great match in just a little while.
Jim Ross: We most certainly will and all I can say is that it was one of the hardest fought matches I have ever seen along with being one of the most chaotic endings ever in the history of this illustrious title.
TS: And as always, the top stars the sport of professional wrestling has to offer. Let’s go to the ring for our first match.
MATCH #1
The Young Guns (Sam Houston & Kendall Windham) defeat Allen Martin & Keith Steiborn after Houston Hit the Running Bulldog on Allen Martin.
A quick, humble interview with David Crockett has the Young Guns just excited top be in WCW and they know there are a lot of awesome tag teams here and they can’t wait to test themselves against the best there is.
COMMERCIAL BREAK/PRMOS FOR UPCOMNIG EVENTS IN ST. LOUIS/OKC & KANSAS CITY
When we come out of break, we go right to the finals of the Gauntlet Match from Tulsa
MATCH #2: VTR
WINNER IS THE NEW WCW WORLD CHAMPION
“Nature Boy” Ric Flair vs Lex Luger with Woman
Just what you would expect until we get to exactly what you wouldn’t expect. We see Flair bumping and selling for Luger until his dirty tactics give him the advantage. Luger does a “descent” job of playing the face in peril but eventually he gets the momentum back. We see him whip Flair into the corner where Nature Boy does his patented flip over the top rope and out onto the floor. Luger rushed out and gives him some big power shots outside the ring before tossing Nature Boy back in. Luger, again whips Flair into the corner but this time Flair “bounces out towards the middle of the ring.
Here comes Luger with a huge clothesline!
WHAM… Flair pulled ref Pee Wee Anderson in front of Luger and Luger nearly kills Anderson.
WHAM… Luger turns and executes another big clothesline on Flair.
Luger covers Flair but there is no ref to make the count.
Flair is down for at least the count of 7 or 8. The crowd is screaming.
WHAM…. Chair shot to the head of Luger by Arn Anderson. Anderson drags Flair on top of Luger for the pin but there is still NO REFEREE.
Finally after what would have been another easy 3-count, Pee Wee Anderson starts to crawl over to the action and begins his count. He is still a bit groggy and the count is slow. 1…2…
Luger kicks out!
Dusty Rhodes has made his way to ringside to make sure Arn stays out of it. Dusty is still fuming about his bout earlier that saw Snowman and Kareem Muhammed interfere in his bout against Butch Reed.
The United States Champion, Dan Spivey, has also made his way to ringside and is standing with Arn Anderson.
Big body slam by Flair on the already dazed Luger. Flair with the cover but again Luger kicks out.
Flair drags Luger up by his hair… Arn on the apron….Pee Wee scolds him.
WHAM… Low blow by WOMAN on LUGER…. What is going on!!
The cover…1… Here comes an angry Dusty…2…..
WHAM…. Shoulder block by Spivey on Dusty…. 3….. Ric Flair has won the World Title!
Spivey and Arn are now all over Dusty Rhodes!
Woman is directing traffic… She is telling Spivey and Arn to hold Dusty down. She points to the chair and the top rope. She gives Ric Flair his marching orders and he climbs the ropes. Dusty is in some serious trouble.
The crowd is screaming…. Here comes Sting and he has a bat. He dares Flair to make a move. Flair thinks better of it and jumps down to the floor.
Here comes Hacksaw Butch Reed, Snowman and Kareem Muhammed…. The chaos is frantic.
Here comes The Texas Outlaws, Dick Slater and Stan Hansen!
There is fighting everywhere but eventually the fan favorites are in control of the ring!
Luger is unsure what to do. His enemies, Dusty Rhodes and Sting, from just an hour ago, are surrounding him.
Is Luger going to fight? You can almost see him trying to think this one through before it happens.
Suddenly, Dusty approaches and holds out his hand! So does Sting!
The crowd is cheering!
Luger cautiously accepts. Dusty… Sting…. Murdoch… Hansen…. And now Luger are on the same side!
Flair may have won the battle but looks like his enemies have gotten significantly stronger!
(Now I would normally not want to over shadow a World Title Change with all the chaos but I wanted to get some angles going here in WCW)
The video ends and we come back to live tv.
TS: Well Jim, it seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Ric Flair is the new world champion, again, but Dusty Rhodes is hot on his tail. Let’s go to David Crockett who is with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson right now.
Arn Anderson: David Crockett… what you just witnessed is what happens when you play with the big dogs! Ya know what I’m saying. Luger… it was real easy over there in Mid-South when you could pick your opponents and there wasn’t much to be pickin from. Now here in WCW, that’s all changed. The Horsemen are back in town and we are simply the best there ever was. The best there is and the best there will ever be!
Ric Flair: Hey, you all saw Randy “Macho Man” Savage toss the World Title in the Chicago River last week and he made up some story about how he hates Ted Turner and isn’t coming down South. That was all a bunch of nonsense. The Horsemen showed up and in one day, he was laid out. He left out of fear. He knew what was coming. Now Luger…. Let me give you some advice. Follow Savage out of WCW. You got no shot. I got the title. I got your pride. I got your Woman. You shook hands with the Devil in Dusty Rhodes. Now if you stay… you gonna go through Hell as The Horseman got your soul.
David Crockett: Speaking of Woman… why did you turn on Lex Luger.
Woman: I didn’t turn on Lex. I turned to a winner. As you have heard time and time again… The Horsemen are the best in the business. The Rolexes, the private jets, all the money, all the Diamonds. You know what they say David. Diamonds are a Woman’s best friend. And don’t get me wrong. This is not a one-way street. I am gaining a lot by joining the Horsemen but they are gaining a lot by adding Woman to their group.
DC: One last question. We saw Dan Spivey out there in all that chaos. Is he the newest Horseman?
Ric Flair: Let’s just say that the application process has begun but it takes more than one shoulder block on the American Dream. The Horsemen are a way of life!
COMMERCIAL BREAK/PRMOS FOR UPCOMNIG EVENTS IN ST. LOUIS/OKC & KANSAS CITY
Before the match, we get another promo hyping up the coming of the Rock n Roll Express.
MATCH #3
WCW WORLD TAG TEAM MATCH
Ted Dibiase & Dr. Death defeat Sweet Brown Sugar & Jimmy Del Ray after Dr. Death connected with the Oklahoma Stampede on Jimmy Del Ray.
In a very interesting post-match interview David Crockett wanted to know how Dibiase and Dr. Death joined together so fast as everyone saw on the Superstation that the two were at each other’s throats in Mid-South Wrestling. Dibiase told the story how he wasn’t seeing eye to eye with his former manager Sheik Adnan Al Kassie. He was upset at the Sheik for always hiring the wrong people to do the job. Whether it was the Natural Disasters, Alofa, the Tonga Kid… The list could go on and on. So, when Dibiase lost his Louisiana title and the Sheik asked what could he do to fix the problem, Dibiase told him that he had made a mistake when he hired Dibiase for a Million Dollars. Dibiase said that if the Sheik really wanted to control wrestling, he would have hired both Ted and his tag team partner at the time, Dr. Death Steve Williams.
Dr. Death finished off the story by explaining that about two weeks ago, Sheik came to him and said that he would give him 1 million dollars to join his stable. Dr. Death laughed at the idea as he would never join Sheik’s stable. Dr. Death said that is when Dibiase came to him and told him to take Sheik’s money… literally take the money.
When Crockett asked what that meant. Dibiase said exactly what it sounded like. Dr. Death took the Sheik’s money and then he and Dr. Death walked out on the Sheik the day before they won the WCW Title.
David Crockett: So, you are telling me that you took 2 million dollars of the Sheiks money and then just left him? Don’t you think he will be coming for you?
Dibiase and Dr. Death both laughed and asked David if they looked afraid?
As the interview ended, it left people wondering if Dr. Death and Dibiase were heels or babyfaces? Maybe it is time for someone to ride the fans, like the Road Warriors did for a while.
COMMERCIAL BREAK/PRMOS FOR UPCOMNIG EVENTS IN ST. LOUIS/OKC & KANSAS CITY
Coming out of break, we have Dusty Rhodes, Sting and Lex Luger with David Crockett.
Lex Luger: (Screaming in short sentences) Now David Crockett make sure that camera is on me! Close in on my face. Take a look at me Ric Flair. I’ve had it up to here with people like you taking short cuts to the top. You talk about being King of the Hill. You talk about being Space Mountain. Well, if you need Arn Anderson and Dan Spivey to carry you up the hill… you are nothing more than Over The Hill! And as for you Woman… you will look back on the day you picked Grandpa over me as the worst day of your life.
Sting: It ticks me off. It really ticks me off. Ric Flair… a title as prestigious as the WCW World Title has been tainted. You go and take what should have been one of the most historic nights in WCW history… the night the title was determined by a Gauntlet Match between 5 of the best wrestlers in all of wrestling… and you have it determined by who could cheat the most.
Dusty Rhodes: Ya know David… it makes me just a little bit illllll…. if you willlll….. watching that tape from the Tulsa Convention Center. I watched Lex Luger get Funky Like A Monkey the other night in one of the greatest Gauntlets ever put into a wrestling ring. He put down Hacksaw Butch Reed like it aint no thang. Then he takes Ric Flair to the verge of defeat until that Snake-in- the- Grass, Arn Anderson, gets involved. Now Arn… that aint going to go unpunished! And who is this Wanna-Be- Horseman… Dan Spivey… who does he think he is! Putting his two cents… and that’s all he’s worth…. Two cents… into the Gauntlet Match. I’m ashamed to call him the U.S. Champion. That deed Dan Spivey won’t go unpunished! Horseman…. Your now at your weakest state ever! Down to just Arn Anderson and Ric Flair and a Wanna-Be. Well soon, very very soon, The American Dream Dusty Rhodes… The Total Package Lex Luger and the man they call Sting will be collecting on those unthinkable deeds you done!
David Crockett: Well there you have it folks. Lets go back to the ring.
MATCH #4
WCW TV TITLE MATCH
Tom Zenk © defeats The Assassin with the Superkick
After the bout, the Z-Man gives an interview where he basically laughs off the idea that Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert is calling himself the TV champion and that he is walking around here with the defunct Mid-South TV title belt!
Suddenly Rip Rogers and Ms. Terri come out. Rogers starts circling Zenk and giving him a pretty good look over.
Rip Rogers: (Laughing) And this is what all the fuss is about. You look a little soft to me. You look like you missed a few days in the gym. You’re a little behind the Ripper here. Eddie Gilbert was out here talking last week about him and Missy Hyatt being the best-looking couple in WCW and how they should be the face of WCW. Look at Terri and myself. We are the hottest couple in WCW. We are the faces of this company and when you, Tom Zenk give me a title shot… I will be the TV Champion.
Rip gives a few flexes in Zenk’s face.
Zenk, still laughing, gives one of his pec bounce flexes and the girls in the audience basically fall over. The camera even catches Ms. Terri biting her lower lip!
COMMERCIAL BREAK/PRMOS FOR UPCOMNIG EVENTS IN ST. LOUIS/OKC & KANSAS CITY
MATCH #5
Ron Simmons debuts on WCW with a victory over Michael Starr with the middle rope shoulder block.
David Crockett: Well Ron, welcome to World Championship Wrestling. That was a rather impressive win.
Ron Simmons: I just want to say that nobody has ever given me anything. I’ve worked for everything I had. I worked my way to being a college football player at Florida State. I worked my way into the NFL and now I’ve worked my way into professional wrestling. I don’t expect any breaks here, but I will prove to everyone that there is no keeping me down. It is my honor to work for all those people that give it their all and have to fight for everything they have. Thank you for your time, David.
DC: Now that’s a very humble man. Let’s get to the ring for two more humble wrestlers representing the great state of Alabama… The Lightening Express.
MATCH #6
The Lightening Express (Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner) defeat Allen Tabb and Cougar Jay after Brad hit the Russian Legsweep on Jay.
COMMERCIAL BREAK/PRMOS FOR UPCOMNIG EVENTS IN ST. LOUIS/OKC & KANSAS CITY
MATCH #7
UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH
“Dangerous” Dan Spivey © defeats “The Fab One” Steve Keirn with a Spivey Spike (DDT) following a rake of the eyes.
When David Crockett asked Dan Spivey why he helped Ric Flair and Arn Anderson last week in Tulsa he was very clear with his answer.
Dan Spivey: I’m here in WCW for one reason and one reason only and that’s to be on the top of the food chain in professional wrestling. Being the United States Champion is not enough. To be considered one of the best in professional wrestling, you must be a Horsemen! I showed Ric and Arn in Tulsa what an asset I can be. Hopefully, at some time in the near future they will come and talk to me about it.
Suddenly Dusty Rhodes comes to the podium and confronts Spivey about his actions. Without Dusty realizing it, Butch Reed, Snowman and Kareem Muhammed come out and surround Dusty.
Here comes Dick Murdoch and Stan Hansen
Here comes Sting and Lex Luger…
While we are at the end of the show, the cameras do pick up some pushing and shoving. One thing Jim Ross notices is that all the major players from last week in Tulsa are at it again with the exception of Ric Flair and Arn Anderson! Tony Schiavone adds that is why they are the top of the food chain. They let the others just tear each other apart.
Tony Schiavone: For Jim Ross and David Crockett, I’m Tony Schiavone, we’ll see you next week right here on World Championship Wrestling.