GSR

JBL also hazed WCW referee Billy Silverman until he quit the company in late 2001. This has been going on for nearly twenty years without anyone batting an eye. Palmer Canon was another; flew himself home during a European tour after being continually harrassed by JBL. I remember Meltzer writing something in the Observer about how Canon had gone through Deep South making low money, and here he was on a European tour which would have given him the biggest payday of his career and he quit on it (and the company) sick of the abuse and grief he was getting.

Steve Corino is out with Jack Victory. He’s showing the scars of last night’s match in Fort Lauderdale and says how he got his ass handed to him by Dusty Rhodes, but since he isn’t here tonight, he’s challenging the other person who was in that match, Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer and Francine make their way out and into the ring. Corino says the last time they were in this building Tommy beat him, he’s beat him in 675 house shows, but tonight he’s going to hand him his ass like he’s never had it handed to him before. He’s got 14 stitches in his head and he shouldn’t even be wrestling tonight, but he’s here to prove to each and every one of these morons that he’s more of a man than him. He tells Jack to get out of there and says that he doesn’t need him, he doesn’t need Rhino, and if Dreamer is such a big man, “what’s he going to do?” Dreamer grabs him around the throat and drives him backwards into the corner, shouts some obscenities, but unbeknownst Tajiri has snuck into the ring and kicks him from behind. Corino is pleased with himself as Tajiri boxes Dreamer in the head with those snappy kicks. Jawbreaker and he throws Tommy to the floor. Tajiri whips a hobbling Dreamer into the guard rail, but he’s able to reverse it. He crotches Tajiri on the rail and drills him with a couple of rights before throwing him back in the ring. Bodyslam, then Dreamer climbs the ropes as if he’s going for a moonsault, Tajiri is back to his feet though and shoves him causing him to lose his balance. ‘Tree of Woe’ however Dreamer lifts himself up and out the way of the dropkick and Tajiri posts himself. Dreamer with a ‘tree of woe’ of his own. Francine holds a chair in front of Tajiri’s face and Dreamer with a big dropkick right to it. Handspring elbow, Tarantula, but Francine is over and claws at Tajiri’s face forcing him to break the hold. He chases after her and she heads into the ring where Dreamer is able to level him with a clothesline. Whip to the corner and the inrushing Dreamer is met with a great thrust kick for two. He ducks a head kicksand catches Tajiri with the Death Valley Driver. Jack Victory is up on the apron and with the referee distracted, Corino enters the ring and DDT’s Dreamer. He starts to celebrate doing the crucifixion pose when out comes Raven. Francine is now on the apron too arguing with Victory, snot rag to Corino and stereo DDT’s. Dreamer covers Tajiri, Francine tells the official to turn around and he counts the three. Good Corino promo to open with. I tend to go either way when it comes to his interviews, but this was one I enjoyed. The match itself was pretty average, although it was nice to see Tajiri work with someone outside of Crazy, Guido and Lynn. Not a fan of the finish with everyone at ringside, and even someone who wasn’t, involved in it.

Nice start to the match as Raven enters via the aisle with Francine and Dreamer comes from the back and attacks Corino and Victory from behind. They quickly pair off and it’s not long before they’re back on the arena floor. The camera follows Raven and Corino as they head to the back of the building and over to the RF video stall (the camera work is appalling at this point). Raven uses some merchandise to attack Corino with (video tape, T-shirts) and this all looks rather lame. They walk around the building and into the bathroom and we’re to believe Raven gives Corino a swirly, but he shuts the toilet door so we don’t see anything. The two of them continue to walk and do little else, finally making it back to ringside. We see Dreamer and Victory again, the latter who is busted open and takes a great head first bump through a table that had been propped up against the guard rail. Raven with a bad looking drop toe hold onto the chair, snot rag, Dreamer with a DDT and they both cover Corino for the win. Lousy match. The lone highlight was Victory’s bump through the table and it’s a shame Feinstein didn’t stay with him and Dreamer instead of following Corino and Raven around. Absolutely zero brawling between Corino and Raven as they ‘fought’ to the back, they just walked around together. Hated the use of the merchandise as weapons as it made the match feel like some sort of parody, and why go to the bathroom if you’re not at least going to show what you do in there? The camera work was so bad at times that it made this unwatchable.

A nice bit of grappling and reversals to open up. Guido escapes out of an attempted powerbomb and those idiots in the crowd chant ‘You Fucked Up!’ thinking they’d botched it. Rude Awakening neckbreaker and Tajiri rolls to the floor. Guido follows him out and whips him into the guard rail. Big Sal runs at him to squash him against the rail, but Tajiri is able to get out the way and Sal goes careering over it and into the front row. Heaven help those poor folk who almost had Sal in their lap! Tajiri drives Guido’s head into the canvas with his knee off the top and he heads outside to try and recover. Sal goes over and tells him to ‘let’s get out of here’, but Tajiri with an Asai moonsault to both. Tajiri tries to suplex him back in the ring, however Guido flips over and grabs him in a waistlock. Tajiri with a back elbow and then the Tarantula. A kick to the head and he starts to mock Guido a la Super Crazy in the Mexican Death match. Guido escapes a brainbuster and reverses it into a Fujiwara armbar. Maritato attempt that Tajiri blocks with a kick to the balls. Full nelson, but Guido is able to free himself and again applies the Fujiwara armbar. Irish Whip and the handspring elbow. Guido with a famouser (leg drop to the back of the head) off the top for a two. He climbs up again but Tajiri shoves him and Guido crotches himself. Tajiri ties him in the ‘tree of woe’ and dropkicks him to the face. Sal is up on the apron complaining to Pee Wee Moore about something and Tajiri dropkicks him sending him tumbling to the floor. They exchange hard slaps, a cracking spinning back kick from Tajiri and a Brainbuster for the win. Good match. I don’t know if it was the fact it was filmed on ‘Fancam’, but it was just slightly missing something for me. Feinstein’s camera work is not the best, although you can see and hear them laying those slaps in. Nothing wrong at all with the work between these two and I like the versatility and different ways Tajiri has to apply the Tarantula.

The rules of a Mexican Death match are that it is ‘no DQ’, as opposed to something like a Texas Death match. The match start with Joey Styles and Joel Gertner making jokes like how the loser of the match has to watch 12 hours of Mil Mascaras movies. Almost as soon as it’s started though we cut to a break. We return to see Tajiri dropkick Crazy whilst he’s tied in the ‘Tree of Woe’. He goes outside and brings three chairs into the ring, sets them up in front of Crazy’s head and dropkicks the lot into this face busting him open. He bites the cut and wipes Crazy’s blood down his chest before ramming his head into a table. He then fires chairs across the table at his head, which Crazy has to duck out the way of, and the chairs go flying into the audience. The crowd lose their shit at how dangerous this is and Tajiri’s response? He bows at them! Tajiri lies Crazy on the table and comes off the top with a double foot stomp. The table doesn’t break so he heads up for another go, this time making sure to put Crazy through it. At this point he starts mocking the beaten Crazy who is down on his knees which is all kinds of awesome. Irish whip reversal and Crazy with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker followed by a springboard moonsault. He throws Tajiri to the outside, nails him with a chair and they fight to the back. Moonsault off the bleachers through a table. Back in the ring and Crazy is laying in those kicks. Punches in the corner with the crowd counting along in Spanish, then Tajiri staggers to the opposite one and receives ten more with him now busted open like his opponent. Crazy whips him into the ropes, handspring elbow, but Crazy is back to his feet and levels him with a clothesline. He crotches Tajiri on the top rope and a springboard back heel kick to the head for a two. A great spot where Crazy has Tajiri backed up against the ropes slapping his chest, he catches a kick, but Tajiri then reverses it into the tarantula. Kick to the groin and a lovely German suplex for a near fall. A baseball slide dropkick sends Crazy over the guard rail and into the front row, and Tajiri with an Asai moonsault out onto him. He brings a table in the ring and sets it up in the corner, but he’s taken took long and is met by a glorious missile dropkick from Crazy. As Tajiri rolls to the floor for a breather, Crazy collects a table of his own and sets it up in the opposing corner. Tajiri is back on the apron and he’s got the ring wrench in his hand. Back kick to Crazy and he starts driving the wrench into his mouth. Crazy ducks a kick, boot to the mid-section and he goes to powerbomb Tajiri through a table. Tajiri blocks it and blows the mist in Crazy’s eyes. He leaps off the table, but Tajiri catches him, runs to the opposite corner and powerbombs him through that table for the win. That finishing sequence just there was outstanding. Excellent match. Tajiri is just so good here. He’s methodical, calculated, everything he does has a meaning and a purpose. There is a legitimate air of ‘I don’t give a shit’ about him when he’s firing those chairs at Crazy’s head and they go flying into the crowd. His mannerisms and charisma are off the chart on this one. Even when something goes ‘wrong’ like the double footstomp through the table, if you didn’t know better you would have thought that was meant to happen. The guy is a consummate pro, covers it perfectly and just does it again. Compare this with how Ric Blade behaved when he botched the leg drop against Low Ki. Crazy’s comeback seemed a bit out of place considering the beating he had just taken, maybe fire back with some punches first before going into the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and springboard moonsault! The finishing stretch is tremendous and the best I’ve seen in the year so far. By the way I wish Hat Guy and his pal would sit the fuck down! Boy would I hate to be at the Arena and be sat behind that pair!

Customary short pre-match interviews with Spanky referring to his and Dragon’s team as American Force 2000 (nice!), while Buster continues to be intense. Bad start from Dragon as he and Buster mess up an Irish whip spot, followed by a sit-out chokeslam that doesn’t look the smoothest. Not sure if he shook himself up on the landing but he tags out to Spanky. For some reason Spanky wants a test of strength with the big buy which results in him being sent flying backwards as he comes out on the wrong end of it. Buster goes to pick him back up off the canvas, but Dragon with a sunset flip off the top for a two. Spanky with a crucifix takedown on Love Machine, they then mistime a Bulldog while Dragon with a huracanrana off the top on Time. He and Spanky head to opposite turnbuckles and both miss frog splashes as their opponents move out the way. Buster and Chaz throw them to the floor and then have a chat in the middle of the ring instead of going out after them. Stereo missile dropkicks off the top from Spanky and Dragon, double flapjack and a double snap suplex on Time. Dragon with a big boot that looks like it misses and Buster starts to fire back. Dragon climbs to the top turnbuckle, but Chaz is in to shake the ropes and he crotches himself. Time tags out and an odd looking atomic drop between Dragon and Machine. Chaz goads Spanky causing a distraction with the referee that allows them to double team on Dragon. Buster throws him to the outside and this time it’s his turn to distract the official as Chaz chokes him on the floor. Spanky comes around to try and help, however he’s met with a clothesline and then gets launched into the guard rail. Dragon with a crucifix into a sunset flip but Time grabs him by the throat, lifts him all the way up and slams him down. Dragon with a series of forearms and he’s able to make the tag. A forearm to Chaz sends him tumbling out of the ring and Dragon starts kicking the knee of Time. Spanky with a dragon screw and a pair of frog splashes (with Danielson’s about ¾ the way across the ring) for the win which means they’re now the number one contenders for the Board of Education’s tag titles. A very scrappy, disjointed match that was actually pretty bad. The worst I’ve seen from Dragon who was off on a number of occasion, whilst at times Spanky resembled a backyarder (check out his dropkicks). TWA had an incredibly strong January, but February has been a disappointment with the two matches we’ve seen both being bad (I’ve already watched Spanky/Steele). I’m looking forward to seeing how things pan out in March, as with Spanky and Dragon having already signed their WWF contracts, I don’t think they’re long for Texas.

Lou E. Dangerously addresses the crowd and looks to get some cheap heat. He says that the Dangerously family have made an executive decision. Due to the fact that they are probably drunk, high and looking to get laid after the show, he can no longer subject his wrestlers to this behaviour and all future shows at Zuma Beach have been cancelled. Yawn! Collar and elbow tie up, Sabu with the go behind, CW grabs the ropes and Sabu drills him with a right. Springboard tornado DDT that CW takes beautifully, and he’s able to get his foot over the ropes when Sabu makes the cover. Sabu sets a table up on the outside however as he goes to get back in the ring he’s met with a shoulder tackle that sends him flying to the floor. CW lies Sabu up on the table and heads to the top turnbuckle (like he’s coming off that!) but he appears to slip, and Sabu with a top rope Frankensteiner which he follows with a dive over the top rope to the floor on Lou E. and Bill Whiles. A table has made its way into the ring somehow, and Lou distracts Sabu enabling CW to catch him with a superkick. He lies him on the table and again goes to the top, but Sabu is back to his feet and shakes the ropes so he loses his balance. He goes for a second Frankensteiner, however this time CW pushes him off and he crotches himself on the top rope. Awesome spinebuster through the table for a near fall. Sabu levels Lou, cracks Bill and CW in the head with chairs and sets up a third table. He drags Lou onto it and comes off the top with a leg drop, but CW pushes his manager off and he is the one who gets put through the table. One Arabian facebuster later and that’s all she wrote. Bad match. It was as if they just wanted to bust out a bunch of Sabu spots and had no idea what to do (bar punch) in between. There was absolutely no meat to this at all. I liked CW’s spinebuster through the table, but the ‘new’ Dangerous Alliance screams bottom of the card gimmick and CW didn’t have a hope of winning this.

Lynn with a takedown and the two scramble for position. Real nice headscissors from him before the two trade arm drags and Guido steps outside to compose himself. Test of strength, and Guido with a knee to the mid-section when Lynn’s on top. Lynn reverses an Irish whip and ducks out the way of a springboard reverse sunset flip. Tilt-a-whirl into a gorgeous German suplex for two, and Guido rolls to the outside to confer with big Sal. Lynn with a dive off the top turnbuckle to the floor on Sal, but when he gets up off him he’s limping bad. He returns to the ring and Guido with an ankle lock/leg lock for the immediate submission win. What we saw was real good, but the match was cut short due to the injury.

Tony Schiavone explains the rules of the ‘death match’ and that there are no DQs or count outs. After every successful pinfall or submission there will be a ten count, and the man who is unable to get to his feet within that ten will lose the match. Funk has got Dustin Rhodes seconding him for this, but he ends up just being a bystander. Flair starts with the chops early and great facials from ‘The Funker’ here. Funk fires back with some lefts and the guy still throws a mean looking punch. Flair rolls to the floor as he tries to slow Funk down. It’s no good though, as Funk suplexes him back into the ring, Irish whip and a back body drop that he takes on his shoulders/side. Some awesome looking rights from Funk, and a left drops the Naitch. Spinning toe hold, but Flair is able to fight from the bottom and force his way out the hold. Flair rips Funk’s shirt open, chops him some more and throws him to the outside. Funk blocks a suplex on the floor and reverses it into one of his own, with Flair again taking the bump on his side. The Naitch whips Funk into the guard rail and goes for another suplex. Again Funk blocks it and reverses it into one of his own. He covers him on the arena floor for the first fall, however Flair is able to get to his feet within the ten count. Flair with a knife edge chop that sends Funk backwards over the guard rail and into the crowd. He then starts attacking Funk’s knee with a chair but the crowd are surprisingly dead at this point. Figure Four and Funk submits early so he doesn’t take any undue punishment, and he is also able to beat the count. Flair heads to the top turnbuckle, but Funk catches him and throws him to the canvas. Whip to the corner and he takes his bump over the turnbuckles and to the outside. Piledriver on the floor and Flair kicks out of the cover. The two trade punches and chops (With Funk’s chest now bleeding), before a second piledriver, this time on the concrete. Funk gets the pin and Flair manages to drag himself up to his feet with the help of the guard rail. In the meantime Funk has set up a table in the ring. He gets on the mic and asks Flair is he wants to quit, and when he says ‘no’, he clobbers him with the microphone. PILEDRIVER THROUGH THE TABLE!!! Holy fuck and the crowd have finally come alive. Funk makes the covers but pulls Flair’s shoulders up at two. The commentators speculate that he must want to punish Ric some more. Funk pulls out another table and sets it up in the ring. He rams Flair’s head into the table and Funk climbs to the top turnbuckle (presumably for a moonsault), but the Naitch is off the table and nails Funk who take a fall backwards through the table. Flair drags himself over to make the cover, but that’s enough as Funk is unable to beat the subsequent ten count. Sure it’s not 1989, but great effort from both and you certainly can’t accuse these two of phoning in a performance. Funk’s facials and selling of the leg were superb and I really enjoyed when they were just trading chops and punches with each another. Those backdrops Flair took didn’t look the most comfortable to take, and Funk’s bloodied chest was showing the after effects of all those chops he received. Kudos to the commentary team who I thought did a good job calling the match and explaining the nuances and tactics involved in a match like this. Crowd were quiet at times (Mark Madden tries to claim they were almost dumbstruck at what they were watching), though they popped huge for the piledriver through the table. Funk’s nestea plunge off the top through the table for the finish seemed kinda weak after what we’d seen earlier in the bout. Really good match nonetheless.

Flair is out for an interview and he’s carrying Hulk Hogan’s weightlifting belt with him. He says Monday night Lex Luger completely demolished Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania came to a halt. At the end of the match he came down the aisle, took the belt off him and whipped his Californian ass! Tonight Lex Luger is going to take Sid Vicious and knock him down too, but he wonders why he can’t find anyone to wrestle him. He challenges a few people in the audience, when out walks Vampiro. Flair seems a bit taken aback that ‘he’ wants to wrestle him, but the crowd are excited about the prospect. When Flair again questions he wants to wrestle him? Vampiro says he doesn’t want to wrestle him, in fifteen minutes he’s going to kick his ass! Later on Thunder we get the match and Vampiro blocks a hip toss and rolls through into a nice kneebar submission. A pair of clotheslines, a back body drop and Flair steps outside to compose himself. Vampiro suplexes him back into the ring and unleashes some chops, before a poke to the eye gives Flair a chance to reverse the situation and get some chops in of his own. Vampiro with some weird looking spin kick and he then misses a leg drop off the top. Flair focuses on the knee and starts to try and soften it up for the Figure Four. Spinning toe hold and Vampiro cradles him with a small package for a two. Luger and Liz head out to ringside at this point, concerned it’s not all going Flair’s way. Vampiro with an enziguiri, another spin kick and he heads to the top. Liz distracts referee Billy Silverman, Luger nails Vamp in the back of the knee with a baseball bat and he falls to the canvas. Flair with the Figure Four and Vampiro submits. They double team Vamp post-macth with Lex putting the boots to him and Flair whipping him with Hogan’s weightlifting belt. The main take from this was the crowd, who were hot for the match and super into Vampiro. Wouldn’t know why, but it’s going to be interesting to see if this is the start of any sort of push for him in the upcoming weeks. It might just be a one off, or the fact it’s a new match up, but the crowd certainly look ready to accept him at that level. Inside the ring there is something rather ungainly about him, almost unnatural, but flashy in spots. Enjoyed Flair’s working over of the knee as he set Vamp up for the Figure Four.

Team Package head down to the ring to join Mean Gene. Flair cuts a similar promo to the one on Thunder about Hulkamania being dead and it’s no longer running wild. Luger says that they kicked Hogan’s ass last week, while Sting once again showed himself for the scared coward that he is when it comes to the ‘Total Package’, as he was nowhere to be found and he just doesn’t have it any more. Lex challenges Buff Bagwell to a match (as he hit on Liz earlier in the show) and says that he calls himself ‘the stuff’, but tonight he gets snuffed! The two of them start to run down Minnesota when out comes Curt Hennig. He tells Lex to lose the Curt Hennig hairdo as it looks terrible on him, and to take that 4% of body fat that’s between his ears and hit the bricks! He says that Ric Flair doesn’t have a match scheduled for this evening and challenges him. Ric accepts and tells him that he’ll do to him what he did to his Dad twenty years ago, before Hennig promises to streak down Henman Avenue butt naked if he can’t beat him in Minnesota tonight. Onto the match and a collar and elbow tie up and Flair backs Hennig into the corner. Curt blocks a right then nails him with one of his own followed by a series of chops. Ridiculous selling by Flair on these, topped off with the face first bump. Hennig starts working on Ric’s leg, but he’s quickly back to his feet hopping around, and an eye poke later he’s forgot all about it and is walking around as if nothing happened. The two exchange chops and more ludicrous looking selling from the Naitch. Irish whip and Flair takes the over the top turnbuckle bump to the floor. Curt catches him as he climbs the turnbuckles and slams him to the canvas. Flair reverses an Irish whip and Hennig clotheslines the referee (huh?) KO’ing him. Perfect-plex and Lex Luger is out to break it up. He heads immediately to the back, not bothering to stay around and Hennig steps outside to collect a steel chair. He brings it back in the ring but Nick Patrick has come back around by now, sees it and tries to grab it off him. As the two are fighting over it, Flair with a low blow kick to the groin and he makes the cover for the win. Hugely disappointing match considering who was involved. You had every Flair staple bar the Figure Four, which I though was coming, crammed into a four minute match. His selling of the chops was ridiculous and hokey looking, while he sold the leg for a matter of seconds before forgetting about it. The ref bump looked awful, with Hennig clotheslining the referee for some reason. While I could understand him splashing him, a clothesline? We then get a pin after a low blow! It was as if they had enough and just wanted to get out of there.

Guido jumps on Awesome’s back as he’s arguing with Big Sal, but he flips him over and starts to put the boots to him. Guido with a leap frog attempt (I know!), Awesome catches him and an overhead belly to belly. After being tossed across the ring Guido rolls to the outside, followed by Awesome. Bodyslam on the concrete and he then beels Guido into the crowd. He goes for a powerbomb on the floor, but Sal attacks him from behind and then squashes him against the guard rail. He throws him back in the ring and Guido with a straight armbar submission that Awesome fights his way out of. Guido with a crucifix that Awesome reverses into a Samoan Drop. Sit out chokeslam for two, and Jeff Jones passes Awesome a table which he sets up in the ring. Guido avoids the first powerbomb attempt, but not the second as Awesome powerbombs him through the table for the win. This is an extended squash, which to be fair given the size difference between these two, it had to be. Awesome bullies, rag dolls and throws his much smaller opponent around while Guido sells and bumps for him. Guido gets one hope spot in with the straight armbar submission attempt, but that’s pretty much it. Match served its purpose, did its job and Awesome was over to the live crowd.

Lex Luger at the top of the show and he is pleased with what he did to Terry Funk and Hulk Hogan on Monday night. He’s not here to brag about having the most beautiful manager, about being the greatest physical specimen in sports entertainment today, he’s here to announce the merger of himself with an ‘old friend’ Ric Flair. Out comes a suited Naitch to join Luger in the ring. Ric says that they’ve found they have something in common (that “they’re great!”), and in their brief association so far they’ve broken Hulk Hogan’s arm and Lex Luger has slammed the ‘King of Hardcore’ Terry Funk through a table and stomped a hole in him! They’re a notch above and they’re about greatness. Funk and Dustin Rhodes interrupt them and ‘the Funker’ says they’re in ‘harcore country’ and these people don’t want to listen to them all night long. He’s got someone with him that will pluck his and Luger’s asses tonight if they’ll accept the challenge. After a few more exchanges between them the match is set for later in the show. Flair and Funk start things off. Shoulder tackle sees the Naitch go down and Funk is on top to throw some punches. A backdrop and Flair rolls to the floor with the Funker following him. As the two of them are fighting on the outside Luger and Dustin are getting it on inside. Funk goes for a piledriver on the announcer’s desk but Luger is able to get there in time and make the save. Flair with a low blow, a knife edge chop and he climbs to the top turnbuckle. Funk is back to his feet and slams him to the canvas. Spinning toe hold and Lex is in to break the hold. The Funker reverses a Flair hiptoss into a back slide for a two and the two go at it in the middle of the ring. Luger with a high vertical suplex but it takes as much out of the Package and Funk is able to tag out. Dustin with a suplex on Flair, a bulldog to Lex and the Naitch breaks up the pin. Luger and Rhodes go at it in one corner, Flair and Funk in another while Charles Robinson tries to re-establish some control. Liz hits Dustin in the ankle with the baseball bat and Luger then wallops him over the head with it. As Funk goes after Lex, Flair with the Figure Four on Rhodes and with him already unconscious in the ring, Robinson counts his shoulders to the mat for the win. It felt like Flair and Funk were in slow motion at the start of this, especially when Funk has to run the ropes, it’s more like a brisk walk! His knees must be ruined. Things picked up when they started brawling on the floor which bodes well for the ‘death match’ at Superbrawl. Match wasn’t bad and is in the top half for the month so far. Liked Funk and Rhodes walking to the ring in their matching ‘Funk U’ shirts.

Pre-match interview with Gene Okerlund, Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart. Hogan has his arm in plaster after Lex Luger ‘broke’ it on Monday night, and Okerlund wonders how he can go into a match of this magnitude with a broken arm? Hogan says some people wait all their lives for a break in their careers, well this is the break he’s been looking for. Lex Luger has been on a tear in WCW but tonight, with Jimmy Hart as is his witness, he’s going to get payback and his revenge. If he can get Miss Elizabeth in there he’s going to snap her little body and force feed her down Luger’s throat! (nice bit of man on woman violence there from the Hulkster!) Luger jumps Hogan as he slides into the ring. A shoulder charge takes him down, he then misses a big elbow drop. Hogan with an eye rake and a back scratch as Tony Schiavone wonders what persona we’re going to see. A couple of elbow drops, but instead of covering the Package he starts choking him. Hogan tosses him to the floor and again starts to choke him, this time with his shirt, before cracking him over the back with a chair. Irish whip sees Luger go chest first into the turnbuckle, Hogan charges in after him but is met with a back elbow. He starts to put the boots to him and a right sends Hulk tumbling through the ropes to the outside. Hogan blocks a punch with his cast and starts using it as a weapon (including ramming Lex’s head repeatedly into it). Liz nails the Hulkster in the back with the baseball bat and he leaves the ring to stalk her around ringside. Lex with a double axe handle then Hulk reverses an Irish whip into the guard rail. Liz is about to hit him again with the bat when out runs Jimmy Hart to snatch it off her. Lex with a suplex and he signals for the rack not realising that Hogan is already back to his feet. He ‘hulks up’, a grazing big boot and he then gets Hart to throw him his leather weightlifting belt. Lex with a low blow and he picks up the bat himself. Irish whip, Hulk reverses and Hart hits Luger in the back with his cast knocking him down. Hogan with the leg drop and it’s all over. He whips Lex with the belt a couple of times post-match before getting jumped by Ric Flair. Jimmy Hart is in to try and help and nails Luger with his cast, but he’s quickly overmatched. They double team the Hulkster and are about to break his other arm when Sting runs out for the save and clears the ring. Okay match. Not the typical Hogan formulaic match as he was in the ascendancy far more than what you would expect with him. I liked the use of the cast as a weapon and he was a lot more aggressive than usual (as alluded to in his pre-match interview), but some of his offense does look bad. No idea why Luger would ‘break’ Hogan’s arm on Nitro and then not once try to attack it in the match. Surely that would be your main strategy? Crowd were more excited at seeing Sting in the run in than at any point during the match itself.

I've wrote about this in the past as Frye talked about it on an episode of the old Eyada Observer live. Long story short, but Frye had a meeting with Bischoff (can't remember the year) about joining WCW. Bischoff starts talking about his buddy to him saying that he's a real tough guy etc. Said buddy happens to be outside and he asks Frye if he wants to meet him. Curiosity piqued, of course he does. Not long later in walks Ernest Miller. Miller was bigging himself up saying he could beat anyone in the UFC, that they've never had a real 'kicker' fight there. Frye brings up Maurice Smith (legitimate World champion kickboxer) and Miller starts belittling him and his credentials, claiming he's nothing. Things get a bit more heated between the two of them and it ends up with Frye grabbing Miller and offering him to go outside with him. To no surprise that was the end of WCW's interest!

Thunder opens with a Jarrett interview and hes now the Commissioner in WCW. He says that Scott Hall was going into business for himself, was trying to pass him by and take his title belt, and thats why he cracked him over the head with a guitar on Monday. Hes promised to make Sids life a living hell until Superbrawl, so tonight hell be facing Big Ron and Heavy D in a tag team match with Terry Funk as his partner, when come Superbrawl hell be the new world Heavyweight champion. The Wolfpac music plays and out comes Scott Hall. He tells Jeff how that when he arrived in WCW they welcomed him into his clique, but now he thinks hes running the shizow. Jarrett says he is running the show, hes the Commissioner and everyone knows it. Hall says that he thought he was the acting Commissioner until the real Commissioner comes back? At which point he introduces his buddy, the real Commissioner, Kevin Nash. Nash appears on the big screen in what is probably some sort of pre-tape and is getting looked after by a couple of nurses. He tells Jeff that hes made some mistakes, he screwed his buddy over, and to make it right hes making a match between Scott Hall and Jeff Jarrett for tonight with the winner getting the World title shot against Sid at Superbrawl. Jarrett isnt happy at all and then Hall takes a survey for old times sake, where it would seem that everyone came to see the Outsiders and not Jeff Jarrett. Onto the match later in the show. Jarrett comes charging at Hall after he throws a toothpick at him, he ducks a right then drops him with one of his own. A couple more big rights and a clothesline sends Jarrett flying over the top rope to the floor. The Harris twins are up on the apron trying to distract Hall, but its not working this early. Razors Edge attempt is reversed and Jeff back bodydrops Hall over the top to the outside. Big Ron and Heavy D put the boots to him before throwing him back inside. Jarrett chokes Hall over the middle rope but ends up crotching himself as he takes a running jump and Hall moves out the way. As the referee checks on Jeff, one of the twins with a clothesline to Hall. Only a two count though as he is able to get his foot over the ropes. Jarrett with a sleeper, belly to back suplex to break the hold and the crowd are really into this. Hall blocks a right and fires back with some of his own. Fallaway slam, Razors Edge and Jarretts feet weakly collide with Mickey Jay knocking him out. Hall with the Edge but no referee to make the count. He goes to check on the official, Jarrett is back to his feet and the Stroke to Hall. Mark Johnson sprints down the aisle and into the ring to count the three. Mickey Jay has regained his senses by now and with him as the assigned official, restarts the match. Hes quickly distracted by one of the twins and Jarrett nails Hall in the head with the ring mic. Great near fall as Hall kicks out at the last moment. More distraction and this time Jarrett grabs his US title belt. Hall ducks out the way, boot to the mid-section and he drops it. Hall slugs Jarrett KOing him, Jay turns around to make the count (although clearly not concerned why the belt is in the ring and right next to where he is making said count!) and Johnson pulls him out the ring at two. He tries to tell him what Hall just did when out comes Sid Vicious. Johnson tries to escape into the ring but Hall gets hold of him. Razors Edge to Johnson, Sid with a powerbomb on Jarrett and Mike Tenay announces that the match is a no-contest and wonders wholl get the title match at Superbrawl, as the show goes off the air with Sid and Hall eyeing each other up. This felt a tad rushed, but was action packed and both worked hard. Hall is a strange one because you see him in a match like this putting in the effort, then you can see him completely coasting through a match, doing almost a parody of wrestling. The crowd was hot and really got into things as the action progressed. I enjoyed the first part of this a lot, but it was far too overbooked after the re-start. There is definitely a great match in there somewhere between these two.

Hall throws his toothpick at Sid who responds with a right dropping him. Some more of those awful punches of his, a clothesline in the corner, chokeslam (which looks awkward) and this could be over early. Sid doesn’t go for the cover giving Hall time to recover. Eyepoke and Hall shows him how to throw a punch. He picks him up for a fallaway slam, although Nick Patrick is standing far to close and you know what’s coming next. Ref bump on the slam and Sid rolls all the way out the ring. Hall calls out Jeff Jarrett and they double team Sid on the outside. With his work done Jarrett heads to the badck and Hall with the Razor’s Edge on Sid. Jarrett sees this, returns to the ring and an argument ensues as they were only supposed to wear Sid down for Superbrawl, Scott wasn’t supposed to beat him and become the World champion. Jarrett breaks his guitar over Hall’s head, puts Sid on top and he retains his belt. As he leaves Jarrett tells Scott Steiner and the Harris twins they’re either with him or ‘that bitch’. Not much to this. Sid still can’t punch and Hall’s selling was OTT in the early portion. Impressive stuff with him getting Sid up for the Razor’s Edge mind. Liked the idea of dissension in the NWO, although I don’t know why he thought Hall ‘wouldn’t’ pin Sid to become the World champion if he had the chance? If he only wanted to wear him down, Jarrett should’ve just ran in for a DQ finish and that way there was no way Hall would go against his wishes.

We start off with some clips from the Clash IX ‘I Quit’ match between Ric Flair and Terry Funk. David comes out with Crowbar and Daffney but he sends them to the back as he wants to do this on his own. Funk takes the mic and gives David one chance to say ‘I Quit’ before this goes any further, however David tells him he’ll got to hell before he’s quitting. Funk says he knows Ric is in the back so why doesn’t he come out to face him? He knows he’s been World champion 14 times but that means he’s lost the belt 14 times. He says he’ll kick his ass for a 15th time when David nails him in the back with a chair. Five unprotected chair shots to Funk’s head with David asking him if he quits, and the Funker falls out the ring and to the floor. He reverses and Irish whip into the guard rail and follows up with two piledrivers on the floor with Funk imploring Ric to come and save his son while he’s still alive. Piledriver through a table and Funk pulls out another one from under the ring. He again calls Ric out and tells him he’s going to break David’s neck and gives him five seconds to come down. When he doesn’t, Funk calls him ‘a filthy bastard’ and says he doesn’t need to beat on this kid any more. He’ll quit tonight, but he damn sure isn’t quitting when he gets Ric in the same kind of match. We return from a break and Arn Anderson is with Mike Tenay. He says that guys like Terry Funk and Ric Flair made him proud to call himself a wrestler, but after seeing what happened… That’s one beating that David Flair didn’t have to take. Terry Funk didn’t have to make an example out of a twenty year old kid, he didn’t have to use him as a pawn and Ric Flair didn’t have to let it happen. Somewhere in this building he’s with three broads dancing around trying to be Ric Flair when he should’ve been that kid’s father and stopped it. Every one has been asking him whose side he’s going to take, but after Terry Funk did that and Ric Flair let it happen, for the first time in his life he’s going to bow out, because that made him sick to his stomach and he doesn’t want any part of it. More angle as opposed to match, and for the better seeing that David Flair was involved. Funk can still do crazy, but not quite as crazy as ten years ago. Weird dynamic as I couldn’t work out who was meant to be the heel and who the face between Ric and Funk. The interview from Arn at the end of this was excellent.

Trash and Jebediah are with Dean Hill and he says how the suspense is building about who their mystery partner is for the River City Rumble. Trash says all they’ve heard recently is the Suicide Blondes going on about how they don’t have a partner, but the fact of the matter is they do. When Dean tries to get a hint on who it is, Trash says that everyone will find out at the Louisville Gardens and they’re not going to give anything away. They are joined by Jason Lee and Rip Rogers and Lee says that they don’t know who their partner is. They’ve searched every bar, every dive restaurant, have been down on every corner and out on every street and they can’t find anyone, as no-one wants to help them in their fight with the Suicide Blondes because they’re scared of his main blood, Derrick King. Rogers wants them to give them a clue as it can’t be anyone too scary, and they promise not to faint! Jebediah says do they promise not to faint, Lee puts his hand on his heart and then Jeb gets them to play their man’s music. Out walks Russ McCullough and Lee and Rogers back off, not so smug and confident now! Buchanan has got a haircut like Rick Cornell’s, shaved all the way over bar a ponytail at the back. Dinsmore says that Bull and he are going to be the insurance policy at the Louisville Gardens, guaranteeing that Rob Conway and the Damaja won’t prevent Kenny Bolin from beating the ‘you know what’ out of Jim Cornette. Onto the match and Dinsmore with a leapfrog and a hip toss which Trash blocks and turns into a sit out powerbomb. Tag to Bull and Trash with a crossbody but he catches him. Dinsmore then with a dropkick to the back of Bull and he falls forward slamming Trash to the canvas in the process. An awkward Irish whip reversal and Bull leaps to the second rope and comes off with a clubbing blow to TPT. Dinsmore misses a diving headbutt and he gets the tag to Jebediah. He unloads on both, but as he is doing so, the Southern Blondes are out and attack Trash on the other side of the ring. Jeb goes for a chokeslam on Dinsmore but Bull nails him from behind. It’s 2 on 1, and with Trash helpless from the beating, Russ McCullough is out to help his River City Rumble partner, although that gives the heels the DQ win. As McCullough has Dinsmore up in the chokeslam he’s then attacked by Mr Black who bodyslams him. The heels beat them down until the Damaja and Rob Conway make the save with Cornette cutting a promo on commentary for the six-man and how once Buchanan and Dinsmore are gone, he’s going to kick Kenny Bolin’s ass. Enjoyed all this. Everyone was more than capable when it came to cutting a promo, although the standouts were Trash and Jason Lee, while Nick Dinsmore was much better than I expected. I liked Dinsmore more here than in the singles he had with Conway, and he’s clearly far above everyone else in the match (although I continue to be impressed with Trailer Park Trash). Jebediah doesn’t look that good and Bull still comes across green, which is strange considering he was in SMW in 1995 so clearly isn’t a young rookie. The match served its purpose building two matches for the River City Rumble (Trash & Jeb & McCullough vs Blondes & Rogers, Dinsmore & Bull & Bolin vs Conway & Damaja & Cornette) and the finishing brawl and commentary/promo from Corny got me wanting to see that match.

Hot crowd and theyre chanting Hogans name before theyve even locked up. Collar and elbow tie up, Flair backs Hulk into the corner but he powers through and sends Ric flying backwards. A couple of shoulder charges from the Naitch and he comes out on the short end of things, and his bad decision making continues as goes for a test of strength. Hogan clotheslines him over the top rope to the floor and the two fight on the outside for a bit until the Hulkster throws him back in the ring. Flair with some chops that have no effect, Hulk grabs him around his neck and the Naitch with a low blow. He then turns his attention to Hogans bad knee (hes wearing a bandage under his knee pad) and concentrates his attack there. Fugure Four, however Hogan is able to turn it over and reverse things. Flair goes to the top turnbuckle but the Hulkster catches him and slams him to the canvas. Irish whip, Flair with a knife edge chop and Hogan just walks through it. A series of punches in the corner with the crowd counting along to every one. He whips Flair to the opposite corner and he takes his flip over the turnbuckles to the apron, and Hogan follows up with a clothesline. He suplexes Flair back into the ring and the Naitch with a poke to the eyes. Flair tries to suplex Hogan but his back gives way and he cant manage it. He KOs him with some brass knux and Jimmy Hart is out to tell Nick Patrick what just happened. Flair drills Hart, elbow drop to Hogan and he kicks out with authority then Hulks up. Big boot and the leg drop when hes attacked by Lex Luger for the DQ. Post-match brawl sees Hart attack Luger in trying to help Hogan, Liz get involved, Terry Funk come out but just get waffled over the back with chair shots and Hogan saving Hart from Lex trying to re-break his hand. He finally runs the heels off before posing in the ring for the crowd. When you think its over, Lex Luger runs back down the aisle and nails Hogan over the head with a bat laying him out. He injures Hogans hand with the chair and attacks him again with the bat until security are able to get him out of there. The crowd were super hot for this throughout and made the match. Nothing you wont have seen before, and you probably know how this goes without watching as they run through all their trademark spots. Hogans pulled punches and kicks look bad, but he does a tremendous job selling the knee. Biggest downer to the match is Mark Maddens commentary as his incessant cheerleading of Flair grates early and gets more tiresome as the match goes on. The post post-match attack from Luger was great as I didnt see it coming at all and thought Hogan had run them off. Highly enjoyable from start to finish.

This is for Jarrett’s US title as opposed to Sid’s Heavyweight belt. I must say this every match, but Sid’s punches are the worst. You would’ve thought afte over a decade in the business he’d have learned how to throw a good looking one by now! Clothesline over the top to the floor and he drops Jeff throat first onto the guard rail. Irish whip into the announcing desk which Jeff goes flying over and a soft chair shot to the back. Jarrett blocks the chokeslam with a low blow and finally gets a chance to unload on him. Sleeper and Sid is able to escape before his hand drops for the third time. Jeff with an axe handle, but he’s met with that cool looking low blow that Sid uses at Superbrawl. Big boot that misses by a mile which Jeff bumps for anyway. Chokeslam, powerbomb attempt but Jarrett catches referee Mickey Jay in the process. He backdrops Sid then nails him with his US title belt. Sid kicks out at the last millisecond to nowhere near the reaction Hogan and Flair would’ve got if it had been in their match. Jarrett argues the count with Mickey Jay and ends up giving him ‘the Stroke’. Sid reverses a ‘stroke’ on him into a loosely applied crossface and Jeff taps but no referee. The Harris brothers are out to make the save and it’s now 3 on 1. Jarrett clocks Sid over the head with his guitar and Mark Johnson rushes out to count the three then celebrate with Jeff and the twins. The crowd was pretty dead for this after how hot they were for Flair vs Hogan. It’s amazing how someone as intimidating looking as Sid can have such weak ass looking offense (not only in his punches but that crossface too). Give him his due, he bumped better than I expected he would for Jarrett, who bumped well in return. It would appear that ref bumps are not solely confined to OVW!

Lex is doing his entrance where Elizabeth tears off his clothes (and he looks in amazing physical shape!) when Funk sneaks into the ring. Liz sees him and backs off and he then aggressively rips off Lugers trousers in something that made me laugh more than it probably should. Funk with some rights and lefts, then a clothesline drops the Package. Lex with a headbutt to mid-section and he throws Funk to the outside. Funk reverses an Irish whip and Luger takes the bump into the guard rail. The Funker pulls a table from under the ring and as hes setting it up Liz distracts him. Lex with an axe handle, he rams Funk into the ring steps before throwing him through the table. Luger starts trying to wear him down ready for the Torture Rack with some nice forearms to the back and a suplex. He goes for the rack, but Funk with a low blow. DDT, reverse neckbreaker and up he goes for the moonsault. Again he misses and again he nearly kills himself landing on his head. Lex picks up a chair that Liz had thrown in the ring and cracks Funk over the head with it for the DQ. He puts the chair over Funks ankle as if he is going to break it, when out comes Arn Anderson to snatch it away. Youve got to give it to Funk for taking those bumps at his age, especially when he looks so physically broken down. Lex wasnt going all out by any means, but he did enough to make it an enjoyable little match. Not sure if Funk was meant to land on the chair when he missed the moonsault, but the DQ finish was weak when you consider Lex had already thrown the Funker through a table on the outside. Liz isnt good at all in her role.

On the Slugger today Cornette wants to take a look at the situation that’s evolved in the tag team division between Doom and Ric Flair and Arn Anderson of the Four Horsemen, and he’s a couple of videos he wants to play before bringing out Teddy Long. The first is the original confrontation that took place in the dressing room when Flair was being interviewed by Gary Michael Cappetta, the second is an altercation that took place on the Danger Zone with Paul E. Dangerously. On the Danger Zone, Anderson and Flair are being interviewed in the ring when they are joined by Doom and Teddy Long. Teddy says how he’s had enough of them running their mouths about what they’re going to do to Doom, to which Flair responds that ‘surely he’s not talking to him little man!’ and shoves Long in the chest. A bunch of referees were out not long after Doom and they get between the teams as they square up to one another. Back on the Slugger and Cornette introduces the ‘Godfather of the NWA’, Teddy Long, and announces that a match has been signed between Doom and the Four Horsemen for Halloween Havoc. Teddy says how when you’ve got the gold everyone wants it. He’s going to have to prove something to Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, and the ‘Soul Brothers’ Doom will walk out victorious. At Halloween Havoc on October 27th in Chicago, IL the whole world is going to see how good the ‘Soul Brothers’ really are. They’re going to see why Doom hold the World tag team championship, why Doom are the meanest, toughest team in professional wrestling, and they’re going to see why Doom beat the Rock & Roll Express, the Steiner brothers and all the other teams in the NWA. It’s coming to a head, and for Ric Flair and Arn Anderson it’s all over!

No DQ match for the World title with the Harris twins in Jeff Jarrett’s corner. Jarrett rushes Hall before Sid even makes it to the ring and they have a nice little opening, including a great fallaway slam from Hall. Sid with a couple of lame clotheslines to Jarrett and Hall before decking the Harris’. Cool low blow to Jarrett as he comes off the top with a double axe handle. The twins post Sid and he proceeds to lie there like he’s been shot whilst Jarrett puts the boots to Hall. Jarrett and he exchange sleepers, then Hall ducks out the way of a clothesline and Jarrett nails referee Billy Silverman (this looked bad). Sid with a double chokeslam, Nick Patrick rushes out and into the ring to count the fall. Sid covers both, Patrick starts, stops, starts again and makes a complete hash, while I think the Harris’s pull Jarrett fom the ring and Sid kicks out. Jarrett KO’s Sid with the belt, but he kicks out of the pin at the last moment. Jarrett and Patrick start arguing amongst each other, Jeff shoves him, Patrick shoves him back, Jarrett then stumbles backwards and Hall schoolboys him for another near fall. Jarrett with ‘the Stroke’ on Patrick (huh? You need the official to count the fall Jeff) and out runs Charles Robinson. Jarrett’s head gets accidentally rammed into a chair that was being held by one of the twins but meant for Sid. Instead of going for the pin on him, Sid heads out the ring to get at one of the brothers. Hall makes the cover and drapes an arm over Jarrett who kicks out at two. Jarrett blocks the Razor’s Edge then a ‘stroke’ on Robinson. Another official (Mickey Jay) and another stroke, when out comes Mark Johnson, who who Mark Madden says is an ally of Jeff Jarrett and someone who is not averse to taking a bribe (great heel ref in what is already a no DQ match!). Razor’s Edge and Johnson feigns a shoulder injury so he can’t count the three. Jarrett breaks a guitar over Hall’s head and now here’s Roddy Piper walking fown the aisle in a ref’s shirt. Jarrett covers Hall and Johnson has to count slowly in order to give Piper the time to get in the ring and stop him making that count (when has a heel ref ‘ever’ slow counted?). Piper slugs Johnson, pokes Jarrett in the eyes, Sid with a chokeslam on him, a powerbomb on Hall and he retains the World title. Cornette would’ve been proud with all the ref bumps in this one! Absolutely atrocious. Sid was woeful and there are logic holes galore in the match. Just dreadful.

Just as 3 Count are about to sing, Howard and Yang’s music plays so luckily we don’t get to hear them! Lovely Northern Lights suplex from Howard on Moore. Dropkick leg drop combination from the future Jung Dragons for a two. Yang with a suplex into a neckbreaker for another two. Moore reverses an Irish whip and Helms clubs Howard in the back of the head to slow him down. Gutwrench suplex and a backbreaker. Shane with a bodyslam and he then hiptosses Shannon onto Howard. Helms with a sunset flip off the top and Howard kicks out. Double springboard moonsault from Shannon and they’re still not able to put him away. Howard reverses a hiptoss into a neckbreaker and he’s able to tag in Yang. All four men are in the ring and Helms tosses Howard over the top rope to the outside (the camera is on the opposite side of the ring but it looks like he takes a great bump to the floor). 3 Count then uses the York & Matthews finisher (Frankensteiner off the top/frog splash) for the win. Good match and looking forward to seeing these teams being given longer. Shane Helms continues to impress and Shannon Moore looked good here too. Really enjoyed what I saw from Jamie Howard (both on top and underneath), and while Yun Yang is not as polished, you can see the potential. Promising stuff indeed.