[1993-07-18-WCW-Beach Blast] Vader & Sid Vicious vs Sting & Davey Boy Smith

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

The last few minutes. Pretty good and heated, and I always loved how WCW wrestlers got to use the elevated entrance ramp for spots. Sid tries hard, and the other three look really good. Davey Boy pins Vader to take the win for his team.

[El-P]

Pretty good match. Next to Vader, Sid looks like a complete inept wimp, and he brings the match down a lot whenever he's on offense. Sting is on fire every time he's against Vader. First ever Vader moonsault in the US I guess, although it's kinda wasted since the Bulldog still pins him 20 seconds later (although Sting had to make a save). Beach Blast was a pretty non-descript and disapointing PPV.

[Kevin Ridge]

Vader squashes Bulldog with a Vaderbomb and then follows it up with a Moonsault! Sting makes a big running dive down ramp to make save. Bulldog ends up pining Vader shortly after which made the Moonsault useless for a such a big move.

[PeteF3]

Not bad action, not great. Vader's moonsault was one of the most mindblowing things people had ever seen, and Sting's running diving save over the ropes was a cool follow-up. Davey Boy shortly afterward gets a crucifix pin on Vader, nicely setting up their Clash rematch.

 

Vader worked this match with a herniated disc in his back, and from what he does here that's possibly a more amazing feat than Windham in the NWA title match.

[ajtroma]

Vader debuts a moonsault. Biloxi shits its collective pants. That's the only takeaway I have of this one.

[DMJ]

I liked this match. There's the aforementioned Vaderbomb and Vadersault, but Bulldog also impresses with a vertical suplex on the "Baby Bull." Also, a pretty hot crowd that absolutely loved Sting (with sizable chunks of the audience also cheering Vader) helped keep the match moving.

[soup23]

Good action here and the moonsault was crazy followed by the Sting save. I look forward to watching this one again when we get to it on WTBBP.

[garretta]

I didn't like what we saw here at all.

 

Yes, the Vader moonsaults looked great, and Sting coming over the top rope into the ring to save Davey after the second one was debatably just as impressive as the original move. But this felt really wrong. It did nothing for Sting and Davey whatsoever despite Davey's desperation pin; I have no doubt that Vader can kick either one of their asses at will the next time they meet; he's done it before in both cases, and he and Sid once again had Sting so beaten down that Nick Patrick was asking if he wanted to quit, just like Vader did in the strap match at SuperBrawl. I've never seen a face that badly beaten by a heel before once, let alone twice.

 

I heard the "Vader" chants, which were so loud that Jesse had to acknowledge them. It's hardly a new thing for certain fans to chant for a monster heel, but unlike most promotions, WCW never even experimented with Vader as a face during this run. That's a good thing, because they really didn't have any heels that would have been credible challengers for him aside from Sid.

 

Speaking of whom, there wasn't much of him in the clip we saw. I know he's not the worker Vader is by a longshot, but if he's going to be a big deal going forward, we need to see more of him in action.

 

There wasn't much of note said on commentary, but I liked Patrick firing back on Race and Fuller when they questioned if he could count: "I can count real good!" There was more, but I couldn't quite catch it. You may claim that it's a ref getting himself over needlessly at the expense of the wrestlers, but I loved it. Sometimes heel managers just need to be put in their place.

 

This would have been so much better with a clean, decisive pin on Vader, preferably after a powerslam from Davey. As it is now, I'm not looking forward to their rematch, which will probably be just another extended Vader squash regardless of the finish.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Vader & Sid Vicious vs Sting  & British Bulldog - WCW Beach Blast 1993

What a blast this was! I dont know who got in Sid's ear and taught him how to wrestle in 1993 whether it was Harley, the Colonel or someone else but it is night and day how much better he is in 1993 than any time before. For some reason, I thought this match ended in an DQ and was generally panned. I thoroughly enjoyed this match and especially though Vader and Sid were incredible!

The biggest improvement I have seen in Sid in these two matches from 1993 is how he bumps and feeds. You see this both early on in the match and in the middle match. In the early part, he made Sting looked great and it was so much better than their Halloween Havoc '90 match. I loved the Chokeslam out of nowhere to stop the Stinger's momentum dead. I love a big highspot like that early in a match. However, the party continues with Stinger & Bulldog coming off the top rope onto the Masters of the Powerbomb. A really good climax to a fun shine. The other section of the really good Sid feeding was during the hot tag to Sting. Sting was teeing off on Vader, but Sid decided to see-saw on the middle rope to feed Sting. I wish Sting did a better job paying attention to that because I think Sting was too focused on Vader. 

As much as Sid has improved, it pales into comparison to the Mastodon. Vader looked incredible in this match. Before yesterday, it had been awhile since I seen Vader wrestle and he is incredible. Vader overwhelms Bulldog in the corner. He is just so fucking good at his boxing in the corner. The vertical suplex by Bulldog on Vader looked killer. Vader gets back on offense and picks a fight with Sting. I will say for as much as I liked Sid on defense, he did leave something to be desired on offense besides the Chokeslam. Vader was great when he was in. The typical miscommunication spot with Vader colliding with Harley setting up the hot tag. I discussed the Sting hot tag in the above paragraph. VADER ABSOLUTELY TRUCKS STING WITH A LARIAT! I popped while I was walking. Incredible! Great tussle on the top rope with Sting getting nasty biting Vader and shoving him off the top. I am not a huge Sting fan. but there is something special about Sting/Vader. Sting needs to avoids a Sid elbow drop to finally get the hot tag. Bulldog is stymied right away by a ferocious Vader. Sting/Sid brawl onto the ramp. The finish is so bitchin'! Vader debuts the VADERSAULT! Sting comes FLYING over the top LAUNCHING himself from the ramp onto Vader to save Bulldog. Bulldog gets a crucifix pin for the win! 

Wow! So much fun! The shine was thrilling. The heat segments were a little long, but Vader kept it hot on top. I loved the finish. I think I would have liked the babyfaces to get a bit more offense, BUT I think it demonstrated how strong the Masters of the Powerbomb are it was only through the grittiness of a last ditch Sting dive and veteran wile & guile of a Bulldog Crucifix pin to get them a win. Awesome main event! ****