[1992-10-25-WCW-Halloween Havoc] Ricky Steamboat vs Brian Pillman

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Kind of a disappointing match. I know a lot of people like it, but Pillman wasn't in a zone yet as a heel and they didn't get enough time to do anything special. Too back and forth.

[Tim Evans]

Pretty much what Loss said. Seemed like the crowd didn't know who the cheer for.

[shoe]

This was a solid match. Kinda reminds you in a way of Steamboat/Roberts from the WWF in the sense when these guys were able to put the time in they had really strong matches. Or when they kinda get shafted on time they still have solid bouts but nothing special. You could tell Pillman really wanted to have a good match. Again 93 showed whn given the time they delivered.

[El-P]

Solid match I thought. The rude Philly crowd (including infamous ECW Hat Guy on the first row) chant "this match sucks" at Pillman & Steamboat. Retards.

[PeteF3]

This took a bit to get going but it ended up pretty decent. I am struck by how long it's taking for Pillman to really get working heel down. I get that it was new to him, but I always thought, for whatever reason, of Pillman as having a great mind for the business--may not be fair, but I thought he'd adapt quicker. As an undersized heel he probably could have stood to add some more Memphis stooging spots to his arsenal to go along with stuff like faking the knee injury. (The PeteF of ten years ago is aghast that I would suggest that instead of doing more moves.) This is one of the first times I've seen the fish-out-of-water spot actually end in a pinfall.

[WingedEagle]

How about the ECW straw hat in the first row? I enjoyed Pillman's work as a heel quite a bit here, even this early. Not as strong as the tag on main event, but a solid undercard match. Steamboat's offense when working as a methodical technician versus rapid fire intensity is night and day. When he's motivated on that side of the ball its a hell of a show.

 

**3/4

[BruiserBrody]

I was stunned that Pillman lost, as I figured the heel would win to build to Steamer/Douglas vs, Blonds matches.

[garretta]

This was a heel-in-training match for Pillman more than anything else, and he graded out kind of average in my eyes. He had the heel basics down- showboating, arguing with the ref, thumb to the eyes- but like so many heels, he so completely changed his style here that he really wasn't exciting.

 

I know that old-timers supposedly say that heels should only punch and kick when they're not begging off and using foreign objects, but that's completely off-base to me. The way I look at it, a gifted wrestler like Steamboat should beat a punch-and-kick artist decisively in less than five minutes one-on-one. Pillman wasn't quite that, but he's not flying successfully anymore, and he hasn't been a heel long enough for his rulebreaking to come off as much more than throwing a hissy fit because nothing else is working. Maybe he's just too much of a pretty boy at this point to be taken seriously as a heel; they didn't even change his theme music!

 

Steamer looked good here, and the counter that led to the pin was classic, as were the playing-possum spots by both guys. Like Brody, I was surprised that the match ended so cleanly; it would have done a lot more for Pillman's new attitude if he'd pulled brass knucks out of his tights and waffled Steamer to get the pin, or used a chair, or even gotten a pin using the ropes. As it is, it looks like they're moving toward an apology and reconciliation with a guy who tried the other side of the fence and decided that it wasn't for him. We know that's not the case, so it'll be interesting to see how they solidify Brian's heeldom, if you will.

 

The "This match sucks!" crowd was dead wrong, by the way. This wasn't the classic that it might have been if Pillman had still been a face, but it was still very, very good for what it was.

 

Jesse really brought his analyst hat for this match. I've heard it said that Watts basically pushed him into being more analytical. but that's really not the case; he's always been this good when he's bean allowed to be. Unfortunately, he got stuck with Vince "Bastard Child of The Riddler and The Joker" McMahon for most of his broadcasting prime, and no one sounded good opposite him, especially on SNME. Once he stopped trying to antagonize JR the way he did Vince and let himself analyze the way he did most of the time when he was with Gino on pay-per-views, he's been fine, and he and JR have been a lot smoother than either man will ever admit. There's just enough of the old Jesse to spice things up as well. He'll always appreciate a good thumb to the eye, and I loved him telling JR how much he loved guillotining guys by jumping off the apron. JR also shows enough sense not to argue with him or try to defend the faces too much; he just calls the action and lets Jesse say whatever he feels like, Are they the best team ever? No, but they're a damn sight better than anything the WWF can trot out at the moment.

 

Even though Pillman's a heel now, JR still plugs his football background. There's nothing like consistency.

 

Line of the match: Jesse, talking about the "Brian sucks" chant that broke out early in the bout: "I can tell (what they're saying), but I can't say it!"