[1994-02-20-WCW-Superbrawl IV] Arn Anderson vs Steven Regal

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Phil Schneider]

Tremendous match, pretty much a textbook TV title style match. Both guys target a body part, Arn with the arm, and Regal with the neck, and they go after them. Lesser wrestlers working this style will just go back to the same holds (even Flair pretty much just works the leg in the context of the figure four), but both Arn and Regal put on a ton of different locks and they all look great. It makes inherent sense, if you can't get a submission with a cravate try a crossface, hammerlock doesn't work use and arm stretch. Arn works a great hammerlock, bodyslamming Regal, turing him into a pin while holding it. Regal meanwhile wrenched the hell out of Arn's neck, cranking cravates, cracking him in the mouth with crossfaces. The brawling in this match was great too, Arn has a really pretty right hand and Regal was just vicious with uppercuts and headbutts. Finish run was very exciting as they worked the countdown with Arn desperately trying for the belt and Regal stalling. The crowd was super into the match at this point, chanting USA and popping huge for Arn's spinebuster. Finish was pretty surprising, as Regal gets the pin by holding onto Dundee's umbrella with 15 seconds left. It was a twist in a good way as everyone was expecting either an Arn win or a time limit draw. 1994 maybe the best in ring year in wrestling history, and this felt on the level of the other great matches of that year. If this looks like something on paper you would like, go watch it, it truly exceeds expectations.

[Exposer]

Regal was phenomenal in 94. It is arguably the best year of his career. His matches with Larry Z, Pillman, Wilkes, Badd, and Flair are worthwhile too. He even has a match with Terry Taylor on the first day of the year that I like a good bit.

[shoe]

Regal was phenomenal in 94. It is arguably the best year of his career. His matches with Larry Z, Pillman, Wilkes, Badd, and Flair are worthwhile too. He even has a match with Terry Taylor on the first day of the year that I like a good bit.

 

I dug the Taylor bout a lot. I though it was worked a lot like the Jimmy Garvn/Kevin Von Erich bouts with Regal as Garvin and Taylor as Kevin.

[Exposer]

Regal was phenomenal in 94. It is arguably the best year of his career. His matches with Larry Z, Pillman, Wilkes, Badd, and Flair are worthwhile too. He even has a match with Terry Taylor on the first day of the year that I like a good bit.

 

I dug the Taylor bout a lot. I though it was worked a lot like the Jimmy Garvn/Kevin Von Erich bouts with Regal as Garvin and Taylor as Kevin.

 

I've only seen bits and pieces of the World Class set but that is an interesting comparison. I need to check those matches out.

[NintendoLogic]

This might be the closest thing to a World of Sport match to take place in a US ring. All the matwork was great, especially Arn's arm work. The problem is that none of the arm work went anywhere. And the finish felt disconnected from the rest of the match. If they're going to go that long, they might as well just go with a time limit draw. Also, Dave reported at the time that this match went way longer than it was supposed to and Flair/Vader ended up being rushed as a result.

[goodhelmet]

Could't disagree more on the finish. I like the fact that there was an actual winner because when you naturally expect a draw, this is the closest you can get to "anything can happen" in a good way. From start to finish, one of the best matches of the year.

[Loss]

I will admit that even though Phil and goodhelmet have talked this up recently, I was a little skeptical, I think because I was expecting a meandering match with some decent matwork and no real build or flow. That turned out not to be the case at all, and my skepticism was unfounded. This has clear beginning, middle and end archs that keep it progressing and moving along, clear and focused strategies from each guy and near-constant moving around and switching of holds.

 

Jim Ross recently spoke at CAC about the difference between grabbing a hold and applying a hold, and I think this provides a nice example of that. They aren't sitting in one place for too long at any point -- Arn is scrambling to counter everything Regal applies, and Regal is doing the same. I enjoyed this far more than I expected, and the pinfall in the last 10 seconds was excellent too. Check out the heat Arn gets for finally going after the leg. It has a big bullseye on it because Regal has it taped up, but Arn keeps focused on Regal's arm for the first two-thirds of the match. Finally, 20 minutes in, he realizes Regal still has too much in reserve and switches strategies in an attempt to bring home the gold. The crowd comes unglued, showing the value in making people wait to see the moment they're clamoring for.

 

It was interesting to watch this so close to Tenryu/Hashimoto, because I kept thinking while this was a great WCW undercard match, this could have headlined a New Japan show and sent everyone home happy. I'm not surprised that it hasn't gotten more love considering the style on display and what people tend to like. Usually your pimped Regal matches are the ones with stiff shots fired back and forth the whole time. That is fun too, but this is different. In the U.S., it's a throwback 1970s-style match and would make a good case study/counterpoint for anyone who argued that you couldn't re-educate fans to the importance of wrestling holds in 1994, and in Japan, it could be viewed as contemporary. This is something that deserves a revisit.

[goodhelmet]

Meltzer said it was boring 18 years ago and Scott Keith repeated it years later. People are stupid.

[Kevin Ridge]

I appreciate what they are trying to do here but I'm not as high on it as the rest of you. Hey this is still good and they succeeded on keeping me watching through the end. The pinfall definitely surprised me as I thought a draw was going to be the obvious finish so that was a plus for me. Arn's arm work to start didn't make sense when Regal had his leg wrapped up. Arn finally goes to the leg towards the end but it had me thinking what took so long to do that. Regal was better here. I can't imagine this type of match would happen in WWE these days.

[shoe]

I remember watching this match years ago and thought it was boring as hell. It was probably around 96 when I first saw it, and I was into my Nitro cruiserweight highspot was what I was enjoying at the time. Through the years from watching some 70's style, Lucha , and WOS my tastes have changed. I watched this a while back on the Regal set and was dreading watching it. Well I was wrong. This is a great match. It was tightly worked, told a hell of a story, awesome body part work which I am a huge mark for, and a good finish. I think Regal was a guy that Meltzer and myself didn't quite get when we first saw him. Meltzer calls him a great worker now. I bet if he watched the bout again he would rate it much higher. i know I did.

[Exposer]

This is a great, great mat underrated mat classic. The pacing and match structure is perfect and I was invested the entire time. The arm work was tremendous by Arn. They both really played off the exhaustion of going nearly 30 minutes and the effectiveness of strong mat work. I liked the finish as well as it teased a draw and Arn winning but Regal slipped away with the cheap win in the end. This is easily the best WCW match of 94 so far.

[soup23]

What a wonderful match that really conveyed the struggle. Every hold was maximized to its fullest potential and whoever thought of the finish should be commended. Arn could be a great babyface when the storyline called for it.

[El-P]

Terrific match, Regal's best thus far in WCW, and maybe Arn's best single match ever. Great matwork, great storytelling on both parts, with Regal doing whatever he could do hang out to the title, and Arn first attacking the arm so he could get to the injured leg if that didn't work, it built in intensity while never putting aside selling, got the crowd in frenzy during an exciting last stretch, and the ending was great, surprising and infuriating (in a good way). Can't say anough good things about this match. MOTYC.

[PeteF3]

Probably the best U.S. match of the year so far, though I really really liked that MSG tag title match. Really a total thinking-man's match, and I say this a lot and probably not even accurately, but this is a match that would probably never be done today, anywhere in the U.S. or Japan. Arn blowing off the taped leg in favor of the arm makes sense on some level--he's an Anderson, working the arm is what good Andersons do. But when the opening comes to go after Regal's back, he takes it. And then when he's running out of time, he's got the taped leg as an ace in the hole. Regal is all about keeping Arn immobilized and stalling as necessary--but it's the little touches when both guys are in holds that really make this. Every opportunity Regal gets, he's pounding away on Arn's nose or grinding his forearm across his face. Arn keeps inventing new ways to twist Regal's arm and later his leg into different directions--that sort of half-crab when Regal is on his side is truly cringe-worthy, and Heenan's comparison to Joe Theismann is spot on. And while it wasn't really set up by any of the work during the match, the ending worked because it was so unexpected and yet so in-character for Regal and William. This probably isn't a match for everyone, but they never once lost the crowd or invoked a "boring" chant. I'm on board with the others here, this was great--maybe the first truly great Regal match.

[Zenjo]

At north of 27m this was a really gruelling encounter. Largely worked on the mat with lots of methodical body part work. Regal was on the receiving end more often than not as he was applying a defensive strategy. Slow going at times, but it was pure and worthy. Looked like a draw all the way, then then with seconds to expiration Regal gets the surprise screwjob victory. In this instance the heel cheating to win would've got a much more positive fan reaction than the alternative. I enjoyed the match, yet it would've been improved by having a 20m time limit.

[WingedEagle]

This was such a smartly worked match. They go a half hour and at no point did I ask myself how much longer they're going to do this for, which is often the case when people stretch things out too long. The varied offense that each employed to work the neck, and especially the arm by Arn (thankfully much easier to type that repeatedly than say it out loud) was just masterful. I don't always agree with Meltzer, but am usually in the same ballpark even if one of us is in field level and the other in the upper deck. This time? No idea. Thought it was great. The only criticism I'd make is that for as great as Arn's arm work was, it wasn't sold or focused enough down the stretch and almost dropped at the end. But this was great.

 

I also can't imagine that these guys went long given just how long they went. You'd think a couple pros like Regal and Arn are on board with a finish moments before a time limit draw. Its not like they went 27 instead of 20 to get their stuff in.

[PhilTLL]

I recently checked this out for the first time as well, and holy cow, I don't know if there are many classics more lost, at least on major shows. If you actively dislike this match, maybe you don't like "small" work. This was up there with Reed/Murdoch for me in terms of terrific back-and-forth flow, leading the crowd through the pace and making minutes fly by just doing regular old wrestling, though it's quite a bit more restrained than that.

 

If there was something on this show that deserved to be cut to pad the main event, how about the entire useless Badd/Garvin/Hayes segment and match.

[Timbo Slice]

Watched it last night as I trudged through the pre-Hogan WCW PPVs and this was a fantastic match. I had seen it before and loved it but really grew to appreciate how both guys worked chain wrestling sequences that were so enthralling and peppered in these great "high spots" in between. Regal must have been loving the idea of working Arn simply because of the fact he isn't afraid to get rugged and work snug and so they just tattooed each other. Felt like an old heavyweight boxing prize fight at times where guys worked an opening and then came up with a crowd-popping shot and made it stand out. Feather in the cap for both guys and as lauded as Spring Stampede is, it's right up there with the two brawls for the best match of 1994 for the company.

[GOTNW]

I can totally see why some wouldn't like this match or find it boring. You have to actually pay attention to appreciate it. If you do you can't really miss Arn's vicious armwork and Regal stiffing the shit ouf of him with uppercuts/headbutts etc. You have to love how Regal spices his holds up by crossfacing and palm striking his opponents whilst applying said holds. It's a thing of beauty.

[Bierschwale]

Not to take away from the match, which I highly enjoyed (my biggest complaint would be that the late near-falls aren't that dramatic, but this isn't a match that was going to live and die on that element so it's not that big of a problem), but... everyone else heard Heenan say that he had hearing "like a fuckin' field mouse", right?

[Superstar Sleeze]

I heard him say he had hearing like a field mouse, missed the "fuckin" part. lol.

 

WCW World TV Champion Lord Steven Regal vs Arn Anderson - WCW SuperBrawl IV

 

Double A is the lord and master of the meat & potatoes, fundamentals-based pro wrestling match. I loved this just like his great encounter with Dustin in early 92. It presents how to build a compelling wrestling matches around holds without many highspots. I mean the crowd and Tony lose their shit about 25 minutes when Arn gets a single leg takedown! That's incredible! Regal is having trouble with his ear early during the lockups, but eventually settles into Arn working the arm, his comfort zone. I think whats interesting is that Regal so often takes wrestlers out of their comfort zone but here Arn is right in his wheel house working with Regal. Regal tries to take control, but Arn maneuvers himself into a hammerlock slam very cool. Now he really goes to work on the arm wrenching against the ringpost. Regal is constantly asking Dundee about the time. The extended time limit to 30 minutes is really bothering him. Back in he get a cravat and works it well. I loved Anderson trying to slam him and Regal maintaining his grip. Awesome. Great pinning attempts. This is such small, detailed wrestling. Regal rocks Double A with an European Uppercut and Dundee jabs him in throat with umbrella. So my one gripe with Regal matches around this time is that I don't feel like there is much progression in his heat segments. They become meandering segments of holds that do not seem to really building to anything. They look great and I love how vicious they are with the palm strikes to face, but where is this all going. It is at this point Anderson gets the leg trip and he looks like he may be going after the taped leg and everyone pops. He works the leg, but Regal is doing everything to break his momentum. They do the Arn Anderson knucklelock spot but this time it is Regal playing the role of Arn Anderson, which is cute. Here comes the Arn Anderson barrage of nearfalls as the time limit draws near and SPINBUSTER! Dundee distracts Anderson. Sunset flip by Anderson, but Regal drops down and holds onto the umbrella to win the match with just six seconds left. I really liked the pinfall victory when everyone expects the draw. The one real highspot was the spinebuster. That's really nuts when you think about. Arn was a total beast in this match. Great showcase for both. They put the wrestling in pro wrestling in this one. ****

[ohtani's jacket]

#277

 

I've been meaning to revisit this ever since Phil and Will praised it so much. They do a lot of cool shit that rewards your patience but ultimately I think the story of Regal trying to stall and hold on for twice the normal time limit makes this less competitive than it could have been. And since Regal and Arn have had plenty of matches with other people filled with cool shit, it's hard to rate this as anything special. Bobby on commentary was better than I remembered. His exchanges with Schiavone weren't as spiteful as they seemed at other times.

[JKWebb]

The greatness of this match lies in the great selling from Regal and the focused varied attacks from Arn Anderson. Regal has the great selling of the ear in the early going, and Arn focuses on the left arm in different and unique ways. I loved the way Regal fought him off after the hammerlock slam. Regal got a big blow to the back of Arn, but had to shake off the left arm, great stuff. As we get half into the match, Arn shifts to the leg. We get a diverse attack on the left leg from Arn. Again, Regal is great at trying to fight him off and selling these attacks. Arn realizes he is running out of time, so he decides to take this thing to blows. This builds excitement in the crowd as they go back and forth. Instead of relying on multiple finishers for pops (which Meltzer probably would have loved), these guys built excitement through taking this to a brawl, then nearfall pin attempts, and maneuvers trying to lock in the win anyway possible as time was running out. When Arn finally gets the Spinebuster, the crowd ignites. Regal gets the perfect finish for him and for this match. Great encounter of two legends.

 

#277 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-300-251/

[Superstar Sleeze]

Rewatching this because I always thought I might have underrated. Just finished the first half and I have to say this is very well-worked. Lots of struggle and gritty matwork. Arn builds his arm work very nicely. Regal responds by working a tough cravat. I think this is good textbook matwork with lots of struggle, but is missing the big picture narrative. It just does not have a hook. It is very solid thus far. 

I stand by my original **** rating. This match didnt move me. I think thats why my malfunction with it. It is logically great. Lots of struggle. All the little things are done right. Regal's facial expressions, his stiff palm strikes in the holds, Dundee's interference and Arn's attack on the leg (which gets the biggest pop of the match). They sum of all these little things just did not manifest itself into emotion for me. It felt like great BattlArts. The more I watch Regal more I really would love to see Regal vs Ishikawa or Regal vs Ikeda. A lot of BattlArts I enjoy logically but just does not move me and this was similar. That being said there has been plenty BattlArts that is truly extraordinary. I did find Arn's last two minutes exciting with the cradles and the spinebuster. I also liked instead of letting time expire we get the cheap Regal pin to end it. It very much is a great match, but just one that does amount to something I think evokes great emotion from the viewer.