[1994-02-26-WCW-Saturday Night] Vader vs Ricky Steamboat

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

About as heated and good as a sub-10 minute TV match can be. Steamboat brutalizes Vader with a chair. Sometimes, Race interferes in Vader matches to a point where it's overkill and this is definitely one of those matches.

[Kevin Ridge]

Steamboat really took it to Vader early with the repeated chair shots. Race doesn't help his man by distracting the referee for a very long time. Harley makes up for this by beating up Steamboat outside the ring. Vader should not be attempting sunset flips. Patrick let Race get away with way too much here. Not the best officiating.

[Dylan Waco]

I love this match because it is a rare example of Steamboat showing real fire and hatred which he rarely did

[flyonthewall2983]

That chop he did from the middle of the top rope was pretty sweet. And quite the feat if you consider he was already in the neighborhood of 40. A sad milestone though, because it was the last episode of Saturday Night before that ghastly set they used started. I preferred the old set, even then.

[shoe]

This was a real fun. Steamboat showed a lot of fire here. He also sold like a champ. Vader and Race were great stooging off one another. The crowd is hot for this. I wish we could have gotten some ppv or clashes between these 2.

[Exposer]

This is really a novelty more than anything else. Not a great match by any means. But it's important because this is the only time Steamboat really shows hatred. And yes, Harley involved himself way too much in this for my liking.

[soup23]

Steamboat throwing the punches at Vader's head was real surprising and awesome. I also loved the whoop there it is chant that broke out. Good TV match and I really liked the mixture of top workers in WCW this time because Boss feels like a superstar making the save.

[El-P]

Fun match because as Dylan said, it's one rare occurence of Steamboat beating the shit out of someone, Vader of all people. I wish we had seen a little more of that Steamboat, as he's excellent in this mindset too. Vader is just as good selling a beating as he's delivering one, which is a feat for such a monster. I've got to say Harley Race is fun bumping, but that's really the only use I can think of for him as a manager, as he was always pretty bad on promos. Of course the Boss saves Steamboat from a 2 on 1 beating. Good stuff.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Vader vs Ricky Steamboat (WCW Saturday Night 02/26/94)

After watching a bunch of Vader from 2000, it was nice to see The Man in his prime in 1994. Vader kicked Steamboat's ass three weeks before this because he is Flair's friend I think. Vader has since had his return match with Flair at Superbrawl IV so Steamboat gets his grudge match with Vader as he gears up to challenge Flair at Spring Stampede. Who is this Steamboat and what did he do with nice, docile Ricky? Steamboat was out for blood in this match toppling Vader over the top rope with a cross body and then just going to town with chair, multiple chair shots to Vader. Of course, this causes the crowd to break out into a "Whoomp there it is chant". I love 1993-4 Center Stage, BABY! Also, I really dug the spot where Steamboat made Vader look foolish by running away from him and when Vader gives chase he ends up toppling over the top rope. Unfortunately, for our hero, Harley grabs a hold of him and Vader takes charge. Vader fucking chucks him back into the ring. That was not as much a suplex as he just threw. Here come the Vader corner punches. Outside of Flair, he has to be the best corner wrestler of all time. I prefer the opponent "slams" Vader off the second rope to the Vader misses sunset flip spot. With Vader's size, you have to get a little creative and transitions thus they don't always work. Vader is always game for selling (one of the better verbal sellers, a trait that served him well in Japan) and bumping. Steamboat slaps Vader around and comes at him with flying chops. He had the match won, but Harley had not yet been eliminated. I do think Harley overkill does happen in Vader matches, but I actually like it when he is taking bumps from Vader. In this match, he takes Vader body attack and splash. You know given wrestler's short-tempers and lack of understanding during miscommunications, Harley and Vader should commended on staying together through all that. Eventually, the ref has throw it because Harley basically becomes a participant in the match and the numbers game overwhelms Steamboat. The Boss is here to make the save to continue the buildup to their awesome Spring Stampede match. This was a really fun TV match and add in a especially spirited, fiery performance from the Steamer it adds some novelty value. ***1/4

[PeteF3]

Incredibly fun sub-10-minute match, with Steamboat and Vader busting out all kinds of cool shit in the midst of beating the crap out of each other. Steamer does a chop off the middle of the top rope to the floor, and Vader busts out a second-rope sunset flip(!). This blows their lumberjack match out of the water. Race is overinvolved but he can't be accused of not working for his money, either.

 

And yes, I too am sad about the upcoming SN look. Center Stage was always rather sterile but the stupid Star Trek entryway and mechanical motif made it moreso.