[1994-07-30-WCW-Saturday Night] Sting & Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair & Steve Austin

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I have gone back and forth on this match a few times, but this time, I watched it and really liked it. Austin bumped so hard that I'm in some ways surprised it took as long for his body to start breaking down as it did. It has a weird layout in that there's no real extended FIP, and that does hurt it, but I still thought this was a good effort with all four guys working really hard. Weird finish, as Flair fails to catch Sherri when Sting throws her to Flair on the floor. Austin pins Steamboat at that point while the audience is distracted and the finish gets no reaction.

[Kevin Ridge]

I completely missed the finish I was I was checking to see if Sherri was okay as String press slammed her from the ring to the floor. They show a replay of this where Flair doesn't really break her fall at all. They don't show a replay of the finish of the match though. I wasn't really high on this match from my viewing. Yeah, they worked hard but I felt there were ups and downs through the match. They weren't the most natural of tag partners. Post match interview, Sting challenges the winner of Hogan versus Flair.

[Exposer]

This match was solid. I was bothered by the fact that it lacked good structure and seemed all over the place too much. Sting fyling over the ropes and to the floor was insane but that spot was topped by Sting press slamming Sherri to the floor without anything or anyone breaking her fall. Flair failed to catch her at all. The finished was missed because of that spot. Sting challenges the winner of Flair-Hogan II in the post-match interview.

[soup23]

Really long TV match that did seem to meander a lot but also featured a lot of good stuff. The bump Sherri took to the outside looked awful as her head bounced off the mat. Sting has had a real solid 1994 which I didn’t realize.

[El-P]

A pretty good case of the whole being lesser than the sum of its part. The match really doesn't have much of a structure, and does meander a lot. Sting is annoying to me working with Flair, as he does way too much superman no-selling, especially aggravating on stuff like the delayed vertical suplex. Sting peaked with Vader, and already isn't as good as he was then. Austin is a bump machine at this point, and Steamboat doesn't seem to be that over anymore, although looks like he could go another ten years of working. The Sherri bump at the end is insane.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Sting & Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair & Steve Austin (WCW Saturday Night 07/30/94)

This on paper dream match was a clusterfuck in execution. That is a little bit of hyperbole. Flair seemed interested in just shining up the babyfaces and Austin is the only one trying to have a heat segment, but he seems blown up again from running around with the babyfaces that he forced to sit in holds. Sting goes into Flair match mode where he is Superman in the ring and Steamboat seemed like the best wrestler in this one with fiery chops and selling for the heels. This confluence lends itself to a really good shine segment with Flair flopping around. I really liked Sting stopping his ten punch count in the corner to punch Austin and Austin stooges. Flair hides behind Sherri on the outside. Savage says et tu Brute? The announcers remind us that Sting missed the biggest WCW event in history because of a scratched cornea from Sherri. So Flair pokes him in the eye. He is able to tag the Dragon. Austin immediately tosses him out and plays a spirited king of the mountain. The Dragon will not be denied. That is the difference between Sting and Steamboat. Steamboat fights through the barrage and Sting no-sells. Both can be effective Sting just did it way too much ala Sting eats knees from Austin and no-sells Flair's delayed vertical. Now I think Flair called that spot so I don't think you can blame Sting for that one. In fact, I think Flair and Austin were not on the same page at all. Austin seems interested in having a straight Southern tag match and this really was rampant non-psychology from Flair (hey everybody has an off night). Sting absolutely whiffs on a cross body that should have sent both tumbling over the top, but no sold that and went after Flair immediately. Again, that is Sting sticking to the called spot rather reacting to what is going on around him. Hard to say if he is at fault. Austin burns through a series of falls with Sting and honestly think this may have blown him up. I liked Sting's press slam of Austin and he sells when Austin catches him low with a knee. Flair dumps him out to Sherri, who gets hers licks in. Again, heat segment cut short by Sting tag and Steamer chops everything in sight and a gnarly Flair Flip. They do their bridging/backslide spot. Yep, Flair was just trying to get all his shit in. Sherri and Austin finally start gaining some momentum for the heels. Keep Flair out! Actually, Flair does throw some nice punches and chops. There are plenty of good chops. The Center Stage crowd is raucous for the match that is really all over the place testament to how Sting and Steamboat are. Sting gets the tag while the ref was not looking, but of course he does not fucking care. He is The Man Called Sting! Of course, he press slams Flair. He is The Man Called Sting! Of course, he chucks Sherri to the outside and Flair is not there to catch her and takes the most hellacious bump of the match. He is The Man Called Sting! In the background, Austin pins Steamboat with a roll up. Just like his trunks said Just Win Baby! There is enough action and spots that it is entertaining enough. It is all over the place. Best way to describe it is an energetic clusterfuck. ***

[PeteF3]

This was a fun TV match, worked as about a 20-minute sprint. Double FIP action, and Sting was quite good in the unfamiliar role. Not the most structured match in the world but everyone works really hard and is at least true to their characters. Sting heaves Sherri over the top rope to the floor and misses Flair with her, resulting in a hellacious and dangerous bump. Meanwhile Austin pins Steamboat--how, no one will ever know.

[Zenjo]

An interesting one to analyse because there were such wild fluctuations in the quality level. To start it was very reminiscent of a strong opening fall in a Lucha trios. Matchup dynamics being established and fast paced, high quality action. The heels were bumping around and the faces shining bright. Then it was like stepping off a cliff. Some abysmal wrestling with Sting against both opponents. All three were on totally different pages. The match lost all sense of structure and cohesion. Some order was thankfully re-established with a FIP segment. They desperately needed to head to the finish after that. The second beatdown phase was turgid. The eventual finish was a mess, whilst having a great spot the other side of the ring. An average match where so little was average.