[1991-05-19-WCW-Superbrawl I] Arn Anderson vs Bobby Eaton

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

There was way too much happening on this show. A card with this many big matches done right would have trouble filling out a 4-hour Wrestlemania card, much less this show. And this is a match that probably would have had more heat before Sting/Luger vs Steiners. It's hard to get a crowd into Bobby Eaton's hammerlock and Arn's systematic destruction of Eaton's knee after the 10-minute dream match spotfest they just witnessed. I'm not sure if I should blame the booking for the card placement of this, or Arn/Eaton for the type of match they worked after the tag, or if the problem is a little bit of both. But the match didn't work. Eaton wins the TV title, launching a brief singles push. The Windham/Pillman appearance at the finish was completely unnecessary and took away from Eaton's moment, as the camera even missed the pin. Oh, WCW.

[PeteF3]

There's a definite point of difference on display here with how WCW and the WWF structured their big events. You know the WWF would have had Big Josh/Black Bart or Spivey/Morton in this death slot rather than a title match. This isn't technically unsound or anything but this is definitely the wrong spot on the card for this match. I think I liked this more than Loss but it was still kind of a disappointment. And for God's sake, will Dusty decide if he wants to break the Horsemen up or not? "I'm doing it on my own" and then relying on outside interference is kind of a heel staple that can draw heat, but the constant false starts here are getting annoying in the X-Pac kind of way. Thank God Sid is leaving as maybe that will force WCW's hand a bit.

[shoe]

I agree with the complaints about the placement of the match on the show. With that said I liked the match. Both guys are good at working body parts, while telling a story, mixing in a high spot or some big bumps. In this bout they did just that . Arn just destroys Bobby's knee and Eaton is great at selling Arn's stuff. Just a good meat and potatoes match. I've always liked these type of matches.

[Kevin Ridge]

Bobby Eaton’s big singles moment on winning the TV title and the cameras miss it! Pillman and Windham’s involvement was not necessary and especially took away from ending when camera was focusing on them running towards back. This is just bad TV production. I felt like this would be the best of the matches from this show so was disappointed with execution. Agreed that it probably could have been placed earlier on card.

[soup23]

Good match but one where you were hoping for more as we had some good stooge Arn stuff and solid work on Bobbys leg only for a transition and finish to happen. The camera missing the pin is WCW lol territory at its finest.

[garretta]

The story of this match was Arn's decimation of Bobby's knee. It influenced everything that happened after it, and Bobby's gutsy performance was topped off by going to the top despite it and hitting his money move, the Alabama Jam, to win the title. Arn's work was superb, as well as Bobby's selling, both verbal and physical. For those who hadn't seen Bobby in Memphis (which was just about everyone in the audience), it had to be a revelation just how good he was as a singles performer.

 

I loved Dusty's analysis of the knee work; if anyone would know what it's like to have Arn Anderson work over a leg, it's him. At first hearing, it seemed a bit unfair for him to call Bobby a rookie, but in terms of WCW singles experience he is, which makes his win all the more surprising. The sad thing is that the crowd couldn't have cared two cents less for it. Whether it was card placement, unfamiliarity with Bobby as a singles competitor, or a lack of real buildup for the match, this crowd was dead like few other crowds I've seen on a North American pay-per-view. What a shame, as they slept on a good, solid bout.

 

They showed the pin on replay, so I give the WCW production crew a pass on missing it live. Pillman countering Windham's outside interference was a nice touch.

 

As for going back and forth on the Horseman breakup, like I said in another thread, they probably weren't sure what Flair was going to do at this point. If he'd decided to stay, Dusty would have no doubt kept the Horsemen as his primary heel group, since it had been so successful in the past. Who would have taken Sid's place? I'm guessing probably Steve Austin, although Larry Zbyszko would have been an interesting dark horse. It almost certainly would have been one of the guys who later made up the Dangerous Alliance, and I wouldn't have been surprised to see Heyman take over the J.J. Dillon role, especially since he never hid his admiration for Flair while he was broadcasting.

[JKWebb]

Yep, good match. I thought Bobby's punches looked great as always, and I thought he did a really good job selling for Arn throughout. Arn had a nice focused attack. Great moment for Bobby.

[dawho5]

I really, really liked this match. Everything works from a character standpoint and Arn's destruction of Eaton's leg is on point. Problem being the crowd was completely worn out after the last match and this one needed 5 more minutes to really develop into something great. Put this on right after Gigante/Sid and I think the crowd eats it up.