[1991-07-14-WCW-Great American Bash] Rick Steiner & Missy Hyatt vs Arn Anderson & Paul E. Dangerously

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Someone dropped the ball here. The MD Athletic Commission strictly forbid any man vs woman athletic contests, so they did the angle early on with Murdoch and Slater to take Missy out. WHY WOULD THEY CLOSE THE SHOW WITH THIS? Until Russo, this is probably the lowest point in the history of the company.

[PeteF3]

All that, and this match began with something like ten minutes of satellite time left. The Steiners are still billed as WCW World Tag Champions even though Scott is out and will be out for another five months. Missy gets kidnapped--I get the real-life reasons for this, but you'd think Paul E.'s strategery would involve taking RICK out and leaving Missy 2-on-1. Rick wins in about 2 minutes. Paul E. actually worked hard here for what this was, but...geez. What a miserable environment. The Battle of the R'nR Express was a fun surprise but this show truly lived down to its reputation.

[Kevin Ridge]

I couldn't believe this was put on last on the show. Missy doesn't even make it into the cage as the Hardliners drag her off including dropping her by mistake. Very quick match with Steiner immediately isolating Dangerously and pinning him. The fans are flying for the exits. I can see why this PPV is considered one of the lowest.

[soup23]

This was a shitty way to end a PPV. The highlight is Murdoch taking a swing at someone on the outside. This PPV is pretty bad but I look forward to watching it in full for the podcast as I don't if it will be the worst ever.

[garretta]

There are so many things wrong with this I can't even begin to count, but the worst of all is its presence on this particular card. Dusty, my friend, if St. Peter's a wrestling fan, I'll bet you had to have a ten-hour audience with him before you could get into heaven simply to explain why you booked this match for a Baltimore card knowing that 1) The Maryland State Athletic Commission absolutely forbade mixed athletic contests and 2) that Missy vs. Heyman was the issue here. No one living wanted any part of a pointless Rick Steiner handicap match, even if he got to nearly tear Paul's head off; I don't even think Rick himself wanted it.

 

The solution's easy: You're practically out of satellite time anyway, so simply have JR state that the match has been postponed to a later date. Then tape it at the first non-Maryland TV taping you have after the Bash and show it as a special feature on WCWSN, even if it's done at a syndicated taping. That way, Missy can get the revenge on Paul she so desperately wants and needs, and this feud can be put in the books once and for all before it drives poor JR to the wacky ward.

 

The only explanation I can think of for doing this anyway that doesn't involve a monumental brain fart is that Dusty wanted the feud to continue because it spiced up the TBS shows. This way, Missy and Paul can keep taking verbal shots at each other and making each other miserable, which gives them something to do, particularly Missy (who serves almost no other function with any kind of competence). It's a damn poor reason, considering that Missy isn't all that good on the stick even at her best, but it's a reason nonetheless.

 

Murdoch taking a shot at that random fan and Missy sporting dark hair are the only two reasons to watch this unless you're a fan of JR's sarcasm. I liked how he said that Rick really worked hard here, to which Tony added that his performance was above and beyond the call of duty. Does anyone else think those two had an angry sitdown with Mr. Runnels once everyone got back to CNN Center, or maybe even that night at the hotel? And what was up with Missy and her hair anyway?

 

This match was buried at the end of the Luger/Windham match on the discs, not even worthy of a chapter of its own, which should tell you all you need to know.

[dawho5]

So was this put on last for strategic reasons? Maybe the crowd is shitting all over Flair not being there all night, so Dusty as this ingenious plan to put THIS....i'm not sure there are words bad enough...this...thing worse than every Bull Drop Inn episode combined after the title match so people think the title match is better by comparison? It's the only logical reason for it's placement that I can think of.

 

On to my issues with it. 1. Rick just watches as Missy is kidnapped. I'm ignoring Missy's hair dyed to match Rick's I assume. That Rick Steiner is a class guy, not doing a damn thing as his tag team partner is carted off by the guys who INJURED HIS BROTHER! So we're painting him as a coward and a terrible partner. Good. We did get to see Murdoch almost punch some teenaged kid, so there was one positive. 2. Arn is knocked silly for HOW long by a clothesline? I get he's Rick Steiner and he has that "my-last-name-is-in-front-of-my-clothesline" thing going, but really?

 

I'm at the point where I dread WCW coming up and would rather see joshi.