[1997-05-18-WCW-Slamboree] Steven Regal vs Ultimo Dragon

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

How WCW went this long calling Ultimo the Ultimate Dragon without someone in the promotion correcting them on it blows my mind. These two gel really well - far better than you might think - and this match has some really interesting matwork. Ultimo takes it to the mat and works Regal's style. This is the type of match that really makes me miss WCW -- unlike WWE, they weren't so indoctrinated in their house style that they were completely unwilling to showcase other working styles. It also shows the difference between WWF and WCW fans, as WCW fans are more than willing to give this a fair shake and respond to the good work accordingly. WWF fans would sit on their hands in most towns. The point of this isn't to bash the WWF, but just to point out that variety is the spice of life, and that applies to pro wrestling too. This was a really unique, interesting match that I enjoyed quite a bit. Even Sonny Onoo didn't detract too much.

[goodhelmet]

I watched this and reviewed it when putting the set together...

 

Steven Regal vs. Ultimo Dragon (Slamboree 1997)

 

- Regal no longer wants to go by “Lord” and Dusty proceeds to call him Lord Regal. Weird dynamic since both guys are heels but if Sonny Ono wasn’t at ringside, you know the fans would cheer Dragon easily. I love watching Regal on the mat. He was doing a test of strength spot and casually pushes down on Dragon’s calf to get the advantage. When Dragon was in a pinning position, Regal puts his knee in Dragon’s face to try and get the pin. Beautiful. Dragon controls with a headlock and they keep it moving including Regal locking his hands together in order to put Dragon in a pinning position. Usually guys just grab the tights or roll over. When Dragon goes on offense, it was pretty nasty and Regal eats it better than anyone. Regal continues to go for the Regal Stretch and the announcers do a good job of playing it up. Another example of Regal doing the little things right…. He elbows Dragon in the knee!!! Hot finish with a nice Regal chant going, some nice nearfalls from Dragon, Regal going back for the Regal Stretch and even some fighting outside. Dragon hits the Asai moonsault and it feels like a huge victory for Dragon to finally hit that move. Interference from Ono backfires and he hits Dragon in the back of the head. As Dragon faces Ono, Regal kicks him in the head, throws him in the ring, hits a reverse suplex and finally locks in the Regal Stretch. Really great stuff here. Not the best Regal match out there but I am glad I watched it.

[Childs]

Really good showcase for both guys, with Regal showing his usual attention to detail and Ultimo working pretty stiff in addition to hitting his flashy stuff. If you're building a case for Regal as an all-time great, his work with guys like Psicosis and Ultimo has to be a big feather in his cap. Hard to imagine many U.S. heavyweights doing better.

[Kevin Ridge]

The Prince Iaukea experiment is over as Dragon is now TV Champion. Whether it was a blown spot or not, Regal not being accommodating on being Irish whipped works for him. Sonny Ono beats up Regal! Oh, I want Regal to stretch him to pieces. More kicks from Ono and he kicks Dragon too! Regal Stretch to win the TV title. Good match and credit to WCW for opening their PPV with this pairing.

[soup23]

I really dug this. Neat matwork leading into the progression of highspots and high flying moves. Add in some Onno interaction that I liked and a hot crowd along with a cool ass finish is all you need to have a very good opening contest. Kudos for Regal and a feather in his cap. Ultimo was also game for this match.

[El-P]

Hot opening match involving tons of cool matwork and submissions. A little rough on the edge at times but damn Regal was great here, as was Dragon as soon as he got into kicking the shit out of our favourite Englishman. Yeah, this match is exactly why WCW was so fun, because guys with different style could express themselves and didn't get molded into a in-house style. The crowd is totally on Regal's side at the end, which is kinda odd since this match was supposed to turn Ultimo babyface. Excellent stuff.

[El-P]

How WCW went this long calling Ultimo the Ultimate Dragon without someone in the promotion correcting them on it blows my mind.

 

They did get Yuji Yasuraoka on the first try though. Yuji Yasuraoka on PPV. WCW was amazing.

[Superstar Sleeze]

WCW World Television Champion Ultimo Dragon vs Steven Regal - WCW Slamboree 1997

 

What a beautifully constructed, fundamentals-based match that starts off very lo-fi and builds perfectly to the high spots. God, I miss crowds like this. They are patient and hang on the action. They are rooting for Regal and eagerly wait chances to exhort him on or revel in his glory. The late 90s were not perfect and there were crowds that did chant "Boring" at WCW events, so I don't want it misconstrued that I have some naive picture of late 90s WCW crowds. We almost never a get a crowd like this anymore. The chain wrestling at the beginning is both beautiful and strenuous. Regal has the advantage being larger, but Dragon as a Japanese luchador is no slouch. They do a great job establishing equality through struggle like on the Regal gutwrench or Dragon drop toehold. There are some nice tit for tat moments like Regal stepping on Dragon's face only to have Dragon step on his face. Both men establish that they are looking to win early and often. It is a championship match with no hatred behind so the exact perfect strategy for the setting. Regal is looking for his Regal Stretch often, I counted him attempting four times with Dragon making the ropes each time. Every counter or move was working towards the finish and I just loved that strategy. That is how you put over and protect a submission finish. Dragon focused on using wicked stinging kicks to Regal's back to control the match. I loved Regal countering Dragon's cross-armbreaker by catching one foot into a leg scissors and then countering into a Regal Stretch attempt. Dragon responds by kicking Regal's back really hard. These two have amazing chemistry. Regal is the exact opposite of Malenko in that inhibits Dragon from indulging in his worst habits. Regal is also a lot more charismatic. I am disappointed Dragon did not do his hip swivel on the deathlock bridge. Regal chants and the announcers are in shock! Regal is on the outside and Onoo gets his licks in, but Dragon is not happy about that so he admonishes him to set up that angle. I can't tell if Regal was selling fatigue or if he was blown up. He was working hard. Dragon takes advantage and starts to rattle off his highspots. I love the escalation in this match. The Dragon moonsault misses, everybody repeat after me "Regal Stretch attempt", I fucking love it. Makes so much sense! Just when you think this match is all meat and potatoes, Dragon busts a crazy rana from a butterfly suplex position. Hot damn! At this point in the match, they are both selling fatigue and it is reasonable because they have been working over time. Regal blocks Dragon's Tiger Suplex finish. Dragon is able to hit the Asai Moonsault, but Onoo and him get into it and Regal is able to take advantage to finally apply the Regal Stretch to a massive pop. I loved the fans giving the peace symbol back to him, like everyone in the camera shot was doing it. So cool!

 

This is a just badass, old school match that features great wrestling from the early chaining to Regal desperately working from underneath to get the Regal Stretch while Dragon controlled with kicks. If they had a hotter, better finish, this would be talked about as one of the classic WCW matches as it I would hazard to say this is the best WCW Dragon match and the last great Regal WCW match. ****

[PeteF3]

Very good match, in some ways a real throwback for being so mat-based at a time when almost all promotions were getting away from that. Even though the crowd reactions are sort of backwards from what WCW was hoping for, they were really into this as well and picked up on the psychology of Dragon fighting to avoid the Regal Stretch. Even Onoo is used well--he does one interference spot to get over that Dragon doesn't want him getting involved, and then plays just enough of a role in the finish that he clearly costs Dragon the match, while Regal still gets credit for the finishing blow without making the ending all about Onoo. This is an instance where I'm going to junk all my old complaints about Dragon not bothering to work a character or guys like Malenko being tone-deaf with regard to the crowd. The crowd wasn't reacting "properly," but Dragon and Regal failed to let that get to them and just went out and worked a solid match. Good for them.

[Zenjo]

At Slamboree '97 the best was first. I was wondering how well they were going to adapt given the differing wrestling styles and weight divisions. The answer was very well. Regal was able to indulge the cruiserweights high flying. Dragon is Japanese so didn't mind ramping up the stiffness. A lot of time was spent on the deck. Regal kept trying for his finisher, but hadn't sufficiently worn down his foe. Well paced and it built nicely through the phases. Things fell away towards the end including unwelcome outside interference. Regal also seemed to tire.