[1994-09-18-WCW-Fall Brawl] Lord Steven Regal vs Johnny B. Badd

[PeteF3]

Oh my God, this was AWESOME. Absolutely fucking smokes Bash at the Beach, because Mero is on here. He actually hangs with Regal on the mat to open, and even busts out an airplane spin--which is a great move for him that he really should have kept. Plus it allows Regal to do a great dizzy stooging sell on the floor, before Badd levels him with a pescado. Badd whiffs on another flying tackle in the ring, and Regal, having been outclassed on the mat, absolutely fucking loses it, just raining forearms and palm strikes and punches down on him in the corner and this turns into a borderline Japan-style "out of control for real" shoot-angle type situation. Some absolutely great hope spots and good selling from Badd and great cut-offs by Regal, and they throw in some cool false finishes playing off past Regal victories, before Badd catches Regal with a backslide to take the TV belt. Fire this sumbitch up on the Network--this is one to put on a supplemental set for sure. Absolutely the match of Mero's career to this point and really just a shade behind the Zbyszko matches.

[cactus]

We finally get a match that's on a similar level to Regal's performance! They start this one with some WOS-style exchanges and it's all very fluid. I love the small touch of Regal using palm strikes on Badd when he has him locked in a headlock. What makes this better than their last match on PPV is that Mero is able to keep up with Regal and we actually get a good, decisive finish.

★★★½

[TheBean]

Really good, all action match! This was a bit more traditional pro wrestling speed but Regal was calling the match. There were so many little things done right that made it seemed like they were doing more than they were. That's the type of stuff that I like. It doesn't have to be fancy to be good.