[2000-04-16-WCW-Spring Stampede] Ric Flair & Lex Luger vs Shane Douglas & Buff Bagwell

[soup23]

Flair is still in his street clothes. Why? Buff comes out and I wonder if he could have had a The Miz type revival if given the chance. Welp, Douglas is back and they have a baseball bat Vince Russo leading them to the ring. The stuff is so contrived that the announcers are left looking like goofs. Everything Russo says about new guys and new opportunities is something Madden has preached but then there is his boy Flair so he is conflicted. Luger cheats to gain the advantage and Tony tries to cover for him but it sounds stupid. Flair gets worked over in his clothes. Shane beats Flair up in the corner and very loudly says FUCK YOU Flair which Tony responds by saying that says it all. Hot tag to Luger and Flair has figure four on Douglas. Buff goes for blockbuster but hits Doublas by accident. Buff pounds the mat instead of breaking up the count. Russo breaks up the count and gets into a shoving match with Nick Patrick. Kronik make their debut without a name and they attack Luger. Russo puts on the referee shirt and counts the fall. Shitty. *3/4

[Loss]

Flair and Luger are a really good babyface team, and I like their position on the card. I might have had Sting in this role and Flair a little higher as a singles, but Luger really is trying, even though he can't do much. I really liked the spot when Douglas clotheslined Flair on the apron right after the Flair Flip, then Luger got him immediately with the clothesline of his own to set up the hot tag. Mocking Buff was also amusing. Flair-Douglas seems like a feud that won't be able to deliver in the ring, but that will bring it home in promos. Russo clearly thinks of himself as a major star and he's just not, and this match might have come off better without him stinking it up. Kronik? Man, did they suck.

[AstroBoy]

It feels like this match is carrying more heat in-ring than the crowd is responding to, if that makes sense. As in, the hatred and animosity is there between the workers but the crowd is just not receptive to it in a way that would help push this a little further.

 

Of course it's fun to see the interactions of Douglas and Flair and they have nice exchanges with each other as their story kind of creates the heat of the match. Commentary here is cringeworthy with Russo and also Shiavone yelling "bullshit" is the most unconvincing way. Shock of all shocks, but the finish to the match is totally convoluted and garbage but the match itself was absolutely fine.

 

**1/2

[GSR]

The Naitch is still in his street clothes, while Vince Russo walks out with Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas and then joins the commentary team at the announcer’s desk. Buff offers Lex his hand, but Luger gets the cheap shot in first with a boot to the mid-section. He mocks Buff’s strut in something that was far funnier than it had any right to be. Bagwell with an eye poke and a tag to Douglas who starts working over Luger. Reverse on the Irish whip and Lex is only just about able to get Douglas up for a gorilla press slam. Flair pulls him to the outside and unloads with chops and punches on the arena floor before tossing him back inside. Thumb to the eye again halts Team Package in their tracks as Douglas and Bagwell look to wear down the Naitch. Side headlock, Flair shoots him off and both men go down after accidentally colliding heads. Douglas whips Flair into the corner but he’s not got the momentum to do his bump so they repeat the spot a matter of seconds later. Naitch manages it this time, Shane clotheslines him on the apron and then Lex gets a clothesline in on Douglas as the referee’s back was turned checking on Ric. Tag to Luger and he’s all over the ‘New Blood’. Flair with a figure four on Douglas and Russo leaves the announcer’s desk saying “this ain’t happening”. Bagwell with a low blow to Luger, and he drop an elbow on Flair to break the figure four. Douglas picks up the Naitch and drags him over for a ‘Buff Blockbuster’, however Flair moves and Bagwell hits the move on his own partner instead. Flair makes the cover but Russo pulls Nick Patrick out the ring at two. They get into a shoving match on the outside as Luger signals for ‘the rack’, when out through the crowd comes Bryan Clark and Brian Adams. Double chokeslam on Luger, Patrick is now KO’d on the floor, Russo takes the referee’s shirt off him and puts it on (badly!) and counts the three as Douglas and Bagwell become the new tag team champions.

 

Just like the first Flair & Luger tag match this was better than I expected. The action was pretty basic with a simple structure to the match. Flair again worked hard and was motivated while Luger seemed the opposite (struggling on the press slam), although his Buff strut was tremendous. Bagwell is one of my least favourites, so whenever I’m able to get into a match he’s involved in, the wrestlers have done a good job. Like everything on his show the finish was overbooked with the Russo involvement, the attack on the official (which is something else we can add to the list of things the camera missed!), Kronik’s debut and interference and finally Russo counting the fall. I’m starting to think more and more that the whole ‘New Blood’ angle is about Russo pushing himself to the forefront.

[Migs]

Flair is wrestling in street clothes for some reason.

 

The Shane Douglas mark in me is totally stoked for any interaction between Flair and Shane, I have to admit. There's an initial energy when they first touch, but it quickly becomes a standard tag match. (I did like the "Fuck You Flair" in the corner.) The finish is just pointless Russo nonsense.