[1999-03-14-WCW-Uncensored] Billy Kidman vs Mikey Whipreck

[DMJ]

Is it crazy that I found this to be a really good, really fun watch - like, maybe one of the top 10 WCW Cruiserweight Title Matches ever even?

 

For starters, I think the presentation here is surprisingly, clumsily brilliant, as if WCW *mistakenly* almost created a could-be midcard star despite attempting the opposite. The setting is interesting and note-worthy - this is UnCenSored (WCW's "hardcore" PPV), so, it actually works that Whipwreck would debut here, but while there seems to be pockets of the audience that recognize him, its not like there are deafening ECW chants or even "You Sold Out" chants the way you might have got further north. Its an interesting, kind of subtly cool platform for him.

 

On commentary, Tenay mentions that Whipwreck is a 5-year pro from "the east coast," but doesn't put him over too much while Heenan mocks his last name profusely. Kidman is over and Whipwreck looks like a schlub so this has all the makings of a squash match.

 

Only it isn't. Whipwreck shows some impressive speed early, but more importantly, shows a tough, smashmouth, and reckless style unlike the lucha guys Kidman has been dispatching for the past four months. No, Whipwreck is hardcore, utilizing the guardrail and the steps and his own body to try to eke out a win any way he can. While the Psicosises and Juvis of the world opted to use their speed and the spring of their feet off the ropes to overwhelm Kidman and dazzle the crowd at the same time, Whipwreck's offense is dangerous because you simply don't know what he's going to throw at you - including his entire body. Jawing the whole time, Whipwreck gets his uncaring heel character over to the point that this may have more heat than any of Kidman's defenses against better-known guys at the previous few PPVs *and* Bobby Heenan comes around too, praising Whipwreck's ability to keep up with the established cruiser ace. Again, it almost feels like (hell, I'd be surprised if it wasn't) Heenan and Schiavone are discovering Whipwreck in real time just like most of the audience and what we're seeing is a really dangerous threat to Kidman.

 

Speaking of character, there's also a not-so-subtle cleverness to the way Kidman, no longer scratching himself every few minutes, pockmarked, and moping around Kidman, is now the "clean" babyface while Whipwreck is the unlikeable greaseball. Its a dynamic that works really well cosmetically and historically, if you'd followed Kidman from his lowly start when he dressed much like Whipwreck does here.

 

But then the finish happens and it almost seems like this is where the true intention of the match comes out. Was this meant to be a launching pad for Whipwreck or was it just designed to cement Kidman and establish WCW as superior to ECW? Was it originally intended to be a squash, a blatant F-U to a rival promotion but Kidman and Whipwreck opted to, instead, put on a showcase of both of their talents? Considering the stories of how nutty WCW was run, I'm not sure you wouldn't get five different answers if you asked five different people. Maybe this was just a match, plain and simple, the most likely scenario, but it ends up being more than that on re-watch because of all the elements at play - the time period, the UnCenSored setting, the tension between WCW & ECW, the panicky "let's throw any shit we can find and see what sticks" attitude of WCW in 99', the fact that its not entirely clear what the goal of this match was - and the simple fact that it is a damn good Cruiserweight Title Match to boot. It exceeds expectations because what the fuck were the expectations?

 

I often hold out 4-stars for matches that are "must watch" and 3.5-stars for things that are maybe closer to "should watch." To me, this is a definite "should watch," but for a certain type of fan who likes "curios" from this era, I'd definitely go "must watch."

 

So, does anyone know the full story behind this match and/or Whipwreck's brief WCW run? Does anyone have fond memories of this that can maybe speak on what the reaction was on the nascent "IWC"? Did RSPW folk freak out? Am I the only person to have ever given this match this much thought?