(07.17.94)
Live from Orlando, FL
Attendance: 14,000
Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Jessie Ventura & Bobby Heenan
Television Title
Lord Steven Regal (C) (W/Sir William) Vs Johnny B Badd
Regal retains by reversing a roll-up. They were never able to truly get going. As a result, this match turned out to be an average one. There were too many rest holds and not enough excitement. The finish was anti-climatic as well.
**
Antonio Inoki gets honored with a plaque for his contributions to wrestling. William Regal interrupts and says he should be getting the plaque, not him. Regal talks some more trash so Inoki takes off his jacket to fight Regal, but Regal declines.
Thoughts: Not sure what the point of this was!
Vader (W/Harley Race) Vs The Guardian Angel
The Guardian Angel is The Big Bossman. He was first named "The Boss", but that caused copyright issues with WWE. Vader wins by DQ after Angel is caught with a nightstick in his hand that Harley Race handed to Vader. This wasn't too shabby for two big men. Vader's agility for his size is ridiculous. When was the last time you'd see a 450 pound man doing a sunset flip off the top, or a moonsault?
**1/4
Terry Funk & Bunkhouse Buck (W/Col. Robert Parker & Meng) Vs Dustin Rhodes & Arn Anderson
Funk and Bunkouse win after Arn Anderson turns on Rhodes and plants him with a DDT. This was kind of a weird match. It wasn't boring, just weird. Dustin spent most of the match in control in a 2 on 1 situation against Funk and Bunkhouse before Anderson's heel turn. I'm not sure how to fully rate this one.
*3/4
United States Championship
"Stunning" Steve Austin (C) Vs Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Austin retains when he pins Steamboat by using the ropes. This is just a fabulous match with both guys seriously working their asses off to create something special. This match goes relatively unnoticed because of all the hype Flair and Hogan gets on this card, but these two went and out stole the show. Any true wrestling fan knows how amazing Steamboat is in the ring, but Austin was no slouch himself, especially before his neck injury. It's a damn shame WCW didn't use Austin properly because he'd cough up the title to that hack, Jim Duggan.
****1/4
Tag Team Championship
Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan (C) (W/Dave Sullivan) Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff & Paul Roma)
Roma and Orndorff win the titles after some heel chicanery. This match was a chore to sit through! It's filled with boring rest holds and doesn't offer any excitement what so ever. The crowd was so bored they started doing the wave at one point to entertain themselves.
*
WCW Heavyweight Championship
Ric Flair (C) (W/Sensuous Sherri) Vs Hulk Hogan (W/Mr. T & Jimmy Hart)
Shaquille O'Neal will be presenting the title to the winner. Hogan wins with the legdrop. This is a very good match that is ruined by too much interference. I can't count how many times Sherri interfered. All the interference made Flair look very weak. The match itself is a bit over-hyped, but Hogan and Flair delivered the goods. In all honesty, though? This is one of the only two good matches I've seen Hogan and Flair have.
***1/2
Overall, this PPV was OK. Hogan's arrival in WCW definitely gave them more exposure and lead them to greatness a couple of years later., where they'd become top dogs. That being said, Hogan's arrival also meant a lot of bad things as well. Hogan was a cancer, hiring all his buddies like Hacksaw Jim Duggan, etc, etc. People like Steve Austin had to take a backseat. We'd also get a string of awful PPV's as well with the awful Dungeon of Doom storyline. Anyways, Hogan vs Flair was good, but it was Steamboat and Austin that stole the show.
Live from Orlando, FL
Attendance: 14,000
Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Jessie Ventura & Bobby Heenan
Television Title
Lord Steven Regal (C) (W/Sir William) Vs Johnny B Badd
Regal retains by reversing a roll-up. They were never able to truly get going. As a result, this match turned out to be an average one. There were too many rest holds and not enough excitement. The finish was anti-climatic as well.
**
Antonio Inoki gets honored with a plaque for his contributions to wrestling. William Regal interrupts and says he should be getting the plaque, not him. Regal talks some more trash so Inoki takes off his jacket to fight Regal, but Regal declines.
Thoughts: Not sure what the point of this was!
Vader (W/Harley Race) Vs The Guardian Angel
The Guardian Angel is The Big Bossman. He was first named "The Boss", but that caused copyright issues with WWE. Vader wins by DQ after Angel is caught with a nightstick in his hand that Harley Race handed to Vader. This wasn't too shabby for two big men. Vader's agility for his size is ridiculous. When was the last time you'd see a 450 pound man doing a sunset flip off the top, or a moonsault?
**1/4
Terry Funk & Bunkhouse Buck (W/Col. Robert Parker & Meng) Vs Dustin Rhodes & Arn Anderson
Funk and Bunkouse win after Arn Anderson turns on Rhodes and plants him with a DDT. This was kind of a weird match. It wasn't boring, just weird. Dustin spent most of the match in control in a 2 on 1 situation against Funk and Bunkhouse before Anderson's heel turn. I'm not sure how to fully rate this one.
*3/4
United States Championship
"Stunning" Steve Austin (C) Vs Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Austin retains when he pins Steamboat by using the ropes. This is just a fabulous match with both guys seriously working their asses off to create something special. This match goes relatively unnoticed because of all the hype Flair and Hogan gets on this card, but these two went and out stole the show. Any true wrestling fan knows how amazing Steamboat is in the ring, but Austin was no slouch himself, especially before his neck injury. It's a damn shame WCW didn't use Austin properly because he'd cough up the title to that hack, Jim Duggan.
****1/4
Tag Team Championship
Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan (C) (W/Dave Sullivan) Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff & Paul Roma)
Roma and Orndorff win the titles after some heel chicanery. This match was a chore to sit through! It's filled with boring rest holds and doesn't offer any excitement what so ever. The crowd was so bored they started doing the wave at one point to entertain themselves.
*
WCW Heavyweight Championship
Ric Flair (C) (W/Sensuous Sherri) Vs Hulk Hogan (W/Mr. T & Jimmy Hart)
Shaquille O'Neal will be presenting the title to the winner. Hogan wins with the legdrop. This is a very good match that is ruined by too much interference. I can't count how many times Sherri interfered. All the interference made Flair look very weak. The match itself is a bit over-hyped, but Hogan and Flair delivered the goods. In all honesty, though? This is one of the only two good matches I've seen Hogan and Flair have.
***1/2
Overall, this PPV was OK. Hogan's arrival in WCW definitely gave them more exposure and lead them to greatness a couple of years later., where they'd become top dogs. That being said, Hogan's arrival also meant a lot of bad things as well. Hogan was a cancer, hiring all his buddies like Hacksaw Jim Duggan, etc, etc. People like Steve Austin had to take a backseat. We'd also get a string of awful PPV's as well with the awful Dungeon of Doom storyline. Anyways, Hogan vs Flair was good, but it was Steamboat and Austin that stole the show.