WRESTLING 20 YEARS AGO PODCAST

Listen to our September 1995 WCW podcast, reviewing the Fall Brawl PPV along with the first WCW Nitro in Full.

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Fall Brawl 1995 was somewhat overshadowed by the debut of WCW Monday Nitro a couple of weeks earlier. The two Nitro’s prior had largely been run without this show in mind, with the exception of the storyline that saw Lex Luger come in and effectively replace Vader in both the Nitro main event and the Fall Brawl.

The main event of Fall Brawl, as usual, was the War Games match. The Dungeon Of Doom, now in full swing, challenging the Hulkamaniacs – Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Sting and Vader, all camo’d up. That was until Vader got in a fight with Paul Orndorff backstage and got suspended. The door opened for Lex Luger who came in, but WCW weren’t shy in building tension between Savage and Luger, a program that would develop after the pay per view.

Elsewhere Ric Flair and Arn Anderson had finally grown tired of each other and Johnny B Badd and Brian Pillman were facing off in a number one contender match for Sting’s US Title. This show also happened just a few days after Steve Austin was let go by the company. This is relevant in the first match. On the main event pre-show, Hulk Hogan is outside on his Harley Davidson chatting to Okerlund and some fans when The Giant appears driving a Monster Truck, running over the motorcycle as Hogan scarpers.

Johnny B Badd vs Brian Pillman
United States Title number one contender match

Austin was released in part because he was in a “group” of younger wrestlers who signed contracts a few years prior who weren’t worth their money. Pillman and Badd were in that group and, to prove a point, WCW put them out there with 30 minutes to fill on the basis they’d flounder. They ended up having the best match on the card. Fast paced, high flying, intense action. The match went twenty minutes to a draw, before being extended, in the end the pair collide mid ring and Badd wins.

Cobra vs Sergeant Craig Pittman

A bit of backstory (the match wasn’t very long). Craig Pittman debuted a few months ago as a former army sergeant, Cobra debuted in Vignettes in August, said to be someone that Pittman left behind in battle. Pittman maintains Cobra “broke the code”. That’s as far as the build got. The match was brief, with Cobra being blindsided by Pittman who entered the match by descending from the rafters. He locked in the “Code Red” armbar and that’s enough for the victory.

Diamond Dallas Page (w/ The Diamond Doll and Max Muscle) vs The Renegade (w/ Jimmy Hart) for the WCW World Television Championship.

Page tried hard, but covering for Renegade who really does make a good claim to be one of the worst workers to ever get a sustained push on a nationwide wrestling product was asking too much. Mercifully the match wasn’t that long, and after Renegade opts to splash Max Muscle on the outside, rather than DDP in the ring, that ended it. DDP hits the Diamond Cutter and wins the WCW Television Title.

Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray w/ Sister Sherri) vs Bunkhouse Buck and Dirty Dick Slater (w/ Col. Robert Parker) for the WCW World Tag Team Championship

A bog standard WCW tag match that this stage. Not the best, but by no means the worst. Unfortunately it followed the usual pattern of treading water before waiting for outside interference came to put them out of their misery. In this case, it took Sherri and Parker kissing in the other ring, followed by interference from The Nasty Boys, the Heat win the tag titles. They lost them the next night.

Arn Anderson vs Ric Flair

WCW did a fantastic job setting the stage for this match. We see wrestlers like Eddie Guerrero, Alex Wright, Brian Pillman and Big Bubba sat in the crowd, adding to the importance of it. Anderson dominates much of the match, working Flair’s arm. Later in the match Flair locks in a long figure four, which whips up the crowd. In the end Brian Pillman jumps onto the apron, kicks Flair in the back of the head allowing Anderson to win.

War Games. The Dungeon of Doom (Kamala, The Shark, Zodiac and Meng w/The Taskmaster) vs The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Sting, Randy Savage and Lex Luger w/ Jimmy Hart). If the faces win, Hulk Hogan gets five minutes inside the cage with The Taskmaster
If the Hulkamaniacs win, Hogan gets five minutes in the ring with The Taskmaster

A predictable War Games match. When Sting is by far and away the best worker in the match you know you’re in some trouble. Usual fodder really, the faces are dressed in camo gear which is a nice touch. Hulk Hogan, ever the babyface, comes in as the last man and throws powder in everyone’s eyes. Once they decided they’d had enough, Hogan puts Zodiac in a camel clutch and that’s enough to end it.

READ MORE: Why so much love for the War Games match?

After the match Hogan gets his five minutes with Taskmaster. Well, that is until The Giant comes out. Giant locks in a nerve hold before “snapping” Hogan’s head to one side. The babyfaces run off the heels before calling for a paramedic to come to Hogan’s aid.

Score Rating: 6.5/10
Go Back and Watch: A well paced, well booked show with two very good matches and otherwise a mixed bag of action. Badd vs Pillman is very good, Arn vs Flair predictably strong. The rest I could take or leave, but of all the WCW PPV’s I’ve seen this was nowhere near the worst.

 

 

Listen to our September 1995 WWF podcast, reviewing In Your House 3.

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As we reach the first consecutive set of In Your House pay per views this is the first real feeling of the WWF replacing the spacing of pay per views with a regular monthly show. Off the back of Summerslam 1995, and the fact that there were only three Raw’s between the shows as the show went on a two week hiatus (one which included the opening WCW Nitro), this was a show without much build-up.

But the main event offered a very intriguing prospect. The “Triple Header” featured WWF Champion Diesel and WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels teaming up to face the WWF Tag Team Champions Yokozuna and Owen Hart. If Shawn and Diesel won the match, they would become tag champions. If Yokozuna and Owen Hart won the match, the person who made the pin would take the championship off the person who got pinned. So if Yokozuna pinned Diesel, he would win the Intercontinental Title, and if Owen pinned Shawn, he would win the Intercontinental Title (the idea of Owen winning the WWF Title was apparently so preposterous the company hid away mentioning it). Long story short – if you bought the pay per view you’d see a title change.

Elsewhere on the card we saw the freshly turned heel British Bulldog (a heel for the first time in his career) facing the falling Bam Bam Bigelow. Dean Douglas took on Razor Ramon, that match involved in the triangle feud with the 123 Kid and Bret Hart faced Jean Pierre Lafitte – a feud literally based around Lafitte stealing Bret’s jacket.

Savio Vega vs Waylon Mercy

The perception was that this match represented the beginning of the end of Waylon Mercy as an act, not long after he started. Mercy too beaten up, his knees gone. This, of course, didn’t stop them feeding him to The Undertaker first! Nothing much to write home about this, Vega works a decent babyface role but is clearly suffering from not being that long on WWF television. In the end Vega wins it with a spinning back kick.

We cut backstage, and Dok Hendrix interrupts an argument between James E. Cornette and Interim WWF President Gorilla Monsoon. Owen Hart isn’t in the building, Monsoon says the match will take regardless. We haven’t heard the end of this. We later establish that Monsoon will allow someone to become “temporary” co-champion with Yokozuna, so Cornette begins his hunt to find a partner.


Psycho Sid vs Henry O’Godwinn

Since you’ve seen us last, Godwinn turned babyface dumping pig slop over Ted DiBiase. Again, solid but no better action from these two, with DiBiase doing his best on the outside to keep things interest. Godwinn hits a reverse DDT, but DiBiase breaks up the pin with the referee somehow missing it. In the end Sid hits a powerbomb for the clean win. After the match, Sid and DiBiase argue over who will slop Godwinn, Bam Bam runs out and attacks sid, Kama follows. On the distraction, Godwinn comes around and dumps the slop all over DiBiase.


Bam Bam Bigelow vs The British Bulldog

To compliment his new heel turn Bulldog has had his hair cut, it’s very short. Bam Bam Bigelow’s career has stalled at this stage, now being used as a setup for Bulldog ahead of him main eventing In Your House 4. This match is nothing special, but they put together something decent. Bam Bam pulls out a moonsault, but Bulldog moves before hitting a powerslam for the clean victory.


Dean Douglas (w/ Bob Backlund) vs Razor Ramon

Bob Backlund comes out and seems to align himself with Douglas, introducing him. Douglas is wearing a splendid turquoise blue singlet with an exclamation mark on the back. He and Razor have quite a decent long match, Douglas dominates the middle (as the heel should) Razor rallies rolling through a flying body press and almost getting a three. In the end a the ref takes a bump, Razor hits the Razor’s edge, pins Douglas. Without a ref, the 123 Kid runs out and counts the pin, unbeknownst to Razor. In the kerfuffle, Douglas rolls up Razor, the ref comes around and counts Douglas as the winner. Good action, best Shane Douglas match I’ve seen.


Bret Hart vs Jean-Pierre Lafitte

The match wasn’t fitting for the storyline, but the storyline was shite and the match was very good. A tale of two high risk dives to the outside. Bret goes for a suicide dive, “hits it” but overrotates and does well not to land on his head early doors. Later in the match Lafitte goes for a somersault plancha, Bret moves and Lafitte takes a technically very clean if brutal looking back bump on the outside. Match crechendos nicely, Lafitte hits a rolling fireman carry for a two, before Bret rolls Lafitte into the sharpshooter and wins the match.

In the mean-time, Jim Cornette recruits The British Bulldog to replace Owen, having canvassed Sid and King Mabel. All of that effort before landing on a wrestler he already manages. Gorilla Monsoon makes the British Bulldog a temporary WWF Tag Team Champion, and if he pins Diesel or Shawn he will win their title.


Diesel © and Shawn Michaels © vs Yokozuna and The British Bulldog © (w/ Mr Fuji and Jim Cornette) in a “Triple Header” match.
If Diesel and Shawn win, they win the tag titles. If Yokozuna and The Bulldog win, the person who makes the pin will win the singles title of the person who gets pinned.

A genuinely nice idea, with “any title changing hands” but the company’s inability to have the balls to make a decision ruins this. Shawn and Yokozuna have a lovely sumo stand-off, Yokozuna’s facial expressions are still fantastic. I did enjoy this, but Yokozuna, in his current shape, just spent too long in this match. This match also failed in properly doing a job to convince the audience either Diesel or Shawn’s title was in jeopardy. In the end, Owen Hart runs out, eats a Jacknife powerbomb and get pinned. Yes, they pinned a guy not officially in the match.HELLO – WCW called, wants its finish back.

In a shock to no-one, the screwy finish in the main event was a bait and switch. The following evening on Raw, after protestations from Jim Cornette’s lawyer, Interim WWF President Gorilla Monsoon reversed the decision… and Yokozuna and Owen Hart proceeded to lose the titles that night on Raw to the Smoking Gunns. Thanks for buying the pay per view, folks!

Score Rating: 6/10
Go Back And Watch: Bret vs Lafitte is very good, the main event and the Douglas/Razor match are decent too. Solid card, good by 1995 WWF standards, but that’s about where the praise ends.

Listen to our August 1995 WCW podcast, reviewing the quartet of ECW wrestlers about to join WCW.

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The eagle-eyed may have noticed both July and August's Power Rankings boasted no honourable mentions. This is by no means a sleight on the endeavours of a Razor Ramon or a Terry Funk to name but two.

In United Kingdom 2015, we've just witnessed the close of what's become known as the Summer Transfer Window. Football (it's not soccer) teams stake their claims to the players they want to see them through the next year and look to bolster their squads to make sure they deliver.

In United States 1995, August seemed to almost mirror this for the wrestling world. WWF managed to pick up a rough diamond recently dropped from WCW, who in turn plundered the diamond mine of ECW. Who were the winners and losers of this battle, and who would have the army fit enough to win the war?

First off, WCW. Confirmed already as of his debut vignette on this month's Clash is the homicidal, suicidal, genocidal, Sabu. Nephew of the Sheikh, Ed Farhaat; Sabu is arguably the most innovative high flier in the world right now. He seems to have only inked a short-term deal, but does appear to be pencilled in for next month's pay-per-view. It's difficult to pair him with an individual for a first feud and his deal may hinder any hopes of a US Title run, but there's no doubt the Arabian Airway could cause a stir in the upper-mid card.

WCW's other three now-confirmed names are more of a straight-forward fit. Former AAA main-stay Eddy Guerrero is coming off an exemplary feud with mat technician Dean Malenko, both signing with the company. The two could easily continue their programme on the national stage for a new, wider audience with no problem whatsoever. Add that to the fact also signing is the former Pegasus Kid, Chris Benoit. All three have established styles, Dean more mat-based; Eddy more acrobatic and Benoit a pseudo-style combining both with an added arsenal of suplexes. Nitro pending, these three have the ability to prove channel-changers for those tiring of WWF's New Generation.

Talking of the North East power house, they've signed recently-fired Dustin Rhodes, son of Dusty. The youngster has shown great potential for 4/5 years now, but was often over-looked for his lacklustre 'Natural' gimmick. Needless to say for anyone who has seen any 'Goldust' vignettes, this is a hindrance no longer. While early days for the man from the Hollywood Hills; the extravagant appearance, feminine characteristics and controversial reception almost appear as if it could be a modern re-telling of a Gorgeous George or Adrian Street. Both of which would be an incredibly intriguing prospect for a 1995 audience. Imagine 'Leaping' Lanny Poffo, but with a golden-black heart. I'm in.

An early signing of this summer for the WWF was the eventual arrival of Shane 'Dean' Douglas. Where Dustin Rhodes' ability and his new-found character promise much, Dean Douglas... Doesn't. His first appearances were, at best, tentative. There does appear to be a little more Franchise as of late, but the character seems destined to start in the lower-midcard and go down from there. Someone else who could be destined for the same given his unfortunate moniker is Smoky Mountain Wrestling's Al Snow. Whilst still largely unknown to a national audience, the man has almost unmatched experience for his age and is even an established trainer already. Those unsure need only look at his match of the year candidate with Chris Benoit from ECW's Hardcore TV in February.

Now, most worryingly for these names, with the exception of Goldust, all have at least appeared or most commonly are stalwarts of Philadelphia upstarts ECW. What does that mean for Paul E and Co? They still have Cactus Jack, Taz, Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Raven and, for now, 2-Cold Scorpio. In the absence of the departing performers, these men will find more room to tell stories, cut promo's and raise Hell. Some will sink, some will swim. But, ECW's most bubbling cauldron at present will arguably be their tag division. Public Enemy remain the established pairing, with the Pitbulls close behind; but the recent debut of the Dudley Brothers and hostile takeover of the Gangstaz, this could be a big selling point for the former Eastern territory.

Given the above departures and arrivals, it's hard to see past WCW as surely being the front-runners in this race; but as above, it must surely be more about the long-term war than the short-term battle. Will their technical improvements be a ratings winner? Will the Federation get the final cut in glorious technicolor? Or can ECW continue to roll the future off a production line? Time, will tell.

@del_muir xx