WCW Prime on April 24 featured one original bout, which was not the Blue Bloods vs. Fantastic bout that was promoted the previous week:
Prime “MOOO” Match of the Week: Alex Wright & Johnny B. Badd defeat Arn Anderson & Steve Austin (w/Colonel Robert Parker) via disqualification when Austin throws Wright over the top rope at 5:24:
Unusually for Prime, this match has a storyline that stems from the previous week where Anderson interfered in a Wright-Austin singles match, forcing Badd to make the save. This is just a run-of-the-mill tag encounter, with things plodding along until all hell breaks loose and Austin tosses Wright over the top rope. Badd’s winning streak now stands at fourteen matches while Anderson is on a three-match losing streak. Rating: **
–And now onto WCW Pro for April 29 where Gordon Solie, Dusty Rhodes, and Larry Zbyszko are calling the action.
–Opening Contest: Big Bubba Rogers (15-0) beats Steve Storm after a Big Bubba Slam at 1:52:
Storm gets a big head after he hits a missile dropkick and ends up running into a spinebuster. After that, things become academic as Rogers moves toward his Slamboree rematch with Sting.
–Gene Okerlund is back for the Slamboree Control Center segment. Ric Flair, Vader, and Arn Anderson deliver a promo hyping their collective title runs and beatings that they have given out over the years. Flair and Anderson also put over how they know the damage that Vader can do because they have faced him in the past. A new match that has been added to the card is the Butcher against Kevin Sullivan, and the third inductee to the Hall of Fame will be Antonio Inoki.
–Brad Armstrong (1-3) pins Dino Cassanova after a side Russian leg sweep at 4:56:
Armstrong’s role is to drag out the broadcast as he works Cassanova over with various holds for minutes on end. Cassanova walks the ropes en route to hot shotting Armstrong, but he misses a clothesline and Armstrong transitions that into his finisher. Armstrong must be in line for another big feature match soon to warrant a singles squash.
–Chris Cruise recaps the recent action in the United States Championship Tournament.
–The Blue Bloods (4-0) defeat Stan Lee & Bill Quinn when Lord Steven Regal makes Lee submit to the Regal Stretch at 4:03:
The commentators put over the Blue Bloods as future top contenders to the tag team titles as Regal and Earl Robert Eaton work Quinn over with some hard strikes. Regal seems especially perturbed after Quinn kicks out of a suplex at one. The finish is action packed as Regal gives Lee a double underhook suplex, Eaton follows up with the Tower of London to the back of Lee’s head, and Regal tags in to get the submission.
–Diamond Dallas Page, the Diamond Doll, and Maxx Muscle go on a shopping spree with their recent casino winnings. The trio buy hats, art, and jewelry before Page puts a stop to things when Kimberly wants to buy a wedding dress.
–Steve Austin (w/Colonel Robert Parker) (9-1) pins Steve Hall after a piledriver at 1:31:
Hall has a miserable sell of the stun gun, missing the ropes entirely. After that, Austin makes the wise call to go to the finish, with Hall not being able to sell the piledriver well either.
–Call 1-900-909-9900 to hear about the independent wrestler that is negotiating with WCW!
–Alex Wright (29-0-1) defeats Bunkhouse Buck (w/Colonel Robert Parker) (2-5) after a reverse flying body press at 10:25:
Buck has a good strategy, working over Wright’s left knee to prevent the young German from going aerial. Wright then turns the tables, working over Buck’s left leg, which is a great way to do a babyface comeback. Sadly, this psychology is forgotten in the bout’s final moments as Wright dropkicks his way into the ring, does a monkey flip, and launches himself into his finisher to stay undefeated. This match was much better than one would expect, and it had fans wondering at several points whether Wright’s undefeated streak would remain intact. Rating: ***
The Last Word: The main event gave this show a shot in the arm after some dismal squashes. If the Blue Bloods can translate the energy from their squash matches into feature bouts that will increase the quality of the WCW tag team division overnight.
Up Next: WCW Worldwide for April 29!
And if you want to read what was happening in the WWF as a companion to this series of WCW reviews, check out my e-book on Amazon. $4.99 for an electronic copy of the e-book or $26 for the paperback copy, which provides more than 800 pages of reviews, statistics, and angle breakdowns of the WWF in 1995!