–Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan are in the booth and they are taped from Atlanta, Georgia. This show was taped in Atlanta on July 26.
–Opening Contest: Cobra beats Tom Burton with a Cobra clutch slam at 2:33:
Due to the weekly vignettes, it seems like having Cobra surprise Sergeant Craig Pittman with an appearance would have been more fitting than him coming out for a debut squash match. Cobra, real name Jeff Farmer, was a former competitor in the Global Wrestling Federation and wrestled in NWA territories in the Carolinas before coming to WCW. He later achieved fame as NWO Sting and should not be confused with the awful Jumpin’ Jeff Farmer promo on YouTube. Schiavone and Heenan put over Cobra as someone the fans have latched onto but many in the crowd do not know what to make of him since they never saw his vignettes thanks to WCW’s elongated television taping schedule. His offense is also very limited and vanilla, made up of a lot of strikes before hitting a Cobra clutch slam for a finish.
–Gene Okerlund interviews Cobra, who says that the only people that need to know the Morse Code message he is sending are he and Sergeant Craig Pittman. He promises to let Pittman know its meaning in the ring at Fall Brawl.
–As part of the Fall Brawl Control Center, Pittman delivers a promo that says he is ready for Fall Brawl and Cobra broke the code instead of him. He also promises that Cobra will not be able to break the Code Red.
–Johnny B. Badd (31-4-2) pins the Grappler after the Badd Mood at 4:13:
The Grappler is jobber Tony Vincent under a mask. What also makes this an interesting encounter is that Vincent is Badd’s real life brother. He keeps Badd on his toes in the early going, controlling the first three minutes of the match, possibly taking advantage of Badd’s long entrance that included three frisbee throws and a confetti explosion. The Grappler takes a business exposing, convoluted bump to the arena floor after a Badd dropkick and Badd follows with a somersault plancha and the Badd Mood to end the contest. Badd and Brian Pillman are building win streaks in singles competition for Fall Brawl as this win extends Badd’s streak to ten and Pillman is sitting at eight.
–Badd is interviewed by Okerlund. Badd says he has his eye on winning the United States title and then winning the WCW title because the U.S. titleholder is the number one contender to Hulk Hogan. Pillman comes out, shakes Badd’s hand, and the two stare each other down until Okerlund breaks them up.
–Kurasawa (w/Colonel Robert Parker) (2-0) beats Pony Johnson via submission to a Fujiwara armbar at 2:35:
Kurasawa does a few strikes on the arm and shows no vulnerability, breaking Johnson’s arm as a WCW medical official rushes the ring after the bell. As the medics attend to Johnson, Kurasawa meditates.
–In the Dungeon of Doom, Meng, in his dragon mask, is shown receiving a present in a box from the Master and Kevin Sullivan. The present is a golden spike that fits on Meng’s finger and this present is going to change the tide against Hulkamania. After all, the golden gun stopped James Bond! Oh wait…
–Kamala (w/Kevin Sullivan) (9-2) beats Bobby Starr after a splash at 2:49:
Kurasawa’s meditation ends only when Kamala’s entrance is over, angering Sullivan who teases getting into a fight with the Japanese newcomer. Starr tries attacking Kamala before the bell but that gets him nowhere as Kamala wins via the usual. The funny thing is that when Sullivan holds Kamala’s eyes closed after a win, he rubs off a lot of Kamala’s eye makeup, ruining some of Kamala’s mystique as he just looks like a generic big guy. After the bell, Sullivan lays in some kicks to Starr because he wants to.
–Vader (16-3) pins Tracy Benton after a splash at 1:26:
Vader already destroyed Benton back in March so this time Benton thinks he can make things more favorable to him by attacking Vader before the bell. That goes as well as what Starr did in the previous match and he is finished the same way.
–Okerlund interviews Vader, who says Ric Flair and Arn Anderson now know what time it is. He says that he has his teammates backs at Fall Brawl but warns all three that he has unfinished business with all of them.
–In a taped segment, Arn Anderson, sporting glasses, says that he is either going to leave Fall Brawl with Ric Flair’s respect or his backside in his pocket. He also flashes the Four Horsemen sign, alluding to future events.
–Harlem Heat (w/Sister Sherri) (39-6-2) defeat Barry Houston & Bobby Hayes when Booker T pins Hayes after the Harlem Hangover at 4:57:
Sherri goes back to the locker room halfway through the Heat’s entrance, irritating both of her charges. She reappears minutes later, saying that she forgot her lipstick in the locker room. She misses the finish because of playing with a ring on her necklace and argues with her team until Booker T gives her a hug. The squash went too long, but wrestling has been totally lost in this tag title feud the Heat are having with Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck anyway.
–Non-Title Match: The Renegade (Television Champion w/Jimmy Hart) (17-0) pins Ray Hudson after the Renegade Splash in 19 seconds:
Most of the jobbers must have agreed to attack the main talent before the bell because Hudson tries to do that, but he gets powerslammed and pinned in less than thirty seconds. After the match, the Renegade screams into the camera that if Diamond Dallas Page wants his title he can come and get it.
–The Blue Bloods (20-3-2) defeat the Italian Stallion & Ashley Hudson when Lord Steven Regal makes Hudson submit to the Regal Stretch at 5:45:
The Stallion is positioned as the stronger of the two jobbers, causing Regal lots of problems in technical exchanges and scoring near-falls with a backslide and small package. However, he eventually tags in Hudson, who gets dominated when he steps into the ring and Regal scores the submission. After the bell, the jobbers are beaten up in turn as referee Nick Patrick is kept preoccupied.
–Diamond Dallas Page (w/the Diamond Doll) (12-0-2) pins Mike Davis after a Diamond Cutter at 3:19:
Fans facing the hard camera have zero signs, chanting the number throughout the squash and causing Page a great deal of angst. That gets worse when the Doll does not have the number signs to give Page a ten near the end of the match. However, Page overcomes low numerical syndrome and wins. His act is very 1980s Randy Savage, but he does it well.
–Okerlund interviews Page and the Doll. Page says the Renegade cheated to beat Maxx Muscle last week and that he will get some gold around his waist at Fall Brawl.
–Okerlund interviews Ric Flair. Flair recaps his history with Arn Anderson and frames his clash at Fall Brawl as a test for Anderson about whether he is on Flair’s level or not. Flair says he knows the answer to that question but “Double A” does not.
–WCW Tag Team Championship Match: Marcus Bagwell & Alex Wright (0-1) beat Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck (Champions w/Colonel Robert Parker) (20-9-1) via disqualification when Colonel Robert Parker and Sister Sherri enter the ring at 8:43:
Bagwell and Wright were destroyed on the Main Event pre-show prior to Bash at the Beach by Slater and Buck before they became tag team champions but that somehow gives them a rematch, and for the tag team titles no less. Schiavone puts over Buck in a creative way, noting that he measures opponents before stomping them with his cowboy boot that has more kick than a normal wrestling boot. The match follows the usual tag formula with nothing special happening until Sister Sherri walks out and confronts Parker. Parker sees that Sherri has his ring and flips out and is quickly kissed. Parker flees into the ring where Bagwell has Buck in a pinning combintation and falls over referee Nick Patrick, causing a disqualification. Rating: **
–After the bell, Sherri tries to rip Parker’s jacket off and the audience laughs as she chases him up the Center Stage aisle.
The Last Word: The fans are enjoying the Sister Sherri-Colonel Robert Parker story based on crowd reactions, but it is clouding the entire tag team division. It is also making the Slater & Buck-Harlem Heat match at Fall Brawl seem less important because the focus is on the managers rather than the competitors. That might be fine if the match was a midcard bout in the division, but it is for the tag team titles. Beyond that, the show moved along nicely and featured good interviews for Fall Brawl. Cobra is totally out of his element, though, and is not ready for primetime.
Up Next: WCW Main Event for August 27!