WCW Primefor September 11 featured a new match.
-Prime “MOOOO” Match of the Week: Mark Starr (1-13) beat Tim Horner (0-13) after blocking a schoolboy at 3:14:
If there was ever a match suited for WCW Prime this would be it, pitting two glorified jobbers to the stars against each other. Dusty Rhodes makes a wild claim that Horner pinned Ric Flair in the 1980s, then corrects himself by saying that he meant Road Warrior Hawk. Because Hawk and Horner look so much alike. Starr and Horner wrestle as babyfaces, so this is merely a trading of basic holds until Horner tries a schoolboy, Starr blocks it from a standing position, and then drops down on Horner’s shoulders with his knees to get the three count. Rating: ½*
Now we get to WCW Pro where Chris Cruise, Dusty Rhodes, and Larry Zbyszko are in the booth. This taping took place in Gainesville, Georgia on August 16.
–Opening Non-Title Contest: Sting (United States Champion) (26-2) beats Tony Vendetta via submission to the Scorpion Deathlock at 2:50:
Vendetta is WCW jobber Tony Vincent under another name. For a taped show, this is a good match to put first in the telecast as the crowd goes wild for all of Sting’s signature moves and the finish.
–Hacksaw Jim Duggan recounts the history of the taped fist match as his ancestors in Ireland competed in taped fist fights. He says he is a brawler and not a technical master, so he is glad to be in a taped first match against Arn Anderson on today’s show.
–After showing the Randy Savage-Paul Orndorff match from WCW Worldwidefrom September 2, Orndorff’s is shown melting down in the locker room and doubting where he is Mr. Wonderful. He is visited by Gary Spivey, a psychic, who gives him a pep talk and has him look in a mirror to affirm it. It is too bad WCW did not have footage of Orndorff decking Vader because that would have been a better reboot for him.
–A video package hypes the American Males with the beat of their theme song playing. Marcus Bagwell and Scotty Riggs appear shirtless throughout the package as they were WCW’s latest “pretty boy” tag team.
–The American Males beat Mark Kyle & Johnny Swinger when Scotty Riggs pins Kyle after a double dropkick at 3:35:
The American Males was Marcus Bagwell’s newest tag team after previous partners 2 Cold Scorpio and the Patriot left WCW. His partner, Riggs, was formerly known as Scott Studd and competed in the USWA, as well as doing some job in the early part of the year in WCW. He also seconded Lex Luger in a losing effort against Yokozuna on Monday Night RAW a week before The King of the Ring. Cruise puts over the Males as immediate tag team title contenders but the match is not anything special, just a standard squash as a double dropkick is the highest impact maneuver the Males do.
–Kevin Sullivan (w/the Dungeon of Doom) pins Gino Caruso after a double stomp at 2:24:
Someone must have come to the realization that having Meng walk around with a dragon head was a bad idea, so he now has some weird hood over his painted face that makes him look like a luchador. Sullivan pounces on the Caruso, the owner and founder of East Coast Professional Wrestling, before the bell, tosses him to the floor where the Dungeon beats him up, and wins with the double stomp after everyone gets a piece. After the bell, the Dungeon beats up Caruso and when his jobber friends try to help him, they get destroyed too.
–Non-Title Match: Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck (WCW Tag Team Champions w/Colonel Robert Parker) (20-11-1) beat Barry Houston & the Rockin’ Rebel when Slater pins the Rebel after a double fist at 1:31:
The Rebel was a Northeast-based wrestler who was positioned as a top talent in the early days of Eastern Championship Wrestling, which later morphed into ECW. He left ECW by 1995 and did jobs on WCW and WWF television before going back to the independent circuit. In 2018, he shot and killed his wife and himself in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Slater and Buck dominate the jobbers, winning in near-record time by their standards so that they look like worldbeaters for Fall Brawl.
–Cruise interviews Slater, Buck, and Parker. Buck tells Parker that his head is not on right and has not been around to prepare his team for Fall Brawl. Buck notes that Parker is missing his lucky white hat too. Slater chimes in by saying that Parker needs to stay away from Sherri at Fall Brawl and he and Buck will take care of her.
–The next match is supposed to be the taped fist match between Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Arn Anderson but Ric Flair attacks Anderson during his entrance and the two men brawl to the locker room.
The Last Word: For the second straight week on WCW Pro we had a bait and switch with a feature match. At least last week’s broadcast had a second feature bout to compensate but this episode did not. The Paul Orndorff angle with Gary Spivey was funny but Orndorff was nearing the end of his career due to injuries so it never went anywhere.
Up Next: WCW Worldwide for September 16!