It’s Nintendo Top Ten Challenge Bros. 2 – the one with the transvestite dinosaur that spits eggs!
Previously: The Taylor Made Man went down in defeat to the Rude Awakening!
Intro: Tony and Jesse talk about all the things Ricky Steamboat has on his plate between Rick Rude and Madusa and Cactus Jack. Steamer talks about how Jack is a “behemoth” (really?) and uses a really forced metaphor about a bag of marbles.
Stunning Steve Austin (w/Madusa) vs. Firebreaker Chip
The long hair is gone! Austin debuts the short hair look he’d keep until the WWF. Looking at Madusa, Jesse can see why Steamboat would be lusting over her and suggests Steamer must have an unhappy marriage… more than you know, Jess! Austin and Chip exchange some moves on the mat and then Stun Gun OUT OF NOWHERE to finish! Welcome back to the job squad, Chip, with the unemployment line to follow.
WCW Magazine (w/Eric Bischoff): More from Eric’s visit to Sting. Really, he’s fine, bro! It’s just a broken rib! Nothing to sweat, dude!
Beautiful Bobby (w/Paul E Dangerously) vs. Dustin Rhodes
No belt around the waist for Bobby, because the Steiners have regained the tag team titles from him and Arn at a house show. I’d probably make a bigger deal of it than just a passing remark. Bobby and Dustin exchange some stiff slaps. Bobby does some fantastic bouncing off the ropes for the Natural’s shots. He’s admitted that he just soaked up everything he could off Steamboat, Windham, Arn, Bobby and Zbyszko at this point, but Dustin was displaying incredible confidence and presence at this point of his career. Bobby punts Dustin to the outside, where Dustin then misses a shot and hits the post, leading to the Divorce Court and a short-arm scissors, aided by Paul E, back inside. Jim Cornette and Paul E might’ve been mortal enemies at one point, but Bobby had great chemistry with both. Dustin starts a comeback with an inverted atomic drop and clothesline. Both go down off a collision. Bobby goes to the top but gets slammed off and Dustin hits the bulldog while Paul E distracts the ref. The Diamond Studd of all the people, returning from injury, comes in and hits a legdrop and puts Bobby on top for the win. Decent match.
Promo: The Steiners talk about having the belts again after almost a year without. This would be their last reign for this run. They say a whole lot of nothing.
Scotty Flamingo (w/JT Southern) vs. John Peterson
Flamingo’s music always reminded me of the Saved By the Bell theme tune. Jerry Lawler influence here with the flying fistdrop and piledriver. Peterson won’t go up, so Scotty picks him up and spikes him for the win. JT calls for another one from the outside, which Scotty obliges with. Johnny B Badd comes out, puts Southern down on his arse, then Scotty ducks out to start a feud between them.
WCW Magazine: Recently Jesse was interviewing Paul E and Madusa and Ricky Steamboat came out and breathed fire at them… from the cheap seats. In a funny bit, Paul E hides behind Madusa and then runs off, with Jesse not far behind. Men! Also, Harley Race has brought a new guy to WCW, the Super Invader. We’ll see him very soon.
PSA: Brian Pillman talks out against steroids. I’ll just leave that there.
Vinnie Vegas vs. Randy Starr
Boy, WCW had something with Kevin Nash and never made ANY use of it. You’ve got a guy that tall, looks that good, has personality, and you have him bumping and taking losses without any protection. Big boot and Snake Eyes finish quickly.
Interview: Jesse interviews Paul E, who backs up Jesse’s bullshit story about leading Fred Couples to victory at the Masters. Paul E then goes off on a conspiracy involving Ricky Steamboat, Kip Frye, the Steiner Brothers, getting fired from commentary, the cancellation of the Danger Zone, and anything else that comes to mind and swears revenge. You wouldn’t believe this, but Paul E was alright at promos.
Cactus Jack vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Number nine versus number two. Jack goes to the ribs and then tries to hurt the nose. DDT and a couple of pin attempts from Steamer to fight back. A couple of the Dragon standards, including the armdrag, a feigned armdrag, skim the cat off a Cacti spot, then Cacti gets his classic clothesline to take him out. Jackhammer suplex brings Ricky back in. Big legdrop to the nose. Boot feign clothesline. Ricky comes back with a belly-to-back suplex, but ends up in the corner. Jack misses a charge to the post, then Ricky wins with the flying cross bodyblock off the top. Foley has the brawler reputation, but he kept up every step of the way with Steamboat on the wrestling front. Good match.
WCW Magazine: Kip Frye, flanked by Tony and JR, announces that WCW has secured the rights to hold the NWA tag team championship tournament. Talk about muddying the waters unnecessarily. First round at the next Clash. Top eight seeds are:
- Steiner Bros.
- Hiroshi Hase & Akira Nogami (later replaced by Shinya Hashimoto)
- Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton
- Steve Williams & Terry Gordy
- Silver King I & II
- Rick Rude & Stunning Steve
- The Melinko’s (sic)
- Chris Benoit & Beef (sic) Wellington
Next week: Nikita Koloff faces Big Van Vader in the next Nintendo Top Ten Challenge match. Harley Race cuts the promo for Vader while Vader growls and says “Pain!” a lot. Nikita replies in his heavy Russian accent while doing his pulling from the air mannerisms.
Conclusion: Great match with Steamboat and Cactus Jack this week. They had a mini-feud after Beach Blast, but the matches weren’t quite as energetic as this one was as Steamer was selling rib injuries by then.