I wonder if anything happened at the Meadowlands.
Hosted by Jim Ross, with Bob Caudle off for the week (although not long for WCW, a year later becoming the voice of Smoky Mountain Wrestling).
So, yes, the big Sting experiment is over, as Ric Flair regained the world heavyweight championship the night before in Rutherford, New Jersey, then the rest of the year went incredibly smoothly, yes sir, no problems at all, no way.
Flyin’ Brian vs. Mark Kyle
Kyle would also be picked up by Corny for SMW, becoming Big Bubba Rogers wannabe Killer Kyle. Jim is already making apologies for the potential quality of the match with Kyle being green. That said, he’s got some pretty good right hands. Pill gets a nice flying elbow before working the leg. With no feud as such going on for Brian, Jim just goes into billboard mode, advertising any live events, appearances or shows that he can fit in. The upcoming Clash is advertised as coming from the atrium of CNN Centre, although they’d end up going elsewhere. Jim then flips to editorialising about Pete Rose of all the things. Did Pillman tell him after the match and before the commentary was recorded that he thought the match sucked and to talk about anything but it? As I type that, Pill gets a senton that equates to doing a back bump and landing with his ass on Kyle’s side, before finishing with the flying cross bodyblock. Not a terrible match, but Jim was on another planet with the commentary. Because WCW.
Ricky Morton vs. Wild Bill Irwin
Bill’s look at this point is basically the Goon in a snakeskin singlet and cowboy boots, with even Jim commenting on his recent haircut. Jim again just has no idea of what’s going on, when, where and with who, trying to work out as he goes which segments are coming up. He really needed a partner to share the work with him. Ricky works the arm before Bill gets a decent clothesline. Now Jim’s repeating himself on matches to watch out for, acting like he’s annoyed the events of the match are interrupting him. Morton and Irwin bash heads, but Bill slams his head into the match twice. Bill is just being as loud as he can and talking up a storm in an attempt to get himself over, and at least the crowd into it and Ricky letting him get it in. You know he’s going to win with a quick roll-up eventually, so no arm in it. Suplex and a flying elbow, with Bill letting Morton up at two. Big splash misses, though, and Ricky cradles him for the win. What did I say? Not a bad match, actually. The Greatest…
The Renegade Warriors vs. The State Patrol
Gotta keep pushing the Youngbloods ahead of their job to Windham and Anderson at the Clash. Jim talks about there being no show next week, although some version of the show did air on January 19th, which I’ll review next week. Pretty plodding stuff, with fat Chris trying to do the old double wristlock/flip and roll reverse badly. Jim with the backhanded compliments about how the Youngbloods are “much better than the first time I saw them”. Mark gets a pump kick but gets the rope pulled down on him. James Earl Wright gets a nice standing powerslam and lifted elbowdrop with Buddy Lee Parker. A couple of decent double teams follow, with Parker, who’s about 5’7″ but squat, just about lifting up the far bigger Mark up. He’s not actively bad, but this is the guy that they entrusted the training of WCW’s “future stars” to. Mark comes back with a dropkick and the Renegade Warriors finish off Parker with a double chop. Because WCW.
Paul E Dangerously talks to the Renegade Warriors after the match with Chris speaking for the pair in Native American hick, so the Horsemen come out and a brawl ensues, with Arn and Barry easily winning and posting them. I guess they needed to build it somehow, but they were really slumming it here.
The Z-Man vs. Tom Burke
Burke is actually longtime hang around guy Tom Burton. Weird spot early with Zenk getting a boot to the gut that Burke barely sells and just turns around to be hit with an enziguiri. Burke gets a headlock, countered with a back suplex, then another weird non-sell of a superkick followed by another enziguiri. Missile dropkick finishes off. Bad, strange match. Burke didn’t seem to want to do business all the way, with Jim picking up on it and the repetitive nature of the match too. Because WCW.
Paul E speaks to Zenk after the match about his multiple challengers in Arn, Bobby Eaton and Terry Taylor, with Bobby coming out before Tom can even getting a sentence out and Terry and his reading glasses coming out after Bobby’s got his bit out. Terry’s pretty good at shutting Paul E up before he can get a word in. This leads to Bobby challenging Terry to a match later in the show, which will happen. Zenk, the spare prick at a wedding, gets the final shot with Paul E basically talking for him to finish the segment (“Thanks, Paul E!”).
Recap from Jim on the Norman attack by Sid. Trying to explain it while including the detail of him being dressed like Santa Claus makes Jim sound so silly. Norman does a followup promo about having headaches, including momentarily holding his head before carrying on. Boy, he went from one of the best promos as Makhan Singh to garbage as a goofy babyface.
Sid Vicious vs. Norman
The grudge match nobody asked for. Norman’s actually out of his Lunatic phase and now Trucker Norman. Sid mauls him from the start. Impressive slam by Sid, although you remove a lot of his appeal when he can’t bounce around little guys like they’re nothing. Jim predicts he’ll be “a major singles champion” within the next three months… Try six years, but it’s not like there weren’t people out there willing to do it sooner before Sid started being Sid. He misses a charge and Norman comes back with a slam and a legdrop where he barely lifts his leg. Splash misses and he goes to take some Aspirin on the outside, but gets rammed into the post again and Sid rolls him back in for a legdrop to win. Well, you knew you weren’t getting a powerbomb finish on that one, but it wasn’t half as bad as it could’ve been. The Greatest…
Jim recaps last night at the Meadowlands, with Lex and Curtis Hughes’ match being the one given priority, before we see Ric Flair in pink beat Sting in green in just over twenty minutes. Vladimir gets to make a cameo from ringside too. Sting accidentally knocked down Nick Patrick on a flying clothesline, costing himself the potential win, before heads cracked and Flair fell on top to regain the belt for the seventh (actually eighth or ninth) reign of his career. Sting tries to protest ineffectually.
Sting: “My foot was on the ropes!”
Patrick: “I didn’t see your foot on the ropes…”
Sting: “…”
Kinda needed to happen there after 1990 didn’t turn out as planned.
Konan vs. Joe Cazana
Yo, yo, yo, it’s K-Dog! They’re even leaving out that second N in 1991. No music and it’s a mask and sombrero as part of his look at this point. Konan is ripped at this point, an acknowledged clumsy but energetic wrestler early in his career (before he became clumsy and lethargic in the late nineties), so his push in Mexico was an obvious one just on look. Ghost clothesline, with the inside of Cazana’s elbow brushing the top of Konan’s head, but K-Dog doesn’t bother selling it and just carries on. Cazana gets a slam, but misses an elbow off the top. Konan is just walking around taking moves that Joe has no idea on how to sell. Fisherman suplex for the win after a rolling clothesline. You’d think someone told Cazana to take as much as he could for himself given his attempts to dominate him here. Konan wouldn’t really be back for five years after this failed venture. Because WCW.
Missy Hyatt talks to Alexandra York, who’s happy again, despite being a heel, to jump in on Paul E. Paul interrupts and fluffs up the mullet, namedropping Jim Herd for fun as part of his tirade and suggesting that Missy blew him to get her job and keeps on blowing him to keep it. Missy does some terrible fake crying acting, pretending that he’s gone off script and gone too far, and walks off. Paul then starts to rant about York, before Michael Wallstreet enters into frame and he walks it all back like the pussy he was great at being.
Rick Steiner vs. Jeff Sword
Think we’re gonna run out of time for that Bobby/Terry match unless it’s cut off this upload. Rick in an insert addresses the challenge of the Master Blasters, a team he and Scott would end up blowing right through because Blade kicked up a stink about doing the job and was given his notice. Rick manages to break Sword’s nose open on a Steinerline and laughs about it like a heel (“I… GOT… BLOOOOD!”). Belly-to-belly off the second rope to finish. The Steiners weren’t especially professional guys when it came to the jobbers, but it made for fun squashes! The Greatest…
Beautiful Bobby vs. Terry Taylor
OK, TV time remaining, to give away the non-finish to this one. Jim promotes a big eight man tag team match on the alternate time showing of the programme between the Horsemen and the team of Sting, Flyin’ Brian and the Steiners, which should make for a good show if it makes the version I review. Couple of slams for Bobby and a backslide he tries his hardest not to go down for. A couple of hip toss reversals sees Bobby go flying over the top. Five minutes remaining as Bobby just starts selling anything and everything as he comes back into the ring before getting a back suplex for two. Neckbreaker for two. Clothesline ahead of the three minute mark for two, with Bobby working energetically but dragging it out with a rear chinlock. Terry breaks it with a jawbreaker at the one minute mark, but can’t get up. Bobby slams him and goes to the top. Terry meets him and sets up for the superplex, which he hits with fifteen seconds remaining, then gets the Fivearm and a two as the time runs out. Good with what they were working with as far as time. The Greatest…
Melting it down: The good edged out the bad on this one, but only just. Short and snappy is what I like for the most part, so a few misguided attempts to drag it out affect the overall quality for me. Curious to see what turns up on the next show, though.