The Fan-Cam Files: WCW @ Asbury Park, NJ – 10.20.1990

We’re changing up the formula this time around, taking a break from the WWF and checking out some of what WCW had to offer for the house show circuit. There’s not nearly as many WCW fan-cam shows as there is the WWF (and of course neither touches ECW since that was a lot of their side hustle, so it only makes sense there’s a ton of them available). For the first WCW show, I’m making my selection for a unique, but completely uninteresting reason: It’s one of the few shows I don’t have saved on my laptop (or storage device) via mp4 format, so I’m dusting off a burned DVD from years ago. I’ve only watched this one all the way through one time, and it was really a background noise viewing as I had it on during one of the evening threads of random conversation.

There’s no details on what the attendance was for this show, but they ran the area in July with a pathetic lineup of prelim guys and drew an estimated 1,700 for that, so we probably can estimate that this location (no “civic center” or “arena” listed) isn’t very large, and if it is, then they aren’t filling it to capacity. Looks like the entire card is here too, which is a positive… I guess? We’ve got the WCW World Heavyweight Champion on the card, so you know we’re in for a good time! Wait… he’s defending against WHO? Oh for the love of f*ck…

Trucker Norm vs. Dutch Mantell:
At first I thought “Trucker Norm” was one of those names created years later by online fans, but nope, he’s legit introduced as “Trucker Norm.” Norman debuted in the Spring of 1989, doing a gimmick where he was locked away in an asylum and Teddy Long, his manager and “childhood friend”, threatened him with a giant key to keep him under control. Norman eventually turned babyface after fans started giving him teddy bears, and became a sympathetic baby-face that fans were surprisingly into… so of course, they randomly came up with a story where his (kayfabe) father passed away, and as a tribute, started dressing as a trucker in his memory. Norman’s TV appearances decreased significantly with the gimmick change, and left shortly into 1991. With that long-winded introduction for who Norman was, I feel like I don’t need to go into great detail on Dutch. A stalwart of Memphis wrestling, Dutch’s best days were behind him, joining World Championship Wrestling as a lower-level heel who wasn’t involved in any notable feuds (except for the infamous Desperados vignettes which resulted in his leaving the company). WWF fans probably know him as either Uncle Zebekiah in the mid 90’s (managing The Blu Twins and Justin Bradshaw) or for his 2013 return as Zeb Colter.

Dutch instructs Gary Michael Capetta to introduce him as the true host of Worldwide and that he’s from anywhere BUT Asbury Park, NJ. Have I mentioned Dutch is the original walking Chia Pet? The bell rings and we play the game of “boo the heel when he poses, and cheer the face when he poses”. Lockup and Norm throws Mantell down with ease, with Dutch complaining about phantom hair-pulling. Dutch keeps complaining, and the ref actually forces Norman to break! Dutch cheats to control and now the ref is riding him too. As long as he’s calling it on both sides. The ref continues to make it about him, refusing to break a hold when Dutch gets to the ropes, THEN PHYSICALLY THROWING DUTCH DOWN BY THE HAIR. Dutch digs into his tights for the ol’ Memphis gimmick of air pretending to be a weapon. Dutch controls, working the leg. He applies an abdominal stretch, which seems like a unique choice on a guy that thick. Norm with the comeback, with more referee shenanigans… I swear, Dutch has sold more for the ref in this match than his opponent. Mantell goes for a sunset flip but Norman counters, sitting down on his chest for three at 10:18. As a wrestling match with wrestling moves, it wasn’t much, but it was a prelim house show match feeling out the crowd with shtick, and the crowd was somewhat interested. I didn’t care for the ref being involved as much as he was. *½

Terry Taylor vs. The Stomper:
Who is this geek? “The Stomper” is a heavy-set man in boring black trunks and a black mask. After a short visit to TheHistoryofWWE.com, I found this to be the only result featuring “The Stomper” in all of 1990 and 1991. It wouldn’t even be worth my time to dig into Cagematch based on that. Taylor is fresh from his two-year run in the WWF where he became a literal Rooster. People in the crowd are catcalling him about that gimmick, even in 1990.

Stomper immediately demonstrates his strength advantage, backing Rooster into the corner and recklessly throwing him into the turnbuckle on the opposite side of the ring. He grabs a side headlock and runs through Taylor with shoulder blocks. Taylor with shoulders of his own, sending Stomper out for a powder. Back inside, Taylor with some Sunday morning drive level effort with the enthusiasm of his arm work. Stomper escapes and chokes. A LOT. He misses a charge into the corner and Taylor hits him with a clothesline for two. They blow a spot coming off the ropes and Taylor puts him away with a flying body press at 6:39. Wow, this was rough. Stomper seemed like he had limited training and Taylor wasn’t going to try to get much out of him. ½*

We get a LIVE EDITION of Paul E. Dangerously’s “Danger Zone”. His guests are Brad Armstrong and The Z-Man, Tom Zenk. Things fall apart quickly, as Armstrong is annoyed to the point of threatening physical harm. The Master Blasters show up, drawing Brad’s attention to the apron, and allowing Paul E. to bonk him with the cell phone… and that leads into the next match!

“The Candyman” Brad Armstrong & The Z-Man vs. The Master Blasters:
We’re going to try and keep this short, because I feel like we can dive deep into one subject here. The Master Blasters are Blade (Al Greene) and Steel (Kevin Nash), green-as-can-be Road Warrior knockoffs. We all know Kevin Nash, but maybe we forget how his WCW career peaked at Vinnie Vegas before rolling the dice in the WWF. Al Greene would come and go over the years for WCW, and wasn’t the original partner of Nash, taking over the spot when the man who played “Iron” quit after a few weeks. Welcome to goofy attempt number whatever at finding Armstrong a gimmick. “The Candyman” quite literally handed out candy to children and occasionally wore candy cane striped tights. Z-Man/Tom Zenk is just a mid-card guy who would have pushes start and stop at the drop of a dime.

Zenk fights off their double-team effort and hits a double dropkick. Whip is reversed and Blade with a clothesline, followed by a side slam (the Dino Bravo Special). Steel with a big boot and clothesline. Meanwhile, Armstrong climbs to the apron, looking like he’s going to be of little help. Steel slaps on a front face-lock and we get the “referee misses the tag” spot in the babyface corner. Whip and a double clothesline sends Z-Man out of the ring. Back inside, Blade with a slam, but he meets a boot coming off the top rope. Armstrong with the hot tag, running wild for about 9 seconds before getting hung across the top rope and put away with a simple suplex at 3:35. Hard to give a fair rating to a short match, but it was more watchable than Taylor vs Stomper, so we’ll grade based on that. *

The Junkyard Dog vs. “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel:
Are we getting ANY of the stars of WCW? I mean “stars” based on 1990 metrics, not 1982. The JYD debuted for WCW earlier in the year and infamously had what many considered the worst match Ric Flair ever had (before the Russo era of WCW) on an episode of Clash of the Champions. He’s beyond washed, but still protected. Poor Buddy Landel is best known for his unreliability, but that’s what happens when you burn every bridge multiple times. So many jokes can be made about these guys and substance abuse, but we’ll take the high road and leave that behind… other than that obvious joke where the pun was most certainly intended.

Landel is all shtick in this match, and can you blame him? What else can you do with JYD in 1990 if you’re trying to put on an entertaining match? Landel pops JYD with a right hand and hides in the corner, then on the floor. He gets on his knees offering a handshake and begging forgiveness. You can’t spell Budro without “shtick. Whip to the corner and JYD finally lands a punch on Landel, more than 3-minutes into the match. Landel over-sells an atomic drop in a way that would make Greg Valentine proud. Landel tries to scurry away from a headbutt and ends up crocheting himself on the post. Landel hangs JYD across the ropes and drops a series of elbows. JYD starts no-selling and a headbutt is enough to put Landel away at 5:16. Good, we didn’t need this threatening the 20-minute time limit. This was a master class of working around a broomstick. Landel did all the work and still barely broke a sweat, proving he is a master of his craft. **

Captain Mike Rotunda vs. JW Storm:
Seriously, where is the WCW star power? How can you run in NEW JERSEY and bring this B-squad? We’re in the heart of the bland, generic babyface run of Rotunda after several years as the captain of the Varsity Club. He’s still a Captain, but now it’s for nautical purposes. Thankfully, he would be repackaged about a month later as Michael Wallstreet (and would abandon the gimmick in favor of a return to the WWF as I.R.S.). JW Storm is a big muscle-head that seems like he would fit more in the WWF system. He was given a modest push, but was gone from the company after a few months, and only made a handful of appearances for the WWF before disappearing altogether.

We open with both men taking turns giving each other a slam and hip toss. Rotunda adds a dropkick to his sequence, sending Storm out of the ring. Back inside, Rotunda works the arm but is yanked down by the hair. Rotunda gives him a taste of his own medicine and the referee seems cool with it. Storm takes over with a shot in the corner and takes Rotunda over with a sloppy suplex for a two-count. Storm drops a pair of elbow drops then puts his foot on Rotunda’s throat for a few seconds before covering for two. Come on, Gorilla Monsoon would lose his mind at a referee for counting a fall coming out of a blatant choke. Storm with a chin-lock with feet on the ropes. Usually Rotunda is putting me to sleep on offense, but now he’s the one taking it. Rotunda teases a comeback, but Storm counters a roll-up and hooks the tights for three at… WHOOPS, NOPE. Referee waved it off. The match resumes for 15-seconds and Storm tosses Rotunda over the top rope for a Disqualification at 7:31. I guess we had to protect someone from doing a job on this card. This was dull as dishwater and somehow felt 10-minutes longer than it was. ¾*

WCW U.S. Tag Team Championship Match: The Steiner Brothers (c) vs. The Midnight Express (w/ Jim Cornette):
THANK YOU GOD! Knowing my luck, this will be a 90-second quickie job. The Steiner Brothers are in the middle of a program with the recently debuted Nasty Boys, and are scheduled to defend the titles against them at Halloween Havoc a week later. Meanwhile, it seems like the Midnight Express have had their hands full with The Southern Boys (Tracy Smothers and Steve Armstrong), but also have Ricky Morton and Tommy Rich on the schedule for Halloween Havoc. We’re also seeing one of the last times Eaton and Lane would team up (at least in the 1990’s), as Cornette and Lane would quit the company 10-days later.

Eaton and Scott start. They have a bit of a feeling out process before locking up. Scott controls the early minutes, taking Eaton over with fireman carries and hip throws, with Stan Lane protesting each time that he’s using the tights for leverage, demonstrating on referee Nick Patrick for full effect. Even Cornette is losing his mind on the floor attempting to sell it. Patrick eventually has enough of Lane’s antics and shoves him on his butt, then knocks a hot-headed Cornette off the apron. Cornette’s triggered (SHOCKER) and climbs in the ring, doing his exaggerated “LET’S FIGHT” pantomime and the crowd is LOSING IT. Patrick accepts the challenge, causing Cornette to backpedal and fall into the ropes, doing the Harley Race teeter sell before falling out of the ring.

Things calm down, but the Midnights can’t get anything going against Scott. Lane tags in officially, wanting some of Rick, then hides in the ropes, only to be bitten on his rear. I guess a man biting another man on his buttocks is perfectly fine, but heaven forbid… no, no, stop. Not the time for that subject. Lane with a cheap shot in the corner, and that’s the extent of this offensive flurry, getting cut off again. Lane forces a tag on Eaton, who rushes into a hip toss. He climbs back out and we get a shoving match between Lane and Eaton, with Lane knocking Eaton to the floor. THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS EXPLODE! DOES THAT MAKE CORNETTE MISS ELIZABETH? Cornette slaps Eaton and almost gets to see the pearly gates for it, but Lane talks Eaton down from the ledge and they all hug it out.

We’re back in the ring, and all the shenanigans are out of their systems. Eaton pops Scott with a right hand and puts the boots to him. Crisscross and Scotty with a hip toss. They run it back, roles reversed, but Scott puts on the brakes, hoists Eaton on his shoulders, and Rick comes off the top with a bulldog! Lane blasts Scott with the tennis racket, finally turning the tide. The referee has a hard time looking at Scott now, allowing Eaton to whack him with a chair. BEAUTIFUL clothesline for two. Lane dumps Scott and now Cornette whacks him with the racket. Lane with a swinging neck breaker and some sexy dance moves. Scott teases a comeback, but gets nailed from behind and tossed over the ropes. Scott with a sunset flip, but Cornette distracts the referee. Scott counters a slam with an O’Connor Roll, but Eaton gets the blind tag and hits a swinging neck breaker. Whip is reversed and Scott with the FRANKENSTEINER~!!! Rick with the hot tag, running wild with right hands and a DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER. Belly-to-belly suplex on Eaton for a two-count. Heck breaks loose and the Express hits Rick with a Rocket Launcher for two. Racket shot from the floor and again Rick is up at two. Scott pops back in, nailing Eaton from behind, and Rick lays him out with a Steiner-Line to retain at 19:38. A masterclass in tag team wrestling and working an audience. Say what you want personally about some of the parties involved, but this was an A-effort performance from all involved, though I’m willing to say a lot of credit is owed to the Midnight Express and Jim Cornette for having the winning formula down to a science in getting a crowd excited by taking so few bumps for the first 10 minutes of the match. If nothing else was worth watching, this match alone was worth the price on the ticket. ****

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Sting (c) vs. Black Scorpion:
LOL. That should be the entire recap, for the match and the storyline. We’re in match seven of seven on the card and we have our FIRST match where the combatants are actual rivals based on what is going on across all of WCW programming. And it’s THIS. Shortly after Sting won the WCW Title at the Great American Bash, a mysterious figure known simply as the Black Scorpion began making threats towards the Champion, hinting at a shared history between them. Sting took on the Black Scorpion at Clash of the Champions XII, but it turned out to be a fake, and the story continued. Soon the shenanigans would turn into a second-rate magic show, and the storyline limped along until finally being blown off at Starrcade, but not without a SPACECRAFT being introduced to the Black Scorpion lore.

With that said, at least the crowd boos the Scorpion, and isn’t sitting on their hands. Surprising amount of jeers for Sting too. Not a TON, but enough to notice it. Scorpion attacks during the introductions. Sting quickly fights him off, but is laid out as he removes his jacket. The Scorpion works the body with some goofy strikes and grabs a choke. He misses a seated splash, landing in the ropes. Sting connects with a dropkick and tosses the Scorpion out of the ring, where the masked man is sent face-first into the timekeeper’s table. Back inside, the referee allows a blatant low blow from the Scorpion. Sting no-sells a clothesline and hits three of his own. Why is the crowd chanting WE WANT STING? HE’S RIGHT THERE! Stinger Splash misses, but Sting catches himself in the corner, then he misses a flying clothesline, only to pop right up. He rips off the mask and the Scorpion takes off for the cheap Count-Out at 4:53. I think it was Bill Irwin but I can’t 100% confirm it. What a turd sandwich of a main event on an already lackluster card. A rush-job match with nothing much to speak of positively. ¼*

Strength of Card: No Ric Flair. No Lex Luger. No Sid Vicious, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, Doom, Fabulous Freebirds or Nasty Boys. Not even El Gigante (yes, he’s dog crap, but as star power goes, he’s higher on the chart than Norman, Rotunda, Brad, Z-Man, and JYD). We’ve got a bunch of prelim fodder matches and two matches that you could argue might be worth the price of admission. Grade: C-

Highs: The Steiner Brothers vs. Midnight Express is by far the best match on the card, and it’s not even close. You had professional efforts from guys like Buddy Landel and Dutch Mantell for the roles they were assigned (carrying a washed has-been and working the opener).

Lows: A lack of star power, too many prelim matches with basic training effort from at least one of the participants, specifically The Stomper and JW Storm. The Master Blasters weren’t graceful, but at least they were rushed in and out before it fell apart. I can’t express enough how terrible the Main Event was, rushing through a 5-minute match and can’t even bother to give them a clean finish over an obvious fake Scorpion. JYD was used in 1990.

Final Thoughts: With a 90-minute running time, about 25-30 minutes of that is worth checking out. You can’t go wrong watching a match between the Steiner Brothers and Midnight Express, but everything else is subject to personal preference. You’re not getting anything else that comes close to that quality of bell-to-bell performance, but the silver-lining to a show like this with a lot of subpar wrestling is that all of the matches in question are kept reasonably short. Even if you’re a fan of early 90’s WCW, there’s not much reason to check this one out, and really highlights why WCW’s house show business was as weak as it was for most of the 90’s. Grade: D