WCW

Happy Stampeding Saturday Everyone!

We continue our journey into 1998 WCW today by taking a looking at Spring Stampede 1998. This is a show I’ve actually watched quite a bit because I had it on bootleg VHS back in the day when it was very difficult to get official WCW releases over here in the UK. From memory it’s not a great show but it’s got enough decent stuff on it as to make it worthwhile.

I actually managed to find the VHS version of the show, so I’m watching that for this. The bonus is that I get the original music without the Peacock/Network dubbing, but the negative is that the video quality is pretty rubbish

You can view the card by clicking below;

https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=1644&page=3

The SmarK Rant for World Championship Wrestling – 03.21.87

Had a couple of requests to go back to these again and continue the rise of Lex Luger, and you don’t have to twist MY arm.

The SmarK Rant for WCW Clash of the Champions XIV – 01.30.91

(Unfortunately I got called into work late yesterday, so I’m not able to review Dynamite until sometime on Thursday.  However, our continuing journey through 1991 WCW gives us the next best thing…)

“DIXIE DYNAMITE!”

Live from Gainesville, GA, drawing 2200 and a 3.9 rating, after concerns about the Gulf War moved it away from the atrium of CNN Center.  The crowd looks tiny but you can’t hold that against them too harshly given the abrupt move.  And the tickets were priced at $5 each just to make sure the show was sold out, so everyone was happy in the end.

The SmarK Rant for WCW Power Hour – 01.26.91

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously, coming to you from somewhere likely too ashamed to reveal the location.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Last week I rebooked WrestleMania VIII on the assumption that the owner of the promotion mandated a certain Main Event, thus ensuring I would be forced to mix up the card a bit. This week we’ll do the same with WCW Starrcade 1993.

In this universe, we’re going to assume that the scissor incident between Sid and Arn Anderson didn’t take place, thus meaning I’ll be expected to close the show with the previously planned Main Event of Vader Vs Sid.

Let’s see if I can be amendable to the WCW hierarchy whilst still putting on a fun Starrcade 1993.

If you wish to view the original card you can do so by clicking below;

Card with guide « WCW Starrcade 1993 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database

The SmarK Rant for WCW Power Hour – 01.19.91

Taped from Marietta, GA

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously

The SmarK Rant for WCW Monday Nitro – 11.04.96

Live from Grand Rapids, MI.  If nowhere has a middle, we’re dead center, notes Larry.  That’s really nice of him to say, given this was Nitro’s biggest ever gate to that point with over $100,000.

Your hosts are Tony and Larry, with Sting brooding in the rafters.

The SmarK Rant for WCW Power Hour – 01.12.91

No idea where this one is from, but for those keeping track, Ric Flair won the World title from Sting in the Meadowlands the night before this aired, which was retroactively considered the official switchover from the NWA to WCW.

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Uncensored 1998 has a couple of good matches on it, and also some sucky ones, but I’m hoping the positives will outweigh the negatives and this will end up being a decent show overall. Fingers crossed eh?

The big storyline coming in was dissension within the nWo, as Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage have fallen out and now the group is splintering as guys pick sides. Sting is also defending the WCW Title against Scott Hall, whilst Kevin Nash will wrestle The Giant in a rematch from Souled Out 1998.

I’ll be watching the opener on WWE Network/Peacock and then I’ll be switching over to the official Pal VHS release from then on, so if there are any inconsistencies then that’s why. Sadly the tracking is all messed up for the opener on the VHS but it clears up when the second match kicks in. I need some Self High Five in my life though, as well as Jericho’s Evenflow knock-off theme, so VHS it is.

You can view the full card by clicking below;

https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=1641&page=3

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

We return to the rebooking series this time because I felt like having a bash at WCW Starrcade 1994, mainly because Scott reviewed it during the tail end of last year and it inspired me to try it. The real show featured Hulk Hogan taking on Ed Leslie in the Main Event whilst Kevin Sullivan fought Mr. T, which didn’t end up being a critical success.

Let’s have a go and see what I can come up with. Hopefully it will be fun stuff!

You can view the full card for the event by clicking the link below;

Card with guide « WCW Starrcade 1994 – “Triple Threat” « Events Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database

The SmarK Rant for WCW Power Hour – 01.05.91

OKAY THEN.  We’ve hit the wall of Ole booking in the 1990 Power Hour shows and they’re not getting any better, so let us skip ahead to the dawn of the WCW era, with the first Power Hour of 1991, and go from there instead.

Happy Stinky Saturday Everyone!

Today we do our monthly review of a show with a bad reputation, as we look at nWo Souled Out 1997. This was WCW’s attempt at establishing the New World Order faction as a viable second brand, with the idea being that they could then run separate WCW and nWo branded events and ostensibly make the WWF the third biggest company in the USA (this was actually their plan).

The event ended up being awful though as, even though the nWo were cool, they were still the bad guys and the WCW fans ultimately wanted to see the WCW guys be booked as competent rather than them being the weekly punching bags they usually were. The show ended up being both a critical and commercial bomb, with the only bonus being they managed to sell out the 5,000 seater arena they booked it in.

Let’s see if time has been kind to this one or whether it’s still as stinky as I remember. If you’d like to see the card for the event you can do so by clicking below;

https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=1627&page=2

The SmarK Rant for NWA Power Hour – 05.25.90

Taped from Indianapolis, IN

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously

The SmarK Rant for WCW Monday Nitro – 10.28.96

Live from Phoenix, AZ

Your hosts are Tony and Larry.

The SmarK Rant for NWA Power Hour – 05.18.90

Taped from Greenwood, SC

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously, who teases a return to managing after buying a “very big commodity” this week.

Happy Saturday Everyone!

We’ve got a bit of a hit and miss WCW pay per view this week, as some of the stuff on SuperBrawl VIII is very good and some of it is less so. WCW was coming off a very bad Starrcade and a much better Souled Out here, with the Main Event being a rematch of the awful Starrcade Main Event between Hollywood Hogan and Sting. We’ve also got The Outsiders Vs The Steiner’s and Diamond Dallas Page taking on Chris Benoit.

You can view the card by clicking below;

https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=1640&page=2

The SmarK Rant for WCW Monday Nitro – 10.27.97

LAST NIGHT!  There was a cage match at Halloween Havoc and stuff happened in that cage.  Will more stuff happen tonight?  TUNE INTO NITRO TO FIND OUT!

Live from San Diego, CA

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Iron Mike Tenay & Bobby Heenan

The SmarK Rant for NWA Power Hour – 05.11.90

Oh man.  I have gone over to the other side and this is my first ever rant on a MACBOOK.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

This week we finish off our little arc into 97 WCW as we rebook WCW Starrcade 1997. Starrcade 1997 is a very odd event actually as it was chockfull of Heel wins and is generally one of flattest shows you could watch, especially as it was supposedly WCW’s biggest show of the year and probably the most ordered one they ever had. You’d think they’d want to fill that show with feel good moments so that buyers would leave feeling positive about the product and wanting to see more, but instead the show had something bordering on a funereal atmosphere at times.

I’m going to try and address that here by putting in some more babyface wins and also trying to feature some good wrestling. Let’s see if I can succeed. Though we’re ending the arc this month I’ll also have a think about what the next show would look like too and if that sounds like fun to you readers I might pick this thread up again.

If you’d like to see the real card for this event then you can click below;

Card « WCW Starrcade 1997 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database

The SmarK Rant for NWA Power Hour – 05.04.90

Taped from Marietta, GA

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Gordon Solie