WCW Content - part 1
Now for something just a bit different. There was a thread on the Gamefaqs board wondering what matches would need to be on a mythical "Best of WCW" DVD set that WWE would release if they could pull their heads out of their asses and realize that there's a ton of people willing to pay for such a set. After various people listed some matches, I said that I could name 100 matches without even breaking a sweat. But instead of doing some lame listmania bullshit, I decided to go year by year and make a huge list of WCW matches that, in my ever so humble opinion, suckas gots to see. And then, crazily, I'm gonna tell you why!
These aren't recaps by any means, though. Just pithy little comments to tell you why *I* dug the matches in question. I was hoping to facilitate some intelligent conversation, but in the world of Gamefaqs, that's largely an oxymoron. So comment away so that I don't feel that my work is in vain. And yeah, I feel like I'm largely mimicking stuff already done (much better) by the DVDVR crew, but who ever called me original? '91 and '92 are complete, so here you go!
But first, my guidelines:
1. I'm using Flair's title win over Sting in January '91 as the genesis of WCW.
2. If I've not seen it, it ain't listed.
3. Most of these are great matches, but will seem completely random out of context and probably not deserving of a slot on a DVD retrospective because of it. But yeah...it's my list and I don't pretend to be unbiased.
4. I'm ignoring if something has already been released on WWE DVD, because they seemingly ignore it as well.
1991
Ric Flair vs. Scott Steiner (Clash 14 - 1/30/91)
I'm torn on this match. I like it a bunch, but not nearly as much as some others seem to. I guess I'll add it simply, once again, to get people talking about it. At any rate, it doesn't age well after repeat viewings.
Lex Luger vs. Dan Spivey (WrestleWar - 2/24/91)
This is probably the best match Spivey ever worked and one of numerous examples (seriously...there's another long list to be made here) that shatters the myth that Luger couldn't work. For whatever reason, both of these guys are on fire here. When he still had knees, Spivey was pretty damn quick. This has all that psycologicality stuff that the kidz love and a nifty finish as well (Spivey slams Lex off the top, but he rolls through into a cradle for the win).
War Games '91 (WrestleWar - 2/24/91)
People seem to remember this much more than War Games from the next year because of Pillman's nasty bump, but the '92 version is a much better all around match, save for the opening period with Windham/Pillman. Of course, I'm comparing two matches that are ****3/4 on a bad day, so whatever. Anyway, this is everything you love about War Games. Lots of blood, lots of violence, lots of HATE. Crowd is nuclear throughout. Botched finished aside (which actually works into the story of the match, so it's the rare mistake that might have actually improved the match), this is about as perfect as wrestling gets in my eyes.
Brian Pillman vs. Barry Windham (Superbrawl - 5/19/91)
This would be a demonstration of my bias. Not that this match isn't worthy, as it's quite the hate-filled taped fist match. Both guys bleed buckets But it's only a shade over 6 minutes long and that hurts the match quite a bit. Anyway, Windham is your god and mine, so it stays.
Steiners vs. Sting/Lex Luger (Superbrawl - 5/19/91)
Another example of Luger as a good worker. He's 100% the star of this match. Anyway, this is a great match, really only hurt by the finish and the lack of heat because the crowd didn't know who to pull for. Just watched it this week and it's much shorter than I remember, at about 12 minutes or so, but it doesn't feel rushed at all. That says something for all 4 guys. If you booked the same match tomorrow, it would be a dead sprint with everyone needing to hit every single spot they know.
Bobby Eaton vs. Ric Flair (Clash 15 - 6/14/91)
This is 2/3 falls. First fall rocks the casbah. But then it gets iffy, as the rest of the match goes something like 3-4 minutes. Probably the peak of Eaton's singles push, though. It's added simply because the crowd is hot and totally buys into Eaton as the challenger. Makes the match *feel* like a big deal, even if it's not.
Rick Steamboat/Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson/Larry Zbyszko (Clash 17 - 11/19/91)
Just balls out awesome, from the big reveal with Steamer (and Arn Anderson subsequently crapping his pants) to the finish. Quite simply, they no longer make tag wrestling like this.
Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Liger (handheld - 12/27/91)
My copy of this is just good enough to tell that the match was awesome, but pretty unwatchable otherwise, so I won't comment any further.
1992
Cactus Jack vs. Van Hammer (Clash 18 - 1/21/92)
Cactus Jack in '92 is a thing to behold. He has no thought of the future at all. Seemed like he was prepared for every single bump to be the last bump he ever took. Just loads of ridiculous cringe-worthy bumps in pretty much every single match. Here we get a biel off of the ramp to the concrete. Ouch. We also get a really nice falls count anywhere brawl that would have been fairly state of the art at the time. Jack was such a brilliant brawler. As a fan, I'm glad that he attained success and was able to tone things down a bit and somewhat save his body, but there's a part of me that really enjoyed the splat of a 300 lb man slamming into concrete on a weekly basis. Especially since you knew that some small part of him loved every bruise it caused...
Windham/Rhodes/Simmons vs. Eaton/Anderson/Zbyszko (Clash 18 -1/21/92)
Nothing mind blowing here, but it is a solid, old school 6 man. The sort of match you just don't see these days. Again, personal bias applies.
Sting/Steamboat vs. Austin/Rude (Clash 18 - 1/21/92)
A bit short to be considered any sort of classic, but this is all four of these guys at their absolute best. People forget how good a technician Austin was pre-neck injury. At this point, he's more known as the guy who basically mastered, if not entirely invented the WWF/E-style main event brawl, but he was a hell of a wrestler back in the day as well. And Rude is a top 10 all time heel who never gets the respect he deserves.
Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Liger (Superbrawl II - 2/29/92)
Uh...nothing I'll say about this will match going out and seeing it for yourself, so go do that. This is, without a doubt, the pinnacle of the WCW Light Heavyweight division. And I'm noticing that Pillman has been listed way more than I'd have thought going in. I really don't remember him being a *great* worker at this point, but my own list seems to counter that. I need to go back and watch more of his lesser known work to see if he holds up.
Fujinami/Iizuka vs. Steiners (WrestleWar '92 - 5/17/92)
Much of the Steiners work is overrated at this point. But this match is not only underrated, but relatively unknown for whatever reason. At any rate, watch Iizuka die multiple deaths for your enjoyment.
War Games '92 (WrestleWar '92 - 5/17/92)
Possibly the perfect match. The more I watch it, the closer it gets to unseating the Tully Blanchard/Magnum TA I Quit match from the top of my favorites list. This match is everything that is right about professional wrestling.
Liger/Pillman vs. Benoit/Wellington (Clash 19 - 6/16/92)
This was as fun as the lineup would indicate. Lots of highflying that, for a mainstream match in the US in '92, was years ahead of it's time. Benoit shows flashes of what he would become, but Liger and Pillman are the stars.
Steiners vs. MVC (Clash 19 -6/16/92)
Just a non-formula stiff fest. Gordy and Williams pushed the Steiners like no other team in the States could. Finish is a bit weak, but ties into the match at Beach Blast. I miss the Clash of Champions specials. In an era of television squashes, there were so many little gems like this one that seemed all the better because of what was on the weekly shows at the time. Wrestling fans (myself included) have gotten spoiled by all the great wrestling that's televised on a weekly basis...
Sting vs. Cactus Jack (Beach Blast - 6/20/92)
This match pretty much made Cactus Jack. Fabulous falls count anywhere brawl. There's really not enough hate in wrestling these days. Probably why I'm just as content to sit back and watch stuff like this, as Jack has a death wish and Sting is more than willing to oblige him.
Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat (Beach Blast - 6/20/92)
My only real complaint about this one is that they stuffed a few too many falls (7, if memory serves) into 30 minutes. Great work by both guys throughout.
Steiners vs. MVC (Beach Blast - 6/20/92)
Not as good as the Clash match, but still worth mentioning. They actually had a match on WCWSN that was better than this one, but I have no idea what the date of it is. I think I recapped it back in the day for Buster Time (name checking sites no one here has heard of~!), though.
Sting vs. Vader (Great American Bash '92 - 7/12/92)
Sting/Vader in a great match? Shocking! They only had about 100 of them. These two (and this feud in general) was the cornerstone of WCW through the early 90s. Vader was the rare opponent that motivated Sting to work to the level he was capable of, but rarely bothered to strive for. At any rate, this is about as close to a squash as you're likely to find with two guys at this level. Give Sting credit, as he puts Vader over HUGE here...
Windham/Rhodes vs. Austin/Williams (Halloween Havoc '92 - 10/25/92)
This match tends to get lost in the shuffle because Pillman would soon sub for Doc and the Hollywood Blondes would be born. They'd have their own series of matches with Douglas/Steamboat that pretty well defined tag wrestling at the time. But Doc brings a different dynamic to this one and it stands on it's own merit. Much more old school than the Blondes matches would end up being.
Rick Rude vs. Sting (Clash 21 - 11/18/92)
People forget how good this feud was. Sting was a great foil for Rude, as his entire character was that he was 100% attitude. Rude's antics didn't bother him at all and he usually ended up turning the tables and getting in Rude's head instead. The match, of course, is top notch. This might be the peak year for both guys, as you could match them up with pretty much anyone and you'd wind up with a good match. Didn't like the finish (I never like pro wrestling finishes that end up going to judges, because it not only negates the match you just watched, but there's never any drama because the result is almost always obvious.), but no complaints otherwise.
Rhodes/Windham vs. Steamboat/Douglas (Clash 21 - 11/18/92)
Great match setting up a great turn. Douglas, I believe, takes a low blow and Rhodes lacks the killer instinct to follow up, much to Windham's chagrin. He tags in and uses all sorts of atomic drops and such, with JR flipping out on commentary. Rhodes eventually breaks up a cover and Windham nails him because of it. Interestingly, crowd sides with Windham at first. They end up losing, of course and Windham cements the turn with a DDT to Rhodes. More old school tag goodness.
I wonder if anyone has made a comp of '92 WCW tag wrestling, because it was the bee's knees...
Sting vs. Vader (Starrcade '92 - 12/28/92)
Sting versus Vader. 'Nuff said. This is a perfect example of them doing their homage to the Ali/Foreman rope a dope fight , as Vader pretty much murders Sting, but eventually punches himself out giving Sting the advantage.
I know I'm missing a lot of good-great TV matches here. WCW TV in this era had all sorts of forgotten matches that were easily on the same level as what they were doing on PPV. But if I don't specifically own the matches myself, it's tough to track them down on tapelists and, more importantly, I can't remember shit that happened last week, then yet 15 years ago...
I've been working on 1993 for a few days, so look for that one soon. I'm dreading doing from '96 on, but I might just be motivated enough to finish this. Any one else laughing at that sentence as much as I am? Me? Motivated? AHAHAHAHAHAHA!
These aren't recaps by any means, though. Just pithy little comments to tell you why *I* dug the matches in question. I was hoping to facilitate some intelligent conversation, but in the world of Gamefaqs, that's largely an oxymoron. So comment away so that I don't feel that my work is in vain. And yeah, I feel like I'm largely mimicking stuff already done (much better) by the DVDVR crew, but who ever called me original? '91 and '92 are complete, so here you go!
But first, my guidelines:
1. I'm using Flair's title win over Sting in January '91 as the genesis of WCW.
2. If I've not seen it, it ain't listed.
3. Most of these are great matches, but will seem completely random out of context and probably not deserving of a slot on a DVD retrospective because of it. But yeah...it's my list and I don't pretend to be unbiased.
4. I'm ignoring if something has already been released on WWE DVD, because they seemingly ignore it as well.
1991
Ric Flair vs. Scott Steiner (Clash 14 - 1/30/91)
I'm torn on this match. I like it a bunch, but not nearly as much as some others seem to. I guess I'll add it simply, once again, to get people talking about it. At any rate, it doesn't age well after repeat viewings.
Lex Luger vs. Dan Spivey (WrestleWar - 2/24/91)
This is probably the best match Spivey ever worked and one of numerous examples (seriously...there's another long list to be made here) that shatters the myth that Luger couldn't work. For whatever reason, both of these guys are on fire here. When he still had knees, Spivey was pretty damn quick. This has all that psycologicality stuff that the kidz love and a nifty finish as well (Spivey slams Lex off the top, but he rolls through into a cradle for the win).
War Games '91 (WrestleWar - 2/24/91)
People seem to remember this much more than War Games from the next year because of Pillman's nasty bump, but the '92 version is a much better all around match, save for the opening period with Windham/Pillman. Of course, I'm comparing two matches that are ****3/4 on a bad day, so whatever. Anyway, this is everything you love about War Games. Lots of blood, lots of violence, lots of HATE. Crowd is nuclear throughout. Botched finished aside (which actually works into the story of the match, so it's the rare mistake that might have actually improved the match), this is about as perfect as wrestling gets in my eyes.
Brian Pillman vs. Barry Windham (Superbrawl - 5/19/91)
This would be a demonstration of my bias. Not that this match isn't worthy, as it's quite the hate-filled taped fist match. Both guys bleed buckets But it's only a shade over 6 minutes long and that hurts the match quite a bit. Anyway, Windham is your god and mine, so it stays.
Steiners vs. Sting/Lex Luger (Superbrawl - 5/19/91)
Another example of Luger as a good worker. He's 100% the star of this match. Anyway, this is a great match, really only hurt by the finish and the lack of heat because the crowd didn't know who to pull for. Just watched it this week and it's much shorter than I remember, at about 12 minutes or so, but it doesn't feel rushed at all. That says something for all 4 guys. If you booked the same match tomorrow, it would be a dead sprint with everyone needing to hit every single spot they know.
Bobby Eaton vs. Ric Flair (Clash 15 - 6/14/91)
This is 2/3 falls. First fall rocks the casbah. But then it gets iffy, as the rest of the match goes something like 3-4 minutes. Probably the peak of Eaton's singles push, though. It's added simply because the crowd is hot and totally buys into Eaton as the challenger. Makes the match *feel* like a big deal, even if it's not.
Rick Steamboat/Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson/Larry Zbyszko (Clash 17 - 11/19/91)
Just balls out awesome, from the big reveal with Steamer (and Arn Anderson subsequently crapping his pants) to the finish. Quite simply, they no longer make tag wrestling like this.
Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Liger (handheld - 12/27/91)
My copy of this is just good enough to tell that the match was awesome, but pretty unwatchable otherwise, so I won't comment any further.
1992
Cactus Jack vs. Van Hammer (Clash 18 - 1/21/92)
Cactus Jack in '92 is a thing to behold. He has no thought of the future at all. Seemed like he was prepared for every single bump to be the last bump he ever took. Just loads of ridiculous cringe-worthy bumps in pretty much every single match. Here we get a biel off of the ramp to the concrete. Ouch. We also get a really nice falls count anywhere brawl that would have been fairly state of the art at the time. Jack was such a brilliant brawler. As a fan, I'm glad that he attained success and was able to tone things down a bit and somewhat save his body, but there's a part of me that really enjoyed the splat of a 300 lb man slamming into concrete on a weekly basis. Especially since you knew that some small part of him loved every bruise it caused...
Windham/Rhodes/Simmons vs. Eaton/Anderson/Zbyszko (Clash 18 -1/21/92)
Nothing mind blowing here, but it is a solid, old school 6 man. The sort of match you just don't see these days. Again, personal bias applies.
Sting/Steamboat vs. Austin/Rude (Clash 18 - 1/21/92)
A bit short to be considered any sort of classic, but this is all four of these guys at their absolute best. People forget how good a technician Austin was pre-neck injury. At this point, he's more known as the guy who basically mastered, if not entirely invented the WWF/E-style main event brawl, but he was a hell of a wrestler back in the day as well. And Rude is a top 10 all time heel who never gets the respect he deserves.
Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Liger (Superbrawl II - 2/29/92)
Uh...nothing I'll say about this will match going out and seeing it for yourself, so go do that. This is, without a doubt, the pinnacle of the WCW Light Heavyweight division. And I'm noticing that Pillman has been listed way more than I'd have thought going in. I really don't remember him being a *great* worker at this point, but my own list seems to counter that. I need to go back and watch more of his lesser known work to see if he holds up.
Fujinami/Iizuka vs. Steiners (WrestleWar '92 - 5/17/92)
Much of the Steiners work is overrated at this point. But this match is not only underrated, but relatively unknown for whatever reason. At any rate, watch Iizuka die multiple deaths for your enjoyment.
War Games '92 (WrestleWar '92 - 5/17/92)
Possibly the perfect match. The more I watch it, the closer it gets to unseating the Tully Blanchard/Magnum TA I Quit match from the top of my favorites list. This match is everything that is right about professional wrestling.
Liger/Pillman vs. Benoit/Wellington (Clash 19 - 6/16/92)
This was as fun as the lineup would indicate. Lots of highflying that, for a mainstream match in the US in '92, was years ahead of it's time. Benoit shows flashes of what he would become, but Liger and Pillman are the stars.
Steiners vs. MVC (Clash 19 -6/16/92)
Just a non-formula stiff fest. Gordy and Williams pushed the Steiners like no other team in the States could. Finish is a bit weak, but ties into the match at Beach Blast. I miss the Clash of Champions specials. In an era of television squashes, there were so many little gems like this one that seemed all the better because of what was on the weekly shows at the time. Wrestling fans (myself included) have gotten spoiled by all the great wrestling that's televised on a weekly basis...
Sting vs. Cactus Jack (Beach Blast - 6/20/92)
This match pretty much made Cactus Jack. Fabulous falls count anywhere brawl. There's really not enough hate in wrestling these days. Probably why I'm just as content to sit back and watch stuff like this, as Jack has a death wish and Sting is more than willing to oblige him.
Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat (Beach Blast - 6/20/92)
My only real complaint about this one is that they stuffed a few too many falls (7, if memory serves) into 30 minutes. Great work by both guys throughout.
Steiners vs. MVC (Beach Blast - 6/20/92)
Not as good as the Clash match, but still worth mentioning. They actually had a match on WCWSN that was better than this one, but I have no idea what the date of it is. I think I recapped it back in the day for Buster Time (name checking sites no one here has heard of~!), though.
Sting vs. Vader (Great American Bash '92 - 7/12/92)
Sting/Vader in a great match? Shocking! They only had about 100 of them. These two (and this feud in general) was the cornerstone of WCW through the early 90s. Vader was the rare opponent that motivated Sting to work to the level he was capable of, but rarely bothered to strive for. At any rate, this is about as close to a squash as you're likely to find with two guys at this level. Give Sting credit, as he puts Vader over HUGE here...
Windham/Rhodes vs. Austin/Williams (Halloween Havoc '92 - 10/25/92)
This match tends to get lost in the shuffle because Pillman would soon sub for Doc and the Hollywood Blondes would be born. They'd have their own series of matches with Douglas/Steamboat that pretty well defined tag wrestling at the time. But Doc brings a different dynamic to this one and it stands on it's own merit. Much more old school than the Blondes matches would end up being.
Rick Rude vs. Sting (Clash 21 - 11/18/92)
People forget how good this feud was. Sting was a great foil for Rude, as his entire character was that he was 100% attitude. Rude's antics didn't bother him at all and he usually ended up turning the tables and getting in Rude's head instead. The match, of course, is top notch. This might be the peak year for both guys, as you could match them up with pretty much anyone and you'd wind up with a good match. Didn't like the finish (I never like pro wrestling finishes that end up going to judges, because it not only negates the match you just watched, but there's never any drama because the result is almost always obvious.), but no complaints otherwise.
Rhodes/Windham vs. Steamboat/Douglas (Clash 21 - 11/18/92)
Great match setting up a great turn. Douglas, I believe, takes a low blow and Rhodes lacks the killer instinct to follow up, much to Windham's chagrin. He tags in and uses all sorts of atomic drops and such, with JR flipping out on commentary. Rhodes eventually breaks up a cover and Windham nails him because of it. Interestingly, crowd sides with Windham at first. They end up losing, of course and Windham cements the turn with a DDT to Rhodes. More old school tag goodness.
I wonder if anyone has made a comp of '92 WCW tag wrestling, because it was the bee's knees...
Sting vs. Vader (Starrcade '92 - 12/28/92)
Sting versus Vader. 'Nuff said. This is a perfect example of them doing their homage to the Ali/Foreman rope a dope fight , as Vader pretty much murders Sting, but eventually punches himself out giving Sting the advantage.
I know I'm missing a lot of good-great TV matches here. WCW TV in this era had all sorts of forgotten matches that were easily on the same level as what they were doing on PPV. But if I don't specifically own the matches myself, it's tough to track them down on tapelists and, more importantly, I can't remember shit that happened last week, then yet 15 years ago...
I've been working on 1993 for a few days, so look for that one soon. I'm dreading doing from '96 on, but I might just be motivated enough to finish this. Any one else laughing at that sentence as much as I am? Me? Motivated? AHAHAHAHAHAHA!
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