-7/7/90
-From Baltimore, MD
-Hosts are JR & Bob Caudle
-Four matches took place at the event that are not on this release: Doug Furnas def. Dutch Mantell, Mike Rotunda def. The Iron Shiek, Brian Pillman def. Buddy Landell, and Harley Race def. Tommy Rich.
-Match 1 for the United States Tag Team Championship: The Midnight Express [c] (w/Jim Cornette) VS The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys
-Fast start by the Midnights doesn't last long. The 'Boys get Eaton in a double arm-ringer, then floor him with a double chop. Smothers drops Eaton with a nice superkick. Smothers hits a backdrop and another superkick on Eaton. A bunch of superkicks? It's like an RoH match in here. Lane and Smothers do a karate face-off. Lane appears to win, until Smothers blocks a kick to the ribs, then nails a series of backfists and a kick to Lane's ribs, then another superkick for Eaton when he tries to get in there. It really IS like an RoH match, or at the very least, a Tyler Black match.
Midnights finally turn the tide when Lane is able to toss Smothers over the top undetected, then knock him off the apron into the guardrail. Eaton gets in, and is hit with ANOTHER superkick. Eaton hits the Alabama Jam anyway. Smothers makes the hot tag to Armstrong. 'Boys hit their finisher, with Armstrong hitting a missile dropkick while Smothers has Lance in a bearhug. Ref is busy with the two illegal men, and doesn't make the count. Midnights come back with the Rocket Launcher, and Armstrong kicks out at two. Smothers switches places with Armstrong, and small packages Eaton for two, with Lane making the save. Lane catches Smothers with an enziguiri, and Eaton gets the pin with a small package. Good match, HOT finishing sequence. Going to be hard to top this.
-Gordon Solie is with the Freebirds, who go out of their way to look effeminate with lipstick, eyeliner, and glitter. They wrestle the Steiners later.
-Match 2: The Z Man VS Big Van Vader
-How the hell does Vader see out of that...whatever he's got on his head and shoulders? Vader wears a more traditional mask instead of what he'd become known for later. Vader plays to the crowd like a babyface during his entrance.
This does not go well for Zenk. Quick squash and Vader finishes with a big splash. Vader got some impressive height on the splash.
-Gordon is with the Horsemen, sans Flair. They don't say anything of note.
-Match 3: The Fabulous Freebirds VS The Steiner Brothers
-Freebirds jump the Steiners at the bell. Scott fights off a DDT, and Rick clotheslines them out. A very un-PC shot of fans chanting "f-a-g-g-o-t" at Garvin is shown. Steiners control the first few minutes. Hayes hits some hard chops on Scott, who responds with a Pearl River Plunge, then a tilt-a-whirl slam on Hayes when he tries to get in. Rick eggs on some fans who chant "Michael is a bitch". Rick takes a ridiculous bump over the top off a Hayes punch. Rick is the face-in-peril for a bit. Scott gets in, and hits the Frankensteiner on Hayes. Garvin sneaks in with a DDT on Scott and makes the cover, but the ref actually notices that Garvin is not the legal man, and refuses to count. As the ref puts Garvin out, Rick hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Hayes, and puts Scott on top for the pin. Match was OK. Good finish, if nothing else.
-Match 4: The Four Horsemen (TV Champion Arn Anderson, Sid Vicious, & Barry Windham) VS The Dudes With Attitudes (Junkyard Dog, Paul Orndorff, & El Gigante)
-This may be the only time anyone in the U.S. was excited to see Gigante wrestle. Sid manhandles Orndorff, and the crowd loves him for it. AA gets in there with Orndorff, before Gigante gets in, and scares the Horsemen away. Orndorff gets stuck as the face-in-peril. The crowd chants "We want Sid!", and Arn obliges. Match breaks down, and the Horsemen throw JYD over the top for a DQ. Well that was stupid. Gigante goes after the Horsemen, but they scatter. Not much as a match. Good idea to keep Gigante out of the match. That finish was weak sauce.
-Gordon Solie is with United States Champion Lex Luger. Luger says he's going to be harder to tear apart than a t-shirt, and that it's Sting's night to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
-Match 5 for the United States Championship: Lex Luger [c] VS Mean Mark (w/Paul E. Dangerously)
-Hard to believe Mark is only four months from becoming a big star in the WWF. Scientific start, as the two feel each other out. Luges controls for some time. Mark throws punches to take control. Luger fights back, and Mark's face while he's being punched is pretty funny. Luger dives at Mark and misses, going over the top and out. Mark works Luger over on the outside. Luger no-sells a suplex, and quickly gets Mark in the rack. The ref accidentally gets kicked in the face by Mark, so Paul E. sneaks in, and nails Luger in the ribs with a phone. That gets two after the ref gets up. Luger avoids a heat punch, nails Paul E., then hits a clothesline for the pin. Luger needs a new secondary finisher. That ref counts ridiculously fast when it's the finish. Crowd was totally buying into Mark as a contender. Anyone know why WCW let him go?
-Gordon Solie is with Sting, who says neither he or Flair will have any excuses should they lose.
-Match 6 for the World Tag Team Championship: Doom [c] (w/Teddy Long) VS The Rock 'N' Roll Express
-They start out pretty even, until Morton becomes the face-in-peril (I'm as shocked as you are). Reed hits a flying elbow from the 2nd rope for two, as the crowd reacts to something else. Doom completely dominate the match with brief glimmers of hope for Morton. Gibson gets in, and "hits" a dropkick that misses by a mile on Simmons. Match breaks down. Gibson hits an enziguri on Reed that sends Reed into Teddy, and sends Teddy flying into the ring. Gibson nails Teddy, but turns right into a flying shoulder block from Reed, and Doom retains. Match was the usual RnR formula. Another hot finish.
-EARLIER TODAY: Gordon Solie is in the empty arena with Ric Flair. Flair cuts his usual promo.
-Match 7 for the World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair [c] VS Sting
-The Dudes with Attitudes and the Steiners are at ringside. Ole is handcuffed to Gigante, who walks Ole away from the ring and casually takes a seat so Ole can't go anywhere. The rest of the Horsemen are nowhere to be found.
Sting dominates the early going. Flair goes for a walk, but Sting chases him down, and tosses Flair on the entrance ramp. Sting no-sells a delayed vertical suplex. Sting hits a crossbody leg. Flair misses a kneedrop, and Sting locks in a figure 4. Sting gets a near-fall, but then stops to argue with the ref, and gets chop blocked by Flair for his troubles. Flair slaps Sting in the face, so Sting starts no-selling again.
Sting hits a huge gorilla press and a clothesline for two. Sting hits the Stinger Splash and locks in the Scorpion Deathlock. The Horsemen rush out, but are cut off by the Dudes With Attitudes before they can get to the ring. Flair tries to use the ropes to get a pin, and Scott Steiner pushes Flair's legs off them at two. Sting gets a couple near-falls as the crowd senses that this is it. Sting misses a high knee in the corner. Flair tries to lock in the figure 4, but Sting counters with a small package to pull the sword from the stone and win his first world title. Crowd goes ape shit with glee.
-Sting quickly leaves his friends standing in the ring. A drawing of Sting descends from the ceiling and sparkles. Sting puts Flair over as the greatest champion of all-time, and thanks the fans for helping him become champion.
-FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a pretty good show, from what was shown. Some really hot finishes, and a feel-good moment WCW actually managed to not screw up. I'm ready for Sting as World Champion, and for Vader to crush some poor souls.
No comments:
Post a Comment