wrestling / Video Reviews
Hall’s WCW Fall Brawl 1995 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Fall Brawl 1995
Date: September 17, 1995
Location: Asheville Civic Center, Asheville, North Carolina
Attendance: 6,600
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan
This is another show that I watched a lot on VHS as a kid and the big deal here is…well in theory it’s WarGames, but there might be something even better. The show, held in Horsemen country, features Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair, which should be quite the showdown. Other than that, we have Team Hogan vs. the Dungeon Of Doom in WarGames, which should be quite the mess. Let’s get to it.
We open with a look at the card, mainly focusing on Flair vs. Anderson and WarGames, basically saying the rest of the card means absolutely nothing. Which granted, is accurate.
Commentary talks about the Giant driving a monster truck over Hulk Hogan’s motorcycle. Showing the video is of course not an option, but we do in fact hear about it.
That two ring setup always looks great at this show.
Brian Pillman vs. Johnny B. Badd
For a future US Title shot. Badd throws his Frisbees, as is his custom, with one of them hitting the rope and falling to the mat in a funny accident. We get the Big Match Intros, with Michael Buffer having to look at the card to remind himself where they are, which granted probably isn’t the easiest thing to remember. They shake hands to start and fight over a hammerlock, with Pillman throwing him down for the break. Pillman’s running shoulder sets up stereo missed dropkicks and they reset a bit.
Badd backs him into the corner before starting in on the arm so Pillman comes back with a flying mare. A headlock goes on before Pillman starts in on the arm. That’s reversed into a cradle and they’re back up again, with Badd going back to the arm again. A rollup gives Pillman two and we hit the chinlock. That’s reversed and Badd grabs a chinlock of his own as Heenan is trying to figure out where Nitro is tomorrow.
Pillman reverses with a backbreaker and Badd is in actual trouble for the first time. A Boston crab stays on Badd’s back and for some reason Pillman just lets him go. Back up and Badd hits his own backbreaker (tilt-a-whirl style) before starting in on the leg for a change of pace. The pace changing continues as Badd cranks on both arms, with Pillman making the ropes. Back up and they get a bit more aggressive, with Pillman elbowing him in the corner and turning into the villain in the match.
Badd knocks him outside so Pillman wants a handshake, which isn’t going to happen this time. Pillman gets knocked down so Badd can hit a slingshot legdrop for two, followed by another chinlock. That’s broken up and they ram heads for a double down before Pillman headbutts him for another knockdown. Badd is sent to the apron but manages to suplex Pillman outside for a crash. A big dive drops Pillman again but Pillman dropkicks him out of the air back inside for two.
Badd’s powerbomb gets two, as does a Tombstone from Pillman. With nothing else working, Pillman goes up and gets slammed down for two more as we get the two minute call. Pillman Russian legsweeps him down and puts on a seated abdominal stretch. Back up and the big left hand drops Pillman, whose foot is underneath the rope. Air Pillman (springboard clothesline) gives Pillman two and time expires at 20:07 (close enough).
Hold on though, as it’s time to go to sudden death (which I believe is how most matches work) and they go outside to slug it out again. Badd is whipped into the barricade and taken back inside, where he dropkicks Pillman’s missile dropkick out of the air. They’re both down, leaving Heenan to suggest the one thing they haven’t tried: a pipe wrench. Pillman grabs a sleeper to take Badd down, at least until Badd gets up and reverses into one of his own.
That’s reversed into a belly to back suplex as I’m having Jeff Jarrett flashbacks. Pillman can’t get a superplex so Badd grabs a super sunset flip for two. A powerbomb is reversed into a hurricanrana to give Pillman two more so he tries a crucifix. That’s reversed into a Samoan drop for another near fall as they’re both gassed. The Badd Day (super Frankensteiner) gets another two and Heenan can’t believe these kickouts.
Pillman is back with a tornado DDT and they’re both down again. It’s time to go up again but this time Pillman gets shoved outside, with Badd hitting a big running flip dive (almost landing on his feet). The spinning slingshot splash hits raised knees back inside so Badd goes outside again, with a suicide dive dropping him hard. Badd is able to crotch him for two back inside and they’re both winded. Back up and they hit stereo crossbodies and Badd gets on top for the pin at 29:57.
Rating: A-. It took some time to get going but this turned into a fight of who could hold on long enough to win. It’s an outstanding match between two young guys who put themselves (even more) on the map here and once they got going, it was all action and outstanding. These two should have been elevated up the ladder after a match like this but, you know, WCW, so they were both gone to the WWF in about nine months. Oh and Badd wouldn’t even get his title shot. Either way, outstanding match here.
Commentary talks about Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson.
Flair talks about how he and Anderson have been together for years, through good and bad. They bonded and became best friends through everything while never asking each other for anything they wouldn’t give back. Now here they are in Horsemen Country and they’re going one on one rather than teaming together in the WarGames, which the Horsemen mastered (not in the slightest, as I think they only won the thing one time). He doesn’t hate Anderson but rather loves him, which is why they have to do this tonight. Very good stuff here, which shouldn’t be a surprise as this is a special match for both of them.
Cobra vs. Craig Pittman
This is CIA vs. Marines because…oh like there was a coherent story behind this. Hold on though as Pittman (a sergeant) sends out a private to say that he’ll be late. Cue Pittman, repelling from the ceiling, and sneaking up behind Cobra to choke him with his bandoleer. Pittman hammers away and they go outside, with Cobra sending him into the barricade.
That doesn’t get him anywhere as Pittman comes back in, grabs the Code Red (cross armbreaker) and gets the win at 1:20. The match wasn’t exactly notable (even Heenan basically said he didn’t know why they were fighting), but two minor notes: Cobra would go on to become NWO Sting, while the private from before the match was Prince Iaukea, who oddly wound up being the most successful wrestler in the whole match.
Commentary talks about Randy Savage beating Paul Orndorff in a recent match and OH MY GOODNESS I FORGOT ABOUT THIS PART!
After the match, Orndorff went on a rant about how he had never had such a run of bad luck. He throws things and basically explodes, being so upset that he makes the wrist tape on his right arm disappear and reappear in different shots. Then, a man in a white shirt (rather open, with a big necklace) with a gray afro walks in. This would be Gary Spivey of the Psychic Companions Network (yes), who has had a vision of Orndorff.
Spivey talks about how he knows various things about Orndoff’s past (as in the things Orndorff just told him) but soon, he’ll be Mr. Wonderful again. He’ll have bigger houses, bigger cars and more money. Orndorff buys into the whole thing and kisses his arm in the mirror. This went as well as you would expect and Orndorff retired in about three months.
TV Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Renegade
Page, with the Diamond Doll (Kimberly) and Maxx Muscle (I think you can figure him out), is challenging. The Renegade (with Jimmy Hart) is literally an Ultimate Warrior knockoff and was terrible if you’re being generous. Page is smart enough to jump Renegade as he poses a lot and hits a quick Russian legsweep for two. A headbutt has Page in trouble, even as Heenan praises him. Heenan: “This man has energy. This man is focused. This man is….flat out on the floor. Wait a minute.”
Renegade posts him over the barricade and grabs a headlock back inside. A clothesline gives Renegade two but he misses a flying version and crashes into the ropes. Page’s neck snap across the top gets a less than thrilled 10 from Kimberly and she has to do it again off a neckbreaker, even complaining in the process. Renegade is able to grab a sunset flip for two but Page clotheslines him right back down.
Back up and Renegade hits a running clothesline and a top rope ax handle. Page is right back with a running spinning DDT (that looked GREAT) for a rather delayed two. The Diamond Cutter is broken up so Muscle gets up, only to collide with Page. Renegade dives onto Muscle, who grabs Renegade’s foot, allowing Page to hit the Diamond Cutter for the title at 8:08.
Rating: C+. Renegade was rather horrible, with the gimmick alone being absolutely terrible and there was no way around it. At the same time, Page was getting better and better every week at this point. You could see some of those moves looking awesome every time, with the running DDT and Diamond Cutter feeling devastating. Not bad at all here, and a promising sign as the Renegade experiment is FINALLY ended.
Commentary talks about Colonel Parker (managing Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater) and Sister Sherri (managing Harlem Heat) finally getting together despite their teams facing off. This involves Sherri hitting her head and falling for Parker because that’s how wrestling works. Heenan goes into a bit about how cute their kids will be and Schiavone is absolutely done, completely unable to hold in his smile and laughter.
Tag Team Titles: Bunkhouse Buck/Dick Slater vs. Harlem Heat
Buck and Slater, with Colonel Parker, are defending and Sherri is here with Harlem Heat. Slater takes Booker into the corner to start but Booker knocks him down. A drop toehold takes Booker down for a front facelock but he slips out for a wristlock. Ray comes in to kick away but it’s quickly off to Buck to work on Booker’s arm. It’s back to Ray to take over and grab a chinlock as Sherri is happy to have the flowers Parker gave her earlier today.
That’s broken up and it’s back to Slater, who gets taken into the corner and put in a nerve hold. Slater gets up and Buck gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over on Booker as the fans are just dead for the most part. Slater’s Russian legsweep and a piledriver (even Heenan says it wasn’t very good) gets two and Buck throws Booker over the top. Back in and a big boot sets up another chinlock as this is just dying before my eyes.
Slater drops a knee for some near falls and Buck comes back in for another chinlock. The Boston crab is broken up and Booker fights out, allowing the tag off to Ray. Everything breaks down and Parker and Sherri go into another ring, with Sherri crawling over to him. Cue the Nasty Boys to hit Slater with a boot. Parker kisses Sherri as Ray gets the pin and the titles at 16:50.
Rating: D. When I was about fourteen, I had this show on VHS and this match was so boring that I used it to put myself to sleep for a few weeks. The fact that I stayed awake during this match is enough to call it a success. The match is just so incredibly boring and there is pretty much nothing positive about the whole thing. Buck and Slater were a VERY southern style team and that doesn’t really fit in a spot like this. Nothing to see here, with Sherri and Parker being the only mildly amusing part.
Post match Buck and Slater yell at Parker, who insists it will be fine. With the two of them gone, Parker says he’s sorry about the titles being lost, but he feels like he’s 20 years old and his heart is soaring like an eagle.
We recap Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair. The two of them have been partners forever but Flair has been driven insane by Hulk Hogan and keeps using Anderson to help him fight his battles. Anderson has finally had enough and refused to help Flair, who is ready to fight once and for all.
Anderson talks about how he’s always called a spade a spade and loved or hated with a passion. Everyone has had that family member where the day came that you had to shake them because words no longer mattered. His stomach has been in knots all day because he has to trade fists with someone he loves. Tonight, he’s giving everything he’s got because he has to look at himself in the morning. He’s going to respect himself and Flair will respect him too. Anderson is a great talker but this was special even for him as you could feel the emotion.
Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson
There are some wrestlers in the crowd to watch. Flair backs up and straightens his hair so Anderson is back with a drop toehold. A running shoulder has Flair down and Anderson gives him a slap, which seems to wake Flair up a bit. It’s time to bail out to the floor before Anderson goes after the arm again. Another slap has Flair’s eyes wide open and Heenan panicking as he blames Hogan for everything. Anderson stays on the arm (as is his custom) as Heenan asks why Flair never gave Anderson a World Title shot.
More cranking on the arm (this time with Anderson’s boots on Flair’s face) has Flair in more trouble but he fights up and goes after the leg. Anderson’s sleeper is broken up so he hits a quick middle rope knee to the back. The armbar goes on again as Schiavone says Flair is Anderson’s cousin, which was how they were billed early on but it was dropped a LONG time before this, making that a bit out of date reference.
The arm is wrapped around the post and Anderson grabs a DDT on the arm to keep him in trouble. Back up and Flair starts firing off the chops before low bridging Anderson out to the floor for a crash. A top rope ax handle to the head drops Anderson again as Flair is back into it. Back in and Flair takes him down but Anderson slugs away and hits a heck of a backdrop for two. They head outside with Anderson hammering away again but this time Flair gets in his own backdrop.
A vertical suplex drops Anderson and they’re both down for a bit. Anderson is back up and sends him into the corner for the crash but Flair grabs the rope to grab the DDT. Flair goes up but gets slammed down, only to punch Anderson out of the air. The Figure Four has Anderson in trouble but he makes the rope after quite the struggle. A small package gives Anderson two but his knee gives out. Cue Brian Pillman out of the crowd to get on the apron and deck Flair. That earns him a right hand from Flair so Pillman enziguris him into the DDT to give Anderson the pin at 23:03.
Rating: B+. The match felt special coming in and then they lived up to the hype with a great showdown. Anderson working on the arm was about as much of a signature as you could get and that made for a good story, especially once Flair started working on the leg. Anderson pretty much had to win here, as Flair had almost nothing to gain, while it’s the biggest win of Anderson’s career. And then things would get all the more confusing, as the two of them and Pillman would wind up all being in on it together as the new Horsemen. Because wrestling.
We recap WarGames. The Dungeon Of Doom hates Hulk Hogan and wants to destroy him, so Hogan has a team of all stars to fight against them. This is about as one sided of a match as you can imagine on paper and there’s no way around it, even with Lex Luger not being overly trustworthy.
We finally see the Giant, in his monster truck, crushing Hulk Hogan’s motorcycle earlier today.
We recap WarGames again, which is similar to what we saw before, with the question of whether Lex Luger (who is replacing Vader, who left for the WWF) is with Hulk Hogan and company or not. Hogan saying that being choked out by the Giant (billed as Andre The Giant’s son) made him feel Andre’s presence would feel a bit more important if the Giant was actually in the match.
Gene Okerlund talks to the Hulkamaniacs, comparing this to the Invasion of Normandy in 1945. The team is all together and on the same page. Hopefully that page is in a history book, as the Invasion of Normandy was in 1944.
Hulkamaniacs vs. Dungeon Of Doom
Hulkamaniacs: Hulk Hogan, Sting, Randy Savage, Lex Luger
Dungeon Of Doom: Meng, Zodiac, Shark, Kamala
WarGames. You have eight men, with one man from each team starting for five minutes. After that time is up, the villains will win a coin toss and get a one man advantage for two minutes. When those two minutes are up, the Hulkamaniacs send in their second man to even it up. The teams alternate entrants for two minutes each until all eight are in and then it’s first submission wins. Also, if the Hulkamaniacs win, Hogan gets five minutes with the Taskmaster.
Sting and Shark start things off with the monster hammering him down. Schiavone: “Beat the stuffing out of him.” Heenan: “What do you think he is? An old chair?” Sting gets knocked into the other ring but he comes back with the big dive over the two sets of ropes. A big slam puts Shark down but Sting collapses on another attempt. The bearhug goes on, which is quite the thrilling way to go less than three minutes into the match.
Shark lets go and tries his own dive over the ropes but gets caught between the two of them, allowing Sting to kick away. Sting’s dive is cut off and shoved out of the air but he knocks Shark down again. The Scorpion Deathlock goes on and Shark taps (didn’t mean anything yet in 1995) as Zodiac is in (because, as always, the villains won) to get the advantage. That’s rather needed, as Sting just beat Shark pretty easily in about five minutes.
Sting gets double teamed with a legdrop from Shark and it’s time for the slow beating. A double clothesline drops Zodiac but not Shark, who sends Sting into the cage. Savage is in to even things up but realizes he can’t suplex Shark. A Boston crab to Zodiac is broken up as Kamala grabs Savage’s leg from underneath the cage. Sting drops Zodiac but it’s Kamala coming in to make it 3-2.
That means more slow beating, with Sting and Savage looking more moderately annoyed by the array of forearms than anything else. Luger comes in to clean house again, including a double clothesline to Shark and Kamala. Luger’s clothesline accidentally hits Savage from behind though (they’ve never gotten along in the first place) and Sting has to try to break them up. Meng is in to complete the Dungeon and goes after everyone with a variety of kicks to the chest.
With all hope lost, Hogan comes in to complete the field, including throwing powder because a lineup of four former World Champions against a team headlined by Meng still needs help. The Hulkamaniacs fight back and beat up the villains with pretty much no trouble, as the Luger/Savage fight is long over. Zodiac is sent into the cage and Hogan puts on a camel clutch for the win at 18:48.
Rating: D. I mean…what were you expecting? Even if Savage and Luger wound up eating each others’ spleens, there was no way the Dungeon was going to win this thing. There was no one in the Dungeon who was going to be able to beat any of the Hulkamaniacs and there was no way to hide that fact. The action wasn’t even good, and it made for a terrible main event.
Post match Taskmaster tries to leave but gets thrown back inside. Hogan sends him into the cage a few times and they go outside, with Hogan sending him into the cage a few more times. Back in and Hogan chokes away before hitting a big boot. Cue the Giant, who jumps over the top rope to get inside and grabs Hogan by the neck. Giant shrugs off some right hands and chokes Hogan down for a twist of the neck. The Giant and Taskmaster leave as the Hulkamaniacs run back out for the save. Hogan is checked on by medics to end the show.
Roll credits.
Results
Johnny B. Badd b. Brian Pillman – Crossbody
Craig Pittman b. Cobra – Code Red
Diamond Dallas Page b. Renegade – Diamond Cutter
Harlem Heat vs. Dick Slater/Bunkhouse Buck – Boot to Slater
Arn Anderson b. Ric Flair – DDT
Hulkamaniacs b. Dungeon Of Doom – Camel clutch to Zodiac
