Leighty’s Retro Rankings: 1993 WCW and WWF PPV Matches

-My rush to finish 1993 before the end of the year has been successful. As always, I like to look back at the year I just reviewed and rank all the PPV Matches. 1993 is often looked at as a down year in the wrestling business because it was very much a year of transition and the first true year outside the Golden Era. We had some remnants of that Golden Era in 92 and the WWF and WCW both tried to recapture the past by going back to Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair in 93. The year was also dominated by monster champions in each company with Vader and Yokozuna. Next up we get to 1994 and we will see how much I can do while Peacock still has the library. For one last time in 1993, away we go.

-As noted in the past with this column, this is only WCW/WWF PPV Matches. I don’t include Clash of Champions as it doesn’t seem fair to compare them to PPV Matches.

-Finally, these are obviously my rankings and we all have our favorites as far as wrestler, style, etc. There is always room for healthy debate and discussion, but at the end of the day it is just my opinion. If you have a different take that’s cool, but just be respectful to anyone with a different opinion. Let’s get to it!

97) Legends Match: Ivan Koloff and Baron Raschke vs. Thunderbolt Patterson and Brad Armstrong DUD (WCW Slamboree)

96) Awesome Kong vs. The Shockmaster DUD (WCW Starrcade)

95) Survivor Series Elimination Match: Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger, and The Headshrinkers vs. The Doinkwhackers, and Doinks on a Mission DUD (WWF Survivor Series)

94) Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund DUD (WWF WrestleMania IX)

93) Awesome Kong and The Equalizer vs. King Kong and Dustin Rhodes 1/4* (WCW BattleBowl)

92) Shanghi Pearce vs. Ice Train 1/4* (WCW Fall Brawl)

91) Big Sky vs. Charlie Norris 1/2* (WCW Fall Brawl)

90) Harlem Heat and The Equalizer vs. The ShockMaster, Charlie Norris, and Ice Train 1/2* (WCW Halloween Havoc)

89) WCW World Tag Titles: The Horsemen (Roma and Anderson) vs. The Nasty Boys 1/2* (WCW Fall Brawl)

88) WCW World Television Title: Paul Orndorff vs. Ron Simmons 1/2* (WCW Beach Blast)

87) Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga 1/2* (WWF SummerSlam)

86) Bounty Match: Sting vs. The Prisoner 1/2* (WCW Slamboree)

85) King of The Ring Tournament: Jim Duggan vs. Bam Bam Bigelow 1/2* (WWF King of The Ring)

84) WCW United States Heavyweight Championship: Dustin Rhodes (c) vs. Maxx Payne 1/2* (WCW SuperBrawl III)

83) Legends Match: Dick Murdoch, Don Muraco, Jimmy Snuka vs. Chief Wahoo McDaniel, Blackjack Mulligan, and Jim Brunzell 1/2* (WCW Slamboree)

82) The Giant Gonzales vs. The Undertaker 3/4* (WWF WrestleMania IX)

81) The Equalizer and Paul Orndorff vs. Marcus Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio * (WCW Fall Brawl)

80) Maxx Payne vs. Johnny B. Badd * (WCW Beach Blast)

79) Yoshi Kwan vs. Cactus Jack * (WCW Fall Brawl)

78) NWA World Heavyweight Championship: The Great Muta (c) vs. Barry Windham * (WCW SuperBrawl III)

77) King of The Ring Tournament: Mr. Perfect vs. Mr. Hughes * (WWF King of The Ring)

76) Rest In Peace Match: The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzales * (WWF SummerSlam)

75) Rick Rude and Shanhi Pierce vs. Marcus Bagwell and Tex Slazenger * (WCW BattleBowl)

74) The Steiners and Smoking Gunns vs. Money Inc and The Headshrinkers * (WWF King of The Ring)

73) Bam Bam Bigelow vs. The Big Boss Man * (WWF Royal Rumble)

72) Bill Irwin vs. The British Bulldog * (WCW SuperBrawl III)

71) Dustin Rhodes and Kensuki Sasaki vs. Rick Rude and Paul Orndorff * (WCW Slamboree)

70) Vader and Cactus Jack vs. Kane and Charlie Norris * (WCW BattleBowl)

69) Doink vs. Crush * (WWF WrestleMania IX)

68) Erik Watts vs. Lord Steven Regal *1/2 (WCW Beach Blast)

67) Paul Roma and Erik Watts vs. Johnny B Badd and Brian Knobbs *1/2 (WCW BattleBowl)

66) IRS vs. The 1-2-3 Kid *1/2 (WCW SummerSlam)

65) Van Hammer vs. Sid Vicious SQUASH (WCW Slamboree)

64) WWF Championship: Yokozuna (c) vs. Hulk Hogan SQUASH (WWF WrestleMania IX)

63) WWF Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Crush *1/2 (WWF King of The Ring)

62) WCW International World Heavyweight Championship: Rick Rude (c) vs. The Boss *1/2 (WCW Starrcade)

61) Hawk and Rip Rogers vs. The British Bulldog and Kole *1/2 (WCW BattleBowl)

60) Sting and Jerry Sags vs. Ron Simmons and Keith Cole ** (WCW BattleBowl)

59) War Games ** (WCW Fall Brawl)

58) World Wrestling Championship: Rick Rude (c) vs. Ric Flair ** (WCW Halloween Havoc)

57) WWF Tag Team Titles: Money Inc (c) vs. The Mega Maniacs ** (WWF WrestleMania IX)

56) WWF Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Mr. Perfect ** (WWF SummerSlam)

55) Legends Match: Dory Funk Jr vs. Nick Bockwinkle ** (WCW Slamboree)

54) BattleBowl ** (WCW BattleBowl)

53) Survivor Series Elimination Match: Shawn Michaels and The Knights vs. The Hart Family ** (WWF Survivor Series)

52) King of The Ring Tournament: Tatanka vs. Lex Luger ** (WWF King of the Ring)

51) 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Bagwell vs. Tex Slazenger and Shanghi Pearce ** (WCW Beach Blast)

50) WCW World TV Title: Lord Steven Regal (c) vs. Ricky Steamboat ** (WCW Starrcade)

49) The Beverly Brothers vs. The Steiner Brothers ** (WWF Royal Rumble)

48) Ted Dibiase vs. Razor Ramon ** (WWF SummerSlam)

47) Tex Slazenger and Shanhi Pierce vs. Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne ** (WCW Starrcade)

46) WCW US Title: 30 Minute Iron Man Match: Rick Rude (c) vs. Dustin Rhodes ** (WCW Beach Blast)

45) WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Yokozuna ** (WWF King of The Ring)

44) Mr. Perfect vs. Lex Luger **1/4 (WWF WrestleMania IX)

43) NWA World Title: Barry Windham (c) vs. Ric Flair **1/4 (WCW Beach Blast)

42) 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Bagwell vs. Pretty Wonderful **1/4 (WCW Starrcade)

41) The Shockmaster and Paul Orndorff vs. Ricky Steamboat and Steven Regal **1/2 (WCW BattleBowl)

40) 30 Man Royal Rumble Match **1/2 (WWF Royal Rumble)

39) WWF Championship: Yokozuna (c) vs. Lex Luger **1/2 (WWF SummerSlam)

38) WCW World Television Title: Lord Steven Regal (c) vs. The British Bulldog **1/2 (WCW Halloween Havoc)

37) WWF Championship: Bret Hart (c) vs. Yokozuna **1/2 (WWF WrestleMania IX)

36) Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Foreign Fanatics vs. The All Americans **1/2 (WWF Survivor Series)

35) WCW US Title: Dustin Rhodes (c) vs. Steve Austin **1/2 (WCW Halloween Havoc)

34) WCW US Title: Best of 3 Falls: Dustin Rhodes (c) vs. Steve Austin **1/2 (WCW Starrcade)

33) Bret Hart vs. Doink The Clown **1/2 (WWF SummerSlam)

32) World Title: Ric Flair (c) vs. Rick Rude **3/4 (WCW Fall Brawl)

31) Sid Vicious vs. Sting **3/4 (WCW Halloween Havoc)

30) Bobby Eaton and Chris Benoit vs. 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell **3/4 (WCW Slamboree)

29) Steve Austin and Ric Flair vs. Maxx Payne and 2 Cold Scorpio **3/4 (WCW BattleBowl)

28) Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler **3/4 (WWF SummerSlam)

27) SMW Tag Titles: The Rock N Roll Express (c) vs. The Heavenly Bodies *** (WWF Survivor Series)

26) WCW Tag Titles: The Nasty Boys vs. Sting and Road Warrior Hawk *** (WCW Starrcade)

25) The Hollywood Blondes vs. Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Erik Watts *** (WCW SuperBrawl III)

24) WWF Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Tatanka *** (WWF WrestleMania IX)

23) NWA World Heavweight Championship: Barry Windham (c) vs. Arn Anderson *** (WCW Slamboree)

22) WCW World Tag Team Titles: The Hollywood Blondes vs. The Horsemen (Anderson and Roma) *** (WCW Beach Blast)

21) WWF Championship: Bret Hart (c) vs. Razor Ramon *** (WWF Royal Rumble)

20) Unified Tag Titles: Steel Cage Match: The Hollywood Blondes (c) vs. Dos Hombres *** (WCW Slamboree)

19) King of The Ring Tournament Finals: Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow *** (WWF King of The Ring)

18) King of The Ring Tournament: Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon *** (WWF King of The Ring)

17) WCW Tag Titles: Marcus Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio (c) vs. The Nasty Boys ***1/4 (WCW Halloween Havoc)

16) WWF Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Marty Jannetty ***1/4 (WWF Royal Rumble)

15) WWF Tag Team Titles: The Steiner Brothers (c) vs. The Heavenly Bodies ***1/4 (WWF SummerSlam)

14) WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Big Van Vader (c) vs. The British Bulldog ***1/4 (WCW Slamboree)

13) Paul Orndorff vs. Ricky Steamboat ***1/2 (WCW Halloween Havoc)

12) The Heavenly Bodies vs. The Rock N Roll Express ***1/2 (WCW SuperBrawl III)

11) Chris Benoit vs. 2 Cold Scorpio ***1/2 (WCW SuperBrawl III)

10) Survivor Series Elimination Match: Atom Bomb, Diesel, IRS and Rick Martel vs. Marty Jannetty, 1-2-3 Kid, Razor Ramon, and Randy Savage ***1/2 (WWF Survivor Series)

9) Vader and Sid Vicious vs. Sting and The British Bulldog ***1/2 (WCW Beach Blast)

8) The Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers ***1/2 (WWF WrestleMania IX)

7) The Smoking Gunns and Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow and The Headshrinkers ***3/4 (WWF SummerSlam)

6) Falls Count Anywhere: Cactus Jack vs. Paul Orndorff ***3/4 (WCW SuperBrawl III)

5) WCW World Television Title: Ricky Steamboat (c) vs. Lord Steven Regal ***3/4 (WCW Fall Brawl)

4) Texas Death Match: Big Van Vader vs. Cactus Jack ****1/2 (WCW Halloween Havoc)

-Vader is WCW World Champion for those keeping track though he hasn’t defended his Championship on PPV since May. They immediately start brawling on the ramp as it is on! Vader takes a wild swing, but hits the post. Jack throws a chair at Vader, but he just eats it and starts firing off right hands. Jack with his own series of right hands and he bites Vader in the face. A fan gives Jack a camera and he uses that to smash Vader. Another chair shot! I feel like I should be chanting some random letters from the alphabet or something. They actually head into the ring which shocks Jesse. Vader blocks a charge in the corner and rips Jack’s head off with a nasty clothesline. Boxing in the corner and there is some STANK on those punches. Another right sends Jack through the ropes and to the apron. Vader tries a suplex, but Jack has the rope hooked and then brings over with a suplex onto the ramp. Nice! Jack is bleeding from one of the punches he took. Another power display by Jack as he gets a belly-to-back on the ramp. Race tries to use a chair, but Jack punches him in the gut. That leaves a chair for Jack and Vader takes another shot, though he was able to get his hand up on this one. They brawl into the fog near the tombstones at the entrance. They roll off the ramp and in a nice touch disappear under a RIP Vader tombstone. Jack is pouring blood around his eye. Vader comes out of the grave with smoke behind him and is bleeding in an amazing visual. Jack gets a pin at 5:38 and we get a 30 second rest period. Again, not a fan of that but the fans get to count down. Vader gets up before 10, so Jack hits him with a wooden cactus from the entrance. That sends Vader to the floor and Jack comes off with the elbow for another pin at 6:48. We get another 30 second rest period as the crowd chants for Jack. Vader is able to get up well before the 10 count. Jack starts booting him in the face and some right hands. That apparently ticked off Vader as he fires back with heavy right hands. They are just beating the stuffing out of each other. Jack puts a table in the ring and this was insane stuff at the time. Vader goes back to the boxing in the corner as Jesse notes he and Tony are getting sprayed with blood. Vader gets sent into the table which gets Jack a two count. Jack throws the table at Vader which sends him retreating to the floor. Jack tries a sunset flip off the apron to the floor which is just nuts. Vader goes to sit down on Jack, but he moves out of the way. Jack drops Vader on the railing and charges, but Vader moves and Jack flips into the front row. Jesse notes he doesn’t even know if this can be called a match as it’s just a fight. True! Vader with a chair shot to the back of the head and this was a chair from the crowd. They cut to Harley Race who has a taser because sure. Back in the ring Vader gets a slam and heads all the way up and hits the moonsault. That gets the three at 11:59. Of course Jack was fine with Vader hitting a moonsault on him. Most sane people just do the spot and roll out of the way to give the visual of Vader doing a moonsault. After the 30 second rest period, Jack beats the 10 count. They end up back on the ramp as Race has another chair. Jack gets a sleeper and ends up on Vader’s back. We get the infamous spot where Vader just falls back and that had to suck so much. In Foley’s first book I believe he stated he was trying to get injured off that move. Chair shot to the head from Vader followed by a DDT on the chair. This is brutal and the crowd and announcers aren’t sure how to react. The trainers are out to check on Jack and we all know this wouldn’t be the last time that would happen with Foley in his career. Vader scares the trainers away and gets a pin at 14:55. Jack is up and hits a DDT during the rest period so I guess both men are being counted down. Race uses a taser on Jack and Vader gets up to beat the count and get the win at 15:57. 



Winner: Big Van Vader via pin at 15:57

-Just an amazingly brutal match with a terrible ending. As I noted I wasn’t a fan of the rest period, but that doesn’t take away too much from the match. We just didn’t see stuff like this at the time. It’s still an amazing spectacle all this years later and holds up well. I just wish they had a better ending for it.

3) WWF King of The Ring Tournament: Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart ****1/2 (WWF King of The Ring)

-This round the matches get a 30-minute time limit. Perfect is healthier here than in their SummerSlam classic from 91. Perfect gets a go behind, but Bret gets to the ropes to force a break. Bret controls with a side headlock, gets pushed off so he runs Perfect over with a shoulder tackle. Perfect gets a head scissors but Bret counters back to a side headlock. Loud chop from Perfect in the corner, but Bret gets a slam. Perfect kicks away and gets a slam. Bret kicks him away and gets a headlock back on the mat. Perfect gets to his feet and throws forearms to break. Bret with a crucifix pin for two and then back to the side headlock on the mat. Perfect forearms out again so Bret gets a cross-body for two. The kick out sends Bret to the floor. He delivers a shoulder through the ropes and gets a sunset flip for two. Bret goes back to the side headlock. Perfect gets to his feet and backs Bret to the ropes to deliver a knee to the gut. That draws some boos from the crowd. Standing dropkick from Perfect sends Bret to the floor. A mix of boos and cheers for Perfect. Perfect opens the ropes for Bret to let him back in the ring and then kicks him as he comes through. Sweet! Again, more boos for Perfect. To the corner for another loud chop. He stomps Bret to the mat and picks him up to deliver a knee-lift for two. Straight kick to the ribs and Bret ends up on the floor again. Heavy chop from Perfect and he runs Bret into the apron. I assume these heavy chops are a way of making Ross feel like he never left the NWA. Bret on the apron, but Perfect uses the ropes to sling shot Bret off and he crashes into the railing. Bret would use that similar spot years later against Diesel but made sure a table was in the way. Bret is selling the knee as he hobbles back in the ring. Another knee-lift from Perfect gets a two count. He heads up top, which isn’t normal for him, but hits a missile dropkick for two as Bret lucks out and gets his foot on the ropes. Perfect sends Bret chest first into the corner and gets another two count. Perfect is showing some frustration as he heads back up top again. Bret was gold bricking though and lands a punch. Superplex from Bret gets two as he didn’t hook the leg. Bret kicks at the knee to set up The Sharpshooter. He hooks a figure-four just to spit on Ric Flair. Heenan gets caught cheering for Perfect and asks Ross to slap him. Ross: “I’d be glad to.” It would have been interesting to see what Ross and Heenan could have done if they had more time together. It could have been a disaster, but I would have been there watching. Perfect gets to the ropes to force a break. Bret goes right back to the knee with a grapevine. Perfect forces Bret on his back and uses the free leg to smash Bret in the face to force a break. Nice! Perfect throws Bret across the ring by the hair. That’s awesome! Perfect with a sleeper which gets a good pop from the crowd. They start clapping and stomping their feet to get Bret back into the match. He pulls the hair, but the ref stops that. Bret is able to squirm enough to get to the ropes. Perfect holds to the count of five and Savage is a fan of that. CHOP! Back to the sleeper and Perfect uses the bottom rope for added leverage. Bret runs Perfect face first into the buckle to break. Ross notes Bigelow is King of the Ring if this match ends in a draw, double DQ, or double count-out. Bret swings for the fences with a shot that gets a big reaction. He then sends Perfect across the ring where he slides balls first into the post. Ouch! Atomic Drop followed by a Side Russian Leg Sweep gets two. Backbreaker from Bret and he heads to the middle rope. He drops a forearm for another two count. Bret goes for The Sharpshooter, but Perfect grabs the taped fingers to stop that noise. Perfect stomps the injured hand and looks for The Perfect-plex. Bret blocks and we get a SUPLEX OVER THE TOP THAT SENDS BOTH MEN TO THE FLOOR. Fantastic! Perfect gets in to beat the count and Bret barely makes it. Perfect is selling the knee, but gets a small package that Bret rolls to counter and gets the three count at 18:56.

Winner: Bret Hart via pin at 18:56
-This was great! I think it was better than their SummerSlam match, though that one had the hotter crowd. Man, these two were great together. I loved that both men were aggressive and Perfect had no problems slipping back into the cheating man we fell in love with years earlier.

2) Lights Out: White Castle of Fear Strap Match: Big Van Vader vs. Sting ****1/2 (WCW SuperBrawl III)

-Yes, the mini move has been played throughout the night and it may be cheesy, but I still remember all the mini movies WCW was using to hype PPV matches at the time. Since this is non sanctioned, Vader’s WCW Title is not on the line. This is touch all four corner while dragging your opponent rules. Vader shows he has the power game as he just yanks on the strap and Sting goes tumbling across the ring. Sting tries to get a better grip but Vader pulls him across the ring again and then poses. That makes Jesse happy! They get nose-to-nose and then Vader pulls Sting in to hit a clothesline. Vader drops an elbow as Jesse notes this is kind of like the spider vs. the fly and that’s a good call. Another elbow and the crowd really doesn’t like Vader. We get our first lashes from Vader. He heads to the middle ropes and comes off with a splash that looked like it caught Sting’s head and not much else. Vader makes the mistake of getting the strap between his legs and Sting pulls the strap to cause some Vader to low blow himself. He gets Vader off his feet and looks to head up, but Vader is apparently out of position so Sting goes down and hits an enziguiri. Sting then goes back up and hits a dropkick and then to the other corner with a splash. We know how Shawn handled Vader being out of place four years later. Sting off the top with another splash. Vader is out on the mat so Sting gets his lashes back as the crowd goes crazy. Harley takes a shot with the strap as well because it’s Harley and he probably demanded it before the match. They head to the floor and Sting pulls Vader into the post and a second time. That has become a staple of strap matches. Sting picks up Vader with ease and slams him on the floor. Sting touches the post on the floor and starts dragging Vader on the floor. He makes it to post two, but Vader yanks back and Sting goes flying head first into the railing. Vader is bleeding from the back in a rather nasty, but impressive visual. Back in the ring Sting continues to show off the power with a Samoan Drop. Sting gets dumb again and charges at Vader. That usually doesn’t end well and sure enough Vader drops him. Sting tries again and the same result. He tries a third time because he’s our hero and Vader kicks him in the gut. Powerbomb is called for, but Sting backdrops out. He goes up for another splash, but Vader rolls out of the way. He hits his own splash and tees off with forearms to the head. Vader with his own Samoan Drop and he follows with a Vader Bomb. The reaction from the crowd when he hits that move is great. Vader whips Sting as Jesse notes that’s what Tony does to his kids. Tony tells Jesse to shut up as I wonder if that really annoyed him. Vader to the middle ropes with Sting for another Samoan Drop. Sucks to be Sting! Vader touches the first corner and then the second one. Sting gets in a kick to break the run and they are back to even. Vader misses a second Vader Bomb and that nearly went wrong as Sting rolled inside and Vader just missed him. Sting still doesn’t have anything to fight back yet, so Vader heads up top. Sting pulls on the strap and Vader falls balls first on the buckle and then gets pulled down as he bumps to the mat. Jesse notes that after all that, Vader is the first to his feet. Again, sucks to be Sting! He gives credit to Sting for even taking this match. Superplex from Vader! Vader makes it to three buckles as the crowd freaks out, but Sting wraps his legs around the bottom rope to keep Vader from dragging him to the last. He knocks Vader off his feet and that ends that run. Again though Vader is up first and he boxes Sting in the corner. The ref warns Vader about a closed fist, but that’s dumb since this is Lights Out. Jesse rightly points out the ref has no say. Sting is bleeding from the head now. Vertical Splash from Vader so Sting gets resourceful and hits a flipping heel kick. He ducks a clothesline and shows his first real flurry of offense and he powers Vader over with a German Suplex. DDT follows! Now Sting beats Vader down in the corner in impressive fashion and he still sells the fatigue as he falls backwards after all the punches. Sweet! Sting carries Vader around the ring as he hits two corners, but the ref got bumped by Vader’s boot so he isn’t seeing any of this. He can’t get to the fourth though as he trips over the ref and Vader falls on top of him. Ouch! Vader is pouring blood out of his ear. Tony: “God, what a fight!” No kidding! Vader ties the strap around Sting’s legs and starts dragging him around the ring. He gets three corners with relative ease, but again Sting hangs on to the ropes. Harley tries to help, but Sting has a death grip on the ropes. Sting kicks at Vader which causes him to fall backwards into the final corner for the win at 20:56.

Winner: Vader at 20:56

-Just an absolute war! It’s Sting vs. Vader on PPV so at the worst you are guaranteed very good and most often get excellent. I think I still like the Starrcade match better, but this was a better fight. The story was great as Sting threw all he had at Vader to start, but once Vader got rolling Sting was toast. Every time Sting would hit something, Vader would be up first and Sting could not capitalize. The one time Sting got close he tripped over a ref to crush the fan’s hopes. Vader controlled this one, but toook a beating as he was bleeding from the back and ear. Vader winning was the right call as he was The Champion and this was his match. Sting fought like the valiant hero, but the hero doesn’t win every battle.

1) WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Big Van Vader (c) vs. Ric Flair ***** (WCW Starrcade)

-Vader has been Champion since Jan and yet, this is his first PPV defense since May. There is a solid story underneath this one as well as Race is looking for revenge on Flair for what happened at the first Starrcade. The Charlotte crowd is just a little bit behind Flair in this one. As a reminder if Flair loses, his will retire. For some reason this match only has a 45 minute time limit. Shouldn’t that be an hour? Unless they were giving them until the end of the PPV. I was kind of hoping Jesse would freak out about Vader coming out first as Champion as he did when Savage came out first at Mania V. Flair looks emotional as he is introduced by Buffer. This has crazy, big match feel and it feels right having Jesse on the call of a big time match. Jesse notes the plane crash Flair was in may be easy compared to facing Vader. Great line! Thunderous “Flair” chant. Yo, I am fired up for this one. Lockup and Vader shoves Flair on his ass. Race: “You wanted him Flair. There he is.” Cold! Vader shoves Flair again, so Flair runs around the ring forcing Vader to chase. He realizes what Flair is trying to do and calmly gets back in the ring. Vader stats boxing the ears and grabs Flair’s arm. Flair is close which is bad news for him. Clothesline from Vader and he hooks the arm again. Vader: “You ain’t man enough!” Flair fires off two chops and nothing! Flair to the floor to think about what he needs to do. I assume it wasn’t get trapped in the corner and get punched down because that’s what happens. Gorilla Press Slam and Flair rolls to the floor. Vader follows and presses Flair in the air and drops him on the railing. Vader makes his first big mistake though as he tries a splash, but catches railing. Flair fires up and runs Vader into the post to pop the crowd. Race decks Flair though to end that rally. Vader brings Flair back into the ring with a suplex and Flair rolls to the apron again. Right hand from Vader and another suplex though he just released Flair on that one. To the corner and again, that’s a bad time for Flair as Vader goes back to the boxing. Whip to the corner and this time Vader doesn’t charge. He just gets close and hits a clothesline. Whip to the other corner and Flair flips over the top and off the ramp to the floor. He staggers back into the ring and Vader greets him with a right hand and then a clothesline. The crowd doesn’t know how to react to this ass whipping. Piston like right hands from Vader. Flair throws some chops as he needs to do something and again, it has no effect. Powerslam from Vader gets two. Vader off the middle rope with a clothesline and it seems it busted Flair’s mouth. Flair seems legit pissed as he nearly gets caught cursing at Vader. To the middle ropes again, but a splash misses. Flair off the top with a right hand. He goes again and this one basically misses and thankfully Vader doesn’t sell it. Flair hits a third one and that drops Vader. Flair drops a knee, but Vader lands one shot to shut that rally down. Vader carries Flair on his shoulders as he notes it’s over. He sets Flair up top and hits a superplex. No crazy screaming from Flair about his back as he is just flat out on the mat. Vader drops an elbow to the abdomen and there’s the screaming out of God. Flair avoids a splash and tries to charge at Vader, which is never a good strategy. Vader drops him! Flair gets pitched between the ropes and Race stomps Flair in the face as payback for 83. Tony notes when Harley lost that night he never became Champion again. He went on to become a King though. Flair tries to fight back and avoids a splash in the corner. The chops have something behind them this time, but Vader still reverses a whip and this time hits the splash. “Oh God,” again from Flair. Vader just unloads with right hands in the corner and tells the ref to end this. Flair won’t quit though. Instead he goes to the eyes and fires away with rights and lefts. The crowd goes crazy as Vader drops to a knee and then falls to his ass. Flair grabs the leg and wraps it around the ring post as we hit the 15 minute mark. He uses the plastic chair to crack Vader in the knee while the ref was with Harley. Right hands and chops as this is the moment where someone on Flair’s side would be screaming “he’s cut.” Flair peppers him with right hands as a little kid talks crap to Vader and asks him what’s wrong. Chair shot to the head as this is the Flair we need. DIRTIEST PLAYER IN THE GAME! Back in the ring as Jesse notes Flair had to go for broke and risk the DQ. He bites Vader because why not and then collapses in the corner. This is fantastic! He goes back to the knee and gives us a Wooo as he is feeling it right now. Flair struts and starts firing away with right hands. Vader kicks Flair away to prevent the figure-four. Vader up and he steps on Flair to set-up a Vader Bomb, but Flair moves. He goes back to the leg and this time he gets the figure-four. Race is on the apron and is screaming at Vader to stay in this. Vader gets to the ropes and Race makes sure the ref can see it. Flair gets dumb again though and charges at Vader which results in a boot to he face. Do not charge at this man! Vader uses his weight and drops another elbow. He goes ground and pound with short elbows to Flair’s face. This is just beautiful! Vader all the way up and the moonsault misses. Flair covers, but Vader kicks out and Race comes off with a headbutt and hits Vader by mistake. The ref pushes Harley to the ramp and this crowd is going crazy. Flair again charges Vader and gets dropped, but his knee buckles. Flair pounces on the knee, and gets a trip into a cover for the pin at 21:09. The crowd just goes crazy as pyro goes off and Flair has the Championship strapped around his waist.

Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair via pin at 21:09
-Just an amazing match! I loved the story as Flair was getting destroyed but hung in their long enough to where Vader got caught and Flair got his confidence. The Race interference worked and he timed that mistaken headbutt perfectly. This was a war that Flair survived and he pounced on Vader’s knee buckling. It took all year, but this is the WCW/WWF Match of the Year.

-Interesting that it was the last PPV Match of 1993 that took home Match of the Year honors. The top four matches are all incredible and worth finding. Sadly, three of them are WCW matches and you have to do some digging to find them. One day maybe they will be available on streaming again or WWE’s YouTube page. It is clear that Vader takes home Wrestler of the Year honors. He dominated the World Title scene in WCW and had classic match after classic match. My journey through 1994 begins next. As always, thanks for reading!